Ten out of Ten by Morriganmercy

Day 3

- NOT MY STORY! All credit goes to @morriganmercy on a03!

The rain had come eventually. It lasted through the night, and the following morning dawned grey and dismal, perfectly suited to Hermione's mood. It was past ten and she was still laying in bed. She was awake, of course—had been most of the night—but it was still a strange sensation to be lounging about on a weekday. The lassitude and the lush greenery outside her windows gave such an overwhelming impression of summer that Hermione realised how long it had been since the season held real significance for her. When she was working full-time, every weekday was much like any other, and it wasn't since Hogwarts that the month of July had meant long stretches of time without any responsibilities.

Mandatory time off from work was one of the stipulations of the marriage decree—a honeymoon period for those who were lucky enough to enjoy the company of their new spouses. For someone like Hermione though, all it meant was hours locked away with an unwelcome house guest and no work to distract her from her situation.

Although, if she was honest, her work at the Ministry hadn't been near as fulfilling as she'd hoped it would be. And the thought of returning when the two weeks were over held little appeal. It had already been hard enough to make people care about the deplorable treatment of many magical creatures, but with the government now trampling so blatantly on the rights of its human citizens, too, she didn't see it getting easier anytime soon.

That thought was rudely interrupted when Malfoy knocked on her door. Well, perhaps knocked wasn't quite the right word. Hammered was more what he did. Three sharp bangs followed by a short declaration in his best drawl.

"We've been granted visitation rights."

Hermione sat up on her bed as a sheet of parchment slid under the door. The creaky floorboard outside her room remained silent, so she assumed Malfoy was waiting on the landing for her to retrieve it. She swung her legs off the bed and reached for the page.

It was a short missive on Ministry letterhead recommending that close friends and family be received in the newlyweds' home in lieu of the formal wedding reception they had opted not to have. The suggestion was clearly a thinly veiled command, and Hermione heaved a sigh at yet another intrusive aspect of this charade.

Malfoy seemed to have heard the noise through the door. "The Ministry owl is waiting—I assume to take our invitations. Shall we say 1pm?"

"Yes, fine," she muttered, going to her desk and drafting a quick letter to Harry. Ginny was still living with him at Grimmauld, and they could pass the info along to Ron. Hermione folded it into quarters before sliding it under the door.

The floor creaked as Malfoy retrieved it and left without another word.

***

Though Hermione never had visitors, she did have enough tea and biscuits on hand to make a passable attempt at offering refreshments. Preparations for five guests nearly tapped her out though, and she added both items to the running shopping list she kept on a chalkboard tacked to the kitchen wall.

At exactly 1pm, she and Malfoy stood on opposite ends of the sitting room as green flames erupted in the fireplace. Hermione shifted uncomfortably as Lucius and Narcissa stepped out onto her rug. She expected them to cast disapproving looks around her Muggle house, potentially turning up their noses at the feeble luncheon she'd provided, but neither of them even glanced in her direction. Malfoy stepped forward to greet them, and both parents seemingly only had eyes for their son.

"Hello, Father," Malfoy said quietly, extending a hand to be shaken. "Mother," he added when Lucius released him, and Hermione watched awkwardly as he kissed the air beside each of Narcissa's cheeks.