"I couldn't find a will," imparted Hermione a few days later. "I even tried a searching charm as a last resort."
"I would have assumed you knew that those types of spells don't work on missing items."
Hermione smirked. She expected Draco to make such a remark. He had always been a smartass.
"Of course I know that." She didn't care to explain how she could get the charm to work on missing items; he wouldn't understand the concept of an Internet search engine which was what the spell had been adapted from. Hermione could tell that Draco was waiting for her to reveal how she used the search spell, but all she did was keep the smile plastered to her face.
If he wanted to know so bad, he could just simply ask.
"That poses a problem," said Draco. He walked across the suite he was staying in and poured two cups of coffee from a metal pot.
"The spell poses a problem?" asked Hermione, taking the cup that he offered out to her. "Thanks." She was mildly surprised that he had done so. It did not seem like something a wealthy, pampered man would do.
"No, not the spell. The children need guardians, Granger. They cannot raise themselves."
"Right," she agreed. She sipped from the cup and almost hummed in delight. It was the best coffee she had ever had. It had a lovely mild flavour with a hint of dark chocolate. "This has an amazing flavour!"
"It's a Brazilian espresso blend. Thought you could use it. You look like you just crawled out of a grave."
"You're the only one who can turn a nice gesture into an insult."
"You haven't met many people then."
"Quality over quantity, I guess."
"Now look who's throwing the insults around."
Hermione set her cup down and massaged her forehead with her fingers. She was too tired to continue this useless banter. "Since I'm the children's Godmother, I'm pretty much their guardian by default."
"Do you even have a job?"
"What kind of question is that?!" she spat completely insulted. "Why wouldn't I have a job?!"
"You'll have to excuse me for saying this, but you don't exactly look like you make much money."
"I make plenty!"
"Enough for three extra mouths to feed - one being a growing teenager who will likely eat your shelves empty?"
Hermione's shoulders slumped. Before Hydrus died, she had made more than enough at the bookstore that she managed, but Draco brought up a good point; her salary couldn't support all of the children and their needs.
She squared her shoulders back off. "I'll just find a better job. Single mothers do it all the time."
"They also pay out fifty percent of their income in child care - do you own the home you live in?"
"No, I rent a flat."
"And it probably has only one room." His expression was serious. "I don't mean to come across as insensitive - "
Hermione snorted. "Is that so?! You've always been inconsiderate of other people's feelings, why stop now?!"
Draco's lips pursed. "Don't interrupt me, Granger."
"Is that a direct order? Do you think you can make demands of me like I'm one of your house elves?! Well, you can't! You don't own me, Draco Malfoy!" She stormed over to the door, swinging it open to make her leave.
"Dammit, Granger, would you just stop and listen! You can't do this on your own!"
"Watch me!" hissed Hermione, and she stepped out into the hall, ignoring his demands for her to come back.
$-.-$-.-$-.-$
"Look what Granny got you!"
Narcissa volunteered to watch her grandchildren so that Draco and Granger could talk. The night before, she had shopped around for some gifts since it was a grandmother's duty to spoil them.
"I love dresses, thank you, Granny!" Natasha cheered, hugging the woman after seeing the frilly, pink expensive garment.
Narcissa's heart melted immediately when she felt those tiny arms link around her. She kissed the girl's cheek.
"I've got something for your brothers too. Would you mind getting them for me?"
"Anthony!" screeched Natasha as she leaped off Narcissa's lap, running off. "Curtis! Granny brought presents!"
Curtis came out on his own soon enough. "We never had a grandmother before, and never one that gave us anything."
"Well, you do now! Open it!" Narcissa gave him a box.
"Are you trying to buy our affection?"
"Not at all. I remember how lovely it was when my granny came over bearing gifts, and I want you to feel the same."
"Anthony isn't coming," Natasha announced upon her return. "Aunt Hermione says he's upset that Daddy's dead - "
"She did not say dead, Tasha," Curtis corrected her, pausing from opening his gift. "You're not supposed to say 'dead', remember?"
"It is the past-tense of died, Curty, what am I supposed to say?"
"You'll learn quickly that she thinks she knows everything," explained Curtis to Narcissa. "I hope you're prepared for that, she has a very high IQ - too high, if you ask me." He sent his sister a pointed look.
"I find it rather adorable that my granddaughter is a smart sweet potato."
Natasha giggled. "I'm a sweet potato! And you're just a stinky doo!" she said to Curtis.
