Yes, I wrote all of this today. Yes, I am crazy. It is purely the byproduct of a sick day at home with a not-so-sick child who is easily amused, as well as a diminishing laundry pile and relatively quiet work email inbox. Do not expect such a merry synergy to happen again.
THBS, props to AlesiaG for such thorough reviews...you'll have to wait and see about the French quirk! Viola, enjoy the girly moments here-and Karen, your answer awaits below!
As always, please let me know what you think!
Hermione opened her eyes and blinked slowly, then sat up with a shot as her brain comprehended the amount of light filtering through her bedroom curtains. The sunlight glinted off a silver tinted rose in a bud vase on her nightstand, a tendril of Akebia quinata twirled around it, two of its blossoms giving off the scent of chocolate. Beneath it was a brief note in a neat hand that she recognized.
I popped in on the way to the office to check on you after last night. Given your friend's note, I assume you won't be in work today either. Tsk, tsk, Hermione, what will the gossips make of that? Good thing your boss is so…flexible.
I will be back at 4 pm to collect you. We need to run an errand together, and then I'm taking you to dinner. Dress robes, please. We will discuss the wedding then.
L.
P.S. I have to say your ass looks particularly delicious in those sleep shorts. We shall have to purchase more of those—perhaps with a bit of lace?
"Not even here and he's still making me blush!" Hermione muttered to herself as she felt the hot flush creeping into her cheeks. The thought of Lucius in her bedroom, seeing her asleep…
She re-read the note and caught the reference to another one, and spotted the other slip of parchment underneath the empty vial of Dreamless Sleep. In it Ginny informed her that she was expected to show up at Lavender & Ron's house promptly at 10 AM to collect Lavender. She would pop herself over when she had 'collected a few things'. Hermione's brow furrowed at that, but a quick Tempus showed it was already 9:30, and she hadn't showered or dressed yet. Eek!
Thirty-five minutes later Hermione was ushered into Ron and Lavender's cozy if somewhat disordered house. Lavender was almost ready to go, piling Hermione's arms with a handful of things before grabbing another bag and announcing, "All right, let's be off then!", linking her arm firmly with Hermione's.
"I shouldn't even ask, should I?" Hermione said, and Lavender looked at her and replied, "No, you shouldn't. I've been waiting for this day for ages, Hermione Granger, and you're just going to have to put up with what Ginny and I plan to do to you."
Sighing, Hermione turned and brought them both back to her flat, where Ginny was already unpacking a hamper in the kitchen.
"What say we start with a toast to Hermione's engagement?" she called out, a pair of champagne glasses with mimosas floating out, Ginny following behind with her own glass. "And then you can dish, Hermione, while Lavender gets to work on your hair."
Lavender's eyes had that avaricious gleam she had had in school whenever a new beauty product came out. Hermione had been successfully evading her cosmetic attentions for years, but today was Lavender's dream come true. Hermione knew that Lavender was finding some small amount of success and no small degree of satisfaction in an unanticipated sideline as a hairstylist and beauty consultant, notwithstanding her troubling status as a werewolf.
"Oh, really…" Hermione said nervously, backing away from Lavender, who had produced her beech wand and was circling her with a calculating eye, taking a swig of the mimosa as she did so.
"Oh be quiet, Hermione. If you had let me at your hair back in school you wouldn't have had to spend so many Galleons on Sleekeazy potions, or forever be crucifying your scalp with all those hairpins to keep it in line for work. Sit!"
Lavender forced Hermione into the beauty salon chair she transfigured from one of the dining table chairs as Ginny folded herself into Hermione's reading chair, a mirthful expression on her face. "It had to happen sometime, Hermione. Just look at how nicely my hair behaves itself since I let Lavender have a crack at it. You remember how it used to blow up at the crown."
Hermione took a sip from her glass and steeled herself for the inevitable. Seeing her implied acceptance, Lavender clapped her hands and said, "I just love a new project! Now, dish, Hermione. Tell us, is Lucius as luscious with his lovemaking as his appearance would suggest?"
Hermione stuttered as she felt a spell taking hold on her hair, the curls unsnarling themselves so Lavender could have a look at her scalp and examine the way her hair naturally relaxed into her signature curls. "I am not discussing Lucius' lovemaking with you lot. It's not like I want any details of how you shag Ron or Harry!"
"So he has shagged you then?" Ginny asked archly, her eyes laughing at her.
