In-Laws

In Laws

By: Tassana Burrfoot





Chapter Ten





Hermione had never entered a dinner with a more unpleasant personality. Though he was cordial with her parents, with her, he was downright nasty. To make matters worse, he acted quietly, letting her know of his dislike without alerting the others.



Narcissa was so preoccupied with Henry that she didn\'t notice the tension between Lucius and Hermione. She didn\'t notice the way he would squeeze Hermione\'s hand to him, nor the wince Hermione would give. She didn\'t hear the muffled tones of Lucius\' insults to Hermione\'s station.



As they entered the dining hall, Hermione heard her mother ask Draco, "Do all the pictures talk and move?"



"Photos don\'t talk," Draco answered, helping Amy to her seat. "But, yes, all pictures move."



Hermione was surprised when Lucius helped her to her seat. She didn\'t take it to heart, however. She had gotten a clear picture of his feelings for her on their way to dinner. She wasn\'t a complete idiot.



"I told you all these things, Mum," Hermione said as Lucius pushed her chair in. "Ow!" she exclaimed when he pushed her too far and her chest hit the table.



"Oh, I am so sorry, Ms. Malfoy," Lucius apologized, though she knew he had done it on purpose. She threw him a dirty look, to which he raised an eyebrow and gestured, with his eyes, towards her mother.



Hermione turned her attention to her mother to see Amy looking at them in alarm. She knew Amy had caught the dirty look Hermione had intended for Lucius\' eyes only. But, she figured, her mother didn\'t really know Lucius. Thankfully, Amy didn\'t think it necessary to push the matter. "Yes, but, I was still surprised when that one painting bowed to me," Amy continued as though nothing had transpired.



Draco laughed, "That was Great Uncle Andolfus. He loves to greet guests."



"He also didn\'t realize you were Muggles," Lucius added as he seated himself at the head of the table. "Had he known, he wouldn\'t have been so amicable."



Ginny frowned as she took a seat next to Harry, who sat next to Hermione. "Were all your family members Muggle-haters?" she asked, genuinely curious."



"Andolfus had been a Death Eater during the First War," Lucius explained. "He was my father\'s older brother and very much everything my grandfather had wanted in a son."



"Had?" Henry questioned. "I take it he is no longer alive?"



"Well spotted, Mr. Granger," the Slytherin said. "That is the beauty of portaits. They don\'t begin to move or talk until after their source has passed on. Andolfus was attacked, killed, and robbed by one of your people. I was in my second year at Hogwarts at the time."



"Not all Muggles are related to each other," Hermione sniffed. "We don\'t interbreed like Purebloods tend to do."



"Hermione!" Amy scolded.



"Actually, Hermione, you\'re wrong," Blaise said. "Unless I\'m mistaken, it is common practice among Muggle nobles to interbreed."



"Yes, but the Malfoys..."



"Are one of the oldest wizarding families in Britian," Blaise stopped the Muggle-born.



Hermione huffed. "That\'s not what I meant to begin with. Not all Muggles interbreed, but that\'s hardly the point of this conversation. Mr. Malfoy stated that it was one of our people who had killed his uncle. I was merely pointing out that he can\'t consider all Muggles \'one of ours.\' We\'re not all related."



Draco placed a hand on Hermione\'s. "That wasn\'t what Father meant either. He knows you are not all related. Just as not all purebloods are related. Uncle Andolfus had been brutally killed by a Muggle."



Hermione\'s eyebrows furrowed. "And how many Muggles did \'Uncle Andolfus\' brutally kill? If you ask me, he got what he deserved," she spat, viciously.



Draco\'s eyes widened as he stared at his wife. He had heard her go off on others before, but never had she been this ferocious. "Hermione..." he started, but Henry cut him off.



"That\'s enough, Hermione," the older man said. "We will not insult others in their own home. You know better. I have never seen this kind of behaviour out of you and, frankly, I\'m disappointed."



"I\'m just stating facts," Hermione told him. "Death Eaters are known for..."



Henry sighed, "I know what they are known for. Remember? You told your mother and me all about Death Eaters. But, it\'s in the past. Besides, I don\'t entirely blame pureblood wizards for the prejudice."



Narcissa looked at him curiously. "You don\'t?"



Henry nodded, but kept his eyes on Hermione. "Even Muggles are taught of the witch hunts and stake burnings of the past. Muggles were cruel. Do you know, Hermione, that if a found witch was pregnant, they would keep her alive long enough to have the baby and then kill her? And, if that wasn\'t bad enough, they would put the child in an orphanage where the child grew up doing manual labour in poor conditions. At one time, it was a horrible thing to be born a witch or wizard."



"Yes, but it was very rare that a true witch or wizard was ever caught," Hermione pointed out. "And, if they were caught and burned, they would simply cast a charm to keep them from actually burning and enjoy the sensation of the flames. One witch even went so far as to get herself caught several times simply because she enjoyed it so much."



"Sir Nicholas de Pomphrey was caught," Ginny said, looking down at her plate. "And he wasn\'t burned. They cut his head off with a dull blade."



