The cool winter breeze howled at the windows, snapping twenty-two year old Hermione Granger away from her work. She glanced at the clock on the wall and realized she should have left fifteen minutes ago. She quickly locked away all of her writings and office room, threw on a coat, and ran out of her office, down the snow covered streets of Diagon Alley.

She pushed the door of a small building open. It was a wizard child daycare center where Hermione could drop off her almost three-year-old daughter and son, when she didn't spend the day at the burrow, with Ginny, or with Hermione's parents. The elderly woman at the front desk smiled at Hermione as she entered.

"Sorry I'm late! I got caught up in my writing and didn't realize how much time had gone by." Hermione apologized.

"It's perfectly alright; Emily's & Tristan had been playing quietly in the corner." The woman said, pointing to the corner opposite them where a small girl and boy with very light blonde hair stood up and made her way to their mother, grinning widely.

"Did you have fun today?" Hermione asked, pulling her daughter's coat and other belongings off of the wooden pegs on the wall.

Tristan & Emily Granger nodded as her arms went through the sleeves of her orange Chudley Cannon's jacket.

"Mr. Malfoy played exploding snap with us!" She exclaimed and Hermione stopped trying to put mittens on her twin's tiny hands.

"Who?" She wasn't sure if she heard the name right.

"Mr. Malfoy." A male voice repeated behind Hermione, causing her heart to race. "I'm—"

Hermione turned around to see who had spoken. Her breathing became more rapid and her heart seemed to ache as she saw an all too familiar face.

"…new here." He finished in a much quieter voice than how he first started. "Hi."

"Hi." Hermione whispered, and saw him looking at Emily and Tristan, slightly confused.

"Is she a friend of yours' daughter and son?" Draco asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"No, she's mine." Hermione replied and turned back around to help twin's put their other mitten on. She didn't know what to say. It had been more than three years since she last saw or heard from the man standing next to her. She had finally pushed him out of her life after he had left her to attend a special school of potions for several years. As much as he had hurt her, she had probably caused him pain too.

"If you don't mind me asking, who's their father?" He asked cautiously, eyeing her Chudley Cannon's jacket, "It's not Weasley is it?"

"No, they're just a big fan of her uncle's team." Hermione commented, catching the smallest bit of jealousy in his voice.

"Uncle? Does that mean—?"

"Emily & Tristan aren't a Weasley." She said before he could finish. Draco looked relieved. "Ron's just as close as an uncle, as are Ginny and Harry."

"Oh." He said and Hermione could tell he wanted to know more.

"Their father and I aren't together anymore." She informed him, and as her daughter and son stood next to Draco she was able to see how similar they all looked. The only difference besides the fact that one was a twenty-one year old man and the other was an almost three-year old girl was that Emily had Hermione's vivid brown eyes while three-year old boy Tristan had Draco's gray eyes.

"I'm sorry to hear that." It was incredible that he could not see how alike he and the twins looked.

"You didn't do anything. It wasn't your fault…" Hermione answered and although he didn't know, she was speaking truthfully. Draco never did anything. It was her that decided to leave him without telling him of their children.

The door to the place opened, sending an icy breeze into the room, and a young woman around the same age as Hermione stepped inside. She was average height with shoulder length, straight black hair and contrasting bright blue eyes.

Draco looked up from Emily & Tristan to see who had entered and suddenly became more nervous.

"You're here early." He said to the woman as she joined the group.

"Nothing special was happening at work so my boss let me leave." She replied, giving Draco a quick hug which he uncomfortably returned. Hermione felt jealousy rise in her body and looked around the room in awkward silence.

"Hermione, this is Natalie Hunter." Draco introduced the woman next to him. Hermione was relieved that he hadn't said Natalie Malfoy. "And Natalie, this is my err… friend from school, Hermione Granger, and her kids, Emily & Tristan."

"Nice to meet you." Hermione shook her hand and tried to smile politely. She noticed there were no rings on her fingers which was another good sign.

