When she arrived home, she was greeted by the smell of the most delicious food imaginable. A pure Molly Weasley classic casserole.
"Molly, you didn't have to" she said, entering the kitchen.
Molly had Rose perched on one hip and with her free arm, was instructing a pot to be stirred by its accompanying spoon.
"Nonesense dear, I was here and Rose is more than happy to watch me cook, aren't you my sweet?" she said.
"Well, she definitely does that a lot" Hermione said, realising that Rose was a permanent fixture on Hermione's hip at every cook.
"How was your day dear?" she asked.
"It was great. Honestly. Its great being back in the workplace… But…" she started, heading over and taking Rose from Molly's arm… "Its good to be home and see my Rosie again" she said.
Rose put her hands either side of Hermione's face and pressed her open mouth against her cheek. A kiss from an 18 month old toddler.
"You miss me Rosie?" Hemione asked her daughter.
Rose just smiled at her mum and held onto her tightly, as though if she let go, she may leave her again. It was an odd sensation, the delight she experienced at being at work for the day verses the relief at arriving home to a well cared for Rose and dinner cooking on the stove.
"Well, my dear, I should be off then. I'll come back tomorrow, same time" she said.
"Molly, that would be wonderful. Thank you so much" Hermione said, feeling genuinely relieved at not having had Rose in Ministry Day Care.
***
By the time Ron arrived home, dinner had been served and Hermione and Rose were eating at the table.
"What's that smell?" he called from the living room, as Hermione comforted Rose, who had been startled, yet again, by the floo.
"It's the smell of your daughter who probably just crapped herself when you arrived in the floo" Hermione called back.
"Don't be stupid Hermione, I mean the food" he said.
"Your mother's casserole" she answered, rolling her eyes as she placed Rose back in her highchair.
Ron stomped his boots off and made his way over to the table where his bowl, bread, spoon and drink had been laid out for him.
"Did mum do this too?" he asked.
"No Ron, I did" she answered, hurt by his insinuation that his mother cared for him better than she could.
He simply huffed before getting stuck into his dinner, slurping and moaning in enjoyment as he polished the bowl clean with his tongue, much to the disgust of Hermione. Rose, however, thought it was hilarious.
"The store was bonkers today" Ron said as he put down his spoon.
"It seems like you've had a rough day" she said.
"Well, yeah, George was out all day collecting supplies so it was just me there, the whole day" he said.
"You've run the place before on your own. Besides, its not like there are school children out and about" she said.
"You wouldn't understand" he said, getting up, leaving his bowl on the table and heading for the bathroom.
"By the way…" he added as he was leaving the loungeroom. Hermione cringed at this. She knew the questions regarding her work were coming and she could only guess at how crazy Ron would go if he knew Malfoy was the one she was training. "…how was the office?" he asked.
"The office was good. It was good to be back" she said.
"Temporarily" he said.
"Of course" she added.
"So they new head of the department, do you think they'll do it justice?" he asked.
"I think so" she answered.
"Good then. That's good" he said before going off into the bathroom.
The relief at not having to have that conversation with him, the one about Malfoy, was intense. The fight she had been anticipating all afternoon, all day in fact, was non existent. For now, anyway.
***
The next day began much the same as the last. Ron left for the shop shortly before Molly arrived to take over and Hermione got to work right on time.
She was hopeful that the way they left things the day before could be resolved easily so they could continue to work together. She felt bad for basically accusing him of still being a purist and an outright bad person, but in her defence, she really had nothing else to go on.
She was adamant that today would be different. If she was going to work with him for the next two weeks, she ought to at least try and consider the fact that he may be different from the Draco Malfoy she knew 7 years ago.
While she was contemplating this, she almost didn't hear him enter the office. When she looked up, she noticed he was wearing black robes and a Slytherin green tie.
'Not subtle' she thought to herself.
"Alright, its 9am, shall we get started?" he asked, his tone almost formal.
She nodded as she handed him the stack of files he had been working on and took her own. She couldn't help but notice the coldness to his voice, a feature that hadn't been there yesterday when they worked together. Perhaps she was right about him still being exactly who he once was? Perhaps he wasn't worth it? Only… The department was, and she wouldn't let this fail because she couldn't get over a simple childhood hatred.
"How was your night?" she asked in a forced casual tone.
"Fine" he said.
"Not tired from all the work we got through yesterday?" she asked.
"No" he answered abruptly, not looking up from the work he had already begun.
Hermione watched him for several moments, uncertain as to what to do. She had been a royal bitch and needed to make up for it.
"Look, Malfoy… Yesterday was stupid. I took for granted the fact that a lot of years have gone by and you're probably quite different to who you used to be. So for what I said, I apologise. I just hope we are able to get past it and work together for the next two weeks" she said, feeling her face turn red.
