Disclaimer: The characters here and the world they inhabit are the property of JK Rowling and her assigns.
Hermione couldn't say any more and rushed away. She walked around the house even though she was desperate for a warm hug, for someone to tell her it would all work out. Andromeda was the one person Hermione knew would give her comfort, and yet she was the one person she couldn't stand the thought of. She couldn't face the woman who was now... her stepmother… or that woman's kindnesses. Severus had been dishonest and Mrs. Malfoy had manipulated her, yet the focus of her rage now centered on the one person who had been invariably kind.
What a lie it all seemed now. She got to the spot on the crest of the hill where people usually Apparated or Disapparated and couldn't decide. Where could she go, what could she do, to cope with this disappointment and anguish? She realized that there was someone who might know exactly how she felt just then, who would feel the same sense of betrayal.
During a great show of clemency, several Death Eaters were released from Azkaban on the anniversary of their Master's downfall. In the short time after that, the Malfoy family had developed a habit of spending the afternoons together in the drawing room, chatting or simply sitting together quietly, reluctant to be apart. It was into this domestic scene that Hermione Granger burst.
"Mrs, Malfoy, your sister has ruined everything!"
Narcissa quickly rose from the couch beside her husband and steered the girl toward the door. "Perhaps we should discuss this in the room where I write my letters."
Father and son looked at each other. Lucius was the first to speak. "What do you suppose Andromeda has done, and why is the Mudblood speaking so emphatically?"
Draco looked up with ill-concealed laughter in his face. "If I had to, I would guess that Granger has discovered that Aunt Andie and Severus are shagging each other senseless."
"Indeed?"
"He can barely keep his hands off her during the day, and at night there's no telling what a person might stumble across."
The elder Malfoy's eyebrows shot up. "Why does the Mudblood care?"
"She thought Severus fancied her."
"Ah." There was a grunt of laughter. "I see the humor in the situation. Why does your mother care?"
"She seems to think there's some social or economic advantage to promoting the match between Granger and Snape. When I mentioned finding Aunt Andie in Severus's room on Christmas morning, she slapped me and told me to take it back."
"Which you couldn't do."
"Not if I told the truth."
"What did your mother do after that?"
"She went to see Aunt Andie and came back fuming. The next time I went to Aunt Andie's cottage, Severus had essentially moved into her bedroom. He's been using his other bedroom as a study, and Granger's thought he was still sleeping there."
The elder chuckled again. "What do you suppose they're discussing, now?"
"I can't imagine."
"Why don't we listen in, then?" Lucius led his son to a corner of the room, where he slid back a painting, showing a space in the wall and the back of another painting.
Hermione was talking. "He told me everything. They've been doing it since Christmas! Oh!" she said as a new thought burst upon her. "I very nearly walked in on them at least once! If I had gotten there just a bit earlier, I would have seen them..." There was a flurry of tears.
"This could get tedious quickly," Lucius observed quietly to his son, who nodded his agreement.
Narcissa was pacing the floor. "I'll kill her. We'll stop this, one way or another. It's just a setback, Hermione, we'll get back to plan."
"Never mind. They're married."
"What?" screamed a newly enraged Narcissa as her son whispered, "Cool, that makes him my uncle."
His mother was still talking. "Don't worry, Hermione, we'll get it annulled or divorced. They won't get around me like that."
"There's more," moaned the girl.
"Don't tell me—"
"—up the duff," mused Lucius quietly as his wife shrieked vile invective. "I wouldn't have thought Severus had it in him, and I pictured Andie as some sort of dried-up stick."
"Oh, no," answered his son. "Much curvier, and Sev—Uncle Severus—is a little different since almost losing his life. He's less like a walking cadaver."
"I'm trying to picture her. Does she still look like Bella?"
Draco made a face. "Speaking as a nephew of course, she's way better, and she's nice, too. I can't believe it... a cousin!"
Narcissa's voice broke into their quiet conversation. Her voice was quiet and controlled, now. "Even that is not an impediment, Hermione. There are potions, and they don't even need to know, if you're pouring the tea..."
Draco swore he could hear Hermione's hair crackle from her head shaking so hard. "No, it won't help," she said, her tears giving way to resignation. "He's never going to leave her. He loves her, and it wouldn't work anyway." She breathed deeply enough for them to hear in the other room and delivered the most important fact: "He's my biological father."
"Godric's flaming sword!" ejaculated Lucius.