Anonymous Gifts - Hermione & Draco

Before the Trial

The next morning, Hermione woke up early to get herself together and meet with Draco before the trial was to start. It was 5 am, and the trial would begin at 8 am. Hermione decided she was going to stop by the bistro she wanted to go to the other week to pick up some breakfast for herself and both the Malfoys. Both their trials were happening today back to back; she talked to the guard for all three of them to meet this morning as there would be no time to meet with Narcissa after Draco's trial.

As Hermione was walking to the small restaurant, she ran into the last person she wanted to see that day, Ronald Weasley.  

"Hermione! I've been trying to reach you-" But she cut him off by walking right past him. She had places to be and things to do. She didn't have time to fight with Ron about Merlin knows what. 

However, walking past him did nothing but make him angry and follow her. He reached and grabbed her arm, making her turn around and throw a punch to his face. When his hand collided with his nose, she heard a satisfying crack. Upon impact, Ron let go of Hermione's arm and reached for his nose, which was not bleeding. 

"You broke my nose!" He howled in pain as he apperated away, leaving Hermione to finish her business. After he was gone, Hermione grabbed her own hand, which was now throbbing in pain; punching Ron was a terrible idea. But in a hurry, she didn't have time to heal her hand; she needed to get the food and get to the Ministry's meeting room.  

"Hello, welcome to Madam Trinity's bistro; how can we help you today?" a cheery girl greeted Hermione as she entered.

"Hello, I would like to get..." Hermione finished her order and sat at a table while she waited for her name to be called. Since she was in Muggle London, she would need to sneak off somewhere to appear. She took a look outside and saw a nice alley just a few buildings over on the other side of the road. 

"Hermione Granger!" Her name was called, indicating her order was ready; she took the bag and the drinks, making her way out the door and to the alley she saw. After entering the alley, she put the bag of food into her bag that had the undetectable extension charm and carefully held onto the drinks as she disapperated.  

Appearing in front of the doors of the Ministry, she walked in and made her way to the lifts that would take her down to the trial area, where she would find the meeting room for her and the Malfoys. The time was now 6:30, so she was getting less and less time to talk to both Malfoys about their trials. 

Hermione stepped off the lift and walked all the way to the end of the hall before taking a left into the meeting room. Draco and Narcissa were already there, standing by the table, both dressed nicely. 

Draco was wearing a black suit with a blue tie. Narcissa was wearing a white top with a black skirt. Hermione felt sort of underdressed next to them; she had on a blue pantsuit.

"Hermione dear, there you are!" Narcissa says excitedly as the door shuts behind her.  

"Mrs. Malfoy, good to see you again; I brought us all some food before the trial," Hermione says as she digs into her bag, pulling out the food for them all. "I didn't know what you both liked, so I just got the basic sandwich for you both." Narcissa smiles at the young woman before her as she lays the food on the table for them.

"Thank you, Hermione; I am sure we will like it." They all take a seat at the table, and Hermione motions for the guard to remove the binding spells on their wrists. Between bits of food, they have some talk about the trials. 

"Draco, yours starts at 8, and Mrs. Malfoy, yours will start immediately after. I do hope you are both ready." Hermione says before taking a bite of her sandwich. They both nod as they have just taken a bite of their food, too. 

After eating, there were only 30 minutes till Draco's trial, and Hermione could tell he was getting nervous, "Draco, it's gonna be ok; we have a good case, a great case, actually. I have no doubts." Hermione said, even though he was also getting nervous. Narcissa could tell by the way she was wringing her hands and looking at the clock that Hermione was just as nervous as her son.

"Hermione dear, I don't know how we can thank you enough for the help you are giving us. It means the world to us."  Hermione blushed a little, but then just waved off the older woman, 

"Mrs. Malfoy, I am just doing my job." Hermione was never good at taking compliments and thanks for her work; all she wanted to was help people; she didn't need more than the smiles on their faces when they were set free.

With a slight, clearly playful roll of the eye, Narcissa said, "Nonsense dear, you took our cases; no one else would. We know that, but you took it upon yourself to put the past behind you and help us. And for that, there are no words." 

All Hermione could do was smile; she was also at a loss for words, but just as she found the right ones to say Harry walked into the room and said, 

"Mione, it's time" Draco sucked in a breath as the guard placed the binding cham back on his wrists; after that, they all walked out and down the hall to the trial room. Before walking in, Hermione turned to Draco. 

"Just remember, Draco, you did what you had to do to survive; you will be a free man."