Good evening readers. My quarter has ended, HUZZAH and Fare Thee Well! I have taken a few days of rest as recompense for the mad scramble that always accompanies final exams and grading and last minute queries from students, and now I am back and my story is humming along. Another chapter of information, but it's quite necessary, and I expect there to be some action in the next chapter and some quite major plot points within the next four or so.
I hope to be updating twice a week now, and I do thank you for the very thoughtful reviews to my last chapter. AlesiaG your eagle eye is appreciated! I have the villains pretty well in hand (as much as they ever can be, really) and all I can say is, my goodness me, it's a rough ride ahead for our protagonists. Oh my. zeeksmom I think your comments are great-let us hope you are right. ;) Hope you enjoy, and please give some reviews and feedback. I promise to be more individual next time with my review responses-rest assured, you are ALL loved for giving me reviews, I do mean that sincerely. I am merely tired at this time of night and wish to post without further delay. Thank you for reading! As usual, all credit for the HP world goes to JKR.
The prospect of having a friend over for tea was such a treat that it was ridiculous. Harry had left for Germany a week ago, and after a harried Floo call to Ginny, Hermione had resolved to leave her friend alone given that it was her fault that Harry was gone. Fortunately, Lavender and Ron had not noticed her less than rapid congratulations on Lavender's pregnancy, and after Lavender had cheerfully informed her that werewolves apparently had no nausea when they were pregnant, Hermione wrangled a promise that she would come to tea today.
"Smidge, please make sure that we have plenty of almond cakes," Hermione said to her house elf, and resisted the urge yet again to offer her clothes. The elf was very sweet and accommodating, but she had been born at Malfoy Manor and Hermione supposed she should be content that Smidge no longer expected punishment when she did something wrong.
"Yes Mistress!" The house elf winked away, and Hermione wondered idly how Lucius' day was unfolding. It had been almost two weeks since she had started taking the custom potion, and she was actually gaining weight again. Hermione was distracted from her thoughts by the knock on the door, and then Twigs was escorting Lavender into the morning parlor.
"Hermione! Oh, it's wonderful to see you!"
Lavender embraced her with an effusive hug, then popped back and sat down on the closest chair. "Well, you are looking better. It's almost time for another haircut, don't you dare let anyone else touch those curls!"
"I solemnly swear to let you cut my hair again before I go back to work next week," Hermione said with a smile. Lavender was her usual effervescent self, although was she actually glowing? "I am bitterly jealous of your ability to look and feel so well when you're pregnant."
"Ha! Well, at least that's one thing I can be thankful about—apparently it's a side effect from being turned. Honestly I did not expect to be so content with it all, but now that we are actually looking at baby names and baby things, I just can't wait!"
Hermione felt a pang as she saw the excitement in her friend's countenance, and felt slightly guilty that she hadn't even discussed names with Lucius. Lavender, however, did not notice her discomfort and continued chatting on.
"Ron is adamant that Herbert will be the name if it's a boy, but I can't stand that name. Apparently it was the name of a great-uncle or something who was killed as a teenager, and his great-aunt Hopkia has always sworn he looks like him…"
"Family names are a bit troublesome aren't they?" Hermione murmured, aware that no response was required.
"Well, you would know! I suppose you're just hoping that Lucius doesn't want to revive Abraxas, hmmm? So what names are you considering?"
"Um, we've decided to keep it a surprise until the baby is born," Hermione said weakly. "Tea and cake?"
"Oh yes, please! Are those almond cakes? Oh you are sweet Hermione, you remembered those were my favorite at Hogwarts…now let me tell you about Luna and Neville's courtship…"
Hermione found it quite easy to lose herself in Lavender's stream of gossip and news, and oddly found it highly relaxing. Here at least was one friend who was completely divorced from the ugliness that her life had become, and all the intrigue swirling around the Ministry and her tests and research. It was nice to be able to dismiss it all from her mind for a while.
"Well, that was quite enough of that, I said. Now, tell me if you have gone to look at baby things yet, Hermione?"
"Em, with me being so sick, we really haven't had time." Hermione again felt a pang of guilt, but Lavender seemed to consider the problem and continued, "Well I'm sure there are things kept from when Draco was a baby—have you looked at those yet?"
