Draco leaned back in his chair and exhaled as a sense of calm washed over him. The overwhelming madness of the past few hours had finally calmed after the Healer had settled Narcissa down with an aging potion and sleeping draught until she was restored to her actual age. To add to the serenity, Julius had been reinstated to his human form and had been tucked in for the night. Not to mention, Draco was able to relish being de-tailed. He found himself looking almost affectionately on his wife, who was absorbed in the thick volume her father had brought her while absent-mindedly making them tea. Hermione picked up a tiny silver ladle and delicately scooped the fragrant tea leaves into the mesh hemisphere of the infuser. She snapped the bejewelled catch shut and elegantly twirled the shimmering silver chain around one slim fingertip. The sphere swung hypnotically as she lowered it into the delicate swirls of steam escaping from the ornate turquoise teacup in front of her and turned a page with her other hand, her eyes still firmly on her book. Draco frowned; he was almost enchanted by her movements.
"Feeling better?" Hermione said, as she looked up and caught Draco's eyes.
"Immensely," he admitted, smiling as he picked up the turquoise cup she slid towards him, "Who knew that my mother was such a handful when she was younger? It makes me almost feel sorry for my grandparents."
Hermione laughed, a sweet tinkling sound that he didn't hear often enough while she was in his company. "I think it's your father I feel sorry for after hearing her lovely nickname of choice."
"Ugh don't remind me, I might have to Obliviate myself to forget," Draco muttered, trying to send the memory into the safety of the other mercifully repressed recollections of drunken family Christmases and the particularly unfortunate looking woman he had woken up with after Blaise's nineteenth birthday party. Some things were best forgotten quickly.
"I do have some pretty good Ministry connections in that department," laughed Hermione. "I'm sure they will be more than happy to help."
"My, my, Granger," Draco smirked at his wife. "I'm really rubbing off on you. Who knew you had it in you to brag about your connections? The way you're going, you'll be mimicking the Malfoy smirk perfectly in no time."
"I can't wait," said Hermione sarcastically, though failing to suppress a smile at his words.
"Give it enough time and you might even pick up on the Malfoy sophistication and blinding charm," joked Draco as he sipped his tea.
"Yeah you were definitely sophisticated and charming the time the DA turned you, Crabbe and Goyle into slugs," Hermione retorted, turning another page.
"I was still the best slug to grace the luggage racks of the Hogwarts' Express," Draco gave her a lazy smile that made her heart suddenly beat faster.
"You certainly were the slimiest," she said cheerfully. Draco laughed.
They lapsed back into companionable silence as they worked their way through a plate of biscuits. Draco found that he cherished being able to share some moments of calm with his feisty wife on occasion. We're almost like an old married couple, he thought, as she refilled his cup without him asking. He never in a million years thought that he would be lying in bed next to Hermione Granger drinking tea off a tea-tray while reading. She had an unobtrusive presence sometimes. It was almost homely. Who am I kidding? It's definitely homely, realised Draco as he surveyed the scene of domesticity around them. The flames in the fireplace danced merrily, momentarily better illuminating the cosy bedroom and the warm fur comforter the couple had casually thrown across their legs. Draco had never thought that he would find this kind of matrimonial harmony appealing in the slightest, but then again he had never thought that he would be married to Hermione.
He finished his book on potion making with satisfaction, and once again turned to glance over at his wife. A smirk tugged on the corners of his mouth as he saw that Hermione had fallen asleep over her book, her empty teacup still clasped in her slender fingers. He picked his wand off the bedside table and carefully levitated the tea-tray off their bed. He reached over and slowly prised the teacup from Hermione's fingers and levitated it to join the rest of their tea things with a flick of his wand. With the same careful movements, he grudgingly rescued the volume that had been the splash of cold water to their "accident" the other night. He narrowed his eyes at the book before placing it on his bedside table. Draco tenderly rearranged the pillows behind Hermione's head so that she wouldn't wake up feeling sore, and even covered her up more securely with the fur blanket. To his surprise, Hermione gave a sleepy sigh and curled herself around his body, her arms holding him close to her in a vice grip. Dracoshrugged to himself and sank into the pillows next to her. It wasn't really his problem if his wife liked to cuddle people in her sleep now, was it?
