16th July 2002
It had taken Hermione two full days to collect herself enough to confront Ron. She had received several owls from Draco and ignored them. Since she knew she'd be putty in his hands the moment she let her guard down, she wasn't ready to talk to him. However, she was ready to head to Diagon Alley to confront that absolute snake Theo Nott. And, after that, she was going straight to the Ministry to give Ron a piece of her mind.
Since she hadn't seen Draco in two days, she had taken suppressants. She wasn't stupid enough to make that mistake again. They were helping to tamp down her sexual frustration a bit, but she was still rather cranky. The pure ridiculousness of her libido infuriated her more — normal people didn't get sexually frustrated after two bloody days, but here she was.
As soon as she burst through Theo's door, he was on his feet with his wand in his hand. When he saw it was her, he lowered it. She nearly laughed, quickly whipping hers out to silence him.
"Putting your wand away was unwise, Nott. I'm not very happy with you at the moment!" she hissed. "How dare you let Draco get involved when I asked you not to! I could have you disbarred!"
Theo just looked at her, unable to speak.
"I was going to reach an agreement with Ron on my own, Nott. I'm an Omega female, not a fucking troll! If you haven't noticed, I'm pretty damn intelligent!" Hermione paused. "And, on top of that, you've made me feel like I can't trust you to handle my business or any transactions for me anymore!"
She waved her hand, allowing him to speak.
"Granger, I'm sorry, but you weren't being smart when it came to your ex-husband. I don't care how many NEWTs you received or that you're the Brightest Witch or any of that rot. You were letting Weasley jerk you around, and I knew that Draco would crush him down to a reasonable settlement," Theo explained. "I don't know what happened with Weasley, other than the obvious, but you needed help with him. Sometimes, when your heart is concerned, you're fucking blind. Draco knows it, and I think deep down you know it, whether or not you'll admit to it."
Hermione grew even more furious as she listened to Theo Nott, someone who barely knew her at all, lay out her emotions reasonably. Again. How did this wizard know exactly what to say to her?
"Theo, what you said, it doesn't matter! You have a responsibility as a solicitor—"
"If you wanted someone less involved, you probably shouldn't have come to Draco's best friend, Hermione. You were unhappy, and that made Draco unhappy, so he came to me. We both wanted to do what was best for you," he interjected.
She glared at him. "What about doing the right thing? You breached my confidentiality!"
"To the man who is basically your soulmate! And we had just discussed everything with him in the room anyway!" Theo yelled. "He loves you. All he wants to do is take care of you and redeem himself for the war and McLaggen and every other shitty fucking thing that's ever torn you two apart!"
When phrased that way, Hermione supposed it didn't sound so bad.
"Theo," she sighed, "I feel like I can't trust him! I asked him not to get involved, and then he did. I know why he did it. Really, I do. But he didn't even really talk to me about it. He just came to you and then went directly to Ron!"
"Did he try to talk to you?" Theo asked.
Hermione shook her head and then reconsidered. "After we met at the beginning of the month, I told him about it. I explicitly asked him not to get involved."
"But did you really discuss it? Or did you just tell him no and shut him down?"
"We discussed it a little bit before I told him no. I said I'd reconsider if he rejected my final offer," she answered.
"Did you talk before you came to my office that day?"
Hermione blushed, remembering exactly what had happened that morning after they'd received Theo's owl. As usual, her solicitor didn't miss a beat.
He smirked and said, "I'll take that adorable blush as an admission that you did not discuss anything serious before coming here."
"No, we didn't, but—"
"That letter told you Weasley was rejecting your final offer and then you came here without discussing it at all, did you not?"
"That's not the point! Draco shouldn't have gotten involved until we'd properly discussed it!"
Theo rolled his eyes at her. "Perhaps you should've stuck to what you said, Hermione. I think you're both in the wrong here, and I did tell Draco to talk to you about all of this. I know what I did was ethically grey, but Weasley was going to drag everything out as long as humanly possible. You and Draco didn't need that kind of stress hanging over your heads."
Hermione just glared, trying to figure out how to refute his words. She was drawing a blank, and she didn't like the feeling at all.
Breaking the silence, Theo asked, "Are you punishing him?"
Hermione supposed she was punishing Draco by not answering him, but she was still bloody pissed at him, and Theo Nott would not make her change her mind about it.
"I guess I am," she replied. "But I don't feel bad about it, and I'm not ready to talk to him yet. I'm going to talk to Ron first."
"Oh, Granger, you're going to piss him off something awful," Theo scolded. "Going to talk to your ex-husband before you make up with him? That's going to hurt him."
"Well he hurt me, Theo! And I'm not saying that two wrongs make a right, but I don't really care how he feels right now. Honestly, stop playing psychologist and go back to being my damn solicitor!" Hermione spat.
"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you…" Theo teased. "What sort of things do you need your solicitor to handle today, Ms. Granger?"
Hermione made a very rude hand gesture at him and rolled her eyes. "I need final divorce papers to bring to Ron since you and Draco so kindly took care of negotiations for me, and I need to know if there's anything I can do for the Omega law thing. Oh, and I also need you to look over a leasing agreement for a space in London."
