This one is dedicated to Eva. Actually, the whole damn thing is dedicated to Eva, but I neglected to inform you of the dedication in the previous chapter. So just to clear things up, Eva is a muse, and she inspires ALL OF YOU, and since she inspired this, she gets a lot of credit for being my amazing wife (well, one of my wives xD). So. Quick update, no? Yes. Quick indeed.

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He swallowed, "Don't let them get to you," he bit his lip, trying to keep his eyes from overflowing, "Because... I swear if they destroy what is between us..."

He couldn't say it.

Then they'll have done one more thing that I will never be able to forgive.

The Mother-In-Law Misadventures: Engaged in What?

It was fifteen minutes until two. Fifteen minutes until his parents would be apparating directly onto his doorstep. He sat in the east room, ready to jump up when the doorbell rang, and mistaking lots of other sounds for their arrival. Like Luna dropping pots in pans in the kitchen as she monitored the elves' cooking. Or Luna pushing in a chair, or Luna throwing a broom into the cupboard, or Luna slamming a door.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, his fiance settled down into the newly upholstered sofa next to him.

"Draco, did the elves feed the peacocks?" she asked, jumping up.

He smiled, putting an arm around her shoulders, pulling her shaking form into his, "Shh, Luna. They fed them for over a year without me even remembering their existence, I highly doubt that they forgot," he said, lifting up her chin with a finger so that she would face him, but her eyes still looked away. "Luna," he whispered.

She bit her lip and allowed her eyes to meet his, "Draco, I'm so scared."

He silenced her with a kiss, surprised when she was the one to pull in closer and crawl into his lap. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her waist, positioning her hips over his as her fingers wove into her hair and she pressed her chest against his, allowing his hands to wander.

She pulled away.

They sat, silent, and breathing heavily. He admired the light blush that had formed on her cheeks as she avoided his gaze. He tapped her nose with a finger, "You," he inhaled, "are absolutely not allowed to do that," he inhaled, "when you know that I can't finish with you."

The ring of the doorbell interrupted his thought pattern. He saw Luna's expression morph, her shocking blue eyes wide, mouth open. Her skin had faded from gentle pink to white. A truly terrified white.

He swallowed, "So I guess this is them."

She nodded, looking at the door, "You get it."

Draco stood up, smoothing his hair back and hoping that it wasn't sticking out at odd angles. He spared a last glance at Luna, who sat at the edge of the sofa biting her lip. He nodded, and opened the door.

There were a lot of things going through his head, but all of them stopped abruptly at the sight of his parents.

The lines in his mother's face were deeper now. More set in stone, engraved in her harsh expression, and her blond hair highlighted with strands of steel gray hair. Her eyes were even more maddening than before, popping and bloodshot, moving fast and noticing every detail. His father's hair was receding now, and he no longer sported the pony tail he used to, instead his hair only reached his shoulders. It was thinner now, grayed.

Draco swallowed, observing these changes, unsure if he wanted to hug them or pull out his wand and torture the hell out of them. He decided that neither was appropriate.

"Draco," Narcissa muttered, and pulled her son into her, "You look..."

His father blinked, "You look better," he said. Draco couldn't tell what he was thinking.

His mother smiled, not releasing the hug.

"Umm," he began, "Mom, Dad..." the titles didn't seem to fit their faces anymore. He swallowed, ignoring his heart as it chimneyed up his airway, "There's someone that I'd like you to meet."

"Oh?" Narcissa said, finally releasing him.

He nodded, leading them into the east room, where Luna sat on her hands, nervous. He swallowed again, sure that his face was showing everything he was trying to hide. He was already annoyed at them and they had just arrived.

"Come here, Luna," he said.

He watched his mother's eyes dance over the room, absorbing every inch, no doubt noticing every speck of dust, and he knew she was inspecting Luna. He saw her flinch at the way he put an arm around his fiance's waist, taking in every exchange that they shared, knowing what each glance meant.

What an analytical bitch. He clenched his jaw, hand in his pocket already gripping his wand.

"Maybe," Luna whispered, "You shouldn't attack your parents during our first meeting."

He sighed, shoulders relaxing a bit, and Luna pulled herself a bit closer to his side.

"Mom," he began, "This is Luna," he paused, surprised that his mother's expression remained unchanged, "We're engaged."

Narcissa lifted up her chin and raised her eyebrows haughtily, "Engaged in what?"

Draco felt his face return to his old scowl just before he turned to face Luna, "I promise they aren't this stupid normally."

He heard his mother laugh, "It's not my fault you weren't specific," she strode over to the window, rubbing a finger along the casements, checking for dust, "I mean, you couldn't mean engaged as in," she turned around to face the two and blinked deliberately, "marriage."

He clenched his jaw, fist once again in his pocket gripping his wand, "Actually, mother," he said, emphasizing her title for no particular reason, "marriage was exactly what I meant."

