Thank you to everyone who has left reviews so far! I'm so happy to see that people want to post their thoughts and opinions. It's so encouraging. Here's a nice long chapter to make up for the wait I put you through! :)
Of course, weeks ago, when Hermione had only wanted a daily glimpse of Draco to keep her eyes satisfied, she never saw him during the week at the Ministry. Now that she would rather be slowly devoured by a Manticore than share a lift with him, that was all she did.
She saw him in the lifts twice on Monday, thankfully with others hopping on and off. Then she just managed to evade him at the café, but only by turning around and choosing to starve. Tuesday had her running to the café half an hour before lunch to grab one of those blasted croissants that Harry had gotten her addicted to, only to find that he had the same intention. They made eye contact this time, so she had no choice but to go to the counter and order while he sat at a corner table, possibly watching her. She then took the croissant and ate at her desk.
On Wednesday, Harry and a few other Aurors apprehended a man trying to smuggle a dragon egg into London, and seeing as Draco did paperwork and consulting for the Auror Office, and the Auror Office needed to collaborate with the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures on this case, and Hermione accepted and prepared reports for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and Aiden was out sick that day…. A memo arrived on her desk with perfectly curved lettering that she recognized immediately. And that's how she found herself essentially "passing notes" with Draco for the remainder of the week.
She finally penned a note to Harry on Thursday afternoon – after she had asked Draco for as much information as possible on the physical attributes of the egg itself, and his memo back to her read "It was shaped like an egg." – asking Harry politely if there was possibly anyone else who she could correspond with on this case.
On Friday, the mailroom tray delivered an envelope addressed to Miss Hermione Granger in a slanted cursive she now knew.
Miss Granger,
I'd like to invite you to have a look around our library and borrow any books you take an interest in. Any day after work next week or next weekend is fine. Please let me know your preference.
Yours,
Narcissa Malfoy
Hermione sighed and placed her head in her hands. How had she gotten to be such good friends with Narcissa Malfoy?
Hermione chose the following Saturday evening. She told Narcissa that she had errands to run after she closed up at Cornerstone, so she wouldn't be able to arrive until 7:30PM, if that was alright with her. That way, she would arrive after dinner so Narcissa could not invite her to sit with them, just in case Draco was home. Which she also assumed he would not be, as he had a very active social life, according to Rita Skeeter, and should not be at home at 7:30 on a Saturday evening eating dinner with his mother. She hoped.
At ten minutes to six, Hermione was thinking of what she could do for an hour and a half, seeing as she, of course, had no errands to run. She then realized that she could bring Narcissa a gift for inviting her over… and then realized that she probably should have done this the first time Narcissa invited her over. Hermione slapped her forehead and closed her eyes. What a commoner she was.
After spending ten minutes thinking of gifts to bring, she finally settled on bringing Narcissa a book, as she was going to be taking a book (or five) from her. She sent Morty a quick Patronus, letting him know that she would be doing some personal shopping after the store closed if that was alright with him.
Hermione settled on a Mattie McHandry fiction novel that was written before the author began writing on goblin and elf histories. She added the sickles to the drawer and made the note in the ledger, before closing the store properly and Apparating home.
Ginny was out with Harry, so she was on her own for her hair – a fact she only realized when she saw herself in the mirror. She tried clipping some of it back, away from her face. Hopefully it was only Narcissa tonight.
She grabbed the Floo powder and spoke "Malfoy Manor" at 7:30 on the dot. She popped through the fireplace and Narcissa Malfoy was waiting for her with a smile.
"Hello, Narcissa."
"Welcome, Hermione. I hope you had enough time to run your errands?"
Hermione fumbled momentarily with her small purse and the wrapped book in her arms. "Yes, I – one moment." She shifted her belongings. "Actually, I brought this for you." She extended the book to Narcissa, and her smile became even more genuine, if possible.
"How lovely, Hermione. But, you didn't need to do that." She unwrapped the gift and read the cover, finding the author's name. "Another McHandry book!" She looked to Hermione.
"Yes, it's a fiction though. Before she started her history series." Arms now empty, Hermione let one arm hang dead at her side, not sure what she was supposed to do with it.
"I can't wait to read it. Thank you, Hermione." Narcissa waved and Mippy appeared, curtseyed at Hermione, and took the book and the wrapping paper before disappearing. Hermione noted that she wore a little dress today. "Shall we go to the library?"
