Hermione had told Harry that she wanted to visit Viktor's cottage, to pay her respects on this night when the spirits of the dead were meant to be closest to the mortal plane. It was an excuse, but it was also true. Her love for Viktor hadn't disappeared the instant she discovered that Severus returned her affections, and she had been unable to attend any of the formal memorials for the murdered Bulgarian.

The cottage was dark, tourist season ended.

Hermione made her way over the bridge to the wilderness garden Viktor had briefly tended. She knelt on the lawn.

---

"I know your parents took your body back to Bulgaria," she said softly, "but it's here that I feel closest to you." Silently, she cast a Revealing Spell. When the results were negative, she lifted the hood of Harry's cloak and pushed the garment back from her shoulders to pool around her. "I did love you, Viktor. I hope you believed that. Wherever you are now, I hope you are happy. I hope you are loved. I'll always be grateful for the sacrifice you made, and I'll try to live a life that would make you proud. Obicham te, Viktor."

---

Hermione used magic to create a hole about the size and shape of a pencil in the centre of the lawn. She extracted a small twig from her bag and slid the widest part into the ground. She pressed in the earth around it as best she could, adding water from her wand. When it had been seated firmly, she closed her eyes and allowed her magic to flow, guided by her touch alone, as the twig thickened and produced fresh offshoots.

When the bush sprouted leaves and blossoms, she whispered, "Goodbye."

Replacing Harry's cloak, she inhaled the lilac's scent.

---

Severus let free the breath he'd been holding as his apartment's door clicked open. "You're late," he observed.

"Three minutes. I'm also dirty," Hermione answered, tossing back the cloak's hood and holding her hands away from her sides so that Severus could hug her without soiling his clothes.

Severus duly obliged, also dipping his head to share a lingering kiss before resting his forehead to Hermione's for a few seconds. "I suppose you're going to insist that I let you clean up?" he teased.

"In a minute," Hermione agreed, tucking her head under Severus's chin and inhaling his unique scent.

---

"Does Potter know you have his toy?" Severus asked as Hermione scrubbed at her fingertips with a nail brush.

"Yes and no," she answered smugly. "I asked to borrow the cloak. I told him I wanted to go to Viktor's cottage. I didn't ask if I could borrow the map."

"You have Potter's map?"

Hermione's stomach muscles tightened at the warmth in his voice. "I'm not just a pretty face," she answered, rinsing the soap from her hands.

Severus spun her around, one hand sliding into her unruly curls, the other anchoring her to him. "No, you're a pretty everything."

---

"I should get changed so that we can get out of here," Hermione said.

"In a hurry, are we?"

"Business before pleasure," Hermione replied. "I know you too well to think you would have it any other way."

Severus's eyes locked with hers as their heartbeats counted out the seconds until he blinked, breaking the trance. He swatted her lightly on her behind. "Shoo, or I might prove you wrong."

Hermione grinned at him over her shoulder as she reached the bedroom door. "That's supposed to be an incentive?"

"That's a promise, and you'd be as conflicted as I would."

---

"Severus?"

"Hmmm."

Hermione was surprised to see the start her lover gave.

"Penny for them?" she suggested, holding up a ponytail band before passing it to Severus. Her gaze met his, trying to reassure him about their mission. "It's not too late. I'm sure I could get Minerva to give me the list."

Severus gently shook his head and spun her around. "It's not that. Just the ghosts of Halloween past."

Before he could separate the first strands of her braid, she turned back to him. "Not Harry?" She took a backward step. And another. "You didn't? You weren't there?"

---

"Hermione!" With one stride he closeed the gap between them, and caught her upper arms in a firm grip. "Let me explain. Please." He felt her resistance ebb... for now.

"I wasn't there. I wish I had been. I might have—" The smooth, eloquent voice faltered and cracked.

Hermione lifted her palm to his cheek. "There was nothing you could have done."

"It was my fault. Don't you get it? I wasn't there, but I might as well have killed her with my own wand. I told the Dark Lord."

With a pronoun everything fell into place.

"I know."

---

"Wh— How?" Severus spluttered. "You can't know."

Hermione stretched up on tip-toe to press her lips gently to his. "I've known the facts since the night Dumbledore died. Trelawney told Harry that you were eavesdropping on her interview. What I didn't grasp was the truth. She's the one, isn't she? In your memories. She's the one you loved."

Severus nodded, his hair spilling forward to hide his face.

"Severus, it wasn't your fault."

"If I hadn't—"

"If you hadn't told Dumbledore, then, yes, it would have been your fault. But you did. It was his responsibility to protect them."

---

"I wish it were that simple," Severus sighed as he wrapped his arms around Hermione, basking in her acceptance.

"It is, Severus, it is," she assured him. "He had half a dozen ways to ensure their safety. He could have insisted that they use him as Secret Keeper. He could have used Legilimency on those people he suspected of passing information. He could have insisted that their Secret Keeper swear loyalty to the Order under Veritaserum. He could have made them roll up their sleeves for a start. If Dumbledore had truly wanted to save the Potters, he would have."