Chapter 11:

September 25th, 1999

"Damn, damn, damn. Why can't anything go right?!" moaned Hermione as she tossed more papers around her cubicle. She couldn't find the file that held the Magical Creatures Laws in the Ukraine. She was due five minutes ago in that damn blonde's office and she couldn't find that damn file to save her already worthless life. Initially unable to find her blue pair of heels to wear this morning, because apparently Teddy had decided to take them and appropriate them as cars; she was then rather late to work for her second to last day as an intern; and then upon arriving at her desk, spilt coffee on her best work robes.

Flinging more papers and folders out of the nook under her desk, she went on hands and knees to get a better vantage point. "Aha," she cheered lifting the desired file in triumph, banging her head in the process, "Fuck, dammit, merde."

"Aha, indeed Miss Granger," drawled a voice from the doorway. "It is good to hear your French being put to such decent use."

Hermione moaned, "Gods, please just go away and pretend like this day didn't happen. In fact, pretend like this whole month didn't happen." She remained with her head under the desk, unwilling to face her unwelcome visitor.

"Tsk, tsk. What would the press think if they knew the fabulous Miss Granger simply couldn't handle her miserable existence anymore?" She heard a tapping of an impatient foot wrapped in expensive dragon hide leather. "You do realize that you're giving me a rather interesting view of your backside, Miss Granger, do you not?" sneered the voice.

Groaning once more, she made to stand up, hitting her head again on the way out of the tiny space under the desk. "Lucius ... Mr. Malfoy," she said rubbing her head, "stop spinning would you?"

He chuckled, a reaction she would have been shocked at if she wasn't sure it was all a dream anyways, "I assure you, Miss Granger, I'm perfectly stable. Perhaps it is you who is in need of a stabilizer?"

She muttered darkly, "You have no idea." She shook her head to clear away the last of the stars, "Anyways, I apologize for my tardiness. I should be in your office in no less than two minutes if you'd like to wait there?"

He shook his head slightly, "No, I rather enjoy seeing the imperturbable Miss Granger flustered and out of sorts."

She stared blankly at him for a moment, wondering if someone had Imperio'd the stuck-up snob that used to be Lucius Malfoy -this one seemed to be toeing the line of flirtation if she wasn't delirious. Deciding that she had merely hit her head a mite too hard, she turned to her desk and grabbed the other papers she would need. Muttering under her breath about "stupid papers" and "dumb blondes," she whirled around the small cubicle cum office, making sure she had everything.

Suddenly hearing the clack of heels she recognized all too well, she muttered a quick cleansing spell and conjured a box, into which she threw everything and promptly disillusioned. "Miss Gra-a-a-nger," sing-songed an impatient voice approaching her small cubicle.

And had she not been as panicked about her own state, she would have laughed outright at the trapped look on the older man's face as he realized who was arriving behind him. Flinching the slightest bit as a small, pale hand clutched his elbow, he turned a pasted but charming smile on the beaming Ms. Smattery.

"My dear Mister Malfoy, I hadn't known we were expecting you for a meeting!" She glared expectantly at Hermione, knowing full well that they hadn't been scheduled for an appointment. Hermione's office was far too small to be appropriate for a meeting. Any meetings with the Beast Division of the Department would be held in the conference room on the other side of the floor.

Hermione paled, knowing exactly what was going through her bosses mind. Mentally she prepared for Malfoy to out her tardiness to Smattery, which of course would lead to Smattery finally being able to sack her as she had been trying for the last two months.

Malfoy took in the frantic and rather wan Miss Granger and the rather sadistic looking Smattery who looked as though her birthday came early. Malfoy took the moment to casually peruse Miss Granger's appearance, noticing that she was paler than usual and her normally frizzy hair was tied in an uneven knot, instead of the tidy French twist or pony tail that she usually sported. Her generally tidy and professional appearance was out of sorts, a coffee stain ran down the rather luscious … gah! Either way the woman was extremely out of it.

He smirked in the brunette's direction and spoke slowly, "Indeed you're quite correct Madame Smattery; the meeting is in fact in my office. I had come down to Miss Granger's office to escort her up there. There have been demonstrations in the lobby as I'm sure you know." He rolled his eyes, "Quite tedious if you ask me." He took hold of Hermione's elbow and steered her out of the cubicle, carefully avoiding the disillusioned box. "Now if you'll excuse us, we need to get on with our appointment."

