A/N 1: Thanks to surugasasa, Ramyfan, aryaa, Nikki98, happyhoper, and guests for their reviews.
To the guest who left a long review to my last chapter, I would like to say that it was the best review I ever got. If you are reading this chapter, please log-in and leave me a PM. I know you are Persian for I can read that language even as a non-Persian. That's was very clever. ;)
VERY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE:
1 . THIS IS AN ANGST, HURT-COMFORT, LONG, SLOW, NON-SMUT 'DRAMIONE LOVE STORY'. THOSE OF YOU ARE EXPECTING CHEESY MOMENTS; THIS IS NOT AN OPTION FOR YOU. PLEASE DON'T BOTHER TO READ. THERE ARE MILLIONS OF FAMOUS HIGH-RATED DRAMIONE'S FOR YOU OUT THERE. DON'T BANTER ME WITH GUEST REVIEWS. I DON'T CARE.
2 . THIS FIC IS FOR THOSE WHO ARE MATURE ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND WHAT A RAPE VICTIM GOES THROUGH. THANKFULLY I DON'T HAVE A FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE AND THUS IT WAS EXTREMELY PAINFUL FOR ME TO WRITE THIS PARTICULAR CHAPTER.
3 . THIS CHAPTER IS VERY DARK THEMED. I AM WARNING YOU! DON'T READ IF YOU THINK YOU CAN'T TAKE IT. I WILL WRITE SOME VERY SERIOUS ISSUES AND WOULD LIKE TO PROVOKE YOUR THOUGHTS. AS A WRITER THIS IS MY DUTY.
4 . I LOVE ALL THE CHARACTERS I WRITE, I AM NOT A HATER.
5 . MOST IMPORTANTLY, I WANT TO MAKE THIS STORY A VERY REALISTIC ONE. THIS IS NOT AN ESCAPE FIC, DON'T READ IT TO ESCAPE FROM YOUR OWN LIFE. BECAUSE IT WILL SIMPLE CAUSE FRUSTRATIONS.
6 . LASTLY AS A FELLOW HUMAN BEING I DEMAND SOME RESPECT AND IF YOU ARE THE ONE, WHO CAN'T GIVE IT TO ME OR ANYONE ELSE DON'T BOTHER TO REVIEW. SIMPLY UNFOLLOW OR UNFAVOURITE MY FIC. I AM FINE WITH IT.
7 . THANKS OF YOUR KIND PATIENCE THAT HELPED ME TO BRING THIS STORY TO THIS STAGE.
Well I guess that's all and now please enjoy and don't forget to leave a review.
An album with the pictures of OC's of this story can be found in my profile. Based on it I have created another poll and would like to see everyone vote.
My fiction 'The Poisoned Apple' has been nominated for The Hogwarts award in the category Hermione Romance. It is posted on the site and I would like you to cast your vote on the site under 'vote' tab.
The website is hogwartsawards DOT weebly DOT com **replace DOT with a . The link can also be found in my profile.
For Swear words and adult theme this chapter is rated M. (HIGH MATURITY)
Disclaimer: The copyright to Harry Potter characters belong to J. K. Rowling. Any other characters are purely work of fiction and any resemblance is co-incidental.
Chapter 45: Grape of Wrath (Part 2)
"Tell me, Malfoy, have you ever been to a brothel?"
Had it not been for the fact that Draco's nerves were already extremely frayed due to prolonged waiting before he could come and claim the memories from Apolline, he would have hexed and sent the asker into oblivion.
The owl that he had sent to Apolline asking for a suitable time to get the memories had returned with a reply that said he was not to set foot inside Delacour perimeter before five o' clock in the afternoon. That being nearly ten hours after his return from St. Lupus's Facility, Draco had cursed the Delacour matriarch under his breath until there was no swear word left to be used.
The morning after that had dragged by slowly and except for a lecture class at twelve o' clock in Sorbonne, Draco had nothing to look forward to.
His lecture class and office hours finally over at seven o' clock when Draco came out of his office at the Ministry, he had already made a record by waiting for almost twelve hours for the memories.
Apolline had been sitting in a garden chair when he apparated inside the Delacour perimeter.
Draco approached the woman, who had made him wait half a day, in brisk steps, trying hard to control his temper.
"Papers?" Apolline asked him without any greetings or offering him to take a seat and Draco, not feeling like wasting any more time, handed his testimonial of participation in second test dose.
"You still look remarkably good for a volunteer." Apolline commented as she read them, "Aren't they treating you well?" she asked coolly.
"If treating me well means Intubating someone while he is still conscious knowing that he may die in pain, then I guess they are treating me very well." Draco replied through gritted teeth.
"Now, now, Malfoy, you can't blame me for that." Apolline shrugged lightly, "It was you who proposed me that he would do anything in return of those memories." She reminded him in sickly sweet voice.
"That brings me to my real purpose for visiting you, Madame Delacour." Draco reminded her icily, "Now give me those memories." His patience running thin, he almost barked.
Apolline arched an eyebrow at Draco, "Attitude? With Apolline Delacour?" she sneered, "You seem be deluding yourself under the impression that you did me a favour by participating in that project and thus you can order me around." She said and stood up, "You can leave now, Malfoy, for I don't like being shown attitude." She started for her home.
Taking a deep breath and almost killing himself to keep his temper in control, Draco stepped forward and prevented Apolline from leaving the garden, "I apologize for my rudeness, Madame." he said as politely as a dragon could breathe, "You must understand that I was hanging between life and death for almost eighteen hours in St. Lupus and then I had to attend my lecture class at Sorbonne and my new job at the ministry before I could come here; I am very tired." He tried to sound reasonable.
Apolline eyed him for a moment before ushering him inside her home to her parlour where she suddenly asked Draco whether he had been to a brothel or not.
"How dare you ask me such a question?" Draco jumped to his feet, discarding all efforts to remain calm, "How dare you suggest that I would indulge myself in such an abhorring act?" he asked heatedly.
"Abhorring? Really?" Apolline arched an eyebrow, "Why so? For a rapist like you it should be an ideal place." She commented plainly.
Draco whipped out his wand, ready to kill should Apolline utter the word 'rapist' again. He has had enough.
But the woman before him was exceptionally cool. She sat there on her divan as if Draco had offered her a bunch of roses.
"Sit." She smirked and offered Draco, "Take the memories."
His whole body shaking in anger Draco took his earlier seat although his wand didn't leave his hand.
Before long Apolline withdrew her memories and placed them in a crystal phial before Draco.
"Why do you think a brothel is such a bad place?" she asked Draco casually, "Maybe you don't go there but many man do. At least they buy what you robbed from a woman. Don't you think you are even degraded than those men?"
Draco pocketed the phial and gave Apolline a look of pure venom before standing up, "I would never associate with women who sell their bodies for some money." He said vehemently and with that he left the Delacour residence.
His limbs were still shaking with uncontrollable rage when he apparated five minutes later in his uncle's Château.
Even with extreme desire burning inside him to watch the memories, Draco didn't return to his suite and instead he sat on a garden chair to cool down.
He wouldn't let Apolline's jibes to spoil his mood of watching and relishing the memories that he had earned by destroying his own body and blood.
"Brothel?" he muttered under his breath, "Malfoys never associate themselves with such despicable women."
It took him almost quarter of an hour to cool down to the point that he could return to his suite. Remembering that his mother would be anxious if she didn't see him at the dinner, Draco took a quick bath before presenting himself for dinner.
His son and wife were both present at the table and taking their meal silently while Julian almost roared in laughter as he described an incident in the ministry.
"Cousin!" he called Draco, "How was your second day at your office?" he enquired.
"It was as it should be – busy." Draco replied curtly before starting his dinner.
Across the table, he noticed, Hermione's demeanor was extremely grave. She had dark circles around her eyes while the brown pair with captivating brilliance was almost lifeless. Draco had a strange compulsion to go and ask her what might be the reason but remembering their last argument he refrained himself.
Ever since his aunt had explained to him her true motive to put Alexis with them, Draco had observed the man with care. Alexis didn't appear nothing out of ordinary and whether it was Draco's imagination or not, Hermione hadn't exchange any pleasant conversation with Alexis during the Sunday dinner which surprisingly made Draco furious. How was he supposed to understand their relationship if Hermione remained so cool with Alexis?
