Malfoy Manor was bigger than Hermione had originally expected. Never
did she think that the Manor would actually be more like a mansion. Her
eyes widened as their carriage (the one they boarded at King's Cross)
pulled up in front of the grey stone house.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Draco asked from beside her and Hermione noted the tone of awe in his voice.
"Is it like this every time you arrive home?" she asked, referring to the incredible stirring feeling that was created within her upon sight of the manor.
Draco nodded. "Every glimpse is like the first."
"How poetic," Hermione thought to herself, turning back to the manor. Seconds later their carriage pulled to a halt and she got out, assisted by a man in a chauffeur's uniform. "Thank you," she said, grateful for the help with the long jump from the carriage to solid ground. Once outside, she waited for Draco to exit.
"You can go on up to the house," he said from behind her and she was surprised to hear a note of pleasantness in his voice. "Father will meet you at the gate."
Extremely nervous, Hermione made her ascent up the many stairs to a gate-like archway, which housed a door deep in the back. Suddenly, the great door swung open to reveal Lucius Malfoy. No longer did he wear his intimidating black cloak, but a grey formal suit. His long hair was pulled back into a ponytail as he greeted her.
"Welcome to Malfoy Manor," he said and Hermione noticed that there was no pleasantness in his voice. "While you are here, you will respect my wishes, as well as the other Malfoys in the house. You will have a cleaning lady come in to your room every Thursday morning and tidy things up, if need be. Supper is at six promptly on weekdays and five on the weekends. If you are not there, we will start without you. If you have any questions, you can ask one of the Malfoys later on. You will be staying on the second floor, in the west wing, across from Draco's room. If I catch you out of bed after lights out, which is ten o'clock sharp, you will be punished accordingly. Do I make myself clear?"
"Lay off her, Dad," Draco said, coming up behind Hermione and startling her. "Give her time to digest what you've just said. I've lived here for seventeen years and I still don't understand the rules of the house." He pushed past his father, carrying the luggage, and into the great doorway. "Come on, then," he called to Hermione. "Unless you plan to sleep on the front stoop."
She hurried to catch up with him, sliding by Lucius, whom she could have sworn growled at her. However, she was forced to stop short when she saw the line up of people in front of her.
"Hermione, this is our housing crew," Draco said, gesturing to the line up. "From left to right, we have Matilda, one of our cleaning ladies, Truatt, our butler, Elena, another cleaning lady, Ulceria, our maid, Drutenda, our cook, Cypress, our chauffeur; you met him already, and this fine lady on the end here is Willow, our newest cleaning lady."
Each of them bowed or curtsied to Hermione as they were introduced and dispersed as Draco dismissed them with a wave of his hand. "Of course, we'll only be here until the wedding. Then Father has gotten us a place of our own. Come on; I'll show you upstairs."
Hermione followed him timidly, jumping at every slight sound. The mansion itself was intimidating with its dark walls and rusted features. She followed closely behind Draco, finding that for once in her life, she was happy he was around. He was a familiar sight in a very strange environment. They finally reached the second landing and Draco led her to the room at the very end, which bore the mark of a truly depressing quarters. "This is your room," he said, swinging the door open fully. "I trust that you will keep it clean, or else Father will come along and chuck everything out the window; trust me, I know from experience."
Hermione smiled slightly at the thought of all of Draco's underclothes strewn across the massive lawn. He caught her grin and smiled back at her. "It wasn't as funny as it may seem. Now, I trust you'll have everything you need for the time being. If you do need anything, however, you can call on me. My room is the one right there." He pointed to the room two doors down on the right side. "Happy unpacking." He closed the door softly behind him as he left, giving Hermione plenty of time to think.
She tossed her suitcases on the bed, which groaned under the weight. Slowly opening one of them, she began going through her things, wondering if it was really worth unpacking fully if they would be moving in a few months anyway. "Do it just in case," she thought to herself. "For all you know, the wedding could be postponed for another three years." Although this was a hopeful thought, Hermione still felt a hollow spot within her soul.
Ron. Harry. Mum. Dad. Why did she have to leave them all? Thoughts of her last moments with Harry at graduation brought heavy tears to her already damp eyes. She hated the fact that he and Ron were going to be at the Burrow later on in the summertime, leaving her alone with the Malfoys. Although, Hermione was convinced that something had happened to Draco on the way back. He seemed nicer, kinder than he had ever been towards her before.
Her first week at the Malfoys was filled with surprises. For one, Draco came down to breakfast the following morning with his hair not pumped full of gel. He caught Hermione staring at him and smiled. "I only wear my hair slicked back for school," he told her casually.
"Do you think it makes you look tougher?"
