Hermione lay in Draco's arms; he had finally passed out an hour before hand. She would not lie to him and tell him that she was over what had happened. That would probably take years to work through. However she had told him that he had nothing to blame himself for, even though she knew perfectly well that he would, because he had done everything to protect her from his father. The fact that he had stood up to him so profoundly made her see him in an even more shining light. Not only had he told his death eater father that he was not going to break up with her, he made a point to tell him that he loved her. Of course the day had not gone along the lines that Draco had anticipated but now they were in fact free to do as they pleased. Lucius Malfoy would never be a part of her life again.
There had been a journalist at Malfoy Manor the previous day trying to get a scoop on the real story behind what had happened with Lucius. They ended up giving some quick comments and agreed to a photo. Originally Draco had protested but Hermione thought that people needed to know just how much the rest of the Malfoys had in fact changed. That morning she had received three nasty letters from Harry, Ron and Ginny because she had forgotten to tell them what had happened. In her defence she had remembered to tell her parents. Hermione slipped into unconsciousness.
Draco woke to a piercing scream. Hermione was starting to writhe beside him in the bed screaming at the top of her lungs. Draco shook her awake and noticed that she was crying again. Hermione had woke him up in the same manor every night since his father had attacked her. Her subconscious was replaying the event in her dreams. He held on to her tight as she wept into his chest. He was terrified that this was their last night together before she returned to her own house. What would happen to her when she was at home on her own with no one to be there for her? Draco shivered.
"Are you cold?"
"No, just thinking."
"About what?"
"You..."
Silence.
"What about me" Hermione said eventually into the darkness.
"That I don't want you to be on your own." He found her forehead in the dark and kissed her gently.
"You can always come back with me!" She was running her index finger in a circle on his bare chest.
"Would your parents let me stay there?"
"Of course they would. They are actually very eager to meet you."
"Really?"
"Obviously." She playfully slapped his shoulder.
"But what if I want to do something like this..." he kissed her neck and she gave a small shudder at the contact, "... there. Then what?"
"Then you can do it. My parents know how I feel about you, and know that I have been here for a week."
"Do they know that you stayed in my bed?" He raised his eyebrows at the silence.
"Um... No."
"So I will be in a bedroom away from you anyway?"
"Maybe. I am sure I can convince them to let you sleep in the room, even if it is on a mattress on my bedroom floor."
Draco laughed. "Wait, are you serious?"
"About what?"
"I can't sleep on the floor."
"Why?"
"I'm a Malfoy. Malfoys don't sleep on the floor."
Hermione laughed heartily. "You take the 'Prince' title very seriously don't you?"
"No." He laughed quietly into the nape of her neck. "I take the I don't want to sleep on a floor when I could be sleeping next to you thing very seriously."
Draco was standing outside the front gate of Malfoy Manor waiting for Hermione. Why was he so nervous? It's not like he didn't know how to act around parents. He had never met a set of parents as a boyfriend though. Why was he worrying about her parents; he was going to staying in a muggle household for the first time. That was the thing to worry about. He knew nothing of muggle etiquette. Hermione broke his train of thought by grabbing his hand.
"Ready?" she said smiling up at him. He nodded in response, putting his arm around her shoulder. The disapparated together.
Hermione's house was much smaller than his own. The outside was very tidy, at least the backyard was. Hermione led him through the back door, calling out to her parents that she was home. Hermione's mother ran into the kitchen and hugged her. Holding her hands she looked her daughter over. She had clearly been worried after the letter about Lucius. Mr. Granger entered the room. Mrs. Granger released Hermione so she could hug her father. They looked exactly how Draco remembered them. Of course he had only ever seen them from a distance in his second year at Diagon Alley, but they appeared to have barely aged.
Mrs. Granger noticed the handsome boy standing quietly behind Hermione. He was very well dressed for a teenage boy, she thought to herself. He stepped forward and extended an elegant hand for her to shake. She side stepped his outstretched hand and hugged him gently. His body became ridged but relaxed slightly when he hugged her back quickly.
"I don't shake Draco. You are as good as family now."
