Chapter 2: Two Paths Converge in a Mellow Pub
Hermione briefly put the letter down before picking it up once again to re-read the last couple of paragraphs.
Essentially what I'm hoping Granger is that I can find the source that Abraxus' vial came from. I know it came from a natural spring somewhere in Australia.
Hermione's brain whirred with the possibility. He was talking about brewing an elixir that could cure some of the world's darkest curses. Hermione thought of Lycanthropy and her dear, late friend Remus.
Could he succeed in creating an elixir that powerful? How? The Malfoy she knew at school was decent at potions, of course. But what he was talking about was not just potioneering but advanced alchemy, the likes of which she could scarcely believe. Harry had mentioned offhand that Malfoy had a passing interest in Alchemy but…
She returned to the letter.
I'm fairly confident it won't take me more than a month to find the source of the water. Fairweather called it the 'Fountain of Rejuvenation' in his journal. A stupid name for what is probably just a highly magical puddle, if you ask me, but I'm sure he was seduced by the many myths and legends. Of course, their incompetent Government says the visa processing time is the same no matter the duration of the visit.
I wouldn't go telling your friend about any of this, Granger. Stick to the story: I'm interested in starting a potions supply importation business and I'm looking for suppliers of Eucalyptus oil and Yowie quills. That should explain why I'll need to move around quite a bit.
Before your do-gooder brain explodes, yes I KNOW it's illegal. No, I do not care. Nor should you. Some things are more important than your precious rules.
I am thinking only of Scorpius.
Sincerely,
Draco L. Malfoy
She was thinking about Scorpius, but she was also thinking of the good that this elixir he was proposing could do. Malfoy clearly hadn't spent enough time around her in her youth to know that Hermione understood when the rules needed to be bent. Her head was exploding but not because of the potential illegality of the situation.
What utter lack of vision he must have, to not be thinking about the broader application. Even if the water from the fountain ended up being a limited resource, there would surely be a way to study it and synthesize its properties. She already knew she would help Malfoy. Now she just had to think of a way to convince him to help Scorpius and broaden his ambitions. Lordy, broaden a Slytherin's ambitions? What was the world coming to?
That said, did she trust Malfoy to be discreet and not blow her reputation to smithereens?
With a sardonic smile for herself, she realised that at this point it could hardly matter. She had first lost her marriage and then an unlosable election in the span of six months. Now her kids were barely speaking to her and the entire world was laughing at her. What else was there to lose?
With that cosy thought, she made her way over to her desk and pulled out a parchment and a fountain pen. No time like the present to write to her contact in Canberra on behalf of Malfoy and see what could be done about that wait time. Then she would be done with the whole situation and could go back to trying to figure out how to rebuild her life. She could drop the letter off for an international post that afternoon while she visited Hogsmeade.
Hogsmeade. Her stomach roiled at the thought.
Only the pull of seeing her children could overcome the cold fear that was taking hold as every minute passed, propelling her closer to the moment she would have to pick up the floo powder and be seen in public again. She was more than sure there would be photographers and press waiting for her. Watching her as she saw her children and came face-to-face with Ron for the first time in months.
She hadn't thought it would be possible to feel more embarrassed but just when she thought she had hit her lowest, she somehow always found more depth.
Wanting to keep herself busy, she got to work on her letter.
Several hours later, Hermione pulled on her thick coat and then pulled down two other winter coats and shrunk them with a muttered reducio to put in her pocket and give to the kids. She eyed a third coat hanging up in the mud room for a moment, her instinct urging her to do the same for this one.
"Stuff it," she said out loud, spinning on her heel and heading back to the living room.
Before she could rethink it, she grabbed a handful of floo powder from the pot on the mantel, lit the fire with a firm incendio, chucked the powder, and then called clearly "The Three Broomsticks," before disappearing in a sudden blaze of green.
When she whirled into location at the pub the first person she saw as she almost toppled out of the large fireplace was, somehow, Draco Malfoy.
"Malfoy!" she spluttered inelegantly, subconsciously worried that the fact that she had been thinking about him for the better part of the morning had somehow summoned him.
"Twice in two days. Lucky me," Malfoy drawled in a way that indicated that he did not, in fact, think of himself as lucky. Despite that, he was polite enough to slightly lean forward and put a steadying hand on her elbow, leading her out of the hearth. It felt odd and foreign to be on the receiving end of such a thoughtful gesture from him. They exchanged a quick glance confirming that, yes, it had been odd for both of them.
"Minister Granger!" a younger voice with significantly more enthusiasm sounded from somewhere behind.
Hermione popped her head around Draco's side and saw a beaming Scorpius.
