AN: Since so far I haven't had much of positive response and to be honest I'm starting to feel like turning anonymous reviews off here's the first chapter, it's a bit dark on the Malfoy's but that's the way the story went as my fingers typed, hope you enjoy and review!
Disclaimer: Any and all recognizable characters, situations, storylines etc.. are the property of J. K. Rowling. I am making absolutely no money from this and it is purely for fun
Hermione wrapped the delicate black shawl around her body and grabbed her clutch bag from her bed. The Malfoy's house elf, Loppy had informed her that the Master wanted her in the foyer in ten minutes.
Hermione sighed and checked her hair and make up one last time. She left her room and went to check on her son, where he was asleep in his cot next door, before making her way through the long draughty corridors of the Manor to join her husband and leave for the Ministry party.
Her husband, just the thought was like a kick to her stomach, even after five years.
He barely looked at her when she descended the stairs, clad in a green floor-length dress his mother had chosen. His mother chose everything. Right down to her underwear, Hermione wasn't trusted to choose for herself, her choices would be considered too muggle and not befitting the wife of a Malfoy.
He offered his arm, out of propriety and apparated them from the foyer into the main entrance of the Ministry of Magic.
They followed the crowds heading to the main ballroom and lined up to be announced.
Hermione scanned the room once they entered. She found who she was looking for sitting at a table in the opposite corner to the bar.
Her husband left her side immediately to head for the bar and the first of many firewhiskey's of the night.
Hermione made her way over to the table and her friends. She sat between Ron and Harry and felt her first safe breath leave her body in three months, since the last Ministry party.
"You're late, we were starting to get worried," Harry told her as he put an arm around her
and gave her a quick hug.
Ron gave her a peck on the cheek and Ginny gripped her hand and refused to let it go, "You're sure he won't cause a scene with you sitting here?" she asked quietly.
Hermione shook her head, "He'd already had at least half a bottle of Ogden's finest before we left. He won't even notice that I'm here, and if he did notice he wouldn't make a scene.
He can't afford to have a picture of him arguing with the Golden Trio splashed across the Daily Prophet."
"It's so good to see you 'Mione," Harry gripped her shoulders and refused to take his arm from around her, "how is the baby?"
"Arcturus isn't exactly a baby anymore," Hermione smiled as she thought of her beautiful son, at home in his cot, "He'll be two soon, and he is fine, despite his father."
"Good, we would love to see him, maybe we can plan a play date with James?" Ginny added.
"You know the only way that would be allowed is if they can let it slip to the press and make it into a publicity stunt to raise the Malfoy name from the gutter," Hermione gripped.
"This can't continue Hermione, only seeing you at Ministry functions and publicity events... it's not right, the control he has over you is just not right,"
"What am I supposed to do Ron? He'll take my baby away from me, I can't lose Arcturus," Hermione became emotional at the thought of a single day without her son.
Ron grabbed her hand and grabbed her up out of her seat and onto the dance floor,
"Hermione, you've fulfilled your obligations, you've given him an heir and satisfied the law, it's time to start looking after yourself."
"Ron, my son comes first, I can handle being his wife as long as Arcturus is safe," Hermione protested, "he is half-blood, they hate the fact and I won't risk it, I won't dare put a foot wrong and have my baby suffer."
"Hermione, we've all seen Malfoy with the baby, he dotes on him," Ron argued.
"Yes he does, but Lucius and Narcissa don't, and they are living in the same house, watching their ever-so-precious son become more and more miserable. Having to sneak his prostitutes out of the house, so the press don't see that it is not a happy marriage and you should see the amount of Ogden's he goes through in a week. If I didn't hate him so much I would pity him."
"Prostitutes Hermione, really? Since when would you have ever put up with something like that in your marriage?" Ron was seething as he watched the love of his life suffering so much.
"It's better than him touching me. Thankfully I have managed to avoid that since falling pregnant with Arcturus," Hermione conceded in relief. "I don't want to discuss this anymore, how's Megan? Why isn't she here?" Hermione diverted the question to Ron's own muggle wife.
"Megan's at home with Holly, my little muffin's got the flu, I would've stayed too but I had to be here," Ron explained, as he swirled Hermione around the dance floor.
"Oh the poor little thing, it's been going around though, Arcturus was the same a couple of weeks ago."
"Hermione, Megan and I aren't happy, she's back with her old boyfriend. This law is just ridiculous, they should just end it now and let us all get divorced if we want to," Ron griped.
"You're okay with that? Really?" Hermione echoed Ron's own word back at him.
"Yes I am, unlike your husband I don't have anything against Megan and I want to her to be happy, she'll never be happy with me when I'm so completely in love with you."
"Ron, please. We can't keep having this conversation, you and I cannot be," Hermione pulled away and sat back down at the table, starting a conversation with Ginny before Ron could do anything else.
The night continued on and the speeches were made, a good time was had by most and Hermione ached to get home to check on her son and make sure that Lucius had not lost his alcohol filled temper and done something, which was her constant worry.
...
The Manor
As soon as they apparated back into the foyer of the Manor, Draco dropped his grip on Hermione's arm and headed for the main lounge and the bar within to continue his drunken haze.
Hermione sighed, shaking her head and made her way straight up the main staircase towards the nursery and her son.
