A/N - Apparently FF has been messing up the latest chapters on here. I've just tried replacing Chapter 42 so hopefully it will work now. If not, I suggest that you try and find this fic on AO3. Sorry!


Hermione had known all along that their trip to the Ministry wouldn't be as straightforward as simply walking into their meeting with Scrimgeour and immediately departing back to school. Last night, she and Harry had discussed what nasty hidden surprises the Minister might try to enforce. Their initially serious suggestions had turned darkly humorous after a while (Hermione was pretty sure Scrimgeour was not going to reveal himself to be the vampire Luna believed he was and attempt to force them to join his bloodsucking army) but she'd still lain awake for much of the night, troubled by anxiety.

The six students were being accompanied by Professor McGonagall and Tonks. A special temporary connection between the Deputy Headmistress's office and one of the fireplaces in the atrium had been set up to enable a speedy journey for those involved. As they brushed off the soot and remains of floo powder, they were met by Pius Thicknesse. Hermione could see the calculation in his eyes beneath the tight civil expression he wore as his gaze swept over the teenagers. It lingered longer on both Harry and Hermione, triggering a return of the nausea that had plagued her for weeks at the knowledge that she had allowed her best friend to be manipulated. She wanted to glare at Thicknesse - he'd surely been part of this all along, present as he'd been at her first meeting with Scrimgeour at the beginning of the school year - but she knew that they couldn't give Scrimgeour any reason to renege on his promise to deliver Dolohov to the Order's custody. They were being forced to comply and play nice. Damned politics.

The small group followed the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, registering their wands with the watch-wizard at the security desk, before continuing on towards the lifts. There was no conversation between the visitors but Hermione had noticed quite a few heads turning in their direction as busy witches and wizards rushed by in their work. She also saw Harry shooting sombre glances around the massive atrium but he didn't seem to be looking at anyone in particular, and she wondered if his mind had strayed to what had happened exactly a year ago - to the fabled battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort in this very hall, to the death of Sirius a level below them in the Department of Mysteries.

Out of everything she disliked about this situation, the fact that Scrimgeour was forcing them back here to be commended on the anniversary of Sirius's death made her livid. She'd even briefly fantasised about using some of the unsavoury curses on the Minister that she'd read about in Antonin's book. It should probably disturb her how quickly those horrific spells leapt into her mind, but the truth was that she found dark and violent thoughts were often brimming below her surface. She blamed it on exam stress. She was always snappy at this time of year and the lack of sleep combined with all the additional stresses she was enduring weren't helping. Once her tests were over and they had Antonin safely moved to a new secure location, she would surely be back to her usual self. It was just a matter of days: her exams started on Monday and would be finished by Friday, and Scrimgeour had hinted that Antonin's transfer should take no more than two weeks. Her visit to Azkaban tomorrow could even be her last if the Ministry and Order got the details hashed out quickly once Scrimgeour gave his approval.

But first they had to get through this unpleasant charade. Hermione suspected that Harry would prefer to be suffering through one of Snape's detentions rather than be here (even taking into account that Snape was deeply unhappy that his detentions had been rescheduled to Sundays for two weeks in a row to accommodate Rufus Scrimgeour's demands). When they had all crowded into an empty lift, Hermione discreetly squeezed Harry's hand. With it being one day out from her visit to Antonin, her skin prickled unpleasantly but it didn't burn like it would in a few hours' time. Harry turned his head towards her and met her grim smile with one of his own. The worst would be over soon.

Or so they'd hoped.

Instead of taking them to level one, where the Minister's office was located, Thicknesse made them get out on level two - the DMLE. When Professor McGonagall asked the reason for the diversion, Thicknesse said, "I'm afraid that the Minister is delayed in meeting with you. He requested that I give Mr Potter and his friends a tour of my department as special guests whilst he attends to urgent matters - he shouldn't be much more than an hour."

Hermione knew at once what was happening. Scrimgeour wanted Harry seen more around the Ministry, more witnesses to his cooperation and 'approval' of what they were doing, especially in the department that was in the thick of combatting Voldemort's forces. That manipulative bastard - as if he wasn't already getting them to play along just by being here!

