As soon as we Apparated to my flat, Draco called his manor via floo and requested that his daughter be accompanied by a house elf at all times and any orders given by Pansy Parkinson, her father, or anyone that is not Mr. Draco Malfoy or Miss Emma Malfoy to be ignored until further notice.

"Draco, do you think she'll be safe with Parkinson in the manor if the elves aren't doing what she wants?" I asked as I got ready to go to St. Mungo's to see Dee.

"You're right, I should send for her. Do you mind if we wait for you here, while you go to St. Mungo's so that we can go together to the adoption office?"

"Of course I don't mind. Do you think she'll like me?" I asked as I pulled on a pair of shoes.

"I'm positive she'll love you. You are what every mother should be. I wouldn't worry about Emma too much. She's still young and you're so lovable," he said as he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead. I snuggled into him and could smell the fresh air from Bora Bora still on his skin mixed with the crisp smell of his aftershave. We stood like that for a couple of seconds before I pulled back and kissed his lips softly before Apparating to St. Mungo's.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Before I could even get the ringing out of my ears from the Apparation, I took off running in the direction of Dee's room. I opened the door and breathed a sigh of relief when I realized that she was sleeping somewhat peacefully. I tiptoed toward her bed but she must have sensed me there because she woke up and lunged out of bed toward me. "Mione, I'm so glad you are back! I missed you. I was so scared that you had left me here all by myself," she said as she held onto my legs.

"No, Dee, I could never leave you alone. I promised everything would be ok. I've got a question to ask you. How would you feel if I asked you to go live with me?" I asked as I got down to her eye level. Her eyes got wise and there was a sparkle I hadn't seen in a while.

"Really Mione? Would you be my mommy?" she asked looking steadily into my eyes.

"Only if you want me to be your mommy. Dee, I don't want you to feel unhappy if you don't want me to be your mommy."

Dee gasped and shook her head before firmly stating "Mione, I could never be unhappy with you. You are like a mommy too me already."

"Well then that's settles it Dee. You want to go live with me and be my daughter?" I asked as I picked her up and settled her onto her hospital bed.

"Oh yes, yes, yes!!! I would love for you to be my mommy! When can I start living with you?" she asks, a small giggle escaping her in her excitement.

"We can go to the Ministry as soon as you are free to go. I'm going to go speak to Healer Thompson to see if we can go home today. You want to go with me to look for him?" I asked as I looked around for her shoes.

"Yes mommy!" Dee exclaimed and grabbed my hand to jump out of bed once I'd had her shoes on.

My heart felt like it would pop out of my chest and tears came to my eyes. Smiling, I led her through the hospital hallways toward Healer Roger's office.

"Healer Granger? Ms. Dee? How can I help you today?" he asked as he looked up from the tome he was reading while adjusting his reading glasses.

"Good afternoon Healer Thompson, my mommy and I would like to know if it is ok for me to go home yet," Dee answered before I even had a chance to speak.

Healer Thompson looked perplexed for a couple of seconds so he asked "Your mommy? Ohhhhh!!! Healer Granger, I'm so happy for you and for Dee. Well Ms. Dee, since your mommy knows how to take very good care of you, I'll let you go home on one condition. Do you know which condition it is?"

Dee tilted her head to the side and thought about it for a second before replying "Umm…that I be a very good girl and take my medicines and behave for mommy?"

"Correct young lady. Now, let's go get you ready to go home. I'll need to speak to you, Healer Granger, before you leave," he told me as we walked back to Dee's room.

"Dee, darling, go and get all of your things together. I'll be in shortly to help you put your clothes on. I'm going to speak with Healer Thompson for a few minutes then we'll go home. Okay?" I said and ushered her in the door.

"Okies, I'll be done real soon, I want to go home!" Dee replied as she ran into the room to get ready.

"Healer Granger, you must know that I shouldn't let her leave with you because legally, she isn't your child. However, because I know you and I know your character, I will allow you to take her home on the condition that as soon as you have signed all of the legal documents, you bring them to me. Is that understood?"

"Why, yes of course! We were going to the Ministry as soon as she was let out of here o make the adoption official. I'll have my owl bring over the paperwork as soon as we get home. Thank you so much Healer Thompson. I'll be in to work tomorrow at my usual time."

"Nonsense, you can take the rest of the week off so you and Dee can settle in. You both have been through a lot in the past couple of days, you deserve a break," he said, a twinkle in his eye that reminded me of Professor Dumbledore.

