Chapter 10

Draco paced back and forth in the living room. He had been waiting for Hermione for almost an hour now. After he got back from his outburst in the rain he returned to the dorm and didn't even change out of his wet clothes. When he heard the portrait swing open, he quickly grabbed a book off the table and sat on the couch, not wanting to seem like he had been waiting for her. Hermione walked in with Owen and Eleina to see a drenched Draco Malfoy sitting on a couch reading a book.

"Why are you wet?"

"I decided to take a stroll in the rain." Draco said with a slight hint of annoyance in his voice.

"That wasn't a very good idea. You'll probably get sick now."

"So what?"

"Okay…someone's in a bad mood." Hermione said and went to go sit on the armchair next to him.

"I'm not in a bad mood, now can we change the subject?"

"Well, what do you want to talk about?"

"How was you're little chat with…Josh, was it?"

"His name is Jacob and it was nice. He's really funny, actually." Hermione said, laughing a little bit thinking about something he had told her. Draco snorted and looked away. Hermione gave him a weird look. "Are you okay? What was the whole blow up scene in the Great Hall about?"

"I don't want to talk about it! It's none of your business, anyways!"

"You don't have to be so mean about it! So much for not being in a bad mood." Hermione yelled back. She stood up and grabbed Owen and Eleina's hands.

"Where are you going? Don't leave!"

"I'm going to bed! And don't tell me what to do."

"Granger, get back here, I'm not done talking to you!"

"Well I am!"

"Granger!"

Hermione ignored him and took her two kids up to their room. Draco glared daggers at the back of her head as he watched her walk into the room. He got up angrily and went to go change out of his wet clothes. Draco grabbed some clean and dry clothes from his closet and went to the bathroom to change. Hermione tucked Owen and Eleina in their cribs and kissed them goodnight. She lightly closed the door behind her and didn't realize how tired she was until she got into the bedroom. She plopped down on the bed, closed her eyes, and instantly fell asleep.

Draco finished changing and walked back to the bedroom. Along the way he let out a big sneeze and thought: Oh crap. I think I'm getting sick, please don't let me get sick. Granger's going to have a grand time lecturing me. But, when he went inside, Hermione was already passed out on the bed. He walked over to her and shook his head. Stupid Granger. He carefully lifted her a little bit so that he could take the blanket from underneath and put it over her. He refrained himself from bending over and kissing her on the cheek even though he really wanted to. Instead, he just turned off the lights and went to sleep.

The next morning, Hermione woke up refreshed and ready for the day. She totally forgot that she was mad at Draco from last night. Getting up and yawning, she looked over at Draco who was still sleeping. Hermione got an idea, she was finally going to get him back for scaring her a few weeks ago when he told her that he left Eleina in the bathtub. Creeping slowly towards his bed so that he wouldn't wake up, she held a pillow with one hand and the other grabbed a hold of his blanket. She counted down in her head. On the count of the three, 1…2…3! Hermione quickly pulled the blanket off of Draco and started to wack him with the pillow.

"Wake up, Malfoy!"

"Granger, it's cold! Have you gone mad?" Draco growled and pulled the pillow that he was sleeping on over his head. Hermione laughed as she settled down and sat next to where he slept.

"I told you I would get you back. Now get up. We have classes to attend." Hermione shook him a little bit so that he would wake up.

"I'm not going today, I have a headache."

"I told you! Why didn't you change out of your wet clothes when you got back? And it wasn't a very good idea to walk around in the rain, what possessed you to do that? And…"

"Granger! Will you please stop talking? Your constant rambling is not helping."

Well, sorry. Hermione thought as she got of his bed, went to the bathroom to get ready, and got Owen and Eleina up. When she came back, it wasn't a surprise that Draco was still sleeping. So, Hermione decided to just let him sleep since he was sick and all.

"Where's Malfoy?" Harry asked when Hermione sat down next to him for breakfast. She set Owen on her lap and Eleina in between her and Ron, who sat on the other side of her.

