Author's note: thank you gues for your reveiws, so here is my third Chapter, I will try to dole them out as fast as i possibly can, just keep the reveiws as coming. if anything is wrong with my fiction, please feel free to tell me about it so i can correct it.

Author's note (extra stuff you can ignore): was anyone else pissed of at how Draco was portrayed in the third movie? (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.)

okay, i shall cease my meaningless ramblings now and get on with the story.

Chapter III - Another Homecoming (of sorts) and Yet Another Revalation.

Hermione stepped out of the fireplace dusting the soot form her robes, she had yet to really get the hang of travel by floo powder, she figured she would have to get used to it if this was her life now.

she didn't want to think about it. she occupied herself with removing everyspec of soot from her robes.

Moment later, Mercedes stepped gracefully out of the fireplace not a speck of dust on her robes or in her immaculate auburn hair. Hermione frowned, thinking of how she frumpy she must look next to her glamorous mother.

"Come along, Amelia." she said. "your father must return to work and so the task of showing you around your new home falls to me."

Wide-eyed Hermione just followed her, she had just taken in the splendor of the room Mercedes mentioned that it was the apparition and floo power room, somehow, the place seemed to pretty to beused soley for those purposes.

Mercedes was talking and Hermione's attention snapped from the enrtance hall to the woman currently talking to her. so far, she genuinely Mercedes, her mother, whatever she was supposed to call her. She was gracious and accepting that hermione would be rather reluctant about the whole situation, understanding, and although she did not look it, kindly.

"Here is the foyer." She said gesturing to an entrance hall that made hogwarts look like a humble flat. She went on to show her around the grounds, the many drawing rooms, the menagerie, the kitchens, the living rooms, the breakfast enclosure, the atrium, the green house, the woodlands and finally, the living quarters. Mercedes suddenly stopped infront of tall double doors, done in the same ancient oak that the rest of the house was done in.

"What room is this?" Hermione asked still a little dazed and disoriented from the whirwind tour.

"Why, Amelia!" Mercedes cried. "yours of course." with that she threw open the door.

She grinned, as Hermione's face registered shock.

The room was done in deep deep blues and bright crimsons. There was a massive four poster bed in one corner and an equally massive writing desk, all the wood in her room was a dark cherry, the walls were cream and the curtains were a beautiful rich blue velvet. She turned back to her birth mother.

"I-I..." She was unable to find the words in her throat as the tears welled up. "I'm not quite sure why I'm crying. this is-is more than i can accept from you and- i don't even know what to call you..."

Mercedes smiled at her tenderly.

"You need not call me mother, not until you feel the time is right." she said kindly. "Until then, you may call me Mercedes."

Hermione looked at her, she was half embarassed at her emotional out burst, and also relieved, she just didn't feel comfotable enough to call this woman infront of her mother. At least, not just yet.

"So what happens now?"

"We're having guests over of dinner in you honor, Amelia." Mercedes told her.

Hermione's eyes grew, royal consorts? coutiers?

"No, none of the french court." She said as if reading hermione's mind. "Your grandmother is handling those matters and will be until you graduate, and then we will probably move back to france, however tonight is just the friends of the family."

Hermione seemed to relax at this turn of events.

"Just relax for a while." Mercedes said. "I'll send someone to fetch you when the guests arrive. i have feeling you won't be able to find your way back to the dinning room, god knows i wouldn't."

She grinned, Hermione found herself grinning back.

"See you later, Amelia."

Hermione turned back to her room, deciding to give it a closer look, she found that all of her treasured books now adorned the shelves, her clothes were all meticulously put in the large walk in closet, along with some other things that definately did not belong to her.

It was all happening too fast, she thought as she absent midedly walked into the large bathroom (done in pure white marble and silver fixings) and looked through her stuff. For a while, she just went through the room, looking at the parchment stationary already stamped with her name in swirly purple writing, running her hands through the bed so piled high with goose down mattresses that she needed an intricately carved stool just to get up on it. She looked at all the jewelry she now had in her possesion, some from her old life as a muggle born witch and some from her new life as this Amelia Antionette Russeux, whoever she was. The locket, the one that had started this whole thing was present among the other beautiful pieces of jewelry. Hermione really had to fight the urge to flush it down the toilette. She suddenly had this overwhelming hatred of it, as if it had been its fault that she was so confused now, and right before her seventh year no less as if she didn' have NEWT's to worry about.

Stupid locket.

No matter how insane it was to blame an inanimate pice of metal, Hermione had to blame it on someone, anyone.

