Disclaimer; Nope, don't own it. Wish I did.
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Wine Country…
We slept peacefully in each other's arms the whole night and woke up to a beautiful sunny day. Draco had prearranged for a car to take us to wine country on a tour. The tour began in downtown Florence so when we got into the car Draco handed the driver some money and said;
"Vorremmo andare all'ufficio dei giri ambulanti di Firenze" (We would like to go to the office of walking tours of Florence.)
"Si, signore." and started the drive. It was longer than the drive yesterday, and we got to see more of the deep rich country of Italy. The rolling hills and vineyards went on forever. Soon enough we were at the office and ready to begin our day. Draco paid the fee and we waited with the other couples for the tour guide to arrive. Soon a tall dark haired man appeared and began to speak.
"Benvenuto al giro di pomeriggio di Chainti. Sono Robert. Il wll I sta prendendoli con la regione di Chainti di Badia. Godrete la campagna e il vistit Toscani classici le proprieta' vinicole principali della regione. Avrete l'assaggio del vino, una camminata attraverso le vigne e le vecchie cantine delle proprieta'. Segualo." (Welcome to the Chianti afternoon tour. I am Robert. I will be taking you through the Chaianti region of Badia. You will enjoy the classic Tuscan countryside and visit the prime wine producing estates of the region. You will have wine tasting, a walk through the vineyards and the old cellars of the estates. Follow me.) We walked through the cobblestone streets of Florence until we reached a dirt road leading to our first estate. It was large and looked very old. The pathway led through the rows and rows of grapevines and soon enough we reached the house. A little old woman came out of the front doors mumbling something in Italian. She paid us no attention, but soon after a young handsome man stepped out. Surprisingly enough he spoke English.
"Welcome to the Pino Gallo estate. I am Antonio, and I will be leading you through the cellars and the vineyards. Please follow me and we will start with the grapes." he walked off of the porch and towards the acres and acres of grapevines. He talked on and on about grapes, soil, fertilizer and weather. Soon I was bored. Antonio kept gazing my way, winking when he caught my eye. I blushed and wondered if Draco noticed. He seemed lost in the wine making process and wandered near the baskets of collected grapes. Antonio came over to me, his dark eyes piercing mine.
"Ciao bella" he said with his smoldering accent.
"Ciao" I said looking for Draco in the crowd.
"Che cosa e' il vostro nome?" he asked. He must have thought I was Italian.
"I don't speak Italian" I replied.
"My mistake miss, I asked you what your name was." he said with a smirk
"Hermione Gra…Malfoy." I said smiling at my almost slip.
"Gramalfoy?" he asked. "Unusual name."
"No it's just Malfoy, Mrs. Hermione Malfoy." I said holding up my left hand.
"Oh, I see. So some lucky man has already plucked you off of the vine." his voice was deep.
"Afraid so, I am actually on my honeymoon now. That is my husband over there." I said pointing to Draco.
"Honey" I yelled "Come over and meet Antonio." he walked swiftly over to me and put his arm around my shoulder protectively.
"Ciao" he said to Antonio.
"Ciao" Antonio replied "I was just talking to your beautiful wife." he replied.
"I see that. Come on honey, let's go see the rest of the estate." he pulled me away from Antonio, some jealousy in his voice. I laughed at him.
"What is so funny?" he asked bemused.
"You, running over to me so fast to save me from the clutches of that fine Italian man." I could barely keep a straight face.
"You are my wife, what else do you expect." he laughed as he plucked a grape off of the vine and popped it into his mouth.
"Nothing less." I said, eating a grape myself. We walked back up to the estate and toured the vast wine cellars before retreating back upstairs where the lady of the house had prepared a huge Italian lunch for us. We sat at café like tables for 2 and feasted on homemade Italian food and some Gallo Nero wine that was pressed the previous year. It was delicious. We were full soon and dreaded the walk to the next estate. Slowly we made our way to the next estate, and the next and the next. Along the way we viewed the beautiful Tuscan countryside, the rolling hills, the olive groves, the vineyards, the castles and the villas along the way. I had never seen such beautiful unspoiled land. By the time we reached the last estate I was full, tired and slightly drunk from all the wine tasting. We were sipping on some deep full bodied red wine at the last estate, looking into the small village nearby.
"I don't think I can walk all the way back to where we started Draco, I feel a little tipsy."
"I will hire a car, I am tired of walking too." he confessed, putting his arm around my shoulders and laying his head on mine.
"Are you having a good time?" he asked.
"It is perfect. I have always wanted to visit Italy. And coming here with someone who knows the language and the area makes it more special since we can visit the little known areas, and not just the tourist areas."
"I am so glad you like it. I love this country. I wish we could stay here forever." he said quietly.
"So what do you have planned for tomorrow?" I asked.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" he replied.
"You know I don't like surprises." I said running my hand down his chest.
"Ok, well I will keep part of it a surprise, but I will tell you we are going to Blaise's uncle's restaurant for dinner. He invited us to have an old fashioned Italian feast and wedding celebration." he grinned widely.
"I am going to be so fat by the time we leave Italy, all the food is so good and rich." I laughed. "Will you still love me when I gain 50 pounds from this trip?"
"I don't know, might have to trade you in for one of those beautiful Italian girls." he raised his eyebrows at me and smirked in a very Draco-like manner.
"Really?" I asked, staring him down with a fake mad look on my face.
