The Replenishment Decree

Elizabeth thanked Pepper again as Hermione and Narcissa finally made an appearance for tea.

“I was worried you two would never wake up! Thank Merlin for Pepper, here,” Lizzie teased.

Hermione blushed and leaned into Narcissa who answered for them both, “Pepper is simply wonderful and woke us quite gently, thank you very much. She is well aware of the exhausting day we’ve had thus far, right, Pep?”

“Yes, Narcissa, Pepper is aware. Is Narcissa feeling better? And Hermione Granger? Is Hermione Granger feeling better now?”

“We are feeling a little better now,” Hermione assured the little elf. “I think we both still need a solid night’s rest to feel at tip top shape but we’re on our way,” she smiled, hoping to comfort Pepper.

“Pepper is happy to hear that, Hermione Granger, very happy indeed. And Pepper has dinner ready whenever Narcissa and Hermione Granger and Miss Elizabeth want to eat.”

“Dinner?” Narcissa asked, confused. She had planned on tea now, then a little chatting and supper later with Elizabeth.

“Yes, Narcissa, remember yesterday when Harry Potter and Andydromeda and Miss Hopkirk came to Black Manor for drinks and a dinner party and Hermione Granger loved the food and Filly told all of Narcissa’s guests about cooking foods with no magic and Hermione Granger said really and Filly said Hermione Granger could have the same dinner tonight with magic and decide which one tasted better?” Pepper looked up at Narcissa with her wide, innocent eyes, waiting for an answer.

“Goodness, that was only last night? It feels like weeks ago at this point. Yes, Pepper, thank you both for remembering. Will there be enough food for all of us? If Bliant decides to come as well?”

“Of course, Narcissa, it’s magic,” Pepper smiled.

“Of course,” Narcissa bit back her laugh.

Elizabeth held open the door leading through to the back of the house, “Well, come on you two, we can have tea in the garden, it’s set and ready. You can tell me what all the fuss was about today!”

Following behind Lizzie, Hermione glanced at Narcissa’s anxious face before speaking, “What makes you think there was a fuss?”

“Ha! You two! You show up here practically dead on your feet and talk about how exhausting your day was. You looked ready to drop or absolutely burst into tears, I wasn’t sure which and you went upstairs and bloody passed out for three hours! And Pepper, the ever-observant House Elf, has been pacing from window to window to window the entire time making sure there are no strangers on the property.”

“Well, then, perhaps some explanations are in order,” Narcissa acquiesced.

“I should say so.”

As the three women settled around a wrought iron table in Lizzie’s garden, they heard the door open once more. Rita came slowly out into the garden. Lizzie smiled at Rita and pointed to the fourth chair as she poured their tea. “Now, I know Narcissa is going to try to tell me she doesn’t take milk in her tea but you’re in Scotland today drinking Brodies so milk and sugar it is.”

Hermione glanced at Narcissa again, wondering if she would protest. To her surprise, she found her fiancée simply sliding a little closer, a neutral expression on her face.

Elizabeth handed each woman their tea and a plate for biscuits and finger foods.

“Now, tell me what in Merlin’s name has been going on! You’re engaged, fine. I’m a little buggered that I saw you this summer and you said nothing about your Hermione here but I understand it was a relatively new relationship. So, I’ll forgive you that, I will. But now you spill it, Cissa!” Lizzie laughed a little.

Hermione and Narcissa glanced at Rita before looking at one another, not quite sure what they were ready to discuss in front of the reporter.

Hermione tried to reach over and place her hand on Narcissa’s leg but their chairs were too far apart - they’d been set evenly around the table - so she settled for resting her hand, palm up, on the surface between them, hoping Narcissa would understand her intent...which, of course, she did. Narcissa, smiling over at Hermione, took her fiancée’s hand in her own.

“I don’t know that this is really the...right time for this discussion,” Narcissa stammered. “I’m really quite exhausted.”

“Nonsense,” Lizzie wouldn’t hear it. She clearly did not understand the history between the women with whom she was sharing her afternoon tea. “We’re all friends here! You’ve just practically saved Rita’s life yesterday!”

Silence fell once again, heavy with the weight of their pasts.

“I can go back inside with my tea,” Rita offered, her voice quiet, her face open. “I truly had no intention of coming out to...listen in. I do want to thank you, though, Miss Black, very much. And I’m terribly sorry for the way I behaved yesterday. You are a surprisingly kind woman given what you’ve likely lived through.”

Hermione’s eyes were nearly as wide as her saucer as she squeezed Narcissa’s hand. Thankfully, Narcissa was able to fall back on the training of her youth and keep her own shock hidden. “You’re welcome, Miss Skeeter, and you needn’t thank me again, nor apologize for yesterday. Merlin knows what I would’ve done had I been assigned to that wretch.”

“I certainly wouldn’t turn down an apology for all the rest of it, though,” Hermione snapped. “Narcissa, you’re not falling for this, are you? It’s an act. Rita Skeeter is well used to behaving however she sees fit to get whatever information she wants from people. I noticed, Rita, you apologized for your behavior yesterday. Have you apologized for the previous, oh, three and half years of that behavior?”

“Hermione,” Narcissa was shocked, “I can’t -”

“No, Narcissa,” Hermione stopped her. “Don’t you remember what she wrote about us just last weekend? That our affection for one another was, and I quote, ‘fake, forced, and serving nefarious purposes’ - that’s what she wrote. In the Daily Prophet! She couldn’t even bear to refer to us as an actual couple! She put it in quotes! And do you know what she said about me just a few weeks ago?”

Narcissa nodded, closing her eyes against the fury in Hermione’s voice.

