Chapter 7-
An hour later, Hermione and Draco entered the dining room hand in hand, clean, dry and dressed from the mornings activities. Draco had warned Hermione that this may be the last day she picked an outfit for herself, as he hoped to use clothing in his attempt to ingratiate her into Pureblood customs. Hermione had raised an eyebrow at that comment before sliding into a pair of dark wash skinny jeans and one of Draco's old Slytherin shirts and matching green Toms. With her makeup light for a natural look and her curls tumbling down her back, Draco had never seen anyone more beautiful, and had continued to prove it to her for a solid ten minutes, totally ruining her makeup and hair. Ah well, such is life, or c'est la vie, Hermione thought to herself with a small smirk on her face. Hermione's family may not have been as wealthy as the Malfoy's, but they were definitely in a class of their own and had therefore hired a multitude of tutors for Hermione to learn from when she was little. One of those tutors had been so dedicated to her French speaking that Hermione's accent was perfect and her diligent mind had never let her forget.
Reaching the table, Draco quickly shrank the imposing piece that stretched the length of the room, to a smaller and dainty table seated for four, two on each side. Taking the seat on Draco's right, Hermione took the letters delivered to her on a silver platter by a smartly dressed houself, handing those addressed to Draco to her boyfriend. The two began opening their letters in silence, waiting for their guests to join them before eating. Opening her first letter, Hermione recognized the loopy handwriting to belong to Professor Dumbledore and wondered what on earth the man could need from her that he couldn't get from a 'much more reliable Order member' like Severus.
Miss Hermione Granger,
I was informed this evening that you and Professor Snape had undertaken the task of finding a new home for the Order of the Phoenix. I am so glad to hear of this as I feel this is a perfect job for you! You are always so conscious of the needs of others that I am sure you will find us the perfect headquarters.
My purpose in writing you this letter, was to inform you of all the Order is looking for in a home. As we are such a large organization, we will need at least twenty rooms, each with their own bathroom or at the very least a bathroom divided between another. We will also need a large kitchen with state of the art appliances for Molly to prepare dinners in. It would also be pleasant to have our own potions lab for Severus so that he can whip up potions quickly. Finally we need a large room that can be dedicated to group meetings as well as several small offices.
Thank you very much Miss Granger for your contribution. I don't want to overtax you as I know this may be a difficult job for one such as yourself. Remember to continue to practice your magic so you can clean rooms as needed and take plenty of rest in order to not tire yourself.
I hope to see you soon,
Professor Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbldor
Headmast of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Hermione had never felt more insulted in her life. She could decide whether she should be insulted by his obvious condescending comments on her gender, or his equally condescending insights on her muggle upbringing. To be honest, it didn't matter; the letter only served to cement her decision more firmly in her head. At least Voldemort didn't pretend to be anything more than he was. He didn't try to make us believe he was a good person, or that he viewed everyone equally; meanwhile, Dumbledore is sitting on a throne surrounded by supporters, spewing hypocritical comments about while inspiring others by explaining everything he was supposedly fighting for. Hermione sighed loudly and crumpled the paper. Before she could ignite the stupid letter as she had done to Draco's earlier that morning, her boyfriend took her clenched fist into his hand, opening her fingers and taking the parchment from within. Smoothing away the crinkles, Draco quickly read through the letter before setting his jaw. Draco was very apt at hiding his emotions and it took Hermione quite a few months to discern what every movement meant. It was because of this that Hermione knew that Draco was just as furious as she was simply by the clench of his jaw. The rest of his face hadn't changed an ounce, his eyes were still steely and cold, his face hard and unreadable, the only tell was the slight tense of his jaw and even that you could only notice if you were looking for it.
The door to the dining room opening broke Hermione from her thoughts. Narcissa was being led into the room on Severus' arm. Professor Snape looked as he always did, stern and not in the mood to speak or think about anything but that of extreme importance and even then, it had better be life or death. Narcissa Malfoy was his complete opposite. Looking every bit the glorified and wealthy pureblood she was, Narcissa was talking Snape's ear off about anything and everything. Hermione let a small smile and giggle slip at the sight of the two extreme opposites, a look at Draco let her know he saw it as well and found it equally as amusing. Hermione's giggle seemed to have brought both adults back into reality, Snape glaring at the two for daring to laugh at him and Narcissa returning to her cold demeanor at the sight of her son's guest; she refused to think of the stupid girl as a permanent aspect of her sons life, he could do so much better.
