All rights belong to J.K Rowling. I do not own any of the characters. /This is my first fanfic I welcome all kinds of criticism as I am learning as I go being a writer. I want to thank my friends who encouraged me in my writing. My english professor I will not say her name, but she was the one who actually gave me the final push to write fanfiction. I had always wanted to write, but never had the guts to do it. I also want to thank a couple writers to help me some know who they are. Lastly, I want to give a huge thanks to Emmeebee been a huge champ with everything. Please check out their they have some awesome stories. Major Thanks. They had been very awesome to work with. So please I give her the most credit of all. :)/
Hermione sat in the lobby at Jefferson's Law Firm office while she waited for her appointment with Mr. Whiskers, the solicitor of the Malfoy family. She tried to work out what Mr. Whiskers wanted exactly. She had met the man while she and Harry went up to write and say their testimonies for Narcissa and Draco Malfoy.
Thinking back, she'd had no contact from the Malfoy or his; the last she'd heard of them was that they both got probation and house arrest. However, as for Lucius, he would be in Azkaban for five years followed by two years of house arrest. She had thought Malfoy would retake his seventh year, but from what she was told by Professor McGonagall, he had taken his N.E.W.T.S. already. She had been given the choice to do the same but had decided to go ahead and stay at Hogwarts for the year as she wanted to relax without Dark Wizards or Dark forces wanting to kill her and her friends.
After the battle, Hermione had located her parents and given them back their memories. When she arrived back in London, Ron had met with her parents and her at her place. There had been a change of his demeanor; she had noticed he was very attentive toward her. As she thought about it, this might have been due to Fred's death and the war. During the time she was at Hogwarts, Ron and Harry would take turns visiting Ginny and her over the weekend.
Ron had taken the initiative to ask Hermione's parents, Richard and Jean, for permission to court Hermione. They were taken quite by surprise as they knew Ron wasn't really the boy – or man, for that matter – to date their little girl. But they wouldn't get in the way of their little girl's happiness and they knew from early on that Hermione had a crush on the boy. So they had watched their little girl be courted by the redheaded man. Not a word had escaped their lips as they watched the man turn red when they accidentally walked in them having on a mini argument. Jean had placed her hand on Richard's arm to keep him from storming in to pummel the redhead out as he belittled their little girl. Richard had tried so hard to hide his disgust of the Weasley boy; he knew his baby girl had to fight her own battles.
After almost two years of dating, Ron had popped the question. Hermione had known she could do better than Ron. However, she didn't want to hurt him or the Weasley family, and she was afraid that she would lose her friendship with Harry and Ginny if they had to choose sides between her and Ron. So she made the decision to stay. Her parents did voice their concerns when they were alone with Hermione, but she was sure she wanted to marry the man.
Now that she was married to the man, she wished she wasn't married. They were constantly fighting and arguing about almost everything and anything; she missed the good ole days when they were just best friends. Not only that; she had found out he was cheating behind her back. Of course, he didn't know that she knew since she had decided to turn a blind eye. There was no such thing as divorce in the Wizarding World and they would look very negatively on her if it got out, claiming that she was the reason her husband had turned to multiple women.
She had been at the Ministry when she received a letter from a black raven telling her she had to go Jefferson's Law Firm on Thursday at 1pm to meet with Mr. Whiskers and Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy and to be discreet in coming to the firm. She knew Ron would be at his brother's shop or at Evelyn Sky's place getting some, since she wasn't giving out to Ron. She knew none of the Weasleys knew of Ron's infidelity, with the exception of George and Ginny. They felt bad for what she was going through, but they didn't know what to do to assist her.
Hermione struggled with her file as she had been stuck on the same file for almost twenty minutes now. Her stomach twisted of the uncertainty of the appointment she decided to push the file away. Taking out a bottle of firewhiskey out and a tumblr she poured herself a glass. Putting the bottle away she was sipping it as her mind wandered. Hearing her alarm clock ring she took a huge gulp of the tumblr where she felt the hot liquid warm her throat down to her stomach. She put away all her files and paperwork organized it her filing system. Making sure her desk was neat and tidy, she grabbed her purse and coat by the door, walked out, and locked her office behind her with a few spells of her own creation.
"Hold all my calls and appointments as I'll be out for lunch, Sally," Hermione told her secretary, who was sitting at her desk, scribbing away.
Hermione rushed toward the elevators where it led her to the fireplace area where she would Floo directly to Jefferson's Law firm. Looking down at her wristwatch, Hermione saw that she had at least fifteen minutes to get there. She took the elevator down to the fireplace area and flooed directly to Jefferson's Law Firm, arriving with minutes to spare. She cast a spell to clean off any ashes that were on her person as she walked to the lone secretary, who sat in the middle of the building.
"Pardon me, I have a meeting with Mr. Whiskers at 1." While the woman was scribbing away, she glanced up and told her to have a seat. Hermione went to sit down while she waited, which she assumed to be called up.
Twenty minutes passed before the secretary pressed a button on her desk and looked up at Hermione. "Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Whiskers can see you now. Please follow me."
