A.N. Yeeeaah hi. (...those TPS reports...) It's me again. I really love the reunion fics. So I thought I'd try one! But I always hate that authors basically just drop the friendship between Hermione, Harry, and Ron, and that just doesn't sit right with me. Like they could just drop something like that. So! Here's one where they stay friends, even through their distance and the passage of time!

Also: this is currently a one-shot, but depending on how popular it is, I will continue. I've got it mapped out and everything! So this could be considered the prologue with the rest of the story being Hermione and Draco's love story.

Enjoy! I would like to thank Ciara (TinyIrishPrincess) for being such a great friend! (and beta-ing this as well. But mainly the being-a-great-friend thing.)

How to pronounce Bootes: Boo-OH-teez

Disclaimer: Don't be ridiculous. I NO OWN Harry Potter. So...yeaaaahhh...

Stained

A year after the war and many months of auror training/on-the-field work, Hermione Granger was given a top secret auror assignment that required her to leave her family and friends for however long it took for her mission to last.

This was nearly twenty years ago.

In a few minutes, Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley were finally going to see her again.

As part of her mission—her top secret mission—she wasn't allowed to tell people where she was going, what she would be doing, or how long she would be gone.

Hermione would never do anything to compromise her mission, her safety, and the safety of her mission. But after two years of only being able to owl Harry and Ron nondescript letters of pretty much the boring parts of her days, she found it time enough for her to disclose some part of her quest.

That she was stationed to watch over a questionable ex-Death Eater who was rumored to want to stir up more trouble. It wasn't entirely certain where or when or how, so Hermione had been sent in to keep watch. She was trusted enough to keep a level head and not barge in to cause unwanted trouble just in case the former Death Eater really had renounced their ways, but she was capable enough to hold her own if worse came to worse.

It was killing Harry and Ron that there was no way for them to help her, no way to know how, but they knew she was a competent witch and didn't need their help.

But still.

It wasn't enough that she had to be apart from them. No, she had to be in (possible) danger as well with no way for them to help her.

(It was killing them.)

They were able to sate their anxiety (if only) by the letters that Hermione sent weekly, sometimes daily. She always made sure to reassure them every letter that she was fine and safe and well, and it was enough.

For a while.

Once Hermione informed them of her mission, her letters stopped being so much about books and more about how her observations were going. She made sure to never even accidentally allude to who her subject was, but Harry and Ron had to admit these frustratingly vague letters were a step up from the countless pages of...well, whatever Hermione had been reading that day, they could never really recall what, exactly.

But then there came a day when Hermione's letter...changed. It was obvious that she was hiding something, hiding something big (something that must have annoyed her immensely because her letters were always short and tart), and it was strange.

Not because they had never seen Hermione this buggered before.

It was because these letters lasted for more than a year.

Harry and Ron had brought it up once they could no longer take her glumness. She hadn't written to them for a whole week and it nearly killed them. When she finally replied, she apologized immensely for avoiding them and leading them to believe she was injured/dead, going on to explain that work was just really getting to her these past couple of weeks and she was starting to see no end in sight.

But the strange letters continued for an entire year. They could sense her false cheeriness, and they almost went on a world-wide rampage to find her when she sent a letter claiming that she "didn't feel like reading anymore."

When she sent the letter with smeared blood and ink on it, they almost had a heart attack. They stormed the Ministry demanding they tell them where Hermione was, but they were assured multiple times that Hermione was safe and living, but the mission was taking an unexpected turn and Hermione would have to continue on for a little longer than anticipated.

It hurt them to know that more time was being added to their separation, but they could manage a little better this time because at least her letters were getting better.

In fact, it was almost creepy how happy her letters were now as opposed to the whole year of almost two-sentence letters. She had to catch up on all the reading that she missed, so she warned that her letters weren't going to be as frequent as they usually were. They understood this because Harry and Ron were starting lives of their own.

They still had auror missions, of course; none so drastic as Hermione's, though. Harry and Ginny had been wed and expected their first child, and Ron, still pining for Hermione (she said she didn't think it best to continue on a long distance relationship as things were. They had both agreed that if they felt the same when they were reunited, whatever they had before she left would be perused once again.), focused heavily on Quidditch and his auror job more than people thought he would. It was rather refreshing for his friends and family.

For two years, Harry and Ron marveled at the happiness that was exuding from the letters. It was as if glitter was hanging off every word. They both agreed it was very strange.

"She must be excited to be coming home soon," Ron chuckled, somewhat awkwardly.

