"What are you talking about James? My Daddy's name is Ron Weasley. Draco Malfoy is just one of my best friends," Rose said looking at him oddly.

"Draco Malfoy is your Daddy, not Ron. Uncle Ron is just your… um, fake Daddy," James said and pulled the covers up closer to his neck. Rose's hair glowed white in the darkness and, it sort of scared him a little bit.

"No you are wrong… err, well what does the word biological father mean?" Rose thought about the day Hermione and Draco were fighting about her.

"I don't know what the dictionary definition is but, I think it means real Daddy," James responded and yawned.

"James I… I think you are right. I think Draco is my Daddy," Rose said, after a few moments, a note of panic and confusion in her voice. James did not say anything.

"James?" she called. She saw that he was fast asleep, snoring softly. She snuggled up next to him and put the blankets over her legs. She was too confused to sleep alone.

O.o.O

It was three days later and Hermione, still, had not picked up Rose from the Potter's house. She honestly didn't mean to leave her there that long (although she had thought she told Ginny that Rose was going to sleep over the first night but, it slipped her mind that she did not say anything to them at all). The next morning after she dropped of Rose a letter came from an owl telling her Ron's trial was going to be in six days. She sort of forgot about there being a trial; she assumed they would have just sent him to St. Mungo's to avoid this whole thing altogether. She was starting to get second thoughts about her and Ron becoming a family again, after she sent that letter to Draco. Ron had hurt her little girl in horrific ways, ways that no child should have ever had to experience. She grew more distant to the idea of Ron being in Rose's life, after what he had done, after what he had done to their innocent child. (That did not mean she wanted Draco in Rose's life; she actually wanted quite the opposite still.) Hermione had not spoken to Ron since, the day before he hurt Rose and, the rational part of her brain told her she needed to tell him about their daughter's actual father; just in case they never saw each other again. Even if Ron only got sent to St. Mungo's, he would probably be there for life. Ron had to know his little girl was not actually his.

She flooed to the Ministry of Magic and walked into the Atrium. A lot had changed there since the war. The original fountain was rebuilt and everything was less gloomy. The workers were cheerful and there were muggle-borns, halfbloods, and purebloods alike (and every percent in between). She got her badge that read: Hermione Granger… Seeing Prisoner and, went into the nearest elevator. Hermione pressed the button that led to the jail holding people who were waiting for their trial. The elevator whooshed upward; Hermione was starting to have second thoughts as it stopped and, the doors opened.

O.o.O

"Ronald Weasley, you have a visitor," The guard said to the depressed looking Ron lying on his hard cell cot.

When Ron was taken into custody he was put under some heavy sleeping spells. He slept for five whole days and, thankfully when he woke up he did not have a hangover. He was confused to why he was in jail; Ron did not remember how he got there or what caused him to be there in the first place. The rumor was that he had hurt his daughter but, he didn't believe them. There was no way he would hurt Rose, or at least not bad enough for him to be awaiting trial. When he asked the guard who brought him food the man just shrugged and said he was only the food boy, not someone who knew everything about all the cases. He kept trying to ask anyone for details regarding his trial but, no one ever paid attention to his pleas. They wouldn't tell him why Hermione or his parents hadn't visited yet; he started to have a vague suspicion that maybe he did something so bad that they would never come and see him.

When the guard had said he had a visitor he nearly jumped for joy. He had been there for a few weeks. Maybe whoever was seeing him could tell him what happened.

"Mione…" he breathed as he saw her enter the room. Ron smiled brightly and attempted to run and hug her but, he forgot that he was in jail; the bars blocked him and his face turned red from embarrassment.

"Oh Ron…" Hermione said and started crying. "How could you do that to my baby? She is only four years old. No one deserves that kind of abuse at any age but… she is still a child!"

"I… Oh no! Mione, I didn't really hurt her, did I?" Ron's eyes pleaded with her to say it wasn't true. Hermione looked away as Ron's face saw the pain in her eyes.

"I don't understand why you would have done it…" Hermione whispered. Ron tried to touch her hair through the bars but, she flinched and took a step back.

"I was drunk and I reacted badly to something in the Prophet I think…" Ron said vaguely remembering he got irritated at Rose from seeing something about her in the Daily Prophet.

