Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. Also thanks to clumsydolphin for checking this over for me.
The next month went by too fast for Hermione's liking. She had hardly blinked and now the day of her mother's party was here. Hermione knew she was being a bit of a brat about it, but since she was keeping most of her thoughts to herself, she figured it was acceptable. She admitted to herself that while she did hate attending parties, the biggest reason she was so reluctant was the fact that it was at Malfoy Manor. The mere thought of the place still made her uneasy and she hadn't been back since she barged in on Lucius months ago. Hermione knew it bothered Narcissa that her daughter refused to visit her at Malfoy Manor, but she usually refrained from mentioning it.
She sighed as she realized she needed to start getting ready. Thankfully, the gardens were covered in a weather control charm, as the weather had turned quite cold. Quickly rummaging through her not-so-small closet, she finally decided on a dress. It was on the casual side, as this party was much smaller than the previous one and a bit shorter than she usually went, but it showed off her legs nicely. She figured both her wizards would appreciate the way she looked in it. Plus, it just happened to be Slytherin Green, which never failed to get their attention. She quickly fixed her hair and makeup, thanks to some handy charms Narcissa had taught her. Bounding down the stairs, she found both Harry and Pansy waiting for her. Blaise and Theo would be meeting her there.
"Ready to go?"
"We've been ready, just waiting on you, princess."
"Prat. Besides, I'm a Malfoy, I have to make sure I am perfection," she said with a snooty air. Harry looked at her and they both burst out laughing. Pansy just looked at them like they were crazy and shook her head.
"If you two are quite finished, we should think about leaving. Narcissa wouldn't like it if we arrived late."
Hermione nodded in agreement. Seconds later found them in the same spot they arrived at for the first party. Hopefully this one would go a bit smoother than the last one. Walking into the main garden, she took note of who had already arrived. She saw Uncle Sev conversing with Narcissa and Lucius. Blaise and Theo had beaten her to the party and were currently talking to Draco. Lords Zabini and Nott were also in attendance and were talking amongst themselves. She hoped this was the extent of the guest list. Narcissa took notice of their arrival and rushed over to welcome them.
"Hermione, Harry, Pansy, I'm so happy you could make it!" she exclaimed as she gave them each a hug. Hermione raised an eyebrow slightly; her mother seemed awfully excited about something. She was immediately suspicious.
"Thank you for inviting us, Narcissa," replied Pansy, with Harry echoing her.
"Mother. Everything looks lovely."
"Thank you, dear. Now, you should come along with me as your surprise should be here any minute. Actually, Harry, you should accompany us as well."
Hermione and Harry sent each other questioning looks as they followed Narcissa. Hermione sent a quick wave to Blaise and Theo, letting them know she would be with them shortly. Narcissa led them over to where Severus and Lucius were conversing and then took her leave, stating she would be right back. Greeting Severus with a hug, she turned to them both and asked if they had any idea what was going on. The mischievous looks on both their faces clearly told her they did, but they refused to enlighten her. Just then, Hermione heard the click-click of her mother's shoes, followed by what she thought was another set of footsteps. 'That's odd,' she thought. Everyone was already here, so who could be accompanying Narcissa? Narcissa came into view, but Hermione was unable to see who was walking behind her. Once she actually entered the gardens, Hermione could clearly see that the person trailing Narcissa was...
"Luna!"
Harry and Hermione both ran up to Luna. Harry reached her first, picking her up and swinging her in a great circle. After he put her down, Hermione swept her up in a hug.
"I'm so delighted to see you, Luna. When did you get back to Britain?"
"Just yesterday. I was in Norway searching for a Nargle colony when I received Mrs. Malfoy's letter. Oh, but that was a little bit ago, wasn't it? I was able to follow the colony for about a month, but then I lost them. I wasn't too upset though since I had told Mrs. Malfoy I would be delighted to attend her party. Your aura is so much brighter than the last time I saw it. I'm glad you are happier, Hermione. Yours too, Harry. It also seems to be much redder than before."
Harry blushed brightly at what Luna was implying. Hermione looked at him searchingly. That was certainly a new development and one he had so far failed to mention. She made a note to ask him about it later as Luna continued on.
