Summary: Hermione Granger, Arithmancer extraordinaire, is sent to America to handle the business dealings of a successful wizard. What she expected to be a boring business trip turns out to be quite the opposite.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: Oh my! Thank you for all the reviews!

Here Comes The Sun

Chapter 10

The morning after The Talk was work day. A new shipment of furniture had arrived which meant more work for me and less play. And by play, I meant snooping around the house looking for any signs of The Talk. I had woken up early, taken a shower, went to the dining room (it was empty), went to the kitchen (the maids told me that Malfoy and Malfoy Jr. had not come down for breakfast yet), passed through Malfoy's office (he wasn't there) and sat, with a bit of disappointment, behind my desk.

I briefly wondered if Draco would revert back to being my boss and no longer my – my…what? Confidante? Friend? I decided to settle with the latter. Hmm. Friends with Draco Malfoy. Who would have thought? For reasons unknown, I felt slightly warm and fuzzy at the thought.

Stranger things have happened.

I did not come out of the office until lunchtime. I reentered the dining room. Annabelle was setting a place for one. Specifically, for me. Only for me. I had been hoping to see them both there. Maybe with bright smiles and affectionate hugs. An image of Draco hugging Scorpius flitted through my mind. I winced. I couldn't imagine him hugging anyone. "Um, Annabelle. Do you have any idea where the two might be?"

"Oh they went out for lunch, ma'am."

"Ah. That explains it. Thank you."

I ate my lunch quickly, feeling better that things were going well. I went back to my office afterward and was able to get a lot of my work done. I was laying down the finishing touches when a knock sounded on my door.

"Come in." I called out distractedly, knowing it was Annabelle. I had asked her to bring me water earlier that afternoon. However, when I looked up, I saw Draco standing right in front of me. Without waiting for an invitation, he took a seat. I felt a bit miffed. It was my office after all. Never mind that it was his house. Or that he was my boss.

"You seem awfully chipper today." I observed, scrawling the last of my calculations on a legal pad.

"I have something for you."

My head snapped up. "Why?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Most girls would usually ask 'what'."

"I'm not most girls." I automatically replied. Not that it mattered. Since the girls that he meant were obviously girls that he dated. And I was obviously not one of those. Not that I wouldn't want to date him since he was awfully good-looking and charming and – fuck. The LA sun has gotten to your brain, Hermione. You've sucked in enough UV rays to make you think crazy things.

He thrust towards me a rectangular box. It was wrapped. "You actually took time to wrap it?" I asked dubiously.

He rolled his eyes. "Of course not. The store wrapped it for me."

Of course.

I tore it open and found…a Muggle device. "What on earth is this?"

"It's a Tablet."

"Do I swallow it?"

"Merlin woman! I thought you were Muggle-born!"

"I was kidding." Moron. I resisted the urge to add. Of course I knew what a Tablet was. It was good for downloading e-books. You could store hundreds in it and have the complete luxury of reading them anytime, anyplace. I had wanted one the minute it had been released.

"I knew you're a certified bookworm but I didn't know what kind you liked, thus the Tablet."

Despite myself, I was touched. "You didn't really have to get me anything." Wait. This isn't his payment wasn't it? Because that wasn't really part of the contract. My salary as an Arithmancer may not be that small but I needed Galleons to survive! Good god.

"It's a thank you gift." He said with a noncommittal shrug. "For you know, last night."

"Wow. Thank you. I mean, that's very sweet of you."

He cleared his throat. "Anyway, Scorpius and I were wondering whether you wanted to join for a trip to the mall this afternoon?"

"The mall?" I asked skeptically. "Most people would go to the park with their kids. Or the zoo."

He shot me a superior look. "We're not most people."

…

"You don't seem to be enjoying yourself."

Ah. The obvious has finally shone through your incredibly thick skull. I tried to feign an expression of surprise. Scorpius was the only reason why I decided to tag along. Alright, so it was also the Tablet that made me tag along…and perhaps Draco's astonishing ability to actually be both generous and sweet at the same time.

