Something odd is going on with Fanfiction. I posted, but the chapter was invisible, came to view and then disappeared again... So here's the same chapter again, hopefully more permanently! / Ida

Saturday, October 31st

It was Saturday evening at the Granger residence, and Hermione tried desperately to keep a straight face. When she, as a teenage girl, had fantasized about what it would be like to bring a boy home to meet her parents, she had come nowhere close. And though the tragedy of the whole affair wasn't lost on her, she couldn't help but to see the humour in the situation.

They were seated by the dining room table, her mum and dad opposite her and Lucius, as if this was some sort of double date. Her mother had made one of her famous stews, which made Hermione misty-eyed with nostalgia. Lucius's reaction was something more like apprehension. Her mission to introduce him to the best of muggle foods had been put on hold with the whole morning sickness business, and she could tell he wasn't impressed by the looks of it. Thankfully, he managed to hide it from her mum.

Lucius's skepticism about all things muggle became quite amusing when one placed him in a muggle home. Everything must have seemed odd to him. The Grangers had no fireplace, instead he was startled by the sound of the phone ringing. They had strange devices connected by wire to the wall, and while the Tower was almost solely lit up by candles and a few enchanted lamps, here, the odd candle he could spot had scarcely been lit.

Taking a tour of the house, her father had proudly declared that they had purged the house of old-fashioned light-bulbs and replaced them with LED-lights, to which Lucius had nodded and remarked that he was sure that was a "very wise thing to do". When her mother, on the other hand, had told them about their life in Australia and her excitement about their new dentist's practice, and then presented them with a sugar-free rawfood chocolate cake for dessert. Lucius's expression was priceless.

After dinner, Lucius had hesitantly followed her dad into the living room. He had unfortunately at some point answered that he had been known to "watch a game or two" of rugby, and was dragged off without further ado. Hermione was torn between expecting Lucius to either return a complete expert on the game, or to ask them if all muggles were truly this barbaric.

Meanwhile, her mother offered her cinnamon rolls in the kitchen. Looking out the window, Hermione realized that her old swing had been removed. The traces of the ropes could still be discerned on the tree where they had almost grown into the tree.

"More tea, Hermione?" her mum asked as she took a healthy dose of hand sanitizer and rubbed it into her hands.

"Please", Hermione smiled, and followed her example.

For some reason, the magical community had been spared the pandemic that was currently wreaking havoc in muggle society. As with all diseases, the magical core of witches and wizards protected them from some diseases, like this one, and made them vulnerable to others, such as dragon pox. Hermione had studied the official guidelines before this meeting, but had still needed to remind herself frequently to keep a physical distance. It came more naturally to Lucius, she supposed. He wasn't exactly the touchy-feely type.

Cup refilled, Hermione looked up at the woman sitting across from her. They looked a lot the same – but why Hermione's hair was so unruly when her mother's fell down in gentle waves, she couldn't tell. Perhaps it was the magic. Harry had the same problem. Though, to be honest, Hermione doubted he had ever thought of it as an actual problem.

"You have such a lovely name", her mum said, handing her a napkin. "If I'd ever had a daughter, I think I would have named her Hermione."

"Oh?" Hermione took a sip of her tea, trying to stop her hands from shaking.

"My great grandmother's name was Hermione", Monica Granger continued as she stirred her own tea. "Family legend says she was someone quite special, and that she had this great love story with a handsome stranger." The woman chuckled to herself, smiling conspiratorially at Hermione.

Hermione smiled back, remembering the story and her own theory that the handsome stranger might actually have been a wizard. She cleaned a few crumbs from her mouth. She didn't realize she'd been rubbing her belly until she saw her mother's eyes notice the movement. Hermione stilled, and Monica Granger seemed to hesitate. "May I ask..."

"Of course", Hermione said with a stiff smile. Under normal circumstances, her mum and dad would have been the first perople to know. But it felt so odd to tell them important things without them understanding their meaning. This was going to be their grandchild, after all!

"When are you due?" Mrs Granger asked.

"End of February."

Her mother hesitated, glancing towards the living room again. "And how does Lucius feel about this?"

"Happy", Hermione answered. "Mostly."

"Mostly?" her mother frowned.

Hermione shrugged awkwardly. "He worries. A lot. I don't really know what to do about it, to be honest."

Her mum's frown deepened. "Are you having second thoughts?"

