"It's disgusting, how you've managed to pollute my proud family line with your filthy heritage!"
Narcissa held her tongue out of respect for the Malfoy patriarch. She knew if she ignored him long enough he'd spew his vitriol and go about his business of sulking by himself in his own portrait.
"It was bad enough my poor Lucius was stuck with a creature, but at least no one knew of your unfortunate ancestry. But now, that fool of a grandson has to taint the line with a mudblood and add further insult to injury by doing so against grand-mère's tapestry! Has he forgotten how valuable it is?"
"Oh what are you on about this time, Abraxas?" asked Narcissa finally losing patience with the old man's ramblings. In life she had found it much easier to get along with her father-in-law. Of course back then he was under the impression that she was the daughter of an ancient line of Purebloods. After Draco's mating heat came on it was hard to keep her heritage a secret from any of the members of the house- living or portrait.
Abraxas expressed his disappointment to Lucius, but, saved the real nastiness for Narcissa. He heaped abuses on her for ensnaring his son and ruining his line. He didn't do so frequently, however, when he did it, it bothered Narcissa that it was so easy for Abraxas to set aside their relationship and all the things he had admired about her in light of one little fact. It presented Narcissa with a whole new perspective on the blood supremacy ideology.
Even before her death, Narcissa had begun to question the Dark Lord's agenda, but her reasons at the time were purely selfish. Back then, she was more distraught over the goings on in her household than the mistreatment of non-Purebloods. Now, she questioned the validity of her lifelong beliefs.
"FORNICATION!" he roared, practically vibrating in rage. "They were fornicating- right there in the open- with no regard for my family heirloom! He had that mudblood naked and writhing against it; how will we ever cleanse it of the filth?" he lamented loudly.
Even though Narcissa understood what Abraxas was saying, it made no sense to her. As far as she knew Draco had refused to accept Hermione beyond what was needed to survive the mating heat.
"I won't stand for this. No more! Lucius must discard that harlot and marry a proper Pureblood. That is the only way to ensure the Malfoy line stays pure." Abraxas grumbled to himself.
"Abraxas, can you explain what is it you saw that has you so worked up?" Narcissa asked with all the patience she could muster.
"That creature son of yours was further defiling himself by having carnal relations with the mudblood. They were naked, rutting like the animals they are, against my grandmother's tapestry! Do you have any idea how old, intricate and delicate the magic involved in that-"
"Draco, you were talking about seeing Draco and Hermione? Lucius's current wife, Hermione? And they were having sex out in the open in the East Wing?" she clarified.
"Yes. I am going to have him disowned. I can't have him further sullying my lines by getting the mudblood pregnant. Love- blah! They're in love, they say." He spat the words at her with all the disgust he could muster.
Narcissa was taken aback. Draco and Hermione were in love? How come she had not seen or heard anything? She was certain Lucius was unaware, as he had yet to mention anything to her. Last she heard, he and Hermione were trying to have a child.
"You are going to fix this!"
Narcissa looked up at Abraxas wondering what is it he thought she could do about the situation.
"Lucius needs to disown Draco and marry a proper Pureblood. This will hurt Lucius, but for the sake of the family's honour it needs to be done. Lucius still thinks himself in love with you. I know you could convince him to do the right thing.
"Narcissa, you know me well enough to know that if I took on the task to purge my family line myself it wouldn't be as pleasant to all as perhaps your way could be." Abraxas paused only to smile at her.
Narcissa shivered watching the sheer malice in that smile. She had been lucky enough to have never before seen this side of Abraxas, but she had heard the stories. As charming as Abraxas could be to those Pure, he could be just as inventive with his cruelty to those he considered dirty. If he decided to be rid of Draco and Miss Granger, thought Narcissa, being a portrait wouldn't make much of a difference.
Since her marriage, she'd become acquainted with some of the lesser known Malfoy history. The Malfoys had created curses to specifically target those members of the family who brought dishonour upon them or did not live up to the Malfoy ideals. Squibs, children with any kind of deformities, and female firstborns were unheard of in the Malfoy family because they were eliminated from their line by use of these curses. In comparison, her parents had been generous to Andy, thought Narcissa, when they merely struck her off the family tree. Should Abraxas choose to employ one of the family curses there would be nothing anyone could do to save Draco.
"Fix it, Narcissa," he stared pointedly at her. "So I won't have to." He waited only long enough to ensure she felt the full weight of his words before leaving the portrait.
"Astoria wants to have a threesome with you."
"What!" Hermione raised herself from her rather comfortable position on Draco's chest to look at his face for any signs he was speaking in jest.
The sudden move on her part had Draco struggling to push her hair out of his face and mouth. He almost laughed out loud at the sight she made- eyes wide, mouth agape searching for the right words, unruly curls tumbling wildly in every which way. He felt sort of proud for being responsible for that last one; they'd spent the last hour with her curled on top of him as he ran his fingers through her hair in the manner he enjoyed a great deal when done to him.
Draco had not meant to let slip about Astoria, but he thought it best to warn Hermione in case Astoria decided to approach her directly. Plus he knew her reaction would be priceless.
