In-Laws

In Laws

By: Tassana Burrfoot





Chapter Eight





Draco sat back down on his small cot. His hair was combed, teeth brushed, and he was clean. He looked spectacular and felt wonderful. Though his days in Azkaban were dreadful, he looked forward to days like today. Because he knew that today he would see his family.



Hermione had sent him a missive informing him that she and his mother would be visiting. Since these visits included his father as well, the entire Malfoy family would be together for a little while. This meant the world to Draco. He loved his family more than he could ever imagine.



A light smile played on his lips as he turned his attention to one of the many books Hermione\'s father had given him. The first time he had seen the books, he thought they were books about dragons. Well, it was called Dragonlance, so his thought process was only natural. But, then he began to read the books. While the books definitely had dragons in them, it wasn\'t what they were all about. He read in fascination and marvelled how Muggles viewed elves as beautiful creatures and goblins as evil. (Then again, the Gringotts goblins could be evil...)



He certainly saw simularities between Raistlin Majere and the Dark Lord. He pictured himself somewhat like Tanis Half-Elven or even, with a sniff, Porthios Kanan. Fizban was definitely Dumbledore and, with a laugh, Professor Flitwick could almost be like Tasslehoff Burrfoot. Were the characters real, Draco imagined Professor Snape and Flint Fireforge would have a lot in common. As would his Hermione and... he thought a moment, then sighed.



Laurana Kanan was everything Hermione was, in Draco\'s opinion: beautiful, smart, cunning, and brave. The main difference between the two, aside from race, were looks, really. Laurana was supposedly pale skinned, blond haired, and blue eyed.



With a smile, he began to delve into his book. He was just thinking that Harry Potter could be like Riverwind when he heard his cell door open. He looked up from his book to find his guard standing there. His brows furrowed. Were they here all ready?



"Mr. Malfoy, I am to escort you to the waiting dock," the guard announced as he handed Draco a sack. "Pack your belongings and follow me."



Draco took the sack, but stared at the guard in confusion. "I don\'t understand," he said.



"You\'re being released, sir," the guard explained.



Draco dropped the book and the sack. "What?" he stammered as his eyes widened. "But..."



"No more questions, Mr. Malfoy," the guard said irritably. "Pack your belongings and move."



Draco decided not to argue with the guard. Working as quickly as he could, Draco packed the few belongings he had, making sure to take special care with the snowglobe, seeing as it was glass. Had Hermione found a way to get him out? What about his father?



The latter question was answered the moment Draco stepped onto the dock. "Father?" he said, drawing the older Malfoy\'s attention.



Lucius gave a slight nod to his son, then turned his attention back to the warden. "Is there a reasoning behind this release?" he asked, curiously.



In answer, the warden waved a hand to a person wearing a hooded black cloak. Draco was about to call to the person, thinking it was Hermione, but then he noticed that this person, whomever they were, was too tall and broad shouldered to be Hermione.



"Hermione\'s been right all along," said a voice Draco recognized but could not place. "I knew she was right. I just didn\'t want to admit it. She loves you, Malfoy. I don\'t know why, but she does. And, well... I love her."



As recognition dawned on Draco, the hooded figure drew back their hood to reveal none other than Ronald Weasley. Draco\'s eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why exactly are we being released, Weasley?" he asked.



"All charges have been dropped," Ron replied. "The prosecuting attorney found the defense had too much evidence. The case, both cases, would have been dropped before even the first witness could be called. It would have been a waste of time and energy on everyone\'s part. Hermione did her homework, just like she always does. You and your dad are free."



Ron saw that Draco wanted to pursue the matter more, but he held his hand up and stilled the Slytherin\'s questions. "I was wrong. I see that now and I admit it. You and I will probably never like each other, and that\'s fine with me. But, we both have something in common. We both love a woman who deserves to be loved. I may not be able to correct all the wrongs I\'ve done, but I will try to correct as many as I can. You should, too. She needs you, Malfoy. Go to her and stop questioning it."



Draco bit down on the questions he had. Instead, he asked, "Does she know?"



Ron shook his head. "The only one who knows is Harry and he\'s agreed not to say anything. We thought you and your father might want to surprise them. They are staying with Mr. and Mrs. Granger."



Lucius shook his head. "Not for long," he replied as the guard handed Draco his wand.



Draco watched as his father boarded the boat. He began to follow, but turned back to Ron for a moment. "I don\'t know if I should thank you or hate you," he said, his face contorted in confusion.



Ron gave a half smile. "I don\'t expect the former, Malfoy. Just do me a favour? Take care of Hermione."



The Slytherin gave a nod and boarded the boat.



(II) (II)



Drumming her fingers on a law book, Hermione sat at the kitchen table with a bored look on her face. There was nothing left to do. The cases were, in almost every sense of the word, finished. She had meticiously gone over them too many times to count. All she needed were court dates. She was completely ready.



Her mother gave her a soft smile. "Why don\'t you rest for a bit, my dear?" she suggested.



The girl shook her head. "I\'d rather not. I just don\'t know what else I can do," she complained. "Mrs. Malfoy and I are leaving in a few hours to go see Mr. Malfoy and Draco. I\'m thinking about going to the Ministry to help out Ginny and Luna for a little while."



"They don\'t need your help," Blaise told her, not looking up from his Daily Prophet.



A rapping at the window caused the three to look up. Amy opened the window to invite a large barn owl into the kitchen. It landed in front of Hermione and held out it\'s leg, revealing a scroll. Hermione untied the scroll from the bird\'s leg and gave the bird a bit of ham from her plate.



Curious, Hermione unrolled the parchment, but was confused by it\'s contents. Six words were written in green ink: "I have a surprise for you."



