CHAPTER TWELVE: The message

Hermione was standing outside of her favourite café, nervous as never before. When she'd received the message, her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest. She had to compose and convince herself that it must be a professional meeting. Why else would Draco write to her? Malfoy, that is. Why else would Malfoy write to her? There was a mission tomorrow. And her being Madam Minister and overseeing said mission only proved that it was to be one hundred per cent a professional meeting. Yes, he told her to choose the place, but that only proved that he respected her opinion, right? She had to stop herself at least three times from contacting Ginny on what to wear. Obviously, she was going to wear her professional clothes. Cigarillos pants, an elegant shirt and an elegant robe. She looked professional. That was good.

But now, standing before Joanna's café, she wasn't so sure about this professional thing. Somehow, the whole thing suddenly made her uncomfortable.

"Hey," said a voice behind her, and she immediately tensed.

She slowly turned around only to see Draco, clearly just as uncomfortable as she was. Also in his professional clothes.

"Hi," she said sheepishly.

Why did Ginny feed her with these weird "Pride and Prejudice" references? For some reason, it started raining at the moment. But she was proud of herself – she's done the reasonable thing and invited him inside.

"Hermione darling!" Joanna greeted her with a wide grin on her face once they sat down at Hermione's favourite place – right in front of the tall window.

At that moment, Joanna saw that – for the first time ever – her favourite client took somebody along. And what a somebody that was!

"Welcome to my humble abode" she smiled mischievously at Draco. "I'm Joanna, Hermione's favourite café owner and Hermione's favourite barista, also Hermione's favourite baker."

"That's certainly an achievement," admitted Draco with an amused smile.

"What will you and your companion have this lovely evening?"

Draco looked at Hermione for a suggestion.

"I'll take your wonderful winter tea, please. And do you already have this orange brownie?"

"You know I do, hon. Always do since November."

"Malfoy, I suggest you take the cake. Do you prefer coffee or tea?" asked Hermione, not really looking at him.

"Very well, I'll take the cake. And if the winter tea really is that wonderful, I'll take it as well."

"I'll be right back," said Joanna with a brilliant smile and once she was sure Draco turned around, sent Hermione a big thumb up.

She just rolled her eyes.

"So I wasn't expecting to hear from you today," started Hermione, looking at her palms and clenching her jaw.

"To be honest, I wasn't expecting myself to write either," he admitted, his voice a bit raspy.

"Yes? What happened, then?"

"Theo and Blaise. And whiskey."

Hermione looked at him, both amused and surprised.

"Are you drunk?"

He chuckled.

"Not anymore, no."

"Well, were you when you were writing?"

"Most possibly," he admitted.

Hermione sighed heavily.

"Well, what is it about then?"

Draco cleared his throat while Joanna brought them tea and cake. She once again smiled to herself and hurried back to the kitchen. It was late and cold, so the café was even more empty than usual.

"It's about a mission," he said finally, although she wasn't sure he was telling the truth.

"I know you're worried about Theo."

"Yes, well, I'm not sure if he knows what he got himself into. And Blaise won't admit it, but he's very concerned about him."

"If we follow the plan, we should be fine," she reassured him, gazing through the window, her hands clenched on her mug. "Harry got a few other wizards for back-up in case things go south. They don't know the details, but in case there's any danger, they'll pull you out."

"I talked to my father, you know."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, he said he's proud of me again. For the second time in my life. But the thing is, I'm not sure I deserve it."

Hermione's heart started beating faster. Professional meetings sometimes take weird turns, don't they? She glanced at him and noticed he was staring out on the rainy street just like she was, his lips pursed.

"Why wouldn't you?" she asked.

"He only said it because that's the first honourable thing I'm doing."

"That's not true," Hermione denied quickly. "I told you this last time."

The last time. Yes, that may not have been the best situation to recall at the professional meeting. But both Draco and Hermione looked at each other in surprise, as if they didn't expect to remember this weird incident. Well, technically, since nothing happened, it wasn't an incident. Just a situation.

"I'm sorry, I'm not one to whine. At least, not usually. It just feels weird," Draco composed himself, straightening up.

"What does?" Hermione blurted out before she could stop herself.

She cursed herself in her head. What did she want to hear? Whatever it was, it wasn't an appropriate question. And definitely not a professional one.

"Everything about this situation," he frowned. "I guess one could say I'm getting a bit emotional about this."

Hermione chuckled.

"Emotional? Draco Malfoy? Impossible!"