"Oh, hi Scorpius," she replied, returning his smile.
Despite the fact that he was a near mirror-image of his father at the same age, Hermione couldn't stop herself from feeling a deep affection for the kid. Possibly because his personality was the direct opposite to his father's.
Hermione couldn't ever remember meeting Astoria Greengrass but whenever she saw Scorpius she inevitably wondered about her. She must have been quite a woman to have taken Draco Malfoy in hand and then produced such a sweet, kindhearted, and clever child.
"Dad just arrived too," Scorpius supplied as Draco simultaneously tugged on Hermione's elbow, pulling her clear away from the fireplace and the path of an incoming floo. The fireplace blazed green and before she even had a chance to panic, her husband was appearing from the flames.
Well, her former husband. Divorce papers filed but pending.
"Ron," she squawked and could actually feel Malfoy's secondhand embarrassment as he gazed between her and the newest arrival.
Ron took a moment to dust himself off and stumble from the hearth before pulling up short, eyes narrowed. Which is when both Hermione and Draco seemed to notice that he still had a firm grasp on her elbow. To Hermione's relief, he let it go rather quickly.
"Hermione," Ron said, a little coldly, "Malfoy," he said, even colder.
At that precise moment, Hermione noticed the flashes going off behind them. Of course, as predicted - the press had been lying in wait and probably captured every moment of their reunion.
"How are you?" Hermione said suddenly. It came out a little more eagerly than she had wanted. She really didn't know how to handle this entire situation.
"Fine," Ron mumbled, ambling towards them a bit.
She heard Malfoy clear his throat, "Ermm, let's grab a drink Scorpius," he said to his son.
"Mr. Weasley, Minister Granger, Rose and Hugo should be here in a minute. I heard Rose say she wanted to pop into Honeydukes for a minute before they came here to meet you," Scorpius offered helpfully as Draco ushered him toward a nearby table.
"Thankyou Scorpius, please just call me Hermione though," she called out kindly to the retreating young man, watching his face turn towards her and then flush with embarrassed horror as he realised his mistake. She offered him a small reassuring smile as his Dad pushed him, with quick steps, away from the chaos of the Granger-Weasley reunion.
"Bloody fantastic," Ron mumbled, eyeing someone behind her. She turned to be greeted with a familiar vicious smile.
Millicent.
"Head up, smile, don't let them get to you," Hermione muttered to herself, unaware that she had spoken out loud.
"Leave off Hermione, I don't want any more of your posturing and politicking thanks. We're getting a divorce, remember?" Ron muttered back.
Hermione wanted to sink down into the ground beneath her and just disappear. Instead, they both turned and faced Millicent Flint (nee Bullstrode) who was calling out to them.
"Any comments on the unfortunate breakdown of your marriage, Hermione, Ron?" she said looking at each of them in turn with that insatiable smirk of hers.
"Still no comment, Millie. That would be our personal business," Hermione replied calmly to the hulking figure that had been making her life difficult for years.
"And you can stop following me around Diagon Alley too. I'm not going to talk!" Ron added angrily.
Hermione sighed. This wasn't going to improve their day.
"Rumor has it that there was an infidelity," Millicent continued, ignoring them.
Hermione knew that she was just up to her usual, provoking habits but she still felt a cold shock followed by her temper rising. So this is what they were saying and potentially why she could feel that Ron had been riled up before even coming to Hogsmeade.
"No infidelity. Otherwise, no comment," Hermione barked back, taking hold of the sleeve of Ron's jumper and tugging him in the opposite direction.
"Looked cozy with Malfoy there, didn't you, ex-Minister?" Millicent sneered after them.
Hermione paused for a second. She had never wanted to deck anyone more.
Well actually, she had wanted to deck Malfoy more back in third year and she would never stop feeling satisfied replaying that particular memory in her mind.
"Are you really going to go there, Millicent?" she finally replied with a dangerous edge in her tone.
That seemed to put Ron on high alert. "Come on," he muttered, this time being the one to lead her away.
"Should we try the Hogshead?" Hermione asked.
Ron shook his head, "No point. They'll just follow us wherever we go. Hermione… maybe this was a bad idea."
It was definitely a bad idea. But it hadn't been her idea and she was in no place to argue. So she had dutifully turned up, against her better judgment.
"Let's just grab a table and wait for the kids," she replied, ushering him over to a free table in a more shadowy corner of the pub.
Predictably, it didn't take long for Millie and her peers to follow them.
"Any thoughts on the new Minister's plans for repealing your efforts to introduce muggle technology to the ministry?" another reporter, Hermione thought his name might be Bergin something, asked her.
