Granger cast the charms on Draco's back quickly behind the locked door of the guest room. He was grateful for her assistance in healing the soreness he felt — which was admittedly probably a combination of the floor and the flight. "Okay, we better get back downstairs before Wendell thinks we're snogging up here. Mr. Mile High Club." She shot an irritated glare in his direction.
"Are you ever going to let that go?"
"Probably not. But I might find it more amusing — or at least less mortifying — which some distance."
Fair enough. They went back downstairs to discover that Wendell was just getting ready to head out. "Oh, I'm glad I caught you before I left. I'm just popping out to the store. We need a few more groceries, what with our unexpected guest." Wendell smiled fondly at Draco and Hermione, but Granger cringed at his words.
"Oh, I'm so sorry about that Wendell. I don't wish to be a bother." Hermione shifted uncomfortably.
Draco felt he needed to intervene. "Nonsense, Hermione. I'm the one who brought you and didn't tell them. I am sorry Wendell, I just wanted to surprise Mother. I didn't think about how that would affect your preparations." Things were quite different when you didn't have house elves constantly available to magically summon anything at a moment's notice. Draco had truly never thought about how it would be different in a Muggle household. He hadn't meant to inconvenience the man.
"It is no trouble at all, but I'd like to get out to the store soon as grocery stores this close to Christmas are almost frighteningly hectic. Now, Hermione. Any food preferences or allergies that I should be aware of?"
Hermione gave him a small smile, her eyes a bit sad. "No. No allergies. And I am confident that I will like whatever food you make."
Wendell gave Narcissa a quick kiss on the cheek and left for the store. Hermione watched out a side window until Wendell's car had left the driveway. Then she withdrew her wand and muttered a quick charm. "Okay, there's a ward around the property. When he returns and trips it, the lights in the house will blink on and off twice."
Draco and Narcissa both looked at her with near identical expressions of mild puzzlement. "So you can speak freely now and know when to stop talking about anything magical?" Granger explained, slowly.
"Oh! That's extraordinarily clever dear!" Narcissa beamed at Hermione. Draco nodded beside his mother. It was a smart idea.
"Thank you, Narcissa." Hermione said stiffly. "I have some experience with hiding things from Muggles."
"You have indeed." It was Narcissa's turn to look nervous. She took a deep breath and then turned so she was fully facing the younger witch. "Hermione. You must know that I was not aware of my husband's connections to you when we met or married. I had no idea he was your father. Not until you arrived in Australia and Draco informed me."
"I know." Hermione said simply.
"I also wish for you to know that I am very sorry. For everything that occurred during the war."
"I know that too." There was a longer pause while Narcissa looked at her clasped hands, before Hermione spoke again. "Doesn't quite fix anything though, does it?"
"Hermione, will you permit me to give you some context? For my own actions?" Granger nodded, her own eyes bright with unshed tears. Narcissa took a deep breath before she spoke, but her voice never wavered. "I never had any choices in my life — not truly. I know what it looked like from the outside. In a lot of ways, I was very privileged. But in less obvious ways, I was not. I was raised from birth for marriage to a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight whom I was obligated to provide with an heir. Full stop. I had little agency in my life. I was not asked if I wanted to be married at all, never mind who I wanted to marry. What little power I had in my role as Lady Malfoy, I acknowledge that I did not always exercise appropriately. I might have been able to do something more for you when you were at the Manor, I don't know. At the time, I did not think I could help you without being caught. And if I was caught, either myself or Draco would be severely punished for it. Or worse. So my fear held me back from doing anything. By that point, I had already seen Draco crucio'd enough."
Hermione looked sharply over at Draco, who merely shrugged. Granger seemed surprised. What had she thought happened under Voldemort? The Dark Lord wasn't much for mentorship or constructive criticism. If you failed him, he tortured you. If he felt like it, he tortured you. Or killed you. Mother's fears were well-founded. He had been crucio'd after Granger and her friends had escaped the Manor.
