"I'm starting to regret agreeing to this."
Draco looked down to see Hermione chewing on the inside of her cheek, a habit that he noticed she only did when she was deep in thought or extremely nervous. He did feel a little guilty at the fact that he somewhat sprung this on her; after all, she didn't exactly have a wonderful experience the last time she was at his parents' manor.
He wrapped an arm around her waist and she leaned against him with a sigh as she stared up at the large manor through the gates. She was very grateful that he had only apparated them to just outside the gates, giving her some time to build up her courage and push down the memories of her last visit.
"We can go if you are uncomfortable," He said quietly.
She hesitated for a few moments before shaking her head and straightening up, looking up at him as she moved a stray curl from her face. "No, it's in the past. There's no point in hiding from it."
"Are you sure?" He asked.
"Of course," She said, managing a small smile. "Come on; I'm sure you're starving."
He laughed as he led her through the gates and up the pebbled walkway, the stones crunching beneath them. He always liked the sound of it, especially with his amplified hearing. They walked in silence up to the front door, and after stopping on the porch so Draco could grab his wand, Hermione looked down at her outfit.
"Do I look okay?" She asked, looking back up at him.
He gave her another once-over even though he already knew that he loved the charcoal-colored dress she was wearing that flared at her hips and stopped just above her knees, with sleeves stopping right at her elbows. The dress was accented with a black belt around her waist and a pair of matching black heels that he was still surprised she managed to walk up the pathway in, but he loved it nonetheless.
"First," He started, "'Okay' is an insult for you. I will never accept any description of you that doesn't include the word 'stunning'."
Her cheeks flushed as she tried to hold back a smile. "You're being dramatic again."
He flashed a bright grin at her and kissed her forehead. "You like it. And yes, you look absolutely wonderful. Father's going to love you."
Her smile faltered slightly at this but he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and pointed his wand towards the door. There was a satisfying click as it unlocked and he pushed the door open, pulling her inside behind him.
"Ah, Draco."
They both paused and Draco made sure to stand in front of Hermione, somewhat shielding her from his father's view while still holding her hand. "Good afternoon, Father."
Lucius Malfoy looked as intimidating as ever. His hair was not the disheveled mess that it was when she last saw him at the battle all those years ago, and he had gone back to his black satin waistcoat over a white shirt that was only missing his black robes. She could still see the faint tattoo on his neck marking his stint in Azkaban, but it was certainly faded.
The older wizard's eyes flicked from his son over to Hermione, and she could see his chin raise just slightly as his eyes narrowed. "Miss Granger."
The fact that he used her name at all surprised her but she refused to let it show as she moved to stand next to Draco and straightened as much as she could. "Mister Malfoy."
Lucius's eyes moved down to look at their clasped hands and his nose crinkled slightly. Draco squeezed her hand slightly and she returned the gesture, refusing to shy away from the glare of Draco's father.
After a few tense moments, Lucius took in a deep breath and said, "Come now, no point in standing here all day. Our meal is waiting."
He turned swiftly on his heel and walked off, and Draco sighed quietly before leading Hermione after his father. None of them talked, the only noise to be heard being the sounds of their shoes against the tile as they passed through different rooms.
"Is Mother travelling?" Draco asked, finally breaking the silence.
"Yes, she is currently visiting with Aster at the Zabini's villa in Venice," Lucius stated in a somewhat-light tone. "Something about a dire situation regarding Blaise's love life."
Hermione looked up at Draco who raised an eyebrow at her and muttered, "Can't imagine what that would be."
"Do speak up, Draco; you know I can't hear you properly when you mutter," Lucius said sternly over his shoulder.
"Yes, Father." Draco rolled his eyes at this and gave Hermione a smirk, causing her to have to stifle a giggle.
They entered the formal dining room and Draco grimaced; it was just as dark and gloomy as he remembered. The smell of the food hit him immediately and his mouth started to water as his other side reared up slightly from the smell, but he held it back as he assisted Hermione into her seat and gave the top of her head a kiss. This prompted another sneer from his father, and Draco relished in the spite as he made his way around the table to sit across from Hermione.
Lucius took his seat at the head of the table and began to serve himself from the plates in front of him. Draco looked around the table and grimaced at the lack of rare steaks, but decided not to say anything as he began to fill his own plate as well.
"I understand that there is some trouble with one of the vineyards," Lucius started, addressing Draco before taking a bite of his food.
Draco's mouth formed a thin line before he answered, "It's merely a snag in the board's decision with it. There is no trouble with the vineyard itself."
"Yes, well..." Lucius gave his son a wry smile. "When Marcus told me the details of the problem, I became rather concerned. It sounds as though this vineyard isn't going to do well within the business."
"Marcus believes that this vineyard will cause us to lose money, even though there are plenty of reports stating otherwise," Draco said firmly. "He simply doesn't want to work with them because they are owned by muggleborns and produce wine for both the wizarding and muggle world. He is the one holding up the decision, which frankly should have been made weeks ago. And I don't remember telling him to get outside input."
