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"What about Ollivander?" Draco asked Theo. |
Theo thought for a moment before he answered, "It was difficult to tell. He didn't give a definite answer." |
"So maybe we can persuade him," Hermione said, looking eager. |
"It's worth a shot," Draco agreed. He turned back to Theo, "What about Mr. Parkinson?" |
"He's back from Paris," Theo started, then leaned forward and sounded a bit like a gossipy old lady, "and I hear that he sent a howler to his son-in-law as soon as he returned though nobody is saying why." |
"Hmm," Hermione snorted as if that answered some question. |
Both Draco and Theo looked at her quizzically. Draco finally said, "Care to enlighten us, lioness?" |
She looked between the two of them mystified, "Really? You don't know. They're your friends." |
Draco was confused, to say the least. What could Hermione know about the marriage between Pansy Parkinson and Marcus Flint that they didn't? Draco knew that Pansy spent most of her time in Paris focused on her fashion career. Marcus coached Quidditch professionally and was currently with the Montrose Magpies as a coach for their chasers. They lived apart and had no children, but having spent a great deal of time with Pansy, Draco couldn't really fault Marcus for staying away from her. |
"Oh, for the love of Merlin, you two are so dense," Hermione said exasperated, "Marcus Flint is gay." |
Draco felt his jaw drop. "No, he's not," Draco scoffed. |
"It's true," Hermione defended, "I suspect he and Oliver Wood have been together for years now." |
"No way," Theo said in apparent disbelief. |
"Ever notice how they're always on the same team?" Hermione pointed out. "Even when they went to coaching, they were on the same team." |
"Maybe they work really well together," Theo said. |
"Why would he marry Pansy if he's gay?" Draco asked. |
Hermione shrugged, "I always thought they just had one of those open marriages or that it was an arranged marriage and she didn't care what he did." |
Draco stood up and started pacing behind the couch. Draco knew that Pansy was the light of her father's life. Mr. Parkinson had showered her with affection and spoiled her rotten when she was younger, and Mr. Parkinson would expect any wizard that married his daughter to do the same. |
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Theo asked. |
"I didn't hope to count on his vote, but if he thinks Marcus is treating Pansy shabbily and will never give him grandchildren, he'll do anything to get her free," Draco answered. |
"Okay, so we need to talk to Mr. Ollivander and Mr. Parkinson," Hermione said, "Anyone else? Who else might not show up?" |
"Fawley and Macmillan," Draco answered, "They hardly ever show up for council meetings and especially not for votes." |
"Why not for votes?" Hermione asked. |
Theo said with a grin, "They hate being locked into the council chamber until a two-thirds vote is reached." |
"Why?" Hermione asked. |
"Much like a Quidditch game, it can go on for days or months, and council members can't leave the room until voting is done," Draco answered from behind the sofa. |
"Months?" Hermione asked, flabbergasted. |
"Rumor has it that it only happened once," Theo said in reassurance, "During discussions of the Statute of Secrecy." |
"So, we can pretty much count on Fawley and Macmillan being absent?" Hermione asked, looking slightly more relieved. |
"Most likely," Draco said. |
"They didn't seem very interested in the bill when I brought it up to them," Theo added. |
"What about Flint?" Hermione asked, "I assume that's Marcus's father." |
Theo sat back in his chair and looked pensive, "I didn't understand Flint's reaction to the divorce bill initially, but if what you say about Marcus is true then his reaction makes more sense." |
"Not in favor?" Draco asked. |
"Kicked me out of his office," Theo answered with a grin. |
"Why wouldn't he want his son to get a divorce?" Hermione asked. |
"That marriage is probably the only thing keeping word of his son's sexual orientation from getting out. It's probably the only thing keeping Marcus from being open with his relationship with Wood, too," Theo said. |
"So?" Hermione asked. |
Draco heaved a sigh, "If it's true, Mr. Flint would not want his son getting a divorce so that he can be openly gay. Wouldn't be "respectable"," Draco finished making the air quotes. |
"So he would doom his son to an unhappy existence hiding his true nature in order to appear respectable," Hermione responded indignantly. |
"Pretty much," Theo said with a shrug. |
This was the way the older purebloods lived. Appearances meant everything to them. The happiness of your loved ones was hardly a consideration. Draco was glad to be free from that way of living. He was relieved that his mother threw off the old customs after the war. |
"That's horrible," Hermione said, looking horrified and for the first time sympathetic towards Marcus and Pansy. This had transcended the realm of gossip for her, her view of their marriage shifting. |
Theo slapped his knees and made to stand. "So, tomorrow I'll go talk to Flora. See if I can get a firm answer from her." |
"We'll talk to Ollivander and Parkinson tomorrow. I think we can count on Parkinson though," Draco said. |
"Best to be sure. It's closer than I thought it would be," Theo said. |
Hermione looked between the two of them. Her gaze landed on Draco. "I thought you said we were definitely going to win this," she said, and her voice held a note of accusation. |
Draco swallowed. Had he oversold their ability to push the vote through? |
Draco answered confidently, "We have ten people who won't change their votes. People who will sit in that council room until we get our way." |
"People know not to go against Draco when he has a probable majority vote," Theo interjected wryly. |
"Okay," Hermione said, looking reassured, "so we'll definitely win." |
Draco draped an arm around her shoulders and snuggled her into his side. "We're not leaving until we do." |
Hermione worried her bottom lip, "Draco, we can't spend months in the council chamber." |
