Chapter 24

After Lucius left on Saturday, Hermione felt that something had strained their relationship, but she had no idea what it was. She wondered if it had anything to do with her asking what her place in his life was. She thought it a valid question. After all, she knew that the two of them had been spending a great deal of time together, especially since she had withdrawn from wizarding society. Well, ever since she'd decided to work for him, it seemed. And he was so supportive, always had the most reasonable advice, she'd truly come to trust him and value his friendship, although the thought of something more was appealing.

The last couple of weeks, she had been feeling the need to get out more. She had never felt that way when it was her and Ron. Of course most of their getting out had involved going to family gatherings where she would be scrutinized for her lack of offspring, so she had actually preferred staying in. Well, that was not entirely true. She preferred spending time at the library, but she realized that wasn't really healthy. The urge to get out and do something had been growing the longer it had been denied to her. She still wasn't sure about going out in the wizarding world, but she had thoroughly enjoyed her evenings out with Gilles. That was what evenings out with a friend should be: good food and good conversation.

This was where she was conflicted. A part of her wanted to reach out to Gilles, to see if he was busy this evening, but she thought it was rather presumptuous to ask someone to get together on a Saturday night at the last minute. Even though their relationship was strictly platonic, a part of her felt that it could easily become something more. Not that she was interested in something more at the moment. But she found she wasn't entirely ruling it out. Conversation with him was easy, and even though they came from different countries, they had an appreciation and understanding of each other's cultures. Not to mention the fact they both came from Muggle families.

Despite that, meeting for drinks or even dinner after work was one thing. Going out together on a Saturday sent a message that she wasn't sure she wanted to send at the moment.

Then there was the enigma of Lucius Malfoy. She found herself drawn to him in a way she could not explain. He had been the perfect gentleman ever since they bumped into each other in library. While he had shown her every courtesy, he had done nothing to indicate that he saw her as nothing more than a friend, which is why she had asked him about the nature of their friendship. Of course, if he desired something more than friendship, she had known that he would never tell her that, but she had hoped that perhaps his body language might give something away.

It hadn't. Of course he had years of experience at being deceptive while under Voldemort's scrutiny, so she hadn't been entirely surprised, but it left her precisely where she had been before she asked the question: wondering where she stood with Lucius Malfoy.

She had been inwardly pleased when he had admitted that there was no special witch in his life, though it had also saddened her a bit.

What if he did have feelings for her? He was quite literally old enough to be her father, but that never seemed to matter. Talking with him never felt like having a conversation with any of her uncles, who still treated her like she was ten years old. Even some of the older members of the Order still didn't see her as the adult witch she was. Lucius on the other hand always treated her as an equal. He seemed to recognize a maturity in her that those who should have been closest to her still did not see.

Did that really mean anything? She wasn't sure. For now she was inclined to believe that being cooped away from everyone and everything she had grown accustomed to over the last five years of living in wizarding society was addling her brain.

It was time to take hold of her life and show them all that she didn't care one whit what they thought of her. She was going to live her life the way she wanted to. They could gossip all they wanted.

Not long after lunch the rain abated, and Hermione walked into the village and used the phone to call her parents. They sounded happy to hear from her and were pleased when she said she would like to come over for Sunday dinner. After talking briefly with them, she was still feeling a little nervous, but less so than she had before the phone call.

When she returned to the cottage, she took a long walk along the gravel paths until she saw rain starting to threaten again.

Once back inside, she decided to peruse the library a little more closely since she wasn't in the mood to read any more about the French Revolution. It was an interesting collection of books. She was surprised to see that there were several shelves of old gold-tooled leather bound books, possibly dating back hundreds of years. There were two shelves of books with leather covers decorated with medieval stamps and tool work instead of titles, depicting magical animals, plants and figures. She opened one with snapweed and dragon's tongue carved into the leather, smiling at the lovely illustrations of the various magical herbs and plants on the vellum pages. Hermione knew that very few books survive a hundred or more years without stains, bumps, foxing and tears, but these books were all in really good condition. She set the book aside and checked the next set of shelves. There were some of the more common spell books, a few on British wizarding history, and a number of novels – but the biggest surprise was finding the Muggle classics such as Shakespeare, Dickens, Milton and Chaucer among the collection.

