"Dammit," Hermione cursed as she tried and failed to zip up the dress she had especially chosen to wear at the opening of Gold Diamond.
Hermione had picked the dress out several weeks earlier, before she, Draco and Scorpius had taken a quick trip to Greece to check out the villa Lucius and Narcissa had gifted them. However, it had never occurred to her that the dress wouldn't still fit just a few short weeks later. Although to be fair, she should have considered the possibility considering she was pregnant and it was becoming more obvious with each passing day.
"Problem?" Draco asked as he strolled out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist.
"My dress is too small," Hermione replied with a sigh. "So now, I have to find something that fits."
"Nonsense." Reaching for his wand, Draco turned Hermione around and muttered a few spells that enabled him to zip the dress up perfectly. "It's what magic is for, sweetheart," he said with a chuckle, giving her a peck on the cheek.
"This baby is making me forgetful," Hermione muttered, slightly embarrassed that she hadn't thought of something as simple as using magic to alter the dress.
"It'll be worth it when she's here," Draco said as he started to slip into his designer suit, not bothering with underwear.
"I very much doubt we can deny her arrival tonight," Hermione mused, turning to the mirror and finding her baby bump was more pronounced than she'd realised. "That cat will be well and truly out of the bag once the press sets eyes on me tonight."
"I hate to break it to you, Hermione, but the cat was out of the bag weeks ago," Draco said. "Rumours started flying after the incident in Diagon Alley. Father made enough fuss so that plenty of people heard you were pregnant."
"True," Hermione conceded with a nod of her head. "And that was hardly the last of the matter."
True to his word, Lucius had made sure that both boys were punished for their role in Hermione's accident. He'd also been front and centre of a new rule being administered declaring that muggle transport was not permitted in public spaces like Diagon Alley. And even though Lucius had never mentioned Hermione's pregnancy while speaking to the press about the new rule he'd insisted be put into place, the rumours had already been circulating. Although Hermione suspected that even though Lucius had remained tight-lipped about the pregnancy, his clear joy at having another grandchild would be visible for everyone to see.
"Anyway, I don't think our upcoming arrival will be the talk of the evening," Draco remarked.
"Then what will?" Hermione asked, settling at her dressing table to add her jewellery. "Don't tell me Blaise is finally going to settle down. I could just picture Blaise hijacking one of your openings to announce he was getting married."
"I could certainly see him taking the limelight, although I'm not sure I can see him getting married," Draco chuckled. "Blaise is a confirmed bachelor. He has too much fun as a single wizard to give it all up for one woman."
"So what will be the big talking point of the evening?"
"Two guests who haven't appeared at one of my opening nights since Black Diamond launched over a decade ago," Draco replied.
"Your parents," Hermione gasped.
She could recall the fuss that had been made when Lucius and Narcissa hadn't attended the opening of Red Diamond, and since then their absence had been noted by the press at every business launch Blaise and Draco had hosted. So, of course the fact they would once again be there to support their son would be big news. Possibly even big enough to distract from the fact Hermione was very clearly only a few months away from giving birth to the next Malfoy.
"We may have all kept quiet on the distance between us, but you know how the press has speculated," Draco remarked. "Rumours are already circulating that we're back in touch. This will just make it official."
"I say we just do what we always do, and keep quiet," Hermione said. "We rarely comment on private matters, and this is no different. Let the press say what they want, we know the truth."
"As always, I plan on leaving Blaise to deal with the press," Draco informed his wife. "Leave him to be the charming one. I'm only going to the damn opening because it's expected."
"You'll enjoy it when we get there," Hermione predicted. "And then you've got tonight to look forward to. Since my parents have Scorpius for the whole night, we'll be alone when we get back."
"Now you make me wish we weren't going," Draco chuckled, taking Hermione into his arms as she got up from the dressing table. "I'd much rather spend the evening alone with you."
"Me too, but this is important," Hermione said, gently pecking her husband on the lips. "It's important that the launch goes well and the hotel gets off to a good start. Especially as you're already looking at your next venture."
"We're more than looking at it, we closed the deal on a building in Hogsmeade yesterday," Draco said. "Come tomorrow, works starts on our new project."