"Ignore" she told Ron. This only made him glower more.
"What's next for you, Hermione? Any grand careers moves in the works?" Isabelle Liddlepuff asked from behind Millicent's broad shoulders. Hermione quite liked Isabelle, all the same - she did not like being ambushed at lunch.
"Get lost, Millicent. This is a business. Keep loitering, and I'll waste your time in my office," a commanding voice sounded from behind the crowd. It was Harry. Ginny stood right beside him, glaring at the cluster of press crowding their table. Hermione could see that their kids were just behind.
"On what grounds?" Millicent asked in a faux sweet voice.
"Public nuisance," Harry supplied gruffly and then he shouldered forward, making them move out of his way.
It had been a while since Hermione had seen Harry commanding all of his authority. He had been a full-grown man for a long time but sometimes seeing him possessing all of his power as a wizard still took the wind out of her quite painfully. Because the messy black hair, admittedly now a little peppered with grey, and the green eyes and spectacles were the same as they had been when she had latched onto him as a boy. Sometimes she still couldn't believe she got to keep him, after all.
Harry glowered. It was an impressive sight and she felt proud of him as the group of reporters quickly dispersed and the Potters took seats across from Ron and Hermione.
It was the first Hermione had a chance to notice her surroundings. The Three Broomsticks hadn't changed much over the years. It was packed full of Hogwarts students and their visiting friends and family, as it had been in her days at school. She could see the Malfoys seated some ways away, next to a merrily blazing fire in a large stone fireplace.
As she watched the back of Scorpius' head, she noticed the kids approaching. They gravitated towards Ron, her own children refusing even to look in her direction. Only Albus sidled up to her and draped an arm over her shoulder. She supposed it was no surprise that Albus would understand what it feels like to be public enemy number one in this family.
"Hi Aunt Hermione," he said, with a small smile just for her.
"Hi Albus, thanks," she said back, smiling up at the boy who now, in his sixth year, was starting to resemble a young man. He squeezed her shoulder and then took a seat.
"Hello Rose, hello Hugo" Hermione said, looking at them directly.
Rose said nothing, Hugo briefly looked up at her before dropping his gaze, "Hi Mum" he mumbled.
"They aren't talking to you," Lily informed her bluntly.
"I figured, thanks Lily" Hermione replied softly.
"Come on guys," Ginny said impatiently, "Give her a hug. She came all the way here to see you".
"I'm not hugging her," Rose said stubbornly, still steadfastly refusing to look in her direction.
"Rose," Ron admonished, "Mum's not your enemy".
She gave him a tight-lipped, grateful smile. At least on this front, they were somewhat united.
"It's her fault you're getting divorced" Rose supplied, "why should I speak to her? She knows what she did".
Harry cleared his throat and then she noticed him pulling out his wand and casting a muffilato . He shot a significant look at the next table which was packed with suspiciously quiet students. Merlin, why hadn't she thought of that?
"So we're getting right into it then," Ginny said with a sigh.
"Perhaps we should save this for the holidays?" Hermione said, meekly.
"Perhaps you should just go, Mum," Rose said, finally looking at her.
Hermione felt a familiar courage rising within her in the face of such animosity. It had always been this way for her. Ever since she had been a small, strange child who knew instinctively that her oddness was a gift and not something to be ashamed of.
And Rose, Hermione had noticed with an aching heart, could sometimes make her feel like that strange, small girl again.
It occurred to Hermione that Rose embodied everything that she would have found intimidating at the same age. She was brilliant but also good at sports and, while they certainly looked alike, she didn't have the unruly Birdsnest of hair that Hermione did. Hers was sleek and shiny exactly like Ginny's. She and Ron has often laughed that Rose was a perfect combination of Hermione and Ginny, skirting any similarity to Ron entirely.
Hermione stared at her daughter's lovely face and sighed. Currently, there was a rather ugly sneer polluting that lovely face. She resolved she would not be intimidated by her own daughter.
"Rose, I won't be scurrying away at your command because this is something you seem to willfully misunderstand," Hermione said, lifting her chin and looking her daughter dead in the eye.
"I understand that you broke your promises to Dad and to us," Rose hissed back, all hurt and teenaged insolence.
"I did," Hermione replied firmly, "sometimes people will let you down," this second part was said more gently.
"So then the divorce is your fault!" was Rose's repartee.
"Rosie, I can understand how it might look that way…" Hermione began.
"It certainly didn't help that your Mum couldn't seem to find the time to come to the damn muggle therapy sessions that she insisted on!" Ron cut in, raising a hand when Hermione began to protest, "But I've told you both already," he looked sternly at Rose and Hugo, "even if Mum didn't run for Office again and even if she did turn up for every session and every dinner at the Burrow, we still probably would be getting a divorce".
