Chapter 21

It had been a long time since she'd felt nervous around Draco. But nerves were exactly what she felt when he clasped her hand and began to lead her away from their gathered families on the afternoon of Boxing Day. Claire's knowing look was alternatively reassuring and disconcerting. Hermione didn't know what was going on except that something was off with him and considering how well she could usually read him, it was quite worrisome.

Her family had spent Christmas just the three of them but had come to the Manor for Boxing Day. It was the first time her parents had spent any real time with Lucius' mother or Claire's parents. Hermione had been happy to see that they all got along. She had been worried that the elder Mrs. Malfoy especially might disapprove of having muggles in the Manor, but they were all perfectly welcoming, if a bit formal. Then again, she'd never seen them act any other way. Draco, on the other hand, had been decidedly weird; quiet and withdrawn, he'd practically played with his food over dinner. So by the time he indicated that he wanted to spend some time alone with her she was a veritable ball of nerves.

He led her to what she now considered to be their window seat and she arranged herself comfortably, at home in the space if not with the situation. He settled down next to her and then smiled rather nervously as he handed her a small, wrapped package. She frowned at it. He'd already give her a Christmas present.

She had actually been surprised on Christmas morning when the gift she'd found from him under the tree had been a book. She tried to console herself by remembering that it was a rare book, one she'd been itching to read, and only Draco had known that, and so it was a thoughtful gift even if it hadn't been particularly personal. But she'd been secretly, quietly disappointed in his choice, while simultaneously being absolutely ashamed of those feelings: he was a wonderful best friend who had become a caring boyfriend, how could she possibly ask for anything more?

"What's this? You already gave me a present."

"That wasn't your main gift, Hermione. I just wanted you to have something to open on Christmas morning." He rolled his eyes. "As if I don't know better than to just get you a book," he muttered under his breath, "Mother would never forgive me."

She just stared at him for a moment before tearing the wrapping open and pulling the top off of the box. She froze at the sight of what was inside. It was a delicate ring, a band of diamonds and sapphires arranged in a intricate pattern that resembled a circlet of tiny flowers. Her heart felt like it stopped for a moment.

"Draco," she gasped.

"You said that muggles made promises to each other with rings." he explained, his eyes wide and uncertain.

"They do, and it's beautiful. But it's too much."

"Too much?" He frowned.

"Yes, your parents have already done so much for me. This is too generous."

His frown deepened and he pulled away from her slightly. "What does this have anything to do with my parents?"

"They don't need to spend this kind of money on me."

"They didn't, what are you talking about Hermione?"

Hermione searched his expression, he looked utterly confused and something suddenly occurred to her. "Are you telling me that you bought this?" she asked incredulously.

"Of course," he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I would never ask my parents to supply a gift for you," he finished, actually sounding affronted.

She just stared at him, mouth agape. "Well I assumed you got me the book, but how can you possibly afford this?" She ducked her head in embarrassment at her blunt question. "You don't have to answer that. It's just that most people our age could never afford something like this."

He put a finger under her chin and forced her to look at him. "I don't mind talking to you about this, I mean, I tell you everything anyway. I have my own money, I thought you knew that."

"I knew that you had pocket money, and I assumed that your allowance was more than mine but," she gestured to the ring still nestled in the box and shook her head in disbelief. She was only estimating, but she was fairly sure that it would take all of her allowance for at least a couple of years to purchase a piece of jewelry of equal quality to this ring.

"I have an inheritance from both of my grandfathers in addition to my trust vault, and I promise you, your ring didn't put a dent in any of that. Now, it's not like Mother and Father would allow me to go around spending it on whatever I wanted, but an acceptable gift for you? They had no problem with that. Father even helped me have it designed."

Designed. He'd had it designed for her. She took a deep breath.

The Malfoys were- obviously- incredibly wealthy, she had always known that. But somehow, before this moment she'd managed to separate that fact from the people she knew, and especially from her relationship with Draco. She looked around and unconsciously reached for his hand as it began to set in what she was meant for one day.

