Runes was a complicated subject, it was why so few people had much of an interest in it, it was also why at Hogwarts they taught a fairly basic form of it, unless that is you took the advanced class in seventh year, as Hermione had done.

The description of the Izanami curse in the book was fairly short and, very regrettably in this case, open to two different interpretations depending on your level of knowledge on runes.

The more advanced translation described it as the museum archivist and Severus had, as a spell that preys on the weakness of the body and mind.

The other, more basic translation, described it as a spell that makes people face their sins. This too could be interpreted differently. It could describe what happens when someone dies and reflects on their life and their sins, or, an admittance of one's sins.

The book went on to say that it was used in the past to determine whether people were guilty of a crime or not, never mentioning that death was the outcome for the guilty, leading someone who could only do the basic translation to believe it was a spell to reveal guilt and sin.

In reality this was probably similar to the muggle practice of testing to see if people were witches, and equally as flawed. In the muggle case, if you were a witch you wouldn't drown and if you weren't, well you would, and in the case of the Izanami curse, if you weren't guilty, you shouldn't have any weakness in your mind, and thus you shouldn't die, unless perhaps you had some other ailment.

But that's not what the basic translation suggested at all, and it made Ginny's actions seem far less brutal.

Ginny was a self-professed hater of runes due to their complexity. It was therefore impossible for Hermione to believe that she had read the ones in the book in any way other than its most basic. She must have thought the curse would make Hermione confess to what she'd done somehow, the spell form of veritaserum perhaps, just without any questions having to be asked.

Although Hermione felt somewhat better that Ginny hadn't in fact tried to kill her, her anger only dissipated slightly. Ginny would have had no idea from this book alone the true consequences of the spell, what exactly happened when 'people faced their sins', she had been reckless and would have ended up killing someone had it not been for the polyjuice potion and the discovery of the anti-curse.

She explained it to the others and they all sat in various different states of shock.

Blaise looked somewhat bewildered by the whole thing, Severus looked like he was trying to process it all, Draco, to be honest, still looked a little confused, and Lucius, Lucius looked like he was even angrier than before.

"How could she use a spell like that when she couldn't even be sure of what it would do?!" He shouted. "It's got the word curse in its name for Merlin's sake, surely she should have known that meant something bad would happen!"

"You're right." Severus agreed, albeit much more calmly than Lucius who was currently gripping his wand tightly as if he were ready to hex someone. "It was in a book of ancient spells too which are known for being more unstable and dangerous. One should never use a spell that they don't understand the consequences of."

"Just like when Harry used Sectumsempra on me…" Added Draco.

"I know he regrets that." Interjected Hermione, feebly trying to defend her friend. "Not that it makes what he did any better."

Draco nodded in acknowledgment, knowing all too well how easy it was to make mistakes, ones that you would never be able to forgive yourself for. Hermione wondered if Ginny would feel that way, if she would regret what she had done.

"Hermione." Blaise interjected, finally speaking up. "I feel that we have enough cause to get the security team working on this. I can send someone around to your house to check for signs of attempted entry and I can get a search warrant for where Ginny and Harry live."

"Good." Said Lucius, calming slightly in the knowledge that something was going to be done, that Ginny wasn't going to get away with it.

"Thank you Blaise, that means a lot, your help here will be invaluable."

Hermione tried to sound as grateful as possible but her mind was elsewhere. She'd gotten so carried away in this case that she had forgotten about the person Ginny's actions would hurt even more than they had hurt Lucius and herself.

Harry.

She made sure that they went to Grimmauld place when Harry and Ginny wouldn't be there, it being all too easy to find out Harry's auror schedule and Ginny's Quidditch training timetable with the help of Blaise.

Hermione wanted to know for sure that Ginny was guilty before she told Harry about it, she had to be sure before she broke his heart.

They had a relatively small team led by Blaise for the mission. It included two aurors, a forensic specialist, a curse breaker, Hermione and Lucius, who had insisted on coming as himself, be it dangerous or not.

