Author's Note: Hermione's food cravings in this chapter are courtesy of my previous and current pregnancies (and I really don't like salt & vinegar crisps but they have been my favourite flavour this current pregnancy). And the key-sucking craving is also true - thankfully not mine but a previous landlady's!

You'll be pleased to know that the next chapter is written! It's currently with my beta, who has a super busy RL at the moment! I'm also in the process of writing the chapter after. At some point, I'll get myself a couple of chapters ahead again but, until then, updates will continue to be spaced out. Sorry! I do aim on finishing this before I'm due to give birth at the beginning of July. I really don't want it dragging on after then because a toddler, a newborn and an unfinished story do not make for a good combination!

Thank you, as always, to pagan for her hard work on this.

Discussions

Hermione was cursing her inability to call in sick when she wasn't actually ill. The amazed looks and whispers that were following her around the Ministry so far were taking a toll. She was currently avoiding going to the canteen for lunch. She couldn't imagine anything worse than having to sit in that room and deal with all the speculation and gossip flying around about her.

She'd been pretty upset by some of the nasty, hissed comments that had already come her way, one even from a colleague in her department who she'd gotten along with reasonably well. It appeared that she was featured as the scarlet woman, the home-breaker. She sighed. The other woman was always vilified. And she hadn't even had an affair.

She turned her chair to stare out of her enchanted window. She wished that the weather department had taken note of her mood and arranged for storms to be shown outside. Instead, the sun was shining brightly through her window with a picture-perfect blue sky.

There was a knock on her door. She spun her chair back and looked warily at the door before calling out a calm "Come in."

A head of messy black hair appeared and she relaxed. "Harry!"

"Expecting someone else?"

"With the day I'm currently having, I wouldn't be surprised if it was someone with the nerve to pretend to have a work-related query and then start questioning me about that story."

"Yeah, I thought that might be the case when I didn't see you in the canteen. So I come bearing food," he said, waving a paper bag at her.

She hadn't thought she could stomach any food, but the smell of a jacket potato wafted over to her and she realised she was really hungry.

"Thanks," she said gratefully as he came into her office and placed it in front of her.

He produced an identical bag and sat down in the chair opposite hers. "I also thought you might need some company."

She smiled at him. This is what she loved about Harry: the unerring sympathy he had for anyone having a bad time of it.

"How bad is it down there?" she asked.

"No one has quite had the guts to ask me anything, but the silence that fell as I walked into the canteen was telling."

She groaned. This was ten times worse than her fourth year at Hogwarts. At least the school could only hold so many people. The Ministry was larger and, if possible, even more prone to gossip than a bunch of school kids.

"Great," she muttered before tucking into the potato piled high with cheese and melting butter.

Harry chuckled at the moan of pure bliss she released after her first bite. His potato was half the size and had a much more modest mound of cheese and included baked beans. "Ginny wasn't lying about your potato fetish."

"I can't help it. I just crave potato, and not anything healthy like boiled potatoes, but either chips or jacket potatoes with the unhealthiest fillings. Or crisps I can eat my way through an entire multi-pack of Walkers Salt and Vinegar crisps."

"You don't like salt and vinegar crisps."

"I know!"

"I'm just grateful it's not something truly disgusting. Ginny liked the taste of metal for a while, and I would find her sucking on my keys."

Hermione giggled at that.

"There it is. I knew there was a laugh deep down in you somewhere," he remarked.

"You know I can never remain too depressed with either you or Ron to cheer me up."

There was another knock on her door and she frowned. This was likely to be someone nosy as Ron was currently on annual leave, celebrating his wedding anniversary with Luna.

She pushed her half-eaten potato away and called for whomever it was to enter. The door swung open to reveal Malfoy, and she half-stood up in shock.

"Are you crazy!" she hissed. "You can't come here today of all days."

He shut the door behind him and leant against it, that horrendous smirk on his face. "Why, hello to you too, Granger."

"What do you want?" she asked, sitting back down.

Malfoy ignored her frantic question, instead turning his attention to Harry. "Potter," he said in acknowledgement.

Harry nodded back.