Hermione chewed her lip for a moment, before responding to Narcissa. "I quite understand what it's like to make hard choices to protect your loved ones, Narcissa. Truly. That is why I sent my parents here with no memory of me or of their old life, so they wouldn't be tracked down and murdered by your houseguests while my friends and I saved all of Wizarding Britain. So while I can appreciate that your life has had its share of obstacles, the obstacles you and your family helped put in my path are directly responsible for this happy home you now find yourself living in. Meanwhile, I'm still orphaned. You seem to love my dad, which I do appreciate. And you are very fortunate that you met him after he was already divorced or this entire trip would be going a lot differently."
Narcissa blinked and nodded, exhaling a bit shakily before she continued. "I love Wendell, Hermione. I want him safe and protected as well. And I know — not just think, you understand. But know — that if you had not been so brave and so selfless, that man would be dead right now. I was already forever in your debt for your service to our world during the war, and then again after you testified for Draco at his trial. Now —" His mother seemed at a loss for words, looking out the window in the direction Wendell had left, before turning back to Hermione. "He loves you, child. Even if he doesn't remember it."
Hermione gave a slight shrug, her expression sad. "Perhaps. But let me make something very clear. I'm not here to be evaluated by my boyfriend's mother. I am here evaluating my father's new wife. As far as I'm concerned, it does not matter if he ever remembers or even if he likes me. The safety and well-being of both of my parents will always be of utmost importance to me and I think I've made it quite clear the lengths I am willing to go to see them safe. And preferably happy."
Narcissa nodded. Draco shifted his weight, not wanting to interrupt, but not exactly enjoying seeing Granger's prodigious mind directed at his mother either.
Hermione's voice softened. "As long as he is in a healthy relationship, Narcissa, you and I will have no problems."
Narcissa let out a small sigh of relief. "Then we are of an accord, my dear. I would not let anything harm your father. Anything. Save for the days I have spent with my son, I have never been as happy as I am with Wendell."
Hermione made a small laugh. "Well, I hope you like your new last name then, since it's from the alias I selected for them."
"He has a fine name, dear. Either of them. All of them, I suppose. But out of curiosity, why did you choose it?"
"Oh, nothing clever about it. Wilkins means son of William and my grandfather was William Granger."
Narcissa smirked. "I think that's a bit clever, don't you Draco?"
Draco held up his thumb and forefinger perpendicular to each other. "A bit." And he winked at her. Hermione blushed and let out an embarrassed laugh, as a lot of the tension eased out of the room.
Narcissa watched their exchange with an assessing gaze and cleared her throat. "And may I ask you what your intentions are towards my son?" she asked, raising a single eyebrow at Hermione.
This time, Hermione's laughter was more genuine. "None whatsoever. He tolerates me working in the same office as him, that's it. He thought he recognized your new husband so he showed me your wedding photograph. You looked stunning, by the way. I'm not sure I had seen you actually smile before."
Narcissa smiled as she looked down. "Yes, well. Wendell brings it out in me. He is a very good man, Hermione. I intend to do my absolute best to make him happy for the rest of our lives together."
"And you are happy to just give up magic? Forever?" she asked. This was the biggest question on Draco's mind about the entire situation. He turned to his mother as well, very curious about her answer.
"I haven't given it up entirely, if that is what you are asking me. I'm keeping my wand for emergencies. But I am happy to live as a Muggle, as long as I'm doing it with him," Narcissa smiled fondly as she spoke about her new husband. Draco was struck again by how soft his mother seemed in her new life.
"That is good to hear. However, since I'm not actually dating your son I won't have a reason to officially visit you in the future. It would mean a lot to me if you could keep me informed about my father? I worry about him a great deal."
"Why yes! Of course, dear. I would have been doing that already if I had only known. And I assume you wish for me to keep you informed about your mother as well?"
