Monty Python is referenced in this chapter. I don't own that either. That reminds me - look up Holy Grail on Amazon.

Chapter 10

Hermione poured through the Malfoys' library, searching for a book that held the answers she so desperately sought. Before she could perform the paternity spell, she needed to know that Ron couldn't take Lizzie if she were, in fact, his daughter. They needed to be protected, or else live with the lie they had kept up for seven years.

"Help you find something?"

She turned, startled to find Lucius standing in the doorway. "Just looking," she mumbled.

He joined her, studying the titles she browsed. "You and Draco aren't having problems, I hope," he said worriedly as she removed a tome regarding custody laws.

Sighing, Hermione reshelved the book. "No, it's Ron I'm worried about," she admitted. "Draco's name is on her birth certificate, but if Ron fathered her, I need to know the ramifications. I don't want him to be able to take her away."

"He won't," Lucius promised.

"You know, I always thought Lizzie had your eyes," she commented, taking a seat on the leather sofa. "Maybe they are Ron's though. There is some common ancestry between the Malfoys and Weasleys. It's a trait she could have inherited from either family. I just...I don't know what to do if she's his."

He sat beside her, showing an unusual display of affection and comfort for his daughter-in-law. Rarely had Lizzie's paternity been discussed, but the run-in with Weasley was the spark that lit the fuse. Whatever measures needed to be taken to ensure Elizabeth's status as a Malfoy, Lucius would see to it.

"Your mother thinks you need a proper house," Lucius stated as he watched Draco paint the nursery. "After the...tour, I have to agree. This flat is far too small for three people."

Putting down the brush, Draco turned to face his father and scowled. "This place is fine," he replied. "Besides, babies tend to be small. I doubt she'll take up a lot of room."

"My granddaughter deserves more than a broom closet for a room," came the older man's argument. "She's not Potter living in the muggle world. This child is a Malfoy, and she deserves better."

Draco stared at the newly painted, lavender-colored wall. Their flat was small, but homey. It was the first time he had ever felt safe in his living environment, and he was reluctant to leave. "After what I told you, you're still okay with this?" he wondered, unable to face his father.

Lucius examined the rocking chair that sat in the corner of the small room. "Would you prefer that I be angry?" he inquired. "And just whom do you suggest should be the cause of that anger? I think it's admirable that you have agreed to raise a child who might not be your own. While my feelings regarding Hermione have been less than favorable in the past, I've come to respect the person she has become. So, tell me - who should I be mad at?"

"No one," Draco responded. "Just the situation. Either way, she's a halfblood. If she's not biologically my halfblood, are you okay with her having the Malfoy name?"

"She's a Malfoy," Lucius said definitively. "End of discussion."

The books had been left on the coffee table while Hermione prepared dinner. Draco leafed through the pages, growing more concerned with each word he read. Why his wife was researching custody law, he couldn't say, but he intended to get some answers. "Thinking about casting that spell?" he inquired, entering the kitchen with a book in hand.

Hermione dropped the spoon she had been holding, and turned to face him. "Yes, I am," she said. "I think it's about time we found out, don't you? Your father lent me the books because I want to make sure Ron can have no claim to her if she is his."

"Have you read this?" he asked. "'Pureblood males can gain full custody of a halfblood by right of blood status.' This is archaic. He's met her once. The court can really give him custody of a child he knows nothing about?"

Hermione shook her head and returned to the pot of sauce she had been stirring. "Your father said that law is no longer upheld," she assured him. "And because your name is on her birth certificate, you have legal claim over her, not Ron. I see no reason to put this off any longer."

"What's to stop him from seeking legal claim?" Draco asked.

The bigger she grew and the more uncomfortable she became, the more Hermione wanted out. With two months to go, she was not sure if she would survive. "I'm a whale," she proclaimed. "I'm that guy from Meaning of Life, the one who explodes after eating the dinner mint. Stick a pin in me and I'll pop."

Draco chuckled as he helped her up from the couch. "You're not marine life. You're not a morbidly obese overeater. Being stuck with a pin will only provide minor discomfort for a second or two," he told her. "Personally, I think you're beautiful and in need of some ice cream."

"Because I'm not fat enough?" she asked. Shaking his head, Draco ignored the question and Apparated to Diagon Alley. "I hate that you're thin," she decided as they approached the ice cream parlor. "I used to be thin."

"I'd love you even if you weighed a thousand pounds," he promised, kissing her temple. He opened the door, but Hermione stood by his side, frozen. Looking from her to the shop, he saw the reason. Ron was seated at a table for two with his brother, George. "We'll go somewhere else."

Head held high, Hermione entered and took a seat. "I think I'd like a banana split," she decided. "No strawberry ice cream though. I don't think she likes strawberries. Ask for mint chocolate chip instead."

"Two spoons?" Draco asked, receiving a smile and a nod. "Gonna make me eat the vanilla while you hog the chocolate?"

Again, she nodded. "I'll share the mint chocolate chip," she conceded as he kissed her and left to place their order. She wasn't alone long. Glancing up, she smiled when George approached. "Fancy seeing you here."

"I heard it's a good place to pick up girls. No one told me they were twelve and under," George joked nonchalantly. "You look happy. Life's treating you well?"

She looked at Draco, and let him know that life was good. "Ron's not coming over?" she asked.

"I don't think he's ready to talk just yet," he admitted. "He just...I think it's still hard for him, seeing you like this."

Draco fixed the blankets around his daughter as she watched him. "You look sad, Daddy," she observed. "Are you and Mummy fighting?"

Sighing, he finished his task and sat down beside her. "I know you know what's been going on even if we haven't talked to you about it," he began. "Mummy wants to find out for sure that I'm your dad. I have to be honest with you though, I'm scared."

"You're still my dad," she told him. "You've always been my dad. You'll always be my dad. I don't want another one."