-1Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.
The next few days seemed to fly by. It was almost the weekend. Hermione was starting to feel a little nervous about going to see her parents this weekend. She had already asked Dumbledore, and he said that it would be fine for her and Draco to spend the weekend with her parents. Hermione hadn't planned on spending the weekend there, but she thought that it might be nice to get away from the castle for a few days. She just hoped that Draco wouldn't mind too much, being away from the wizarding world. It was Thursday night and Hermione was sitting on the couch in the common room doing some homework. Draco was at quidditch practice.
She set down her quill taking one last look at her Transfiguration essay. It was only one and a half rolls of parchment longer than Professor McGonagall had requested. That was an improvement for Hermione. She rolled it up, and set it aside. She really needed to get packing. They were meeting her family at the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow at 8 o'clock. She reluctantly pulled herself away from her homework, and started up the stairs to her room to pack her things. She conjured up a radio and turned on some music. She was singing and dancing around her room, when she felt someone watching her. She turned towards the door, and practically jumped out of her skin. "Draco! You nearly scared me to death. How long have you been standing there?" She flicked her wand to get rid of the music.
"Awhile. I like watching you. You're really cute when you think nobody's watching." He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her.
"Ewww…you're all gross, and you smell like a lawn mower. Go take a shower." She tried to pull away from him, laughing.
"Ouch. You know that really hurts. Don't you find my sweaty, manliness sexy?" He asked tickling her sides.
"I find it as sexy as a blast-ended skrewt. Go get into the shower, you need to get packed for this weekend, and I need to finish." She turned in his arms, and kissed him, running her hands up his chest to his shoulders. She shoved him away. "If you go take a shower like a good boy, you can come back and continue this later."
"Why don't you be a good girl, and join me?" He grabbed her hands and started pulling her towards the bathroom with him. She willingly followed him. He pulled her closer into him and kissed her roughly.
Hermione moaned into the kiss, moving her hands to his shoulders and pushing off his green quidditch robes. She then moved her hands to lift of the t-shirt that he was wearing under them. She rubbed her hands across his strong chest, allowing Draco to pull her tank top up over her head as well. She reached down and started to undo his pants, their kissing was getting more urgent. Hermione slid his pants down kissing her way down his chest as she went. She slid them off and threw them to the side, moving back up to his mouth again.
They continued with this until they were both naked, and then moved to the shower. Draco turned it on and got the water to the right temperature before they both stepped in. They made love for the third time that day, then they each took turns washing each other, and then Draco carried Hermione into his bed. He laid her down before climbing in the bed next to her. They were both exhausted. He pulled her in tight next to him and kissed her softly on the cheek. "Goodnight beautiful."
Hermione cuddled in closer. "Night." As soon as she closed her eyes she was out. Draco held her close, kissed the top of her head one last time, breathing in the fragrance of her shampoo, and then fell asleep.
Classes the next day seemed to fly by. Hermione was starting to get nervous about taking Draco to meet her parents. She hoped that everyone would get along. Her parents had heard stories of Draco in the past, and none of it was good. She was worried that they would have a hard time excepting that he has changed, and become the man that she was so in love with. She was finishing her last minute packing and checking to make sure that she had remembered all of her books. She didn't want to get behind just because she was home for the weekend. She grabbed her stuff and took it down to the common room where they would be flooing to Diagon Alley. She then went to check on Draco.
"Hey are you almost ready? We have to leave soon if we want to meet my parents by 8:00. Wow." She stopped in her tracks, her mouth falling open. Draco was standing in the middle of his room, holding his bags. He was wearing a pair of faded jeans, and a green sweater that seemed to have been custom made to fit him. "You look great. Are you all ready?" She loved the way that he looked in muggle clothes. They seemed to be made for him. She walked over and wrapped her hands around the back of his neck pulling him down for a kiss.
