The Floo journey to Malfoy Manor was blessedly short. Hermione had opted to transport them that way as opposed to Apparation – she was not convinced Pansy was stable and strong enough to sustain Apparating as far as Malfoy Manor in the condition she was in.

They stumbled gracelessly out of the hearth and into the study, Pansy tripping over her own feet and pulling Hermione down with her. Hermione caught them on the desk and helped right the shaking witch. She braced her hands on Pansy's elbows to keep her upright, then guided her quickly towards a chair.

"I'm sorry," Pansy said as Hermione helped her down. Her legs were shaking so badly she couldn't have stood even if she wanted to. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm so upset."

The door flew open and revealed Narcissa standing in it with her wand raised – unannounced visitors to the Manor were not a common occurrence and the clamor of the girls falling through the fireplace had frightened her.

Her wand dropped immediately as she took in the scene and the tired, stunned girls.

"Oh," Narcissa breathed, sweeping fully into the room and rushing to them. "Are you alright? Are you both alright? Where is Draco?"

"I'm fine," Hermione assured as Narcissa approached her. "Pansy's been assaulted. Harry and Ron are there sorting it out. I don't know where he is, we had a disagreement before lunch." The older witch looked her over quickly, then gently touched the side of her face as if to reassure herself that Hermione really was fine. If she was concerned about her son's whereabouts, she did not show it.

Then Narcissa turned her attention to Pansy.

Her relationship with Pansy Parkinson was strange. She had known the girl her entire life, because the Parkinsons and the Malfoys were old blood and their friendship went back generations. Narcissa had been cordial with Pansy's parents, and as children Pansy and Draco had played together at the Manor.

As a teenager and young adult, Pansy had spent less time at Malfoy Manor and had grown apart from Narcissa, despite her close and ongoing relationship with Draco. The return of Voldemort had done more to distance everyone, and by the time the war was over Narcissa had not seen Pansy since the summer before Draco's sixth year.

Narcissa disapproved of her son's relationship with Pansy Parkinson only in the sense that Draco had never taken it as seriously as Narcissa had thought he should. Narcissa was old fashioned – if you were seeing a witch for as long as Draco had been seeing Pansy, it needed to be something more. She and her son had never seen eye to eye on that matter.

But it didn't matter how distant or frayed her relationship with Pansy had become or what she thought of Draco's relationship with Pansy, because now the little girl that Narcissa had watch chase leaves around her yard was in her study, and was clearly not well.

"Are you hurt, Pansy?" she asked, cupping Pansy's pale face in her hands. Pansy closed her eyes and shook her head, leaning into Narcissa's touch. She was still trembling like she was freezing cold. Narcissa pressed a kiss to the girl's forehead and then called for Winky. The loyal house elf appeared instantly.

"Heal her, please," Narcissa implored Winky. "Then take her to the guest wing, make sure she's comfortable."

Winky nodded and Narcissa stepped aside for the elf to do her work. House elves and their powerful magic made for particularly talented healers, and Winky worked deftly and confidently. She tended to the bruises on Pansy's arms and the cut on her lip with gentle hands and quiet words.

Hermione watched the scene with a churning stomach. She watched the way Narcissa touched Pansy, how much she cared for the younger witch. Again, absurd jealously bloomed in Hermione's chest – Narcissa would never look at her the same way that she looked at Pansy Parkinson, she would never be woman for Draco that Narcissa wanted her to be.

Instantly, Hermione hated herself for her thoughts. How selfish could she be, to take this situation and make it about her in her head? This was about Pansy, who had spent the last week being mistreated and abused. It had nothing to do with her, or with Draco Malfoy.

"Hermione," Narcissa said, pulling her out of her own head. "Are you alright? You're crying."

Embarrassed, Hermione quickly wiped her cheeks. The last few hours had been incredibly trying, and her emotions were starting to get the best of her. "I'm fine," she reassured. "I am. I'm shaken but fine."

