December 2007
"You really don't understand the concept of co-parenting, do you?" Hermione asked, her hands on her hips with a sour look on her face. She was looking down at Draco and Alphard, Draco waving his wand gently to keep the pop up mobile over the child spinning.
"The point," he said, turning his attention to her as he continued to wave his wand haphazardly, "Is to raise a child together, co-operatively."
"Exactly. That means when I say that I am not comfortable with my child spending the holidays in the Manor, or in sodding Lyon for his first Christmas with your bloody family, most of which I've never met, may I add, it means that I am not comfortable with it. Cooperate with that, Draco."
Draco's wand hand froze as he cringed.
Peaceful interaction with Hermione had taught him one major thing; when she called him by his first name, he knew she was genuinely upset.
"Fine, okay, I get why you don't want him to have holidays at the Manor," he relented, reaching for the infant on the floor in front of him and standing. "I understand, I really do. There are a lot of horrible memories there that I don't want to relive, I can't imagine what that must be like for you. But my mother is still Al's grandmother, and as long as she is under house arrest the only way she will ever be able to meet her grandson is if you will allow me to take him there."
Hermione adjusted her stance, moving her hands from her hips to crossing them over her chest. Al started to fuss in Draco's arms.
"I'll concede on Lyon," he told her, starting to rock back and forth in the place that he stood. "I'll give you that. And I hate to pull this card on you, but… If you could do anything in your power, wouldn't it be to have your son meet your mother?" The way her face softened, he knew that he had struck a chord at last.
"Can you cooperate with that?"
He pulled out his best puppy dog eyes, offering her their squirming son. She reached out, taking Alphard into her arms, and instantly he calmed.
"Fine," Hermione said finally. "Three hours on Christmas Eve. And if you want to see him on Christmas Day, you're gonna have to suck it up and come to Harry's."
Surprisingly, Draco's eyes lit up. "Deal!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "You won't regret the compromise, Granger, I promise."
.oOo.
Which of course meant Christmas was a disaster. Draco bought outlandish, impractical gifts for Alphard, and traded quips with Ron every chance he got until the redheaded man's ears had turned so red Hermione was certain they were about to start steaming. He insulted Ginny's baking and - albeit accidently - broke James's favourite toy dragon. To be fair, however, he had spent the following two hours after that incident dedicated to fixing the busted toy; in the end, successful.
To say she was surprised when he showed up at her house Christmas morning with bags of presents and even breakfast would be an understatement. She hadn't actually expected Draco to go to Harry's for the holiday; she had actually honestly expected him to laugh in her face and call it happy with taking Alphard to see Narcissa the day before.
When she saw him sitting in a circle with Alphard laying in a bassinette at his side, whispering with James in a low voice after he had finally fixed the boy's favourite dragon (a Chinese Fireball named Charlie), it would also have been an understatement to say she was impressed.
Draco had been determined to prove himself to Hermione time and again ever since she had told him what their one night stand had resulted in. She of course had been extremely reluctant at first, but his determination had proven impalpable to her. He jumped through every hoop, and Christmas had just been the latest in her testing of his limits.
She wished she could say she was disappointed he hadn't failed, but the truth was she was glad. She wanted him to be able to have a relationship with his son, and on Christmas Day of all days, he had finally shown her just how far he was really willing to go to be able to have just that.
A/N: Apologies, I don't know what happened with the formatting in the previous version of this chapter. As usual, thank you so much for all the favs, follows and reviews. You can find me at .com
