Identity Theft

Hermione Granger

I must admit that I was satisfied with my appearance. The girls helped me before the party… and Stella seemed generally nice. Not like the shopping trip; no, this was a different side of her.

When the party started, everything was running smoothly. The girls were on their best behaviors, so I didn't need to watch them that closely. There was one incident, though, that Stella didn't cause…

I was standing by Malfoy, who was just done with introducing me to about ten people. Then, his mother comes up to us. Apparently, Narcissa never met Elizabeth. At the time, Elizabeth was catching up with some old friends, and was nowhere to be seen.

Narcissa went up to Malfoy and said, "She's beautiful, dear. I'm so happy for you." Then, she stepped up to me and said, "It's so nice to finally meet you, Elizabeth. I've heard so many wonderful things about you."

I blinked. "Um, Mrs. Malfoy, I… uh…" I stuttered and was at a loss for words.

She looked surprised. I guess Malfoy told her about Elizabeth's poise and outgoing-ness

"I'm not Elizabeth." I said quickly.

I heard Malfoy laughing. "Mother!" He laughed. "I can't believe you," He laughed some more, "thought that was my fiancé!" He was practically in tears with laughter at that point. "That's Hermione Granger, Stella and Luna's live-in nanny." He laughed so hard I thought he was going to burst.

Inside, I felt a bit hurt. Was it that unbelievable that I was a gorgeous, rich, smart, mannered, graceful, lovely woman? I guess so.

"Oh," Narcissa said plainly. "I'm sorry, dear." She said to me. I just smiled back.

Draco took his mother to meet Elizabeth.

----

Soon after, dinner was served. I sat with Luna and Stella, since I had to help Luna with her food. She wasn't a big eater, so I had to sort of coax her every once in a while. Again, I was surprised that Stella ate her broccoli without me forcing her to.

After dinner, there was a celebration with dancing and live music. A man I didn't know asked me to dance, and I accepted. Of course, I made sure Stella and Luna didn't get into any trouble. They were dancing with each other for that song.

The man's name was Stewart, and he was nice enough, I guess, but he was nothing like Ron.

When we were done, Malfoy was heading my way. "Stewart asked you to dance?" He asked, looking like he was about to laugh.

"Yes…" I said, motioning for him to continue.

"Stewart is one of the biggest losers that work for me. He went to Hogwarts, you know. He was a year younger than us." Malfoy laughed.

"I have a fiancé, so don't expect anything to happen with Stewart and me." I said.

Malfoy just laughed some more and went back to where he was. The nerve of him!

I danced with Stella and Luna a few times, since there was no one else their age there. Over all, I had a pretty good time that evening.

----

After the party was over, I put Stella and Luna to bed. Then I went back to my room, feeling pretty tired myself. I had a letter waiting for me. It was from Ron!

Dear Hermione,

I hope your new job is going well, even though you have to work for Malfoy. I miss you and want to see you soon. Maybe we can meet for dinner one night. I have to go to Paris on business this evening into tomorrow night, so maybe sometime next week? I'll write you from Paris. I'm staying at the Rechworth Inn, so I'll send you a postcard.

I love you, 'Moine.

Ron

After I reread the letter a few times, I realized some things didn't make sense. Ron worked for his brother's joke shop, so why would he need to go to Paris on business? And Ron was doing okay with money, but he was no Draco Malfoy. How could he afford to stay in the Rechworth Inn? I happen to know it's a very garish and fancy place. I knew something was up. I didn't like how he was lying to me… I could tell something wasn't right.

"Malfoy?" I asked when I heard him come down the hall. "Can I have tomorrow off?" I asked.

"Sure." He said simply. "I'll take the girls out."

"Okay great." I thought for a moment. "You wouldn't happen to know the address of the Rechworth Inn, would you?

"The Rechworth Inn?" He looked skeptical. "Granger, don't take this personally, but…" He stopped for a moment. "That's an extremely expensive place. Are you sure you can afford that?"

"I know I can't." I said. "And I know Ron Weasley can't either. And since he's supposedly staying there, I want to find out what's going on."

"Okay, then." He gave me the adress and bid me good night.

I fell asleep, wondering what Ron was doing at that moment…