"Twelve hours tops," Draco said with confidence. |
"Care to make a bet on that?" Theo asked. |
"Usual terms?" Draco retorted. |
"What are the usual terms?" Hermione interjected, "and what are we betting on?" |
"How long it takes us to get the bill passed and we usually bet a thousand galleons on it," Theo answered. |
Hermione choked, "A thousand galleons!" |
"What should we set the over-under at?" Draco asked, nonchalantly, looking over Hermione's head at Theo. |
"A thousand galleons!" Hermione spluttered again, looking back and forth between the two goggle-eyed. |
Draco grinned at Hermione. "Won't even put a dent in our vaults," Draco answered. He turned back to Theo, "Four hours. I say it won't take more than four hours." |
"Oh, come on!" Theo said, "It's not going to take even close to four hours. That's not a good bet." |
"Two hours," Hermione said. |
"Deal," Theo said quickly. |
Theo stuck his hand out, and Draco grasped it. Two hours was going to be tight. |
Theo stood. "I'll be going now. Let's get together tomorrow for dinner, and you can grovel to Daphne at what horrible friends you are." |
Theo bent down and hugged Hermione goodbye. Draco got up and walked him to the door. |
"Enjoy the rest of your day," Theo said in parting with a waggle of his eyebrows. |
Draco laughed and said goodbye. Theo apparated away with a faint pop and Draco walked back into the drawing room. |
Hermione looked quizzically over at him. "Why are we groveling to Daphne?" she asked. |
Draco resumed his seat beside her on the sofa and threw an arm on the back of the sofa. "Let's see. Soulmates, pregnant, and Minerva's adoption, all without letting her know," Draco summarized. |
Hermione looked at him guiltily, "The trial was not exactly the way I wanted our friends to find out about us being soulmates." |
"I'll have to talk to Blaise and Tracey about it," Draco said with a shrug. "Things just got away from us." |
Hermione nodded, agreeing with him. It had been a stressful few weeks for them. Draco was looking forward to quieter days after the divorce bill was passed. |
"So, what are we going to do with the rest of our day?" Hermione asked. |
Draco grinned at her. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, and he leaned forward and kissed her. He eased her back onto the sofa while he kissed her until he was looming over her on his knees between her legs. |
"I thought we could continue where we left off," Draco said huskily as he started popping the buttons of her dress open. |
Dinner at the Burrow |
Draco lay stretched out on the sofa in the drawing room, clad only in his boxers. His clothes were strewn around the room. His shoes tucked under the coffee table. His jeans were draped over the arm of a chair. |
Hermione was currently wearing his midnight blue tee shirt. Her sheer nude bra was currently hanging by its strap on the cocked arrow of the Artemis statue perched beside the fireplace. Somehow her knickers had "mistakenly" ended up landing in the roaring fireplace when Draco had stripped them from her and thrown them over his shoulder, forever lost to the flames. Such a tragedy. |
Hermione lay draped over his chest. Her fingers trailed up his side, tickling his ribs. One of her legs was nestled between his. |
They had spent the afternoon making love on the sofa. Talking. Laughing. Making love again on the floor in front of the fireplace. They'd had to leave the room a few times. Full bladders and empty stomachs to be assuaged. Only to return quickly to the nest they'd built. |
They had to pick Rose up from school soon, and that meant leaving the room to take showers. Draco wasn't ready yet to break the tranquility they'd managed to create for a few hours. |
Draco ran a hand through her curls. He loved playing with her hair. Wrapping curls around his fingers. Combing his fingers from root to tip through the smooth tresses. Draco was sure he was making an unholy mess of her tresses, but Hermione's hums of contentment hopefully meant he wouldn't get scolded too harshly for it. |
"Thank you for this," Hermione said quietly, her finger tracing part of the scar on his chest. |
"For what?" Draco asked. |
"A quiet, relaxing afternoon. Everything has been so busy lately. And emotional." |
"We both needed it," Draco responded, tucking a curl behind her ear. |
"I think we should take Rose over to see Molly and Arthur," Hermione said suddenly. |
Considering their last conversation with Molly Weasley, Draco didn't know if that was such a good idea. Molly Weasley had been distraught the day before the trial of her youngest son. Draco didn't want to consider how she would be the day after his sentencing. |
"Do you think that's wise?" Draco asked warily. |
"It might be good for her," Hermione said. "She's lost another child. She might be afraid that without Ron around, we'll never let Rose and Minerva see them again. That's not what I want." |
Draco wasn't interested in doing that either. The more people that loved his children, the better in his opinion. If something were ever to happen to him, he wanted to know that Hermione and the kids would all be well cared for and surrounded by people that loved them. |
"If she starts blaming you," Draco started. |
"I don't think that's going to happen again," Hermione said. "And we can ask her about the Prewett seat." |
"Okay, if that's what you want, then we'll go for a visit," Draco said resigned to the fact that he'd be spending the evening at the Weasleys. |
Hermione got up off the couch and started to gather her clothes. His shirt hung down to her thighs, and she didn't seem to feel the need to put her dress back on for the walk upstairs to the shower. Draco got up and put his jeans on. He gathered his socks and shoes and followed Hermione out the door back to their bedroom. |
"So we'll go over to the Burrow from the school," Hermione said over her shoulder to him as she climbed the stairs. |
"That's thirty minutes from now," Draco said. "Isn't it a bit impolite to just show up?" |
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