Tango * dramione

Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Fancy Footwork

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Fake it

'Till you make it.

~Anonymous

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Center Stage: Hermione, George, and Ron
Setting: Ministry of Magic, Hermione's cramped office

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"That bloody sod!"

"Ronald, calm down."

"I'm gonna kill him."

"No, you're not."

"Yeah, I am, Hermione. I'm gonna blow him up into a million little pieces, reconfigure him back into his normal body shape, and then I'm gonna blow him up again like confetti!"

Hermione tapped her foot over and over again, trying to find something reasonable to say. All that she could sum up, however, was just about as much as Ron: Malfoy Industries had put a stopper in the Weasley's sales, and if something wasn't done, and quickly, the business would be doomed.

"Let me see the letter again?" she asked George, who stood in the corner of her office, staring at a corkboard collage of all the house elves Hermione had managed to free since her internship at the Ministry had begun. He didn't seem at all himself, usually being of a chipper disposition, but who could blame him? The business he'd started with his late brother, Fred, was on the chopping block, and none of them knew if Draco had any involvement in it. Surely he didn't...surely he wouldn't. Not after last night...not after...

George slammed the crumpled scroll down on her desk, causing the cup of quills she kept on the edge to rattle. He crinkled his brows. "Sorry, Hermione."

"It's alright." Smoothing out the paper, she read the finer details, working out the worried creases. "I'm sure once Draco gets here, he will be able to sort all of this out." She hoped. Hermione owled him the moment Ron and George arrived in her office and spilled the beans about what had happened; they'd hoped Hermione's quick thinking would be able to get them out of this jam, but the legalities were air tight. Until Malfoy Industries approved the new patent terms, every Demon Box, Extendable Ear, Fanged Frisbee, and countless other Weasley ideas were held at the mercy of an oversight in their previous contract. "Really, it's the damned wizarding way of doing things that's got you screwed out of your own sales," she muttered.

"Come again?" asked George curiously.

"Well, in the muggle world, all patents are regulated by the government."

Ron scratched the side of his stubbled face. "Meaning...?"

Hermione gave a rather large sigh. "Meaning, if things ran like they did in the muggle world, the Ministry of Magic would regulate patents. As it is, patent companies are privately owned and regulated in the magical world. The patents are still on display for the public to see, but the issue is that the companies own a share of the profits for patenting and maintaining the products. And this one here," she wagged a finger in George's direction, "didn't read the fine print when signing on with his less-than-reputable patent company! If he had, he would have noticed the small article in subsection B that states if the ownership of the patents switches, an entirely new batch will need to be approved! And since wizarding patent companies own ten percent of whatever they help with..."

"Malfoy Industries bought out O'Patties Patenting," finished Ron, astounded.

"Couldn't we sell the items without the patents?" offered George.