In-Laws

In-Laws



Chapter Fifteen



The next couple of days found Hermione polishing the ball room floor. She didn\'t mind the work. It was actually ten times easier than cleaning Grimmauld Place. Though the manor was several times larger and no human had lived in it for a year, the two house-elves the Malfoy\'s owned were good at keeping it clean.



Hermione learned a lot about the house-elves the moment she found out they were there. There were two of them, a male and a female named Kobby and Dinky, respectively. Even more, they were Dobby\'s parents, though Narcissa warned Hermione about mentioning the dead elf to them.



"Regardless of what you may believe, Hermione, house-elves take a sacking shamefully," the Pureblood told her. "Whether or not it\'s a wizard\'s brainwashing, they do not understand. All they know is Dobby must have done something very wrong to cause his freedom. He was always a problem elf, even as a child. He hated taking orders and his parents did not understand it. Yes, we treated him badly, but to them, that didn\'t excuse his actions. Nothing you say will convince them otherwise. I\'ve already tried."



"Do they know of his..."



"Death?" Narcissa finished for the Muggle-born. "Yes, they do. And they mourned for him, like any parent would do. Dinky was especially torn about it. But, we mustn\'t say anything to them. It\'s not common for a house-elf to dwell on such things."



Hermione took the caution to heart, knowing that Narcissa wasn\'t really trying to discourage her from interacting with the house-elves. She was careful not to mention Dobby in front of them. She found the house-elves to be fascinating. Dinky was the smaller of the two and Hermione mused that she was most likely smaller than Dobby had been as well. Kobby was very proud to serve and would most often be found trailing about Lucius.



There was a lot to learn about the Manor as well. Narcissa was quick to show her some secret passageways and short cuts. Hermione was startlingly reminded of Hogwarts and more than a bit peeved that Lucius had led her the long way on her first day there. With Narcissa\'s help, Hermione knew she would learn every nook and cranny within the Manor.



Yes, Hermione did not mind the Manor, the work, or the elves. She really didn\'t mind Narcissa either... for the most part. The only really difficult part was reminding herself that Narcissa wasn\'t trying to be insulting. It was really frustrating when they would sit at dinner and the Pureblood witch would softly correct Hermione\'s table manners. It was frustrating.



Lucius, on the other hand, had taken to ignoring Hermione all together. And that was perfectly fine for the Gryffindor. Aside from meals and evening tea, Hermione rarely saw him. It was a relief.



There were moments, however, when she would wish that Lucius was around. Of course, those moments were few and far in between. And the moment she thought of the ridiculous idea, she quickly cast it aside.



With Lucius, she knew she was being insulted. But, one had to be careful what they wished for. She had no desire for that wish to be granted.



(II) (II)



The evening before the wedding guests arrived, Narcissa and Hermione retired to the drawing room. After days of painstaking labour, everything was finally done. Everything the Malfoys owned was secured, anything too valuable was carefully stowed away. Several rooms were done up, beds were made, dressers prepared.



"How many of your family members are attending?" Narcissa had asked.



Hermione thought about it a moment before answering. "Four. My parents and my mother brother and his wife."



"And they are all Muggles?"



The Gryffindor had stopped momentarily to gauge Narcissa\'s facial expression. She had learned that this was how to tell whether the Pureblood was insulting someone. Seeing that the older woman was merely curious, Hermione nodded.



"Then we\'ll have to be careful. I wouldn\'t want them to accidentally stumble upon a magical artifact and hurt themselves," Narcissa had stated, genuinely concerned.



They had spent the next few hours purging the Muggles\' bedrooms of all things magical.



Now, they rested. Narcissa sipped at her firewhiskey while Hermione browsed the bookshelves. The girl loved all the pictures of Draco as a child. She smiled at one where he was sticking his fingers in Kobby\'s ears. There was another where Draco and Dobby were playing. It was adorable and nothing like the picture Harry had painted her of Dobby\'s treatment.



Lucius joined them about an hour later. He nodded politely to Hermione by way of greeting, then proceeded to completely ignore her. Hermione didn\'t care. She was used to it and actually a bit relieved by it. She had no desire to socialize with him.



"Just think, darling," Narcissa said, breaking the silence, "in two days, our son\'s marriage will be complete."



"I\'m trying not to," Lucius mumbled, staring into the fire and cradling his glass of firewhiskey.



Hermione shot him a glance, but he did not catch it. Narcissa did not seem to hear him, for she continued, "Our boy. He\'s getting so grown up. It seems only yesterday he was pulling Kobby\'s ears. Now he\'s getting married. And soon, he\'ll be having his own children."



Startled, Hermione dropped the crystal ball she had been examining. Lucius shot her a dirty look, truly acknowledging her presence for the first time. "You\'re pregnant?" he questioned with a sneer.



Wide-eyed, the Gryffindor promptly shook her head. Narcissa laughed and batted her hand playfully at Lucius. "I didn\'t mean this very moment, darling. You have to give it some time. Perhaps in a year or two."



"Or five," Hermione commented, picking up the ball she dropped. Thankfully, it wasn\'t broken. She carefully placed it back on it\'s stand.



"What was that, dear?" Narcissa asked, turning to look at her daughter-in-law.



Hermione shrugged. "Well, after I take my N.E.W.T.s, I thought I\'d try my hand at a career of some sort before I became a mother," she explained.



"You\'re not still thinking of becoming an Auror?" Lucius inquired, his sneer even more prominent.



Hermione shot him a playful smirk before turning her attention to a picture of a five-year-old Draco. "Perhaps," she taunted as the boy in the photograph stuck his tongue out at her. "But there\'s so many other possibilities. I could always be a lawyer, a librarian... Madam Pince might retire soon, I could always take her place at Hogwarts. Or perhaps I could teach Muggle Studies or Defense Against the Dark Arts. Or, I could open my own little bookshop. I could sell both magic and Muggle books."