She bent down to see what was on one of the bottom shelves as none of the books had titles. As she reached for one of the books, she momentarily paused, knowing that some titleless books tended to have protective charms or curses on them. She reasoned that Lucius knew of her love of books and would have warned her if there was anything dangerous. Not to mention the fact that Aurors had likely been through this cottage just as they had carefully examined every square inch of the manor. She pulled one of the books from the middle of the shelf out to read it.

Opening it she saw that it was hand written and seemed to be some sort of historical record about the goings on at the cottage. The dates showed that it came from the mid-1700s. There were accounts of various visitors, and she recognized many family names. There were also list of supplies purchased and commodities sold, not to mention artwork acquired or sold.

After she had finished flipping through the book, she placed it back on the shelf and decided to take a look at the book on the far left, reasoning that it would be the oldest. Perhaps it would have some accounting of when the cottage was built.

The writing in this book was more ornate than the previous, though she did notice the first page indicated the records within would cover the time period from 1521-1551. She almost dropped the book. Even though she has suspected that it would be about that old, it was still difficult for her to fathom holding a book such as this in her hands. It was obviously magically fortified since it did not seem in any way fragile.

She curled up in a chair to see what she could learn about the Malfoy family. The first several pages were difficult for her to read, but by the time she was twenty pages in, she had grown accustomed to the handwriting of the author. Like the other book, there were a lot of mundane facts you would find about a working estate. There were a few family names that she recognized, but what really stood out for her was the use of titles. Granted their education at Hogwarts with regards to history had not been the best, but she could not ever recall Professor Binns talking about a witch or wizard and using a title.

As she turned the page, a name immediately caught her attention: Regis Henry VIII. She looked more closely at the page and even flipped back to the previous one, which she had been casually skimming.

After rereading it three times, there was no doubt that in 1523 King Henry VIII of England had been an honored guest at this house. She found herself wishing she had access to a computer. She felt sure that the various titled names she had read in the previous pages belonged to Muggle nobility.

Realizing that she was visiting her parents the next day, she grabbed parchment and quill and began copying down names and dates. It just seemed so absurd that the Malfoys would be hosting Muggles.

There had been one other mention of Henry VIII visiting in 1532. Given what she knew about the Tudor period of history, she was not surprised there were no further mentions of royal visits until the late 1500s when the turmoil ended and Elizabeth I became queen. Both James I and Charles I had visited multiple times during their reigns.

The most surprising thing she had read though was that Henry VIII had named Robert Malfoy Earl of Westbrook. That was something else she had had to read several times to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. All along she had thought that the Malfoys had been taught pureblood superiority for centuries, that that was all they knew, but here she had more than a hundred years of records showing that the Malfoys had easily socialized with Muggles.

She had tried not to be rude when Katta had insisted that Hermione needed to put down her work and eat dinner, but she had become so immersed in her reading and hadn't wanted to be disturbed.

Absentmindedly, she wondered if the local historical society in Hereford would have any records. Of course, she also realized that it was highly unlikely that they would allow her to examine records that old since she had no credentials. Oh, she could Confound the archivist, but she didn't feel right doing something like that.

After 1654 there had been fewer mentions of visitors, and the entries became more mundane. Hermione recalled that Lucius had mentioned that the manor was built in the mid-1600s, so she presumed the seat of family influence had gone with it. The younger son and his descendants would not have been influential enough to warrant a royal visit.

It was very late when she finally turned in. As she lay in the bed, trying to get comfortable, she decided she would see what the internet turned up at her parents' house. It might provide an interesting dinner conversation with Lucius on Monday. She presumed that since he knew so much about his family's history, that he had to be aware of their socializing with Muggles.

Late Sunday morning she decided that she had stalled long enough and Apparated to secluded alleyway near her parents' home. She walked down the family sidewalk and up the path to the front door, still amazed at how normal everything seemed. It was comforting since everything else in her life had been turned upside-down in recent weeks.

Even though it was her childhood home, she still rang the bell and waited for her mother to answer. "Hi, Mum," she said trying to sound cheerful.

"Where's Ron?" her mother asked.

"He's not coming," she replied simply, not wanting to get into her marital discord before she even walked through the door.

"So sorry to hear that. Is he busy at work?" Eleanor asked, opening the door wider to let her in.

Hermione stepped through the door and walked towards the lounge. "No, Mum. It's a bit more complicated than that."

"What's complicated," Andrew asked as his wife and daughter entered the lounge.

Hermione took the chair while her parents sat on the sofa. She took a deep breath. "Ron and I have decided to part ways. It... wasn't working between us."

