A/N. Sorry to take so long updating! As usual life's been busy and for some reason I struggled writing this chapter. I hope you all enjoy! Tell me what you think
"I believe I need to settle up for last week. Add eh, Maria's drink to my bill as well." Malfoy says walking up to the barman the following Tuesday. He knew he shouldn't have let his anger get the best of him and stormed out like that, it had surprised him how much anyone thinking such things of Granger upset him.
"We are good and her bill had already been covered, actually I owe her." Sean shrugs as he goes ahead and pours Malfoys scotch.
"I walked out without paying, I owe you. And I'll cover hers to" Malfoy insists.
"Only because I was shocked by what you told me and jumped to conclusions." Sean replies shaking his head. "I have seen that woman in here every week for over a year and never once has she done anything that would upset me if I was her husband. I should have stopped to think. You were right so your tab was on me. As for Maria she already paid for her drink. She always does. That's the other thing. After the first few weeks coming here and having to shoo men away from her table she made a deal with me. She pays for her 2 glasses of wine and a nice tip as soon as she comes in and Sara and I discourage anyone from bugging her."
Malfoy sniggers to himself, it made sense that she would find a way to take care of herself and discourage others from bugging her.
"Malfoy." This night just got interesting. Without turning around Malfoy takes a sip of his drink and replies "Potter"
"Can we talk?" The man asks as Malfoy turns to him. Potter had definitely bulked up since their school days and had the scars typical of an aruour. The look on his face wasn't necessarily friendly but wasn't as harsh or mad as Malfoy expected. At Malfoy's nod he turns and leads him to Grangers table. He smirks at this. He had long ago figured out the reason Granger always sat at the same table, same seat even. It had a perfect view of the front door, entire bar and the doors to the bathroom. No one could sneak up on you in that seat. Obviously Potter chose it for the same reason.
"I take it the Weasel recognized me?" Malfoy starts as Potter just quietly watches him. Potter nods, "how's their little girl?"
Potter looks slightly surprised, "she hit her head and lost enough blood to earn an overnight stay at Mungo's but she's doing great now."
"Good to hear. So are you here to tell me to stay away or to tell me she's not coming back?" Malfoy sighs. He knew it would only last until her friends found out. He had hoped to have her for a little while longer.
"Neither." Harry pauses a moment at Malfoys startled look, "honestly, she doesn't know I'm here. Ron is distracting her, I've got about 15 minutes before she comes storming in madder than a wet hen that he detained her."
"Then why are you here?" Malfoy takes a sip of his drink while studying Potter closely. He had only spoken to him once after his trial. One condition of his release stated that anytime a Death Eater is captured he is called to the DMLE for questioning about that persons activities. Around the 1 year anniversary of the battle Potter and Weasel brought in Rowl and he had to come in and give his testimony. He ran into Potter coming out of the office. It was awkward as hell but he apologized for being a prat in school and thanked him for his testimony. He knew he owed his freedom in large part to the man sitting across from him.
"Confirmation, Ron said your back was turned so he couldn't be 100% sure it was you. But the little information Hermione gave us fit that it was you."
"Wait, she told you about me?"
"We noticed she seemed to be happier and a bit more relaxed so Ron asked her about it one day. She said she had started talking to someone on Tuesdays and gave a very, very vague description. If Ron hadn't realized he saw you last week we still wouldn't know who you are."
"Then what is this?" Malfoy was growing impatient, he didn't have the best record in dealings with Potter and the longer he spoke the higher the chances were he was going to say or do something stupid.
"Hermione has never been the same since the war. None of us has. The rest of us have been able to move on though. She hasn't yet. She practically drowned in her grief and she's never let it go. But I think she's finally starting to and I think it has something to do with you. She deserves to be happy. You both do." Harry pauses, this is getting way more serious than he planned. He was only supposed to confirm its Malfoy and make it clear that he and Ron knew who she was seeing. "Just...just don't blow it ok? And don't hurt her, shes been through enough." He stands as does Malfoy, "now let me get out of here before she catches me."