Hermione watched Draco carefully, noticing the hard look on his face. His father's cheek twitched though before he said, "Well, I believe Marcus is simply looking out for the company's best interests. If he is worried this vineyard is going to hurt our profits, then I have reason to be concerned about the family business."
She turned to look at Lucius, narrowing her eyes. "I'm sorry, I thought Draco and Blaise were heads of the company?"
Both Draco and Lucius looked at her in shock, though Hermione could see a smile forming at the corners of Draco's mouth. Lucius gaped slightly before regaining his composure and saying, "Yes, while I did technically hand the company down to Draco and Blaise Zabini, I still want to make sure that it succeeds."
"Well, from what Draco has told me, they have been doing very well for themselves without needing other input," Hermione countered with a sweet smile. "That's usually how companies are run, after all; only the people within the company have any sort of say in the decision making."
Draco had to put a hand over his mouth to hide his grin, watching the fury light up in his father's expression. Lucius couldn't seem to find anything to say though, and Hermione triumphantly took a bite of her food as Draco grinned at her.
They continued to eat in silence for a few minutes before Lucius dabbed his napkin at the corner of his cheeks and gave Hermione a smile, though it was clear that the smile was very forced.
"Draco tells me that you are the Head of the Beings division in the Ministry," He said, gesturing towards his son but not taking his eyes off Hermione. "Tell me: what is your opinion on the social standing of werewolves?"
Without missing a beat, she answered, "I think we have a long way to go in helping to assimilate those inflicted with lycanthropy back into society without issue. There is a lot of hesitation from both sides; obviously there are worries of being attacked, but from the other side the main worry is prejudice and not being offered a fair chance. I'm actually making notes with the help of a few willing clients and hoping to dispel a lot of the fear and lies surrounding the witches and wizards with this condition."
"You didn't tell me you were doing that," Draco interrupted as his eyebrows shot up in surprise.
She gave him a small smile. "It's a fairly recent endeavor, but I've had the idea for a while."
"Why didn't you ask me for help?" He asked curiously.
"I figured that with your social standing it would be too risky," She answered with a shrug. "This might not even work, and I wouldn't want to risk the information getting out that you're a lycanthrope."
"I told you, it's alright to call me a werewolf," He said with a smile.
"I know, but old habits die hard."
They smiled at each other as Lucius looked between the two of them with an expressionless face. He then looked back over at Hermione and said, "That's a very large change for this day and age. There will be many witches and wizards who won't accept it very easily."
She looked at Lucius thoughtfully for a second before saying, "That's to be expected, though. With change there is always going to be pushback. But in order for us to move forward as a society, it has to happen. There's already been too much prejudice and separation for too long, and even if it doesn't happen in my lifetime, I'd like to think that there will at least be some positive effects from all that I'm trying to do."
"Do you really think that you, a muggleborn, have the ability and the standing to change hundreds of years of thinking?" Lucius asked skeptically.
"Of course she does!"
They both looked over at Draco as he looked at his father with an outraged expression. "She is one of the most passionate people I have ever seen with her work. The amount of care and concern she has for all of her clients is monumental, so if anyone can make this change, it's her."
"Draco," She said quietly, slightly embarrassed. "I told you, that's all part of my job."
"No, no." He pointed at her. "Anyone can sit at your desk and keep track of all of the werewolves in the United Kingdom. But you take the time to make sure that we are taking our potions; you check in with us after the full moon and make sure we are alright; you painstakingly made sure that we had access to the best option for the Wolfsbane Potion when anyone else would have simply hired another potion brewer without a second thought."
Looking back over at his father, he took a deep breath and gestured towards Hermione. "Before her, I didn't think I could have anything close to a normal life again. I thought I was a monster. Everything I have ever seen regarding werewolves told me that. But she showed me otherwise, and I've only been working with her for a little over a month. I can't imagine the changes she's made in the lives of werewolves she's been working with for years. Her heritage has never once affected her work, except maybe to reveal those who not only doubt her but want her to fail, and she has proven them all wrong. Without her, the change in view on werewolves will never happen, but knowing her, she will win that battle using every resource she has because she is one of the few who cares enough to even try, and you should be grateful because I'm one of the ones that's going to benefit from her doing this!"
Silence fell over the room. Draco was glaring at his father while Hermione stared down at her plate, a mixture of emotions running through her. After an uncomfortable amount of time, she stood up from her chair and Lucius looked at her curiously, though Draco didn't take his eyes off his father.
"Where is your restroom?" She asked quietly, avoiding looking at either of them.
"Out of this door, up the stairs, first door on the left," Draco answered immediately, pointing towards the door behind him. "You can use mine."
She nodded and quickly left the room, the sound of her heels clacking against the tile fading away to nothing. Lucius looked back over at his son, who finally tore his eyes away from his father and glared at the table, his jaw clenching.
"Well, that was a rather interesting outburst," Lucius said, leaning sideways in his chair. "Tell me: is it your other side being protective over her that prompted that?"
"No, it was your pointed statement of her blood status that prompted it," Draco answered through gritted teeth. "It was completely unnecessary, and you know it."
"I simply wanted to make sure that she understood the odds were against her," Lucius said innocently. "Is that so wrong?"
