Chapter Text
"Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?"
"Shit, flats are expensive," Hermione muttered aloud in her office as she scanned the Prophet classifieds. After sharing with Harry and Ginny for almost ten years she'd totally lost touch with current rates, not to mention she'd never had to shoulder the cost of living on her own. She put down the paper and stared into space.
It had been a few days since the ecstatic news about Ron, and a strange sort of stasis had settled on her. Living on a steady diet of excitement of one kind or another for so long, she had quite forgotten what it was like to have nothing in particular going on. Even work had slowed down—there was nothing left to do on the Centaur bill but await routine final approvals, and she wouldn't start with a new species until the new year—hence the ability to flat-shop during work hours. She tapped the paper absentmindedly. She did suppose finding somewhere new to live was rather major.
A new place to live. She could barely wrap her mind around the concept. She ran her fingers over the newsprint and her eyes went unfocused as her thoughts traveled back to the night before...
Harry and Ginny had cooked dinner—pasta and salad with a good red wine—and sat her down, rather formally she thought, as she shook out her (cloth!) napkin and looked at them speculatively.
They chatted for a bit, discussing Ron's imminent return tomorrow or the next day, all charges against him dropped—and Molly's ill-conceived idea to have a welcome-home party for him.
"I told mum I don't know why we're celebrating," Ginny said, as she twirled spaghetti on her fork. "I asked her, 'Didn't he run off with all of your money to waste it in a fake property investment scheme that nearly landed him in Azkaban and robbed you of your home?'"
Hermione snorted as Harry shook his head. "What!? I just don't think a party is an appropriate response!" Ginny exclaimed.
"No, I completely agree," Hermione laughed. "What did she say?"
Ginny screwed her face up in a good imitation of her mother's habitually pursed lips and put on Molly's voice, "Oh poo. It will lift everyone's spirits!"
"Some things never change," Harry shook his head and looked down. "Although some things do…" He turned his face to Ginny with a funny sort of expression and raised his brows. She nodded and they both put down their forks and turned to Hermione, who suddenly felt tension thrum through her body.
"So," Ginny glanced at Harry with a little smile, which he returned. "There's actually going to be another, legitimate reason to celebrate at the party."
"Oh?" Hermione's glance darted between her two friends, an inkling of what they were about to say starting to dawn on her.
Harry's face broke into a huge grin as he looked at Ginny and then back at Hermione. "I've asked Gin to marry me and she's said yes."
"Oh my GOD!" Hermione shrieked as she jumped up and ran around the table to try and hug both friends at the same time. "CONGRATULATIONS! I'm so happy for you!"
There was a lot of confused embracing and crying for several minutes before they all got seated again, Ginny wiping her eyes and Harry smiling at her.
"You're the first person we've told," Ginny said. "Mum and dad will find out tomorrow and we'll tell the rest of the family at the party."
"We just figured we've waited long enough," Harry added. "All of these events really brought that home. We're at the right age now to take the next step and then the next. Possibly start a family in a year or so."
Hermione nodded, her heart full.
"But," Harry rubbed the spot behind his ear and looked down, "this will mean some changes."
"You know we have loved living with you and we've all been the best sort of flatmates," Ginny interjected. "But we feel like part of this will involve ... living on our own."
Ginny's voice broke on the last words and Harry's face was a picture of guilt, so Hermione rushed to reassure them. "Of course it will!" she said, reaching across the table to grab their hands. "I wouldn't expect anything else. Please don't feel bad. It's natural and fine and good. And I'm so incredibly happy for you."
Harry and Ginny had both exhaled with relief and there had been a lot more talk into the night. Harry had mentioned getting a new and improved Quidditch scheme launched in the new year and they'd discussed wedding plans and dates. Ginny wanted something small and informal— likely at The Burrow in early summer. Hermione had started mentally putting together a timeline for when she would leave the flat. Harry and Ginny were undecided as to whether they would stay there or look for something new, but it was definitely too large for just one person.