"Oh!" Hermione blinked. Honestly, she hadn't even thought about any of that, but obviously Lavender was baby fixated already. She felt uncomfortable at the direction of the conversation, but Lavender was like the ocean tide, there was no stopping her.
"Well, let's look now! What is your house elf's name again? Smidge?" Lavender was waiting expectantly, and Hermione felt the time had come to be honest.
"Truthfully, Lavender, I haven't had time to be very excited about the baby. Between being sick and the problems at work, I haven't even thought about the birth or being a mom."
Lavender blinked a few times, then gave Hermione a small smile. "That's okay, I understand. But don't you think it's fun to think about? I just remember how cuddly Albus was as a newborn, and I just can't wait to hold my own baby."
Lavender's voice had a dreamy quality to it, and Hermione felt a slight quiver of warmth at the thought of having her own baby. However, she also remembered how colicky Albus had been as a newborn, and how Ginny had been pulling her hair out. Given her terrible nausea, Hermione could not be so optimistic as to picture a blissfully contented newborn.
"I do like the way they smell," Hermione said, "and how sweet they look when they are sleeping."
"Oh yes, they are just the most adorable creatures. And all the lovely things you can buy for them! Of course Ron says we can get some hand-me-downs from his mum, but really I think we will have to buy some new things even if most of them come from Practic Alley. Of course, you could buy everything from Whimsic Alley, Hermione—but I suppose a lot of what the Malfoys already have is top quality. Shall we go have a look?"
Lavender's face was so hopeful that Hermione could not help but agree, even though it was the last thing she wanted to be doing. Her mind was now turning over the likely challenges of being a mother—her worries had merely shifted subject.
"Smidge!" Hermione called, and within ten minutes they were in the Malfoy nursery. Lavender canvassed the room with an expert eye, then turned to Hermione.
"Well I suppose you can change it to whatever colour and theme you like, but I'm surprised it's so gender neutral."
Personally Hermione found the cream, green, and soft browns soothing, but she wasn't willing to speculate as to why the room was so neutral. It hinted of unfulfilled expectations, and although the room was clean it had an air of benign neglect that informed Hermione that it had never been used for Scorpius.
"I think it's nice, but I'm sure we will pick something else when we know whether we are having a boy or a girl," Hermione said, gently fingering a soft blanket that was laid over the side of a cot made of pale beech.
"Are you going to find out? I didn't think the Ministry allowed that," Lavender said with surprise, and Hermione's brow wrinkled.
"Why not?" Ultrasounds were so commonplace for Muggles, Hermione assumed the Wizarding world had an equivalent spell, although she had never bothered to research such a thing before.
"Because pureblood families used to screen for a male heir, and they would abort girls until they got the firstborn they wanted." Lavender frowned. "That spell was banned in the 1700s, I think. What on earth made you think of it?"
Hermione's brown eyes crinkled slightly as she looked at her friend. "Ah, Muggles have a test they can do to find out. And they have the same problem with abortions—in fact it's a big problem in places like China, and they now have a huge gender imbalance because of it."
"Oh." Lavender's forehead crinkled as she said, "What a depressing topic! Let's talk about what you would do differently in here…"
Hermione allowed that she would probably change the drapes and add more candle sconces, and she thought the bookcase was too small, and the toys needed to be refreshed. The air of sadness that pervaded the space made her want to cast a cleansing charm, but she doubted it would help. The room needed Lucius, somehow, and she sighed as she considered that eventually she and her husband would have to do something together with this room.
"Oh, look at the time! Ron was supposed to meet me at the gates—I have to go, Hermione."
"Why doesn't he come in?" Hermione asked, but realized the answer before Lavender could give it. The Weasleys only came onto Malfoy grounds by official invitation or on Ministry business. The fact that Ginny herself had moved on from Lucius' involvement with the diary did not mean the family as a whole wouldn't continue their prescribed code of conduct when dealing with the Malfoys. "Right, let me show you out then Lavender. And thank you for coming!"
