"Emerging from an Abyss, and re-entering it — that is Life, is it not, Dear?"

— Emily Dickenson

"You requested to meet, Granger?" a voice drawled from the library doorway.

Hermione brushed an errant curl in her line of sight, not looking up as she poured over the Death Eater hideout she and Malfoy were supposed to infiltrate for their first mission together. The task was simple — get in, retrieve information, get out.

"Yes. I thought we should go over the plans again for the mission tonight." She had gone over the plans with Malfoy a day prior, giving him an annotated copy of the floor plans and a document detailing a list of backup plans should anything go wrong. Hermione gripped her quill tighter, remembering his nonchalant expression when he briefly glanced over the documents, nodded, and handed everything back to her without so much as a question.

"I'm not incompetent you know," she could feel his eyes narrowing at her. "Unlike your best friends who you had to mother over at Hogwarts, I'm not inclined towards feats of stupidity or recklessness."

"I just want to make sure," she said as she gritted her teeth, finally looking up at his scowling face. She was anxious. She hadn't had a partner in a while. Hermione had done fine on group missions but the few partners she'd had were not compatible — impatient, rash, often deviating from the plans or protocol. And she had no doubt in her mind that her and Malfoy would not be compatible.

Malfoy gave her an irritated look.

"Two entrances, five Death Eaters stationed. The study is in the north-west area of the house. A shift with the patrols begins at 10:15pm sharp. A five minute window to get in. There are three back up plans — " he continued reciting, his tone flat and devoid of emotion. "Did I miss anything?"

After Scorpius had recovered from his fever, a quiet tentative truce had formed between them. Still, they kept their distance from each other. There was a mutual sense of distrust and tension as if they were waiting for the other to attack.

Malfoy had another nightmare last night. Scorpius had woken her up again, trembling and teary-eyed. This time, however, when she woke him up, he simply nodded at her stiffly without looking at her directly as he soothed Scorpius. Hermione nodded in return and before leaving, she silently waved her wand, conjuring two cups of hot chocolate on the bedside table.

Even now he still looked tense — dark shadows under his eyes and a coldness hardening his features like fine cut marble as he looked down on her.

"No, you didn't miss anything, but there is something I wanted to go over," she said as stood and came in front of the desk. He simply crossed his arms, raising a fine brow at her to continue.

"As you recall you can only use light magic," he snorted but she ignored it, "and I understand the temptation to use the Dark Arts should something go wrong tonight. There of a couple of light spells — "

"Look, Granger, if you're trying to make me a victim to some disturbing fantasy of yours where you lecture like a professor at Hogwarts — "

"Malfoy!" Hermione said, her cheeks flushing. Pompous git. His eyes remained hooded, almost bored as he returned her glare with a smirk. "As I was saying. It's imperative to keep one's anger in check. Many have slipped up on these missions because their rage over seeing the Death Eaters caused them to disobey protocol. It's these emotions, like anger, that fuel Dark Magic, causing them to be used almost unconsciously. People forget themselves, they let their anger define them when it shouldn't," she said, looking away. Rage electrifying her senses, the pull to hurt, to inflict pain. She pushed away the memory.

"Shouldn't it?"

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked, blinking at him incredulously.

"Anger. Rage. To an extent, doesn't it still define a part of us? Why should we deny that feeling and pretend it doesn't exist when all it means is that we subconsciously refuse to be treated the way we are?" His eyes flickered as he stepped forward. "Isn't anger just an instinctive response telling us to protect ourselves from getting hurt? Directing that anger is key of course — control. But I find it ignorant to hide or deny an instinct that tells you to refuse to yield, to refuse to allow yourself to tolerate how you are being treated."

Before Hermione could respond, a little voice called out followed by a bang and scuttling feet. Malfoy twisted around, sighing and calling out to his son as he left the room.

