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Dataset card Data Studio Files
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"Yes, sir," Draco answered, "As soon as we can get the wedding planned."
"And how many votes can you count on?" Jon asked.
"Ten," Draco answered.
Jon looked astonished by the news. "Ten, you say. How'd you get so many?"
"Hermione's friends and my friends make up a majority of the council, even if they don't always go to meetings. I've convinced them to take a more active part in our government over the recent months," Draco answered, trying not to sound smug as he delivered the news.
Jon looked impressed. "That's still not a two-thirds majority if everyone shows up," Jon said.
"That is true," Draco allowed, "Hermione and I were hoping to gain your support." Draco wandered away from Jon further into the kennel. "Hermione's had a very difficult time," Draco said, barely loud enough to be heard over the sound of the crups.
"Yes, I imagine it isn't easy finding out your spouse cheated on you," Jon said.
"I'm afraid it was more than just cheating," Draco said, not elaborating further, "Then with the attack and his trial, I'm afraid it's been very stressful for Hermione."
"Not very good for a pregnant woman to be subjected to such environments," Jon added supportively.
"And there are her daughters to think about as well," Draco added solemnly, picking up a small, white puppy with brown patches on its ears and feet. The crup's forked tail wagged happily as Draco pet the dog.
"They'll need a strong father figure now," Jon said pompously, "certainly one that can provide better for them than a Weasley."
Draco set the puppy back down in its stall with its littermates. He had to hide the grin on his face from Jon. The discussion was going better than he hoped.
"Scorpius, of course, adores Hermione," Draco added with a small smile.
"So sad for a boy to be without a mother for so long," Jon said, "Of course, I'm sure your mother did the best she could."
"My mother was a godsend," Draco said, "We would've been completely lost without her. Of course, it's not the same though." Draco sighed.
Jon nodded sympathetically. "A man is in need of a wife's softening influence to make life more bearable."
"I'm so glad you understand," Draco said, looking at Jonathan Parkinson as if he'd found a kindred spirit.
Jon clapped his hand on Draco's back warmly. "Of course I understand. I'm a family man, much like yourself." Jon led the way out of the kennels. "Let it never be said that Jonathan Parkinson refused to help a woman and her children in need," Jon intoned, waving a plump finger in the air.
Draco sagged in pretend relief and turned away as if overcome by emotion. They all had their parts to play after all.
"You've no idea the weight you've lifted off my shoulders," Draco said with emotion.
"I'm happy to help, my boy," Jon said, gripping Draco's shoulder tightly.
They returned to the solarium. Hermione and Draco took their leave of the Parkinsons. Hermione promised to return with Draco's mother for tea at a later date.
Draco flopped down on the sofa at Spinner's End, pleased with the way things had gone at the Parkinson's. Everyone had gotten something by the meeting. Posie Parkinson had juicy gossip that would no doubt be making the rounds of high society by the end of the week. Draco really needed to warn Harry and Ginny. Jonathan Parkinson got to look like he was helping Draco and Hermione get their happy ending, without having to reveal his true intentions. Draco and Hermione got the vote they wanted.
Draco kissed Hermione's temple as she sagged down beside him, giggling slightly. "You would've made an admirable Slytherin," he praised her.
"Not as good as the lion you're turning out to be," Hermione said, kissing him before he even had a chance to pretend that it was an insult.
Dinner with the Notts
Evening of January 16th
Draco and Hermione stepped into the receiving room at Nott Manor at half-past six o'clock in the evening. Since Theo became "Lord of the Manor" after the incarceration of his father, the ancestral Nott home became more of a home rather than an expensive showpiece.
They stepped out into a receiving room that had Daphne's stamp clear on it. White marble floors were covered in thick, rugs with a blue and green floral motif. Where the Parkinson's showed off notable ancestors, Daphne chose landscape paintings to adorn the walls.
Draco led Hermione out of the empty receiving room and to the downstairs parlor he knew Theo and Daphne used the most when entertaining. Draco pushed open the heavy oak door and found that they were the last to arrive.
The downstairs parlor was decorated in cobalt blue and lilac. The walls were painted cobalt blue. The large windows that dominated two of the walls of the room were hung with gauzy lilac curtains. A large crystal chandelier hung from the center of the room. Beneath the chandelier was a large glass coffee table with an ornate silver base curling out beneath it. Circled around the coffee table were a collection of light gray armchairs and slightly curved sofas.
Astoria had thought it immensely hilarious when her sister had created a round sitting room for hosting parties. She'd teased Daphne about trying to recreate King Arthur's round table. As a joke, Astoria gave her sister a painting of Camelot for her birthday the year before she died. The painting held pride of place over the mantel and roaring fireplace. On either side of the painting stood two miniature suits of armor on the mantel.
