Let Me Help You
DracoxHermione
Rated NC-17
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters from the franchise. That honor belongs to JK Rowling
Let Me Help You
Chapter 13
Christmas Eve
Hermione looked at herself in the mirror in her room, taking in the outfit she had chosen for the dinner tonight. In just a few short minutes, an owl would show up with a Portkey for her and her parents to be transported to Malfoy Manor. After having to a long discussion with her parents about her relationship with Draco, her father had demanded on meeting him before deciding whether or not they would spend Christmas Eve dinner with him and his family. She still flushed in embarrassment when she thought about that night three evenings previous.
(Flashback…)
Robert Granger sat across from his daughter and the platinum blond boy she called her boyfriend, his wife Jean sitting next to him. He was staring tensely at him while also taking observation of his and Hermione's interactions. There had been very little so far and that was probably due to his daughter being nervous about the meeting at the moment. After all, every man's daughter was nervous about them meeting their boyfriend for the first time.
"So Draco," Robert began. "What are your exact intentions with my little girl?"
"Dad!" Hermione exclaimed, her face turning bright red.
Jean giggled and said, "He just wants to make sure that he's right for you and that you won't do anything scandalous."
Hermione wanted to just sink into the floor. When her parents had met Viktor it hadn't been as embarrassing as. With a groan she placed her forehead on Draco's shoulder and hid behind her hair. Draco smiled and held the brunette's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He turned his grey eyes towards Mr. and Mrs. Granger and said politely, "I can assure you Mr. and Mrs. Granger that I will treat Hermione with the utmost respect any gentlemen would treat a lady with. I care about her a lot, probably more than I've ever cared about anyone that wasn't family. And if I'm completely honest, I can't see myself with anyone but her in my life. You have my word that I won't harm her in any way that would be deemed dire."
There was another silence that filled the room before Robert said, "Alright then Draco, I give you permission to officially date my daughter. But if you do anything to hurt her, you will regret it."
"Yes sir," Draco replied, his face composed though Hermione felt Draco's hand tense in hers from her father's threat.
(End Flashback…)
Hermione looked at herself in her mirror once more, taking in the red dress that stopped just above her knees with simple black heels. Her hair was pinned up in an updo and she had ruby earrings in her ears. Nodding at herself she grabbed her white winter blazer and put it on before going downstairs to meet her parents. Her mother was wearing a red dress as well that stopped below her knees with sleeves that stopped at her elbows with a black coat on and black heels. Her father was wearing a nice pair of khaki slacks and black dress shoes, with a pressed white button-up and his own dark brown trench coat over it.
Looking at them she asked, "Are you both ready?"
"Yes dear, we are," Jean answered. "So what do we do?"
"The owl with the Portkey will be here soon, so let's step outside and wait."
The three of them stepped outside in the snow and waited as the snow fluttered down from the sky. Hermione took in the many Christmas lights and decorations of her neighbors. All of them were busy with their own Christmas Even dinners or celebrations, so luckily none of them would notice her and her parents suddenly disappearing. Before long an owl appeared with the Portkey, a handheld mirror, and Hermione instructed her parents to grab hold of it tightly. Once they did, the three of them were suddenly transported from the front of their house and before long they had landed in front of the gates of Malfoy Manor. Hermione had to hold her parents upright as they were about to fall from the sudden landing before looking through the bars of the gate towards the large mansion.
She had never seen Malfoy Manor but she figured it was rather magnificent. And seeing it in person, it certainly was, though it did seem almost gloomy. Footsteps caught her attention and her brown eyes caught Draco walking towards the gate. Smiling she waved at him, causing him to smile as well. The gates opened as it recognized Draco's magical signature and the Grangers all stepped through. Hermione rushed over to hug Draco, wrapping her arms around him tightly as he wrapped his back around her in return. Letting her go he turned towards the Grangers and said, "Welcome to Malfoy Manor, Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Please follow me inside so one of our House Elves can take your coats and we can be settled to have dinner."
