Draco.
Their feet hit the ground of the garden outside Malfoy Manor with a thud. Hermione was latched on to his arm as they had had to perform a side along apparation as Hermione never been there before, not by choice anyway. Everything was still; the only sound was the soft whistle of the wind.
Draco knew that the wards around the Manor would have alerted his parents of their presence and it was only a matter of time before they came rushing out.
He hadn't seen his parents in over three months since his almost wedding day and he was unsure of what their reaction would be. Would they still be angry about him ditching the wedding or would they have calmed down a bit? The fact that he had brought Hermione with him wouldn't please them either.
Draco knew his father was still insanely prejudiced against muggle borns and would be livid because of his relationship with Hermione. His mother was a little more civilised and tolerated muggle borns if ever coming in contact with one, but also secretly hated them.
Draco walked hesitantly forward towards the manor, Hermione's arm still linked with his own. But they had barely made it more than ten steps before Draco saw his mother come charging out, her black cloak flapping behind her.
Draco froze, the look on her face let him know instantly that she was absolutely furious. Her eyes were glinting with rage.
She approached them rapidly before halting in front of the pair and shooting Draco an ugly look. Her eyes wandered to Hermione and she gave a disgusted look before moving her gaze back to Draco.
Before he could say anything at all, a harsh slap collided with his cheek, the sound echoing around the garden.
"HOW DARE YOU!" she bellowed, her nostrils flaring in pure anger,
"YOU HAVE DISGRACED AND UTTERLY EMBARRASSED THE WHOLE FAMILY!"
She popped her knuckles and Draco knew she was getting ready to strike him again.
"Mother, let me explain" he began, ignoring his throbbing cheek but was unable to continue.
"EXPLAIN?! EXPLAIN HOW YOU CRUELLY ABANDONED YOUR BEAUTIFUL FIANCÈE ON HER WEDDING DAY?! OR HOW YOU RAN LIKE A PATHETIC COWARD AND HID FOR MONTHS! MY GOD… I'M ASHAMED TO CALL YOU MY SON!" she spat, breathing heavily to regain her breathe. Her words were exceptionally worse than Draco would have imagined and they rang through his body painfully.
His mother had never been so utterly angry with before. But he guessed anyone would be pretty upset if their son ditched the wedding they had been planning for the last six months.
Draco then watched as his mother's gaze switched to Hermione, who was cowering next to him.
He knew that his mother had recognised her immediately, Hermione after all was very well known in the wizarding world with her connection to Harry Potter.
"And why the hell are you here?!" She demanded her scowl increasing. She seemed to look threatened by Hermione as she knew that she was higher up in the wizarding world than herself. This may Draco smirk slightly but still completely bewildered by his mother's harsh behaviour.
"Well… I… I…" but words failed her and Draco knew she was extremely uncomfortable. Who wouldn't be?
"It doesn't matter why she's here, mother…" He retorted, rubbing Hermione's arm to try and calm her, "Can we just go inside and talk in a more civilised manner?"
"Civilised! I do not need to be civilised to an awful son like you" she shrilled.
"Okay Mother… I understand I was a bit harsh, but honestly let's just go inside and talk…" Draco groaned, giving his mother a bored look. Now that she had stopped screaming and hitting him, he was less threatened by his mother. She let out a sinister cackle filled his sarcasm and anger.
"Inside?" She said, her eyes glinting with evil, "Yes… lets, then we can see what your father has to say about all this…"
Hermione.
The idea of going into Malfoy Manor again was haunting. After what happened to her during the war, Hermione had hoped she would never had to step foot in the building again. However with her newly formed relationship with Draco, she knew that it would be nearly impossible to avoid it.
As they headed inside, she shivered visibly. Not just because the penetrating coldness but because of the eerie memories that flooded her mind. She felt Draco's hand grab her own and squeeze it to reassure her, but did not look at her.
Draco's mother led them to a large and surprisingly homely room with a crackling fireplace and cushy looking sofas. It looked almost like a normal house should.
But as they entered the room fully, Hermione's stomach contorted painfully. Lucius Malfoy was sat stiffly on the furthest away armchair, smirking evilly.
His eyes hardened once they were in the room. He stood up slowly and prowled his way over to them.
Draco's mother joined her husband, standing by his side patiently.
Hermione's whole body tightened, she did not feel safe with him present, not even with Draco stood next to her. Why had she even thought of coming here? It was indeed a beyond awful idea. She had hoped Draco would be able to sort things out with his parents, she had certainly not realised that they were still so horrible.
She knew Draco would never let either of his parents harm her, but still she was unsettled.
"Son…" Lucius breathed, smirking menacingly at him. She felt Draco's hand clamp tighter onto hers. She squeezed it letting him know she was here for him, although she was definitely more scared than he was.
"So decided to go on a little vacation, did we?" Lucius said practically snarling. His cold eyes then met Hermione's and her body felt utterly numb, his gaze made her heart beat rapidly.
"And you brought a piece of mudblood filth into our home…" he whispered, not blinking. Hermione was not fazed by his words, she had heard them countlessly when growing up in Hogwarts, it was his deathly glare that frightened her.
"Don't you fucking dare call her that!" Draco hissed, shaking in fury.
"Now, now, language! That is not how your mother and I raised you" Lucius spoke in a playful tone but there was something completely evil about him. Hermione felt Draco stiffened in silent rage.
"She is extremely beautiful though Draco… I can see why you have grown fond of her…" Lucius mumbled, glaring hungrily at Hermione. She was disgusted by his creepy nature and wanted to get out of the room as quickly as possible.
"Shame about the blood…" He continued, his voice rash "but I shouldn't worry… I can dispose of her once I have had my way with her…"
Hermione would have been violently sick if it wasn't for the fact that every cell in her body was frozen to the core. She couldn't even think clearly. She would have thought Lucius Malfoy's evil prejudice may have faded over the years, but he seemed even more ruthless than before. Why had Draco never mentioned how brutal and vile they were? His own father wanted to touch her… harm her… perhaps kill her… It was all too much.
Draco let go of Hermione's hand swiftly and punched his father powerfully in the jaw. A loud crunch rang through the walls of the manor that made Hermione wince.
Lucius grabbed his face in pain, crying out loudly before growling wildly like a dog. It was obvious that he was about to pounce at them and hurt them ravenously. Hermione's head began to spin.
Draco swivelled round to face her, his eyes wide with fear.
"Hermione…" he pleaded, "Run!"
A/N: Uh oh! This story is about to get dark… you have been warned! I hope you enjoyed this action packed chapter! Thanks for the reviews!