"Ok" he said, after having been quiet for several moments.
"Ok?" she asked.
"Ok. I accept your apology" he said, his face having morphed into something that she couldn't decipher. Was it boredom?
"Good. I'm glad" she said, looking away and getting back to the files in front of her.
They worked in complete silence for an hour or more before he spoke.
"So, you're a housewife now? I must say, I didn't see that coming" he said, leaning back on the chair and looking directly at her.
"I guess" she said sadly.
"Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course" he said.
"Just not what anyone saw in my future, right?" she asked.
"Well, yes" he said.
Hermione felt saddened by this. Of course she loved being a mum and staying at home had felt right in the beginning, besides the fact that at the time it was essential for her health. But somehow, she had allowed herself to be placed into the basket of 'Stay at home mum', which she hadn't ever thought of herself as.
She hadn't ever had anything against women who chose to stay home and raise their children. Molly Weasley was the shining example of how incredible they are. So full of love and wisdom and generosity. But for Hermione, that didn't feel like a fit for her. Her own mother worked a lot, taking time off during the holidays to spend time with her, but working most days. She had a career, she was somebody, and at that moment, Hermione realised what she was truly missing – being somebody.
"Well, I suppose that's just how things turned out" she said quietly before getting back into it again.
The silence continued for a while longer before Hermione stood to stretch. She had been hunched over files for so long and needed to change positions.
"I've had a brief look over the older files and I think these ones are ok to file away" she said.
"How hasty of you" he said.
"You'll need a filing system that works for you. I had things sorted alphabetically by their classification and then itemised using a number system. I also had tags for other departments that I worked with so I could access them easily for inter departmental meetings… plus, a separate file for urgent reports and things needing attending to straight away" she blurted out.
"Right you are Granger" he said, smirking at her.
Her mood at his casual tone was failing to live up to her desire to keep the peace with him. He was leaning back in his chair with his feet on the desk. Her desk. And he was casually flipping through the files and placing them back down.
She looked at him, perplexed at his casual demeanour.
"Why are you even here Malfoy?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest.
"What do you mean?" he asked, frowning. She noticed he had deep lines on his forehead when he did so, almost like they belonged there, almost like they were used to being there.
"I mean, any wizard could have done this job. But you… you don't even need to work, yet here you are. I built this department up from the ground and I'm not going to see it go to hell because you took it over without having the drive to do so. Without the passion. You don't even need this job. You don't even care about non-human creatures, why are you even here? You know what, don't answer that, I don't want to know... Let's just get this over with, shall we?" she ranted, plucking a file from the desk and making her way to the emptied file system.
Before she could open a single drawer, Malfoy had waved his wand and every file lifted carefully off both the desk and the coffee table, arranged themselves into neat piles and placed themselves in various draws.
"What system did you use?" she asked, hiding how impressed she was with that spell.
"I'm not going to try and reinvent the wheel; your system works well" he said.
"In theory, right?" she asked. When he raised an eyebrow, she continued. "You haven't used the system yet. You have no way of knowing whether or not it works well at all" she said, irritated by his arrogance.
At this, he stood and made his way to the filing system, pulled out a draw and flipped through several files, before putting them back and declaring himself done with a shrug.
"It works" he said.
Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed, knowing that this would be the most difficult two weeks of her working career. Although she tried her hardest to wipe the slate clear, stick to her guns, try and believe that he was different, she detested this man once upon a time, loathed everything he stood for. But now… now there seemed to be something, an odd way that he now carried himself. He was different. At least, there was something different about him. It wasn't just the change in his hair colour, there was something about him that wasn't like it was. She had zero desire to get to know him at all. The thought of Draco Malfoy hadn't so much as crossed her mind in years, but if they were to be working together and if she were to trust him with her department, she needed to find a way to get along.
Her mind was reeling from how back and forth she had gone about this man in just 2 days. It was like whiplash. Every time he spoke with that arrogant tone or muttered one word replies to her questions, she hated him. Recalled in great detail all the things he had ever said and done to, not only her, but other people as well. Then… when he did something impressive, or when he seemed to be putting effort into this job, or when she looked at how differently he appeared to carry himself, she couldn't help but think, maybe even just for a second, that he could have changed throughout these years. Perhaps even as much as she had herself.
She left the room and headed for the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. She needed a break from all the thinking she had been doing. Her mind was screaming at her, her brain building new synapses based on new interactions and her head was starting to throb.
After finishing a tea and biscuit in the quiet kitchens, she returned to the office.
"Did you want to… I don't know… redecorate, or something?" she asked, looking around at the obvious Gryffindor colour scheme that she had implemented during her time here. It was a stark contrast between that and his Slytherin green tie with black robes.