His son on the other hand was overjoyed as he described how his first day back at school had been.
"Louis and I ran race three times." The little boy told the interested audiences, "I came first every time." He said happily, "My teacher Madame Pauline told me that I am good at Maths." He gave a big grin.
That his son was strong to the point of beating a seven year old boy in race made Draco proud to no end. Having a strong, intelligent and magically powerful son was every father's dream and he was no exception.
Finally, his duties for the day over, Draco retired in his suite and locked the door firmly behind him.
He would kill anyone who will disturb him when he watched the memories.
His uncle's Pensieve was now a permanent resident of his suite and Draco placed it carefully on the table before pulling off the cork and tipping the silvery contents of the phial inside the Pensieve where they swirled semi-gaseous and semi-liquid.
Draco had been extremely eager at the time of watching the first batch of memories. But now, almost two weeks after that journey down Apolline's memory lane, he felt neither eagerness nor excitement; Draco simply felt very tranquil and peaceful.
Sitting comfortably, he bent forwards, took a deep breath and plunged his face into the silvery substance inside the Pensieve. He felt his feet leave the floor of his bedroom.
He was falling…falling….falling and then his feet touched the grounds as he found himself standing on a semi-darkened room.
He looked around and found Apolline, her face weary as if she had been jerked awake from deep sleep while someone was continuously pounding on the door.
"Maman! Maman! Please open the door!" a male voice was pleading and recognizing that it was Alexis's voice, Draco frowned.
"Alexis!" Apolline exclaimed as she leapt out of her bed and almost ran to the door while Draco followed her.
She opened the door with hasty hands and revealed an almost pale Alexis standing on the threshold.
"Maman, I am sorry to wake you and Papa like this…" he said as Gustave yawned audibly behind his wife, "…but I think Jean is having some problems." He told his sleepy eyed parents, "I was returning from my study when I heard loud cries coming from Jean's quarter. I went inside and found her crying uncontrollably and lying on her bathroom floor." he informed his parents.
"Nostradamus!" Apolline exclaimed as she left her bedroom in her sleeping gown with Gustave and Alexis in tow. Draco, his heart galloping inside his chest, followed them.
'What's wrong with Jean?'
'Why is she crying in bathroom?'
How he made the journey to Hermione's quarter alongside Apolline, Draco didn't know. Even Apolline's memories were blurry as she ran hysterically to Hermione's quarter to find out what was wrong.
The woman Draco had been dying to see ever since he entered the memories was lying on her side on the bathroom floor, motionless while her hands encircled her abdomen protectively.
"What's it Jean?" Apolline asked, throwing herself on the floor beside her, "What's wrong?" she enquired urgently.
Hermione's eyes were red and puffy when she replied in just one word.
"Blood."
"Blood?" Apolline asked distractedly before her eyes roved down Hermione's lower abdomen to her inner thighs.
Draco gasped as he saw a thin strip of red line that was seeping through Hermione's pajama bottoms and having faced two such occurrences before, where Astoria miscarried, he knew what it meant.
"Merlin!" he cried loudly forgetting that he was inside a memory and his son was alive, "HELP! HELP HER! HELP MY WIFE!" he looked around helplessly and bellowed.
Apolline however was extremely cool as she checked Hermione's bleeding.
"Do you feel any pain in your abdomen?" she asked sharply, "When did you notice this?" she indicated at the bleeding.
White as ghost, Hermione shook her head, "No, I don't feel any pain." She said weakly, "I don't know when it started." she burst into tears, "Have I lost…my baby, aunt, tell me…have I lost my rabbit?" she pleaded.
"The blood is scanty and brown." Apolline noted the colour covering Hermione's clothes over her inner thighs, "It may be breakthrough bleeding which may happen in some pregnancies. But let me check first. Can you walk to your bed?" she asked Hermione.
"I don't think I should move." Hermione replied controlling her sobs a little, "What…if…it… aggravates? That's the reason…I couldn't go and…look for you in the first place."
"Now, now, dear, don't be worried. I am here." Apolline tried to calm Hermione, "Lie on your back and let me see if the baby is okay. Hm?" she offered gently.
Draco watched anxiously as Hermione slowly moved and laid on her back while Alexis and Gustave left the bathroom and closed the door behind them so that the ladies could have their privacy.
"No…no…stay still…let me see…" Apolline said as she rolled up Hermione's pajama top just a little to expose her lower abdomen.
Draco stared at the barely visible lump which was in fact a four monthes old Adrian inside Hermione.
"My son…my Adrian…" his gasped, his eyes fixed on the tiny bump, "…at last…at last I can see you inside your mother…" he said desperately, "…stay there son…stay there…don't you dare come out before it's time…live for you father… he will need you…"he pleaded.
He watched in half-apprehension half-elation as Apolline placed the tip of her wand on the small bump and muttered some incantation.
Draco had seen the Healers perform pregnancy test on Astoria several times before when they visited them for monthly check-up. He knew that an image of shimmering blue light would appear in thin air above the pregnant uterus where the baby's condition could be seen real time.
Surely enough a similar image appeared above the small bump and realizing that it was in fact Adrian – his firstborn, not Scorpius or any of his other sons, Draco examined it hungrily.
The small baby was alive and moving slightly inside Hermione's enlarged uterus.
"Adrian!" Draco whispered, "Adrian, my son! He's alive! He's alive and well!" he sighed in relief.
Meanwhile lying motionless on the bathroom floor, Hermione was observing the shimmering blue image while Apolline checked her thoroughly.
"You can see by yourself that the baby is completely alright, Jean." she informed Hermione with a bright smile, "Your little rabbit is just fine." She assured as the image vanished.
Hermione burst into tears again and Draco frowned, 'Why is she crying now?' he thought, puzzled, 'Didn't Apolline just tell that Adrian is alright?'
"My…rabbit…" she rubbed over her small bump, "I was so scared…when I saw the…blood…" she hiccupped, "I love my rabbit aunt Apolline…I don't want to…lose my baby…" she sobbed harder.
"Who said you will lose your baby?" Apolline asked Hermione gently as she helped her to sit up, "Your baby is strong, Jean. Your baby is fighting to stay alive just like you are fighting to bring it to the world." She patted her gently on her back, "Now, let me clean this mess so that you can return to your bed and take some rest, Jean. You and your baby need it." she covered Hermione's tiny bump again, "The bleeding has stopped so there is no need to worry." She assured.
Hermione sat on the floor while Apolline cleaned the blood streaks on her pajama bottom with an Evanesco and then helped the young mother on her feet before they left the bathroom.
"The baby is fine." Apolline informed the men who were waiting outside the bathroom patiently, looking pale, "Jean's baby is fine and she needs some rest now." she said with a knowing look.
Father and son nodded and proceeded to leave the bedroom when Alexis stopped on the track.
"Maman, should I bring anything for Jean?" he asked her and Draco was surprised at how genuinely concerned Alexis was for Hermione, "Milk? Water? Anything?"
Apolline helped Hermione lie down on her bed and smiled at her son, "Just bring me my box of herbal oils." She bid and with a curt nod, Alexis left.
"Why did the bleeding happen?" Hermione asked Apolline, now lying comfortably on her bed, "I was so scared!"
"It was as I said breakthrough bleeding." Apolline replied, "During pregnancy female hormones increase to keep the uterus relaxed so that it doesn't expel the foetus and maintain the pregnancy till term. I checked you, Jean and found that a blood clot was formed behind your placenta when it was implanting to your uterus. That bleeding was old which means that it was inside your uterus for a very long time and the colour turned brownish, instead of fresh bleeding which is bright red in colour. Besides, in miscarriage the mouth of the uterus – cervix is open and there is extreme pain in abdomen when uterus contracts to expel the product. You have none of those symptoms, so there is nothing to worry about." She explained kindly, "But how did you end up in bathroom? What happened? Did you strain too much while in the potty?" she asked Hermione.
Having had first hand experiences in two miscarriages with Astoria, Draco was thinking along the same lines when Alexis entered Hermione's quarter with a knock and left the same box of herbal oils that Apolline had asked Gabrielle to bring when Adrian fainted after displaying his first magic.
"If you need anything else, maman, I am in my study." He informed his mother and proceeded to leave.
He was on the threshold when Hermione called him.
"Alexis?"
Alexis turned slowly to face Hermione, "Do you need anything else, Jean?" he enquired.
