Chapter Sixteen

"Come in."

Mrs. Zabini opened the door to Hermione's bedroom to find Hermione sprawled out on her bed with her nose in a book. "Do you mind if I come in?"

Hermione looked up and marked her place before closing her book. "Not at all," she replied, sitting up.

Mrs. Zabini moved further into the room and took a seat in Hermione's desk chair. "You have a date with Draco tonight?"

"Yes," Hermione confirmed.

"And things are going well? You're getting along and everything?"

Hermione made herself a little more comfortable and smiled slightly. "Well, I can't say we're falling in love, or anything, but we've been on a couple of dates that have gone well and we haven't killed each other, so…" she paused and thought for a moment, "Yes, things are going well."

"I'm sorry for getting so personal," Mrs. Zabini said, "I've just… When I was a little girl, I dreamed that I would grow up, marry a good man, have children… I always wanted a little girl, so when you were born, I was over the moon. Of course, I had dreams of all the wonderful moments we'd have, all the long conversations about… well anything really. And then… well, everything happened so quickly and we had to take you away from here… And we wanted you home, but we couldn't and…"

"Mar… Mum… Um…"

Mrs. Zabini stopped rambling and smiled tearfully at her daughter. "I'm sorry."

Hermione smiled kindly. "You have nothing to apologize for. Really."

"We've missed out on so much and you'll be going off to school soon and we've only just begun getting to know each other and come September first, I won't get to see you until the holidays, and then you'll possibly be getting married so all of your time will be spent starting your own family and…"

The room was quiet for a long moment while Mrs. Zabini composed herself. "The Grangers took good care of you, didn't they?"

"The best care," Hermione confirmed.

Mrs. Zabini got up and moved the chair closer to the bed. "Will you tell me about growing up with them?"

Hermione chewed on her bottom lip for a moment and questioned, "It won't make you uncomfortable hearing about it?"

Mrs. Zabini clasped her hands together tightly in her lap and smiled uncertainly. "Well, I can't say it will be the easiest conversation, but you're my daughter and the Grangers have been a big part of your life," she said, "They've been your whole life, really, and I'm ever so grateful that they agreed to look after you for us, so I'd like to hear anything you wish to tell me."

Getting up, Hermione walked over to her chest of drawers. She knelt down and opened the bottom drawer. She easily found what she was looking for and moved to the foot of the bed. She folded her legs and patted the floor next to her.

Mrs. Zabini looked at her curiously. "Oh, you want me to…"

Hermione smiled. "Sit on the floor with me?" she finished, "Yes."

"Well…" she looked at the floor for a moment as though it would bite her, "All right."

While her mother moved to the floor, Hermione grabbed a couple of pillows for them to sit on. Once they were comfortable, Hermione handed a fat photo album to her and opened the front cover. Mrs. Zabini smiled at the single picture of the precious baby girl she'd had to give up in order to protect.

As Hermione began telling her about the many different events depicted in the photos, Mrs. Zabini listened and questioned, or commented, when appropriate. She had thought it would be difficult hearing about Hermione's life with the Grangers, and she was right, but she felt better seeing how well her little girl had been taken care of. Every picture had a smiling Hermione, smiling family and friends… Everyone seemed happy and loved.

Mrs. Zabini was extremely fascinated by the fact that the pictures didn't move. "These pictures are delightful, Hermione," she said, "but, isn't it strange that they don't move? I mean; they're each just one flicker of an entire moment so the way you can recall everything about each picture astounds me. How do you do it?"

Hermione giggled. "I've been told I have excellent recall."

"I can't say I'm surprised," Mrs. Zabini stated, "Blaise is the same. Oh I do wish the two of you could have grown up together."

"So do I."

Mrs. Zabini closed the photo album and settled herself so that she was facing Hermione a little better. "How are you and Blaise getting on? He's not ignoring you, or treating you poorly, is he?"

"Not at all; he's been wonderful," Hermione told her, "It sounds strange, but in a way, it's like we've always known each other."

"I'm so glad."

Hermione checked the time and stood. "I should probably get ready; Draco will be here in about an hour."

Mrs. Zabini stood and smoothed her dress. "Yes, of course, um, perhaps we could do this again sometime soon?"

"I'd like that. I'd love to hear about my biological family as well, if that's all right."

