Hopefully for the last time.

She cleared her mind, tucking away Narcissa's plans and burying them on her shelves.

He cast his eyes over her, and offered his hand. She took it.

They met Narcissa at the bottom of the stairs, looking far too elegant in midnight blue. She wished them a good evening, and took Draco's other arm. As they walked down the drive, she said, "I'll only stay for the first half-hour. Your father can't make it, so I won't be expected to stay long without him."

"And you said he's in Italy?" Draco asked.

The gravel crunched beneath Hermione's heels.

"Yes," said Narcissa. "He has an important commitment at the Ministry."

They crossed through the gate and to the top of the hill. Draco took both their elbows for side-along Apparition and landed them in front of the signpost to Edinburgh. Narcissa brushed off her robes and stared up at the castle, her lips twisted in a frown.

The cobblestone path turned them to the gate, and when the shiver of new wards and Protective Spells passed over them, Hermione sank deeper into her waters.

She climbed stone steps to a castle on a mountaintop. A tall boy with pale hair gripped her elbow.

He murmured to his left, and a woman murmured back. His mother.

They cleared the stairs and walked on winding cobblestones. Her muscles ached.

Lights glowed and men laughed as they turned a corner.

The courtyard looked familiar.

A clocktower overhead, ticking towards ten. An amphitheater to the north, overlooking a small arena. A fountain at the center. Magic is Might.

A couple approached, and the blonde woman stepped forward, kissing their cheeks. The wife stared at her as the pale-haired boy shook her husband's hand, keeping a firm grip on his other elbow.

The pale-haired boy led her from the courtyard. His fingers cupped her chin. "Granger."

Blinking, she returned to her body. She found Draco Malfoy pressing her against the side of a building. Looking at her.

"Pull it back," he whispered. "We're almost inside."

She nodded, and then he was pulling away and tugging her towards the entrance of the Great Hall.

They were greeted by Charlotte's painted smile.

"Master Malfoy. Miss Granger. Welcome back to Edinburgh." And before Hermione could search her eyes for recognition, Charlotte was offering them both a glass of champagne and pulling back the curtain.

Hermione swallowed her shock as they stepped inside the Great Hall. It had been expanded to twice its usual size, and still the guests stood nearly elbow to elbow. The walls had been repainted, the chandeliers rehung, and all the swords and weapons removed.

Draco took her arm and steered them through the crowd. She spotted Ministers Cirillo, Grubov, and Santos speaking lowly to each other in a far corner, their eyes flicking over the other guests.

They found Theo standing in the center of the room, speaking with Yaxley, Travers, and his wife. Oliver stood behind him with his arms folded behind his back.