"But…but Healer Thompson, what about my patients, they need me. I can't be gone for a week!" I said nearly hyperventilating. Don't get me wrong, I appreciated the time off to be with Dee but I felt an immense responsibility to the patients I take care of on a daily basis as well.

"Hermione, listen to me, your patients will be taken care of. Dee needs you to be there for her. Consider it maternity leave, no ands, ifs, or buts. Your daughter needs you. She's going to be having some nightmares and she's shown symptoms of PTSD. I'm sure she'll be fine as long as you are with her. I won't take up any more of your time. You better go in there and help her finish getting ready to leave. I know you'll take excellent care of her, both as a doctor and as her mother," he finished and started to walk away when I launched myself at him and gave him a huge hug.

"Thank you Healer Thompson. I'll be back next week." I said as I let go and nearly giggled when I saw the shocked look on his face. I guess he's not used to girls he hardly knows hugging him. Smiling I walked into Dee's room to see her struggling to pull her shirt over her head. With a small smile, I walked over to her and helped her into her clothes.

Once everything was settled, I grabbed Dee in one arm and her things in another and Apparated home.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Open your eyes Dee, let's get you settled into your new room so that we can go to the Ministry and get everything settled so that I can be your mommy," I said as I walked into the front door. Draco and Emma had been watching TV in the living room when we walked in.

Draco, seeing me carrying both Dee and her things, jumped up from the couch he'd been sitting on and took Dee's things from me.

"Thanks, Draco. How's everything with Emma going? Is she ok?" I asked as I walked in and put Dee down.

"She's fine. She was just a bit confused when we got here; she'd never seen any of the muggle things you've got here. I taught her how to use the TV and she hasn't gotten off that couch since she got here. Well she did help me with a small surprise for both you and Dee but other than that she hasn't moved. Do you and Dee need any help getting her settled before we go to the Ministry?" he asked as I led Dee to her new room with him following because he was still carrying her things.

"Yes we do need help but I think it's best if we go to the Ministry first, that way we get that out of the way and have the rest of the afternoon to get her settled. Besides, if I recall, there is a very upset Mrs. Potter waiting to interrogate me." I said with a laugh as I stopped at the closed door next to my bedroom.

"Ok, Dee, I hope you like it. My daughter Emma and I took the liberty of decorating your new room while your mommy was with you. It will be a surprise for you both." Draco said as he pushed open the door.

I heard Dee gasp and Emma ran up to her and held her hands. "Do you like it Dee? My daddy was telling me about you and I thought you might like your room like this. I like fairies too so I had a couple of ideas for your room. Do you like it?" Emma asked Dee as they gazed at the room.

Dee and I were speechless. The plain white room I was expecting to find had been transformed into every little girl's dream princess room. There was a four poster bed in the center and the walls were decorated in soft pastels with small fairies fluttering along the walls.

"Oh. I love it Mr. Draco. Thank you so much Emma! My room is perfect! You're welcome to come and spend the night with me, if that's ok with my mommy and your daddy?" Dee said looking up at Draco and me closely followed by Emma giving us sad puppy eyes.

"Well it is fine by me, that way Dee has the opportunity to make a new friend and Emma is here and not in danger, besides I've got the week off, I wouldn't mind watching them. However, we do have to go to the Ministry first. How does that sound girls?" I asked as Draco nodded his agreement.

"Well let's get going then. We want to come back and play!" Dee said as she and Emma pulled Draco and me toward the fireplace.

Draco laughed and said "Ok, ok, we're going. Geez Hermione, if I'd known getting Emma this excited involved a simple sleepover, I would've let her have sleepovers all the time."

I laughed and grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it in the fireplace before I went through. Draco sent the girls next and I was waiting for them. As soon as we were all in the Ministry, Dee and I went to the adoptions department and Draco and Emma went to see what could be done about Draco getting a divorce.

"Ah, Miss Granger, We've been expecting you. All of the paperwork has been drawn up for the adoption all we need is your signature," one of the officials said as we walked in.

"Excuse me? How do you know about the adoption? The last time I was here I didn't mention anything about an adoption. How are the papers ready just for signing?" I questioned as I walked further into the office.

"Well, Healer Thompson informed us of your decision to adopt Ms. Dee when you left the hospital. He said that he needs proof that you adopted the child as soon as possible so if you would please have a seat, we'll get the paperwork completed."

I nodded and sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk and pulled Dee onto my lap. "Ok, we're ready. I want her to be my mommy so where do we sign?" Dee said as she grabbed a quill off the desk causing the men in the office to laugh.

