Hi everyone! Silly Narcissa gave me small writers block! I don't really know why she acts how she does, maybe I'll think of a reason later... this was hard to write, I tried to inject some humour in, but I didn't think Narcissa was a funny person...but I hope you all enjoy it anyway!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed: selemi, That Romantic, BustyxxxxWizard, alicesparrow, x8jessica8x, LorriRocks07, Jasper McKinley, dreadfuldelights, sweet-tang-honney, tfobmv18, kh2020, soccersyd, cyn23, nmbr1potterfan, Ayriannah, reina13, harrypotterlover123, Crossy, firstEveningStar, Sesshoumaruluver01, CFCRockAngel and scarredprincess.

I love you all. : ) How many reviews will this chapter get? Over 450? I know you can do it!

Chapter 21: Diagon Alley

Dressed in her black tights and a blue dress top, Hermione made her way to McGonagall's office. She was feeling pretty nervous about the day ahead, and she wished someone else could go with her.

When she arrived, Narcissa was already there. She smiled when she saw Hermione and ushered her to a glass bottle on the empty desk. Apparently she didn't want to waste any time. Apprehensively, Hermione touched the bottle and immediately felt a hook around her gut as she was jolted backwards. She hated any mode of wizard transport, apparition made her slightly dizzy, the floo made her dirty, she couldn't bear heights and portkey's made her feel sick. Surely there could be a mode of transport which was actually fun?

They arrived outside Gringotts. Hermione went to make her way inside but Narcissa held her arm.

"Do you think you're paying for this?" She asked Hermione. Hermione blinked, why did they arrive outside Gringotts then?

"Umm....no?"

"Good, because you couldn't possibly afford what I have in mind for you."

Hermione bristled at that. She knew she didn't have much, but Hermione had transferred her Muggle money into wizard money before she set off with Ron and Harry last year. She didn't want to have to be dependant on Draco; she wanted to be able to treat herself.

"Now, follow me. I know this lovely boutique shop down this street," Narcissa smiled.

How quickly her mood changes....

They walked in silence until Narcissa stopped outside a large shop front. It was called Veneficus, which meant magic in Latin. The shop front was filled with animated dummies that wore beautiful outfits, trying to entice you inside.

"Looks magnificent doesn't it? Anyone who is anyone shops from this store," Narcissa commented, before leading Hermione inside.

It was a large circular space with a desk in the corner and then a door on the far right. There were plush sofa's facing the window, so you could watch the displays.

"It's become the most fashionable dress shop in Britain; you have to make an appointment months in advance. Fortunately, being a Malfoy does have its privileges still. You'll find that out soon enough."

"It looks beautiful, Mrs Malfoy. I'm really grateful that we can spend some time alone together, I hope we'll have lots in common," Hermione replied, complimenting her soon to be mother in law. It worked with Mrs Weasley, it should work on anyone.

"Yes..." the elder witch replied, her smile seemed fixed on her face for a moment and then she walked gracefully up to the desk. Hermione frowned at her reaction; surely she would be a bit gushier? Is gushier even a word? Maybe she is just nervous...

"Mrs Malfoy," beamed the young girl behind the desk. "It's lovely to have you back. Is that her?"

They both looked at Hermione, who instantly blushed uncomfortably. She had been there before? But Draco had said she needed my skin tone...don't overcomplicate things Hermione. It's bound to get better later on.

Three hours later, Hermione pulled on what felt like the millionth dress. She had been taken through the door and into a large space filled with dresses. They were ordered by colour. So far, Hermione had tried the yellows, browns and beige colours, all apparently unfitting for the new Malfoy bride to wear. It seemed like Narcissa was taking this far too seriously, just like Draco had said earlier. Her engagement party was only going to be a small group of her friends at Hogwarts and some of the Weasley's, along with Narcissa. She had insisted on being there, and Hermione didn't want to get on the wrong side of her. She wanted to be involved in everything. Hell, she was even paying for everything. Draco didn't seem to notice, she'd have to bring it up later.

"Well, Hermione?"

Hermione sighed, and pulled the curtain aside to show Narcissa and the sales assistant assigned to them. The reaction was instantaneous. Instant of the usual murmurings, the two ladies gasped. This is new...

"I don't think it's going to match the theme Draco and I picked-"

The sales assistant interrupted her and hurried forward to do the zip up and then guided her to the full length mirror.

Then Hermione realised why they had gasped. Staring back at her was a completely different woman.

She was wearing a dark green dress, which stopped just below the knee. It had thing spaghetti straps with silver beads embedded in the stitching. The colour contrasted with her brown eyes, and made her look luminous.

"Is that me?" Hermione blurted. Narcissa, for once, laughed.

"Finally, a dress fit for a Malfoy. You look stunning Hermione. Take it off and put it to the side, and then move on to the next dress. We need four more dresses like that before the day is out."

What?! Four? Four?! Why?! It had taken three hours just to find one! Hermione groaned, she had thought the torture was over. But it had only just begun.

It was getting dark outside. Inside the dressing room, an argument was taking place.

"Narcissa, no. I am not wearing that!"

