Chapter 20: MATTER OF HEART

"This building was part of the Palace of Whitehall, a creation of Henry VIII after he became Supreme Head of the Church of England. The palace was a resident of English monarch from 1530 to 1698, while this building had been completed on 1622 as the third house after the first two were destroyed in a rather dramatic fashion. A legend says, this one almost met the same fate if not for Sir Christopher Wren blew up an adjacent building which saved it from the Great Fire of 1666. Even so, it's a fact that this building is the only surviving building when the Whitehall Palace was burned down in 1698.

"And above you, ladies, is Rubens' ceiling – the only surviving in-situ ceiling painting by Flemish artist, Sir Peter Paul Rubens." Hermione waved her hand towards the ceiling, presenting the artistic pieces to her friends.

"Magnifique!"

That was Louisa, she's the only who seemed to pay attention to what Hermione said, dismissing the audio guide so she could freely discuss with her. Amy was clearly overwhelmed by her first trip to Muggle world, her eyes kept darting from one object to another with amazement. As for Ginny, history and art were never her thing so she occupied herself by making sure that they wouldn't lose Amy.

Hermione pulled Louisa aside to give way to a group of Asian tourists. "Indeed. Charles I even granted him knighthood to lure him to stay, but he chose to go back to Antwerp," she half whispered, not to disturbed other visitors. "Anyway, Charles I commissioned it to honour his late father, James I. As you can see, three main canvases depict his reign; The Union of the Crowns, The Apotheosis of James I and The Peaceful Reign of James I."

"He was beheaded, right? Charles I?"

"Executed on a scaffold in front of this building. It was said that this painting was the last thing he saw," Hermione supplied.

She snorted. "And French abolished monarchy to become republic, while you guys put another man on the throne and remain one."

"Well, you can't compare Cromwell with Robespierre," Hermione countered, but she quickly deflected the subject back to the painting. "Thankfully this painting survived the wrath of Cromwell. It would be a shame if it was destroyed or we lost this to some private collector."

Although she did enjoy their debates – Louisa was very knowledgeable and had a progressive mind – but Hermione thought she wasn't ready to touch politic. From how they exchanged opinions, for outsider they might look like a long time best friend, even Hermione felt that she had known her for long with how similar their minds were. However, in reality they only became acquaintance for around a week and this was just their second meeting, it's too soon to talk about politic especially between two different countries.

From painting, they moved to talk about architecture. This time around, Hermione was more of a listener of Louisa's commentary because she didn't know much about Italianate Renaissance style or the concept of Palladianism. She welcomed it though, it's refreshing to not become the only know-it-all sometimes. All in all, she's glad that her last minute change of plan worked well.

The initial plan was to visit Buckingham Palace. The usual Hermione would plan and prepare every single tiny detail days before the date, but the last visit to old Ollivander was a big distraction. She didn't check whether it's open on the day they planned to go (which was not) and they only could see it from outside the fence.

It's like she'd failed at being a good host and she never liked failure. As they strolled down St James's Park, she'd thought of taking them to Kensington Palace then she remembered Banqueting House. It was less known than Kensington Palace but visiting less popular place might bring different experience, technically it was also part of a palace once.

She also heard that there's a new attraction by the Thames, a large Ferris wheel, which they could visit later. Viewing Muggle London from above surely would appeal even Ginny, bonus point that sans broomstick meant it's safe and legal. And if Amy's enthusiasm when they rode bus from Charing Cross was the indication, riding London Eye would be more thrilling for her. Surprisingly, not only she'd never been to Muggle world before, she'd actually never ridden any vehicle other than Hogwarts Express either.

"Er, Hermione." The said person broke her thought. While Ginny and Louisa went to the loo, she was left waiting with Amy at the hall. "Can I ask you something?"

Amy could be rather naive sometimes, but never timid. The way she fidgeting kind of worried her, she knew it had nothing to do with Muggles around them, yet she gestured her to continue.

"I don't mean to be impudent or privy, but I know that you dated Ron before." She paused, examining Hermione's expression, then hastily said, "How you can remain good friend after it's over?"

