Chapter 7

Hermione headed down the stairs of Grimmuald place, early that morning. She hadn't gone into work the day before, both in avoidance of her husband, and because she needed a day to process all that had happened in the last twenty four hours. It had been hard of course, because even if she didn't love her husband, she was still ending a relationship with someone she had once considered to be a friend.

"Morning," she said softly, as she saw Ginny and Harry looking a little worried. "Is everything okay? Did something happen?"

"Hermione," Harry said giving her a gentle look, "You should sit down."

"What is it?" she asked, confused.

"The Daily Prophet has published a story about you," he said, and she swore he looked a little annoyed.

She wordlessly grabbed the paper and at the article in question.

Trouble In Paradise: Is the Golden Girl Cheating?

By Jane Epson

When Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger wed, the wizarding world celebrated the marriage of two beloved war heroes (for more on Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley during the war, read page 13). The two had a romance of fairytales; friends for years before slowly falling in love with each other. They were destined to be together. Or so we all thought.

Sources claim that Hermione Granger-Weasley was last seen drinking alone with Draco Malfoy, a few nights ago. The pair looked cozy, as if they were old friends, which raises the question of just how close are they, and where exactly is Ron Weasley?

There is no question of the history between Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy; while the Boy Who Lived has managed to put aside his differences with the former Death Eater to be work partners, Weasley has made it clear time and time again that he does not approve of the Malfoys, and just where he thinks they belong (for the history between Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy, read page 5). So was Hermione Granger choosing Draco Malfoy a mere coincidence, or did she have ulterior motives in mind.

Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley have a young daughter, and one must wonder what will happen to her if her parents continue to be having the issues that they are. One only hopes that Hermione Granger, branded brightest witch in Hogwarts, will come to her senses and put her family first over her torrid love affair.

Hermione looked at her friends in confusion, "How did they even come up with this?" she asked them.

Harry shook his head, "I have no idea. It isn't exactly as if you make a habit out of drinking with Draco. So when did they came up with this story?"

"The only time was that day we went to get drinks after our case," she said softly to him, "After you left, the two of us stayed for a few more moments before heading out as well. They completely twisted what happened out of proportion."

"I know," Harry frowned, and Ginny looked thoughtful. "I'll contact the press immediately; they have no proof of this story, and its complete slander against you and your character. I'll get them to print an apology in the evening edition of the Prophet."

"People will still believe it," she said softly, "People love a good villain, and blaming me will give them something to gossip over."

Harry rubbed her back, "I'm sorry," he told her softly, "But I must say, the timing is certainly suspicious; that such an article would come out a day after you've left Ron."

"Do you think he did this?" she asked in confusion. She wouldn't put it past him, really; he always was spiteful.

"I think that you left him and he went to a bar, and spouted nonsense to whoever would have listened. And those people came up with their own conclusions.

She sighed softly, "Well, I suppose I should head to work," she said, "If I hide today, people will believe it to be true. I need to show my face and let them know that their words won't get to me."

"We'll stand by you," Ginny told her softly, "Everyone how knows you will know that it's a completely unjust accusation. And don't worry about Rose. I'll take care of her today while you're at work. I'm sure she'll be happy playing with her cousin."

She smiled at her friends softly, "Thank you," she said to them both, "For everything. You've been so wonderful to me in this time, and I don't know what I would do if it weren't for you."

When she arrived at work, there were whispers immediately. It wasn't as if she didn't expect them, but it was still frustrating, knowing what they were all speculating about. She wanted nothing more than to turn to them all and yell, saying that it wasn't true. But that would only give them more fuel for their rumours, and it was the last thing she needed.

"Hermione," she heard a loud voice call, and she turned to see Lavendar approach her, "I'm so glad you came in today. When I read that horrid article in the Prophet this morning, I couldn't stop worrying about you. How they could print such falsities, I'll never know," the blonde said, and despite the people around the Ministry trying hard to pretend they weren't listening, she knew better. And she knew why exactly Lavendar was loudly protesting in her favour. "How are you doing? It couldn't have been easy seeing such terrible things first thing in the morning."

She laughed, trying to sound natural, "I never will know where the Prophet comes up with their stories," she said pointedly. "It seems like they are running out of truth to print, but granted, the Prophet never has been one to print stories based on accuracy, have they? Merlin knows they've enjoyed slandering me in the past, alongside Harry Potter back when we were in fifth year. It's such a shame people buy into their lies."