Because while she adored Draco- his whole family really- the idea of being the next Lady Malfoy was the most intimidating thing she'd ever considered. And this was something she was certain of: if Draco was presenting her with jewelry he was making a statement; save any major complications he meant to one day make her his wife. There were still several points at which propriety would allow each of them to back out before then, but she knew Draco better than that. He was as loyal as any Hufflepuff.

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and to find a way to accept his gift graciously. She refused to hurt his feelings by letting on how scared she was. This was simply what came from being with Draco, and he was incredibly proud of his family name and heritage, she would never want him to think it was something that she didn't want. She would accept anything to be with him and what he was offering her was actually a great honor, even if it did terrify her.

"Thank you," was all she could bring herself to say.

"You're welcome, will you wear it?"

"Of course!" She cupped his cheek with one hand. "I'm sorry I'm being silly."

"How so?"

"You were born to this Draco," she gestured to their surroundings, and then out the window to the grounds. "To me it seems a bit foreign."

The insecurity was back on his face. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No!" She hastened to assure him, she considered trying to explain to him that everything she'd ever expected for her life had changed over the past three years. Not only was she a witch who now lived in a completely separate world from the one in which she'd grown up, but she was very close to joining what could best be described as a royal family in her new world. But she'd already done enough to ruin this moment, they could work through her insecurities later. She should probably have a talk with Narcissa.

She considered slipping the ring onto her left hand, but then decided that seemed like one step too far. Even though an engagement ring was a muggle tradition, and wearing a ring on her left hand wouldn't mean anything in the magical world, she still wasn't ready to put any ring from her boyfriend on that special finger. She carefully slid the delicate piece onto her right ring finger and held out her hand to admire it.

"Did I get it right?" he asked, "your parents seemed to appreciate the thought, but I wasn't sure."

She whipped her head around to look at him, "you talked to my parents about this?"

He shrugged. "I wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wildly inappropriate."

"It's not, it's actually perfect," she said quickly, "I mean, you mean this like a promise ring, right? It's not a formal betrothal, we haven't signed anything. But people will recognize that I've entered into serious consideration for one. And let me guess," she said, twirling the ring around and around her finger, "sapphires both for my birthstone and for House Malfoy?" She gazed at him out of the corner of her eye, smirking. Their relationship would continue to be a secret but it was obvious that he was doing everything in his power to mark her as his.

"That's right," he laughed, refusing to be baited, "so are you going to tell everybody you have a boyfriend now?"

"Do you want me to?"

He shrugged but his apparent nonchalance was less than believable.

"Well I don't think I can expect to go back to school and be able to pretend that I don't. I mean, girls are like nifflers, my roommates will have this sniffed out in minutes." She lay her head down on his shoulder as she spoke, smiling to herself. The petty side of her couldn't wait to see her roommates faces when they saw her ring.

"What will you tell them about me?" He asked, taking her hand in his.

She bit her lip. "That you're smart, and fun, and hot," she snickered as she considered what she would say next. "But that my favorite thing about you is that you're really thoughtful and considerate of me," she paused dramatically, "that way there's no way they could ever think I'm talking about you."

"Hey!" He objected immediately, digging his elbow into her side in retaliation.

She laughed and turned her head to kiss his cheek. "You do spoiled prat very well and you know it," she retorted even as she yawned.

"Tired?"

"Full," she clarified immediately, "comfortable," she continued, then she let out a long, contented sigh, "happy," she finished.

He hugged her to him. "Want to take a nap?"

"Won't we be missed?"

He shrugged. "It's not like we can't be found if we're needed, and anyway, it's just our family."

He started to kick off his shoes and she followed suit and then they situated themselves so that they were laying with her head on his chest, one leg thrown over his. She sighed again and snuggled as close as she could get. They rarely had time to just be together like this at school and she loved it here with him. And then, clear as day, she knew there was something that she had to tell him. She propped herself up on one elbow so that she could see his face.

"Draco," she called, waiting until he opened his eyes, and then she smiled softly at him, "I love you."

