The sitting room turned out to be just two doors down from the foyer. It was a sizeable, pastel-coloured room, with lush, green vines and purple flowers covering most of the walls, crawling on the cabinets, and even on the small chandelier. In the gentle glow of the sunset that filtered in through the curtains, this place felt like an oasis.

Hermione let go of Draco and took some exploratory steps in direction of a large bookcase she just noticed on the opposite wall. If she squinted hard enough, she could just make out some of the writing on the spines.

Merlin's beard! Nearly all of these books were used as references in her own textbooks. References she would've sold an arm and a leg to read.

One name, in particular, stood out to her: Theodore Nott. Hermione gulped and stepped closer, focusing on it, like a lioness stalking her prey. It was a book written by her father, presumably before he went insane. And it was so close! She had to have it.

Before she could take another step, however, two familiar arms ambushed her from behind, sneaking their way across her stomach, and pulling her into an embrace.

"Are the books calling to you, Hermione?" Draco whispered mockingly into her ear. The nerve of this man!

"Yes, as you very well know I'm a proud bibliophile. So don't even think about holding me back." She tried her best to wiggle out but the wizard was unmoveable.

Draco snuggled into her hair, and she could all but feel his smirk. "I'm not trying to keep you from your books. I'm just hoping that you would go around the table with the tea and porcelain, not through it."

As his words registered, Hermione glanced down to see a fully set table right in front of her. The cups and the teapot were decorated by the Malfoy crest, with the silver accents done in what she assumed to be real goblin silver. If not for Draco's intervention, she would've barrelled through the careful setup, embarrassing herself in front of…

Hermione's eyes scanned the room to find a very amused Narcissa sitting in one of the chairs. She felt her cheeks heat up as she swatted at Draco's arms and muttered something apologetic.

Instead of any sort of remark, however, Narcissa just gestured towards the couch on the other side. "Please have a seat." It was kind of her to let her silliness slide, and Hermione accepted it.

Before she made it to the couch, she remembered the gift in her bag. Stepping closer to the Matriarch instead, she pulled the simple but elegant paper box from her bag and wandlessly undid the stasis charm.

"I bring a gift of goodwill to the House of Malfoy," she said, proffering it with both hands, and bowing just a little, just like Theo advised.

Waiting for the blond witch to open and assess her gift was nerve-racking. She had chosen a very special type of marigold the Muggles just engineered. It was a genetic marvel, with actually metallic-golden-coloured petals.

This fact, combined with the meanings of joy and warmth, made this the most perfect gift Hermione could find. She hoped the witch would accept it. To be honest, the thought of a Muggle invention in the ancient Malfoy gardens made Hermione giddy.

She watched as Narcissa opened the box, frowned, took a closer look with raised eyebrows, then turned to meet Hermione's gaze with a genuine smile on her face.

"Oh, what a beauty. And such great news as well."

Great news? What great news?

She looked at Draco for an explanation, and as such saw the exact moment his face froze as Narcissa unveiled the gift.

This was the moment she really started panicking. What did she just do? Why is Draco stunned? Was it this bad? Questions flooded her mind, and she had no answers to any. After what felt like minutes, Draco finally turned to her, his eyes still wide as saucers.

"Gifting a potted flower means that you wish to take roots in the family. It's usually a declaration of an accepted marriage proposal towards the parents," he said, carefully choosing his words to keep her from panicking. Well, it wasn't working! This was the first time Hermione wished she'd invented a spell to make the floor open up and swallow her.

"I didn't mean to…" she muttered, glancing between a shocked Draco and a cheery Narcissa. She had no idea how to continue that sentence, but thankfully Narcissa raised her hand to signal her to stop.

"I know darling, and I won't hold you to it." The witch broke her gaze from the fascinating petals and put the flower on the table. "Thankfully these gifts are only binding between old families."

Hermione shared a knowing glance with Draco. That fact did not help at all!

Still, it was good enough for her curious brain to latch onto like a life belt.

"You mean purebloods?" she asked, pushing the other problems in a big pile in the back of her mind labelled 'Pureblood bullshite to sort out later'.

"Yes," she said hesitantly. "Partially. You should know that there are many other families who follow these rules but are not 'pureblood' in your sense of the word." As if sensing Hermione's impending questions, Narcissa put her hand up once again. "We can talk about this at length later. Now, please take a seat and tell me about this "Cultural Exchange" of yours."

Hermione sat down next to Draco, struggling between the appearance of decency and the warm comfort he would provide if she were to snuggle just a bit closer. Under the intense gaze of Narcissa, Hermione suddenly struggled to even keep her teacup upright, so she eventually gave up on the idea, getting the much-needed warmth from her tea instead. To her surprise, it was just perfect.

"Well, it started out as a request from a student who wished to take Muggle studies lessons from me," she started after a deep sigh.

She promised herself beforehand not to give too much info to the witch. She was here to learn, not vice versa. Also, she was trying her best to hide the big news of her being a Nott until she was completely sure they accepted her for who she was, not just because of her sudden change in heritage.

