As usual, I still do not own Harry Potter or any of (Our Queen) J.K. Rowling's character's. I do have ownership of original plot lines and original characters.
Hermione was in a meeting with Kingsley trying not to show how anxious she was to get out of there. Sure, she loved working, and Kingsley was far from boring, but she was itching to actually accomplish something that day. Having a child directly affected by the law living with her and seeing Malfoy's despair over not having his child made Hermione want to hurry up and break this law. She knew they were close to something. But, this tedious check-up with Kingsley was hindering her ability to move on with her day.
"Little Wings Gifted Primary is a school in Little Winging for magical children that would be best for Rosalinda. It's close to Harry's old residence with the Dursleys. I can get you a pamphlet if you wish. I wouldn't suggest sending her to a muggle school, as it seems she has not been raised around muggle children, and accidental magic is beginning at her age," Kingsley explained, looking at her expectantly.
"I will owl Little Wings right away. Was there any trouble modifying my family's memories?" Hermione asked.
"No," Kingsley replied with a pleased expression, "It was rather difficult to get an Unspeakable out of the Department of Mysteries, but once he heard he was to modify muggle minds, he was most eager. I think he took it as a chance to research. Don't worry about secrecy. As the name implies, the Unspeakables will not divulge information."
"Thank you, Kingsley. I need to run off to do an interview for the prophet, but thank you so much for taking this in stride. You didn't have to help Rosalinda, but you've done so much. Thank you," Hermione said sincerely. She knew Kingsley would never let a little girl be harmed, but he didn't have to go to such lengths to make sure everything remained confidential when he didn't even know the full story.
"It was no problem. It's nice to have a mystery to solve now that there is no war going on. Take care. I'll see you on Friday to review progress," he said with a smile, and dismissed her.
Hermione gave Kingsley one last 'thank you' smile and rushed to her office where she was suppose to be five minutes ago to begin the interview.
Once she reached her office and threw open the door, three reporters greeted her with slightly agitated greetings. She took her seat behind her desk, and welcomed them. "Thank you so much for being here. I'm sorry I'm a tad late, I got caught up in a meeting with the Minister." She knew that mentioning Kingsley would make their temper's ease; they couldn't get mad if the Minister was holding her up.
The first reporter to speak up was an older man. He had a dark complexion, and dark brown hair was greying, covered up by a black fedora. He was wearing a black muggle suit, which Hermione found odd in the Wizarding world, and his caramel eyes flashed with suspicion. "So," he began in a rumbling tone, "who is the mysterious little girl you have been seen with and who is she in relation to the girl you had the aurors chase down?"
Hermione took a relaxing breath. She had despised the press ever since Rita Skeeter's article in fourth year. But this time, she had all yesterday to come up with an answer to their questions, and under her terms, they could not print anything but her exact words. "The little girl I had the auror's catch ended up being a runaway child…"
The rest of the interview went in this way. Invasive questions she carefully planned the answers to. By the end of the interview, she was exhausted. She slumped down in her office chair for a few moments of rest before she went to Malfoy Manor. I really hope Malfoy has something good. I need a pick-me-up after this day, and it's only just begun. After ten minutes of rest, she finally got up, wrote the letter to Little Wings, and left her office to find the Owlery.
"Draco, do you really think we are going to work? Be honest with me," Astoria commanded.
They had been having a talk about their relationship, and Draco was already tired of it, mainly because he had this talk with his mother yesterday. He knew he needed to let Astoria go. He needed someone who would challenge him, push him, and stand beside him. Astoria wasn't that person, and Draco knew it. She would encourage him, support him, and stand behind him, but that's not what he knew he needed. However, marrying Astoria would break Lucius control over him, and now knowing where his daughter was, he wanted that more than anything. What if we can't break this law? That thought was the reason Draco couldn't tell Astoria he didn't want to be with her. He needed a back up. He put everything on the line to protect his family during the war, and he was determined to not have that be in vain.
"I think we will if we work at it and are honest with each other," Draco replied. Technically it was true. If he was honest with her and told her that he had a daughter, they might be able to reach a mutual understanding. And if he actually told her to change her personality to what he needed, they could probably work through it. But how was that fair? She would have to change herself and deal with a child that isn't her own.
Astoria began to tear up. She did not expect him to want to work out their relationship. She prepared herself, with the help of Narcissa, for a break up. However, a tiny thought creeped into her head. What if he's lying? Just using you for the time he needs you? Astoria squashed that train of thought. Relationships are built on trust, so you need to trust him. "Are you willing to work at it?" she asked Draco, hoping for a solid yes and to be swept off her feet.
