Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Monday morning Hermione stood before the fireplace, a pinch of Floo powder in her hand. This would be her first contact with the greater wizarding world since news of her divorce broke. Rationally, she knew that she worked with professionals, but she also knew that quite a few people enjoyed gossip, no matter what their position in life. She took a deep breath as she stepped into Floo, threw the powder into the grate and said, "Malfoy's Potions research lab." After several disorienting seconds, she found herself in the employee lounge. When she emerged, she went down the hall to the stairs and made her way up to her lab.

Harold greeted her when she entered. "Good morning, Hermione. Glad you could make it today."

She smiled at the warmth of his greeting. "So am I. I hope my absence didn't hinder the project any. Did I miss much?" she asked as she took her lab coat off the hook and hung up her bag.

"We left notes at your station that'll explain it all." After a moment he added, "Are you going to be okay?"

She gave him a reassuring smile. "I am."

It didn't take her long to review the notes and immerse herself in her work. It was almost surreal how everyone behaved completely normal as though the events of Friday and the weekend had not happened.

Before she knew it, it was time to break for lunch. She saw Gilles sitting at their usual table, and he waved her over. However, there was an uncomfortable silence since it seemed they were each waiting for the other to speak first. Finally, she said, "The divorce is what I wasn't sure when... I mean, it was what I didn't want to share with you."

"That is as I suspected when I saw the paper on Friday and you did not show up to work." He paused a moment. "Did you want to talk about it now?"

"Well, if you've read the papers, it's all pretty much there." She still couldn't believe the sheer number of personal details which had been laid bare in the paper. She picked at her salad absentmindedly, wondering what she could say. "We were young – I thought we were in love, but no, apparently it was only lust! If he'd loved me we might have been able to work it out... But we were caught up in the moment and completely immature..." She flicked a cucumber slice to the side of her plate as he took a bite of his sandwich, watching her carefully.

"And it seems that he still is," she pierced her tomato, "the git."

"Some people take longer to grow up than others. My brother is 29 and has yet to hold a steady job, much to my parents' dismay. Of course I am sure he is being rebellious to spite them since they keep telling him he should be more successful like me. I don't think anyone wants to be told they should be like their younger sibling."

"I suppose not. I'm an only child, but Ron has four older brothers. I've never heard his parents telling him he should be more like his brothers, but I know he always felt their shadows. Despite what you saw going on in the papers, he's not a bad person," she said, defending her decision to marry Ron as much as defending Ron himself.

"You don't need to explain it. Although divorce is uncommon among French wizards and witches as well, I do know what you are going through."

She sighed and set down her fork. "I just wish it hadn't come to this. I had hoped we could do this amicably, quietly. Now I feel like a pariah."

He reached across the table and placed his hand on hers. "Well, I don't think you are a pariah. I think you are quite brave." He flashed her a reassuring grin.

She laughed. "Brave or completely mental. I think it will depend on how this ends up. I just need to be me, and it seemed like everyone was trying to stifle me. I was trying to live up to everyone else's' expiations and ignoring what I really wanted – who I really am. I'm just trying to follow through with my dreams, to do what I'd – to do what's right for me. That's why I started working here."

They ate in silence for a few minutes. "How do you feel?" Gilles finally asked.

She looked into his warm brown eyes as she considered her answer. "Confused, honestly. I'm relieved that this is finally moving forward. Scared that it might get denied. I mean if we have to remain married... Well, I just don't see us harmoniously living under the same roof after this. And just anxious to get on with my life, to see if there is someone out there for me."

"I'm sure there is," he answered and then quickly turned his attention to his lunch. "I am no expert in British law, but it seems to me it would be foolish to make the two of you continue your marriage. He does not seem to understand you very well."

"It's not just his fault. I didn't understand him as well as I thought I did, or maybe I just overestimated how much I understood him. I know this is for the best, but it still feels... wrong, I guess is the best word." She picked out the bits of her salad she was interested in eating. "I should probably get back to work since I missed Friday."

She was about to stand up, when Gilles said, "Hermione, if you find you would like someone to talk to, I know of a few decent Muggle restaurants."

