As much as she hated to admit it, he had a point. So much of her life was taken up by fighting a war, that she never really thought about herself at work. She had needed simple clothes that could be easily washed and she could run in and fight monsters. And at Hogwarts, she had always worn her uniform. There were a few occasions like her grandmother's birthday where she had nothing to wear as she had grown so much and her only dress stopped to fit.

And then there was this problem with her heritage. She was a muggleborn witch. Frankly speaking, she had no idea what proper robes looked like. There wasn't a course or a program at Hogwarts that prepared them for the hiring process in the wizarding world. The only reason that Hermione wasn't too worried about that was that she performed academically well.

"I've never bought robes other than my school uniform," she admitted.

"You do not have to do it on your own."

"You want to go shopping with me?" she asked him skeptically.

"We could start in muggle London if that makes you feel more comfortable."

How much was that going to cost? Lucius' style didn't look very budget-friendly. Before she could voice out her concerns, Hermione's stomach grumbled loudly. Embarrassed she looked at the floor, hoping her body would stop making noises soon.

"Maybe we should eat something first. Would you prefer to eat at home or go out?"

"Let's go out, I know a lovely Thai snack bar," Hermione said, knowing that if they stayed at home she might come up with an excuse to get out of shopping.

Sitting at the table near the window, they watched the people passing by.

"Where are we going?" Hermione asked.

"You do not trust my taste."

"No, I do not trust your budget."

"I see at as an investment in your future," Lucius said.

She nervously chewed on her lips. Her eyes rolled to the right as she estimated the total of her savings. Didn't her grandmother have an account for her? She still had an open birthday present and she didn't spend all of her pocket money.

He reached for her hand. "Allow me to cover it for you."

"This is out of the question! I can take care of myself." Hermione pulled her hand away.

"I would never dare to doubt that, but let me make this easier for you."

She looked at him with pleading eyes. "This is a lot of money your talking about."

"Investing in your promising career is a much better use than financing my son's party life and I still do that."

She laughed.

"Please, allow me to do this for you. You are very special and precious to me." He placed his hand back on hers. "Hermione, you are worth it."

Hermione let out a grunt.

"I take this as a yes."

"But I'm covering for the food."

Watching him closely she could see his struggle. Her simple request made him feel very uncomfortable. This went against his upbringing.

"I cannot make a lady pay. I have never done that before," he admitted.

"But you will, for me," Hermione said, leaning forward to give him a peck on his cheek.

Lucius looked at her through narrowed eyes. "Fine."

She smiled triumphed.

After hours of going through small and exclusive boutiques, her feet were hurting. On the plus side, Lucius was an efficient worker. He didn't waste any time. He knew at the first glance if a store had something suitable or not. If not they quickly left and moved on to the next. And when the items at sale were interesting, she quickly tried them on and he gave her a clear answer.

The biggest issue she had was that he wouldn't even let her carry the shopping bags. He wasn't even that much older than her, so why was he behaving like a relict. Couldn't he understand that it felt awkward when she didn't do anything? She wasn't useless.

Entering the Leaking Cauldron, Hermione was more than ready to return to the Manor. Her feet were aching and her ego was a little hurt. Although she was really happy with the clothes they shopped and she really enjoyed spending so much time with Lucius, there was something nagging her in the back of her mind.

Automatically walking to the fireplace, Lucius grabbed her hand and stopped her. "Tsh, tsk, running away? How very ungryffindor of you."

She looked at him with big eyes.

"We still wanted to go to Madam Milkin's and Twilfitt and Tattings."

Hermione groaned. She wanted to go home, have a bath, and read a book and maybe cuddle a little. "Does it have to be today?"

"Yes, it does."

He placed his hand on her back and pushed her into the store. Having never been to that shop, she didn't know what to expect. It was almost as dark and woody inside Twilfitt and Tattings as in the Manor. It looked more like a gentleman's outfitter than a boutique that catered to the needs of females. Not many people were inside and to her surprise, there were no racks with clothes.

An older wizard approached them. "Mr. Twilfitt," he introduced himself, shaking Hermione's hand.

"Miss Granger is in need of a set of robes," Lucius said and Mr. Twilfitt started taking measurements.

"A heavy, set of formal velvet robes, something light, and flowy, black satin out of Acromantula silk, and two sets of business robes, one of them in a color," Lucius ordered.

Mr. Twilfitt nodded, memorizing every detail. Lucius said something about silver hardware, that sounded expensive? But having never bought robes, Hermione was glad to have Lucius by her side.

"I like burgundy better than violet," Hermione said, looking at the samples.

"As the lady wishes."

