A/N: Hey guys! So I wanted to wait to post this story but I decided that I'm just going to post it now for those of you having withdrawals from no more When the Day Met the Night updates. I am still writing this story as well as another one so updates will be scarce for the time being. Thanks so much for all your support with Day Met the Night. It means so much to me that you guys loved that story and I hope that this sequel does it justice. So, without further adieu, here is the sequel: Hogwarts: The Next Generation.
Tallyho!
Chapter 1: The Death of a Patriarch
It was a sunny Sunday morning in July at Malfoy Manor. The french doors that led to the garden were open allowing the smell of fresh lavender and roses to fill the home. Hermione was in the kitchen teaching Gemma how to make Liz Granger's famous apple pie, Myrna and Scorpius were sitting at the breakfast bar swapping ideas for their annual Quidditch game against the Potters and Weasleys (the Zabinis and Notts would be playing with the Malfoys), and Draco was telling Ezra about Hogwarts (this September would mark Gemma and Ezra's first year at Hogwarts).
Hermione was laughing at something Gemma had said when their barn owl Hamlet flew into the kitchen and landed on her shoulder. Hermione looked at it as if it were the most normal thing on the planet (which it was, as Hermione was the only one Hamlet did that to), took the letter he was carrying, and gave him a treat before he flew off to his perch they had set up for him in the kitchen next to Edgar, the snowy owl Hermione and Draco had bought Scorpius his first year (they had a perch in every room). She turned the letter around in her hands and noticed the familiar scrawl of her mother-in-law directed towards her husband.
"Draco," she said, handing it to him, "it's for you."
He stood up and ruffled Ezra's hair as he walked to his wife to take the letter. He kissed her cheek and took the envelope from her hand but not before stealing an apple slice that Hermione had cut for the pie. "Hey!" she said, slapping him with the dish towel she had hanging off her shoulder. Draco laughed and put his hands up in surrender as he ate the slice. He opened the envelope and pulled out the small letter that was inside. The smile on his face dropped as he read what his mother had to say. When he reached the end of the letter, his heart felt like it would explode. Slamming the letter onto the counter, he stormed off to another part of the house. Recognizing his anger, Hermione grabbed the letter and read it.
Draco,
I'm so sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I received some unfortunate news this morning. Your father passed away last night. I am told that it was a very peaceful passing. Andromeda is here now, helping me cope. I know Hermione will be there for you as well but if you want to talk, I'm only a floo call away.
I'm so sorry, sweetheart. Call me when you're ready.
Give my best to Hermione and the kids.
I love you.
Mum.
Hermione gripped the letter and threw the rag off her shoulder. "Myrna, help your sister," she said before taking off after her husband, leaving her four children very befuddled by their parents sudden change in behavior. Malfoy Manor may have been a big house but Hermione immediately knew where Draco would be. Her suspicions were confirmed when she found Delilah outside the library doors looking very concerned.
"Oh Mistress!" the small elf said, "Is everything alright?"
"Um… no, Delilah, I'm sorry to say that it's not."
"Oh dear. I'm very worried for Master Draco. He did not look well."
Hermione nodded. "Listen, Delilah, I left the kids in the kitchen with the oven on. Will you check on them please? If they ask what happened, just tell them that I'll explain everything later. I'll take care of Master Draco." The small elf nodded and walked off towards the kitchen.
Hermione took a deep breath before entering the library. She found Draco sitting in his favorite chair clutching something to his chest as he had silent tears running down his face. Her eyes softened as she walked towards her husband. He made no acknowledgement of her presence; he just kept staring into space. She slid what he was holding out of his hands to look at it: it was a picture of him, Narcissa, and Lucius from his childhood. They were all smiling and seemed to be very happy. Hermione sighed and put the picture on the table next to the chair. Draco still hadn't moved. It was only when Hermione climbed into the chair (she was small enough that the chair could fit both of them) next to him and began to rub small circles into his back that he looked at her. His eyes held so much pain and sadness that Hermione could feel her heart breaking. "Oh Draco," she said.
And then he was crying. She held onto him as he cried his heart out. He had made peace with the loss of his father years ago but hearing that he had actually died broke Draco. Lucius was a good man; very lost but good. Narcissa had told Draco after Scorpius had been born that Lucius would have loved his grandchildren and both believed that eventually he and Hermione would have made their peace with each other. Now, he would never meet his grandchildren or see the changes to the Manor or see how happy Draco was with Hermione.
He wasn't sure how long he had cried but all he knew was the shadows in the room had changed signalling that it was around noon. When he calmed down enough, Hermione kissed his temple and led him to their bedroom where she had him lie down and try to sleep. "Wait, Hermione," he grabbed her hand before she walked out of the room. "T-tell the kids I'm sorry and that I love them."
