The moment that Sebastian disappeared into the confines of Flourish and Blott's Draco took that as his cue to step closer to Hermione. Sure, there was electricity between them threatening to spark a wildfire, but he was doing his best to ignore it as he glared at her. His anger was far more powerful than his attraction to her, but before he could say anything he turned to look at Gregory and nodded for him to leave. Goyle didn't need to be told twice, the wide shouldered man merely shrugged and walked furthered own the cobbled path.

Draco turned back around to look at Hermione, his eyes boring into hers as if he were trying to get inside of her head. The young woman took a deep breath and set her shoulders firmly to prove the fact that she wasn't going to back down just because he was angry.

"Is he my son?" Draco asked, wasting no time at all.

"Does it matter, Draco? It wouldn't change a thing," Hermione said as evenly as she could manage.

"It bloody well matters to me, if he is my son then I should know."

"Yes, he is your son."

"Why didn't you tell me, Hermione? Why did you just leave if you were pregnant? I'd have-"

"You'd have what? Whisked me away to some god forsaken castle in France where no one would find me or your son? I wasn't going to let you keep me a secret and certainly wasn't going to let you keep my son a secret too."

"You're daft if you think things are so simple."

"They are. Sebastian is my pride and my joy, I love him more than anything and I refuse to raise him as some secret abomination all because his father isn't man enough to go against his upbringing."

Draco's face flushed red with anger at her statement, his hands were nearly trembling at this point but he refused to give her the satisfaction of getting further under his skin. The hair at the back of his neck prickled with the anger that was burning up his face, but he took a slow breath through his nostrils and released it just as slowly so to remind himself not to shout or get too riled up.

"It's easy for you to say. You have no expectations put on you. You're a mudblood and that means no one expects a damn thing from you, I have other expectations on me."

Hermione bristled at being referred to by that old insult, but she merely gritted her teeth and glared up at him.

"I expect things from me; I expect to be treated with respect no matter my blood status. And trust I know how well you fulfilled those expectations of you. I 'd have sent you a congratulatory owl on your wedding and your son, but I wasn't so sure it'd be wise because I didn't want our dirty little secret to be figured out."

"Don't make this all my fault!" He shouted only to look around nervously as a few passersby glanced at him.

"It is your fault," Hermione seethed beneath her breath as she prodded his chest with her finger. "You chose this for the both of us. And now you have to live with the consequences of that."

"Is this your way of getting back at me for suggesting we be a secret a bit longer? Keeping my son from me and keeping a boy away from his father, seems too cruel for you."

"I learned from the best," she said angrily. "And Sebastian has grown up just fine without knowing his father; Ronald and Harry have been fantastic to him."

There must have been some cue that Draco couldn't hear because as soon as Ron's name left Hermione's lips, the red-headed man exited Flourish and Blotts with Sebastian at his side. The two of them were laughing and smiling, Sebastian holding a bag that undoubtedly held all his school books while Ronald held a few bags of his own. If he didn't know any better, Draco might have actually thought that they were father and son just by their body language and general presence.

The anger that had been subsiding roared to life in him once again, his face a rather embarrassing shade of red. Hermione looked over her shoulder to see her son and Ron standing and talking; rather glad they hadn't come running over just yet. Finally, she returned her attentions back to Draco and sighed upon recognizing the look on his face.

Draco leaned over so that he was closer to Hermione, his voice barely audible but the malicious and angry tone was obvious as he hissed into her ear.

"You have my son calling Weasley dad?"

Hermione couldn't help the sharp laugh that escaped her lips just then, taking a step back to put space between them. Eyes rolling, she crossed her arms over her chest and made sure to stand her ground.

"Don't be ridiculous. Sebastian knows that Ronald isn't his father, but he is fond of him. Ronald has always been good to Sebastian as he has always been good to me."

"You're still holding a torch for that piece of shite?"

"Don't you dare," Hermione hissed at him, her hand going out without thinking to shove him away. "Don't you dare insult Ronald to me. Don't you dare act like you're the better man. He'd have married me you know? He'd have adopted Sebastian and we would have been a family! But no!"

"If you were so hell bent on driving me off my nut then why didn't you?"

"Because unlike you I am not a spiteful creature. I don't marry out of convenience and as much as I love Ronald I could never do that to him. I could never marry him knowing my heart was elsewhere, not all of us are such excellent liars as you."

Hermione threw a glance over her shoulder to make sure that Sebastian and Ron weren't coming any closer. The two men hadn't moved yet, but just then Ron looked up so that his blue eyes caught hers. There was a soft smile on his lips that she couldn't help but to return, he had always been such a good friend to her just like Harry. Ever since the war and the birth of Sebastian, neither of her best friends had ever let her feel lonely or abandoned. Something she would always be grateful for.

"Always so high on your moral horse, Hermione," Draco said rather sarcastically as he rolled his gray eyes. "It was not so simple for me, it's not like I ever stopped loving you. I still dream about you, I still hope that I wake up back with you in my arms like I used to when we were together. I may have asked you to wait a bit longer, but look what you've done to me. That boy is my son and he doesn't even know who I am, you've never so much as mentioned me."

"I'm just keeping your secret," Hermione said under her breath, tired of this argument already. Her arms tightened around her body, she really just didn't want to do this right now.

"Damn the secret!" He shouted unable to help it. "If you won't tell him then I'll tell him myself."

"Draco, don't you dare! It's not your place!"

"Don't you dare tell me what is or is not my place!"

Draco had been in midstep as he was going to get closer to her when someone stepped between them. Once again, Sebastian had stepped in front of Hermione to shield her from Draco but this time his pointed face was contorted with malicious intent. One of his hands reaching back to touch his mother's forearm and to make sure that she remained behind him and out of Draco's immediate sight.

"Look, mate, I don't know who you bloody well think you are, but no one shouts at my mother," Sebastian said threateningly.

"Learn to respect your superiors, boy," Draco said before he could help it, inwardly cringing at how much he sounded like his father just then.

"I will when I'm talking to one, mate. Now leave, I won't have you upsetting my mother."

Behind Sebastian, Hermione looked quite solemn and pale as she glanced to her left and saw Ronald standing next to her. His blue eyes swept over her face as he reached over to squeeze her shoulder, offering the only amount of comfort that he could. But as soon as Hermione looked away from him a smile spread over his lips, unable to help it because it still sort of felt good to see Malfoy being put in his place. In fact, it felt even better to see him put in his place by someone far younger than him.

"You shouldn't talk to your –"

Hermione let out a sound stuck somewhere between a whine and a squeak, it garnered Draco's attention and he glared over Sebastian's shoulder at her.

"My what?" Sebastian demanded, stepping forward to further close the gap between them.

Draco was about to open his mouth to say something else when the door to Flourish and Blott's opened again, the bell above it ringing rather loudly. Out stepped, a petite and lean woman with long black hair and sparkling blue eyes along with a small boy with platinum blond hair and cool gray eyes. The boy turned his eyes over to them as his mother placed her hand on his shoulder to keep him from running off toward his father.

"Draco," the woman spoke gently. "We must be going, Scorpius still needs to get his wand."

The blond man looked away from his wife and child to once again meet Sebastian's gaze, but the boy wasn't backing down. They glared at each other a moment longer before Draco pushed past Sebastian so to get to his family, sparing a glare for Hermione and Ron. Hermione avoided his gaze while Ron stood there with a smile on his face as if he'd just won something. Draco would have given anything to wipe that smile off his face, but as he looked over his shoulder at Sebastian he caught sight of the young man glaring after him.