"Yes, thank you." Hermione smiled. "And thank you so much for offering your books to me." She began to follow Narcissa down the hall. "I have to admit, I have been curious about the Malfoy library for many years."
"Well, then consider this the first of many visits." Narcissa's teeth were quite straight.
Narcissa placed delicate hands on the doors to the library and they seemed to open at her touch. Hermione was shocked again at how vast the room was, with the sun setting through the western windows lighting the stacks and shelves, the smell. Hermione was feeling greedy just standing on the threshold.
"Can I interest you in a cup of tea while I show you around?" Narcissa spun to face her, golden hair floating momentarily.
"I would love that, thank you," Hermione said.
Mippy appeared without even being called. She held a tray with two cups and saucers.
"Miss likes milk and three honey spoons?" Mippy's bright eyes batted up at her. Mippy was wearing a top hat with a little flower in it.
"I – yes, thank you, Mippy." Hermione smiled down at her and Mippy handed her a cup and saucer.
Narcissa took hers and thanked Mippy, and then Mippy disappeared again. Hermione stared at the spot she had previously occupied. She took the plunge.
"Narcissa, forgive me if this question is impertinent, but I've been wondering if Mippy is a free elf."
Narcissa looked at her over the top of her teacup. She quirked her lips. "She is indeed."
And just like that, Hermione felt even more drawn to Narcissa Malfoy.
Narcissa continued, "After I was released from custody last summer, almost all of our assets had been frozen, our house-elves relocated, and all dark objects seized. I came home to a lonely house, but Mippy greeted me at the fireplace." Narcissa smiled softly. "She had hidden and stayed behind, waiting for me to come home. I told her I couldn't keep her on, as Malfoy Manor is now forbidden to house-elf servitude, so she pointed to the glove I was holding and asked me to free her. She's been with me ever since. I put fifty galleons into a Gringotts vault every week for her, and I suspect she spends it on clothes and hats."
Narcissa laughed and sipped her tea. Hermione's eyes were watering, so she did the same.
"That's very generous of you, Narcissa. I'm sure Mippy appreciates the opportunity to continue serving you and your family."
"Thank you, dear. Now let me show you around!" Narcissa spun to the shelves on her left, and Hermione's heart skipped at the idea of browsing this library.
She took her over to the catalogue at the front of the room, explaining that she need only speak any kind of title, author, or genre, and fairy lights would appear to guide you to those texts. She led her over to the fiction section, showing her where the first editions were.
Hermione spotted several red volumes that she recognized. "Is that the Lance Gainsworth series, the Undesirables?"
"Yes, they're signed copies," Narcissa replied, and Hermione's fingers itched. "I do love that series. Is it a favorite of yours as well?"
"Absolutely," Hermione said. "He's currently my favorite fiction author."
"Draco loved the Undesirable series. They were the only books he requested while he was awaiting trial for that year."
Hermione blinked. "The Undesirable series?"
Narcissa nodded.
"All seven books, or just a few?"
"All of them. I think he's read that series about four or five times all the way through." Narcissa reached out and touched the books lovingly.
Hermione frowned. Why would he lie to her about something as trivial as books? Not that books were trivial to her-
"What's the matter, dear?" Narcissa must have seen the frown on her face.
"Oh, I- It's nothing. He told me he wasn't a fan of the books." Hermione tried nonchalance and looked elsewhere at the other stacks.
"Probably just toying with you, I'm sure." Narcissa chuckled and searched Hermione's face.
Toying with her. She wasn't sure she liked that, now knowing about his intentions of selling her like cattle that night. Worse than cattle...
She looked at Narcissa and she was watching her, so she smiled back and quickly looked at the ground.
"Well, I will leave you to browse, dear. And, please do take whatever you'd like."
"Thank you Narcissa. You are very kind." Hermione still couldn't believe that she would have free run of the Malfoy library for the next… half an hour? Hour? She looked at the grandfather clock in the corner as Narcissa slipped through the door. It was ten minutes to eight. She would try her hardest to be finishing up at half past eight. Nine at the latest.
She wandered through the fiction section, but was truly most interested in some of the spell books and potions manuals that had been out of print for decades. She disappeared behind a stack, and found an entire section that was not visible from the chairs in the main room. She gasped at how expansive the library actually was, and now knew for certain that she would need to come back at a later time to fully examine it.
