Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Depressing, but true.

Woo! This story is nearing its end. Kinda crazy. It sure wound up a whole lot longer than I planned a first. Glad so many of you appreciate the addiction theme coming back around. Don't we all wish it was as simple as taking a magic potion and POOF goes dependency? Le sigh. If only. Okay, I've got a little more for you after this chapter, but I'm going to take the weekend off again to tweak and snip and edit. I'll give you the option (same as a few weeks ago) to review like maniacs and convince me to post on Sunday instead of Monday, but that will require a whole assload of silent readers to chime in. You regulars are motherfucking monsters! And I mean that in a good way! I'll miss seeing your names pop up once this story is done. You quiet folk... I'll let you decide how you want this to go down. Hey, you sure managed to convince me last time! That shit was impressive! xo Galfoy

With a squeak of her bare fingers, Hermione rubbed clear a section of the steamy mirror and proceeded to brush the tangles out of her hair, attacking them with determined focus. The white strands mingled with the brown strands, wrapping around the bristles as she tugged mercilessly at the mess. She admired the contrast for a moment before continuing with her mission. Draco was asleep again, and she was using the quiet to her advantage: getting ready to meet the Malfoys, but this time praying that she wouldn't run away in tears.

Sounded straightforward enough. It was just all about the execution.

The anxiety she felt about the allure of the prescription pad still had her stomach in a twist, but the longer she spent cocooned away with Draco, the more it seemed like a fluke. She had grabbed the pad under extreme duress, after all. Now that she was safe, stress free, and ready to start a new life, her fixation with the pills would die away... Wouldn't it? The pad itself was harmless. It's not like she was going to go fill it out.

Most likely.

As for the visit, she hoped with all her might that it was going to go well. Narcissa was anything but boring, and Hermione felt sure that with some time, they could find common ground. At very least, even though the potion hadn't snuffed out the addiction the way Narcissa probably hoped, it proved that she wanted Hermione to be well. That was an important thing to know, especially since they she probably going to be her mother-in-law one day.

The more she thought about it, that concept seemed less and less frightening. Interesting how things changed when she didn't feel pressured.

Lucius still came off as being distant and cold, but he had certainly improved since the War. They didn't even duel the last time they met. It was a start. Anything was a start with him. Maybe one day he'd warm up to her. Perhaps they could even say more than a few cutting words to one another in the future. Imagine that.

Regardless, it came down to this: she loved their son, and she was determined to be with him. Yes, they would pace things, but she felt good about their chances. Great, actually. Even when she didn't feel the pull of the trait, she noticed how well they were suited to each other. It was like her hair: she had started to admire the contrast. It was almost funny how she didn't see it before. Perhaps she had always been too busy hating Draco to notice. Too busy chasing Ron.

Those days were gone.

Pulling on her clothes, Hermione exited the bathroom and walked over to the front door, humming all the while.

"Someone sounds happy," said Draco's voice from the bedroom, smugly. Apparently he was awake after all.

"Oh, you just want to boast," she teased, catching his eye from where she stood. Frankly, he had plenty to boast about. She had never felt so satisfied. "But yes. I'm very happy."

"That's what I like to hear," he said, reclining in bed. "You're still feeling up to seeing my parents?"

"Of course," Hermione said, grabbing the stack of mail from outside her door. "We have a few things to talk to them about, and besides, I'm not sure anyone's told them that I'm back."

"True," Draco yawned. "I guess it was the last thing on my mind. Got a bit distracted."

"Understandable," she smiled as she looked through the mail. "That's funny. There's mail for you in this pile."

"Really? From who?"

"Judging by the crest, I'd say it's from your parents. I think the building's sorting system routed the letter here. And before that, it looks like it went to the Trebax office. I guess it's been in transit for a while. I can't decide if that's creepy or convenient."

"We'll settle for convenient for now," he smirked. "I'll read it in a minute. I'm not quite ready for reality just yet. They're probably just wondering if I'm still alive. I haven't exactly been social this past week. I guess that means my father's back, though."

