A/N: Happy Easter, everyone. I hope you enjoy the newest chapter.

xx-Kitten.


Tip of My Tongue

By Kittenshift17


Chapter 7


Hermione reached up lightly to touch the place on her forehead that tingled even as her lab door closed with a soft click, indicating Draco's rapid departure. He'd just kissed her on the forehead. Draco Malfoy had just voluntarily and soberly kissed a part of her body. She might keel over from the shock. And not just because he'd had to get past a lifetime of prejudice to even touch a muggle-born like her, either.

Draco Malfoy, she had observed over the years, was not one for being touched. When he was injured, he might tolerate being manhandled by the likes of her as she tried to fix whatever ailed him to ensure his survival, but he wasn't one for affection. He didn't do kisses on the cheek for his wife, nor kisses on the lips. He didn't do light touches on the hand or arm. From what Hermione had seen, being touched by anyone seemed to make him uncomfortable and he only tended to tolerate affection from his mother in the form of having his hair smoothed or his arm lightly squeezed. And then only in instances where his mother was departing his presence or was particularly pleased about something.

Scorpius was the exception. Scorpius received hugs – though even those seemed to be about restraining the toddler more than actual affectionate touching just because. The idea that Malfoy had just knowingly and willingly stepped in close to her and kissed her on the forehead meant he was either suffering worse effects from the healing process than she'd imagined; especially grateful for her assistance at healing him in the first place; or beyond tired and bordering on dissociative.

None of those options seemed healthy to her. Neither did the strange little flutter of butterflies in her tummy. He might be the father of her child, but Hermione had vowed to herself long ago that he would never be more than a drunken one-night-stand who'd given her the love of her life in the form of her son.

She was certain she didn't fancy him.

She must just be tired, Hermione decided. Tired and confused after waking up entangled intimately with him and their sons on the couch last night. She'd just spent too much time in close quarters with him. The fact that she couldn't stop picturing how he'd looked standing there with his shirt unbuttoned his and pants undone, his taut stomach and toned chest on display, meant nothing. She was just tired and she hadn't been laid in a while. He'd even been teasing her about not being laid in a while.

That must be it.

Surely, she wasn't attracted to Draco Malfoy. That would be ridiculous. And inappropriate. And horrid. He was married, for Merlin's sake. Albeit to a woman who was cheating on him and probably pregnant with another man's child. But married, nonetheless. Even though he was Aurelian's father, there could never be anything but that one night long ago and a rather toxic work relationship between them.

Shaking herself, Hermione blinked rapidly before deciding she needed a decent meal and she needed to collect her son from her mother's. She needed sleep too. Obviously she was over-tired if she was contemplating Draco Malfoy's place in her life. Waving her wand to send all of her paperwork and her studies to their proper places so that she could be all packed up for the evening, Hermione shook herself a second time, cleaned her lab, and left the office.

She Flood quickly to her mother's, trying to ignore the way her forehead still tingled softly where Malfoy had kissed her.

"Hermione, darling?" her mother's voice called when the fireplace roared as she came through.

"It's me, Mum," Hermione called back.

"MUMMY!" Aurelian shouted and Hermione shook the soot off herself quickly, bracing herself just in time for a small blond bullet to come zooming into the room at top speed.

"Aurelian, love of my life," Hermione smiled, feeling her weariness melt away, her preoccupation over Malfoy and her job dissolving into the back of her mind at the sight of her son.

Aurelian threw himself at her and Hermione stooped slightly to latch her arms around the small boy, lifting him up and cuddling him to her.

"I missed you, darling," Hermione told him as she peppered kisses over his face adoringly.

"I missed you too, Mummy," Aurelian told her, cuddling her tightly and allowing the kisses for several long moments before giving her one in return. "Me and Gran made muffins! And Sparky did a new trick! Can we get a dog?"

"I… do you really think Crookshanks would tolerate us getting dog, Aurey?" Hermione asked him.

