Disclaimer:- I do not own any HP characters etc
The meeting finally finished and the two lawyers and their assistants Stephen and Mindy, head to lunch together. Blaise's tie was pulled slightly undone and Hermione's hair was let loose, they've had a tiring morning. They had let the associates leave as they were due take a port key back to Italy for another meeting. They still had contracts to finalize for the employee transfers. Settling in a small restaurant that they had been in a few times, they chatted amongst themselves pleasantly over their lunch until...
" Ugh, I didn't know they let death eaters in this place!" They hear a woman say
" And they let that tramp in, disgraceful!" A familiar voice said
Turning round, they see a slim blonde woman with a smaller red-haired woman glaring at them.
" For all the places!" Blaise says turning back round
" Just ignore them" Hermione replies taking a bite from chicken salad
" Do you know them?" Stephen asks
" Unfortunately, one of them" He replies
Mindy doesn't say anything and Stephen nods taking a sip of his drink. They had both seen the daily prophet already and knew that their bosses had a bad day the day before. They were very aware of their past but neither of them had a problem, they've both worked with Hermione and Blaise for years and knew that they were not that kind of people.
" Excuse me, can we be seated somewhere else" Ginny asks the waiter as he was putting them at a table next to Hermione and Blaise
" May I ask why Miss?" The waiter asks
" We prefer to not be seated around people who are deatheaters" The blonde sniffs
The waiter looks around and frowns at the blonde's comment.
" There are no death eaters here miss, you don't have to worry" He says politely
" What do you mean there aren't any? There's one right there" She cries pointing a finger at Blaise accusingly.
Blaise stands up suddenly making the blonde stand behind the waiter.
" See! He's dangerous!" She cries out acting scared, Ginny was standing there with a smirk on her face
The other three stands up with Blaise as Hermione puts her hand in his to pull him back slightly.
" Wow, married and with another married man, never knew you had it in you Hermione" Ginny says eyeing their hands.
" Oh what a tramp, it's a good thing Ronnie didn't end up with you!" The blonde says
" Oh where are my manners, this is Lacey, Ron's girlfriend" Ginny smirks as she introduces the blonde
" Hermione is my sister, keep your filthy trap shut!" Blaise growls
" Blaise" Hermione says in a stern tone
" How dare you talk to me like that!" Lacey says glaring at Blaise, Hermione eyes the blonde up and down with an expression of disgust making Lacey feel more uncomfortable, something that she had learnt from Draco, not that she usually likes to make people feel low and uncomfortable in their own skin, but it she found it quite useful when dealing with certain clients or the opposing client for work.
" Stop looking at me like that you bint" Lacey growls
" Oh..am I making you uncomfortable? I was just merely...admiring your outfit" Hermione says smoothing her blazer out nonchalantly, the blonde started looking at herself all over, Blaise smirks at what he was witnessing, he rarely sees Hermione use such tactics, and its normally with opposing clients. Blaise knew that Hermione and himself had already examined the two women in front of them, something they always do with clients. They would observe the way they act, the way they talked, their posture, and how they dressed. It's usually a brief profile that they make in their heads so that they would have something to go from when dealing with difficult clients. Lacey wasn't hard to make a profile off, she was dressed well, held her posture well but in a confident way, she had many fine pieces of jewellery on, the way she spoken already made it clear that she disliked both of them immensely, she was probably not that intelligent, but had her looks to get her by. That was what Hermione was targeting, the woman was very into her looks and used it for everything, targeting the way she was dressed was only part one, if Blaise knew Hermione, she can make the girl feel like she was the most ugliest witch in England, however, he doubted that she would go that far. Draco on the other hand wouldn't think twice about it, but Blaise knew that Hermione couldn't really do that to a woman, even if the woman was someone she detested.
" Of course you were, you have no style compare to Lacey, jealous are you? I'm not surprised" Ginny says puffing out her chest a bit, making Blaise roll his eyes, the red-headed woman in front of them doesn't even hold a candle to Lacey never mind Hermione he thought.
