Beautiful Disaster

Title: Beautiful Disaster
Chapter: 15/??
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Veela!Draco! discovers that his mate is the least likely person on the planet, and the discovery leads him and his father in new directions...

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Her two weeks at home had gone by far faster than she had expected. Her parents had given her presents two days before, and she clung to the angora jumper as she thought about the next two weeks to come. She was still apprehensive about someone finding out. This time it wasn’t even about her friends catching on as it was someone that could harm people she cared about discovering a very large deception on the part of one of Voldemort’s most trusted cohorts.

She couldn’t imagine what the dark wizard would do should he find out that Lucius was betraying him in such a way. It was one thing for his son to be destined to a muggle-born, but it was quite another for him to turn his back on Voldemort and aid Dumbledore. She wasn’t sure how much faith she put into the seer, but Draco was right when he said she felt it that she was destined for him.

The past two weeks had been filled with torrid dreams, a hollow emptiness, and the need to hex something. She suspected that a few of those emotions were flowing between their bond that seemed to be growing with each passing day. She found that she was catching waves of his emotions more frequently now, and it was starting to confuse her a bit. There were times when she couldn’t discern his feelings from her own.

She stared out the window at two children playing in the snow and felt wonder at what awaited her at Malfoy Manor. In her head, it was a huge house, bordering on something too big for people to truly live in, covered in gargoyles and dark hallowed halls. Malfoy Manor, in her mind, was a scary place, one in which she is never supposed to enter. She had half a mind to write to Draco and inform him that she wasn’t coming. However, the owl had arrived and she had ten minutes before she was to step into the floo and meet her destiny.

She turned and looked at the room, her trunk sitting beside the fireplace, and Crookshanks in his cage on top of it. She didn’t want to go. She wanted to stay in the warmth and security of her home. She hated the sneaking around. She hated the danger than came with what she was doing. If the wrong person found out, she could be killed. She checked her watch again and noticed that she had another ten minutes yet to wait. She put her head in her hands as she took a seat on the sofa. She wanted to cry, but she doubted that showing up at Malfoy Manor with red puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks was a good thing.

Her mother entered the room, “Ready to leave?”

She shook her head, “No,” she lifted her head to look at her mother, “I think I’m going to be sick.”

Her mother sat beside her and put an arm around her shoulders, “I’m sorry, darling.” She nodded, “Can I get you anything?”

Hermione shook her head, “No, I’ll be alright.”

Her mother sighed, “I wish you were able to stay here the rest of the break.”

She tilted her head, “But I’m not.” She frowned, “I’ll be okay,” she said more for herself than for her mother. Her father took that moment to enter and he handed her a small box as he sat in a chair beside the sofa.

“Your mother and I got this for you yesterday.”

Hermione opened the small box and smiled at seeing the necklace with the large H on it. Usually she received books or clothes from people. Her parents’ gesture of the necklace was a very sweet one and put her in a better mood. “It’s beautiful.”

Hermione’s mother helped her put it on as she held her hair off her neck. She checked her watch again and sighed, realizing that it was time for her to load her trunk and cat into the fireplace. Her father helped her, groaning at lifting the trunk. She gave him a smile, “Books.”

He chuckled, “I never would have guessed.”

She smiled as she hugged her parents, “I’ll miss you,” she said to them both.

Her father sighed, “I really don’t like the idea of you staying with some boy…”

Hermione shook her head, “Believe me; I’m not that fond of the idea myself. But when you become an adult you sometimes have to do things you don’t want to do.”

Her mother cupped her face, “I remember putting you on that train for the first time,” she said before she pulled her into a hug. “You’ve grown up so quickly my Hermione.”

She forced back the tears, still refusing to cry, “People seem to do that, don’t that.”

Her father smiled, “Try to enjoy yourself.”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “I’ll do what I can. I’ll write you when I get back to school and tell you about it.”

Her mother smiled, “You do that. Love you.”

“I love you too, Mum.”

Hermione gave them both one last hug before she stepped into the fireplace, took a handful of floo powder, and said, “Malfoy Manor!”

