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.
Draco put the letter back in the envelope, and then took a bite of his eggs. "I'll write Mum back when we get back to the dorm," he told her between swallowing the eggs and taking a swig of his juice. "And after that I'll remind you just how soft I've become." He gave her what one might perceive as a stern look. He couldn't be as rough as he used to, but that didn't mean he had to be gentle.
Hermione smirked back at him, and finished her toast. "Well, I'll look forward to that, then." She told him. There had been some nights that she'd felt too sick to even be with him, but he had been a good sport about it. He didn't pressure her or make her feel bad, he just comforted her. Another reason she knew she'd made the right choice when she picked him.
Draco had a free period between his first class and lunch, at which time he returned to his dorm and wrote to his mother. 'Mum, hoping all is well at home. Hermione and I would love to have lunch with you this Saturday. She's looking forward to finally meeting you, properly. I know we have a lot to discuss. Let me know when and where for lunch and we'll be there. Your son, Draco" Draco flew out to the owlery to deliver the letter, and spent the rest of his free period working out, as he was getting in the habit of doing now that Hermione's libido was changing from day to day. He skipped lunch for a shower on dorm.
Hermione decided to eat lunch on the dorm, feeling especially susceptible to her morning sickness. When she got there, she heard the shower running, and decided to sit down and eat. She picked carefully, filling her plate with food she knew wouldn't upset her stomach, and began eating. As she sat there, picking at her food, she couldn't help but wonder if Draco had written to his mother about meeting her for lunch. She couldn't help feeling nervous, and as she thought about it, her hand moved to feel the necklace he had given her.
When Draco emerged from his room, he greeted Hermione with a kiss. "How are you feeling?" he asked her, noting the small variety of foods on her plate, despite the vast selection available to her. He began to load a plate for himself, joining her at the table.
She kissed him back, offering a smile as he began making his own plate. "Feeling a little fragile at the moment," she admitted. She hadn't wanted to get sick in the great hall, or have to run off to avoid anyone seeing her get sick. Either way would be bad, and surely people would start talking. "Did you get a chance to write your mum?" She asked him.
Draco took a bite of his sandwich. "Yeah. I expect she'll write back with the time and location soon." He was actually looking forward to it, for some reason. His mother had always been loving, and compassionate, for a Black, at least where Draco was concerned. If they could get her approval, it could go a long way, even if they had to stand up to his bigoted father.
Hermione smiled, and nodded. "That's great," she said. As nervous as she was to meet his mother, she knew he was happy about it. Hopefully with her support they wouldn't have to worry as much about his father doing something irrational. She knew he would rather see her dead than risk her tainting his precious bloodline.
The letter Draco received in response had given them the time and location they were to meet, and when the day arrived, Draco and Hermione walked down past the castle gates to the nearest available apparation point, and, with an arm wrapped security around her waist, Draco vanished them both with a pop.
They arrived just a second later in London, in a popular shopping district his mother frequented. He'd never been to the eatery they would be meeting at, but her letter had included directions from the center fountain of the plaza. He escorted Hermione down the road and around the corner, down another street, to a small pub that was located at the very end of the way. It seemed a bit out of the way for his mother's taste, in his opinion, but she'd said in her letter she'd wanted to try something new. Perhaps she simply didn't want to be seen somewhere she was known with her son and his muggleborn girlfriend.
