AN: Thank you so much for your support! It is very deeply appreciated!

"Are you certain it's wise for you to lead me around your mansion blindfolded?" Hermione asked as Severus took her hand and led her deeper into the West Wing.

"Why would it be a terrible idea?"

"To begin with, I can't see what's going on. Bumping into something and breaking it is a real possibility."

"First of all, you may not be able to see, but I can." He squeezed her hand. "Second of all, you can trust me not to lead you astray."

"I do trust you," she squeezed his hand back. Even though his hands were frigid, his touch was comforting. Who knew her most difficult patient would one day become the person she trusted the most?

"Just a few more steps," he took a deep breath in an attempt to prevent himself from panting. "We're almost there."

"Good." She replied. "You sound tired."

"I will not remain tired for long." He took another deep breath.

"So help me if you throw a snowball when you remove this blindfold. I'll make sure you never have another cookie again," she continued.

"I hardly think you'll be able to resist me for that long," he purred.

"You'd be surprised how strong my resolve can be," She made her voice as firm as possible, hoping she was hiding her pleasure in his presence. He was doing things to her with his voice that no other man had done. Merlin help her if ever realized the power he had over her. They'd both be ruined.

"Okay," Severus took another deep breath. "We're here."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes, just forgot how long this hallway was." She felt the pressure of his fingers behind her untying the blindfold.

"How do you forget how long your hallway is?"

"I only come here late at night, or between healers. I have never allowed another woman in this space."

"That makes me feel," her face grew warm. "Special."

"You are special," he inhaled deeply.

"If you need to sit…"

"I'll sit in a minute. Right now, I want to see the look on your face." He removed the blindfold from her eyes.

Hermione's eyes widened. The room was spacious, with cream wallpaper and an emerald tiled floor. There were two chairs in the center. The green padded chair appeared worn form years of use whereas the blue one across from it appeared as if it had never been used before. This was not what captured her attention though.

Books. Books everywhere! There were books on oaken bookshelves, books on the coffee tables, and a few books stacked on lamp stands. It was as if all her wildest dreams of owning books had come true.

She turned to Severus.

"It's my personal library." He made his way to the chair. "This is where I store a majority of my books."

"You have so many," she breathed. "Where did you get them all?"

"Some of them I inherited from Hogwarts, others from my grandparents, some from the Mafloys, and many I bought on my own through the years."

She continued to scan the room. "You could spend hours in here just staring at the titles, trying to pick one out."

"Yes, well, books tend to be for reading, not staring at."

"You, you mean I can go through them?"

"No, I exhausted myself taking you up here so you could view the room only for us to leave immediately. Let's go," he teased.

"Two months ago you would have done that," she noted.

"No, two months ago you weren't allowed in the West Wing. Bringing here would've encouraged you to snoop around, ergo the reason I've hidden this library from you and all the other healers. You're the only person other than the Malfoys I've taken up here."

Her eyes glistened even more.

"The library and the books it contains are all yours. Feel free to enter whenever you would like, and read whatever book you would like," he continued.

"Do you mean that?"

"No, we're leaving as soon as I'm getting my energy back."

She blinked.

He smiled. "No, you may look and read any book you'd like."

"Oh thank you!" She rushed over to him and gave him a tighter hug than she'd given any other person. "It's the best thing present I've ever received!"

"After all you've done for me, it's the least I can do." He returned the embrace.

She inhaled the scent of his robes. There was something strong and masculine in the aroma. It was subtle, yet comforting. His embrace was strong without being overpowering. It was unlike anything she'd ever experienced, and was far more exciting than any other present she'd ever received.

"Merlin woman, if anyone saw you they'd think you like me more than the books." He released her.

"We shouldn't allow such a misconception to develop, should we?"

"It would be tragic if we did."

"Fine," she backed away from him. "Where do you suggest I start first?"

"Wherever you would like," he answered. "Your tastes are as varied as mine, so I'm sure you'll find something you desire."

"I have no idea, what I want to see first. Perhaps I can go here." She darted towards the shelves and began eying the selection. "Wow, you have Racine, Dumas, Zola, and de Beauvoir!"

"There are many more French authors than that."

"I know, but wow!" She continued to dart around the shelves.

Severus chuckled. He couldn't think of the last time he'd seen a woman so happy, much less the last time he'd made a woman so happy. Lucius was correct, the way to show Hermione appreciation was through her intellect.

It was one of the many things he was beginning to love about her.

Terry scratched his chin as he examined the scattered documents before him. Although he wasn't an expert in financial documents, he could see where money was coming and going. Much money had been stored in France, but why? What was so intriguing about France that Lucius needed to allocate so much money there?

"I brought you some tea," Dennis began from the other room, carrying two full cups. "There's more on the kettle if you would like."

"Thank you." Terry took his cup as he ran his finger over more numbers.

"What are you looking at?" Dennis asked, leaning over his shoulder.

"I'm trying to understand why so much money is being spent in France."

"France?"

"Yes, look." Terry pointed to a few rows. "There's thousands of galleons going into France, and I'm trying to figure out why."

"Lucius has some businesses in France, and a couple of vacation homes too if I recall correctly."

"Vacation houses," Terry hummed before taking a sip of tea.

"Yeah, really nice ones too, though I've never been."

"Ones where illegal activity could occur."

"I guess, but what kind of illegal activity?" Dennis took a sip of tea.

"I don't know," Terry admitted. "But I'm going to investigate these safe houses."

"How? We can't investigate anything outside Britain without a warrant. If we try to go to France with a hunch that something illegal may be occurring in the safe houses but we can't prove it, the French aurors will laugh us out of the room."

"The French are tricky to deal with," Terry's frown deepened. "That's why we need someone on the inside, someone we can trust who can visit these safe houses without arising suspicion."

"Who?"

"I don't know, someone who could be persuaded to cooperate with the Ministry, yet someone the Malfoys trust enough to let in. We have to make sure whoever goes in there can't be blackmailed by Lucius."

"We need someone in good social standing who has reason to be in France, someone who may want a quick weekend getaway." Dennis replied.

"Yes," Terry's smile returned. "Someone like Hermione."

"Hermione," Dennis suppressed a groan. Didn't Terry ever get tired of chasing after that which he could not capture? Could he not see the devoted friend right in front of him?

"Hermione is one of Ginny Malfoy's dearest friends, and she is in France. She's also friends with Harry. She could be persuaded to help us."

"She'd never turn on Ginny."

"What if we promised to ensure Ginny wasn't prosecuted? I really don't care about her half as much as I do her husband and his parents. She wasn't a Death Eater: they were."

"From what I understand, Hermione has learned to tolerate, if not like, Draco."

"She has a sense of justice, one which we can exploit." The auror took another sip of tea.

"I don't see her turning on her friends for something that may or may not be happening."

"True," his lips curled up. "Unless we could convince her the Malfoys were a clear and present danger to Britain, and by extension, Harry."

"How are we going to do that if we don't even know where she is in France?"

"We don't know where she is, but she knows where Harry is."

"Harry?" Dennis' stomach sank at the predatory game in Terry's eyes.

"Yes, if we play our cards right, Hermione will have no choice but to return from whatever excursion she is on. Once that happens," he rubbed his hands together, "we'll finally have the means to destroy the Malfoys once and for all."

Dennis stared at his friend, fearing that he had just unleashed a terrible beast.