"Once upon a time a princess met her prince. She was tied to the uppermost tower, while he was in the dungeons. But one day, they put aside their anguish towards each other and fell in love. There are monsters close by though, and the prince and princess had to be brave because their love is strong but it still needed protection. They had hard hurdles to overcome, but together they did. And you my little prince, you are the product of their love. Always know you are loved. You are a special young boy. A little boy with a great future, my sweet Scorpius." I cry as I tell him his nightly bedtime story.
"Draco it will be fine. They will love you." 'Eventually' I mentally add.
"Babe, I am every father's worst nightmare. I know it, so do you. Stop pretending. I'm going to be lucky to leave here with my family jewels." He lamented, covering his manhood up. "Hell if I had a daughter"
"Which we may."
"Big if. But if I had a daughter, I wouldn't want her dating someone like me."
"If we have a daughter, she'll be as bright as me and if she falls in love and dates someone like you, we should trust her."
"Let me bring the popcorn when you try to use that to explain it to your father tonight. His perfect, brilliant witch of a daughter got knocked up by the guy who was a shit-head punk to her for the past 8 years. That will be one for the cinema. She can save the world, but she can't save herself from being a teenage mum."
"Hush, my parents will be fine. They'll be happy that we are in love. And mentioning a grandbaby on the way is bound to sway them. Have a little optimism in that pasty head of yours." I don't know who I am trying to convince more, me or him. Right now I think it is me. Dad will go ballistic. I am grateful that Draco and I both brought our wands, so if dad does try and attack him the muggle way, we can gently restrain him. Nonetheless, I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him gently.
I feel his arms wrap around me, pulling me in tighter and the kiss deeper. "Merlin, I hope you're right love. Not that it can change anything now. We are bound together now. Doesn't matter what either of our parents say."
I pull back, twiddling the ring on my left ring finger. The night he proposed to me was the most romantic night of my life, everything was perfect including him getting down on one knee and asking me in the sweetest way to please be his wife. He practically begged. That night, well we were intimate and two weeks later, I was late. I thought the worst - that he would change his mind about us, but instead he was so happy. Now that school is out we are both telling our families for everything - the wedding that took place already with only about 6 of our closest friends and the baby on the way.
Starting with mine, I think as I reach with one hand for Draco and the other hand for the doorknob to my childhood home. "Mum! Dad!" I call out.
"My baby girl is home." I hear my mum call from the kitchen that is hidden behind our stairs. I see her come around the corner as I lead Draco into our cozy family room. "Oh my God, Lucius!" She calls out shocking both Draco and I.
"How do you know my father?" Draco answers her statement. If he feels like me, he is in utter disbelief that my mum knows anything of his evil, worthless, sperm donor of a father.
I see my father rush downstairs and to my mother's side. "Jean, where did that name come from?" He turns to see Draco and I, "Who are you? You're Lucius's son?" Draco nods slightly, as we both are still in shock. "Why is Lucius's son in my house, Hermione?"
"Dad, mum, how do you know Mr Malfoy?" I ask. "What are you not telling me?" Thank goodness Draco was holding me, because I felt my knees get weak.
"Hermione," my dad begins, "explain yourself. Who is he and why is he in my house?"
"He is my husband, daddy."
"You're what?" I see my mum collapse onto the couch, and Draco leads me to the couch across from her and I follow suit.
"My husband mum. We met in school, you know. I've talked about him for the past few years. Well this year, after the war, we both"
"We fell in love," Draco finished for me. The look on his face was just that, pure love. "I was finally able to tell her how much she meant over the years, and how conflicted I've been about her versus what I was raised to believe. One afternoon, we both ended up in detention for something stupid"
"Never piss off Peeves," I finished for him this time. "We ended up having a fight, everything came out like a tidal wave"
"And she found it in her big heart to forgive me." We sound like Fred and George did, finishing each other's sentences. "From there we hung out on occasion, and by Christmas we were dating. I knew she was what was missing in my life. She was. She was missing. I asked her to be mine and she said yes. For fear of her changing her mind, we had a small wedding with a few of our friends only."
