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Hermione Full of Grace	By : AdamantEve Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Harry/Hermione Views: 13378 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
SPECIAL
THANKS to my beta reader Aurabolt!

Standard
disclaimers apply.

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Chapter Eight � Uncover the Enigma

In which Lysander Athanasius becomes a
matter for serious thought.

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Hermione had a feeling that something was afoot.

She wasn�t a witch that paid particular attention to
anything that pertained to �hunches� or �feelings� or (Good Lord!)
�Divination�, but she couldn�t help but think there was something odd in the
scheme of things.

The day previous, Lysander had
come to the ministry to beg for her forgiveness. And on that same day, Harry�s protective
tendencies seemed to have reached unreasonable heights.

Harry had to flash his wand, in the Ministry, no
less! Not like he needed it to cast
basic spells or anything. Obviously, the
wand had been no more than a prop, whipped out to emphasize some kind of point,
unless Harry had been planning to use worse hexes than the usual schoolyard
jinxes... Lysander
had taken him seriously, at any rate.

What was Harry so riled up about that he would threaten
someone with a wand?

She frowned as she walked down the WizCOF
aisle to get to her work station.

I mean, really�

Lysander was just being insistent, and he
didn�t even hurt her. He was giving her
flowers, for goodness sake, and apologizing.
There was nothing remotely inappropriate about any of it. If anything, she acted quite the bitch, but
then she had been careful not to cross any sort of line.

Then he touched me,
and it was the oddest thing�

She had looked into Lysander�s
eyes and understood just how
apologetic he was; how he had made a mistake;
how utterly and madly regretful he was that he had been such a fool.

Of course, he hadn�t said anything, but those eyes; those eyes!
As brilliant then as the first day she gazed upon them.

And there, where his hand touched his shoulder, she had
felt such warmth and longing. She wanted
to fall right into his arms and tell him he had no need to apologize, that he
was forgiven beyond reasonable doubt.

He said words in her ear that alleviated the loneliness in
her heart because he knew what she
was going through: �The silence in an
empty house is the worse, isn�t it?� he had asked cryptically. �When there�s no one to talk to, you turn on
the television and it doesn�t change the silence at all. Sometimes it just
nails the idea even deeper, that you�re quite alone. And you have this urge to
look for some form of life. Unfortunately, when you find your cat or dog,
they become ill replacements. There is
no replacement for human company. But
when you do find it; find one who understands, isn�t it a relief? Isn�t it a great relief?�

But then Harry was there, wrenching her free from that
moment of bliss.

When Lysander�s hand left her,
she felt confused; disjointed, but with that isolation, she had managed to
understand that her loyalties were unconditionally with Harry, and that giving
in to Lysander would almost seem�

Like betrayal.

Almost, but not quite. Goodness, it�s not like Lysander�s
some kind of Death Eater. He�s just a
regular bloke, for Merlin�s sake� alright, maybe not regular, but just a bloke nonetheless�

Lysander had given the key to the Leabharlann �rsa Runa:
Library of Ancient Runes. At the
bottom of the engraved, bronze sign was the symbol �<�. It was read as �ken�
and it meant �to know�. The library
admitted very few muggles into its walls, wizards
fewer still. There was some kind of
secret criteria, and try as she might to find out in the past what this
criteria was so she could meet it,
she had found no success.

Now, Lysadner Athanasius had offered the key to the library and only by
sheer will, strengthened by the loyalty she had for Harry, was she able to give
the key back.

But he had you,
didn�t he? And he knew it! Now you have to ask yourself: If Harry hadn�t
been there, watching, would you have accepted that key?

She scowled.
�You�re awful Hermione,� she
whispered. �Some friend you�ve turned
out to be. Exchange your loyalties to
your best friend in the whole world for a bunch of smelly books and scrolls,
will you? You�re awful!�

When she and Harry had left work for home last night, she
prayed he wouldn�t bring their meeting with Lysander
up. She could tell he was trying to
bring it up, but maybe he had read the reluctance in her eyes, so he
didn�t. Going home, she was afraid he
would get on with the asking. He didn�t
do it then, either. He was, in fact,
quite amicable talking about other things.
There were several times during their trip home that his brows would
knot. She was sure, during those times,
that he was going to talk about Lysander, but then
his brows smoothed over and he would quirk his smile. She breathed a little easier each time. When she arrived at Grimmauld Place, she and Harry had made a quick
dinner and retired to their respective work spaces to finish work they brought
home from the Ministry. She had worked
late, and she even heard Ron arriving.
He dropped by the library to give her a quick hi and goodnight. He wasn�t drunk; he had come from work, and
he seemed exhausted.

Hermione felt so proud of him then that she had given her
goodnight with an affectionate kiss on his cheek. He showed only mild surprise, and then he was
grinning, pointing to his other cheek and saying, �How �bout you even things up
a little, eh?�

She didn�t, but only because doing so would spoil
him. It was then she knew with absolute
certainty that she and Ron would be friends forever, never lovers, and that she
was unspeakably happy that they would stay that way. Judging by the twinkle in his eyes, he was
thinking exactly the same thing.

She sent him off to bed sternly, but she committed the
sound of his laughter to memory long after he retired into his room.

She didn�t see Harry again until the morning, and it
seemed he was in a hurry to get to his office.

And now she was back in WizCOF
for another judicious day.

Reaching her work station, she began to unload the
contents of her briefcase on her pristine desk.
In a few minutes, she would have the desk stacked high with books.

She was arranging her quills when she found a tiny box,
the kind that looked like it held jewelry.
There was a tasteful ribbon wrapped around it, and she knew instantly who had sent it.

Hermione stared at the box warily.

Does it contain what
I think it contains?

She breathed slowly, cursing her heart for beating so
frantically.

Though ashamed of herself, she used her wand to levitate
the box and open it. There sat the
key. There was no accompanying note; no
explanation; just the key, because the key spoke for itself.

She slammed the box shut and opened one of the many pigeon
holes lining the walls of her workstation.
She dropped the box inside and shut the tiny door.

