Disclaimer: JK owns HP. A/N: Enjoy!
MAR 31, 2005
"Hermione, have you seen my green tie?"
"There's a tie in the top drawer," she called from the en-suite.
Draco rummaged through the drawer where he kept an extra pair or two of pants amongst Hermione's knickers.
"This is my gray tie!" he called. "I wanted the green one," he mumbled as he continued to sort through. He was just about to close the drawer when something sheer and scandalous caught his eye. "Um, love, what on earth is this?"
"It's just a pair of knickers. Do you mind?" she said, stuffing the article in question back in the drawer as she hurried past him. Draco quickly pulled them back out.
"These," he told her, "are not knickers. Not any knickers I've seen." The wizard examined the fabric up close, turning them every which way, both confused and aroused by the sparse strip of sheer mesh. "Where does your arse go?"
"It doesn't, I suppose." Hermione adored her boyfriend, she really did, and his curiosity of all things muggle. But she didn't have the time or energy to explain the intricacies of a thong this early in the morning. "They're special knickers so you don't see the lines through your clothing. I wore that under my dress at the charity ball."
Draco's eyes grew wide. "You were wearing this under that dress!?" he asked, dangling the knickers off of one finger. "Holy hippogriffs, this is even better than what I was picturing," he muttered. "Such a bloody gentleman I was that night."
"No one told you to be a gentleman," Hermione told him, saucily, trailing a finger down his arm, then snatching the knickers from his hand. "If you don't make me late for work with this incessant conversation, I'll wear them to yours tonight."
"Deal," he said waggling his eyebrows. "And about that, don't you think that it would make sense if all of our things were in one place?"
"Draco…"
The pair had been dating for about a month and had revisited this particular discussion at least a half a dozen times. Draco saw no reason as to why they couldn't just live together. They spent the weekends and most weeknights at Hermione's place; staying at his only once he ran out of laundry, as they would be tonight.
Hermione had never lived with a boyfriend, and this was Draco's first real relationship. Things between them were good, really, really good. But it had only been a few weeks, and Hermione didn't know if they were ready for such a big step.
Truly, she loved nothing more than falling asleep next to her wizard. She felt calm and safe in his arms. In fact, she hadn't had a nightmare since the night before they began sharing a bed.
Even after all these weeks, Hermione blushed down to her knickers thinking of their first night together.
Following a rather emotional weekend apart, Draco had taken her to bed and made love to her slow and sweet for the first time. His eyes never left her as he whispered, 'You are so beautiful' and 'I can't believe that you're mine'. They fell asleep in a tangled mess of limbs, sweaty and sated.
Sometime in the middle of the night, a more feral Draco emerged. He woke the sleeping witch by placing feather-light kisses at the base of her neck. When she stirred he moved his lips to her ear and whispered, 'Can I taste you, Hermione?' before disappearing under the covers to do exactly that. After which, he flipped her over, pressing her shoulders into the mattress and pulling her up by the hips without discussion (aside from a very candid, 'I'm going to fuck you now') and took her at a punishing pace from behind.
In short, he was the perfect lover.
Their relationship held the comfortable familiarity that she had with Ron; the raw, unbridled passion that she had discovered with Charlie; and the romance that she had experienced with Viktor Krum (no, not from her time at Hogwarts, but from two years back when they reconnected and briefly dated).
Yes, Draco had wined and dined her in Paris; and yes, they had christened nearly every surface in both of their flats. But most nights were spent snuggled up in front of the fireplace, reading.
Cute and coupley, just as Draco had wanted.
Ginny Potter was officially three days past her due date when Hermione was called to St. Mungos later that night.
"Draco, wake up! We've got to get to the hospital," she said, looking for her clothes. "Ugh, and I'm beginning to understand how you feel, I have no clothes here."
"The hospital? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm about to be an Auntie again!"
Draco smiled at her, "Congratulations," he told her, sitting up to embrace her.
"Well, come on, get up then!" she said, excitedly. "We've got to go!"
"You go ahead, love," he told her. "This is a family thing. I don't want to impose."
Hermione sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed her wizard's large hand in both of hers. "Sweetheart, you are a part of this family."
Draco was touched by her sincerity. She hadn't said those three little words yet (technically speaking, neither had he), but calling him family seemed as good as at the moment. He wanted to tell her he loved her right then, but rather he replied with the petulant entitlement of being the sole Malfoy heir.
"If that were true, you'd let me move in."
"Okay."
"I mean, I sincerely appreciate-"
"Malfoy," she interrupted. "I said okay."
"Wait, what? You're just going to give in that easily?"
Hermione laughed and threw her hands up. "Isn't that what you want?" The wizard continued to look at her in disbelief. "Look, Draco. If I would have let you take the reigns on this relationship, we could have been together for months now. Years, even. It is fairly logical being that we spen- aaugh!" she screamed as he pulled her onto the bed and rolled on top of her.
"Come here, Miss Fairly Logical. You've just made me the happiest wizard in the world," he told her, leaning down for a kiss. "Logically, I want to show you my appreciation," he teased, grinding against her.
Hermione laughed. "Stop it! We have to go and see the baby," she said, trying to push him off.
"Let's make one instead," he said, seductively.
"Now I know you've gone round the bend," she replied.
