It was raining, again. Well, Hermione supposed drizzling was a better term. The young brunette was sitting in her parents lounge attempting to translate French marriage legislation. Why, why, why did I decide to do this case? Hermione wondered, pulling the dictionary towards herself again. Challenges were always fun, but the court date has been set for August 29th, just a month away. And with so many complications, this case was taking up the majority of Hermione's time. Plus, since she had reconnected with Ginny and her parents had moved back to London, Hermione found she was busy at all times. Most evenings, she worked until nine or ten and was at the office before eight the next day. She took her work home on the weekends, usually bringing them along to her parents' house or the Potter household.
"Hermione!"
The witch jumped, twisting towards the voice. Her mum was standing in the doorway, holding a steaming tray. "I asked you if you wanted asparagus with rosemary or cream?"
Holding in her laugh, Hermione responded, "rosemary," before returning to the stack of parchment in front of her. She felt the couch shift, and looked at her mother, who had put the tray away and was looking at her daughter with concerned eyes.
"Mum?"
"Dear, I think you are working too hard. You need to go on a date."
"Mum! What? No. I don't have time. And, who would I even go with?"
"A colleague?"
"Who, Brian from Magical Sports? Absolutely not. Not until pigs fly."
"But, Hermione, look at you. It's Saturday afternoon. You are in your twenties. And you're on your mum's couch working. More than that, you are working on a case for your old bully. Is this really the life you want?"
"Did you move here just so you could lecture me on being social?"
"Har, har. But seriously - you are young. You need to really live. When I was your age -"
"Mum, when you were my age, you were studying all day and partying all night. I will not be doing that. Ever."
Laughing, Mumrolled her eyes. "I suppose you are right. We are different. But, coke on. You have been divorced for almost two years. How many dates have you been on? How many guys have you taken home?"
"Mum! Hermione cried, blushing fiercely. "I'm not talking to you about this."
Mum giggled - giggled! - and called over Hermione's yelps, "Well, see? That must mean there's been no one! You needa one night stand. A hook up, a-"
"Gagh, Mum!" Hermione covered her face. "I am meeting with Malfoy and Astoria first thing Monday. I need to be able to present all these laws to them. And I don't know half the French legal jargon. So, no dates, no one night stands, and certainly no hook ups." Doing her best to keep a straight face, the witch pulled her work towards herself.
Mum sighed, getting up. Hermione felt a little bad for shutting down her mother, but she honestly didn't want any of that. Yes, there had certainly been times when she had missed Ron, missed having someone. There had been nights when her wand wasn't enough, when she craved a man. And there were times when she wished for the emotional connection she could only find in a romantic partner. But no opportunity had presented itself. And, as of right now, she had far too much on her plate as it was. Malfoy insisted on being beyond through, rereading all her work and making her search for loophole after loophole, even when she knew the British laws forwards and backwards.
Ronald Weasley stared at the rain pattering on the window of his flat. He could hear his mates joking around, chatting about god knows what, but Ron couldn't bring himself to listen. So much had changed in the last few years. Today, he'd been strolling down the ministry hall and heard a laugh he'd know anywhere. A laugh he rarely heard, one he hadn't been the cause of for far too long.
Being a divorcé at just twenty-one was quite something. And hearing her laugh, her voice… Ron missed Hermione like she had left only yesterday. Not as his wife, not as his lover, but as his friend. They had been so close for so long, even if they bickered and fought far more than most best friends.
Ron had made a life for himself, though. He was a successful Auror. He was in a proper relationship with a chick he'd met at a Cannon's fan event. He lived in a decent flat, he didn't live paycheck to paycheck anymore, he spent plenty of time with his best mate Harry, he ate Sunday brunch at the Burrow… life was as it should be.
But there was one gaping hole he still couldn't quite ignore, no matter how hard he tried. The girl - woman now, he supposed - who had meant so much to him, who had known him better than he had known himself, hated him. He hadn't seen her since their fight that day in the Leaky all those months ago. He knew she went round to Harry and Ginny's every week or so, but he didn't dare ask how she was. Not when he was finally in a decent place in his life.
