It was doctor day today, and things went well! Then my little brother and I went to the mall, which made the day infinitely better.

Chapter 10
Hermione smiled when she spotted her best friend at a table near the back of the Leaky Cauldron. "It never fails to amaze me when I'm earlier than you," he remarked, standing to greet her. After pressing a kiss to her cheek, he pulled out the chair opposite him and helped her sit. "How's Draco?"

"Different," she replied, furrowing her brows. Perplexed by her response, Harry urged her to elaborate. "Well, he doesn't remember anything yet, but he's less hostile."

"That's a good sign," Harry said confidently. "How's he with Ana?"

Hermione smiled. "Amazing," she replied. She recalled how Draco had taken to sleeping on Ana's floor beside her bed. The little girl claimed that monsters inhabited her closet, and Draco volunteered to keep her safe. At some point during the night, she would climb out of her bed and snuggle into his arms as he slept. "He really loves her. I think he'd do anything for her."

"She does have that effect on people," he remarked. "So, you said he's been nicer to you? What prompted that?"

"A fight," she said with a sigh. "The healer told him he needed to be nicer to me, and after we talked for a bit, he decided he wanted civility."

Stretching his hand across the table, he covered Hermione's and smiled. "That's great, Mione," he said sincerely. "I know I disapproved of the two of you at first, but I've seen how much he loved you. I think he'll remember that first."

She cleared her throat and leaned forward. "Speaking of his memories, is there anything else you can tell me about the investigation?" she asked, not letting go of her best friend's hand.

Harry looked around, glad that the pub was mostly empty. Still, he couldn't risk being overheard and cast a charm around their table to prevent eavesdropping. "It seems the Ministry was doing more than just trying to reverse the charm," he told her. "Draco was also experimenting with implanted memories."

"Implanting them or reversing them?" she asked.

"I'm sure he was trying to figure out a way to help your parents," came his easy reply. "Anyhow, it would explain these new memories he has."

"But they're horrible memories," she said, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. "When I cast that spell on my parents, I had to be very specific about the memories I gave them. If the caster doesn't give a memory, no memory can be created. The potion had to have created the memory."

"Which would mean that this was no mere mix up of ingredients," Harry continued, growing more worried. "The question is who would do that."

Hermione sat back defeatedly as she wracked her brain for anyone who might want to hurt her husband. Surely he had plenty of enemies; people who hated him either because he sided with Lord Voldemort during the war or because he had failed Lord Voldemort. But no one had given him any trouble in the last half decade.

"No one comes to mind," she replied dejectedly.

An hour later, she returned home full of worry and anxiety. The sound of laughter filled the house. She followed the sound to the living room where Ana sat on Draco's back, holding his hair as if they were reigns. He tried to shake her hands free as he crawled forward and threatened to rear back. Hermione stood silently in the archway with a smile on her lips, watching father and daughter play.

"Ouch," he exclaimed when she pulled too hard. Wrapping his arms behind his back, he held her tightly and stood up on his knees. Slowly Ana slid to her feet; the game over. It seemed he had noticed Hermione earlier despite her desire to remain unseen. "Do you see a bald spot?" he asked her, pointing at the back of his head.

Hermione laughed as she examined the spot where Ana had pulled his hair. "It's pretty big," she assessed, running her fingers through his hair. "I'm pretty sure that's never growing back. Hope you weren't too attached to it."

"You're real funny," Draco replied, rolling his eyes but unable to hide his smile. "Now, all joking aside, am I bald?"

Hermione smoothed his hair down and shook her head. "Maybe the next time the two of you play horsey, she can just hold on to the back of your shirt," she suggested.

"Daddy made scary noises when I did that," Ana said as a worried frown pulled down the corners of her small lips.

Fearing their conversation had hurt her feelings, Draco bent down and picked her up. "I'm okay," he promised her. "Mummy and I were just teasing. You didn't hurt me, baby." He kissed her cheek, and held her awhile longer. It wasn't until Hermione told them they needed to talk that he put Ana down.

When she was out of the room, Hermione led him to the sofa and sat down. "I had lunch with Harry today," she told him, her focus intent on her fingers as she fiddled with her wedding ring. "Um, we...um talked about you. About the investigation into your accident."

"And what does Potter have to say about it?" he inquired, trying his hardest to keep his disdain for Harry Potter out of his voice.

Hermione breathed deeply before responding. "He thinks it was sabotage." She told him about their conversation, giving him all the details that Harry had given her. Draco grew paler and paler as she went on.

"And Blaise hasn't said anything to you?" Draco asked, rubbing his eyes. "He's supposed to be helping to figure out what went wrong, right? Has he even bothered to start yet, or was he too busy moving in on my family?"

"It wasn't like that at all, Draco," she insisted. "Please tell me you're starting to believe me that nothing happened between Blaise and me."

"I do," he admitted. "Well, I believe you. Blaise, though, not so much."

Hermione sighed, debating with herself whether or not to hold his hand. She feared he might pull away, rebuke her attempt at comfort. It's what the eighteen year old Draco would do, after all. Deciding against physical contact, she cleared her throat. "I think you should talk to him," she said. "Maybe if he thinks you're trying to make things right between the two of you, he'll tell you something."

Draco shrugged. "Could be worth a try," he reluctantly agreed.