Draco apparated with a pop. His mother was sprawled across a couch reading a book, he plopped down the long stemmed roses he'd brought a peace offering and drew up a chair next to the couch.

She pushed up her glasses and looked at him censoriously 'Well-how did it go' He didn't know why she insisted on wearing muggle things. For gods sakes.

'Eh…ok' He brushed it off, 'But Mother-that moronic psychologist wants me to ask out the first girl I see' He protested heartily.

'So?'

'Ma! I need to marry a beautiful pure blood girl-'

'So you can have little Draco Malfoys' His mother rolled her eyes at the irony of it. 'One of you is more than enough Draco darling, but you need to settle down. Stop playing with your floozies I tell you'

'They are not my floozies' He said coldly. 'Fine, they're sexually confused young women and men looking for a bit of fun in the package of my son'

'Much better' He said nodding his head at her amicably. 'You will ask out that young lady Draco' She said glaring at him.

He shrugged, 'And what if I don't want too' her face turned stern 'I'll disinherit you. I don't want a male whore for a son'

Draco stopped in midstep and turned to face his mother shock written in foot high letters on his face. 'You wouldn't'

'Yes I would' She smirked in a disturbingly Slytherin fashion. 'I would Draco, remember that' She nodded.

'Evil bitch' He muttered.

'What was that?' She asked cocking her head. 'Extremely old but still young looking mother who I would shag if I wasn't your son because that would be just wrong' He finished.

'There you go' Narcissa Malfoy said reaching out a hand for a bookmark and slipping it in. 'Now tell me' She wrapped a pale white hand around her son and steered him toward the kitchen. 'How was work?'

Draco ascended the steps of the Ministry annoyance still written on his face. His neat dragon hide bag swinging in a disgruntled fashion against his knees. The sky was bluer than the bluest blue but he wasn't watching.

He was looking apprehensively at the door in nervous expectation.

The great double doors of the Ministry swung open. Draco's stomach clenched.

A brown head-a pudgy face………………………………….

Fudge.

He let out his breath hurriedly the tension mounting again until he saw the person behind the ex. Minister.

Hermione Granger.

Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.