"And does this project have a name yet?" Hermione asked as she grabbed her bag and checked she had everything.
"We're torn," Draco admitted, taking hold of Hermione's arm and escorting her downstairs. "Blaise is favouring Rainbow Diamond, but I would rather stick to solid colours. I was thinking Orange Diamond, or even the one that was originally next on our list – Silver Diamond."
"I like Orange Diamond," Hermione said. "But I do think you should use Rainbow Diamond at one point. I just think you need the right venture for that name."
"I'm sure we'll come up with something eventually," Draco said, connecting the floo to his new hotel and handing Hermione some floo powder.
In a whirl of emerald flames, Hermione vanished from her house and landed in a stunning ornate fireplace, several of which lined the wall in a long, elegantly decorated corridor. No sooner had Hermione emerged from the fire than a wizard wearing the staff uniform of Gold Diamond appeared, welcoming her by name and checking her journey had been quick and pleasant.
"I like the personal service," she remarked to Draco as her husband alighted from the fire right behind her.
"All floo visitors will be greeted personally and escorted to reception where they can check in," Draco said. "And we will also have staff on the front door, and in the room where the Port Keys will arrive. Of course, we have no Port Keys arriving tonight. Aside from a select few guests, everyone will be arriving via the front entrance."
"That's only so they get the full affect," Hermione chuckled. She'd visited the hotel several times, but the first time she'd arrived via the front entrance, she'd been blown away by the opulence and luxury that greeted new arrivals.
"We do want to encourage people to come and stay," Draco said as they left the corridor where the fires were located and made their way towards the main ballroom.
Several rooms on the ground floor of the hotel had been opened for the party, and gold carpet ran around the open rooms and the corridors leading to the open rooms. The idea was that as long as you followed the carpet, you couldn't get lost. As with all of Blaise and Draco's openings, the guest list had been carefully selected to include friends, family and a smattering of celebrities and important people. And of course, there was a small press contingent, both outside of the hotel and in the main ballroom. However, the rest of the party was strictly off limits to the press, and it was well known that if the rules were broken, Draco and Blaise wouldn't be opposed to freezing out the publication the offending journalist worked for, and no-one wanted to be frozen out by two of the most successful wizards the country had.
Even though the business wasn't anything to do with her, Hermione still had a job to do as Draco's wife and the pair separated as they mingled with the guests. As always, Hermione gave brief greetings to their friends and had quick conversations, instead using her early time at the opening to charm the more important guests. And luckily she was on first name terms with almost all of the important Ministry officials as she still worked at the Ministry as a lawyer, albeit on a part time basis these days.
While Draco wasn't fond of the press, and tended to leave dealing with them to his partner, Hermione had no such luxury. She made a point not to encourage the press interest in her life, and in some circumstances she ignored them. But at important occasions like these, she felt as though she had to acknowledge their presence and at least answer some of their questions. Although that evening, the only questions which came her way involved her very obvious baby bump.
"When are you expecting?" a young witch from Witch Weekly asked.
"In a few months," Hermione replied vaguely.
"And are you looking forward to having a new baby?" the reporter pressed.
"The entire family is thrilled and looking forward to the arrival of our newest family member," Hermione said, giving the witch a warm smile before excusing herself and following the gold carpet from the main ballroom into one of the adjoining rooms where the press weren't allowed.
Mingling with the crowds, Hermione raised her hand in greeting when she spotted Molly and Arthur entering the room. Crossing the room, she reached them at the exact same time as Draco, who had appeared from the main ballroom.
"This place is lovely, Draco," Arthur gushed.
"Very posh," Molly whispered.
"I'm glad you like it," Draco replied with a smile. "And are you having a good time?"
"We are," Arthur replied with a nod of his head. "If it's not too expensive, I might book us a night for our anniversary next month."
"Speak to me tomorrow, and I can sort you a discount," Draco replied.
"You don't have to do that," Molly insisted.
"Of course I do, you're family," Draco said, smiling at the older witch.
Smiling back at Draco, Molly took hold of his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you," she said gently. "I just want you to know, we're very proud of you. What you've achieved, and the person you've become, is a credit to you. And we couldn't be happier to call you family."
