Chapter Eight
Hermione:
She hadn't been home for days, and she needed to get some clothes (though Draco insisted that she could either wear his, or forgo them entirely as far as he was concerned).
She eventually convinced him that she was going home, and he sighed loudly. "Fine. Hold on a minute and I'll throw on some clothes."
She would have made a remark about clingy men, except right now, with the thing between them being so new…there was a part of her that didn't want to be away from him…as if he might disappear if she let him out of her sight.
He returned to his living room minutes later wearing a casual pair of slacks and a truly sinful silver shirt. She'd never seen him in anything like it. It had to be some sort of silk blend, the way it moved with his body, and the v-neck just drew the eye to his chest, and then the eye naturally continued lower.
Draco eventually interrupted her ogling. "If I'd known you were going to like the shirt this much, I would have worn it much, much sooner. "
She tore her eyes away from his body. "I think the effect is heightened by the fact that I know what's under the shirt."
He crossed the distance between them in three strides and absolutely assaulted her mouth. The pretty silver shirt was the first article of clothing that came off. It wasn't the last.
Two hours later, they finally made it to her flat.
Draco eagerly looked around the lower floor while she raced up to her room to pack a bag. In the aftermath of their lovemaking he'd left no room for argument. She was coming home with him tonight. They would go to Hogwarts tomorrow.
She came downstairs to find him in the study. She'd done a charm on the room so it was perhaps five times the size that it should have been (at least according to the house's original blueprints.) The walls were lined floor to ceiling with books.
Draco grinned when she came in with her bag. "I should have known you'd have a library like this…but Merlin, Hermione, how did you get some of these? Magik Moste Noble was hand-written, and copies were only given to a few pureblood families…"
She smiled at the book in question.
"I bought a lot of these at estate sales…auctions…an old Wizard from Essex left me three hundred rare volumes in his will…" She shrugged.
"It's nowhere near as complete as I'd like for it to be, but it is a start."
Draco snorted. "A bloody start. It's half the size of the library at Malfoy Manor and we've been collecting books for generations. You put this together in less than twenty years."
She dimpled, pleased with the complement. But his eyes had clouded over.
Draco:
He had smirked when he'd seen the size of her library. That was his girl.
He'd spent a few minutes enjoying that thought…his girl…and checking out her books.
But when he'd mentioned the Malfoy library, he'd realized that he'd read something somewhere about the sorting hat…in one of Salazar Slytherin's journals.
That book was one of a kind, probably bought or stolen from the same Gaunt family that had produced Tom Riddle.
He didn't remember it very well…he'd need to look it over again…but that meant going home.
He looked at Hermione.
"I just remembered something."
He explained about the journal.
"The thing is, I'll have to go to Malfoy Manner to look at it. It has spells on it so that it can't leave the library."
She looked slightly crestfallen.
"So I guess the question is…do you want to wait for me here, at my place, or would you care to meet my parents…as my girlfriend." He was shocked by her answer…pleased…grinning like a fool, but shocked. He was taking her to meet his mother.
While she got ready, he owled his mother, explaining the situation…well, he left out the fact that he was sleeping with Hermione, but his note made it very clear that she meant something to him.
He was a bit shocked at how quickly the owl came back.
Draco,
Please bring Miss Granger with you to dinner tonight, and then the two of you can have the whole evening to find whatever you need in the library.
Your father and I will make sure she feels welcome in our home. We're very pleased that you are finally able to pursue the curse-breaking project…and if I can say so, I'm even more pleased to hear that you are connecting with people again.
Until tonight.
Love,
Mother
Hermione was wearing an expensive set of robes when she walked out of her room. Looking at her, Draco felt like a kid again. Her hair cascaded from the crown of her head down one shoulder. The robes hugged her figure in all the right places.
He'd already gone home to change, and he was wearing his favorite robes, black, with touches of silver at the cuffs, in embroidery. Her robes were black with delicate golden flowers embroidered along her collar bones, at the wrist, in a deep 'v' at her waist...
She grinned. "We nearly match."
He pulled her close. "Can I kiss you, or will it mess up your lipstick?"
She giggled. "I used a sealing charm on my lips. Nothing short of a killing curse is moving this lipstick."
