Chapter 28

Beside Lucius on the loveseat, Draco let out a groan. Lucius knew that he had stiffened, as any man would, at the undesirable sight of his ex-wife.

"Narcissa," Lucius said civilly, wondering why he felt as though he'd been caught out at something. He and Draco were sitting rather closely, but his former wife certainly knew that they shared a friendship these days.

Actually, Narcissa almost certainly knew that they shared more than friendship: namely, that they shared Hermione Granger. And that was doubtless the reason for Narcissa's visit. Lucius could only be glad that Hermione was at the Weasleys, most likely dealing with a confrontation every bit as awkward as this one promised to be.

"Lucius," Narcissa responded. "Draco." There was coldness in her voice even for her son, and Lucius knew this was going to be very ugly, indeed.

Father and son both rose to greet her, Lucius setting a distant kiss on the air beside her cheek, and Draco embracing her lightly and accepting the kiss she bestowed upon him. All three stood awkwardly, seemingly uncertain of the protocol. Narcissa had only very rarely visited since their divorce, and Lucius almost always made it a point to not be there when she was.

"Well, shall we adjourn to the sitting room? As quaint as it is to sit in the library, I feel the proprieties must be maintained in some things, don't you, Lucius?"

After the emphasis on some things, Lucius had no doubt that she planned to make her feelings known on the supposed impropriety of having Hermione Granger in their lives.

Lucius led the way. He heard Narcissa ask Draco about his work, responding appropriately when he told her that he'd been let go. Most likely, Narcissa already knew about that as well.

"Please, have a seat, Narcissa," Lucius cordially invited, even though she had already been about to make herself at home. She froze halfway through sitting, as though realising she'd not been technically invited, and that this was no longer her home. If nothing else, she could be counted on to observe the niceties, even if they wouldn't appear as such once her barbed tongue began its work.

"So, Mother, what brings you to Wiltshire?"

Narcissa arranged her robes royally around her, only deigning to respond once she was adequately situated. "Well, though you may find it difficult to believe, delivery of the Daily Prophet does extend to Italy, even if the translation charm is a little inaccurate at times. This inaccuracy is the reason I thought it was time for a visit. You see... and it's so silly, really, but they've been reporting that both you, Draco, and your father, have been cavorting with a Mudblood."

Draco opened his mouth to object to the epithet, though Narcissa took the objection to be denial of the cavorting.

"No, no, Draco. I did not believe it, of course. Especially after the follow-up article regarding what your father allegedly said in front of the Board of Directors. Though I don't necessarily approve of the... vocal way your father decided to voice his opinion, I am much more familiar with that attitude than the one the Prophet originally quoted."

Lucius sighed. Postponing the inevitable, he called out for a house-elf.

"Yes, Master Lucius?" Gibby immediately inquired.

"Please bring tea for us, and perhaps some scones."

"Yes, Master Lucius. Oh!" the house-elf cried, having spotted Narcissa. "Gibby is so happy to have Mistress home! But that isn't to say Gibby isn't... doesn't like new Mistress!"

Narcissa's eyes widened, and Lucius thought perhaps tea hadn't been the best idea.

The poor house-elf didn't seem to know what to do with herself, uncertain if she'd said a good or bad thing. Despite the education of the Malfoy indentured elves, they sometimes slipped into less formal language in times of excitement and stress, and Gibby was currently muttering under her breath about new Mistress trying to cook in Gibby's kitchen.

"That's enough, Gibby," Draco said, lips twitching. "We'll have that tea, now."

Gibby popped away immediately. Lucius looked at his ex-wife. She obviously had a lot to say, but her good breeding would have her keeping her tongue until the elf had returned with tea and departed again.

After tea was poured and Gibby had seen that Narcissa's favourite jam had been placed in full view, the house-elf left, and Lucius waited for what he'd hoped to avoid, perhaps indefinitely.

"New Mistress?" she spat.

"Now, Mother," Draco began, but Lucius could tell he wasn't displeased to see his mother so discomfited.

