IX

Present

Draco showed up with Hayden in Oakshire the next day, they came out of the fireplace with smiles on their lips. They were talking about something that clearly amused both of them. Additionally, Hayden was very excited to receive the Hogwarts letter, which made Hermione very emotional.

She remembered this moment in her life perfectly. Everything was so unknown then, after all, she hadn't had any contact with magic at all for eleven years of her life. Hayden grew up in a similar bubble, though unlike her, he knew he was a wizard. But discovering the magical world was yet to come, and that was perhaps what scared Hermione the most. The magical world, as beautiful as it was, was also brutal. Additionally, his surname was Malfoy, and, given their past …

Hermione bit her lip and forced a smile as she sensed her husband's presence at her side. Lucius walked over to Draco and they hurried back to the office to discuss the most important things of the last days. Hermione stayed with her son in the living room.

"We need to pick up the things you need for Hogwarts," she began with a soft voice while walking over to hug him tightly.

"I know, Astoria mentioned this at dinner yesterday. They are going to Diagon Alley this weekend. " Hayden's voice suddenly felt so mature, quite unlike an eleven-year-old.

"Sounds like a great plan," she replied hesitantly and added, "I'll talk to Dad and maybe we could join them?" Her voice trembled involuntarily because the idea terrified her immensely. But she had to be strong for her son, there was no other way out. Hayden couldn't pay for their past.

"That would be great!" The boy's eyes flashed and an even wider smile lit his face. Hermione ruffled his hair and kissed his forehead.

"It's good that you came back, honey,." she said, slightly touched, trying to hide her emotions from him. Hayden looked at her closely and Hermione saw the reflection of herself and Lucius in the eleven-year-old's eyes. Perfect mix.

"Mom, I will always come back to you. Just like Dad," he approached her and they sat in silence for moments, cuddled like a mother and her son.

There was a grunt in the living room, and two virtually identical figures stood in the doorway. One was taller and clearly older, the other, younger. Lucius and Draco looked at them with a smile, and for the first time Hermione realized how closely they resembled each other. Over the years, the resemblance had become striking. Hayden released her and quickly ran to Lucius, who hugged him tightly.

Three clones named Malfoy.

"Mom said we could go to Diagon Alley this weekend, Draco!" Hayden exclaimed, and a shadow passed across Lucius's face. Draco was also slightly surprised at the words of his younger brother.

"Mom said that?" Hermione nodded in response to his questioning gaze.

Lucius grunted and in a seemingly light voice answered his son, "Of course, my son. If Mom said so, we'll be accompanying Draco, Astoria and Scorpius this weekend. Shopping in Diagon Alley has always been a pleasure for me."

The last sentence was saturated with an irony that Hayden did not understand. He had no need to understand, of course, but Lucius' words made Hermione laugh gently.

"They were always a pleasure, Dad is right." Her words echoed as her gaze drifted to nothingness. She knew perfectly well where both of their thoughts had gone.

2000

The fury that burst Hermione while apparating to Diagon Alley was impossible to measure. And although Lucius held out his hand in agreement, she felt that it was not a sincere gesture. He just needed her help, he was dependent on her. He had to bow and swallow his pride to achieve the goal. A goal that was a thousand times more important than her and the situation they were involved in.

Malfoy apologized to her and it was the worst apology she had ever heard. She did not believe for a moment the sincerity of his intentions. His voice was too angry, his tone too high, and Lucius's body language made it clear that all he wanted was to throw her out of Malfoy Manor and silence her. Forever.

But she decided to lift her head proudly and congratulate herself on upsetting him. It was an incredibly valuable skill, and she knew it might still be useful to her in the future. She only knew that he couldn't be surprised in the same way a second time.

"You can let me go now, Miss Granger." His icy voice was surprisingly warm against her ear.

Hermione realized that she had been motionless for several seconds, clutching his hand tightly. She released him as if her hands were burned and jumped away from him a good few yards. His gaze pierced her with as much sympathy as before.

"Are you going ahead?" She tried to turn the awkwardness of the situation by changing the subject. He nodded and walked away, not looking back at her anymore. He didn't really care if she followed him or if she could keep up.

His presence caused a sensation, many people stopped and looked at him with curiosity, surprise or even fear. Most of them were ignored as he passed without a word or the slightest gesture. She could see that the morning's events had infuriated him, and he still had a hard time keeping up with his nerves. The Ollivanders store had been reopened, and that's exactly where Lucius headed.

Hermione almost ran after him, taking in his long and dynamic stride, accompanied by the rustle of his very expensive robes. Lucius Malfoy was slowly returning to being himself, a total ass.

In front of the store, he suddenly stopped, causing her to bump into him with force. He hissed because he hadn't expected such a turn of events.

He growled at her, and she struggled to keep herself from talking back. "Miss Granger. Change of plans. First Gringott's." He wasn't pleased with himself, but he enjoyed the prospect of Hermione sticking to him even less.

"Fine, Mr. Malfoy." She scowled in response and smoothed her robe. He, as before, did not even look back for her. He didn't care.

The atmosphere at the bank was rather gloomy, and far more overwhelming than Hermione ever experienced at the Ministry. She very rarely used her vault, because she did not have any major savings there. Hermione looked around and saw that nothing had changed here in years. As if there had never been a war or break-ins.

