DM's POV

The ground was searched for the whole night, yet without progress. Draco and Granger sat down at the corner, while Morgan kept pacing and mumbling "I should have looked more carefully". Turner was frustrated and apologized for taking their wands. Draco could not blame them, for he had agreed to the idea.

Phelps was originally his main suspect, but for this time, he made himself innocent, the police officers (a term he learned from Granger) had searched him through and through, no conclusion could be made. Invisibility cloak would not be possible, the dogs would have sniffed the crown out. And it was not possible for him to take out a wand and make it vanish, he would need enough time to hold the wand. Time Turner was not possible, the Ministry does not allow people keep any Time Turners. Draco really wanted to say he was the mastermind, but no evidence could backup his charge.

"Let's check the CCTV," suggested Tali. "We should be able to say something."

"What's a-"

Before Draco could say anything further, Granger pinched him and made him say no more. The guards led them to the security room and checked the cameras.

"It would not be useful," said Tania darkly. "If they had the plan to steal the crown, then they should know about the cameras."

"Not quite. Yesterday evening, I installed night vision on all of them. I also make sure that they are still working properly. So no worries, Your Royal Highness."

Tania's face darkened, as if not pleased by Tali's words.

The video wound and returned to the scene of crime. Night vision was well installed and the crime was clearly visible. It was a tall slim figure in the dark that snatched the crown. The whole process was done so smoothly that the figure disappeared before the lights turned back on.

"So now at least we know it's a human," concluded Phelps, then he immediately bowed. "I apologize, Your Majesty, I am unworthy of the job. I should have been more careful."

"Well, it's not entirely your fault," said Nikoloz. "That person must have planned it for a long time."

Just as they indulged themselves in contemplation, a knock interrupted them. A guard came in and after a deep bow, he said,

"The crown is found, Your Majesty."

Draco raised his brow. Was that so easy to find something that was greatly devoured by someone who was willing to pull such a trick and baffled everyone behind shrouds of mystery?

Two guards came in with a scrawny shivering man, his kneels fell and he lowered his head.

"We found this servant hiding in one of those abandoned chambers," said the guard and snatched the crown from the man's grip.

Draco frowned. The man looked startled and panic-stricken, he was certainly not the kind of person who would dare to steal anyone of the royal family's possession. Mostly, he would be a scapegoat, threatened by the mastermind and he had no choice but to admit all those crimes.

Nikoloz took the crown and examined it. Then, he roared,

"Take him away!"

The guards dragged him away.

"Adrian, seal off the media, we must not let them know what has happened. Prepare a speech for me and I shall be make announcement through media at nine in the morning."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Phelps bowed and left the room.

"Tali, you must be tired," said Tania. "You may take a rest."

Tali looked at Nikoloz, then left with a bow. As her footsteps faded, Nikoloz threw the crown onto the floor. The crown smashed into pieces, startling everyone in the room.

"Trying to fool me with a fake crown," growled Nikoloz.

"Your Majesty, we will help you," said Granger. "The British Ministry is always ready to assist you."

Tania raised her brows and glanced at her husband. Immediately Nikoloz said,

"I invited them."

"We apologize for tonight's inconvenience," said Tania, with a hint of annoyance to the fact that she was blinded by her husband.

"What should be our plan for now?" asked Draco.

"Perhaps we will hand over this case to the Georgia Ministry," answered Tania. "We do not want to bother you for too long."

Nobody said a word, then Nikoloz said,

"Just take a rest for now. We will contact you if we need your assistance."

Granger looked disappointed, Turner patted her shoulder and they left the security room.

"I can't believe this," said Granger as they went downstairs. "So does that mean it is our end of investigation?"

"What else can we do then?" asked Draco. "They don't want us to help out."

"Oh, I nearly forgot," said Turner and he took out their wands from his bag. "Your wands."

Draco snatched back his wand.

"Should have kept it at first place," grumbled Draco.

"I'm sorry," said Turner.

"It's alright," said Granger. "He's just sulking."

"Shut up," said Draco.

"So are we packing?" asked Morgan, worried. "We have no reason to be here anymore."

"Perhaps we should go back to the Office and asked for opinions," said Draco.

