Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from J K Rowling's fantastic books or films, I'm just borrowing and playing with them for a little while and get no monetary reward for doing so. Original characters belong to me and bear no relation to anyone living or dead.

A/N: This obviously completely AU story takes place from the holiday before the beginning of the seventh year onwards. It includes a chapter I once posted on here and on Lumos under the title 'The Children' (now removed). It was a snippet of a much larger idea for a story that I hadn't yet written and wasn't sure if I ever would. I have changed the chapter considerably, but it now forms part of this story; this is just a warning in case you read the original and get a sense of deja vu.

WARNING: This story involves non-consensual behaviour and the consequences of such acts including self-harm, suicidal behaviour and alcoholism. Please do not read if this is likely to be a trigger or if you find such descriptions disturbing. Dx

'Don't worry, my sweet, I'll look after you.'

Hermione didn't know whose voice that was and she couldn't bring herself to open her eyes to find out. She was still completely numb, and although she knew everyone would be disappointed in her she couldn't help but wish that she was dead — just as her parents were now dead.

The reminder of what had happened to her parents was enough to have her sobbing again, tears rolling down her cheeks as she remembered that she had to face the rest of her life alone. What made it so much more painful was that despite all the terror and mayhem that Voldemort and his Death Eaters were wreaking, and even after the sadness surrounding the death of Albus Dumbledore, everything had seemed to be going fairly well for Hermione and her friends.

She had returned to her parents' home after the Headmaster's funeral, ready to make her final preparations for the future, which included plans to hide her mum and dad far away from the trouble that was surely coming, in Australia of all places. Hermione knew they had always harboured a desire to visit the country and she felt that giving them this little piece of happiness would make up for the guilt she felt at erasing their memories so they wouldn't remember they had a daughter.

If she survived the coming war she would undo the spell and they could then come home or not, as they wished, but if she died during the upcoming fight against Voldemort, as she strongly suspected she would, then they could live out the rest of their lives without any pain.

Hermione had already begun sorting through six years of magical detritus trying to decide what she needed to take with her when she eventually joined her best friends Ron and Harry at the Burrow. From there, the three of them would undertake a journey following instructions from the late Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore, to find Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes — those pieces of his soul that he had hidden away so he couldn't be permanently killed.

These soul-catchers had to be destroyed before Harry had any possible hope of permanently defeating the Dark wizard and bringing an end to his current reign of terror, which had only just begun to have any real effect on the populace at large. Although her friend thought he was going to do this on his own, Hermione and Ron were just as determined to keep him company, regardless of his likely objections.

Hermione knew there were far more preparations to make at the Weasley family home and considered herself fortunate that she only had to decide which books she needed to take with her and the date of her parents' transformation. Firstly, a wedding was being held at the Burrow at the beginning of August, between the Weasleys' oldest son, Bill, and his stunningly beautiful French fiancée, Fleur Delacour, which meant an increase in the number of people staying at the already over-full home.

To add to the difficulties, Harry was turning seventeen at the end of July, the magical protection that had been afforded him by his mother's family, the loathsome Dursleys, would be broken and Voldemort would be able, and would surely try, to track him down and kill him before he had a chance to retaliate. For this reason, it was vital that they get Harry into hiding before his seventeenth birthday and extra protection spells needed to be placed on the Burrow to ensure the Death Eaters couldn't break through.

Hermione was just waiting for the call from the Order of the Phoenix, who had a plan to get Harry away from his uncle's house and to the Burrow without getting captured or killed by Voldemort, but that wasn't happening until as close to Harry's birthday as they could possibly make it. Until then it was a waiting game, although admittedly an uncomfortably nauseating one.

But then, in the space of a few minutes which had seemed to last a lifetime yet also flashed by in an instant, everything had changed and Hermione was left cast adrift, unable to process what was happening or what would happen in the future. All she knew was that her parents had been killed in an attack by Death Eaters, and instead of being with her friends at the Burrow she was sitting in a cold and dreary office in what she assumed was the Ministry of Magic without any recollection of how she had got there.

