All characters belong to JK Rowling, I wrote this just for fun, as a big Dramione shipper. English is not my first language, so please bear with me :) Enjoy!
Chapter 1
She knew something was wrong. She knew she should have trusted her gut feeling, she learned that in the war. The reason she didn't was clear enough, she didn't want it to happen. It was the reason she chose this job. A teacher didn't fight, she used her wand to clean up spilled ink and for other basic skills, she wasn't even allowed to teach the kids magic. She knew how to react to accidental magic. However, she didn't know how to react to this, the war was 6 years ago, she was still a brilliant witch, no one could deny that, but she was not prepared for this.
He was gone, it was her fault. She was feeling weak, her soft hands were looking for some support, but she was standing in the middle of the dark room, out of breath and panicking. She could still hear him screaming in her head.
She felt her muscles clench up when he barged in, his heavy breathing and red eyes letting her know he's not mad, but raging. He was losing his control she thought he always had. Malfoy's didn't show emotion, but right then and there, he was showing every spark his mind and body were undergoing. She couldn't blame him, she was going through the same storm, he might not think they were, but she knew. She had a special bond with Scorpius, no one could deny that. "If something happens to him count yourself dead, Granger" he whispered, she could feel the sincerity in his voice, but she understood. "I'm so sorry, I don't know how..." before she could finish her sentence, his trembling voice interrupted. "I... I don't blame you, but we have to find him, I will never be able to forgive myself, you have to help me, please" he begged, a tear falling down his pale face. "Of course, I am the one responsible for him here... I am so sorry." She said before her voice gave up on her. Here they were, standing in front of each other, crying, feeling broken. Scorpius was gone, taken away from them. She blamed herself, and he blamed himself. Maybe they were both to blame.
"We don't have a second to waste, Granger. Tell me exactly what happened first. We have to find him." he said, his brain trying to gain control over his powerful emotions. He was building his wall, she could feel his discomfort from having shown any emotion. He made the small adjustments making him a Malfoy. His hands stopped trembling, but she could see him holding them in fists. His stance was straight, radiating power. His face, previously showing all these emotions, turned stone cold. He made eye contact, his eye were dark grey, just like Scorpius' she just noticed.
She told him, every little detail. "I apparated to the school gate at around 7.00. It was closed, but I could feel some magic lingering around, I should have trusted my gut, Malfoy, I'm so sorry." She told breaking down again, she was trembling and the tears were filling her deep brown eyes up.
"Granger, get yourself together, we don't have time. So you felt traces of magic? What more?" He asked with a strong voice, the sadness disappeared, but it made the way for angst and determination.
She continued with a trembling voice, "I did, but it wasn't powerful, I thought it might have been parents apparating here early and trying to access the building with magic or something. When I went inside everything was normal. I organized some documents in the teacher's room and put the kettle on for some tea. A few minutes later Scorpius and Mr. Dowell apparated outside." she explained thinking hard, he noticed her eyes focus on his shoulder, trying to think of every small detail. He was grateful for that.
He chose her for a reason, for this reason. He never thought it would happen with a teacher like Hermione by his son's side, but maybe he expected too much, the war was already 6 years ago. He was sure she still had amazing dueling skills, and her brain works harder than the average witch or wizard, but maybe he expected too much. Maybe it was all his fault.
"He left Scorpius with me, it was not different from any other morning. He did his routine protection spells, while I made a cup of tea for Scorpius. We said goodbye, and he left. I was still busy with the documents and told him he was allowed to play in the classroom if he wanted." She sniffed, blaming herself for leaving the small kid alone. She has to stay strong, for Scorpius, for Malfoy. "I could hear him making car noises, that's when I suddenly heard a pop, it was exactly an apparating sound, but I thought it was impossible, the wards are set by Harry, Ron and myself. I still don't know how... but then I heard him screaming my name..." She was tearing up again, too emotional to talk. She felt his cold hand on her shoulder. "Breath, Granger, you can cry after we find him. Please get yourself together, we need to find him." She could feel the sincerity in his voice, she was grateful for him not blaming her fully. For not killing her on the spot.