Hermione got up and followed the woman. Not knowing what would go on in the meeting, she made sure her guard was up at all times. Remembering Mad Eye Moody's words, Constant Vigilance, she took a deep breath as the woman knocked on a door.
When she opened the door wide, she turned to Hermione. "Would you like some refreshments? We have hot tea, coffee, or water."
She walked into the room, where she was greeted with a red-faced Narcissa Malfoy, who looked like she was on her deathbed. She had dark circles around her eyes, and her skin looked like it was about to fall off her. Turning to look at the secretary, Hermione answered that she would have hot tea.
Mr. Whiskers was sitting in front of her and Mrs. Malfoy, and Hermione noted that he almost looked like her grandfather. His moustache was like the whiskers of a cat; she wondered if that was why he was called Mr. Whiskers.
"Mrs. Weasley, thank you for coming; we know you don't have any knowledge on why you are here," Mr. Whiskers said. "I am going to inform you in a minute, but before I do, I would like to ask you to sign some documents that say that whatever goes on in this room will stay in this room. I understand you are very wary of what is going on, so I am going to explain it to you to the best to my knowledge. How well do you know Draco Malfoy?"
Hermione nodded her thanks as the woman gave her a cup of tea and took a sniff of it before taking a sip. She looked up at Mr. Whiskers and Mrs. Malfoy. She knew they were waiting for her answer, but she didn't really know what to say. So she said what she knew.
"I don't really know much of the man, honestly. I just know he was a prick for picking on my friends and I when we were at Hogwarts. I know he was led to believe some hogwash and was backed into a corner with nowhere to go. I also know that if he was given a second life, he wouldn't be in the position he was in a couple of years back."
"Believe it or not, Mrs. Weasley, everything will make sense in due time. Now please, before we go further, I need you to sign the papers."
Hermione took the papers and went over them, making sure there was nothing hidden between the lines. She printed her name, along with her signature, to show that she understood that whatever happened between the three of them would remain within them.
Narcissa nodded at Mr. Whiskers from the corner of Hermione's eye as the frail old lady dabbed at her eyes.
"Mrs. Weasley, I know you were not the best of mates with Draco during Hogwarts and the war with Tom Marvolo Riddle," Mr. Whiskers continued. "With the permission of his mother, I wish to let you know that young Mr. Malfoy passed away a couple of days ago."
There was a moment of silence, then a little sniffle came from Mrs. Malfoy. Hermione didn't know what to say about all of this as she was not chums with the guy. But for some odd reason, her stomach felt very queasy at the news of Draco Malfoy's passing. Even with him as her child bully him being them the same age he would never wish for him to pass away. Taking a quick glance at Mrs. Malfoy no parent should buried their child before them. Unable to do anything, she looked up at Mr. Whiskers silently. No sound passed between the three, with the exception of the sniffles from Mrs. Malfoy.
It took a while for Hermione to finally ask the burning question that was digging at the back of her mind. "What does Malfoy's death have to do with me? I apologize for the lack of consideration, but I don't think I have anything to do with the Malfoys."
A shake of the head from Mr. Whiskers. "Mrs. Weasley, what is your knowledge on Veelas?"
Folding one leg on top of the other, Hermione responded, "I don't really know much of Veelas as they are magical creatures. I know there haven't been any records of full Veelas since the 1500s. I know there are only a few Veelas left and that, even then, most of them are only half or a quarter of the true mystical creature. They have their own rights, more rights than a citizen in the Wizarding World. And they are protected from the Ministry and Merlin himself for anything between the Veela and their mate."
"Now that we know the extent of your information on Veelas, I wish to inform you that you, Mrs. Weasley, are the mate of Draco Malfoy. Before you ask how we or Draco would know this information – well, Draco obtained his Veela heritage in his sixth year. As we all know, this was the time he was punished by Tom for Draco's father's mistake. Not only was he branded as a Death Eater at a young age, he was given a mission to keep his mum from being tortured by Tom. At that time, Draco didn't know of his heritage then, not until after he was given the mission from Tom. When he gave testimony to the court, one thing he held back was that he killed his Aunt Bellatrix and a few of the Snatchers at the manor for hurting you, Hermione, after you and your friends were whisked away with the help of Dobby."
Hermione's mouth had gone dry. She couldn't believe it.
"Have you ever felt incomplete while you were with your husband, like something was missing? Or like you did not fit into the relationship?"
"Say I am his mate. There is nothing you or anyone else can do to bring Malfoy back from the dead. He is already six feet under, so it is pointless for you to tell me this. Even if he was alive, I am happily married to – "
"Right there is where you are wrong, Mrs. Weasley. If Draco was alive, your marriage to the young man would be dissolved, and your husband would be seeing his mistress openly instead of hiding."
Flabbergasted by what Mr. Whiskers had said, she had no idea of what to say. So he continued on with his explanation of Draco Malfoy.
"Now that Lucius is in Azkaban, he has lost the right of being the head of the Malfoy family. Draco and Narcissa gained that right in his stead. Before he passed away, Draco spoken to Narcissa and they both brought to my attention what they wish to do."