"Why ever not? It's such a lovely cut and-"

"It's my body; I'll decide what I want to wear, if you don't mind. Besides, we've already got four dresses, why do I need so many?"

"But Hermione dear, every girl must have a pink dress in their wardrobe."

"But why?!"

"Pink is girly, it's feminine, it's flirty."

"What's your point? Are you saying that I'm not feminine enough?"

"Of course not, I'm just saying-"

"Well don't. I should have the final decision. We've chosen some gorgeous dresses, and I'm exhausted. I can't deal with this anymore! Can we just leave and get something to eat or something? If I had known I wasn't going to have any lunch, I'd have had a bigger breakfast!"

Narcissa froze. Then she said coldly, "Fine. I can see where I'm not wanted. I suppose you still expect me to pay for these dresses?"

Oh Merlin, I've offended her.

"At the beginning, I thought I would be. I'm happy to pay for them if you like. I just want to get back to Hogwarts, and take a bath or something."

"How much will that be Penelope?" Narcissa asked the sales assistant.

"That's 3,450 galleons, Mrs Malfoy," she smiled, "they are very good quality for that kind of price."

Narcissa turned to Hermione who had gone pale. They cost that much? She thought they'd be a few hundred galleons, but then she forgot that this was the 'hottest' boutique around, and she was shopping with a Malfoy.

"Do you still want to pay for this trip then, Hermione?"

"Umm...I....umm..."

"That's what I thought. You can get out of the dress now; you obviously despise it, my fault. I thought pink was a lovely colour on you. And anyway, you wore it to the Yule Ball in the fourth year."

Hermione blanched, "how did you know about that?"

"Draco told me of course."

"But...when? I don't remember telling him about it."

"Oh I really don't remember..." Narcissa floundered. "He must have remembered from seeing you there. I know you were bitter enemies throughout school, so don't be expecting a 'he loved you since he first met you' but he did tell me all about you in his letters. You are his rival school wise, and you do look pretty in a pink dress."

Hermione paused. Now she had more questions than she had to begin with.

"I thought you wanted out of this shop, why are you still standing there?" She interrupted Hermione's thoughts.

"Oh, right...yes...sorry."

"So you really don't want the dress?"

"Actually..." Hermione hesitated. Was it too much to ask for yet another dress?

"Don't worry about it," Narcissa smiled again, pleased that order had been restored. She wasn't used to Hermione, and Hermione was certainly an outspoken girl.

"Are you sure it's alright?" Hermione asked before adding in an undertone, "They are quite expensive."

"Expensive?" Narcissa echoed, before laughing, "Oh Hermione. These aren't expensive compared to what I own in my wardrobe. The Malfoy family may have suffered reputation wise, but our wealth hasn't. You will realise that sooner or later. Once you and Draco are married and finished with school, you'll be attending so many balls and social gatherings believe me, you are going to need the dresses we bought today."

"Right...sounds...umm fun," Hermione replied nervously. She knew that the Malfoy's were a prestigious family, and had lots of 'social gatherings' but it sounded so formal...where was the fun? How much time were she and Draco going to be able to spend together? More importantly, how would the Malfoy's circle feel about a muggleborn joining the ranks? She knew it would have to happen someday, but she didn't want that kind of label attached to herself. She knew that the pure blood versus muggleborn debate was still going on, and she didn't want to feel threatened by those who still felt pure blood was best. Hermione hoped that most of their mutual friends outside of Hogwarts would have no qualms about her blood status.

A silence followed, and Hermione realised she was still wearing the dress.

"I'll just go get dressed," she said awkwardly.

"Yes..." mused Narcissa, "I was wondering what you were waiting for."

Hermione got changed into her own clothes and attempted to smooth her hair. It didn't work.

Narcissa had already paid by the time she came out again, and together they left the boutique for the cold weather outside.

"We have a portkey scheduled for 6 o'clock. Why don't we go to eat in Monsieur & Madam? It opened recently; I hear they have excellent fish."

"Sounds great, Mrs Malfoy."

"Please, call me Narcissa."

Finally.

Hermione arrived back at Hogwarts, tired and irritable. That day had been exhausting, both physically and emotionally. Narcissa was kind one minute, and cold the next. How was she going to cope with the mood swings? And now Draco was going to ask about her day, and she would have to lie and tell him it was wonderful. What fun.

She quickly walked up to her room, and opened the door. Immediately she was enveloped in a tight hug.

"Hermione! Thank god you're back, I'm been an emotional wreck since you left this morning," Draco complained, but with a ghost of a smirk on his face.

"Why," Hermione narrowed her eyes. "What have you done, Draco?"

"Me? Absolutely nothing, that's the point. I felt like I had lost a part of myself, and I couldn't bring myself to do any work. I couldn't even get out of the bed."

"Really?" Hermione beamed. "That's so sweet!"

Ginny snorted, as she sat on the sofa beside Blaise. "You weren't here Hermione, you had it lucky. He conjured up a little bell and whenever he rung it one of us had to go in and see him. He was like a little boy."

"Please don't leave me again, Hermione. I can't bear it," Draco declared before kissing her fully on the lips.

