A/N: This is the longest chapter so far. Bellatrix in my story is still a homicidal maniac, but she starts to crack quickly.
Gift Shopping
Hermione POV: I was shocked to see who joined us earlier tonight. None other than Mr and Mrs Malfoy and her crazy sister Bellatrix LeStrange. When they stepped through the portal into the penthouse kitchen I was brewing myself a cup of tea. Not paying attention to see who came through, I thought it was only going to be Mia and Malfoy, the other three threw me for a loop. They stopped and stared at me. After my encounter with Mr Malfoy and Bellatrix at the Ministry of Magic I never wanted to see them again and yet here they are. "Hermione, are you okay?" Mia is standing in front of me trying to get my attention. I blink several times before saying anything, "Mia, can I speak to you, in private?" I set down the tea kettle and walked out of the kitchen into the dining room. "What are they doing here?" I whisper-yelled at Mia. I am trying to keep calm and not break down in tears. "They were invited to spend the holidays with us. Why? What's wrong?" Mia looks at me with raised, confused eyebrows.
"What's wrong is that two of those people are Death Eaters. They attacked Harry and myself last year inside the Ministry of Magic. I nearly died. Harry's godfather was murdered by Malfoy's aunt. And you just let them waltz in here!" I am on the verge of hyperventilating. Mia lightly grabs my shoulders, "Calm down. I will speak with them. We have the same rules here as we did in the RoR Dojo. If they don't like it, they can go home. We are here to spend time as a family together during Christmas. I'm sorry I did not know what happened before, but everyone will be following the same rules. And I mean everyone. So let's go back into the kitchen and properly welcome our guest. And I truly am sorry about what happened. It's times like this I wish we would have found you sooner." Mia pulls me into a side hug and we walk back into the kitchen. Mia lets go of me and greets the Malfoys and LeStrange. "My apologies. Hermione had something she had to discuss with me that I was not aware of. So, I am going to lay down some ground rules to make everyone's stay as pleasant as possible. They are fairly simple. Any animosity towards one another was left on the other side of that portal. If anyone so much as raise their voice in a violent manner towards anyone else in my home will be quickly dealt with. We are here to get to know one another and enjoy the holidays." I can see Bellatrix is a little uncomfortable with the rules, as is Mr Malfoy, but Draco and his mother seem to agree with Mia.
I walk back to pour myself some tea, and think about what Mia said, "Anyone else like some tea?" I don't want to be the one to cause any conflict so I will do my best to tolerate our guest. "I would love some tea." Mrs Malfoy spoke first, I only received a nod from Mr Malfoy and LeStrange. "I understand if this situation is uncomfortable for us all, but I do feel Mia is right. I want to put what happened last year behind us, especially since I found out I'm not a muggle-born, but a Furyan. Not saying I forgive any of you, but I'm willing to work past it for my family's sake." I gather three more teacups from the cabinet then Mia steps next to me, "Hermione, why are you doing this? We have house staff for that." Mia reaches over to the intercom on the wall and taps the staff button. Two women dressed in all black uniforms with embroidered 'F' on their short sleeve button down shirts, enter the kitchen through the staff doorway. Upon closer inspection a tattoo of the Furyan family crest on their right forearms can be seen. "Please brew some tea for everyone and bring it up to the roof." I am politely moved out of the way so the staff can complete their task. The staff member who moved me is standing next to me, does not speak but her coworker did. "We will have everything ready shortly." She clasped her hands in front of her and waited for all of us to exit the kitchen. "Shall we head upstairs to the garden?" Mia asks us. I nod and quietly excuse myself to go ahead of the group into the garden. 'I can't believe Mia invited them here, of all people, she invited my worst enemies.' I take a deep breath once I was outside and sit near the koi pond. 'I will never forgive them. The pain I suffered will haunt me for the rest of my life.' A lone tear streaks down my face, I harshly wipe it away as they appear on the roof.
Mia POV: I feel horrible for not knowing anything about what happened between the Malfoys, LeStrange and Hermione. I will make it up to her. I turn to see Draco, his parents and aunt have joined me in the garden. Mrs Malfoy seemed excited and yet relaxed, looking at all the plant life and observing the koi pond. "You have a lovely garden. I never would have thought I was on a rooftop." Mrs Malfoy stated as she took a seat in one of the cushioned patio chairs. "Thank you, Mrs Malfoy. I come up here when I want to get away from everyone." "Please call me Narcissa or Cissy." Narcissa said to me. I sit down next to Draco. I notice he is watching his father walk over to Hermione. "Should I be worried?" I ask Draco, who is still watching his father. "I don't think so. Father seems different. He smiled at you earlier, he never smiles. Smirks, yes, but not a genuine smile. As much as I dislike Granger, I don't want anything to happen to her out of respect for you." Draco continues to watch his father take a seat next to Hermione. "So, Bellatrix. Do you mind if I call 'Bellatrix'?" "I don't mind at all." Bellatrix says. "I am curious, have you ever been to the states?" I look over the garden and then back to Bellatrix. "I have not. Where are we exactly?" She sits up straighter to get a better look around. I smile and say, "We are in Los Angeles, California. This building is one of many my family owns. It's in the middle of the city, can get quite noisy at times, but can't beat the view." I stand and show them to the railing with a spectacular view of the city, ocean shoreline, and the Hollywood sign.
Hermione POV: I am watching the koi swim gracefully under the bridge across the pond when I hear someone approach me. I turn to Lucius Malfoy standing only a few feet from me. "May I accompany you Ms Granger?" He asked me. "It is actually Furyan now. I had my name changed recently." I don't know why I told him that. Sasha and I went and had my last name changed so it would be easier for me to reside with them. Lucius nods his head and takes a seat next to me. We sat quietly for a few moments watching the koi until he spoke. "You know, I feel Mia has made a severe impact on everyone's life. I have only known her for a few short hours and she had already managed to make myself and my wife feel welcomed. I must admit, I am not proud of what I have done, I did it to protect my family. I was raised to believe blood status is the only status that mattered. To be pure blooded is to be superior, non-contestable. It is how I raised my son. I know of nothing else. So when Mia came to the manor, I knew there was something different about her. In the first few minutes of her being at the manor she gained the respect of our portraits, not one said anything cruel towards her. Even Bellatrix is acting differently. I have never seen that woman stay quiet for very long, and she has barely said a word since meeting Mia. It's scary actually."
