Monday evening, after a long day of entertaining, Hermione is only too glad to retreat to her room.
Today she and Draco had hosted the Pierce Twins, a boy and girl the same age as them. Pureblood, of course, but the pair had been home schooled all their life.
It had been one of the more excruciating days in her recent memory. The twins were absolutely the most boring people she'd ever met. Draco had actually fallen asleep during lunch while one of them had been telling a story. Hermione had used a mild stinging hex under the table to wake him.
That had been the liveliest part of the day.
Now alone in her room, Hermione decides to ring up the boys and see how things are going for them.
As their faces appear crowded next to each other in the mirror, Hermione feels her spirits lift. All the stress and boring lunch dates are bearable as long as she can still see her friends.
"Hermione!" Harry chimes excitedly, "How are you? It's been ages! Are you alright? What's going on?"
"Slow down," she laughs, "I can only answer one question at a time. I'm... doing good. How are you two?"
"Busy," Harry sighs. "Mrs. Weasley is working us ragged to get things ready for the wedding."
"Ooh, I bet. Wish I was there to help!"
"You are coming to the wedding, right?" Harry asks.
"Yes, I'll be there. I can't wait to see you. I just wish I could be there for your birthday, Harry."
"I know you want to be, and that's what counts. Besides, we're just doing a small gathering for dinner… and I'll see you the next day."
Hermione nods, a little sad.
"So, what's new on the warfront? Anything you can share with me?" she asks, eager for news.
Harry's face grows grim and Ron looks away from the mirror.
"What? What happened?"
"A muggle family was snatched late last night. No warning, just gone. Traces of dark magic all over the place," Ron says, finally speaking up.
Hermione clasps a hand over her mouth.
"Don't worry though," Harry insists, "we were listening in earlier, and Snape knows where they're being held. Somewhere over in Surrey. The Order's going to go get them later tonight."
"You'd think if he knew where they were, he'd have known enough to stop them from being taken in the first place," Ron grumbles.
Hermione opens her mouth, but someone shouting for Harry interrupts her.
"Be right back," he says, passing the mirror to Ron.
"So…" Hermione stalls.
She's unsure what to say to him. The last time they spoke privately he had wanted to discuss their tenuous relationship, and while it's something she had previously been eager for, she's not so sure now.
Ron doesn't give her a choice in the matter.
"Look, I know it's probably not a good time, but we haven't really had any of those recently, and I'm not sure there are going to be any soon, so I just wanted to ask… do you… are you…" he stumbles, "is there something between us? I know you're one of my best friends and I might be mucking everything up by opening my mouth, but I had to ask. I need to know if there's more between us, or if I'm mad for even thinking it."
"Oh, Ron," Hermione sighs, biting her lip.
She's completely unprepared for what to say to him. Yes, she acknowledges inwardly, there has— had? — been something growing between them that surpassed the line of friendship, and she has wanted them to be so much more than friends… but right now there are so many larger things at play.
"You're not mucking anything up," she assures him, "and you definitely aren't mad. I think things have shifted between us in the last year and they have highlighted a possibility for something more for us… but for now, the timing is wrong to explore that possibility. We need to focus on supporting Harry, and doing all we can to win this war."
Ron looks crestfallen, and she feels guilty for not being able to say what he wants to hear.
"You're sure that's the reason you don't want to talk about this? There's not somebody else, is there?" he asks.
Her mind pulls up an image of Lucius.
"No," she says. "There's no one else."
He nods, though he doesn't look convinced.
She wants to say something else, something to reassure him, but a light knock on her door draws her attention away.
"I'm going to have to call you back," she whispers, before tucking the mirror away.
After dropping her wards Hermione answers the door.
Quickly pushing her aside, Lucius let's himself in, closing and warding the door behind him. A wave of his cologne hits her and her knees go weak.
She hasn't seen him since the evening of their encounter in the library.
"You're here about the muggles," she says, reading his anxious expression.
"You know about that?" Lucius asks. "It wasn't in the paper."
"The mirror," she explains. "The Order knows the family is being kept in Surrey, they're going after them tonight."
"Surrey? No, they're being held Kent."
"S- Our spy was told Surrey."
"I was told directly by the Dark Lord where the muggles were being held."
Hermione bites her lower lip.
"Just... hold on a second."
Hermione retrieves the mirror and cast muffliato in Lucius' direction.
He sighs dramatically, but says nothing.
"Ron? Harry?" she whispers into the mirror.
Harry appears almost instantly.
"You're back," he smiles.
"I need Arthur."
His smile disappears, and he nods solemnly rushing off without question.
A few moments later Arthur's face appears in the mirror.
"If this is about the missing muggles, don't worry we know," he says reading her worried face.
"Where were you told they were located?" she asks.
Arthur frowns.
"Hermione, you know I can't-"
"Were you told Surrey or not?" she interrupts.