Just one person. Hermione blew out her breath and looked around her office, recalled to the present. She was, of course, overjoyed for Harry and Ginny, but their news had come with a dose of melancholy too. A small part of her felt left behind, her friends moving on with life milestones while she stayed stuck. And the task of finding somewhere new to live, packing up and moving house, seemed daunting after ten years in the same place. She'd be starting over—and she would be alone.
If only... the words blew across her mind like a wisp of a dream, and she allowed herself a moment to wonder about what could have been, before grimly turning her focus away. She hadn't heard from Draco since Wiltshire and frankly doubted she ever would again.
Snapping her head to the side impatiently, Hermione shook out the paper, redoubling her attention on the 'To-Let' section. Wallowing was unhealthy and unproductive and she had things to do. She circled a notice and then another and another, then began writing contact details on her blotter and sketching out a viewing schedule.
She was so absorbed in her task that she was doubly surprised when her office door suddenly flung open and she heard the voice of her assistant excitedly telling someone that Ms. Granger was busy and they needed to wait in the lobby to see if she was available.
Hermione half stood, her thoughts running riot, then froze utterly as Narcissa Malfoy strode through the doorway, sneered over her shoulder, "Malfoys don't wait in lobbies," then flicked her wand to slam the door behind her.
Hermione rose fully and blinked at the other woman for several seconds. Narcissa's cool blue gaze held hers unwaveringly. "May I help you?" Hermione finally said, pleased that her voice was steady.
Narcissa sniffed and glanced around Hermione's neat little office with a faint sneer. "I don't suppose there is anywhere else to have a conversation?" she finally said, twitching the sleeves of her fine black robes.
A conversation? Hermione's sense of having fallen into a surreal dream was increasing by the second. "Ah," she gestured to the window, "there's a prettyish little garden down there," referring to the small walled patio workers in her section used for outdoor lunches and cigarette breaks.
Her guest glided to the window and looked down. "Not private enough. I suppose this will have to do." She lowered herself into Hermione's guest chair as if it were filthy, then looked up, the flint in her gaze reminding Hermione forcibly of Draco, although Narcissa's eyes were infinitely more cold.
Hermione sat and stared, determined not to speak first.
There was a protracted silence before Narcissa finally broke into impatient speech. "I assume you know why I'm here."
"I confess I do not." Hermione answered truthfully.
For some reason this seemed to irk the other witch. "Don't play coy with me," she snapped. "I have more experience with social subtext in my little finger than you could ever hope to amass in a lifetime."
Hermione flinched back, her shock starting to give way to irritation. "Excuse me?"
Nacrissa's lip twitched. "Fine. I haven't time or the inclination to fence with you. A report has reached me that you are engaged to my son," she shook her head the smallest bit as an expression of distaste crossed her features, "although I know it to be utterly impossible."
Hermione felt the blood drain from her face. Engaged? to Draco? What the actual fuck? Where in the world could this have come from? And what did it mean? She stayed silent as she digested the information.
"Well?" Narcissa said, looking her up and down.
"Well, what?" Hermione snapped, her anger kindling.
"Tell me that it's not true," Narcissa said, more than a hint of command in her voice.
Hermione felt heat burn in her cheeks. "And why should I do that? I don't answer to you."
"Are you or are you not engaged to Draco?" Narcissa's voice was almost a hiss.
"You've already said it's impossible." Hermione felt her lips curve in a humourless smile.
"Insolent!" Narcissa smacked her palm on the desk and leaned forward, the tendons in her neck straining. "It is impossible!"
Hermione's brows flew up and Narcissa seemed to gather herself, inhaling sharply before she leaned back and narrowed her eyes, "But you're a pretty girl. In a common sort of way. I don't know what you may have ...thrown, at him."
Hermione felt her anger threaten to boil over, but she kept obstinately silent, unwilling to deign such an insulting implication with a reply.
"I have a right to know. He is my son." Narcissa continued.
"Then ask him!" Hermione exploded, finally raising her voice. "I am not obligated to tell you a single thing about my actions or motivations."
Narcissa stiffened. "I can't. He's out of the country. And besides, what I said is true. It is impossible." She threw Hermione a triumphant look.
Hermione shrugged and held up her hands, utterly mystified.
