Chapter Twenty

After her latest confrontation with Aro, Hermione cleared her mind of all thoughts of him and set to work preparing to leave for Romania with Demetri and Felix. She needed to be focused and ready, as this was her first task as a member of the guard. Aro hadn't wanted her to go in the first place, so Hermione felt she had something to prove, not just to him and all the other guard members, but to herself as well.

She had experience with these kind of tasks, after all she did go searching for Horcruxes. She also planned her own missions back then, researched everything she needed to know, then set off to help Harry end Voldemort once and for all.

But what she was about to do now was different, as this time she wouldn't be doing it alone. She would be working alongside Demetri and Felix and so together the three of them had to plan their mission beforehand, they were a team now.

Hermione started to prepare straight after she had showered and rid her mind of all thoughts of Aro. Sitting down at her desk to write a letter to Charlie Weasley. He was staying in Romania and so Hermione hoped that he would allow the trio of vampires to stay with him and set up a base camp at the dragon sanctuary where he lived and worked. This would make things a lot easier for them and would hopefully draw less attention to their presence in enemy territory.

Charlie lived in a secluded area in Southern central Romania, away from civilisation, for their safety and also for much needed privacy. After all Charlie did work and care for dragons, and so Hermione knew that the area he lived in would be heavily warded against intruders, as it wouldn't do well for muggles to see living breathing dragons in the area. This was also appealing for Hermione because if Charlie agreed to let them use this site as a base camp, then there would be no way that the Romanian vampires could find them there. They would be protected and safe, allowing them the freedom to roam in and out while they gathered information on the other coven. So she really hoped that he agreed but would understand if he didn't, since he had a duty towards the dragons in his care.

She hadn't yet told Demetri and Felix what Charlie's occupation was either, saving that until she had heard back from him. To be honest she wasn't sure how they would react to the news, or even if they knew that dragons existed in the first place.

Luckily for Hermione however, it didn't take long for Charlie to reply, as Dante brought a letter straight back to her in return. As she read it, she couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped her lips, noting the hint of excitement in his words.

He agreed to let them set up a base camp where he lived, but warned her that there were currently three grown dragons residing in the sanctuary as well, including Hagrid's friend Norbert, a Norwegian Ridgeback who eventually turned out to be Norberta since she was actually a female.

Charlie had an interest in all unusual magical creatures, he enjoyed nothing more than studying them, and found them all fascinating. During his time at Hogwarts he excelled at the subject of Care of Magical Creatures and bonded with Hagrid, who also had a love for unusual and rare animals, which is why he ended up with a dragon's egg in the first place.

But it was Charlie's love of dragons that pushed him into moving to Romania, much to his mums worry and anguish. Here he ended up becoming a master in caring for rare and exotic animals, but mostly he cared for dragons. He seemed to have a rapport with them and being so close, he was able to study from real life and experience rather than from books, making a few discoveries of his own in the process.

In the letter he sent, he gave Hermione directions and told her the area where the sanctuary could be located. Once she had remembered the details, she was to burn that part of the letter, not wanting to take any chances on someone finding it. Despite how heavily warded and safe it may be.

He also hinted in his letter that he would like to get to know Hermione a little bit better, since he really didn't get to see much of her while she was at Hogwarts after her change. It was this part that really made Hermione chuckle, because reading between the lines what he was really saying was he would very much like to study her.

She knew that he had done the same thing with Remus, after all just like with dragons it wasn't every day that you got to spend time with a real live werewolf. So he had asked Remus lots of questions and studied him and lycanthropy. Any opportunities to study rare animals he took it with relish, which was why he wasn't going to miss the chance to study not one but three vampires.

The only thing he did wonder in the letter was if he would be safe in their company. He knew that he didn't have much to fear with Hermione, after all she knew him and from what he had heard from his family she was controlled and wasn't like typical vampires. But the other two who would be joining her he didn't know and so posed more of a threat to him.

She sent him back a quick reply, saying that he would be fine and that she trusted the other two vampires with her life. They also had control to some extent and wouldn't harm him or anyone else there.

So once Hermione had heard back from Charlie, the three of them met in the dome room to discuss their plans and how they were going to go about things, as they only had a few days to go until they left. Of course they were not alone as other guard members roamed about the room, trying to pretend that they weren't listening in, as they were curious as to what Hermione was going to plan. She herself, was glad that one vampire was missing, for she knew he would only cause a distraction for her when she had to keep her focus.