"If you are," he replied giving her delicate hug. Not quite as dramatic as she imagined, but sweet. "Of course," she replied into his chest. They stayed like that for a minute. Astoria was over the moon. We can work it out. We'll learn to love each other, and everything will be alright.
Pulling away, Astoria was determined to begin being a better girlfriend right away. "So," she began, smiling. "What are you working on?" she said, gesturing to the mess of books only Draco could have created.
She saw his hesitation to tell her. Either he didn't trust her, or it was really important like he told his mother. He let out a long breath, then lead him over to a table with genealogical trees spread over it. "I'm trying to find out what happened to the Rosier and Fawley. Their family trees are incomplete for centuries, then, just end in the 90's. We need to find descendants for the case we're working on." He looked at her hopefully, and she was only happy to give him a bright smile in return. She could help, and that made her positively jubilant.
"My mother was a Fawley! She changed her name when she married my father, but I'm sure she has the complete Fawley family tree. They were a paranoid bunch, and didn't want anyone but the family to know the complete ancestry. The Rosier's changed their name. Once Druella, Bellatrix's mother, married that awful Black man, the entire family changed their name to Blishwich. The Blishwich's married into the Black family, but died out, so the Rosier's took the name. They kept a pureblood surname, but one that was no longer listed on the Sacred 28, so the Dark Lord wouldn't find them," Astoria informed enthusiastically.
Draco was over the moon. He grinned at Astoria, and spontaneously picked her up and gave her a kiss. She was giggling when he set her down, and he realized that he probably shouldn't have done that. She would become more attached to him, and if he broke it off with her, she would be even more angry with him. But, he couldn't find it within himself to be upset over the action. He was one step closer to his daughter, and nothing could stop the joy he felt knowing he could have her soon.
"Why did you need to know about the families?" Astoria questioned with a smile on her face. The question brought Draco back down to earth.
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. There are too many people who would stop us if they knew what we were doing," Draco replied solemnly. Guilt ran through his heart. She just helped him with his research, but he still wouldn't tell her what it was about. He forced the feeling to go away. He knew that it was for the protection of his daughter, himself, and Granger, and for that he could stand to keep this secret.
"Oh," she sighed, disappointed. "I support you, no matter if I know what you're doing or not, because I know what you're doing must be good," she said with growing resolution. "But, she added. "You need to start opening up. Relationships are two ways." She gave him a strained smile and strutted out of the library, turning back to say, "Goodbye, Draco. You'll owl me soon? I know your need for secrecy, but I want to go on a real date." Then, she turned away, not needing a reply, and left.
Astoria still has her flair for dramatics. Draco finally sat down in his chair among his mess of research and life. Setting his head in his hands, he began to go over the past day. I'm in way too deep.
Hermione flooed into the sitting room of Malfoy Manor, prepared to make progress on the case. She didn't expect a very tense Astoria to be pacing the room. "Are you okay?" Hermione asked wearily.
"Oh." Astoria's head whipped around, surprised. "I'm fine, just thinking through some things," she replied with a sad smile.
"Okay," Hermione said. "If you need anything, you can talk to me." She gave the other woman a pat on the shoulder, and left Astoria to her thoughts.
Once Hermione made it to the library, she was focused. She planned on searching through "The Art of Lawmaking" again, and she wanted to update Draco on Rosalinda. However, all of the plans went out the window when she was swept up in a massive hug. He spun her around laughing, and this only muddled Hermione's brain further. Why is Malfoy hugging me and laughing?
"I know who the Rosier and Fawley family are," Malfoy said with a grin once he set her down. He jogged over to his notes, and she followed, elated but confused still. "The Fawley family married into the Greengrass family and kept their genealogy close to the family, and the Rosier family changed their name!"
"Oh! That's amazing! We have all the families now! How did you figure this out?" Hermione rambled while beaming. They were close, so close!
"Astoria told me! I told her about the Rosier and Fawley family disappearing, and she explained. Do you know what this means? After we get the Fawley family tree from her, all we need to do is find the counter curse and get each of the family's blood. Since everyone has married within the Sacred 28 for centuries, it should only take five people!" he told her excitedly.
