We built it up to watch it fall

Like we meant nothing at all

The first few days of caring for two newborns had been the biggest adventure Hermione had ever had. Half of it was amazing, while the other half was a nightmare. Two crying babies in the middle of the night wasn't her idea of fun. But it was a great experience, and having Draco at her side, sharing the suffering, made it all worth while. She had refused to have the house elves help her, so Draco had taken it upon himself to help out—even though he used his magic to clean the dirty diapers, and more than once had she caught him asleep instead of watching over the twins.

The twins slept in the nursery between her bedroom and Draco's, now that they were almost a month old. The first few days they had slept in bed with her, but Narcissa had advised her to teach them from an early age to sleep in their own beds. There had been nights though, that both Darius and Darien needed the companionship and the warmth, and she would bring them to her bed and watch over them as they slept. Hermione supposed that sharing the womb with another made it harder for them to be alone now.

It was so very interesting to see how different they were in physical appearance. Neither one of them had inherited her curls, but she supposed that there was still time to see if they would change and look more like her. Though she had come to love the fact that they both had Draco's eyes.

Narcissa and Lucius had sent out birth announcements as soon as Hermione had felt like herself and had been willing to pose in a magical picture while she held Darius and Draco held Darien. The media was camping out in front of the Manor and at any place they thought she would be in, but Hermione had no desire to leave the Manor just yet. The twins were still too young and she was still feeling a tad exhausted from the labor and then the sleepless nights that had followed.

Harry and Ron had been by many times, both complaining about the twins looking too much like their mortal enemy. Harry had also told her that the flat next to his would be unoccupied in a matter of days and he had asked the owner to let her see it and let her have it if she wanted to live there. So tomorrow morning, she would be leaving the manner for the first time in a month. Hopefully she would be able to get some sleep.

"Are you sure that it's all right that you're missing work again?" Hermione asked Draco for the third time in an hour. She was becoming anxious at the thought of leaving the twins alone for the first time since they had been born.

He was sitting in the rocking chair of the nursery, feeding Darien as if nothing was amiss. He rolled his eyes at her and shook his head. "I told you that it's fine. That's why I have employees and someone who runs things when I can't make it," he said calmly. "Though I'm not exactly fond of the idea of not having the twins around night and day. Or you for that matter," he said almost absently.

Hermione smiled to herself and shook her head. "Dating will be easier this way. You'll get to pick me up and take me wherever you want," she said softly, her eyes drifting to Darius, who was sleeping peacefully in his crib.

"Anywhere I want?" Draco asked her with a raised eyebrow.

She rolled her eyes. "Anywhere means to dinner or to lunch, or even to see a play or any type of entertainment. I know what you were thinking and it'll be a long time before you can take me to your bedroom again," she said with a small laugh when he smirked. "Pervert," she muttered before pressing a kiss to the baby in his arms and running a gentle hand over the infant in the crib so as not to wake him. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Don't worry about the kids, they'll be fine," he said before she walked out the door. Just as she was making her way to the floo, Harry stepped out of the floo room and smiled.

"Ready to go?" he asked her.

Hermione nodded, letting out a deep breath. "Draco is with the twins right now. Let's go so that I can come back as soon as possible. I don't want to think about leaving my babies alone, and if I do, I'll start bawling and I won't leave the house for another month," she said, grabbing her purse and her coat before walking with him back towards the floo room.

They arrived at his apartment and Hermione's eyes went wide when she saw Pansy sitting in the living room, watching Harry's TV and eating a bowl of cereal with marshmallow's in it. She stared, because never in her life would she have thought to see a girl who had grown up much the same way as Draco Malfoy, doing something so… muggle-ish, for lack of a better, more accurate word.

"She's living with me now," said Harry with a grin.

Hermione smiled and waved at Pansy, who waved back. "Good morning. How are the twins?" asked Pansy.

Hermione sighed and felt the anxiety tighten in her chest. "They're with their father, strong and healthy."

"That's great. Where are you two off to?"

Harry ushered Hermione to the door. "We're going over to see the flat next door. The current tenants are moving out and they agreed to let us see it today. I'll see you later, love."

"Remember we're having lunch with my parents today," Pansy called before the door shut.

The brunette looked at her green-eyed friend in amusement. "You're meeting her parents?"

Harry sighed heavily. "Actually, I've met them already, but her mother wanted me to come over to spend more time with them."

"Is this getting serious?" Hermione asked.

"Maybe," said Harry evasively, but with a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Are you liking that this is getting serious?" she asked.

"Maybe," said Harry with a smile. Hermione wrapped her arms around one of his and gave him a squeeze.

