The Requisite Solution and the Reluctant Acceptance
“NO!”
Ron leapt to his feet, scattering parchment all over the floor.
“No, no, FUCK NO! Hermione is NOT MARRYING MALFOY!”
Harry’s jaw had dropped open. Sirius and Theo exchanged a glance and then looked cautiously at Hermione.
She was staring at Malfoy with her lips slightly parted and her hands frozen on the book in her lap.
“Congratulations, Miss Nott,” Malfoy drawled. He was still leaning back in his seat, arms folded, with all the haughtiness of a crown prince. “You’ve found the only desirable pure-blood heir who can save you from your murderous father. Under this very roof, no less.”
Ron was still muttering “fuck-no-fuck-no-FUCK-no–” under his breath. He made several long strides back and forth across the library.
Hermione’s mind was spinning as she sat utterly still.
Harry had gone quite pale. He turned to his godfather with a pleading look in his eyes.
“Isn’t there anyone else?”
“Why Potter, surely you don’t think I’m not good enough for your best friend?” Malfoy gasped dramatically. “I’m practically the most eligible pure-blood of our age, after all, unless you’d prefer that she marry her own brother–”
Harry growled, “Sirius …?”
Sirius ran a hand through his hair and exchanged a glance with Theo, who looked torn between relief and worry.
“There’s nobody else, unless we restore Frank Longbottom’s sanity, break up Bill’s engagement, or get my name cleared. Based on your list there, every other unmarried heir is too old, too thick, or too Death Eater.”
Ron stopped pacing behind Sirius’ chair.
“Wait a second! That won’t work!” he announced, one long finger pointed at Malfoy. “He’s underage too, so he needs Lucius’s permission to get married, but he’s a Death Eater AND he’s Nott’s friend – he’ll NEVER agree to this!”
“Sure he will,” Malfoy responded easily. “He wants me to make a good match. The heir to the Nott family is the perfect choice.”
Ron was still shaking his head. “No WAY … he’s not gonna let you–!”
“Ron’s got a point,” Sirius said slowly. “If Thoros appeals to Voldemort to help track down his missing daughter, Lucius would be thick to marry his son to her. He’d make himself into a target.”
Malfoy looked carefully across the table at Hermione, who hadn’t moved. He sensed Theo trying to catch his gaze, but he kept his grey eyes away from the other wizard. He knew his friend cared more for his sister than for him, so he’d be on HER side.
And yet, this could be perfect, if only …
“Father will let me marry her IF your Order will guarantee his and Mother’s protection from the Dark Lord,” he announced. “Let them join us here. There’ll be no risk to Father. Then, we’d all get what we want,” he added in a softer voice.
“Yeah, it’s exactly what we want–” Ron muttered to Harry, who was gaping at Malfoy.
Theo raised an eyebrow, echoing Harry’s unspoken thought.
“Draco, you want to marry Hermione?”
Malfoy studied his flawless fingernails again and gave an insouciant shrug.
“She’s the ideal witch, all things considered.”
“Course you want her now that she’s pure-blood, you fucking hypocrite,” Ron snarled. “You never gave a damn before–!”
“Have you ever tried being the sole heir of an Ancient family?” Malfoy shot back immediately. “You have no IDEA how much pressure I was under! If I dared to show so much as politeinterest in a Muggle-born, my grandfather might’ve just done away with me and forced my parents to make a NEW heir!”
Ron blinked a few times and then looked at Theo, seeking confirmation that Malfoy wasn’t just being dramatic.
Theo rubbed his forehead and stared at the table, knowing he couldn’t argue. There was a reason Lucius cared about the old ways so much. His brainwashing of Draco was tame compared to the parenting methods of Abraxas Malfoy.
Ron fell into a chair and had a nonverbal exchange with Harry, after which Harry shifted closer to the shell-shocked witch.
“Hey, we can think of something else,” he insisted. “There’s gotta be another heir out there, or maybe you could marry an Ancient family without marrying the actual heir–?”
“I don’t think that’ll work,” Theo said softly from her other side. “This marriage idea is already a loophole; I don’t think we can chance bending the loophole. If she keeps her heirship, Father will never stop hunting her.”