While the room had always reminded Astoria of King Arthur, it had always reminded Draco of an informal version of the Wizengamot council chambers. Draco, Daphne, and Theo had all told Astoria about the council chamber and how it was decorated, specifically with the round table and the family crest magically emblazoned on the table. They all found the room cold and pretentious.
Rose and Albus were running madly around the inside of the circle, narrowly missing crashing into the furniture and ignoring the admonishments of the adults to slow down.
Ginny sat in an armchair with Harry perched on the arm. She appeared to be telling some story that had the rest of the group laughing uproariously.
Blaise was taking up another armchair with Tracey in his lap. Helena and Greg were taking up one sofa to themselves. Greg narrowly caught Albus as he tried zipping by them and got caught up on Greg's feet. Theo was standing in front of the roaring fireplace, a grin on his face as he surveyed the group. Hannah, Neville, and Luna took up another sofa and were talking to Narcissa, seated in an armchair beside them.
The door opened behind them, and Draco had to dance out of the way to keep it from hitting them. Daphne entered the room. The three of them stood in the doorway, unnoticed by the rest of the group.
"Did you ever think to see such a thing?" Daphne asked, gesturing at the group in front of them, laughing and getting along.
"We've certainly come a long way from Hogwarts," Hermione acknowledged.
Daphne turned to them with her hands on her hips and gave them a stern look. "Now," she said in a no-nonsense tone, "you two have some explaining to do."
Draco bit back a grin. "Do you mind if we explain only once to the room?" he asked.
"By all means," Daphne said loudly, gaining the attention of the others in the room. "I'm sure the rest of your friends would like to know what's going on in your lives."
The rest of the room went silent and stared at Draco and Hermione in expectation. Draco led Hermione over to a vacant armchair and sat on the arm while she settled herself in the cushioned depths of the chair.
"Well, where to begin?" Hermione asked, looking up at Draco and biting her lip.
"The beginning is always a good start," Harry prodded good-naturedly.
Hermione pulled up the sleeve of her sweater to reveal the glittering Malfoy cuff. "I guess this would be the beginning then. In November, I woke up with this small bit of bling on my arm. Draco and I had just kissed for the first time the night before and decided to be in a relationship. So, of course, I acted in a calm, mature manner when I woke up to find myself adorned in jewelry that I couldn't get off." Hermione smiled wryly as she said the last sentence.
Draco snorted. He wasn't alone in his reaction. All the Gryffindors in the room made similar sounds of disbelief.
"How bad did she hex you?" Ginny asked with some amusement.
"Forgot her wand in her bedroom when she came pounding on my bedroom door to yell at me," Draco answered drily. "Thankfully," he added.
"Once I finally calmed down," Hermione started again.
"And apologized," Draco added.
"Wait," Harry interjected, "you got Hermione to apologize for something."
The Gryffindors laughed again. Hermione looked like she wanted to throw something at her best friend.
"I am fully capable of admitting when I'm wrong," Hermione protested, then she added smugly and crossed her arms over her chest, "It just so happens that I'm not wrong that often."
Draco picked up the story then, amid the laughter hanging in the room. "Mother helped calm Hermione's panic, and that's how we found out that we're soulmates. An ancestor with misguided romantic notions decided to create a spell that would cause the cuff to appear on the arm of his soulmate and those of future generations of Malfoy mates, though each cuff is different for each couple. Seemed to think a witch wouldn't mind a cuff with the Malfoy seal appearing suddenly on her arm without warning."
Their audience listened wrapt to Draco and Hermione's story. The ladies looked to be melting by the news that they were soulmates.
"We didn't tell any of you at first," Hermione looked pleadingly around their circle of friends, "It was a lot to take in. Certainly more than either of us expected in a newly formed relationship."
Hermione sought out Draco's hand and grasped it tightly. He smoothed his free hand through her curls.
"We were going to tell you after the ball," Draco explained. "With everything that happened though," Draco paused and shrugged his shoulders, "it just got away from us."
A quiet moment settled over the group. Draco imagined the stress that they all went through while he was in a coma. The betrayal that some, like Harry and Ginny, must have felt at Weasley's attempt to kill Hermione. Hermione's guilt and worry. His mother's fear for his life.
"I adopted Minerva," Draco announced to end the pall that hung over the room.
Heads jerked suddenly in his direction, those that this was news to. Others smiled faintly, knowing the reasoning behind such an action.
"Why?" Helena asked delicately, looking with curiosity between Hermione and Draco.
"Minerva had a difficult time dealing with Ron's attack," Hermione explained, "She had an identity crisis and needed a change."
"She looks like Scorpius," Neville spoke up, "It's a little eerie how similar they look. Practically twins."
"How in the hell did you make her look like you?" Theo asked with incredulity from his place by the fireplace.
"Blood magic," Hermione answered simply.
