Chapter 4

Mrs. Malfoy

The next morning I did not really feel better and I walked down the Diagon Alley to a potion shop, hoping to find something to cure my upset stomach. I wandered through the alleys, looking for a soothing potion. I was not really paying attention to the people around me. I did not feel like it anyway. Lots of things seemed unimportant to me nowadays. I finally found what I was looking for but before I could grab the potion, a white-gloved hand reached over my shoulder and grabbed one of the last bottles. I frowned and turned around to see who was so rude. After all, it would have taken me what to grab a bottle? Two seconds? Couldn't she wait?

The witch was already heading toward the cash register at a pace that vaguely reminded me of someone I knew. I guessed that I wasn't alone with an upset stomach, must have been a virus going around. I quickly grabbed a vial and followed her to the cashier. I took a moment to detail the young witch in front of me. She didn't look much older than me as far as I could tell from standing behind her.

She seemed to be a fortunate witch by the look of her clothes. She wore a stylish wizard robe and a large, fancy black hat, covering her dark blond curls, probably tied up in a sophisticate bun. Her delicate hands were clad of stainless white gloves. She probably came from a rich influent pureblood family. It was strange though that I had never seen her around before. Perhaps she had been educated at Beauxbâtons.

"Here you go, Mrs Malfoy.", said the young cashier reverently.

"Thank you." The young witch whispered back, her voice showing embarrassment. She had heard this whisper before but I was too taken back by the name to analyze the voice so quickly.

Malfoy? There were not thousands of Malfoys in the wizarding world. There was no way this woman could de Narcissa Malfoy. Her frame was much healthier and she was quite shorter. She turned around to leave the shop in a hurry. I stared at her with a questioning look, to which I found no answer. Large, dark sunglasses covered her eyes, leaving no hint of her identity. It meant only one thing though: Draco Malfoy had got married in the last two weeks. I had no idea he was seeing someone. He seemed quite busy during the war, what with trying to get himself away from the Death Eaters' grasp after a surprising change of allegiance.

I just couldn't let go right now, it was as if an unknown force was telling me to find out more. I quickly paid for the potion and walked out of the store. I scanned the crowd of busy wizards without finding a trace of the mysterious Malfoy lady. Someone could not disappear that fast, it was impossible. She was still in front of the store seconds ago. Ugh… A hungry rumble came from my stomach, cutting through my thoughts, and I decided to go to the ice cream store down the road. As I made my way there, I heard old witches talking about Draco's wedding. They mentioned a beautiful young woman his father would dislike. It's not like the young, beautiful, female Death Eater stock in overflowing nowadays. I thought. Obviously his father would disapprove of any woman he would be interested in. I walked by Fleurish & Blotts without noticing the front page of The Daily Prophet showing a large picture of Draco and his new wife. Perhaps I should have, I wouldn't have been so surprised by the turn of events.

I stepped into the ice cream shop only to find the mysterious woman I had been looking for. Apparently she felt like eating ice cream too. I ordered a chocolate cone and took a seat at a table across from hers. She was holding a magazine in front of her face. I could clearly see that she was pretending to read as I spotted her lift her head to glance at me occasionally. She seemed pretty interested in me actually. For a moment I wondered if I knew her. But then I realized I did not know anyone dumb enough to be charmed by Malfoy. Despite his change of heart during the war, I did not trust him at all and no one should in my opinion. Harry had seemed to be willing but I preferred to be careful. People weren't always what they seemed.

The Malfoy woman placed her magazine down and adjusted her hat. I caught a glimpse of the caramel-colored curls that fell from it, ringing a bell in my mind. Who is that girl? She had probably noticed that I was watching her because her hands were trembling nervously and she accidentally hit her glasses with the rim of her hat. They fell on the table with a metallic noise that caused several wizards to turn around. I gasped as I saw her face uncovered, blushing violently. "Hermione?" I gasped at her, getting up right away.

Before I could reach her, she grabbed her sunglasses and placed them back into position, running away from the shop. I couldn't believe what I had just seen. It must have been a mistake, some kind of joke, it just wasn't possible. No one on this planet would have believed me if I told them. Ron… oh my God, he would be devastated when he would find out. Maybe he already knew.

Maybe I should've rushed after her but I decided to let her go and investigate on my own. I walked back the same path as before and finally saw it. The Daily Prophet clearly showed it on its front page. I couldn't believe I had missed it earlier. During the past days, every morning showed a picture of Harry smiling. I had got tired of it and stopped buying it. Maybe I should have continued, I would have stopped wondering where she had disappeared and learned that it was in Draco's arms. I always considered Hermione Granger like my best friend, a sister even, and we used to tell each other everything. She was the first one to know when Harry and I started dating, the first who ever knew I had a crush on him to start with. Anyone who saw us together would've guessed I would be the bridesmaid on her wedding day. But that wedding I thought would be Ron's too. She had clearly said that she was interested in my brother. That sudden change was not like her, not like her at all.

