A/N: Hello everyone! I'd like to thank everyone who had reviewed/favourited/alerted the last chapter.
I've got to say that this is one of my longest chapters to date (it's still tiny compared to other fics) haha. Well, I've got to say that I worked hard on this and I hope it's worthy of your reviews. You know that people say 'self-praise is no praise'? So I'm hoping you'd do the praising for me. Wow, I'm being brazen today haha.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY BEAUTIFUL READERS.
All I want under my (non-existant) tree is Tom Felton.
And here's a special thanks to fredaintdead, who had helped me beta this chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Harry Potter. Which is sad, really.
November 20th
Day 46
Sunday
"You know," he whispered into her ear, "You're so beautiful, but you just can't see it."
She shivered as his breath tingled on her skin.
"And you do?" She asked slowly, unsure of his actions.
"Of course," He said. Gently, he cupped her face with his hands. They were so smooth, she realised, they felt so smooth and soft on her skin.
He was staring at her, his eyes were looking into hers, capturing her soul.
"So beautiful, Hermione," He whispered again. They were so close. Their foreheads were touching and she could feel him leaning in and closing the gap between their mouths.
It was like electricity.
The way his lips moved against hers, the slightest touch and she felt like she was going to melt in his arms. He traced his tongue on her lips asking for the opening which she readily gave.
She kissed him harder than she had ever kissed anyone before – and then he pulled away. His face was flushed and a crooked grin donned his features.
"That … that was amazing," He said, touching her waist gingerly. He then lowered his lips once again, this time to place a small kiss on her forehead.
"Draco – "
Hermione woke up to the sound of her alarm ringing, telling her that it was 8 a.m. and she should be expecting Ginny with Teddy any minute now.
She sat up in her queen-sized bed and groaned as she pressed her thumbs to her temples.
"I can't believe – what kind of dream did I just have?" She asked herself, scowling.
Sighing, she slowly got out of bed and put on her robe and went to pick Aidan up.
"You're such an adorable baby," Hermione cooed, smiling.
While she was walking to the door, she heard Ginny call out her name.
"Ginny!" Hermione grinned at her best friend. She frowned when she noticed her other best friend was missing. "Where's Harry?"
"Oh, you know him, always leaving the packing to the last minute!" Ginny grinned.
Teddy was holding Ginny's hand. When he saw Hermione, he rushed to her and hugged her legs.
"Auntie Mione!" The boy was all ears. "Where's Uncle Draco?"
"He's still sleeping, honey," Hermione patted the boy's head. "Why don't you go and find him?"
Teddy nodded eagerly and ran into Hermione's bedroom while Hermione let Ginny play with Aidan.
"I can't wait for him to walk and talk, you know?" Hermione sighed with a smile. "These kids, they grow up so fast! I remember when Teddy was still a baby. Now, well, just look at him!"
Ginny grinned. "He's a handful but we love him. We love having him over on weekends, you know. By the way, have you guys thought of what's going to happen to Aidan when he grows older?"
Hermione shook her head. "No, we haven't but it's going to be difficult for all of us when the time comes."
"You both should spend as much time with him now as you can," Ginny smiled. "Where's Teddy, anyway?"
They then heard the pitter-patter of Teddy's feet against the floor and a grunting sound behind him.
"Look! I found Uncle Draco!" Teddy grinned, pulling Draco behind him.
Draco glared at the two women and the boy. He snatched his hand away from Teddy and crossed his arms over his chest. He was only dressed in a t-shirt and boxers. His hair was sticking out at all angles and he had pillow lines all over his face.
Oblivious to Draco's morning bad-mood, Teddy scowled at him. "Uncle Draco, why weren't you in your room?"
"Huh?" He grunted. "You just pulled me from my room, Teddy."
Ginny giggled at the sight of a half-asleep Draco. "He's actually quite good looking, Hermione," She whispered.
Hermione snorted. "Yeah, if you're into that sort of thing." Maybe a tiny bit.
"No! You're supposed to be in that room!" Teddy pointed at Hermione's door.
Curious, Draco asked, "… And why do you say that?"
"Because you're my Uncle Draco and she's my Aunt Mione!" Teddy explained. "You're like Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny! They sleep in the same room!"
"Huh?" Draco was stumped. He had no idea what logic the child before him was using.
"Did you have a fight with Aunt Mione?" Teddy tried again. This time, he crossed his arms in an imitation of Draco. "Because when Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny have a fight, Uncle Harry comes and sleeps in the spare room!"
Without waiting for Draco to reply, Teddy grinned at him. "You gotta say sorry to Aunt Mione for fighting! When Uncle Harry does that, he and Aunt Ginny kiss and everything is okay!"