"So what do you have for us my little witchling?" Demetri asked giving her a slight squeeze of her shoulders.

She smiled up at him before sitting down at the large table.

"Well I wrote to my friend Charlie and he said that we could set up a base camp where he lives. I know for a fact that it his heavily guarded with magic so enemies would never find us there. It's in the middle of Romania so we can come and go as we please."

Felix who had been listening to her speak nodded his head in understanding before saying,

"Couldn't you just do that disappearing thing that you do?"

"Apparating." Demetri said helpfully.

Felix sniggered and shook his head at his mate before turning his gaze back to Hermione.

"Yeah apparating. Couldn't you just apparate us to your friend's house, then that could cut time even more."

She shook her head in the negative and sighed.

"I wish I could as that would make things much easier but apparating isn't as simple as that. It's not just a case of knowing where to go, I've got to have seen the place first." Seeing the confused looks on their faces Hermione quickly added. "The way apparating works is, I see the image in my mind, focus on that and then disappear. Reappearing in that place. I need a visual first though. The plus side is I can always apparate us back to Volterra. That would also cut time from our journey."

"Right." Felix said in understanding. "Well I suppose we can cross that method off our list. Although it helps that you can do that coming back."

Hermione couldn't help but chuckle at his words before saying,

"You pair made a list."

He nodded, looking serious then said,

"Of course how else do you expect us to plan a mission like this?"

"Well I thought you just you know, ran into situations without thinking first." She admitted honestly.

Felix and Demetri sniggered again before shaking their heads at her.

"Oh little witchling you have so much to learn." Felix said. "There is more to things than just running head first into a situation. You need to stop, think and plan."

Hermione felt excitement build up in her at his words. It was so refreshing to hear him say such things. After being at Hogwarts with Ron and Harry, she half expected Felix and Demetri to be like them. Every year she tried to talk sense into the boys before they ran off doing something foolish, and it never worked. They never listened to her reasoning. So it was nice working with people who actually shared her views.

"Exactly." She said beaming at them both. "Honestly where were you when I was at Hogwarts. I tried to teach my friends that exact same thing and it always fell on deaf ears. They never listened and we got into more trouble than you could possibly imagine."

Felix laughed at her and said,

"Yes I seem to recall some of the stories of your youth."

She laughed again just as she felt his presence. Her whole body seemed to be on fire as soon as she felt him walk into the room. Her body tensed as she looked around and saw him engaged in conversation with Caius. He seemed to be oblivious to her presence, and if he wasn't then he gave no outward sign of even noticing her.

Demetri and Felix did however see the change in her body language and looking at each other, they grinned knowingly.

Demetri nudged her, claiming her attention once more

"My little witchling as much as it pleases me to see you look so smitten, I think we really ought to concentrate on this." He said, indicating the large map that he had just pulled out.

If Hermione could have, she would have blushed profusely at being so distracted by a man. Because she couldn't blush, she simply smiled sheepishly and nudged her friends shoulder.

"Sorry." She whispered. She shook her head then looked down at the map, noticing it was of Europe. "What's this for?" She asked looking at it before turning her attention to her friends.

"Well since you can't apparate us to your friends like we had hoped, we now need to actually plan our journey. Which is where the map comes in handy." Felix said pulling out a black marker pen. He circled Volterra, as that's where they would be starting from, then looked at Hermione expectantly. "Where is your friend's home about?" He asked.

Hermione turned her gaze to the map and looked at all the places in Romania, aware of the people around them. She found where she was looking for and pointed her finger at it.

She looked at her friends and with her pointer finger pressed against her lips, whispered shh, before indicating the others in the room with a tilt of her head.

Demetri and Felix got the hint at once, so instead of circling Arefu, the place she had pointed to, he drew a line close by.

"Alright now we have our starting point which is Volterra and we have our end point which is your friend's home. All we need to do now is figure out the best path to get from A to B, without being found out." Felix said.

Even as he spoke Hermione could tell that Felix was well practiced at organising this kind of thing. He was confident and took charge easily, reminding her off why he was so high up in the ranks of the Volturi guard.

Looking at the map she squinted her eyes and said,

"Well it doesn't matter what time of day we go out at, as I can cast a disillusionment charm on us, so it means we don't need to stick to shaded areas." She said hoping this would make things easier for them.

