Ch. 42

Draco raised an eyebrow at the letter from his father, setting it aside as Hermione set their dinner plates down in front of them.

"Is everything alright?" She asked, noticing the confused and somewhat worried look on his face as she sat down.

"Father sent me a letter for some reason," He said with a shrug before waving his hand. "It's nothing to worry about right now."

Hermione frowned and glanced at the letter again. "He sent it today? On a Sunday?"

He nodded but didn't seem too concerned regarding it. "He probably wants to meet tomorrow to discuss something with the business."

"Are you sure?" She asked. "It's been almost a month and a half since we saw them last; something could have happened."

"I think if it was urgent there would be more letters," Draco said with a small laugh. "He sent it at least an hour ago."

"And you haven't opened it yet?" She glanced at the letter and back at him. "I don't think I could wait that long before reading it."

"Are you going to continue to worry until I open it?" He gave her a small smile as he reached for the letter.

"Yes."

He chuckled and shook his head as he broke the wax seal and pulled the piece of parchment out from the envelope, reading over his father's handwriting quietly. After a few moments he let out a small noise of surprise before putting the letter back into the envelope.

"He just wants to discuss some things with the holidays coming up," He said as he set the letter aside and looked back at her. "Better?"

"Much." She smiled at him before asking, "Do you think they're planning a gala like you talked about before?"

"They might be," He shrugged. "I'll find out tomorrow and will let you know."

This seemed to satisfy her curiosity but if anything it only spurred Draco's on; now he couldn't stop wondering just what his father wanted to discuss with him.

Draco hesitated at the edge of the gates to Malfoy Manor, swallowing the sudden lump in his throat. He still wasn't quite sure what to expect from this meeting; while communication with his parents had been few and far between since the incident nearly two months earlier, all of their small talks had been happy and loving.

He took a deep breath and pushed through the gates, trying to ignore the worried thoughts plaguing him as he walked up to the Manor and entered it. His father was making his way down the stairs as Draco walked into the foyer, and he smiled at his son.

"Ah, right on time!" Lucius said pleasantly, clapping a hand on his son's shoulder as they stopped in front of each other. "How are you doing, Draco?"

"Very well!" Draco said, forcing a smile. "I must say though, I'm a little confused as to why you called the meeting."

"Hopefully I haven't worried you," Lucius said as he gestured towards a nearby sitting room. "It's nothing bad, I promise."

The words didn't really soothe Draco's worries as he followed his father into the room and claimed one of the nearby chairs. His father sat opposite him, clearing his throat before leaning sideways against the arm.

"How is Hermione doing?" He asked curiously. "I hope she's healing well."

"It's nearly fully healed," Draco said happily. "You can hardly tell that anything happened to her. There are a few very faint scars but that's to be expected from a bite. She usually covers them up."

Lucius nodded with a smile. "Good! I'm very happy to hear that, and I'm sure you're relieved as well!"

"I'm still in shock that the potion worked in such a way," Draco said, leaning to the side as well. "The brewers are wanting to further tweak the potion but Hermione wants to work with this batch to see if it will work the same way for her other clients."

"I'm very interested to see where this leads to," Lucius said proudly. "You'll have to keep me updated on what is happening."

Draco nodded before tilting his head to the side slightly. "Not to be rude, but I'm sure you didn't just invite me over to talk about the potion and my significant other."

Lucius chuckled at this before saying, "As impatient as ever. You're right, however; I do have other things I would like to discuss with you."

He shifted in his seat before continuing: "As you know, the winter holidays are coming up here in the next month, and your mother is dropping hints that she would like to hold a gala. I believe she's even started planning some of it already."

"Sounds like mother," Draco said, smiling. "I was wondering if you would hold one this year."

"Yes well, it has been a few years since we've been able to do a proper one and your mother would like to go all out like we used to," Lucius said. "I was hoping we could have yours and Hermione's help with this."

Draco blinked in surprised. "Really? Out of curiosity, why would you need our help?"

Lucius sighed unhappily for a moment before answering. "As you probably know, our popularity has somewhat fallen from the good graces of society. You and Hermione, however, both have a very positive stance in the public eye and can help bring that positivity back into our family reputation."

"Hermione's moreso in the public eye than I am," Draco said.

"Either way," Lucius said, waving him off slightly. "I'd love for you two to be front and center for this gala."

