NOTES: Wow! I was blown away by the response to the first chapter. Truly, thank you to everyone who dropped me a note. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to write and then hear what people think. And I love to respond to questions and further get into discussions, so please feel free to do so if you want. This chapter was super fun to write. I hope you like it! MANY thanks to my beta, eilonwy! Also, I added about 400 words to this after she saw it last, so any mistakes are mine, I'm sure!
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and his world belong to JKR. I'm just having fun.
CHAPTER TWO
Draco returned to England feeling utterly defeated. Like Napoleon invading Russia, scorched earth and all.
He spent the entire first day holed up in his room, nursing a bottle of Old Ogden's and plotting. Plan A had crashed and burned in spectacular fashion, but he wasn't waving the white flag yet. Oh no, not even close. He had too many forces working for him, too many cards up his sleeve. It remained to be seen whether any of them were aces.
April 27
Draco knocked sharply on a bright blue door. After a moment, Ginny Potter opened it. She blinked, then raised an eyebrow. "That was quick."
"Who is it, dear?" came the voice of Molly Weasley as she neared the front door.
"It's Draco," Ginny replied, opening the door to grant him entry. After eyeing him critically, she said, "We'll meet in my old room. Upstairs, last door on the right. I'll find Harry and Ron."
Draco nodded and Ginny disappeared. Then he turned to Molly and proffered a bottle of wine. "I apologize for dropping in unannounced and uninvited."
Molly looked surprised for a moment, then hesitantly accepted the wine. "This certainly wasn't necessary, but thank you. Any friend of my kids is welcome." She closed the door behind them and then pointed toward the stairs. It had been a strange half year, growing closer to Hermione's friends. Molly had been understandably reluctant, but lately she'd shown signs of more than simply tolerating his presence.
Draco took his leave and made his way up the twisting staircase. Magic was a mysterious natural occurrence. From the outside, the Burrow seemed to defy the laws of physics, but inside, the hallways appeared straight and most of the angles were right.
Draco found Ginny's room and looked around. Soon Ginny joined him with Harry and Ron in tow. Ron grinned like Christmas had come early when he saw Draco. Draco set his jaw; this part wouldn't be fun.
"Malfoy!" said Ron gleefully, looking around him as though expecting to see someone else. "Where's Hermione?"
He gave Ron his most lethal look and said nothing.
"Oh, she didn't come back with you?" Ron continued, feigning joyous confusion. "I'm stunned."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Ron, lay off."
"Oh, no. I'm just getting started," he said. "I've got this in writing." Ron brandished a standard magical contract. "I was promised a full thirty minutes to torment him in the event that he didn't return with her. It's only been … one."
"Yes, well, some of us want to hear about Hermione," Ginny countered.
Ron pouted and Vanished the contract. "No fair, though. I earned those thirty minutes."
"You can do it later," Draco suggested. He thought Ron's ribbing would be more tolerable in small doses.
"Oh, all right," said Ron happily. "I suppose it can wait."
"How was she?" Harry asked, offering Draco a beer.
"She seemed very well," Draco replied, accepting the drink and sitting down in an empty chair. He'd never get the image of the morning sun on her face, her shoulders, her hair, out of his memory.
"Was she happy?" Harry asked. Ginny gave his hand a squeeze.
"Yes. I think so. Bitter about everything here, but happy enough," Draco replied. He'd spent a good fifteen minutes observing her before approaching the table. Part of him hadn't wanted to begin because then he would get an answer and the conversation would have to end. The work he'd done to find her would come to its conclusion, for better or worse, and no matter her answer, he hadn't a clue what he'd do upon returning to England. As he'd watched her, the serene expression on her face, he'd known in his gut what her answer would be.
Harry sighed. "I do miss her."
"We all do," said Ginny.
"I don't think I truly expected to bring her home after just one attempt," Draco confessed. "But she didn't even budge. Nothing I said even came close." There had been that instant where she'd seemed conflicted, but he'd never know what she'd been conflicted about. "And she was quite convincing herself."
Harry and Ginny exchanged a look.
Draco continued. "She's not coming back. I believe that now."
"What are you going to do?" Ginny asked gently, after he'd been quiet for a moment.
He shrugged, allowing some of the defeat he felt to show. What could he do, really? The optimism he'd felt after his days of plotting at home were fading upon further reflection to Hermione's friends. They'd told him, repeatedly and often, that he was on a fool's errand.
