Lucius spun around. “Draco? What are you doing here?”
“It’s not enough that you've kept me from finding work, now you're trying to forbid me from even being in Diagon Alley?”
“I’ve done no such thing. I’m merely wondering why you are speaking with me. I have nothing to say to you.”
“Well, I have plenty to say to you. Why have you prevented me from getting a job? Wasn't it bad enough that you took my name and my inheritance?”
Lucius sneered at him. “You think that I am responsible for you not being able to get a job?” He laughed. “As much as I would love to take credit for your continued misery, I have had nothing to do with it. Your isolation from society is entirely of your own making.”
“My making? Are you telling me you had nothing to do with that article in the Daily Prophet?”
Lucius loomed over Draco, forcing the younger man to step back toward the wall, as he said through gritted teeth, “That article was only published to preserve the family name. Hermione had to be protected, the Malfoy name preserved. Since you were unable to control yourself, that was what had to happen. That society chose to completely ostracize you is not my problem. Had you seen to it that you were better thought of by society, you would not have found yourself so harmed by a mere bit of newsprint.”
Draco hated himself for what he was about to do. “Couldn’t you talk to someone, convince them to hire me? I don’t want an executive job, just something I can live off of.”
With a smirk, Lucius replied, “I saw a ‘help wanted’ sign at Weasleys’ Wizarding Wheezes. They have low standards and would surely hire you. Now, I have more pressing matters to attend to.” He shoved past Draco.
Frustrated, Draco wanted to hit or kick something, but he refrained, knowing that hitting a wall would serve no purpose other than to cause him pain. Instead, he decided to take that detour down Knockturn Alley. At the very least he could find a place to have a drink in peace.
As he walked down to the pub, he glanced at shop after shop, realizing he would not find any job opportunities here. He began to walk more quickly, just wanting something to drink, something to numb the pain, even if only for a little while.
After a couple of drinks, he decided to leave. Unfortunately, he did not have the money to get well and truly pissed. He needed a new plan. Any hope that Lucius would provide him even the tiniest bit of help had been utterly crushed.
If Lucius wouldn’t help him, perhaps Hermione would. They had gotten along all right during their marriage, and he would even say that they had once loved each other. Surely she still felt something for him and could be convinced to help. After all, all he wanted was a job.
**************
It took Draco the better part of a week to find Hermione alone away from the manor. She and Lucius seemed to go everywhere together. And the amount of affection they showed one another sickened him.
He was able to catch her one day after lunch. She and the baby had joined Lucius at one of the cafes, and she left alone. Catching up to her, he asked, “Hermione, do you have a few minutes?”
“I don’t have anything to say to you, Draco,” she replied coldly.
“Look, I know what I did was stupid and hurtful. I also know that we once felt something for each other. All I need is a few minutes. I don’t want to hurt either of you, I just want to talk.”
She stopped and spun on him. “What do you want?”
“First off, I know I brought this upon myself. I know I made my life difficult. But I’d like you to talk to Lucius, convince him to help me find work.” It pained him to admit that, but he hoped that showing remorse would make her sympathetic towards him.
“And why should I do that?” she asked bluntly.
“Please, I’m begging you. One parent to another. I have a child to support, and I haven’t been able to find a job.”
“Haven’t been able to find one or find one that you like? You aren’t the son of privilege anymore. You aren’t going to find a job that pays you a high salary.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” he asked in complete frustration. “I haven’t just been looking for high level jobs. I have been looking for anything that pays a decent wage. I can’t support a family off of a stockboy’s salary. Please, Hermione.” He felt horribly demeaned by begging, but he didn’t see that he had much choice.
“I’m sorry, Draco, I can’t help you.” She started walking away.
He placed his hand on her arm. “Hermione, please. I’m desperate. I have nothing. Haven’t I been punished enough? I just want something small. Please, just speak with him, and ask if he can recommend me for something. It doesn’t have to be glamorous.”
“After all that you did to me, the embarrassment you caused, you still have the nerve to beg for help?” She pulled free of his arm and pushed her pram down the alley.
“I’m the father of your child. Doesn’t that count for anything?”
“As far as the wizarding world is concerned, Lucius is his father,” she said coldly.
He found that stung. Even though he didn’t know the child, he did feel a connection. The fact that she would not even acknowledge that was painful. He noticed that she was walking away. “So that’s it? You’re just going to walk away?”
She spun on him. “Yes. I don’t feel the need ever to talk to you again. What you did was beyond embarrassing. I’m just glad that Lucius was able to find a way to salvage my life and that of my son. You got what you deserve.”