Caught off guard by the question, Hermione blurted the first thing that came out in her mind. "Did he ask you out?"

Amy cast down her eyes, blushing. "No, it's Lee," she muttered shyly.

Hermione hummed thoughtfully. Finally Lee made his move, she wondered whether Ron and George (and maybe Ginny) had a bet going on about this. She couldn't tell from Amy's reaction what the outcome would be though, she looked reluctant yet, judging from her blush, also seemed to be flattered by the attention.

"So do you or don't you want to date him?" she proffered.

"I don't know," murmured Amy, wringing her thumb left and right.

"Is this because of your father? Did he forbid you?"

At this, Amy burst out a giggle. "If my father hears about this, he might push this into engagement. Marrying me off will be a good excuse to keep me at home because I would be expected to give him grandchild soon after so I'd be fulltime housewife, caring for my family."

"So you feel uncertain because your father might use it to tie you down?" Hermione surmised.

Amy tilted her head, appeared to want to shake her head but halted it. "Maybe. Partly. I really don't know," she admitted. She finally looked up at her and spoke, "My parents' was an arranged marriage, but they're lucky that they fell in love after they married. My father wants me to have it too, that's why he didn't put me into the same arrangement. He wants me to find love. And I want it too."

Although they'd known each other for over a year, but Hermione never particularly close with Amy. In fact, their common link was Ginny (and occasionally Ron) so she was confused why she wanted her advice instead of from Ginny. Or maybe because they're not close to both parties so Amy thought she would have more neutral perspective.

"How do you feel about Lee?"

"He's nice," Amy said. "I don't want to hurt him."

And there lay the answer.

"Whatever you've read about me and Ron on papers, especially written by Rita Skeeter, was untrue. We never dated," she stated.

"But you have feeling for him, right? So does him. Yet you two remain friend."

Hermione sighed. Pouring her heart out to Ginny was one thing, but she didn't know Amy well. She reckoned that Amy didn't mean any harm though, she surely wouldn't blab this to Skeeter.

"It's not that simple, Amy," she said. "I always take everything seriously, including dating. Ron and I ... we have a lot of thing to sort out before we can start relationship."

"But he's very nice. You even very close to his family."

"Nice is not a good enough reason for dating. And my association with his family only make the stake higher, I can't risk it," she reasoned. "We ... I have to be very sure if I decide to start relationship with him. And for now, my career is my priority."

Hermione left some gap before she continued. "But that's just me. Surely you have your own reason to decide what you want to do."

She didn't know what her response would be because their friends returned the next second with Ginny quite literally hauled her by her neck, complaining that she's hungry.

They found a nice little cafe not far from Banqueting House. It's not crowded, there's couple of unoccupied tables available, but they picked the table on the far corner. It's far from the window but they were less likely to be disturbed by the ongoing of other customers, especially here where they were surrounded by Muggle and they couldn't cast Muffling Charm around them. They didn't want to be overheard when their conversation veered to magic.

Although judging from the no-reaction from the waiter who brought the order when Ginny said something about flying in broomstick, if anyone happened to hear one or two words about magic in their conversation, they might assume that they were talking about some fictions. After all, British literacy was full of myth and tales about magic. Eventually, they reckoned that talking in hushing voice would be more suspicious than chatted normally, even when the topic was about magic.

"So you're saying that it was protected from fire by magic?" Louisa verified after Hermione finished regaling the connection between the place they'd visited and British Ministry of Magic and the Balcony.

"I can't find a solid proof, but that's one of possible explanation. Back in the days, many wizards were in close proximity with peerage or even held titles, not to mention the building was directly connected to what later became the British Ministry of Magic Headquarter. The fire surely large enough that almost the whole palace was burned down."

"Make sense," she agreed. "It's not very high though. Does it have a good view up there?"

"Yup, like Buckingham Palace for one. I can even claim that I had VIP seat to watch the Queen's Golden Jubilee last time," Hermione bragged conspiratorially in low voice.

