thank you all so much for reading! I haven't edited this yet, but wanted to get it up. will check grammar and consistency in the morning- the joys of not having a beta are real, my friends. PS it seems like my scene breaks weren't showing up, apologies!
"Brax," Tom said with the tip of his head. He wanted to bash his head into a wall at the foreign feeling of nervousness that had invaded his chest. Who was this girl to make him feel so out of sorts?
"Tom," the man said with a slight smile. If Tom didn't know any better, he wouldn't have seen the nervousness in the expression. What'd the man do? "I'm glad you owled, it feels like ages since we last sat down together."
"Quite right. Thank Salazar that 5M passed without incident and we can take a quick breath."
Abraxas laughed, shoulders relaxing slightly. "If only we didn't have education, werewolves, import taxes and appropriations ahead of us."
"Don't remind me," Tom said as he sipped on the gin Abraxas kept on hand for him and him only.
"I confess that I did invite you over for more than a social call, my friend," Abraxas confessed over their fifth course of a perfectly cooked wagyu filet and asparagus. Tom only gave his friend a dark look at hearing they'd be dining over seven courses.
"We've never been ones to dally, Abraxas," Tom said sharply. "Out with it."
"I want the girl to be mine," Abraxas got out quickly, holding his wandless hands up when Tom's expression turned murderous. "My daughter! As my daughter."
Tom let out a breath, relishing in the trembling of the older man.
"Why?"
"On one hand, I'm a sentimental old man. She's precious to me. She deserves everything that comes with having a wizarding family, and she's still young enough for it to mean something," Abraxas said with a look on his face that meant business. "On the other? This is beneficial to you, Tom. Having a muggleborn girl who was left to rot by Dumbledore and adopted by the patriarch of the richest family in our world sheerly because she melted the heart of an old man as your wife? That's a narrative that every farmer, housewife and society witch can rally behind."
"Who's to say she's to be my wife?"
"I'm an old man, but I'm not a fool. You have my blessing, not that you'd need it. Do I have yours?"
The men stared off for a moment, and Abraxas kept his eyes open as Tom raked through memories he offered up easily.
"Fucking Dumbledore," Tom spat after pulling out of his friend's head.
"I think she would've preferred sharing her life story with you herself," Abraxas said with a small smile. "A little advice on the only place I have you beat, Tom… pretend like you don't know when she tells you."
"Noted," Tom replied with a tight nod. "You can adopt her, but I'll decide the manner in which it's made public.
"Of course," Abraxas said, relief and respect oozing from every pore. "Thank you… my Lord."
Tom couldn't help but smirk, knowing the older man had an aversion to calling him the honorific even after undergoing multiple rounds of the cruciatus curse. They'd come to an understanding; Abraxas funds some of Tom's less than savory ventures and the man lets him live as though he's under no one's thumb. The arrangement suited both of their needs.
All Tom could think was that he wasn't doing this for Abraxas, and that self-admission alone made him want to burn a city to the ground.
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"I never thought I'd enjoy having human friends," Luna exclaimed with a serene smile.
"A high-end lingerie shop in Paris is where you realized this?" Daphne asked with a raised brow, twirling around to admire how her arse and long, thin legs looked in the ice blue corset and crotchless panties she'd put on.
Hermione was uncertain about the girl knowing she was Pansy's best friend, the dark-haired girl saying she was the only friend that could keep up with her. While that might have been high praise in Pansy's books, it made Hermione more nervous knowing how difficult she was to get along with. After meeting the Greengrass sisters, however, she was pleased with how delightful they were.
"Nothing like seeing your friends naked to cement their value," Lune replied, still smiling.
"Speaking of naked… Hermione, get the fuck out here," Pansy called.
"I'm not sure I'm wearing enough fabric to classify these as undergarments."
"Get out here, girl!" Astoria called, bouncing her sizable arse cheeks up and down in her hands as she stood in front of the mirror.
"You all are unwell," Hermione muttered as she stepped out of the fitting room and put one hand over her chest and the other over her nether regions.
"Oh Merlin, you sexy witch!" Pansy purred, moving closer to Hermione to rip her hands away from where they shielded her body. "Why are you hiding all of this?"
"Because I'd lose my job or give an old coot a heart attack on the lift when his blood all rushed to his…" Hermione trailed off, causing the girls to cackle.