"At least I have a high maturity level."
"And when I'm big like you, I'll have more maturity than you!"
Curtis rolled his eyes and resumed to opening the box. "Hey, this is cool!" He held up a football that was decorated in greens and blues.
"Your uncle Draco told me that you like playing football. It's a Muggle's sport, but maybe you can teach me how to play."
"You want to play football?!"
"Yes, why shouldn't I?"
"Well, you're just so - "
"Old!" Natasha finished, laughing. "Granny's old! Granny's old!" she sang out.
"I'm not old, child, I'm experienced. I'm sure I can get the hang of the sport. I'm not a terrible Quidditch player, and football is like Quidditch without the brooms and bats."
"And the Bludger, and the Snitch, and the kicking at people's heads! It's more different than you think," Curtis informed his grandmother.
"I'm adaptable," Narcissa assured him.
"I'm going to give Anthony his gift now," she changed the subject, not wanting to leave the quiet one out.
"I can show you his room!" offered Natasha. "He and Curtis share a room because they have penises!"
"Tasha!" groaned out Curtis. "Granny doesn't need to know those details!"
"He's embarrassed cause I said penis!" said Natasha, cupping her hands to her mouth, unsuccessfully concealing a laugh.
Narcissa grinned, amused. She could understand Curtis's outburst, but the girl was a complete doll.
Natasha escorted the woman to the boys' room. Narcissa wrinkled her nose at the mess it was in. It looked like it hadn't been cleaned it weeks. The bedroom also had a strange, disgusting odor; sweat and dirty laundry.
"Granny came to see you, Anthony." Natasha jumped onto his bed and crawled to her brother who was reading a book.
The boy looked up at the woman before his eyes fell down to the bag she was holding which concealed his present.
"I can tell that you're curious about it, pumpkin tart; why don't you come and get it?"
"She got Curtis a cool looking football! And me a dress!"
Anthony set his book down. Without saying a word, he walked over to his granny and took the bag. He peeked into it before taking out a package for a better look. He studied it over, puzzled with what it was.
"Aviatmo - " Natasha gave up trying to read what the package said. "That word is too hard. What is it, Granny?"
"It's a toy car, and it flies around the room."
"Let's see it, Anthony!" Natasha was excited to see how the new toy worked.
Anthony appeared to match her enthusiasm, and he ripped open the package to release his new toy. He set the car on the floor and backed it up like the picture had illustrated for him to do. The car clicked as if there was a winding mechanism in it, and when Anthony let go of it, the toy took flight, zipping around the room and performing magnificent loops in the air.
Narcissa felt the boy crash against her. He didn't say anything, but the wide smile on his face showed his gratitude.
She rubbed his back with a hand. "You are incredibly welcome, my little pumpkin tart."
$-.-$-.-$-.-$
"I cannot believe I actually thought I could have an adult conversation with Hermione Granger!"
"It was that bad then?"
"Mother, the woman is stuck in the past! You should have seen it when I poured her a cup of coffee, it was like she was stunned!"
"It has been many years since the two of you have spoken to each other. A lot has changed then."
"She certainly hasn't!" He stirred a pot of stew that he had been making and added a dash of salt to it.
"Oh, now, I doubt that," said Narcissa, ripping up chunks of bread and layering the pieces into two soup bowls.
"I can't stand Gryffindors! They are so bloody stubborn!"
"Blaming someone's personality on the sorting of their house is a thing adolescents do, Draco. I know plenty Slytherins who are just as stubborn, yourself included."
Draco growled lowly. He hated it when his mother spoke with logic. Right now, he'd prefer that she agree with him.
He swiped up the soup bowls from the table she was sitting at and hastily ladled some of the stew into them. "You're supposed to be on my side, Mother!"
"I'm on the side that will let me see those precious babies everyday. Be that hers or yours, I do not care."
"Traitor," muttered Draco, sitting down.
"That is a Slytherin trait," she teased him.
"You know," Narcissa said after they had eaten a few spoonfuls in thoughtful silence. "She might like some of this - you should have seen Hydrus's place, it was a rubbish dump. If she's had no energy to clean, I'm sure it's the same for cooking. I would hate to think that my grandchildren are eating from prepackaged foods."
"Well, there's plenty left in the pot, but I'm not going over there. I've had enough of that bushy-haired woman for the day."