She looked at him, considering his offer. She did enjoy spending time with him, and they always had such lively discussions. Besides, it was a better option than sitting alone at the cottage, especially since Mr. Forsythe had strongly recommended that she not meet with any mutual friends she and Ron had. Normally she might have decided to talk to Harry, Ginny or George, but now that wasn't an option. "How about tomorrow after work?" she offered.

He smiled at her. "I'll stop by your lab at the end of the day."

"But we don't talk about this. How about the French Revolution?" She reasoned if she was going to get out, she should also get away from what was bothering her, at least for a few hours.

"Of course. And this will give me time to prepare for our debate this time," he replied playfully.

"You aren't the only one," she replied, even though she knew she would be spending the evening with Lucius. See you tomorrow at lunch and perhaps we can start our discussion then."

"I look forward to it. Au revoir, Hermione," he said as she got to her feet.

By the end of the day, Hermione felt she was finally caught up with her work. It had been refreshing to return to work. For the most part she had been able to keep her mind off of Ron and the impending divorce. Lucius had been correct, there was nothing she could do other than just go about her normal activities.

Shortly before five, she and the others cleaned up their work and gave brief reports to Harold about their day's work. She said her goodbyes to everyone and went to the lounge to Floo back to the cottage. Shortly before entering the lounge, she realized that she would have to say her destination aloud and ducked into the loo. She would wait a few minutes until everyone had cleared out. The last thing she needed any of her coworkers hearing was that she was going to Malfoy's cottage, even though it was called Webtree Hall. After all, she was Muggle born and the Weasleys weren't well off, so someone was bound to show the wrong sort of curiosity.

After about ten minutes, she figured that the lounge should be empty. She was relieved that it was.

Once back at the cottage, she changed out of her work robes and let Katta know that Lucius would be joining her for dinner. She then perused her books and the small collection in the cottage library and noticed there was not a decent tome on the French Revolution. Then she recalled that Lucius had offered her the use of his library. "Katta," she called into the air.

With a loud crack, the house-elf as before her. "Yes, Mistress? Is there something Katta can be doing for you?" she asked eagerly.

Hermione asked, "Katta, do you think you could go to Mr. Malfoy's library and bring back a few books on the French Revolution?"

Katta nodded eagerly. "Oh, yes, Mistress. Katta would be happy to bring Mistress some books."

Before Hermione could say anything else, Katta disappeared with a pop and returned a few minutes later with a stack of about twenty books. "If Mistress requires more books, Katta can be returning and lookings for others," she said as she placed the stack of books on the desk.

Hermione divided the stack before it toppled over. "I'm sure this will be fine." She had expected maybe three or four books. After pursing the books, she found two or three that might be useful to her discussion with Gilles and put the rest of them on one of the shelves so they didn't clutter the desk. She then went to the parlor and curled up with her chosen books while she waited for Lucius to join her.

It was shortly after seven before Lucius popped out of thin air. "My apologies. I had hoped to be here sooner."

She jumped when he spoke as he had arrived silently. "Oh, it's fine. I've just been reading. I was actually lost in the book."

He crossed the room to join her on the sofa. "The French Revolution?" he said as he looked at the book she was reading.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I wanted to read something different, and it was the first thing that came to mind. Dinner should be ready," she said as she put the book down.

"Thank you for waiting for me." He stood and offered her his hand. "How was your day at work?" He led her to the dining room table and pulled the chair out for her.

She took her seat and placed her napkin in her lap. "It felt good. No one brought the divorce up. I'm feeling a lot better today. It was good to be around other people and doing normal things."

He smiled warmly at her as he took the seat across from her. "I'm very glad to hear that." With a flick of his wand, he uncorked the wine and poured each of them a glass. "Here's to hoping the rest of it goes as easily," he said as he raised his glass in salute.

She raised hers in return before savoring the wine. "You do have a magnificent wine cellar."

"Thank you."

Before he could say anything more, Katta brought their plates to the table. "Master, Mistress, Katta prepares you a lovely roast chicken." She left as soon as the plates were on the table.

"I don't know how much gossip you heard at work, but from what I was able to discern today, it seems that the favor is slightly in your direction," he said as they began eating.