Maybe I should obliviate myself and forget where I put it, so that even if
I go looking for it, I wouldn�t find it.

It wasn�t advisable to obliviate one�s self, of course,
so she scrapped that idea and just left the key where it was, hoping that
losing sight of it would be enough to make her forget it entirely.

That didn�t work, of course. She wasn�t the brightest witch of her age for
being forgetful.

Hermione then decided she would dedicate herself entirely
to her work that day. There was much to
be done, after all.

She found herself so busy that she forgot entirely about
lunch until she heard a familiar voice calling to her from the small fireplace
behind her.

Turning, she saw Harry�s face smiling at her from the
flames.

She smiled back, thankful that her conscience was clean�
mostly. She knelt on the floor. �Hello, Harry. What�s up?�

He grinned. �Lunch
is up, but I don�t think I�ll be able to make it today.�

Oh yes, lunch! she thought. �Oh, well, that�s alright, Harry. I can grab something in the ministry
concession stand. I�m a bit too busy to
go out, anyway. Shacklebolt keeping you?�

He nodded. �We�re
heading off to Hogsmeade. Death Eater sighting.�

All of Hermione�s other concerns disappeared in the face
of her worry at this new piece of information.
The old fear of Death Eaters past clenched in her stomach. �Oh!
Harry, be careful! Don�t go
anywhere alone, alright? Have Gail with
you at all times! If there�s any problem
at all, floo me!
I�ll be right here. Or messenger spell me if you can manage the distance. Use our safe-word. You do remember what it is, don�t you? It�s �Hogwarts, A History.� You don�t need to
say anything else. I�ll know you flooed or messaged and that you need my help, so I�ll apparate on over there��

�Hermione, relax. I
defeated the great Voldemort, remember? A silly Death Eater is child�s play.�

She scowled. Even
through the fire she could see the twinkle in his eyes. �Harry Potter, swear to me you�ll let Gail
watch your back! Swear it!�

He sighed before he gave her a faint smile. �I swear it.�

She breathed a little easier. �And I promise you, Potter, if you don�t come
back to me in one piece��

She blushed a bit at the possessive quality of her
statement.

Come back to
ME? That�s just perfect. Why don�t you just put a stamp on his
forehead that says �Property of Hermione Granger�?

He chuckled and didn�t seem to think anything was
amiss. �You�ll kill me yourself?�

She was mostly relieved he didn�t notice. �Of course not, but I�ll be so angry you�ll
wish you were dead.�

�Warning noted, Hermione.
Want anything from Hogsmeade?�

Her scowl deepened.
�You�re not there to shop!�

He rolled his eyes.
�Fine, then. I�ll surprise
you. I�ll see you at home, alright? Give
my love to Heartcomb and Archibald.�

He cut the transmission and she fumed just a bit. She did, of course, have every reason to
believe that Harry would be completely fine, but Harry wasn�t invincible. The greatest wizards of all had perished just
like everybody else.

She remembered Dumbledore and Voldemort
and did a double take.

Well, maybe not LIKE
everybody else, but they had succumbed to mortality, just the same.

Hermione went back to work and found her thoughts divided
between the brief she was writing, Harry in Hogsmeade
looking for Death Eaters and the key stuffed into one of the pigeonholes on her
walls.

After staring at her parchment for several minutes and
making no developments on it whatsoever, she decided to go on out and grab
lunch by herself.

She grabbed her coin purse and went down the long aisle to
the front of the office.

�I�m going out to grab a sandwich,� she said to her
bosses. �D�you
want me to get you anything?�

�Grabbing is rude, Granger,� said Heartcomb
without lifting his face from the book he was reading.

�Hermione, mind your
manners!� said Archibald.

I guess they�re not
hungry. She nodded. �Very well then, I�ll head on out and be back
as soon as I can, hopefully with my manners minded.�

Heartcomb bobbed his head in approval. �You do that.�

�Oh, and watch where you step,� said Archibald. �Himalayan
Yeti: Rights, Privileges and Snow got away from its shelf and is spitting frostbite at anything that touches it.�

Hermione nodded, thinking that there had to be a way of
disciplining the books around this place.
She had suggested corporal punishment, but Archibald said that short of
ripping their pages off, books were immune to behavioral conditioning.

She gingerly made her way out of the WizCOF,
easily avoiding stepping on the scattered books.

The concession stand was not very far from the WizCOF and she was soon on her way back to the hole in the
wall when her eyes fell on the Legislative Committee�s Office.

She remembered her chat with Cecily Ackwater
the previous day and smiled slightly.
Though Hermione had been rather preoccupied at the time, she
nevertheless felt immensely glad to know that the rumors about Cecily Ackwater were true, and that Ms. Ackwater
supported her cause.

Cecily had asked for a meeting with her regarding her
proposals. Cecily wanted a better
understanding of the matter so that she could better express her support of it
during the LegCom general meetings.

Hermione would be receiving Cecily in the WizCOF a bit after lunch.
She hoped Heartcomb and Archibald would go
easy on the meek and friendly Legislative Committee member.

Her bosses didn�t think much of the Legislative
Committee. While the two wizards had an
almost unnatural commitment to the letter of the Wizarding
Law, they had little to no affection for those who sought to change it. Hermione could barely get away with her Elf
Rights convictions in their presence, and she imagined Cecily would get worse
flack for having access to changing any
law in existence.

Hermione was soon back in the WizCOF
exchanging nonsensical dialogue with Heartcomb and
Archibald, after which she returned to her workstation and munched on her
sandwich, washing it down with pumpkin juice.
She worked as she ate, finding focus on her
parchment and only occasionally letting her eyes rove to the pigeonhole with
the key.

Hermione managed fine for an hour before there was a �kerfuffle� from down the aisle. She looked at the time and figured Cecily had
arrived. She considered going on over to
the front to rescue Ms. Ackwater but just thinking of
the long walk wearied her.

She was glad to hear, moments later, two sets of
footsteps. One of them sounded pert
enough to belong to the tread of a woman.

Cecily Ackwater appeared
alongside the disgruntled Heartcomb. He was glaring at Cecily who merely smiled
back in an immensely disarming manner.