One day, he swore to himself, I will make amends with her. We will reconnect. I will make her know how sorry I am, how much I wish I could have seen how not okay she was. One day…
The office lights were too bright for seven in the morning. The ministry was almost empty, and Hermione was half running. She had been up late working on this bloody case. She had been up late every night working on it, but it still seemed impossible. She wasn't sure how she could argue this case without her clients having some major repercussions. Lusius Malfoy's lawyer was good - the contract was watertight. Every loophole she could think of was covered. The only thing she could find, the only inconsistency, was that the document was French and the lawyer was now only a British citizen, as far as the ministry was concerned.
Finally reaching her office, she saw the blonde couple already waiting outside her door. "Astoria, Malfoy. God, I'm sorry. I was up past midnight working on this case, so I slept in late. Oh, Astoria - tea, thank you." She accepted the steaming mug and opened her door. Her office had parchment everywhere. She spent so much time researching, she could barely keep track of all her notes and translations. "Sit, sit. Excuse the mess."
"Oh, this is nothing. You should see Astoria when she's getting ready to go out..." Malfoy smirked.
"Says he!" The blonde witch turned to Hermione and stage-whispered, "Draco takes an hour just to do his hair each day!"
Chuckling, Hermione pulled the notes she had taken over the weekend from her bag and placed them on her desk, along with her other sheets. "Seeing as we are just over a month from the trial, I think we need to finalize our strategy. I understand that nullifying this marriage contract is very important to you both, but I want you to understand that the document is well written. The biggest loop-holes I can find are that the document is only registered with the French ministry and the lawyer being part of the British court."
"Okay," Malfoy nodded, leaning over the parchment that Hermione showed them with a few notes of her suggested strategy. "How do you suggest we proceed in regards to the lawyer?"
Hermione blinked. So far, Malfoy ha dyet to actually ask her a direct question. RAther, he had made a statement and stared her down until she answered whatever question he was hinting at. "Er, achem, I would say there are two main approaches. First, you could reach directly out to Mr. Cromwell, your father's lawyer, and inform him of the laws he is technically bending by switching courts and defending a document that he wrote and got passed in another country. Basically, you would be giving him a choice; either he could back out and agree to void the contract, or you take him to court for a case you think you can win. The biggest downside here is that he will be prepared to argue why the document still holds, assuming he chooses to continue with the trial."
"Right. And, knowing Lucius, he wouldn't choose a lawyer who would back down easily. The other option?" Astoria asked, also examining the parchment Hermioen had passed them.
"Well, you could make all these claims once you are already in court. However, this could cause the judge or jury to believe that you are focusing on the wrong part of the case. This would be a much more difficult route, however it would certainly get you further if we can actually create an argument that is believable and provable."
"Can you do that?" Malfoy asked, looking her dead in the eyes.
Refusing to look away, the brunette responded, "excuse me?"
"Can you make us an indisputable argument? Are you good enough at what you do to win us this case?"
Affronted, Hermione squared her shoulders. "Considering I was offered this case by my superior over any other employee at my level, I would say so. After all, this is my job. If you feel I do an unsatisfactory job, you are welcome to take me to court. But, seeing as I work in law, I would undeniably win." The smile on her lips tasted bitter; it was so sweet and sappy.
Astoria looked between the two as they glared one another down. Eventually she picked up the paper and told her new friend. "We will get back to you tomorrow with which oath we want to go with. Actually," she glanced at her fiancé, still glaring at the heroine, "would you like to join us for dinner and we'll tell you then?"
The angry pair turned to her simultaneously in shock. "What?" their cries, again, were synced up.
"I - I would be honored. But, only if you are both okay with this. I wouldn't want to intrude-"
"Oh, you won't be, will she?" Astoria gave the blonde male a meaningful look and he quickly nodded along.
"Alright then. Just give me the address and time and I'll be there." Hermione swallowed, but kept her face as positive as possible. Afterall, they were her clients. She wouldn't exactly say no, could she?
"Six o'clock? Here, I'll write our address down. We live together - as platonic roommates, I would like to note. I'm so glad you're coming!" grinning brightly, Astoria handed her lawyer a slip of parchment and practically skipped out the door. Malfoy gave Hermione a tight smile that wasn't entirely unfriendly and followed the excited witch out the door.
Sighing, Hermione practically collapsed in her chair. What on earth had she just agreed to?
A/N: Thank you! Please review - I really appreciate them, even if I don't respond I do see them. Get excited for the dinner as well as a bit more character building of Astoria!