"Was he away?" she asked, tossing a flyer for a free love potion sample into the trash. That's one thing she'd never need to try.

"Yeah. Not entirely sure what he was up to. You know how secretive those Malfoys are."

Hermione grinned as she sorted the bills to the side and looked at the rest. The day's Prophet was rolled up, but she didn't feel like reading gossip. That left one letter in a rather bulky-looking envelope.

Her nerves stirred as she saw the handwriting. That was Ron's scrawl.

"How odd," she said, opening the letter with trepidation.

"What's odd?" said Draco from under his pile of blankets.

"It's just that… One of these letters…" she trailed off as she read the note, her expression changing dramatically.

Draco strained his neck to see her through the open bedroom door. "You okay?" he said, trying not to sound as concerned as he felt. She looked like she had seen a ghost, all the colour drained from her face.

"Draco, this is from Ron," she said, looking up at him.

"What?" he replied, sharply. "Why is that tosser writing you? I'm surprised his letters can even get through your wards."

"He never writes, so I never thought to adjust them," she said, still reading. "It says there's evidence that he's not responsible for everything that happened. He wants to meet to discuss it."

"Fat fucking chance," Draco snapped, sitting up now and looking disgruntled. "How could he not be responsible? And he wants to meet you? Alone? Over my dead body."

"There's something here about Malectio potion," she said, squinting. "Something about Rodolphus. Ginny, too. I can barely read his chicken scratch."

Draco was in his boxers and on his feet in seconds, walking towards her with a frown. He took the letter from her hands and read it over.

"Imbecile writes like a toddler," he said, coldly. "But yes, I can make out Rodolphus's name. That man is a psychopath. I sincerely hope he doesn't have his fingers in any of this. He's nothing but trouble."

"I remember him," she said, suppressing a shudder. "They were all bad, but he was really one of the worst. The more blood he could see, the happier he was."

Draco looked at her and noticed her fidgeting hands. She was nervous.

"I don't like this," he said, bluntly. "I've got a bad feeling about it."

"So do I," she replied. "Things are finally starting to calm down. I don't want to do this again. I don't want any more drama."

"Maybe we should meet with my parents first before you decide what you want to do. They knew Rodolphus. Maybe they've got information on him. We can figure out if Weasley is for real before agreeing to anything."

"Good idea," she said. "And honestly, even if Ron was fed a potion, that doesn't just make everything okay. I studied that stuff in school. Malectio sways your judgement, but it's hardly the Imperio. You still need to have the impulse to do those things."

Draco read the legible parts of the note again, and then snorted. "Sodding arse," he said. "Listen to this: I know Malfoy would never let you out of his sight, but I need to see you. I'm including something to help things along. What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

Hermione frowned and picked up the envelope, shaking it out. Something fell onto the counter. They both stared.

"It's my engagement ring," she said, shocked.

"I'm going to murder that fucker," Draco seethed. "He's gone too far."

"Honestly, what is he thinking?" she said, annoyed. "I'm not just going to go see him with these paltry scraps of information. Does he think the ring will make me nostalgic?"

Draco tore open the letter from his parents, trying to get his mind off murdering Ron. The git had some nerve trying to convince Hermione to go running back to him. He'd blown it. No silly story about a potion was going to make it better. Hermione was too smart to believe that rubbish. Thank Merlin she saw right through it.

Then, as he read his mother's perfect handwriting, he felt everything go still.

"Hermione," he said, trying to keep his voice steady. "I think we have a problem."

"There's no problem," she said curtly, tossing Ron's note on the counter near the ring. "I'm through with this nonsense. My life is finally starting to feel less chaotic, and I'm not looking for some sort of romantic rematch. I'll look into his claims, but for now, I'm just going to take this ring and throw it in the - "

His instincts flared up half a second too late. Something to help things along. Something to take Hermione out of his sight. It clicked in his mind right as her fingers touched the metal.

