Moonlight Sonata

“Miss Granger? Your party arrived a few minutes early - allow me to show you to the table.” The waiter gestured, leaving her to follow him to a table where Lucius Malfoy sat with a glass of wine - likely the establishment’s finest - with Blaise Zabini beside him, looking through files one last time to be sure they were all there. “Here you are, Miss. Would you like anything to drink?”

“Oh…” Suddenly realizing she had no idea what there even was to drink, she was struck with a bout of nervousness, only to have Lucius step in and save her from public humiliation.

“Do you drink wine, Miss Granger? The vintage they brought me is excellent…” Pausing as he saw her look unsure, he realized she obviously was not one for wine. “Perhaps some tea, then? My wife enjoys the blend for their afternoon tea.”

“That would be nice, Mr. Malfoy.” She responded, sitting down at the table - the waiter, having recognized the order, disappeared to fetch it for her. In what seemed to be no time at all, Hermione had a cup of tea in her hands to soothe her ruffled mind. It was, as her host had told her, an amazing blend of tea and spice. After a moment to enjoy the flavor, she set the cup down to look to her host. “If we could begin, Mr. Malfoy?”

“Direct, I see.” He commented lightly, before nodding his head to Blaise. “If you would take care of the mechanics of the matter first?”

“Very well. You are aware, of course, of the net worth of the Malfoy estate. This was shown you not to bribe you, but to give you an idea of what they risk in the hands of the wrong bride for their heir.” He passed her a few papers, giving her a moment to begin reading over them. “That is the marriage contract that has been proposed by Mr. Malfoy. Is it unsatisfactory in any way?”

“I would have to let my best friends look it over, first - just to be certain. They deal with more contracts than I do, and would better understand it. Even my job has hardly anything to do with contracts.”

“You work for the ministry, if I’m not mistaken? You develop new potions?”

“Yes, I-”

“Why would Harry Potter and Ron Weasley have any greater notion of contracts of this sort than you, Miss Granger?”

“Harry and Ron?” Confused, she focused on him once more, her small talk with Blaise ended for the moment. “I don’t understand what you mean. They would know more of contracts than I would, being professional Quidditch players, but I wasn’t going to show the contracts to them. I was speaking of Akiko and Eriko Weasley.”

“Akiko Weasley - she’s the current ambassador to the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest…Eriko is our Mahoutsukai representative?” Lucius seemed startled that she knew them, and that look made Hermione laugh.

“Yes, they’re part of the Satoshi clan - the one which controls Mahoutsukai itself. I attended, which is when I met them. They married Fred and George Weasley four months ago.”

“Something I have never understood.” Blaise laughed. “How do they survive so much as a day without killing them? Especially Eriko? I’ve heard she has a violent temper - with a prankster like George, she’s bound to get furious daily.”

“I’m sure the boy knows better - and if he doesn’t, he’ll learn no joke is worth the fury of his wife. More so, with the political power she holds.” Lucius chuckled as well, but frowned as he glanced down at his watch.

“What is it, Mr. Malfoy?”

“Draco was supposed to have arrived an hour ago.” Blaise explained, sighing. “Of course, he’s habitually late for meetings, which-”

“Is going to get him in a great deal of trouble.” Lucius growled. “Miss Granger, I apologize. I was hoping you would be able to speak to Draco today, but as he has seen fit to not bother showing up, I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”

“It’s quite alright, Mr. Malfoy. I’m really not surprised - it is me, after all.” She blinked as Lucius simply paid the waiter and got to his feet with Blaise - following suit, she shook both their hands, smiling faintly. “…I will owl you as soon as I have made my decision, Mr. Malfoy.”

“I wish you a good day - perhaps you can meet Narcissa and I for a light lunch sometime soon, Miss Granger. A chance to get to know each other outside the professional air of a lawyer.”

“…I think…I think I would enjoy that. Perhaps a less restrained meeting would be best, and perhaps your son might choose to appear in such a setting.”

“I will have Narcissa owl you with the particulars.”

