The next day the family was sitting at breakfast when one of the footmen brought Mr. Weasley a letter.

"Well, I guess we will have a visitor," the father said, contempt in his voice. "My presumed heir wants to pay a visit. I guess the man cannot wait to see what he may get his hands on."

"Despicable," said Mrs. Weasley. "What kind of a vulture is this horrid man? I wish we could simply turn him down."

"I am afraid that is not an option, my dear. Besides common decency, the man is on his right to visit. After all, he presumably will manage the estate after I'm dead."

Mrs. Weasley continued on a rant on how inappropriate all of this was and what kind of a monster could this man be. The girls were about to retire when a messenger brought another letter, this time it was for Ginny.

"Miss Pansy Potter asks me to come for tea this afternoon. That is curious."

Mrs. Weasley immediately perked up

"Oh dear, it must have been Mr. Potter who convinced her to send the invitation. Oh, joy!"

"Actually, Mother, she says she would be delighted to have some company because her brother and his friend will be out," said Ginny, not letting the disappointment taint her voice. "May I take the carriage?"

Mrs. Weasley thought for a second, her frown speaking louder than words.

"Nonsense. The carriage is needed her. Go on horseback."

"But Mother, it may rain."

"Ginny, stop being so argumentative. Now go get ready. Make sure you are appropriately dressed. And wear your best shoes."

"But mama, what if it rains?"

"Ginny, shush. Now go get ready."

It did in fact rain and a messenger brought word that Miss Potter had given orders to set up a room for Ginny, as her clothes were soaked and they needed to be taken care of. He also passed notice that the girl was feeling indisposed after getting wet and cold.

"Perfect, now she will have to stay there for a couple of days," said Mrs. Weasley beaming.

"Mama! What if something happens to Ginny? What if she catches a sickness and dies? Would you be happy knowing that she did it all to find a husband?"

"Oh Hermione, you are always so dramatic. She will be fine. More than fine, once Mr. Potter takes good care of her."

Hermione didn't sleep that night. The next morning she arranged a bundle of clothes for Ginny and went to the dining room, where the family was sitting at breakfast

"I need the carriage. Or a horse. I'm going to see Ginny."

"Nonsense, Hermione. Don't you dare interfere."

Hermione huffed and stormed out the door. She was more than capable to walk the three miles to Netherfield Park. when she finally made it there her hair had fallen from her updo and her shoes and the hem of her petticoat were dirty with mud but she couldn't care less. She wanted to see her sister.

A servant took her to a breakfast room and announced her. Mr. Malfoy and Miss Potter were having their morning meal. Hermione gave a short curtsey

"I am very sorry to interrupt. I just want to see my sister. I am deeply worried about her."

Mr. Malfoy, who had stood to bow to her answered quickly

"She is upstairs. Mr. Potter is having breakfast with her in a nook in his rooms. Please, feel free to go see her."

She curtsied again, a bit taken aback by his sudden kindness, but did not dwell on it. She headed upstairs immediately.

"Did you see her dirty shoes and petticoat? And what about that hair? What does it say about her?" said Miss Potter.

"It says that she is willing to walk through the mud for her sister," answered Malfoy simply.

Pansy tilted her head in thought. She had tried to dislike Miss Hermione because of her obvious impertinence and carelessness, but now she was intrigued by them.

Hermione went upstairs and walked into a lovely scene. Ginny and Mr. Potter were having breakfast in a cozy nook, only a maid tending to them and giving them a lot of privacy, at least as much as decorum allowed. She decided to say hello quickly and excuse herself so she would afford them some more time alone. The maid showed her to a room so she could change and put herself together a bit.

When she felt more presentable and also reassured that Ginny was not only in good hands but quite happy where she was, Hermione made her way downstairs. She stopped by the entrance of the drawing room, where Mr. Malfoy was writing a letter while Miss Potter tried fruitlessly to get his attention.

"Please make sure to give your sister my best, Mr. Malfoy. For I simply adore her."

"I already did, madam."

"My, my, how fast do you write, Mr. Malfoy."

"On the contrary, I write quite slow."

"Please remember to give my best to your sister,"

"As I said, I already did."

Hermione decided she couldn't take the charade anymore and walked in.

"Miss Potter, I was wondering if you would like to have tea in the terrace. It is a beautiful day and I did not have much of a breakfast."

Miss Potter looked at her with a mix of embarrassment and relief. She quickly composed her face in a smile and laced her arm with the curly girl. The made small talk while the maids set up their tea. Once they were alone and run out of pleasantries Hermione tried a bit of prying.

"Miss Potter, forgive me if I'm intruding, but it seems to me that you are not really interested in Mr. Malfoy."

Miss Potter looked for a quick second like she was going to faint. Then she took a visible breath, and spoke softly."

"Mr. Malfoy is my brother's best friend. He is close to the family, and he is the most eligible man in England. I am expected to try and get him."

"Expected? By whom? Your brother?" Hermione looked horrified.

"Oh no, my brother would never force me to do anything. He is indeed as good and as pure as he looks. I'm the snake of the family," she said with a side smirk.

Hermione smiled back and asked

"Then who is pressuring you?"

"My aunt, Lady Umbridge. She has no children of her own and she will leave her title and estate to me. She would prefer that instead of leaving it to my brother because she wants me to marry Mr. Malfoy. She dreams of fusing our estates. As if she needed any more power. And she doesn't seem to realize that for the estates to actually fuse she would have to be dead. "

Hermione laughed, and the brunette joined her and for once they let loose and cackled in a most inappropriate way. When they regained some composure Hermione took Pansy's hand in hers

"Is he the man you would want to marry more than any other, Miss Potter?"

Pansy dropped her gaze, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"Not really, no."

Hermione nodded and encouraged

"If you could choose anyone in the whole wide world, who would it be?"

"Colonel Longbottom. He grew up with us, my father was his godfather. He is the sweetest man in the world."

"So this colonel Longbottom is the sugar to your spice, Miss Potter?"

The girl laughed and squeezed the hand that was holding hers.

"Please. Call me Pansy."