Hermione sighed when she saw the tall blond figure coming towards her through the park. Although she hadn't seen him for almost two decades she recognised Draco Malfoy immediately. She glanced at the pram she was pushing and at the girl walking alongside her and wondered whether they could change course without him spotting them.

She could definitely do without the confrontation that would surely occur if they actually met up, but she knew it was too late. She couldn't get away without it being obvious that she was trying to avoid him, and she was far too polite to let that happen. After all, he had once been kind to her.

Hermione could feel his gaze upon her and her daughter, his pale eyes also taking in the pram. Her stomach flipped with nervousness at the impending encounter and she wondered for a moment whether she should lie. It was a tempting thought but not one she could honestly entertain.

Although she hadn't seen Draco Malfoy for many years it didn't mean he didn't know anything about her circumstances, especially as he worked at the Ministry of Magic just as Harry did. It was quite possible that he knew all about her, and anyway, Sophie looked far too much like her father to be passed off as someone else's child.

Hermione tried to smile and be open and friendly as Draco came close, all the while hoping that he wasn't going to become offensive. She wasn't sure whether he held some residual dislike of her for what had happened at the end of her captivity; it was definitely possible that he still hated her for what had happened to his father in the aftermath of the war, despite the Malfoy males' animosity towards each other at the end.

Also, it had to be a shock for him to see her daughter, knowing who the father had to be. Would it seem unbelievable to him considering what had happened in the past or would he, like Ron, expect nothing less from her?

'Does my father know?' Draco asked, trying to keep his surprise hidden.

He immediately realised that this probably wasn't the politest greeting he could have come up with after meeting Hermione for the first time in Merlin only knew how many years, but then to be fair, he was genuinely shocked, and they had never really been friends. There had been that brief time at the beginning of her incarceration at Malfoy Manor when things had got better between them and they had almost become like brother and sister, but—

Draco pushed the thought away, the guilt rising in him as easily now as it had done back then. Now he couldn't help but wonder whether he should have done as he had considered several times and tried to contact Hermione after she had been rescued and things had calmed down.

At the time he had been certain she wouldn't want him intruding on her life after everything that had happened, reminding her of the bad times even though it wasn't really his fault. He had spent the next decade and more assuming she had done her best to forget all about the Malfoys and wouldn't want him stirring things up again. But if that was the case, then looking at the children it seemed she hadn't succeeded all that well.

He couldn't stop staring at Hermione and the child standing with her, who had to be her daughter and who was also quite clearly a Malfoy. How old was the girl? He couldn't help but be astonished to find that she had children . . . especially these children.

Draco glanced inquisitively at the pram that Hermione was holding, wondering whether the baby had the same father as the girl and wondering what on earth had possessed Hermione to choose his father as the sire for her children after everything she had suffered at his hands.

Hermione bristled defensively. 'No. I wasn't likely to tell him, was I? How do you think he'd react to finding out that he's become a father . . . twice?'

Draco gave a shrug. 'I haven't seen him since he went away so I've no idea where his sympathies lie these days. But the fact that you and he . . . .' His voice trailed off, the sneer expressing his feelings more clearly than words ever could.

Hermione flushed but didn't respond to Draco's taunt. She stroked the top of her daughter's blonde head, needing to get Sophie away before he said anything further that would cause her to ask awkward questions.

'Go and play on the swings, Soph. I just need to talk to my friend for a few minutes. I'll come and find you soon.'

Sophie nodded and happily skipped away to play on the swings as Hermione turned to Draco, waiting for him to say something.

'Two of them?' Draco leant over slightly to look at the baby who was sleeping peacefully under a soft white blanket.

Hermione nodded. 'Hattie was born four months ago.'

'And he really has no idea?' Draco said in astonishment. 'You've never said anything to him?'

'No.'