Still, she expected her to ask questions, and indeed, she did.

"Who was this student?" Narcissa asked.

Hermione thought about not telling, but in the end, it might throw Narcissa off the scent a bit. She mentally apologized to Zabini and pushed forward.

"Blaise Zabini."

She saw a flutter of intrigue in the witch's eyes at the news, but Narcissa kept her back perfectly straight and her body and face motionless except for the little smile she had on since greeting her.

If not for trying to read her son's expressions for the past weeks, she would've missed it. But now, at least she was certain it was not the Malfoys who set up this whole ridiculous plot. That was really nice to know.

"Then, he, umm, persuaded me to keep the lesson for his whole house to hear."

"Persuaded you? A lioness? Must have been quite the offer" Narcissa said.

She was sipping on her tea with the decorum of the queen of snakes, and here the little lioness was, trying to decipher what she was up to with each bloody sentence.

It was challenging and satisfying at the same time.

"I'd call it a trick more so than persuasion, mother." Draco interrupted her thoughts. "She was quite peeved at him. Even told him she'll poison his pancakes" he smirked and Hermione shot a deadly glare at him before turning back to Narcissa, slightly horrified.

To her surprise, the witch looked… appreciative? Amused? She wasn't quite sure, but it was a positive emotion, so she continued before he could make any more comments.

"Anyway. Barring some minor setbacks, we started with the lesson plan. I have a copy of it with me if you're interested."

Narcissa nodded, and she grabbed a pristine copy from her bag, handing it to her. It was a hefty parchment that could be a week's worth of study material even for Hermione, but Narcissa only smiled.

"I look forward to reading it. Assuming everything my son said about you is true, I have very high expectations."

Oh?

"What did Draco tell you?" The question slipped out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

Narcissa looked at Draco and widened her smile in a sickly sweet way, causing him to squirm beside her.

"Oh, just this and that… smartest witch of her age, the one who always bests him despite not having been tutored in all matters magical from a young age" she now looked back at Hermione. "A brave lioness with a golden heart and a penchant to save lost little snakes, if I'm correct. Not that I've been properly informed about the latter, unfortunately. I would've been much more prepared if that was the case. Please forgive me, Miss Granger."

It was Hermoine's turn to fidget, understanding the witch's words immediately. She recalled last night's, or, well, this morning's events, and took on a deep shade of red.

"Its my fault," she said, not even thinking, just trying to get them out of trouble. "I ambushed him in the middle of the night. The owl would not have arrived in time. I…"

"You are perceptive as always, mother." Draco interrupted her once again, but this time, it was welcome. "Although, I expected your connections to inform you of this development. Maybe you should look into their tardiness instead," he remarked self-assuredly.

Narcissa just nodded, then got up from her seat, gently correcting the non-existent wrinkles on her dress. Hermione watched the battle of the snakes in silence and awe.

"I most certainly will, Draco. Now, back to the matter at hand. I think you should show Hermione how such a declaration is made."

From the way Draco stilled once again, Hermione gathered that Narcissa won this particular bout of verbal duelling.

Draco looked at her, his gaze mesmerising as he tried to convey something wordlessly as he could do to Theo. Unfortunately, the only message Hermione got was the sense of mild dread and flickering hope she saw in his stormy eyes.

He got up, did the same robe-cleaning ritual his mother did, then walked up to the witch with his head held high.

Hermione gasped when he knelt before Narcissa.

"Dear mother, I come bearing great news," he started, his words loud and clear. "Miss Hermione Jean Granger had most graciously allowed me to court her from this very day."

Narcissa looked at him for a couple of seconds, before continuing the… ritual.

"I see, my son. Tell me, are your intentions honest?"

Draco did not hesitate. "Yes, I swear it on my magic."

"And what will this witch bring to the House of Malfoy?" she asked.

"She will bring us wisdom, bravery and prosperity," he answered with conviction.

Narcissa' eyes twinkled. "And what will she bring to you?"

"She will bring me happiness."

The raw, emotional mix of hope and desire in Draco's voice was so unfamiliar, yet it made her heart flutter. Was that the only thing he wished of her? Happiness?

She will give him that and so much more!

Narcissa contemplated these words for just a few seconds before giving his son a genuine smile and pulling him up into an embrace.

"I could not ask for more. Let her know that Narcissa Malfoy, the matriarch of the House of Malfoy, welcomes her with open arms. And an open heart."

—

A/N: Thank you for all your comments, they really keep me motivated to continue writing this story! :)

I hope this first meeting with Narcissa did not disappoint.

In other news, if you would be interested in beta reading - mostly to check for those pesky grammatical errors that I usually only find after uploading and that annoy the living spirit out of me, - send me a message. I'm EFL, so my grammatical knowledge is limited at times. :/

Next up: A dilemma of books and pettiness

Love,

LydieBerry