A/N: This is for the Battle of the Ships and the September fanfiction writing month at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It's 424 words long.
Draco eyed his girlfriend carefully.
He wasn't sure how Hermione would react to his parents request, but hoped that she would accept it with good grace.
"They want us to have dinner with them at the Manor? I thought that they were not...overjoyed with our relationship," she asked sounding surprised.
"They still aren't happy that I chose you over Astoria Greengrass, but they seem to accept that you are the one I want to be with. They are probably thinking of what the advantages are for the family if we ended up getting married," Draco replied honestly.
In fact, Draco was sure that was the only reason his parents had decided to accept Hermione. She would bring power and influence to the Malfoy name that his father would never wield again and it would also change public opinion of the family in general. Something which his father desired since the war ended.
Although the public had been quite harsh towards his parents, they had mostly treated him fairly. Draco was sure that it was because both Harry and Hermione had defended him and said that he was as much of a victim as they had been.
"When did they want to do this dinner?"
"You're agreeing to it?"
"They are your parents, Draco. I'm going to have to meet them again at some point so I might as well have dinner with them," Hermione shrugged as if it wasn't the big deal they both knew it was.
"Will you be alright at the manor?" Draco enquired.
Even though Hermione had tried to hide it from him, Draco knew that she still had nightmares about being tortured by his aunt Bellatrix.
"I will be fine, Draco. So long as I don't have to go in that room then everything should be alright," Hermione reassured him.
"I'm sure it will be. You're the strongest person I know, but if they even try and do something we're coming straight home, okay?"
Hermione nodded in agreement.
"I love you, Hermione Granger, and I am so glad that the thought of my parents doesn't scare you away," Draco admitted.
"Nothing would scare me away from you," Hermione said as she closed the gap between them.
"Good, because I don't ever want to lose you," he said leaning down to kiss her.
The kiss was short and almost chaste, but it seemed to convey the depth of what they felt for each other in it.
Draco hoped that they would feel like that for a long time to come.