They were looking for several things. Primarily the polyjuice that was stolen from the Ministry, the book on ancient spells that contained information on the curse, and potentially the invisibility cloak so that they could maybe find signs of recent usage, but they would also be looking for anything else that might give them a greater insight into her motive or prove her guilty.

Getting past the security at the house was easy with Hermione there to dispel everything, it would have been a much harder job had she not been. She felt a little bad doing this, like she was betraying Harry's trust, especially by letting Lucius Malfoy of all people in, but she knew it had to be done.

Once they were inside the aurors went ahead to do a check for traps but, as Hermione had already told them, there were none to be found. She doubted Ginny would have put anything extra in place, probably thought it would be completely impossible for her to be caught. Everything she'd done was likely relatively full proof in her eyes. She'd used the undetectable invisibility cloak, disguised herself as the perfect person to get into the records department and, as far as she knew, cast a harmless spell – not almost killed someone. But, unfortunately for Ginny Weasley, she really had picked the worst two people to hurt. The cunning ex-death eater and the brightest witch of her age, both of them as stubborn and determined as the other.

Although she was in no danger, Hermione felt safer with Lucius by her side, with his extensive fighting experience and renowned battling prowess. Back in her school days, when year after year they were attacked and hurt and scared, she always used to wonder if the ones making her feel that way ever felt scared too, if when you were the bad guy you had to worry about who might be around the next corner. She knew now that some of them must have been, Lucius himself had so much to fear, not necessarily from those he was going after, but what awaited him should he fail. It sounded stupid, because it wasn't really true, but maybe it was because Lucius used to be the 'bad guy' that she didn't feel scared anymore. Who could be waiting around the corner if he was at her side?

Everyone split up to go and search different parts of the house, Hermione and Lucius taking Ginny's room.

"You know, I've been here before." Lucius said casually as they walked up the stairs. "A very long time ago mind you. Bella brought me and Cissa here when I was in my last year at Hogwarts. Who knew this was where the Order had been hiding all this time…"

"Oh really? I guess that makes sense what with them being cousins and all, I forget that sometimes, that Sirius and Bellatrix were from the same family."

"It is something that I suppose is easy to forget, they may have been related by blood but the families, especially Sirius, were very very different."

Suddenly Hermione had a funny thought about all of those families and couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

"Now what is it that's so amusing?" Lucius asked with a curious glint in his eye.

"Well, I was thinking, technically, in a weird sort of way, you and Harry could be considered related." She said with a slight smile. "Not by blood of course, but I think you'd be his godfather's ex-cousin-in-law."

Lucius joined in her laughter at that. "Now that really is the loosest relation I think you can have to a person, but I suppose a relation one could be proud of, unlike many of my others."

"Indeed, you could to far worse." She agreed. "So, has the house changed much since you were last here?"

"Oh yes, dramatically so. It's a lot brighter, and cleaner, a few too many Gryffindor colours for me I think though, and no more Kreacher I see."

"Kreacher has retired, very reluctantly I may add, and is now living in a nice little place by the sea." Hermione informed him with a joking edge of smugness.

"Oh how terribly awful." Lucius played along, laughing as he did. "Let's hope Raxel has more will power when his time comes."

They made it to Ginny's room and after another precautionary check for traps by Lucius, they went in, the door creaking ever so slightly as they did.

Each of them set to work silently and with determination, sure there must be something there to find.

After 10 minutes Hermione was starting to give up hope a little. The room wasn't very big at all and they were yet to find anything of note. She was looking over the bookshelf one last time when she felt something, a slight spark of magic. A concealment charm.

It was an easy enough one to dispel, a cosmetic charm that disguised one book behind the false spine of another.

Calling Lucius over, Hermione carefully slid the book from the shelf. A plain black cover so eerily similar to one she had seen before that it made her flinch, could feel Lucius' unease at her side. Had she not recently seen Tom Riddle's destroyed diary in the museum archives she would have thought she was looking at it.

