A/N: One more chapter to go, after this.

Epilogue: Part 1

Harry sat with me outside the conference room where the Inquest was being conducted. He's an old hat at these things, having been the subject of several such official inquiries in the past. As such, he made for the ideal companion. There is something innately reassuring about Harry. At first glance, he's all slight build, scruffy hair, glasses and a still, watchfulness not often associated with young men of his age. You don't automatically look to him for leadership until the mess is at your doorstep. Suddenly, logically Harry is the only person you trust to make decisions, give orders, lead the troops. There's just something about him that makes you want to stand with him, and behind him.

"Cup of tea?" he asked, opening a Thermos of Earl Grey.

I declined, though I was comforted by the familiar scent. I used to drink Earl Grey by the pot. I used to do a lot of things differently.

He then produced a brown paper package from inside his robes. "I brought biscuits, too."

"No, thank you."

There was concern for me in his green eyes. "These things can go on for hours before they call you in. Eat something."

I wasn't hungry. In fact, I was rarely hungry since my captivity. My stomach had shrunk such that it only took a few bites to fill me up. It must have been the lingering effects of long-term malnutrition. The mediwitch who examined me declared me surprisingly fit, if on the verge of scurvy from lack of Vitamins C and D. I'd lost some hair (though you'd be hard-pressed noticing this considering the amount I had to begin with), a third of my body weight, and had suffered permanent frostbite damage to several toes. No more open-toed sandals in summer. My medical file was often submitted as evidence when anyone questioned the whole story.

Could you blame them?

According to the eye-witness reports provided by my own team, I was missing for no longer than two minutes following our Apparation into the Forbidden Forest. The blizzard had been very real and unexpected. Everyone completed the journey without difficulty and regrouped with Harry to find shelter. It was then that they noticed my absence. Ron cast a spell to identity my whereabouts when I suddenly appeared at his feet – a huddled, unconscious bedraggled mess, dressed in rags that bore vague resemblance to my Auror uniform.

Of my wand, there was no sign. The replacement I currently carried was three weeks old and I still wasn't used to it.

Harry and Ron took me directly to St Mungos, where I slept for two days before awaking into hysterics. I'm told that I punched a mediwizard in the face (broke his nose, I sent him a card). I remember nothing of this. They wisely sedated me. The next time I woke up, my minders made sure Harry was the first thing I saw.

He set beside me while I gave a long and emotionless statement to the Auror internal affairs investigator assigned to my case. There was no mistaking the looks of incredulity that the investigator exchanged with Harry. It wasn't that they disbelieved me. It was just that it was unbelievable, and this was saying something considering who and what we were.

The questions were numerous, as expected. The Ministry was most interested in two aspects of my disappearance – my alleged captor, and my companion in captivity.

I spared Harry some of the more graphic, intimate details of my relationship and time with Malfoy, but I think his imagination was quite capable of filling in the details. He held my hand when I described the exact circumstances that led to my release from the Phantom Forest, which has now become the official term for where Malfoy and I had been held. A team had been sent to assess the part of the forest from where I had been taken. Not surprisingly, they found nothing untoward.

No Malfoy, no iceknife, no shack and no doorway to Narnia.

The doors to the Ministry committee room opened. Harry jumped to his feet, brushing biscuit crumbs from his lap. One of the Committee secretaries stepped forward.

"Miss Granger, they would like to see you now."

All the top Auror and Research brass had been assembled for the Inquiry, including my and Harry's respective bosses. We are both Aurors, but work in different units – missions (Harry) and research (me). A short, stern-faced woman from the DMLE called Augusta Lim was Chairing the Inquiry. I knew her only by reputation. She was tough, but fair-minded. As the unit leader for the mission, Harry was permitted to attend the Inquiry. For this, I was glad.

"Thank you for coming today, Miss Granger, and for your patience through these lengthy proceedings." Chairwoman Lim began. "At this stage, we believe we have all the pertinent details of your ordeal, thanks to your very thorough verbal and written report submitted to the Inquiry earlier this week."

"Have you given thought to my request?" I asked. I could see my boss tensing in his seat.

"Indeed, we have," the Chairwoman replied. She regarded me with a small frown. "But before we inform you of our decision, an emissary from the Swedish Magical Embassy would like to speak to you."

There was only one person on the Committee I didn't recognise – a tall, well-built, man with hair nearly as light as Malfoy's. He stood up and walked around the conference table to shake my hand.

"I am Professor Oren Nillson, from the Historiska's magical antiquities unit. It is good to meet you, Miss Granger," he said. "I should like a moment of your time, if you please? Alone?"

Chairwoman Lim interrupted, her voice sharp. "I'm sure you would, Professor, but in the spirit of transparency, we ask that you question Miss Granger here. It would be impolitic of me to remind you that that the artefact you asked us to retrieve nearly resulted in the death of one of our officials, and that your Ministry withheld information about these dangers when you requested our assistance."