Hermione was surprised when Narcissa pulled her into a tight hug. She stiffened and then relaxed into the woman's grasp, pressing her face into Narcissa's shoulder. She smelled of perfume, something almost similar to what her own mother used to wear.

The turmoil of the last hours, days, and weeks caught up with her very suddenly, and before she could stop herself Hermione was fully sobbing in Narcissa Malfoy's arms, in the middle of her study, with Pansy Parkinson being healed behind her.

Narcissa held her and said nothing.

After Draco reached the end of the bridge at Azkaban Prison, he Apparated to the Ministry. Hermione had said she was going back to work, and he knew that he had apologies to make for his atrocious behavior.

His interaction with his father had been less than satisfactory but he was not surprised by it. Lucius Malfoy had dedicated his entire life to the service of Voldemort and to supporting blood purity. It would take more than two years in Azkaban to change his father's mind, if it was even possible to change it.

It had been a draining interaction. Being able to confront Lucius about the pain that he had been experiencing had been a relief, but it hadn't been enough. Draco knew that the rest of it he'd have to deal with in his own mind.

Before continuing onwards to Granger's office, he stopped in the loo to fix his appearance. He was covered in sea salt and his hair was whipped into a scraggly mess. He washed his face and used a quick beautification spell to fix his hair and clothes. It was no replacement for an actual bath, but it would have to do.

As he approached the Auror Department, Draco became aware of the frantic energy around him. He could hear layered discussions from outside the door and the sound of fast-paced walking, and when he entered the reception area the kind witch at the desk was nowhere to be seen. After waiting for a moment, he walked back on his own. As he navigated his way to Hermione's office, no less than ten Aurors hurried past him and as they did he caught snippets of their hurried conversations.

"… report to Kingsley… Potter asked… a nasty domestic… bloody Marriage Law…"

It didn't sit well with Draco. He picked up the pace, knowing that Hermione's office was just at the end of this hallway. He passed the cubicles, and then the doorways of Ron and Harry's offices. Hermione's door was in sight now, but Draco did not make it there.

"Malfoy!" Ron Weasley shouted as he walked past his office. Malfoy stopped short and took an impatient step backwards, anxious to get to Hermione and explain himself before he ran out of courage and energy for the day, and before he caused irreparable damage to the tenuous relationship they had been building.

"Weaselbee, I'm trying to get to Granger. I really don't have time to talk."

"She's at your home," Harry said, leaning into the view of Ron's doorway. "Get in here."

Confused, Draco entered Weasley's office and sat down when Potter gestured to the empty chair. Harry sighed and took his glasses off to rub his eyes. "There's been an incident."

Immediately, Draco thought of what Blaise had told him that morning about Greyback and Dolohov – Merlin, had it only been that morning that he and Blaise had discussed this? He gripped the arms of the chair. "Is she hurt? Where is she?"

"Hermione is fine," Ron assured him, surprised that Malfoy's concern seemed genuine. "It's your, er… friend. Pansy."

"Pansy?" Draco prompted in alarm. "What did Granger do to her?"

"Oh for Merlin's sake," Ron snapped. "She didn't do anything to your girlfriend, Hermione's better than that!"

"She is not my girlfriend," Draco snarled, lurching to his feet. Clearly Hermione had divulged their argument to her friends. "I've no idea what Granger told you, but it wasn't like that. You said Granger is at the Manor? I'm going there." He moved towards the fireplace to access the Floo network.

"Malfoy, sit down," Potter said. "Let me explain and go with you, I need to talk to Pansy."

"Pansy is at the Manor, too?" Draco demanded, terribly confused. Granger and Pansy at the Manor together? With his mother? Following an incident? He sat back down and looked impatiently at Harry.

Harry recounted the afternoon's events to Draco, starting with Hermione's hunch that something was wrong with Pansy and ending with Pansy's rescue and relocation to Malfoy Manor. Draco listened in silence, face growing pale and mouth stretching into a frown.