"Don't you Mother me, Draco! I demand to know exactly what is going on here!"

Lucius remembered Narcissa's cool fury all too well: the fire in her eyes like a branding iron, only freezing cold instead of scorching hot. There had been a time, a long-ago time, when she'd been beautiful, but she hadn't changed, and Lucius had.

"The first Prophet article was true, Mother. Father and I are both in a relationship with Hermione Granger."

Narcissa sucked in air through her teeth, but there was no other outward reaction. "Why?" she asked in a low, insistent tone.

"Ms. Granger is a lovely and brilliant witch, Narcissa. Draco and I are lucky to have her in our lives. However, I cannot see how any of this is your business. You've made it very clear that you want nothing to do with the Malfoy name except the stipend provided through it."

"Oh, no, Lucius? You cannot see how this is my business? That is very interesting, seeing as Draco is my son as well, and you've obviously... corrupted him!"

Not for many years, Lucius thought. Any corruption he'd done had been in Draco's introduction to pure-blood politics. After the fall of the Dark Lord, there had been no further corruption.

"No, I made this decision of my own free will. Really, have you just come to cause trouble, or would it be possible to have a nice, friendly visit?" The ironic tone in Draco's voice told Lucius that he believed no such thing, but he always did relish in goading his mother.

"I most certainly have not come to make trouble, and I resent that you would say such a thing, Draco. I know these past few years have put some distance between us, but I love you very much, you must understand that."

Draco nodded slowly. Lucius knew Narcissa was telling the truth. She did love her son, and she always had. She had done her very best throughout their marriage to protect Draco, from himself, from others, and even from Lucius' mistakes...but that wasn't to say she hadn't had her own ideas.

"I do know that, and I appreciate it. But I love Hermione. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I won't give her up for anything. And Father and I are happy with her. It may not be conventional, but it works for us."

Narcissa's face had grown tight when Draco had spoken of love, but when he'd stopped speaking; her eyes became suspicious and calculating.

"A triad, then?" she asked, seemingly casual. Lucius inwardly groaned, immediately knowing where she would take this. Draco, not having the same innate understanding of Narcissa that he did, nodded eagerly.

"Yes, a triad. And it's wonderful! Watch this." Draco placed his wand on the table and whispered the Disillusionment spell. Immediately, he faded into the sofa pattern, only a very subtle shimmer visible to give away his location.

Draco's wandless magic was impressive and only getting better. Lucius couldn't help but feel proud, even though he knew what was about to happen.

"Draco, this is marvellous! The things you could do... why, you're probably more powerful that Harry Potter now, and they say that he's the most powerful wizard in the world!"

Her eyes were swirling with avarice, and Lucius felt a moment's disgust that his own eyes should ever had betrayed the same greed, which they surely must have.

"I don't think so," Draco said, frowning. "Harry's more than capable of wandless magic himself, and even if he weren't, his inherent magical ability is like nothing I've ever seen. I couldn't hope to achieve that level of power. That's not what a triad is about, anyway."

"Of course not," she murmured distractedly. "Longer lifespan, though, yes?"

Lucius interjected. "Narcissa, you are much too transparent. I know what you are leading toward, and I recommend, for the sake of our son's respect, that you cease this line of questioning. Draco is not in the triad for power, nor am I. Hermione Granger is not either, for that matter. You'd do well to remember that if we're to continue this conversation."

Narcissa looked only a little chagrined. "Very well, if you insist. I must ask, though. How did Ms. Granger react to being told that Draco must father an heir with someone else? I can't imagine that having gone over very well," she said, chuckling without true humour.

Draco's eyes widened, and he immediately turned toward Lucius. Lucius waved a hand dismissively. "Hermione was told no such thing. Draco will not be fathering a pure-blood heir unless he finds the triad dissatisfactory and no longer wants to be a part of it. If such a thing never occurs, and I do hope it shan't, Draco's children will be by Hermione."

