Chapter Eleven
A Malfoy's Honor
November, 1975
Hermione had never been inside the headmaster's office in this lifetime, but she knew enough from Old Hermione's memories to have an idea of the layout. The room appeared to have been magically expanded for the occasion of the governors' meeting, and the headmaster's desk had been transfigured into a large circular table which sat in the center of the room. There was no sign of Remus, and she assumed Dumbledore had sent him away.
Following closely on Lucius's heels, the girl darted into the office after her brother, narrowly avoiding Professor McGonagall as she shut the door behind the Malfoys. The woman looked slightly puzzled at the sudden breeze that whipped across her face, but didn't appear to linger on it. As the headmaster and the governors took their seats, Hermione moved to stand behind Lucius, quickly taking stock of the men and women seated about the table.
Ophelia Selwyn had taken the seat directly to Lucius's left. The dour woman, with the death of her husband, was the reigning matriarch of the Selwyn family - they had always been unusually progressive in that particular respect, the Selwyns, allowing women to openly head the family ever since a particularly fierce eldest daughter had been born into the clan some time in the sixteenth century and murdered all three of her younger brothers after her father had refused to pass on control of the family to his female child. Hermione didn't know much about the Selwyns, this being the most distinguishing feature of the family, but she was vaguely aware that Ophelia's grandson was a Death Eater. Old Hermione couldn't supply much on him, other than the fact that he had been partnered with Henry Travers during the ambush of the Lovegoods in their home during the second war, and had been particularly brutal with Xenophililius Lovegood during the encounter. Lady Welwyn's earlier angry muttering had made it clear her opinion on the present subject, but Hermione hoped there was some way the Death Eater son might be used as leverage.
Next to Ophelia was Elphias Doge. He was a member of the Wizengamot, and fiercely loyal to Dumbledore. Hermione doubted she had anything to worry about on that front; although she was uncertain whether Doge personally thought it was safe to have a lycanthropic student at Hogwarts, she was fairly confident he would bend to the headmaster's whims. That left Marius Abbott and Laurinda Macmillan.
Laurinda Macmillan was a bit of an airhead from what Hermione understood of her; she was on the board of trustees of St. Mungo's, and a model socialite. She was at the center of the group of high society matrons that had always disparaged Abraxas for neglecting Hermione's education as a young lady, and was always throwing extravagant balls and high teas with her husband's gold. True to form, she appeared rather disinterested in the proceedings, and was already fidgeting with the enormous pearl teardrops hanging from her lobes.
Marius Abbott had been an incredibly successful medical potioneer in his time, and was consequently extremely wealthy and also very much in the public's good graces. He was a powerful man, and a regular political adversary of her father's. He tended towards fairly liberal political views (hence his natural opposition to Abraxas), but Hermione knew that the man's only son had been killed in a highly-publicized werewolf attack eight years previously by none other than Fenrir Greyback. He was the current head of the Board, and no doubt would be the most vehemently opposed to Remus remaining at Hogwarts. Hermione frowned at the man. She was certain he would be her most formidable opponent.
"I hereby call this meeting of the Board of Governors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to order." Abbot proclaimed, bringing his wand down on the center of the table with a businesslike rap.
A clear, bell-like note rang through the office and all of the portraits on the walls, some of whom had been snoozing in their frames, straightened with interest.
"I believe we all know why we are here. In the early hours of this morning the Board was informed by an anonymous source of the presence of a werewolf amidst the students of this school. This, I think we can all agree, is an unacceptable breach of student safety, and the werewolf in question must be immediately expelled and sent to one of wizarding Britain's designated quarantine zones."
"Here here!" Lady Selwyn wheezed, bringing a gloved hand down upon the table. "How this slipped past you, Dumbledore, entirely baffles me, but I must say we will be strongly scrutinizing you and your staff in the coming months to determine how a safety risk of this magnitude went unaddressed."
"If I might interject, Marius." This from Elphias Doge.
