Dinner was interesting, to say the least. Ginny was telling Hermione about her plan to have a child every five years or so and convince Potter to stay home to be a house-husband.
Draco smiled into his potatoes when Potter made an odd choking noise and groped for his glass of juice, "How many kids are you planning for?" the worried fiancée asked.
Ginny shrugged, "If we have the first at about twenty-one then we can plan for four or five. I'd take the year off playing and then return afterwards; they're very good about having breast-feeding mothers on the roster. I want to play until my mid-thirties and then take up coaching."
"Harry always spoke of being an Auror," Hermione said to Ginny, "How would that fit in?"
"We'd love to babysit," Molly offered with a wide smile, "Wouldn't we Arthur?"
"Of course."
"Five kids," Potter mused, "Five."
"Unless there are multiple births," Ron added through a mouthful of food, "Twins run in the family obviously."
George frowned at his plate at the mention of his brother. Draco wished he had some knowledge of how to help; his specialty had always been in keeping people at a distance instead.
"Maybe once I retire I'll want more," Ginny mused, "Or maybe I'll have one and decide never again."
"Like mum did with you?" Ron asked with a smile, "All those years wanting a girl and then you came along and she wished she'd stopped at six."
"Ron's just bitter," Ginny confided to Draco and Narcissa, "I got his share of looks and talent."
Draco chuckled into his juice while Ron rolled his eyes. Narcissa was watching the interactions with a wishful smile; Draco had never seen her look so content.
"So Malfoy," George began seriously, "What are your intentions towards Hermione?"
Ginny and Ron were smirking at each other while Hermione glared at their older brother.
"Well, George, my intention is to avoid being punched in the face again," Draco said in a similarly grave tone, "So I wouldn't dare talk about her as though she wasn't right next to me."
"You're boring," George decided dismissively, "Alright Miss Granger; what are your intentions toward Malfoy? If he ends up pregnant there will be hell to pay."
Ron was laughing into his food again. Ginny had her face pressed into Harry's shoulder to hide her giggles.
"Well," Hermione began, "If Draco falls pregnant we will name the baby after you and sell it at your store. How does that sound?"
"Not very profitable," George decided.
"But rather entertaining," Narcissa mused, "I am curious about any plans the two of you have made. Draco has been very unco-operative when I press him for details."
Draco suppressed the surge of irritation he felt, "It's been two days Mother," he said icily, "There are no plans."
"Which means you have three hundred and sixty-three days left," Narcissa pointed out, "And you'll be nearly insane if you leave it until the last quarter."
"Stop," Draco ordered, "Just stop."
"Insane?" George repeated, "What am I missing? Does the Veela thing make him mental because that would explain a lot."
"Draco will die on his next birthday if the bond with his mate is not finalised," Narcissa said calmly, "I suspect he has yet to tell Miss Granger what other side-effects will crop up before then."
Draco slammed his palm down on the table, causing most of those seated to jump, "This is none of your concern Mother. Your interference is not necessary or welcome."
Narcissa raised one eyebrow at him, "So have you explained to your mate what will change after three months?"
Hermione was the one to reply, "No, and I trust he will when he is sure I have adjusted to the idea. Two days is not enough time to let go of seven years of false impressions."
Narcissa nodded at her, "As you wish."
"If you'll excuse me," Draco grunted. He got up to leave the table while multiple sets of eyes watched him.
"Our trials have been moved up to tomorrow," Narcissa added, "Ministry officials will be here to read our minds and take statements at nine in the morning."
Draco paused near the doorway, "You could have just stated that rather than using other issues to soften the blow."
"I know you Draco; you will sacrifice your own health without a second thought," Narcissa replied sternly, "Without witnesses, you would simply ignore me."
Draco left the room before he could say something he would regret. George cleared his throat.
"Well that was interesting," he said with a false smile, "What's for dessert?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hermione left the table while everyone else was still eating dessert. She loved Ron but seeing him shovel enough ice-cream into his mouth to bury a hive of gnomes did nothing for her appetite.
Draco wasn't in the living room so she headed upstairs to track down where he was hiding. The light to the room she shared with Ginny had been illuminated.
Draco sat on her bed hugging her pillow to his chest. She had never seen him look so lost. She was trying to come up with something to say when he noticed her presence.
"Sorry," Draco sighed, "I needed to smell you. Apparently when stressed your scent is the only thing that can soothe me."
He lowered her pillow back onto the bed. He had not been able to resist the impulse to seek out her scent he was embarrassed by it.
Hermione sat down next to him and reached out to rest her hand on his.
"I'm not going to pretend this isn't weird and pretty overwhelming," she said thoughtfully, "It is, for both of us. I can see that you're doing everything you can to try to make this easier for me and I appreciate that."
"It's only been a few hours," Draco whispered, "And I'm already struggling to keep my hands off you."
Hermione looked down at the hand she held and noticed his fingers were twitching. The idea that she was so enthralling was obviously flattering and the anxiety she felt could almost be mistaken as anticipation.