"Perhaps Severus was right." Said Lucius warily. "That what happened to Ginny in her first year really did have a far greater effect on her than everyone ever realised."

Hermione's brow furrowed, hoping it wasn't true, for Ginny's sake. She opened the book apprehensively but once she started reading it realised it was relatively harmless.

It was, somewhat unsurprisingly a diary. Its earliest entry looked to be during Ginny's fourth year, the content being fairly normal for what one would expect for a teenage girls diary. It was a little strange though, Ginny had made special small notes throughout of all the good things she had done, as if, just like Severus had suggested, she was trying to prove to herself that she was good, that she was not the one responsible for her actions under Riddle's possession. Draco too had been right, as the years went on, here and there were mentions of Hermione, her occasional failings, about how she wasn't good enough for Ron, how Ginny wished it could be her by Harry's side when the three of them were off searching for Horcruxes.

Then came a distinct shift in the tone of the diary, shortly after the end of the war, around the time Hermione suspected that she had stopped taking the potion to help stabilise her.

It was subtle at first, small comments about Hermione's friendship with Draco, escalating in mere weeks to Hermione's actions being described as betrayal. Just as Hermione had thought, Ginny had become fixated with Lucius' trial and thought the outcome to be tampered with. Alas, the diary ran out of pages shortly after that so there was no insight into her thoughts on the recent events, but what they had found in this could provide a useful piece of evidence if Ginny was put to trial.

Giving the room one last sweep just to make sure they hadn't missed anything, the pair made their way back down the stairs to join the others. They walked in silence, both in shock that all of their conjecture had been true, that poor Ginny had been affected so greatly by her possession. Lucius feeling guilt, Hermione sympathy.

Blaise came up to them once they made it downstairs looking a mix of surprise and relief.

"You might not believe this but we actually managed to find what you thought we would. We discovered the polyjuice disguised in a bottle of healing balm in Ginerva's Quidditch medi-kit, initial forensics checks on the cloak are showing residue of the stone that makes up the Ministry which is promising, and there is a copy of 'Ancient Spells, Curses and Charms - Origins, Uses and History' in plain sight on the bookshelf in the living room." He reported. "Did you two find anything?"

"Yes." Hermione replied somewhat dispiritedly as she handed the book over. "Her old diary. It doesn't document the incident itself but may provide some insight on her thought process and potential motive."

"Excellent, great work." Blaise smiled. "And thank you Hermione. You solved my case just like you said you would and now I know who stole the polyjuice from the Ministry and can prevent its theft from harming anyone else…I'm just so sorry that it played a part in what happened to you Lucius, that my inadequate security played a part."

"Non-sense Blaise." Lucius reassured him. "I do not blame you in the slightest, and I shall hear of no further mention of it, understood?" He added in a tone which demanded something Hermione could only describe as fatherly respect.

"Yes Sir." Said Blaise looking a little abashed, seeming relieved when one of the aurors called him over.

After asking if they could go, they left Grimmauld place, aimlessly walking, neither of them saying a word, until eventually they came to sit on a bench in a small park.

Lucius let out a sigh. "I'm happy this is all over now, that we know who tried to hurt you, that we can prevent it from ever happening again."

"I'm happy too…" Hermione said half-heartedly.

"You don't sound it." Said Lucius, taking Hermione's face softly in his hands. "I know how hard this must be for you. It is one thing to suspect that your friend, someone you trusted, could try to hurt you, but to find out that it is true, now that must hurt even more."

She smiled at him, placing one of her hands over his. "You're right, it does hurt, and I know it will hurt all the more when I tell Harry…but I feel guilty too, because I know I couldn't have done this without you Lucius, I'm so indescribably happy when I'm with you, and I'm going to take that feeling away from my best friend."