"It's impossible because he's already engaged. To Jonquil Avery. You'll have seen them in the papers."
Narcissa dropped this information as if it were a bomb, but Hermione remained controlled, Jonnie's sweet features and easy smile flitting through her mind. "Well, that should comfort you," she said, letting sarcasm tint her words, "because there is no way he could be engaged to me if he's already promised to her."
Narcissa looked away for the first time. "The engagement is unique. As a muggle-born you wouldn't be familiar. But her mother and I arranged it when they were very young."
"You might have let Draco and Jonnie in on that," Hermione snorted, incredulous. Draco had said his mother was delusional about his love life, and this strange encounter was certainly verification of that—the latest assertion of his that had proved true.
"Your obstinacy and sarcasm do not flatter you, Ms. Granger." Narcissa leaned forward again, "Draco and Jonquil are made for each other; each descended from impeccable pureblood lines; each contributing an equal portion to the match. She can enhance him in ways you cannot begin to fathom." Hermione shook her head and started to speak, but Narcissa talked over her, "And what would you bring to the table? No name, no blood, a mid-level ministry job, the possibility of squibs introduced into the Malfoy and Black lines? It can't and won't be."
Hermione rolled her eyes. The muggles leading to squibs theory had been so thoroughly disproved. "Do you hear yourself? Please, do join us in the twenty-first century, Mrs. Malfoy. I'm a witch, Draco is a wizard. We're equals. I know it. He knows it. If you don't know it, that's your problem."
A dull red flooded up Narcissa's pale cheeks and her nostrils flared. "Tell me once and for all," she bit out, "are you engaged to my son?"
Hermione wanted out of this conversation—and this woman out of her office. "No," she said briskly, "and now if you'll excuse me— "
Narcissa exhaled a sigh of relief and talked over her, "and do you promise never to become engaged to him?"
Hermione's anger flared again, "I do not," she said, indignant.
Narcissa stood up abruptly, "How dare you..." she started.
"How dare you." Hermione also stood up and leaned over her desk. "Come into my place of work and try to intimidate me with this, this, rubbish. To think that you could influence my actions in any way? The fact that you're here at all shows just how much pull you have with Draco, but believe me when I assure you that you have even less with me. Now, I have work to do, so I'll kindly ask you to leave."
"Not so hasty," Narcissa hissed, leaning so close that Hermione could see the fine lines radiating from her narrowed eyes and a small smear of pale pink lipstick on her bared teeth. "I know what happened with that family you're so close to. Jack Wickham's scam? Hushed up and brushed under the carpet, but that Weasley boy came this close to Azkaban." She held up her pinched fingers in Hermione's face.
"Oh that's rich, coming from you." Hermione straightened, shaking her head.
"You don't care, then? Don't care that the perfidy of your connections will reflect on Draco, taint him?"
"You certainly didn't." Hermione held the other woman's gaze, her knuckles white on the sides of her desk, suddenly so furious on Draco's behalf that her magic pulsed.
Narcissa stepped back, blinking rapidly.
"Now get out of my office." Hermione pointed to the door.
Drawing a deep breath, Narcissa schooled her features and spun away. At the last minute she turned and said through clenched teeth. "You'll never have him. Not if I have anything to say about it."
"Well, then it's a good thing that you don't." Hermione sat, picked up her quill and opened whatever file that was on the top of her in-tray. There was a long, silent pause, but she didn't look up until the door slammed.
~oOo~
Hermione decided to walk home.
Her steps were hurried and her thoughts were scattered as she moved through the brisk night. What the fuck had that been about? Who could have given Narcissa Malfoy the impression that they were engaged? Especially now? When she hadn't heard from Draco in weeks...
Logic told her it was nothing, but her mind wouldn't rest and she mulled over the confrontation and its possible implications until she looked up and found herself almost home. She turned onto her street to see the door to her flat opening and Harry ushering someone out into the night with a friendly goodbye. It took until the person tripped down the steps and met her on the pavement for her to realise that it was Theo.
"Hermione!" he exclaimed, rushing forward.
"Hello!" she replied, leaning it to kiss his cheek. "Lovely to see you. What are you doing here?"
