The Accidental Malfoy

14 | Decisions and Dilemmas

Disclaimer: I do not own this, nor am I profiting off the display of this story in any way.

Hermione couldn't help the laugh that escaped her mouth as she looked across at the supremely confident Malfoy elder.

"I'm sorry, what?!" she asked in disbelief.

"I want you and Draco to pretend that you've been having a secret, romantic love affair but that I refused to countenance his divorce from my pureblood daughter-in-law so Draco could swap her for a Muggle-born."

She had to give Lucius some credit. He'd thought of a decent lie to tell the public but there was no way she was going to play along.

"Whilst I appreciate the thought you've obviously put into this, Mr. Malfoy, I will not feature as someone who would have an affair with a married man."

"I would like you to think this through, Ms. Granger. It's an explanation the public will buy. They'll lap it up like some kind of poorly written romantic melodrama and it's an opportunity for you and Draco to come out as maligned lovers. I'm more than happy to feature as the villain."

Hermione caught Harry taking his glasses off out of the corner of her eye and cleaning them on a fold of his work robes. She could tell that he was as taken aback as she was.

"You know what the public will say, don't you, Lucius," Harry said. "They'll claim that your determined efforts to rehabilitate your family was nothing more than a show."

A small smile played around the older Malfoy's mouth. "It's nothing that they haven't already been thinking. Not many people are willing to believe that my thoughts on blood purity have changed. Perhaps not even you, Mr. Potter."

Harry gave a small nod in acknowledgement of that. It was true that Hermione had held many a conversation with both Harry and Ron about how adept Lucius Malfoy was at squirming his way out of any consequences for his previous actions. But now wasn't the time to be dissecting whether that was true or not. However, she did note that Lucius wasn't denying it, but neither did he confirm those suspicions.

Instead, she turned towards Malfoy. "Are you really going to sit there and be happy to feature as so spineless that you can't stand up to your father at the age of 29?"

He shot her a glare. "Granger, what you have never understood are the dynamics of a pureblood family. It would not be considered strange for me to bow to my father's wishes in the choice of my wife. He is the head of the family and, as such, his opinion holds much sway."

She huffed and folded her arms. "Well, I won't play along with such a ridiculous charade. I think you'll find that the truth will serve us a whole lot better."

"Are you sure, Ms. Granger? Do you think the public wants to believe something as mundane as an accident in a clinic's laboratory has caused you to become pregnant with my son's child?"

"As far as I'm concerned, there is no need for anyone but our immediate circle to be even aware that I'm pregnant, much less with Malfoy's baby."

"The truth will come at some point, especially when you start to show. It won't take long for people to start gossiping about the origins of the pregnancy."

Hermione recognised this as the truth. "All the more need to scotch the rumours now. I'll write a letter to Witch Weekly complaining of their inaccurate reporting and explain that Malfoy and I were just meeting to discuss business."

"And what business would that be?" Lucius asked.

"I don't know; it can't be that hard to think of something."