The streets of the estate are crowded when Hermione apparates back. Walking towards her, she spots Ginny who smiles and raises her hand to wave when she must remember that she's not happy with her because her hand snaps back to her side and she turns her face away, ignoring her.
If there's anyone Hermione can talk to about Gwenog, David and Sophie, besides Draco, it'll be Ginny, so she rushes over to her best friend, taking hold of her hand to stop her walking past her.
"Can we go somewhere, Gin?" She asks her friend. "I need to tell you something." She adds, hoping that would grab her attention, which it does.
"I suppose I'm not that busy right now." She sighs, pretending to be annoyed but she still links her arm with Hermione's.
"How's the party planning coming along for tomorrow?" Hermione asks her, which cheers her up.
"It's all planned. Mum's doing all the food, Bill's doing the decorations and I think George is helping him. I've asked Blaise to do some music since he's started getting into muggle music but he also listens to all the best wizard bands too." She rambles on as they walk to the gate. "Can we go to that little café you took me to before the ceremony?" She asks, taking hold of Hermione's hand.
"Of course." Hermione grips her hand then disapparates them both to an alleyway near the café.
"Hey Hermione, how are you and Ron?" Ginny asks as they set off for the café.
"What do you mean, me and Ron?" Hermione asks, frowning at her friend.
"Well, I know you had an argument at the hospital when Draco injured himself but you haven't been very close to each other since we found out about the marriage decree back in January. Is it going to be too awkward for you if he comes to the party? She finally asks.
"No, not at all. I'm a big girl, Ginny. I can't put my issues with your brother aside for your party but if he starts anything, then we will leave." She warns her friend.
"Thanks, Hermione, because I've asked him to bring the alcohol." She smiles. "Also, when I went round to ask him, Pansy opened the door. She asked if she could come and I didn't want to be rude so I said she could. That's not going to be a problem, is it? I mean Draco and Blaise are going to be there so it's not like we have to talk to her." Ginny adds.
"Actually, Pansy and I had a nice chat the other day at Isobel and William's party, she was quite nice." Hermione mentions as they walk up the side street towards 'Mrs Morris' Café'.
Ginny pauses in her step to stare at her for a second. "Draco's having a bad influence on you. You're starting to mix with all these Slytherin's." She shakes her head in disappointment.
"You've invited Blaise and Draco to the party." Hermione points out.
"Only because you and Luna are married to them. I wouldn't invite them otherwise." Ginny points out as they set off again. "I bet you're going to Goyle and Megan's party tonight as well, aren't you."
"Of course we are, Gregory is one of Draco's best friend and he's actually quite a nice person when you get to know him." She says, finding herself defending him.
"Gregory?" Ginny raises a questioning eyebrow.
"Gregory's a follower, he followed Draco at Hogwarts, which is why he was the way he was in school. Now he follows Megan and he's a lot more complaisant." She explains.
"I still don't trust him." She mutters as they enter the café.
"I'm going to assume then that you don't trust Draco either." Hermione states.
"Of course not, the only reason I even let him into our house is because you seem to trust him so much, which is worrying but I trust you know what you're doing with him." She tells her.
"Go find a table and I'll buy us some drinks." She tells her friend, pointing towards a table for two over in the far corner of the café.
Hermione walks over to the counter and rings the bell for service. Mrs Morris comes sauntering out of the kitchen with her frilly apron on.
"Hermione, dear. How lovely to see you again, what can I get you?" Mrs Morris asks her, taking out a notepad from her apron pocket.
"I'll have two hot chocolates, please." Hermione orders and watches as Mrs Morris writes the order down, passing it through the beaded curtain, hanging from the door to a teenaged girl. "How's Derek?" She asks making conversation.
"He's great." Mrs Morris smiles. "I don't know what you said to him the other night but he's enrolled back at his college as a mature student to finish his History and Psychology A-Levels and he's even picking up an English AS-Level. My Shirley's been begging him to go back to college since last August." She tells her.
"That's great news." Hermione smiles. "It was great catching up with him." She adds. "Although it's a shame Verity couldn't make it."
