A/N – Welcome to my new short reunion story – Lady of the Manor. The story has 6 chapters and updates will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I hope you all enjoy it.

Harry Potter was enjoying a quiet Sunday breakfast with his wife, Ginny, as the pair of them made the most of having a child free weekend as their two sons were with Ginny's parents for a couple of days. Truth be told, the couple were trying for a third child, the much longed for daughter to complete their family, and they had spent most of their weekend in bed. However, they were up and fully clothed as they enjoyed a leisurely breakfast.

"Maybe we could go for a walk before we go and pick up the boys," Harry suggested to his wife.

"That sounds nice," Ginny replied with a smile, before turning back to the morning's edition of The Daily Prophet, specifically the sport section at the back.

It was only recently that Ginny had given up professional quidditch, after being one of the very few witches who had carried on playing the game after having children, and Harry knew she was missing the buzz of playing professional quidditch. She was currently in talks with the editor of The Daily Prophet about becoming a quidditch reporter, but Harry suspected that the position wouldn't be as glamorous as Ginny would have liked. As much as Harry loved and adored his wife, he wasn't blind to her faults, and he was well aware that she loved attention and revelled in being a well-known face in Wizarding Britain.

Harry himself was also a well-known wizard, but unlike his wife, he wasn't a fan of the attention. He understood that his part in bringing down Voldemort a decade ago made him a war hero, but he wasn't keen on the celebrity status that came along with it. But whether he liked it or not, he was famous and there was nothing the press liked more than writing a story about 'The Boy Who Lived'. So over the years, Harry had learnt to accept that elements of his private life were going to be splashed all over the papers.

As Ginny finished up with the sport and turned to her second favourite section of the paper, the gossip and society section, Harry began to gather the dirty dishes. However, he hadn't even began to start the washing up when his wife let out a loud gasp. Using magic to start the washing-up, Harry turned back to the kitchen table, about to remind Ginny that she couldn't believe everything she read in The Daily Prophet, especially in the gossip section.

There was a time Harry was very wary of reporters following his run-ins with Rita Skeeter, but he'd learnt over the years that most journalists were professionals who checked their facts before printing a story. However, there was still a not so honest contingent out there, and most of them peddled their rubbish in the gossip sections. It was only the previous year that Harry had been pictured at a fancy hotel with his best friend's wife, and articles had implied that he and Lavender were having a sordid affair. In fact they'd been planning a surprise for Ron's birthday, but thanks to the articles the surprise was ruined, and of course there were still those who did still think that Harry had slept with his best friend's wife.

"You have to see this, Harry," Ginny said, before Harry could offer his advice.

"I'm really not interested in gossip, Ginny," Harry replied with a sigh. "Especially as it'll all be lies or distorted facts. I say let people think what they want about us, we know the truth."

"It's not about us," Ginny said. "It's about Hermione."

At the mention of his old friend, Harry's breath caught in his throat. He hadn't seen or heard from Hermione in years, and he never read about her in the papers as she no longer resided in Wizarding Britain. There was a time Hermione was a major part of his life, and truth be told Harry still thought of her all the time, but their lives had gone their separate ways, in part due to her break-up with Ron.

After the war it had been inevitable that Hermione and Ron would get together, and even though Harry had always had his reservations about their compatibility, he was delighted to be proved wrong as the pair had been very happy together. However, it was only a brief honeymoon period as cracks started to show within months as it became clear they both wanted very different things out of life. Ron was content to settle down with a secure job as an Auror alongside Harry, and build a solid domestic life with Hermione. And while Hermione was quite happy with the idea of having children one day, she'd wanted to travel and experience life before settling down with a dull job and children to look after.

The differences in what they wanted from life led to some pretty nasty rows, and as their relationship broke down, Ron accused Hermione of looking down on him and his family. He accused her of thinking she was better than the Weasleys. Of course, Harry knew that Hermione would never look down on a family she cared so deeply for, but Ron wouldn't listen to reason. And his theory was only compounded in his eyes when Hermione got a new job liaising with foreign Ministries, which meant travelling the world as an ambassador for Wizarding Britain. To Ron it was proof that Hermione wanted more than he could offer, and she was taking the job to escape from him and his family.

Truthfully, Hermione's job shouldn't have led to Harry losing touch with her. Even though she travelled for most of the year, she was based in London and was back home every few months. Harry suspected that to Hermione it seemed he had taken Ron's side in their break-up, but truthfully he hadn't taken anyone's side. It was just that he worked alongside Ron, was involved with his sister, was a surrogate part of the Weasley family, and therefore saw Ron every day as opposed to Hermione, who was travelling all the time.

Not that contact dropped off as soon as Hermione took the job. For months she and Harry wrote to each other, and Harry even visited her a couple of time. However, between their two demanding jobs and his life with Ginny, they did end up losing touch. Especially as the more Hermione progressed in her job, the less time she was spending in London. In fact just over a year after she'd taken the position, she gave up her flat as she wasn't in the country enough of the year to warrant keeping it. It was far easier for her to stay in a hotel when she was in England. Although when the last time she was in England was, Harry wasn't sure. It had been years since he'd seen her at the Ministry, and to be honest, Harry no longer knew if she still worked for the British Ministry.

"Harry," Ginny called, breaking into her husbands thoughts. "Do you want to see the paper?"

"I do," Harry answered, settling back in his seat and taking the paper from his wife.

As his attention fell on the article his wife had been reading, Harry's eyes were drawn to the large picture which accompanied the report. The picture was of Hermione, her hair pinned back elegantly, wearing a stunning deep blue evening gown, standing beside a piano and smiling serenely. Harry was no expert, but the dress looked expensive, and she was adorned with genuine looking diamonds, including a sparkling engagement ring which was on full display.