" , my Dragon and I wish for you to have his share of the Malfoy businesses, properties and financials. Once my husband and I pass over, the rest will go straight to you as you are rightfully the owner of the Malfoy fortune. I know this is hard to believe, but we decided that this was the best of action. Mr. Weasley wouldn't be able to touch any of the Malfoy fortune; only your children and yourself will be able to. I pray that we can get together in the meantime for me to train you to understand the way of being a Malfoy."
"WAIT! Wait! Time out! Back up! Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, the boy who hated me since I was eleven years old, who called me mudblood countless times as a teen, had left me half of the Malfoy fortune, and you will be doing the same thing? Just because I am his mate due to him being a Veela. Why the bloody fuck didn't he come to talk to me or even mail me a letter to meet?"
"Mrs. Weasley, my son tried countless times. He mailed you after the battle, the trials, and throughout your last seventh year at Hogwarts. All the letters were sent back to him unopened. He only stopped when he saw the Daily Prophet reporting that you were dating the Weasley boy. He decided to give you up he had pushed away his selfish ways to give your happiness. He pushed away his selfish ways and decided to give you up to give you your happiness. He knew you were infatuated with the boy, even though you were meant to be with him. Plus, why would you even give him a single glance? Like you said, he was your tormentor, the one who bullied you. He could have exerted his right as a Veela to have you by his side, but he decided as his first and last act of kindness not to be selfish," Mrs. Malfoy explained as she tried to stop her sobs.
"I never got any letters at all. The only letters I received were from the Prophet, Ministry, Harry and Ron.." Hermione looked at Mrs. Malfoy, willing her to believe her.
Mrs. Malfoy slipped her hand inside her robes and pulled out a bunch of letters tied together, dropping them into Hermione's hands. Hermione realized that Malfoy had tried to reach out to her from a day after the battle all the way up until the past week. She didn't know what to say or do; she was so shocked about everything.
"Mrs. Malfoy, may I inquire what the total of businesses, properties, and financials are? I don't want to seem greedy, but I just want to ease my curiosity. As a little girl, I wondered what the Malfoy fortune was. Also, what is Mr. Malfoy's opinion on me taking over the Malfoy franchise?"
"Well, Mrs. Weasley, right now, there are 90.5 billion galleons in our vaults. We have at least 10 vaults altogether. Malfoy Apothecary is our main business, though we own many businesses across the world, including Muggle ones. We have a total of almost 2.5k properties across the world as well. Am I correct, Jeffery?" Mrs. Malfoy looked over at Mr. Whiskers to confirm the information.
At a nod from Mr. Whiskers, Mrs. Malfoy continued, "If you accept all of this, I will assist in teaching you the Malfoy way of business, so you can also pass the information on to your children and their children. I will also give you the Malfoy ring, which means you will also be involved with the Sacred 28 families. I understand that you are not a pureblood, but things will be changing, especially now that you are an adopted Malfoy. You can change the views of the other old pureblood families.
As I said, I can assist you in all of this, if you wish. You're welcome to keep your employment at the Ministry, but the rest is up to you." She paused, then continued,
"After Draco told me what his plans were, he let his father know about it too. Lu agrees with Dragon's decision as he knows he was in the wrong for putting Dragon and myself in harm's way. He blames himself for failing the family. He will give his full support to you should you choose to take on Malfoy Franchise, and he will help me to teach you what you need to know. We will treat you like family with no blood bounds at all. "
Hermione sat in her office, well aware that at the bottom of her desk drawer was a glass of whiskey with two shot glasses and Malfoy's letters. She hadn't been able to concentrate on her work since the meeting a couple of weeks ago. Scared out of her mind, she wasn't quite sure if she should open those letters. She wasn't even sure if she accepted being an honorary adopted Malfoy. So many things were running through her mind.
She nibbled on her lip as she wondered what to do. Should she take the offer Narcissa was giving her or leave it? She did say she could keep her job at the Ministry, but she would also be in charge of the Malfoy Franchise. On the other hand, they were both full-time jobs in and of themselves; it would be difficult to balance her work at the Ministry with her work in the Malfoy businesses. She would also have to deal with people questioning why the Malfoys were giving her so much influence, which would probably mean having to tell everyone that Malfoy had been a Veela and she was – or could have been – his mate. Skeeter would have a field day. Did she really want to deal with that? Would this give her the extra push she needed to turn the Wizengamot heads to win some of the laws she was pushing? Maybe it might even assist the older purebloods to change their views on Muggles and Muggleborns. She could even share some Muggle technology with the Wizarding World.
Taking out the bottle of firewhiskey that was hidden in her desk drawer, she poured herself a glass. In the back of Hermione's mind, she remembered that she still kept a little trinket that Professor McGonagall had given her in third year. She did tinker it at the end of that same year so she was able to go back in time instead of a six-hour time difference she had a year or two. Taking a few sips of the strong liquid, she thought that, maybe, she should go back to change things. But would things change out of order? Would she be too late, even if she did change her fate? Would Malfoy treat her better than how Ron was treating her now? So many questions kept going in her mind; she just wasn't sure what to do.
Would it be worth it?