Hermione's face got very white. She knew he was talking about the one that was questioning Rose's biological father. It was now or never to tell him. It broke her heart to think she was going to be tearing Rose away from the only father she ever knew [but thank goodness she finally came to her senses and, decided to tell him].

"Rose is not your child!" Hermione burst out. She started crying again. She did not think she would just go straight to the point.

"What are you talking about? She is still my baby. I'm so sorry Hermione! I never meant to hurt her… I swear on my life and on my parent's lives I never meant to do it! Please if… if there is any way to forgive me… I know I don't deserve it... but, I-I just don't want to go to Azkaban knowing that I never apologized to you… and Rose," Ron said. He looked as if he was going to cry at any second.

"No Ron… that's not what I mean. You are not her real father!"

"Of course I am still her father. I know what I did was wrong- no not wrong, unforgivable but… you can't just say I can't be her father anymore." Ron said exasperated.

"Oh, Ronald…" Hermione sighed and tears poured down her face. Ron could be so dumb and unobservant sometimes. "Ron you are not her biological father. She… she isn't yours…"

"What do you mean? How could you say that, Hermione? She is my biological daughter. I raised her and know everything about her. She can draw like me… and gray eyes are a mixture of brown and blue. I know blonde hair runs in your family Mione; your Mum has blonde hair. She likes sparkly things and chocolate chip pancakes. She cries when we fight and, she bites her lip when she thinks. She has your intelligence, Hermione and, I can tell she will be a good Quidditch player, like me, someday. She is bossy and self-centered like you and goofy like me. She is my daughter, Mione…"

"Ron I… I'm so sorry. I didn't know how to tell you… I was afraid you would reject me for carrying another man's child. I know I messed up…" Hermione said quietly.

Hermione looked at Ron's face. His eyes were pained and tears spilled down his cheeks. Somehow his bright red hair looked dull and, his face looked lifeless. He clenched the bars on his cell with anger.

"You… I… I never would have thought you of all people, Hermione, would cheat on someone and pretend the child you were having was theirs! Who is the father? Harry? I can't believe it! With my best friend, too? You are a despicable person!" Ron shouted and slammed into the bars trying to grab her.

"Not Harry…" Hermione said and looked at the ground.

"Yeah, right. If it's not Harry then who is it? It's Seamus Finnegan right? Or maybe that Ernie Macmillan kid, you two were pretty cozy in that prefect carriage,"

"No… It's not them…" Hermione was ashamed.

"Hmm… Neville? Justin Finch-Fletchley? Cormac Mclaggen? Terry Boot? Zacharias Smith? Goyle, Crabbe, Zabini?" Ron guessed.

Hermione shook her head at all of his suggestions.

"An older wizard or younger student?" Ron guessed again.

"No… Someone in our year…" She responded. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes.

"Well obviously all those people including Dean Thomas are out. That leaves those Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw outcasts and Malfoy," Ron said. When he said Malfoy Hermione's head hung lower than what it was and regret and panic showed in her eyes. Ron noticed this immediately.

"MALFOY!? HOW COULD YOU? HIM?! WHY, MIONE, WHY? IT IS HIM ISN'T IT?" Ron shouted hysterically.

Before Hermione could answer a guard came over and said she had to leave due to the prisoner's outburst.

"I'll see you on your trial date," Hermione said. She turned around and started walking out the door.

As she was leaving she heard Ron screaming something that sounded like "I'm going to kill him."

O.o.O

The Potter's had not left the house in three days due to Rose being there. They called Hermione incessantly but, she never answered. They knew something was going on with her so, they just kept Rose at their house and never bothered to leave a voice mail. Unfortunately, they needed to buy some things in Diagon Alley. Hermione was the type of parent that had to know where her daughter was going at all times. They wanted to respect her wishes and ask her if they could take Rose there but, she wouldn't answer her phone. Harry decided Rose was in no safer hands then with him and Ginny so, they went to Diagon Alley without Hermione's permission.

Harry went to get some potion ingredients from the Apothecary and Ginny took the kids into Weasley's Wizard Wheezes to say hello to George and to stop James' constant nagging.

"You two can look around while I say hello to Uncle George," Ginny said to James and Rose. "Just do not, under any circumstances, touch anything without my permission."