Hermione stifled a smile.
It seemed that between Archibald and Heartcomb,
Heartcomb was more prone to giving in to �pretty
young girls�. Of course, Cecily was in
no way young, but she was very pleasing to the eyes. Not beautiful, in the usual sense, but more
regal than anything else. She was tall,
slender and her hair was a shiny, flaxen blonde. Her golden eyes only added to her
appeal.

Heartcomb left them after he warned them
not to do anything funny. He had
probably decided that two women who both had a penchant for changing the law
could never be up to any good, but he had no choice in the matter, as it was
their Divine Right to speak freely of any matter, whenever, wherever and
however.

Hermione rose from her desk and magically cleared a path
through her stack of books. She waved
her wand and summoned a chair for Cecily and Cecily thanked her with whispered
words.

Cecily�s eyes roved for a moment as they sat. �Well, this is an interesting place, now
isn�t it?�

Hermione smiled, amused by the expression of wonder in
Cecily�s face. �First
time?�

�Yes.�

�Would you care for some tea, Ms. Ackwater?�

�Oh, please call me Cecily, and no thank you for the
tea. I�m fine. I�d like to make the most of our time,
anyway. There�s never a shortage of work
in the Ministry. Whether that�s good or
bad, Ms. Granger, I don�t know.�

Hermione smiled.
�You must call me Hermione� well, then, what can I do for you, Cecily?�

Cecily smiled back.
�The question, Hermione, is What can I do for you? You
have been actively pursuing the rights of elves for several years now, haven�t
you?�

�Since my fourth year in Hogwarts,� said Hermione
proudly.

�Indeed, and it would be insulting of me to ask you at
this time whether you are serious about all this or not. Obviously, you are. I understand you have an organization.�

�Yes. The Society for the Promotion of Elvish
Welfare.�

�You have many members?�

Hermione steeled her features. �Two, aside from myself: Harry Potter and Ron
Weasley.� Of
course, to call them �members� was somewhat laughable. Aside from Harry �helping� her with the hats,
neither of them had done anything since.

Cecily chuckled.
�That�s a rather exclusive society, isn�t it?�

Hermione reddened.

�But that�s beside the point,� said Cecily hastily,
probably seeing the embarrassment on Hermione�s face. �I came here specifically to make suggestions
about improving your� support base.�

Hermione�s eyebrow arched, the prospect of a new hope
getting ahead of her. �Really? I mean�err�is that so? How?�

�Money, Muscle and Media.�

Hermione couldn�t help but feel a bit of sarcasm creeping
out of her. �Oh, is that all, then?�

Cecily laughed, and it was a melodic sound. �Easier said than done, I know, but see, you
seemed to have unwittingly gained favor with someone who has the means to help
you in all three aspects.�

For some reason, Hermione�s gaze fell upon the pigeonhole
once more then she snatched them back to rest on Cecily. She knew exactly what Cecily meant and
Hermione didn�t see the need to play dumb, so instead of pretending she didn�t
know what Cecily was trying to say, she asked the next most obvious question. �And how do you know that I have gained favor
with this� someone?�

Cecily�s eyes twinkled.
�Because every Friday, for several months now, Lysander Athanasius has sent an
owl to get him a copy of your latest proposals and accompanying theses. He seems to be immensely interested in your
cause, Hermione, and I dare say if you ask him�ahem�nicely, he might take his
interest to the next level. Lysander Athanasius might not be
a politician, but his connections and his money could get you as far as a
hearing in Higher Legislation. And with
him publicly behind you, you�d have at least one-third support from the
Enactment Committee.�

Hermione managed to calm herself at this revelation. One-third
support! Even if that wasn�t enough,
that was infinitely more than she ever dreamed of! She pushed her excitement aside and
forced herself to be rational. �Every
law needs more than a two-thirds vote to be approved for Final Formulation,
Cecily. There are a hundred members in
the Enactment Committee. Even if I�m
assured thirty-three votes, how can I get thirty-four more wizards to see it my way when I can�t even endear myself
to your fourteen colleagues at the L.C.O.?�

Cecily shook her head.
�You�re thinking of Legislators as individuals, Hermione. You have to remember that we are a body, that while we have individual
minds, we don�t ever act alone. How do
you think laws are passed at all? We
influence each other. We listen to one
another. If you get one-third support
from the EnCom, it�s not just thirty-three votes, it�s thirty-three
supporters. If they have enough
motivation from the right� person, they
can get the other thirty-four votes for you and elevate your proposals for
Final Formulation. Of course, I don�t
need to tell you that I�ll take care
of the majority vote in the L.C.O��

Hermione stared at Cecily.
Her mind was spinning. Was it
that easy?

Well, of course it�s
NOT easy, but the potential for SOMETHING worthwhile is there.

Never had the path to Elf Rights been made so
reachable. In all her years, pushing and
prodding to make others understand, she had never really looked at it from this
angle before. Oh, she had considered
getting the support of influential wizards, but most of them were Elf Owners in
themselves, possibly even purebloods who wouldn�t have anything to do with a muggle-born like her.
The few letters she sent out soliciting support for her cause had
resulted in pert, unrelenting refusals, with the subtle undertones of �Don�t
try to owl us again.� The only person
who might have been willing to offer influential support had gone and died on
her. Of course, that hadn�t been
Dumbledore�s fault�

Hermione looked at the pigeonhole again. She blinked, tearing her eyes from it. She looked at Cecily who was waiting for a
response.