The gravity of the fact that Pansy's silence had bothered Hermione so much that she had taken the time to look into it despite what she and Draco had spoken about was not lost on him. It would have been well within Granger's right to ignore that feeling of suspicion she had had out of anger towards Draco, but she hadn't. She likely had saved Pansy Parkinson's life.

"Is Pansy alright?" he asked quietly. Guilt ripped at him – Granger had been right, he hadn't heard from her and it had been wrong. He hadn't even thought of Pansy. He had abandoned her.

"She was bruised up, but nothing serious," Harry reassured him. "Ron's going to stay back here and get started on a full report, but I need to interview her for it. So we'll go to the Manor together, yeah?"

"Yes," Draco agreed immediately. "Yes, right now."

Ron was silent, regarding Draco with narrowed eyes. Draco noticed. "Problem, Weasley?"

"Yeah," Ron said. "Yeah, I do have a problem with you."

"Oh, do you?" Draco challenged. "Care to share?"

"Now is really not the time," Harry muttered to his partner. Ron ignored him.

"She trusts you," Ron said. "I don't know why she does, but she trusts you. Takes an awful lot for Hermione to let someone in, and you're doing a bloody good job destroying that trust."

"This entire situation is not ideal for either of us, and our argument this afternoon – which is none of your business, by the way – was an astounding overreaction both of our parts."

"Genuinely do not care how you feel," Ron stated. "She has to marry you, but she didn't have to trust you or let you in. She's done both, and you're mucking it up. Fix it."

"Wonderful advice," Malfoy mocked, growing irritated. "'Fix it.' I'll get right on it, I'll squeeze it in between coming to terms with what my father did to me and all the pain and suffering that I caused as a teenager being manipulated by a madman!" His voice cracked, and Draco realized that he had shouted all of that very loudly at the two of them.

Harry and Ron stared at him in horrified astonishment. "Well," Harry said finally. "That's… enlightening, I suppose. Are we good here?" he asked Ron. Ron nodded. Harry looked at Draco, clearly looking for his answer.

"Yes," Draco answered shortly, taking a deep breath. "I apologize. For shouting." He paused. "And being an idiot."

"We've all been through a lot," Ron muttered, ruffling a hand through his own hair in distress. "I forget sometimes that you have, too." He didn't meet Malfoy's eyes as he spoke.

"Work on the report," Harry instructed. "I'm going to get Pansy's statement. I'll be back in an hour, and then we've got to speak to Kingsley." He looked to Malfoy and gestured for him to follow to the Floo.

When Harry and Draco stepped through into the study, Winky was finishing up with Pansy. Though she no longer bore the brunt of her physical injuries, the witch looked pale and exhausted. She was reclined back in the chair, head tipped towards the ceiling, eyes closed. She barely opened her eyes to look when the men came through.

Hermione and Narcissa were sitting side by side on the chaise, Narcissa holding Hermione's hand. Hermione had stopped crying, but her cheeks were tear-stained and her eyes were red and swollen. She was leaning against Narcissa's shoulder, but she stood when Harry came through.

As soon as Harry saw her face, he pulled her in to his chest and tucked her head under his chin. "You're alright, 'Mione," he reassured. "It's alright."

Draco wavered in the middle of the room, torn between checking on Pansy and pulling Granger into his own arms. He was overwhelmed by the ache he felt to touch her, to take her away and beg for her forgiveness. He looked to his mother, who was watching him carefully. She was a smart woman, and knew immediately that Draco was hiding something.

"Winky will take Miss Pansy to her room now," Winky announced, looking over Pansy. "She needs a good bath and a good nap."

Malfoy tore his eyes away from Hermione and Potter and turned to help Pansy up. Her thin fingers dug into his arms as she steadied herself. Once she was upright, she met his concerned gaze.

"I'm alright, Draco," she assured him. He could hear the doubt in her own voice.

"I'm sorry, Pans. I'm sorry, I should have checked on you." His voice broke and he looked away from her, ashamed.