"Still recovering from the outburst he had last night?" Ron asked while he gave one of his kids a cup of milk.

"He's sick. It was quite weird, actually. I came home last night and he was sitting on the couch all wet. Told me he went for a stroll in the rain, which is strange." Hermione replied and fed her kids as well.

"Is that his excuse?" Pansy mumbled. He's an idiot.

"What was that?" Hermione said.

"Oh nothing."

They continued to eat their breakfast in peace since there wasn't much to talk about. Hermione finished her breakfast before everyone else and excused herself from the table to go drop off Owen and Eleina at the children center. They were about to walk in when Eleina stopped in front of the door and refused to walk inside.

"What's wrong, darling?" Hermione said and bent down to the little girl's level.

"Where's daddy?" Eleina asked. Hermione smiled at her and put a hand on her small cheek. Draco and Hermione usually dropped off the kids together, so it was no wonder that she was looking for him.

"Daddy is sick today so he's staying at home, but you'll see him later."

"Promise?"

"I promise." Hermione said and leaned over to kiss her on the forehead.

"Mommy, can we go in now? We get to color today." Owen said, standing next to his sister.

"Coloring? That sounds like so much fun!" Hermione turned to her little boy.

"Yea and we have so many colors like blue and red and green and yellow and orange." Hermione laughed at Owen who began to jump up and down in excitement as she walked them in.

"I like pink!" Eleina said stepping in the conversation.

"I like blue! What color do you like, mommy?"

"I like all the colors." Hermione said. After she checked in with one of the ladies holding a clipboard, she bent down to give them each a kiss. "Mommy has to go now. Have fun and be good, okay? I love you."

"Okay, bye mommy! Love you, too!" They both said and ran over to their section of the room.

Hermione walked out of the children center and towards her first class which was Potions. That was the only class she had with Draco. She walked inside and was one of the first students there. Professor Snape sat at the front of the desk reading some book and writing notes on his parchment.

"Professor Snape?" Hermione said, a little cautious though as to not get him mad for interrupting.

"What is it, Miss Granger?" Snape snarled at her, not even looking up from his book.

"Malfo..I mean, Draco won't be attending class today. He's feeling a bit under the weather."

"Thank you. Now take a seat."

Hermione nodded and sat down at her usual table she shared with Draco, but since he wasn't here today she sat alone. It was only a little while before all the students filed in and class began. Potions went by slowly. Hermione felt herself getting bored while she took notes. Sitting by herself during class time wasn't much fun and Snapes's monotone voice wasn't helping either. She was thankful when it was finally over and she was off to Herbology. At least she got to talk to Harry and Ron in that class.

After Herbology, Hermione went to grab some lunch, but she didn't stay for long since wanted to go check up on Draco. So she ate quickly and also got some food for him incase he was hungry. She walked into their dorm and found him lying very still on the couch staring up at the ceiling.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked as she walked over to him and set down the plate of food on the table. She looked up to see what he was looking at, but couldn't figure it out.

"I'm trying very hard not to move. Even a slight movement will cause my headache to worsen." Draco said, still not moving.

"Well, you're going to have to move because you have to eat. I got you food."

"I'm not hungry."

"Come on, just eat a little. It's not good to have an empty stomach when you're sick."

"How do you know?"

"I don't, but you still have to eat. Now do it yourself or I'm just going to have to force it down your mouth."

"You wouldn't…" Draco said and slowly turned his head to look at her. Hermione picked up the fork and walked over to him. She was about to reach down and force open his mouth when he got up. "Okay, okay I'll eat."

Hermione handed over the fork. Draco reluctantly took it and started to pick on his food a little bit. Hermione cleared her throat when he didn't take a bite. He glared at her as he put some of the food in his mouth. She smiled and got up to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"I still have classes to attend." Hermione said while she walked towards the portrait hole, but turned around when she remembered something. "Oh and I'm going to meet up with Jacob afterwards, so…could you please pick up Owen and Eleina from the children center?"

