23

The entire room was silent as Lucius strode up the aisle. He still had the rich, aristocratic air about him. His once youthful, handsome face was now worn and lined with age, and his hair was thinner and whiter. He was dressed in the most fashionable attire, and on his head, he wore a black top hat that he now swept from his head as he stood before his shocked son.

"Draco," he said, bowing slightly. "Hermione." He greeted her with a huge grin as his eyes danced wickedly. "I look forward to having such a beautiful, well-endowed witch in the family," he said, looking her up and down as his eyes lingered on her breasts. "And now, if you'll excuse my rudeness, I think I'll take my seat. Please, continue with the ceremony!" He gave a more exaggerated bow this time, turned and sat down next to a pissed-off looking Narcissa. Draco looked murderous, and Harry had his hand on his wand.

Lucius tried to take Narcissa's hand, but she calmly placed something in his palm and then looked coldly at him. Lucius opened it and beheld her wedding ring. His head snapped up, and his hard grey eyes searched her smooth face.

"If you still wish for me to be your wife, Lucius, then you must promise not to interfere with the wedding. Please, let our son enjoy this wonderful day, I beg of you!" she said in a fierce whisper. "If you have any love left in your heart, you will be happy for our son."

He closed his hand tightly over the gold band. It was bad enough that his ungrateful son was marrying and breeding with a Muggle whore, but now his wife had turned her back on him as well! "You ask the impossible, Cissy."

Narcissa closed her eyes as Lucius slipped the ring into his pocket. She felt tears threatening to spill over onto her cheeks as she struggled to keep her composure. It was over between Lucius and her. She would no longer be willing to put up with his narrow mind, his abusive remarks, or his selfish reckless behavior. She thought about the child in Hermione's womb and smiled. She would protect that child from the disease that was Lucius Malfoy. It stopped here, with her. No more Pureblood nonsense, no more pain...she would see to it!

Draco and Hermione turned back towards the altar, and the guests seemed to visibly relax. Draco could barely concentrate on what was being said and missed his responses more than a few times. Hermione was sure that she could feel Lucius burning a hole in the back of her head with his hateful glare. They both stumbled through the ceremony, wishing that Lucius Malfoy had died a painful death in Azkaban and gone to hell where he belonged.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife!" the official said. "You may kiss your bride!"

Draco smirked, grabbed Hermione around the waist, and pulled her close. Their lips met in a heated, passionate kiss, and Fred Weasley whistled loudly and shouted, "I think they're going to do it right here!" Molly elbowed him in the ribs and then dabbed at her misty eyes with the corner of her handkerchief.

Draco reluctantly let go of Hermione, and together they turned towards the crowded room. He was all smiles, and she was flushed and embarrassed. She noticed that Lucius rolled his eyes and that his upper lip was curled in an unflattering sneer. God, she hated that man! Hermione decided to do something to make him even more disgusted. Catching his eyes, she winked seductively and then blew him a kiss.

He jumped slightly and then, looked around to see if anyone had noticed that the Mudblood was trying to seduce him. He glanced back at her and saw she was almost laughing at him. "Stupid bitch!" he said to himself. "We'll see whose laughing when she finds out that Draco has been disinherited!"

"I introduce to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Draco Malfoy!" the official announced.

Everyone cheered as the newlyweds made their way quickly down the red carpet, Hermione trying not to trip over her dress. She gave Dumbledore's portrait a wave as they passed by. He waved back and then blew his nose loudly. Minerva stood next to the painting, scowling at his rudeness.

The reception was held out on the sprawling lawn of Hogwarts. It was a laid back affair with a buffet and an open bar. A stage was set up, and a band was playing a mixture of Wizard and Muggle music.

Harry, Ron and Ginny were gathered in a group of Order members discussing Lucius.

"But how is it that he was able to get an early release?" Harry asked baffled. "I was sure he would rot in there for the rest of his miserable life!"

"It seems that he got his sentence shortened for good behavior. Apparently, he was a model prisoner!" Kingsley said with a sarcastic bark of a laugh. "Good behavior! Have you ever heard of anything so ridiculous in your life?"

"Like that man ever behaved himself!" Tonks snapped. "My mother used to tell me some stories that would make your hair stand on end! The things that man has done!"

"Really, Nymphadora," came the drawling voice of Lucius. "The things I've done pale in comparison with the exploits of your dear mother! Why, she was once known as the neighborhood whore!" Lucius chuckled and sipped his red wine. "In fact, if I remember correctly, she once even tried to seduce me, but I was afraid that gaping hole she called a cunt would swallow me whole!"

