disclaimer: I own nothing credit for the characters and world go to JK Rowling

Hermione walked the halls of Hogwarts heading to Hogsmeade; the school had been her safe home for the past six years ever since the war. Headmistress McGonagall had offered her a job and a place to live before her final year had been completed; the only catch was she had to work with a partner, Draco Malfoy. However, the two had found happy, solid ground and had been the mutual defense against dark arts teachers. As she opened the door to her best friends home a blur of brown came running at her.

"Mummy!"

"Hello my sweet boy, were you good for auntie Hannah today?" Hermione heard a laugh come from the kitchen and followed it. Finding Hannah cooking dinner, laughing at her daughter Alice the two-year-old was babbling to her mother.

"He always is a good boy, right my little ginger" Harold Garrett Granger was a five year old full of spunk and was nearly the spitting image of his father Ronald Bilius Weasley with a freckled face twinkly blue eyes, however his brown, curly, and sometimes crazy hair was all from Hermione. Harold was hidden from the public sight as much as possible the only people who knew of him were Professor McGonagall, Neville and Hannah Longbottom, Harry and Ginny Potter, Blaize and Panzy Zamboni, Luna Lovegood, and Draco Malfoy and the only one besides Hermione that knew who his father was, was Hannah.

"You shouldn't call him that. What if someone hears you and puts it together?"

"If they haven't put it together by now they never will." Hannah said as the 'pop' of someone apparating just outside the house sounded. The girls heard the front door shut as Neville walked into the kitchen

"Hello Hermione, before I forget McGonagall wants to see us first thing tomorrow morning and Draco too if you don't mind letting him know, Luna will be there as well."

"Thank you for letting me know Draco, and I will be there." The friends ate dinner with small talk and happy stories. "I better be heading back,"Hermione stated after everything was cleaned up, "I love you both and you too little Alice to see you in the morning. Harold lets go!" Twenty minutes later she was back at her quarters behind the defense classroom putting Harold in his bed the small boys' room was made for a Gryffindor with red walls and furniture that had been colored gold. The ceiling was enchanted to show the stars at night and a quidditch game during the day. Above his dresser were three jerseys with the names Weasley, Potter, and Malfoy. Ginny, Harry, and Draco had decided to give the Quidditch obsessed boy their old school jerseys for his last birthday. She tucked him in and read him the tale of three brothers, it was his favorite, he didn't know the events of the war but was drawn to the story anyway. When her son was fast asleep she slipped out into her office and began to grade papers. The office was a shared space with two mahogany desks, a bookshelf that ran the along the entire length of the back wall, each of the side walls had a door that leads to one of the teachers living quarters, the ceiling had been enchanted to let in the natural light, the last wall held the door to the classroom. Pictures of Harold covered the walls along with a few of Alice, James, Harry and Ginny's newborn son, and Teddy Lupin. Her favorite picture had Draco, and a three-year-old Harold on a broom while they floated and waved at the viewer with Ginny hovering on one side and Harry with Teddy hanging on the other side of them with huge smiles on their faces. When she had found out she was pregnant she was terrified, but once her friends found out she was assured everything would be okay.

"Miss. Granger, you are pregnant, and it appears you will be having a boy." the mediwitch smiled at the young soon to be a mother, who broke into tears. She was left wondering the streets and thinking of what to do now. How could she do this without him or his family? Mrs. Weasley had died two months earlier unable to cope with the loss of Fred, and Mr. Weasley was not far behind her. George was never himself again and had moved away, Percy couldn't help but blame himself resulting in him cutting himself away from the family, Charlie was in Romania, Bill moved his family to France to get away from the sadness England held for him. No one could find Ron, so she went to the only Weasley she could, Ginny. She found her friend in the Gryffindor common room; the redhead had puffy eyes and a blotchy face.

"Ginny, what's wrong?"

"It's dad..." Ginny couldn't finish, but Hermione knew the child growing in her womb had lost their last grandparent, that's when she decided not to tell who the father was and to keep the pregnancy to herself a bit longer.

The day of his funeral Harry caught Hermione crying in the kitchen of the burrow, without saying a word he wrapped his arms around, and she spent several minutes crying on his shoulder. "Harry, I'm pregnant." The shock of the news took him off guard but when it sank in he merely held her tighter before saying.

"After all we've lost in the last year I think a baby will bring some much-needed light to our battered little group." After that, she knew everything would be okay one way or another, but she still kept the knowledge of who the father was to herself. Her friends never asked about his father they just loved the child.

A knock drew her from her memory, in front of her desk stood Draco.

"You don't have to knock it's your office too."

" I didn't knock on the door to be let in I knocked on the desk to get your attention."

"Oh I'm sorry, what did you need?"

" to tell you to go to bed before you fall asleep at your desk again." a grin spread across his face. She'd grown so used to seeing that smile it was hard to believe there was a time when it shocked her. She smiled back and headed to her door; she had taken one step across the threshold before remembered and spun back to face him.

" Draco, McGonagle needs to speak with us before breakfast."

" Okay meet me here with freckle monster, and we can head down together."

" Thank you" she laughed before walking to her chambers.

The next day in the headmistress office she and Draco were waiting, with Harold on Draco's lap, for the last person to show. When the eldest professor arrived, however, she was not alone. Everyone was shocked, but Hermione was the worst as they looked at their former classmate.

"Hello guys, it's uh been awhile," Ron said softly.