What Lies Beneath

Hermione:

Hermione stood and stared at herself in the mirror for a moment before she shook her head and blinked a few times. She then raised her wand and cast a glamor spell on her hair and watched it fall in soft ringlets down her back. She turned to the side, examining her handy work as she set about putting on a small amount of makeup. She and Xavier were going to have dinner at the Burrow that evening to finally discuss the father of her child. Mrs. Weasly had watched her son for her that day while she worked, so she'd just stopped by her flat to change. She had been remembering the key occasion that had even made it possible for Draco Malfoy to conceive a child with her. It had been the night he had lied to his family about Harry, Ron, and her identity. It was safe to say seeing doubt amongst Voldemort's followers had planted a seed. Especially when Malfoy had attempted to hide the truth from his Aunt. It meant that perhaps the war could take a turn in the light side's favor. She had been tortured in his home anyway... But he had attempted to make things right on the fateful night she had returned to her parent's home shortly after they'd been murdered.

They were much younger then and it wasn't exactly naive for her to say that there was hope for Draco at that point. She had tried not to hold it against Malfoy that he'd killed so many people. They had both done their fair share of harm in that aspect. The only difference was the nature of the people they were robbing of life. Malfoy had killed innocent people. Hermione had only killed those that truly deserved it. When Malfoy showed up claiming he wanted to put an end to the war, she saw it as he was trying to do the right thing for once in his life. You could blame it on the Gryffindor in her. They always tried to see the good underneath the bad. In Malfoy's case that was like sifting through a massive dung heap in search of a galleon. Hermione returned to her memories.

She had just finished putting the wards up with tears in her eyes before she collapsed to the floor in the living room of her childhood home. It felt strange being there, knowing that her parents would never step foot through the door again. Not even five minutes after she'd completed her protection spells, the wards had gone off telling her there was an intruder on the porch, because they couldn't go any further if they tried. She had grasped her wand in one hand and used the sleeve of her sweatshirt to wipe the tears and sweat from her face. She knew there was a chance she could have been followed but grief took away any fear. She hadn't told anyone where she was going and had set off to make sure nobody defiled her home. The Death Eaters had made it a point to burn any potential refuge to the ground. There was indeed a Death Eater/s outside of her door but she hadn't expected what would happen when she finally chose to face him. She didn't even know who it would be.

"Granger," he said through the solid oak door. She froze, her heart beating into her throat. She would recognize his voice anywhere. That's what happened when someone bullied the hell out of you for the better part of your childhood.

Malfoy? She didn't respond but only waited for him to say something else.

"I know you're in there. Just...Can we talk? I'm not here to try to hurt you or..." he trailed off. Draco Malfoy knew how ridiculously foolish that would sound. There wasn't a chance in hell that she would trust him after what happened at the Manor and for all the incidents before. He hadn't admitted their identities, but at the end that really hadn't helped at all. For all he knew she still had the word 'mudblood' carved into her forearm. The same forearm he had received the dark mark on.

"I should strike you down where you stand Malfoy!" she spat. She had her wand raised ready to blast a hole right through her parent's front door. She wiped angrily at the tears that were still escaping her eyes.

"I heard about your parents, Granger," he called. It was the wrong thing to say. The first curse blasted the glass right out of the top of the front door. He dodged it, but jut barely. She'd almost taken his head off. "I'm sorry!" he said. His voice sounded more startled than angry.

"Why would you be sorry? They were just muggles!" she screeched, sarcasm dripping off of every over-enunciated word. Another curse flew at him. He decided to walk a few paces away from the door. He cast a silencing spell around himself and the door so that the neighbors didn't catch on. This was a very stupid position for both of them to be in and he was starting to rethink it. Granger was clearly in an irrational state. She had come here alone for Merlin's sake. Then again so had he... As he was contemplating what to say to her he was also considering taking his leave. But that's what cowards did...and he was tired of being a coward. Not to mention he'd come this far and what good would it do if he left now? He wanted to change the direction of this war for the better. He'd seen and done too many awful things. His family was not held in the same prestige as they used to be and the way he saw it, if he didn't do something, they would die like their enemies sooner than later and he wasn't willing to let that happen.

"Look Granger, this is not the time or place to be revealing us right now," he tried to reason with her. It seemed that Granger had gone a little insane after her parent's had been killed and he decided that was a perfectly acceptable reaction. They had been innocent. Their only mistake had been producing one of the most intelligent and dangerous witches of their time. Draco had never seen anyone like her but he would never admit that to anyone. Not even to himself most of the time.