�So Lysander Athanasius
seems interested,� said Hermione. �But
that doesn�t mean he would be willing to rally his support all-out. It doesn�t mean he would be willing to pull
favors for the cause. I mean goodness,
why would he care about house elves? He
probably has hundreds of them in his household!�

�Do his reasons matter?�

�Of course they do!
What�s in it for him? What will
he get out of all of it? Why should he
give it the time of day?�

�Then I suppose you�ll have to bring that up when you talk
to him about it.�

Hermione frowned.
�I don�t know if I�ll talk to him about it.�

Cecily seemed genuinely surprised. �Why not?�

And indeed, why not?
Hermione was supposed to be
committed to this cause, wasn�t she?
While things got a bit shaky yesterday between her and Lysander, it wasn�t as if they had become enemies, or anything like that. Besides, if she did approach Lysander on the matter of Elf Rights, it should be strictly
business. She
had been given the means; it would be folly for her to ignore it just because
she had some silly, issues about men and shopping�

�You�re right,� Hermione muttered. �I should speak to him about it��

Cecily smiled. �A
wise decision. I can help you set up an
appointment with him, if you wish. Make
it seem more official. That way, you
don�t have to compromise your� relationship��

�We have no relationship,� said Hermione hastily. �Regardless of what the Daily Prophet has told the world.�

Cecily reddened.
�Sorry. I didn�t mean��

�Of course, you didn�t.
And I apologize for being snappish.
I�m just a bit flustered by this new� opportunity.�

Cecily nodded. �I�d
imagine you�d be. The road to change is
never easy, Hermione. But considering
the things you�ve been through, I suppose you can do anything you put your mind
to. So, shall I set an appointment for
you? His owl will surely be by on
Friday.�

Hermione shook her head.
�No. That�s unnecessary. I have the means to communicate with
him. You have helped so much already.�

�I�m glad, then.
It�s about time someone spoke up for the rights of elves. Fortunately, we have you on the helm for
that.�

Hermione smiled appreciatively.

Cecily rose and Hermione rose with her. They shook hands across the desk, Cecily�s
smile brilliant and kind.

Hermione felt the sudden pressure of Cecily�s grip. It was a gentle hold, but she looked up,
surprised.

Cecily�s serene gaze met hers. �Some of us would do things for the sake of
its own virtues, Hermione. Not everyone
has to do it for something.�

Hermione blushed.
�I know. I�m sorry. Just that sometimes��

�Yes, I know. But
take heart. Today, you�ve gained a third
supporter. There�s hope, yes? I�d expect my�ahem�spew button to be in my In-tray tomorrow.�

Hermione smiled.
She didn�t at all feel the need to correct Cecily about S.P.E.W. She reached into her purse for her own
button. �Here, take mine. And yes, there�s hope. Thank you.�

Cecily smiled as she took the badge. They parted, Cecily insisting that she�d see
herself to the door.

When Hermione sat back on her desk, she fell to thinking,
allowing her gaze to rest on the key�s hiding place. So Lysander Athanasius might be able to help her. She should have thought of that before Cecily
spoke to her about it, but she had been caught up in the enigma of Lysander that she never thought of him as anything else but
a dashing bachelor who fancied her.

Alright, officially,
you�ve become a complete and utter air-head.
McGonagall would be ashamed of you!

Thoughts of her professor reminded her of the owl she sent
the good Headmistress. Hermione had requested
an appointment and she was yet to receive a response. She�d likely get it in the mail, later.

In the meantime, she had work to do, and perhaps after
office hours, she could do a bit of research on Lysander. It was high time she found out more about the
magnetic billionaire.

000000000000000000000

Harry stepped out of the fireplace into the Auror department to the bad mood of Kingsley Shacklebolt.

�Tonks, I swear to all the
realms that if you weren�t so good at your job most of the time, I�d have you
sacked!� cried Shacklebolt.

Tonks stood before him, sheepish
beneath her pink hair. �Well, seriously
Kingsley� Harry and I didn�t have much of a choice, now did we?�

�Harry had him immobilized! You didn�t have to go blow the roof off
Madame Puddifoot�s.�

�Those cupids were getting in the way! I had to get rid of them and blowing off the
roof was the only way.�

Shacklebolt groaned. �The Ministry will have my head when I file
for collateral damage. I�m half-certain
they�d find a way to take it out of my pay.
Tonks, you�re a menace.�

Harry exchanged looks with Tonks
who shrugged at him helplessly.

�Twas rather funny, though,
wasn�t it?� whispered Gail beside him.
�All those cupids screaming and scattering hearts everywhere� �

�Hush. Don�t let Shacklebolt hear you.
He�s in the perfect mood for chewing out auror
trainees.�

Gail rolled her eyes.
�Like you didn�t think it was hilarious.�

�Well, yes, but I�ve been in Shacklebolt�s
good graces all day, so I�d rather not ruin it.�

�Oh, yes. Good job
on that, Potter. Casting Incarcerous without a wand!�

Harry noted the sarcasm.
�Do you have a problem with that?�

Gail frowned. �No,
but it seems to me you�ve been casting wandless magic
forever.
I should think that being your partner, it would have been nice of
you to teach me how to do it!�

He sighed as they walked to their desks. �Look, Gail, I�d teach you if I could, but
I�m not quite sure how I do it, myself.
And it�s not wandless wandless. I still need my wand to be
within a certain proximity of me.
Hermione explained it to me before, but� I forget the details. Anyway, she said she couldn�t do it and I had to sort of learn it by myself,
so I learned it while fighting Voldemort, out of
sheer necessity, it seemed. If I can
find a Dark Lord sitting around doing nothing, maybe I can ask him if he would
be nice enough to help me train you.�

Gail pouted. �You
are so mean sometimes.�

Harry didn�t have to worry about Gail getting angry at
him. She always pouted when she didn�t
get her way with anyone.

Turning to his desk, thoughts of panicked cupids and
pouting partners diminished. There was a
tall stack of documents on his table, and he knew that all the information he
requested from the different ministry departments the previous day had just
been delivered. It was a thick pile;
more than a hand-span, and he couldn�t believe there was so much to say about a
single person. Of course, it completely
escaped him that he was Harry Potter and that he had a section of books all
about him in Flourish and Blotts.

He sat at his desk and sifted through the pile. There were parchments and folders about Lysander Athanasius�s dealings in
the Ministry, but there was also a handy Clipping Keeper, an enchanted
scrapbook containing all the articles ever written about him from different
magazines and periodicals in the last fifteen years.

Putting off his Auror paperwork,
he concentrated on processing all the new information. With any luck, he would be one step closer to
figuring out just what he was up against.