Hermione shook her head and smiled for the first time since Draco's entrance into the memory, "No. I just wanted to thank you for the help." She said.
Alexis smiled back in response, "Anytime, Jean, anytime." He said gently and left, closing the bedroom door behind him.
Draco was frowning at the man slightly when he heard Hermione speak up again.
"I didn't strain in the potty, aunt; I went to bathroom because I wanted to wash my face. I had a very bad dream." She told Apolline, who opened the lid of her box and extracted a large phial full of yellowish oil, "What are you doing, aunt?" Hermione asked as the Delacour matriarch soaked a piece of clean cotton with some oil from her phial and rolled up Hermione's pajama top just enough to reveal her tiny bump, "Is there anything wrong with my baby?"
"No, my child." Apolline replied shaking her head, "This is a castor oil pack." She said as she spread the oil - soaked cloth over the bump, "It will enhance blood circulation in your uterus so that blood doesn't remain clotted behind the placenta. You will never have that bleeding episode again." She assured the young mother.
Hermione raised her head a little to watch Apolline work skillfully.
"So, what was the dream that frightened my dear Jean? Hm?" Apolline asked casually as she covered the pack with a hot water bag and a towel, "Relax, dear. It's alright." She assured Hermione who rested her head on her pillow again, "Why are so anxious all the time?" she chided her.
Hermione sniffed audibly and placed her hand over the towel covered bump, "You don't know what I have been through, aunt." She said softly, "It's easier said than done to relax when I don't even know what I am going to do with my baby. What if I couldn't prove to be a good mother? What if I couldn't provide my baby with good food and shelter?"
"What made you think so?" Apolline asked gently as Draco considered the points.
"A baby is a very big responsibility, aunt, and I am not even fit enough to take my own responsibility." Hermione said sadly, "I am under graduate, pregnant and have a job that under pays me in a country that I have visited once before in my life and that too with my parents. I am hiding from the man who did this to us – me and my baby. Is it really possible to relax in this state?" she sniffed again, "Do you know what I dreamt, aunt?" she asked Apolline who shook her head, "I saw…a little rabbit…a tiny, white and very cute little rabbit…" Hermione's eyes became dreamy,"…it was playing with me in a field full of flowers…it was so beautiful…I was cuddling my little rabbit…it was so soft and fluffy…it even kissed on my cheek…" she was smiling slightly, "…as if rabbits can kiss…but it was a dream so I guess it's normal there…and then…" she paused and Draco didn't miss the look of unmistakable fear in her face, "…a large green snake came out of nowhere…it's fangs were covered in blood…I tried to run and save my little rabbit…but…but it ate my little rabbit…alive." She bit her lips painfully.
Draco didn't know if he had ever been so ashamed of his house emblem: serpent.
"Malfoys have been Slytherin for centuries." Hermione was telling Apolline, "And Slytherin House's emblem is serpent while their house colour is green. So you can imagine what it meant to me when that snake ate my little rabbit alive. I was drenched in sweat when I woke up and I didn't know what to do. So, went to bathroom to wash my face and noticed all that blood in my pajama." She explained soberly, "My first thought was that the dream has come true and I am going to lose my baby. I was paralyzed by fear and lied down on bathroom floor thinking that if I moved an inch, I may miscarry. I have also left my wand on my nightstand so I couldn't send you a Patronus. I was crying helplessly when Alexis found me and called you."
Draco didn't know that he could feel such deep gratitude for the man who infuriated him until very recently.
"Just because you saw a green snake eat your rabbit doesn't mean that those monsters will come after your baby, Jean." he heard Apolline said kindly, "You are pregnant and it is normal to have weird dreams during pregnancy. It is all effects of hormones on your body."
"Yes, Jean. It's all hormones." Draco tried to persuade Hermione forgetting that he couldn't be heard, "Even Astoria used to have bad dreams when she was pregnant."
But Hermione shook her head, her face sad as she gently rubbed over her small bump, "No, aunt, you are saying this because you don't know them as I do. Malfoys can do anything to reach their goals. I will tell you what they did when I was in my second year and you will understand what these people are really like." She said and took a deep breath, "You know my friend Harry Potter…" she said and Apolline nodded, "In the summer before our second year he had a visitor from Malfoy Manor who told him that terrible things were about to happen in Hogwarts that year. His name was Dobby and he was a house elf in Malfoy Manor." She told and Draco frowned when the elf, that attacked his mother the day he tortured Hermione, was mentioned, "Later on, we met Lucius Malfoy, Draco Malfoys's father in Diagon Alley when we went to buy our books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts. Unbeknownst to us, he slipped a diary into Fluer's sister-in-law – Ginny's cauldron that actually belonged to Lord Voldemort." She paused, "Following it, an unknown monster came out of a legendary hiding place inside Hogwarts called the Chamber of Secrets and terrorized the whole school. You should have seen Draco Malfoy's glee when it was discovered written on a wall that Mudbloods will be attacked by that monster and the school will be cleansed of us – Muggleborn witches and wizards."
Even inside Apolline's memory Draco went back to his second year, when they were returning from Hallowe'en feast and found the celebrated golden trio with caretaker's petrified cat. He had yelled at them saying that Hermione, a Mudblood for him at the time, would be next.
"What happened next?" Apolline, who seemed extremely interested, asked Hermione, "Did it attack the students?" she asked.
"Yes." Hermione nodded, "A boy named Colin Creevey was attacked and he became petrified." She replied, "Me and my friends, we initially suspected that Malfoy might be behind all these attacks because he was bragging and enjoying it while most of the students and teachers were terrified. Besides, the monster could be controlled only by someone who was 'Heir of Slytherin'. So, it all fitted his profile. I told Harry and Ron that I suspected him and that we must question him under Polyjuice Potion."
"Polyjuice Potion?" both Apolline and Draco blurted out.
"I know its N. E. W. T. s level potion and there was no way we could buy it from outside." Hermione replied noting Apolline's incredulous look, "So, I made it myself in a girl's bathroom that no one ever used."
Draco stared at the woman lying on bed.
'She made a N. E. W. T. s level potion in her second year?'
'She actually made a N. E. W. T. s level potion in her second year?'
'In her second year?'
'N. E. W. T. s level potion?'
'Polyjuice Potion?'
"I have never heard of anyone making a N. E. W. T. s level potion like Polyjuice Potion in their second year!" Apolline's shook her head in evident disbelief, "That's amazing…wonderful…you are a very powerful witch, Jean…a very powerful witch…" she said heartily.
Draco also couldn't agree more.
"Honestly! I mean whipping up Polyjuice at twelve?" Apolline was still amazed, "I really don't have enough words to express my feelings. What happened after you made it? Did you find out the culprit? Was it Malfoy?" she asked evidently bursting from curiosity.
Hermione smiled and shook her head, "It was not Draco Malfoy, aunt. My friends took the Polyjuice Potion that I made and interrogated him as his friends Crabbe and Goyle but he said he is not the Heir of Slytherin. He even said that he was hoping that the monster would kill me next because he always called me Mudblood; even in public. I was the one who thrashed him in every subject that we took and I guess he hated being thrashed by me - a Mudblood and a girl." Hermione said and Draco couldn't deny that it was truth to the core that he did hate Hermione for those reasons at school, "There were more attacks and three more students, including me, a boy name Justin from Hufflepuff and a girl name Penelope from Ravenclaw were petrified. But incidentally none from Slytherin were attacked. After the attacks, Professor Dumbledore, our Headmaster stepped aside from his post and Hogwarts was on the verge of closing down when my friend Harry killed the monster inside Chamber of Secrets and saved the school." She said solemnly.
Draco, who had never heard the details of what happened inside the Chamber of Secrets, was eager to listen more.
"What was the monster?" Apolline asked breathlessly.
Hermione sighed audibly, "It was a Basilisk, a giant legendary snake that was placed inside the bowels of Hogwarts castle by Salazar Slytherin himself. His heir - Lord Voldemort opened the Chamber of Secrets when he was at school and later on he left a part of his soul in his diary which possessed Ginny and she opened the Chamber on his behalf." She explained.
"You mean Lucius Malfoy slipped that diary to Ginny Weasley on purpose?" Apolline asked incredulously and Draco cringed realizing now why Hermione was so fearful regarding her child's safety, "Buy why would he do that?"
