—Chapter 7–

Accompanying Song: Youth - Glass Animals

Dawn had just broken as the sun had begun its climb over the horizon. The morning rays streaked across the wooden floor and reached out like skeleton fingers to the sleeping couple. Hermione had been the first to stirr, but did not dare to open her eyes for fear that this moment was all just part of her sleeping world. Her back was pressed firmly to Draco's chest and his body had coiled around hers to fill every bend and curve. A soft breath of warm air washed over her neck with every exhale.

If she was asked to describe perfection, it would be this moment with him. There were no other thoughts on her mind, only clarity that this is what she wanted. He had been trying his damndest to be sure that she could see without a shadow of a doubt that he wanted this to work and she had been going with the flow. Last night's events had been a catalyst, the turning point, the moment of clarity that she knew this wasn't just a game to him. He wanted this.

He wanted her.

As the rays began to reach closer, Hermione's eyes slowly began to flutter open. Draco's arm was snuggly around her waist and his fingers intertwined with those on her left hand. Her gaze fell to the ring that adorned her finger. Even so early on, he had tried. He had known even the barest amount about her or observed her tastes when it came to accessories. She slowly wiggled her finger in the light, casting a kaleidoscope of colors to reflect in the diamond.

Draco's grip on her hand tightened to give the barest of squeezes as he brushed his lips across her neck.

"Good morning, love," she softly purred, her body shifting to get a better view of him.

"Good morning, beautiful," his voice was foggy with sleep as he peeked out through lidded eyes to her.

The memories of their time after returning from Harry's flooded her mind as she took in his form; the sheet had fallen to drape loosely across his waist and given her more than an eyeful. A mischievous grin lit up her face as she maneuvered herself to press her bare chest to his. The feeling of his hardened skin against her sensitive buds drew her closer to his body where his own sensitive member grazed her lower abdomen.

"Hermione," he managed to hiss, her hand having already found its way between them.

"Let me take care of that for you, darling.."

"Hermione," his voice was stronger now as he found himself wide awake, "we have to meet with my mother soon."

"We have a few hours," she pleaded, batting her eyelashes at him.

It was all the convincing it took as he rolled to press her body below him. "You little vixen."

Hermione braced herself against the bathroom sink with one hand as she leaned closer to the mirror with the other. Delicately, she began to swipe a mixture of greens and purples over the marks that had been left along her collarbone and neck from their time alone.

"I think that draws a bit more attention to them," came a familiar drawl from the doorway.

Hermione cast him a small glare, "Because I would leave it just like this, of course."

She continued to pick up the next brush and slowly blended foundation over the colors that already coated her skin. Each swipe brought her skin to a more even tone that masked the evidence of their romp. Still she gathered up her scarf from the countertop and carefully wrapped it loosely around her neck. Any evidence of their lack of innocence was concealed from sight, as she was certain it would be a terrible impression to break news of their engagement looking like a werewolf got ahold of her.

"I still don't see why you didn't just use a concealment charm."

Hermione's arms crossed over her chest. "Unless your mother is blind, I am certain she would still see the shimmer and discoloration. This many concealment charms wouldn't have been easy."

"You could have just went there as you were," he smirked.

"You could have left me looking decent," she hmphed at this.

Draco stepped closer to her, bridging the gap so that he was invading her space. He reached down to cup her backside and forcefully pulled her hips to his. For once, he became the antagonist that teased her with a slow grind of his hips.

"I cannot help that I like to claim what is mine. Spoiled children rarely like to share," his head dipped to nip at the shell of her ear as he spoke.

Despite the heat that burned in her from such a small gesture, she begrudgingly pried herself from his grip.

"We need to get going or we will be late," she stated matter-of-factly.

Pushing past him, she strutted towards the hearth with an exaggerated sway of her hips as if to show him what he could have just had.

Regardless of how much she had prepared for this moment and for how brave she felt last night, the moment they stepped into the manor, all her bravery fled. Her heart pounded against the cage of her ribs like a trapped bird begging to be set free. She felt her breath hitch in her throat and her vision swam with stars.

"We are in a receiving room far from there," Draco attempted to smooth her nerves. His hand found its way to hers and interlocked their fingers. He gave her a reassuring squeeze. "I will never let anything happen to you again. I promise."

Gradually, he began to lead her from the room into the foyer. Each step forward was hesitant and her vicelike grip on Draco was bruising.

"Draco, darling, I am glad you're home," Narcissa's voice broke through the silence that had cloaked them.

The Lady of the manor began to descend from her place on the balcony towards them. Her hand came to rest on the banister as she made her way towards them, each step slow and deliberate.

But she was not the same woman that Hermione had remembered. Narcissa's cheeks were sunken and her high cheekbones cast a harsh shadow across the face that Hermione had remembered as being so breathtakingly beautiful. The long elegant house coat that she wore seemed to swallow her body. She was a shell of the woman that she had once been. The closer she came to them, the more Hermione noticed just how much the stress had weighed on the woman.

Narcissa reached out and gently cupped Hermione's face; her touch was icy and as if she was being touched by a ghost. Perhaps at this point, she was just a ghost of the manor. A ghost of the war.

"Hermione, love, it has been so long since I last saw you. You are absolutely glowing! How far along are you?"

Hermione balked, taking a step back from Narcissa as soon as the question left the woman's lips.

"Mother, what do you mean?" Draco's attempt to feign oblivious was brushed off with a laugh from his mother

"Darling, do you honestly not expect a mother to know?" She shook her head with a tut. "I am a mother myself, I can see it." A wave of her wand and the concealment charm over Hermione's engagement ring faded. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that this spontaneous meeting and subsequent engagement announcement is all just coincidence?"

