A/N: Thank you for all your generous reviews. I am honored that you took the time to read my story and put it in your alerts/favs. I hope the confusion a couple of you had will clear up as the story goes on. (I hope.)
Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.
Chapter 2
"Caroline, honey, this is Mr. Malfoy. We used to go to school together a long time ago." Draco thought it was a wise move not to introduce him as her half-brother. He was having a hard time believing it himself, so imagine how hard it would be to explain it to a child.
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Malfoy." Caroline did a little curtsy and extended her hand to Draco. "My name is Caroline. Now pay up!"
"Caroline…" Hermione warned with a raised eyebrow. One never knew what would come out of Caroline's mouth.
"That's a very pretty name, Caroline." Draco took her little hand into his and shook it noticing how small it was compared to his. "You seem to be a very smart young lady." He let go of her hand which left the two coins mysteriously in her palm.
"How'd you do that? Will you teach me, Mr. Malfoy?" said Caroline in her small but confident voice.
"You can call me Draco." He gave her a wink and a smile.
She put her hand over her mouth and started giggling. "Draco. That's a weird name. Draco, Draco, Draco," she sang. Because of her speech problem, his name sounded more like Dwaco.
"Hey, what's that?" Caroline pointed to the cane leaning against the bench on the other side of Draco.
"This is a walking stick that belonged to my father. The snake's head at the top was actually a handle of his wand at one time. See?" Draco pulled on the snake's head and showed her where the wand used to be.
Hermione had not noticed the cane before. Alarms screamed in her head, and she began to panic. "Stay away from that, Caroline. Don't touch it!" Hermione felt a heavy weight on her chest. She couldn't breathe. She felt light-headed and saw stars before she passed out.
Draco caught her as she slumped on the bench. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy now." He gently laid her down. "Granger, wake up. Come on, wake up!" He gently slapped her on each side of her face hoping she'd wake up.
"Is my mummy dead?" Caroline had tears in her eyes. She threw herself on Hermione and began to sob.
"No, sweetheart, your mummy's not dead. She's just taking a little nap." Draco started to slightly panic. He had Granger passed out on a park bench, and a little kid making a scene wailing for her mother to wake up.
Draco picked Hermione up bridal-style and carried her to a large tree nearby. He placed her at the foot of the tree out of the view of others. Caroline followed him; her cries were soft whimpers now.
Draco withdrew his wand and gently tapped Hermione on the head. "Rennervate," he said softly. Hermione took in a big breath and opened her eyes. He always loved her eyes – such a beautiful chocolate brown that he could get lost in forever.
Draco moved her sun-kissed chestnut curls from around her face. "Well, Sleeping Beauty, glad you could join us." He smiled down at her. "We were getting worried there for a bit."
"Mummy, you're alive! You should have seen Draco use his wand on your head. He used magic to wake you up."
"I don't know what came over me. Sorry about that."
She started to stand but was still a little woozy. Draco took her by the elbow to steady her. "We'll talk about this later," he whispered in her ear.
"How about I take you two ladies to lunch? You might feel better after you've had something to eat."
"No, that's okay. We were actually…" Hermione started to protest.
"Yay, let's go to Chucky Chicken for lunch." Caroline started to jump up and down excitedly. "Chucky Chicken, Chucky Chicken, Chucky Chicken. Bwack, bwack, bwack." She was running in circles with her arms flapping like a chicken.
"Okay, clue me in," said Draco. "What's Chucky Chicken?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "You don't want to know, "she laughed. "It's a fast food place that caters to kids. They have an inside playground, and it's very loud with all the kids running around and screaming. I wouldn't subject that to my worst enemy – which would still be you, by the way."
"Gee thanks, Granger. I love you too," he said sarcastically. "Sounds adventurous. Let's go – my Jag's over here." After the war, Draco began to appreciate the muggle world a little more. With his money (both inherited and from his company) he could afford the best both muggle and magical worlds had to offer.
"What? A Malfoy using muggle transportation?"
"Well, we could apparate if you'd rather."
"Where did you park?"
After Caroline finished her chicken nuggets and potato wedges, she ran over to the play area and found a couple of little girls to play with.
Draco pushed his wilted salad around with is fork with a disgusted look on his face. "How can anyone each this shit? Is it even real food?" This was his first time eating at a fast food restaurant. He had taken his jacket off, loosened his tie and rolled up his sleeves. He wore a gold Rolex watch on his wrist.
"Hey, you wanted to come. Quit complaining." She really looked at him for the first time today. His hair was a little longer than she remembered. He seemed a little broader and taller too. She liked his nice smile, something she rarely saw at Hogwarts. His intense gray eyes still had an effect on her.
After a few uncomfortable moments of silence, Draco asked, "Do you want to tell me what happened back there at the park?" His gray eyes bore into her chocolate ones and sent a shiver up her spine.
She lowered her gaze and said, "I…I just freaked out when I saw Lucius' cane. That's all. I'd really rather not talk about it."
Draco realized that probably brought back some bad memories for her, so he dropped it…for now.
"And what is this about you used to be a witch? Magic is something you just don't turn on and off."
Hermione glanced around to see if anyone was listening in on their conversation. She rarely spoke to anyone regarding her situation. She couldn't believe she was telling her story to Malfoy of all people.
She took a deep breath. "After the war I found out I was pregnant. I needed to get away and clear my head so I moved to Australia to find my parents. After Caroline was born, I decided to stay there and work on my degree. My father became very ill and wanted to spend his last days in England, so we moved back to London a couple of weeks ago.
"All I want to do is have a normal muggle life with Caroline. I rarely, if ever, use magic anymore. No more worrying about the wizarding world and its politics, no more Dark Magic, no more Death Eaters, no more pressure of being the brightest witch of my age." She smiled and stopped for a moment to see Draco's reaction.
