A/N: I'm updating again! I know, three in a row. I'm sad to say it won't last. I won't be able to update this fic for a few days after today. I can only spoil my readers, reviewers, followers, and those who favor the fic for so long before I become broke. :)
Thank you to: pysch522, igenac, hkmac, Analelle, Angelus Draco, lovemya2000, and starkidsftw for the reviews.
To starkidsftw: You asked a question if Harry and Ron knew where Hermione was. Hopefully this chapter answers the question. Thank you!
In this chapter: What did Narcissa say to Hermione? We shall see. It was hell to write, but I think it's solid. Let's pray it is.
Enjoy the chapter. Read and Review, please, and tell me what you think. I'm sorry for any mistakes.
"Hermione!"
Rousing from sleep, Hermione groaned and clutched her head, a sharp throb pounding into her skull. She had cried herself to sleep when she had returned from that horrible meeting with Narcissa. Now she felt dehydrated, depressed, and her eyes were crusted over. The lids could barely flutter open, so she had to rub at them while sitting up. She was still dressed in her jeans and boots and was lying on top of the covers.
The alarm clock on her bed read 9:48 A.M., and Hermione yawned, her stomach feeling nauseous. She needed to get up and make breakfast for Alex, wake him up, and tell him about his father and then give him a vague overview of what Narcissa had told her last night so he would know, so he could be prepared for when he's older.
"Because Alex has the Malfoy name, there will not have to be legalities concerning his inheritance."
"His inheritance?" Hermione inquired through gritted teeth. "Draco left a will?"
"In a way," Narcissa said and dabbed her lips with the cloth napkin, removing the merengue from her lips. "He did not leave a written one. Why would he have had to? He wasn't married and he was still young. But," she exhaled softly and shakily like she was trying to brush off an emotional breakdown. "Giving Alex the Malfoy name is binding in itself, leaving the boy to surely inherit everything once Lucius passes or...if he should hand over all assets before then which he had planned to do after the New Year. Draco was going to take over the company, the Manor, and all other estates and affairs.
"You should know, Miss Granger, that my husband is aging and is quite exhausted. His father gave him his inheritance at seventeen. You can imagine how ready Lucius had been to retire. He had been looking forward to spending more time with me and prepping the Manor for grandchildren we knew we would get when Draco would marry Astoria Greengrass.
"When Draco passed, we did not only lose a child but we thought we had lost everything the Malfoys from before had worked so hard to achieve. There is no other Malfoy, Miss Granger. If we had not known about Alex or he had not been born, those valuables would have to be liquidated upon Lucius' passing by the Ministry, including the company. Thousands of people would have lost their employment and if Alex does not take ahold of the reigns when it's my husband's time to go on, those people will lose their jobs. Many will lose money because of investments in the company. Hermione, you are a business woman. You know how this works. Alex needs to come to England, so he can be schooled in the company. This is no longer a simple family feud anymore. Draco knew what he was doing when Alex was born. It was always supposed to be the boy next in line regardless if Draco had other children with another woman. In the family, all affairs go to the oldest son baring the Malfoy name"
"No," Hermione denied, shaking her head stubbornly. "Draco gave his respect when I said I didn't want Alex to be involved with you or anything to do with his side of the family. He told me he it was okay."
"And you believed him?" Narcissa inquired with a gentle grin.
Fresh tears blurred her vision and her chin wobbled at the memory from the night before. Biting her bottom lip to keep from sobbing, she wiped at her eyes and sniffled because it was unfair, and there was nothing she could do about the situation. When it was time, and it most certainly was not now, Alex would be over all the Malfoy affairs.
England could wait a little longer. Hermione's son did not need to be schooled in the company as of yet. She would put it off for as long as possible.
Planting her feet on the floor, she went to stand up but the door flew open and Luna came running at her holding a newspaper and then stopped inches away from her with a sorrowful, frazzled expression.
"Hermione, I just heard!"
Frowning at her friend, Hermione asked hoarsely, "How did you find out? I haven't told you anything. Haven't seen you since before I left yesterday to go to the restaurant. Oh and…thanks for cleaning up my closet. Where did you put it all?"
