Chapter 27

The dawn of New Year's Day 2007 greeted them with the sound of the floo alarm. She was vaguely aware of Draco disentangling himself from her to go answer the call. He returned in what felt like a blink of an eye, but a double take at the clock on the nightstand told her that it had actually been more than twenty minutes.

"I'm sorry, but you're going to want to get dressed. Father and Mother are coming through, and we all need to talk."

That got her attention. He wouldn't just invite his parents over for no reason. Especially not at the literal crack of dawn and most especially not on the morning of New Year's Day when they'd been planning to spend the several hours in bed while Scorpius was with her parents.

"And you should see this before we go downstairs," he drew a copy of the Daily Prophet out from behind his back, an unreadable expression on his face.

She unfolded it and gasped. On the front page was a bomb of a headline, of the nuclear variety.

Should We Be Worried About Two-Thirds of the Golden Trio?

What have they been hiding from us? Are they under the control of Death Eaters?

She didn't even make it halfway through the article before she gave up as her eyes were too clouded with tears to make out the words on the page and she was struggling to catch her breath. She reached blindly for Draco and his arms were almost instantly around her, lips dancing along her hairline.

Apparently, Ron had decided that he wasn't taking the news of her new relationship, or being punched by Draco, lying down. He'd gone to Rita Skeeter and spilled his guts: all of her secrets laid bare for the whole country to read. Every embarrassing thing that had happened to her at Hogwarts, what she'd done to protect her parents during the war, her possible infertility issues. He hinted heavily that he suspected something had happened between herself and Harry during the horcrux hunt and that he feared it had continued on after the war, which was the reason for the end of his relationship with Hermione as well as Harry's marriage. And then he accused Draco of having potioned her or placed her under a spell so that she would be with him.

Rita added her own spin by reminding the readers that Draco's own good friend, Pansy Parkinson, had once suspected Hermione of dosing both Harry and Viktor Krum with love potions. She speculated that perhaps it was Draco who was being tricked into their relationship.

It managed to simultaneously paint her as a pathetic victim and a ruthless villain. It was horrible, and humiliating, and it hurt.

"I'm so sorry Hermione, this wouldn't be happening to you if it wasn't for me," Draco murmured when she was breathing relatively normally again.

"No, this isn't your fault, Ron was just waiting for an excuse to do something like this and he's certainly capable of deluding himself into believing he's the hero in all of this and that he did this for my own good, or maybe for the good of the wizarding public by exposing what's been going on behind closed doors." She shrugged.

"I should have at least been able to keep them from printing it, but they were smart. It's the holidays and so the paper's running on a skeleton crew and they were able to sneak it in without any of my contacts being aware."

She turned her face into his neck, kissing him. "It's okay Draco, you really shouldn't have to police the Daily Prophet."

He just sighed and held her for a few more minutes before speaking again. "My parents will be here by now, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have invited them over without asking you, or at least letting you know what's going on, but I wanted to do this on my territory. Father has also called our solicitors."

"Solicitors, what for?"

"He's not going to let them get away with this."

"Well I don't like it anymore than he does, but what are we supposed to do? There's nothing untrue here, and the things they can't prove are all speculation and innuendo. And defamation laws in this country are practically non-existent anyway."

"I'm not sure there is any legal action we can take against Weasley or Skeeter, but Father's on the warpath against Astoria."

"Astoria?"

There was a pause. "You didn't read the whole article, did you?"

"No," she sighed and raked a hand through her hair which she knew must be an utter disaster. "It gets worse?"

"Skeeter went to Astoria for… confirmation."

"And she said?"

"That she wouldn't be surprised if I'd spelled or potioned you. That she feared for Scorpius'- she had the nerve to call him her son- safety. And that even if she didn't, she was worried about him being raised by a witch who wasn't brought up in our world. She implied she'd be seeking more time with him if not outright trying to gain custody in order to protect him."