"She's right, the only time we need to stop is to feed to preserve our energy." Felix said agreeing with her. "The other thing we need to then plan is how to stay in contact once we are invisible."

"That's simple enough, we could get walkie talkies. That means we can always communicate with each other while disillusioned."

Felix nodded his head in agreement.

"Sounds good little witchling, I can get Heidi or whoever she's got working for her now, to order some good quality ones for us. They should be here ASAP."

Hermione smiled, enjoying having others to work with. To say she was excited about this mission was an understatement.

"Right, looking at the map I suggest we leave Volterra and head up to Florence, before making our way to Bologna then Treviso, and Gorizia which borders Slovenia." Demetri said. He was the best tracker in the Volturi guard and possibly throughout the vampire world, so he knew the best paths to take. Since they no longer had to worry about being exposed in the daylight, thanks to Hermione's magic, they could now take a more direct route than before.

"I agree, so you think its best going from Italy, to Slovenia, to Hungary then to Romania." Felix asked Demetri.

"It would take longer going through Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia." Demetri replied.

"Good so looking at Slovenia now, if we go from Gorizia then to Kranj and Ptuj. That means we can break in between." He circled the places as he went on, drawing lines between them. "Then heading into Hungary we can go from Ptuj to Kaposvar then to Mako. So that just leaves Romania."

Hermione watched in amazement as the two vampires planned and talked between themselves. It wasn't like they were ignoring her it was just that they were more knowledgeable about this kind of thing than what she was. Truthfully she had never travelled much in Europe so had no knowledge about the countries themselves, or which country bordered which. This was all knew to her, so she was quite happy and content in letting the boys take over for now.

"Please don't tell me the Romanians coven is in Transylvania." Hermione said with a small chuckle, remembering all the books and films she had seen as a young muggle.

Both Felix and Demetri laughed shaking their heads at her.

"No but it's not far away from there." Felix said showing her the map. "Transylvania is here and the Romanians are based in Timisoara, which as you can see isn't too far away from Mako either."

"Lucky we have you to hide us my little witchling." Demetri said with a small nudge to her arm.

"Yeah lucky." She replied back with a small smile on her face. She maybe couldn't help plan the journey for them but at least she could help with other things.

"So with that in mind I think after Mako we should move to Arad then Deva, which as you can see isn't that far from your friend's home."

Hermione sat up straight and looked at them both before saying,

"Ahh about that. There's something I need to tell you first."

Just as the words escaped her mouth, her whole body began to tingle as Aro and Caius came walking over to them. His eyes were downcast to the map before them, but that didn't mean he hadn't noticed the slight tension and rigidity in Hermione's shoulders and back. The thought that he had such a profound effect on her, pleased him immensely however.

A memory of the day after the ball flashed in his mind, as he remembered Hermione's breasts bared to him. He wanted her now just as much as he wanted her then, but pushed those feelings to the side, as he stood between her and Felix while he studied the map.

"Very good so the journey is now planned. Did you hear from your friend Hermione?" He asked out of curiosity.

She turned to look at him, unafraid to meet his gaze, however he did not look back at her.

"Yes I did and he agreed to let us stay with him." She replied before Demetri said,

"But she was just going to tell us something about her friend." He had a grin on his face when Hermione turned her attention back to him. She squinted her eyes at him wondering what he was playing at.

"Oh well don't let our presence stop you." Aro said.

She fidgeted in her seat a little as Aro placed his arm on the table next to her, accidentally brushing against hers, causing an electric shock to ripple through her. Hermione cleared her throat then said,

"As I was saying, I need to warn you about Charlie's home." She smiled knowingly at her friends before saying, "You see Charlie looks after rare and exotic animals and works in a sanctuary for them. He told me to warn you that he currently has three grown animals in the sanctuary at the moment."

Felix and Demetri both quirked an eyebrow at her, before Demetri hesitantly asked,

"And what my little witchling, are these rare and exotic animals."

Hermione chuckled, unable to hide her excitement at seeing the looks on their faces when she told them, then said,

"He looks after dragons."

Both her friends went bug eyed when she spoke causing her to chuckle.

"What you mean actual real dragons?" Felix asked unable to hide his shock.

Hermione giggled again and nodded her head.

"Yup."

"Do they even exist?" Demetri asked. Hermione was sure that if he wasn't already pale now, he would have been a deathly colour at hearing that.

Hermione couldn't stop the laughter that escaped as she glanced at her friend.