0000000000000000000000000

Hermione flipped over to the next magazine and looked up
briefly from her table in the ministry library.

She realized, much to her surprise, that other than one
wizard scanning the shelves, she was the only one left.

What time is
it?

It was half past ten.

Goodness, have I
been reading that long?

As if in reply, something akin to a headache nudged
through her temples.

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, rubbing the pain
gently with her fingers.

She had entered the library just shortly after she left
work, which was seven in the evening. She purported to find as much material about Lysander Athanasius as she could,
hoping that if and when she decided to speak to him about Elf Rights, she would
have the right information to convince him that her cause was worthy.

And while right now, she knew a lot more about Lysander than she was probably supposed to, she wasn�t sure
what information would be useful to convince him that her proposals were more
than just interesting reading.

So far, the information she had of him was basic.

The Athanasius line was of Greek
origin, dating back as far as seven hundred years. They were originally a line born of warriors
and smiths answering to several masters and land-owners. It was only around five hundred years ago,
when they moved to Ireland, that they came to a sizeable plot of land. They took to the enterprise of landowning and
found that they thrived in it, specializing in the development of fertile
enchanted grounds.

Most of their businesses today were less about land and
more about merchandise, but real estate was still their biggest earner, and it
would ensure the prosperity of their line for a long time.

On the more personal side of the family biography, it was
well-known that they were captivating individuals. Aside from being heartbreakingly beautiful,
they possessed an almost unearthly charisma that immediately won them the
friends they wanted. It was almost
disturbing just how well they chose their associates. They kept many business relationships and had
only the most worthy enemies, but most interesting was that they had the most
intriguing, fascinating, intelligent and brilliant friends. There were celebrated authors, talented
artists, brilliant scientists, heroes, musicians, adventurers� none of them
ordinary in the least. Their wives and
husbands, too, presented a fairly impressive roster. The Athanasius clan
chose their significant others with almost academic precision.

Hermione had blushed briefly at the relation of this
ideology to her but immediately
decided she didn�t want to delve on it.
It felt rather too much like she was full of herself.

Refocusing her thoughts, she had continued with her
research:

When the clan members weren�t �collecting� these friends,
they were collecting beautiful, rare objects.
Not unusual for rich people, but their tastes were very particular. Nothing to do with something�s popularity; in
fact, a lot of their collectibles seemed rather obscure.

Hermione managed to find a kind of Athanasius
Clan family tree. It was a long tree,
but rather narrow: Very few children each generation. Some couples would have one, or two, others
none at all. It seemed they wanted to
keep the family riches tight.

At present, Lysander was the
family patriarch. His mother and father
were diseased.

Humph. I knew he was lying about his mum.

Still, she didn�t think Mrs. Athanasius
was dead.

How morbid. Using a dead mother as an excuse.

Then again, she and Harry had that running joke about
Sirius.

She decided not to judge him on that particular
aspect.

Upon further research, Hermione discovered that Lysander�s cousins had very little say on the matter of the
family fortunes, which didn�t seem to be much of an issue, considering his
cousins were pretty comfortably placed on their own.

No kin feuds, she had thought.

But interesting as it all seemed, there was nothing in
their known family history that could be handy for the rights of House
Elves. Like Hermione supposed, she had
every reason to believe their clan had been keeping elves for generations, and
Merlin knew how their house elves were treated.

She could hardly assume the Proud and Noble House of Athanasius would give up their battalion of House Elves
just because Lysander was enamored of her.

Enamored.

How very conceited
of you, Hermione.

But that was the point, wasn�t it? It seemed that right now, the only thing she
had going for her was his fancy little crush on her. That was the sad part, because there was no
way in hell she was going to use that particular
aspect to get his support. That would be
just like the Kelly bag, except it didn�t come in red.

Her head throbbed briefly and she closed her eyes for a
moment.

She sighed and began to gather her things, ready to give
up for the night. It was then her eyes
fell on a particularly interesting piece of symbolism among the texts. It was a rather random image, actually, but
it tickled something in her brain: It
was a silver snake.

School. She suddenly felt compelled to find out where the Athanasius children were educated.

She flipped through her materials, checking for their
educational backgrounds. It was
frustrating to find that the lot of them were home-schooled. �Tutored by the best� it said. Lysander himself
never knew the joys of boarding school.
Fortunately, it didn�t mean nobody in the clan tried it.

Lysander�s grandfather, Danaides,
went to Hogwarts.

Danaides was Ravenclaw.

Interesting.

She smiled faintly.
Interesting, but not particularly
useful.

It was time to call it a night. If she had found anything at all, her tired
brain was not keen on processing it.

Gathering her things, she brought out her wand and shrunk
her possessions for the trip home.

0000000000000000000000

Harry heard Ron apparating in
the living room. It was twenty
past ten
in the evening.

He frowned slightly.
Where was Hermione? He looked at the Whereabouts Clock.

Ron�s hand clicked beside Harry�s on �home�. Hermione�s was still at �work�.

Harry wondered where at work she was. He had passed by her office two hours ago,
before he set off for home, and she hadn�t been at the WizCOF.

He immediately assumed she had left for home earlier than
he did, but when he got to Grimmauld place, she
wasn�t in. The clock had said she was
still at work and it hadn�t changed since.

The clock was vague, but dependable enough. So long as none of them were pointing at
lost, hospital, prison or mortal peril, it meant they were all relatively
safe. Still, he could worry. If someone locked Hermione in some broom
closet in the Ministry, the clock would still say �work� if she wasn�t actually
in mortal peril.

He wondered if there were clocks with a second hand that
had a kind of Danger Meter; that having it cross a certain point meant the
danger was considerable.

�Hullo, mate,� said Ron.
�Hermione home?�

�Nope.�

Ron checked the clock and snorted. �Typical.
Anyway, it�s good she�s out for the meantime.�

�That�s rather sweet of you, innit?�
said Harry dryly.

