Good afternoon. I am sorry to have kept you waiting again. I am extremely busy in work. That's all, just exhaustingly busy. I thank all of you for reading & reviewing. The reviews are such a bright spot for me. I'm sorry more of you weren't able to comment on this past round, but we are nearly done. Just an epilogue to come. Please tell me if you enjoyed the whole story, and for those of you who have voted in my poll on my author page, I thank you. I am not sure I am going to do the Dramione Veela fic next, just not feeling the love for it at the moment. Plus work is keeping me hopping as I said. I might take a break and see where inspiration takes me. If you would like to read another HP fanfic from me, please follow me as an author.
Thank you all for coming along for the ride. You're the best!
Lucius was aware that Hermione was working on Kingsley Shacklebolt's last, frayed nerve. She was past the point of being able to finesse people—her emotions had broken through, she was too much of a Gryffindor in that way. She had even accused Lucius of not being angry about the Unbreakable vow, simply because he did not respond with the same magnificent fury that she displayed on the subject. It wasn't that Lucius wasn't furious, because he was. Rather, it was a cold fury, the kind that settled and waited for the opportunity to do something productive, and could give rise to longstanding grudges if it wasn't addressed satisfactorily.
Calvin Yaxley was well aware of this kind of fury. He was not in quite the same favorable position as Lucius to demand the removal of his own choke collar, after his little stunt with Amelia Marchbanks.
"Do you think he's going to suspend your wife permanently?" Calvin asked as they headed swiftly toward the lifts.
"I'm not worried about her job. I'm afraid he's pissed off enough to cast first and ask questions later. A good hexing is probably what he's after, since he knows he can't afford to fire her."
"And you think your wife couldn't hold her own against Kingsley? What, haven't been tutoring your little wife in the finer points of dueling?"
Lucius sent a single, dark look at his friend as the lift shuddered into action. "I have not forgotten that our dear Minister was a highly skilled Auror before he took up political office."
"True." Calvin was silent as the lift glided a halt. "On the plus side, I'm certain he wouldn't cast while she's holding a baby."
"If he ever so much as drew his wand while she was holding Athelina, I'd curse him myself, Unbreakable vow or no."
The Minister's floor was entirely too quiet. Both Calvin and Lucius drew their wands instantly, aware that something was very wrong indeed.
"It would appear that your Aurors are neglecting their duties," Lucius whispered, scanning the corridor and assessing which doors were likely to hold surprises.
"If they are, they'll be fired tomorrow," Calvin replied, his tone low and alert. "There."
Both pairs of eyes flicked toward a door handle that was opening. There was a muttered curse, then the person stepped into the doorway. Lucius and Calvin both fired, the wand in the hand enough of a signal to justify their actions.
"Shit!" Calvin said as they both crouched down by the prone form of Kingsley Shacklebolt's fiancée, Melinda Harris. "You don't think she's involved in this?"
"No," Lucius said, meeting Calvin's eyes. "Let's get her up and out of here. We need to get back to Hermione right away."
"Agreed," Calvin said in clipped tones, Lucius making swift work of the Rennervate! that had the woman sputtering for breath and angry.
"Was that necessary?" she said, and Lucius helped her to her feet while Calvin began asking questions.
"How long have you been down here?"
The petite redhead straightened herself haughtily. "I came down not five minutes ago because I need to speak to Kingsley. I haven't seen a soul since I arrived."
"Where is your Auror escort?"
"Back in the lobby, of course! Why would I need an escort in the lift? Coming to the Minister's floor, which is supposedly crawling with them?"
Lucius had quite firmly been propelling her back to the lifts. "Which lift did you use?"
They were now at the two lifts that serviced the floor.
"Two lifts," Calvin said. "Just like the Department of Mysteries."
"I used the one on the right. What in the bloody hell is going on here?" Melinda's temper was rising after the double stupefy and the fact that she wasn't being told what was happening.
