"Hermione!"

Spinning on her heal, still arm in arm with Pansy Hermione gasped, "Tonks! What are you doing here?" She let go of Pansy's arm only to hug the other witch and the baby she was holding. "And my Teddy boy, look how big you've gotten!"

The tiny infant reached for her and his mother passed him over with ease.

Nodding politely to Pansy who remained with Hermione as she wiggled her fingers in the babies face making him giggle Tonks responded, "We are here to see Remus. Mum is having tea with Aunt Narcissa so I brought Teddy. I was actually wondering if you might not mind watching him while Remus and I have lunch in Hogsmeade."

"Of course," Hermione bumped him up higher on her hip making him giggle, "It's Valentines after all, mummy and daddy deserve a date."

"You don't have a date or rounds or anything?"

"Nope, no date for me. I have rounds but mine are here in the castle later tonight, Draco is taking the Hogsmeade trip since he has a date." Tonks gave her an odd look, noticing that Pansy was giving her a similar one. Hermione wasn't looking at either of them and made a face at Ted, "Does Harry know you're here? I think he has a date with Gin later tonight so he might want to see Teddy today."

"He does."

Pansy groaned hearing Harry's voice approaching, "My morning would not be complete without being surrounded by Gryffindors."

Hermione swatted her while Tonks laughed and pointed to her own chest, "Hufflepuff."

"That's why I tolerate you."

"Always a pleasure Parkinson," Harry snorted joining their circle, Remus not far behind putting an arm around his wife. Looking at Hermione he grinned, "Care to join me in showing the mini Marauder around the school while his mum and dad get freaky?"

Pansy laughed, hands in the air as she started to walk away, "And I'm done."

Hermione shook her head fingering Teddy's now curly teal hair, "Let's go." Looking at Tonks she wiggled her eyebrows, "Have fun Nymphadora."

She heard a playful gasp as Harry led her away. Together they walked to the Great Hall where they came to a halt realizing their mistake.

"Which table?" Harry whispered when people started to notice them standing there awkwardly with a teal-haired baby between them.

"Do you want to take him or should I take him with me? We'll have a quick breakfast and take him around."

He looked sheepish, "You take him."

"I thought you were the brave one," she chuckled as she walked towards her table.

"I am," he called behind her, making her laugh aloud. At the table, she put Teddy in her lap and sat between Pansy and Theo, the later of which was fascinated with the infant in her lap.

"Is he a metamorphmagus? So bloody cool!"

Across from him, Daphne scolded him, "Language Theodore. It's a baby."

"Exactly, he doesn't know what I've said," looking back at Teddy, he grinned, "Do you buddy?" He conjured a ball of light that had Teddy giggling and clapping with excitement. "Babies are so simple."

Pansy looked impressed, "Excuse me while I pick my ovaries up off the floor."

Hermione laughed and offered a bit of her oatmeal to the distracted baby. He took the bite but only just before returning to the now purple light. When his hair changed to match, Theo looked beyond pleased with himself and kept changing the light every time Teddy copied it.

"This is Drake's cousin's kid, right?" he asked absently.

"Tonks and Remus's, yes. His name is Teddy."

"Oh that's a good name," Theo told Teddy, "All good names start with 'T', little man!" Teddy laughed and changed his hair to bright red. His curls never changed. Which the ever-observant Theo caught onto, "Like's your curls he does."

She smiled, "Always has. When he was a newborn, his tuff of hair would curl just so slightly every time he saw me."

Pansy pointed a finger discretely before picking up her goblet, "He did change it as soon as he saw her in the hall today too."

"See," Hermione beamed.

Daphne leaned forward, watching Theo play with the babe with interest, "How soon did he present?"

"Tonks says he had teal hair when he came out, and it changed the first time he fed, so almost immediately, I suppose."

"And she was the first in nearly a century to present, wasn't she? Tonks?" Hermione nodded, "And she is Narcissa's oldest sister's daughter?"