"I'm going to have a talk with those boys. It's really nothing against you, Hermione... but we aren't supposed to be sharing-"
"Damn it, Arthur!" she exclaims frustrated. "Just answer the question! Were you told Surrey?"
The shock of her outburst startles him into answering.
"Yes, Severus said Surrey."
"How does he know? Where did he hear it?"
"He says Voldemort was boasting about their location to him."
"Shit," she groans.
"Hermione, what is going on?" Arthur demands, coming back to himself.
"You can't go," she says weakly. "You can't save them."
Remus appears in the mirror beside Arthur.
"Why not, Hermione?" he asks, clearly having been listening.
"It's a trap."
"We know it's going to be well guarded," Remus says, "that this is most likely a ploy to get us out in the open, but we're more than prepared."
"It's not a trap for the Order," she tells them. "It's a test for his own. He's looking for spies. My... source told me the muggles were being held in Kent, and that this information comes directly from the Dark Lord."
Arthur swears under his breath.
"He gave them all different locations... so if we show up at one he'll know who leaked it," Remus sighs.
"What do we do?" Arthur asks.
"Nothing," Hermione whispers, eyes prickling. "We can't risk our sources... they've saved so many lives already."
"So we let an innocent family die?" Remus scoffs.
"They're probably already dead. Take this info to the rest of the Order. It's their decision," she tells them.
Arthur and Remus put her on hold, and Hermione looks over to find Lucius watching her intently, trying to read her body language in place of being able to hear her.
She can tell from the set of his jaw he knows something is wrong.
It's only a few minutes before Arthur returns.
"Dumbledore agrees with you, Hermione. He says it's too risky to go after that family. We can't risk our sources. The Order is standing down."
His voice is bitter and it tears at Hermione's heart as if she is to blame.
Unable to respond Hermione nods and ends the call, tucking the mirror away once more.
She drops the spell and Lucius comes over immediately.
"What is going on? Is the Order getting ready to go?"
Hermione shakes her head.
"They didn't believe you?" he asks, confused.
She explains what she told Arthur and Remus, about how the different locations are probably meant to be a trap.
Lucius seems surprised.
"Don't worry," she says, "he probably doesn't specifically suspect you... I expect he told everyone a different location."
"What if you're wrong? Not about him suspecting me, but about the this being a test? Maybe the Dark Lord misspoke when he was talking to me, or maybe your spy misheard. Is the Order really going to risk the safety of an innocent family?"
"It was my idea not to go after them," she admits, even if she suspects Dumbledore would have come to the same conclusion on his own.
She still feels awful for being the first to voice it.
"You can't be okay with it, though."
"If it protects you... both of you, our spies... then it's not really a difficult choice."
Lucius doesn't reply.
"Any other news?" Hermione asks with a weary sigh.
"Not really. The Dark Lord is still furious about McNair's escape. He's searching everywhere."
"You're not still being punished, are you?"
"Don't fret, my dear. I can handle myself."
They're both silent, not knowing what else to discuss, but neither wanting to be alone.
"Thank you," she tells him finally.
"Whatever for?"
"For bringing me news on the muggle family."
"What little good that did," he scoffs.
"Still, though, thank you for trying."
Lucius sighs and nods.
"I should probably go. You need your rest."
"I won't be able to sleep," she says softly.
"Would you… like me to stay a while longer?" he asks uncertainly.
Hermione briefly considers putting on a brave face and telling him she'll be fine, but when she meets his gaze and sees a weariness to match her own she knows he's feeling the same soul-squeezing pressure as her.
"If you don't mind, I would like it if you stayed."
"How shall we occupy ourselves?" he asks with an exaggerated smirk.
"Have you ever played scrabble?"
Jumping off the bed, Hermione digs through her belongings until she finds her shrunken game. She restores it to normal size with a flick of her wand and hurries back to the bed.
"I can hardly ever get Harry or Ron to play. They hate losing."
She sets the board up in the middle of the bed and explains the rules to a very bemused Lucius. After they draw their tiles, Hermione lies down on her side and makes herself comfortable.
After the first game (which she wins, though not by as much as she does with the boys), Lucius finally caves, kicking off his shoes, and removing his cloak to make himself more comfortable. He lies down on his side across from Hermione, and she has to bite back a giggle at the ridiculousness of the situation.
I'm lying in bed with a partially dressed Lucius Malfoy playing a muggle board game. What is this world coming to?
"'Jeep' is not a word," Lucius argues as Hermione plays off of the triple word square.
"Yes it is, it's a muggle vehicle."
"Oh is it?"
"Are you questioning my honesty?" she asks, feigning outrage.
"Hmmph."
He places his own tiles.
"What, may I ask, is 'Jinqa'?" she questions.
"Jinqa is a term for a blanket knit by a house elf."
She narrows her eyes at him.
"You're making that up!" she accuses.
"Are you questioning my honesty?"
Lucius clutches his chest dramatically.
"Fine," she shrugs, "I suppose I could just ask a house elf."
She opens her mouth to summon Kinny.