"That's why we're here mum. We wanted to tell you the good news."
"You married Lucius Malfoy's son?" My dad looked at me with tears in his eyes. "How could you, Hermione? How could you marry the son of that monster?"
Draco, still standing next to me holding me by the shoulders answered, "I am very aware of what a monster my father is. Well was. He met his demise recently in the most horrid way that wizards know I can assure you. I was there when he received the dementor's kiss."
I waited for him when he went to see it. It was one of the worst days of his life. He wanted me to stay with him that night, and I did. We got a room in Hogsmeade and he spent the night crying. Crying for what he lost. Crying for what he never had.
"You know nothing son. You shouldn't be near my daughter. Ever. You should get your filthy hands off her this instant! I should have been at that wedding. It should never have happened. I would have stopped this stupidity from ever happening." My father turned his harsh words to me. "I want you to have it annulled tomorrow. I don't know how you wizards do this, but you two cannot be married. It is against the sanctity of marriage."
"Daddy, why? I just won't leave the man I love without some answers. If you want me to have it annulled, it had better be a good one."
"He's your brother," my mother said weakly.
"What?" we both exclaimed. Turning to each other in shock.
"How, mum?" My world just turned upside down.
"He… he" She started, but by the way she took dad's hand I knew there was more to this.
"He raped your mother," my dad said quietly, looking at his wife with such love and caring. "Lucius did. He raped her and she got pregnant with you."
Draco collapsed on the couch arm next to me. Then he looked at me, and after almost a minute in that near comatose state just staring at me he started laughing. Hysterically laughing.
"Draco Malfoy," I quietly chide, "why are you laughing at a time like this?"
"'Mione, all these years I've been raised as the Malfoy heir. When you're the heir to everything. I have nothing. All these years he's tormented me to be the perfect child, because it is my birthright and really it was you."
I stand up and excuse myself from the room, dragging Draco along with me upstairs. I go directly to my bedroom, slamming the door behind me. "Draco, you do realize what this means?"
"Yeah, you get everything. How do you want to decorate your manor? I was thinking throwing in a bunch of scarlet and gold in all the rooms would spice things up. Maybe a lion or two here or there. How about a couple guarding the front door? I can enchant them to keep out all Slytherins. Oh and the bloody ancestor pictures - they will all have a heyday with this." He couldn't stop laughing.
"Draco, the baby!" I am glad I charmed the room so my parents couldn't hear.
"Well he will be a true Malfoy" he quipped, still maniacally laughing.
"He will be the product of incest Draco!" I feel like I need to hammer this idea into him.
"We will talk to the healers tomorrow. We need to talk to mum then anyways. And pureblood families usually intermarried. Hasn't hurt us too much now has it."
I was on the verge of tears. "What about the marriage? Siblings can't marry, even in the wizarding world."
He held me close to him, nuzzling his head in the crux of my neck. "First, we're half siblings. Second, who other than the two of us and your parents know? Father didn't even acknowledge that he knew your mum when he saw them second year, remember? So we should be good. Don't worry love. I won't lose you. And I won't leave our baby." He looked at me with the same love in his eyes that my father showed my mum. "Our little, perfect baby," he whispered, rubbing my abdomen. "Oh bloody hell, I should double apologize to you for how I treated you. I mean first, you're not a muggle-born you're a half blood; and second, I would never have done any of that if I knew you were my sister. Now you probably would never have been allowed near Weasley or Potter, ever, if I had known. But then again, you probably would have been betrothed by the time you were born if father knew. Probably to someone like Crabbe or Flint. Which means I would have had to kill them so you wouldn't be stuck with that sack of potatoes." I don't know how much of this was his own rationalization or how much was meant to help me cope with his insane news.
"How, Draco? How do you see the light in this situation?" I am still an emotional wreck, which I will attribute fully to the raging hormones going through my body at this point.