" Oh? Why would I be jealous when I have perfectly fine clothes myself" Hermione smiles at her sweetly
" You're in nothing but plain work clothes, how...Hermione off you, then again, I wouldn't expect anything else" Ginny shrugs, Blaise raised an eyebrow at Ginny wondering if he knew exactly what Hermione was wearing, she may be in work clothing and the colours aren't bright, but it was definitely not something Ginny could afford.
" Dear Weaselette, my sorellina doesn't actually flaunt what she's wearing. For someone who thinks they have impeccable style and fashion knowledge sure knows nothing about it" Blaise drawls
" I have great fashion sense thank you very much, I could be a fashion designer if I wanted to" Ginny growls at him 'Bingo, hit another spot' Blaise thinks to himself
Just as Hermione was about to say something two men walks over to them.
" Mr. Zabini, we're very sorry to have your meal interrupted, please know that your meals are free of charge this afternoon." The waiter had gone and gotten the manager to come over when he saw that it was out of his hands.
" Ladies, we don't welcome those who insult our customers, I will have to ask you to leave" The man turns round to the two women
" That's quite alright Mark, I've lost my appetite, we'll be taking our leave" Blaise says, putting down some money, they may have told them that the meal was free but Blaise tipped more than what their meal had costed. He pulls Hermione out with him with their assistants following.
" Oh and Ginerva" Hermione calls just as Blaise opens the door, as the redhead and the blonde turn to look at her, Hermione straightens out a little holding her hand out to the side
" My outfit here...cost more than your house. Also...Lacey..your outfit is very lovely, I remember it being just as lovely when the designer was using me as a model for it" She smiles
" Like you would know who designed this" Lacey retorts
" Of course I do, she's my best friend. The line Fiore which you are wearing is designed by PanPark which is also short for Pansy Parkinson, I test out most of her new stuff before she lets it out in the shops." Hermione waves at them walking out.
" You're a stupid whore! You and your deatheater buddy should stay out of this town, you're not welcome here" Lacey yells angrily knowing that she had lost the argument
As soon as they step out, Hermione links onto Blaise trying to calm him down.
" They're not worth it fratello"She says in a soothing voice
" Mamma would have murder if she was here" He replies still frowning
" Well Mamma isn't here" Hermione said
" And that's why I had to say something" Blaise replies with a grin as they head back inside GMZ.
During Hermione's time in Italy, she had become close with Blaise's mother. Without having her parents around, Blaise's mother had taken Hermione in as her own, it was always just her and Blaise, the press had her down as a gold digger and latched onto one men after another, however to Hermione's surprise none of it was true, she just had more male friends than women. With the press releasing scandalising articles about the woman it was harder for her to befriend females. Hermione was ashamed that she had once believed the lies, she told herself that she should have known better, since she had always told people to not judge a book by it's cover and she had done the very same thing, she vowed since then to take tabloids with a pinch of salt.
Blaise's mother Matalia had always wanted a daughter and saw the opportunity with Hermione. Nothing was legal since Hermione was old enough to needed to be adopted, she however had insisted that Hermione was her daughter and made her call her mother. For a while Hermione wasn't comfortable with it but humoured the Italian woman, but after a while she had gotten use to it. She was invited to their holidays and had stayed in Zabini manor quite often, she fell into the roll of being her daughter so easily, the only difference was they didn't have the same surname, and they had never asked her to change it. The Zabini's respected her and always told her that her parents were always going to be her mum and dad, and the one's that raised her, but they wanted her to know that she still had a family there, even though they may not be blood. For that she loved them, and had let herself grown to be part of their family. She found herself being attached to them and it wasn't long before she saw them as her own family, it wasn't the same as when she was with the Weasleys, she use to think of Molly as a second mother, but being with the Zabini's was different, she had a sense of comfort that she couldn't describe, she realised that Molly hadn't taken her as a daughter, it was Harry that she always mothered, she was just a family friend. Their respect for her past had given her warmth and when she needed it, Matalia was always there to give her motherly advice and told of her off for many things that a mother would normally react. Now she has two mothers in her life that are alive, and she loved them both dearly, Narcissa had welcomed her to their family before her and Draco had even started dating, and till this day neither of the woman had tried to replace Hermione's real mother.
