Author's Note: First of, a big thank you goes out to all my reviewers. Honestly, I never expected this fic to become so popular. I just thought of the idea one day when I couldn't fall asleep... It was just supposed to be a side fic that I worked on every now and then to amuse myself. One of my closest friends had to open my eyes to see how much potential this little fic has. So yeah, every review counts for me. It brings a big smile on my face to see new messages from about new reviews. I live for this kind of thing... well not really, but I think you get my point. (But they really do make my day) Keep those reviews coming please!
So anyways: shout out to Shampoo and Sunny who keep me going strong (even if Sunny prefers my other fic MK more than this one). To Shampoo who yells at me for repetition and to Sunny who tells me constantly to stop being a lazy arse and keep writing already (well not in those exact words...). Anyways, enough rambling.
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all the characters. The plot is all mine since JKR obviously had other plans for Hermione (ahem - Ron).
Draco watched as his beloved eagle owl swooped in through the open window of his study. His owl came back empty handed, though, making Draco frown. He decided that it did not mean a rejection and would wait patiently all morning. He got up from his chair in the study and made his way to the dining room.
The house elves had already set the table for breakfast, the delicious aroma of pancakes, kippers, eggs, bangers and mash wafting through the air. Draco sat down at the head of the table and helped himself to a cup of tea. A pajama-clad Scorpius walked into the dining room, bleary-eyed and clutching his favorite stuffed dragon. The little toddler yawned, catching his father's attention.
"Hey little guy," Draco said, greeting him. "Good morning." He patted his lap, motioning Scorpius to take a seat.
Scorpius plopped down on his father's lap, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Would you like some pancakes for breakfast?" Draco asked.
Scorpius nodded, still trying to get the sleep out of his eyes.
Draco put two fluffy pancakes onto his plate for Scorpius as well as some eggs and a piece of toast for himself.
"Good morning," Narcissa said cheerfully. She was already dressed for the day in a beautiful cerulean robe from Madam Malkin's. She took the seat next to Draco and Scorpius.
"Any plans for the day?" Narcissa wondered, dabbing the corner of her lips. She started to slice up her pancakes in little dainty bite-size pieces.
Draco nodded and took a sip of his tea. "Scorpius, would you like to take another trip to Diagon Alley?"
"Yes, Daddy!" he said enthusiastically. "I had fun yesterday!"
"I'll take him out to lunch again," Draco said. "I don't have a lot of work to do today."
"Sounds like fun," Narcissa said.
After breakfast, Draco helped Scorpius get ready for the day. He helped him brush his teeth and assisted putting on his robes. His mother took over babysitting duties while he started going over finances for several investments. By the time noon had come and gone, he knew that he was not going to get a reply. He owled the only person who could help him before gathering Scorpius to leave for London.
Draco arrived in Diagon Alley, at quarter past noon, with Scorpius in tow. "Let's have lunch at the Leaky Cauldron, okay Scorp? If you're a good little wizard, I can take you for ice cream at Fortescue's later on or maybe even take a look at that miniature broom that you've been eyeing."
"Yes, daddy!" cried Scorpius, eyes wide. "I'll be good. I'll finish all of my food."
"Good," Draco smiled, ruffling up his son's blond locks.
They entered Diagon Alley and took a seat at a vacated booth. Draco ordered dragon-shaped chicken nuggets with chips and a pumpkin juice for Scorpius and got himself a pint of butterbeer and some fish and chips.
"And what do I owe the pleasure of having lunch with my two favorite Malfoys?" Blaise Zabini greeted as he took a seat across from Draco and Scorpius.
Scorpius gave his "Uncle Blaise" a quick hug. "Daddy's taking me to get my own broom! And ice cream!"
Blaise laughed. "Really? That's very exciting! Can I come, too? I haven't had ice cream in ages."
Scorpius nodded. "Yes, yes! I want you to come, Uncle Blaise!"
Blaise looked down at the menu, trying to decide what to have for lunch. "So you said you had something important to tell me? And what did you order by the way?"
"I got myself some fish and chips. Yes, I have a favor to ask."
"Fish and chips sound good," Blaise said to Tom, the owner of the Leaky Cauldron, before turning back to Draco. "I reckon that I won't like what I'm about to hear...."
Draco gave a chuckle. "I don't suppose you would. I need you to talk to Hermione for me."
Blaise laughed. "You are joking, right?"
"No... I am positively serious," Draco said. "Didn't we see Hermione at the book shop yesterday, Scorp?"
Scorpius looked up from drawing on a piece of parchment. He nodded. "Yes. She was helping me play hide-and-seek, Uncle Blaise! Daddy couldn't find me! She was very nice...." he said. "...and pretty!"
"I was hoping that after yesterday's encounter, she would be willing to speak to me," Draco said. "I actually invited her to lunch today, but she didn't reply to my owl...." He tried to mask the disappointment in his voice but was not able to do so.
"I see," Blaise said, rubbing a manicured thumb and pointer finger on his chin. "And why should I talk to her for you?"
Since their Seventh Year at Hogwarts, Hermione and Blaise had surprisingly become very close friends. After meeting through Draco, Blaise had gotten to know the intelligent Gryffindor and found that they easily connected. He was always in their shared common room to hang out with the Head Boy and over the year, they had gotten to know each other quite well. Despite Hermione and Draco's fallout, Blaise and Hermione kept in touch. They often owled each other and had lunch once a week.
"I need to talk to her. It's about time, don't you think? I kept Scorpius from her for far too long."