"I don't know, they cook and clean and from what Blaise said they worship their husbands." he then winked at me and pulled me close. "I could never replace you. You are my soul mate, my love." he leaned his head in for a long deep kiss that I returned happily.
"That is what I wanted to hear." I said running my hands through his soft blonde mane.
"Time to go" the tour guide announced.
We walked to the village, about ½ a mile up the road and Draco called for a car to take us back to the hotel. I was exhausted and my feet hurt. I drew a bath for the both of us. Draco washed my body and my hair for me. I pulled him between my legs and washed his chest and arms. He wrapped his soapy arms around me brushing his lips with mine.
"Ti amo" he said huskily.
"Ti amo" I repeated before sinking into his kisses.
The next day brought another early start. We were going somewhere unknown to me and then to Blaise's family restaurant. We were getting ready to leave when a snowy owl flew in the terrace window.
"Hedwig!" I cried running over to greet her. She had a letter on her leg. I reached over and grabbed it.
"Oh, I'm so sorry Hedwig; I don't have any treats, forgive me." I said stroking her white feathers. She hooted playfully before soaring out the window.
"Was that Harry's owl?" he asked as he dried off his blonde locks.
"Yes, I wonder what was so important that he interrupted us." I replied as I unrolled the parchment.
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy (That's weird writing that)
I hope you are having a great time on your trip, everything is fine here. I thought I would tell you that the ministry sent an owl with your job descriptions on it. I didn't open it but I left it on your kitchen counter. Hope you are having fun. We all miss you a lot. Crookshanks is fine and he misses you too.
Love,
Harry.
"Our letters from the ministry came Draco! I wonder what department I will be working in! I bet it is some kind of research. I hope so; you know how I love to read. It will be perfect, or maybe they want me for something else. Oh, I can't wait to find out." my hand was shaking with anticipation.
"Calm down honey, we have over a week left on our honeymoon, just try to relax until then." he took my hand and led me out the door.
The car drove us to Arezzo, which is south east of Tuscany. It was a beautiful artsy city with galleries on almost every corner. We walked in and out of the galleries. I wanted to buy a piece for our house, but had yet to find the perfect one. Then, in a small gallery I saw what I wanted. It was a painting of two little girls, one brunette and one blonde. It reminded me of me and a friend of mine from before Hogwarts. It was painted in a Monet style. The artists name was Pino and the name of the picture was 'A perfect gift of love' I fell in love with it and gave Draco an alluring glance, batting my eyelashes.
"Oh, all right. I can't resist that look." He pulled out his wallet and paid for the extremely expensive paining.
"Can you ship this directly to our house, and have it put in a lighter honey oak frame with some gold leaf gilding to it?" he asked.
"Si signor" the man replied, taking the painting off of the wall.
"Thank you my love." I said, kissing his chest through his shirt.
We walked out into the countryside again to admire the hills and valleys of this region. He bought me several new dresses in a boutique. And he bought himself some new Italian leather shoes. (He had a shoe thing) We were loaded with packages by the time we stopped for lunch. We ate light since we would be eating that big dinner later. Draco hired a car to drive our purchases back to the hotel so we would be free to explore the picturesque gardens that were filled with flowers and century-old trees. The fresh country air filled my lungs and we laughed the whole afternoon.
About 6pm we made our way to the restaurant. 'Zabini's'. It was quaint with red and white checkered tablecloths and candles on every table.
"Ciao Draco" a robust bald man said as he ran out to greet us. He grabbed Draco and kissed him boldly on each cheek. Draco looked somewhat embarrassed and I was stifling laughter.
"And this must be your beautiful wife," he said, grabbing me and kissing me on my hand.
"It is" Draco said.
"Blaise told me that she was beautiful, but I had no idea. How did you get involved with him?" he asked me jokingly. "Must have put a spell on her eh?" he laughed jovially.
"Maybe that was it." I said, poking Draco in the ribs. He laughed.
"Well, come in and sit, don't be shy." the man said leading us to a table candlelit for two.
"My apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Blaise; obviously the Blaise you know was named for me. I hope he inherited my looks." he said grooming his long mustache with his fingers.
"Most definitely" I said as he pulled my chair out.
"No need for menus, I have your whole meal waiting. The wine first." he said as he brought out two bottles, one red and one white. "These are from our vineyards." he said pouring me some white. I didn't know if I could handle anymore wine. I had drunk more wine on this trip than in my entire life.
The first course consisted of olives, marinated vegetables, small peppers and olive oil vinegar dressing. The next course was Italian wedding soup. It was a chicken broth with spinach and tiny meatballs with some pasta. The third course was fettuccini Alfredo and spaghetti with marinara. The pasta heaped on my plate and I was feeling very full already. The main course was roast beef, and marinated chicken breasts, roasted potatoes and green beans almandine. The final course, dessert, was tira mi su. I felt like Harry's aunt when he had accidentally blown her up. I sat back in my chair and patted my stomach.
"I think I ate too much baby."
"You are not the only one; I forgot how much food he usually serves."
Blaise's uncle Blaise came over when he noticed we were finished.
"Would you like anything else?" he asked.
"Uh… no I don't think so." Draco replied. "But I will take the bill."
"Your money is no good here Draco, you are my nephew's best friend, you are welcome here anytime. Especially if you bring your gorgeous wife." he bent down and kissed my hand once more. I blushed.
The car came to pick us up and we rode sleepily back to the hotel where we fell asleep almost immediately.