"And didn\'t even manage to cut it entirely off," Blaise pointed out.



"Even now, there are still hard prejudices against witches," Amy added. "I read an article in our church newspaper that warned against a witch and what to do in case you stumble upon one. Witchcraft is considered a sin among Christians."



Hermione stared down at her own plate. "Muggles don\'t actively hunt witches and wizards anymore. Not like the Death Eaters hunt Muggles," she said. "I never said witch hunting was a good thing."



"Both sides have been at the wrong," Harry said, speaking up for the first time. "And both sides feel justified by their actions. You cannot blame a wizard for attacking a Muggle if that Muggle attacked a wizard. The same can be said in reverse. The key is to learn from the past, not repeat it."



"And there were Muggles who stood up for wizards back then. Just like there were wizards who stood up for Muggles during these wars," Henry stated.



There was a long moment of silence while the conversation was digested among everyone. One by one, everyone started eating. When Amy exclaimed about how delicious the food was, light conversation broke out. Even Lucius joined in on the conversation. In fact, only Hermione remained quiet.



"So, Hermione," Narcissa said as the food cleared and was replaced with dessert. "Have you started planning your wedding?"



The Muggle-born inwardly groaned. She knew the conversation would eventually turn to this and she wasn\'t quite sure how to approach it. "Honestly, I haven\'t," she answered. "I\'ve only attended one wizard wedding and am unsure of the customs. Because I\'ve been so busy, I haven\'t been able to read up on it."



"You\'re slacking," Draco teased. "What happened to the Hermione I used to know?"



Surprisingly, Harry agreed. "Yeah, where is she? You know, the one who took two and three classes at one time?"



"The one who always got top marks?" Blaise injected, jovially.



Ginny added, "The one who always organized a study schedule for, quite literally, everyone?"



"The one who came up with Dumbledor\'s Army?" Padma laughed.



"The one who can recite things from books word for word without need to see the text," Luna finished.



Hermione growled, "I get the point. I\'ve been busy. All of you know this. You\'ve been there, you\'ve seen me. My main concern had been to get my husband and father-in-law out of prison. Not plan a wedding."



"Well, they are out now," Narcissa told her. "I was wondering why you don\'t have the wedding here?"



Hermione raised an eyebrow, but Lucius agreed. "Splended idea, darling," he said, though he didn\'t sound as enthusiastic as he sounded. "While the Grangers have a nice, cozy home, the manor is better suited for such a large engagement."



Narcissa turned to the Muggles. "Do you agree?" she asked them.



Amy seemed to ponder it. "Well, exactly how many guests are expected? Aside from those seated?"



Narcissa shrugged. "Whomever Draco and Hermione choose to invite. I\'m sure the Weasleys will be invited. They, alone, will take up at least half of this table..."



"What is that supposed to mean?" Ginny bristled, throwing Narcissa a dirty look.



The woman waved it off. "It just means you have a large family, dear," she answered, not the least bit perturbed. "I\'ll want to invite Andromeda, as well. If it\'s alright with the bride and groom?"



Hermione tilted her head. "Andromeda Tonks?" she inquired. "I thought you disowned her?"



Narcissa glanced uneasily at her husband. At his nod of approval, she replied, "Yes, well, now that my son is marrying a Muggle-born, there\'s no point in denying her. She\'s my sister and the only family we\'ve left."



Hermione didn\'t like that answer. "How do you know she\'ll forgive you after all this time?" she questioned.



The woman shrugged, but looked downcast. "I don\'t expect forgiveness. But, Draco is her nephew and you are one of the Golden Trio. I would think..."



"Is that the only reason you\'re supporting this union?" Hermione demanded. She stood up. "Because I am one of the Golden Trio? A war hero?"



Narcissa looked taken aback. "Of course not..."



"Bullocks!" Hermione snapped. "You knew what happened in this manor to me not that long ago, and yet you and your husband insisted on dining here! You knew I wasn\'t ready to return here. You have flaunted your wealth and degraded my family and friends when all we\'ve done is help you. You expect me to believe I\'m being accepted into this family with open arms? You and your husband cannot stand the idea that your son is marrying a Muggle-born. You hate that you must dine with Muggles! You can\'t stand the idea that your precious china is being dirtied by us! Guess what? I don\'t give a damn!"



With that, Hermione picked up a porcelian picture and threw it across the room, where it shattered upon the wall. She then turned and walked out of the dining hall.



Draco stood up. "I\'ll go get her," he said, as he began to follow her.



Harry caught his arm. "Leave her be," he suggested. "I know Hermione. Give her a bit to cool down."



Draco looked worriedly at the door Hermione had exited, but did as suggested. He wasn\'t really concerned for her safety, but he was concerned for her sanity. He gave his mother an apologetic look as Lucius comforted her.



Amy and Henry were astounded. They had never seen their daughter act so irrationally. "What happened here?" Henry asked. "What happened to our little girl?"



Draco and Harry looked at each other. If Hermione hadn\'t told her parents, they certainly didn\'t like the idea of telling them.