"Absolutely."

"Perhaps, if I get home early enough tonight?"

"Sure," Mrs. Zabini smiled, "I look forward to it. Well, I'll let you get ready. Have a great time tonight, Love."

"Thank you. To be honest; I'm not sure what to wear. Draco wouldn't even tell me where we're going."

Mrs. Zabini smiled coyly. "He's a mysterious one, that Draco. Oh, that reminds me; I need to have a chat with Blaise about his lack of help with wedding plans."

Hermione laughed. "I think he's out with Beatrice right now."

"Ah, good. She's such a lovely girl. No matter, I'll catch him another time."

She watched as her mother breezed from the room with a wave and then set about setting ready for her date.

Screams of joy and shouts of laughter filled the air as Hermione and Draco made their way along the busy London streets. They had just left the carnival and were on their way to a nearby ice cream parlor. Hermione was still working on her last bit of cotton candy as she looked up at Draco and smiled brightly. "I haven't been to carnival in ages. Thank you for taking me."

"You're welcome. I'd never been and I happened to see an advertisement. It sounded like fun so…"

Hermione giggled. "You were disgusted," she teased.

Draco grimaced slightly at being caught. "Not completely," he tried.

Hermione nudged his arm and smiled. "Draco, it's all right. Carnivals are meant to be a bit disgusting," she told him, "It's part of the fun. Greasy food, smelly workers… Loads of sweets to gorge on."

"And gorge, you did," Draco stated.

"Yes, well, when you have two parents that are dentists, you don't often get to eat sweets… Unless they're sugar-free."

She threw away her cotton candy and brushed her hands off. "I must say, Draco, I'm very impressed."

"You are?" Draco questioned.

Hermione nodded and continued walking. "Very."

"So, this is a good date?"

"Draco Malfoy, were you worried about our date?"

"Maybe a little."

"Why?"

Draco put his hands in his pockets and gave a small shrug. "I've never done the whole Muggle thing," he admitted, "Send me out on a date in the Wizarding world and I can dazzle better than anyone. Put me in the Muggle world and I'm a complete dunce."

Hermione took his arm and pulled him to a stop. "Draco, look at me."

He cut his eyes up at her but did not raise his head. "Don't ever say you're a dunce," Hermione scolded gently, "And you should never worry about how a date is going to go. Muggle, or magical, you're doing fine."

Draco raised a brow. "Am I?"

He sounded doubtful. Hermione could tell that he was trying to sound casual, but she could hear the doubt. She'd known him long enough to know how he sounded when he was confident and sure. There was a slightly higher pitch to his voice, though it wasn't by much.

"Yes; and why are you so worried about the Muggle aspect of things?"

"Because it's all new to me."

"You did beautifully at my parents' this past Sunday."

Draco chuckled and they began walking again. "Are you kidding? That was the most awkward lunch I've ever been to."

"It… It wasn't that bad," Hermione said.

He snorted and eyed her disbelievingly. "Oh I'm sorry, were we at the same lunch?" he questioned, "I have never been so nervous in my life. I was clumsy…"

"You were not."

"Hermione, I spilled your mum's lemonade all over her!"

"It's like you said; you were nervous," Hermione said soothingly, "We all were."

"Yes, Blaise tripped and knocked over the tray of… what were those beef patties called again?"

"Hamburgers."

"Ah, yes; hamburgers," Draco said thoughtfully, "They were very good, by the way… The ones that didn't get spilled all over the ground, I mean. Did I tell your father that?"

A gentle smile tugged at Hermione's lips. "You did, and they were."

Draco sighed deeply. "I don't think I told you that despite all of the nervousness and food flying everywhere, I had a good time."

"I'm glad. Blaise did, too. At least, I think he did. I feel like he did. Do you feel like he did?"

Draco laughed. "I don't think even a mind reader could decipher the inner workings of your brother's mind."

Hermione laughed, as well. "Yes, you're probably right. I've never seen a person bounce from topic to topic the way he does."

"You should see Marjorie when she gets going. That woman can bring a string of thoughts completely full circle."

"So, you've spent a lot of time with the Zabinis?"

Draco nodded. "If I wasn't out with Blaise, or getting Crabbe and Goyle to do something moronic, or forced to attend some function with my parents, I was at Zabini Mansion doing anything I could to get Blaise into trouble."

