Chapter 3
Hermione was just about to leave for work on Friday when a tapping at the living room window stopped her. Finding the stunning eagle owl that belonged to Draco, she gave him a brief stroke and a treat before turning to the missive.
Granger,
It’s not much, so don’t get too excited, but maybe you could pop by to discuss what you left with me on Tuesday.
Draco.
They made a point never to mention any specifics of sensitive Ministry information within letters in case they were intercepted, but of course she knew he was referring to the potion. Walking back to her fireplace, she headed for Malfoy Industries.
She knocked on the door to Draco’s office, which opened to reveal Blaise.
“Twice in one week Granger, what have I done for the Gods to bestow me this honour?”
“Do you ever turn it off?” Draco questioned before Hermione could respond.
“You should know by now the answer to that is no.” Blaise looked at Draco as though he may be a little stupid.
Draco shook his head and gave up. “Hi, Granger. Do you want a coffee?”
“Yes please, I’d love one. Morning Blaise, don’t worry, I hadn’t forgotten you.” He smiled like a praised child.
“Mipsy.” Draco called quietly, and a small elf dressed in smart clothing appeared.
Granger had long since given up her fight to free house elves, realising that they were far happier in servitude. The laws had changed in recent years, due to no shortage of her own foot stamping. House elves were now paid, and received sickness and holidays, as well as the right to leave service should they so choose.
“Hi Mipsy. Would you be able to get some coffee for myself and Hermione, please? Our usual.”
“Of course, Master Draco. Mipsy is happy to serve you and the Miss Hermione, Master Draco Sir.”
“Thank you…” Draco and Hermione smiled fondly at the elf.
“Thank you…. It’s lovely to see you again.” Mipsy looked like she may burst with happiness at Hermione’s words.
“Oh Miss Hermione, thank you. …. loves to see Miss Hermione again too. …will go straight away and bring you the perfect coffees for Miss Hermione and Master Draco.” At that, she disappeared with a pop.
“Well, I guess that’s my cue to leave as I wasn’t involved in the coffee order.” Blaise pushed himself off the wall where he’d been leaning.
“Sorry, Blaise, Ministry business,” Draco told him apologetically.
“No problem, mate. I’ll see you both soon.” He winked pointedly at Hermione as he left.
“Bye, Blaise,” she chuckled.
Before either of them had a chance to speak Mipsy popped back in with their coffees. When they were finally alone, Hermione spoke. “So, what did you find?”
“Nothing.” Draco deadpanned.
Hermione huffed a small laugh. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Essentially, what we found was nothing, Granger. We have no idea what it is. No one in our team has ever come across it before, so it’s a case of trying to break it down and recreate it.” There was a spark in Draco’s eye that hinted his excitement at the potions related mystery.
Hermione smirked. “Have you had a chance to get your hands on it yet?” She knew he’d be chomping at the bit.
He returned her smirk, “I may have cleared a chunk of time over the weekend to wrestle it from Padma’s hands.”
Hermione burst out laughing. “Thought you might.” She sipped from her coffee, a thought crossing her mind. Draco noticed her contemplative look and waited for her to speak.
She trusted Draco, but she wasn’t really allowed to discuss Ministry matters outside the ones Malfoy Enterprises were contracted to assist with, such as the potion. She wasn’t even sure if Harry had told anyone else about the note yet. As Head Auror, he had the authority to choose to keep certain cards close to his chest if he felt it was the right thing to do. On the other hand, Draco may have a little more insight than most. Plus, even if she wasn’t actually meant to be discussing it, she knew that due to his work with the Ministry, his clearance levels were as high as hers, Harry’s, and Theo’s.
“Draco, can I discuss something with you? Very much off the record and between us.” She bit her lip hesitantly.
“Of course! Hermione, are you okay?” He leaned forward in concern.
“Oh no, don’t worry, I’m fine. I promise. It’s just that I’m not sure I’m supposed to be speaking about it to anyone. I don’t even know if Harry’s telling people about it.” Draco relaxed, drinking some more of his coffee and cocking his head in interest.
“Before he left work last night, he got an anonymous letter, telling him that a Death Eater is back in the country.”
Draco's expression immediately darkened. “Did it say anything else?”
“No, that was it. ‘Harry Potter, you should know that a Death Eater has returned to England’,” she recited from memory. “No name and we’re also not sure how it arrived. It came up from the post room, but no guarantees how it got there.”
Draco leaned back thoughtfully, considering. “The thing is, if someone who had no association to Death Eaters wrote it, then why wouldn’t they sign it? Equally, I can’t exactly see anyone who is associated with them sending it either.” Draco gave a frustrated sigh; he was very similar to Hermione in that he didn’t enjoy being in the dark.
“No, me neither. That’s pretty much as far as I got with it, too.” Hermione’s shoulders slumped a little, and they both fell into quiet contemplation.
After a few moments of silence, her thoughts began to drift to the other Malfoy, who’d been taking up a lot of her thoughts the last few days. She wasn’t sure if she should bring him up; she knew it was a delicate subject, and delicate wasn’t always her strong suit. Then again, neither was quelling her curiosity when something had sparked it, and Lucius Malfoy had all but set it on fire.
