Disclaimer: I obviously do not own the characters nor the story, Harry Potter.
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"Hermione, dear, we would really like it you came with us," Nancy Granger placed a soothing hand over her daughters' own in hopes of placating her to finally agree on going for the annual Granger family vacation.
"Mum, you know I can't. The vacation takes place on 6 June! It's my anniversary with Draco on the 7th and it's gonna be for four days. I can already imagine the questions I'm going to get asked. Aside from Aunt Emma's family, the rest just wants to tear me apart limb from limb!" Hermione's gentle voice crescendoed at the thought of her condescending relatives. She knew if she went on this trip, it would be hell.
Mrs. Granger furrowed her eyebrows in disappointment but she understood. More than half of the Grangers were rather wealthy and they liked to flaunt it at any given chance. Hermione felt guilty looking at her parents. She knew how hard it was for her parents to answer the questions on her whereabouts whenever they meet the family since she's a witch. Their questions were only met with vague answers and it's getting relatively difficult for Mr. and Mrs. Granger to keep defending her daughter's honour with white lies. True, she has had valid reasons for not attending 6 years in a row but they can't very well tell the family that she's off fighting a magical war can they?
Hermione jolted at the sound of her phone ringing as it gave life to a silent kitchen. She removed herself from the embrace of her mother to pick up the call.
"Hello?" David Granger watched his daughter's expression as it got more sullen by the minute, "What do you mean you can't make it? Can't you reschedule the meeting to another date? You know how much this means to me, to us!"
Hermione was now clearly agitated as she paced down the kitchen tiles. After a moment she stops and exhaled a huge sigh, her shoulders hung in defeat, "Fine, I get it. We'll just celebrate when I get back then … love you too, bye."
"Was that Draco?" Hermione's father enquired.
Hermione replied with a small nod, "The signing of agreement for the merger would take place on our anniversary and his client has specified the date so Draco can't postpone it. I'm sad that we can't spend our anniversary together but, I know that he has given his blood and sweat to this merger to prove to Lucius that he's capable of taking over him when he retires. Draco also wants to prove his colleagues that he's not just riding on his father's coat-tails," Hermione sighed once again.
Hermione looked up to see her parents' concerned gazes and shot them a wry smile, "I guess we're going to the vacation."
Her parents went in to give her an encouraging hug while not bothering to hide their happiness, "Don't worry sweetie, you won't be alone. Remember, you still have Annabelle with you."
At the mention of Annabelle, Hermione turn her attention towards the two year old girl napping on the sofa. Her heart melted at the sight of her daughter's angelic face. She had inherited Hermione's brown curls and pouty lips which gave a soft touch to the sharp features of Draco's steely grey eyes and chiseled nose. Annabelle had been a happy accident. Hermione was surprised when she found out she was expecting and deduced that Annabelle was conceived on the day that Draco proposed to her. Hermione was worried about Draco's reaction to having a child at such a young age – her being twenty-three and Draco, twenty-two. However, it all washed away when Draco responded with such awe and joy in his face.
Since Hermione refused to waddle down the aisle with a huge pregnant belly, she opted for a long engagement which thankfully, they both agreed to. Draco had been insanely protective of Hermione during her pregnancy. It was sweet having a caring fiancé who refused to let her carry even light groceries but after a while, she felt his presence was that was an annoying fly hovering around her. After setting Draco straight, she sat down and began planning her future and whatever Hermione Granger, the brightest witch of her age set her mind on, she accomplishes it.
In the third trimester of her pregnancy, Hermione took maternity leave from her job as an Unspeakable to prepare for the arrival of her baby and after 6 months of staying at home, Hermione was very reluctant to return to work and miss many of Annabelle's first. Draco, being the ever supportive fiancé that he was, reasoned with Hermione that he makes more than enough for the family and that Hermione should do she felt more comfortable with. So, she became a stay-at-home mum and a great companion to Narcissa Malfoy whom often came to spend time with her soon-to-be daughter-in-law and her granddaughter.
