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Hidden in Plain Sight	By : Katay Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Lucius/Hermione Views: 17098 -:- 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
A/N: Here�s a long one
for everyone who has been waiting so patiently! I apologize for the wait, but
its finals time and half of my thesis is due! Anyways, thank you all for your
lovely and encouraging reviews, they really make me want to keep writing!

Chapter 9:

September 8^th
1999

�Pregnant?!�
gasped Hermione as she shook her fuzzy thoughts awake. Crowded by three
Healers, she attempted to peer through the curtained barrier to Lavender�s
bedside.

One
of the Healers started clicking their tongue, �Not you my dear, you must have
simply overheard incorrectly. However, I do not think today is the right time
to be running tests on you. Why don�t you reschedule for next week? In the mean
time get some rest; you�re showing signs of exhaustion and stress.�

Hermione
rolled her eyes, Stress � no! Why on
earth would I be stressed? I work with a man that I loathe and that loathes me
in return, I live with a man that may be having a baby with another woman, my
best friend is a considerably older woman and her infant grandson � stressed?! Never.

Looking
up at the three Healers, she was about to make excuses when she overheard Lavender�s Healer telling her she could go. Hermione changed
tactics quickly and as fast as she could, said �Yes, yes, of course. I�ll be
back next week. A nap seems just the ticket!� Hurrying into her clothes and out
of the ward, she attempted to catch up to Lavender.

She
practically sprinted into the waiting room and glancing around saw the door
swinging shut. Bursting it open with her wand, she rushed through to the
street. Catching sight of Lavender�s bowed blonde head; she pushed her way
through the crowd and caught up to the blonde in moments.

�Lavender?�
she asked loudly enough to catch the other woman�s attention.

The
fashionable witch looked up quickly; well aware of whose voice it was in her
ear. �Hermione.� She stated the word
solemnly, a tear rolling down her cheek, tracing what looked like many other
tears that had fallen.

Hermione
nodded slowly and taking in the broken look on Lavender�s face and the quaking
that was overtaking her tired body, she asked, �Would you like to go for a
coffee?�

Lavender
offered a broken smile, �I � well no caffeine.�

Hermione
nodded and linked her arm through Lavender�s, escorting her into a nearby caf�.

**

September 25^th,
2017

�Malfoy?!�
gasped Hermione, sliding her legs off Lucius� lap quickly. She turned on the
couch to get a better look at her former classmate, unaware that Lucius� hands
remained one under her skirt and the other on her heart.

�Granger.�
The younger blonde sneered the name, much as he had so
many years before.

Lucius
finally seemed to regain his speech and spoke quietly, �Actually, Draco, its
Malfoy as well.�

The
younger man sighed, �That is what I
was afraid of.� He waved his hand at the room, �Am I allowed in?�

Lucius
stood up hastily, his hands coming back to his sides and Hermione blushing
furiously, just realizing what Draco had probably witnessed. Coughing slightly,
Lucius waved Draco in towards an old leather chair, �Would you like anything to
drink?�

Draco
barked a laugh, causing both Hermione and Lucius to gape at him. Still
chuckling, he commented, �Father, still polite as always. Yes I�d like a gin
tonic if you�ve got it. And then maybe you�ll ask me why I�m here, or something
more relevant to the situation?� He headed towards the worn, black leather chair
and a half, �I see you kept the old furniture when you moved?� He glanced towards
his father who was pouring the glistening liquid into a glass, �I was always
fond of this chair, glad to see your new wife didn�t change too much about your
style. I take it she couldn�t handle the memories?� His lip curled slightly.

Hermione
stood in the middle of Lucius� study, a bright light in the midst of black
leather and dark velvet hangings. She raised an eyebrow at Draco�s hostile
tone, �Malfoy, I�m right here. If you care to insult me, then I would
appreciate it if you did so to my face. And no, I wouldn�t have been able to
handle the memories; just as you, your mother, and your father couldn�t. However,
it was not under my influence that
your father moved here � that was before we had ever become involved.�

Lucius
approached from behind and handed her a glass of whiskey, grasping her hand
softly before turning to Draco to hand him his glass of gin. �I don�t believe
you came here for a sparring match with my wife; is this something that needs
to be taken care of between us two? Or may she stay here?� He raised both of
his eyebrows at his now seated son.

