Hermione Granger stepped out of the fireplace and brushed the dust off of herself. A house elf greeted her.

"I need to speak to Narcissa right away, please," Hermione told him.

Her annoyance and frustration grew by the minute...she couldn't believe that she had been lied to her whole life. And add to that her lingering discomfort in regards to coming to Malfoy Manor after everything and...well.

"Right this way, Miss. Mistress is entertaining in the parlor." The sickening to her stomach built, memories of the first and last time she was in the drawing room and the torture she suffered at Narcissa's crazy sister's hands still assaulting her. Not that Narcissa ever allowed her elves to lead her toward that particular wing after everything.

To top it all off, though, Hermione was confused as she walked with Stinky through the Malfoys' beautiful home. Her heels clicked on the hardwood floors, drawing the attention of beautiful paintings that looked like they belonged to a museum. Pictures of Malfoy ancestors that would usually call her nast names like Mudblood when she had tea with Narcissa, now seemed like they were actually happy to see her.

As Stinky opened the parlor door, Hermione could see the room was occupied by two other people other than Narcissa and Lucius. Hermione's lungs sucked in breath as she recognized two death eaters, one of whom had tried to kill her twice. Her hand found her wand at once, and Hermione advanced further into the room, settling into a fighting stance. All eyes had turned toward her.

Narcissa stood up and carefully walked toward Hermione. "Hermione, let's not have any more bloodshed in this house, please."

Hermione still had her wand raised "That son of a bitch has tried to kill me twice and now you are entertaining him? Are you fucking kidding me?" She yelled.

While Dolohov had been immediately recognizable, the other one took her a minute. He had shoulder-length blonde hair and a short beard. She thought he looked like Thorfinn Rowle who was a couple years older than her in school. They both were sitting in armchairs, facing the couch thatNarcissa and Lucius occupied.

The older witch's gaze never wavered from her . "Please, Hermione, will you at least listen to what they have to say?"

Hermione glared at the woman. "I'm keeping my wand in my hand, and they better keep theirs in their holsters."

Narcissa came over to her and, taking Hermione's hand, led her to where the men were sitting. As they saw them approaching, Lucius, who had stayed quiet before, stood and muttered, "Welcome to our home, Miss Granger."

Hermione glared at him as well.

They walked over to the two other men. The older looking one whispered something Hermione didn't understand.

"What?"

"I am sorry for... for everything," the dark-haired wizard murmured.

"Oh yeah, because that really fixes everything!" Hermione looked at him. "I don't know if I will ever be able to forgive."

"Annika..."Dolohov said

"My name is Hermione," Hermione said, punctuating every word as Narcissa pulled her to sit on the couch next to her.

Lucius Conjured a chair for himself across from the couch. "Perhaps it would be best to start from the beginning, shall we?"

"Hermione, this Antonin Dolohov," Narcissa said. "But it seems you already know that." As she tried to ease the tension in the room.

"I will explain everything, but first…" The man in question waved towards his companion. "l want to introduce you to your betrothed, Thorfinn Rowle."

"What?! I refuse to marry him."

Thorfinn rose to his full height, reaching at least six foot tall, and walked over near her, ignoring her raised wand.

"It's not like I'm thrilled to marry you either," he said, rolling his eyes.

Narcissa looked between her and Thorfinn, pinching the bridge of her nose."Thorfinn, you're not supposed to piss her off even more."

As the blond wizard knelt before her, Hermione couldn't help but think he was gorgeous, not that she would ever tell him. He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. Her breathing quickened, and she ripped her hand out of his. "What do you think you are doing?"

Hermione was so mad it was a wonder steam wasn't coming out of her ears.

They stayed like that - Hermione glaring daggers at him while he faced her full on - until they heard someone clear their throat

"Can you stop trying to antagonize my daughter, Thor?"

The blond man - no, death eater, looked at Hermione, and she could feel herself flush, confused at the change in his gaze. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart, you probably have a lot of questions."

"Don't call me sweetheart," Hermione growled, then trained her gaze on the dark-haired wizard. "You said you'd explain?"

Narcissa reached over and gently took her hand."I can't imagine how you feel, my dear, but we will get everything sorted out as soon as Severus arrives."