"Because, he didn't like professor Dumbledore and wanted him kicked out of school." Hermione replied, "As far as I know, he knew what Voldemort's diary was capable of doing and slipped it into Ginny's cauldron in the book shop so that she uses it and opens the Chamber of Secrets." Hermione said evenly, "If a man can attack innocent children and terrorize a whole school to take revenge on professor Dumbledore, imagine, aunt what can he do if he finds out that his esteemed pureblood bloodline is at stake if my half-blood child is born? Will he not hunt me down and kill us both?" she asked sadly, "Please Don't think that I am afraid for my own life, aunt." Hermione shook her head, "No, I am not. I am afraid for this little innocent life inside me." She caressed her small bump, "Malfoys aren't humans, aunt Apolline, they are monsters." She said dismissively, "In fact calling them monster is an understatement. They are like basilisk that could petrify and kill just by looking at its prey." She declared.
Draco, who had always taken pride in declaring himself as a Malfoy, hung his head in shame as the truth behind Hermione's words hit him.
'Hadn't the way his aunt chewed the Malfoy book of Curses proved that his family held unbearable darkness that ran through generations?'
'Didn't Hermione's words prove that his family was extremely vindictive?'
Somewhere inside the house, a clock struck twice and Apolline gasped.
"That's two o'clock in the morning and you definitely need to sleep now." she said as she stood up, "I am going to tell Gustave that I will be staying here and watching over you." She told Hermione who tried to protest, "No, Jean, no protests. I am a midwife and this is my duty so don't you dare try to stop me." She said dismissively and not giving Hermione a backward glance she left her bedroom.
The scene shifted at that moment and Draco, ashamed of his heritage for the first time in his life, tried to take a last glimpse of Hermione but moments later he was standing before a the familiar building where Hermione worked as asst. librarian.
Contrary to the previous scene where it was semi-darkened room, this one was sunny afternoon of July.
He found Apolline standing beside him, smoothing her wind-swept silvery hair before she proceeded for the door that led them inside the Wizarding library.
Draco, who had been dying to have a glimpse of Hermione working in library, followed her in.
The intended woman, under the Glamour Charm of green eyes, was talking to some children and suggesting them children's book when Apolline found her.
"Here you are!" she said grasping Hermione from behind, "What are you doing here? Should you not at be at lunch now?" she asked her sharply.
Hermione gave Apolline a pleading look as she handed some books to the children, "I am not hungry, aunt. Can I take it later?" she asked.
Realizing that Hermione was starving her and their son, Draco was about to snap at her but Apolline did it on his behalf, "No! Absolutely not!" she said sternly, "I didn't give you that lunch pack to keep it for later, Jean. You should be ashamed of your carelessness, you are pregnant!"
Hermione looked around cautiously and indicated Apolline lower her voice, "Hush! Aunt, please don't say that word 'pregnant' again." She pledged her, "It will do me more harm than good."
Both Draco and Apolline frowned at Hermione.
"Meaning?" Apolline arched an eyebrow.
Hermione handed one last book to a small boy and dragged Apolline into a corner, "It is complicated, aunt." she whispered, "I will explain once I return home."
Apolline became extremely grave and bit her lips, "I am guessing that it's something about the identity of the father, right?" she enquired cautiously.
Hermione nodded and gave sideways glance to the readers and other librarians.
"Well, then we will talk about that later." Apolline said firmly, "Now why don't you have your lunch?" She offered and tugged Hermione from behind the book shelves.
Draco was thinking what might be the significance of this memory when the scene shifted again and this time he was standing in the Delacour's kitchen where Hermione and Apolline was seated in the kitchen table.
"Tell me, Jean, why did you stop me when I said that you are pregnant?" he heard Apolline asked Hermione, "Are your colleagues harassing you in any way?" she asked warily.
Hermione, who was still wearing the pale mauve tunic that she had been wearing at her workplace, shook her head slightly as Draco occupied the chair beside her.
"No, aunt you can't call this as harassment." She replied, "This is called 'backbiting' which I have endured for almost six year in Hogwarts and I am telling you this, aunt, that a woman is another woman's worst enemy." She declared and Draco frowned, "It all started when I accidentally let slip to one of my colleagues that I am pregnant. It was my first week at work and I didn't know them as well as I do now. This colleague of mine – her name is Cynthia and she is an elderly witch with a lot of children - must have noticed my small but growing bump when I was working, even though I keep it mostly covered to avoid untoward attention and questioning, and asked me if I was pregnant. I had no choice but to admit it. After that she started bombarding me with questions about 'who the father is', 'If I am married or not', 'if not, do I have a boyfriend', 'if I don't have a boyfriend, what I plan to do with the baby all alone' etc. etc. etc. I told her flatly that it is none of her business and she should keep her nose buried to her own problems. She is one of the senior staffs and maybe no one has ever spoken to her like that before me, so she got furious and told my boss Bélanger about my pregnancy. She must have hinted something like I don't work properly and I take a lot of time to eat my lunch, which I did sometimes when I couldn't stomach my food, because Bélanger immediately called me to his office." Hermione said and with every word Draco's felt like he would have felt better if he could grasp and squeeze the juice out of that backbiting woman, "My boss didn't seem very pleased with my pregnancy. He asked me why I didn't tell him that I was pregnant at the time of my appointment. I said it was not required for me to inform him about it since my pregnancy is completely my personal issue. Then he asked me why I spoke rudely to my senior colleague when she offered me good advice and I said that I haven't been rude to anyone of them and it was she who was interfering in my personal matters. But that wasn't all, aunt." Hermione paused before starting again, "The thing that infuriated me most was Bélanger telling me that had he known that I am pregnant he wouldn't have appointed me."
"Why?" Apolline's asked her while eyes were flashing dangerously.
"According to him, pregnant witches can't work properly and they ask for leaves way too often using pregnancy as an excuse." Hermione replied solemnly and Apolline stood up in fury, "I told him that I never waste a minute sitting or idling around while at work and that I have not asked for any leaves since I joined him but still he wouldn't listen. In the end he warned me about any future misbehaviour with Cynthia as well as telling me to look for other options. Since then, I am secretly looking for jobs, aunt." Hermione said rubbing her head wearily.
"How dare Bélanger talk to you like that? How dare he?" Apolline was seething in rage just like Draco was, "He is paying you half of the original salary but you are working full time. So, he is basically making profit by saving money and yet he tells you to look for another job? And you, Jean, all these happened and you didn't even bother to tell me?" she pointed an accusing finger at Hermione, "I was the one who took you to Bélanger, I could have asked him why he said all that? I could have hexed him into oblivion for being so rude and insensible. I could have asked him where his esteemed view on pregnant women was when his own daughter was working at the ministry six monthes pregnant?" she demanded furiously, "Why didn't he keep his own daughter at his home and took care of all her expenses? Blasted hypocrites!"
Draco was pondering over the same matter as his blood boiled inside his veins.
"Didn't I tell you, Jean, that this man Bélanger is a fraud?" he asked Hermione, who was completely oblivious since it was Apolline's memory, "He is just taking benefit of your under graduation and using it to overwork you and make profit. You should leave this job immediately." he said firmly.
"Jean, if you don't feel comfortable with this job, I suggest that you leave it." Apolline said dismissively, "No need to work with a bastard like Bélanger. Wait till Gustave returns, I will go to his home and ask for an explanation for such behaviour with my niece."
Hermione gave Apolline a tired smile and took a small sip from her orange juice, "I knew you would say that aunt and I really appreciate it. I know that you are there to fight for me." she told an angry Apolline, "But how many times are you going to fight for me? How many views can you change? The world is full of selfish people like Bélanger and Cynthia and how many times can I avoid them?" she asked sadly, "No, aunt I am not going to leave this job until I find a suitable one and neither are you going to meet him. This is my life, my baby and therefore my fight. I can't always find someone who would fight for me so I should better get used to it and start my own from the very beginning. Women in our world – Muggle or magic - are always considered next to men not with or equal to men."
Apolline shook her head, "But that's so wrong, Jean! It's so terribly wrong!" She said grimly, "You are so young and you are being forced to face such brutal truths while you should be enjoying your life. And the real bastard…" she spat on floor, "…that bastard who is behind everything is sleeping on his beloved mother's lap in his Malfoy manor…" Apolline mocked Draco, "…while you are teased for being pregnant without a husband or boyfriend." She said vehemently, "He should be hanged for torturing you like that. He. Should. Be. Hanged. End of story."