With that he headed out the front door leaving Malfoy speechless. Of all the possible outcomes for that particular conversation, that certainly was not one he had foreseen. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts he never even seen her come up and was startled when she sat down.
"How's your daughter?" He asked even though he already knew.
"She's fine. She fell and hit her head, the healers healed the wound right away but she had lost enough blood that they wanted her to stay overnight just in case. I think she's disappointed she won't even have a scar." Hermione said as she settled into her seat.
"I'm glad to hear shes OK." He responded but then didn't know what else to say. It was just awkward between them now, which is exactly what he didn't want to happen.
"So.." he started just as she said, "I just wanted to say thank you. I'm sorry I kind of lost it with you last time. I don't talk about Fred often. Its awkward with his family and very few outside the family know the truth."
"You were fine. You have listened to me talk about Astoria for weeks now. I would hope you would feel comfortable talking to me at this point. May I ask why you still keep it a secret?" He hoped he wasn't pushing but ever since she told him he has had so many questions going through his head.
She hesitated but he got the feeling it was just because she didn't know where to start. "Thats a loaded question. Once the family found out I was pregnant the entire family was so supportive. I knew they would have my back 100%. You know how it still is in the Wizarding world. In the muggle world its common to see unwed or single parents. Here its just not acceptable. After I got out of the hospital Ron came to me and made a proposition. We get married, my child could still have the Weasley name, I wouldn't be shunned by Wizarding society and I would have a father figure for Bryony and a partner in raising her. I honestly fought the idea at first, he's my best friend, how could I ask him to do such a thing? He repeatedly reminded me that he was offering." She paused here a moment and Malfoy was glad she did because he needed a moment to process this. The Weasel had set aside his plans for his life and put her first. Made Malfoy look at him in a different light. "And so after a lot of convincing on his, Harry's and Ginny's part and some negotiating we got married."
"Negotiating? You make it sound like it was a business contract rather than a promise to build a life together forever." He said startled. He thought she would be the romantic sort, not like the old school pureblood families who used marriage contracts for social and economic gain.
She hesitated again then finally said, "in for a Knut, in for a Galleon I guess."
"What?"
"Its a bastardation of the muggle phase 'in for a penny, in for a pound.' Means that I've already shared this much might as well keep going." Hermione shakes her head at Malfoy, "Purebloods."
"Muggleborns" he replies shaking his head. It was something they had started a while back. Being from such differing backgrounds ment they sometimes would say something that would go over the others head. Instead of making a big deal of it they started calling each other out for it and it almost became a term of endearment towards each other. "Well, let me have it then. I'm not certain you can suprise my anymore than you already have."
She laughed quietly, then paused before beginning. "My marriage isn't traditional. The only way I would agree was with a few conditions. You know there are different types of bonding ceremonies right?" He nodded as he took a sip of his drink, "The main condition being that the ceremony would be one of the newer ones. We are magically bonded but it can be undone, not permanent." Here she began playing with her wine glass and bouncing her leg, something he had realized she did whenever she was lost in thought. "Ron and I are best friends but have never been lovers. I couldn't stand the idea of his binding himself to me forever and never getting to know the love and passion like I had with Fred. So we have an open marriage. Actually we don't even look at it as being married. We co-parent and cohabitate as best friends. We are each free to see who we like. The plan has always been that once he found someone and fell in love we would quietly divorce."
"Well I was wrong." She looked up at him with a questioning face. "You can indeed surprise me. By all outside accounts you two are the perfect couple. I certainly haven't heard anything about any possible indiscretions on his part so he must be a master of discretion or he hasn't dated yet?." He was actually mildly impressed that they have been able to do this for so long without anyone finding out.
"He didn't date the first few years. Between Bryony and being a first time dad, Aurour training and then being put on the squad charged with capturing Death Eaters he barely had time to rest let alone date. Especially with the added complications of being famous and famously married. He can't just got to the Leaky and start hitting on witches. He has dated though. First time was two years ago. He dated a muggle for awhile. It was easier since she had no clue who he was or that he's married. It didn't last because they had nothing in common and he had way too little knowledge of Muggle culture."
