Chapter Ten
The heavy wooden door slowly creaked open and Draco suddenly found it hard to breathe. He tried shaking his head as if trying to knock some sense into him. It was his parents after all; what should he be afraid of?
A small and young looking house elf with large blue eyes and wearing a ragged looking toga opened the door. She looked up at Draco and gave a small smile that quickly disappeared.
"Master Draco!" She squeaked. "Please, come in!"
Hermione followed behind Draco. She leaned in to hiss in his ear, "Another house-elf? After what they did to poor Dobby? They better treat her with respect, Draco, or I'm marching out of this door right now."
Draco had not forgotten about Hermione's SPEW attempts back in school but he had no idea she was still so intent on working for house-elf's rights. Draco smiled at her. "My father may not treat Tallulah with the greatest respect but I always do when I'm around. We just have to pretend like we can't stand her in front of my father. I know, it sounds horrible but otherwise he would treat her so ruthlessly, I don't even want to think about."
Hermione bit her lip but nodded silently. She would go along with it because it wasn't her home and wasn't her place to say anything. She looked around the large manor as Tallulah the house-elf saw them into to the parlor. Draco motioned for Hermione to sit next to him on a very uncomfortable-looking sofa.
Moments later, a tall and beautiful blonde woman dressed in all black robes walked slowly into the room, Tallulah hovering nervously behind her as though afraid the woman might fall.
"Mother," Draco said, leaping up immediately and assisting Narcissa in sitting down in a nearby armchair.
"Draco," Narcissa said, sounding weak. "Thank you. What brings you here? This isn't your normal visiting day."
"Well, Mother, I have some news," Draco said, going back to sit next to Hermione. Narcissa's gaze flew over to Hermione and she looked surprised to see her.
"Hermione Granger? Draco, what is she doing here?" Narcissa asked.
"Hello Mrs. Malfoy," Hermione said, hoping she sounded polite and sincere at the same time. Narcissa acknowledged her by nodding her head a fraction of an inch in her direction before turning back to her son.
"What's wrong, Draco?" She asked, sounding worried. Her hand flew up to clutch at her chest where her heart was.
"Mother, nothing, believe me," Draco said quickly. "Please, you must calm down. You're getting too worked up. It's not good for you."
Narcissa nodded her head curtly. "I'm fine; my chest just aches every now and then. Tell me why you are here, Draco."
"Well, Mother, I am here to tell you that I am soon going to become a father," Draco watched his mother's face for her reaction. So far she looked simply stunned. "Hermione is pregnant."
"Pregnant?" Narcissa whispered. "With your child, Draco? Are you two together?"
"No," Draco said. "We're not in a romantic relationship but we do want to raise this child together. Please don't be angry Mother. This is a great opportunity for you. You're going to become a grandmother!"
Narcissa was silent for many minutes. Neither Draco nor Hermione said a word as they waited for Narcissa to speak. She finally raised her blonde head and Draco was amazed to see a small smile play across her lips. "Draco, darling, how could I ever be angry with you for something like this? This is incredibly news. I get to become a grandmother. Draco, this is one of the greatest gifts you have ever presented me with."
Hermione beamed and looked at Draco, smiling reassuringly. Draco smiled back. "Mother, I am so glad to hear you say that. You have no idea how much this means to me."
"And Hermione!" Narcissa exclaimed. She unsteadily got to her feet and walked over to Hermione, placing both of her hands on Hermione's stomach. "Thank you so much, my dear, for presenting this gift to me as well. I know we may not know each other too well or have gotten on very well in the past, but I plan on correcting that now. You have made me the happiest I have ever felt since my beautiful son was born."
Hermione couldn't stop smiling; she couldn't believe Draco was so worried to tell his parents about this. Narcissa was simply lovely and Hermione knew that Narcissa would want to help in any way that she could with the baby."
"Now I just have to tell Father," Draco said. "If you're excited for us, I know he will be."
Draco left the room, obviously in a search for his father. Hermione turned to Narcissa and felt her smile slide off her face. Narcissa suddenly looked sick and worried. "Mrs. Malfoy, what is it?"
"It's Lucius, my dear," Narcissa said weakly. She clutched at her heart again and Hermione stood instantly, helping the woman sit back down. "I don't think he'll be as excited about this as I am. Lucius, he's changing, dear. He's going back to his old ways. He thinks he's losing me because I am sick. I'm scared for him."
Hermione felt suddenly pale and weak herself. She sat down beside Narcissa. "What do you think Lucius is going to do?" She asked quietly.
Narcissa shook her head. "I don't know."
Draco came back into the room nearly fifteen minutes later, all but dragging his father in. Hermione caught his gaze and his smile faltered as he saw his mother and mother of his child sitting side-by-side, both looking worse for the wear.
"What's going on?" He said slowly.
Narcissa picked her head up and put on a brave smile. "Nothing, my dear, please, do share your wonderful news with your father."
"Okay," Draco said slowly. He turned to face Lucius who was eyeing Hermione suspiciously. "Father, Hermione is pregnant."
Lucius didn't say anything at first but his stare was creepy enough for Hermione. She suddenly did not feel very safe and she wanted nothing more than to go home. She tried to send that message to Draco but couldn't figure out how to play that across.
"Father, this is fantastic news," Draco said. "Aren't you happy for me?"
"Draco," Narcissa said bracingly. She stood and placed a hand on Draco's shoulder. "Maybe you and Hermione ought to leave the room for a few moments. I need to talk with your father."
"No," Lucius said suddenly. Hermione was finding herself wishing that she could Apparate away from this house. "They will leave the house now."
"Lucius!" Narcissa snapped. "Don't do this now!"
"Narcissa," Lucius growled at the poor woman. Narcissa took a step backwards, fear etched in her face. "This is no son of mine. They will both leave. Now!"
Normally Draco would have stayed and fought with his father but now was not the time. He feared for Hermione's safety. Draco crossed the room and took Hermione by the hand, dragging her outside and far away from the Malfoy Manor.
Inside the parlor of the manor, however, Narcissa was still cowering backwards in fear at the look on her husband's face. She didn't have the strength to fight him anymore; she was growing weaker with each passing day. Lucius was steaming with silent anger; Narcissa knew it would only be a matter of minutes before he exploded.
"How dare he come in here and tell me he impregnated some filthy Mudblood!" Lucius spat. "No grandchild of mine will be a dirty little Mudblood!"
"Lucius, please," Narcissa whispered weakly. "Be reasonable. The boy is happy. And we're going to be grandparents. Let him be."
"Never," He growled threateningly. Narcissa fell back onto the sofa once more. "No, I will not be a grandfather to a filthy, dirty Mudblood. I will make sure of it."