A nearly inaudible sigh of relief came from his son, and Lucius patted his hand comfortingly. Lucius remembered all too well what it was like to have the pressures of a hundred generations on his narrow-feeling shoulders. There had been a time when he'd taken the responsibility with pride, and in a way, he still did. Having Draco was the most important thing he'd ever done, though it had taken him much too long to realise it. He wouldn't place that sort of pressure on Draco, especially now that Lucius knew Draco loved Hermione.

Lucius suddenly noticed that Narcissa was staring at him. "Draco has a duty to..."

"No," Lucius denied easily. "Draco has a duty to himself. He will be happy in this life, as it is the only one he will ever have. You and I both came to understand how important love is to a marriage. Draco will have that with Hermione."

He watched his ex-wife narrow her eyes at him. There was nothing she could do legally or politically, but she could make their lives together very uncomfortable.

Lucius wouldn't deny having loved her at one point. She'd been beautiful and so like him in ways that had seemed so important at the time. But their love hadn't been resilient, and resentment and bitterness had forced them to distance themselves from one another long before the idea of divorce even came to either of their minds.

"Mother," Draco said in a quiet voice. Narcissa's face softened as she turned to look at him. "We will give you grandchildren. Beautiful, brilliant grandchildren. I hope you can look past your prejudices to be a part of their lives. I won't have them learning the same ideals I was overwhelmed with from birth. But I do want you to know them."

Narcissa suddenly laughed. "Grandchildren? How can you be sure they will be my grandchildren? How can you be sure they won't be your half-siblings? Dear Merlin, you'll never be able to tell, you realise this? Does the idea of family mean nothing to either of you? How can you destroy both of our lines so needlessly? And how could that Mudblood..."

But faster than Lucius could even follow, Draco had wandlessly thrown up a Silencing Spell around his mother. She continued to tirade soundlessly for a moment before realising what had happened. Her lips tightened, and she threw decades of practised hatred through her glare.

Draco only crossed his arms pointedly and looked toward the Floo.

As Narcissa stormed toward it and impatiently waited for Draco to lift the spell so she could speak the address of her villa in Italy, Lucius knew he'd never been so proud of his son.

Especially as he added, "Owl us when you're ready, Mother."

Lucius immediately changed the wards to reject her, blocking her Floo access as well. Something he should have done a long time ago, apparently.

"Hermione, love, you have to understand that we're only trying to help," Mrs. Weasley said for what felt like the eleventh time.

No matter that Hermione insisted the situation wasn't something with which she needed help.

"But Mum, she's saying that the second article was taken out of context. She's explained that! Jeez, wish I had two men to call my own," Ginny finished in a faux-petulant tone.

"Ginny!" Ron groaned, dropping his head into his folded arms on the tabletop. Seemed he'd spent a lot of the conversation in that position.

Just as Harry had spent most of the conversation staunchly by her, explaining things when it became apparent that no one really intended to listen to her, despite her being the reason for this little coup.

Ron was surprisingly supportive as well, not letting his mother make insinuations about Hermione's character, however well-intentioned Mrs. Weasley claimed them to be. He just didn't much like to hear about the specifics of Hermione's choices.

Arthur Weasley wasn't home at the moment, which was probably why Hermione, Ginny, Ron, and Harry were all having trouble holding their own against the Weasley matriarch.

"But the things that Lucius Malfoy said... that alone is proof that he hasn't changed!"

"I disagree," Hermione said gently. "I knew beforehand what he said and why he said it. I know it seems hard to believe, but he did it for me, for us."

"He called you a...!"

"I know what he said, Mrs. Weasley. And you can be sure I'm not happy about it. But I'm not unhappy with him about it, either. I understand. And I respect the fact that you can't."

"It's not about understanding," Mrs. Weasley said heatedly. "It's about respect. A man should never say those things about a woman he's involved with! I just don't think... I don't think he's good enough!"

And Hermione knew that was what it all came down to; and there was nothing she could say to change Mrs. Weasley's mind. Perhaps if it had been only Draco, she wouldn't have been so adamant about him having ulterior motives. As it was, the idea of Lucius and Draco together was too much for her to deal with.