I look at Lucius, as he is watching the fish, "She does have that kind of impact on people. Mia and her sisters have shown me how important family is. They feel family is more important than anything. It's why I have taken my mother's maiden name." I look down at my clasped hands in my lap and try not to cry, "I lost contact with them when I started attending Hogwarts because my mother didn't want me to know my true heritage. She somehow suppressed my Furyan side at birth. I could never forgive her for that. She willingly kept an important part of me hidden because she didn't agree with her brother. My uncle's beliefs are not too dissimilar than yours. He feels muggles are lesser beings, he and my cousins call them 'norms', as in normal people. However, he never denied me, since I am his niece, and I think he knew I was born with magic. My cousins..." I turn to look at Mia, "They are not fully human. Furyan's are an alpha race of humans that didn't even live on Earth. They originated from Furya, the planet was unfortunately destroyed over eighteen years ago. Their mothers are all different alien races. Sasha's mother, Hela, is a very dangerous goddess whose reign of terror is widely known throughout the universe. The twins mother, Jupiter, unfortunately died during childbirth, they don't know much about her. Mia's mother, Kalique Abrasax of Cerise, is a queen and reigns peacefully with an iron fist. All these superior women that my uncle conceived my cousins with and my mother chose a dentist." I can't help but laugh. "I'm sorry. I just started ranting off useless information."
Looking at Lucius and seeing his shocked expression makes me feel like I said too much. "Mr Malfoy, are you alright?" He regains his composure, "Please call me Lucius. I'm perfectly alright. Just trying to come to grips with the fact that my son is in love with someone who is quite possibly superior to us all. It's a little unnerving." I gave Lucius a half smile, "I think we should rejoin the others for some tea, then I believe Sasha wants to take everyone shopping. The shops here are very different from what I am used to. They're more for the upper class." We both stand and make our way over to the rest of the group. I hear Mia telling them about tonight, "Sasha was telling me earlier that she wants to take us all to The Grove for last minute shopping. That does include you three. I better go make sure Dustin is coming." Mia sets down her teacup and heads back inside, leaving me alone with LeStrange and the Malfoys. Bellatrix still has not said a word, I don't know if I should be relieved or worried.
A/N: I know I am switching POVs often. Trying to dive into the main three POV before a major event. And I know Hermione should not give in so easily. She will never forgive them, ever.
Draco POV: This day has been eventful already and it's not even over. My parents and aunt are enjoying tea with the Furyans on a rooftop garden. After Mia walks away I clear my throat, "What do you all think of the Furyans' now that we're not at the Manor?" I take a drink of my tea, set the cup down and wait for a response. My mother is first to speak, "I know Mia is a lovely woman, not sure about her sisters yet. Perhaps after I have met them I can be a better judge." I look over to my aunt, "Aunt Bella, are you alright?" Bellatrix is staring at the horizon, she slowly turns her head towards me. "A little overwhelmed with some of the things. I normally have a good idea of what's going to happen and how to deal, but this is different. I'm always surrounded by darkness, but it's so light here. And warm and inviting. Not something I am used to and I'm not sure how to handle it. I have been in the dark for so long, anything light is threatening." Looking at my aunt, she seems broken, more so than usual. I felt more than saw someone else join us, I didn't realize how much of our conversation they heard until they spoke. "Maybe it's time to change that. You seem like you've been to hell and back, and yet you're still here. I'm not saying you should embrace it fully, run in fields of flowers while giggling like a schoolgirl. You look more like the type to run with scissors, trying to stab the one running in the flowers while cackling." Sasha hasn't even been introduced to my family yet and she has already figured my aunt out. My aunt threw her head back and laughed. "Aunt Bella it's alright. Just enjoy your time here with us and the Furyans'. You'll be back at the Manor soon." I stand up and extend my hand to my aunt, "Let's head inside. See if everyone is ready to leave."
Sasha POV: I went to the rooftop garden to speak with our newest guest. Hearing Draco ask their opinions of us, I slowed down to listen for their answers. Draco's aunt had the saddest response, so I try to cheer her up before I tell them about later tonight. "Draco? Please make sure Theo and Blaise are ready. I want to speak with your parents and aunt." I wait for Draco to be out of earshot, then turn to the adults. "Hello, I'm Sasha. I'm the eldest sister. So glad you could join us. I do apologize about your invitation being last minute. I wanted to speak with you without Draco or Mia around." "Is everything alright?" Narcissa asked. I clasped my hands behind my back, "Yes, everything is fine. I wanted you all to know Mia's mother will be joining us tomorrow morning. Mia does not know and I don't want her to find out. However, Kalique can be a little overbearing when it comes to her only daughter. Meeting Draco and his parents might help ease her conscience." Narcissa's eyebrows scrunched in confusion.
"Kalique is very worried her daughter will have to follow through with the betrothal contract Kalique's father has drawn up. The betrothal is not set in stone. If Mia marries before her eighteenth birthday the contract will be dissolved. The reason Kalique is so worried is that her father still believes in the practice of 'Prima Nocta'." Draco's mother gasped while covering her mouth with her hand, his father's eyes grew wide as saucers, and his aunt looked angry, almost homicidal. "Draco has made Mia the happiest she's ever been, and I only hope he loves her as much as she loves him. Kalique is scheduled to arrive after breakfast. I wanted to let you know so it is not as overwhelming for everyone." I gesture to the stairs, "Shall we?"
The four of us enter the sitting room where the rest of our group is waiting. "Now that everyone is here." I grabbed their attention when I raised my voice. "We will be visiting The Grove. It is a lovely shopping center, however, there will be 'norms' there. I highly suggest we don't wander too far from each other. Don't want any incidents like last time." I look to Annya and she shrugs her shoulders, "The guy wouldn't take 'no' for an answer." I shake my head and sigh, "So you kneed him in the crotch then threw him through a window?" Everyone lightly chuckles. "He deserved it." Annya smiles sheepishly. "Be that as it may, I don't want a repeat. It also should be late enough in the day, that most 'norms' would be done shopping." Just then the elevator doors opened and our chauffeur entered, meaning our limo was ready.