Draco raised his eyebrows. "Thank you Mrs. Granger" he said politely. She had a warm personality. Mr. Granger stepped forward to shake Draco's hand firmly. His grip lingering while he stared into Draco's eyes, his own squinting a little. 'Ah the protective father routine' Draco thought to himself.
"Hello, Mr. Granger."
"Draco."
"Well," Hermione said pulling Draco's hand out of her father's grip. "I am going to give Draco a tour."
She swiftly led Draco out of the kitchen by his hand and around the rest of her house. The last stop being her bedroom.
"Sorry about dad; he is pretty protective of me after the war."
"It's fine. I would be the same if you were my daughter." Draco placed his bag onto her bed taking in her room. It was how he had imagined it. Very neat, books in shelves lining the wall and a tiny amount of femininity.
"So what do you want to do?" Hermione asked. Draco smirked. "Other than that. I give it 5 minutes and my parents will be in here."
"Whatever you want to do. It's your house."
"I'm guessing that you have never seen a muggle movie before."
"What's that?"
She laughed softly. "Come on. Let's go down to living room. I can introduce you to muggle cinema."
Draco sat on the soft couch in the living room in front of what Hermione called a TV. He was watching her fiddle with some objects that he had no idea what they were or what they did. She sat down beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. After pressing a few buttons on a object called a remote the TV turned on.
"This movie is called The Hobbit. It is very popular."
Hermione watched Draco's reaction as the movie began to play. She had never seen his face so child like before. His eyes were full of wonder. After a few minutes she saw a smile creep over his face.
"You are missing the movie." He hadn't looked away from the screen.
"I've seen it before."
Mrs. Granger entered the room. "Oh I love this one" she said sitting on a single seater couch.
"Draco has never seen a movie before."
"Really?"
Draco shook his head while turning to look at her. "My father believed that it was improper for a wizard to learn anything about muggle culture."
"Oh. Well, if you want to know anything don't hesitate to ask." She smiled brightly at him.
"Thank you Mrs. Granger." He turned back toward the screen, captivated again.
They sat at the dinner table; the Grangers talking merrily about a lot of things Draco didn't understand. He mostly sat in silence while he ate and watched Hermione; answering questions when asked. Hermione's parents were very loving towards their daughter. Mrs. Granger seemed to approve of Draco, Mr. Granger on the other hand was clearly going to be much more of a challenge. Hermione yawned behind her hand.
"Shower then time for bed I think" she said standing up and carrying her plate to the sink. "I will get you a towel Draco."
Draco followed Hermione upstairs. She left him alone to get ready for sleep. He stood in the shower with the hot water running over his shoulders; his eyes closed and leaning against the wall. In two days time he would be back at school and away from Hermione at night. She had Ginny for support but he felt powerless, he couldn't protect her when he was 8 floors away from her. Draco turned off the shower, dried himself and got dressed in his long pants and t-shirt.
Hermione was reading on her bed when he walked into her bedroom. She placed the book open on her chest.
"So which room is mine?"
Hermione smiled. "This one."
"Really? I thought your father wouldn't be up for that."
"He wasn't. Mum told him that after everything that we have gone through in the last few years and considering how mature we are that she can trust us to stay in the same bedroom."
Draco crossed the room and lay on the double bed with her, kissing her deeply. "Your mother is a smart woman."
"She is. Shower time."
Draco lay on Hermione's bed reading when he heard a knock on the door frame. He turned his head to see Hermione's mother standing in the doorway. He sat up quickly.
"Mrs. Granger."
She smiled as she entered the room and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Draco. I just wanted to tell you how happy I am that you are dating Hermione. I have never seen her so happy. It seems she has found her equal in you..."
Draco sat in silent shock as he waited for her to continue.
"Thank you for saving her from your father" she finished finally.
She pulled him into a quick hug which to her obvious surprise he returned before standing up and leaving the room without another word. Hermione entered the room drying her hair with a towel.
"What did I miss?" She sat down beside Draco on the bed, looking at his shocked face.
"I just got approval from your mother."