*~*

Draco had been pacing in the study, waiting for Hermione to come through the fireplace. He’d been in agony the last two weeks, finding that he had a very short temper. His parents thought nothing of his snaps at their comments. They seemed to find it amusing, and the more they hid behind secretive smiles, the more he wanted to hex them. He didn’t like people acting as if they knew something he didn’t.

He’d drifted from anger to melancholy back to anger the whole time. He was lost without seeing her. It was driving him crazy. At least at school he could catch a glimpse of her even if she wasn’t speaking to him. This was hell. He felt like ripping his hair out of his head with the need to just lay eyes on her. He’d had several alluring fantasies of her sprawled on his sheets as he worshipped her body with his hands, mouth, and body. He needed to see her.

However, even when she came through the fireplace, he wasn’t going to get her alone for a while. His parents had it in their head that the four of them should have tea. He thought it was a horrible idea, but you didn’t argue with Lucius Malfoy if you wanted to remain un-hexed.

Like lightening, a swirl of green light filled the fireplace and Hermione stepped out, barely skimming the top of her head on the fireplace. He suddenly felt very at ease. He smiled and moved quickly to catch her in a hug, something he wished he’d actually thought about before he’d done it. She stiffened then relaxed as her hands rested on his shoulders. He pulled away, a bright smile on his face, “I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you.”

She gave him a slight smile as she looked around the room and stopped suddenly on a large tree decorated with glass balls, tinsel, and fairy lights. She tilted her head at him as he grinned even wider, “I managed to talk my father into it.”

She chewed on her lower lip nervously before she turned to the fireplace, “Would you help me move my…” she stopped as she realized her things were gone and looked up at him.

“House elves,” he said shaking his head, “they’re quick.” She frowned disapprovingly and he held up his hand, “Don’t. Now is not the time to bring up freeing house elves. You’re likely to be pelted with Danishes.”

They stood staring at one another awkwardly for a moment before she spoke, “So, are we just going to stay here?”

He shook his head, “No, my mother and father want to have tea with you.”

She raised an eyebrow, “Why?”

“Because…you’re their guest? What’s wrong with tea?”

She shook her head, “Nothing…just strange.”

He looped her arm with his and smiled, “You don’t like tea?”

She narrowed her eyes, “I like tea just fine. Just the thought of having tea with your parents is what worries me.”

He shook his head, “Don’t be worried,” he said as he led her out of the study and down a well lit corridor to another room. This room had large French doors and bay windows. The space was open and beautifully decorated with flowers in ornate vases. The furniture was ornate as well, the wood a soft white, but the cushions on the sofas and chairs a beautiful crimson color. When they entered the room they found Lucius with his wife’s hand in his, whispering something in her ear that obviously brought color to her otherwise pale features. “Honestly,” Draco said with a shake of his head, exasperated by his parents. Lucius stood as the two walked in and took a seat.

Hermione looked around the room, very much impressed how this room seemed to be in stark contrast with what she was expecting. Draco and Hermione moved into the room and took the two seats opposite Lucius and Narcissa, Draco in front of his mother and Hermione in front of Lucius. “Miss Granger, so lovely to see you,” Narcissa said as she raised her tea cup to her lips.

She bowed her head and was startled by a house elf appearing beside her, “How does Miss take her tea.”

“I can do it,” Hermione said moving the cup out of the reach of the house elf.

The elf’s lip began quivering, “Miss does not like Daisy?”

Draco looked over at the elf, “Daisy, why don’t you fetch the Danishes from the kitchens.” The elf bowed to Draco and he sighed, “Please don’t make the house elves cry.”

“I can do things on my own without their assistance,” she said huffily as she poured a bit of milk into her tea.

“I understand that, Hermione,” he said softly, “but now is not the time for this fight,” he said as he looked back to his parents who were watching Hermione rather suspiciously now.

“You don’t like the use of house elves, Miss Granger,” Lucius said as a fact instead of a question.

“No, I don’t,” she said with a bit of bite to her words.

“And you feel it is your duty to rid everyone of house elves?” he said evenly. He didn’t seem angry that she disagreed with him on this matter.

“I don’t think slavery of any kind is called for.”