“What did she say?” Elizabeth asked.

“She wrote an article claiming that I was simultaneously dating Ronald Weasley and pregnant with Harry Potter’s child. Not only are neither of those two things true, but the completely baseless accusation makes all three of us look terrible and hurts the other important people in all of our lives. And it doesn’t matter that there isn’t even an ounce of truth there, Rita just gets to make up whatever she wants and move on. It’s the rest of us, the people whose lives she tries to ruin, who have to pick up the pieces. Trust me, I’ve been doing it since I was fifteen.”

Narcissa sat uncomfortably between the two. She would not hurt Hermione by asking her to hear Rita out but nor would she agree with Hermione that Rita ought to leave.

“This is a joke, right? You’re not really expecting me to sit here and have tea with this woman after everything she’s written about me, right?” Hermione looked at Narcissa expectantly.

“I don’t want you to do anything for which you’re not ready,” Narcissa answered honestly.

“Miss Granger, I…” Rita began to speak but trailed off when Hermione glared at her, furious.

Narcissa stood, momentarily breaking the tension, and said, “I’m terribly sorry, Lizzie, dear, but I’m going to have to rearrange our seats first. Parts of our story are going to make us both unhappy and it’ll just be better if we’re sitting nearer one another before we begin. Trust me.”

“Seriously? But...you’re already holding hands?”

Hermione, also standing, chimed in, “Yes, but it was...awkward.”

The couple moved their chairs next to one another instead of placed evenly around the table and sat back down, immediately in one another’s space and Narcissa promptly turned to whisper so only Hermione could hear her.

Neither Elizabeth nor Rita could make out a word of what Narcissa was saying, but they could see that Hermione’s back was still ramrod straight and filled with tension. Finally, Hermione answered Narcissa, “of course.” A beat later, “yes.” After another moment, Hermione pulled back and looked at the face so near her own. She brought her palm up to hold the other woman’s cheek, “Narcissa, you can keep asking as much as you want but the answer isn’t going to change - absolutely, of course, yes, one hundred percent, completely.”

Narcissa smiled gently at Hermione before leaning back in and whispering again. Hermione nodded twice more. They looked at one another briefly and then pressed their foreheads together for a moment, clearly agreeing on something.

Hermione turned to look at the reporter she detested. “Miss Skeeter, before you say whatever you were about to say to me a moment ago I have a bit of information to share with you, perhaps some things to which you were not privy a few years ago during the TriWizard Tournament when you and I first met.” Hermione raised her eyebrows...Rita nodded. “I went to school with Harry Potter; as I’m sure you can guess, he took up a lot of the attention, particularly during the Tournament. And that was fine with me! I was there for my education. I worked hard in my classes, studied, wasn’t much for fooling around or Quidditch. I took issue, as you know, with an article you published about Rubeus Hagrid. Your payback for my criticism was to publish your own hit piece on me, a fifteen year old student.”

Narcissa pulled Hermione’s hand into her lap to hold it between her own. She knew Hermione had referenced this time in her life before but she hadn’t heard these details.

“You used your blurb in Witch Weekly to insult my looks and my personality. You called me devious. You claimed that I had been Harry’s girlfriend but ditched him for Viktor Krum. My response to your article was probably not what you wanted...I couldn’t have cared less...even after Snape read the whole thing to our Potions class. You know who else was in my Potions class, Rita? Pansy Parkison, the girl you quoted in the article. Now, she enjoyed it. When I read it, I just dropped Witch Weekly into the nearest bin but Pansy carried it around reading it aloud over and over again. And have you any idea what the reaction was from a very large number of Witch Weekly’s other loyal readers?”

Hermione stared at Rita, jaw clenched, waiting for an answer.

Rita, swallowing, shook her head slowly, eyes locked on Hermione’s.

“They contacted me. Daily. Through the owl post. They sent me letters...dozens of them every day, some of them with hexes, one of them somehow filled with bubotuber puss that exploded all over me when I touched it. Oh and we mustn’t forget the howlers. Every day, they were delivered to me in the Great Hall to shout insult after insult in front of every member of the Hogwarts faculty and student body.”

“Oh, Mione,” Narcissa whispered.

Rita’s face paled as she conceived of the torture she had helped put Hermione through. Elizabeth’s eyes filled with tears, imagining how awful it must’ve been for Hermione.

“I know not all of that was your fault. I will never understand why Professor McGonagall allowed those letters to continue, why she didn’t help me set up a post box in Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley. I’ll never understand why Dumbledore thought I needed to be further ostracized from my peers. There were plenty of adults who could have helped me but chose not to. I could have asked for help but didn’t. However, your article was the cause.”

“Miss Granger,” Rita gasped, “Hermione, I...I’m...we’ve faced one another many times in the years since then. You had me captive in a jar, why did you never say anything?”

Hermione shook her head at Rita, “I didn’t do that for me.”

“She did it for Harry. But, darling, why didn’t you say anything about this when we’ve spoken about Rita ourselves?”

“I did, Cissa! I told you about the howlers because of Rita’s nasty articles, remember? You’re the one who told me about post boxes!”

“Yes, you did, you did, you’re right, I just. I guess I didn’t realize it was so much. I didn’t know it had gone on so long.”

“Heavens, it was weeks,” Hermione groaned. “I thought it would never stop. I tried to avoid going into the Great Hall for my post but then the howlers explode even more loudly if you make them wait. The first day or two the Slytherins took such delight in it but even they knew it was too much after that. I think Draco even reductoed one of them once. It had come later in the day and was delivered to me in the hallway outside the Potions dungeon. The absolute worst place I could possibly have gotten a howler was right there. I never saw who did it because I was trying to decide if it would be better to try to run with it or just get it over quickly before Snape came out but someone cursed it right out of the air. I had a feeling it was Draco but I’ve never known for sure.”