"Verity?" Mrs Morris frowns in confusion. "She's up in Newcastle for University. I don't think Derek and her have talked since they broke up last May." She mentions.
"I must have been mistaken." Hermione chuckles, not wanting to make things awkward but wondering why Derek lied about her in the first place.
Mrs Morris places the cups of hot chocolate on a tray and offers to carry them over to the table for her but Hermione declines politely, saying she can manage.
"What took you so long?" Ginny asks when Hermione places the tray on their table.
"Just catching up with Mrs Morris." She answers. "And don't think I've forgotten what we were talking about before."
"What? About Draco?"
"Yes, what's it going to take for you to believe that he's changed from who he used to be at Hogwarts?" She asks.
Ginny shrugs. "I'll let you know when I know." She says, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. "Anyway, you wanted to tell me something?" She reminds Hermione and she tenses up.
"Right, it's to do with Gwenog Jones." She starts.
Ginny leans across the table excitedly. "Are you going to tell me what all that questioning was about last night then?." She asks.
"Yes but I need you to promise that what I tell you doesn't leave this café. The only reason I'm telling you sis because I need to tell someone and I need some advice but Draco's at his mother's." She tells her seriously.
"Great, I feel very important to be hearing this information." She rolls her eyes sarcastically.
"I'm serious, Ginny. If anyone else found out about this it could mean a lot of trouble for some people." She stares her friend in the eye.
Ginny frowns at her. "I understand. I won't tell anyone. I won't even tell Harry." She says to prove she's serious.
"Good." Hermione smiles at her friend. "Do you remember what I came to ask you last night?"
"Yeah. You asked whether Gwenog Jones had any absences during the 1992 Quidditch season which she did after a training injury." Ginny repeats.
Hermione nods, sipping her hot chocolate as she wonders how to approach the next topic.
"Do you remember that time you and your dad came to get me from my house during the summer of 1994?" She starts.
"Of course, your whole family were there. I was too scared to say something wrong that I don't think I said anything, I just played with your cousin. What's that got to do with anything?" She questions.
"Draco and I recently discovered that Sophie's a witch," Hermione whispers, not wanting anyone to overhear.
Ginny's eyes widen. "Are you serious?" She leans closer across the table. "Do you know how rare it is for two Muggleborns to be born to the same family? Especially since you're not siblings." She explains. "That's amazing! How's she taking it? Wait, does she know she's a witch?" Ginny asks.
"Yes, she knew there was something different about herself, I just clarified what that was." Hermione nods.
"Poor thing, she must be so shocked," Ginny says leaning back to take another sip of her hot chocolate.
"She's actually really excited to learn more about our world but I don't want to throw everything at her at once." She explains
"Good idea, I can't imagine what it must be like to find out that you're a witch." She shakes her head as she thinks. "Have you told her parents yet?" She asks, leaning back across the table, but before she can answer, Ginny's seems to come to some sort of understanding. "Oh my Godric. Her mum left when she was a baby. Hermione, what if her mum's a witch?" She suggests, then shakes her head. "No, that's probably a long shot." She shakes her head.
"Sophie was born in June 1992," Hermione tells her but she doesn't seem to understand. "Which means she was conceived around the 20th of September 1991."
"Ew, I don't need to know about your Uncle's sex life." Ginny cringes.
"Remind me, when did Gwenog receive that injury during training, " Hermione asks, knowing her friend with put it all together herself.
"Well, she received two. The first one was in October 1991 and then the second was in January. After that, she disappeared for seven months. No one saw her until July 199-" Ginny stops talking to stare at her for a long moment. "No!" She shakes her head. "You can't think-" She leans back in her chair still shaking her head.
"I've just got back from the Holyhead Harpies stadium." Hermione interrupts her. "She confirmed it all."
"Oh Godric, Hermione, please tell me you didn't bombard her with questions?" Ginny questions her.
"I just wanted to know why she left Sophie." Hermione states.
"Did she tell you?"
"Yes, she was just protecting them. Some Death Eater's threatened her and her family if she didn't leave them and vote to keep the Quidditch World Cup in England." She explains.
"What?" Ginny looks at her confused.
