Draco stiffened, staring at the red-head. "Not him. Anyone but him."
"Do you have a problem, George?" Hermione quipped, coming to stand beside Draco. Her tone was cool, but he could scent the frustration coming off of her in thick waves.
"Yes, I have a problem! First you bring her in here," he glared at Pansy. "Fine. But him? No! You cannot bring him into this house. No."
"Fine. I'll just leave." Draco turned on his heel, refusing to shrink under the snarky and hostile tone of the Weasley. Then something caught his wrist. He twisted, catching Hermione's gaze.
"Don't you dare," she seethed, her teeth clenched and eyes burning a dark amber. "Do not let him get you down."
"Draco, Hermione! How wonderful of you to join us!" Astoria and Harry came from the kitchen, Astoria's sweet tone breaking the tention. "Pansy?" She stared incrediously at the girl.
"Hi, Tori." Pansy flushed deeply, shying away from Harry and Astoria.
"Hello," Harry dipped his head in greeting, though Draco could see the wariness in his eyes. He came over, hugging Hermione and his wrist was released. "Really, Hermione, you had to bring them?" He hissed softly, and Draco didn't miss it.
"Shut up, Harry! Molly said they could come."
Harry pulled away as Molly came in. "Miss Parkinson, Draco, Hermione. Wonderful for you to join us." The mother-hen Weasley greeted warmly.
"Mrs. Weasley." He greeted quietly, and was suddenly aware of Hermione tugging at his coat. "What are you doing?"
"Take your coat off." SShe urged. "I don't understand why you wore it in the first place."
"Well, I thought we were Apparting." He muttered, pulling it off. She took it from him, vanishing into the crowd of Weasley's.
Suddenly, there was a overwhelming scent of another wolf in the household as a much older Weasley and a pale, light haired woman came into the room as well. His face was badly scarred and mangled, and all Draco could scent was alcohol, cinnamon, and wolf.
Hermione came back into the living room slowly. Already things were going badly. She approached Draco, bbut paused. His eyes were wide, amber swirled in the silver of his eyes. "Malfoy!" She hissed, but he didn't seem to hear her. "Draco!"
He gaze snapped around to her, a feral look in his eyes. "Granger!?"
"Are you alright?" She gasped. "Your eyes..."
"My...eyes?" He blinked, suddenly shaking his head, before glancing back at her, the amber gone from his eyes. "What do you want, Granger?"
She blinked, utterly bemused. "C-come on then...lets get away from the fireplace, Luna and Ginny will be here any minute."
To late. The fireplace roared, and Draco flinched back, whirling around, wand drawn suddenly. Luna stepped through, dressed as eccentric as ever. "Oh, wow!" She cooed, staring up at Draco and watching the wand indifferently.
"Not normally what people say when they are under wand point..." He muttered, lowering his wand as Ginny stepped through the Floo, glowering at him.
"No, your head!"
"What about my head?" Draco growled, looking as if he were going to raise his hand to get his head.
"Wrackspurts!" Luna chirped.
"Wrack— what?"
"Wrackspurts, its full of them!"
"You mean those creatures that float in your ears?"
"Yeah!" Hermione was surprised to find that Luna's face lit up. "Anyway, hello Malfoy. I thought you would be here."
"You...did?" His brows were drawn together as he stared at her oddly. She nodded, giving a dreamy smile.
"Come on, love." Ginny strode right past Hermione and hooked a arm around Luna's waist, giving a hard glare to Draco. "Malfoy."
She watched as the battle raged inside Draco's eyes, but it faded as quickly. "Weasley." He nodded, his tone cool.
"Hermione! Drake! Come help cook!" Hermione pricked up as Astoria's voice echoed through the Grimmauld Place. Quickly casting a 'talk to me later' glare at Ginny, she slipped carefully through the living room. The Grimmauld Place looked so much better then it used to. Even the portrait of Walburga Black stayed silent, unless highly disturbed.
She stopped suddenly halfway down the hallway, aware of Draco sulking behind her, but didn't stop to check on him. He could deal with himself, and she would figure out later what was really going on. Inside the kitchen, it was verywarm, and smelled delicious where Astoria was cooking, Harry chilling at the edge of the counter.
"Why are you cooking, in his house, while he is just sitting there drinking firewhisky?" Hermione scoffed.
"Well, Mrs. Weasley was cooking, but she had to run to the store for a few oast minute ingreidients for tomorrow." Astoria explained. "Hermione, find the serving plates, please?"
