Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Forgiven	By : Tassanaburrfoot Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 18105 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever, owned Harry Potter or the books or contents. This work is purely for my own pleasure, no profit to be made.

Chapter List
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Draco threw himself into one of the armchairs in front of the fireplace. Closing his eyes, he snapped, “Maisey!”
A small house-elf appeared at his call. She wore a dull white pillow case and had huge green eyes. “Yes, Master Draco?” she said timidly, her voice portraying her youth.
He did not open his eyes as he continued, “There’s are several bottles of Firewhiskey in the cellar, dating late 1800s. Bring me one that hasn’t been opened with a clean decanter and some glasses. I don’t care which of the bottles you bring, just try not to drop it this time? My father’s study still reeks from the last one you dropped.”
“Yes, sir, Master Draco, sir,” she said. “Maisey will iron her hands again for that, sir.”
He waved a dismissive hand and with a loud pop, she was gone. Moments later, she had returned, placing the items he had requested upon a small table next to the chair he lay across. She was gone an instant later, though Draco hadn’t moved.
With a grunt, he sat up and turned his attention to the bottle. Popping the cork, he filled the decanter up with the liquid before replacing the cork. After pouring a healthy amount of Firewhiskey into one of the glasses, he set the decanter aside and took a deep pull from his glass, nearly emptying the entire glass in one drink. He refilled his glass as nursed his drink while staring into the flames of the fireplace.
Four hours. It had only taken him moments to find the girl. He’d even made nice with the Weasleys and Potter before he found her. Everything had been going so well. His eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out what had went wrong.
The sound of the door opening signaled his mother’s entry and he stifled a moan. He knew this conversation was coming. Glancing at the woman, he nearly cringed at the sight of her happy face. She practically danced to the armchair next to him.
“So, darling, tell Mummy all about it,” she gushed. She clapped her hands together. “Did you sweep her off her feet? Was she as beautiful as you remember?”
“No, Mum,” he answered before taking another pull of his drink. He sighed as he pressed the glass against his forehead. “She was more beautiful.”
Narcissa squealed as she sat back in her chair. She looked at him expectantly. “So, when will she be coming over? You did invite her to dine with us, I presume? After all, it’s only customary to introduce your future bride to your mother.”
Draco stared at his mother for a moment and watched as her face slowly fell when she finally caught sight of his mood. He hated giving her any sort of bad news, not because he feared her or anything. Narcissa doted on her son more than anything, but he knew that every time he had done something wrong, he was met with something far worse than the stern verbal badgering his father would give him. He hated the disappointment that began to fill her expression.
“What happened?” she asked, her smile gone and her eyes filled with sorrow.
Draco sighed and shrugged, turning his attention back to the flames. “I had her, Mother,” he told her. “We danced. We laughed. I can still feel her waist in my hands. I… We were dancing and I had pulled her close, ready to kiss those lips that I knew were begging to be kissed.”
Narcissa sat up. “So, why didn’t you kiss her?” she questioned, her brows furrowing.
He raised an eyebrow. “I wanted to, Mum,” he answered. He held up a hand to show his thumb and forefinger to indicate a very short distance. “I was this close!” He huffed as he threw himself back against the chair. “Then she went on about equal rights and house elf liberation! She started in on our family when Potter approached us. Depraved sods the lot of them. How am I supposed to win her when she won’t even give me a chance?”
“Where was Mr. Weasley?”
He shrugged. “Hell if I know. He wasn’t there. When I asked Granger, she wouldn’t tell me. Just went off about how he hated dancing and had other, more important things to do.”
Narcissa nodded. “Don’t you see, Draco? You couldn’t have asked for a more perfect situation. While the pauper is busy concerning himself with things that are more important,” she emphasized the two words with sarcasm, “than Miss Granger, you can show her just how important she really is. Be there for her. Listen to what she has to say and take a genuine interest in the things that she feels are valuable.”
“She’s working on house-elf rights,” he told her with a groan.
She frowned at that and raised an eyebrow. “Well, you won’t get many points if you have poor Maisey iron her hands at every turn,” she pointed out.
“I didn’t tell her to iron her hands!” he protested
He could tell his mother was thinking and he wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that. “Did anything else happen during the ball?” she asked. “You said Potter was there?”
He nodded. “I even tried to be nice to Potter. The other Weasels were there, too. I managed to speak to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and even sat at their table for a few while I was looking for Granger. Figured she’d come to their table, but when she didn’t, I made an excuse to leave.”
“What did you say to them?” she questioned.