Narcissa smiled softly and brought Hermione’s hand to her lips to press a kiss to her knuckles. “Let’s hope it was him.”

“Miss Granger, I was so wrong for printing that article about you. It was completely unprofessional and morally dubious to attack a child because she criticized my writing. Which, in retrospect, likely deserved the criticism.”

Hermione simply stared back at Rita...waiting.

“I apologize for the intentionally misread inferences and leaps of logic I’ve taken in articles I’ve printed about you and your friends. I won’t be doing that anymore,” Rita apologized. “I, I’ve stopped using the Quick-Quotes Quill. It’s been three days since I’ve let it write for me and, this is going to sound strange but, I actually feel different. I feel almost as if I’m stepping free of a fog.”

“And the outright lies? Are you sorry for those as well? It was a blatant falsehood to ever call me Harry’s girlfriend and I think you’ve always known that.”

“I’m most deeply sorry for the outright lies and what came after the articles I had printed about you. I had no idea people were doing that, sending you howlers and such.”

Narcissa hummed quietly before interrupting with her own question, “I am willing to have this discussion with you present, Rita, however, now that we’re on the topic, the article you printed about Hermione and me last weekend?”

Rita squeezed her eyes closed and hung her head. “I’m going to be completely honest, for the first time probably since I was a teenager. I was irritated and perhaps a little jealous and I allowed the Quill to write some nasty things about you as payback.”

“Irritated? Jealous?” Hermione obviously didn’t believe a word Rita said.

“Yes, I was irritated. It’s a bit ridiculous but I don’t usually get excluded from big events. Certainly if there’s a pureblood party, I'm invited. They want someone to write favorably about them. Narcissa can back that up, it’s true. I was piqued that there was something big happening and a lot of well-known witches and wizards were invited and I was being barred from entering.”

“And were you jealous for the same reason?” Narcissa led the conversation.

“No,” Rita rolled her eyes, “I was a little jealous of you two. You’re so into each other you hardly noticed I was there - and you looked damn good together. If we were friends I would have told you that, too. If we were friends, I’d have given you a few of the photos I took, they came out beautifully. But, as it was, your whole relationship has just come up too suddenly and too conveniently and you looked too happy with one another. It made me a bit jealous and then worried on top of it because I looked at you two and thought, ‘what if they assign me someone terrible?’ and then that’s exactly what they went and did!”

“You printed the exact opposite of what you thought?” Hermione was incredulous.

Rita nodded miserably, head in her hands.

“You looked at us, thought we looked happy with one another, and sent out an article saying our relationship is mismatched, fake, and forced because you were jealous?” Narcissa was unimpressed. She breathed deeply through her nose, an effort to maintain her own composure before speaking again, “I will admit that we could both have spoken to you in a friendlier manner. I apologize for my unkind words. Speaking for myself, I would like to move past previous conflicts between us and allow room to get to know one another. Wizarding Britain is not as large a community as it seems and we will certainly run into one another frequently. I would like it to be on non combative terms. However, I do not speak for Hermione.”

The young woman in question met her fiancée’s ice blue eyes, searching them for the expectations she wanted to meet. Hermione was unsure what was expected of her at the moment. Would it be acceptable for her to walk away? Refuse Rita’s apology? Demand the other woman turn herself in to the authorities as an animagus? What?

No. Hermione was stronger than all of that. “Thank you for apologizing. I do not forgive you but I accept that you feel remorse for the chain of events your article set in motion when I was in school.”

“I understand your reticence,” Rita nodded. “Perhaps, in time, I can earn your forgiveness by writing factual articles using my own brain instead of a Quick-Quotes Quill?”

Hermione nodded hesitantly. “I don’t understand how you’ve had this turn around nor why it’s happened with such immediacy. It’s making me a bit leery.”

“Darling, we aren’t going to be telling her anything she couldn’t otherwise find out. Let’s choose to set the example of friendship and trust. If Rita chooses not to join us there, that’s her own decision.”

“Thank you, Miss Black,” Rita whispered.

Narcissa nodded and casually sipped her tea grimacing at the cold liquid in the cup. Quickly pulling out her wand she ignored the flinch from Rita and magically reheated everyone’s beverage, her left hand still locked in Hermione’s right.

“I must say,” Lizzie said quietly, “I honestly can not remember a time when I ever saw you willingly touch Lucius or happily allow him to touch you. I just thought you had grown into a...standoffish person.”

“Oh, heavens, no. She’s so tactile,” Hermione replied.

“I believe you. Thinking of it now, the two of you have been in near constant contact since you stepped through the gate a few hours ago.”

Narcissa and Hermione had the good grace to blush, “I apologize if we’ve made you uncomfortable.”

“No, no, Narcissa, not at all. You’re not...that’s to say, it isn’t...what I mean is that you just seem very connected, is all.”

“We are connected,” Hermione said quietly. “And we, or I should say, I draw such strength from our connection that now, when I’m feeling so exhausted, I find myself subconsciously seeking that physical contact with Cissa even more.”

“We, darling. We draw strength from our connection and we’re both seeking that contact to bolster ourselves right now,” Narcissa reassured Hermione quietly, placing a kiss on the younger woman’s temple.

Elizabeth silently picked up her wand and transfigured the chairs her guests were sitting on into a garden bench that still fit perfectly at the table.