Realizing that every single word about him was true, Draco hung his head.
'He was the reason Jean was facing all these!'
'He had been hiding behind his father, Lucius, while his own son Adrian was being ridiculed for not having a father!'
'He and his Death Eater family was the reason this young woman was working anonymously in a foreign country while she should be basking in the glory of being Golden Trio who brought down Lord Voldemort!'
"Life is always cruel, aunt." he heard Hermione said, "I realized it long ago when I was looked down upon by many students at Hogwarts because I am a Muggleborn witch. I was subjected to cruel sarcasm and Muggleborns like us were the main targets during Voldemort's regime. But even in darkness there is light, there is solace. I found my best friends Harry and Ron in Hogwarts, we destroyed Voldemort and now I have my baby; my little rabbit." She placed her hand on her abdomen, "Don't think that I wasn't offered an option to abort my baby. I was. Many times. Like Cynthia who told all of my colleagues about me and they are now very curious to know the secret behind my pregnancy. They know that I am not married; they see no boyfriend coming for me to take me out. So, they have guessed that it was some mistake on my part and now the father has denied to take the responsibilities of the child conceived during a one night stand." She said and Draco closed his eyes remembering the same explanation he had given to his mother when she questioned him, "Some of these 'well-wishers' have even asked me to get rid of my baby, telling me that I am young and being emotional. Telling me that keeping this baby will destroy my chances of a respectable marriage and that people will take me as a …" Hermione paused, "…slut." She completed and Draco bit his tongue, "But the thing is I could have married any time I wanted even with this baby. Ron, the man I love, would have married me even with this knowledge that I was tortured and I am carrying the perpetrators' child. But I never told them about it. No." Hermione shook her head, "Not because I thought they will blame me or my baby for it. I am certain that if I tell them, Harry and Ron will simply kill Malfoy for assaulting me and Ron will ask for my hand in marriage and wouldn't leave me until I say 'yes'." Hermione said and Draco knew she was right, "But not everyone is the same, aunt. Most will pity me and my baby. I will be Hermione 'raped' Granger and my baby will be labeled 'Malfoy bastard' for rest of his or her life. And I hate being pitied, aunt Apolline." Hermione said firmly, "I hate being pitied. I am not to be blamed for what happened to me. But who will understand it? No one. They will blame me for my assault and what is more, they will call my baby a bastard like they used to call me Mudblood; they will insult us for things that were not in our hands. I never chose to be a Muggleborn witch and neither did my baby chose to be born out of an assault." She said gravely, "So it's better that I live away from all this, where no one knows me and that bastard Draco Malfoy. Where no one can find us and my baby can grow up like any normal child." She said dismissively. "So when those self-proclaimed well-wishers I told me to get rid of my baby, I told them outright that it's my personal matter and I don't want to discuss it with them. Since then they give me dark looks and gossip about me amongst themselves. But I don't care, aunt, really, I don't give them a damn." Hermione said indignantly.
Draco didn't know if there was any other feeling ulterior than shame for he sincerely felt being ashamed wasn't enough for what he had done to Hermione.
"Bloody gossipmongers!" Apolline commented fisting her hands, "But don't worry, dear, I have already asked Alexis to apply for Single Mother's Benefit in the ministry. He is one of the advisors to the Minister of Magic and soon he will be promoted to the post of Junior Undersecretary to the Minister. If you get that benefit, you won't have to worry for money to raise your baby."
Hermione shrugged and finished her orange juice slowly before standing up, "Let's see what happens, aunt." she said, "I think I will go and take a bath now. After that, I need to study for my new terms in September and my books are in all in French." She said and left the kitchen.
Draco was extremely depressed when the scene shifted again and he felt like he could no longer watch these memories.
He found himself standing in the gardens of Delacour residence where Apolline was planting some seeds. Considering if he should come out of the memories and watch them later Draco looked around and found that it was almost dusk with sun setting in the western horizon.
He was about to take his head out when someone opened the main gate of the Delacour residence and slammed in shut with a loud clang.
Looking around he found it was Hermione, who almost ran through the garden and entered the home while Apolline stood up, deeply frowning.
"What's wrong with her?" she muttered before discarding her apron and following Hermione.
Draco, feeling terribly ashamed yet curious, followed suit.
They found Hermione in her quarter, sobbing uncontrollably on her bed.
"What's wrong Jean?" Apolline asked her incredulously, "What happened? Why are you crying?"
But Hermione didn't reply and instead buried her face in her pillow.
"What's wrong, dearest?" Apolline looked around helplessly and reached for a glass of water, "Here, dear, take some water and tell me what happened." She offered her the glass.
Shaking her head, Hermione pushed away the glass and continued to sob.
Draco didn't know if anyone could ever cry like Hermione was crying now. Her sobs seemed to be coming from her heart and her tears were more like blood than plain water. It was as if her heart was bleeding with every drop of tear that escaped her eyes.
"Jean…dearest…" Apolline cooed to Hermione, "…please take this water…" she offered the glass to Hermione again, "…you will feel better…I promise I won't ask you anything…just take the water…" she said gently.
Hermione sat bolt upright and taking the glass from Apolline's hand she threw it to the wall where it shattered, "I DON'T WATER…I DON'T WANT ANYTHING…" she bellowed before burying her face in the pillow again.
Wondering what could be distressing Hermione to the point that she would yell at Apolline, the woman she was always very respectable to, Draco crouched beside Hermione and tried to smooth her hair.
"Jean…herm…hermion…" he stammered, "…Hermione…tell me what's wrong…" he asked her gently, addressing the woman by her given name for the first time in his life.
But his words were lost and Hermione continued to cry for another fifteen minutes after which she sat up and hugged her pillow tightly.
Both Apolline and Draco waited breathlessly.
Hermione rested her extremely blood-shot and puffy eyes on Apolline and Draco felt such tenderness for the woman that he wanted to reach out and wipe away her tears, "I left the job." She said.
Apolline nodded slightly conveying that she was listening.
Hermione bit her lips and gulped, "I wasn't planning to leave my job, aunt, but after what happened, I just couldn't stay there anymore. No matter how much they would pay me for it." she said gravely, "It was lunch time and I was going to retire when one of my colleagues, an elderly man by the name of Vincent Blanchard, called me to archive room where we keep our old and precious copies. He is forty plus and he has always been kind to me so when he said that he needed some help with a very old book, I agreed. The library was almost deserted because all the staffs were at lunch and Bélanger went home to take his lunch." She paused.
Draco's heart was suddenly beating very fast.
"I followed Vincent into the archive room where he showed me a book." Hermione started again, "I looked at it. It was clean and it struck me odd because it was in perfect condition. I was wondering why he would need me to help him with it when he suddenly attacked me from behind."
The silence that followed was the longest one Draco ever experienced.
"…he…Vincent…he paralyzed me with a Full Body Bind Curse and Silenced me…then he took away my wand…" Hermione was rocking as she started again, "…he laid me down on a table and started to…"she paused, "…it was just like the time when Malfoy…undressed me…I couldn't move a finger…and he almost removed my shirt…then he…squeezed my…over by brassiere…" Hermione hugged the pillow more securely over her breasts, "…you know they are already painfully engorged…because I am pregnant and…my baby will need milk…I tried so hard to get rid of the curse…I fought…I tried to scream…but it won't go…then he tried to take off my skirt…he was cackling when he placed his hand on my bump…"
Draco was suddenly so cold that he felt he needed a blanket.
"…he said since I can give myself to…a man who didn't…care for me more than one night…another man wouldn't hurt…" Hermione rocked faster and faster, "…he was about to remove my skirt when he stopped and…" she paused and closed his eyes, "…it was just like Malfoy taking out his…" she said and suddenly vomited on the floor beside the bed.
Draco was paralyzed. He stood there like a statue as Hermione coughed and vomited but nothing came out except for some bile.
"…he said he would be gentle…and he will modify my memory…when it is over…"
"Did he do anything to you?" Apolline broke the silence at last, her face pale as a ghost, "Tell me Jean, did that bastard do anything to you?"
Hermione shook her head and Draco, his body paralyzed but his senses intact, tried to think of what could have happened, but his imagination met dead end.