Narcissa sighed at his childish response. "Fine, I'll do it then, but eventually you and that woman are going to have to put aside your differences. And soon! We can't stay here forever, I have a sewing club to get back to - Molly Weasley promised me to show me a new design!"
Draco watched his mother pack up the pot of stew and leave the suite with nothing more to say.
He let out a deep sigh, staring at the door. Things would be easier if Granger would give him a chance, but all she did was expect the worse in him.
He got up and rinsed out his bowl then made his way to the bathroom to prepare himself for a shower.
He regretted not writing back to his brother all these years. Draco hated himself for waiting until he was literally dead before making an appearance. He had been too much of a chicken ass to arrange a meeting, fearing that it was too late to make amends.
Which made no sense to him; Hydrus had made it abundantly clear that all was forgiven, so why had Draco been afraid to go see his brother?
Draco scrubbed at his head with his fingers, digging his nails into his scalp harshly. A sick feeling slammed into the pit of his gut. He applied more pressure, breathing through the pain he purposely inflicted.
After he rinsed the soap away, he stepped out of the stall and stood in front of the mirror. His eyes narrowed at the dark circles around them - the effect of having no sleep for the past week and a half.
"Greedy, little worm," he thought to himself, repeating the same words Granger had called him the other day.
Sadly, she couldn't have been anymore right.
$-.-$-.-$-.-$
"I thought I told you to go pick up your room!"
Natasha came skipping over to Hermione where she was mixing up their dinner
"Can we not have that tonight?" the girl pleaded with a whine, ignoring Hermione's inquiry.
"What's wrong with this?"
Natasha wrinkled her nose. "I want Daddy's pancakes."
Hermione sat down and groaned tiredly. She had been chasing after the little one for hours now, trying to get her to at least pick up her dirty clothing, but Natasha found any and every excuse not to do it. If Hermione hadn't been so exhausted, she would have cleansed up the entire house with a few spells, but the lack of sleep was taking a toll on her mind, body and soul.
And patience.
"We're not having Daddys pancakes tonight!"
"But I don't want that hideous casserole! I'm tired of that! I want something yummy!"
Hermione closed her eyes and started naming potion ingredients in alphabetical order in her head.
"Alright, Tasha," said Hermione after she recollected her cool. "I'll make a deal with you, if you go pick up all of your clothing and your toys, we can have Daddy's pancakes for tomorrow night."
"But what are we going to have for tonight then?"
"This - " A knock on the door cut off Hermione and sent Natasha racing to see who the visitor was.
"I'll answer it, Tasha!" stressed Hermione, chasing the girl down.
"It's Granny!" exclaimed Natasha when Hermione opened the door. The latter was breathing hard from her quick movements to beat the child in the race.
"Hello, sweet potato," drawled out Mrs. Malfoy. To Hermione, she said, "We thought you could use a break." She gestured to a pot in her arms to which Hermione relieved her of.
"Oh, that was so nice of you," said Hermione truthfully. Whatever it was smelled divine! "Please come in, Mrs. Malfoy."
"Draco made it," the woman added. Hermione swore Mrs. Malfoy gave her a wink when she said that, but Hermione wasn't altogether either, so she may have imagined it.
"From a tin?"
Mrs. Malfoy laughed like Hermione had told her a joke. "Malfoys don't eat from tins, dear."
Hermione should have figured that. She put the pot onto the stove and pulled down a stack of bowls to start serving.
"Did you eat yet?" Hermione asked Mrs. Malfoy.
"Yes, I've eaten - why don't you go get the boys. I can handle setting the table."
Hermione sent the woman an odd look. Physical labour - any labour - didn't seem to be something a Malfoy would do. She was beginning to think that she had entered the Twilight Zone - first Draco pours her a cup of joe, then she finds out that he actually cooked something (from scratch), and now Narcissa Malfoy was butting her out of the kitchen to feed a pack of children!
"Thanks," she said, unsure of what else to say. "I appreciate the help."
"It takes a village, Miss Granger - it is Miss, yes?"
"Yes, I've not married."
Mrs. Malfoy smiled and tossed her head toward the kitchen's exit. "Bring in the others and come sit down and eat. I'm sure you're famished."
Hermione hated to admit it, but her stomach was growling with anticipation. It certainly hadn't been this excited for her now-forgotten casserole.
"Granny's here," she informed the boys when she had entered their room. Unlike Natasha, they were actually doing what Hermione had told them to do. "She brought some lovely stew that your uncle made; come into the kitchen and try some."