"Fifty galleons on Lord Ogden croaking first, he's been staring at my tits since before I knew what they were," Daphne said with a shudder.
"My money's on old man Crabbe if he can even find his dick," Astoria said and the girls roared with laughter.
Hermione hid her giggles behind her hand and tried to admonish the younger girl. "Tori! It's not his fault."
"Isn't it, though?" Luna asked with a raised brow. "He's always eating, it seems to be a family trait. I'm certain they were cursed by a gluttonberry many generations ago."
"I don't think gluttonberries are real, Luna. But a lack of self control is, and I'm pretty sure our favorite Deputy Minister would suffer from that as well if he saw Hermione's tight little booty in those garter belts," Pansy said as she pulled her boobs up to better spill out of her heavily padded pushup bra.
"You're crass, and I have no idea why I'm here," Hermione muttered, face turning bright red. She was able to admit to herself that she did look good after having put weight on again. Her slight curves were appealing, and she enjoyed the way that her hips swayed in the dresses Pansy had picked out. The Prophet always seemed to snap the best photos of her and Deputy Minister Riddle, the man walking with purpose while she followed along with swaying hips and short legs made longer by expensive heels; she couldn't help but clip them and keep them in a well-warded box at the back of her closet.
"Because you need us to look good and get the guy," Pansy replied nonchalantly. "Now, get the little sales girl back in here so she can take our money."
"It's not our money, Pansy. I'm pretty sure you haven't spent Parkinson money in the entire time I've known you," Hermione observed.
"Reparations, girl. The patriarchy fucks us, so we'll drain it dry."
"Cheers to that, ladies!" Astoria shouted with a quick shimmy.
"Whose money are you spending, Tori?" Hermione asked curiously. Abraxas had given her a small velvet pouch before she'd left, pressing a kiss to her cheek and telling her that the bag was linked to his Gringotts account and would automatically replenish. He proceeded to tell her that Pansy knew whose money she was supposed to be spending, which was threat enough for the girl to spend the man's gold.
"Whichever of Daph's boyfriends she's not spending," the girl shrugged.
"This weekend's on Marcus for the both of us. We tried something new in bed and then he told me I looked like this freaky green fucker from a movie his sister showed him. The Grounch or something."
Hermione let out a bark of laughter, unable to hold it in after two glasses of champagne. "How does Marcus Flint know what the Grinch is?"
"His little sister Mila's a squib, she goes to muggle school and comes home with the weirdest stories."
The muggleborn was surprised to hear that a pureblood family was comfortable with their daughter living with them, let alone being known publicly as a squib. She'd have to ask Abraxas for details on it.
"As the resident muggleborn here, I promise you don't look like the Grinch," Hermione replied with a smile.
"Oh, I know. Adrian reminded me of that over a hot stone massage for two," Daphne said with a smirk.
The girl was in a triad, making good on two Greengrass betrothal contracts that had been unfulfilled for generations. Adrian and Marcus were, according to the Slytherins, a well-known couple while they were at Hogwarts, and after a drunken night at Malfoy Manor, it became apparent that Daphne was a missing piece they didn't realize they had. The
"Let's finish up here and head to the muggle shoppes. The squib stylist I set us up with will be here any minute," Pansy said after casting a tempus spell.
Hermione let out a groan as she stepped back into the fitting room, but couldn't help the smile that overcame her face as she listened to her friends bicker and cackle. Nothing was more strange to her than having friends, girlfriends as a matter of fact, who were more interested in her heart than her mind and it felt good. For them… she would suffer the indignity of buying lingerie in Paris.
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"Deputy Minister Riddle, welcome." Bartemius Crouch, Sr. said with a smile, his heavy mustache covering most of his smile.
"Lord Crouch, thank you for meeting with me. I'd like to introduce you to my assistant, Hermione Granger," Tom said with a sweep of his hand that the girl had grown familiar with.
"Assistant?" the head of DMLE asked with a raised brow. Tom had warned her the man was old-fashioned, the ranks of female aurors tumbling under his leadership being the most blatant indicator of his misogyny. Hermione gave the man a glare and let him know that old-fashioned wasn't an excuse for old men not moving their mindsets into the 90s, especially those in leadership.