"Firewhisky, Malfoy?" Harry raised a glass of dark brown and amber liquid.
"No, thanks though." Draco muttered.
"Alright, then. I suppose I'll go see if Andromeda is here." Harry shrugged, heading out of the kitchen.
Hermione pulled open the cabinet, reaching for the silver platters and taking them down. She handed them to Draco, nodding to the counter behind him. "Put them there, please," holding them in one hand she reached for more.
The second the weight left her hand, though, there was a sharp yelp and a dull crash. She spun around, seeing Draco had set the plates on the counter, but his hands were burned. Exactly where he had lifted the plates.
"You moron, Draco Malfoy!" Astoria snapped, pulling her wand out quickly and hurrying over.
"S-s-sorry, T-tori. I-I didn't know t-they were...s-silver." He gasped, and it was obvious the amount of agony he felt as Astoria slowly healed the burns.
Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but Astoria glared at her. "That is not a topic to be discussed here, Granger. Not right now."
"Right..." Then there was a joyous exclaimation from the living room. "We'l talk about this later, Malfoy." She snapped, before stalking from the room.
Astoria held Malfoy's skeletal hand in her own, drawing her wand over the burns blistering his pale skin. It was odd he didn't protest to her help. Draco was a cold person; he didn't like physical contact, not even the slightest bit. Pansy had complained many times when they had dated that he was so distant and closed off that she had wondered many a time if he even loved her at all.
"She knows. She knows." He gasped through a strangled breath, flexing his right hand as she finished healing it before moving to the next one.
Astoria knew of Draco's affliction, just as he knew of hers. Yet, she couldn't help but wonder...did Draco even understand the amount of hell he would go through if it got out? A slip of a tongue; his, hers, Pansy's or Hermione's? Even with the legislation that Hermione and her little group were trying to pass, Werewolves were still hunted. Now more then ever. Malfoy's were hated as it was; the people of the Wizarding World joyous when they had heard of Lucius' sentance and Narcissa's sudden death, and bitter when they heard that the Heir was still free.
If anyone, who wanted to bring harm to him, ever found out that there was another Werewolf, one that was a Malfoy, nonetheless...she shuddered, unable to even dream of what Florence and her group would do to him. Instant death would be a blessing.
"And that, Draco, is why you are a moron! What did you think, inviting her to live with you? She is Hermione Granger, Brightest Witch of Her Age, did you really think she wasn't going to find out? She figured out Lupin was a Werewolf way before us all, and that was just little hints. Tell me, how many creatures can you think of, that silver burns them?"
Her green-yellow eyes were hard, unable to keep the fury from rising inside her chest, threatening to overflow like a erupting volcano.
"One...Werewolf..." He muttered, pulling both his hands away. Guiltily, he looked away, his eyes clouding.
"Do you realize how easily she could bring your downfall if she wanted? Yes, she she wants protection for Werewolves, but what if she didn't? Do you realize how serious this is?" She hissed in a whisper.
"Yes, I know how serious this is, Astoria! I live with that prospect every day and every night. How dare you think I don't realize how dangerous the situation is?!" He snarled, trying to keep his voice low. She could hear the canine-like noise in his voice, and she knew the wolf was pacing, she could see it in his eyes.
"Because sometimes you don't act like you know, and it's bloody infuriating!"she hissed, when the door swung open, Hermione striding along side Andromeda, a blue-haired child clinging to Hermione's hip.
"Well he's got to meet him at some point, they're related." Hermione hissed to Andromeda.
"I still can't get over how they are related. Me and my distance cousins look more like each other then Teddy and Draco do."
"Teddy get's his looks from Remus, except for the-" The two woman seemed to realize abrutly Astoria and Draco were there, and the boy in Hermione's arms shrunk back.
"Malfoy, I think it's long overdue that you meet your cousin, Teddy Lupin." Hermione annoucned.
"Oh my goodness, he's so adorable!" Astoria cooed softly, giving Teddy a small smile, her anger at Draco forgotten. This seemed to comfort the child, for he lifted his head from Hermione's neck and grinned.
But Draco stayed silent, just staring at the child. "He looks like her."
Astoria shot him a odd look. "Who?" But Hermione and Draco were holding each other's stare, the air of warning crackling furiously in Hermione's magic.
"No one. No one." Draco quickly shook his head, still eyeing the child. Then, before their very eyes, the boys hair turned pure ice white, his eyes steel silver. "Merlin..." The word left Draco's lips in less then a murmur.