Two days later Hermione stared at the sparkling jewels in front of her in shock. Never in her life had she seen so much fine and precious jewellery clustered together. She gingerly touched the ornate silver box. Next to her, Draco looked completely disinterested as he wolfed down his breakfast while reading the Daily Prophet. Hermione looked up to find a completely recovered Narcissa surveying her in mild amusement.
"This is too much," Hermione started to protest feebly.
"Nonsense dear," said Narcissa firmly. "All the Malfoy brides inherit the family jewellery as soon as they are married."
Hermione picked up a collar of amber coloured stones that glittered in the strobe-lights that flashed through the room thanks to Julius and his cereal. "How about I just take this one, and you can keep the rest?"
"Don't be ridiculous, you are a Malfoy now and you need to start looking the part. We will be going shopping today to embellish your current wardrobe," Narcissa insisted. Hermione felt the bile rise up in her throat. She hated shopping. Her gaze fell back on the jewels in front of her in morbid fascination at the fact that the Malfoys thought nothing of whipping out a casket of priceless gemstones at the breakfast table.
"We're taking Juls out in the snow first," said Draco as he frowned over the Prophet. "Only if he is a good boy and finishes his breakfast though."
Julius stared down at his food sorrowfully at the delay, but obediently finished his food while Hermione continued to pick up pieces of jewellery, her own breakfast almost completely untouched. She held a pair of dangling emerald earrings against her skin and smiled slightly. She didn't have girl moments very often, but by Merlin, this jewellery had the capacity to turn men into cross-dressers just so they would get a chance to wear it.
"Thank you," she said finally.
"It's nothing," said Narcissa, waving a hand filled with glittering rings airily. "I trust the pieces aren't too old fashioned for your taste?"
"Hardly," mumbled Hermione as she lifted a brilliant square diamond the size of her thumbnail that was secured on a shimmering gold chain.
"I'm finished with breakfast now, can we go?" asked Julius impatiently. He didn't understand why all the grown-ups had been making such a fuss over boring things like parties and jewellery recently, but things had been very interesting since his new mummy had come to stay with them. Unfortunately daddy had been most displeased with his behaviour as a cat so Julius had been forced to stay indoors for almost two whole days now. He was itching to get out to the snow.
"Sure, let's go get rugged up," said Hermione as she replaced all the jewellery and took her stepson's hand. Draco found himself glancing at Hermione as she walked away, much to his irritation. Stop checking her out as though she is a floozy at a bar. She's your bloody wife for Merlin's sake, he scolded himself firmly. Narcissa's eyes twinkled as she turned her attention back to her food. Clearly her son was growing fond of his wife, but seeing how they were both obstinate idiots, it was unlikely that anything would come of it unless she helped out. Oh how Narcissa Black loved to scheme. She watched fondly as Draco excused himself to go put on warmer clothes. While Lucius had told her not to meddle in Draco's life, this hardly counted as meddling right? It was matchmaking. Completely different.
Draco quickly got dressed and waited in the hallway for his wife and son to join him. On hearing their footsteps behind him, Draco turned and blinked in surprise. Both Hermione and Julius had misshapen objects over their curls. He blinked again, trying to work out if they were real. Oh Merlin, could I have brain damage from hitting the floor when mother gave me a tail? He gingerly reached out and touched the distorted article perched on his son's head.
"I made Juls a hat," explained Hermione proudly.
Draco squinted, trying to discern a resemblance. Despite failing, he politely nodded in acknowledgement. "Ah, yes of course."
"I could make you one if you like?" Hermione asked almost shyly.
"Err no thanks, I'm all set for hats," muttered Draco in mild horror. "Shall we leave then?"
Hermione nodded as Julius reached out to hold Draco's hand in his free one. He impatiently tugged his parents behind him as he strode towards the back gardens as quickly as his little legs would carry him. Draco courteously held the door open for Hermione to walk through, marvelling the fact that they had gone almost four days without spite. He was almost starting to enjoy her company. Almost. He winced slightly as he watched Julius run out and jump face-first into a heap of snow. He turned to Hermione to comment on the ridiculousness of Julius' untapped reserves of energy when he realised she was no longer standing beside him. A delighted shriek from the gardens revealed her whereabouts. She was currently giving his son a run for his money as he chased her, trying to pelt her with snowballs. Draco cringed at the thought of Lady Malfoy running around in some frozen water chasing the heir to the Malfoy fortune as though she was a house-elf.