Professor McGonagall looked displeased. "Surely that's not necessary. You must be very busy yourself."

"I have been able to clear my schedule," Thicknesse replied smoothly. He indicated that they should carry on walking because the group had automatically come to a stop, but most of them had instinctively turned to Harry. Professor McGonagall might technically be in charge, but it felt like Harry was the one who would decide what they did.

"We would prefer to merely wait somewhere discreet until the Minister is ready for us," Harry said slightly bluntly, not giving a faux reason.

"Oh, but I must insist," Thicknesse said with a politician's smile. His tone was pleasant enough but Hermione heard the ultimatum in his words. He wasn't just being overly solicitous. The tour was now a non-negotiable part of Scrimgeour's co-operation.

Even the often-obtuse Ron had worked out that something underhanded was going on because he angrily opened his mouth, but Tonks cut across him before he could speak. "Maybe we'll come across your father," she said to Ron and Ginny. "He works on this floor." Luckily, Ron also got the subtle reminder that Thicknesse was his dad's boss and it wouldn't be smart to get on the wrong side of him.

"Yeah, maybe," Ron muttered, casting Thicknesse a quick sullen glance before lowering his eyes.

Thicknesse looked at his watch with an exaggerated air. "The head of the auror office has agreed to meet with you all in a few minutes," he said. "Best not to keep him waiting. You'll soon see that our aurors are very busy at present, won't they, Tonks?"

Hermione could tell that Tonks was also unhappy about the alteration in the plan. Perhaps Thicknesse expected her to have more loyalty to her colleagues than to Harry, Hermione and the Order in general - or maybe he knew that she was just as caught as the rest of them. Either way, he didn't seem put off by Tonks's rather dull reply of, "Yes, sir."

Hermione, though, had a slightly different concern. Exactly a year on from the night she'd been cursed, they'd managed to keep the knowledge of her dependency on Antonin away from Voldemort's forces. The aurors who guarded Azkaban didn't know who she was, and though she certainly couldn't claim that it was that particular security measure which had kept her safe all these months, it seemed a bit reckless to risk revealing her identity should any of those regular guards currently be present in the auror office - not when they were so close to getting Antonin safely moved. They'd been warned that Voldemort had spies everywhere - what if he had one with access to an auror? Or even had actual aurors doing his bidding?

But how to convey that to Thicknesse without upsetting him and the Minister by insinuating that she didn't trust their aurors should they recognise her? Luckily, this was one of the rare situations of late where she had adults that she could turn to for help. She quickly and quietly told Tonks of her concerns as the group started following Thicknesse once more. Tonks's eyes widened a little as Hermione explained, reassuring her that she wasn't being paranoid in her distrust. Tonks gave her a nod, took a few hurried steps to catch up with her boss and spoke to him in a low voice that the others couldn't hear. He halted, catching most of the others off guard and there were a couple of collisions. Thicknesse sent Hermione a sharp look, frowned, then nodded.

Harry was at her side in a moment. "What -"

"I don't want any Azkaban guards to recognise me," she whispered as Tonks announced that she and Hermione were going to be taking a slight detour. Hermione felt very bad that she was leaving Harry whilst he was being paraded around the Ministry. "I'm sorry. Tonks and I will find you when she thinks it's safer." Ron and Ginny were looking concerned, Neville was confused, and Luna wore her typical wide-eyed expression but her mouth was slightly turned down. "I'm fine," she told them while Tonks quietly spoke to Professor McGonagall. "We'll be back soon."

Tonks led her back the way they had come for a few steps and then down a side corridor. "We'll visit Arthur," she said kindly. "We'll be out of the way there, less chance of any aurors who might recognise you heading that way."