He froze and she wasn't particularly surprised, that wasn't something she'd ever heard any of the Malfoys express. Even Lucius and Narcissa whom- she was fully convinced- were absolutely mad for each other never said it, at least not in her presence, and she hoped she hadn't crossed a line. It just seemed silly to her, she knew that they loved each other and they casually discussed the fact that they very well might marry one day, but she'd never said how she felt out loud and that seemed like a terrible oversight.

She knew he might not return the sentiment. She told herself that she was okay with that, but his silence was nerve wracking nonetheless. But then he pulled her to him, almost desperately, his hands practically clawing at her waist as if he couldn't bring her close enough.

"I love you too," he rasped.

She settled back against him then, and if the sound of his evenly beating heart and his regular breathing hadn't been quite so hypnotic, the light, giddy feeling in her chest would have kept her from falling asleep.

They walked hand in hand back into the main family sitting room about an hour later. But even whilst floating in her bubble of happiness, Lucius' absence from the room was immediately apparent to Hermione. She squeezed Draco's hand and when he returned it she knew that he had noticed the same thing.

"Where's Father?" Draco's voice broke through the chatter in the room.

Narcissa looked up from her conversation with her mum and Adele, and beamed at them. She practically jumped out of her chair, beaming, and made her way towards them. "Don't worry about that at the moment, dears. Do you have something to show us?"

Hermione glanced at Draco nervously; for some reason she hadn't expected anybody to comment on her new accessory, though she really should have known better. He let out a breath and closed his eyes in frustration. But before he could say anything Narcissa had reached them and engulfed Hermione in her arms. Narcissa had the most unique way of making her feel like the most powerful woman in the world, and like a delicate flower at the same time.

"I hope you know that I already consider you to be my daughter. This is only one more step in that direction. And if the fates should see fit, somehow, that you and Draco are not to be, please know that you will always have a place here with us," she whispered hurriedly, cupping the back of her head carefully.

"Thank you," she whispered back.

"I do love you, my sweet girl," she left a kiss on Hermione's temple but had pulled away and was fussing over Draco before a stunned Hermione could respond.

Hermione's parents came to embrace them and it was all more ceremony than she was comfortable with. But she was happy that they approved, even if she suspected that her father's endorsement was largely a reaction to Draco's recently expressed willingness to learn to play golf.

She got a big hug from Claire and more formally expressed congratulations from Draco's other relatives, though his grandmother did clasp her hand in a way that was almost affectionate and it was almost more touching to Hermione than anything else. Amidst all of this Lucius came back into the room. Hermione noticed him pull Narcissa aside and speak quietly to her while Claire was examining her ring and teasing Draco about his 'surprisingly good taste.' After a few minutes he approached them, giving her a hug and a kiss on the forehead.

"Is something the matter?" Draco asked, apparently having noticed his parent's hushed conversation as well.

Lucius sighed. "Perhaps we should speak more privately." He then excused himself, Narcissa, her and Draco, and her parents and led them to his study.

She clung to Draco's hand the whole way and when they entered the room he pulled her over to sit on a sofa while the adults settled themselves as well.

"While the two of you were gone," Lucius addressed Draco and Hermione, "I received a floo call from the Ministry, I took it in here."

Hermione fought the urge to squirm, this couldn't be good news.

"It seems that Peter Pettigrew has escaped from his holding cell."

Hermione gasped and automatically covered her mouth with her hand. She should have known something would go wrong eventually; it had all been too easy thus far. According to Lucius when he, Minister Fudge, and a pair of aurors had arrived at Hogwarts three days before to arrest the rat, Professor Dumbledore had been dubious of their story but saw no harm in checking out the claim. He'd summoned Ron to his office. Her fellow Gryffindor had arrived with Scabbers asleep in his pocket. From there it had only been a matter of asking Ron to remove him, the aurors had then forced him out of his animagus form, and stunned him. The man had never even woken up. Everybody had been predictably horrified, especially Ron, but they'd brought him back to the Ministry and locked him up without any trouble. It had seemed a rather anticlimactic ending, but in this case that had been a good thing.