“Oh!” Hermione was startled for a moment. “Thank you,” she gushed, realizing what Elizabeth had done, “that was kind of you. Now we don’t have the chair arms between us.” Hermione immediately smiled as Narcissa’s arm wrapped around her shoulders and she rested her right hand on Narcissa’s thigh.

Rita blinked at the instantaneous relaxation of Hermione’s body as she and Narcissa pressed their sides together. She had been watching Hermione around her closest friends for four years and had never seen the young woman so comfortable.

“Why are you waiting?” Lizzie asked, nearly whispering. Rita nodded in agreement.

Narcissa tilted her head, brow furrowed.

“To get married. Why wait until December?”

“Well, at this point, it’s been announced and things are booked,” Hermione hedged.

“Our invitations and thank you cards are being printed as we speak,” Narcissa agreed.

“So? That’s just money. You have plenty of that. You can still have that wedding ceremony at the Castle with all your guests...never mind. I’m the one rushing things,” Lizzie laughed, “you haven’t even told me your story yet. Are you ready now?”

Narcissa took a deep breath and fortified herself to begin the story she and Hermione had previously discussed. They had both been at Andromeda’s house a number of times and then, when the dissolution of the Malfoy marriage was complete, they began having private lunches and dinners, away from any prying eyes. They both needed some autonomy and anonymity.

“We know we make a good couple,” Hermione interjected, “even though it comes as a shock to everyone else. I know, deep in my soul, that I’m marrying exactly the right person.”

“Our wedding is definitely happening more quickly than it would have without the Decree but, at this point, I don’t think we really mind.”

“No,” Hermione laughed, “in fact, it seems an awfully long wait to me.”

“Horrendously long,” Narcissa agreed, turning to Hermione for another kiss.

“Hmm,” Elizabeth offered...a non-answer.

“Hmm? What does hmm mean?” Narcissa looked at her friend, eyes searching, tempted to use legilimency to explore just what Elizabeth was thinking.

Rita’s eyes flew back and forth as though watching a tennis match.

Elizabeth sipped her tea before she replied, “I know a few minutes ago I myself was wondering why you were waiting but then, I recalled that I saw you this summer, Narcissa. More than once. Why didn’t you tell me about Hermione then?”

“There was nothing we were ready to tell, yet,” Hermione jumped back in, shrugging with a slight grimace. “We weren’t officially seeing each other and we were keeping things to ourselves. Every detail about both our lives was being plastered all over the Prophet’s pages as frequently as possible. Why add to the speculation?”

Rita’s face flushed crimson at the intimation that she was the one behind many of the articles that had been published about Hermione...and none of them were based in fact. Every last thing written that summer with a Quick-Quotes Quill was pure speculation based on inference hand-picked from quotes given by people who don’t like Hermione.

“Because I’m her oldest friend. Because this has been her safe space for fifteen years. Because every single time she’s needed to rest or recover she’s come here. But suddenly, you’re on the scene and I’m in the dark? I’m just confused, I suppose.”

“Fifteen years you say? Then where were you for the last two when Narcissa was being -”

“No,” Narcissa cut Hermione off. She would not allow the argument to continue. No one was at fault for the transgressions committed against her but Lucius, Bellatrix, and Tom Riddle and she wouldn’t have Hermione make Elizabeth feel guilty for them.

Hermione bit her lips to keep herself from speaking. She had learned through the years to hold her tongue when needed. She breathed deeply and counted slowly to ten. “I apologize, Elizabeth, I shouldn’t have spoken to you in such a manner. I tend to get very protective of Narcissa and I can tell you do as well. I’m pleased to have that in common.” She turned back to Narcissa and leaned forward until her forehead was nearly touching the other woman’s shoulder, “I’m sorry, Cissa. I didn’t mean to...rather...I ought not speak in such a manner to your friend. I’ll be more thoughtful next time, darling.”

Narcissa, having turned her own face toward Hermione, pressed a kiss to her forehead, “Hermione, my dear, you needn’t apologize to me. Thank you, though.”

Elizabeth, watching the quiet exchange and straining to hear what was being said, interrupted the couple. “What happened in the last two years? Hermione’s not wrong, Ciss. You haven’t visited me in forever...until this summer.”

Narcissa closed her eyes, her shoulders dropping.

Hermione answered instead, “I’m truly sorry for bringing it up. Can we perhaps put that conversation off for next time and just finish the story of what’s been going on with us the past few weeks instead? You know, since our relationship became public knowledge?” She tried to press herself even closer to Narcissa, though it wasn’t even possible any longer.

Watching Hermione physically support her oldest, dearest friend, Elizabeth could hardly disagree and nodded, eyebrows raised.

“Okay, so, where were we,” Hermione glanced up at Narcissa, “just quiet lunches and dinners over the summer. Then the Decree was announced last Tuesday and in the very first article in the Prophet explaining the Replenishment Decree, it said I was to marry Ron Weasley. And Narcissa, that very morning, received an owl informing her that the Ministry had assigned her to re-marry Lucius! I was livid, ready to storm the place! Narcissa, thank Merlin, was far more level-headed - as usual - and suggested we simply go out for lunch and then pop by the Ministry to explain that we’re already seeing one another so we wouldn’t be marrying anyone else.”

“Yes. Not quite the romantic proposal either one of us ought to have gotten,” Narcissa teased.

“It was a little rushed,” Hermione teased her right back.

“And they did it?” Elizabeth clarified, ignoring their teasing banter. “They switched your assigned partners?”

“Of course,” Hermione answered, “why wouldn’t they? We’re two consenting adults in a committed relationship with one another. They would have had a lot more to answer for if they had refused to switch us to one another, don’t you think?”