There was a moment of silence as everyone reflected. It was all too fresh, too harsh, too hurtful. The children were taking the news so hard. Even Lily was looking at her like she was a traitor.
And it isn't like she could explain to them that Ron hadn't kept his promises either. To be happy for her and not stand in her way. To stop expecting her to do the same things his mother had done as a homemaker and a wife. To stop drinking so much. Merlin, if the children knew what a spectacle he had made at that fundraising gala right at the start of the campaign…
"She didn't show up to the vowel renewal party," this time it was quiet, sweet Hugo who piped up to remind them.
And there it was. The big, terrible thing said out loud. The worst of the worst. The beginning of the end. She hadn't turned up for her own vowel renewal. Just thinking about it now made her insides shudder and cringe.
Of course, there had been a reason. Quite a good one too. An emergency in the Department of Mysteries. A blathering idiot named Hobbins had accidentally opened a rift in the space-time continuum that would have slowly sucked their entire universe into it. It had been all hands on deck. Harry had been there too, only it wasn't Harry's vowel renewal. It was hers. It didn't help that she absolutely could not tell her children about what exactly had happened that day in the Department. Couldn't explain that it had been her quick thinking and quicker spellwork that had changed the tide of how things had gone that day.
She noticed Harry staring out from under his glasses with sympathy. Possibly remembering the same scene she was, and she noticed there was still a bit of guilt in the slight downturn of his mouth. Harry had been the one to fetch her, sending a Patronus summoning her as she had been putting on her dress at home.
At the time, Hermione supposed, they had both assumed she would come and help clean up the chaos at the Ministry and things would be delayed but the party would carry on and the vowels would be exchanged regardless.
Neither of them had foreseen Ron's reaction. He had been so embarrassed when she didn't show up. He had told her later that standing there, surrounded by their loved ones but alone, it had been the most painful moment of his life. What could she do or say about that?
That had been the beginning. She had apologised, they had fought. She had tried to stage another vowel renewal, but Ron had refused. It had seemed to Hermione that after that day things had unraveled shockingly quickly. Of course, it didn't help that her job made it hard for her to keep all of her commitments.
The truth was, she hadn't missed all of their therapy sessions but she had missed enough and from where her family stood, it didn't matter that there were thousands of other little times that she had been there. Packing Ron a lunch, washing Rose's football kit, slipping Hugo a new deck of Pokemon cards…
She hadn't been there when it had really mattered it would seem. Worse still, when it came down to the crunch she hadn't been able to walk away from her career and put them first in the way Ron had always wanted her to. Worst of all, she hadn't even won the election.
How could she explain to teenagers that the cracks had always been there? Loyalty and Ron's easy humor had patched them for years, but patches couldn't hold forever.
To them, Ron was a hero. The funny guy that came home with pockets stuffed to the brim with sweets and joke prototypes. Who always sided with them and teased her when she was on their backs about something. Who was ever loving and affectionate to them all but whose affection sometimes smothered Hermione's ability to point out that perhaps there was also a quiet lacking and it wasn't Ron's fault. Ron was and always would be funny, lovely and good. It just was what it was and she played an equal part.
No, there was no point trying to prosecute her innocence or Ron's role in the disintegration of things. She hadn't been ready to accept it when just two years ago, her nephew and his best friend had triggered an alternate timeline in which she and Ron had never married in the first place. At that time, it had seemed that everything wrong in that world came down to them not being together. As if sticking together was the indelible answer. Now she has arrived at a different conclusion and she did not want to run another losing campaign that everyone expected her to win.
"I will never be able to apologise enough or fix that," Hermione told Hugo gently, "it will forever be the greatest regret of my life".
"Uncle Harry told you," Ginny cut in, "there was a really good reason your Mum had to be at work that day."
"She always has excuses," Rose retorted angrily, "we don't care to hear any more of them, do we?" She looked at Hugo and her father.
Ron sighed, a long weary sigh.
"Look," he told them, "we are a family. Nothing about that has changed".
"Can't we try to have a good time? It's Hogsmeade!' Al piped up. Rose sent him a withering, sulky glare
Hermione suddenly became aware of her surroundings again. The press had disbanded but their group was still receiving a lot of curious looks. They always did but this was on another level.
"Oh, here comes Scorpius," she heard Albus announce.
Turning she saw the Malfoy's making their way towards their table. Scorpius was still looking mortified, his eyes on her as they approached. Malfoy looked on edge too. Hermione sighed inwardly. Bringing Draco Malfoy into the mix was liable to make it all worse.