A splat of something cold and wet struck the side of Draco's face, jerking him out of his thoughts. He raised his fingers to the nasty substance on the side of his face in surprise. It almost felt as though…
"Did you throw a snowball at me?" he asked in disbelief.
Hermione nodded, her eyes sparkling with mischief as she casually threw another one at her husband.
"You little minx!"
Before Hermione knew it, she was being chased around the back gardens by her surprisingly fast husband. She quickly transfigured the snow under his feet to turn into ice, causing him to skid and land in an ungraceful heap. Julius took this moment to pelt his father with a series of snowballs while Hermione laughed. Her eyes widened as Draco rose to his feet. It was revenge o'clock. She squealed as he charmed snowballs to pelt her and slow her down while he chased her. He was almost nearing in on her when a swirl of snowflakes fluttered into his vision.
"What the-" Draco's epithet was cut off as the snowflakes swarmed around him like a crowd of angry bees. Hermione's laughter echoed through the back gardens as he struggled to retain his balance on the sheet of ice under his feet.
"Daddy!" Julius called out, as Draco turned to face his son, momentarily distracted from the swarm of snowflakes intent on flying at him. He regretted it a second later as a snowball hit him square in the face.
"I'm going to get you both!" Draco scowled as he waved his wand. The snowflakes stopped swarming and fell lifelessly to the ground. Before he could run towards Hermione or Julius, Hermione muttered a quick spell that made the snow around them rise and form a small city of ice houses. Julius squealed and started to run through them looking for a hiding spot. Draco was mildly impressed at his wife's knowledge of charms and transfiguration; the ice houses even had actual doors that opened properly on icy hinges.
"Come find us," Hermione taunted, from inside one of the identical houses. Draco looked around, trying to identify the location of her voice.
"You're getting cooooolder," she sing-songed as he stepped to his right.
"I'll be nice and hot when I've got you," he muttered back, as he moved left.
"Kinky, Malfoy," Hermione laughed.
"You wish," he shot back, as he swiftly slipped behind an icy tree that adorned the front yard of one of the houses and made his way quietly to the back wall of the gardens that was filled with magically flowering rosebushes. He thought he saw a mass of brown curls duck behind a rosebush as he approached. He grinned and slid across the remaining foot of ice, just as he spotted her, across one of the larger rosebushes.
"Hey," she laughed, carefully maintaining a rosebush's distance between them as he walked up.
"Found you," Draco smirked.
"You haven't caught me though," Hermione pointed out as she circled the rosebush to keep herself opposite Draco.
"I will soon enough," grinned Draco.
"High hopes," muttered Hermione as she expertly put another rosebush between them.
"I always get what I want," Draco winked, as he drew closer.
"Spoilt brat."
"You're no less spoilt," he drawled as he tried to corner his wife. "I've met your father remember?"
Hermione laughed as she edged towards the fringe of another rosebush.
"So Granger," Draco smirked as he approached her. "What do you think of my mother's rosebushes?"
"They're very pretty," mumbled Hermione, in confusion.
"They are also covering up the back wall," Draco grinned, as Hermione found herself pressed up against the aforementioned wall that was well concealed behind a deceptive layer of rosebushes.
"Uh oh…"
Draco neared Hermione as she stood there, her eyes wide and her cheeks flushed from the running. She looked almost like a rose herself, in her deep pink robes, despite the misshaped object on her head. Draco leisurely walked up to her and put an arm around either side of her head. He grinned inwardly at the effect his proximity had on his wife.
"Here," Draco plucked a rose from the bush next to them and tapped it with his wand, turning it into a shimmering crystal replica.
"I- uh- Thanks," Hermione mumbled in confusion as she accepted the shining rose. She couldn't take her eyes off her husband's silver ones. His face was inching closer, his pale pink lips glistening from tiny icicles. Unbeknownst to Hermione, hundreds of tiny icicles had found refuge in her own curls, making it look as though she had emptied a vial of shimmering fairy dust onto her hair. Draco found himself almost stunned at her simple beauty. He leaned in, ready to kiss her again-
Splat!
