Chapter 12:
"Lemon Drizzle cake, I made your favourite!" Molly exclaimed as she cut a large slice on a plate and pushed it towards Hermione. "How are you doing, dear?" she added softly.
Hermione picked at the cake softly with her fork before responding, "Thanks Molly. You didn't have to..." she trailed off. Hermione had avoided visiting the Burrow partly because of the fight with Ron but also because she had been to busy wallowing in self-pity at her situation. Feeling the need to respond to Molly's question she finally said, "We are going to meet the Malfoy's today... Andromeda and I, that is. Finalise the engagement party date and iron out the details."
Molly nodded patiently as she poured tea into identical tea cups. "That's good. But, how are you?" she repeated, looking sternly but kindly into Hermione's eyes. "We are all worried about you. Ginny says that you haven't been eating properly."
Hermione huffed. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate Molly's concern but she wished sometimes that Molly wasn't so perceptive and attentive. But as Hermione took another bite of the lemon cake, she realised how unfair she was being towards her friends. They had all given her her space for an entire week after all. Hermione was shaken out of her rumination when she realised that Molly had stopped talking and was waiting for a response.
"Do you think I should have left him at the Ministry?", Hermione whispered quietly. "Do you think I made a mistake? It's just that his life was in danger and he could have died and his life was ultimately in my hands."
Molly moved towards her faster than a seeker on a Firebolt, as she enveloped Hermione in a giant hug. "Never. You did a wonderful thing. Not everyone could have done it though and you shouldn't mind Ron. He'll come around, like he always does. You however are a wonderful witch, a war heroine and don't ever doubt yourself. We are all so proud of you" she concluded even as she continued holding Hermione.
Hermione felt a sense of relief as she let out a breath she had never known she was holding. She pulled away from Molly before breathing out a heartfelt thanks.
"Besides, did you know that snakes are terrified of griffins?", Molly smirked. "Don't tell Andromeda though" she added hastily, shuffling away back to her seat even as Andromeda entered the room, Teddy in tow. Hermione grinned back.
"Talking of griffins, are you headed to Candlelake House?" Molly addressed Andromeda.
Andromeda passed Teddy to Molly as she helped herself to some cake, "Yes. The Malfoy Manor is undergoing Ministry ordered decontamination, so Cissa and the boy are staying at the Candlelake House."
"Well, that's a wonderful property with beautifully large gardens" Molly smiled, "Charlie is currently heading the Griffins section of the Magical Creatures rehabilitation project down there, so if the Malfoy's give you any trouble, you can always holler to Charlie and the griffins."
Hermione sat up surprised and Andromeda's eyes gleamed. "Cissa has always been terrified of Magical creatures. This could be fun."
Hermione would have never connected the words Candlelake House to a strong smell of dung but her olfactory senses were overwhelmed the minute she portkeyed into the grounds of Candlelake House. The view was only the second thing that struck her. Molly was right- the grounds were beautiful and they stretched as far as the eyes could see, broken only by the gigantic mansion that was inappropriately titled House.
"Miffy here to take you inside", a small voice whispered nervously.
"Miffy!" exclaimed Andromeda, "how have you been?", coming up from behind Hermione, pushing Teddy in his Harry Potter themed stroller. "Miss Andy?" Miffy gasped, her eyes widening and cheeks reddening. "Miffy is so happy to see you again", the little house-elf bowed even as her little legs shook in excitement. "I'm great. This is my grandson Teddy and the war heroine Hermione Granger" Andromeda introduced as she began walking towards the house. "This way please, the griffin tamers have taken over the side paths", Miffy clarified pointing towards a longer path that wove through the rose bushes.
Hermione saw an opportunity and took it. "Miffy, would it be alright if I walked past the Griffin tamers?" she asked, even as she took a few steps towards the side path and even though she phrased the question towards Miffy, she looked at Andromeda for confirmation. "That's a great idea, the fountains up ahead have incredible engravings, you'll enjoy them. Once you enter the house follow the corridor to the royal blue room. I'm sure that's where Cissa would be meeting us" Andromeda said, glancing at Miffy. The poor house-elf stuttered something about the Mistress asking to bring them to the sitting room but essentially gave in and nodded, "sitting room is blue, yes."