"What can we change love? Nothing. Right this minute we can't change a thing. And I don't want to change anything. I love you. I am happy to be married to you and be the father of our baby. My world is perfect. You may have been conceived by the same good-for-nothing sperm donor as I, but does that change my love for you or our baby? No. It just means I am going to protect you both with more ferocity than ever. You two are my world. Until we have another little bundle. Now darling, you need some rest. Let's go back to home tonight and we can talk about redecorating the Manor to fit the Malfoy heir's wishes. Then we'll see the healers tomorrow and mum. Don't stress. It is bad for you and the baby."
"I need to say my farewells to my parents. I'll be back in a minute or so." I smile at him, realizing he will never leave. But at this moment, I may be saying farewell to my parents for the final time.
I slowly go downstairs, trying to gather my thoughts on what to say to my parents. My father greets me at the foot of the stairs, with a look of pure hatred as he stares in the direction of my bedroom.
"I hope you weren't doing anything siblings shouldn't while you were up there." His hated is like venom spreading upwards to my bedroom
He doesn't even look at me, but I calmly explain, "Daddy, no. We were talking. About this whole situation. We are going to Narcissa, Draco's mum, tomorrow. She is better versed on the workings of the wizarding world when it comes to marriages."
He still won't meet my eye, rather is glaring at the shadow cast in the hallway of Draco pacing in my bedroom. "Fine, but I want him out of my house. Tonight."
"Not a problem. I was here to say goodbye to you and mum anyways."
His head turns so quickly that it seems unnatural, and then I am the one that the venom is directed towards. "Where do you think you're going?"
"To my flat," I state nearly emotionless, which is bloody difficult.
"With him?"
"Yes daddy. With him. It is our flat."
He shakes his head violently, "No you are not. You're staying here. You are to stay in this house," he grabs for my arm but I step out of his reach in the last moment.
"You do realize I'm a witch daddy. I can apparate anywhere I want. You don't have that control over me."
"Are you defying me?" His face is red with anger. The lines in the corners of his eyes are more pronounced. His hazel eyes show nothing towards me anymore. They are no longer warm and welcoming, they are two greenish brown ice cubes.
"Daddy, please don't make this worse than it is. Let me go home and see what can be done. I am friends with the Minister of Magic, he can help. Narcissa can help too. Please let me do it my way."
"No. You leave this house, and I don't want to see you again Hermione Jean Granger."
"Malfoy," I mumble.
"Granger," my father emphasises. "I raised you from the moment that monster did that to your mother. I was there when she cried, every single time. I was there for the doctor's appointments. I was there when you were born. I was there for everything. I gave you everything. When you left for that school, we both had an inkling that you were a witch after him, but when you left we cried to see you leave us and our world for his. Now this?"
"Daddy, you gave me the greatest gift ever - you gave me love. I never would have guessed that I wasn't your daughter biologically. Please don't throw everything away. I need to do this the wizard's way. Let me do that. I just want to go home."
"We are your home. You are home."
"No my home. I'm an adult. My home."
"Your home with him is what you're saying. You will always chose that life over ours. Over everything we gave you. You did that when you were in school, always spending time with your friends over us. We were just too boring. Then you had us go away." He pauses, glaring at me. "Why did you give us back our memories? And then do this? Why couldn't you have let us be? We were happy."
I sincerely am debating on obliterating them again. So that mum doesn't remember. So that they aren't hurt by my actions. So that they won't think of looking for me further to ensure that I did get my marriage annulled and who knows what they would want with our baby.
I see Draco out of the corner of my eye. I turn to him and mouth 'obliterate'. He nods in understanding.
I walk into the living room, my father following behind. I sit across from my mother, for the last time. I look into her pained eyes, glassy yet full of love for me.
"I'm sorry." I say as I look at her and my father.
I look up and see Draco clearly state the incantation as my parents eyes get clouded and they slump into the couch.
"I love you mum. I love you too daddy. I will always be your little girl, a Granger or not."
With that Draco wipes a tear from my face, holds his hand out for me, and we apparate out of my childhood home.
We never saw the minister. We never told Narcissa. It is the secret that we keep. The healers, when you were born said what a beautiful boy we had. He had a very special aura to him.
"Scorpius, you are as brilliant as the constellation you were named after. May you look up to see it and know how bright you are and let the world know of your beauty. Always."