A/N: Guess what I'm back. After a long hiatus I'm a bit rusty so please bear with me on this one. Also there will be strong themes of violence and DA from the start which can be triggering to some readers so please read with caution and take care of yourselves. Without further ado, all characters belong to JK Rowling, and I hope you enjoy! :)
Chapter 1
Hermione's point of view
I took my hair down from the tight updo it'd been in all day, feeling the release of tension. My fingers massaged my sore scalp and I grabbed a wine glass off the shelf and poured myself a drink, taking a sip, feeling the stress of the day drain away. Work had been a nightmare recently, late nights, early mornings and finally the animal protection bill had been passed and I could finally let myself relax for an evening.
Heading through to the bedroom, the glass of wine coming with me, I peeled off my court clothes: a fancy black pantsuit that I had bought three years ago for my first day of my promotion, and tucked myself into a fluffy white robe whilst I drew a bath. I added my favourite bath salts and set the temperature to piping hot. I'd thought that after two years working my way up through the department and finally getting to a managerial position in the animal welfare department at the Ministry would help me do some good, I hadn't realised that I'd have to fight tooth and nail for everything. The bill we'd just passed got animals basic protection rights; no unlawful trading. That was it, that was all three years of work got me. No unlawful trading, animals were still being slaughtered by rare meat traders, they were still bound into slavery and mistreated daily.
My bath was ready, so I slipped into the tub using my wand to light some candles and drift my wine over to me. I savoured another sip and sunk deeper into the warmth, enjoying the quiet. Slowly, I drained the glass and then another until there were only dregs left. The bathwater had grown lukewarm around me, my fingers had pruned, and the candles had burnt out. It was probably time to get out, so I did. Pulling my leaden body out of the tub, I magically dried myself and crawled into bed. I fell asleep instantly, letting the effects of alcohol pull me under.
XXXX
I woke to the sound of snoring, through the thin light coming through the curtains I saw that my husband had finally come home. Carefully rolling over I looked at the time on the clock, wincing as my headache came into full force. On unsteady legs I headed into the bathroom and found a revitalising potion and necked it. Feeling much better I quietly moved around the apartment getting ready for work. Skipping breakfast, I got to the Ministry within twenty minutes of waking.
My office was practically in the basement, but it was mine. I'd decorated it when I'd still been filled with excitement about the position and changes I could make. I'd kept it practical but comfortable. There was a seating area to the left of the door with a plush sage green sofa and two armchairs set up around a mahogany coffee table. It matched the desk that I'd put under the fake window in the centre of the room, that seemed to be permanently set to a grey downcast day. On the right I had multiple bookshelves installed and they were filled with articles and scientific journals listing all magical creatures and their traits. The colour palette was varying shades of green with rich brown wooden furniture. I'd balanced it with cream walls and a few potted plants. It had been my pride and joy until the room had filled with so much paperwork and takeout boxes that I'd barely been able to move without knocking something over. Then it had felt like a prison, but as I walked in today, someone had cleaned and it was like the past few months had never happened.
I sank into the chair behind my desk and began pulling the documents that I needed to go over. I had a meeting at 7am in which I wanted to discuss tactics for finding and prosecuting those who were illegally trading animals, on the side I had initially hoped to be working on a bill that would improve the protection surrounding the rarest animals alas it wasn't feasible; the department had ten members of staff and with the trading bill newly passed just yesterday there was sure to be an influx in infractions that we'd need to investigate and would keep us too busy to expand our efforts elsewhere.
I buried myself in paperwork and when the meeting rolled around I presented the procedures to people who couldn't care less and were just here for the pay check. Even Hannah Abbott was more interested in the sparkler on her ring finger than what I had to say. Afterwards I buried myself in more paperwork, all through lunch, and way past home time. Before I knew it, 2am had rolled around. I knew that I should go home, but I couldn't, I just couldn't. If I came home at this time of night, my husband wouldn't be happy, it was easier to grab the blanket I kept in the chest in the corner and settle in for a couple of uncomfortable hours sleep.
The next thing I saw was Harry Potter's concerned face staring down at me.
"You stayed here again?"
I jumped up attempting to flatten my unruly hair, "what time is it?" Harry just looked at me concerned like he always did when he found me at the office. I stalked around to my desk, the clock read 11.30am. I'd overslept. Panic flared, I never overslept, I'd already missed multiple meetings. At least I'd had the sense to lock my office door... I locked my door. I looked at Harry accusingly.
"You unlocked my door?"
"Well I came down to ask if you wanted to go to lunch and your colleagues said that you weren't in yet and I knew that couldn't be true." He looked at me concerned again, "you know you should work normal hours like everyone else in the department."
