Chapter one:
Hermione walked to her home, after a long day of work at the center. Luckily, her house wasn't far from work at all, as she was looking forward to sitting down with a glass of wine and relaxing in the tub for a bit.
This particular day had been hard, as she was trying to bring in as many children as possible to the canter. Hermione was the co-owner of her charity, Lives Worth Living. Before the war, Hermione was so sure she was going to follow her dream of working in the ministry or in some type of activism. However, after the Battle of Hogwarts and witnessing too much death, she was determined to make a difference for the future of their world, and not just in the way of the government.
Hermione was always certain that children were the future of their world, and she still believed this to be true after having been away from school for twelve years. A lot had changed in this time, most of her life since school not being anywhere near what Hermione expected. Not only was her job not what she had pictured since her first year at Hogwarts, but her circle of family of friends had shifted as well.
She was still in a form of contact with Harry as well as the Weasleys, however slightly less with them. She cared deeply for her friends from her childhood and always would, but after disagreeing on Hermione's relationship and steps she took after Hogwarts, their friendship slowly drifted apart. Of course, Harry married Ginny just like everyone pictured, and they have been married for about eleven years and had a child, James, who is six years old. Not long after having James, the couple had Albus, who is four, and lastly Lily, who is now three.
The five of them had built a nice family over the years and despite their differences, Hermione was happy for her friends. She was pleased for Ron as well, who moved on to be with Lavender after he and Hermione decided they wouldn't make a good couple, and they now have two children as well. Rose, who is four, and Huge, who is two.
Hermione sighed as she thought of her old friends, and wondered how they were doing. The group of them haven't spoken a lot in the past few months, only proving that they were drifting apart.
While Hermione didn't regret for one second defending the life she wanted to achieve all those years ago, it still hurt to think that her friend's disapproval is what led to their ever-growing separation.
She shook her head as she arrived at her home, opening the door and setting her bags down before slipping off her shoes. She smiled as she took in her surroundings, seeing the twins sitting on the floor playing while their grandmother sat on the couch watching them.
"Good evening, Narcissa. I trust the twins were good for you?" Hermione greeted her mother-in-law while kissing her children on their heads before sitting next to the older woman and kissing her cheek in greeting.
"Oh, of course, my dear. They always are." Narcissa smiled at her grandchildren before looking at Hermione. "You look like you have had a long day."
Hermione let out a breath she wasn't aware she was holding and explained to Narcissa how busy the day gradually had become at work. The day had been rather hectic, as new sponsors for the charity were coming out of the woodwork now that it was growing in popularity. Of course, sponsors were a good thing, but it was hard to keep up with sometimes with everything else going on. New children who are born and not wanted were being dropped on their doorstep far more than she would like. Not to mention they were fairly full to begin with, as they had taken in the kids who had lost their parents and had nowhere to go to after the war.
A new addition to their center was taking in muggle born children who were unfortunately given up after discovering they were magical. This particularly hit Hermione hard, given her parents had been very understanding once discovering they had a witch for a daughter, and she couldn't imagine being left on the streets as a child. So, after catching wind of this ever-growing problem in the muggle world, Lives Worth Living started to take in magical muggle youth who had become homeless.
This caught the eyes of every news outlet in the magical world and soon employees, as well as Hermione and her husband, were constantly being asked to comment on the new proceedings for the center and what the future held for LWL.
During their chat, Hermione got up to give the children a quick snack before pouring herself and Narcissa glasses of wine. Her mother-in-law is the one who actually got Hermione into drinking wine after a stressful day, after doing it often in her presence when she and Draco were dating. After a while, she caught herself doing it as well.
"I have to say, I am quite proud of how you and Draco have handled all of this press so far," Narcissa said. "I know dealing with reporters can be tiresome, especially in regards to something so big."
"Thank you," Hermione commented, smiling. "It has been so hard though! Watching what I have to say at every turn, it is just exhausting," she said, crossing her legs underneath her, trying to get comfortable.
"You'd think you would be used to that after all the coverage over you becoming the new Mrs. Malfoy!"
Hermione laughed, agreeing. "That is true. I thought that was bad enough when we got married."
"What was bad when we got married?"
The ladies turned to see Draco and he and Hermione's eldest daughter, Katrina, come in through the back door. Katrina smiled at her mother and grandmother before running over and cuddling into Hermione's side. Hermione smiled, pulling her daughter close to her.
"Hello, sweetheart. How was your day with your father?"
Katrina grinned, explaining how fun of a day she had following her daddy around at work.
"And you behaved well, I imagine?" Narcissa questioned her granddaughter, giving the famous Malfoy smirk when Katrina nodded her head while turning slightly red.