"Just when I want to see more of Georgia," said Morgan and sighed. "We have to go back."

Draco said nothing. Everything seemed to happen too sudden, too quick to be true. It left them no clue to trace, the royal family did not seem to want their help, and what can they possibly do?

Potter could give them reasonable advice and instructions, though he hated thinking about him. He knew Potter could give him some valuable and decent suggestions, like what should their next step be and where should they start first. It was not that he could not make decisions for himself, he just did not want to create further troubles and make Granger grumbling like a shrivel grandmother who was sour like a gooseberry.

Arriving at the hotel room, Draco quickly loosened his tie and plummeted onto the bed, which earned him a kick in the waist.

"Auch! Seriously Granger, can you not be a little bit ladylike?" yelled Draco, rubbing his waist.

"Can you not ruin my sleeping area?" yelled back Granger, shoving him to the other side of the bed. "If you want to create a mess at your own place, I am fine with that, but this is my area and I did not permit you ruining it!"

"The night when we sleep together, we are ruined," said Draco, chuckling. He still could not understand why she kept this attitude even when they were married.

"Take off your dirty clothes!" shouted Granger, pulling the sleeve of his jacket suit.

"So eager to take off my clothes, Granger?" said Draco, laughing. "Never see you being so impatient."

Granger put down his sleeve and said,

"I'm going to bath, and you better not come in!"

"Now you give me such a useful suggestion!" said Draco, laughing loudly.

Granger ignored him and closed the bathroom door once she got her evening gown. The doorbell rang and immediately her voice impatiently called from behind the door,

"Answer it, Malfoy!"

Groaning, he got up from bed and went to the door. It was early two o'clock in the middle of the night, he could not think of anyone that would bother them at this time of the day.

Turned out it was a young man in hotel uniform, yawning nonstop.

"Urgent letters, sir. One for Mr. Tom Felton and two for Miss Emma Watson."

He got the letters and closed the door, and instantly Granger's voice rang,

"What's that?"

"Letters for you and me," replied Malfoy.

"Put mine on the table."

Draco walked to the table and examine the letters. Two were obviously from the Ministry, he could recognize the official writing style. The other one, which was for Granger, was in oddly neat cursive, written on a purely white and smooth parchment. Well, no point in fondling over her letters even though it was strange to have white parchment for letters. So he sat back and read his letter.

Dear Mr. Malfoy,

We are terribly sorry for the forced end of investigation in Georgia. Mr. Potter would like to meet you and discuss further actions. He requested for earliest arrival.

Please also drop by St. Mungos' Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries at three sharp tomorrow.

Thank you for your kind attention, we await for your return.

Ministry of Magic

It was no surprise that the Ministry could be informed about this as quick as that, the Georgian Ministry was efficient. But he never expected to be asked to pay a visit at St. Mungos', as if it was a matter of urgency. Probably he would be placed in Janus Thickey Ward, facing Granger for 24 hours a day and even sharing the same bed for every night could quickly earn him a fast-pass to the long-term residence ward.

Granger still had not yet come out, he had nothing to do. Staring at the letters on the table, he had an idea. Surely she would not suspect him using magic to seal back the letter.

He took the paper out of the white envelope and he could not believe his eyes. It was from Phelps.

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And too often is his gold complexion dimm'd:
And every fair from fair sometimes declines,
By chance or natures changing course untrimm'd;
By thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

Even though he did not know that Phelps could be such a great poet, he could surely understand that Phelps was trying to woo Granger. The next paragraph was written in cursive Cyrillic. If he had not written in cursive, he could use some translation books to interpret the sentences.

В воскресенье в шесть часов вечером я буду встречать тебя в Косом переулке,

Мне очень приятно, чтобы обедать с тобой на южном районе в Дырявой котелe.

(On Sunday evening at six o'clock, I will meet you at Diagon Alley,

It is my pleasure to dine with you at the southern area of Leaky Cauldron)

He eyed on the two lines for quite a while but could not decipher them so he gave up and sealed it back. He decided that it would be best for him to follow her if she ever went out without a proper reason.

"Seriously, Granger, it has been half an hour, are you done yet?" roared Malfoy and he went to the bathroom door, knocking until he heard Granger's reply.

