A moment later, Hermione appeared in the alley behind the Leaky Cauldron, then hurried upstairs to Lucius' penthouse.
She found Lucius in the library, seated in front of the fireplace, reading the Daily Prophet over a cup of tea.
"That didn't take long," Lucius observed as she entered the room. "I trust that everything went smoothly?"
"Yes," Hermione said, taking the chair beside him. "But Ginny guessed that I have a man."
"Did you tell her about me?" Lucius demanded.
"No," Hermione assured him. "I told her I couldn't tell who it was because it was a married man and that satisfied her for now. And she did promise not to tell her Mum about it and that she'd go along with the story I told her parents."
"Good," he said. "Did you bring your belongings?"
"Yes," she replied. "I brought everything, except for my cat, Crookshanks. I figured he'd be better off with the Weasleys while we visit America. I'll pick him up once we get back and we've made our relationship public."
"Speaking of our trip, I want to leave as soon as possible," Lucius said. "Tomorrow, I think." After a sip of tea, he continued, "I want to take you shopping for new clothes as befits your new status, plus anything else you think you might need."
"How are we going to travel to America?" Hermione asked. "I can't imagine apparating across the Atlantic Ocean."
"The fireplaces at Malfoy Manor are equipped for international floo travel," he explained. "A different type of floo powder is used for traveling such distances. Apparition is possible, but it involves doing it in several jumps: to Iceland, to Greenland, and so on."
"Could we not take a muggle airplane?" Hermione asked, apprehensive about flooing across the Atlantic Ocean.
"It's perfectly safe to floo that distance with the right fireplaces and floo powder," Lucius assured her. "I've done it many, many times with no trouble. Besides, I don't have a current muggle passport, so traveling by airplane is out for right now."
"I'll trust your judgment," Hermione said. "I'm sure once I do it, I'll be comfortable with it from then on."
"Now that this is settled, why don't we go to Twilfitt and Tatting's so I can buy you some clothing for the trip," Lucius said. "Then we can take in an early dinner before retiring for the night."
"All right," Hermione agreed.
Two hours later, Hermione had been measured and outfitted with enough new clothing for the trip, with the seamstress promising to have a complete wardrobe ready for her upon the couple's return from the States. While Hermione had been in the changing room, Lucius had also taken the seamstress aside and told her to make sure to include a wide selection of maternity robes in the wardrobe.
"I feel so decadent," Hermione said as she and Lucius were exiting Twilfitt and Tatting's with her wearing one of her new outfits, a fitted dress robe in Gryffindor scarlet. "Are you sure I need that many new clothes?"
"You'd better get used to it," Lucius told her. "From now on, I intend that you and our child should always have the very best of everything."
As they climbed the stairs to the penthouse a few minutes later, Lucius said, "I thought we'd eat dinner here tonight."
"Oh?" Hermione said. "I'm afraid I don't know how to cook."
"Nor would I ever expect you to," Lucius assured her.
"You're going to cook?" Hermione asked, dumbfounded, as he led her to the kitchen. Somehow, she just couldn't imagine Lucius Malfoy in an apron standing over a boiling pot.
"Don't be ridiculous," Lucius said as they entered the kitchen, which looked no different from when he'd first shown it to Hermione."
"Breezy," Lucius said.
Almost instantly, there was a loud crack. A female house elf dressed in a clean tea towel appeared, looking up expectantly at Lucius. "Master called Breezy?"
"Yes, Breezy," he said. "This is Miss Granger and she is my consort." After Breezy curtsied politely to Hermione, he continued, "Mrs Malfoy tells me that you've recently completed your training, so I want to give you a chance to show us what you've learned. I've left the list of what I want you to cook there on the table."
"Yes, Master," Breezy said. "I will cook you a wonderful meal you will not forget."
"Excellent," he said. "Miss Granger and I will be in the library until it's ready."
"Tell me about Breezy," Hermione said carefully once she and Lucius were seated side by side in front of the fireplace.
"Draco told me you were for freeing all the house elves," Lucius said, instantly understanding her unsaid thoughts. "Do you still feel that way?"
"I'm still interested in making sure they're treated fairly and kindly," Hermione said. "But Kreacher showed me that most elves are happiest when they can serve their families and be appreciated for it." After a moment, she continued, "I'm not asking you to free her. I just want to know a little about her."
"Well, that's good because I intend to transfer her primary allegiance to you once our relationship is official," he said. "I won't be able to live with you seven days a week once you conceive, as that wouldn't be fair to Narcissa. I will spend three or four days with you every week, however."
"Go on."
"Once you become pregnant and maintain your own household here, you'll need household help. Breezy's mother is the head cook at Malfoy Manor and Breezy has just completed her apprenticeship as cook and housekeeper. She is ready to manage a household of her own. I'm sure she will be delighted when I tell her that she will soon have a family to take care of."
"What would happen to her if I refused?" Hermione asked.
"We have enough house elves to run Malfoy Manor properly, so she would have ended up employed at Hogwarts," he told her. "Trust me when I tell you that she'll be much happier caring for you and our children."
"In that case, I accept," Hermione said.
"Good," he said. "I'll feel better when you're here alone if Breezy is with you."
An hour later, as the couple lingered over after dinner drinks, Hermione said, "That was wonderful. I'm going to get fat off Breezy's marvelous cooking."
"You'll be gaining some weight in the near future at any rate," Lucius noted. "Why don't we call it a night and go work on that now?"
"I thought you'd never ask," Hermione said, smiling.
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A/N: Thanks to my readers for their continuing support of this story. Pictures of some of Hermione's new clothes are posted on my companion blog, which can be clicked to from my profile.
A/N: Next chapter: A Meeting and a Trip