"Come spend some time with us," Hermione invited, "There's a Muggle board game which can take hours to finish. You can sit next to me and smell my hair as much as you want while I play."
Draco nodded thoughtfully, "Alright, but I don't want to sit next to Weasley."
Hermione rolled her eyes at the childish comment. She strongly suspected that his dislike of Ron stemmed from the almost-relationship they had maintained for years.
Ginny had already pulled out the Monopoly board and claimed the dog figurine.
"Racecar!" Weasley claimed as he landed on the floor next to his sister with a thump.
"I'm not the banker this time," Hermione decided as she approached the board. Draco ignored the annoyed expression Weasley threw in his direction.
Hermione sat cross-legged next to Ginny. Potter sat down at the fourth side of the board.
"Are you playing Malfoy?" Potter asked gruffly. Clearly he was making an effort for some reason. Draco watched Weaslette smile encouragingly at her fiancée and knew who was pulling his strings.
"I'll just watch," Draco replied, "It looks complicated."
"You can be the Banker," Ginny decided. She patted the space between herself and Hermione.
Draco sat down and watched with interest as Potter pulled out a stack of cards and started laying them in groups. The 'bank' was pushed his way.
Ginny instructed him on how many notes to give to each player. Hermione arranged her coloured notes in front of her section of the board in neat piles. Weasley took the paper money from him with a frown and ended up with a messy stack of paper in front of his ankles.
"The gaol doesn't look very intimidating," Draco commented.
"It's not a punishment, just bad luck," Ginny added, "So it's only fifty dollars to escape."
Potter started by rolling the dice. Hermione and Ginny explained the rules as they were going, while Potter pointed out which rules were not in the rulebook at all. Apparently if all players agreed new rules were instituted.
Throughout the following hour Weasley didn't say a word. He collected and handed out the paper money silently. Draco could almost feel the hostility oozing off of him like a noxious cloud.
He leaned into Hermione instinctively until his chin was almost resting on her shoulder.
"Get off her Malfoy," Weasley suddenly spat.
Hermione stiffened and glanced over at Draco.
"He wasn't even touching me Ron," Hermione said quietly.
"How can you stand him being so close?" Ron demanded.
Molly, Arthur, Narcissa and George abandoned their conversations to watch the spectacle developing.
"Ron, please don't so this," Hermione pleaded.
"Maybe half of what he did can be explained away by trying to protect you!" Ron insisted, "What about the rest? When the Chamber of Secrets was opened he declared he wanted you to die; no twelve-year-old is that good at acting."
"Weasley, have you ever been thrown into a cold, dark dungeon by your own father?" Draco asked in a deadly voice, "Or been left there for a full two days because you dared to say that muggle-borns weren't dirty? I was barely twelve years old then too."
"You let Death Eaters into Hogwarts!" Ron growled, "How were you protecting anyone then?"
"I was scared!" Draco spat. Hermione could hear the emotion in his voice even if no-one else could.
"Do you know what Voldemort did to make me take that mission?" Draco continued shakily, "He dragged in a Muggle and let the sickest Death Eaters rape her repeatedly. I had to watch and listen to her scream and beg for mercy. By the time they had finished she was covered in blood and couldn't even stand up. Then he invited Greyback to have some fun."
Hermione slipped her arm around his shoulders and squeezed his far shoulder. He did not take his eyes off Ron who met his gaze with fading righteousness.
"Greyback raped her, bit her and clawed her to shreds all at the same time. When she was finally dead Voldemort turned to me and said if I didn't kill Dumbledore it would first be my mother on the floor, and then he would bring in Hermione and Imperius me to torture her the same way."
Draco pulled Hermione into his lap and buried his face in the crook of her neck. She could feel him trembling.
"I cannot begin to describe the horrors we were forced to witness in that house," Narcissa said from behind the group, "Greyback will haunt my nightmares until the day I die. Riddle used me as a hostage to ensure Lucius and Draco cooperated and he threatened Draco to ensure my obedience. I wish I had been brave enough to embrace death instead."
"I was scared from the moment the wedding was attacked, right up until Harry killed that bastard," Ron replied, "My whole family was in danger; Fred died."
Draco clung to Hermione in a desperate attempt to calm himself. He wondered if he was hallucinating when he heard Potter speak.
"Just the sight of Voldemort was terrifying," Potter said, "To have to live with him, watch him torture people, watch that snake eat people while they were still alive and go to sleep knowing he was a few rooms away is horrible to even contemplate."
"I'd rather die a fast death than live like that," Ginny admitted.
"We all did what we could," Molly said sadly, "Ronald, you don't have to be friends with Draco or even like him. I do hope that one day you can accept that he was trapped in an awful situation and did what he had to in order to protect his mother and Hermione."
"Just, don't ever hurt her Malfoy," Ron grumbled.
Draco looked up from Hermione to meet the gaze of her friend, "If I do, I deserve another punch in the face."
"It's your turn Ron," Ginny encouraged.