Hermione pressed a hug on her friend and apparated them to the gate, a much faster means of travel. Sure enough, there was Ron, leaning against the stone pillar without an apparent care in the world. His eyes lit up with tenderness when he saw Lavender, then he gave Hermione a cheerful grin.
"Oy, took you long enough to remember, didn't it?"
Hermione stepped through the gate as Ron kissed his wife and drew her close.
"Sorry honey bunches, we were having too much fun looking at the baby things in the nursery and lost track of time. How was your day in work?" Lavender's voice was bubbly and Hermione tried not be envious of their easy affection, something that was entirely different to the relationship she had with Lucius. She wasn't jealous, per se, but nothing between her and Lucius could ever be called easy.
"The usual intrigue and mortal peril," Ron joked, his hand resting comfortably at Lavender's waist. "But I don't want you wandering around, hon. These aren't safe times for anyone." His eyes darted to Hermione and slid away again quickly, and Hermione knew he felt guilty about something.
"What aren't you saying, Ron?"
Ron's blue eyes suddenly looked tired. "I'm sure it's nothing, Hermione. My boss isn't feeling particularly charitable toward Malfoy at the moment, that's all."
He didn't need to clarify that he meant Lucius. "What has he done?"
Ron released Lavender's hand and patted her upper arms. "Nothing I'm sure. It's just Carstairs overheard a man talking in Knockturn Alley, and he was discussing some very shady things. It was during a downpour so he had a hood on, but Carstairs swears it was Lucius." Ron snorted. "Like anyone could tell definitely if it was pouring as hard as he said it was."
Hermione knew he was trying to cheer her up, but anyone with any sense knew a competent Auror would have used a listening spell, which would have aided in eavesdropping, even if it was not strong enough to entirely overcome a true downpour. "What were they discussing?"
Ron shook his head. "It doesn't do any good to talk about it, Hermione. Same old rubbish we've all heard before: pureblood superiority, working around the Ministry marriages, blah blah. Really, nothing exciting. I think Underwood just jumped on it because he feels cut out from the loop, the way Yaxley and Lucius have been carrying on."
Hermione felt a twinge of apprehension over Lucius and Calvin Yaxley palling around. It wasn't like she hadn't known the way the ex-Death Eaters tended to stick together, but everything was so topsy turvy that she felt she couldn't trust her own instincts entirely anymore. "Anything else I should know?"
"We haven't heard from Harry, and no news is good news. There is nothing else to tell you," Ron said firmly, his 'I mean business' face firmly in place.
"Sure you won't stay to dinner?" Hermione offered offhandedly, knowing full well they would decline since Lucius would be home.
"No thanks. I've got some steaks on at home," Lavender chirped, folding her arm through Ron's. "Thanks for the tea and chat Hermione! And do let me know about the haircut!"
"Will do," Hermione said, giving Lavender and Ron each a kiss on the cheek.
"Mind yourself, Hermione," Ron said, then looked at his wife before he disapparated them both.
"I will," Hermione promised to the empty air. Her head was full of thoughts chasing each other's tails as she walked back into the Manor.
"You don't have to go back today," Lucius said, but Hermione's sharp look was the only reply he received.
"I have taken as many reasonable precautions as possible, but I would be far happier if you would continue to work from home," he tried again, dallying with his cravat in a lazy fashion that stalled for time.
"As long as you have made the modifications to the office, I don't see any reason why I should not," Hermione said, then gestured to his cravat. "Or you could continue fussing with that and I could make it your noose?"
He rolled his eyes and offered his arm. "Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit."
"I'm so pleased to hear you compliment my wit, dear," Hermione replied sweetly, her shrunken briefcase where it belonged in her trouser pocket. She was barely showing, but had chosen wide-legged trousers to still camouflage her pregnancy. She did not need further stares in the office if a simple wardrobe choice would avoid it for the time being. "Shall we?"
Lucius grumbled under his breath, and Hermione thought she heard 'uppity' before he disapparated them both to the Ministry.
"Good morning," Hermione said cheerfully to every witch or wizard who stared at her or gave her dark looks. Lucius looked equally grim beside her, his eyes flashing at those with the impudence to give his wife a dark look in front of him. He wordlessly propelled them both to the lifts, ignoring her unspoken request that he release her hand from his arm. He was practically vibrating with hostility and Hermione let it drop. She was here, after all—she could afford to be magnanimous.