This was said a little too quickly and forcefully, and Draco knew this meant Hermione felt guilty for keeping the children a secret from his father. He was still trying to work out why the hell she had even chosen the man in the first place. He had to be the most unlikely candidate for her affections ever.

Hermione shrugged, sighed, and said, 'Why would I tell him something that's going to hurt him?'

Draco gave a scowl. 'Hurt him? You use my father to sire your bastard Half-blood children and then worry about upsetting him? It's a bit late for that, don't you think?'

Hermione glared savagely at Draco for a moment, points of red on her cheeks as she tried to calm down. The pram moving a little more jerkily was the only clue that she was having trouble.

'That isn't what happened,' she said quietly. 'At least not with Sophie. She was an accident . . . but she's been a real godsend to me.' She bit her lip as if debating what to say. 'Hattie was planned, at least as much as I could plan anything considering the circumstances.'

'I have to admit I'm rather surprised you'd want my father to give you children, Hermione,' Draco said airily, 'considering everything that happened.'

Hermione shrugged again. 'Our relationship was always a bit strange,' she said. 'I couldn't help but be affected by him . . . by the things that happened between us.'

'Strange. That's something of an understatement, especially considering the things he did to you.'

'Oh, I know, he did some terrible things,' Hermione admitted quietly. 'But in his twisted way it was because he wanted me to care for him.'

Draco snorted. 'My father wanted affection from a Muggle-born? I don't think so, Hermione.'

Biting back the urge to postulate that it was the only affection Lucius would have had with a family as stiff and cold as his, Hermione replied, 'It's true, Draco, whether you choose to believe it or not.'

'So how on earth did you end up with the children?' Draco asked. 'I mean, he's been in prison for sixteen years now. What on earth possessed you to go and see him?'

'Shall we go and sit on the bench over there?' Hermione asked, indicating an empty one near the swings. Without waiting for an answer from Draco she began to push the pram towards it, looking over at Sophie, who was in conversation with another girl who was also swinging. Draco followed her and sat down beside her once she had moved the pram into position and locked it.

'Why did you go to see my father, Hermione?' Draco asked, more softly this time.

This was something he really wanted to know because he couldn't understand why Hermione would keep up contact with the man who had abused and almost killed her so many times, and he definitely couldn't understand why she would choose to have children with him.

'I told you there was something between us. The things he did . . . well . . . to be honest, I don't think I was particularly sane for the first few years after the end of the war. I found it hard to readjust . . . to my freedom . . . to relationships . . . .'

'So you went to see him,' Draco said in dismay.

Hermione gave a small shrug. 'Not at first. Then, I was happy to be away from him — finally free at last. But as time went on I began to realise that something was missing from my life, something taken away by your father, and by then it had been five years since Lucius was sent to prison. I was sure he'd had time to change, and to be honest I felt sorry for him being stuck away in that awful place with no visitors.'

'How did you know he had no visitors?' Draco sounded curious.

Hermione gave him a wistful smile. 'He wrote to me, asking me to go and see him. The letter said he was sorry for everything that had happened and he wanted to see me so he could apologise to me properly. He told me he hadn't seen anyone but the prison staff since the day he was taken to Azkaban.'

'And you believed him?' Draco asked with a snort of disbelief.

'Of course I did. If there's one good thing I can say about your dad, Draco, it's that he's never lied to me.' She looked fiercely at the man next to her as if daring him to contradict her.

Draco shrugged carelessly. 'Well, that could be true, I suppose. I mean, I've never been to see him and mother certainly hasn't. She was pleased to be rid of him at last.' His voice sounded dismissive.

'He misses you,' Hermione said quietly. 'He always mentions you whenever I go to see him.'

'Always. Gods, how many times have you seen him?' Draco enquired, trying not to sound too interested.

'Three since he's been in Azkaban,' Hermione answered. 'Although I did go to see him at the Ministry of Magic on the day he was taken away.'