Hermione tried to stand up, but stumbled as she got tangled in the sheets. Draco caught her before she fell to the floor. "I don't care what you have to do, you cannot let her have him," she seethed.

"And that," he pulled her back into bed, kissing the palm of the hand he'd caught. "Is why you are his mother and not her. She not only gave up that right, she's stomped all over it. He was… he was a meal ticket for her."

"But that's what I'm worried about, Draco. She's proven herself greedy enough to try and take him from us for more money though?" Her heart was pounding, adrenaline flooded her system, and her brain began making frantic plans.

He shook his head and rubbed her upper arms soothingly. "She relinquished her legal rights to him, that's not something you need to worry about. She's just trying to make herself look good in the papers. As if she's just this concerned parent and I'm the big bad Death Eater who's stolen her child." He rolled his eyes.

"You're remarkably sanguine about this."

"I could tear Weasley limb from limb, but I just can't bring myself to care about Astoria. I did think she was smarter than this though, but she's overstepped her bounds and she'll regret it, Father will make sure of it."

"How so? I mean what can he do?"

"Our divorce decree stipulated that she not publicly speak ill of either Houses Black or Malfoy. This is a clear violation and could easily cost her half the galleons in her vault."

"Why would she be that foolish?"

He shrugged. "I assume she never read the decree, she was probably just told by her father and her solicitors that she got what she wanted and signed it. But she's obviously angry with me and has taken this opportunity to lash out without really thinking it through or consulting anybody."

"She didn't read it?" Hermione asked, such a thing was incomprehensible to her.

"Like I said, I don't know, but I assume not. She's not actually stupid. I don't believe she would have given this interview if she'd truly realized the possible consequences."

Hermione read the article again, and this time she read the whole thing. The part with Ron had hurt, but the portion where Astoria was interviewed simply baffled her.

"But why would she- I mean, I don't," she stuttered- "what does she have to gain?" She finally settled on asking.

"She wants to ruin me. Apparently, she's much more upset about the divorce than I realized."

"You said your father was on the warpath, but what about you? You're really not angry with her?"

"I don't plan to just let her comments slide, but I also don't plan to go after her financially on behalf of House Black, Father will do enough. And I only have Scorpius because of her. While I'd prefer it if they were never in the same room again, I can't deny her a means to remain in the same lifestyle to which she's become accustomed. She may have been formally educated, but she was never raised to the idea that she would have to support herself, and I encouraged her in that lifestyle. I can't stop my father from whatever he intends to do in retaliation, in terms of what she receives from the Malfoy trust, but I just...won't alter our financial arrangement even though I'm certainly legally able to do so at this point. I hope you can accept that."

A part of her wanted to see Astoria punished as much as possible for being so thoughtless, so hateful. But most of her knew that she needed to be better than that, for Scorpius' sake. His biological mother had failed him, she refused to be the same.

"Draco," she breathed, reaching out to bring him to her. "If I thought that this decision would ever deny Scorpius a single thing that he might want or need, at the expense of that woman's comfort, you might have a fight on your hands, but I know you would never let that happen. And I'm grateful to her too, as much as I hate it. I hate feeling indebted to her. Mostly, I hate that she's like this and one day we're going to have to try and find a way to explain it to Scorpius.

He just stared at her for the longest time, blinking. "You're incredible," he finally said.

She resisted the urge to look away. "You're biased."

"Oh, I'm incredibly biased," he grinned. "But I'm not wrong."

"I just love him, Draco, and I love you. It's not difficult, or extraordinary on my part."

He shook his head, but he was smiling at her. "And that's why I love you so much. You actually believe that." He took a deep breath. "If you'd prefer to stay up here while I meet with my parents, I understand, I should have thought about that straight away. And I'll make my parents understand too."

She shook her head. "No. They're your parents, they should know the truth of our situation and we should face it together."

She began to crawl out of bed again but he snagged her hand and pulled her back towards him. He placed a kiss on her forehead, the bridge of her nose, and finally her lips. "Have I mentioned that I love you?"