“So,” she paused slightly to give Draco a chance to bring his thoughts back to the room, “does your dad work here often?” Draco’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly, but she caught it.
“He…erm…he’s here a few times a week. Mostly late afternoons, you know, when there are fewer people about.” Draco’s eyes dropped as he spoke. Hermione watched, her heart going out to him.
“I…I’m sorry he feels he has to do that. It can’t be easy. On either of you.” As she said the words, she felt all the previous few days of thoughts settle within her, and she knew she meant them. Regardless of what had happened in the past, she was genuinely sorry for this man who had had the courage to see the error of his ways. It took strength to stand up and admit that, and she couldn’t help but respect it. Hermione was also sorry for her friend, who carried the weight on his shoulders, seeming to fear the hurt of someone rejecting his father, whom he clearly loved fiercely.
Draco stared at her for a few seconds, as if checking she was sincere and wasn’t going to change her mind. She held his gaze until he spoke.
“Thank you, Hermione. That means more than you could know.” She reached over and squeezed his hand briefly before she stood to leave.
Hermione had just made it to the door when Draco called out to her. She turned and was surprised to see a pained look on his face. No matter how much Draco had softened over the years she’d known him, her friend was still usually gathered and didn’t often show human vulnerabilities. Hermione walked back into the room, closing the door behind her, echoing Draco’s earlier look of concern for her.
“Look, Granger, this is just a thought but…” he huffed out a breath, before continuing, “what would you think about me asking my father for his opinion?”
For a moment Hermione didn’t respond. Draco sat quietly giving her the time to think it over.
Hermione trusted Draco, however, she certainly didn’t trust Lucius personally, no matter how much his views may have changed. She’d not even spoken to the man as he was now. But if she truly trusted Draco, didn’t that mean she also had to trust his judgement?
She bit her lip in thought before nodding. “Ok, you can ask him. Just don’t forget, while I shouldn’t really have mentioned it to you, we do both at least have the Ministry clearance for this kind of thing. Your dad doesn’t, and if anyone found out we’d told him we’d be in a great deal of trouble. He can’t tell anyone, Draco.”
“I know Hermione, and I’ll make sure he understands that. But to honest,” he paused, “it’s not like he has anyone to tell.” At the sadness in his eyes, Hermione felt her heart crack.
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One of Hermione’s favourite things about the weekend was not having to rush around when she woke up. She loved relaxing on the sofa, reading and drinking coffee. The sun poured though the living room window on summer mornings and it was the perfect way to start the day.
After an hour or so of reading, Hermione took her book with her to soak in the bath, another weekend treat, before getting ready to meet the girls in Diagon Alley. The three of them met often for lunch or dinner but hadn’t been shopping for a while and she was looking forward to it. Pansy had been one of their group for about four years now, since Ginny had brought her into the fold. They’d both worked at the Prophet, Ginny as Sports Correspondent and Pansy as Fashion Correspondent. It had taken them a little while to get past the awkwardness, but the friendship finally sparked to life after one too many hours at a team building exercise where Ginny and Pansy were the only ones with in iota of personality between them.
Dressed in a high waisted flowing skirt with a tucked in vest top, Hermione slipped on some sandals and apparated to Diagon Alley. She saw Pansy waiting outside Gringotts, among the usual Saturday crowds. Pansy always looked like a model. She’d moved on from the Prophet, surprising everyone by starting her own fashion magazine. Despite her love of fashion, she had a razor-sharp business mind and the ambition to match it.
“Hermione, how are you?” Pansy asked, wrapping her in a hug.
“Hey! Yeah, I’m good thanks, how’re you?”
“I’m okay,” Pansy gave a very uncharacteristically shy smile.
Before Hermione had a chance to question it, Ginny came barrelling into view, her fiery hair trailing behind her. “Finally!” She exclaimed triumphantly, “It’s been so long since we’ve had the chance to do this.”
“I know, I know! I’m sorry, it’s my fault. I’ve been so busy.” Pansy looked between them guiltily.
“It’s okay, we know it’s a hard job, travelling all over the place, traipsing around the fashion capitals of the world. Us lowly mortals will just be thankful you still make time to drop in for lunch or dinner.”
“Oh piss off, you sarcastic cow!” Pansy gave her a playful shove. “Or I won’t tell you about how I’m planning for us all to go to Paris sometime soon!”
“Oh my God, oh my GOD!!” Ginny jumped up and down before throwing her arms around Pansy.
Hermione and Pansy shared a laugh at Ginny’s excitement. “Don’t get carried away just yet. I’m not sure when it’ll be as I’m so busy at the moment.” Pansy told her.
“Well, just don’t take too long. I’m dying to get away and have a break. Can we go to a spa?”
“I think what she means to say is, thank you Pansy, we’d love to go to Paris with you. She’s like an over excited child.” Hermione faux whispered to Pansy. They headed off towards the shops, laughing and joking as they went.