"We are not on the Minister's floor," Calvin replied absently as Lucius fired a spell at the closest door. As expected, it shimmered into a solid fog.
"A Salon d'Enigme. The lift was enchanted to divert us," Lucius said. "Yaxley, do you remember where the stairs are located in the DMM?"
"Yes, but we need to get out of this room first."
Lucius was impatient, but realized that it would not help him think clearly. Every minute they were delayed was another minute for the mole to get at Hermione.
"Salons d'Enigme respond only to their owners. Since this one is in the DMM, I would presume it would respond to Pius," Melinda suggested.
"Unfortunately, dear lady, we do not know if Pius put us here," Lucius responded testily. "He could well be the individual responsible for the Ministry leaks."
Lucius and Calvin exchanged a look. Both were thinking of how convenient it would have been to still have Pius under the Imperius, but that was neither here nor there.
"Well, if the rightful owner is not available, perhaps the trapdoor will do, then," Melinda said tartly. "Exitus subitus!"
"Madam, I own a Salon d'Enigme in my home, and I assure you, there are no—" Lucius began in exasperation, then stopped when the witch's wand flared green, a whip of light flowing forth and outlining a trap door in the floor two hundred yards away.
"Mr. Malfoy, I am a guardian of knowledge. There are many helpful tidbits buried in the best libraries."
"Let's go," Lucius said, nodding to acknowledge the hit.
Hermione could hear the quiet noise of her daughter eating, briefly wondered how she could continue as her entire body posture stiffened, her system flooding with adrenaline and cortisol. She could feel her wand in her sleeve, hidden underneath Athelina. She couldn't risk it, however, as Athelina would be in danger. She would have to talk and hope Lucius would return quickly.
"What have you done with Yasmin?" she asked, watching Jessamine walk another step into the office, her wand pointed fixedly at Hermione.
"Let's just say, she won't be interrupting our conversation," Jessamine said. "Tell me, Hermione, how much have you figured out?"
"I know you're an unregistered Metamorphmagus, and you were responsible for the break-ins at the Ministry," Hermione said slowly, and Jessamine quirked her eyebrow.
"Nothing else? Tsk tsk, such reputed brainpower, and still ignorant?" There was a sly look on her face, and something clicked in Hermione's mind.
"You're Bedell's daughter," she said, her gaze momentarily distracted by Athelina, who fussed for a second at her breast before resuming her eating. "You resemble him."
"Very good," Jessamine said, prowling to the left, away from the office door. Damn. Hermione had hoped she would stay there, visible to whoever entered the outer office. That gives her more time to react to anyone coming in.
Jessamine continued, her face twisting in an angry manner. "Yes, he's my father, if you could call him that. That bastard wanted nothing to do with me until I was seven! SEVEN! He left my mother to fend for herself, subjected to the stares and gossip of a single witch with a child and no marriage to show for it! The least he could have done would have been to bring her to France, but he refused to do even that until I spontaneously transformed one day into a hawk and attacked him! Suddenly he was very interested in me then."
"You must have expressed your abilities very late," Hermione said cautiously, and Jessamine scowled.
"In a Muggle house, it's not hard to resist if you're punished every time you do so. I was able to control myself well enough until he showed up. Then there was nothing he wouldn't do for me, but I never forgot that. It wasn't until he had explained why that my hatred found a proper focus."
Hermione was desperate to keep her talking, explaining her past and her relationship to Bedell. The longer she spent talking about the past, the more likely it was that she'd get help or get Athelina out of the way. She had already decided that Athelina was going to the knee cubby in Lucius' desk. It was an antique from the Manor, one that he'd wrangled in himself. She suspected that wasn't all it was, and would be relying on that fact if Jessamine started throwing curses. "And how did he explain himself, Jessamine? What possible reason could a man have for abandoning his child?"
Her eyes narrowed, and for a split second Hermione thought she would have shove Athelina from her breast and pull her wand. However, Jessamine started talking again, and Hermione mentally urged Lucius to come quickly, please, Godric, Rowena, Helga, and Salazar!