"There was a vote in December 1993 about whether England should keep the Word Cup in 1994," Hermione told her, although shouldn't her friend, the Quidditch fan, know this.
"Hermione, we won the bid to hold the 1994 World Cup in 1964. Everything to do with the World Cup is planned years in advance. If there was a vote, it would have been taken a lot earlier than seven months before it was due to start and I'm sure we would have heard about it." Ginny tells her. "There was no reason in 1993 to even need a vote to change the location of the World Cup." She adds. "I think Gwenog lied to you."
"You didn't see her. I know she wasn't lying." Hermione tells her.
"Maybe after a few months of being a mother, she realised it wasn't for her and she wanted to focus on her career of something," Ginny suggests.
Hermione shakes her head. "No, she was literally on her hands and knees, begging me to talk to David about letting her see Sophie. She didn't lie about that."
"Well, she lied about the vote," Ginny says.
"I'll have to go back and ask her." Hermione states and they fall into silence as she thinks about why Gwenog would lie about a vote whilst finishing her hot chocolate.
"What was this advice you needed from me?" Ginny asks suddenly a few minutes later.
"Gwenog wants me to ask David if she can see Sophie but I know he won't agree to that." She states.
"Alright." Ginny nods.
"But Sophie should be allowed to see her mother if she wants to, especially since she's a witch. Before I knew her mother was Gwen, I was more than happy to be the one to introduce her to the wizarding world, but now, it should be her mother to tell her about everything." Hermione explains.
"That makes sense."
"But I'm not going to go behind David's back and introduce Sophie to Gwenog. He would hate me for it. I tried bringing up the topic of Gwen the other day and I had to silence him to stop him from shouting and trying to kick me out of his house."
"You silenced your uncle?" She repeats.
"Yes, he just thought he lost his voice from all the shouting. Anyway, he told me to never mention her name ever again which is a problem now. How do I ask him about Gwenog when he gets so angry at the mention of her name?" Hermione asks.
"Why don't you just tell him about us?" Ginny suggests with a shrug. "He's going to find out eventually since his daughter's one of us." She adds.
"I was hoping for an easier plan." Hermione sighs.
"I'm sure if you tell him about the wizarding world and explain about Voldemort, the Death Eaters and the war, he might understand why Gwenog had to leave. To protect them." Ginny explains.
"You make it sound so simple." Hermione chuckles. "I don't think he'll take it very well. My parents didn't believe the Ministry Official who told them at first. It took me exploding a lightbulb for them to believe."
"Well, if need be, you can show him a little something basic. Levitate a mug or something." Ginny shrugs.
"Ginny, that's illegal." She reminds her.
"Like they're going to put Hermione Granger in Azkaban." She laughs.
"Kingsley would, just to make an example of me." She says.
"Blame it on Sophie. She's nearly eight, right. She should be showing accidental magic around now." Ginny suggests.
Hermione thinks about it for a moment. That would make sense in the eyes of the Ministry.
"I'm still not sure. I wouldn't even know where to start with it." Hermione sighs.
"Hey, Uncle David." Ginny starts, sitting up straighter. "You know how I've been attending a boarding school in Scotland for the past eight years? Well, it's actually a school for witchcraft and wizardry. Yeah, I'm a witch." She then picks up her teaspoon. "Wingardium Leviosa." She says, swishing and flicking the spoon. "Also, Gwenog Jones, your ex-girlfriend, is a witch which makes Sophie, your daughter, a witch. I'll give you a moment to process all that." Ginny mimics a curtsey in her chair. "You're welcome."
"Somehow, I don't think that's the best way to break the news." Hermione chuckles.
"You'll figure something out." She reassures her. "Thanks for the hot chocolate but I should get going. I was on my way to Mum's, she wants me to test some food for tomorrow." She rolls her eyes.
"I'll walk back to the alley with you," Hermione tells her as they leave the café together, leaving a tip for Mrs Morris. "What time do you want us over tomorrow?" She asks.
"I've told everyone to be there for five o'clock," Ginny says.
"Do you need us to bring anything?"
"No, I've got everything organised." She smiles.
