Snow Storm - D.M , H.G

19. Dueling Malfoys

After the magazine article was released, Draco had been dreading the day that his parents reached out to him to disown him. Maybe they'd send a howler? Merlin, he hoped not. So when his owl came swooping in at breakfast Wednesday morning, he could hardly be surprised. He accepted the letter from the owl, and offered him a bit of his bacon. The heavy parchment envelope was sealed with a dark purple Malfoy emblem.

"It's from Mum," Draco informed Hermione. "Guess it's time to face the music. At least it's not a howler," he said. He took a steadying deep breath, and then opened the letter. 'My beloved son, it has recently come to my attention that you've become deeply involved with the Granger girl. You can see how your father and I have many concerns regarding your intentions with this relationship. I would like the chance to meet with you and her this Saturday. I'll be in London, we can have lunch. Please let me know if you two are available. I'll be awaiting your reply.' The letter was signed in his mother's elegant script. It pained Draco for some reason. He knew he was causing her distress, and his father was probably adding to that stress in his absence.

"My mother would like to have lunch with the two of us," Draco said to Hermione, looking at her in surprise.

Hermione watched nervously while Draco read the note. She chewed on her toast silently and watched him read. When he finished, and announced that his mother wanted to have lunch with them, she was a bit relieved. At least it wasn't his father, right? "You mean, just your mother? Not the both of them?" She asked. She was sure his mother had seen the article, and the picture clearly showed the necklace he had gifted her, and he had explained to her what it meant. Surely his mother would realize she was pregnant, and if his father had seen it, he would too.

Draco passed the letter to Hermione for her to read for herself. "Sounds like just her," he answered. "She'll know you're pregnant, even if the rest of the world doesn't. We can just hope that my father hasn't seen it." Maybe his mother didn't tell him. Maybe that was why she wanted to meet, to be sure. "So... What do you say? Are you ready to meet my mother? Officially?" Hermione's "visit" to Malfoy Manor had not exactly been a proper introduction for the two.

Hermione took the letter in her hands and read over it, and then looked to Draco. "I suppose I'd better." She told him. She wasn't sure how to feel about it, besides nervous, but she knew she would have to meet her eventually. "I mean, it sounds like she just wants to talk about your intentions, any mother would want to do the same, considering the circumstances." She said.

"My mother," Draco decided to explain, just to help calm Hermione's nerves. "She's not like my father. She's always been a loyal wife, but she's always put family first. I think if she gets to know you, she's going to adore you, just like I do." The tenderness of his words were almost gag-worthy. She was turning him into a sap!

Hermione set the letter on the table, and smiled at him. "Well, I say you tell her we will be there. And maybe throw in an apology for not telling her sooner." She added the last part with a laugh. "You're turning into a real softy, you know that?" She added as an afterthought. She was glad she hadn't turned him down when he had asked her to be his, because he had been like a different man since then. In a good way.

Draco rose an eyebrow at his love. "Bite your tongue, Granger," he said, reverting to her surname playfully. "Don't you forget what it is I'm capable of." He kissed her hard (not caring who saw), a smirk playing on his lips when he did. Their sex hadn't been as extreme lately, with her being pregnant and her stomach significantly more sensitive, but he wasn't going to let her think that he was going to let up on her forever. The pregnancy was temporary, after all. After that he had all the time in the world to prove to her just how soft he was not.

She kissed him back, and then laughed. "Oh, trust me, I won't." She promised him. It was a shame that being pregnant had made her so sensitive to being tossed around, but they also had connected on a new level, and she'd found that she enjoyed making love to him just as much as she enjoyed being abused by him.