"Ugh...get a room!" Harry moaned, before Pansy laughed and covered his eyes. They both sat on the single armchair, which seemed to have been designated the 'Harry and Pansy' chair.

"I won't leave you, but that means whenever I go shopping with your mother, you'll have to go with me." Hermione said.

Draco paled, and then hastily replied, "Actually, I think I can cope with it better next time. Now that I know what to expect..."

Hermione giggled, "That's what I thought."

She sat down on the couch opposite Blaise and sighed with pleasure.

"So..." Draco said as he sat down beside her.

"Hmm?" Hermione asked lazily, leaning on his shoulder.

"How was it?"

"Oh, it was...very tiring. She made me try on so many dresses it was ridiculous. But we agreed on five dresses, they'll be transported here in a few days."

"Only five?" Draco frowned. "That's not a lot. I'd have thought you'd buy more than that."

"Only five? Draco, they were so expensive! I felt completely guilty about Narcissa buying them for me. I've never had the finer things in life, and I was happy. It's all a bit...daunting now. I never realised how wealthy your family is," Hermione confessed, unhappily.

Draco pulled her onto his lap and murmured in her ear. "I didn't realise you felt like that...I'll ask mother not to boast about our wealth again," he chuckled, his breath tickling her. "Did you like her though?"

"She was...also tiring. She was nice to me, but I think I got on her nerves after a while. Sometimes she seemed a bit cold...but I'm hoping she was just nervous like me, and not because she hates me."

"She doesn't hate you, I'm sure of that. Do you want me to get you something to eat from the kitchen?"

Hermione nodded and got up. "I'm going to have a bath. My whole body seems to be aching. I didn't realise how taxing shopping can be!"

"OK, I'll bring some food in for you in say, half an hour? We can have a quiet night in, I missed you way too much today," Draco laughed.

"You're a sweetheart," Hermione smiled and kissed him on the nose. Who would have thought that Draco Malfoy, once known as the Slytherin Prince, would be a sweetheart?

She left the room.

Draco smiled to himself and went to the small kitchen area.

"Need a hand?" Pansy asked him.

Draco shrugged, "If you want to, but I am quite capable of heating up a jacket potato."

"It's alright. I'm craving a hot chocolate."

Pansy followed him to the kitchenette.

"So, how are you and Harry?" Draco asked. He rummaged in the mini fridge for a large potato then put it in the microwave. He was extremely lucky that Hermione had taught him how to use muggle appliances.

Pansy, who had been stirring the hot chocolate mix, blushed. "It's...lovely if I'm honest. I know it's harsh to Blaise, and in a way you, but I've never felt this way about anyone before. He is so nice, and funny and I wish we hadn't have wasted so much time."

"I'm pleased for you," Draco said honestly.

"I'm pleased that you're pleased for me," Pansy laughed.

"I'm pleased that you're pleased that...let's not get into that. You know how easily confused I get." Draco grinned.

"Alright," Pansy agreed. She took her mug of hot chocolate and went into her room, where Harry had gone to after Hermione came back.

Draco glanced at the sofa corner, where Ginny and Blaise were....to put it nicely... kissing forcefully.

"Ugh, like I haven't seen enough of you two. Can't you do it in the privacy of your own room?" Draco sighed.

"It's not our fault you looked at us at this very moment in time," Blaise replied. "You could have just stared at the microwave...speaking of which, you haven't started it yet."

Draco whipped round. "What? I thought when you put it in, it automatically heated up!"

Ginny stifled a giggle. Blaise rolled his eyes, "No mate, you need to press the buttons. It's not magical you know."

"Oh...just shut up. You distracted me."

"Yeah...right," Ginny smirked.

Draco ignored them, and then successfully switched the microwave on. The timer began to count down.

Five minutes later, the potato was cooked. Draco grated some cheese and found some tomatoes in the fridge along with some cucumber. He took it into their bedroom where Hermione was waiting for him. She was wearing one of her nighties, and Draco's heart began to pound. It was amazing how stunning she looked with her hair piled on top of her head and wearing a skimpy nightie. Had she done this on purpose?

"This was the first thing I found, I couldn't be bothered to look for some pyjamas," Hermione said, gesturing to the nightie. "I hope you don't mind."

"Mind? Of course I don't mind, you look stunning," Draco smiled. Hermione blushed and then sat on the bed. Draco passed the plate down to her, and she conjured up a lap tray so it wouldn't burn her legs.

"It smells lovely Draco, thanks. I really appreciate it."

"It's no trouble, whatever makes you happy."

Hermione blushed again and began to eat.

When she had finished, she went back into the bathroom and Draco went to wash the dish up.

Hermione was already in the bed, curled up into a ball. Draco slipped in beside her and whispered, "I love you."

Hermione smiled languidly. She was already slipping into the realms of sleep. "I love you too."

Draco wrapped an arm around her and hugged her close, as they both drifted off into a deep sleep.

Nice bit of fluff at the end : )

Next chapter will be the engagement party! Still haven't decided on a theme yet, so keep the ideas coming! : )

Review pleeeeeeease.