"Probably not," Aurelian sighed. "Grumpy old thing. What did you do today, Mummy?"

"I was in my lab today. I've been studying tree salamanders, isn't that exciting?" Hermione asked him, watching her mother stroll into the room wiping her hands on her apron, having clearly been doing dishes by the look of her.

"Can I see one?" Aurelian asked.

"Maybe, sweetheart. I'm still studying them, but if you be really good maybe I'll take you to work with me next week and you can see all the new creatures in my lab. You'll never believe what happened today."

"What?" he asked excitedly.

"Mr Malfoy went out on a Hunting expedition and he brought me back a Jabberwalkie," Hermione told him.

"What's a Jabberwhatsie?" Aurelian wanted to know, frowning in confusion.

"It's a new creature that I wasn't sure existed. Aunt Luna claimed to have heard about them but I was sure she was just inventing creatures and passing on rumours again. Then Mr Malfoy turned up in my office with one in a cage for me to study," Hermione told the small boy excitedly.

"Can I play with it?" Aurelian asked innocently, usually uninterested in most of the creatures she studied unless they were dragons or unless he could play with them.

"Not this time, Aurey. The Jabberwalkie is a terrible, dark creature. It has a venomous bite and it flings poisonous spines. Malfoy nearly died of poisoning just to capture it. I nearly got spiked too, and would have done if he hadn't blocked the spines with his protective hunting garb."

"He's protective of you, is he?" her mother asked slyly, grinning from the doorway as she listened.

"I was over-tired and not paying attention," Hermione admitted, her cheeks turning pink. "He grabbed me to make sure I wouldn't get stuck with the spines, too. It was entirely for selfish reasons, of course. He needed me to heal his wounds and make sure he didn't die from the poison."

"Mmmhmmmm," Wendy Granger hummed doubtfully, looking like she would very much like to see something come of her working relationship with Malfoy or of the fact that Malfoy was Aurelian father.

"Were you good for Gran today, Aurey?" Hermione asked of her son, propping him on her hip while he cuddled into her, clearly tired after a long day of playing.

"I'm always good, Mummy," Aurelian informed her innocently.

"He was well-behaved," her mother confirmed with a nod. "And he learned today why it is that we don't pick things up if we don't know what they can do, didn't you Aurey?"

"Stupid hedgehog," Aurey muttered, looking annoyed at the reminder.

"What happened?" Hermione asked.

"He discovered a hedgehog dozing inside an old log in the garden and he picked it up. It spiked him when it rolled into a tight ball to protect itself," her mother told her, smiling affectionately at the five year old.

"Oh, Aurey," Hermione sighed, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

"I just wanted to see what it was," he protested, "It looked like a Puffeskin with weird fluff that was all hard like a shoe-brush."

"You won't go picking one up again though, will you?" Hermione asked him.

"No, Mummy," Aurelian promised solemnly.

"Have you had dinner, sweetheart?" her mother asked, coming closer and smoothing her hand over Hermione's hair.

"No," Hermione admitted. "And I know I promised we'd discuss everything I mentioned this morning over dinner, but healing Malfoy took longer than expected when there were some complications. I also promised Harry I'd stop in and see Ginny. She'd got some kind of stomach bug and her pregnancy is making her extremely emotional. Harry said she cried for half an hour this morning when he had to leave for work."

"Oh, the poor dear," Wendy chuckled. "Well, if that's the case maybe you best stop in and see her to cheer her up a bit. He needs to be getting to bed soon, too. He's had a big day. Would you like me to heat you up something for dinner, darling?"

"I'm alright, Mum," Hermione sighed, wanting nothing more than to go home and crawl into bed herself.

The last thing she felt like doing for the evening was dealing with an emotional Ginny Weasley. Sighing into Aurelian's hair, Hermione pressed the little boy to her in a cuddle and closed her eyes for a long minute.

