Chapter 28

Hermione only saw Draco at dinner time. He was distracted much of the time, so they didn't really talk much.

"Marcus Belby got elected to Minister of Magic." Malfoy said one afternoon.

"You really didn't think Nott would get elected did you?" She said.

"He would do a better job."

"Except that a large number of people don't trust him."

"Because he's a Slytherin." Draco said. "Might be for the best, can't have him getting too up himself. But Belby, his family are thieves from way back."

"That's ridiculous." Hermione said. "And besides, his family aren't here anymore."

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Draco said. "Even that Cho Chang girl would have made a better Minister, but she's a girl, no one would have elected a girl."

"I voted for her."

"There has never been a female Minister."

"And what, she can't do the job because she's a girl?"

"Same as Nott can't do it because he's a Slytherin."

"That's different." Hermione said. "Discriminating against someone because of their gender is different from not preferring someone because they've proven themselves to be self centred and self serving."

"In this case, its exactly the same."

"You're a pig. You are unbelievable, you know that?" Hermione said feeling anger rise up her face.

"I agree that Cho Change would likely to a better job, but this society isn't going to vote for a girl, that's just the way it is."

"Because you believe that girls should be subjugated and repressed doesn't mean that everyone does."

"Where does this come from?" Draco said. "A bit personal for a debate of societal preferences."

"I think you are applying your twisted view of the world to society in general, and it doesn't hold true."

"Well, she didn't get elected, did she?" He said. "You might not agree with it, but the outcome was predictable. You can put your head in the sand and believe that things are different, but they aren't."

"You think you're such a realist, don't you?" Hermione accused. "You revel in the wrongs of this society and do nothing to try to make things better."

"If you haven't noticed, my family has been trying to improve this society for decades."

"What, by going backwards? By supporting a lunatic like Voldemort."

"Voldemort was a curse we were sadly stuck with. We never supported his tactics or methods, but its not like you can walk away from someone like him, you're stuck whether we like it or not. Believe me, no one is more happy that he is gone than I. Why are we having this discussion?"

"I just need to know who I am dealing with."

"Well, what you see if what you get."

Silence filled the dining hall.

"I don't trust you." Hermione said.

"That is more than obvious." He said. "I have to go. Interesting discussion, but I have to leave it here." She could hear the sarcasm in his voice. He got up and left the room.

She didn't feel satisfied, in fact, she felt like she'd just scratched the surface. She wasn't entirely sure where it would lead to, but she needed to communicate her displeasure with this whole situation. Absolutely everything about it was wrong. Her being with him was wrong, her attraction to him was above wrong. She felt like she was losing sight of the person she was supposed to be.

There was a definite pouch in her belly now. She could feel it when she was lying down. The idea that there was a person growing in there was so abstract it didn't feel real. She wished she had someone she could talk to about it. Belly pouches were definitely not a topic to discuss with either Harry or Ron, and it was too personal to talk to Ginny about. Maybe Luna, but discussions with Luna always ended up somewhere completely unexpected and often a little disturbing.

And there weren't any professionals to talk to. There were no midwives, so she had to come to terms with the idea that there would be no one to help when the baby actually came. There wasn't going to be a hospital to go to, and there wasn't anyone around who had actually birthed a baby before. That was a little scary, people died in child birth, or used to all the time.

But on the upside, there was life back in Diagon Alley. Some of the shops were open while others were completely dark and shut up. There was market day once a week, not that she needed anything as Malfoy seemed to have everything they needed food wise. But gossip was the only way to find out what was going on as there weren't any new additions of the Daily Prophet. Maybe someone should start it up again.

"Hey Harry." She said as she floo'ed over to Grimmauld Place one afternoon. "How is the refit going?"

"We're getting there. We have one room completed. Want some tea?"

She nodded and they walked into the kitchen.

"So what are you going to do?" Hermione said after a while. "Once you finish decorating. I was just thinking someone should start up the Prophet again."

"I don't think I have the makings of a journalist." Harry said. "I don't know. I'd always planned on being an auror, but the department isn't open yet. I hear that Belby is looking for some kind of law enforcement though, maybe I'll give that a shot. We still have plenty of money, so there's no rush. Dean is struggling though, he's got his parents house, but they had very little in savings."

"What's he going to do?" Hermione asked.

"He's looking for work, but there is only so much going. There are no taxes to support the Ministry growing any bigger than the handful of people who are dealing with the essential services. Apparently Belby is having tiffs with Zabini about getting money out of Gringotts. Zabini is refusing. It seems the Ministry was running a bit leanly before the Great Incident, something to do with a purchase of land for new development."