She took a fortifying breath. She was feeling so many things. Anger. Sadness. Grief for a friendship she finally admitted was well and truly dead. And more than a little bit of pure rage.

But above all else she felt loved. And despite this attack, she still believed herself to be safe. Safe with this caring man sitting before her.

She was a successful, independent witch, but by trusting herself to Draco she'd discovered a confidence she hadn't known she could possess. Because once she'd put her all into their relationship, Draco had done the same, and on top of that he'd trusted her with his son; it was the greatest compliment she'd ever been given. Draco, and even Scorpius, had chosen her and it was the best thing to ever happen to her, nothing could ever diminish it.

She gave him another kiss. "Have I mentioned that I love you?" She asked in return, and gestured in the general direction of where the newspaper had been discarded over the side of the bed. "This sucks. I could cheerfully curse Ronald Weasley into within an inch of his life and then strangle him to death right now, but our family will get through it."

He groaned. "It's wrong how turned on I am by your violent tendencies. Could I get some details about the curses you would use, I may have a few suggestions." He winked at her.

She smirked at him in return. "I'll whisper sweet murderous nothings into your ear later, after your parents leave."

"Oh," his eyes went wide and he immediately released her, "there it is, a reminder of Mother and Lucius. Problem solved."

She laughed and finally climbed out of bed. He sat on the corner of the mattress, his eyes impossibly soft as he watched her dress.

"Is this okay?" She asked, looking down at her jeans and sapphire jumper. "Not too muggle?"

"They're going to have to get used to it."

"Perhaps today isn't the time though," she prevaricated.

"Where's my brave witch?" He tapped her chin.

She glared at him, but also felt strangely warm inside at that possessive, but also complimentary statement. "Your parents are just a little bit intimidating."

She had dealt with Lord and Lady Malfoy in her professional capacity a number of times over the years, including just a few days ago. They had always been somewhat scary, but she'd been able to push passed that in the past. However, things were now different. They were going to be in her life and in a very personal capacity...forever.

"Well, I actually get that, I've seen some of the most powerful people in the country basically wither under Mother's glare. However, you purged their house of a parasitic ward cast by my mother's own sister while wearing muggle clothing, they'll get over it. They're going to have to get used to it, and this is your home, it's not your job to cater to their prejudices."

She took a deep breath. "Okay." She looked up at him, noting the tension in his expression and angry with herself that she'd failed to consider his feelings. "Are you really okay, love? This article is far from kind to you."

He shrugged. "I'm mostly concerned for you."

"Draco, don't do that," she said as she moved to stand between his legs. "Ron and Astoria both heavily implied that you've been using the Imperius curse on me. And I know how that's a touchy subject."

He took her face in his hands and forced her to look into his eyes. "Is that something you worry about, that I've cursed you?"

"Of course not," she scoffed and rolled her eyes.

He smiled. "That's all I needed to know. That you believe in me, and that my parents do too. Potter seems to have given his stamp of approval on our relationship and Pansy knows I would never curse a witch into being with me."

"A lot more people than that believe in you, Draco."

He shrugged. "That's all that really matters though." He cleared his throat. "Are you ready?"

She nodded, knowing that it would take some time for him to really believe her words and he grasped her hand, guiding her down the stairs.

Hermione immediately spotted Lucius pacing the main living area when they entered. Narcissa appeared to be much calmer at first sight, but it soon became apparent that she too, was agitated. As they got closer Hermione saw that the other witch was wringing her hands and she had a wary expression on her face.

After a series of perfunctory greetings Narcissa glanced between her husband and son. "Perhaps the two of you could leave us for a few minutes," she glared at them when they both appeared ready to object. "Witches' business," she insisted.

Draco looked at Hermione and she nodded. He shot a look of something like warning at his mother and followed his father into the dining room.

"Is is true?" Narcissa asked, once he'd disappeared. "That you can't have children?"

Hermione remained silent.