Draco stared at his father in shock. "Front and center? I'm not sure how Hermione would feel about the attention..."

"My apologies, that was somewhat of a figure of speech," Lucius said quickly. "What I mean is that Narcissa and I will plan the majority of the gala; things such as food, drinks, music, we can make those decisions with input from you two of course. But the larger decisions such as the guest list and location, however, I am giving full control of to you and Hermione. You two can invite whomever you please, and while I'm sure your mother would have some requests as far as guests she would like invited, the decision will ultimately be up to you two."

"Father, that's a large responsibility," Draco said, still somewhat in shock. "Is mother okay with this?"

"Absolutely!" Lucius smiled. "We'd like to think of this as passing on a family tradition!"

Draco looked down at the table separating them, rubbing his chin. Then he looked back up at his father with a confused expression and asked, "Out of curiosity, why are you so adamant that Hermione be a part of this? She and I are not even engaged."

Lucius laughed at this. "Come now, Draco. I know it's only a matter of time with you two; I can see how much in love with her you are."

Then he tilted his head and gave a sly smile as he said, "I'd even be fine with you proposing during the gala."

Draco's eyes widened and he shook his head. "No, no, no; that's way to early. Plus it might ruin Blaise's plans."

"Blaise?" Lucius's brow furrowed for a moment before his eyes widened. "He's going to propose to the Weasley girl?"

"Ginny, yes," Draco said. "He's apparently already gone to Hermione for input on the ring; he has it already."

Lucius let out a noise of surprised and said, "Well, Aster will surely be in for a shock. She wasn't too happy about them dating and still has her reservations about it."

"Blaise isn't going to let his mother stop him from this," Draco said with a grin. "He didn't let Potter stop him either. I wouldn't be surprised if he uses the gala to propose."

Shaking his head, Lucius chuckled before nodding towards his son. "So if not now, when are you going to do it?"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Why are you wanting to know?"

"Well I happen to like the girl," Lucius answered simply. "She's got a good head on her shoulders and you two have been together for a little while now-"

"Father, it's barely been half a year," Draco said exasperatedly.

"So?" Lucius shrugged. "I proposed to your mother in our last year of Hogwarts after she finally agreed to date."

"Yes well, things were a bit different back then," Draco said, scowling at his father. "Besides, she only just got divorced in June. The papers will ruin her reputation."

"The papers will have to deal with me if they try to say anything negative regarding my future daughter-in-law," Lucius said smugly, causing Draco to scowl again.

"You're very insistent about this," Draco said.

"Are you planning on marrying someone else?" Lucius asked in an amused voice.

"Obviously not but-"

"Then why wait?" Lucius asked, still giving his son a smug grin.

"Because I don't even know if she's ready," Draco said quietly, looking away. "With how her last marriage went, I don't want to rush her into anything."

Lucius's grin faded slightly and he nodded. "I understand. Have you two talked about this?"

"Not in the slightest," Draco said. "It's not really something I want to bring up in case it's too soon because it might scare her away."

"Draco, after everything the two of you have been through in the past six months, I highly doubt that the idea of being married again will scare her off," Lucius chuckled.

"Alright fair point," Draco said, unable to stop a laugh.

They were both quiet for a moment before Lucius asked, "Why not have Ginny help you with this?"

Draco gave him a confused look. "What?"

"Well, Blaise went to Hermione for advice," Lucius said with a shrug. "It's my understand that Hermione and Ginny are very close, so who better to go to for help with Hermione?"

Staring at his father, Draco silently chastised himself for not coming up with the idea first. "That's brilliant."

Lucius chuckled again. "Happy to be of service. So, can we count on you and Hermione for the gala?"

Draco blinked, that part of the conversation completely slipping his mind. "Let me speak to her about it and I can owl you tonight or tomorrow."

"Sounds perfect!" Lucius smiled widely.

Hermione paced back and forth on the patio of her cabin, waiting impatiently for Ginny. It was Wednesday now, two days since Draco told her about his parents wanting the two of them to run the gala, and she was mentally freaking out.

A few moments later a pop signaled Ginny's arrival and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Merlin you're here; I need help!"

Ginny laughed as she followed Hermione into the cabin, immediately pulling a bottle of wine out of her bag. "Don't worry, I came prepared."

"Have I mentioned you're absolutely wonderful?" Hermione asked, running a hand through her hair. "I didn't even think about that, I'm so frazzled!"