"How are you Harry doing? It feels like ages since we've talked properly." Hermione asks.
"We're great, you'll find out more tomorrow." She grins at her.
Hermione turns away from her friend to hide her knowing smile. "I'm glad you're happy."
"Are you happy, Hermione?" Ginny asks as they come to a stop in the alleyway.
"Yes, I'm very happy with Draco." She admits truthfully, if not a little annoyed with her friend for asking. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ginny." She tells her before disapparating back to the estate.
When Draco returns home, it's to find the house as empty as he had left it earlier, which he's thankful for. He wants the record player to be a surprise for Hermione when she returns home but first, he needs to figure out how to make it work.
Firstly, he opens Athena's cage, letting her out to stretch her wings. Once he's filled her food bowl up with owl pellets, he takes the boxes and records out of his pocket, placing them on the coffee table. With a wave of his wand, they all return to their original size.
Draco opens the smaller box to find the black record player advertised on the box. He sets it on top of their bookshelf and tries to figure out what the rope dangling out the back is for. In the end, he gives up and goes back to open the two speaker boxes. Both the speakers have similar ropes out of the back but at the end, there's only one prong instead of three, which confuses him until he notices two holes in the back of the record player, the same size as the speaker prongs. Taking a chance, he sticks one speaker in each hole, then places them on either side of the bookshelves on the floor.
He takes a step back, hands on his hips, admiring his work. He's still not sure what the three prongs coming out of the record player are for but hopes that they're not necessary to make it work. He takes one of the records out of the sleeve, placing it on the record player and flipping the switch into the 'on' position, but nothing happens. He flips the switch a couple more times and still, nothing happens.
Taking his wand out, he taps the record player and it lights up but still doesn't play. Remembering that the record was spinning in the record shop, he spins the record but still, there's no music.
Coming to the conclusion that he's going to have to wait for Hermione to come home and fix it, he starts tidying up the packaging when he notices the picture on the front of the box. On the record player, there's a long stick touching the record. Going back to the bookshelf, he finds the stick folded to the side. Carefully, he picks up the stick, moving it to the edge of the record, then flips the switch on. Suddenly, a guitar is being played loudly through the speakers.
Quickly, he takes the stick off. He finds a knob that's labelled 'vol'. He's not sure what that means but he turns it right then places the stick back on the record but it's louder than before. He turns the knob to the left and the music quietens. Feeling proud of himself, he leaves the record playing as he goes back to tidying the boxes.
When Hermione opens the front door to their house, she pauses, wondering if she's walking into the wrong house since she can hear music coming from the living room. In the hallway, though, where she left them, are her boots, so she closes the door behind her, slips off her shoe and pushes the living room door open, confused as to the source of the music.
Glancing around the room, she immediately spots a record player sat on top of their bookshelves with two speakers beside it. She walks over to the coffee table where there are a few record albums and picks up the top one, which is empty. 'Steve Harley and the Cockney Rebel', the album cover reads. Hermione's not sure if she's ever heard of them before. Turning the album over, she reads the songs and thinks she might recognise the first one.
Heading over to the record player, she lifts up the needle and places it back at the beginning of the record. She hears the beginning notes of a recognisable song, though she can't remember where she recognises it from.
"I didn't hear you come in," Draco announces his presence from the kitchen door.
"I'm not surprised." She smiles, turning the volume down slightly. "Where did you get this from?" She asks.
"I bought it from Gordon." He tells her, trying to hide a smile as he walks towards her.
"And who's Gordon?"
"The old man from that record shop we went to the other day." He clarifies for her, taking hold of her hands and pulling her closer.
"You went back, by yourself."
"I'm not a child, Hermione. I can go to a shop by myself." He rolls his eyes slightly.
"I'm just pleasantly surprised." She tells him as they start swaying in time with the music.
"That was my plan." He tells her, twirling her around. "I got you that crocodile song." He adds.
"Really." She stops their dancing excitedly.
She rushes over to the record albums on the coffee table and flicks through them until she comes across Elton John. She takes the record out of the sleeve then places it on the record player after removing Steve Harley. As soon as the piano starts playing, Hermione can't hold back her smile as memories of dancing around the kitchen with her Grandma Emily come back to her.
