Draco stared back at his reflection, perfecting his Windsor knot upon his suit. It was Hallows Eve and last night after dinner, Astoria had invited Draco to a Hallows Eve celebration at the Greengrass family estate. Deeming his appearance acceptable, he used a bit of transfiguration magic to make a bouquet of flowers for Astoria. It consisted of orange lilies, red African daisies, yellow black eyed sun flowers and deep green shrubbery. He departed from Malfoy Manor and apparated to the Greengrass estate.
A house elf, wearing a black tee shirt with an image depicting a suit printed upon the front, showed him in. Draco was puzzled at the elf's attire, but completely forgot about it as soon as he saw Astoria moments later. She wore a beautiful conservative grey blue dress that accented her torso and had sheer sleeves that came down mid length of her arms. The bottom half of the gown was gently pleated in three points at the top of hip level, so that the full length of it flared out elegantly with every step. "You look marvelous Astoria. May I present a token of appreciate for the honor of being your date this evening?" He asked kindly, presenting the bouquet of flowers to her.
She smiled kindly in return and took the flowers. "Thank you, Draco. They are lovely. I look forward to the pleasure of your company this evening. Tibble, please put these in water in my chambers?" She asked of the elf kindly. "Yes, Lady Greengrass." The elf answered and took the bouquet from her, disappearing from sight. Astoria's behavior toward the elf reminded Draco of a certain muggle-born witch who also had a fondness for house elves. "You certainly have a peculiar way with house elves, I see." He commented lightly.
She nodded, "He is a free elf. I provide a variety of clothes for him to wear as he sees fit and in turn he serves me willingly with anything I ask. My family thinks it is a ridiculous notion that he could just leave at any moment, but I do not. I don't like to force obsolete notions of the past. Look where it got us with the result of the first and second wizard wars. What do you think?" She asked of Draco as the young man offered her his arm and she took it. They began to walk to the ballroom. "I think it is peculiar and something I would not do for my own house elf, but she is treated fair enough." Astoria only nodded understanding his standpoint. "There is one major benefit to having a free house elf willing to serve; they can do a chore I quite dread, laundry."
He turned and looked at her, he left eyebrow raised as he contemplated this fact. "When you put it that way, it is a peculiar practice that I suppose I could live with." He stated and they entered the ballroom. Loads of eyes turned to see their grand entrance. A doorman tapped a staff upon the floor three times, "Announcing Lady Astoria Greengrass and Lord Draco Malfoy."
Draco had been worried about what Astoria thought of his social status or the shame that tainted the Malfoy family name for his father's wrong doings. In an instant his worry became unfounded as they spend the evening mingling. Draco was able to boast of his achievements in the field of Alchemy all the while noticing the growing adoration in Astoria's eyes.
. . . . . . .
On All Saints Day, Ginny left Harry in charge of the baby so she could go get coffee with Hermione. She had all sorts of questions about the previous night's events. "So, what do you think of Jon? Quite dashing isn't he?"
"Ginny, you know that sounds odd coming from the mouth of a married mother. But yes, he is indeed an attractive specimen." Hermione replied. They had gone to a muggle coffee shop in London. It was Hermione's favorite place. There were booths that allowed for private conversation without others being able to overhear. It was designed for business meetings, and all the booths kept all outside sounds out and all inside sounds in using acoustic architecture design. Unbeknownst to the owner, most of the customers were in fact witches and wizards.
Ginny raised a suspicious eyebrow. "That sounds odd coming from the mouth of the woman who obviously enjoyed his company. So, what do you think of him?" Hermione couldn't deny that she enjoyed their extensive conversation last night. She told Ginny everything that they talked about. He was smart and sensitive, despite having physical strength attributes from being a quidditch player. "I've never met someone who was deeply interested in my work for S.P.E.W. as he was. He almost sounded like he did his research on me prior to our meeting." Ginny shrugged, "He could have. Not that it is difficult to do. Much of the Daily Prophet's front page articles have involved you because of Harry in the past decade." The two young women conversed until it was time for Ginny to depart.
A few days later Jon sent an owl asking Hermione to join him over a cup of coffee as soon as possible. It seemed urgent so she replied and they met later that day. "I'm sorry for asking you to meet me on such short notice." Jon stated as he sat across from Hermione. "Oh, it is no trouble, really." Hermione ordered a hot cocoa. She was on lunch break from her honestly boring new position in the magical creatures division of the ministry. Too much caffeine made her antsy for more activity besides the entry level ministry worker paper pushing she was currently going through.
"I've been anxious to talk to you again. Is that weird to say?" Jon asked, seeming a bit nervous. This made Hermione nervous, just a bit. "Not at all." Sometimes Hermione forgot her past and how it ensured that many people knew her name. It was strange going from being the muggle-born girl who at best was viewed as the brightest witch of her age to a war hero.
"I've been wanting to talk to you again about elfin welfare. What do you think the future is for them here in the United Kingdom and of course the Ministry of Magic?" Jon asked of her, seeking insight. "Well…" Hermione began with a moment of hesitation as she gathered her thoughts before continuing, "…there are so many variable to consider; whether or not the elves or a single elf want to be free. In my experience, some are ignorantly content and don't wish to advance as a society. I have been compiling a proposition for an elfin report, relocation, and education program. It's very much a work in progress." She admitted, uncertain if she technically answered his question really.
"Do you think elves could become as advanced as goblins? Pursue interests outside of serving? Marrying whom they choose?" he asked in a voice that was strangely eager. This really seemed odd to Hermione. That was not something even she had thought of. But he seemed really interested in the subject. "Well, I'm not quite sure yet. Why do you ask?" Jon's cheeks flushed with color that he tried to hide by diverting his head downward to gaze at his cup of coffee. "This may seem strange…but I'm sure you of anyone would understand; seeing as you are the forerunner of elfin welfare…" He said cautiously, fidgeting his fingers against the sides of his ceramic coffee cup from nervousness. Obviously, he couldn't quite get the rest of his intended statement out in words.
Hermione looked at him with understanding and sincerity. "It is okay, Jon. You can tell me." He glanced up at her. Apparently, her sympathy gave him the strength to continue. "I'm…I'm in love with an elf."
This was huge. Hermione didn't know how quite to respond. She was slightly hurt, but that was a bit selfish, she thought. It wasn't his fault he'd met someone before her. It all made sense now why he brought up elfin welfare and was so eager to converse with her about S.P.E.W. on the night they met. "Thank you for confiding in me, Jon. This is monumental for S.P.E.W. Here, just a moment." She stated as she rummaged through her bag and pulled out two of S.P.E.W. badges that she long about back at Hogwarts. "Take these. Now you are official members of S.P.E.W."
Jon's eyes welled up and a tender smile formed across his lips. "Thank you, Hermione Granger. May Merlin bless you and your endeavors." With that he got up and went around hugging her tight. Struggling to reach all the way around his torso, she at padded him on the back. "I am hopeful that they will indeed advance to a level of society that they can be individuals and pursue interests and endeavors; just like wizard kind."