Hermione fumbled in her pocket for a tissue, needing to blow her nose as well as wipe away the tears that were still falling. Her hand closed on one that was already used and her fingers automatically sprang away from the sodden paper. She changed hands to search another pocket, finally finding a crumpled but unused tissue, and blew her nose loudly, not caring if anyone could hear her. She had no idea whether the owner of the voice she had heard was still there or if they had left her alone once again, nor did she have any desire to find out.

A few minutes later there was a gentle touch on her shoulder and Hermione finally opened her eyes long enough to look around her. Standing over her was a tall, thin woman she didn't recognise who had long blonde hair and large, round brown glasses. She was trying to wrap a soft red blanket around Hermione's shoulders as she smiled benignly at her.

'Are you all right, my dear?' the woman asked, her voice warm and full of sympathy.

Hermione shook her head miserably, the tears welling up once more.

'My parents—'

'Shhh, dear,' the woman said soothingly, patting her on the shoulder. 'There's nothing you can do to change things so there's no point in distressing yourself any further. I've brought you a cup of hot chocolate. It's nice and sweet so you should drink it. It'll warm you up and help to calm you as you're in shock at the moment.'

The woman picked up a mug from the table in front of Hermione and handed it to her. Hermione wrapped her hands around it, cradling it as she blew on the drink before taking a small sip. It was warm and sweet and, surprisingly, made her feel a little better.

'Where am I?' she asked, looking around the office.

'You're at the Ministry of Magic,' the woman explained gently. 'You were brought here after the accident.'

'It wasn't an accident. We were attacked by Death Eaters,' Hermione insisted.

'We know what happened,' the woman confirmed. 'I am sorry about your parents, Hermione, but at least we managed to get you out alive.'

'Are you from the Order of the Phoenix?' Hermione asked, still confused about where she was and what was happening. 'Were you the one who rescued me?'

The woman smiled again. 'I wasn't the one who rescued you but I am a member of the Order. My name is Alexa Prewitt. We got word from one of our sources that your family had been targeted, but unfortunately, we got there too late to stop the attack. All we could do was get you out before you were killed.'

Hermione bit back the urge to retort that they should have let her die with her parents. Instead, she asked, 'Why did you bring me here rather than taking me to the Burrow?'

'It was too dangerous to take you straight there — we don't really need the Burrow being attacked by Death Eaters as well, do we? The person who got hold of you made a split-second decision and decided to bring you here. At least you're safe now. We're just waiting for Arthur Weasley to come and then he'll take you home with him. He's sorting it out now.' Alexa took Hermione's now-empty mug from her and gave her another smile. 'I know things seem really terrible right now, Hermione, but you'll feel better once we get you settled and you can have a good sleep.'

'Thank you,' Hermione replied politely. She didn't feel grateful because she was still too numb, but there was no reason for her to take out her hurt on this friendly woman who was only trying to help.

'I'm sure there'll be some news soon,' Alexa said. 'Do you want me to stay with you?'

Hermione shook her head and pulled the blanket further around her. 'I'm going to try to sleep.'

'Good idea,' Alexa said approvingly. 'If you need anything I'm only outside. Just give me a shout.'

'Thank you,' Hermione said again, and she watched Alexa leave.

She closed her eyes once more but now she was alone and the hot chocolate had done its work of helping to remove the shock, Hermione was all too easily able to relive the attack, the remembrance of the flashes of kaleidoscope colour that had filled the hallway and lounge exploding in her brain like fireworks.

That was the worst thing, Hermione thought as she reopened her eyes and looked around her bleakly as the tears fell again — that she hadn't even had a chance to try to save her parents. Her father had died instantly as he opened the front door to the Death Eaters, the black-robed, masked figures stepping carelessly over his lifeless body as they searched out and found her mother in the lounge.

By the time Hermione had realised what was happening and grabbed her wand and rushed downstairs to fight them off, various members of the Order of the Phoenix had arrived and were battling the bad guys, but it was too late — her mother was already dead.

Hermione remembered crying out in horror and despair at the sight of both her parents lying on the floor. She had screamed again when a hex, fortunately, badly aimed, just missed her, causing her to stumble as she moved to avoid it. The next thing she knew she had been grabbed by the elbow and there was the wrenching, twisting feeling of being Apparated, and then she was at the Ministry of Magic.