He chuckled as he tested that theory thoroughly.
Hermione:
She smoothed her robes as they walked a few steps to the manor. Draco caught her hand and gave her a small nod.
"Are you alright?"
There were a lot of things she could say to that. She'd been imprisoned and tortured in this very house…but she'd long since put those painful memories behind her…and Bellatrix (the crazy bitch of the west) was dead.
Of course, there was the whole new issue of walking into one of the oldest, most bigoted pureblood homes and declaring that she, a muggle-born witch, was dating their only son and heir. She looked into Draco's silvery eyes and smiled. "I'm fine. I'm surprised you wanted me to meet your parents tonight…I thought you'd want to give them a bit more time to adjust."
He lifted her hand and kissed it. "They won't need it. They aren't the same people anymore either."
She took a deep breath and nodded. She hoped he was right.
A tiny house-elf opened the door when Draco rang the bell.
"Master Draco sir!" The little creature sprang up and hugged Draco tightly around the neck.
Draco didn't seem shocked. "Dainty, you're choking me!"
The little elf let go and hopped to the ground. She squeaked. "Master always says so!"
The elf shot him a look of obvious affection and then nodded toward Hermione and widened her eyes. "Master has brought a guest."
Draco laughed. "Like you didn't know I was going to. Hermione, meet Dainty, Dainty, this lovely woman is my date, Miss Hermione Granger." It was like he didn't remember that she'd been married at all, but she didn't correct him in front of the elf…who was beaming at her.
Hermione held out a finger. "It's a pleasure to meet you Dainty."
The little elf shook Hermione's finger with both hands. "The pleasure is all ours Miss Hermione. The pleasure is all ours." She looked up at Draco with tears in her over sized eyes, but she eventually stopped shaking Hermione's hand.
"The Master and Mistress are in the drawing room…Dainty will escort you there…"
Draco laughed lightly. "No need Dainty. I lived here for twenty years, I can find my way. They're in the East Drawing room, I suppose."
The elf nodded happily and hugged Draco tightly once again. "It is so good to see you looking so well."
Then, apparently overcome with emotion, the little elf popped out of sight.
Draco shot her a look and shrugged. "Dainty has her own way of seeing things. She came to us when Scorpius was born…" Ah, so she was actually Draco's elf as opposed to his parent's.
He took her by the hand and they walked down a series of corridors. They finally came to a set of double doors. He bent down to nuzzle her neck and whispered. "Are you ready?" She held her head high and nodded. She hoped she was.
Draco:
He would never admit it to anyone, but he had butterflies in his stomach. He didn't know why. It didn't matter what his parents thought, not really…he'd never let a stupid prejudice come between him and what he wanted ever again…but there was still a part of him that wanted…
He didn't finish the thought, he just pushed the doors open. This was his mother's favorite room in the house. It overlooked the gardens, and she had decorated it in white, gold, and silver years ago. The effect was somewhat frosty, but Draco had always loved this room. It was imbued with her scent, and it was one of the few places he'd felt safe, even when Voldemort was in their home…his mother had some pretty powerful avoidance charms built into the door. People that she disliked or feared simply avoided this room.
So it made him smile widely when Hermione entered the room without pause.
His mother stood as they walked in, quickly putting away things at her delicate little desk, and she met him halfway across the room and took his hand (the one that wasn't clinging to Hermione's)
Her smile was real.
"Mother."
He kissed her cheek.
She smiled up at him. "Draco, love it's so good to see you tonight." He eyes went to Hermione and she nodded pleasantly. "Ms. Granger-Weasley. I hope you are well."
Hermione gave his mother a small, almost shy smile. "I'm very well. Thank you."
His mother looked at him again, and her eyes crinkled in a real smile. She looked so happy that he kissed her cheek again.
"You seem to be in an excellent mood tonight mother."
She raised one blond eyebrow. "Could it be because you decided to drop in with almost no notice at all…for once?" She laughed softly at whatever she saw on his face, and she cupped his cheek gently. "These past few years it's taken a special occasion to get you here for dinner. Hex me if I'm a bit excited that my son has finally decided that there is more to life than working every minute of the day."