'Why?' Draco scowled again, angry now. 'That was only a few months after he'd done . . . after he'd imprisoned you. Why the hell did you go back to see him, Hermione? Why put yourself through all that pain again?'

Hermione gave a small shake of her head. 'Dependency, I think,' she said honestly, the frown deepening on her face. 'As I said, I was pretty fucked up by what I'd been through and I was having trouble getting over it, and I honestly thought it would help. No one really understood what I was dealing with. I know Harry and Ron most certainly didn't.'

'Ah yes, Potty and the Weasel. How are they? You know, I always thought you and the Weasel would end up married for sure. Didn't he want you after he found out you'd been fucking my father?' Draco asked maliciously.

He wasn't entirely sure why he was being so nasty to Hermione knowing what she had been through at the hands of his father, but for some reason he was angry with her for keeping in contact with the man.

Years of guilt over Draco's abandonment of her when she had needed him most had slowly transformed until a little part of him, trying to deflect the guilt, began to wonder whether she had brought it on herself. It appeared her friends, Weasley and Potter, had obviously had similar thoughts.

Hermione looked unhappy. 'You make it sound like I had a choice in the matter.'

Draco looked at her intently. 'Are you sure you didn't? You must have done something to make my father renege on his lifelong ideals. All those years he lectured me on the evils of filthy Mudbloods and how it was wrong to go anywhere near them, then suddenly he was fucking you. You must have done something to make him change his mind.'

Hermione looked shocked at the vehemence of Draco's tone. She shook her head unhappily. 'I swear I did nothing, Draco. You must know that, deep down, and surely you can remember what I was like at the time. Your father's behaviour was as inexplicable to me as it was to you. It was repulsive, scary and painful. Whatever it was that we did, I can assure you it wasn't willingly on my part. I just had an overwhelming desire to stay alive. Surely you can't blame me for that — especially after what your father and his friends did to my parents?'

Ignoring the question, Draco retaliated, 'Well, whatever it might have been then, it was certainly your choice to do it since he's been in prison. He's got no wand so he can't have forced you into it. And you've got two daughters out of it.'

Hermione looked pained. 'Since you weren't there for the last days of the war you have no idea what I went through,' she said accusingly. 'Don't you dare to presume to judge me because of what you think you know and what little happened before you went back to school and deserted me. You have no idea what I suffered after you and your mother left me alone with him.'

'So why did you go back to him if it was so bad?' Draco demanded, trying once more to push down the guilt that was fighting its way back into his mind.

'Because I can't get away,' Hermione admitted sadly. A tear rolled down her cheek and she brushed it away without thinking. 'You're right, to an extent, about Ron. Although he and Harry tried to understand what I'd been through, I couldn't quite manage to get Ron to believe it wasn't my fault — that I hadn't somehow seduced your father.' She looked disgusted at the thought, then gave a small, bitter laugh. 'The whole time I was captive I dreamt of being with Ron — my protector, my rock — and when I finally got back to him he treated me as if I was the enemy. Even the cuts and bruises didn't change his view.'

'But what about Potter? Surely he talked to him?'

'Yes, he did, and so did Ginny, but Ron is very stubborn when he sets his mind to something and he wasn't budging on his viewpoint, however hard I tried to make him see reason. We never could overcome that hurdle so we gradually grew apart. Then he was reunited with Lavender and that was the end of things between us. Harry and Ginny got married; even Neville and Luna were in stable relationships. And then there was me, all alone and not in a very good place, to be honest. I had my work, but it wasn't enough. I needed something more. Something to keep me living.'

'So you decided to use my father to give you a child,' Draco said, a touch bitterly.

'No. Not at all. I was trying to put the past behind me, trying to make something of my life but failing miserably, when I got a letter from your dad requesting that I go and see him so he could apologise to my face. Stupidly, I thought that maybe if I went to see him it would exorcise the ghosts, lay to rest whatever it was that was stopping me from having a happy relationship with anyone else.'

'And instead, you fucked him again.'