After that Lucius and Minister Fudge had discussed Lucius contacting Lord Black and arranging for him to turn himself in after the New Year. Sirius had been resting, spending the majority of his time in a potions induced healing sleep in a guest room in Malfoy Manor ever since- not that the Ministry knew anything about that. His freedom was considered a foregone conclusion, it was just a matter of waiting until the Wizengamot could gather, which they wouldn't do until after the holidays. Hermione had been shocked by their lackadaisical attitude and now it seemed Pettigrew had escaped as a result. If they had been willing to call an emergency session he would have been securely ensconced in Azkaban by now.

"What does that mean for Sirius!" She cried. She'd become fond of the man. The hours he had been awake over the past few days he had prefered to spend in her and Draco's company- it was clear he didn't particularly trust the elder Malfoys- and they'd all had a chance to get to know each other. It was bizarre to converse with somebody whose knowledge of current events ended when she had been a baby, and who was more than a little mentally unstable, but under it all she could tell that he was a good man- if unfortunately rather impetuous- and he was a lot of fun to be around. Though she would like him better if she could break him of the unfortunate habit of calling her 'Kitten.' Still, she couldn't wait for Harry to meet him.

"I'm doing my best to see that this doesn't have any effect on Black's bid for freedom. I think I've convinced Fudge that he's better off with one fugitive rather than two. And Black is better as an ally than an enemy for Fudge. A career politician like him lives for opportunities to have somebody as powerful as the Head of House Black in his debt. Then, of course, there is the fact that no less than ten Ministry employees as well as myself and the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot have seen Pettigrew alive. And while they were not finished questioning him, it is my understanding that they have learned more than enough to support Black's story."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.

"But how did he escape? You people don't seem to be particularly good at keeping your prisoners locked up," Hermione's father interjected.

"You people!" Hissed Hermione.

Both her father and Lucius ignored her scandalized reaction.

"I do not know for certain, but I would wager that he has information about somebody within the Ministry that they do not want exposed, and that they aided him in escaping."

"You don't seem particularly worried."

Lucius shrugged. "It is unfortunate, and Black will be incensed, but I don't believe he presents a danger to us so I cannot be overly fussed about it. The whole of our world will be looking for him when this is made public, his animagus form will no longer be a secret. He'll need to flee or go deep underground so I doubt he'll remain in the country."

"He's a serial killer though," said her mother.

"I'm sorry I'm not familiar with that term."

"He's killed a lot of people," her father supplied, his face hard.

"I am aware, and of course I would prefer to see him in prison, but there's nothing I can do about it. I am simply relieved that he is not a danger to my family, if he wanted to hurt our children he's had ample opportunity already, attempting to do so now would be suicide. I knew him a little at Hogwarts, and after. He's not a powerful wizard, nor particularly clever. But he is also not stupid. He is a follower who does what he must to save his own skin. Like I said, I doubt he'll even remain in the country."

Her mother just sighed. Hermione knew how they worried about her when she was at Hogwarts, and about her life in the magical world in general. This wouldn't help, but at least they could all still continue to look forward to her gaining the protection of House Black.

"When will you tell Sirius?" Hermione asked after a long silence.

"At the last possible moment. He should be as recovered as possible before he turns himself in for his trial, this knowledge would only interrupt that. I'll probably have to stun him to keep him from storming down there and hexing everybody in sight. Incarcerated was a barely tolerable option to him, he wants Pettigrew dead."

Narcissa covered his hand with hers. "Can you blame him?"

Nobody had any response to that.

0000000000

They arrived back at Hogwarts just in time for dinner. The few students who had stayed were already in the Great Hall waiting for the meal. But when Harry spotted her he actually stood up and grinned and then signaled her over. She hurried over to him.

"Did you have a good Christmas?" she asked stupidly when he just continued to smile at her without giving any indication as to why.

He laughed. "That's right, you probably don't know! My Godfather's innocent! I should be able to go and live with him from now on and he's already signed my permission slip for Hogsmeade. I haven't met him yet, he's in St. Mungo's for mind healing after everything he's been through but we've been owling."

