Discalimer: I own none of the names you recognise and very little of the plot. 99.99% of the credit goes to Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I've simply taken the dialogue between two of her characters, changed and altered it slightly to bring it into the Harry Potter world and added a few of my own bits to it. I hope you like it!

ooo

Hermione stepped into the orphanage and she was hit with the warm smell of freshly baked apple pie. Doing the mental calculation in her head she realised that it was the last Friday of the month and she smiled before making her way to the kitchen.

"You know, it's a good thing you only make those pies once a month otherwise we'd have some kids with serious sweet teeth on our hands." Hermione said to Lisa, the orphanage's head chef.

Lisa looked up and smiled welcomingly at Hermione before it tapered off in the corners. Lisa was probably one of the most up beat people Hermione had known throughout her life and if something was causing her to frown it was something bad.

"What's wrong? Is it one of the kids? Are they okay?" Hermione asked quickly. She stuck her head out of the kitchen door expecting to see an injured child limping their way through the corridor. She was met with empty hallway as was expected on such a warm day as today. All the children would probably be playing outside in the sunshine whilst the older kids would either be kicking a ball around or tanning themselves as the girls had suddenly taken to in the last few years.

"No, the kids are all fine. Lavender's playing with them out in the garden. I-did you hear the news?" Lisa asked quietly.

Hermione's forehead creased. "What news?"

Lisa's eyes widened. "About the take-over of SS Potions."

Hermione sighed before nodding her head in answer. SS Potions was a company set up by Neville Longbottom. It made potions for St Mungo's and other apothecaries and was set up in remembrance of their old Potions master Severus Snape. Hermione always thought it was ironic that Neville had done such a thing, especially since she knew how hard Professor Snape had been on him in their Potions classes back at Hogwarts over twenty years ago. Yet he had and not only was it an incredibly successful company but it had also been the orphanage's sole benefactor.

Sure they got small donations every now and again but that certainly wasn't enough to keep the orphanage running on a day to day basis. Neville being an orphan himself had seen how valued and needed the orphanage was and had decided to donate a slice of his profits every year to keep the home running. A slice of the profits was a lot of money when the profits were in the millions.

However it was this year that Neville had decided to sell his company. He and his wife Hannah were finally having the baby they had desperately longed for over the years and Neville wanted to spend every second at home with his wife and new born child. Hermione was happy for her old friend's early retirement but it did bring financial insecurity for the orphanage.

Neville had tried to assure her that he would try to find a new owner who would gladly carry on donating the money to the charity but it was proving difficult. Not everyone had his kind heart and with Hannah's due date coming closer and closer, Hermione knew he was feeling the pressure to sell quickly.

Hermione shook her head; she had trust that Neville would make the right decision and until they had further details and confirmed proof on who the new owner of the company was then Hermione wasn't going to worry herself unnecessarily over the matter. She decided to share her decision with Lisa only to find Lisa frantically shaking her head as Hermione spoke.

"No! Apparently Neville's already sold the company." She said hastily.

"What?" Hermione said shocked. She would have thought that Neville would have owled her as soon as possible, if not before hand when he finally found a person to sell to.

"He sold it to Draco Malfoy." Said Lisa.

Hermione froze and just stood there staring into Lisa's wide eyes. "Draco Malfoy? That can't be right." Hermione finally said, head shaking in disbelief.

Lisa nodded her head, "He did; it was in the Prophet today. Neville sold it to Malfoy last night and this morning Malfoy's giving a speech outside the company on what he plans to do with it."

"What do you mean what he plans to do with it?" Hermione asked sharply.

Lisa gulped nervously before speaking. "There are rumours that he wants to close the place down and build some kind of rich people's apartments instead."

"What!" Hermione yelped. "But it's a company. A successful company. Neville's company! He can't seriously just close it down; what about the potions they make for St Mungo's? What about the hundreds of people that work there?"

"What about our orphanage? If he closes the company we aren't going to be getting any donations from the profits! And I struggle to see Malfoy dipping his hand into his own pockets."

Hermione reeled back at the possible consequences. This couldn't be true. Neville couldn't have possibly sold to Draco Malfoy of all people. Anyone but him.

"I think you need to talk to Neville. Find out the truth about what's going to happen to us." Lisa said worryingly as she bit her bottom lip. Hermione's own lip was also being nibbled on by her teeth.

"Yes you're right. What time is it?" Hermione asked as she checked her watch, "Will you and Lavender be alright by yourselves for a little while?"

"Yes go, go." Lisa said, flapping her hand towel at Hermione in a shoo motion.

