"Well...that's just...just...STUPID!" Ginny shouted. Beside her, Hermione flinched.
"That's the way it's always been." Draco stated simply.
As the pair of them argued about the sexist laws, Hermione leant back wondering why they had told Ginny. Sure, Ginny was her best friend and would go to the ends of the earth to help her...but sometimes she just blew everything out of proportion.
"You know, yelling isn't going to help Hermione get out of this." Harry stated just loud enough for the pair to hear him. Instantly they shut up, their heads swinging to look at her.
Hermione just looked down at her hands. She had told the story, unwillingly, and received a mixture of results. Narcissa hadn't said anything, and up until Harry getting Draco and Ginny to shut up, he hadn't spoken either. Only hugging his best friend, unable to come up with any supportive words, knowing the outcome looked bleak.
"Have you already appealed to the Head of House?" A beautiful chestnut haired woman asked softly. She knew she was on rocky ground with Draco after the last stunt she pulled – lying about knowledge of Astoria's whereabouts.
"I don't think that would work." Ginny replied, thinking it over. "My father is the head, but while he might be willing to get the marriage bought to an end, Mum wouldn't let him."
"Not even if you told her what Ronald had done?" Ginny grimaced at hearing her brother's name. No one called him that, but Daphne had refused to call him anything else.
"She probably wouldn't believe it. Even with the memories."
"Just like that witch all over again." Hermione groaned, not wanting to head down that track again.
"Pity, that would have worked well. He could have annulled the marriage in a heartbeat." Daphne sighed.
"Divorce you mean. They have been married for over three years. He would be able to end their marriage, not make it void." Ginny was the one to correct her.
"Yeah. Sorry, I don't know much about this. My husband is the lawyer, not me."
"None of us really know much." Hermione sighed, hating her lack of knowledge.
"That's because none of us have had to divorce before." Ginny frowned. "I don't even know anyone who has gone through divorce before."
"Draco has. And so has Pansy." Daphne recalled, remembering her friends mentioning it.
"How did they get out?" Ginny asked, making it sound like marriage was a prison sentence.
"Well...Draco did his one. He didn't even need Astoria there, he just owled her." She smirked, remembering her sister coming to her doorstep, crying about it. Daphne hadn't cared at the time and didn't care now, she knew Astoria had a habit of sleeping around.
"And Pansy?"
"Did her husband do it all?" Hermione asked.
Daphne narrowed her eyes, wondering how much Hermione knew about Pansy's situation. "I believe so."
"So you're sure we can't just...threaten this Weasley fellow?"
"Positive." Harry replied, much to Draco's dismay.
"Well, the law is pretty strict. There is no way she will be able to divorce him without his..."
"Permission?" Harry put in, disgusted at the laws.
"Yeah." The males sat in silence, half listening to the girls conversation, half not.
"We could plan a little...'accident'." Draco thought aloud, not realising he was doing so.
"Do you really think Hermione will let you?"
"Who said I would ask for her permission?" Draco muttered, annoyed he had spoken his previous thoughts out loud. What amazed him though was the lack of reaction from Harry.
"We can't plan an accident, Draco. Think of the reaction of the Wizarding world if one of their 'heroes' died."
Draco nodded in agreement with his friend as all three males fell into silence. He shot a quick glance over at Hermione and was temporarily amazed at the sight in front of him. Four women; a fiery red head, a Malfoy, a Slytherin and a bookworm all coming together to unite on a cause. He had no doubt if something could be done, it would be accomplished by those women. As if feeling his gaze, Hermione looked up and shot him a soft small smile. He smiled in return and refocused on the conversation in front of him.
"If anyone could, it would be Hermione." Harry's faith for his best was clearly obvious to everyone. Draco wanted to roll his eyes, but was stuck admiring his belief instead.
"It won't be easy. I don't even know if she would be able to do anything. She'd have to go up against some serious competition." Draco looked over at his long time friend. Giles Vaneer had been his childhood friend until they both headed off to school, Draco to Hogwarts and Giles to Elsa in Switzerland. Draco hadn't heard from the only half-blood friend he had been allowed to have as a friend until the war had finished. Giles' heritage hadn't come out until the war, something that Draco was lucky Lucius had never known. It had been chance that Giles had met up with his old friend on a day both Greengrass sisters were at the Manor. And Draco was so pleased his friend had found someone he could be with for as long as he lived. And to be entirely honest with himself, Draco was sometimes jealous of that.
"What won't easy?" Daphne asked softly, smoothly integrating the two conversations back into one.
"Getting a law change." Harry answered as simply as possible. He noted his friend looked eager at the prospect of a challenge, but she was trying not to look too hopeful.
"I think it would be worth it. This could help a lot of women, not just Hermione."
Everyone nodded at Narcissa's comment, but all of them knew how bleak their chances were.
"How would we get started?" Hermione burst out eagerly. Draco rolled his eyes; trust her to be so eager.
