Chapter Ten

"What cause?" Hermione asked the Minister. "Do you mean of papa? Have you figured out why he died?" An array of questions were on the tip of her tongue and she was ready to ask at any moment.

"That is precisely what I mean, Miss Granger-Allemande." The Minister's strides into their living room were long and slow. It was painfully unfortunate that delivering this kind of news was one of his duties. He had known Louis Allemande since before Stefan was born back when his mother was still in the picture. She had left because of Louis's obsession with the arts and figured that any child of his would end up the same. Back then it had fallen to the Minister to tell his best friend that his wife had left the hospital and their newborn son there all alone. "We have read his Last Will and Testament and in it there is a statement explaining his early demise." He placed the Will on the table and let Hermione read it.

Stefan was in the corner of the room listening intently to his sister's words.

"'I'm sorry not to have told you before but I was afraid. I thought that if you found out after I was gone that it would be easier to accept. I was told a very long time ago that I would not live to be very old because of the condition I was born with. It is the same reason I could create such beautiful works of art. I was told that one day, my brain would simply fail me and I would not wake to see the next day. It was just after Hermione came into my care that I was told all these things and the people at the hospital told me to cherish every moment I live. I listened to them and I lived much longer than I was expected to. I am happy that I was able to see the two of you grow up and become a pair of the most wonderful people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Hermione, please do not feel pressured to do anything I've asked you. I want you to be happy doing whatever you want. The gallery is yours now, though you do not have to run it if you don't wish to. Stefan, you are the most wonderful son a man could ask for and it is my last wish that you not worry so much about your sister. You are a protective person; take care of her but know that she will not require so much of your protection anymore. Always remember that you both have gifts that should be shared with the world. I love you both more than words can describe and I know you will miss me more than I deserve.'"

The silence in the room was met with an eerie tension. How their Papa Louis knew that things would work out this way was unfathomable. He had always been wise but this was another level of guesswork wisdom.

"What do we do now?" said Stefan. "Is she supposed to sell the gallery and am I supposed to tour the world strumming the guitar for the rest of my life? Why couldn't he have spoken of these things to us before he died?" He couldn't keep his temper away. His father was always doing mysterious things like this and he continued to do it in his death. "I don't believe him!"

"Stefan, please calm down. Papa isn't asking us to do anything. He's telling us that we can do whatever we want to! Don't you see?"

"No I don't see. This is so typical of him to leave without a firm set of instructions. Doesn't he know that we would have done whatever we wanted without him telling us that we can? He's only confused me further."

Hermione put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "Stefan... he only wants you to succeed in whatever you choose to do. You don't have to feel constricted or pressured into doing something specific with your life just because he made it seem that was what he wanted for us when he was alive. Whatever you choose to do will be enough." She folded the Will and handed it back to the Minister. "Thank you, sir, for letting us read that. It's given me peace of mind. I was worried that he might have died under more serious circumstances."

The minister nodded and stuffed the papers in the inner pocket of his robes. "You are very welcome, dear. I wish the best to both of you but I afraid I must be going. There are other things I must attend to." He put his hat back on his head and tipped it to them, then showed himself out.

Stefan turned to his sister and scoffed. "Alors qu'est-ce que tu veux faire maintenant?"

"Je ne sais pas."

Draco was at war with himself. He was stressed about everything going on and unsure about how he really felt. He had let another week go by without him doing anything about Stream, but it wasn't all his fault exactly. As soon as the Amortentia was finished he had owled Hermione and asked her if she would join him for a glass of wine and a little dinner in his hotel room but she had declined stating that it wasn't a good time for her to do anything. For a while he was sure that she might have figured him out but he knew that wasn't possible. He hasn't even mentioned Stream since that day when he met her for the first time. That was five and a half weeks ago.

After he had assured himself that he was safe from her finding out his true intentions, he began to think about what his true intentions really were. Things were going well with the case. She was enamored with him and courting her was the most fun he had had with a woman in a very long time. That was both a good and a bad thing. It was good because of the mission and because she made him feel all sorts of ways. It was bad because there was no way he could carry on a romance with her and she made him feel all sorts of ways. His initial plan was to woo her by use of potions of she didn't seem interested in him and then he could scram out of her life. Doing that now would prove to be difficult since he had indeed become quite attached to her. He didn't want to admit it but it was true. Hermione was a beautiful woman, intelligent, classy and a wonderful snog. It was too unfortunate that he would have to let all that go after he duped her. But what choice did he have?