"Um, no…but not for lacking of trying on his part," she muttered as Lavender applied some type of potion to her hair from one of the copious bags she had brought with her.
"Oooo, that sounds juicy. Do tell!" Lavender said, her brown eyes flitting briefly to Hermione's face before she grinned at Ginny.
"It's not like I've been flirting with him at the office, you know," Hermione said crossly, and Ginny rolled her eyes.
"When is the first time he kissed you?"
So Hermione told them about going to the Manor on Sunday, and how she had kissed him back, her magic responding to his in a way that still didn't make sense to her.
"It was the Sealing," Ginny said, refreshing all their glasses with the mimosa mix. "That's why he's pushing you to get married so quickly. You only have a limited amount of time after you accept him to be bonded."
"You Sealed him?" Lavender said with a surprised look. "Merlin, Granger, I thought you of all people would know better than that!" Her hands were still busy in her hair, and Hermione vaguely realized that Lavender was cutting it now, and squelched the flare of worry about what exactly her friend was doing to her hair.
"Yes, well, I didn't, and I did, and what exactly do you think the Beltane ritual actually means? Because I could not find any details about it in any of my research, and Lucius still hasn't told me exactly all it entails." As she had matured and made choices about what to do career-wise, Hermione had realized that there were certain things she would never be well informed about in the wizarding world, but she still disliked running into a topic about which she possessed little knowledge.
"I assume it has a strong fertility component," Ginny noted drily, sipping her drink. "It's not like he has made it a secret that he wants to get into your knickers, or that he admires your, as he put it, 'delicious ass'."
"Give me that!" Hermione said, half jumping from the chair when she saw that Ginny was holding Lucius' note from this morning. "You had no right to go snooping, Ginny!"
Lavender snatched the note from Ginny easily and read it quickly, her wand distracting Hermione with the increased clipping at strands of her hair.
"Hey, watch the haircut!" Hermione said with no little panic in her voice, and Lavender turned her head to scoff at her, "As if I'd let you look anything less than fabulous for a man who'd leave you a love note like this," she said, sending the note to Hermione after she'd taken a look at it again, then meeting Ginny's eyes. "Looks like a shopping trip to Irina's is in order."
"You should see the rose & chocolate vine he left on her nightstand," Ginny added gleefully, and Lavender's romantic heart sighed.
"Oh, Hermione, you are so fortunate. I love Ron to pieces, but he hasn't a romantic bone in his body." Lavender turned her attention back to Hermione's hair, and she was somewhat reassured that there seemed to be a cessation to the pieces of hair drifting to the floor, and Lavender was now applying yet another potion of some kind.
"Doesn't it bother you who we're talking about here? He's an ex-Death Eater," Hermione said, aware that she was more concerned about this than she let on. They had been incredibly supportive of all of this, but the niggling doubts about Lucius just wouldn't shut up on their own.
Lavender spun the chair around so she could face her. "Hermione, it's been almost ten years since the war. Lucius and Narcissa are the reason Harry is alive. Yes, he was a complete and total shit, but he was also clearly out of favor with Voldemort for some time before the final battle. And Draco has been nothing but kind to me and Ron since then—where did he learn those manners, except from his father? I think you need to judge Lucius by his actions today, and not by his past. Wouldn't you say he's earned that much?"
Hermione was stunned and humbled by Lavender's pragmatic advice. "I just have a hard time letting go of all the little shitty things he's done to me since he's been my boss," she admitted, realizing that maybe it was the sting to her pride instead of the war that was really responsible for any lingering misgivings.
"He's kept you on your toes and brought more resources to your work. Even Harry has had some good things to say about that. And you should know, Hermione, that Lucius visited Harry at home after Sunday. I know he's got Harry under some sort of Wizarding oath about whatever happened in Hogsmeade, but I'm not under it, and my brothers' extendable ears work as well as they ever did—he came over on Sunday and asked Harry to keep an eye on you when you're not at the Ministry."
Hermione's heart clenched at that piece of news, and Ginny waved some of the nibbly bits that she had brought from the Burrow toward her friend. "Eat and let that sink in."
Hermione ate one of Molly's ginger lemon biscuits absentmindedly. "Is that why Ron was so amenable to Lucius after he responded to my call?"
"Ginny and Harry told both of us what was going on, and it made perfect sense after the way he was acting at the Three Broomsticks," Lavender said. "After seeing the way Draco treats Astoria, I'd say you are going to be a very happily married woman."
