A/N: To those reading while I'm posting, I apologize for missing last weekend. It didn't even dawn on me until yesterday. So you have my humblest apologies. And it honestly I don't have some great excuse, it was just busy last weekend and I was distracted. So to make it up to all of you, I am posting two chapters today. Chapter 10 (which should have been posted last week) and Chapter 11 (this weeks chapter). I'll have a note on Chapter 11 too so hopefully no one misses chapter 10.
So onto this (last) week's offering. Welcome to chapter 10 and where we take a pretty big detour from canon.
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Hermione woke on January the first to the sound of tapping on her window. With a bit of confusion she opened the door to find Artemis flying into her room with a small package and note. "What do you have there Artemis?" The owl shook her head and lifted her leg. "I hope Draco gave you a good treat to go out in this weather." The witch looked to the window and saw the snowstorm that started just as everyone had gone to bed the night before hadn't let up yet and the grounds were now covered with a few more inches of snow. The owl hooted indignantly and shook her head. "That just won't do. Stay here while I dress and we can grab some snacks for you before I take to back to your perch. No reason for you to fly in such nasty weather." The owl's opinion of the young witch grew before she hooted in agreement.
Hermione sat on her bed and set both the note and small box gift box on the bed. Before opening the small gift, she read the note from Draco.
Hermione,
Thank you for last night, I enjoyed our time together. Please accept this as a small token of my feelings and a reminder of the start of another year in each other's lives. Since you came into my life, each January has been brighter than the one before. You are the reason.
Your Best Friend,
Draco
The box held a lovely silver bracelet with four charms securely attached. The first was a small blue bauble that she believed represented her birthstone. The second charm was of a cat and it had yellow eyes. Hermione turned to Crooks, who was still curled up on the bed, and showed the cat the charm. He batted once with his paw before closing his eyes again. The third was another bauble, this one was canary yellow and shown bright like the sun. Smiling, Hermione's eyes drifted back to the note. This beautiful stone represented the sun. The final charm was of a couple dancing. The woman's dress alternated from a lavender to emerald coloring. It didn't taken her long to realize it represented the two balls she had attended. Blinking back a few tears, the witch set the gift on her dresser and pulled an old book from the shelf. She flipped carefully through the pages of her favorite book until she found the first note Draco had given her almost eleven months prior.
Hermione,
I hope your first Valentine's Day in our world meets your expectations. As the years go on, I promise to learn more and give you the best of both worlds. Happy to spend my first with you.
Your Friend,
Draco
Hermione smiled and carefully placed the new note between the next set of pages and closed the book with a sigh. It seemed her friend was able to surprise her when she least expected it. After giving Artemis and Crooks each a scratch, she went to get ready for the day. Dressing wasn't difficult as this day the family would settle in one of the larger rooms and relax. Hermione slipped the bracelet on and smiled when it resized itself to fit her wrist perfectly.
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While Hermione was dressing, Draco was pacing his room. The bracelet was supposed to be one of her Christmas gifts but at the last minute he had chickened out and had Kitmu remove it from under the tree. Lucius had given his son an odd look when the bracelet wasn't opened. With a subtle shake of his head, Draco's eyes held a plea to his father to not say anything. The older wizard agreed when he saw the nervousness on his son's face. He would discuss with Draco in private what had happened. The witch was settled next to Draco and there was no sign of issue with the pair. A few hours later Lucius found a few moments with his son to discover the reason was down to merely nerves.
"Draco, I truly believe she will love the bracelet, but if you are not quite ready to give her a piece of jewelry I understand and will not pressure you. Just when you feel right about it, don't second guess yourself." With that bit of sage advice, Lucius returned to the family and retook his place next to Narcissa.
Draco stood in his room on the first day of the new year second guessing himself. He was fine when he made his way to the owlery in the early morning hours and it wasn't until he returned to his room that that the nerves kicked in. Those nerves remained active until he was halfway to the dining room and had Hermione literally run into him. "Draco Malfoy." Draco looked a bit stunned the witch seemed mad at him. It made him wonder if he did something, unintentionally, and the bracelet was seen as an insult. Before he could ask or react, the witch grabbed him in tight hug. "It really is beautiful and will remind me of both balls each time I look at it." As her lips grazed his cheek, he stood a bit taller.
