Summary: Hermione always knew Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy hated her and her kind, but she was never one to back down from a challenge. When Draco announces his parents insist on meeting with his fiance, Hermione is wary but accepts. If only she'd feigned sickness.

No-war AU.

Draco watched Hermione fret over her outfit from the doorway for a few more seconds before stepping into the room. As soon as he moved, she jumped and looked at him. Her face turned red and she smoothed out her sundress as Draco walked toward her and gently took her hand.

"You look nervous," Draco teased. Hermione rolled her eyes, but let him pull her to his chest. He kissed the side of her head and she leaned into the touch. "I'll be with you the entire time, I swear."

He knew how his parents were going to react and he knew leaving Hermione for even a minute could put her in danger. His father had been strict and hadn't refrained from hitting when he was upset. The last thing he wanted to do was bring Hermione into his family home and watch his father berate and belittle her, but it had to be done. He needed to tell them before the wedding if he wanted to have any semblance of control.

"It's just tea," Hermione said, though he was certain it was more to herself than to him. "I'll be okay."

They remained hugging for a few minutes before the clock chimed, informing them it was time to go. Draco pulled back first, grabbing Hermione's hand and walking to the Floo. With the wards around the Manor, Hermione couldn't apparate which left only the Floo as a transport method.

"It's just an hour," Draco reminded her, grabbing a handful of Floo powder. He kept ahold of Hermione's hand tightly as he called out for Malfoy Manor and pulled her into the fireplace behind him.

After a couple of seconds of spinning and twisting, they were let out in the drawing room and Draco used his wand to get rid of the ash and dust that hung on their clothes and skin. His parents weren't in sight, but he could hear his mother's heels clicking down the hall. The sound of the Floo had alerted them.

Sure enough, a second later, both Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy stepped into the drawing room. Narcissa smiled at the sight of her son, but stopped abruptly when she spotted Hermione standing beside him.

"Hello," Draco said politely. Hermione squeezed his hand tighter and gave his parents a kind smile. "This is Hermione Granger, though I'm sure you—"

"What is she doing here?" Lucius demanded. Hermione's eyes widened as he raised his voice but Draco didn't flinch. "I said to bring your girlfriend, not your pet."

Hermione wouldn't lie, that stung a bit. She had expected as much, however, and didn't react to Lucius's words. Draco, on the other hand, looked combustible.

"Hermione is my fiancée," Draco said through gritted teeth. "And if you cannot respect her, we will leave."

Lucius and Narcissa stared at them for a full minute. Hermione wanted to shift uncomfortably, but she worried any movement might be what sent Lucius into an attack on her. Instead, she remained stiff and still at Draco's side and waited for the staring to finish.

"Welcome," Narcissa said eventually. It was stiff and clearly Hermione was not actually welcome, but she appreciated the change.

Narcissa stepped forward with her arms outstretched and Draco released her hand just long enough to hug his mother. As soon as Narcissa stepped back, Draco's hand was back in Hermione's. Thankfully, Narcissa didn't attempt to hug Hermione. She gave her a tight smile instead and offered to show Hermione to the tea room. Hermione looked at Draco, panicked about what to do as Narcissa waited for her to follow.

"Go," Draco said softly, nodding at his mother. Hermione released his hand and followed Narcissa silently.

The drawing room doors hadn't even shut before Lucius was yelling at Draco for "—bringing a Mudblood into our—"

The heavy doors slammed shut before Hermione could hear the rest.

The walk to the tea room was uncomfortable and silent save for the whispers of the portraits, but Hermione doubted small talk with Narcissa Malfoy would have made it better. Narcissa directed her to her seat and took the seat directly across from her. Hermione tried not to think about how that left her between Lucius and Draco.

"Draco has spoken very highly of you," Narcissa said, her voice devoid of emotion. Hermione looked up at her, startled that she had even spoken to her. "He hasn't mentioned you by name, of course, and I'm sure you can imagine why, but he does seem to like you very much."

Hermione just nodded. What was she expected to say? Was there anything she could say? Without Draco's help to monitor the situation, she wasn't sure if she would accidentally offend Mrs. Malfoy.

They sat in silence until Draco and Lucius both stormed into the room. The look on Draco's face was murderous, but as soon as he glanced at Hermione, he relaxed. He took his seat beside her and glared at his father who sat on her other side. If Hermione thought sitting alone with Narcissa had been bad, then this was even worse.

"Draco, how have things with the aurors been?" Narcissa asked after everyone had been poured their tea.

Draco's hand was tight on her thigh, but Hermione didn't mind. One of her own hands rested over his in an attempt to help relax him, but she knew as long as they were in the manor, neither of them would be anything less than tense.

Somehow, Narcissa's attempt at small talk relieved some of the tension in the room. Draco continued to occasionally glare at his father and Hermione regularly caught Lucius eyeing her rudely, but by the time Hermione had finished her tea and scone, she was more at ease than when they'd arrived.

"Draco, darling," Narcissa said, putting her hand on his arm. "There are mini quiche pies in the kitchen. Would you go help Dilly bring them up?"

Draco glanced at Hermione and she knew immediately he would refuse. Unfortunately, Hermione also knew how the Malfoys tended to treat their house elves and she could only imagine how Dilly would be treated if she couldn't bring all the quiche pies at once.