Hermione’s gaze had fallen to the table.
Harry’s heart sank; he’d never seen the brightest witch of her age so speechless or so … helpless. More than anything, he wanted a legitimate reason to go after Nott himself and just get him out of the way, but Hermione would condemn him for it even if he miraculously succeeded.
“Wait, no!” Ron sat up straight and announced triumphantly, “Nott could still get what he wants if he targets both of them! He’d make Malfoy dissolve the marriage or even kill them both and then Theo’d still be the heir like he wants–”
“Nobody could make us dissolve the marriage,” Malfoy said with another eye roll. “We’d both be legal adults; we won’t have to listen to our parents anymore.”
“He could kill you if you don’t give her up–!”
“He wouldn’t dare incur Lucius’ wrath by killing or even threatening Draco,” Theo said firmly. “Every Death Eater would stand against him if he tried something so foolish. Father won’t risk losing his supporters.”
“Can you guarantee that?” Sirius asked softly with a knowing look. “You admitted he’d go back to Azkaban for the sake of catching Hermione.”
Theo opened and closed his mouth a few times as he realised that he couldn’t answer.
A year ago, he would’ve scoffed at the idea of Thoros targeting another pure-blood, especially a child. But then he’d threatened to kill his own daughter … It seemed even the mildly-positive light Theo had once shone over Thoros Nott was still too bright.
So, would Thoros prioritise his family line over his political relationships? Spending time in Azkaban was one thing, but …
“It’s … no, he wouldn’t,” Theo finally decided. “He might be technically within his rights to go after Hermione, but he’d piss off a LOT of people if he targeted the Malfoy heir. I don’t think he’d risk it.”
“He could still try to kill HERMIONE though,” Ron continued arguing. “Even if they’re married, she’s still a target – it’s not like their heirships just merge automatically.”
“I … I don’t think he’d try … he’d risk fighting the whole Malfoy family at that point because she’d be one of them – even You-Know-Who might have a problem with it …”
“Possibly. But there IS a simple way to guarantee her safety,” Malfoy said quietly with a shadow of a smirk.
“NO,” Theo growled immediately and half-rose from his seat, a sharp finger aimed across the table. “You take that stupid look off your face, Draco Lucius Malfoy, or I’ll TEAR it off!”
Harry frowned. “What’s he talking about?”
“The heirship moves on with each generation,” Sirius said quietly. “If Hermione had a child, they’d become the new heir, with the merged bloodlines.”
Harry jumped in shock just as Ron’s face went bright red.
“That’s SICK!”
Malfoy wrinkled his nose. “Thankfully, I’m not offended since I’m not exactly fond of the idea of you procreating either, Weasley.” He turned to glance at Hermione, who was still staring at her hands.
After careful thought, Draco decided to address Potter. He wouldn’t respond to logic the same way the Nott twins would, but he’d surely support any idea that would keep his most valuable friend at his disposal, and he’d be happy with any plan that didn’t involve death, because it was Potter.
“You want the best way to keep her alive, Potter? Take the target off her back,” Malfoy said simply. “Dumbledore marries her to me, then she conceives the next Malfoy heir. Or Malfoy-Nott, technically. Our bloodlines will officially merge, and the pure Nott line has ended no matter what Thoros does to her, or me. He can’t get anywhere near a pure-blood child that isn’t his own; he’d be locked up and punished by everyone.”
Harry bit his lip.
Sirius looked disheartened, Theo looked devastated, and Ron looked murderous.
Malfoy shrugged.
“Find another way to save her and I’ll not say another word. But the longer we wait, the more time Thoros has to go to the Ministry and claim her.”
Ron’s hands clenched into angry fists. Harry looked back and forth between Malfoy, Theo, and Sirius, nonverbally begging for an alternative.
Theo fell back into his seat and buried his face in his hands. He wanted to protect Hermione, and he wanted her to be happy but what choice did he have …?
A soft hand on his shoulder made him look back up. His twin had finally managed to lift her gaze.
“I still don’t blame you for finding me,” she whispered. “No matter what.”
“I wanted to keep you safe,” he whispered back with a catch in his voice. “I shouldn’t’ve searched for you … it’s not fair, Hermione–”
“No, it’s not. But it’s HIS fault I’m in this mess, not yours.”
