Taking Neville's advice, Hermione arranged to speak with Lucius before reaching any decision that would affect her entire life. She was confident that both Narcissa and Draco were being genuine with her, but she needed to know that Lucius's part in proceedings was also coming from a good place. Of course she knew the Malfoys would benefit from helping her, and she was just fine with that, but she needed to know Lucius was genuinely making an effort to change and wasn't just using her as a way to restore his damaged reputation.
Between them, Narcissa and Hermione had arranged a lunch date, where everything could be discussed openly. The meeting was to be held in a pub in Wiltshire, not far from the manor and only a short distance from the café where Hermione and Narcissa had taken afternoon tea.
"This is a lovely part of the country," Neville remarked as he and Hermione made their way to the pub. As promised, he was by her side and would give her his honest opinion on whether he thought the Malfoys could be trusted.
"It is," Hermione agreed with a nod. "I bet it's a lovely place to grow up."
"You never know, if you accept the Malfoys offer, you might be spending more time in this part of the country," Neville said. "Your baby might well find out what it's like to grow up somewhere this nice."
"I very much doubt the flats Malfoy mentioned are anywhere near here," Hermione chuckled.
"But I'm sure you'd be visiting Narcissa," Neville pointed out. "The two of you seem to be getting quite close."
"It's nice to have someone maternal to turn to," Hermione admitted. "She's been good to me, and I will never forget her kindness even if things don't work out with this job offer."
Reaching the pub, which was a gorgeous country pub with a beer garden, Hermione and Neville went inside. Instantly Hermione spotted the Malfoys settled towards the back of the pub, sitting beside a large window that overlooked the beer garden. Taking hold of Neville's hand for support, she made her way towards the threesome. Narcissa greeted her as warmly as ever and Draco gave her a polite nod and slight smirk. However, Hermione attention quickly shifted to Lucius, who had risen from his seat at their arrival.
"Miss Granger," he greeted politely with an incline of his head. "It's a pleasure to see you again."
"Thank you for agreeing to the meeting," Hermione replied. "And thank you for not objecting to Neville being here."
"It's nice to see you've still got a loyal friend," Narcissa said, smiling warmly at Neville.
"Do sit down," Lucius offered. "Or would you rather dine outside?"
"Here's just fine," Hermione said as she and Neville settled themselves opposite the Malfoys.
"I'm sorry I can only manage a quick lunch, but I have a meeting this afternoon with the Ministry," Lucius said. "With any luck the Minister will finalise my plans to go and seek help for Severus, and hopefully I will be able to leave in the coming days."
"That's great news," Hermione said with a smile.
"Yeah, good luck," Neville added. Professor Snape wasn't his favourite person by any stretch of the imagination, but if his life could be saved, he hoped it could be done.
With limited time available to them, they quickly ordered lunch and before the food had even arrived, Lucius got down to business and assured Hermione that the offer his wife and son had made was a genuine one. He was even happy with the deal Draco had proposed in regard to her taking one of the flats at a cut rate.
"But I'm guessing you wanted to see for yourself that I am genuine," Lucius predicted.
"Yes," Hermione answered honestly. "Given the past, I'm sure you understand why I was cautious."
"Of course I do," Lucius conceded. "And I don't blame you for a moment. Nor will I insult your intelligence and claim that I have fully changed and will never slip up and say something inappropriate. Changes to one's belief system can't be managed overnight. I haven't flipped a switch and become a new wizard. It's a process, a process I am still going through. But I think the important thing is that I can see I need to change, and I want to make that change. I can't promise to be perfect, but I can promise to try every day to a better wizard than the one I've been."
"That is all I can expect," Hermione said. "And thank you for your honesty. To be honest if you'd tried to convince me that everything had changed so easily and that you were a new man, I wouldn't have believed you. I know how hard this must be for you. I know you can't just decide to stop believing in everything you've been taught. I know it's going to take time. But you're right, the important thing is that you want to change, and are making steps to do so."
"Does this mean you're accepting our offer?" Lucius asked, just as the food arrived.
"I still need some time to think about it, and of course we will need to discuss terms, but I am reassured that your offer is genuine and that I can trust you," Hermione replied once the waiter had gone and their food was sitting on the table in front of them. Glancing towards Neville, she was reassured when he gave her a nod, having reached the same conclusion that she could take a chance on trusting Lucius.
"Since I will hopefully be going away soon, you can discuss terms with Draco if you decide to accept our offer," Lucius said. "I'm sure the pair of you can come to an agreement that will please you both."
"I'm sure we can," Draco agreed with a nod of his head.
Hermione also nodded her head, wondering if it would be easier or harder dealing with Draco. The lustful thoughts that had plagued her during their last meeting didn't seem to be present today, but she was still very aware of how good looking Malfoy was these days, and something told her it would be even harder to ignore if she was in close quarters with him. Not to mention the possibility of working with him every day. Although until she accepted the offer and discussed matters further, she had no idea what working for the Malfoys would even entail.
"Forgive me if this is totally out of line," Lucius said, breaking into Hermione's thoughts. "And feel free to tell me to mind my own business. But I was just wondering if you'd considered petitioning the Ministry for access to Potter's estate."
"Harry's estate?" Hermione queried with a frown. "You mean his money?"
"From what I understand, he was a wealthy young man," Lucius said.
"He was," Hermione agreed. Of course, she'd always been aware of Harry's wealth, but it had never been a factor in their friendship. "But what does that have to do with me?"
