A/N: I must say thanks for the reviews. This is probably the fastest I've ever updated. This chapter is short and to the point. Anyway, enjoy or not. BTW sorry if there are any mistakes...lol

And no if I owned this, Lucius would have been dead long ago and Hermione would not have entered into the very unsatisfying marriage with Ron. But I don't own shit, so yeah.

After spending so much time together while Hermione was away, Ginny had taken Narcissa out for the afternoon. They had planned to meet up with Harry, Draco and Hermione later that afternoon. Ginny just felt that Narcissa needed a break away and she didn't know how right she was until they were having tea in Diagon Alley.

Draco had organised with his mother to meet her and Hermione at Ginny and Harry's. So after his shift he apparated to Harry's with his reacquainted wand. It would be the first time he would be with his mother and her partner, in a way he was nervous. His life hadn't gone back to the normality he was used to. He started using his wand again and it took a bit of practice to get used to it. He wasn't really focusing on studying or his job because of what was going on in his mother's life. Yeah, he knew she would be safe and secure with Hermione, but he needed to talk to the brunette just to clear his conscience.

Hermione who was more confused than what she ever was before she and Narcissa got together, all so apparated over to Harry's after she had finished work. She had been home for a few days and it felt weird. Work was fine, Douglas Delanuor who headed the department while she was away done a fantastic job. She was impressed but intrigued that he seemed too interested in the vile she brought home. Kingsley was satisfied that she once again got the job done and laid off her about Narcissa. And she eased back into her role like a duck to water, so her career was absolutely fine. What she was finding weird was Narcissa's behaviour.

The blonde seemed distant and at times acted as though she was in another world. Hermione would be talking to her and then ask the blonde a question or for her advice and she would get no response. Narcissa was also, Hermione thought after their torrid adventures in her bedroom before she left for Guatemala that Narcissa would never be frigid, but she was wrong.

Her first night home, while they lay in bed Hermione began to kiss the blonde, all to have her roll on to her side and say that it was the wrong time of the month for her. Hermione shrugged and went to go and spoon her. Then Narcissa got out of the bed and left the room leaving Hermione very confused.

The same routine went on for the next few days and Hermione was becoming frustrated. Every time she touched Narcissa, whether it was a good morning kiss or even a gentle caress to the face, her blonde would either flinch, balk or quickly back away. She had asked Narcissa countless times what was wrong or what had happened and the only response she got would be Narcissa breaking down in tears.

Hermione was patient, Merlin knew she would have had to have been since she was friends with Ronald Weasley. She just wanted to know what was going on with Narcissa so she could help her or at least comfort her with the right words. And when she tried to ask the blonde again that morning, all she got was, "Draco would like to meet with us at Harry and Ginny's. Would you be there straight after work?"

And so that's where Hermione was physically, standing awkwardly in Harry's kitchen with him and Draco, even though her mind was reeling through the problems she was having with Narcissa. Ginny and the blonde hadn't turned up so Harry pulled beers out of the fridge and the trio stood there silently. Harry excused himself after a few moments of light chatter to use the bathroom leaving Hermione and Draco alone.

"You have been good for her Granger." Draco murmured quietly. He had trimmed his beard but he still had the habit of rubbing it. "Even after what my father done to her while you were in Guatemala."

Hermione frowned at his words. What had Lucius done to Narcissa? Hermione wondered. Could that be why she had been acting very distant? After what she done in South America, she decided that she would act as if she already knew. If she couldn't get it out of her blonde, then her son would be the next best option.

"I wish I could have done more." Hermione spoke the truth. She took a sip of her butter beer and saw that Draco had already drained his bottle empty. "Then maybe things would have been different."

Hermione looked at Draco in his muggle attire of black dress pants and a black dress shirt. It made a stunning contrast to his pale skin and his blonde hair. She on the other hand looked down at her standard green cargo pants and white tank top and tried not to grimace. She had gotten used to just wearing those items that she saw little point in dressing up. Though, she might make a change whenever there are meetings with the other head's of departments with their minister.

"Nothing would have stopped that bastard from sodomizing her in front of me." Draco muttered.

Hermione nearly dropped her bottle but recovered so quick that Draco did not see the shock written all over her face.

"She didn't tell me about you two, until after Harry and Ginny had helped us out." Draco carried on. He looked across at a very stoned faced Hermione. "Then is started to make sense as to why she wouldn't move in with me."

