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Disclaimer - These are not my characters. I just like to play around with them.
Hermione, humming to Beyonce, put Cassy in her play pen and turned to sit on the couch. After such a hectic few days, she deserved some relaxation time. Taking care of one baby was enough, but taking care of a severely injured, grown man was a totally different thing. It had been ages since she had done any healing spells. It was quite her luck when she'd found a wand strapped to his calf, hidden by the bottoms of his trousers. It meant that she could use magic on him because he was in a very dangerous condition and it would have taken too long to get him to muggle doctors, who probably wouldn't have been able to help him anyway since the dagger had pierced him, but the real injury was a magical one.
She snapped out of her thoughts and looked up to see him standing there, surprised that he was awake, let alone the fact that he had navigated his way down the stairs and was now in her hallway. Hermione moved around the couch that was between them but his eyes widened momentarily, before his hand went up to his head and he fell down, unconscious again.
Just great.
The impact of him to the floor sounded a loud thump which scared Cassy, making her cry, and try to crawl out of her pen to reach Hermione.
Even better.
...
When Draco opened his eyes again, he was surprised to see that he was back in the bed where he had been before. He put his hand to his forehead, trying to remember what exactly had happened before he blacked out. He'd woken up and heard the sound of a baby crying, which made him get off the treasured heaven of a bed and try to tackle the stairs. The effort must have taken a lot out of him because when he finally reached the bottom, he got a massive migraine. He'd tried to stand up straight and keep his balance. When he'd stumbled into what was obviously the living room of the house, he's seen a baby, probably the one that was crying earlier, and...
Hermione!
No! No... Was it? It couldn't be. Nah... Draco you've hit your head too hard. Plus, you're back in bed. Chances are you never even got out of it. And if you didn't, then that was one hell of a vivid illusion.
Draco shifted to his side, making himself comfortable. That's all it was: some stupid illusion probably caused by some drug he may have been given to help him heal. Sleeping off the experience would be best. He'd find out where he was and who he was with when he woke up. Smiling slightly, he buried the side of his face into the pillow - God! Who made these things? They were divine! - and tried to fall back to sleep. Draco's nose twitched and he sniffled as something tickled it lightly.
He opened his eyes, only to shout and roll over, effectively tangling himself in the sheets and falling off the other side of the bed, "Oh my God, what the hell?" - and making Cassy cry. Draco rubbed his eyes and tried to clear his vision as you do after you've woken up from a long sleep.
I'm hallucinating. I'm hallucinating. No. I did not just see Hermione Granger sitting in on a chair and a baby on her lap, who was bloody touching my nose. Draco, you are seeing things.
Draco closed his eyes and looked up again only to find Hermione, still standing there, trying to make the baby stop crying.
...
Hermione pulled Cassy back a second too late, as she had already startled the poor man and made him fall over. That would not be good for his hip. She stood up and took Cassy over her shoulder patting the crying child softly on her back to soothe her. Too busy with the baby, she mumbled a quick "So sorry!" and left the room. The easiest way to calm a frightened child was to take it away from what had frightened it. Being a few steps away from the man wasn't going to stop Cassy's crying easily.
...
Draco watched, wide eyes, as she quickly apologized and took the baby out of the bedroom.
That was... Hermione Granger! Of all the porches you could be half dead on, it had to be hers. Shit!
He fell back, lying on the floor, and stared at the ceiling silently. He had no idea how he would approach her. During the war, after he had changed sides - Can you believe it had taken Potter saving his life to make him realize that he was on the wrong side? - and the war had ended, he'd seen her at the Great Memorial, and then finally at the Freedom Ball. They had parted ways and never crossed paths over the next four years, until now.
Really Draco? Granger's porch? Well you bled on it, and if she's still the same as before, she's going to make you bleed all over it again and then when she's sure you can't take any more pain, she's going to make you clean up your mess. Bravo Malfoy.
But what Draco wondered about the most was how she'd ended up in the magical area of the suburbs rather than in a big mansion with 'Minister of Magic: Hermione Granger' printed on a board outside it. More than that, he also wondered who she'd ended up with, and where he was right now, since judging by the looks of it through the window, it was well past midnight. Maybe he was an Auror or something. Draco's thoughts then shifted to the baby. He hadn't been able to get a good look at it because when he'd opened his eyes, the sight of a tiny hand poke his nose had scared him shitless.
A baby scared you shitless Draco. Wow.
He knew it had curly blonde hair and that it was girl because it was wearing little red dress. Draco always had a soft spot for little babies since he'd hung out with his friends many times and seen them interact with their own younger siblings, disappointed that he would never have that for himself. Forgetting about the baby, he tried to focus on what he would do when he went down again, or when she came back into the room. He was feeling much better now and was sure that he'd be able to last a conversation, if not more before he felt tired again.
Plus, I'm starving.
He got up, deciding that it'd be now, or it'd be later, but he'd have to face her at some point. He couldn't even hide in the room because this wasn't his house and she could come in to check on him whenever she pleased. Making his way down once more, he gave a sigh of relief when he reached the bottom of the stairs and didn't get another migraine. In front of him was the door, leading out to the front yard, and to his left was the living room which he vaguely remembered from his last venture down the stairs... of doom!
Stupid stairs.
The room was empty so he turned and walked to his right, and found that he was in the kitchen. The baby was there, sitting in her high chair and making a mess of a bowl of melted chocolate. She had large eyes, obviously her mothers that, at the moment, matched the chocolate that she had spread all over her round face, and bare arms. Her light blonde curls reached just below her ears and framed her face beautifully. She was a very cute baby.
And there she was.
Hermione was leaning against an island, her back turned to him, singing along to the song playing on the music system, lyrics he recognised as Life After You by Daughtry. He'd picked up everything he could know about muggles over the last two years. If he hadn't, there was no way he would have survived under hiding. Draco pressed his palms together, nervous, wondering what he should say.
How about hello? Or sorry for making your child cry? Or sorry for being dead all over your porch?
"Um... nice song," he smiled nervously, cracking the bones in his fingers, a habit of his when he was anxious.
Nice song? That's the best you can come up with?
...
Hermione turned around, surprised, but collected herself instantly, "Yea, it is. Are you feeling better?"
"Yea, thank you. I'm sorry about earlier."
She looked at his expression, and he looked genuinely nervous. Getting no evil "get-him-away-from-my-baby-and-kill-him" vibes, she loosened up, "Which part? Screaming at my baby or bleeding on my porch?"
...
Bingo.
He'd been waiting for her to mention that. Draco smiled, "Both. I didn't mean to bleed on your porch and if the mess is still there, I'll clean it up. As for the baby, I think I had a right to be shocked out of my mind when I opened my eyes to find a tiny little hand fingering my nostrils, don't you think?"
Hermione laughed, "Okay, I'll let you off for that one, and I've already cleaned your mess so you're going to have to make up for it some other way."
"Whatever you say."
"Okay first of all, I'd like to know who you are, and what exactly you were doing in such a mess outside my door."
WHAT? She doesn't know who he is? HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? Any guesses? You can guess through your reviews. You know I'm starving, and your reviews satiate my hunger! So feed the hungry!
