Chapter 5: Problems in Diagon Alley
Hermione Weasley, formerly Granger was voted by ninety-five percent of our readers to be Witches Weekly's Brightest Witch of the Age, an award given every fifty years to the Wizarding World's most influential and beloved witch.
The brains behind the downfall of the Dark Lord, Hermione Weasley nee Granger, has captured our world's full attention and adoration! According to many of her Hogwarts schoolmates, she was coincidently dubbed by many of her professors, the "Brightest Witch of Her Age". Her brilliance started early, when she was able to perform highly complicated spells that we could only dream about at a tender young age…
Of course, everyone in the wizarding world knows that she is best friends with the Boy Who Lived Twice, Harry Potter. When asked about her famous best friend, she replied, "I love him more than anything. He is the kindest, most unselfish, most forgiving person I know. Only a person like that can do the things that he's done…" When questioned further about her lightning scarred chum's favorite color, she humbly replied, "How should I know? Shouldn't you be doing an interview with him instead of me?"
"Ugh! Why am I reading this rubbish?"
Draco hastily closed the magazine in his hands as he sat in the Mother of Pearl's deserted waiting room.
The sudden downpour had him and Astoria taking refuge in the waiting room until it let up. Ruby and Hannah had disappeared an hour ago, with the scarlet-haired witch vowing to retrieve something that would aid him in his new quest…
His quest to have a baby with Hermione Granger.
A predicament that was laughable, really.
Never in a million years could he have seen that little plot twist coming. Unfortunately, a ragged, straggly, needle-eyed, decrepit, old bat did.
On this eve… Seek after the brightest witch…of the age…
He turned the Witches Weekly within his hands so that he could have a better view of the only wretched witch in the whole wretched world that could solve all his wretched problems. Every now and again, her picture would tip her head down, while her clear, mirth-filled eyes demurely held his attention. He was entirely grateful that the old Seer and Healer had pledged their all into helping this surrogate process along… because he knew that convincing Granger (he would never get used to calling her Weasley) would be impossible by himself.
The only thing that could get Hermione Granger to be magically impregnated by Draco Malfoy would be … well… he couldn't even think of anything, besides an extra strength Imperius Curse, that would be able to sway the immovable 'Brightest Witch of the Age'. Especially where he was concerned…
Not that he wanted her to say 'yes'.
Draco was hoping that Hermione would say 'no', and then no one could ever accuse him of not trying...
They could all go back home and hide in the comfort of the shady Malfoy Estate, alone and unbothered by people who hated him for his terrible mistakes and far away from ironically cruel prophecies…
You bloody coward.
Your wife needs you to show some backbone.
His eyes were drawn once more to the paperbound Hermione who smiled at him with an honest, humble grace that reminded him of the innocence that she had back in the years he had known her. He took the magazine and threw it on the floor with an exasperated sigh. He didn't deserve another selfless sacrifice on his behalf from a person like Granger, anyways…
"Hey, Granger! I know you hate me, but could you carry my child for nine months and then give him to my wife and I to keep so I can have an heir, she can be healed, and you can have only the pains of childbirth and nothing to show for it?"
"Why yes, Malfoy! I would appreciate it very much!"
Not, bloody likely.
Finally, the door to Ruby's office swung open, interrupting Draco's thoughts, and the two old witches hobbled out, cackling along the way.
"Remember the time Milton dropped his frog into the cauldron?"
"That was absolutely brilliant! Mucky Mildred volunteered to test his potion in front of the class and, and—"
"SHE WAS GREEN FOR A MONTH!" Ruby and Hannah screamed in unison, screeching and clapping their hands together.
"Serves her right! She was always going on about her complexion being flawless on account of her veela blood…"
"I never believed that one bit!"
"Aubergine Hughes believed her."
"Aubergine Hughes would believe a garden gnome if it said it was a prince!"
Draco shut his eyes and slumped further down into his chair with an exasperated heave as he listened to the cackling old women. Apparently, the Healer and the Seer were old schoolmates at Hogwarts. Very old schoolmates. Once he slid himself into an upright position, he decided to course-correct the giggling old crones.
"Did you find it?" He piped into their conversation. "Did you find what you were looking for?"
Ruby stopped her chatting and turned slowly to the young Mr. Malfoy with an expression on her face that looked as if she was pulling out a very large draw pin from her side.
"Oh, crickets! I must've forgotten it. You stay here, Hannah! You're much too fun to talk to!" She laughed and playfully punched Draco in the chest while she passed him, vanishing into her office once more.
"Merlin… wonder where the old bird gets her strength…" Draco coughed, a hand flying to the tender spot on his upper body. Hannah shrugged her black-ragged shoulders in response, and immediately summoned a green bottle to her lips.