"…watching him trying to take my clothes off…created such strong emotion that I suddenly felt extreme fear and rage…the next thing I knew was I was free…" Hermione replied, "…I kicked him on his bare crotch…then jumped out of the table and grabbed my wand…and cursed him into oblivion…"
Apolline reached forward and hugged Hermione tightly, "Thanks God, that you are safe, Jean. Thanks Nostradamus! Thanks Merlin, that he couldn't do anything to you. Bélanger must have kicked him out of his job right away.
Draco was waiting for Hermione to nod but to his immense surprise she shook her head.
"No, aunt…" she said and burst into tears again, "…he blamed me for it."
"He blamed you?" Apolline asked incredulously, "Why? It was clear that the man intended to harass you and he blamed you? The victim?"
"Yes…because according to Bélanger and his staffs, Vincent had been working there for fifteen years and he has never harmed a fly, let alone a pregnant woman…he can never do that…" Hermione said between her sobs, "…they said that since I am pregnant with no-one-knows-whose-child…I am a characterless woman…and I tried to seduce…Vincent…and when I failed…I cursed him…no matter what I said…how hard I tried to explain…that it was Vincent not me…they wouldn't believe…besides I had no alibi…and Cynthia…she called me a…slut openly…telling me that I have…no morals…when it comes to sex…" she lost all coherent speech.
Draco's senses were on fire now and his thoughts ablaze.
"…everyone blames the victim, aunt…always…even with…Malfoy…I am sure…they would have…done the same…"
Draco was reminded of how he himself had blamed Hermione when his aunt had asked him why he did what he did to her.
"Don't worry Jean dearest, don't worry." Apolline was crying as she stroked Hermione's brown unruly curls, "I will talk to Bélanger personally about it." she said firmly.
"…women are never safe…nowhere in this world…someone is always waiting for them…in the shadows…or behind the mask of a good colleague…or friend…or classmate…" Hermione said as she hiccupped, "…how can we work like this…without safety…"
"No, my dear, not every man is like that." Apolline consoled Hermione, "Look at your friends – Harry and Ron - they are men but they would look at women like that. Look at Gustave or Alexis. They will kill anyone who would try to assault any woman. I know that you are traumatized but don't lose your faith. The world is full of good and bad people; maybe you came across the bad ones but that doesn't mean you won't meet good ones." She said kindly.
"…I don't want to meet any man…I hate man…I hate them…" Hermione said weakly, "…I am so tired aunt…I am very tired…"
"Then take a nap. Hm?" Apolline offered gently as she laid down Hermione on the pillow, "I will call you for dinner, okay? Now sleep and let me take care of you." She said gently caressing Hermione's cheek.
"…I hate man aunt…" Hermione steered feebly, drifting into sleep hugging her pillow tightly, "…I want my mum…I pray that I have a daughter…not a son…"
Unable to tolerate anymore Draco came out of Pensieve and leaned against his chair.
It was three o' clock in the morning and he was wide awake with one line reverberating inside his over-clogged head:
"…everyone blames the victim, aunt…always…even with…Malfoy…I am sure…they would have…done the same…"
"…everyone blames the victim, aunt…always…even with…Malfoy…I am sure…they would have…done the same…"
"…everyone blames the victim, aunt…always…even with…Malfoy…I am sure…they would have…done the same…"
How very true were those words!
'Hadn't he blamed Hermione for her own violation saying that he was angry because she had attacked his mother?'
'Hadn't he excused himself by saying that she was Mudblood and needed to be punished for attacking his pureblood mother?'
'Hadn't he tried to clear off his responsibility by repeatedly lying to himself that Hermione was responsible for what happened to her?'
But all of his excuses and lies were lame.
They were lame and he had fabricated them to save himself from the consequences…from the truth.
Draco looked down at the Pensieve where remaining memories were swirling and waiting to be seen.
Taking a deep breath and bracing himself for the worst he plunged his face into the silvery surface again.
Draco landed into an office that he had visited many times in Apolline's first batch of memories: the office of the Chief Librarian Bélanger.
It looked just like before with ceiling high shelves full of books, a large chandelier, a rotating globe and the owner of them all, the balding man – Bélanger- sitting behind his large cluttered desk. Only the new addition was several unknown people who were sitting gravely around the office.
He knew three of them: Apolline, Alexis and Hermione. Another elderly woman with a hawk-like face and bristle-like hair was sitting just opposite Hermione and by her looks she was trying to burn a hole in Bélanger's face. Her companion an extremely grave man sitting beside her with rather big and bulging eyes was frowning and unfrowning his eyebrows constantly. The last pair – an elderly man and woman - were standing before the group.
"Monsieur Bélanger," he heard the hawk-like woman almost barked at the Chief Librarian, "An official complaint had been filed by Monsieur Alexis Delacour in the 'Department of Woman and Child Welfare' against two of your employees – Vincent Blanchard and Cynthia Janvier for sexually and verbally abusing this British woman by the name of Jean Grange." She said motioning between the standing elderly pair and Hermione, "Therefore, by the rights of section no. 207 of Wizarding law we are here to investigate the matter. Here is a copy of Magistrate's permission to subject Vincent Blanchard to Veritaserum for interrogation. You can check it yourself." She threw a roll of parchment at Bélanger's face, "This is MLE officer Monsieur Géroux who is officer in-charge of this case. If you have anything to say, you can speak on your behalf now." she demanded.
Bélanger's complexion has sporting a sickly yellow tinge as he opened his mouth to speak but then he closed it with a click.
"You have nothing to say?" The hawk-woman enquired from Bélanger, "Very well then," she turned her head to the pair standing before them, "You! Yes I am talking to you…" She called the elderly man who looked extremely pale and sweaty, "What's your name?"
"Vvvvincennnt…" the man stammered, "…Blannnnchhhard, Madame."
Draco moved closer to examine Vincent Blanchard closely.
For a man who would sexually assault any woman, Vincent looked very tame. He was shaking slightly before the hawk-woman and his teeth were chattering visibly.
'This is Vincent Blanchard?' he asked himself who had expected some vile looking strong man, 'This? He doesn't even look like a man who would do something like that to Hermione.'
But the answer came immediately from what he had heard in the previous memory:
"…women are never safe…nowhere in this world…someone is always waiting for them…in the shadows…or behind the mask of a good colleague…or friend…or classmate…"
"…someone is always waiting for them…in the shadows…or behind the mask of a good colleague…"
With that came the realization why Hermione had trusted the man to follow him alone in the deserted archive room.
"You bastard!" Draco whispered, "You bloody two-faced bastard!"
"Come forward and take this tea mixed with Veritaserum." He heard the hawk-woman barking at Blanchard while showing him a cup of tea on Bélanger's table, "We don't have all day." She said sharply.
Blanchard, shaking from head to toe, remained motionless.
"If you don't come forward and take it by yourself, Blanchard, we will force feed you the Veritaserum." Géroux said this time, his bulging eyes fixed on Vincent, "What are you afraid of if you are innocent as you claimed? Mademoiselle Grange is present here, if she is indeed the one who seduced you, you have nothing to worry about." He said firmly.
Draco's eyes shifted to Hermione who was sitting beside Apolline. Her usual unruly brown curls were unkempt and the pale green tunic that she was wearing was wrinkled at places while her right hand placed protectively on her stomach. But above all it was the lost look in her Glamour Charmed green eyes that struck Draco hard.
'She is depressed.' Draco assessed from his own experiences after Astoria's death, 'Hermione is extremely depressed.'
"Monsieur, have mercy!" he heard Blanchard cried out, "I am innocent. This woman tried to seduce me. I am innocent!" he pleaded and pointed an accusing finger at silent and lost Hermione.
"Innocent? You bastard!" Enraged, Draco kicked Vincent hard but his foot simply went through the man, "Had it not been a memory, Vincent, I would torn you from limb to limb!" he spat remembering he was inside Apolline's memory.
The hawk-woman shrugged, "Be it as it may. We have already told you that if you deny to take Veritaserum, we will be forced to feed to it you. Now tell us, which one would you prefer? Taking it by yourself or taking it by force?" she asked Vincent icily.
"But he is innocent! Vincent has been working here for fifteen years and he has never hurt a fly!" the elderly woman standing beside Vincent, who Draco guessed was Cynthia, appealed, "It is all Jean's fault! She is a slut! Look, she is already pregnant and the child doesn't have a father!"