"You think I give a damn about any of that?" she yelled. He could hear the tears in her voice and in that moment he tried to feel her pain. He had always had empathy issues but he attempted to put himself in her shoes. He would probably be devastated if his parents died but he didn't know if that was just bred loyalty or true affection. He knew he didn't grow up the same way she did. Loyalty was more important than intimacy in his family. You were taught to follow blindly. This is something he had finally realized and it had hit him extremely hard. If he was questioning his blood then that blew the hinges off of any doubts that had begun to creep in. He found there were no right words for the the muggle-born witch. If there was, they were lost to him.

Hermione took in the lack of response from Malfoy, her chest heaving. She could feel something slowly snapping inside of her. Perhaps everything had finally taken its toll. It occurred to her that he probably had no real concept of family so how could he possibly comprehend what she was going through? It was then that she decided he was part of the problem and needed to be put down. She flung the door open and began throwing every single curse she knew at him. He only attempted to block them, he wasn't firing back. He hopped off the porch to put some distance between them and felt the pressure of the ward leave him. It wouldn't be long before Hermione was outside of the ward too. He kept backing up allowing her to leave the safety of her own protection spells. It was then that she started to throw unforgivables. Draco was so shocked as a jet of green light flew past his head that he realized they were living in an entirely different world now. A world where Granger would put an unforgivable on her own wand just to be rid of him. To make sure the whole world was rid of him. And why wouldn't she? There weren't rules anymore. It was her life or his...There was pure vengeance etched across her features.

"Holy shit!" he yelled. It came out louder than he intended but he had almost just died. He was wide open and she was already cocking back to throw another curse at him. The thing that scared him the most was that she hadn't uttered a single curse out loud. And perhaps that he was at the receiving end of such a savage attack from somebody he'd actually deemed decent before the war had begun, despite his distaste for her. It had everything to do with what he'd done the entire time he'd known her. He knew that.

He took his chances and the moment he saw her walk out of the boundary of her wards he rushed her. She sent a couple more curses at him, which he managed to block with his own wand, which flew into the bushes behind him, and then he made contact and the two of them went flying to the ground hard. He landed on top of her and quickly began wrestling her for her wand. Draco was much bigger than Hermione and it wasn't hard once he had her down. He flung her wand across the yard and grasped both of her hands in his as she struggled wildly against him. She tore back and forth and at some point even bit him. He flipped her over and put all his weight on her back. Her wand flew back towards them and landed on the grass next to Hermione who couldn't reach out and grasp it. He was afraid she knew much more magic than he was aware of so he spoke fast, into her ear. Hermione could feel his labored breath.

"Do you know how stupid that was?" he rushed out. "I could have been out here with twenty other Death Eaters. You would have been DONE," he spat. They were both panting and she was still struggling. He was trying to make if very clear how easily she could've lost her life if he had been there to capture her. "I'm here to make things RIGHT, Granger! We're making quite a scene. I would be shocked if you haven't disturbed the whole neighborhood. We NEED TO TALK!"

Hermione's body finally gave into exhaustion and she laid with her face pressed against the grass of the lawn her father had cared for so diligently. She could feel Malfoy's crushing weight on top of her and began to hyperventilate. "How could you ever make it right?" she gasped. She was still crying. She was at a loss and in the throws of a severe panic attack. She'd been captured. She was sure of it. Again. Until what he'd said actually sunk in. He could have been out here with twenty other Death Eaters. And so far the night was still quiet and virtually undisturbed. She knew the Death Eaters wanted her. The fact that she was here was a huge mistake in itself. But she was still here and no dark wizards had slunk out of the shadows to aid Malfoy.

"We don't have a lot of time," he'd said. "Can we go inside?"

"You're insane," she breathed. "You really think I would lower the wards I just put up to let my worst enemy into my home?"

Malfoy gritted his teeth against her hair.

"Don't lower them, just make a temporary exception," Malfoy said. "If I let you up, can you give me your word you won't try to kill me again?"

Why the hell would she give this scumbag her word on anything?! Hermione didn't know what to do. He hadn't made a move to seize her wand but she knew she was still in grave danger. She was also aware Malfoy didn't have his own wand so they were both at a disadvantage. She weighed her options. He hadn't tried to hurt her yet.

"Will you leave your wand where it is?" she asked. Malfoy was silent for a minute.

"How about I let you hold onto it until we're done here?" he compromised. He didn't feel comfortable leaving his wand in the bushes and he was getting exceedingly uncomfortable laying on top of Granger in her front yard where any passerby could see them. Hermione let out another little sob but nodded.

"I need to hear you say it," Draco mumbled.

