Severus was sitting in his armchair, nursing a glass of Ogden's Finest Firewhisky. The last few days had been incredibly annoying. After making sure Minerva knew that he would fill the last position on staff, he had gone about finding both a manager and a decent Potion brewer for the shop. He put both through rigorous tests until he was satisfied that neither wouldn't blow up his establishment or run it into the ground. Then he had made the tour of his biggest clients to let them know of the changes. Although St Mungo's had been perfectly fine, the Ministry had soon demanded that he give up the Potion teacher's job.

Severus had been only too happy to tell them that he would not, and that they could find a different supplier if they thought it would cause some sort of conflict of interest. Although he had not heard anything else from them since, it had cemented in his mind the fact that they were up to something.

Severus was still paranoid enough to immediately take some precautions. His new employees had been double checked, then brought up to speed with the new security measures that would be introduced in the shop. Severus had personally visited all his suppliers, reminding them that he was expecting to always get the best ingredients - and not anything that had been tampered with or was of low quality. The message had been received loud and clear judging by their faces as he left.

And now the dark wizard sat, watching his fire flicker in the darkness of his living room and wondering just what would happen in the coming months. He took a sip of his drink, then turned his head slightly, watching the rain hitting his windows. The long-promised late summer storm had finally broken over Manchester and Severus was grateful that he had nowhere to be this night.

His doorbell ringing brought him out of his musings. With a frown, Severus rose and took his wand out. Lucius would have used the Floo, since he knew the password. Most others would have sent a Patronus. He made his way down the stairs and slowly opened his front door. He stepped back slightly as a soaked through Hermione Granger smiled slightly at him from his doorstep.

"I need to speak with you. It's about Hogwarts, it's very important, and I can't go to anyone else."

Severus stepped aside and Granger came in after wringing her hair outside the door.

"I'm sorry to turn up unannounced, but then again you might have made sure not be here if I did call ahead."

Severus raised an eyebrow at the woman in front of him, then extended a hand. Granger took off her coat and gave it to him. Severus hang it next to the door, then made his way back up the stairs. He sat back in his armchair and watched as Granger took the wooden chair opposite him.

"Why are you here, Miss Granger?"

"I can't have this conversation with either Harry or Minerva. I won't go to the Ministry, which rules out Kingsley and Arthur Weasley. The rest of the Weasleys don't really speak to me, George apart. And I can't go to him because last time we spoke, he said he was moving and I don't know where to. I don't know where Neville lives. And although I do know where the Malfoys are, I'm not entirely sure what kind of reception I would get from them."

"And that leaves me."

"Yes. But don't think you were my last choice. Actually, you're probably the best placed to help."

Granger stopped talking and took a breath.

"I lied."

"I'm sorry."

"I lied at the meeting. I do know a few things, and others should know as well. That's why I'm here."

She ran a hand through her wet hair and sighed softly.

"I've heard a few rumors over the years, but I couldn't say anything at Hogwarts."

"Why not?"

"Minerva's dying."

Severus sat back as he let Granger's words sink in. She had no reason to lie - that he knew of.

"Her heart is giving out. Had to force her to see someone, and she only accepted because I arranged for her to see a Muggle doctor in the States. She was given a couple of years. She was told to take it easy. She was told to retire. But you know Minerva. She will die before she leaves the school while it's under threat."

Severus could only nod and watch as Granger pulled off her trainers, then put her feet on the chair, wrapped her arms around her knees and put her chin on top. In any other circumstances, he would have sneered at her but the single tear rolling down her cheek somehow stopped him. A wave of his hand had a steaming cup of tea appear on the side table near Granger's seat. The woman raised an eyebrow but smiled slightly as she wiped at the errant tear. She waved her own hand over herself, drying her clothes but leaving her hair damp.

"What have you heard?"

Granger took a breath. "I'm on friendly terms with some of the people working on the American equivalent of the Wizengamot. About 18 months ago, one of my contacts came to me and said that the British Ministry was deliberately making things difficult for Minerva. I would have brushed the matter off except that my friend also heard that the Ministry had petitioned the Wizengamot for what was then called the Unity Laws. These were supposed to bring all members of the magical community closer together, according to the brief. Except that what they mean is forcing marriage on children and putting Muggleborns into slavery."

Granger stopped for a moment and once more raked a hand through her wet curls.

"Why didn't you tell the Headmistress?"

"She doesn't need the stress, damn it," Granger exclaimed, getting up and pacing in front of the fire. "When she started to rope me in to get your presents, I was hoping you would get curious enough to contact me if I dropped a few cards of my own. I would have said something to Harry and Ginny, but I know damn well they would go straight to Minerva hoping that she could make it all go away for them."

Severus nodded slightly at that.

"So what do you expect me to do?"

"Minerva said you'd come up to Hogwarts for the school year. I'm going as well, even if Minerva refuses to let me anywhere near her precious students. I'll just be visiting for a year, or maybe I'll just say I'm trying to reconnect with my roots or whatever other nonsense."

"I suppose this is where I come in."

Granger let out a small chuckle. "Yeah well, she only wishes she could have adopted you too."

Severus narrowed his eyes at the woman opposite him, but he could detect no trace of deception in her eyes.

"Oh yes, my dear ex-professor. I don't know if it's because she never had the chance to have children of her own, or if she just has a thing for strays."