"You know my mother?" Granger's eyes widened and she sounded surprised.
"Of course, dear. Wendell and Monica still work together at their dental practice. And we have her over for dinner — oh, at least once every other week. We would be having her over for Christmas, but she's off on a surfing retreat."
"My mother is surfing? Over Christmas?" Granger asked, clearly surprised by this development.
"A hobby she picked up post-divorce, so I'm told. Said she never felt as free as she does on the waves. Monica will be back early in the new year. I will see if we can have her to the house before you two leave. I'll just tell her I want to introduce her to Draco. Monica had told me she was disappointed that she was going to miss out on meeting him this Christmas."
Hermione blinked back tears. "Thank you, Narcissa. That would mean more to me than I can say."
Narcissa smiled at the younger witch. "I don't want you to think of me as your enemy, Hermione. Quite the contrary."
"I don't think of you as an enemy, Narcissa. For the most part, I am reserving judgement." She sighed and offered up a small smile in return. "But I have to say that so far this is a lot better than I had expected."
Narcissa actually grinned in response, she was so happy to hear she had Granger's tentative approval. Granger let out a sigh of relief, before saying that she would give them some space so Draco could catch up with his mother. She left, presumably to go read some of the mountain of books she had brought with her. Draco turned his full attention to his mother, glad it was finally his turn to get some answers. He just looked at her for a long moment, uncertain how to begin.
Narcissa assessed her silent son. "Out with it, my dragon. You disapprove?"
"I wouldn't say that. Wendell seems like a decent man. And you seem very happy." His words were measured. Cautious.
Narcissa smiled. "I am, in fact. But —" She left the word hanging in the air, obviously promtpting Draco to ask her about what he really wanted to know.
"How can you live like this mum? How can you hide something so essential about yourself and still be happy?" Draco still couldn't understand it. Even after seeing them together he simply couldn't wrap his mind around his mother's choices. Although like Granger, he had to admit that the situation on the ground in Australia was better than he had imagined — or feared it would be before they arrived.
Narcissa furrowed her brow as she considered her response. "Draco, I understand your concerns. Truly. But I think for you to understand my choices, I'm going to have to explain a bit about what my former life was like from my perspective."
Draco nodded.
"At the outset, I need to make it very clear that I do not regret anything in my life that allowed me to have you, Draco. You are worth everything that happened. No matter how much I love Wendell, I will always love you more."
Draco felt tears form behind his eyes and he swallowed roughly.
"I do not feel like I am hiding. Not anymore. And I know what it's like to hide because I had to hide who I was my entire life. My parents — your grandparents — were obsessed with blood purity. When they only had daughters, they channelled that obsession into seeing that we were raised to be grateful and accommodating wives to wizards of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Early on in our marriage, even when things were better between your father and myself, I still was not allowed to be 'me'. I was his wife. An accessory. I was expected to be a feature in his life and not permitted to have any interests or desires of my own. And then the Dark Lord was resurrected. And you saw how magic was used in our own home. I do not miss magic, not really. Not after that. And I do not miss having to hide everything about myself simply to survive."
Draco felt his heart squeeze. He had thought his mother was reserved, but he had also thought she had been happy . At least before Voldemort returned. Before the war. Draco nodded, hopeful she would continue.
"Now, I get to decide what I'm going to do. And how I'm going to do it. And I never once had that before. Wendell doesn't know the particulars of my past. And he doesn't know about magic. But he knows me better than anyone else ever has — including you, love. But I would very much like for you to get to know me better. Now that you can."
Draco moved closer to his mother and pulled her into a hug, enveloping her smaller form. "I love you, Mother. I hope you know that I just want you to be happy."
"I love you too, Draco." She hugged him tighter, whispering into his ear. "And if you want to call me 'mum', you can. But you do not feel like you have to."