Narcissa shook her head, “Hogwarts itself uses house elves, Miss Granger.”

She nodded, “I know, but several of them are being paid.”

“So, that’s the solution is it?” Lucius said with a tilt of his head, “Pay them and you don’t mind them being servants?”

Draco shook his head and bit the inside of his lip. His father was poking a bee hive. He was going to sit back and let Hermione give her father what for about it. He knew enough not to broach the topic further having been dealing with Hermione and her S.P.E.W. cause since third year.

“I think house elves should be able to do what they want. If their wish, once they are freed, is to continue to serve people, they should be paid for it.”

Narcissa tilted her head, “Have you had many experiences with house elves?”

“I know a few.”

Lucius nodded, “Ah, yes. She’s met Dobby,” he said as he looked at his wife.

Narcissa’s face hardened, “Dobby,” she spat.

“Yes, I believe he used to serve you. Lucky enough for Dobby that Harry was able to free him,” Hermione answered with a bit of bite to her words.

The older woman shook her head, “That elf was a step away from getting a pair of trousers from me. Mr. Potter did us a service.”

Hermione furrowed her brow, “But you were so horrible to him?”

“Horrible to him?” Narcissa tilted her head, “What sort of stories have you been listening to?”

“He said you used to punish him all the time.”

Lucius shook his head, “My dear, you’ve been severely misled. Dobby had to punish himself. If he disobeyed or betrayed us, then he was to punish himself by their-own guidelines. Not ours.”

“He felt he was being treated badly,” she insisted.

“Hermione,” Draco said softly, “we treat our house elves very well.”

She shook her head, “That doesn’t change my mind about the use of house elves.”

Lucius tilted his head, “I don’t imagine it did, however, we won’t condemn you for dislike of using house elves if you won’t condemn us because we do use them.”

She huffed out a breath and gave a slight nod. Draco was a bit floored. His father managed to make her drop it. She probably felt it was futile to argue given that she was in the room with three purebloods who felt the use of house elves was perfectly acceptable.

Narcissa smiled, “Did you have a good Christmas?”

She nodded, “Yes. It was a small affair, just my parents and I.”

Draco smiled, “There are gifts for you under the tree.”

“For me?” she asked a bit surprised.

“It is Christmas,” he said with a smile, “you had to expect something?”

She shook her head, “Actually, I didn’t.”

Lucius interrupted, “That’s a lovely necklace.”

She put her hand over the small H hanging around her neck, “It was a gift from my parents.”

Narcissa smiled, “Are you close with them?”

She shrugged, “As close as I can be to only see them a few months out of the year.”

She nodded and looked to Draco, “It’s so hard for a mother to let go of their child.”

Draco blushed, “Please, Mum, don’t start,” he muttered.

Hermione allowed a faint smile to appear on her lips, “I suppose it is,” she said as she looked back to the older woman. “I miss them terribly when I’m at school, but they write to me often.” She furrowed her brow and wrinkled her nose, “I think it’s really hard on them to not understand what I’m talking about, but they’ve always been supportive of me.”

Narcissa gave a slight smile, “It’s good that you have that sort of relationship with your parents. I imagine it would be difficult to understand something they’ve never been part of.”

Lucius gave a toss of his blond hair and Hermione was reminded of his son. Draco had the same sort of hair flip, and it brought a small smile to her face, “What do your parents do?”

“They’re dentists,” she said as she raised her tea cup to her lips and took a small sip of the sweetness inside. When all three looked at her as if they had no idea what she was speaking of, she blushed, “Sorry, they’re sort of…mediwitches for your teeth.”

Narcissa seemed surprised, “They have those? How marvelous,” she said with a bit of awe.

Draco looked to Hermione, “How does that work without the use of wands?”

“Well, they have tools and you open your mouth and they poke around and make sure you don’t have cavities, rotted teeth. They also do thorough cleanings,” she said with a final nod.

Draco raised an eyebrow, “They…use their hands?”

“Well, they use rubber gloves…” she said softly, drifting off to the last time her mother gave her a check-up.

“But they put their hands in your mouth?”

She shrugged, “If you want to look at it that way.”