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be. So we're meeting your parents in the Leaky Cauldron, then what?" Draco tried to hide the fact that he was nervous, but he was having a hard time. He had never met any of his girlfriends parents before, and Hermione's parents were muggles. What if they didn't like him?
"Well, I was hoping that we could go to Diagon Alley and go to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. I want to check out the Halloween stuff. I also would like to stop and get a new quill, some more parchment, and some ink. I'm running low. Then after that I guess we'll go to my parents house, and get settled. Did you have anything you wanted to do?" Hermione was leading the way down the stairs to the fireplace.
"If we're going to Diagon Alley, I want to check out Quality Quidditch Supplies. I want to check out some new flying gloves. Well, it's quarter to 8, I suppose we better go." Draco gave Hermione a half smile.
"Don't be nervous. I love you, so I know my parents will love you too." Hermione kissed him quickly on the forehead, grabbed her bags, and threw some floo powder into the fire. Stepping in she said, "Diagon Alley," and disappeared.
Draco took a deep breath. "I hope she's right." Then threw some floo powder into the fire and went to join Hermione. When he stepped out of the fireplace, he hurriedly did a spell to clear him of the ashes and soot, and adjusted his hair.
Hermione was doing the same. "I hate flooing. It's disgusting." She finished brushing herself off and then grabbed her bags and headed for the door. Now that she was here, she was more excited to see her parents, than anxious. She knew that her parents would see what she saw in Draco. They loved her, and they trusted her judgment.
They walked into the door of the leaky cauldron, and Hermione rushed over to hug her mom and dad. "Mom, dad, I missed you so much." She hugged them both and then backed away. She grabbed Draco's hand and pulled him closer to meet her parents. "This is Draco Malfoy."
"It's nice to meet you." Draco said holding out his hand to shake hands with Hermione's father. "Hermione has told me so much about both of you."
Hermione's father took Draco's hand, and shook it strongly. "I have heard many stories about you too." Mr. Granger said, giving him a stern look. "I must say that I was shocked to receive Hermione's letter telling us that you were her boyfriend, and that she wanted us to meet you. Our impression of you to this point has not been very positive."
"Don't be rude, darling. I'm sorry Draco, you must forgive my husband. He is an overprotective father, and he doesn't like the idea of our little Hermione having a boyfriend. I'm sure that if our Hermione feelings towards you have changed, she has good reason. Hermione has always been an excellent judge of character. You seem like a very nice young man. Now what do you say we get you kids home and settled?" Mrs. Granger elbowed her husband and reached out to take Draco's hand.
"Actually we were hoping that we could go into Diagon Alley and do a little shopping first. We can leave our bags here with Tom, he'll take care of them while we're gone. I just need to get some school supplies, and I want to stop and visit Fred and George about some Halloween decorations for the ball next week. Then Quality Quidditch Supplies, and Flourish and Blotts and then home. You guys can stay here if you like, but I would like it if you came with us." Hermione answered, giving her mother a pleading look.
"Of course sweetie. We'd be happy to go with you." She hugged her daughter, they gave their bags to Tom, and they all walked out the door of the Leaky Cauldron.
Hermione walked up to the brick wall and tapped the bricks to open up the entrance to Diagon Alley. She turned to Draco, "Where did you want to go first?"
"We might as well go to Weasley's first. Get that out of the way. I don't think that they'll welcome me into their store with open arms." Draco grabbed Hermione's hand and they all headed off in the direction of the shop.
"Hermione! What are you doing here?" George Weasley ran forward hugging Hermione, picking her up and spinning her in the air.
"Hello George. Dumbledore said I could take the weekend to visit my parents. I thought that I would come see what you have to offer for the Halloween Ball decorations." She answered as George set her down.
"Oh, of course. The Halloween's stuff's right over here. No need to pay either, we already received our payment from Ginny. She sent us the toilet seat from Moaning Myrtle's toilet. Wait a minute, what the bloody Hell are you doing here with Malfoy?" George stopped leading her through the shop when he noticed the tall blond that was following them.
