Fantasy House

Hermione walked into the kitchen, shaking her head. She didn\'t wish to show her amusement in front of Draco and Lucius, because they had been so embarrassed, but she had to admit, it was funny.



The state of the kitchen made her laugh out loud. She glanced from the werewolf to the animagus. "What on earth happened here?" she asked.



The entire kitchen counter, as well as the men, was covered in coffee. Remus was holding a filter while Sirius had the coffee pot. Both men were glowering at the coffee maker.



Sirius made to throw the coffee pot onto the counter, but Hermione rushed to grab it. "Stupid Muggle contraptions!" the animagus swore.



"Give me that," Hermione hissed as she wrenched the pot from his hands. "What happened?"



Remus still stood there, a dumbfounded expression on his face as he stared at the maker. "We were trying to figure out how to work this," he said as though his mind was somewhere else.



Hermione rolled her eyes and took the filter from him. "It doesn\'t take a rocket scientist. Sirius, get the broom, please?"



"Why? Are you going somewhere?" Sirius asked.



"To sweep!" the girl snapped, pointing at the mess that had spilled onto the floor.



At that moment, the Malfoys walked in. Draco gave a low whistle. "What happened here?" he asked, looking at the three Gryffindors.



"Never mind that," Hermione waved off as Sirius retrieved the broom.



She filled the pot with water and poured the water into the maker. Then, after placing the filter in the maker as well, she measured out a couple scoops of coffee and put them inside the filter. Pushing the coffee maker further back onto the counter, she turned the machine on.



The men watched as she bustled around the kitchen. None of them dared to speak, for they could hear and see that her mood had changed. Draco did hesitate at one point when he could have swore he heard her say, "bloody Purebloods" under her breath, but Lucius quieted his son with a touch.



Once the mess was cleaned up, she turned to the four men and looked clearly agitated. "Well? Are you going to help or not?" she demanded.



They looked at one another. Before any of the men could say anything, she threw her hands up in the air and went to the refrigerator.



"Hermione," Remus said. "What is it you wish us to do?"



"Oh, I don\'t know, Remus," she said sarcastically as she rooted through the cold box. "You could set the table, perhaps. That might be safe. But then, the plates are made of glass and, well, we wouldn\'t want any Pureblood..."



The werewolf grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her out of the box. He looked at her sternly. "Where is this coming from?" he asked her.



"What?"



"This hostility," he said. "You\'re acting like Voldemort has returned or something."



She sighed. "I just... Gah!" She whipped away from him and grabbed her hair. "This house is driving me mad! And that you can\'t even do something as simple as make a pot of coffee..."



"We\'re Purebloods," Lucius said, calmly. "We know very little about Muggle objects."



"Exactly!" she shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Lucius. "And whose fault is that?"



"No one\'s," Remus replied, taking her hand. "Hermione, we cannot help how we were raised or what we\'ve been taught. However, we do still have the capacity to learn. Just now, I watched you make that pot of coffee. Now I know how to make it. Just like we cannot expect you to know the ways of Pureblood society, you cannot expect us to know how to act like Muggles."



"And setting a table is a Muggle chore?" she asked, looking up into his brown eyes.



He was taken aback by that. "No," he answered.



"Then, why hasn\'t anyone done it, yet?" she questioned, going back to the refrigerator. "If you want breakfast, you\'ll need plates. And utensils."



"Someone needs to shove a fork up her," Draco grumbled as he went to on of the kitchen drawers.



"I heard that," the Gryffindor girl hissed as she pulled out a carton of eggs and some milk. "And for that comment, you can make your own toast and I won\'t show you how to use the toaster."



As Severus entered the room, he heard the hissing sound of eggs as they were being scrambled. He could smell coffee and walked to the coffee maker. Taking a cup out of the cabinet above, he poured himself some coffee and took a satisfying sip.



When he turned around, he noticed the gloomy mood everyone seemed to be in. The table was set elegantly and Severus could only assume Lucius was the reason for that. The Malfoys sat at the table with Black and all three men looked quite angry.



Hermione and Remus weren\'t much different, either. Though the werewolf was currently separating bacon.