***

They walked through the dark hallway, keeping out for the faintest of noises. The wards had been easy to disassemble, the guards rotating exactly according to plan. Hermione ran the exit routes in her mind as Draco soundlessly loomed behind her. They had spotted more than five Death Eater guards and Hermione suspected there were more inside despite the lack of lights.

Suddenly a solid arm wrapped around her middle, another covering her mouth as she was pulled into an alcove. Hermione instinctively tried to break free but paused when hot breath hissed in her ear and heavy footsteps sounded at the end of the corridor. She kept still as the footsteps and voices got louder. Malfoy cast a silent Disillusionment Charm on them before pressing her closer to his chest.

" — he's displeased. Two Death Eaters captured and, from what I've heard, whatever they've been working on that Bellatrix has been overseeing hasn't produced results — "

Hermione glanced up at Malfoy feeling his chest go rigid behind her. His jaw in her line of vision clenched as his eyes darkened at the sight of the two unmasked Death Eaters passing by. They looked young — new recruits, she deduced. They had an air of haughty arrogance around them as they laughed over a recent attack on a muggle town where they had captured a few muggleborns in hiding.

"— filthier than bloody whores those mudbloods. Makes it even more satisfying shutting them up with some nice pureblood co— "

Hermione went cold and instinctively looked up at Malfoy, unable to hide the accusatory, disgusted look in her eyes. Upon seeing her look, his eyes became dangerous as his arms tightened around her waist and mouth. She felt him shake his head, the fine hairs of his fringe tickling her ear, his steely eyes not breaking contact. She relaxed a little, knowing that he didn't participate in such activities.

When their voices disappeared into the room up ahead, Hermione and Draco exited the alcove.

"They entered the room we were supposed to grab the information from. I heard more voices inside. There must be a meeting of some sort," she whispered. "Change of plans — we'll eavesdrop as much as we can but leave at the first possible moment. We still don't know how many guards are around."

Hermione was surprised when Malfoy simply listened and nodded at her instructions. They approached the doorway, hiding in another alcove close by. Draco looked at her curiously when she pulled out a long string-like object that, once unrolled, was disillusioned.

George and Hermione had tinkered with the Extendable Ears that he and his twin had invented. In addition to a Disillusionment Charm, they added a function that allowed it to record sounds it picked up so it could be played back — a feature similar to the muggle recording devices Hermione had gotten inspiration from.

Draco leaned forward, his ear briefly brushing Hermione's as they listened in to the device.

" — the Dark Lord has just passed down orders to put pressure up north. They've spotted boats trying to leave the border, mainly mudblood women and children," a rough older voice declared.

"Women and children?" another spat. "That's child's work. Send the trainees."

"He wants it done with... flourish. Says it's to make a statement."

Draco and Hermione listened in further on the plans until the discussion simmered into drunken rants about their lack of rest and the unfair punishments they've been receiving. Apparently, the Dark Lord was on edge lately, lashing out at every misstep, at every breath or look that even so much as hinted defiance. After deciding it was enough, the pair exited the house, making their way to get past the anti-Apparition wards.

They had just turned a corner when they pulled back sharply as green light flared in their direction.

"Shit," Draco cursed.

Just then, ten Death Eaters swarmed into their vision. Hermione cast a quick protego around them.

"I can't hold it," Hermione grunted as the Death Eaters closed in. "We need to split — on the count of three."

Malfoy nodded and on three they split in opposite directions. They both dodged the spells coming their way, firing back at rapid speed. Hermione sent a slicing hex at a Death Eater's legs while simultaneously dodging behind a pile of abandoned crates.

"Come out mudblood bitch," a voice growled.

Through a gap in the crates, Hermione sent the largest Death Eater crashing into the others. She emerged partially from the crates, firing spell after spell while maintaining cover. She briefly looked over at Malfoy who was holding his own surrounded by three Death Eaters, two of the five already down. A stillness overtook his features as his lithe body fluidly dodged each attack. In the glow of the green light, a rogue look illuminated his eyes, a cold fire that seemed to flare higher and higher as more attacks came his way. His wand movements were sharp and precise, hitting his target with brutal efficiency.

