all characters belong to JKR

Day Two

Sunday morning, before dawn:

Hermione and Draco arrived home about 3:00 am. Their group stayed at the bar until it closed down, then they all went back to George's house to continue the party. Draco and Hermione both had more than their share of alcohol, and by the time they got back to their flat, neither was in any condition to do anything but go directly to bed.

At around 5:00 am in the morning, Draco was rudely, and forcibly, separated from his slumber by the sound of Hermione retching in the bathroom. Damn girl couldn't hold her alcohol. He tried to get up, but he had a hell of a headache, and had to lie back down. Oh well, she would be okay. He tried to close his eyes to go back to sleep, when he heard a small voice say, "Draco?"

He plopped out of bed and padded into the bathroom. There was Granger, lying on the floor, next to the toilet, looking like a wet dishrag.

He knelt beside her on the floor, and said, "A wee bit ill are we, Granger?" She merely looked up at him and nodded. If he didn't have such a headache, he probably would have laughed at her and made some witty comment about how she was such a lightweight when it came to her liquor, but instead, he merely lifted her from the floor, and carried her back to their bed. He then went to make her a hangover potion.

"Drink up, love," he said when he returned with the potion. He went back to the bathroom to get a headache potion for himself.

When he walked back to the bedroom, she was lying on her belly on the floor. Why was she on the floor? He bent down and pushed her hair out of her face. "Granger, you didn't drink that much did you?" he asked.

She looked up at him, and asked, "Why am I on the floor?"

This time he did laugh, aloud, and said, "I think you were looking for a galleon you dropped."

She said, "Will you help me find it?"

"Sure, Granger, I'll help you," he played along. He got down on his hands and knees and pretended to look for the non-existent galleon.

She then said, "Who cares if I lost a galleon? You're wealthy. I can just get another one from you." Then she proceeded to lie back down on the floor, on her stomach, and she shut her eyes. Draco threw a cover over her, left her on the floor, and then went back to bed. She was going to feel rotten in the morning.

Sunday, 10 am

'Why am I on the floor?' Hermione thought. She tried to get up, but fell back down. She felt awful. She didn't even have that much to drink. Malfoy would never let her live this down. He already thought she was a lightweight. He walked into the bedroom, already showered and dressed for the day, and handed her a glass. "Drink this, Hermione, it'll make you feel tons better, and then get dressed and showered, we have a lot to do today." He sat her up, and helped her drink the 'pepper-up' potion he made.

"What do we have to do today?" she pondered.

"Wedding plans, of course," he answered back, while walking out of the bedroom.

She stood up, already feeling better, and followed him to the kitchen. He had made her tea and toast, and motioned for her to sit down. She sat down, took a bite of toast, and asked, "What wedding plans could we possibly have to do on a Sunday?"

"Oh, this and that," Draco answered. "Now, hurry up and eat and then shower."

She ate her toast and drank her tea, as he sat across from her reading his paper.
She looked around and inquired, "Malfoy, where's my cat? You didn't lock him out again, did you?"

"Your damn cat has already been fed and watered, and is walking around here somewhere, Granger," he mumbled behind his paper.

"Watered?" Hermione laughed silently at that one.

After her shower, she walked into the bedroom and got dressed. He came in and said, "Aren't you ready yet?" She gave him a perturbed look, and put on her coat, as she noticed he had on his, and then walked to the front door and stared at him. He grabbed her hand, and led them out the door and disapparated with her before she even knew what was happening.

They apparated in front of a large white house with green shutters. It was a beautiful home, with many tall pine trees all around. She looked at Draco and asked, "Whose house is this?"

