Draco,

Richard Street Apartments, number 23; please don't bring Lissy.

Hermione

Almost an hour later, Draco stood staring at the piece of parchment in his hand, then at the young girl currently sitting on the floor in front of his fireplace – who was presently wearing one of his mother's old dresses, shrunken to fit her better, and trying to put a purple wig that he'd transfigured from a cushion onto one of the few house elves that were sitting nearby – and back to the paper. What the hell has happened? What the bloody hell am I meant to do with Lissy while I'm-? He stopped himself mid-thought, catching sight of a house elf with a bright blue wig on. The house elves. Merlin, I should have thought of that straight away.

"Ziggy," he said, crumpling the letter in his fist and looking back at it. One of the house elves looked up at him with big green eyes, hidden behind a large pair of bright orange glasses and stood.

"Yes, Master Draco?"

"I have some business to attend to, so I'll need you to look after Felicity until I get back."

"Yes, Master Draco. Ziggy will look after the young child."

"Is you leaving, Mister Dwaco?" Felicity asked, catching the conversation. She looked up at him, her eyes shining a golden-brown in the light before a wig, similar to the one she had barely managed to get onto a house elf, fell into them. Her tiny fist pushed the wig back up and she frowned when he didn't respond. "Mister? Is you leaving?"

Draco blinked rapidly for a moment, shaking his head, before giving her a small smile and kneeling down in front of her. "I'm going to go get your mum," he said. "I'll be back soon, alright? You stay here with Ziggy, and I'll be back before you know it."

Felicity grinned back at him, but then her frown was back and she looked at him almost pityingly. "Mummy gone be mad at you."

He frowned. "Mad at me? Why?"

"Me not had foods; my played. Mummy's gone be mad."

"Well, she'll only be mad if she finds out… so we won't tell her, will we? It'll be our little secret, okay?"

Excited at the prospect of having her very own secret to keep, Felicity beamed and stared up at him happily, shouting "Otay!" with a small scream.

Draco chuckled. "Okay. Ziggy is going to look after you now, and when I get back, your mum will be here too. You can play dress up with her, then, if you want." He turned to Ziggy, standing up. "Ziggy, look after her; if I come back and she is harmed in any way, there'll be trouble… and not just from me. Do whatever she asks, but make sure it's safe first."

"Yes, sir, Master Draco; Ziggy will look after Young Mistress while Master is away, sir."

Draco nodded, moving out of the way, and stood at the end of the sofa. "Be good, Felicity… and don't tell your mum our secret when she gets back." Draco winked at the toddler before quickly apparating to an alley not far from where he knew Hermione's apartment to be.

Draco knocked on the door of apartment 23, and then shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He had to hand it to muggles; their clothes were a lot more comfortable than wizard ones. When no one answered, he raised a curious eyebrow and knocked again, slightly louder. After once again receiving no answer, he sighed and pulled out his wand, whispering a quick Alohamora and pushing open the door. Merlin, Granger, do you really trust the world that much? He gently closed it behind him and looked around at the small entrance to her apartment. There was a small table beneath a mirror on his right, covered in folders and pieces of parchment, as well as a vase of purple flowers that Draco couldn't name. On his left were a coat rack – which currently held one large tan coat – and a small pile of neatly arranged shoes. He continued through the hall, listening for any sign of Ron or, preferably, Hermione. He'd rather run into the bushy-haired know-it-all than the raging red headed Weasley any day. Hermione, at least, wasn't out to kill him; not yet, anyway.

"Granger?" he called, looking through the door into the kitchen. He noticed a small bowl of fruit on the bench top, surrounded by ink bottles and parchment, but no Hermione.

He moved through the kitchen, into the lounge room, and was surprised to find more parchment on coffee table that sat in the centre of the room.

"Granger?" he called again, walking towards the coffee table.

There were quills and bottles of ink on the table, beside crayons and a small empty juice box. He rounded the table, momentarily forgetting his search for Hermione, and picked up a coloured piece of paper from beneath what appeared to be a rejection letter from a muggle clothing store. On the piece of paper that had caught his eye was a drawing – obviously drawn by Felicity – of a woman in what appeared to be a red and white polka-dot dress – Hermione, he presumed – holding the hand of a little girl in a pink dress with a crown on her head – Felicity, if the blonde hair was anything to go by. The top right hand corner of the page was coloured in yellow to depict the sun, which was smiling down at the two people, and there was a thick green line underneath the figure's feet. A lone flower was drawn next to the Hermione figure, and even it had a smile drawn on it. He found himself smiling at the innocence and happiness behind the picture.

"She drew that yesterday," a voice from behind him said. "Because we went to the park on the weekend, and she liked my dress."