"Secretary, assistant... interchangeable titles," Tom replied with an easy smile that shocked Hermione. His willingness to lower her place in his world, even if for a conversation with someone else, was a bitter sting.
"I see. If you don't mind, I'd rather this meeting be man to man. The DMLE is considering some heavy topics that aren't fit for a lady's ears, no matter how successful of a secretary she is," the man said with a patronizing look at Hermione.
"Of course, we wouldn't want to jeopardize her state of mind this early in the workday. Miss Granger, please head back to the office. I'll return at half one," Tom said, giving the girl only a slight smile before turning away.
The girl managed to hold herself together until she'd made it down to the third floor where the Wizengamot offices were. Draco let out a scoff and curse as Hermione rushed into Abraxas' office and shut the door behind her.
"He's foul and loathsome, I'm going to kill him," Hermione fumed, lip trembling pitifully as tears fell.
"Who's hurt you, princess?" Abraxas asked, standing up and pulling the girl into a hug. The role of pseudo-father, not yet solidified, was easy for him to fill. Though he was a bit nervous… he had never seen Hermione in tears.
"Tom," the girl said through tears, pressing her face into the man's expensive shirt. "He kicked me out of the meeting with Crouch. I didn't know where else to go."
"Oh, my sweet," Abraxas crooned. "I'm assuming he didn't act with much tact?"
Hermione shook her head vehemently.
"It won't make you feel better, but Crouch is a grouchy old man who I'd love to never speak with again. He won't be around for long, I can promise you that."
Hermione pulled back at the man's confidence in that statement.
"Really?"
"Really," Abraxas said with a smile, pulling the girl to sit down next to him on the loveseat in his office. "He's old, incompetent and there are people more deserving to lead DMLE than him."
"I wonder who they'll pick," Hermione muttered, her tears already ceasing as she thought through the possibilities.
"I'm not sure, my dear. Time will tell. Now, let an old man take his favorite girl out for lunch."
"Tom said to meet him back at the office at half one," Hermione said nervously.
"To hell with that. Every man must learn the consequences of his actions… what's that squib quote, dear? Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?"
Hermione smiled, "That's the quote, though I'm not sure Shakespeare actually said it."
"Whatever the case, that's the spirit of our lunch. Our esteemed Deputy Minister will have to live without you for a few hours, perhaps it'll lead to a heart of repentance."
Hermione accepted the man's arm as they walked out, leaving a confused Draco in their wake. "You sound like a muggle priest, Brax."
"You shouldn't have shown me that cathedral in London then, the Bible books were free and I've found it quite interesting."
"Only you would find the idea of eternal damnation interesting," Hermione muttered fondly.
"I've accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, dear. I have been granted eternal life, my sins are washed clean…"
"I'm sure they are," Hermione said with an eye roll. "Let's go eat."
"The lady's wish is my command."
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"It's half two," Tom said as a laughing Abraxas and Hermione walked into the front office. The same office that Tom had had to keep an eye on for the past hour while his assistant was nowhere to be found. That meant accepting the afternoon mail from the unbelievably wrinkly old woman who always tried to pinch his cheeks and attempting pleasant conversation with Neville Longbottom when he dropped in to see Hermione and didn't get the hint that Tom wanted nothing to do with him.
"Merlin, we were gone longer than I thought," Abraxas said with a startlingly devious smile on his lips. "Apologies, Tom. You can have your… secretary back now."
"Get out," Tom ordered, voice colder than Hermione had ever heard. Abraxas pressed what he hoped to be a comforting kiss to Hermione's temple before leaving, sparing one last dark, warning look for the younger man. The Deputy Minister flicked a hand toward the door that slammed at the motion and had to pull his wand out to construct silencing wards that would keep even the nosiest hallway slow-walkers from listening in.
"I'm sorry, sir," Hermione blurted out quickly, always the first to fold in any situation. She was surprised to find that she cared more about upsetting the man in front of her than actually losing her job even as she cursed her predictable weakness in the face of someone else's disappointment.
"Then why'd you do it?" Tom asked with a raised brow.
Hermione bristled, "Don't talk to me like I'm a child."
Tom swallowed down his desire to grab the girl by her neck and force her to submit to him.
"I'm not, Hermione. In the future, I'd prefer if you didn't take three and a half hour lunch breaks. For tonight, you'll have to stay until everything's done including rewriting my notes from the Crouch meeting. My quick-quotes quill stopped working midway through."