"I didn't really hear anything. I'm sure they were talking about it, just not while I was around. But I suppose that's good to hear." She wasn't sure if it was good or bad that she hadn't heard anything from her coworkers. It was almost as though they were pretending it wasn't happening.

"It is. While it will have no bearing on your hearing, it will have bearing when you interact with others in the wizarding world, as I presume you have no desire to abandon us for the Muggle one."

She shook her head. "I don't belong there. There has been a lot of change since I went to Hogwarts, and it almost seems foreign to me now."

There was a long silence before he asked, "Do you miss it?" When she didn't answer, he elaborated. "You grew up in the Muggle world with their electronic devices and such. It must have been quite the shock entering the wizarding world where none of that functions and most everything we do use is, by Muggle standards, must seem antiquated. Even our manner of dress is quite different."

"It was a bit of a shock, but I think I was in more shock over being magical. What I can do as a witch far outweighs what Muggle technology can do, though the internet is quite fascinating. The idea that you can have instant access to pretty much anything that exists or is known is just amazing. Of course, there is a lot of disinformation out there, and there is just something about holding a book and that distinct smell that a computer could never replace. Though I will admit that phones do have an advantage over owls in that you can instantaneously get in touch with someone."

"The Floo network allows the same," Lucius replied.

"It does, but it just feels odd sticking your head in the fireplace and intruding on someone." It was a method of communication she still wasn't entirely comfortable with.

"It is more personal than listening to a disembodied voice on a small box," he countered.

"It's a bit disconcerting to see a disembodied head in your fireplace," she retorted. "And what if the caller saw something... untoward."

Lucius grinned at her. "Those raised in the wizarding world tend to be aware of Floo communication, and I imagine would be careful to not do anything compromising before the Floo or to close it before they did."

"You can close a Floo connection?" she asked. It was something Ron had never mentioned.

He chuckled softly. "Indeed you can. Though to do so for more than a few hours, you would need Ministry approval."

"Why is it that when we have a discussion, I keep learning how much I didn't learn at Hogwarts?" She had lately taken to questioning the caliber of education she had received. While most of the students had been raised in the wizarding world, for those who weren't, there were a great many things that no one seemed to think were important, but it really would have been nice to know.

"A failing of those raised in the wizarding world, and our ignorance of the Muggle world," Lucius replied morosely.

"Yet you seem to have a knowledge of the Muggle world," she said, surprised that he had understood a telephone conversation given that Ron had had such a difficult time with it.

"A passing knowledge. From time to time my business requires interaction with the Muggle world." He smiled at her. "I'm surprising you, aren't I?"

"More than I had expected," she admitted. She looked down at her dinner as she could feel her cheeks flushing.

"So, the French Revolution. A very odd subject to suddenly take up."

Hermione tried to think quickly about why she would be interested in that time period. "It came up at lunch, and I realized that it wasn't really something we covered in History of Magic. Most of that focused on British history. When I was young, we vacationed in France frequently, so I've always been interested in French history. I figured you have a rather expansive library and must have something on the subject."

"That I do. My family came from France in the eleventh century. While I no longer have familial ties there, I have spent a great deal of time there over the years."

They spent the rest of the evening discussing their travels in France. Hermione lamented the usual winter skiing trip she had been forced to take, but reveled in recounting some of their summer travels, especially after she had started at Hogwarts. Of course she enjoyed hearing about his travels as they had been to magical parts of France where she had yet to have the opportunity to travel.

After she said goodnight to Lucius, she felt a bit of emptiness. She still wasn't used to the fact that there was no one coming home for the night, or that this wasn't actually her home. Once this was all over and she had put her life back together, she could start looking for someone special.

Shortly before the end of the work day on Tuesday, Hermione went to the lavatory to check her hair in the mirror. It was a lost cause, so she just pulled it back into a ponytail. She took in the rest of her appearance and cleaned a small smudge of soot off her cheek. It wasn't perfect, but she looked presentable.

When the work day was over, she packed up slowly, letting the others leave before her. A few minutes after they were gone, Gilles entered her lab.

"Are you ready?" he asked jauntily. He was dressed in jeans and a button-front shirt.

