October 16th

There wasn't a single mention of Hermione in Tuesday's edition of The Daily Prophet. She checked every single page at least three times just to be certain. While it was entirely possible that Albert Runcorn was only keeping his end of the bargain for a single day to make it seem like he was willing to comply, she knew better than to believe him after just one day. If he made it to the end of the week without mentioning her inside the newspaper, she would return to his office and they could renegotiate the terms of their arrangement.

It helped that Albert was entirely too predictable. All of the men at the top of the regime were the same way. She'd had decades to study them and learn their weaknesses and proclivities. Some liked their alcohol too much and others their potions just like hers. There were those that thrived on violence and the screams of their terrified victims. Most of them, however, liked their pleasures of the flesh, especially with much younger witches.

Before she was married and ordered to become a mother, she was young enough that most of the men in the Inner Circle, whether they openly admitted it or not, wanted to be with her. It also didn't hurt that she was more confident in her own sexuality and in her own attractiveness the older she got. While she'd never been particularly ugly, once she'd had her oversized front teeth fixed and she started to take a bit more of an effort in her appearance, she was proud of what she looked like. Others noticed the change too. The dirty, disgusting Death Eaters who were old enough to be her father enjoyed being with one as young as she. It made them feel like they were young again themselves. She'd used her youth to her advantage, especially as she worked her way up the ranks. Several valuable alliances had been made while she was on her back. It was something that she would never feel shame about. When one was fighting for survival, they would be fools not to utilize every weapon they possessed.

Albert was going to be easy. If he chose to cooperate, she'd lure him in with promises and maybe even allow a few touches. Having the head of the regime's propaganda machine at her disposal would be a valuable resource. She wasn't sure how she was going to use him yet, but it would come to her when necessary. It was amusing how easily men like him could be manipulated. Did he even know he was so predictable and pathetic?

"Something amusing?"

Draco stared at her across the table as he sipped at his tea. Few words had been spoken between them in several days. There had been an awkwardness that fell over the flat. Despite lying next to each other every night in the same bed, there was a distance that couldn't be ignored. She knew that it would only be matter of time before one or both of them exploded. What they were living couldn't be sustained for much longer. Both of them were guilty of ignoring what was so clear.

"I was just noticing how the quality of journalism just keeps getting worse and worse every single day."

"Is there another article about you in there?"

"Surprisingly, no. Maybe that's why it's not very entertaining to read. I've been enjoying seeing what sort of lies they'd come up with about me next."

"Alecto mentioned that you stopped by the Daily Prophet offices yesterday."

Hermione sighed, knowing where their conversation was going. It was always going to be only a matter of time before the news of her visit got back to Draco. He'd disappeared for several hours the night before. No doubt he'd run off to talk to Rodolphus and his little traitorous mates. He probably hoped that she would slip and tell him the purpose of her visit so he'd have something useful to report back to Rodolphus. It was exhausting being unable to trust the man she was living with. Every word she said was analyzed and every step she made was recorded.

"I thought we made an agreement that whatever happened outside of this flat was our own business?"

"Did I ask you why you were there?"

"No, but I imagine you were about to."

He couldn't deny what was obviously the truth. Instead of speaking, he simply sighed and went back to his tea. Silence continued for several minutes. When his breakfast was over and he could seemingly stand to be around his houseguest no longer, Draco rose to his feet. Before he could step away and hide for the remainder of the day as he was apt to do when it became uncomfortable between them, Hermione asked him a question she'd been wanting to ask for weeks.

"Will you teach me your tracking spell?"

Her question caught him off-guard even though he should've been aware that eventually she was going to ask. Hadn't he teased her when they were staying in the tent together in the middle of the forest that he knew that her biggest weakness was her thirst for more knowledge? Her curiosity kept her rooted in place months earlier when it was dangerous to be alone with the man she didn't know she could trust. Draco stared at her, unblinking for a few beats. His reluctance to acquiesce to her request was obvious.

"I've told you before that that is a secret, Hermione."

"Yes, it was a secret from the Death Eaters who would no longer need you if they found out how to track their opponents themselves. That was before the Dark Lord died. Wouldn't you say that circumstances had changed?"