Rolling his eyes, Ron grabbed a butterbeer
and sat on the chair across from Harry.
�That�s not what I meant. You
asked me yesterday to get some dirt on Lysander Athanasius.�

Harry was instantly interested. �Oh?
You got some information already?�

Ron shrugged. �Just a bit. Don�t
even know if it�s useful, but you�ll be surprised how ready secretaries and
receptionists are with information when you ask them just right.�

Harry didn�t even want to know how �right� Ron�s methods
were. �What�d they tell you?�

�That Athanasius is no Quidditch fan.�

Harry didn�t think much about that, but he let Ron
speak.

�His interest in Quidditch is
purely financial. Tax cuts, profits,
commercial exposure. It�s a business
venture, not a hobby. Doesn�t mean the
Kenmare Kestrals aren�t well taken-cared of,
though. The bunch of
them earn a pile of galleons just for showing up at practice, much more
for games and winning them. Interesting
thing about this Four Leaf Shamrock of theirs, though��

Harry nodded at that.
�I checked that out in the Ministry.
The Shamrock�s non-magical. It
doesn�t bring luck to the team at all.
The Kestrals are just really good at what they
do. The Ministry had to return the
Shamrock to Athanasius when he came to get it
back. He pulled muscle, though. Accounts for why he had to
come over himself. It�s never
easy to recover a Ministry confiscated item, whether the item is being misused
or not. Bothered me why he wanted it
back so badly if it didn�t have any magical properties.�

Ron grinned. �Two
reasons. First reason: It�s because the Kestrals are as superstitious as hell. Athanasius probably
knows the Shamrock�s non-magical, but it doesn�t matter what he thinks; he�s
not the one playing on the pitch. If the
Kestrals believe that the Shamrock gives them luck,
then they�re as likely to believe that the loss of it would bring them bad luck. Athanasius
recovered the Shamrock so that the Kestrals would feel lucky, and probably win the game. Apparently, the profit margin is considerable
enough between won games and lost ones for Athanasius
to use his weight to get the Shamrock back.�

�So he�s an accommodating team owner. Big deal.�

�Well, see, this is the interesting part: Reason number
two. There�s a rumor.�

�There�s always a rumor.�

�This rumor involves Hermione.�

�Again, there�s always a��

�The git�s been sending owls in
the last few months to the Ministry to pick up copies of Hermione�s spew
proposals. The bloke�s been paying a lot
of attention to what Hermione has to say, and he knows the proposals get in on
Friday mornings and be available for public access in the afternoon.�

Harry was listening now.
�How do your sources know this?�

Ron chuckled. �Like
you didn�t know how office gossip gets around.�

�Go on, then.�

�Are you ready for this?�

�Just tell me, Weasley.�

�The person that called in the
alleged misuse of the Shamrock came from inside; Lysander�s
personal assistant, Ms. Northanger.�

This was most interesting.

Harry leaned over.
�Samantha�s not a Kestrals fan?�

�Oh, she is. More than her boss, apparently. She has autographed pictures of them in her
office and everything, but she was hired for her efficiency, yes? She does as she�s told.�

Harry recalled those very words from Lysander�s
lips in the gallery. �So are you telling
me her boss�Athanasius himself�told her to �report�
the Shamrock as a Misused Magical Item?
That makes no sense.�

�It does, if it gives him an excuse to show up in the
Ministry on Friday at the exact time Hermione drops off her proposals.�

Harry�s eyebrow arched before his gaze narrowed. His anxiety rose to disproportionate
levels. �He�s stalking her��

Ron nodded. �What I
don�t get is, Why go �round about? Billionaires don�t need an excuse to introduce
themselves to the women they want.�

Harry was almost certain of the answer to that when he
replied. �Because he
probably knows more about Hermione than he�s supposed to. Think about it, mate: Would she have given
this bloke the time of day if he had simply tried a line on her? Or maybe he could�ve waited for her at the
L.C.O. and introduced himself, but that would�ve seemed way too weird, don�t
you think? Sent her an owl? It�ll go straight to the fan owls on the
roof. You know Hermione; you have to be
able to make some sort of impression on her, preferably spontaneous.� Harry paused to reminisce about a certain
fateful Troll-attack that brought them all together. �They could�ve been introduced through a
common friend, perhaps, but tell me� when was the last time Hermione went to a
fancy party with people like Lysander Athanasius on the guest list?�

�Shite,� Ron whispered. �He�s mental� d�you
think he�s dangerous?�

There was nothing to indicate that he was, yet, but Harry maintained there was
something very wrong with the man and he was going to find out what it
was. He showed some of his findings to
Ron, pointing out the most interesting information.

�The Athanasius family has
discerning tastes. They take trophy
wives and husbands and they choose
incredibly fascinating friends. Check
out the spouses. See if you recognize
any of them.�

Harry slid a list over to Ron who read it over quickly.

Ron�s eyes widened immediately. �Gifford Ollerton! Why, that�s��

Harry nodded. �The famed slayer of the giant Hengist of
Upper Barnton.�

�And Burdok
Muldoon!�

�First wizard ever to fight for
the rights of �two legged beings�. Sounds familiar?�

�Sounds like spew.�

�That�s S.P.E.W. to you, Weasley.�

Ron read down the rest of the list. �No way! Agrippa
married into the Athanasius clan?�

�He did, but after the muggles
imprisoned him, he was divorced by Hesperia Athanasius. See?�
Harry pointed to a note at the bottom that told of the divorce.