Her mind replayed the words she had heard her rescuer whisper in that moment just before they Apparated — 'Don't worry, my sweet, I'll look after you' — and Hermione shivered as she tried to work out whether she could recognise the identity of the owner of the voice, who had left her before she even had time to open her eyes and look around.

Now she was thinking more clearly she was certain her rescuer was a man. As she continued to think about it, she became more certain she recognised the voice, too, even though the person had spoken only in a whisper. But however hard Hermione tried to picture him she was unable to place him or create even a vague visual impression of him. She could only hope he would accompany Mr Weasley, for she was certain it wasn't he who had spoken, although Hermione knew he would look after her, happily adding her to his already large family just as he had done with Harry.

Was her mysterious saviour a member of the Order of the Phoenix? She assumed he had to be as he had saved her life and was obviously assisting them in their fight against the Death Eaters. Perhaps it was someone she had met only once or twice before and she had picked up on the familiar cadence of his voice. Whoever it was, Hermione hoped she would shortly get to see him again because she really wanted to thank him for saving her, even though part of her still wished she had died with her parents.

Hermione shifted restlessly in the chair, unwrapping then rewrapping the blanket, mainly for something to do as she waited for Mr Weasley to arrive. She didn't like waiting. It gave her too much time to think about the bad stuff. She just wanted to be at the Burrow with her friends, where Mrs Weasley would no doubt give her a huge, comforting hug and a nice drink of something warming and relaxing and then send her off to bed for a good night's sleep. She wasn't sure she would be able to sleep with images of the fight flashing through her brain every time she closed her eyes, but at least she would be with friends and know she was safe. Even if she had a nightmare and cried out someone would be there to hold and comfort her and she wouldn't feel so alone.

She was just debating whether to leave the office and go and find Alexa to talk to when the door opened and a small but disparate group of middle-aged men entered the room. They were deep in conversation and ignored Hermione as they talked.

A tall, well-dressed man with long blond hair was speaking. '. . . I honestly feel it's my civic duty, Cornelius. I would feel terrible knowing that I could have helped but—'

'I really don't think that's the best idea, though, Cornelius,' the balding redhead called Arthur Weasley said, cutting Lucius Malfoy off before he could say anything further. Lucius looked angry at the interruption and Arthur looked flustered. 'Hermione knows and is friends with my children and has been to the Burrow before, and Molly and I are happy to look after her.'

Before the third man, the ex-Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, could respond, Lucius took over again, his voice charming and persuasive.

'It's extremely noble of Weasley to offer Miss Granger a home with his family, Cornelius, but if you consider it properly it's not a very sensible solution. Weasley already has trouble feeding the family he has, and another mouth to feed, clothe and take care of would put a serious strain on his already meagre resources. Narcissa and I, on the other hand, are in the perfect position to offer the girl a home. I'm sure I don't need to point out that we can easily afford to keep her; of course, you have visited the Manor several times and know we can provide a good home with a decent standard of living.'

'You can't send Hermione to the Malfoys,' Arthur retorted, sounding horrified. 'Cornelius, please—'

'Are you insinuating that Narcissa and I aren't capable of caring for Miss Granger, Arthur?' Lucius asked, his voice full of menace.

'She's Muggle-born,' Arthur answered heatedly, 'and I think we're all well aware of your family's views on them, Lucius. What benefit would Hermione gain by going with you? I imagine she's terrified after what happened this evening and I don't think sending her somewhere where she's going to feel uncomfortable and unwelcome is a good way to treat her. She needs to be with people she likes and trusts at this tragic time.'

Lucius raised himself up to his full height, his voice icy as he enquired, 'What are you accusing me of, Arthur? I hope you're not trying to infer that I had anything to do with the attack on Miss Granger's family as that's completely untrue. The Malfoys have far more to offer than you can ever give her. She's an intelligent young woman and we can provide a comfortable existence and inclusion in our family, which will give her many advantages in the future. I know I speak for Narcissa when I say we would be delighted to welcome her into our home . . . and I'm sure she will be a credit to her new family.'