Meanwhile, Lucius approached the goblin and went through the standard identity check process. Hermione stepped beside him, which made him raise an eyebrow.

"Please, Mr. Malfoy, follow me to the cart." The goblin came out from behind the desk and, with the key in hand, headed deeper into the bank. Lucius was about to follow him, ignoring her completely, so she cleared her throat significantly.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" He turned and she walked towards him.

"I think you forgot about me. The rules, Mr. Malfoy."

Irritation flashed across his face, but he finally shrugged and made an inviting gesture towards her.

They were silent when the cart was climbing in the tangle of corridors. Only the sound of screeching steel echoed from the other carts.

Finally, with a squeal of brakes, they stopped in front of a huge door that must have been the Malfoy vault. Hermione had no intention of leaving the wagon, but this behavior seemed to be prevented by procedures. She and Lucius stood on the ground, and the cart drove away immediately.

Malfoy took the key from the goblin and inserted it into the lock, turning it. The door opened slightly and Hermione looked involuntarily.

If she ever had to doubt whether the Malfoys were rich, now she had a definite answer.

"Do you like what you see?"

Hermione looked up to see an ironic smirk appear on the man's lips. As if the situation gave him a wild joy - the fact that he could humiliate her a little at least.

"You like to humiliate women, yeah?" she bit back,without thinking and he snorted.

"You don't know much about life, I suppose, Miss Granger," he said to her in a mocking tone as entered the vault. "Come on, maybe you will find something fancy."

Hermione felt another wave of rage flooding her today. She had let him overwhelm her, he won again.

"Thank you, I don't need any alms - certainly not from you."

She heard a huff, but didn't continue the discussion anymore.

Hermione couldn't believe how long he was choosing a wand. Lucius was very picky and half of the offers were rejected almost immediately. Most of them were either too soft or too hard, too short, too long. Eventually Hermione lost her patience and asked the salesman directly.

"Do you have an elm, 18 inches, with a Dragon heartstring, the most rigid in the world?"

The salesman shook his head quickly, red from the stress, sweating heavily. Hermione turned her head and looked defiantly at Lucius.

"Thank you for your help, Miss Granger," he drawled in her direction and pointed the wand he had been testing a moment ago. "It is invaluable." It sounded insulting in his mouth, but Hermione didn't care. She was heartily fed up, feeling tired and hungry. She hadn't eaten anything since yesterday evening.

"We can order a wand like this, Mr. Malfoy." The salesman tried to ease the situation in a shy voice, but Lucius silenced him with his hand. He walked over to Hermione and whispered something in her ear that made her stay silent for the rest of her visit. Lucius opted for a shorter wand with similar parameters, but more flexible.

Hermione was still silent as they left the store, and Malfoy said he needed to visit several places.

The woman gritted her teeth and leaned her hand against the brick wall. She felt that she was very weak. Dark spots began to dance in front of her eyes, and sweat beaded her brow.

It took Lucius a moment to realize that she was close to fainting.

"Fuck." It was the only word that escaped his sophisticated lips. He needed the attention of other people the least now.

"You could tell you were feeling weak and going to faint." He growled at her and she looked at him with an distracted smirk.

"I was supposed to be silent." He pulled her down to a side street and shook her, trying to sober her up. But he could see her eyes were glassy, hazy, dull. Her body began to slide downward and he gripped her tightly.

"You're an idiot, Miss Granger." His eyes flashed lightning bolts, and his voice should have chilled the blood in her veins. But Hermione had her eyes closed.

With the last of her strength, she replied to him, "I'm not." And she passed out.

Hermione woke up and for a moment she couldn't understand where she was. The place she was located did not resemble her London studio apartment.

She looked around the room and only began to realize the events of the last few days. And the events of the last hours.

"Lissy brought the soup." The house elf's voice made her jump on the bed. She had completely forgotten that there were house elves working at Malfoy Manor. "The Healer said Missy should eat."

"Healer?" Hermione took the soup on the tray and set it on her lap, but her gaze was questioning. The elf nodded vigorously and replied, "Healer was examining Missy when Missy was sleeping. Master called him. Missy fainted in Diagon Alley."

Hermione felt her breath run out. The last few days had been terrible.

"Lissy is to report that you are awake and how you are doing." And she was gone, and Hermione looked at the soup. Then she moved her eyes and spotted potion flasks on the table beside her bed, some half empty.

Great. Now Malfoy would hate her even more.

Lucius was sitting in his office, going through the papers Draco had left for him. Suddenly Lissy appeared in his room.

"Missy woke up. Lissy left the soup." Lucius nodded and thanked the elf. She disappeared almost immediately.

Lucius sighed. He had expected this girl to be a burden, a ball and chain. He knew about the risks right from the start, and that was the only reason why he tolerated her stupid remarks and behaviours. In the end, he had no other alternatives.

But he had to admit that she impressed him today and he couldn't ignore her courage.

Although maybe it was bravado?

He sighed, took off his glasses and moved the papers. Freedom had a stiff price, but he realized that this price was incomparably low compared to other possible options.

Half a year, not a moment longer.