Ron nodded.
�Wicked� but I�m not very familiar with the rest of these names.�

�That�s because you�re an uncultured git,
but rest assured, every one of those names have accomplishments and
distinctions attached to them. A bunch
of �brightest witch of her age� right there.�

Ron looked up at Harry, mouth agape. �Are you saying��

�Yes. Apparently, Lysander is far more aware of how special Hermione is than
any of the blokes who went after her.
Think about it, Ron. She was
instrumental in the defeat of Voldemort, she was Head
Girl at Hogwarts, she�s brilliant, she�s beautiful and her career�s on the fast track to explosive success. She�s perfect.�

Ron�s eyebrow shot up at the excessive praise, but even he
couldn�t deny that Hermione was the most accomplished and high-profile witch of
their time. She was the ultimate trophy
girlfriend to a successful real estate billionaire. �But Harry� does that make him bad?�

�That�s what I�m trying to prove.�

Ron waved Harry�s words away. �I mean, yeah, maybe he�s living up to a clan
standard by going after her, but��

Harry frowned. �Hermione deserves someone who loves her,
not someone who wants her because she makes them
look good.�

Ron sighed. �I know
that, but don�t you think Hermione would see right through it if that�s the
case? She won�t get into a relationship
like that.�

�Normally she wouldn�t, but�� He looked at Ron
uncertainly, debating whether he should say something about his meeting with Lysander the previous day.
�I don�t know. I just�I just think he�s doing something to her��

Ron frowned gravely.
�You think he�s imperiused
her? Harry, that�s a serious
charge. He could go to Azkaban for
something like that.�

�I�I don�t think it�s that, Ron. It�s something else. I mean, if it were anything like imperius, we�d know, right? We�d notice, but this� this is more subtle.�

�You need proof to
put him away for anything remotely like
Imperius,
especially someone like him who has a shitload of
galleons at his disposal and friends in very, very high places. You just can�t press charges against him
because you have a hunch.�

Harry was beginning to get frustrated with Ron�s
arguments. He was, in fact, getting
rather angry. Why the hell was Ron
trying to discourage him? Who the hell�s side is he on?

�If I have to, I�ll take my chances!� he growled. �I�m Harry Bloody Potter. I saved this Voldemort-cursed
world and I�m fucking cashing it in, dammit!�

Ron groaned.
�Harry! Would you listen to yourself?�

�This is Hermione,
Ron! What the hell�s the matter with you?�

�I know that! And
you aren�t making me forget it, either!
The problem with you, Potter, is that you think I don�t care! I may not want to shag her anymore, but I bloody well care for her almost as much as
you do!�

Harry glared at him.
�Then why are you sticking up for Athanasius?�

�I�m not! Look, mate, I might not be the brightest
out of the three of us, but when it comes to the people you love, you don�t
exactly think with your head straight. I
don�t want you to get in trouble and Hermione wouldn�t want that for you, either. Be rational about this! Now are you going to calm down or do we have
to settle this outside? Because you look
like you want to murder me right now.�

Harry was having
visions of charging into Ron and having an all-out knock-down brawl with him,
but Ron had spoken in an even tone, and his words seeped into Harry�s
brain.

Slowly, Harry released the anger and breathed.

A minute later, he was casting Ron an apologetic
look. �Sorry.�

The hard lines on Ron�s face smoothened. �That�s alright. Now, how do you reckon we�re going to do
this? Are you even going to tell
Hermione?�

�Are you really asking me that or are you being
rhetorical?�

�Well, why wouldn�t
you tell her?�

�Because!�
Harry
cried. He sighed, gesturing
helplessly. �Because she doesn�t�she
doesn�t respond well when either of us objects to something remotely connected
to Lysander.
Didn�t you notice that? When she
got that crystal elf� when she left for the gallery� when she came home late��

�Yes, but we were kind of being arseholes,
Harry.�

�Yeah, maybe, but yesterday�� He finally told Ron about the incident in the
Ministry, and how he thought Lysander seemed to be
affecting her on a highly unnatural level.

�I tried to bring it up at lunch,� continued Harry. �But you know how Hermione and I�how we
communicate with our eyes sometimes?�

�Yeah?�

�Well, it�s like she could see that I was going to bring
it up and she got this�this reluctant look in her eyes, like she didn�t want to talk about it with
me. So I didn�t. I just didn�t because she didn�t want to.�

Ron snorted. �She
always had you whipped, mate. I wouldn�t
�ave stood for that.�

�Which is why you two always argue and she and I get along
blissfully. But for the most part, I
just don�t want her to be angry with me on account of that bastard. I�m not going to give him the
satisfaction. Besides, if this really is
some kind of spell, I think it drags her farther away from us the more we try
to pull her in. I don�t want to risk
anything. I�ll keep her as close as I
have to, even if it means not telling her anything.�

After a moment�s thought, Ron finally nodded in
agreement. He sighed. �I can�t believe he said that, though; about
giving her what she wants. Arrogant bugger.�

�I�ve been wondering about that, Ron. D�you know of any spell��

�And you think I can answer this question because?�

�Right.�

�Ask Hermione.
She�d probably know.�

Harry shot him a sarcastic grimace.

They fell silent.

Harry tapped his quill on the parchment. �I didn�t mean to say you cared less for her,
you know.�

�I already said that�s alright.�

�And this has nothing to do with wanting to shag her,
either.�

Ron�s eyebrow arched so high that it could�ve broken a
hole through the ceiling. �Ohhhh?�

Harry scowled, reddening.
�Well, that�s bloody not the main thing!�

�But you want to shag her.�

�Stop calling it shagging!�

�Oh, I�m sorry, make
luuuuv!�

Harry glared at him.
�Look, I�m secretly crazy
about the woman, alright? That�s
frustrating as hell, and then she�s got these bloody curves� it�s not like I
could help it!�

Ron doubled over and laughed. Harry grumbled something about how it wasn�t
funny.

There was a crack from the living room and Hermione�s hand
on the clock shifted from �traveling� to �home�.

Repositum! thought Harry, enveloping the spell in
magic and attaching the necessary password to it.

All the documents on the kitchen table jumped into the air
and disappeared with a twinkle leaving no visible trace. And just like the scroll he made disappear in
front of Gail, all the papers would be stored for later retrieval in some kind
of magical limbo.

Hermione walked into the kitchen, smiling. �Ron!
I can�t believe it. You�re home at forty past ten!
Oh, rapture and joy!�

Ron flashed a sardonic grin. �And in an ironic twist of fate, you�re the
last one home on a Tuesday night!
Where�ve you been, young lady?�

She sighed, walking to the chiller and taking out a small
bottle of pumpkin juice. �Work. Stayed at the library a bit to read a few things.� She punched a straw through the top of the
bottle�s foil, setting the bottle on the table with a graceful wave of her
wand.