He hadn’t really expected her to help, but he had not expected her to be so cold to him either. He would have to talk to Phaedra again. She had been rather vague about how much money she had left over from her marriage to Flint. The time for her to get away with that was over now. They would have to use whatever she had to start a new life, preferably in another country. After all, they had nothing tying themselves to Britain anymore. If not, then at the very least, perhaps he could use the money to start his own business in Knockturn Alley. The people who patronized that area would not care that he had been disgraced.
Returning home, he sought out Phaedra. “We need to talk.”
“I hope it’s about a job you’ve found.”
He snorted. “Hardly. We need to talk about your financial situation.”
“Don’t you think that yours is more important?”
He did nothing to hide his aggravation. “Look, I know that the Ministry didn’t take everything from your marriage to Marcus. In case you haven’t noticed, we aren’t exactly the most respectable people in the wizarding world. I have been trying to find a job, but no one will hire me. At least not at a job that will come close to keeping up your standard of living. You have blown through the stipend every month, a stipend that I could have been saving and investing, perhaps even to start my own business, since that seems to be the only chance I have at making any significant money.
“Now, since you have spent all of my money, I need to know how much money you have.” He wanted nothing more than to grab her and shake her to drive home his point, but he refrained.
“It’s my money,” she replied coldly.
This only served to make him angrier. “Look, if you don’t share that money, when the taxes come due we are going to be out on the streets. No one will give me a job that will cover the taxes after we pay for our food and other necessities, and it definitely won’t cover it after your frivolous spending on new clothes. I do not intend to live on the street. And I don’t know where you would go. Your parents have disowned you.”
“You would leave me?” she sounded shocked.
“Not completely, but I somehow doubt you would enjoy the living conditions I could afford. Think Weasley, only worse.”
She crossed her arms and considered him. “And what would you do with my money?”
“We need to leave the country and start over somewhere else.”
“Leave? You must be joking. We don’t know anyone outside of Britain.”
“That’s the point. I can’t get a job here because we know people. More to the point, everyone here knows us. I can’t get anyone I know to give me the time of day let alone a job. They’ve all taken Lucius’ side.”
“You mentioned starting a business. What about that?”
“I need an idea first, I haven’t been able to come up with anything yet. And it would have to be in Knockturn Alley. Not exactly the most respectable place for a business, but I don't see any other choice. Now how much money do you have?” When she didn’t answer, he grabbed her arm and squeezed it. “How much money do you have?” he asked more insistently.
“Ten thousand Galleons,” she replied meekly.
“Ten thousand? And you never said anything? Do you realize what I could have done with that much money?” He pulled back his arm as though to strike her, but stopped when he realized what he was about to do. Letting go of the rage, he began pacing and running his hands through his hair. “We could have started over, could have amounted to something. It would have made a good starting investment on a business.”
“Just use it now.”
He laughed weakly. “You really have no idea how a business works, do you? I could have used the stipend to pay for expenses until it started turning a profit. Now, I need to factor that into the equation and that leaves me less money for rent and initial stocking fees…
“Perhaps we should start over somewhere else. Somewhere my reputation won’t hurt us.”
“I am not leaving the country. And if you want access to my money, neither are you.”
Draco thought long and hard about her words. He wasn’t even sure that he loved her anymore. They had been fighting for so long that he was beginning to wonder if what he had felt a year ago – it seemed like forever now – had only been lust. But he did love his daughter, and he would not leave her. As much as he didn’t want to, he would stay in Britain. Now the problem was to figure out how best to use their remaining funds.
He would have to examine the shops of Knockturn Alley more closely. Perhaps he could find one to become a partner in or buy outright rather than start something from scratch. “Fine. I’ll start looking tomorrow. But do not touch that money. I’m not sure how much of it I’m going to need.” She started to open her mouth to protest. “I mean it! I need you to listen to me. Because I listened to you, we are in this mess. And realize that we aren’t going to be instantly wealthy, but we’ll hopefully earn enough to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table.” He rose from his seat.
“Where are you going?” she demanded.
“Out.”
“Out where? We do have a baby to take care of.”
“That’s your job. I need to figure out how to support our family.” With a pop he Disapparated.
Chapter End Notes:
A great big thank you to those who have reviewed. Every little comment is very important to me. Also, a great big thank you to nota, my wonderful beta, whom I forgot to thank last chapter, and I am horribly embarrassed by that oversight. One more chapter to go, folks.