"Thank you for saying that, but I think they are good for me, and I hope to be so for them."

Mrs. Weasley's face was a rather interesting shade of puce, but she didn't respond.

If Hermione could only hold out until Mr. Weasley returned, she knew he'd be able to explain things to his wife in a way that would help the situation.

Unfortunately, Hermione's hopes on that account were dashed.

"Now, I'm not normally one to speak against another wizard, especially one who has obviously made attempts to pay restitution the way Malfoy has," Mr. Weasley began when he arrived home from work to see his wife in a dither and Hermione frustrated enough to pull her hair out. "But a few donations and a paradigm shift does not make a man reformed. And even if it did, Hermione, it doesn't forgive his past. For Merlin's sake, the man ordered you to be tortured! He almost killed Ginny!"

Ginny looked really uncomfortable at having been involved in that way, and Hermione knew that despite her friend's comments about Hermione's relationship, she was actually not entirely approving of the situation. But Hermione was grateful that her friendship with Ginny went beyond the young woman's misgivings. And Hermione knew that if the Weasleys could give the Malfoys a chance (another chance, she mentally amended), they would be pleased with the changes.

At this point, however, Hermione was beginning to think that there was nothing she could say to impress upon Mr. and Mrs. Weasley that she was happy and in a consensual relationship.

"Look," she said wearily, sparing a smile for Harry when he squeezed her hand. "I know you may not like it. I understand why. But we're living in a new world order, in case anyone hasn't noticed! We're going around touting acceptance and denouncing bigotry, but we aren't giving a chance to those who deserve it. Draco and Lucius have made horrible mistakes over the years, and they don't deny that. Nor do they claim that everything they did was under duress. Some of it was done because they...Lucius, at least...believed it was absolutely the right thing to do. We can sit here and talk about brainwashing and indoctrination, but the fact of the matter is, I know they've changed. I know it in my heart, and I know it in my head, and you've all trusted your lives to what I know! Please trust me that I can handle myself, and that I know what I'm doing. And if you can't, I hope you come around. If not, my door...at Malfoy Manor...is always open."

Hermione took a deep breath and looked to everyone at the table. Harry looked proud of her, and she was thankful for his seemingly unconditional support. His and Ron's opinions were the ones that mattered most, as her best friends. Harry was obviously not exactly approving of her new life, but he accepted that it was her choice, and he wanted her to be happy...he'd said as much when she'd first arrived at the Burrow.

Ron looked as though he was considering, and she wondered what was going through his head. He couldn't really bear to hear Hermione speak of her relationship in any more than a very general fashion, but she could deal with that.

Ginny was smiling, looking proud of her friend. Hermione wished that dating Lucius didn't feel a little bit like a betrayal, because of what Ginny had gone through in her first year, but Ginny had assured Hermione that amends had been made, which Hermione wondered about but didn't ask.

Mrs. Weasley looked disturbed and horrified, and Hermione thought it was not because she felt embarrassed about she'd said, but that Hermione obviously had no intention of heeding her complaints. Mr. Weasley just look tired.

"I do hope you know what you're getting into with them, Hermione," Mr. Weasley said wearily. He rubbed his forehead. "And, of course, our door is always open to you, as well."

"But Arthur, she obviously has no id..."

"Molly," he said in a low, soothing voice. Mrs. Weasley pinched her lips shut but held her tongue. "This is Hermione's decision. She'd an adult. She's not under any compulsion spells or curses. This is what she wants, and she's happy. We may not like it..." At this, Mrs. Weasley harrumphed, but then looked immediately chagrined. "...But we must accept it."

Everyone at the table was still as Mrs. Weasley appeared to be fighting a battle with herself.

"Well, I do hope you know what you're doing, dear," said Mrs. Weasley in a defeated tone that still managed to hold some censure. "But as my husband said, we will, of course, be here when you come to your se..."

"Mum!" Ron shouted, exasperated.

"Sorry," she said, smiling a little bitterly. "If you come to your senses."

Ginny groaned, Ron's head fell back into his arms, Harry smiled grimly, and Mr. Weasley just looked bleak.

