A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to update, this chapter was rough. Remember that trigger warning, a few chapters back? Yeah, same goes for this one. Much love to you guys! Happy reading.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, nor do I make money from this fic
January 17, 2009 Wiltshire, England - Malfoy Manor
Draco was nervous, but his nerves were more concerned with the fact that Hermione looked terrified to be standing in the foyer of Malfoy Manor. He placed a hand on her back, hoping to ease her tension a bit, but sighed when she flinched at his touch.
"Sorry," She murmured, looking down.
"Don't be," He told her, rubbing her back soothingly. "I'll be just fine, love. And if it's not, we'll leave. I'm not playing games with my father tonight."
Narcissa had taken Scorpius upstairs to put him to bed, and Draco and Hermione were waiting for her to return before venturing out to find Lucius. Draco felt more confident with his mother there, and he hoped her presence would help Hermione relax as well.
"I'm really not cut out for this pureblood bullshit, you know?" She muttered, a wry laugh escaping her.
"No, you're better than it." He told her. "You don't need money or a family name to prove your worth. You're the smartest person I know, Hermione. Just be your brilliant self and everything will be alright." He kissed her temple.
She nodded, taking a steadying breath and Narcissa made her way back down the stairs toward them. She glanced toward Hermione and gave her a small smile.
"Keep your head up, and make eye contact as often as possible. That's the easiest way to get through to him. You'll be fine, I'll be right there." she murmured, rubbing her arm gently before turning and heading into the dining room.
Draco took a deep breath and lead Hermione in after her. Lucius was sat at the head of the table, like a king presiding over a feast. The table had been set for four, already, with his mother at the opposite end. He had known he wouldn't be able to sit beside her, but he took comfort in knowing he'd be across from her and able to read her face, should things go south. He pulled out Hermione's chair for her, getting her settled before taking his own seat, and, finally, looking up at his father.
Lucius had watched them silently. He was silent as they took their seats. He eyed Hermione up and down, "So nice you could finally join us, Miss Granger."
Draco watched her back stiffen, but he saw a fire in her eyes that told him she wasn't going to back down. He looked down to hide a grin.
"Forgive me if I was a little put off by our last meeting, Mr. Malfoy. I'm sure I don't need to remind you of it. I wasn't very eager to put myself through that again." She said, meeting his gaze. Draco marvelled at her fiery glare meeting his father's bone-chilling gaze. He was impressed.
Lucius's eyes narrowed very slightly. "Again, I apologize for that," he said, trying hard not to talk through gritted teeth. "I assume you've gotten the gifts okay, then?"
Cissy glanced over at Draco with an impressed nod. She picked up her wineglass and swirled the red liquid inside before taking a large drink. She knew she'd need to be at least halfway drunk to deal with her husband after they left that night. She was starting early.
"Of course." Hermione said. "You have exquisite taste in flowers, and the chocolates were divine." She told him, lightly.
Draco smirked at that. He hadn't known she'd eaten the chocolates he'd sent her. He watched his father's face carefully, seeing how he'd take that information.
"The chocolates were my idea, don't let him take the credit," Narcissa said, taking out her wand and giving it a wave. The food began to serve itself.
Lucius frowned at his wife, before turning and looking at Hermione again. "They may have been her idea, but I chose them. I'm glad you enjoyed them. Elf made chocolate is some of the best in the world." He picked up his fork and knife and cut into his prime rib. "And the earrings?" He asked, pointedly.
Hermione brushed her hair back, showing off the simple, but beautiful, pearl earrings he'd sent her. "Draco insisted I wear them tonight. He told me they'd go well with my new dress, and I have to say, I quite agree."
"Is that so?" Lucius looked her over and then looked at his son. "I suppose you treated her to that dress then, hm?"
Draco looked up at his father over his wine. "Of course. She doesn't have much in the way of evening attire, and her work clothes weren't even close to appropriate." He said casually. "Besides, I think the dress we found looks stunning on her, wouldn't you say?"
"I would say so, yes." Lucius stared down Draco. "That color looks wonderful on you."
Cissy looked over at Hermione. "No evening wear? Well, we must change that soon. I've got to take you shopping."
"That would be lovely, Mrs. Malfoy. Draco's been nagging at me for ages. We haven't gone to any of the fancier places he likes to eat because I simply haven't had the wardrobe for it." She shrugged. "Suppose I never needed evening wear before reconnecting with him. Other than charity functions, but I haven't been to one of those that didn't require dress robes in a long time."