"Oh, alright fine."
Lucius removes the pieces and scouts out another spot.
Almost three hours and four games later (all but one won by her), Hermione can't keep her eyes open and falls asleep with her head resting on her arms, face turned towards her remaining tiles.
Asleep, she doesn't see the soft smile grace Lucius' lips as he watches her, eyes tracing over her face.
He quietly picks up the game pieces and puts almost all of them back in the box.
Lucius retrieves a throw blanket from her couch and gently lays it over Hermione's sleeping form before letting himself out of the room.
The next morning Hermione wakes and stretches, yawning loudly. As she looks across to the other side of her bed she notices a scattering of scrabble tiles.
She can't suppress her laugh as she reads the message left for her.
"U OWE ME A REMATCH"
Her good mood follows her all the way to breakfast, right up until she sees the Prophet and the front-page story about a muggle family found dead in Sussex.
Appetite gone, Hermione spends the rest of the morning wandering the gardens, contemplating the savagery of war and her own reactions to it.
When she read the article, she realized that while she was saddened by the murders themselves, she was most upset by Voldemort's trap. Hermione found herself not thinking about the loved ones of the family that was slain, but about Voldemort's growing paranoia and how much harder it's going to be to gather useful intelligence.
Have I truly become this desensitized that I can easily set aside the slaughter of innocent children in order to strategize? Who am I becoming?
Her thoughts drift to Narcissa, who's head is buried in the sand, and Hermione considers that perhaps that is the only way to retain who you are in the face of such daily horrors.
With their busy social calendar, Hermione hasn't spent much time with Narcissa lately.
Her anger towards her aunt over being made to choose a husband has lessened since Lucius revealed his plan to get Hermione out of her forced nuptials.
It's not faded entirely, however, and Hermione has found it hard to try bridging the gap that formed between Narcissa and herself.
As if summoned by her thoughts, during her wandering Hermione finds her aunt sitting in the garden enjoying a cup of tea.
"Oh," she says when Narcissa spots her, "I didn't know you were out here."
"If you had you would have avoided me, I'm sure," Narcissa says with a sad smile.
She wants to disagree, but Hermione sees no point in lying to a Slytherin.
"Please, join me," Narcissa offers, gesturing to a seat across from herself and summoning another cup of tea.
Seeing no polite alternative, Hermione sits.
"I know you're angry with me," her aunt says, stirring more sugar into her tea. "You think I'm being cruel and unfair by asking you to choose your future in so short a time."
Hermione says nothing, and instead sips her drink.
"I promise that what I'm doing, I do for you. I want to protect you."
"How is stealing my freewill protecting me?"
"There is so much you don't understand yet about your new status. People are going to climb over one another for an opportunity to get to you… to use you."
"And that's not what's happening now? You're not using me to keep the Black family relevant? You're not trying to sell me off? You're asking me to choose someone I hardly know to spend the rest of my life with. Someone who wants me for my name, my blood, and the Black fortune."
"I am offering you a life of honesty!" Narcissa argues. "You are a beautiful young woman from a powerful family. You will never truly know the motives of the people you meet. You may meet someone and think yourself in love, and for all you know they could be using you, lying to you, to get what they want."
Narcissa reaches across the table to take Hermione's hand.
"This way, you go into your future with a clear understanding of what your spouse wants. Perhaps it's not a marriage built on love, but it's built on honesty and respect, and those things are much longer lived."
Her expression is so earnest and endearing, Hermione knows that Narcissa truly believes what she's saying. She really is trying to do what she thinks is best for Hermione.
Knowing her aunt is acting out of love, and that no matter what Lucius' plan will save her, Hermione decides to drop the subject of marriage completely and go back to trying forge a bond with her new family.
She nods slightly at Narcissa and sighs.
"So," she starts, "how are things going with the business holdings in France? Have there been any more issues recently?"
Narcissa beams brightly at the mundane topic, knowing it's Hermione's way of reaching back out, and starts to fill her in.
Later at dinner, Hermione can practically feel Draco's relief when he hears Hermione and Narcissa talking to one another again, and she must admit she's a bit relieved herself.
She didn't realize how much she was missing that connection.
Afterwards, Draco walks her to her room.
"Thank Merlin you two are back on speaking terms," he says. "If I had to spend one more dinner talking about the consistency of mashed parsnips to fill the silence I was going to hex myself."
Hermione laughs and elbows him.
"If you didn't, I would have."
They pause outside her bedroom door.
"So, tomorrow is Wednesday," Draco reminds her. "Have you told Mr. Bradbury you two will have the evening to yourselves?"
"No, not yet. I suppose it will be a surprise."
"Make it a real surprise and wear something lacy under your robes."
Hermione scoffs and shoves Draco.
"You're awful," she scolds halfheartedly.
"Yeah, but now you're thinking about it," he counters before wishing her goodnight.
Author's Note: Happy Holidays! Today I'll be posting two chapters! :o