"Impolitic or not, I am duly reminded," said the Swedish expert, with a subtle nod.

"It was the knife, wasn't it? You know what it is." I said, not caring who overhead.

Professor Nillson turned back to me. "It is known by many names, but it's called kallthjärta."

"Coldheart," I said, feeling a chill slip up my spine. "Did the Death Eaters know what it was when they took it from your Museum?"

"I doubt it, because until we heard of your miraculous tale of survival, we didn't know what it was either. We had our suspicions, of course. They stole many other items of more immediate value – gold, precious stones and the like. The dagger was taken unintentionally, we think."

"It's possessed."

"We believe so. The 'entity', as you refer to it in your report, has likely laid dormant in the artefact for decades. There has not been an appearance recorded in the literature in over seventy years."

I blinked. "Recorded appearance of what exactly?"

"Every country has a name for him," the professor began.

"Him?" I said, suddenly feeling quite ill. I remembered the voices.

He waits.

"There are many incarnations, not all of them male. Boreas the North Wind, from the Greeks, Morozko or Father Frost, from Russia. Itztlacoliuhqui, the winter death, from the Aztecs, Ba Jia Jiang, the Great Winter God, from the Chinese."

"Hermione was kidnapped by Santa?" came Harry's incredulous voice. Someone in the committee coughed.

It wasn't Santa Claus, I knew, because he wasn't real. "It was Jack Frost." I said to Professor Nillson, who nodded in reply. It felt good to put a name to the thing. It took power away from it, somehow.

I mulled over this confirmation. "What is he really? Some kind of primordial elemental being?"

"Very good, Miss Granger. Yes, although from what you have told us, there is something of the Fey about this entity's modus operandi. Evil, too. And quite insane - an unfortunate byproduct of immortality when you happen to also be sentient."

"What do you mean Fey? You're referring to the glamour that held Malfoy and I there? Fairy magic?"

"Some kind of analogue, probably," said the Professor. "The symptoms bear a striking familiarity. Your conditions deteriorated the longer the two of you remained in the realm the entity had created for you. You ate the food and drink it offered. You began to forget about your lives in the real world."

"To what end?"

"We can't know for sure, but my guess is for the entity's amusement and because he may have been feeding off the two of you."

"Why did it let her go?" It was Harry who asked my next question.

Professor Nillson shot me a sympathetic look before he answered Harry. "I suspect Mr Malfoy made the entity a better offer. His life, to be drained away eventually as the entity feeds."

I seized upon this. "Then he may still be alive."

"Well, I suppose so. Depending on—"

I cut him off, taking a step toward the Committee. "My request. Have you made a decision?"

Chairwoman Lim sighed. "Yes. I'm afraid we won't be mounting a rescue."

"Why?" I knew why, of course.

"Miss Granger, the Ministry operates on a mandate. We cannot be seen to spend public Galleons and risk more lives by sending a rescue party to the aid of a Death Eater. And even if we did, even if Mr Malfoy is alive and retrievable, he would still be required to stand trial for his crimes upon his return."

"He saved my life," I reminded.

"And you his, from what you've told us."

"It's not a balance sheet!"

"It is, and you are ahead, Miss Granger because you, unlike Mr Malfoy, are a valuable asset to the Ministry and beloved member of the Magical community. We are thankful that he has enabled your safe return, but we do not owe this man anything else."

Harry and I were the first to leave. We were halfway to the Floos when Harry spoke.

"You took that remarkably well," he commented.

"Oh dear. Too well?"

He shrugged. "More pushback is expected. From you, especially."

"Think they bought it, though?"

"That you're giving up? Maybe. The main thing is they can officially disavow your actions if anything untoward happens from now."

I was about to reply, but paused when I spotted Professor Nillson running to catch up with us.

"Miss Granger, Mr Potter, if I might have a moment?"

We watched as he glanced around the corridor before slipping a cloth-wrapped package from inside the jacket of his tweed suit. "Suffice to say our conversation earlier would have gone quite differently had Chairwoman Lim not insisted on us speaking in the open. I wasn't able to give you this."

He unwrapped the package and handed me its contents. It was a small, slim leather sheath. I turned it around, recognizing some of the runes that had been stitched into the leather. Suddenly, I knew exactly what he had handed me.

"This sheath will bind the power of the kallthjärta."

"Yes," he confirmed, giving me an appreciative look. "Your reputation does not do you justice."

"Not even close," Harry muttered under this breath. I swatted at his arm.

"What's in it for you?" I demanded.

"Nothing but scholarly interest," said the professor. "Discoveries such as these are things that can make one's career in the field. Bring the knife back to the Museum. We will study it and we will of course ensure that it is safely contained now that we know the extent of is power. You retrieve your Death Eater, we have our artefact returned."

"Now all we need to do is find Jack Frost," said Harry. He looked at me. "Any ideas?"