The ring wasn't there to make her nostalgic… It was there to make her disappear.

Before he could even open his mouth, the portkey sucked her away.

A dragon roared inside of him.

Draco raced down the path towards the Manor, his breath ragged and shaky, the trait surging through his body, howling at the fact that Hermione was taken from him. It was screaming inside his chest, demanding vengeance. It would get what it wanted, he was sure. The gate opened much faster than usual as he raced through. Perhaps it could tell that he was beyond patience. He would have blown the thing to kingdom come.

His parents were waiting for him on the front step. They would have felt him apparate onto the grounds, but their presence meant that they could very clearly tell that something was wrong. Lucius had a serious expression on his face as though he was ready for a mission. Narcissa wasn't smiling, her forehead creased into a worried frown.

Draco was too full of corrosive emotions to bother with formalities, and he was too angry not to explode.

"How could you have done that without speaking to me first?!" he screamed, startling both of them. "How could you have sent that stuff to Weasley?"

Narcissa sent an alarmed look to Lucius, but stepped forward to calm her son. "Draco, you've been locked in your office all week. You've been refusing to see anyone. We wrote you the note to explain everything. We thought we'd give you a chance to digest the information before Hermione came back. It seemed like the best way to go about it. You should have received it last night… The same time we sent the package to Mister Weasley."

"I wasn't at the office," he said, gasped for air. "And I wasn't at my place."

"Where were you?" Lucius asked.

Draco placed his hands on his knees and fought he urge to be sick. "At Hermione's. She came back. We were going to come see you this morning."

"We had no idea," Narcissa said, quietly. "We would have waited otherwise. Draco, please believe that we didn't mean any harm… We sent the information to Mister Weasley as a peacemaker. He has lost a lot, including Hermione. We were trying to do the right thing."

"Since when do either of you care about doing to right thing?" Draco cried.

His parents looked at each other uncomfortably.

"We have yet to establish that," Lucius said. "It's an inconvenient compulsion, I assure you. Nonetheless, we wanted to start everything with a clean slate. We didn't know Hermione had returned."

"Well, she's gone again," Draco said, his fractured breathing making his voice sound like a sob. "Because Weasley, although perhaps not a prick to the extreme that we might have thought, is still a fucking SODDING PRICK."

"Draco, please tell us what happened," Narcissa said, touching his arm. "You're frightening me."

"He sent her a letter," he said, trying to calm down. "He said he wanted to meet with her to talk about things. He included her old engagement ring inside. It was a portkey."

Lucius growled. Narcissa's lips tightened.

"She didn't want to go," he said. "We were talking about coming to see you first. We had such a good night… Such a good morning… She doesn't want this! But she touched the ring... And I don't know where he's taken her."

There was a loud CRACK and the Malfoys whipped around to see Harry running down the path.

"Bloody hell," Draco said. "I'm not in the mood for Boy Wonder right now."

"Are you ever in the mood for Boy Wonder?" Narcissa asked. She seemed genuinely curious.

"Draco! I've been looking for you everywhere!" Harry yelled, sprinting towards the trio. He slid to a stop and realized that Lucius and Narcissa were staring at him. There was a moment of awkward silence.

"Uh, Malfoys," he nodded, clearly not wanting to dwell on the uncomfortable situation any longer than necessary.

They both nodded coolly.

"Listen, Draco, we have a problem," Harry panted.

"I know, Potter," Draco said, rubbing his forehead. "Turns out Weasley wasn't totally responsible for his actions, and he got it into his head that he had to talk to Hermione, and be mailed her a fucking portkey – "

"What?!"

" – And now she's gone, and I don't know where she is."

Harry shook his head, trying to comprehend what Draco was saying. "Not responsible… I don't…"

"Do I have to explain it now?" Draco snapped. "Hermione's missing again. She's with Weasley against her will. I need to find her."

"I agree, and you can explain later, but the problem is bigger than just Ron. Ron just complicates things."

