Chapter Text
Hermione Granger had learned years ago not to expect any certain outcome from any certain set of events in her life. As far back as her first years in Hogwarts, nothing ever went to plan or as it 'should' have gone for her. There was always something throwing unforeseeable twists and turns into the already unnatural situations she and her friends always found themselves tied up in. She could look back now and wonder at how things might have been, if Voldemort had never returned and they'd been allowed a normal childhood. A normal Hogwarts experience. Was she the brightest witch of her age despite all of the things that had happened to her or because of them? Regardless, she would have loved the opportunity to focus solely on her studies. She enjoyed her life now, able to focus only on the things she chose rather than on the world's problems that always seemed to need her specific attentions. Although it did all make sense later, at the time it had proved frustrating to no end. It was one of the reasons she had always hated her divination classes. Even if she did peer into the future, there was just too much that could and probably would happen before that outcome ever came to fruition. Even now in her adult life she had seen firsthand just how often things turned out differently than she had once planned.
She shuddered to think of everything that had happened since then. She would never understand how circumstances and people could change so quickly. The war had brought them closer than ever, providing a constant reminder to cherish those around them as much as possible. Years of turmoil and uncertainty and fighting made for a good reason to cling to those you loved, never knowing when you might meet your end. When things settled, though, they were left with something different. A lack, a void. No more terrible circumstances demanding their best. The war had changed them all. That time after, in which they had to deal with everything they had witnessed and done, continued to affect them. She'd been so blindsided by the relief of it all being over at first that she wasn't sure how to deal with putting everything back together afterwards, especially when so many pieces were missing or no longer fit where they were meant to.
Going back to Hogwarts for a proper final year had been a natural choice for her. Among the few students that returned, she'd been able to at least reestablish a routine for her life that felt safe and reliable. She focused on her studies and looked ahead, thankful for the advanced coursework and time to pursue her own interests. Now, these few years later, she was even more glad that she'd done so.
She straightened up at her desk in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as she started tidying up to end her day. It had been a long week and she found she was more than ready to leave her desk for the weekend. She loved her job, even if the work wasn't quite as challenging as she had always imagined for herself. It was just what she needed though, after all she'd faced the last few years. It was interesting enough to keep her mind satiated and it was something that made a difference. Harry was close by when he was in from Auror work. And as it happened, Draco's desk was just on the other side of the office. She smiled to herself as she saw him walking towards her, his own things gathered in his arms.
"Hey. Still joining us tonight?" He paused at the edge of her desk on the way to the coat rack as he did every Friday, always with the some rendition of the same question and same reassurances ensuring that it was alright if she had other plans or couldn't make it. As if their weekly dinners weren't the one thing she looked forward to apart from work.
"Of course. I haven't missed a Friday yet, have I? And you know I don't have any other plans. Besides, this is basically the first full meal I get every week," she chuckled and walked with him to collect her cloak. She was more than happy to ignore the elephant in the room if he wasn't going to ask. "I'll see you at 7."
Naturally, the entire office knew of the situation. Inmate releases had been happening on a rotating basis for years. The rehabilitation program was nothing new. Bellatrix Black's paperwork had come through some weeks ago and while it had given Hermione pause for a moment when she first heard, so much had happened since then that she had different monsters haunting her nightmares now. She still bore the scar from the witch's blade, but no longer did it have the same chokehold over her as it once did. Funny, she had thought, how time and perspective caused such a shift in what might haunt us.
Draco's father had been among some of the first that the Ministry had attempted to reintegrate into society. A desperate coward wasn't a bad first pick, he had told her. They had deemed it a success, for the most part, with the prisoners they had selected. It wasn't the department's fault, after all, that Lucius had ended up with his family denying to house him during the process after only a few weeks at home. And so that was what it was recorded as; "logistical failure", rather than open yet another case surrounding what had really happened that might reflect badly on the program as a whole. That had been over a year ago, and the Ministry had deemed the new operation such a success that they were now attempting to transform some of their more high-profile inmates into functioning members of society. Or at least submissive enough citizens to live the rest of their lives out of trouble and under the supervision of their families, without costing the Ministry their upkeep or any further headache.