Hermione sighed. 'Yes. Although it wasn't quite so straightforward. But yes, I did end up having sex with him — and Sophie was the result. Totally unplanned, I assure you. The contraceptive charm failed.'

'Yours or his?' Draco asked sharply.

'What? Oh . . . mine. I've no idea why, though. It's never failed before. Anyway, at first, I was horrified, obviously, under the circumstances. But once I calmed down I began to realise that this might be my only chance for children. After all, how could I have a baby when I couldn't even stay in a relationship for more than five minutes and wasn't capable of looking after myself, let alone a tiny baby? And Lucius didn't need to know about it. He was going to be in prison for another twenty years—'

'But what right did you have to keep the baby without telling my father you were pregnant?' Draco cut in angrily. 'Imagine how he'll feel when he finds he's sired two Half-blood children. You were wrong to keep the first from him, Hermione . . . and I really can't believe you went back a second time.'

Hermione shrugged. 'I never intended to have children. If you had seen what I was like at the time you would understand why. But when I became pregnant I soon realised that I couldn't in all good conscience get rid of a perfectly healthy baby just because I hadn't performed the contraceptive charm properly. It wasn't fair to the poor thing to lose its life because I'd been careless, regardless of who the father was.

'Once I got over the shock of realising I was pregnant I began to see it as my chance for salvation — the life I wanted so badly but just couldn't seem to attain — but I really didn't want anything more to do with your father.'

Draco looked as if he was about to speak but Hermione held up a hand to stop him.

'When Sophie was born I convinced myself I'd done the right thing in having her. She was so beautiful, and she gave my life that extra something I so badly needed. There was no point in telling your dad. I didn't intend to see him again, anyway — and as you've so kindly pointed out, there was a possibility that he wouldn't have been best pleased to find he was the father to a Half-blood child; even then I still had no understanding of how his mind works. So I just got on with my life and tried to forget all about him.'

'Until you decided you wanted another child. It took you long enough to decide that, didn't it?'

'Hattie came later . . . much later. Before that, I received another letter from your dad, just before the tenth anniversary of his incarceration.'

'And you went to see him again?' Draco looked incredulous. 'And you didn't tell him about Sophie?'

Hermione nodded. 'Five years and a child had given me a new perspective on things, and there was still that pull. How could I refuse to visit him when I was still his only visitor? You never went to see him although he always hoped you would.'

Draco grimaced sourly, 'So then you fucked him again? You must have known what he was after when he contacted you.'

Hermione gave a small bark of a laugh. 'Of course I knew, Draco. I mean, he was hardly wanting a game of chess, was he? And being the slightly crazy single mother of a Malfoy child hadn't exactly raised my prospects any in the romance stakes. So yes, I wanted a shag just as much as he did — dependency again, I suppose.

'But this time I was determined not to have an accident. I used the strongest charm I could find, added a contraceptive potion to be on the safe side, and I even took the Muggle pill in case that worked, too. One child I could cope with alone, but two was a no-no, especially two fathered by Lucius, even though my little Sophie was desperate for a baby brother or sister.

'Then it was done. The charms worked and we were both temporarily sated so I returned to my life — back to Sophie and the situation I found so much more rewarding now I had her to love and care for . . . and I put Lucius out of my mind once more.'

'So when did you decide you wanted another child?' Draco asked, finding himself more intrigued by the story than he had expected.

'Do you have children?' Hermione enquired.

Draco nodded. 'One. A son, Scorpius. He's nine.'

'And a total Malfoy, no doubt?' Hermione said with a small grin.

Draco laughed ruefully as he ran his fingers through his fine blond hair. 'He does bear the family resemblance,' he admitted, 'as does your Sophie. You can certainly tell she's a Malfoy.'

Hermione nodded. 'She's a lovely girl and very intelligent, although of course, I'd expect nothing less.' She ignored the look Draco gave her at this comment.