"Fail." Draco pointed at my face. "Don't even try to lie."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. I admit it. Shopping is not something that I'm particularly fond of. Oh I could withstand for a half hour or so but never, never for more than two godforsaken hours!" I said this all very fast and made certain that it was out of Scorpius's hearing range. (He was looking at a computer a few meters ahead.) "I have never seen a man this obsessed with shopping!" I accentuated the last statement with arms flailing.

I suppose Draco had the right to appear miffed. "I am not obsessed. Is it so wrong for a man to care about his appearance?"

I snorted. "It's called vanity, Draco."

"Fine then. What would you suggest we do?"

I thought. I thought really hard. Now, what would a man who was vain as Narcissus himself and a boy as curious as the very first cat would want to do on a sunny afternoon?

"Look Father! It's Merlin!" Scorpius shouted pointing at a stuffed toy.

I cracked a smile. "Santa Monica."

"Santa Monica?" Draco echoed. "Why, of all places, would want to go there?"

"I meant the real Santa Monica."

…

Santa Monica was approximately 33 kilometers from Malibu (our starting point). The real Santa Monica wasn't so difficult to find. It took only a single phone call to one Dean Thomas (who currently resided there) to locate the exceedingly normal brick building somewhere near the Woodlawn Memorial. The three of us stood in front of it with varying degrees of interest.

Scorpius looked bored. "This building is closed. I could see cobwebs." He yawned.

Draco fidgeted beside me. "I don't think this is such a good idea."

I looked at him in surprise. "But you agreed!"

"We also agreed not to give my son a full view of my past." He hissed.

"Good gracious, Draco. This is Santa Monica! It's a million miles away from London. Do you really think there might be anyone there who knows you? And if there was, I doubt they would be firing insults in your direction. You've redeemed yourself, have you not?"

"That isn't exactly public knowledge, Hermione."

I sighed. "Your decision. I just thought Scorpius would love this place."

At the sound of his name, Scorpius turned to me. "I don't think I would. It looks boring. I'm already bored."

"How can you be bored? You're four!" I said giving him a gentle push towards the brick wall.

"Alright, alright." Draco surrendered. "Go on."

"Go where?" Scorpius demanded. "It's CLOSED."

"Just watch." I tapped my wand on the wall three times. And before anyone could blink, the bricks began to move, giving us passage to a whole new world in the middle of California. "Welcome to one of the most relaxing Wizarding communities in America."

…

"We deliver mail through Owl Post. Owls are very intelligent. They're good with directions and can be very fast fliers. They're punctual too." I explained to Scorpius. We were standing in front of Creature Feature. He was stroking the feathers of a handsome brown eagle owl.

"May I have one, father?" Scorpius asked. "Please?"

Draco took one look at his son's pleading gaze and surrendered. "Oh alright. But we can't use him to deliver mail. My clients might suffer a heart attack. Birds delivering mails." Draco shook his head. He told the sales clerk to reserve the owl and that they'll be back for it in a while. Scorpius ran off to the next shop in view: a candy store.

"Spiffing. A miniature Draco Malfoy."

Draco stiffened. I whirled around to locate the owner of the unfamiliar voice. It was a woman. Strawberry-blonde hair and blue eyes. A stick-thin figure and a cigarette in one hand. She was dressed to kill in blood-red stiletto heels. And who are you? I wanted to ask. There was something familiar about her. Perhaps she went to Hogwarts? She was most definitely not from here, her British accent betraying her.

"Astoria." Draco's tone was ice-cold.

Astoria? Astoria who? I ran the name through my mind. Was there an Astoria back in Hogwarts? Year older or year younger?

"And who is this?" Astoria drawled, her eyes raking over my figure making me instantly feel like I had grown blubber all over my body. Irritation crawled onto my skin. I bit my lip to keep from scowling. "Your new girlfriend?"

