A/N: This is writing en in response to the Halloween Fest 2018 on Strictly Dramione Facebook group. All of the characters are the brainchild of J.K. Rowling. The only thing I derive from my wholly original work is a labor of love.
THE MARKET
Five years post war
Halloween is a fun time of year for children, and the young at heart. The weather begins to cool and the leaves change color. It is a time full of magic. It is a time of life and harvest. Making apple cider and pumpkin juice, carving jack-o-lanterns and shopping for vegetables and antiques in open air markets becomes a staple of Hermione's life when she is away from work. One such Saturday, finds Hermione perusing the items as she takes her time with her shopping. It is a lazy day and she sees no reason to hurry. Feeling a tug on her sweater, Hermione looks down. There is a little boy, no more than three standing at her feet. He has a cherubic face with white blond hair and grey eyes. He looked familiar, this little boy reminded her of a person that Hermione hasn't thought of since she testified at his trial after the war.
"Hello, young man. What's your name?"
"I'm Scorp, do you know my mummy?" the little boy answered. "Can you help me find her?"
Hermione was stunned, this must be Malfoy's little boy. She had heard he had married and divorced. She bent down in front of him. "I'm sorry Scorp, I don't know your mummy. But I know your daddy."
Scorp's face lit up, "You know my daddy?"
Hermione smiled, "I do. We went to school together years ago. Where is your daddy?"
Scorp looked scared for a moment. "I don't know. I was looking for my mummy and I walked this way. I lost him." Tears began to pool in the little boys eyes.
"Don't worry Scorp. I will help you find your daddy." Standing up, Hermione reached out and picked Scorp up. "Keep your eyes open for your daddy. He is probably looking for you too."
Hermione was afraid that Draco would be furious when they found him. He would not like that she was holding his son. Blood purity will always matter to some people. She also knows that Draco will be frantic with worry, trying to find Scorp, scared of what could be happening to his son.
Walking through the market, Hermione was looking for Malfoy, keeping up a stream of conversation with Scorp, trying to keep him occupied so he would not be frightened the longer it took to find his daddy. Sure enough, just a few yards ahead of them, Hermione heard a commotion. She glanced in the direction it came from and spied a shock of white blond hair as Draco was running from stall to stall, shouting for Scorp.
"Malfoy!" Hermione cried. "Over here." Throwing her arm in the air, she caught Draco's attention. "There is your daddy, Scorp." Scorp began wriggling to get down. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Scorp started running to his daddy.
When Draco reached Scorp, he picked him up and clasped him to his chest. Gasping for breath, fighting tears back himself, Draco was quite scared. Rocking Scorp side to side, he seemed to gather his composure. "Oh Scorp, where did you go? I've never been so scared when I couldn't find you."
"I'm sorry daddy. I don't meant to scare you." Scorp was crying as he spoke to his daddy. "I found the lady and thought she could help find mummy." Draco was visibly shaken at the admission.
"Oh buddy. I'm sorry. Mummy isn't here. What lady did you find?" looking up Draco stared at Hermione.
"Hello, Hermione." Draco said softly.
"Draco, how have you been?" Hermione asked. There was a gleam in Malfoy's eyes Hermione had never seen in the stand offish young man.
"I have been good. Scorp keeps me on my toes." Draco seemed to be lightly flirting with Hermione.
Hermione smiled. "I am sure that he does. Children are experts at that. What brings you to the market today?"
Draco grinned back at her, "Would you believe that we came to pick out Scorp's first pumpkin to carve."
"How fun. He is going to love it. The pumpkin patch here is great. They have all sorts of pumpkins. "
Scorp raised his head from his daddy's shoulder. "You want to come with us, Miss lady?"
Draco looked at Scorp," Scorp this is Miss Granger. What do you say, Granger? Come with us?"
Draco smiled a wide, pleased smile. "Come on Granger. It'll be fun." Draco seemed determined to invite Hermione along. Hermione looked into Draco's eyes, searching for honesty. "Alright, that sounds like fun. I'll go with you and Scorp."
Anyone watching the small group walk through the market would believe they were a small family looking for a little adventure for the young child. The couple seemed to have intense feelings for the other, one could feel the love they had for their child.
One Year Later
Hermione was smiling as she strolled along through the market, picking out apples for cider tonight. Her life had changed drastically in the last year. She now has a family that loves her and makes her try harder every day. Feeling a tug on the hem of her sweater, she glanced down and smiled. "Hey Scorp. Where's your daddy?"
"He's coming, mummy." Scorp pointed down the lane, sure enough Draco was striding down the lane.
"Hello, Hermione," Draco leaned in and gave Hermione a light kiss on the lips. "Are you about ready? We still need to pick out a pumpkin and get home. We need to get ready for trick-or-treating with the Potter's."
"Just picking out some apples for cider. It will be a nice treat to help warm us up this evening, after we get back from Harry and Ginny's." Hermione looked down at Scorp. "Are you looking forward to trick-or-treating? You finally get to wear your costume.
Scorp started cheering. "Let's go now. Trick-or-treat!" Scorp and Draco had had so much fun picking out his costume. They had even kept it a secret from Hermione.
"Yea, let's go." Hermione was anxious to see the elusive costume. Draco can be a little sneaky when he wants to be.
A few hours later
"Close your eyes, mummy. I'm coming out." Scorp certainly wanted his costume to be a surprise. Hermione was sitting in the living room sofa. "Alright, I'm not looking. Come on out."
Hermione could hear Scorp and Draco move down the hall, "Okay, mummy. I'm ready." Blinking her eyes open, she took one look at Scorp and burst out laughing.
Standing in front of her is a little Harry Potter, from the bottom of his sneakers to the top of his unruly black hair.
"Oh, honey. You are just too cute. That is the perfect costume. I daresay your Aunt Ginny is going to love it too."
Draco looked far too smug, he never could stand being coming in second to Harry Potter. Hermione moved to Draco and hugged him to her. "You and Scorp worked so hard on his costume. That is perfect. Your memory is spot on."
Draco wrapped his arms around her, "He had fun trying different costumes. We tried on so many. Finally, it just came to us. Be Harry for tonight, and be happy."
Hermione threw her head back and started laughing, deep belly laughs.