"Maybe you should tell Harry you'll be around tomorrow to check on Ginny," Wendy suggested. "You look dead on your feet, darling."

"No, I better stop 'round," Hermione sighed. "I tend to take advantage of having Ginny available to watch Aurey most days since she's usually already watching Teddy. If she's unwell and I can make her feel better, I'd better do it."

"Well, don't stay there too long, sweetheart," Wendy said, smoothing her hand over Hermione's hair affectionately. "The last thing you need is to contract the same bug she's got. Do you need me to watch Aurey tomorrow?"

Hermione heard the little boy in her arms snore softly, having promptly fallen asleep.

"I'll have to let you know. Given how unwell Malfoy was this evening, he won't have the paperwork on the Jabberwalkie done for me by tomorrow. If I'm still this tired, I might take the day off and just stay home and watch him. Might do Ginny some good if I bring Teddy with me to my place tonight. Andy's not as young as she used to be and doesn't need a sulky eight year old underfoot all day long."

"Will you be alright taking a day off work, sweetheart?" her mother fussed softly, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah," Hermione sighed. "I have plenty of savings."

"Alright, well, let me know if you need me to mind the kids, darling. I'd be very interested to meet this Scorpius fellow I've been hearing so much about today," Wendy smiled at her. "You do know that one day they'll work out that they're brothers and will both be upset with you for lying to them?"

Hermione nodded.

"There's not a lot I can do about it," Hermione sighed quietly. "I can hardly surprise Malfoy mid-argument at work about the fact that he just so happens to be the biological father of my son. That's the last thing he needs right now with his marriage on the rocks and his wife potentially pregnant with another man's child."

"And if the baby the wife is carrying is Draco's?" her mother asked.

"Then more power to him, Mum," Hermione sighed. "I'm not going to ruin his life, or mine, by outing my secret."

"I still don't understand how he doesn't suspect," Wendy grumbled. "If he's seen the boys together, surely he could see some resemblance between them. Even Aurey was saying they look like brothers."

"He doesn't know we slept together?" Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "He'd had too much to drink and I left before he could wake up and see it was me."

"You should still tell him, sweetheart. Imagine how you would feel if you had a child out there you didn't know about. It's not the same, of course, but still. You'd be hurt and angry if someone kept something like this from you."

"What am I supposed to say?" Hermione asked. "Oh, hey Malfoy, you don't remember it, but five years ago, you and I had too much to drink, shagged, and when I ran out of your house the next morning, I took something of yours with me? He'd probably hex me and then he'd deny it and then he'd hex me again for good measure. And Narcissa would have a cow about it."

"If the woman is meddling in her son's marriage and believes her daughter-in-law is having an affair and cheating on her son, she might just enjoy rubbing their faces in Draco having another son. Not to mention the woman actually likes and respects you," Wendy pointed out. "Who knows, sweetheart? If Draco gets a divorce, that boy of his will need a mother."

"Scorpius has a mother," Hermione reminded her.

"Yes, but everything you've told me about the Malfoy family suggests she might not live much longer after her secrets are exposed," Wendy said, looking grim. "Even if they don't do something wretched to her, I can guarantee those people aren't going to let their trollop of a daughter-in-law see much of her son ever again. And a boy needs his mother. You're already mothering one of Draco's children. What's one more?"

"Oh, I'm too tired for this discussion, Mum," Hermione whined, shaking her head at the thought.

"Just tell me this then," her Mum said quietly. "Do you believe Astoria Malfoy is pregnant with another sibling for Aurelian, or is she having an affair?"

Hermione sighed and tipped her head back.

"I don't really know the woman well enough to say," Hermione hedged.

"Pish tosh!" Wendy swatted her lightly. "I know you, darling, and there is no way the woman who is the step-mother to your son doesn't have an entire file hidden away in your desk. You probably know more about that girl than anyone – including her husband."

Hermione kind of hated that her mother knew he so well sometimes.