"No", Hermione said, more sharply than she meant to. With an apologetic grimace at her hostess, she explained: "Everyone assumes I do."

"I'm sorry, dear", her mother apoligized, and added: "He just seems a little - what to say - strict?"

Hermione was torn between amusement and sadness. She had told her mother about Lucius years ago, back when Draco was a bully and Lucius was just his cruel and racist father. If her mother had remembered all of that, Hermione would have expected her to react badly to their engagement. Worse than the Weasleys, probably. But even now, not remembering any of that, her mother was still suspicious.

"People aren't too happy about your relationship, then?" her mother asked, biting into her cinnamon roll.

"Lucius used to be someone quite different", Hermione explained, debating how much she should reveal. "My two best friends and his son have accepted it, but we told the rest of our acquaintances only recently."

Her mother listened quietly as she chewed, as if she was truly trying to understand. "They reacted badly?" Mrs Granger guessed.

"One could say that", Hermione mumbled, swallowing a lump in her troat and pushing away the intense longing she fel for the woman to simply fold her into hr arms and tell her that everything was going to be okay. "Both of us are rather well known in our - uh, our line of business, and people's opinions won't change so easily." It was perhaps best not to mention the attempted murder.

Her mother seemed deep in thought for a few moments. "Well", she said, reaching out to put a hand on Hermione's before she caught herself with an apologetic grimace. "I don't know Lucius at all, but if you're certain about your relationship, all you can do is stick together and weather the storm. Don't let them separate you. Andrew and I have had our trials", a sadness passed Monica Granger's face, but it was quickly replaced by a look of warm regard, "but we're together, and that's made all the difference."

"I'm sure you're right", Hermione said, blinking away the tears from her eyes.

It was dark when they left the Granger residence, and Lucius looked warily around him. He pulled Hermione close to his side as they began to follow the pavement toward the nearest apparition point. Watching their shadows grow and shrink under the street lights, Lucius thought that it wasn't entirely dissimilar to the shadows cast upon the walls when one moved along the corridors at Malfoy manor. Only, these were more clinical, less alive.

Hermione must have walked here so many times as a child, coming home from school or friends, or from a trip to town. He didn't know what he had expected tonight. All he knew was that he'd been surprised by the familiarity of her parent's home. They'd been welcoming, courteous and hospitable. He could tell that Mrs Granger didn't exactly approve of him, but things could have been worse. And her husband seemed to have accepted him the moment he complimented his sense in installing those LED-devices and pretended to enjoy the strange sport on the television screen.

In short, Lucius had felt more at ease than he had expected. But still, every now and then, he had been startled by some incomprehensible question from his new friend. Andrew would ask his opinion on someone named Trump, or the Swedish handling of the Covid-19, or what dentists practice he went to - and he would scramble for an answer that would seem initiated enough without sticking his neck out.

Hermione walked quietly beside him. Too quiet. Lucius glanced down at her, and decided that he'd been on good behaviour for long enough. He was entitled to some little revenge for her laughing at him over the strange raw cake, after all. Just then, Hermione played right into his hands as she cleared her throat and asked:

"So - what did you think?"

"Positively barbaric", he replied, "and yet strangely fascinating."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I wasn't talking about the rugby game."

"Neither was I", he sniffed.

As predicted, her free hand reached out to pinch him - or perhaps hit him, who knew when it came to her? - and he quickly caught it in his. Having caught both her arms, he held her tightly. While he was free to look down at her with a superior mien, she had no choice but to stand still and crane her neck back to meet his gaze.

"My mother is probably watching us from the upstairs window", she warned.

"Knowing her daughter, I can't say I'm surprised", he answered.

"Hey, I'm not nosy!"

He simply raised an eyebrow, studying her. She did look a little annoyed. Lucius couldn't help the smirk that crept over his lips. When her scowl deepened, he shook his head to silence whatever rebuke was forming in her mind.

"Your mother is everything kind", Lucius placated, "and I will even admit that the food was perfectly edible. And Andrew, as I am to call him, was gracious enough to invite us back for the start of the rugby championships." He paused. "But -"

"But what?" she asked helplessly.

"But if they knew I was courting their daughter, I wouldn't even have been let into the house."

"That's not their fault", Hermione sighed.

"They would be in their full right to banish me", Lucius agreed. He could admit to having a lot going against him: he was old enough to be her father, seemed strict (yes, he'd heard that), had even been to prison for murder. If he'd had a daughter, he would rather have locked her in the dungeons than allowed such a man into her presence.