The Potions Master thought about inquiring on the current mood, but decided against it. He had no intention of being dragged into whatever problems his five roommates were having. Instead, he walked over to where Hermione stood and leaned against the counter.



"Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked, watching as she turned the eggs.



She glanced up at him. "Toast?" she requested.



He nodded and, placing his mug on the counter, went about making toast for everyone.



"Don\'t give any to Draco, Severus," Hermione piped as she scraped the eggs onto a plate.



The ex-Professor raised an eyebrow. He glanced at Draco and saw the boy scowling. "What did he do to warrant punishment from toast?" Severus found himself asking in amusement.



"Absolutely nothing," Hermione answered as she took the strips of bacon from Remus and began putting them in the pan to sizzle. "He can have all the toast he wants."



Now Severus was puzzled. "Then why..."



"He just has to make it himself," she finished.



"He doesn\'t know how to use a toaster, Hermione," Severus commented.



She turned to him and gave him a glare that he felt he did not deserve. "Then you show him," she snapped and turned back to the bacon.



The Potions Master had no intention of getting involved with the problems the others were having, except when they were cause for anger to be directed at him. "What happened?" he asked in spite of himself.



"\'What happened? What happened?\' Always a question of \'What happened.\' You tell him, Remus, because I\'m about tired of \'What happened,\'" she snarled.



Remus sighed. "I\'m not entirely sure, myself," he admitted. "One moment Sirius and I are completely lost trying to make coffee and the next Hermione is raging like a storm."



"Oh no you don\'t, Remus Lupin!" the girl shouted, turning to him and pointing the spatula at him. "Don\'t you dare make it sound like I\'m crazy!"



"You are crazy," Draco sneered.



Thankfully Remus Lupin had quick reflexes. He managed to grab Hermione\'s arm as she was reeling it back to throw the spatula at Draco.



"See!" Draco shouted, pointing at her as he hid behind his father.



"Draco, sit down!" Lucius hissed. "You aren\'t making it any better."



Hermione and Remus struggled for a moment as he pried the spatula out of her hands. "What has gotten you this upset?!" the werewolf growled.



So many years of knowing Hermione, of watching her and observing her with her friends, helped Severus in this moment. Actually, it helped Remus as well. For they both knew within moments exactly when she was going to start crying.



Severus went straight for the coffee maker and poured a mug of coffee while Remus pulled her into an embrace. Her sobs shook her shoulders.



"For Merlin\'s sake!" Lucius swore. "Now what?"



Sirius gave the blond wizard a glare that was imitated by Remus and Severus. The werewolf helped the girl sit down while Severus placed the mug of coffee in her hands. Then, the Potions Master went to the stove and turned it off.



"Talk to us, Hermione," Remus said softly, taking one of her hands into his.



"I..I just..."



She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Once her breathing had evened out a bit, she started again. "I understand that most of the people here are Pureblood. It\'s just... hard when I\'m reminded of it by... well, everything. Even a task as simple as making coffee..."



"The coffee was made," Lucius sneered. "Why are you still on about it?"



She shot him a glance that could have killed. "Yes, thanks to me," she spat. Then, she went back to being calm. "I know how hard it is. I understand. But, at the same time..."



"What exactly happened that made you angry?" Severus asked, looking at her. "I\'ve known you for far too long. Normally such things as Purebloods not knowing how to use Muggle things would have no affect on you, except to make you laugh."



"And it did," Hermione admitted. "Until Sirius made his comment."



The animagus looked confused as all eyes turned to him. "What comment?" he asked.



The girl sighed, "I suppose it just... I know Sirius comes from an old Pureblood family who had very conservative thoughts on Muggles and their things. And well..."



She trailed off, but the men were still horrendously confused. Then, it dawned on Remus. "Sirius called the coffee maker a \'stupid Muggle contraption.\' And he tried to break that pot. Is that what this is about?"



"Hermione, I said that in anger," Sirius told her. "I didn\'t even realize what I was saying."



"I know," she conceded. "But, then when I asked for the broom you were wanting to know if I was going somewhere. And then what Draco said and..."