Narcissa took a deep breath and crossed the space between them, gently grasping Hermione's arm and leading her to a sofa. "There's no reason to be ashamed, I didn't only have one child by choice. I simply can't comprehend having my privacy invaded in such a way, and by somebody you should have been able to trust. I just thought we should clear the air."

Knowing how much it would have cost Narcissa to admit as much, Hermione lifted her head but shrugged her shoulders. "There are complications, at least."

"I am sorry. For many things," the older witch continued.

"They can't be sure what will happen when I try to get pregnant. The damage is just...extensive. The healers don't seem hopeful though, they haven't from the beginning. Draco knows, he has known for awhile now."

Narcissa eyed her. "You love my grandson, you love Scorpius?"

Hermione was more that a little wary of Draco's mother, despite the detente she believed they come to at the Ministry. But the fear in her eyes which she could only assume was on Scorpius' behalf- mixed with a love she didn't think the other witch had ever been able to properly communicate- left her unable to be anything other than completely truthful.

"More than I ever could have imagined loving anybody," she smiled to herself, it hadn't even been a full day, but she was already itching to hold the little boy in her arms again. "And that's saying something, given how much I love Draco."

Narcissa continued to look at her carefully and then slowly drew an arm around her shoulders. "I have learned some things over the years. The most critical of which are that my family's safety and happiness are of the utmost importance."

"I feel the same way."

"Then allow Lucius to do what he must."

"Narcissa, I cannot agree to him hurting-" she took a deep breath, "I'm furious, but I'm also the Deputy Director of Magical Law Enforcement."

"You misunderstand me, my dear. I do not desire for either Lucius or Draco to hurt anybody physically. But there is more than one way to injure a person, and despite how our star has fallen, the Malfoy name still wields a great deal of power. You cannot allow these accusations to stand. Mr. Weasley and-" she hesitated, "my former daughter-in-law must be dealt with, they cannot be allowed to do this again- for Scorpius' sake."

There was a part of her that yearned to debate, she knew she was being emotionally manipulated. But then she remembered the children. Not just Scorpius; Ron's insinuations about her and Harry were damaging to James and Albus too. She wondered if he'd considered that or if he simply didn't care, and she had to admit to herself that they'd become so estranged that she couldn't even begin to guess his motivations.

"Alright, you're right." And then she remembered something else. "Harry," she gasped.

"Excuse me?"

"We have to call Harry! He's as involved in this as any of us and I won't do this without him."

She just nodded and led them in the direction Hermione could hear two male voices conversing lowly. When they entered the dining room the two Malfoy men were bent over the table looking over a series of documents. They didn't appear to be arguing, but they didn't appear to be agreeing either. She caught Draco's eye, she didn't intend to ask Lucius Malfoy's permission for anything.

"I'm going to call Harry. He should be involved in any decisions we make, the article links us together pretty inextricably."

However, it was Lucius who answered. "You're right Miss Granger, it would be best to present a united front. I should have thought of that."

Draco nodded. "Honestly I'm surprised he's hasn't stormed in here already in overprotective brother mode."

Hermione shook her head. "The boys are with Molly and Arthur and Harry is not a morning person, he'll be having a lie in. Plus, he doesn't take the Prophet."

"What? Who doesn't take the Prophet?"

"You can only be maligned by a publication so many times before you give up on it." She shrugged and left the room to go retrieve her mobile- Harry was notorious for sleeping through the alarm for floo calls, but he kept his phone on his bedside table at night.

He answered, all drowsy and hungover. She gave him a brief rundown of the situation. He swore and promised to be over momentarily. When she returned to the dining room all three Malfoys looked up.

"He's on his way." It occurred to her that it fell to her to act as hostess, that Draco was deferring to her as such. It was old fashioned and it might have annoyed Hermione but she knew that it sent an important signal. "Can I offer you anything?" She looked back and forth between Draco's parents. "Tea? Did you have the opportunity to eat breakfast?"

"Both would be lovely, thank you Hermione," Narcissa said quietly, Lucius deigned to nod in her direction.