Cissy smiled. "We must pick a date then," she told her with a decisive nod.
Lucius couldn't help himself, "Of course you never needed it with the company you kept." He said.
"Lucius!" Narcissa hissed, glaring at him.
"Company like Harry Potter, youngest Head of the Department of Law Enforcement in an age? And his wife, Ginny, former Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies. Or how about Luna Lovegood, internationally renowned magizoologist?" She said, easily. Draco was surprised she was able to keep her cool.
"Oh, they're all wonderful, I'm sure. I was simply referring about that Weasley boy. A girl deserves nice dresses and dinners," Lucius told her, his face had softened. "A girl like yourself deserves to be treated well. Not like some cheap whore to screw and shove food in his gullet." He took a drink of his wine.
Hermione flinched, visibly taken aback. Draco could understand why- he didn't know his father had known about Weasley's abusive tendencies. Sure, he expected him to know about her black eye, and the incident at Hogwarts, but his words suggested some deeper knowledge.
"I-" She swallowed hard before attempting to speak again. "It took me a long time to finally get up the courage to leave him. Draco helped, there at the end."
Draco narrowed his eyes at his father. "How much do you know?"
"I know about the incident at Hogwarts and the black eye. I can piece together the rest. No wonder you're a Gryffindor, Hermione." Lucius dropped the formality. "You were very brave. I'm glad Draco could help you through it."
"I'm sure you understand, then," Hermione started, regaining some of her composure, "Why I took it so hard when you came to visit."
"I do, and I apologize for that - again." Lucius said, and then offered her a small smile. "Eat. Dinner's getting cold."
Hermione relaxed a little, smiling back at him with a nod, then turned her attention to her food. Draco smiled at her, glancing to his mother questioningly.
Cissy shrugged, taking another drink of her wine. "I'll take you out, a girls day." She smiled.
Lucius looked to his son with an approving nod. "I heard Scorpius enjoyed the Potter's?"
"He had fun with little Albus." Draco told his father. "But I think James felt a little left out."
"James and Al don't get along." Hermione smiled. "James was probably jealous that Al had a new friend."
Cissy laughed. "Funny how kids are," she said. "But Scorpius and Albus are the same age. Only natural they'd want to play together."
Lucius nodded, and sighed. "I'm glad he's got another little friend other than Rhys."
"That's Theo Nott's son, right?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah," Draco said with a smile. "He was wanting to formally meet you, by the way. As my girlfriend." Draco rolled his eyes. "Leave it to my best friend to be the weird one."
"Well, you came to dinner with me at Harry's so it's really only fair." She smiled at him. "And Scorpius can have another play date. It's good for them to be social at this age, you know."
Cissy nodded. "She's right. It'll be good. And who knows. They might end up as best friends one day."
Draco looked over to Hermione, checking in on her, and he smiled when he saw she was genuinely relaxed. He finally allowed himself to relax and enjoy the evening as well. For the first time in quite some time, he was able to say he was enjoying his father's company. That meant the world to him, and he'd be sure to tell him about it, later.
January 22, 2009 London, England - Hermione's Flat
Hermione had just gotten in from work, and it and been a long day. Meetings had picked up since the new year started, and the holiday slow period was finally wearing off. She was up to her eyeballs in paperwork, and she had to be told for the fourth time by Kingsley to keep her work in the office. She had a bad habit of taking her work home with her, and Kingsley refused to let her overwork herself. It was part of the reason she loved her job so much- that man could read her so well.
She was just starting to unwind on the couch- and debating heading down to the Leaky for a bit- when there was a knock at her door. She frowned. She wasn't expecting anyone. She looked at the clock and her frown deepened. Draco was at work, and it was almost dinner time for Harry. She stood, heading to the door as the knock sounded again. Her blood ran cold as she looked through the peephole to see Ron standing there. She let out a small groan and debated floo calling Harry for backup before opening the door.
Ron looked up at her sheepishly. "Hey, 'Mione." He said, softly. "Can- can we talk? I need to apologize about… you know. And I really needed to see you."
She regarded him for a moment, eyes narrowing, before she opened the door fully. "Yeah," she sighed, letting him in. "What do you want, Ron?"