"I can't say either way whether or not she's pregnant with Draco's child or Adrian's. The conversation I overheard between her and Adrian suggests she at least believes it is his," Hermione sighed. "And to be honest, I can't say I'd entirely blame the girl for having an affair."

"Meaning?" Wendy asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Having seen how she and Draco interact, I hardly think she's getting enough affection to meet her needs. It's unsurprising that she would go looking for it elsewhere," Hermione sighed. "When they were first married, she would always come to the office and she'd try to kiss him on the lips or the cheek, give him a hug when she was leaving, that type of thing. Only, Draco's not really the type of man to display his affection through touch."

"Oh?" Wendy asked. "And how might he express it."

"He buys her things," Hermione replied, moving over to sit on the couch when Aurey got to be a bit heavy. "When he wants to show his affection, Draco Malfoy does it by attending an event he'd rather not attend. He does it by sending flowers, or buying something she mentioned in passing that she might need or want. He does it by investing money in things he doesn't care for if it will make her happy. He's not the touchy-feely sort who indulges in public displays of affection or casual touching."

"You think that if he's the same way in private, she would turn to someone else more willing to cuddle her or hold her?" Wendy nodded. "I suppose that makes sense."

"I'm not saying that I don't think they're intimate with one another," Hermione sighed. "And I don't remember much of my own intimate relations with him, but I doubt he's any warmer as a person during sex than he is the rest of the time."

"He's cold?" Wendy asked, raising her eyebrows. "Based on the rows you've told me about, I thought he must be hot-blooded and fiery."

"No," Hermione shook her head at her mother. "No, warm is never a word I'd use to describe Draco Malfoy. He's… Aristocratic. Discerning. Calculating. Aloof. His parents are the same way, it's just a product of how he was raised. They aren't big on affectionate touching, either. He lets Narcissa run her fingers through his hair or squeeze his arm, but that's usually all. I've never see him and Lucius actually touch, except for once during the war when Lucius squeezed Draco's, and even that was a result of leaning in close to speak privately."

Wendy nodded her head thoughtfully.

"If he gets a divorce… will you tell him?" she asked.

"I don't know, Mum," Hermione told her. "I mean, it's not as simple as getting Astoria out of the way and playing happily families. He and I barely tolerate each other at the best of times. We work together. We don't fancy one another romantically. And even if we did, I hardly think he's going to just accept that we share a son and not be furious with me about it."

"All the more reason that you should stop holding off on telling him the truth," Wendy argued.

"I'm going to go home," Hermione sighed when she felt a spark of annoyance with her mother.

They'd long since exhausted the arguments of why she should or should not tell Draco that he was Aurelian's father. In spite of them all, Wendy still believed Hermione should tell him and figure out some way to be with him. The potential divorce on Malfoy's horizon wasn't helping matters and Hermione knew that if she didn't go home and get some sleep, she was going to take her annoyance out on her mother and say something cruel.

"I'm nagging, honey, I know," Wendy sighed too, deflating slightly. "I just want to see you happy and I want to see you with someone. You haven't dated anyone exclusively since you and Ronald ended things before Aurey was born."

"I dated a few people," Hermione shrugged. "But it never worked out well, being a single-mother is a bit frowned on in the wizarding world. And since I refuse to share about who Aurey's father is, people think I don't know and that I got knocked up after being a trollop."

"They wouldn't if you told the truth," Wendy blurted out before covering her face in both hands. Hermione knew she meant well, so she bit back her unkind words as she got to her feet.

"I'll drop by or owl you in a few days, alright?" Hermione said to the woman, stopping with Aurey in her arms and dropping a kiss to the top of her mother's head. "Thanks for watching Aurelian today. Love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart," Wendy said, watching as Hermione went to the fireplace to Floo home.

When she got home, Hermione put her son to bed before stripping out of her work clothes and doing the same, sinking into her own bed gratefully. She dropped off to sleep the minute her head hit the pillow.