8th July 2002
On Monday, Hermione was at her desk furiously going over the apothecary's finances, trying to determine how much extra space they needed and where it would be best to put a second location. She was desperately wishing the whole mess with Ron had been settled, but it seemed he was determined to be unreasonable for as long as humanly possible. With a sigh, she resolved to talk to Padma about the situation; her business partner needed to know about her struggles. Until things were finalized, Hermione couldn't commit a large number of Galleons to the expansion.
She knew she should just let Draco help her. In the grand scheme of things, the Galleons were nearly nothing to him. But that wasn't who she was — she took care of herself. She didn't rely on anyone for anything.
When a knock sounded on her door, she expected to see Draco; he was so in tune with her emotions that he likely knew she was upset. However, when she wandlessly opened the door, Harry and Ginny stepped in.
"Hey, Hermione," Ginny greeted. "I'm off from training and matches today so I figured I'd pop in for lunch. I kidnapped Harry, as well."
Despite her mood, Hermione smiled at her friends. "I'm so glad you came by. I haven't eaten yet and Draco said he had other plans around lunchtime."
Rising from her desk, Hermione grabbed her handbag and said, "I'm honestly starved. Where would you two like to go?"
Harry led the way, taking them to The Three Broomsticks like they were back at Hogwarts again. The pub was a bit slow since it was a Monday afternoon, and Hermione was happy about that — less people meant less of a chance of the press showing up to see what Harry was eating for lunch. Madam Rosmerta led the trio to a secluded corner table and left them on their own to decide on food.
Grinning at Hermione, Harry asked, "How is Malfoy? Keeping you busy?"
"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to, Potter," she replied, imitating Draco's tone.
Harry's eyes widened. "Merlin, that's scary. You almost sounded just like him."
With a laugh, she said, "He's been saying your name the same way since we were eleven years old. It wasn't hard to mimic."
Harry rolled his eyes at her, not continuing that line of questioning. Handing them three butterbeers, Madam Rosmerta took their food orders and bustled off.
"You know, she didn't even ask us if we wanted anything other than butterbeer," Hermione observed. "It's not like we're Hogwarts students anymore. We might have ordered something else."
Both Harry and Ginny laughed, knowing that Hermione always ordered the same thing, especially at lunchtime when she had to return to work.
"So, Hermione," Ginny began, "what's going on with my git of a brother and the house? I haven't spoken to you in two weeks."
Feeling uncomfortable, she averted her eyes. "It's basically the same. He won't let it go, and I won't back down. We're going to end up going to mediation or court."
"Seriously, Hermione? And you haven't talked to me about it at all?" Harry asked.
Taking a deep breath, she replied, "I don't want to put anyone in the middle of it, Harry. It's my mess, and you shouldn't be involved in it."
Ginny scoffed. "Someone needs to make Ron see sense. Have you spoken to Mum and Dad? You said you would if things didn't get resolved."
"That would be even worse than getting Harry involved, Gin! It would be like asking your Mum to choose me over her own son," Hermione answered. "I can't do that to her. Not when your parents have essentially been my parents since the end of the war. I don't want to cause any more problems within the family."
"Honestly, you're making this ten million times harder than it has to be! Mum wouldn't look at it like that, and you know it. She knows Ron has been nothing but a foul git since this whole thing started." When Hermione looked away, not answering, Ginny carried on. "I can't believe Malfoy hasn't gone all Alpha on his arse yet and pummeled him."
"We talked it over a few days ago, and then he came with me to see Theo. He knows where things stand right now. I asked him to let me handle it, and I think he will. He's just doing what I asked him to," Hermione said, defending Draco.
Harry's brow was furrowed as he listened to Ginny and Hermione volley back and forth. Hermione knew her best friend was holding his tongue, thinking things through fully before he jumped into the conversation. Post-war Harry was very different, always wanting all of the facts before coming to conclusions. And, as always, he knew her almost better than she knew herself.
"You're doing that thing again, Hermione, where you're not letting anyone help you. We're all here and willing to. You don't have to do this thing with Ron on your own," he said, finally breaking his silence. "You know that Draco and I have never really been friends, and I'm sad things didn't work out for you and Ron, but like I've said before, I knew you weren't well-suited."
Hermione met his eyes. "Harry, Ron and I have been split up for just over a month. He's hurting right now, and I don't want him to feel like his family and his best friends are turning their backs on him. I know he's just lashing out like he always has. With a bit more time—"
"I don't think this will be like the other times, Hermione," Harry said, cutting her off. "Do you honestly think you'll be able to stay friends after all of this? That you're going to forgive each other for the things that have been said and done?"
She sighed. "I know it's not like the other times. I'm not an idiot. But that's why it's so important for me to handle this on my own — I don't want Ron to feel like he's lost everything and everyone. But I'm also not going to give him everything he wants, either."
When Ginny looked like she was going to argue, Hermione shook her head. "Guys, I appreciate your concern and support, but I don't want to get the whole Weasley family involved in this. I know they'd likely try to talk sense into Ron, but he's not receptive to that right now. I don't know if he ever will be, so please just drop it."