“Absolutely,” Rita agreed. The seriousness with which she spoke caught the other women off guard, she had been sitting so silently the whole time. “I know it seems like there are a lot of pro-Ministry witches and wizards out there but I believe there’d have been hell to pay if they refused to allow you to marry each other.”

Narcissa tipped her head, encouraging Rita to outline her ideas.

“First, Hermione’s one of the Golden Trio. She’s virtually untouchable. Second, you told them you were a couple already. If they said to you that you had to marry other people they would have to admit exactly how they’re setting these arranged marriages and why. Third, you’re two women. Reproductive magic has come quite a long way so they couldn't use that to stop your request and if they just arbitrarily nixed it they’d have looked no better than the Muggles who judge people based on their relationships.”

“Exactly, Miss Skeeter,” Hermione agreed.

Lizzie just shrugged, “so what have you been doing this past week and a half? You both looked literally dead on your feet when you arrived here.”

“We’ve been planning a wedding - something neither of us have ever done - in a very short timeline. Hermione has been trying to set up her seventh year courses with the Hogwarts professors without having to go back to the Castle too often. We’ve been tracking the Ministry assigned engagements,” Narcissa started ticking things off on her fingers.

“And planning a little revolution on the side,” Hermione casually sipped her tea.

“What?!”

“Yes,” Narcissa admitted, “we’ve been working with a small group of people to discuss moving against the Decree. Hermione and I, regardless of our own engagement status and happiness together, completely disagree with the Replenishment Decree.”

“The Ministry for Magic has no right to turn the witches of Britain into baby making factories. It’s archaic and barbaric and I won’t stand for it,” Hermione nearly growled.

“It’s a gross violation of the trust the magical community has in the Ministry,” Narcissa pushed it further.

“And you two, in your romantic little bubble of wedding planning, think you’re going to be the leaders of a revolution...against marriage?” Elizabeth looked completely befuddled.

Hermione narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, she was getting the sense that perhaps Elizabeth wasn’t really as supportive as she’d expected.

“Ha!” Rita clapped her hands together making Hermione and Narcissa both jump.

“I know that Hermione and I don’t seem to be quite the face of the anti-marriage movement but, truly, we were the first to rebel,” Narcissa’s voice was pleading, begging her oldest friend to understand.

“Well, from my perspective, it looks like you just conveniently found a way not to have to marry your assigned partners but you’re still getting married...and having a huge, extravagant wedding, too. How is that a rebellion?”

“Exactly as you said, they’re not marrying their originally assigned partners,” Rita explained. “They were the first to publicly step up and challenge the Ministry’s assignments and others have followed suit. They opened the door for people to turn down the Replenishment Decree.”

“Have they?” Elizabeth raised an eyebrow once more.

“Yes! Some have gone to the Registration Office and requested it but others, Draco for example, have simply wed who they chose for themselves without waiting for the Ministry’s approval,” Hermione spoke testily.

“Draco is married?” Elizabeth gasped.

“Draco and a classmate from Hogwarts, Dean Thomas, had a ceremony last weekend in Hogsmeade. Do you not read the paper?”

“No,” the woman in question shrugged, “I have it delivered for my guests but, it was too depressing during the war to read about so much death and destruction. I couldn’t stand to see it all and I didn’t know what to believe, so, I stopped reading it. I just worry about my business and my parents. If there’s something I really need to know, they tell me.”

“I...can’t...imagine being so comfortable being that uninformed,” Hermione stuttered out, having no idea how to hide her dismay. “Do you know who I am? Do you know who Ron Weasley is? Or Harry Potter? Do you know what she meant when she called me part of the Golden Trio?”

“Of course,” Elizabeth snarled, “I’m not an idiot. I just don’t read the newspapers. Harry Potter is The Boy Who Lived. He was attacked years ago by Voldemort but he survived and killed Voldemort and...and...now he’s a teenager.”

“Yes, Lizzie,” Narcissa agreed, trying to put the conversation back on a safe path, “he is. He’s just eighteen now, actually and he’s managed to defeat that awful man yet again. For good this time, it seems. Hermione was a huge part of that, which is why she couldn’t escape the papers herself for a long time.”

“Narcissa, too, was part of the downfall of the dark regime that had taken hold. We never would have survived or won without her,” Hermione tilted her head against Narcissa’s shoulder.

“Which is why we both have a bit of a target on our backs right now,” Narcissa admitted. “That’s part of the reason we’re here. I see we have to explain a bit about the last few years. Eh, I was, well, I’m just going to say it bluntly and I’m not going to go into much detail, okay?”

Elizabeth, eyes wide at the serious tone Narcissa was using, nodded.

“My entire marriage to Lucius I was basically nothing more than property to him, as you know. The last few years it was even worse. He had opened Malfoy Manor to Voldemort and his closest Death Eaters, including Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan.”

“Oh, dear,” Lizzie whispered, her face going pale.

“I was, for all intents and purposes, a prisoner in my rooms. I was used as needed. I helped victims as I could, some of them will tell you that - certainly Mister Ollivander has seen fit to set the record straight.”

“And me, Cissa. I’ll set the record straight. You saved my life in Malfoy Manor. And Harry’s and Ron’s. You and Draco saved our lives that night and almost lost your own because of it,” Hermione choked back her tears at the thought.

Narcissa tried not to react to the emotion flowing from Hermione, afraid to lose the tenuous grip she had on her own tears.

“I didn’t even know that they were using Polyjuice Potion to pretend to be me and go out with Draco so as to not raise any suspicions. We think that’s how Bella was able to get out and about, see other Death Eaters, set things in motion. Then it finally all came down to the last battle.”