Hermione looked up at him sharply. A mixture of shock and disapproval crossed her face and Draco laughed. "I never got him into any serious trouble; just enough to make him let loose a little," he explained, "Blaise had a tendency to be a little tight laced when we were younger. Much like you actually."

Hermione couldn't picture Blaise as anything other than the energetic, loving young man she'd gotten to know over the past several weeks. Although she did feel as though she'd known him for her whole life and not just the nearly seven years they'd all attended Hogwarts.

She tightened her hold on Draco's arm just a bit and suddenly realized that she'd been holding onto him since she'd pulled him to a stop minutes before. Draco shifted his arm a bit, giving her room to slide her arm around his, which she did, and then relaxed. "So, ice cream, yeah?"

Hermione nodded in response to his question and allowed him to guide her into the little shop just ahead of them.

As they ordered, Hermione couldn't help noticing how natural things were beginning to feel between herself and Draco. This was the third time they'd been out together, and their second date. It amazed her how much the two of them actually had in common; especially since neither one of them had believed they would have anything in common at all.

For instance; she'd had no idea how well read Draco was. Of course, he puts on quite a show of making himself seem more carefree than he actually is, she thought. She knew that Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have appointed him as Head Boy if he wasn't certain he could do the task. She also never knew that Draco had such a sense of humor either. She had a feeling his father had a lot to do with the masks he wore and the reserved persona Draco always put on.

Draco cleared his throat, pulling Hermione from her thoughts. "Strawberry for my lady," he said, holding her ice cream cone out for her.

Hermione smiled as she took it. "Thank you."

He took his cup of mint chip and they headed outside. "Muggle money is strange," he said as they walked over to a bench and sat down.

"That's what I thought about Wizarding money when I first dealt with it," Hermione told him, "You seem to be doing quite well with it."

"I bought a book on it," Draco confessed sheepishly.

"How very astute of you."

"Well, I figured if we agree to get married, we'll probably be spending some time in the Muggle world, so I should probably start getting acquainted with it."

Hermione's jaw dropped slightly at his statement. She lowered her cone for a moment and smiled at him. "Draco, that's so sweet of you."

He gave her a shy grin and went back to eating his ice cream. "Mmm… I don't think I've ever tasted anything so good," he said, closing his eye briefly.

"Loving the mint chip, are you?" she questioned with a light chuckle.

"I've been borderline obsessed with it since I tried it at your parents'."

The following week… September 1st…

Hermione looked around platform 9 ¾ as she stepped through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Just behind her, Blaise stepped through and came to a stop next to her. He looked over her face and noticed that there was a hint of sadness in it as she peered around the platform. He gently nudged Hermione's arm with his elbow and when she looked up at him, he smiled and asked, "Everything all right, Hermione?"

Hermione gave him a small nod of assurance and replied, "Fine, it's just… I feel a bit strange arriving here without my par… I mean… without the Grangers."

"Hermione, you needn't worry about hurting our feelings by calling the Grangers your parents," Mrs. Zabini said as she came up next to her, "they raised you after all. It wouldn't be right for us to ask you not to call them your parents."

Hermione breathed a deep sigh of relief at her mother's understanding. "Thank you," she said, "I appreciate that very much."

Mrs. Zabini gave her a reassuring smile. "We've all been through a big life change and things like that take adjusting to. Besides, as far as we're concerned, you've got two sets of parents. So, please, never feel like you've got to choose, or that you're hurting us."

Hermione nodded and hugged her mother with a slight awkwardness. Although she'd been living with the Zabinis for a little more than a month, and got along with them fine, she still felt a little uncomfortable around them. It was getting easier, though, especially with Blaise around. Blaise had been an unyielding source of comfort and amusement since the day she had been brought to live with them. She had always wanted a sibling so it felt nice to actually have one; especially one that she could confide in.

"Mum, how come Dad didn't come with us?" Blaise suddenly asked.

"He wanted to, love, but he had some artifact or other that he needed to go and look over for the museum," their mother replied. She then added quietly to herself, "Although I think his not coming has more to do with Lucius than anything else."

"Well, I suppose we should be off," Blaise said, looking at Hermione, "we don't want to get a compartment with first years."

