Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Hello people! I got some time in the holiday and so an early update is here. Enjoy the new chapter!

To my reviewers Lyra and Hermione: Don't worry you two! I think your reviews are based on the early chapters. I hope that after reading all the chapters your concern will be gone. Trust me it is a Dramione story through and through.

Chapter 12

Hermione was pacing to and fro in her room restlessly. Saturday had finally arrived. She was wearing a navy blue dress robe that she borrowed from Ginny. She was impatiently waiting for Draco to come and then they would leave. She took some deep breaths to make herself relaxed and calm. Ginny, Blaise, Ron and Daphne had already left before noon. Harry and Pansy also left in the morning to spend the entire day in Hogsmeade.

The door of her room creaked open and Draco entered the room. He was finely dressed. He was looking very handsome in his black suit and black robe.

"Shall we?" He asked.

Hermione nodded. Then they walked out of the room towards the quidditch pitch. McGonagall had arranged for them to apparate from the pitch.

"Malfoy I was wondering something" Hermione said while walking.

"What is it?" Draco looked at her.

"I hope I did not offend you by my refusal to visit the manor. After all it is your home."

"No you did not Granger. I totally understand your sentiment and reason behind it." He genuinely replied.

Hermione smiled, "Thank you."

"By the way, I will not be in the meeting the whole time. I have another business meeting to attend. I will come back to you in the evening."

"You mean I will be alone with Mrs. Malfoy the whole time?" She seemed tensed.

"Mr. Martin, the private secretary of Malfoy family, will be present there as well."

Hermione sighed. "Okay"

They reached the quidditch pitch. Draco stood beside her.

"Hold my hand" He said. They were going to side apparate. She nodded and slowly touched his hand. Their fingers then entwined tightly. Draco closed his eyes and apparated.

With a blink of an eye, their bodies jerked and landed safely on the ground. They stood in front of a huge magnificent mansion hand in hand. They looked at each other awkwardly and let go off each other's hand.

Draco led her into the mansion. At the entrance a man was waiting for them. The man bowed his head to Draco and said, "Your Grace"

"Hello, Martin" Draco greeted. "Let me introduce you to Hermione Granger."

"Hello, Miss Granger! I am Charles Martin, private secretary and adviser to Malfoy family." He offered her his hand.

She shook his hand and said, "Hello, Mr. Martin"

Mr. Martin smiled and said, "Lady Narcissa is in the back garden. She invites you there for tea."

"Alright. Let's go." Draco said.

Mr. Martin started walking and Draco and Hermione followed him. On their way to the garden, they went through the living room and a corridor. The interior design of the mansion was aristocratic and posh. Hermione could not help but keep looking around her surroundings.

They reached the garden. The garden was looking quite colorful with lots of different types of flowers. There was a beach near. They could hear the sound of the waves of the sea. On the left side of the garden were a table and chairs. Narcissa Malfoy was sitting at the table and looking at them. Her regal features as always intimidated Hermione.

Draco moved towards his mother. Narcissa stood up and hugged his son with a smile. Then she looked at Hermione.

"Mother, this is Hermione Granger" Draco said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Malfoy" Hermione nervously said.

"Pleasure is all mine, Miss Granger." Narcissa smiled. "Please have a seat."

They all then sat around the table. A house elf appeared before them with tea and snacks and then disappeared. Hermione did not feel good about the house elf but kept her mouth shut. Draco looked at her expression and smirked.

"Let us get right into the business. You have only four months left to get married- November, December, January and February. When do you prefer to get married?" Narcissa asked.

Hermione looked at Draco and found him looking at her. "Maybe February?" she replied.

"I will not be in the country during February so I hope you would not mind getting married a bit earlier." Narcissa said.

"Okay" Hermione nodded.

Draco joined in, "When do you suggest, Mother?"

Narcissa smirked, "I suggest during your Christmas break. Then you can avoid taking extra breaks and missing classes."