"I thought for sure Ron would have told you. Draco and I have been seeing each other since earlier this year." Hermione said, avoiding looking George in the eyes.
"You and Malfoy? Are you feeling alright 'Mione? Maybe you should go lay down or something. You're not under the imperius or anything are you?" George felt Hermione's forehead for a fever.
"George, honestly, your as bad as your brother. No, I'm not under the imperius curse. Draco isn't a bad guy, he's actually one of the sweetest guys I have ever known. I thought that you would be more understanding than this." Hermione seemed hurt.
"If you say so Hermione." George shook his head, and continued to show her where the Halloween stuff was.
"Ron still won't talk to me. He's furious with me. He thinks that I'm betraying him and Harry. He acts like I've run off with Voldemort or something. He's being a bit of a baby about all of this. Harry understands that this is my choice, I just don't understand why Ron has to be so stubborn."
"You'll have to excuse Ron, he can be a bit of a prat at times. He just really cares about you Hermione. He has an awkward way of showing it sometimes, but he really does like you. He's just a little heartbroken right now. I'm sure that in time he'll come around. Listen, I have to go take care of some other customers. Whatever you decide that you want take to Fred, he's in the back, he'll ok everything. Later Hermione. It was great seeing you again." George walked away giving Draco a nod as he walked back to the front of the store.
"Anything look good?" Draco asked coming up next to her. He had hung back a little, giving her a chance to talk to George.
"I think we should take at least a dozen of everything. This stuff will look great in the hall. George said to take everything that we need to the back and Fred would ok it. Ginny already sent them a toilet seat as payment." Hermione started gathering stuff. "Mom, Dad, we're almost done in here. Dad I don't think you want to touch any of that stuff, it's liable to blow up. We're just going to go back and check out, and then we'll go to the next shop."
Draco followed Hermione back to the back room. "Should I come in with you, or stay out here?"
"You can come in. I'm sure that Fred already knows. George will have told him. Come on." Hermione knocked on the door to the twins office.
"Come on in 'Mione." Fred called from his desk.
Hermione walked into the office. It was a mess, just like everyplace else in the store. "Hello Fred. I think we've got everything that we're going to need. George said that you just need to ok everything before we go."
"Hello 'Mione." Fred hugged her and spun her around in the air. "Malfoy." He said with a nod. "Well, lets see what you've got." He looked at all of the things Hermione and Draco were carrying, marking them all down on a ledger. "Well, that's everything. I wish that I could be there to see the hall, it's going to look great this year. You're sure Dumbledore isn't going to mind? Everything from our shop has been banned by Filch."
"They're only decorations. I'm sure that they are fine. Dumbledore knew we were going to be stopping here to pick them up. We really must be going though. My parents are out there looking at your shop, and I want to get them out of here before they blow something up. It was great seeing you again." Hermione grabbed the bags, and handing some to Draco.
"Will you be spending Christmas at the Burrow? Bill and Charlie are coming home for the holiday. Ron, Harry, and Ginny will be there, too." Fred asked as he walked them to the door.
"No…I might be going to Draco's house for the holiday. If not, I'll probably be spending it with my family. I'm sure that I'll see you all soon though. Say hello to everyone for me. Bye." Hermione waved to George, and got her parents and left the shop. "I think we should go to get our school supplies next. Then we can go to the Quidditch shop, and then Flourish and Blotts, and then we'll go. Does that sound good to everyone?"
"Sounds good to me, dear. I am getting hungry though." Hermione's mom answered.
"Hermione, why don't you go to the supply shop while I go to the Quidditch supply shop. I'll only be a minute, and then we can meet back up and go to Flourish and Blotts. Here's some money. Will you buy me 5 bottles of black ink, 50 rolls of parchment, and two eagle feather quills?" Draco asked handing her a small bag of money.
"Of course. We'll meet in front of the book store in 15 minutes. Come on mom, dad." Hermione started to head into the shop.