Severus sneered, but Granger only smiled back as she sat back down and reached for her cup of tea. He would have answered but the fire suddenly turned green.

"Are you here, Severus?"

The dark wizard glanced at the younger witch opposite him, who just shrugged and inclined her head towards the fireplace.

"Come on through, Lucius. The more, the merrier," the dark wizard finally snarked.

As the blonde wizard stepped through the Floo connection, he did a quick double take at the witch sitting in what was usually his seat.

"Miss Granger, I didn't expect to see you here."

"I'm sure of that, Mr Malfoy."

Lucius raised an eyebrow at his friend, but the black-haired wizard waved the unvoiced enquiry aside.

"What is, and isn't, secret about what you just told me, Miss Granger?"

"I'll let you be the judge of that, shall we? You know the situation in the UK a lot better than I do. And you have more contacts too. Tell whatever is needed to whoever needs to know, although I would be grateful if some of the most delicate news were to be shared only if truly necessary."

Severus tapped his right index finger on his knee a few times, before lazily conjuring a comfortable seat for his friend. Lucius sat without a word, looking between the other two occupants of the room.

"Lucius, what would you say if I told you that your suspicions were half right. That the Ministry of Magic is planning to pass new legislations that might well impact on the Pureblood lifestyle."

"I would say, how did Miss Granger know anything about this since she's not living anywhere near England?"

Granger actually chuckled at Lucius's words and raised her cup of tea in a silent toast. Severus proceeded to retell Granger's pieces of information, leaving out the problem of the Headmistress's health.

"So you believe that they will force Purebloods and Mudbloods to marry?"

Severus growled at his friend's choice of words, but the Granger girl just smirked and shrugged.

"That's what my contacts think. The American government is not too happy with this, because it means they might well have to deal with another wave of immigrants who cannot integrate themselves into American society without a lot of support. And that means a lot of money spent by the government to help them out."

"Has your friend gotten back in touch with more details?"

"Yes. The CIA managed to get their hands on an early draft of the Unity Laws. Like I explained, they want Muggleborns and Purebloods to marry each other, supposedly to help the magic pool to diversify itself. Halfbloods would be able to petition any of the other two blood groups although there would be preferences given to the greater mix of bloods possible.

"Once married, the couples would have two years to get pregnant. The person of lower blood status would be expected to stay home and care for the children. Muggleborn men might even be expected to carry the child to term if their wives already have a job."

"I assume that this is really hard on your Gryffindor sensibilities, Miss Granger."

Severus shot a warning glance at his friend, but Granger only laughed at Lucius's words.

"Well it might have, if it actually applied to me. I'm an American citizen, Mr Malfoy. I don't follow British laws anymore. Haven't done so in very nearly 9 years." Granger took another sip of her tea before continuing. "I have enough money that I can get my nieces and nephews out of the country if it comes to it. Beyond that, this is your hell, and you're welcome to it!"

The two wizards exchanged another glance. With a slight shake of his head, Severus decided to change the subject for now.

"And what about your business proposition?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"Are you willing to put that technology of yours into the hands of the Ministry of Magic?"

"Ah! I actually wish them good luck trying to steal that tech from me. Sarah is the best lawyer I've ever met and those patents are completely water-tight. And to duplicate the tech, you need to understand computers, so I'm not too worried. By the time they get a prototype working, I'll be long dead and buried."

Severus waved a hand towards his desk and the bundle of papers that was her contract floated to her.

"Signed and dated. But I'm not sure how useful an investor I'll be."

Hermione shrugged and pocketed the contract.

"You still know more people in England than I do."

"I would like to wait a bit longer before giving you an answer, Miss Granger. I am trying to see where this business would fit in the rest of my portfolio."

"Fair enough, Mr Malfoy. I'm happy to wait a few more days, even until the end of next week if you are vaguely interested."

Lucius nodded and Granger then bent forward to reach for her trainers, putting them back on quickly.

"I need to get off and head home. See if Michael has actually posted the hard copy of that draft to me. I'll send you a copy as soon as I can. You'll probably understand the ramifications better than I will. If you need to get in touch before that, ask to use Minerva's or Harry's owls. My wards block entry to all other owl post, and I don't have a Floo connection. I'll see myself out."

Severus and Lucius stayed quietly until they heard the younger witch walked down the stairs and then close the front door shut behind her. Lucius went as far as standing by the window and watching the young woman walk away in the rain.

"What do you think?"

Severus looked at his friend, then drained his glass of Firewhisky.

"I think we're in for a very bad year ahead."

*~*SS*~*HG*~*SS*~*HG*~*SS*~*HG*~*SS*~*HG*~*

Author note: Thanks to samagnus, notwritten, bacrawford5 and jirle for the reviews of the previous chapter. I really appreciate it and I hope you like where this story is headed. And to answer a couple of questions, yes I will tell you how Hermione Granger became Hermione Granger-McGonagall… Just not now. As for Lucius, yes he does have a rather important part to play, as has the rest of his extended family ;)

Also a big thank you to everyone who has favved or followed the story. It means nearly as much to me as actually getting a review.

So all of you can head over to my profile and grab a cookie out of the jar for being special readers. And because I'm in a good mood, everyone else who has read the story can too but just this once :)