Chapter 6
On the one hand, Hermione was relieved that the end-of-the-year exams were finally over and she had a good feeling about them, but it also meant that her first year at Hogwarts was coming to a close and she would soon return home for two months. She had never felt so accepted and safe as she had here, especially since she had made friends. But even before that, it had been better than being at home.
Tomorrow there would be a feast and Slytherin would definitely win the House Cup, and she was looking forward to that, but the day after, they would get on the train.
While she picked listlessly at her breakfast, the post owls flew in, like every morning, and a familiar huge eagle owl landed in front of Draco. He was called Hades and Hermione knew it was Lucius Malfoy’s owl.
No one paid much attention to that since Draco received letters and packages from his parents very regularly, until he kicked her leg under the table. “Hey, Granger, listen to me!”
“Ow, you prat. What?”
“You weren’t listening.”
“Well, I’m listening now. What is it?”
He smiled broadly at her. “Father wants me to ask you, if you want to stay with us for a week or so after school. If you say yes, he’ll visit your parents to get their permission and if they say yes, you can come with us when they pick me up from the train station.”
Hermione perked up. A week more away from home and in one of the most prominent magical homes at that? That sounded amazing! Not only because of the huge library Draco liked to brag with. Her face lit up. “I’d love to!” But then something came to her mind and she hesitated. Draco’s smile threatened to fall.
“What?”
“They may be a bit rude when they figure out your father is a wizard.”
Draco snorted and shrugged. “Father can handle rude people.”
Daphne giggled from next to Hermione. “The real question is, if rude people can handle him.”
“Yeah, I don’t think anyone has ever tried to be rude to Lucius twice,” Vince chimed in. “And if they did, they’re certainly braver than I am.”
They all laughed. “Alright, I’d love to come,” Hermione repeated, feeling much lighter than she had just a few minutes earlier.
“Great! You’ll love it!”
“And we’ll come to visit,” Greg said, grinning.
“Of course you will. My birthday is in that week, too. You may not see Granger there, though, she’ll probably vanish in the library and won’t be seen again.”
Hermione couldn’t even be mad at him.
As predicted, Slytherin won the House Cup and it was nice to see Dumbledore’s forced smile as he made the announcement. Hermione couldn’t even tell why she had come to dislike the man so much, but she couldn’t change it.
All banners in the entire Great Hall turned green and silver, showing the Slytherin crest, and while it was quiet on the other house tables, the Slytherins celebrated their victory loudly and the meal had never tasted better to Hermione.
Later that evening, when the further celebration in the common room slowly came to an end, Hermione, Pansy and Daphne went to their dorm to pack.
While doing so, the three girls talked and laughed about the reaction of the other houses, especially Gryffindor, and how everyone seemed to blame Potter and Weasley for losing to Slytherin. Rightfully so.
“So, what kind of people are Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy?” Hermione asked after a while. Draco obviously cared for and respected his parents a lot, but he wasn’t exactly unbiased. If she was honest with herself, she was still nervous about their allegiance in the war. They hadn’t been punished after Voldemort’s defeat, supposedly because they had been under the Imperius Curse for most of the war, but they undeniably had joined Voldemort in the first place.
“Great. We all spent a big part of our childhood at Malfoy Manor,” Pansy said with a shrug. “They were always welcoming to us. And they’re different from many other members of the old families. Most of us were largely raised by nannies or house elves. Draco wasn’t. They raised him themselves; the house elves only babysat him when they both were busy.”
“Let me make a guess.” Daphne closed her trunk and sat down on her bed. “You’re worried because you read somewhere that they were Death Eaters.”
“A little,” she admitted. “I mean, it’s kind of them to invite me and I was shocked when they sent me a Christmas gift, but I am Muggle-born.”
“And they know that. If they didn’t want you in their home, they wouldn’t have invited you. I don’t think they ever do anything they don’t want to.”
Daphne giggled and nodded in agreement to Pansy’s statement. “Pansy is right, you don’t have to worry.” She grew serious. “I don’t know how much I should tell you.” She exchanged a look with Pansy. “But whatever you read about the war isn’t entirely true. Maybe Lucius and Narcissa will explain some more. But you really don’t have to worry.”