A small smile appeared on Hermione's face as she saw her angel waking up. She made a beeline to the unexpectedly adorable grumpy faced Anna, "How was your nap, baby?"
...
Hermione immediately groaned when she stepped out the cab and landed her two feet in front of the lobby of Hotel La Bellezza , or translated to 'The Beauty' in English. This five-star hotel located in Italy, like its name, was majestic. It was no wonder why her Aunt Maria booked the hotel in addition to her expensive taste for everything.
The hotel was familiar but Hermione couldn't put a finger on it. She shrugged it off because she had more depressing matter to attend to – the realization that she was actually going through with the vacation had Hermione groaning in despair.
"Mama?" A small voice broke her out her reverie.
Her little angel never did grow out of her habit of calling Hermione 'Mama' instead of Mummy. She tries to teach her to say 'Mummy' but Hermione guessed it's easier to say the former instead of the latter for a two year old.
"Yes?" She looked down to where Anna was clutching at her sundress, trying to hide her face behind her mother's legs.
"Don't be scared, Mummy's here with you. Come and take my hand, I don't want you to get lost," Anna obediently clasped her tiny fingers in Hermione's own and started walking inside the Hotel.
"Mum, Dad, I'll go ahead first and see if there's any familiar faces. I do hope Aunt Emma's here with Cousin Elena, Tom and Danny. They're the only ones I can bear."
"Of course. Your father and I will join you in a minute." Nancy Granger replied.
As she got nearer to the front desk, Hermione thanked her lucky stars because all three of her favourite cousins were here!
"Hermione! Is that you?" Elena Jones ran up to her and hugged her in excitement, "It's been such a long time since I've last seen you! Look at you, all grown up," Elena took a step back to appraise her.
"I've missed you too, Elena!" Hermione returned her bubbly cousin's hug.
"Hey! Don't forget about us! We want some family hug too!" Hermione smiled widely hearing Tom's voice.
"Bring it in!" Danny chimed excitedly.
"I'm so glad you guys are here so that I don't have to deal with the nightmarish Aunt Maria and Uncle Louis's nasty children, they're horrid." Hermione fake gagging earned a hearty laughter from the trio.
"Speaking of children …" Tom crouched down to Annabelle's height and grinned, "What's your name little one? I'm Uncle Tom, the best uncle you'll ever have," Annabelle giggled at Tom's antics and proudly said, "Annabelle."
All three of them cooed.
"I heard you have a daughter 'Mione but I still can't believe it, she's so cute! How old is she?" Elena gushed.
"My little darling just turned two in February. She's such a daddy's girl," Hermione picked Anna up and placed her on her waist.
Danny head shifted left and right as in search of something, "Where is he?"
Hermione's face instantly changed at the mention of Draco, "He's busy with work."
"I'm sorry to hear that but at least you still have us! We'll have loads of fun, won't we Annabelle?" Danny tickled Anna's belly. She squealed in laughter and tried to push his big hands away, "Stop!"
"Aww, I was looking forward to seeing the man who has managed to sweep our 'Mione off her feet," Elena sighed dramatically.
Hermione couldn't help but smile.
Hermione saw Tom stiffen up from the corner of her eye, "Guys, the wicked witch of the west is here," Elena, Tom and Hermione turned to stare at Aunt Maria and Uncle Louis's family strutting in the hotel towards them like they own it. Their condescending eyes matched the slight sneer of their mouths as they whispered something to each other.
"Hello my nephew and nieces! It's a nice hotel isn't it? You would have to wait for at least 6 months to get a room here but of course, I managed to pull some strings with the manager to get us all acquainted," Aunt Maria shrugged her shoulder in nonchalance, looking smug.
"We're all very thankful for whatever it was you did to get the rooms. I'm sure you're very close with the manager." Hermione gave her aunt a fake smile which she's mastered when dealing with similar people. She's grateful to the lessons Narcissa has taught her.
"Of course they're close, that's how she got those rooms. Weren't you listening Hermione?" Lizzy, a typical fake-tan, hair bleaching blonde Barbie replied, missing Hermione's veiled insult in her statement. Pretty Lizzy may be, but clever she was not.