"I'm glad you liked it. But why did you yell at me?" Draco didn't want her to get embarrassed about kissing him again and run off. He had found the best way to distract was to ask questions.
"Oh, it's poor Artemis. The weather is horrid and you sent her to fly. You could have just handed to me at breakfast, or come to my room if you didn't want the others to know." The thought of him not wanting people to know about the gift had just popped into her head and suddenly she was self conscious about the fact she was wearing it. "I have it on but if you don't want me to say anything, I won't. I mean I'll take if off and put in with my other jewelry. If you'd like."
"No Hermione. Please don't remove it. It's for you to wear and I'd be honored if you let everyone know I gave it to you. But, um, you should probably talk to mum. Ah, getting jewelry from a boy is…what I mean to say is, the fact I gave you a piece of jewelry could be construed as being a precursor to … . Hermione, I have no idea how to explain it. Just maybe talk to mum. And Jean, I would be pretty confident this would be in the old muggle world as well."
Hermione looked at her friend with a questioning look on her face. "Ok Draco, I'll speak with Cissy and mum before I say anything. But thank you again. And next time, just give it to me yourself. Artemis didn't seemed pleased you had failed to give her a treat when you sent her out." Hermione lifted an eyebrow in an eerily similar way to Narcissa and reflected why Hermione had yelled at him earlier.
"If I had done that, I would of course apologize to the both of you. However, my owl lied to you. She always gets a treat when I send her to delivery something and because of the weather she got an extra one before she left. As always, I asked Kitmu to make sure she gets something nutritious when she returned. I guess being a Malfoy owl, our tendencies rubbed off on her."
Hermione was a bit upset she had been fooled by an owl but still laughed at the story. She could totally see Draco doing something like that if he were an owl. Or just a boy being told to do something he didn't want to do. Bribery was a powerful tool.
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When the pair entered the dinning room, they noticed the only others present were their respective mothers. Draco released Hermione's arm as he greeted the women and left Hermione while he went to sit down. Hermione took the chance and showed the mothers her new accessory and quickly explained Draco had tried to explain something about jewelry from a boy and a precursor to something but she didn't understand what he was saying and how wholly uncomfortable he seemed.
Narcissa's laugh was light and happy while Jean turned her focus to the boy who seemed completely focused on the plate of food in front of him. It was after a few moments Jean noticed Draco stealing glances at the three of them. Maybe she was seeing what she wanted, but she thought Draco would be good for Hermione, once they were older.
Narcissa looked to Jean who gave a slight nod to allow Narcissa to explain. Jean would add any needed comments from the muggle perspective later. In a quiet voice, in order to not embarrass her son any more, Narcissa began to explain what she thought her son was trying to tell Hermione. "Draco is correct in what he was trying to say. When a witch receives jewelry from a wizard it is typically intended to be a way to acknowledge the wizard's desire to begin courting the witch. The tradition has fallen a bit to the side in recent generations. It really is only meaningful for some of the more traditional families, or wizards with a flair for romance. Your decision to wear the gift is your permission for the wizard to approach your father and ask permission."
Hermione's eyes grew wide with a bit of fear. She knew Draco was cute, it was a fact she admitted to herself the first day they had met, but he was her best friend. And they were so young. As Hermione was grappling with the thoughts shooting through her head, her mother gently tapped Hermione until the young witch was looking her mother. "It's very similar to the stories set in the Victorian era. But, you and Draco are still quite young and while back then the age when people married wasn't much older than you are now, I still think you both have a few years before courting becomes anything you have to worry about. But, if someone other than Draco offers you jewelry I would be leery for you to accept it."
"Of course mum, who else but Draco would give me a piece of jewelry. It's not like the boys at school notice me like that, or that I notice them. I still struggle with making sure I don't ignore Draco and Harry for my studies. And any extra time I have after them is spent with Daphne." Hermione didn't want to mention how plain she found herself when standing next to her stunning blonde friend.