"Mother?"

The table's occupants looked up to see Astoria and Draco as they took their seats. Hermione heart did a sad lurch but kept her face impassive, "Daphne was asking about Tonks," she bumped Teddy on her leg, making him laugh.

Astoria saw him and gasped, "Oh Heavens he's adorable."

"Watch his," Theo smirked. He changed the light to a lime green, and almost instantly, Teddy's hair changed, "Fucking brilliant."

"Language Theo," Daphne attempted to scold again, making Draco laugh.

"Cousin's here?"

"On a date with her husband," Hermione answered with a nod, "Your mother and Andromeda are apparently having tea so I get him today." She kissed Teddy's head making him look up at her with newly changed grey eyes, "Isn't that right little love," she put him on the table and nuzzled his nose making him shriek with laughter as he dove off the table into her hair.

"Talk about ovaries melting," Theo snarked, making Hermione blush.

"You don't have ovaries," Daphne chuckled, shaking her head at him. "Anyway, I was asking if Tonks was your oldest aunt's daughter."

Draco nodded, tearing his eyes off Hermione and Teddy, "Yes."

"And she was the first to present in what, a century?"

"Mother says two," he shrugged while spreading jam on his toast.

Pansy frowned at him suddenly, "Ever think your son will be one?"

Draco stilled as he considered it. Astoria was the one to answer as she watched Theo continue to entice the babe into changing his hair, "That would be absolutely adorable! Don't you think Drake?"

Astoria's excited answer had Teddy looking in her direction. His eyes settled on Draco, though and he clapped his hands, hair changing to Malfoy blonde.

Astoria gasped, "Oh Salazar, he's so cute!"

Hermione swallowed thickly at the display, even as Theo regained Teddy's attention and got him to turn his hair yellow. For fifteen seconds, Teddy had looked like what she'd pictured Aurelian would look like. Blonde curls, grey eyes, button nose, a splash of freckles. A quick glance at Draco and she knew he'd seen the same thing. His eyes met hers for a moment and she couldn't hold it, not seeing the amount of shock and vulnerability there.

Swallowing she finished the last of her pumpkin juice and stood briefly, seeing Harry do the same across the Hall.

"Baby duty awaits. See you all at dinner!"

Putting Teddy on her hip, she had him wave making the girls and Theo swoon. Risking one last glance at Draco she met his eyes and gave a small nod of recognition. Why, she didn't know, but she did.

When she met Harry at the doors, she waved to Ginny and Neville before handing Teddy to Harry so he could put him on his shoulders, one conjured seat and a sticking charm later, Harry looked utterly ridiculous and Teddy was having a ball pulling Uncle's hair. They played in Room of Requirement, which had become a replica of the Burrow for an hour after a walk around the grounds and Gryffindor common room before the two decided to make the trek to the Great Hall for lunch, where they decided Harry would take Teddy to the Gryffindor table.

"Mione. I want to ask you something but you have to be honest with me. And before you tell me you are always honest with me, it's something you likely won't want to answer."

"Okay..." she nervously shifted Teddy as he slept on her chest in the carrier she'd conjured.

"You and Malfoy, what happened? Something happened over Christmas because he didn't come to the Burrow and the two of you were practically inseparable before but now you barely even look at each other."

Hermione rolled her lip between her teeth and considered lying. But this was Harry. Next to Draco, he was probably the only one who could tell if she was lying without looking at her. At least about this. Blowing out her cheeks, she moved them to a bench in the corridor.

When they were seated and she was sure Teddy was comfortable, she sighed, "Draco and I were sleeping together." Harry looked at her sharply, his ears tinting pink though he looked upset, "Just sleep. It helped the nightmares and overall insomnia."

He knew she was holding back, "And?"

