As a responsible wife, Hermione knew she should not have such feelings, but whenever she met Harry's eyes, a surge of guilt would fill her brain and her soul, tossing and turning her spirit. Harry, who had no idea of what has happened, tried to approach her when he came across her at the Ministry, but Hermione would not talk to him.

Once the work was done, Hermione stay in the common room, not willing to go anywhere. Lisa sat beside her and offered her a hot chocolate.

"What happened?" whispered Lisa.

"That was a dirty trick," said Hermione.

"Is it Draco or Lucius?"

"The whole family is a disgrace," said Hermione. "That day when I was pulled to the Diagon Alley, Lucius Malfoy secretly bought Amouroisson."

"Amouroisson?" exclaimed Lisa. "But that's—"

"That's exactly what I mean, one drop can be very powerful."

"But that means he has no confidence in controlling this relationship."

"He can never control me, never will."

"Of course, it's just that he seems determined about this."

"I swear I will find out everything, and resolve this matter—"

"And return to Harry?"

Hermione bit her lips, she had thought of getting rid of the Malfoys, but she was not sure if Harry would by her side then.

"He will wait for me, I hope," said Hermione.

"He loves you deeply, even when you are in the Malfoys, he never leaves you, at least I don't receive any news saying that he has got himself someone else. And you must know that swarms of girls are eyeing on him as if he is some sort of treasure."

"All happy people resemble one another, each unhappy person is unhappy in their own way."

The clock struck five, reminding them the end of a working day.

"It's good that we are less busy than in those days when You-Know-Who and the Dark Wizards are still out there," said Lisa.

"I hope we are never going to be busy."

Lisa chuckled and said, "Of course."

Hermione swiftly packed her things and was ready to go, she left the Ministry before anyone would ask her whereabouts.

She went back to the manor again. Instead of staying in her intended bedroom, she headed to other rooms. It was amusing to walk around in the manor, she felt as if her parents were there beside her. As soon as she entered a room, she was awed by the lovely scenery. Sunlight penetrated into the room, it was warm and lovely, reminding her of those great evenings with him beside her, watching the sun slowly going to the horizon.

There were photos hanging on the walls. Indeed, she had never seen a woman with such beauty, those dark brown hair and brown eyes that was as clear as the autumn lakes had captivated her attention. Though the woman was just smiling, Hermione could see the wits in her, a perfect Ravenclaw, and Hermione reckoned that she would love her as a confidant if she was born decades earlier.

There were other photos that were interesting enough to examine. One thing Hermione was sure was that she did not inherit much from him. Blonde hair, green eyes, hawk nose, nothing belonged to her. The man was holding the woman's hands, beaming proudly. It was a strange combination, yet it seemed to work out properly.

The photo at the corner was gaining her attention and her fingers glided on the surface. The baby was laughing in her mother's arms. Somehow Hermione could feel a pain in her soul, twisting. What would the child be like after years if those did not happen? Which house could she be in? Gryffindor? Ravenclaw? Hufflepuff? Slytherin?

She opened the ebony drawer and took out a pile of parchment that each of them was folded neatly. There were letters, letters from the man whom the mother loved.

Dear Helia,

I apologize for leaving you behind, the pursuit continues and the minister vows to capture him, but he gets away every time. How's the baby? Does she kick you? I hope she can be your guardian angel when you feel lonely in the middle of the nights. I promise I will come back once the business is over.

Your SW

There were so many other letters and Hermione could not believe that a Death Eater could be that responsible and kind. She tried to imagine those days when her parents loved her to bits and gently nurtured her, it was not all unimaginable, it was just weird.

Just as she turned around, she could notice a small door beside the crib. Walking towards the door, she drew her cypress wand, ready for a sudden attack. Carefully, she unlocked the door and found a silver glowing basin that appeared like a bird fountain, sparkling like diamonds in the dark. Runes and symbols were carved and gems were fitted at the side. Hermione lit up the room and examine the runes, trying to make out the word.

"Vivunt in memoria…" whispered Hermione, looking at the silvery liquid gas.

It was so alluring that Hermione leaned her head closer and closer, trying to see what was behind the silvery cloud-like substance.

The room changed, it was a toddler's room., with blinding bright lights at the windows. The carpet was colourful and beside it were all toys. Toy broomsticks, unicorn plushies, toy hippogriff, dissected maps, toy wands…there was also a bookshelf, with story books lined neatly. A custard fur ball rolled into the room and squeaked, followed by a toddler, who was eager to capture it.

"No, Athena, no!" said a voice.

Hermione turned around and saw a woman running into the room. Quickly, the woman picked the toddler up.