Abbot nodded, gesturing for the man to continue.
"Headmaster, have any students been injured as a direct result of this particular student's lycanthropy?"
"No, Elphias, there have been no injuries. Appropriate precautionary measures have been taken to ensure that the student will not cause harm to his peers during his time at school; he is taken every month to a place in which we can be absolutely certain he will be secure and unable to injure anyone, and kept in utmost seclusion."
Dumbledore's calm was implacable, a small smile on his face and his hands crossed comfortably in his lap.
"Measures have been taken? Does that mean, then, that you and your staff were aware of Mr. Lupin's condition, Headmaster?" Abbot said sharply, a militant gleam appearing in his eye.
"Yes, Marius, I was aware of the student's condition long before he ever enrolled at Hogwarts."
There was a cry of outrage from Lady Selwyn, which caused Laurinda Macmillan to gasp and clutch at her chest theatrically.
"And you mean to tell me that you allowed that halfbreed to come here, amongst hundreds of vulnerable young people, where he could have injured or killed any number of defenseless children?" The woman screeched.
"Lady Selwyn, please, contain yourself." Abbot said quietly, a cold fury in his voice despite the rebuke.
"My daughter is a student here, Albus." Laurinda spoke for the first time, her voice every bit as breathy as Hermione had been expecting. "I've always trusted your judgement; if you say the children are safe, I'm inclined to believe you. But if there were an accident, some terrible accident…the very thought! It makes me feel faint!"
The woman fanned herself with the sleeve of her lacy robes, and Hermione stifled a snort at the disgusted expression Professor McGonagall wore from her place behind Mrs. Macmillan.
"Must there really be this excessive huffing and puffing about the matter?" Lucius drawled, reclining back in his seat. "It seems obvious enough what ought to be done; the boy must be expelled, and that will be the end of the matter."
"With all due respect, Mr. Malfoy, we were expecting your father here today. You are not a member of the Board, and have little experience dealing with such matters; this certainly brooks further discussion. If the Headmaster saw fit to admit the boy, and has personally seen to it that he causes no harm to the other students, I believe we would be foolish to discount his good judgement." Doge said.
"I sit here in my father's place, and I can assure you that I represent him in my full capacity as his heir." Lucius said coolly, still not straightening in his seat.
Hermione smiled fondly down at her brother, who was admirably handling being the youngest person at the table by at least two decades. As she glanced up, she could swear she made eye contact with the Headmaster, whose lips twitched slightly before he averted his gaze entirely. Frowning slightly, she drew a bit farther back from the table.
"Tensions are clearly running high," Dumbledore said mildly. "Might I move that we take an hour recess, that an old man might have time to have his morning tea before we conclude this discussion."
"I would prefer to settle the matter immediately, but if the Board votes for a recess, we must of course proceed with one." Abbott said tightly. "All in favor of an hour long recess."
Laurinda, Elphias and Lucius all tapped their wands down upon the table. The bell-like tone rang through the office once more, and Dumbledore rose to his feet with a beaming smile.
"I shall be preparing a strong pot of black tea in my personal study, if anyone would care to join me." He swept off with Professor McGonagall closely following him.
Moments later Doge rose from his seat and headed off to the headmaster's study, leaving the rest of the Board alone in the office.
"I really must make a floo call; the florist I'm using for the St. Mungo's gala next week has me at my wit's end." Laurinda fluttered to her feet and exited the room.
Lucius excused himself as well, and Hermione followed closely on his heels. He appeared to be wandering fairly aimlessly in the direction of the Divination stairwell, and Hermione waited until he was well out of earshot and sight of the Headmaster's office before she pulled off the invisibility cloak.
"Hello, Lucius."
The man turned on his heel, alarm visible in his usually unreadable eyes.
"Hermione! Merlin, where did you come from?"
She held up the silvery cloak, and Lucius stared incredulously at its rippling folds.
"The Board of Governors meeting." She said with a sly smile.