Hermione felt some of the strain of the visit leaving her. She hadn't seen Mr Weasley since Ron's poisoning a few months ago, and this would be a much less stressful encounter for them all. In truth, she would be seeing Mr Weasley in a couple of weeks anyway because she was going straight to the Burrow for the summer after departing the Hogwarts Express. A few days before Hermione had modified her parents' memories, she had requested that one of them owl Mrs Weasley to ask if Hermione could continue to stay safely with the Weasley family over the break, and Molly had passed word via Ginny that it was all arranged. Hermione wondered how long it would take for someone to find out that her parents had left the country. Of course, she still didn't actually know if the memory charm had worked. Perhaps she could disguise herself and make a quick trip home one day in the holidays just to check that everything had proceeded as she'd intended.

Mr Weasley wasn't in. According to one of the wizards who worked in the office, Arthur had led a small team to confiscate some dangerous counterfeit protection potions from a shop in Knockturn Alley, and wasn't expected back for a couple of hours yet. Disappointed, Hermione and Tonks retraced their steps back towards the lifts.

"We can wait outside Thicknesse's office - he has some chairs there. It'll give us a direct view of the lifts so we'll see the others when they return to go to level one," Tonks said.

The corridors of the DMLE were quite busy so Hermione kept her head slightly down just in case an auror passed by who would recognise her. The waiting area outside Thicknesse's office was empty and the women sat where they could see the comings and goings from the lifts.

Tonks let out a large sigh and shot Hermione a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "So, how are you then? Are you alright? How's school?"

"Stressful," Hermione replied with a sigh of her own. "We've all got exams starting on Monday - Ginny and Luna have their OWLs, this is the last thing we need when we're supposed to be revising."

"I'm sure you'll all do fine," Tonks said soothingly. "More than fine when it comes to your tests. Besides, the Sixth Year exams aren't that important - they're just an indicator of whether you're on track for your NEWTs."

"But the professors use these results to make predictions about your final NEWT grades and those are often passed onto potential employers, aren't they?" Hermione asked, feeling the familiar gut-clenching return of her exam anxiety.

"Yeah…" Tonks admitted slowly. "But it's the actual results next year that are the most important. Besides, no job or further education institution is going to turn down your application after those ten Os you got last year."

"They will if I don't maintain it - I can't let my standards slip - they'll think I'm going downhill!" She winced at the edge of hysteria that she heard creeping into her own voice.

Tonks put a hand on her shoulder. "You need to cut yourself some slack, Hermione. I know that it'll probably feel like it to you but I promise that if you get a couple of Es, it isn't going to be the end of the world."

"I - I know," she said softly, and she appreciated that Tonks understood that she would feel like a failure anyway. "And, actually, most of my subjects offer summer projects that come with a graded certification of completion. So if I do perform badly in a particular test, I can make up for it by completing the extra work over the holidays."

Tonks smiled at her. "See, there you go." She tilted her head and gave a little snort. "But knowing you, you'll probably earn all those certificates anyway even if you do get Os across the board."

Hermione blushed. "Maybe," she admitted, because she was tempted to do just that. "I'll wait and see how I feel next week once the exams are out of the way."

She then deliberately turned the conversation towards Tonks and how she was getting on at her posting in Hogsmeade. As Tonks talked, Hermione tried to discreetly observe her friend. Tonks didn't look quite as stressed or anxious as when they had last spoken, but she still wasn't back to the bubbly, light-hearted demeanour Hermione had seen so much during her Fifth Year, and her hair was still a shade that brought a former Defence professor to mind. She deliberated about whether to ask about Remus because she wasn't confident that Tonks would want to talk about him, but he had been a big part of their last conversation and she didn't want Tonks to think that she didn't care.

Tonks grimaced slightly when Hermione tentatively brought him up. "I haven't seen him," she said, "but I know he's safe and away from the packs for now. He couldn't get any of the other werewolves on side, not with the persuasive brutality of Greyback to contend with." She gave another half-hearted smile. "I'm hoping I'll have more freedom to leave Hogsmeade once all you students have left for the summer break, then I might get the chance to talk to him and see how…" She trailed off, her thoughts turning inwards. Hermione had a lot of sympathy for her friend. It must be so difficult to love someone, and believe that love was returned, but have them choose not to be with you because they thought it was too dangerous and not possible for them to be together. Hermione was very fond of Remus, had a huge amount of respect for him, and could empathise somewhat with how he might feel like he didn't deserve someone else's love - but she really wanted to shake some sense into him.

