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CHAPTER 04
"Stop being so nervous, Narcissa, it won't help," Lucius finally told his wife, who sat beside him very uncomfortably, staring at the fireplace. Watching her made him nervous, but he was well trained not to show any emotion. Draco was already a nervous wreck and helped himself to another glass of firewhisky, making Lucius even more worried.
"Can't you at least remain sober until we finalise this?" He snapped.
"Finalise what?!" Draco yelled back. "I'd rather go to Azkaban than marry her!"
Narcissa gasped. "You don't know what you are talking about, Draco; you wouldn't survive a single day in Azkaban, so be grateful that you're not there!"
"Not to mention, Miss Granger and her friends played a major role in keeping you out of there," Lucius said savagely.
"That doesn't mean I should have to marry her," he replied stubbornly.
"Draco, from the day we became aware of this law, we knew… you knew it was going to be a Muggle-born. Why are you acting like this now?"
"I was expecting a random Muggle-born, definitely not Granger! For Merlin's sake, father, she hates us, and I'm the last person on earth she'd want to marry." He looked at his parents and his brow furrowed. "Unless you've forgotten, she was tortured here by my psychotic aunt! We tried to hand her over to Greyback. You fought against her at the Department of Mysteries. What else? Hmmm... I've been mean to her since First Year, and I can't even look at her after all I've done." He took a sip from his drink. "Now tell me, you two, do you not feel guilty? Can you look at her and talk to her as though nothing has happened?"
Narcissa and Lucius exchanged very uncomfortable glances. "Well, we have been given a second chance to prove to her that we have changed, and we are going to use it wisely; we hope you do the same." Lucius muttered.
Draco opened his mouth to reply his father and stopped when their fireplace roared, indicating the arrival of their guests. Giving them another blow, Andromeda Tonks stepped out.
Narcissa's eyes started to become watery. "'Dromeda." she muttered, clasping a hand over her mouth. In contrast to Narcissa, Andromeda didn't show any emotion.
"Mr. Malfoy, Mrs. Malfoy," she said, wincing as she addressed her sister. "… and young Mr. Malfoy – I am here to represent Miss Hermione Granger."
"And where is she now?" Lucius asked with confusion.
"She doesn't want to come."
"But she needs to be here. It's a requirement."
"We are sorry, Mr. Malfoy – as we are not Purebloods, we weren't aware it was a require–" Narcissa didn't let her finish. She put her arms around her sister and sobbed while resting her face on her shoulder.
"Don't say things like that, 'Dromeda! You are one of us." At first, Andromeda didn't react; she stood there in pure shock. Then she gently put her arms around Narcissa and muttered.
"'Cissa... My little sister..."
The two men in the room looked at each other with arched brows and patiently waited, giving them some time.
"Hermione has three conditions." Finally, Andromeda spoke.
"Only three?"
"Yes, she's lost all hope. She told me she feels like drowning," Andromeda replied, making Draco curse under his breath.
"Can you ask her to come?" Lucius asked.
"I can, but there is another problem. She has Teddy. Harry's staying with his cousin and the Weasleys are busy with their children's contracts, so there is no one to look after him."
"Please ask her to bring him," Narcissa told her. "Please feel free to use our Floo to contact her."
Andromeda moved to the fireplace to contact Hermione. At first, nobody answered the call – then they heard a familiar voice. "Andy, is that you?"
"Yes, Hermione; it seems like you need to be here."
There was a silence for few seconds. "I don't... I don't want to."
"It's a requirement, dear."
They heard her sighing. "What am I going to do about Teddy? Nobody's here to –"
"Bring him with you."
Hermione didn't reply – she deliberately maintained silence.
"Hermione, darling, today or tomorrow we need to get this thing done, and as soon as possible. You have no other options, so why don't you come and finish this off quickly?"
They heard her muttering something, in apparent distress. The Floo chimed and she emerged, carrying a three-year-old boy with matching brown hair and brown eyes. She looked visibly stressed and unthinkingly covered her scar as soon as she stepped in. After sensing her discomfort and fear, Narcissa stepped forward and gently placed her hand on the young woman's arm.
"Hermione, child, you are one of us so you need not be afraid. Nobody's going to hurt you or harm you," Narcissa said in a firm assuring voice.
"Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy," Hermione mumbled.
"Call me Narcissa, dear, we warmly welcome you to Malfoy Manor." The older woman said sincerely. "This must be our little Teddy, come to me darling." She opened her arms widely. "I'm your great aunt Cissa, sweetheart," and the little boy jumped in without hesitating, then carefully observed the Malfoys – he changed his hair colour to blond and eye colour to gray.