"Be that as it may Hermione, your mum is correct. If another wizard offers you a piece of jewelry, formally or otherwise, do not wear it. I will request you immediately contact us and we will discuss. Understand?" Hermione, while confused on the whole thing, nodded to their mums before heading toward Draco.
"Draco, you could have explained that. I didn't for one second think you'd court me. I'm your best friend." The wizard had been deflating slowly as their mothers spoke of their young age and Hermione saying she doesn't see any wizard 'like that'. He didn't know why he was upset about being firmly in the friend zone but he was. With a stealth that didn't surprise their wives, Lucius and Rich made their presence known.
"Hermione, while you may not think of the other boys in school like that there will be those who will try to take advantage of the fact you were raised outside of this world. They will believe you to be unaware of the meaning of the gift and claim some advantage to you. We all know Draco only has your best intentions in mind. The gift gives him and you an out, if it is needed." Lucius knew his son's feelings were shifting and he also believed Hermione was feeling the same but not ready to admit it. Plus it would be at least another year, if not two, before the pair would be expected to start looking for prospects.
Grateful for his father's words, Draco nodded and leaned toward his friend. "Like Dad said, I really want you safe." Smiling, Hermione began to dig into the plate of food Draco had prepared for her. The topic made her start to think about what sort of wizard she would want. Shaking the silly thought from her mind, she turned to Draco and saw the shy smile that always made her insides melt a little. Whoever he was, he would have to make her feel like Draco did.
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The Yule holiday was quickly coming to an end and Lucius had become more and more anxious over what the aurors had found at the school. Or what they hadn't found. He had expected to be informed of something as either the head of the regents or as the man who provided the map of the school. Either way, two weeks without anything was his breaking point. Telling Narcissa he was going to head to the Ministry to find some answer, Lucius stalked out of the sitting room and toward their bedroom. He needed to dress with the thought of who he was going to meet, who he had the potential to meet, and others who may just notice the wizard as he walked through the Ministry. Meaning his outfit needed to reflect the power of the Malfoy family.
While Lucius was fussing over which robe was more powerful, Narcissa continued planning the her next charity function. She always started planning her next soiree the day after her latest success. This way should could remember, in detail, what went well and what hadn't been up to her expectations. While the evening was very successful overall, but she had noticed just how segregated everyone was. Lucius and Narcissa's generation mingled with everyone in attendance but tended remain longer with those who were more similar to them. The children remained group together the entire night, but there were only so many of them and it made sense for them to flock. It was something she'd noticed a little before, but with the addition of Rich and Jean, the separation seemed more obvious now.
While the elder Malfoys were focused on their issues, Draco was sitting stunned in his room. It was a few minutes before the blond boy could form words. "What do you mean Harry?" Harry had made his way into his best friend's room to broach a topic that neither were really ready to discuss.
"I was wondering if you and Hermione were courting. She is wearing your bracelet, the pair of you are inseparable and you kissed at the end of the ball. I wanted to know what to tell people when they ask me. People saw the two of you and I know there will be questions when we get back to school in a few days. So what's the answer?" Draco hadn't realized their second kiss was witnessed, but it seemed no one was aware of the kiss at the prior year's ball.
"I didn't realize you had noticed, it was just a quick peck Harry. She understands about the bracelet and considers us friends. There isn't anything more than that. I wouldn't pressure her into anything until she is ready. And even then, it's up to her and if nothing happens she will be my best girl friend until forever." Harry was a bit surprised and sat down at his friend's explanation, he had expected to be brushed off not given a speech.
"Um, it wasn't a quick peck Draco. It was maybe a good half minute before the kiss broke. Daphne had turned to Hermione almost immediately after the countdown and saw the whole thing. She was so surprised, pleased but surprised, she couldn't say anything. We were all surprised, you were the first one of us to get a kiss from a pretty witch." Harry was trying to lighten up the discussion because it had gone rather deep rather fast.
