Ch. 44

Hermione's POV

As six o'clock grew near, my stomach churned more and more. I could see that Draco was just as nervous, but he seemed to be trying to distract the both of us by planning out another vacation.

"I was thinking we could go to Italy," He said from the bathroom. "Or wherever you would like to go; we can go anywhere you'd like."

"Italy sounds wonderful," I answered, smoothing my dress in front of the large mirror we had in the corner of the bedroom.

As I played with my hair trying to find a suitable style for it, Draco came up behind me and said, "I think, with that neckline, you should wear it down."

I tilted my head back and forth for a few moments before nodding. "I think so too."

Grabbing my wand, I immediately started trying to tame the curls into more stylish waves as Draco watched curiously.

"Wouldn't Sleekeazy's be better?" He asked.

"I would go through an entire bottle of it," I answered, smiling slightly. "This is faster and doesn't leave my hair feeling odd."

He shrugged and looked down at his watch. "We should leave in about ten minutes."

I nodded and continued styling my hair as I tried to ignore the ever-growing anxiety that was filling my chest. I still had absolutely no idea what to expect from this meeting; I wasn't even sure that Draco's parents knew I was the one joining them for dinner. Draco said he hadn't gotten a response from his mother after informing her that he and his significant other would be going, which didn't necessarily make my anxiety worse but also did nothing to help it.

The ten minutes went by a lot faster than I anticipated, and soon we were both standing in the middle of the bedroom, holding hands and looking at each other. His thumb ran across my engagement ring which I had already put a Disillusionment spell on.

"Are you ready?" He asked me quietly.

I was silent for a few moments before nodding. "Ready as I'll ever be, I suppose."

He gave me a weak smile and kissed my forehead. "If anything happens, I'll apparate us right back."

This comforted me a bit and I nodded again. He squeezed my hands and took a deep breath, disapparating us out of the apartment.

We landed in front of the large gates that I had nearly forgotten about, my stomach dropping. Dread seared through me as he opened the gate with his wand, pulling me gently behind him. We walked up the pathway towards the large manor hand in hand, silence hanging in the air between us.

The land around the manor looked much healthier than it had before; there were brightly-colored flowers in the flowerbeds and large green topiaries all around the lawn. It was actually quite beautiful, and brought a bit of life to the otherwise-dreary manor in my opinion. Draco seemed surprised by the amount of color as well, looking around the lawn and smiling slightly.

"Mother must have started gardening again," He said quietly.

This made me smile, thinking of the otherwise cold woman tending to the land around her manor. But the image soon disappeared as we stopped at the large doors. Draco paused before reaching out to press the large doorbell, and the ringing could be heard throughout the manor.

"That's the first time I've ever used that," He said, forcing out a small laugh.

I wasn't quite sure of what to say, but before I could come up with anything, the sound of the door clicking unlocked was heard and Draco instinctively moved slightly in front of me. The door opened to reveal Mrs. Malfoy, and her eyes lit up as she saw Draco.

She immediately went to embrace him with a sigh which seemed to catch him off guard, but he soon returned her hug tightly. They stayed in that position for a few moments before pulling away from each other, and she rested a hand gently on his cheek.

"It's so good to see you, dear," She said softly.

Draco smiled at her. "I'm sorry it's been so long, mother."

"It's understandable," She said, her smile faltering. "Your father hasn't exactly made it easy."

Then she turned to face me, and I froze in my spot, waiting to see what was going to happen. She looked me up and down before smiling at me as well. "Miss Granger, you look absolutely lovely. That's a beautiful color on you."

I stood there dumbfounded, unsure of how to react. I was definitely not expecting that sort of reaction, and had not prepared for it in any of the scenarios that I had come up with.

Finally breaking my silence, I managed to choke out, "Th-thank you, Mrs. Malfoy."

Her cheek twitched out of amusement and she said quietly, "I understand this is very unexpected, but all will be explained soon."

Then she gestured for both of us to step inside, and Draco gave me a very confused look when his mother turned away. We followed her through the manor in silence and I felt Draco's hand squeeze mine again as we entered what appeared to be the dining room.

It was a very beautiful room with a large rectangular table in the center. On the wall behind the table was a roaring fireplace, one of the largest ones I had ever seen. It was larger than the fireplaces in the Great Hall at Hogwarts.

I felt Draco freeze next to me suddenly, and then I saw why. His father had stood up from the end of the table, his back turned to us. Draco moved in front of me again when his father turned around to look at us, and the tension grew thick in the room.

His father's eyes slowly moved from Draco to me, and I wanted nothing more in that moment to apparate back to my apartment and hide there for a week. But there was something different in his father's expression, and it took me a few moments to finally figure out what it was. Instead of contempt or disgust, he looked...sorrowful.

Draco seemed to notice it too as I saw his shoulders relax slightly. He nodded and said, "Father."

The older man nodded in return and stepped away from the table, taking a few steps towards us. Draco tensed then but I squeezed his hand and he seemed to relax slightly, but I could tell he was still on edge.

"I'm sure you are both wondering why we have invited you here," His father started, looking at the two of us.

"You mean you knew?" Draco asked.

"Of course," His father said. "It was my idea."

Draco's POV

I stared at my father, unsure of how to react. I looked back at Hermione's shocked expression before asking them, "What do you mean, it was your idea?"

My father sighed and shifted his weight, leaning on his walking stick. "Allow us to explain while we eat."

He gestured at the table behind them which had suddenly filled with food, something I rolled my eyes at. Father always prided himself on grand displays of his magical abilities. I led Hermione to her chair, giving her a kiss on the cheek and squeezing her shoulders reassuringly as she sat down hesitantly. I kept an eye on my father as I walked around the table to my usual seat directly across from Hermione.