She still felt rather guilty for leaving behind her parents, but at the same time she was glad she could leave after that kind of a revelation. After that she had suddenly felt like an outsider in her parent's house, the house she had come to look at as her home. She felt stifled there, like a freak, an annomaly, her parents would never admit it to her but she knew they feared her magical abilities, she saw the small frown her mother tried valiantly to hide when ever she mentioned anything magical. She figured she could separate her worlds, but she knew that that was not fair to her, a great witch like her did not deserve to be squestered in a normal muggle household feeling sorry for her powers any more than these two normal dentist deserved to have a daughter that they were afraid of. Her magic was like anything else Hermione had ever done, she needed to get everything she could out of it. Be the best at it, and she couldn't do that if a part of her held herself back simply because she was afraid of what her parents may say or might think.

But still. they had raised her, as Dumbledore said, they had made her their own, how could she have walked away from them? How could it be so easy for her to desert them. She knew how much it must have pained her mother to see her only child walk through the fireplace with out a single glance back or even a "thanks" or a "goodbye."

Inwardly, she cursed her temper, if she had not been so angry she would not be in this position to begin with.

Deciding not to worry about it any longer (at least for tonight, she had enough to deal with). She had made her decision, she could not turn her back on it now. She pulled out on of her books and curled up in one of the comfortable arm chairs, she immersed herself in the comforting world of books. it was here that she felt comfortable, at least this much had not changed.

An unmeasurable ammount of time later she heard a knock on her door, jerking her out of the trance like state she often fell into when she was reading. Thinking better of calling out for them to come in, Hermione walked up to the door and opened it surprised to meet face to face with a blonde boy with silver eyes.



"Granger?" Draco Malfoy demanded, for he was indeed the boy who fit the deciption. "what the hell are you doing here."

Hermione narrowed her eyes.

"I live here, Malfoy," she said icily. "I could very well ask you the very same question."

Malfoy did not say anything for a moment, his mind was racing, could it be? Granger? The Goody-goody mudblood? Could she be the one? The girl his parents had told him about? Amelia Ruseux?

"Mercedes sent me up here to pick up her daughter, Amelia, which, i now suppose is you." He explained rather absently.

Hermione frowned but nodded.

"Its time for dinner, then?" she asked.

He nodded.

"Hurry up, granger," Malfoy said sounding like himself for a second. "I don't want to spend more time than I have to with you."

Deciding that countering would only make the situation worse, Hermione just glared at the pale haired wizard who was currently leading her through the halls. She prayed to anyone who was listening that he was not setting her up to get lost in this place.

As luck would have it, he seemed to be ignoring her.

Well, that was just as well, she could do the same to him.

It was probably better this way, she was pointedly ignoring him and he seemed deep in thought no bickering was heard in the halls of Russeux Manor. After a while, Hermione realized he was thinking about somehting. (she had to bite back a derisive snort.) She did not snap him out of his reverie, however, because Malfoy silent was possibly the very best way to deal with him. To her great relief, he lead her striaght to the dinning room with out looking up even once.

Hermione found it rather dusturbing that he knew the lay out of her manor better than she did.

Malfoy threw open the oaken doors revealing the long formal table Hermione had seen earlier she saw her parents, Lucius, Narcissa and two other people she could not name sitting with a girl from her year.

"Granger?" the girl asked, she had been recognized immidiately.

Before she could say anything, Mercedes showed her where to sit down and she complied but she was aware of the curious stared coming her way.

"Aren't you Hermione granger?" the girl asked.

"Blaise!" a woman sitting to her left, and obviously Blaise's mother chastised.

Ah, Blaise Zambini, that was her name, her own year, a Slytherin.

"I thought I was," Hermione replied. "but i'm not."

Blaise cocked her head to one side making her long, straight black hair swish to one side, and studied Hermione. Not a minute later she shook her head and let whatever she had been thinking go. Hermione remembered Malfoy had done the exact same thing when he had spoked to her earlier. She wondered what they knew and she didn't.

They had all settled down to eat. After about ten minutes of rather awkward silence, Narcissa bravely spoke.

"So, Amelia will be staying with you until-" she stopped in the middle of her sentence when she caught the looks Lucius, Phillippe and Mercedes were shooting her. She looked at them expectantly.

Hermione noticed this and looked expectantly at Mercedes.

Mercedes looked just a little worried.

"Until what?" Hermione wanted to know. "please, Mrs. Malfoy, continue." she said.

The blonde woman smiled graciously.

"Narcissa, Amelia, please." she insisted. "Mrs. Malfoy is Lucius' mother."

Hermione nodded.