"I'm sorry, Hermione. For everything. I was an idiot, a drunk idiot at that. And-" He looked down at her and smiled sadly. "I still love you. I never stopped loving you. I just… I'm different, when I'm drinking."
She looked up at him, her brow furrowing. "You are different when you're drinking. But there were times when you weren't drunk," she told him and hugged herself.
"I…" He started to defend himself, then thought better of it. "You… You're right." He sighed, deflating visibly. "Hermione, I miss you. I miss you so much. And I regret everything. Is there anyway I can win you back?"
She stared at him, slack jawed. "I'm not a prize!" She snapped. "I am not a piece of meat to be tossed around by hungry wolves," she shook her head. "You should have thought about the consequences before you decided to do the shit you did to me."
"Come on, Hermione," Ron snapped, clearly fed up. "When are you gonna stop playing house with Malfoy and his hellspawn and come back to me? You know I love you."
"Playing house? Hellspawn? Excuse me?" Hermione was taken aback by his words, though she shouldn't have been. She stepped forward, her finger in his chest. "How dare you," she snapped. "How dare you call him that. He's done nothing to you. I don't care if you love me or not. I hate you."
"You-" Ron's eyebrows shot up. "You don't mean that. You can't mean that. After all we've been through, all the things I've done for you… how could you hate me?" He asked. He met her eyes, a look of genuine heartbreak present there.
Her heart broke when she saw his eyes. She knew she needed to keep her resolve. There was a knock at her door and she frowned. "I do mean that, now if you'll excuse me, I have another visitor."
"Who's that? I thought lover boy works evenings. Are you sleeping around on him, too?" Ron spat, grabbing her wrist.
"I'm not, I don't sleep around. Please let me go!" She snapped, trying to pull her wrist from his grasp. "I don't know who it is, Ron."
Lucius could hear the arguing from the other side of the door. He tried the door, finding it open. "Well, hello there." He said, seeing Ron's hand on Hermione's wrist, and Hermione struggling. He set the toys he had brought for Scorpius down, and pulled his wand from the end of his cane. He leveled it at Ron, stepping around and in front of Hermione. "I would let her go, Weasley," he hissed, malice in his voice.
"I don't take orders from a Death Eater, Malfoy." He said, tightening his grip on Hermione and pulling her away from him. "Why do you care, anyway. She's a Mudblood. Or have you changed your ways?" he sneered.
Tears sprung up in the corners of Hermione's eyes from a combination of Ron's words and the pressure on her wrist. "Ron…" she pleaded.
"Do not call her that," Lucius snapped, growing angrier. He stepped closer to Ron. "Let my daughter go before I am forced to use considerable force, because I will not hesitate."
"Your daughter?" Ron scoffed, looking over at Hermione before shoving her to the ground. "I don't know what you're playing at, but this little game of yours isn't funny any more Hermione."
"I'm reporting you to Harry, Ron." Hermione said weakly. "I wasn't going to do it, but if you're going to keep this up...you've left me no choice. I'm reporting you for sexual assault and domestic violence."
"You wouldn't." Ron scoffed, glancing down at her. His face shifted to one of fear when he saw she was serious. "I- I won't let you!" He lunged after her, grabbing her by the hair.
As soon as Ron had grabbed her hair, and he heard Hermione yelp, Lucius saw red. He sprung into action, "Crucio!" He yelled, and a jet of red left his wand, hitting Ron in the chest, blasting him backwards and into the wall behind him. Lucius stepped in front of Hermione protectively. "Go," he told her, urgently. "Get to Harry. I'll hold him here."
Hermione looked up at him, nodding absently and trying to get to her feet as Ron started screaming. "Thank you," She whispered to Lucius, brown eyes meeting gray for a moment, before she grabbed her purse and headed out the front door, heading for Harry's house.
Lucius pulled back on the curse, and stepped over to him. He pulled Ron up, and pulled his arms around his back and bound his wrists with magical bindings. "I may have been a Death Eater," Lucius said, glaring at him. "But I would never do the things you've done." He shoved Ron back against the wall. "Sit and stay, Weasley."
Hermione had apparated as soon as she was able, and found herself stumbling up the Potter's front steps. She was shaking, still reeling from the events she'd just witnessed. She knocked on the door, trying not to sound as frantic as she felt. She didn't want to scare the boys.