"Um, Teddy, I think that's enough," Ginny said, trying to stop anything bad from happening.
Draco's jaw had officially dropped. "Weasley, what have you been feeding my nephew?"
"NO!" Teddy yelled. "Uncle Draco, you gotta kiss Aunt Mione to make it all okay!"
"Teddy, really I don't think we need to do that…" Hermione protested, walking over to him. "Uncle Draco and I aren't like Uncle Harry and Auntie Ginny. We're different. We don't sleep in the same room."
"It's no use explaining to him, Granger," Draco mumbled. "He's a damn good persuader."
"NO NO NO!" Teddy screamed. "In school, we learn that all the mummies and daddies sleep in the same room and- and-" he stammered, "and- MMPH!" With that, he stormed away to the sofa where Ginny sat, holding Aidan. "Why won't they kiss and be happy like you and Uncle Harry?"
"Because they don't like each other like how Uncle Harry and I do, honey," Ginny explained.
"But you don't like Uncle Harry too," Teddy pouted. "You always scream Uncle Harry's name at night. I can hear, you know."
Ginny's eyes widened. "Um… We were just arguing, it's nothing much! Anyway, I've got to go now. Be good, alright?"
Hermione smirked at Ginny when she came to pass Aidan to her. "Silencing charms next time, please."
Ginny blushed furiously before saying goodbye.
"What was that all about?" Draco asked, still in a slight daze.
Teddy stood in front of him, tapping his foot impatiently. "Are you gonna kiss Aunt Mione or what?"
"No, he's not. Teddy, why don't you watch some television, alright?" Hermione said. Now she was beginning to see what a 'handful' he was.
"Are you gonna kiss him instead? Because sometimes Aunt Ginny kisses Uncle Harry too," Teddy asked, innocently.
"If we kiss, are you going to behave yourself?" Draco asked, exasperated.
Why did I just suggest that? Is it because of what Blaise said? DAMN HIM TO ETERNAL HELL. Ever since we had that damn conversation, all these stupid ideas keep popping into my head! And now… now I'm even contemplating about kissing her?
"I said yes, Uncle Draco! Hello? Didn't you hear me?" Teddy exclaimed interrupting Draco's thoughts. He could be very persuasive when he wanted to be, and now, all he wanted to do was to help his second favourite uncle make up with his second favourite aunt.
He couldn't understand what the matter was. His Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny kissed all the time!
Draco looked at Hermione and shrugged. She rolled her eyes. "Why not?" She asked.
Draco glared at Teddy before taking a step towards Hermione. He cupped Hermione's left cheek and placed a soft kiss on her right cheek. His face had turned a light shade of pink as he quickly walked back to his room. "Get ready in twenty," He murmured.
"THAT WASN'T A REAL KISS, UNCLE DRACO!"
.
.
.
"Why so glum, chump?" Hermione asked Teddy, who was sitting next to her and scowling.
Hermione, Teddy and Aidan (who was in his pram) were sitting on a bench watching Draco and his Quidditch mates start their game. Hermione had brought herself a new novel to read while she waited for Draco to finish playing.
Teddy, however, had other plans in mind.
"I want to go to the playground!" He whined. "It's boring here!"
Hermione sighed and looked at the boy. He was giving her his best impression of a puppy-dog. He had turned both his hair and eyes brown to match hers for the day. The little suck-up, Hermione thought.
"Oh, alright, but you've got to go ask Uncle Draco first," Hermione gave the boy a push towards Draco direction.
Teddy ran and pummelled into Draco's back with a giant grin on his face. Hermione saw him excitedly explaining something with a lot of hand gestures. Draco looked a bit shocked at Teddy's actions but stayed (sort of) calm, nonetheless. Finally, Teddy gave him a big hug and ran back to Hermione.
"He said yes!" Teddy exclaimed, showing off his missing tooth. "Come on, let's go, Aunt Mione!"
"Teddy, wait!" Hermione yelled while Teddy ran off to the direction of the playground.
This was a secluded wizarding park which catered to both adults and children. The adult side was just a Quidditch pitch for those who fancied a scrimmage or two. The children's side was the more appealing one, with jungle gyms and slides, merry-go-rounds and sandpits.
The children's playground was surrounded by a few small wizarding shops that catered to the community that lived around there, like a grocery store and an ice-cream parlour.
Hermione tucked her book under her arm and pushed Aidan's pram towards Teddy, who had already began to climb up the jungle gym. She settled herself on another bench where she could keep her hawk-eyes on him.