Tonks lunged, her fists flailing. "Just shut up!" Ginny and Ron managed to hold her back, Ron getting a fat lip in the process. "I'll kill you, you fucking bastard!" she screamed at the retreating back of a laughing Lucius.

Lucius was steadily getting drunker and drunker as the evening set in. Usually, he could hold his liquor, but that was before, when he had cared about his reputation, which was in tatters now! His wife had left him, his only son was now married to a Mudblood, the Dark Lord thought him a failure, and his so-called friends had abandoned him. What did it matter now if he got shit faced and told everyone exactly what he thought of them?

Harry came running up and pushed Lucius roughly in the back, making him stumble. "I think you owe her an apology!" he yelled angrily.

Lucius turned around slowly, drained the last drops of his wine and threw the glass over his shoulder. "Well, if it isn't Harry Potter!" he slurred. "If I had my wand right now, Potter, I think I'd probably kill you...no, I KNOW I would kill you!"

"You're drunk!" Harry spat disgustedly.

"And you're the reason I've lost my wife and son! If only the Dark Lord would have killed you that night! But noooooo!" Lucius said, banging on the bar for another red wine. "He had to fuck it all up!" he emptied his glass in one gulp. "Because you lived, I was forced to go on half-ass missions to kill you...missions that took me away from my wife and son! Missions that put their lives in danger!" He grabbed Harry by the front of his dress shirt and pressed his nose to his. "I hate you, Harry Potter, and I hate your filthy Muggle cunt of a friend, who's stolen my son from me!"

Ron, Fred and George ran over after witnessing the struggle between Lucius and Harry. Their wands were out, ready to blast Lucius to kingdom come. "Oi! I suggest you shut your damn mouth before I shut it for you!" Ron said, his wand tip pointed at Lucius's temple. "Now, let Harry go."

Draco realized that there was about to be bloodshed, and he raced over to put a stop to it. "What the hell is the meaning of this?" he asked, looking around for Hermione. She was talking to the band, requesting a song. "Look, Father, I'm tolerating your presence here for Mother's sake, but if you can't control yourself, then you're going to have to leave."

Lucius let go of Harry and turned his hatred towards his son. "Your mother's sake? YOUR MOTHER'S SAKE?" he just about screamed. "Your precious mother is nothing but a traitorous bitch who has chosen you and your knocked-up little whore over me, her husband!"

Draco motioned for the others to leave, and they did so reluctantly. "Harry, would you do me a favor and keep Hermione company until I can sort this all out?"

"Anything else I can do?" Harry asked. "Like get him a muzzle or something?"

Draco smirked. "No, Potter, just keep Hermione busy for me. Have Ginny ask her about the future or something, that should keep them talking for a long while."

Harry pulled Ginny away from Luna, and they walked over to Hermione, Harry shooting glances over at Draco to make sure everything was fine.

"Now, Father, tell me," Draco said, sitting the drunk man down at the nearest table. "Why did you come here? Surely, it wasn't to give us your blessing."

Lucius could barely see straight, and all he wanted to do was go home and crawl into his bed. The bed he hadn't had the pleasure of sleeping in for years. Then he remembered that his wife wouldn't be sharing that bed with him tonight...or any night. "I came because I got your letter."

"You got my letter?" Draco asked, motioning for the bartender. "I'll have a whiskey, straight up, and he'll have another red wine, please." After the bartender left, Draco leaned back in his chair and studied the man that had scared the living shit out of him his whole life. It was almost comical now to think of how much he had wanted this man's approval growing up. He had wanted it so badly that he was willing to do anything to get it. "So, you got my letter and decided to break out of Azkaban just so you could ogle my wife's breasts and insult my friends? Seems drastic!"

Lucius tried to form a coherent thought. Everything had a nightmare quality about it. The sick, orange glow from the setting sun, and the blasted horrible music the band was playing. He knew he was still in his cell, tossing and turning, stuck in some terrible dream world where he was old, tired and drunk, and his son was married to that Granger girl!

"They released me just this morning. I hastened to get here for your mistake of a wedding." He pulled out his gold pocket watch, checked the time, and then closed it, putting it back inside of his jacket pocket.

Draco was jarred for a moment, realizing that the gold pocket watch his father held was the same one that he was going to possess after his father's death. The one he was going to engrave with a secret message and hand over to himself sometime in the distant future. "Father, why can't you be happy for me, just this once?" he asked, actually wishing that it would happen.

