Fourteen Thousand Galleons

His Strength & His Compassion

Tink makes an excellent dinner. Andromeda thanks the little elf and Hermione is reminded why she appreciates the older witch so much. The children are so well behaved that Hermione thinks, perhaps, Andromeda has more sway over them than Hermione had ever realized. Even her own children, who have spent considerably less time with Auntie Andromeda, are behaving like angels. She's tempted to invite her to stay forever.

The children are swept off by the house elf to play at the insistence of Andromeda. Draco looks like he wants to argue, but Andromeda settles him with a pointed look and exciting the children about being able to show Tink all of the finer points of imagination and the land of pretend. Draco looks wary, but Hermione watches him shove it down at the resolve of the older witch.

"Now that I have you alone – where is Harry?" She asks as an afterthought, as if all through dinner she hadn't noticed that he was gone or she didn't want to bring it to the attention of the children. Draco stiffens visibly.

"He had to work late," Hermione supplies simply. She resists putting a hand over Draco's when he scowls at a knot in the wooden table.

Andromeda shakes her head. "Just like his father, that boy. I was hopeful that discovering the paramours would help keep him rooted with his family."

Hermione's spine straightens. She breathes in sharply through her nose. Her eyes dart to Draco but he's still staring at the knot on the table. He won't look at her. Did he know –

"You know about the paramours?" Hermione asks cautiously, the word falling from her lip so carefully that it almost doesn't make it at all.

"Triads are not foreign to me, dear." Andromeda laughs, a gentle sound that's not as patronizing as she's used to from anyone with Black blood. It sounds free, almost, and Hermione is so pleased that Harry has family that is so light and carefree. "In fact, the wizarding world has had many paramour couplings between a triad – polyamorous and otherwise."

"Did... are you –" She doesn't know where to start. Clearly a widow, living alone and raising her daughter's son, Hermione doesn't think Andromeda is currently involved in a polyamorous relationship. Or else, perhaps, she doesn't know the Black witch quite as well as she thinks.

Andromeda smiles at Draco's bowed head. Hermione follows her gaze and finds Draco fidgeting – he never fidgets. And so her hand lies on top of his and squeezes it. His posture becomes rigid and he's refusing to look at her again.

"We shouldn't get into this without Harry here," is all he says to either of them and then clamps his lips shut. He doesn't remove his hand from Hermione's however and it pleases her that despite whatever issue he has, it isn't with her. Such a change from when Ronald would take his emotions out on her, despite her having very little influence on them outside of their marriage.

"Harry didn't deem fit to be here." Andromeda sits back against her chair and crosses her legs. "Besides, the girl has a right to know."

Hermione peers at Draco out of the corner of her eye and watches him nod rigidly. "I'm sorry – what do I have a right to know?"

"What you're entering into with these two boys is dangerous." She doesn't fluff it up. Her tone isn't sharp. It's almost as if the woman is worried about her without allowing her anxiety to bubble over into her tone.

Of course, it immediately puts Hermione on edge. With Draco's attitude, she's wondering if he knows, if Harry knows, there's danger involved in what they're doing. Hermione swallows around a tight knot in her throat and takes a deep breath.

"What do you mean? They aren't dangerous, they're actually quite protective –"

Draco is closer to her now and she's not sure when he shifted, but his arm is around the back of her chair even as their other hands are tangled together on the table. He's so still and that makes her nerves rattle harder.