Hermione looked on in stunned dismay as Lucius and Arthur argued over custody of her. Her mind worked overtime as she realised with horror that the voice she had heard was Lucius', that he was the person who had Apparated her from her home. She had been rescued by a Death Eater, not a member of the Order, but she had no idea why. And why was Lucius so eager to give her a home? It was completely out of character. She dreaded to think what would happen if Fudge agreed to his insane proposal.

'Mr Fudge . . .' Hermione began tentatively. When the man turned to look at her, seeming almost surprised that she was there, she took a deep breath and said, 'I want to go home with Mr Weasley, please.'

'See? Hermione wants to be with her friends,' Arthur said triumphantly. He stared at Fudge, awaiting his response.

'But it's patently clear the girl's in shock,' Lucius retorted. 'She can't be expected to make such an important decision like this, not after what she's just been through. Be sensible about this, Cornelius.'

Fudge stared at each of the men in turn for a few seconds, then sighed.

'I fully appreciate your desire to make Miss Granger feel comfortable, Arthur. After the ordeal she's just been through it's no surprise that she's upset and wants to be with people she knows well. But as Lucius so eloquently points out, this is not a viable long-term solution and she is too distraught to be capable of making a rational decision on her own at the moment. It would be remiss of me to send her home with you when an excellent opportunity for a permanent home has already been presented. Surely you wouldn't want Miss Granger to forfeit the chance she is being offered, would you?'

'But why is Lucius so eager to take Hermione in?' Arthur asked, only just managing to keep his temper under control. 'He's never made a secret of his hatred of Muggles and Muggle-borns, so why suddenly start with her? Surely we're not meant to believe he has any kind feeling towards her. Why would he offer such a position within his family when there has never been anything but enmity between his son and Hermione? How can being stuck with people who detest her be the preferred option? Wealth and a large home don't equate to a happy life if there is no kindness there, Cornelius. If you send Hermione to live with the Malfoys she will undoubtedly suffer and it will be your fault.'

'I refute the suggestion that Miss Granger will be unhappy by becoming a member of our family,' Lucius retorted coldly. 'I will admit we haven't always been as inclusive of Muggle-borns as we could have been, but this gives us the perfect opportunity to change that. Isn't that what you and your friends are always bleating on about, Arthur, Pure-bloods and Muggle-borns living in perfect harmony?

'It's also true that there has been some discord between my son and Miss Granger in the past, but that stemmed from Draco's competitiveness and his disappointment at not being top of the class. I can honestly say that part of my interest in drawing Miss Granger into the family is the hope that her sensible and studious nature might rub off on my son and that the two of them becoming family might draw out a deeper appreciation for each other's skills and talents, which will hopefully, benefit both of them and calm the waters somewhat.'

Lucius turned back to Fudge. 'Merlin knows I've made mistakes in the past, Cornelius, but then so have many wizards — even Arthur isn't exactly squeaky-clean, as I'm sure you'll recall. Should my ill-judged behaviour in the past be the block to something that could be good for everyone in the long run?'

Arthur looked set to retaliate again, but before he could say anything Fudge intervened.

'I'm afraid I have to agree with Lucius on this, Arthur. This a golden opportunity for Miss Granger. Lucius and Narcissa are in a position to ensure she is more than adequately cared for. Her superior abilities should help her integrate into their family and social circle quickly enough.

'Of course there is no reason at all why she shouldn't remain friends with your children and I'm sure that once Miss Granger has settled into her new home and had a chance to recover from her tragic and devastating loss this evening Lucius will be happy to allow her to come and stay with you at the Burrow.'

Lucius nodded graciously but couldn't hide his fierce look of glee at getting the ex-Minister's approval.

'I can't believe Rufus would be happy with this decision,' Arthur replied, shaking his head in consternation. 'I'm sure he'll understand the need to keep Hermione with her friends during this difficult time. You know the way things are going, Cornelius. Perhaps we should get him down here and let him decide what to do.'

Fudge looked angrily at Arthur, clearly annoyed at the challenge to his authority.