Blaise sighed and put his face in his hand. "It's not that simple, do you realize that? You left her and broke her heart. You can't just spring into her life one day and expect things to go back the way they were."
"Of course I realize that!" Draco said, exasperated. "I'm not a bloody moron, Blaise."
"Hey! Watch your language!" Blaise scolded, covering Scorpius's ears from across the table.
Draco frowned, knowing that Blaise was right. He really had to watch that temper of his. He should not be using any expletives in front of his son. "Can you please just talk to her? It's been three years. I've given her space for long enough. We really need to talk."
Blaise pondered for a moment before answering his best friend. He knew that Draco only said please if he was completely desperate. It was rare that Draco actually begged. "Fine," he said, surrendering. "If she hexes me for bringing it up, I'll get you back, Draco."
"Thanks Blaise. This means a lot...."
"Don't thank me. Thank your son. I'm doing this for Scorpius."
After finishing their lunch, Draco took Scorpius and Blaise to Florean Fortescue's for ice cream. Blaise insisted on treating Scorpius to three scoops of chocolate ice cream on a waffle cone. Draco argued that his son would make a mess on his robes, but Blaise rolled his eyes and reminded that it would only take a quick "Scourgify!" to clean the mess. Draco finally gave in and they left the ice cream parlour with Scorpius happily licking his mountain of ice cream.
"Let's go get your broom now, yeah?" Draco asked Scorpius, taking his hand.
---
At precisely 5 o'clock, Blaise Apparated directly outside of Hermione's flat. After spending a day with Draco and Scorpius he was absolutely knackered but knew that he had to get this out of the way as soon as possible. He absolutely did not want Draco nagging him. He knocked on the door and was instantly ushered in by Hermione, still in her work robes.
"So what brings you here unannounced?" Hermione asked. The two were in Hermione's kitchen preparing dinner. "Are you going to stay for dinner? I have enough for two."
"Sure," Blaise replied. "That smells wonderful." Even if he was still full after lunch with Draco and Scorp, he could not resist Hermione's cooking. She had always excelled in Potions so it was only natural for her to be an amazing cook.
"Let me stick the chicken in the oven and I'll bring you a bottle of butterbeer. Does that sound good?" Hermione asked from the kitchen.
Blaise took a seat on her couch and yelled back, "Excellent, 'Mione."
Hermione came back a few minutes later with two bottles of chilled butterbeer. She handed one to Blaise and took a seat on a nearby arm chair. "That feels good," she said, relaxing. "I've been on my feet the whole day! What's up, Blaise?"
"I came here to have a quick chat," Blaise said, slowly. He twisted off the cap from the bottle and took a swig.
"Oh, what about?" Hermione asked. "Did you finally ask that exotic witch from Asia to marry you?"
"Lorelai?" Blaise asked. "Oh no, we're taking this slow. I actually just came back from lunch with Draco."
Hermione groaned. "No, don't you get in the middle of this. I am not talking to that insufferable bastard. You of all people should know how much I don't want to talk to him."
"Hermione," he said in a calm voice. "Please just hear me out. I'm not here to force you to do anything. Think of me as... a mediator."
She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't say anything further so Blaise continued. "I know that I cannot make you talk to him, but you have to think about it. Draco would not break his promise to you. There must be an important reason as to why he'd want to talk to you. And there is an important reason. I wouldn't be over here to talk to you if I knew that it was just some stupid ploy to try to get you back. Believe me, it isn't."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Are you sure about that? Because I distinctly remember you saying something about Slytherin loyalty...."
Blaise replied, "Slytherins are loyal to fellow Slytherins, but it doesn't mean I'll betray another friend in the process. I would tell you right now what the big deal is but frankly, it's not my place to do so."
"Well, what could he possibly want from me? I haven't talked to him in years! He had money, a family, a job, and that annoying Astoria Greengrass," Hermione replied. Hermione scowled, remembering the tall, skinny blond.
Her older sister, Daphne, worked in the same department for the longest time, and the only thing that came out of her mouth was how sooner or later, her sister would be the next Madame Malfoy. Hermione constantly rolled her eyes at that remark. Astoria was clearly the kind of girl that Hermione loathed: a pureblood princess who spent the day dropping thousands of galleons around and the night partying like no tomorrow. The more she thought about Astoria, the harder it was for her to remember how long Daphne had bragged about her snagging Draco.
Blaise couldn't believe his eyes for a second. For a fleeting moment, Hermione Granger looked positively livid at the mention of Draco's ex-girlfriend.
"Actually, he dumped Astoria a while back," he said, nonchalantly, wondering what kind of reaction he could get out of Hermione.
She raised her eyebrows in reply. Hermione found it hard to believe, but she realized that Daphne had not said a word about Draco and her sister in almost a year.
"She left her son like that?" Hermione said in disbelief. "I never knew that Astoria was such a slag. I met him the other day, you know. He's such a cute kid.... That looks like such a good age. How old do you reckon he is? You've met him, I'm sure."
Blaise nodded. "Scorpius? Yeah, he's a lovely kid. He's three now."
Hermione processed this information. Astoria was two years younger than Hermione. Daphne never said anything about her being pregnant. Besides, it would have meant that she was pregnant during her fifth year in Hogwarts. Hermione's eyes grew wide. "But that would've meant that Draco had him when... when he and I were... when I was..." She suddenly couldn't breathe. She felt a deep constricting in her chest.
"Hermione, calm down. Scorpius isn't Astoria's child."
The last thing Hermione remembered was squeaking out "Oh, Merlin!" before she was swallowed by darkness.