A nervous Hermione studied her reflection in the mirror, before shaking her head and heading back towards the wardrobe. She and Draco were about to head to the Manor to have Sunday lunch with his parents and Hermione just couldn't get her outfit right. The outfits were either too casual, too dressy or too muggle like. While Hermione was proud of her muggleborn heritage, she didn't want to flaunt it in the Malfoy's faces by wearing clothes they were likely to be unfamiliar with.
In her bid to find something suitable Hermione had tried on nearly all of her wardrobe and she was debating between two dresses she'd previously discarded for being too dressy. Surely it was better to be over dressed than under dressed. Unfortunately both the dresses she was looking at were both more suitable for an evening out and Hermione knew she would be as uncomfortable as anything if she wore them. The afternoon was going to be hard enough without feeling uncomfortable in her clothes. Putting the dresses back she pulled out another dress, this time a light summer dress that was perfect for day wear.
Before she had a chance to change her mind Hermione slipped off the dress she was wearing and changed into the second dress she'd pulled from the wardrobe. This time she felt much happier in the light blue dress, but she still felt it needed something more. Rummaging around she found a white shrug cardigan and pulled it on, satisfied she finally looked suitable she found a pair of low heeled sandals and grabbed a small bag. After packing everything she needed into the bag she headed into the front room to find Draco.
"Finally." He said as he got up. When he looked at Hermione he paused and tilted his head to the side. "You weren't wearing that ten minutes ago."
"I got changed." Hermione admitted. "Should I not have? Should I go back and put the other dress back on?"
"No." Draco quickly reached out and grabbed hold of Hermione's hand before she returned to the bedroom. "You look perfect. My parents will love you."
"I doubt it." Hermione snorted. "The best I'm hoping for is that they tolerate me."
"I'm sorry." Draco sighed. "I wish I could be taking you to meet people I know will support us, like your parents did."
Earlier in the week the couple had visited Hermione's parents for dinner and everything had gone great. Both of Hermione's parents had warmed to Draco quickly, although it did help that he was the reason Hermione was returning home. Her parents had been badgering her to return home for years, so they were more than happy to be nice to the man who'd managed to get her back into the country on a more permanent basis.
"I understand your parents aren't like mine." Hermione replied. "And I'm ready for whatever they have to throw at me."
"Hopefully mother won't be too bad." Draco said hopefully. He'd always been spoilt by his mother so he was hoping that Narcissa would accept Hermione because she made him happy.
"And your father?" Hermione asked. Truthfully it was Lucius who worried her more as his fearsome reputation proceeded him and back in seventh year Draco had suggested that his reputation wasn't actually as bad as the man himself.
"If we're lucky, he'll go storming off." Draco muttered. "But seriously, even if things don't go well today it's not the end of the world. Once my parents see we're serious they'll come round."
"I hope so." Hermione replied quietly.
She didn't want to cause any problems between Draco and his family and to be honest she wasn't sure what would happen if his parents didn't accept them. Draco had already promised her that he was staying with her regardless of what anyone said, but Hermione wasn't so sure he was including his parents in that. Even if he did and he did choose her over his parents Hermione suspected it would only be a matter of time before he ended up resenting her for being the reason he lost his family.
"Stop worrying, Hermione." Spotting how worried his girlfriend looked Draco wrapped her in his arms. "Everything will be okay, and even if it isn't we'll always have each other."
"I don't want you to lose your family because of me." Hermione stated, looking up at Draco.
"I won't." Draco reassured her. "If I lose my family, it'll be because of them. If they can't accept that I'm happy with you, then that's their problem. I would like to think my parents would put my happiness above some stupid beliefs that I grew out of years ago."
Draco gave Hermione a quick kiss and made sure she was ready before taking hold of her hand and apparating them to his childhood home. Draco and Hermione arrived in the entrance hall and Hermione gaped at the large house they had arrived in, she'd known Draco was rich but the house was far grander than she'd ever imagined. The entrance hall was easily as big as her whole flat in Paris, there were several corridors leading from the hall and directly in front of them was a large, spiral marble staircase that went on as far as Hermione could see.
Draco gave Hermione a few minutes to get adjusted, before leading her into one of the long corridors. Hermione kept a tight hold of Draco's hand as they walked down the long corridor, but she did manage to keep swivelling her head and taking in her surroundings. The corridor was quite dimly lit, but she could make out the paintings that lined the walls and the antiques that were displayed on tables and cabinets. Eventually Draco stopped outside a set of white doors and knocked once.
"Are you ready?" He asked Hermione.
Hermione nodded her head and Draco threw open the doors, revealing an elegant living room. The room was dominated by a large ceiling to floor window that flooded the room with light, making it very welcoming. In one corner of the room sat a piano, and the far wall was lined with shelves holding books and knickknacks. The room held two small sofas and two armchairs, all upholstered in the same cream material. There was a coffee table situated in the centre of the seating arrangement, which was positioned around the roaring fire.
Also present in the room was the most sophisticated witch Hermione had ever seen. Hermione had seen pictures of Draco's mother and had even caught the odd glimpse on platform nine and three quarters back in school, but they didn't do the woman justice. Narcissa Malfoy was impeccably dressed in a long emerald gown, her blonde hair was elegantly twisted on top of her head and her jewellery were all emeralds in silver settings. Hermione thought she looked a bit cold and reserved, until she smiled at Draco and her whole face lit up.
"Hello mother." Draco smiled back at his mother as he stepped forward and gave her a hug.
"You really need to visit more often." Narcissa told her son. "I swear every time I see you, you're getting so much bigger."
"I'm fairly sure I stopped growing some years ago." Draco chuckled.
"Maybe bigger isn't the right word, older perhaps." Narcissa mused. "That's it, every time I see you I can see you growing up. You're not my little boy anymore."
