Lies and Vials
Hermione was shocked at the unexpected question. She blinked once while processing it. Her brain had already drawn out the worst conclusions possible as she contemplated where her husband was. Had he been hurt? Captured? Worse? Ron had informed Hermione that he would be leading a raid and would be possibly late, but not too late, he had reassured her before kissing her once and walking to the Floo. Did something go wrong with Ron’s plans?
Malfoy was still waiting on her to answer as he breathed heavily and stressfully.
“It is to my understanding that my husband is at work, which is where you should probably be seeing as it’s almost dinner time in the Great Hall.” Hermione responded spitefully.
There hadn’t been much friendly development over the years between her and Malfoy. Gone were the days of name calling and near-death experiences, but they were replaced with awkward conversations just to be polite and basically ignoring the fact that the other person existed on most days. He had filled out tremendously, although Hermione wouldn’t be caught dead admitting it. His hair had grown only slightly, and he never wore it slicked back like he did during their school years. It was partially wavy and rested over his forehead. His body was a bit stockier, with arms covered in magical tattoos, a habit that may have started when he was desperate to rid himself of the Dark Mark. Malfoy was, for lack of a better word, gorgeous. But a dangerous brooding kind of gorgeous that could only result in a broken heart, or a broken neck if you weren’t careful. He married shortly after the Battle of Hogwarts to a younger Pureblood, Astoria Greengrass. She was slim, blonde, polite, and everything a Pureblood parent would want for their child, which is probably why the Malfoy’s took a fast chance on her betrothal to Draco. Even though it was an arranged marriage, Malfoy doted on his beautiful wife. Every time Hermione had seen them together, she was amazed at the different side of Malfoy she saw. He was attentive, generous, and far more affectionate with Astoria than she would have imagined. They were the epitome of Pureblood excellency.
Hermione shook herself from her thoughts as Malfoy started walking closer to her. She immediately started stepping backwards to put some distance between them.
“Oh bugger off with that nonsense, I’m not going to stun you,” Malfoy sneered.
“I don’t think stunning was what I was afraid of,” she muttered in response, but she stalled her steps.
Malfoy sighed so loudly it felt like he had been holding in that breath since before he walked into her office.
“Granger…” he started, and Hermione did not like that tone. It sounded the way it does before you have to deliver bad news to someone. Her thoughts jumped back to Ron and anything that could’ve gone wrong during today’s mission. Malfoy sighed again and fell into the first open seat he could find, which was HER chair. Although slightly annoyed, Hermione sat in the chair opposite her desk to wait out the news that was obviously distressing him. The more she thought of the possibilities Ron’s mission went wrong, the more she started to internally panic. Ron had been her rock throughout the war and after. They had spent years tip toeing around their mutual feelings that it felt necessary they get married straight away once the war was over. Molly was over the moon, Ginny and Harry looked wonderful together as best man and maid of honor. Everyone in the crowd somehow knew that they were meant for each other, even if there were moments of hesitation on Hermione’s part. She loved Ron, it came so naturally after years of friendship that she never took the time to question any of it.
He was more affectionate in the beginning, especially after the deaths of her parents in Australia. Ron would hold her as much as she needed to and seemed to always know what to say to make her feel better. Now, after almost 10 years of marriage, the affection has lessened. The longing had decreased. The feeling of love was there even if it was dulled. Ron’s long nights at work and interest in frequenting bars had overtaken any time they could spend together lately. Hermione didn’t have the drive to fight about the drinking, and most definitely couldn’t have any retorts on his job if she wanted to avoid being the bad guy, so she took it all in stride. On the inside, Hermione Granger was slowly deteriorating in one way or another, but she would never let it show.
She was getting frustrated with the stalling on Malfoy’s part, his silence and obvious distress were causing her anxiety to rise as the minutes passed.
“Just tell me what you came here to say,” Hermione snapped, done with the mind games.
Malfoy looked up from his pouting with a glare, “I don’t think you’d believe me even if I told you.”
That caused Hermione to panic even more. What could possibly be so unbelievable that Draco Malfoy of all people had to come to deliver the news?
“Tell. Me.” She responded in finality.
Malfoy huffed once more before standing with a determined, yet sad, look in his eyes.
“To put it short, this evening, I found my wife in bed with your husband.” Malfoy explained sternly.
Hermione had to take a moment to process what was being told to her. He was right; what came out of his mouth was the most ridiculous nonsense she had ever heard. Ron, her Ron, would never stray from her side, even if it was for a skinny, gorgeous blonde Pureblood woman. Aside from the obvious struggles in their relationship, Hermione liked to think their physical life wasn’t lacking. They tried to make time for sexual activities, but more often than not, Hermione was the one initiating. She had never seen it as a red flag, often thinking Ron’s job was the reason for his disinterest. Was there something more?
Malfoy huffed in frustration, “I can practically feel your brain trying to wrap around what I have told you, so I’ll continue. I came back from Hogwarts for the evening, as I tend to do a few nights a week, to your husband with his face buried between my wife’s thighs.”
The explicit wording made her heart sink; there was no way he would be lying about something like this, but Hermione would never admit that so easily. She was known for being a stubborn woman.
“You know, Malfoy, drinking Firewhiskey during your workdays isn’t any of my business, but please make it a point to not make it my business,” Hermione stated quietly, acting as if what he was saying didn’t bother her.
She wasn’t even able to convince herself that she was alright, there was no way Malfoy believed her. His grey eyes grew slightly darker before he stood quicker than Hermione’s eyes could follow.
“Granger, I suggest you put aside any doubts you may have about me and my reasoning for being here. Why else would I be here with you of all people?” He snapped.
His tone dropped her heart another 5 floors, it didn’t matter if it was just Malfoy, the small jab still stung.
Hermione stood as well, her sadness and fear giving her the small adrenaline boost to stand up to him.
“I can tell you right now Draco Malfoy, I don’t believe a word of it, so if you’re done with whatever psychological tricks brought you to my office, feel free to leave,” she turned on her heel towards the door, ready to fling it open and kick him out.
Her steps were cut short by the feel of Malfoy’s hand grabbing her forearm. She gasped at the sudden contact and started pulling away.
“How dare you put your hands on me?” Hermione almost shrieked. She was yanking and pulling her arm every which way to no avail. His grip only tightened.
“If you won’t open your eyes to the reality of this situation, I’m going to suggest other means to force you into believing me,” Malfoy’s voice got quieter and more sinister. Hermione caught a small glimpse of the fury in his eyes and was momentarily startled. What could he have meant by that? Was it a threat?
Hermione’s hand inched towards her wand, terrified at the insinuation of any sort of violence. Malfoy’s eyes followed the movement as he finally let go of her arm.
“Calm down Granger, this is what I was referring to,” he chuckled slightly as he reached into his teaching robes to pull out a small vial.
Malfoy didn’t need to explain once it was shown. Veritaserum would make Draco Malfoy spill every secret he had. Hermione would know for sure if his story was plausible. She swallowed once with a quickening heart before she nodded and approached Malfoy.