Payment - Completed

The Memories and the Rings

She had woken up the next morning and found she was as confused as the night before. He told her that he was in love with her and she said nothing. Did nothing. How horrible he must have felt.

She called for Buttons who appeared instantly. Hermione was disappointed when Buttons said Malfoy left early that morning. All the same really, she hadn't a plan. What would she have actually said to him?

So, with that weighing heavy on her heart, Hermione grabbed the bracelet that acted as the portkey and was brought to her apartment. She felt cold and lonely, but was not sure how to move forward with her day. She wasn't sure how long she stood in the middle of her bedroom with her arms wrapped around her waist when she heard a crack and rushed into the living room.

"Buttons, what are you doing here?"

"Miss left before having her breakfastes. Miss also forgot her pretty things, but don't worry Miss, Buttons brought them." She handed the box containing the necklace that started her adventure yesterday. In the rush of everything this morning, Hermione didn't even realize that the bracelet she was still holding was part of the set with the necklace. They truly were stunning. They weren't as flashy nor as ornate as anything she would have expected the Malfoys to own, but they were clearly very expensive and of excellent quality, goblin-made, if she was not mistaken.

Hermione looked up and saw Buttons moving about the kitchen to the left, making Hermione her morning cup of tea. "Buttons how did you even get in here? I have very strong wards."

"Buttons is a house elf, Miss" she stated frankly, as if that explained everything. Hermione thought she heard Buttons muttering something about silly witches, but she was still too distracted by the exquisite pieces in her hand. "Okay, time for Misses to eat. Sit down now."

Hermione enjoyed the comfortability Buttons had developed with her in such a short period of time but was slightly stunned by the command. It wasn't in the nature of a house elf to be commanding, especially of witches and wizards, but it seemed some of the female elves take on motherly traits with those they consider to be important to them. At least, that was how Malfoy described it to her yesterday when she was shocked by the elf's brashness with him and even more shocked when he was not offended by her candidness but seemed to rather enjoy it.

She smiled, thinking of the moment that opened her eyes to how much he had changed.

"How did you get the elves to stop hurting themselves? I don't always have the best of luck when trying to help them."

"Oh, I do not recommend my particular course of action" he said, avoiding her eyes.

"Why?" She asked sharply, concerned that he mistreated the elves. "What did you do to them?"

"What? Oh, nothing. I did nothing to them! I, uh - Well, you see, when they would hurt themselves, I would do the same to myself."

She couldn't believe he put himself through something like that, especially for a house elf, not with what she thought she knew of him during their early school years.

"Miss can think on Master Draco while eating her breakfasts, Miss." Buttons was giving Hermione a stern look that left little room to argue with the small creature, not that she wanted to. Hermione was famished.

"I'm not thinking about him." She tried to argue. Buttons rolled her eyes but said nothing.

Hermione sat down but did not yet face the food in front of her. "Buttons, please return these to Malfoy for me. I am sure he did not intend for me to keep something so valuable."

"Yes, he did. The young Master did wants Miss to keep these. Buttons was with Master Draco when Master Draco went to the jewellery vault. He spent much time looking for somethings worthy of the Miss' beauty, but not too flashy he says. Master Draco has always liked this necklace. Saids Miss would make it prettier."