Hermione wanted to go home.

"She was right about one thing," Draco said quietly, moving to sit beside Lucius on the sofa. Lucius was glad for that fact; he'd been worried Draco would take his mother's words seriously and perhaps even experience a change of heart. But Draco was obviously made of stronger stuff than that, and Lucius shouldn't have doubted him.

"I'm sure I don't agree, but go on," Lucius said dryly. The worst thing about Narcissa's visit had been the glimpse into the past it had provided. He didn't like thinking of how he'd been before the Dark Lord had been defeated, but with her around, it was too difficult to avoid. That had played a part, albeit small, in their divorce. Lucius had needed someone to change and grow with him, and she'd been altogether too eager to remain the same.

"If were to have children, we won't know who the father is," Draco said solemnly.

Lucius thought about that. "Does that matter?"

His son looked shocked. "I think so! I mean, doesn't it?"

He shrugged elegantly. "Only in the most basic sense. Any child I have with Hermione will not be heir to the Manor and the Malfoy fortune. Your first son will be. What if the first son born is mine?"

Draco frowned. "I hadn't even thought of that. Is there a way to tell?"

"I'm sure there is. But that won't solve the problem. If the firstborn son is mine, we will have to explain to him why he is not the heir, despite all appearances to the contrary."

"Maybe we shouldn't ever find out," Draco mused, biting his lower lip.

"It's certainly an option. We could remain ignorant and leave the inheritance to the firstborn son, regardless of his paternity. It may be contested in future, however, if one of his brothers decide that his claim to the title is not legitimate."

"So what do we do?"

Lucius honestly didn't know. "Hope for girls?" he suggested.

"That just creates an entirely new set of problems. Namely, that I have no idea how to raise a daughter." Draco chuckled, but Lucius sensed that this was a real concern covered up with bravado.

"You won't be alone," he said softly.

Draco nodded. "But even with girls, someone will have to be the heir, and we'll have the same issue."

"True," Lucius agreed. "We could leave it all to the children, equally. The Manor's entailed, so it's not as though they could sell it. The fortune could be divided thus. It will significantly reduce the coffers, but if the children have the sense of family which I hope to impart on them, it won't matter."

Draco sighed and leaned back in his seat. "It doesn't matter right now, anyway. We'll deal with that when we come to it. I'm sure Hermione has some ideas, too."

Lucius smiled. Of that, one could always be sure.

An owl tapping on the sitting room window drew his attention away from the puzzle at hand. Only certain owls were able to circumvent the redirection to the spare room across the manor, where all the nasty letters and howlers were being sent. This was Celeste's owl.

Draco wandlessly opened the window, and the small creature flew in, gracefully dropping the note on the seat between them and flying away without waiting for a response.

Lucius cracked the seal. He hadn't heard from the other triad in some time, and he frowned at his negligence in informing them of what had been happening. They might have had some advice, even though they'd never gone properly public with their relationship.

Lucius,

Celeste

Draco had been reading over his shoulder, and for once, Lucius didn't mind.

This could change things.

But Lucius shook that thought away. This would change nothing. Draco and Hermione were happy with him, and he, them. Everything would be fine. And Celeste would find someone better suited to her needs, and Michael and Thello would be very happy together.

Celeste was clearly melancholy, and Lucius made a mental note to visit her the next day, if he could.

"Wow," Draco said slowly, taking the letter and putting it on the table.

The Floo suddenly sounded, and Hermione stumbled through. She smiled upon seeing them, and despite his regret over Celeste's note, he couldn't help but return it.

A quick spell had the soot banished, and Hermione quickly strode toward them. Draco moved over only slightly on the sofa and pulled Hermione down between them. She laughed and kissed Draco in greeting.

As always, his son tried to make more of the kiss, but Hermione pushed him away in favour of greeting Lucius in kind. Her lips were soft and searching, and he thought it likely that she sensed his mood.

She raised her eyebrows in question to him, and he sighed. He had much to tell her, but not much he actually wanted to say.