"Thought you'd never ask" he said, waving his wand and smiling as the reds turned to green and the golds to silver. The overstuffed maroon couch slimmed out and a black leather couch sat in its place adjacent to a matching armchair and coffee table. The dark wooden desk was replaced by a chrome and black glass desk and the chair that he had sat on so comfortably only moments ago was now a high-backed leather chair with chrome legs and wheels on the bottom. The blinds that adorned the window to the corridor changed from dark wood to chrome and the name plate on the door wiped itself clear and 'Draco Malfoy' read in neat silver script, its place. Small touches of Hermione remained here and there, such as the succulent plants in the window overlooking the atrium, but overall, this was now an ode to Salazar Slytherin himself.
"How could I have guessed you'd choose this colour scheme?" she said with a half smile.
His smile turned to a grin as he looked her way and she was thrown by having never seen him look like that before. The dark brown colour of his hair and the way he now looked… almost… happy, made him so not Malfoy like at all.
"So, Granger, how have things been?" he asked, taking a seat on the leather couch.
"You really want to know?" she asked.
"I wouldn't ask if I didn't want to know. Besides, we've made good progress on the files and Kingsley did say for us to get to know each other" he said, gesturing for her to sit.
She hesitated before sitting on the leather armchair and jumped back up as the coldness of the leather touched her skin. With a wave of her wand, the leather turned to suede and she took her seat again.
"I'll let you have that one… for now" he said earning him a sarcastic smile in return.
"Well, id hate to break the rules…" she said, knowing that that's all she ever did in school – break the rules. Things… let me see… things have been great for me. For us. Ron and I" she said,
"All is well in Weasletown then?" he asked.
"I'm not a Weasley, actually" she said.
"You didn't get married? Yet you have a child. Tut tut Granger" he said.
"Well, the timing hasn't been right. I was so ill throughout my pregnancy and we've just been busy being parents since then" she said with a shrug.
It was not an uncommon question. In fact, many people, Weasley's included often asked when she was getting married. The truth was, she had very little desire to get married, when her relationship felt like it was in such a state.
"How about you, Malfoy? Children? A wife?" she asked.
"Now that you ask, yes. I am married" he said.
"That's uh… Good for you. Who's the lucky… or not so lucky lady?" she asked with a smile.
"You remember Daphne Greengrass in our year?" he asked.
"Completely not who I thought, but ok" she said.
"Her younger sister, Astoria" he added.
"That makes more sense" she said.
He rolled his eyes at this and for a few moments, they sat in silence, looking around the newly furnished room.
"How is motherhood working out for you?" he asked.
"Its actually quite rewarding. She's very intelligent, can speak in full sentences and can recognise small written words already" she said, the common line she gave whenever anybody asked about Rose.
"So, she's far more like you than she is like Weasel?" he asked.
"So it seems" she said. "How about you, any children?" she asked.
"Sadly, no. The Malfoy line ends with me" he said.
"But you're married" she said, confused.
"Ten points to Gryffindor. Yes, I am married, but my wife can not fall pregnant and we don't wish to adopt" he said.
"So that's it? No more Malfoys?" she asked.
He raised his eyebrows briefly and shrugged.
"Its almost like you care Granger… but no. No more Malfoys" he said.
"What about muggle methods? IVF is quite advanced these days" she said.
"Been there, done that" he said.
"Already?" she asked.
"Yes, Astoria wanted children early. We found out a few years ago that she couldn't carry a child and pursued all the avenues open to us" he said, a line that he had also clearly delivered many times before.
"Wow, Malfoy… I uh… I don't know what to say" she said.
"Don't say anything. Its fine. I've come to terms with it" he said.
"Well, you don't have to like it. What about… I mean, surrogacy? Have a woman donate an egg?" she asked.
"Are you offering?" he asked sarcastically.
"No, of course not. Fancy you muddying the waters of the Malfoy gene pool" she said.
He narrowed his eyes at her then and she saw the subtle hint of his left hand twitch. The mention of mud triggered something in him, yet she wasn't sure what.
"Like I said, we explored all options" he said, standing from his place on the couch and heading for the door. "Coffee?" he asked as he was about to leave.
"I uh… I prefer tea" she said, not wanting to turn down his offer, even though she had had a tea not long ago.
"Right you are" he said before leaving the office.
She remained seated on the chair, replaying their discussion over in her head. He had seemed genuinely interested in her life. He was engaging to talk to and he was being far more open about himself than she expected. She felt sorry for him, knowing that he would be the last of his family. It just didn't seem fair. Then again, the Malfoys were always considered among the darkest wizards and were currently not very well liked among the wizarding world. To many, this news would be a blessing.