"The less you know, the better, but that's the least of your-"
"Mom!" Alex yelled, fear coating his young voice. Hermione's heart leapt into her throat at hearing her son's calling for her. She brushed passed Luna, ignoring the way she was waving the newspaper at her and ran into the living room where she found her son peeking through the curtains.
"Alex, honey, what's wrong?" she asked while approaching him.
He turned towards her and looked up at her in befuddlement. "What are all those people doing?"
"What people?" she asked and went to pull back the curtain so she could see what he was talking about.
"Don't open the curtain!" Luna exclaimed, entering the living room, newspaper still clenched in her hand. "They'll see you."
"What are you talking about? Who'll see me?" Ignoring Luna's warning, she pulled back the curtain and gasped at the swarm of people littering her front yard, many of them with cameras and Quick-Quills. One of them, a middle-aged man, noticed her and pointed.
"Look! There she is! There's Hermione Granger standing next to the window!" he shouted and ran closer to the house while snapping photos, other's doing the same. She hastily pulled the curtain closed and pressed her back against the covered window, breathing deeply.
"Who are they, Mom?" Alex asked again.
"I don't know," Hermione answered and looked helplessly at Luna. "Who are they? What is going on, Luna? What are these people doing at my house? What do they want?"
"You don't know," she stated softly, with sadness in her eyes. She shuffled towards Hermione and handed her the paper.
"What is this?" Hermione asked and took the paper and then found out it was two sets of newspapers, not one.
"The Daily Prophet and The New England Post," Luna replied with a wince. "Hermione, I am so sorry."
Hermione unfolded the two rolled up newspapers and read the headline of The New England Post.
West Coast Woodsmen Go On Strike: Demanding More Cuts from Wand Makers, Parchment Producers, and Broom Manufacturers
"What does that have to do with those people on my front yard?" Hermione inquired with an incredulous expression on her features.
"Turn to page nine. Be grateful it didn't make the front page here…yet," Luna said.
Hermione turned the pages until she reached nine. In the middle section, a small header read:
British War Heroine Found in Salem
According to a source, Hermione Granger, War Heroine has been found hiding in plain sight in Salem. No one is entirely sure as to why she is residing there or what's she doing other than raising her eight year old son, Scorpius Alexander Malfoy. The child is believed to be the son of convicted Death Eater, Draco Malfoy, who unexpectedly died six weeks ago in his hometown of Wiltshire, England. The news of his passing is a surprise to many in the Unites States, for the news had yet to reach here. However, the most shocking part of what has been hidden for years is this Scorpius Alexander Malfoy: The Secret Child of Two Enemies. Is the boy a product of secret love affair or are his origins more sinister? His father was a vicious Death Eater, after all.
Hermione covered her mouth and shook her head, not believing what she had just read.
"What does it say, Mom?" Alex asked, standing on his tiptoes to catch a word or two from the article that had made his his mother upset.
"No," Hermione whispered and folded up the paper. "This isn't happening. That's what all those people are here for, aren't they? The media found out?"
Luna nodded grimly. "That was just one newspaper, Hermione, with an article in the back. You haven't read The Daily Prophet, yet."
Feeling like she was going to vomit, Hermione didn't know if she could bear to read the other newspaper. It was going to be worse, and the safe place she had worked so hard to build, for her and most importantly her son, was cracking in the foundation, the roof breaking apart, the walls weakening.
"Hermione," Luna began gently, "are you going to read it?"
"I can't." She shook her head and a harsh sob wracked her body, startling Alex.
"Mommy?" he whimpered up at her and extended his arms. "Mommy, hold me, please."
"It doesn't matter, anyway," Hermione told Luna and handed her the papers and then stooped down to pick up her son. He wrapped his arms around her neck and legs around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder. "It's over. Everything is."
"Do you think Narcissa did this?" Luna asked.
Hermione shook her head while adjusting Alex in her arms. "No, I don't think so. I mean…you read the article. She wouldn't say all that. She wouldn't make it sound the way it did."
The Floo ignited and Hermione clenched Alex closer to her as Luna placed her hand inside her coat, her fingers ready to take out her wand if necessary. Blaise stepped through and marched towards them.