"Well?" she asked once more, putting her hands on her hips and huffing.

"Relax, Granger. I came at lunchtime because I knew it would be quieter, and I also used a Disillusionment charm before knocking on your office."

She deflated a little at that, the tension seeping out of her shoulders. At least he had the sense to take precautions. The last thing she needed to make this day any worse was Malfoy's little visit becoming front page news and confirming, in everyone's minds, that they'd been carrying on a clandestine affair.

"Why are you here?"

"Your presence is required at Malfoy Manor."

Her eyebrow rose at the command and she couldn't help but lock eyes with Harry, who was looking as if all his Christmases had come early. He knew how well she responded to such orders. Malfoy obviously didn't.

"Excuse me?" she asked extremely politely, giving him the option to wisely rephrase his sentence. But it appeared that Malfoy was as dense as ever.

"I knew that hair had to make you a little deaf. I said, I need you to come to the Manor."

"I'm sorry, but when did a summons from you mean that I have to take it?"

Malfoy finally seemed to get it. He looked from Hermione to Harry and then snorted. "Oh Mighty Granger, will you please come to the Manor?"

She ignored the sarcastic tone. "Why?"

He rolled his eyes. "I think we might need to sit down and discuss a little something that happened yesterday."

"That's true, but why your house?"

"Where else are we going to meet? In another café? We saw how well that worked out last time."

"Why not my place?"

"Because my father wants to be present and he's currently on bed rest on his Healer's orders."

"Your father? But why do I have to discuss this with him?"

"It may have escaped your notice, but the Malfoy name has been dragged through the mud along with your own and that does concern my father."

Harry kicked her under the desk and she turned to look at him. He shook his head at the objection she was about to make. She sighed and guessed that she was going to have to get this over and done with, no matter how much she didn't want to sit down with all the Malfoys present.

"Fine, I'll come to yours after work, but I'm bringing Harry with me."

"You know, Granger, you can do things without Potter holding your hand," Malfoy remarked.

"There's no way I'm coming on my own. Take it or leave it."

"Fine," he said with a sigh. "Shall we say 6PM?"

Hermione checked that was a good time for Harry before she nodded in agreement.

"Okay, well, I'll get out of your hair before this place gets busy again. By the way, I think the Weasel's rubbing off on you," Malfoy said.

"What?" she asked, confused.

He pointed towards her potato. "That's definitely a Weasley-sized portion there."

She scowled as he left her office, chuckling at his own pathetic attempt at a joke.

"Maybe he should try being pregnant," she muttered.

A muffled choke from Harry made her look at her friend, who was trying to hide his laughter. "It's not that funny," she said with a huff.

"I don't know. He's right; that is a potato only Ron would try eating."

She pulled her lunch back towards her and stuck her tongue out at Harry as she tucked back in.

"Well?" Lucius asked as Draco returned from the Ministry and went straight up to his father's room.

"She's coming after work. Annoyingly, she's bringing Potter with her."

His father shrugged. "I expected something like that. He always was a meddlesome boy."

"Or maybe she needed some emotional support. This isn't exactly neutral territory, and her one and only visit here wasn't particularly nice," Narcissa pointed out fairly.

When his mother put it that way, Draco felt a little guilty. He really hadn't given Granger's feelings much thought at all. He was focused on the problem facing them, and it had been a while since he'd had to think about that terrible last year of the war and the stress and terror he'd felt as Potter and his two friends were dragged into Malfoy Manor. And his feelings would have been nothing compared to what Granger would've experienced. He'd been pretty boorish with his 'invitation', too.

Both Malfoy men looked at each other, a little uncomfortable with the suggestion Narcissa had come up with.

"Anyway," Lucius said smoothly, looking to move the conversation on, "she's coming, which is good. We need her here in order to discuss how we're going to respond to this scandal." He was never very comfortable when the war was brought up. Draco always thought it was because his father knew how wrong he'd been in his actions but hated to admit it, even to himself.

Draco nodded, sighed and excused himself. He really needed to get back to business. He'd wasted enough of his Monday on this mess his vindictive ex-wife had created.