"No." Draco said. He stopped eating and returned back to his original position of lying on the couch and staring up at the ceiling.

"Please, Malfoy! I know you're sick, but I promised them that they'll get to see you afterward. They really missed you this morning and would really love it if you were there to pick them up." Hermione walked back over to the couch and kneeled down next to him. "Please?"

Draco looked at Hermione and he could see the pleading in her eyes. He wanted to say no, but he couldn't. Not with Hermione looking at him like that.

"Fine, but I'm doing it for Owen and Eleina, not you."

"Good enough. Thanks. Now, get lots of rest!"

Hermione picked up her book bag and walked out. After she left, Draco groaned as he got up to finish eating. He heard the portrait hole swing open again and someone walking in.

"Forget something, Granger?" Draco called out, but to his surprise it wasn't Hermione. It was Pansy.

"Hey, how did you get in?"

"I saw Granger when she came out and got her to tell me the password. We're even now since Potter told her our password." Pansy said and took a seat next to him on the couch. "I heard you were sick so I decided to come see how you're doing."

"I could be better."

"Shouldn't have taken that walk in the rain last night." Pansy said with a sly smile on her face.

"Shut up." Draco glared at her and returned his attention back to the plate of food in front of him. Pansy giggled a little bit, but waited a little bit before saying something again.

"So did you tell her yet?"

"I don't think I'm going to."

"And why not?"

"It's pointless. She likes Josh… Jordan… James… whatever his name is."

"Did she tell you that?"

"No…but if she didn't like him, then why are they meeting again today?"

"Well, if she didn't say that, then I still think it's a good idea to tell her. You never know."

"Whatever. Hey, shouldn't you be in class right now?"

"Eh. I didn't feel like going to Divination today."

"I never feel like going to that class."

"We should just not go anymore."

They looked at each other for a few seconds and laughed.

"So Ginny set us up because you wanted to try to get rid of your feelings for another boy?" Jacob asked to Hermione. They had finished their last class of the day and met up outside. Jacob's a very lovely boy and is very sweet, but Hermione only liked him as a friend, nothing more and she felt bad because she felt like she was leading him on, so she had no choice but to tell him the truth.

"Yes. I'm sorry. I understand if you're mad and never want to talk to me again."

"Don't be silly. I'm not mad."

"Really?"

"Yea. I don't like this 'set up date' Ginny made up anyways."

"But I mean, I'll still go to the Halloween ball with you."

"Just as friends?"

"Yes…"

"I would love that." Jacob smiled at Hermione and she returned it.

"You know, you're going to make someone very lucky someday."

"Well, thank you. I'm flattered."

"You're welcome." Hermione said. Jacob laughed which made her giggle.

"So who is this lucky boy you're crushing on?"

"You don't know him."

"Try me."

"Draco Malfoy."

"Malfoy? Of course I know who Draco Malfoy is, who doesn't? Why do you like him?"

"I don't know…It's just when I see him sometimes I get butterflies in my stomach. I've seen a different side of him that I never knew existed, a nicer side and I like it. When I see him with Owen and Eleina, I just can't help but smile because he's so great with them. They love him! I blame all of this on the stupid Family Life class."

"It's not stupid and you know it, but I am glad that I don't have to go through it. I don't know if I can handle having kids right now."

"You're going to go through it soon! Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs are next. But don't worry, I thought it was going to be tough but actually it's not that bad. You're going to have a partner to help you. And if you ever need help or anything you know you can always come to me."

"Thank you, Hermione."

"Anytime. I think we should go back inside now. It's starting to get a bit chilly and they should be serving dinner now."

Jacob nodded and got up first so that he could help Hermione up. She smiled and thanked him as they walked back into Hogwarts.

Draco walked down the corridor towards the children center, with a headache and his sinuses were bugging him. He did in fact remember to pick up their kids, although he was still angry that Hermione made him go even when he's sick and because she wanted to go meet with Jacob. But he let the thought leave his mind, though, as he walked into the center. Inside he was greeted by one of the ladies working there.