"Narcissa then." she corrected, but before Narcissa answered, Mercedes jumped in.

"Amelia, Dumbledore wanted to keep this from you for just a little longer, he said it would be too much to take, but not a week after you were born you were betrothed." she said looking rather uncomfotable.

Hermione nodded, she knew that betrothals were not uncommon among wizarding famillies, rich or poor. She had a feeling such a topic would come up. She just hoped that whoever they chose would at least be good looking.

"Who's the lucky guy?" Hermione asked trying to ease the weight that had suddenly taken up residence on her chest. This was not going to be good, something told her, not going to be good at all.

Phillippe spared her a grin for her effort. She grinned back. It was again Mercedes, however, who spoke.

"Draco Malfoy."

Hermione felt her insides grow cold. somehow, she could not react ot this, she just sat there and pressed her lips together. Her face turned almost completely white. Mercedes and Phillipe exchanged looks, but Hermione was too far gone to notice. A million thoughts were running though her head at that very moment.

She was the one.

She was the girl in her dream, she was going to marry Malfoy, and she could do nothing about it... she knew about wizarding betrothals. She had read enough about it to know that there was no possible way to get out of it. unless well, she died but she was not nearly stupid enough to kill herself because of him.

"Amelia, why don't you children go upstairs," Phillipe siad, his voice finally cutting into her thoughts.

Hermione stared at him for just a second but then took her queue to leave. She rose, ignoring her half-eaten plate (she no longer had the appetite to eat anything.)

She barely registered Malfoy and Blaise Zambini with her, her mind was still trying to comprehend the million things that had been revealed to her today. Before she knew it, she was in her room. In a daze she sat down on her bad and just stared off into space.

Draco and Blaise traded looks. Draco just snapped back to his usual poker face. He pointedly ignored Granger and stood as far as he could possibly stand while still being in the premises of her room leaving Blaise to deal with the seething Hermione.

"Its not so bad." Blaise said, she realized right as soon as she had said so, that it was not the thing to say.

Hermione gave her a long, hard look.

"Are you the one who is stuck marrying Malfoy?" she demanded. "honestly, Blaise Zambini-"

"I suggest you do not do that." The boy in question told her.

"Do what?" she asked stubbornly, glad she and Malfoy were fighting, it made her feel more like herself. "Marry you? Because honestly, i'm not really counting down the seconds."

Malfoy scowled at her.

"i meant, call me Malfoy." he replied. His voice was tight, he was just barely covering up his annoyance. "my name is Draco and for now, you may call me as such, after all you are living in a house that is often populated by Malfoys, there is bound to be some confusion."

"My house is populated by Malfoys?" Hermione demanded. "Oh great, this and the whole princess thing, i'm really starting to regret my decision."

She was finally given an oulet in which to vent her frustration. well, thst was one good way of looking at agruing with Mal- Draco. She might as well just call him that, it didn't mean she was getting friendly with him or anything. It was practical.

"I believe I can clear this up." Blaise said stepping in between the two if them before the looming fight really broke out. When that happened she fully planned to be elsewhere, Draco would probably rant abut it later, anyway, and she would get all the details. Right now, she faced Hermione. "ever since the graduation from Hogwarts, our famillies have been exceptionally close, the three most powerful and influensial famillies in the wizarding world. The Ruseux's, The Malfoy's and The Zambini's, we all visit and talk and interact with one another in such a constant basis that our own manors, not matter where we are in real life, seem to bleed into each other. Certain doors that lead to rooms in the other manors, the same spells used over them to ward of the Ministry's magic sensors, excetera"

Hermione nodded with out really listening. she was too busy finding a way to make the betrothal Draco's fault.

"Blaise!"

Hermione turned to the door.

"My mother." Blaise said not looking the least bit jolted that the sound was amplified straight up the flights of stairs and into Hermione's bedroom passed the closed door. "Giselle Zambini, I'm not sure you were introduced"

"i was." Hermione replied.

Blaise nodded.

"and by the way, that is a very simple charm called the Sonorus Kinderium something parents use to call their children." she added as if reading Hermione's mind. "It does feel rather patronizing, however, all wizard parents use them. Now, if you two would excuse me, I'll be back when I arrive." she said she shot Draco a grin and flounced out of the room.

Basically, she was leaving Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger in a room together, alone.

And we all know just how dangerous that would be.

Author's note: okay, next chapter will be up as soon as i can... but that's only if i have enough reveiws. good ones. :)

to all you potential flamers out there, i'm osry if you didn't like my wwork of fiction. plsease take note that it is just that, a work of fiction and take your flames elsewhere.

Thank you!