Dromeda waited until Draco and Hermione had disappeared through the fireplace before turning to Harry and Ron.
"Did he say what triggered the attack?" she asked the young wizards.
Harry sat down next to Ginny, "Draco said something about when she was tortured by Bellatrix," he admitted.
Narcissa nodded sadly, "Unfortunately you do bear a passing resemblance to that crazy woman," she said to her surviving sister.
Dromeda crossed her arms over her chest, "That sounds like an insult Cissy."
Narcissa rolled her eyes, "You are the version who did not spend over a decade in prison, embrace the morality of a psycho and the demeanour of an unbalanced fifty-year-old prostitute with permanent PMS."
George burst into laughter and clutched at his chest in his attempts to breathe, "Mrs Malfoy; talking like that makes me want to marry you!"
Narcissa raised one eyebrow at him, "I appreciate the offer George, but I fear my marriage to Lucius is rather permanent. Also, I did hear something interesting from Ginny earlier which makes me think we would not be suited."
George glared at his sister, who grinned back confidently.
"She doesn't so threesomes," Ginny laughed. George turned bright red and reached for his glass. Sadly, it was still not full of Firewhiskey.
"Fabian and Gideon were rather handsome," Narcissa mused.
Dromeda nodded, "Though they were always rather full of themselves."
"I suspect that is a Gryffindor trait," Narcissa mused.
Ginny, Harry, Ron and George all protested while she smiled at them mischievously.
"I withdraw my proposal," George huffed.
"I don't blame you," Dromeda laughed, "Having Draco as a step-son would be a nightmare."
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Draco allowed Hermione to return to the Burrow on her own two feet even though he wanted to scoop her up and hide her somewhere warm and safe.
"Would you like to talk about it?" he asked quietly once they were in the familiar living room.
Hermione observed the concern in his eyes and felt the tension in his emotions. She reached out to take his hand.
"I suspect it was the same nightmare you have; only from a different perspective," she admitted softly.
Draco froze in place when she confirmed his fear. He would never be able to forgive himself for his lack of action on that day; his mate had suffered and he had not been strong enough to protect her.
Hermione saw the despair on his face for a moment before he dropped to his knees in front of her and pressed his face against her stomach. The muffled sob she heard broke her heart.
"I'm so sorry Hermione," he offered in an agonised voice, "I'll never forgive myself for that day."
Hermione ran her hands through his silky hair and wished he would look up at her, "There is nothing to forgive; had she found out what I was to you we would both have been killed."
"I tried to fight the Imperius," Draco moaned into her shirt, "But I wasn't strong enough. I'm never strong enough."
"Draco Malfoy!" Hermione snapped, "Stop this self-pity right now before I tell your mother!"
Draco slowly looked up to see the annoyed expression she wore.
"What's your middle name?" Hermione demanded to know.
"Abraxas," Draco admitted, "Behold the irony."
"Draco Abraxas Malfoy; stand up, wipe those tears away and carry me to the shed. I want a cuddle and I want it now."
Draco stood up and regarded her warily. He had witnessed many strange mood swings from the females in Slytherin house but this one was startling even to him.
"I'm not good at cuddling," he offered with a frown.
Hermione rolled her eyes, grabbed his hand and led him out to the shed. He was still regarding her strangely so she shoved him onto the bed before he could say something irritating. Sadly, he had never been one to hold his tongue.
"I didn't realize you were so aggressive in the bedroom," Draco said with a smirk.
"You can just wait to find out what I like in the bedroom," she retorted sharply, "In the meantime I don't want you to hate yourself for the war; if anything you can apologize for being such an arse at Hogwarts."
"I'm sorry."
"Not to me; you've already done that. Try apologizing to Harry and Ron."
The idea clearly displeased him, "Do I have to? They were so bloody annoying!"
"Were? So they are not anymore?"
Draco shifted over so Hermione could lie on the bed next to him.
"They are still just as irritating," he clarified, "I have simply grown more tolerant."
Hermione settled so she was pressed up against his side, "Tolerant? Yeah, sure."
"I am very tolerant," Draco protested as he smiled at the ceiling, "I haven't pulled my wand on Weasley no matter what rubbish pours out of his mouth and Potter hasn't been subjected to any barbs about his lacklustre performance in bed."
"Why would you assume he wasn't any good in bed?" Hermione asked curiously.
His hand began to stroke her hair gently, "My love, all men are rubbish the first time. After all the anticipation lasting a minute is impressive. If Weaslette was lucky, he was up for another round she wouldn't miss if she blinked."
"Ginny wanted to tell me all sorts of horrible details but I begged her not to," Hermione admitted.
"Who else is she going to tell?" Draco countered, "Molly?"
"Luna?"
"I'm sure she tried; Looney probably wanted to take her hunting for Crumple-Horned trouser snakes."
Draco loved hearing her laugh, especially when her breasts were pressed into his ribcage. Her insane hair was perched next to him like a feral animal; it smelled quite nice. He had to admit that the river of curls was a nice change compared to the brown hedge he had become accustomed to at Hogwarts.
"If I do let Ginny share the gory details, I might need a shoulder to commiserate on," Hermione warned, "Could you handle that?"
Draco shuddered at the thought, "What's one more nightmare when I have so many to choose from?"
