Chapter 6: The Unexpected Guest
Hermione stared at Draco waiting for a response. He took a deep breath and explained his hunch. “Once we graduated from Hogwarts, I was promised to be married to Pansy Parkinson. That deal was made at the beginning of our sixth year. To complicate matters, my father suspected something was going on between you and me. He gave the family ring to Pansy, binding her to me magically. The only way this bind could be broken was if I were to find someone I truly loved, and they had the same love for me. When something like that happens, the ring melts and can not be fixed, no matter what magic is used. Well, when Pansy’s ring melted, she had absolutely no idea why. She went straight to my father and he told her why her ring was destroyed. Pansy was incensed. She followed my father for weeks hoping to find you or me. When she didn’t, I think she might have killed him in frustration and rage.”
Hermione looked at him sympathetically. She knew this had to be very hard for him. She patted his shoulder then sat on his knee. Her soft fingers ran through his blonde hair. Draco kissed her lightly on the lips. Suddenly, there was a loud tap on the window causing Hermione to jump. It was a beautiful sand brown owl with dark spots on his head and lively yellow eyes. She giggled as she let the bird in. It flew to Draco, landing on the kitchen table. The owl dropped the letter, and Draco caught it before it hit the table. Hermione gave it some treats before it flew away.
Draco opened the letter and read it quickly. He tossed it on the table in front of him and rubbed his eyes and temples. “What is it, Draco?” Hermione asked quietly. He motioned for her to read it. It was a rather short letter with a familiar scrawl covering it.
Draco,
Your guess is as good as mine, in fact they are very similar. But right now, that is all we have. I’ll send a letter to Severus to see if he knows any more information than we do. Please do not share this with that Granger girl; I feel she isn’t trustworthy with any of this information. I will write back to you as soon as I have any news, and I hope you will do the same.
Mum
Hermione huffed, “Don’t trust that Granger girl? Why doesn’t she trust me? And can’t she call me your wife?” Hermione slammed the letter down on the table harder than she intended to. The vase of flowers that Draco had given her for her birthday toppled over, spilling water over the letter and table. At first, she didn’t even notice she had nearly soaked her husband. Draco, however, took the incident in stride. With a simple wave of his wand, the water was gone. Noticing this bit of magic, Hermione smirked apologetically and sank into the seat next to her husband.
The oven timer beeped loudly, making Hermione jump to her feet. “Merlin, the toast is going to burn!”
She flung open the oven door open and reached in to grab the cookie sheet of garlic toast. She stopped inches away from touching the hot pan. Hermione quickly grabbed the pot holders and took the bread out of the oven. She tossed it onto the stove. Suddenly, the water from the pot of pasta boiled over. Hermione grasped the handles of the pot and moved it to the sink. She leaned her back against the counter and ran the back of her hand over her forehead. The stove burner began sizzling from the spilled water. Hermione wearily reached over and turned the burner off. Draco sauntered over to her, his trademark smirk playing across his face.
He rested his hands on the counter behind Hermione. He leaned in, putting his body very close to hers. Still, her large belly was blocking him from getting very much closer. She gripped his shirt and pulled him in close. As their lips met, a spark bounced off their lips. Her hand shot up to cover her mouth. “Ouch!” she muffled. Draco laughed at her. Hermione frowned and punched his arm playfully. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and was about to ruffle her hair when the doorbell rang.
Hermione freed herself and Draco followed her to the door. As she got closer, she saw who it was. Immediately, she turned around and started up the winding staircase.
Draco gently grabbed her arm, “Stay here” he whispered. Hermione kept hold of her husband’s arm as he opened the door. Narcissa Malfoy stood boldly in the doorway.
Hermione quietly hid behind Draco’s broad shoulders. Narcissa casually walked in, but she held herself high and confident (and rather arrogantly Hermione had thought). Draco silently watched as his mother crossed the threshold and sit her dainty body on one of the expensive couches in their furnished living room. He slowly closed the door, still hiding his wife as best as he could. He stood stiff, not wanting to make a wrong move in front of his mother.
Narcissa looked disheveled, but had tried to hide it. Her hair was pulled into a loose bun at the nape of her neck with wisps of hair decorating her neck and shoulders. She sat with her legs crossed at the ankles, both feet snug in small flats. Her black dress and overcoat added a hint of mystery to Narcissa; a trait displayed often. Her skin seemed even more pallid than usual. Her hands shook slightly, but she paid no attention to them.
At last, Draco spoke. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
Hermione slowly showed herself, but stayed close to her husband. Narcissa looked at her son. Her eyes looked sunken and sad. Hermione felt sorry for her rather than resentful. Narcissa spoke so quietly, Draco had to step closer to hear.
“I’ve come to tell you in person what I’ve learned,” she whispered, shooting Hermione a hateful look. Draco caught this and immediately defended his wife.
“Mum, she already knows about everything. She’s not leaving.” His voice was firm and unwavering. Narcissa stood.
“She is a Mudblood and she can’t be trusted!” Narcissa whispered harshly into her son’s ear. This made his blood boil. In his anger, he called his mother by her first name “ something he was taught was severely disrespectful and strictly punishable.
“Narcissa; Hermione is my wife and the mother of your grandchildren. I love her and have accepted her as a witch, no matter what her blood is. Do not criticize the ones whose blood isn’t pure; you of all people especially.” His voice became louder with anger. Hermione touched his arm to calm him. He turned back to his mother. “The purpose of your visit was not to demean Hermione. Say what you’ve come to say then leave.”
Hermione was now standing beside her husband, in plain sight. She wasn’t afraid of Narcissa anymore. Narcissa reluctantly backed away, not wanting to accept her failure. She sat back on the couch. This time, however, she wasn’t so queen-like.