Lucius looked firmly into her eyes, his own alive with emotion like a swirling sea of stormy clouds. "It is not you who is taking his happiness away from him Hermione. Hell, perhaps you could even say it wasn't Ginny. It was Voldemort, what he did to her, what my selfish actions allowed him to do to her. It hurts me so much to know that my actions have indirectly ended up making you feel this way. I love you Hermione, so much, you make me happier that I can put into words, and it makes me feel guilty too, that I should get this much happiness from you when I only ever seem to cause you pain."

Hermione pulled him into a tight hug, lightly kissing his lips as she did. "Any pain you have caused me in my life has been more than outweighed my love. The only pain you could make me feel now was if you were no longer by my side."

Lucius held her tightly. "I promise you Hermione, that no matter what or who may try to come between us, I will never leave you, not as long as you want me there."

Hermione returned to Malfoy Manor in the early hours of the morning. She could have gone home, the aurors had cleared it as being safe, but she didn't want to be alone, she couldn't be.

As soon as Blaise had let her know that they had Ginny in custody, Hermione went to find Harry. He was training some new recruits in the Ministry when she found him. As soon as he saw her he intuitively knew that something was gravely wrong, immediately passing over the class to his partner.

He took her to his office and sat her down, seeing she was shaken, so caring of her even though it was her who needed to be strong now, her who needed to be there for him. She could barely hold it together when he had asked her if she was alright.

Hermione didn't know where to start, how did you tell your best friend that the woman they loved had tried to kill you? Even if that was not quite their intention.

She decided then that she would start from the beginning, from the day she met Ezra. She would not lie, she owed Harry that much, he deserved to know the whole truth of this.

Hermione began, her only request that Harry please let her finish before he interrupted, sure she wouldn't be able to get through this if he did.

Watching all the different emotions come and go from his face was hard. The happiness at thinking she'd found someone she loved, confusion and anger when Ezra's true identity was revealed, acceptance at the explanation of Lucius' deal with Kingsley, rage and concern at the attempted attack on Hermione, even concern for Lucius' life, and then the part that Hermione had been dreading ever since she had had her revelation.

Broken.

Harry fell to his knees, Hermione falling with him and she held him, held him while he cried, while he heaved in her arms. Hermione cried too, tears falling so uncontrollably that she could not stop them no matter how much she wanted to, she shouldn't be the one who was crying now, she wanted so much to be strong for him.

He took deep shaking breaths, his sobs slowly subsiding and he whispered something indistinguishable.

"What is it Harry?" She had asked gently, lightly stroking his back as she tried to calm him.

"I knew." He said hoarsely. "I knew something was wrong with her. She wasn't the woman I loved anymore but I should have done something, I should have realised."

Hermione tried to reassure him, to try and make reason out of all of this even if there was little to be found. They stayed there for hours together, late into the night, both scared to leave and be alone.

The two of them talked about everything, they were each the best friend of the other and they knew they could get through this together.

They talked of Ginny, how she had become the way she had, how sorry Harry felt for her and how bad he felt for not having seen what was happening to her, for not having helped her, but also for what she had done to Hermione, how unforgivable it was.

Hermione was worried about how Harry would react to Lucius, but she shouldn't have been, she knew that her happiness was all that he cared about, and once she convinced him that she was safe, that she truly did love Lucius, he promised that he would try his hardest to accept it.

Eventually they both went back to Grimmauld Place, Hermione apologising profusely for having brought the auror team there but Harry understood, appreciated that she had made sure it was true before talking to him, knew that he would have done the same had it been his choice to make.

After a lot of questioning 'are you sure?' Harry finally managed to convince Hermione that he would be okay, that she should go home and get some rest, that it had been as a hard a day for her as it had for him. He said he would go and visit Ginny in the morning and agreed to see Hermione as soon as she was done, refusing her offer to go with him.

Hermione bid him a very long farewell, even managing to illicit the smallest of laughs from him when she refused to stop hugging him, so happy that their friendship had withstood this test.

And so, here she was, standing in Lucius' room at 4am, exhausted, but relieved.