The family waiting room of St. Mungo's was packed with two things that Draco once despised most: Gryffindors and Weasleys.
While he wasn't exactly BFF's with his girlfriend's ex, they did bond over Hermione and Quidditch, and he sort of genuinely liked the rest of the family. Plus, he had the girl and Weasley wasn't trying to hex him over it, so there was that. He gave the redhead a congratulatory handshake and offered a friendly hug to Weasley's girlfriend, Romilda.
He moved to greet the elder Weasley brother and his wife while trying to not get too nauseated over Ron and Hermione's teary embrace that lasted entirely too long in Draco's opinion. The only saving grace was James Potter, their mutual godchild who was propped up on Ron's hip between the two of them. Draco didn't miss how Ron immediately ran to wrap his arms around Romilda after tearing himself away from Hermione and handing off the sleepy toddler to Molly.
"What about me," Draco asked his witch quietly. "Don't I get any reassurance?"
"Oh no," Hermione said, reaching up to whisper in his ear. "I like you jealous."
They congratulated Mr. and Mrs. Weasley next. "Hey, mini-Potter," he said to the tot in Molly's arms. "Are you ready for your Quidditch lesson on Sunday?" The small boy nodded shyly into his grandmums shoulder.
"Well," said Arthur, "we've all been in to see the little one, so you two can go in whenever you're ready."
Harry was arranging the pillows around his sleeping wife as Draco and Hermione entered Ginny's room. He put a finger to his lips as he spotted the new visitors.
"She just fell asleep. She's completely knackered," he said as he pulled Hermione into a warm embrace. "I love you, sis. I'm glad you're here."
"I will always be here for you, Harry Potter. Haven't you learned?"
"I suppose I have," he chuckled.
"Congratulations. I love you."
Draco turned away from the private moment trying very hard to not to feel bitter at the words that fell from her lips. It wasn't a romantic love that she had for Potter. It would be different when she said it to him.
It will mean something different.
George and Angelina, the baby's godparents were in the corner of the room cooing over the new arrival in his bassinet.
"Hermione, Malfoy, would you like to meet my Godson?" asked George, picking up the tiny bundle. Hermione smiled up at George as he placed the swaddled babe in her arms. She stood on her toes and kissed him on his cheek. "Happy Birthday, George. You'll have to teach this one all sorts of mischief. Make Uncle Fred proud." They shared a teary smile.
Angelina accepted a congratulatory hug from Draco and clasped Hermione's free hand as she comforted her wizard. "Mione's right, love. This is a happy day now," Angelina told George. He smiled despite the fat tears rolling down his cheeks.
Hermione snuggled the baby boy a few moments longer and breathed in his baby scent before handing him over to Harry. "Draco, would you like to hold the baby?" Potter offered. To general surprise, he nodded.
"Teddy was already James' age by the time I met him, so I've never held one this small," the blonde explained nervously.
"It's just like holding the quaffle," Potter said, shifting the newborn into Draco's arms. "Don't drop it." he laughed. "Malfoy, meet my son, Albus Severus Potter." Draco's eyes snapped up.
"You named him after my godfather?" Potter nodded. Draco laughed quietly in spite of his watery eyes. He watched as baby Albus grabbed ahold of his finger with two hands. Salazar help him, he wanted one of these. "You despised Snape, Potter. And he, you."
"A lot of great men were put in a position to do things that they didn't want to do," he said simply, clapping his once rival on the back. "People change."
Friday night and Saturday were spent moving Draco's things into Hermione's flat. Theo, Dean, and Neville had all dropped by to help. Draco poured a firewhisky for Dean and Neville and thanked the men for their assistance. Theo stepped out of the floo just as Draco saw the friends out. "Here's the package that you asked me to pick up," he said, handing over a cardboard box with a handle.
"What's that?" asked Hermione who had just emerged from making room for Draco's books amongst her vast collection.
"It's your housewarming gift."
Theo said goodbye for the evening. "I'm really happy for you, mate," he told Draco before stepping into the floo.
"Housewarming gift?" Hermione asked, gesturing to the oblong box. I'm not the one who moved."
"Just humor me," Draco said. He opened the box angling it downward and two kneazle-kittens clambered onto the hardwood floor.
"Oh my goodness! They are just precious," she said, kneeling beside Draco on the floor and scooping up the nearest kitten. They looked completely different aside from their matching red bows.
"They actually are brothers."
"Hard to believe that these two came from the same litter," Hermione agreed.
"Half-bloods," Draco joked of the half cat/half-kneazles. "Our new little family, Hermione," he told her. "Until we have a couple of half-bloods of our own." He smiled, grabbing the other kitten by the scruff, who scratched, then bit him.
Hermione nearly missed the comical scolding that Draco imparted on the kitten that looked a lot like Crookshanks. She was taken aback with a now a second comment that he wanted children with her.
"I hope you don't mind," he said, interrupting her from her thoughts. "But I've already thought of names for them."
"Go on then," she told him, laughing at his enthusiasm.
"This little furball," he said, petting the long-haired black kitten in her arms, "is Harry. Get it, Hair-y? And this little scrappy ginger one..."
"Lemme guess, Ron?"
"Precisely."
A/N: I imagine you all caught that Albus was born on April 1st? I thought it would be nice to give George another birthday twin. Also, I really, really love Harry. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter. Only a few chapters left.