"I haven't seen you this stressed out since our last year," Ginny said as she walked into the small kitchen to grab a bottle opener. "What's going on?"

Hermione continued to pace back and forth in the living room, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she wondered where exactly to begin. Ginny laughed slightly as she came back into the living room with a glass of wine in each hand, offering one to Hermione.

"Here, take a drink and then tell me," Ginny said as she plopped into one of the chairs, being careful to not spill her glass.

"I feel ridiculous about being so nervous," Hermione said, sitting down on the couch and shaking her head. "In all reality, it's an easy situation."

"Does it have to do with Draco?" Ginny asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Somewhat," Hermione answered. "Moreso his parents though."

She took a deep breath and sighed it out, taking a drink before explaining. "So apparently his parents love to hold galas, and Lucius asked Draco to go over to Malfoy Manor on Monday to discuss something important. He basically asked if Draco and I would be willing to plan the gala they'd like to do for Christmas and New Year's."

Ginny's eye went wide. "Really? That's kind of exciting though! Galas are large, glamorous events and you don't get to dress up a lot."

Hermione tilted her head back and forth before shaking it quickly. "But still! It's a Malfoy gala! Those are apparently very high-class and they want Draco and I to make the larger decisions for it!"

"Exactly, you're not doing this on your own," Ginny said with a smile. "Draco know more of what to expect from these, he will help and you know I'm here too for advice!"

"I'm just not sure if I'm ready to host," Hermione said in a worried tone. "That's just a lot to expect from me."

"But you'll do just fine!" Ginny said reassuringly. "I mean come on; you face werewolves and you're scared of a gala?"

Hermione couldn't hold back a smile at this. "I know, I know...I guess I'm just worried I won't live up to their expectations."

"Again, Draco will help with that," Ginny said. "And I highly doubt that you won't live up to their expectations. After all, Lucius seems to love you already."

"It's really Narcissa I'm worried about," Hermione sighed, taking another drink. "We made some progress the last time we spoke but I haven't seen her since so she could have gone back to hating me. I mean, the first time I had lunch with them she was trying to get Draco to marry someone else."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "As if Draco would do that; he loves you too much."

Then she gave Hermione a sly look and asked, "Do you think he'll propose at the gala?"

"Oh, definitely not," Hermione said quickly, straightening up. "It's too early for him to."

She didn't want to admit that the real reason she didn't think he would was because she had a feeling Blaise would use the gala to propose to Ginny, since he seemed very interested in the gala according to Draco. Hermione, of course, was not going to tell Ginny this but based on Ginny's grin she had a feeling the red head was not going to let it go.

"Maybe but you two are obviously in love," Ginny said, leaning sideways against the arm of the chair. "I think it would be so romantic if he did!"

"I'm not saying it wouldn't, I just doubt that he will do it this early," Hermione said. "We've only been together for half a year."

Shrugging, Ginny grinned again. "Still, you two act like you've been together for years. I'm amazed you two still live in separate houses with how often you two spend the night with each other."

Hermione couldn't help but smile at this. "I know...he's actually brought up moving me into his house."

"Aww!" Ginny squealed excitedly. "Are you going to?"

"We haven't decided it!" Hermione laughed. "We just talked about it being a possibility in the future."

Ginny sighed impatiently, shaking her head before taking a drink. "I still think it would be romantic for him to propose at the gala."

"I'm not saying it wouldn't," Hermione said. "It's just too early and I think he agrees."

Ginny gave her friend a sly look from behind her glass and Hermione's heart jumped. "Why do you have that look?"

"What look?" Ginny asked innocently.

"The look that says you know something," Hermione said suspiciously.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Ginny laughed. "I'm just being selfish because you two are absolutely perfect for each other."

Hermione laughed as well before saying, "You're ridiculous."

"Maybe, but you love me," Ginny said smugly.

The  two  of  them  laughed  and  Hermione  started  to  feel  better  about  the  situation,  though  the  twist  of  nerves  was  still  present  when  she  thought  about  the  gala,  only  now  there  was  an  entirely  different  reason  for  her  nerves.

A/N: I cannot thank you all enough for your patience with this chapter, I'm so happy to finally get it up for everyone to read! I should be able to update more often now that the major holidays are over so I promise you won't need to wait this long again :) hope you all enjoy! Love you all! <3