"I know where you get yours…" Draco commented in revulsion.
He turned his pocket out to retrieve a small, black book with a golden Ministry of Magic seal on the cover. He figured he might as well do some work while he was having his time wasted...
As he opened the book, his weary eyes adjusted slowly to see the large, scrawling letters he had penned earlier that morning at work on a bookmarked page.
9:00 Check on Johnson and his work with new Time-Turners.
That was a big event.
Since all the Time-Turners had been destroyed at the Ministry several years ago, he, as overseer of Magical Item Archives in the Department of Mysteries, was recently given the task to replenish the stores of Time-Turners and other items lost in the duration of the Wizarding War.
He was to oversee this task with the help of a Thaddeus R. B. Johnson, a Wizard genius kept secret from the world by the Ministry of Magic for reasons unknown. A rare breed of intelligence that dipped into the Muggle World as well as the Wizarding World, having been educated at Hogwarts with top marks and then furthered his education at the University of Cambridge as well as other globally respected institutions. He was an older gentleman who preferred to wear strange muggle made jumpers and slacks instead of work robes and suits, but chose to sport a grey, pointed wizard cap atop his head at all times. Draco guessed that it was to hide the bald spot which lay beneath it…
Thaddeus now served as the brilliant Head of the Magical Artifact Reproduction Team (or M.A.R.T., to all those who worked in that wing of the Ministry) and was recruited by Draco to replace any items within the Ministry's care that had been damaged or destroyed; Time Turners being amongst the more difficult to construct items.
He immediately ran over the events of earlier that day in his mind...
"Johnson! They were supposed to be finished and archived by now. Who thought Time-Turners to be too hard for a gifted wizard like yourself…"
"Ah! These are no ordinary Time-Turners, Mr. Malfoy! They are the most precise, and accurate, time-manipulating devices that can traverse years, be it forward, or back with near-minimal anomalous side effects to the users..." Professor Johnson's face radiated with pride, his bushy eyebrows rose into his small grey wizard cap. His wild silver hair puffed in an impressive, curly bouquet around his smiling face.
"We'll be adding an outer ring with a self-adjusting calendar on it… for easier access to jump in and back out of time. I even had the dials cast out of pure chrononite for maximum effect! With this, people will be less likely to spontaneously combust when traversing through time—"
"Unfortunately, we'll never use them. The ministry has given us strict orders to merely replace the lot and ignore them..."
"A crying shame, really. I wish they could be of some use instead of being locked up in the Time Chamber gathering dust. Maybe sometime I could show you how it works. I've improved upon the last design immensely. Took a few trips to the '89 World Quidditch finals… you know, strictly for scientific resear—"
"Yes, yes, I know. Presently, I have an important engagement that I need to prepare for, so you have until tomorrow to finish the final model."
"Yes... sir..."
Apart from his absentmindedness, Draco liked to work with the odd man.
He was a pleasant yet adventurous fellow, regrettably very Gryffindor-like, with a mild disregard for the rules, which made for a lot of fun without any of the blame. Not to mention the fact that working with the mysterious T. R. B. Johnson gave him more than enough clout and notice around the workplace…
Ruby's door burst open once more (Draco had a feeling she did that often by the amount of scratches it made on the wall) and she rushed to the side of the nearly-drunken Hannah, slapping the bottle from her lips. The sudden movement of the green bottle splattered liquid onto her stringy white hair and weathered face.
"Hannah! Did you hear that Flimsy was courting Aubergine? I about spat my tea once I heard!"
Hannah's gnarled hands try to pat off as much spilt spirits as possible as she shakes her head in disagreement.
"Flimsy? Charlie Flimsy? I doubt it. He don't deserve her."
"Yes! Charlie! That's him!"
Not this again…
The sole male in the room rolled his eyes from his appointment book to his wife, who had slipped into a gentle doze next to him.
It was a fantastic day for her, but it had also taken much of her strength. The wrinkled duo's plan had been to wake her once the rain died down, and then they would see if Hermione Weasley was still in Diagon Alley… then Ruby remembered something she had tucked away in her office that may be of some profound use to him. It was a something that was taking her ages to find.
"You still have tea with him at Hogwarts?"
"Of course, he's one of my oldest friends!"
He slowly began to learn that whenever the two old bits began to talk betwixt each other, their focus was chucked out of the window. It was starting to grate on Draco's last nerve.
"Hello… excuse me. Sorry for interrupting your little reunion," He interjected hastily. The look on his face and bitter sarcasm in his voice showed that he wasn't 'sorry' at all.
