Author's Note: Final chapter back from my betas! Let me know if I tricked you. 3

"I'm turning forty next week," Draco said, staring at the ceiling. His fingers ran lazily through Hermione's hair where it was spread across his chest like a fan.

"Mmm, don't sound so excited," came the muffled reply.

"Hey, you were allowed your mid-life crisis when you turned forty," Draco teased. "I might just wake up next week and decide I want to trade you in for a Parisian model in her twenties and a red sports car."

Hermione snorted.

"I think I should be offended that you're not more concerned."

"You forget," she said, lifting her head from its comfortable position to look up at him, "that I am completely confident in my situation at the moment."

"Oh?"

"Mmm." She let her fingers trace across Draco's abdomen, following the sparse trail of hair. Shifting, she pressed her lips against the warm skin beneath her, alternating between light nips and swipes of her tongue.

Draco groaned as she wrapped a hand around him, exceedingly grateful that he had been granted a few hours of recuperation. She stroked up and closed her teeth around his nipple.

"Nngh, you're going to be the death of me, Granger," he panted.

Bright and early on Monday morning, Hermione found herself in her office, combing through paperwork. She knew it wasn't strictly legal, but then, desperate times called for desperate measures. She didn't know why she hadn't started digging earlier—Draco had been making payments to his blackmailer for four months.

Records of transfers from Draco's account to an unidentified foreign account sat in neat stacks on her desk. The bank statements had come across her desk through no small feat of Confundus charms and a cleverly placed disguise. Really, Gringotts should look into increasing their security. Hermione found it far too easy to get what she wanted. At least she hadn't had to escape on the back of a dragon this time.

It only took two hours of connecting the dots.

Sitting back in her chair, Hermione stared at the incriminating evidence and sighed. This wasn't going to be easy.

"Mr. Malfoy?" Hermione said, knocking on the doorframe of Draco's office.

Without a word, he beckoned her into his office. The door was quickly shut behind her, and Hermione felt the wordless Imperturbable Charm go up around them.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked, coming around his desk to meet her.

She clutched the documents to her chest. "I—er, I found something. You … well, you should probably take a look at it."

"What is it?"

Hermione lowered herself into a chair, keeping the documents close. "Well, you know how I'm too curious and stubborn for my own good, right? I did some digging on … your blackmailer."

Draco simply blinked at her. "You found something. You found out who it is?"

"It wasn't that hard … it only took me a couple of hours to verify it, but … here." She held out the piece of parchment towards him and braced herself.

Draco stormed through the main doors of Gringotts not fifteen minutes later, Hermione's careful research tucked under one arm. He cleared a path, other patrons moving quickly aside as he made his way towards the offices.

Theodore Nott's office was open as he approached it, and with a slam, Draco shut it behind him.

"You had better hope that Granger was lying to me, Theo," Draco said coldly.

"W-what?"

Draco pushed the bank statements across the desk and watched as Nott paled.

"Draco, you … well, you can't possibly believe that I-I would—"

"Oh, but it makes far too much sense, doesn't it? You're the only one who knows about that flat. How easy it must've been to keep an eye on me while I was there. And you had the audacity to transfer the money to an account in your father's name? Did you really think I wouldn't figure it out?"

Nott sighed, narrowing his eyes, and leaned back in his chair.

"You have to admit, though—it's taken you four months." The change in his demeanor was alarming. His shoulders slumped in defeat, eyebrows tilted up, and Draco was reminded of a scolded child.

"Photos. Now." Draco held out one hand, the other remaining close to his wand, just in case Nott needed extra incentive.

Opening a drawer, Nott pulled out a small bundle of pictures. As he flipped through them, Draco could see that most of them were similar to the first—with the pair of them standing outside the red door. Some were from Tate's, but a fair few looked like they had been taken through windows.

In one, Hermione stood wrapped in a sheet, staring out the window with her arms around her waist. Another was simply the outline of two figures through a curtain. Without a second thought, Draco pulled out his wand and set the whole lot on fire.

Nott jumped back from his desk. "Fuck, Draco!" he shouted. "What the hell?"

"You've been blackmailing me, you arsehole," Draco replied. One flick and the flames vanished. He moved his wand to point it at Nott's face. "Do it again, and I won't hesitate to make sure they won't be able to identify your body."

The other man simply nodded.

"I'll be transferring my accounts to another manager, but to keep this situation from getting any more out of hand, I won't report you. I encourage you to not view this as mercy."

"Draco—"

"Stop!" he hissed. "I fucking trusted you, Theo. And this is how you repay me?"

"I … I'm sorry."

"No, you're not. You're just sorry you got caught." Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Just tell me one thing: why?"

Nott returned to his seat and pressed his fingers together. He seemed to be chewing through his words before he finally spoke. "Astoria came to me. Wanted to know what you had been up to. I didn't tell her anything, but it got me curious, so I looked into it. She kept asking questions, though. She was worried that there was something wrong with her, that you didn't love her anymore, so I kept her company."

"Company?"

Nott raised an eyebrow at him, and Draco felt air rush out of his lungs.

"You're sleeping with Astoria."

As Nott nodded, Draco fled the office. He didn't trust himself not to curse the man if he had to face him one moment longer.

When Draco didn't show up for their meeting at Tate's, Hermione began to worry. She hadn't seen him since she approached him with her research four days prior, but that wasn't abnormal.

She couldn't get out of the meeting fast enough, bypassing invites from Emma for coffee and a conversation with Caroline in favor of dashing down the block to the red door.

Pressing the call button, she waited impatiently for Draco to answer. Relief flooded her when the door buzzed open, and she pushed through and up the stairs.

"Where've you been?" she called as soon as she crossed the threshold.

Draco sat in the middle of the couch, dressed in a wrinkled oxford and jeans. His hair hung loose around his face. One look around the room made Hermione's eyes go wide. A trunk sat open next to the bed, robes hanging out, and a suitcase had taken up residence on the dining table. A half-empty bottle of whiskey sat on the kitchen counter.

"Are you … are you living here?"

"Astoria's been sleeping with Nott."

She moved slowly through the flat until she was standing next to the couch. Reaching out, she hesitated. They had never had to deal with this sort of thing before. They were good at distracting one another, but comfort was far out of their reach. She had no idea what to do next.

"Do … do you want to talk about it?"

Draco scoffed.

"Do you want me to leave?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

She sat, close enough that they were pressed together from shoulder to hip to knee.

"So what do we do now?" she asked quietly.

Draco's fingers slipped between hers, and he squeezed.

"I've no fucking clue."

"One day at a time, okay?"

He turned his head as it rested on the back of the couch and granted her a tight smile.

"Okay, Granger."

Old Grudges Forgotten?

17 November 2022

By Betty Braithwaite

In a stunning turn of events, this reporter is pleased to announce the engagement of Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy. No details have been offered up by the happy couple, but turn to page 17 for pictures of the couple spotted around Muggle London.

Three years have passed since their respective separations from their previous spouses, Ron Weasley and Astoria Malfoy née Greengrass.

Author's Note: Reviews are welcome. Thanks for reading!