He sighed. It wasn't going to be easy to get him to agree, but she was determined. Did he not understand how frustrating it was not knowing how to complete the spell he could so easily? Hermione imagined that it would come in handy when she started fulfilling her plan of getting rid of the people on the list. If she wanted to learn it, she knew that she would have to convince him to share the secret. It wouldn't be easy. Nothing worth having was ever gained without a little bit of sacrifice.

"It's only fair that you teach me, you know. Since you can track me wherever I go even when I specifically tell you not to."

"You're paranoid, Hermione. I haven't been tracking you when you leave the flat."

"Don't you dare lie to me, Draco. I thought you had more respect for me than that."

If he denied again that he didn't track her, she was going to force him to teach her the spell. She had been too easy on him over the past several months. Perhaps part of who she was under the Dark Lord's power was gone once the potions were no longer a daily part of her life. Maybe even Rodolphus altered her brain somehow to change her personality. But, from the first day that she began her training with Antonin twenty years earlier, her determination that she would not become a victim again only encouraged her to fight dirty and fight hard. Draco would see how vicious she could be.

"The other night while you were taking a shower I went to see Rodolphus."

His grey eyes widened. It was possible that he wasn't lying about not tracking her that particular night. She was under no delusions that he didn't know she went to Ron Weasley's house or that he didn't know she went to Diagon Alley before Alecto told him. If he already knew that she saw Rodolphus, he would've been able to hide his surprise just a little better.

"What could you have possibly been thinking, Hermione?"

The words he used were the same words her husband hurled at her when she admitted weeks earlier that she'd gone to Hogsmeade twice to meet with Ron. She hadn't appreciated them coming out of Antonin's mouth and she certainly didn't appreciate when Draco said them. Did no one in the entire world trust her to take care of herself? Was everyone just sitting around waiting for her to completely fall apart? It angered her more than she could describe to know that people she cared about, people who claimed to care about her, thought so little of her mental capabilities.

"I was thinking that he would tell me his plans if I just asked him."

"And did he?"

"For the most part."

She was also under no delusions that she understood everything that Rodolphus was doing. There was only one person alive who knew all of his plans and he wasn't in the habit of sharing them with just anyone. No one would ever be privy to all of Rodolphus' secrets. It just simply wasn't how he operated.

"What do you think Rodolphus would think if he found out that you gave me the list of all of his supporters? Do you think he wouldn't demand retribution for that betrayal?"

It was easy to forget that Draco was a Death Eater who earned his place at the table just like she did. With his desire to be away from the bulk of the Inner Circle and to be alone, it was easy to underestimate him. When it was clear that she was threatening to blackmail him, he was furious. Hermione remembered that he'd already proven he was a dangerous man when it suited him. She hoped that she hadn't pushed him too far. Quickly, before he could blow up in his anger, she made him an offer.

"Teach me the tracking spell and I swear I will never tell Rodolphus about the list. We can even take a wizard's oath if you want."

He calmed only slightly. Offering to prove her sincerity with an oath was no small gesture. If he pushed for an Unbreakable Vow, he could even hold her life in his hands. She wouldn't be able to tell Rodolphus the truth about the list as long as she was alive without fear of dying.

"Would it help if I also promised never to teach anyone else the spell?"

At least five minutes passed before Draco made up his mind. Frustrated that he'd been backed into a corner, he finally agreed to teach her how to track. But, only after she made a vow that she would never tell anyone about the list or the spell. He didn't even make her take an oath on her wand to her surprise. Of course, if she was honest with him and told him that she'd already shared the information about the list with at least three other people, he might not have been so agreeable to teach her.

"You already know the first step. You'll need something that belongs to the person you wish to track."

The entire lesson took no more than ten minutes. Hermione was almost disappointed that the spell was so simple. Once she had the incantation and the wand movements locked away in her brain and she'd been able to perform it successfully a few times, she understood why Draco had been so afraid of the other Death Eaters learning the spell. Any one of them could've cast it. Even those who weren't especially blessed with brains would be just as good a tracker as he was if given the proper tools. He really would've been disposed of if the secret of his spell got out.

"Thank you, Draco."

She followed up her words with the first kiss they'd shared in days. Though it didn't escalate past a kiss, it was a good step to move them back into the right direction.