Tonks's eyes suddenly fixed on a point along the corridor. Hermione saw that a wizard was approaching Thicknesse's office. He was relatively tall, walking with an assured air. As he came closer, Hermione saw that even though his demeanour was relaxed, his middle-aged features - apart from his sharp eyes - were rather blunt and gave the impression that this wasn't a man to cross. Tonks got to her feet, but Hermione got the sense that she did so slightly reluctantly and she wondered why. Hermione followed Tonks's lead, suspecting the wizard was someone important within the Ministry.

"Haven't seen you in the building for a long time, Tonks," he said as he closed in on them. "Has your posting been changed?"

"No, sir," she replied. "Just fulfilling an extra duty today." It seemed to Hermione that Tonks was trying to act in her normal friendly manner but it just felt a little off somehow.

The wizard's gaze focused on Hermione - or, more accurately, on the school robes that Scrimgeour had insisted the students all wear (so that it would be easier for Harry to be recognised, no doubt). "Ah, you're one of the Minister's special guests."

Hermione cast a quick glance in Tonks's direction, uncertain whether she should confirm that or not, even though it was plainly obvious. But Tonks didn't speak nor move, her expression oddly fixed, but the wizard either didn't notice or he didn't care.

He held out his hand. Up close, she could see that his robes were of high quality, his cologne subtle enough to speak of wealth. "Corban Yaxley, Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes," he introduced.

Seeing no reason not to, Hermione put her hand in his. "Hermione Granger," she replied. Her skin prickled where it met his as they shook hands.

"Yes, one the defenders of the Ministry last year," Yaxley said. Instead of releasing her hand, he placed his other one on top, effectively trapping her in place. Hermione was sure that he was only being polite and couldn't have any idea that he was causing her discomfort, but it would surely be rude to snatch her hand back. "Magical Britain owes you and your friends a debt, Miss Granger."

"I wouldn't say that, Mr Yaxley," she replied, trying to hide the pain he was unwittingly causing her. "Nothing that happened here last year is worthy of any acclaim."

"Thicknesse isn't here," Tonks said bluntly, drawing Yaxley's attention away from Hermione. She subtly pulled and, thankfully, he released her hand.

"Very well, I shall return later. My business isn't urgent." He inclined his head in a parting gesture to Tonks and gave Hermione a brief smile that did nothing to soften his hard features. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Granger."

"Goodbye," she said as he turned around and walked back towards the lifts. Tonks's expression was cold and suspicious as she stared at Yaxley's back. "What -" Hermione began to ask but Tonks shook her head.

Only when Yaxley had stepped into one of the lifts did she turn to Hermione. "Did he do anything to you?"

"Do anything?" she repeated, a little alarmed.

Tonks reached for her arm, careful not to touch any of her skin as she inspected the hand Yaxley had shaken. "I didn't see his wand out at all but…"

"I'm fine," Hermione said, twisting her wrist to show Tonks. "It hurt a little having him touch me so close to an Azkaban visit but that's all."

Tonks took out her own wand and ran it over both sides of Hermione's hand. "Nothing," Tonks muttered. "Maybe he was just being a creepy arse."

"Tonks - what are you talking about?" Hermione asked impatiently. "Who was that?"

"We think Yaxley is a Death Eater," Tonks whispered.

Hermione gasped. She automatically turned her head to look down the corridor even though Yaxley was long gone.

"Apparently he was suspected during the last war but there was no proof to even arrest him, let alone put him on trial," Tonks revealed. "The Order have been trying to get evidence on him for months but he's too clever. Snape's never been able to identify him at Death Eater meetings, always kept his mask on. He's got powerful friends - comes from an old rich, pureblood family, used to be a colleague of Fudge's when they were both new to the DMAC, which helped him get the Deputy Head role."

"And a Death Eater can just walk around the Ministry like that?" Hermione asked, shocked and appalled. "And be privy to important Ministry information, go amongst the other department officials unchecked?"