"I didn't know the Ministry was doing development."

"It was for profit, and now there is no one to sell it to. It's only partially completed and now serves no purpose what so ever."

"So we're broke?"

"Kind of." Harry confirmed. "Well, as a society we're not. Malfoy and some of the other old families have hordes of money, but communally we have very little. And some kids, particularly those tied with the muggle world have practically nothing at all. Dennis and Colin Creevey haven't got a knut or a place to live. They're living with Dean and they are all struggling."

"We have to do something." Hermione said. "We need jobs."

"We need taxes, but I suspect that the law enforcement job Belby is recruiting for is really a tax collection job. And I have to say, being a tax collector was not the job I was dreaming of."

Malfoy Mansion was quiet as per usual. The opulence of the place seemed ridiculous considering the discussion she'd just had with Harry. She walked around the house trying to think through the things she'd learned. It wasn't fair that Dennis, Dean and Colin were struggling like that.

"We need a fairer system." She said to Malfoy as soon as he floo'ed in from wherever he'd been.

"What are you talking about?" He said. He was clearly tired, she could tell by the way he moved.

"Some people are really struggling and are having trouble supporting themselves."

"Well, they need to do something then, don't they?" He said.

"What are they supposed to do, get a job? There are no jobs."

"Then they have to create a business or something."

"You have money, you can give some of it away?"

"I'm not giving my wealth away, that's madness and it wouldn't achieve anything." He said looking at her like she was crazy. "One is wealthy and secure when one has money, giving it away kind of defeats the purpose."

"Well, I say we have to take care of people." She said. "And it's my money too, isn't it?"

"Like hell it is." He said. "Sorry love, but you don't have free reign over the Malfoy wealth. I'm not stupid."

"So I have no access to money?" She said.

"If you need anything, I will get it for you." He said. "But I am not supporting all and sundry, least of all your no hope causes."

"How can you be stingy when people are struggling? It isn't normal times, we can't behave like everything is the way it was, it isn't. If you refuse to give money away, you can at least give people jobs."

"There are no jobs, there are no businesses, they disappeared when the people disappeared along with the markets they served."

"You still have piles of money." She said. "I can't believe you're not willing to help."

"It wouldn't help, it would just delay the inevitable. You don't enable an untenable situation, you waste everyone's time and waste what's left of my wealth."

She seethed as she admitted that she could at a stretch see his point, but it was a cold stance and she wasn't comfortable with it.

"Do you only care about yourself?" She said sharply.

"I'm not prepared to go destroy my family in some vain attempt to appease your misplaced conscience."

"The part that makes you a decent human being is that you try." She said.

"No, that is the part that makes you a Gryffindor, the full willingness to throw your lot on a completely doomed venture. Sometimes you have to take the small blows to achieve the longer term gains. That is part of being an adult."

"No, you have to care for the people around you."

"And you don't do that by supporting unsustainable situations." He said. "We are talking around in circles, its pointless." He said and started walking away.

She followed him into the dining room where a nice meal was being served for them.

"Everything has to be your way, doesn't it?" She said, the familiar anger was boiling inside her.

"With my family and my family's wealth it does." He confirmed.

"And my opinion doesn't matter a bit?"

"Are you part of this family?" He said.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Have you even told anyone that we're married?"

She couldn't quite find what to say, because she had not informed anyone of that fact. It was just a temporary state that would end within a year. Everyone knew they were having a baby, but she hadn't informed anyone that is was a formal arrangement as well.

"Would it make a difference if I did?" She said challenged in a quiet voice.

"No, probably not."

"I didn't think so." She said feeling like she won a point. "Maybe I haven't told anyone because I don't want people to think I would put up with someone who tried to control everything including me. Everything has to be your way. That is not how you have a relationship."

"What do you know about relationships?" He was shouting now. "I might like a wife that listens to what I say."

"Someone who does what you tell them to." She snorted.

"Someone who trusts me implicitly." He said. "You certainly don't. You don't trust anyone, not even your friends."

She snorted again with the ridiculousness of the statement.

"I trust my friends with my life."

"Really, then why haven't you told them about our marriage?"

"Because it doesn't matter." She said back. She hadn't intended to say it quite so sharply.

"Well, there we go." He said. "And probably a good thing, because I don't think I could tolerate being attacked every time I walked through the door for the rest of my life."