"Mine," he answered. He started to the front door, said an unlocking spell, and the door opened. He smiled and put his hand on her back and led her inside. The house was every bit as pretty on the inside as the outside. The foyer had dark pine floors. There was a large staircase, directly in front of them, that went off in two different directions at the top of the stairs. On the right side of the foyer, there was a set of double doors. Draco led Hermione through these doors. There was a large sitting room, beautifully decorated, that had French doors that led to the outside. Beyond the sitting room, they walked into a large formal dining room. At the end of the dining room, was a smaller room, which looked to be a breakfast room. Past this room were a very large kitchen, pantry, and servant's quarters.

Hermione merely let Draco wander from room to room with her, still holding her hand, while neither said a word to each other. They went back to the foyer, and went through a big set of doors to the left, where there was a beautiful den, painted dark green, with wall to ceiling, built-in bookcases. She looked at Draco, still speechless, and he was still smiling. He took her hand and led them upstairs.

They went up the main staircase, and then took the stairs the led to the left. There they found a large master suite with an adjoining sitting room and bath. They went back down the left staircase and went up the stairs to the right. There they found two guestrooms and baths, and then down a hallway there was another small bedroom, and a set of stairs that led them back down to the kitchen.

They stood in the kitchen, still in silence, and finally, Draco said, "Well?"

"This is your house?" she finally asked.

"Yes, it was left to me by my maternal grandfather. Small, I know, but I've always liked it. This is where my house elves from my former flat live now. That's why the place doesn't look deserted," he explained.

"Why haven't you ever told me about this place?" she asked.

"Well, because I wanted to keep it a surprise. It's my wedding present, to you. Happy Wedding, Granger." He smiled and kissed her cheek.

"Wait…what?" She seemed confused. "You can't just give me a house."

"Well, actually, I can, and I just did," he said rather condescendingly. Then he added, "This solves two of our present problems. One, it will be a bigger place for us to live in, and two; I thought we could get married here. I thought it would be nice. Actually, now that I think about it, it solves another problem as well. Now I don't have to buy you a wedding present, because by golly, I just gave you a house."

She was looking at him with her mouth open, and for maybe only the second time in her whole life, she was speechless.

"Close your mouth, Granger, you look like a fish," he joked.

"You just gave me a house," she said. She walked from the kitchen, through the dining room, to the lounge. She stood in the middle of the large room, swirled around, and said, "YOU JUST GAVE ME A HOUSE!" while she turned. He laughed when he saw her jubilation. She ran up to him and hugged him. She practically jumped in his arms. "This is beautiful…I mean, this is the best…I just don't know what to say," she told him.

"Well, obliviously you don't know what to say, you're babbling," he said as he sat on one of the sofas.

She sat down next to him and said, "Does this place have a name? I mean, don't all Wizard homes have a name?"

"It's called 'Edgewood', but we can always re-name it, if you want," he explained.
"So, are you happy, Miss Granger?" he inquired as he kissed her forehead.

"Oh my, yes," she told him.

"There's still a lot to do," he said as he stood, "we'll have to get this place in top condition, redecorated, and get it hooked back up to the floo network." He was walking around the room, making his mental list, and ticking things off in his head. He turned back to look at her, and said, "Would you like to have lunch here?"

She smiled and said, "That would be lovely. Why don't you go tell the house elves we will be having lunch here. I want to go check out the den."

"Do you only love me for my books, Granger?" he joked.

"No, I love you because you're wonderful. I'm only marrying you for your books. Big difference," she said as she removed her coat and walked toward the den.

Sunday, lunchtime:

Hermione looked at all the books on the shelves and was in awe. She started to study them closer, and noticed that there certainly were many books on the dark arts. How interesting. She picked out an ancient book and started reading. In no time at all, Draco entered the room to tell her lunch was ready.

They ate mostly in silence, since Hermione brought her book to the table with her. When they finished, Draco told her that he needed to go to Malfoy Manor for a while. He asked if she wanted to stay here or go back to the flat. "Why can't I go to the Manor with you?" she asked.

"Why would you want to go there? Anyway, I just need to get some things from the vault again, and after the last time, I don't think you would appreciate staying upstairs by yourself," he said as he stood to put on his coat.

