A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited and followed after last chapter! Huge thanks to lanamarymack for alpha/beta reading this chapter. You can find me over on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.

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

Luckily, Sirius knew better than to blow her off when she messaged him that she had something big to share with him. He would not make the same mistake of blowing her off like he had when she was undercover.

The day after her unexpected meeting with Antonin, he stopped by in the morning, bringing coffee and a slice of quiche from the bakery that she liked by the office. "I come bearing gifts," he said cautiously, unsure of what exactly he was walking into.

"More like bribes," Hermione answered, narrowing her eyes at him. Still, it did not stop her from pulling down a set of plates and some forks so that they could eat the quiche anyway. It wasn't as if she was going to turn down that pastry crust.

"Well, kitten, your message certainly got my attention," he said, hoping to prod her into talking about whatever it was that had her reaching out to him so urgently.

"Fenrir asked me to go with him somewhere last night, as you are already aware," Hermione said, knowing that she had told him she was leaving the night before. "He took me to see Antonin. And, it wasn't exactly a social call."

Sirius's eyebrows went up in surprise. Certainly, whatever it was that he was expecting, it was not that. "And, he still believed your cover?" he asked, leaning against the counter.

"He had a lot of questions..." Hermione said, unsure of what to make of her meeting with Antonin. "But, he greeted me like an old friend. He was disappointed when I told him that I had left the business."

Her friend snorted at the euphemism. "Well, that's probably the best sort of reaction that we could have hoped for," he said with a shrug.

Hermione bit her lip and stuck her fork into her quiche, pushing it around on the plate. "It didn't take him long to try to pull me back in either," she revealed. "I get the impression that Antonin asked Fenrir to bring me. He said that Riddle is planning a really big score and needs a way to move a lot of money fast."

Sirius sat up straighter and there was no disguising the gleam in his eye. There was no denying that taking down Riddle once and for all was a tremendous goal of the department (and really, it was for the good of everyone in the country with how dangerous he was). While having Fenrir work as a confidential informant had opened their eyes to a lot of the details that they hadn't been able to crack before, there was no denying that this felt like getting Riddle's downfall on a silver platter.

"He asked for you specifically?" he asked.

"I guess so," Hermione said, pushing the tiny thrill that bubbled up in her stomach that longed to acknowledge that she was damn good at her job. Good enough that Tom Riddle had taken note and trusted her to handle things for him. "I mean, he wanted to meet me before... everything that happened. So I guess when I became available again, it was like I fell into their laps."

"What the hell was Fenrir thinking?" Sirius demanded, running his hand across his jaw in contemplation. "Why did he even mention you to Antonin to begin with? That was not a part of the plan."

Hermione frowned. Yes, she had been furious with Fenrir herself when she got back from the deli. She ordered him to return to the flat with her so that she could properly chew him out. At least he managed to look apologetic. He told her that he knew he'd fucked up.

"I was able to get it out of him after a while," she explained. "Apparently, he slipped up and used my name. Antonin is too smart to let it go. He told him that we bumped into each other recently at a store, even though he never thought he'd see me again. He tried to hold Antonin off for as long as he could, saying that we were still getting used to one another again after so much time apart, but the last time Antonin mentioned it, well... it wasn't a request."

"He never should have let it slip in the first place. I expected him to be able to hold his tongue better than that," Sirius said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. Even when she had been undercover, she had no delusions that she would behave in a perfect way, seeing as she hadn't been properly trained for it. Surely, he could see that it was no different for Fenrir. "Well, he didn't exactly ask for this," she defended him, even though she knew Fenrir didn't deserve it.

"But he did ask for it! He didn't need to work for us," Sirius countered.

"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, I don't think he would have wanted me to get mixed up with all of this again, if he could help it," she said, softening. "He doesn't seem to want much to do with me in the first place. I think he only asked for me because he knew it would be torture for me."

Sirius pressed his hand on top of hers. "You can't let Fenrir get under your skin," he said, though it was easier said than done. "You did what you had to do for the sake of the investigation."

"Yeah, but maybe I didn't need to take it that far," Hermione retorted darkly, remembering that it was Sirius who suggested she use her feminine wiles to get what she wanted. "There were more feelings than there needed to be."

"It happens," Sirius said, looking like he had a story to tell, though he did not offer her more insight. "Well, fuck. What was the play, then?"

Of course, Sirius would want to learn what Tom Riddle had up his sleeve and how he could try to use it to his advantage. Hermione sighed. She didn't really want to tell him, but she knew that she had to. "Apparently it's some kind of arms deal," she explained. "I suggested a one time sale to move all the money. Like at an art auction."