"How?" said Narcissa, still marvelling at the fact that the two boys were carrying on a discussion without their wands raised.

"Hermione stayed on my land, unbeknownst to me, for the past week," he said to the Malfoys so they understood the context. "I went back to check on the place, and there's something missing."

"Uh, like your guest house, you dunce?" Draco said, knowing he was being cruel, but well past the point of caring.

"No. A prescription pad for Muggle drugs."

There was a heavy silence. Narcissa swore.

"Blaise told me what you did to help her, Mrs. Malfoy, but I think she's still struggling with the addiction," Harry said. "And if what Draco says is true, she's in a very stressful situation right now."

"We have to find her!" said Narcissa, obviously distressed. "She could relapse! The potion gets rid of physical addiction, but I hadn't really considered mental dependency. Muggle drugs aren't quite the same. I hadn't factored it in."

"There's more," Harry said. "Have any of you seen today's Prophet?"

They all shook their heads. Harry held up the newspaper, a grim look on his face.

HERMIONE GRANGER ADDICTED TO MUGGLE DRUGS! SCANDAL ERRUPTS OVER WAR HEROINE'S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET

"No," Narcissa whispered. "Who would do this? Tell me it's not the Weasley boy!"

"It's not. I saw this as soon as I arrived in London and did some sleuthing while I was looking for Draco. Seems Ron cut off the engagement with Stacey and she retaliated. I think Ron told her everything a while ago, not realizing she would use it against him in the future. She sold the story last night for a hefty sum. I'm not sure if Hermione's seen it yet."

Lucius pinched the bridge of his nose. "Lovely," he muttered.

"That slimy little bitch," Narcissa seethed. "Where does she get off hurting Hermione like this? She's ruined her reputation!"

"That's the point," Harry said. "I'll bet she's going to use that money and Hermione's reputation as an addict to try and beat that court case."

Draco unleashed a litany of colourful language.

"If I may," said Lucius, with sudden forced cheer. "I'd like to suggest that Draco and Harry go find Hermione while Narcissa and I stay here and look after some… Business."

"But I could get the Prophet to print a retraction," Harry said. "I could – "

"The damage is done," Lucius said shaking his head. He leaned in, pretending to take the newspaper from Harry's hand, and whispered in his ear: "Your job is to stop Draco from killing the Weasley boy. A conviction could further complicate things."

"Yeah, plus he may not want to become a murderer," Harry said, looking rather perturbed at Lucius's blasé explanation.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Lucius said with a tight smile. They both looked at Draco, who had started twitching with anger.

"Fair point," Harry whispered. "Draco," he said, more loudly. "Let's go. I'm sure we can find them. I've got some ideas on where we could look."

Draco nodded stiffly, murmuring a goodbye to his parents and breaking into a run as the unlikely pair headed to the apparition point. Both Malfoys watched them leave, standing like royalty in front of their castle.

"Narcissa darling?" Lucius said, his voice eerily pleasant.

"Yes dear?" she replied in the same tone.

"I have a proposition for you."

"Do tell."

"Our first foray into being empathetic did not go very smoothly."

"Very true," she sighed. "To be fair, we don't really have much practice."

"Oh, agreed. It's much harder than it looks. One would have thought that being sentimental required very little brain power. It turns out that it's a remarkably complex pastime."

"Well put, Lucius," Narcissa said.

"Now, while I am not going to simply give up on the concept, I do believe it's time we remind ourselves what we're good at."

A dark smile slid across Narcissa's face. She stepped towards Lucius so that their noses were almost touching.

"Which is?"

"Defending the family. Oh, and revenge, of course."

"What sort of revenge?" she whispered.

"The bloody kind," he smirked.

"I like the way you think," she replied. "May I?"

Lucius nodded.

Narcissa turned her head and looked out into the field, making soft kissing noises in the direction of Queenie's stable.

"This is going to be fun," she said happily as her pet rose into the air. "I love going hunting."