A/N: Thank you all for being so patient! My muse decided to take a vacation with this story, but hopefully she is back for good! I hope you enjoy xx

Hermione led Rabastan into the drawing room instead of trekking back up the stairs to their room. They sat down on the couch, silently. Hermione needed to tell Rabastan why she feared Dolohov so much. Even after all of these years, her nightmares included him waving his wand in a slashing manner, his voice silenced from her charm. Madame Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore had told her she was lucky to be alive. If he hadn't been silenced, his self-invented curse was known to immediately kill the victim.

"Rabastan…" she started, but he cut her off.

"You don't need to tell me anything you don't want to, little witch."

"I know. It's just…I want to. I feel that you should know."

She watched as he settled back against the couch and she leaned into him, curling her legs up behind her. Knowing she would need comfort while telling this story, she laid her head down on his shoulder. He tightened his grip around her waist and she relaxed into his embrace.

"I told you about Dumbledore's Army, remember?" She felt him nod. "Well, that was the same year that You-Know-Who realized he had a mind connection with Harry. Harry could see into his mind and vice-versa. By the end of the year, he started planting false visions into his head. Harry was convinced that Sirius was in the Department of Mysteries and needed help," she paused. "Does any of this sound familiar to you?

"No. But to be honest, I think I was there. The memories from my time under the Imperius Curse will most likely always be blurry."

She nodded understanding the use of the unforgivables and dark magic on a person for long periods of times had disastrous consequences. She thought she remembered seeing him briefly during the battle, but it all happened so quickly she was just as unsure as he was.

"Once we got to the Department of Mysteries, it was clear that Sirius wasn't there. You-Know-Who had lured Harry there to collect the prophecy that was made about them. There was several of us who went with him and ended up having to fight off the other Death Eaters — me, Harry, Ron, Neville, Ginny, and Luna," she said, pausing and taking a deep breath.

"We were chased into the time chamber and I silenced Dolohov so he wouldn't alert the other Death Eaters to our location. Still silenced, I watched as he cast a curse by slashing his wand through the air, a purple flame striking me across the torso. I don't remember anything after that. I woke up in the hospital days later." Retelling the story had Hermione breathing deeply and on the verge of an anxiety attack.

Rabastan just held her closer, offering comfort as she calmed herself down. She ran her fingers across her torso, tracing the scar over the top of her clothing.

"They told me I was lucky to be alive. Had he not been silenced, I would have died from the dark magic the curse inflicted. Instead I walked away with almost a constant throbbing in my ribs and this purple scar as a reminder."

Looking at Rabastan, Hermione noticed his brow was furrowed like he was trying to recall something he had once forgotten. She placed her hand on his forearm and he snapped out of his thoughts.

"What is it?" she asked, frowning.

"I remember Dolohov being weirdly obsessed with you. After the Battle of Hogwarts when I was no longer under the Imperius Curse, he kept raving about how you got away. He had some odd kink about you. I didn't realize until now why he had been completely enamored with you," he said, lifting her shirt up. He ran his fingers over the parts of the scar that were uncovered. "I never realized this was from him."

"Why did you choose to go after him rather than the others?" she whispered.

"Because he is the most dangerous…I couldn't allow the others to go out there knowing he could kill them in an instant. Sure, the others are dangerous, but he is much, much worse," he admitted, "Plus, now you have told me about your past encounters with him, I know you want revenge, little witch."

She swallowed, her throat dry. He was right. She did want revenge on the man who had scarred her for the rest of her days. But she was terrified. If Dolohov was that obsessed with her, no one could tell what he would do to get her.

"Don't worry little witch. I won't let any harm come to you. The Wizard's Oath, remember?"

"I remember," she said, smiling at the wizard next to her. He really was sweet. They hadn't known each other for very long and he was willing to protect her at all costs. Maybe after this was all over and he was cleared of his charges, they could really make something of the relationship that was currently blooming.

"Well, now I know we both have our reasons for wanting Dolohov dead... Do you have a plan for that?"

"You know me so well," she said laughing, pushing the incident with Dolohov far from her mind.

"I do have a plan, but I thought you might have more ideas since you know him better from working so closely together."

"Well, he's Russian, but he does have a flat in Wizarding London. The Dark Lord sends him on international missions quite often to Russia because he knows the language and the people better than anyone."

"Before we deactivated your mark, do you know where he was? We should probably start there." Hermione internally was praying that he wasn't in Russia. It would be difficult to travel internationally as they legally could not obtain a portkey and apparition over long distances was dangerous.

"He had just returned from a mission in Russia," Rabastan said. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. "Most likely he wasn't sent back to Russia so quickly, so he's probably roaming around London doing the Dark Lord's bidding."

"Do you know where his flat is?" Hermione asked.

"I do. Looks like that's our first stop, eh little witch?" Hermione laughed at his poor attempt at a Scottish accent.

"Nice try. When this is all over, you probably shouldn't try to pick up an impressionist job."

"What?"

"Nevermind," Hermione mumbled. "Muggle thing." Rabastan still was looking at her like she was a little crazy, so she changed the subject quickly wanting to get back to the task at hand.

"Shall we head back up to the room and then head out?" she asked him. He nodded and they headed upstairs to bundle up to venture out into the cold winter afternoon.