"Very funny, Madam Minister. Even the most heartless monster has a heart, you know."

"That's very philosophical of you. And sad," noticed Hermione, cocking her head and glancing at him.

"I read your book, you know. Finished it today," said Draco, staring at his palms.

Hermione could feel herself blush. Thank Merlin, Albus Dumbledore, all four Hogwarts' founders and all the great wizards that ever lived that the café was dark enough, so he wouldn't notice it.

"And?" she asked, trying to sound confident and at the same time trying to calm down her breathing.

"You were right. It was good. For a romance."

"You don't need to sound so ungrateful, you know," she snorted.

"I'm not lying, though – it really was good. At least I can blame your book for getting all whiny."

She snorted.

"Oh really? And what did the book do to you?"

"Well, it – uh," he chuckled. "It certainly showed me lots of different perspectives in which life can go. And maybe, that not everything's always lost."

Hermione looked over at him in surprise and accidentally caught his gaze. This time, she was ready but didn't turn immediately, though. She gave herself a second.

"That's good," she said quietly.

"Thank you for borrowing it," he said, sliding the book to her.

She took it and gladly noticed there were no signs of careless reading. As she slowly realised, she never would've lent it to Ron, for example, as she would be too afraid he'd damage it.

Nor would she take anyone to her favourite café – which has been her safe space for a couple of years now. Of course, Harry, Ron and Ginny knew about the place. And yet, she never took them there. She quickly hid the book, trying to drive away these thoughts.

"You're welcome," she cleared her throat. "I've got more interesting books if you wanted to read something else."

"I don't doubt it."

Their eyes met again, again – accidentally. This time, Hermione was not ready, though, and started feeling dizzy after a short while.

"I hope everything will go well tomorrow," she admitted quietly.

"So do I. Actually, the book made me realise something. Although, I'm sure that Blaise and Theo will want all the credit to themselves."

"They do love being right, don't they?"

"Yes, they do," he chuckled. "They've actually been trying to convince me to come home for a few years now. But my answer was always negative because I was afraid to face whatever I'd have to face here."

"So what changed?" she asked, realising that all this time, neither of them have averted their gaze.

"Maybe you won't believe it, but I read the interview with you."

"W-what?" she stammered.

"The one about half a year ago. You were talking about women in the Ministry and the divorce and your House-Elves being paid at Hogwarts success."

"But why did it make you come back?"

"I saw hope," he smiled shyly, looking down on his hands. "You were talking all about how everyone deserves a chance to be who they want to be and how nobody should be considered any less than a human being. And, you know, how both faults and virtues are what makes us human."

She studied him for a second, frowning.

"And you saw hope," she repeated automatically.

"Yes. But then, of course, when I came back and applied for a job, I lost all hope when I saw your name on the envelope."

"But you turned up at the interview anyway. Why would you do that, then?"

He sighed and took a sip from his tea, considering his response.

"There's a Latin saying that's roughly translated into 'the hope is a mother of fools'."

"Spes mater stultorum, I'm familiar."

"Of course you are," he chuckled. "You were probably that one person in Hogwarts to realise most spells were in Latin, right?"

"Unfortunately, I'm the Minister, and therefore I can't interfere with Hogwarts curriculum matters, but why Latin is not taught there will always be beyond me."

"I'll put that on my to-do list, then."

After a moment of silence, he suddenly took her hand. She looked at him in surprise but didn't withdraw it. He didn't even glance at her but rather considered her palm.

"I wanted to thank you for giving me a chance. I don't know where I'd be now if it weren't for you, and I can't thank you enough, but I just want you to know that I appreciate it more than anything, Hermione."

"Hermione!" they heard a shout and a commotion in the kitchen.

They jumped back, only then realising they were sitting dangerously close to each other. Hermione also snatched her hand from his, and they turned around to where the commotion was coming from. From the kitchen emerged terrified and clearly preoccupied Harry, with Joanna at his heels.

"Hermione, they-"

He stopped abruptly.

"Malfoy?"

Hermione and Draco shared panicked looks.

"What happened, Harry? You look terrified," asked Hermione quickly.

"It's Nott."

Draco's face suddenly turned cold and distant, as if by a push of a button.

"What about Nott, Potter?"

"They took him. His father apparently didn't trust him enough to meet at the previously arranged place. So they took him. From his home."

"We have to go."

Harry nodded.