"I won't try to kill you. But you need to promise me the same and let me retrieve my wand," Hermione said. She didn't know what the hell was happening or what would happen when they entered her home but she was going to see if the Slytherin could keep his word. Draco let go of one of her hands and grasped her wand. She was about to start thrashing again when he closed the short distance between her fingers and her wand. He then got off of her and let her stand. He kept his hands in plain view. Hermione quickly summoned Draco's wand, never taking her eyes off of him.

"You first," she said, flicking her wand towards her front door. "Keep your hands where I can see them."

Draco nodded and slowly approached the house. The ward gave way to him and they entered her parent's living room. Hermione shut the door behind them.

It was just a means to an end, that night. It was the beginning of the brief meetings she'd had with Draco before the war ended. She often wondered if she could have said something to the Aurors... To her best friends... to get Draco out of the mess he'd put himself in. He had been the one to supply her with information about Voldemort's inner circle. Their schedules. Things like that. And it had brought quite a few of them down. A lot of them were sitting in Azkaban just like he was at this very moment...Or dead. They discussed more than the Dark Lord after a while but to say they were friends would be a severe exaggeration. They had history. That was all. Given the circumstances and their young age it could've been simply that they needed something familiar. Even if familiar didn't mean pleasant.

When she heard of his capture she thought about revealing that Draco had been her informant but she rethought it. If she revealed him, he would be dead just like the rest. There were ways of it happening in Azkaban too. And a huge part of Hermione felt like he did deserve to be there. Maybe not for the rest of his life. It was just that there were consequences to every action and Malfoy's hands weren't clean. And although he'd been making an attempt at reforming himself he had never truly leaped into the commitment of changing sides. It was almost like too little too late in his case. He'd done too many things that he could be charged with. It turned out snitching had been the answer for him after all. But only after he'd given a small chunk of his life to Azkaban.

Hermione had gotten off of work from the bookstore slightly later than she'd expected. Her life seemed a little mundane seeing as she had the skills to be doing much more important things with herself. She could've become an Auror or a Healer... A professor... There were any number of wizarding careers that were at her disposal after the war. Job offers had been thrown around left and right. Harry and Ron had gotten recruited into law enforcement during the war. But to say it simply, Hermione had gotten knocked up and had seen way too much shit. She needed a break. She still hadn't quite gotten over her parent's death even five years later. She felt responsible. She was responsible. They would've never been dragged into it if they hadn't of had her for a daughter. Even with her best efforts of trying to protect them, it had all failed. She was working on letting it go but it was slow moving, only a little progress at a time.

She had picked a job she was passionate about. Books. She could be content with that. But it was only a job. Not a career. She'd inherited all of her parent's worldly possessions, being their only child. That left her with quite a bit of money that had been given to her in their wills and of course the life insurance. If it weren't for the sizable financial cushion, her and her son would be scraping by paycheck to paycheck. If that had been the case she would have taken her chances in the wizarding world. She wouldn't make her son live in poverty just because she had personal issues. She thanked her parent's every day for leaving her with the means of not having to live a life she didn't want to. Eventually her son would know all about the wizarding world. She hadn't kept magic a secret, but for right now she was happy with the way she was raising him. There was nothing to corrupt him. He could have a childhood.

Hermione glanced at the clock and made her way over to the fireplace. She grabbed a bit of floo powder in her hand and stated her destination clearly before she was whisped away to the Burrow. She landed on her feet in the Weasley's living room, where she was nearly knocked over by her son.

"He's been waiting for you in there since you got off of work dear," Molly Weasley called from the kitchen. Hermione picked up her son and walked into the kitchen as James came up to say hello. She gave the green eyed boy a quick hug and set her son down as she landed a kiss on his pale cheek.

"Go play baby. I'm going to help Grams get dinner ready for everyone," Hermione said.

"I missed you all day mummy," Xavier said, clutching Hermione around one of her legs. She smiled down at her son.

"Were you good for your grams?" she asked. He gave her a mischevious smirk that only reminded her of his father. "Were they good?" Hermione asked turning her attention to Molly.

"For the most part," Molly said as she flicked her wand. She had about five things going at once. "Nothing I can't handle. I did have quite a few little ones myself at one point," she teased bumping Hermione with her round hip. "At the same time if you don't remember."

Hermione smiled thinking back on her childhood and her memories with the Weasleys. Xavier and James went into the living room.

"Do you need help Molly?" Hermione asked. Molly merely shook her head.