His shoulders lifted slightly as he took another sip of his Firewhiskey. Grimacing, he said, “I apologized to them about things that had happened in the past. Mrs. Weasley seemed to take some form of pity on me. My thoughts were to make nice with them. Get on their good side.”
She smirked. “Yes. That would make getting closer to Miss Granger much easier, but be careful, Draco. Paupers have a tendency of causing people to sympathize with them. Soon, you’ll be giving them money in the hopes of helping them out. But Arthur and Molly made their own choices in life. Remember that. They chose to have so many children without being able to properly fund them. Arthur’s a smart man and could have easily climbed the Ministry ladder, but he refused. That was his decision and his family paid for it.”
The young man found that he couldn’t argue with his mother’s logic. It had been the same thing his father had told him when he was younger. Of course, his father had told him many things that ended up not being true, but Lucius had never intentionally lied to his son and Draco did not believe either of his parents were lying to him about the Weasleys.
“I just don’t know what to do, Mother,” he told her as he poured himself another drink. “Granger is dating Weaselbee. From what I could tell, she’s quite adamant about it, too. She danced with me, yes, but the moment I tried to take it further, she retaliated.”
“Stop drinking that stuff, it’ll make you sick,” his mother scolded as he downed half of his glass in one go. She sighed. “You have to be more suave, Draco. You’re a former Death Eater, so you can’t expect for her to just crawl into your lap at the first opportunity. You need to take your time. Properly woo her. But don’t take too much time. I would like to see my grandchildren before I get too old.”
He made a face. “What will Father say about all of this? My mother setting me up with a Mudblood in hopes that I’ll produce Half-Blood children?”
“Draco Lucius, you watch your tongue!” she hissed, glaring at him. “I never want to hear you speak so disrespectfully of your wife ever again. Do you understand me? As for your father, there isn’t much he can say on the situation, now is there? Because of his actions, our family name has been put to shame. You are doing what you must to ensure our family’s future! Half-Bloods aren’t so bad, not if you pair them with Purebloods. And Hermione was the smartest witch in school, was she not? She’s beautiful, intelligent, and if the stories are correct, quite witty. She’ll be a wonderful addition to our family and will only make our bloodline stronger. If your father has any sense, which I assure you he does, he’ll see the benefit of adding this particular Muggle-born to our family.”
“But she is a Muggle-born, Mother,” he pointed out, though there was little fight left in him. Between the Firewhiskey and his mother’s badgering, he just couldn’t continue to refuse her. “And she’s not my wife. She isn’t even my girlfriend.”
“Yet,” she corrected with a single finger in the air. “But you do your part, charm her, and you’ll have her eating out of your palm before you know it. Never mind her blood status. Just focus on what you can do to make her happy.”
He gave a frustrated sigh as he let the matter drop for the time being. There was little point in arguing and he was sloshed. Leaning back against the chair, he stared into the fire, allowing the dancing flames to lull him to sleep.
(II)(II)
Draco read through the documents again. “Maisey!” he called as he shuffled through the papers.
The little house elf appeared and bowed low to Draco. “Master Draco called for me?” she asked, her voice cracked.
The wizard stopped what he was doing and looked at the small elf. His eyes wandered over her tattered tea towel that she used as clothing and her bare, dirty toes. If Granger were staying within the walls of the Manor, she would have a fit at the state Maisey was in and Draco knew it. The scrawny little elf looked malnourished the way her skin seemed to sag off her bones.
“Maisey, I want you to take better care of yourself,” he told the elf. “Have that towel clean and pressed and keep it clean. Also, eat a bit more, I can see your ribs. What is the state of your bed?”
The elf’s wide eyes stared at him in awe. “M-my bed?”
Draco’s eyes narrowed. “You have a bed, I know you do.”
She glanced at the door as she fidgeted. He could see he was making her uncomfortable but as she gazed up at him, he pressed her further.
“Maisey’s bed is no different from any other house elf’s bed,” she answered. “It’s warm.”
“Is it comfortable?” he asked and she nodded.
He sniffed. Draco had no interest in giving her wages or letting her take a day off, like he knew Granger had been wanting. However, his mother was right. He still didn’t know how he was going to wrench the Mudblood from her red headed boyfriend, but he knew the house elves were a start.
“I’ll be doing much business with the Ministry,” he told the little elf, “and at Hogwarts. The Headmistress sent me an owl this morning requesting a donation. I would like to see to it personally that anything she needs done to ensure the school is at its best is done correctly.”
The house elf looked at him curiously, obviously wondering what all of that had to do with her, but she was wise enough not to ask. “What would Master Draco like Maisey to do, sir?”