Harry looked up at her as she got behind him, her hands
resting on his shoulders.

She smiled down at him.
�Alright, Harry? How did your
trip to Hogsmeade go?
Nothing broken?
Nothing lost?�

He grinned, covering her hand with his own. �All in one piece, just like you asked, and Hogsmeade was pretty entertaining. Tonks blew the roof
off Madam Puddifoot�s and all the cupids got out,
screaming and scattering hearts.�

Hermione laughed at the description.

Harry remembered something. �I got you something from Hogsmeade.�

�Goodness, Harry!�

�Well, I said I would, didn�t I?�

Ron smirked. �Did
you get anything for me?�

�I forget,� said Harry without the slightest hint of remorse.

�Right.�

Ignoring Ron�s knowing look,
Harry summoned his work bag with a wave of his hand and rummaged inside
it. He took out a prettily wrapped
package that came from Scrivenshaft�s. He gave it to her.

She smiled in spite of herself. She tore off the wrapping and yelped in
delight when she saw what was inside.
�It�s that stationary! It
engraves your monograms magically and everything. Harry, you remembered how I said I liked it,
didn�t you? How do you do it?�

Easy.
I think about you all the time. He smiled. �Well, that�s just the kind of friend that I
am.�

�Uh-huh,� said Ron.
�Like how he remembered not to
get me anything.�

�Oh, shut it, Ron, you�re just jealous.� She stuck her tongue out at him.

He made a face at her.

She laughed before giving Harry a light hug. �Thank you.
I love it. But I still think you
shouldn�t be going shopping while you�re tracking down Death Eaters.�

Harry scoffed.
�Bloke was an easy catch. Got him with a simple Incarcerous hex. Didn�t even use a wand.�

�I bet that scared the shite out
of everyone,� said Ron.

�Well, I don�t do it to scare people, mate,� Harry said
sternly.

Hermione nodded approvingly, arching a superior eyebrow at
Ron with a hand to her hip. �You tell �im, Harry.�

Harry grinned, chuckling.
�But it was pretty wicked
seeing the looks on their faces!�

Ron laughed.
Hermione bopped Harry on the head with the very stationary he gave
her.

�Ugh! Children, the
both of you,� she said. She drank some
of her pumpkin juice. �So, what have you
boys been plotting while I was away?�

For a second, Harry paled at her question. Did she know?
Did she suspect? But then Ron
didn�t look the least bit bothered by it.

�Many, many things you�ll nag us for,� he said.

�Humph. I wish I can
take house points from you right now, for sheer impertinence.�

Ron�s eyes lit up.
�Oh, do a Percy. Please? I haven�t seen you do it in ages!�

�Oh, Ron, I don�t think you should be asking me to make
fun of your brother like that!�

�He�s a prat! But that�s beside the point. Come on, then� do a
Percy!�

Hermione rolled her eyes and immediately took on a Percy
posture. �Don�t give me that ah-tee-tyude, Weasley! I won�t
stand for it because I�m HED
BOIII!� She stomped a foot in
Percy�s outraged way.

Even Harry couldn�t help but double over in laughter. He didn�t know how Hermione did it, but she
did manage to channel Percy the best.
Even Fred and George conceded defeat to her on that.

Ron gasped for breath as he controlled his guffaws. �Blimey, I�ll never get tired of that one.�

Hermione smirked, going back to her snooty self. �Now that you�re done making fun of me, did
either of you bother to get the owls?�

Grinning, Harry held his hand out again and a handful of
owls were summoned. Hedwig had come by
earlier to deliver them and one letter was addressed to Hermione. He gave it to her.

She pouted a bit. �Just this one?�

Ron grinned. �Ickle Vicky too busy to write, Her-mee-own-ee?�

Hermione reddened.
�Shut it, Ron.�

Harry shot Ron a glare.
He hated it when Ron teased Hermione about Viktor Krum, and now that Ron
knew how Harry felt about her, he could damn well let Ron know it. Ron just shrugged.

Hermione opened her one letter and grinned. �Ah, Minerva�s available tomorrow. Excellent.�

�Dropping by Hogwarts?� Harry asked.

She nodded. �I owe
the Headmistress a thanks. Don�t wait up for me tomorrow, boys. I�ll likely be spending the night over
there. No wild parties while I�m away,
alright?�

Ron nudged Harry. �Oy, I think we have to nix the wild party, mate. She�s on to us.�

It was no wonder Ron was always on the receiving end of
Hermione�s nagging.

�Just try it, you two.
See if I�d stand for it,� she said in a huff. She took her pumpkin juice and work bag. �Now I�m going to turn in as I�m completely
knackered. Harry, d�you
still have some of that ache-away potion in your
stock? My head�s killing me.�

He frowned in concern.
�Boys� bathroom. Medicine cabinet. You going to be
alright?�

�I�ll be fine just as soon as I take some of the good
stuff, thanks.�

He watched her carefully to see if she wasn�t in more pain
than she let on. She saw the look on
him, grinned and rolled her eyes.

He chuckled, conceding the point. ��Night, then.�

��Night, Harry.� She
rounded the corner.

��Night, Her-me-own-ee,� Ron
chimed out.

��Night, ickle-Ronniekins,� came
her distant reply.

Harry just shook his head at Ron�s constant attempts to
provoke her, but he had to admit, Ron had excellently steered the entire
conversation to safe waters. Hermione
was completely oblivious to what they were talking about and she didn�t insist
on being let in on whatever it was. Ron
was showing a real talent for misdirection.
First Cho and now Hermione. The man knew how to take the reigns of a
conversation, however subtly he did it.

�You handled that really well, though,� said Harry. �I�m impressed. Assuming of course you did all that on
purpose.�

Ron snorted. �Of
course I did. You don�t beat everyone at
Wizard�s Chess and not know how to manipulate a situation in real life. It�s easy as hell.�

Harry chuckled. Sneaky spawn, these Weasleys..
- 8
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Hermione Full of Grace

Chapter Eight � Uncover the Enigma