December 8th

Following Rabastan's rather dramatic death, Fenrir was able to convince Hermione to stay in his cottage one more night. Truthfully, she was grateful that she didn't have to rush out of there to find another hiding place because she didn't know where she could go. Having to rely on others to keep her safe was becoming a tedious chore. She didn't like it at all. In the past she was more than capable of taking care of herself. It was why she became a Death Eater after all. She'd grown so tired of being weak and afraid that becoming one of the Dark Lord's followers offered her the chance to not have to live in constant fear. It had been a heady feeling, one that she was beginning to miss.

Fenrir cleared all evidence that Rabastan had ever been inside his cottage as quickly as he could. While he cleaned up the mess left by the rather bloody murder, Hermione took a long, hot bath in the next room thinking over her limited options. She wasn't at full strength. If she was attacked again by Rodolphus, she didn't think that she would have much hope of being able to fight him off. The fact that she was able to stun him at all the night he drugged her was a miracle. If he hadn't made the mistake of turning his back on her and underestimating her as a threat while he threw his temper tantrum, she wouldn't have been successful.

By the morning after the incident neither of the cottage's inhabitants wanted to speak of, Hermione had made up her mind. Her idea was likely a little insane, but the options she had were limited. She needed to go somewhere that no one would think to look for her at. Unfortunately, thanks to Draco's damned tracking spell and the fact that he still carried the gold pendant Antonin gave her, she wasn't truly safe anywhere. Rabastan might have stumbled upon Fenrir's cottage as her hiding place entirely on his own, but she couldn't help but think that Draco had something to do with it. The wizard's motivations never made much sense to her and nothing changed.

"Thank you for taking care of me, Fenrir. I'm proud to have you as a friend."

The werewolf enveloped her in a tight hug before he allowed her to walk out the front door of his home. She meant every word that she said. Without him, she didn't know what would've happened to her or where she would've gone. Allies weren't exactly growing on trees. They were becoming harder and harder to find. He made certain that her beaded bag was full of food. Sometimes he could be more like a mother hen than a scary werewolf. So few people got to see the side of him that she did. It was a shame. He might have been able to make more friends if others in their society hadn't been so cruel and dismissive. For all she knew, he could've been a much happier and less violent man if he hadn't been so hated and feared.

She knew she was taking a big risk returning to Ginny's house in the woods. Though technically owned by the Lestrange family in some manner, it had been the witch's home since she was pregnant with her daughter. Based on the connection to her husband's former mistress and the murder that she'd committed in it only weeks before, Hermione hoped that no one would think to look for her there. At least not immediately. She could use another day of rest before she sought out another hiding place.

Because she knew that Rodolphus removed all security enchantments and wards around the small house to prevent Antonin from knowing he'd been there, Hermione didn't waste a moment once she arrived to put up the most rudimentary and basic protections. All she needed was enough of a warning that she could make her escape. Sealing the house to any but her would take too much energy and time. She would have to make do with little and hope for the best.

After she'd been inside the house less than an hour she felt the unnerving sensation that she wasn't alone. Rising from the sofa she'd been lounging on in the main room, Hermione clutched her wand tightly, ready for whatever attack might be headed her way. Her first thought was it was simply Ginny returning home. Maybe she had her own security wards set up that Hermione couldn't feel. Something cloaked that informed her when she had an unwelcome visitor. How else did she know Hermione was there the day she found the vials of Amortentia hidden in her chest of drawers?

She shouldn't have been surprised that Draco was the one who walked through the front door, but she was. He'd been keeping to himself since the day he approached her inside the guest room in the Dower House. Their entire interaction that day had been bizarre and uncomfortable. When he strolled in through the front door with a bright smile on his face like he owned the place, Hermione didn't know what to expect.

"It didn't take you long to follow me here. Are you continuing to give your uncle reports of my whereabouts every day?"

Draco didn't seem in the mood to answer her questions. Hardly even acknowledging her existence beyond the first smile when he entered, he took a look around the house. Based on his scowl, he didn't care much for what he saw.

"I'm not sure that Antonin would approve of your whereabouts. This is where you're hiding now, Hermione? Don't you worry that Ginny Weasley will decide to come back home?"

"Considering this is the place that I murdered Wood? No, I don't think she'll be back."

"Dreadful place, but I suppose as a Weasley, she's never known any better."

There was a real temptation for Hermione to curse the wizard in the face. Only her curiosity about his true purpose stilled her wand. Why did he have to continue to make cracks about the Weasleys so many years after they left school? Parts of him would always be nothing more than a hateful bully.

"Why are you here, Draco? What do you want?"

"I just wanted to check on you. See if you were settling in all right."

"I highly doubt that's the truth."

Knowing that he wasn't likely to leave any time soon, Hermione settled back down on the sofa. Standing up for too long was making her dizzy. Yet again she cursed Rodolphus. How many more days would she have to look forward to her body turning against itself? She looked forward to killing him. Believing that she was somehow making an invitation for him to stay, Draco sat down next to her. The urge to curse him grew strong. Having him in the same room always made her feel unnerved and unsettled. Why did she allow the wizard to have such power over her?