She nodded. "I will. Now rest. I'll come check on you in a bit." He complied. She kissed his forehead one more time before closing their bedroom door and going to find Delilah and the kids.
Hermione had found Delilah in the kitchen, the pie she had been making earlier sitting on the counter, baked completely. Hermione thanked the house elf for the help and asked that she have some tea ready for Draco when he woke up. She left Delilah puttering around the kitchen to find her children huddled together in the living room trying to figure out what set their parents off earlier that morning. They all perked up when Hermione entered the room causing a small smile to grow on her face. "Hi," she said.
"Hi mum," the kids muttered. Gemma got up from the floor and hugged her mother. Hermione kissed the top of her daughter's head and smiled as she looked up at her with those silver eyes that were so similar to her father's. "Everything okay, mum?"
Hermione sighed. "No, sweetie, it's not."
"What happened?" Scorpius asked.
She took a deep breath and walked to the couch with Gemma right behind her. She sat down and immediately all her kids sat around her with Gemma curled up in her lap, Ezra at her feet and Myrna and Scorpius sitting next to her on the couch. Hermione swallowed before speaking. "Your father received some sad news this morning. Your grandfather, Lucius, passed away last night."
Myrna's brows furrowed. "But… I thought Grandpa Lucius died a long time ago?"
She shook her head. "Not quite. You remember what your dad and I told you? About the war and the punishments the Death Eaters received? About something called the Kiss?" The kids nodded. Each year, before the kids left for Hogwarts, Hermione and Draco sat the child who would be entering school for the first time and tell them about the war and their parts in it. They explained about the Dark Mark on Draco's arm and Voldemort's plans for mass genocide. And, of course, her and Draco's efforts in the war. Every last detail was explained to the kids in order to prepare them for whatever they might face as Hogwarts. Scorpius and Myrna had been extremely accepting of the story and had very few problems at Hogwarts. The twins had been the same when they heard the story and were expecting no problems at school as well.
Hermione sighed. "Your grandfather received the Kiss as punishment for his crimes during the war. Granny and your father saw him the day he received his sentence. They made their peace with each other and said their goodbyes. That was the last time either of them saw Lucius. As I'm sure you remember, the Kiss sucks someone's soul of them leaving nothing but an empty shell which is what your grandfather became. Lucius did die that day but his body was still alive. Until last night when he passed."
The kids were silent as they processed what their mother had told them. "You have to understand," Hermione emphasized, "it was a bad time for everyone. The war had just ended and the world was slowly healing but they were also still angry. The Kiss has since been outlawed and is no longer used as a form of punishment but that law came too late for your grandfather, unfortunately. He was a good man, he just made some bad choices." She gave her children a sad smile and brushed some of Myrna's hair out of her face. "He would have loved you guys. If your father and I allowed him, he probably would have spoiled each of you rotten."
The kids smiled at their mom. Hermione ran her fingers through Ezra's pale blonde hair as she sighed. "This is going to be a bit of a difficult time for your dad so, please, just be patient with him. He'll talk to you about this when he's ready but right now he needs to cope with the loss of your grandfather. He wanted me to tell you though that he loves you guys so much and he's sorry. I love you guys too."
"We love you too, mum," Scorpius said. Hermione grinned at her children.
"Come here," she said opening her arms. All four of her children jumped on her to be a part of the group hug. She laughed as all she saw was hair. "Guys, I can't breathe!" she said. They all jumped back. "Sorry, mum!" Ezra said.
She ruffled his hair and smiled. "Alright, who wants lunch because I am starving!"
"Me!" four voices said. Hermione laughed and followed her children into the kitchen, quietly hoping her husband was okay.
It would be two days before Draco emerged from their bedroom. He had cried all night that first night in Hermione's arms and spent the entirety of the second day in their bedroom. The second night he hadn't cried but Hermione still held onto him the entire night to soothe him. The third day, when he woke up, he felt lighter. Like the cloud that had been surrounding him since he had gotten the news of his dad's death was gone. He took a deep breath and realized that he could breathe freely as well. For the first time in two days, he welcomed the sun that was peeking through the curtains in their room.
Hermione had known that Draco was feeling better the moment she woke up. Her eyes fluttered open to find her husband smiling to himself and noticed that his breathing was even compared to the shaky ones he had been breathing these last few days. She propped herself up on one elbow and smiled when his eyes met hers. "You seem to be feeling better."
He nodded. "I am. That wretched cloud over my head is finally gone and I feel like I can finally breathe."
"What changed? I mean, what caused it to go away?"