"I don\'t understand why you would want to work," Narcissa said, wrinkling her nose. "We are first class, dear. We are near enough to royalty in the Wizarding world. There\'s no reason for us to work."



Hermione frowned and looked at her mother-in-law. "And what would I do? Spend my days lying about the Manor? Tending to the garden and cleaning? I would bore myself to death."



"Pish posh," the Pureblood argued. "There\'s more to being a Malfoy than such benign things. You have to keep track of all expenses, attend banquets and parties, host banquets and parties. There\'s also shopping and visiting your friends and..."



"All things I can do in the evening," the Muggle-born pointed out, interrupting Narcissa. "What would I do during the day?"



"Care for your child or children, of course," Narcissa answered as though it were obvious.



"I think her having a career is an excellent idea," Lucius said, shocking both women. He turned to Hermione. "If you would like, I could buy you a small store and you could sell your books. Or, if there\'s something else that you would prefer, I\'ll pay for your training in that field. So long as it\'s not Auror training."



Hermione eyed him suspiciously. She couldn\'t fathom why Lucius would want to help her with a career. Then, it dawned on her. He figured that the more time she spent on her career, the less time she would think about having children. Well, if he wanted to shell out the Galleons for her education, she wouldn\'t stop him.



"I think a small bookshop would be nice," she agreed, effectively hiding her thoughts. "On the side lines, I could study to be a lawyer."



He took another sip of his firewhiskey. "Sounds good enough," he commented. "When do you sit your N.E.W.T.s?"



Hermione shrugged. "Headmistress McGonagall said I could take them anytime. I was thinking of some time after the honeymoon. Perhaps in November or December."



He nodded. "Then I shall make the bookshop your Christmas present from Narcissa and me. Or perhaps a congratulatory gift for passing your N.E.W.T.s? You do intend to pass, correct?"



"As if I\'d do anything less," Hermione snorted. "I intend to study hard to make sure I pass."



He gave her a tight smile that looked as though it pained him to give. "Good. I\'d expect nothing less," he replied.



Narcissa was flabbergasted. "I can\'t believe you would rather sell books than have children!" she exclaimed.



Hermione shook her head. "Of course I wouldn\'t," she assured the older woman. "Nothing would thrill me more than to have a child or two with Draco. But, I\'m only nineteen. I\'ve spent a whole year fighting Voldemort, then another year trying to get my husband and father-in-law out of prison. I want a chance to start my own life. To make something of myself apart from \'the Golden Trio\' and \'Draco\'s dedicated wife.\' I want to transcend being \'bookworm Granger.\'"



Lucius seemed caught up in her speech and for the first time it seemed as though he was in complete agreement with her. "She deserves this chance, darling," he added. "We should let her live a bit and see where life take her. You\'ll still get your chance to play Grandmother, I\'m sure."



Hermione knew Lucius was counting on just the opposite. So, she smiled sweetly and said, "Of course. I do plan on having children."



Lucius raised an eyebrow. "And what do you intend on naming these children?" he asked, as though truly caught up in her words.



Hermione pretended to think about it. "Well, it depends really," she finally answered. "I mean, if I have girls, there\'s Evalon, Gwendolyn..."



"Malfoys do not have girls," he told her.



Hermione gave a "Malfoy smirk." "Then I shall name my first son Julius," she retorted in amusement.



Lucius sniffed. "Scorpius would be more appropriate."



The Gryffindor frowned and wrinkled her nose. "Why on earth would I want to name my son after a venomous insect?" she questioned.



The Pureblood rolled his eyes. "Scorpius is the name of a constellation. One of the zodiac," he informed.



Her smirk returned. "That\'s not a very convincing argument," she bit back. "Especially when Divination was my least favourite subject."



He shook his head. "Scorpius is also derived from Scorpio, who was the creature which stopped Orion from fulfilling his threat of destroying all the creatures of the earth. Surely you\'ve read about it? How Orion, the great hunter and most handsome man on earth, told Artemis that he would hunt and kill every creature alive. And how Artemis and her mother Leto sent Scorpio to put a stop to it?"



They stared at one another for a moment. "Besides," he continued, "if you named him Scorpius, it would show that you admit your faults. That even a know-it-all bookworm Mudblood isn\'t perfect."



Her smirk turned into a frown as she glared at him. "I do admit my faults," she sneered. "It\'s you who thinks you\'re perfect. Just because you have generations of Pureblood witches and wizards coursing through your veins while mine are Muggles means nothing. If you actually looked at my ancestry, you\'d see knights and lords. Celtic kings and even a Roman emperor run through my veins. You speak of noble blood," she snorted humorlessly. "My blood is just as noble, even if it\'s the nobility of Muggles. My ancestry held titles of honour and bravery. So, you can stop with saying my blood is dirty. My blood is just as noble as yours. It\'s just... different."



With that, she stormed from the room.

---

Author Notes: When I had learned that Draco had named his son Scorpius, I was thrown for a loop. I found myself wondering why he would give his son such an atrocious name. Like Hermione, I thought it had something to do with the constellation and scorpions. The zodiac. I had completely forgotten that Scorpio was in my own myths until I looked it up. And actually, the story behind Scorpio makes sense. Sort of like the story behind Draco.



Draco isn\'t just a constellation or the Latin word for dragon. Draco was a lawgiver in Ancient Athens. Draco was also a military standard in the Roman cavalry.



In Athens, Draco was the first person to come up with actual laws. He wrote the first constitution of Athens. His laws were harsh, but he had many supporters. For more information, check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draco_(lawgiver)



Yeah, I know that isn\'t Scorpius. If you wanna know more about Scorpius and, in effect, Scorpio, check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpius