December 20th

Antonin was a terrible patient. Most men were babies when it came to being sick or injured, but somehow the fearsome Death Eater who once murdered the Dark Lord to save his wife was worse than most. Hermione knew that she wouldn't be able to handle much more of his surly attitude. It seemed to be poor payment for Sarah's kindness to murder her husband in the woman's spare bedroom. A few times that was the only thought that kept her hands away from the petulant man's throat.

He was growing anxious to leave the Jordan home. Not necessarily because he felt unsafe there or they weren't welcome. Like Hermione he knew that their presence there brought a target on their backs. Thanks to no one being certain who was involved in the ambush on the Junk Shop and then who came to Draco's aid at his flat because of the damned masks they wore, it was entirely possible that there were spies amongst the villagers preparing to attack again.

"We can't stay here long."

"I'm aware of that, Antonin, but where would you have us go? You're still recovering."

"Sarah said this morning that I would be safe to leave in the next day or two."

"Then let's worry about it then. You'll just drive yourself mad."

She moved to leave the room to escape his sullenness but was stopped by his hand reaching out to grab her wrist. Knowing that he was making the uncomfortable situation worse, there was shame on his face. A gentle tug brought her to the edge of the bed he was sitting up in. He kissed her lips in either a conciliatory gesture or a non-verbal apology. Even he was aware that he wasn't much fun to put up with when he was irritable. The affection helped slightly. At least she no longer considered casting a silencing spell on him. He hated when she'd done that to him in the past. It had always been effective though.

"Get dressed and come join the Jordans for dinner with me. Sarah said that you didn't have to stay in bed any longer. Maybe being around other people will help you with your sour disposition."

Even though there was some small bit of truth in her words, she was mostly just teasing him. Understanding that, he pulled her closer to allow him to kiss her lips again. There was no secret where he wanted the next few minutes to go, but because she knew that he wasn't at full strength yet, Hermione had to be the one to break it up to his immense disappointment.

"I think you'll like Lee. Everyone likes Lee. And Sarah is a wonderful cook. Their daughter Posy is very sweet."

"Don't they have two daughters?"

"Yes, but I would never call Lizzie sweet. Maybe she was once when she was very small."

Hermione didn't actually like speaking disparagingly about a child, but she couldn't help her personal opinion on the Jordans' eldest daughter. Time away from the village hadn't improved her feelings. There was something off about the girl that Hermione couldn't quite explain. Each time she'd ventured out of the bedroom she'd been sharing with Antonin she tried to avoid the girl. Not always possible, when their paths crossed Lizzie didn't say anything. Unlike the last time she stayed in their home, she wasn't as interested in asking Hermione a dozen impertinent questions about what it was like to be a Death Eater. She hoped that meant that the girl had finally moved on to another topic of interest.

"She asked me too many questions when I was here last. She's very interested in Death Eaters."

"I don't think that's necessarily unusual. Perhaps she's just a bright, inquisitive girl. Ollie used to ask me a lot of uncomfortable questions when he was younger."

"Yes, well, let's just hope for his sake that he never brings a young witch like Lizzie home to meet us. I'm not sure that I could stand having a girl like that for a daughter-in-law. She'd probably murder us in our beds."

He might have found her remark amusing enough to laugh, but Hermione wasn't completely joking. Several minutes later when he was dressed for dinner, Antonin promised her at the door of their bedroom that he would keep a close eye on the girl to see if he noticed the same odd behavior. Considering he was an excellent judge of character, except when it came to the women he allowed in his bed, she felt comforted by his insight. Maybe she was just being paranoid.

Dinner was initially awkward in the beginning. The two adult couples weren't quite sure where to begin their conversation. Operating on opposite sides for so many years, it all felt a bit strange sharing a meal with the Jordans. Lee naturally did his utmost to make as many jokes as possible to lighten the mood. Just as she suspected, Antonin liked the younger wizard immediately. Sometimes she thought her husband was entirely too serious for his own good. It was one of the reasons she was grateful that he had a best friend like Thorfinn. Few people in her life outside of the Weasley twins were so quick to make jokes and laugh. Antonin needed that. His friendship with Corban Yaxley prior to the attack on his mind that had yet to be reversed was too serious at times. Thorfinn helped to balance him out even in the darkest years of their lives.

She noticed her husband paying close attention to the two young girls during the meal. When he would look into Lizzie's direction, there was a subtle hardening of his features. Not a single word came out of her mouth the entire meal, a fact that struck Hermione as particularly odd. Was she nervous to be around them again? Or had she been warned to keep quiet by her parents? Even that seemed unlikely because she wasn't exactly the sort of girl that minded her parents' wishes at all times. There was a dangerous streak of rebellion inside of her that would need to be dealt with before she was a teenager.

Antonin was charmed with Posy every bit as much as Hermione assumed he would be. There was a great deal of kindness and interest when he asked the youngest girl at the table questions about her lessons or about the owl she'd asked for Christmas. It wasn't difficult to tell that he was thinking about his own daughter he'd never met. A few years younger than Posy, she had some similarities. Of course, with a mother like Ginny and a father like Antonin, Maisie would no doubt be powerful in everything she put her mind to, including her attitude. The thought of the tiny girl with the dark hair that looked so much like her older brother and her father standing her ground against her terrifying Death Eater father made Hermione chuckle to herself. It would be amusing to witness. Antonin wouldn't know how to handle her stubbornness. He would be outnumbered even further in a house full of Gryffindors.

"What are your plans for Christmas?"

Lee's question might have been innocently meant, but it filled Hermione with dread. She knew what she wanted to be doing for Christmas - running away to Brazil with her family. But that wasn't going to happen. Not until they could tie up loose ends first. Rodolphus was the sort to follow her wherever she went just to satisfy his plans. He was tenacious to a terrifying degree. Plastering an insincere smile on her face, she laughed.

"Oh, don't you worry, Lee. I promise that we will be out of your house before then."

"That wasn't what I was asking, Hermione. You are both welcome to stay here as long as you need to."

"I believe what my wife is trying to say is we don't wish to impose ourselves upon you any longer than necessary. We aren't exactly the most inconspicuous of guests and our presence here puts your entire family in danger."

No one was eager to dispute the fact. There was no need. Silence fell over the table for the first time since the meal began. Not wishing to be the cause for the awkwardness, Antonin smiled and answered the question properly.

"It'll be a quiet day for the two of us. Our son is staying at Hogwarts over Christmas."

The rest of the meal passed without incident. Both of the Dolohovs were grateful to be able to make their excuses to return to the privacy of their room. As they both undressed for bed, she asked her husband his impression of the family they were staying with.

"They're lovely. But, I understand what you mean about the eldest girl. I don't think she said a single word. Is that normal?"

"No, it's not. She was very talkative the last time I was here. Perhaps even too much."

"It seemed a bit odd to me, but it's possible she was just nervous. We both have quite the reputations after all. Even children fear our names."

His ominous remark made them both laugh. Part of the reason why leaving the country to start over was such an attractive option was because neither one of them wanted to be constantly reminded of the fact that they were feared. What would it be like to simply be the normal family none of the neighbors knew anything about? Hermione was sure she would like to find out. There was a time that she enjoyed seeing the terror and respect in the eyes of those unfortunate enough to cross her path, but it had grown old. Never would she be the same. Thanks to the smear campaign against her reputation, she was seen as little more than a dangerous lunatic. If they stayed too long, it wouldn't be much longer before the terrified peasants began to hunt after her with their pitchforks and torches.

"She might also be ill. This time of year it's not uncommon."

"I suppose, but it's still strange."

"Posy was very sweet. She's a lot like her mum. Maybe she'll be a Healer too."

The smile on Antonin's face slipped as he grew more serious. Hermione was worried about where he would take their conversation next. Being around the young witches must have reminded him of his daughter he had yet to meet.

"Do you think Maisie is in the village too?"

His question was asked in a whisper she almost missed.

"I don't think so. When I lived here, I had my tent set up near the main entrance to the village. Charlie Weasley used to come and go a lot. His house must be somewhere outside the village, but I'm sorry I don't know where."

"And you think she's still with her uncle Charlie?"

"That's where she was when Ginny took her out of her house."

Antonin's desire to seek out his daughter was easy to recognize. Just as she longed to run away with their family, he was eager to find Maisie. It wasn't wise to do it yet. They'd both considered the options. With no safe permanent place to live, they would only be exposing Maisie to danger if she came to live with them before everything was settled. As long as she was with her uncle, they didn't fear that she was in danger. Charlie would fight to the death to protect his niece. Still, she knew that Antonin was always only seconds away from choosing to ignore their logical analyses to run after his daughter.

"When Rodolphus is dead and we're safe, I want to bring her home with us."

"Of course. I would expect nothing less."

She knew it wasn't going to be easy if they were fortunate enough to make it to where having Maisie join their family was even an option. He had every right to claim his daughter, especially with her mother no longer being alive. Because he was an honorable man, she didn't believe that Charlie would stand in the way of his rights as Maisie's father. After all, only Antonin and Hermione knew the truth about what happened to Ginny. Neither one of them had any desire to divulge the secret.

"Let's hope that Rodolphus is dead soon. I wouldn't mind doing the honors."

Antonin leaned across the bed they'd both just climbed into to kiss her. It was his only response to her statement, but she knew without him saying so that he was feeling the same way.