Then, to Draco's utter amazement, Narcissa Malfoy flashed an honest, warm smile at Hermione. "Now let's sit until Dainty calls us in for dinner…" She waited until they were all seated before she mentioned "Your father went to the wine cellar right before you walked in…he forgot to pick the wines for tonight…" She looked down at her folded hands.
" I think we need to change his potions again Draco…he's still having trouble remembering little things…"
Draco sighed. A second stint in Azkaban hadn't been good for his father's health. "Those are the most power potions on the market Mother. The trauma should heal in time, as long as he doesn't use too much magic and he stays relatively peaceful. Is he still painting?"
His mother smiled softly.
She pulled out her wand and a large book zoomed into the room. "Oh yes. Every day. Look at these."
Draco opened the book and he was pleasantly surprised.
Page after page of water colors of different aspects of Malfoy Manor…his mother eating breakfast in the garden, a fuzzy looking painting of his parents beside the lake, one of the peacocks on the lawn while his mother sat and read a book. Actually, his mother was in almost of all of these. Hermione was smiling softly. He reached back and tucked a curl behind her ear as she leaned toward him.
He smiled at her as he turned the page, and was startled to see a picture of his mother sleeping…quite obviously nude under a sheet. Draco felt his mouth drop open and his mother looked to see what had caught his attention.
She let out a little surprised laugh. "Oh my! That's a new one." She laughed again. "Drat the man…I don't know why he can't just sleep at night like the rest of us." She picked up the book.
"I'd better check the book from now on before I show it to anyone. Shut your mouth son, it's not attractive to gape."
He felt Hermione take his hand as his mother sent the book back where it belonged.
His father chose that moment to re-enter the room. His mother still had a hint of blush on her cheeks and Draco only hoped that he'd controlled his face. Hermione was smiling at him.
"Draco."
He got up and he and his father gripped each other's arms in greeting.
"Father. You know Hermione Granger-Weasley."
His former Death Eater of a father just nodded. "I do. We are pleased to have you here Ms. Weasley."
Draco felt his face fall. He hated being reminded that Hermione had been married to Weasley. It just bothered him.
Hermione:
She felt Draco stiffen with his father's comment. She could tell the elder Malfoy wasn't particularly friendly to her, but he seemed determined to be polite…and it just might be because his wife asked him to.
His paintings were a mute testimony to his love. They looked like Narcissa of course, but somehow, he seemed to take twenty years off her face when he painted her…and still make her look like herself.
So it wasn't hard to say "Please, if you would both call me Hermione?"
He nodded expressionlessly, but Narcissa smiled again.
Dainty popped into the room with a quiet crack. "Dinner is served."
The conversation was a bit stilted at first, Draco's parents were obviously very glad to have him, and they kept looking at him like they hadn't seen him in a long time.
The food was excellent, if a bit formal, and eventually some of the awkwardness started to ease.
Narcissa seemed intent on making her feel welcome.
"We heard from Draco that you are running the Phoenix Foundation…that's a demanding position."
She nodded as she finished something orange on her plate. She had no clue what it might be, but it was delicious. "It can be quite a job, and unfortunately there are never enough funds…or rather, there are always new places to put them." She sighed lightly. "We do what we can."
Narcissa smiled. "Perhaps if you would like, we could arrange to host a fund raiser or two. We used to do that sort of thing a lot, once upon a time. " Her husband nodded, smiling a bit. "We don't mix much socially anymore, and perhaps it is time for us to do so. The Malfoy name was tarnished by our actions during the war, but we still have friends who are willing to overlook those things."
Hermione smiled. "That sounds lovely Ms. Malfoy…but it might work out better if the benefit went directly to St. Mungo's….after all, no one can deny that you have an excellent reason to raise funds for the hospital…" She looked at Draco.
Draco smiled. "Maybe something for the Children's unit."
Narcissa was quickly preoccupied with planning a guest list, happily discussing the details until everyone had finished dessert. Her husband eventually caught her hand. "I'm sure Ms…I mean, Hermione will be willing to discuss this with you on another night my dear…but she and Draco did have some rather important research to do, if I'm not mistaken."
Draco nodded. "We had better get it done."
Everyone got up. "Thank you for inviting me for dinner. It was lovely."