'So back to the story. Everything was going well and I was quite content with my life until one day I realised my baby was growing up. Her magic had started to show itself more strongly and it was clear that soon she would be going away to Hogwarts; she goes in September. The idea of being left alone again was unbearable. The feeling of desolation that spread through me like a flood at the idea of Sophie going away to school needed to be stemmed before it got out of control and I slipped into severe depression again.

'At first I considered not sending her to Hogwarts, but of course, that wouldn't be in Sophie's best interest and I would be no better than Lucius. Then the opportunity presented itself. Your dad wrote again, a jokey letter this time, asking when I was going to visit for our "anniversary shag", as he put it — after all, he was now on fifteen years in Azkaban. Suddenly the answer was obvious. If I was lucky I could have another baby, another child to look after while Sophie was away from me.'

'So you went back a third time.' Draco shook his head again. Dryly, he added, 'My father must be doing something right to keep you going back considering your history together.'

'Your dad is an excellent lover, actually,' Hermione admitted, a flush of pink reaching her cheeks as she appeared to think about it. 'And I think enough time has passed now to forget what happened in the beginning.'

'I don't need to know about my father's sexual skills, thanks very much,' Draco muttered. 'So you went with the express intention of getting pregnant?'

'Well, intention is too strong a word, I think,' Hermione said. 'After all, it wasn't certain that it would happen and I was only going to have one shot. All I could do was to not use contraception and see what happened.'

Draco frowned. 'Didn't he ask whether you were using any? Or insist you perform a charm to be on the safe side?'

Hermione shook her head. 'No. I'm not sure your father was particularly interested or concerned about contraception. Certainly, it would appear that the depth of his affection for me hasn't changed in the last fifteen-odd years.'

Draco scowled. 'His affection? If he's really so affectionate towards you why don't you tell him about the girls? Surely such an affectionate man would love to have children with you.'

Hermione surveyed Draco for a moment. 'That's the point,' she said simply. 'And that's why I didn't want to hurt him by telling him.'

Draco looked confused.

'I don't think he would have been surprised to find out I was pregnant either time,' she admitted. 'But he's locked away where he can't see them and I certainly wouldn't take them to that awful place to visit him. How do you think he would feel knowing he has two young daughters he can't ever see? How much worse for him knowing about his children and not being able to see them grow up than not even knowing they exist?'

'But at least he could see photographs, have some idea of what they are doing — although of course there's still the problem of their blood status.'

'As I said, I don't think Lucius would mind that. He's not the person you remember, Draco — not the man he was when he incarcerated me. But even then, I don't think he was quite as staunch in his views as he pretended to be — let's face it, he couldn't have been otherwise he would never have touched me in the first place. But having made the initial choice not to tell him about Sophie, how could I bring it up ten years later? And I couldn't suggest another child without mentioning the first.'

'So you've left him in the dark all this time?' Draco said in amazement. 'Don't you feel guilty about not telling him?'

Hermione sighed. 'Of course I do, sometimes. But then I think about what difference it would have made and I'm not sure it would have made any. Certainly, nothing better would have come of telling him, and at the time of Sophie's birth I really wanted to have nothing more to do with him and honestly thought I wouldn't.'

'So I have two sisters that I didn't even know anything about,' Draco said.

'Half-sisters,' Hermione corrected, 'and you're welcome to get to know them better if you want. I'm sure they'd love to get to know you although obviously, Hattie is a little young right now.'

'Are you ever going to tell him?' Draco asked curiously.

Hermione shrugged. 'I expect I'll have no choice eventually,' she said, her voice quiet and sad. 'I can't believe they'll keep him in prison much longer. He's been a model prisoner and I think he truly does regret most if not all of the things he did as a Death Eater. And, of course, twenty years will be up soon and he'll be eligible for parole and early release. When he gets out I'll either have to take the girls and disappear off the face of the earth or tell him the truth because I'm sure he'll want to see me when he's released.'