"You! Get out!" Hermione screamed and Alex made low keening sound in the back of throat.
"I know you're bleedin' pissed, Granger, but we do not have time to exchange pleasantries. We have to go!"
"What? Go? I'm not going with you anywhere!"
"Mommy," Alex started to cry and tightened his hold on her neck and tightened his legs around her.
"Leave my house this very instant. If you don't, Luna will make you leave!"
"You have to come back to England. You're not safe here anymore. It's especially not safe for Alex."
"What are you talking about? Go back to England? Have you gone mad?! It's going to be worse there than it is here!"
"Look!" Blaise shouted and then exhaled angrily as a pitiful way to calm himself. "Lucius and Narcissa are already back in England. About three in morning, they get an emergency Floo call from a handful of their solicitors telling them to leave Salem immediately and return home to the Manor. I promised them I wasn't going to leave Salem until you and Alex come with."
"I'm not going! I'm staying here! The news will die down soon and-"
"We don't know how long that will be. You can't hide in your home forever. Today, The Daily Prophet had it all on the front page. Tomorrow, The New England Post will have it, and the situation outside your house will worsen. You won't be able to return to work. Reporters, lawyers, everyone will be banging down your door asking questions. The friends you have won't want to be your friends anymore. You'll lose business on your bookstore. Here, they're making Draco look like he was some treacherous villain who…" He stopped short and gave her an infuriated glare not really meant for her. "You don't have the means to protect yourself and Alex, and he won't be able return to school because all of this. He won't be accepted here and neither will you."
"Mommy, what is he talking about?" sniffled Alex
"We won't be accepted in England, either, Blaise," Hermione spat.
"No, but people will understand better than there they will here."
"I'm not going and neither is Alex. People in England will understand better," Hermione repeated his words mockingly. "What a load of rubbish!"
"You won't have to deal with the people if you don't want to. Come to England for protection then. In the Manor-"
"You've got to me kidding me! Protection? Against what? Them?" Hermione nudged her head towards the window, indicating of what was outside of it. "They're as dangerous as rabid bunnies. And the Manor? You think I'll be safe there? Yes, because I was downright secure on my last visit."
"Hermione, maybe you should go," Luna piped softly.
Hermione threw her an exasperated look. "No! How could you even suggest that?"
"I'm saying that because I have a feeling you should go. And remember when I said you needed some time with…everything that's happened. I think you should go."
"Go where, Mommy? To England?" Alex asked and lifted his head from her shoulder, tear streaks down his round cheeks. "Isn't that where Daddy is? Can we go see him this time?"
"Oh, Sweetheart…" Hermione started and then sighed forlornly. "I don't think going would be a good idea right now. We can go someday but not right now."
"But we could see Daddy. Don't you want to see Daddy?"
"…Yes and I know you want see him but-"
"Narcissa told me what happened last night," Blaise informed her. "You and Alex are going to have to come to England eventually, Hermione. It would be better for him if the time was now. You know that."
"He still has time before it is necessary. He's still a baby! It will be better when he is older. You and Narcissa and Lucius are only saying it would be better now because they want to see him."
"Are you talking about me, Mommy? Who are Nar..Narci…I can't say the names. It's too hard. Why do grownups have hard names? You have a hard name. Daddy has a strange name. I have a strange name. Aunt Luna, I've never met another Luna."
"And you probably never will." Luna smiled endearingly at Alex. "I'm going to miss you when you go to England."
"Luna!" Hermione snapped. "Don't give him the impression he's going. We're not going."
"I will not leave until you agree to go," Blaise threatened once more.
"I will make you leave then." Hermione one handedly tried to reach for her wand in her back pocket while still holding Alex.
Blaise held his hands up in surrender. "We don't need to resort to dueling. We can sort this out like adults. You don't want to return to England right now, and I understand that, but you especially do not want to go to the Manor. If you come to England, you and Alex don't have to stay there. I'll find a place for you somewhere else.
"English reporters are on their way here now. If you make a quick exit back to England, it will throw them of your trail for a while. They wouldn't think of looking in their own backyard when they think you're here."
