Ch. 27

The next morning Draco left early and didn't wake Hermione. He lit the candle so she could rest peacefully.

He knew he wanted to propose to Hermione in the next few days and he wanted to make things right with her parents. He didn't want to propose without her father's blessing.

After he got ready he went down to the garden to apparate and wound up in a wooded area not far from her parent's house. He didn't want to go directly to their yard in case they were still angry with him as he suspected they would be, even though Hermione didn't seem to think so.

He found the street they lived on and walked down until he reached their house. He felt nervous after the last time he had seen them. The old him would have never felt nervous to talk to any muggle. He could see how much he had grown, but couldn't focus on that now.

He walked up to the steps and knocked on the door. He heard someone inside and as the door swung open it was her father who answered. Draco took a step back to be out of easy punching range and this move wasn't lost on Wendell.

"Mr. Granger," Draco began, "I…I wondered if we could talk." The plan had seemed good when he thought about it the night before, and even this morning. But now, it seemed stupid and he wondered if he should have come at all. He noticed Wendell looking at him apprehensively as he kept his hand on the door and opened it to admit the young man on his front step.

"Why don't you meet me in the dining room," he said to Draco in a flat tone.

Draco walked back to the dining room and sat down, waiting, as Wendell came in with some tea he had ready. He set it down on the table and took a seat, as he did he just looked at Draco with an awkward look.

"Pretty brazen of you to come back here." He offered to Draco as he took a drink of tea.

Draco was starting to think that getting his blessing was never going to happen and perhaps he should just leave. This was probably similar to how Hermione felt when she was with his father. She didn't leave, so he couldn't.

"Mr. Granger, we may never be able to see eye to eye because of the past, but that doesn't change my feelings for your daughter." He cut to the chase.

Wendell set his cup down and considered Draco for a minute. "Or her feelings for you…How do you know she doesn't have a psychological disorder after what's happened to her? She might have Stockholm syndrome." Wendell held his forehead as he thought about his daughter and put his hand back down by his cup. "She has nightmares, who knows if you're a part of those."

Draco had wondered if he was ever in Hermione's nightmares, but the thought didn't make sense because they had both slept better ever since sleeping together. Draco spoke up, "we both have nightmares, and she's in most of mine…" Draco felt himself stop breathing. "You have no idea of the things I've done, of the things I've seen. I had to join or watch my parents be killed, and I tell you this not to make you feel any sympathy, but to tell you even then, it wasn't a decision I made lightly."

"But your parent's chose this, didn't they? What kind of family puts their child through that?" Wendell seemed exasperated.

"What kind of person loves her family so much she removes all their memories…" Draco said this not as a judgement. "War makes people do terrible things."

Wendell locked eyes with him when he spoke of his daughter's actions. Actions that hurt him deeply and that he would never believe her possible to have committed.

Draco could see the emotion on Wendell's face. "Regardless of how what she did made you feel, she kept you alive. There were people looking for you and your wife with the purpose of torturing and killing you. Because of Hermione that didn't happen."

Wendell had inhaled sharply when Draco spoke his daughter's name. It was a shock to Wendell that Draco spoke this information without any emotion on his face.

"Would you have been the one…" he asked.

"No, I didn't know. When Hermione came over we talked and my father overheard. He's the one who told us you were being looked for and that they were unable to locate you."

They sat in silence as Wendell considered the information.

"Where's Hermione?" he asked.

"She's back at my house, sleeping."

"That house she was held captive in? Are your parents there?" Draco could hear her father's fear and accusation in his voice.

"…yes…" he took a breath thinking about how to reassure him. "My mother didn't have much of a choice, and isn't the person she was. She's worked very hard to get to know Hermione."

"And your father?!"

"We have an understanding…" he thought about how he used the cruciatis curse on his father and that he wasn't afraid to show his father that he would go to any lengths to keep Hermione safe.

Wendell glared at Draco, "How do I have any assurance that you will keep her safe, especially from him?"

"I'm prepared to do whatever I need to in order to protect her, my father knows this. I made it clear to him that if he presents a threat to her, I'll be prepared to take any necessary measures. He is quite aware. You're forgetting to factor in how capable Hermione is herself, she's more skilled than almost any magical person I've ever encountered and he's no match for her." Draco explained.