"Not exactly," was his single reply. He sat down at the table, across from her, and began shovelling cereal into his mouth. Finding him almost human, Hermione began to nibble at her own bowl, determined not to look too content.
"Father says you can use our owl to write to your family," Draco told her on the morning of her third day at Malfoy Manor. "As long as he gets to address the owl on where to go." He lowered his voice. "I don't think he wants you talking to Potter or Weasley." His eyes narrowed when he mentioned Harry's name, but grew strangely triumphant when he mentioned Ron's.
Upstairs, Hermione was unsure of how to start a letter to her parents who had betrayed her. For several moments, she considered declining Lucius' offer to write them. But they'd only get worried and scold her when she finally did write, so she went against her will and sat down at the enormous desk in her room with a large scroll of parchment and a quill. Dipping it slowly in the ink, she put the feather to her lips while she thought.
"Dear Mum and Dad," she scrawled, muttering the words to herself out loud. "I'm finally here at Malfoy Manor and I don't know what to say about the place." She looked up from the desk and searched around the room for something to discuss. "My room here is pretty big," she continued, finding the words pathetic in her own brain. She threw the quill down, tears blinding her sight. There was no way to really express the anger, pain and hatred that was bubbling inside of her. She hated what they had done to her. How could she put into words the sting she felt from her parents' betrayal? Dumbledore had told her that her father was against the whole thing, but why couldn't he do something to stop it? Surely he had equal power over the Malfoys as they had over him. Why couldn't he stop them?
"Hermione!" Draco's voice drifted down the long hallway. "Father's sending the post; get your letter ready!"
"I haven't written it yet!"
"Well, step on it! He won't wait all day!"
"I never asked him to," Hermione muttered under her breath. "Love you guys and I'll write longer soon," she scribbled at the end of the letter, rolling it up and taking it with her into the hallway. Draco stood there, staring at an empty space on the wall.
"Thanks," he said taking the scroll from her. "I'll give it to him now."
"He knows where to find my parents, then?"
"Yeah. I think so. You can do what you want now." With those words, he left her, but not before giving her the same sad look that reflected how she felt on the inside.
July brought with it beautiful sunshine and light breezes that gently caressed your face as soon as you stepped out into the sunlight.. Hermione spent much of her time outside in the sunshine, when not being lectured by Lucius in the sitting room on the rules of the household.
"No eating or drinking in your room, except for water," he dictated, as if he had memorized it from a rulebook. "Not that you have any but no friends are allowed in the house without either my or Mrs. Malfoy's approval. And we trust that you will keep up with your reading, although you are out of school now. We've got word that you're a brilliant girl."
"The best," Draco said from the staircase. Hermione looked up sharply and Draco disappeared around the dark corner quickly.
With all the confusion of the move and the upcoming wedding, Hermione had barely had time to look through Lily's diaries since being leaving school. So one afternoon, after she had been dismissed from what had become daily lectures from Lucius, she escaped into the bright sunshine, eager to leave the dreary house behind, with the three books in her arms.
Once the sunshine hit her face, she dropped to the bench near the little pathway that she hadn't explored yet. Opening the second diary in her lap, she began to lose herself in the world of Harry's mother when she was Lily Evans. Lily talked about the Marauders and how much she hated 'their idiot ringleader, James Potter'.
However, Hermione's mind began to concentrate more as Lily's entries began to focus on Remus Lupin. He's such a sweet guy, she gushed, and I can't believe that he asked me out! Naturally, I accepted. Wait until Kaylen hears about this one!
Remus Lupin had asked out Harry's mother? This news was both surprising and astonishing, not to mention a little confusing. Hermione hurried to read the rest of the entries and her knowledge expanded with each sentence. Remus and I went to Hogsmeade for the one weekend a year when all seventh years are allowed to stay the night. He was so kind and so gentle, except for the one problem that occurred. I didn't notice that it was a full moon; he promised Dumbledore that if he went, he would get away before the full moon dawned but things didn't quite happen that way. If it wasn't for James Potter, I would be dead right now.
"Hermione, Father wants to see you inside for some wedding arrangements." Draco's voice broke through her thoughts and she jumped at the sound. "Sorry to startle you," he said, standing in front of her. "What are you reading?"
"Nothing," she said quickly, slamming the book shut. "What are we planning now?"
"The honeymoon."
Hermione nearly choked on her own thoughts. "Oh," she said subdued, standing to join him. She clutched Lily's books under her robe.
"Don't sound so enthused," Draco said, following her towards the Manor.
Lucius was seated in the sitting room, his wife Narcissa by his side. "Sit down," he said, gesturing to the sofa across from him. Hermione sat at the far end and Draco sat at the end closest to him.
