Chapter 48
Prompt: I'm bad for you
(BONUS PROMPT: Hermione is the one who says it)
Draco had been asking her to join him for dinner with his parents for months and finally, she could think of no other excuse to put off the inevitable. When they arrived, Hermione was surprised to find Lucius answering the door as opposed to one of their elves but said nothing. On their way to dining room, they passed the kitchen where Narcissa appeared to be putting the finishing touches on a roast. Hermione tried to catch Draco's eye, a million questions running through her head, but he appeared not to notice anything out of the ordinary.
As Lucius pulled out Hermione's chair, he placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently before sitting down at his spot.
"Ms. Granger, thank you for joining us for dinner. Cissa and I have been eager to formally get to know the witch whose captured our son's heart."
Speechless and completely taken aback, Hermione's eyes darted to Draco's and found him staring at his father with a mixture of pride and relief. Looking back toward Lucius, she tried to gather her thoughts.
"Thank you Mr. Malfoy for having me here tonight. I must admit I was rather surprised by the invitation and," she paused unsure how to proceed, "and I am a bit taken aback this evening. It's no secret we've been on opposing sides for so long and I'm-I'm bad for you. I am currently pushing legislation to free house elves. I just finished writing a law requiring pureblood families to participate in muggle studies courses to ease prejudice. Were you aware of this? Because I receive many threats from your friends and I can't imagine they will take kindly to you and your wife aligning with me."
Expecting a fight, Hermione was surprised to see Lucius actually smiling as he looked at her.
"Ms. Granger, I don't know if you noticed, but we freed all of our house elves already. Narcissa and I have been taking cooking classes with a muggle neighbor whose a chef in town."
Hermione's eyes blew wide, and she again looked toward Draco to find him smiling kindly and not at all surprised by his father's words.
Lucius continued, "When Draco told us he was courting you, we knew we needed to prove to you that we are worthy of a second chance."
Lucius paused again and cleared his throat. For the first time she had known him, he appeared uncomfortable.
"We are the ones who are bad for you, Ms. Granger. But if you can please give us a chance, we are hoping to show you, we are worthy of having you be part of our family."