"I'm an adult Harry, I can decide how I do my job." I pulled a fresh outfit from the same chest that I put the blanket back in and stepped behind the screen I kept in the corner and quickly changed into a simple white blouse and knee length black skirt, remembering to sweep my unruly hair off my face into a quick bun. I reappeared and began to sort out documents knowing there was no way to catch up on the hours that I'd missed. Harry still loomed and I felt the familiar wave of irritation at his presence. He was always waltzing down here, trying to make me go to lunch where he'd inevitably tell me that I was working too hard, that I was screwing up my marriage because of work and that I should learn to live a little.
"Can you Hermione? This is the fourth time in the past few weeks that I've found you sleeping over. Ron says that you're never home and he's been trying to help you but you won't let him." He tried to get me to put down the documents I'd started to sort.
"Don't lecture me Harry." I pulled away and made to leave, he followed hot on my heels as I walked around the department placing signed warrants in the outbox basket, file requests on my assistants desk and picking up the various meeting notes to review.
"Go home Hermione, take some holiday, just get out of this office."
"Harry I promise I'll go home tonight, you can come and check my office at 5 okay?"
"Fine, but don't let me catch you here after hours again."
"Fine." I walked back into my office and sunk down into my desk chair putting my head in my hands. I gave myself five minutes and then I got back to work.
Draco's point of view
It was opening day, the shop had been bustling from the moment we had opened the doors. I had taken orders, packaged up ingredients all whilst ignoring the intrigued stares of people who came to see a Malfoy in the flesh.
About half way through the day, I slipped into my office at the back of the shop to grab a bite to eat and a slice of quiet.
"Big crowd today," Genevieve slid into the seat across from me at my desk, looking far too happy for the chaos that was currently occurring on the shop floor. The stock on the shelves had basically all been bought out and we had so many orders, it was a nightmare, one I hadn't anticipated. The team and I would have to work around the clock just to get todays orders out and there was no telling what tomorrow would be like.
"I didn't expect this," I glanced out of the door and could still see a prominent gathering of people waiting to be served. Blaise was out there now, trying to appease people, and there didn't seem to be any issues but we should have prepared for this.
When Blaise and I had graduated Hogwarts we'd concocted this plan to open up a potions shop that would give the wizarding community access to affordable, ethically sourced potions and ingredients. Blaise wanted to get out from under his father's thumb and not be dragged into the families clothing business, whereas I just wanted to make potions. It was my passion.
"Well what did you expect, your prices are fair and everyone wants to get a look at you," she took a bite of her sandwich and relaxed further into her chair, "it's not everyday that a reformed Death Eater gives back to the community."
"I know, and I should be happy that it's going better than expected but..."
"You're worried something could go wrong," Genevieve leaned forward, "look Draco nothing's going to go wrong. It's opening day, it'll die down in a few days when everyone's had their fill and the team are prepared, they're already upstairs getting a start on making all the orders. As long as you give them overtime pay they'll be happy," she smiled, stuffing the rest of her sandwich into her mouth and chewing noisily, "now get back to work boss, we've got a lot to do."
XXXX
She was right, she was always right. By the time the shop had closed in the evening most of the orders had been made and were being attached to owls, there were a few potions that would need to be brewed overnight but they'd also be sent off in the morning.
I moved through the closed shop, my eyes lingering on the shelves of potion books, the glass display tables and the carefully arranged catalogues we'd made that outlined the properties and origins of every ingredient we used. It was all how I'd imagine it. I loved how light we had made the space; minimalistic furniture, a cream colour palette with purple accents here and there. Eventually, me and Blaise wanted to set up one of the upstairs rooms for potions classes.
"Hey mate," Blaise called over from his office, "want to go out for a celebratory drink?"
"Nah, you go I might come later." I started to clean the shop, setting various mops, brooms and dusters to work with a swish of my wand.
"We both know you won't," he came over to me, slapping a hand on my back, "when did you get so sensible?"
I shrugged, "who knows?" Blaise rolled his eyes but didn't try to convince me. He grabbed his coat from the back of his office door and started heading for the exit, "I'll see you tomorrow for day two."
"See you tomorrow." As I watched Blaise head down the street, I finished up and headed back into my office to make sure that everything had been done. The invoices for the potions and ingredients we sold today were all in order and I had the bank slip for the money deposit Genevieve had made. I packed all the papers into my safe and sat down for a minute in the silence.
It's not that I didn't want to go and celebrate everything that we'd achieved but I'd sworn off any form of partying, especially that which involved Firewhiskey, and going out with Blaise, well that was always an eventuality. Instead I let the adrenaline from the day rush out of me and apparated home.
Home was still Malfoy Manor. A lot of changes had occurred after the war, I'd been pardoned for my crimes, so had my mother and for the first year we'd been kept under house arrest (her in the manor and me at Hogwarts), just as a precaution according to the Ministry's ruling. My father was sent to Azkaban for his crimes and the manor had been fully renovated. Narcissa had used her years confinement to bulldoze her way through the property, removing any lingering trace of the tragedies and dark magic that lingered. Walls were knocked down, windows were installed, a house that once felt suffocating and dark became open plan, airy and decorated in light pastels. Our ancestors were torn down from the walls, dark objects handed over to the ministry, any trace of who the Malfoys had once been removed. No expense had been spared: the gardens were no longer the husk they'd become under Voldemort's inhabitancy with new hedges, flowers, vegetable patches and green houses. Balcony's had been installed in our personal suites, new furniture, new taps, new everything. And it was a relief to walk the halls and not be reminded of all the horrors and tragedies that had occurred within these walls.
