Chapter 10

"Mr. Draco showed me how to do it," Emma said, showing her father the little origami crane she folded.

Marcus scowled. "Mr. Draco showed you how to do this?" he asked, glaring at his ex-wife. "When did you meet Mr. Draco?"

Alex glanced up from her book and smirked. "He came to see Mum the other day," she stated. "He's really nice. You know that lamb that I've always kept on my bed? He gave me that when I was a baby. He said he was really happy that I still have it."

Getting up, he passed Hermione, beckoning her to follow him to the kitchen. "What's going on?" he wondered. "I thought you didn't want Draco around them. I know I don't want him around. So, what was he doing here?"

"He's my friend," she replied nonchalantly as she fixed herself a cup of coffee. "And yes, initially I didn't want him around. I was afraid of the girls' reaction to there being another man in my life, but they like him."

"Man in your life?" Marcus asked.

She rolled her eyes and sat down at the table. "Yes, Marcus. Draco is a man who is in my life," she replied. "No, we're not dating. You can calm down now."

"I don't like it," he stated.

Hermione shrugged. "I don't care." Setting aside her cup, she got to her feet and walked over to the sink. Opening the cabinet beneath it, she rummaged around in the mix of muggle cleaning products, and returned with a slightly damp newspaper. Tossing it down in front of her ex, Hermione reclaimed her seat and continued to sip her coffee. "See that? That's why I don't care."

Marcus picked up the paper by the edges and was greeted by a photo of himself holding hands with Katie Bell as they left the arena. "We only just started seeing each other again," he said defensively.

"I told you I don't care," she replied. "What bothers me though is that you're upset that I'm spending time with Draco, a friend, while you parade around your former mistress. I'm fine with you seeing her again because I no longer have a say in the matter. But please, Marcus, afford me the same respect."

Sighing, he put the paper back down. "You're right," he murmured. Then he chuckled. "You're always right. If you want to be with Malfoy, I'm not going to stand in your way. I would appreciate you not being with him in front of our children. Malfoy was always notorious for ending relationships quickly. I'd hate for them to get attached to someone who won't stick around."

Angrily, Hermione scoffed. "Well, they're already attached to one man who never seems to stick around," she retorted.

Tossing the newspaper in the bin, Marcus got to his feet. "That's a bit uncalled for," he stated. "I get it, okay? You think I'm a hypocrite. Why can't you accept that maybe I'm jealous that you're moving on? I love you, Hermione. I haven't stopped loving you. I screwed up a lot, and I've hurt you and the girls more times than I can count. But you left me. You filed for the divorce, you took our kids away from me-"

"And you cheated," she interjected. "I didn't start this. I wasn't bored one day because there was nothing good on TV. Time and again, you came home drunk and reeking of perfume. That is, when you bothered to come home. You missed birthdays and anniversaries and Christmases because quidditch came first, and I excused that. But then your little side shags started to take priority over your family. You don't get to be mad about this, Marcus. You don't get to be hurt that we left. You brought all of this on yourself."

Rising to her feet, he watched her leave the kitchen and did nothing to stop her. Never again, he decided, would he stop her from moving on. It hurt when she reminded him of his misdeeds, when she pointed out how he hurt his family. And he deserved every bit of pain he felt. Exiting the kitchen, he rejoined his family in the sitting room and sidled up beside Hermione.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear before placing a delicate kiss on her cheek. She looked up at him, confusion in her eyes. "For everything."

He said nothing more and took a seat on the floor beside Emma, who continued to fold little paper cranes until she was satisfied that she had done it as well as Draco had. Hermione sat down beside her oldest daughter who continued to read.

"Do you believe him?" Alex asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Hermione scowled, and instead of answering, merely told her to stop eavesdropping. "Just be seven, sweetheart," she said, letting go of her anger. "Try not to worry about Mummy and Daddy's problems."

There were tears in Alex's dark eyes. "I can't help it," she replied. "I hate seeing you sad."

She wrapped an arm around the little girl's shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "And I hate seeing you upset," she stated. "Just focus on other things. I'm fine."

"Promise?" Alex asked. Attempting to smile, Hermione nodded. Satisfied, she returned to her book, only to close it a moment later. "Mum, does Mr. Malfoy make you happy?"

Hermione glanced at her ex-husband and caught the frown her wore, knowing that he was listening. A part of her felt vindictive, and that was the part that led to her answering, "Yes, he does." Marcus's scowl deepened, and the crane in his hand was crushed. Emma gasped and yelled at him for ruining her bird. Getting to her feet, Emma stomped out of the room and took the stairs to the second floor. Hermione winced when she heard a door slam. Removing her arm from Alex's shoulders, she left the living room and went after her youngest. Knocking on Emma's bedroom door, she let herself in and closed it behind her. "I'm sorry, baby."

Emma looked up from the crumpled paper in her hand. "Daddy's mean," she stated.

Sighing, she sat down beside her daughter. "Sometimes that's true," she conceded. "But I think this is my fault. I'm sorry your bird was ruined."

The little girl shrugged and tossed the paper aside. "I can make another one," she mumbled. "Why did Daddy get mad that we were talking about Mr. Draco? Doesn't he like him? I like him."

"Daddy and Mr. Draco had a bit of a...falling out a few years ago," Hermione explained. It had been Draco who warned her of Marcus's infidelity. It had been Draco's shoulder she cried on when her husband was gone for long stretches of time. It was Draco who spent nights at the Flint house when Marcus was out of town and Hermione needed help with baby Alex. Draco had been the support she needed, and Marcus hated him for it.

"I want them to be friends again," Emma declared. "I like Daddy and I like Mr. Draco, and I want them both to be around."

Hermione smoothed back Emma's hair. "Yeah, baby, me too."