Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the plot. I am not making any money by writing this story. Seriously, who would pay me to write this?
Author's Note: Sorry…that's all I have to say.
The Black Swan: Thanks for yelling at me. It's what convinced me to start writing again. Amore Fugget: Thanks for telling me to get a move on.
Whatevs: Ya, I know Blaise is a boy, but when I started writing this (or more had the idea in my head) J.K. Rowling had not yet specified what gender Blaise was. When I found out that Blaise was indeed 100 a boy it was too late for me to change the Blaise that I had thought up. But from now on future stories that I write will always feature a boy Blaise.
Athenis: I agree :)
Celtic-Elements: Have you read HBP yet? Well the Narcissa in the book, is kind of like the Narcissa I have planned in my head. Sure she is a little evil and twisted (she would have to be, getting married to Lucius Malfoy! Unless she was betrothed…) but she also has the heart of a mother. In case you haven't read it yet I'll just say something that won't give away the plot…Narcissa wants what's best for her son. When he is in danger she's in tears trying to find a way to save him. I thought that was awesome. If it had been Lucius I'm sure he would have cast it aside not really caring. Only caring about losing an heir, but Narcissa was really feeling down. I think that's the way I'm going to write Narcissa. She's still evil, but she cares. Get it? I dunno I'm not very good at explaining.
Brooks: See above, lol
Ka Anor: Ya, it's sad. But I promise it will get better!
Celtic Angelic Witch: Thanks. Your reviews make me so happy :) The family is great. Thanks for asking. My older sisters are getting ready to go to college. They're going to Casper Wyoming. It'll be fun :)
Lady-sanctuary: Aw…you rock so much! Harry and Ron are tricky aren't they? I can't really tell you too much about them finding out the truth, but don't worry, it's not going to be a tragedy fic. I think I put it under Romance/Action/Adventure. No Tragedy:)
Hermione followed Draco and his mother out of the station and across a long boulevard. Draco was taller than his mother by several inches. His blond platinum hair looked identical to Narcissa's long flowing hair. Narcissa carried herself very properly. She walked with her back straight, her head level to the ground, and her waist swished back and forth lightly.
Finally they reached a small square of town that had very few occupants. Draco turned and looked at Hermione a slight smile on his lips. "We're going to drive," he said excitedly.
Narcissa ignored his excited tone and pulled a ring of keys out of her white, expensive looking purse. She clicked a little unlock button and instantly a garbage can turned and twisted into a magnificent car. Hermione glanced around seeing if the muggles had noticed. None of them seemed to notice that anything strange had happened.
"Hurry and get in the car," Narcissa said airily. "The charm wears off in a few minutes. We must be on the road by then."
Draco grabbed Hermione's hand and led her into the back seat. Hermione was about to reach out and close the door behind her, but Narcissa suddenly appeared at the door and climbed in. Draco did not seem to notice this however and just sat in his seat glancing out the window watching the muggles walk by.
Hermione did not know what to say. Shouldn't Narcissa be driving? "Um…aren't you supposed to be driving?" She asked wearily.
Narcissa examined Hermione for a moment. "No, there is an auto-drive system. It means that with magic, a driver will take you to your destination. There is no need to resort one's self to driving."
Hermione felt her face grow hot with embarrassment. She should have known that Narcissa Malfoy had never once lifted her finger to do any labor, even if it was driving. She felt even more embarrassed that she had her license for driving sitting in her trunk.
The car had started moving during Narcissa's and Hermione's little 'chat'. They traveled for a long while without talking to one another, but sitting in rather uncomfortable silence. Draco would strum his fingers on the door's armrest, Hermione would adjust her skirt often, and Narcissa sat like a stone figure.
"So, Mother," Draco began. "How are things at the manor?"
Narcissa's eyes seemed to light up at this question although her face remained stony. "Oh, wonderful, dear! I had the house elves fix up some of the guest rooms we have. We've been getting so many guests lately! Just last week we had Mr. Nott come and stay. Now I'm having the elves do the main hall. It's getting a new floor and a new chandelier. I'm having them do it all manually. They don't seem to be getting too much work lately. I've been out so there hasn't been much need for them."