The girl couldn't help but let out a bark of laughter, "Wouldn't it have been nice if the meeting was fit for ladies, then?"
"Is that what has you in a strop? I warned you about him."
"If that means you accepting the misogyny of a department head and dismissing me like a flighty bird, then yes, Tom. That is what I mean."
"Oh, my sweet girl," Tom crooned with a slight smile on his lips as he silenced her outrage with the twist of a wrist. "You're going to listen to me, now. That's a dear. Crouch is a bloody fool who hasn't touched a woman since his wife fell pregnant thirty-some years ago. He was raised to think he's better than women despite that being untrue. He's going to pay. But part of him paying means you and I playing the part. Is that right?"
Hermione huffed, a feeling of bone deep nervousness overtaking her when she realized she was no longer silenced. Who was the man in front of her?
"Yes. I trust that you have a plan for a future I want to be a part of," she replied honestly without accepting his non-apology.
"Smart answer," Tom replied approvingly. "I will never harm you. You're the only one who will ever receive that promise from me, though there are better places for this conversation. Come to my manor for dinner tonight," the man commanded, leaving Hermione helpless but to nod as she looked at his too perfect face.
"What? She just took her top off?" Hermione said through giggles, tipping her rosé into her mouth. "She's at least 150!"
"It worked out well," Tom said with a smirk. "I got what I came there for."
"Which was?" Hermione asked, blinking slowly up at the man. Wine and Hermione Granger was a dangerous combination; she had only started drinking after graduating Hogwarts and becoming friends with extremely rich, indulgent individuals. The drink always made her feel warm on the inside, like she was floating through life and everything was right in the world.
"A necklace that belonged to me," Tom replied, hooking a thumb in the silver chain that always hung around his neck.
The girl gasped at the sight of the necklace and jumped up from the other side of the table to get closer to where he sat at the head.
"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed as she tripped over her heels, landing with an arm bracing Tom's thickly corded shoulder and the other on the table, barely missing his plate. "Sorry, I got excited."
"No need," Tom murmured lowly, using his free arm to pull the girl fully onto his lap with her legs hanging over his right hip. "You know what this is?"
"I do," Hermione said breathily, her caramel eyes widening in sudden arousal and trepidation. "Salazar Slytherin's locket, I read about it in Hogwarts a History. It only opens for his descendants, the third edition of the compendium stated that directions to the Chamber of Secrets are hidden inside of it, but later editions removed that fact since it couldn't be verified."
"What if I told you that the third edition was correct," Tom whispered into her ear, growing hard at the way the girl let out a shocked moan and shivered on his lap.
"You're a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin?"
"I am, darling," Tom replied.
"How do you know?" the girl asked, a pouty expression on her face that Tom couldn't wait to turn to amazement.
Tom winked before saying the word open in parseltongue, the locket that lay against his chest opening immediately.
"Oh, Merlin," Hermione gasped, running a small, soft hand in reverence across the silver locket that had engraved Latin on the now open plates.
"It's Tom."
Hermione giggled, "Stop! You speak parseltongue?"
Tom deigned to reply in the affirmative and instead started speaking, coaxing his closest friend into the room.
"Oh my," the girl breathed as the largest snake she'd ever seen slithered into the room. "She's beautiful. What's her name?"
"Smart little one," the viper hissed, curling around Tom's neck and rubbing her face against Hermione's. The snake flicked her tongue against the girl's face, and Tom was shocked when she didn't flinch. "Brave… good girl. Worthy of you, Master."
"She's just a girl," Tom replied, eyes on the girl watching his scaly companion.
"She's a baby. She's your mate," the snake admonished. "Careful."
"Leave us," Tom replied with an irritated roll of his eyes. Nagini was the only person he wouldn't kill for pushing back on him.
"Goodbye," Hermione said softly. "Does she not have a name?"
"Nagini. She was impressed. You're the first to not reek of fear when she comes into a room and know that she's a female."
Hermione scoffed, "Because no one reads as much as I do. It's her tail; quite easy to tell. And she's much too pretty to be a male snake."
"Charming little one," Nagine said as she slithered out, if Tom were a guessing man, to curl up in the well-heated mini rainforest he'd fashioned for her upstairs.