"Prettiest witch Harry, I got my first kiss from the prettiest witch. I'll need to speak with father. I hadn't realized it was that long." Draco stood and left Harry in his room before exiting his wing and calling for Usher. Normally Draco would just wander the house a bit, but this was too important to waste time. "Usher if father isn't involved in anything I shouldn't see, would you bring me to him?" The elf bobbed his head once and the pair blinked out of the hallway. When the appeared they were standing outside of his parents bedroom.
Usher left the young wizard who stood outside the door for a moment before knocking sharply twice. "Enter." Draco pushed the door open to see his father dressed to go out, looking over two robes and his hair still twisted up in a towel.
"The dark blue father, it's a bit more regal and matches the waistcoat a bit better. Do you have an appointment or do you have time to discuss something of importance with me?" Lucius turned to greet his son as he send black robe back to the closet.
"I always have time for you Draco. And thank you for your thoughts on the robe. I had been stressing. What has you in knots?" Draco, in a slightly detached and succinct manner, relayed the conversation with Harry including the kiss witnessed by all their friends and most importantly, how that kiss hadn't been the pair's first. Finally, he admitted to feeling something more for Hermione and how he felt when the other boys had danced with her. He was jealous. Lucius smiled. "I hadn't expected this so quickly, but I am not surprised. We've all noticed how the pair of you seem to be drawn to the other from the beginning. Almost like you can't help it. And it is normal, probably a little scary for you right now, but perfectly normal for a wizard to feel this way."
As Draco relaxed, Lucius removed the towel on his head and shook his hair until the knots disappeared. He led Draco to the private study attached to the bedroom before the father continued to advise his son. "That's why you wanted to get her the bracelet. You knew she would like it, but it would also be a subtle claim. Not that we will tell Hermione about that point. I don't suspect she'd appreciate that term. The reasons you selected those charms were from your head, heart and magic. I believe I need to show you something, maybe I should have earlier, but it's now the time. Usher."
The elf was sent to ask Narcissa to join them if she was available. It was only a few minutes later when Narcissa entered the room and saw the two most important men in her life. Draco seemed worried while Lucius almost looked proud. "What is going on?" Standing Lucius gently kissed his wife and led her to the small loveseat where he had been sitting.
"It appears Draco and Hermione have shared a kiss or two and the others saw them on new years. Draco is concerned for her since she is wearing his bracelet. I thought he could see the first item I gave you and for you to explain it's significance." Lucius would have happily told the story but he knew what Draco needed was to see how important the item was to his mother. How important Draco's bracelet will be to Hermione.
Narcissa sniffed a little before standing to hug Draco. "Of course Lucius, accio". Draco watched as a carved box gently flew into the room and settled on his mother's lap. "As you know Draco, your father is a few years older than I am so when I started Hogwarts I was just the kid sister of Andromeda and Bellatrix. I was pretty, for an eleven year old, but I wouldn't consider myself anything special." Before Narcissa could continue Lucius interrupted her.
"Draco you have to understand it took me years to get your mother to understand how beautiful she is. It's that inner beauty and love that hooked me. She just didn't see it herself." Narcissa leaned and kissed her husband before continuing.
"Your father had dated a witch or two before me. During my second year, your father's fifth, he stopped the casual dating and started to spend time with me. Now I see it for what it was, but then, I just thought he was my friend and wouldn't or couldn't see me as anything else. By the time I was a third year, your father had turned sixteen and everyone knew he would start looking for a wife. All the witches in Slytherin, and a fair share from the other houses, tried to lay claim to him before we returned to Hogwarts. I watched feeling something I couldn't quite explain, but I was uneasy about how all the girls were talking about the things they would do to my friend. Do to my Lucius."
Lucius Malfoy had heard this story before and every time she called him her Lucius, he sat a bit taller, while the jewelry was a claim of a witch, the witch wearing the jewelry was claiming the wizard just as much. It's why both he and Narcissa were pleased when Hermione accepted the bracelet without question after hearing the traditional purpose.
"I was in the library one Saturday afternoon, it was a Hogsmeade day so I didn't expect to see Lucius until dinner. So imagine my surprise when he strolled into the library and settled at the table we shared near the back of the Charms section. He was nervous and I worried he was going to tell me he'd made his choice and that we couldn't be seen together anymore."