"He was told he couldn't marry my mother, a mudblood. She wasn't worthy of the Malfaille name, according to Thérèse. And your husband supported her, persuaded Bertrand to threaten my father with disinheritance if he pursued her. So he left her! It was only because I was so much like him that he even…" she stopped mid-rant, her eyes narrowing still further. "You don't know anything about him, do you? All of you, you're still ignorant!"
At this Jessamine threw her head back and laughed, tears falling from her eyes. Hermione didn't know if she was mad or amused. She made to detach Athelina from her breast, as her daughter had mercifully fallen asleep, her mouth still moving instinctively, but nothing going into her tummy.
"Stop!" Jessamine said, her face contorted with rage. "Don't you dare move your precious baby, Hermione. I won't have any tricks from you today!"
Hermione could feel the wetness of her milk leaking down onto her blouse, past Athelina's cheek. "I won't move her," Hermione said placatingly, ceasing her movements. She had to get the witch's attention off Athelina.
"What about your fiancé?" she tried, hoping it wasn't something that Jessamine had just made up. This was the wrong thing to say, however, as fury caused Jessamine's hair to turn bright green and yellow, as if it were a living flame.
"YOU were responsible for my fiancé being put in Azkaban!" she shrieked, her wand twitching, the tip glowing. "I only wanted a family, one of my own! And you took even that from me!"
"I—"
"No!" Jessamine shrieked. "Shut up! You're going to pay, and you're going to pay now! Starting with that precious brat of yours!"
Several things happened at once. Jessamine's wand snapped back, and Hermione pulled Athelina away, prepared to take whatever spell was coming her way if she could just get her daughter safe, her wand around her fingertips and a protective spell on her lips, for Athelina. There was a flash of red, and Hermione was untouched. Her eyes flashed to the door, where Yasmin leaned against the doorframe.
"There's not a witch alive who can hold the Imperius on me," the secretary said, her breath wheezy. "Sorry it took me so long dearie."
"Yasmin!" Hermione yelled, and rushed across the office, crushing the old witch to her in a hug, Athelina waking up and squawling between them.
"Avada kedavra!"
The flash of green seemed to encompass her vision momentarily, and for a split second Hermione's mind was tossed back to the war years. The spell, however, flew right past her and hit its intended target. Hermione's head whipped around to see Jessamine fall to the floor, her wand arm still outstretched.
"Lucius," Hermione breathed as her husband swept her into an embrace.
"I'm sorry it took me so long," he murmured into her hair, uncaring that Calvin had swept into the room behind him, was checking Jessamine's body and listening to Yasmin's babbled recitation of what had gone on. "She trapped us in the DMM's Salon d'Enigme."
"I'm glad you found a way out," Hermione said, and Lucius kissed her, for the time being ignoring their angry daughter who was loudly crying her displeasure. When he was finished making her breathless for a different reason than mortal peril, he kissed Athelina and put her over his shoulder.
"Well, it turns out Kingsley's fiancée might not be such a bad fit for him after all."
There was quite a hullabaloo at the Ministry late that evening. Fortunately for the MLE, many witches and wizards were already out of the office for the day, so there was less information control required. The DMM and MLE were swarming around the entire department, and Hermione was about to hex the next Auror or Unspeakable who asked her more questions about what had happened.
She looked across at Lucius, who was undergoing a more strenuous interrogation due to his use of an Unforgivable. The circumstances made it permissible, but these apparently had to be verified in triplicate before anyone could release his wand back to him.
"Here dearie, have some tea. They've finally let me go about my business."
Hermione accepted the cup gratefully with one hand, her other being occupied with a sleeping Athelina. She had had to excuse herself to change her and nurse her once already, Lucius having insisted on attending them both as she did so, to hell with the interrogators. Calvin had smoothed that one over, but Hermione simply wanted to be allowed to go home at this point.
"Everyone out!"