"That is a very logical suggestion." Hermione said. Though it was much earlier than she wanted, Narcissa's logic really impressed her.

Narcissa added, "Also in the late December, this garden and the beach beside this property looks truly magical. So this place can be a suggestion for the wedding ceremony."

The garden was really a marveling one. With the snow and some lights and the waves of the sea on the beach, she could totally imagine a fairytale wedding there. "I really like this place. I have no problem with it," Hermione said.

Narcissa looked at Draco. "Whatever you decide is fine with me. Mother, if you don't mind I have a business meeting to attend. I will be back in the evening" Draco said.

"Alright dear"

Draco nodded at Hermione and left.

Hermione nervously moved on her chair. Narcissa smiled at her calmly and offered her snacks again. Then she looked at Mr. Martin, "Martin, are you ready to make notes?"

"Yes, Ma'am" He replied.

"So, Miss Granger, here in this garden on 28th December. What do you think?"

Hermione took a sharp breath. "That is absolutely fine"

Martin started writing on his scroll.

"Great! Before the wedding if you don't mind I will arrange a meeting with a designer for you. You can choose the dress, shoes and accessories with her help."

"Sure. I would like that, Mrs. Malfoy."

"Good! Regardless of tradition and history of House Malfoy, I have decided that a small wedding is more preferable in your case unless you prefer otherwise" Narcissa looked at her.

"I was thinking the same thing. Just family and close friends." Hermione felt relieved. She had feared that Narcissa would demand a big wedding.

"Okay, I will ask Draco to collect the list of your guests then. You don't need to worry about the invitations or anything regarding the wedding planning. We have specialized people to handle these"

Hermione nodded.

"Miss Granger, you know, you are going to be a part of an ancient noble pureblood house. So there are some certain traditions, rules, regulations and etiquette you must honor and follow. You also need to sign an agreement paper on this matter" Narcissa calmly said.

Hermione knew this topic would come. This was the part She was dreading the most. She tried to find her Gryffindor courage to face the situation calmly. "Well I have to be informed about them first. Then I can really express my opinions." Hermione tried to answer cleverly.

"Sure. Martin, read out the points one by one please."

Holding a scroll, Mr. Martin said, "Yes, ma'am. The first point is you must change your surname to Malfoy. Secondly, you must do all the noble duties as the duchess consort of House Malfoy. The duties include hosting and attending certain parties and gatherings, keeping good relation with high society men and women, casting vote and decision making regarding legislation in the Wizengamot in absence of your husband and producing heir to dukedom. Thirdly, you are never to oppose your husband in public. Right or wrong, you must keep up a united image. Fourthly, to help you succeed in point 2 and 3, you must take a training in pureblood manner and etiquette. Fifthly, you must maintain a certain dress code assigned for you in public."

"So far Miss Granger, give me your response to these points. I expect absolute direct answer."

Hermione looked at Narcissa nervously. She had already expected these points. "Can I keep both Granger and Malfoy?"

"Sure"

"Then, I accept these points Mrs. Malfoy."

"Alright then," Narcissa smiled. "Martin, read the remaining points."

Martin nodded and read, "You must reside with your husband in the Malfoy Manor, the official seat of House Malfoy."

The discomfort on Hermione's face was evident. She tried to say something. Looking at her face, Narcissa understood her feelings and her gaze became soft.

"I know, Miss Granger, for certain unfortunate reasons you have problem with this rule. Let me inform you the old manor is totally tore down and is being reconstructed right now. The new manor will be ready by February. The exterior and interior and the surroundings are totally changed. Draco has personally made sure of that."

"But it is still the manor." Hermione said calmly. The ugly scar and the ugly memory still haunted her.

"How about after the manor is ready, we show you pictures of the whole manor and the surroundings. Then you can decide. If the pictures convinces you then great, if not, then you can live in another Malfoy property. I will make an exception for you." Narcissa proposed.

"Okay. Thank you." Hermione nodded.

"The next point concerns your job." Mr. Martin said.

