I really meant to update more last week while I was on vacation, but laziness set in. There's something nice about sitting on the couch, watching movies, and playing with the kitties. I should really take a vacation more often.

Chapter 25
Draco paced the living room with a crying Allegra held close to his chest. Try as he might to calm her, nothing worked.

"I think she can sense your agitation," Hermione remarked, setting down a mug of coffee before taking Allegra from his arms.

He grabbed the mug from the table and took a long sip. "You're not the least bit nervous about Lucius coming here?" he inquired, quirking an eyebrow.

"Oh, I am," she replied. "I just hide it a little better than you do."

Draco laughed and continued to pace. Allegra had quieted down enough to eat and fell asleep against Hermione's chest. Draco had just refilled his cup when they heard a sharp knock on the front door. Abandoning the cup on the kitchen counter, he walked through the dining room, then the living room, and opened the door to find his father on the other side. Stepping aside, he granted Lucius entrance, then took a seat by Hermione's side.

"You got the blanket," he observed, noting that Allegra was wrapped in the blue blanket with the embroidered DM on the bottom corner.

Hermione smiled. "She's attached to it," she replied. "She cried last night when Draco didn't put it in the bassinet with her."

The smallest hint of a smile lifted the corner of Lucius Malfoy's mouth. "I seem to recall Draco being the same way," he shared. "It went everywhere with him until he was four."

Draco snorted. "Because by then my father informed me that I was no longer a baby and it was foolish to continue carrying it around," he retorted, glaring at the older man. "Tell me, Father, why did you come here today?"

Sighing, Lucius sat back in his chair. "To explain something important," he stated. "I know you blame me for your mother's death. I do too. I thought I had let friends into our house. We ate, we drank, and when I woke up, your mother had been killed. Flint and MacNair both admitted to slipping a potion into my drink."

With a curt nod, Draco rose and left the room. Hermione winced when she heard their bedroom door slam shut and Allegra began to cry. Lucius shifted in his seat, as if debating whether to help her or not. Finally, he stood and crossed the room, holding out his arms to accept his granddaughter. She hesitated, glancing towards the stairs to see if Draco planned to join them once more. When she was sure he wouldn't, she allowed Lucius to hold the baby for the first time.

"I'm not entirely comfortable with this," she admitted.

"It's been awhile since I've held anything so small," Lucius replied, cradling Allegra in his arms.

"That's not what I meant," she murmured, looking down at the baby instead of meeting Lucius's eyes.

The older man chuckled. "I know," he replied, his voice sounding sympathetic. He rocked Allegra gently, smiling when her sobs subsided and her eyes closed. "I don't think I ever held Draco this way. He had nannies, and well, I wasn't the most attentive parent."

"Are you hoping to change that now?" she wondered.

He eyed her wearily. "I'd like to, but I don't think my son will let me," he said. "I've made many mistakes, and most of them are unforgivable. Taking up with the Greengrass girl was-"

"Stupid?" Draco interrupted, appearing at the top of the stairs. "Or how about disgusting? Despicable is the word I use most often."

Nodding, Lucius handed the baby back to Hermione and turned to his son. "Yes, I believe that about covers it," he said.

"No, that doesn't cover it," Draco angrily replied, descending the last few steps. "My mother hadn't even been dead a week when you started screwing her. Or did it start before Mum was killed? I was supposed to marry her, you'll recall. After all, you arranged it."

Standing straighter, Lucius pierced the younger man with a steely gaze. "I am fully aware of my actions," he said through clenched teeth. "And I regret them, especially where you and your mother were concerned. I'm not asking for complete absolution. I would, however, like to make amends with you. This is the only family I have left."

Draco moved to Hermione's side and placed his hand on the small of her back. "This is not your family," he retorted, mirroring his father's stance. "You won't ruin it the way your ruined your own."

Knowing he would get no further with his stubborn son, Lucius picked up his walking stick and bade them goodbye. Draco watched from the front window as his father disappeared from his life once more. "I'm sorry," he whispered when he felt a warm hand on his back.

"What for?" Hermione wondered as she moved back to the sofa.

Shaking his head, he moved to the mantle and rested his arm atop it as he glanced from picture to picture. "For acting like him," he replied. "I've spent so many years being angry at him for what he put my mother and me through that I can't bring myself to even be cordial toward him. And did he honestly think that telling me there was nothing he could do to save my mother would make me feel any better?"

"I don't think that's why he told you about that," she said, placing the baby in a bassinet before moving to his side. "I think he just wanted you to have one less thing to blame him for."

Draco turned and wrapped his arms around her. "So...you think I should forgive him?" he asked, his tone devoid of emotion.

Resting her head against his shoulder, Hermione sighed and turned to look at their sleeping daughter. "I'm not going to tell you what you should do," she stated. "I think it's going to be a very long time before you're able to forgive him. He wants to see his granddaughter grow up though. He still makes me nervous, but I think he wants to change."

"If he hurts either of you-"

"I know," she replied with a smile. "Because this is your family, and you'd do anything to protect it."

"He won't hurt either of you," Draco vowed. "Not as long as I'm around. And I swear, I'll never be like him. You and Allegra come first."

Placing a kiss on his jaw, she replied, "You've already proved that you're nothing like him."