"And we got comfortable. We started to talk about the future. See, Draco knows I have a bond thanks to Luna, but he doesn't know it's him. Anyway, the night of the ball I told him it hurt to know my bond didn't want me. To see him with another witch. So he took me to bed and proposed a game of sorts. Pretend actually. We talked about things like children and marriage. But it was just a game. Pretend. Until the hols at the Manor. Christmas Eve after getting back from the Burrow he found me in my room and held me. I told him what I could and he told me if it was what I wanted we could be together because I was his even if in the future I left him for my bond."

"Mione, that's great! He-" Harry stopped seeing her face fall. The dots connected, "Then why is he with Astoria?"

She bit her lip, "He told me to think about it and left me with his mum. Well, she arranged for Vicktor to be my date and surprised us. Draco got jealous and by the end of the night agreed to consider a marriage contract with Astoria." She looked out the window behind them when Harry suddenly grabbed her hand. "We had a fight but it wasn't really a fight. In the end, I told him he had every right to choose and I'd told him that from the beginning. But that I needed time because I was ready and I thought he had been too. So here we are..."

He was quiet for a long time before clearing his throat, "You let him go."

She shrugged, "In a way. He chose her. After seeing Vicktor and I and having both his father and hers mention it, he got cold feet."

"Mione...That's not...That's not right.."

"He-"

"Deserves a choice, I know," he interrupted her, "But what if he ends up married Mione? Then what? You know what, don't answer that. I have a feeling the answer will be incredibly selfless and annoying."

Hermione chuckled and even she could hear like it sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

Harry stood and started to pace in front of her. She let him, knowing he was irritated. He'd done it in the hospital when they found out too. Eventually, he started to give her a headache so she stood and made him start walking with her.

"So what do you have planned tonight with Gin?"

The change in subject was much needed. The more Harry revealed his plans for the evening, the more he calmed, his voice relaxing to his normal tone. She had her head leaning on his shoulder as he debated on whether to ask the elves to make crème brulee or a chocolate raspberry cake for dessert when the stair under Hermione's foot disappeared.

Hermione fell through the open gap with a shriek, her hands flying out to catch whatever she could grasp. Harry caught her forearms in a death grip.

"What the fuck?" he wheezed.

He had his feet against the banister for leverage to keep ahold of her and Teddy as she dangled.

"Vanishing step?"

He growled through his teeth, "They aren't this big, and you know it."

She tried to nod but stopped when it made her sway and Harry grimace.

"Can you reach your wand?"

"Mione, if I let go you will fall!"

"No I won't-"

"You will!"

"Listen to me, Harry," she tried to keep her voice calm, "If you can't reach your wand, you need to take Teddy Harry, no listen, you need to take him. His safety comes first, and if you don't take him, he may fall with me."

Through gritted teeth, he eventually nodded, "Fine."

"Let go of my right hand. I can unwrap him and hand him to you."

"I can hold you," he pleaded, "until someone comes, I can hold you."

She gave him a sad look, "We're on the seventh floor on Valentine's Day, the busiest Hogsmeade weekend. No one is coming this way anytime soon, Harry."

"Mione.."

"Harry, I need my hand."

Reluctantly he released her right hand at her no-nonsense tone. He knew she wouldn't be swayed. With two hands grasping her forearm, he watched her carefully unwrap Teddy, the wrap falling below her when she had him in hand. Then very carefully and with a calming breath, she lifted him up, thankful he was asleep and therefore wasn't wiggling. Though having him able to reach for Harry would have been helpful.

"Take him."

Wishing he had a third arm, Harry held her with one hand while reaching to snag Teddy around his waist and tucking him tightly to his chest.

She gasped when he momentarily lost his grip but he clamped down on her wrist painfully a second later. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Reaching for the ledge to try and pull herself up, she grunted.

"It's ok-"

The bracelet on her wrist, under Harry's hand, snapped. With it, Harry lost his grip and she was falling, a sharp scream piercing the air.

The last thing she thought of before pain clouded her consciousness was that she hoped Draco would forgive her for breaking his bracelet.