"Oh, dearie, welcome back!" Yasmin got up from her chair, her well cushioned bottom sashaying in her trademark fashion as she kissed Hermione on both cheeks and stood back to look her over carefully. "Well, well, I can tell that you've happy news, dear, but those trousers are just the thing if you want to keep it quiet, hmm?" Yasmin touched the side of her nose and winked in an obvious fashion, and inwardly Hermione sighed. The news would spread all over the Ministry in a flash, of that there was little doubt.
"Yes, we are quite pleased," Lucius said smoothly, a smile firmly in place and a pleasant expression on his face as he accepted Yasmin's effusive congratulations. Hermione was well aware that he had crafted rumors of her poisoning and let them circulate to combat the gossip about her supposed pregnancy, but if he had honestly expected those rumors to last the day he was out of his mind. She snorted to herself and quickly assumed a serene expression when Yasmin looked back at her with a questioning look on her face.
"You must tell me all about what has been going on here, Yasmin, especially since Lucius and I are now sharing an office," Hermione said, which provided a sufficient distraction for the gossipy secretary.
"Oh dearie, you must be dying to know what has been going on," Yasmin gushed in a maternal way. "Here, have a seat and a cup of tea, and I will tell you about everything that has been going on, for I'm sure that Lucius hasn't told you everything," Yasmin said with a wink at her boss as she steered Hermione to the more comfortable of the two chairs in the waiting room that served as Yasmin's office.
"Besides, I'm sure he needs to deal with those interdepartmental memos that have been waiting for him, and you don't want to be there for that," she assured Hermione as Lucius swept into what was now their shared office, where a cluster of memos waited overhead. Yasmin whispered, "He incinerates some, you see, and you don't want the ash in your hair."
Yasmin patted Hermione's hand and turned to summon two cups of tea, missing Hermione's wryly amused look.
"Now, you haven't heard this from Lucius, I'll warrant—Amelia Marchbanks is pregnant! And unmarried! It seems she avoided her match well enough before things could be consummated! And now they have to wait until the baby is born to find out if she still has to marry him. It's Throgmorton, you know, and that family has never been very magically strong—I'd say she was terrified of having a weak child, but no one is saying who the father is…"
Hermione half-listened to the office gossip, far more interested in what was going on behind Yasmin. The office had a glass wall, but it was enchanted to be one-way glass—the better for Lucius to catch employees who were slacking off. It didn't look like that from the outside, appearing as the plain white Ministry tile, but if Lucius allowed it whoever was inside the office was aware of the wall's true nature. She sipped her tea and murmured appropriate responses to Yasmin, taking in the subdued rush of work as more and more people filtered into the office. Some of them were Aurors or Unspeakables, she knew, but having been out of the office for so many weeks she wasn't perfectly certain who they were.
"And of course the sad business of Brandefort…apparently his gambling debts were horrendous, and they're saying that he tried to break into the DMM because of that! Poor dear's mother is beside herself—she was in my herbology club for a decade after her husband died, poor dear, before she moved to France. Now she's back to clean up after her dead son, the same way she had to clean up after his father! Sad state of affairs, that—" Yasmin broke off as there was a knock on the door, and the wall shimmered back to solid as Jessamine poked her head and began to ask Yasmin something, then broke off as she saw Hermione.
"Hermione! Oh, how wonderful that you are back!" She came into the office and gave her a hug and an air kiss on each cheek, then grabbed both of her hands and squeezed them. "You look so much better! But of course all those nasty rumors were just that, rumors, as if Monsieur Malfoy would want to get rid of such a useful wife as you!"
Hermione arched an eyebrow at the choice of "useful" as an adjective, but Jessamine just prattled on as Yasmin cleared away the teacups with her wand and resumed her place at her desk. Apparently Hermione was not going to get any help from that quarter…Yasmin was probably listening to every word in the hope of more juicy gossip.
"Yes, I am feeling much better. It was a side effect from the pregnancy, you see," Hermione replied calmly, and refrained from rolling her eyes when Jessamine squealed and tried to grab her hands again, but Hermione swiftly moved them behind her back.