Draco and Hermione broke apart as a snowball hit them. Julius stood there, armed with two more as his parents flushed at the interruption. In a flash Draco had run up to his son and picked him up in his arms.
"Gotcha!" he said, as he swirled Julius around him.
Hermione watched the two Malfoys frolic as she realised something with a sinking feeling. She was an outsider. She was the muggleborn in their pureblood lives. She was always going to be the replacement. Heck, she didn't even know what sort of relationship Draco had had with Julius' mother, but she would always come second to her no doubt. Maybe he still missed her? She felt tears sting her eyes at the realisation. For a second there, she'd felt as though she and Draco had something real, but falling into that trap would be a bad idea. She was trying to slot herself into someone else's happy family. She remembered the rumours of Draco's sexual exploits from their Hogwarts days. Of course he was going to try kissing her, maybe even try to sleep with her, but that didn't mean he actually cared about her.
"I'm heading back inside," said Hermione glumly as she stalked off without a backward glance at Draco and Julius.
Narcissa noticed that her daughter-in-law had been in an exceptionally bad mood ever since they had got into the carriage that had brought them to Diagon Alley. Hermione was too polite to outwardly show any signs of her inner distress, but Narcissa was too astute to miss it. She idly wondered about what could've happened to upset the younger witch. Draco had been completely normal albeit slightly confused when he had gotten back inside the Manor with Julius. Perhaps he had unknowingly offended her?
"Mrs Malfoy?" Hermione asked tentatively, breaking the silence.
"Yes dear? Though please, call me Narcissa, I think we know each other well enough to do that by now," said Narcissa with a small smile.
"Where were the original master suites?" asked Hermione, determinedly avoiding Narcissa's eyes.
"The original master suites? You mean Lucius and my rooms?" Narcissa answered in confusion.
"No, I mean, Draco and err Juls' mother's rooms," mumbled Hermione, her cheeks flushing red. To her surprise, Narcissa refused to meet her eyes, a flicker of emotion passed through her face before it went completely impassive. When Hermione had first met Narcissa she had thought the older woman was stiff and cold, but over time she had developed a fondness for her mother-in-law. Narcissa was fiercely protective of her family and friends, and Hermione could see that her arrogance was more of a defence mechanism than anything else. She had never, however, seen Narcissa look openly discomfited and evasive.
"Aurelia never lived in the Manor," answered Narcissa finally.
Hermione felt her breath catch in her throat at the name. She realised with a jolt that she had never been told what his mother's name was before. In fact, none of the Malfoys discussed Aurelia at all. There were no visible pictures of her in the Manor, possibly because she had never lived there, but Hermione had never even heard of any announcements of Draco's wedding or of any references to the fact that he had been engaged. Something snapped in her mind, the memory of Narcissa telling her that Aurelia had been killed during the war. How was that logistically possible? Julius was three years old and the war was three years ago. Unless- Aurelia had been killed during the year they were searching for Horcruxes. Maybe that's why she hadn't heard about the wedding? Perhaps Draco had been married to her as soon as he turned seventeen, just before he left for his final year at Hogwarts? That could be why she had never lived in the Manor. Julius would have been just an infant when she was killed. But how did she die? Was she a Death Eater too? Hermione wondered if she was from Beauxbatons or Durmstrang, since she couldn't remember an Aurelia having gone to Hogwarts with them. But then again she didn't exactly know all of the Slytherins intimately. So many questions…
"We're here," Narcissa said, a small note of relief in her voice as they pulled up at Twilfit and Tattings.
The rest of their afternoon was spent shopping for a variety of robes. Narcissa tactfully made suggestions that helped Hermione pick out a simple yet elegant wardrobe for everyday. Her head was spinning with the mix of velvets and silks and the many different cuts of robes in front of her. Just when Hermione thought she couldn't possibly shop for any more clothes, Narcissa requested the shop assistant to pull out their finest collection of cloaks. Hermione found herself oddly taken by a pure white velvet cloak that earned her an approving nod from Narcissa. Hermione also swiftly selected a beautiful crimson fur lined cloak from the pile and firmly insisted that those two cloaks would suffice. Despite that statement, she ended up being talked into selecting another two cloaks in black and gold silk. Hermione could feel her brain going numb with the banality of shopping. It was frustrating. She was relieved on being informed that all her robes came with matching shoes, but her happiness was short-lived when Narcissa insisted they go look at sleepwear. The next twenty minutes were excruciating for Hermione as she eventually told the shop assistant to pick any ten styles for her that weren't too immodest, being too embarrassed to try any of the scraps of lace and silk. Narcissa frowned but gave in, realising that this gave them the time to look at the collection of hair-potions and accessories next door. Hermione groaned internally but decided that leaving everything up to Narcissa's impeccable taste was probably her best option. Despite her agreement with all of Narcissa's choices, they still spent another quarter of an hour there as Narcissa amassed a small battalion of bejewelled hairpins, ivory hair-combs and other hair ornaments that Hermione didn't recognise. The only time she showed any interest in the purchase of hair-items was when she selected a small silver hairbrush that was specially made to brush through curly hair.