"Oui, monsieur," she replied jovially, having stuffed her robes into her bag. She'd dressed carefully, choosing a modest skirt and blouse under her work robes so that she wouldn't be inconspicuous either at work or out in the Muggle world.

"Do you have a card for the Tube? It's just too difficult to Apparate around Muggles this time of day," he asked as they walked out of the building.

"I do," she replied as they walked out of the nearly deserted building. "So do you spend a lot of time in Muggle London?" she asked.

"A little. I like to wander around and see the city when I have free time." He led her to the nearby Tube station and to the platform to wait for the train. She thought back to the few times she and Ron had had to travel by Tube and it was such a difference in behavior. To Gilles this was completely normal. To Ron it had been confusing and illogical. Clearly Gilles was used to public transportation, but then she recalled he had mentioned growing up in Paris.

After they got off the train, he took hold of her hand so they didn't get separated in the crush of people as he led her out of the station and to their destination.

Over drinks and dinner, they had a wonderful discussion about the effects of the French Revolution on wizarding France. Even though she had been able to research a little the previous evening, she learned so much talking with Gilles. He never once made her feel ignorant for what she didn't know. She also found it liberating to be out in Muggle London where no one spared her a second glance. Even before the divorce, there was always someone who recognized her or Ron. While they didn't get approached, she still noticed people whispering about the two of them. Here, she was completely anonymous and it felt liberating.

When she noticed it was nearly ten, she excused herself. Gilles had offered to see her home, but she insisted she would be fine. She found a secluded alley and it occurred to her that she had never tried Apparating to the cottage. She knew that Lucius could Apparate there, but she had never thought to ask if she could. She figured if it didn't work, she should still end up on the boundary where she would be able to walk back. Picturing the cottage, she turned in place and was slightly disappointed to find that she was on the edge of the property. It would be about a fifteen minute walk to the cottage, but the evening was pleasant so she didn't entirely mind.

Once in bed, it wasn't long before she was fast asleep.

After work on Wednesday, Hermione sat awaiting Lucius' arrival. Shortly before six, Katta popped before her, her ears slumped over. "Mistress, Katta is sad to reports that Master will nots be joining you for dinner. He sends his regrets that business keeps him aways."

"Thank you, Katta. Just let me know when dinner is ready." She was disappointed, but there was nothing to be gained by blaming Katta. It was irrational for her to believe that Lucius would drop everything in his life to spend time with her. After all, he was a very successful businessman, and to be successful he had to tend to his business interests first. And it's not like she was anything more than a friend. For all she knew, he was spending a romantic evening with Elsa Schwartz.

Since she had the evening to herself, she decided to dig in to some of the books on the French Revolution that Katta had brought her on Monday. Gilles had mentioned some that were in French, but the only one she had were in English.

"Katta," she said. When the house-elf was by her side, she asked, "Do you know if Mr. Malfoy has any books on the French Revolution written in French?"

Katta's ears dipped. "Katta is sorry, Mistress, but she is not knowing French. None of the house-elves is knowing French."

"That's alright. I was just curious." For a few moments, Hermione considered popping out to the Great Wizarding Library, but she wasn't sure she was ready to be out in the wizarding world yet, even if it was just the library, which had always been her sanctuary. No, she would make do with the English language tomes she had here. There was plenty to keep her occupied for the evening.

After dinner she found herself falling asleep before the fire in the drawing room and finally dragged herself upstairs to bed. She should have just read in bed, but a part of her had hoped that Lucius might stop by when he concluded his business, as irrational as that hope might be.

The next morning when she arrived at work, she saw an envelope on top of her stack of notes.

Hermione,

L

Hermione smiled as she read the letter. She was a bit surprised he hadn't sent it to the cottage, but he must have thought there would be a small chance that she would leave before the owl would arrive. He would know that she would definitely receive it here.

She tucked the note in her pocket for safekeeping before beginning her workday.

Unlike her other days at work this week, time seemed to slow to a crawl. Even lunch did not provide much of a respite. Gilles was conspicuously absent. She reasoned there had been days where she had had to shift her lunch break to accommodate one of her experiments, so it was likely he was doing the same thing.

Finally the day ended. Even though Lucius had said that he wasn't likely to be there until closer to six, she was eager to return to the cottage. Of course she had to wait until most of the others had left. She could have Apparated, but that only took her to the property boundaries and the weather that morning had looked threatening.

