Hermione wondered how her life had gotten to this particular point in time. She could list the events that led her here, Ron cheating, going to St. Mungos, riding the Knight Bus, but she didn't understand why it had to happen to her. Hadn't she sacrificed enough throughout her life? Did she really owe the world more? Apparently the answer was yes. Hermione really just wanted to shout at the bloody world to leave her the hell alone.
She glanced at her sofa, which held a passed out Draco Malfoy. Scorpius was in the guest room, playing quietly. Harry was sitting at the kitchen table, looking concerned, and Ginny was next to him looking guilty. "Tell me again what happened?" Hermione asked, leaning against the counter and rubbing her temples.
Harry sighed softly and said, "The article came out with the morning paper. 'Hermione Granger: War Hero to Villain'. It...Had some details about your date, and that you were interacting with Lucius Malfoy-"
"But I wasn't interacting with him in a positive way," Hermione said furiously. "Did it say that? Because we didn't exactly exchange pleasantries."
"It also," Harry said, ignoring her, "mentioned that you were on a date with someone who wasn't your husband."
"My husband cheated on me," she said stiffly. "And if this is such a big deal, why aren't there any articles about Ron taking out Vanessa? They're out in public together all the time."
"Because Ron...Ron's not you, Hermione," Ginny said quietly. "What story is going to sell better: joke store owner cheats on wife or high ministry official cheats on husband?"
"But I didn't cheat on him!" Hermione protested furiously. She heard Draco shift on the sofa and she quieted down again, not wanting to disturb him. He'd come knocking on her door absolutely wasted around four that morning; he needed to sleep it off. "I didn't cheat on him. We're getting divorced. And I know David knew that."
"He's just bitter," Ginny said, still looking guilty. "He's bitter because of what happened with his arms."
"They put them back though," Hermione muttered. "And it's not like it's the first time that's happened to him. Which, by the way, Ginny, never set me up again. Okay?"
Her friend grinned slightly but it quickly fell away. "I know, Hermione, but he had a chance to drag your name through the dirt and he took it. It's like...Merlin, it's like he's the new Rita Skeeter."
"But she works for the Daily Prophet too," Hermione said. "Couldn't she stop this?"
"She's not exactly your biggest fan," Harry said. "You did keep her in a jar for a while, remember? My guess is she turned a blind eye to the article. She'll say she was unaware of the true facts and only knew what Wilson claimed."
Hermione folded her arms across her chest and sighed heavily. "Did your mother see it, Ginny?"
"She doesn't believe a word of it," Ginny said immediately. "And she expects you to come to dinner tonight."
Hermione let out a breath of relief. She had a lot of respect for Molly Weasley, and she wouldn't want Mrs. Weasley to think she'd treated Ron badly. "What about our friends?"
"Neville wrote this morning, remember? That's what tipped you off; he said he hoped you were okay and that you could get together soon and talk about what happened."
"I love Neville," Hermione muttered. "Luna's off somewhere with Rolf, but she wouldn't believe a word of it anyway. Have you heard anything from the department?"
"I sent someone to Wilson's house already," Harry said, "to make sure he stopped spreading rumors like this. As for the department, I think they just don't like attention being put on them. I don't think this is something you'll lose your job over."
Hermione nodded, partially relieved. "What about Ron?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Don't worry about Ron, he's being a git."
"Yeah?"
"Definitely," Harry said. "I don't know what's going on with him; he was fine a few weeks ago and now he's acting like a child."
"Somehow I'm not surprised," Hermione said quietly. "Is there any way we can set the record straight?"
"You can do an interview," Ginny said, "People are likely to listen to you because of everything you've done. It wouldn't be wise to have me do it, they'd think I was being biased, but I can find someone I'm sure will write the truth."
"Okay," Hermione said with a heavy sigh. "How soon? I want this dealt with as quickly as possible."
"We can do it tomorrow over lunch," Harry said. "Ginny can find someone by then, and I'll sit in and make sure they don't do anything stupid."
Hermione nodded and rubbed her face with her hands. "I wish they could leave me alone for more than six months," she muttered, remembering all of the articles she'd been a part of in the last few years. The worst had been after Rose was born, when some reporter had accused her of sabotaging the pregnancy. Hermione had smacked the woman when she'd come to her for a comment on the story, which had prompted another report about how she was unstable. "I don't need this stress in my life right now."
"I know, Hermione," Harry said. "I'm sorry about this. I'm-"
"Miss Mione?"
Hermione turned around in her chair to see Scorpius standing behind her. His eyes were full of tears and he looked embarrassed. "What is it, Scorpius?" she asked gently, worried about what had upset him.
"Miss Mione, I had an accident," he said quietly, not looking at her anymore. "I'm sorry."
"That's okay," Hermione said, standing up and taking his hands. "We'll get you cleaned up and then you can go back to playing, okay? And soon we can make lunch together."