He shook his head, “I don’t. That’s sort of…” he glanced at his father, who shook his head slightly at his son, warning him that what he was about to say wasn’t wise.

“Sort of what?” she asked a bit frustrated.

Draco shook his head, “Nothing.”

Narcissa interrupted, “So, you have a cat, Miss Granger?”

Hermione cut her eyes at Draco before she looked back to his mother, “Yes, an orange tabby.”

“Where did you get him?”

“Diagon Alley in my third year. He sort of attacked Ron.”

Draco smiled, realizing that he loved Hermione’s cat. Crookshanks obviously approved of him as well, given their brief meeting on the train at the beginning of the year. It wasn’t an entirely attractive cat, but if it didn’t like Ron Weasley, then it was a wonderful animal in his book.

Lucius brought his tea cup to his lips before he tilted his head at Hermione, “Tell me something, Miss Granger. Why weren’t you made Head Girl?”

Hermione furrowed her brow, “Uh, well, I wasn’t offered it.”

Draco raised an eyebrow, “Yes, you were.”

She sighed, “I just…didn’t have time for the position.”

“You didn’t have time for it, yet you remained a prefect,” Lucius questioned?

She frowned, “Well, I didn’t take it because it would have interfered with me helping Harry.”

Draco folded his arms over his chest, “What are you helping Potter with?”

She chewed on her bottom lip, “I’m not really comfortable saying.”

Lucius raised his chin a bit, “You’re helping him train to fight the Dark Lord,” he said softly, in a bit of amazement at her.

She looked up at the older man, still unsure as to whether or not she should answer that. She looked to Draco and he seemed to be waiting for her answer too. She gave a slight nod. Draco raised an eyebrow, “When?”

She shrugged, “Depending how much work we have to do, once or twice a week; sometimes more.”

Lucius eyed her for a moment before giving a glance over at his son. He turned back to the witch in front of him, a slight smile tugging on his lips, “I must admit, Miss Granger, I’m rather impressed.”

“Impressed?” she asked.

He nodded, “I thought for sure that when Potter faced off against the Dark Lord that he was going to win out of pure luck. But it would seem that he’s going to be very prepared. And you’ve been learning these spells as well?” She nodded, “Impressive indeed,” he said softly.

Draco frowned, “What kind of spells?”

She shrugged, “Defensive spells most times.”

Lucius shook his head, “He should learn how to take control of the attack. He can’t allow the Dark Lord to get the upper hand or he’ll pay with his life.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow, “I think you’d be surprised with how adept he is with learning spells. Harry’s not going to go into the final battle on a whim. He’s going to be very prepared and in the end, he’ll be successful.”

Narcissa sipped from her tea, “I don’t like this subject. Let’s discuss something else.”

Lucius looked over at his wife and smiled, “And we must give you what you want?”

She smiled, “You always have, so why stop now?” Lucius caught her hand in his and brought it to his lips, Narcissa giving a slight smile at the action.

Draco rolled his eyes and shook his head at his parents. He looked over at Hermione and smirked, “Excuse my parents; they’re still very much randy teenagers.”

Narcissa spoke first, “Hush now, Draco.”

Draco relaxed back in his chair and looked very much the bored Slytherin prince that he was. Hermione watched him for a few moments before his father’s voice broke her from her thoughts, “When did you realize you were a witch Miss Granger?”

She looked back at Draco’s parents and found that Lucius still had a hold of his wife’s hand. She smiled, “I was six and I was sure that something was living under my bed and was going to come out and get me. Then one night when I heard a strange noise I was screaming for my parents and when they came in I was in my bed, which was floating four feet off the ground telling them to look that there was something making noise under my bed.” She tilted her head, “They didn’t know what was happening. Then, two weeks later I was reading in the kitchen when something startled me and I blew up all the kitchen appliances.”

Draco furrowed his brow, “What did your parents do?”

“What could they do? They didn’t know what was happening until I turned eleven and got my Hogwarts letter. They’d never heard of Hogwarts or anything about the wizarding world.”

“How is it that witches and wizards of Muggles know what to do?” Lucius asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.