"This is your cousin Draco, Teddy. Say hi?" Hermione prompted softly, looking down lovingly at the child balancing on her hip. Astoria couldn't doubt that Hermione would be a spectacular mother.
"Hi, cousin Draco!" Teddy piped up, silver eyes alight with interest now that he was more comfortable.
Astoria saw Draco wince. Visibly. Was it because of the sharpness in the boys voice hurting his sensitive hearing, she wondered, or something more?
Despite was Andromeda nd Granger had been saying, all Draco could see in his six year old cousin was Nymphadora through and through. Even when the boys hair changed and eyes changed right before his bloody eyes he still saw the boys mother in them.
Draco didn't know Nymphadora well. He had only met her once previously before the Ar, and that was brief. Only a seconds glances between them, even though they were cousins. But, he still saw her in Teddy. "He's a Metamorphmagus," he stated blandly.
"Yep." Hermione bounced the child gently on her hip, the boy giggling happily. "He's your cousin, Malfoy, stop staring at him like he has five heads."
Draco scowled, glancing at Andromeda. "Andromeda. How are you?" Purposely, he ignored Granger's futile attempts to get him to interact with his little cousin.
"Well. And yourself?"
"Good enough." Draco shrugged.
"Cousin Draco?"
Draco glanced at his little cousin, blinking. "Yes?"
"Did you know my Mummy or Daddy?" Draco winced, and so did Astoria, Hermione and Andromeda. The question was so innocent, but impacted the people in the room deeply. Andromeda slipped from the room quickly, and Astoria turned away, checking the food.
"Put the boy down, Granger." He muttered, and Hermione pblidged carefully. Teddy stood, watching Draco carefully. He knelt down, offering a small smile. "Let me tell you something, Teddy. I didn't know your Mum, but your Father twight Defense Against The Dark Arts at Hogwarts when I was young—"
"Really?" Teddy piped up, eyes fading to the same green-gray-blue shade as his mothers.
"Yes, really. And, honestly, I didn't see it back then. But now, I realize, your father was a genius. You do remind me of him, and of your mother even though I only met her once or twice. So yes, I did know your father a bit, and he as a brillant man. And I don't doubt that you are to." Draco forced a smile, and the little kid brightened instantly.
"Thanks, Cousin Draco! I'm going to find Harry!" Unaffected, the child pelted through Hermione's legs and out of the kitchen.
Hermione just stared at Draco. "That was sweet."
"Oh, don't look so frightened, Granger. I am capable of human emotion." Draco snorted, standing.
"Honestly, I wonder if you are though." Astoria turned around, and gave a grin.
"Oh, shut up, Astoria!"
Pansy perched herself on the arm of a chair, watching the party carefully. It seemed that the Weasley's and Potter didn't just invite family and close friends, but everyone. Now, Pansy sat trying to count everyone in the room and whom she knew was there.
Molly and Arthur Weasley, who had just come in the front door with grocery bags. Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, where only Merlin knew. A woman she knew was Andromeda Tonks with a wild blue-haired child. Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood, Luna's legs draped over Ginny's whilst Luna argued with Harry over some sort of creature.
George Weasley and Astoria Greengrass. Bill and Fleur Weasley, and their one year old daughter, Victoria. Theodore Nott and Katie Bell, possibly the strangest couple Pansy had ever seen, but they seemed very friendly with Bill and Charlie Weasley, and Charlie Weasley's girlfriend who Pansy didn't recognize.
Percy Weasley and Penelope Clearwater, looking unhappy. Neville Longbottom, speaking to a girl with very long blonde hair, and— Merlin..
Pansy about toppled from her chair, one because Hermione and Draco had entered the room together, Hermione looking way to happy for her own good, and two because the blonde haired girl was coming over to her snd Pansy recognized her instantly. "Daphne?" She gasped, breathless.
"Hi, Pansy." The girl stopped, staring incrediously as her. "How...how are you?"
The voice in the back of Pansy's head whined violently. When did Daphne get so hot?
There was a knock on the front door. And the room fell silent, heads turning. Molly and Arthur had arrived back, so it wasn't them. Draco llooked up, drawing his wand, and turning heel towards the door, aware of Harry behind him. Slowly, wand in hand, Draco pulled open the door.
A woman, brown and green hair tied into two braids, stood shivering outside the door, staring guiltily up at him. A weak smiled played at her lips. "Hi, Draco."
"Nymphadora?!"