Draco stiffened at the voice and turned slowly to face Hermione, who was standing in a doorway behind him, wearing grey sweat pants and a red knitted jumper that must have been two sizes too big, hugging herself as she leaned against the frame of the door. Her wet hair was pulled back into a messy bun, a few damp strands sticking to her face.

She pushed herself off the wall and stepped slowly towards him, still hugging herself tightly around the waist. "She wanted me to put it on the fridge, but I never got around to it."

Draco, who'd been silently watching her as she stopped an arm's length from him, tilted his head slightly. "Too busy being rejected by every store in muggle London to stick your daughter's picture to the fridge?" he asked. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he did something he'd never done before when speaking to Hermione Granger – he regretted them. The look on her face told him he should have said it differently, or not at all. He thought, most likely, that it was the latter.

"That was one of the reasons, yes," Hermione replied. "I've had to look through them all, and it has taken up a lot of time. I would have done it today, but I've been distracted by certain things and… certain people." She looked away from him then, down to the picture in his hands. He shifted uncomfortably and looked down at the picture himself.

"Right…" he said. After a pause, he looked up. "How did the meeting with the weasel go?"

Instead of answering, she reached forward and took the drawing gently from his hands and settled herself on the couch nearby. She stared blankly at the drawing, one hand still holding tightly to the sweater at her waist.

"Granger?" Draco asked, watching her almost cautiously. "What happened?"

"He's not giving up," she whispered finally. She shook her head and spoke louder, so Draco could hear properly. "I told him he can't possibly be her father, but he wouldn't listen. He went on to say that you're the father, but he doesn't believe that either. He still wants me to live with him, and he's not going to give up. I don't know why he's doing this… he didn't even know about her until about a month ago when I was spotted at the park with Lissy by one of Ginny's friends and she told him." She took a deep breath and looked up at him with pleading, tear filled eyes, and let out a whimper. "I don't know what to do, Draco." She paused. "I'm so sorry."

Draco was again in a position that was decidedly uncomfortable for him. Figuring that talking would get her to see sense, he shoved his hands back in his pockets and took a hesitant step towards her. "Why are you sorry? You haven't done anything."

Hermione looked down again and sighed. "I've ruined everything. I should have just left and never come back… You didn't have to be a part of this. Your family's reputation is going to be ruined."

"My family's reputation was ruined a long time ago, Granger."

At Draco's tone, Hermione looked up at him, but he was looking away from her, out the open window nearby. She'd just opened her mouth to argue her point when he turned to look down at her, but not in the way she expected. Instead of looking down his nose at her like he used to, he was simply looking at her like she was; sitting down lower than his line of sight; nothing more, nothing less. He'd rid himself of what was left of his cold exterior, and appeared more human than Hermione had ever seen him as he spoke.

"This won't make anything worse, Hermione," he said, almost guessing her train of thought and turned back to look out the window as he continued. "My family hid one of the most malevolent wizards in history under our roof for a long time; we lived with Death Eaters and were Death Eaters ourselves; we had a house filled with Dark objects. We threatened people for reasons I didn't, and still don't, understand. Our reputation was ruined by us, and my mother and I have learned to accept that. People obeyed us out of fear, not respect." He paused for a moment, thinking. "Our reputation was in tatters when Voldemort was defeated, and we've worked to repair it, not in hopes of being back where we were in society, but so we could live comfortably, without people spitting in our faces wherever we went. Potter helped, I'll admit, but he can only do so much. This won't make anything worse," he said again, and turned back to her. "If anything, it'll make things better."

After a long pause, Hermione gingerly patted the cushion beside her and Draco walked slowly over and, after a moment's hesitation, sat next to her on the sofa.

"Won't it be suspicious though? I mean… everyone knows I'm a muggle born, and a friend of Harry's. You could just be using this to improve your image." Hermione asked, curling her fingers around her waist again. She had tears sliding down her face now, and when she realised, she reached up quickly to wipe them away. Stop it, Hermione, she chastised silently.

Draco realised, then, how she saw the article in the paper. Always the selfless one, Hermione was thinking only of how this would affect him – showing him as a former Death Eater using a member of the Golden Trio to improve his family's tattered reputation – instead of how it would change the way people saw her – the brains of the Golden Trio returning after years away from the Wizarding World only to have born a child that her childhood rival, former Death Eater, Draco Malfoy fathered.

"It doesn't matter what people think of me," he said. "Let them think what they will. Everything will be alright once Skeeter prints the article explaining everything she's said."

"Bu-"

"Granger," Draco interrupted, his cold demeanour returning – if only slightly. "Everything will be fine."

Hermione nodded, sensing the change, and looked back at the drawing resting on her knees.

"I shouldn't have been gone so long… I just didn't want Lissy to see me after… I was just..."

"I get it," Draco said truthfully. Having someone see you break down wasn't ideal, and if they meant a lot to you, it was considerably worse. "She's been having too much fun to worry about you, though."