When she arrived at the cottage, she quickly changed out of her work robes and checked to see what Katta was preparing for dinner. She paused a moment as she realized she was getting used to having a house-elf around and decided that this weekend, she would do the cooking. Katta was carefully laying noodles in a pan for lasagna. It was a meal that Hermione enjoyed, but rarely had the time to make, especially not with fresh pasta.

Since she had nothing else to do until Lucius arrived, she selected one of the books on the French Revolution and curled up in the parlor to read.

Shortly before six, Lucius arrived. "I hope you saw my note this morning," he said.

Hermione closed her book. "I did. And thank you for sending Katta. I was beginning to wonder."

"Unfortunately something unexpected came up. I won't bore you with the details." He took a deep breath as the aromas from dinner had wafted up to the main floor. "Ah, Katta is making lasagna."

"That's one of my favorite meals," Hermione offered.

"Then I am sure you will enjoy hers. I have dined at some of the finest restaurants in Italy and none of them have served a lasagna to match." Lucius expertly opened the evening's wine and poured it into a decanter he had summoned.

Hermione eyed him consideringly. This most definitely was not the same man who had gotten into a fight with Arthur Weasley. She smiled warmly.

Lucius looked up and returned her smile.

She could feel her pulse racing and turned to put her books away. This was utterly foolish. She most definitely should not be thinking this way about another wizard and most definitely not Lucius Malfoy.

Thankfully, Katta arrived to tell them dinner was served, and they proceeded to the dining room. While they ate, conversation naturally encompassed the French Revolution. "Still reading about the French Revolution?" he asked.

She tried not to blush. "Well, when I asked Katta for books, she brought about twenty over and most of them are quite fascinating."

"I do have some in French if you are interested in a different historical perspective. While you have no doubt noticed that some are translated from the French, I find that you do tend to get a bit of a bias based on the translator, don't you?"

"I... hadn't really thought about it, but I can see how it would happen." She knew that many times words had multiple, similar meanings in another language and that word choice could change the tone of something. "If it's not too much trouble, I wouldn't mind taking a look at those books. I don't think I'm quite ready to brave the library yet."

Lucius took a sip of his wine. "I think that you might be pleasantly surprised at the reception you will receive," he said as he grinned mischievously.

"Oh, really?" she asked. "I thought you were above gossip."

"I never claimed to be above gossip. I merely do not participate nor do I believe everything I hear. In business, information is power, so I like to collect information whenever I can." He refilled both wine glasses and eyed Hermione appraisingly as the dishes disappeared. Apparently, Katta banished the dirty dishes to the kitchen the same way the Hogwarts house-elves did.

"Now, I hope you will permit me a rematch from the other day's chess match."

"Of course. I look forward to besting you again," she replied, grinning mischievously as she got to her feet and headed towards the drawing room.

He chuckled softly as he followed her. "Such confidence."

A little more than an hour later, Hermione was forced to concede defeat. "Seems you get the victory this time." She was staring at the board replaying the last few moves in her mind, trying to determine where she had made the wrong move.

As though reading her mind, he said, "Seven moves ago you should have moved your king's bishop and not your knight."

"So you knew seven moves ago you were going to win?" She asked, impressed by his prowess.

"I wanted you to see it. It's quite demoralizing when your opponent declares victory before you see it."

"Yes, it does." She recalled that Ron used to do precisely that when she was first learning the game. He seemed to take a special glee in being able to do something better than her and spared her feelings no thought in announcing precisely when she'd made an error.

He glanced at the clock on the mantle. "As enjoyable as this evening has been, I think it's time for both of us to get some rest. I can join you for breakfast on Saturday, though it might be a little later as dinner parties do tend to drag on into the night."

"That's fine. I like to take a bit of a lie in on the weekends. How does nine o'clock sound?" She offered, still feeling a little guilty about the amount of his time she was monopolizing.

He inclined his head. "I'll see you then. And I'll set the books out for Katta to collect tomorrow."