When Narcissa was finally satisfied with their purchases, Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. Despite how long the shopping excursion felt, it was still barely tea time and they had left immediately after lunch. She still didn't feel up to facing Draco after the way she had walked off in the morning. During lunch she had tried to act as normal as possible but she couldn't shake the feeling inside her. A feeling that was oddly reminiscent of the time she had caught Ron and Lavender walking out of an empty classroom together in their sixth year. She had a burning desire to know more about Aurelia Malfoy. It's just curiosityshe tried to reassure herself as she and Narcissa sat back in the carriage.
"Narcissa, would it be possible for you to drop me off at the Ministry?" Hermione asked, an idea striking her.
"Sure, but I thought you and Draco were off for another week?" Narcissa said in surprise, as she instructed the coachman to stop at the Ministry first.
"Yes I am still off, but there's a few things I'd like to check up on," said Hermione, trying to keep her voice innocent. It must've worked because Narcissa nodded and dropped the line of questioning.
Hermione felt a familiar surge of excitement as the carriage pulled up at the road that had the entrance to the Ministry. She quickly thanked Narcissa and let her know that she would probably miss dinner, as she pulled out the new black cloak she had purchased. Narcissa's mouth made a small moue of disapproval but she refrained from saying anything to Hermione, for which the younger witch was grateful. Hermione quickly scurried to inside the Ministry, before anyone with a loud mouth happened to see her. Once inside the entrance hall, she speedily ducked into a narrow passageway that she knew was seldom used. Within a matter of seconds Hermione had deftly transformed her appearance. Her hair was now wavy, and was a shade lighter than usual. She hoped that without the giveaway of her hair, she would be able to slip up to the Department of Records quicker. For good measure, Hermione threw her new cloak around her shoulders, hoping that anyone that might see her would dismiss her as an affluent visitor and not look too closely. It wouldn't do to have anyone pay attention to what she was here to look up. Luckily for her, she was able to get to her destination unnoticed.
She knocked on the door to one of the larger offices and drew the hood of her cloak over her head hoping that the overall effect wasn't too Dementor-ish. The door swung open and Ernie Macmillan looked at her in surprise, and then his face broke out into a smile.
"Hermione! I almost didn't recognise you, come in, come in," he said, as he embraced her affectionately. "You look well. Married life seems to suit you."
"Thanks Ernie," said Hermione sincerely, as she took a seat opposite Ernie's and pushed the hood back. "How have you been? I haven't seen you since our reception and we barely got to talk then."
"You know how it is," said Ernie, waving a hand dismissively as he pushed a plate of sandwiches towards Hermione. "Are you any closer to discovering who was behind that terrible explosion at your wedding?"
"Unfortunately no, but we worked out that it was a muggle device that exploded," Hermione said, as she accepted a sandwich.
"I hope for your sake you catch the culprit soon," said Ernie earnestly. "But I suppose between you and Malfoy, you would have a lot of enemies that would want to hurt one or both of you."
"That's just it," said Hermione, seizing control of the situation. "We would be able to work much faster if we could identify a possible motive. That's actually why I'm here, I was wondering if you could help me locate someone in the Ministry records? But all I really have is her first name and her last name after she got married."
"Sure, I'm sure we will find something," said Ernie as he pulled out a giant tome from behind his desk. Hermione recognised it as the Ministry's book of records that contained dates of birth, records of marriage, deaths, addresses, awards won and the file number for their medical records. It was surely the best place to start.