“The Battle of Hogwarts,” Lizzie gasped.

“I doubt I will ever understand why they brought me with them,” Narcissa shook her head. “It really made no sense. I hadn’t been any help at all. The last time I had seen anyone was the night you were there Hermione. I’m still not really sure on the exact timeline?” Narcissa swallowed, still uncomfortable thinking about how much time she had lost being locked away in dark recesses of Malfoy Manor.

Rita sat listening, her tea forgotten, jaw hanging open.

Hermione cleared her throat and did her best to use a clear, emotionless voice, “Our best estimates put us at Malfoy Manor in late March, remember Draco was home for the Easter holidays, and the Battle of Hogwarts took place on the second of May. So, it was about a month, maybe five or six weeks between them.”

“Right, so, I saw Hermione at Malfoy Manor in March and then Voldemort brought me to Hogwarts with the Death Eaters in May. Harry defeated Voldemort by sacrificing himself which, somehow, caused Voldemort to kill...you know what? It’s really dark magic mixed with really old magic and I’m not sure I can explain it all that well. Suffice it to say, the good guys won. I quickly turned myself in to the Ministry of Magic - after ensuring the Draco was safe - and offered to take veritaserum and submit to legilimency and occlumency from the Unmentionables to aide in the capture and testimony against any dark wizards or death eaters.”

“I think they went a little too far, personally, because they pulled out a lot of private information about your marriage to Lucius that you may or may not have shared with them willingly. And while I’m, of course, relieved that it led to the dissolution of that marriage, I still think it was a bit of a violation of your mind,” Hermione said slowly.

“Thank you for always thinking of protecting me, Mione, but I gave them permission to do that. I freely offered up anything from my marriage because I wanted them to see what he had done to me. I knew it would lead to dissolving the union. I knew the result would be freedom. I just wish I had had the foresight to realize the result was also making you and I both a target of the Death Eaters who have yet to be captured.”

“Target? You’re a target?” Lizzie pressed her hand to her mouth.

“Gracious, yes,” Hermione slumped her shoulders down. “We were in Ireland this morning, Cissa was working with me on my Apparition, and when we got back to the Manor, Pepper and Filly told us there were no less than six Death Eaters outside. Doing Merlin knows what! And one of them was wearing a hood so we don’t even know who he or she was!”

Eyes closing and head nodding in understanding, Elizabeth finally spoke again, “So that’s why you’re here. You needed somewhere safe for the night?”

Narcissa and Hermione both just nodded, looking only slightly pathetic.

“And this is still where you come when you need a safe space?”

Narcissa nodded again, eyes filling up with tears once more. She reached across the table for her oldest friend, hoping Lizzie would understand. Lizzie reached out and squeezed the hand reaching for her own.

“Then that’s what you’ll get. The Nook has always been and will always be your safe spot, Narcissa Black.”

Narcissa could not even thank Elizabeth past the lump in her throat. She had been so worried when Lizzie had seemed so judgemental of her relationship with Hermione. She didn’t want to choose. She wasn’t sure she could.

Her oldest friend or her fiancée...how would she have explained to Amalia and Samuel that their daughter wasn’t coming to her wedding?

Narcissa gave her head a little shake and picked her tea back up, settling her emotions back down.

“And as if that wasn’t enough for one day, in between seeing a grim in the clouds on the Hill of Tara and Death Eaters surrounding Black Manor...Ron Weasley himself was standing on the doorstep of my flat, refusing to leave when we arrived there,” Hermione threw in, trying to finish explaining why they were so exhausted.

“Aren’t you friends with him, though?” Lizzie’s brow furrowed, her head tilted to the right as she looked at Hermione.

“I have been for a long time but...unfortunately Ron...is just very immature. He and I shared a kiss in the heat of battle before Narcissa and I ever spent any time together and apparently he just can’t let it go,” Hermione rolled her eyes.

“He’s been quite aggressive lately, in fact. He burst into her room last week in her flat while we were taking a nap and scared the life right out of me! And he wouldn’t leave. Then last weekend, the day after Draco’s ceremony in fact, Harry, Hermione, and I went to...what’s it called, again, Mione? The Hollow?”

“The Burrow,” Hermione chuckled.

“Yes, yes, we went to The Burrow - the Weasley’s house - because Molly, she’s Ronald’s mother, kept insisting that Hermione marry Ron! Even after our Engagement Announcement was printed in the papers!”

“Rude!” Elizabeth smirked.

“Precisely! So, we went there and Ron was hiding in the garden. I’m not lying! Hiding! LIke a snake! And when he thought we weren’t looking, he tried to hex me! From the garden!”

Lizzie’s jaw dropped open, “What happened?”

“I used a shield spell and Harry stunned them all! Molly, Ron, and his brother Percy who was there, too. So, you see, Ron showing up on Hermione’s doorstep today, when she wasn’t home, and waiting there for her and being creepy is getting scarier by the day.”

“He wasn’t just waiting there? How was he being creepy?”

Narcissa didn’t answer, instead looking at Hermione, silently allowing the younger woman to share as much as she felt comfortable.

“You see, we had a terrifying encounter while we were on the run last year. One of the Death Eaters, the Snatchers, couldn’t see me but he could smell my perfume and he was only inches from my face. It was horrible and I had nightmares about it for months - in fact, I still do, sometimes. Earlier, when we Apparated to the doorstep, a few feet away from Ron, he said...he said he could smell my perfume.”

Lizzie gasped yet again.