"Effie," she called. The elf popped into the room and looked around in apparent satisfaction at the scene before her. "Breakfast and tea for five please, and Harry is the five, so we're going to need coffee and a bowl of sugar just for him," she let out a sigh at her friend's disgusting habit. He was just as British as the rest of them and he normally drank tea, but in the early mornings, especially after a night of drinking, he liked to consume something that would be more appropriately described as coffee poured over a cup of sugar. "And, because I'm feeling very kind, a hangover potion for Harry. I assume you know what everybody likes?"

"Of course, Mistress," she grinned at Hermione, gave a little curtsey and popped away. The silence she left in the wake of her departure was deafening, and Hermione felt herself begin to blush furiously. Draco allowing Hermione to play hostess was one thing, but Effie calling her mistress was a much bigger deal. It was indicative that magic had told the elf that she was Draco's partner.

Draco approached her and hooked an arm around her waist, kissing her temple.

"How long has that been going on?" His mother asked.

"Since we cleansed the wards. The family magicks were eager to claim Hermione, and Effie obviously recognizes that. Did neither of you notice a difference?"

Lucius cleared his throat. "I assumed it was just the cleansing of the wards."

"It feels right though, doesn't it Father? Things have settled, she obviously belongs," Draco challenged.

The older wizard seemed determined to look at anything but his son.

"He's right Lucius," Narcissa said softly, unlike her husband she looked directly at Draco. "It's just that Astoria never made any difference and you were formally bonded."

"Are you really surprised?" He snorted. "That bonding was a technicality and we all know it."

"Yes, yes I suppose you're right." Narcissa turned to Hermione. "Would you mind giving me a tour while we wait for Mr. Potter, dear?"

"Of course, I'm sorry, I'd forgotten you hadn't seen the house." She stepped forward, taking the other woman's arm and guiding her out of the room.

It was a little awkward, showing Draco's mother around his home. It was her home now too, of course, which was part of what made it uncomfortable. She and Draco weren't married; they were in a relatively new relationship and yet she'd helped him pick the house, and had moved in before his own mother had ever even laid eyes on it.

Narcissa hesitantly asked questions about the telly and DVD player and Hermione did her best to explain while also keeping things as short and simple as possible. She didn't want to overwhelm the woman. But when they reached the kitchen and Narcissa actually came to a startled halt in the doorway, eyes wide, Hermione was uncertain how to react. She wasn't sure if it was the kitchen itself or the sight of Effie bustling around using the muggle appliances with ease, some of which she'd adapted but some- like the refrigerator- she had been delighted to report she actually preferred to the magical equivalent.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, I've never seen anything like this, I don't mean to be crass," Narcissa stumbled over her words in a way Hermione wouldn't have thought her capable, given her usual poise.

And Hermione suddenly realized that the other witch's hesitancy wasn't necessarily because she was overwhelmed by what she was seeing, but because she was doing her utmost to be tactful and keep from insulting Hermione. Before arriving she had probably believed that she was going to be greeted by primitive amenities. But this house, while utterly foreign to the pureblood, was in no way rustic or primitive.

"Well if you're curious I'm happy to explain what everything does. Effie seems to like it." The elf turned to her, positively beaming.

"Oh yes, Mistress Narcissa, Effie loves her new kitchen, she can be doing so many things at once because she not be needing magic for everything. Effie be thinking electricity is better than magic sometimes." A look of horror crossed her face and she immediately looked to Hermione for instruction.

She did her best to play it off, and just chuckled. "I totally agree Effie, and I can't say how happy I am that you're comfortable here. Draco and I were concerned it might be difficult for you, but you've adapted beautifully and we're both so proud of you."

"Mistress is too kind," she said, but Hermione saw the pleased smile on her face before she went back to her work.

Narcissa just looked back and forth between them like she couldn't make sense of what she was seeing and then, with timing she was going to have to find a way to thank Harry for later, the chime sounded to alert them that somebody had come through the floo.

