Chapter 9

Hermione always figured that she would have children at some point or the other. She had always liked them, and honestly with the way she bossed around Harry and Ron while they were in school, she figured it would be one of those things that just happened in her life.

But at the same time, it wasn't as if she were baby obsessed; she had never seen herself as a housewife, who as soon as she got married would pop out child after child at a young age.

She didn't have a problem with those who did per say; if that was the life they wanted to live, then why should anyone stop them? If they were happy, wasn't that all that mattered?

The problem wasn't that; the problem was that she knew from a young age that it wasn't the sort of thing that would make her happy. When all the other children were playing with dolls, she was already reading chaptered books. When all the other kids were enjoying themselves outside, she was studying and getting ahead.

Because she had always known that she was ambitious and wanted to achieve a great deal.

Before she had known magic had even existed, she was propelling herself toward a career such as medicine, or dentistry, or even engineering. She wanted to make a difference in the world; she wanted to be someone who succeeded and did well, and that others looked up to for inspiration. She wanted a career.

And when she learned magic existed, she was filled with so many new possibilities; so many different paths. There was so much to learn, so much to take in, and all she wanted to do was absorb it all. It was part of the reason she had tried to take every single course back in their third year.

She had no regrets about her career choice at the moment; she knew she was making a difference, fighting for those who deserved justice. It had broken her heart to find out so many people in the past hadn't gotten fair defenses and trials, and that so many others had gotten away with crimes for having a strong family name. Justice needed to be blind to prejudice and bribery. Justice needed to face the truth.

She hadn't been working long when she found out that she was pregnant with her daughter, and she had been terrified of what it would mean for her career. She had been terrified that all of a sudden everything she had fought to accomplish would be cut short, and that whenever she returned from maternity leave she would never be able to return to the progress she had been making before.

Her husband on the other hand hadn't been supportive when she told him her fears; no Ron simply shrugged and asked what the big issue was. She didn't need a career, not when he was supposed to be providing for them anyways.

It had caused her hormonal self to burst into tears, and thankfully Harry had come by shortly after and promised her that it didn't need to change a thing if she didn't want it to. He had gone with her to talk to her supervisor, waiting outside for moral support, while she told her boss that she was pregnant.

Thankfully for her, the head of the department had been more than understanding, promising her a place when she returned, and assuring her that they would never willingly lose a great asset like her.

And despite her hesitation about the pregnancy, when Rose was born, it was one of the happiest moments of her life. As she held her daughter in her arms, she vowed that she would never let anything or anyone harm her child.

So she stayed at home, caring for her infant child. It wasn't easy, and Merlin knew she wished Ron were home more to help her, instead of going out all the time. It had led to many arguments between the two, as he felt that if she were a true mother, she wouldn't need anyone else to help her. She had never wanted to hex him as badly as she did at that moment, and the only thing that restrained her was that it was one of the few times he had been holding Rose in his arms.

It was when her daughter was nine months old, she decided to go back to work. Her daughter had warmed up to her other family members, and when Hermione asked Molly if she would watch Rose for a few hours while she went back to work, her mother-in-law had been thrilled. Molly had insisted on watching all her grandchildren as much as possible, and it was a well-known fact that she enjoyed the task. And Hermione had felt guilty about leaving her daughter, but it had made her feel better to know that Rose would be well taken care of.

"What do you mean you're returning to work?" Ron asked her, turning red, when she told him the news. "What about Rose? Have you forgotten that you're supposed to be caring for her?"

"I talked to your mother," she said, putting up a silencing spell so Rose wouldn't be awoken up, as she sensed an argument pending. "She agreed to watch Rose. I wouldn't be back for the same hours, and I'd probably end up using my lunch breaks to go check on her. But Molly agreed to take care of her in between."

Ron shook his head, "You're Rose's mother, Hermione. How can you push your daughter off to someone else while you run around living your life? What kind of person does that make you? Merlin, I knew you were delusional, but I hoped after all this time you had understood what your responsibilities were. I thought after all this time you knew better than to think you could gallivant all around town, selfishly."

"What am I doing that's so wrong?" she asked, growing irritated. "I'm returning to work, not day drinking at bars while Rose grows up without even knowing who I am. It's hardly as if some stranger is watching over our daughter; it's your mother, Ronald. And you're right, she's our daughter, isn't she? Except you're never home enough to raise her. No, you're out at pubs after work, drinking away your life, while I'm the one left at home."