"You finally found your true love," Hermione said with a smile as they stopped in front of a door with a two in a golden Roman numeral. He knocked the door and a teenage girl opened the door. Hermione could swear that she had little hearts in her eyes as she gazed at Harry.

"Hello, Mr. Potter," she said, blushing. "I'll get my dad," she said before running off quickly.

Hermione looked at Harry and snickered. "Mr. Potter? Geez, the girl is absolutely blind!"

Harry glared at her. "Just shush and let's see this place quickly so that we don't bother them too much."

His friend grinned and shook her head. "I don't think their daughter would see this as much of a bother. Mr. Potter," she snickered to herself. Harry just ignored her and they walked in to see the flat.

Draco scowled to himself as he apparated to the building his ex-wife had decided to move into a week ago. No matter what he had said to her, or how he had tried to convince her to stay, she hadn't complied. She had moved out of the Manor and in with her mother, who was helping her with the twins. He had been over at least for an hour every single day to spend time with the children, but he wasn't thrilled about her living so far away.

At least she had finally found an evening to dedicate to him. And no, he was not jealous of his own children. He had wanted to take her out on a romantic dinner to win her over, but she had asked him to let her pick the place they would go. He had been wary to comply, but he knew Hermione was a sensible girl with classic tastes in everything, including himself, he thought with a smirk.

He knocked on the door of her flat and waited impatiently to be acknowledged. Her mother opened the door and greeted him politely. In her arms she was holding Darius, who was happily sucking on a pacifier. She handed over the baby and then walked off to tell Hermione that he was there for her. Draco smiled at his son and nuzzled the little brown head gently as the baby blinked sleepily, eyes the same shade of gray as his brother and father. "How is my boy?" he murmured as softly as he could.

"You forget that you have two now," said Hermione as she walked over to him with Darien in her arms. The little blond was wide awake and sucking on a thumb. "He has a really bad habit of sucking his thumb. He won't take the pacifier, but I've read that the suction helps sooth some babies, so I guess it's okay for them to enjoy it now."

Draco smiled and kissed the baby in Hermione's arms on the forehead. "Don't worry. After all that I saw that day when they were born, I will never forget that I have two sons. You look lovely by the way," he said, eyeing her from head to toe. She was wearing a simple red dress with a low neckline that flattered her shape, which she had been working very hard to regain. So far, Draco thought, she was definitely succeeding. He had a moment of perverted, dirty thoughts, and wondered if her chest would remain that big. If Hermione would've heard that thought, she would've slapped him. Or maybe not until he wasn't holding their other son.

Hermione smiled and turned to her mother. "They should be going to sleep in about fifteen minutes. Unless one keeps the other up, like they're so fond to do in the middle of the night," she said with an annoyed sigh. "But I love them with all my heart," she said as she kissed the baby in her arms and then set him down in a self-rocking bassinet. She took the brown haired baby from Draco and kissed him as well before placing him next to his brother. "We should go," she said after they stood there for a long moment, gazing at their twins.

Draco nodded and grabbed her coat for her, saying goodbye to her mother and ushering Hermione out the door. "Where are you taking me?" he asked Hermione.

She smiled and gave him a sexy wink that made his heart speed up ridiculously. "You'll see in good time, Mr. Malfoy. We can walk from here, it's not too far," Hermione replied furtively.

Draco didn't know whether to be intrigued or apprehensive. They were after all near the muggle district. Though he had long ago outgrown his petty prejudice, he was still not comfortable around many muggles in one place. But he should've known Hermione would find a way to torture him without actually doing anything to him. They stopped in front of a very brightly lit building, with posters of animals, children caricatures, and some of men and women entwined in a romantic pose. They got into line behind some muggles, and Draco gave her a look.

Hermione smiled. "Surprise! We're going to see a muggle movie. It's like a full length, moving picture with a plot and everything," she said quietly, so that no one overheard her.

"Muggle?" was all Draco muttered back.

She glared at him but didn't have a chance to reply because they were called to the booth where the employee was looking at them in boredom. "Two tickets for 'The Lake House,' please," she said brightly.

"Enjoy the show," said the guy flatly.

Draco gave Hermione another look as she started to drag him towards the door and he put up a fight. "Hermione."

She turned to him in irritation. "Look, this is what constitutes as a muggle date. I haven't seen a movie in ages because first, you were a possessive psycho when we married. Second, I was submersed in my work and didn't have the time. And third, I was pregnant and huge, and too tired to walk over here. Now, I have the time, and I have a date, so I want to see this movie," she said, eyes flashing and daring him to put up a fight.

Draco rolled his eyes before leaning forward to peck her lips and slip some strands of hair behind her ear. "Merlin, you're such a drama queen, Granger," he said before snatching the tickets from her gloved hand and walking towards the man at the door.