"Mother." Draco hissed, gesturing his head in Hermione's direction. The last thing he wanted was for his mother to get all maudlin and start reminiscing over his childhood.
"Sorry, dear." Narcissa chuckled at her son before turning to Hermione. "And you must be Miss Granger. It's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs Malfoy." Hermione replied, relieved that so far Draco's mother was being pleasant to her. "And feel free to call me Hermione."
"Hermione, such a pretty and unusual name." Narcissa smiled. "And yet so familiar. Have we met before?"
"No you haven't met." Draco answered for Hermione. "But no doubt you've heard of Hermione before. We went to school together, she was the Head Girl when I was Head Boy."
Narcissa's smile dropped from her face as she realised who exactly she was talking to. She'd heard Lucius moaning about a muggleborn witch being Head Girl with Draco. Initially he'd been going to head up to the school and demand a change, until Narcissa had pointed out that knowing Dumbledore he would likely have taken the position off Draco, not Hermione. Reluctantly Lucius let the matter drop but all year he'd been complaining about their son forced to share living quarters with a muggleborn.
"Draco, have you gone mad?" She hissed at her son. "Your father will go ballistic."
"I don't care." Draco replied, stepping back to Hermione's side and taking hold of her hand. "I love Hermione, and we are going to be together. No matter what anyone says."
"You love her?" Narcissa's expression softened at Draco's announcement and she looked happy for her son.
"Yes." Draco answered, smiling down at Hermione before turning back to his mother. "We love each other and are very happy together."
"In that case I'm thrilled for you." Narcissa smiled at both Draco and Hermione, before her expression took on a sadder tinge. "But your father won't approve, you know that Draco."
"What about you?" Draco asked. "Do you approve?"
"I approve of my son being happy." Narcissa replied. "I wouldn't say this would be my ideal choice, but it's not my decision to make. I don't want to sound rude Hermione, but I was brought up to believe in keeping the bloodline pure and I expected my future daughter-in-law to be a pureblood. This will take some getting used to, and I want to apologise in advance if I ever say anything to offend you."
"I understand." Hermione told the older witch. "I know I'm not your ideal choice of partner for Draco, but I love him and I'll do anything to make him happy."
"I appreciate that and I want him to be happy, but I don't want my family to be torn apart." Narcissa replied.
"Neither do I." Draco told his mother. "But if it happens, it'll be because of father, not me."
"What's because of me?" A voice called from the doorway.
Before Hermione had a chance to look around Lucius Malfoy strode into her line of view. As with Narcissa, Hermione had never seen Draco's father other than in the papers and the odd sighting getting on and off the Hogwarts Express. Instantly Hermione could see where Draco got his grey eyes and platinum blond hair from, in fact her boyfriend looked to have gotten almost all of his features from his father. His warm smile however came from Narcissa and looking at the stern, imposing man in front of her she doubted that Lucius ever smiled much.
"Is someone going to explain what's going on?" Lucius asked. Turning his attention to Hermione, his eyes widened in recognition. "You're Hermione Granger, aren't you?"
While Hermione had never met Lucius in person, Lucius had also never met her. He had however studied her from afar when Draco attended school with her, specifically because she was a muggleborn and received higher grades than his son. Since then he'd also noticed her appear in the press occasionally with her globe-trotting job for the Ministry.
"I am." Hermione replied, trying not to be too intimidated by the older wizard.
Turning his attention away from the brunette witch, he turned to his son. "And why is she here?"
"Hermione is here as my guest." Draco answered, keeping his simmering temper under check. "She's my girlfriend, and I brought her here to meet you and mother."
"Girlfriend?" Lucius spat, his eyes falling to their entwined hands. "Over my dead body. I won't stand for this Draco. I will not let you get involved with a mud…"
"Do not finish that sentence." Draco interrupted, his voice dripping with venom. "I swear if you ever call Hermione that name I'll hex you into oblivion."
"Look at what's she's done to you." Lucius sneered at his son. "There was a time you wouldn't have thought twice about calling her that yourself. Not to mention you would never dream of back chatting me like that."
"I grew up." Draco shot back at his father. "I learnt way back in school that muggleborns are just like us. The second I was away from you, I realised just how messed up your beliefs are. People who think like you are slowly becoming extinct, which is lucky for the wizarding world. As for back chatting you, I was just telling the truth. I will not stand back while you insult the woman I love."
Lucius looked rather taken about by Draco's speech, but Hermione couldn't decide if it was the fact Draco had stood up to him or the mention of loving her that had shocked him the most. After a few minutes he shook his head and his furious expression was back in place.
"I won't stand for this Draco." He said. "You end this now, or there will be consequences."
"Do your worst." Draco retorted. He knew all his father could realistically do was cut him off from inheriting the Manor and his personal fortune, the business already belonged to Draco and he already had a substantial fortune in his own name.
"Enough!" Narcissa called, stepping in between the two men before her husband could respond. "I will not stand by and watch you two tear this family apart. It's time for lunch, and we will all eat in a civilised manner with no arguing. Is that understood?"
Narcissa turned to both Lucius and Draco in turn and Hermione watched in amazement as both her boyfriend and his father caved in to Narcissa and promised to behave. Despite outward appearances it would seem that Narcissa held the power in the Malfoy household, in any case she certainly knew how to keep control of her husband and son.
After Narcissa's outburst the two couples headed into the dining room, where they proceeded to have a delicious meal. Conversation didn't exactly flow, but there were no more arguments and by the time Draco and Hermione left Lucius seemed to have accepted she was a permanent fixture in Draco's life. He was obviously still unhappy about it, but Hermione suspected he'd realised that ultimately he had no say in Draco's love life.