"How would you know how Draco treats Astoria?" Hermione asked, not even caring that Lavender had moved on to applying some sort of skin cream onto her face.
"I was having some trouble with my wolfsbane potions. We couldn't find a good supplier and Ron decided to brew it himself." Lavender's voice had gone soft and she stopped applying the beauty cream to Hermione's face. Hermione leaned forward and stopped Lavender's hand before she could apply a gelly goo that moved of its own volition.
"Ronald Weasley? Voluntarily brewing a complex potion for you? And you say he's not a romantic," Hermione said sincerely, and Lavender burst into tears.
"Oy, no crying!" Ginny cried, coming back in from the kitchen, summoning the tissues again for her weepy sister-in-law.
"No, I know, it's so sweet. And he met with Draco to get help brewing it, you know? Draco was always good at potions, and he's only gotten better since becoming a healer. And he actually invited us over for dinner once, so we got to meet Astoria in private when she was pregnant with Scorpius. And they were really lovely. I was so envious of her—" Lavender broke off and Ginny leaped into the conversation.
"How many times do we have to tell you, we will all love any child you have, regardless of whether it's born a werewolf or not? Trust me, Ron is crazy about you, and nothing could make him happier than to see you carrying his child." Ginny's voice was sympathetic but firm, and Hermione felt terrible for missing all of these undercurrents because she had been so buried in her work.
"Hey, if I'm going to be carrying a Malfoy soon, the least you could do is join me in my misery, Lavender," she said coaxingly, and it did exactly what she hoped, making Lavender burst out laughing.
"Oh, that is a good point Hermione! Can you imagine the pair of us pregnant at the same time? I think Ron would go spare!"
"I might talk Harry into a third if that were to happen," Ginny said wryly, and the three fell apart in a fit of giggles.
"So you think I'm going to fall pregnant fairly quickly, then?" Hermione asked, her heart pounding loudly as she considered it.
"A Beltane ritual? I'd say he's going to get you knocked up when he plucks your cherry," Lavender said with a satisfied smirk.
"I could have lost it at university…" Hermione protested weakly, but Lavender and Ginny just fixed her with 'the look'.
"Please. We know you. You're the type to hold onto it for the right man. Apparently, that man is Lucius Malfoy."
"Speaking of Luscious Lucius, what are you going to wear for your date tonight, hmm?" Ginny's eye fell back on the note Hermione was still clutching to her chest. "He said formal robes—I'm going to pull every pair you have from your closet. Lavender, you finish up with the facial while I bring them all out here. We have a killer outfit to put together!"
The rest of the day passed in a whirl of activity as Lavender continued to wreak her vengeance for having been denied access to Hermione's grooming for many years at school. She shaped up Hermione's eyebrows slightly, not that they were bad but they could and were better when she was through, the stray hairs that detracted from their straight lines removed. Her hair was cut in long layers, and Lavender had texturized it to remove the excess volume that usually sent it flying everywhere. Between that and her potions, Hermione's hair seemed perfectly well behaved, the curls lying nicely in long waves to her shoulders. She had imposed creams and elixirs and masks on her until Hermione fobbed her off on Ginny, who was happy enough to receive some pampering.
Lavender imperiously ordered her to try on the robes, and she and Ginny took turns critiquing and transfiguring until she barely recognized most of the outfits. Finally they settled on a set of robes that was a strange color, a combination of a slate blue and dark grey, with a neckline that plunged below anything that Hermione had ever worn, and they refused to let her take it off. Surprised, Hermione realized it was almost 4 pm, and Lavender redoubled her efforts.
Hermione drew the line at the makeup, so Lavender kept it simple, just some lipliner and a hint of a smoky grey on her eyelids. No eyeliner or mascara by Hermione's request, and if she blushed like that every time Lucius was mentioned, she would have an attractive flush by the time the man himself showed up.
"There, I think you're ready." Lavender said, stepping back. Just in time, too, because there was a knock at the door.
"We'll just be going then," Ginny said hastily, and before Hermione could turn around her friends had disapparated with two faint pops as Lucius came in. He was wearing a very tailored set of dark grey dress robes, which he had chosen to leave open to display a tight embroidered vest and pristine, high collared white shirt, his hair loose as he seemed to prefer it most of the time.
"My Golden Gryffindor," Lucius said, looking his fill. "I deduce that some of your friends must approve of me in some measure, if this is how they choose to prepare you for our evening out."