"No, Athena, you're scaring it away!" said the woman and she placed the child in the crib that was at the corner.

Hermione went towards the crib, trying to find out more about herself. The baby's dark eyes were sparkling like dark ambers, and she laughed as the woman's fingers tickled her abdomen.

"Sorry dear, it's bed time now," said Helia. "You need to get some sleep."

The baby pulled her index finger and nibbled it. Then she tried to stand up and yelped while pointing at the book on the table.

"You want books?" asked the woman and she took the book.

"Books!" yelled the baby, mimicking the pronunciation while stretching out her arms.

"Let me see…" said the woman and she flipped open the book. "Maybe this one…They had not dug far, before it started to rain. 'Quickly, climb out, or else there will be trouble again! See? The little bunny is climbing out of the hole!'"

The toddler giggled and wriggled her limbs. The mother was smiling gently, with her eyes gazing at the baby. Hermione could feel the scenery getting more and more vague, and she knew it was time to go back.

Night had fallen and the warm atmosphere had gone. The temperature dropped and displeased of her presence. Unwillingly, she apparated back to the Malfoy Manor.

Draco was not pleased to see her missing after working hours, there were faint rumours of them getting closer and closer, so close that it was more than just friends. He wanted her heart, but never would she give it to him. Every night, he saw things, a dark figure taking away all the brightness and hope, there were cries of crows and air got thinner and thinner, forcing him to wake up. Whenever he woke up, he would go to check Hermione out. The relief came as he could hear her breathing and see her face, the purest and gentlest face.

Yet someone had put black stains on her.

"Lucius, are you sure we can hold it back?" asked Narcissa, lying on the bed with a frown. "You know we cannot hide it forever, she is not just any simple Gryffindor. There is Ravenclaw in her, and she will soon find out—"

"No nonsense, Cissy. There is nothing for us to worry."

"But we have not yet found the house, and the secret keeper is out there—"

"Do you think it is possible for the secret keeper to approach her under out noses?"

"Oh, Lucius, I don't know, I wish—"

"It's late now!" announced Lucius. "We should get some sleep."

Knowing that he did not want to stay on the subject, she stopped the conversation and stayed awake, staring at the ceiling. At that night, she was one of those who made the decision. Four lives were in her hand, one more hesitation and their lives would be spared, but she did not. As told, she placed it in the owl's beak and let it flew off. She had never feared or regretted doing it, but now…

The Aurors let them get away from it, much to her surprise. Her husband had planned to eliminate them all in one time, why would the plan fail? It seemed so unreasonable.

What was she doing? The moment when Lucius placed the deadly 'weapon' into her hand, she thought of her son. If the plan succeeded, they would be freed from the agreement. The Unbreakable would no longer work anymore as the person involved was dead and could not fulfil the requirement.

She still had a draft of it in her drawer, well kept for years. It was like a reminder of the flaw of the plan, warning her not to make the same mistakes again.

Hermione was still immersing herself into that piece of memory. She had longed to see her mother, not just the appearance, but her words and actions. It was almost as if it was her who was the mother as they had the same face. Everything looked so wonderful and perfect, better than she ever had. It was not that her Muggle parents did not give her all the best. They loved her dearly and provided her everything they could afford. They sent her to a private school, bought novels and encyclopaedias to widen her mind. She was brilliant in her class, able to learn things more than her age group. Once she was asked to hold a school drama. The boys were not satisfied of having a girl as the director, nicknaming her and tried to play pranks on her, calling her 'bossy'. When they called her nicknames, they would accidentally choke themselves or chomped their tongues. When they tried to stalk on her, she would miraculously get away from them without any problem. The other time when the boys tried to pour water on her, she somehow managed to herself from the water and it splashed at the boys' direction, soaking their clothes badly. It all happened so strangely that she started to know she was different, and it confirmed her thoughts when the letter arrived. But now, she was not any simple witches…

It was fortunate that she moved downstairs, she did not have to sleep early just because of Draco. She could read books and think about the cases she met in the Ministry. Meditating in silence was most enjoyable, but it did not last long as an owl flew into her room, nibbling her fingers, lifting its leg and hoped Hermione would grab the letter.

Hermione unfolded the parchment and read it carefully, she scanned it for a dozen times, imagining this happened as a conversation. It was far too easy to get along with someone like him, he was neither proud like peacock nor snobbish, he was friendly and gentle, like daisies swaying in the breeze.

She dipped the tip of the quill into her own ink box and began writing. The Malfoys used green ink, to her disgust, it was just like the colour of overdue frosting and mould.

When she finished writing, she proofread it for a dozen times before putting it into the owl's claws. The owl hooted softly and flew off, Hermione watched it slowly disappearing into the night sky…