A house elf in a stiff looking miniature tuxedo came into the room and bowed low. He looked over to Daphne and intoned solemnly, "Dinner is served, Madame."
"Thank you, Mr. Carson," Daphne said with a kind smile.
The elf exited the room, the door closing soundlessly behind him.
Hermione broke into peals of laughter and Daphne smiled at her, trying to suppress her own laughter.
"Hermione, stop," Daphne chided, "You can't be laughing when we go into the dining room."
Hermione sobered a little. Little snorts of laughter escaped, and she wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry. I just had trouble picturing it when you told me that your house elf watched too much Downton Abbey."
"He's got the elves dressed to the nines every day," Daphne whispered loudly with an air of exasperation, "I feel like we should start dressing for dinner just to keep up with them."
"You freed your house elves?" Draco turned to ask Theo.
Theo shook his head. "They made the clothes themselves. Bertie, or Mr. Carson now, started watching that show on the telly and informed us that they would all be wearing a uniform from now on," Theo said with wry amusement. "Be glad your house elf wears a tutu."
Draco shrugged, "Well she's free, and I don't really care what she wears."
The group adjourned to dinner doing their best to do a non-giggling imitation of lords and ladies. The large dining table was decked out in the Nott's best linens and silverware. Draco was sure the Nott china was under the domed silver cloches on the table. The walls of the dining room were papered with a red and gold filigreed wallpaper. Draco wondered if it was Daphne's doing to put such Gryffindorish colors on the walls. He couldn't remember what the dining room had looked like while the manor was under the control of Thoros Nott.
Draco and Hermione found themselves seated to the left of Theo at the head of the table. Traditionally, it was an honored distinction to be seated to the left of the host. Considering how "upset" Daphne supposedly was at them, Draco would have been more surprised to be at the end of the table near the children. Rose and Albus took up the foot of the table, seated on a cushioned chairs that had been elevated so that they could eat comfortably
Elves guided the rest of the guests to their seats. Harry and Ginny were placed next to Daphne with Neville and Hannah on the other side of Ginny. Blaise and Tracey sat next to Hermione with Greg and Helena at the end of the table. Luna and Narcissa took up the other end with Narcissa seated closest to the children.
Mr. Carson snapped his fingers and wine glasses were filled with elf wine or sparkling cider for the three pregnant ladies. Glasses of milk were filled for the two children. Another snap of the butler elf's fingers and the cloches were lifted off the plates and stacked neatly onto the sideboard.
Beneath the cloches were slivers of thinly cut pork roast with its juices used as a gravy, roasted fingerling potatoes, and fresh green beans sauteed in garlic and lemon butter. The savory smells of the roast pork battled with the yeasty aroma of the hot rolls on their own small plate in front of the main course. Draco could feel himself start to salivate in anticipation. He'd worked up an appetite while trying to conjure a Patronus today.
"Will there be anything else, Madame?" Mr. Carson asked Daphne.
"Thank you, Mr. Carson," Daphne said regally, "That will be all for now. This looks sumptuous. Please give my compliments to Biscuit."
The house elf bowed stiffly and exited the dining room.
Theo raised his glass in a toast, and everyone copied his gesture, even Rose and Albus with their raised glasses of milk.
"To good friends and good health," Theo said. "Cheers!"
"Cheers!" they all said, and the sounds of children's voices could be heard over the rest of the group.
Glasses were clinked against one another with sounds of crystal chiming in the air. Rose and Albus clinked their glasses together with a bit too much enthusiasm. Milk sloshed amid childish laughter. Narcissa's wand was pulled out, and the mess cleaned up before the house elves could sense a disturbance in the force and pop in to investigate.
The children were chided back into an air of civility by Narcissa and Helena, and stern looks sent down the table by Hermione and Ginny. Dinner passed quietly with inconsequential small talk filtering between groups amid bites of food.
"Hermione," Blaise started with a curious tone and a mischievous grin.
"Yes, Blaise," Hermione answered, taking a sip of her cider and setting the flute back down on the table.
The others around the table stopped eating and talking to look at Hermione. Rose and Albus continued their conversation of which was better: a dragon or a unicorn.
"I notice that you're not drinking the elf wine. Is there some happy news you'd like to impart to us?" Blaise finished with a smirk into his wine glass.
A few giggles and smirks passed around the table. It wasn't like there was a need for an announcement. It was evident that Hermione's pregnancy was a well-known secret among their group.
"Hermione's pregnant," Draco blurted out before Hermione could calmly impart their news.
"Hah!" Theo exclaimed and pointed at Harry, "I told you he would say it first. That's ten galleons you owe me."
Harry good-naturedly passed down a bag of coins to Theo. "I thought for sure she'd be bursting to tell everyone."
Ginny smacked Harry on the arm. "I told you not to make that bet," Ginny scolded.