A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! Apologies for no chapter last week - everyone is sick. Hoping to get out two this week. And, huge thank you to lanamarymack and Angela 007 for alpha/beta reading as always - I truly to not deserve them! You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter fifteen and be on the lookout for chapter sixteen soon!


22 September 1952

The equinox fell on a Monday, which meant that Hermione needed to call off of work a second time. Surprisingly, she felt none of the agony that she had the first time around, and happily penned a note to her superior to let him know that she would be out that day and probably the next as well due to her illness. She remembered the hangover she'd had after the last one and knew that there was no use in trying to go into the office as she wouldn't be able to get anything done anyways.

She also hoped that none of her coworkers would put together her absences with the old magic rituals. If they did, hopefully they would simply dismiss it out of hand on account of her being muggleborn.

Slowly looking over her cranberry coloured robes in the mirror, she hoped that they would suit the occasion once again, but knowing that she was likely to be the only witch in attendance, she tried not to let it bother her too much. It was much too cool now for the flowy sleeveless robes of summer, so she'd worn a set with long sleeves in the hope that they would keep her warm enough.

At the appointed time, she pulled out the portkey she'd been provided (apparently the Lestrange wards were more difficult to adjust as they were deeply ingrained with the land), she held on and waited for the spinning feeling before she was deposited on the edge of an apple orchard.

In the distance, she could see an impressive, stately manor house where she presumed Edmond and his family lived. A feasting table was already set up, adorned with many cornucopias overflowing with the evidence of a healthy harvest. It was far less remote than Rosier's location, which was somewhat comforting, but also shattered the illusion a bit for her as well.

Edmond approached her, a glass of wine in hand held out in offering.

"Really?" Hermione asked. "It's hardly past sunrise."

"The days are growing shorter," he answered with a smirk, partially covered by his impressive mustache. He took a sip from his own drink. "What? No bread for me?"

Hermione's cheeks went pink at being called out for not bringing the traditional host gift. "Well, I understand that you are supposed to bring honeycomb, but Tom told me that you keep an apiary, so I figured anything I would bring would pale in comparison to what you already possess," she explained, hoping that she had not actually caused great offense.

To her relief, Edmond smiled. "You are too right," he agreed. "And besides, I don't really deserve a host gift when it's my wife who does all the work."

"Will she be joining us?" Hermione asked, curious to learn more about any of these men. She took a small sip of the red wine. It was extremely dry, not something she expected so early in the day, and it made her sputter a bit.

"No, Claudia is tending to our son, Rodolphus," he answered. "And she never really had the stomach for these sorts of things. Or the patience."

Hermione frowned. Before she could think on what he meant about having the stomach for the ritual, she was stuck on the name Rodolphus. For some reason the name gave her pause. She felt like she really ought to know why, but came up empty handed.

Luckily, Tom saved her from her quandary, appearing holding his own portkey. Unable to stop herself, Hermione threw her arms around him in a hug. She stood on tiptoes so that she could reach his ear. "Thank you for my present," she whispered. "I spent all yesterday reading it."

She hadn't even realized that Tom knew her birthday, let alone that he would get her something. It had been an absolute joy to see that he'd gone back and purchased the book on Oster's Compendium for her, even though she knew it must have been quite expensive.

"I'm just sorry I couldn't see you open it in person," he told her, giving her a smirk. "How was your trip?"

Tom had invited her to a dinner to celebrate as well, but Hermione had been called off on a job that sent her all the way to Scotland. She'd only thought she'd be there on her birthday, but then the work was trickier than she expected and had to remain through Saturday evening to complete her investigation. She hadn't enjoyed it, not when she knew that she actually had someone to spend her birthday with that year, but also she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. And, when she'd been eating dinner in the pub she was staying in, she could have sworn she'd seen Dumbledore, only to find no sign of him when she went to look.

"Oh, as well as it could go," Hermione said, hoping her disappointment wasn't too obvious. "I don't particularly enjoy Scotland."

Tom seemed to take her words at face value and realized that she didn't want to elaborate too much further. "You will have to tell me if you learn anything interesting in your book," he encouraged.

"Of course I will," she agreed, her head filled with daydreams of them spending the quiet months of winter holed up in her flat, reading together. "And you will have to tell me what I should expect for the equinox. Lestrange has not given anything away."

"It's actually a bit of hard labor," Tom explained, looking bemused when he saw her face fall. "Not all fun and games like last time."

"Yes, you will have no throne this time, Granger," Alfie teased, joining their conversation once he arrived via portkey. The rest of the men began to appear slowly, some choosing to take their time.

"We spend most of the day gathering apples and pressing them. Edmond will use the juice to make a cider that's enjoyed at Samhain," Tom said. "We'll also gather a bit of honey."

"And you really managed to do all this while you were at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, sounding surprised. Now that she'd seen the school again, she couldn't fathom where they'd be able to accomplish everything undetected.

"With some variations," Alfie said, but not elaborating on what he meant. "Then we have a mid-day feast, before the ritual begins."

"Then, there is a potion for restoring balance, as we enter the fallow part of the year," Tom continued. "And making an offering to the trees."

"An offering to the trees?" Hermione asked, scrunching her nose in confusion. "What on Earth does that mean?"