"Hermione—" Harry began.
"No, Harry," she replied. "I just want to sit down and have a nice lunch and talk about things that have nothing to do with Ron or my divorce. Can you do that for me? Please?"
Harry and Ginny exchanged a look full of meaning and then nodded reluctantly. Hermione knew Harry was likely going to talk to Ron, and she also knew she couldn't stop him if he really wanted to do it. Harry would always be like a brother, meddling in her life when he thought she needed him to.
Changing the subject, Harry said, "I've been away on a case for the past week or so. It was kind of nice, being out of the house for a long period while Gin was at her away games."
"Can you tell me where you were?" Hermione asked, desperate to talk about any other topic.
And with that, Harry told her about his case, Ginny updated her on all things Quidditch, and they enjoyed the rest of their lunch, pointedly steering away from any conversation that veered too close to Ron.
Draco sat in the Hog's Head, waiting for the weasel to show up. He knew this meeting was going to be unpleasant, and he wasn't looking forward to it. Glancing at his watch, he realized that Weasley was pulling a power play on him — he was already ten minutes late. He resolved to wait another ten, and then he'd consider it a lost cause. The blatant lateness was something Lucius Malfoy used to pull on a regular basis when he was trying to establish who held all of the power, so Draco was accustomed to it.
His father's words streamed through his head. "Whenever you need to prove you have the upper hand, Draco, make them wait. If you have something they need, it sets the right tone."
If only Father could see me now, giving all the power to Weasley to make my Muggle-born witch happy…
Right as he was about to give up, Weasley walked through the door. He had a forced swagger in his step, and Draco knew exactly what the arsehole was planning. There were going to be negotiations. Luckily, he had done his research — he knew exactly how much the house was worth, and he knew how much he was willing to part with since Weasley hadn't pitched in a single Knut when Hermione had purchased it.
"Malfoy," he snarled, "I didn't think I'd be seeing your ferrety face without my ex-wife on your arm."
Draco sent the redheaded man his best sneer. "I told you she didn't know about it when I owled you, you half-wit. I figured we could try to have this conversation without upsetting Hermione more than you already have."
"Well, I suppose it's a good thing you call her by her name now, rather than Mudblood," Weasley quipped.
Draco honestly didn't know how to react. His first instinct was to hex the bastard, but he didn't want to start a very public brawl. He stuck to using his words.
"Don't you dare try to use my past against me, Weasley," he began. "I've grown into a man since the war, and I've been in love with Hermione since I was sixteen years old. I won't let you insult either of us."
Ron belligerently waved a hand in his face. "I'll never forget who you were back then, Malfoy. Just because you're an Alpha addicted to shagging an Omega doesn't mean you actually fucking know her or care about her. Not the way I did."
"Not the way you did? That's fucking rich," Draco quipped. "Let me see — you stopped speaking to her over a rat and a broomstick, you used her as a go-between when you and Potter broke up in fourth year and didn't even have the sense to ask her to the Yule Ball, you snogged Brown right in front of her when she thought you were going to get together, you abandoned her during the war, you—"
Weasley cut him off. "You watched her get tortured, Malfoy. All of that childish shit will never compare to what you let happen to her."
"You don't think I know that? You don't think I regret not doing anything to help her?" Draco asked. "I dreamt of it nearly every fucking night after you lot escaped from the Manor! I just bloody watched while the love of my life was Crucio'd right in front of me! My mother placed a sticking charm on my feet, but I didn't really fight it. I was a coward, and I know that. I never said I deserved her forgiveness."
Ron's face was still red and heated, but he seemed to be calming a bit.
"Well, at least you can admit you've got no bollocks," he mocked.
Clearly, Weasley hadn't thought that statement through. Draco took the opportunity to gain the upperhand. "Oh, I've got bollocks, Weasel. Just ask Hermione."
The red moved towards purple again, and Draco felt a little better.
"So, I just got another letter from that wanker, Theo Nott. He said Hermione wants to go to a mediator. Why are we here now if that's the case?"
"Yeah, I'm not going to let you waste her time like that," Draco answered. "What will it take for you to get the fuck out of Hermione's house?"
The weasel looked deep in contemplation, which Draco was sure was not the case. He knew what he wanted, but he didn't want to start the bidding too low.
"I think 100,000 Galleons should be enough to satisfy me," he stated, clearly looking to see how serious Draco was.
"That's hilarious, Weasley. You didn't put a single Knut into that house, and it's barely worth that much," he replied. "I'll give you 10,000. I'm sure that's more money than you spent on the house in the past two years."
The redheaded man narrowed his eyes, clearly surprised that he had done research into the matter. "How would you know that, Malfoy?"
His smirk graced his face again. "I obviously hired someone to look it over. I wasn't going to come here without doing my homework. A lesson I learned from our mutual… acquaintance."
"She'd kill you if she knew you were here trying to pay me off," he responded.