"Just a few more minutes!"

"It's half past two in the middle of the night! While you are taking your bath, I can take a quick shower!"

"No-"

Before Granger could say anything more, Draco had opened the door and gawked at his sight. Granger was still having her dress on, clearly trying to get her zipper work.

"I told you not to get in-" she began.

"You can just call me for help! Then I won't be staying out there, waiting for you!"

He walked over the Granger and pulled down the zipper. The zipper worked smoothly and the dress slid down. Granger gasped as her body faced the coldness in the bathroom. Her navy lingerie contrasted with her complexion, drawing much of Draco's attention. Granger turned away and yelled,

"Stop it!"

Draco grinned.

"Get out!"

Granger shoved him out of the bathroom and slammed the door. Soon as Draco heard her enjoying herself in the bathtub, he got in again.

"Hey!" yelled Granger.

"Hey what?"

"I'm bathing-"

"While I'm showering. I am not that kind of pervert who drools over dry plain bodies."

He could sense her awkwardness. Chuckling, he went into the encased glass shower. Soon steam covers the glass and he could sense Granger relaxed a bit. It felt marvellous when water jets pelted on his hair and his face. He could not quite understand why Granger insisted on using the bathtub when the shower was actually more efficient and splendid.

He got out of the shower and admire his own body at the mirror. It was a miracle that he could keep his body in shape, his skin was still glowing and fats were not visible. He actually loved desserts a lot and indulged himself a lot but the idea of getting fat led him to the thought of Crabbe and Goyle, which stopped him from eating.

He could see Granger submerging herself into the tub of water, with her hair floating on the surface.

"Let's see how long you can last under water," said Draco with a smirk. "Just like old times, in the Black Lake. Too bad I'm not going to save you like what Bulgarian Krummie did."

Granger slowly emerged from the water, trying not to stare at Draco's direction, all her moves were reflected on the slightly foggy mirror. He put on his bathrobes and went out. The cold wind came in and Granger immediately sank back to the water, Draco laughed and closed the door.


Push and Pull were more than happy to see Draco and Granger coming back. They cooked a table of feast and Draco grinned as he watched Granger trying to stuff all food in her stomach.

"Are you going back the Office?" asked Granger.

"You read my letters, did you not?"

"Do I look like I need to read somebody's letter?"

Draco shrugged.

"Come on, the earlier we end the matter, the happier both of us will be."

They apparated to the London telephone booth and got to the Auror Office. Potter was in the office, waiting for them. Weasley saw them and said,

"Glad you come back."

"How's everything with Pansy?" asked Granger and Draco doubted if she was trying to take the chance of sneering at him.

Weasley's face turned crimson.

"Well, fine, I'd say, at least I'm here in one piece," he replied.

"She didn't bother Mrs. Weasley, did she?"

"She is...at least Mum didn't complain," answered Weasley. "And...she's...expecting."

"Expecting?" asked Granger, and Draco had to roll his eyes. Did Granger act that out?

"A baby!" snapped Malfoy.

"Oh," said Granger, with a hint of worry mixed with happiness. "That's wonderful...Congrats."

"Thanks," mumbled Weasley.

"Talk to you later," said Granger and she pulled Draco to Potter's office door, knocked three times before entering.

Potter looked at them, as if he had prepared a lengthy speech.

"I know you must be feeling bad for being called back," said Harry. "But we are not putting an end yet."

"They do not want our assistance," said Draco. "We can't do anything."

"We will help them find the crown."

"What?" exclaimed Granger and her eyes glistened. "We have traces about the crown?"

"Not much, but the crown is said to be hidden in somewhere in Russia or Canada, that's what most of the information we get say."

"You are asking to find one tiny thing in the two world's largest countries," said Draco, staring at Potter. "Do you really think that we can do it?"

"Of course we are not searching blindfolded, we have collected lots of documents from different wizards and witches in the two countries, we will look through them, and that's what we can currently do. A few says the crown is in some place in Africa and even Asia."

Draco took a breath and said,

"Nothing effective that we can do. Great."

"After I come back from St. Mungos', we will start our work," said Granger. "A day is a day and an hour is an hour."

