Disclaimer: I do not own any of the HP elements shown in this story. Kindly read and review. Perhaps it's best that you imagine that the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows did not exist and instead these are the events that took place.

Summary: Who would've thought that Draco was not an only child? Right, no one did. The same went for Hermione. But everything changes when she has a chance encounter with a small boy in the park one summer day. Will Draco and Hermione's affection for the child bring them together or push them further away from each other?

About a Boy and a Girl

Chapter One

The world seemed bigger to him now that he was alone. Alone. He had never been alone in his life and this frightened him very much. At this point in his life, he was allowed to be scared of a lot of things but this proved to be the most frightening yet.

He could feel hot tears welling up in his eyes. Desperately, he searched his surroundingss hoping he would catch sight of that one familiar face that gave him much comfort. But it was nowhere to be found. He wandered on, crying out. But no one came to his aid.

And then the tears started to flow. He grew tired of wiping them away when they would just keep coming and coming.

Then he sank to the ground pounding the earth, tears still sliding down his face.

The fear was greatly overwhelming but he could not do anything about it. He was helpless.

Nothing fueled Hermione's anger more than ignorance. How much more apathetic could these people get? The child was clearly lost and yet, not one soul bothered to help the poor thing. Well, that's about to change.

She tentatively abandoned Ginny at the ice cream stand and carefully approached the little boy. She only shook her head thinking how much afraid the small child must be at that moment. Then she cast a glare full of loathing at the people who just looked on as the child continued to wail. The morals of these people.

Upon reaching the little boy, she put on her gentlest face and knelt down beside him. She took out her handkerchief and began wiping the tears of the boy's face. "Hey there," she began quietly so as not to get the child more anxious. "Are you lost?" she continued.

Thankfully, the boy's crying was now reduced to sobs as he nodded his head slowly. Hermione stared at the wet face in front of her and thought she recognized an oddly familiar face but could not quite put her finger on whom exactly. Perhaps that was partially the reason why she felt obliged to help him.

Back to more pressing matters, she pushed the thought aside and reserved pondering it for another time. For now, she resolved to return this child to his probably worried parents.

"Do you want me to help you find your Mummy and Daddy?" she asked, not quite certain the kid understood her when he shook his head. Then she opted to try another approach.

She looked directly at him then asked, "Mum-my?" He shook his head. "Dad-dy?" Same response. "Who are you looking for?"

The kid had totally stopped crying now and was able to answer. His voice was small and clear enough for Hermione to comprehend. "Big bwathow."

"Oh, okay," was all she could say. Big brother. That's why he was not looking for his parents. He must have gone to the park with his brother.

She smiled. "Well, do you want–" But she broke off mid-sentence when she sensed a tapping of her shoulder.

She turned and saw Ginny outstretched arm handing her a pistachio cone. She had completely forgotten about it. "You know, I had to pay for that." Hermione took the cone and gave it to the kid.

"Here, you can have this," she whispered. The boy happily licked the ice cream as Hermione stood up.

Ginny continued, "You know... You worried me... One moment... you were just standing beside me... the next thing I knew... I had to pay for your ice cream... because you vanished... I thought... you left for good... So... who is this kid?" Ginny managed to say all this between licks of her strawberry ice cream.

"This little boy is lost," she replied. As if for recognition, the little boy held on to Hermione's hand and used it to help himself stand up. Ice cream in hand, he warily approached Ginny and turned his now ice cream-covered face to look up at Ginny.

Upon seeing the toddler's face, Ginny crouched down near him. "Such an adorable face." Seeing Ginny's bright smile, the small boy couldn't help but break into a grin that only made Ginny giggle with adoration.

"Do we really need to return him?" she asked, turning now to Hermione, wearing a pout.

"I already have one baby to take care of," she teased then laughed. She bent down and picked him up. To Ginny, "Come on, we have someone's big brother to find," and to the kid, tickling his stomach, "Isn't that right?" The kid's laugh was infectious and as Ginny got up, they all shared a laugh.

As they began to set off in search of the missing boy's brother, Ginny said, "So, what's his name?" as she took a break from entertaining the toddler in Hermione's arms.

Hermione blinked then chuckled to herself. "Funny. I forgot to ask."

Ginny took the chance and cooed to the small boy while she played with his hands. "Hey, little buddy. My name's Ginny and this is He-Hermi..."

"Hermi? Ginny, what are you...?"

"Hermione, you're name's too long. It would be difficult for him to remember that. Hermi's fine. Ginny, Hermi. See? It's easier." Ginny chuckled. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Her-mi," the toddler said, giggling after. Hermione flashed him a smile.

Ginny, back to the child, "So what's your name?"

He seemed to be a very smart kid and it was evident through his slow but smart reply. "My name is Erin Malfoy."