Hermione felt her blood boil. How can she treat her house elves so poorly? No wonder Dobby never talked about what it was like there. It would have been too painful. Draco didn't seem to notice that Hermione was now taking deep breaths to calm herself, and continued the conversation.
"So, Miss Granger, what is it your parents do?" Narcissa asked, clearly having a hard time voicing the question in a somewhat polite tone.
"They're dentists," Hermione explained. "They fix teeth."
Narcissa raised her eyebrows slightly. "Are they like a healer?"
"Well, not really. They only fix a certain area. A healer can fix anything that comes their way; teeth, feet, cuts. A dentist only fixed teeth. A muggle equivalent to a healer would be a doctor."
"Mother is a healer," Draco said happily.
"Are you really? That must be fascinating! How many years of medical school did you have to take to become one?" Hermione could not help herself. She was surprised that Narcissa was smart enough to be a healer, or even wanted to heal people. Maybe when a death eater was injured she healed them to avoid traveling to St. Mungo's where they would question them? Hermione pondered.
"After Hogwarts, I spent four years at Nonni University of Healers in Italy," Narcissa explained. Hermione nodded along sharing her views and Narcissa supplied efficient answers to Hermione's demanding questions. Draco sat looking at his two favorite women in the world, a knowing smirk growing with each moment. He knew that after they broke the ice, they would find that they were not that different.
All too soon the car came to a stop. Narcissa glanced at her watch expectantly and frowned. "We can't be there yet," she said to herself. Hermione strained her neck to check out the window. They were no where near a grand house or in a neighborhood. They were at a regular muggle rest station.
Narcissa opened the door and hastily explained that she needed to re-charm the car. Draco chuckled slightly as the slammed the door. "Mother hates re-doing any task," he explained softly. Hermione nodded her head in understanding.
Sighing she leaned back on the plush seat. She closed her eyes enjoying a moment where she didn't have to be too cautious and watch what she said. Being around Narcissa was very hard. She wanted to impress her. Hermione grew uncomfortable thinking about how Narcissa would feel about her if she let some crude comment slip.
Draco could sense that Hermione felt stressed. He put a hand on her shoulder and slowly shifted her so that her head was lying across his lap. Hermione closed her eyes feeling immediately relaxed. Draco stroked her hair calming her nerves, and also calming him in the process.
"Your mother seems more interested in muggle things that I expected she would be," Hermione mused.
Draco nodded. "She different from Father in that perspective. She's fascinated at how muggles can get along without magic. Although, Father doesn't know this. If he found out that she was intrigued with muggle things I'm sure the result wouldn't be good."
Hermione felt Draco shiver slightly. She grabbed the hand that was stroking her hair and gently kissed it, trying to make him feel better. He half smiled at her.
Every once in a while Hermione would wonder what could be keeping Narcissa. Surely the spell didn't take that long to cast. Even the most complex spells didn't last for too long. And Hermione was sure that this was not a very complex spell. "I wonder what's keeping Mother," Draco voiced looking out the window. Hermione too stretched her neck to look out the window. Narcissa was standing outside talking to someone. Draco must have known who it was because he instantly pushed Hermione's head down.
"That's Mr. Crabbe," he said pushing Hermione to the floor. Hermione scowled at Draco but he didn't notice. "If he sees you…" Draco looked away from the window and down at Hermione. Hermione felt a breath get lodged in her throat. His eyes were worried. As he gazed down at his girlfriend he realized just how dangerous it is to take Hermione home for Christmas.
Hermione, for her part, didn't look the least bit scared. If Crabbe Senior was anything like the Crabbe at school she didn't have anything to worry about. If he opened the door and saw her someone could say the simple disarming spell and that would be that. No harm done. But why did Draco look so worried?
"Draco," Hermione said as she shifted a little on the floor trying to get more comfortable. "Couldn't we just disarm him, place a memory charm, and continue on our way. If he's anything like--"
"But he's not," Draco interrupted. "Vincent Crabbe is as thick as a brick. His father is a master of muggle torture, king of thieves, and prince of muggle born killings. His hands are large and bulky, but they are skilled. If he found out who you were, there would be no stopping him no matter what happened."
Hermione looked away embarrassed. She was steadily growing more and more nervous. Her brain was working like mad trying to find a way to get out of this situation. No possibility she thought of worked out. She glanced at Draco and knew that he too was thinking of some way out.