Harry pulled open the door, his smile soon fading as he saw her, concern coming over his face. He could read her like a book - and he could tell she was upset. "Hermione, what's wrong?" He asked, ushering her inside.
"It's Ron." Hermione said at once, hurrying in and hugging Harry at once. "It's Ron, Harry." The tears she'd been holding back the whole way over finally started to fall.
Harry caught her in his arms, and held her tightly. Ginny peeked around the corner and he waved her off. "What happened? Hermione, did he hurt you?" He asked, looking down at her.
Hermione nodded, sobbing into his shoulder. "He came to my flat, Harry. I'm so stupid, I shouldn't have let him in, but he said he wanted to apologize. He seemed genuinely sorry, at first. But as soon as things stopped going his way, he snapped."
Harry grew quiet, and he pulled away from her so he could look at her. "You're not stupid, don't call yourself that," His voice was even and calm. "Is he still at your flat? Would you like to press charges?"
"Yes," Hermione said. "I didn't want to before, but I can't keep living like this." Hermione looked around to see if the boys were in earshot, then lowered her voice anyway. "He raped me, Harry."
Harry looked down at her, disbelief, anger, and sadness warring in his face. "He what?" He asked, rage filling his voice. He pulled his wand, casting his Patronus. "I need two Aurors with me at Hermione Granger's flat…" he gave the address and the stag bounded off to go deliver it's message. "I will prosecute him," he said. "I promise you, 'Mione."
"One more thing, Harry." She said, hugging herself to calm her shaking. "Lucius Malfoy is there with him."
Harry turned around from grabbing his jacket and looked at her. "Wait, what? What's Lucius Malfoy— ooooh." It hit him that Lucius was probably the reason why she escaped.
"I wasn't expecting him. I think he was dropping off some toys for Scorpius." She told him. "He tortured Ron when he shoved me to the ground."
"Good, he did it for me," Harry said with a nod. "Do you want to come, or do you want to stay here with Ginny?"
"I think I need to come," She said, straightening up. She looked him in the eye, saw all the fury and sadness there, and knew something was finally going to be done about Ron.
He nodded and wrapped his arm around her. He lead her outside of the house where he apparated with her to the outside of her flat. The Aurors were already there. He gave them a nod and the four of them headed up the stairs.
Harry opened the door to see Ron sitting on the floor, his hands bound and Lucius sitting on the couch enjoying a cup of tea.
"Oh lovely!" Lucius said, "the proper authorities," he stood up, setting the teacup down. He crossed to Hermione, wrapping an arm around her in an awkward sort of hug.
"We'll need your statement, Mister Malfoy," Harry told him as his Aurors pulled Ron to his feet.
"You should arrest him too, Harry. He used an Unforgivable," Ron spat desperately.
Harry looked at Ron and then looked over at Lucius who shrugged. "I'm going to have to fine you fifty galleons for improper use of magic."
"But of course," Lucius nodded, solemnly.
Harry crossed to Ron, and looked up at him and into his eyes. "I am arresting you on charges brought up by Miss Granger. These charges include domestic assault, sexual assault, and rape." He nodded towards his Aurors to take him away. "Put him in interrogation. I want a word with him when I finish up here."
Hermione stepped closer to Lucius as the Aurors took Ron away. Her eyes hit the ground, avoiding his gaze.
"Keep your head up, Hermione," Lucius said, glancing at her. "You've done nothing wrong."
Harry offered her a weak smile. "You're safe now, 'Mione." He said, and looked to Lucius. "Would you mind taking her back to the Manor tonight? I don't want her to be alone, and I won't be able to stay with her."
"Of course, that is, if Hermione's okay with that?" Lucius asked, looking down at her.
Hermione nodded. "Scorpius is there. I could used the distraction." She looked between the two men. "Who's going to tell Draco?"
"I will," Harry said. "He has some paperwork he needs to pick up at the Ministry anyways. From the Gala, from what I've been told."
Lucius eyed Harry, he knew there was more than just some paperwork. Most likely he and Draco would take Ron to a backroom where there were no peeking eyes or listening ears. "I'm sure Scorpius will be so excited to see you, and Cissy will too," he smiled.
"Harry?" Hermione asked, frowning slightly. "Could you tell Kingsley I won't be in tomorrow?"
Harry nodded, "Of course. I'm sure he'll give you all the time you need."