'Mum' — the informality of Narcissa Wilkins was going to take some getting used to, but Draco couldn't say he was upset by the changes in his mother. She was happy. And she had been so unhappy before — far more so than he realised. He'd have to work his way up to 'Mum' though. Draco wasn't sure that he could change as easily as Narcissa appeared to have.
"I'll think about it. But please, if there's a next time? Owl me before you get married? I don't see how it's possible for you to top marrying Hermione Granger's father, but better safe than sorry, yeah?" His mother laughed in his arms and wiped away tears, still smiling. He wondered if her cheeks hurt, or if she had gotten used to smiling this frequently in the months before Draco arrived in Australia.
"Now Mother, I would love to see your paintings. Can you show me your studio?"
She did. She walked him through her works in progress, the techniques she had tried, the ones she wanted to try and showed Draco some more of the paintings she had displayed in other parts of the house. His mother really seemed to come alive when she spoke about her projects — her passion for her new hobby evident in her voice.
"I don't see much of a garden around here. Is that because you haven't had time to put one in yet?" Draco asked.
"Oh, I had my fill of gardening over the years." She waved her hand dismissively, but her cheeks were turning red. Draco's curiosity was piqued by her response.
"Mother?" he asked, looking at her intently.
"It's just, I don't really enjoy gardening on its own." Narcissa confessed in a rush.
"What?" Draco could hardly believe his ears. The gardens at Malfoy Manor, which he now was obligated to pay an entire team of magical gardeners to maintain, had been his mother's secondary pride and joy throughout his lifetime — the first being himself, naturally. When the weather was good, Narcissa had spent most of her day outside, tending to her garden. Assuming she had no other engagements with Father and his associates where her participation was required. When the weather was poor, she worked in the solarium. Her collection of rare plants was almost as extensive as Hogwarts, for the love of Merlin. Their gardens were famous throughout the magical world and it was all due to his mother's effort. For most of his childhood, his mother and gardening were synonymous. The idea that she didn't enjoy gardening was almost more shocking than discovering she had married a Muggle.
Although nothing was topping the revelation that the Muggle in question was actually Granger's father.
"It was the best of the available options for me at the Manor. And because Lucius did not care about it — as long as it looked impressive he wanted no part in it — so I could play around with it a bit. It was deemed an appropriate occupation for a Sacred Twenty Eight wife."
Draco hugged his mother again, feeling both guilt over not knowing this about her and a sense of relief that she was now free to live her life on her own terms. He never realised she had felt so stifled.
"Does this mean I can get rid of the peacocks?" he asked.
She returned his hug with a laugh. "My dear, I cannot believe you haven't done so already. Nasty creatures."
—
The rest of the day was spent mostly in conversation with his mother. Hermione kept to herself until after Wendell came back and then she volunteered to help him put away groceries and make dinner.
By the time they were all seated around the dinner table in the evening, there were more than a few occasions where Hermione seemed to forget her nerves and she genuinely engaged with her father on a topic in a way that Draco just knew was old habit from their old life. The back and forth, the meeting of very similar minds was a joy to watch. But then Granger would withdraw and spend some time looking at her hands, most likely processing her own complicated memories.
The third time she drew back like that, Draco put his arm around her and leaned in close. "Are you alright, Granger? Are you too exhausted to stay up any longer?" He turned across the table with an apologetic smile to Wendell and his mother. "Plane lag, I'm afraid. I think she's still tired from travelling."
"No, sorry. I am a bit tired but I would like to stay." Hermione squeezed his hand under the table and gave him a grateful smile. " Jet lag." She murmured, correcting his Muggle expressions yet again. Swot, he thought with more affection than irritation. Draco nodded at her and squeezed her hand back.
Wendell began clearing plates, telling them he would go fix them all some tea. After he was in the kitchen, Hermione leaned over to whisper in Draco's ear. "I expect you want to get on good terms with your new step-father, yeah? You should go join him."