Hermione nodded, “Well, we received a visitor one evening and it was Professor McGonagall. Apparently, the teachers are assigned, before term, to certain students and they are to take them and their families to Diagon Alley for the first time. It was about a month before school. It was in Flourish and Blotts that I bought Hogwarts: A History and had it read before school started.”

Lucius nodded, “You read Hogwarts: A History at age eleven?”

She nodded, “Yes.”

“She had most of it memorized too, if memory serves,” Draco added.

Hermione blushed, “I thought it would be best if I knew what I was getting into before I arrived.”

Narcissa tilted her head, “It never occurred to me to do that. I don’t know that I’ve ever read Hogwarts: A History,” she said as she tapped her finger to her bottom lip. She shrugged, “Oh well, I’m no longer there so it doesn’t matter now.”

Hermione raised her eyebrows a bit at Narcissa’s almost flippant reply to everything. She watched as the older woman looked over at her husband, “Lucius,” she said with a warm smile, “I fancy a walk through the garden.”

He nearly choked on his tea, “The garden? It’s freezing outside,” he said erasing any doubt that he didn’t want to go. Hermione looked down at her cup and missed the way Narcissa cut her eyes at the young couple sitting across from them. Lucius nodded in understanding and acquiesced, “Of course. If that’s what you’d like,” he said as he stood and extended his hand to his wife. “If you’ll excuse us,” he said, catching Hermione’s attention, “we’re going for a walk in the garden.”

Draco raised an eyebrow at his parent’s peculiar behavior, but said nothing, realizing that it was a blessing that they were leaving because it left him and Hermione alone. Narcissa patted Draco on the shoulder as she passed him, “Miss Granger, we’ll see you at dinner,” she said as she looped her arm through Lucius’s. His parents left and an awkward silence filled the room. Hermione looked around, ready for the walls to swallow her up at any minute.

“Would you like a tour?”

She looked over at him, “Uh…sure,” she said as Draco, like his father, stood and extended her a hand. She took it and he led her out of the study. “The room we were just in was my mother’s study. My father was fed up with her constantly putting flowers and pink things in his, so he gave her a room to do with as she pleased.” He smiled, “My father’s study,” he said as he stopped in the large entrance room and pointed across to a closed door, “is on the opposite side, the library is attached to his study.”

“You have a library in your home?”

He nodded, “Yes,” he said as they walked to the first door, the one they had exited when she had first arrived, “This is our parlor we use when we’re entertaining. The piano that usually sits in the corner is being repaired, but it usually sits facing out that window.” He pulled her over to the Christmas tree and, “And I think you should open your gift,” he said as he lifted a small box from beneath the tree. She took it and looked up at him, “I…uh…your gift is in my trunk.”

He waved her off, “You can get it to me later,” he said as he handed her the box. She tore the paper from it and it disappeared in the air and she looked up at him, “They’re fast. I told you that.”

She gave him a disapproving look but said nothing. She opened the box and her mouth dropped open when she saw the charm bracelet lying on a bed of velvet. There were two charms on it. One a griffin, with diamonds for its eyes and the other was a book, with gold pages. She looked up at him and couldn’t help the smile, “This is beautiful.”

He smiled, “I’m glad you like it.”

She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek before she removed it from the box. He took the box from her and set it on the mantle beside him, then took the bracelet from her as she held her hand out. He put it on her wrist easily and placed a kiss on the back of her hand.

“They’re very appropriate charms.”

He smiled, “I plan to fill that up in the years to come.”

She looked anywhere but into his grey eyes. He still had a hold of her hand and she had to admit that she liked his touch. It was so soft and gentle, and she was deeply enjoying the intimacy. He began walking backwards, her hand still in his as he turned and led her out the door and back into the hall, “Where to next?” he asked, “The ballroom or the conservatory?”

She tilted her head, “You have a ball room?”

“Of course,” he said with a smirk, “my parents are known for their parties.”

She shrugged, “I’ve never seen an actual ball room.”

He led her to two very large doors. He opened them and the room instantly lit up, the large chandelier in the middle of the room coming to life. The portraits painted on the wall began waltzing around the room. On the opposite end of the hall, there were four French doors which swung out to what she could see was a patio. She shook her head and walked into the middle of the room, Draco staying a good distance behind her. She turned to look at him and smiled, “This is so beautiful,” she almost whispered.