"But it puts us in a rather tricky situation, doesn't it?" he continued as he pulled her a little closer. "I need them to remember you in order to ask Andrew's consent. But the moment he remembers, he'll deny it."

"Then what's your plan?" Hermione asked.

"I suppose I'll just have to put on my charm."

"You have no charm", she snorted, squirming a little as he pulled her even closer.

"Then how did I catch you?" he asked, searching her streetlight-illuminated face.

"Not in a way I'd like you to try with my parents" she said.

Was that a blush?

"Hermione Granger!" he exclaimed teasingly. "Are you flirting with me?"

"I'll say yes if you let me go."

Lucius shook his head. "I'll have to teach you a thing or two about negotiations, my love", he murmured. "Your current position isn't what one would call favourable for putting up conditions."

He was just about to let his lips taste hers when a sound close by made them spring apart, wands immediately in hand. There had been a shuffle in the bushes, but before they could do more than stare suspiciously into the shadows, they heard some more rustling of leaves and relaxed slightly as a blackbird hopped away.

"Wow!" a voice exclaimed from behind them. "Are those real wands?"

Lucius quickly turned around and found a small group of children staring at him and Hermione. They were all dressed rather oddly. One was a witch, that much was clear - but her clothes were made from an odd plastic-like material that no witch with self-respect would ever put on. Another girl had on a glittering dress with wings and swung what looked like a wand with a ribbon on it. The other two had white and black paint on heir faces, giving them a rather unhealthy appearance.

Lucius was just about to deny any knowledge of what a wand was, but Hermione leaned closer to the children and spoke in a low voice: "Actually, they are."

"Can I try it?" the little witch, who seemed to be the spokesperson, pleaded.

Hermione shook her head. "I'm afraid not. One has to be properly trained, you see."

The children looked disappointed. Lucius expected her to dismiss them then, but instead she asked how their trick-or-treating was going.

The little witch sighed theatrically. "We're only allowed to go to our next-door neighbours, and ours are really stingy."

Hermione smiled mischievously at them, and Lucius barely had time to realize he was in trouble before she said: "You're in luck, then, because this gentleman here is a real wizard. If you ask him, he might conjure some candy for you." She looked across her shoulder at him. "But you have to ask very nicely, because he's a bit grumpy."

The kinds turned to him as one, and the oldest girl begged: "Please, Mr Wizard, would you be so very kind as to do a trick so we can have some candy? Please?"

Lucius must have really looked as grumpy as Hermione had claimed he was, because the other children immediately seconded her plea with a joined: "Please!"

Lucius gav Hermione a stern look and then turned to the children. "Since you ask me so very prettily, I suppose I will. But just this once."

He reached his hand out for their basket, and - making sure they couldn't actually see him perform the magic - he cast a quick multiply-charm over its meagre contents. Soon, the basket was filled to the brim. The oddly dressed children cheered eagerly, and the smallest one - the glittering girl with wings - even curtsied. Lucius smiled at them as they trotted off along the street.

"The great Mr Malfoy giving candy to muggle children", Hermione said teasingly as she took his arm and they continued toward the apparition point. "What would people say if they knew?"

Not far away, a figure hid in the bushes. Its dark clothes, and a hastily cast disillusionment charm, made it nearly invisible. Still, it had been a close call.

The figure had silently watched the couple's private interactions, clutching its wand disdainfully at their sickening banter. It could scarcely believe its luck in not only avoiding detection but also in what then followed. The golden witch had played right into the watcher's hands when she had encouraged the wizard to perform a spell. With sinister satisfaction, the dark figure had seized the moment, and felt the magic flare the moment the wizard had used his wand.

Further down the road, the couple disappeared from sight. With a flick of the wand and a quiet spell, the hidden figured transformed the black bird back into the autumn leaf it had once been. Only the worm it had caught was left squirming on the ground. The figure watched it for a few moments before setting it aflame with a muttered incendio.

The figure straightened its robes, cancelled the disillusionment charm and stepped into the street lights with a satisfied grin. They were gone for now, but there was no turning back anymore.

There would be no more mistakes such as on the night of the ball. The next time their paths crossed, Lucius Malfoy would pay for his mistakes. It wouldn't be long before the two of them were made to see reason. They would recant or they would perish.

Soon.