"This will all be discreet though right?" Hermione asked, cautiously. "The last thing we need is for people to talk."
"Don't worry, It'll all be confidential," Ernie said, holding his wand over the book.
"We're looking for an Aurelia Malfoy," said Hermione slowly.
Ernie's eyes widened, "Malfoy? Is this the mother of the son?"
Hermione nodded.
"Do you think some of her relatives might've been responsible because Malfoy fell in love and remarried you?" asked Ernie.
"It's possible," said Hermione, grateful that he had come up with a potential motive. She was too embarrassed to tell him she was just fishing for information about her husband's former wife and that it was completely unconnected to the explosion or the curse (which Ernie was unaware about.) "But I don't want to ask Draco directly until I have some more information. It might upset him."
"Do you know anything else?" Ernie asked, as he wondered where to start his search. "Because it might be possible that we need her maiden name or date of birth to find her. A lot of the rich pureblood families go to great lengths to keep such information hidden."
"I think she's about our age, she was killed during the war which is probably our best place to start."
"The list of war casualties would be our best bet," agreed Ernie as he tapped the book with his wand and said "Aurelia" loudly. The book opened and the paper thin pages flew until it landed to the correct section. Ernie looked down and frowned at it.
"Anything?" asked Hermione with baited breath.
"There are two people named Aurelia in the war casualties. One of them was a baby, the other however…" Ernie's voice trailed off as he surveyed the page before him.
"The other…?" Hermione asked with mounting excitement.
"The other was a twenty-four year old muggle-born witch who was killed alongside her muggle-born husband in a raid by the Death Eaters not long before the war ended," said Ernie.
Hermione felt her shoulders slump in disappointment. "Wrong Aurelia."
"Looks that way. Do you have anything else to go on?" he asked as he perused the volume.
"I'm not sure, do you know if anyone named Aurelia went to Hogwarts? Maybe our year or the year below us?" asked Hermione, biting her lip.
Ernie looked up in surprise. "You don't know?"
"Draco and I, we don't really discuss exes you know. And as I mentioned before, I didn't want him to get curious about why I was asking just in case I'm wrong," lied Hermione smoothly.
"I see," said Ernie, dropping his eyes back to the book. He meticulously went through the fine pages, "Unfortunately the only Aurelia I can find is the one I mentioned earlier. She and the husband both left Hogwarts just before we got there."
"Damn," muttered Hermione.
"Shall I look up Malfoy's marriage records?" suggested Ernie. Hermione nodded, feeling frustrated. A marriage record would most likely only give her their wedding date. Perhaps a maiden name if she was really lucky.
Ernie sighed. "There's nothing here. The only marriage he has had registered with us is with you."
"Does that mean he wasn't married before?" exclaimed Hermione, sitting up and leaning to see the page for herself.
"No, that just means he wasn't married here. He could've been married overseas and had the wedding registered there. Especially since, by the looks of it, his ex-wife wasn't British," said Ernie.
"Well thanks for your help," said Hermione gratefully, standing up.
"Anytime, I'm sorry I couldn't help out any more," Ernie said as he hugged her again.
"That's alright, I suppose I will just have to bite the bullet and ask Draco himself, or perhaps Narcissa," said Hermione as she walked towards the door. "Thanks again for your time Ernie, I'll no doubt see you around when I'm back at work."
She stepped out of Ernie's office and sighed. The overwhelming lack of information on her husband's deceased wife was frustrating to say the least. By the looks of things she had probably gone to Beauxbatons. Luckily, Aurelia wasn't a particularly common name to locate. Like her own, Aurelia was a fairly rare name from history. Hermione frowned, she couldn't think of a single Aurelia in the magical world history books she had read, but she could think of at least one in the muggle history books. Could Aurelia be a half-blood? There was no way Draco would willingly marry a muggle-born, and she knew for a fact that she was the first muggle-born to be married into the Malfoy line. Hermione sighed again. It was time to go home and face her husband.
And maybe even ask him for the answers…
A/n: Thank you all for your lovely reviews for the last chapter. I'm glad you all enjoyed it. I hope that despite this chapter not being as humorous as the previous one, you all appreciated the plot development. Please leave me a review if you have enjoyed my work! Thank you to all my repeat reviewers and thanks to everyone that has put my story on their favourites/alerts list :)