"Your aura is more interesting now as well, Hermione. Not only is it brighter, but you actually have two different shades of red in yours. I've never seen that before."
She what? She was obviously not surprised at having one shade of red since she knew she was in love with Theo. But what did the other shade mean? Did that mean she was in love Blaise as well and hadn't realized it? Her eyes flickered over to where Theo and Blaise were standing with Draco. They were all laughing at something Draco had said when Blaise looked up and met her eyes. He sent her a smirk and a sexy wink before giving his attention back to her brother. Hermione's eyes widened slightly as the realization that she was in love with Blaise hit her. She knew she shouldn't be too surprised. Blaise was a wonderful person who treated her like she was the most precious thing in the world, just as Theo did. She probably should be more surprised that she hadn't realized she was in love with him until Luna brought it up. Before she could think about how or if she should tell him, Narcissa interrupted and instructed her to introduce Luna to everyone. Before she complied, she had a question for her mother.
"How did you know?"
"You mentioned that you missed her once during tea and that she was traveling. I thought it would be a nice surprise if I could convince her to take a break from her travels."
Touched by her mother's thoughtfulness, she gave her a big and whispered her thanks in her ear.
Getting back to her mother's previous instructions, she started by introducing Luna to the older adults, leaving her wizards and brother for last. By the time they got over there, Harry and Pansy had joined the group.
"I don't really think we need introductions over here, but Luna, this is Blaise Zabini, Theo Nott, Pansy Parkinson, and of course, my brother, Draco Malfoy."
There was a chorus of 'nice to see you again' from Blaise, Theo, and Pansy, while Draco blushed as he stammered out a greeting. Hermione arched an eyebrow at him as this was not his normal behavior. Blaise and Theo, however, seemed to know exactly what his problem was as they both burst out laughing.
"Really smooth, Draco," Theo managed to get out, in between the laughter.
"Shut up," Draco answered, blushing even more.
Well. That was interesting. Hermione wasn't sure she had ever seen Draco blush. She shot a curious glance at Blaise and Theo, hoping they would fill her in on the joke. Theo must have decided to take pity on her for her curious nature.
"Well, back in school, Draco here had the biggest-"
He was interrupted by Draco hurling himself at Theo and slapping a hand over Theo's mouth. It was rather apparent what he was attempting to say, nonetheless. Draco had liked Luna when they were attending Hogwarts. How...surprising. She looked appraisingly at Draco and then at Luna. Thinking about it for a moment, she sincerely thought that her brother and Luna would make a very nice couple.
"Awww, that's so cute, Draco. I think you and Luna would be lovely together," she teased.
Draco sent both her and Theo a death glare that he obviously learned from Severus. Of course, he didn't quite pull it off since his face was also bright red. It more or less ruined the desired effect.
"I quite agree, Hermione. Your aura is rather unique and suggests we would be especially well-suited, Draco. I believe I would quite enjoy sharing a cup of tea with you sometime."
Draco just gaped at her before finally recovering enough to agree. Hermione really wanted to make a comment about how adorable he was, but she was certain he would hex her if she did. Luckily for him, the group continued on to other topics besides Draco's crush. Luna entertained them all with stories about her travels and chasing after the Nargles. Hermione smiled to herself; she had really missed the witch. Before long, Narcissa approached the group and announced that dinner was ready.
"Hermione, would you mind seeing if you could find your father? I saw him wandering off towards the roses and I have to go direct the house elves."
Hermione's hackles went up at the mention of the house elves and at Narcissa's attempt to push her into Lucius's company. It was, quite frankly, completely un-Slytherin of her. Saying nothing, she nodded her assent and made her way to the other end of the garden. As she exited the main area where the others were, she hoped that Lucius hadn't gone too far. She had to admit, as much as she hated coming to the Manor, she really loved the gardens. Whoever had designed them did a brilliant job. As she continued on deeper into the gardens, her senses were alit as the sweet smell of jasmine hit her nose and the bright, beautiful colors of the many different varieties of roses came into her sight. She wished she could just stay there, but she had a wayward Lord to find.
