Author's Note: So basically, almost everything that happened at the Battle of Hogwarts did happen, except for the bit where Harry goes into the forest after Voldemort. He was detained somehow, or something, but the point is, Voldy's not dead, and the war rages on. Hermione and Ron, caught up in the giddiness of still being alive, of being young and in love, (and maybe of being caught in a teenage pregnancy? Who knows…) impulsively got married a while after. Baby Rose came along nine months later. It's been six months since then, making Rose exactly that age and Hermione twenty years old. Unfortunately, about a month after Rose was born, Ron got caught up in an ambush and was killed by an unknown Death Eater. Another thing that went differently at the Battle of Hogwarts (I'm going to go between movie canon and book canon, though I try to stay with the books, for whatever suits this story better) is that Draco didn't come back to the dark side when his mother asked him to and is now with the light. However, he is still not trusted and has been posted at a sort of safe house on an island, along with a few other individuals, while Hermione is needed to help Harry in the war. Long story short, this is how we wind up here. Please enjoy!
The waves are loud tonight, stirred by the strong wind and mixing with the rain. They crash on a small beach at the foot of a hill, warning this tiny island of the impending storm. On top of the hill perches a cottage, deceptively small and seemingly fragile against the bursts of wind, its shutters creaking with each gust.
Inside the little cottage, it's warm. Light pours from several branches of candles and from a fire, landing on the soft yellow walls of the room and on Hermione Granger standing by the window, holding a child in her arms.
"Mummy loves you so much, darling, so very much. For always – Mummy will always, always love you, no matter what," Hermione coos softly to her sleeping baby, rocking her slowly back and forth in her arms. "You are so precious, Rosie, such a beautiful, precious gift."
Draco Malfoy, absently tapping his wand against his leg, watches impassively from the doorway. He shifts from his position leaning on the frame, and takes a few more steps into the room, crossing his arms. "Granger. You should be going. They'll be at the rendezvous point very soon."
Hermione frowns slightly, still staring down at her daughter. "I know. I just-" she pauses, running a finger down the child's face, and then looks up at Draco. "Will you…will you promise me something? I don't mean to ask anything more of you, you're already doing so much, but I just need a…reassurance, I suppose." He nods, and she looks back down at the child, her face pinched with worry. "You'll find me, won't you? Find me, contact me somehow, once the war's over or if –" No. That thought is too horrible to even complete.
"Nothing will happen to her. And of course I'll find you once the war is over. You'll have her back in no time," Draco says reassuringly.
"And if…and if something were to somehow happen to me, will you tell her what I was like? I know that you and I haven't always had the most…amicable…relationship –"
He snorts. "Understatement of the century."
"– but you've got to have some sense of who I am." She glances up at him. "And tell her about her father. Tell her that he wanted so badly to be with her, but that he died fighting so that the world would be free, so that all the other parents could be with their children. Tell her that I was fighting for that too, that I desperately didn't want to leave her but that I had to. Tell her that we loved her so much, that we will always love her, no matter what."
"Being a mother definitely brings out the sentimentality, I see." Hermione raises an eyebrow at Draco, and he sighs. "I promise. Of course I promise. And nothing's going to happen to you. You'll come back fine and be her mother. And I won't be stuck on permanent baby duty. No offense or anything, but I'd rather you be mommy than me."
She laughs once, and then looks up, sighing. "Thank you, Malfoy." Leaning down, she presses her lips to the baby's forehead. "Goodbye, my darling girl. I will see you so very soon. Be safe. Be strong. I love you more than anything, and I will love you for always." Hermione gazes down into the girl's face for one moment longer, and then carefully places her into Malfoy's arms. "You take care of her, you hear? And God help you if I come back and you've turned her into some little Slytherin or have her calling me mummy Mudblood or something."
"Mummy Mudblood? That's actually rather good, Granger, thanks."
She ignores him, still standing there, staring at Rose as if she can imprint the picture of her daughter into her brain forever. "Well. I should go. But truly – keep her safe. Please. She is my whole entire life. I am endlessly in debt to you, Malfoy, for doing this, but just keep her safe."
He scoffs and turns around into the next room, walking to stand by the doorway, Hermione following him. "I'm not just any old wizard, you know. I happen to be rather special when it comes to magic. Besides, we're on a tiny bloody island in the middle of the gigantic bloody ocean. Nobody's going to find us. She'll be fine." Hermione is still staring at her baby, and he nudges her shoulder, causing her to look up at him. "Now, you really need to go, if you want to meet them at all."
"Right." She gazes down at Rose again
"Going requires moving, Granger," Draco says, gently pushing her towards the door. "She'll be safe. You know she will. Now bloody go."
Hermione stands in the now open door for a moment longer, gazing at her baby, and then she looks up at Draco, smiling tightly. "Goodbye, and…thank you." She turns, shutting the door behind her. He waits a moment, listening. Then the crack of her apparition sounds above the waves, and she is well and truly gone.
Let me know if you've got any suggestions or ideas! Really though, any reviews would be nice to get. (Hint hint, nudge nudge.) Anyways, I'll try to have the next chapter up soon, so that we can see if this story will actually go anywhere.