"I said that in jest," the animagus defended himself gently. "I hadn\'t intended on you taking it seriously. Seriously."



"You know Sirius, Hermione," Remus said to her. "He\'s always going off like that to lighten the mood. And, being around the Weasleys, especially Fred and George, I\'d think you\'d be able to recognize it by now."



"And, yes, I admit," Sirius continued. "My family was a very old Pureblood family. As old as the Malfoys here. But, I never held the same values that they did. And I wouldn\'t start now."



"I\'m just being stupid," she whispered, staring into her mug.



Remus shook his head. "You\'re not stupid. This is a huge adjustment for all of us. We\'re out of our element here."



"I apologize if what I said offended you, Hermione," Sirius said, looking truly apologetic. "I hadn\'t meant it towards you or Muggles."



Draco sniffed. "Don\'t expect an apology from me," he sneered. "You were acting like a right cunt."



"Draco!\' Lucius snapped. "Watch your tongue."



"Well, it\'s true," the Pureblood boy insisted. "Ordering us about like house elves..."



Lucius and Draco were both shocked by the death glares Draco received from the three Gryffindors. Severus just stared at the boy in complete wonderment.



"You can be a real dunderhead sometimes, Draco," the Potions Master commented.



~~



"Well, now, this is interesting," Remus said to himself as he picked up today\'s edition of the Daily Prophet. "Hermione!"



The girl walked out of the kitchen. She had just finished cleaning from lunch. Of course, she had Severus\' help.



"You might want to look at this," the werewolf said as he handed her the paper.



"What is it?" she asked, looking down. "Bloody hell!"



BRAINIAC OF THE GOLDEN TRIO, HERMIONE GRANGER GOES MISSING ON SAME DAY OF THE MALFOY DISAPPEARANCE!!!



There were two pictures next to one another. The one to the left was of Hermione at the last Ministry function she had attended. The one to the right was of Lucius and Draco, from the same Ministry function.



Hermione opened the paper and read:



In an odd turn of events, it seemed that Hermione Granger, the third member of the Golden Trio, has seemed to have been reported missing on the same day that Narcissa Malfoy reported her son and ex-husband missing.



While Harry Potter has repeatedly said, "No comment," we have been able to gain a few insights from Ronald Weasley.



"She\'s most likely just taken a holiday," he told yours truly, Parvarti Patil. "She\'s allowed a break like everyone else, isn\'t she?"



Speculation runs high that the Malfoys might have kidnapped Miss Granger, but Mr. Weasley refutes those claims, "They wouldn\'t do something to land themselves in Azkaban."



When reminded that they were Death Eaters, Mr. Weasley calmly replies, "Yes, but Harry stood in their trial. He got them off, remember? I highly doubt they would hurt Hermione."



And if they were keeping her? "...She\'s probably laughing this up. “Hermione\'s got a strange sense of humor like that."



There is no doubt in this reporter\'s mind that Mr. Weasley\'s priorities have gotten a bit skewed over the past few years. With a best friend missing along with two known Muggle-haters, there\'s no telling what has happened to her.



The Auror office has asked that anyone with any information as to the whereabouts of Miss Granger or the Malfoys is to contact them immediately...



Hermione reread the article three times before she plopped onto the couch. "I\'m going to kill Ron," she growled. "That stupid prat! \'Laughing it up?\' Does it look like I\'m laughing?" she demanded.



She looked at Remus and he shook his head. "You had to know you\'d make the headlines if you went missing," he said, softly.



She pointed the newspaper at the ceiling. "Do you see this, Andromeda?" she shouted. "Do you realize what they are saying about your brother-in-law and nephew? They\'ll be thrown in Azkaban!"



Draco entered the room at that moment, his face pale. "Why would Father and I be thrown in Azkaban?" he asked.



Hermione stood up and forced the paper in his hand. "That\'s why!" she said, pointing to the article.



He read over it and frowned. "I\'m going to kill that Weasel," he promised. "What kind of idiot talks to the press? At least Scarhead was smart enough to not comment. They\'ll be breaking down Malfoy Manor for sure!"