Hearing that Astoria was the one that discovered something that eluded her, made a twinge of jealously flash in Hermione's mind. She hoped it didn't show on her face. She didn't want Malfoy to have one more thing to hold over her, so she focused on the rest of the information he gave her, to Malfoy's notice. "Do we know which five people could do it?"
"I've been thinking about that. I have Black, Malfoy, Rosier, Bulstrode, and Flint blood. Astoria has Fawley and Greengrass blood. Weasel has Prewett and Weasley blood. Okay, maybe more than five, but the rest should be easy to acquire. Most of the rest are either friends, or in Azkaban."
"Oh! We're so close! I can feel it," Hermione breathed, realizing in that moment how physically close she was to Malfoy. He seemed to get the second meaning to her words also, and a faint blush creeped up his neck, leading her eyes up to his suddenly very attractive lips. Surprised at the thought, Hermione eye's flicked to Draco's and saw a familiar spark there. One that says he was thinking along the same lines as she was. Unsure what to do and unwilling to act on impulse, Hermione began to talk aimlessly. "Rosalinda is doing well. Her favorite colour is red, which I'm sure may disturb you immensely. She is obsessed with Quidditch, just like you, and her favorite team is the Harpies. She's having the time of her life right now with Ginny, who is letting her watch them practice—"
"Hermione," Malfoy began. Hermione looked at him wide eyed, shocked he used her given name. He seemed to have realized the same thing, and went quite for a second before continuing. "Do you think I'm a bad person?" he asked quietly.
The shame in his voice melted her heart. "No," she said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder, "Why would you think that, Draco?"
"Because, I watched you tortured and did nothing about it! I tormented you for years! Told you that you were beneath me and other awful things. I did nothing but hurt you," he vented and paced.
"Yes, and you grew up where that was all acceptable. If you did any differently, your family could have been killed in the war. And you did help me. Remember the Quidditch World Cup? You told me the Death Eaters were coming. You didn't identify me to Bellatrix. You did what you could. You're not a bad person, you were just in a bad situation and chose self-preservation," she explained.
"But what now?" he asked, agitated. "The war has been over, and I could have married Astoria and been able to have my daughter, but I haven't. I chose my own happiness over my child's." He fell into his chair and covered his face with his hands in shame.
Hermione walked over and got down on her knees in front of him. She removed one of his hands from his face, and he unwillingly looked at her. "Draco," she murmured, keeping his hand in hers, "I would have done the same thing." Hermione sighed, then looked back up into his eyes and continued, "If I didn't meet my child and was as young as you were when the child was born, I don't think I could sacrifice my happiness for an unknown. You're trying now, and that's what matters. One day she'll understand that her dad took care of her in his own way. Lucius and Narcissa wouldn't be happy when they find out, and from what I know about you, your family is very important. If you meet the right woman, marry her, but your daughter wouldn't want to be in a household where her parent's don't love each other."
"Thank you," he said softly.
"You're welcome. Now, let's solve this so you don't have to worry about marrying, okay?" Hermione said, getting up. She found the book she was intending to read before she came in, and she folded herself into her chair with a new sense of determination. Her brief moment of focus was disrupted by Draco saying, "I hope my child isn't a bleeding Gryffindor. Better get her away from you and Weasel before all hope is lost."
Hermione laughed and they both continued reading in silence for the next four hours, only talking when noteworthy information was found.
Draco was bored. He and Hermione had been reading for four hours, and gotten nowhere. Apparently the universe made a law of only one significant discovery per day. He put down his book and rubbed his temples. What's going on with us? My parents would never approve of a mudblood, let alone my half-blood child. Why am I even thinking of Granger like this? There's no way we can be anything. She's my boss. Married to Weasel King himself. I have Astoria. But we're actually getting along. I like her as a person. She's intelligent, witty. She can keep up with my banter. I wished Astoria was like Hermione. And even if Granger said she didn't think I was evil doesn't mean she could ever think of me as anything other than her slightly reformed school bully. Could she? "Granger." The words left his mouth before he realized what he was doing. "Are we still on for Saturday?"
She looked up from her book, confusion marring her normally assured features. When she finally remembered the 'date' she asked for the other day, her face flushed, and she slightly stuttered, "You never said you would go."
"I think I will," he said casually, flipping back open his book, trying to seem as if it didn't mean anything to him.
"Okay," she replied, equally as offhanded. "Malfoy?"
"Yeah," he said, looking up from his book curiously.
"How about some lunch now? I'm starving," she said, giving him a smirk.