"He screamed, the lights went all off. The building was pitch dark, and Lumos didn't work. I don't know how they did it. The light of outside didn't come in, not even a stray of sunlight, I don't know. I was trying everything I could, I was running to the classroom. But that's when I heard another pop. I think they might have put a silencing charm on him, I didn't hear him after screaming my name. It was completely dark, I did the emergency spell, two seconds later you came. When you opened the door the darkness went away. I thought they might have broken the apparating wand, but I knew they didn't when you came running through the gate. I don't know how they did it, I'm sure there is no way around it. But I heard the pop two times. It all happened so fast, Malfoy. Not even a minute." She finished her story, still trembling and feeling lightheaded, but this wasn't the time for weakness.
"Pack your stuff, close the school. I'll make sure every parent gets an owl and the kids have a place to go until Scorpius is back." He was thinking hard, she had seen this expression multiple times before, back in Hogwarts. It was when they were competing for the highest grade, and she subtly took a peek at him, seeing him thinking hard, working the same expression on his face as she did to solve difficult questions.
She thought back at how this all started. Harry and Ron became Aurors after the war, she went back for her seventh year. She knew she didn't want to fight anymore, she didn't want anything to do with darkness and hate. Malfoy came back to finish his education too, not having to serve time in Azkaban. The hate he used to have for her wasn't there anymore, but they were not friends either. Amicable might be the correct word. A small nod to each other when passing in the library was the relationship they had. Soon they graduated. She became a teacher, educating students before they started Hogwarts, she loved her job. Small kids showed so much character already, she mentally sorted them in houses. Most of the time she was correct, sometimes she was shocked by the results or just guessed wrong but agreed with the sorting hat. Just like the time she was sure the most cunning and ambitious student she ever taught, Ada, was not sorted into Slytherin but Ravenclaw.
That was until Scorpius was enrolled. She always thought the rich and elite wizarding families chose to educate their children privately, hiring a teacher for every subject, so she was shocked (to say the least) to hear that Draco Malfoy chose her small school to send his son to. Well, she knew he didn't think she was a filthy mudblood anymore, but she was sure someone like Malfoy would have given his heir the best education possible, and he had the money for the best private tutors in the world. Her school was doing great, Hermione was the brightest witch of her age, and famous. Who wouldn't want their children to be taught by the smart war heroine? But she knew this was not the reason Malfoy chose her school, she couldn't think a valid reason either. Maybe he just wanted his child to be normal. As far as being the son of the richest man of Britain normal one could be.
In his last year of Hogwarts, he inherited all the investments of his father. Hermione was sure it was difficult for him, but he was raised to be the future heir, so maybe it wasn't as much of a shock for him as one would think. He was very successful, doubling the net worth of the Malfoy company. He was an entrepreneur in flesh and blood and a very good one.
She was very shocked to read in Witch Weakly that he was going to be a dad at the young age of 20. Only two years after the war, a year after he graduated Hogwarts. No one knew the identity of the lucky lady, only learning it was Astoria Greengrass after the news came out she died giving birth. Hermione felt some grief for her former classmate. Losing a loved one, raising a small child alone at 20 years old is challenging she's sure. Especially running the biggest company in Europe at the same time. That's when all the news about Malfoy stopped. He was always a private person, even if he chose to show off his wealth in his youth, people change, people grow.
The day she learned that the five-year-old Scorpius would become her student, she was shocked. Her school in London was too successful. So she chose to teach at a second smaller school, having a closer, much more personal relationship with the children and parents is what made Hermione a teacher at the best of her abilities. When she first met Mr. Dowell, she was impressed with the grace and power he radiated, when she learned he was the personal assistant, the right hand of the one and only Draco Malfoy it all made sense.