When the Law went into effect, he'd chosen Hermione immediately and been granted the match. When she left England, the move had been unprecedented. In order to discourage others from following suit, the Ministry had immediately held a trial in absentia and convicted her of sedition. She could only return if she recanted her position and married him immediately. There had been some who'd insisted upon time in Azkaban, but the majority felt her acquiescence would be enough.
If she never returned, Draco was in a difficult spot. He'd fulfilled the Law's requirements with nothing to show for it. He truly didn't know what his fate was. Would the Ministry release him? Did he even want that? All the matches had been made. Were there any leftovers? Would he be forced to marry someone else? The thought made him grimace. He didn't want anyone but Hermione. He realized it was a tragic irony that he, too, wanted to marry for love, now that the possibility had been completely dashed.
"What can I do?" he asked morosely.
"Are you stuck?" Harry asked. "Can you get out of the match?"
"I don't really want to," he admitted. "There's... no one else I'm even remotely interested in."
"She's not coming back," Ron reminded him, not unkindly.
Draco nodded. "No, I … I know that. I do. For now, I'm okay with being unable to… proceed with the Law. It'll give me time to think."
They were all quiet for a moment. Draco felt on the edge of something, as though wisps of thoughts he'd struggled with in the days since Lyon were coalescing in his mind. Every path he traveled in his thoughts led to one conclusion, but he had resisted thinking about it further. It seemed unrealistic and unattainable.
"I mean, the only way she said she'd come back is if the Law is repealed," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. All three of Hermione's very best friends got very quiet.
He raised an eyebrow, curious at their reaction. "But she tried so hard before she left to keep it from happening. What more can anyone do?"
Harry and Ron exchanged a look.
Draco frowned, more to himself than them. What could anyone do? If she couldn't get anyone to listen, who could? A niggling thought tickled the back of his mind. Maybe it wasn't so much about who as it was what. What could get the Ministry to listen? He hadn't been required to deal much with the Ministry, aside from the fact that he worked there. There was one thing he knew that always got things moving, however. His parents used their considerable assets rarely but to good effect. He'd discovered that Galleons got things done far quicker than anything else. Of course, he couldn't just throw money at the problem. Perhaps before the Law had been passed that might have been possible, but now it would require more than money.
Which brought his thoughts back to the unrealistic and unattainable.
Draco chuckled lightly. "I could always fight it, right?"
He hadn't really meant to say it out loud, and he thought that by speaking the words he'd hear how ridiculous they sounded. So he hadn't been prepared for their reaction. Had he given it a moment's thought, he would have expected them to laugh with him and quickly dismiss the idea. Instead, the mood in the room changed instantly; they all stared at him hard.
Then Harry slowly spoke. "You could fight it."
Draco sighed deeply. "I know. I've thought about it, but—"
Ginny seemed to come alive then. "Really? You've thought about fighting the law?" When he nodded, she continued. "You really ought to, Draco. You'd be the best person to do it."
"Why me?" he asked, genuinely surprised.
"Think about it." Ginny sat up straighter. "Whom does this law truly benefit?"
Draco scowled at the question. Hermione had already made him think about the Law more than he'd been comfortable. It had been good, though; just because it had been uncomfortable didn't change that. Her logic had been impeccable, and he'd expanded his thinking to encompass it. He couldn't go back. She'd been absolutely right, after all. Still, it was hard, seeing something you'd been raised to believe in shattered before your eyes with aplomb.
He could be thankful for something that hurt.
Not that he'd still held fully to his parents' beliefs. The fact that he loved Hermione and had actively sought her out—granted, far too late—was evidence of that. It wasn't that she epitomized the proof against everything he'd been taught. That was reductionist. She was more than simply a walking, talking proof text. That may have intrigued him in school, but it hadn't been nearly enough to draw his earnest attention.
It hadn't been until he'd worked closely with her that she'd shown him what was beyond the Hermione Granger everyone else saw. She was intelligent, thoughtful, meticulous, yes, yet she also had an unfettered side, a mischievous streak that was probably one of the things he liked most about her. He'd been on the verge of asking her out when talk of the Marriage Law began. From the start, she'd been extremely vocal with her opinion, and he'd lost his courage.
"Malfoy?" Ron elbowed him. "Still with us?"
He spoke automatically. "The Law… benefits all of wizardki—"
"No," Ginny interrupted sharply. "Don't simply repeat the bullshit propaganda, Draco. Answer the question."