"Where in Circe's name did you find an invisibility cloak that effective?" He demanded, moving forward to touch the velvety fabric.
"Never you mind. It's on loan from a friend. On to more important business; I need this vote to go in favor of the student staying here, Lucius."
Her brother stared at her, clearly baffled, for several long moments.
"And why is that?" He finally said, his voice returned to its usual even tenor.
"Because the halfbreed in question is one Remus Lupin, one of my dearest and most trusted friends and allies."
"Lupin? That scruffy halfblood you were always hanging about with?"
"The very same."
"I won't push for it, Hermione. You saw how tenuous my authority is at the table; if Elphias Doge thinks he can talk down to me, I hardly think I stand a chance against Marius Abbot. Father's been trying to take him down for years with very limited success. And besides, I've been telling you since you were a first year that it's perilous for you to be seen associating yourself with people like Lupin. Once it comes out that he's a werewolf - and it will come out - it will be even worse. As far as I'm concerned it's all the better that he'll be gone."
Hermione narrowed her eyes dangerously.
"Lucius, it was not a request I made of you. I said that I need this vote to go in favor of him staying. You will help me in this matter."
"Or what, little sister?"
"Or I'll tell Father that you've been keeping me completely informed on all of his plans to subvert the Dark Lord, and that you've been using me as a source inside Hogwarts to acquire information and sow doubts amongst the next generation of Death Eaters." She delivered calmly.
Lucius stared incredulously for a moment.
"You're bluffing. You don't actually know anything; he'd never believe I'd been feeding you information."
"I know enough, Lucius. Like the fact that Father has been having monthly meetings with Phineas Yaxley and Asterion Avery. Easy enough to put two and two together, brother dear; the Yaxleys have the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical creatures completely under their thumb, after that little incident back in '61 when they got fined for having an illegal herd of thestrals on their property in Wales. And the Averys, of course, have a number of connections all throughout Eastern Europe owing to their heir apparent's position as the ambassador to Bulgaria. Clearly the Dark Lord is trying to recruit Dark creatures into his ranks, and Father is negotiating with the key players in this situation - Yaxley and Avery, naturally, owing to their unique connections - to try and prevent him from getting what he wants. Am I right?"
Lucius watched her with narrowed eyes. He wore an expression that Hermione had never seen directed at her before, and it took her a moment to identify it as wary respect.
"Incorrect in a few minor details, but an adept enough deduction." He said silkily. "And where, exactly, have you been acquiring all this information, Hermione? Because it certainly has not been from me, regardless of what you may tell Father."
"Again with the irrelevant questions," She said, waving a hand dismissively. "The important bit here is that I have leverage - I think that's been neatly established - and you're going to help me get Remus out of this."
"Even if I did agree to advocate on behalf of your scruffy halfbreed, the fact remains that Marius Abbot stands between us and our desired objective, and he is a very bad person to have standing between you and your objective. And then there's the Selwyn crone."
"Lady Selwyn is an easy one. Her grandson is a Death Eater, is he not? And you, if I'm not mistaken, have lately proven yourself quite the favorite of your shared master, yes? You could offer her son protection, a good word with our resident Dark Lord, something to that effect?"
Lucius looked pensive for a moment.
"I suppose. I know little about their relationship, however; it could be a miscalculation if she doesn't care enough for her grandson's welfare."
"The Selwyns are tightly-knit, and as head of the family she has an obligation to ensure the safety of all its members, even if she's not particularly close to her grandson."
"That still leaves Laurinda Macmillan and, more importantly, Abbott."
"Macmillan…leave her to me. I know her sort. High-society ladies of that variety only care about a few things: gold, throwing successful parties, and seeing their daughters make successful marriages. I know her daughter, Alice - I have an idea of how to use that."
"Alright then." There was a gleam in Lucius's eye, and Hermione smiled slyly.