Lucius saw the confusion on Draco's face. "The jealousy you told me about, it's probably from the Black side of the family. I knew I had nothing to be jealous about. Narcissa would be mine." The witch raised her eyebrow in challenge.
"Really, maybe later I'll tell Draco about what you did to Connor McLaggen my sixth year." Lucius shook his head and gripped Narcissa a bit tighter. "Draco, darling we will all suffer jealousy at some point. But yes I was jealous of whatever witch Lucius had deemed to be his. He started to tell me about his day in Hogsmeade and how he ran into Andi. My world stopped dead, I immediately thought he would marry my sister. I didn't know how I would handle it. And Lucius seemed to understand the expression on my face and quickly told me how he'd asked her about me. He told her his thoughts on things I might like and in a matter of a few minutes, Andi had blessed his idea." Narcissa slowly opened the carved box, set it on the table before turning it toward Draco. Lucius smiled at Narcissa's gentle manner when extracting the item.
"You see Draco, you aren't the first, nor will you be the last Malfoy to give a charm bracelet. As with the one you gave Hermione, your father selected four charms to start our relationship." She fingered four charms on the overly full bracelet. "These images represent your father's feelings toward me. The book is for the library, that was where we first spent time getting to know each other. The willow tree is the one on the edge of the grounds by Black Lake. It's where I first hugged him and after he helped me with a difficult transfiguration assignment. It was the first time we were in each other's arms. I had thought the emerald was for being in Slytherin, what I didn't know was your father had remembered when Andi and Bella would wish me a Happy Birthday. The emerald represents my birth and how May was now his favorite month."
Narcissa went quiet as her finger rolled the next bauble between her fingers. Draco knew it was a diamond, like the emerald or the sapphire and diamond on Hermione's bracelet, the Malfoys didn't use fake gems or glass versions. Lucius wiped a tear that had fallen from Narcissa's eye. "This Draco was probably the most important charm I put on the bracelet. I told her it represented my heart. Many people saw me as ice personified. I never showed emotions or allowed others to rattle me. Your mother rattled me, she broke apart that cold shell and allowed love to flow. I promised this diamond would be the start but she had my heart and soon she would wear another diamond from me proudly."
Draco was surprised at how emotional his parents were. He had seen them both cry and laugh but this was the most emotional he had ever seen. "That's how dad proposed to you?" Lucius looked slightly affronted but melted at his wife's giggle.
"No love, that is how he promised me one day he would propose. That's what this was to me. A promise for the future we both wanted. He still adds charms each time something significant happens. The most recent charm was right after you and Harry received your letters." As she held the Hogwarts seal, Narcissa kissed her husband. She always felt so loved when she thought about the bracelet. "Now, I know you hadn't intended your gift to be considered a formal courting gift. And I don't believe Hermione views it as a promise of an engagement either. Everything we told her that morning is true. It will protect her from some of the unscrupulous individuals in our world. Just remember, her wearing it is important she has already accepted you and kissed you."
Draco blushed red at comment. "Yes, she initiated the one this year. Last year it was an accident we turned to wish the other a happy new year and our lips touched. I didn't think last year's lasted long but I thought the same about the one this year and Harry said it wasn't the quick peck I described." Narcissa chuckled again and looked to a blushing Lucius.
"It seems Draco you're more like your father than I've yet to give you credit. I kissed him as well and it wasn't until his friends started to cat-call that he pulled away. When he complained about how quickly they interrupted the kiss, they laughed and told him we'd been kissing for a few minutes. I have to admit they were fastest few minutes of my life as well."
The family remained in the room for a couple of hours answering all of Draco's questions. When the topic of doing more than kissing was broached, Draco turned a bright red and stumbled over his words. Relieved, Narcissa reminded Draco there was no rush for him to grow any faster than he was. She then left her boys to discuss some manly non-emotional stuff and went to find Jean. It was something her friend needed to know and the pair would figure out how to address it with Hermione.