Narcissa smiled. "Think nothing of it my dear, and please, send me an owl and we'll continue our discussion about the fund raiser."
Draco:
"Well, that went well." He was holding her hand as they walked to the library.
She looked up at him, with her chocolate eyes and blinked. "Was that sarcasm or do you really think it went well…because sometimes it's hard to tell with you."
He laughed and it rang down the hallway. He wasn't sure he'd heard that sound since he was a small child. "No, really, for my parents, that was about as good as it gets. My father wasn't a prick, my mother was actually excited about something…other than Scorp...for once… Things haven't been this good around here since years before the war."
He opened the double doors to the library. "Here we are. "
He'd been anticipating her reaction since this morning…but somehow it felt like longer than that…like he'd been waiting to see this for years. Other women were drawn to his (supposed) wealth or his ancient lineage…Hermione only knew one sort of greed (her thirst for knowledge)…and his family library was just the place to satiate it. He was a Slytherin after all…he'd use whatever advantages he could get.
The journal was kept in a glass case at one end of the library. The case had once held several other ancient books, but the Ministry had taken many of the darkest texts when they imprisoned his father. He slowly removed the layered charms and curses that protected the book. He grimaced to himself. It was no wonder he was a good curse-breaker, growing up in this household.
Eventually all the enchantments were removed. He gingerly picked up the book and waved his wand one last time to be sure there weren't any residual curses against Muggle-borns or some rubbish like that. Then he carried the book to the long table and flicked his want to pull up two chairs.
Hermione leaned in close as he read the pages out loud.
Though things have become tense in the castle, I have to admire my old friend's brilliance tonight. It is easy to forget that Godric is not just a strong arm…he uses his power like a battering ram so often that one forgets that he is also a master tactician.
We four were arguing, as we often do of late, about the fate of Hogwarts when we pass on. I was arguing for a blood test, and Helga was once again strongly opposed to bringing any blood magic into Hogwarts. Her prejudice against even the mildest and most beneficial blood magics blinds her, and might be her biggest weakness as a witch. Of course, since she is as ferocious as her name sake on the dueling ground, I doubt it will do her harm there.
Godric whipped his own pointed wizard hat off his head and muttered a spell, then he told us to use our wands to add memories. I quickly understood what he wanted, so I was certain to add every instance where our school had been threatened by Muggle borns who either did not know how to or refused to keep the magical world a secret.
Eventually the hat was full of our collective memories, and Godric used another spell to animate the hat. It was rather amusing to watch…
Draco finished reading the paragraph. Hermione sighed. He kissed the top of her head.
"Slytherin wasn't a monster. It was just that he grew up during the witch trials, when Muggles believed in magic. As I've gotten older I've re-read a lot of the material that the Death Eaters quoted…most of it was out of context." He shrugged. "He wasn't perfect, and he feared Muggles…but he wasn't a monster."
He knew why it was so important. Why he needed her to admit that Slytherin wasn't evil. He'd always seen himself in Salazar Slytherin, and that hadn't changed since the war…there were too many similarities...
Hermione took his hand and kissed the inside of his wrist, causing his pulse to leap beneath her lips. She gave him full eye contact as she pressed another kiss to his palm.
"I want you to know that I'm sure you are right about Slytherin. But I also want you to know that it doesn't matter to me. I admire you for the man you have decided to be. You made that decision…not your parents, not your ancestors…Draco Malfoy decided to become a healer, a good father, a friend to his muggle-born boss. You took what you were taught as a child, kept the things that were useful to you, and threw out the things that you didn't want. It helped you become the man you are today…the man I've fallen in love with in just a matter of weeks."
The last sentence was said softly. He closed his eyes, drinking in the moment. He knew he was grinning like a fool. He took her face in his hands and kissed her until they were both breathless.
He picked up a roll of parchment and quickly used a transcribing spell to copy out the notes they needed. "Let's say goodbye quickly…I want to get you home."
His heart was so full it tried to burst out of his chest. "And by the way, I meant it the first time I said it…and I mean it now. I love you." He kissed her again.
Well, that went well, and it sets us up to meet the sorting hat! Reviews make me happy, and when I'm happy I write faster…So I want to send a great big THANK YOU out to everyone who has left a review.
