-1Disclaimer - The original characters obviously belong to Jo Rowling, but the kids are all mine! And I s'pose it's obvious the idea for the plot came from the TV show Wife Swap, though strangely enough, I've never actually watched it!
The next morning it took Hermione a moment to realise where she was when she woke up. The grand room could not have been more different to the bedroom she shared with Ron in her own home. The room Draco had put her in was decorated in the traditional Slytherin deep jade green and silver, and she was currently residing in a gigantic, mahogany four poster bed, with green velvet hangings. She stretched luxuriously; the bed was so much more comfortable than her and Ron's. Her hand flew to her mouth, and she felt immediately guilty for comparing this room to hers. Yes, it was opulent, but it was also a Malfoy room. There was a gentle knock on the door, and Hermione called for whoever it was to come in. Pulling the hangings back, she saw Draco's blonde head poke around the door.
"Good morning Hermione." he said cheerfully. "Did you sleep well?" Hermione smiled.
"Like a baby!" Draco took a step into the room, and Hermione could see he was dressed in immaculately pressed black trousers and a crisp white shirt.
"Well, breakfast is ready whenever you are! I am sorry, I'm going to have some work to do today, so I'm afraid I will be out of the house for most of the day. That means you'll be left with the children. It's the way it usually is, and of course this week the house is run the same way as it normally is."
"That's no problem Draco," Hermione said warmly. "Are the children up yet?"
"You mean you can't hear them?" he laughed. "They've been up for about fifteen minutes, they're playing a game in the garden before breakfast." Hermione felt a wave of guilt.
"Oh Draco, they're not waiting for me are they? Before they can have breakfast?" Draco nodded, smiling at the stricken expression on her face.
"Don't worry, we always eat breakfast together. It's no problem." With that, he left the room, closing the door with a soft click. Hermione jumped out of bed and dressed quickly in a pair of dove grey trousers and a pale blue jumper. Running a brush through her hair, she decided to charm it into submission to save time. With her frizzy hair now cascading in small curls down her back, she made her way downstairs.
Draco was sat at the table in the dining room, reading the morning's Daily Prophet. As he heard Hermione enter he looked up and smiled.
"I'll just go and get the girls." he said, beginning to rise from his chair. Hermione held a hand up to stop him.
"It's alright Draco, you carry on reading, I'll get them."
A few minutes later Hermione was back, holding each girl by the hand. They sat at the table, and enjoyed a lively breakfast, with plenty of conversation. Almost before he had finished Draco had stood up and moved away from the table.
"I'm dreadfully sorry, but I really need to be off now." he explained. The girls got up from the table, and ran to their father to give him goodbye kisses.
"I'll see you later on then Draco." Hermione said cheerfully. He waved in reply, and apparated away. Hermione turned to the two girls.
"Now, what would you two like to do today?" she asked. Christina frowned, while Lucia chewed on her lower lip, both looking deep in thought. Hermione grinned.
"I'll tell you what, how about you play outside for a little longer until you decide?" The girls nodded fiercely, and Hermione laughed at their eagerness. "Can I ask you a question first girls? Daddy told me you had a nice big library with books I could read, can you show me where it is?" Christina nodded, and grabbed Hermione's hand.
"I'll show you," she said, "come on!"
The girls led Hermione to the library, pointing out rooms of interest to her on the way. They stopped outside a set of massive oak doors, and Lucia gestured to them.
"It's behind those doors." she said.
"Thank you very much," Hermione replied, "do you two want to go on outside and I'll come out and see you in two minutes?"
"Ok then." Christina agreed cheerfully, dragging her little sister behind her as she ran off. Hermione pushed open one of the doors and gasped again. She had always known that the Malfoy's were filthy rich, rolling in money, and knew that Malfoy Manor was one of the biggest wizard mansions in the country, but it was much bigger than she could ever have imagined. The library had to be nearly as big as the Hogwarts library, and was crammed full of books. Hermione started to scan the shelves, looking for something that piqued her interest. She was slightly perturbed by the fact that all of the books seemed to be about the Dark Arts, and not defence against them either. She sighed. She knew what kind of family the Malfoy's were - had been, she mentally corrected herself - she didn't know why she was so surprised. However, a book entitled "Magic Against Mudbloods" was not exactly her idea of light reading for a summer's day. She settled for a book about the history of the wizarding world, after a quick flick through showed that it was in no way derogatory towards muggle borns, and appeared something similar to a book Professor Binns might have used. She was strangely unsettled by her experience in the library, and couldn't shake the feeling, even a she sat in the Malfoy's huge gardens in the sunlight, watching the children play. Draco had left the Dark side, he wasn't a Death Eater. So why did he continue to keep such books in his home?