Chapter 4: Want a Lick?
As usual, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was swarming with overly excited and energetic children, totally in awe of everything around them. One of those children being four-year-old Lyra Granger. She was light on her feet, bouncing from one interesting product to another. Hermione could hardly contain her.
After hearing so many stories about her Uncles' enchanting shop and never being able to go, Lyra was feeling over the moon. Her eyes were wide with obvious delight. And in that moment, Hermione came to find comfort in her decision to move back. As long as her daughter was happy, Hermione was prepared to do anything-even if that meant reconciling with the man who broke her heart. Eventually.
"Oh mummy! May I have one of these? S'il vous plaît!" Please, her daughter pleaded-distracting Hermione from her train of thoughts.
Lyra was pointing to a cage full of pink and purple Pygmy Puffs. A Weasleys' Wheezes bestseller. They were adorable, but there was no way Hermione wasn't letting one in her home. But before she could even voice her disapproval of the fluffy little creatures, someone decided to beat her to it.
"Of course you can, little monkey! Anything for our favorite niece!" Fred Weasley bellowed over the screams of small children. He was standing next to his twin on an elevated platform, watching over the entirety of their shop.
"Uncle Fred! Uncle George!" Lyra squealed with glee as she ran towards them with open arms. Fred caught her, and playfully twirled her around before securely placing her on his side. "I'm your only niece," Lyra giggled, referring to his earlier comment.
"Nuh-uh. There's Jamie!" Fred argued teasingly, bringing up his sister's son.
"James is a boy! He's your nephew!" She told him matter-of-factly, in a voice similar to her mother's.
"Oh, is that so?" He feigned shock, gasping with his hand over his chest.
Hermione smiled in amusement as she walked over to them, "Do you guys mind keeping an eye on her?" She asked sheepishly.
"Of course not, 'Mione. We can take her up to our apartment," George offered. The twins had an apartment above their shop. It's where they lived.
"Or better yet," his twin suddenly exclaimed. "We can make her interim shopkeeper! How does that sound, monkey?" He asked, lightly tapping the bottom of Lyra's chin to get her attention.
"What's an in-inter-interim shopkeeper?" Lyra's brows furrowed in confusion as she struggled to spit the words out.
"It means you get to be in charge of this whole place!" Fred told her exaggeratedly, his free arm gesturing to everything around them.
Lyra gasped, "I get to boss you around?" Her eyes were wide with excitement.
"Oh, monkey. You are your mother's daughter," Fred laughed, earning him a teasing glare from Hermione.
"Thanks, guys! I should be back in an hour or so. I just have some business meetings to attend to with Blaise," Hermione informed them.
"No problem, 'Mione. Take your time! We've missed our pumpkin!" George complained, cooing at the little girl in his brother's arms.
"You just saw her last week," Hermione laughed.
"Exactly. Far too long ago!" Fred huffed exasperatedly.
After promising her daughter she'd be back, she bid the trio goodbye, and set off to find Blaise.
Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, it was inscribed on her charmed galleon. It was similar to the ones she made for Dumbledore's Army back in Fifth Year. She'd given one to Blaise in the beginning of their partnership when he refused to get a Muggle mobile.
She made her way to their aforementioned meeting place, and found him lounging in one of the outdoor tables reserved for customers-devouring an ice cream cone, no less.
"Want a lick?" Blaise offered with a smirk.
"I'm not in the mood for ice cream," Hermione rolled her eyes.
"I wasn't talking about the ice cream," he smiled deviously.
"Oh, Blaise. Do us both a favor, and...sod off!" She huffed in frustration.
She knew he didn't mean any of it. He just loved getting her all riled up. Or at least that's what he told her many years ago when she first confronted him about it-threatening to hex his bollocks off for his incessant flirting.
"I can't," he shrugged. "We both know you'll miss me too much," he teased, flashing her a quick wink.
Hermione internally groaned, "Can we just do what we came here to do, and look at some bloody properties?" She shouted at him, taking her wand out to intimidate him.
They were meant to be looking for a property to house their company's new headquarters, yet here he was, wasting both their times. Hermione's, especially-considering she had a daughter to get back to, but Blaise didn't know that.
Blaise stood up from his seat, and began walking towards the direction of Gringotts.
"You'll like this place-it's a perfect fit for us," he told her as they walked alongside each other. "It's owned by… a friend, so I'm hoping he'll be lenient with the price," Blaise rambled on.
He took her to multiple properties after the first one-just to have other options, but Hermione's mind kept wandering back to the first property he showed her.
The one owned by his friend.
It had every element she wanted their new headquarters to have. To use Blaise's words, it was perfect. At the end of the day, she told her partner to make his friend an offer on the place. Hermione wanted it, and she'd be damned if she didn't get it.
Draco woke up with a pounding headache. He'd been drinking the night before. Again.
Surprise. Surprise.
He'd been meaning to do something about his bad habit for awhile now, but he just hasn't found the right motivation to do so.
He shuffled through his array of expensive clothes as he got ready for work slower than usual. After not-so-careful deliberation, he decided in an all-black ensemble.
