Chapter 18: Young Love and Mashed Potatoes
Draco smiled down at Hermione. She looked up at him. Her eyes wide with surprise. She hadn't anticipated such a kiss. "Draco..." Hermione whispered.
"Don't ruin this, Granger." Draco warned quietly. He wrapped her small frame in his arms. "Give me at least a few more minutes of bliss before you say something logical."
Hermione smiled and nodded obligingly. She buried her face in his chest and took a moment to breath in his scent. When she finally couldn't take it anymore, she spoke, "You're married." She felt her chest tightening, and her breath becoming heavy.
"I'm only going to say this once." Draco informed, "Talia and I are only together for Evangeline and so my mother has company while I am away. I provide her with a place to live, and money to spend. She has no say in who I see, and I have no say in her affairs." He paused briefly and stared down at the woman in front of him. "Merlin, Granger. I never stopped loving you. If I had any knowledge of you being alive, I would have come for you."
Hermione felt her face flush despite the cold. She frowned slightly and brushed his cheek with her thumb. She kissed him and grasped his hand in her own. "We should get back inside, before anyone realizes we're missing."
Draco kissed Hermione's hand before nodding, "Yeah, okay. If you insist." Still, he resisted slightly before following the brunette.
Once back in the kitchen, Hermione removed her hand from his and straightened her hair. "What time is dinner?" She asked properly.
Draco sighed, "Now. The girls should be in the dining hall any minute now."
She nodded, "I should go freshen up. Where's the lavatory?" Following Draco's instructions, she entered a rather ornate bathroom. She was starting to believe that nothing in the Malfoy Manor remained simple or plain. Hermione stared into the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed, and her lips were red. While her heart was nearly jumping out of her chest, her stomach gave a turn of unknowing. She breathed deeply, straightened her hair, and returned to the hallway.
"Mum!" Shyla called out, "I didn't realize you were already here!" She smiled innocently, awaiting her mother's wrath.
Hermione smiled and nodded, "Oh, yes. I got here not too long ago." She hugged her confused daughter, "Shall we go eat?"
Draco grinned, "This way to the dining hall, ladies."
Already situated at the large table was Narcissa Malfoy, "You're late. Dinner was supposed to be served at six."
Draco kissed his mother's cheek and let out a light laugh, "Yes, but everyone is here now." He took a seat next to her, at the head of the table. Presumably where Lucius once sat.
As Hermione moved to sit away from Draco, the two young girls raced in. Eva sat next to her grandmother, while Shyla sat across from her, leaving Hermione to sit directly across from a very intimidating Narcissa. She smiled awkwardly and sat down, placing her dark green napkin in her lap.
"Mother, I'm not sure if you ever met Miss Hermione Granger." Draco introduced.
Narcissa frowned, "I suppose I had to have met her at least once. I at least heard her name on a well established basis."
Hermione felt her hands tense, she hadn't felt this uncomfortable in such a long time. "Nar- um – Mrs. Malfoy?" For someone who was known for being so bright, she was having a ridiculous amount of difficulty forming words. "How are you this evening?"
Narcissa looked at Hermione as if she had suddenly turned into a Nargle. "I am fine, thank you."
Sensing Hermione's distress, Draco spoke up, "Mother? Did you meet Shyla? Hermione's daughter?"
Narcissa's demeanor changed when it came to Shyla. She smiled at the young girl, "We did. We had a nice opportunity to talk."
Draco smiled, "Good." He looked around, noticing their plates had still not been filled. "Maybe I should go check on the house elves."
"Sorry, Master Malfoy!" a quiet voice squeaked. "We should have had it finished earlier."
"That's quite alright, Jigsy." Draco replied, "And for the hundredth time, don't call me master."
The small, female house elf nodded quickly, "Sorry, sir." She levitated plates to each of them.
"I love mashed potatoes!" Shyla drooled loudly.
"Shyla." Hermione warned quietly.
"As much as you love Tripp?" Eva teased her friend.
Shyla's face flushed a bright red. "I am not in love with Tripp!" She yelled.
"Shyla!" Hermione warned again, only louder this time.
Draco choked on a bit of roast beef, "Tripp Browning? Shyla, he's too old for you."
"Tripp's my friend!" Shyla insisted, glaring at Eva. "Besides! I'm not the one that has a crush on Professor Medina!"
Eva glared back at Shyla, "I can't believe you said that!"
Draco laughed loudly, "I take that back about Tripp. Evangeline, he's too old for you."
"Dad!" Eva shouted.
"I can tell him, if you want me to." Draco teased, smiling at his daughter.
"Dad, no!" Eva groaned.
Hermione gave in and laughed, "Eva, it's okay. My second year at Hogwarts, all the girls were in love with Professor Lockhart."
"Woah!" Draco cried, waving a carrot stabbed on his fork. "You were in love with Lockhart?!"
"Who?" Eva and Shyla asked in unison.
Hermione gasped, "I never said that!"