He gave her a soft smile. “I would like you to come with me,” he told her as he straightened the papers. “Mother has the other house elves here to help her with the Manor and I would like you to remain close to me in case I need anything.”
He could see the amazement and wonder fill the small house elf’s eyes as a large teardrop fell from her left eye. “Master Draco would like Maisey to accompany him?”
He barely nodded before he was nearly jumping out of his seat at the loud screeching squeal the small elf made. He had never known such a loud, grating sound could come from something so tiny. Upon seeing his shock, Maisey immediately fell to the floor, her nose pressing onto the ground as she bowed. “Maisey is sorry, Master. Maisey will clip her ears for…”
“No, Maisey,” he told her as he stood and straightened his clothing. “You will not punish yourself anymore. You can apologize for your mistakes, but no more hurting yourself for them.”
“But, sir…” she started as she looked up at him in wonder.
He shook his head. “I won’t have the elf that is with me consistently bringing harm to herself. You are to conduct yourself with the utmost respect. You are a Malfoy house elf, and as such, you represent this Manor and this family. You will not harm yourself and you will look proper. You will respect all, including the Muggle-borns. You will speak when spoken to and if you mess up, you will do what you can to correct your mistake.”
Taking a deep breath, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a few Sickles. Draco crouched to her height and reached out. Taking Maisey’s hand in one of his own, He placed the coins in it. As her eyes widened even further, he said softly, “This isn’t much, but it’s certainly more than I’ve given you before. I want you to take this coin and get what you need to clean yourself up.”
His eyes met hers and for a moment he thought she was going to have a seizure. He gave her a moment to correct herself.
“Maisey doesn’t need this much!” she protested as she tried to hand the coins back to him.
He shook his head as he closed her hand over the money. “Nonsense,” he argued. “Do as I say and don’t argue with me. As I said, you are a member of this Manor and this family. The Malfoy’s have fallen from grace thanks to the mistakes of my father. It is my job to rebuild our standing and we cannot do so if our servants are running around scared and in dilapidated cloth.”
“Master Lucius is a great Master,” she argued halfheartedly.
His eyes narrowed as he stood. “Lucius nearly destroyed us all, Maisey,” he said. “He put me in a precarious position that doesn’t allow room for failure.”
“He loves you,” she pointed out.
Taking a deep breath, Draco sighed and leaned against the desk. “I know he does,” he murmured. “And he did everything that he thought was right for our family. My children, when I have them, will never have to work a day in their lives thanks to my father. But while we swim in Galleons, he rots away in a cell in Azkaban.”
His grey eyes settled on the small elf. “My mother has this plan to have me woo the Granger girl.”
Maisey made a disgusted noise. “That filthy Mudblood?” she questioned with a sneer.
Draco snorted. “That ‘filthy Mudblood’ will restore the Malfoy name, Maisey. She will be able to get my father out of prison. She will make us strong again and proud. I care not about her blood status.”
“Master Draco!” the house elf gasped. “Have you turned traitor?”
He scoffed and gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “Of course not,” he snapped. “This is the best course of action, Maisey. I’ll do anything to repair the damage my father has done to the Malfoy name. My mother supports this idea, in fact, it was her idea.”
“Master Lucius will not be pleased,” she said sadly, shaking her head. “He…”
“He’ll get over it,” Draco sniffed. “Once that little Mud…” he stopped himself and took a deep breath. This was harder than he thought. “Once Granger joins our family and produces an heir, Father will have to accept her.”
She stared at him for a moment more before nodding. “And then the Malfoy name will be restored, sir?”
He shrugged. “That is my hope,” he told her honestly. “Mother seems to think that it will. I’ve never seen her more certain of anything like this.” He thought about it and added, “We can’t think of the girl as a Mudblood anymore. She may be Muggle born, but her Hogwarts scores and her role in the Second Wizarding War prove that she is more talented than any Pureblood. She’ll be a fine edition to this family and will produce intelligent heirs whom are cunning and brave.”
“I will do my best to help you, Master Draco,” the little elf promised. “For the glory of the Malfoy family.”
He gave her a soft smile and patted her on the head. “Indeed. Let us hope this works. Now, clean yourself up and get ready to leave. We have work to do.”

Author's Note: I apologize for the delay. School just started for me, so it's become more difficult to write. Please note, I will not abandon this story. (I'm also looking to try and finish the other stories I haven't completed, but I'll have to read them and see what needs to be done/how to finish them.)
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Forgiven