"We won't Mum," James said. Ginny pushed the stroller carrying Albus and Lily to the register where a fiery haired man was ringing up a couple of Hogwarts students.

Once, Ginny left, James grabbed the first few things he saw off of the shelf.

"Look, Rose. It's a Skiving Snackbox and some Filibuster Fireworks. These are really cool. Have you ever seen Filibuster Fireworks Rose? They are amazing. I heard that Uncle George and his twin brother Fred, who died in the war, lit off these fireworks in Hogwarts. I wish I could have been there to see that! I bet the professors were so mad!" James said excitedly.

"Nope, I've never seen them. Mummy said that they are dangerous. But, James, Auntie Ginny told us not to touch anything. Won't she get mad if she finds out you are not listening to her?" Rose said. She was kind of nervous. She always tried to obey rules (except in the cases that the things she wasn't supposed to touch were sparkly or expensive). "What's a Hogwarts anyways?"

"You worry too much, Rose. Hogwarts is the Wizarding School we will go to when we are eleven years old. What house do you want to be in? I want to be in Gryffindor like Mum and Dad. Gryffindor is the best house; it only takes the brave and courageous."

"House? I don't know what that is. What house was my Mummy and Daddy in?" Rose asked.

"There are four houses that you can be Sorted into by the Sorting Hat, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. Auntie Hermione was in Gryffindor and Draco Malfoy was in Slytherin," James said. (During the past two days, James had thoroughly convinced Rose that Draco was her father. She was glad to dismiss Ron from her mind; she had never liked him anyways.)

"Then how am I supposed to choose? Is there a house in between?" Rose asked. She didn't understand what would happen to her since, her parents weren't in the same house.

"There isn't a house in between but, the Sorting Hat has never failed to Sort anyone yet," James reassured her. "Let's go ask Mum if we can get ice cream. You stay here"

Rose had thought he had said, "You go there," so she left and walked out of the joke shop.

The streets were very busy so she went into the first shop she could find. As she walked into the door she saw shelves of books. She was in her Mummy's favorite shop, Flourish and Blott's. She liked that shop; especially the smell of newly printed parchment from the books.

The book store was very busy, filled with Hogwarts students. (They must have been having a field trip or something.) Rose hid in a corner in between two book shelves so she wouldn't get caught up in the commotion. Students kept coming in and, when some left others replaced them. She didn't feel like coming out of hiding so, she sat there for quite a while. No one came to get her. Unfortunately, her legs had begun to cramp. She crawled out of the corner and started to walk around. She looked around for James, Harry, and Ginny. She figured they were looking for her in the shop. After passing each book shelf a few hundred times, and not finding the Potters, she began to panic.

O.o.O

Draco Malfoy walked into Flourish and Blott's to pick up a few books for his mother (she had to get every single first edition Wizarding book so, every time a book was newly published the Malfoys had to buy it). He walked to the register quickly.

"Pickup for Draco Malfoy," he said to the cashier.

"Certainly," the woman said and went in a back room to get his books.

Draco looked at his watch impatiently. He didn't want this to take all day. The house elves were supposed to prepare a special meal in honor of the death of one of his late ancestors and, he did not want it to be cold by the time he came back.

He stared off in to space for several moments until, something grabbed his leg. He jumped and looked around, making sure no one had seen his fright over something he probably imagined.

"Draco?" a little voice said.

He turned around and looked down. Rose was clutching his pants tightly; almost as if she didn't hang on tight he would disappear. There were tangles in her curly, platinum hair and, her face was red and tear stained.

"I can't find Uncle Harry and Auntie Ginny!" Rose sobbed and hugged his leg. "I've been looking for them for years!"

He gently picked her up and held her in his arms. He brushed the tears on her face away.

"Shh. It's ok…" he said and started to rub her back. He honestly didn't know how to comfort her. "What happened?"

"I left Uncle George's shop and… Auntie Ginny… they never found me… I got lost. Mummy hasn't come back for me yet. I don't think she loves me anymore. I told her I hate her…" Rose buried her face into Draco's shoulder and cried.

"Hermione will always love you, just like I love you, too," Draco murmured in her ear.

"I love you too, Daddy," Rose said and smiled.