Hermione waved and disappeared down the path. She wasn't just delaying the inevitable, she was eager to see Charlie and to observe the griffins. She had never seen one before and given their rarity she was curious about their origin. She turned a corner and came up to a clearing. To her right she could see the path continuing in to the house, but directly in front of her, was a huge clearing and the source of the pungent scent came into her line of sight. Standing at 7 feet tall, with the body of a lion and the head and talons of an eagle, three magnificent griffins with brightly coloured feathers chased each other around the grounds.
Slowly Hermione became aware of other wizards around her. There were almost half a dozen wizards and witches who were controlling and coordinating the movements of the griffins. She caught sight of Charlie, who was feeding the griffins while sitting atop the fencing around them. He caught sight of her at almost the exact moment she did. With a ear splitting grin, he jumped off the pole and jogged over to Hermione. "Mione!" he grinned, pulling her into a hug. "Mum's been going crazy worrying about you", he added.
"Sorry Charlie", Hermione pouted, while Hermione was fond of the second-eldest Weasley brother, she was least acquainted with him and if she was honest with herself, he reminded her of a stereotypical jock. "But, your mum and I already made up. She brought over the most amazing lemon drizzle cake this morning, and she told me that you might be here", Hermione said, looking up determinately into Charlie's eyes, while actively avoiding his toned and sweaty body.
Charlie chuckled. "Yes, Ginny told me about you this morning. She seemed pretty put out that you didn't want them here."
"Didn't want to complicate the situation", Hermione agreed. "How's the griffin rehabilitation going? Where did you even find such rare beauties?", she changed the topic.
"It's all thanks to Nott, really. He kidnapped all kinds of creatures that his father was dealing and hid them in the Nott Gardens. He's protected the first ever Golden Red griffin that has been sighted in over 500 years." Charlie looked around as if looking for someone and then declared, "There he is! The man of the hour."
Hermione shifted her gaze and saw her old classmate, Theodore Nott walking down the stairs of the mansion. To her surprise, he was dressed simply in muggle clothes like Charlie and on Charlie's comment, he waved at them enthusiastically. Hermione had never had an issue with Theo. They had even been partners on numerous Transfiguration projects in their first few years at Hogwarts. So the lump in her throat and cold shiver that went down her spine wasn't because of Nott but rather because of the wizard walking beside him. Dressed in black robes, hair slicked back neatly, the protagonist of her nightmares, Draco Malfoy strode towards them, his face stone-like and emotionless.
Even as they neared, Charlie continued to extol Theo's brave deeds, "and then he managed to get Nina separated from the weredogs and hidden from the Death Eaters."
"Nina?" Hermione asked confused, forcing her eyes away from the bane of her existence.
"The Golden Red griffin. He named her Nina. I have no idea why." Charlie chortled.
"Because that's the noise she makes when she eats chocolate frogs!" Theo grinned, looking up at Charlie in mutual admiration and something else that Hermione was not able to figure out. "Granger! Nice to see you. You look lovely today. Being a War Heroine really suits you!" Theo continued, enjoying the light flush of pink on Hermione's cheeks.
"Granger" Malfoy grunted, in way of greeting, before turning around to Charlie, "How long before these griffins are released into the forest area?"
Hermione blinked. Even by Malfoy's standards, that was abrupt and rude, but Theo didn't let that deter him. "Come on Draco, leave the griffins to us. Why don't you escort Granger inside. Your mother must be waiting."
"That's alright Theo," Hermione interjected, "I know the way to the Royal Blue room. It's lovely to meet you again anyway and you should be proud of what you have done for these animals. Not everyone respects or understands Magical creatures... although it's probably because they fear them." Hermione added, sparing Malfoy a sideways glance before turning and walking towards the house.
If Malfoy had understood her insinuation and reference to his past behaviours in Hagrid's classes, he didn't let it show. Even as Charlie waved his goodbyes and asked her to holler if she needed anything, Malfoy turned towards the house and fell into step beside her.