Kingsley's booming voice saw the Aurors and Unspeakables scatter, and the Minister strode in with his fiancée, his patient Auror escorts accompanying them. Yasmin assumed the order didn't apply to her, as it was her office, and Hermione simply didn't have the energy to brawl with Kingsley as she would have done under other circumstances.
"Complicated charmwork on the lift," Calvin said as he came back into the office on Kingsley's heels, followed closely by Pius Thicknesse.
"It's the type of spells used in my division," Pius said, "Quite the mess I've got on my hands now—we'll have to see if any of the Unspeakables have been under the Imperius. Now that we have her wand, we can look for the signature."
"Assuming she doesn't have more wands at her flat. We're investigating that right now," Calvin added, exchanging a glance with Lucius. They were both hoping the witch had only had the one flat.
"Cup of tea?" Yasmin asked Melinda, who assented with a curt nod and sat down next to Hermione in the less comfortable chair.
"How are you doing, Mrs. Malfoy?" she asked, observing the exasperated look that Kingsley had thrown at the witch.
"I'd be doing a darn sight better if I could go home, and if I knew that your soon-to-be husband had finally released my husband from his Ministry collar!"
Melinda was clearly surprised by Hermione's remark, and asked her to explain while Kingsley was briefed on the events of the day by Lucius, Calvin, and Pius.
"And he's refusing to release him?" Melinda asked, her cheeks hollowing briefly in outrage. "Well, we'll see about that!" Melinda twisted in her seat and fixed Kingsley with a sharp stare. "Excuse me."
Hermione watched the diminutive witch interrupt Pius, who was speaking, and pull Kingsley aside for a furiously whispered conversation. Lucius came over and placed a hand on her shoulder, his hair brushing her neck as he bent down.
"What on earth did you say to her?" he murmured, looking up to meet her eyes. She shook her head as they heard a furiously whispered, "Kingsley Aloysius Shacklebolt!"
Kingsley looked like he was about to expire of frustration, but stopped himself and forced his tone even lower. There were a few more minutes of whispered conversation, which had attracted the attention of all in the room. Calvin and Pius had given up all pretense of discussing business, they were so fascinated by the interplay between the petite librarian and the imposing Minister of Magic.
Finally, Kingsley broke free of his fiancée, and darted a dirty look at Pius and Calvin. Hermione and Lucius had been more subtle in their attention to the discussions, a duplicity that was easily allowed by the presence of Athelina.
"Lucius, a word." Kingsley's tone was curt, but his expression was one of longsuffering. He briefly met Hermione's gaze, but she offered him no sympathy in hers. He was behaving in an unscrupulous manner, and he knew it.
Lucius nodded and released his hold on Hermione's shoulder, walking across the room. He was thoroughly surprised when Kingsley captured his hand, drew his wand and said, "I, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister of Magic for Great Britain and the Isles, do hereby release Lucius Abraxas Malfoy of his Unbreakable Vow in aid of this Ministry."
The magic swirled and sparked around their hands, then dissipated quickly. Hermione, who had risen to her feet when Kingsley drew his wand, walked unsteadily to Lucius and kissed him quickly, pressing awake aAthelina into his arms. She heard Kingsley's sigh as she turned to face him.
"I have something for you, Kingsley Shacklebolt," Hermione said firmly, then drew a sealed scroll of parchment from her pocket. "This is a formality, but I'll sum it up for you: I quit."
Calvin failed to resist the smirk that crossed his face, but Pius had a better time of it. Without even looking at Kingsley's expression, Hermione turned and took Lucius' arm. Her husband looked surprised and slyly pleased.
"Come on, Lucius. I want to go home."
Hermione grabbed her bag from the chair next to the speechless Yasmin, pressing a kiss on her cheek. "We'll have you to the Manor for tea, Yasmin."
"Good evening," Lucius added to the office at large, before he followed his wife out the door, his finger now firmly held by Athelina's fingers.