It was the first (and maybe the only) time Hermione had ditched work for pleasure. Sure, she went to the Balcony during office hour many times, but she always brought her works with her so it was just changing work place. But in that early afternoon in June, she had gone to the rooftop with the sole purpose of watching the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebration, nothing about work in her mind. In her defence, she hadn't had pending task, her 'feud' with Fieldwake did make her workload in House-Elf Office decreased considerably. So no, she hadn't felt guilty for using her working hour to watch the parade. It wasn't planned, but she even had companion.

It's not a perfect day, but despite the unpredictability of London's weather, it held off that day. The Mall was full of colours, be it from the decoration or various costumes worn by the parade and spectators (she brought her father's binoculars to get better view). Even from afar, Hermione could feel the cheer and festivities of the fêtes. It's contagious. Which was how she still had a wide smile plastered on her face when she heard the door opened.

Whether it was her uncharacteristic too cheerful behaviour or the crowd visible in the distance but with just one look, Draco turned around, ready to leave.

"No, wait! Don't go!" She jumped and grabbed him. "It's almost time for flypast. You have to see it, Draco!" she said enthusiastically while dragging him by his elbow towards the balustrade. The only possible reason of why he didn't resist must be because he was stunned by her abrupt move and not because of her strong grip.

And she's right. Not long after, several planes appeared, flying above them.

"You see that, it's called plane. Muggles don't have flying broomstick, but they still can fly," she chirped what would be the beginning of long narration of different type of war plane, just like how her grandfather had recited to her.

When her grandfather was still alive, it was sort of a tradition to take his only grandchild to watch the Trooping the Colour Parade. He was a RAF pilot in World War II and during the flypast, he would proudly explain to her about each plane as if it had its own personality. And although that tradition stopped after he passed away on her first year in Hogwarts, she still treasured the memory. Especially since he's the only grandparent she could remember vividly, with her mother's parents had been killed in car accident before she was born and her grandmother had gone when she was five.

"And that's the Spitfire. We used it during the war in 1940's, to attack from above. The current one, like Concorde that you will see later, I can guarantee that it's faster and can fly higher than any broomstick ever existed. It's also more comfortable and l safer as well," she boasted proudly.

"And your point?" he said dryly, sounding bored.

Hermione frowned, a little thrown off by his reaction – or the lack of. Because honestly, she recounted all of it to Draco not only to reminisce her grandfather, but also to gloat that Muggle was superior than wizards in term of flying. She expected him to be shocked, or maybe impressed, certainly not this flat response.

Draco rolled his eyes at her confused look. "I've been in one, Granger. The bigger one."

"What? In aeroplane?! But ... wh–"

"I'm tired, Granger," he cut her in. He indeed looked haggard, if not peckish, which meant he was here for a nap. "Empty storeroom then," he muttered and, without another glance, left.

It took few seconds longer for her to process that apparently Draco Malfoy had travelled on passenger flight, that she's rooted on her place staring at the closed door, completely missing the Red Arrows fly over display.

Maybe it had been Harry dragging him in one of their secret mission, travelling Muggle way surely would give them more cover. She had no opportunity to confirm it though, asking Harry would be too suspicious and the next time she met 'privately' with Draco was after the thievery at Department of Mystery.

It's been awhile, he must have found a new hiding place. Even before the existence of the Balcony was exposed to Auror Office, she had sparsely met him there. It's like both of them were busy with their own work or they always missed each other when they were there. Although she didn't want to admit it, she did enjoy their banter and sometimes she kind of missed his snarky come back.

"And the only way to access it is from the Ministry?"

Hermione was jolted from her thought, finding Louisa looking at her questioningly. Her brain kicked in quickly. "Yes, the upper most level. But you can be there only if you're Ministry staff or you have necessary clearance as a guest."

These past two years in particular, security in the Ministry had been heightened gradually. It's a known secret how easy it was for non-Ministry staff to come into most departments and Kingsley surely didn't want to have some teenagers breaking in, stealing something, under his watch. With the revelation of another – unguarded – entrance on the Balcony, an additional enchantment had been put in place. Apparating into the Balcony was no longer possible, but Disapparated from it was still doable as an alternative evacuation route (she made note to find out how to do that kind of enchantment, it might be useful someday).

