Chapter Thirty

"You are planning to return to school?" Lucius queried, turning to Hermione. He was overly polite – something that worried Draco.

Hermione nodded without saying a word.

"I heard you'd been offered a very good position at the Ministry."

He was making small talk before he delivered the blow, Hermione could tell. She merely responded, "Yes, but it wasn't what I wished to do. I thought it best to finish up with academics first."

"You intend to keep a job?" Lucius said aloud with a frown.

Hermione straightened her countenance and made sure her chin was high enough up to look haughty, "Yes."

"Working women are a sign of poverty. A Malfoy woman does not work."

"This one does."

Draco's head shot up, his piercing eyes boring a hole into Hermione's head. A thin veil of courage washed over him; If SHE could stand up to Lucius… together, they might be able to present a barricaded front.

Lucius seemed to notice the change that overcame his son, "Draco, you are so easily influenced. How very childish to take a stand only when a woman comes to your aid."

Draco's jawline hardened and his cheeks tinged pink. But no, he was done hiding behind skirts – his father was right.

He took long strides as he crossed the room toward the armchair Hermione was seated in. He stood by the left arm, as etiquette called for in such a situation, and stood up as straight as possible, eyes fixed on Lucius. There were no words that needed to be said.

Hermione glanced up at him briefly, but to Draco's eternal pride, she remained seated, her gaze steadily locked on Lucius. In that moment, they were united – a team of two.

Lucius's eyes narrowed, "I want something to be very clear." He faced Hermione directly as he spoke, barely acknowledging his son's existence, "If you are not pregnant by the end of October, the world will drown. The rain gets worse every day. Parts of the world will soon be underwater and indeed, deserts and wetlands have already been thrown into turmoil. People are dying – the rainforests are overflowing. Whole species will be dead by the close of the week. Let me ask you this – will you have their lives forfeit because you simply refuse to conceive with your husband? You're a selfish, little girl."

Draco could feel Hermione falter beside him; Her confidence was shaken, he knew. He put a hand on her shoulder and addressed his father directly, "You know perfectly well you don't give a rat's ass about the rest of the world. You only care about yourself."

"Fine words to speak to the man who raised you," Lucius spat.

Draco ground his teeth; A noise like a growl escaped his lips.

"I will leave you," Lucius concluded, a smirk playing about his lips, "to think about what you're doing."

He did leave, and peacefully, but for his last comment. As soon as he was gone, Hermione dissolved; Her head fell into her hands as though her neck no longer had the ability to control itself. She was shaking violently – although not crying, of which Draco was immensely relieved. All the same, he had no idea how to handle the situation – he took a step back to give her space.

He had no idea how she was feeling at that moment; Although given her personality, and that she was a Gryffindor, he wouldn't have been surprised to know she really WAS upset about the people and animals that could possibly perish because of her.

After ten minutes of internal self-depreciation, Hermione finally stood up: "Shall we go home, then?"

Draco merely nodded – she was a very complicated and intense person, he decided. They both disapparated home, into separate rooms.

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Hermione awoke the next morning to a peal of thunder that seemed to shake the whole manor. She sat bolt upright, grabbing her wand from the bedstand in split-seconds and pointing it directly at the door. She immediately felt stupid; There was no one there - the mansion was even hidden from most prying eyes with a plethora of old magic spells.

Sitting back in the bed, she let her brain catch up with her beating heart. The headboard was not very comfortable to rest on, but at that moment, she felt more tired than ever. Dreams had plagued her sleep and while she had not actually woken up all night, she felt also as though she had not got a wink of sleep. With a long sigh, she adjusted her sitting position so as to make it more comfortable. It didn't work, and she resigned herself to the discomfort of sitting up in bed. She dozed.

A tapping on the window made her gasp and whirl around, wand pointed directly there. But it was only Dizzy, soaking wet, with a letter clamped firmly in his beak.