"Now, we have planned out most of the wedding," Lucius began, looking over some notes as if he were conducting a business meeting. "But we seem to have left out a few details. One, what date exactly the wedding will take place. And two, where you will honeymoon."
Hermione squirmed at this last sentence and she caught Draco making similar movements on the other end of the sofa. At least she wasn't alone in the sickening thought. However, she marvelled at the thought of how such a composed, business-like man could plan an entire wedding without thinking of the actual date.
"Mrs. Malfoy and I were thinking September 4th," Lucius continued, unaware of the faces the two teenagers in front of him were making. "And you will leave for the honeymoon on September 6th. Where you want to go is your choice."
"Gee, thanks, Dad," Draco muttered, but Hermione's mind was still circling around the previous statement.
"September!" she cried. "Of this year?"
"Yes, Miss Granger," Lucius replied in his maddening voice. "As in the month after next."
"Why so soon?"
"We feel that it's not necessary to waste time with a long engagement."
Hermione's rage temporarily blinded her. "What about what I think? Don't I count?"
Lucius looked perplexed. "Do you want the truth, Miss Granger, or the story?"
Hermione went silent for a moment. "What?"
"You do count, Miss Granger, in the on the whole, but on its own merits, no you're opinion does not count."
Speechless, Hermione mouthed silent words at the couple sitting across from her. She felt her anger build up and reach such a point that she almost leapt off the sofa and directly at Lucius' throat.
"Give her a break, Dad," piped up Draco and all three parties looked at him in surprise. "First you drill her with rules that I've never even heard of before, and then you practically imprison her on the manor grounds. I think you should let her have a say."
Lucius' eyes were planting holes in Draco. "Don't you ever speak back to me again," he snarled through gritted teeth. "You have no right to speak to me in that condescending tone."
"But you can talk like that to me?"
The simple question sent Lucius into a fit of rage. "That's it!" he roared, standing up from the sofa, knocking over the coffee table in the process. "I've had it with you! I try to help you by finding you a decent wife and this is how you repay me. Well, that's just fine!"
"What are you going to do, Dad? Kick me out?" Draco wore a self- satisfied smile and seemed to take enjoyment out of tormenting his father. "Come on," he said to Hermione as he stood up. "We're obviously not wanted here during the planning of our wedding." He emphasized a few words to make his point clear, then grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her outside, leaving Lucius fuming in the sitting room.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Draco asked from beside her and Hermione noted the tone of awe in his voice.
"Is it like this every time you arrive home?" she asked, referring to the incredible stirring feeling that was created within her upon sight of the manor.
Draco nodded. "Every glimpse is like the first."
"How poetic," Hermione thought to herself, turning back to the manor. Seconds later their carriage pulled to a halt and she got out, assisted by a man in a chauffeur's uniform. "Thank you," she said, grateful for the help with the long jump from the carriage to solid ground. Once outside, she waited for Draco to exit.
"You can go on up to the house," he said from behind her and she was surprised to hear a note of pleasantness in his voice. "Father will meet you at the gate."
Extremely nervous, Hermione made her ascent up the many stairs to a gate-like archway, which housed a door deep in the back. Suddenly, the great door swung open to reveal Lucius Malfoy. No longer did he wear his intimidating black cloak, but a grey formal suit. His long hair was pulled back into a ponytail as he greeted her.
"Welcome to Malfoy Manor," he said and Hermione noticed that there was no pleasantness in his voice. "While you are here, you will respect my wishes, as well as the other Malfoys in the house. You will have a cleaning lady come in to your room every Thursday morning and tidy things up, if need be. Supper is at six promptly on weekdays and five on the weekends. If you are not there, we will start without you. If you have any questions, you can ask one of the Malfoys later on. You will be staying on the second floor, in the west wing, across from Draco's room. If I catch you out of bed after lights out, which is ten o'clock sharp, you will be punished accordingly. Do I make myself clear?"
"Lay off her, Dad," Draco said, coming up behind Hermione and startling her. "Give her time to digest what you've just said. I've lived here for seventeen years and I still don't understand the rules of the house." He pushed past his father, carrying the luggage, and into the great doorway. "Come on, then," he called to Hermione. "Unless you plan to sleep on the front stoop."
She hurried to catch up with him, sliding by Lucius, whom she could have sworn growled at her. However, she was forced to stop short when she saw the line up of people in front of her.
"Hermione, this is our housing crew," Draco said, gesturing to the line up. "From left to right, we have Matilda, one of our cleaning ladies, Truatt, our butler, Elena, another cleaning lady, Ulceria, our maid, Drutenda, our cook, Cypress, our chauffeur; you met him already, and this fine lady on the end here is Willow, our newest cleaning lady."