"You've been working all day dear. Why don't you sit down and have some tea?" Mrs. Weasley replied. Hermione did sit and watched Mrs. Weasley at work. It was a little amazing how talented she was in the kitchen even if her talents weren't used as frequently as they had been in the past. It was just Mrs. Weasley at the Burrow now. It seemed kind of empty without her children and Arthur Weasley. The children still visited their mother often to make up for the loss of their father. Molly was getting through it.

"So you wanted to talk to the boys about something?" Molly asked. Hermione had made it clear there was a reason she wanted to get together with all of her close friends. Ginny had helped her set up the dinner date at the Burrow.

"And you too," Hermione said. "Some things have come up and I have something kind of important I wanted to tell everyone...There's some things that need to be discussed." Hermione took note of how some of the spoons slowed in their stirring. Molly turned and looked at her.

"Is everything alright Hermione?" She asked. It may have been something about Hermione's tone but she could see she had worried Molly.

"It is..." Hermione began. "I just want to make sure it stays that way. How about we wait until after dinner to discuss it?" she asked. She didn't want the entire evening to be strained and perhaps she should've waited to respond all together. Molly nodded and gave her an easy smile as the kitchen door opened and Ginny and Harry walked in.

"How about you help me set the table?" Molly asked. Hermione nodded and set to work as greetings were exchanged.

…...

Dinner went as it usually did even though it was much smaller than back in the day. Ron, Harry, and Ginny were the only other people present. James and Xavier ate at a smaller table across the room. The kid's table, which had never been removed even after all the Weasley's had grown up. It came in handy when there were family get togethers.

Hermione found herself smiling at the people who sat around her. It had been a while since they'd all gotten together like this and she found she missed them. She hadn't meant to isolate herself. It was just sometimes she couldn't bring herself to do normal things. By the end of the day when she was finished at work, she wanted nothing more than to pick up Xavier and return home to relax. It seemed like she was always drained.

"So er... There's a reason Ginny set up this dinner," Hermione said when she saw a small gap in the conversation. Molly folded her napkin and set it down on her plate. "I have something I wanted to tell you..."

Ginny stood and walked over to the children's table.

"Boys, are you done eating then?" she asked. She waved her wand and cleared the table before herding the two children into the other room. The gesture wasn't lost on any of them.

"What's going on Mione?" Harry asked with true concern. Hermione chewed on her lip for a moment.

"I know..." she began but her words were getting caught in her throat. She was suddenly very afraid of how they were going to react to her news. What if they were angry with her? Ginny re-entered the kitchen and waved her wand, casting a silencing charm on the door. She then took an empty seat next to Hermione. She patted her leg reassuringly.

"You know what?" Ron asked through a mouth full of dinner roll. When she was still hesitant Ginny spoke up.

"It's alright Mione. It's better if you just get it out. Quick and easy," she said. Harry looked at his wife questioningly. Hermione began again.

"I know that I never wanted to tell you who Xavier's father is," she started. Now all of the people at the table, save for Ginny, were very interested in what she was about to say. "It wasn't just a stupid one night stand I had... I mean... Kind of." Merlin this was getting awkward. Rons ears had begun to turn pink.

"I mean it's okay Hermione," Ron cut in as though he didn't want her to finish what she was about to say. He didn't like to know much about either of his friend's love lives. He felt that was on a need to know basis, Unfortunately little did he know, he needed to know. He pushed his plate away, which was a miracle in itself and directed his full attention to his best friend. "We never judged you for that or anything... Things happen."

"It wasn't just a thing. Do you remember how I told you all that during the war I had an informant?" she asked. Harry nodded slowly. "And when the information he was providing was proven to be accurate you allowed me to handle it the way I saw fit..."

"Yeees," Harry began slowly. "Did you...have to sleep with him for information or something?" A small gasp escaped Mrs. Weasley. Ginny immediately rolled her eyes, bringing her palm up to her forehead.

"Merlin Harry. Let's not jump to conclusions here," she said exasperatedly to her husband. He looked a little embarrassed but motioned for Hermione to keep going.

"Look, you all are so important to me. And I kept it a secret for a lot of reasons... Mainly because it was a mistake that I was hoping would bury itself but it would seem that's not meant to be," Hermione said. "My informant was Malfoy," she blurted out. The entire room fell silent. The only sound that could be heard was the boys playing in the other room. "And he's also Xavier's father..."

Ronald's entire face and neck had gone red at this point. Hermione wasn't entirely sure if it was because he was angry, uncomfortable, or wasn't breathing. Harry loosened his tie and sat back in his chair, letting his eyes meet his wife's.

"I'm guessing you already knew about this?" he asked. He wasn't exactly angry. It was more like he was stating a fact. Ginny nodded, her lips pressed together and her eyebrows bent apologetically.