They ended up in Blaise's and Theo's flat. Zabini kept walking in circles around the room while Harry and Draco, both determined, were laying out a new plan. Hermione was trying to help them and at the same time comfort Blaise that everything was going to be all right. The only problem was, for it to be genuinely comforting, she had to believe it herself.

She saw the determination that Draco has been taken over. She knew he would never forgive himself if anything were to happen to Theo. And she knew he was blaming himself for the abduction happening in the first place.

"Hermione, can I have a word?" asked Harry after about half an hour of planning, drawing maps and predicting results of some actions.

She nodded, and so they went for the other room, which served as a sort of maintenance room. She closed the door, feeling a bit anxious. When she turned around, she saw Harry standing, looking through the window with a serious expression she rarely saw. Stumbling over a bucket, she approached Harry and leaned back on the windowsill.

"As a team leader, I have to know absolutely everything that could jeopardise the mission. So I'm sorry, Hermione, for asking so directly and not having time to discuss or talk to you about it, but we don't have the time, and this is important. Is there anything between you and Malfoy?"

She wanted to snort at first or to laugh, but it somehow stuck in her throat. Instead, she felt her legs giving out, so she reached the wall for support and took a deep breath.

"I don't know," she said truthfully, letting out a small sigh.

Harry gazed at her attentively.

"I know that you may not want to talk about it, not like this at least, but when I saw you in the cafe… And we were looking for you everywhere. I wanted to find you first so that we'd go to Malfoy together, but he was already there. Holding your hand. And I really don't mean to pry, you know that, but that can affect both of you in action. You know how it is."

He possibly referred to the time, where Hermione and Ron took part in his mission where they were on the tail of a fugitive. He never let them go on a mission together ever again.

"I understand," she sighed. "But I really don't know. It's just… complicated and weird, and unexpected, and impossible, you know? Ginny could possibly make more sense of this than I can."

"Ginny knows?" he asked in a slightly hurt manner.

"She knew before I did," she smiled softly. "You know her."

"Of course she did," he chuckled. "Anyway, thanks for being honest with me. If you ever need to talk… You know, you can count on me."

"You're not going to give me a lecture about it?"

Harry clenched his jaw, avoiding her gaze.

"Lecture you? No. You're Madam Minister, which technically makes you my boss. Well, practically too."

Hermione smiled sadly. "I'm serious, Harry."

"So am I. I wish we had more time to talk, but we don't. And I'm certainly not going to waste it by scolding you for something that you don't exactly have control over."

"If we had time, would you?"

"I don't know, Hermione," he said, frowning. "It's an unusual situation like you've already noticed. But our top priority right now is getting Nott out, hopefully with some useful information and nobody getting hurt in the process. I trust after the mission with Ron you know what to expect and what to avoid."

"Ron and I… We were already together for such a long time. Are you sure there's any possibility of something like that happening again?" she asked.

"The way I look at it, it happened despite you two being together for so long. So yes, I believe there is."

Hermione hanged her head.

"Are you-"

"I'm not going to talk to Malfoy if that's what you wanted to ask. And I advise you against it, too. The guy may be remorseful, but he's also a ticking bomb if you ask me. No one is that calm. If I started messing with his head by talking to him about something he neither wants to talk about nor wants to admit exists, he'd just do something stupid. Either because he'd get confused or angry or too determined to prove something. The reason I'm talking to you, however, is because if someone warns you against something, you don't want to prove them wrong – you want to show them you can take the advice and follow it. This is why you're such a good Minister."

"You sure you're not supposed to be a psychologist?"

"In a Muggle world, who knows? I certainly wouldn't become psychogist as Ron used to say."

Hermione chuckled but cocked her head, studying him.

"Honestly, Harry, you take after Dumbledore so much. You can see both strengths and weaknesses in people. And you know exactly how to use a person's assets for them to be their best selves and how to avoid someone exploiting weak points on your team member. It's admirable."

"You, on the other hand, always see good in people. And you don't give up on them. That's also admirable."

Hermione smiled despite herself. "So, are we ready to take back Nott?"

"Hopefully. I do have one request, though. Calm him down. He needs to relax for five seconds, or he'll blow up. Hopefully, not during the mission."

"Do what now?"

"Calm him down. He needs a break. He's going to drive himself insane. I'll talk to Zabini – you talk to Malfoy."

Hermione glanced at him like he was an idiot.

"Don't give me that look, 'Mione."

"You literally just said not to talk to him."

"Well, yeah, not about that. I'm asking you to reassure him. He'd never admit it, but he needs it, yeah? And you know that."