Lucius
was the portrait of Pureblooded richesse;
wearing a fitted black velvet waistcoat, tailored black pants, and a fine white
oxford shirt. The sleeves were rolled up and his hair was pulled back once more
with velvet ribbon, the only signs, aside from the lack of robes,
that he was in a casual and peaceful setting. Draco took in the
comfortable room and the peaceful aura of his father, and he knew that things
had certainly changed. The room now while similar to the one in the former
Malfoy Manor, looked far more lived in and felt less oppressive. Draco let his
eyes roam over the familiar furniture and book shelves before settling on the
one different ingredient � probably the same that caused the other differences.
Hermione, he refused to think of her as Malfoy, was wearing a simple sheath of fine,
cream wool. With only the sleeves fitted, it draped her body delicately to the
knee and looked both comfortable, and as Draco�s wife would have told him,
highly fashionable. He noticed a matching white wool cloak on a chair near the
door and surmised that she had changed as well.

Glancing
back to his waiting father, he nodded his head slightly and looked to Hermione,
�If you choose to stay or leave, I shall not be affected. If your relationship
is anything like the one I have with my wife, you would have gotten it out of
him anyways.�

Hermione
grinned slightly, �Indeed. Truce it is.� She sat back down on the divan and
pulled Lucius down with her. She glanced at his shuttered eyes and rolled her
own. Turning to Draco, she asked, �So, I suppose I�ll start the questions then.
Draco, why are you here?�

Draco
grinned at both the use of his first name and the question, �Well, Athena was
hardly content with being a continent away from her son. Therefore, to preserve
both peace and my marriage, we�re back.� He took a sip of his gin, as though
waiting for another question.

Lucius
raised his head slightly to look Draco in the eye, �Athena, is it? And your son?�

Draco
showed the slightest flicker of emotion in his eyes, and not for the first
time, he felt shards of guilt for shutting his father out so completely. �Yes,
Athena is my wife. Your grandson�s name is Scorpius.�
He watched his father�s eyes twinkle slightly at his choice of words and also
noticed Hermione�s hand rub the strain out of Lucius� back.

Hermione
nodded, �Sounds like a woman who could relate to my name troubles. I take it
you�ve been in Greece?
I saw an article about your apothecary there a while back.� Lucius glanced at
her sharply. She rolled her eyes at him, �I laid it out for you to read, but I
suppose that was around the time we got all those statements from the Minister.�
She looked back to Draco, �He gets so obsessed with his work, I swear I have to bribe him away.�

Draco
chuckled, �I recall how that was. Do I get to ask questions now?� Both Hermione
and Lucius shifted softly. Lucius put his arm around his wife�s shoulders and
linked his fingers with her other hand. Each nodded succinctly. He grinned,
leaned back in his chair, and steepled his fingers. �How
long?�

Hermione
squeezed Lucius� hand and he knew that he would have to actually participate in
the conversation now, �We�ve been together for about sixteen and a half years;
married for fifteen in December.�

Draco
felt his jaw loosen in shock. He scrambled for his wits, �My god. How did I not
hear about this? Have you kept it secret for that long?!�

Lucius
nudged Hermione and smirked for the first time that night, �It is not our fault
no one has discovered it.�

Hermione
grimaced at her husband, �Oh yes, put the blame on me again.� She glanced
wearily at Draco, �As both of you have told me often enough, my friends are
dunderheads and can�t seem to see a ring in front of their face unless I point
it out ��

Lucius
interrupted haughtily, �Which you haven�t, I might add.�

She
glared at him, �Is it my fault that I want them to finally take notice in what
has been going on in my life for the past seventeen years?!�

Draco
coughed, �I see this is a long-running argument.� He glanced between the two,
sparks shooting from their eyes. �Are you ever planning on telling anyone? I
take it you have no children?�

Hermione�s
eyes held a shot of pain at the last words, but after a soft touch from her
husband, she glanced towards Draco once more and returned, �No children. And we
are of course planning on telling the others, eventually. Well, some know
already; Bill and Fleur, most of our coworkers, the Minister � basically anyone
who has any sight at all and can notice the rings on our fingers or the society
pages. Unfortunately, not one of them has the courage to mention it to Harry or
Ron,� she huffed and flounced slightly on the couch.