Wendell was taken aback to see the change in Draco's demeanor and how resolute his features got when he asked about Hermione's safety. With the things Draco had done that Wendell could only guess at, he didn't doubt for a second that Draco was telling the truth and would protect his daughter, even against his own father if need be. He was right too that Hermione was skilled, but he wasn't aware that his daughter was quite so skilled.

"When you say more skilled than any magical person? What does that really mean?" He wondered why his daughter wouldn't have mentioned this.

"She's one of the most famous people in the wizarding world because she aided Potter to take down the dark lord. There isn't a person who doesn't know her name or how brave she is. She can do magic after just reading a spell out of a book, and there isn't anything she can't do…except cook I guess." Draco finished, smiling as he thought about Hermione.

After hearing his explanation Wendell could see how much Draco valued his daughter. Even in the non-magic world she wasn't much of a cook. This was why Monica was always asking Hermione to help her in the kitchen, in hopes of teaching her. Hermione had never mentioned how high her status in the wizarding world was and it made Wendell proud to hear.

"I do have to say one thing for you Draco," he began. "As much as I don't like the history here, I appreciate that you told us about the war. You've been honest with Monica and I." He was starting to feel his respect for Draco grow. He knew it couldn't have been easy for the man in front of him to visit after what had happened last time.

Draco just nodded, not sure what to say.

"How would it work then, with you and Hermione. She's famous for taking down a guy you fought for. I can't imagine what responses people will have for you."

"I'm prepared to take criticism for how I've behaved in the past; I deserve it. Hermione doesn't deserve any of it and I am worried about how any comments from other people may affect her." Draco held his head in his hand while he admitted this to her father.

Wendell could see that Draco was truly troubled about this. "The best advice I can give is, don't shield those you love, it ends up making things worse. Hermione is strong, she'll know how to handle this."

Draco looked up, what Wendell said resonated with him and he nodded back at her father. He had to remind himself that he came here to ask him something. He felt that if he didn't ask now he never would.

"Mr. Granger, I'd like you to…reconsider…if I could have your blessing." He felt nervous again.

Wendell locked eyes with Draco again and after a moment nodded his head. "Yes." He said flatly. He felt it was the right choice and that his daughter was respected and would be cared for by the man in front of him.

Draco thought he might not have heard him right. "You said yes?" he began to smile, it was almost more than he hoped for. He depended on having another broken nose, but that hadn't happened.

Wendell repeated himself. "Yes, Draco, you have my blessing," he put out his hand for Draco to shake.

Draco grabbed his hand and couldn't stop smiling. Afterwards the two men drank their tea in silence until a few minutes later when Monica woke up and saw Draco.

"Draco!" she said, shocked to see him. She went over and gave him a hug. "How's Hermione?" she asked, smiling.

"She's good, she was sleeping when I left," he added.

"Sounds like you Monica," Wendell said as he smiled at his wife.

"Do you guys have plans for the day?" she asked as she sat next to her husband and spoke to Draco.

"Well…yeah. I'm planning to propose," he said softly, not sure how Monica would take the news.

She inhaled sharply and gasped, holding her hands to her face in surprise. As she dropped her hands he saw she was smiling.

"You are! Oh, she's going to be so happy!" Monica offered. "I was wondering why she hadn't come back with you."

"She's going to be working on spells to learn how to cook while I'm out making plans today." He smiled.

"Learn to cook! I wish her the best of luck. We've been trying for years with not much progress…" she returned as she poured herself some tea.

Draco smiled, somehow he could believe that of Hermione. She didn't need to learn how, he could always cook for her. Suddenly he wished he was with her, teaching her himself.

Draco took his last drink of tea. "I apologize that I'm cutting my visit short, but I needed to do a few other things before going back home."

He stood up and Monica gave him another hug and Wendell walked him to the door and shook his hand. "Take care of my little girl Draco."

"Believe me, I will." He returned as he walked off the step and back toward the wooded area. Once there he apparated to Diagon alley.