"Your name sounds so familiar but I don't think Draco's ever spoken about you," Natalie paused, trying to remember, both Draco and Hermione hoping she wouldn't, "When I first met him, all he talked about was this girl he had dated and how much he missed her and how wonderful she was even though they weren't together anymore. What was her name?"

"Lavender Brown." Draco lied quickly, catching Hermione's eye.

"Oh yes, I remember her. You and her split up after school then?" Hermione played along, amazed that Draco would talk about her so nicely even though she ended the relationship.

"Well, he rarely spoke about anything besides Lavender and he kept telling me he wasn't ready for another relationship yet. He was too busy hoping that Lavender would write to him again or he would hear from her in some form but it never happened. We only started dating around four months ago."

Hermione wondered why she was telling her all of this. "I should probably get going. I'm supposed to be at the Weasleys' for dinner." She made sure Tristan & Emily hadn't taken her hat and mittens off like she sometimes did. "It was nice meeting you."

"You too. Maybe we'll meet again." Natalie smiled and waved goodbye to Tristan & Emily.

"Bye, Draco." Hermione said and noticed he was still studying the twins, trying to figure out who the Father could be.

"Is Tristan & Emily here most weekdays?" He asked quickly, hoping to see Hermione again soon so they could talk more.

"Yes, unless they're with my parents, Ginny, or Mrs. Weasley." Hermione took Tristan's & Emily's small hand on both side of her.

"Then I'll see you tomorrow I guess." Draco said and Hermione nodded. He watched as they left the building and headed down the streets of Diagon Alley then returned to Natalie.

"Why are you in such a good mood?" Ginny asked curiously after opening the door to the Burrow to find Hermione anxiously waiting with Emily.

"I have some news!" Hermione exclaimed entering with her son & daughter.

"Hi, Aunt Ginny!" Emily squealed, wrapping her arms tightly around the redhead's legs.

"Hey, Aunt Ginny!" Tristan squealed after his twin sister Emily.

"I think there are some cookies in the kitchen with mum and Uncle Harry. Go see if you can have some while I talk with your mum." Ginny suggested, causing Emily's eyes to light up as she made her way into the kitchen along with Tristan.

"So, guess who I saw today." Hermione grinned, sitting on the couch next to Ginny who was six months pregnant with triplets.

"Did you really?!" Ginny practically shouted in surprise, knowing automatically that she was talking about Draco, "Where? When? Did you talk? Did he see you too? What about Tristan & Emily?" The list of questions running through her head could have filled ten rolls of parchment.

"Well, I was getting the twins from that daycare place and it turns out that he's working there—"

"He left you for three years to work at a daycare center?" She asked in disbelief.

"Maybe… Maybe he couldn't find an open position for potions teacher anywhere," Hermione hoped that was the answer, "It was very awkward speaking with him and it was even worse when his girlfriend showed up."

"His girlfriend?"

"Natalie Hunter," Hermione stated the name, "They've only been dating for four months though."

"Do you hate her yet?" Ginny asked, spotting a flicker of jealousy in her friend's eyes.

Hermione considered the question, "No, she seems too nice to hate. She said how Draco would talk about me all the time, even after I sent that last letter, but she didn't know I was who he told her about. Draco pretended it was Lavender."

"If he wouldn't shut up about you, maybe it took him a long time to get over you. Maybe, deep down, he still hasn't gotten over you," She said, and Hermione could tell she was trying to think of how Hermione could get him back, "You still love him, don't you?"

"Yes, but I'd feel terrible if he left Natalie for me. It would be so much easier to do if she was a snotty, stuck-up type of girl." Hermione now looked somewhat miserable.

"What if I go with you tomorrow to pick up Tristan & Emily so that you two can talk for a while?"

"I guess we could try that, as long as Natalie doesn't show up again."

"If she does, I'll distract her." Ginny laughed and Hermione felt like she was back at Hogwarts, once again asking for advice from her friend.