"Hello, Mr. Malfoy. Let me get Eleina and Owen."

Draco nodded and waited for her to return. He saw her walk to the right side of the room and patted Eleina on the shoulder. She looked up at Draco and her face lit up. Quickly cleaning up her table she ran over to him.

"Hi daddy!" Eleina said when she reached him. Draco bent down and picked her up in his arms.

"How's my little princess?"

"We got to color today. Look! I drew a picture for you and mommy!"

Draco took the paper from the little girl and looked at it. It was a picture of four people standing together. There were two that were taller. One had silvery blonde hair and the other had long brown curly hair. They were holding hands. The other two were shorter and stood in between the taller ones. One was a little girl with blonde hair and the other one was a little boy with brown hair. Draco smiled when he realized that it was a picture of them, their family.

"Look! There's you and mommy and Owen and this is me!"

"This is a really good picture, Eleina." Draco said and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He set her down on floor when the lady returned with Owen in her arms.

"Owen fell asleep a few minutes ago. I didn't want to wake him." the lady said to him and carefully handed Owen over.

"Thank you." Draco said and walked out of the children center with Eleina trailing along next to him. Draco had decided to eat dinner at the Great Hall that evening, but when he was walking there he saw Hermione and Jacob together. He seemed to be telling her something funny since she was laughing really hard. Draco glared at them and suddenly lost his appetite. So instead of going to eat dinner he took Eleina's hand and walked back to their dorm.

Hermione and Jacob separated their ways when they entered the Great Hall. Jacob sat at his Ravenclaw table and Hermione hers. She sat across from Harry and Ron. They ate and talked happily and Hermione totally forgot about Draco until she was almost done eating. She became a little worried that he didn't show up, but thought that maybe he felt too sick to come down. So for the second time that day she brought up food for him and a little more for Owen and Eleina.

When she walked into her dorm she saw Draco and their kids sitting on the couch. He was reading them a book. The three of them looked up at her as she walked in. She smiled at Owen and Eleina as they waved to her. Hermione set the food down and sat down with them while she listened to Draco finish the story.

"And they all lived happily ever after." Draco finished a few minutes later.

"I love this story!" Owen said.

"Me too!" His sister copied him.

"Time to eat, then bath time and then bedtime." Hermione said to the two kids. She picked up one of the plates and began to feed them. "Malfoy, I got food for you too. I figured you weren't feeling too good to come down for dinner."

Draco didn't say anything to her and ate his dinner.

"You're not even going to thank me?" Hermione asked.

Again, he didn't say anything. Hermione frowned, but didn't say anything more. Once she finished feeding Owen and Eleina she picked them up and went to give them a bath. Not once, did she say a thing to Draco or even look at him. Afterwards, she tucked Owen and Eleina in bed. Back inside the bedroom, Draco was already lying in bed ready to sleep, but Hermione wasn't going to let him sleep just yet. She walked over and sat on his bed.

"Are you mad at me?" She asked him.

"No."

"You're lying."

"Fine. I am mad at you."

"What did I do, this time? Was the food cold when I brought it up?" Hermione said and rolled her eyes.

"I saw you with him."

"With who? Jacob? Malfoy, we're just friends."

"Didn't seem like it."

"What? Are you jealous?"

"You wish, Granger."

"Then why are you mad?"

"You'd rather spend time with him then with our kids. And you made me pick them up when I was sick."

"Are you kidding me? You said you were fine with me meeting up with him and you picking up Eleina and Owen."

"I never said that." Draco said and turned the other way so that he didn't face Hermione anymore. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Ugh! You are such a child, Malfoy." Hermione said and got up to sleep on her bed.

"And the food was cold when you brought it up!" Draco yelled one last time. Hermione was too tired and fed up to respond. We're never going to have a nice peaceful night, are we? She thought as she closed her eyes and fell asleep.