Draco looked at Hermione gravely for a moment as if weighing things up.

'I know my father,' he said finally. 'I think you should tell him before he's released, give him a chance to come to terms with it before he finds out of his own accord. However you might think he feels about you, Hermione, you won't want to feel his wrath if he finds out you've been deceiving him all this time.'

'I'm not deceiving him,' Hermione asserted. 'I haven't told him I don't have children, I've just omitted to tell him that I do and that he's the father.'

'A moot point, I think,' Draco said sagely. 'Knowing my father and his temper, he'll assume you did it with the intention of hurting him and you of all people know how he can be when he loses it. In fact, knowing what he can do, it amazes me that you would even chance to hide it from him.'

He looked across at where Sophie was now playing on the roundabout with several other children, then back at Hermione. 'You should tell him for Sophie and Hattie's sake, too. They deserve to have a father — even mine — especially if he's changed as much as you think he has. Does Sophie never ask about him?'

'No. She did once, a long time ago, but I told her he had to go away, and we didn't exactly talk about how Hattie was conceived either. Sophie was just excited that she was getting a baby sister and didn't really care how I'd managed to get pregnant or who the father is. She has never talked about him to me since that one time. I don't know whether she thinks about him or not,' Hermione said, sounding a touch wistful.

'You need to tell everyone the truth, Hermione,' Draco told her.

'Are you going to go and see him?' Hermione asked, changing the subject as she felt suddenly extremely uncomfortable. 'I know he would love to see you.'

Draco considered the question for a moment, then shrugged. 'I might do. Perhaps the time has come to bury the hatchet.'

Hermione smiled at him. 'Yes. It's time to let the past rest in peace.'

Draco shook his head as he looked at her sadly. 'I honestly don't know how you've managed to achieve that, Hermione.'

She took hold of his hand and squeezed it for a moment before releasing it. 'I had no choice, Draco. It was the only way I could continue to live,' she admitted. Hermione paused for a moment, then said, 'I never did get a chance to properly say thank you for everything you did for me during those first days. You have no idea how much I appreciated your support. It meant everything to me.'

Draco looked embarrassed, the guilt rising within him once more as he remembered how he had left Hermione behind and never once looked back. How could she be thanking him when his actions had caused her so much pain and torment?

But now Sophie had alighted from the roundabout and was making her way unsteadily towards the couple. She looked a little dizzy. Draco, taking this as his cue to leave, stood up and held out his hand to Hermione.

'I'll let you get back to your daughters. It was good to talk to you again, Hermione. I really hope you'll make the right decision about my father.'

Hermione smiled as she shook Draco's hand. 'Go and see him, please. It really would make him happy.'

Draco gave a small nod. He dropped Hermione's hand as Sophie reached them.

'Can we have an ice cream, Mummy?' she asked hopefully as she bent her head over the pram to look at her still-slumbering sister.

'Come away, don't wake your sister,' Hermione said quietly with mock sternness. She rose from the bench. 'We're off to get ice cream,' she told Draco. 'You're welcome to come with us if you want.'

Draco shook his head with a smile. 'Some other time, perhaps,' he said. 'I need to get moving or Astoria will wonder where I've got to.'

'Astoria Greengrass?' Hermione asked in surprise.

Draco grinned widely. 'I know, you thought I'd saddled myself with Pansy Parkinson, didn't you?' He laughed. 'I know we never got on at school, Hermione, but I really wasn't that thick. I think we all changed a bit after the war and I realised I just wanted a quiet life where I didn't have to live down the family name all the time. I met Astoria at Daphne's twenty-first birthday party and soon discovered she was everything I'd always been looking for. Our marriage is nothing like my parents was — we actually really do love each other.'

'But you only had the one child?' Hermione said quizzically.

'Yes. We'd have liked more, but conceiving was rather more difficult for us than it was for you.' Draco sounded wistful. 'Astoria had a very bad pregnancy and we didn't want to risk another.'