"Really, you have to ask. Well vampires exist, magical folk exist, vampire witches now exist, and you ask if dragons exist." She laughed again. "Honestly Demetri they do and lucky for you, you're going to get to see one maybe all three, up close and personal."

Demetri sighed and slumped back against his chair, looking somewhat dazed and a little apprehensive.

"Perhaps it wouldn't be too bad not staying with your friend after all." He said, not sure if he really wanted to come face to face with a dragon. "Do they actually breathe fire?" He asked looking at all of their faces.

Felix and Hermione started laughing again, while Caius looked on in amusement. Aro on the other hand didn't appear very happy about the news either. Truthfully despite how strong he knew Hermione, Demetri and Felix were, the thought of her coming close to a fire breathing dragon made him feel anxious. Especially after the vision she had when she died surrounded in a wall of flames.

"Of course some of them do. I know that Norberta is fire breathing." She said remembering when the baby dragon sneezed after she had hatched, setting fire to Hagrid's beard. A small smile appeared on her lips as she fondly thought back to the memory.

"Who or what is Norberta?" Demetri said with wide eyes.

Felix couldn't help but laugh at his partners' antics. Even as a powerful vampire, Demetri still showed signs of weakness at times. It was endearing to him.

"Norberta belonged to my friend back in Hogwarts, I actually saw her hatch from her egg. It was amazing. Hagrid thought she was a male at first but it was only after she was sent away that we found out he was actually a she." She laughed again at the memory.

"Why did the dragon get sent away?" Caius asked curiously.

Hermione sighed then said,

"It wouldn't do well to bring up such a dangerous animal so close to a school. Plus the Ministry made raising dragons illegal. So my friends Harry and Ron wrote to Charlie and he got some friends to pick up Norberta. He's been looking after her ever since." She smiled wistfully.

Aro who had been listening intently suddenly said,

"Is it safe for the three of you to be around fire?" He knew that fire was dangerous for them. Despite their many strengths this was their one weakness and knew that it could be fateful. Even to those who were strong and powerful. Even to Hermione, he thought as he let his gaze wander to her briefly.

Hermione had been sitting gazing at him, watching as different emotions filtered across his face as he spoke. She knew of course what he was thinking, and so as he glanced her way, she couldn't help but soften towards him.

She smiled timidly, aware of her settings and the fact that they weren't alone.

"Charlie will take good care of us believe me, he's an expert. As long as we don't put ourselves in danger we should be alright."

"I for one won't be going anywhere near a fire breathing dragon." Demetri said trying to lighten the atmosphere somewhat. He could feel the tension between Aro and Hermione, and knew that they didn't want everyone knowing what was going on between them.

Hermione laughed and shook her head.

"I can't wait to see a dragon." Felix admitted, his curiosity piqued somewhat. "Master Caius would you mind if I went over these plans with you." He suddenly said picking up the map in front of him.

"Of course let's go back to my quarters and go over things there." It was not uncommon for Felix and Caius to go over such things, after all Caius was the General of the guard, with Felix as his second in command. As his General he would need to approve of such things beforehand. Maybe even have some input into them himself.

So with that they left, leaving Hermione, Demetri and Aro standing.

"Well." Aro said clapping his hands together, that boyish grin across his face. "Since you have finished perhaps Demetri you could come with me. I must talk to you for a moment." He smiled letting his gaze fall on Hermione, who for some reason looked rather disappointed.

"Of course Master Aro as you wish." Demetri said with a small respectful bow of his head. Turning his gaze to Hermione he looked deep into her eyes, and gently touched her elbow. "I shall meet you back in your quarters my little witchling." Then with that he turned on his heel and followed Aro out of the room.

Hermione looked around to see who else was still here, and seeing no-one that she cared to speak to, left the dome room herself and headed back towards her quarters. Before she could even descend the stairs, she was suddenly stopped in her tracks. Turning she saw Jane looking at her, her face blank and void of any emotion.

"You shouldn't be going to Romania, that was my task and it is too dangerous for you." Her words bit Hermione, but they did not sting, as they held no sign of the usual malice in them.

"Oh and why is it too dangerous for me and not you?" Hermione said squaring her shoulders at the other woman.

Jane smiled sweetly, almost too sweetly for Hermione's taste before saying,

"Because you haven't been a vampire or a member of the guard long. You do not know our ways. We wouldn't want something awful happening to you now would we?" She simply said before walking away back to the dome room where she came from.