It was rare for Daphne not to share all the information available to her, so she probably had a good reason. Therefore, Hermione didn’t try to interrogate her. But it was weird. She remembered Draco saying that Dumbledore wasn’t the hero everyone thought him to be and now that. What had really happened during the war?
The train ride was far more fun with her friends and when the witch with the trolley came around, Draco bought sweets for all of them.
Before Hermione knew it, they arrived at platform 9 ¾ and got out of the train.
It wasn’t hard to spot the Malfoys. Draco looked a lot like his father. Lucius Malfoy had the same white-blond hair, but past shoulder-length. He was an imposing man, regal and tall, with a cane in hand that ended in a silver snake head handle with emerald eyes. That must be his wand, she realised. Another clever way to carry it around – make an accessory out of it.
Narcissa Malfoy was probably the most beautiful woman Hermione had ever seen. Her long blond hair, more golden than her husband’s and son’s white-blond, was bound back in a loose chignon. Her light blue summer robes with the finest embroidery hugged her delicate figure and she held herself in an elegant pose while she was standing so close to her husband that their arms touched just a bit. When she saw her son leave the train her face lit up with a warm smile.
Draco immediately made his way towards his parents and his mother hugged him to her while his father laid a hand on his shoulder.
Her other friends went on to find their respective parents and Hermione followed Draco a bit more slowly to give the family the time to greet each other. When she reached them, Lord Malfoy turned to her with a polite smile. “Miss Granger, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He held out his hand and Hermione took it.
“The pleasure is all mine, Lord Malfoy. Thank you so much for inviting me to your home.” He nodded in recognition and she turned to greet Narcissa Malfoy just as politely.
They made their way towards the apparition spot and while Lord Malfoy shrunk their luggage and packed it away in the pockets of his elegant black robes (except for the cage with Draco’s owl, which Draco kept holding onto), Lady Malfoy held out her arm to Hermione. Draco next to them grabbed his father’s arm with his free hand.
“Have you side-apparated before, Miss Granger?” Lady Malfoy asked.
She shook her head, a little embarrassed about her lack of experience. “No, I haven’t.”
“Well, it may be just a little unpleasant the first few times. Just don’t let go of my arm, then you have nothing to worry about.”
Lucius Malfoy, with Draco in tow, vanished next to them in a swirl and Hermione had just enough time to wonder why she hadn’t heard the loud pop that had come from the people who had apparated before them and Tipsy the house elf every time Draco had called her at Hogwarts, before there was a strong pull in her belly and she felt like she couldn’t breathe as there was suddenly so much pressure on her chest. Everything went black and all she could do was hold tightly onto Narcissa Malfoy’s arm.
And then it was over. The ground was back under her feet and she took a deep breath. She still felt a bit unsteady on her feet and couldn’t quite let go of Lady Malfoy’s arm yet. When she looked up, Draco was grinning at her. “Nice, isn’t it, Granger?”
She blushed a little.
Lord Malfoy raised his eyebrows at his son. “She held herself much better than you did the first time.” His grey eyes, which Draco had inherited from his as well, met Hermione’s. “He threw up on my feet and refused to apparate again for months.”
Hermione grinned and finally let go of the older witch.
“Thank you so much for sharing that story, father,” Draco mumbled while it was his turn to blush.
Now she noticed that they were standing in front of an impressive iron double gate, held together by the Malfoy crest. When Lucius Malfoy touched it, it opened and they all entered.
They stepped onto the grounds, a huge well-kept garden with hedges and flower beds. Beautiful white peacocks and peahens were eying them curiously. In front of them was a wide path that led to the massive manor house that towered up in front of them, impressive and gorgeous. Hermione tried her very best not to stare. She didn’t think she was successful.
Lucius Malfoy started to walk up the path, but looked back over his shoulder. “Welcome to Malfoy Manor, Miss Granger.”
~End of Part 1~