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After hours of conversation, Hermione hesitated. She knew that she had a tendency to blurt out questions which made other people uncomfortable.
Draco felt the shift in her emotions easily; they had spent a significant chunk of time analysing their connection and its implications. He had only been mildly insulted at being called her 'mood ring'; of course she had to explain what it was first.
"Hesitation, concern and a hint of self-doubt," Draco mused, "What has my beautiful mate so worried?"
Hermione pressed her lower lip between her teeth thoughtfully. Draco leaned forward to kiss her.
"I am powerless when you bite your lip like that," he confided.
Hermione did not let him distract her, "I was wondering about your Father actually."
Draco pulled back sharply, "Not the pillow talk I was hoping for," he admitted.
Hermione rolled her eyes at him, "Do you really hate him? I mean, he's your father. I couldn't imagine ever hating mine." She trailed off as the pain of losing her parents to their new memories flared in her chest.
"I don't hate him," Draco confided, "He is not worth even that. I feel complete apathy toward him; if he was to die right now I would shrug and wonder what was for dinner."
Hermione wasn't sure if she believed him. His emotions seemed genuine, yet he had expressed his anger toward his sire to readily in the past.
Draco could feel her doubt, "I hate what he has done, and may do in the future," he added, "But as a person, he is nothing to me."
"When you were a child, did you love him?"
Draco frowned thoughtfully, "I respected him; and definitely feared him. I don't know if I loved him as a parent; he didn't inspire love in those around him."
Hermione could certainly understand that; she suspected Lucius Malfoy fitted the profile of a sociopath.
"I always loved my mother," Draco continued, "And she clearly loved me back. It was always impossible to tell with Lucius."
"Do you still respect him?"
The derisive snort gave her the answer before he began speaking, "Not once I saw him snivelling at the feet of the Noseless Bastard."
"I can't help but wonder if you would still be training to be a mini-Lucius if Voldemort hadn't returned," Hermione admitted.
Draco grimaced, "Maybe; right up until I threw away my inheritance to marry you."
Hermione jabbed him in the chest with two fingers, "Listen here Malfoy; you wouldn't have been marrying me because I would have laughed myself sick at your proposal."
"With all my charm, good looks and sense of humour?" Draco teased, "You would have swooned before me."
Hermione laughed into his shoulder, "I'm sure I would have landed on the floor while laughing hard enough to pull muscles in my abdomen."
"You wound me," Draco moaned, "How could fate lead me to such a shrew?"
"Shrew?!" Hermione pressed her hand over his mouth in a futile attempt to silence him. Within seconds they were wrestling on the bed like children.
Draco pinner her to the mattress with his bodyweight. Truthfully, she wasn't struggling against him.
"I keep expecting Potter and Weasley to burst in and accuse me of trying to kill you," Draco said with a lopsided grin.
Hermione looked over at the open doorway. Draco followed her gaze before losing interest and deciding to nuzzle her neck instead.
Surprisingly, they were not disturbed until Ginny was sent out to fetch them for dinner. The younger witch had her hands pressed over her eyes just in case they were naked.
"Put your clothes on and come in for tea," Ginny announced from the doorway.
"You can look Gin," Hermione assured her, "We're fully dressed."
"Unfortunately," Draco sighed.
Ginny grinned, "Ron and Harry owe me a Galleon."
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The following day was a Thursday. Draco enjoyed the uneventful hours of the morning as they allowed him to observe Hermione as she slept, ate breakfast and interacted with everyone.
The sibling relationship with Potter was easy to spot once he was looking for it. He was clearly the brother she had never had, and Weaslette had been accepted as a sister-in-law by extension. Draco shuddered to imagine how pussy-whipped Potter was going to be once the wedding took place.
Hermione's relationship with George Weasley was also of the platonic variety, though Draco suspected that if she hinted he would gladly pursue her as a girlfriend.
The interactions with Weasley were as interesting as they were infuriating. The remains of their relationship seemed to hang between them like an unacknowledged cloud of mist. He made sure to keep the redhead off balance by growling audibly when he got too close to Hermione.
"Do you have gas or something Malfoy?" Potter asked with a smirk, "I keep hearing weird noises like a puppy being stepped on."
Draco rolled his eyes at the wizard, "Don't pretend that I'm not intimidating."
"Just like the puppy," Potter replied smugly.
Each time he growled the Annoying Duo would tense and their heart rates spiked. Even Hermione would glance at him worriedly until their emotional connection reassured her that he was not angry.
"Yeah, sure," Draco said, sounding disinterested, "Potter isn't scared of anything."
"Not true," Hermione piped up with a smile, "When Ginny is pissed off she gets this tone of voice that can make Harry run away and hide."
Weasley nodded thoughtfully, "And sometimes she gets this look in her eye and all she has to do is glare at him; I've seen him start babbling apologies even when he doesn't know what he has done wrong."
"Who wouldn't be afraid of Weaslette?" Draco countered, "I've seen what Molly can do and Ginny is even more powerful. Give it a few years and the Ministry will cringe when she raises her voice."
"Thank-you Malfoy," Ginny said from the doorway, "It turns out you're not just a pretty face."
"Not even that," Weasley muttered.