"Why yes Ms. Dee, here is where you get to sign your name, ok? You do understand that when you sign, Hermione Granger will be your mommy and therefore you have to listen to her because she's going to take care of you and love you. You do understand right Ms. Dee?" asked the official before handing her the paper.

"I do understand, Healer Thompson told me the same thing. I love her already so listening to her won't be a problem. She's already taken very good care of me." Dee stated as she signed her name in her cute child handwriting. "Your turn mommy!" she said, her voice higher than normal with excitement as she handed me the quill.

Laughing, I took the quill from her hand and signed my name on the dotted line. I was now officially Dee's mother.

"Yay! Mommy, I wanna go home, Emma is probably waiting for us back in the lobby!" Dee said jumping off my lap and nearly running out the door.

"Ha ha ha Dee, I'm pretty sure Emma is as excited to have the sleep over as you are. She and her daddy had to go deal with some things and they'll meet us at home as soon as we're done. Mommy just needs to get a copy of these papers for us and send a copy to Healer Thompson like we promised and we can go home." I told her as the papers were being "copied" for us.

"Don't worry Ms. Granger; we'll get the papers to Healer Thompson. You go spend time with your daughter," the official smiled as he handed me the papers.

"Thank you. Have a good afternoon." I said as I grabbed Dee and headed toward the main Ministry atrium.

When we got there, Draco and Emma were waiting patiently for us on a bench. Apparently, Draco and Emma had called in advanced to deal with the divorce issue as well as custody for Emma and all that was left was for them to sign papers. I guess when you're a Malfoy people will go out of their way to make you happy.

"Hey, how did it go?" I asked as Dee and I reached the waiting pair.

"Well, I showed them what I showed you, along with all of the other information that I've got on Pansy. They asked Emma how her mommy treated her and she said that she was scared of her and that she would rather live with me than with her mommy so I've got full custody on the grounds that Pansy is a danger to herself as well as to others." Draco said as we walked to a chimney to floo into my apartment.

Once there, the girls took off running toward Dee's new room and swiftly shut the door leaving Draco and I to talk peacefully in the living room.

A couple of hours and several cups of tea later, Draco and I noticed that my house was quiet…too quiet since there were two toddlers in the house. Alarmed, Draco jumped off the couch and went to go check on the girls with me following closely behind him to investigate as well.

Placing his right index finger over his lips to tell me to keep quiet, he slowly turned the door knob and pushed the door open to Dee's room.

"Oh dear lord, it's going to take forever to clean this up!" I whisper to Draco as we push the door open and look into the chaotic room. There were toys all over the floor and the fairies on the walls had all hidden from view, it looked like a tornado had rampaged through the room, not two little girls.

"Shh, look Mi, they're asleep already, we've got the rest of the evening to ourselves." Draco smirked as he softly closed the door again.

"Mi?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, having never heard him call me that.

"Well, I like it and since everyone else calls you Mione, I decided I would call you Mi for two reasons; one, EVERYONE calls you Mione and I want to call you something special and two it's shorter than Mione. So if you don't mind, from now on I'm going to call you Mi, because you're mine." He chuckled as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me back towards the living room.

Laughing softly, I reached up and kissed him softly on the cheek before saying "Ok then, Mi it is. Would you like a glass of wine since the girls are already asleep?"

With a small smile and a nod, Draco and I walked into the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of Chardonnay and two wine glasses.

As we settled comfortably onto the cough again and drank our wine, I wondered what would happen with Draco once Pansy found out about the divorce and the loss of Emma's custody.

"Draco? What's going to happen when Pansy finds out that she's no longer a Malfoy and that she doesn't have access to your money or the manor or that she has no custody of Emma?" I asked chewing on my lip thoughtfully as a million and one scenario crossed my mind.

Draco looked thoughtful for a moment and for a second a worried look crossed his face as if he hadn't thought of something but soon relaxed. "Mi, there's nothing she CAN do. If she even causes any trouble, there's enough evidence to have her locked in Azkaban for life, even the Kiss if I push for it if she does any harm to you, Dee, or Emma. Don't worry about it, for now let's enjoy our wine before you go save Potter from the dog house. We forgot you had to go talk to Mrs. Potter after we went to the Ministry. It's still early enough, I'll take the girls to the Manor and have the house elves take care of them while I get Pansy out of the manor, don't worry about a thing, go talk to your family."