Hermione squeezed Theo’s shoulder and slowly rose to her feet. Without making eye contact with anyone else, she headed for the door.
“Do not follow me,” she said quietly.
xxxxxxxxx
With no other option for escape, Hermione wound up sitting on the roof of Grimmauld Place for most of the afternoon.
She’d discovered the door outside last summer as she and the Weasleys purged the house. Molly waved off the discovery; the roof had a sharp slope which made it impractical for anything useful. Since it stayed deserted, Hermione had taken to retreating here a couple times when things got stressful. She doubted anyone would find her for quite a while.
Perched on the ridge with her back against one of many brick chimneys, Hermione ignored the sweat gathering on her forehead from the summer heat. She took several long breaths of the hot, dry air and tried to stop more tears from dropping.
Not since OWLs had her life felt anywhere proximate to normal.
First the Slytherins had declared an allegiance with the Gryffindors. Then she had to send her parents away – only to find out they weren’t her parents at all! She was found by her twin brother, and her birth father was trying to kill her because she wasn’t a boy.
Now the antiquated laws regarding parental control proclaimed she could only be free of Thoros Nott by marrying an heir from a family more prestigious than her own … and the only viable candidate was her school nemesis and her best friend’s rival!
Hermione was willing to protect Grey Slytherins against Voldemort, but she’d never imagined even sharing a safehouse with the likes of Malfoy, much less …
Her eyes stung in the setting sun.
Maybe even the pleasant addition of her twin brother to her life wasn’t worth this. For a moment she dared to imagine escaping to Australia. Perhaps she could reverse the Grangers’ memory wipe and live happily with them down under as a Muggle.
There were worse fates … like marrying Draco Malfoy, perhaps?
“Interesting hiding spot,” a cheerful voice took Hermione by surprise. She leaned around the chimney to find a shock of fuchsia hair practically glowing in the setting sun.
“Hey, Tonks,” she managed to choke before her voice gave out.
The vibrant Auror squished onto the ridge beside Hermione and slipped an arm around her without question. Hermione managed to lean into her side a little, but her dread of bursting back into tears kept her spine stiff.
“Sirius told me everything,” Tonks said simply. “Malfoy, huh?”
Hermione couldn’t speak.
“Y’know, in another life, you might’ve been my little sister,” Tonks said wistfully. “Mum left the Blacks for lots of reasons, but there was one in particular that sent her packing. She was expected to marry into another Ancient and Noble family, and her parents wanted her with old Nott. Good thing Mum wasn’t so easy to convince, though, since I might’ve ended up with an even worse first name.”
Hermione could hear the smile in Tonks’ voice, and she knew the other witch was trying to make her laugh.
“I … I can’t believe he’s really m– my …”
“Hey, I know how you feel about lousy family,” Tonks reminded her. “My parents are great, of course, but my grandparents were among the Darkest wizards of the last century. You’ve heard some of Sirius’ stories, right? We had relatives that hung house-elf heads on the wall, tried to legalise Muggle-hunting, and married off their children to ugly old men just to improve their social standing.”
“I can’t believe this world still has people like that,” Hermione murmured. “The Muggle world did, too, but it’s so antiquated …”
“It’s still a thing though, isn’t it?” Tonks pointed out with a shrug. “My other grandparents are Muggles, and I know some stuff about their politics. Queen Elizabeth and Phillip are second cousins or something, right? It’s not that odd in those circles to marry for power or alliances over love. And marrying early … well, in Muggle Britain I’m pretty sure it’s still legal to get married at sixteen, actually.”
Hermione played with her shoelaces.
“I come from a humble family, though. It never occurred to me I’d be stuck in those kinds of circles.”
“You’re not though,” Tonks said staidly. “You think you gotta drop everything you are and become the perfect old-fashioned pure-blood?” she sniffed derisively. Hermione was suddenly reminded of Professor McGonagall and nearly managed to smile.
“I mean, you gotta make ONE difficult decision to save your life, but it doesn’t have to change the rest of your life!” Tonks insisted. “Yeah, you marry someone you don’t like much but consider the long-term. You don’t have to sleep with the guy, and you don’t have to stay with him forever. Even though it’s frowned upon, you CAN get divorced. And honestly, Hermione, being part of another family during the war could actually be a huge benefit.”
