Disclaimer: I own nothing apart from Ariadne Aurora Malfoy-Granger. Everything else belongs to the genius J K Rowling.

Summary: It was a normal day for Draco Malfoy, but as soon as he stepped out of the fire place and brushed the soot off his robes he knew something was wrong. On his bed was a wicker Moses basket stuffed with a bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby girl fast asleep. She had nothing with her except a letter addressed to him and a golden necklace he knew too well. T for safety.

Chapter Thirty Eight

Tea Party

Blaise

It was a peaceful morning in the Malfoy residence and it was so silent one could hear a pin drop. The bright morning sun shone through the windows and gave each and every room that soft glow. A quiet snore came from one of the rooms as Blaise Zabini flipped on his stomach, his arm came out of the warm cocoon that was his duvet and his knuckles grazed the cold wooden floor. His much deserved sleep-in would have lasted a while longer if it wasn't for the quick patter of feet along the hallway, combined with the loud opening of a door, a gleeful giggle and a sudden weight on his back startled him awake.

"Wake up Unca Baise! Wakey, wakey, wakey!" Ariadne squealed, bouncing as she said every word. Blaise groaned, silently said goodbye to the last remnant of sleep he was desperately trying to hold onto and forced himself to open his eyes but only managed to open one eye before he closed it again because of the sun shining through the windows.

"Are you awake?" Ariadne asked innocently, as she climbed off Blaise's back, wormed herself into his warm bed and with her fingers she forced Blaise's eyes wide open, poking him clumsily in the eyes in the process.

"I am awake, bambina, you can let go of my eyelids now." Blaise smiled, his voice still rough with sleep.

"Sorry, Unca Baise" Ariadne laughed, pulled her fingers away from Blaise's eyes and snuggled closer into his side as he rubbed the sleep away out of his eyes.

"Why are you awake so early? It's only…" Blaise rolled onto his side and propped his head on his palm to check the time on his bedside table before giving out a defeated sigh "…6 am."

"I miss Mummy and Daddy." Ariadne said quietly as she hugged her stuffed bunny, Mister Puffles, tighter. "When they coming home?"

"I miss them too, Addie, and they'll be back before you know it." Blaise smiled down at his god daughter reassuringly as he patted her blonde curly hair that was turning wilder as the days go by. "I bet your Mummy and Daddy are having so much fun and when they come back they'll have all sorts of gifts for you. They'll have so many stories for you too, I'm sure of it."

"But why can't we go with them?" Ariadne pouted.

"Because it's only for mummies and daddies, Cupcake, that's why. Besides, we have a lot of fun here don't we? We went to the Zoo yesterday and we went rock pooling the day before that. We even baked a cake, though most of it ended up on the floor but we don't have to tell anyone about that." Blaise pointed out to Ariadne who just laughed and cheered up a little at the fact that they did in fact had a lot of fun at home despite her parents' not being there.

"It was a yummy cake." Ariadne licked her lips and then a sly smile slowly crept up on her innocent face that would make the Slytherins in her young life proud "Can we bake another one, please?"

"Of course we can…" Blaise said defeated knowing that there was no point to say otherwise because when it came to Ariadne he could never say no and she definitely got him wrapped around her little fingers.

"We can do it today!" Ariadne grinned at the idea of another chocolate cake whilst Blaise groaned at the memory of a cake tilting so dangerously to the side, thick chocolate icing that not only covered the cake but the whole kitchen and their clothes. Oh and not to forget the large amount of sprinkles that got everywhere, he found some in his pocket just yesterday and they baked the cake a good few days before!

"But remember, you have Ballet today." Blaise tapped her small button nose and she nodded in agreement before she suddenly bolted up, jumped out the bed eagerly and ran out the room.

"Where you going now?" Blaise sighed and called out after the pitter patter of her feet from the hall.

Blaise heard Ariadne quickly came to a halt and what sounded like turning on her heels and ran back into his room, and his suspicions were correct when Ariadne stuck her head around and simply stated "Breakfast?"

"Alright, Pumpkin," Blaise gingerly pulled his bed covers off and stood up "what would you like for breakfast?"

"Ice cream!"

"You can't have ice cream for breakfast!" Blaise pretended to gasp at the idea of having such a sugary treat so early in the morning but Ariadne merely gave him a knowing look before Blaise laughed "As long as you don't tell your parents."

"And pancakes?"

"Pancakes too." Blaise crouched in front of the little Malfoy and gestured for her to get on his back for a piggy-back ride.

"Have you seen my shoes?" A tiny voice came from behind Blaise as he stared intently at his large wardrobe, trying to figure out what he could possibly wear for the day. Draco and the others had always said that he was incredibly vain and would take a lot longer than girls could when it came to dressing, but he couldn't blame himself for wanting to look his best every time. Although with that said, he felt that with his narcissism came a heavy burden of not settling for anything better than perfect, and he didn't care if he had to go through his wardrobe and spend hours in front of the mirror just to be satisfied with what he's wearing. Besides, it was a Zabini family trait to end up with a large pile of clothes on the bed every morning.