'I don't think the Minister needs to be involved in this minor matter,' he said, his voice now stiff and dismissive. 'As you say, Arthur, this is a difficult time. Scrimgeour has far more important things to deal with than the re-homing of a student who will be returning to Hogwarts in a few weeks anyway.

'I understand your emotional attachment to Miss Granger because of her friendship with your children, but we have to look beyond that to her future, and Lucius and Narcissa are far better placed to provide her with the things she needs in the long term. As Lucius has said, it's a good opportunity for his family to rid themselves of this ridiculous reputation they have of being anti-Muggle.'

'Anti-Muggle! The man is a Death Eater, Cornelius,' Arthur reminded him angrily, ignoring Lucius who reared up equally angrily at his accusation. 'He was sent to Azkaban for his part in the raid on the Ministry of Magic, surely you remember that? Do you honestly expect me to believe that a Death Eater is going to care for and nurture a Muggle-born?'

Fudge and Lucius exchanged glances before Fudge retorted stiffly, 'There has never been any proof that Lucius is a Death Eater, Arthur. His arrest and incarceration were a terrible mistake for which the Ministry has since apologised to him and his family most wholeheartedly.'

Arthur and Hermione stared at the ex-Minister for Magic in shock at his words, unable to believe what he was saying.

'The arrest was an unfortunate incident that occurred because Lucius just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and the Ministry has accepted that fully,' Fudge continued, running his finger around his collar as if trying to loosen it under their gimlet gazes. 'Now, I won't hear any more arguments on this subject. Miss Granger will go and live with the Malfoys, who will accept her into their home as if she were their daughter. My decision is made and it stands — Scrimgeour would back me up on it if he were here. Now, I think we're done, aren't we?'

Arthur glared at Fudge but knew there was nothing else he could say.

'I'll take Miss Granger . . . or I should say, Hermione, as she's going to be a member of the family—' Lucius grinned mirthlessly— 'I'll take her straight home so she can get settled in. She must be quite exhausted after her ordeal, poor thing, and probably wants a bit of quiet time away to recover.'

When Hermione saw both Fudge's nod of agreement and the defeated expression on Arthur's face she knew she had no choice but to go with Lucius. There was no point in arguing the decision; Fudge had already dismissed her previous attempt as hysterics, and complaining further would only solidify the thought in his mind and confirm that he was right to do this to her.

It was true that she hadn't yet recovered from what had happened earlier that evening but she was certain that going to Malfoy Manor wasn't going to help her. Despite what Lucius had told Fudge she didn't believe he had any intention of looking after her, although she still hadn't managed to work out why he was taking her.

She was pulled out of her reverie by the blond man touching her arm.

'Are you ready to go, Hermione? It's getting rather late and I'm sure you're completely exhausted after everything you've been through this evening.'

Lucius sounded much gentler than Hermione expected, his voice full of concern, but she was certain it was just for show. It was designed to appease Arthur and convince Fudge he had made the right decision, which left her feeling more vulnerable and scared than ever. Perhaps it would have been better if she had died, after all.

She nodded and stood up, shrugging off the blanket, not looking at Lucius as she did so. Instead, Hermione turned her gaze on Arthur, sharing with him a look of despair that made his face contort with sympathy as he struggled to keep his distress at what was happening to her hidden behind a more confident mask.

'Mr Weasley, will you please tell the others that I'll be coming to see you all at the earliest opportunity?' Hermione said. She turned to glance at Fudge, her look making it clear that she wasn't at all happy with his decision. 'Mr Fudge, I hope for my sake that everything does go okay and I also hope you hurry up and catch the people who killed my parents.'

Fudge looked a little discomfited for a moment but then he rallied and told her, 'You've got no need to worry. It's not going to be anything like as bad as you think, Miss Granger. You are going to a lovely home with exceedingly fine people who just want the best for you.' He gave her a small grin. 'In a week's time, I'm sure you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.'

Hermione looked highly sceptical but she replied, 'I'm sure you're right, Mr Fudge, and the quicker I get settled in with Mr and Mrs Malfoy the sooner I can go and join my friends at the Burrow.'

'That's the spirit,' Fudge replied, obviously pleased that Hermione hadn't continued to argue and not noticing the scowl on Lucius' face at her words.

