Out of Hand by relativelypositive
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and I make no money from the use of J.K. Rowling's characters.
Chapter 21
What is going on in that crazy little head of hers?
Draco knew he was confusing her.
Who goes from hatred/indifference/annoyance to love/like/acceptance in three days? Not normal people.
He blamed Blaise. And Vince. And Greg.
His friends were saps, every one of them. How did this generation end up so different from their parents?
Their parents were zealots. They were believers in blood supremacy and followers of Voldemort. They made no threats they weren't willing to follow through with, no matter how brutal.
When he was nine, Draco's father had threatened to put him in the dungeon. Draco had been flying through his mother's rose garden on his broom, and his father told him not to go so fast. Draco slowed, but only minutely. His father said if he damaged anything in the garden he'd have to spend the night in the dungeon as a prisoner. When he clipped the top of a bush and three flowers were shredded he didn't think anything of it.
When his father's spell hit him and he hit the ground, Draco hadn't known what had happened. He thought he was being attacked.
His father levitated him to the dungeon and shackled him.
His father called his then-house elf Dobby, and told him that no one was to help Draco, or give Draco food or water that hadn't been ordered by him.
It was the longest night of Draco's life. There are poltergeists in the Malfoy dungeon. And they are not friendly, or even just tricksters. They are violent.
The next day his father released him. Draco had a bloody nose and lots of nasty bruises. He was hungry and tired from standing up all night.
His father just looked at him, waiting for a reaction.
Draco knew the only acceptable reaction was an apology. He gave it.
Who in their right mind would want to join this family? Especially a Muggleborn with more hope for change than all of Slytherin house put together?
How could he have both?
He couldn't.
He loved his life of privilege. He knew hundreds of boys that wanted to be him. He was rich, attractive, intelligent, and pureblooded. He was the bachelor to catch.
As long as he lived by his father's rules, he could have everything he wanted out of life.
Except the thing he didn't know he wanted until he got it.
So damn his friends for telling him he should want a loving wife.
For whatever reason he'd never thought about brains before. Or attitude.
Or what it would be like to spend your life with someone that actually liked you.
"Don't you dare kiss that girl!"
Draco let go of Hermione like she was on fire. He heard her inhale sharply and realized with sorrow that she thought he was going to kiss her. The missed opportunity almost killed him.
He turned and saw his mother barreling down the corridor. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back to Dumbledore's office.
His mother was slight, and wasn't a physically demonstrative person, so Draco was shocked that she had so much strength. It was odd to think of her as muscly, but she pulled him along like he was a wayward toddler.
He made a grab for Granger's hand. He missed.
Since they hadn't gone far, it only took about ten seconds to be ushered back into the office. Draco looked back to see Snape smirking at Granger as she passed him to enter the room. She blushed.
Snape thought they had been making out.
That was almost funny.
He wished it were true.
"We are going to try the Muggle method. From what I'm told," his mother paused to give Granger's mother a withering look, "this idea has promise. And it would supposedly be easier than anything your father has in mind."
"So when do we go?" Granger asked.
Draco wanted to protest. Didn't she hear? Didn't she listen? He wanted her!
"Sweetheart, you've been through so much. Physically, we don't know if you could handle it right now," her mother answered.
"So when?"
Granger's parents looked at each other. Then they looked at her.
"Hermione, you're not the one who'd go through with it. He would." Her mother pointed at Draco.
"No fucking way."
"Draco!" his mother admonished.
"I am not letting Muggles kill me and bring me back to life just so I can lose her."
"She isn't really yours," Granger's father protested. "This was a mistake. It may seem extreme to you, but doctors bring people back to life all the time. It'll all be okay."
"No. I won't do it."
"When do you think your daughter will be well enough to try it?" his mother asked her parents.
"Stop it!" Draco tried to reign in his temper, but knew he was close to losing it. "She's not doing it, either!"
"You can't make that decision for me!" Hermione yelled.
"What's going on here? I thought you said he wanted this over with!" Granger's mother accused Draco's mother. "You said he'd come with us! You promised he would be willing!"
Draco's mother grabbed him again and dragged him back out of the office, past a bored-looking Snape, and back into the alcove.