"No, I haven't seen your shoes, cupcake." Blaise said without looking behind him as he flicked through his clothes. He picked a white shirt, side stepped and peeked at the mirror as he held the shirt to his chest. He stared at his reflection for a moment, before frowning and put the shirt back into his wardrobe.

"I can't find my shoes." Ariadne declared, huffing with impatience as she sat on the edge of Blaise's bed, and stared at her stocking clad feet. She was already dressed in her light pink ballet wear, and her curls neatly wrapped in a bun on the top of her head which Blaise spent at least an hour trying to do. She definitely had her mother's curls and Blaise literally had to roll his sleeves up as he tugged and pulled at the curls as gently as he could so he can just combed through her hair. After the difficult task of combing through the little Malfoy's hair came the impossible task of actually putting it up in a bun and it took Blaise all of his self-control to not just turn away and leave Ariadne with what looks like a bird's nest on her head. He could not take the disappointment on Ariadne's face if he did, so he bit down his frustrations, tried his best and gingerly thought to himself when did Ariadne get Hermione's curls? She never used to have such difficult curls and how in Merlin name does Hermione manage to deal with it.

"Tell you what, you help me pick out a shirt and I'll help you look for your shoes." Blaise turned around and offered his god daughter a smile.

"Okay." Ariadne nodded her head softly.

Blaise picked up a blue shirt "This shirt?"

"No." Ariadne shook her head, crinkling her nose identical to what Hermione does when she doesn't like something.

"How about this one?" Blaise pulled out a black polo shirt.

"No."

A green shirt. "This one?"

"I don't like it." Ariadne stuck her tongue out in defiance.

"Surely this one." A red shirt.

"Na-uh."

Blaise flung the shirt behind him carelessly "Yeah, you're right, too Gryffindor."

"That one." Ariadne tilted her head to the sideways and pouted before she pointed at a pink shirt right at the end, almost hidden amongst his robes.

"Are you sure?" Blaise asked, with an amused smile tugging at his lips. He should have known Ariadne would pick out a pink shirt; everything had to be pink for her.

"Yup!" Ariadne grinned brightly.

"Okay, this one it is, little lady."

"My shoes." Ariadne said, her small face pinching into concentration as she jumped off the bed and began looking around Blaise's room. When she noticed that Blaise was not doing anything she flashed him a pointed look that would make Draco proud.

"Right, yes, shoes." Blaise mumbled to himself as he swiftly buttoned up his shirt and rolled up his sleeves.

"If I were ballet shoes where would I hide from the pretty girl? Ha!" Blaise said dramatically, as he dropped to his knees and looked under his desk only to find nothing except a piece of parchment "Oh."

"Maybe… here" Blaise checked under his bed, "Nope, nothing there."

He checked behind his bookcase this time "Gotcha. Nothing there either."

"Come out, come out where ever you are. Come out, come out and play." Blaise said in a sing song voice, making Ariadne giggle. She then ran out the room, checking every nook and cranny of the house with Blaise hot on her heels and soon the Malfoy house was echoing with the excitement of the hunt for her ballet shoes.

"I found them!" Ariadne exclaimed loudly from the other room and with the eager pitter patter of her feet she ran into the hallway, waving her shoes way above her head "Unca Baise, I found them!"

"Oh, well done! Where did you find them?" Blaise clapped his hands and crouched down to her eye level.

"Under Daddy's bed." Ariadne grinned proudly.

"Your Daddy must have been wearing them when you weren't looking! He's very naughty isn't he?" Blaise said, pretending to be scandalised at the idea of Draco wearing his daughter's shoes.

"Naughty Daddy!" Ariadne laughed gleefully, as she imagined her father prancing around in her shoes, he must have looked funny.

"He's very naughty, bambina. Come on, Addie, put your shoes in your bag and we'll go or we'll be late. Again."

"Can we go to the park later?"

"We'll see." Blaise patted her head fondly.

"Blaise?"

Blaise was so wrapped up in his own train of thought as he sat on a bench in the children's park, his hands in his coat pockets and his eyes focused on Ariadne as she played with a few children her age, that he didn't notice someone coming towards him until they stood beside him.

Startled, he jumped slightly at the sound of a familiar voice that sent shivers down his spine and sounded like music to his ears. There stood beside him was the beautiful woman that recently occupied his minds with her auburn hair and dark green eyes smiling at him shyly.

"Katherine! Fancy meeting you here?" Blaise couldn't help but grin widely, his rich brown eyes twinkling as he couldn't believe his luck. Fancy meeting her at the park, indeed.

"It's my day off, I just drop by to get some fresh air." Katherine answered softly as she shuffled her feet shyly.

"Please sit down." Blaise patted the space beside him, his smile still stuck on his face.

