Hermione woke up alone. The gray skies threatened rain, but hopefully would hold off until they departed. She tried to get up slowly, worried that her morning sickness would start up and breathed a sigh of relief when the wave of dizziness passed quickly.

She was drawing a bath when she felt rather then heard Draco coming into their suite. "I'm in here." She called out, adding some oils that she found in the cabinet. She smiled up at him when he bent down to give her a quick kiss and gently placed his cold palm on her lower belly.

"How are you love?" He asked, sitting down behind her on the ledge of the tub. Hermione shivered as he slid his hand under the her robe to touch her belly.

"I'm alright." She replied, sinking back to curl into him as the water rose. "You're so cold. Do you need to, um, 'feed'?" she asked, blushing a bit when she thought of his preferred method of drinking from her body.

She felt his smile against her neck, two razor sharp fangs scratching her jugular lightly. Not enough to break the skin, but enough to make her lightheaded. "Is that an offer, sweetheart?"

"Behave Draco!" She replied with a laugh, shoving him back a little playfully. With some sweet words and a few laughs mixed in with Hermione's blushes, he managed to convince her to let him into the tub along with her.

"I wish you wouldn't shy away from me so much." He said quietly while joining their hands over her stomach under the water.

"I'm sorry." She replied. She tried to stay as still as possible when he pulled her closer on his lap. "It's just that I never really knew this side of married life. I mean look at the example I grew up with."

"We aren't our parents. Our married life will be what we make of it and I don't want to have to live with the memories or anything from that time in our lives. We are going to do things our way, and whatever mistakes we make will be because we make them-not from our parents."

"You're right. And I will try to do better, Draco. I promise."

"I don't need you to do better, but relax and be yourself. I know that all this is new to you so I do not expect things to be like what I'm used to so we'll use everything as a learning experience"

"So you don't compare me to the other girls that you've been with?" Hermione asked, afraid of the answer to the question that had been in the back of her mind since they had first started going together.

"Love, nothing and no one can compare to you. I married you. I am bound to you in every way possible." he turned her around to straddle him. "I wish i could just make you see how you truly encompass my every thought and action. I love you so much, Hermione And its not just since I turned, I was planning on talking to you when I had mustered up the courage."

Hermione smiled and closed the distance between them and turned up her head to kiss him. She bit back her first response of trying to back away when she felt his hands pull her even closer, feeling how much he enjoyed their current position.

She couldn't hold back the cry when he entered her and bit down on her neck at the same time, holding her hips steady while he seemed to savor the steady flow of blood that was coming out of her vein.

He pulled back after a minute, looking at her with half opened eyes. "Just feel. Let yourself go with your body." He seized her lips when he pulled her hips down, knowing that keeping her senses as occupied as possible would help keep her calm and let her enjoy his attentions longer.

Hermione followed his suggestion and gave in to the euphoria that she was feeling. The pain of his entrance was unnoticeable in comparison to the extreme pleasure of his thrusts now and she couldn't form a discernible thought.

After a few minutes, she felt herself explode. The climax came so suddenly that she opened her moth to cry out but no sound came, only a harsh gust of air. A few seconds later, she felt the Draco's pace become erratic, and he bit down on her breast, forcing another orgasm from her.

He collapsed next to her, his breathing almost back to normal. While she tried to catch hers, he pulled her to his side. She loved it when he would help her calm back down by his gentle touches, always letting her feel wonderful.

When Hermione regained her bearings, she looked up at Draco with a smile. He stopped her arm when she tried to cover herself with a sheet and she let it go, liking how affectionate he was being. She cuddled closer to him, liking how much faster his heart was beating and how warm his skin was. She was learning about his day walker nature and had noticed that he could go about five days before his skin would start being cold to the touch and his mood was short.

"How is it going to be when we go? I mean, being the heir to a whole country is never what I really expected when we got married." she said quietly.

"It'll be however we wish it to be. I didn't expect this either, but we'll get through it just fine. We just need to adapt our lives to include what makes us happy and what we should do."

After that, they laid together, sometimes talking or drifting in and out of sleep. A house elf with about 19 socks covering its tiny body brought them food every few hours and Hermione laughed at Draco's pout. Even when they were just friends, she had demanded that he free all the Malfoy family elves or at least give them rights.

When an owl began pecking at the window, they knew that the outside world would have to be let in. most owls automatically went to the owlery but a few we allowed to come directly upon the main property. When Draco stood to open the window without a stitch of clothing on, Hermione took advantage and after grabbing her wand from the nightstand, she had Draco's robe wrapped around his body.

"Spoilsport!" He called out with a laugh over his shoulder. She sat up and wrapped a bed sheet over her upper body, hugging her knees to her chest as he read the parchment, absently stroking the jet black owl on the window sill.

He ripped a corner of the sheet and pressed his crest ring against the paper, giving it back to the owl. He walked back to the bed, shrugging off the robe with a smile and tugging the sheet off her body, but covering them both up again.