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Hermione was settled in the library with a stack of books on her favorite window seat but instead of reading, the witch was playing with the charms on her bracelet. The yellow one was reflecting the actual suns light off of its facets into hundreds of tiny rainbows. As she moved her arm the rainbows moved across the floor. Crooks had spent the majority of the holiday in the warmed portion of the garden and was once again the elves most favored member of the family. The gnomes were burrowing deep now and the elves told him it was good for a day or two.
Having listened to the elves, Crooks decided to search for his witch and since it was sunny, she'd probably be in the library. He was pleased he knew his witch so well, sitting on her favorite bench was the girl but surprisingly she didn't have a book on her lap. Instead she was playing with the thing around her wrist. The light haired wizard had given it to her and she seemed happy with it. What Crooks hadn't expected to see was hundreds of little things to chase. He wasn't sure if they would cause danger to his witch, but she would be protected under his watch.
The maybe more than half-kneazle stalked the colored things slowly and attacked the nearest thing first. Hermione laughed at Crooks and told him they weren't a danger, just pretty colors he could chase if he wanted. Since his witch was ok, he batted at few of them but they remained still. That was boring; however, before he turned away the things started to move again. The fight was back on.
Hermione sat and played with the bracelet for hours while Crooks attacked rainbow after advancing rainbow. As the sun moved past the window the rainbows disappeared, Crooks surveyed the room and determined the threat had passed before jumping on the window seat and curling up next to his witch. He purred as she carded her fingers through his mane and cooed at how brave he was. She told him whenever she was in the sun, the rainbows would appear. Crooks locked that away for later and drifted off for a nap.
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Hermione drifted off to sleep as well and that was how her mother found her an hour later. Hermione had her arm around Crooks who remained napping in her embrace. Narcissa appeared a moment later with a camera and snapped a few pictures before sending the camera back to her room and helping to rouse the napping witch. After assuring Hermione there was no issue and she wasn't late for dinner, the trio settled at one of the many small tables scattered in the large library.
Hermione was than a little embarrassed to discover that everyone had seen her kiss Draco and not only her mum knew well but so did Narcissa. Her mum also knew she had two real kisses. She stuttered and stammered trying to find some reasonable excuse before Narcissa and Jean chuckled.
"You are so my daughter. I had my first kiss at twelve as well, granted my second kiss wasn't with the same boy. While I raised you as a normal muggle girl, it seems the fates had other plans so all those things we discussed on boys and what expectations your father and I had, are a bit adrift at this moment. I need to better understand our new world and for that we will need to rely on the Malfoys a bit more." Jean's fingers grazed the bracelet and saw the equally soft expressions on both Hermione and Narcissa's face.
With a little sigh, Jean sat up and started to speak again. "This wasn't really a conversation I envisioned for at least another year but I think the time has come to talk about sex dear. I know we discussed the basics of it during your health class your last year in primary but this isn't about bits, pieces and how they work. This is about feelings." Jean's tension was slightly relieved when Hermione blushed and braced for the unknown.
Narcissa, also noticing how uncomfortable Hermione was, smiled softly at the younger witch. "I will say everything I told you the morning you received the bracelet is completely true and accurate. However, I may have danced around the significance of a charm bracelet to the Malfoy men." Narcissa showed Hermione the bracelet she had received from Lucius and while it was the same, it wasn't. When Narcissa reached and touched the canary yellow diamond and started talking about the diamond on her bracelet, Hermione sat up straight.
"You mean this is an actual diamond and not glass?" Hermione's eyes were wide as she looked at what she thought was a glass bauble. By the time Hermione tore herself away from the maybe-not-a-bauble-but-a-diamond, Narcissa smiled in a way that told the younger witch it was an actual diamond. She didn't want to think how much it would have cost. As she gazed at it, the blue bauble swung into Hermione's line of sight. "And this one?" Narcissa's lack of a response was all Hermione needed to see to know both baubles were precious gems. "I can't wear this Narcissa. It's too nice and expensive for me to wear." Hermione seemed to get a frantic before her mother's hand covered the bracelet and wouldn't move until Hermione looked up.