I'd apparated right into my own wing to find a note from my mother saying that she was out visiting the Greengrass family and wouldn't be home for dinner. Dotty, our resident house elf appeared immediately at my call.
"Would Draco like his dinner now?" Today Dotty was wearing a pink pinafore with embroidered daisies on. She'd really been into florals as of late.
"Yes please, I'll take it in my study."
Dinner was a quiet affair, I'd eaten the vegetable stew and thickly buttered white bread whilst reading a potion book I'd been eagerly awaiting for. I found it highly interesting that they'd found a different way to prepare a bezoar than previously recommended to add to antidotes for poison victims. I continued to read well into the night, ignoring the increase in my yawns. The book was well researched and clearly presented, I'd love to have this as an addition to my shop shelves for sale. Making a note to contact the author I finally checked the time, I'd need to be up in five hours to get to the shop before open and have time to set everything up and perform my checks. Once I'd slipped into bed, sleep found me easier than anticipated.
Hermione's point of view
I stayed true to my word and at quarter to 5, I was walking out of my office and taking the floo home. I decided to walk the half hour to the apartment, and ended up grabbing a wine from the small family owned bar around the corner and nursing it until the sun had set. One of my favourite habits lately was people watching; I liked to see the smiling families walking their dogs, seeing people so focused on getting where they were going they were oblivious to anything but the pavement in front of them. It comforted me to be around muggles and their mundane lives, unaware of the ghastly war that had changed me forever.
I bought another glass and downed it quickly, it was nearly 7, and one more glass added with the lack of food I'd eaten would definitely make me unable to get home without wobbling. I picked up my bag and walked the quick five minutes back, unlocking the door unsurprised to see that it was empty. All the lights were off. Kicking off my heels into the corner, I filled up another glass of wine and pulled some leftover pasta from the fridge and sat at the kitchen island to eat it cold.
I was halfway through the glass when I heard the unmistakable scrape of a chair behind me. The sudden sound made me flinch, and the fork I'd been holding clattered loudly against the counter as I spun around. Ron was standing in the shadow of the doorway, the living room dark behind him. He looked like he'd just woken up, his shirt untucked and his hair mussed up. The alcohol smell on him hit me almost immediately, sharp and familiar. He didn't look overly drunk, but like me he wasn't exactly sober and looks could be deceiving.
"Enjoying that? Where's mine?"
"I can heat some up for you if you'd like?" I said pleasantly, tracking his movements as he came into the kitchen, leaning over me and taking the fork from my hand. He speared a piece shoving it in his mouth.
"This is disgusting," he spat it back out into the container, "you couldn't have heated it up or something?"
"I didn't know you were here," I hopped off the stool and walked around to the other side of the island, "I'll heat some up for you then."
"No don't bother, it'd still be gross."
"Okay whatever," I reached over for my wine but Ron had already snatched it away.
"You know you drink too much Hermione, it's unattractive." Hypocritical of his really, considering that he promptly finished off the glass.
"Thanks Ron." My sarcasm didn't seem to go down too well, Ron's face started to turn red with rage. He stalked towards me, I didn't have time to react as he grabbed my arm roughly and dragged me into the living room, pushing me to the floor. My heart thudded loudly, a wave of dizziness from the wine making my head spin as I tried to pull myself to my feet. I almost got there but was pushed again, catching my rib on the edge of the coffee table. With a gasp of pain I tried to move out of his path, dragging myself roughly against the carpet.
"I'm sorry Ron, I shouldn't have..."
"Yeah you shouldn't have you ungrateful bitch." Before I could say anything else, he hauled me off the floor not letting my feet find purchase as he shoved me toward the hallway. I tried to think of anything to say, to appease the drunk enraged man who continued to force me towards the bedroom. With a final shove, he pushed me inside, I collapsed at the foot of the bed and with a baited breath waited for him to follow. He stood in the doorway for a moment, hazy eyes travelling over my frazzled state.
"Pathetic," he spat, closing the door behind him with a quiet, ominous click. My lungs finally took in a deep breath, the adrenaline deserting me alerting me to new aches and pains. My ears strained as I tried to listen for any sounds of him returning, after a few more minutes I heard the familiar pop of apparition and I was alone. Finally picking myself off the floor, on shaky legs I gently pulled the bedroom door to find it locked. He'd never done that before, I decided to leave it locked in case he came back and wandered into the bathroom. Avoiding the mirror, not needing to see the effects of tonight's argument, it wouldn't change anything to see a pale drawn face and watery eyes. I stepped into the shower letting the piping hot water soothe me and tucked into bed anticipating a sleepless night.