To a Better End

Chapter 35

October 16th 1976

Don't respond. Don't react. Keep walking.

She saw him out of the corner of her eye as she passed. The fury on his face was clearer than a summer sky and scarier than the darkness in the sea at night. Hermione knew that Nott Sr was an unpredictable Death Eater in his prime. She was ready to go into a full sprint.

"Hermione!" The gruff voice was louder and accompanied by footsteps as Hermione continued to walk away, attempting to ignore him.

Her feet weren't fast enough. Fingers gripped around her left arm, pulling her back and halting her abruptly. With his other hand, Nott Sr. pulled up Hermione's sleeve, searching for a mark that wasn't there. Relief quickly spread through her brain, silently thanking Alphie for the work he did.

Even with his brow furrowed in confusion, he looked angry. Perhaps he was perpetually cross. "It can't be. You - you look just like her."

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" She tried to pull her arm from his grasp, but his fingers tightened at the sound of her voice.

Their eyes met, and it was like he immediately knew. Whatever suspicions he had, Nott seemed to have found all his confirmation from this one encounter. Hermione knew they were fucked. He would be resilient in his efforts to expose her - no matter how ridiculous his ideas were. Something was going to go wrong, and she and Malfoy had to be prepared for it.

Nott leaned into her face, too close. His voice was so low, it was practically a growl, "I don't know how you did it, but I know it's you. You're not fooling anyone, Hermione Granger. You can't cheat ageing and death and get away with it."

A pair of footsteps ran up to them. Hermione never thought she would find comfort in the Russian's voice before, but today was certainly full of surprises.

"Mina? Is this man bothering you?" He looked at her with compassionate eyes before turning to her captor with a look of ferocity.

Nott quickly dropped Hermione's arm and took a step back, arms held up with a devious grin. "Simple mistake, that's all. Isn't that right, Mina? "

"It was a mistake. Thank you for coming to check on me, Tony."

Antonin didn't look away from Nott as he walked over to Hermione's side. He stood protectively over her as the older wizard slithered further away.

"I don't care about your position or devotion. You don't touch her, Nott."

"I'm just looking out, Dolohov. Word gets out about a witch with connections." He backed into the apparition point and was gone in a swirl of darkness.

Antonin immediately turned to face Hermione, his hands locked on her shoulders. His eyes scanned her, ensuring she was untouched.

"I'm fine, Tony." She removed his hands from her shoulders, but he reached up to hold her cheeks instead.

"He touched you, kotenok ." The worry in his eyes pained her.

"He didn't hurt me."

"Your arm still has the red handprint from that excuse of a man! He doesn't deserve to keep that hand."

"Tony," she placed her hands over his that still held her cheeks. "You will not remove another person's limbs for touching me. It's not your job."

"I don't know why he came after you, but I'll keep you safe, Mina. I promise."

Hermione closed her eyes, knowing promises broke all too often. Antonin refused to leave until he saw Hermione apparate away. Her nerve endings felt like they were on fire. She paced in front of her cottage for several minutes, trying to ignore the pain in her arm from the grip Nott had on her.