"Then you have more chance to be there than me, Amy," remarked Louisa.

Hermione stared between Louisa and Amy, puzzled. The way Ginny calmly eating her cake indicated that she's the only one who didn't know. Did she miss something when she let her mind wandering a moment ago?

Sensing her confusion, Amy elucidated, "Percy told me there will be an opening for Junior Staff in Department of International Magical Cooperation before the year end. I'm planning to apply."

No wonder she approached her instead of Ginny. She's not looking for advice, she just needed validation.

"Great! You once said you want to work there, right?" Hermione noted encouragingly, then added, "But it means you'll leave the shop then."

Amy only smiled dejectedly and Louisa answered for her. "Once her father heard about Angelina, I don't think he will not allow her to work there anymore."

"Ron told you?!" Ginny interjected.

Louisa turned to her, the corner of her mouth twitched and there's mirth in her eyes. "About what? Amy's overprotective father or that Angelina is pregnant out of wedlock?" she offered, looking faintly amused in contrast with Ginny's disapproval scowl.

"No for both," she appeased her offhandedly. "I've been to the shop several times, you know, and with a little observation, it's easy to deduce. Angelina and your brother never ever try to be subtle, it's so obvious, and her pregnancy starts to show too. As for our friend over here," She pointed Amy with her thumb over her shoulder. "How old are you anyway? 20 years old with curfew? And how can I not notice that she always has at least one female friend whenever she goes, in short: a chaperone. Just connect the clues and voila!"

Amy squirmed on her seat, eyes down on her knees.

"I'm not mocking you, okay," she told Amy. "I understand that wizarding Britain is more ... conservative? traditional? than France. My Papa is also like that, he insisted to marry Maman after she's pregnant with me. Oh Maman loves Papa, but she never like the idea of marriage, too constricting."

"And you also against marriage," Ginny snipped.

Knowing her well, Hermione could detect the chilly sharpness in her tone. But Louisa didn't, so on the contrary, she took it as a question.

"Not really. I just prefer of staying together because my partner and I want it, more than to marry because society dictate it and stick in it even when later it turns into facade with both having affair with other people. For me, the most important part is the commitment between two people, not the label, especially when the said label comes with one party has to lose her identity."

She had a point. In fact, Hermione agreed with most of what she said. Those views might be in part the result of their exposure to Muggle culture because the other two who came from wizarding family seemed to not share the same thought. While Amy was bewildered, which was normal since it must not be something she was taught or heard at her home, Ginny looked affronted.

Trying to diffuse the situation, she commented, "Don't say your mother keep her maiden name." Right after she uttered it, she knew that she chose the wrong subject.

"Of course, but consecutively I get Papa's surname. I want to hyphenate since I'm also my Maman's daughter as much as Papa's, but Papa won't take it," she groused dismally.

"Did you heard that Neville propose to Hannah?" Amy announced suddenly. "It will be summer wedding."

Amy must also sense Ginny seething her teeth and jumped in to help Hermione to be the peacekeeper. Hermione was not sure how she did it, but even though she's still threading on the topic about marriage, Amy managed to seamlessly herd the conversation back into light hearted chat.

The 'crisis' was successfully averted this time. However, Hermione had no doubt that she would hear Ginny's long rant about Louisa. It's a rather strange though, she knew that Ginny didn't have rigid perception about marriage or gender roles so she wondered why she reacted so strongly towards Louisa's opinion. She recalled the last time Ginny act this way was towards Fleur, who's also French. Did Ginny have short fuse against French witch or there's other reason she didn't know?

Well, wouldn't it be very interesting if Louisa somehow ended up become her sister in law too, Hermione mused.

.***.

Unlike yesterday in which she Apparated home from Charing Cross, today she chose to take a bus to Sutton after dropping Viktor at Leaky Cauldron. Going by bus and walking from bus stop to her flat would give her ample time to organise her thought. There would be nobody at the flat since Ginny was in Wales, but she preferred to arrive home with a clear mind and rest instead of having inner argument in empty house.