"Shut up you backbiting mongrel!" Draco bellowed at Cynthia, "Hermione is pure! She can never do anything like that! Never!" his chest was heaving from outburst, "Besides, Adrian has a father. His father is Draco Malfoy and filth like you aren't even fit enough to sweep Hermione's bathroom floor." he said proudly.
But the look that the hawk-woman gave Cynthia was enough to quell her, "Really, Madame Cynthia Janvier? If you are so sure and confident about your colleague, why don't you take the Veritaserum on his behalf!" she offered coolly.
Cynthia almost jumped and took two steps backwards, "Me? Why me?" she asked fearfully.
"If not, then shut up and let us do our job." Hawk-woman snapped, "Géroux, since this man isn't willing to comply with law, I think we should do it ourselves." She said and stood up, "Monsieur Delacour," he addresses Alexis who immediately stood up, "Why don't you and Géroux grab this man from both sides and I do the honour of feeding him this tea?" she offered them.
Then all of a sudden a lot of things happened.
Vincent pushed aside Cynthia and threw her on the floor as he reached for the door knob which was clicked shut with a wave of Alexis's wand. As Cynthia cursed Vincent from her place on the floor, Alexis and Géroux walked past her before pinning Vincent on the wall while the hawk-woman tipped the contents of the cup into his forced-open mouth.
As the effects of Veritaserum took over, Vincent stopped thrashing and slid down the wall before slumping on the floor.
The silence in the office room was palpable when the hawk-woman started questioning Vincent.
"Why did you take Jean Grange into the archive room?" She asked.
Vincent, his eyes unfocused as if he was walking in a dream, replied in a tone less voice, "I wanted to have her. She is young and ripe like a fresh fruit." He licked his lips, "mmm… her youth tempted me. I wanted to taste her myself. So I called her to the archive room."
Across the Hermione shuddered and Apolline embraced her tightly.
"Filthy bastard!" Géroux swore loudly, "Why take her to the archive room? Why not someplace else?"
"Because I knew she wouldn't come." Vincent replied, "She is a good girl, a virtuous girl. She works sincerely and doesn't mix with other men. The archive room is the safest place inside this library because we keep our rare and ancient books there and no one but library staff is allowed there. I thought if I could take her there by some excuse, no one would come there until I am done with her. Besides, it was lunch time and a perfect opportunity to execute my plan."
"What was your plan?" the hawk-woman her eyes flashing dangerously asked this time, "Did you want to rape her?"
"No…no…not rape." Vincent replied in a sing song voice, "I just wanted to have some fun. I wouldn't rape her. She is too beautiful for that…too tender and soft. And her breasts…they are…" he couldn't finish because Alexis smacked him hard on his face.
"Don't you dare talk about a woman like that? Understand!" he grabbed Vincent's collar and shook him violently, "Jean is not a product! Women are not products! They are our mothers, sisters, daughters and wives. So don't you dare talk about a woman like that! Don't you dare!" he bellowed.
During all the time Draco had seen Alexis, he hadn't seen him lose his temper like that; even not on the day he claimed Adrian and married Hermione. Yet he couldn't deny that Alexis's emotions were honest for he himself felt the same way now.
"Let go of him, Delacour!" Géroux bid sharply, "We will take care of his forked tongue." He said and glanced at Hermione who was trembling like a leaf, "I think we should carry out this questioning outside because Mademoiselle Jean is terrified by all this. Besides, what he said is enough to prove him guilty of 'attempt to rape or assault' and put him into prison for five years." He said dismissively before whipping his wand and a placing a Full Body Bind on Vincent who toppled over, "There now, Blanchard, serves you right for trying to assault this young woman." he said icily.
Draco was having mixed feelings now: elated because Vincent was caught, gratitude towards Alexis for helping Hermione and angry on Bélanger and Cynthia for insulting her.
But most of all he felt fearful to even look at Hermione.
Because he, Draco Malfoy, is the reason this woman was going through all this!
"It is for people like you that women aren't safe at their workplaces!" Draco heard Apolline shouted at Bélanger and banged on his table, "And it is for backbiting, filthy woman like you, Cynthia, that men like Vincent get off after assaulting innocent girls like Jean. And you call yourself a woman? Pthu! Pthu!" she spat violently on Cynthia's face, "Shame on you! You should go and drown yourself in a filthy gutter!" she said in repulsion before facing Bélanger again, "I brought Jean to your library with this trust that you will look over my niece as your own. I was the one who conducted your daughter's labour when she was about to have her baby and I clearly remember that you said at that time that you would do anything to thank me for it. Thank you very much for thanking me like this, Bélanger…" she said coolly, "…thank you very much for insulting my pregnant niece, thank you very much for blaming her for her own assault, thank you very much for calling her characterless and last but not the least thank you very much for getting me rid of this ridiculous trust that I had upon a man like you. I pray for your wife and daughter that they may soon get rid of a hypocrite husband and father like you." She said dismissively and turned to Hermione, "Come, Jean, let us leave these people in their own hell. It is proven now that you are innocent and as long as I am alive, I will rip out any eye that even dares to look at you wrong way." She said solemnly.
Draco was about to walk forward and help a weak Hermione to stand on her feet when the scene shifted again and he landed on a garden.
Narrowing his eyes, Draco looked around and discovered it was the place where he had met his son Adrian - the Tuileries Garden.
He was standing on a casual outdoor dining area at the open end of the central courtyard that overlooked the world famous museum Louvre. Beautiful flower gardens bloomed all around him and the atmosphere was completely opposite to the gloomy and tense of the previous one in Bélanger's office.
"You are not taking your Muggle food, Jean. Don't you like it? " Draco heard Apolline's voice coming from behind him and whipping around he found Hermione staring morosely at something that looked like a piece of sausage placed inside a long bun with sauce.
"No, aunt, I like hot-dogs." Hermione said dejectedly, "I just don't have appetite."
"Why, dearest?" Apolline placed a comforting hand on Hermione's while Draco stood beside her, "Though I don't approve this fast foods that Muggles eat all the time, I brought you here thinking that you might get back your appetite if you change your taste. But since we arrived here half an hour ago, you haven't taken anything except water. Why are you punishing yourself like this?" she pleaded.
Hermione pushed aside her plate and hid her face in hands, "I am not punishing myself, I am just…" she paused.
"Just?" Apolline asked curiously.
Hermione sighed from behind her hands, "I am missing my mum a lot." She said simply.
"Oh, dear." Apolline shook her head sadly, "I am so sorry, dear, I am so sorry I can't help you there. I am so sorry." She said earnestly.
Hermione removed her hands and gave Apolline a tired smile, "No, aunt, I am fine, I really am." She said firmly and Draco was sure she was lying, "I came here once before with my parents when I visited Louvre." She looked up at the elegant architecture across the street, "We took some pizza and coffee. Me, mum and dad. We were so happy. They were so happy. Usually I am at Hogwarts and they don't get opportunity to spend time with their only child. So, it was a happy day for all of us." She reminisced, "I am fine but I just miss them, that's all." She said dismissively.
Apolline sighed this time and pushed the Muggle hot dog or something to Hermione, "Well let's eat and talk our hearts out today, hm Jean?" she smiled and offered her.
Draco was relieved to see when Hermione reached for her dog thingy and ate it in silence.
"That's better Hermione." he said encouragingly, "Don't starve yourself and our son. You are still very thin considering that you are pregnant." he noted Hermione's thin frame.
"One day when I was staying at Bill and Fleur's place…" Hermione put down her half finished Muggle dog, "…we had a visitor called Remus Lupin. He was our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts in our third year and he was a werewolf." She said plainly and Draco frowned, "I was the one who discovered it first when I noticed that he missed his classes around full moon. He was a nice man."
"He was a nice man? Was a nice man, Jean?" Apolline noted the past tense.
"Remus and his wife Tonks died during the battle of Hogwarts." Hermione replied and Draco was reminded of his cousin Nymphadora Tonks and the Dark Lord's jibes about 'babysitting the cubs' during a meeting, "They have a little boy named Teddy Lupin who is currently under his grandmother Andromeda Tonks's care." She rubbed her forehead, "The day I am talking about was the day Tonks had the baby and Remus came to tell us about it. He was so happy, so happy, aunt, like a father should be. I was there when he came in…he almost tripped on the threshold…he was so excited to tell us about his son and showed a photo of a small baby with blue hair." She smiled.
