It had been over a week since Hermione had last seen Draco and Scorpius. It had been, easily, the longest week of Hermione's life. In such a short time she had grown accustom to the small boys presence and she missed him. Draco had messaged Hermione, informing her that he was currently working on a particularly difficult cursed object and would be unable to see her this week. Hermione knew that, despite what he said, he was still upset about their last conversation. She honestly didn't mean to call him a Death Eater or an elitist. She just didn't think before she spoke.
Lucky, Ron and Harry still had no idea that she had slept with Draco. Furthermore, Ginny had been decent enough to not mention the whole Draco situation.
Hermione was taking inventory in her shop when the door rang. Looking around the aisle, Hermione saw that it was James and Ginny.
"Oh, there you are, Hermione," Ginny smiled.
"Hey," Hermione smiled, "And how are you today, James? Having a fun day with your mummy?"
"Yes," James giggled. "We got ice-cream!"
"Wow, you lucky boy," Hermione laughed. "How is everything?"
"Everything's fine. How are things with you?" Ginny wagged her eyebrows.
Hermione flushed, "Stop it. Actually, I haven't seen him in over a week, so…" She shrugged.
"Well, I was wondering if you could watch this little monster tonight. Teddy too. Sorry it's such short notice. Supposedly, Neville and Hannah had invited Harry and I out for a double date. Harry just informed me this morning. That man, I don't know what I'm going to do with him," Ginny laughed.
"Of course, I'll watch them. It will be so much fun," Hermione smiled brightly at James.
"Perhaps, you could also invite Malfoy and his son. You know have a sleepover of your own," Ginny whispered.
Hermione gasped, "I think not!"
::::
But Hermione did end up inviting Draco and Scorpius over. She owled them a little while after Ginny had left the shop. Hermione had received his reply just a moment ago saying that he and Scorpius would be at her house just after supper.
James, a brown haired Teddy and Hermione, sat at the table eating. Teddy was enthusiastically telling her about meeting Hagrid the week before.
"Harry, me and James we went to Hogwarts! It was so cool. Harry wanted to say 'hi' to Hagrid. You know Hagrid, right? He's so big, 'Mione," Teddy said, his eyes getting wide. He held out a hand, "And he can pick James up in one hand!" James nodded fervently along with his brother. "Harry said that he has a brother that's even bigger than him. And his dog is big too!"
Hermione followed the story happily. She had always thought that it was strange that Teddy called Harry by his first name. She understood Harry's reasoning for it though. Harry didn't want to replace Remus in anyway and he felt like it would be a dishonor to Remus' memory if he had raised Teddy to call him 'dad'. Having been in the same situation himself, Hermione knew that Harry knew how to handle the situation better. That being said, Harry never treated Teddy any differently from his own children.
"That must have been fun," Hermione commented.
"It was," Teddy said seriously.
There was a loud shuffling sound that came from the living room. Hermione's heart raced. Confirming her suspicion, Scorpius came racing into the dining room.
"Hey, 'Mione," he cried and both James' and Teddy faces lit up.
"Hey, Scorp," the boy shouted together.
Knowing that their supper lay forgotten, Hermione excused the boys from the table and allowed them to go play in the living room.
Gathering up the plates, Hermione saw Draco duck into the dining room.
"Hello," he muttered. Tension filled the air.
"Hey," she said, "thanks for bringing him. I'm sure the boys will have fun."
Draco nodded and took a deep breath, "Do you want to stay and help?"
Hermione looked up at him. She tried to hide her shock as she said, "No. No, its fine, you're busy." Her voice came out harsher than she had intended it to.
Draco's brow furrowed and he bowed his head. "I thought that I would give you some space," he said quietly.
Hermione huffed and carried the plates to the kitchen. To her surprise Draco followed her.
Cries of laughter drifted from the living room throughout the whole house. "You said that we wouldn't ignore each other," Hermione said as she placed the dishes in the sink.
"I wasn't –"
Hermione looked at him, clearly not believing him.
"Fine," Draco sighed, throwing his hands up in defeat, "I'll just leave. I'll pick up Scorpius around nine, okay?"
Guilt rose in Hermione's chest.
"No," she said rubbing her forehead, "You can stay. I don't mind and three boys are a handful."
Draco nodded and Hermione saw him try to hide his smile. He walked up beside her.
"Let me help you," he said grapping a drying cloth.
Hermione smiled, "Thanks." She turned on the water and let the sink fill.
Draco chuckled, "You know you're a witch, right? Why do you do all this by hand? Why not use magic?"
Hermione shrugged, "I don't know. I just forget sometimes. Don't look at me like that. You were raised to do things with magic. I was raised to do it by hand."
She added soap to the water and turned to look at Draco. He was smirking at her and it made her stomach flutter. She dropped her eyes to the sink and started to scrub.
::::
The boys were jumping from sofa to sofa, letting out the odd scream and cry of joy.
"Be careful, boys. I don't want any of you getting hurt," Hermione said sternly.
"We won't," they humored her.
Draco shifted anxiously next her.
"You're just going to let them jump all over your furniture?" Hermione laughed, "They're kids, Draco. Besides, I put a cushioning charm on the ground, so if they do fall, it won't hurt."
They moved back to the dining room. From the doorway, they could still see the children, without interrupting their fun.
"I'm glad that you invited us tonight. Scorpius has not stopped talking about James. He likes Teddy too, of course." Draco chuckled, "You should have seen him telling my mother about James. You would have thought James Potter was a god. But he didn't hold a flame compared to how Scorpius described you to her. And that damn card. I swear he sleeps with it. He made my mother read the back of the card too. After she finished, he said, 'that's my 'Mione. She's very smart'."
Draco shook his head.
Hermione's heart swelled at the story. Draco's eyes shined as he told her the story. He was clearly amused and proud of his son.
"I'm really glad you came," Hermione said, as she blushed.
She turned to look at Draco. He was looking at her with an odd expression. Suddenly, he was pushing her from view of the children and his lips were on hers and she was kissing him back. She groaned into his mouth and ran her hands through his hair. He pushed her up against the wall, trapping her with his body. One of Draco's hands gently caressed her hip and the other, her neck.
"Merlin," he breathed heavily, "I've wanted to do this all week."
His lips crashed back down on to hers. Her heart and head were racing. She couldn't believe that this was happening again. Maybe a part of her, a part she ignored and denied, had been waiting and wanting him to take her again. Take her in anyway whatsoever and make her feel special and loved. With this realized, Hermione pushed her hips into his. He moaned with the new contact.
A loud cry of laughter caused Hermione to sober. The flame had been snuffed out as quickly as it had been lit and Hermione felt like a bucket of ice had fallen on her.
"The kids." She gasped. Draco pulled away and Hermione added, "Oh! I'm the worst babysitter ever!"
She rubbed a hand over her lips aggressively and tried to flatten her hair. Draco shoved his hands in his pockets, trying to hide his erection.
After calming down slightly, Draco spoke, "I know we agreed to keep it quiet, but I want to take you out on a date. I think we should have a proper date – supper or something."
Hermione's heart rate, which had slowed, sped back up. She looked over at him and he looked absolutely serious. Her face contorted in bewilderment when she realized that he wasn't joking