She had known that once she got Lucius on her side the rest would come easily; Malfoys were natural-born schemers and negotiators, and Lucius in particular thrived on this sort of political conniving. She knew he wouldn't hold her mild form of blackmail against her, and also doubted that he would ever suspect his pretty and innocuous new wife of being her mole inside the Manor. She struggled not to roll her eyes at the thought of how wizards so often underestimated their wives, sisters and daughters.
"Marius Abbott…I've heard Father rail against him frequently enough. But if he had any substantial weaknesses, I'm sure Father would have capitalized upon them by now. He'll never let a werewolf remain at Hogwarts, not after what happened to his son."
"No, you wouldn't think so…but…" A thought came to her, and she smiled up at her brother, who cocked an inquiring eyebrow down at his little sister, who quite suddenly seemed anything but little. "William Abbott. Do you remember him? He was a year below you, graduated just last year?"
"Ah. Marius's nephew, yes?" Lucius was smiling too, now.
"Yes. And if you'll recall, his parents were both dead - Dragon Pox, if I'm not mistaken. The generous and philanthropic Mr. Abbott and his wife took his nephew in shortly before he started Hogwarts, right after the death of their own son. I'd imagine they would love the boy like a son, and care for him especially fiercely after losing their own child. Now, William was dating that muggleborn girl Nancy Felsteiner, do you remember?"
"Ah yes. Charming girl, despite her low birth."
"Quite. Anyway, she and William were perfectly smitten and everyone was certain they were going to get married. And then, after they graduated, the two of them completely disappeared. Vanished into thin air. Nobody has seen or heard from them in over twelve months."
"I'd assume Abbott had them go into hiding; he's prominently in opposition to the Dark Lord and many of the older families on the Wizengamot. It would be dangerous for his nephew and a muggleborn wife."
"Yes, that was my thought as well. And of course there's no telling where they might be and I really have no interest in knowing. But I'm certain the Dark Lord would. Now that I think about it, I heard Lillian Abbott blabbing a few months ago about her family's secluded vacation cottage in the South West - that might be a place to start, for any interested parties. And if you were to insinuate that you might know something…well…"
"It's a gamble, Hermione. Marius Abbott is a very bad man to anger."
"It's not as if he feels too charitably towards our family as it is; the way I see it, we have little to lose and everything to gain."
Lucius smoothed the front of his robes, clearly deep in thought.
"Very well. Let us secure your scruffy halfbreed's educational future."
Hermione smiled and stood on tip toes to kiss Lucius on the cheek.
"I knew you'd come around, brother."
Lady Selwyn had been about as straightforward as Hermione had said she would be; a gracefully-dropped hint about her grandson's future amongst the Death Eaters had earned the elderly woman's vote, and Lucius currently found himself alone in the Headmaster's office with Marius Abbott, who had elected to remain at the table while the rest of the Board dispersed.
The man looked up at the sound of Lucius's re-entry, and gave him a curt nod before returning to a sheaf of papers he had before him on the table.
"Dreadful weather for a quidditch match." Lucius drawled, lacing his hands behind his back and pacing to the wall behind Abbott, ostensibly to examine one of the many whirring, metallic instruments Dumbledore had on display there.
"Beg pardon?" Abbott said after a moment, setting down his papers but not turning around to look at Lucius.
"It's the first match of the season today, you know, Gryffindor versus Slytherin."
"Ah. I suppose you would know, your school days being so recently behind you."
Lucius smirked slightly at the thinly-veiled barb.
"Indeed. I was just a year ahead of a William Abbott, he was a chaser for Hufflepuff if I recall. Any relation?"
Abbott, who up to this point had remained seated at the table facing away from Lucius, turned in his chair to stare at the younger man, who was still partially turned towards the shelf filled with Dumbledore's trinkets. He fought the urge to smile; he clearly had the man's attention now.
"My nephew. Were you acquainted?" Marius inquired stiffly.
"Oh, only vaguely. We'd have occasion to chat from time to time, you know, fellow prefects and all. What has William been up to recently? It seems as though no one has seen him in ages. Is he still seeing that charming girl…Nancy, was it?"
