Narcissa prepared to get ready for little Wilhelmina Parkinson-Nott's naming ceremony with mixed feelings. On one hand it would be the first time she would be in the presence of her son for several months, but on the other hand, she knew she would be unable to talk to Draco. Nothing had really changed with their situation, or at least nothing positive. If anything things were only getting worse and a reconciliation between her husband and son seemed further away than ever.

Narcissa's hopes of a quick resolution to the families issues had been dented when she'd seen the picture in the Daily Prophet of Draco with Hermione at the opening of his new wine bar. However, her hopes that it was a brief liaison that would fizzle out hadn't come true. Several weeks later Draco and Hermione were still going strong, and although they both shied away from the limelight the press loved them and they were the current golden couple of Wizarding Britain.

Of course, such publicity meant that Lucius had gotten wind of the romance, and he'd reacted with predictable ire. Of all the people to get involved with, Draco seemed to have picked the worst person possible. Lucius was outraged by their son's antics, and he'd admitted to Narcissa that even when the relationship died out, he would not find it easy to forgive his son for dabbling with a muggleborn.

Not that the relationship showed any sign of dying out, and from what Narcissa had witnessed in the paparazzi pictures of her son and his new girlfriend, they were very much in love. For the first time in his life, it looked like Draco had met someone he wanted to settle down with. The only problem was, if he did marry Hermione, Narcissa would lose her only son for good. At the moment there was still a slender chance of her son returning to the family fold, but that chance was shrinking daily and Narcissa knew it would vanish completely if he ever did the unthinkable and married a muggleborn.

"Are you nearly ready?" Lucius asked, emerging from the bathroom and jolting Narcissa from her thoughts.

"Are you sure we should be attending?" Narcissa questioned.

"Why wouldn't we attend?" Lucius asked with a frown. "We've known both Theodore and Pansy since they were born, and the Parkinsons and the Notts are old family friends. It's expected that we'll be there."

"But we won't be the only Malfoys there," Narcissa pointed out. "In case you've forgotten, Theodore is one of Draco's best friends. Our son will be there, Lucius."

"I'm well aware of that Narcissa," Lucius said stiffly. "But it changes nothing. We will be there as it will be expected of us."

"And what if our family issues causes a scene?" Narcissa questioned. "I'd never live down the embarrassment of ruining little Wilhelmina's naming ceremony."

"There will be no scene caused by us," Lucius replied confidently. "You and I will maintain our dignified silence on the matter. And despite his shortcomings, I have to admit Draco is behaving impeccably in regards to our situation. I can't see him causing a scene either."

The behaviour Lucius was referring to was Draco's lack of comment on the rumours that had began to swirl both in the press and among the public in regards to the estrangement in the family. It had only been a matter of time before it became public knowledge that Draco had been cut out of the family, and sure enough the entire wizarding population in Britain now knew that Draco had been disinherited. However, not one of the Malfoys had either officially confirmed the estrangement, or admitted the reason for it. Of course that led to speculation, which had grown substantially as Draco's romance with Hermione had blossomed, but gossips and speculation was all the public had to go on as the Malfoys were keeping quiet about what they viewed as a private family matter.

"We're still going to have to be in the same place as him and act as though he's nothing to us," Narcissa whispered in a broken voice. "I don't know if I can do that, Lucius. It's one thing to deal with him not being part of our lives when we never see him, but how can we just ignore him in public?"

"What else can we do, Cissa?" Lucius retorted, sounding equally as troubled as his wife. "We've been over this time and time again. I did the right thing for the family, even if it did break my heart doing it. But Draco was the one who chose to walk away. I gave him time. He could have fixed things."

"I know," Narcissa whispered, taking hold of Lucius's hand in hers. Even though she knew Lucius was pained by his actions and regretted acting so hastily, she also knew that now it was done there was no going back for her husband. Draco had to be the one to make the move towards reconciliation, even if at the moment she didn't see it happening.

"Today won't be easy, but we can get through it together," Lucius said, gently running his thumb down the side of Narcissa's face. "I need you to stand with me, Narcissa. We need to put on a united front."

"I'll be right by your side the entire day," Narcissa vowed. Giving her husband a brief kiss, she then turned back to getting ready for the afternoon ahead.

Half an hour later the Malfoys were ready to go, and picking up their present for little Wilhelmina they headed to the posh hotel the Parkinson-Notts had hired to play host to their daughter's naming ceremony. Upon arrival, Lucius and Narcissa greeted Pansy and Theo, handed over their present and grabbed some drinks before mingling with the couple's parents and the older set of guests.

About fifteen minutes before the naming ceremony was due to start, Narcissa witnessed her son's arrival with his girlfriend on his arm. Hermione was looking lovely in a knee length cream dress with a delicate pink flower design, and Narcissa knew that if she'd been a pureblood her husband would have approved of their son being with such a well put together and attractive witch. But sadly she wasn't a pureblood, and even the fact she seemed to be getting along quite swimmingly with Pansy, didn't change the fact that at the naming ceremony and in their social circle, she was something of a pariah.