He buried his hands in her hair once more and drew her close so he could press a quick kiss to her lips. Being able to kiss her when he pleased was something new, but already he could tell it wasn't something he would tire of. Sure, there were passionate kisses that reflected their hunger and desire for each other, but there were other kisses too. There were kisses that tasted of her complete acceptance of him- flaws and all. There were kisses that tasted of the brilliant hope for a better life and a better world that lived eternal within her no matter how desperate their situation. There were kisses that felt like promises from her lips to his, that she'd always be there for him. And then there were the fierce kisses where she claimed him as hers- those were his favourite.
Draco knew his witch well enough to know there was no way she would agree to a threesome. Even if she had been the polyamorous sort, she was as possessive of him as he was of her, she just did a better job of hiding it than him.
"Is, is that sort of thing... normal for you?" she asked, brows furrowed.
He looked her in the eyes and spoke evenly.
"It has been in the past."
"Will you, will you want... in the future, I mean... Will you want us to-"
"Are you asking if I will want other people to join us in bed?" he asked directly sensing her concern.
She nodded.
"Do you think I'd ever willingly share you? Do you ever imagine yourself being willing to share me?"
"No. But, we don't know how things may change."
"What do you mean?" he asked, baffled by her statement
She didn't answer his question. Not directly anyway.
"Draco, you know the mating heat stops when you get a witch pregnant. Once Astoria is carrying your heir the compulsion to mate with me will stop."
"What are you saying, Granger?"
When she refused to answer or look at him, he narrowed his eyes at her. "Not sure if you meant to insult me by implying my feelings for you will evaporate with the compulsion."
"I'm just saying that we can't be certain if it will always be this good, this intense."
"Do you see your feelings changing- disappearing or even diminishing in some way?" he asked her with more patience than he knew he possessed.
In the silence that followed it was clear to Draco that it wasn't the first time she pondered over the question.
"No I don't see it happening. But, Draco, I'm not the one bound by Veela instincts. Since getting to know you, I've discovered I rather enjoy your company. I don't think I could ever tire of listening to you share your knowledge of ancient and rare forms of magic from around the world.
"You are a surprisingly good listener and you're supportive of me. You have all this knowledge of the history of the wizarding world but because you're not political, you speak objectively when I share my ideas with you, rather than trying to push your own agenda through me.
"I even enjoy your twisted sense of humour and dry wit when you aren't being cruel to anyone. And, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the physical aspects of our relationship- though that may just be the Veela bond, which may fizzle out if the bond weakens. But the rest, I believe, is just you, Veela or not. I find I would still want to be with the wizard you are, Draco Malfoy. I cannot imagine that changing unless...
"Unless you go back to being the horrible person who took great pleasure in trying to make me miserable any chance he got."
"I deserve it. I know I deserve your doubt. Maybe if you were a legilimens, you'd be able to peer into my mind and see how clear everything is to me."
He gathered her hands in his and held them to his heart hoping she'd feel the steady rhythm and know the truth of his words.
"I know what I want, Hermione. For once, I'm not running away from something. I'm trying to desperately make my way to something I want. I want to be with you. Forever. I want to see you heavy with my children. I want to be able to tease you when our four year old is able to handle a broom better than you. I- I can't bear the idea of someone else having that with you."
"Draco, I want those things too- except for the four year old on a broom-"
"Witch, do you not trust me to know my own heart or do you not trust me?"
She shook her head. She did trust him, she just wasn't sure if there was more to his feelings for her than mere biology. She couldn't bear the idea of him wanting someone else again once the Veela compulsion wore down in some years.
"It doesn't matter though, as you can never separate from Astoria."
"We could move in together- explain how things are to Father and Astoria and unofficially separate from them, and move in together. I have properties in my name-"
"To do that we'll need to disappoint them first by telling them that despite our marriage vows we can no longer be with them. And still nothing will come of it. Believe me, I spend enough time studying your marriage contract for any loophole or way out. We'll just end up making a public spectacle because even if I dissolve my marriage you and I can't ever have children together.
"If you fail to have children with Astoria, you will need to use a Pureblood witch as your surrogate and you can have no ties or contact with the surrogate once the child is born. Knowing the fondness for dark magic shown by both, the Blacks and the Malfoys, I can't even begin to imagine the kind of nasty curses placed on the contract to ensure complete compliance."
While researching the subject of Veela bonds and marriage contracts, Hermione had even spend time looking into the consequences of breaking magical marriage contracts. She shuddered as she recalled details of some of the curses old Pureblood families employed to ensure family members obediently toed the line. She refused to put Draco's life at risk by attempting to violate any of the terms of the contract.
"It was really hard for me to come to terms with the fact that all we'll have is this- these stolen moments-"
Sensing her distress, Draco wrapped Hermione securely in his arms and attempted to calm her by speaking soothing nonsense into her hair as she quietly sobbed against his chest.
He'd figure something out, he promised himself. His witch was so strong, she was always looking after others, but it was time someone took care of her for once. He'd be damned if it wasn't him. There had to be another way, he just knew there had to be. A wizard made his desire manifest into reality with every spell that left his lips, magic making the impossible possible. He'd empty his coffers to get his hands on a time-turner and travel through time, if need be, to make things right.
AN: Oooh, plot twist? Will Astoria have an unfortunate accident? Will Draco travel through time to set things right? Will I end up completely changing the tone of the story so close to the end? Questions, questions, questions.
darwindian, kudos for correctly guessing the identity of the portrait.