"I don't think—"

"It's okay," Hermione whispered. All eyes were on her at the interruption, but she tried to ignore them. She looked at Draco, silently begging him to understand what she was thinking. After several seconds, he nodded.

"The kitchen, you said?" he asked, scooting his chair away from the table. Narcissa nodded and while Draco stood, he eyed his parents. He glanced worriedly at Hermione one last time, but she nodded encouragingly and he left.

"Narcissa, my dear," Lucius said, his eyes not leaving the door Draco had left through. "Do make sure Draco doesn't wander."

Narcissa nodded and stood up without a word, leaving Hermione alone with Lucius. She stared down at her tea cup intently, suddenly regretting sending Draco off. Certainly he'd only be a minute, right? She could be alone with Lucius Malfoy for a minute.

"You are not worthy to carry the Malfoy name," Lucius said, startling her so much she bumped the table and sent the china set rattling. Lucius sneered at her and Hermione looked down at the table with heated cheeks. "My son will grow bored of you eventually and we will have to save him from the damage he does to his name while with you."

"Draco can make his own decisions," Hermione said quietly. Even though she did not look at him, she could feel the anger radiating off of him and knew she'd said the wrong thing.

"You do not have to privilege to speak to me," Lucius snarled. Hermione chanced a glance at him before hurriedly looking away. "Here is what will happen," Lucius ordered, his voice quiet yet demanding. "When you leave here, you will leave my son. If you value your life, you will not speak another word to him or offer any explanation. You will leave England and never speak of this family—"

"I will not," Hermione said, looking up to glare at Lucius.

Before she had even blinked, Lucius was on his feet and had slapped her. The sound echoed in her head as she gasped, looking the other direction while her face stung. She didn't have time to register his wand at her throat before it was stabbing her and breaking the skin just under her chin.

"Father!" Draco yelled. He dropped the quiche pies he'd been carrying and cast a spell before the words had formed on his tongue.

His father flew across the room, slamming into a glass cabinet behind him while Draco rushed to Hermione's side. She jumped when he touched her, but leapt into his arms the second she realised it was him. Draco clung to her tightly, the image of his father towering over her replaying in his mind until he was sure to go insane.

Across the room, his father groaned and Draco sent another stupefy at him before the man could move. Behind him, Dilly popped away with the quiche pies but Draco didn't care. He knew he shouldn't have left Hermione's side while at the manor and now she was paying for it.

"Come on," he murmured, lifting her to her feet. "Let's go home."

Hermione clung to him tightly and he felt anger bubble up in him at the sight of her red cheek. She pulled him toward the door before he could curse his father though.

"Draco," his mother said, standing in the doorway. Draco scowled at her and clutched Hermione tighter.

"You left her," he accused. At the moment, that was just as bad as if his mother had hit Hermione. "You knew he would hurt her, but you left her."

"Draco, I was coming for you," Narcissa said, reaching toward him. Draco stepped back, Hermione still in his arms, and Narcissa frowned. "I promise. I didn't mean to leave her. He was bound to anyway so I—"

"I'm leaving," Draco told her harshly. Narcissa's eyes widened but she didn't move out of the way. "I came here hoping you could at least try to accept Hermione, but no. We're leaving and we won't be coming back."

"Draco, let me make it up to you," Narcissa pleaded. Draco glared at her even as her eyes began to water. Beside him, Hermione was trembling slightly. Still, he hesitated.

His mother had never been one to stand between conflict, yet she had always been there for him. Leaving the manor would mean leaving her and as much as Draco hated his father, he wasn't sure he was ready to leave behind his mother.

"We'll send you an owl," Hermione offered quietly. Narcissa's eyes darted down to her and Draco didn't miss the brief look of irritation. "Draco loves you, but he'll need some time to think. Right now, he can't. Let him send you an owl later."

Draco wanted to say he was perfectly capable of giving her an answer right then, but the look his mother gave Hermione after that shocked him. She seemed to respect Hermione if even a little bit and stepped aside.

"Very well," she said. Draco nodded at her and led Hermione through the house, not glancing back.

He didn't let go of Hermione as they went through the Floo after or even when they arrived home. Luckily for him, she didn't try to pull away. She took him over to the sofa and forced him to sit down. Once he was settled, she sat on his lap facing him and hugged him tightly. With her arms wrapped around him, Draco broke down.

He cried for several minutes and didn't care. Hermione hugged him the entire time and waited until he could breathe properly to lean back so she could look at him.

"Don't shut out your mother, alright?" she said. Draco frowned, but she didn't let him argue. "I know how much you love her and you shouldn't break that relationship for me."

"She knew what would happen if she left you with him," Draco said bitterly.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean she's undeserving of your love," Hermione replied. Draco pursed his lips, clearly trying to think things through. Before he could get too lost in thought, Hermione leaned forward and kissed him. When she pulled away, she smiled warmly at Draco. "At least now we don't have to worry about family reunions."

Draco couldn't help the soft chuckle that escaped him and a second later, he was dragging Hermione back down to meet his lips and thanking Merlin his father hadn't managed to curse her.