He thought about it for a moment. "I think I finally made peace with my dad. I know I forgave him the day he got the Kiss but I don't think I made peace with him until after he died. I know that probably sounds terrible but there's something about his passing that allowed me to finally allowed me to bury the hatchet, if you will. His shadow is no longer haunting me in the dark corners of my past. I'm… free."
She smiled and leaned down to kiss him. It was the first kiss that they had recently shared that wasn't full of sadness or for comfort. It was a tender loving kiss that allowed both parties to express their undying love for each other without words. When they pulled out, Hermione snuggled into Draco's arms. "I'm so proud of you, you know." He smiled. "I know it sounds narcissistic but I'm proud of me too."
She chuckled and gave him another soft kiss before getting out of bed and jumping into the shower to get ready for work. Draco had other ideas, however, as he jumped in with her and made up for lost time with his wife. After a session of morning love making and a shower, Hermione kissed her husband goodbye before taking off for work. She had floo called the hospital and told Draco's boss that there had been a family emergency and would be taking the rest of the week off. His boss had been very understanding said he'd see Draco next week. Since he didn't have to leave for work, he took his time getting dressed. He opened the french doors to let some fresh air in before heading to the kitchen to get his morning coffee. He smiled at Delilah, who was relieved to have him wandering around the house again, and grabbed the Daily Prophet as he sat down in the backyard and enjoyed the morning air.
He was nibbling on some toast Delilah had brought him when Myrna walked out. He looked up at his daughter and smiled. "Hi, Minnie." Minnie was Myrna's nickname. Scorpius couldn't pronounce Myrna when she had been born, so he called her Minnie instead. It had stuck ever since.
"Hi daddy."
He put the paper down as she sat next to him on the bench. She tucked her legs under her as Draco brushed a piece of hair out of her face and smiled at her. She smiled back but it fell as she began to speak. "I-I'm sorry about Grandpa Lucius. Mum told us what happened."
He nodded. "She told me. And thank you. I'm sorry I locked myself away from you guys. That wasn't fair for you."
She shrugged. "It's okay."
He shook his head. "No, it's not. I'm your father, I shouldn't have done that. I'm supposed to be there for you at all times and I accidentally let my own grief come before you guys. It won't happen again. You guys and your mum come first in my life. That's how it has been and how it will be. I promise."
Myrna smiled. "When you're ready, if you don't mind, Scorp and I would like to hear about Grandpa. You never really talk about him but we were curious about what he was like and who he was. If that's okay with you?"
Draco smiled. "I would love to share some stories with you guys. I can't right now because it's still too fresh but I promise, I will. I'm sure Granny has some stories she'd love to share with you as well. Maybe over Christmas so we can share them together?" She smiled and nodded in agreement at that idea.
Soon after, Scorpius and the twins joined them outside and Draco apologized to his children and promised to tell them more about Lucius later after some time had passed. The kids forgave Draco and hugged him as he smiled. He would spend the rest of the week with his children, enjoying his time off from work. At night, he would make a list of stories about Lucius that he would tell the kids.
Lucius was buried a week later. It had been a small funeral party: Narcissa, Andromeda, Draco and Hermione, Blaise, and Theo had all attended. The kids had also attended. When the funeral ended, Narcissa and Andromeda walked Theo and Blaise back to the road to leave Hermione, Draco, and their kids alone for a few minutes. Draco rested his hand on the tombstone and sighed. Hermione rested her head on his shoulder and squeezed his arms soothingly. He looked at her and smiled before looking to his children.
"I'm sorry you never got to meet him," he said. "I think he would have loved you guys." He looked back to the tombstone. "I used to think he was a coward to have succumbed to the Dark Lord instead of fighting him. I realize now, that he did what he did to protect your grandmother and I. I didn't understand that until after you were born, Scorpius. I would go to the ends of the earth for you guys and do whatever I could to protect you. I know, now, that that is what my father did. He wasn't a bad person. He just went about protecting us the wrong way and it took him down a dark path with no way out. I won't make the same mistake."
The kids gave their father sad smiles. Draco wrapped an arm around Hermione who hugged him tightly. Gemma was the first of the Malfoy children to approach her father and give him a hug. Ezra was next and quickly Myrna and Scorpius joined in. The family of six stood there embracing for a few minutes. "I love you guys," Draco said.
"Love you too, dad," Ezra said.
Draco smiled at his children as they pulled out of the hug. Hermione looked up to her husband and gave him a soft kiss before leading the kids back to their grandmother, allowing Draco a moment alone. He looked back at the tombstone and patted it softly. "Love you, dad," he whispered.
He turned around and walked back to his wife who was waiting for him. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed her forehead as they wandered back to their children to take them back home.
He didn't look back.