Hermione put on her coat, and asked, "Why do I have to stay upstairs? Why can't I go down to the vault as well? You aren't going to get me another ring are you?" she said as she smiled sweetly.

Draco did not respond to her smile; in fact, he was frowning. "Why can't you just go back to the flat?" he asked.

"Fine, have your little secrets. I guess I need to get used to you withholding information from me," she pouted.

"When have I withheld information from you? You know what; I'm not going to let you pick a fight with me. Come with me, go home, or stay here. I don't care." He went to walk out the door and she followed.

"If you don't care, then I want to go to the Manor," Hermione stated adamantly.

Sunday, afternoon, Malfoy Manor:

When they arrived at the manor, Draco started walking toward the stairs that led directly to the dungeons. Hermione was determined to follow this time. They went down many stairs, and through many cavernous hallways, with only the light from their wands to light their way.

Hermione didn't know how Draco could even find his way around. They had gone many stories underground, and had made so many turns; left, then right, then left again; that she was feeling dizzy. Every few moments he would bark out orders like, "Keep up, Granger" or "Don't lag behind."

At one point, he was so far ahead of her that she couldn't see him. She didn't care. Let him worry, and fret that she might get lost. She leaned against the wall, and tried to catch her breath. The Manor was certainly a very ominous place. She decided not to let him get too far ahead; she didn't really want to get lost; so she picked up her pace. Damn! She came to the end of a hallway. That was weird. She knew he was walking straight before her, and she hadn't made any turns, so where was he? She turned to walk back the way she came and somehow the hallway ended again. How could the hallway have two ends, with no doors or turns?

She decided to use her wand to get her bearings. She told it to point the way out of there. It merely rocked back and forth in her hand. She walked back the way she came, but instead of a solid wall, now there were two doorways. One door led to the left and one to the right. Were those doors there before?

She tried the door on the right and found it locked. She tried to unlock it with her wand, but nothing happened. She tried the door to her left, and it admitted her entrance. When she entered, for a moment, everything went black. She tried to find the door again, but couldn't. She shouted, "Lumos," and her wand lit back up. She was shocked at what she saw. Well, shocked may not be the correct word. She was distressed and afraid.

She was standing in a room, which appeared to be equiangular in shape, and on each wall, there was a mirror, with no doorway. What was worse, there appeared to be no floor or ceiling. She felt like she was walking on air. She walked up to the first mirror, and she saw herself as a child. She was looking directly in the mirror, but a five-year-old Hermione was looking back. The five-year-old Hermione waved at the adult Hermione, and then ran away. Hermione stepped up to the next mirror, and she saw a teenage version of herself. She was in her Hogwarts uniform, and she was reading a book. She also smiled and waved at Hermione. The next mirror was the most distressing. She saw a young adult Hermione, much like the real version, standing between both her parents.

As Hermione walked closer to the mirror (No floor, be damned!), she put her hand up to the reflection of her mother and her mother's reflection disappeared. Then she turned to her father's reflection, and it too disappeared in a puff of smoke. Hermione was afraid to look in the next mirror, but she felt compelled. She stepped in front of that mirror, and at first, she saw nothing. Not even her current reflection. Then she saw herself standing at the altar in a beautiful wedding dress and Draco was walking toward her. Something didn't seem right. The Draco in the mirror looked angry. He was walking toward the bridal Hermione, and without notice, he drew his wand and pointed it at Hermione and in a flash of green light, the bridal Hermione fell down in a heap at Draco's feet.

The real Hermione started to cry. She turned to the last mirror, she saw herself, covered in blood, in a wedding dress, and this Hermione was crying, too. This last reflection looked longingly at Hermione, as if pleading with her to help her. She had blood all over her, and she raised her hands to the mirror and mouthed the word, "Help," but no sound came out. Hermione stepped closer to this mirror, and put her hand up to the reflection of the other Hermione's hand, but as soon as she touched the cold glass, the reflection went away.