Pansy stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "I'm a big girl," she murmured. "I appreciate you, but I don't need to be checked in on. Besides, your girl had me." She looked over to Hermione. "You should check on her, I think."

Winky stepped up beside Draco and reached for Pansy's hand. "I'll take Miss Pansy," the old house elf assured.

"Pansy," Harry interjected over Hermione's head. "We need to talk. It'll be brief. You mind?"

"Come on then, Golden Boy," Pansy said. "The more the merrier." She smiled weakly and gratefully accepted Harry's arm for support. Draco did not remove his hands from Pansy until he was sure she was steady, and the remaining three in the room remained silent until it was just them remaining. The door shut behind Potter with a low bang.

"Well," Narcissa exhaled, folding her hands in her lap. She looked from her son to Hermione. Draco was staring at Hermione like he was terrified a wrong move would break her, and Hermione was astutely refusing to make eye contact with Draco.

"I need to go," Hermione murmured, looking down at her shoes. Her voice was still raw with emotion and exhaustion. "I've got to write this report."

"Granger, come here." Draco reached out for her, taking her hand and slowly pulling her towards him. He waited until he felt her relent, then he wrapped his arms firmly around her waist and pressed his face into her now-messy curls. He inhaled deeply, smelling her shampoo and the soot of the Floo, and she relaxed against his chest. "I'm sorry," he breathed.

Hermione's fists balled into the back of his shirt and she nodded. "Our communication could stand for some improvement. I was… jealous, I think. It was ridiculous."

Draco chuckled against her. "You really have nothing to be jealous of."

"It was never anything more?" she asked.

"Never," Draco confirmed. "I'll tell you anything you want to know, but I promise you it was never anything more. You were right, though. I should have spoken to her before now." There was a lump in his throat that he swallowed hard against – what Pansy had endured was not his fault, but he felt the weight of it on his conscience. "Thank you, for helping her. Thank you."

Hermione pulled back and gently smoothed the front of Draco's shirt down. "I've gotten some makeup on your shirt," she mumbled, trying to rub at it with her thumb. "That was silly of me, I'm sorry."

"It's just a shirt, Granger. It's been through worse." He looked up at his mother, who was still regarding him with her prying eyes. He had originally intended not to divulge his visit to his father, but he knew deep down that he would never be able to hide it from her and destroy the trust she had in him – he had done enough of damaging the trust of the women he cared for today. "I need to speak to you. I was at Azkaban Prison today."

Narcissa stiffened at Draco's words, breath caught in her throat. It was a moment before she could find words. "Hermione, I'm sorry. I need to speak to my son."

"Of course," Hermione replied, quickly moving away from Draco. She was embarrassed by her emotional breakdown in front of Narcissa, and her secondary display of emotion then with Draco. The situation was not about her, and she was intruding now. "Of course, I'm sorry. I need to get back to work, the report…" she trailed off and moved again to the Floo. She looked at Draco once more before she threw a handful of Floo Powder in.

"I'll be in touch with you," Draco said to her, and reached out one more time to squeeze her hand. Hermione nodded, and stepped into the Floo.

It took Harry, Ron, and Hermione two days to write and finalize the report on the case of domestic violence perpetrated by Duncan Dunn onto Pansy Parkinson. Harry and Ron wrote the bulk of it, with Hermione interjecting and editing it when they were mostly finished.

In between helping the boys with the report, Hermione was again alerted to a string of sightings of Greyback and Dolohov – confirmed identifications this time. They were becoming bolder, venturing into larger villages and causing more damage. There were still no civilian injuries, but property damage and theft. Their actions made Hermione uneasy, especially because there appeared to be no reason to it other than to mock them.

Harry and Ron brought the Parkinson report to her for her final edit. When she was satisfied with the content, she transferred her memories of the incident to a glass vial.

The trio arrived at Kingsley's office the morning of the third day without an appointment, and would not leave until his personal assistant allowed them through. Hermione threw the report down on his desk and summoned his Pensieve forward with violent efficiency. Her memories swirled black and red in the bowl, stormy and volatile.