"That must be it," Harry agreed in much the same manner.

But they both silently agreed that the glitter was faintly blushing. Faintly reminiscent of love.

And that wasn't possible. At all. Magic was possible, and war and death and miracles, but love for Hermione Granger that happened without their knowledge was out. of. the. question.

She was on some life-endangering, ex-Death Eater mission, for Godric's sake.

She did not have time for love.

But as more years went by, more letters exchanged, more of this dark tunnel of detachment with no end in sight, the boys were beginning to think that anything was possible.

"She's been gone for a long time."

"I know."

"Something's wrong."

"I know."

"We need to do something."

"I know."

"You sure do know a lot all of a sudden, Ron."

"Shut up, Harry."

And with that, the two boys rushed right over to the ministry to demand they tell them Hermione's whereabouts. If the Death Eater hadn't done anything by now, they probably never were.

They were shot down immediately.

"She can not leave until everyone involved in this situation—including her subject itself—is sure that absolutely no lives will be in danger once she leaves. As of right now, we are at our most critical time."

"That's rubbish! I'm starting to think she isn't even on some mission anymore and that she just left us!" Ron shouted this in a cracking voice, and the Minister of Magic's eyes softened minisculy.

"I assure you she did not leave you. But you know how stubborn Hermione is. She won't leave until she is one hundred and two percent positive no lives will be at stake."

Harry sighed in defeat, and the softness in the Minister's eyes vanished in a second. Harry and Ron felt bested and broken, and asking questions they already knew the answers to seemed the best way to cope. "Can you at least tell us where she is?"

"No."

"Can you tell us how long she'll be gone?"

"No."

"Can you tell us what she's doing?"

"Absolutely not."

Ron snapped. Again. "Can you tell us what she had for lunch?" he practically snarled.

"A turkey club."

"Ahhhhg!"

The next day, the Ministry agreed to a discreet meeting between the trio.

They were to meet undercover in an ordinary cafe in Ireland. It wasn't that hard for the three to find each other, even in their ridiculous disguises. (Ron even went as far as dying his hair as blond as Malfoy's as a sort of joke for the three. The look that crossed Hermione's face when she saw was...quite strange. A mix between amusement and sickness.)

Harry and Ron were so excited to see Hermione again after so many years, so excited to tell her everything that they could before she left again, that she hardly had a chance to confess her secrets.

(And she was. Going to confess them, I mean. Maybe not who was involved, but at least the bare necessities so the next time they could sit at a table with their actual skin tones and hair colors, it wouldn't be such a shock.)

But she never got a word in.

"So Harry, Ron—"

"And then James said..."

An hour would pass.

"You guys, I need to—"

"And Fred really is a mini Fred!"

And an hour.

"Boys, I got ma—"

"Hermione, you'll never guess what happened..."

Another hour...

"Seriously, I'm pre—"

But she could never finish any of her sentences. She was just about to shout out what she needed to say when she noticed that their time was running short.

It was time for her to leave. Again.

Harry and Ron actually cried this time. They didn't the first time because they thought it wouldn't be that long of a goodbye.

But they knew better this time. So they made their final words count, their final hugs, their final salutes, and then Hermione left them again.

With a faint glow following in her wake.

"Did you notice that, too?" Harry asked Ron as they Floo'd back to the Burrow.

"That she was glowing? Yeah. Right strange, that was."

"Right strange."

(They pushed that to the back of their brains as well. There's no way Hermione could be glowing. No. Way.)

Another year passed, and Harry and Ron heard news that Luna Lovegood was ordered to assist in Hermione's mission.

They were stark raving mad at this bit of information, of course.

They barged once again into the Minister's office.

"Why Luna?!"

"Why not us?!"

"We're her friends!"

"We would protect her the best!"

"Gentlemen, please. Calm down. We didn't send you because you are not stable enough to aid in this case. Your presence will only cause more trouble than necessary."

"How do you know?" Harry barked.

He got a raised eyebrow in return. "You boys are too protective of Hermione. We want this matter taken care of sans bloodshed. Sending you boys, although most beneficial for Hermione, would not be best for the wizarding-slash-muggle community. Trust me when I say I have this under control, and that Luna will be most suitable for the task."

"Why is help even needed, anyways?" Ron asked, feeling his anger leave the room cold and dark.

"The situation has changed."

"How?"

"It just has."

The situation stayed changed for six more years.

They received Hermione's final letter at the end of these six years with only the phrase written on it:

"I'm coming home."