Tonks's expression was grim. "Unfortunately, yes - until he slips up. Scrimgeour and Thicknesse will know that he was rumoured to be a supporter of You-Know-Who in the last war but he's maintained a perfectly respectable image ever since. They can't do anything without proof - not with Yaxley's connections. So we all have to pretend and play nice so that he doesn't know we suspect him. If he thinks he's in the clear, he's more likely to make a mistake and then we can nail him."

Hermione knew that Voldemort would have spies everywhere - she was currently hiding from the aurors because of that suspicion - but she'd always naively thought the enemy would be in the shadows, difficult to spot, not confidently walking through the corridors of the Ministry of Magic like Yaxley. Her hand felt dirty, knowing that he had touched it. "You didn't think it was a coincidence that he found us down here?"

Tonks frowned. "I really don't know. He could have genuinely been trying to meet with Thicknesse - that concerns me enough already - but given our suspicions about where his true allegiance lies, it was odd for him to be so courteous to you." She shook her head. "Like I said, maybe he was simply being an arse, amusing himself with the falsehoods. I'll report it to the Order when we're done here anyway, just to be safe."

They retook their seats and sat in silence for a while. It would still be some time before the delayed meeting with Scrimgeour but Hermione wished for time to run quicker so they could leave and get back to school. She tried to think of something to talk about with Tonks, but no conversation topics leapt to mind. Just as she thought to ask whether Tonks was going to be attending Bill and Fleur's upcoming wedding, Tonks spoke first.

"I'm glad you and I have a bit of time alone actually," the older witch said. "I promise that I'm not being nosey, but the last time we were together I got the impression that you didn't have anyone else to talk about this with. Feel free to tell me to mind my own business, Hermione, but is everything alright with you and that boy you like?"

Hermione wasn't surprised by the question. Although she could feel her cheeks warming, she was mostly relieved that Tonks had asked her with no chance of the others overhearing because that would've been mortifying. "It didn't work out," she said simply. "We stopped seeing each other soon after you and I spoke. There were no hard feelings involved or anything."

Tonks was watching her closely, making Hermione concerned that she was trying to sense any lies.

Hermione forced herself to smile. "It's fine, Tonks, I promise." That was the only slightly truthful thing she'd said about her secret beau so far, but it still wasn't very accurate because the last time she was at Azkaban, she and Antonin had ended up having their least amicable session together for many weeks.

Everything had started out well enough with the tarts and (oh Merlin) when she had used her mouth on him. She'd rested for a short while after that and then set to work on her revision, knowing full well that Antonin was hoping that she would overcome her wariness about the end of her period and be up for sex together before she left. She had been inclined to relent. The blood had all but stopped and she experienced a wave of desire for Antonin whenever she caught sight of him or heard his voice. It was always brewing in her when they were together, and it was additionally inflamed with every thought or recollection of how it had felt to have him sliding through her lips, the sight and sound of him losing control because of her.

And then…

Antonin gave a little snort at the runes she'd drawn on a corner of her notes during a moment of respite. "Funny."

She grinned. "I knew you'd get the joke too."

"Don't tell me one of your stupid friends actually understood that," he scoffed. "I thought none of them study Runes."

Hermione ignored the casual insult to her friends. "They don't. It was," she hesitated for half a second, "someone else."

There was a drawn out moment as they looked at each other, and Hermione could feel her heart pulsing in her chest. She'd gotten away with lying to Antonin before but he was often able to catch her out when she wasn't expecting to have to deceive him. She dropped her eyes back to her notes.

"Who?"

"Just someone in my class," she said, turning the pages of her textbook.

His hand came down on the book. "Who?"

She pushed his hand away and clicked her tongue as she smoothed the page that he'd creased. "Does it really matter? Why do you care?"

"Because you're being evasive, zhar-ptitsa." There was an edge to his voice that recalled their early encounters. "Your avoidance of giving a name suggests that it's one I won't like."

She looked up and was immediately caught in his intense gaze. "You're being ridiculous," she said but her voice was weak. She had a feeling that she was delaying the inevitable. Anyone she named other than Nott would surely be shot down as a lie.

"Then give me the name." He reached out and circled his fingers around her wrist. "Tell me who else you showed that rune joke to."

