After Hermione left, Draco and Narcissa remained for a few more moments in the weird kind of embrace Hermione had left them in. They both seemed unable to speak. Then suddenly, as if he awoke from a dream, Draco's brain started to function again.
"What… had just happened?" he asked his mom, slowly removing himself from her arms. "What was that… all about?"
Without answering or even looking at her son, Narcissa turned and went to the window. She stayed there for a few moments, looking at the sky. It was a clear blue, much like her own eyes. She sighed.
"What happened and what did she mean about what she said? What proposal did she accept?" Draco kept asking, still looking a bit dazed but stubbornness and curiosity being stronger than the trance.
Narcissa let out another sigh before turning to Draco. She regarded him for a second, then decided it was best to sooth his curiosity at least a little bit or else she knew she wouldn't have a moment's peace. That was her Draco, stubborn to the core.
"I suspect she used the 'Depulso' charm." she replied slowly, crossing her arms and leaning against the window frame. "A strong one at that" she continued "I told you not to anger her more than you already had.
"Me… me anger HER?" Draco asked in disbelief.
He looked his mother in the eye. She seemed calm and almost relaxed, the way she leaned her body against the window frame, keeping her arms crossed just slightly, in a most elegant way. His mother had a way of looking elegant regardless of the situation. But staring now at her, trying to pierce that armor of cold calmness she had placed on her features, Draco was sure something more was going on.
His mother was hiding something from him and, even though he wasn't worried that it was something that would potentially be harmful to him, he was still having a feeling he might not like it. Therefore, he set his mind to finding out what that was.
'Better know the evil you're about to face than have a blind date with it', he thought to himself.
The problem was how he was supposed to find out. Would she tell him if he asked her? Draco knew his mother well enough to know that it would be most likely impossible to find out if she didn't want to say it.
Then, he's only solution was to take the roundabout way.
"What right did she have to get angry." he said in a low growl, turning away from his mother slightly.
"She had every right and if you ask me, I think you should consider yourself lucky she decided to use a rather harmless spell like 'Depulso' instead of something dreadful, like a transfiguration curse."
Draco scoffed. Narcissa ignored it, but a small frown appeared again between her eyebrows.
"She was, after all, one that wreaked havoc among the Death Eaters and the rest of Voldemort's remaining followers during the war and after. She and Harry Potter were the ones who, single-handedly, caught more dark wizards than any other people I know of."
At that Draco frowned and scoffed again, more affectedly this time. Narcissa couldn't ignore this one.
"You may not believe me." she said, lowering her hands and pushing away from the window, "But I think we're lucky she decided to accept my proposal instead of simply jinxing you in the afterlife." Narcissa finished with a satisfied look.
There it was. She had said it herself. Draco felt both relieved and surprised that he didn't have to prod her more on the subject or having to hear more praises of the witch he hated most, in order to find out.
"And what proposal is that?" he asked quickly, not wanting to miss his chance to find out, thinking she might take back what she said, changing her mind about telling him.
"She kindly accepted to move in with you." Narcissa replied flatly.
That left Draco speechless. He looked as though a bludger had just hit him in the head. He didn't know what he expected but it definitely wasn't this. Draco stared at his mother for several moments, looking dumbfounded, mouth hanging slightly open and eyes widened. He was too afraid to consider the possibility of his mother going around the bend, but what other explanation was there for this absurdity?
Hermione Granger, muggle-born and one of his enemies since childhood, agreeing to… move in with him?
Draco shook his head. Trying to make sense of all this or even register this was giving him a headache. This wasn't a very good day for him, that was for sure. First Granger comes and acts all smug and like she owned the place and now his own mother makes ridiculous statements like this. He needed a reality check or else he was sure he'd be the one going insane before anyone else.
"Mother…" he started tentatively, trying to show a smug smile, but only managing to show her a nervous grimace. "If this is your way of trying to joke with me, because if it is…"
"I don't believe my sense of humor is bad enough to make up jokes like this, Draco." Narcissa replied, waving a hand impatiently. "This is not a joke. At my request, Hermione Granger had accepted to move in with you in order to help you with your recuperation."
She said the words with such a finality that Draco felt in front of a judge, giving him his sentence. He stared dumbly at his mother, speech seemed to be beyond his abilities.
Narcissa looked at her son, seeing the struggle behind his expression. She let out a soft sigh, coming closer to him. She knew this would bring him pain as soon as he fully understood the extent of the situation, and what she meant to do for him. But nothing could have prepared Narcissa for the transformation she saw on Draco's face as his brain finally processed the whole information.