"You know that this will have to be done predominately by you." Harry stated simply to Hermione, confusing Draco in the process.
"I will help every step of the way." Narcissa spoke softly, but firmly.
"I'll help too." Draco listened as Ginny spoke. He still couldn't work out why it was only the girls doing the most of the work.
"I wish to help you as well, Hermione." The final offer came from Daphne, surprising both Hermione and Draco.
"Why do they have to do it all?"
"Because, Draco, if you are seen helping Hermione and it comes out that she is living with you it will look bad." At Draco's still confused look, Narcissa sighed and carried on. "it will look like you are trying to take her away from her husband to claim her as your own."
"How..."
"Rose already calls you 'Daddy'." Ginny pointed out, having already picked up on their relationship.
"And then people will side with Ronald as they will believe Hermione to be siding with you, Draco. The public will most likely believe she has gone 'dark' and fallen for a death eater. For them, it will be easier to believe that than believing Ronald to be abusive."
"Couldn't I just do that?" He was met with silence. "Claim her as mine, I mean. What are the laws on that?" He turned to Giles.
"You would have to challenge him in a duel, most likely one to the death."
"No! I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me!" Hermione cried out.
"I could easily beat him." Draco scoffed, and then wisely shut his mouth after receiving a room full of glares.
"I think we should work on the Head of House thing first." Giles stated, bring everyone's attention back to the topic at hand.
"Why that? Why can't we start with the law change?"
"The law change would indeed be our ultimate goal, but for now it is getting Hermione out of her marriage."
"It's not a jail." Hermione whispered.
"It may as well be." Daphne hissed back, shocking Hermione, who hadn't realised anyone had heard her.
"As soon as he receives and owl from the Department of Magical Internal Affairs he will know what Hermione tried to do. And he can and probably will drag her back. And there isn't a lot we can do about it. We have to get their marriage dissolved before he realises anything."
"Maybe you could have a dinner." Daphne directed her comment to Harry.
"What do you mean?"
"Invite over the Weasleys. Not Ronald of course, but everyone else. Including Hermione and the children, but not Draco or Scorpius." She shot an apologetic look at Draco, knowing just how protective he had become of Hermione and her children. "Surely your parents will realise something is up when Hermione is suddenly all quiet and Ronald isn't there?" This was directed at Ginny who nodded briefly. "Now this is what should happen. Can you act?" She looked to Hermione who looked a bit confused, but gave a slight nod. "Okay, when they ask where Ronald is, act like you are about to burst into tears. Tell them you don't know where his is. Then your daughter, Rose was it? Okay, she can...I might need to talk to your daughter." Daphne looked to Draco and indicated to the other room where all the children were playing together. He sighed but stood up, watching as Daphne and Ginny tried to coach Hermione on how to fake crying.
"Daddy! Are you finished with your big people talk?" Rose asked innocently, launching herself at Draco. He looked around at to his relief, only Daphne's daughter had noticed his entrance but hadn't said anything.
"I need you to come with me, Rose." He said softly, smiling as the little girl slipped her hand into his and followed him out of the room.
In the hall that separated the two rooms, he crouched down to Rose's eye level. "We need you to help us, okay?"
Rose smiled as she realised she was of importance. "Sure thing, Daddy."
He nodded patiently and led her back to where the other adults were waiting.
"Mummy? Why are you crying?" She let go of Draco and rushed to her mother. Hermione laughed and brushed the fake tears away.
"I'm fine, I'm okay." She smiled at her daughter. Rose looked sceptical but didn't say anything.
"My, she's a beauty. What house do you reckon she would get sorted in to?" Daphne asked as she eyed the young girl who looked around the room and settled for gazing at Daphne.
"I...I don't know..."
"Slytherin." Draco stated confidently and just shrugged when three Gryffindors glared at him.
"Are you kids having fun?" Narcissa asked loudly, stopping the glaring war that was going on.
"Yes! We need more girls though, there is only me and Sienna and like..."She paused, counting on her fingers. "Four boys."
"There are actually four girls." Narcissa stated. "Two are just a little young to play at the moment. You'll have to wait until they are a bit older."
"Like me!" Rose chirped, smiling as the adults laughed with her.
"I might go check up on the rest of the children." Draco muttered low enough that only Harry and Hermione heard him. Hermione barely noticed as he left the room, but Harry was left to wonder if Draco was being over protective or just didn't want to be there.
"Is everything okay, Dad? Where did Rose go?" Scorpius was on him as soon as he walked into the room.
"Everything is okay, Rose is just helping out with something." He looked at his son, thinking that the day Hermione and her kids went to join the rest of the Weasley gang would make a good day for him to spend some one on one time with his son. Something he hadn't done in a while. Something that would hopefully take his mind off everything that was going on, and maybe take his thoughts away from Hermione for the first time in a long time.