Hermione moved out of the blond man's reach as he tried to take hold of her arm, her voice a little sharp as she insisted, 'I'm fine to walk on my own, thank you, Mr Malfoy.'

Lucius looked as if he was about to retaliate but obviously thought better of it and hurriedly dropped his arm. He turned to Fudge and held his hand out, a satisfied smirk on his face.

'Cornelius, I shall be seeing you soon, no doubt.' The handshake over, he dropped Fudge's hand and stared at Arthur, his face infinitely stonier now. Condescendingly, he nodded. 'Arthur, no doubt our paths will cross again soon, too.'

Arthur returned the nod stiffly but didn't respond to him. Instead, he walked over to Hermione and wrapped his arms around her, giving her the hug he knew she so badly needed.

Quietly he told her, 'I am so sorry about your parents, Hermione. I know how much pain you must be in at the moment and how upsetting Cornelius' decision will have been. Hopefully, it won't be long until you join us at the Burrow. I know Molly is eager to know you're okay, and Ron and Ginny are awaiting your arrival, too. They'll be so disappointed that you won't be joining us immediately. Keep your chin up and don't worry. Everything will be fine.'

Hermione could feel the tears starting again, and although she hadn't thought it possible with the numbness that had inhabited her body since her parents' death she could feel her heart breaking at the idea of being separated from her friends. Even though Fudge had told her she could go to the Burrow eventually, she was pretty certain Lucius wasn't going to let her.

Malfoy Manor wasn't going to be her home, it was going to be a prison — assuming they actually bothered to keep her alive. She had no doubt she was in for a rough time, whatever Lucius may earlier have said about looking after her and making her one of the family.

'Time to go,' Lucius said, his voice a little less warm this time as he made clear his impatience to leave.

Arthur released Hermione and she joined Lucius, preceding him out of the door and into the main office. Outside, Alexa was sitting at her desk, interestedly watching the group emerge. She frowned as she took in the unhappy expression on both Arthur and Hermione's faces, and Hermione's close proximity to Lucius rather than Arthur seemed to confuse her a little.

Hermione glanced at Alexa, noticing her confusion. Wanting someone else to know what was happening, she stopped to talk to her even though she knew Lucius wasn't very happy about another delay. She suspected she might be punished for her actions later, but at the moment she found it hard to care.

Trying to keep her voice as normal as possible despite feeling the urge to wail and scream, both at the loss of her parents and because of the unfairness of what she was being ordered to do by the Ministry of Magic, she said, 'Thank you for looking after me, Alexa. Mr Fudge has decided I should go and live with the Malfoys so I won't be going to the Burrow, unfortunately, but if you need to get hold of me for any reason you can contact me at Malfoy Manor.'

She was gratified to see Alexa's bewilderment turn quickly to alarm as yet another person grasped exactly what a bad idea placing her with the Malfoys was although she was aware it wouldn't make any difference to the outcome. Hermione was still going to be imprisoned in Malfoy Manor, but maybe the more people who knew about it the less likely they were to harm or kill her — she could only hope so, anyway.

'If Miss Prewitt needs to get in contact with you, she can talk to me and I will pass the message on,' Lucius said, a stiff smile on his face that definitely didn't reach his eyes.

He pronounced the name Prewitt as if it was a disease, and Hermione suddenly remembered that Mrs Weasley's maiden name was Prewitt and two of her brothers had been killed by Death Eaters during the first wizarding war. She wondered if they were related to Alexa. Whatever the case, Lucius clearly considered Alexa a blood traitor.

'Don't worry, Hermione, I'll be writing to you regularly just to let you know what's going on,' Alexa said with a smile, subtly hinting to Lucius that she had no intention of letting the girl go easily nor was she inclined to be cowed by his haughty manner. 'We don't want you getting lonely locked away in that big old house, do we, and it's easy to lose touch with the real world in a place like that. I'm sure it's an interesting enough place, to begin with, but once you've been there a while it will no doubt lose its attraction.'

'You make the Manor sound like a prison,' Lucius rebuked, obviously stung by the barb. 'In fact, it's a beautiful and well-appointed house with lots of interesting features and a spectacular garden. I've lived there all my life and never got bored with it.'

