Chapter 2
At first he didn't notice either the sudden silence so unusual in the Great Hall, or the appearance of Hermione Garnger in the company of his grandfather. He was too thoughtful. He couldn't help but analyze the degree of intimacy between those two people. Abraxas Malfoy never mentioned Granger in his diaries. It turns out that for some reason he carefully hid this information even from his son.
His thoughts were interrupted only when Theodore Nott elbowed him in the side of the torso. - "Turn around when someone is talking to you. You could at least pretend to listen instead of letting me feel ignored." - Draco realized that one of his closest friends was extremely annoyed, which very rarely happened to him.
"What do you mean?" - he growled, after a moment he felt awkward, it wasn't Theo's fault that his world turned upside down.
The dark-haired wizard nodded, and young Malfoy's eyes instinctively followed that gesture. Thanks to this, he saw a smiling Gryffindor, Hermione Granger standing above him - "What do you want?"
"You and Nott are my property". - A delicate blush appeared on her cheeks - "You are my property today." - There was overconfidence in her voice as she corrected herself.
Draco looked at her, wondering what she meant. She must have seen his hesitation, because after a moment she waved two passes in his face, signed by both their Head of House, Severus Snape, and the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore.
"What are you going to do with us?" - he asked, trying to sound uninterested.
To his surprise, Granger turned to Nott. A smile appeared on her face, which was returned by Theo. For the first time in a long time, he saw the sarcastic wizard smile. There is no grimace resembling a smile on his face, only a sincere smile. It was in that moment that Draco realized that Theo knew exactly what the witch was up to.
"In half an hour, as always. You be… I'm sorry, you both be ready. Snacks will be as always."
The blond boy watched with angry eyes as his grandfather wrapped his arm around the waist of the Gryffindor girl he liked. He was shocked that she didn't mind it. The fact that she was just calmly walking by his side towards the exit of the Great Hall. As soon as the door closed behind the two of them, he turned to his colleague and asked with a clear anger in his voice. - "What is this all about? You're seeing Granger and I don't know anything about it?"
"You act like it's a big deal. We've gotten a little closer lately, that's all. It's normal when you share common interests with someone. Hurry up. We need to wear something suitable for playing Quidditch."
"WHAT?!" - Blaise Zabini interjected, thus forestalling Draco Malfoy in asking the question. "Is she flying on a broom of her own free will? Everyone in this damn school knows that this witch hates flying and only uses it as a last resort."
A mysterious smile appeared on the face of the heir of the Nott family. - "Flying? That's an understatement. To be honest, she is one of the best flyers I know. Fortunately, she doesn't play for Gryffindor. She had mentioned several times that she wouldn't be playing against Slytherin. Her words finally made sense." - The group of Slytherins had heard Theo talk about anything in such a dreamy way for the first time.
Pansy Parkinson had one thought in her mind as she listened to the conversation. And that was the thought she unconsciously spoked aloud. "If she's as good as Theo says, I'd like to see her play a friendly game against Potter."
Draco smiled under his breath. Hermione became a Slytherin. Hermione doesn't play against Slytherin but will Hermione play FOR Slytherin?
xxx
Meanwhile, the two friends were walking towards the pitch without saying a word. Abraxas Malfoy was relieved that despite Hermione's S.P.E.W mishap, the house elves had prepared a picnic basket of snacks for them. He remembered his reaction when he first heard about it. He couldn't believe Hogwarts had abolished the Wizarding Culture class over the years. They were useful not only for students of Muggle descent, but also for those who wanted to learn about customs that didn't belong to the family from which they came. This was useful in building relationships with wizards from other communities.
These classes were led by Armando Dippet's schedule. Apparently, according to Albus Dumbledore, they weren't very useful.
"Is he always like this?" - Brax broke the awkward silence a bit selfishly, he wanted to change the direction of his thoughts.
Hermione answered almost automatically. She felt surprised by his question. - "I don't understand. What do you think he is?"
"My grandson is very similar to me physically but mentally... He seems very bitter." - Saddened, Abraxas came to the conclusion that something bad must have happened in his family. In his day, the Malfoys were known for their innate cheerfulness.
Hermione looked at her friend. She knew she hadn't spent as much time with him as she had with Harry and Ron, but she had a stronger bond with him anyway. She could easily read his emotions. That's why she had no problem seeing that despite the smile on his face, he was tense and stressed.
"I don't know if he's always like this. He was always rough with me. He liked to point out that I was inferior to him because of my blood. However, I've seen him smile while he is reading books. I saw how much time he spent in the library over the years. How good he is with the younger Slytherins. I saw how much he enjoyed dancing at the Yule Ball in fourth year..."
Abraxas Malfoy once again saw the sparkle in the eyes of the witch he treated as his sister. A flash behind which there was both sadness and joy. This time he sensed something else. But he wasn't ready to ask her about that.
"You love him?"
She stopped. He knew he was overreacting, but he needed to know if her feelings were still there. He could provide her with this relationship, even though he knew her opinion about arranged marriages. Hermione Granger believed in marrying for love.
The brunette looked him in the eyes, unaware of the tears flowing down her cheeks. - "You know about it. Why do you ask?"
"I'm asking because Draco seems to be an even bigger asshole than I imagined after hearing your stories."
It wasn't long before he saw the witch close her eyes and her body shiver. How has no one noticed how she is? How long does it take? Were her friends not paying attention to her? After a while he heard a whisper.
"Hold me. Help me. I don't want them to see me cry."
He embraced Hermione. And he held her even though two boys appeared on the horizon for whom they were both waiting. He held her until he heard one of them grunt.
"Granger? Why should we be prepared to play? I think we interrupted your date." - The younger Malfoy's snort was filled with anger.