Hermione was suddenly very shy when she noticed how his eyes kept returning to the cleft between her breasts that was framed by the elegant dress robes. He noticed her response and drew her softly by the hand until she was quite close. "Never be ashamed of your power as a woman, witch. It is merely another facet of your charms."
Hermione looked up at him, then wordlessly slipped one arm around his neck and pulled him down for a slow, steady kiss. Lucius pulled back before it got to be too much to resist, and raised an eyebrow. "You are a quick study." His voice was slightly husky, which made Hermione smile.
"I do try."
"Minx. Let's go, before I bend you over your sofa and rip those robes off you."
Hermione's face heated at his words and she let him disapparate them both. They appeared in front of Gringotts, and Lucius stepped away briskly and tidied his robes, then offered his arm again. Hermione took it, noticing the whispers and darted looks being thrown their way as they entered the bank.
"You must learn, Hermione, to ignore the small people," Lucius said arrogantly as they approached the Head Goblin. Hermione was still somewhat of a persona non grata at the banking institution, but now she was on the arm of Lucius Malfoy, and the goblins paid him every deference.
"I need to access my vault," Lucius said, which was greeted by a nod from the Head Goblin. Hermione saw his eyes flick to her, then back to Lucius, who did not bother to conceal his irritation at the minute delay.
"Expynok?" Lucius prompted, and the head goblin fixed his attention on Malfoy, adopting what Hermione assumed was what Lucius expected as the proper deferential expression. She expected him to summon another goblin to take them down, but to her vast surprise the goblin got down from his stool himself and led them to the archway for cart retrieval.
Hermione was prepared for Lucius' vault to be on a level similar to the LeStrange vault, and she was not disappointed. The cart moved at a dizzying pace, and they went through two magical waterfalls before the cart finally pulled to a stop in front of a series of darkened archways. Hermione could have sworn she heard a sniff of displeasure from Expynok as they passed through both waterfalls without incident, and she had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing at the situation.
"Ah, here we are, pet," Lucius said, holding his hand out to Hermione. The goblin was waiting on the landing already, a curious and almost malicious expression on his face. Out of one of the dark arches a voice spoke, melodic but with a strange, harshly metallic undertone.
"The more that there is, the less that you see. Squint all you wish when surrounded by me."
It was spoken in Greek, a riddle. Hermione and Lucius spoke at the same time.
"Darkness."
The lights flared suddenly and Hermione found herself face to face with a living, breathing sphinx. It opened its eyes lazily and regarded them both keenly, long hair rippling over its shoulders as it spoke again. "Enter, wizard and witch of the house of bad faith."
Hermione could not like that literal interpretation of the Malfoy name, but what was there to be done about it? Expynok dared not mutter in front of Lucius, but Hermione saw him dart another malevolent look at her as he stepped forward briskly, pressing both palms cleanly to the door of vault. Those goblins sure held a grudge!
Lucius drew her forward and into the vault, which was actually a decent sized room. She felt the warm hum of layered magics as she passed through on Lucius' arm, and he let go of her as soon as they were through.
"The wards will recognize you for a short time because of the Seal. They will shift permanently after the Bonding ceremony."
"Do you use the Gemino and Flagrante curses as well?" Hermione asked, taking in the tables with neatly stacked valuables, and the many alcoves and cubbies that possessed vast quantities of Galleons as well as jewelry and goblin-worked items.
"Of course," Lucius replied, meeting his fiancee's eyes with a mischievous expression. "I do hope you will regale me with that particular tale sometime. I confess I am wildly curious as to what actually happened."
Hermione laughed briefly and a corner of her mouth lifted in a smirk. "I think perhaps that can be arranged."
Lucius shifted his attention again and pulled out a wooden case from an alcove littered with jewelry. "Ah, here we are." Turning to her, he flipped open the case. "I thought you might prefer to choose your own ring."
Hermione's eyes widened and she looked from the selection of rings to Lucius. "Truly?"
"I will hardly profess to know your every taste, Hermione. Perhaps this is an interesting question for me: which I think you would choose, and which you will choose." His expression was innocent, but she knew there were sly undertones beneath.
"Very well," she said, taking the case and transfiguring a chair from a pile of Galleons.
"Mmmm, there is a picture. My future wife on a golden throne…should I be worried?"