In the middle of Hogsmeade, Draco doubled over. He liked to think after living with Voldemort in his home, he was accustomed and almost desensitized to physical pain but what he was feeling now made him retch his lunch. Undignified as it was, he couldn't find it in himself to care. Not even as Astoria vanished the sick and a small crowd formed around them. An unknown amount of time passed before he felt someone ease him into the standing position, which alone made his head swim with pain.

"Drake mate, what is it?"

Grimacing, he tried to fold over but Theo's arm under his shoulder wouldn't let him, "Hermione... something is wrong...something..."

Daphne, holding onto her sister, frowned, "How do you know that Draco?"

"My ring," he gasped suddenly with pain, "Take it off. Salazar, take it off."

Theo practically degloved him taking off his family ring, but the instant it left his skin, the pain disappeared.

"We need to go," he proclaimed, already striding towards the school, "Something's happened."

Theo, Daphne, Astoria, and now Blaise, Luna, and Ginny all followed him. Astoria, he noted, looked hurt but he barely processed the look with his mounting worry. Taking his ring when Theo passed it to him, he squeezed it in his palm, feeling a shadow of pain at the touch. He knew if he put it on, he would probably faint. Whatever had happened was bad.

He ignored their questions as he took off in a sprint towards the castle, seeing both Tonks and Remus doing the same ahead of them. He ended up following them into the castle and to the corridor to the Head Mistress's office where they were holding Teddy close while Harry spoke to a frazzled Arthur Weasley, the Headmistress, and Professor Snape.

"You're not listening to me," Harry yelled, "This wasn't a vanishing step! We were walking together, and only her side of the stairs disappeared! Not just one either, three! Enough for her entire body to fall through."

Draco came to an immediate stop, "What do you mean?"

Harry turned around, and Draco watched as his face went from mad to furious, "You heard me," he spat. Turning back to the Headmistress, he pointed a finger at her, "That was not a vanishing step. Someone did that!"

"Where is she?"

Draco knew his voice was shrill, but he didn't give a damn. Hermione had fallen through missing stairs, and by the way he'd been affected with their rings, he knew the answer was not something he wanted to hear. But he needed to.

His godfather looked at him, "Miss Granger has been taken to St. Mungo's."

He stumbled back into Theo, who asked the next question, "How far did she fall? What level were you on, Potter?"

"We were headed down to six," he ground out as he started pacing. "Someone did this. I just don't know who!"

"It's someone in Gryffindor. She knows that much, but she won't say who."

Harry spun as fast as a pouncing lion and swung at Draco, there was a nasty crack, but Draco didn't feel it. He has been numb all over since taking off his ring. Theo unnecessarily pulled Draco back to keep him from retaliating while Ginny pushed her boyfriend away, Blaise standing between the two wizards.

"Like you care! Probably just want the blame off your own house. She's a smudge on your pureblood reputation!"

Pansy moved a step in front of Draco, "We have never treated her any differently. That was your house, Potter. Hermione is one of us and we are loyal just as you are."

Before Harry could retort, Ginny spoke up, "It's true. Harry think about it," she forcibly made him look at her with her hands on his face so he would stop glaring at Draco, "This isn't the first time something like this has happened," he looked horrified, "but Hermione refused to say anything. Why would she do that?"

Closing his eyes, he huffed, "She is loyal to a fault."

"Exactly. If it was Gryffindor, she wouldn't say anything."

"Same with if it were Slytherin," he yelled.

"Enough," Professor Snape burst, "Enough. We will get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, we do not need you two squabbling like a bunch of first-years. All of you, retire to the Heads dorms. Someone will give you news when we have it."

While he looked reluctant to do so, Harry let Ginny drag him towards the stairs with Pansy leading the way, Theo, Luna, Blaise Daphne, and Astoria all behind them. Draco didn't move, even as blood ran down his nose. He just stared at his godfather, the ring in his palm pulsing with phantom pain. Professor Snape looked at him and sneered.

"Draco, go."