"You are carrying his child," Lucius pointed out. "And as things stand, the child will be his only close living relative. In a case like Potter's, where someone dies with no close living relative, his vault at Gringotts will have been frozen until the rightful heir has been located. The goblins at Gringotts, along with the Ministry, will be tracking through Potter's ancestry to find his nearest relative. However, since there is clearly no close relative to simply pass the inheritance onto, it opens up the chance of appeal. Anyone who can prove a blood link to Potter, can petition the Ministry for their share of his inheritance. Of course it's all done at the Ministry's discretion, and very few of these petitions are upheld. Not only would you need a blood link to Potter, but you would need a damn good reason for wanting to get access to his money."
"If that's the case, I bet the Weasleys have made such a petition," Draco snorted.
"They would never try and get their hands on Harry's money," Hermione protested, unable to stop herself from sticking up for the family despite how they had recently treated her.
"They would have a claim," Draco remarked with a shrug. "All pureblood families in this country are related in some way. The Weasleys will have an ancestor in common with Potter."
"And they would also have a good reason for wanting to claim the money," Lucius added. "They considered him family, and could argue that if he hadn't died, he likely would have married their daughter. And given the Minister is a personal friend of the family, he might well uphold such an appeal."
"No, the Weasleys would never do that, would they?" Hermione gasped, turning to Neville.
"I don't know," Neville admitted with a shrug. "They might think it's better than his money going to some stranger he's never even met."
"When really it should be going to his child," Lucius said. "I didn't know Potter that well, but he didn't strike me as the type who would turn his back on his child."
"He wouldn't," Hermione whispered. "If he'd still been here, he would have supported the baby. But I'm not sure it feels right to try and take his money."
"But you wouldn't be taking the money for yourself, it would be for the baby," Narcissa pointed out. "You don't even have to touch it. It could simply sit there until the child is old enough to inherit."
"Although this could all be moot if you're planning on acknowledging Potter as the father of the child when he or she is born," Lucius mused. "If you name Potter on the child's birth certificate, it'll automatically register with the Ministry and their records will show that the child is Potter's legal heir and rightful owner of his Gringotts vault."
"What if the money has been dished out to some other relative by then?" Draco asked.
"It won't have been," Lucius said with a shake of his head. "These things take a long time to sort out. Vaults have been known to sit for years with no official owner. Besides, I'm fairly sure in cases like these they wait at least a year before even thinking of handing over the account to anyone else, just in case an heir appears on the scene."
"You should do it, Hermione," Neville said softly. "Harry would want his child to be provided for. I can't believe we never thought of this sooner."
"I don't know," Hermione muttered, a frown still creasing her forehead. "It still doesn't feel right to even think about taking Harry's money. But if it happened, it would be for the baby. It wouldn't change anything for me right now," she added, looking Lucius in the eye. "I would still need the package you've offered me."
"That deal stays on the table no matter what," Lucius vowed. "I just thought you should be aware that your child's future might not be as bleak as you feared. Of course, if you don't want the money, the simple answer is to leave Potter's name off the birth certificate. That way, unless you make a separate claim, an official heir isn't registered with the Ministry."
"No, I won't deny my child his father," Hermione insisted with a shake of her head. "Harry's name will be on the birth certificate."
"In that case, the Ministry are likely to come to you," Lucius said. "Of course, a few checks will be needed to ensure Potter is the father, but that will be quick and easy. But if you want my advice, I would petition the Ministry now, unless you're planning on turning down the money. Let it be known you're carrying Potter's child. It will freeze any other petitions being made until the baby is born and paternity is confirmed."
"I'll think about it," Hermione said. She still felt odd to even think about taking Harry's money, but she was carrying his child and their baby was his rightful heir.
"You've got a lot of thinking to do," Narcissa said with a chuckle.
"Yes, I have," Hermione agreed with a smile, vowing to do her thinking later. After she'd had a talk with Neville.
It was a while before Hermione had the chance to talk to Neville as even after Lucius had made his apologises and left the lunch, Narcissa and Draco had remained behind for another drink. Draco had then left, citing work duties, leaving Hermione and Neville with Narcissa. And since Narcissa was in no rush to be anywhere else, they spent a few more hours in the pub, before they finally went their separate ways.
"What do you think?" Hermione asked Neville as they were all alone again.
"I think you'd be mad to turn the offer down," Neville said. "Lucius was brutally honest about the situation, and I did believe he was genuine when he said he was trying to change. Yes, the Malfoys will get something out of you working for them, but most importantly, you'll get so much out of it. You can move into somewhere nicer, have a fulfilling job, and give you child a good start in life."
"And what about Harry's vault at Gringotts?" Hermione questioned. "It's never once occurred to me to try and claim it."
"If Lucius is right, and he seems to know what he's talking about, your baby will inherit automatically when he or she is born. Unless you're going to say no to the money, and quite honestly I don't think Harry would want that. I think he would want to know his child was taken care of. You then need to decide if you're just going to wait for the birth, or register a petition now."
"Your advice would be to take the money?" Hermione checked.
"If you were just wanting it to set yourself up, I would say don't do it, but you're not," Neville said. "If you took the money, it would be for your child. And as the child is Harry's, I think it's the right thing for you to do. Let Harry's child benefit from the inheritance that is rightfully theirs, rather than some distant relative who didn't even know Harry benefit from his death."
"And what if the Weasleys have petitioned for the money?" Hermione asked. "This would make them hate me even more."
"They of all people should know that Harry would have wanted his money to go to his child," Neville replied. "You're not doing anything wrong, Hermione. Just remember that."
Vowing that she would remember Neville's wise words, she thanked him for his time and advice and returned home to seriously mull over the decisions she knew she had to make in the coming days. Now it was about more than if she simply accepted the Malfoys offer of a job and place to live. Now she had to decide if she wanted her child to claim Harry's inheritance, or if she was going to stay quiet and let the chips fall where they may.