Two hours laterHermione POV: I was trying to figure out what to get Mia. She was the hardest to find gifts for. I already bought gifts for everyone else, well except the Malfoys and LeStrange. The shop I decided to enter was a beautiful boutique that sold vintage clothing and accessories. Looking through the racks I spot a lovely dark blue flapper dress from the 1920's. Mia always loved that era. She said their taste in fashion was amazing. "Hello Hermione." Draco came up behind me so suddenly I nearly jumped out of my skin. With my hand over my heart catching my breath, "Draco. You scared me." He holds his hands up in front of him, "Sorry, I wanted to see what you were getting Mia." I turn back to the dress and pull it off the rack, "I'm getting her this. The 1920's is her favorite era of fashion." He looks it over, "It's nice. Can't wait to see her wear it. Thanks for the help. Oh, one more thing. When is her birthday? I forgot to ask and I'm a little embarrassed I don't know it." It must really hurt his pride to admit that, now I know he loves her. "You're welcome, and it's April second." Draco thanks me again, then ventures around the shop. When I purchased the dress with one of the Furyan credit cards, Draco was approaching the cashier with his gift for Mia. Knowing he wouldn't have any muggle money on him, I swiped the credit card for his purchases. "I'll pay you back when we get back to school. I didn't think about exchanging currency beforehand. Do you think she'll like these?" Draco seemed to have bought the accessories to go with the dress I bought. "You do realize they match the dress. She'll love them." He smirked, opening the door so we could leave and join up with the others.
We ventured back to the limo after two more hours of shopping. I'm so glad we had brought a few staff with us. Everyone had bought so much. I think Narcissa almost purchased one of the shops. I didn't think the Malfoys would enjoy themselves being this close to muggles, even Bellatrix seemed to enjoy herself. Bellatrix did tourment some teenage boys who were staring at our group. She almost pulled her wand out to hex them but Dustin stopped her. Told her very politely while having a firm grip on her wrist, 'You can't do magic here. There are cameras everywhere.' Then he tried to explain how cameras work, it distracted her long enough for the boys to run off. Other than that, we all made it back to the penthouse in time for a delicious five course dinner. A staff member approached Sasha and whispered in her ear. Sasha asked that everyone label their gifts so the staff could wrap them. "That takes the fun out of it." I pouted about not wrapping the gifts I bought. Vianna laughs, "It's easier for the staff to do it. Especially with so many gifts to wrap. We would be up all night, and I need my sleep." Everyone seemed to agree.
Christmas Morning
Mia POV: Sitting next to the tree, Sasha was distributing the gifts. Seems there are about three gifts each person, all different sizes. I think Hermione even bought something for Harry and the Weasleys'. We will deliver them later today. I kind of want to meet them again under better circumstances. "Okay, that's all of them. Let's go ahead and open together." Sasha sits on the floor with her gifts. Hermione is sitting next to me when she opened her first gift. "A kindle fire." *She looks confused.* "What is it?" I snicker, and help her turn it on. "It is a digital library. I know you love books, but this little contraption has our entire family library saved on it. As well as the ability to add more. So far there's over 2000 books saved. And it will work back at Hogwarts. Took a little tweaking with magic, but we got it to work." I have never seen her so excited. She almost didn't open her other gifts, because she started reading all the titles of the books. I unwrapped the first gift and I am shocked. It was a beautiful Sapphire jewelry set from Draco. "Wow, it's beautiful." I kiss Draco on the cheek, "Thank you." I didn't want to kiss him on the lips since his parents are sitting right there.
After everyone opened their gifts we were served breakfast. I noticed Sasha was really anxious about something. I just shrug it off and turn my attention back to my breakfast. "Hermione, didn't you want to deliver the rest of the gifts you bought?" Hermione puts down her fork, finishes her bite then answers me, "We will go in a little bit. I'm in no rush." 'Hmm, something's up.' Now I'm getting worried. Hermione would never pass up the chance to see Harry. The sitting room windows were covered with heavy shades to block out the sun. The glare was too bright for everyone. All of the sudden they started opening, all I could see was our balcony overlooking the city, but the view was blocked by some people standing out there. I couldn't see who they were until they came inside. At first my jaw hit the floor. Once it clicked who I was looking at my bottom lip started to quiver. "Mum!" I didn't bother to politely leave the table. I jumped out of my seat so fast it toppled over, I can't believe my mother is here. I ran straight into her open arms, crying my eyes out because she was actually here.
Draco POV: All I saw when I looked up from my plate was Mia running towards her mother. I am speechless. After what Mia has told me, her mother takes a big risk being here. My father leans over, "Sasha informed us yesterday about Mia's mother arriving. We are to introduce ourselves since you will be marrying her only daughter." My mother puts down her napkin and stands up with my father, "Come on dear. Let's go meet your mother-in-law." I get up and join my parents to introduce ourselves to Mia's mother. Still in shock that they approve of our marriage, I walk over to stand behind Mia waiting for my opportunity to speak. Kalique looks over Mia's shoulder at the three of us, "Sasha tells me you're the man who will be marrying my daughter." I stand ramrod straight and proceed to bow at the waist, "Your majesty. I am Draco Malfoy." I gesture to my parents, "This is my father, Lucius Malfoy and my mother Narcissa Malfoy, Nee Black." "My, what a gentleman. I am Kalique Abrasax of Cerise. You may call me Kalique. I see there are a few new faces." *She looks at everyone else at the table.* "Who might you all be?"
Aunt Bellatrix stayed towards the back, she was unsure if she should approach Kalique. Zabini and Nott came to stand next to me. "I am Blaise Zabini." He bows at the waist. " I am Theodore Nott, your majesty." Nott also bows at the waist. Kalique has yet to release her grip on Mia, "Well it is lovely to meet you all, but time is of the essence." *She turns to Mia.* "I came to deliver your gift. And there's something we need to discuss. Join me out on the balcony." Mia nods her head and they both walk outside. I keep my eyes on Mia. Kalique's royal staff stay inside to give them privacy. A few moments have gone by, I still have not looked away. I watched as their conversation went from peaceful to agitated to downright violent. "Are they alright?" I spoke out loud. One of the royal staff walks out onto the balcony, "Your majesty, is everything alright?" Kalique and Mia have stopped arguing, "Yes everything is fine." She turns to Mia.* "You need to claim your title before your birthday. If you don't, your uncle will and then he will harvest this planet." I can hear the distress in her voice, "He will make sure you and your family are still on the planet when he does."