"Theodore Nott."

He slammed his palm on the desk, making her jump. "I told you to keep the fuck away from him," he snarled in Russian.

"You don't get to decide how I live my life," she retorted angrily, scooting her chair back so she could walk away and put some distance between them. "I can meet with whomever I damn well like."

"You're meeting with the boy?" he asked in angry disbelief. "Where? Why?"

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and raised her chin defiantly. "We've studied together in the library a few times over the last month."

"That doesn't happen by accident - not you and him." His voice was low and snarling again. "Who instigated it?"

She knew she was going to anger him further but she didn't care. "I did. I sat next to him and refused to leave when he told me to go in rather unsavoury language."

He let loose some Russian curses of his own that she didn't know the translations of but she stared at him defiantly. He switched to English. "You stupid, reckless -"

"But he hasn't done anything to me!" she interrupted. "I knew it was risky, and I was careful - I always kept my wand close by."

"You don't know what a boy like that is capable of!" Antonin roared.

"You don't know him either - you only saw him as a baby!" Hermione cried. "His life is different from what yours was."

"He's one of the Dark Lord's promised sons," he spat. "His life is owned. You will keep away from him."

"I won't," she insisted furiously. "I'm going to save him. Nott isn't one of you - he doesn't want to be a Death Eater."

"The boy told you that himself, did he?"

She didn't notice that his voice had gone quieter, his anger cooling into something more calculated whilst hers continued to blaze. "No, but he doesn't have to - I can tell! He has no wish to serve your master. And he hasn't once tried to hurt me, even when I made him angry."

"In that case, when I escape from this prison I shall be sure to inform the Dark Lord of the boy's betrayal, and he will die a most painful death," Antonin said in a cold, ruthless voice that chilled her to the bone.

"What - no!" she gasped, eyes wide.

"If he refuses to serve his lord - as you claim so strongly - then he has no purpose." Antonin's expression was stony. "He will die and it will be your doing. I will make it so."

"You wouldn't," she said, utterly horrified. She shook her head. "You- you can't take my word as evidence, Antonin."

"But you seem so sure that young Nott is no Death Eater," he said in a slightly mocking tone and she glared at him. "Either the boy is denying his birthright as a prized subject of the Dark Lord or you have brainlessly endangered yourself by cosying up to a young man who would curse or kill you without a second thought in the service of his master. Which is it, Hermione?"

She had messed up. Not because she'd spent time with Nott, but because she'd forgotten who she was speaking to when sharing her belief that he didn't want to be a Death Eater. She'd been too intent on proving that she hadn't been a fool in approaching the boy and she'd forgotten that Antonin would have no reason to celebrate Nott's wish to avoid such a fate. Now she was stuck. It didn't matter that the chances of Antonin breaking free to rejoin Voldemort were smaller now - until he was in the Order's hands, it was still a possibility.

He seemed convinced that associating with Nott would somehow bring her into danger - but that would only be true if Nott was loyal to the Death Eaters, and Hermione just couldn't believe it. If a young Antonin had been in Theo's place, would he have lured an 'enemy' like her to some deadly fate? Was that why he was so insistent that Nott was bad news? Because he thought Nott was just like him? Antonin claimed that he wanted to keep her safe, to keep her his, but he'd shown recently that he knew how impossible it was even for him when Voldemort was controlling his life.

Control.

That's what this was about. She saw it now.

"I'll keep away from him," she said, her voice shaking. "I- I won't go near Nott again." It was the only thing she could think of to calm him - to give him that sense of control for now. "But only if you promise that you won't speak about what I said or try to hurt Nott in any way if you escape." She wasn't some animal that he could force to obey. He would have to compromise with her, and she refused to have Nott's life on her conscience - not with everything else she was trying to manage.

"What do you care about the boy?" Antonin asked, walking towards her. "What is he to you?"