Hermione nodded before walking out of the kitchen and into her office. Her mind was still buzzing at the incredulity of the situation. Draco Malfoy! She didn't know much on her old schoolmate apart from the fact he was quite rich from running his various sport companies and that he was divorced with a son, Rose's age. She hadn't seen him in years…the last time being at Ron's funeral.

Hermione blinked her eyes at the sudden onslaught of tears that appeared and tried to shake off the suffocating despair that settled down on her heavily. Oh Merlin, how she missed him. Ron had been her everything; husband, lover and best friend. It would be exactly fifteen years this year since his death and she still remembered the bittersweet memories. His laughter, his jokes, his hunger- not just for food but for life in general and his arms wrapped around her tightly, telling her that she had a place in this world and it was right there with him, by his side.

She closed her eyes and tried to remember the warmth of his body but all she felt was a cooling draught come in from the open window. For so long after his death she had felt such incredible anger at him for leaving her. For leaving her alone to look after two young children by herself. She had told him not to go on that Auror mission; she'd had a horrible dream two nights before he was planning on leaving and she had begged him to stay. He had simply held her close and told her that it was just a dream. He and his team would catch the runaway Death Eater and he'd be back in time for dinner. He had laughingly told her that he expected a pot roast on the table as soon as he stepped through the door.

Well they had caught the Death Eater but not before he had shot the Avada curse at Ron. The spell hit its mark and the pot roast went cold.

Looking back she didn't think she would have survived if it wasn't for Rose and Hugo. They had saved her from her abyss of grief; if she didn't want to live for herself she had to live for them. With the surrounding warmth of her and Ron's family she had survived.

If only Ron was still alive.

I miss you so much. Why did you have to leave me behind?

ooo

Thirteen minutes later

Hermione stepped through the floo and was greeted by a half guilty, half happy looking Neville. She was confused at the look on his face but her questioning words died on her mouth as she heard a wail carry its way through the house. Shocked, she looked at Neville for confirmation, a smile making its way onto her face as she saw the delight on his.

"Hannah had the baby yesterday night. He's early, three weeks but in perfect health." Neville beamed.

"Oh Neville, congratulations!" Hermione said as she moved forward to hug him.

"We've decided to call him Frank after my father you know." Neville said.

For some reason Hermione felt tears in her eyes and she rapidly blinked them away, "Your parents would be so proud."

"I hope so." Neville said.

Hermione smiled, "No, they would be. Look at you, a healthy baby boy. It's so great! How's Hannah feeling?"

"She's good," Neville said as he showed Hermione to the chairs. "Refusing to rest of course. I think I might need to drug her with one of the potions to get her to sleep so I get a chance of holding Frank."

At the word potions both Neville and Hermione were brought back to the reason on why Hermione was here.

"I know what you're thinking Hermione. I was going to tell you but it's been so crazy." Neville said.

Hermione stopped him with a wave of her hand. "I understand Neville, really. It's fine." She said. As much as Hermione wanted to yell and shout she couldn't blame Neville for the baby coming early.

She hesitated before speaking, "I just- is it true? Draco Malfoy?" The look on Neville's face told her the answer and she didn't need to finish her sentence.

"I'm so sorry Hermione. I know I told you that I would find an owner who would be happy to carry on our arrangement but with Frank coming early and Malfoy offering nearly double what everyone else was - I couldn't really say no."

Hermione waved her hand again to shake off his words. "I understand."

"Maybe if you had a meeting with him, discuss with him what our arrangement was. You never know, he might be happy to carry on donating the money the orphanage needs. I'd be happy to carry on donating too if you can't find anyone else."

Hermione shook her head. She had no doubt that Neville would carry on donating the money but it was one thing when it was company profits and another when it was his own pocket. He had a baby to think about now too. It wouldn't be right.

"No, I'm sure we'll be able to find someone else if Malfoy won't." Hermione said as she stood up.

"I really am sorry." Neville repeated.

"I know. We'll figure something out. Tell Hannah I said congratulations okay." Hermione said as she moved closer to the fireplace.

"I will."

"Bye Neville."

"Bye Hermione."

ooo

Two minutes later

"Well?" Lisa asked hopefully.

Hermione shook her head and Lisa's face fell. "It's true. Neville sold to Malfoy yesterday."

"What are we going to do?" Lisa asked Hermione worryingly.

Hermione sat down at the table in the middle of the room and ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. It was times like these that she wished she wasn't manger of the orphanage and she didn't have the fate of little children in her hands. After Hugo had followed Rose off to Hogwarts she had found such an empty hole in her life that she decided to quit her part time job in the Department of Mysteries and take up a volunteer position at the orphanage. She didn't have to worry about things financially and it was a chance to be around children again. Slowly, over the years she had worked her way up to a managerial position. Now everything that occurred in the orphanage whether it was from what food was eaten to what bed time the kids had went through her first.