“Even if that family is the Malfoys?” Hermione nearly spat. Tonks chuckled.
“We’d be proper cousins then, y’know, and we’re not ALL bad,” she shot Hermione a wink. “Lucius might be a wanker, but my Mum knows Narcissa, and she’s not the typical perfecthouse-wife that the family wanted her to be. She’s got backbone, for one, and she puts the people she cares about before anything else. Someone like her daughter-in-law, for instance–” she gave Hermione a meaningful squeeze “–would be high on her list of people to protect.
“Not to mention, they’re filthy rich, so you could take advantage of that,” she added with a laugh.
Hermione managed to half-smile, but she still wanted to roll her eyes.
“I’m even less interested in marrying for money than power.”
“Then marry him for his library,” Tonks teased, pulling on one of Hermione’s curls. “And because he’s a Black AND a Malfoy. You never know, he could have the ideal cocktail of traits from both families, which would make him the perfect husband. Rich, steadfast, magically talented, good business instincts, cares about family, and let’s face it … pretty damn fit for a pale little snake.”
Hermione finally bore a proper smile, and Tonks beamed proudly.
“There, that’s it!” She grabbed Hermione’s hands and pulled her up. “It’s all about perspective, right? And c’mon, be realistic–” She thumped the shorter girl on the arm with a lazy fist. “–this is a temporary arrangement to keep you safe. Once the war’s over and Thoros gets locked up for good, you hire a solicitor and take half Draco’s money in the divorce. Could be worse!”
Hermione allowed her uncertain smile to stick. It was incredible how the older witch’s positivity shone through the awful situation like a sunbeam, melting away Hermione’s fears and leaving behind the rational part of her mind.
Tonks was right; this wasn’t a marriage. This was just a short-term fix to an unwanted problem.
One tiny ceremony, then she’d be safe enough to finish school, do her part with the Order, and ultimately help Harry – all of which were more important anyway – and then she could divorce Malfoy and have a real relationship.
Hermione hugged Tonks tightly and steeled herself. She boldly prepared to march downstairs and put her personal life on hold, where it belonged.
xxxxxxxxx
When Hermione entered the drawing room, Tonks on her heels, Theo immediately leapt up from his chair where he’d been digging his feet into the rug and pulling on his hair for the last few hours.
He dashed straight over to his twin.
“Hermione, I don’t care what it takes, I’m GOING to find a way for you to be happy! Harry told me you speak a little French; what if we run away to Paris together–? You could enrol in Beauxbatons, and Father would never find you there, or we can even track down someone from one of their old families to marry you and let you come back here and fight with the Order if that’s what you want, or I’ll stay in France with you and maybe you don’t even HAVE to get married – wait, my friend Blaise lives in Italy; he’d let us stay with him, and you wouldn’t even have to marry him or anything – we’ll just get tutors instead of going back to Hogwarts and you can correspond with Harry to help him and Father would never find us–!”
Hermione cut off his anxious rambling by wrapping him in a tight hug.
“Theo, you sweetheart,” she murmured. “It’s alright … I’ll be okay.”
Tonks slipped past Hermione to join Harry and Ron on the sofa with a grin. “She’s lucky to have such a cool brother, eh?”
“I think she’s got more than one,” Sirius piped up from across the room. Harry chuckled in response, but Ron looked a bit funny.
Theo let go of Hermione quite slowly.
“Are … are you sure–?”
“Yeah,” she whispered back. “It’ll be fine.”
“Yes, it WILL,” Theo said firmly. “Because if he tries to hurt you in ANY way–!”
“Yes, yes, her three scary big brothers’ll come after me,” Malfoy said with a sigh as he stood from his chair in the corner. Hermione started; she hadn’t realised he was there.
“Well, I’m older than all of them, so they’re my younger brothers, actually,” she couldn’t help pointing out.
“And she doesn’t just have three,” Ron announced. He rose and stood by Theo, arms crossed, facing Malfoy with a dangerous look. “Fred and George would go after you, and so would Sirius – hell, even Percy liked Hermione; I bet he’d have something to say–!”