Smattery stood there, looking as though she'd had her desert taken away, but reaffixed a smile and fluttered her eyelashes, "Of course, dear sir. And please, let me know if you need anything from me at all."

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned away, very aware of the large hand still holding her elbow. She raised her eyes questioningly to Malfoy. He looked down uncomprehendingly, "Yes?"

She glanced pointedly at her elbow and he let go quickly as though burned, "My apologies Miss Granger." He stalked off down the hallway, Hermione hurrying after him.

A few minutes after she'd caught up with him, she murmured, "Thank you. I realize I haven't been the easiest person to work with …"

He snorted and glanced down at her, "No, but neither have I. We are both rather prickly and predisposed to disliking each other I think, Miss Granger. Plus, if I'd let her fire you, I'd have to deal with some new incompetent that would have no clue about anything we'd been working on. I assure you it served me just as well."

Hermione nodded and stepped into the elevator as it opened for them, "Are there really demonstrations in the lobby?"

He pressed the fifth floor button and then answered, "Yes, apparently some people are up in arms about the new laws concerning raids and such. The Aurors are attempting to tamp down any latent responses by raiding homes once more," he spat the last sentence with disgust.

Hermione nodded, "It really doesn't seem right. I see the reasoning behind it of course, but it doesn't seem very lawful."

"Indeed not," he agreed, "and unfortunately, anyone who goes against it will be stereotyped immediately."

Hermione sighed, "I take it you've had to endure a few of these." They stepped out as the doors opened and she followed him down the hallway towards his office.

Ron pressed himself against the wall as Hermione stepped out of the elevator. He'd promised her time and he wasn't about to run into her in front of Lucius Malfoy of all people. He wondered at the seemingly easy conversation they had but shook it off, attributing it to Hermione's ability to talk to anything anywhere.

He had just come from lunch with Harry and was headed back to the shop. He'd been reviewing how to handle the whole situation with Lavender. When he'd broken the news to his parents a few weeks back, his mum had been curiously silent, while his dad for once was the one yelling. They had asked him to give them time to handle the news.

When Ron had sat down with George, the older man had been quiet and offered Ron a solid shoulder to lean on while his parents "wanted to talk it over themselves."

Ron knew what he was going to do. He would be there for Lavender, it wasn't something he was dreading – he certainly liked her enough. He had already taken her out to dinner twice and they'd discussed certain aspects such as doctor's appointments and the like. He knew more conversations would need to be had though. They needed to discuss what they would do as a couple, and how they would handle taking care of the baby itself. He bowed his head for a moment before hopping onto the elevator as Malfoy and Hermione headed down the corridor.

Continuing their conversation, Lucius raised his eyebrow at her, "A few? Miss Granger, I've had my peace disturbed in the middle of the night almost once a year since the last war. Not undeserved I'll admit; however, it does get tedious."

Hermione grinned, "Mmm, I'll bet they're just dying to see how you've remodeled."

He smirked, "Why Miss Granger, I have no idea what you mean. My Manor is a model of pureness and noblesse."

She raised an eyebrow, "Oh, quite. Well you'll excuse me if I don't remember it with the same fondness."

His eyes shuttered slightly and Hermione inwardly cursed at ruining the borderline amicable conversation they'd been having, but also knew it was a topic she needed to broach, if only for her own healing.

Since she'd moved out of her own flat and slept alone for the first time in months, her old nightmares had begun to haunt her about the time in the Malfoy's dungeon and her near rape. A result of not confronting the memories and merely repressing them in the aftermath of the Final Battle, she had trouble remembering anything about her time with the Malfoys calmly. She knew it was time to handle it.

Lucius opened the door for her and held it as she walked by, attempting to ignore the rather tempting perfume he smelled as she entered his office. She set the files on the side table in his office and waited quietly for him. He walked in and shut the door quietly, locking it with a wave of his wand.

He turned and spoke in a quiet voice that Hermione found strange on the large, commanding man in front of her, "Perhaps Miss Granger, we have more in common than previously thought. That Manor has been in my family since we moved to England at the bequest of the Norman Kings; however, it has accumulated a spirit of its own over the years, and I regret a Dark tinge in the past few decades due to my grandfather, father, and me." He turned away from the door and faced her, his eyes glazed in remembrance, "And now, without the presence of my son and wife, I find it unbearable." He focused his gaze on her and walked behind his desk, "The memories of what not only you and your friends, but many others suffered at the hands of my family and the acquaintances I fostered, grate at me every day." He sat down and steepled his hands.