She didn't mind the responsibility but right now she wished it fell on someone else's shoulders instead of hers.

"What did Neville say?" Lisa asked her.

Hermione quickly told her everything from their short conversation.

"He might have a point." Lisa said.

"Hmmm?"

"About meeting with Malfoy. You never know, he might be willing to carry on making the donations."

"If he doesn't care about the hundreds of people that are going to lose their jobs when he shuts the company then I doubt he'll care about giving money to help orphaned kids."

"Closing the company is just a rumour. We'll find out the truth when he gives his speech today." Lisa reasoned.

Hermione's head flew up. That's right, he was giving his speech. Maybe she could talk to him about the orphanage there. It would only take a few minutes and as much as she didn't want to, she owed it to the kids and the other workers in the orphanage to try.

"What time is he giving the speech?" Hermione asked.

"The prophet said noon."

Hermione glanced at her watch and saw she still had a few hours to go. "I'll go and talk to him there then."

Lisa nodded her head somewhat sympathetically before turning around and cutting a huge piece of pie. "You look like you need this." She said as she placed the plate in front of Hermione. "I'll make you up some coffee too."

Hermione gave her smile of thanks before tucking in. If she was going to face Draco Malfoy after all these years, she definitely needed comfort food regardless of what it might do to her body.

ooo

Three hours later

Hermione stood in front of SS Potions and she was horribly disappointed. Malfoy was rounding off his speech and instead of clearing up matters liked she had hoped, he had been annoyingly vague on his plans for the company. It was as if he was being purposefully confusing which Hermione thought spitefully, he probably was doing.

Hermione watched as he finished speaking and started making his way off the podium. She moved forward in his direction but the clamour of reporters in front of her made it impossible to get within fifteen feet of him. With trepidation she watched him disappear into the SS Potions building. Her heart fell slightly. She had been hoping to talk to him in the presence of other people but it seemed she would now have to arrange for a meeting with him that would undoubtedly be held in private.

Hermione sighed and instead of adhering to her first instinct of leaving, she gathered every ounce of her Gryffindor courage before following in his footsteps and walking into the building. She knew where Neville's office had been on the top floor and doubted Malfoy would have moved from the elevated spot so she walked towards the lifts. The chances of her being turned away by his own personal secretary were a lot less than being turned away from the front door receptionist. She was hoping that Malfoy hadn't had a chance to make any staff changes and Hilda, Neville's old receptionist, might be more accommodating.

As she stepped through the lift doors she saw Hilda look up from her desk and the familiar smile calmed Hermione's nerves.

"Mrs Weasley, how lovely to see you. I trust you've been to see Mr Longbottom?" Hilda asked.

"Yes, I've been to see Neville and he filled me in on what's happening. Is there any chance I could have a quick word with Mr Malfoy?" Hermione replied.

"Let me just check with him." Hilda said to her as she stood up from her chair and went to knock on Malfoy's office door. "Take a seat dear, I'll be out in a little while."

Hermione smiled in thanks before taking a seat in the waiting area. She had been waiting for precisely seven minutes and forty two seconds before she heard a door open and Hilda's old shoes click clacking her way.

"Mr Malfoy will see you now, Mrs Weasley."

Hermione rose from her chair and crossed the reception to Malfoy's office. She opened the door quietly and stepped inside, before turning around and clicking the door shut.

Draco Malfoy didn't look up from his position at his desk and Hermione felt an uneasy feeling build up inside her stomach. In the silence she glanced around the office taking in the minor changes he'd made. Neville's old desk was still the same except unlike Neville, who preferred to do business informally in the separate couch area of the room; Malfoy had seen fit to remove the whole area. The move made the room look a lot bigger and if Malfoy's intention was to make the walk to his desk for the visitor similar to walking a ship's plank, he'd succeeded.

Hermione moved her gaze over to him. He was wearing a white shirt, a black tie, black trousers and a black robe hung of the back of his chair. The picture didn't make him look any less foreboding than he looked at Hogwarts with his pitch black robes.

Hermione tried not to let the silence throw her and she kept her mouth shut, waiting for him to speak first. It had been a long time since she'd witnessed such severe stillness that she was unsure of what she should do to break it. Speaking was out of the question and even the small action of clearing her throat to get his attention was something she found herself unable to do. For some horrible reason she had a feeling he was perfectly aware she was in his office and he was ignoring her on purpose.

The antisocial gesture made her realise just how useless her task was. Draco Malfoy had been a selfish, impossible boy in Hogwarts and clearly he hadn't changed one iota. Without wasting another second Hermione promptly turned on her heel and reached for the doorknob.