Then, realization hit Draco and he went, if possible, even paler. "They\'re going to tear the place down!"



"Nonsense," Lucius spat, coming into the room. He had heard Hermione\'s shouts from the library and had come to investigate. "There are too many wards on the place."



Hermione looked at Malfoy Senior as he sat in the recliner and cradled his firewhiskey. His look of complete calm took her by surprise. "Are you not upset about this?" she asked. "They are accusing you and your son of kidnapping me."



"Of course, it upsets me, but what can be done about it?" he told her, looking at her with his gray eyes. "Besides, we didn\'t kidnap you. Blaise Zabini kidnapped you. He kidnapped all of us. If anyone is going to prison, it will be him."



She tilted her head to the side. "What do you intend to do?" she asked.



"Aside from pressing charges on him once we get out?" he drawled. He took a sip of his firewhiskey and continued, "I intend on taking every last Knut he has. He\'ll be milked of everything and he\'ll never reside in Britain again. Well, at least, once he gets out of prison."



"That\'s a bit harsh, don\'t you think, Lucius?" Remus inquired, sitting on the couch next to Hermione.



The older man raised a single blond eyebrow. "No, I don\'t," he answered. "In fact, I think I\'m being far too lenient."



"What are you going to do with all that money and property?" Hermione questioned. "Zabini is from an old pureblood family. Not to mention all the stuff he inherited from his mother. And, well, you\'re already wealthy enough to buy an entire country. Is there no end to your greed?"



The witch could feel herself getting angry. All that money the Malfoy\'s had and Lucius was still looking to gain even more. The pompousness of it all galled her to no end.



"I had intended on splitting it between you, Lupin, and Severus," Lucius said to her, placing his glass on the table next to his chair.



Hermione stopped and stared at him. "What?"



Lucius shrugged. "Perhaps I\'m getting charitable in my old age, but you are correct, Miss Granger," he drawled, sitting back in the recliner. "I have more money than I shall ever need. Even Draco will be perfectly fine for the rest of his life. In fact, it will be a very long time before my descendants will be able to go through all the money I have. As for Black, well, he has his own great inheritance that he\'ll never be able to work his way through, even if he married and had children of his own someday.



"However, Elaine lost everything when she married a Muggle and had Severus. When she died, she left Severus with naught but a house. And a dilapidated one at that. He could use a third of that wealth to give himself a proper name.



"As for Lupin..." Remus made to interrupt Lucius, but the older man shot him a glare. "... He could use the wealth to restore his family name. I\'m not sure if you knew this, Miss Granger, but the Lupins were a fine class of wizards at one time. But, old man Lupin had a perchance for gambling and rotten luck. Left Lupin\'s father with nary a Knut and an incredible debt to boot. When the collectors came, and Lupin\'s father couldn\'t pay up, your friend here got the punishment. His father, broken and shamed beyond all reason, ended up leaving this life soon after and Lupin here went to relatives until they learned of his disease."



"He doesn\'t have a disease," Hermione defended. "There\'s nothing wrong..."



"It is a disease, Hermione," Remus said, taking her hand into his. "I know my friends and you like to treat me as though it\'s not, but it is a disease. One that can have devastating consequences if left alone. Lucius is right. After my relatives learned of my... problem, they nearly threw me out. Had it not been for Dumbledore, I would have spent much of my childhood on the streets, begging for food."



Hermione had much to mull over with the things Lucius and Remus told her. But, she knew one thing for certain. "I don\'t need your charity, Mr. Malfoy," she said, standing up. "Do what you will with Zabini. Milk him for all he\'s worth. I don\'t want a Knut from it. If you\'re really feeling charitable, use my portion of the money to help all the orphans you helped Voldemort create during the war."



She turned and left the room. She did not notice the look of dumbfoundedness on Remus and Draco\'s face. Nor did she see the sneer Lucius had at being insulted. She probably would not have cared anyway.

---

Author\'s Note: I know, I know. Lucius seems to be extremely charitable doesn\'t he? So unlike him. I promise you, there is a reason for this. And no, it\'s not OOC, even if it seems that way.



Next chapter to come soon...