"What about you?" He didn't know why he asked but he rather wanted to know if she had dated any.
"Have I dated? No." She said simply. "He wants me to. I think he feels guilty dating when I'm not even trying. Last year he and Harry took me out to dinner and insisted I start going out on my own. And thats how Tuesday nights started. I chose Tuesday nights and Ron goes out Thursday night. We still are and always will be best friends. We do just about everything together as you would expect of a married couple, we just have our one night to ourselves now. Its actually worked out very well for us."
"How is it not awkward? Him dating someone else? Does he tell you when he's seeing someone? This is just so..."
"Weird? Crazy? Unexpected? Yeah it really is. Its really not awkward. He told me about the muggle right away because he needed ideas for muggle appropriate dates. The next person he dated was a witch. He didn't tell me who because he knew I wouldn't approve. Turns out I was right on that one."
"How so?" The pub was getting fuller as the night wore on but sitting there with Granger spilling some of her closest secrets it felt rather intimate.
"Well when she came on to him knowing he was married and not caring should have been a bit of a warning flag. Thankfully he didn't tell her anything but that ment she thought he was cheating on me and didn't care, actually she threatened to come to me about it and use it against him. Then there's the fact that she poisoned him in 6th year."
"What?"
"In 6th year she put a love potion in some chocolates for Harry and he didn't want them and not knowing he gave them to Ron. That was the night Ron drank the poisoned mead from Slughorn." She mentioned that awful event in passing. It had become a bit of an un spoken role that they just glossed over anything unsavory from their past.
"So how was it? What happened with her?" Malfoy found himself asking like a gossiping school girl. He knew Grangers reputation for revenge towards anyone who crossed her. Whatever happened had to have been good.
"When she threatened to tell me about the affair Ron broke it off with her and told me right away. A couple days later she finds me on my lunch break at a muggle cafe near the Ministry and tries to blackmail me. She foolishly thought she had me trapped with no option but to give her what she wanted... I quickly put her in her place. As soon as I saw her enter the cafe I sent up a secrecy spell on the table. I got her to tell me everything about her and Ron and everything she planned to do to us once she sat down. The spell took hold of her once she sat so everything she said is bound to that table. She can't speak of any of it now. She doesn't even realize what exactly I did, just that she literally can't speak of any of it. Then I went to Kingsley and reported her for trying to blackmail a Ministry official. She lost her job and is on probation for the next 3 years." Granger smiled smugly at that.
"Nice. Getting her fired and probation though? That seems a little tame considering some of the things I've heard you do to people who cross you. Have you gone soft on us?" Malfoy gently teased her.
"I might have mellowed out in the last few years. Retired from mischief if you will. Ron and Kingsley both told her she got off easy." She smiled again and Malfoy realized Potter was right, she had been smiling a lot more recently. When they had first started talking she barely reacted to him, positive or negatively. Now she seemed much more relaxed and almost saw the spunky schoolgirl he remembered.
He wanted to tease just to see her reaction. "So what caused miss 'you could set a watch by her movements' to be late?"
"Hrmp. Ronald realized 2 minutes before I was to leave that he left paperwork he needed tonight back at the office. He said he'd be just a minute and flooed over. 10 minutes later he came back then turned around again saying he forgot something else. I swear if I didn't know better I'd think he was trying to detour me."
"Oh really? Now why would he do that?" Malfoy decided to play devils advocate. He didn't really want her to find out that Potter had talked to him but he was ok with the Weasel getting in a bit of trouble.
"Wait, he didn't come here did he? I know he's curious about who I'm talking with. I could see him trying to find out who you are."
"No, I never saw him tonight. But it is kind of fishy."
"Either way I'm still irritated with him. Maybe its time to come out of retirement." She said with a smirk. He wouldn't admit to any one but it kind of turned him on.