Theo had, wisely, dropped the subject and they concluded all of their business. Hermione pulled another vial of suppressants out before leaving his office. She was pissed off and close to her heat; she knew she had to be extra careful. While Cormac no longer worked at the Ministry, Hermione was certain there were other Alphas who did, and she was not willing to risk being cornered again. She kept her hand on her wand at all times while out in public on her own.
When she reached Ron's office, she hesitantly knocked on the door. He called out that it was open, and she walked in. His blue eyes roamed over her and his posture stiffened, recognising the fury written all over her face.
"Hello, Ronald," she began, and he paled even further. She walked over and sat in the chair opposite him, crossing her legs. "I think it's time you and I had a discussion about this whole mess of a divorce."
"Mione, I—"
"No, no. You listen to me first, Ron. How dare you do this to me? How dare you try to take my house and then let Draco get involved! How dare you ask me for half of our money, a quarter of the house value, and a portion of my earnings! You caved to Draco, someone who you supposedly hate, but wouldn't even talk to me!" Hermione ranted. "What you settled for with Draco is less than what you asked for, but you wouldn't negotiate with me!"
Ron hung his head and his fingers tangled in his hair. "I know, Mione. I know. I fucked up. I know I did, and I'm sorry. I feel like all I ever do is say I'm sorry to you lately."
Hermione's heart twisted; she could tell he was genuinely upset. Her rage tamped down a bit. "Why, Ron? That's all I want to know. Why would you want to take everything from me, but you were willing to take less from Draco?"
Her ex-husband let out a sigh and looked up at her. "I knew it was wrong, doing what I was doing to you. He just… I thought if I negotiated with him and he caved, you'd be furious with him."
"I am bloody furious with both of you! You both claim to love me, and yet you try to intentionally hurt me, and he completely disregards my feelings and requests about paying you to get out of the house! I haven't spoken to him in two days," Hermione hissed. "I know this situation is a mess. I've said that over and over. I don't understand why you couldn't just accept one of my other offers, Ron! It would've left you with more than enough to take care of yourself!"
"I'll give the money back, Hermione. I shouldn't have—"
She held up her hand, halting his words. She had no interest in hearing what he had to say for himself at this point; the time for talking things over had passed.
"Oh, no, Ronald. You wanted the money, so keep it. Apparently it meant more to you than over ten years of friendship and our relationship," she snarled, tossing the folder with the rest of the divorce papers on the desk in front of him. "Here is the rest of the paperwork to end everything between us. Just sign it and owl it to Theo. Once you do, the gold in our vault will be divided in half and you can go spend it however the fuck you'd like."
Tears were welling in Ron's eyes, she could see them, and she almost apologised. Despite everything, he was still Ron — one of her best friends since age twelve, still the person who had helped her to pick up the pieces after the war, the man who she thought she was in love with before Draco in sixth year, and then again after things had ended between them. He was the one who had helped her through her nightmares and had given her space when she asked him to.
But she knew she couldn't forgive him right now. Maybe in time, but definitely not right now. She couldn't tell him what he'd done was okay — it wasn't.
"Hermione, I'm sorry," he said weakly.
She nodded. "I know you are, Ron. I don't know what got into you, if it was just your temper and you were throwing a fit, but I'm not going to tell you everything is fine between us now. It's not. I don't know if it ever will be."
His eyes were still on her as she stood from her seat. He released a held breath and said, "Just… Hermione, be careful. I know he says he loves you, but I think it's more like an obsession—"
"It's both, Ron, and it's mutual. It hurts for me to be away from him now. It's the bond, our connection — we can feel each other all the time. I'm sure he's wondering what has me so angry right now. I can feel his anxiety," she explained. "I don't know if he can sense that I'm here in the Ministry, but I'm sure he's debating coming to me to figure out my emotions since they're so strong."
Her ex-husband nodded. "And are you debating going to him?"
"No, I'm not. He can come to me to apologise. I'm not going to say I'm sorry for being angry. He offered to pay you out from the beginning, and I told him that I didn't want him to," she replied.
Ron looked like he was deep in thought. "You won't eventually feel like you have to go to him?"
"Oh, no, I already do," she began, "but I won't. Unless he fights it until I go into heat."
His eyes traveled to the small calendar that sat on his desk. "It's getting close, yeah?"
"It is," she confirmed. "I'm starting to feel it, though I've been taking my suppressants since I've not been with Draco all week."
Nodding, Ron opened the folder she'd presented to him. He pretended to study the documents and quietly said, "And he's going to bite you during it, right?"
Hermione hadn't been expecting such a personal question. One of her hands moved up to her chest, resting her thumb on one collarbone and her index finger on the other. Thinking about Draco biting her gland was definitely not a good way to keep her body in check.
"I would assume so," she answered. "It will help keep me safe from other Alphas, and he's likely going to be a bit out of control since it will be his first time with me during a heat."