Blaise had calmed down once they reached the meeting room again, they had each sat down with a cup of coffee, courtesy of Mindy who had gifted them with a coffee machine. Blaise looks over at Hermione and tilts his head at their assistants who were sitting across them.
" We were wondering, if you both like to transfer over to join us here" Hermione asks the two with a smile
" Yes! I would love to, I was hoping you'd ask because I really want to stay as your assistant, oh my gods! Thank you so much! I don't know what I would do on my lunch breaks without you" Mindy bursts with a big grin, making the others laugh, she was always a bubbly person and blabbers non stop when she gets excited, Blaise looks at Stephen to see his reaction who smiles in return.
" Of course, who else can organize your notes better than me" He replies grinning, standing to shake Blaise's hand.
Ginny was furious that the manager from the restaurant had kicked them out, even though Hermione and Blaise had left they were still told to leave. She had never been kicked out of any restaurants before. Being Mrs. Potter always got heads turning and people pretty much were at her beck and call. Instead Ginny and her brothers girlfriend ended up not having any lunch as they were both pissed off. She knew that Hermione would be rich, but it made her more angry that Hermione was able to flaunt it like that, okay so she was provoked to flaunt it, but still. She doesn't deserves to have Malfoy and his money, she felt embarrassed that Blaise had made her feel like she knew nothing about fashion, one thing that she does have a love for. Why had Hermione came back, why couldn't she just stay in Italy. Now everyone was all about Hermione and not even bothering serving her at a restaurant. Her afternoon was already ruined by bumping into the death eater and tramp, she had dropped off the kids with her mum in the morning and was looking forward to do some shopping with Lacey. Lacey may be as bright as a gold-fish but she sure has style and could use the opinions on clothing. Not wanting to spend any more time with the blonde Ginny left and went back home to Grimmauld place. Upon arriving by floo, she sees her brother sitting on the couch looking deep in thought.
" Finally! Where have you been?" He demanded standing up
" Out! Where does it look like" She replies, taking her cloak off and hanging it on the coat stand
" I've been waiting ages" He replies in a huff.
" Aren't you supposed to be at work?" Ginny raises an eyebrow at him, folding her arms
" I'm a senior, they won't miss me" He waves his hand following his sister to the kitchen
" I assume you're here for a reason then" She replies pulling two mugs out the cabinet and making coffee for them
" I need your help Gin" He was practically begging, taking a seat at the table
" What makes you think I'd help?" She snorts, she was in a bad mood and didn't really want company
" I've helped you countless times in hiding your affairs!" Ron retorts
" Is this about Hermione again?" She sighs sitting opposite him, pushing a mug towards him
" I need to get her out of there! She's not happy" He replies with a growl
" Why though? What does it have to do with you?" She asks, sipping her coffee
" Because I love her! You know that! She's happiest with me..." He says waving a hand out as if it was obvious, he kept on ranting about why he needed her, leaving Ginny sitting there thinking.
" OKAY RON, STOP" Ginny says putting her hand up to indicate to him to stop talking, snapping his mouth shut and taking a gulp of his luke warm coffee.
" I will help you, but you can't question what I want in return" She says
" What you want? Gin it's no secret to me that you want one of the guys, it's not like I haven't helped you cover your affairs before" He laughs at her, making her face redden and scowling at him
" Yes you've established that already!" She snaps back
" Okay, what do you want?" Ron sighs and looks at his sister seriously.
Putting her cup down and leaning back into her chair " I want Malfoy"
They carried on with the employee transfer paper work for the rest of the afternoon, it was nearing 4pm and they had let their assistants leave for the day. Hermione was going through some of her mail while Blaise was finishing of signing some cases. Frowning at the letter in her hand, she throws it to a side and opens another one, Blaise peeks up to see her expression and carries on reading a file.
" Oh that's inventive, this one just says 'Die bitch'" She says throwing the paper
" Have you read the paper yet?" Blaise asks without looking up
" No, I've been with you all day" She replies huffing
" Maybe you shouldn't read it" He says putting his pen down
" Don't worry, it's by Rita, I know it's not going to be good" Hermione replies, pulling the paper from her bag.