"Uh, 7. Yes. But of course, we can dine out if you'd rather," Draco stammered, wanting to make sure that he addressed the issue at hand but not wanting to stupidly spell it out once again.
The office had been whispering about it all week, she knew. It was no secret that she had dinner at Malfoy Manor every week. She had long abandoned trying to hide her life from the public eye. As of late, she simply just didn't do anything worth talking about, which is to say she didn't really leave the house except to go to work or, of course, for their Friday dinners. That in itself had become old news, but now that Bellatrix Black was to be released to Narcissa Malfoy, it was alive and well as new gossip once again. She had felt her coworkers' eyes on them the last few weeks, wanting to see if their friendship would withstand it, and even more now, as they all knew today was the day she'd been released. As there hadn't been any news throughout the office of any major setbacks, she assumed all had gone as planned.
"I'll see you at 7, Draco." She dropped her voice slightly as they headed out towards the floos together, offering him a reassuring smile. "I can handle it, really. It's not as if she's dining with us. And besides, she can't do any harm with the wards."
It almost surprised her how calm she was in the face of being in the same place with her again, but she found she meant her words. It seemed that Draco could tell as well, as he dropped the issue and bade her goodbye. They could read each other much better now, and Hermione was glad for it. They'd not talked much when she first started in the department several months ago. They'd gotten to know each other first during their return to Hogwarts, working on projects with the other 8th years. That had hardly been a time for new friendships to blossom, but they found themselves studying together when their classes called for it and getting along despite everything still settling around them. It wasn't enough to keep up with each other afterwards, though she'd been pleased to realize they'd be working in the same office on her first day. Soon after, they'd been put on an assignment together and found they had much more in common than they thought. They'd been friends since.
It'd been easier to confide in each other than she would have expected. They both had similar demons in their troubling paths after the war. People that they loved that should have been there for them but instead only brought more pain to their lives as they struggled to bear the weight of their own. She learned that Draco had actually decided he wanted to be an auror around the same time that Harry and Ron had, but was denied for his affiliations. He was instead given a menial job within the department and told to put in his time working his way up. 4 years ago. He had become more patient with the process, at least, after finding a friend in Hermione.
When his father had first returned home last year, he had not been pleased with his son's goals or the demeaning job the Ministry had given him in the department. Draco had always lived with his father's disappointment; he was used to the dynamic between them. But the man that returned to Malfoy Manor that day had not been the same version of the father he knew from before. Lucius's resentment and disgust with the world had turned inwards, it seemed, and poisoned him. Draco tried, for his mother's sake, to placate him. He stayed out of his way and took the insults and disdain as he knew how, knowing it pained Narcissa to see her husband that way but both of them thinking perhaps he just needed more time to readjust. Draco wasn't sure why he didn't say anything as the abuse became physical. He knew part of him thought he deserved it. He'd gotten off too easy after the war, so to put up with the blows and knocking around from the man was the least he could tolerate. Though eventually, it became harder and harder to hide the bruises littering his body. It was taking a separate toll on him to uphold the glamours all day in the office to cover them. He began to slip, every day arriving home and letting the stress of the constant magic stop draining on him, leaving the bruises to reappear.
He hadn't heard his mother that day in the hall after arriving home from work, nor had he ever seen her wrath so deadly as when she discovered the source of the marks on his skin. As she stormed through the manor, wand poised and ready, Draco couldn't imagine her doing anything but killing him. The fear of losing them both flashed through him briefly before he heard her laughing downstairs and he knew she wouldn't let his father get away with his actions so easily. The sound reminded him too much of his aunt, too much of a similar scene that haunted him still. He wordlessly tripped the alarms in place for his father's probation, sitting silently as the aurors made quick work of taking the man back to Azkaban. Narcissa finalized everything the following day and he hadn't heard from him since.