If I heard correctly, we may be in more danger than just the Wizarding War that is approaching. I took a chance, swallowed the lump in my throat and walked out to the balcony. "Mia, what's going on?" Mia gazed into my eyes, trying to smile with tears in her eyes, "Umm. I have to claim my title before my birthday or I lose everything. It's a lengthy process and I have to go to my mother's planet to claim it. My mother wanted me to come with her now, but you know why I can't go." Her voice was cracking towards the end. "Then we will get married sooner than later. I could even have Severus oversee the marriage. Maybe I can accompany you when you claim your title." I reach for Mia's hand to pull her into a hug. Her mother is still standing there, she has calmed down and is now smiling. "Wonderful. Now, your gift." Kalique gestured towards her royal staff. A strange looking man, he doesn't look human at all. He hands Kalique a small, sleek, black box. "Once I heard you were getting married, I thought it would be fitting for you to have this." She hands the box over to Mia. Grasping it in her hands, Mia opens it delicately, "It's beautiful." Mia pulls out a glowing crystal necklace, the glow looks like it's moving. "How many?" Mia asked her mother. "Seven, and it's absolutely pure. It belonged to my mother and now it belongs to you." Kalique takes the necklace from Mia, unclasped it, reached around Mia's neck and reclasped it. "You know I love you and I want you to have the best. Which is why I came here today. Claiming your title will ensure you have the best." Kalique quickly gazes at me, turns to everyone else to say her goodbyes when she notices my aunt. "Why are you hiding?" My aunt slowly approaches, "My apologies your majesty. I am Bellatrix LeStrange Nee Black, Narcissa is my sister. Truthfully, I wasn't sure if I should approach or not, so I stayed in the back to give you all space." Kalique looks my aunt up and down, "No need to hide. We're all family here." Kalique smiles at my aunt. "I am glad to have met you all. Especially you Draco, please take care of her. You have my blessing." I bowed at the waist as Kalique steps over to the edge of the balcony, then she was gone in a blink of an eye.
"Mia, are you alright?" I can see she is trying to not cry anymore. She is holding her necklace in one hand, wiping tears away with the other. "Overwhelmed. On top of everything now I have to claim my title or my uncle will. He is not a kind man. He will stop at nothing to get his hands on this planet." So I did hear right. "Wait… Your title is to claim this planet? Earth? You would own the whole bloody planet?!" "Yes. I would own the planet if I claimed my title. My uncle wants to harvest every living being to process for this." Mia lifts her necklace closer to her face. After regaining my composure I came up with a plan. "When you and Hermione go to deliver gifts to the Weasleys, I will go back to the manor and get Severus. If this is what you really want, I'm ready if you are. I told you I don't want to lose you ever again." "That will work. Are you sure your family is ok with you marrying me?" Mia glances at my parents. Bringing Mia back into a hug, "They approve of us getting married. I was not expecting it truthfully. I feel they have warmed up to the idea of me marrying the woman who owns the Earth." "I beg your pardon?" My father has walked over to us along with my mother and they heard the last part of our conversation. "Kalique has informed us that Mia needs to claim her title before her uncle does. The title gives Mia ownership of the Earth." I explained to them both. "Holy shit, are you serious?" Blaise practically yelled. They also overheard some of what I said. "However, Mia is afraid to go to Cerise before she is married. I was suggesting Severus oversee the marriage. If that is alright with you both? We can have a bigger, public ceremony later on."
My mother is so excited she cuts my father off, "As long we are present. I would be happy to have you as a daughter-in-law." My mother hugs Mia. "I agree with Cissy. Mia, you are an extraordinary woman. And I can see you make Draco happy." My father kisses Mia's knuckles. We all turn to go inside when my chest starts to heat up where Mia has marked me. I feel like my whole body is on fire and I can't breathe. I fall to my knees, dizziness takes hold, I can't catch my breath. "What's *gasp* happening?" Mia crouches down in front of me, cusping my face in her hands to pull me up to look her in the eyes. "It's alright. The fear that was holding you back is gone. Close your eyes and listen to my voice." I close my eyes and concentrate on listening to Mia. "You have nothing to fear. You will be fine. Take a deep breath in, and let it out very slowly." Deep breath in, then breathe out slowly. "Okay, good. Now I want you to slowly open your eyes. Tell me what you see. The world around you may look very different, almost grayish." I open my eyes and hear my mother gasp once again. "His eyes. They're glowing." Looking around is strange so I close my eyes again. Mia is still holding my face, "It's ok. Once you calm down fully your eyes will go back to normal. Whenever you get highly emotional that is going to happen. Your vision, umm, the best way I can describe it. It's like sonar without using sound. The way you saw everything is also how you will see it in the dark. It could be pitch black to everyone else, but you would be able to see just fine. It is one of the qualities that makes us dangerous." Mia let's go of my face to grab my arms. She helps me stand up. "I'm going to lead you to the couch. I want you to sit and relax. Okay?" I nod my head 'yes'.
I sit down on the couch with my head resting on the back facing the ceiling. I feel Mia sit on my right and someone else sit on my left. "Draco, darling. Are you going to alright?" My mother asked with concern in her voice. "Yes mother, I'm going to be better than alright. Just have to relax for now." Mia leans closer to me, "I can see the Mark through your shirt. It's so bright. Do you want to show them? Plus I want Marcus to scan you, make sure everything is in place." I sit up slightly to unbutton my shirt, still not opening my eyes. I pull my shirt open on the right side. My mother leans over to get a better look at Mia's handprint. "I have never seen anything like this. Mia you said you are going to 'scan' Draco. What is that?" I feel Mia stand, "Marcus, can you scan Draco please?" Marcus booming voice is heard throughout the penthouse. "Yes Mia. Draco please hold still. This will take but a moment." I hold very still and wait. A few moments later Mia leans over me. "You can open your eyes now. You're going to want to see this." I slowly open my eyes and everything looks normal. Mia stands back up straight. "Marcus display the image please." "Of course Mia. It seems everything is in order." I didn't even notice the room got darker. There is an image of a skeleton, my skeleton displayed on the ceiling. Looking closer at my ribcage and forearms I see what looks like ancient symbols carved into my bones. "How is that possible? When did that happen?" Mia clears her throat, "It happened the same time I marked you. You didn't feel it because of what was happening at that particular moment." Mia is blushing so red she could be running a fever. Remembering when she marked me, I too started to blush. Mother smacks my shoulder, "Draco!"