~*~

“Where were you, Hermione?” Molly questioned as the girl slipped into the kitchen shortly following the meeting. “You missed lunch.”

“I’m sorry - I had a few errands to run…are Akiko and Eriko here?”

“They’re in the living room waiting for the twins to get back from the shop. Are you alright? You seem a little tense, dear… Is it over the visit from that lawyer?”

“In a way, I suppose…I’m going to go talk to Akiko and Eriko…” A faint smile, slipping from the kitchen to find her friends doing paperwork. “…Akiko working at home? Are you sick?”

“Oh hush, woman! It’s something urgent that came up!” The girl huffed, signing the last paper and setting it aside. “Lucky for you, I’m all done, though.”

“What’s up, Hermione?” Only after very carefully marking where she had left off, did Eriko set her papers back in her bag, her full attention now on her friend - only to be handed a contract. Blinking in confusion, she took it, flipping through it. “Is this the contract itself?”

“Yes. I don’t know enough about contracts to know if I benefit in any way from it. I told them I’d have the two of you look it over and tell me what you think…” Joining them on the couch, she waited as Eriko handed it to Akiko to read first. “I met with the father and Zabini today - unfortunately, my potential betrothed did not show up. I’ll be getting an owl inviting me to lunch soon, and we’re hoping he’ll decide to join us.”

“Well…from what I can see, it’s nothing malicious…I can’t find any loopholes for either party - whoever wrote this up is very, very good. Zabini?” Akiko questioned, passing the papers back to her sister, letting her read it as she glanced to Hermione in question.

“I’m sure it was a joint effort between he and his client.”

“I see…who is this mysterious client, anyway?” Curiosity getting the better of her, Akiko finally asked the question she had been dying to ask ever since the lawyer arrived. “Better still, who is your potential husband?”

“I’d rather not say just yet. I’d like to speak with him myself and see if there is any hope this will possibly work before I tell anyone.”

“Alright.” Eriko glanced to Hermione, and with so little had her full attention. “It’s a solid contract. It covers the basic details of marriage - finances, children, and separation. As far as finances go, you will have no access to the funds of your husband or the family itself until his parents decide otherwise. However, he will not have any rights to any of your assets without your permission, either. Children will be raised in the household of their father, regardless of whether the marriage goes poorly. This I would request be changed. First of all, you need to inform them that you are an honorary Satoshi, and as such your children are Satoshi. They will be expected to be sent to the Satoshi estates for training, just as any children I may have. Also, have them grant you full rights to see your children regardless of whether or not the marriage lasts. These are your children we’re talking about, after all. Because of the way the finances have already been set up, the only notes on potential separation note that you are expected to not sue your husband or his family members. This is all perfectly in line. The only major flaw I’ve found so far, which I’m surprised Akiko did not mention - the entire first page is missing.”

“I know. I have it.”

“I thought so - that’s the outlining of who each party is - the rest of the contract has absolutely no names mentioned. I see that you’re quite serious about secrecy on the part of your potential family…is there a reason for this?”

“Yes. I don’t want to upset Harry or Ron. It’s bad enough how distant we’ve become ever since they got married - Ron thinks I’m still in love with him, and tries to avoid being around me for fear of upsetting me because he married Lavender…and Harry’s been so busy between Quidditch and his first child he hasn’t had much time to sit and talk… My going off to Mahoutsukai didn’t help matters, either.” A sigh, shaking her head. “I’ve learned a lot about people since Hogwarts - mostly that people can change. Ron doesn’t believe this at all…and I don’t know about Harry… My potential husband was someone we all loathed in school. I can‘t risk what friendship I still have left with Harry and Ron over a mere possibility.”

“Discuss the clause involving your potential children. …after all - they do say the line between love and hate is very fine…”

Sorry about the delay - I had to go by the hospital to schedule some tests, then the boyfriend was demanding attention (No, not -that- kind, the video game kind.) so I played Champions of Norrath, Return to Arms for a few hours…took a nap…and now~! Back to my writing (finally). I have to stay up til my EEG at seven, so maybe I’ll get at least half of the next chapter up.