Hermione looked at her hand, and it was covered in blood, just like the Hermione in the last mirror. She looked down at her body, and it too was covered in blood. She looked back in the mirror, saw Draco standing behind her pointing his wand at her, and as Hermione turned to face him, he was no longer there.

She screamed and everything went pitch-black once more.

Damn her. Where was she? Was it too much to ask her to keep up? Didn't he once tell her that these dungeons held many dangerous things, and that it would be easy to become trapped down here, and maybe even get hurt? She couldn't just go back home, could she. All Draco wanted to do was to get some of the family jewelry. He had a set of wedding rings that was also his grandparents, which he wanted to have fitted for their wedding.

He started back toward the way he came and he heard her scream. Not just an, 'I'm afraid of the dark scream,' but a blood curdling, deluge that went on in echoes throughout the entire dungeon. He ran faster and faster, not knowing from where the scream came. He stopped for a moment and yelled, "GRANGER!" at the top of his lungs. He said a spell, to help locate her, but to no avail.

Hermione opened her eyes and she was no longer in the mirror room. Now she was in a small dark ancient looking tomb. There were candles lit on the walls and a small precipice was at the end of the room. She walked to the edge and looked down. Again -nothingness. She tried to walk back to the middle of the room, but now the precipice was a giant pedestal, and she was perched on top. The walls of the tomb expanded into nothingness as well, and Hermione felt her heart beating as she felt a presence next to her.

She heard a voice in her ear, which said, "What are you doing here?"

She answered aloud to the voice, "I don't know."

Then the voice said, "You don't belong here. You will never belong here. You are not worthy of the Malfoy name. You are a Mudblood."

Hermione started to cry once more. She sank to her knees and shut her eyes. She started rocking back and forth, and said, repeatedly, "Go away, go away, go away."

When she opened her eyes, she was in a forest. This had to be a nightmare, because nothing was making sense. She stood up, and she heard Draco yell, "GRANGER!" She looked back and she saw Draco running toward her, with his wand pointed at her, and a murderous look in his eyes.

She yelled, "HELP!" She started running down a path and then she fell. When she stood back up, she was back in the long dark hallway of the dungeon. She continued to run. She fell again, and closed her eyes. She was afraid to open them again, because she had no idea where she might be next. She lay on the floor, crying, with a pain in her knee, a possible broken wrist, and all she could do was cry.

Draco saw her fall. He ran to her as fast as he could. He reached down for her, and she looked up in his eyes and started screaming. She was hitting and kicking at him, and telling him to let her go. She was crying and she shouted, "Don't kill me!" Draco tried to reason with her, and told her that she was safe, but she just kept crying hysterically, and said again, "Don't kill me!" He had to use his wand to stun her so he could get her upstairs, to safety.

Sunday Night:

When she woke up she was in her own bed. Draco was in a chair next to the bed, apparently asleep. Did she just dream everything that happened or was it real? She said, "Draco?" and he woke up.

"Gee, Granger, you gave me quite a scare," he said as he stroked her hand.

"What happened?" she asked with a hoarse voice.

"You became lost in the dungeons. When I found you, you were screaming at me not to kill you, and I actually had to stun you to get you back upstairs. I called my personal healer, and he gave you a calming potion, and fixed your knee and wrist right up. Tell me, what happened?" Draco implored.

Hermione told him everything; all about the mirrors and the tomb room and about standing on the cliff. She told him about the voice, and the forest, and about him trying to kill her.

"I told you those dungeons were evil. A lot of dark magic went on in those dungeons, for many centuries. I'm sorry I didn't keep you safe. It sounds like you entered the 'Room of Reflections'. A particularly nasty little room that feeds on people's fears, and makes their nightmares appears to be reality. None of it was real, Hermione. I would never hurt you. You know that, don't you?" Draco kissed her hand, and then crawled up on the bed to lie beside her. He pulled her into his arms and she put her head on his chest.