She turns around to find Draco watching her from the arm of the couch with a gentle smile on his face.
"Come on." She holds her hands out for him to take but he just sits there. "I'm not going to let you sit there and watch me dance. Come on." She tells him, taking hold of his hands and pulling him up.
He sighs as he's pulled to his feet but then starts sidestepping with her as they sway their arms together. She pushes away from him then swings under his arm. When the chorus comes on, she grabs hold of his hands tightly and jumps to the beat, encouraging him to do the same.
"I'm more skilled at ballroom dancing than jumping around the room." He comments as he awkwardly shifts from foot to foot.
"Live a little, Draco. Who cares if you look like an idiot, just enjoy yourself." She tells him, as they swing around the room.
"I look like an idiot." He raises his eyebrow.
"We both look like idiots." She laughs as the song comes to an end. "Let's put on Bon Jovi." She suggests, going to swap the records over.
She looks on the back of the album and recognises a few of the songs, her favourite being 'Bad Medicine' which she remembers her dad singing along to on the radio back in 1988. She places the needle at the start of the song and awaits the start.
"My dad loves Bon Jovi." She mentions as she turns around to find Draco stood right behind her.
She looks up at him as he takes her hands in his and leads her to the middle of the room where they shift from foot to foot whilst swaying their arms again.
"I didn't say before, but I like your hair. Mitty did a good job." She smiles up at him, removing a hand from his grasp and reaching up to run her fingers through his shorter hair.
"She left it a little longer at the front to hide the scar." He tells her and she rolls her eyes.
"You can barely see it when you're not wearing a makeup charm. You have nothing to worry about." She tells him, brushing his fringe to the side. "You look very handsome." She mutters with a soft smile.
"Thank you." He says, blushing slightly, making her chuckle.
They fall into a comfortable silence as they sway gently to a few more songs but then Hermione catches sight of the clock which tells her it's almost half past one.
"I'm going to go have a bath, ready for tonight." She announces, pecking Draco gently on the cheek before heading upstairs.
Draco walks over to the record player, moving the stick to the side to remove the record. He flicks the switch, turning it off then places the record back in its album. With a sigh, he sinks down onto the couch, wondering if he should check up on Percy. He decides against it though, he'll wait the extra half an hour until two o'clock when he said he'd be finished.
From upstairs, he can hear Hermione running her bath and singing one of the songs they had been listening to. He smiles to himself as he closes his eyes and just listens. When the sound of running water stops, he opens his eyes and decides he should get tidied up. Feeling lazy, he waves his hand and the albums fly over to the bookshelf, landing in a pile next to the record player. He does the same thing in the kitchen with the dishes that were on the drying rack.
They don't spend enough time in their house for it to become too messy. With nothing else to tidy up, he grabs a jacket, pulls on his shoes and heads out the front door, towards the gate.
By the time he's disapparated from the estate to Diagon alley and walked up and down the shops a few times, it's five to two and he decides he's waited long enough. When he enters Flourish and Blotts, Percy is stood behind the desk, serving a young man.
Draco heads up to the desk, catching Percy's attention. He nods towards the door behind him so Draco makes his way around the desk and into the back room where his book is laying on the wooden table, looking a lot thinner than it used to. He dares not touch it in case Percy hasn't finished with the restoration and it crumbles under his touch.
A few minutes later, Percy enters the back room looking disappointed. "I managed to save seventy-three of the pages." He states.
"Can I touch it?" Draco asks.
"Yes, I strengthened the remaining pages so there's no risk of them crumbling," Percy explains.
Urgently, Draco snatches the book off the table and flicks through each page, carefully scanning the words for the name 'Hyperion Malfoy'. On his first flick through he doesn't find it so he pulls up a chair, rests the book on the table and starts again, one page at a time.
Percy leaves him to it, going back out to the front of the shop to restock some shelves.
Draco emerges from the back room five minutes later.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" Percy asks curiously.
"No, the page isn't there. Thank you for trying though, how much do I owe you?" He asks, reaching into his pocket for his bag of gold.