Lucius laughed as he watched the bartender put their drinks on the table. "Why would I be happy for you? It seems that I've wasted my breath all these years! I've tried to tell you that Muggles are worthless and vile and deserve to be exterminated, but you go and fuck one, get her pregnant, and then marry her, for Merlin's sake! All the lessons, all the teachings apparently couldn't penetrate your fucking, thick skull!" He pounded his fist on the table, spilling some of his wine. "I'd rather be dead than have you end up this way!"

Draco said nothing; he just watched this sorry excuse for a man rant and rave. It really was sad to see. This man was dangerous and maybe more than a little unhinged. He had to be dealt with. "Well, Father, perhaps you'll get your wish." Draco stood, picked up his drink and walked away, leaving Lucius alone to wallow in his hatred. He lifted his wine to his lips and then tossed it back. He laid his head on the table and was almost asleep when the bartender put down another glass of wine in front of him.

"I didn't order this," Lucius said, trying to focus. His vision was blurry, causing him to see three forms of the bartender standing before him.

"I was told to bring it to your table," the man said and then walked back to the bar where Blaise was waiting to place an order.

Lucius looked around, wondering who would send him a drink. He shrugged his shoulders, stood up, toasted the air, and then finished it in one swallow.

Narcissa and Draco watched from their table as Lucius suddenly dropped the glass and clutched his throat. He was clearly dying, yet neither one made a move to help him.

Tonks was in the middle of a conversation with Remus when, from the corner of her eye, she caught Lucius struggling for breath, turning blue. She watched nonchalantly for a second and then went on talking to Remus as if nothing was happening.

"Draco, tell Narcissa about the cute little dress you bought for the baby when we were in Hawaii. I really do wish we hadn't left that behind. It really was beautiful, and it had the tiniest little bonnet!" Hermione stopped talking, noticing that Draco and Narcissa's attention was elsewhere. She followed their gaze and her mouth dropped in horror. "Oh my god!" she said, getting up and ignoring Draco's pleas for her to sit back down. "He needs help!" she yelled as she ran to assist Lucius.

Lucius was clawing at his throat so badly that it was tattered and bloody. His eyes were bulging out of his head, and his skin had taken on a blackish purple hue.

As soon as Hermione reached him and grabbed hold of his arm, blood exploded from his nose and mouth, and then he collapsed onto the table, his black tongue protruding obscenely from his red, foaming mouth.

There were screams from many guests. A woman fainted at the horrifying sight. Draco and Narcissa stood in stony silence. Lucius was dead, and not one person among them cared.

***

On the day of the funeral, it was dreary and cold. The sky had been threatening rain all morning, and finally at around noon, it started to rain very heavily. A small group that consisted of Narcissa, Draco, Hermione and a few of Lucius' relatives gathered in the Malfoy family graveyard.

Draco held the black umbrella over Hermione's head; she was stony-faced and shivering from the cold. She hadn't really spoken to him in two days. Once she had learned that someone had poisoned Lucius' wine, she had became very withdrawn and quiet. He suspected that she thought he had something to do with it, which he did of course.

They had moved into the Manor, taking over the entire east wing. He and his mother tried to get her to speak, but meals were spent in silence, and bedtime was an excruciating experience. They slept in the same bed, but she was on one edge and he on the other with a giant empty space between them.

It was in this huge four-poster bed that he climbed into after one of the longest days of his life, expecting another silent night. He was wrapped in his blanket and hugging his pillow like a lover when Hermione spoke for the first time in two weeks, "Draco?"

Draco thought for a second that he was dreaming. "Did you just say something?" he asked, surprised, rolling over. She was sitting up, hugging her knees close to her chest.

"Tell me you didn't kill him."

Draco's first reaction was to tell her what she wanted to hear so that she would squeal with relief, embrace him with joy, and then make love to him all night long. But he knew that he was already keeping things from her and didn't want to add to them, so he told her the truth. "I can't tell you that."

Tears slowly began to fall from her eyes. "I knew it. Deep down in my heart, I knew you killed him."

Draco crawled across the bed and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm not sorry I killed him. My mother and I did what we had to do to protect you and the baby."

"Narcissa? But that was her husband! How could she?" Hermione asked aghast.

"I don't know, Hermione. All I know is that he's gone now and he can't ever hurt anyone ever again." Draco kissed her wet cheek. "Are you really that sad that he's dead? So upset that you stopped speaking to me for days?"

Hermione looked at him sadly. "The reason I wasn't speaking to you was because you didn't tell me. You didn't trust me enough to tell me what you were going to do."

"That's because you are so... How, can I put this? Not a murderer," he laughed lightly. "You would have never allowed it to happen!"