Hermione stood at the top of the stairs leaning against the wall as she took in the other woman's words. Had she just been threatened? Or had she just been given a friendly warning?

She snorted at her thoughts as she realised that there was nothing friendly about Jane. Ever since Hermione arrived at Volterra, and even before that, the two of them were openly hostile towards one another. Jane wouldn't just suddenly change now and be nice to her. There was no way.

Thinking back to the vision she had it was probable that Jane could be the possible traitor amongst them. After all she hated Hermione, she was jealous and on the odd occasion showed anger towards the leaders especially towards Aro. As her thoughts were consumed by Jane, Hermione knew that she would have to keep a closer eye on the other woman. At this point in time they had no idea who the traitor was, and as far as motives went Jane had the biggest one.

There was also Sulpicia but she had showed no signs of aggression towards Hermione until the night of the ball. Not until after Hermione's tryst with her husband. This lead Hermione to believe that Sulpicia was probably that way because she knew somehow. That thought did not sit well with her. She never wanted to be the other woman, and despite her traitorous feelings and behaviour that's exactly who she was becoming.

With that in mind Hermione went into the safety of her quarters and slumped down on the couch deep in thought, whilst she waited for Demetri to come.

Meanwhile Demetri followed his Master into an empty room and watched with some trepidation as Aro locked the door behind them and turned a heated look on him.

"Do not look so frightened my friend, I just wanted to speak in private with you for a moment." He smiled sitting down on a chair, before indicating for Demetri to sit down on the one across from him.

Hesitantly Demetri done as he was asked and sat down, all the time keeping his guard up.

"Now I see that you and Hermione are close and I am glad that she has someone who she can go to. But I wanted to know how you felt she was doing here. Is she fitting in well with the others so to speak?"

Demetri felt himself relax knowing all about the vision she had of the possible traitor. This was Aro's way of finding out if he thought anyone would want to harm her in any way.

"Hermione and I are close, she is a good friend and almost like a sister to both me a Felix." Demetri said unable to hide his affection for her. "I think she fits in well here and she has proven her worth several times during her stay. She is strong, fearless and commanding, and is someone who I think would make a wonderful leader." At this statement Aro's eyebrow quirked up in curiosity, but Demetri kept going. "Some of the other guard members are still a little wary of her. Jane and Alec openly dislike her, Santiago likes her, while Corin and Renata still don't trust her as yet. But she is getting there. The rest of the guard members have embraced her as one of us. And I know she gets on well with you and your brothers. Especially Master Marcus." He said honestly.

Aro clasped his hands together, before saying,

"You seem to know a lot Demetri." It was not so much a question but a statement.

"Yes, Hermione speaks to Felix and myself. We are her confidants and her friends."

Aro sat back against the chair and gazed at Demetri wondering just how much he knew. So with that thought in his mind he asked,

"Do you speak about everything?"

Demetri knew where this conversation was heading and knew that he had to be careful. If he lied, then it wouldn't be hard for Aro to learn the truth. If he told Aro the truth, then he didn't want to think that he was breaking Hermione's trust. So he needed to tread carefully with what he said.

"Yes." He simply said looking straight into his Master's eyes.

Feeling his curiosity piqued further Aro said,

"Tell me some of the things that you speak about exactly."

Demetri didn't want to go against his Master, but at the same time couldn't break the trust of his friend. Moving his gaze to look at his hands he said,

"I cannot divulge such information Master Aro."

Aro felt a slight annoyance at the way Demetri was trying to avoid his question, understanding that the vampire must know more than he first believed. But at the same time felt grateful that Hermione had someone who had only her best interests at hearts.

But he was Aro after all, he was selfish, manipulative and in the end always got what he wanted by using any possible means necessary. This was one of those times he would get what he wanted.

"I am pleased that Hermione has such a trusting confidant as yourself Demetri, you do her well." He said, a small playful smile crossing his lips, as he rose elegantly from his chair and walked to the other side of the room. His back turned towards the younger vampire. "Since you and Hermione appear to talk about everything, I wonder if she knows who your mate is." He turned around to face the young man, whose eyes had grown wide with surprise and fear. Unable to look at his Master, he set his eyes downcast and looked at the ground. "As I'm aware none of the other guard members know, but since you seem so close to Hermione it wouldn't surprise me if she knew. Am I correct?" He asked gazing at Demetri.