"Yes." Draco looked back up to glare at his father. "The odds would be against her regardless of whether or not she was muggleborn. She is trying to help the lives of others like me, why are you so against that?"
Lucius didn't answer this, instead rubbing his hand over the lower half of his face in frustration. Draco let out a deep sigh through his nose and looked away. The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes before Lucius finally said something.
"You seem to care a great deal for her," He started, looking at his son.
"Of course I do," Draco huffed. "She's absolutely brilliant."
"I will say, she is certainly more interesting than the American witch," Lucius said lightly. "Very knowledgeable, too; I actually rather enjoyed listening to her speak. It'll be nice to have someone to share intellectual conversations with who actually knows what they are talking about."
Draco stared at his father in shock. Lucius gave his son a wry smile before nodding his head towards the door that Hermione disappeared through. "I suspect she may be trying to avoid coming back to this room, or may have gotten lost. Why don't you go make sure she's alright?"
Still in shock, Draco slowly stood up and left the room in a daze, barely paying attention to where he was going. It took him a little while to finally get to his room where he had pointed Hermione to, and he found himself standing in the doorway, watching her with his hands in his pockets.
She was looking at a collection of pictures he kept on his dresser, smiling at the moving photos. He even heard her giggle at a few of them, which he smiled at as he suspected she was looking at ones of him falling off his first broom in the gardens. At first she didn't notice he was there, but after he cleared his throat she quickly looked up.
"Oh! Sorry, I got a little distracted," She said, looking around at his room. "This is absolutely beautiful! And this is your bedroom?"
"Yes it is." He stepped into the room and looked around as well. "I've changed the design a few times; there was a lot more green when I was younger."
This made her laugh. "I had a feeling. The silver is much nicer in my opinion."
"I have to agree with you on that," He said with a smile.
He noticed her shifting her weight somewhat nervously as she looked past him to the doorway. "I'm not sure I want to go back down."
"I understand," He said quietly as he pulled her into his arms. "But I think you might find it not as bad as it was before."
Confused, she looked up at him and pulled away slightly with her arms still around his neck. "What do you mean?"
"Well..." He trailed off, trying to find the right words. "Father...somewhat complimented you in a roundabout way."
She stared at him. "What?"
Draco grinned then as he said, "He said, and I quote, 'it'll be nice to have someone to share intellectual conversations with who actually knows what they are talking about'."
Her jaw dropped in shock and he laughed. "Yes, I had a similar reaction."
He then led her out of the room, taking her hand in his as they walked back down the stairs and entered the dining room. Lucius was standing now on the other side of the room at a small bar, pouring himself a glass of wine.
"Ah, good; she wasn't lost," He said with a smile as he looked at the two of them.
His eyes glanced down at their clasped hands again, but this time Hermione noticed that there was no disgust in his expression.
"I'd like to apologize for bringing up your heritage before," Lucius said as he turned to face Hermione. "It was very unnecessary and I hope you can forgive me."
Both Draco and Hermione stared at him in shock, and after a few moments Hermione cleared her throat. "Thank you for the apology."
Lucius smiled again and said, "Now, I'm sure you two have plans for the day and want to enjoy them. Why don't we make plans for another lunch in the near future?"
He waved them towards the door, unbothered by the fact that they were both too shocked to reply. As he led them back through the manor towards the front door, Hermione wondered what exactly Draco said to his father to make him suddenly change.
Draco was halfway through the door when she paused and looked back at Lucius. "Sir, if you don't mind me asking-"
"Why the sudden change?" Lucius finished for her, already suspecting the question was coming. He simply smiled and said, "Parents always worry about their children, regardless of their age. They want nothing but the best for them, and I am no different. I had doubts previously, especially considering some of the girls Draco has brought to meet us in the past."
"Father..." Draco said exasperatedly.
Lucius waved his son off and said, "There's no point in hiding it, son."
"It's not like I didn't already know," Hermione said, smirking at Draco.
He scowled at her. "I'm starting to not like you smirking. You're too good at it."
This made Lucius laugh, and he looked back down at Hermione as he said, "But you seem to have had a very good influence on Draco, and I am no longer worried. I let old prejudices get in the way of my opinion, and seeing what you are trying to do to combat prejudice against those like my son is very admirable, and so it's caused me to rethink some of my own opinions. Change has to start somewhere, right?"
She looked up at him in surprise but a smile soon spread over her face. "Thank you."
Lucius nodded and then waved them off again, and Draco gently pulled Hermione out of the door and down the pathway. Neither of them spoke until they got to the gates, and as Draco closed the gate behind him, he rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at her.
"Well, we survived," He said with a nervous laugh.
She laughed at this too and leaned forward to give him a kiss. "Yes, we certainly did. That was interesting to say the least."
"I couldn't agree more." He smiled at her and held out his arm. "Shall we?"
Wrapping her arm into the crook of his, she nodded and returned his smile as they disapparated back to her house.
A/N: I hope the length of this chapter makes up for the amount of time it took to update! This one was somewhat fun to write, as I love writing Hermione being passionate about her work and Draco being equally as passionate when defending her. Hope you all enjoy! <3