The next three weeks flew by in a breeze. Hermione found herself able to come home every day at a reasonable time. She wasn't sure how but Abby always had a nice warm meal waiting. She never came home at the same time, 5, 6, sometimes and yet, Abby always knew. Stomping her feet, dusting the fresh snow off her coat, Hermione let the warm of the small flat envelope her with a sigh of relief. The smell of lamb stew filling the area.
"Abby, it smells delicious." Hermione called out. Though she said that almost every day. Seeing the elf's smiling face peek out of the kitchen at her greeting always made Hermione fill with warmth. Sometimes it even made the sting of Ron not calling a little better.
"Thank you Miss! Hurry, hurry, let's get you out of that coat and warmed up. Really Miss Abby is not sure why you walk to and from work in this kind of weather. You could apparate Miss." The motherly way Abby spoke, caring for her Mistress' health as she took Hermione's coat popping it on a hook. She hopped about the little house.
"I like the walking to work. Keeps me grounded in the fact that I'm Muggle born Abby." Hermione had given up trying to get Abby to call her anything but Mistress or Miss. Though she had squashed 'My Lady' and 'Madam' out of the little elf. Abby nodded setting her thin lips in a small smile.
"Yes. Many a great men and women were born to muggles like yourself. Go. Go." Abby all but pushed Hermione into the kitchen. "Abby has put a bowl of soup and some bread out for you. A nice jug of warm mead too. Unless Miss would prefer icy pumpkin juice. Go eat Miss." Even as she pushed Hermione into the kitchen the front doorbell rang. "You eat Miss. Abby will answer the door." Giving a little chuckle to herself, Hermione sat down at the freshly scrubbed table. Just as she had said there was a hearty bowl of soup and freshly baked bread.
"Hello Sir! What can Abby do for you at this time? Have you come to see my Mistress?" Hermione rolled her eyes trying the lamb soup as she listened to Abby speak to the caller.
"What the devil? Since when did the- Granger get a House Elf? Though she was all against that kind of stuff. Didn't want slaves in her presence." Hermione's brow furrowed as she listened to the man speaking to Abby. She didn't recognize his voice right away. Something to the sneer in it. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know who was at the door. Probably some Ministry Official who thought he was more important than he was.
Part of her had hoped that it would be Ron. Harry she had spoken to many times while at work. He hadn't mentioned Ron and Hermione hadn't asked. She simply figured that when Harry got tired of his whining, and she knew Ginny would get tired faster than Harry, that he would mention something about her forgiving him as he usually did.
"Abby is not a slave sir! Abby is getting paid to be here for Miss Hermione. Abby is, Abby is Miss Hermione's friend. Now. Who can I tell Miss Hermione has come calling at such a late hour?" Abby knew how to hold them off, that much was for sure. Wiping at her mouth, dabbing the smidge of soup she hadn't managed to lick up. Pulling off a hunk of bread she chewed before pulling herself up to go and see who was at the door.
"Friend." The man spat the word, fueling a fire in Hermione as she left the kitchen rounding into the parlor. She looked up shocked. "Tell her it's Lucius Malfoy."
"Leave! Leave now and I won't curse you." Hermione threatened her hand clasping at her wand. She'd pulled it out without thinking. Just the sight of him had brought up such mixed feelings of fright and anger. She had heard that he was being released from Azkaban after the Battle at Hogwarts. He hadn't paid his way out as far as Hermione knew. Not that Kingsley would accept that kind of thing. Not from him. His long hair had been cut short, almost to the scalp but she recognized the curl of disgust on his lips.
"Ms. Granger. I assure you. I am not here to make your life more difficult. On the contrary." The curl on his lip only grew though it was not because of Hermione. "I am here to ask you for a favor." Hermione felt the white hot rage that built up inside her close to exploding. "Help! You? A favor! Get. Out. Of. My. House." Hermione snarled sending a flash of red just beside Lucius. The man narrowed his eyes at Hermione.
"You stupid girl. You're not even going to hear me out?"
"Hear you out?! Hear you out? You, who." The fury built and Hermione raised her wand, ready to curse him off her doorstep. Just as she opened her mouth, the curse ready on her lips, a flash of bright light erupted between her and Mr. Malfoy. Abby, a vivid fury on her face, little hand held out.
"You is not to be speaking to my Mistress like that no sir! Abby is knowing who you is! You is Abby's father's old Master. Now you go. Go before Abby steps aside and lets her Mistress curse you like she said." Hermione felt touched looking down at the little elf. Though the site of an angry Mr. Malfoy sprawled out in the fresh snow did help mollify her a little.
"Go Mr. Malfoy. Do not come back here. I don't know how you found out where I live but thank you. Now I know that I do need to have a Fidelius Charm put on it. I've wondered, ever since they let you out of. You just confirmed my worries is all." Hermione steeled herself, hand on her door as she watched him collect himself.
"Do you really think I am here to harm you? I haven't even got a wand. Not yet. I'm here because I need your help. My son needs your help."
"That's not my problem Mr. Malfoy."
"He'll die Hermione!" Her hand paused in the midst of shutting her door. She didn't know if it was the terror in his voice, or the fact that he had called her anything other than an insult. "Please. If I thought that going to anyone other than you or the boy wonder himself would help I would. Believe me." Mouth in a line so thin McGonagall would be proud, Hermione opened her door, stepping aside.
"Well then, you had better come in and tell me what the fuss is all about. One wrong move though and I'll have Abby throw you out faster than you can say Devil's Snare." Hermione threatened leading him into her little flat. "I was just eating. You are welcome to some if you're hungry. It's delicious. Abby is quite the cook." Hermione settled back into her seat, Abby beside her on a bar stool that she'd conjured. The little elf had her arms crossed over her thin chest, glaring at the blond man who had insulted her Mistress.
"Right, well then either tell me what the devil you meant by 'He'll Die' or get out. I'm sure that you didn't come all this way, make all this fuss, just to watch me eat." Hermione muttered darkly, watching him while she rose a spoonful of soup to her mouth. She ate it quietly, dipping a bit of bread in the tasty broth. Mr. Malfoy had refused any food not to Hermione's surprise.
"Even now, there is no pretending that you are easily one of the brightest minds of a century. If anyone could save him." Lucius closed his eyes for a moment. One leather covered hand closing into a tight fist for a moment. His grey eyes, usually so cold, looked open, distraught. "Draco has been dabbling with a different kind of magic. Something strange. Time." The spoon in Hermione's hand clattered to the bottom of her bowl.
"Time?! Draco has been messing with time but why? Doesn't he know? Doesn't he realize?"
"Yes, yes he knows! Does he realize, the problem is Miss Granger that I don't think he cares. My son is well he's got this idea in his head that if he can harness the power of time, almost like a time turner he can change things. He can change." Lucius pressed his lips together. "He thinks he can change me."
"There aren't any time turners left though. They were all destroyed how does he think he can, what would he even change." Hermione shook her head. None of this was making any sense. "Even if I could stop him. What makes you think that he would listen to me?" Hermione asked all the different things that he was saying, none of them were making since. Time Turners were very, very difficult magic to harness. Not many knew how the Ministry had gotten their hands on so many to behind with.
"Mr. Malfoy," Hermione sighed a little. ", Time-related magic is unstable, and serious breaches in the laws of time result in catastrophic events. Possible scenarios include a wizard or witch killing their past or future selves by mistake, or altering one's life path in such a drastic fashion that it can result in temporal anomalies such as un-births. Is he willing to possibly cease to exist in order to keep you from Azkaban again?"
"I think so." Was his solemn reply.