Boy, was Teddy energetic. Hermione had high hopes that he would soon tire out and fall asleep by the time they were done with lunch.
Soon enough, Hermione was absorbed in her book. She had absent-mindedly sighed while she read about the most potent potions ever invented. She had always wanted to be the best in Potions because it was an interesting subject, but Draco had always beaten her in that one.
Draco.
Hermione groaned as she remembered the events of the previous night.
.
.
.
"Thank you, Malfoy," She whispered in between sobs.
Straightening himself up, he pulled Hermione up onto her feet as well. He walked her to the living room slowly, making sure that she didn't lose her balance. He wasn't sure if crying women were off-balance but he didn't want to take the chance.
"Sit, Granger," He gestured towards the sofa before putting Aidan into her arms.
Hermione numbly took Aidan and cradled him. She was at a loss; she wasn't sure what to do, or what had just happened. She didn't think that cleaning out the room would've affected her that badly.
He put a cup of hot tea on the coffee table in front of her. "Hot tea," He offered. "I didn't poison it, don't worry."
Hermione gave a small chuckle. "Of course not."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Here, give him to me, I'll feed him."
Hermione handed Aidan to Draco, who gently took him in his arms. Draco smiled softly at Aidan before brushing his light brown hair out of his face.
"Drink up, Granger. It will calm you down."
Hermione sighed before picking up her cup of tea. She took a sip and was surprised at the taste of the tea. It was just enough milk and sugar. There was also another taste in it… a familiar taste that she knew but … he couldn't have, right?
"MALFOY!" Hermione hissed, once her brain had processed the substance that was supposed to calm her down. "Is there Firewhiskey in this?"
He snorted as he came out of the kitchen with Aidan. "Yes, I didn't have a calming draught so this was the next best thing."
They sat in silence while Draco fed Aidan. Once he was done, he patted his back before putting him off to sleep in his crib.
Hermione's grip on the cup of tea had yet to loosen as her sad expression came back.
Draco came back into the living room and sat opposite her.
"You should have waited," He sighed.
"I know," Hermione sighed as well. "I guess … I guess I was too impatient."
"Typical Granger, right?" Draco gave her a small smile. "Always the overzealous one."
Hermione laughed softly. "Well, that's true."
"I'll help you clean the room when I come back, alright?" He stated, making it clear that he would take no objections.
Hermione nodded. "Alright, but you don't have to if you can't."
"It doesn't matter if I can or can't… Pansy was my best friend too and I'm going to do it," Draco said. "By the way, what the hell were you thinking, not even bothering to turn on the lights? I swear, I thought something bad had happened here, the way the whole place was empty. It was scary, yeah? I was wo – "
He cut his sentence abruptly, his eyes were widening as if in shock. His mouth was forming an 'O' shape.
"Err…" He said, looking at his hands.
"Were you… worried?" Hermione asked, disbelief clearly showed on her face.
"You could put it that way, if you want to," He huffed. "You said it, not me."
"Oh, come off it, Malfoy! It's not the worst thing in the world to be worried about someone!" Hermione said loudly.
Draco kept quiet, still looking at his hands. He cleared his throat and looked at Hermione, but decided against it and looked back down at his hands.
"I know, it's because I'm beneath you, right? And you hate me?" Hermione snorted. "That's why you feel terrible about feeling worried about me, right?"
Draco scowled at her. "I don't hate you, Granger."
"Then why did you have such a disgusted expression when you realised you were worried about me and Aidan?" Hermione questioned him.
"It's because… ah fuck, you wouldn't give a shit about what I have to say anyways," He growled, sending a glare at her direction.
"Try me," She said. "Don't be too quick to think that I wouldn't care."
"It's nothing, Granger," Draco said, stiffly. "I just don't hate you, alright? Now drop it."
"Fine, Malfoy," Hermione huffed.
He got off the sofa and went straight to his room, leaving Hermione to process her thoughts. Hermione sat in silence for a good ten minutes before she began to place the pieces of what had happened together.
And then something in her brain clicked.
Draco Malfoy was shocked, gobsmacked and perhaps even slightly amazed that he didn't hate her anymore.
But why did he have such a big reaction when she didn't turn on the lights? Was he honestly worried about her safety?
Hermione sighed.
"I don't hate you too, you dolt." She said into the darkness.
.
.
.
What pulled Hermione away from her recollection of the previous night was the cries of Aidan, who had needed a diaper change.
Hermione groaned. "Why now, Aidan?"
She stood up from the bench, dusting her jeans before pushing the pram to look for Teddy.
"Teddy!" Hermione called out, keeping an eye out for the hyperactive boy.