My father has not looked away from the image of my skeleton, "Are those runes carved into my son's bones?" Mia points out each one, "Yes. There is 'Protection', 'Banish' and 'Death' are right next to each other. 'Good Fortune', 'Heal', 'Honor', 'Magick', 'Transform', and 'Warrior'..." Sasha interrupts Mia, "You didn't. Tell me you add the rune I think you did." Mia looks guiltily at Sasha, "Whoops." I'm not sure I want to ask, "Why is Sasha upset?" Mia nervously clears her throat, "The rune right over your heart is 'Immortality'. You will still age but much, much slower than anyone. How old do you think my mother is?" Hoping not to put my foot in my mouth so to speak, "Early 40's maybe." Mia smiles and shakes her head, "She's fourteen hundred and ten years old, my grandfather is only thirty years older than my mother. Technically my mother should not have been able to conceive me because of her age, which is why she is so overprotective." My eyes feel like they're going to pop out of my head, I can't believe this, neither can anyone else besides the Furyans and Hermione. "How is that possible?" My father asked. Mia sits down next to me, "I will explain another time, not now though." Definitely going to ask about that later.
Hermione POV: Watching this whole ordeal has got me wanting to hide away. However, I remember I need to deliver the rest of the gifts. "Mia, are we going to head out soon? I don't want to stay gone too long." She snaps her head in my direction. "Yeah. Let me get ready then we'll go." Mia turns to Draco, "I'm going with Hermione. Are you going to set everything up for when I get back?" Draco stands up, so does his mother and father, "I will take my parents and aunt Bella home, and get everything ready." I watched the Malfoys and Bellatrix say their goodbyes. It was a strange site to see Bellatrix hug the Furyans'. Maybe there is hope for her yet, but I won't hold my breath. Sasha opens the portal into Malfoy Manor for them. Mia makes sure Draco has a portal to return and they all step through. I take a deep breath and relax.
The Burrow
Marcus easily found the location of the Burrow with my help, Marcus reprograms one of the portals to open nearby. Mia, Sasha and I step onto the land, the portal is somehow hovering in midair. I shrug my shoulders as the portal closes. I had shrunk all the gifts to fit in my beaded bag. "Come on you two, time to greet the chaos that is the Weasleys." They both laugh as we trek up to the house. "Wow, that is awesome. I love how the house is so unique." Mia exclaims. Before we could reach the door it swung open, "HERMIONE! Hey everyone, Hermione is here." George yells to the whole house. He didn't see Mia or Sasha at first. "Hello George. I brought a couple of my cousins along with me." I walk past him. Mia and Sasha follow closely behind, gazing at everything around them. "Hermione, it's good to see you dear." Molly has entered the sitting room from the kitchen. "Thank you Molly. Mia and Sasha have joined us today. I brought everyone's gifts too. The Furyans don't use owls or I just would have sent them." Molly had me in a bear hug. "What a lovely surprise. George why don't you get everyone into the sitting room so Hermione can give everyone their gifts." "Yes mum. Oi! YOU LOT GET DOWNSTAIRS! HERMIONE IS HERE!" George loudly shouts at the bottom of the stairs, Molly glares at him.
Soon Harry, Fred, Charlie and Ginny come barreling down the stairs. I hear Sasha whisper to Mia, "Should we let them know Thrasher is with us?" I turn around to answer, "Probably. I know Charlie would love to see him. I didn't even realize he came with us." Sasha shakes her head, "Of course he came with us. He's your guardian now. He will accompany you everywhere outside of our homes." Turning back to face the others, "Charlie would you like to meet Thrasher?" Charlie comes closer to me, "Who?" I look down since I don't know where he is, "Thrasher reveal yourself." Thrasher shakes his camouflage off and he happens to be standing right next to me.
"This is Thrasher, my guardian. He will be by my side when I go back to Hogwarts." Charlie bends down to Thrasher's eye level, brings his hand up to pet him, "You are magnificent. You protect Hermione. She has been through enough." Thrasher huffs, sits on his hind legs with his ears perked up straight. Charlie stands up still looking at Thrasher, "He's beautiful. What breed is he?" Charlie looks at me. "He's a Hellhound, reptilian/lupine hybrid, last of his kind. Poor thing is all alone." Thrasher's ears fall, he lowers his head and whines a little. Charlie pets him, "It's alright Thrasher. I know how that feels. I live on a Dragon reserve. I see it all the time with orphaned dragons." Charlie tries to smile but I can tell he's sad. Thrasher leans into Charlie's hand as he pets him and whines again.
"Alright everyone take a seat. Hermione has brought gifts." Molly claps her hands and the whole group sits down around the room. I open my beaded bag and pull out all the gifts to resize them. "Now, these are all from Muggle shops. I hope you like everything." I hand out the gifts and wait for their reactions. I am still holding onto Molly and Arthur's gift though. It was Sasha's idea to give them a Furyan black credit card. After I told Sasha that besides Ron, the Weasleys are my second family. I also told her they are considered to be poor by the wizarding world standards. That's when she suggested giving them the credit card. "Hermione. Thank you. What is it?" Ginny is holding a fountain ink pen in her hand. "It is an ink pen. You use that instead of a quill. Never need to dip or spill ink everywhere." They each got one, all different designs of course and I charmed them to never run out of ink. I got the twins gag gifts from a Muggle joke shop. Harry received the Muggle equivalent of Quidditch gloves, so did Ginny. Charlie was not easy to shop for, so I got him a dragon trinket that breathes smoke incense with different scents. "Molly, Arthur. Will you join me in the kitchen?"
The three of us enter the kitchen. I hope I don't offend them. "I wanted to thank you for everything you have done for me over the years. I hope what I'm about to give you doesn't offend you in any way. I just really want to show my gratitude." I hand Molly the envelope with the credit card in it. Molly opens it and pulls the card out. "What is it dear?" I smile and try not to cry, still shocks me that Sasha has done this for them. "It is a credit card that is connected to the Furyan's bank account. You can use it to withdraw funds from a Muggle bank then convert the currency to wizarding money." Molly is shocked, "Oh deary, we can't accept this." She tries to hand it back to me. "I insist. Actually it was Sasha's idea. I told her how much you mean to me and she wanted to make sure that you have everything you deserve." Molly looks over to Arthur with tears welling up. He nods his head, "It's alright dear. We can always keep it for emergencies." "Emergencies. I can live with that." Molly accepts the gift. Arthur takes the card from Molly, "Curious, why is it black?" "A black credit card doesn't have a limit." Arthur's face becomes pale when he realizes what that means, "I shall put this in a safe place." I nod in agreement, "Thank you both. Now, should we rejoin the others." I hug them both, Molly kisses my cheek and we walk back into the other room. Molly runs over to Sasha and gives her a bone crushing bear hug. Sasha is shocked at first but hugs back eventually. We all sat down for dinner. It was hard for me to eat while trying not to laugh at Fred ogling Sasha. Shortly thereafter we say goodbye, venture outside to open the portal against the side of the Burrow. I step through last, "I'll explain when I see you all again. Love you all."