Each of them bowed or curtsied to Hermione as they were introduced and dispersed as Draco dismissed them with a wave of his hand. "Of course, we'll only be here until the wedding. Then Father has gotten us a place of our own. Come on; I'll show you upstairs."
Hermione followed him timidly, jumping at every slight sound. The mansion itself was intimidating with its dark walls and rusted features. She followed closely behind Draco, finding that for once in her life, she was happy he was around. He was a familiar sight in a very strange environment. They finally reached the second landing and Draco led her to the room at the very end, which bore the mark of a truly depressing quarters. "This is your room," he said, swinging the door open fully. "I trust that you will keep it clean, or else Father will come along and chuck everything out the window; trust me, I know from experience."
Hermione smiled slightly at the thought of all of Draco's underclothes strewn across the massive lawn. He caught her grin and smiled back at her. "It wasn't as funny as it may seem. Now, I trust you'll have everything you need for the time being. If you do need anything, however, you can call on me. My room is the one right there." He pointed to the room two doors down on the right side. "Happy unpacking." He closed the door softly behind him as he left, giving Hermione plenty of time to think.
She tossed her suitcases on the bed, which groaned under the weight. Slowly opening one of them, she began going through her things, wondering if it was really worth unpacking fully if they would be moving in a few months anyway. "Do it just in case," she thought to herself. "For all you know, the wedding could be postponed for another three years." Although this was a hopeful thought, Hermione still felt a hollow spot within her soul.
Ron. Harry. Mum. Dad. Why did she have to leave them all? Thoughts of her last moments with Harry at graduation brought heavy tears to her already damp eyes. She hated the fact that he and Ron were going to be at the Burrow later on in the summertime, leaving her alone with the Malfoys. Although, Hermione was convinced that something had happened to Draco on the way back. He seemed nicer, kinder than he had ever been towards her before.
Her first week at the Malfoys was filled with surprises. For one, Draco came down to breakfast the following morning with his hair not pumped full of gel. He caught Hermione staring at him and smiled. "I only wear my hair slicked back for school," he told her casually.
"Do you think it makes you look tougher?"
"Not exactly," was his single reply. He sat down at the table, across from her, and began shovelling cereal into his mouth. Finding him almost human, Hermione began to nibble at her own bowl, determined not to look too content.
"Father says you can use our owl to write to your family," Draco told her on the morning of her third day at Malfoy Manor. "As long as he gets to address the owl on where to go." He lowered his voice. "I don't think he wants you talking to Potter or Weasley." His eyes narrowed when he mentioned Harry's name, but grew strangely triumphant when he mentioned Ron's.
Upstairs, Hermione was unsure of how to start a letter to her parents who had betrayed her. For several moments, she considered declining Lucius' offer to write them. But they'd only get worried and scold her when she finally did write, so she went against her will and sat down at the enormous desk in her room with a large scroll of parchment and a quill. Dipping it slowly in the ink, she put the feather to her lips while she thought.
"Dear Mum and Dad," she scrawled, muttering the words to herself out loud. "I'm finally here at Malfoy Manor and I don't know what to say about the place." She looked up from the desk and searched around the room for something to discuss. "My room here is pretty big," she continued, finding the words pathetic in her own brain. She threw the quill down, tears blinding her sight. There was no way to really express the anger, pain and hatred that was bubbling inside of her. She hated what they had done to her. How could she put into words the sting she felt from her parents' betrayal? Dumbledore had told her that her father was against the whole thing, but why couldn't he do something to stop it? Surely he had equal power over the Malfoys as they had over him. Why couldn't he stop them?
"Hermione!" Draco's voice drifted down the long hallway. "Father's sending the post; get your letter ready!"
"I haven't written it yet!"
"Well, step on it! He won't wait all day!"
"I never asked him to," Hermione muttered under her breath. "Love you guys and I'll write longer soon," she scribbled at the end of the letter, rolling it up and taking it with her into the hallway. Draco stood there, staring at an empty space on the wall.
"Thanks," he said taking the scroll from her. "I'll give it to him now."
"He knows where to find my parents, then?"
"Yeah. I think so. You can do what you want now." With those words, he left her, but not before giving her the same sad look that reflected how she felt on the inside.
July brought with it beautiful sunshine and light breezes that gently caressed your face as soon as you stepped out into the sunlight.. Hermione spent much of her time outside in the sunshine, when not being lectured by Lucius in the sitting room on the rules of the household.