"I agree," Lavendar said, and the two began to make their way towards their offices. She knew it might have been a little overboard to throw out the past instances of the Prophet's lies, but it still irked her how easily people turned against her friend, and back in his favour when the truth was revealed.

She wasn't all that surprised when Ron showed up at her office less than five minutes after she had gotten in.

"I knew it," he yelled loudly, not even bothering to care about the scene he was making, "I knew you were cheating on me. You never were working late all those nights, were you? Were you always a Death Eater's whore?"

"I never cheated on you, Ronald. Not that I need to prove myself to you, but there are plenty of witnesses to prove that I was always where I said I would be." she said, breathing in. She had been nervous, running into her husband after she left him, but with him standing here, throwing accusations at her, she couldn't bring herself to care anymore. "Which is more than I can say for you. Do you think I didn't know that you were having affairs? I know that you've slept with more girls during our marriage than you probably could count. I also know that you're only here throwing accusations because it makes you feel like less of a villain. But the truth is, despite me having stopped loving you years ago, I never once cheated on you."

"I don't believe you," he said in a hesitant voice, and she knew he had him beat. "You're my wife, Hermione. Do you think I'll simply let you leave because you've changed? We made a vow, and as my wife you need to respect that. You need to learn your place; come home, quit your job, and we can be a family once again."

She wasn't sure how to react to that, so she simply laughed at the absurdity, "Did you actually think I would? Ron, I am not your mother. I will not be a housewife while you attempt to play Auror. I have a respectable career and am making a name for myself. And before you call me a poor excuse of a mother, you're the one who has nearly caused Rose harm, so don't you dare come after me. If you want any sort of relationship with your daughter, then you will quit drinking. I will not let her see you while I think you could hurt her."

"I would never hurt my daughter," he snarled, and she snapped.

"There was glass on the floor!" she said, losing her cool. "And not to mention the alcohol. Rose could have gotten seriously injured!"

"She wouldn't have been if you were home," Ron said, nonchalantly, and she grew furious.

"Leave," she said, pointing at the door. "I don't want to see you anytime soon. Not now, not in the near future."

He looked like he wanted to argue, but her raised wand got him to quickly change his mind as he raised his hands and rush out the door.

She wasn't surprised when Draco came to visit her later in the day; after the article that had come out, she had expected his presence at some point or the other. What she had been surprised over was that he used the direct floo in her office; one that she only ever activated when she was at work and very few people had access to.

But she supposed she shouldn't have been surprised; after that article the last thing either of them needed was rumours of him visiting her at work. At least this way they could talk without speculation.

"Hello," she said softly as he gave her a worried look.

"How are you holding up?" he asked her as he sat down across from her. "I hope you know that I wrote to the Prophet demanding they recant the article. I know my name doesn't exactly carry as much weight as it used to, but it carries enough to demand an apology. I also gave them a statement that the two of us are simply co-workers who were meeting over a case if they wanted to include it in the follow up."

"I'm okay," she said smiling. "There have been some rumours spreading, but for the most part, people have been coming up to me all day saying they didn't believe a word of what was printed. Honestly, it's been a lot better than I've expected."

"How did your husband take it?" Draco asked her tentatively, as if he knew that Ron was the sort to blow a gasket over such articles.

"He wasn't happy," she said, shaking her head. "Actually that's an understatement; he was furious. He came in here wanting to know how I could have cheated on him throughout our marriage, with you of all people. Needless to say, I set him straight."

"I hope it didn't cause too many problems for your marriage," Draco said looking into her eyes. "You deserve to be happy, Hermione."

"Draco," she said softly, "I left him. A few days ago; it's why neither Harry or I were at work yesterday. He was making sure I was alright and that Ron wouldn't try to come visit us. Ron was unhappy because he thought I was blaming our failing marriage on him when I was the one who was unfaithful."

"What happened?" he asked, looking at her full of shock, and she couldn't blame him. It was a reaction she knew she would be getting more often as her impending divorce to Ron spread.

"There were several things," she admitted, "I couldn't stand the drinking anymore. He was always so angry at everything I did. With me having a job, and the fact that I'm good at it, with the way I was raising Rose, and that there wasn't a hot meal on the table whenever he came home from work. He hated everything about who I was, and he made me miserable for it. I think I only stayed as long as I did for Rose, but then he put her in danger, and I couldn't pretend that everything was going to be alright any longer. Not when I was dying inside and when I wanted nothing more than to leave him."