Shock crossed both her parents' faces. Eleanor reached over and gently coaxed Hermione to sit beside her on the sofa before wrapping her arms around her daughter. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

Hermione waited for her parents to say something, anything, but they were clearly letting her tell them in her own time. She recounted the difficulties she and Ron had been having over the last year and how she finally came to the realization that they were in different places in their lives and it just wasn't going to work out.

Her parents offered her nothing but support, reassuring her that it wasn't her fault. Even though she logically knew that, it felt good to hear her parents telling her the same thing.

Hermione finally pulled back from her mother. "And to make matters worse, for lack of a better term, Ron is conducting a smear campaign. I had hoped we could just quietly part ways, but he decided to try to make a big deal out of this, make me look like a villain. I've been hiding out for the last week."

"You know you could have come here," Eleanor said.

Hermione looked at her hands as she shook her head. "I thought about it, but given the initial outrage, I thought it best to keep you out of this. Divorce isn't very common in the wizarding world, and Ron and I are rather well known, which has probably made it worse. There's so much that I didn't know, and apparently still don't know, about being a witch. But I have a good solicitor now, and he's confident that this will all work out in the end. My hearing is next Tuesday."

"Did you need us to be there for support?" Andrew asked.

Hermione smiled at her father. "I appreciate the offer, but I think it for the best if you aren't. I have good friend who has been helping me through all this. I'll be fine. I just want it to be over."

"Anyone we know?" her mother asked.

Hermione was momentarily caught off guard. Her parents technically did know who her friend was, but they did not know who he had become. "No. As much as I would love for it to be Harry or Ginny, I've been limiting my contact with our mutual friends, just to make sure nothing comes of that."

"That would explain why I haven't heard back from Arthur. We've been corresponding about all things Muggle for years. Every week or so I normally get a new letter from him full of interesting questions," Andrew explained. "It's been a great deal of fun trying to explain all the things we take for granted. Then, recently, the letters just stopped."

"Maybe when this is all over he'll start writing to you again." Hermione had a hard time believing this would permanently sour Arthur's relationship with her father – he just loved all things Muggle far too much, and knew that her father liked and respected Arthur.

Eleanor checked the clock on the mantle. "Well, the roast should be just about done, so why don't we go eat and see if we can find something more pleasant to talk about." She rose to her feet and waited for everyone to follow her. "Your father and I were considering skiing over the holidays. I don't suppose you would fancy joining us?"

"I think I'll pass. You know I was never much for skiing." She had skived off the ski trip her parents had taken while she was Hogwarts.

"Are you sure? I hate to think of you spending the holidays alone."

"I'll figure something out. I have a few friends who aren't all that close to their families and maybe we'll get together. And hopefully I'll be on speaking terms with Harry, so I'm sure I won't be alone. I know you and Dad don't get much time off and this is something you love. We'll get together when you get back."

"If you're sure..."

"I'm sure, Mum. You and dad have a great time."

Hermione enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and into the evening with her parents. They filled her in on what her various relations were doing. Her Aunt Evelyn was continuing her world travels and had sent a series of post cards from across the United States over the last few months. Hermione grew wistful at the thoughts of world travel, but she knew that was not an option for the foreseeable future. Other than the trip to bring her parents back from Australia, the only time Hermione had left Britain since a family vacation while at Hogwarts was when she went to the Merlin Resort. She delighted in telling her parents all about that trip and how marvelous the wizarding resort had been.

She asked her parents about using their computer for a research project and the two of them smiled at each other, knowing their daughter was always looking to learn something.

"Of course, dear," her mother replied. "It's a bit of a shame you can't get a computer to work in a magical residence, isn't it?"

"It is. I'll probably be thirty minutes, an hour at most. You can drag me away then," she told them, knowing that she could easily get lost in reading.

"We'll take a walk and make sure we drag you back to real life in an hour," Andrew said and then laced his fingers in Eleanor's.

Hermione was vaguely aware of the door closing a few minutes later, but she already had her parchment and quill next to the computer and was typing the first name into google.

It only took Hermione about thirty minutes to go through the list of names she had. Most came up and were indeed Muggle nobility. A few there were no record of, just as there was no record of any Earl of Westbrook. She could only presume that those other names belonged to wizard nobility, even though no wizard she had heard of used a title.