'Different things appeal to different people,' Alexa answered cheerfully. 'I suspect Hermione would rather be with her friends at the Burrow playing Quidditch and having fun than stuck in some big dark museum of a house, however well-decorated it might be, Lucius. Anyway, it's always good to have letters — to hear people's news.'

'Of course, contact Hermione as much as you wish,' Lucius replied blandly. 'But now we really must be going. It's getting late and Narcissa will want to sort out a room for Hermione so we can settle her in properly.'

'Bye,' Hermione said, trying to sound happier than she actually was. The numbness was setting in again and she just wanted it to all be over and be alone so she could cry. She followed Lucius, who had swept past her and was walking with Fudge towards the door to the corridor.

'Chin up, Hermione, at least the place is comfortable,' Alexa said as Hermione followed the two men. Arthur stayed with Alexa, the two of them looking anxiously at each other as Hermione gave a wave before finally walking through the door.

'What's going on, Arthur?' Alexa demanded.

Arthur walked over to the door and looked out for a moment to watch the trio walk towards the lift, their stances indicating that Lucius was as elated as Hermione was dejected. He closed the door and turned back to his colleague.

'I'm not sure, but I'm worried about Hermione,' he admitted. 'When I got here Lucius was already talking to Cornelius about taking her. He convinced Cornelius that Hermione would be better off with him and Narcissa because they have so much more money than Molly and me.' His voice fell as his expression turned sad and he sighed loudly. 'That idiot gave her to Lucius without any thought about how he and his family would treat her. He completely refused to acknowledge that the Malfoys have ties to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He even told us that the Ministry officially apologised to Lucius after he was sent to Azkaban because he was wrongly arrested!'

'What?' Alexa looked shocked. 'But he was caught red-handed with the other Death Eaters.'

Arthur snorted with disgust. 'Yes, but you know Lucius. He can sweet-talk his way out of anything, especially where his toady Cornelius is involved. Somehow he managed to convince the Ministry he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and that he joined the breakout because he was so desperate to be away from Azkaban, being an innocent man.

'I know Cornelius thinks he's doing the right thing in providing Hermione with a long term home where they can afford to buy her nice things, but you know what a blind spot he's always had about Lucius and his prejudices. I'm afraid Hermione's in for rather a rough time unless we can get her out of there quickly.

'It was suggested she could come to stay at the Burrow once she's properly settled at Malfoy Manor, but I suspect Lucius will veto that once he's got her home and under his control. I just don't understand what he hopes to achieve by holding onto her. She has no value for him and he must know that she doesn't know anything about the Order of the Phoenix. I just hope he's not planning to finish the job his friends started tonight.'

'How did he even know she was here?' Alexa asked.

Arthur shrugged. 'I've no idea. I don't know whether he was already here with Cornelius when she arrived or whether he was told by one of his Death Eater colleagues that she had been rescued. Whatever the case, he certainly got in quickly. Cornelius had already all but agreed to his request when I arrived to take her back to the Burrow.'

'Is there anything we can do?'

Arthur shook his head. 'Not in the short term, I don't think. I can try to talk to Rufus about it tomorrow, but I honestly think we're too late. Unless Lucius does something to publicly hurt Hermione we're just going to have to hope that he lets her come to the Burrow as he told Fudge he would.'

'Surely Scrimgeour will understand why she needs to be taken away from the Malfoys, won't he? He's not one of their toadies like Fudge is,' Alexa said.

Arthur sighed. 'Probably, but as Cornelius pointed out during our conversation, the Minister has far more important things to worry about at the moment. Hermione is just a schoolgirl, and not an important one as far as he is concerned. If it was Harry that Lucius had tried to take, Rufus would probably have done something to stop him. But even though Hermione is Harry's friend she's not going to be considered worth rescuing, especially with school starting in another few weeks.

'I think we need to keep in contact with Hermione. If things are going badly for her we might have to consider ways to get her away from Malfoy Manor without the Ministry's help . . . although I'm not sure that's going to be easy as it's Lucius Malfoy we're dealing with.'