"Baby, I would bet the bracelet has charms and spells to keep it safe. If you don't want to wear it, that is one thing. But if the only reason you don't think you should wear it is because of those two charms, then I will have Narcissa spell it so you can't take it off. So tell me why you can't wear it." Jean sat quietly and waited for Hermione to respond. In reality the younger witch was still too stunned to say anything and when Jean removed her hand, Hermione gently stroked the bracelet.
"Is my mum correct Cissy? If something happens to my bracelet will I be able to get it back? Draco took so much time on it, it would kill me to lose it." Understanding Hermione's concern calmed Narcissa's own worries after hearing the younger witch say she couldn't wear the gift.
"If Draco and Lucius hadn't thought about adding those charms, we will add them before you leave. Now onto your other concern, dear. The Malfoy men don't do things in halves. When they make the decision to give jewelry it will always be the best. The stones on your bracelet and those on mine, come from the Malfoy vault. I know Draco spent a week looking at the various stones before selecting those two. He did it because he wants you to know how important you are to him. While he would give you a library, this is something you an always have on you. It has made him so happy to see you wear it. Just, think about what I've said now and then before you decide to wear it or not."
Hermione sat and looked at the bracelet again. "I want to wear it but was just afraid I'd lose it and Draco would get mad at me. You know? I'm not used to this sort of attention." Hermione blushed a little more before her mother spoke up.
"Well, I think this discussion needs to happen then. While you may not think of boys in that way or think of Draco as anything more than your friend, let me ask you to think how you would feel if he danced with another witch, or better yet, gave another witch a bracelet like yours?" Jean ended her question with a look to her daughter and Narcissa watched in glee how her friend was able to corner her daughter so smoothly.
Hermione was unable to not imagine what her mother had proposed and found herself not happy with the images. If pressed, she'd say she was jealous, but why would she be jealous? She really didn't know but she knew when she replaced Draco with Harry, the jealous feelings didn't emerge. When it was Harry, she was pleased he had found someone. Bollocks.
"I think I'd be jealous. I don't know what that means right now, but I know I wouldn't like it if either or both of those things happened." Hermione was a bit resigned. She liked her best friend more than just a friend. She guessed the fact she still wasn't totally comfortable with the idea was the reason she kept saying they were only friends. But she did enjoy kissing him.
Jean and Narcissa were surprised when Hermione admitted to feeling jealous. It was more than they had expected to get from her so quickly. "Then, I think that's enough for today. You're both still young and have years to figure it all out." Hermione was happy to leave the library for the first time in her life.
"Come on Crooks, let's go see what the elves made for you today." The cat dutifully followed his witch as he thought about the light haired wizard. Crooks liked that wizard more than the two dark haired ones that were around. Deciding to spend more time with the light haired wizard, Crooks was distracted and hadn't realized they'd reached the kitchen before Dilly the elf set a plate of fresh tuna in front of him. Smirking to himself, Crooks dove into the treat happily while his witch sat and gazed out the window in deep thought.
Hermione had one question running through her head. "What do I do now?"
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Lucius left the house a bit later than he had intended but was still able to meet with a number important people at the Ministry, including the most important one. The meeting with Amelia was rather short since there wasn't much to say. He discovered the aurors hadn't been able to find any access points on land and were beginning to prepare to search the lake. It was going to be difficult since the lake was frigid and slowly the ice was advancing over the surface. He didn't envy whatever sorry bastard got stuck with that job.
Discovering all this didn't quell the wizard's nerves. It simply confirmed how dangerous Hogwarts currently was. His thoughts bounced from allowing the children to return and risk the beast attacking again or sending them somewhere else. The decision was becoming easier and easier with the Ministry unable to provide protection for the professors and students.
"It's time to discuss options with the others. No use in waiting around here." As Lucius began to make his way toward the floos a commotion broke out as multiple aurors popped into the building and began issuing orders.
There had been another attack and from the orders being barked, it sounded like it was getting worse.
*MoT*MoT*MoT*
A/N: Lucius is starting to plot, know he will be quite pleased with himself in coming chapters, be aware.