"She likes you," Tom admitted, knowing that visibly warming up towards the girl would go a long way in getting her to stay with him. He didn't need to be a master legilimens to grasp that she was both attracted to him and wary of him in the same measure. The road to keeping the girl was long, and he didn't need to be a romantic to know that a one-night-stand wouldn't get him where he wanted to be.
Hermione nodded and smiled softly, looking to him for what came next.
Tom was more than reluctant to let the girl go, but knew that sleeping with her while she was inebriated would do nothing to bring her closer to him.
"Let's get you home," Tom said, standing up and moving the girl to stand on the floor.
"Yes, of course," Hermione replied, shaking her head as though it'd clear her thoughts. Tom hid a smile at the girl's adorable move. "Your notes from your meeting with Lord Crouch are on your desk with a new QQQ."
"I know, Hermione," Tom said with only a bit of steel in his voice. "You've already told me. Expect a long day."
"Of course, sir," the girl said with a nod, thoughts of what lay ahead already swarming her mind to the point where she forgot her intense attraction to her boss.
"Goodnight, darling," Tom said as the girl stepped into the Floo, a small smirk on his lips.
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Hermione startled at the bang of the office door opening, knocking her out of the intense concentration she'd had on Tom's schedule for the following week. What perturbed her even more were the blatantly pleased expressions on Tom and Yaxley's faces as they walked in.
"Miss Granger," Yaxley drawled with a wink, following Tom into his office and shutting the door soundly.
Hermione could hear nothing, knowing that her boss always used a silencing charm during meetings. The only indicator of what was going on was when Yaxley and Tom left for the morning's Wizengamot session and she got a glimpse of now-empty liquor glasses, only the dregs of their drinks at the bottom of the glasses.
She'd always been extremely nosy and working for one of the highest-ranking men in government only exacerbated her natural urges to learn everything about everyone. Just what happened in the followup meeting with Crouch and Head Auror Potter that had the pair either celebrating or drinking away their pain at 11am?
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The day proved useless when it came to getting any information, and before she knew it Hermione was being escorted to the Floo by Abraxas for dinner at Malfoy Manor.
It was the first time that Hermione would be meeting his wife and she was a bit terrified by the thought of the woman who she'd only heard about.
"You'll be fine, my dear," Abraxas said knowingly, an amused smile on his lips.
"I know, I just don't know why I'm invited to the one dinner you'll have with your entire family this year. Lucius is going to make some snide comment about me being rude," she insisted with a pout.
"The boy will say nothing," Abraxas promised as he let go of Hermione's arm as she stepped into the fireplace. "He's still scared of me."
Hermione laughed lightly before stepping through and calling out the main foyer of the manor as the man instructed earlier.
"Welcome, Granger. It feels like I only saw you twenty minutes ago," Draco said with an eye roll as he offered her a hand to help her out of the Floo.
"Happy to see you too, Draco."
"Is she here?" Abraxas asked as he stepped out of the fireplace, dusting himself off without any pleasantries. He'd just seen Draco and didn't feel the need to give the boy a welcome.
"Yes, grandfather, she's already in the dining room with mother and father."
"No time to waste, then. She's likely drank half the wine by now," Abraxas muttered, hooking elbows with Hermione again to escort her to the dining room. The girl's stomach was in knots. She was a fan of routine and certainty. Walking into a dinner with a family that she wasn't a part of when she could tell there was bound to be tension… that was not something she wanted to be involved in.
"Hermione, welcome!" a radiant Narcissa Malfoy said happily, standing up from her seat to hug the girl and press kisses to her cheeks.
"Narcissa, lovely to see you," Hermione replied warmly, truly meaning the words.
Lucius winked at the girl as he pushed his wife back into her seat, Abraxas doing the same for Hermione. The girl was directly next to Livana, putting her closer to the head of the table than Draco which didn't go unnoticed by her.
"Hello, ma'am, Lady Malfoy. It's lovely to meet you, I've heard so much about you," Hermione said with a warm smile, turning to look at the beautiful woman next to her.
A Swedish Greengrass, the woman's hair was surprisingly a pretty red color. The girl made a mental note to ask Astoria and Daphne about where that trait had come into their family line.
"Livana, kära, call me Livana. I've read so much about you, I wasn't sure what to expect," the woman said with a light accent as she looked over Hermione with probing green eyes. "You'll do."