"I think that I'll go to the Quidditch shop as well. I've always been curious about this game. You two ladies go on ahead. I'll meet you at the book shop." Hermione's dad said.
"Ok, dad. We'll see you guys later." Hermione smiled. She was happy that her father had decided to go with Draco. Maybe they would talk a little, and ease some of the tension between the two of them. Her and her mother walked into the shop.
"Draco seems nice Hermione. How long have you two been seeing each other?" Hermione's mother asked.
"Since shortly after school started. He's head boy. He really is amazing mom. I really do love him, and I know that you and dad will too." Hermione said turning to her mother.
"As long as he's good to you Hermione, I'm sure that I will love him. I see the way that you two look at each other. It's the same way that I look at your father."
"I know that Draco and I have only been together for a short time, but I feel happier and safer with him than I've ever felt with anyone. We have so much in common, we're both the top students in our class, and we both love reading. Draco takes me out flying sometimes, and I used to be afraid of it, but when I'm with him, I feel safe. I don't know what I would do without him at school. I mean, I have Harry, but that's so much different, he's more like a brother." Hermione gave the order for the supplies that they needed to the man at the counter.
"It really sounds like you're in love Hermione. I'm so happy for you." Her mom hugged her and kissed her on the forehead.
Meanwhile in the Quidditch shop…
Draco was checking out some new quidditch gloves, and a new broomstick servicing kit. He was a little nervous about being with Hermione's father without her being there.
"Draco, I would like to apologize for my earlier behavior. Hermione is my only child and I suppose I'm a little protective of her. I shouldn't have been so quick to judge you. It's not right to hold your past and your father against you. I see how happy my daughter is with you, and how good you are for each other."
"Thank you Mr. Granger. I really appreciate the apology. I don't blame you for being untrusting of me. I haven't treated Hermione the way that she deserved to be treated in the past. My father is gone now and I no longer have to live under his foolish beliefs and rules. I would never hurt Hermione. I really care about her sir."
"I know that you do, and please call me Tom. Calling me Mr. Granger makes me feel old. I can see that my daughter really loves you and I know when I look at you that you feel the same way."
Draco's nerves relaxed after seeing the way that Hermione's father accepted his relationship with his daughter. He decided to get up the courage to ask him the question that had been on his mind since Hermione planned this little trip. "I really do Mr. Gr…I mean Tom. I love your daughter more than anything, I would do anything to make her happy. Which brings me to a question that I would like to ask you. I know that Hermione and I haven't been together for very long, and I know that we're young, but I really love her. I would like to ask for your daughters hand in marriage, with your blessing of course."
Tom was slightly taken aback at this. This had not been what he was expecting. "Do you really think that you are ready for marriage? You're still in school."
"The wedding wouldn't be until after we graduate. This is our last year, we're both already of age wizards. I already own my own house, and I have job offers from several departments at the ministry of magic. I know that we're young sir, but I have never been more sure of anything in my entire life."
"Does Hermione know that you are planning to ask her this?"
"Not yet. I want it to be a surprise. I was planning on proposing on Christmas." Draco was starting to worry that he was going to say no.
"Well…you seem very sincere, and you seem to care about my daughter a lot. If you believe that she feels the same way about you, you have my blessing."
Draco couldn't believe his ears, Hermione's father had just given him permission to marry his daughter. He felt like his heart was going to leap out of his chest. "Thank you sir. I promise you that I will take good care of your daughter." He reached his hand out to shake Tom's hand.
"Your welcome son." Tom shook his hand firmly, smiling at the boy who could very well be his future son-in-law.
"I've got what I need now, we should get going. We don't want to keep the ladies waiting." Draco took his items up to the register to pay. They then left the store to go meet Hermione and her mother at Flourish and Blotts.
I know that I took a ridiculously long time in updating, but I have been so busy with school. Christmas break is coming up though so hopefully I can get some updating done. Hope you like it. Please review.