"Any weird cravings today?" He have her his signature smug look.
"You."
The reply caught Draco off guard and he blushed furiously. Closer inspection of her face showed a small smile pulling at the corners of her lips. She was joking. Embarrassed that he reacted like a second year, he quipped, "Should have known you were too much of a prude for me," but his heart wasn't in it.
She laughed. A delightful sound that made him want to smile. "Gullible."
"Know-it-all."
"Brat."
"Spotter!" Draco called. When the house elf appeared, he commanded, "Make me a lamb burger and some chips, please." He dismissed the elf as soon as he finished his order, and sneered at Hermione. "Oh, did you want something?"
"Dinky!" Hermione yelled, and he was beside her in an instant.
"Yes, Misses?" Dinky greeted.
"Could you please make me—?" she started to ask, but Draco cut her off.
"You can't just command around my house elves!" he said indignantly.
"Watch me!" Hermione challenged and continued, "Dinky could you please make me a bowl of—"
"Dinky!" Draco called, and the little house elf turned obediently towards his Master. "All she wants is a bowl of chips, that's all." He released Dinky as quickly as he did Spotter. Once the house elf was gone, Draco turned his wicked smile to Hermione.
"Was that necessary?" Hermione huffed.
"Yes. Can't have you getting used to having house elves. If you get used to my house elves, you'll want one of your own. If Hermione Golden-Girl Granger had a house elf the world would spiral into immorality," Draco said dramatically.
"Can you order me a bowl of soup?" she pouted.
"Now, that would only feed your dependency. Remember the spiral into immorality? We wouldn't want that," he grinned.
"Please," she whined.
"I guess I can tie up my strong morals for one bowl of soup. But, it's up to Spotter if he wants to give up his Ministry mandated break to slave over a stove," Draco narrated cheekily.
Hermione groaned. Draco couldn't hold in his laughter any longer, and cracked-up. Eventually, she giggled a bit, but wouldn't look into his eyes.
"Bye Draco. I'll see you tomorrow," Hermione yawned as she exited the library to go home.
After they got their meals, in which Hermione did get her soup, they chatted for half an hour about Rosalinda. Once they finished, they silently researched for another three hours, only stopping to recap small findings once. Draco found a sentence in his tome about needing an object magically bound to a group of laws. They decided to write it down, but continue on trying to find counter curses with no further progress.
Draco let out a deep breath he didn't know he was holding. Today was exciting in a very exhausting way. He discovered feelings for Hermione he would have never guessed he had. Chose the safety of his family, once again, above his personal happiness. Found out what happened to the Rosier and Fawley families. And most importantly, scheduled a 'date' with Hermione Granger in four days.
A house elf popping into the room interrupted his mental recap. Can I never get through an entire thought?
"There is man saying he is Hairy Potters at the floos, Master," Dinky bowed and disapparated.
"What in the name of Merlin's beard does Potter want?" Draco thought as he meandered down to the North sitting room. A check of the floo only confirmed that The-Boy-Who-Wouldn't-Die was trying to contact him.
"Dammit, Malfoy. It's really me. Can I please come through? I need to talk to you," the Potter shaped flames said angrily.
Pretending to ponder the request, Draco hummed and stroked his nonexistent facial hair. Potter growled, and with a small chuckle, Draco allowed Potter floo access.
Potter stumbled out with an ungraceful flourish, spewing ashes all over the floor. Before Draco could comment on the other man's ballerina-like grace, Potter said, "We need to talk about Hermione."
"Bloody hell," Draco moaned. "How many damn people are here to question me about Granger? Go talk to my mother, she's already asked every bloody invasive question imaginable," Draco huffed and began to walk back to the library.
"Malfoy, I think her and Ron are about to break up," Harry blurted, effectively halting Draco in his tracks.
"I'm intrigued, Potter," Draco said, slithering back to where Harry was standing, still covered in floo powder and ashes. "Do tell?" he smirked.
"No, no, no Malfoy. You tell me first, what is going on with you and Hermione," Potter commanded.
Draco sighed. This again. Is it worth it? Good gossip is hard to come by, and Merlin knows Granger wouldn't tell me this on her own. "What do you want to know?" he whined.
/Thank you all for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review with comments or concerns; I love hearing from all of you. I'm thinking about releasing a chapter of scenes I cut out, tell me if that's something you want to see. I will still keep with weekly updates, so it wouldn't replace a chapter. Comment with thoughts. Have a great week!/