"His first rut," Ron grumbled, knowing nearly as much about Alphas and Omegas as she did. "I'm glad you'll be safe, Hermione. I don't want another wanker like McLaggen getting his hands on you."
"Thank you, Ron. I know it must be difficult to think about, but… it's just how it is. I do love him, and he definitely loves me."
Ron sadly smiled at her. "I know. I want you to be happy, Hermione. I know that's probably hard to believe since I've been such a git, but I've just had a rough go of it."
She gave him a small smile before leaving the office, unwilling to keep discussing her heats and relationship with him. She headed to a women's loo to dig another vial of suppressants out before parading through the Ministry. Sitting on the toilet, she waited for the visions of Draco claiming her properly to calm. The twisting and clenching in her abdomen at the thought almost made her seek him out, but she knew she couldn't set this kind of precedent; if she made it too easy for him, he'd think it was okay to disregard her feelings if they conflicted with what he wanted.
Once Hermione felt calm enough, she exited the women's bathroom and headed towards the lift. She'd been fine riding it up to Ron's office when there had been plenty of people inside of it. However, her anxiety grew as she waited to take her return trip.
What if it was empty again and a man got in with her? What should she do if the doors opened and there was only one man inside?
She tried to relax; Draco would definitely panic if he felt her getting scared, and he would find her in the Ministry. She was certain he would be furious she'd come there without being scent-marked on every inch of her body.
When the lift doors slid open, she breathed a sigh of relief. There were several people in it, nearly all witches. She knew it was safe, and she'd be able to make it to the Floo without incident. She needed to get back to the apothecary and into the lab to clear her mind.
Draco had felt Hermione's anger, followed by her anxiety, and he had sensed she was close. He prayed to fucking Merlin she hadn't come to the Ministry to have it out with Weasley. The very thought of her walking around, not scent-marked, not claimed, and riled up made him want to run to her, to find her and fight with her or make up with her — he honestly didn't know which was more appealing at the moment. With each passing day, his frustration was steadily climbing. He'd thought she'd sleep on it and talk to him the next day, but all of his owls had gone unanswered, making him feel like his heart was being torn in two.
It had been about forty hours since he'd last seen her, but he wasn't counting or anything. He had just happened to look at the clock and make the association.
Inside, Draco was at war with himself. He wanted to run to her, but he wanted her to come running back to him. He wanted to apologise for doing what he'd done, but he still felt it had been the best option. He wanted to grab her, hold on to her, and kiss her until she saw sense, but he knew that really didn't make him any better than that wanker McLaggen. Using the Alpha/Omega dynamic to his advantage in any way would be wrong. Hermione had to make the decision to come back to him.
When her anxiety faded, he breathed a sigh of relief. It was so much easier to stay away when he couldn't feel her as strongly. Draco still desperately wanted to be beside her again, but he wouldn't force his company on her. She had said she wanted space and time to think. He could give it to her. He would give it to her, even if it meant more sleepless nights spent inhaling her scent from his sheets. It wasn't the same as having her in his arms, but it was the closest he could get at the moment.
With a sigh, he looked back down at the cursed jewelry box he was handling. It had belonged to one of his mother's relatives, and it was beautiful, but he had discovered a rather nasty Dismemberment Hex on it; his mother had been told it would remove fingers or whole hands from anyone without Black blood in their veins if they tried to open it. His ancestors on both sides were definitely wonderful people, using their magic for good.
Draco snickered at that thought, and he had never felt more proud to end the pureblood tradition of both the Black and Malfoy lines in one fell swoop. That thought brought his brain back around to Hermione, and he felt the tearing sensation in his chest again. Surely she must be feeling this way, too? Or was it different for the Omega than the Alpha? Was the Alpha possessive trait causing this?
He needed to focus again. If he wasn't going to be seeing Hermione today, he wouldn't think about her. He would work and get a lot done. Waving his wand over the jewelry box, a web of woven spells was projected over it. There were useful spells, like anti-tarnish, self-polishing and non-violent protective enchantments, cast on the box, so he had to find the Dismemberment Hex before he tried to cancel it out. The different colors of spells were fascinating to him. The anti-tarnish, for example, was a bright silver. That was rather intuitive, but there were plenty that didn't make any sort of sense. Protective wards came in all colors, depending on what their actual spell was. Muggle-Repelling was brown, anti-theft was royal blue. The spells wove a multi-colored tapestry around the jewelry box.
Draco consulted his notes, finding that Dismemberment Hex were typically red. How unoriginal, he thought. He magically tugged on each red thread until he found one that felt right. Half of his job was learning to trust his instincts, and it had gotten easier for him over the years. Watching the magic resist as he tried to pull the thread loose, he knew he was on the right track.
He knew he'd figure out what to do about Hermione. She was a puzzle, and he'd find a way to solve her. He was good at puzzles, and his instincts would lead him back into her good graces eventually.
Author's Note: Okay, so here's the deal... I'm wrapping this up today. I'm going through all my Alpha notes and self-editing and then writing the epilogue.
I'm going to put out the final nine chapters over the next three weeks because they all sort of group together in threes to finish up the story. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, unless something major goes wrong.
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