She soon realized that she heard voices up ahead. She let a frown cross her face. Everyone else was back in the main garden and Lucius didn't seem the type to carry on a conversation with himself, so who was it that he was speaking to? The voices became louder as she got closer and she could make out another male voice that did not belong to Lucius. She rounded the corner and came up short as she realized just who it was that Lucius was conversing with. She could only think of one thing. Betrayal. The feeling of betrayal washed over her as if someone had dumped a bucket of it over her head. There, standing next to Lucius, was Antonin Dolohov.
She was torn between wanting to leave and wanting to know what exactly they were up to. Before she could make a decision, Lucius must have sensed her presence as his head turned towards her and their eyes met. She was sure the betrayal she felt was clearly written on her face. Lucius had an odd look on his face, not one easily interpreted by her. She thought it looked almost pleading. Dolohov, noticing that he no longer held Lucius's attention, turned around to see what he was looking at. Immediately, a predatory smirk crossed his lips.
"Well, well, Lucius. Just who is this gorgeous creature?"
Hermione's eyes narrowed at the interest he was showing. A brief flick of her eyes to Lucius showed her that he was begging her to play along.
"Antonin, this is my daughter. May I present Cassiopeia Hermia Malfoy?"
"Daughter? I had no idea you had a daughter, Lucius. My, my, what other secrets have you been hiding?"
"It's been all over the Daily Prophet, Antonin. Hardly a secret."
"Yes, well, you'll excuse me if obtaining a newspaper subscription hasn't exactly been high on my list of priorities."
As Hermione watched the two wizards banter, she was contemplating what she should do. Her first thought was sending her Patronus to Harry, but she dismissed that almost as soon as it came to her. She had taken on Dolohov before and while he might have gotten the best of her the first time, she got her revenge the second. She was shaken from her inward discussion when she realized that Dolohov was approaching her. She attempted to side step him and walk over to where Lucius was, but he was too quick for her. As she tried to get by, he grabbed her arm. She was already cursing herself for not sending that Patronus. He pulled her in close to him, her back pressed up against his stomach. He lowered his face to her neck and took a deep breath.
"Merlin you smell good, poppet. Now Lucius, perhaps we can come to some kind of arrangement? You agree to help me continue hiding and I won't do anything to hurt your little precious daughter here. You know I like them young, gorgeous, and blonde."
Hermione saw genuine fear flicker across Lucius's face. She knew what Antonin had planned for her and she had no intentions of letting that happen. Before Lucius could respond, she spoke up.
"And what makes you think it would be that easy, Dolohov. You have no idea who I am or what I am capable of."
Her statement resulted in Dolohov chuckling against her skin.
"Oh little girl. Do you really think you can take on a fully grown wizard such as me?"
"I've done it before. Twice, actually. Although to be fair, you probably would have killed me if I hadn't silenced you first. And you probably don't remember the second time, being that I obliviated you and all."
Dolohov's body went stiff against her as he started to put the pieces together. She used his momentary shock to take action. She stomped as hard as she could on his foot and thanked Merlin that she wore heels. Luckily, that action caused his grip on her to loosen enough so that she was able to break away. She ran towards Lucius, fumbling for her wand. She looked straight at him and said, "You lied to me."
He desperately shook his head no and was about to speak when Dolohov interrupted them.
"Harboring a mudblood and masquerading her about as your daughter, Lucius? My how the mighty have fallen."
"She is my daughter, Antonin. You will leave here and not return. Leave my family alone."
"Oh, I think not. I've wanted to get my hands on the mudblood for years. And you've just handed her to me as if she was an exotic dinner on a silver platter."
Neither had time for a retort as Dolohov started throwing curses at them. Luckily, it was two against one in their favor as Dolohov was a nasty duelist. They were, however, able to gain the upper hand somewhat quickly. They were able to get him to a point where he was just defending himself, not returning any fire. Just when Hermione thought they had him, it happened. She didn't even see the color of the curse that hit her; all she could feel was pain. The last thing she heard before her world went black was Lucius screaming her name.
A/N: Luna! I so love Luna. She's one of my favorite characters. I had her planned for this story as a love interest for Draco but I almost took her out because I wasn't sure I could do her justice. I'm still not sure I did, but I just had to include her. You should also recognize the last scene in this chapter. Whatever is going to happen? Thanks for reading and (hopefully) reviewing!