I felt my heart melt for this man. It's hard to believe that up until a couple of days ago, just the mere thought of him sent stabs of pain through my heart and the sight of him gave me a panic attack and now he was worrying about my friends. With a small laugh, I finished off my glass of wine, gave Draco a kiss on the lips, and headed off to the Potter Manor.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Harry Potter had been trying to get his wife to relax, which was a mighty hard task to do indeed. Ginny was worried about her brother being in Azkaban but she was even more worried about her best friend because it had been two days and Hermione still hadn't gone bye to have tea with her.

"Ginny, she probably had something to do at St. Mungo's. Draco did send the letter saying she was safe and was with him and that they would "be coming back" sometime today to go to the Ministry. Let's just wait until she reaches us. You know how she was with school work, now that she has patients, can you imagine how she will be? We'd have to go visit her at St. Mungo's to see her!" Harry said as he ran a hand through Ginny's coppery hair as they snuggled on the couch while the kids were sleeping in their rooms.

With a small pop, Hermione apparated into the Potter's living room, during this moment. Ginny took a second to realize that Hermione was standing in her living room before she shot out of Harry's arms and embraced Hermione in a bone crushing hug.

"Ginny, I can't breathe. Heavens, for such a petite woman, you sure are strong!!" said Hermione as she struggled to breathe.

"Hermione, where have you been? We've been worried sick about you. We thought something awful had happened to you when you didn't show up to have tea with me like you were supposed to. Next thing we know, we're getting an owl from Draco Malfoy saying that you are safe, that you are with him and will be back today. What is this about leaving on romantic vacations and not telling me?!" Ginny yells, sounding very much like her mother, as she pulled me over to the couch where Harry sat stunned at the sudden changes.

"Ginny, it wasn't a romantic vacation! Draco saw that I needed to get away for a bit and he took me to his favorite place on earth, his HOME. No, I don't mean Malfoy Manor; I mean his actual home, his hideout as he calls it. It was beautiful. We lost track of time since there is a time difference and when I came back today, I had so much to do! Merlin, it's a wonder I had enough time to get everything done." I said as I settled comfortably onto the couch next to Ginny while Harry snuck off towards the kitchen to prepare some tea.

I told Ginny about going to the Ministry about Ronald and when Harry came back, I told them the news about me being Healer Granger and about Dee. It took a couple of minutes for the news to sink in, I mean, I'd been putting off getting married to Ronald and having a family for four years and suddenly I'm the mother of a beautiful little girl who's mother I had put in Azkaban for abusing the child.

Harry looked like a fish out of water, his mouth opening and closing as if at a loss for words to say. Ginny, on the other hand, was glowing and she pulled me into a hug that rivaled all of the other hugs she'd ever given me in our life and said, "Oh Mione, I'm so happy for you! Motherhood is the best! You'll be a great mother. From the sound of thins, Dee already loves you and you are already so taken with her, it won't be any problem. She's only 4 so it shouldn't be a problem for her to adapt to living with you. I'll go over and help you get settled and help you set up her room tomorrow. Wait, where did you leave Dee? She's not with you…you didn't leave her at home by herself did you!?"

I laughed at the outraged look on Harry and Ginny's face as they thought that I'd left my four year old child at home by herself. Smiling, I said, "There's no need for the help, although it's extremely appreciated. You see, Draco and his daughter, Emma, set up Dee's room while I went to St. Mungo's to talk to my boss and Dee about the adoption. Also, Emma and Dee were playing in Dee's room while Draco and I talked about everything that has happened in the last two days. When they fell asleep, Draco reminded me that I had failed to come by and talked to you so he took the girls to Malfoy Manor while he dealt with some personal situations. You'll find out when he tells you as it's not my place to tell. Once I get home, Draco's house elves will bring the girls back to my apartment so that they are safe and sound as my apartment can only be accessed by you guys and Draco and his house elves. That's all I can say for now. Come by my apartment tomorrow with Lily and James so that you can meet Dee and Emma, they're adorable and about the same age as Lily so they should get along great, that way, we can talk about the next step on the Ronald case."

"Hermione, not to sound rude or anything but why on earth would you let your child let your house leave with Draco Malfoy? I understand that you had a relationship with him and that he did help us in the war, I even consider him an ok guy but are you sure it's smart to let your child be at Malfoy Manor with the elder Mrs. Malfoy running around? She saved my life but she's still a Malfoy. Besides, didn't you say that Draco had to deal with some situations, wouldn't it be dangerous for the children to be there?" Harry asks analyzing the situation as the Auror that he is.