"For what, I may ask?" Hermione asked, her voice sharper than she would've liked. Abraxas and Lucius shared an apprehensive look, knowing how the matriarch enjoyed playing with her food.
"Joining the family, of course. Truthfully, you are not what I expected, but the heart wants what the heart wants."
Hermione pushed back from the table, face turning red. "I think… there's a misunderstanding. Draco and I are not together."
Draco choked on his wine. "Granger, ew!"
"Hermione," Lucius said calmly. "Sit back down and let father talk. No offense mother."
"None taken," the woman said, waving a hand as she finished her glass of wine. Through her confusion and embarrassment, Hermione wondered how many she'd had so far.
"Apologies, my dear. We've moved from A to Z without stopping, so why not continue on that pattern? I'd like to adopt you, Hermione. With the Malfoy name and resources behind you, your career will flourish."
Hermione moved to retort the man's offer and received a finger wagged in her face.
"Let me finish, Hermione. No, this is not charity. This is granting an old man who's never been told no the only thing he's never been able to buy- a daughter. You saying yes benefits us both… please say yes."
The idea of a magical family was more than the little girl that still existed in Hermione's heart could bear. The thirteen-year-old who kept an eye on the owl delivery every morning and night, thinking that maybe today was the day when the Ministry would write with a family who wanted to adopt her… an owl that never came. The bitter part of her wanted to think that it was too little too late, she was already considered an adult in the wizard and muggle worlds.
But that little girl? She wanted the man who asked her to call him papa months ago. She wanted some semblance of familial, patriarchal protection even though she bucked against everything that the system was. It was a phenomenon that was impossible to explain, but she had her answer. In all the ways that she felt like an outcast from her peers for all 19 years of her life, she now understood how they felt when they ran to their parents after the Hogwarts Express made it to Kings Cross. She felt loved.
"Yes," Hermione whispered, traitorous eyes filling with tears. "Yes."
Abraxas' light blue eyes lit up at the girl's words, ignoring the rest of his family as he stood up and wrenched the girl from her chair. The hug they shared was one both of them had longed for. It was a scene from the most trite movie Hermione could think of, yet she couldn't be embarrassed by it. She felt loved for the first time, sue her for being sentimental.
"How sweet," Livana exclaimed with a clap. "I hate to give a bad impression, but I'd love to sign the papers and take my portkey out before you all eat. It's girls night."
"Far be it from me to keep you from your girls," Abraxas drawled, pressing a kiss to Hermione's hair as he stepped away and back into business mode. "We have to sign some documents and take them to Gringotts together in the morning."
The process was quick, and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief after the door closed behind Livana.
"And that's mother," Lucius said with a small smirk, tipping his glass of wine towards the girl before draining the glass.
"When she says girls…" Hermione trailed off.
"Oh yes," Draco said with a nod and devious glint in his eyes. "They're more like women, thankfully, but yes. It's exactly what you think. Be grateful your parents didn't ship you off for a week in France where your grandmother didn't see fit to stop her weekly sex parties."
"I'll add that to my short list of reasons why I'm happy my parents abandoned me. Thanks, Draco."
Lucius and Narcissa covered their laughs.
"Wait… does this make me Aunt Hermione?" the girl asked with a small smile.
"Indeed. We are now siblings, after all," Lucius said with a genuine smile. "You'll have even more of a reason to keep Draco in line now that you have a stake in furthering the family line."
"Oh, yes. He and Luna are top of my list of extracurricular endeavors, that won't change."
"We love you even more for it, dear," Narcissa said primly.
Hermione was more drunk on happiness than wine as she made her way to the Floo with Abraxas, a small smile still in place on her lips.
"I've already spoken with Tom, we have an appointment at Gringotts at 12pm," Abraxas said with a small smile.
"Why is it that you all seem to tell Tom everything important before anyone else?"
"Long story, my dear, for another time. Bring your Gringotts key, we'll merge your accounts. Also, if you'll bring your lease so my solicitors can look it over."
"Why?"
"Well, you've already been so kind to an old man, I thought you'd grant one more request… I'd love for you to move into the Manor."
Hermione raised an eyebrow, "You aren't that old, Brax. That's no excuse."
"And that wasn't an answer, my dear."
"My kneazle is non-negotiable."
