Draco knew he was in way over his head, so he went to the one person who always knew what to do in a bad situation. His mother.
He had become something of a joke in his younger years for saying "Wait until my father hears about this." But the real joke was if he ever threatened people with his mother most knew to duck and cover.
Sending her an owl to meet for lunch he was not surprised to get one back within the hour with an invitation to her favorite restaurant.
And it was always phrased as her invitation, at her leisure and to her favorite place. But Draco knew without a doubt there was no one his mother would not stand up to or defy to protect him. Including lying right to the Dark Lord's face.
She would know what to do now and how to best proceed. Draco knew with a certainty that Hermione Granger was in fact the missing and presumed dead Astoria Greengrass. His betrothed.
His.
The word whispered its way around in his heart. Let the entire world have all of the equal rights for women it wanted. Let the world tell him his wife did not belong to him. Draco knew that his wife would belong to him alone. And after all he had lost and given up to that mad man who had taken over his home by Merlin he would have this!
Not that he intended to keep her barefoot and pregnant, he was no Weasley! No, his wife would have a brilliant career, or go in to charities. Or by Salazar if she wanted to become the Minister of Magic he would throw all of the Malfoy fortunes and resources in to making that happy.
As long as when he got home she was curled up on a couch with a book open in her lap and a magicked cup of tea long forgotten. As long as she took his hand when she woke up.
And maybe just maybe… there would be a beautiful little boy or girl who would be curled up there with her.
His.
He was smiling to himself picturing their perfect little family. Not at the Manor, no children of his would grow up in the home where a mad man let a snake eat one of his school teachers at the dining room table.
Narcissa admired her son as he sat at their table smiling. He had weathered the war perhaps a little worse for wear but he was healing.
"My darling" she said, kissing his temple.
"Mother." Draco was always pleased to see her, she had been his rock, his companion and his savior more times than he could count. She was his entire world. He knew she would be a wonderful grandmother.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of a second weekday luncheon with my handsome son?" She smiled at him.
"Mother... things have become… complicated…" He did not know where to begin.
"Draco Malfoy, if you have got a girl with child out of wedlock I know several severing spells…" Draco winced closing his legs tighter.
"No mother" he hissed, looking around embarrassed. "Not that kind of complicated."
Narcissa sat back with a smile and put her napkin in her lap. She ummoned a waiter and ordered her tea, Da Hong Pao, with a cup magicked to serve and hold it at precisely 93c.
Narcissa knew Draco had not got a young lady "in trouble" as the saying goes, but it should help him put things in perspective. There were few things worse to a male than the prospect of having his nether bits magically severed.
When she had taken a sip of her tea and waived the waiter of she looked over her mug at him. "Go on dear."
Looking around furtively he opened his hand with the Greengrass ring on his palm and quickly closed it once he knew his mother recognized it.
A year of having that monster in their home had taught Narcissa how to school her features and show nothing. "Would you care to explain?"
And so he did, starting with the train ride and the trip to the Granger home. The adoption papers and the safety deposit box, which was like a bank vault you could hold in your hand. And no it did not have an extendable charm on it.
"So… how many people know?" Right to the most important parts.
"Me, Hermione, Pansy and Blaise. Probably Theo because Blaise can't shut up to him." Draco sighed, those two were as bad as pre-teen witches.
Narcissa closed her eyes for a moment. "OK, it is impractical to squash this. So how can we make certain the family is seen in the most flattering light?"
And… right to the "how can we profit from this." Spoken like a true Malfoy. But Draco knew how to play his parents, when he wasn't competing with a psychopath.
"If this is true, and I have every reason to suspect it is, we Malfoy's will have not only found the long lost Greengrass heir, but she happens to be the war heroine Hermione Granger AND my betrothed? There is no downside in this for us, Mother. We may be able to rebuild our name." he tented his fingers the way he so often saw his father doing.
"I suppose she is not the worst choice. Dreadful muggle ideology, of course, she will have to stop that at once but…" Draco laughed.
"Really? You think the poster child for muggleborn rights is going to give that up because YOU tell her to? She was tortured in front of us in our own dining room, Mother, I think it is safe to say that whatever we request of her she is going to do the exact opposite." He laughed again.
"Mmmmm… much like a pureblood would, so not completely hopeless." Way to put a spin on this, Mother, Draco thought. "And she is attractive, I suppose, and fairly intelligent…"
Draco interrupted "Mother, she is more than "fairly" intelligent, she is known as the brightest witch of her age for a reason."
"So we can expect an intelligent grandchild." She continued as though he had not interrupted her. "Your father will have fits of course…"
"All the better reason to elope with her and marry her tonight." Draco grumbled. He had still not forgiven the man for nearly ruining their family and forcing him into taking the Dark Mark.
"But I can manage your father." This time there was the barest gritting of her teeth. He knew better than to push too far.
"First we will have to break this to the Greengrasses, there will be magical parentage tests, press meetings to hold." And right to the practical necessities.
This was why he had contacted his mother.
"But of course, first we have to make certain she is Astoria before we proceed." Draco sighed, of course they did, there was no way to just say "We touched pinkies and now I want to keep her" without sounding like a nut.
"How do we accomplish this?" He knew his mother would have an answer.
And she did not disappoint. "We look at the marriage contracts and see if you are still bound by them, of course."
Of course. His mother assumed he knew far more than he did.
"And exactly how would we do that? Where is the contract?" He had never actually seen it. Hell, until recently he hadn't known it existed!
"In the Malfoy vaults, of course." She smiled, he was sure she was messing with him.