Hermione, even though she was embarrassed by the situation she found herself in and felt a blush on her face, answered confidently. "If you care so much about a match between me and Abraxas, I'll go on a date with him without witnesses.I will evaluate his manual skills. I know that his body looks amazing. Naked body even better. I wanted to play. However, we might as well just eat something and talk. When Dumbledore told me to take you on a trip with Brax, I just couldn't resist taking Theo."
One very specific question popped into Draco Malfoy's mind. Why had she chosen Nott of all people?
"I feel like I know what you're thinking. Why not Potty Or Weasel? That's right?"
The boy said nothing but nodded vigorously in agreement.
"I have a fondness for Theo. One morning he caught me trying to learn to fly. And he understood that I wanted to learn to fly for the sake of flying, not for playing Quidditch. Harry is obsessed with this game. The moment he realized what my skills were, he'd force me to join the team..."
Both Draco and Theo watched the dynamic between Abraxas Malfoy and Hermione Granger. Smiles, discreet touches… If Draco hadn't personally heard that these two were treating each other like siblings, he could have sworn there was more going on between them.
"Besides, even though they are my friends, due to certain circumstances, I don't want to spend all my free time with them."
"Sis, if I see them approaching you without my presence, I'll just kill them." - All three were aware that Abraxas was serious. And just as Draco and Theo were surprised by his words, Hermione was unimpressed by them.
"Brax…" - she sighed.- "I'm trying to separate myself from what happened then. Harry wasn't raised by the Potters and Ron had the firm hand of Molly Prewett over him." - Hermione said in a firm voice.
"I remember. Harald Potter's grandson raised by Muggles. He must be turning in his grave right now. I don't know what he was like in his old age, but as you noticed in school, he was far from a saint. And Septimus Weasley? I have never seen a more overconfident man in my life." - A wide smile appeared on the wizard's face.
To the surprise of Nott and the younger Malfoy, Hermione burst out laughing instead of defending her friends' family. - "Excuse me, but I just remembered one situation." - she said, drying her eyes.
"Gryffindor green hair or Disappearing Boots?"
"None of them. Sticky spell."
At this point, Theodore Nott interjected again. He and Draco both felt left out of the conversation. - "What are you talking about?"
"I glued Weasley and Potter together after they called me a Slytherin whore. Due to the fact that I glued them together with an experimental spell, it took a while before both of them could go to sleep in separate beds. It took a while before both of them could take separate bath."
xxx
After all the fuss about Hermione, the Malfoys and Nott, the two boys of the so-called Golden Trio went to class. Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley went to Potions class. Much to their displeasure, the N.E.W.T. level Potions class was taught by Severus Snape. Slugtorn took care of the younger students.
"Where did they take my girlfriend?" - Harry heard his friend's concerned voice.
"A girlfriend? Since when are you a couple?" - he replied, at least amused, despite the anxiety associated with the disappearance of their mutual friend.
Ron seemed indignant. - "I told you about that kiss during the battle. The one in the chamber."
Harry sighed. He adored this boy, but sometimes he wondered if his skull had a brain inside. - "Be honest. Did Hermione say anything about that kiss?"
"Not." he replied shortly.
"Has she shown any interest in physical contact? I mean an embrace, an accidental touch of a hand, a kiss on the cheek."
"Not." - This time he was beginning to sense the embarrassment in Ron's voice.
"Now tell me one thing. How could you expect her to be your girlfriend after one kiss when you've had two different girlfriends since the battle?"
"I screwed up, didn't I?"
"Of course. And it's up to you whether you can fix it."
Harry Potter was tired of saving anyone but he thought to himself - What don't you do for your family? But will this family understand that he's not sure if he wants to spend his whole life with Ginny?
xxx
Lucius Malfoy, accompanied by the Aurors, returned to the Manor. He was tired, nervous and confused. He knew he would have to pass on all findings regarding his father to his wife. It's going to be a difficult conversation because he still couldn't believe what had happened. With a heavy step he went first to the first floor of the matrimonial wing and then towards the living room where Narcissa drank tea every day at this time.
"Narcissa, I'm back." - He looked at the woman he had been in love with for so many years. The woman he loved and who loved him despite his many flaws. He took a few steps towards her and before she could answer he hugged her from behind, burying his face in her neck.
"Albus took him to the school?" - She responded by stroking his cheek with her hand. Her hand was still trembling from the many doses of cruciatus she had been subjected to.
"Yes. Only one thing bothers me. He was very happy to see Miss Granger. He even approved of Draco and Hermione's marriage." - He moved away from her to sit on the chair next to her and take her hands in his. He wasn't sure if stroking her hand with his thumbs was supposed to calm her or him.
"I'm not surprised. As you know, since the Dark Lord disappeared from our House, I have been renovating every room. There was a picture in the bedroom where he slept. Old photo with your father, Tom Riddle, and a girl who looks like Hermione Granger. It's just that the photo was captioned Me and the Malfoy siblings."
"Do you have this photo? I think my father will want to see this. Tell me, what could have happened that two wizards who were friends with a mud… muggle-born became pure-blood supremacists? You haven't seen him Cissa. He looked at her with adoration in his eyes. He even said our family magic accepted her."
"Invite her to the Samhain festival. We need to talk to her. I don't want to be the only one ignorant." she replied closing her eyes. - "Will you take me to my room? I'm feeling bad. But please don't leave. I know you're ashamed of your actions, but I chose you. For good and for bad."
xxx
How do you like it? The story will be slower and start to take a turn in a direction I didn't consider at first. Cheers and I would be grateful for your opinion whether this chapter was better or worse than the previous one. I am a beginner in writing and still looking for my style. Regards, Katie Krum.