Tom and Danny were sniggering behind her.
Aunt Maria coughed to cover up her shock and just waved her previous comment away, "You're welcome. I'm going to get us checked in since it's reserved under my name," She quickly made her escape with Uncle Louis but their children stayed behind.
Lizzy, Paula and Rita were Hermione's childhood bullies. Back when Hermione was growing up, the Grangers consisting of Aunt Maria, Uncle Louis, Aunt Emma and her Dad, used to live within driving distance of each other. Hence, they made a point for a bi-monthly visit to each other's homes. Hermione called them the Weird Sisters after the witches in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Like their namesake, they were everything bad in Hermione's life.
They would scrutinize and criticize every bit of Hermione's actions down to the way she eats. It was frustrating and she ended up crying a lot since they were older and Hermione couldn't defend herself. Although she had Elena, Tom and Danny to back her up, they weren't always available to protect her so her confidence took a beating. Intelligence was the thing Hermione prided herself with so she took in her stride to be the best in her studies.
Noticing the child in her arms, Paula pointed rudely to Annabelle, "Is that yours?"
"First of all, dear cousin, Annabelle's a she and if I ever hear you mention her as that instead of a who, well, who knows what can happen," Hermione's implied threat hung heavy in the air, "Secondly, yes, she's mine," There was a sharp glint in Hermione's eyes. She counted to three, reigning in her temper, reminding herself that punching somebody's face would not be beneficial.
"Wha-?" Paula sputtered, obviously taken aback from Hermione's fiery attitude, not expecting such a comeback coming from the meek child they used to taunt.
"Don't mind her Paula," Rita stepped forward to defend her sister, "What would you expect from these four commoners? Anyway, where is the father?" Rita smirked, thinking she's hit a sore spot of Hermione's.
"He couldn't come, he's busy with work. Not that you would know, not having worked a day in your life."
"Even for you that's a sorry excuse Her-my-oh-knee," Rita purposely elongated Hermione's name because she knew it would infuriate her cousin.
"For your information, I'm engaged. Of course you wouldn't understand the concept. You would need to be in love and loved," Rita's face went redder as she got angrier.
Rita's frown suddenly relaxed and a smirk took over its place, "Then answer me this, why is there no engagement ring on your finger?" Crossing her arms, Rita held her head up proudly, "Don't lie cousin, no man will put up with plain, ugly, boring Hermione Granger and I'm pretty sure there's no fiancé either," Satisfied with her retort, Rita clicked her fingers, motioning Lizzy and Paula to follow her rendering the argument over as she walked away.
"Bitch!" Danny spat.
Immediately, Hermione went to inspect her left hand and true enough, her ring wasn't there! She panicked and began checking the floor and her pockets for the missing ring. How could it not be on her finger? Hermione was too upset to feel angry. How will she explain to Draco that she's lost the Malfoy family ring? It's the only one of its kind. Oh, he's going to be so mad!
"Anna, sweetie, did you see Mummy's ring?" Hermione pointed to her hand.
"No Ma-ma, no," Annabelle shook her head vigorously.
"Oh, Draco is going to kill me," Hermione moaned under her breath whilst thinking about the last moment when she had the ring on her.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" Tom asked, concerned as he saw Hermione's worried expression.
"I lost my ring! I had it on this morning but it's gone now!" Hermione raked a hand through her hair in frustration.
"Did you maybe just misplace it?" Elena suggested.
"Perhaps you're right."
Hermione gasped as realization struck her. She removed it while she was cooking and had forgotten about it. She didn't lose the ring, she merely misplaced it like Elena said!
Quickly, she fished out her phone from her pocket, carefully balancing Annabelle in her right arm and dialed Narcissa. She had taught her future mother-in-law how to use it the same day she bought a new phone for Draco since it's easier to text instead of sending an owl.