"We're to be presented at court officially later today if we can make it. The floo will be opened for us this afternoon." He handed her the letter, twirling his wedding band around his finger while Hermione read.

"Are you sure we'll be OK? I mean, this is so much to take on." She said softly, putting aside the parchment on the nightstand.

"I said it before, we'll be great. After we get used to how things are run, we will divide our time at home equally."

they spent the next hour just talking, calming most of Hermione's fears. When the clock chimed noon, they both began getting dressed, with Draco telling Hermione that they would change into "proper" clothes before the official ceremonies took place.

An hour later, they both spun into a new fireplace with Draco holding her steady until the room stopped spinning. Hermione smiled up at him in gratitude before turning to observe the room. It seemed small, but the furnishings were all obviously expensive. Narcissa stood in a group with military looking men and Katharina was staring at them.

Hermione managed to have a quick peek outside a window before she was lead to another room. Their, the women that she had been introduced to before were waiting next to a large trunk. They were all serious, silently offering a curtsey and they separated towards the trunks.

Two walked up to Hermione, bowing again and silently moving to undress her. She was about to protest when Katharina shook her head, offering a little smile. She was stripped down to her underwear and when they went to remove those, Hermione noise of complaint went ignored.

The two women left her old clothing on the floor and put on her a thin chemise with embroidered edges that reached her ankles. Two of the other girls came over and Hermione was literally stuff into a corset. It would have been quite beautiful if it wasn't so constricting and stiff, with its flowery print in a creamy pink color.

AN: ok everyone-I know its really been forever, but real life has a way of kicking people when they're down and now I can tentatively say that things are starting to look up. A million thank yous to every single like, review and follow and I hope to not disappoint. (A very special thanks to StarGirl and redskittlebaby3) Also, if anyone wants to beta or preread for me-let me know.

next update has no 'date'. I've written 2 pages worth, and will try to push out something good asap.

After that, it was layer upon layer of thick fabric. When she went to museums with her parents years ago and saw the Tudor portraits, she would have never in a million years thought that she might ever wear something like what was painted, but she certainly was now.

They were all silent for the entire time, not even looking directly to Hermione's face. When they were done dressing her, two of the women led her to a vanity and began threading a ribbon with pearls through her hair as two others began draping her with ropes of pearls and gemstones. She was decked out with rings, a stomacher, bracelets and necklaces.

She grimaced when she caught sight of her reflection, it looked like she was a kid playing dress up with the crown jewels and with her inability to move easily, she wanted to call the women off. But their serious demeanor and the silence of the room stopped her. The last thing she wanted to do was to mistakenly offend some sort of custom. For all she knew-this was how women were supposed to dress so she told herself to buckle down and bare it.

When Katharina finally proclaimed that they were done, Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and managed to stand up slowly without too much help.

"Now, remember to walk slowly, and always a step behind your husband even when walking arm in arm. All you have to do is nod and smile today since no one expects much from you and accept the offerings of flowers with another nod of your head and that will be a cue for one of your ladies to take it for you. You are not to reach out for anything yourself-it would show too much favor to one particular family."

Hermione listened carefully, knowing that even though their 'friendship' was tentative, Katharina wouldn't sabotage her in public and risk Draco's anger. She walked out of the room with the older woman to her left and the nearly silent ladies in two lines following behind with only the gentle rustle of fabric making their presence known.

When she finally caught sight of Draco, she smiled-noticing that he had changed into a military style robe of deep crimson like many of the men surrounding him. He walked over, and kissed her hand gently then tucking it under his arm and Hermione felt a blush coming over her cheeks when each man bowed low as they passed.

She tried to pay attention-she really did, but the dress was so heavy and tight and the vision of so many people took their toll and by the end of the hallway, she had a massive migraine. When they made it to a gigantic room with crystal chandeliers and large windows, the pair were slowly introduced to about a hundred courtiers, each proclaiming their title, name and family connection.

Hermione just did as Katharina advised: smile, nod and turn her head slightly to take the flowers and tokens of friendship that were being offered and taken by one of the silent girls next to her. Draco was doing much of the same, only speaking to certain army people when they came up to the beginning of the line.

After the sun set, it was finally time to return home. After politely declining the invitation to stay, it was agreed that they would begin to take up residence part time at the palace and work on living arrangements from there.

They managed to open the door to their little cottage just as darkness took hold outside, Hermione finally kicking off the painful high healed shoes. Draco gave a small chuckle when he heard her sigh in relief. "Have I told you how stunning you looked today?" He asked, bending lower and kissing her neck.

"Really? You actually liked all this?" She questioned back, motioned towards her entire body.

"Well, to be honest I would like you in a potato sack, but I had a vision of you only wearing all those pearls."

Hermione couldn't hold back the laugh that exploded, making Draco laugh as well. "You're hopeless. But I think I have to talk to that woman who is going to order my clothing when we're there. Putting all this on every day would be impossible."

"Well, not everything is impossible." Draco said with a wink, tracing the strands of pearls hanging around her neck. In the blink of an eye, Hermione found herself against the wall, her laugh being swallowed by her husbands lips.