Summary: After four and a half years of marriage, Astoria walked out on Draco, leaving a four-year-old Scorpius behind. Two years and a marriage later, Hermione is Scorpius' new mother. Scorpius refuses to let her into his heart but the matter of a kiss can change everything.

Disclaimer: I do not own the world or characters of the Harry Potter franchise. All rights go to our queen, JK Rowling.

"Father!" cried the small voice of Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, eight year old son of Draco Malfoy, as he barged into his father's study, only to find his step-mother in his place.

Hermione looked up from her spot near the cackling fire at the sound of his voice, bookmarking and shutting the book she had been reading in the process. She noticed the way he tensed defensively when he found her instead of his father, the way his jaw locked and his hands clenched at his side. She also noticed the slight evidence of a dirt stain on his trousers and the way he favored his left side over his right in the way he leaned. Hermione set her book to the side in order to give him her full attention.

"Your father isn't here, Scorpius, I'm sorry," she started. "He had to step out for a moment. Is there something I can help you with?"

Scorpius fidgeted slightly and he visibly gnawed his cheek as if he was not going to answer her. Hermione waited patiently for his response, knowing he would rather avoid her presence. About a minute went by before the young boy sighed and approached her, a small limp in his stride. Wordlessly, he lifted the right pant leg of his trousers to reveal a bruising scrape on his knee that had started to bleed slightly.

"Scorpius, what happened?" she gasped, kneeling in front of him to further inspect his injury.

"I was climbing the apple tree in the garden," he replied nervously, taking account of the concerned glare she sent his way, "and I fell on my way climbing down."

She clicked her tongue and ushered him to sit in the previously occupied chair while she called their house-elf, Mimsy. The small elf, clad in a small dress with work shoes, appeared in a snap in front of her mistress.

"Mimsy, will you please fetch me the first aid kit, down in the kitchen?" Hermione requested.

Mimsy nodded and disappeared as quickly as she had come, only to reappear a moment later with a plastic box in her arms. Hermione thanked her and bid her leave, opening the box and pulling out another, smaller box from its contents. She pulled a small, paper-wrapped bandage from the box, peeling it slowly while Scorpius looked on in confusion. He had never seen these and his father had never used one on him.

"What are those?" he questioned, moving his leg away as she tried to place it on his small wound. "Father doesn't use those, he uses magic."

She smiled fondly at the mention of his father, knowing his preference to get things done with magic. Though Draco adored Muggle things, Hermione had yet to use a Band-Aid on him so this would be a first in the Malfoy household. She gave Scorpius a pointed look and he wordlessly moved his leg back into position while she gently placed the plastic bandage on his leg.

"Some things don't always require magic, sweetheart. A Band-Aid works just as well as any spell. After all, the saying goes: Mother knows best."

"You aren't my mother."

Hermione inwardly flinched at his sudden harsh tone. For an eight-year old to be so cold, she never understood how it could be done. I guess a mother leaving does that to a boy, she supposed.

"I know that, Scorpius," she spoke softly, mindlessly rubbing the edges of the Band-Aid. "But right now, I'm all you've got and I would appreciate it if you did not use that tone of voice with me."

No words were shared for a moment.

"Are you done?" He said pointedly, just about ready to go.

She looked up at him from her kneeling position, still mindlessly rubbing his leg. Her mind retreated for a moment to think before she answered him. "No."

Scorpius sighed in frustration and annoyance. "What is there left to do?"

"A bit of magic, of course."

He wanted to throw his hands in the air, exasperated. What was the point of the bloody Band-Aid if she was just going to use magic anyway?

"You see, Scorpius, a mother's kiss has magic properties."

"It does?"

"Indeed, it does. Now, they aren't your regular healing spells. They're different."

He gave her a skeptical look. "How so?"

She hid a smile behind her hair. "They make you feel better, is all. Shall we give it a go?"

"If you want, I guess."

She smiled softly at him before leaning down to press a kiss against the bandage, her lips lingering for a brief moment until she pulled away. Scorpius watched as she pulled away from his appendage, scooting herself back to give him room.

"There," she said. "All better?"

Yes. "No."

"It must be because I'm not your mother, then."

"It must be. May I go, please?"

Hermione nodded and gestured for him to make his leave, which he couldn't make fast enough after he had given her a tight smile. She watched as he went, shutting the door firmly behind him after bidding her a goodbye and a 'thank you'. He did not hear the sad sigh that escaped her lips.

The next day, when Scorpius' friends had come for a visit, he told them of Hermione's "magic" kisses. He informed them all about the bandage—after giving a brief demonstration, of course—and the supposed magical properties of a kiss to an injury. The children—Daisy Goyle and Alyxander Zabini—laughed about the Muggle tendency.

"Well, Scorpius, did it work? Did her kiss make your boo-boo feel better?" Alyx joked, earning a small glare from his friend, effectively shutting up.

"Scorpius, I thought you didn't like your stepmother," Daisy stated.

"I don't," he defended, glancing up at the windows of Malfoy Manor, specifically the window he knew to peer into his father's study. "But she isn't that bad, I suppose."

Scorpius did not tell them about the warm feeling that lingered after Hermione kissed his wound, nor did he ever tell his father about the encounter. He stared at that window for quite some time and he supposed a mother's kiss worked after all, even if it was from your stepmother.

Literally wrote this in an hour. Hope you all enjoyed this one-shot. Thank you for reading. Feel free to leave a review.

-alice