Hermione arrived at the manor at 7 sharp, still never one to be late. She found herself still quite calm in the face of not knowing exactly what she might be walking in on, but she knew they wouldn't let anything happen. Narcissa had reassured her the week before how welcome she was in the manor. That nothing would change that. Draco had done the same, of course, and she was grateful for it. She was glad to be able to trust their words and approach the night without the stress she may have once expected. Draco answered the door and invited her inside, handing her cloak off to an elf before escorting her to the dining room.
"I'm glad you made it. Mother's been upstairs for most of the time I've been home. Apparently everything has gone well so far, but she said it'd be just the two of us tonight."
Hermione nodded along as Draco explained the situation, glad to hear that there hadn't been any trouble and everything was going as planned. Knowing all that had happened with his father after his release, she was relieved that the first day had at least gone smoothly. She was feeling fine still, but she did notice her scar starting to itch slightly under her sleeve. It had become a sort of stress response, after the war. The marked skin, usually completely fine, would start to irritate her if she ever dwelled on thoughts of what had happened or found herself in a troubling situation.
"I'm sure they have plenty of catching up to do. Just as we do, apparently. I saw that girl from Mysteries talking to you after we parted ways." She changed the subject swiftly, glad to return to their normal Friday night topics of interest. She relaxed as she got the response she wanted from him, seeing a light blush color his cheeks as he rolled his eyes and their conversation drifted away from his aunt.
As the wine flowed and they chatted, Hermione was able to forget about Bellatrix's lingering presence somewhere in the manor. She and Draco moved into the library after dessert as they usually did and found themselves laughing and chatting as normal, both thankful for the ease of the conversation.
xxx
Upstairs, Narcissa sat across from her sister in the newly renovated suite she'd prepared for her and sighed once again. "I told you, Bella, tomorrow. Just be patient. It's a lot to throw on him all at once. And besides, you need your rest."
Bellatrix huffed as Narcissa continued to evade her request. "I just want to see my nephew. I know he's home from work. It's damn well near 11. He's not out. He's not busy. And even if he was, he hasn't seen me in years. I pull rank."
Narcissa shook her head once more at her sister's protests and gracefully lowered herself onto the bed beside her. "Not tonight. He has company. Guests pull rank."
Bellatrix wasn't exactly ill, but she was far from what could be deemed healthy after so long in the neglectful conditions she'd gotten used to. Narcissa had done what she could for her, but even with the potions and spells at their disposal, it would take time to restore her to her former state. Narcissa hated to see what she'd been reduced to, but she was glad for the chance to do what she could to support her.
"I am a guest." Bellatrix retorted, a dull shadow of her signature smirk pulling at her thin lips.
"You, Bella, are family. Now go to sleep and stop with all this nonsense. We can dine together tomorrow, the three of us." She yawned lightly as she continued to argue with her sister. She was normally already in bed herself at this time, but she wanted to make sure Bellatrix didn't get any ideas about venturing out into the manor while Hermione was still there.
"You're in my bed, Cissa. Is it a girlfriend? A boyfriend? Did he let his hair grow long and you're worried I'll make fun of him?" She pestered.
"No, no, and Merlin, no." She sighed and sat up, getting out of the bed to leave Bellatrix to herself for the night. "It's just a friend. She's very nice. And she's been good for Draco. Especially after what happened with his father. Go to sleep. And don't go meddling. She has plenty of reason not to like you." She warned the dark witch and finally turned to go after a long day. She wasn't looking forward to her sister finding out just who she had been having over for Friday night dinners these past few months, but she also knew that Bella would want the best for Draco just as she did. "Goodnight, Bella. Rest well."
Bellatrix grimaced at the thought of her former brother-in-law and nodded, taking in what Narcissa had said. "I'm sure she's splendid. Goodnight. Leave me to sleep tomorrow." She definitely was going to find out who this little witch was that was cozying up to her nephew, but after so long without a proper bed and sheets, she was going to get a full night of sleep beforehand.