Deciding on a topstitch for her business robes was a lengthy discussion. While Hermione liked a simple square pattern, but Lucius thought that would look cheap and suggested Fleur de Lys, as they were classical yet interesting. Hours passed until they finally made all the decisions. The sun had already set and Hermione couldn't stop yawning. By the end of the day, she had no idea what she had picked not the strength to fight Lucius.

"You can owl me the bill and the robes once they are finished," Lucius said.

Mr. Twilfitt looked confused for a moment but didn't say a thing. Lucius opened the door for her and they were finally good to go home.

"Madam Milkins?" Lucius asked.

Her face fell.

He let out a chuckle. "We are finished."

Hermione let out an audible sigh of relief.

Needing a break from her fourth round of editing, Hermione stepped outside. Walking through the huge maze in the gardens, she looked for the albino peacocks. The hedges were so high that almost no light reached her. The white gravel beneath her feet was rather large and felt funny through the thin soles of her shoes.

Goosebumps covered her arms as she was hit by a breeze of cold air. She continued walking. Knowing were to turn next, it didn't take her long to reach the fountain in the center of the maze. Sitting down at the lining of the fountain she led her head fall back. Warming herself it wasn't long until she felt someone tug on her summer dress.

Looking down she saw Shiva, one of Lucius white peacocks. Vishnu, the other one jumped up and sat down next to her. It was shocking that she was able to distinguish the almost identical looking birds at one glance.

She reached into the pockets of her dress to retrieve treats. Offering them treats from her flat hand she petted them. It wasn't the same as petting a cat but it was nice. She liked having a little interaction with another living being. As soon as all the food was gone Shiva and Vishnu lost all interest in her and left.

She saw them prance through the maze before they vanished around the corner. Hermione retrieved a book from her other pocket, brought it back to its original size and started to read.

She didn't keep track of time but as a big cloud blocked the sun and she started freezing again. Hermione went back inside. Still, a dozen steps away from her, she spotted Lucius standing in one of the reading rooms.

"Shiva was chewing on my dress again, I'm starting to think your pets are even worse behaved than your son," she said approaching the wizard.

Entering the room she was surprised to find that Lucius wasn't alone. "Sorry I didn't know you were having a guest."

Narcissa looked at Hermione as if she had stinky feet. Without greeting her she turned her attention back to the file in her hand. "Lucius, Miss Nowak enjoys drawing, her marks, were always excellent and most importantly, the Nowaks are a well-respected family."

"And broke, I presume!"

"Lucius! You have to take this seriously. Look how pretty she is," she said handing her ex-husband a photo.

"I am not interested in marrying her," he said dryly.

Hermione knew she should probably leave them alone and that it was rude to listen in but she was curious. And jealous. Even though she knew, he was married before her, she had always assumed that his ex simply vanished. The rational part of her knew that the wizarding population was simply too small to avoid each other indefinitely but seeing them together hurt.

Her hand formed a fist, knowing that her wand wasn't out of her reach she contemplated throwing hexes to throw at the stuck-up pureblood. She was thinking about doing something similar to what she did to Marietta Edgecombe then at least she wouldn't be able to bewitch anyone with her beauty anymore.

Knowing that she would never get rid of Narcissa completely as they had a son together brought her blood to the boiling point. Hermione was sure her mane looked terribly big like Einstein and sparks were flying from it. She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood to prevent herself from having an outburst.

"If you like that girl so much then you should marry her yourself," Lucius said.

"How dare you even suggest something like that!"

"It has come to my attention that you spend a lot of time with Mrs. Zabini who is known for her beauty."

Narcissa huffed. She wanted to hand Lucius the file but he refused to take it.

"What could I possibly want with that? Do you want me to find a bride or our son?"

"Draco isn't responding to my owls," Narcissa said.

"Maybe he isn't ready to settle down."

"I was married at his age."

"That poor wizard," Lucius said.

Narcissa sneered at Hermione. "And what is someone like her doing in those sacred walls? I hope you don't leave her and Draco out of sight. That would not be proper. You can't use another scandal."

"I assure you our son has absolutely no interest in her. Miss Granger has been studying with him. If their attempts were fruitful, however, remains to be seen."

Narcissa's chaw twitched. "And you wonder why I divorced you."

"Not at all, deary."

Once Narcissa had finally left, Hermione took a deep breath. "How often do you see each other?"

Lucius chuckled. He took her in his arm. "She is family, I have yet to key her out of the wards, she has lived here for too long. But I could murder her for you."

"No thanks."

"I like it when you are possessive," he whispered into her ear.

Hermione closed her eyes, relishing the sensation of his hot breath against her skin. Shivers went through her spine. She could have gotten lost in the moment but it was ruined by a thought.

"Why didn't you tell her that Draco is gay?"

"It is not mine to tell."

"Why do I have this weird feeling that you're both just avoiding a difficult conversation?"