Curtis's appetite had returned two days after the funeral, and he had not complained about the food that was being served like Natasha had, but Anthony still hardly ate a thing, and Hermione had even given him some potions to boost his hunger levels. At this point, she didn't care if he had cookies and ice cream for dinner, as long as he ate something.
Nonetheless, the younger boy did follow the others to join them for the meal.
"Hello, you!" Mrs. Malfoy greeted him especially, knowing he needed the extra attention. He responded with a shy smile and climbed into her lap.
"How about a bite of Uncle Draco's stew?" She slid over a bowl, setting it in front of them. Anthony looked down at the bowl, and his smile faded.
Hermione sat down, watching the two closely. She wondered if Mrs. Malfoy could get him to eat. She spooned some of the stew into her own mouth, causing it to water from the its heavenly flavour.
Damn, Draco could cook!
Hermione wasn't a terrible cook, but she had never made anything that tasted this amazing.
Mrs. Malfoy kissed the boy's cheek and whispered something into his ear. "Don't you think?" she said to Anthony loud enough for Hermione to catch.
Anthony nodded slowly, answering whatever she had said.
"Why don't you just take a small bite then, and if you don't like it, we'll get you something else - anything you want, okay?"
"It's good, Anthony!" stated Natasha with a mouthful.
"Finish what's in your mouth before you speak," Hermione automatically instructed.
"No one wants to have your spit all over them," said Curtis.
"Eww!" The girl cringed.
"Exactly," agreed Hermione.
"Do you like it?" Mrs. Malfoy could be heard asking.
Anthony had finally taken a bite of his dinner and was making slow chews at it. He nodded after he finished it and then shoved another spoonful into his mouth.
"You can have as much as you want!" Mrs. Malfoy told him, squeezing her arms gently around him.
"What did you say to him?"
Hermione and Mrs. Malfoy were sitting in the living room two hours later. The elder woman had been a great help getting the children cleaned up and ready for bed. She had even read the two little ones a couple stories before they had drifted off to sleep.
"To Anthony?
"Yes, you're a miracle worker, I swear!"
Mrs. Malfoy sipped from her cup of tea and nonchalantly flicked her wand, sending several items into the air. Books set themselves onto shelves, clothes piled into a wastebasket, and toys landed into an empty toy bin.
"I told him that his Daddy would want him to eat so he could grow up big and strong just like him."
"Oh." It was a brilliant thing to say, and Hermione felt dumb for not thinking of it first.
"You cannot learn everything about children in one day, Miss Granger. You've done an excellent job, but maybe it's not a bad thing to ask for help."
Hermione leaned her head against the sofa. "Scarlett has her own life; she plays professional Quidditch. She's pretty much the only one I know who doesn't already have a family of her own."
"What did you and my son talk about today?" There was a twinkle in the woman's dark eyes, and Hermione couldn't help to think that Mrs. Malfoy was fishing for something.
"Basically, he stated how poor I am."
"I wouldn't say you're poor. Undercut, but not poor."
"Well, the thought of three university intuitions makes me feel poor!"
"Would you deny someone if they offered to assist you with that?"
Hermione scratched at her neck, thinking. "I don't know. I'm quite independent, but it's not just myself I have to think about anymore. I might accept some help. I would feel obligated to pay the person back though - somehow, someway."
"Miss Granger, I wonder if you would consider a proposition."
"What kind of proposition?"
"You have all but said you could use some assistance with your new charges, and Draco and I would love to get to know the children better, they are such beautiful darlings."
"Mrs. Malfoy, I appreciate your concern, but as their Godmother, it is only right that I remain their guardian."
"And as their grandmother, it is only right that I ensure that they have everything they need, both financially and emotionally. I believe together, you, Draco and I could give that to them."
"Don't you have a husband too?"
Narcissa sighed coldly. "Lucius is being a stubborn blowhole."
That comment made Hermione laugh.
"Are you suggesting a joint custody deal?" asked Hermione in all seriousness. "I think that would be too rough on the children, having to commute back and forth."
"I was thinking of approaching the problem at a different angle. I am asking if you and the children would come live with us - as a trial run - and we could see how it all works."
Hermione felt a little dizzy. Her mouth grew dry, and she couldn't speak. Had she heard the woman correctly? A Malfoy was asking her to move in with her?!
Okay, now she knew she had crossed over into a whole different dimension!