He's jealous, she realised, but she made sure to keep her facial expression neutral. If Antonin truly suspected that she held a candle for Nott (which she didn't) - if he even found out that she thought Theo was handsome - she knew he would react poorly. "I care for Nott no more or less than anyone else caught up in this war," she told him truthfully. She tried to keep her voice calm but her anger at him for carelessly threatening Nott's life was still brewing beneath the surface. "I like to help people and I thought I could help him escape what you say is his fate."

He stopped in front of her. "You care too much about others. Your heart will not survive this war if you don't harden it." He raised his hand to her cheek but she jerked her head back.

"Don't touch me." She sidestepped him and returned to her chair with a huff. She snatched up the closest book but was very aware of him behind her. After a few seconds of silence had passed, her fingernails bit into the pages when she sensed him at her back.

"I am protecting you," he said, his voice raising goosebumps on her arms. "It's all to protect you. You'll see."

His hand rested on her shoulder but she roughly shrugged him off. "I told you - don't touch me. I'm not going to have sex with you."

There was another long moment of silence and then he came into view, returning to his own seat at the desk. She risked a glance at his face and didn't know whether to be relieved or wary that he appeared to be composed. It hadn't even been five hours since she had arrived so she couldn't leave yet without potentially arousing suspicion within the aurors or Snape.

In the end, she did leave a couple of hours early because she gauged that the roughly ten minutes difference from her usual stay would be acceptable to outside observers. She and Antonin barely spoke a word to each other after their argument, and he didn't try to touch her either. Time had now cooled off most of her anger though. She was still disturbed that he would so mercilessly threaten to expose Nott but she told herself that he'd mostly done so in reaction to her so-called disobedience. She had to remember that, in many circumstances, Antonin wouldn't act like a rational man. Not only had he been brought up with hate and darkness, he was exposed to the dementors for years and even now was isolated from the world - apart from her. It was little wonder that he would latch onto a need to control her.

Her awareness and understanding didn't mean that she would let him though.

There was no sign of Nott whenever Hermione had studied in the library lately and she suspected that he was avoiding her. Was it because she had touched the truth inside him? Their eyes had caught on a couple of occasions during their shared lessons and he had been quick to glare at her, rather than pretend indifference. Even if she had been able to spot him in the library, she would've left him alone: not because of Antonin's demand, but because she knew Nott needed time to think over what she'd said. If Nott sought her out, she had absolutely no intention of turning him away. She'd feel no guilt about it either because she hadn't failed to notice that Antonin hadn't committed to her stipulation that he wouldn't turn Nott over to Voldemort. She was mostly sure that any Slytherin would've known to do so intentionally and so she was intending to play by his rules - no tacit agreement, no deal. Once her exams were over, she would try and seek Nott out before they all departed for the summer holidays. By then, Antonin would hopefully be in Order custody anyway…

Tonks was speaking and Hermione realised that she hadn't been listening. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"Just that I definitely am being nosey now," the auror said with a hint of the familiar mischief in her gaze. "Harry and Ginny?"

Hermione laughed and nodded. They talked about the new couple for a few minutes, including how Ron was handling his best friend dating his little sister, then moved on to Bill and Fleur's wedding, trips abroad during previous summers and comparisons between the shops in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley until they spotted the others near the lifts.

There was a reassurance from both sides that all was well.

"You didn't miss much," Ron told her quietly. "Robards - the head auror - was sucking up to us quite a bit, said we'd all make fine additions to his staff when we were older. Everything else we saw around the department just looked like it was mostly paperwork."

"We saw Neville's dad," Luna said with a gentle smile in Neville's direction.

He flushed brilliantly red. "His name is on a memorial plaque for aurors who fell in the last war," he explained, somehow looking both sheepish and proud.

Hermione's heart clenched as she recalled the man and woman she had met at St Mungo's a year and a half ago. "I'm really sorry I missed that," she told him.

"I didn't know it would be there. It was a bit of a shock." He smiled. "A nice surprise."

Well, at least one pleasant thing had come about because of their trip.

Thicknesse impatiently ushered them all into the first vacant lift.

Hermione caught Harry's eye. "Are you really okay?" she whispered.

"Yeah, but I just want this over with now," he murmured. "He better not try and pull any other tricks."

