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At first Hermione thought that the pounding was her head, working overtime from the information she had stockpiled last night. When it increased in rhythm, finally she opened, her eyes, and groaned lightly, slipping out of bed. "I'm coming. Hold you flippin' horses. Geeze, its only.." She glanced at the clock on her wall. "7:30."
Opening the door, Hermione glowered heavily at the blonde. "Why on earth are you here so early? We agreed on noon. That is four and a half hours away. Are you out of your bloody mind?"
Grinning, Draco stepped in, revealing a slightly agitated looking Brandi behind him. "Look who I met up with on the way over. Seems to me that you never told her that you left the party." Chuckling, he walked over to her kitchen, where he placed down coffee and donuts that Hermione had overlooked.
"Exactly. Do you know how worried I was? Especially since Shayne was flipping out looking for you too. It seems you promised him that you would meet up with him later and you are not one to forgo plans that I thought that something serious happened to you. I am not very happy with you. You owe me big time, girl." Hesitating a moment, she lowered her voice and looked past Hermione to the blonde who seemed to be making himself at home. "And that, would be a very sufficient apology… Who is he? And why have I not met him? Is that the reason you don't date? If so, then I completely understand. I thought you might had been waiting for me, bummer."
Hermione stared at her friend for a moment, before breaking out in laughter. "Absolutely not. He is just someone from school. An acquaintance of sorts. And before you get your hopes back up I am still, and will remain straight. Though if I ever want to experiment I know where you are." Still giggling, Hermione closed the door and made her way to her kitchen, where she hesitantly picked up a coffee. "And I am sorry about leaving. I was feeling under the weather."
Draco stared at the girl in front of him, completely astounded by her mannerisms near this girl. Never had he seen her seem so… Human before. It was always books, spells, potions and grades for her. Even when he passed her on the streets after school she seemed work oriented and cold. Not ever like this; happy, jovial and radiant. Shaking his head he looked over to the petite girl with blue hair.
"I never properly introduced myself last night, I'm Draco Malfoy. It's a pleasure to meet another friend of Her-Violets. Again, it is marvellous. What do you do? And how did you both meet?"
Taking a seat next to Draco, Brandi grinned. "Well, I was driving home a few months ago and happened upon this girl, absolutely soaked to the bone and I offered her a ride. The rest is history. We lived together for a bit, before she moved in here. Oh- and I am a hairdresser. I know, I know, but trust me- hairdressers are incredibly underrated. It's not always the easiest job!"
As the two bantered back and forth, Hermione turned her attention to a folder sitting next to the donuts. Pulling it towards her, she started reading through it, frowning lightly. Statistics on the number of witches and wizards including population rates, average income, diversity throughout Britain, marriage rates, and bloodline levels. Interestingly enough, muggleborns were still the lowest rate, purebloods being slightly higher and halfbloods being the vast majority.
Closing the folder she met Draco's gaze and frowned lightly, gesturing to the door. Ever so gallantly, Draco smirked, and interrupted Brandi's current story. "I am so very sorry, but I have some important business to attend to with Violet. Hence why I have come to Porthcurno. Please forgive me, but I do so hope to see you again soon. Perhaps we can have dinner later this week with each other."
Blushing, Brandi nodded, completely enamoured with the idea of the blonde. "Of course. Forgive me. I will see you both later. Violet- call me when you have chance." She grinned, grabbing her jacket before leaving.
"Interesting company you keep, Granger. Did you know that she once kissed a cousin of hers? They didn't know at the time but still… Intriguing."
Frowning, Hermione shot a look at Draco. "If I recall correctly you should know all about kissing cousins. Being a pureblood and all. The House of Gaunt being one of many families who began inbreeding in order to keep their blood status pristine in the eyes of society. Although, if you ask me, the thought of incest… Disgusting. Complete opposite of being pure."
"That's The House of Gaunt, not Malfoy. I don't know anything about that. And I was just remarking that I thought it was interesting, if not amusing that she accidently kissed her relative."
"I see. Then, I am sorry. I thought you were making fun of her, and she really is a wonderful person. And, in reality, in order for the House of Malfoy to keep the pureblood status they would have had to mingle with at least one other house that was inbred. It is just statistically logical."
At this point Draco looked absolutely disgusted and shook his head. "Can you just not be logical for once? Especially in regards to my heritage. Besides, we aren't arguing about blood status. We are here to discuss the Law. Remember, Granger?"
"Of course I remember! Don't even try to imply that I don't know what I'm doing, Malfoy. I am well aware of why we are sitting here. Trust me, I would not be sitting across from you if it was not necessary." Hermione glared, her arms stubbornly crossed as she stared down the pale man.
"Fine. Fine. I was just saying-" Sighing, Draco ran a hand through his hair. "Never mind. Let's focus."
"Honestly, I think we need to focus on the fact that the marriage and reproduction rates have been in a steady decline since the beginning of Voldemort's return to power. Not to mention how it's unethical to force ones' people into marriage. What else? Oh yes, of course. In your folder the one paragraph also shows that the number of muggleborns is increasing slowly, so it could be used as a factor to show that the Wizarding World would never necessarily go extinct. It will just be a slow battle back into a plentiful society. What do you think?" Hermione had been jotting her ideas down on a notebook, and paused briefly to look up at Malfoy.