Hermione stopped in her tracks. She swallowed hard. Both girls wore surprised expressions as they looked at each other.

Then it struck Hermione. The uncanny familiarity upon first glance. She stared at Erin's face for an instant and that confirmed it. Erin was like a small-scale version of the arrogant pureblood fanatic, only made endearing and nicer.

Ginny appeared to voice out the thoughts going around her head. "But how could someone so adorable and sweet and innocent be a member of that wretched family?" Ginny remarked with what sounded like regret in her voice. It was like the time she found out her crush, the fit guy who works at Flourish and Blotts, was not exactly a straight lad. So much regret for her part.

"It might be one of nature's miracles," Hermione said. "They just cannot be explained sometimes."

"More like nature's catastrophes." Ginny sighed and they proceeded with their search.

Perhaps, knowledge of the boy's name was indeed going to be of good use. After all, who did not know the Malfoys?

They roamed around the park and found out, from recent inquiries from random people, that the said Malfoy was still in the park.

Erin had fallen asleep now. No surprise there. They had been seeking out his brother for 2 hours nonstop. The girls were growing tired too. The park bench under a tree seemed to be enough of a refuge for them.

"Where the hell is that damn ferret boy?!" Ginny exclaimed, aggravated now due to the heat and weariness.

"Shh. Quiet down, Ginny. You might wake him up," cautioned Hermione. But Erin slept on; unaware of what was to happen while he remained in his peaceful slumber.

"We've been searching for hours now, Hermione. Still, nothing. We might as well return him when school starts."

From Ginny's tone, it appeared she wanted to give up now. It was not like her at all. But then, she did have other things on her plate today. She and Harry had scheduled a date for today, Harry's birthday, and they wanted to celebrate it together. Ten minutes had passed since the set rendezvous time.

"You can go with Harry now, Ginny. It's really okay with me. This was unexpected and you had made commitments. If you go now, you can make it only fifteen minutes late. I'm sure Harry will understand if you explain." At that Ginny got up from the bench and faced Hermione.

"Thank you so much, Hermione. You are such a considerate friend. Are you sure you can manage?" Hermione nodded. "Well..." She sighed. "I'll be off then. Bye." With a quick smile she turned and walked away.

"Wait!" Hermione carefully stood up to make sure Erin wasn't disturbed and walked to Ginny. She took out a wrapped package from her bag and handed it to Ginny. "Give this to Harry and greet him 'Happy Birthday' for me."

Ginny nodded and after waving goodbye to each other, they both set off in different directions.

Draco's scowl was getting more profound with each passing moment that he still isn't with his brother. He currently abhors the person he had entrusted him to. His instructions were very simple: Keep an eye on Erin while he buys her some soda.

Returning to the group, he found her reading a magazine while the tyke was nowhere in sight. He had wandered off and she had not even taken notice of it.

Draco threw the can to the ground with the exclamation, "Damn it, Pansy!" He then walked off to begin his search for his lost brother. Pansy, suddenly taking in the present situation, hurried along to keep up with him.

As Pansy jogged along beside him, he shot her a burning glare. "If anything happens to him, I will have no hesitation killing you. Remember that." His voice rang with ferocity, not caring whether he had hurt her feelings.

Two hours of probing and his efforts were still fruitless. That is until he saw the sleeping head of the younger Malfoy draped on a woman's shoulder. A kidnapping, of course.

With stealth, he advanced on the lady then grabbed her roughly by the arm and turned her to come face-to-face with him. He heard her gasp.

"What do you think...?" But he never finished that sentence. Instead, he started a new one. "Granger, what are you doing with my brother?"

Draco, standing a good eight inches higher than Hermione, gave her a look that would have scared the hell out of anyone. But this was Hermione he was talking to. One of the very few people who did not show even the slightest fear of him.

Hermione's reaction was quick. He took Erin's sleeping form from her with the most mildness the situation could provide and handed him to Draco. Draco took him from Hermione and positioned him the way he was just moments before.

"I am simply returning him to you. Now that that's done. I'll be going." Hermione wanted this meeting with Draco to be as quick as possible. From past experiences, run-ins with him never ended nicely.

Luckily, she was able to escape without causing a scene.

And as she walked alone now, she thought, Bye, Erin.

Draco stared at Hermione's retreating form. Thank you, he thought, rather wishing that he could have said that to her. But he did not. Of course, his pride did not allow him to.

Pansy stood by him, brows furrowed. She messes up and the Mudblood saves the day. That wasn't how things were supposed to happen. Maybe now, she would look even worse to Draco. She was not about to leave things that way.

As Draco turned to leave, he buried his head in Erin's hair, taking advantage of Erin's state, he whispered, "Why'd it have to be her?"