'I'm really sorry, Draco,' Hermione said sincerely.

'We're happy with Scorpius,' Draco said. 'He's a good lad and a clever one, too. He might just be the first Malfoy to get into Ravenclaw — although Merlin only knows what his grandparents would say about that.' He gave a small laugh. 'Anyway, I've got two small sisters now, so my family has grown. We'll have to get together sometime with Scorpius and Astoria — have a proper family reunion.'

'That sounds good,' Hermione said sincerely, 'although I'm still not sure about telling your dad just yet.'

'Just think about it,' Draco encouraged.

Sophie tugged at Hermione's sleeve. 'Can we go now, Mummy? I'm starving and I need an ice cream.'

Laughingly, Hermione pushed the pram away from the bench. 'Come on then, pickle, let's get that ice cream. It was nice to see you again, Draco. Hopefully, we'll see you again soon.'

Draco watched as Hermione and her daughter, both pushing the pram, walked across the park towards the café in the late afternoon sunshine and for the first time in the many years since he had left Malfoy Manor he felt a sense of loss at her departure. He considered the small family as he walked towards the park gates.

He had heard all the stories about Hermione and her outrageous behaviour over the years and was glad she had finally found some peace although he wasn't sure that further entwining herself with his father was the answer, however much the man may have appeared to have changed in the intervening years. At least she seemed happy enough now, which she certainly hadn't been in the immediate aftermath of her release if the reports of her mental breakdowns and suicide attempts were true.

For a moment Draco wondered again whether he could have made a difference if he had gone to see her rather than keeping away; he still didn't think he would have helped much. After everything his father had done to her, Hermione had probably hated him for deserting her so abruptly despite what she had said about him helping her. It had probably taken this long for her to be able to forgive him for his part in her trauma, and anyway, they had never really been that close except for those last few weeks before school was due to start.

Draco found himself unexpectedly unhappy as he remembered, then pushed the thoughts away, thinking instead about his own family. He couldn't have helped Hermione any more than he had so there was no need for him to feel guilty about it. She had survived and had two beautiful daughters who obviously meant the world to her, so she hadn't missed out on anything.

He understood completely about the joy that children could bring, and while he still couldn't even begin to understand why Hermione had chosen his father as the sire, he couldn't begrudge her the right to have a family when she had lost so much else over the years.

Draco considered his own wife, beautiful but so frail. When he told Hermione that Astoria's pregnancy had been difficult he hadn't lied exactly, but he hadn't told the full story either. The truth was that she was already ill, the victim of an old family curse that had, unfortunately, struck her rather than her older sister, Daphne. She was slowly wasting away because of it and the doctors had told them that she was too weak to bear a child; that doing so could kill her.

He had resigned himself to not having a family, happy to let the Malfoy name die out although he knew his father wouldn't be happy about it, but then Astoria had told him she wanted a baby. He had tried to talk her out of it but his wonderful wife had been adamant. Astoria wanted Draco to have someone in his life to care for and about once she was gone, and she had always wanted to be a mother.

Eventually, Draco had reluctantly agreed and Scorpius had entered their lives even though the cost to Astoria's health had been high. Draco loved Scorpius with all his heart and, for a moment he felt a slight pang of sympathy that his father didn't have the opportunity to love his two daughters, however much of a bastard the man might be.

Draco recalled Hermione's words and tried to imagine himself locked away in Azkaban, unable to see or speak to Scorpius, knowing nothing about his achievements or his progress other than that he existed. The thought was unbearable, and for the first time he had an understanding of why Hermione had kept her secrets. He still wasn't sure she was right to do so but there was a kind of twisted logic there, and maybe she was right. Perhaps it was better for his father that he didn't know about Sophie and Hattie while he was locked away.

Hermione was also right that it was time to smooth things over with his father even though Draco knew his mother wouldn't be very happy about that.