A crease appeared in Abbott's forehead, and his expression was just a hair's breadth away from an outright glower.
"My nephew was offered a research position at a potioneering institute in a remote area of New Zealand. He will be employed there for the foreseeable future."
It was rehearsed, and Abbot was no actor; Lucius found it unlikely that most people would be fooled by the explanation, but then again most people would not ever think to challenge Marius Abbott.
"Is that so? I never recall William having much of an eye for potions, but what do I know?" He said mildly, pacing around to the opposite wall so that Abbott had to swivel in his seat to track his progress.
The older man's gaze had shifted from suspicious to hostile by this point.
"An excellent question, Mr. Malfoy. You would do well to refrain from interfering with matters about which you know nothing." He said icily.
"I think you'll find, Mr. Abbott, that I know a great deal about a great many things. Your family's holiday cottage in the South West, for example, which I recall William always speaking so fondly of."
He watched the man carefully. It was clear that he was attempting to maintain a steadily indifferent expression, but as Lucius had noted earlier, Marius Abbott was no actor; the momentary flash of genuine alarm in his eyes was unmistakable.
"I also happen to know some very powerful people. People who might be very interested indeed to hear news of the ever-likable William and the lovely Nancy." He purred.
Abbott stood from the table then, rising to his full height and taking a step closer to Lucius. The younger man felt the briefest flicker of doubt as the imposing wizard drew up before him. The aquiline planes of Abbott's face were hard with anger, and his presence loomed as he brought its full force to bear on Lucius. He only allowed himself a moment of uncertainty - what if this had, indeed, been a miscalculation and Abbott was about to curse him then and there, in the middle of the Headmaster's office? - before he marshaled his thoughts.
"What do you want here, Malfoy? What's your angle?"
"Amnesty for the halfbreed." He said with only a touch of irony, smirking slightly as Abbott's brow furrowed.
"Why? So the creature can be of use to you and your master once he's of age?" The man sneered.
"Hardly anything so nefarious, Mr. Abbott." He saw that the man was not quite swayed, despite the threat to his beloved nephew.
If Lucius understood one thing about Abbott, it was that he was a man of rigid moral principles. He would not, in good conscience, be able to allow Lupin to be spared if he believed Lucius's motivations involved recruiting the boy into the ranks of the Dark. His own desire to protect his family would become secondary in the face of 'the greater good,' no doubt, an idea which Lucius found himself struggling not to openly display his disdain for. Lucius Malfoy was neither an evil nor uncompassionate man; he took no pleasure in the suffering of others. But he would always, first and foremost, be a Malfoy. Protecting his family was his greatest and ultimately only concern, when it came down to it, and men like Marius Abbott with their lofty principles struck him as fools.
"I will be frank with you, Mr. Abbott." He would take a gamble. "I have a little sister who is very dear to me."
Abbott looked taken-aback at the turn this had taken, but made no move to interrupt the younger man.
"She happens to be a student here, a fifth-year, and is quite close with the aforementioned halfbreed. Although I have made many an attempt to discourage these relations over the years- I did not know of the boy's condition, obviously, but he was unsuitable company for my sister for myriad other reasons - she was stubborn and insisted upon his moral character. While I presume no expertise on the subject of magical creatures, I do know that there is not unsubstantial evidence that the threat werewolves pose to humans, when properly monitored and regulated, can can be mitigated considerably. My sister is very fond of this werewolf, Mr. Abbott - believe me, it sounds as ridiculous to you as it does to me. But as I am very fond of my sister, I have seen fit to offer my protection to the boy. Give me your vote and I swear upon my honor not to mention anything I may know about your nephew to any party, no matter how interested."
Abbott was still frowning, but some of the vitriol had drained from his expression. Now he just appeared to be contemplating jinxing Lucius rather than cursing him.
"The honor of a Malfoy? Not worth much." He said at last, and Lucius smiled, trying not to let too much triumph creep into the expression.