"It seems that Mr. Potter has arrived. I'll leave you to go fetch him. Is he aware that Lucius and I are here?"

"Yes, of course."

She nodded. "I will see you momentarily," and then she made her was back towards the dining room.

Hermione went to greet Harry. She found him in the entrance hall. He had stopped and was obviously listening for the sound of voices to follow.

"Morning Harry."

He looked up, face soft and worried but she almost laughed out loud at his appearance. His hair was a disaster, more than usual, he really needed a cut, and she could just tell that he hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep. He held out his arms for her and she walked right into them. He hugged her tight and she sighed. He smelled like Harry, freshly washed, with an underlying scent of smoky pub.

"Nice try with the shower, Mr. Potter but I can tell you've been smoking. Can I assume you went out last night after we left the party?"

"It was one cigar," he defended. "Are you okay?" He asked, voice low.

"Yeah," she stepped out of his arms and snagged his hand. "Let's go eat and figure out how we're going to handle this."

He followed her into the dining room and greeted the Malfoys perfunctorily and then made his way to the place setting she indicated for him.

"Gods Mione," he looked up at her before he sat down. "Is that a hangover potion?" She just nodded, he reached out and snagged the vial, downing it immediately. "Have I told you lately how much I love you? You're literally my favorite person, I'm actually considering proposing marriage."

The total silence in the room made him look up.

"Okay, obviously I was kidding."

"Yes Harry, I think everybody here realized that, but you need to be careful who you say things like that around."

His eyes went wide. "It's one of those?"

"It's a little bit of everything," she sighed, "but, yes, the rumors of our torrid love affair persist."

"Hand it over."

She hesitated. "Eat something first."

"It's possible to eat and read at the same time, you should know, you're practically a professional."

"Just show him Hermione," Draco encouraged.

She sighed and handed Harry the folded up copy of the Daily Prophet that was placed between herself and Draco. He looked up immediately when he spotted the headline, but then deliberately began eating his meal as he read. But after about only thirty seconds his face started to turn red, and soon thereafter he dropped his fork with a clatter.

"Fine! You said you were fine!" He roared, looking accusingly at Hermione.

"I am fine," she said, carefully spooning some porridge into her mouth.

"Well you shouldn't be! Why aren't you furious?"

"I was," she shrugged, "for a few minutes. And then I was sad. And now I'm just done."

"Done?"

"Exactly. Done. I put up with him for years. I let him get away with more than he ever should have. And that's on me. But I'm done. He doesn't get to attack people that I love like this and I intend to make sure he regrets it. I understand if you can't participate, but I'm done Harry. And I thought that you should know."

"I'm in," he answered immediately.

She shook her head. "You need to talk to Ginny first. And you need to consider if you can really do this."

"What is 'this?'"

"We cannot let these accusations stand. Draco and I will be independently tested for love and behavior modification charms and potions. I think we're going to need to give an interview in response."

"He's accused me of some awful and embarrassing things too."

"Yes, but he's Ginny's brother. It's one thing for me to seperate myself from him and another for you to do so. And frankly, we've been enabling him for years, you need to ask yourself if you can really."

Harry frowned. "We haven't been encouraging him."

"I didn't say encourage, I said enable."

"What's the difference?"

"We didn't like the way he treated us. I know we've discussed this more than once. But we also allowed it to happen. Over and over again we demonstrated that it was okay for him to treat us badly and there would be little to no consequences. Honestly, Harry, it's become a truth of my life: given the opportunity Ronald Weasley will abandon and betray me. I've decided I'm finished giving him the opportunity. I spent years shielding his child from the reality of his behavior because I believed that she was innocent, but he had no such compunction for mine, or yours; may I add."

She heard several breaths catch and automatically looked to Harry for an explanation.

"You just called Scorpius yours," Draco answered instead.

She turned to look at him, his eyes were suspiciously glassy. He caught her hand, raised it to his lips and kissed her palm.

"Is that okay?" She whispered.

"More than I ever could have hoped for."