“I’m not wearing perfume. I haven’t worn any since that day in the forest. I don’t know why he said that today. I just wish I knew his intention in saying that to me. To remind me of being on the run? Did he think I would feel camaraderie with him? To remind me of the terror I felt in that moment? The pure, unadulterated fear?” She turned toward Narcissa.

“I won’t pretend to ever understand the intentions of Ronald Weasley, especially when it comes to trying to frighten you. The only intention of his that makes sense is the one to marry you. Which, I do understand. I have the same intention, it’s the smartest decision I’ve ever made. Logical even, one might say,” Narcissa smiled a little at Hermione.

“Thank you,” Hermione grinned back - just a tiny one but it was there.

“Goodness, practicing Apparition on the Hill of Tara, a grim, an angry stalker, and Death Eaters all in one day? I guess I can understand why you might show up here looking for a bit of a rest,” Lizzie offered quietly. “I’m glad you came. I’m sorry for questioning you earlier. I just...I didn’t understand. I’m still not sure I understand everything but, I realize I don’t need to. It’s your relationship, only you need to understand every part of it.”

“I, eh, I didn’t realize you met Snatchers while on the run, Miss Granger,” Rita said quietly. “I don’t think any of us really knew what you three got up to last year at all other than showing up to Hogwarts in May?”

“Oh, um, yes, we were nearly caught by Snatchers the very first night because we didn’t know about the Trace. Then, early on, they walked right by our camp.”

“Was that it? The time he...smelled your perfume?”

Hermione nodded, “We knew what they were from Potterwatch. They didn’t, um, see us that time. We were on the run from the first of August until the first of May and successfully evaded capture all but once.”

“The night you ended up at Malfoy Manor? That was the one time they caught you?” RIta clarified.

Hermione nodded in response, her gaze drifting away until a shiver ran up her spine. Narcissa subtly rubbed her hand down Hermione’s back, lending warmth and offering comfort. Hermione looked up at Narcissa, a small smile on her lips.

“So, that more or less covers the last few weeks and explains why we’re both so completely wiped out,” Hermione brought the conversation back around, looking at Elizabeth once more.

“It’s not likely to slow down any time soon, either,” Narcissa tagged on. “Hermione has to pop over to Hogwarts in the morning and we have a wedding to attend tomorrow evening in London. We also have to send out our invitations next week and choose and book an Officiant for the Ceremony itself.”

“And we have to have Cass and Callee and Rafael over for dinner and meet Molly for lunch sometime and we still have dinners and brunches with the boys on the schedule. Not to mention we’ve scheduled gown shopping with Andy for next week.”

“Also I must contact the Chateau in Bergjuwel to book our stay in January,” Narcissa reminded herself.

“Oh? Are you honeymooning there?” Elizabeth asked.

Hermione glanced over at Narcissa, clearly leaving it for her to answer.

“We are definitely going to visit Bergjuwel during our honeymoon, yes.”

Elizabeth tilted her head, narrowing her eyes at Narcissa before she turned to look at Rita. “Why do I get the feeling she just answered without answering?”

Rita laughed a little, agreeing that Narcissa had done exactly that.

“Narcissa Black, are you keeping secrets from me? Your oldest, dearest friend?”

“No, no, no,” Narcissa laughed along, “it’s not like that. We haven’t worked out all the details and, I think, we’re...well, we haven’t told anyone about our honeymoon yet. I think maybe, we’ll keep it to ourselves for now. Not a secret, just...something just for us.”

“We put a lot of information in the papers last weekend about how we feel about one another and about our wedding. It’s kind of nice to have something that’s our own, you know?”

Rita, surprisingly, nodded and smiled. Elizabeth, on the other hand, scowled. “But what if something happens? What if someone needs to get in touch with you?”

“I’m sure we’ll leave contact information with Draco and Harry,” Narcissa explained. “It isn’t as though we’re camping in the Sahara for a year. We’re going on our honeymoon for a few weeks and hope to spend it with as few interruptions as possible. I don’t really think that’s too much to ask. Do you, Mione?”

“Certainly not,” Hermione agreed immediately, annoyed with Narcissa’s oldest friend for her abrupt attitude changes.

“I think that’s fairly common,” Rita added. “Plenty of people have done that in recent years. They leave an itinerary with one or two trusted family members and take their holiday. That way, if there’s an emergency, they can be reached but they’re not being hounded for mundane or work-related issues. After all, that’s the purpose of going on holiday, isn’t it? Getting away? Especially a honeymoon!”

Hermione nodded and raised her teacup in Rita’s direction, appreciating the support even if it came from an unexpected direction.

“Well, I don’t like it,” Elizabeth folded her arms. “What if I have an emergency?”

Narcissa glanced briefly at Hermione to gauge her reaction but the younger woman’s face was carefully blank. “Maybe we can leave a copy of our itinerary here with you, as well, Lizzie. It’s not set, yet, though you understand. We haven’t contacted a single place about availability. When we’re closer to leaving, we’ll talk again and, if you still feel you need a copy, we can discuss leaving one here for you.”

Hermione subtly pinched Narcissa’s leg, unhappy with that compromise but unwilling to disagree with Narcissa in front of her friend.

“What other places do you need to contact?” Lizzie wasn’t going to let the conversation go...and it was odd.

Hermione pinched Narcissa again. She did not want this happening in front of either of the other women sitting with them.

“We haven’t decided yet. That’s another thing we need to work on this week. They say you ought to plan your honeymoon at least six months out and we only have three months!”

“And one week and three days,” Hermione added.

“But who’s counting,” Narcissa teased.

Rita snorted, “I’d say it looks like you two are most definitely counting. And, despite my previous nasty words, it looks good on you both.”

“Thank you, Miss Skeeter,” Hermione answered, her tone much friendlier than it had been earlier.