In between the Draco and Hermione's arguing, Narcissa replied to the girls, "He was a beautiful man, Gilderoy Lockhart. Horrible, but beautiful."
Draco locked eyes with the bushy haired witch next to him, "You said, 'all the girls.' I believe that includes you."
"It was a generalization, Malfoy." Hermione snapped,
"You're a female, are you not?" Draco smirked.
"I never crushed on Lockhart. He was such a phony." Hermione flushed.
"Granger, answer the question."
"Malfoy!"
"Granger!"
"Fine, yes, I am a female. And as a female, I may or may not have found him attractive." Hermione gave up, rolling her eyes at the blond before her.
"Ha!" Draco yelled.
"You're impossible!" Hermione snapped.
"No need to be ashamed, Granger." Draco winked, enjoying the rise he was getting out of her.
"I'm ignoring you now." Hermione insisted, returning to her meal.
"You're such children." Narcissa scoffed.
"Awe, Mother, you know you enjoy it." Draco smirked, taking a bite of his carrot.
"What's going on in here?" A feminine voice asked.
"Talia." Draco breathed, turning to look at the slender blonde.
Hermione's heart sunk at the sight. She focused her gaze on her food.
"What are you doing here?" He asked.
Talia sauntered into the dining hall, and kissed Eva on the cheek. "It's my daughter's first evening home for the holidays. I have every right to spend it with her."
Eva wiped the sloppy kiss from her face.
"You're drunk." Draco accused.
Talia turned her eyes to Hermione and glared. "What is she doing here?"
Hermione's gaze flashed up. She felt her cheeks warm as a strong hand found its place on her knee.
"Miss Granger and her daughter are our guests." Draco stated through gritted teeth. "I invited them to stay for dinner."
"For Merlin's sake, she's in my seat!" Talia shrieked. Focusing back on Hermione she sneered, "I told you to stay away."
"Maybe we should go." Hermione said softly, placing her napkin on the table.
"No." Draco demanded a little too strongly. "Talia, I will not have this behavior in my home."
Talia began to loom over Draco, before he stood, towering over her in return. "Your home?" She spat. "You live here for maybe three months out of the year. This is hardly your home."
This time, Narcissa rose. "Maybe not, but it is my home. And in return, it is my son's home. You have interrupted my dinner, and I am not pleased. You will take your leave, now."
"I am your wife." Talia slurred angrily at Draco.
Draco gripped her upper arm, and led her out of the room.
Hermione heard only snippets of hushed anger coming from the hallway. Looking for a distraction, she glanced at Shyla's plate. "Eat your peas, Shyla."
Shyla made a face of disgust and groaned. "Peas are gross."
"The house elves went through all that trouble to make us dinner. Plus, we are guests here, eat what's on your plate." Hermione insisted.
"Draco refused to eat peas until he was sixteen." Narcissa commented.
Hermione shot the aging woman across from her a questioning look. Her gaze was broken when Draco reentered the room alone.
"Sorry about that. Let's finish eating. We still have desert." He sat down, and slyly placed his hand back on Hermione's leg before continuing his meal.
"Goodnight, Mrs. Malfoy." Hermione bid, "It was nice to officially meet you. Under better circumstances, that is."
Narcissa gave Hermione a look of slight annoyance, "Honestly, we are adults. Just call me Narcissa."
Hermione nodded and smiled, "Okay, I will." She turned to Shyla, "Are you ready, Shy?"
Shyla nodded, "Yes."
Eva suddenly grabbed Shyla's arm. "Wait! You forgot that thing in my room."
Shyla eyed Eva, "What thing?"
Eva sighed, "You know..."
"Oh!" Shyla acknowledged, "We'll be right back!"
Hermione stood alone with Draco. She gave him a half smile, and he pulled her in close. "Draco, what if someone sees?" She whispered.
Eva closed the door to her bedroom behind her. "And you call yourself a Slytherin." She teased. "Honestly, took you long enough."
Shyla rolled her eyes, "Get on with it."
"Your mum's not mad."
"I know, it's weird." Shyla admitted.
"So, you ask her if I can stay for a few days, and I will ask my dad if we can spend the day in Diagon Alley tomorrow." Eva proposed.
Shyla nodded, "Okay."
Hermione pulled away from Draco's grasp, hearing footsteps on the stairs. Seeing the girls appear, she cleared her throat and smiled. "Did you get what you needed?"
"Oh," Shyla remembered, "yeah!" She turned to Draco, "Thank you for letting me come to your home."
Draco shrugged, "You're welcome here any time, Shyla."
Shyla smiled and bid goodbye to Eva as she stepped into the fireplace and was engulfed by the green flame.
"Thank you for dinner." Hermione said formally. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Granger." Draco replied softly, waving shortly as the woman before him followed her daughter through the fireplace.
A/N: Ahhhh, I am sooo sorry! I hit a major writer's block, and school really bogged me down. But I am taking this Thanksgiving break to write a ton! As always, let me know what you think!
~PurplePygmypuff