"That's good, Hermione," Sirius said, encouragingly, pleased that she was able to think on her feet the way that she had. "And what did you tell him, as far as your involvement?"

"I told him I was straight now and I found laundering to be too risky," she answered, seeing as she wasn't a real money launderer. "But, he pressed me and so I asked him to let me think about it. Not sure how much time they will give me to decide. I am hoping, since I already gave him the idea, that they might just be willing to do it in house... you know, save a little money and all that."

Sirius smirked at her. "You and I both know that's wishful thinking. Riddle keeps layers between him and the people who do his dirty work for him," he said. He tilted his head, looking at her appraisingly.

Immediately, Hermione knew where his mind was headed. "No, no, no, Sirius," she said, emphatically. "Don't even think about it!"

"Come on, Hermione, it could really help," he pleaded. He even tried to give her a sort of puppy dog look, and Hermione wondered if that actually worked on anyone.

"Sirius, I barely agreed to be Fenrir's handler. I told you that I didn't want to go undercover again," she said, a serious look on her face. "You already asked me to keep working with Antonin and Tom and I already said no — and that was when I was even better positioned than I was before."

"But, maybe this is a sign? You don't get another opportunity like this for no good reason," he said, hopeful that he might still be able to convince her.

Hermione scoffed. "Well, of course I'd get a second opportunity... I did a damn good job," she said, unable to stop from being a little bit cocky about it. "I don't want to go back undercover. I was scared out of my mind most of the last time. This time I'd be even closer to Riddle. I don't know. I really don't want to do it."

"I understand," Sirius said, giving her hand a pat.

She felt a little bit of a weight off of her shoulders that he was giving up, but also a twinge of disappointment that she wouldn't be going undercover again. Only, then, it seemed that Sirius wanted to burst her bubble.

"Unfortunately, I don't think that you are going to have much of a choice in the matter. If Dolohov is serious enough about it, what makes you think you could tell him no?" he asked, giving her a significant look. "He'll get you to do what he wants. Same as he does to everyone else."

"Then, couldn't you pull me? Send me into hiding somewhere so I can lay low until you finish your investigation?" she wondered, feeling her heart beating against her ribcage when she realized that Sirius had a pretty good point, actually.

"Sure, we could do that. Protect you from Dolohov," Sirius said after a moment of musing. "Only, there is no guarantee that you'd ever be able to come out of hiding, if Riddle slips from our grasp again. And then, there is always the possibility that Dolohov would do something to Greyback to try to get to you."

"How do you mean?" she asked, sucking in a breath.

"I don't think it was any secret that you and him were in a relationship. Greyback told him you were rekindling things. If Dolohov thinks that you feel enough for him, he wouldn't be above using Greyback to get you to do what he wanted."

Hermione gnawed on her lower lip, thinking over the possibilities. Would Dolohov really betray Fenrir like that? She thought that they were good enough friends, but then again, she wasn't really sure what their actual relationship was like. Antonin was difficult to read and he was scary, even if Hermione was certain he liked her too. She thought that if someone was trying to fuck with his money, he might just forget the close ties he had with them.

"But, maybe Greyback has given you enough trouble that you are willing to risk it?" Sirius asked, the picture of nonchalance, though Hermione thought that he knew exactly what he was doing.

Did she care enough about Fenrir to stick around and go undercover a second time? Even though things were miserable between them, she knew that the answer was a resounding yes. She didn't want anything bad to happen to him.

Sighing, she dropped her fork, knowing that she wasn't going to eat another bite, worry already pooling in her belly. "Alright, I will do it," she agreed, sounding miserable. "But this is the last time. And you are going to owe me so much when this is over. I haven't even begun to think of all the favors that I'm going to be asking you for."

"Alright!" Sirius said, brightly. "I'll let you handle things with Dolohov and Greyback. I'll handle the paperwork."

Before she could talk to him about any of her fears — her complicated feelings for Fenrir or the not insignificant worry that this could all be some sort of elaborate trap that she was going to end up in — Sirius was already sweeping out of the flat, leaving her alone with her half-eaten quiche. Pulling out her mobile, Hermione clicked through the limited contacts until she found Fenrir's name. Starting a new message, she quickly typed out her consent to help with a one time money transfer for Antonin, but with a promise that it was the last one.

Not wanting to agonize over it anymore than she already would, she sent it off. God, just what was she getting herself into? A dangerous job with a partner who seemed to hate her. She just had to hope that they'd finally be able to pin charges to Riddle that would actually stick.