Hermione let out a light laugh at those words. "I don't think either Draco or I will have the chance to sit with our friends," she said, "we've got so much to take care of before we even arrive at the school that it will probably take up the entire train ride."

"Blast, well then I guess that changes my plans for taking the mickey out of Draco for making mushy faces at you."

Hermione gave a little huff and said, "Draco does not make 'mushy faces' at me."

"Again, I'll ask; you're supposed to be the smartest witch in our year?"

"All right you two, that's quite enough," Mrs. Zabini said with a soft chuckle. "I swear you two are growing more like brother and sister every day."

"And it has yet to be discovered if that's a good thing, or a bad thing," joked Hermione.

Blaise flung his arm around Hermione's shoulders and squeezed her to him. "Trust me when I say; having me as a brother is the best thing that'll ever happen to you."

Hermione smirked as she said, "I can think of better things."

Blaise put his free hand to his heart playfully and tilted his head back. "Be still my heart, you've cut me to the quick."

"Hermione!"

Hermione and Blaise both turned to see Ginny Weasley moving through the crowd toward them. "Ginny!"

"My goodness, I've been looking all over for you," Ginny said as she finally reached them.

"We only got here a moment ago," Hermione told her as she gave her a big hug.

Ginny returned the hug and then turned and called over her shoulder, "Harry, Ron, they're over here."

Hermione laughed. "Did you think I wouldn't be here or something?" she questioned as Ron's red head came into view.

Ginny laughed as well as she replied, "No, we just knew that we wouldn't really get to see you on the train so we figured we'd say 'hello' before it takes off."

Blaise gave a soft chuckle and said, "Not like you won't see her at school. She will be around every day there."

Hermione looked at him with a soft warning look and then smiled back at Ginny. "We've got a lot of catching up to do tonight," she said, "There's a lot that's happened in the last several weeks."

"Any juicy details?" Ginny asked.

Hermione nodded while Blaise made a soft gagging noise. She whacked him lightly on the arm and tutted. "As if I haven't had to listen to you mooning over Beatrice."

Blaise grinned and began humming. Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You're impossible, do you know that?"

Ginny giggled. "You two sound like Ron and me."

"Oh, Hermione, if it's all right with you, I'd like to come and spend some time with you," Mrs. Zabini said, "Perhaps on your first Hogsmeade weekend?"

As Hermione nodded her agreement, Ginny gasped softly and said, "Mrs. Zabini, forgive my rudeness; how are you?"

Mrs. Zabini smiled kindly. "I'm very well, thank you, Ginny. How are you? Are your parents well?"

"Oh, I'm doing well," Ginny replied, "as are my mum and dad."

At that moment, Harry and Ron finally reached them, each rolling a trolley in front of them. "Oh, hello, Blaise, Mrs. Zabini," Harry said with a small smile and a nod.

"Harry, Ron, a pleasure to see the both of you," Mrs. Zabini said. Blaise merely nodded his acknowledgement. "Well, I had best be off. There is so much to do before Christmas. Be good both of you and I'll see you soon."

Blaise smiled at his mother and kissed her quickly on the cheek before she left. "Christmas is three months away," Ron commented, "how can there be so much to do now?"

"Our mum likes to get her Christmas shopping done early so she doesn't feel rushed when the holidays come around," Blaise told him, "It's actually a pretty common thing. A lot of people do it."

Ron shrugged and muttered some semblance of an apology.

"So where is your fiancé anyway?" Harry asked, looking around.

"I'm not sure," Hermione said, "we didn't exactly plan on meeting before the train took off or anything so I'm guessing he might already be on the train."

"Draco never gets on the train too far ahead of it leaving," Blaise said, "he gets too bored otherwise."

Hermione laughed as she said, "Oh Heaven forbid Draco Malfoy be bored for a small bit."

"You laugh, but Draco bored is not a good thing."

"You wouldn't be giving my fiancée any tips into figuring me out now, would you, Blaise?"

The small group turned and saw Draco standing just behind Hermione with a smirk on his face. "I think she's got that handled on her own, mate," Blaise replied with a grin. "Smart girl, my sister is."

"Not something I tend to forget, but thanks for the reminder."

