I finally have something new to post! Like I've done with other stories, the past is italisized. I own nothing!

Chapter 1

"Papa, what's a mudblood?"

Lucius Malfoy, the proud pureblood patriarch of the Malfoy line, had the good sense to flinch. "We don't use that word," he reminded his granddaughter. His son had forbidden it, and with good reason. "Where did you hear that word?"

Elizabeth Malfoy shrugged. "A boy at school," she told him.

He couldn't help but chuckle. From the moment his son had first met the woman who would become his wife, it was a slur often tossed in her direction. They were enemies and rivals, but war was known to cause a change of heart for some. The Malfoy family were among the "some". Lucius considered it a personal triumph when Hermione Granger befriended his son.

"You invited a mudblood into our home?" he demanded angrily.

Draco Malfoy seethed. "That muggleborn is a guest, and your newest employee," he reminded his father. "Treat her with a little respect."

Turning on his heel, he returned to the drawing room and his friend. Hermione and his mother were deep in conversation when he joined them. "I'd love to be able to do anything I can to help," Hermione was saying. "It sounds like a wonderful cause."

"What's she roping you into?" Draco inquired.

"Miss Granger volunteered to help with a charity function," Narcissa Malfoy stated, slicking back an invisible hair. "We're raising funds to help the families displaced by the war. Imagine what we could accomplish with Miss Granger's help."

Draco rolled his eyes, not at all surprised by his mother's intentions. Having Hermione on their side raised the Malfoys' reputation after the hit it had taken during the war. The muggleborn war heroine in their company proved to the wizarding world that the family really could change. "You don't have to do this," he said quietly so only his friend would hear.

Hermione turned her head and smiled at him. "I don't mind. Honestly," she replied. "Care to be my date to this gala?"

Laughing, he shook his head. "No, I intend to lock myself in my room until this party is over," he stated. "Besides, shouldn't your boyfriend be your date?"

Her playful mood dissipated quickly. "Ron and I are no longer...Ron and I," she admitted. "You wouldn't really make me go alone, would you?"

He hated her ability to guilt and bend him to her will. Their friendship, only a year old, had seen many instances of Hermione using such tactics. "You're evil," he finally said, giving in to her request.

"What did this boy at school have to say about mudbloods?" Lucius inquired.

The six year old by his side shrugged as she twirled a long strand of brown hair around her finger. "That my mum is one," she replied.

Light blond brows rose. "I believe you've seen your mother bleed," he commented, recalling just days earlier when Hermione had cut herself making dinner. "Did you see any mud? Did it look unlike your own blood?" Elizabeth shook her head. "Well, there you go. Mummy is no more a mudblood than you are."

"Your father seemed thrilled to have me in his home," Hermione remarked as Draco escorted her home. "Couldn't you just feel the warmth? I'm almost positive I'll be receiving an invitation to have lunch with him tomorrow."

Draco laughed. "Mind if I tag along?" he asked. "I've always wondered what it would be like if the two of you were left alone. How would that murder/suicide go?"

"I'm pretty sure we would Avada each other at the same time," Hermione decided. They walked in silence, arms linked, until they reached her flat. She invited him up, and Draco made himself comfortable on the sofa. "Spending the night?"

Sighing contentedly, he opened his eyes as she skimmed the bookshelf. The question was asked any night he was at her flat, and the answer was always yes. He would start the night on the sofa, but always awoke in her bed. It was an old habit from their school days. The pair were the only "eighth" years, and as such, were given special accommodations. It never occurred to the administration that it would lead to a friendship between the pair.

"Why didn't you tell me about Weasley sooner?" he wondered.

Sitting down beside him, Hermione stared at the book in her hands. "You don't like him," she mumbled. "I didn't think you'd want to hear about him."

Looping an arm around her shoulders, he pulled her to his side. "You're the only friend I have," he told her. "If something's going on, I want to know about it. Unless you don't want me to know about it."

Her head rested against his shoulder. "I'd rather not talk about him now," she decided. Talking about her failed relationship was the last thing she wanted to do. Lifting her head, she glanced at the man by her side. Until the war, she had seen him as something akin to the enemy. While her best friend, Harry Potter, claimed him to be a Death Eater, Hermione saw something else. She saw a boy, pained and in trouble, and in need of a friend. She regretted that she could not offer her support sooner.

But he was hers now, and Hermione intended to make the best of their time together. Taking a deep breath to fortify her nerves, she leaned in and kissed him. It was chaste and over before Draco had a chance to react. Gray eyes widened when she pulled back, ready to leave.

He held her hand tightly, preventing her from running away. "Wait," he said softly. "I...what was that for?"

Her cheeks reddened. "I just wanted to know what it would be like to kiss you," she replied.

"And?" he wondered, tucking a curl behind her ear. "Are you disappointed?"

Smiling, she shook her head. She tugged on his hand as she stood, asking him to join her as she led him to her bedroom.

Elizabeth studied her grandfather and frowned. She had always envied the blond hair of the Malfoys, and detested the mousey brown color of her own. "What about Daddy?" she asked. "Is he a mudblood?"

Lucius warned her that that word was verboten in his home. "Your father is a pureblood," he explained. "Just like Yaya and I are purebloods. And, in case you were keeping track of all this, you, my love, are a halfblood."

The little girl sighed, rolling her eyes. "No, Papa, I mean my real dad."