"Really?" Hermione grinned.
"Just kidding. You totally fell for it," and with that said he turned and walked away.
"Stupid bear," Hermione muttered.
…..
Hermione paced around her room. She was absolutely restless. What could she do to find her parents? London was huge. There was no way she could just knock on every door and find them.
She couldn't use a locating spell either unless she had something that belonged to them. Hermione wracked her brain trying to think of a way.
If only Malfoy was more cooperative. Maybe it was time to resort to blackmail. 'Oh what fun this is going to be…"
…
Ten minutes later she was dressed and ready to go.
She chose to apparate directly into his room this time to avoid a confrontation with Narcissa Malfoy.
She was met with quite a delicious sight though she wouldn't be caught dead admitting it.
Draco was shirtless and in the process of putting on some pants. His chest was chiseled and he had godly abs. When he saw Hermione he dropped his pants out of shock.
"You!"
Hermione blushed a bit before turning her back to him, letting him dress in peace.
…
Even after he finished changing he was still grumbling on and on about closet perverts.
"What do you want now Granger?"
"I'm here to form an agreement with you." Hermione had a wicked look on her face. "Remember that E you received on an arithmancy test last year? How would mummy dearest like to know that her son isn't all that perfect?"
Draco's eyes grew bigger. He could see where this was going.
"I'm not telling you where the Menos live. Give it up Granger."
"What about if I let everyone know you kissed Goyle on the lips before and that you might be bisexual?"
"I was under a spell at the time! That's not fair."
"Well too bad. Only way to stop me is to tell me where the Menos live."
"All of that is not enough to convince me. I swore not to say a thing."
"You know what I heard from Padma the other day? She said that Daphne told her you are really bad in bed."
"NOW THAT'S JUST NOT TRUE."
"Well, who's everyone going to believe when I tell them the news? The smartest witch of the century or a slimy git like you?"
"Argh. You're being unreasonable Granger."
"I know I am. Now care to share what you know?"
…..
Hermione climbed the stairs two at a time. She was nervous beyond belief but this was something she had to do.
-knock knock-
"Who's there?" came a lady's voice.
"My name's Hermione. There's something I'd like to speak to you about."
A slight pause later locks were turned and the door swung open.
Hermione stared. It was the lady who had fallen down the stairs the other day.
"How may I help you?"
"May I come in?"
"Oh I suppose so. Come on in."
'Was this lady really a dedicated supporter of Voldemort 18 years ago? She doesn't seem like she could hurt a fly.'
"I just wanted to know why." Hermione whispered.
"Why what dear?" Mrs. Menos began to pour some tea for Hermione.
"Why did you leave me 18 years ago?"
The teapot fell to the floor with a loud crash. Hermione quickly did a clean-up spell and then continued to stare at the woman before her.
"I'm sorry," was all that the lady said for a long time.
"Why did you do it then?"
"Our powers were locked away after Voldemort disappeared. We were powerless to protect ourselves let alone a newborn baby. It wasn't our intention to abandon you but there just wasn't anything we could do. To this day our powers are still locked away and we have no choice but to seek refuge in the Malfoy's residence."
"Wait. Your wizarding powers are locked? How does that work?"
"Because we were so very close to He-who-must-not-be-mentioned, it is possible that our powers are intertwined with his. As he met his downfall, so too did our powers. It has been quite humiliating for us and so we have chosen not to allow others to know of this. It is commonly thought that the powerful Menos family has met its end but now I see that is not true. We still have you to carry on the legacy. Thank you for finding me Hermione."
"You can thank Malfoy for telling me where you reside."
"The Malfoy boy? Ah yes, quite a brilliant wizard. Are you sure you're not dating him?"
"Quite sure."
"Such a pity. Perhaps something can be arranged…" Mrs. Menos had a wicked look on her face.
Deciding to change the topic Hermione asked politely, "Where is Mr. Menos?"
"Oh, he's off working of course. Although the Malfoys are our friends we still need to pay rent."
"When will he be around?"
"He's home on the weekends."
"Ah. Well, I'll be taking my leave now. I'll visit again when Mr. Menos is around. It was nice meeting you."
"Come now. I'll walk you down."
Narcissa was in the living room when the two walked down and she nearly jumped two feet in the air.
"How did you get in this house?"
"Um. I apparated?"
"It's quite alright Narcissa. Allow me to introduce my daughter to you. This is Hermione Menos. Narcissa, Hermione here was just visiting me."
Narcissa sputtered, "Wha.. what is this? Your daughter you say?"
Mrs. Menos chuckled. "Allow me to explain. Hermione, you may be on your way. I'll fill Narcissa in. Do come by to visit often though."
…..
That night in the Malfoy residence there were excited whispers of Purebloods, merging, and little wee lads. There was definitely something going on in the minds of the women in the house. Something not quite right.
…..
Hermione plopped down on her bed. She was exhausted and yet very content. She had finally met her real mother and nothing had gone wrong. Now she just had to meet Mr. Menos.
…..
She awoke the next morning and decided to go for a morning jog around the block. Throwing on some loose clothing she dashed out the door.
Making her way around the park she watched the children play on the slides and adults looking proud and the birds flying around and the bear climbing the tree…
Wait. Bear climbing the tree?
"Bear! What are you doing?" she shouted.
She got an answer a minute later when bear came down with a football in his hands.
"Thanks!" said a boy next to the tree before he ran back to playing with his friends.
"Bear, what are you up to now?"
"mm. Nothing much. You?"
"I'm on a jog. Care to join?"
"Sure, nothing better to do today. I hate Saturdays"
They ran around the park six times before Hermione decided to call it quit. During the run she had remembered that today was the day she'd meet her father. She jumped around excitedly and bear smacked her on the head.
"Stop hopping like a foo'"
"Gee bear. At least I'm not the one walking around 24/7 in a full bear costume. That's gotta be embarrassing. How do you even take a dump?"
"I have my ways ok? Don't you worry about my bowel movements."
"Fine. I need to go somewhere now though. I'll cya around bear."
"Laters."
…..
Hermione had just reached the front door of the Malfoy residence when Mrs. Menos popped out and exclaimed, "You're getting married in two weeks Sweetie!"
…..
Author's note: Thanks to Jen and Alililili for the reviews. I appreciate it!33