"What kind of work would you like to do after graduation?" Narcissa asked.

"I would like to work in something like the department of law enforcement or magical creatures in the ministry." Hermione was adamant that she would get a job no matter the tradition and rule. She would never allow them to turn her into a high society house wife.

"Well ministry jobs are not permitted. The ministry is beneath the dukedom. So your job must be according to your social status and independent job is more preferable." Narcissa explained. "For example: you can work in the Malfoy Corporation in various departments like management, accounting, trade, human resource, research on potions or charms. Malfoy Corporation has vast opportunities for you. Or you can start your own business or own research facility if you wish. I am sure you will succeed."

"Okay. Any other option?" Hermione inquired.

Narcissa nodded, "You can be an author, a publisher, a consultant to various institutions like text book determining committee, curse breaker committee, even different departments of the ministry etc. Or you could open charity foundations."

These options were far better that what Hermione thought Narcissa would offer. Though not the first job on her mind but these were also highly considerable. She was really glad with Narcissa's proposition.

"Alright. I will keep these in mind" Hermione said. "I will check in with you with my decision before the wedding. I hope, we will be able to agree on something"

"I hope as well" Narcissa replied.

"All the criteria are done. The details are being noted. An agreement paper will be ready by tomorrow" said Mr. Martin.

"Fine. I will have the papers sent to you for your sign. Then, you have to send it back to me. You can keep a copy for yourself." Narcissa looked at her.

"Alright." Hermione said. "When will the training start by the way?"

"Well your Christmas vacation starts at 20. You can stay here during holiday and start the training. It will take 5 to 7 days." Narcissa suggested.

"The wedding is on the 28th. So, staying here during holiday would be a feasible option for you," Mr. Martin said.

Hermione nodded. Martin included, "Also I forgot to mention it has been a tradition that Malfoy brides wear the official tiara of the family known as 'Noeud de gemme' on the wedding. It means knot of gems. The tiara is made of precious gem stones- a turquoise, two beryl and sapphires. It can be your 'something blue' as well"

"That would be great!" Hermione said.

At that moment, Draco appeared in the garden. "I hope your discussion is over. We told McGonagall we will be back by evening." Draco informed.

"Yes dear, it is done." Narcissa stood up. So did Mr. Martin and Hermione.

"Take care, Miss Granger." Narcissa said.

"You too, Mrs. Malfoy. Thank you for your lovely hospitality."

"You are welcome."

Draco hugged his mother. Then he and Hermione apparated back to Hogwarts.

….

Hermione and Draco safely landed on the quidditch pitch. They started walking to their quarter.

"So, I take it the meeting went well" Draco broke the silence.

"It went better than I anticipated. How do you cope with so many rules and traditions, Malfoy?" Hermione asked. Her head was spinning since they discussed the points of the agreement paper.

"I grew up following them. So traditions, rules, etiquette come quite naturally to me."

"I see."

"You know, sometimes you become so used to them, blind to them that nothing else makes sense to you. Not money, not family, not your own conscious." Draco said. His voice was sounding distant. It was evident that something deep was clouding his thoughts. Hermione understood that he was talking about his father, Lucius Malfoy. She was surprised that Draco was sharing a personal thought with her. The closest moment was that night he asked her to lie with him on the bed after his nightmare.

"I think you will not repeat that mistake. You are not your father." Hermione slowly said.

"Yes I am not. But I do not know if I am much better than him or not," He took a sharp breath. "Only time can tell."

"Yes, time heals everything," She tried to reassure him.

They reached their quarter. In the common room they could see Ginny, Daphne and Blaise standing and talking. They also had just returned from Greengrass Manor. Draco walked to Blaise and Daphne. Ginny came to Hermione and said, "You have no idea what an eventful day I had."

"What happened?" asked Hermione.

"Not here. Get changed and freshened up. Then we will talk comfily in my room. I am interested to hear about your meeting too."

"Alright" Hermione nodded.

A/N: Please review! Tell me your suggestions.