He walked over to her, his hands in his pockets as he looked around, “The dancers on the wall accommodate the song. When there’s music playing, they will change their dance. It’s rather remarkable, really.” He looked at her, “For instance, if there is a waltz playing, and the music suddenly changes to a tango, they will start to tango.”

She shook her head, “whose idea was that?”

He smiled, “My mother’s. She loves to dance. My father’s not very fond of it,” he said with a tilt of his head, lost in thought, “But he dances with her whenever the mood strikes her. They tell me this story a lot, because they find it very amusing. Apparently, when she got the idea for this room, was at their wedding. She was dancing the waltz with my father and noticed when the music changed that the dancers accommodated it, like, the guests at their wedding,” he said clarifying. “She thought it was rather amusing, and suggested to my father that their ballroom should look the same. He told her that dark wizards, such as him, did not have ballrooms in their homes. She informed him that if he liked walking without a limp they would have a ballroom. My father, naturally, found a very talented painter to do the portraits and the room was finished within a month.” He smirked, “My mother is rather spoiled.”

Hermione smiled, “I expected her to be so different.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…she seems like a very warm person and she obviously cares a great deal for you and your father. I don’t know, I guess I expected her to be a bit colder.”

He shook his head, “It’s her appearance that makes people think that. They look at her and see my father and assume that she’s an ice queen. She’s actually a very lovely woman, but most people will never get to know that. She’s very good at the act she puts on.”

Hermione nodded, “It’s just a shame she has to act at all.”

“They’re from a different generation, Hermione. Appearances, especially to those you consider your equals, are important. They feel that if they show that they value something then that is a weakness that someone can capitalize on. In public, my mother is nothing more than a trophy for my father to parade around.”

She shook her head, “It’s a shame.”

He nodded, “I agree. He adores her and most people will never know it.”

She sighed, “I don’t ever want to be that way.”

“What are you talking about? We’re doing that very thing right now.”

She furrowed her brow, “We are?”

He nodded, “Don’t you see? You have to pretend you hate me and I have to act like I would never associate with you, for our protection.”

She bit her lip, “You’re right,” she said as she lowered her head and looked to the floor.

He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes, “It’ll be over eventually, and when it is, I won’t hesitate from telling the world how I feel about you.”

Hermione gave a soft smile and turned away from him to look back at the room, “This really is magnificent,” she said as she turned back to look at him. “Now how about the conservatory?”

He spent the better part of the evening, before dinner, showing her room after room. The conservatory had exotic plants she had only read about in books. She was enthralled as Draco told the history of each plant and how several of them had survived generations, much to her surprise. She found that there were actually roses of every kind blooming in the room. There were also lilies, carnations, tulips, irises, and gladiolus. The air around them was thick with humidity and heat, with the most intoxicating smell.

He then took her up the stairs and stopped at the top and explained that his mother and father were in one wing and he was in another. She was stunned that he lived in a home that had different wings. He gave her history of the different paintings that hung along the walls, most of them about his relatives. They passed several rooms, one he explained as a gaming room which housed a billiard’s table, a chess board, and a poker table. They moved past it and stopped in front of a door and smiled, “And this will be your room.”

She opened the door and walked inside to find an immaculate room done in red, white, and gold. She shook her head as she looked around. She noticed that all of her things were put away, and exactly how she liked. There were two book cases along the far wall, and as she scanned titles, she noticed that a few of the books were on Veelas and a few others were magic books that she had mentioned in passing that she would like to read. She looked back at him, where he was still standing beside the door, “This is beautiful.”

He smiled, “Uh, the loo is through that door,” he said as he walked towards her vanity, “and there’s a cloak in the wardrobe if you’d like to tour the actual grounds one day.”

She shrugged, “We have two weeks here. I’m sure I’ll be ready to get out for a while.”

He decided not to take offense to what she said and instead smiled, “So you really like it?”

She nodded as she looked around again, “It’s very extravagant.”

He shrugged, “You’re worth it.”