Draco continued to talk but Hermione could not hear anything but the raging beat of her heart. She put her bottle on the bench and clenched her fists together. Her breathing became laboured. Narcissa was raped by Lucius in front of their own son. Her blonde who was so strong was hurt enough to reduce her to an emotional mess. No wonder she flinched at every touch, no wonder she couldn't stand to share a bed. No wonder why her Cissy emptied her liquor cabinet. Hermione felt something she had never felt before. Rage. Just pure rage. Draco spoke more about his mother and quite abruptly Hermione interrupted him.

"I'm sorry Draco, I forgot to get something from home before I came." Hermione tried her best to make her voice seem normal. "I shouldn't be too long and I'll probably be back before Narcissa and Ginny."

Draco nodded quickly before Harry walked back into the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"Home, I shouldn't be too long." With that Hermione apparated away.

Two hours later Narcissa and Ginny walked into the living room to find Harry and Draco engrossed in a conversation to do with pheasant hunting. Ginny who was holding a few shopping bags excused herself and headed up the stair case. They had gotten carried away more so talking than actually shopping. Narcissa didn't exactly open up to Ginny but the red head did know that she wasn't coping as well as she was making out to her son.

Draco stood to greet his mother with a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"You look much better mother." He murmured.

"As do you." She replied.

Narcissa looked around for Hermione but could only see Harry. Perhaps she was running late?

"Narcissa." Harry nodded

"Harry" The blonde nodded back and then asked. "Where is Hermione?"

"She was here but then she went home to get something." Harry answered.

A blonde eyebrow arch and it wasn't Draco.

"She said she wouldn't be long but that was two hours ago." Draco joined in.

"She's not home because that's where we were before we came here." Narcissa mused and then something hit her and she quickly turned to Harry. "Did you tell her?"

"Of course not." Harry denied. "We made an unbreakable vow remember?"

"Oh yes." Narcissa replied. "But that doesn't explain why she had gone."

"Oh, shit." Draco whispered. He caught the attention of his mother and her lover's best friend. How was he supposed to know that she never wanted Hermione to know what happened to her.

"What happened Draco?" Harry asked

"I thought she knew." Draco looked at Narcissa. "I thought you told her so I spoke about what happened at the Manor."

Lucius in his proud and arrogant stride strolled through the hallways of his Manor as he headed toward his office. Earlier he had received an owl from Douglas informing him that getting to the vial may be difficult but the progression was slowly forming. And now he was just going to write back to see if Douglas had made a good enough impression on Kingsley enough to get that damn mudblood fired. She was the only person who stood in his way to glory.

He may not have achieved what he really wanted with his ex-wife and son but time will tell if Douglas could get the vial. But he did get her to beg for her son's life like the little bitch that she was and then even howl like a dog.

He turned the door knob to his office door, opened it and then strode in. His mind was so deep in the possibility of becoming one of the most powerful wizards in the world, that he did not feel his wand leave him. He didn't even hear the sharp snap.

In the far corner of his office Hermione glared at the arrogant man. She lied to Draco and Harry, well technically there was some truth in what she told them. She did go home and grabbed a few things, a couple of months before she worked with Narcissa, she went through a phase of boxing. So when she was rummaging around her flat she grabbed her wraps, all of her Grandmother's and her own mother's engagement, wedding and dress rings. She walked out of her flat in a black hoodie and a very full duffle bag with a baseball bat in her other hand.

And so there she was waiting for Lucius' wand to merrily float its way down to her after she accioe'd it, while the arrogant prick strode toward his desk. If he thought Narcissa ruined him by publicly shaming him, then what Hermione planned on doing would probably kill him or she'd do a good job trying. It all made sense to her now that she knew. How could she get her teasing smiling blonde back? How could she ever forgive herself for leaving in the first place? Why didn't she just not take Harry's advice, taken Narcissa to South America found the vial, come home and then find Draco? At least if she had done that, her blonde would have been safe.

Then when the wand finally reached her hands, she gripped it, quickly snapped it in half and began to jogg. She tossed the remains into the fire as she passed it and jogged from behind Lucius. In her head she counted her steps and the rhythm it had with her footing, she didn't want to miss. When she finally closed the distance between her and Lucius, she timed her feet into the semi-circle near him. She leapt off her left foot, in mid-air she used the weight of her right foot to swing herself almost ninety degrees before round house kicking Lucius in the back of the head.

He fell to the floor completely knocked out of his misery. She bent down sneering as she dragged him by his hair to a nearby arm chair in front of his desk. She never liked men with long hair, to her it seemed wrong, but in this case very useful. Roughly, she sat him down on the arm chair. She pulled her wand out and accioe'd her duffle bag to land behind him. She quickly tied his elbows together while he moaned in pain.

After she had finished tying Lucius down she began to pace behind her captive impatiently waiting for him to wake up.