However, he didn't have that luxury when he made it to his study. There, sitting on his sofa, with a raised eyebrow and a copy of Witch Weekly, was Pansy.

"I was beginning to wonder if you and Granger had actually eloped."

"Not now, Pans. I'm really not in the mood."

"Where have you been? I've been waiting for you to show up for at least an hour."

"At least my house-elves have entertained you royally," he said, pointing to the detritus of what was once a lunch sitting on his coffee table.

"Along with Rita Skeeter and her 'anonymous' source, which I take it is how is she described here? Oh yes, 'the distraught, betrayed young Malfoy wife.' Of course, we all know the real description would read 'bitter, nasty cow, Astoria', but I guess that wouldn't get the sympathy card played nearly as effectively."

Draco couldn't help but smile. Pansy's summary was the best thing he'd heard in the last couple of days. "So, you've seen it then?"

She gave him a disbelieving look. "You are kidding me, right? Has anyone in the wizarding community not seen it yet? Even those who would spurn looking at Witch Weekly have seen this."

He flopped down on the other side of the sofa and groaned. Pansy patted his knee comfortingly. "Don't worry, Draco, it just means you have star billing."

"Great! Just what I need to be prime gossip for the gutter press."

"Well, to be fair, your family has been that for a while now. Only it's been speculation before."

"What? You mean compared to the out and out lies that this is."

"So, how are you going to respond?"

"I'm not sure yet. I'm not too keen on the truth coming out but I haven't had a moment to even think any alternatives through."

Pansy looked at him with sad eyes. "Yes, I spoke to Millie last night. How is Lucius?"

"He seems okay but is on bed rest."

Her eyes widened at that. She couldn't imagine the commanding Malfoy patriarch following such orders. He hated to be stuck doing nothing, especially in such a situation. "How's he dealing with that?"

Draco could easily read between the lines of her question. "You needn't think he isn't developing plans. It just means he hasn't been able to go and intimidate Skeeter in her office. But he's got something thought out as he demanded I get Granger to come here later today."

"That sounds like it'll be fun."

"Yep she's bringing Potter. It'll be a nice little reunion," he said sarcastically.

Pansy couldn't hold back the snort of laughter. "That will be cheery."

"Oh well, it'll probably be hideous. But it needs to happen. Whether I like it or not, we're going to have to deal with Astoria's lies and Granger has to be involved."

"I'm sure she's going to be thrilled when she learns it's your ex-wife who has caused all these problems."

"Yeah, that's going to be fun conversation. Oh, and the fact that Astoria is my ex-wife."

She shook her head at him in disbelief. "I can't believe that you have failed to tell Granger almost anything pertinent. It would serve you right if she decided to sacrifice you to get herself out of this mess."

"Why should I have delved into my personal life to appease her curiosity?"

"You have too many trust issues, Draco. Unless it escaped your attention, she is carrying your child. You're going to have to work with her for the considerable future, which pretty much indicates having to trust her at some point."

He ran a hand through his hair. Pansy had a point but it was one that he wasn't too sure he was ready to confront. He had no reason to trust Granger, and he didn't particularly like her. He certainly didn't want her two best friends knowing intimate details about his life. Whilst he might be able to acknowledge Potter or Weasley when the occasion called for it, he still loathed them. And he knew he wouldn't be able to bear their smug looks when they realised just how much he had cocked up his private life.

The emotions running through his mind weren't lost on Pansy. She tilted her head knowingly at him before deciding to take pity and leave him to bury himself in his work. She knew him well enough to see that business was his coping mechanism and that he was going to need all the composure he had to get himself through the evening with his parents, Granger, and Potter.

If there was one thing Draco hated, it was turmoil. She knew it had to do with their last two years at Hogwarts and the realisation that everything he'd been taught growing up was a pile of rubbish. It had turned his life upside down and it had taken him a good while to recover well, externally anyway. She wasn't sure that he had truly recovered. The fiasco of his marriage hadn't helped. He needed a woman who would steady him and show him loyalty. Someone who'd take that pessimistic streak he'd developed and turn it into something positive. He needed to be reminded of what life could hold.