The four of them walked towards the manor and inside, a House Elf waiting for them and took their coats before popping away. Draco then escorted Hermione and her parents to the parlor where Severus was waiting in his usual black robes, as well as his mother who was wearing an elegant long-sleeved evergreen dress that complimented her figure, her blond hair in a half updo and curled beautifully. Narcissa stood up and walked over to them with a smile, Severus following not too close behind her.
"Hello Grangers, thank you so much for agreeing to have Christmas Eve dinner with us. My name is Narcissa Malfoy and I am the matron of this manor. You have already met my son Draco, and this is Severus Snape, Draco's godfather and current Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts," Narcissa said with a pleasant smile.
Robert nodded and replied, "Thank you for having us, Mrs. Malfoy. I am Robert Granger, and this is my wife Jean and our daughter Hermione."
"Snape? I thought Hermione said that you were the Potions professor and a Potions Master," Jean said.
"He is a Potions Master, mum; the youngest to ever grace Wizarding Britain. And he was the Potions professor, but he now is the DADA professor because the previous Potions professor, Professor Slughorn, came out of retirement," Hermione explained.
Severus looked down at the know-it-all for a moment before looking back at her parents, saying in his deep voice, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Neither of the Grangers was sure if he was being sincere or just saying it to be polite. But he seemed exactly like how their daughter had described him. But if he was Hermione's boyfriend's godfather, then he had to at least be a decent person.
Narcissa cleared her throat to interrupt the silence and said, "Let us move to the dining room, shall we? Dinner awaits us."
Dinner had been very pleasant much to the surprise of Hermione. She thought that it would be awkward for her parents to try and interact with Mrs. Malfoy and Professor Snape, but they were conversing nicely and had been since the appetizer. Draco and Hermione engaged from time to time, but preferred to talk quietly to each other and would hold hands between courses. At the moment, they were waiting for dessert and Jean was asking Mrs. Malfoy if she had any siblings, considering both Draco and Hermione were only children, and no other family of the Malfoy's were there.
"In fact, I do have siblings. I have two sisters; they're both older than me," answered Narcissa.
"Will they be joining us this evening?" asked Robert.
Severus scoffed and mumbled, "I hope not."
Draco couldn't help but agree with his godfather. He hoped by the grace of Merlin that his insane aunt did not show up and completely ruin their Christmas Eve dinner. Unfortunately, that thought was short lived when a House Elf appeared and announced that a Bellatrix Lestrange was waiting to come through the Floo.
Hermione, Draco, Narcissa, and Severus' faces all paled, Severus' more than usual. Narcissa quickly recovered and told Severus, "Severus, please escort the Grangers out of the manor and back to the gates."
Severus nodded and stood telling the Grangers to follow him, leaving no room for argument. Narcissa bid them 'goodbye' before leaving to head for the parlor. Severus quickly led Hermione and her parents through the manor and out of the front door, right down to the gates of Malfoy Manor. Draco had been following and the gates opened once more, recognizing his magical signature. Gently grabbing the brunette's hand, he said, "I'm happy that you were able to come despite dinner being cut short."
"Me too, and I hope I hear from you before school starts for the next term," Hermione replied.
The blond smiled and kissed Hermione's cheek sweetly before bidding her and her parents 'goodbye'. Severus handed Hermione the Portkey while giving her a nod, and she and her parents held onto the mirror and quickly disappeared from in front of the two men. As soon as they were gone, Severus said, "I hope you know that you were lucky this time. Next time, you might not be as lucky or quick."
"I know, but for right now I'm not worried," Draco replied. "Now let's go see what Bellatrix wants."
Severus followed his godson back inside the manor, all the while hoping that Draco wasn't in over his head with his new relationship with Miss Granger. Because Merlin only knew the consequences of what would happen if any of the Dark Lord's followers found out that their newest Death Eater was in a romantic relationship with a Muggleborn.