"I hope that's all it was. I hope it wasn't some omen, or a sign, or anything," she said in a small voice.

"I thought you didn't believe in divination, Hermione. Please, believe me, it was no sign of things to come. It was your fears and apprehensions, that's all," he said firmly. "Well, this day didn't quite turn out like I had hoped," he said at last.

"The day wasn't all bad. You did give me house." She smiled up at him.

"That's right. I did, and you haven't given me a damn thing yet," he said back.

She sat up in the bed, and said, "Give me, give me, give me. That should be your motto, Malfoy. Give me this, and give me that." She sat on the side of the bed, and since she felt a little dizzy, she just sat there for a while.

He moved to sit beside her and then stood to help her up. "Let's go listen to the Quidditch game on the wireless. I had the house elves come over and make us some dinner. We can eat on the couch." She nodded and followed him into the living room.

After they ate, he asked her, "Do you feel better?" She nodded again. He noticed that she was being very quiet. "You know, when I was thirteen, I got locked in the 'Room of Reflections'. It was not a pretty sight at all. I saw all kinds of terrible things in the mirrors, and none of them came true," he told her.

"What did you see?" She really wanted to know.

"Well, I saw myself at school, playing Quidditch actually, and stupid Potter beat me to the snitch," he told her.

"Oh, how very traumatizing for you," she said sarcastically.

"Wait, there's more," Draco continued. " In the next mirror, I saw Pansy Parkinson, and she was laughing at me because I was trying to kiss her, and I guess I did it wrong, so she was taunting me."

"Draco, does this story really compare to my experience in the room?" she asked plaintively.

"Wait, I said, there's more." He gave her a smirk. "In the next mirror I was in potion class, and my potion came out perfect, but Snape gave me a failing mark, and started laughing at me, saying that I was worthless. Then in the last mirror, I saw my father as a Death Eater, and he was forcing me to take the Dark Mark." At this, she looked up at him. "Those were quite traumatic things to a thirteen year old, Hermione," he added.

"Draco, don't you see. They were not just your fears, all those things really happened. Harry did catch the snitch before you, in many games." At this, he frowned more, but she ignored him and kept talking. "And I recall once in 5th year when you did get a failing mark and detention from Snape for a bad potion. In addition, in 6th year, your father did make you take the Dark Mark. Don't you see Draco, what if these things I saw weren't just my fears, but things that are to come?" she asked.

"Listen, the first three reflections your saw were of your past. Therefore, they already happened. Your last reflection showed me killing you, and I think that you are much more likely to kill me, then the other way around, and lastly, to dismiss this silly theory of yours, Pansy never laughed at me once when I kissed her in school," Draco responded.

She pulled away from him, not totally convinced, but seeing some reason in what he said. She decided to change the subject. "Did anyone ever laugh at you when you kissed them while you were at school?"

"Certainly not, Granger," he gloated.

"How many girls at Hogwarts were you with, anyway? I mean, you told me once you were fourteen when you lost your virginity, so who was that with, and how many women have you been with?" she asked.

Draco had a perplexed look on his face. Did she really want to talk about this right now? 'Silly little Muggle-born', he thought. He pulled her back to him, and said, "We can have this discussion another time."

"I want to have this discussion now. Maybe it will take my mind off my terrifying afternoon," she pleaded.

He was being played, and he knew it. She was playing on his sympathy, she was. The poor, pitiful Hermione, routine. No matter, he would play along.

"My first sexual encounter was, as previously mentioned, at age fourteen and it was with a professional - how should I say this? A lady of the evening. She was hired by my father on my fourteenth birthday," Malfoy explained.

Hermione looked up in horror and said, "Get out of here!"

"Why do you want me to leave?" he asked confused.

"It's an expression, you prat. It means 'you've got to be joking'," she explained.