Focusing his eyes on the moving image of a hurricane hanging on his wall, he stated in a bland voice, "I cannot say I am fully reformed or that I am not a Dark man, I am. However, I have had plenty of time to revisit the past, and I wish I had taken a more responsible path." He opened his arms and gestured towards himself, "And now you see before you a broken man who is merely trying to make the changes in a different way. I hope you can accept that."

Hermione blinked, "Well, that was certainly more than I'd expected to get from you. But I do appreciate what you've gone through. What we've all gone through. War has ruled my life since I was eleven, for you even longer than that I'm sure." She sat down softly in one of the plush chairs, keeping her eyes on her hands. She murmured, "But for me, that Manor represents all the fear and the hate that I felt during that last year. I suppose in my mind, I've never dealt with it – never wanted to deal with it either to be honest." She glanced up, "So I've moved on. But things change, and I'm learning now that my life is still ruled by that damn war." She steepled her own hands in a mimicry of his, "So you may be a broken man, but I'm also a broken woman. We're all a bit broken really. So yes, Mr. Malfoy, I can accept that."

He nodded and they continued to talk, ignoring the fact that lunch came and went, and their meeting never really happened. They were perhaps the last two people to help one another heal, but they talked late into the evening. And only Andromeda owling Hermione about dinner had them stopping. Lucius chuckled, "You're having dinner with Andy?"

She grinned back, "I live with her, so yes."

His eyes widened slightly, "You live with her?!"

Hermione smirked, "Yes. After Ron and I broke up, I decided to sell my flat and live with Andy to help out with Teddy, her grandson. He's the son of Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin."

Lucius rolled his eyes, "Yes, I knew. Narcissa made sure to tell me the scandalous news." He paused, took a deep breath and asked quietly, "How are they faring?"

Hermione tried to keep the surprise out of her eyes, "Rather well considering; but I really must be going Mr. Malfoy." She stood up and looked at the unopened files, "I suppose we'll have to schedule another meeting?"

He smirked, "I suppose so. Good evening, Miss Granger."

Hermione rushed into the kitchen, sputtering, "Sorry Andy! I got caught up talking with Lucius of all people."

Andy dropped her jaw, "You what?!"

Hermione laughed, "I know, I know. But honestly it was a good conversation." She plopped down at the counter, "We talked about the manor and the war." She paused and took a deep breath, "It helped, honestly; and I think it may have helped him too. At any rate, I know I can stand to go on a few trips with him without shooting him." She grinned again.

Andy stuttered.

Hermione smirked slyly, "He asked about you, you know?"

If Andy's jaw could get any lower, Hermione knew she'd need to visit her parents for surgery, "He what?"

Hermione nodded, "He wanted to know how you and Teddy were doing. While we were talking later he even mentioned that he had followed Tonks' career with the Aurors closely before he'd been put away."

"You've got to be kidding. He has changed." Andy tapped her chin, "Maybe it's time I called on my old friend."

Now it was Hermione's turn to be astonished, "Friend?"

Andy handed her a bowl of soup and sat down next to her, "Sure. We grew up together dear. I was born in '53 and he in '52. We were playmates practically until he went to school." Andy glanced towards the living room where Teddy was watching a programme. She turned back to Hermione satisfied, "Then things changed. We grew apart in school, he was in Slytherin and I was in Ravenclaw. He was a boy, I was a girl – you know how school is, we were older and afraid to interact freely. Later, I suppose I saw his betrothal to 'Cissa as the ultimate end to our friendship; you see we'd always made fun of her when we were young, because she never wanted to do anything but play with dolls or act out fairytales." Andy laughed slightly, clearly walking down memory lane a bit.

She shrugged, "I was bitter; even though I never would have accepted, I felt like I should have been asked, not Narcissa. It was once again, my beautiful, blonde sister that got the guy. So I ran off with my then boyfriend, Ted, and never looked back." She sighed and looked over at Hermione, "I never regretted that, not once. Ted was the love of my life, but sometimes I wish I'd kept my friends a bit closer. I wonder if it would have made a difference." She glanced wistfully out the window.

Hermione was grinning slyly, "You had a crush on him."

Andy raised her arms in surrender, "I did not! We were merely friends. Oh stop it, we were!" She exclaimed laughingly. "He was one of the few intelligent boys I was allowed to talk to." She noticed Hermione's expression, "What?!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and responded in an innocent tone, "Oh nothing, it's not like I blame you. All that lovely hair and that body I'm sure would get to you, dear Andy." She batted her eyes mockingly.