Hermione ignored him, her eye drawn to two rings in particular. One was platinum, intricately worked with three oval rubies set at ninety degrees from each other. The other was a warm gold, the band cut in a series of Celtic knots with small cushion-cut emeralds evenly spaced around the entire ring. She picked them both and put them on her fingers to see how they looked, then removed them and looked at Lucius.
"We both know that wizarding marriages don't use a ring, Lucius. Did you really bring me all the way down here to test me over something so asinine?"
Lucius laughed and knelt down in front of her, catching her hand and turning it over to bestow an open-mouthed kiss on her palm. "I brought you down here to pick some jewelry for you to wear. The rings are the easiest to study for style. Now that I see what you prefer, I will select other pieces for you to have at your disposal in the future. Does this satisfy you?"
"I don't need any jewelry…" she began to say, but Lucius put a finger over her mouth.
"This is not about need, it is about appearances. And you will wear it because it will keep tongues wagging and it will make me happy to see you wearing it. And if tongues are wagging about your jewelry, and your new clothes, and your new husband, who is scandalously also your boss, then they are not wagging about your research. This is preferable, yes?"
He had drawn her up from the improvised chair and was running his hands in a salacious manner down her hips and to her bottom, pulling her between his legs easily so he could nibble on her neck.
"Mmmmmm…Lucius, the goblin…" Hermione whispered, able to see Expynok waiting impatiently outside the vault.
"He can neither see us nor hear us, I assure you," Lucius said with a laugh, then nibbled and sucked his way to her mouth where some utterly charming moans fell into his mouth in short order. Hermione's brain was utterly clouded with desire, a terribly unfair advantage.
"Yummy," Lucius said as he ended the kiss. "That makes me hungry for dessert. But now it is time for dinner."
Wordlessly Accioing a series of pieces from around the room and placing them in a pouch that he returned to his robes, he steered a pleasantly bemused Hermione from the vault and back to the surface.
"That won't work all the time, you know," Hermione said firmly after she realized how easily he had handled her.
"Oh, of that I am well aware, pet," Lucius said with a grin as they walked to the restaurant.
When Hermione woke the next morning, she stretched lazily in bed and remembered the glorious end of her date with Lucius. My God, that man could kiss, and his tongue did toe-curling things to her body as well. She blushed as she remembered how her dress robes had slipped from one shoulder, then the other, Lucius learning more of her body with a stunning precision. She shoved her head under her pillow and groaned as she realized that she was supposed to go to work this morning, simply to check on a few things before their wedding at four. Lucius had sent all the owls necessary to the invited guests, had the Manor's house elves working to prepare the food and gardens, and Kingsley Shacklebolt had given them time off for a honeymoon. All she had to do was show up, as Ginny and Lavender had taken it upon themselves to find the right robes for the occasion. Hermione felt like the nervous volunteer for the knife thrower at the circus!
"How am I going to face all those smirks?" she wailed to herself, then checked the time again. Ugh. No more dilly dallying, she had to get moving or she would be late. And she had to meet Neville for coffee as well. It was bound to be horridly awkward, since news of their engagement had been splashed in all the gossip rags, complete with pictures from last night. She penned a quick note to him as she finished pulling her hair into a low ponytail, a piece of half-eaten toast in her mouth.
Neville, I'll explain all at lunch. Sorry in so many ways, I'm running late for work! Please say you're still coming. Hermione
She sent Lucifer off and hurried to slip on her other heel, turning mid-hop. This was going to be a very busy day.
The snide remarks at work were just as bad as she feared. Witches who were accustomed to flirting their way through the ranks gave her the cold shoulder, while others gossiped that she was marrying Lucius simply to leapfrog ahead, the matches a lucky opportunity to overcome her status as a Muggle-born. As she was leaving a meeting with her junior researchers, she even heard someone accuse her of tampering with the results to compel Lucius to marry her.
Hermione cast the Sonorous charm on herself after that one. "Oy! I did NOT tamper with the results of the matches, and I do NOT want to achieve promotions simply because my future husband happens to be the department head! And I will hex the bollocks off the next wizard who dares to infer anything of the kind!"
Everyone was staring at her as she closed the charm, but she ignored them as she rushed to grab her bag and paperwork. She was fuming about the whole situation, and Lucius was wisely or luckily absent. It was lunchtime which meant he was probably at the department head meeting, and she was glad to have the excuse of her appointment with Neville to clear off her desk and leave. She caught a glimpse of Jessamine Misselle as she exited the division. The woman was studying her with amused curiosity, so Hermione gave her a curt wave, wishing she could give the finger to the whole crew of them.