"I came to talk to Harry." He gestured backward toward the flat.
"Oh?" said Hermione, wondering what this could mean.
Theo shoved his hands in his pockets. "Say, are you busy right now?" he asked, suddenly seeming a little shy. "Or could we go for that drink we talked about?"
"I'm not busy and I'd love to have a drink with you," Hermione said, touching his arm. "We can go to my local unless you have somewhere in mind."
"Your local sounds perfect," Theo smiled down at her and squeezed her close to him. "Lead the way."
Within a few minutes they were seated at a table, cold pints in front of them. Hermione sipped at hers thoughtfully, wondering at Theo's rather subdued attitude. She was even more curious about why he'd been visiting Harry.
She was about to break the slightly overlong silence and ask, when Theo blurted, "so I never got to properly apologise. For my part in all that business with Harry's scheme." He looked down and toyed with his glass, then glanced back up at her.
Hermione reached out and touched his hand, "Thanks, but you— "
"No. Please let me. I wanted to talk to you about it in Wiltshire but it didn't seem right with all the others around." He took a swallow of his drink, "...but it was really shit of me. To just withdraw like that—without warning to Harry, or to you. And while Draco's advice did influence me a bit, it was entirely my decision and more about me being selfish than anything else."
Hermione tilted her head and looked at him inquiringly. Had Draco had talked to Theo about this?
"I was just so wrapped up with Rafik," he explained. "And frankly I was looking for an excuse not to deal with anything else. So when Draco brought his concerns to me the day Rafik invited me on holiday… I didn't consider anything but what I wanted to do." He looked down. "It was Rafik, actually, who first pointed out what a twat I'd been. I just didn't think it through—what my withdrawal would do to the project. Or the ripples it would cause. And I'm really very sorry."
He looked up and his deep blue eyes were so sincere that Hermione's heart squeezed. "Oh Theo," she began, reaching across the table to him again.
"And I'm re-upping my investment!" he interrupted her excitedly. "That's why I was there tonight. Harry sent me the new prospectus last week and I looked it over with Rafik. He told me I'd be an idiot to pass it up. And that I needed to stop being a lazy git and do something with my time," he chuckled. "So here we are." His bright smile emerged.
"Oh Theo, that's brilliant!" Hermione grabbed his hands. "I'm so glad that you're going to work with Harry and I think it will be a massive success." She leaned back. "And something I never had the chance to tell you—is that I knew the numbers weren't great. From early on." Theo raised his brows and she shook her head. "I was always on at Harry and Ginny to work on them, and fully intended to make sure they did. I never meant to deceive you or try to get you involved in a poorly supported investment. But circumstances always seemed to intervene."
"I know." Theo gave her a sad smile.
Hermione blew out a sigh, "so anyway, I don't blame you for withdrawing. There was fault on both sides. If anything, I wished one of you had let me know before it happened. But I certainly can't condemn you for being so wrapped up in your love life that you ignored everything else." She finished her statement with a rueful smile.
"Speaking of..." he said, an unspoken question in his voice.
Hermione sighed and shrugged. "I haven't heard from him. Since Wiltshire."
"Well he has been out of town. Abroad somewhere. I don't even know where—and neither does Daph."
"That seems odd."
"It does a bit."
He paused and Hermione briefly considered telling him about Narcissa's visit. But she was still too thrown by it to want to discuss it with anyone. And she also had a vague idea that if she did discuss it with someone, that person should probably be Draco.
That thought prompted her next words, out of her mouth before she could second-guess herself. "Will you tell me? When you know he's back in town?"
Theo looked into her eyes and his were very serious. "I will." He nodded once.
"Thank you." Hermione didn't know what she would do with the knowledge, but she would think it over. Narcissa's words had struck something in her that said she needed to fight for this.
"Enough about all that, though," she said, shaking her head impatiently. "Tell me all about Rafik! And your holiday. And what's next for you. Are you moving to Paris? I want to hear everything."
"We'd better get another round, then," Theo laughed.
"Definitely." Hermione signaled the barmaid and leaned back with a smile.