Andy grinned "Oh, ho. And I'm the one with a crush – Miss I-noticed-his-hair-and-body." She raised an eyebrow at Hermione's expression.

Hermione blushed, "Shove off Andy; you know I'm susceptible to anything that'll listen to me." She slumped slightly, "I'm just starved for male attention is all. I just thought you'd like to know what he'd said. It seems a bit like he's changed, doesn't it?" Hermione looked at the older woman questioningly.

Andy responded seriously, "If he hadn't truly changed, he wouldn't have saved your job and he wouldn't have asked after me. If what you said is true, then I think the Lucius I knew as a young girl is trying to break free once more."

They heard a crash in the living room, effectively ending any more conversation that could be had that evening, Andromeda yelling in exasperation, "Teddy!"

November 10th, 2017

Hermione threw on a dress and flew out of her dressing room, careening down the four flights of marble stairs to the main staircase that led to the entrance hallway. She peered over the banister to see who may have been calling – Hermione blessed the magnification charm that allowed her to hear anything of importance anywhere in the large mansion she called home. She gasped in happy surprise when she caught the radish earrings and blonde hair, "Luna! You're back!!"

Luna looked up in surprise at the calling voice and watched with a slight wince as Hermione basically tumbled down the stairs, "Hermione?!"

Hermione slid in her stockings at the bottom of the stairs, just clutching onto Luna and pulling her into a tight embrace, "None other! How are you?! You look fabulous! Where have you been?!"

Luna pulled away slightly, looking perplexedly at Hermione's face, "Why are you in Lucius Malfoy's house?" She glanced down at her own forearm where she felt the slight chill of metal on her skin, "Oh Dear Merlin!!! You married Malfoy?!" Her dreamy tone was definitely gone.

Hermione grinned happily and said, "5 seconds."

Luna looked at her vacantly, "What was that you said dear? I think I may have been followed by gringerdukles – they mute the ears so."

Laughing, Hermione answered, "It took you 5 seconds to figure out what the others haven't seen for practically 16 years. Oh Luna, I missed you."

Luna grinned, "I was gone for a rather long time, wasn't I? It was ever so much fun doing all the research though! I just didn't know all the time had passed until … well it had!" Her face was lit up by the happy smile.

Hermione smiled in response, "I can't wait to hear all about it! But, Luna, why are you here in Lucius' house?" She cocked her head in puzzlement.

Luna smiled serenely, "Well I was hoping you would answer me that, dear."

Hermione was about to ask a question when another interrupted.

"Good evening Miss Lovegood." Lucius had finally sauntered his way down to the entrance hall.

Luna nodded at him, "Good evening Mr. Malfoy. I suppose you have something to do with this?"

He smirked and wrapped an arm around his bouncing wife, "Indeed, I heard you were in town and decided to surprise my wife. She'd mentioned wanting to see you once you got back." Said wife went on her tip-toes and kissed him on the cheek.

Luna looked between them and said in her usual dreamy manner, "Home for a day and I've unearthed a hill of flapperdandies."

Hermione grinned and hugged Luna once more, " I suppose Lucius didn't expect you to be so prompt, since he knows that we have a dinner we need to make an appearance at, but we must do lunch – I need your help Luna! And it's all such a story! "

Luna shook her head in wonderment, "Of course and I'll introduce you to Rolf, but I assume I'm not to mention this to anyone?"

Hermione grinned, "Well don't outright mention marriage, but anything else is fine and maybe you'll see how blind everyone else has been!"

Luna blinked and calmly stated, "I always said I was the clearest sighted of you all, you just never listened." She patted Hermione on the head and walked back out the front door, both Malfoys looking after her in quiet amazement.

Hermione looked at Lucius and shook her head, "I suppose she was in Ravenclaw for a reason." She turned from the door and glanced at the clock near the stairs, "Oh Merlin! We're going to be late to Draco's! Lucius, I've got to get showered and dressed and make a dessert and clean and oh dear!"

She flew out of the room, oblivious to her husband's affectionate eyes following her movements and the House Elves scurrying around following her muttered orders.

Lucius grinned, "A few more days of solitude my pet and then the storm will hit." He rubbed his hands together, "It's a good thing we enjoy a good shaking-up now and again."

With that he walked up the stairs, determined to get a nice back scrub in before dealing with his new daughter-in-law and recently reunited son.