A/N: Thank you all for your reviews, follows, and favorites! And a special thanks to SLN for editing all my chapters so fast!
Chapter 6
"Assumptions"
Draco looked down at the small child who was still clinging to his leg.
"Um. Hello there," he said to the toddler curiously.
The child let go of his leg and waved at him, "Hi!" she said.
He looked around his surroundings, trying to see if any of the nearby families seemed to be watching her or looking for a lost child. When he didn't see either, he knelt down infront of her and frowned.
"Can you tell me your name?" he asked tentatively. He wasn't sure how old the child was, though he guessed around two.
"I Rowy!" the child proclaimed proudly.
"Rowy?" asked Draco, confused. He was having trouble deciphering the toddler's words.
She nodded enthusiastically, then shoved the small, worn stuffed rabbit in his face.
"Dis Bun-bun!" she informed.
"Oh, I see," he said, trying to give the child a smile, "Are you here with your mummy and daddy?" he asked hopefully.
"Mama!" she said happily, turning and pointing behind her.
"You should go find your mama," he said standing up, not sure if he should go with her or let her walk off.
The child decided for him as she lifted her arms and said, "Up!"
He was uncomfortable with the request, seeing as he didn't know her, or the mother, but as she jumped up and down, saying "Up!" a few more times, he finally obliged.
He held the child and walked towards the direction she pointed, listening out for any women yelling. It didn't take long, as he walked just a few feet before hearing a panicked woman shout "Rose! Rose where are you!?"
Draco looked at the little girl, "Rose, I take it?"
She nodded happily, "Rowy!"
"Oh! Rosie. Got it," he said, nodding in understanding.
He walked quickly towards the sound of the woman yelling.
Hermione was terrified. She had never lost Rose before.
She's never getting out of the stroller again! she decided to herself.
She rounded yet another corner and finally saw that Rose was being carried by a tall, blonde man. "Rose!" she shouted louder, quickening her pace to practically a run.
"Mama!" Rose shouted happily. She wiggled out of Draco's arms and he let down so she could run to her mother, arms outstretched.
In three big steps, Hermione scooped up her child, holding her close and breathing in her scent. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and willed the threatening tears not to come.
She looked at her daughter and who was happily smiling. Hermione though, looked at her sternly then said "Rose Ginevra Granger!..."
Draco's eyes widened when he finally realized who the women was, but kept quiet.
"You do not run off like that!" Hermione continued, "That was bad, Rose! You scared me!"
At the sound of the word 'bad', Rose's happy smile turned to a quivering lip and her eyes welled up.
Hermione hugged her daughter again. "You scared mummy," she repeated, softer this time. "You can't do that ever again, ok?"
Rose sniffled, "Kay" she said softly, hugging her mother back.
Hermione took one shaky breath before she realized that the man who had her daughter was still standing in front of them.
She looked up at him, meaning to thank him, but when she saw his face, she paled.
"Malfoy?" she gasped.
"Granger," he said with a curt nod.
"Why… why did you have my daughter?" she asked skeptically.
Offended by her accusations, he glared at her, "I didn't know she was yours. I didn't take her either. I nearly ran into her as I was turning the corner. She's the one who wanted me to pick her up. When I heard a woman shouting for a child, I figured she was the one lost and was planning to return her. A simple "thank you" is all you needed to say."
Hermione glared back, but knew he was right. Through clenched teeth she said, "Thank you, Malfoy. Now if you will excuse me, I'm going to take my daughter and go see the rest of the zoo."
She started to turn on her heel to walk off, when Rose yelled, "No mama!" She wiggled and launched herself towards Draco's direction, who caught her just in time.
"Rose," said Hermione with a sigh, "Please come to mama." She held out her hands, waiting for her daughter to throw herself into them as always.
But her daughter shook her head then looked at Draco's face and said with a smile, "Mine!" She wrapped her arms around Draco's neck and clung to him.
"Why does she keep saying that?" Draco asked.
Hermione sighed and crossed her arms around her chest, "She learned the word from her cousins."
The sight of her daughter holding onto Draco's neck was unnerving her and putting her on edge.
Rose unhooked her arms from Draco's neck, then reached up and touched his hair.
"Pwetty," she said, playing with the strands on the side of his head.
Draco frowned and looked at Hermione, "Did she just call me 'petty'? What kind of things are you telling your child about me?" he accused.