Flipping through the pages to the article, she notices that there were quite a few pictures of them, one of Draco and Blaise standing with Harry and Ron pointing their wands at them, one of her and the Slytherins, which clearly cut of Harry and Ron who they were looking at, one of Hermione and Draco with their children before Narcissa and Lucius had left with them, one just of Lucius and Hermione where he had a hand on her shoulder, and the last one of them all pointing wands at each other. Hermione lets out a small growl making Blaise raise an eyebrow at her before looking down back at the papers, he was mentally preparing himself for her reaction
' Discovered just yesterday, our war heroine Hermione Granger has returned to England, and not alone. It was seen by many that she had brought along five former Slyterins with her, claiming that the one and only Draco Malfoy as her husband as well as having two children with him! It was well-known that the Malfoys were followers of you-know-who during the war, including Theodore Nott who were also present. The five Slytherins who had returned with our beloved heroine are in the picture above, Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson and Astoria Greengrass.
A brutal fight had exploded in the middle of Diagon Alley just outside Elessa's Cafe, involving our two war Hero's Harry Potter (Head of Auror Department) and Ronald Weasley (Senior Auror). Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley were full of concern seeing their long time best friend with the former death eaters. However passer's by had heard that Miss Granger was under imperio and is not herself, she was forced into marriage with Mr. Malfoy to raise his reputation. We all remember the pain that Mr. Weasley went through when Miss Granger had brutally broken up with him leaving him heart-broken, this must have not been easy for the courageous man. Miss Granger had an outburst claiming the reason for her break up with ex Mr. Weasley back then was due to him having an affair behind her back, is this true? Or is it a lie that was concocted by the Slytherins and forced her to say? Upon this scene, Lucius Malfoy and his wife Narcissa Malfoy had shown up and taken their children away, Miss Granger looked upset as the two elder Malfoys dragged the kids away from her. A moment where the elder Malfoy had his hand on Miss Granger's shoulder, it looked like he was giving her instructions on what to do with the two hero's in front of her. Miss Granger was seen pulling her wand at her ex-beau in a vicious battle defending Mr. Nott. Many of us were appalled that she had started a duel in front of children as Mr. Potters three boys were present at the table next to them. We were thrown aside from getting a comment from Miss Granger by Mr. Zabini himself, clearly they are keeping Miss Granger away from people, we have no doubt that Miss Granger was upset. None of the snakes would leave her side, obviously holding her in place. As Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley was outnumbered and was unable to save her from the former death eaters, we feel immensely sad for the young woman. It seemed that they have taken Miss Granger as hostage and no one knows how, Mr. Weasley had tried to help her when he was blown back by Miss Grangers wand. Mr. Potter had walked away with his hand on his head, one wonder's what they had done to injure our hero, Mr. Weasley got away lucky without any harm, thankfully Mrs. Potter was not harmed and neither were the three children.
Where has Miss Granger been all these years? How had she fallen into the trap of the snakes? It saddens us that such a lovely woman could be held against her own freewill and we hope that our hero's will be able to save her from the horrors of her life, it pains us as she had to bare two children to a former death eater, one can only imagine how difficult it must be to be forced to have children with someone who they may not love. Mr. Weasley comments " Hermione would not do anything like this, she's obviously being blackmailed or drugged, and I will save her, even if I have to do it myself" as Mr. Potter leaves without a comment obviously too distraught to speak after not being successful in helping Miss Granger. We at the Daily Prophet pray that Mr. Weasley can save Miss Granger in time before anything else happens to her.
" WHAT THE FUCK!" Hermione screams standing up from her seat, Blaise cringes at the loudness of her voice. He wished that they were all here when she read it as Draco was usually best to calm her down.
" HOW DARE SHE! THAT...THAT..."
" That ugly, big haired, slimy beetle, bitch?" Blaise says
" LOW LIFE, NO GOOD, SON OF A GOD DAMN WHORE, YOU KNOW WHAT HER MOTHER IS PROBABLY BETTER THAN THAT, SHE'S THE WHORE!" Hermione carries on ranting, ripping up the paper and throwing it everywhere.
Blaise stands up and walks over to Hermione slowly letting her throw the paper in every direction.
" Sorellina, no one will believe that piece of shite, as you said before, it's Skeeter. Everyone knows that she writes garbage" He says soothingly, pulling her to him and rubbing her back in circles.