"He hurt Rose?" Draco's eyes flashed furiously, and he took her hand in his softly, "What did he do?"

"Nothing directly," she said softly, attempting to calm him. She knew the truth of it would come out eventually, but she needed to gather herself and come up what she wanted to do exactly. She couldn't stay with Harry and Ginny forever that much was certain. And she would eventually need to file for custody; the sooner the better. "He was drinking and it put her in harm; there was glass everywhere and alcohol exposed to her. It's one thing to hurt me, but he's never hurt her before this. And I couldn't stay with him, not with all the lies, the cheating, and the rest of it."

"That's why Harry was angry that day wasn't it," Draco said, coming to a realization, "He found out Ron abused you, and he was furious."

She didn't meet his eyes, but her silence confirmed it.

"Hermione," Draco said, and she couldn't bring herself to look at him. How could she when this was the path she had chosen. She had chosen Ron, both because he was there and Draco wasn't, and because he offered him a family when she had no one. She had made all the wrong choices in her life; married young, had a kid young, and now a divorcee young as well. Her parents would be furious with her if they were still in her life.

"Molly will be devastated," she said softly, "She's going to want me to try and make it work, and I can't go back to Ron, I can't. I can't deal with the abuse any longer."

"Hermione," Draco said again, "It's not your fault. You are not to blame for this, for any of this. And you're not alone. Despite everything that happened between the two of us, we're still friends. And I will be here for you throughout all of this, as will Ginny and Harry. The rest of the Weasleys will hardly cast you aside for simply putting yourself and your daughter first. That's not a crime."

She looked up at him, and he squeezed her hand in reassurance. "It's going to be okay, Hermione. I promise."

She smiled softly, as she took comfort in his words, thinking for the first time since she had left Ron that she would be alright.

Despite Knockturn alley having been completely overturned after the second war, there were still a few dark corners in which the Aurors hadn't known to check. There were still a few places where one could meet without the Ministry finding out.

And it was at one such place that two hooded figures met in secrecy that day.

"We need to be careful," a gruff voice said, his hood covering his eyes. Unlike his acquaintance, he had not been acquitted of all charges, and there still was a rather large price on his head. He couldn't risk his identity being seen, not when so many out there would throw away all former respect for him just to collect the bounty. He wasn't going to Azkaban. Not again.

"Obviously," a smoother voice drawled out, and the first man wanted to punch him for that. Money had bought his acquaintance out of Azkaban time and time again, and he was furious that he could get away with no consequences. "Even after the war and Potter's efforts, there are still those of us who believe in the notion of blood purity. We've had to silence our voice out of fear of persecution, but the need is still there nonetheless. There are still those of us who remember the old ways and who truly belongs on top in this world. And I believe if we gather enough support that we can return the world to the way it needs to be. We just need to be careful."

"Exactly," the gruff voice called out, "We cannot simply just throw ourselves into this fight carelessly. We need to proceed with caution."

"We need to spread our control as we did in the past. We need to slowly win those over to our side so when the time comes opposition will be hard," the smooth voice said softly, earning a snort from the man across from him.

Unwilling to draw attention to himself he lowered his voice, smirking at the man in front of him, "If we are to proceed as planned, then you might want to get your own house in order. Last you mentioned, you were planning on getting an alliance with the Greengrasses, yet this morning imagine my surprise when I see the Daily Prophet rumouring your son to be sullying himself with Potter's Mudblood whore," Rodolphus sneered at his brother-in-law.

"Draco will be dealt with," Lucius said, keeping his face calm. "No doubt the story is nothing more than some reporter attempting to make her name in the world. Draco will be wed to Astoria, and out family line will be kept pure; that much I can assure you of.

"I would hope so," Rodolphus said, "For our plan to work we need to prove that our family still believes in the old ways. It will hardly help if your son appears to have change alliances"

"He's working alongside Potter," Lucius pointed out, "Potter trusts him. And when Draco comes around and sees our side of this, he'll be the perfect weapon to bring down the Ministry. No one will even see it coming."

"You better hope that your son will prove as valuable as you claim," Rodolphus sneered, "Because if he doesn't, then he'll remember why blood traitors have no place in our world."