"There's no charge." Percy shakes his head. "You asked me to restore a book and shops policy is we save more than half or there's no charge." He adds with a wink at Draco's confusion.
"Well, thank you. I'm assuming I'll see you tomorrow?" He asks.
"Yes, both Audrey and I will be there." He replies.
"Goodbye until then." He nods, then leaves the shop.
Draco had been hoping that he wouldn't have to visit the archives to find out who this 'Hyperion Malfoy' is since Mr Vyner seems to know which filing cabinets they enter, but it looks like he doesn't have any other choice.
Since there's plenty of time until Gregory and Megan's party, Draco decides he might as well go there now. He'll be in and out before Mr Vyner even receives a letter about his arrival. He disapparates to the disapparation floor of the Ministry then heads straight to the lift which takes him down to the archives.
In the foyer, sat at the desk, is a different official than the first time they visited. This woman is writing vigorously on a piece of parchment as Draco walks towards the door. She doesn't look up to acknowledge him until he stops in front of her.
"One moment, Mr Malfoy." She tells him as she finishes her writing, folds it up and sends it flying towards the lift. "Are you here to visit our archives?" She asks him politely but with a sharp stare.
"Yes, I am. Could you open the door?" He offers her a polite smile.
"One moment." She tells him and starts vigorously writing another note on a piece of parchment.
Draco peers over the desk at the note. Her handwriting is terrible and he's reading it upside down but he can make out 'Mr Vyner' and his own name.
"As I'm sure you can understand, I'm a very busy man who can't afford to waste my time waiting for ministry officials to write notes." Draco sneers down at the woman, hoping a little intimidation will get her moving a little quicker.
"And as I'm sure you can understand, Mr Malfoy," She says whilst she continues to write. "Mr Vyner must be informed of your arrival, therefore, I will not allow you access until I receive confirmation that he's been informed." She finally looks up at him. "If you'd like to take a seat." She gestures over to a chair he hadn't noticed before on the other side of the foyer.
Reluctantly, Draco sits on the chair, that's too small, waiting for the official to send her note. She sends it a minute later, then receives one back a few minutes after. She takes her time to open and read the letter then, with a flick of her wand, the door creaks slowly open.
"Thank you." He says sarcastically with a smirk as he walks past her desk and through the door.
When he enters the archives, he flicks the switch for the lights to turn on then heads towards the 'MA – NO' filing cabinet in order to find the code for the location of the Malfoy filing cabinet. He's about to open it when he stops.
Mr Vyner somehow knows which filing cabinet they're opening. Draco's not sure how he knows but there's an easy way to ensure he doesn't know exactly which one he's looking in. With a wave of his wand, every drawer in the first fifty filing cabinets open, including 'MA – NO'. He flicks through the files until he finds his own. Skipping the paragraph on his family history, he scans his eyes to the bottom where he finds the code. FC: L-R-L-L-7R. Memorising the code, he replaces the file in the filing cabinet, then, with another wave of his wand, the drawers slam shut.
Following the code, he quickly finds the Malfoy filing cabinet. He stares at it for a few minutes, not sure what exactly he's going to find in there. There's obviously a reason why he's never heard about Hyperion before and why his mother went to the extent of setting fire to the book that mentioned him. He needs to know who he is.
Turning around, he points his wand at a random filing cabinet near the door to the archives and the drawers slide open. He repeats the process in different areas of the archives until there's enough to throw Mr Vyner and his team off his tracks.
He opens the top drawer of the Malfoy filing cabinet, waits a few seconds then flicks his wand randomly behind him, opening the drawers of another filing cabinet. Unfortunately for him, the cabinets are organised by year, not name, and he has no idea when Hyperion was born so he starts at the beginning. After flicking quickly through the first drawer and not finding anything, he slams it shut, flicking his wand behind him a few time in different directions before diving into the second drawer but there's no mention of a Hyperion Malfoy. Starting to feel a little nervous as he gets closer to the twentieth century, he shuts the middle drawer, flicks his wand behind him a few final times, and then starts at the back of the last drawer.
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