Malfoy stared at her, alarmed.

"You're going to St. Mungos' too?"

Granger raised her brow, then said,

"What a coincidence."

"I guess they are going to put you in long-term residence ward," said Draco. "You know, since last night we-"

"Shut up!" yelled Granger.

Draco gave her a smirk.

"Alright, just come back as soon as possible," said Potter and he opened the door using his wand. "I will ask Melanie to prepare all the documents for you."

Draco and Granger got up and headed to Purge and Dowse, Ltd. The Ministry had thought of building special channels for easier access but this idea was banned since the channels would be very long and apparently speaking to the dummy would be quicker.

"Good afternoon," said the Welcome Witch at the reception area. "What brings you here?"

"Requested by the Ministry," said Granger.

"And your name is..."

"Gra-Malfoy."

The Welcome Witch scanned through her notes, then she said,

"Mr. Malfoy, your Healer would be in Room 405, on the right hand side. Mrs. Malfoy, your Healer would be in Room 412, just opposite to your husband's room."

So they were heading the the Fourth Floor, Draco thought and shot a nasty grin at Granger as they got into the lift.

"Told you we would be admitted to Janus Thickey Ward," he said.

"I would definitely request for a fast-pass," said Granger. "The healer should be astounded that I can actually tolerate your existence."

"Same to you, my lovely wife," said Malfoy. "Perhaps we would share the same bed in the ward."

Granger rolled her eyes.

"See you later, Mrs. Malfoy," said Draco, curling his lips as he parted with Granger.

The moment when he entered the room, he was paralyzed.

"It's nice to see you have some interactions with your wife, Draco."

"Aren't you two in Fr-"

"Yes, we were in France," said his father. "But the Ministry requests for our attendance in this counselling session."

He did not expect both of them to appear, and it was even worse when the Healer was his old friend, Nott.

"Glad to see you, Draco," said Nott. "This counselling session is going to be entertaining."

Draco let out a deep breath and sat down at the chair, facing the three of them.

"It seems that you are having some trouble in following Ministry's law."

"And which part of the law did I not uphold?" asked Draco.

"Apparently, the Marriage Law."

Draco's smile faded.

"How many months have it been?" asked his mother. "20 months!"

"We were busy-"

"So busy that you cannot even spare a few hours," annunciated his father. "What should I say about you?"

"Well, she's going to kill me if I-"

"And who always says that he can make any woman fall for him?" said Nott, smirking.

Draco was frustrated, he scratched his head and rubbed his face.

"You are scared, Draco," said Nott. "Scared."

"I'm not scared!"

"Well do it then!" snapped his mother. "Stop tarnishing our family name. We do not have cowards as sons."

"You just don't understand-"

"Do I need to give you a Love Potion?"

It made Draco speechless.

"In that case, I will just help you two get a child-bearing permit, a tailor-made household unit and a month days off," said Nott, writing down his words on his papers.

"We're currently solving a huge case, we cannot just leave it to-"

"I'm sure your superior could easily substitute you two," said Mr. Malfoy. "Although I hate to admit, Marves and Weasley are capable of the job."

"Just think about this," said Nott and began his explanation. "You don't really need to get her pregnant, you just need to consummate with her, and that's all! Nobody says you must get yourself a child."

Draco pondered, Nott was right, the law only asked them to consummate within the first two years, it did not ask him to get a child unless he really wanted tax waive.


I made small amendments in previous chapters, and you will see why, keeping track with time is one of the problems that I often stumble upon.

This chapter is made a lot longer than the others since I have to account the two plots together.

Story Stats intrigues me much, of course most readers here (well at least for my stories) are from English-speaking countries, but this time, Poland comes forth, which surprises me since I usually do not have that many Polish readers. (Czesc! Milo Panstwa poznac!)

I know it is somehow too wishful thinking that I would receive a bunch of reviews or suggestions, still I am going to ask this.

A suggestion to which country shall we visit next.

I know I wrote Canada and Russia in this chapter, but that is merely one-sided thinking. I would gladly hear your opinion, you are part of this story (at least you part-icipate as a reader). You have the opportunity to create a part in this story.