Hermione's laugher was quelled at Snape's look and she quickly returned to her pile of letters. Draco, on the other hand, took this opportunity to discuss her missive from Dumbledore. "Severus, Hermione received a letter from Dumbledore this morning outlining your goal."
"You are writing letter to Dumbledore in my house? Do you know the risk this involves, Draco could be caught?!" Narcissa Malfoy interrupted with a hard glare sent towards Hermione and loathing seeping in to her voice.
"Mother," Draco responded, his tone as authoritative as the look he was sending Narcissa's way. "I believe I said that Hermione received a letter from Dumbledore, not that she sent one." Narcissa simply raised an eyebrow at the tone her son had taken with her before sitting and spooning herself eggs from the dish in front of her. "Severus why don't you read it so you know what to look for this afternoon."
Snape gave an almost unnoticeable nod before taking the parchment from Draco and beginning to read. Narcissa lent over slightly in order to read the letter as well. It was obvious she was trying to be sneakily, though the action was not missed by anyone at the table. Snape flickered his eyes up at Hermione and only upon receiving a small nod from her, did he allow Narcissa a continued unobstructed view of the letter. Hermione, not wanting to see Narcissa's reaction to its contents, opened her next letter.
Dear Hermione,
Oh my gosh I have sooooo much to tell you! First yesterday after you finally left, Lavender and I went shopping for new clothing to fill in our closets in the new house and it was so much fun! I bought this amazing plum shirt, because I remembered how you said I looked so amazing in that color, and I just can't wait to wear it.
Here Hermione smirked, while she felt slightly guilty for telling Ginny that, it had been after several hours of trying on ball gowns that the girl would never wear that Hermione finally just exclaimed how beautiful she looked in this trashy and horrible plum dress and the girl had never forgotten. Over half her closet was now filled with the color and every now and then Hermione found a small amount of joy in how horribly it clashed with her hair.
After that we went home and Dean Thomas was over because he had just finished a mission Dumbledore sent him on and he asked to talk to me in the office across the hall from the drawing room. At first he was talking about how he thought we should get back together but I told him I didn't want a relationship but if he wanted to have a quicky I wouldn't turn him down and it felt so wonderful…
Hermione stopped reading at that. No matter how many times Hermione reminded Ginny that she had promised Harry she would wait for him after the war, the girl seemed to completely forget the notion whenever anyone with a penis walked by. It was actually rather nauseating and Hermione wondered how the girl hadn't gotten pregnant yet. Rolling her eyes at the drivel she had dedicated a good two minutes to, Hermione folded the note back up and placed it on the table beside her before beginning to serve herself some of the wonderful smelling food placed on the table before them. Next to her, Draco had apparently noticed her smirk. "What have you done?" He asked in a teasing tone that Hermione recognized as containing pride in her Slytherin side as he called it.
"I don't know what you're talking about Draco." She responded evenly, a twinkle of revenge in her eye.
"Uh huh." Draco replied, unconvinced, before darting his hand out and grabbing the letter before Hermione could stop him.
"Ugh, Draco! Isn't it some sort of offence to read someone else's mail? I thought it was common etiquette to at least wait until they've left the room to sort through their mail." Hermione pouted at Draco, knowing he normally fell for the big eyes and lip biting. This time, however, Draco seemed determine to get an answer as he only gave her a smirk and a kiss on the cheek before reading Ginny's letter. Hermione rolled her eyes and began eating, only then noticing that she and Draco had held the attention of both Narcissa Malfoy and Severus Snape who were watching them with curious eyes. While Snape had known of their relationship for quite a while, he was consistently shocked by how laid back his godson was when in the company of Miss Granger. Narcissa Malfoy was beyond shocked. She hadn't seen her son this happy in a long time, if ever. He had smiled, she was sure of it. It came as an even bigger shock when not even a minute later, he was almost falling out of his chair in laughter. Looking over at his current fling (it was only a fling – Narcissa kept assuring herself), to see Miss Granger merely giving a small smirk before taking a dainty bite of the egg dish she had served herself.