Hermione smiled to herself. Honestly, she had been expecting a bigger argument from him, but if he was willing to sit through two hours of a muggle movie, in an enclosed space with muggles, she knew that he was serious about them getting back together.

Draco had never known true horror until he had been forced to sit through what Harry and Ron called "a chick-flick." Of course, he didn't know that phrase yet, and was suffering alone in his head, and trying not to fall asleep as Hermione placed her head against his shoulder. He looked around in apprehension and was slightly relieved to see that he hadn't been the only man who had been conned into coming to see the most ridiculous love story in the world with their partners.

"Do we get dinner after this?" he nearly whined.

She shushed him and slapped his arm. He didn't say anything else for the rest of the movie. When the torture was finally over, he had to endure Hermione's gushes about how great the couple was together, and all they had gone through. He rolled his eyes and tried not to rub his temples in aggravation. Again, why had he been sitting through two hours of hell? Oh yes, because he was trying to get Hermione to marry him again. If it wasn't for that, he would've run out of the building from the opening credits and would've never looked back. But alas, he wanted Hermione to see that he was serious about all of the things he would be doing for her.

"Now we get dinner somewhere nice," said Hermione as they walked out of the building.

"Good," Draco replied, pulling her towards the back of the building and then apparating them straight to Pansy's restaurant. The maître d' nearly tripped over himself to get them one of the best tables. He informed them that Miss Pansy had made it abundantly clear that Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy would always be treated like stars, as well as Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. So the drinks, champagne, wine, or any type of drinks they ordered were on the house for the entire night.

Hermione eyed him over her menu and smirked. "Did you enjoy the movie?" she asked nonchalantly.

Draco eyed her narrowly. "Is there a correct answer to that question?" he asked with a raised brow.

She smiled to herself. "No, I just want your honest opinion."

Draco weighed his options. If he told her he hated it, she would probably be insulted. If he said he had liked it, she would know at once that he was lying. It was a lose lose situation. He cleared his throat once and took a sip of the wine that the waiter had just brought over. "I didn't care much for the movie because I had you close by. Who can concentrate on some woman on the screen when I have you so up close to me?"

Hermione stared at him for a moment and then smiled, her cheeks a pretty red that Draco hadn't seen in a long time. "You will dance with me tonight?" she asked, looking towards the dance floor near the large, French windows.

Draco took her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "Anything you want, Ms. Granger," he said, gray eyes glittering with a feeling Hermione had resigned herself to never see again.

They ordered their food and talked about the twins, their new habits, and how Hermione hadn't gotten an entire night's worth of sleep for a week now. When she had lived at the mansion, Draco had often let her sleep while he watched over the babies, but now that she was alone, it was up to her and sometimes her mother. She wasn't complaining though. She had never known how deep her love for the two boys would run. Though she had hopes of returning to the trauma center, she didn't want to miss out on her sons growing up; besides, Neville was doing a great job handling all the most important jobs at the center.

Hermione took a sip of her wine and felt her body begin to relax. Though she had been really looking forward to her first date with Draco after the birth of their twins and their divorce, she could feel the exhaustion creeping in. She wanted to sleep, but she was having a good time with Draco. She watched him stand up and then offer a hand to her. She took it and he guided her towards the dance floor, one of his arms slipping around her waist as he held her close and moved gently to the beat.

"You do know that our date will make the front page on tomorrow's paper," she said quietly, her temple brushing against his chin. Draco nodded and kissed her cheekbone.

"Good. That way all the men who want a chance with you will see that you're still with me in a sense," he replied with a small smile. Hermione just laughed quietly and breathed in his familiar scent deeply. How she had missed the feel of his arms around her. "How long do you want me to wait before I can ask you to marry me again?"

Hermione gave a small snort. "I can't just give you a the exact amount of time you have to wait. It will happen when the time is right," she replied.

"The time is right, now, but I don't think you would accept if I asked you," he muttered against her cheek as they moved at a slow, fluid movement.

"It's too soon and this is our first date," Hermione said with a small smile. "I wouldn't accept a marriage proposal on a first date," she said teasingly. "But I think… I will accept when the time is right."

Draco grinned and kissed her cheek as his heart skipped a beat, but before he had a chance to reply to her words, there was a tap on his shoulder and they both turned to see who it was. His lips curled in a sneer and he tried to pull Hermione away, but she held her ground.

Cormac McLaggen smiled serenely and looked at Hermione. "Would you mind if I cut in?" he asked smoothly.

"Yes," Draco nearly snarled, his hand tightening on Hermione's waist. "Get lost McLaggen, there's no place for you here."