Just then, Hermione checked her wristwatch and picked up her small travel case that she carried with her during the journey to and from Hogwarts. "We should all board, the train will be leaving soon," she said, "Draco, we've got Heads' duties to take care of."

"Right then, shall we head off then?"

They all nodded and made their way onto the train to find seats. Hermione and Draco didn't need to worry about seats; they had their own compartment due to the fact that they were Head Boy and Girl. However, the two stayed with Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Blaise until they all found compartments to sit in before leaving to find their own.

About ten minutes later, Hermione and Draco were sitting in the Head's compartment preparing for the Prefect meeting they were to conduct. Hermione's eyes were carefully scanning over the notes she had made on her copy of the meeting, looking for anything she might have forgotten. Draco, on the other hand, was merely sitting in his seat staring out the window.

Hermione looked up at him briefly as he let out a soft sigh. She scrunched her nose a bit in disapproval and then went back to going over her notes as she said, "You know; I'm not the only one in charge of this meeting. Perhaps you could go over the guideline and prepare for it as well."

Draco gave her a questioning look and then gave her a small nod. "Right, sorry."

The tone in his voice gave Hermione the impression that something was on his mind. "Draco is something wrong?" she asked him.

"Well no, not really," he replied.

Hermione chewed in the inside corner of her mouth briefly before stating, "You don't have to hide anything from me."

"I'm not hiding anything from you, honestly," Draco said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "I'm just uncertain if Dumbledore made the right choice in making me Head Boy. I mean; I'm not exactly the model of proper school behavior, am I?"

Hermione leaned forward and patted his hand. "Maybe not, but Professor Dumbledore has his reasons for everything so I'm sure he knew what he was doing when he appointed you," she said pointedly. "Now, if you would kindly put that knowledgeable mind of yours to work going over the guideline for the Prefect meeting… I'd much rather be spending time reading over our school books."

Draco gave a hearty laugh at those words as he leaned back in his seat and picked up the pieces of parchment in his lap. "You always have enjoyed being knowledgeable in our lessons," he said. "Your hand is always up before anyone else's."

Hermione looked down at her paper with a furrowed brow as she crossed something off and then wrote something else in its place. "I see nothing wrong with being intelligent or wanting to learn, Draco," she said, finally looking back up at him.

"Nor do I, Hermione. In fact, I consider your intelligence and thirst for knowledge quite an endearing quality… I've always believed that intelligence was an important thing for a woman to have."

"Well that's very good because I would never even consider dumbing myself down for anyone, let alone a man," Hermione said, once again looking back down at her parchment.

"And I wouldn't have you any other way," he stated, "Besides, I can't think of anyone better to borrow notes from if I happen to miss a class, or two."

Hermione's head shot up and she scowled as she said, "If you think you're going to skive off classes and use my notes to catch up, you're completely mental."

Draco chuckled but before he could say anything in response, there was a knock on the compartment door. The door then slid open to reveal the Prefects. Hermione smiled at them and motioned for them to enter the spacious compartment. "Please, have a seat and take a guideline," she said as the Prefects filed in.

Of course, there were several familiar faces amongst the Prefects; Ron and Pansy included. Indeed, as Pansy strode in she made a great show of sitting directly next to Draco, who in turn, stood and took a seat next to Hermione. Hermione cleared her throat as she took Draco's stack of guidelines and added them to her own before passing them to Ron.

"Well, thank you all for coming; not that you had any choice," Draco said. (The others laughed lightly at this.) "Well, um, let us get down to business shall we? Hermione?"

Hermione nodded and began going over everything on the guideline thoroughly.

Marjorie Zabini entered Zabini Mansion in a flurry of wind. "Pietro!" she called. "Pietro, where are you?"

"Gripa believes Sir is in his study, Mrs."

Marjorie looked down at the small elf and nodded her thanks and quickly made her way through the mansion to Pietro's study. She whipped out her wand and pointed it at the door with such force that they banged against the walls when they opened. "Pietro Zabini, what on this green Earth could have possessed you to not accompany our children to the school train?" she questioned sharply, taking off her scarf and roughly tossing it into one of the empty chairs. "Has that not been something we have done together every year since Blaise's inception?"