"And yet you have it, Mr. Abbott."
At that very moment, the door to the study swung open to admit a slightly flustered Laurinda Macmillan, who was followed by a more subdued Ophelia Selwyn, who gave Lucius a subtle nod as she moved to take her seat at the table. As the Board began to reconvene, Abbott gave Lucius a last assessing look and said,
"You represent your father in full capacity as his heir indeed, Mr. Malfoy."
Mrs. Macmillan had almost been too easy, Hermione thought to herself as she ghosted into Dumbledore's office behind Lady Selwyn. It had been easy enough to coincidentally 'run into' the woman as she was exiting McGonagall's study (where she had been using the floo.) After striking up conversation, it had been simple enough to suggest to the woman through fabricated gossip and dropped hints that her daughter Alice's social status was slipping (untrue) and that she would benefit immensely from a close relationship with Hermione (also untrue) to get her back onto her feet. She hoped Laurinda, eager to forge an alliance with the youngest Malfoy on her daughter's behalf, would be swayed to go along with Lucius's vote. She also suspected the woman cared little for political matters, and was more than likely to go the direction that most of the others seemed to be bending; it was debatable whether Hermione's intervention had even been required at all.
After a few more minutes of shuffling about, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Doge all emerged from the Headmaster's private quarters. In short order, Abbott recalled the meeting.
"Now that our recess is concluded, we may reopen this matter for discussion." The man said stiffly.
"I move that we vote on the matter." Ophelia said raspily. "With an hour's reflection behind me, I feel prepared to make a decision."
"Seconded." Doge said firmly.
Abbott cast Lucius a glacial look, to which he responded with a bland smile.
"All in favor of taking this matter to a vote?"
Lucius, Ophelia, and Doge all brought their wands down upon the table and the bell-like chime sounded.
"That is a majority, then." Abbott sounded as though it pained him to say. "I will remind the Board, in my position as chair, that in order for this matter to be settled, the vote must be unanimous one way or the other. All in favor of the…student…being expelled?"
No one brought their wand down on the table, and after a moment Abbott continued.
"All in favor of his continued…residency at the school?"
Five wands, including Abbott's own, were brought down upon the table. Both Doge and McGonagall could not seem to contain their surprise, Doge's bushy eyebrows raising into his receding hairline, and McGonagall's forehead creasing. Dumbledore looked as serenely unruffled as always.
"It is settled then. The creature may stay. But may I move that, as a safety measure, students and their families be informed of his presence at this institution?"
Lucius's eyes narrowed. This had not been part of the arrangement. From her place behind him, Hermione fought the urge to grip her brother's shoulder. Remus might be better off expelled, if everyone at school were to find out about his condition. She knew that he would leave voluntarily before enduring the social estrangement that would ensue.
"If I might interject on the student's behalf, Marius?" Dumbledore said mildly.
Abbott made a stiff, reluctant little gesture with his hand. The signet ring on his pinky finger gleamed.
"It would create an extremely hostile learning environment if all the students and their families were to be made aware of this particular student's lycanthropy. The imposition of this condition would be as good as a vote to expel him. If I might suggest a compromise?"
"Please, Dumbledore!" Laurinda exhaled, fiddling with her pearl earrings and looking very much like she would rather be overseeing her unreliable florist than present at the meeting.
"We will inform the students and their families of the presence of a werewolf amongst the student body. We will also inform them of the safety measures taken - personally overseen by myself - to prevent accidents, and after receiving all of this information they will be free to withdraw their students if they feel the school to be unsafe. However, I must insist that the student's identity be kept entirely confidential until the time of his graduation."
Abbott looked reluctant to accept the compromise, but after taking stock of the nodding heads around the table, he bowed his own in reticent agreement.
"I find this to be acceptable."
"Excellent! Then the matter is settled." Dumbledore beamed.