"Blue hair?" Apolline blinked.
"Tonks was metamorphomagus." Hermione explained, "So, her son inherited it from her. He also inherited his father's wolf traits and it was the reason when Remus came to know that his wife was pregnant he became furious thinking that he would be passing his bad blood to his innocent child. He even left Tonks at her mother's place and came to join us to destroy Voldemort but Harry insulted him on purpose so that he went back to his wife. Later on, this same man, when he became a father, forgot all these past resentments and embraced his son with open arms."
After spending last few monthes with his French cousins Draco was interested to know more about his other cousin and his first ever nephew. He listened carefully as Hermione described the day Teddy lupin was born.
"Remus was breathless when he came in and told us that Tonks has had the baby. He asked Harry to be Teddy's Godfather and he agreed happily. Even in darkness and despair, aunt, this piece of news was such a refreshing change." Hermione smiled, "I was trying very hard to get over the trauma of what happened to me and…" she said as her smile vanished suddenly.
Draco, his heart clenching painfully as the topic of discussion changed suddenly, waited apprehensively.
"Did I know at that time that I was also going to be a mother like Tonks?" Hermione asked.
Her question hung in the air for a long time.
"Did I realize that a small life was growing inside me when I heard that Teddy was born?" Hermione asked again.
Apolline placed her hand over Hermione's and squeezed it gently.
"Don't think that I am sad about having my own baby." Hermione said, interpreting her gesture correctly, "No, aunt I am not." She smiled weakly, "I am just sad that I can't share it with the ones I loved, I cared, like Remus did when he became father. I will give birth to this child away from its grandparents, away from my friends who could have been its loving aunts and uncles away from everything because I want to keep my baby away…" she paused, "…from that monster who will kill it if he comes to know about it." she said sadly, "That's what makes me upset, aunt, that's what I can't stomach."
Draco slumped on the grass beside Hermione as the gravity of her words hit her.
"Don't be upset Jean." Apolline consoled Hermione, "Life can't be always hard on us. It's bound to give us our happiness once a while." She said hopefully, "Who knows, maybe a day will come when you will be able to meet your friends and family and tell them about your child. And I am sure they will be very proud of you that day." She said encouragingly.
Draco was sitting on the grass when the scene shifted again and he found himself sitting on Delacour's kitchen floor.
After watching extremely negative memories for such a long time Draco felt too tired to even look up and examine his surroundings.
"But what can Jean do about it?" he heard Apolline asked furiously, "She can't write down Malfoy's name!"
The mention of his family made Draco look up and he leapt to his feet, curious to learn what was making such a fuss.
Hermione, Apolline and Alexis were sitting around the kitchen table while Hermione was looking at a roll of parchment incredulously.
"I don't think I can take any money that has Malfoy name on it." She said firmly.
'Malfoy money?' frowning, Draco peered over their heads and examined the form which seemed to be causing the argument.
"Application form for single mothers…Department for Women and Children Welfare…" he read the heading before his eyes roved down the parchment and located the real reason behind Hermione's decision.
The space beside 'Mother's name' bore Hermione's name in shortened form of H. Jean Granger while the space beside 'Father's name' was blank.
"I am really sorry, Jean but…" Alexis paused and sighed, "… the Ministry is very strict about this money for the benefit of single mothers. Unless you write down the father's name they will not accept your application and even the Minister of Magic can't do anything about it."
"I am not going to write down Malfoy's bloody name on it, Alexis." Hermione said dismissively, "Besides, he is not my baby's father. I am my baby's father as well as its mother. Malfoy has got nothing to do with my baby. My baby is completely mine."
"I know, Jean, trust me I know and I support you from my heart." Alexis said earnestly, "But the Ministry will not accept the application without a father's name." he tried to explain patiently, "Even if it is your boy friend, you have to write down the name. Otherwise, they will think that it was some…" he paused and bit his lip.
"It was some?" Hermione asked indignantly.
"Please, Jean, don't make me say this." Alexis pleaded.
"No, Alexis, I want to hear it." Hermione said firmly, "Tell. Me."
Alexis closed his eyes and turned his face away as he answered.
"They will take you as…as…as…a…" he paused.
Draco waited breathlessly for the sentence to be completed, a very nasty word suddenly popping into his head.
"…Prostitute!" Alexis blurted out suddenly.
His worst guess confirmed at last, Draco's thought froze.
"Prostitute?" Hermione repeated after Alexis, "Why?" she asked coolly.
Alexis's face was hidden behind his hands as he replied.
"There have been several instances like this when…young…prost…witches…have applied for this benefit and they denied to write down the name of the father. They usually do this for the money and later on they sell their babies to childless couples. So, in a way they get double benefit from one pregnancy. After it was flushed out, the Ministry became very strict about child adoption policy as well as Single Mother's benefit."
"If I will be considered a prostitute for not writing down my violator's name, what about those who go to these women to buy guilty pleasure? What will the Ministry call them?" Hermione asked icily. "Honourable gentleman?"
Alexis removed his hands and looked straight at Hermione's brown fiery pair.
"I can understand what you are feeling, Jean, but…" he started Hermione cut him.
"No, Alexis, you know nothing of what I feel." She said vehemently, "Do you know why these women, whom you and all this world calls prostitutes and looks at them like they are filth, are prostitutes?" she asked furiously, "Because there are men…hundreds and thousands of apparently harmless and honourable man…just like Vincent…who go to them…they buy that pleasure. That's why those women sell it. But what does this bloody society do? They call these women prostitutes because they sell their honour while these men, who are the real culprits, are hailed like heroes. We condemn the women for the crime, just like they did to me when Vincent attacked me, because it is so easy. It is so bloody easy." She said before standing up and tearing the form into minuscule pieces before throwing it in the air where they hung like confetti, "I spit on any money that intends to stop only one of the criminals and surely not the crime. I will work and earn my own money but I will never take this so-called benefit." Hermione said firmly before leaving the kitchen.
His all interests completely gone and his throat dry, Draco stood still as the scene dissolved into a blank void.
Realizing that no more memories will follow, Draco came out of Pensieve.
Being it early October, his suite was cold, just like his heart and Draco shuddered involuntarily.
He looked at the clock and found it was nearly five o' clock in the morning which meant he had spent the whole night inside the nightmarish memories.
It was not like the first time when visited Hermione's third month of pregnancy. That time had been full of curiosity, heated outbursts, discovery, admiration and awe.
But this time?
Draco wondered what to name the extremely excruciating pain he was feeling inside his heart.
What was it?
Pain?
Shame?
Guilt?
What has he done in the name of punishing a woman?
He had taken away her innocence.
He had forced her to leave behind everything she ever cared for.
He had destroyed her dreams.
He had made her come to a foreign country.
Take a job that underpaid her.
But mostly he had humiliated her repeatedly when anyone called her a slut.
He had subjected her to blames of a crime that she never committed.
And now he understood why Apolline had asked him about being in brothel.
For her, he was one of those men who left women to face the consequences of their guilty pleasures.
What should a man feel when he realizes that his one act, one crime could damage another fellow human being so deeply?
What should he feel?
Why was he suddenly feeling breathless?
Why was he suddenly paralyzed?
Why was he crying now?
Why was that he can't make a single sound?
What was this feeling called?
What was this?
The answer came as rapidly as it was asked.
It was remorse.
It was remorse and it was paralyzing his senses, freezing his thoughts and constricting his chest as if a troll was sitting on him.
And the worse was he can't get a way out of it.
He can't lie and say that Hermione was to be blamed.
Because she, Hermione Granger was pure and honourable.
And he, Draco Malfoy was trapped inside his prison of remorse and crime.
A/N 2:
At last to my dear readers, I bring them to the long awaited 'Draco's remorse'.
For me as a human being, there are very thin lines between being sorry, asking apology and feeling remorse. It took me 44 chapters and 378k+ words to bring Draco to a believable remorse. We, as humans are very selfish and we don't acknowledge any of our wrong doings until the very end because we fear remorse. Even remorse has various stages: mild remorse, moderate remorse, heavy remorse and excruciating remorse. Give me some time and I promise to give everyone a tour of all of them.
Until then, the keep patience and faith. : )