She found an entire shelf of Draco's old Hogwarts texts, still in pristine condition. She ran her fingers over the book that Remus Lupin had used in third year, smiling at the memory of him. Pulling it from the shelf, she flipped to the center where she knew she would find Grindylows, and her smile vanished when she saw a tight cursive in the margins.
green or beige?
assoc. w merpeople?
Her lips tightened, realizing that similar questions were scratched into her own copies. She turned the page to find moving drawings of Harry being chased by a Dementor, Ron being shot with several arrows, and one possibly of her, but it was hard to tell as a cloud of hair was attacking the subject.
She rolled her eyes and flipped through a few more chapters and found that Chapter 18 had been completely ignored in Draco Malfoy's studies, and instead he had spent that week drawing pictures of her various deaths. There were decapitations, strangulations, even several eviscerations.
Hermione closed the book and placed it back on the shelf, frowning. She blinked away the shame at remembering that certain chapters of her own text books were also filled with doodlings, although not of his death. She had been so foolish. All thoughts were forgotten though when she spotted a first edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Twenty minutes later had Hermione holding seven books in her arms, most of them heavy tomes. She hadn't even left the educational section, still looking through textbooks that had been used fifty years ago, or potions manuals that had been forbidden in teaching since the nineteenth century. Her arms were starting to shake, and there was sweat at the back of her neck, causing her hair to begin its humid journey away from her body. Every time she thought of levitating the books, she got distracted by another volume she wanted to browse.
When she added an eighth book to her pile, she decided it was time to consolidate. There was really no way she could take eight books.
A throat cleared behind her, and Hermione spun around to see Draco Malfoy standing ten paces from her. She held her breath, and pulled the books even closer to her chest.
He looked between her face and the stack of books she was clutching. He lifted a brow at her and said nothing, which of course caused Hermione to begin speaking quickly.
"Your – your mother invited me over this evening to browse the library. I'm selecting books which I'd like to borrow." Her heart was racing. She regretted explaining herself, as if she was guilty of breaking into Malfoy Manor to steal books. Where was Narcissa?
"I know," he said, looking her up and down. He stepped closer to her and said, "I told my mother that she was foolish to think that you would be able to carry your selections out with you without the aid of a small sled." She blushed. He continued, "So she sent me to give you this." He held out a wicker basket that she had not realized he was holding.
She took the basket from him and clumsily found a way to dump her books into it. She looked up and he was watching her.
"Thank you," she tried.
"My mother would like you to join us for a late dinner."
Hermione's eyes popped out of her head. "What? It's half past eight!"
He looked as pleased as she did as he said, "Yes, that's why they call it a 'late' dinner, Granger. The table is already set for three. She is waiting on us."
"I—I'm not…" She took a breath. "What I meant to say is that I've already eaten, and I would hate to take up any more of her time this evening –"
"Granger." He rolled his eyes at her. "Do you really think saying 'no' is an option?"
"Just because you are unable to say 'no' to Mummy, doesn't mean no one else can," she hissed. "I will apologize to her directly and decline." She hooked the basket over her elbow and walked around him. He grabbed her other arm as she passed.
"Look, you silly bint. You have chosen to befriend my mother and pester my household –"
"To clarify, she chose me—"
"And for whatever reason, she has invited you to dine with her this evening, going out of her way to eat later in the evening so she could fit into your busy schedule—"
"I tried to come over after dinner!"
"—So I don't know what your intentions are for being here, haunting my library, and playing house with my mother—"
"I find your mother to be a wonderful conversationalist, a generous host, and all-around lovely person. It's a shame those genetic traits ended with her," she said.
She was almost panting, and his hand was still on her arm, squeezing her. She desperately wanted to pull her eyes from him, but she knew it would be admitting defeat. So, she glared up at him, taking the opportunity to truly study his irises, finding the speckles of blue that popped when there was color on his cheekbones.
She blinked, feeling stupid for still finding him attractive after everything, and looked away, pulling her arm from him. She continued around the stacks, heading for the library doors, still feeling her arm burning from where his fingers were. She heard him follow. She turned left outside of the library, passing the Malfoy men.
"Granger." She looked back to see Draco in the doorway. He cocked his head to the right, and leaned against the door frame.
She glared at him and turned around, having clearly no idea where she was going. He led her further down the corridor than she'd been before, passing beautiful tapestries and a grand window overlooking the grounds. The sky was still pink with the sunset, and she struggled to keep up with him and fully examine the Manor.
He stopped outside of a grand entryway, and gestured for her to enter first. She turned the corner to find an extravagant dining room with a long table, and Narcissa Malfoy at the head.
"Hermione, dear. I'm so glad you could sit down with us."
"Yes, thank you, Narcissa. I wouldn't miss it for the world," she said. Draco entered and snorted so only she could hear. Narcissa gestured for her to sit to her left and she felt Draco lift the basket of books from her arm. She looked up at him and he raised a brow at her as Mippy appeared to take the basket elsewhere.
Hermione turned back to Narcissa and headed for her chair. Draco followed, and pulled her chair for her. She found herself irritated that he behaved like a perfect gentleman in front of Narcissa, albeit a frowning one.
"Did you have luck in the library?" Narcissa asked, as Draco seated himself across from her. Wonderful.
"Amazing luck," she said, smiling at Narcissa. "I barely left the instructional texts. I do think I've taken too many though, so I will try to consolidate before I leave."
"Oh, absolutely not." Narcissa waved her hand. "You are welcome to take as many as you'd like, and I expect you to come back and exchange them for more." Hermione smiled back at her as Draco aggressively shook his napkin onto his lap. "Draco is really the only one who uses the library anymore."
Hermione watched him pick lint off of the tablecloth, refusing to make eye contact with either of them. Her eyes narrowed at him and she couldn't resist.
"I almost took the signed copies of the Lance Gainsworth series to read again, but your mother was telling me how much you love them, Draco. I'd hate for you to part with them."
His hands stilled and his jaw tightened. Hermione's lips twisted into a smile as he looked up at her.
She continued, "I, myself, have read the series four or five times through as well, so I know how difficult it is not to have them at your fingertips."
He gave her a patronizing smile that didn't reach his eyes. "That was very kind of you, Granger." Narcissa smiled into her water glass. He continued, "And which books are you leaving with tonight?"
"Well, I am borrowing," she directed this at Draco, and then changed her focus to Narcissa, who seemed quite interested in her selections, "several texts that I know are now out of print, a few books that were used at Hogwarts before they were updated, and I found a book on dragon capture and control that I had never seen before. So, I am hoping it helps with my research project."
"Oh, wonderful!" Narcissa said. The bowls in front of them filled with pumpkin soup, and Hermione was reminded that she barely ate dinner earlier. Narcissa continued, "Draco, you've heard about Hermione's Gringotts project, yes?"
Draco paused in plucking a bread roll from the floating basket. "I can't say that I have." He looked to her, expectantly, but bored.
"The goblins at Gringotts are hoping to bring in and 'train' another dragon to replace the Ukrainian Ironbelly that escaped last year," she said, straightening the napkin on her lap. "I want to avoid this barbaric treatment as much as possible, and hope to work with the goblins to create alternative means of protection."
Hermione hoped the conversation would end there, as she had no intention of fully explaining the depths of the project with Draco. And also the pumpkin soup smelled delicious.
She looked to her silverware and found three spoons. How many courses did Narcissa prepare? It seemed like Narcissa had chosen the furthest away from the plate, so Hermione did the same.
"And you think the goblins will be willing to do things a different way?"
She looked at him as he brought his spoon to his lips. She found herself quite jealous of the elegance in that movement.
"I think negotiation is always possible," she said, dipping her spoon, but a chuckle paused her.
"I've worked with them personally several times over the past months." Draco smirked at her like he had whenever Snape had chosen him for a potions demonstration. "They are not amenable to wizarding changes."
Hermione's full spoon hovered over her soup dish. "Then we will have to make them see—"
"You can't make a goblin see anything," he said, with a slight shake of his head, as if she was absolutely going to lose. She felt the heat come to her cheeks.
"The Ministry will be able to mandate laws that will force the goblins to comply," she said.
"So you think goblin rights should be subordinate to wizards law?" He lifted a brow at her.
She gaped at him. "I said no such thing-"
"The negotiations will only work if you get what you want, is that right Granger?" He leaned back in his chair.
"Draco," Narcissa cooed, and Hermione remembered that she was there too. Hermione finally placed her uneaten spoonful of soup back in the bowl and sat tall.
"The only thing I want is for no further harm to come to magical creatures by Gringotts' hands. There is a better solution out there, and I want wizards and goblins to agree upon it."
He picked up his spoon as if the conversation was not fazing him at all. "Maybe it is the best solution, Granger. Maybe you're not the first person to start this fight, only to find that keeping a dragon in the bowels of Gringotts is the best security method there is."
"It must not be the best method if three seventeen-year-olds were able to free it and ride out on its back last spring," she said.
His eyes flashed at her and he took a breath—
"Mippy!" Narcissa called, voice strained. Mippy appeared and Narcissa asked, "Can we please get some wine for the table?"
As Mippy produced a carafe of red wine and disappeared, Hermione regretted ignoring Narcissa thus far. She turned to her host to begin some sort of conversation and picked up her spoon again. It really smelled so good.
Draco had other ideas. "Of course, getting down into the lower vaults required a bit of mischief if I remember correctly," he said, and Hermione turned back to him, lips tight. "The three seventeen-year-olds first used Unforgivables to pass through the first layers of security. So maybe it's not the dragon at all that failed."
She narrowed her eyes at him and he raised a brow at her.
"Hermione, dear," Narcissa said. "A glass of elf-made wine?"
She turned to Narcissa, "No, thank you, Narcissa." She turned back to his smug face. "So, you're saying, keep the maimed and tortured dragon downstairs, and beef up the upstairs security? That will solve the problem with the maim and torture."
"Draco? Wine?"
"No, mother." Eyes never leaving Hermione. "I'm just saying that the fault you find in the security is based on the ability to get past the dragon, but they would not have been able to get past the dragon without a bit of law-breaking upstairs. You might want to keep these arguments out of your presentation, Granger, else they decide to investigate further."
"Well, I'm going to have some wine," she heard Narcissa mutter, as Hermione's ears burned, watching Draco dip his spoon in that beautiful soup she had yet to taste.
"Oh, thank you, Draco, but the Wizengamot already knows every detail of that situation. See, I'm perfectly capable of staying out of Azkaban all by myself, without the aid of a champion."
She watched as his spoon stopped on its way to his lips, and the color on his cheekbones brightened. Any victory she felt was short-lived when she realized that even Narcissa had become very still next to her. She had gone too far.
"I—Narcissa thank you for dinner. You really are too kind to invite me to stay, but I must leave now." She placed her spoon back on the table and took one last look at the pumpkin soup before standing.
"Oh, Hermione dear, please stay," Narcissa said. Hermione looked to her and did not see disgust, so it was possible the relationship was salvageable.
"I'm sorry, I can't." She placed her napkin on her chair, avoiding Draco's gaze that she knew was on her.
"Let Draco walk you out," Narcissa said. "I'd hate for you to lose your way."
"Absolutely not," she said, almost laughing. "I'd rather get lost in the Malfoy dungeons than have him anywhere near me. Again, thank you Narcissa. You've been nothing but generous."
She nodded one last time to Narcissa, and walked out of the dining room. She turned right outside of the doors, huffing, and continued down the hall, recognizing several of the tapestries.
It took her a bit longer to find the library than she had remembered, taking several incorrect turns, and even pausing at the window overlooking the grounds to take in the view at night. Once she found the busts of Malfoy men, she knew her own way and was quite proud of herself. She approached the fireplaces and found no Floo powder. Draco had offered her a bag of it two weeks ago, but she didn't remember him reaching for it. The hall was bare. No end tables or hidden shelves where one could store the powder.
"Accio Floo powder!" she whispered, with no luck.
Just as she was about to walk out the front door and try to make her way to an Apparition point, she heard the click of dragon leather. She closed her eyes and prayed to Merlin that it was Narcissa. She turned and Draco was making his way toward her, hiding a smug smirk. She glared at him and crossed her arms.
When he reached her, she noticed that he was holding her books that she had left without. She blushed but tried to raise a brow at him. They were bound together by a ribbon of Mippy's crafting, and as he extended them to her, one finger hooked in the ribbon, she realized he placed a feather-light charm on them. She took the books without comment, and it seemed the minute she touched them the charm wore off, and she found herself fumbling with eight heavy tomes with no help from him.
Once she righted herself, she glared up at him and his eyes were gleaming with delight, but he hid a smile still. He produced the Floo powder bag with a wave of his hand. Of course. She reached for it and he pulled it away from her.
"Mother's quite upset, you know. After the scene you've made, I hope this is your last visit to Malfoy Manor."
"Oh, fuck off, Draco," she said.
She grabbed the Floo powder, tossed it into the fireplace, and as she entered and turned to call out her destination, she got one last glimpse of him, still holding the Floo powder, staring at the spot next to him that she used to occupy, and the corner of his lips lifting.