When they went back to the living room, Harry asked Blaise for a minute, so Draco and Hermione were left alone. She had to admit – for someone so oblivious at times, Harry was surprisingly good at making sure his team members were well-prepared and in the right state of mind.

When both guys left the room, it suddenly felt very awkward for both of them. Hermione could feel herself blush as she thought about the situation Harry kind of interrupted. She didn't know what Draco wanted to say, but it certainly did not have anything to do with the Ministry or work.

Draco was staring at all the plans, deep in thought. It seemed like he was afraid to look up even for a second – like it immediately meant he was going to fail.

Hermione took a deep breath to calm herself and decided she had to stop thinking about what Malfoy wanted to tell her before.

"You have to take a break," she said quietly but confidently enough.

He looked up from the papers in surprise.

"Oh, I'm sorry, have any of your friends been abducted lately?"

She almost took a step back in surprise but fortunately stopped herself before she did that.

"Oh, abducted? No. But, you know, killed by the psycho-dark-wizard, yes."

He sighed heavily, hiding his face in his palms. "I'm just stressed."

"I know. It doesn't mean you have to talk that way to the people who want to help you."

"But that's what I do, isn't it? Otherwise, you end up abducted."

"Malfoy, I swear to Merlin, if you don't get a grip of yourself, I'm going to feed you to the Giant Squid. Or worse. I'm going to let Ginny deal with you. And mind you, she's pregnant now. She's thrice as feisty."

He looked up in surprise.

"Thrice?"

"It's twins. We're all doomed."

He couldn't suppress a small smile.

"Does that mean you're going to behave and stop wallowing in self-pity?"

"I guess."

She sat closer to him with a determined look.

"No 'I guess'. I need a 'yes'. It is not your fault Theo was taken, but it will be your fault if you overwork yourself and make a mistake because of that. Or if you make a mistake because you're blaming yourself. That's why I need a 'yes'."

"Yes, ma'am. Apparently, you don't need Ginny at all."

"The Draco Malfoy, terrified of me? Impossible," she smirked.

"I didn't say I was afraid of you," he snickered.

"You implied it, though," she grinned.

"Okay, you two, stop bickering!"

Blaise and Harry emerged from the other room, Zabini with his head held high.

"Time for pulling braids and other things will be later, but for now, I'll be needing my white Abraxan because I'm going to rescue my princess!" announced Blaise.

"I'm not sure Theo would appreciate being the princess in this scenario," noticed Draco.

"Well, tough luck, someone needs to save him."

"Are you suggesting a princess is incapable of saving a knight?" asked Hermione innocently.

Draco chuckled. "Trust me, you do not want to answer wrong to that question."

Blaise sighed theatrically. "Fine. You two are worth each other. So serious. Taking the fun out of every aspect of life."

"As in, out of saving your boyfriend from the grasp of former Death Eaters – one of them being his father - who possibly desperately needs our help?" asked Hermione, raising an eyebrow.

"See? Exactly what I've been talking about. You're on my side Golden Boy, aren't you?"

Harry raised his arms defensively. "Whatever helps you deal with this situation, mate."

"It does. Therefore, I need to put on my armour and you, stable boy, prepare my white Abraxan," he commanded, pointing at Draco.

"Technically, you haven't been knighted," noticed Draco.

"Yeah… And we don't really have the time to call up the Queen, you know," added Hermione.

Blaise groaned heavily and sat down at the table.

"Okay, which plans are we considering?"

"To fix this situation just a tiny bit, I say we partly stick to the plan. We send Malfoy to the previously appointed place and hope someone is going to show up. That way, Malfoy can still pretend he's there to help Nott contact his father, and the reason why he showed up is just that he was worried for his friend. And as far as we know, someone still can show up," proposed Harry.

"I think it's a good plan. This way, we don't go far from what we'd previously planned, so we stick to the well-prepared plan," agreed Draco.

"Right. And should anything go wrong then, we also use our pre-arranged plans for extracting both Theo and Draco," said Blaise.

Everyone now looked at Hermione, who suddenly felt very uncomfortable in the centre of attention. For some reason, she worried about Draco, but that shouldn't cloud her judgement. It was the best course of action.

"Of course," she said finally, as expressionless as possible. "It's the best way. The more we'd have to improvise, the more mistakes we could make. So, yes. Let's proceed as planned."

A/N: Hi, I'm back! Sorry for the break, but I officially got my bachelor's degree!