"Don't," Lucius whispered in her ear as he subtly turned his wife away from their son. "You're only making this harder on yourself."

"I don't think this can get any harder," Narcissa admitted, trying her hardest not to turn around and search for Draco.

Squeezing her hand reassuringly, Lucius kept his wife distracted until it was time to take their seats for the naming ceremony. Their seats were situated quite close to the front as they were old friends of both families, but it also meant they were only sitting a few seats away from Draco and Hermione. Being so close to Draco, Narcissa couldn't help but steal glances at her son, and she couldn't help but notice the intimacy that existed between him and Hermione. Throughout the ceremony they were holding hands the entire time, and several times Draco whispered something in her ear which made her smile. The couple also exchanged several smiles that told Narcissa that the pictures she'd seen in the papers had told the truth. Her son was in love with a muggleborn, which meant she'd lost him for good.

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"Why do I feel like every eye is on me?" Hermione whispered to Draco as they took their seats for Wilhelmina's naming ceremony.

It hadn't escaped her attention that their seats were only a few chairs down from where Draco's parents were sitting, but it wasn't just the attention of Lucius and Narcissa that Hermione felt was on her. Ever since they arrived at the ceremony, she felt as though she was being scrutinised by the guests.

"I did warn you that you'd be a novelty this afternoon," Draco whispered back.

"Have these people never seen a muggleborn before?" Hermione hissed. "Surely they all attended school with at least one."

"But you'll be one of the first to attend a proper society event," Draco replied. "Occasions like this are normally pure-bloods only, or at the very worst a couple of half-bloods."

"These people are so backward," Hermione muttered with a shake of her head. "I'm surprised I was even invited."

"Theo and Pansy were hardly going to invite me and leave you out," Draco said, his fingers trailing patterns on the back of Hermione's hand as he held it in his hand. "Besides, I think Pansy is warming up to you."

"She may be a snob, but I think deep down there's a really nice person trying to get out," Hermione returned in a whisper. "Besides, she clearly thinks the world of you, and she's a good friend to you. Your happiness means more to her than my blood status."

"If only other people felt the same way," Draco muttered, his eyes flicking towards his parents.

He'd been aware of Narcissa shooting him sly glances, but he'd yet to catch his mother's eye and see how she would react. He also thought he'd felt Lucius's eyes on him on more than one occasion, but every time he so much as glanced towards his father, his attention seemed to be elsewhere.

"You could try talking to them after the ceremony," Hermione suggested as Draco turned his attention back to the front of the room, where Wilhelmina was about to be officially named.

"No," Draco said with a slight shake of his head. "They can see I'm here, if they want to talk to me then they will."

Aware that Draco was being just as stubborn as his parents, but not wanting to push the matter, Hermione let the subject drop as she and her boyfriend watched Wilhelmina being officially named and welcomed into the Parkinson-Nott family. As the magic tying Wilhelmina to her family whirled around the small baby, manifesting itself as pale lilac wisps, Hermione felt Draco grip her hand tighter and when she glanced up at her boyfriend she saw his attention was back on his parents. More specifically it was on Narcissa, who was gazing at her son with obvious regret swimming in her crystal blue eyes. If it hadn't been for the fact the ceremony was still on-going, Hermione would have made Draco speak to his mother, but they were each stuck in their seats and the second the ceremony was over there was such a rush for people to get up and head to the reception that Hermione lost track of Draco's parents.

"Let's go for a walk," Draco suggested, steering Hermione towards the gardens rather than the ballroom the reception was being held in.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked once they were outside in the fresh air.

"I knew they would be here, but I didn't expect it to feel like this," Draco admitted.

"Like what?" Hermione questioned.

"Like I really have been abandoned," Draco replied with a sigh. "I know it's been months since I've seen them, but I thought there might still be some hope. I've been fooling myself that in time they would come round."

"Maybe they will," Hermione offered. "Your mother kept looking at you."

"I know, and Father got in a few crafty looks as well," Draco replied. "But neither of them spoke. And back there during the ceremony when I caught mother's eye, I could see the regret in them."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Hermione asked. "It means she's not happy with what's happening."

"The regret wasn't just for how things are now, it was for how things will always be," Draco said sadly. "I saw it when we locked eyes. She doesn't believe we'll ever speak again. It was almost as if she was silently saying goodbye to me."

"Oh, Draco." Wrapping her arms around her boyfriend, Hermione held onto Draco as he came to terms with the last bit of hope he had for a reconciliation with his parents disappearing.

Even though his hopes had been slim, and not even acknowledged out loud by himself, Draco now knew for certain that all hope was dead. He was well and truly on his own. Or rather, he was without his parents. He would never be alone as long as he had Hermione, and Draco already knew that he would do everything in his power to keep hold of her. Hermione was his future, and she was now the only family he had.


A/N – This is the end of part one, and on Thursday part two will start. I hope you are all enjoying this story, and will continue to enjoy part two. As always, thanks for reading and reviewing, and I hope everyone is staying safe at the moment.