After a few seconds, Narcissa picked up the call, "Sorry to bother you Narcissa but I called to ask a favour. Could you check if I left the Malfoy ring in the kitchen? I must have put it on the counter when I cooked at the Manor this morning," Her cousins listened attentively while Hermione talked and after a few minutes, her paling face from worry lightened up and a smile took over the place of a frown, "Thank goodness! I'm sick to my stomach thinking I've lost the precious thing. Thank you so much Narcissa," Hermione ended the call and heaved a huge sigh of relief.
"Good news I suppose?" Tom threw her a cheeky smile.
"Luckily it isn't lost but I'm quite nerved having Rita insinuate that I was lying, that cow." Now that a tragedy has been averted, she felt her anger simmering in the pit of her belly.
"Ma-ma," Hermione glanced down to meet pleading eyes, "I'm hungry."
Without thinking, Hermione kissed Annabelle's impossibly puffy cheeks, "Yuck," Annabelle shrieked and pushed her tiny fist into Hermione's chest, trying to get away from her mother's moist kisses, "Mama noooooo," Hermione just laughed at her daughter's reactions. In a blink of an eye, she was going to dislike getting hugs from Hermione too. Draco's going to be really disappointed, considering he loves cuddling Annabelle more than her.
"Okay, let's get the princess some food shall we?" Elena ushered the group further inside the hotel.
Since the hotel's near the beach, it was an unanimous decision to head there. At 3 in the afternoon, the sun was high above their heads and it was sweltering. Hermione made sure she applied a generous coating of sunscreen on the two of them. Armed with sunglasses, a big hat and an oversized t-shirt, Hermione was well prepared to not get burnt. Looking at the excitable girl fidgeting while she held on Hermione's hand, she felt sorry that Anna had pale parents. She will probably never be able to go to the beach without precautionary measures. Between Draco and her, she would have had a better chance of escaping from the sun unscathed with little sunburnt skin. On a vacation in Singapore once, Draco didn't reapply his sunscreen and by the end of the day, he was teary-eyed when Hermione applied aloe vera to soothe the irritated skin. He wouldn't admit to it but Hermione heard a soft sniffle.
"Can you hear that Annabelle? It's the sound of the ocean," Annabelle paused her grabbing at Hermione's big hat at the mention of her name and settled her tiny hand on Hermione's shoulder, "The oh-cen?"
"Remember the waves we saw on the telly?" Anna nodded in confirmation, "It's the sound you're hearing now," Hermione smiled down at the thoughtful look on her child's face.
"It sounds like Daddy!" Annabelle exclaimed.
"Daddy?" Elena mouthed to Hermione, amused.
"It does doesn't it sweetie?"
"Whooooshhhh!" Annabelle tries to imitate the sound she's grown used to hearing every weekend, "We play Qiditch with broom!"
"What's … Qiditch Annabelle?" Tom questioned with an eyebrow raised.
Oh crap.
"It's a game the boys used to play back in our school. It was quite the competitive sport. Draco never grew out of it and he's been teaching Annabelle to follow in his footsteps." Hermione lets out a nervous laugh.
"How come I've never heard of it if it's a popular game?" Danny queried, popping in from behind Tom's head to ask.
"It's a tradition of the school and only popular with the students." It wasn't a lie, Hermione reasoned with herself.
"Why would you need a broom?" Elena questioned, puzzled by the need of one.
"Err… Draco had to get creative and made a simpler version of the sport for Annabelle's safety. There's no way I would allow him to put our child in danger. You know how it is with men - they mean well but they can get rough without realizing it." Hermione recalled the repetitive fights they had about Quidditch.
"That's true," Danny replied and the rest just nodded in understanding.
Wanting the attention away from her, she started asking about the lives of her cousin, "So, what have you guys been up to?"
The conversation snowballed from there and for a moment, Hermione had begun to enjoy herself and she was thankful that she had such funny and amiable cousins.
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A/N: That was Part 1 of a oneshot I wrote months ago. This is my first Dramione ever so please be kind or at the least, don't be rude.
Please review! It'll help me find the motivation I need to finish up the story! :)