"Like I said, as soon as I get home, the house elves will bring the girls and stay with me for a while to keep us safe. You have been a witness to house elf protective magic Harry, the girls and I will be safe from anything. Besides, if anything does happy, I am a Healer and a damn good witch but if I do need any help, I'll send you a Patronus Harry. I'm sorry that this visit is so short but as you mentioned, it's not safe at Malfoy Manor for either girl so the sooner I get home, the better for all involved. I'm pretty sure Draco needs me to take the girls away from the Manor as we speak so I'll be going now, thank you for the tea and I expect you and your kids tomorrow at my place, no ands, ifs, or buts."

I gave Ginny and Harry a quick hug before Apparating home.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As soon as I got there, house elves Apparated in and asked where Dee's room was. I simply pointed in the direction as they took the girls into the room and quietly shut the door. As soon as the girls were settled, the house elves busied themselves with cleaning my already clean apartment. I sat on the couch and poured myself a glass of water to help with the small amount of nerves I was feeling. I turned on the TV and settled onto the couch, not really paying attention to the TV.

I must've dozed off on the couch because I woke with a start as someone Apparated into my apartment. I looked around and saw Draco slumped in a corner of the living room, blood dripping down his forehead. Startled and scared, I jumped off the couch and went to Draco. I checked his pulse and his breathing and he was fine, he was just passed out. I helped him stand as I called the house elves to bring some warm water and some towels so I could clean up his wound on his head without hurting him too much.

As I was cleaning out the wounds I discovered, Draco awoke with a start and pointed his wand at my neck. Shocked I dropped the bloodied cloth into the water and backed away slowly. Draco seemed to come to his senses and jumped off the couch and hugged me. "I'm so sorry Mi. Things did not go according to plan with Pansy. She hit me with the Cruciatus curse for a while until I finally sent a Patronus to the Ministry and they came and took her away while I came here. I didn't realize I was so weak and that I would pass out from Apparating, I'm so sorry if I scared you." He said as he pulled me close and winced at the pain this caused in his ribs.

"Here, let me fix this for you," I said as I healed his ribs and the cuts on his forehead then went into the kitchen to get him some chocolate as Professor Lupin had taught us.

The house elves stood around Draco and stared at their master in horror at how hurt he was.

"Twinkle is so sorry she wasn't there to help Master Draco against Ms. Parkinson. Twinkle will go back to the Manor and punish herself," Twinkle stated as she was about to Apparate to the Manor when Draco stopped her and the rest of the house elves.

"There is no need for punishment Twinkle, or any of you. You did as I asked and kept Ms. Hermione and Ms. Dee and Mistress Emma safe so there will be no punishment. In fact, now that Pansy is gone, there will never be a need for punishment in Malfoy Manor, no matter what my father says. Malfoy Manor is MY home and you don't need to listen to him anymore, ever. In fact, alert the Ministry if he's ever on Malfoy Manor grounds ever again. Is that understood?" Draco said smiling down at his house elves.

With a great big nod, each house elf sighed in relief, glad to be free of both Draco's father and Pansy at the same time. I would imagine living under the Elder Malfoy's rule was not nice and if Parkinson was like the Elder Malfoy, it was even worse. They each ran up to Draco and gave him a big hug before Apparating to the Manor to clean up whatever mess was made.

I helped Draco back onto the couch and snuggled into his now healed ribs. He wrapped his arm around me and kissed my forehead. "Mi, I thought I was a goner, I thought I had lost you just as I'd gotten you back. Mi, would you be my girlfriend? I would ask you to marry me right here and now, but I want to earn your trust back and I want us to get to know each other again. I don't want to rush you into anything yet, just a steady relationship while we get to know each other again and we deal with the current issues with Weasley and Parkinson. Then, I will ask you to marry me," he stated as he gazed at the TV that was still on.

"Is that a promise or a threat Mr. Malfoy?" I asked with a teasing smile on my face.

"Both," he said simply without looking away from the TV.

I laughed and helped him off the couch and into my room. "Since I expect your house is a mess and you were pretty hurt, you will stay here with the girls and I. Ginny, Harry, and their kids will be here tomorrow after breakfast to see you and get reacquainted with you and meet the girls. We can go to the Ministry to deal with Ronald and Pansy and we can ask them to baby sit for us, the Ministry is no place for little girls, especially the criminal trials area."

Draco nodded in agreement before collapsing onto the bed and snoring softly. Poor Draco, he must be exhausted I thought as I transfigured his robes into the pajamas he'd worn on Bora Bora, changed into my own and then climbed into bed. Tomorrow would be a difficult day for both of us and I only hoped that it would all soon be over for the sake of both Draco and myself and the girls.