Hermione looked at her husband in response, who laughed while taking off his jacket and sitting in the chair next to the couch. "Oh, you know how Katrina and I get when we're together. Nothing ever gets done."
"Meanwhile, your wife is up to her ears in work all day. You could have stopped by to help the poor girl out, Draco."
Draco smiled sheepishly at his mother before looking at his wife. "I'm sorry Mia, will you ever forgive us?"
"Yeah, mommy, forgive us! I promise we will be better next time!" Katrina looked up at her mother with a pleading look in her eyes, giving the best puppy eyes she could, a trait she picked up from her father and grandfather.
Hermione laughed, shaking her head at their antics. "Well fine, I guess just this once." Everyone grinned, knowing this would most likely occur again in the future with the same response. No matter how hard Hermione tried, she would never be able to be mad at her husband for spending time with their daughter, even if that meant not having any help at work sometimes.
"So, what were you ladies discussing as we walked in?" Draco asked.
"Oh, just the amount of press that we're getting with this new program for the center. I was saying that I thought the popularity was bad enough when we got married, but it is nothing compared to the onslaught of publicity we have going now," Hermione explained.
"I thought you liked seeing your face smeared all over the Daily Prophet, love" Draco teased me. I stuck my tongue out in response, in a very mature way of course.
"Well, I think I am going to head home to Lucius, I am sure he is lost without me," Narcissa joked as she stood up and gave her son a hug before giving one to her daughter-in-law as well. "And thank you for spending the day with me, you two!"
The twins ran over to her and gave her each a hug as best as they could. Scorpius and Serena were each four years old, having been born two years after their older sister. They were near spitting images of their father, however, their blond locks were as curly as their mother's. Katrina got her brunette hair from Hermione, but her sly little personality was all Draco's doing.
Narcissa bid goodbye to her family before apparating home. Since it was already late enough in the day, Narcissa had fed the twins a bit before Hermione arrived home, leaving them to just require bathing and changing before hopping into bed.
Hermione was about to lead the twins to their bathroom before her husband stopped her. Draco pulled her in for a hug before giving her a kiss. "I realized I didn't properly greet you when I arrived home."
Hermione smiled, kissing him in return before relaxing in his embrace. "Yes, how dare you do such a thing?"
Draco grinned before kissing her on the forehead one more time before telling her to sit down and finish her wine. "You have had a long day, which I am sure you can tell me about after I put the kids to bed."
"Draco, I can help," she tried to protest, even though sitting sounded heavenly at the moment.
He shushed her, before telling the three to kiss their mother goodnight and head to the bathroom. Hermione smiled at her three children as they all bounded over to her on the couch and jumped into her lap. She laughed as they all fell into a mess on the couch, tickling Serena who had landed the closest to her. Her daughter gave out a squeal of laughter, begging to be let go of. Scorpius, being the best twin brother there is, tried to tickle Hermione to make her let go, his little hands hardly having an impact on their mother. However, she pretended like he got her, giggling along and releasing Serena to Draco. She sighed in content, kissing Katrina and Scorpius before they followed the other two down the hall.
As her breathing slowed, she sipped at her wine and smiled at her life. She had the three most precious children anyone could ask for and a damn good husband as well.
Draco and Hermione had reconnected their sixth year when Draco was petrified over his mission Voldemort had given him. Not that many people knew of their communication that year, due to the upcoming war and natural rivalry between their houses at the time. However, she had noticed how drastically his demeanor had changed, and the few times they bumped into each other she always asked if he was doing okay.
Of course, he initially snarled at her in response, calling her a "nosey mudblood" and telling her to mind her own business. However, she never gave up on him, and eventually, he gave in to her. He didn't tell her what his mission was, just that he and his family were terrified at the state of things with the Dark Lord and he was trying to convince himself to succeed in the mission or else his family would be killed.
Hermione knew how hard things were going for him and was surprised he had confided in her at all. They grew a silent friendship over the year, but after everything blew up, literally, at the end of term and Dumbledore died, their communication ended. The next time they saw each other was at Malfoy Manor when she was being tortured by his Aunt Bellatrix, something Draco hated watching.
Because of how hard it was for him to watch, Draco did something no one expected and shot a curse at his aunt who then went unconscious for a small amount of time. Luckily, she had no idea it was him who hit her, but when she woke up she was alone. She assumed Harry and Ron had somehow escaped and saved Hermione, before threatening the Malfoy's to come with them. In reality, after Draco had cursed Bellatrix, his mother and father watched in shock as he ran over to Hermione to check if she was okay.