�The Minister? My, my you two do run in high circles still,�
Draco drawled.

Lucius
shot his son a look, �I would hardly have settled for anything less than the
elite. Plus, we�re to receive positions in the Minister�s office for the rest
of his term in December; he rather had to know.�

Draco
nodded, �I�d heard about the work you�ve done in terms of the International
laws and local laws. Congratulations on the promotions. Never would have
thought I�d see Father working, least of all for the Minister.� Despite the
connotation of his words, his eyes looked proudly upon his father.

Lucius
nodded his head in thanks, while Hermione spoke up, �Thank you. So Draco, do
you think you�ll open up your apothecary here? I know of some decent spaces
that would be ideal.� She had an errant thought run through the back of her
mind, but kept it to herself, another time perhaps.

Draco
drained his glass, �I�m still debating to be honest. Athena would probably love
to have me out of the house, but as you said, I�ll need to re-establish and
honestly, that�s just too painful to contemplate right now.� He rolled his
shoulders and got to his feet, Lucius and Hermione following his movement. �I�ll
need to be getting back to her anyways, I ran out while she was categorizing
the china � heaven help me if I�m not there when she�s done.�

Hermione
laughed, �It was lovely seeing you again Draco. I hope to see you again soon.� She
walked to him, laid a hand upon his elbow and then sauntered out of the room,
snagging her cloak on the way out.

Draco
turned back to Lucius, �I didn�t mean to surprise you as I did � well I did,
but not in that position. I apologize.� The way Draco�s eyes bored into Lucius�,
the elder blonde knew that the apology ran far deeper than the simple surprise
visit.

Lucius
waved his hand, �You are always welcome here. Perhaps, when you are
comfortable, you and your wife will join us for dinner?�

Draco
nodded and held out his hand, �I know she�d love to.�

Lucius
glanced down at the hand, took it, and then pulled his son into an embrace.

Draco
froze, having received only one hug once before, just after the Final Battle. He
slowly returned the embrace, wrapping his arms around his father.

Lucius
spoke into his ear, �I know you are a full grown man and are in no need of a
father, but know that I am here, should you ever desire to call on me.�

Draco
nodded and slowly stepped out of the hug. Following his father out of the room,
Draco knew there were a number of bridges to be crossed, but they would come in
time.

**

September 8^th,
1999

Everyone
was circled around the Burrow�s enlarged table, once again settled in the back
yard. Laughter and soft voices drifted through the air. Hermione was fidgeting
next to Ron, the knowledge that he and Lavender were going to have a child
eating at her mind and heart. Ron too fidgeted, also due to the new knowledge
that was eating at his brain. He was here with Hermione, lying to all his
family and friends that gathered there. Lavender had approached him that
afternoon, the first time since she had left him at WWW.

She
had told him she was pregnant, that it was his, and if he didn�t want to, he
didn�t need to do anything about it � but she was keeping it. Ron felt his
heart break slightly when he heard the news. He knew he would do the right
thing in the end. He just didn�t know how to tell Hermione. He didn�t know how
to tell his family. Hell, he didn�t know if he could handle a baby on top of everything else. You should have thought of that before you
slept with her, said a voice reminiscent of Hermione�s in his mind.

He
glanced over at his curly-haired girlfriend and studied her face for the first
time in a long while. While her hair was still as frizzy and unmanageable as
ever, she had learned a few handy tricks to keep it out of her face. Her eyes
were lined, when did that happen?, and her face
was rather drawn. He could tell that she was rather thinner than she�d used to
be, isn�t she eating? He mentally
kicked himself for not having noticed earlier.

Turning
back to his mother, he heard the last part of her question directed towards
him, �And how are the young folks doing? I�ve heard almost nothing on what you
all have been up to!�

Harry
and Ginny shied away from the question, shoving their faces with food, staring
hopefully at Hermione and Ron to take the spotlight. Hermione glared at them and spoke up tiredly, �Absolutely
nothing, Mrs. Weasley. We�re as boring as everyone else. Work,
work, work.� She continued on in a bit of a higher pitch, �You know me! No
fun at all. Constantly in my books and papers. Letting my life go to hell in a hand basket. Life. Is. Just. Peachy.
Keen.� She punctuated the last words with her fork on her plate. �

Everyone
was gaping at her. Mrs. Weasley asked softly, �Is that all, dear? And you two,
still enjoying the flat together in London?�

Ron
ran a hand over his eyes, �Not now, Mum.� Mrs. Weasley never could avoid a jab
or two at their living arrangement.