She blinked back tears, she was ecstatic for him but also heartbroken by how willing he was to allow somebody he once thought to be a traitor and a criminal and with whom he'd only exchanged a few letters to take over his guardianship. "I did read about it in the Daily Prophet, I got a subscription sent to my house," she said shyly, she hated lying to him. "I'm so happy for you Harry!" She hugged him tight but searched for Draco over his shoulder. When she met his eyes he gave her a nod, she discreetly pulled her right hand to her lips and kissed her ring. He smiled broadly, tapped the side of his nose, and looked away. She bit her lip to keep from laughing at his appropriation of that muggle gesture.

They sat down to eat the predictably wonderful feast and Harry and Ron began to tell her about their holidays. It all sounded lovely enough, though she did not envy them having stayed at Hogwarts. When they mentioned that Harry had received a broom- and not just any broom, but the best racing broom on the market- from an anonymous source for Christmas Hermione dropped her fork and she actually felt her mouth fall open as they relayed the tale. She pushed her plate away from her, feeling sick.

"Let me get this straight? You received an anonymous gift, of something as expensive as a broomstick- nonetheless- after you had just discovered that there had been a Death Eater living undiscovered in your dorm for two and a half years, and you thought it would be a good idea to just try it out?"

Harry looked hurt.

"Oh get over it Hermione, you're just jealous, it worked perfectly fine," Ron said through a mouth full of food.

Normally she would have looked away in disgust and ignored him, but she was too angry. "Jealous! I don't even like flying, in case you've forgotten. I'd say what's really going on here is that you cared so little about your best friend's safety that you were willing to risk it for a ride on a top of the line broom!"

It was the Marauders Map all over again. Within minutes of being given it by Fred and George, Harry had used the potentially dangerous magical object to sneak into Hogsmeade when he'd fully believed there was a mass murderer on the loose and after him. And Ron had thought it nothing but a lark, he hadn't given a second thought to Harry's safety. Which was why she'd recruited Draco to help her steal it from him, obviously neither of them could be trusted to use it carefully, especially over the holidays while she would not be there to supervise them. She only now knew it was safe and not some sort of trap because Sirius had confessed his part in making it. She ran her thumb over her ring in an effort to calm herself so that she could appeal to Harry's more reasonable side.

And then, perfectly timed to interrupt what could have easily turned in to a terrible row, two owls swooped in. One landed on her shoulder and very formally presented a letter to her. The other landed on the table in front of Ron, it carried a letter as well as a long package. She knew what her's contained, of course, but they were putting on a bit of a show for Harry's sake. She knew Sirius hated that he couldn't tell Harry the full truth of how he'd gained his freedom and how he knew Hermione, but even he had to admit that they were big secrets for a 13 year old boy to keep. It was hard enough for Draco and Hermione, there was no need to similarly burden Harry, and the oaths the Malfoys had put him under forbade him from telling his godson anything that they didn't approve beforehand anyway.

Hermione set her letter aside and eagerly watched Ron. The redhead could drive her crazy but- for the most part- he was a good friend to Harry and she was interested to see what Sirius had sent him as way of thanks. He ripped open the letter and read it quickly. Unlike the owl that had delivered her missive the one that had carried his had remained behind.

He eyed the creature with a smile on his face. "Lord Black, um, he told me to call him Sirius, he's sent me this owl to replace Scabbers," he laughed a little uncomfortably.

"Well, it is kind of his fault you lost your pet," Harry said good naturedly.

Ron grinned at him and then tore into the package and his eyes lit up as soon at he saw the label on the box. "A Cleansweep 4000?! Harry, mate, he said this was a thank you for being your friend, he didn't need to do this. I mean I don't need presents for that."

For once Hermione was utterly impressed with him.

Harry dipped his head and shrugged it off. "Your mum has sent me gifts every year. And anyway this is almost as much for me as it is for you. It'll be a lot more fun to practice with you riding this, those school brooms are terrible."

