Two days later, Lucius looked up expectantly from his morning tea as Draco entered the breakfast room at Malfoy Manor.

"You sent for me, sir?" Draco asked, looking apprehensive. "Snappy told me you wanted to see me."

"Sit down, Draco," Lucius said smoothly, indicating the chair across from him.

"Is there anything wrong?" Draco couldn't help but ask.

"No, not at all," Lucius told his son, smiling. "I thought it was time to have a talk about your future."

"My future?" the young wizard repeated.

"More specifically, I thought it was time you put some effort into finding a suitable wife," he elaborated. "Normally, I would have given you a few more years before bringing up this subject with you, but now that the Ministry has put repopulation efforts near the top of their agenda, I think it would be a good idea if you got on with the process now." Lucius took a sip of tea, then continued, "I noticed you had a date the other night. How did that go?"

"It went all right," Draco said slowly. "But Daphne is just a friend. I only asked her out so that I could double date with Greg and Millicent. I think Greg is serious about her."

Lucius tried not let his relief show openly in front of Draco. Instead he asked, "Are there any pureblood girls you might be interested in? They don't have to be Slytherins, by the way."

"To be honest, I'd not given it too much thought," Draco admitted. "I'd always assumed I would marry Pansy, but after you and Mother nixed that idea, I've not thought much more about it, figuring I'd meet someone eventually when the time was right."

"Perhaps you might be open to suggestion, then," Lucius said. "I believe I've found you a suitable candidate and after discussion with your mother, she concurs with my choice."

Noting Draco's dismayed expression, Lucius assured him, "You, of course, have final veto power, but I am prepared to give you your full inheritance at 21, rather than at 25, if you've married and produced an heir by that time. I'm also prepared to buy you a suitable estate and you would also inherit Malfoy Manor when the time comes."

"Who is it?" Draco said, almost afraid to ask.

"Luna Lovegood," Lucius said briefly, waiting for Draco's reaction.

"Loony Lovegood!" Draco exclaimed, but then went quiet, giving the matter a bit of thought.

"I know she's a bit eccentric," Lucius conceded. "But I did a bit of checking into her background, and she's really rather intelligent, which isn't surprising considering that she's a Ravenclaw."

"Yes, I had some rather interesting conversations with her last year when Voldemort held her prisoner here," Draco said slowly. "I went to talk to her many times when I was scared of what Voldemort might do to us." After a long pause, he said, "She was always able to make me feel better and helped give me the resolve to carry on."

Lucius smiled at this. "See?" he said. "I knew I was on the right track. That's one of the most important qualities a spouse should have. When you know you have your wife behind you, no matter what, you can almost always gather the fortitude needed to prevail, no matter how bad things can get at times."

Looking intently at his son, he said, "Romantic love, while a wonderful feeling, is highly overrated when picking a marriage partner. You want to look for things that will last over a lifetime; sometime with whom you are compatible and can get along with. Your mother and I had an arranged marriage and we were certainly not in love when we got married. Rather, love grew over repeated shared experiences and especially after you were born."

Draco did not speak, but carefully considered what his father was telling him.

"She's also remained a loyal friend to Hermione throughout the brouhaha with the Weasleys and their ilk," Lucius continued. "A loyal friend is also likely to be a loyal wife. She is also likely to decide things for herself, rather than being swayed by public opinion." Giving his son a knowing look, he concluded, "And she's quite an attractive young woman, if I say so myself. I'm sure she'd be quite pleasurable to bed on a regular basis. I'm also guessing that you and she would make exceptionally attractive children."

Draco couldn't argue with that; she certainly wasn't hard on the eyes. "All right, Father," he said. "I'm willing to give her a chance. What do you think the best way would be to approach her?"

"I've already taken care of that," Lucius said smoothly. "I've asked Hermione to invite her to the penthouse for lunch this Saturday. They've become rather friendly as of late, and it's a perfectly natural thing for her to invite a friend over to eat. This will give the two of you a chance to talk under more normal circumstances and get better acquainted in a non-threatening atmosphere."

"I take it that Luna doesn't know what's going on?" Draco asked.

"No, there's no need to tell her until you see if you're compatible with her first," Lucius replied. "If you get along well at the penthouse, your mother will invite her to Malfoy Manor for dinner after you and she have had a chance to go out a few times. Eventually, we'd bring her father into it, and I have several financial incentives to offer to him, should he prove reluctant to approve the match."

"Sounds like you've got it all figured out," Draco said, still a bit hesitant about the idea.

"Also remember that once you and she would have produced an heir and preferably at least one spare, you and she would both be free to take on muggleborn or half-blood consorts," Lucius reminded him. "Having that option would allow you more options, as you'd not be putting all your eggs in one basket, so to speak."

"Well, I'll see how it goes," Draco said.

--

The following Saturday morning, Hermione awakened about mid-morning, snuggled up in bed with Lucius. He'd come home the night before and they'd been up until well past midnight making love. She noticed that Lucius always returned to her especially horny, which made her wonder just how often he and Narcissa had sex.

As her eyes fluttered open, she looked over at Lucius, who was still sleeping peacefully on his back. His long blond hair was spread out on the pillow, his features composed and peaceful. She smiled down at him, looking as innocent in sleep as a baby, her heart filling with love for the father of her child.

Hermione had intended to let him sleep while she got up to shower, but got into a sneezing fit which immediately awakened him. She had to sit up and turn away from Lucius until the spell had passed.