“Rita, please,” the reporter said, offering her hand.

Hermione looked at, looked up at Rita’s face, and looked back at the offered hand. She took Rita’s hand with her own, saying, “Rita, Hermione. Nice to start over with you.”

“Same to you, Hermione. Same to you.”

A house elf dressed in a spotless uniform came up the path from the cottage in the back. “Excuse me, Miss,” he squeaked. “It’s time for the evening post.”

Elizabeth stood and excused herself to deal with some business needs but promised that a house elf would let them know when it was time for supper.

With Elizabeth inside, Hermione took the opportunity to look more closely at Rita. She noticed the bags under her eyes, the paler than usual complexion. She wondered if it was work or worry keeping the other woman up at night and realized she had the perfect moment before her to ask.

“So, Rita, Lizzie tells us you’ve been upstairs typing away all day? Working on something new?”

“In fact, I am,” Rita nodded, leaning forward. “You two were the first to resist the Ministry publicly. You went right in the day after the announcement and said you wouldn’t marry the man to whom you were assigned. I know others have followed suit, not many and not as publicly. I think the reason for that is that the Ministry is keeping it quiet now. Have you been following the papers?”

Narcissa frowned, “I was. When it first happened, I was following the announcements every day and tracking who was being assigned to whom. Have you?”

“I wasn’t paying the closest attention at first but, after Draco and Dean’s ceremony and our little...conversation...I took a much closer look. You two were acknowledged as ‘confirmed’ the day after you printed your Engagement Announcement and Dean and Draco as complete. There have been no other changes to Ministry assigned couples, however. Even if one half of the pair has wed someone else.”

“What do you mean?” Narcissa asked.

Hermione spoke immediately, “So, Mandy Brocklehurst hasn’t been reassigned?”

“She has not. Nor has Margaret Runcorn,” Rita affirmed.

“Ron?”

The reporter shook her head. She knew it would be easier for the women before her if their previously assigned partners had been given new witches to marry. She knew they would breathe more freely and feel more safe but, unfortunately, the Ministry did not seem likely to move in that direction any time soon...and it worried Rita.

“Not Lucius either, I’m sorry,” Rita said quietly. “Narcissa, whatever our past disagreements may have been, I would never wish it on you that you had to go back to a marriage to that man. I was quite sorry to hear how he treated you.”

Hermione’s eyebrows shot up briefly as Rita’s statement caught her off guard. Narcissa simply thanked Rita for her kind words and redirected the conversation to how it had begun - finding out what Rita was typing up in the Retreat.

“Right now I’m just organizing my thoughts on how many people are not going to marry their Ministry-assigned partner. I’d like to reach out to people who have been assigned and ask what their plans are but, that’s hard to do without the backing of…” Rita trailed off.

“That backing of the Daily Prophet?” Narcissa finished for her.

Rita nodded slowly.

“Hmm,” Narcissa hummed, sipping her tea, looking intently at Rita. “If you’re this keen to work on this aspect of the Replenishment Decree, what other parts of the story are you looking into?”

“Oh, well, if I had the Prophet behind me, knowing I could get it printed, I would reach out to Andromeda Tonks and other widows and widowers of the war and ask how they felt about the Replenishment Decree. Question their plans. Understand their perspective. I’d reach out to the young population, the people just of age who are now being told they have to marry and have three children before they even have their first job. Some of them haven’t even moved out of their parent’s houses yet and have to somehow support three children in the next three years!”

“Like my son?” Narcissa agreed. “He’s going to Wizarding Law School right now and instead of focusing on his studies he had to get married and plan a ceremony and now they have to worry about the best way for two wizards to reproduce. I know it’s become so much easier for two witches but reproductive magic for wizards just isn’t there yet.”

“Exactly, Narcissa! That’s exactly what I mean! This Decree is so poorly thought out and unnecessary! There’s always a boom in weddings and babies after a war, there was absolutely no need to manufacture one.”

Hermione jumped back in, feeling more comfortable with this aspect of the conversation, “That’s exactly what I’ve been saying, Rita. Forcing a huge, unnatural population explosion is going to tax our resources so intensely we won’t be able to keep up. Think about Hogwarts incoming class of First years when all these children come of age!”

Rita clapped her hands together, “Precisely! This is what I’ve been organizing - all these different spokes of the wheel.”

“What would you say to being hired as a Special Reporter for the Daily Prophet? You’d work directly with Kikus Trecus who’s supposed to be reporting on the Decree. He’s not getting into this kind of detail, though. He’s only been interviewing Ministry employees.”

“Just for this? Just for now?” Rita clarified.

“For the length of the Decree and the...pushback,” Narcissa explained. “After that, if you’re interested in a longer contract with the Prophet you can speak with the Editor-in-Chief. If you’re not interested in a longer contract, you’d be done when the Decree news wraps up. It would give you the backing of the Prophet to conduct these interviews and get into any wedding ceremony to which the Prophet is invited.”

“Yes. I think this could be good for both of us - the Prophet and myself. Thank you, Narcissa,” Rita reached out to shake Narcissa’s hand.

As Narcissa grasped Rita’s hand in her own, she made sure to clearly remind Rita that there was to be no use of the Quick-Quotes Quill.

“Absolutely not, Narcissa. I completely understand. I’m done with shortcuts.”

“Good,” Narcissa said, smiling, “then I hope you’ll join us for dinner tonight. Filly’s made toad-in-the-hole and I think our friend Bliant is coming. He’s just delightful!”

Nodding, Rita gratefully accepted the invitation and all three women made their way upstairs to freshen up before dinner.