After seeing that she was alright, albeit, in a lot of pain, she went downstairs and released the prisoners, as well as Harry and Ron. When he got downstairs he saw they had somehow summoned Dobby. He told Dobby to take the rest of the prisoners somewhere safe, to which Ron suggested Shell Cottage. He then returned Harry and Ron's wands and the three of them ran upstairs, even though the two Gryffindor's had no idea what was going on.
Draco pleaded his parents to trust him, that he would explain later, but that they needed to leave as soon as possible. Dobby returned, Draco picked up Hermione and they all joined together as Dobby apparated them to Shell Cottage as well.
Safe and sound, Draco and Hermione reunited, her thanking him for saving her. Lucius and Narcissa were still in a state of shock, but neither could argue that they were not happy to be away from the Manor. Everyone could see how scared they were, even Harry and Ron.
After some time getting comfortable around each other, Draco and Hermione explained to the group how they had grown a sort of friendship the previous year, and how Hermione was the one person he trusted enough to confide in. Harry and Ron were not pleased with the fact that Hermione knew Draco had a mission, one that ultimately helped lead to the death of Dumbledore, but Draco jumped to her defense saying she had no idea what it was. Hermione added that in the end, she knew how terrified he was and that he was only trying to go through with it to save his parents.
In the end, the Order was informed of their new members, as the Malfoy's could no longer return to the Dark Lord, nor did they really want to. Lucius would follow his wife anywhere, and Narcissa was adamant that she was not taking her son back to such evil.
Everyone was shocked at the turn of events, even Hermione, but she got over her shock very quickly. Soon enough, the group was well on their way to defeating Voldemort.
After the war had ended, Draco and Hermione started to form more of a bond, which eventually led to romance. His parents weren't surprised, as they saw how deeply he cared for her. Harry and Ron were not too happy, though. Even though they knew he was on their side and they had all grown to know the Malfoys more, they still didn't like the idea of Hermione dating one.
After she told them she wasn't going to work in the Ministry as planned and instead had decided to try and open up a charity for children after the war, they were not pleased. They understood her compassion but felt she was choosing Draco over them, as he was going to be her partner in the charity. They felt she was being driven by pure romance and wasn't stopping to think about the consequences.
She followed through with her plans, and eventually, she and Draco succeeded in their project, as well as in their relationship. The years passed, their love and charity grew and eventually they married, much to Harry and the Weasley's shock.
"What has you so deep in thought?" Draco walked back into the living room, seeing his wife staring ahead, having barely touched the rest of her wine. He took the glass and sat it on the table before pulling his wife close to him.
"Oh, I'm just thinking.." Hermione's voice was soft and Draco could tell she was caught up in her thoughts.
"Love, what happened today that makes you so quiet?"
Hermione sighed, before looking at him. "'I've been thinking a lot about them today."
"Who, Harry and Ron?" Draco knew how much she missed her friends, as he'd seen their friendships slowly fade. At times he felt guilty as if it truly was his fault, but Hermione always convinced him that she didn't regret anything she chose to do all those years ago.
"Yes...today was so incredibly busy, and I was trying to catch up on the new children who have joined us." Hermione tried as hard as she could to at least introduce herself to every kid that walked through their doors. As they grew, it became increasingly difficult to do so, but she was determined to show them all that she cared.
"Okay.." Draco still wasn't seeing the issue, or what could have led her to think about her friends.
"Draco, apparently Teddy Lupin was placed in our care this past week."
"Teddy Lupin? As in Harry's godson?" Draco knew the shock was evident in his tone. He thought the Potter's were raising Teddy as their own. Andromeda had initially tried to raise him, but she soon fell ill and he went to live with Harry full time. His grandmother was still alive and healthy, but not healthy enough to raise a child.
"Yes, exactly. I don't understand. Either he was placed there by someone in his family or he went there voluntarily. Either way, something must have happened to lead him to the center," Hermione answered. She was troubled at what could have caused Teddy's recent admission into the center and she hoped with all of her heart he wasn't given up by Harry.
"So this is why you have been thinking about that lot so much," Draco sighed. He gave her a kiss on the head before trying to rub her shoulders and help her relax. "How about tomorrow, we both go and speak to Teddy? We can try and see what is going through his head. He's what, eleven now?"
"Twelve," Hermione corrected. "Only twelve…" Her worry was very evident, but she agreed with Draco's proposal.
Tomorrow, they would go speak to Teddy together and get down to the bottom of this. She was going to find out why he was alone at their center and not with his family. She'd never forgive herself if she didn't help him in any way she could.