It was expected that a bride had to go through millions of matter before her wedding, but Hermione did not expect it to be that overwhelming. She paid countless visits to different wedding gown shops in the city and none of them seemed to fit her requirements. She was finally relieved when the last one could offer her what she wanted, a long sleeved tulle lace gown. She was also glad that Lucius had settled the venue and all the miscellaneous things. Just right after Lucius paid for her wedding gown and left the store, he suddenly said, "Do you have anything to do tomorrow morning?"
"I think so," replied Hermione, after careful thinking. "Why asking?"
"I am going to make an appointment to the bank for opening a joint account."
"Why such a hurry?" asked Hermione. "You don't have to do this. I have my own bank account, no worries—"
"It will make our lives easier, if you want to buy things or make investments, you can use our account."
"You know I am not as good as you are when it comes to investments. Plus, I don't think I will buy anything that require that much money."
"Well it's going to be a lot easier to track our payments and expense, don't you think?"
Hermione could not argue back. Indeed, it would be a lot easier. Lucius continued,
"By the way, it's best for you to move in with me."
"Huh?"
"Do you think I would allow my beautiful wife to live somewhere not in my manor?"
Hermione smiled. She had dreamt of living with Lucius for quite a while. She had been to the Malfoy manor for many times, but living there would be another story. After some persuasion, perhaps just a few sentences, Hermione agreed to move her belongings to the manor the next day. Even though the idea of moving seemed big and impossible to do within a day, Hermione did not really have many things to move. Most of furniture belonged to the owner of the apartment. Due to her belief in frugality and simplicity, she did not have many clothes either. So three suitcases were enough to pack everything in. The chauffeur put everything at the car boot as Hermione went in the car with Lucius.
Soon after they fastened their seatbelt, the chauffeur hopped into the car and drove them to the manor. Seeing Hermione's face getting more stern and redder, Lucius asked, "Nervous?"
"A little," replied Hermione. "A little excited, actually. From on now, I'm living with people, and not just any people. It's you and…Draco, and…Ms. Black—"
"Call her Narcissa."
It felt strange to address her by her name. It was at the tip of her tongue but she found it immensely difficult to say it out loud, as though it was a taboo. Lucius seemed to have noticed the awkwardness, so he petted her temple and said,
"No need to worry. Narcissa won't do anything. Just relax, and think about our bedroom and the honeymoon."
Hermione blushed and nudged him softly.
When they arrived at the manor, the chauffeur and a few servants immediately got out and took Hermione's luggage up into the master bedroom. While they were busy unpacking her things, Lucius took her to the study and insisted that Hermione would be the only other person to visit this room at any time without needing to knock. Hermione never had the opportunity to examine the room at her will, so she took her time and slowly looked around. Bookcases on the left and right wall. Just right by the window was Lucius' study desk. Her fingers glided on the smooth mahogany desk and then she touched the gold handle of the drawers.
"What's in there?" she asked.
"Why don't you have a look?" said Lucius, as though he was ready for her to examine absolutely everything.
Hermione pulled the handle. The top drawer had stationery and papers, along with a few interesting trinkets that she assumed he had collected from restaurants or travelling. The second drawer had files, files of different documents. Receipts, bills…many of them were petty. Hermione assumed that all the important documents were safely locked up somewhere.
The third drawer had a photo. It was a photo of Lemures. Hermione picked it up and examined the people in the photo. Beside Lemures was a woman hugging him, with lustrous wavy blonde hair and grey eyes. It was a face that she had known for years.
"That's my mother," said Hermione.
"No, it isn't." said Lucius.
"But she looks exactly like my mother."
"Well people can look alike," said Lucius, he took the photo and chucked it back into the drawer. "It's not like we have never seen a doppleganger before. One day we are bound to find someone that looks like us."
"It's just I never thought Zelina would look so much like my mother."
"She's not Zelina."
Hermione was shocked. They were clearly lovers, judging by their poses.
"So who is she?"
"Just someone in the past," said Lucius, trying very hard to end the topic. "Not that she is important. What you should be thinking of now is what to have for dinner. Salmon?"
Even though Hermione nodded, her mind was still on the lady. If it was not her dear mother, who could it be?
I know this chapter is a lot shorter than the rest. But I can promise you the next one is longer, and more interesting.