She was both intrigued and a bit upset that there was clearly a segment of wizarding history of which she still remained completely ignorant. The only logical conclusion being that the cessation of titles was part of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, but she didn't know how to verify that speculation. The fact that wizard families once held titles was not anything they had learned about in school. Short of a trip to the Library, which she knew wasn't open on Sunday, Lucius would be her best source of information.

When her parents returned from their walk, they found her flipping through game shows on the telly, and she turned it off to spend some time with them before she left. They asked her what she had been researching. She thought it best not to mention the fact she'd discovered that wizards once held noble titles, and instead told them how she had been exploring and found an old abandoned country home and that she was looking for information about it. While not entirely the truth, it was close enough to satisfy their curiosity without her giving away too much information about events in her life. Thankfully, her father didn't press her further about the house and asked about her work. When she'd excitedly told them she was now working on Potions' research, her parents were actually delighted that she was pursuing work in the medical field, pleased that she found a job she liked.

When she finally returned to Webtree Hall, she was feeling better. She knew that divorcing Ron was the right thing to do, and her self-doubt was gone. For a few hours she had been able to put all her troubles from her mind and experience a level of normalcy.

For the first time in weeks, she had no trouble falling asleep.

Hermione started the work week feeling much more optimistic than she had the previous week. No new awful things had been published in the Daily Prophet. In fact, she had even seen an editorial article lauding her for her independence. But there was another article debating the need for witches to venture into the workforce 'too soon,' preaching about family morals, values and ethics. The author was promoting the new book, The Stupid Things Witches Do To Mess Up Their Lives, by Laurel Meissinger. And on the sports page, there was a picture of Harry and Ron attending a Quidditch game, spouting about Ron bravely facing the public while showing his support for the Chudley Canons.

She thought that perhaps this week she might venture out into Diagon Alley. She should show the wizarding world that she was not afraid of what they thought and that she had made the right decision.

Once at the lab, Hermione got so engrossed in her work, that before she knew it, it was time for lunch. When she arrived in the lunchroom, she saw that Gilles was at their usual table. "Good afternoon," she said cheerfully as she slid into the seat across from him.

"You had a good weekend?" he asked, noticing her good mood.

She considered his question for a moment. "It actually was. I spent most of the day with my parents yesterday, and it felt really good to talk with them about everything. I think it's just my nature to worry when things aren't perfect, even though there is very little in life that is."

"That is very true. And I have found much joy from those imperfections."

She considered his words for a few moments. "Perhaps I should learn to worry less and enjoy more?"

"I would recommend it. It has improved my relationship with my family."

"That and moving to another country," Hermione added humorously. "Though that's not something I think I need to do. I think everything will work out just fine." While she and Ron were still in the news, there was little of substance lately, as she'd discovered in today's paper. The first article had been the most sensational, as one would expect from Rita Skeeter. Subsequent articles had for the most part remained more factual, rehashing previous statements or digging up quotes from years ago. She had cringed when she'd read pieces where Harry and Viktor Krum had been dragged into the mix, but since most of the information used had been from her Fourth Year at Hogwarts, it hadn't held much weight, especially since Harry was happily married, and Viktor was playing Quidditch for the Berlin team the last she'd heard. Not to mention, that he had a new lady interest who attended every one of his games. Overall, other than a few by Rita Skeeter, any articles written had remained neutral, and the letters to the editor section had always published equal numbers of positive and negative letters. She was sure that was Reg's doing, and she ignored the negative letters and concentrated on the positive ones.

"I think it will, too," Gilles added. "I know you haven't really been out since the divorce was made public, but contrary to what you might think, it's no longer the major topic of discussion." He paused and watched her a few moments before asking, "I don't suppose you'd want to get together this evening? My cupboard is bare, and I prefer not to dine out alone."

"I'd love to, but I'm meeting an old friend." She wasn't exactly sure why she referred to Lucius as an old friend, but she thought that sounded less like a rejection. While she enjoyed spending time with Lucius, there was just something nice about getting out with a friend. She knew she should venture back into the wizarding world and that her decision to venture out to Diagon Alley was overdue. After all, she hadn't been able to check the new arrivals Flourish and Blotts for over a week, and she always enjoyed perusing the used book section. Maybe she'd even stop by Madam Malkin's for some new robes for work or possibly stop in to Lavender and Lace, Lavender Brown's new shop. "But I am free on Tuesday," she added, recalling that Lucius had a standing dinner engagement with Connor Greengrass.