The three Malfoys gasped with surprise. "I never knew he was a Metamorphmagus!" Lucius said, appreciating little one's ability.
"Yes, he is. It came from his mother. Dora was a Metamorphmagus too."
"I never knew your daughter was gifted, 'Dromeda!" Narcissa exclaimed. "I'm very sorry for your loss," she added softly after noticing her sister's sadness.
Andromeda nodded with tear-filled eyes and accepted. "It was Bella, I never thought one of my sisters would do something like that." She said with tears gushing out.
Narcissa hugged her sister tightly after passing the child back to Hermione. "I don't know what happened to her. She changed totally. She hadn't been in her right mind since she broke out of Azkaban. You know 'Dromeda, she even tried to get my son –"
"Mother!" Draco interrupted her, giving a warning look.
"Now, now, what is done is done and it can't be undone! We are truly sorry for your loss, Andromeda, and we feel extremely guilty for taking part in it." Lucius said, honestly. "I promise you, no matter what, we are going to be there for you and Teddy and shall not abandon you. However, we now need to get this contract sorted before Miss Granger becomes more uncomfortable. Can we all sit down now?"
The two sisters nodded and took their place at the table, with Hermione following them. After the three women had sat down, Lucius gestured at Draco to sit next to Hermione.
"Granger." He nodded curtly.
"Malfoy." She answered drily.
"Now you can go through your terms and conditions." Lucius invited Andromeda after everybody settled.
She cleared her throat.
"Number one – Miss Granger's future husband should not make any bitter, harsh, unacceptable comments about her heritage. Number two – her future husband should be civil to her relatives and her friends." Draco grunted, and Andromeda proceeded without stopping. "Her relatives and her friends should have the freedom to visit her any time without any restrictions and her husband should accompany her when her friends and relatives invite them." Draco muttered something under his breath. "Number three – if this marriage results in a child, that child should be exposed to the mother's heritage."
"Is that all?" Nobody missed the hint of surprise in Lucius' voice
"Yes, that's it."
"I thought Miss Granger would come up with a very strict and tricky contract."
"She is tired and gave up fighting after the war."
Narcissa gave the young woman a sympathetic look. "Honestly, we don't believe Hermione and her two friends should be treated like this under the same law; but unfortunately it happened, and we are left with no other option but to proceed with a contract."
Lucius sighed after carefully observing Hermione, who was giving her full attention to the child in her arms and purposefully ignoring everything else. He took one of the family engagement rings out of its box. "This is one of our engagement rings passed down the family." He signalled Draco to pick it up and put it on his future wife's finger.
Draco picked it up with a hesitation and tried to put it on Hermione who was looking at him in equal disgust – suddenly he cried out in pain. "It burnt my hand! It's not letting me put on."
Narcissa and Lucius exchanged glances. "I thought so," Lucius muttered. "Our engagement rings were designed and charmed in a way to avoid a Malfoy heir choosing a wife that was other than a Pureblood. That means you have to get her a different one. Buy her a brand new ring, do not use anything that is already a possession of the Malfoys," he ordered Draco.
His expression turned serious. "Things are getting bit more complicated and serious than we thought. Tell me, Andromeda, Is the bride-to-be a virgin?" Andromeda looked at him with surprise and turned to Hermione for her response. Even Draco showed a sudden interest in the meeting. Turning a deeper shade of red she nodded briefly.
"Yes, she is."
"Then we can have a traditional Malfoy wedding that includes ancient magic and binding, but I'm afraid it's a lifetime bonding and no separation till death."
Hermione gasped. "No, that can't be done! I want out as soon as I find a loophole. I don't want to be married to him forever!" She cried.
Draco was shooting daggers at her. "As if I want to spend the rest of my life with this pathetic excuse for a woman," he said with contempt.
"Take it back, you… you loathsome Death Eater!" Hermione yelled, drawing her wand, and Draco reacted immediately.
"Children! Wands away!" Narcissa yelled at the young couple who were burning with rage, their wands pressing at each other's neck. "Draco! Apologise now!" She added picking up a crying Teddy from Hermione's lap. "You insulted her first when you were supposed to behave like a gentleman!" Muttering something in rage, Draco put his wand away after Hermione did the same, but didn't apologise as his mother instructed him to.