"Where do you think you're going?"

She turned in surprise at the fact he had spoken and replied steely, "This is evidently a bad time Mr Malfoy. I shall make an appointment when you are a little less busy."

"I'll be much busier in the future. The best time for this meeting is at present which is why I agreed to it." He made a sharp nod to the lone chair in front of his desk.

The action made Hermione instantly angry and she had half a mind to ignore him and walk out but she refused to be so childish. With what she hoped was a masked expression and very little stalking, she walked over and sat down opposite him.

"And what can I do for you Mrs Weasley. I doubt you've come to offer your congratulations at my acquiring the company?"

Hermione could plainly hear the sarcastic underline of his words in his tone and did her best to ignore it.

"I'm here to talk to you about the Wizarding War Orphanage. I'm not sure if you are aware of the fact that every year a slice of profits that SS Potions made was kindly donated to us by Neville Longbottom. I'm here-" She was cut off.

"You're here to see if I'm going to carry on donating money to your little orphanage." He said, eyebrows raised with a curious look on his face.

Hermione bristled at his demeaning words.

"I must tell you that I plan to close the company."

Hermione froze. His speech had made it seem like he hadn't made a decision and yet here he was telling her with deadly certainty that he planned to close the company. "Closing the company will have unconceivable consequences, not just on the economy, but to St Mungo's and to the workers here. SS Potions is an extremely successful company; surely it would be better for you to carry on its work rather than close it down?"

Malfoy raised his eyebrows, "And keep a company that refused to give me a job when I graduated Hogwarts because of my last name and the fact that I was once a Death Eater?"

His question shocked her and she had no clue on how to reply.

"Well Mrs Weasley?"

His eyes were darkened with hostility and Hermione realised that he really didn't care about anything other than his petty revenge.

"You intend to punish hundreds of innocent people because you were wronged once twenty years ago?" she asked failing to keep the incredulity out of her voice.

"Is that what you think I'm doing?" he asked.

"You've just told me that's what you plan to do. If you shut this company down the ramifications could be deadly. St Mungo's buys stock from the company as and when it needs them because of storage difficulties. The hospital won't have enough time to seek feasible alternatives before stocks run out. Patients could be hurt if they don't get the potions they need," Hermione paused hoping he would inject and tell her that he understood and that he had changed his mind. He didn't so she pushed further, "and what of the people that work here? SS Potions is the only such company in the country. Workers would be forced to move to other countries in order to work in the same field. You would be uprooting their entire lives."

"And of course there's the fact that your orphanage would probably be forced to close as a result of no funding." He said, ignoring what Hermione had just said previously. "I'm a businessman Mrs Weasley. You don't get ahead by worrying about how your actions affect everyone else."

Controlling her anger, Hermione leant forward in her seat. "Perhaps you might change your view on the matter if you saw first hand what good we do at the orphanage. Maybe you could spare an afternoon from your heavy work load and visit us? I could give you a tour and you would get a chance to meet the kids there."

"I'm afraid with my current schedule taking an afternoon off isn't a possibility." He said. Hermione noticed the mockery in his eyes as he said the words, referring to the sarcastic tone she had just used when talking about his heavy work load.

Hermione leant back in her chair and her eyes fell to her clasped hands in defeat. "There is nothing I can say to change your mind?"

She could feel his eyes burning into her forehead but she couldn't make herself look up into them.

"Maybe there is." He said softly and she heard him lean back in his chair. When she looked up to face him, his features gave nothing away. "We can discuss it over dinner on Saturday evening, I'll send a portkey at seven." He said.

Hermione started. He wanted her to have dinner with him? Her first reaction was to immediately refuse but she caught the yelp of no before it could escape her mouth. The stakes were too high for her to simply refuse because she hated the man in front of her. "I'm a big girl Mr Malfoy. If you tell me the name of the restaurant I'm sure I'll manage to find it myself."

"We won't be dining in a restaurant." He said before continuing once he saw the confused look on Hermione's face, "I don't allow anyone onto the grounds of Malfoy Manor unless they've been sent a portkey directly from me."

His eyes challenged her, expecting her to give up but she refused to back down to such a bully. "Very well." She said before grabbing her purse and standing up from her chair. She lifted her head to face him before she left only to see he had already returned his attention to the papers in front of him. Feeling thoroughly dismissed, Hermione left his office without bothering to say a polite goodbye.

ooo

Author's Note: So there we have it. What did you think? Worth carrying on? Let me know either way so I know what to do. Until next time (whether it be for this story or another) Curiositykils.