Despite what people thought about Aro, it did not please him to use such tactics on those who he liked and respected. And he did have a lot of respect for this particular vampire. Especially after how close he was with his mate. He knew the bond they shared was of a sibling nature so did not fear a relationship between them. And he already knew that Demetri's interests lay elsewhere, something that they kept hidden because they feared the relationship would be frowned upon.

"H-how did you know?" Demetri stammered, feeling the cold rush of fear at having his secret outed by the leader of the Volturi of all people.

Aro laughed, that boyish knowing tinkle that never meant anything good.

"Oh sometimes I think people forget who I am at times." He leaned his hands against the table, his eyes and smile never wavering as he backed Demetri further into the corner with his words. "The moment you felt the mating pull towards Felix, Marcus and I knew. He reads people's bonds remember and he could see yours quite clearly. That and when it grew after you both marked each other as mates." Aro stood up straighter before clasping his hands in front of him. "Now do not fear my friend, neither me nor Marcus have anything against your relationship. In fact, we are pleased for you of course. However, Caius may not be as tolerant, and perhaps some of the guard members as well. But I promise to keep your secret if you give me what I want."

Demetri finally looked up to meet his Master's gaze, a serious look upon his face as he knew he could not fight against Aro anymore.

"What would you like to know Master Aro?" He asked, trying to hide the dislike from his voice.

Aro smiled again before taking his seat.

"What do you know about Hermione and me?" He leaned back against the chair and steepled his fingers together, as he waited for the younger vampire to speak.

Demetri sighed and told Aro everything that he and Hermione had spoken about, knowing that he was betraying the one person, other than his mate that he knew he could trust the most. What option did he have though? It was either tell Aro what he wanted to know, or ruin the life he had with his mate. Despite how much he loved Hermione as a sister, his love for his mate was so much more. He had no choice but to tell Aro everything.

Aro listened intently to what the younger vampire was saying, feeling the excitement grow inside. Hearing how Hermione felt about him, even though it didn't come straight from her mouth, filled him with such hope, despite the fact she still seemed a little unsure. He had gotten her to this point already, so perhaps it wouldn't take her long to reach the point where he could finally claim her for his own. The last words Demetri spoke, really interested him.

"She admitted to you that I was her mate." He leaned back on the chair and felt his frozen heart sore with those words.

"Yes." Demetri quietly admitted, feeling even guiltier at betraying Hermione again.

Aro was quiet, as he was lost in thoughts, a plan forming in his mind. Turning his gaze to Demetri, he looked happy and peaceful with no sign of the normal smugness he wore.

"Thank you my friend. I know that wasn't easy for you, betraying Hermione like that. I promise that what was discussed today will go no further than this room. Do not tell Hermione or Felix and I will not tell my brothers or the guard."

Demetri gave a small nod of his head and said,

"Yes Master."

"Good you may go back to her now, I know she will be waiting for you."

"Thank you." Demetri stood up and went to reach for the door when Aro grabbed his arm. Turning, he faced his Master, with a curious look on his face.

"Before you go, there is something I must beg of you." Aro said, and for the first time since he joined the Volturi, Demetri could actually see an anxious fear burning in his Master's eyes. "When the three of you leave for Romania, take care of her, protect her with everything you have. Please keep her safe….for me."

Demetri could see the pleading vulnerability in his Master's eyes, and knew that there was more to Aro's feelings for Hermione than what he was ready to admit. Knowing this, dampened the guilt he felt at betraying Hermione like that.

Feeling bold, Demetri placed his hand on Aro's shoulder and looked deep into his eyes, with fierce determination shining in there red depths.

"With my life." Was all that he had to say. In that moment, a mutual understanding passed between them both, as Demetri took his leave heading straight to Hermione's quarters.

What Aro and Hermione shared was special in itself, but after seeing his normally stoic fearless Master looking so vulnerable and so impassioned about another person, that was a rarity indeed. He always knew that the person who made Aro feel again would be special. And in his eyes no-one was more special than Hermione. He just hoped that one day Aro would eventually come to deserve her.

He gave a sigh of relief at the fact that for now his relationship with Felix was safe, and what was more important was that they seemed to have the blessing of Aro and Marcus as well as Hermione. Knowing that eased some of the pressure he felt somewhat, helping him to concentrate on the journey ahead. He had promised Aro that he would protect Hermione with his life, and he would fulfil that promise if it came to it. He just hoped that it didn't.