Overall her outing with the Quidditch player today had gone well. After her excursion with the girls to the London Eye the day before, Hermione realised that it was a perfect place to take Viktor to. He's not someone who's into historical building or Muggle culture, he'd be polite if she took him to museum but she knew that he wouldn't really enjoy it. However, as a flyer like Ginny, having bird's eye view of London would be something that he'd enjoy, way better than bussing around the city or sight-seeing on foot. And he did like it.

Later, they went to Muggle restaurant because if they were seen together in a wizard establishment, they would attract unnecessary attention, worse if press got a whiff of it. So she'd taken him to a curry house, one that she knew serve delicious chicken tikka masala. He was adamant at first, stating that he's not used to spicy food, but he relented after she explained that unlike the authentic Indian curry, the British version was far sweeter to accommodate European's taste bud.

Being in Muggle restaurant had surely hindered their conversation, they couldn't talk about Charm or Transfiguration like they usually did before. They'd managed to do a little catch up on what they did in the past years though, vaguely of course. For the passerby, it would sound like Hermione was working in Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs while Viktor was an athlete – possibly a rugby player based on his build – making career in US league. All things considered, it had been a pleasant outing. By the end of their meal, she even thought that they would become pen pals again after this.

Until Viktor invited her to dine, a formal dinner.

She's not that dense and naive to not noticing his intention. However, even when Ginny was very certain that what Viktor wanted from her wasn't a friendship but more, she always vehemently denied it. She insisted today was a casual meet-up between friend, NOT a date. She's lucky, because if it's not for her training camp, Ginny would doll her up just like back then, using force if necessary.

She stopped on her track when she saw a figure standing outside her flat. A familiar shade of red hair, but not her flatmate.

"Ginny is in training camp in Wales," she stated blandly without ceremony.

Ron looked up, startled by her unannounced arrival. He threw her a blank stare so she repeated her last sentence.

"I know that," he said. "I'm waiting for you."

Hermione gave a brisk nod in acknowledgement, then walked pass him to the door. She hold the door as she entered, moulded a brief smile onto her face. "Fancy a cuppa?"

Recognising the olive branch offered to him, he followed her inside. He went to the sofa instead of to the kitchen though, but Hermione didn't comment on it. A little bit distance might be good for now, there's nothing obstructing her view to him while she prepared tea in silence anyway. They would talk, but later.

She brought two cup of tea to her living room, one for her and one for him, already made the way he liked it.

Ron nodded in thanks, watching her taking her seat on the armchair. "You're home early," he remarked, breaking the silence.

"Are you expecting me to stay the night?" she responded, sipping her tea calmly.

Between the two of them, empty chit-chat of pleasantry had never existed and never would be.

"Hermione, I ... I'm just ..."

"Jealous?" she cut-in sharply. "Why? You once said you're fine if I date Martin, so why it's a problem if it's Viktor?

"Because it's Krum! Arrington was not the one who took you the Ball."

She glared at him incredulously. "You're still upset because he noticed me first before you did?"

"I'm really sorry, okay," he pleaded, hurried and desperate. "I know I have no say on who you can or can't date, but seeing you with Krum reminded me of my past mistakes. What I did was uncalled for and apparently I still do that. I regret it, I'm ashamed of myself. So much for growing up, huh?"

Hearing it, she softened. This was Ron after all, exactly like how she knew him. He would make mistake, but he'd realise it soon after and apologised. Then, as always, she would forgive him. Except, this time she still had one more thing weighing her mind.

"Please be honest, Ron. Are you still waiting for me?" she queried, tried to sound firm even though she was wary with his answer.

He furrowed his brows. "You mean do I still in love with you?" he reiterated. "I don't know. Maybe. But I like how we are now. Hermione, first and foremost, you are my best friend. I don't want anything to change it, so I promise I'll suppress my feeling to minimum anytime you bring Krum to our gathering."

His word was sincere. At the very least, she knew that he would try.

"I'm not dating him," she confessed. "In fact, I don't think I will date anyone in near future."

"Why?" he spluttered cautiously, a combination of surprised and curious.