Hermione grunted as a spell grazed her cheek. She turned back to her own battle.

***

"Draco Malfoy," a Death Eater sneered. He shot a curse at Draco which he dodged, casting his own shield in the next second. "The Dark Lord's hound. More like bitch, eh?"

Unfazed by the taunts, Draco feinted then shot a blinding hex.

Draco heard a yelp just as he cast a shield and saw Granger topple to the ground, a gash sliced open on her leg. Before he could formulate a plan to regroup, she got up, a defiant look on her face as she shot a powerful curse at her opponent in retaliation. Her movements suddenly became hard and exacting, moving with honed precision — going for arteries, the eyes, the ankles, and any weak point she could identify.

"Blood-traitor!" Suddenly, Draco's shield shattered as two Death Eaters fired a simultaneous blow. He hit the ground but recovered quickly, feeling blood pouring down his nose and tasting it in his mouth.

"Too bad your mother didn't survive the fire. Would have loved to have a go at her uptight pureblood cunt — "

"Incendio engorio," he hissed. A jet of flames erupted from his wand, setting alight the Death Eaters in his path. The putrid stench of burning flesh hit the air along with agonized screams.

"Malfoy!" Granger called, deflecting spells. "We can't hold on for much longer. They've called back up."

True enough, more Death Eaters poured in. Hermione felt her exhaustion hitting her — she was losing blood from the open gash on her leg that she hadn't had the chance to address.

Malfoy waved his wand, mouthing a spell she could not make out and all at once, darkness spilled around her. All the lights winked out as a heavy blackness, like that of a starless night sky, enveloped the area. There was a moment of silence as Hermione stood in the middle of a sea of shadows that swirled and swallowed everything around her. She jerked when a solid hand grabbed her wrist but relaxed when she realized it was Malfoy.

"Let's get out of here," he murmured, still keeping his guard up. Draco led them out of the fog as she watched their backs. Finally, when they made it into the woods, getting past the anti-Apparition wards, they vanished.

***

"Mini, look!" Hermione turned her attention to the little boy who sat beside her on the library floor. He pointed at a picture of an animal and tried to pronounce its name.

"Good job!" she responded with a grin. That afternoon, she had found Scorpius on Malfoy's lap full of frustration because his father had started to doze off. Despite his reluctance, Malfoy decided to take her offer to watch Scorpius while he took a nap.

They had arrived late last night, completely exhausted, all bruised and scraped, but no major wounds that couldn't be handled with a healing spell and a patch of Essence of Dittany.

"Thanks a lot, Watson," Hermione whispered, trying not to wake Scorpius. Malfoy was already in the bathroom when she entered. She let Watson go, telling him that she could watch over Scorpius while she waited for Malfoy. Hermione wanted to get confirmation on certain details she had noticed during the mission that she wanted to get down on her report immediately.

After Watson left, a soft groan escaped the bathroom. The door was ajar and against Hermione's will, she found herself peaking through the small crack.

Draco Malfoy sat half submerged in the bathtub, head back, arms gripping the sides of the tub — tendons and muscles pulled taut as he hissed when the water filled with disinfectant herbs stung his cuts.

On his chest, three large gashes of an old scar marred his flesh. Hermione instantly recognized it as the sectumsempra scar Harry had given him. On top of it, blue and violet bruises bloomed on his pale skin from that night's fight. Hermione braced herself when she finally looked at his inner forearm. Instead of black ink, the area where his Dark Mark should have been was discolored, almost grey, as if the mark was carved out of his skin — which it must have been, in addition to a magical procedure he must have figured out, she deduced.

Hermione's eyes trailed up his neck and onto his face. He looked so much younger then — his eyes shut, expression unguarded, drops of water dripping heavily from his pale lashes. His lips parted, a soft breath faintly leaving his lips.

Hermione flushed and immediately stepped back.