Pietro had looked up from his paperwork the moment his study door had opened. He patiently waited for his wife to finish questioning him before giving his reply. "My dear, please do calm yourself," he said softly as he stood up and walked around his desk. "I have a perfectly good explanation but unless you keep your head, I shall not give it to you."

As Marjorie took a deep breath, Pietro closed the door. He saw the Marjorie was calming down so he began speaking. "I have reason to believe that Lucius is working directly for The Dark Lord."

Marjorie looked at him in shock. "You mean he's taking direct orders from… Him?"

"Yes."

She sat with a thump and clutched her hand to her heart. "When…? How…? Are you certain?"

Pietro nodded. "Lucius sent me a coded message a week or so ago. We met and he bombarded me with questions about Hermione."

"What did you tell him?"

"Well, after trying to brush it off, like usual, I told him what we had discussed would be the public story about Hermione."

Marjorie took several deep breaths. "Well, we knew that questions would be asked once that Daily Prophet article came out," she said softly, "and Lucius has always questioned us about why Hermione wasn't with us so it's only natural that he's questioning you further now… Oh, what am I saying?! Pietro, what are we going to do? Do you think He suspects?"

"I believe He is suspicious. Lucius told me He came to his home and questioned him about Hermione."

"What about Lucius? Did he believe what you told him?"

There was a tremor to her voice as she spoke. Pietro walked over and sat down in the empty chair next to his wife. He placed his hand on hers and tried to sound comforting. "Yes."

"How can you be so sure? Lucius has always questioned us about Hermione and…"

Pietro squeezed her hands tightly. "Marjorie, I have known Lucius for many years."

"But…"

"I know when he doubts, I know when he lies… I know him," Pietro assured her, "He believes me."

"And The Dark Lord? Pietro, you know he will stop at nothing if he finds out Hermione's true identity," Marjorie said, panicked, "We have no hope of protecting her if He discovers the truth. He's too powerful."

Pietro grasped both of Marjorie's hands and kissed them lightly as he squeezed them assuredly. "We need not worry about that right now, Love. As long as she is at Hogwarts, Hermione will be safe," he told her. "Albus Dumbledore will protect her. I shall send him an owl requesting a meeting with him immediately."

"Are you certain that he would oblige, knowing our family's dark history?"

"Dumbledore is a good man, Marjorie, and a friend to Hermione; he will help us."

Hermione yawned as she looked up from the book in her lap and peaked out the window. Through the dim fog, she could just make out the lights of Hogwarts. A sudden nervousness came over her as she took in the ever-coming-closer sight of the looming castle.

Draco looked over at her and noticed the look of anxiety upon her face. "Hermione, what is it?"

"This all just seems so strange," she confessed quietly. "I mean; until now, every time we've pulled into Hogsmeade station, I've known exactly who I was and what I was to expect. Now, I find myself at a loss as to what to expect, or who I am. And everyone's been staring and whispering and… It's all just so strange and overwhelming and..."

Draco slid off of his seat and kneeled down in front of Hermione, resting his hands on her knees. "Hey, hey, hey… Okay, take a breath before you hyperventilate."

Hermione took a deep breath and wiped her eyes before looking up at him with a sniff. "There's my girl," Draco said, "I know things are a little awkward right now. You're life is practically under a microscope so it's only natural that you're feeling so much pressure."

"But…"

He shook his head and wiped a fresh tear from her eyes. "Hermione, no matter if your last name has changed, or your looks have been altered; you're still the same person inside," he told her, tilting her chin up slightly with a finger. "Isn't that what's important?"

Hermione looked him directly in the eyes and nodded. "Yes of course that's what's important," she said. "It's just… apart from everything that has happened over the past month, I can't help feeling that I'm out of place."

"You were taken from the only home you ever knew and you haven't really had much time to get used to your new living situation. I hope you're not saying you haven't been made to feel welcome at Zabini Mansion."

Hermione swallowed as she shook her head. "No, no, not at all; I've been welcomed with open arms by the Zabinis but I must admit that being there doesn't feel quite right."

Draco moved and sat on the seat next to her. He cautiously put his arm around her and held her to him. "I'm sure you've heard this many times in the last month, but…"

"Just give it time?" Hermione finished, allowing herself to relax against him.