"Oh, that is wonderful news! You must be pleased to be so fertile when so many purebloods have trouble conceiving, I'm sure your husband's family is thrilled," Jessamine said. "I am so very pleased for you, I'm sure you will find some charming maternity wear that will enhance your unique features."
"Yes, I'm sure. Tell me, Jessamine, how have you been doing on the Arithmancy for the regulator?" Hermione was keen to put the conversation back on a work footing, but Jessamine blithely ignored her and continued,
"I hope we will be equally lucky when Terrell and I are married. It's only a month now, you know, and mama is beside herself as the caterers are insisting they won't be able to get enough crystalline wax for the honeycomb cake…"
Hermione cut off Jessamine's wedding talk with a simple question. "What does your fiancé think of everything that has been going on here? Surely he wants you to come home?"
Jessamine didn't blush as she normally did when her fiancé was mentioned, merely blinked once. "Well, of course he is worried, but he knows I am not the target. Who would look at me?"
Hermione resisted the impulse to gawk at her blonde, buxom co-worker, but the girl glibly continued, "Besides, other than the unpleasantness of the break-in, he won't be terribly concerned with you being back. After all, it is all about you, isn't it? And if you don't have to worry about your husband, you hardly have anything to worry about at all. He's a competent wizard."
Hermione's temper flared at the insinuation that she couldn't handle herself, but Jessamine blathered on. "It's not as if you're going to be able to do much now with your current condition, and of course you'll be staying home after the baby comes."
She bit her tongue to stop from giving the ignorant girl a piece of her mind, and was thankful when Lucius emerged from their office, causing Jessamine to finally stop her prattling and Yasmin to pretend that she was busy with paperwork and not shamelessly eavesdropping on them.
"Ah, Jessamine. I reviewed the equations you submitted yesterday. I've sent the revisions to your desk. I'd like them done before the end of the day, please."
Jessamine rose elegantly from the chair (the uncomfortable one, at least, Hermione noted with ill feeling) and said, "Of course, Monsieur Malfoy! I will get back to work right away. And congratulations on your happy news!"
Lucius nodded his head in brief acknowledgement as Jessamine left the office, then gestured to the office with his right hand. "Care to see your new desk, Mrs. Malfoy?"
"Of course," Hermione said, taking a deep breath to cleanse herself of Jessamine's irritating babble.
The office had been enlarged, and a glass partition divided her work space from Lucius'. She knew he could use a silencing charm if necessary, but they had agreed to Lucius scheduling meetings during the times she was most likely to be in the lab, but the details and timing of that would remain inconsistent and the meeting attendees would only know of the timing at the last possible moment. The only exceptions were Kingsley, Harry, and Ron, who could come in at any time. All other visitors would be stopped by Yasmin and a very clever variation of the "Notice Me Not" charm that had been placed on their office door. The only way someone could now enter the office was if they were invited inside.
"Well, I suppose this will do," Hermione said, but Lucius had already sat back down at his desk, frowning at a memo, while a few remained floating over his head.
"This is not good," Lucius muttered, then raised his head to fix Hermione with a hawk-like expression. "When was that Muggle conference you were thinking about attending?"
"In a month, why?" Hermione frowned at the expression on Lucius' face as he scowled and turned his attention back to the memo before he incinerated it, the ash floating lazily in the air.
"Because we have another little problem. Apparently your opponents have decided that if a Muggle scientist won't do, a few graduate students will work just as well. One has just been reported missing in New York."
"And why are you certain it's related?" Hermione asked, already sure she knew the answer.
"Because he worked for Frederica Hayes."
"Damn." Hermione sat down on her chair, then looked at her husband. "I take it this means you aren't as opposed to my going to that conference now."
"I have to speak to Kingsley," Lucius said, "But I doubt we can avoid it. How we will manage it under controllable circumstances, I don't know."
"We'll find a way," Hermione said in a determined voice. "We have to follow the rabbit hole wherever it leads, Lucius."
"I don't have to follow it to know where it leads—straight to hell," Lucius retorted, but inwardly he cursed because he knew she was equally right.