Ron was red and Harry was carefully studying his plate, it was obvious to Hermione that both boys were a little emotional and didn't know how to handle it. "Hey, that's like one of the best keepers brooms available, isn't it?" she interjected to break the tension.

Ron looked up at her in surprise. She just shrugged. She knew that they didn't think she listened to them when they discussed Quidditch or flying, and that was mostly true, but she loved the way that Draco's eyes lit up when he talked about either of those subjects,and as a result, she knew a lot more about it than her friends ever would have guessed.

"Hey," Ron perked up, "if Sirius bought me a broom he probably sent you the Firebolt," he said, sending Hermione a triumphant look.

It was entirely possible, Sirius had still been in hiding at Malfoy Manor on Christmas day, so if he had sent Harry a present it made sense that he had done so anonymously. But that begged the question about why he hadn't claimed credit once he had started writing to Harry. Then again, he still wasn't in the most logical frame of mind, and it may just not have occurred to him. He would need every day of the mind healing St. Mungo's was providing him before Hogwarts let out for the summer. She took a deep breath, and looked at Harry pleadingly.

"Maybe he did Harry. But maybe he didn't. People have tried to hurt you by jinxing a broom in the past, remember Quirrel? And just because it worked the first time doesn't mean it's safe, it could have something like a time released curse on it. At least write Sirius and make sure it's from him before you ride it again. Please, I just want you to be safe."

She held his gaze and willed him to understand. She didn't want to ruin his fun, but she'd never forgive herself if he got hurt because she wanted to avoid a fight. Finally he began to slowly nod. She heard Ron huff in annoyance but she refused to look at him.

"What does your letter say?" Harry asked, after a moment his eyes were back to looking happy and he was obviously holding back a smile.

She peeled open the seal and read the contents carefully, even though she already knew what it said, they would never believe she wouldn't be very deliberate about reading it.

"Lord Black is offering me the patronage of House Black," she said quietly, she looked up to see that Harry was grinning at her and practically bouncing in his seat.

"Do you know what that means?"

She nodded. "Yes I've read about it." He gave her a knowing look and she shrugged at him. "He would act in loco parentis for me in the magical world. I would be like a child of House Black, just like you are as his godson. It's a big deal, and a great honor."

Harry nodded eagerly and Hermione was pleased that Sirius seemed to have explained it thoroughly to him; she knew that he had asked Harry's permission before formally making her the offer, but she had still been somewhat concerned that he would feel some jealousy over sharing his newly discovered parental figure. She should have known better, that really wasn't in Harry's nature.

"Padfoot told me that you made friends with a stray dog last fall," he said quietly, Sirius' animagus form was not public knowledge, but he'd 'informed' her of it in his letter and he'd obviously told Harry too. "Thank you for taking care of him."

"Oh Harry," she cried, throwing his arms around is neck, "I was just being nice to a sweet dog, I didn't know who he was. If I had and had known he was innocent I would have taken care of him for your sake, of course, but I really can't take credit for what I did do."

"Still," he insisted, "he said that you helped him get his mind back on the right track so that he could find a way to get his name cleared. I have my godfather back because of you."

She swallowed thickly. She hated taking credit for things that were largely Draco, Lucius, and Narcissa's doing, but she had a cover story to maintain. And she was so happy to see him so happy.

"Well, you're giving me more credit than I deserve, but if it's okay with you and my parents I will happily accept his offer."

For the first time in their friendship he leaned over and gave her a hug. "You'll be kind of like my sister, then," he murmured to her.

Tears sprung to her eyes and she just nodded against his neck. When they pulled apart she accidentally met Ron's eyes across the table and it took all of her considerable training from Narcissa, in hiding her emotions, to keep from recoiling away from the ugly, jealous look on his face. That was a complication she hadn't anticipated.

Author's note: Thank you Weestarmeggie for beta reading, and talking me through my issues with this chapter, you are wonderful! And thanks to the rest of you for being patient in the longer than usual time between updates, and for the continued fabulous response to this fic. I hope y'all aren't to disappointed Pettigrew is once again on the loose :)