While Hermione was spilling her guts to Harry, Draco apparated into the entryway of Malfoy Manor where his mother was waiting to give him the telling off of the century.
"DRACO LUCIUS MALFOY, WHERE IN THE BLOODY HELL HAVE YOU BEEN ALL NIGHT? I'VE BEEN WORRIED SICK! I THOUGHT SOMETHING HORRIBLE HAD HAPPENED TO YOU," yelled an extremely irate and shaken Narcissa Malfoy, still clad in her pajamas and looking like she hadn't slept all night. Sighing and rubbing the back of his neck, Draco quickly tried to think of an answer that would satisfy his mother and not totally embarrass him or Hermione in the process. He was also trying to ignore the constant and almost crippling nausea that had been plaguing him all morning.
Walking over and gently taking his shaking mother in his arms he gave his reply. "I'm really sorry that I worried you mother, but I can promise that I was perfectly safe. I went out with Blaise and we had too much to drink so we got a room above the pub and slept it off. I came home as soon as I woke up. I'm very sorry that I didn't floo you but I wasn't in my right mind. I won't worry you like that again," Draco said, feeling guilty about worrying his already jumpy mother. Now he was fighting off the urge to vomit his guilt was so intense.
SMACK!
The sound echoed through the manor's entryway when Narcissa's open hand connected with the back of Draco's blonde head. "OW! MOTHER! WHAT IN THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT FOR?" He wildly shrieked while vigorously rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head.
"Language young man, and that was your payment for scaring the living shit out of me! Now you are going to go take a shower and get ready to escort me to Diagon Alley. We have to get you some robes and the rest of your books and supplies since you're off to finish your final year of school next week."
Doing exactly what his mother said, he hopped in a quick and very cold shower and dressed, though as he was buttoning up his shirt he had a quick flashback of Hermione's tiny nimble fingers unbuttoning his shirt the night before. Unable to control the smile and slight blush that bloomed across his face, he then remembered the blood on the sheets and yet another wave of nausea hit him like a bludger in the gut. Only this time he wasn't able to hold it in and he made a mad dash to the bathroom, emptying the contents of his stomach into the toilet. After brushing his teeth and washing his face he finished getting dressed so that he and his mother could head out for the day.
Ten minutes later, Draco made his way downstairs to meet his mother in the kitchen, ready to head to Diagon Alley. "Mother, I'm ready to leave whenever you are." Draco was still fighting off the near constant nausea so he plucked up a roll from the table hoping that it would help settle his stomach.
Narcissa didn't miss Draco's pale features that morning or the slightly green tint they had taken. At first she thought it was a result of his night of drinking, but now she knew that something was wrong with her son. "Draco, dear, is there something wrong? You look like you're going to be sick, what else happened last night? You didn't just go drinking with Blaise, did you? Who is she darling, what is her name?" The shocked and slightly horrified look on Draco's face gave her a rare and unexpected case of the giggles. "Draco, you forget that I was young once too. I know the look of someone in love as well as the next person. And since I'm also your mother I can read your face better than anyone else. Now who is the lucky lady that caught my son's eye, and dare I say, his heart?"
Knowing his mother would spot any lie he told a mile away, Draco sighed and whispered, "It's um… Hermione Granger. I've been in love with her for years but – because of Father and his bullshit beliefs and ideals – instead of trying to get her to love me back, I've been forced to taunt and torment her for the last seven years. But now I've messed up really bad and now she hates me and I mean really hates me. I really screwed up with her in more ways than I can count and I don't know what I can do to make it better. Or if it's even a possibility. If I was her I wouldn't forgive me either."
Narcissa smiled to herself at her son's confession before speaking. "Draco, from what I've seen of Miss Granger she seems like a very reasonable and forgiving young woman. Maybe if you can sit down and talk to her, explain to her about your part in the war and let her know that you're not who you were pretending to be. Explain that you're a good man who loves his family above all else and did what you had to do to keep up and yourself alive; I have no doubt that she would understand why you've done what you've done. But I must say that she must be even more special that I had already thought if she's been able to not only hold, but keep your heart for so long."
Unaware that a smile had yet again crept up onto his face, Draco replied "She is special Mother. She's the most amazing witch I've ever met. She's so bloody smart, and sweet, loyal to a fault, and so damn beautiful that she almost seems inhuman. And the funny thing if that she has absolutely no idea the effect that she has on the people around her. She thinks everyone sees her as a plain, boring, know-it-all bookworm, but she's so very wrong. She is like the sun; she lights up every room she enters and every guy in the room can't help but stare at her. But the problem is I did something really bad and she will never be able to forgive me for it. And honestly, I can't blame her if she doesn't. I feel like monster, Mother. I can't even look at myself in the mirror without feeling sick."
"Now Draco, what could you possibly have done that's so horrible?" asked his very worried mother.
Afraid of his mother's reaction but unable to tell a lie to her, Draco simply told her the truth. "Mother, I slept with her last night. We were both extremely drunk and after a very awkward and embarrassing conversation this morning, after which she promptly left, I noticed that there was some blood on the sheets." He let his statements sink in and as he watched, the flash of realization crossed his mother's soft features. He thought that there was no way that he could possible feel any worse about all of this; but that was until his mother regained her composure and responded to his confession.
"Oh Draco, please tell me you two were at least safe. You're far too young to be a father and I know when you're drinking you don't always think clearly or remember to cast the charm." Narcissa finally understood her son's heartache. The girl he's in love with not only hated him but now also resented him for taking her virginity while she was drunk and vulnerable.
Draco's already pale face went ghostly white at the realization that they hadn't cast the charm. And since it was her first time there was a good chance that she wasn't on the potion. "Shit! What am I going to do, Mother? Now I've really blew it with her, haven't I?"
"Draco, you're going to have to tell her," Narcissa told her very frightened son.
He was running his hands through his hair violently and then dropped into the nearest chair and said "Shit. You're right. What in the hell am I going to do?"