"Neither of you are children anymore, so at least try to act like responsible adults!" Lucius said firmly and went back to business. "Without a traditional binding, we can't guarantee her safety. Malfoy Manor is a very ancient place, full of unknown and centuries-old dark magic. All those charms, curses and dark magic were put on to protect the Malfoys from every potential danger, and as such the Manor is a safe dwelling only for Malfoys by birth or by marriage. She needs to become a Malfoy through an ancient binding ceremony, otherwise she could die just by touching a cursed book in the family library."
"Why can't we live somewhere else?"
"This marriage involves children, Hermione; the Malfoy heir should be brought up in the Manor or other properties belonging to the Malfoys, or else ancient magic will disinherit the child. The ancient wedding ring put on a bride's finger on her wedding day will identify her as a Malfoy wife and shall provide her with every privilege a Malfoy can have. Only children of a Malfoy wife become Malfoy heirs, so the children of a woman who doesn't wear a Malfoy ring and live outside of the Malfoy properties are disinherited, although they had been fathered by a Malfoy."
Hermione exhaled heavily. "What if the bride-to-be is not a virgin?"
"Then some other ancient rituals and blood bonding should be performed before the actual wedding. They make things bit complicated, but not impossible. Anything else you need to know?"
"Is that the ring?" Hermione asked, pointing one of Narcissa's rings.
"That is one of them. You will get to wear the one my late mother wore."
Lucius gave a nervous glance to the young couple. He had withheld the most important information until last, guessing the way they would react. "Our wedding rings are not charmed to identify the bride's blood status. That may be because none of our forefathers had considered the possibility that a Malfoy would have a traditional Malfoy wedding with a non-Pureblood, with parents' blessings as opposes to eloping. But there is another thing you must consider..." Lucius swallowed. "In order to ensure the magic in the wedding ring takes effect, you must consummate your marriage within twenty-four hours of the binding ceremony."
"What?! NO!" Draco and Hermione exploded at the same time, as Lucius expected. He exhaled noisily.
"NO! That cannot be done, father!" Draco shook his head vigorously. "I'm an ex-Death Eater, but that doesn't mean I'm a rapist! I'm not going to force myself on a woman, even if it is to keep her away from death. No! That's never going to happen," he shouted. Hermione, on the other hand, became unnaturally silent and as pale as a ghost, tears running down from her eyes.
Lucius looked at both of them warningly. "You are both bound by law to get married and produce children. If not, both of you will be prosecuted. We are gathered here to discuss the best way to achieve a successful marriage. I have given you all the information needed – as you don't have any other options, why don't you try to make this relationship work? You still have plenty of time, and then you won't have to... err... You don't need to be uncomfortable on your wedding day. Why don't you start getting know each other now? The rest of us can go and have tea. When you are ready, you can join us too, or you can have your tea here – but please try to act like responsible adults." Giving another warning glance, Lucius led Andromeda and Teddy to family tea room while Hermione watched them helplessly.
"Now, Draco, you can give me your wand, please," Narcissa said. "Hermione here is a well-respected member of our society, and I don't want you to do anything stupid and end up in Azkaban. So hand over it to me now!" She demanded. Muttering something as usual, Draco placed his wand in her hand.
"Now Hermione, dear, I know sometimes my son here act little immature but I have only the one child, so would you mind handing over your wand. I promise to return it after your meeting." Without hesitation, Hermione placed her wand on the table.
"This room is charmed. You cannot use wandless magic," she told them before heading outside to join her husband and her sister.
"For Merlin's sake, Granger, can you please stop being miserable?" Draco snapped as soon as his mother disappeared.
"Why? Do I have a reason to be happy?" She snapped back. "You don't know how it feels when you find out you're stuck with a man who hates you for the rest of your life!"
"What? Sorry? No, I don't know. But I know the feeling when discover you're stuck with a woman who hates you for the rest of your life," he replied bitterly. "Granger, Granger – they call you the brightest witch after Rowena Ravenclaw, so I'm pretty sure you will able to find a way to break those charms and curses and get out of this misery," he added hopefully.
"Your father told us, they're centuries-old unbreakable Ancient Magic! So how am I supposed to do anything?"
"Nothing in this world is permanent. They were unbreakable because nobody tried to get rid of them. You can at least try. We've got a big library, bigger than Hogwarts, at least one book should have information. So stop weeping like a bloody Hippogriff! I don't know why women use tears as a solution for everything!"
"Says the one who cried in front of a ghost in a girl's toilet!"
"Be glad that I don't have my wand." He gritted his teeth.
"Really? As if I'm scared of the big bad wizard," she mocked. "Back to the serious conversation. According to your father, I can't use your family library without marrying you."
"Yes, I'm afraid so," he replied, eyeing her perfect body.