Of coarse there was the possibility that Crabbe wouldn't look in the back seat of the car. But Hermione quickly squashed that possibility when she heard two voices move closer and closer to the door.
"Where's Draco?" A masculine voice asked.
"Oh, he's in the back sleeping. Tired out from the ride home," Narcissa replied. Draco could tell she was nervous but no one else could.
"Well, I have some important business to discuss with him. I'm sure he won't mind if I just poke him awake," said the voice of Crabbe. Hermione's eyes widened as she saw a hand reach out and grab the handle. Without even thinking Hermione reached up and grabbed Draco's head bringing it crashing down to her. Their lips connected just as the door opened. Draco's eyes widened in surprise to Hermione's sudden want but quickly dawned on the reason.
Hermione played her part well. She buried herself deeper into the floor so that Crabbe could not see who Draco was currently 'attacking'. Hermione closed her eyes tightly not wanting to see if Crabbe knew who she was. Draco put a comforting hand on her shoulder and squeezed. She knew he wouldn't let anything happen to her, but she still felt worried.
The couple could hear Crabbe sputtering and muttering. "Well…um…I'll just…I'll just talk to him some other time then…"
With that the door closed and Narcissa and Crabbe started talking once again. Hermione smiled into Draco's kiss. Draco smiled back and started kissing her passionately. Hermione felt so happy she let him kiss her deeply and she kissed back. She giggled and felt so happy that she had lived through that.
Draco broke apart from her and laughed softly. "Hermione, you're a genius!"
Hermione smiled broadly and laughed. Draco let out a breath of relief and rested his head on Hermione's stomach. Hermione sighed. She loved this; the feeling of happiness that she was alive and with Draco. Draco buried his face deeper as Hermione sighed and Hermione suddenly let out a great burst of laughter.
Draco looked up and Hermione laughed louder. "Your---your face!" she sputtered between fits of laughter. Draco raised an eyebrow.
"What's wrong with my face?" he challenged.
"It's fuzzy!" she screeched. Draco felt his face and realized he hadn't shaved that morning…or the past few mornings. He had fuzz growing all over. He smirked evilly and grabbed the end of Hermione's shirt and pulled it up a little. Hermione's laughter faded away at the sudden slight exposer and began to question Draco.
"Draco! What on earth do you think you're doing?"
Draco smirked and placed his face on Hermione's bare stomach. He started rubbing his face up and down, scratching her with his whiskers. Hermione let the thoughts of Draco doing something horrifying to her and laughed out loud.
"Stop!" she wheezed. "I can't breathe! Ah haha, it tickles!"
The pair was so caught up in what they were doing that they did not realize that Narcissa had opened the door and squeezed herself into a seat. Hermione had her eyes closed laughing so hard, and Draco was in a position that he couldn't see anything. Narcissa cleared her throat, instantly Draco stopped nuzzling Hermione and shot into his seat. Hermione scrambled into her seat almost as fast.
"I think you two have put on enough shows for the evening," Narcissa said, the corners of her mouth twitching into a smile. Hermione had the decency to blush. Draco laughed.
"The charm is fixed now. We'll be home in a few minutes," Narcissa explained after a while. "That run in with Mr. Crabbe was unfortunate."
Hermione and Draco shared a side ways glance toward each other and smirked. "Although, I must say that was an excellent plan. One of the only ones to get out of the situation."
No one said a thing more on the completion of the journey. Hermione had become steadily more nervous. She couldn't stop questioning why Crabbe had been at a muggle rest stop. Surely he wouldn't torture muggles there? She shivered slightly at the thought.
Draco was wondering the same thing. Someone must have told Crabbe to be there. But only a few people knew that Hermione was coming over for the holidays. And Draco trusted those people with his life. But then again, the Potter's trusted Pettigrew, did they not? He thought with a shiver.
Before anyone knew it they were pulling up the all familiar drive. Hermione glanced out the window. Malfoy Manor loomed ahead. It was unspotted white with pillars at the entrance-way. There were acres of rolling green grass fields surrounding the house. Above the entrance-way there was a crest with a pure gold M embedded on it. Around the M were snakes. No doubt the family crest.
Draco opened the door and slid out of the car. Once out of the car he offered Hermione his hand saying, "Welcome to Malfoy Manor."