He thought about what she said for a moment. He couldn't fathom anyone, least of all her, just throwing the wizarding world aside. "So what you're telling me, Granger, is that you've lost your Gryffindor courage and are hiding in the muggle world. What does Potter and Weasel think about all this? Or do you ever see them anymore?"
"I haven't seen Ron, but Harry and I went out to lunch last week. He respects my decision." She paused for a moment. "I just want what's best for Caroline. The wizarding world is not as safe as everyone thinks it is even with the downfall of Voldemort. I just want her to have a happy normal life." Hermione lowered her head and was unconsciously playing with a straw wrapper.
"I hate to break it to you, Granger, but her life will be anything but normal. As much as you hate it, she's a Malfoy, and Malfoys don't do normal. She'll find out soon enough that a whole magical world exists. You won't be able to keep it from her… It wouldn't be fair to keep it from her. That is who she is."
Draco sighed and shook his head. "The war must have really fucked you up, Granger. Where is the brave, outspoken witch that wouldn't think twice about hexing my balls off? You don't know this but I would wake up every morning actually looking forward to your insulting banter. It turned me on the way you called me ferret." He wagged his eyebrows and leaned forward.
"You're still a disgusting prat," she laughed. She wrapped her soft pink lips around the straw and took a sip of her milkshake. Damn, he wished he could trade places with that straw.
"Why the hell do you care anyway? Why are you being nice to me? I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone or something. Oh, I've got it, you're a pod person and aliens have taken the real Draco Malfoy."
"I guess the war changed us all, hmm?" He pointed his thumb at himself. "Some even for the better. So tell me more about Caroline. Wow, I can't believe I have a sister. That is surreal."
"Half-sister technically." Hermione's cell phone rang, and she looked at the caller ID. "I've got to take this. I'll just be right outside."
Draco nodded and waved her to go on. A few moments later he could see her out the restaurant's window. She wore a crisp white sleeveless shirt and khaki shorts well above the knee that showed off her summer tan. He noticed that she wore her clothes a little tighter now. Her neckline plunged a little deeper – her shorts a little shorter. Merlin, where did she get those legs? Oh how he would love to have those legs wrapped around his waist. He was thinking of all the bad things he would like to do with her.
Wait, should he even be having those types of lustful thoughts about his half-sister's mother? Was that perverted or what? He was still a horny sex god just like his days at Hogwarts. And fuck, Granger looked good. He was probably going to go to hell anyway for his past sins…what's one more?
"Draco?" A little voice broke him out of his fantasy. "Where's my mummy?" He was just a little annoyed that his impure thoughts were interrupted.
"She just went outside to take a call. She'll be right back."
"Well, I've got to go potty." Caroline was fidgeting and crossing her legs.
"Your mum will be back in just a minute."
She shook her blond curls. "No, I gotta go NOW!"
"Oh, alright, I'll take you to the restroom. Come on." He left his jacket on the seat so Hermione wouldn't freak out to see that he and Caroline were missing.
They approached the ladies' room, and Draco gently pushed her toward the door. "I can't go in there by myself," Caroline said.
Draco put his hands on his hips. "Well, if I go in the ladies' room with you, I'll probably get arrested." He quickly grabbed her hand and headed to the men's room.
Caroline was pulling back. "I can't go in there. I'm not a boy."
Draco picked her up at the waist. "I don't think you have a choice." He placed his hand over her eyes and entered the men's room. The men standing at the urinals gave Draco a dirty look. "Sorry," he muttered, "Can't be helped."
He took her into the farthest stall. "OK, here you go. Let me know when you're finished."
"You can't leave, Draco. You have to wipe the seat off for me."
Draco groaned. "Can't you just stand or something?"
"No, silly. I don't have a doogee."
"A what?" Draco ran his hand through his hair.
"A DOOGEE." She pointed to her crotch. "You know, boys have them, girls don't. You're not very smart, are you?" The acoustics in the room amplified their voices.
Draco looked up at the ceiling. "Why me?" He could hear the man in the next stall sniggering. With a disgusted look on his face, he wiped off the seat and placed a paper protector on the seat.
"Here you go, Princess. Your throne awaits." Caroline giggled. He left the stall and held the door closed and waited. And waited. And waited. He heard her humming on the other side of the door.
"Hurry up, Caroline, I don't have all day."
"Just about finished," she yelled from the other side. "Boy, you're lucky I didn't have to go poop, 'cuz you'd have to help me wipe."
"Too much information, Caroline." More laughter came from the direction of the urinals.
"Sorry," she laughed. "I'm done." She flushed the toilet and came out of the stall. Draco picked her up once again, covered her eyes, and headed toward the door.
"Wait! I have to wash my hands." Draco groaned again and took her to the sink where she began to lather her hands with soap and water.
"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream…" Caroline sang in a much too loud voice.
"Now what are you doing?" Draco sounded defeated.
"I've got to sing 'Row, row, row your boat' two times to make sure my hands are all clean. You messed me up…now I've got to start over."
Caroline started singing at the top of her lungs once again. An older gentleman walked up to the sink next to hers. He smiled at her and in his baritone voice started singing with Caroline. "Row, row, row your boat…"
Draco rolled his eyes. "Does anyone have a loaded gun?" he muttered to himself.
A small audience was waiting for them as they left the men's room. Several Chucky Chicken employees and a few customers started applauding. Caroline took a bow. Draco looked like he wanted to strangle somebody.
Hermione was leaning against the wall desperately trying not to laugh – and she wasn't succeeding. She handed Draco his jacket with a smirk that could be compared to one of his own. He leaned in close to her and whispered in her ear, "Don't. Say. A. Fucking. Word."