Hermione chuckled. "She's easily distracted." She looked up at him. "She hasn't been too much trouble, has she?"

"Once she got over the shock of the house elves and noticed the clothes they had, she went mad with happiness… she scared the living daylights out of them when she squealed and started hugging them. I don't think the house elves have ever been more terrified, actually."

She couldn't help herself then; Hermione burst out laughing. Draco found himself smiling – really, honestly smiling – and a small laugh escaped his lips.

When Hermione finally calmed down, she was suddenly struck, once again, with the thought of losing Felicity. "What am I going to do?" she asked Draco.

Draco thought about it for a moment, but once he spoke, he realised he hadn't thought about it well enough. "Come live with me," he said. Then his eyes, like Hermione's, went wide. "I mean, at the Manor; with my mother and I. We can-"

He was cut off, however, as Hermione, despite herself, burst out laughing again.

"Alright, Malfoy," she said finally, smiling. "I'll come live with you." Then, with more giggles, she added, "I mean, at the Manor; with your mother and you. You can-" in a voice different from her own, before laughing again.

"Alright, Granger, I get it. No need to suffocate yourself," Draco deadpanned, crossing his arms. Hermione imitated him while she laughed, but soon stood up, offering her hand.

"Aww, come on, Malfoy, live a little," she said as he rejected her help and stood by himself. "Do you want me to go pack now, or should I wait until you tell your mother?"

Draco rolled his eyes as she laughed again, but couldn't help a smile as he became used to the sound. What the hell? He looked at her, his expression a mix between curiosity and confusion, and her smile slowly faded. How the hell did that happen?

"What is it?" she asked.

"Nothing; do you need some help packing?"

Hermione shook her head slowly. "I'll be done in a minute or two." She said, and, with one last confused look at Draco, she turned and headed to her bedroom to pack.

Five minutes later, Hermione shrunk the last book and put it in her bag before shrinking the bag itself and shoving it in her handbag.

"You know there's already a library at the Manor, don't you?" Draco asked, watching her as she tucked a curl behind her ear. He took a bite of the apple he'd stolen from her kitchen and pushed himself off the frame of the door.

Hermione gave a sarcastic 'ha ha' and closed the door to her bedroom, walking across the room to stand in front of him. "Sod off, Malfoy," she said, but her tone made it clear she was joking.

Draco placed a hand over his heart and faked hurt. "Ouch, Granger, that stung."

Hermione rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Oh, come on. Let's go."

Draco smiled back slightly and held up his arm, which Hermione jokingly linked her arm through, holding tight, and he apparated them to the Manor. Something went wrong, though, and they ended up just outside the gates, instead of in the parlour where he'd intended to take them. In his initial confusion, he didn't notice the cameras of the twenty or so reporters that stood just in front of him until Hermione's grip on his arm tightened and she pulled him back a step, ignoring the questions being called at them from every direction.

"Miss Granger! Miss Granger! What's it like now that the world knows about your engagement to Draco Malfoy?"

"Mister Malfoy, how is it that you convinced Miss Granger to be your wife?"

"Is being married to a former Death Eater as scary as the world thinks it is?"

"Where is your daughter? Why aren't you with her?"

"Would you be willing to do an interview for Witch Weekly?"

"Hermione! Malfoy!"

Over the voices of the reporters, once person's shout was heard clearly, and as a figure made their way to the front, Hermione didn't notice anything about them as she was forced, with Draco, against the gate, while the figure in front of them yelled above the crowd.

"Enough!"

The reporters were silent for a moment before they broke out with a new round of questions.

"Mister Potter! Do you have any comment on the relationship between Mister Malfoy and Miss Granger?"

"Is there anything you'd like to say about their daughter, Mister Potter?"

"Harry! Did you know anything about their family before you read about it in The Daily Prophet today? Do you have any comment on their relationship?"

Harry Potter ran a hand through his black hair and sighed. He really hated reporters.

A/n: Okie dokie, this chapter is long. DON'T GET MAD. YOU LOVED IT, I KNOW YOU DID. XD

Oooooh, Harry Potter's made an appearance. This is interesting. MORE STUFF LATER.

I realised just then that I uploaded this before the Ron/Hermione chapter. Oops. FIXING THAT NOW. Y'all won't see this for DAAAYS.

I'm just making a little announcement here - I know some of you will be a little confused by the sudden friendship thing between Hermione and Draco, but I did say before that they'd be OOC sometimes. I'm working on that, trust me. I'm even going over them in the HP books to get a better feel for them again. I'll work on having less dialogue too, cause there seems to be a LOT, and I don't want that. You guys have any opinions/thoughts on ways to better portray the characters/ pace the chapters? I'm definitely open to ideas, guys! Don't be afraid of me!

~Originalitys