"You'll see," Alfie said with a smirk on his face. "Now grab a basket and get to picking. We want to make sure that we have more than enough apples."

In an unexpected act of chivalry, Tom picked up a basket for her and led her off into the orchard where they were expected to pick the apples that still clung to the trees. Any that were deemed imperfect were dropped to the ground where they would be left to rot. Hermione thought it was grossly wasteful - surely there was some other purpose for the apples - but then again, it was not her orchard so she wouldn't presume to tell Lestrange how he should handle them.

She filled her basket multiple times until it was too heavy to carry, before levitating it back to the clearing where a massive apple press was set up. Edmond walked around it, moving the mechanical arm, his sleeves rolled up. Gold liquid spilled out of the bottom of the press into a tremendous glass jar, but they hadn't even filled it half way yet.

She spent most of her time talking with Tom about his time at Hogwarts, but she found herself enjoying talking to Alfie and Rosier as well. Alfie had so many questions about her work at the Improper Use of Magic Office, most specifically about the most harmful things she'd come across. He had many theoretical questions about different arcane spells he'd come across, that it really stretched her mind. At least it was all theoretical.

When it was midday, Hermione was growing tired from the work she'd done and was glad to hear that the feast would be ready soon. Hermione returned to the orchard after taking her most recent apple harvest to the press, only to have her arm grabbed by Tom. He plucked her basket from her hands, and dropped it to the ground, before pulling her from the apples towards the grove of beech trees, red leaves scattered all around.

They were hidden from view so he did not hesitate to pull her against his body, his head dipping so that he could press a needy kiss to her lips. Hermione melted against him completely, only to break free when she needed the breath.

"But Tom, the feast-"

He cut her off with a dark look, devious. "I'd much rather feast on you, if you'll let me," he said, his voice thick with desire.

Hermione's jaw dropped at the bold suggestion that he made and her heartbeat quickened to a pace that she was sure would overwhelm her. It was an awful, improper, indecent suggestion, but it was one that she wanted to take him up on more than anything. There was something about the way that he looked at her with those deep, dark eyes that made her insides turn to jelly. She looked around, desperate for some reason that she shouldn't agree.

"But, Tom, your friends-"

He was already advancing on her, encouraging her to lie back on a bed of bright red leaves so that he could advance on her. "Then you'll just have to be quiet, won't you?" he teased, before slanting his lips against hers. His teeth caught her bottom lip, before he pressed his tongue along the seam of her lips, deepening the kiss. He broke away. "Well, will you let me?"

She couldn't imagine that this powerful wizard might want her as badly as she wanted him, but her desire for him was too great. She would put her insecurities away for another day. Nodding eagerly, she pulled him back towards her for another kiss, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders. He obliged, but only for a moment, before taking control of the situation again. He dropped his mouth to the side of her neck, leaving hot, open mouthed kisses along the tender flesh until he met the top of her robes.

Hermione felt a bit dizzy when he brought one hand up to cup her breast, much as he'd done at the bookstore, while his other began pulling the hem of her robes up her legs, exposing her bare flesh to the outer elements. She wouldn't allow herself to overthink the moment and simply embraced the feeling of his fingers trailing up the inside of her thigh.

"Tom," she sighed, sliding open her legs so that he could settle between them. "Please," she added, unable to stop herself from pleading. Oh, she wanted him to touch her there more than anything in the whole world.

And Tom was only too happy to grant her request, his fingers slipping under the edge of her knickers, pressing against her center for a brief moment, before tugging the offending fabric down. He gave her a devious sort of smirk, all too pleased with the way that she was under his spell.

Feeling her cheeks burn hot, Hermione stared up at the grey sky and waited with baited breath as his dark head disappeared from her periphery. She could feel his hot breath against her inner thighs, making her shiver in need. She thought she just might burst if he didn't do something, anything.

And then, she felt the first daring kiss to her center. She couldn't help but gasp out loud, nearly sitting up reflexively. Her mouth hung open in awe at the sight of him there between her legs while he confidently kissed and licked her until her entire world seemed to be wrapped up into the act. She let her head drop back once again, awash in the sensation of him pushing her closer and closer to a precipice that she was all too familiar with, though not one that she had ever shared with another.

Belatedly, she realized that she had been repeating his name over and over. She pressed her hand across her mouth and scrunched her eyes shut as the feeling of pleasure reached its pinnacle and she was shoved over the edge into bliss.

She felt utterly boneless and dynamic at the same time. Above her, the wind seemed to gust through the branches, sending a new batch of leaves swirling down towards the ground, landing all around her.

Hermione was vaguely aware of Tom pulling her robes back down her legs and then he was looming over her again, wearing that crooked sort of smile he had. He pressed one more lingering kiss to her lips before offering her a hand and helping her to stand on wobbly legs.

"Shall we return to the orchard now?" he asked, as though he hadn't just completely turned her world upside down. "They might have noticed that we've gone by now."

Once again, her blush deepened at how brazen they had been, sneaking away like that. Nodding, she wasn't sure that she trusted herself to speak at the moment. She followed him back to the rest of the party, holding his hand tightly in her own to help tether her to reality.