"It's different!" Ron raised his voice, "My mother understood her responsibilities. She took care of us while dad was at work. They understood how to make it work. Why can't you just accept your role as Rose's mother?"

"Because I love her, but I'm not just a mother, Ron, I'm still my own person!" she said, annoyed. "My parents raised me together; they both kept their careers, and I was never alone. Yet you refuse to accept any responsibilities."

"It's different," Ron shook his head, "They're muggles."

"Meaning?" she asked, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Meaning that's now how it works in our world, Merlin Hermione! Why is everything always an argument with you?" he asked, growing exasperated. "I don't get why you want to go back to the same position you are at anyways. Harry's been made lead Auror in several cases so far, and it's probably a matter of time before I am as well. I can support us; you don't need to work for Godric's sake."

"I wouldn't be going back to the same position," Hermione admitted softly, against her better judgement. "I've been consulting on cases when Rose is napping, offering suggestions to the other lawyers, and the head of the department was impressed. I've been offered a promotion."

"What do you mean you've been working?" Ron asked, voice getting dangerously low, "How dare you rag on me for never being here for our daughter, if you're neglecting her for work. Merlin, Hermione, I knew you weren't cut out to be a mother, but this is just next level."

"I was hardly neglecting her," Hermione scoffed, "She was sleeping, Ron! I was in the same room as her in case she needed anything. It wasn't as if I left her unintended. And maybe if you think I'm such a bad mother, then you should care for Rose too. But say what you want about me, at least Rose recognizes my face. I take care of her; I make sure she's fed and her diapers are changed. I comfort her when she cries, and I hold her until she sleeps. I'm there for her from the moment she wakes up and entertain her constantly. Maybe I'm not perfect, and Merlin knows I'll never compare to your mother, but I do my best. So don't you dare say I'm a bad mother. Not when Rose doesn't even know who you are."

She took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm going back to work, Ron. I don't care how unhappy you are with that. I'm going back on Monday morning to my new position, and I'll still be there for Rose in between. But this conversation is over until you're ready to step up and be our daughter's father."

Rodolphus stood in the dimly lit room his wand raised at the man on the ground in front of him, who was cut up and covered in dirt.

They had been in the room for hours, as it seemed like the Unspeakable was most unwilling to be cooperative and simply provide them with the information they needed. And at this point, he wasn't all that sure if the man was just plain stupid, or actually had no idea how to aid them when it came to what they were trying to do.

"Please, just let me go," the man said in a broken voice, "I swear I shall not tell anyone! Or obliviate me if you must! But please, just let me live."

Lucius came into the room, smirking, "And why ever would we do that? Maybe if you were a little bit cooperative, then we would consider your proposal. However you have yet to provide us with anything that could be of use to anyone."

"For Salazaar's sake," Rodolphus growled, "We've been too soft on him, Lucius. Clearly we need to use proper incentives to get him to reveal the truth to us. I wonder just how he would look without a few fingers? Maybe if we severed a toe or so? Or even his leg?"

The man in front of them whimpered, annoying Rodolphus to no end.

"See my acquaintance here isn't that patient," Lucius addressed the man in front of them, "I would tell us anything you know, if I were you. You see, after the loss of his wife, he lost whatever mental stabilitiy he had left. I would simply hate to be on the wrong side of his wand when it were pointed to me. You never know what could happen if he slipped and accidently hexed you."

To reiterate the point, Rodolphus cast a nonverbal curse at the man, causing a rather large gash to appear on his right thigh.

"Whoops," Rodolphus shrugged, "Accidents happen."

"Now," Lucius said to the man in front of them, "How do we bring back someone from the dead?"

"Please I already told you," the man whimpered, "It's next to impossible to bring someone back from the dead! You can re-animate their bodies as inferi or they could exist as a ghost, but to bring someone back to life would be, next to impossible."

"But not completely impossible, right?" Rodolphus pressed him. "It is possible."

"Theoretically!" The man cried, "No one has ever tried to before, or successfully attempted to. It is all a theoretical idea."

"Except theories can be proved as facts," Lucius said, "All we need are the right variables to be in play. Rodolphus, dispose of him. Clearly he's useless to us. We shall begin experimenting in the morning, trying to bring back one of the corpses."