"I made her promise she wouldn't say anything," Hermione told her best friend. "Like I've said. There are so many reasons why I never said anything. I was trying to protect Xavier... I was ashamed. I-"

Harry put his hand up. "Just...give me a minute to process all this," Harry said.

"Would anyone like tea?" Molly cut in. It was clear she didn't know any other way to smooth the tension in the room and perhaps needed something to do.

"I would love some tea mum," Ginny said sweetly. Molly stood up and began bustling around the kitchen.

"Malfoy's getting out in what?" Harry asked tilting his head towards Ron.

"Four days," Ron replied. It was clear his brain was working again because the two shot right to the point. Perhaps that's how all Aurors were in this sort of situation.

"This is something you should've told us Hermione," Harry began slowly. "That was an important bit of information you left out. Malfoy was your informant? Do you know how dangerous that could've been for you?"

"You knew he wouldn't have kept providing information if I got you involved Harry. You knew that. And I'm still alive. Clearly he never hurt me," she said indignantly.

"Clearly," Ron snapped.

"What does that mean, Ronald?" Ginny growled at her brother. The red was creeping up Ron's collar again.

"How did this happen Hermione?" he asked directing his attention to her instead of his sister. "I mean how could you...and him...Was it forced?"

Hermione's jaw dropped.

"I don't really think that's any of our business," Molly said sternly as she was setting the table for tea. Harry was tugging at his hair in an irritated fashion.

"It wasn't forced Ronald. And that's all I wish to say about it," Hermione snapped.

"So you're going to stick up for him now-" Ronald began to retort but Ginny stepped in.

"It's been five years Ronald. Too much time has passed for you to still be behaving this way. Especially since you've got Lavender sitting at home. You all are missing the point. Malfoy is getting out of prison in four days. What are we going to do? If Hermione had wanted him to know about Xavier, then he would know about him already. Can we please focus on what's important? We can work out the kinks later if Hermione wants to. But she's still our family. You two can't let anything happen to her or her son," she snapped at the two men sitting in front of her. "Who his father is shouldn't change a thing."

"It changes everything, love," Harry said. He sighed. "We don't have very much time to figure this out. You're positive he doesn't know Hermione?"

"I'm not daft," Hermione said. "I knew what kind of shit storm that would bring on if he were to find out. Not to mention he's not going to be the most popular wizard when he gets out."

"Him not knowing takes care of half the battle," Harry said. "I'm sure there's a spell somewhere that we could use to keep track of him. The Auror's are probably already planning to do that as it is. I could ask around tomorrow about some things. We'll make it a priority."

Ron was still sulking a little but he nodded. "I mean, we haven't ever had access to his case," he began.

"Didn't want it," Harry added. "But this definitely changes things. We might have to let some of the other Aurors that are assigned to his case in on the situation. The circumstances are very important and they're sworn to secrecy. Especially since it's you Hermione. They'll want to help. We just have to make sure you two are never put in a position that he could find out." That sounded impossible.

Hermione nodded stiffly and brought her hand to the back of her neck. Even though she knew the chances were slim that they would ever run into Malfoy due to where she chose to reside, she didn't want to chance it. If what she'd been hearing was true, he wouldn't be safe in the wizarding world. There was a chance he would end up taking a leaf out of her book and choose to live far away from it. That probably didn't mean he'd end up being her neighbor. She already felt exhausted. She had a feeling that this conversation was going to bring a whole lot of things back into her life that she wasn't ready to deal with again. All for the sake of precautions.

"How about I get a hold of you tomorrow Mione?" Harry said. "I'll fill you in on your options. And any information I can."

"Sounds fine," Hermione said. "It's getting late. Me and my boy should be getting home soon," she muttered, rising from the table.

"If you want, I can make sure you and Xavier get home alright," Ron offered. Hermion shook her head with a smile.

"Thank you Ron, but it's fine. Really. It's not like he's out yet," she said. Ginny took her silencing charm down and propped the door open. Hermione called her son into the kitchen and gave her friends hugs. Molly hugged her extra tight.

"Are you bringing that sweet little boy here tomorrow?" she asked. Hermione felt a little relief at the comment and nodded.

"Of course Molly. If you don't mind," she said. Molly reached up and pinched Hermione in the cheek.

"Why on Earth would I mind dear?" she asked, her facial expression telling Hemione not to be ridiculous. Hermione grinned at her, rubbing her cheek.

"Thank you," she said softly. Mrs. Weasley merely smiled and gave her a small nod. All she could hope was that everything would be okay and they were just being extra careful.

A/N: I think the next chapter is going to be Draco's point of view. It will be up soon.