"I could very well go anywhere. I can hide perfectly fine anywhere, but I wasn't hiding here like many probably believe. All I did was tell Harry, Ginny, and Draco that I was moving here to attend school which I was at the time. Anyone back in England could have found me if they had cared to look but no one did. Now suddenly," Hermione gestured to the window, "I'm all interesting, again."
Blaise said direly. "It's not you they think is interesting. They know you are. I believe their main interest is on…someone else."
Hermione tightened her hold on Alex and glowered at Blaise. "How did the story even get out, Blaise? That's what I want to know. Everything was fine…relatively…before you and Draco's parents-Oh shit!"
Alex lifted his head up from his mother's shoulder and asked, "Daddy has parents?"
Biting her tongue and cursing herself, Hermione ignored Blaise's smirk of amusement and Luna's surprised expression and focused on her son. "Um…"
"He sure does, moppet," Blaise said and took a step forward. "They're back in England right now, and they are dying to meet you."
"Blaise!" Hermione screeched and bent down to place Alex on the floor who bent his knees so his feet wouldn't touch the ground, clinging to her shoulders while craning his head to look at Blaise.
"I'm done, Granger. He needs to know about them. You think they're not good enough to be around him, but let Alex decide."
"He is eight years old, Blaise. He can't decide if he wants a slice of cake or a cupcake!"
"Can I have both?" Alex asked, his tummy growling.
"Maybe we should discuss this over breakfast. Who likes waffles?" Luna chimed.
"Oooo! Me, me, me!" Alex shot up his hand, nearly knocking his mother in the face and then kicked his legs, wanting down. Hermione put him down, and he ran into the kitchen after Luna. "I want to help! I want to help!"
"He'll forget I said anything," Hermione said confidently, watching her boy climb upon the counter next to the bowl Luna had gotten out of the cupboard.
"No he won't," Blaise replied lightly. "He'll remember. If not by an hour or tomorrow, he will at Christmas when his father doesn't visit. Or maybe sooner if you tell him about Draco. He'll remember then. He'll remember you said his father had parents, and I said they wanted to meet him. Children his age can only be distracted for so long."
"Blaise, please," Hermione whispered. "I know you never liked me, but I would appreciate it if you could indulge me for a minute and lie. Tell me Alex won't remember."
"No, I won't do that. He's going to remember, and he's going to want to meet them. He's not going to want to wait until he's seventeen to meet them if that's the age you were planning on telling him about the inheritance."
Hermione looked down at her boots, her throat swelling. Sadly, she said, "I know but what if they hurt him? What if they can't accept him because he's not…Pure? What if they lie to him? What if he believes them?"
"None of that will happen. I promise. If it does…then we will get to that if we have to, but Draco's parents are not going to hurt him. Alex is all what's tangibly left of their son, and I reckon they already love him by default and would do nothing to compromise a relationship if they were to have one with him. As for him being a Half-blood, I can't say they don't care. That would be an outright lie, but they know he isn't Pure, and they still want him. I'm guessing it's not their biggest priority. Situations like these have happened before in history, and most of the time the child was never accepted or recognized by the grandparents. In a way, those family lines died off."
"But they won't accept me, will they?" Hermione shrugged with a hurt smile. "I've read about those Pureblood legacies which accepted Half-bloods for lineage. The grandparents never accepted the Mudblood parent."
"I think they will have to. Alex is quite attached to you."
Hermione smiled a small one which quickly vanquished and was replaced with a broken, grim line. "Yeah, he is."
"Yesterday at the party, he told me about his first act of accidental magic. It was his first day at Pre-wand school, and he didn't want you to leave him. He clung to your leg and wouldn't let go and then it became a case of he couldn't let go."
"It wasn't even the last time he did that." Hermione swallowed thickly at the memory. "It was back when I was all he needed and Draco was just a treat, but then he grew older and started asking questions, started noticing Daddy was not coming often enough for his satisfaction. And then it was Draco he was sticking himself, too." Thick, salty tears streamed down her face, acceptance lying heavy on her shoulders. She folded her arms protectively around herself and rubbed them with her hands. It was kind of cold in the house. "How cold is it in England this time of year? I can't remember."