"Thank you. See you Saturday," she said before he departed. Just watching him Disapparate silently made her pulse race. Before he had vanished, she could see the small swirl of the fine wool of his robes as he began to turn in place. She hoped that when this was all over, he would share that little secret with her.

It took her quite some time before her mind was calm enough to allow sleep. She kept thinking back to the evening and all the warm smiles and small gestures he had made, such as brushing his hand against hers or their feet touching beneath the table. She dispelled the notion. No, someone like him would not be interested in someone like her, especially when there was someone out there like Elsa Schwarz. He was just being a friend and any perceived flirting was just that – perceived on her account.

Of course, there was also Gilles. The two of them had had an enjoyable evening together. Nothing happened, but he was someone who she had a lot in common with. While they came from different countries, each had traveled extensively in the other's country, and they both came from Muggle families. Not to mention he wasn't bad looking either. She hadn't really noticed it at work, but when they had been out, she had seen him in an entirely different light.

She realized what she was doing and tried to push it out of her mind. While she was separated from Ron, she was still technically married, and she knew that appraising other wizards as a potential partner was not something she should be doing.

Hermione was a little tired at work as she had found sleep difficult to obtain. Her mind had been mulling all the changes in her life and trying to make sense of it, to no avail. Thankfully it didn't look like there was anything difficult for her to do. Of course Harold tended to ensure there was nothing overly taxing for any of them to do on Fridays because he knew fatigue could set in over the course of the week. Most of what they were doing was finalizing their weekly reports on their progress, and making preparations for a new line of research they were getting ready to start on the Dragon Pox treatment.

When it was time for lunch, she sat at her usual table and kept checking the door to see if Gilles would be there today. She smiled when she saw him. After he joined her, she asked, "Have a busy day yesterday?"

"Actually no. I ate something that disagreed with me and spent most of the day stuck at home. I would have much rather been here."

"I can imagine. Glad to see you are feeling better. I never thought I'd say this, but it was rather boring eating lunch by myself."

"I can imagine." He pulled a book out of his bag. "I thought you might like to borrow this since I keep referencing it. Other books go more in detail, but this is a good place to start. It was one of my text books."

She took the book and read the title: Histoire de France Magique: 1700-1990. "Thank you. I'll see if I have some time this weekend to look through it."

"Big plans for this weekend?" he asked as he opened his sandwich.

"Nothing special. I was thinking of visiting my parents, though trying to explain this all to them is a bit overwhelming. There's a lot they don't understand." She knew that she had tell them she and Ron were getting divorced at some point, but she had been so busy over the last few weeks that she hadn't found the time to visit them. Yes, she could have visited the previous Sunday, but she still wasn't sure what to say in way of explanation. Although, in all fairness, divorce was common in the Muggle world, and she was sure her parents would understand her reasons, she'd have to explain why it was so difficult to get on in the wizarding world.

He placed his hand on hers. "I understand. I find it difficult to visit my family as we have so little common. I think they prefer that I have moved to London because it's easier for them to make me seem important."

"My parents have decided that I'm a medical researcher. It's the closest that we could come up with," she admitted. Her parents were very proud of her and tried their best to understand her world, but for those without magic, it was nearly incomprehensible, and she had been seeing less of them over the years.

"That's pretty good. I may share that with my parents."

They then continued their discussion on the French Revolution, with Hermione bringing up several points she had read about in the books from Lucius' library. They had a very lively discussion in which Gilles reminded her that by reading English texts, there was likely to be some bias. She looked forward to reading the French point of view.

As lunch was wrapping up, he was relating a humorous anecdote from his History of Magic class. She glanced at the clock on the wall when he finished. "Goodness. Look at the time. I guess it's time to get back to work." She put her lunch containers back in her bag, along with the book Gilles had lent her. The two of them walked out of the lunch room together still laughing about his story.

"Oh, Gilles, that is too funny," she said as she placed her hand on his arm.

"I'm glad I could improve your mood," he replied, smiling warmly at her.

"See you later," she said.

"How about tonight?" Gilles asked.

She considered his request for several second. She didn't have any other plans, and they had had an enjoyable evening earlier in the week. What harm was there in going out for drinks after work? "Sure. I'll meet you at the Tube." She had become more aware of people's perceptions and thought it best if they not be seen leaving together.