She climbed swiftly out of the bed and opened the old window, which creaked as it swung outward to allow the owl entrance. Dizzy flopped into the room, dropping the sopping letter on the desk Draco had been sitting in the previous morning, and shaking himself off in the corner of the room.

Hermione noticed she was alone again that morning - just as she had suspected; She wondered where Draco slept, as he clearly had no intention of ever sleeping in their bed.

Hermione ripped the letter open and to her surprise, it was from Narcissa, merely stating she was dropping by later that night by herself – and that there was something she wanted to talk to her about.

How like a Malfoy… Narcissa had never asked if she was busy at all! Not that Hermione really had any plans: Mostly she was going to look over her textbooks before school started in order to get an idea as to what she was up for. It was bound to be an interesting year, as she would be lumped together with Ginny's class.

Feeling disgruntled, Hermione flopped back onto the bed. Dizzy, who was done drying himself off, flapped lovingly over to her, affectionately nibbling her big toe. Hermione stroked his feathers absentmindedly.

Narcissa was alright, she supposed… but Hermione, at that moment, only wanted to speak with one woman: her mother.

She sat up in the bed, looking straight ahead into a huge mirror mounted on the wall, not really seeing herself. It wasn't that she couldn't remember her parents… it was just… she was having a hard time remembering the details of their faces. Did her father have wrinkles around his eyes? Or was she just imagining them there because Mr. Weasley had them?

A second owl tapped its talon the window impatiently. Hermione scrambled out of bed to let the poor creature in; It ruffled its feathers to rid itself of the moisture and then, despairing to go back outside, joined Dizzy at his perch on the footboard of the bed.

Hermione took the letter from the owl, looking at the two of them sitting there with some amusement. She had never gotten so much mail at one time before! If another were to come... why, she'd soon have a parliament of owls!

The letter was from Ginny, asking Hermione to visit – they were babysitting Teddy Lupin that night.

The idea that Ginny and Harry were babysitting Teddy Lupin together that night sent Hermione into a well of despair. How like a family they were: So happy and dedicated to one another! Hermione knew Harry had finally finished rebuilding his parents' old house in Godric's Hollow. She could remember the look on his face, the determination, when they'd visited the place last winter. She knew his intentions before he'd ever voiced them. And now it was done. And Harry and Ginny had moved in together: A happy couple. They were taking care of Teddy Lupin, like their own child: A happy couple.

Could she go there without resentment? Could she truly be glad to see them so happy and so like a family, when she herself was so miserable and her family so broken?

She wanted to give Dora a good, long hug in that moment. WHY had she ever offended the woman? Why had she been so stubborn? She missed that peppermint smell more than anything right then, except perhaps her own two parents, lying cold under the ground somewhere.

With a longing beyond words, Hermione set Ginny's letter by Narcissa's. She would have to see the elder Mrs. Malfoy before she did anything. Although dreading seeing ANY Malfoy whatsoever at the moment, Hermione did wonder if Narcissa's letter had anything to do with the prophecy – a prophecy which Hermione had been surprised to find, the older woman had no clue existed.

Checking the time and figuring she had a few hours to kill before Draco's mother arrived, Hermione pulled on her riding gear and disapparated into the stables, determined to go for a long-overdue ride with Zephyr, despite the rain and pealing thunder.

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Author's Note: Thanks loads to MyLookOfDenial., tfobmv18, X Games Winter Snowboardess 94, Shaiya Star-Gazer, -Arria Rose-, gitgit, ebbe04, margaritama, and InvisibleLilacNights for the reviews! I mean that really, because it's really truly awesome to have you guys reading and offering your input after every chapter. Cookies (or tacos, whichever you prefer) for everyone! Thanks, guys.

Shaiya Star-Gazer - I figure you know this is you, even if I didn't put the X's in front of your screen name. I think two chapters ago I tried to do that and it didn't show up once it'd posted. So yeah. lol

Holy crap, we're at 30 chapters!