Chapter 2
The sun shone brightly through the thin, gauzy curtains of Hermione's flat. She was happy to finally be getting some natural light again, she'd been up all night reviewing the massive stack of files she'd borrowed from the Ministry. She sat cross legged on the floor, her hoard of documents spread out completely covering the coffee table. In the past five hours she had been able to compile a complete history of the Malfoy's elves, their ages, when they were acquired, mountains of details spanning over a hundred years.
She got up and stretched a little. She'd forgotten to eat dinner the night before, much too absorbed in her research. She padded over to the kitchen, put the kettle on, and out some bread in the toaster.
She was lost in thought when an extremely large eagle owl landed, as gracefully as an eagle owl can land, on her coffee table. Her papers were everywhere, luckily the table didn't break. The owl hooted happily.
She recognized him as Draco's ostentatious, expensive, and absurdly large owl from their school days. It was always quite the spectacle in the Great Hall, bringing Draco sweets and packages from mummy.
She couldn't be mad at the owl though, it was practically smiling at her. She took the note from his talon and gave him a treat. He bowed his head slightly, then burst out of her living room window.
Granger,
Come to the museum today at noon if you would like a tour.
Best,
DM
She looked at the time, "Merlin's beard!" It was already quarter to noon.
She threw on some clothes, did a quick spell on her hair, and wrapped her toast in a napkin. Then, for the second time in less than twenty-four hours, she apparated to Malfoy Manor.
oOo
She landed smartly inches from the front door so as to avoid the lengthy walk from the front gates.
An older elf answered the door and introduced herself as "Cotton", the housekeeper.
"We are ever so happy to see you. Miss Granger! Are you ready to start the tour?"
"Yes please," she smiled.
"Right this way, Miss." Cotton led them to the center foyer where a second elf in a tour guide uniform was waiting.
"You remember Thimble, she will be your guide this morning."
"Oh," Hermione began, disappointed.
"Is something wrong, Miss?!" Cotton and Thimble asked in unison, their little faces lined with worry.
"Oh no! It's not a problem at all. I just assumed Malfoy would be giving me the tour."
Cotton looked relieved, "Master Malfoy is busy in his office this afternoon, which reminds me, I'm needed in the kitchens!" With a curtsy and a snap of her fingers, she disappeared.
"Come this way if you will, Miss!" Thimble gently tugged the hem of Hermione's shirt and led her into the museum.
Thimble began to eloquently recite the history of the Malfoy family, the manor house itself, and various historic decorative objects like the chandeliers and wall carvings. Hermione could tell that Thimble's presentation was extremely detailed and well-researched. She did, however, notice that much of the darker parts of the Malfoy Family history were conveniently glossed over.
They worked their way through the museum, Thimble offering fun facts here and there. The museum really only occupied the West Wing of the house. The North Wing occupied the library and the East was still living quarters, not open to the public.
Hermione was surprised at how well done the exhibits were. They went through a basic timeline beginning with Voldemort's return after the TriWizard Tournament, a fact that was still "open for debate" by some wizards who thought Harry was overreacting. There was a recreation of the Department of Mysteries (with Ministry permission) that explained the role of prophecy in the War. Much to Hermione's surprise there was even a display about the misinformation and anti-muggle propaganda spread by papers like the Daily Prophet. This included a large recreation of Harry's "Undesirable Number One" poster. Hermione smiled as the Harry in the poster rolled his eyes at her.
Another room was dedicated to the horcruxes and housed the showstopper of the museum, a life-size, moving, replica of Nagini. It writhed a hissed and was utterly terrifying.
They moved on and turned the corner into a room unlike any of the others. It was modern and clean and set up as an art gallery, but the walls were bare for now.
"This room will house special exhibits by artists," Thimble explained, "it will give visitors a reason to visit more often, as the exhibit will change monthly."
Hermione was intrigued, but they moved on to the last room of the museum which was an extremely lush outdoor courtyard. In the center of the room was an enormous, black stone monolith that had water cascading over it making it shiny and beautiful.
She gave Thimble a questioning look.
"This is the Memorial Stone. It is etched with the names of everyone who lost their lives in the Second Great Wizarding War. However, it is bewitched so that the names of the people most relevant to the viewer will appear first, followed by the rest of the names," Thimble explained proudly.
Hermione couldn't help but admire the magic behind the stone, the more she looked upon it, the more names appeared:
Fred Weasley
Remus Lupin
Nymphadora Tonks Lupin
Alastair Moody
Albus Dumbledore
Dobby the Elf
Dobby? Hermione was surprised that a house elf was included.
As more names appeared, she felt tears pricking the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill over. She looked down at Thimble, a little embarrassed.
"Could I have a moment alone, please?" she whispered.
"Of course, Miss." Thimble bowed and quickly disappeared.
Hermione closed her eyes and couldn't help but remember the Battle of Hogwarts. The fear, the panic, all as vivid as ever. She could taste the blood in her mouth, hear the screams and hexes along with the beating of her own heart. She could smell the walls of the school burning, as her world was torn apart.
She placed a hand on the stone, it glowed softly beneath her touch.
The longer she was there, the more names appeared until the stone was overtaken by the etchings. The last name she saw was that of Vincent Crabbe. This tossed her from her reverie, and she remembered where she was.
She cleared her throat and Thimble reappeared with a handkerchief for her.
"Don't feel ashamed, Miss. Everyone cries in front of the Memorial Stone, even us elves."
"Did you know Dobby?"
Thimble smiled, her eyes wet, "Yes, of course. We grew up in this house together. He was my most special friend."
Hermione smiled softly, "I owe him my life, a lot of people do. He was very brave."
Thimble sniffed, "Yes, he was. Miss...I may need my handkerchief back."
They both laughed and Hermione handed it over.
Thimble cleared her throat professionally. "Well, that concludes the tour for this afternoon! Please feel free to contribute to our donation box, all offerings go directly to 's Hospital. I should also let you know that the Malfoy Library is open to the public, as are the gardens for pleasant strolls, picnics, and such. If you follow me, the door elf will see you out."
Hermione, quite bewildered, was once again shuffled to the door. She stopped when she noticed another room down the hallway, there were voices coming from its direction.
"Miss! Master Malfoy is busy! I doubt he'll be seeing guests at this time." Thimble wrung her hands.
Hermione felt terrible for stressing the poor elf, but her curiosity was too strong.
"It's okay, I'm an old…" she almost said the word 'friend' but couldn't allow herself. "...we went to school together," she settled on as she made her way to the door, ignoring Thimble's pleas.
She turned the handle and was greeted by the sounds of a cheerful conversation. She entered to find Malfoy, his back to her, speaking to a flaming head in his fireplace. He sensed her presence immediately.
"Listen, Blaise, I gotta go." He said quickly.
"Why?" Blaise's head turned to see what his friend was hiding, "Is that…"
Before he could finish, the fire was quickly put out with an aguamenti charm.
Draco turned to see his visitor.
"Hermione Granger."
oOo
A/N Thank you for reading! Please review, I enjoy hearing your thoughts and questions. I received a review wondering why many of the elves are wearing clothing in this fic. Thank you for questions like this! It helps me create a more detailed story. The clothing situation will be explained in an upcoming chapter. :)