He came running to her at once. "Yes, Aunt Mione? Do we have to go now?"
"What gave you that idea, silly?" Hermione smiled. "No, you just have to follow me to the toilet to change Aidan's diaper."
Teddy frowned. "But he's smelly!"
"You were a smelly baby too, Teddy," Hermione squeezed his tiny hand. "Come now."
He trudged beside Hermione, scowling. He didn't want to go and wait for a smelly baby to get changed! He wanted to get on the swings before that nasty boy who looked like an ape took it from him! He wanted to be king of the jungle-gym again! He wanted to be the ruler of the sand-pit! And this smelly baby was taking his chances away from him.
Teddy was scowling as he entered the women's toilet. He watched Hermione take Aidan out of the pram and take a clean diaper from the compartment under the pram.
"This stinks, Aunt Mione!" Teddy scrunched up his nose. "Can I wait outside?"
"Teddy…" Hermione said slowly, giving him her 'look'.
"Please, Aunt Mione, please?" Teddy put his tiny gloved hands together and pleaded. "Please, please, please, please, please, please?"
And now Hermione realised what Draco meant when he said that Teddy was – she quotes – 'a damn good persuader'.
He had given her another one of his puppy-dog eyes. It was making her heart melt. She sighed.
"Alright, but don't go anywhere!" Hermione gave in. "Just stay by the door! And don't go anywhere with strangers. Don't talk to strangers either. Promise?"
"I promise!" Teddy yelled before going out.
She hummed a tune while she magically changed Aidan's diapers, thinking how convenient this method was. It was definitely cleaner than the Muggle method she was used to. She put some baby powder on Aidan before she re-dressed him, extra scarf and all.
And yet again, Hermione wondered why she decided that a day in the park in the middle of winter was a good idea.
Walking out of the toilet, Hermione looked left and right, panicking when she realised that Teddy was nowhere to be seen.
"Shit," She muttered.
Scrambling, she pushed the pram quickly to the bench where they had sat earlier to see if Teddy was there. But he wasn't. He wasn't even at the playground.
"Teddy!" She walked briskly around the children's park, hoping and praying that he would be somewhere, perhaps playing with another child.
Hermione smacked her forehead when the cold, hard truth dawned on her. She had just lost Teddy.
"Can't I do anything right?" She mumbled.
In panic, Hermione pushed Aidan's pram as fast as she could to get to the Quidditch pitch. It had only been about an hour since she had left Draco to his mates. She was panting by the time she reached Draco and his friends, who were still up in the air.
"Malfoy!" Hermione yelled at the flying blonde. "Get down from there!"
Draco looked at Hermione from 40 feet up. She was waving her hands like a lunatic, screaming something impossible for him to comprehend. He squinted. There was something wrong with the picture. Where was Teddy?
"Hey, Draco, mate," Theodore Nott nudged his broom. "You better get down there. She looks like she's going to explode."
Giving Theo a nod, Draco zoomed down right in front of Hermione. He noticed that she was panting.
"What?" He asked, crossing his arms.
Hermione almost yelled hysterically. "Your nephew ran off without me and I have no bloody clue where he went!"
"What?" Draco said in shock. "Wha – how – when?"
"I made him follow me to the loo to change Aidan because I didn't want him to go missing, but he wanted to wait outside because he couldn't stand the smell," Hermione said. "He promised me he wouldn't go anywhere, that little bugger."
"And you believed him?" Draco smirked.
"This is not the time, Malfoy!" She smacked his arm.
He ignored her and turned around. "Blaise!" He yelled. "Keep an eye on Aidan. We're going to find my missing nephew."
"Aye, aye, captain!" Blaise saluted mockingly while walking towards the pram.
Draco grabbed Hermione's arm and dragged her back to the children's park.
"Is there anywhere you think he might've gone?" He asked.
"I've checked all over the playground," She replied. "You don't think he could've gone to the shops, could he?"
"Granger, with that kid, anything's possible," Draco growled. "Why weren't you firmer with him?"
"You know how he is with his big eyes and that smile!" Hermione argued back.
They half-ran half-walked around the shops, looking for Teddy. They walked into the grocery shop, asking the shopkeeper if they've seen a small boy, around 5 years old with brown hair and brown eyes. The old witch shook her head with a sorry look on her face.
The pair ran into each shop asking everyone if they had seen Teddy.
Hermione and Draco nearly rejoiced when the shopkeeper of the ice-cream parlour told them that he had indeed seen a little boy with brown hair and brown eyes but he was accompanied by an older woman. Thanking him, they walked back to the park.
"Oh, where could he be?" Hermione growled.