Hermione glared at him, "Nothing! I don't go around talking about my childhood tormentor to my daughter, Malfoy. She has no idea who you are. I think all that Witch Weekly Bachelor stuff has gone to your…. oh!" Hermione let out a gasp, realization hitting her.
"What?" Draco snapped.
"I know why she's acting like that," she stated.
Draco frowned, "Why is she?"
"Well, she's currently been obsessed with this weeks edition of Witch Weekly," Hermione got some sort of satisfaction when she saw Draco wince, then she continued, "She's been carrying it around all morning and every time I tried to take it away, she would clutch it more and say 'mine'. I just thought she was being possessive of the magazine, but I guess she was just being possessive of…" she looked Draco in the eyes, her own burrowing in a frown, "You."
"That's hardly my fault," Draco said defensively.
Hermione let out a sigh, "I know. Can I just have my daughter back?" then she added as an afterthought, "Please?"
Draco looked at the chubby face of the little girl still playing with his hair. When she looked at him, he couldn't help but crack a smile. "I think you need to go to your mum now, Rose."
"Kay, byebye!" she said. Then she did something that neither Draco or Hermione expected; she leaned over and gave him a wet, sloppy kiss on the cheek, before launching herself to her mother.
Not knowing what to say, Hermione turned to leave, but before she could Draco said, "Hey, Granger?"
He walked over and leaned down to whisper into her ear, "Maybe next time Rose runs off you can remember you're a witch and use a locator spell, instead of worrying yourself silly." He straightened up and shrugged his shoulders, "Just saying."
He meant it in jest, but Hermione took it as an insult. She glared at him and nearly growled when she said, "Stay away from me and daughter, Malfoy."
She turned on her heel and stormed off. The last thing Draco heard was her asking Rose if she would like to see elephants.
He watched the young mother disappear around the corner, unsure of what to think of his encounter with Hermione Granger. He turned to walk away but stopped when he stepped on something soft. He saw what it was and sighed, picking up the treasured stuffed animal that Rose had somehow dropped.
He debated just dropping it back on the floor, and leaving it at that. He glanced at the very worn, very loved stuffed animal and cursed himself. He pocketed the rabbit and made his way to the elephant exhibit.
He caught up to them rather quickly and when he got close enough he called out, "Granger! Hey, Granger! Wait one second!"
Without looking back, Hermione yelled, "I said to stay away, Malfoy. I have nothing more to say to you!"
He was behind her before she realized and when he grabbed a hold of her elbow to slow her down, she nearly jumped.
"Are you thick? I said to stay away! You've insulted me enough, so if you don't mind-"
"Would you quit being such a stubborn Gryffindor and let me just-"
"No! I will not stop being stubborn. You insult me as a mother and as a witch! I won't stand it, Malfoy, and I won't take anymore of it."
Draco sighed, tired of arguing with her, "Calm down, Granger. What I said was in jest, not an insult to you as a mother."
Hermione huffed, looking down at her daughter, who was fast asleep in the stroller she stuck her back into.
"I only came to find you because I figured you'd want this." He pulled out the stuffed animal from his pocket and handed it to her.
"Bun-bun… " she said, looking at the rabbit.
"I figured it was special to the kid and didn't want her to think she lost it," he leaned in close so as not to be overheard, "And since it seems like you won't use magic here-"
"There are way too many muggles," she said in a harsh whisper, "Especially now that it's summer time and muggle children are out of school. I'm not that stupid-"
"I didn't call you stupid. I was just saying an observation. But as I was saying, I figured I'd just return it instead of leaving where it will be trampled on or taken by another child."
Hermione didn't know what to think. Draco was actually thinking of someone other than himself. She stared at him, wondering what was going on. After a few fleeting seconds she said, "Thank you, Malfoy. That was… thoughtful of you."
Draco nodded, glad she stopped arguing and yelling. "No problem. I'll leave you two alone now."
He turned and started to walk off, but this time, Hermione called out to him, "Hey, Malfoy?"
He faced her, wondering what she had to say now.
"I just wanted to clarify… she wasn't calling you 'petty'," a small smile spread over her as she continued, "She was calling you 'pretty'."
And without anything further, Hermione walked away with her slumbering child, leaving behind Draco, who was smirking at the thought of a child thinking he was pretty.
A/N: So what do you think about their first meeting? Please review if you like :) Thanks!