Draco Malfoy knocked on the door, and, to Hermione's surprise, Narcissa Malfoy herself answered. "Draco!" she said, her blood red lips parting, as she put on a lifeless simulacrum of a smile (her eyes, however, had brightened in a rather convincing display of warmth, so Hermione guessed that Narcissa was pleased that her son was there, and not merely 'doing his obligation to the family' pleased, either).
Narcissa Malfoy's perfectly petite body turned towards Draco's guest, and obediently froze, as the woman's eyes (and only her eyes) flicked up and down Hermione Granger. In tones of perfectly polite disapproval, Narcissa said coldly, "You brought the hired help?" Hermione thought that was probably supposed to suggest that Draco could do better (which, to be fair, he probably could, had that been his aim. Nearly anything would be better than taking someone else's girl).
Draco Malfoy raised one icy eyebrow, saying sternly, "Mother, I work for her. You know this."
Narcissa stepped closer to Draco, running her arm through his spare (the other being entwined with Hermione's), and said with a steely voice that belied her previous velvet, "My dear, you are Draco Malfoy. You work for no one but yourself. I am your mother, and this I know."
Hermione Granger intervened breezily, "To be fair, I do pay him the going rate."
Narcissa silenced Hermione with a glare that made it quite clear that any more words would be dealt with at wandpoint.
Before Narcissa could say a thing, Draco Malfoy said calmly, "Mother, I trust you can see your way to ceasing to play matchmaker?"
Narcissa looked a question at him, her face completely immobile. "I don't know what you mean?" she asked promptingly.
Draco Malfoy removed his hand from Hermione's arm, and threaded both his hands behind his back, as he looked up toward the sky. "The heart wants who the heart wills."
"And is your heart really that fickle? Eight days ago you were talking with that darling Miss Parkinson..."
Draco Malfoy turned wide eyes on his mother, and nodded slightly. Narcissa Malfoy's eyes hardened, losing all the charm and grace - Hermione had to brace herself, as she suddenly saw the echo of Narcissa's older sisters - both of them, in her bright blue eyes.
Narcissa Malfoy turned another of those perfect, polite smiles on Hermione Granger, and said, "I don't believe you've had the tour, have you, Miss Granger?"
Without waiting for Hermione to say a word, she turned to her son, saying, "Draco, be a dear and see to our other guests." With her hand threaded through where Draco's had been just moments ago, Narcissa Malfoy tugged Hermione Granger down the hall, her excited voice echoing down the hallways, "Oh, I've heard so much about you!" Narcissa cooed.
What. What was that? Draco had thought everything was going so well, his mother had been suitably flustered (maybe enough to forget her manners and kick them both out, nevermind that he was her son.) And in the blink of an eye, the whole situation turned. His mother was not supposed to take it in good grace that he had shown up with a Mudblood. She was, at best, going to be tolerant. But even that was unlikely. She was not supposed to drag Hermione Granger off like some new bauble to put in her jewelry box!
And, worse yet, Draco Malfoy had been stuck with dealing with Narcissa's actual guests, rather than Draco's previously unmentioned "Plus One." This was too neat, he thought, as he gritted his teeth and put on a smile that had been drilled into him since childhood. He had a job to do. And, while he was doing it, and not cheerlessly punching walls in frustration, he intended to figure out what in blazes his mother was possibly thinking!
[a/n: Narcissa... is not pleased.
It is perhaps more foolish for Draco to upset Narcissa because he's her son. She takes that more personally, you see.
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I struggled a lot with this chapter, trying to find wording that could have Draco and his mother discussing his suspicious change of heart, while Hermione can still claim ignorance of what they were talking about. Did it work?]