"Thank you." Katherine returned his smile and sat gracefully beside him. There was a moment of silence that hang between them before Katherine stated "Ariadne seems to be having fun."

"Yes, it keeps her mind off Draco and Hermione not being here for a fortnight." Blaise agreed, his eyes returning to Ariadne's direction.

"She seems to be a bundle of sunshine." Katherine said fondly, remembering the day Ariadne was born for she was the one that helped Hermione deliver the little girl. Hermione stayed with Katherine for a few months whilst she was pregnant and their meeting all those years ago was purely coincidental. Ofcourse they have been friends since they were about Ariadne's age but had lost contact with each other for a few years until Katherine bumped into Hermione in café as the latter said that she was looking for a flat to move into. At that point Katherine was looking for someone to rent the other room in her flat she eagerly offered Hermione if she wanted the room. Hermione looked wary at Katherine's offer but agreed and she stayed there until a few days later Ariadne was born and Hermione once again disappeared with only a letter to explain.

"Oh, she really is. Draco's little world, just like her mother." Blaise let out a low chuckle.

"She's definitely got a lot of Hermione's trait in her, that's for sure." Katherine mused.

"You betcha! We went to the Zoo yesterday and she spent a good ten minutes telling me that elephants don't like peanuts and they have six toes! She's four, how on earth does she know that?" Blaise exclaimed, a mixture of confusion and pride crossed his handsome face.

"Sounds like Hermione already got her into encyclopedias." Katherine said knowingly, not surprised that Hermione's daughter sounds exactly like her when it came to random facts.

"Her room is covered in books." Blaise said thoughtfully, his gaze solely on Ariadne who laughed gleefully as she slid down the metal slide. As she got the bottom, she whirled around, waving eagerly at Blaise then made the quick dash, clambered up the slide and slid back down again. Whilst Blaise's attention was on Ariadne he didn't notice Katherine look at his at the corner of her eyes with a fond smile and she discreetly tried to take everything in, the way the soft winter sunshine highlighted the contours of his face, the way his pink shirt suited his nicely and matched his pink nails perfec – wait, pink nails?

"Pink nails?" Katherine said in a surprised tone before she let out an amused laugh, her tinkling laugh echoed around the park and Blaise absentmindedly smiled and gave out a low chuckle.

"Addie did them." Blaise shrugged, and merely smiled, as if it was a normal thing to have pink nails.

"How very manly." Katherine nodded, impressed.

"You should see my yellow toenails…" Blaise said playfully.

I think they're cute." Katherine said softly and upon seeing Blaise smirk at her, she became suddenly flustered and her cheeks burned red "I mean, n-not your toenails, they're not c-c-cute. No… wait, I'm sure your toes are n-nice, what I meant to s–"

"I know what you meant." Blaise laughed, gently taking her small delicate hands into his to stop her from waving it around to try and explain what she meant.

"It's cute that you let Ariadne paint your nails." Katherine sighed, her eyes still focused on the ground, as if her shoes were more interesting than what is in front of her. She tucked a stray lock behind her ears and slowly raised her eyes to meet Blaise's warm gaze intently on her. A slight pink flame developed on her cheeks once more but this time she forced herself not to look away again.

"I can't say no, she has us wrapped around her little finger. And it makes her happy, so it's all worth it. Sometimes, she does Draco's hair and you see HIM in pigtails." Blaise said, in an attempt to try and make her forget her embarrassment.

"Pigtails?" Katherine squeaked, incredulous at the idea of Draco in pigtails.

"It suits him actually." Blaise nodded, thinking to himself that she looked adorable with her eyes wide in surprise and her cheeks tinted rose.

"But he seems so manly. So strict looking and…" Katherine trailed off, not knowing exactly how to end her sentence.

"Cold?" Blaise offered, knowing exactly how people perceive Draco – cold and heartless.

"Yes, cold. Cold, calm and collected."

"Draco turns into nothing but a fluff ball when it comes to Ariadne. But that's just how Draco is, under all that icy exterior he's got a warm heart, he just needs to fully trust you before he shows that side." Blaise mused.

"Hermione and Ariadne are lucky girls." Katherine replied quietly.

"He deserves it after everything that has happened."

"Everything?"

"Ahh… Nothing that important." Blaise shook head, not expanding the matter.

"If you say so." Katherine did not press the subject, thankfully, and just let the comfortable silence developed over them.

"Would you like to come over for some tea? Addie and I couldn't possibly eat this on our own…" Blaise looked at Katherine warmly before taking the small box beside him and showing her a chocolate cake from a local café.

"I don't want you to go into any trouble just for me..." Katherine shook her head politely, flattered at the idea but didn't want to impose.

"It'll be our pleasure," Blaise smiled charmingly before he added "mind you the moment Addie gets wind of you coming over, she'll demand to have a tea party instead of a simple tea and cake in the garden, so I hope you don't mind?"

"I loved tea parties as a child." Katherine said shyly.

"So does Addie…"