Placing his wand down upon the table, Abbott disbanded the meeting and immediately swept out of the office. Hermione took the opportunity to follow closely behind him, and was momentarily frozen with fear as he stopped short outside the office and glanced about himself with an expression of suspicious confusion. She held her breath, not daring to move even a centimeter, and after a moment Abbott grunted to himself and moved off down the corridor towards McGonagall's study, where he would no doubt floo back to the Abbotts' estate in Wales.
The remainder of the Board trickled out of the Headmaster's office shortly after, and Lucius very deliberately, after exchanging polite goodbyes with the other witches and wizards, headed off in the direction of the library. Hermione followed, and it was not long before they had reached an empty corridor near the charms classroom. The roar from the quidditch pitch was audible from the sweeping windows lining the walls.
Lucius ducked into an alcove, and Hermione suddenly realized that it was the very same one, containing the bloody medieval battle scene, that she and Lucius had held conference about her association with Remus that very first day of her first year. This struck Hermione as poetically cyclical.
She swept the invisibility cloak off of herself in one fluid motion, and Lucius appeared entirely unsurprised to see her there.
"I would deem that relatively successful, considering we were up against Marius Abbott."
"Agreed. The public announcement to parents and students is not…ideal. But as you say, given the circumstances it was all we could have hoped for. Thank you for your help Lucius, truly. I appreciate it."
"Did I have much of a choice in the matter?" He inquired archly, and she merely smiled in response.
The moment of levity quickly dissipated, however, as Lucius's expression grew serious.
"Things are getting more complicated for us, Hermione. I was not merely being critical earlier when I said that it is more important than ever before that you not been seen associating yourself with people like Lupin. The Dark Lord…has demonstrated a new level of trust in me, one that we must not jeopardize."
Unconsciously, it seemed, Lucius's hand gravitated to the breast pocket of his robes, where the Dark Lord's package was ensconced. The thing gave off the strangest feeling, and he did not entirely like keeping it so close to his body. Hermione, noting the gesture, immediately felt her stomach go cold.
"What do you mean, Lucius? What new level of trust?"
"He has given me something which I perceive to be of the utmost importance to him to guard. I will have to confer with Father regarding what to make of this. But know that we must tread more carefully than ever."
Hermione nodded, her mind racing with possibilities. She tried not to reveal any of her thoughts, the ease of long practice rendering this endeavor easily successful.
"I hope you realize, now, that I'm no longer a child, Lucius. You can trust me with these matters."
Her brother gave her a very long, unreadable look.
"Were you ever a child, sister?"
Later, after Lucius had left the castle, Hermione made her way up to the Owlrey. She guessed that the match would be ending soon - it had already been an exceptionally long one - so now was likely the only time she would be able to get away to send a letter.
Giving Hyperion, who still after all these years had a nasty habit of nipping her fingers, a wary look, she bent over beneath his perch and hastily penned a note.
N,
There is something in your husband's possession that I need you to acquire for me with all possible haste. Contact me via floo at precisely eleven this evening.
H
She watched as the imperious screech, who had this time deigned to spare her fingers, launched himself into the air beyond the Owlrey tower and quickly became nothing more than a purplish dot on the horizon.
AN: No fun flirty timez in this chapter, and some may find it a bit dry, in which case I apologize! There ought to be fluff, drama, tears, and laughter galore in the next chapter though, so bear with me if you're bored to tears by all the political nonsense ;)
ALSO: I don't usually post particularly conversational/chatty author's notes that aren't related specifically to the story/chapter at hand, but can we all take a moment to lol at the account live-to-forgive (or something?) that's been posting these identical reviews all over the place that are just a block of religious propaganda? Lmao I was like "wow this person was so incredibly thoughtful and left me such an amazingly long review, I can't wait to read - oh. It's Christian propaganda." Rlly trolled me on that one, live-to-forgive. Little do they know I'm an atheist pro-choicer with socialist leanings! (not to get overtly political lol I appreciate readers, authors, and generally human beings of all political and religious backgrounds!) This is not the fanfic author you are looking for, live-to-forgive...