"Yes," he replied with a chuckle, "It'll take some time, but I'm sure you'll adjust to the Zabini lifestyle and…"

Hermione sat up and looked at him. "Draco, please don't assure me that I'm going to become used to being waited on hand and foot," Hermione said. "That's not something I'll ever get used to, nor do I plan on continuing to live that way."

"You mean; you don't wish to have servants in our household if we marry?"

Hermione nodded as she said, "I was raised to do things for myself, Draco; surely you can understand that."

"Well, no, to be frank, I really can't. I was raised in a house full of magic, as was Blaise… and as you would have been had you not been taken to the Grangers for whatever reason your parents took you there," Draco replied. "I'm vastly certain that you would have a different way of thinking had you been raised in Zabini Mansion."

"Perhaps," Hermione agreed, "but I'd rather not think about who I would be had the Zabinis raised me."

"The Zabinis are good people, Hermione, they just happened to fall in with the wrong crowd; much like my family."

Hermione placed a hand on Draco's cheek. "I don't doubt that the Zabinis are good people; I've seen firsthand that they are. Unfortunately I cannot say the same for your family; at least some members of your family."

Draco removed her hand from his cheek and got back into his seat as he said, "I assume you're talking about my father?"

"And your Aunt Bellatrix," Hermione said with a nod, "Your mother I must leave out because I think she's quite a pleasant woman after getting to know her."

Draco chuckled. "She has a tendency to be a bit judgmental when it comes to witches and wizards of non-noble birth."

"Yes, I noticed that. I'm hoping that I might be able to change her mind on that matter."

"I'd say that if anyone has any chance of doing that, it'll be you," Draco said, "In all my life, I've never known someone as passionate about things she holds dear as you are."

"Well I'm happy to see that you have such confidence in me."

"I wouldn't be a good fiancé if I didn't have faith in my future bride."

He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her arm. "Hey, don't worry about the stares and the whispers," he told her, "they'll die down before you know it."

Just then, a knock sounded at the compartment door just before it slid open. Blaise was standing there dressed in his school robes with an expectant look on his face. "We've almost reached the school; don't you think you should change?"

Hermione's eyes widened slightly at the realization of how close to the school they were now. She quickly stood up and reached into the overhead compartment for her travel case that contained her school robes. "Good heavens, I've never been this late changing into my robes," she said.

Draco and Blaise both chuckled. "School girl," Blaise teased.

Hermione turned to her brother and scowled. "As if you're not always dressed and ready for things long before you need to be?"

Draco laughed. "She's got a point there, mate," he said. "You've always been quite the early bird when it comes to things."

"All right, I can't argue with that," Blaise said. "My parents got me into the habit."

Once Hermione gathered up her school robes, she excused herself from the compartment to go change. Draco however just pulled the shade of the compartment and changed there. He had never been one for modesty really and Blaise was his best mate so he honestly didn't mind getting changed with him there.

As Draco changed, Blaise sat down on the bench Hermione had previously occupied and cleared his throat before saying, "Pansy's on a warpath."

Draco turned his head for a moment as he fastened his pants and began lacing his belt through the loops. "Don't tell me she's still on about the events of your birthday ball."

"She's more than on about it, mate; she's in a right state about it. I overheard her on my way to visit you saying that Hermione was going to pay for that night before end of term," Blaise stated.

Draco finished lacing his belt and then fastened it before replying, "Leave Pansy to me. She'll have hell to pay if she harms even a hair on Hermione's head."

"You really care for Hermione, don't you?"

"I think I'm beginning to."

Blaise eyed him carefully as he pulled his jumper over his head. "I get the sense that something's bothering you."

Draco ran a hand through his hair and sighed loudly. "I'm not sure what it is, but I have a feeling that my father's up to something," he said. "Last week he started asking me all sorts of questions about Hermione. It's almost like he suspects that she's something more that what she is, I guess."

Blaise furrowed his brow. "Well, our parents took her to the Grangers for a reason," he said, "but I'm not certain as to what that reason was. I was always told that she was sick."

"I honestly don't give a damn what the reason was, I just want her safe and I plan to keep her that way, no matter the cost."

Author's note- Hi all! I hope you enjoyed this installment! The plot thickens! What will happen when Hermione gets to school? What will Dumbledore do when he gets Pietro's message? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thank you all for taking the time out to read my little story! It means a lot! - Sarah