Grabbing his wand off the nightstand, he made his way down the grand staircase of his ancestral home, and into the kitchen to grab a quick bite.
"Master Draco!" His house-elf screamed, clearly startled by his sudden presence.
"Good morning, Tilly. Has the Prophet been delivered yet?" He inquired, grabbing a piece of toast, and proceeding to spread jam all over it.
"Yes, sir. Tilly placed it on the table, sir," his house-elf told him.
"Please bring it to me," Draco instructed politely before taking a bite of his breakfast.
Doing as she was told, she apparated out of the kitchen and back within the blink of an eye, the newspaper now in tow. She placed it in front of him as he finished up his toast.
Without even bothering to look at the front page, Draco rolled up the newspaper, and apparated to his office.
He threw the newspaper down on his desk as he proceeded to disrobe. He walked over to his closet-yes, he had a closet in his office, and hung his coat up. After doing so, he headed towards his assembly of alcoholic beverages to concoct himself something to drink when a knock echoed throughout the room.
It was his secretary.
"Good morning, Mr. Malfoy," she greeted. He couldn't remember her name. "Your first meeting of the day is with a...Mr. Blaise Zabini," his bint of a secretary informed him as he poured himself a glass of Ogden's finest.
She continued to ramble on about his schedule for the rest of the day, but he completely tuned her out as he shifted his focus on the Daily Prophet in front of him.
The headline made him choke on his drink.
HERMIONE GRANGER OUT ON A STROLL WITH HER ITALIAN BEAU
After four long years of speculating the famous Muggle-born's whereabouts, Miss Granger was finally spotted in our corner of the world. In regards to where she's been all these years, a source close to the witch informed The Daily Prophet about her past employment in the French Ministry of Magic. However, it appears that a job is not the only thing Miss Granger found in the city of love. That's right. Harry Potter's best friend was seen wandering the streets of Diagon Alley with none other than the very wealthy and very handsome, Blaise Zabini. Witnesses say that the rumoured couple looked very much in love, and that Mr. Zabini couldn't keep his hands off his beloved.
Upon further investigation, it appears that the rumoured couple have been working alongside one another for many years. Sources say they were very close when they both returned to Hogwarts for their Seventh Year. The pair allegedly reconciled when Mr. Zabini was working for the Italian Ministry of Magic as their international liaison. And as Deputy Head of the International Magical Cooperation Department, Hermione Granger was destined to cross paths with her lover sooner or later. The duo soon terminated their relationship with their respective Ministries, and formed a company of their own.
Thanks to his beautiful mother and her wealthy deceased husbands, Mr. Zabini was already a very well-off wizard. Adding to the fact that his company with Miss Granger grew to be one of the biggest Potions distributor in all of Europe just added to his already vast wealth. Miss Granger certainly caught herself a good one.
Miss Granger on the other hand, who owns the majority of the company, found the cure for Lycanthropy, and became successful and wealthy in her own right. According to our calculations, her wealth might even rival that of the Malfoy's. Mr. Zabini certainly found himself a gem-beauty and brains.
Neither party could be reached for a comment, but I'm sure they'd agree when we say, they are certainly a match made in heaven.
"Sir? Mr. Malfoy, sir?" Draco heard his secretary's voice resonating in the background-trying hard to get his attention.
The newspaper fell from his hands and onto his desk as his body sunk deeper into his chair-his shoulders slumped in disbelief.
He had no right to feel this way. Jealousy. Betrayal. Defeat.
Hermione wasn't his. Not anymore. Apparently, she was someone else's now.
He should have been happy to hear that she was finally back in the country. It meant she was done hiding...done hiding from him. But to hear that she's finally moved on with someone else, someone he knew and considered his friend...it was hurting him.
She was so close, yet so far out of his reach.
He was proud to hear how successful she's gotten. So proud. He always knew that she was meant for greatness. When he first found out about her success in finding the cure for Lycanthropy, he wanted to reach out to her. Tell her congratulations. Tell her how proud he was of her accomplishments-not that it mattered coming from him.
He decided against it because even though Draco was a selfish man-that much was true, he didn't want to tarnish what was perhaps one of her happiest memories. He didn't want to ruin that for her.
"Mr. Malfoy, sir!" His assistant called out, shaking him out of his reverie. "Mr. Zabini is here. Should I tell him you want to reschedule?" She asked him, noticing his absent-mindedness.
Just the man he wanted to see.
It took him a moment to process what she said, his grey eyes just staring straight ahead as if they were piercing right through her.
"N-No! Send him right in," Draco drawled as he straightened up his posture.
A/N: It's been awhile...What do you guys think of the revised version so far? Is it worse than the original? Better? Please let me know! And am I overdoing it with Blaise? Do I need to tone it down with him? Haha. I know you guys didn't want him ending up with Hermione, do you still feel that way? How do you guys feel about Lyra? Cute? Annoying? Bit of a brat? Let me know if you guys have any idea on how you want Draco and Lyra to meet! In the original version, I had them meet in a Quidditch shop and a lot of you guys found that pretty cute, but I think I made Lyra much older in the original so I don't know how I'm going to do it now. Looking forward to hearing your guys' concerns/suggestions!