“Severus had some highly valuable information on the death of your father. It took me some time to get to him, and there were guards standing over us the entire time, but I got what I needed. Your father was killed by Pansy Parkinson. She confessed to the murder merely hours after she committed it. Severus knew this only because of his Legilimency. First, he requested a visit to Azkaban to see a family friend. Once he was there, he sought out Pansy. He quickly asked her a few questions. He only needed to ask a few. With this information, he immediately came to me. And now, I am here,” she said, resting against the soft back of the sofa. She sat rather uneasily, and Hermione sensed her discomfort. She stepped forward.
“Well, thank you very much Narcissa. If you don’t mind, Draco and I were just getting ready to have a wonderful meal of spaghetti and garlic toast. We’d like to eat while it was still hot.” Hermione stated in a polite tone that could not have been nastier. She opened the front door and gestured for Narcissa to leave.
“I thought I smelled something burning,” Narcissa said quietly as she stepped out the door. Frustrated, Hermione locked the door and grabbed her husband’s arm. She led him to the loveseat where she told him what she was thinking. “Draco, just because Snape is a Legilimen, doesn’t mean he can tell what someone did or didn’t do just by asking them a few questions. Harry told me that even the most experienced Legilimens can’t 'see' some things. I think your mum is either adding a bit to the story, or just plain lying.”
“And, you aren’t allowed visits in Azkaban, unless you’re someone in an extremely high position. Snape is definitely not in a high enough position to visit even a family friend in Azkaban,” Draco added.
Hermione nodded her head and leaned up against a pillow. She ran her fingers through her stubborn frizzy hair. Draco leaned over and tucked some hair behind Hermione’s ear. She smiled, and then laughed. Laughter being contagious, Draco joined in. He leaned in even closer, leaving only centimeters to separate them from each other. Hermione wanted so badly to kiss Draco, but she knew that they had to discuss his father’s situation.
“Draco” she interrupted, “we need to figure this out.” He pulled away, looking hurt. She smiled at his pathetic face, “Oh, cheer up love.” Hermione kissed him on the lips. Draco’s instant boyish smile made her laugh. He followed his wife into the kitchen “ he also followed his nose accompanied by his stomach. As Hermione sat down, spaghetti steaming on her plate, she broke their silence. “Draco, what if she knows something that we don’t. What if she’s covering up for someone?” Draco looked into Hermione’s bold brown eyes.
“You really think she’s lying to us, don’t you?” he asked rather unbelievingly.
She nodded, “Yes Draco, I really do. And it’s not just that I don’t particularly like your mother, it’s that I know she’s hiding something. You can tell when you watch her eyes “ she never made eye contact with either of us, the entire time.” Hermione gave her husband a minute to think over this. A baby’s whimper caught her attention. “Merlin, he's already up from his nap?” she sighed as she slowly made her way up the spiral staircase.
“I’ll get the highchair ready,” he called after her.
“Thanks,” she answered.
Hermione walked quietly down the hall hoping that maybe her son would go back to sleep. As she got closer, she heard the creak of a rocking chair. She stepped even more quietly; she had heard something in the nursery. As she approached the door, she heard whispering; a male voice was whispering. She knew Draco was downstairs, and Harry and Ron were both out for dinner with their wives. So who could it be?
Hermione clasped her wand tightly in her hand. It felt almost unfamiliar to her because she hadn’t used magic in months. Hermione peeked around the corner. She saw the back of a greasy head of hair. Her heart seemed to stop and she lost her breath. With her heart now pounding in her throat, Hermione held her wand at the ready. She turned her whole body around the corner. Her grip on her wand loosened and her knees felt limp. There he sat rocking her baby boy and whispering softly to her. His greasy hair jerked as he snapped his head up to see Hermione walk in.
“What are you doing here, Snape?” she said viciously. His evil laugh sent goose bumps shooting up her arm. Hermione regained her grip on the wand and straightened her knees. “Put my baby down and get out of my house!” Her brows furrowed and her eyes squinted.
Snape stood and laid the baby in his crib. He brought out his wand and teasingly twirled it between his fingers like he was playing some game. “Hermione dear, you already know too much for me to let you go.” Snape said in a mocking voice. “You have brains, girl; and now” he began advancing on her “you shall find out how much that will hurt you.” His wand rose in the air, pointed directly at Hermione.
“Oh Snape, you don’t scare me. You never have, and you never will” she spat back. He laughed again, making her blood chill. “What do you want?” she asked, standing firm as he advanced on her.
“Ah dear little girl, as I have told you, you know too much. We can’t have you going around spreading your rumors about my people and me. If you do, one of the two of us will end up in prison, and it won’t be me. Now, tell me how much you really know.”
He was now only inches from Hermione. She didn’t flinch when his nose twitched. Her feet were firmly planted on the ground and her hand was wrapped around her wand with a death grip.
She looked directly into Snape’s eyes and spoke with a formidable voice, “All I know is that Narcissa is lying. Would you like to tell me the truth, so you can go to jail?”
Snape stepped back and let out a howling laugh. She watched his greasy hair jiggle as his head bounced. She quickly caught him off guard. “Expelliarmus!” she yelled. Snape’s wand flew from his hand and slid across the floor. It hit her foot and stopped short. She picked it up and winked at him. Fear shone in Snape’s eyes as he fell to his knees in surrender. Hermione crept over to him “You aren’t quite as scary with out this are you?” She wiggled his wand in front of his face. But before she knew what was happening, a large puff of smoke filled the room, and Snape was gone.