Scorpius walked up to Albus and punched him in the shoulder, shooting furtive glances Hermione's way. Draco stopped a short distance away. She felt Harry drop the muffilato spell.
"Potters," he said nodding at Harry, Ginny, and Albus, "Weasleys," he said to Ron and the children before pausing awkwardly, "..err Granger," he added looking uncomfortably at her.
"Hullo Malfoy," Harry greeted in an almost pleasant way.
"Scorpius tells me the boys have plans to look at some new Quidditch supplies. I thought I might go with them," Malfoy said.
"Albus, you don't need to go wasting money on any more Quidditch gear! You don't even play in the team," Ginny lectured.
Even Harry's face dropped at Ginny's lack of tact.
Malfoy merely smiled and shrugged, "You make the rules," he told her simply, "nothing wrong with having a look, though. Is there?"
"Maybe I'll go too," Harry offered, "keep an eye on this lot." He gestured to Scorpius and Albus who had gone bright pink and was glaring at his mother.
Ginny rolled her eyes as her husband eagerly got up and stood next to Malfoy.
Hermione wasn't really sure when the great thawing in Malfoy-Potter relations had begun. She assumed it had started around the time they had fought back to back to rescue their sons and bring down the nefarious secret daughter of Voldemort. She did know that Andromeda had also played a role. She had reached out to Draco after Astoria died and become very close to the two blondes standing casually among the Potter-Granger-Weasley crowd.
Before they split up, Ron reported to her that Harry was regularly playing recreational Quidditch at the manor in the summer after the Time Turner incident. If not a bosom friendship, there had been at least a great thawing in all Potter-Malfoy relations as a result. Hermione often had to pinch herself in such moments, seeing them willingly spending time in each other's presence without things immediately devolving into a fight.
Ron hadn't quite managed to be so forgiving. Malfoy and Ron were polite enough but Draco never could resist the temptation to tease until Ron's ears were quite as red as his hair. As a result, the Granger-Weasley clan was not quite on the same terms with the Malfoys and certainly, there was no recreational Quidditch (even if Rose did seem a little put out by that).
"Apparently, we've been having a torrid romance for years," Malfoy muttered dryly, glancing at the retreating press.
She found herself confused and her cheeks began to heat.
"I'm sorry?" she spluttered.
"Millie," Draco qualified looking a little panicked, "She came up to me and tried to insinuate something was going on. I heard her dictating headlines on the way out. She's going to claim that we've been having an affair for years," here he looked quickly at Ron and then back to her, "I thought you should know and I wanted to offer to do damage control."
Brilliant. Ron's knuckles tightened on the edge of the table.
Hermione could feel her entire face heating under the stares of every adult and child around her.
"Alright," she said slowly, unsure why he was being so considerate.
"Look, if Millie wants to impugn the credibility of that rag even more by suggesting some kind of Granger-Weasley-Malfoy entanglement she's only digging a deeper grave for herself and the state of the media. Who in their right mind would believe such tripe? I just figured none of us needed another media circus…"
"Yes, quite" she replied.
"This is all so mortifying" Rose interjected glumly.
"Why don't you go with the boys?" Ginny suggested, "Perhaps a few small bits and pieces wouldn't hurt," she said, eyeing Malfoy conspiratorially.
Malfoy dipped his head in agreement.
"Why don't we all go?" Scorpius suggested.
There was some murmured agreement and shuffling as the group stood from their seats. Even Ron seemed to be on board.
"Errmm" Hermione announced, "Not me thanks. I think I'll leave you all to your fun".
She didn't think it was wise to be traipsing around Hogsmeade with her ex-husband and her soon-to-be rumoured affair partner.
"Maybe for the best," Harry said, as if reading her thoughts.
"Right," she said lamely, "Bye then… Everyone!"
She was staring at her children rather pathetically. They had very clearly heard her. Hugo gave her a meek wave, Rose looked decidedly in another direction.
"Bye Ron, I'll see you Tuesday," she told him. He nodded, also not meeting her eyes.
Harry and Ginny came forward for a quick hug and whispered encouragement in her ear. Over Ginny's shoulder, she caught Malfoy's eye.
"I'll owl you later," she told him.
She saw the impish look come over his face and knew he was about to annoy her greatly.
"To arrange another secret tryst?" he teased. He could never resist making a bad situation even worse.
She saw Scorpius punch him lightly in the side. She glowered. Harry laughed. Ron said nothing but had a very grim look on his face.
She left them, feeling torn between grief and annoyance but underneath was an iron-clad determination to fix her family.