They walked quietly for almost an entire minute before Hermione heard Charlie and Theo break into peals of laughter. She turned her head, as she continued walking up the stairs to the doors, and was stunned to see the two of them holding each other in a familiar manner as they laughed at an inside joke. Eyes widening, Hermione continued her ascent to the house, even as the realisation behind Charlie's lack of girlfriends and his interest in Theo began to make sense.
"Yea, they are fucking."
Hermione gasped at Malfoy's blunt words and tripped over the final step. She felt her feet slip and body fall and she braced herself for the impact with outstretched arms but instead of the cold marble flooring, Hermione's arm was yanked upwards and she felt herself hurl into a hard wall. A hard, black wall. A wall that had an extension wrapped around her torso. Why was the extension tightening? She huffed and elbowed the wall in an effort to get away.
"Ow! What the hell was that for? Try a thank you next time, you crazy witch." Malfoy, in his rich black robes, sat up on the floor, rubbing his derriere and throwing Hermione pointed looks. Malfoy pushed himself up and stormed into the House, without sparing a second glance and Hermione figured that the temporary truce was probably over. She turned around to check that no one had seen the embarrassing incident before following Malfoy into what she considered was probably the war zone.
Despite Malfoy's foul attitude, he was waiting for her inside. He led her down the corridor, before stopping abruptly in front of enormous golden doors. He scowled at the doors for a second before asking her "Who's inside? Miffy was sent to bring you here and by the sounds of it someone is already there, talking to my mother." He stared at her accusingly.
Hermione rolled her eyes before answering, "Your aunt, She's representing me."
Malfoy's entire demeanour changed. His face expressed pure terror before changing into confusion.
"Your other aunt! Andromeda!" Hermione shouted, realising that he mistook her words to imply Bellatrix. "Your other lovely aunt is fortunately dead. I don't think I could very well spend an afternoon with her in a drawing room again, you know what I mean" Hermione rambled, partly in jest and partly in an attempt to diffuse the tension. Based on Malfoy's stoic and terrified face, her attempt at levity was in vain.
"That's not funny!" Malfoy snapped. "Anything else I should know before we go in?" he asked, his arms crossed over his body which Hermione recognised very well as an effort to regain his composure and control over the conversation.
"Teddy's in there too. The son of your cousin Tonks and Professor Lupin."
Malfoy stared at Hermione for a whole minute before briskly nodding. "Okay, let's go". But before Malfoy could open the doors, Hermione grabbed the sleeve of his robes and muttered "Hold on!"
She reached into her beaded bag and pulled out a wand. "According to probation rules, you can use this as long as I am within two grounds of you. So, I suppose you can have your wand back this afternoon."
Malfoy stared at Granger like she had transfigured herself into a golden snitch. He gingerly reached out to touch his wand. Wrapping his fingers around the wood, he appeared to grow taller and a flush that didn't exist before, appeared on his cheeks. Like a little boy discovering Christmas gifts, Malfoy immediately set out to perform various charms and spells. He turned off the lights and turned them back on. He shrunk various jars in the corridor, levitated portraits and began trying to transfigure a book into an owl. Hermione who had watched him with growing amusement, eventually interrupted "Try a thank you next time, you crazy wizard!"
Malfoy spun around with an ill-masked smile. He stalked over to her, wand outstretched. Hermione tightened her grip on her wand. Malfoy swished his wand at her while mouthing "Thanks Granger" conjuring the letters "Thank You" which appeared to be made of confetti. Hermione stared at it wearily and just as she expected, the confetti disintegrated and blew all over her face.
"Malfoy!" Hermione growled as she tried to vanish the confetti stuck to her hair.
Malfoy smirked at the annoyed expression on her face before turning towards the golden doors and pushing them open. "Enough play Granger, it's time to get back to work"
Author's note: I'm back after ages. Sorry for that. The pandemic has made life incredibly difficult for everyone so please stay safe, sanitise and wear a mask. I will try to do more frequent updates now. Please do leave a review. Next chapter will finally discuss the engagement, back to school plans and all the different ways of getting rid of this silly marriage problem.