The couple was at a loss for words. Hermione helplessly looked to Draco, but he was frozen in place.

It was her turn to be brave enough for the both of them.

"I apologize that the announcement had to come out this way. I was hoping to surprise you. Our relationship caught us both off guard and quickly escalated. I only wish that I had the foresight to catch up with you sooner."

A smile lit up Narcissa's face as she reached out to clasp Hermione's hand in hers. "No need to apologize, but we do have quite a bit of reacquainting and planning to do and little time. Follow me."

She wasted no time waiting for them to acknowledge their request before she left. Her steps were more sure than when she had originally joined them and there seemed to be a lightness in her gait.

Draco spun Hermione to him and it was then that he repaid her for all of her sudden outbursts. His lips captured hers in a searing kiss, an attempt to show his gratitude for her taking control of the situation. The moment was short lived as he pressed his forehead against hers and combed his fingers back through her hair.

"You are the most magnificent woman I have ever met."

She offered him a shy smile before they quickly moved to catch back up with Narcissa.

Narcissa's hand lightly rested on Hermione's knee as she spoke. When they had finally found where she had disappeared off to, Narcissa had seated Draco across from her and Hermione beside her on the love seat. What had begun as talks of how to announce the engagement on their own terms had quickly delved into conversations about child Draco. Hermione was in stitches as her fiance shot her the occasional glare and each laugh egged on Narcissa to tell the next tale. Having started with stories about Draco as a baby had continued to young Draco with his accidental magic.

"So you mean to tell me that he has always been this mischievous and I quite possibly am going to have a mini version of him on my hands soon?"

Narcissa roared with laughed, giving the girl's knee a squeeze, "You don't even know the start of it!"

"I didn't even think of what a handful any child of his would be," Hermione gave an exaggerated exasperated sigh.

"He was a very sweet boy, my baby," Narcissa attempted to reassure. "He was just found of keeping us on our toes. After seeing his first match of Quidditch, I caught him attempting to leap off the second story balcony with one of the house elves' brooms!"

Draco let out a groan as both women dissolved into a fit of laughter. Despite his outward sour attitude, it brought a warmth to his heart to see his mother in such high spirits. She often floated about in her day to day life, a lifeless ghost of her former beauty. The news didn't send her into a spiral as he anticipated, instead she had seemed as if she was on the upswing to her former glory.

Narcissa's expression sobered, though a smile still remained. "You truly are blessed. Motherhood is such a beautiful thing." She cast a sidelong glance to her son.

Hermione smoothed her hand over the swell of her lower abdomen. Though it wasn't a noticeable bump, she savored the feeling of the unborn life they had created growing in her womb. "I'm terrified, but I know it will all be alright."

"Darling, even if you would have planned for this, it is still terrifying. Life is such a fragile thing. The tiniest upset could leave you without…" her voice begun to trail off.

Draco straightened in his seat. "Mother? Are you alright?"

Narcissa waved him off, "I do not need coddled like a child." As if she had dismissed her prior thought as well, she turned back to Hermione, "have you thought about the announcement?"

"I think I would like for you to handle it. You are far more eloquent than I could ever hope to be, and I know you will do it justice."

Once more a smile lit up the elder woman's face. Hermione had noticed the distant look in her eyes as they had broken away from their previous conversation, and the mere mention of being in charge of such a monumental event brought her back into the moment. "Well, I will have to send for a photographer and get a stunning portrait of the two of you, then we can publish the announcement."

The emotions that had begun to ebb had once more flowed back into her face. Narcissa's eyes took a glassy appearance as she attempted to force a smile. Her voice betrayed her, wet with the oncoming threat of a breakdown, "I do wish my Lucius were here to see this, to see his grandchild."

She rose to her feet. "Please excuse me, I believe it has been a long morning." Without pause, she was swept from the room.

"I apologize. It's just that—"

"Draco. I understand. The war may be over, but we are all waging our own battles still."

In the blink of an eye, Draco had leapt from his seat and enveloped Hermione into a tight embrace.

"You do not understand how much this meant to me, how much it meant for you to try. I know what happened to you here. I know how you felt about my family, but she's lost everything. I am all she has left."

Hermione wrapped her arms around his midsection. "She is quite lovely when I am not hearing about pureblood ideologies."

"It's not just that you were cordial, though that does mean a lot." He sighed heavily, "she had been outcast from the majority of the aristocratic circles. I know it's shallow, but you have given her an in, a way to plan an event everyone will be dying to attend and she will be the hostess to it."

He tipped her chin up, pressing a tender kiss to her lower lip, "You have given me a child, a sense of purpose, and brought light to my family. I know I can never repay you, but I will do everything I can."

"You give me too much credit," she laughed, stealing another kiss from him.

"I do not believe you have ever received your due credit."

"Draco Malfoy, I do believe you are getting soft on me."

The sight before his eyes set his blood on fire, every fiber of his being vehemently against what was transpiring in the manor. Her filthy hands touching him was bad enough, but the fact that he reciprocated this horrible act had his vision red. How could such an atrocity happen to such a prestigious family?

The most terrifying aspect was that Narcissa herself knew about this and had not snuffed it out.

How the mighty had fallen.

The mudblood would find out just what happened to those that threatened the prestigious lineage that had taken generations of careful grooming to be where they had been.

Before the latest son had found himself fawning over a lesser.

Over someone that did not deserve the magic that she could wield.

Over someone that did not deserve life.

How the mighty had fallen indeed, and how she, too, would fall

Author's Note: Thank you again for getting this far. It seems trouble is looming on the edge for our darling couple! What horrors could await them?