This wasn't her final final letter, obviously. She informed them briefly afterwords that she would have to get situated again in London and that was probably going to take many day trips and busy nights, so she thought it best to wait until Harry had to send his second child off to Hogwarts before their reunion.

Harry and Ron were disheartened, but Hermione promised a surprise to keep them distracted.

And eventually the day had arrived. Harry and Ginny, with their three children hectically trying to get everything in order, struggled to keep a sharp eye out for their old friend as they contained their children. Ron, who had finally settled down with a woman he had met on the Quidditch pitch, would be meeting them at the station momentarily.

"Do you see her?" Ginny asked anxiously.

"No."

"See who, mummy?" Lily asked.

"Aunt Hermione," Harry answered his daughter.

"That lady in the picture?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

James rolled his eye at his sister. "Yeah, that one," he replied snarkily.

"Be nice to your sister." Ginny glared at her son.

"Sorry, mum."

"I'm sure. Do you see her?"

"Not yet."

"I'm so nervous."

"Calm down, mum, it'll be fine. She's missed you, too."

"You don't know that. People change."

"I doubt she's changed that much, Ginny," Harry said, still looking for Hermione while spotting Ron making his way closer to them. Before Ginny could continue on her grievances, her brother reached them and asked nervously, "Have you seen her?"

"No. You?"

"No. Although I did see the devil's incarnate."

"What?"

"Malfoy's son."

"No."

"Yes!"

"I wonder who was mad enough to breed with him."

"Oh my Merlin! Oh my sweet Godric! Look! There she is!" Ginny suddenly exclaimed, pointing down a ways from them, to one Hermione Granger walking towards the train.

She hadn't seen them yet.

She wasn't alone.

She had children with her.

"What." Ginny was staring at the children.

"What." Harry was staring at Hermione smiling at her children.

"What." Ron was staring at Hermione.

"When'd she have kids?"

"Why didn't she tell us she had kids?"

"When did she have sex?"

"Ron, not in front of the kids!"

"Sorry, Ginny. Sorry, Harry. Sorry, children."

"Look! There's three of them!"

"Three?"

The Potters and Weasley could do nothing but stare as Hermione drew closer to them. She looked older than they remembered, but of course anyone would with twenty years on their back and three children. But she didn't look much worse for wear. Time had aged her well.

"But mum!" they heard one of her children exclaim. The crowd was by no means thinning around them, so details of the child were left to the imagination. It sounded like a girl. "I could go too! I'm smart enough!"

"You're five, Little Fish," they heard another voice explain. Perhaps a boy this time.

"I could make it. I know how to spell your name now!"

"Yes, and that's really what they strive for at Hogwarts. They have a class about me and everything."

"Orion, don't be mean to your sister," Hermione scolded in a voice pretty much everyone knew well. "Your name is hard to spell, especially for a five-year-old."

Another voice chimed in at this point, sounding as if from another girl.

"Yeah, and at least I can read her handwriting when she writes your name."

"Boo, you're supposed to be on my side."

"I am on the side of truth."

There was a tiny giggle at this, accompanied by Hermione's laugh. "My handwriting is perfectly adequate," this boy Orion sniffed.

"Just don't let your grandfather see how dreadful it is. He might lock you in a room until it's better than his." They couldn't tell if Hermione was joking or not. Harry shared looks with Ron and Ginny, afraid to ask what kind of grandfather this guy could be before the son responded.

"Like he would make it be better than his."

"Don't let him look at your sister's, then. He might make me punish her."

"You wouldn't!" the other girl's voice chimed in, but they could clearly see who it was this time as Hermione and her family were in their views now.

Three pairs of eyes widened exponentially.

"No," Harry uttered.

"No," Ron mumbled in much the same state of shock.

"Cute," Ginny breathed, but didn't make a move to get closer to her old friend, as she was also struck speechless.

"Of course I—" Hermione started but soon stopped, seeing as she had also spotted them.

Them. Her friends. Her best friends. Her brothers. Her sister. Her family.

It sounded as if something was lodged in her throat at the same time she squealed, but her children only spared her a brief look of "did you seriously just make that sound?" before smiling and following their dashing mother.

Hermione plowed into her friends' arms, and everyone put aside their previous shock to live in this moment.

Hermione was finally home.

With Malfoy's children.

It was obvious. So glaringly obvious.

The littlest one, the girl, had straight, fair, pale blond hair and gray eyes. She was cute, but she must have gotten that from her mother. She was in a light orange dress with a lilac sweater covering it.

