Hermione finally acquiesced to the seating arrangement, but warned Lucius and Narcissa that she was used to being able to gain the attention of her husband during dinner and she would not be put off by the distance separating them. They agreed immediately, but had little to no understanding of what Hermione meant. They soon figured it out, however, when at the next meal as Draco and his father discussed new Ministry regulations concerning Goblin rights in a manner Hermione found offensive, a dinner roll sailed through the air and hit Lucius on the side of the head.

All eyes at the table turned toward Hermione with horror. “Excuse me Lucius,” she stated serenely. “Could you please kick Draco on the shin for me?”

All eyes now turned toward Lucius. A moment or two of silence followed before Draco let out a loud, “Ouch!” from the head of the table.

“Thank-you,” Hermione graciously smiled at her father-in-law.

The next time that Hermione came down for a meal in the dining room, she found the table still rectangular with her seat still at the opposite end from Draco. Lucius, however, informed her privately before the meal began that the house elves had charmed the table, so that when Hermione needed to get Draco’s attention she just needed to give the table leg nearest her a kick and the corresponding leg near Draco would knock into his shin.

Hermione nodded her acceptance with this solution and the expanded Malfoy family settled down to dinner time.

The End
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