She sighed. She hadn't seen Draco happy in such a long while that she wasn't even sure he could be. The cocksure, arrogant little boy had turned into a morose, depressed adult. Oh, he hid it well. Those who didn't know him just saw the swagger and wealth and assumed that he'd landed on his two feet once more. But Pansy, who had been privy to all his fears and dreams during the time they'd dated, knew differently. He longed for the happiness that he saw around him. The deep and abiding love that his parents shared, the satisfaction and happiness that she had with Adrian, even the contentment that infused Potter's whole being and was plain for all to see.

"I'd better be going," she said. "Adrian will be wondering where I am."

He nodded, slowly getting up from the sofa and moving in the direction of his desk.

She stayed his arm, moved by the look of sheer despair on his face. "It'll be fine, Draco. This could turn out better than you expect."

He looked down at her, his eyes flat and dull. "Thanks for trying to make me feel better, Pans."

She could tell that he didn't believe her. She leant up and kissed his cheek before grabbing her copy of Witch Weekly and throwing Floo powder into his fireplace.

As expected, Adrian was waiting for her. She had made loose lunch plans with him but had sent an owl to cancel them, which she never did, and if anything was designed to get him to return home, it was that.

"Where have you been, love?" he asked.

"I went to see Draco," she replied, a little absently, still focusing on how to try to help her best friend.

"Ah," Adrian said knowingly. "How's he coping?"

"His usual way. You know, glum facial expression, lack of hope in the world, general inability to trust anyone outside his small circle of close friends and family. I just wish there was a way to show him that not everything has to be so depressing."

"Shame he and Granger aren't really seeing each other."

"Why do you say that?"

"I don't know, but she's the kind of woman who would do him good. She'd give him a run for his money, not settle for his crap, and would shake up him up. Despite changing their position on blood status for expediency, the Malfoys are still stuck in the old ways too much. Draco has never dated anyone but purebloods."

"Draco hasn't dated much, full stop," Pansy pointed out.

"True, but it's not as if he'd even contemplate it. He allowed himself to think he'd fallen in love with Astoria because she was everything he'd been brought up to believe he should marry. Had she been half-blood, he'd never have looked at her."

She pondered this for a moment. Adrian had put his finger on something she hadn't considered before. Draco hadn't really looked out of the box or even trod anywhere close to the sides of it. He'd remained cocooned in the pureblood world, only really venturing out for business or political means. But those didn't really change an individual; they were done for money or show. She looked down at the magazine once more, the picture of Draco with Granger taking on new meaning.

"Maybe this will be a good thing. I tried to tell Draco that, but it was mainly to try to not let him get too down about it."

Her husband wasn't slow and he knew the avenues her mind had wandered down. "Granger would change him fundamentally, but I don't see that as a bad thing. She'd stand by him, too."

"I wonder " Pansy said before trailing off.

"Don't get involved, Pans. He needs to make this discovery on his own. It's no good pushing him; this has to come from him."

She nodded her agreement but looked at the front cover of Witch Weekly once more, a little smile playing around her lips. "Why do I think nothing will be the same? Astoria's looking to destroy him but she might just have made him."

Hermione wiped her palms down the sides of her robes. She was nervous about this whole meeting. It had played on her mind since lunchtime. Why did Lucius Malfoy want her attendance at the Manor? She couldn't help but think that nothing good could come out of it. That somehow, this would change everything. She wasn't sure why, but there was a tingle in her gut that seemed to indicate that there would be no going back.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked, his hand placed on her shoulder in a gesture of comfort.

"I think so. I don't know; there's just something that makes me think this is the turning point."

"What do you mean?"

She frowned, frustrated at being unable to adequately frame what she wanted to say. Not that she even really knew what it was. She looked back at her friend, who was staring down at her, concern written across his face.

She smiled reassuringly at him. "Don't mind me. I think I'm just letting everything get to me."

"And you're going back to the Manor."

She shivered a little at that. "It's strange. I haven't thought about that day for ages."

"That's good. We needed to put the war behind us to be able to live."