He glared at her, more because it seemed like what he should do rather than because he was upset with her. "All right, then. It benefits those who have something to lose without it."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Namely?"
"The pure-bloods," he said reluctantly.
"The old guard," she agreed. "Pure-bloods are the ones having the Squibs. They—"
Draco interrupted her now. "Just for the record, your family is considered pure-blood."
Ron smacked the back of his head. "Don't say stupid things."
Ginny merely raised an eyebrow and continued. "All pure-bloods need to maintain magical lines, even if it means sullying them every few generations."
"You sound just like Hermione," Draco said gruffly.
She spoke as though he hadn't. "But pure-bloods don't want to sully their lines, so they use this Law to get around it because they can't be held liable for the tainted blood. It's like a free pass. The offspring can be considered pure by the old families, and the old prejudices can continue unfettered."
"Did you and Hermione read the same brochure?" he asked half-heartedly. He was only arguing because he had nothing else to do. Ginny was well and thoroughly on a rant; he doubted his presence was even required at this point.
"Who gets to lead the matching process?" she asked, her tone rising. "The pure-bloods, of course. They don't allow the less-thans to have much of a say in whom they end up with."
"I know all of this," said Draco defensively. "Hermione could talk of nothing else before the law was passed. I've heard all of her arguments dozens of times."
"So?" Harry asked.
"So?" He threw up his hands. "So, she was right. I know that."
Harry nodded in satisfaction. "Right. So. Now what?"
Draco looked at each of Hermione's best friends in turn. They were watching him intently, eager for his reply—as though they'd discussed this course of action already. "You want me to do this," he said, realization dawning.
"Of course we do," Ron said.
"But we want you to want to," Harry added.
"There's a lot to consider," said Ginny.
Draco shook his head in amazement. "How long, exactly, have you been scheming about this?"
Ron crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "When you first mentioned wanting to find Hermione, months ago, we thought… Hey, what if he…?"
"But it had to come from you," Ginny supplied. "We weren't sure you'd ever get there, of course."
"Does Hermione know about your grand idea?" he asked.
"Merlin, no," said Harry quickly. Ron visibly shuddered. "She'd hex us for even mentioning it. After everything she did, she probably feels that it's hopeless."
"It's just a few conversations we've had," said Ginny. "We've done nothing, really; we haven't been scheming."
"Such a Slytherin thing to suggest," Ron quipped.
"We just feel, if anyone is going to attempt this, it should be you," Harry finished.
"Because …." Draco trailed off, looking to them to finish the sentence.
"You're a pure-blood." Ginny held up one finger. Then another. "You're rich."
He snorted.
"Which means you've got pull most people who are against the Law don't have," Harry said.
Ginny held up a third finger. "You've got friends on both sides of the issue." Fourth finger. "You're the last person in England they'd expect. You are in a unique position because of your social standing to actually be heard. The rich, pure-blooded men in charge of this law might just listen to you because they see you as just like them, and they cannot simply dismiss you. Like they did Hermione."
Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "To be honest, the idea has been in the back of my mind since the Law passed. I'd just hoped—foolishly—I could find Hermione and she'd come back with me."
Ron sniggered.
"So you'll do it?" Harry asked.
"I'm not… sure, yet." Draco hesitated. "I've no idea where to begin. Would I… have your support?"
The three exchanged looks.
"Of course," said Ginny, "but it wouldn't be direct."
"This has to be you," Harry added.
"If we're seen to be involved, it will color the whole thing," Ron said. "We're her best friends, of course we want her back. We'd do anything to get her back."
"Even conspire with someone we'd previously been known to despite," Ginny remarked. "No one knows we tolerate you now, much less like you."
Draco felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. He sighed. "And… because you think Hermione might question the whole thing?"
"Oh, mate," said Ron sympathetically. "You've got to let her go."
"Let her go? I'm not sure I follow," Draco confessed with a frown.
"You've got to ask yourself why you're doing this," said Ginny seriously. She sat up straight and looked him in the eye. "I see two options before you, Draco, and you must choose only one. It cannot be both because your motives will be crucial to your success. Will you fight the law because you love her?"
"Of course," he said without hesitation, his heart jumping at how easily he had admitted to Hermione's friends the thing he'd been unable to say to her.
"Or will you fight it because she's right?"
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks for reading!