She was still fuming when she met Neville at the Ministry café, absentmindedly kissing his cheeks before they both sat down. They were on the second floor of the café, so away from most prying eyes, but doubtless some pillock of a press wizard or witch would be hanging on their every word. She cast Muffliato and a variation of a broad Confundus charm, then looked frankly at Neville.
"It's good to see you, Hermione," he said honestly, folding his hands on the table in front of him. "I suppose the original reason for this is now moot, if the papers are to be believed."
"Oh Neville, you have no idea," Hermione said, summoning a coffee. Neville got his own and took a sip.
"I'm curious to hear what you have to say about it. After all, you know the most about this whole mess. I was hoping you could clear a few things up for me about how this is supposed to work."
Hermione admired how Neville confronted the problem head-on, and thought that whatever lucky witch married him, she would have a good one. She explained the matching system to him briefly, and emphasized that Lucius Malfoy had a weighted score, so to speak, given his previous marriage and parenthood.
"Ah, I thought it might be something like that," Neville said resignedly. "I suppose I just count myself lucky that I have another match, although I can't say I was planning to get married anytime soon. It's kind of a delicate thing to set up my own nursery, and I just don't have the time for distractions."
It was just the sort of thing Hermione had told herself about her own work, so she could understand his reticence. He had always been shy, so the prospect of courting a woman probably made him as nervous as hell, too. She realized she was staring at him and probably embarrassing him, so she blurted out, "Who is your other match, Neville? That is, if you don't mind me asking."
He grinned in a fetching way, if you were partial to the affable boy next door type, and said, "It's not anyone terrible, Hermione. It's Luna Lovegood."
Hermione's eyes warmed enormously and she smiled broadly. "Oh, but that's wonderful, Neville! She was always good in herbology, too! Oh I am very happy for you both!"
"Yeah, I suppose I could have done a lot worse, eh? At least I'm not having to marry some sixty year old witch…" Neville trailed off uncomfortably as he realized what he'd just said, and Hermione gracefully ignored it.
"What does Luna have to say about it all?"
"Well, she had been traveling quite a bit out of the country, something to do with Nargles or wrackspurts, I don't know. But I guess her father's health has been failing so she had to come back to take over the Quibbler, anyway. I'm meeting her for dinner later. I think it will be good, we just have to spend some time together first, you know? She is a bit mental, but I don't mind that, not really."
"Oh my goodness, Neville, I can't tell you how relieved I am to hear that. This whole law has got me tied up in knots. So many people are having to face these terrible marriages, all because of my work… I just ask myself sometimes, was it really worth doing this to everyone? Maybe there is another way, or I missed something."
Neville cut her off with a firm wave of his hand across his throat. "No, Hermione. You did us all a favor. Imagine what would have happened if the number of Squibs kept increasing and no one knew why. It would have degenerated into another Dark Ages, with everyone suspecting everyone else of poisoning them over obscure family vendettas or secret Dark rituals…it would have been a bigger disaster than this. You did the right thing."
"But look at what people are having to go through! I just can't help blaming myself for that—even St. Mungo's…" Hermione trailed off as she realized what that meant, and cast a horrified look at Neville. Stupid, stupid witch, she cursed herself mentally, wiping away the tears that had sprung into her eyes.
He returned her gaze steadily as he said, "It's okay, Hermione. It's not like they're breaking them up. And I'll get a sister or brother out of it, maybe more than one."
"Oh Neville, I'm so sorry!"
"It's not your fault, Hermione. I'll have another piece of them—I can only thank you." Neville finished his coffee, which had gone cold, then asked, "So, when's the wedding?"
Hermione exhaled sharply. "Today at 4 pm."
Neville's eyebrows rose in surprise. "So quickly?" He left the unspoken 'why' hanging in the air, and Hermione explained briefly about the courtship ritual.
"Sounds like a Malfoy, all right. You watch yourself around him, Hermione. He may be making the best of it, but he's still a right bastard in my book."
Hermione laughed shakily and wiped another tear from her eye. "Oh I know, Neville. Make no mistake, I know what he's like. But really, I think we will get on all right together. He's got his reasons for doing this as have I, and we'll just have to make the best of it. We both know that if a Malfoy really wanted to wriggle out of anything, they could. I guess I've started to believe him when he tells me he actually wants to marry me."
*Note: the goblin's name, Expynok, is a derivative of the Greek "eksipnos", which means "clever".