“Let’s not get ridiculous, Ronald,” Hermione rubbed her eyes with a sigh. “I’m sure I could rally the Order and most of Gryffindor house and they’d back me up in a hurry, but it won’t be necessary. Draco’s not so bad.”
The dead-silent moment that followed her statement was almost amusing. Harry’s eyes opened wide, Ron’s jaw fell open, Theo looked surprised but pleased, Sirius’ eyebrow went up, and Tonks exchanged a look with Hermione that said, “boys”.
Meanwhile, Malfoy blinked at Hermione several times in disbelief.
“You think I’m not so bad? And since when do you call me Draco?”
“Well, if we’re going to be civil to each other, even just in terms of sharing this house, I suppose first names are overdue. And no, I don’t think you’re bad. In fact, if you’re willing to set aside your prejudices and treat me and my friends with respect, I’ll willingly look past your history of bullying and focus instead on the fact that you’re a brilliant student and probably have more in common with me than I anticipate.”
Malfoy blinked more and peeked sidelong at Theo, who was looking down at his sister in awe.
“You’re … look, Granger,” Malfoy shuffled his feet, oddly uncomfortable. “I– I get I’m your least terrifying option for surviving the wrath of Thoros. You don’t have to pretend like this isn’t your worst nightmare–”
“It ISN’T,” Hermione said firmly. “Far from it, in fact. I could marry someone twice my age or someone without an ounce of intelligence. Or I could extract myself from the country and abandon my friends or get Obliviated and leave the magical world … THOSE are my worst nightmares. This is … an inconvenience. But we’re near adults, both of us, and I think we can manage.”
Harry was dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe his best friend was willing to enter an arranged marriage with one of their least-favourite people in part so she wouldn’t abandon him. He stared down at his shoes, feeling a blush on the back of his neck.
Malfoy had gone slightly pink, looking more uncomfortable than Theo had ever seen – not even when his friend was twelve and faced Abraxas’ wrath after smashing a Greek garden sculpture by running into it with his broom.
Hermione frowned for a second.
“Look, Mal – Draco – I know this isn’t ideal for you, either. Even if I’m really pure-blood, I’m far from your favourite person, we have a rocky history – plus this’ll be risky for you given your father’s allegiance, and I can’t speak for the Order, but–”
“I can,” Sirius interrupted firmly.
He got up and placed a hand on Hermione’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze.
“I remember your old man from school, Little Dragon, and I didn’t like him much … but your Mum’s definitely one of the better Blacks. If you’re willing to help protect Hermione from Nott and stand by your original vow with Dumbledore to co-operate with the Order, we’ll extend the same offer you got to your parents.”
Draco felt something swoop in his chest. “You’re certain?”
“I’m head of the Order while Dumbledore’s away, and d’you really think he’d say any different?” Sirius asked dryly. “I’ve got a feeling now that Lucius spent some time in Azkaban, he’s not gonna be desperate to go back. So, there’s just two conditions: your parents will Vow to never harm or betray anyone in the Order, and you will never do ANYTHING unsavoury towards Hermione. If you agree, I’ll get a message to Dumbledore, and we’ll send Kreacher for your parents. We could arrange this marriage and turn you two into adults in just a couple days.”
“Wait,” Ron stepped forward with a frown. “Does she still have to … I mean, er–”
“NO.” Theo said firmly. “She does NOT need to have a child to be safe; I believe the Malfoys will do the right thing and protect Hermione from Father, if he risks going after her.”
There were a few moments of silence as Malfoy contemplated the situation.
Hermione knew Sirius was doing all this for her because it was good for Harry, but she hardly minded. Meanwhile, Harry wondered if Sirius’ recent ability to trust Snape had helped this uncharacteristic allowance toward the Malfoys.
It would still be risky … but, if Malfoy were indeed willing to endanger himself to help Hermione, Harry decided he might finally be comfortable trusting the other boy.
The room was quiet as Draco swallowed, then slowly extended his pale hand to take Hermione’s smaller one.
“Gra– er, Hermione. In full collaboration with the aforementioned terms, I– do you agree to become my betrothed?”