"I hate when you speak Muggle," he said truthfully. "Anyway, after that, Miss Parkison was undeniably my next conquest at age fifteen. After that, there were so many, I can't even remember them all," he bragged.

She rolled her eyes, and said, "You are a male whore."

"I don't think men can be whores," he said seriously.

"Why not?" she asked.

"A man with a lot of sexual experience is usually held in high esteem. After all, you wouldn't have wanted me to be a virgin during our first time. Virgins make awful lovers." He didn't even realize what he was saying.

She stood up, no longer dizzy, and put her hands on her hips. "So, because I was a virgin when we first made love, I was a terrible lover?" she seethed.

He stood up, not wanted to fight with her, but wanting to make his point, because that was the type of man he was. "You weren't a terrible lover. You were just inexperienced. I would have classified you as a prude, more than anything else."
Honestly, he was not making things any better. He could tell that, so he added, "It's alright for a woman to be a virgin, but you wouldn't have appreciated our first time half as much if I was a virgin when we first made love." He stood to approach her, but she backed away.

"So not only was I a prude, but you didn't appreciate the first time we made love?" she quizzed.

What? She was confusing him. He did not say that, did he?

"How did we get on this subject!" he yelled. "First, I was trying to comfort you, because you had a terrible experience today, and then out of the blue you wanted a tally of how many women I slept with, and now we're fighting about you being a terrible lover!" He was walking circles around her with his hands in the air.

"SO!" she accused, "You do think I am a terrible lover!" She started to walk out of the room. He caught her in the hallway and turned her around.

"You are psychotic, do you know that?" he noted. "I seriously think you might have hit your head down in the dungeon. I never said you were a lousy lover, and I never said I didn't appreciate you the first time we made love! The only negative thing I might have said tonight was that you were a prude, and frankly, Granger, that one is true, so put that in your pipe and poke it," he yelled at her.

"You idiot, the expression is, 'put that in your pipe and smoke it'," she said, and as she started to yell back at him, she had to laugh at his misnomer. She continued to laugh, walked in the kitchen, and sat down. He sat down across from her, and saw that her 'pro and con' list was still on the table, and she had just picked up the quill and wrote, "He makes me laugh" under the pro side. Then she wrote, "He thinks I'm a prude" under the con side.

"Hey, stop adding to the 'con' side," he whined.

"Well, stop doing things that make me add to it."

"You know, Granger," Draco drawled, "I know what you could do to get rid of that prude title."

"Oh, do tell, Mr. Whore," she said with a smile.

"Well, let me show you my 'pro and con' list," he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a list, which was titled, "Reasons I want to marry Granger".

"When did you make this?" she inquired.

"Last night, after you left in a huff, and after I made up my 'to do list' and the wedding timeline. Look at number two on the con side." He showed her the parchment.

She read the entire list, not just number two, but when she read number two (which by the way, was second to "her cat" and before "her books"), she huffed aloud. She said, "Well, that will just have to stay on the con list, because I already told you, I think that particular thing is gross and I don't want to do it."

"But I do it to you," he acknowledged.

"I don't ask you to do it me!" she shrilled.

"But you put it on your pro side," he countered.

"That was a joke," she said and then she smiled.

"Maybe that could be my wedding present from you," he thought aloud.

"No!" she retorted.

"But, I gave you a house!" he came back.

"I have nothing more to say on the subject, Mr. Malfoy. Maybe someone at your bachelor party will accommodate you." That being said, she went into the bedroom and slammed the door shut. She locked it as well. It looked like it would be the couch for Draco tonight.

As he walked by the bedroom door, he banged on it, and said again, "I gave you a house!" and walked on to the living room and plopped on the couch. He could not help but grin to himself. Just then, her mangy cat jumped on his chest, and he looked at the evil thing and said, "I love that crazy girl." Then he started petting the purring fur ball, and shut his eyes so he could get some sleep.

(End of day Two)