Lucius froze. "Marriage?" he said, "As in, you two are getting married?"

Draco sighed, looking at Luna, "Well, I didn't think they were this stupid. Azkaban must've gotten to their heads."

His mother gasped and was no doubt about to jump into a speech about respecting your parents, when the room silenced itself at the sound of Luna giggling.

Draco narrowed his eyes, trying to decide if she was trying to get herself killed or if she had a plan.

"Draco, you are being such a teenager," she said, retrieving his hand from her shoulder. She squeezed it, shaking. He smiled, wanting to hold her, knowing that she really was terrified. She walked up to Narcissa holding out her hand, "Luna Lovegood," she said, "Pleased to meet you."

Narcissa hesitated. She was obviously not prepared for a polite approach, but she shook.

Draco was ready to smile at them, ready to rejoice in their new found chemistry, ready to put all of the stress behind him.

And then he saw something. A flicker in his mother's eye. He didn't like it. He had seen it before. When Pansy Parkinson gave him a love-potion-spiked drink, and right before Hermione Granger punched him in third year. Understandably, he didn't like it.

Must be a girl thing.

"I believe we have met before," Narcissa said, smiling in a manner that Draco really didn't like.

Luna nodded, "Yes... The time that I was locked in your basement, I think."

Draco felt his eyes go wide, observing the exchanges between Luna and his mother, unsure of what to think. It wasn't like Luna to do something like this. True, she looked confident, but Draco noticed how her hands were shaking. She was terrified.

But all the same, it wasn't like Luna.

Luna walked over to Draco's father. If her back weren't facing him, Draco would see a placid smile pasted on her face as she extended her arm.

"You're Xeno's kid?" he asked, examining her.

She nodded.

He shook, and received a look from his wife which Draco could not identify.

"Well," Luna said, "The house elves were preparing tea. Do you to want to go and head up there while Draco and I go check on the progress?"

Narcissa narrowed her eyes, "Up where?"

"To the tea room," she said, walking towards the kitchen.

"We have a tea room?" Lucius said.

Draco smiled, "The old storage room," and turned away to follow Luna.

As he entered the kitchen the two house elves were departing juggling various silver trays with tea and snacks on them, and Luna leaning against the wall, all the confidence drained from her face. He rushed over to her, cupping her face in his hands.

"Luna," he whispered, "You were great out there," he said, pulling her close.

He heard her sniff, "Yeah, well, she doesn't like me."

He smiled, pecking her softly on the lips. "Don't get too upset. She hardly knows you yet."

She smiled back at him, "Let's get back up there before they start wondering about us."

Luna lead the way, stopping just before they entered the room, and pressed her ear against the door.

"The room looks nice, but we have to get Draco to do something about all of these Ravenclaw things," Narcissa said.

"What did you think about the girl?" responded Lucius, "I mean, she is pureblood."

"Well," said Narcissa, "They are obviously rushing into the whole thing. Draco deserves far better than her."

Luna's eyes grew wide. She barely managed to stop Draco from breaking the door down.

"Shh," she said, slapping him lightly on the cheek.

"So," they heard Lucius say, "What are you going to do about it?"

"Surround him with other young women until he comes to the proper conclusion on his own."

Luna once again struggled to keep her fiance silent.

"Luna!" he said in a loud whisper, "Are you hearing this?!"

"Yes, Draco, I am," she said.

"Then why aren't you-"

She pressed her lips to his.

He pulled away, looking at the ground, "That's not fair."

She smiled, and the two entered the tea room.

"Is the tea alright?" Luna asked, sitting on the loveseat across from her future in-laws.

Narcissa smiled back, "It's lovely," and turned to face her son, "So, my dear, Pansy Parkinson was in town and I was wondering if you'd be interested in having her over sometime. Surely Luna wouldn't mind," she said, briefly glancing in the girl's direction.

Draco opened his mouth, unsure of what he was going to say, but Luna responded first.

"That would be absolutely lovely," she enthused, "Draco and I haven't seen her since school. Maybe she could even help us with the wedding. Don't you agree Draco?" she responded, putting a comforting hand on his thigh. "Oh, and, Mrs. Malfoy, I was just wondering, weren't you guys supposed to have an escort?"

Narcissa nodded mechanically, jaw clenched, "They'll be arriving within the hour. They wanted to give us some 'breaking in' time."

"Oh, I see," Luna said, smiling thinly and leaning back, smiling at Draco as he put an arm around her.

He smirked back at her, finally understanding what was going on. Draco didn't need to spark a war. There was already one going on.

Meh. Not too happy with this one. I had lots of wonderful ideas for it, but when it got around to it, none of them seemed to fit. There was a healthy amount of fluff in there, if it was too much you have permission to cyber-kick me or something.

REVIEW PLEASE AND I WILL LOVE YOU ETERNALLY.