He perked up at this pronouncement. "I know just the place. It's not too far from here if you don't mind the walk."

"I'll be sure to wear comfortable shoes."

The rest of their conversation during lunch passed pleasantly. She always found it so refreshing to get her mind off of potions for a little while in the middle of the day.

She felt a little bad about turning down Gilles' company after work, but she knew Lucius was planning on joining her. Moreover, he had been equally pleased that they would be meeting on Tuesday, anyway.

When she returned to the cottage, she decided to peruse one of the historical record books until Lucius arrived. It was a bit of a sneaky tactic, but she was dealing with Lucius Malfoy, and she assumed that he was used to this sort of thing.

Lucius arrived through the front door shortly before six and saw Hermione curled up in the chair in the library. "I'm surprised you aren't in your usual seat in the drawing room."

She looked up from her book. "I've been investigating the library this afternoon."

"Find anything interesting?" he asked casually as he tried to make out a title on the book she was reading before taking a seat in the opposite chair.

"Very interesting." She sat up and turned the book so the pages were facing him. "It was a bit of a shock to see that Henry VIII visited here – twice." She watched him carefully to see how he reacted.

"He is probably the most famous visitor here," Lucius replied casually, as though it were nothing for a wizarding family to host the king of England, "though James II spent some time here with the younger son before he assumed the throne."

Katta popped in and delivered Lucius a glass of Scotch on a silver tray.

"But they're Muggles," she protested.

Lucius shrugged. "Times were different then. There was no International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy." He gestured at the book. "I'm sure that you have no doubt surmised that many of the visitors named in that book are Muggle nobility."

She smiled, having had her speculations confirmed. "I had and I verified it while visiting my parents."

"And I'm sure you found that information quite shocking: 'How could a pureblood family that has looked down on Muggles for generations possibly have consorted with Muggles?' is what I am sure went through your mind."

"Something like that," she replied. She was beginning to suspect that he was well aware those books were in the library and that she was sure to find them at some point during her stay.

He smiled at her. "As I said, times were different. Distinctions for whom to socialize with were made based on money and power and less on blood. Marriages were still based on blood, and wizards were sternly encouraged to marry witches, but wizarding and Muggle elite mingled freely socially. It had been that way for centuries. After all, King Arthur had Merlin as one of his advisors; Tailesin served King Urien of Rheged and his son Owain mab Urien; Catherine de Médicis, wife of King Henry II of France, greatly favored Nostradamus, and Nicholas Flamel, as you know, advised the French kings and Flanders nobility in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Most kings did. It evened the playing field. Of course once Christianity began gaining favor, monarchs were more discreet about their relationships with wizards, just as wizards became more discreet about flaunting their magic."

"But if your family consorted with kings, the elite, and were granted a title shouldn't there be some sort of record." She had to believe that for Robert Malfoy to be named an earl he had to have been some sort of advisor to the king.

"When the Statute was enacted, members of the newly formed Ministry of Magic were tasked with removing all traces of magic from histories. They traveled from village to village erasing records of wizarding families and ensuring families were properly concealing their dwellings from Muggles. It was really quite simple to go through and alter records. For the most part there was only one copy. William and Mary even opened the royal archives for modification. Since record keeping was spotty at best, there was little effort put into standardizing the changes. I'm sure that has caused quite a conundrum to Muggle historians." He chuckled softly at this thought.

His explanation floored her. "But your family had a title!" She was having a hard time understanding his matter of fact response to her gaining this knowledge.

"Yes. Earl of... Westbrook, I believe," he replied as though this was something he gave little thought to.

"So your family has hidden the fact they used to consort with Muggles...were favored by Muggle kings and nobility." She tapped at the book. "It was a common occurrence and then suddenly the Statute comes about and Muggles are scum?"

Lucius took a sip of his Scotch and considered his words carefully. "Consorting with Muggles and marrying them were two different things to families in the upper echelons of magical society. Marrying a Muggle has been looked down upon for centuries, far longer than the Statute has been in place. I'm sure this will surprise you, but my ancestors were against the Statute." He raised his hand to stay her comment. "Not for any noble reason, but because they would lose access to the Muggle social elite. But when it was passed, far be it for a Malfoy to go against the newly created Ministry. It was the same with the other pureblood families: the Blacks, Rookwoods, Rossiers, Mulcibers, Greengrasses, Crouches, Longbottoms, Princes among others all abandoned Muggle friendships and hid themselves away. They formed the backbone of the wizarding social elite, which despite recent events still does exist, though the number of families has been diminished. Of course one could argue that decline has been years in the making. Look at the likes of Crabbe and Goyle."