" They started the fight! There wasn't even a fucking fight, they pointed wands first! The bitch has twisted everything around" She cries, leaning into his chest, tears start seeping into Blaise's suit as he pulls her in a tighter hug.
" She wrote about you, all of you, she made it look like I didn't want my children! My children are going to be talked about!" Hermione says crying harder.
" Shhh, don't think, just let it out" He says still rubbing circles around on her back, pulling out his phone from his pants pocket with his other hand, he sends a group text out to the others.
Draco and Theo were in the middle of the meeting when both of their phone vibrates.
" Sorry" They both said in unison
' She's read the paper... I suggest a group meeting tonight? - B'
Both of them groan out loud causing Flint and Jones giving them questioning looks. Draco and Theo look at each other in a silent conversation and nods.
' We can get together at my place tonight, Scorp and Cassie are here today – T '
Draco sighs putting his phone back on the table, but another buzz makes them both check the phone again.
' I'll come by with the kids after I finish work -P'
Draco couldn't concentrate properly after finding out that his wife had read the article, Theo ended up leading the meeting.
" I promised to take the kids to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes" Hermione says packing up her things and some files.
It had taken a while for her to stop crying, Blaise had been there the whole time just hugging her until the tears stopped. Looking up at her from packing his things, his face was still filled with worry.
" I'll come with you" He replies, shoving some files in his briefcase
" No, it's okay, Cissa said she'll come with, you should spend time with Pans and the boys" She says still sniffling
" We're all meeting tonight at Theo's so I'll get to see them then before the kids go sleep" He said, making Hermione look straight at him
" What? We don't need to have a group meeting for my sake, it's just an article" Hermione frowns picking up her bag
" Sorellina. You know that whatever happens to one of us, it happens to all of us, we're one remember, and you need to let it out, so we're meeting at Theo's okay?!" Blaise was in front of her now bending down to look at her in the eyes with one hand on her shoulder, it wasn't so much of a question as it was a statement. She understood what he meant, if it happened to anyone of them, it would be the same, not if...it has happened to them, maybe not news paper articles, but whenever something really hit one of them hard, they would always have a group meeting.
Remembering back when they were in Italy, just before graduation, the press had a field day with Pansy's fathers information, he was in Azkaban for participating in the war as a death eater, but during his sentence the man died, the forensic team said that he had starved himself to death and it was on purpose, the man had wanted to die, leaving only a letter for Pansy. Even though Pansy was never really close with her father and she hated him, it still hit her really hard, he was still her father. Anything that was displayed in public in the past between her and her father was for appearances, her father wanted people to think that their family was always perfect. Pansy was harassed with many owls for days from people and journalists asking for interviews and such. Draco had to locked the windows of their dorm to stop them from coming in. When Pansy finally decided to open the letter, at first she only read it with Hermione in the room but after a couple of hours crying on her shoulder, they had a group meeting and Pansy had let everything out, and she was able to move on from it then.
Whenever they called it a 'group meeting', it was an unwritten rule of having another heart-heart talk, no one would miss it and it wouldn't be held unless everyone was there. It had been this way since their first heart-heart from the first Summer they spent together.
" You're right, I do need to let it out" She gives him a small smile back
" Good, so when are we taking my god children to the Weasley shop?" He asks picking up his briefcase
" I said that I'd take them as soon as I finish work, so I guess when we pick them up from Nott Manor" She replies, as the pair walk to the lift.
" Great, we should take Parker with us." He smiles lifting his elbow up for her to hold onto.
Draco and Theo was discussing on a location to open an office in London with Flint and Jones, Marcus Flint who was head of the office in Italy when they weren't around and Henry Jones who is the accountant for the company, when they hear the a ring throughout the house. Knowing who had arrived by floo, Draco excuses himself from the meeting to see his wife. Rushing to the Floo in the sitting room he sees her dusting herself off as Blaise just enters.
" Hey caro, you okay?" He asks in a gentle voice, hugging her close. He could feel her grasping onto him hard in the hug.