Three hours and countless shopping bags later, they were heading towards the Leaky Cauldron for something to eat.
“I could literally eat the entire bloody menu. I am starving! I’ve played Quidditch matches that didn’t exhaust me like shopping with you Pans!”
“Agreed!” Hermione chimed in. “I mean, not the Quidditch matches, obviously, but Merlin, I don’t think I got this hungry on the run!”
“Morgana! How on earth are you both going cope in Paris if you can’t manage three hours in Diagon Alley?”
“Ah, but in Paris we’ll have time at the spa to make sure we’re fully rested up and energised.” Ginny told her matter of factly.
Just as they were approaching the Leaky Cauldron, Padma came into view in front of them, her beauty standing out from the crowd. “Hi guys! A little light shopping I see.” Padma’s smile quicky turned to a look of amazement at the ludicrous number of bags they were managing to carry.
“Blame Pansy, you know she’s unstoppable,” Hermione laughed.
“I think you mean thank me for the fact that people throw unholy discounts at me and anyone I’m with!” It was true, in an effort to get so much as a mention in Pansy’s magazine, stores fell over themselves to get in her good graces.
The trio invited Padma to come and eat with them, and they settled around their table. They all liked Padma, Hermione especially as, due to her connection with Malfoy Enterprises, she spent more time with her than the others did. Hermione wondered why she hadn’t made more of an effort to bring her into the group and resolved to change it.
“So…” Padma let it hang in the air a little before she went on, “I spoke to Parvati the other day, Pansy.”
“Oh, how are her and Luna getting on?” Ginny jumped in, while Pansy looked confused that it had been directed specifically at her. No one had seen it coming when Luna and Parvati had somehow fallen madly for each other when they found themselves travelling together in the Andes, and six months ago had come back engaged. They’d stayed for a month before heading off again but somehow in that time, everyone saw how well it worked, although no one would have predicted it. Padma missed her twin, but they were very different people with different interests and so she accepted that their lives took them in different directions. She was just happy her sister was happy.
“They’re great, they’ve spent the last four weeks in the mountains of Peru. I think they’re onto Brazil and Columbia next. She passed me on something very interesting from Luna…apparently you’re going on a date soon, Pansy?” Pansy choked on the sip of the drink she’d just taken.
“Pansy! Why didn’t you tell us?” Ginny squealed. Hermione smirked and leaned forward. This ought to be good.
“What the actual sodding fuck?! How can she possibly know that?! I haven’t told anyone and she’s on the other side of the fucking world.” The other three women laughed uproariously at Pansy’s dismay.
“It’s Luna, I’m not entirely sure why anything would surprise you, Pans.” Hermione pointed out.
“Well…yeah. But Still!” Pansy’s face was indignant.
“Now cut the crap and tell us who it is!” Ginny demanded.
“Yeah, I’m with Red.” Padma agreed. Hermione glanced over at her surprised. Draco was the only other person she’d heard call Ginny by that name. The two of them got on surprisingly well on the occasions they were together, though they teased each other mercilessly.
Pansy heaved a sigh. “Look, I was going to talk to the two of you about this over food anyway,” looking between Hermione and Ginny. “I erm, I bumped into Ron last time I was home…” she didn’t get to finish her sentence before Ginny interrupted.
“RON! You’re going on a date with Ron?”
“I’m quite certain Pansy wanted that announced to the entire pub. Keep it down, Ginny!” Hermione tried to be stern but couldn’t help chuckling. Virtually everyone in the Leaky Cauldron had turned to stare at them, and Pansy, never usually the shy type, looked like she wanted to die.
“Oops, my bad.” Ginny grimaced and shrunk into her chair a little. Padma watched the whole scenario unfold with unconcealed delight written across her features.
“Yes, Ron.” Pansy continued. “I bumped into him last time I was back. We got chatting and then ended up owling ever since.”
It was Hermione’s turn not to be able to keep her mouth shut. “Owling? You got Ron Weasley to write? By the Gods, that’s the equivalent of a marriage proposal in Ron’s world.” Everyone laughed at that.
“So…does that mean you’re both okay with this then?” Pansy worried her lip, looking between them both again.
“What, am I okay with you dating the man I kissed once nearly seven years ago and never even considered kissing again since? I think I can probably cope, Pansy.” After years of believing she held a candle for Ron, after the one kiss they’d shared on the night of the battle, it very quickly became apparent that she didn’t. When the heat of the moment had passed and the dust from the battle settled, Hermione found she had absolutely no desire to kiss Ron ever again. Suddenly it felt wrong. As though most of her desire to kiss him had actually been based on a childish crush but had built into something that wasn’t actually what she’d thought at all. Hermione had dreaded telling Ron, fearing she’d hurt him and destroy their friendship, but it turned out he’d been hugely relieved as he felt exactly the same.
“Well, when you put it that way,” Pansy smiled and shrugged a little self-consciously. “And you, Ginny?”
“Are you kidding? You want to date my brother - I think you’re batshit, but you have my full blessing.”
“Oh I am so glad Draco kicked me out of the lab this afternoon!” Padma grinned.