Hermione
snorted into her potatoes and said under her breath, �Not now indeed; might as
well have been never.�

Ron
looked at her sharply and said into her ear, �I think we need to leave and
talk. Something�s clearly bothering you.�

Hermione
let out a strangled sort of laugh. She
had comforted the woman her boyfriend got pregnant for nearly two hours today. Bloody
Lavender couldn�t even be horrible or bitchy about it all. Hermione almost felt
guilty herself. She wasn�t sure how to handle Ron and had only hoped Lavender
took her advice and told him soon. She didn�t think she could take much more. She
glanced over at Ron, and then at the stares of the table; frowning, she pushed
away her plate and stood up, �I�m sorry, I need sleep. I�ll see you all soon.�

She
left in a flurry of robes, Ron hurrying after her.

**

The
moment they got back into the apartment, she turned on him, �So start talking.�

Ron
looked taken aback, not sure if he could do what he knew he had to. �Hermione �
I � well I�m not really sure �� he shuffled his feet a bit and began to pace. She
walked into the living room, massaging her temples.

�Oh
save it for the others. I already know.� She sat on the couch, watching him pace.

�You
do?!� he squeaked.

�Indeed.
I was at the clinic when she heard the news today.�

Clinic, thought Ron, why on earth would Hermione be at the
clinic?! He shook his head, now was not the time. �I�m sorry Hermione, so
sorry. I never thought this would ever happen.� He glanced at her small figure,
curled up on the couch, and felt his heart break a little bit more.

She
nodded tightly and he could tell she was trying not to cry. �I know Ron, I
know.� She brought a hand up and rubbed her eyes, �How did things get so messed
up? We were supposed to be perfect for each other ��

�But
we�re not.� He finished lamely. He saw her head shoot up and let out a sigh, �You
know we aren�t Hermione. I�m not what you need, not by a long shot. I�d have
treated you better from day one. We just
��

�Don�t
quite fit,� completed Hermione. Ron
nodded wearily, his own tears streaming down his face. Hermione had curled up
into a ball and was sobbing quietly. He went and sat down next to her, pulling
her close and holding her shaking form. �I just � I don�t know what to do
anymore Ron,� she whispered brokenly.

He
nodded into her hair, �I know. The war � everything�s changed. What might have
been, no longer can be; and what could never have been, now may be.� He
struggled to retain his salty tears.

She
glanced up at him and said shakily, �Now you grow wise on me, Ronald Weasley?�

He
cracked a smile, �I�ll have to, won�t I, if I�m to be a dad?� His face fell. �I
� I don�t think I�m ready Herm � I don�t know if I can do this.�

She
wrapped her arms around him as well, �You�ll do what you have to. You always
have. You and Lavender � well you�ll see.� She leaned her forehead against his
and said softly, �I�ll be there for you, but please, let me heal. That's all I
ask. I�ll be your friend forever, but I need some time to myself.�

Ron
looked into her caramel eyes and nodded, �I�ll pack up tonight and stay with
Harry. When you�re ready, you know we�ll be there.� He kissed her forehead and
stood up from the couch.

She
nodded up at him and looked around, �I don�t think I�ll keep the flat. I may
move in with Andy, we�ll see.� She watched as he summoned his things and shrunk
them into his pockets. More tears streamed down her face as her home was slowly
stripped of its innate homeliness. She cried for the loss of what was, the
crumbling of dreams and castles in the sky, and for her now uncertain future.

Once
finished packing and getting everything out of the back rooms, he turned back leaving
and said to her weeping form, �I�m so sorry �Mione. So, so sorry.� And his heart broke a final time as he
stepped out of the flat, hearing her now loud, heartbroken sobs as he closed
the door and broke down himself.

A/N: I never felt like
Hermione and Ron would have one of those fantastic breakups, they were too good
of friends for that. At any rate, I hope this chapter answered a few questions
you all had and fostered a whole new set! Next chapter: an actual lemon!
- 8
- 9
- 10
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