The other two were twins, a boy and a girl. Their hair color was the same as their mother's, they were both tall and skinny with an air about them that was confused as to whether it should be humble or proud. The girl was wearing a black shirt with gray pants and green shoes while her brother was wearing a green shirt with black pants and gray shoes.

"Oh, it's so great to finally see you guys again!" Hermione exclaimed, reluctantly pulling out of the hug once she noticed her littlest one getting restless.

Harry and Ron couldn't stop staring at the children now that their warming hug was over. Ginny was at least better composed. The two girls began conversing immediately, Hermione knowing that Ron and Harry were going to need a moment to take everything in. She was just hoping their outburst wouldn't cause too big of a scene.

So while siblings chatted with siblings and mothers with mothers, Ron and Harry had at it themselves.

"She must just be watching them for him."

"Yeah. The girls just happen to look strikingly similar to her."

"Yeah. And their smarts...they picked up off the street."

"Right."

"She didn't have time for love."

"She wasn't glowing."

She didn't fall in love with Malfoy.

She wasn't pregnant with his children.

Because magic and war and death and miracles and sometimes love was possible, but Hermione willingly in the presence of a Malfoy was definitely not possible.

"Why do they keep staring at us like that?" the little girl whispered to her brother and sister.

"Dad warned us about this," the boy whispered, pulling the little girl into his arms.

"Said we have to watch our backs," the girl twin whispered, tucking her sister's hair behind her ear.

"Said we have to be better than their children," they whispered together, both going in to tickle their sister's sides.

Her giggles interrupted the flow of conversation.

Hermione looked at Harry and Ron as she spoke to her kids. "You don't have to watch your backs, nor do you have to be better than your peers."

"On purpose," the twins muttered under their breath.

Harry's daughter, Lily, looked up at the Malfoy twins. "You sure are good at talking at the same time. Do you practice that in the mirror?"

"Of course not," the twins scoffed, but their grins gave them away.

"They do! I caught them one time!" the littlest one shouted, poking their faces with her fingers.

"You did not!"

"I did too!"

"Children. That's enough, now. Orion and Bootes, take your sister to find your brother and father while Mummy catches up with her friends."

"Dad's not going to be happy about this, you know," the male twin stated.

"He's probably going to curse something," the female twin added.

"Put Dorado in his arms, then."

"Yay!" Dorado exclaimed, clapping at her inclusion. The twins, smirking, nodded once at their mother then once at her friends before taking their sister away with them.

"Hermione...," Harry started, stepping closer and clutching her arm to make sure she was real, here, and that this wasn't just a trick.

"Harry...," Hermione mimicked, fighting a smile. They held eye contact for a long minute.

"There's another one?" Ginny asked, breaking their glare.

"Yes. He'll be starting school today. Draco wanted to have a little chat with Scorpius alone before he has to leave."

"How sweet!" Ginny cooed.

Hermione smiled. "Just don't let him hear you say that."

"She called him Draco. She called him Draco." Ron hissed into Harry's ear.

"I thought that was his name." Harry's shock was slowly fading the more Hermione's delightful smile washed over him.

Maybe...maybe her being with this Ma...Draco wasn't such a bad thing...she looked frightfully happy...and had four children with the man...

"This is serious, Harry. She called him Draco."

"Yes, how very off-putting indeed," a voice behind Ron slithered around them. The Weasley stiffened and paled while Hermione's eyes brightened. Everyone turned to watch as Draco joined the group at Hermione's side with Dorado in his arms, the twins flanking his sides, and the devil incarnate shuffling in the back with a trolley filled with his soon-to-be new life.

"Give them some time, Draco," Hermione told him, unconsciously shifting closer to him.

"They could've had a good ten years on this moment if they had listened to you at that time," he pointed out, refusing to look at anyone that didn't share his last name.

"Yes, well. They were excited to see me. You can hardly blame them."

"Hardly." Rolling his eyes, Draco leaned down to transfer Dorado into Hermione's arms, finishing off the gesture with a kiss on the cheek.

Ron passed out.

The children laughed.

Ginny kyaa-ed.

Draco, upon seeing Ron coming to, kissed Hermione full on the lips.

Albus and James sniggered as Lily nudged their Uncle's shoulder, who couldn't seem to stop falling asleep.

Harry introduced himself to Scorpius, who smiled and shook his hand in return.

And Hermione finally began her side of the story by saying, "See, I was sent to France to keep an eye on Lucius..."