The Penthouse
Mia POV: A few hours have passed since coming back from the Burrow. I'm sitting on the couch looking out the window, watching the city lights. Sasha, the twins and Hermione are having fun dancing in the club, Lux, I didn't feel like going. I stand up to stretch when I notice something off in the distance getting closer to the windows. Before I knew it one of the windows shattered, then I was in the worst pain of my life. My left shoulder feels like when I got shot but worst. My body is thrown back into the wall, I land on my backside, my legs stretch out in front of me sitting on the floor. I try to reach up to my shoulder to see how bad I'm injured and I feel a rod sticking out. I try to stand up, but I can't. This rod has impaled through my left shoulder into the wall and I can't move. I start to panic. "Marcus! Marcus!" No answer. 'Why isn't Marcus answering?' I look down to see a red laser pointed directly at my chest. "Oh shit!" I move slightly to the left in time to be shot in the right side of my chest. "AAAHHHH! FUCK!" I'm trapped, I've been shot and I have no way to call for help. Panicking even more when it becomes harder to breathe. "Thra-Thrasher!" Luckily he is still upstairs with me. I feel him come up to me. "I need you to get Hermione. She's downstairs in the club. Hurry, use the door you know how to push open. Please hurry." Panting between each word.
I don't want to move. Everything hurts when I move. My breathing gets worse when I move. A few minutes have gone by when I hear the elevator doors open, "Mia!" 'Oh thank god.' "Hermione. Help. I can't move and breathing is getting harder." I say softly, there's blood dripping out of my mouth onto my chin. I see her come up to me. "OH MY GODS! Mia… I'm going to try and pull this out. It's going to hurt." Hermione barely touches the rod with the tips of her fingers when I feel a heavy jolt of electricity. I could actually see threads of electricity, like small lightning bolts roll from the rod shooting through my body. I scream in pain. "AAAAAAHHHHHHH! DON'T TOUCH IT!" Hermione moves away before she is electrocuted. "Get Draco, please. Go get Draco!" She starts to violently shake her head. "I can't. I can't go there. He's there." "Snap out of it Hermione. You're a Furyan. Act like one. Now. Go. Get. Draco. Please." "Okay. I'll go get Draco." Hermione runs to my room, opens the portal and disappears to Malfoy Manor. I try to stay calm, but I start to lose consciousness. 'I love you Draco.' Everything goes black.
Hermione POV: Entering into Draco's bedroom I open the door, take a deep breath and run towards the other end of the hall. When I reach the stairs I run into Greyback. 'Oh shit!' "What are you doing here? You don't belong here." He roughly grabs my arms. They are probably going to bruise. "I'm looking for Malfoy. I need to find him." I struggle in his strong clawed hands. "Granger, what are you doing here?" Snape approaches us. "I need Malfoy. He needs to come with me. Mia is hurt badly." Snape sighs, "Unhand her Greyback. I will deal with this." Greyback reluctantly lets go. Snape practically drags me away from the werewolf. We march into Lucius' study. Draco is sitting in a chair facing the fireplace, Lucius is in the other chair. "Malfoy!" Draco turns to look at me. "Hermione, what are…." "No time. You need to come with me right now!" He rolls his eyes, "Why should I?" I am so done with him. "Mia has been impaled and shot. Someone waited until she was alone and targeted her! Whoever shot her is probably still watching and waiting to make sure she dies this time!" That got their attention. They're all standing now. "You better not be fucking with me Hermione." Lucius is following behind until we pass one of the dining rooms. "I'll get Bellatrix. Leave the portal open." Draco and I run to his room where the portal is still open. Lucius and Bellatrix are not too far behind us.
Draco POV: Coming up to Mia I didn't know what to expect, I stopped in my tracks at the sight of her pale complexion, her chest is barely rising and falling. She is covered in blood down the front of her shirt. I can see the bullet wound on the right side of her chest, and this rod sticking out of the left shoulder. I feel ashamed for leaving her alone. I kneel down across Mia's legs, I reach up to touch the rod when Mia snaps her head up and pushes me away with her right hand. As I fall, I watch in horror as Mia is electrocuted and her body convulses. "AAAAAAHHHHH!" Her scream breaks my heart. Once the rod stops electrocuting Mia, she tries to talk, whimpering in pain, "Whenever someone.. tries to touch.. the rod.. it sends an.. electric shock. I can't move…. And I've been shot. Breathing.. is.. getting.. Harder." Out of the corner of my eye I see Bella run back to where we came from. "Mia. Stay with me. Please." Her head has fallen, I lift her chin to look in her eyes. "I can't lose you. Not now. Please." I'm trying to keep a brave front, but seeing my love, my wife in such pain. I can't hold back the tears, my forehead is against hers. "Mia, please." I whisper to her, hoping she is listening.
Bella POV: Why should I care? Why do I care? I don't care about anyone except the Dark Lord. I try to concentrate on eating dinner when Lucius rushes in the dining room. "Someone has attacked the Furyans, Mia is injured." I leave my seat and join him. Why am I caring about them, about Mia? I mean, I enjoyed my time with the Furyans but I shouldn't care. 'Ugh! What is wrong with me?' I follow through the portal, which still bewilders me, running into the sitting room I see her, Mia. My heart hurts, feels like it shattered into a million pieces. Also feeling angry that someone would do this to her. I have berated, tortured and cold bloodily killed so many people over the years, why should I care about her. But I can't help it. I have grown to care about her and her family in what little time I have known them.
Draco tries to pull whatever that is out of her. Mia quickly looks up and pushes him away. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Her screams reverberate through the penthouse so strongly I feel the vibrations. I turn and run back through the portal, run through the Manor, not even bothering to knock on the drawing room door I barge in, panting. "Bella, explain yoursssself!" Voldemort hisses. "My lord, it's Mia. The Furyans were attacked. Mia is pinned against the wall by some sort of staff. Draco tried to remove it but she pushed him away. She started convulsing." I should not feel so helpless. I'm more powerful than most wizards and witches, however, I don't know how to help Mia. The Dark Lord is silent, thinking this over, he's probably wondering why he should help her. She has been nothing but polite and respectful. However, Mia has not stated if she will join our side of the war. "Greyback '', the Dark Lord looks to the werewolf. "Yes my lord." "Go with Bella, asssissst any way you can." Greyback nods his head, I express my gratitude as we leave the room. "If she dies I will tear that city apart looking for whoever attacked her." I said out loud.