He nodded slightly, and she led him into the bathroom and away from her friends. It didn't take much to get him fresh again, and he hugged her tightly once she'd finished helping him. "I love you Miss Mione," he whispered against her legs. "I love you a lot."
Hermione felt a pang in her chest at his words. For a moment she imagined that her daughter was standing there, hugging her and saying those words, and it broke her heart when she remembered that Rose was dead and they would never get moments like these. "That's very sweet of you to say," Hermione said, leaning over to pick him up and give him a proper hug. "I love you too Scorpius. Now go play, okay? I'll come get you when it's time for lunch."
He nodded and she set him down again. He ran off to the guest room again, and Hermione wiped her eyes before going back out to Harry and Ginny. They were whispering to each other, and stopped when she came back to the table. "What are you two talking about?" she asked suspiciously.
"You...It's just, you haven't mentioned why Draco Malfoy is asleep on your sofa yet," Ginny said. Hermione rolled her eyes; Ginny was back to being herself. "You're sure you're not involved with him at all?"
"I watch his son from time to time," Hermione said, shaking her head at her friend. "Don't be ridiculous, Ginny."
"I'm not being ridiculous," she protested quietly, so she wouldn't wake him up. "But you two are around each other quite frequently now-"
"I watch his son; of course we're around each other frequently." she said.
"Hermione-" Harry said, smirking at her.
"Are you two ganging up on me?" she asked, surprised that Harry was involved in the conversation as well. "Seriously?"
"Well, if the shoe fits," Harry said. "Look, I'm not saying that anything should happen or will happen romantically, but-"
"He's on my bloody sofa," Hermione whispered. "Can we not do this right now?"
"He's not going to wake up," Ginny said confidently. "Oi, Malfoy, are you awake?"
There was no response from the sleeping man on her sofa, and Hermione put her head in her hands. "You're both ridiculous. Completely ridiculous."
"Just don't shut out the idea," Ginny said. "You could be good for each other."
"Seriously?" Hermione asked again, shocked by how much her friends seemed to want something to happen with Draco Malfoy. "How do you imagine that?"
"You could calm him down a bit," Harry said. "He wouldn't have to raise a kid on his own. I'm sure he manages fine, but that's not exactly easy on anyone. And he would slow you down, I think."
"Slow me down?"
"With work, I mean. You work so hard; you always have, even with Ron. Be honest; if the Malfoys weren't here right now, what would you be doing?"
"Maybe reading, or…" she stopped and blushed. She would probably be doing something for work; she always had more to do with work.
"Exactly," Harry said. "I just feel like he'd slow you down. And that wouldn't be a bad thing. You could spend some time as a family, almost. It's not like he wouldn't challenge you-Malfoy's almost as smart as you, and you would talk about intelligent things and probably bicker-but you didn't do that with Ron. You would fight sometimes but eventually just give in."
"It's not going to happen," Hermione said stubbornly. "Let it go, you two. I'm not discussing this anymore. Now, if there's nothing else…"
"We'll get out of your hair," Harry said with a slight smirk. "Just behave yourself, okay?"
Hermione rolled her eyes and walked them to the door. She hugged both of her friends, her family, and told them not to say anything stupid when she came to dinner that night. Hermione was relieved that Molly Weasley still wanted her to come to the family dinner even though Hermione was divorcing her son.
She went to get Scorpius then, and they made lunch together. Scorpius asked her questions quite frequently, trying to understand everything they were doing, and Hermione explained everything patiently. She enjoyed having Scorpius with her. "Would you like to wake up your father?" she asked. "That way we could all eat lunch together? It's getting late, he should wake up anyway. Don't you think?"
Scorpius giggled and nodded, rushing over to his father. Hermione watched with a slight smile on her face as Scorpius poked Draco, shaking his shoulder slightly. "Daddy…" Scorpius said in a sing-song voice. "Daddy! Daddy it's lunch time. Wake up!"
He kept shaking Draco's shoulder, and after a moment Draco jerked awake, a bit delirious. "What's happening?" he asked, looking around the room in confusion. "Granger? What are you doing here?"
"In my flat?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "I don't know, what am I doing in my own flat?"
"Why am I in your flat?"
"You missed Scorpius but didn't want to wake him up," she lied easily, because Scorpius was in the room and she didn't want him to know that his father had gotten incredibly drunk and showed up on her doorstep. "We'll talk later. Scorpius and I made lunch; are you hungry?"
"Yes, please." he said, standing up from the couch. He rubbed his temples for a moment and then walked to the kitchen table. Hermione set out plates and dished out food before taking a seat herself.
Lunch was nice, genuinely nice. She didn't think about David Wilson and his article or what had happened with Lucius Malfoy the night before. She focused on the people with her, completely aware that Harry would claim it as evidence for his earlier statement. In her opinion, though, his earlier statement was just assumptions, which could never be true.