"I'm confused by your loyalties, Draco. Just whose side are you on exactly?"

The smile on his face slipped. He grew very serious. She could tell just by looking at the openness of his face that he wasn't about to tell her a lie. One of the skills she acquired working for as long as she did as an interrogator was to be able to tell easily when someone was about to be dishonest. He had none of the markers of a forthcoming lie. Of course, he could also just be that skilled in lying. She couldn't afford to take anything that he said at face value.

"All I've ever wanted was to bring honor back to my family. Make it so we're no longer some sick joke. It's not been easy. I've had to make a lot of alliances with a large number of people to make it so far."

"Does that mean you've been betraying my husband when you've claimed you were working with him?"

She didn't care much about herself. He'd already proven repeatedly that he had no problems betraying her. But Antonin was working on something that was much bigger than she was. It carried more weight if Draco had been betraying him. Based on the way he dropped his eyes to stare at her chin and his reluctance to answer, she had all the answer she needed.

"I think it's time that you left, Draco."

His hand reached out to grab hers before she could pull it away. Hermione didn't like how he was looking at her. Nothing about it seemed genuine or comforting. What game was he playing at? He seemed to know all of the rules even when no one else did.

"I don't want to leave. I've missed you."

"Draco, please. Go away."

"You've been rather hot and cold with me lately and I don't understand it. The day you found the mirror in my trousers you couldn't wait to get me naked. Remember how we didn't even make it off the sofa? We do have a sordid history of fucking on sofas, don't we?"

She tried to pull her hand away, but he wouldn't let go. There was a gleam in his eyes that she remembered seeing the day he bothered her at Rodolphus'. Was he drunk? Or was it something much worse?

"I could make you feel good again, Hermione. Make you forget everything that's been going on. Just let me back inside of you."

Draco leaned his body across the sofa to kiss her. She didn't understand what was happening. He'd never made her feel scared and uncomfortable when they were alone like that. With all of her strength she pushed his chest, but he hardly budged. Worried that it was about to get much worse, she was relieved to hear the front door slam open. In that moment, she wouldn't have even minded if it was Rodolphus to her rescue.

Almost immediately Draco's body flew over the back of the sofa, knocking over a small table with it. Hermione looked up to see her husband standing just steps away with his wand outstretched and his face contorted into an expression that would've made any normal person very afraid. Draco only laughed. Even as he lay in a heap on the floor with Antonin ready to kill him with a simple flick of his wrist, he continued to laugh, reminding her more and more of the deranged man he was the day in Rodolphus' guest room.

"Hermione, darling, I think it's safe to say your husband knows about us."

Antonin cast a summoning charm at the wizard. Confused at first by his seemingly uncharacteristic move, Hermione relaxed when she saw her husband catch her gold pendant in his hand. Realizing that he would no longer be able to track his prey, Draco grew very angry.

"Your services will no longer be required, Malfoy."

Draco stood up, but didn't move any closer to the door. Some of his anger seemed to melt away only to be replaced by renewed laughter. Hermione wasn't sure how the next few moments would go. It was very possible, even likely that the wizard wouldn't make it out there alive. Rarely had she seen Antonin so angry. She didn't understand all that was happening. How did Antonin even know that he was there? How was his timing so perfect?

"Leave, Malfoy, or I'll forget the promise I made your father."

Almost as if Draco could read Hermione's mind, he held up his mirror.

"It was rather careless of me to speak so openly about your wife with my mirror open, wasn't it? Though I suppose it's better than if we were actually engaged in such acts. Tell me, Dolohov, does the mother of your child scream at you to fuck her harder when she's down on all fours or is that just something she saved for me?"

Thorfinn's hand appeared on Antonin's shoulder seemingly out of nowhere. Hermione looked at the front door, curious to know if anyone else would just suddenly pop in. The newest arrival hoped to stop the violence before it happened.

"Remember what Lucius said, mate. One hair harmed on his head…"

Antonin shrugged his hand off, no longer appearing to be ready to rip Draco to shreds. The change in his stance only encouraged Draco to laugh more. Hermione didn't recognize the man. What had changed? Had he always been like that but able to keep a tighter hold on the truth around her? She didn't understand anything. Just as she worried that Antonin was going to lose his temper and murder the wizard despite whatever promise he made his wretched father, Draco took his leave.

When the three of them were alone again, Thorfinn tactfully stepped outside to give the married couple some privacy. It was awkward. Antonin could hardly look his wife in the eyes.

"Antonin, I…"

He held up his hand to stop her before she went any further. It was a good thing because she wasn't entirely sure what she'd been planning to say next. She just felt like something needed to be said. Antonin was trying desperately to keep his temper under control. Not that she could blame him in the slightest. She understood it all too well.

"Will you be staying here?"

She nodded. There seemed no reason to leave. Draco would assume that she wouldn't linger once he knew she was there. And besides, where else could she go?

"I will put up some additional wards before I leave. I'll… I'll come back later."

Antonin had to get away from the house before he exploded. Once she nodded again, he stepped outside and closed the door behind him.