"Of course Crookshanks can come. I've already found an elf who likes animals who'll care for him."
"Bless that elf," Hermione muttered to herself.
"I'll see you tomorrow. Thank you, Hermione. I promise this'll be a worthwhile decision in the long run."
"This isn't just political," Hermione said with a small smile. Men were so fearful of rejection that they'd turn any conversation on its head to get the hell away from it. "I've always wanted a family, and you've been that for me even before the papers were signed."
"I'd go to war for you, my girl. I love you."
"Love you too," Hermione whispered, pulling the man into another hug as the foreign words came out of her mouth.
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"Good morning. How was your evening?" Tom asked.
"You knew." the girl said with narrowed eyes and her hands crossed over her chet.
"Hm?"
"Ugh!" Hermione said with an eye roll. "You're worse than Pansy sometimes with your gossip."
The man raised an eyebrow, "Watch your tone."
Hermione was surprised to find she didn't feel chastised like a child at his words, but more like she was being warned by a dangerous man. From what she'd gathered, she suspected she was.
"I'm sorry," she said sheepishly. "It's just frustrating to be continually left out of conversations."
"You'll have to trust me when I say it's safer like this for now, Hermione," Tom said seriously, eyes drilling into Hermione with a rarely seen sincerity.
"I've told you, I trust you Tom."
"That's all I ask. I'm headed to my meeting with Lord Shafiq. I need you to schedule a meeting with Lord Crouch and Head Auror Potter for 10am tomorrow on the domestic violence bill. Their assistants should have blocked the time."
"Of course," Hermione said, already jotting down notes to herself. "I'm on it."
"Much appreciated," Tom replied, leaving her with a smile.
"Let's go," Tom said, straightening his collar with his free hand.
"Sir?"
"I need you to take notes at my meeting, it's too tedious to speak and be expected to jot everything down."
Hermione nodded, an anxious feeling building in her stomach at the thought of being left to fend for herself once more when Crouch made a derogatory remark towards her.
"Respectfully, Deputy Minister," Crouch started quietly, but loud enough that Hermione could hear as they stepped into the conference room. The girl averted her eyes from Roger Davies and the older Hufflepuff man who she assumed served as an assistant to Crouch.
"There's no time for your concerns, Lord Crouch. We need to square up this bill before debate in the chamber today."
Hermione was silent as she took notes, quill furiously dipping into her inkpot and scrawling across the parchment as the trio of powerful men continued their back and forth on estimated sentencing lengths for witches and wizards convicted of spousal abuse or assault. The girl had figured out weeks before while rewriting Tom's notes that this was the conversation Crouch didn't believe a woman should hear. As if countless women didn't live through abuse every day, the girl remembered thinking bitterly in the moment.
She was so entranced by Tom's voice as he shared his belief on applying life sentences rather than the kiss that she jumped when the door opened.
"Bartemius Crouch Sr., you're being summoned for questioning as designated under the probable cause statute." an auburn-haired auror that Hermione knew to be Travers said with a hint of uncertainty in his voice at taking his boss in.
"What's this about?" the man said, eyes wide as he looked towards the audience of the Head Auror and Deputy Minister.
"Sir, I have to ask you again to come with us for questioning as designated under the PCS," Travers said, his nondescript partner stepping into the room as well.
"Come on, Lord Crouch," Head Auror Potter said with a furrowed brow, wanting to make his men's duty a little easier. "Just get it over with, I'm sure it's nothing."
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Hermione let out an incredulous laugh as she looked over the paper the next morning, nearly dropping the mug of tea she held in her right hand.
"Care to share with the class, Granger?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Crouch was arrested on account of beating his wife to death," the girl answered in a quiet voice.
"Junior or senior?"
"The Head of DMLE, Draco," Hermione replied impatiently, wishing not for the first time that others knew her thoughts and thought processes so she didn't have to constantly explain herself. "The same man who kicked me out of a meeting weeks ago for worry of scaring me off with talk of domestic violence."
"The Wizengamot just passed legislation yesterday that incurs a life sentence for premeditated spousal murder," Draco answered quietly. "Is Crouch going to be the first to face that charge?"
"I guess so," Hermione murmured as she continued to read, stomach sinking as she read that Corban Yaxley was slated to take over DMLE in the interim.
"Crouch is going to pay" indeed.
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