As her mind continued with this train of thought, she barely noticed when he returned with a two large take away cups, one with a tea bag hanging out.
"I didn't know if you liked milk in it, so I brought some of those milk pods" he said, producing three small milk containers from his pocket. She took them from him as well as the tea and set them down on the table. From his other pocket, he produced several packets of sugar and some wooden stirrers.
"Probably would have been better if we had gone together" she said.
"And give the whole ministry something to talk about. Why didn't I think of that?" he said, an attempt at humour.
"You know, there is a kitchen just down the corridor" she said, eliciting a groan from him, before adding two sachets of sugar and three milk containers to her tea and stirring it several times before replacing the lid and taking a tentative sip.
"Just how I remember it" she said, closing her eyes.
"The tea? Its still the same?" he asked.
"No, a cup of tea without someone clawing at my leg" she said, keeping her eyes closed. In this moment, she felt so completely relaxed.
"We tried IVF, we tried potions, we tried surrogacy, we tried adoption. We placed ads for people to donate, but as soon as people heard it was me seeking it, they turned away. IVF didn't work. We did 6 rounds. Cost hundreds of thousands in muggle pounds" he said.
"Wow…." She said, taking a sip of her tea and motioning for him to go on.
"We had a surrogate. Things were going quite well actually" he began, seeming to be off somewhere in a memory.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Well, legally, the child is her own. Once it was born, she couldn't bear to part with it" he said.
"So… there's a woman out there somewhere with your child?" she asked.
"Technically speaking, yes" he said.
"Don't you have high priced lawyers or something Malfoy? That's your child. You at least have rights to claim parentage of him or her. The Malfoy line didn't end, it's just… being held captive by a spiteful cow" she said.
"Him… and I tried. We tried. She took him and fled to the United States" he said.
"Just like that?" she asked, feeling appalled on behalf of all women.
"Just like that. Astoria could bear to try any longer, so that's that" he said.
"And when was this?" she asked.
"The child is a few months old now" he said.
"You don't even know his name?" she asked.
"Byron…" he said, leaning over and pulling a wallet out from his back pocket. He took a picture out and handed it to her. The resemblance was striking, even for a newborn.
"Merlin, he looks just like you" she said.
"He was engineered to look just like me" he said.
"Engineered?" she asked sceptically.
"Yes, we wanted there to be no doubt that this was my heir. They removed as much of the mother's DNA as possible and brought out all of my features to be the dominant ones. Science is quite advanced" he said.
"That's… wow… I never knew" she said, completely shocked at how much effort they must have gone to, to undergo the process.
"So, that's why I'm here. As you so succinctly put it earlier. I do need this job. The Malfoy money is still tied up in litigation from the war and what was in my trust has completely run out" he said.
Hermione was shocked. Her jaw almost hit the floor with his declaration of poverty.
They spent the rest of the day, making notes on which files they ought to start working on, Hermione explaining to him the types of things she had done in the past with similar cases and why. Malfoy seemed shocked, or impressed, she couldn't tell, at how many times she had been successful in what she was doing.
Lunch was sent up to them by Kingsley, a thank you present for getting the department up and running again. They ate in silence with their noses in parchment and hands bloched with ink and when 4pm arrived, Hermione almost didn't notice.
"Merlin, I have to go. Ron will have a fit if I don't have dinner going when he gets home" she said.
"Seriously?" he asked.
"Don't start Malfoy" she said.
"I wouldn't dream of it" he said.
At that, she collected her bag and left the office, feeling a sense of accomplishment from the day.
After yesterday, she hadn't expected to even have any type of conversation with him, let alone one so personal. She had now realised what it was that she was seeing in him. It was drive. He still held onto that sense of sadness and grief that he had in their 8th year, but he also carried himself with a sense of nonchalance about the past. The thing that was driving him, was no longer fear and angst. The thing that was causing him grief and sadness was no longer threats to his family. It was a lack of family, the loss of a child, the feeling of suddenly having to live a life without the riches he had grown up knowing. The drive he had, it was the same thing that drove all people, wizard and non-wizard-kind, into the workforce and towards something they can find a passion within. More than money, which she was certain was his main driving force, but more than that was meaning. The same thing that was currently driving her to be there. Having meaning in your life, being somebody. That was what she had seen in him today.
***
AN - Thanks for reading. Chapters are getting longer and things are starting to come together.
SereniteRose - You're exactly right, a woman (or a man) can lose themselves in their family without even knowing. It can happen so gradually that before they know it, their significant other is controlling every aspect of their lives and they don't even realise. Taylor9901 - You're right about Molly. She's been through a lot but this version of Molly is based on someone i once knew.
In fact, every single person in this FF is based on someone i once knew.
As always, please keep up the reviews and I hop you enjoyed this chapter.