"This was never covered in school," she said quietly, still trying to understand everything she was learning.

"And why should it? Does it really matter that my ancestors were the Earls of Westbrook or that they knew the monarchs of England? None of that is of any historical significance. Historical curiosity yes, but significance, no," he said instructively.

She looked at him, trying to read his expression. "You knew I'd find these books."

He shrugged. "I hadn't really thought about it. I knew none of the books here were dangerous. Most are either duplicates of books at the manor, second editions, moderately valued antiquities, or ones of little historical significance. But the records of the cottage have always been kept here."

Before she could think of anything else to say, Katta popped back into the library. "Master, Mistress, dinner is being served."

Lucius rose to his feet and offered Hermione his hand. "Shall we?"

"Sure," she replied as she took hold of his hand. She wasn't sure what she had expected when she confronted Lucius with his family's past, but it definitely hadn't been a history lesson.

During dinner she tried to engage him in further conversation about his family's Muggle-loving past which transformed into the hatred she had been subjected to, but he kept changing the subject and reminding her that people continually adapt to the social norms of the time.

Of course this got her to wondering if that's what his friendship with her was: him adapting to the social norms of the present. After all, he had called her nothing more than a friend. She began to wonder if what she saw as flirtation was nothing more than his typical flattery. Based on their conversation over dinner, she began to think that she was definitely reading things into his behavior. He was merely trying to curry favor with her because she was an easier mark than Harry, and they were the two highest profile witches or wizards with a Muggle background.

Tuesday had been another enjoyable night out with Gilles. He had taken her to a small Muggle café. It was still relatively informal, but this felt more like a date than the last two times they had been out. He had been very courteous and attentive, but still very informal. He understood her in a way that few of her other friends did because he came from a Muggle family. She had been very careful to not overindulge and on her way back to the cottage had taken a detour through the gardens to enjoy the night-blooming jasmine, evening primrose and other night flowers. She was even treated to quite a few fairies venturing out amongst the blooms.

With the date of her Wizengamot hearing drawing nearer, speculation was running rampant in the news as there was nothing new to report. Rita Skeeter and Maggie Kerfuffle continually speculated on what Hermione was 'up to' since she had withdrawn from wizarding society, trying to divine what secrets she was brewing up at Malfoy Industries and whom she was socializing around with. Ron was in the paper frequently, reports on his comings and goings, especially when he was seen in public with Harry and Ginny or anyone outside his family. He'd been photographed with Gabriel Delacour and Fleur Weasley at a Quidditch match, looking rather besotted, but Hermione knew it was only because of the their Veela heritage and nothing more.

Despite what was reported in the gossip section, Reg told her she was winning the war of public opinion. Of course, that mattered little to the Wizengamot, and Reg assured her there was no legal reason for the divorce to be denied.

Wednesday she decided it was time to venture out into Diagon Alley. A few people were gossiping, but then that was nothing new even since her school days and after the war, so she pretty much ignored them. What she did notice was that everyone left her alone, none of the mothers allowed their children to ask her to sign their books or magazines, and the shop clerks were polite even if they weren't as friendly as they once were. She had to admit that it felt good to be back out in public in the wizarding world even if it wasn't the warmest of welcomes.

When she browsed Flourish and Blotts, she saw a few people pointing discreetly and whispering, caught a few haughty or condescending glances, and overheard one woman say to her friend, "How could she give up an admirable wizard like that Mr. Weasley?" But at least no one tried to accost her with their opinions.

Among the periodicals, she found her eye drawn to Witch Weekly. Lucius' name was once again on the cover with a small inset photo of him and Elsa enjoying dinner. Opening the magazine, she saw that there were three more pictures of what appeared to be an intimate dinner at a very romantic restaurant. The article was written by Delphinia James, so it was less sensational than something written by Rita Skeeter, but it still painted the picture of a blossoming romance, and the pictures certainly seemed to support that assessment. What other reason would there be for the two of them to be dining in a romantic Parisian restaurant? she thought. Despite her better judgment, she read the article.