Unfortunately, Hermione couldn't promise that Scrimgeour wouldn't.

The Minister was waiting for them in his office and they were shown straight through. Scrimgeour was friendlier than Hermione had ever seen him, even more so than when he had first tried to get her onside back in September. He shook everyone's hand, enquired about their tour of the DMLE and how they were progressing in their schooling. If he noticed that the replies he received were stilted and unfeeling, it didn't seem to bother him at all - he was blessed with a politician's view of the situation.

Scrimgeour then introduced the other important-looking witches and wizards in the room: the head of the DMAC (Yaxley's boss), the chair of the Council of Magical Law, a senior judge from the Wizengamot and, lastly, the head of the Department of Mysteries. The chief Unspeakable looked even less happy to be there than any of the students, which was understandable given that her department had suffered a lot of damage during last year's attack.

As expected, there was also a photographer. Professor McGonagall made a beeline for him, probably to make sure that he didn't overdo the photographs and that the school would be most displeased if any prints of underage students were passed to the media. It was almost impossible to enforce the condition where Harry was concerned, but the others might avoid the limelight, which was important in Hermione's case and she made sure to move herself as far away from the camera as reasonably possible.

"Well, here we are then," Scrimgeour said, clasping his hands and looking around at those assembled before him. "One year ago today, our world changed. Our battle began. If it wasn't for the bravery shown by the six young people before us, we might have already lost this war before we had even known it had commenced. To Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Ginny Weasley and Ron Weasley, we - on behalf of the Ministry of Magic and the magical people of Britain - say thank you, and commend you for your actions."

The Ministry representatives (including Scrimgeour and Thicknesse) each waved their wands and six small velvet-covered boxes stamped with the Ministry insignia appeared before the students. The adults took the boxes in hand to present to the children in front of them. Scrimgeour, of course, made sure to be the one to pass his to Harry, while Hermione shook hands with the disgruntled Unspeakable. The camera flashed around them.

"Just a moment, Mr Potter," Scrimgeour said, not releasing Harry's hand. He wanted the photographer to get a close up of the two of them.

Harry's face was carefully devoid of emotion but Hermione was filled with so much anger that her jaw started to ache from how forcefully she was clenching it. Her mind once again ran through all those curses and dark spells she had learned about from Antonin's books.

"Let's see it then," Tonks said, coming to stand at her side. Hermione popped open the lid to reveal a gold medallion, delicately carved with the logos of all the Ministry departments surrounding an idealised witch and wizard with their wands raised in the centre. "Fancy," Tonks said, giving Hermione an amused look.

"Quite," Hermione agreed in a flat voice and then snapped the lid closed with a sigh. "Is it over now? Can we leave?" She turned, intending to go to Professor McGonagall, but instead found herself facing Scrimgeour and Thicknesse. Tonks put a supportive hand on her back.

"Pius will meet with Alastor on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the transfer of the prisoner and the safety measures he will be subjected to," Scrimgeour said bluntly. "I will not risk that man escaping. I will not let him or your protectors ruin me and this administration." His harsh gaze lifted briefly to Tonks, showing that he wasn't happy about trusting the Order, and then he walked away.

"Tell Mad-Eye I expect him at two-thirty in my office," Pius said before departing as well.

Harry immediately took his place, ignoring Professor McGonagall's call that it was time for them to leave. "They're handing him over?"

"Yes. Apparently Moody's in charge of it on our side - I had no idea, but I suppose it makes sense," she said.

"Mad-Eye will keep you safe, Hermione, don't you worry about that," Tonks said quietly as she ushered them towards the door.

"Are you okay?" Harry and Hermione asked each other simultaneously and then shared a grin. Neither of them spared Scrimgeour another glance as they exited his office.

"Right, let's get you all back to school," Professor McGonagall said briskly. "Will you lead the way, Tonks?"

"Of course."

They were nearly back at the lifts when Hermione gasped at something she briefly saw down a side corridor. From the way Harry flinched next to her, she was sure that he saw it too, but neither of them felt like talking about that glimpse of bright fluffy pink…


A/N Fingers crossed this update and the one before show up fine now! Let me know!