Kingsley read the report in silence, and watched her memories with his brow knitted together in a frown. When he was finished, he leaned back in his chair and looked at her.

"What needs to be done?" he asked, deep voice layered with concern. He listened to Hermione as she recounted all that had happened. She criticized him, his tenure as Minister, and his failure to protect his citizens with scathing anger. He took it all in, and did not argue.

Ron and Harry observed in silence, knowing that no one could better explain these damning facts than Hermione Granger.

Rita Skeeter's predictably contemptuous article was published and garnered all the attention the witch of a woman had hoped it would. The headline alone was enough to draw readers in: SLYTHERIN PRINCE AND GRYFFINDOR GOLDEN GIRL HAVE DOMESTIC IN MINISTRY ATRIUM – JEALOUSY IS AFOOT! Hermione opted not to read it, and Draco got two sentences in before he threw the paper away.

The divorce of Pansy Parkinson was a silent affair. It took one week to finalize, and made no news. A condition of her ability to file for divorce was that she would not remarry until the expiry date of the Marriage Law had passed. Pansy agreed with no fuss, the papers were signed, and it was done.

During the week that the Ministry furiously worked to quietly end their first failed Marriage Law union, Hermione and Draco saw each other twice, both for quick lunch dates in Hermione's office squeezed in between Hermione's increasingly busy workload and Draco's business dealings.

Draco had given her cursory details about his conversation with his mother after she had left. Narcissa had been first angry with him, and then concerned that Lucius had hurt him. Draco had reassured her that he was fine, that it had needed to happen, and that he was not any worse off than he had been before.

Hermione kept him in the loop about Pansy's divorce from her side of things, because she was sure Pansy was filling him in. Pansy remained at Malfoy Manor, in her own wing. Shockingly, Hermione did not find herself filled with the jealousy she was afraid she would be.

Physically, Pansy recovered quickly. Her injuries had not been extensive and Winky had done a wonderful job caring for her initially, and continuing to care for her afterwards. Draco reported that Winky fed Pansy two square meals a day and ensured that she left her room long enough for a walk in the evening. She ate dinner with Narcissa every night, Narcissa and Draco if they were both available.

But besides her daily walk and her nightly meal, Pansy spent an extensive amount of time alone. Draco confided in Hermione that he was concerned for her mental wellbeing, but Pansy refused to see a doctor at St. Mungo's about it.

"It's only been a few days," Hermione had reassured him. "Give her time."

They both shared concern over the actions of Greyback and Dolohov.

Malfoy did not disclose any details about his interaction with his father, and only told her that it had been what he expected it would be. It was unsaid that he needed time to process the exchange between he and his father.

Narcissa and Hermione were in communication during that week, exclusively about wedding planning. They had picked dates to sample menus, cake, and wines. They had picked a date for dress shopping.

They had picked a date for the wedding itself.

Draco and Hermione had decided together that putting it off until the last minute would be unwise and more likely to attract the attention of press, and since the tabloids had already covered the stories of the marriages that had happened in the first week there may be less interest now.

They decided that two weeks from that Saturday would be fine. Their friends had clear schedules, Draco had no business to attend to, and Hermione knew the longer she waited the more anxious she would be.

When it came time to submit the wedding announcement to the Prophet, they provided the bare minimum information and told the editor to print whatever basic language was used for all wedding announcements. They did not need to attract attention with anything flashy.

It was printed the next day, sandwiched between many other wedding announcements.

GRANGER – MALFOY

Arthur and Molly Weasley of Ottery St. Catchpole are pleased to announce the wedding of their daughter Hermione Jean Granger to Draco Lucius Malfoy, son of Narcissa Malfoy of Wiltshire.

The festivities will take place at the Malfoy Family Home on the Twenty-Eighth of October at Four O'Clock in the Afternoon.

Attendance is by Invitation Only.