"Gladly," Rodolphus grinned as he cast Sectemsempra, leaving the man to bleed out in his wake.

Hermione sat in her office late that night, trying to catch up on the work she had missed. It had bothered her, knowing that Rose was at home without her, and part of her just wanted to bring her work home and stay with her child. But Ginny had insisted that at least until things settled down, that she would gladly help her out; especially since Rose kept James occupied enough to give Ginny a few free moments to herself.

She was unsure of what to do; the news of her pending separation had probably spread to all the Weasleys by now, and it really was a matter of time before the rest of the wizarding world found out the truth as well, regardless of what they thought of it. And she was terrified that it would lead to a lot of accusations and pointing fingers. She knew better than anyone that divorce was rare in the Wizarding world, and for her to do so, and be a "war heroine" who was accusing her husband of abuse of neglect, would be very public. It was the last thing she wanted, and if it were up to her, she and Ron would be able to amicably end their marriage, and kept things civil for Rose's sake. Her daughter deserved to be able to grow up with two parents who loved her, and she wanted more than anything, for Ron to quit drinking so he could have any relationship with his daughter.

But work was proving to be time consuming as well, what with the upcoming case of Thorndale, the wizard who had robbed several wizards and witches in Diagon Alley by getting close enough to them to 'accio' away their personal belongings without them noticing. It had been a tough case as he somehow managed to charm the people he was robbing to distract them from the theft, and after it, the victim didn't notice the crime until much later.

But a sting operation in Diagon Alley conducted by undercover Aurors had revealed the perpretrator who was now in custody awaiting his trial.

The only problem was that he oblivated himself, to erase memories of the crime, and was now attempting to plead non-guilty.

So it was up to them to provide an airtight case of just how guilty the man was, so that he wouldn't be able to get away with it.

"Still working, Granger?" she heard a voice ask as she looked up to see Draco standing at the doorway. "I figured you would be, so I brought by some food."

"Thank you," she said gratefully, as he sat beside her on the couch she was on and handed her a carry out bag from the Leaky Cauldron.

"So how is the case going? Is it open and shut?" Draco asked, as he looked over her notes. "Please tell me that we'll just be able to throw him in Azkaban for his crimes, and we won't have to drag this case on for days when we all know he's guilty of his crimes."

"It should be," Hermione nodded, "I'm just worried he's going to plead that someone imperio-ed him into committing the crime, and then oblivated him when he had gotten caught. It's a solid enough of a defense, that they could sway a decent amount of Wizengamot. We just need to ensure that we have a solid counter-argument. For one, your memories of him casting the oblivate spell himself should suffice, but he could argue that the person who cast the imperius spell commanded him to oblivate himself."

"Merlin," Draco said, rubbing his temples, "Why is the use of imperius even allowed as an argument in court. It just really complicates matters, when we all know that he wasn't actually under the spell."

"Except it's hard to prove otherwise," she reminded him as she took a bite of her food, "We both know he's right about it. What if he actually was under the spell? We need to prove beyond reason that he committed the crime out of his own volition and no one else forced him to do so. That's what justice is all about."

He gave her a soft look and she looked up at him, "What?" she asked, feeling her heart beat slightly faster, as she stared into his grey eyes.

"That was one of the things I always loved about you," he admitted, "You were always willing to try and see beyond what was happening on the surface and look deeper. You always looked for the good in everyone, even if they didn't deserve it. Your compassion and your strength always gives me so much hope, and I love you for that."

Her eyes widened as she caught his slip in tenses from past to present, and the implications that came with it.

And with his mouth so close to hers, all she wanted to do was throw herself into his arms and allow him to hold her, as they kissed like they used to. And with his eyes searching hers, she found herself leaning in to him, their mouths only centimeters apart, and she could practically feel her heart beating fast.

Except she couldn't.

She pulled back, and she could see his eyes flicker with a slight disappointment, a feeling she knew all too well at the moment.

"I can't," she whispered, "My marriage just ended, and I have Rose. I can't just jump into something else right now, Draco, I can't. My life is falling apart, and I need to pick up the pieces, I'm sorry. I can't do this right now, not with you. I just can't."

With that, she all but ran out of the room, leaving Draco Malfoy behind in her wake, confused and alone.

And when she got home, the first thing she did was check in on Rose, who was peacefully sleeping, very unaware of the inner turmoil her mother was currently experiencing.