"Are you in my head, Draco? How do you know I would have stopped you?" she asked, brushing the stray hairs from his forehead. "I love you. You are my husband, and I will stand by you no matter what, but you have to stop keeping things from me!" She felt like such a hypocrite! Here she was giving him the silent treatment because he kept something from her when she was harboring a horrible secret herself. Maybe she should just tell him about their doomed daughter?

Draco was so very close to just telling her everything. How freeing it would be to just tell her that someone was going to murder her and that he was sure that together they would find a way to put a stop to it.

They had both started to spill their secrets when they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Draco got out of bed, put on his robe and opened the door. "Mother!" he pulled it open all the way, allowing her to enter while glaring at her suspiciously.

"I'm sorry! But I just happened to be passing by and heard voices. Have you kissed and made up?" Narcissa asked, naked hope showing on her face.

"You were just passing by? Your room is on the other side of the Manor!" Draco said incredulously, pushing her out of the doorway. "And as for us kissing and making up, I plan on doing more than kissing!" He closed the door on her happy face and leaned against it. "Damn that woman is nosey! Listening at doors!"

Hermione pulled off her nightgown, exposing her plump breasts. "Well then, let's give her something to listen to!" She opened her legs and motioned to him with her finger. "Come here, Draco. I want you, NOW!"

Draco didn't need to be told twice.

***

The months passed quickly as fall turned to winter, winter to spring, and spring to summer. Hermione's pregnancy progressed with ease, and she and Draco were very happy. She would lie on the sofa in the library, and he would rub her feet. He would sit for hours with his hand on her tummy, feeling the baby moving, laughing with delight every time it kicked him. He catered to her every need, making sure she had the right kinds of food, bringing her tea, fluffing her pillows. He said he knew everything about having babies, and the information he possessed seemed to solidify his claim.

Secretly, Draco was a nervous wreck. He knew nothing except what he had been reading in the many books on pregnancy he kept hidden in his old bedroom. He didn't want Hermione to think he was a bumbling idiot and that he knew nothing about what was happening to her body or what to expect during the labor. As the due date got closer, he began to feel more afraid than he ever had in his life. What if he was a horrible father? What if his children hated him? What if... What if...

Hermione awoke on the morning of June 30 with a sharp pain in her lower back. She sat up with some struggle and looked at his clock. Four a.m.! For the last month, she had been unable to sleep and was always up before the house-elves, or even the birds. She pulled her heavy body from the bed and slipped on her robe. She took a step towards the door, and suddenly there was a strange shooting pain, and she was standing there as liquid ran down her legs. Panic set in, and she felt faint. "Draco! Wake up! Draco!"

Draco rolled over. "Hmm? What time is it?" he asked sleepily.

"It's time for you to get your ass out of that bed! The baby is coming!"

Draco threw off the covers and jumped up. "Oh my God! Oh my God! What do we do?" he said frantically, pulling on his clothes. "I know! I'll get mother!" He raced from the room, leaving Hermione standing alone in a puddle of amniotic fluid.

Narcissa contacted the Medi-Wizard by Floo, and soon the downstairs bedroom was buzzing with activity. House-elves ran here and there, carrying towels and water and jabbering excitedly about the day when Draco was born.

Draco sat on a chair next to the bed as Hermione held his hand tightly, almost crushing it to a bloody pulp while she pushed.

"Come on, Mrs. Malfoy, one more big push! The head is almost out!"

Hermione, who was on the verge of blacking out from lack of oxygen, sucked in a huge breath and pushed with all her might. She felt pressure and then a feeling like something slithering really fast out of her.

Afterwards, the baby's loud, vigorous cry filled the room as it was cleaned off and wrapped in a little pink blanket. Draco kissed Hermione on her hot, feverish lips; he was crying, and so was she.

"May I present to you my granddaughter, Jade," Narcissa said, handing the pink bundle to Hermione.

"Oh, look at her little face!" Hermione gushed. "And her little fingers!" Hermione kissed the baby gently on her bald head. "Hi, little baby," she whispered. "Your mummy loves you."

"Okay, Hermione, you need to rest, and the baby needs her rest as well," Narcissa said sternly.

Hermione handed the baby to Draco, and he gently carried her over to the rocking chair in the corner. He sat, holding his precious daughter, his heart bursting with love. Never before and never again would he have this strong of a feeling. This was the love that a parent felt when setting eyes on their first-born child; it was like no other.

Hermione watched as Draco rocked the baby, a foreboding feeling overcoming her. He looked so happy, so in love with his child, how was she ever going to tell him that their daughter was going to break his heart? She swallowed the lump in her throat and decided that she wouldn't have to tell him because she was going to make sure that Jade would be different this time, that somehow she would be able to help her daughter to sidestep her sad future.