"You're right, but it seems as if somehow I'm doomed to be tied up with the Malfoys."

Harry's hand involuntarily gripped her shoulder tightly. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, anxiety colouring his tone.

She shook her head as if trying to dispel the ominous feeling. "I'm just being silly. Let's get this over and done with."

His hand slipped down to her wrist. "You don't have to do this, Hermione. You owe them nothing. If you're uncomfortable, you don't have to go."

Whilst part of her wanted to jump at Harry's suggestion for a brief moment, it soon damped down and she realised that she needed to go. For some reason, the idea of change, even one including Malfoy, couldn't be that bad. She couldn't continue as she was, anyway.

She smiled brightly and a little falsely at him. "I'll be fine. Besides, you know me, I'll be eaten up with curiosity if I don't go and find out what Lucius wants with me."

"How are we getting there?"

"Malfoy sent me an owl; he's told us to use the Floo Connection. Apparently, there are reporters camped outside the gates to the Manor."

Harry nodded and followed her down from her office, where he'd met her, to the busy atrium, where people were coming and going from the fireplaces every few seconds. His fierce look deterred anyone from giving in to their curiosity and coming to ask her about the supposed affair. She couldn't help but smile a little. After years of being his guard dog, it was nice to have him return the favour. Things could never be too bad when she had her best friend at her side.

As Hermione held the Floo powder in her hand, she steadied her breathing, which had become rapid and shallow. She was not going to have a nervous breakdown over this. It was only a house, and she'd gotten over the things that had happened to her during the war years ago. She defiantly threw the powder into the fireplace and called out her destination.

In the end, her anxiety was replaced by unmitigated interest. She came out in what she assumed was a travel room. She had never been to one of the old wizarding mansions well, not really. She didn't count her capture as a visit. Of course, she'd read all about them and was fascinated with the features they included. For example, travel rooms allowed people to enter via the Floo Network but they were unable to go any further. The doors to the rooms were heavily warded so they were trapped inside in case they were unwelcome visitors. There was a spy-hole somewhere around the room where the family could see who had come to visit them.

Before she had time to properly look around the Spartan room, Malfoy stepped forward.

"Thanks for coming, Granger."

She nodded her acknowledgment but before she could say anything, the fireplace roared into life again and spat Harry out. She continued to look around her as Malfoy greeted her friend.

"So, where is it then?" she asked. "I can't find it."

Malfoy and Harry turned to her with identical expressions of confusion on their faces.

"The spy-hole," she explained.

Harry chuckled a little whilst Malfoy's eyebrows rose. But he took pity on her curiosity and pointed to a large gilt mirror. "It's one-way glass," he said.

"Of course," she muttered.

"Anyway, if you're both ready, my parents are waiting."

The hint of a question was not lost on Hermione, and she was gratified that Malfoy was at least sensitive enough to realise that this could be traumatic for both of them.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked, clearly hoping it wasn't going to be anywhere either of them had visited before.

"My father's sitting room. It's upstairs."

As Malfoy led them across the lobby and up the grand staircase, Hermione couldn't help but think what a difference a trip made if you weren't terrified. She was now able to look around her with interest. And make no mistake, Malfoy Manor was fascinating. It started off as formal, cold and intimidating but as they traversed along a corridor two floors up, the surroundings changed to something much warmer and welcoming. The décor was still rich and impressive but there was a lack of marble and gilt that made it more comfortable.

Malfoy stopped in front of a pair of large wooden doors and knocked.

Lucius's voice rang out, giving them permission to enter. As Malfoy turned and ushered them in, Hermione gave Harry's arm a brief squeeze. Whilst Lucius may have despised her, she didn't have the same antagonistic history with him as Harry did. She was doubly grateful that Harry had put this aside to support her.

The room they entered was decorated all in blue from very pale blue walls to deep blue velvet curtains, which were currently corded back, giving a magnificent view over a formal garden and lake from several different windows. Lucius lay propped up on a chaise longue in a fabulous brocaded dressing gown over a shirt and trousers that automatically made her think of Georgette Heyer's books. Sitting in a straight-backed chair next to him was Narcissa. She looked as icy and prim as always.