Lucius' eyes flickered open as the floorboards creaked under Hemrione's feet. It was clear he had been trying to stay awake to wait for her, asleep in a chair facing the now cold fireplace, a book open in his lap.

He rose immediately once he realised that she was back, coming to wrap his arms around her, knowing it was what she needed.

"Thank you." She said quietly as she held him close. "Thank you for being here for me."

"Always." He whispered as he placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

They stayed like that for a short while, each so content in the others arms, until Hermione let out a yawn, her eyes feeling heavy and her blinks getting ever longer. Lucius picked her up with ease, slowly carrying her to the bed and placing her down gently.

She kicked off her shoes and lazily pulled off her clothes before pulling the covers over her and snuggling up to the large warm frame of the man who now lied next to her.

"It's all over now." Hermione said through another yawn as she laid her arm lightly over his chest. "And we can finally start moving forward again."

"Yes." Lucius agreed as he placed his hand over hers. "I think it is time we all stopped looking to the past, we have seen what hatred can fester when we do."

Sevreal weeks went by and the Ministry had somehow managed to keep Ginny's arrest away from the public. They owed Harry that much, to spare him even more pain.

Ginny had been immediately put back onto her stabilizing potion under Severus' instruction and she started to return to her normal self, much to the relief of everyone. It still hurt Harry though, Hermione could see it in his eyes, because, although Ginny regretted what she had done, she still believed Hermione to be a traitor, even more so when Harry had told her about Lucius and their relationship.

It may have been hard for all of them, for Harry, for all of the Weasleys, but for Hermione it made things easier, it made cutting Ginny out of her life hurt so much less.

Ginny had a closed trial due to the very secretive nature of a lot of what was involved. She was charged with theft, impersonation, gross magical misconduct and attempted manslaughter. However, due to her mental state at the time her sentence was reduced to far less than it should have been. She would be held under house arrest for several years and have psychiatric monitoring throughout. Her mind was wiped of what she had read in the Records Department for wizarding security reasons but they decided it was too dangerous to wipe what she knew about Lucius being Ezra, placing a restraining charm on her instead which should prevent her from being able to tell others about it. It was a sad sort of justice, but at least, for Ginny's sake, the punishment was not as bad as it could have been. The public was told a half truth, that the traumas of what had happened to her in her young life had finally caught up with her and that she would need a few years to recover, the whole truth would be too hard for so many to swallow.

Now the danger was over, Hermione and Lucius, back looking like Ezra, continued their work on the book for the anniversary. They had started it together, so they would see it through to the end together. The job helped to take their minds away from the recent events and Hermione soon turned back into her normal self, loving the investigative work, the thrill she got from finding out something new.

Hermione was extremely busy but that was the way she liked it. Always either working on the book with Lucius, or doing potions with Severus, Harry even coming along one day to take his mind off of things. She saw a lot of Draco too, who very kindly invited Harry to watch some Quidditch matches with her and Lucius, and it seemed to make him happier than he'd been in a while, even if he was with old enemies.

They broke the news to Narcissa about their relationship who was thoroughly unsurprised, a look she wore so well.

"You don't think word of the impressive man with long platinum hair and the young war hero walking through the local village arm in arm wouldn't get to me?" She had joked.

But, all joking aside, she was happy that Lucius had found happiness, had picked someone with a good reputation and a mind to match - if it wasn't a pureblood, a war hero and genius would do. Not to mention someone who wasn't after him for his fortune, she could really do without that.

Hermione switched between staying at Harry's, her's and at Malfoy Manor but eventually decided she would move into the manor more permanently. She kept her own house, it was always good to have somewhere of her own to go if she needed to, but she wanted to be with Lucius.

The anniversary ball was happening in only a few days, their work on the book was done, and Hermione couldn't wait to start the next chapter of her life.

Well, she couldn't wait for the ball too, the rest of her life could wait just a little longer!

One more chapter to go my friends!

I have to say that I'm not as in love with this story as when it started out, I think I'm losing my touch a little, but I hope it hasn't disappointed too much.