Hermione reclined her back on the chair, sighing despondently. "You see how busy I am, I don't have time or energy to date anyone. More so, he said he'll continue to play in America, away from the scrutiny in Europe, and even without my work, long distance relationship is hard enough to maintain."

They both knew that if she really wanted it, she would do it. Hermione Granger was a stubborn witch who would not give up easily without trying first and since she hated failure, she would only try harder when things got more difficult. It was left unsaid though. Actually what she'd told Ron was the same reason she gave to Viktor.

When Viktor invited her to dinner – in returned for her hospitality of showing him London, he said – Hermione realised that she couldn't evade this subject anymore. She dreaded this, but if her (and Ginny's) suspicion was right, it's not fair to lead him on. Asking him if it would be a dinner between friends was her last straw of hope that she wouldn't need to reject him, but of course he had to say that he wished it to be more.

Career and distance were her excuses, even though they both knew that it would be easy for Viktor to Portkey to England anytime he wanted. Nonetheless, they just met after so long of no contact, there's barely enough base to build a relationship. She's a Gryffindor, but it didn't mean that she would be willing to jump head first in everything. She'd agreed to rekindle their correspondence though, while in her mind she's not sure what she would write if she's the one who wrote first.

"Well, too bad. I'm thinking that with your help, I may be able to add him in my collection of my famous friends," Ron joked, trying to lighten the mood. "Thank you for taking the girls on trip by the way. Amy's really happy, she keeps talking about your trip this morning at the shop. But why you never take me to that flying wheel? Louisa mentioned about watching the city from above, similar to her Waffle Tower in Paris."

"Eiffel Tower and it's Ferris wheel, not flying wheel," she corrected him. "Well, maybe we all can go there again sometimes."

His grin faded as his face turned serious again. "Hermione, whoever you date, I promise you'll always have me. Anytime you need, you can always depend on me."

A wash of tender feeling spread in her chest, warmed her and induced a tremulous smile on her lips. But she didn't want to look sappy, so she retorted playfully instead, "Oh, really? You sure it's not the other way around?"

He huffed, pursing his lips. "Fine, I might have depended on you more than you on me in the past, but that was at school. Now that we're adult, I'm sure the table will turn soon."

They shared light-hearted cackle, ready to move on from their latest disagreement. Even as it waned, their lips still curled upwards in a crooked smile.

Following a sip of her already cold tea, she said, "Just be there, be my Ron. That will be enough."

A/N:

Writing a story set in 2002 London, there's no way I don't mention HM The Queen's Golden Jubilee. For everyone who was in London that time, even wizards, there's no way they wouldn't notice it. I mean, the British Ministry of Magic, Leaky Cauldron, Platform 9-3/4, are all connected to Muggle side. They must be very super ignorant to not notice the festive (Trooping the Colour is one thing, but the Jubilee was different matter).

And yup, Banqueting Hall is open to public (no access to balcony obviously). The entrance fee is £6.5 (last I check), a bit pricey for 'just a large hall' but it's free if you're member of Historic Royal Palaces or if you have London Pass. Although if you know how hard/expensive it is to preserve old painting I think the price make sense, especially since it receives no funding from the British Government or the Crown.

I want thank you guys for sticking with me this far in my little experiment writing fiction again after a decade of writing dull papers and reports since my univ days (I'm an engineer, btw, more comfortable to communicate using numbers and graphs more than words). Special mentioned to SewingSlytherin, thank you for telling me your thought, I really appreciate every comments you've dropped.

This is unbeta-ed, so all mistake are mine. I'm not sorry about the snail pace development between Draco and Hermione though. Since from the beginning, I promised a slow burn, a slow-long-ride romance so please don't say that I didn't give any warning beforehand ^_^. In this fic, I want them to have their own life first. I don't want Draco to be Hermione's charity case, he'll be too prideful to be one anyway. IMO he needs to pick his own shites himself so she will have valid reason other than their past lives (which she still has no clue by now) on why she's attracted to him and picks him instead of other suitors (which she has plenty to choose). Hermione's relationship with Ginny, Harry, and Ron is also as important as her relationship with Draco in this story so they'll make a lot of appearances.