"Ah, yes. Thank you dear." Draco kissed Hermione on the forehead, as he stood up before leaving the room to join her father in the kitchen. He was leaving the room before he realised that Wendell had not been in eyesight when he'd kissed Granger. Draco blushed slightly, now aware that he'd kissed her for no specific purposes except that he wanted to. Hopefully Granger wouldn't mind.
Wendell was grateful for the assistance, and he directed Draco to the cupboards where the teacups and saucers were kept, as he was attending to the dinner plates by the sink.
"Your girlfriend seems lovely," Wendell said as he set up the kettle, looking over at Draco with a friendly smile.
"Yes, sir. I'm very lucky to have her!"
"Indeed. Several times tonight I felt like I was talking to an old friend. Marvellous girl."
Draco internally winced at the reminder that Wendell couldn't remember his daughter. But then he realised he had just been handed a golden opportunity to tell Wendell Wilkins — formerly known as Richard Granger — a Muggle-appropriate version of his daughter's many accomplishments, under the guise of bragging about his 'girlfriend.' He sat the cups and saucers out on the tray, thinking quickly.
"Wendell, I couldn't agree more. As you can see, she's obviously very beautiful. Hermione is also brilliant. Definitely the smartest person I've ever met. Maybe the smartest person ever, but please don't tell her I said that — she'll be unmanageable if she knows I think that highly of her. We work together as well and she is a very hard worker. In fact, I don't think she's ever given anything less than her full effort and a tenth of her effort is better than most people's best. She's very loyal to people she cares about and she's probably also the bravest person I've ever met. There is nothing she won't do to protect the people she loves."
"Wow. Very impressive. How fortunate that such a rare specimen has such a fine beau in you." He winked at Draco, a knowing smile across his face.
Draco stiffened. "I don't know about that."
"What do you mean, son?"
"I —" How could he adequately explain to Wendell that Hermione was far too good for him? Draco needed to get the general idea across, without mentioning magic or the war or the fact that Wendell was actually Hermione's dad. "For starters, it took me a lot longer than it ought to have — to figure all that out about her. I was a right git to her for years . I bullied her, essentially, when we were children. I only stopped being overtly terrible to her by our last year in school. And then, to her great misfortune, we got jobs in the same office. And eventually, she learned to tolerate me. And for some reason, she likes me enough to come with me to Australia. I'm a lucky wi — man. I'm a lucky man, Wendell. But I do not deserve her."
"Well, I don't know about that. There must be something you've done right, for her to come here with you for Christmas. You two seem well suited to each other. Clearly, you're both exceptionally bright people and you seem to be very in sync. I think she's just made a logical decision to spend time with someone that she has great chemistry with. And you're clearly in love with her, so, I say just go with it."
Draco froze. He wasn't in love with Granger, obviously. Wendell had seen him smile at her a lot, but that was only because they were pretending to be a couple. Except, if Draco was being honest with himself — which he frankly tried to avoid whenever possible, as his life was difficult enough thank you — Draco wasn't pretending to smile. It was more like he finally had permission to express a smile he would have previously kept suppressed with a mask of professionalism mixed with a heavy dose of sarcasm.
Granger was funny — she was far more sarcastic and quick-witted than he had known. It was no wonder her relationship with the Weasel tanked. If that prat understood half of what Granger said, Draco would eat his wand. She was fun to be around too, which Draco never would have expected. Something about having to be close to one another while they navigated this absolutely deranged scenario had led her to be open and unguarded with him — in a way he had never seen before. And it wasn't like Granger was only guarded with him — she was like that with everyone. Even Potter or the Weasel to a certain extent, unless he missed his guess. But their parents' improbable marriage had led her to drop her mask and show him a glimpse of the witch hiding underneath.
And Draco liked it.
He liked her.
Oh fuck, he liked Hermione Granger.
And worse, he was now very curious to see how mutual that feeling was. But there was no hope that she'd see him in a similar light.
Right?