The next week or so was kind of a blur.

The Malfoy's came over to stay with my family and I the night that we returned. There was something odd about us all together. Even though I was used to it, them staying was something different. There was no reason that they couldn't floo home at night or just pop in when necessary, but they chose instead to stay. I suppose that meant they respected my family (of course they did, otherwise they wouldn't marry off their son to my family), but it was still a strange feeling having someone as daunting as Lucius Malfoy at my breakfast table.

It meant that there were restrictions on things, more so than usual.

I had to be extra prim and proper. Not that I usually wasn't, but I had to make a good showing in front of my in-laws, which meant more elegant clothing all the time that was still modest and no interacting with house elves. I felt bad many times when younger house elves would come hug me or tell me some of the latest house-elf chatter in the community and I'd be looking over my shoulder to make sure my parents or the Malfoy's weren't lurking around.

It wasn't that I was ashamed; they were some of my best friends and caretakers. It just unfortunately was not something I could admit to with my parents around... or even Draco.

As much as I'd come to like and care for Draco, many of his aristocratic tendencies became heightened when we lived together. At Hogwarts, we'd only see each other during specific parts of the day and at night go our separate ways, even if I didn't necessarily want to. Seeing him at all hours of the day was comforting, but it accentuated his negative characteristics.

I was sick of hearing him scoff under his breath when I spoke to a house elf longer than a minute or when I took the time to clean off my own espresso cup in the kitchen rather than calling for it to be taken away. Little things like that made me somewhat annoyed with him, but I could deal with it.

Living with him had many more positives than negatives.

We'd spent a few days in the same bed before, but this was much different. It was so much nicer to have someone you genuinely cared for and adored to sleep next to.

The night would typically start with us reading to each other, one lying in the other's arms and the other whispering whatever words were on the page in dim lighting just bright enough to read off the page. There was plenty of caressing and light kisses, anything to evoke an emotional and affectionate reaction.

There were more than their fair share of hungrier, more passionate kisses too. Depending on the time of day (or night), we'd pull each other aside or into one of the many rooms in my family manor and have our fill of each other. I'd usually end up doing a beauty charm afterward, just to make sure my makeup wasn't smeared or my hair wasn't messy.

Even if we were married, our parents were still around and I had no doubt they wouldn't approve of us sneaking off to make out then walking out together for dinner.

Affection wasn't typically something pureblood couples flaunted.

Most were loveless marriages anyway, so the fact that we even desired each other at all was an anomaly. It wasn't proper and could even be considered uncouth to do anything more than perhaps hold hands in a public setting, or even with other family members present.

Draco and I were no strangers to pureblood culture, but it became harder to conceal our affection for each other when we were so tempted to touch or kiss one another at almost any given point in the day.

How could we not? It was extra difficult when considering all we did for those days was be in each other's presence. Sometimes our parents were around, mostly at mealtimes, but more often than not it was just us wandering around rooms.

It mostly consisted of games. Chess, checkers, senet, whatever we could find. We even learned a few games to pass time in some old book I found in our library. Learning them was a pain, but well worth it in the end.

There was lots of reading. By ourselves, to each other, reading our own book in each other's company.

It was usually the same routine.

"What have you got there?" Draco asked, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Emma," I quickly closed the book with a thump and displayed the cover to him. His eyes glanced over it, but opted to place his chin on my shoulder for a better embrace.

"Another one of your muggle books?" he asked, lightly swaying to the side and back, causing me to do the same.

I lowly chuckled. "You wouldn't like it. It's a romance."

"Why read about love when you could be experiencing it right here?"

My cheeks blushed red, causing him to laugh. He nuzzled his nose into the crook of my neck and lightly peppered kisses to the skin. It was innocent, a mere flirty line, but still made me nervous around him. I hated how good he was at making me feel dizzy with affection.

"Come on, Draco," I giggled, "you might think it's a good one."

He snorted sarcastically. "Yeah. 'Cause the way I dream of spending my afternoon is reading muggle chick lit when I could be in the arms of my gorgeous wife."

That was something he started to say a lot more frequently.

He used the word "wife" much more during this trip, I noticed. Not only in the library or to ourselves, but often in conversation with our parents he'd reference something of our marriage.

"I'll be a proper husband once we've graduated from Hogwarts," he'd announce, or "y/n's the best choice for wife at that school". They were usually when speaking to our parents and weren't overly sweet or even compliments, but they indicated that we weren't upset with the arrangement as much as we once were.

We made sure to keep the idea away from our parents that we liked each other. If we were together and felt like one was entering the room, I'd shake Draco off or move away from him a sizable distance that made us look inconspicuous. He always shook his head or rolled his eyes when I did that, which could only mean he wanted to tell them. I was glad he respected my wishes in keeping it private, though.

One instance in particular, though, was less than desirable.

Draco and I were laying on the loveseat in one corner of the library together. It was tucked away and fairly private, something I intentionally chose just for us to be together without interruptions. That was my hope, anyway.

His back was pressed up against the headboard of the seat and I sat between his legs, my back against his chest. He had his arms around me as I read to him. He changed up his routine of either resting his head on my shoulder, pressing kisses in places that made me squirm, and even just closing the book for a moment so he could capture my lips with his.

During one of those blurred moments, I was too engrossed in him to realize that we had company.

Luckily it was just a house elf that I swore to secrecy, but once I heard the little voice of the house elf I practically jumped off Draco. All we were doing was kissing, honestly rather innocently, but I wanted the least chance of our parents finding out as possible.