"I think it's extremely strange to see you holding a muggle utensil instead of a quill and ink pot. Not to mention the lack of moving photographs. Don't you find it to be… Mundane? Boring? I mean, don't get me wrong, you have a quaint little home, it's just lacking. Don't you miss it?" Draco was staring at Hermione's dishwasher like it was some kind of foreign animal.
"That isn't the point. Can we get back on topic, please?" Hermione sighed, looking down at her notepad. "I honestly think this is all we need. Once the people understand that we are not in any immediate danger of extinction- Hey! What are you doing?" Hermione jumped up, and followed Draco into her room. "You can't just snoop through my place!"
"You don't even have any cloaks! Or robes! Do you even have your wand still? And these books- All muggle related. Who cares about Physics when you have abilities that contradict the basic principles?"
Hermione stared at him, her mouth agape in shock. "Stop!" When Draco continued to shuffle through her books, Hermione pointed her hand at him and yelled loudly, " Immobulus!" Before scurrying closer to him. "Do not dig through my things!"
Draco, completely immobile, locked his gaze with hers, glowering intently. After a moment, Hermione waved her hand lightly, causing Draco to groan in discomfort. "What in Salazars name, did you do that for?"
"Are you serious? You were digging through my things! Get out of my room." When he didn't move, she raised her voice. "OUT!"
Scowling, he turned and walked to the couch, where he proceeded to sit and give her a scorn-filled gaze. "So, you do still study magic then. What are you hiding in the bookshelf?"
With a growl of annoyance, Hermione turned to him. "Of course I still study magic! But I can't really have it out in the open, now can I? The only people I communicate with are human, and none of them have any idea about magic. How would I explain a moving photograph? Spell books? A wand? There is no way. Not without using magic to muddle their thoughts, which is not an option. And now that I've answered your question, how about you answer a few of mine?"
Pausing, Draco slowly met the brown eyed gaze of the girl. "What questions?" He slowly felt his stomach drop as he saw the determination she held.
"First of all, Draco, why were you the one who took my case? I know for a fact that you are too overpaid to be doing usual desk work like this. Even before I left you were Head of your Department. There is no way you would be the lead investigator unless you requested this case. And I want to know why you would lower yourself to look for a mudblood like myself. And second of all, Why the interest in my life? What does it have to do with you whether I read simple Math books or Charm books? If I tie my own laces, and wash my own dishes? What does any of this lifestyle have to do with you? Unless… You are planning on leaving London too. You wanted to see how I managed without it. That's what this is about. Has the pressure of being a complete and utter wanker gotten to you? Too many girls swooning over your money?" Hermione sat across from him, her eyes narrowed as she assessed him.
His stare turned glacial, and he sat up straighter. "I took your case because my department all agreed I would have insight due to our years at Hogwarts together. And as for wondering about your life, it was merely curiosity. I had no idea that someone could turn their back so easily on something that had seemed to mean so much to them. But alas, you didn't. You just acted as if you turned your back. Which, in my opinion, is even more pathetic.'
"Is that supposed to hurt my feelings? I know that you have never found me anything other than pathetic. Why are you still here? We both know that you have no reason to be."
Draco faltered, and dropped his gaze to his hands. "I have to bring.."
"Bring me to the Ministry. I know. But that does not mean sitting in my house and bringing me information. You are hiding something, Malfoy. And if you don't tell me, then I will not come back to London. What is it?"
The two stared at each other, before Draco finally reached into his dress pants, and pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket. "This is why I am here." He averted his gaze as he dropped the paper onto the coffee table.
Without taking her gaze off of Draco, Hermione picked up the paper, her heart hammering. If he was willing to stay near her, it had to be something big. She wasn't so sure that she really wanted to know the reason. Taking a deep breath, she unfolded the parchment, and quickly read the few lines written on it. Before re-reading it.
"This… This is ridiculous! It said that people have 60 days to get married… This… It isn't right. And how could they? You are supposed to be able to choose within the next two months. This is preposterous. You have no choice… Why didn't I get one?" Hermione's voice came out frantically, and she stared up at Draco, her heart heavy as tried to form a coherent thought.
"That's why I am still here, Granger. Why we, are still here. I need your bright little mind to figure out a way to stop the Marriage Law, so that you we don't end up wed." Draco's features were grim as he looked up at Hermione from across the table. "I need your help, and I wanted to make sure you still had an interest in Magical Affairs, or else I would be royally screwed.
Mr. Draco Malfoy,
It has come to The Ministry's attention that as
A popular figure within the media it would be
Most affluent to our cause for you to wed as early as possible.
For this to work, you must choose a viable candidate from the
Following list, and inform the Ministry immediately.
We will choose one for you if one has not been
Selected within the next week (7 days).
Pansy Parkinson
Millicent Bulstrode
Astoria Greengrass
Hermione Granger
Sincerely,
Kingsley Shacklebolt