The ever luscious bachelor Lucius Malfoy was recently spotted at La Vigne d'Or, one of the most romantic and exclusive restaurants in Paris, with German beauty Elsa Schwartz. We've been watching this romance unfold for some time now and can't wait to see the couple formally announce themselves. It is painfully obvious to anyone who observes this couple that there is definitely a magical spark between them. They may try to claim it's merely a business relationship, but we know otherwise.

Hermione began to reassess what Lucius had told her. He had never actually said there was nothing between him and Elsa, and he had carefully worded his answer to whether there was someone special in his life. Of course she still wasn't entirely sure why she had asked him about his love life. It was possible that she was misreading his attentions as interest after having been so starved for attention for years. Besides, what would someone like him see in someone like her anyway? And with her just getting out of a relationship, she shouldn't be thinking about starting another one. She set the magazine back and made her way to the used book section.

She found a couple of books that looked interesting on wizarding history and found an old charms manuscript that she had been searching for and purchased those, stuffing them into her magically expanded handbag. As she looked at the beaded bag she realized that she really should purchase something more suitable to everyday use, not that she made it a habit of needing a magically expanded handbag, but for those times she did, it would be nice to have something more ordinary.

As she walked towards Amanuensis Quills, she saw Percy and Audrey walking the opposite direction. She smiled politely and nodded at them. The smiled uncomfortably and hurried on their way. Hermione sighed. She had never really been close to Percy and should have expected that sort of behavior, but it still stung a little. Hermione admired some of the quills in the window before admiring the robes in the window of Madam Malkin's. She liked this time of year when the school robes were out of the window and there was something more fashionable, something extravagant that Hermione could never see herself wearing, but she enjoyed looking and admiring the care the Madam Malkin put into her work.

She was happily enjoying a sundae at Fortescue's when someone sat in the chair across from here and said, "I'd heard you'd come out of hiding."

"Hello, Harry," she said happily. "Though, it's probably not a good idea for us to be talking to each other," she added as her initial happiness waned.

"I'm not here to spy for Ron. I wanted to see how you were doing. I haven't received any reply to my letters," he said, the concern clear in his voice. "Are you angry with me?"

"No," she sighed. "I'm not, and I know I've completely cut you out, and I'm sorry about that. My solicitor thought it best I not talk to any of Ron's family before the filing went through to the Wizengamot. I am sorry, but I did enjoy hearing from you."

Harry nodded as if he understood. "How are you holding up?" he asked, clearly concerned about her well-being.

"About as well as can be expected under the circumstances. How's Ginny?"

"She's holding up alright, though we all miss you."

She was a bit surprised to hear that given the initially chilly reaction she had got from Ginny. "I miss all of you, too. Maybe someday, when this is all over, we can get together. I'd really hate to lose your friendship over this. We've been through a lot together."

He smiled sadly. "That we have."

Hermione really wanted to ask how Molly and the others were handling this. She felt so bad about having to do what she did to Ron in the papers, but he had brought it upon himself even though she was sure the family wouldn't see it that way.

"So what have you been up to while you've been in hiding?" Harry asked.

"Some reading, some research, you know me," she replied lightly, trying to reassure Harry that everything was fine.

He chuffed a laugh. "Yeah, I do," he replied. "So, I'll see you later?"

She knew that until this was all behind her there wasn't much that they could talk about. "Yeah. I'll send you an owl."

"I look forward to it." He rose to his feet. "I'm really sorry it all came down to this," he said sadly before leaving.

She wasn't sure what 'this' he was referring to, but at least she knew that Harry did not hate her and did not blame her for everything that had happened. She could tell that he really wanted to talk about the whole thing, get her side, but that would have to wait until later. She finished her sundae and decided it was time to head home and look through some of rental listings Lucius had sent over. Staying at the cottage had always been a temporary measure, and it seemed like there would be no problem with her moving back to the wizarding world at large. And it's not like the cottage reflected her style at all. It was far too ostentatious, and she thought she was getting far too comfortable there. All she needed was a simple flat with space for bookshelves and she would be perfectly happy.

A/N: As always many thanks to beaweasley2 for her wonderful assistance, including suggesting The Stupid Things Witches Do to Mess Up Their Lives by Laurel Meissinger which is a thinly veiled play on the book, Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives by Laura Schlessinger.

The Malfoy history and opposition to the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy is based off of information that was initially posted on the Pottermore site and cataloged on Harry Potter Wiki, though I have expanded on what was initially posted.