She entered to find Loppy tending to her baby boy as he cried. Hermione went straight over and picked him up from the little house elfs arms, "what happened, Loppy?"
"Loppy came when little Master began to cry missus, Loppy came, but master Malfoy was in the room missus, master was standing over the crib, he woke little master up, Loppy is ordered to beat herself for interrupting Master Malfoy's time," Loppy began to immediately punch herself over and over again.
"Loppy stop, please stop, I am ordering you to stop! What was Master Malfoy doing?" Hermione urged the little house elf as she snuggled her little boy to her chest.
Loppy stopped hitting herself just long enough to answer, "He was standing over the crib missus, he had a whiskey glass in his hand, and his wand missus," Loppy then panicked and began to beat herself even harder for telling on her master.
"Loppy, if you continue to hurt yourself I will give you clothes; please will you ask Draco to join me in the nursery?" Hermione asked, desperate to stop the little elf from hurting herself any longer and in need to protect her son by hopefully getting Draco to wake up and realise that the baby was not safe in the Manor any longer.
A while later Hemione was sat in the rocking chair coaxing the baby back to sleep when Draco stumbled into the nursery, "why is he awake?" he slurred.
"Your father, that's why. I've asked you, begged you, pleaded with you to let us move somewhere away from the Manor. Your parents hate this innocent little boy, like the filthy deatheaters they are and tonight your father was stood over him, drunk, with his wand in his hand. If Loppy hadn't come to see why the baby was crying, we may have come back to find a very different scenario! You may hate me Draco Malfoy and believe me I feel exactly the same way about you, but Arcturus has done nothing wrong!"
"Did you see my father standing over him as you say?"
"No I didn't but I believe-"
"So you expect me to believe the word of that rotten little house elf, when the baby simply woke up crying, I ought to give the rat clothes," Draco began to rant.
"Oh for Merlin's sake, Loppy is not lying and she has already beat herself enough tonight thanks to slime you call Father. I know how much you love your son Draco; of all the thing I can accuse you of, I will never say that you don't care for the baby, but you are leaving him in harms way by making us stay here," Hermione concluded.
"We cannot leave, the Malfoy's have always lived at the Manor. I will not have the press writing stories that we have left because of you," Draco gave the baby one concerned look and stumbled back out the room.
Hermione stayed by her son's side for the rest of the night, just encase his deranged grandfather decided to come back for another attempt at whatever he was doing earlier.
...
A few weeks went by and Hermione found herself dressing for another Ministry event.
She had written to Harry and Ron after the previous party and informed them of what had occurred and that she now feared for her son's safety more than she ever had before. She had hoped that maybe they would be able to help in some way but so far a response had not come back to her and she knew full well that the letters back from her friends were probably sitting on her husband's desk instead of reaching her.
Draco read all her correspondence before she was allowed to even know of its existence; he was more of a prison warden than a husband.
She sighed, finished putting on her jewellery and went into check on her son, as she always did before leaving for the night. The only difference this time was the many protection charms she cast over his crib.
If Draco would not help her protect their son then she would do it herself, consequences be damned.
She locked the door and warded it against wizarding apparition, she obviously still wanted Loppy to be able to get in; although the little elf seemed terrified of going near her little boy since the beating she took from Lucius, after he found out that she told Hermione about his drunken almost attack on his grandson.
She descended the stairs and obediently took Draco's arm.
...
The Ministry
The Ministry ballroom was dressed exactly the same way as the previous party, the tables were setup exactly the same way as the previous party, she saw the exact same people as she had at the previous party and the announcer called out "Mr & Mrs Draco Malfoy," exactly the same way as he had at the previous party.
Hermione used these pointless thoughts to distract her from her terror at leaving her son as she entered the ballroom and looked for her friends.
Draco didn't even pause for a second before going to the bar and Hermione located Harry and Ron in the opposite corner of the large room.
They caught her up in hard embraces as soon as she reached them and she saw them both breathe a sigh of relief, they were clearly worried that that she would not be there tonight.
"Hermione, we were so worried; you never responded to our letters, we were literally ready with a team of Aurors to come and arrest Malfoy on your say so. We thought something had happened to you when you never wrote back," Harry quickly explained.
"I never got your letters, you know full well he reads them before they get to me. I'm surprised that didn't start a drunken shouting match," Hermione stated.
The boys both noticed that all the feeling was missing from her voice. They both saw that the Hermione they knew and loved was quickly draining away after five years married to their sworn enemy, "Hermione come with me," Ron grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the hall through a side exit.
"Ron, where are we going?" Hermione hurriedly whispered, she was so worried that someone, especially the press would notice their disappearance.
"I need to talk to you, just come with me," Ron answered, as he led her through the many halls and corridors of the Ministry.
He finally stopped when they reached the Auror's offices, and escorted her through the door to his private office.
"Hermione, I can't watch this anymore. Leave him. Just take the baby and leave him. Come to us or to Harry and Ginny. We'll protect you, he won't get near you. I'll kill him before he gets near you. I swear it!"
"Ron stop it. If I leave him, I go against the marriage law. The baby will go straight into Draco's care and my memory will be erased. I cannot leave him, so just stop!"
"You have disappeared Hermione. Your soul, your fire, it's disappearing before my eyes and i can't stand it. That bastard has sucked the life out of you and I just... can't..."
He grabbed her and kissed her...
AN: UH OH, reviews please :)