She showed the parchment to an equally curious Blaise. "I don\'t understand," she told him. He shrugged his shoulders in confusion.



Just then, the doorbell rang. They heard Narcissa announce that she would answer it. A few moments later, the woman screamed.



Alarmed, Hermione and Blaise drew their wands and ran into the living room. Amy followed behind them brandishing a skillet.



"You\'re not intending on hexing us, are you, Hermione?" Draco asked with a smirk.



Hermione gave her own squeal of surprise as she dropped her wand and rushed to him. Throwing herself into his arms, she kissed him with every ounce of energy she had. She felt his arms wrap around her longingly.



Blaise watched the scene in awe. The four Malfoys exchanged hugs, though he noticed the elder Malfoys did not hug Hermione. The Malfoy men turned their attention back to their own wives and shared kissed. Finally, Blaise found his voice. "How is it that you are out of prison?" he asked, not entirely sure he wanted to know the answer.



Lucius broke away from his wife and looked at the dark skinned Slytherin. "We were released. According to the prosecutors, there was too much evidence in our favour. So, to save face, the charges were dropped," he responded, then kissed his wife softly on the cheek.



Henry stood on the stairway. Having heard the women scream, he had ran from his office holding his bat. Seeing the women were safe, he dropped the bat and continued down the stairs.



Narcissa smiled at the Muggle man. "Lucius, I would like you to meet Henry and Amy Granger," she introduced. "They are two of the most decent Muggles I have ever met."



Amy blushed at the compliment as Henry held his hand out to Lucius. "It\'s a pleasure to finally meet you, Lucius," he greeted. The pureblood did not accept what was intended to be a handshake, and Henry dropped his hand to his side. "Draco and Narcissa have told us so much about you."



Amy nodded in agreement. "We\'ve been looking forward to meeting you," she added.



Lucius responded with a simple nod of his head. Narcissa made a face at his rudeness, but knew better than to speak up. In time, she hoped he would see what she saw in the two Muggles. Though she would never consider herself a Muggle-lover by any means, she found she could get along quite well with Hermione\'s parents.



Laughing, Draco softly broke away from Hermione. "You\'re not happy to see me, are you?" he teased.



She wrinkled her nose. "Not at all," she returned sarcastically. "What would make you think I\'d want to see you?"



He smiled and glanced around the room. He shook hands with Henry, placed a kiss on Amy\'s cheek, and hugged Blaise.



Clapping her hands together, Amy announced happily, "This calls for a celebration! If you don\'t mind staying for dinner, Narcissa, I can fix us something wonderful to eat. Ginny and Luna should be..."



Before Amy could finish her sentence, a greem flame flickered in the fireplace. Seconds later, Ginny emerged, followed immediately by Luna. Excitement in her eyes, Ginny practically ran to Hermion. "You will never guess..." she started, then stopped as she saw who was in the room. "Nevermind."



Luna bounded to Draco and, to his surprise, hugged him. She further shocked him by giving him a kiss on the cheek. "It\'s so good to see you again, Draco," she told him. "We were just about to demand a court date for your father when Minister Shacklebolt informed us of your release. I\'m so happy for you."



He gave her a friendly smile, but was at a loss of what to say. Amy looked at Ginny and broke the awkward silence. "We were just planning a celebration in honour of Lucius and Draco\'s release. If you and Luna would like to join us, you\'re more than welcome," she said. She looked at Blaise and added, "You and Padma as well, Blaise."



Narcissa agreed. "You\'ve all worked so hard to bring my family back together. I can\'t thank you enough," she said, happy tears in her eyes.



Lucius gave her an incredulous look. "You actually wish to dine here?" he inquired. "I thought we would go home."



Narcissa pinched her lips. "Dinner won\'t hurt us. Amy is a marvelous chef," she responded, not really caring for her husband\'s attitude. "We can leave as soon as dinner is over."



Ginny\'s eyes narrowed when Lucius glared at his wife. "What\'s wrong, Mr. Malfoy? Worried about dining with your new Muggle family? Or worried you might be seen among Muggles and blood traitors and be accidentally mistaken as one?" she challenged.



Tension was as thick as electricity in the room as Lucius turned his glare on Ginny. Energy snapped, krackled, and popped all around them. If looks could kill, Ginny would have died on the spot.



Then, almost as though nothing happened, Lucius\' gaze softened. His frown turned into a cocky smile that showed Hermione exactly where Draco had gotten it from. The elder Malfoy replied, "Not at all, Miss Weasley. Actually, I had hoped we would dine at Malfoy Manor. Mrs. Granger has been cooking for my wife all these months, and I do believe she has earned a break from the kitchen. Besides, our table would be much more accomadating for the amount of people which will be served."



Hermione felt everything in her body sink. Malfoy Manor? She had no desire to ever return to that place. Unfortunately, only one person had seen her reaction. As everyone else agreed to go, Ginny gazed at her friend in concern.



Draco threw an arm around Hermione\'s waist. So preoccupied with the idea of returning home, he did not even realize how much she leaned on him. He smiled. "It\'s settled then. We shall go to Malfoy Manor."

---

Author\'s Note: Again, sorry for the wait, guys. I had typed this entire chapter out last week, hit the "preview" button, and got... nothing. So, I hit the back button, and it... erased... the... entire... chapter...



SO, I had to retype the entire chapter, because this goofy kender did not bother to write it in Wordpad first.



For those who have never heard of or read the Dragonlance series, I suggest you go to your local bookstore or Amazon right now and buy Dragons of Autumn Twilight right now. It is an awesome series!



Love you all!