Yes, if she had told me that she was in love with Draco Malfoy I would have thought she had gone mad but I would have supported her, just like friends do. I just didn't understand why Hermione had ran away like that. When I got back to my room, I found Ron's owl waiting for me. I was surprised that he wrote to me but I could already imagine what that letter was about. And I was right. He was upset, sad, desperate, call it whatever you want. He did not take it well. If Hermione had left him for Neville or anyone else, he would have been sad but would still manage to deal with it but Malfoy, that was another story. He had persecuted Ron for 7 years and now, he had stolen the love of his life. I could understand him.

For a moment I felt selfish for leaving the house when Ron needed me, but now I was on a journey that needed me even more than Ron. Harry's friends had fallen apart and I wanted them to be reunited. It was his last will and I would grant it to him. I thought about it for a moment and decided to do it. I took a piece parchment and wrote to Hermione. I wrote everything, that I had seen her, that I was aware of her little secrets, my incomprehension about her actions and some congratulations about her marriage. I read it from the beginning and ripped it off, throwing the pieces in the fireplace. I couldn't just write everything in a letter. I had to talk to her face to face.

It was about 3 o'clock when I apparated in front of the large, black iron gates that surrounded Malfoy Manor. I was surprised not to find any magical shield around that mansion. Perhaps Draco felt safe enough now that his father was rotting in jail for life. I made my way through the front yard, stepping onto the white marble porch and knocked on the heavy black door. A house-elf opened the door to me, a terrified-looking little creature, wearing an immaculate white pillow case. I bent down gently to talk to her but she stepped back in fear. I guess her masters had built up quite the reputation for wizards.

"Hi, I would like to see Hermione please." I said, refusing to call her Mrs. Malfoy. It was just unbelievable.

"Mrs Malfoy is busy." The elf replied.

"It's really important. I need to see her right now." I said, quite pleadingly.

"I'm sorry miss, but Mrs Malfoy can't come to the door." She said, looking fearfully over her shoulder.

"Why can't she?" I insisted.

"I shall not say." The elf replied, jumping back as she heard her master coming.

I heard loud footsteps in the marble stairs followed by yells directed at the elf. I prepared myself to face Draco. He appeared behind the elf, who took the opportunity to ran back inside the house.

"What the hell are you doing here, Weasley?" He asked, being his usual self. He was looking rather happy; it was an unusual emotion to see on his face. Could they have actually married for love? No way.

I sighed before replying. "Nice to see you too, Malfoy. It's Hermione I want to see actually.!

"Really? That's too bad because she doesn't want to see you or any of you blood traitors." He replied mockingly. Ginny noticed he kept looking sideways every time he was about to talk. She stepped closer to see who he was getting the approval from but Draco stepped forward, blocking the doorway completely.

"We are her friends. There's no way she would not want to see us!" I replied, loud enough for whoever was listening to hear clearly.

"That's old times, Weasley. Got to live in the present." He said, shoving her backwards lightly. It was quite surprising though, the gentle touch he was using, as if he was acting on orders he did not approve of but pretended to. "Now, I would appreciate if you went away and never came back." He added.

"I won't leave until I see Hermione. Hermione! Are you in here?" I shouted over his shoulder but I could hear nothing but his heavy breathing.

"Stop yelling you bloody freak! My wife is resting." He answered sharply. The way he said wife was all too loving, I couldn't believe it was true.

"Your wife! That's just not right. I don't know what you did to get her to marry you, but when I find out you're going to regret it, Malfoy." I threatened him.

He laughed openly and I growled. Hermione was surely in danger; I had to get her out of that house. "I am so scared." He mocked. "Now get out." He added, shoving me less gently.

I wasn't prepared for a fight. I would have to come back if I had any chance of getting her out. "Fine, but you won't get rid of me that easily. I'll hunt you down until I find your dirty little secret." I shouted before he stepped back inside and slammed the door to my face.

As I made my way down the aisle again, I turned around to glance up to the second floor windows and caught a glimpse of Hermione, watching me behind the glass. She looked unharmed. Her face was tear-stained it seemed, but I couldn't be quite sure from this distance. I then saw Draco's arm wrapping around her waist and pulling her gently away from the window. She knew I was there and she did not bother coming to see me. Either Hermione had changed radically in the past two weeks; either she had a big problem and had no idea how to get out of it. I chose to believe the latter. It was just more real to me. I would find out soon enough.