"How bad, Uncle Severus?"

Draco never called him that outside of the Manor, and even then, it was on a rare occasion of vulnerability. "Draco-"

It sounded like he was going to be scolded and Draco couldn't take it.

"Please," he breathed, "Please, I need to know."

Snape took a deep breath before sharing a look with Arthur, who gave him a small nod, "Hermione broke her back on impact with a banister on the third floor."

He let out a shuddering breath, "A four-story fall..."

"Yes."

"And she was alive?"

"Mhm."

"Will she stay that way?"

Professor Snape didn't answer the question. He deflected, grabbing Draco's arm and pulling him to the side so they could have more of a private conversation, "How did you know she was in trouble?"

Draco hesitated but answered under his godfather's stare, knowing he couldn't lie to the man who watched him grow up. Opening his palm, he showed him his family ring, "She has a set of infinity rings I gave her for Christmas..."

"You linked them," Snape breathed, something in his eyes clicking into place before he pinched the bridge of his nose, "so you felt it when she fell."

"Yes. I felt it, and I've never been so fucking scared."

The last time Draco hugged his godfather was when he was seven, and he'd melted his potions cauldron. His father had yelled and forced him to go tell Severus, and to his surprise, the brooding tall man simply hugged the crying boy while he apologized profusely. He'd told him it was okay, that all he could do was learn from that mistake and do better. So he had. He'd never melted a cauldron again, not a toy set and not a real one in the classroom. And never again had he cried in front of his godfather. Until this moment.

Draco sagged, staggering a step towards his godfather and Severus caught him. Neither cared that four other adults were watching them or that this could be considered the ultimate sign of weakness. No, Draco just sobbed into his godfather's arms while he held him, just like he had when he was seven.

"I've been horrible to her...I can't lose her."

"I know." Snape didn't say how he knew, he just repeated the mantra over and over until Draco calmed. After a few minutes, Draco was seemingly soothed, and extracted himself from his godfather's grip to furiously wipe his face.

"Thank you."

"When you calm down and we have an update on Miss Granger, I expect you in my chambers."

"Understood."

Turning on his heel, Draco didn't know how he made it, but he reached his room where everyone was waiting. He felt like he was in a pensieve memory, all fuzzy around the edges. He stopped in the kitchenette and summoned his whiskey. Hermione liked to hide it to keep himself, Theo, and Blaise from having too many nights getting drunk when they had no other responsibilities. After taking a swig, wincing at the slight burn, he shrugged off Blaise when he approached him. The burn of the whiskey was a welcome distraction, the first thing he'd felt since removing his ring.

Twirling it between his fingers, he looked at the embossed 'M' and closed his eyes.

He might lose her, and he'd felt it today. To say he was scared was an understatement. All he could do now was remember the look on her face that morning when little Teddy had morphed into a mixture of the two of them. He looked exactly as he had envisioned Aurelian might look like; white blonde hair, freckles, grey eyes, and curls. The look on her face when she'd finally met his eyes told him she'd seen it too. She looked, gods, he winced, she'd looked like she had on Christmas Eve. Heartbroken. He'd regretted that night ever since but couldn't take it back.

"Drake?"

Someone was saying his name, and he grunted, opening his eyes to look at Pansy, who was now across from him staring at him strangely.

"Who is Aurie?"

Draco winced, "What?"

"You said 'Aurie'."

Closing his eyes again, he shook his head as he felt his chest cave inwards.

"No one. Aurie is no one.."

Snatching the bottle up, he moved towards the couch where Hermione usually sat, her subtle perfume calming him. Passing the bottle to Harry, he put his ring back on, grimacing when pain radiated up his spine. Taking a deep breath, he let his head fall back on the couch. If he lost Hermione, he would never forgive himself.

"Your ring," someone spoke, he didn't know who, but he just listened with his eyes closed, "you knew Hermione was hurt."

Someone, Theo, he thought, answered, "And is likely still feeling it. Let him be."