"I'm sorry I woke you," Hermione said as she turned back toward him.

"Quite all right," he said easily. "Remember that I've already gone through a pregnancy before with Narcissa. She was quite the sneezer during her pregnancy as well, as I remember." Sitting up on the side of the bed, he said, "And we'd better get moving as Draco and Luna will be here soon."

"It's a good thing I told Breezy what to cook last night," Hermione said after she and Lucius had jumped into the shower together. "Otherwise, we'd be behind schedule."

Twenty minutes later, Draco arrived as Lucius and Hermione were enjoying thier morning tea as they each read their own copy of the Daily Prophet.

As his son entered the room, Lucius smiled at him. "Right on time, I see. Have a seat and Breezy will bring you a cup of tea."

"Hello, Draco," Hermione said with a smile, setting the paper down as the young wizard sat down across from her. "I hope you're doing well."

"Fine, thanks," he replied.

"I hear that Lucius played Quidditch with you and some of your friends the other week," she remarked. "I'd have given anything to have seen that."

Draco chuckled briefly. "Actually, you'd have been impressed. I don't know if Father ever told you, but he was offered a contract to play professionally with the Chudley Cannons right after he graduated from Hogwarts."

"No, he never told me!" Hermione said, turning to look at Lucius. "That's wonderful!"

"Well, I saw no need mentioning something that never came to fruition," Lucius said as an oddly wistful expression came over his face.

"Why didn't you join the team?" Hermione asked.

Looking distinctly uncomfortable, Lucius replied, "My father and...Voldemort...decided that I had better things to be doing than playing Quidditch."

"I'm sorry, Lucius," Hermione said miserably, squeezing his hand under the table.

"What's done is done," Lucius replied with a sigh. "There's no point in dwelling on what can't be changed."

After they'd finished brunch Lucius and Draco went into the library, while Hermione headed to the kitchen to see how Breezy was coming along with lunch preparations.

Almost as soon as Hermione reached the kitchen, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it, Breezy," Hermoine said. "You stay here and finish up."

Luna was standing on the front landing as Hermione opened the door a couple of moments later.

Opening the door wider, Hermione said, " Come on in, Luna. Lunch is almost ready."

After the other witch complied and they were walking down the hall, Hermione asked, "Did you have any trouble finding us?"

"Not at all," Luna told her. "I just apparated in the alley outside the Leaky Cauldron, and it was easy to find the panel in the broom closet. Actually, I had more of a problem finding a place in Hogsmeade where I could apparate here without anyone noticing me. I finally had to say I was going off to look for a Crumple-horned Snorkack before I could shake the girls who were with me."

Looking around as she followed Hermione, she remarked, 'You have a lovely home and in a great place; so near to where my Dad and I are living now."

"I really like it," Hermione said. "I especially like being able to visit the bookstore without having to apparate or floo."

At that moment, they reached the library, where they found Lucius and Draco having a quiet conversation.

Luna's face lit up into a sunny smile at the sight of Draco. "It's so good to see you, Draco," she said quietly. "I've been wondering how you've been since the last time we saw one another."

"Well, I suppose Hermione told you that I've been studying at the Salem Institute in the States," Draco told her. "I've been taking an intensive advanced potions course."

"I'd love to visit America sometime," she said. "Do you like it there?"

"Pretty much so, yes," he said. "But it took quite a bit of getting used to. Most wizards and witches live amongst muggles over there and you have to be more careful about when and where you use your magic." After a pause, he asked, "So, what do you plan to do when you graduate from Hogwarts?"

"Mr Ollivander offered me an apprenticeship as a wandmaker," she said. "I'm considering it but haven't yet decided whether to accept."

"That's pretty much of a honor, I'd say," Draco observed. "As far as I know he's been running that shop by himself since my grandfather went to Hogwarts."

Hermione stood up and said, "Lucius, could you help me for a minute in the kitchen?" Looking at Luna and Draco, she said, "Excuse us for a few minutes. We'll be right back."

Understanding her meaning, he got up and followed her without a word. Once they reached the kitchen, she turned to Lucius and said, "They seemed to be getting along well. I thought we'd leave them alone for a few minutes to talk privately."

"I hope you're right," Lucius said. "It does seem promising, however."

After the four of them were seated around the table a short time later, Lucius could see that Draco was actually enjoying himself as he continued to talk with Luna. Hermione likewise thought that Luna seemed to be having a good time. Lucius and Hermione both said little, allowing the two young people to make the most of the time to get to know one another.

"I've had a wonderful time, but I must get back to Hogsmeade, as it's nearly time for everyone to go back to Hogwarts," Luna said with real regret at the end of the meal."

"We've enjoyed having you," Hermione said warmly. "We'll have to do it again soon."

"Let me apparate back with you, and I can walk you back to Hogwarts," Draco said. "We can finish our conversation then."

"I'd like that," Luna said, her face lighting up."

"I'll owl you later," Draco told his father, as he stood to follow Luna to the door.

"Take your time," Lucius said.

After Draco and Luna left, Lucius said, "That turned out better than I expected."

"I hope it works out for them," Hermione said. Yawning, she said, "I'm tired. I think I'll take a nap."

"What a wonderful idea," he said. "I think I'll join you."

"I won't get any sleep that way," Hermione said, laughing.

"At first you won't," Lucius agreed with a wicked grin. "But eventually you will."

--
A/N Thanks to everyone who has stuck with this story thus far.
A/N Next Chapter: Lunch With Narcissa