"Ms. Granger, Mr. Potter, thank you very much for coming," Lucius said. "Please excuse being greeted in my private sitting room rather than properly in one of the drawing rooms."

Hermione couldn't help but feel grateful that they were up here rather than downstairs. She assumed they had more than one drawing room, as most of these old manor houses did, but she was grateful to have avoided the horror of potentially being in the same one that she'd been in previously.

"That's okay, Mr. Malfoy," Harry replied politely.

She pulled herself from her thoughts and smiled politely in Lucius' direction.

"Please, take a seat," Lucius said.

The two friends sat on a sofa that faced the chaise longue. She noticed that Malfoy sat on a seat on the other side of his father. It was very much as if it was her and Harry ranged against the Malfoys, but she tried to dispel this feeling. It wouldn't do any of them any good if she became defensive and prickly.

"Draco, I think it would be a good idea if you were to fill our guests in on everything that has been happening here," Lucius said to his son.

Hermione knew that it wasn't a suggestion but more like an order. She had to suppress the smile that was itching to break out across her lips. It appeared that no matter how old Malfoy was, he still took orders from his daddy.

Malfoy sighed, looking at her briefly before staring abstractly at the wall behind her. "We know who gave the story to the Skeeter "

"You do! How come you didn't say anything earlier," she interrupted.

"Because it's better to have the conversation now."

"Who was it then?"

"Astoria."

Hermione frowned. "But why would your wife do something like that? She wants everyone to think you've been having an affair?"

"Astoria and I were divorced last week. It appears that this was her revenge on the family."

She was shocked. She knew from Bulstrode that things weren't good between Malfoy and his wife but still, she wasn't expecting this news. She looked at Harry and saw that he was just as gobsmacked. However, it explained why Astoria wasn't at this deeply uncomfortable meeting.

"What?! When were you going to tell me this? Surely last week would have been the perfect opportunity to tell me that you were in the middle of a divorce."

"Maybe we should concentrate on dealing with the situation now," Lucius said smoothly.

She shot Malfoy a glare to show him that this conversation was far from over and then turned her attention to the elder Malfoy male. "I presume that you have some kind of plan as you've called this meeting."

"Well, at least I know I won't have to spell things out for you, Ms. Granger."

"I don't believe that's ever been my problem."

"No, I remember that you were always top of the class at Hogwarts."

She raised an eyebrow in challenge to his reminiscence, almost daring him to say something about her Muggle-born origins, but it appeared that Lucius had learnt his lesson and wasn't going to be so quick to make a reference to her blood.

"Anyway, I've spent a long time today thinking about this and I believe I have come up with a solution to help deal with the problem Astoria has left us," Lucius said.

As Narcissa was the only one who didn't look intrigued, Hermione assumed that she was already aware of what was going through her husband's mind.

"I think it's pointless to deny the story that Astoria has put out. I doubt many will believe us, so I think it's in our best interests to go along with it," Lucius said.

"You're kidding, right?" Hermione asked. "Why can't we just tell everyone the truth?"

"As much as it pains me, I agree with Granger on this," Malfoy said.

"Do you really want your reasons for why you chose artificial insemination coming out, Ms. Granger?"

Well, no, she didn't, but she also didn't want to feature as the kind of woman who would sleep with a married man. "I really don't see how going along with the lies is any better than just telling the truth."

"And are you sure everyone would believe the truth? Especially when the lies make for such an interesting scandal," Lucius said.

Hermione looked at Harry who shrugged a little helplessly. If anyone knew the power of lies, then it was her best friend. "But surely we could get the clinic to confirm the truth," she said.

"Whilst I would love to have your faith in mankind, Ms. Granger, I'm aware of how the real world works. It wouldn't take too long for someone to suggest that the Malfoy money had helped get the clinic to confirm the story."

"So, what? You're suggesting that Hermione and Malfoy go along with the ridiculous idea that they've been having an affair?" Harry asked.

"I plan, Mr. Potter, to put a much more romantic spin on it and sacrifice myself as the reason why they kept it a secret."