Draco POV: My aunt Bella comes running back in the room with Greyback. Hermione informs them both of what has happened, "So we can't touch that rod without it shocking her." I carefully peel away Mia's shirt around the rod. "Maybe if we pull her off the rod." I say more to myself than to the others in the room. "Greyback, see if you can lift her away from the wall without touching the rod." Greyback just glares at me for giving him an order. "Please Greyback." He steps over to Mia, crouches down and snakes his arms around her back. The rod has Mia pinned at an awkward angle. As Greyback slowly lifts her, the rod is extracted from her shoulder, Mia grips his bicep with her right hand so hard her nails dig into his skin, whimpering in pain. Then she starts bleeding profusely. Greyback is covered in blood as he lays her limp body down and moves out of the way. I take off my jacket to put pressure on the wound. Hermione is casting healing spell upon healing spell. The wound is not getting any better. I'm going to lose her. I'm going to lose the love of my life and there is nothing we can do about it.
"What the hell happened?" Sasha enters the room. I didn't even notice the elevator opening. "Mia has been shot and she was impaled by that." I point to the rod. "We can't get the bleeding to stop, she's lost so much blood. None of our spells are working." Sasha gets on the floor in front of Mia's face. "Baby girl. You need to stay with us." Sasha sits up and looks around for something, "Where's her necklace she got from her mother?" Hermione is severely agitated, "In her room. Why? What does that have to do with this?" Sasha gets up and runs to Mia's room. Sasha returns with the necklace in her hand. She stands in front of Lucius, "Can you please very carefully break it open?" Lucius gives Sasha a look of concern but he is curious. Using a weak 'Diffindo', the top of the crystal is cut open. "Thank you." Sasha brings the crystal over to Mia close to where I have my jacket. "Go ahead and lift the jacket." I hesitate before I lift my jacket away from Mia. Sasha pours a few drops of the substance onto the outer edge of Mia's wound. The wound starts to close. "Okay now we need to flip her over. This should close up the wound." I carefully flip Mia onto her back. Sasha pours a few more drops into her wound, then the rest she pours onto the bullet wound. "Come on, Baby girl. Don't give up on us now."
"Well. This is going better than expected." We all turn and point our wands at whoever just showed up. Sasha pulled a gun from a holster strapped to her side under her leather jacket. "Who are you?" I demand. "Isn't it obvious. I am Belum Abrasax of the House of Abrasax." Her uncle, he's behind this. "You're her uncle. Are you that desperate for her title that you try to have her killed?" "What do you mean.. Try? She's already dead." Her uncle says. I turn and look down at Mia. I can't tell if she is breathing or not. Her uncle has come a little closer, "So pathetic. When she is declared dead, this planet will belong to me and I will harvest every living thing on this Earth." He stands there with a smug smile on his face, but it soon falls. "Not if I can help it." We all face Mia, she is still on the floor but her eyes are open and have the Furyan eye shine, she is alive. "You can't even stand. What makes you think you could win this war?" Belum snickers. I watch in amazement as Mia pulls herself into a sitting position, bracing her weight on her wrist she slowly gets up off the floor, and she stands on her own. "You underestimate me. I will protect what is mine and my family. You're not family. You're nothing but a stain in the House of Abrasax. My mother should be primary, not you. Now, get off my planet." "You will regret this. I will have this planet." With that last statement he vanished as quickly as he appeared. I'm glad I was standing next to Mia. Her legs start to shake, I catch her before she could fall to the floor. "I'm so tired. I can't stop shivering." Her teeth are chattering, I can feel her shaking. "And I'm whining like a bitch." Mia laughs a little bit at her own expense. "It's ok Mia. I'm here." I look to Sasha, "She needs a blanket." Severus kneels down to look Mia over. "She needs blood replenishers. Keep her awake while I retrieve them." Severus rushes back to the portal. Sasha has retrieved a blanket from the linen room down the hall.
We are all trying to keep Mia awake until Severus comes back. Mia is still shivering in my arms wrapped in a blanket, "Sasha. M-M-Marcus di-didn't answer m-m-me earlier. Isss he of-of-offline?" Sasha heads to one of the doors down the hallway, "I'll check. He may have been updating his systems." Only a minute has passed when I hear Sasha walk back in, "Marcus is back online. He was in fact rebooting when you were attacked." The elevator doors open again, a woman with long blonde hair, blue eyes, and a bad attitude. "Cass! It's so good to see you." Sasha runs up to the newcomer. "What did I miss?" Cassandra asked. Mia looks up and yells at Cass, "A LOT!" Sasha rolls her eyes at Mia, "Someone took a shot at Mia." "Seriously? What? Are they fucking stupid?" Cass has come over to me and Mia. "Cass. G-G-Glad you're ho-home. I thi-think the sssshooter is ssstill out th-there." "Okay, I'll take care of it." Cass turns to look out the windows, her eyes are moving rapidly, she smiles the most evil grin I have ever seen, "Gotcha."
Next thing I know she disappears in a cloud of blue smoke, only to reappear in midair over the balcony with the person who I assume is the shooter. She uses her momentum from reappearing to throw him through one of the unbroken windows. Landing hard on the sitting room floor, he is sprawled out on top of the shattered glass. Cassandra stands over him, hands on her hips. "Tell me, who hired you?" The shooter doesn't say anything. "Ok fine. Have it your way." She grabs him by the collar, picks him up and headbutts him, breaking his nose causing it to bleed and his eyes to water. Throwing him back out through the broken glass onto the balcony. "Marcus." "Yes Cassandra. Good to hear your voice." Cassandra doesn't seem as excited as Marcus. "Will you please retract the balcony?" The railing of the balcony lowers into the platform and the platform is slowly retracting into the building.
The shooter looks to Cassandra, realizing what's about to happen. "Are you going to talk now?" The shooter looks back and forth between the balcony and Cass, still refusing to talk. The balcony has become very short. The shooter looks like he is panicking. Good. He deserves to panic and so much more. "Are you going to answer me? If you don't answer you fall." The shooter has only two choices, answer Cassandra or fall to his death. Either way he is dead if he was to return and Mia still lives. He whispers a name. "I'm sorry. What was that?" Cass cups a hand around her ear. "Belum." Mia's eyes open very wide. "My-y uncle re-really w-wants me dead. He's get-getting des-per-ate."