"Well if it isn't Hermione Granger." A new voice exclaimed. A woman in a printed mini-dress. Long nose. Pointed face. Daphne Greengrass. Our year. Slytherin. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Astoria must be her younger sister.

Ding! Connection successful.

"Really?" Astoria echoed incredulously. "You seemed like quite the dork back in Hogwarts."

"And I never really noticed you at all." I shot back.

"Don't tell me," Astoria murmured with a slight shake of her head. "That this is what you've replaced me with."

Stop. Freeze.

Rewind.

WHAT?

My memory gave an immediate recall of Scorpius's face. His eyes in particular. Whose eyes do you have Scorpius? I had wondered. My gaze met hers. They were the exact shade. Draco had turned pale beside me. Whether it was from anger or from fear, I did not know. Perhaps it was both, because the next thing that happened, occurred so quickly I barely had enough time to blink.

"Yes." Draco answered, with a voice as smooth as silk it would have converted a thief into a nun. I almost believed it. Especially when his arm snaked around my shoulder and pulled me flush against his side. However…IT WASN'T FUCKING TRUE. What the hell are you playing at Draco Malfoy? I wanted to shake his grip off of me. But at the same time, I relished the look of utter shock on Astoria's face.

She raised her chin in the air and gave me one last shriveled look before spitting out: "Good luck with him…Mudblood."

My fingers tightened into clenched fists as I watched the two sisters walk away, hips sashaying, heads held high. The perfect picture of arrogance and malice. It made me want to vomit.

Draco withdrew his arm. He pinched the bridge of his nose. He suddenly looked weary. Like he had walked a thousand miles without pause. "I think it's time we head home."

…

"Does Scorpius know?"

The very first question out of my mouth the second we had escaped Santa Monica and found ourselves warmly ensconced in the security of the expansive Malfoy library.

"No."

I waited. This was something that he should tell at his own pace. After all, it was not necessarily any of my business despite the fact that he had dragged me into the center of it during his silent rage at his ex-wife. It made me want to murder him with my own two hands. It also made me want to erase the look of extreme weariness out of his face.

Was I suffering from a split-personality? I think not. I think…I was starting to have a soft spot for Draco Malfoy. Damn.

"Astoria…" He trailed off and sighed. "She never wanted any children. Scorpius was an accident. He happened somewhere in between our arranged marriage." His tone grew bitter. "After our parents were killed in the War, all deals were off. She immediately filed for a divorce after Scorpius was delivered. She never wanted to see me or Scorpius ever again. I agreed." Draco shook his head. "She was a bitch. That one. Scorpius is lucky to never have known her."

"He never asks?" I wondered out loud. How lonely it must be: growing up without a mother.

"He does. I've told him the truth. I don't want him to grow up waiting for a mother that wasn't going to come home. He knows her by name but has never seen her…and I plan on keeping it that way."

I nodded. Perfectly acceptable.

A heavy silence filled the room. Draco fidgeted and looked up. There was a sheepish smile on his face. "I suppose I owe you an apology."

Apology? Oh. Right. Draco Malfoy with his arm around my shoulders smelling like spearmint and Kenneth Cole Black. Oh my Hermione! You aren't supposed to remember how he smelled! I blinked. "Uh. It's quite alright."

"I acted on impulse." He shook his head. "I'm sorry."

A more comfortable silence came between us.

"So," I began, in an attempt to change the subject. "What time are your friends arriving?"

His head snapped up. He glanced at his watch. "Bloody hell! Look at the time! They're set to arrive in thirty minutes. You're welcome to invite your ehem, date along for dinner."

"I think it would be best for us to just eat somewhere else." I stated nervously, unsure of how Liam would take to eating in my boss's house. It would just be – weird.

"Nonsense!" He waved me off dismissively. "You two are eating here. And that's final."

How kind of you. Damn it.

A/N: Your thoughts are highly, highly appreciated.