She smiled, “Can I see your room?”

He grinned, “I thought you’d never ask,” he said as he took her hand and pulled her behind him to the end of the hall. He opened the double doors and she walked in, finding the dark wood with the silver etched into it to be beautiful. She noticed that over the fireplace there were several pictures and she took a closer look. She laughed at seeing a pouting baby Draco. He was a beautiful pink baby, with blond curls and chubby cheeks. She moved to the next one, a picture of Draco and his mother. He had to be about four and he was sitting with his mother in a chair as she read to him. There was another one of him on Christmas opening presents, one with his father outside, his broom in his hand and his father obviously instructing him. And the last picture was one of Draco, looking to be at the age he was now, sitting at a piano, lost in playing. She turned to look at him and found him right behind her, “I didn’t know you played,” she said as she looked back at the picture.

He nodded, “My mother taught me. She’s a beautiful piano player. As I told you she has a love for music, and her love for music made her learn how to play, and she taught me.”

“How did your father feel about that?”

He shrugged, “I don’t really think he cared. He understood that it was our thing. He and I had flying and my mother and I had the piano. I guess he didn’t want to take that from her.”

“I’d love to hear you play sometime.”

He nodded, “I’ll get my father to see about the piano tomorrow.” He sat on the arm of his sofa, “So what do you think of the house?”

She sighed, “It’s completely different than what I was expecting.”

“How so?”

“It’s so much…lighter. I was expecting all dark objects and gargoyles and…your general deep dark scary place.”

He smiled, “Much different, isn’t it?”

She nodded, “A good different.”

He watched her for several moments and could feel through their connection that she was starting to feel a little more at ease. “Do you think you could make it here for two weeks?”

She nodded, “There’s certainly enough to do around here, not to mention our assignments we have to do over the break.”

He chuckled, “Leave it to you to worry about homework.”

She shrugged, “It’s important.”

He nodded, “You’re right. It is important.”

She folded her arms over her chest, “You’re making fun of me.”

“No, I’m not,” he said, unable to wipe the smirk from his face.

She closed the distance between them and poked him in the shoulder, “You don’t get to laugh at me,” she said pouting a bit.

He held up his hands in surrender, “Fine. I apologize,” he said, his smile still wide. She had to admit to herself that she liked him when he smiled. His face seemed to light up, his eyes crinkled around the edges and his nose sort of scrunched up as well. She thought it was rather adorable. He put his hands on her hips, “Have I told you how happy I am that you agreed to this?”

She nodded, “You’ve mentioned it.”

He pulled her a bit closed, “I felt so lost these last two weeks and then the second you flooed into the room…”

“It went away,” she finished for him.

He nodded, “It’s strange.”

“What is?”

“How you can just walk into a room and I instantly feel better,” she blushed a bit and he continued. “It’s true. I feel at peace when you’re around.”

She smiled, “I know you do.”

“How do you know?” he asked as he looked up at her.

She sighed, “Because I feel your emotions sometimes.”

“You do?” he asked surprised.

She nodded, “Yeah. For instance, I could feel your melancholy and your restlessness while we were apart. I also felt your happiness when you saw me again.”

He looked up at her though hooded eyes, “Can you feel what I’m feeling right now?”

She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth and nodded as she blushed, “You want to kiss me.”

He nodded, “That I do.”

She placed her hands on his shoulders, “Do you think that’s such a good idea?”

He nodded again, “I think it’s a damn brilliant idea,” he said as he moved his hands into her hair, “don’t you?”

He brought her mouth down to his and was just about to kiss her when a voice interrupted them, “Dinner is served Master Draco,” the tiny house elf exclaimed. Hermione pulled away and looked down at the tiny creature before it disappeared.

She walked to the door, “I’m famished.”

He took several deep breaths, “I could use a drink,” he said as he followed behind her. He took her hand in his and led her down the stairs.

She shook her head, “You’re too young to drink.”

He shook his head, “I’m eighteen.”

She smiled, “I forgot.”

He shrugged, “No worries,” he placed her hand in the crook of his arm; “Let’s get to dinner, shall we?”

She nodded.

*~*