She was not scared, but one could not blame her for being distressed about the situation. It didn't make any sense. Malfoy never came to school himself. Mr. Dowell, well, she got the permission to call him Alexander, but she only did it when they were alone, was the messenger, the one she had parent meetings with. "Why?", she had asked, too curious, "Because Mr. Malfoy is a very busy man, trusting your ability to teach his son the knowledge and giving him the space to evolve his own personality." Mr. Dowell had answered. Back then she was impressed and grateful in a way that Malfoy would trust her enough to let his son spend 8 hours a day in her school, in her class. In the back of her mind, she knew there was another reason, one she wasn't allowed to know, and she didn't want to know.
It was confirmed when she met Scorpius for the first time, Mr. Dowell wouldn't leave without special protection spells, ones Hermione never heard of. She was not happy with it at the beginning, but she understood. Malfoy was just too powerful and wealthy, and with that came enemies.
She knew she can not have any favorites as a teacher, but the bond she had with Scorpius was different from the one with her other student. He came an hour too early every day because Malfoy and Alexander start their day at the office way too early. She didn't want to accept it at the beginning, but she started her day at the school way too early as well. They would have a cup of tea together, play or read. The small routine they formed was great, Scorpius was exceptional for his age, the conversations they had were not ones all five years old would be able to understand or follow. She knew Astoria was not the best student back in the day, so maybe his intelligence was something little Scorpius inherited from his dad. The small boy had the typical Malfoy look, his blonde hair was styled perfectly every day, his robed were made of the most expensive material and the way he holds himself was a five-year-old displaying what self-confidence is, just like his mom and dad used to do back in the day. His eyes were hazel on the outside, turning to a dark grey towards the inside. She couldn't remember if Astoria had brown eyes, but she came to that conclusion as she remembered all the Malfoys had either grey or blue eyes. His facial expressions were much softer than Draco's, Scorpius had them from Astoria for sure. She remembered the time she used to work with her for Potions. Astoria was not how she expected her to be, she thought all Slytherins were rude and stuck up. Astoria, however, was the most elegant, beautiful and polite girl. Even the way she used to cut sheep eyes was graceful, Hermione used to look up at her natural beauty and grace. She was grateful for the witch not hating her for being muggle-born, and not calling her a mudblood. They were not friends, but they got along just fine. Hermione would take the lead, and Astoria just followed her and did what Hermione asked. She definitely saw why Malfoy would fall for her.
Hermione was a bit judgemental when she heard that Scorpius Malfoy was being enrolled. She remembers telling Ginny and claiming she didn't have the energy to deal with a second Draco Malfoy. One could not blame her, she was bullied by him for six years! Ginny had laughed and reminded Hermione that Malfoy changed and the child is not being raised by a father like Lucius Malfoy. Ginny made a point, and she was right. Scorpius Malfoy was the most polite child she ever met. Of course, he's a child and a very smart one for that, so some mischief was normal. But Scorpius always made sure to apologize if caught, to wait his turn before talking, and not forget his thank you and you're welcome's.
He was very fond of her as well, after the 8 months they spend together so closely five days a week. Maybe it was because he doesn't have a mother figure, as far as Hermione knew Malfoy never dated after Astoria. The Witch Weekly would have gone crazy if he did, making him the front page news for sure if he was caught with a female. Hermione and Scorpius bonded really well, and Hermione always made sure to play into the interests of her students, making sure they grew up to become respectful and educated individuals, ready to start their magic education at Hogwarts. She knew Scorpius would do amazing, his magic skills were very outstanding already.
He must be so scared, thinking Hermione didn't save him, not knowing she tried but couldn't. She felt her eyes tear up at the memories of him in his classroom, playing with his friends. The memories of them having tea in the morning and reading a book together, making different noises for each character. She was scared, she felt alone, but she remembered she was not when she felt the boy's father touch her arm and apparating them inside the huge living room of Malfoy Manor.
She was ready to fight, for Scorpius.
