The Marriage Decree

Chapter 40: It can't be

"What time is David due home?" Draco asks, glancing down at his watch.

"My grandma said around half five," Hermione answers, heading into the kitchen.

"So any minute now." He states, taking a seat at the table whilst Hermione puts the kettle on and grabs three cups from the cupboard.

"Yeah, do you mind checking on Sophie whilst I make some drinks? I know she seemed to be coping well but it's still a lot for someone her age to take in." Hermione asks him.

Draco heads up the stairs and knocks on the door with Sophie's name written on it.

"I'm busy." She shouts back through the door.

"We just want to make sure you're alright." He says.

"I'm tired and trying to sleep," Sophie shouts again.

"Oh, sorry," Draco replies. "Sleep well." He adds before backing away from the door.

Whilst he's up here, he might as well use the bathroom to wash his face since he's starting to feel tired and run down. Is this what kids do to you? If that's the case, he'd like to change his answer on the questionnaire from three to one. He thinks to himself with a chuckle as he opens the door to reveal not a bathroom as expected, but what he assumes is David's office.

The only furnishings in the room are a desk, with something that looks like a television set on it. A chair and multiple boxes, filled with paper, scattered around the floor. He's about to close the door and carry on in his search for the bathroom when he notices the walls.

At first glance, it looks like a monochrome printed wallpaper, but upon closer inspection, it turns out to be the family tree that David has mentioned during their first meeting. Curiously, Draco steps further into the room, letting the door click softly closed behind him. The first name, written at the top of the wall near the ceiling reads 'Karina Rowle' as expected. He follows the lines of the family tree through unknown members until he finally reaches 'Hermione Granger'. He's surprised, to say the least when he sees that attached to her name is his own. Especially since, as far as David knows, they aren't married yet and don't plan on getting married until after university.

Suddenly, from downstairs, he hears the front door open and then slam closed as David returns home from work.

"I'm home, Sophie." He calls up the stairs.

Draco's stomach twists. He probably shouldn't be in here. David insisted that he wasn't going to show anyone until he finished. Turning on his heel, he heads for the door but just as he's about to turn the handle, he stops. Something on family tree has caught his eye earlier but it had only just register in his brain. Spinning back around, he quickly inspects some of the names on the tree, trying to find it again but there must be at least two hundred names written on the wall.

Finally, he spots it, focusing solely on her name.

'Gwenog Jones'.

He reads and rereads her name a few times in disbelief.

"It can't be." He mutters to himself, but as far as he's aware, they year of her birth matches that of what Pansy told him about on numerous occasions. "It can't be." He repeats.

Deciding that Hermione will probably know since it's her family, he quietly leaves the room, closing the door behind him, and quickly runs down the stairs, into the kitchen. David is sat at the table, drinking a cup of tea, opposite Hermione when he enters.

"Hi Draco, Hermione was just telling what my dad said to you." He says looking sheepish. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything to him." He apologises.