Draco nodded. "I'm fully anticipating no sex for a few days, pheromones be damned, and probably some assorted hexes coming my way."
"A few days? We always went a few days between shags. I'm sure that's not so unusual," Ron stated.
Draco pointed to himself, smirking. "Alpha. She's an Omega. It's odd for us to go one day without shagging, nevermind a few."
His eyes widened. "She's going to Avada you at some point, Malfoy, especially if you're telling people about her sex life and designation. And I'm going to laugh myself to death."
"I guess I'll see you in hell then, Weasel," he joked. "But seriously, everyone knows she's an Omega. It was in the Daily Prophet. Don't you know how to read?"
After a few seconds of shocked silence, Weasley looked up at him. "I hope you like birds, because she's fucking terrifying when she's angry… and those little yellow menaces will peck at your eyeballs."
Why does this fucking wanker keep repeating himself? I know she's going to be pissed at me. We've been over it a couple of times already. Is he that slow?
Draco shrugged his shoulders and took a sip from his drink. "I'm not afraid. I know she can be terrifying. She'll get over it and be happy again."
Clearly put off by the confidence in his statement, Weasley sighed. "75,000 then?"
"Oh, sure, that sounds fair," he drawled sarcastically. "25,000 is more than enough for you to keep taking your slags out on the town."
"Luna is not a slag, Malfoy!" Ron bit out.
With a roll of his eyes, Draco replied, "Yes, I know she's not, but what about Tracey? Or maybe that blonde bint from Hufflepuff you're with? Who'll be next, Weasel, my ex-wife?"
The color drained from his face.
"Yes, I can imagine it clearly. The two jilted exes sitting together and trying to find new love. The papers would eat that up, and Merlin knows you've always loved the attention. She fits this new ideal image of a woman you seem to have created. I bet you'd love to shag her," Draco taunted after riling him up.
Weasley just looked sick. "I'll settle for 70,000, Malfoy."
"You've really got a type now. Strange, wasn't Lavender Brown a blonde, as well? I'm shocked that you even married Hermione with the pace you're burning through blondes since your separation," he remarked, watching the other man's face morph from white to red to purple and back again, his emotions on display for everyone to see. "You'll get 50,000 Galleons, and not a Sickle more. I brought all the paperwork with me. I expect you out no later than Friday."
An uneasy silence fell between them, and the weasel looked like he was debating something internally. Ron's fingers wove into his own hair, gripping it and looking a bit pathetic. His eyes squeezed shut for a moment, and Draco thought he might start crying. It was uncomfortable, and it took everything in him not to taunt the man.
But he remembered what it was like after the war, how hard it was to decide to just let Hermione go. As much as he hated Weasley, he couldn't judge him for being upset. Even if Ron had never treated Hermione properly, always considering her one of the guys rather than a woman and his wife, Draco knew he cared for her deeply.
When Weasley opened his eyes again, he looked directly at him, and Draco could see the resignation there. He was going to give up, surrender to the Alpha in the room. He was getting more than he likely would from Hermione alone, and he wasn't going to fight a stronger opponent any longer.
"I did love Hermione, Malfoy. I do enjoy blondes, but it's mainly because they don't remind me of her right now. I'm not interested in shagging Astoria, either. That would just be too bloody weird, and I'm already sick of the spotlight," he replied while sloppily signing all the documents Theo had prepared.
Draco almost felt bad for the other man. Once things had ended with Hermione and the war was over, he wouldn't have considered a witch with brown curly hair, either. She would've only been a poor substitute for the real thing, and he hadn't been able to stomach that thought.
"The funds will transfer tomorrow after I give this to Theo," Draco stated, dropping a few coins on the table to pay for their drinks.
Weasley met his eyes. "I know you're a cocky bastard, Malfoy, but if she finds out about this, she might leave you."
Draco almost laughed. "Very doubtful, Weasley, but thanks for looking out for me. I'll take very good care of my Omega ."
He strutted out of the pub and headed to the apothecary. He wanted to snog his witch to celebrate his victory over Weasley, even if he felt slightly uneasy about the last statement.
Author's Note: I know, I said Sunday and I'm a day late. I didn't sleep all that much on Saturday, so I was exhausted yesterday. So here we are, one day later than planned.
So two of the four Christmas pieces I've been working on went live yesterday...
Christmas Sanctuary is a Dramione collaboration with smithandbarrowman for my lovely beta, LaBelladoneX. If you read and commented on this piece on AO3, know that smithandbarrowman and I are so full of gratitude and love for all of you. Our inboxes and hearts are quite full! smithandbarrowman has posted it here on FFN, and I will be doing that over the weekend.
All Manor of Lessons is a Dramionaise smut piece that can be read as a sequel to Critical Point.
I should have a third piece (my first Charmione) posting by the end of the week!
And I'm furiously working on Guarding the Dragon. Chapter 11 should go up before Saturday. It's been a little hectic over here, but I thrive on chaos.
Love to all of you! See you Saturday!