"No eating or drinking in your room, except for water," he dictated, as if he had memorized it from a rulebook. "Not that you have any but no friends are allowed in the house without either my or Mrs. Malfoy's approval. And we trust that you will keep up with your reading, although you are out of school now. We've got word that you're a brilliant girl."
"The best," Draco said from the staircase. Hermione looked up sharply and Draco disappeared around the dark corner quickly.
With all the confusion of the move and the upcoming wedding, Hermione had barely had time to look through Lily's diaries since being leaving school. So one afternoon, after she had been dismissed from what had become daily lectures from Lucius, she escaped into the bright sunshine, eager to leave the dreary house behind, with the three books in her arms.
Once the sunshine hit her face, she dropped to the bench near the little pathway that she hadn't explored yet. Opening the second diary in her lap, she began to lose herself in the world of Harry's mother when she was Lily Evans. Lily talked about the Marauders and how much she hated 'their idiot ringleader, James Potter'.
However, Hermione's mind began to concentrate more as Lily's entries began to focus on Remus Lupin. He's such a sweet guy, she gushed, and I can't believe that he asked me out! Naturally, I accepted. Wait until Kaylen hears about this one!
Remus Lupin had asked out Harry's mother? This news was both surprising and astonishing, not to mention a little confusing. Hermione hurried to read the rest of the entries and her knowledge expanded with each sentence. Remus and I went to Hogsmeade for the one weekend a year when all seventh years are allowed to stay the night. He was so kind and so gentle, except for the one problem that occurred. I didn't notice that it was a full moon; he promised Dumbledore that if he went, he would get away before the full moon dawned but things didn't quite happen that way. If it wasn't for James Potter, I would be dead right now.
"Hermione, Father wants to see you inside for some wedding arrangements." Draco's voice broke through her thoughts and she jumped at the sound. "Sorry to startle you," he said, standing in front of her. "What are you reading?"
"Nothing," she said quickly, slamming the book shut. "What are we planning now?"
"The honeymoon."
Hermione nearly choked on her own thoughts. "Oh," she said subdued, standing to join him. She clutched Lily's books under her robe.
"Don't sound so enthused," Draco said, following her towards the Manor.
Lucius was seated in the sitting room, his wife Narcissa by his side. "Sit down," he said, gesturing to the sofa across from him. Hermione sat at the far end and Draco sat at the end closest to him.
"Now, we have planned out most of the wedding," Lucius began, looking over some notes as if he were conducting a business meeting. "But we seem to have left out a few details. One, what date exactly the wedding will take place. And two, where you will honeymoon."
Hermione squirmed at this last sentence and she caught Draco making similar movements on the other end of the sofa. At least she wasn't alone in the sickening thought. However, she marvelled at the thought of how such a composed, business-like man could plan an entire wedding without thinking of the actual date.
"Mrs. Malfoy and I were thinking September 4th," Lucius continued, unaware of the faces the two teenagers in front of him were making. "And you will leave for the honeymoon on September 6th. Where you want to go is your choice."
"Gee, thanks, Dad," Draco muttered, but Hermione's mind was still circling around the previous statement.
"September!" she cried. "Of this year?"
"Yes, Miss Granger," Lucius replied in his maddening voice. "As in the month after next."
"Why so soon?"
"We feel that it's not necessary to waste time with a long engagement."
Hermione's rage temporarily blinded her. "What about what I think? Don't I count?"
Lucius looked perplexed. "Do you want the truth, Miss Granger, or the story?"
Hermione went silent for a moment. "What?"
"You do count, Miss Granger, in the on the whole, but on its own merits, no you're opinion does not count."
Speechless, Hermione mouthed silent words at the couple sitting across from her. She felt her anger build up and reach such a point that she almost leapt off the sofa and directly at Lucius' throat.
"Give her a break, Dad," piped up Draco and all three parties looked at him in surprise. "First you drill her with rules that I've never even heard of before, and then you practically imprison her on the manor grounds. I think you should let her have a say."
Lucius' eyes were planting holes in Draco. "Don't you ever speak back to me again," he snarled through gritted teeth. "You have no right to speak to me in that condescending tone."
"But you can talk like that to me?"
The simple question sent Lucius into a fit of rage. "That's it!" he roared, standing up from the sofa, knocking over the coffee table in the process. "I've had it with you! I try to help you by finding you a decent wife and this is how you repay me. Well, that's just fine!"
"What are you going to do, Dad? Kick me out?" Draco wore a self- satisfied smile and seemed to take enjoyment out of tormenting his father. "Come on," he said to Hermione as he stood up. "We're obviously not wanted here during the planning of our wedding." He emphasized a few words to make his point clear, then grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her outside, leaving Lucius fuming in the sitting room.