"Dear Merlin Granger, what had she done to deserve this?" Draco asked between his loud laughter.
"Draco it was torture! She dragged me through store after store and tried on over a hundred ball gowns, I counted! And you know the best part! There was no ball, no event in which to wear such a dress and she made me spend an entire weekend searching with her for the 'most perfect dress'. Oh god and that voice, she's unbearable whiny and airheaded, and I swear I barely made it out alive!"
"So you told her she looked good in plum? Remind me to never piss you off princess, heaven forbid you tell me I look despairingly amazing in yellow or some other horrid color." Draco replied, grinning at his girlfriend. Hermione simply shook her head and gave a small giggle before returning to her breakfast. Looking up, Draco suddenly remembered that they weren't alone. His mother was sitting looking as if she had never met him before in his life while Severus was watching them with curiosity evident in his gleaming eyes. His walls were immediately thrown back up. Draco and Hermione hadn't been in public together for years, really since graduation. They had visited her parents once or twice but beyond that they either snuck away to a remote Malfoy lodging or passed messages through the lockets. They had both become out of practice at hiding their feelings when in each other's presence that they had been free in their emotions so far over breakfast and were now crashing back into reality. Draco quickly scarfed down the rest of his breakfast before rising and holding his hand out to Hermione.
"Come Hermione, I have some documents I wish for you to look over. If you're still hungry I can have a house elf drop off a plate for you in the study, I know you didn't have nearly as much time to eat as I." He said, his voice commanding, leaving no room for argument. Draco Malfoy was exceedingly lucky he warned Hermione about the tone in which a 'proper pureblood', to quote his father, used when speaking to their significant other or he would have found himself on his arse, writhing in pain and without a girlfriend. As it was, Hermione was well aware that the tone was more for the observers than for her and allowed him to retain his masculinity.
"Thank you Draco, but as it so happens I am quite full with what I've had." Hermione responded in a rather aloof voice. Taking Draco's hand, she allowed him to help her from the chair before tucking her arm through his and escorting her out of the dining room. They were just about to exit when Narcissa called out to them from the table.
"Draco, I wish to speak to you this morning. It is a matter of extreme importance and deserves your undivided attention." Draco rolled his eyes. His mother's wish to speak to him about Hermione, without her there was thinly veiled and aggravating to say the least. Being the wonderful and fake son he was, he turned back quickly to give his acquiesce.
"Of course mother, you can have Severus escort you to our study." Narcissa Malfoy flushed red as she watched her only son walk out arm in arm with that stupid little girl. Had she been more like Hermione, she would be infuriated at the idea that she needed Severus to escort her anywhere. However, Lady Malfoy was more caught up in the fact that her son had addressed the room as 'our' study, not his, making it painfully obvious that he believed the girls presence was more permanent than Narcissa had been allowing herself to believe.
Narcissa spent the rest of breakfast thinking about her son and his girlfriend. If she thought logically enough, Narcissa was sure she would love the girl; Hermione Granger appeared much more intelligent than the vapid girls other pureblood families had raised. She was also beautiful, more so than any other girl Draco's age, and it was obvious in her radiance at breakfast that morning. Her face was full of life, fire, and natural beauty, with large innocent brown eyes the color of melted chocolate, dainty pink lips, a small button nose and high cheek bones. The girl looked naturally slim and was lovely in Slytherin green. To be perfectly honest, Narcissa could see the girl becoming like a daughter to her, if only she had not been born to muggles.
Finishing her breakfast quickly, Narcissa stood and asked Severus to escort her to her son's study. While it was not like her to show such impertinence, until the Dark Lord became aware and, more importantly, approved of the match, she would absolutely refuse to acknowledge the girls presence in her son's heart.