"What are you doing? This is an out. Those awful people are some sort of healers. They insist that this can be done safely. It would be unorthodox, but expedient. Your father might even approve."
Draco wondered how to tell her the truth. He knew his mother had been working on finding a witch for him to marry. She must have found someone! That must be it. She found someone she approved of and wanted him to be available for her. She would never approve Granger.
"You have someone you want me to marry, don't you! Who is it?"
"That doesn't matter. It's years away," she dismissed.
"Until this week, that's what I thought. I've never thought about what I want in a wife before. But…I know what I don't want. I don't want a vapid bitch that only cares about money and status."
"Are you assuming any witch I pick out for you will be vapid?"
"Most of the girls I meet that are pureblooded and rich are vapid. Are you looking in any other parts of society? Are you considering any Half-blood or Muggleborn witches?"
"Of course not. We are Malfoys."
"I am telling you that Hermione Granger is who you would want if she were a Pureblood. You would be Avada-ing other mothers to clear the way for me. You would be begging the Grangers to weekend at the manor. You'd be giving her illegal love potions and sneaking her into my bed!"
"Don't assume you know what I would consider appropriate for the mother of my grandchildren."
"You want her to be smart, beautiful, and powerful. Anything else?"
"Don't oversimplify. Our family and our associates would eat that girl alive."
"That's why I want…I think that instead of pulling her into our world, I'd like to enter hers."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
The Grangers could hear the yelling for about twenty seconds before Hermione assumed Snape Silenced them. Maybe one of the Malfoys used a Muffliato.
"That is an unhappy family. And they're weird. Not in a good way, like the Weasleys. More like in a creepy way, like the Addams Family or the Munsters without the fun," commented Timothy.
"The father is downright scary," added Catherine. "The mother hates me. I don't understand why. I'm perfectly charming."
Hermione tried not to smile.
"He told me he wants to marry me," Hermione announced before she lost her nerve.
Hermione's parents stared at her blankly.
"Excuse me? I thought you didn't know this boy. And that he had been a jerk to you. We saw him on the train platform. I don't care if he wants you. We are getting you out of this," Timothy declared.
"But what if he's the only one that ever wants to marry me?"
"That's crazy talk. You're perfect. And that is not a reason to marry someone."
"He thinks he likes me for all the reasons I want to be liked. Does that make sense?"
"You mean he's telling you what you want to hear? Or does he really mean it?"
"I don't know. I don't know him well enough to tell."
Hermione tried to figure out how she felt. She'd wasted so much time waiting for Ron and she'd never considered anyone else. Why had she been so narrow minded?
One thing was for sure: Draco Malfoy would never have been on the list.
He'd been a rude bigot that enjoyed being a snot, as far as Hermione could tell.
But now he seemed so sincere! Was he just feeding her a line?
Did she want to pursue a relationship with him? He was being so sweet. He was saying things she never thought he would be capable of saying. Could it be an act?
They were engaged. It was supposedly permanent.
Did she want to date him?
Maybe.
Did she want to kiss him?
Yes.
Did she want to marry him?
No.
Malfoy and his mother re-entered, followed by Snape. No one looked happy.
"The Headmaster and Mr. Malfoy are returning," Snape announced. "Mr. Malfoy seems to have calmed down. I suggest you don't try his patience any more today."
Snape took up his post outside the door.
"That was helpful," muttered Timothy.
"Heed his advice. My father has no sense of humor." Malfoy looked on edge, and Hermione understood. His father scared her, too.
The door reopened and Professor Dumbledore and Lucius Malfoy entered the space.
Everyone tensed when, instead of taking the seat provided for him next to his wife, Mr. Malfoy made a beeline for Hermione.
"You're such a tiny, weak, homely girl. How could you possibly be causing so much trouble?" He reached into his robes and pulled out the morning paper. "Explain this to me," he growled.
Hermione gingerly took the paper and unfolded it.
The Girl Inside Hermione Granger: Meet the New Mrs. Malfoy!
By Rita Skeeter
A/N:
Thanks for taking the time to let me know how you feel about this story. I appreciate the time you take to read it, and the time you take to review it. Love to all.
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