"Malfoy, stop staring!" She hissed.
"Tell me what happened with you and Weasel?" He asked, ignoring her comment.
"That's none of your business," she snapped.
"You are going to be married to me."
"It didn't work out. Things got complicated..." She muttered. He raised his brows, then quickly changed the subject.
"I understand you're the Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."
"Yes, I am," she replied.
"Do you know that a Malfoy wife is not supposed to pursue a career?"
"Yes, I'm aware of that. This whole marriage is killing me. I've lost all hope; my dreams are being shattered before my eyes. I feel like I'm already dead. I don't care anymore."
Draco looked at her for few seconds. "You can keep your job," he muttered. "We have been given the East Wing of the Manor. I'm already using the fourth floor for my work. The second-floor middle room will be our bedroom. From there, you can have the right side for your personal use, and I'll have the left side. Use the first floor for your work. Set up your office in one room, and I'll connect it with your office in the Ministry via a high-security portal. With that, you can work as normal, although you will be staying at the Manor. You can communicate with your workmates through the portal and it is capable of identifying people with threats, even ones under the Imperius curse and those who have taken Polyjuice Potion – it won't allow them to pass through. If someone opens your office door and steps in your room at the Ministry, without knowing it, they will actually step inside your office in the Manor."
Hermione gasped. "But Malfoy, a portal like that is very expensive! I heard it costs nearly two million Galleons to set one up," she said with shock.
"I'm aware of that Granger; I'm also aware that you love your job. Consider it a gift – a gift to say thank you for rescuing me from that burning room … and to say sorry for that," he told her, pointing to the scar on her left forearm.
She stared in a shock before muttering out a "thank you." She couldn't believe her ears. "This wasn't your fault," she said, touching her scar. "And it wasn't just me who saved you that day. Harry and Ron were there too. We wouldn't have left anybody in that fire, regardless of who they were, but thank you very much for your generous gift."
"That way we don't have to see each other too often," he continued. "Of course, we'll have to share a bedroom at night – it's not going to be easy as we don't like each other – but at least day time will be much more relaxing, and we can each spend our time doing something we really like."
"So there is absolutely no way we can sleep in different bedrooms?"
"Not until we secure an heir."
"That's not helping at all," she said in frustration.
"So why don't you do your research and find a way to get out of it?"
"Well, then..." She shrugged, not knowing what else to say. "What's on the third floor? You didn't mention it."
Draco gave her a strange look. "You might not want to know that." He bit his lip. "It's for children. When they are small, they'll be in a nursery on their parents' floor, and when they are about six, they will get their own floor."
Hermione sighed and looked very uncomfortable. The last thing she wanted was to have a child with her archenemy, but she knew she couldn't escape it unless she found a loophole.
"Look, Granger, I'll come and meet you once before the wedding with an engagement ring. I don't think we need to see each other often; we can avoid each other as much as we want, but in front of others we need to be civil and act accordingly. If we are alone, let's keep the conversation to a minimum. That way, we won't be at each other's throats all the time."
"I totally agree with you, but you have to meet my parents at least once before the wedding – your parents need to meet them too."
"Sure, that can be arranged," he said drily. "Why don't we go and join the others now?" He asked, and she nodded, agreeing with him. "But we can't walk. The rooms out there might trigger somememories," he said with concern, and she winced with fear. "And wards won't allow you to Apparate, so that leaves you no other choice than Side-Along with me."
He smirked, placing an arm around her and pulling her firmly towards himself. She got goose bumps when she felt his arm around her, and it didn't go unnoticed. "Merlin, Granger, get used to it," he hissed. "We'll be doing this often in public." With a mischievous grin, he Apparated in front of the tea room before she could reply.
Hermione couldn't believe her eyes and stood there with a half-opened mouth as she watched Narcissa happily running behind the squealing Teddy, while Andromeda and Lucius were having a conversation as though they were best friends.
"I never thought Andy would be this comfortable with your father."
"Why not? They are childhood friends." Draco replied casually.
"What? No! You must be joking."
"Why should I? They were betrothed when they were children, but she eloped with her Muggleborn lover two days before their official engagement, leaving her younger sister to take her place."
"I've never heard about it before."
"Well, it wasn't a secret. Nobody knew the real reason my father didn't track them down and kill them, but my relatives think it's because he always had a soft spot for her."
"It's hard to believe," she said bitterly, knowing Lucius' personality well.
"Well, we are surrounded by lot of things that are hard to believe," he said, looking deeply into her eyes.
oOOo
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