" Yeah, but we'll talk later tonight when everyone is here" She pulls back to look at him, giving him a weak smile, his grey eyes staring back at her with a little crease in between his eyes showing his worry.
" Okay" He replies understandingly, giving her a kiss on her forehead.
" Don't you have a meeting with Marcus and Henry today?" She asks dropping her bag down on the side
" Yeah, it's still going, I should get back in" He sighs still holding her
" We're taking the kids to the Weasley shop then I'm going to check on Pans and boys" Blaise says pulling his tie off and unbuttoning his top button.
" You don't have to go you know, they'll understand if you want to take them another time" Draco said to Hermione
" No, I promised them, plus your mother and Blaise is coming with, I'll be okay" Hermione smiles at him, Draco nods and gives her a quick peck on the lips before heading back to his meeting, he relaxes a bit knowing that Blaise was going to be there with them.
" Malfoy? Really?" Ron growls folding his arms, he knew his sister had been with some disgusting men before but he never thought she would want the ferret.
" Yes" She replies seriously
" Why?" He questions
" I told you to not question what I want" The woman snaps again
" If you don't tell me I can't help you either" He replies with a cold tone
Hearing what he said, she knew that her brother was agreeing to what she wanted.
" Where's Harry?" She asks leaning on the table
" He's got a mount of paper work to go through, he wouldn't be leaving the office till at least six" He said knowing what she was thinking
Nodding at his reply Ginny waves her wand to start dinner for the night, happy that her magic cooking skills were working properly in the background she starts to explain.
" Malfoy is the richest man in England, he has more Galleons to last for generations. Don't look at me like that Ron, I'm not going to run away with the man" She rolls her eyes at her brothers disgusted face, nodding to her to continue
" I need to him to want me, and I can't do that with Hermione in the picture. After I get hold of enough galleons to last I'll just dump him. Last time I messed up, this seems to be my second chance" She shrugs
" Harry makes enough as it is, and you're always going shopping buying new things, wait, what do you mean last time?" He says to her
" Please, Harry's wages only pay enough for a couple of outfits. I want my sons to have the best and I have three of them, Malfoy wouldn't miss a few million. Don't worry about what my last time, I told you I messed up." Ginny says while admiring her fingernails.
" You said you always saved up for the stuff" He replies, having not moved from his position
" That's what I always say, the men I slept with are pretty wealthy. I got what I want and left, and I'll do the same with Malfoy." She grins
" You whored yourself for money? Ginny, that's disgusting" Ron cries
" I DIDN'T whore myself for money, I did like them, but I know that Harry is a husband type, the others weren't, Harry wouldn't leave me, because of that I have managed to give my family the best!" She says raising he voice angrily
Thinking to himself on what he just heard from his sister, he only knew about two affairs, but they were both pretty rich, each time she would come back saying how she knew she was wrong and that it was a moment of weakness. She would always refer back to how he, himself had cheated and related that it was the same moment of weakness that he had. He never questioned on how Ginny was able to buy all the expensive robes for her and his nephews, or how she had bought them all the latest broom models. Her jewellery collection would expand every month, Harry had once questioned her in front of him and she would always say how good she was at budgeting and saving . She was always the one to budget for her family, Harry just makes the money and leaves the bills and everything else for her to handle. It now makes how she had managed to purchase such expensive things, he wonders how many affairs she really had. He found himself both disgusted and respect for his sister, to do such thing for her family. She obviously loved her children and her husband, he would get jealous sometimes when he sees Harry walking into the office with a new outfit or a new watch, and his best friend would always smile and say that it was a gift from his brilliant wife. Concluding on the matter, he decided that he would put it all aside, if she would help with him getting Hermione back to him then he would accept it, after all her affairs weren't his problem, it was Harry's.
" Fine, you get Malfoy! Now we need to think of a way to get Hermione back" Ron sighs
" Good. We'll discuss it later, I have dinner to prepare and the kids need picking up" She smiles back, standing up to finish of the dinner by hand.
" I'll bring them to you, I'm heading the burrow anyway" He said standing up, she waves her hand without looking at him to leave.
I've finished the fanfic, so I'll be posting up the chapters twice a week now.
Thank you for the reviews, it's actually why I carried on writing it, they're much appreciated.