"This is all your fault, Granger!" Draco half-yelled, grabbing Hermione by the shoulders.
"My fault? Why does it always have to be my fault?" Hermione yelled back.
"Because it is!" Draco sneered. "If you had been firmer with him, we wouldn't be in this mess!"
"Yes, YES! It's my fault, I know it is! But you don't have to yell at me!" Hermione snarled.
"Oh for Salazar's sake, this is a waste of time, arguing with you. We're supposed to be looking for him and that blasted child abductor!" Draco let go of Hermione's shoulders and massaged his temples.
"We should split up and look for him, we can cover more ground that way," Hermione suggested.
But before they could even walk five feet from each other, they heard a familiar squeal. They turned around and faced each other and nodded in understanding. Teddy's laughter was growing louder and louder, and it came from somewhere behind them.
"You're so funny, Grandma Cissa!" They heard Teddy shriek in delight again.
Draco stopped in his tracks. "Grandma … Cissa?" He murmured.
He quickly ran towards the direction of Teddy's laughs, with Hermione hot on his tail and came face to face with his mother and a bouncing Teddy, who was holding an ice-cream cone, on her lap.
"Mother?" Draco was surprised to see his mother here, of all places. "Why are you here?"
"Oh Draco, is that how you greet your mother?" Narcissa Malfoy gave him a soft smile, her blue eyes were twinkling with joy. "It's been ages since I last saw you, dear. And this must be the famous Aunt Mione that Teddy keeps talking about."
Hermione gave her a hesitant smile. She was still wary of Narcissa Malfoy.
"What do you want, mother?" Draco asked. "You gave us a shock there, taking Teddy like that."
Narcissa laughed. "I saw him staring at the swings, looking a bit left out. Then he saw me and he begged for ice-cream! How could I say no to those big eyes of his?"
Draco groaned. "Not that old trick again!"
"Grandma Cissa, remember how I told you how Uncle Draco and Aunt Mione were fighting?" Teddy diverted all the attention back to him. He was good at that, being a natural charmer. "They still haven't kissed."
Narcissa let out a loud laugh while Draco glared at Teddy who seemed unfazed by his uncle's death stare. Hermione had turned slightly pink as she remembered her dreams of the night before.
"Will you make them kiss so they'll stop fightin', Grandma Cissa?" Teddy licked his ice-cream cone while begging his grand-aunt. "Pleeeeeeaaaaaaseeee?"
"Well, Draco, Miss Granger –" Narcissa started but she was rudely cut off by her own son.
"Mother, you can't seriously be thinking that we should do what Teddy wants us to do, right?" Draco himself looked unsure at his statement.
Hermione wasn't sure whether it was the weather or did Draco just turn another shade paler when his mother nodded. She, on the other hand, turned a deeper shade of pink. The prospect of kissing Draco Malfoy and making her dream come true (literally!) was… interesting.
"Humour the boy, Draco!" Narcissa smiled. "I'm sure you and Miss Granger wouldn't mind."
"Mother, please!" Draco gritted his teeth. "I really don't think –"
"Don't be rude, Draco!" Narcissa chided him.
"Are you two gonna kiss or what? Because I don't like it if you're fighting!" Teddy wailed. "You gotta kiss her and make it all better, Uncle Draco!"
Draco grimaced. He looked over at Hermione, who shrugged. He sighed and faced her.
"This must be a dream come true to kiss me, eh, Granger?" He joked, attempting to make light of the awkward situation.
"Shut up, Malfoy. Let's just get this over and done with," Hermione whispered. He didn't have to know how close he was to the truth. "Your mother and Teddy are staring."
Draco gave a smirk before closing the gap between them.
The supposedly chaste kiss lasted a bit longer than they'd expected it to. When Draco had eventually pulled away, his face felt flushed. He looked over at Hermione, who was looking at her shoes.
Draco didn't expect to find Hermione's so soft and supple. He didn't expect to actually find that he might have slightly liked the kiss. He could have expected that this kiss only reinforced the attraction he had for her (the one that he had denied to Blaise only a night ago).
He couldn't understand why his heart was beating like he had just run a marathon. He didn't know why he could feel a weird sensation in his stomach. Was that what people called butterflies in their stomach? He wondered.
Draco wasn't sure about what had just happened but he was quite positive (although in denial) that he had liked it.
And as for Hermione, there was only one way to describe the kiss.
It was like electricity.
A/N: Am I hoping for too much for you wonderful people to make my day and possibly even my year by reviewing? Haha.
The best xmas present I could get would be the reviews for this chapter!
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.
See you next year, lovelies!
x