I hopped off the seat and upright, trying to fix my clothes and hair to no avail. I thanked God it wasn't my mother, or worse, either of our fathers, but I hadn't been scared half to death in so long.

When I sat back down, Draco looked annoyed. He had a grimace playing on his lips, almost sneering with the way the top lip tugged up. His brows were furrowed together and he slumped in his seat. It was obvious that he wasn't happy.

"Must you always jump at the sound of another being?" he rolled his eyes, suddenly turned off from our activity a moment ago.

I couldn't blame him.

"Just got worried someone would see us, Draco," I assured him while adjusting a few strands of hair that were disheveled. I was still doing my best to primp myself into looking more put together. "I'm fine now."

"Stop that."

His voice came out as a command as he yanked my arm, causing me to forcefully and unexpectedly crash up against his body. Before I could process what was going on, his arms were already securely around me and in a much closer hold than we were while reading.

"You look better like this," he told me convincingly. "Stay here."

That whole rest of the afternoon he was on edge, always having to be touching me. I wasn't complaining, but at the same time my nerves were heightened after the house elf incident.

I told myself it was cute that he always wanted me near.

---

"The decorations should be coming in tomorrow," my mother announced at the dinner table. "Y/n dear, you'll love what Narcissa and I picked for this year's theme."

"It's Christmas," I almost snorted, "isn't the theme red and green?"

Narcissa laughed, but my mother looked unamused.

"We decided to try a holiday theme this year. Something different from just red and green."

"Every year I always host a themed Christmas party, y/n, so we decided to make a combination of the two. I'm sure you'll love it, it'll be a change of pace for you," Narcissa smiled.

That made sense, I suppose. Still, it was odd of my mother to steer clear of any traditions. As long as it was in line with someone else's of course it would be acceptable for her.

"I've heard from a certain Horace Slughorn that he'll be in attendance this year," Lucius spoke up. "Haven't heard from that man in a while."

"He was friends with my father," my mother explained. "He's always welcome to our events. You sound displeased with him?"

Lucius shrugged, looking unimpressed. "I was once associates with him but we... how shall I say it? Fell through."

"Would you like us to remove him from the list?" my father asked, always willing to indulge Lucius.

Narcissa interrupted. "That won't be necessary. I'm sure he'll make a fine addition."

Lucius looked like he wanted to object, but he couldn't make the list for someone else. Even if it was a joint party, it wasn't his role as the host of the house.

Part of me internally panicked, before I realized Slughorn probably already knew about Draco and I. We hadn't told the entire school, but we made it clear to our friends about our feelings for each other and Draco started occasionally holding my hand during class or some small sign that we were together.

Slughorn, being someone who always seemed to know the latest gossip or information around the school despite being a professor, must have known. I doubt something like that would be allowed to slip.

"Speaking of fine addition," my mother smiled, "Draco, I'm sure you're looking forward to being presented to the guests as part of this family?"

I almost spit out my drink at that.

"Mama... wasn't he already?" I choked out. "At the ball a couple months ago?"

She shook her head and giggled a bit. "That was just a family event, honey. This will be broader than that. I'd expect a few journalists from the paper to show up and document as well. A couple always do."

While I was on the verge of panicking even further at this, Draco on my left looked cool as a cucumber. In fact, he looked almost too okay with it. He had a grin on his face, not snarky or malicious, but just a smile.

"Yes, of course, y/m/n. It's an honor to be part of this family and I'm happy to be introduced at such an event. Christmas Eve, no less... it's a perfect time to be formally presented to the public."

I shot him a look, one that basically read "are you serious?". Again, he looked unaffected. Like he was being serious when he said that.

Our mothers looked so happy, with big smiles donning their lips. I don't think I'd seen them so happy in so long.

"Oh, Draco!" Narcissa interjected, "That's so wonderful to hear!"

"I'm sure my son knows what a respectable lineage he's married into," Lucius boasted, looking prideful. "Finally the boy learns just how lucky he is."

I blushed red, not wanting to be there all of a sudden. I desperately tried to dissociate and not be aware of what was going on, but I knew it was impossible.

"I'm wondering when my daughter will come around," my father peered over at me. "At least one of the kids has their head on straight."

I sneaked another look at Draco, who had the same prideful look on his face as Lucius. He really was the spitting image of his father: the platinum hair, gray eyes, sharp contours. Looking from one to the other sort of gave me whiplash; it was like looking in a mirror to see his future.

It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it did cast a shadow of a doubt on how much Draco claimed to dislike his father when he seemed to take after him entirely. As much as Draco retained some of Narcissa's sensitivities, he was his father's son at the end of the day. Knowing him for so long and truly getting to know his personality revealed that he was a Malfoy more than he'd like to admit.

Realizing that at the dinner table was not ideal, especially talking about such a topic. However, it was the only thing I could process as they rambled on about everything: the party, how well Draco is integrating himself in the family, how proud his parents are. I think I even heard a wisp of something about moving in together after graduation. Lucius and my father found us a manor in the countryside long ago... I wanted to avoid talking about it with them.

I tried to find solace in looking at Draco like I had many times before, but I found none.

For the first time, he looked and sounded like everyone else at that table.

————

A/N: This is sort of a filler chapter but no worries! Coming up soon (which I've already written most but not all of) will be the final climax of the story.

I've decided that after this book I'll be making a Theo Nott story (*heartbeat intensifies*).

Any suggestions for a theme?

Love you all! vote + comment xx