Hermione chuckled as Molly pulled Draco into a tight hug. But then over her husband's shoulder she spotted his parents, and she couldn't miss the pain etched on Narcissa's face as she watched Draco and Molly together. For a second, she thought that the worst was going to happen, but Lucius whispered something to his wife and with a nod of her head, the expression on Narcissa's face changed into a proud smile. However, Hermione could still see she was hurting and she was guessing it was just hitting the older woman how much of Draco's life she'd missed, and how it had changed.
Informing her husband that his parents had arrived, Hermione slipped her hand into Draco's as they wandered over to Lucius and Narcissa. If she hadn't seen the distraught expression on Narcissa's face, Hermione might not have been able to tell there had been a problem with her mother-in-law as she greeted them both warmly, as did Lucius.
"This place looks pretty spectacular," Lucius remarked.
"It's our biggest project to date, and it's taken a long time to get it just right," Draco replied. "But I'm confident we've managed it."
"I'm sure you have," Narcissa said. "It's wonderful. Something to be very proud of."
"I can give you a personal tour if you would like," Draco offered. Since the reunion with his parents was only recent, they hadn't seen the hotel like everyone else they were close to.
"We'd like that," Lucius said with a smile.
"We would," Narcissa confirmed, squeezing Draco's arm. "We're very proud of you, Draco. You didn't let our mistakes pull you down. You worked hard, and you deserve all this success."
"Thank you," Draco said. "Would you like your tour now?"
"Will you be joining us?" Lucius asked Hermione.
"I don't think so, I've seen it all before," Hermione replied. "To be honest, I could do with five minutes off my feet. I'm just going to find a quiet corner somewhere and rest for a while."
Accompanying Draco and his parents back to the main ballroom, before they headed off on their guided tour, Hermione wasn't surprised by the flash of cameras at the sight of the four Malfoys. The picture would certainly be a first, and Hermione was guessing it would make all the papers. But as long as the hotel was mentioned and Draco and Blaise got their publicity, she doubted if it mattered how it came about. So what if the Malfoys made the headlines, it was Gold Diamond that was the star of the show.
{}{}{}{}{}
"What are you doing?" Narcissa asked her husband as she entered his study to find him messing about with a large, gold picture frame.
"This came this morning," Lucius replied with a grin, showing Narcissa a glossy picture of them with Draco and Hermione.
The picture had been taken a few days earlier at the opening of Gold Diamond. After the initial flurry of pictures, Lucius had collared one of the photographers and paid him to take a proper picture of his family. The condition was it was not to be sold to any of the papers, and Lucius was to receive the only copy.
"It's lovely," Narcissa remarked, unable to stop staring at Draco and Hermione, who kept turning to look at each other and exchanging loving smiles just as the picture had been taken. "They look so perfect together."
"They do," Lucius agreed quietly. A few months ago such an admission would have almost killed him, but he was turning over a new leaf, and doing his best to leave his old self and opinions behind him. "And I want it framed and on the wall before this afternoon."
Narcissa gulped nervously at the thought of what the afternoon held. Draco was bringing his wife and son to the manor for the first time, and Narcissa prayed everything ran smoothly. It was the final hurdle in their reconciliation, and if all went well, it would be safe to say the Malfoy family was back where they belonged – together.
"Don't worry, everything will be perfect," Lucius assured his wife, returning his attention to the picture he was attempting to frame.
Half an hour later, the picture was hanging in pride of place above the fireplace in the main living room, and when Draco and Hermione arrived with Scorpius, it was the first thing they noticed.
"I was hoping we could have an official portrait done of us all," Lucius said. "But I thought it might be best until the baby has arrived, then we can all be on it."
"That would be nice," Hermione said, her eyes still riveted to the picture on the wall.
Even with her hopes of a reconciliation between Draco and his parents, she'd still never thought that one day her picture would be hanging on one of the walls of Malfoy Manor. It truly made her feel like a Malfoy, and she truly felt as thought Lucius and Narcissa were well on the way to fully accepting her as Draco's wife and an important part of the family. They'd come a long way in a few short months, and Hermione hoped this was only the beginning, and that the future was bright for all of the Malfoys.