"But, what is it exactly that you've been searching for all this time, and how will it help me solve my problem?"
Ruby and Hannah bring their wrinkled hands into their laps and smile crookedly at the extremely annoyed Mr. Malfoy.
"Problem? What problem, dear?" Her eyes flip innocently towards him as she put a small finger thoughtfully to her chin.
"Even if we manage to find Granger tonight, she would never, EVER agree to do such a thing for me, I know that much."
"What? You're a right handsome fellow, Mr. Malfoy, even with your hairline receding a wee bit." Ruby's comment caused Draco's hands to subconsciously shoot to the roots of his hair.
"What is there not to like in a young man, such as yourself...?"
"You've known me at my worst, Ruby," Draco's grey eyes look away from her as he felt the familiar burn of guilt and shame in his chest. "You know what I've done..."
"I do," Ruby waved her hand in front of him to stop him from continuing. "But I do know that since then, you've tried to repair the damages of your mistakes..."
"Yeah. Good. Try telling Granger that."
"It's Weasley—"
Draco cuts her short with narrowed eyes and a pointed finger.
"I will NEVER call her that. Hermione Granger will always be Hermione Granger. I owe it to my old nemesis to keep her unaffiliated with that stupid Weaselbee oaf, even if she's married to him."
Ruby looked at his threatening digit and laughed.
"You're a strange boy, Mr. Malfoy, but I still like you. Hannah and I will not rest until you gain your heir."
"Ey! Stop signing me up fer everything! I didin say yes the firs' time!"
"Oh hush, Hannah, it's something better to do than hang about all day drinking and waiting for sickles and knuts to be thrown your way."
"I'm telling you... Granger would never…" He murmured downheartedly. He meant to say it in with a condescending tone, but it accidently came out in a way that made Ruby's heart turn into butter. He sounded so helpless.
"Show some courage, Mr. Malfoy! Didn't I say we'd take care of you?" She smiled and patted his back; gently this time.
Ruby said disastrous results would befall us if wewere to find another surrogate rather than the one foretold by the rotted, old Seer.
What are the disastrous results?
Would the child be at risk?
Would we be cursed?
Or worse…
My son could come out a squib?
There has to be a loophole to the vision... the Dark Lord could have chosen Longbottom over Potter, after all.
For being the most powerful dark wizard on the planet, he sure was daft.
Hannah's prophecy was so specific, it didn't feel like there was any squeeze room for Draco to get past the whole impregnating Hermione Granger bit.
For none other will the paths of destiny align for the House of Malfoy…on this eve… seek after…the brightest witch… of the age…
"I really don't want to do this..." Draco pouted, looking like an impetuous child as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Don't get cold feet on me now," Ruby sighed, tapping the arm of her chair with her nails. "Just wait for a moment."
"What do you mean?"
"Be patient."
"I don't want to be patient..." Draco whined.
It was then that Astoria gave out a contented sigh below him in her wheelchair, causing him to look at his wife. She slept gracefully in her wheelchair, her cheeks glowing with a tiny tinge of pink. Usually the Bloodless Sickness stole all her pigment by now. He took a long, pale finger and affectionately traced it over the rose colored skin. Draco's eyes softened as he listened to her gentle breathing, but as he lifted his fingertip from her cheek, the color faded rapidly and the napping witch jolted forward.
"Did we find her?!" Astoria screamed, a crazed look in her eyes. The jeweled butterflies on her head flit rapidly, moving unnaturally fast in time with her heart. "She will give me a baby! A bright son!"
He knew that voice, tinged with hysteria and delirium. It was the sickness wicking away her magical blood…
"Ruby!" Draco pleaded as he steadied his convulsing wife by grasping her arms. "Please!"
"I want to see him! Not you, Draco! I want to see him! My baby boy!" Astoria laughed darkly as her body began to seize up in his hold. Her cheeks now took on the appearance of thin paper, and her veins, now ashy grey, were visible just below the skin.
"Hold her tightly!"
The scarlet-haired witch sprang into action and reached into her robe pocket to retrieve her wand.
"Someone's outside!" Hannah exclaimed amid the madness, having been awoken from her sleep.
The silver painted front door blasted open soon after her cry, and a sharp spray of cold rain pelted all occupants of the waiting room before it slammed closed. Astoria twitched in Draco's arms as he recovered from the sudden shock of the open door. Water from the outside dripped from his hair and pointed nose as he tips his head downwards to view a dark mass of hair, and soaked, dress robes…
His eyes grew wide, and he was more frightened than surprised by who it was, moaning in pain on the floor in front of him.
Merlin…my time is up…
"Granger?"