Cassandra watches as the balcony's edge disappears into the building. The shooter has since fallen to his death. She turns to everyone, "What? He had a little too much to drink and fell over the railing." Cassandra sheepishly shrugs, Greyback and Bella laugh. Cassandra then goes to give Mia a hug. She greets me next, "So, you're the one that is marrying Mia." She looks me over, leans in closer whispering in my ear, "You hurt her I will skin you alive." The look she has on her face makes me believe she has done it before. Severus has returned with blood replenishers and my mother. I gaze at my mother, gripping Mia tighter, "She's shivering so bad, her teeth won't stop chattering." My mother kneels on the floor with us, not even caring about getting wrinkles in her robes. "It's from the loss of blood. She'll stop after she takes the potions." Snape hands her the vials, "Mia, I need you to drink these. They taste horrible, so down them as fast as you can." Mother pops the cork and tilts the potion into Mia's open mouth. "Oh, that is awful." Mia tries not to gag. "I know. One more should be enough," I am not letting Mia go until she drinks the last potion. Mia downed the second and last vial with a disgusted look on her face. I kiss the top of her head rub her arms over the blanket, "How do you feel?" She is still shaking, not as bad though. "I think I can stand now. I still feel tired." Cass helps me stand her up. "I'll take her to her room. You go ahead and catch up with Sasha." I tell Cass, picking Mia up bridal style and walking to her room.
"What an eventful day? I think after you get some sleep we can figure out when to get married. It might be better to wait a couple of days at least until you get your strength back." I lay her down on her bed after a staff member pulled back the covers. I nod my appreciation, the staff member walks out of the room to give us some privacy. "Do you want to change your clothes before you fall asleep?" Mia looks down at her blood stained clothes, "Probably should. Just one of my big t-shirts. I'll get out of these, since they're ruined." Turning around to her massive closet, I open one of the drawers against the wall and pull out a black, double X mens t-shirt. Looking down at the shirt as I walk back to Mia's bedside I look up and I am at a loss for words. Mia is bracing herself against the bed in just her black lace thong, she is beyond beautiful. "Draco… You're staring." She blushes and tries to cover herself up. I snap out of my trance. "I'm sorry. It's just you're so beautiful I can't help it. Sit down, I'm going to get a warm rag to wipe the blood off before you put this on." I go into her ensuite bathroom, grab a washcloth and get it wet. Mia has sat down on the edge of her bed with the shirt next to her. I start to wipe the blood off her face, down her neck, her firm perky breast, then her stomach and lastly her arms. I know I have been blushing the entire time. Setting the rag down on the bedside table and picking up the shirt, I helped Mia put it on so she could lay down.
"I was going to suggest we get married on the 30th. My family tends to have a formal ball on New Years. It may not be as big this year because of the Dark Lord residing at Malfoy Manor. I would love it if you came, especially since we'll be married. Mother would probably shift the theme to be our reception." We both laugh a little. "The 30th works for me. I know my family and your parents will want to be there. If I feel better we will probably head to our estate in Fairbanks. I have been monitoring solar storms. The stronger the storms, the more colors are produced in the Aurora Borealis. I'm hoping to see some reds, they're rare. It's mostly greens, purples, sometimes light blues, white is the rarest and doesn't happen very often…. I'm rambling aren't I?" Mia fidgets with her blanket. "It's alright. Just means you're passionate about something. I could ramble all day about Qudditch and flying on my broom." I sit on the edge of her bed, bend down to give her a kiss before I leave back to the Manor. We reluctantly pull apart, "You get some rest, and I'll see you in a couple of days. I will miss you." "I'll miss you too." Mia yawns and gets comfortable. I make sure to close the door behind me.
Everyone is still in the sitting room, waiting for an update. "How is she?" Cass approached me. "She is resting. We have decided the 30th of this month would be the best day to wed. If she is well enough, she will accompany me to the ball on New Years Eve." I confidently state to everyone, but I am focused on my parents. Mother spoke first, "Shall we have your reception during the Ball?" I laugh under my breath. "That will be fine mother, but wouldn't you rather wait until we have the ceremony for the public? The reception will be the party of the century. Especially if it is coordinated by you." Mother thinks for a moment, "You're right. Small, private ceremony on the 30th, then we'll have a grand ceremony in the Spring." I can tell my mother is already laying out the plans in her head. My father does not look amused. I stifle a yawn. "I think it's time to head back to the Manor. I've had enough excitement for one day. Blaise and Theo are staying with the Furyans' until the end of the break, so no need to worry about them." Vianna and Annya are in their rooms with Blaise and Theo. Sasha, Cass, Hermione and Thrasher are in the sitting room with us. "Where's Dustin? He missed everything." I asked. "He's running the club. I originally came up here to check on Mia and Hermione. In fact, I'm going to go back down to the club and help shut down for the night. You want to join me Cass?" Sasha turns toward the elevator. "Sure, I could use a drink while we're there. Hope to meet you all again under better circumstances. Umm, Sasha what about the windows?" Cass stops in front of the elevator pointing back to the shattered glass everywhere. "Oh, right." Sasha waves her hand, her eyes glow a bit as the glass reconstructs into the windows. 'What the fuck did I just witness? Ugh! I'm too tired for this shit.'
I take a moment to come to grips with what has happened over the past few days, and all the excitement. 'At least I know I will never get bored.' "Come on everyone. Let's head back to the Manor, it has been a very long day and I'm exhausted." I walk into the kitchen to open a portal. I don't want to disturb Mia for the portal in her room. Besides that one closed already. The portal opens into my bedroom like last time. 'I should ask how the openings are designated.' I haven't really thought about the details of these portals. Seems so complex, even the equation looks like a spell. Maybe science and magic could coexist. I have already seen it with the vanishing cabinets and Hermione's digital library. Now that was impressive. We enter my bedroom, I open the door into the hall, "Well, goodnight everyone. I'll be sure to come down for breakfast in the morning." Greyback, Snape and Bella leave my room without a word, my father nods his head as he walks out. Mother stops in front of me, "I know your father hasn't said it, but we're proud of you. Mia may not be a pure blooded witch, but from what we have seen, she is so much more. I am proud to call her my daughter-in-law." Mother places her hand on my cheek. I lean into her touch, overwhelmed by their approval. "Goodnight Draco. Sleep well." "Goodnight mother." She drops her hand to her side and lowers her head with a smile and walks out. I close my door, take a deep breath, walk over to my closet to change into some clean sleep wear, and climb into bed. The 30th is going to change my life, and it can't get here fast enough.