Harry studied the picture for a long time, admiring how beautiful and happy Hermione looked. Even though he hadn't seen Hermione for years, he felt he knew he well enough to be able to tell that she looked happy. In fact she looked happier than Harry had ever seen her. Just looking at the picture, you could tell you were looking at a witch completely satisfied with her life.

Pleased that things seemed to have worked out for Hermione, Harry tore his gaze away from the picture and took in the blaring headline. Only as he read the headline – The New Lady of Malfoy Manor – time seemed to stand still and nothing made sense. Now he could see why Ginny was so taken aback by the article.

Gathering his senses, Harry scanned the first paragraph of the article, which confirmed that Hermione was indeed a Malfoy. Not only that, but she was being called the new Lady of the Manor, and she had officially taken over as patron of the Malfoys charity – Hope.

The charity, which helped children, had been set up after the war by Narcissa Malfoy, and like a lot of people, Harry had been sceptical and wondered if it was just a ploy to help the Malfoys restore their reputation after it was destroyed during the war. But Harry had attended one of their early events, and he'd seen with his own eyes that Narcissa's desire to help was genuine. In fact they'd had a long talk and Narcissa confessed that it had almost killed her being unable to help her own child during the war, so it was helping her deal with the effects of the war by being able to help other children.

Once he'd been sure the charity was genuine, and wasn't a publicity stunt from the Malfoys, Harry had been a huge supporter of Hope, and had attended several of their events. However, the charity hadn't been as prominent over the last few years as three and a half years ago, Narcissa had fallen ill and tragically died. The charity had kept going after Narcissa's death, but it had been missing the element that had made it so special, namely Narcissa herself. But now it would appear the charity had a new patron, and a new face to help raise funds.

In fact as Harry read on, it was revealed that Hope was throwing its first major event since Narcissa's death. On the first of August, a garden party was being held at Malfoy Manor itself. Harry couldn't recall any function taking place at the manor before, and he could only assume it was partly to introduce Hermione as the newest Malfoy to the wizarding public.

"What do you think?" Ginny asked, obviously dying to get her husband's opinion on the story.

"I think I can hardly believe Hermione is a Malfoy," Harry muttered.

"I know," Ginny agreed. "Who would have thought she would end up married to Lucius Malfoy?"

"Where does it say she's married to Lucius?" Harry frowned, rescanning the article for any mention of Lucius. However, the article wasn't exactly brimming with details and aside from calling Hermione 'Mrs Malfoy', and announcing her as the new patron of Hope, the article was very scare on actual details.

"Who else would she be married to?" Ginny questioned with a shrug. "Not only is she taking Narcissa's position at the charity, she's also described as the new Lady of the Manor. Last time I checked, Lucius Malfoy was still the owner of Malfoy Manor."

"I guess," Harry muttered, trying to get his head around Hermione being married to Lucius. Although the other alternative, that she was married to Draco, was just as hard to believe.

"There's no guessing about it," Ginny declared confidently. "I might have said she was married to Draco, but that article doesn't read like that. It reads as though she's taking Narcissa's place, both with the charity and at the manor. Besides, Malfoy doesn't even live in this country anymore."

"True," Harry agreed with a nod.

Less than six months after the war, Draco had left Wizarding Britain, and aside from his mother's funeral, he hadn't been seen in the country since. And Harry certainly hadn't heard anything about him returning and taking over at Malfoy Manor. Ginny was right, Lucius was still head of the Malfoy family, and the article in The Daily Prophet did read as though she was stepping into Narcissa's shoes in more way than one.

"It does rather prove Ron's point though," Ginny said. "He always said she thought herself too good for him. And look at her now. Married to one of the richest wizards in the country."

"And I've always said, Hermione was no snob," Harry argued. "She never looked down on Ron, or your family. She and Ron just wanted different things in life."

"No, she just thought the life my parents have wasn't good enough for her," Ginny snorted. "She wasn't content to just be Ron's wife and the mother of his children. She wanted more."

"Like you did?" Harry questioned with an arched eyebrow. "You didn't exactly follow in your mother's footsteps, Gin. Yes, you're a wife and mother, but you're so much more than that. You played quidditch for a living, and you loved it so much, you carried on playing after you had James. You have a life outside of our family, and that was all Hermione ever wanted."

"Maybe," Ginny conceded, not sounding too convinced. "This is going to kill Ron."

"Why should it matter to Ron?" Harry asked. "He's happily married with his first child on the way. I know he loved Hermione, but you can't deny he loves Lavender and the pair are a much better fit."

"They are pretty good together," Ginny agreed. "But anyone would be hurt to find out their ex is married to a rich old guy, even if he is rather sexy."

"You think Lucius Malfoy is sexy?" Harry questioned with a grimace.

"Yes," Ginny answered honestly and quickly. "Don't get me wrong, he's a complete and utter bastard and I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him, but he's got sex appeal. And I guess there must be something about him if Hermione's married him. Unless she did marry him for the money."

"Hermione would not have married for money," Harry insisted. "She would only have married for love."

"We should see for ourselves," Ginny suggested. "We've always supported Hope, so let's go to the garden party. Then we can find out exactly how Hermione ended up as Mrs Malfoy, and see for ourselves what sort of marriage she has."

Even though Harry knew Ginny only wanted to attend the party for the gossip, he found himself agreeing to sort them a pair of tickets. He also really wanted to attend the party, but not for the gossip. He couldn't care less why Hermione had married Lucius. All he wanted was to see his old friend again, and maybe see if they could start afresh. It had been too long since Hermione had been in his life, and he wanted to put that right and reignite their friendship. Even if she was now a Malfoy and married to a wizard old enough to be her father.