Ten minutes later, Hermione and Rabastan were huddled together across the street from Dolohov's flat.

"Jesus, why is it so cold?" Hermione complained, rubbing her gloved covered hands together.

"Well, it is winter," Rabastan replied, sarcastically.

"What an astute observation," she retorted. He ignored her response, so she remained silent focusing her attention on the building they were watching.

"Will he even come out this way?" she finally asked. "Why wouldn't he floo or apparate directly out of his flat?"

"Since it's a wizarding residence, apparating in and out is prohibited. Most of the time he probably isn't somewhere he can access the floo," Rabastan explained to her, shrugging his shoulders. "They have to make it past the door man before they can apparate."

"He should be coming back anytime now," he added, casting a tempus checking the time. Scanning the streets, Hermione spotted him and Rabastan did too.

"There's the bastard," he whispered.

"We aren't allowed into the building, though. How are we supposed to get ahold of him?"

"Let's just watch for today. Tomorrow we can arrive early and catch him by surprise before he apparates to the Dark Lord."

Hermione nodded, agreeing the plan. "We should scheme tonight about what to do with the door man."

"Nothing a quick confundus or memory charm can't fix."

"We still should think of alternatives. I've learned the hard way about what happens when a plan goes haywire and you don't have a backup."

He didn't argue. They stood across the street hidden under the cover of the brush until dark. Once night came, and it was clear that Antonin wasn't leaving the comfort of his flat for the night, they apparated back to Grimmauld Place and sat by the fire, attempting to breathe life back into their frozen fingertips.

Dinner was a silent affair. Hermione and Rabastan were one of the few pairs that had made it back in time. It made her nervous, but she had to trust everyone knew what they were doing and focus on her and Rabastan's task.

Hermione left Rabastan in the kitchen to finish eating, and she made her way up to the room where she collapsed on the bed. They hadn't gotten anything accomplished today except confirming Rabastan was correct in knowing where Dolohov lived.

As she laid there, she let her thoughts drift toward Rabastan and how their relationship had progressed. She liked him, but was her infatuation with him increased only because of the wizarding oath they had taken? Or were her feelings genuine? She had no answer to her questions and the only way to figure it out was to wait until the wizarding vow was complete. Their shared magic that coursed through their veins would then dissipate, allowing her to analyze her feelings without influence.

Rabastan startled her from her thoughts as he slid silently into the room, only noticing him once the bed dipped from his weight.

"Little witch," he said grinning, pressing his lips to hers. Her hands went up to caress his face and pull him in deeper. Hermione snogged him until she had to come up for breath. She laughed as she saw her reflection in the mirror across from the bed. Her hair was wild and her lips already swollen from his kisses.

"As much as I would like to continue, we need a game plan for tomorrow," she said, placing one last kiss on his lips.

"You're right, of course."

"Ideally, I would love to watch him for several more days to memorize his routine. I know you say he comes and goes at around the same time each day, but I think we need to check to be sure."

"If you think that is the right thing to do. I am ready to murder the bastard on the spot, but I know it is better to be prepared. If you think we should wait a few days, weeks, months even, I will agree with you," Rabastan told her.

She smiled at the wizard in front of her. It was hard to believe they had only known each other for a matter of days. Everything had moved so quickly since Hermione received his letter just days ago.

"Thank you," she whispered, pressing her forehead against his.

"What for, little witch?"

"Everything. For reaching out to me. For allowing me to be a part of your plan. Just everything." She shrugged not wanting to get too deep, but wanting him to know she was grateful for everything he had done for her.

Hermione climbed into Rabastan's lap, her head resting against his, just allowing her mind to relax until he suggested they go to bed. She got up, stretched and nodded in agreement. They had a long few days at least and if they couldn't accomplish their mission quicker, they possibly could be at this for weeks, even months.

"Let's go," he said, holding out his hand. She grabbed it without hesitation and they made their way up to the second floor and to bed.

They ended up watching Dolohov for weeks. He never seemed to come home at the same time each day and it was putting a kink in their plans. Not to mention, the weather had been temperamental. Winter definitely was not the ideal season to be out in the elements spying.

They weren't the only ones having issues with their assigned Death Eater. The only people who had seemed to have success in their endeavors were the two couples tasked with tailing the Carrow twins — George and Angelina and Luna and Terry. They had now split up between the other couples, helping them plan and execute their assassinations.

Hermione groaned as it started to snow on them once again. "Do we really need to sit here in this?" she asked. "We have been here for hours, crouching in the bushes with nothing to show for it."

"Stop grumbling," Rabastan told her, keeping his eyes on the building across from them. "Are you a witch or not?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Cast a shield charm to protect yourself from the snow! Or cast a warming charm if the cold temperatures are bothering you."

"It's not either of those things. I am sorry for griping at you 'Bast. I am just growing impatient with this. It doesn't seem like we are going to get him and only two other Death Eaters have been taken down. There are still five left out there to take down."

"Maybe we need to rethink things," Rabastan suggested.

"Wouldn't hurt," Hermione agreed, shrugging.

"Let's go now then. No point in sitting out here if we are going to change our plans. Let's go," Rabstan said, standing and pulling Hermione along to the end of the block and out of sight of Dolohov's flat.

Once they came to a stop, Hermione apparated them away, intent on breaking the news to the others that this wasn't turning out at all how they had intended.