Hermione placed a hand on Draco's chest and gave him a stony look, trying to convey to him without words what she was about to do. What she had to do. "Let me dance with him, Draco. Why don't you go and order us dessert? We really should get back home to the twins," she said gently, her eyes searching his.

Draco glared at her slightly but moved away, his eyes burning with restrained anger. "Get it through your thick skull, McLaggen. She will never accept you in her life," he snapped before walking away.

Hermione turned to Cormac with a serious look on her face and let him lead her towards the center of the dancing couples. "I think we do need to have a talk, Cormac," she said softly.

The tall man looked at her with heat in his eyes and pulled her closer to him. "I thought you had divorced him, sweetheart. After all, why are you giving him another chance when he seems to be enjoying his time with my dear ex-wife?" he asked in a taunting tone.

Hermione bit her bottom lip in annoyance. She knew he was trying to bait her into doubting Draco, but she wouldn't. Not anymore. "I know that he's having dinner with her, but that means nothing. I want to be honest with you, Cormac. Draco and I are going to give us another chance, and I'm not interested in seeing other men. I'm sure you're a good man," she said—though inwardly she wasn't so sure. "But I'm not interested in you. I'm sure you will find a woman who deserves you and who will be the true love of your life. That woman is not me."

"How can you possibly know if you haven't even given me a chance?" he asked, running his fingers over her cheek.

She tried not to flinch at his touch but she did stop moving to the music. "I've made my decision, Cormac, and I hope that you will abide by it," she said before pulling away from him and leaving the dance floor.

McLaggen's eyes narrowed in anger as he watched her take a seat at her table with Malfoy and the other man's eyes met his. An unspoken threat traveled between them and he was satisfied when he saw Malfoy recognize the threat that Cormac posed for him and Hermione. They wouldn't be left alone so easily. Cormac McLaggen didn't know the meaning of defeat.

Darien and Darius had grown into fine looking children. With their mother's face and their father's eyes, they were the most adorable little babies on the playground. Harry Potter and Pansy Parkinson were completely smitten by the two baby boys and had offered to accompany Hermione Granger to the park where she would meet with the children's father.

As she sipped on her of iced coffee, her thoughts moved to the man that she was still dating. Their sons were now five months old, and four months had passed since she had started to date Draco again. She had resumed a sort of part time job at the center, but she had left Neville to handle the main position as boss and director of the entire center. She still took care of most of the paperwork and was still doing research whenever she could, which wasn't too often when she had two boys who were trying to learn how to sit up already.

Many things kept her busy and forced her to keep her mind off of the fact that since she and Draco had run into Cormac McLaggen, he had been sending her an arrangement of flowers each first of the month. She got rid of the flowers, and had even asked the florists to send them back to him; but short of putting up some type of restraining order, there wasn't much she could do. She didn't want to resort to something that would bring more attention to her and Draco, even though the papers usually printed some story of them every week and always managed to get their pictures even when they thought they were safe.

She was silently fuming as she watched her best friend and his fiancée play with the twins on the swings of the playground. All those months ago, McLaggen had struck a nerve when he had mentioned Draco seeing Daphne for dinner. On today's paper, there was a horribly infuriating article written by who else? Rita Skeeter. She had new pictures of her last date with Draco, and had managed to get a few shots of Draco and Daphne at lunch just the day before. The article was full of hippogriff dung and questioned whether Daphne had a better chance with Draco than his ex-wife did.

Though Hermione had promised herself that she wouldn't let this get to her, well… it was getting to her. She sat there and waited for Draco to arrive, tapping the foot of her crossed leg against the empty stroller by her side. Maybe she should've accepted Cormac out of spite, she thought petulantly. But no, that wouldn't be fair to him or to anybody really and besides, Draco had told her in all honesty that he saw Daphne the way she saw Potter. Too bad the same thing couldn't be said about her. Hermione had seen the googly-eyes she had been making at him in the pictures. No, she wasn't jealous. Jealousy wasn't in her vocabulary, she thought with a scowl.

"Hello there, my Gryffindor," said Draco as he came up behind her and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

Hermione refrained from wiping her cheek and asking him if he had kissed Daphne with those lips. She said nothing as he walked off to hold each twin briefly before coming back over to sit next to her. Draco eyed her for a moment and noticed the stiffness in her shoulders. "Is everything all right?" he asked her.

Hermione looked at him coolly. "Did you have fun with Daphne yesterday? Why is it that Rita Skeeter always has pictures of your 'dates' with her? Are you doing this on purpose, for my benefit?" she asked darkly.

"You didn't have much sleep last night, did you?" asked Draco calmly.

"I haven't gotten a normal night's rest in months, Draco. You already know that," she snapped.

Draco rolled his eyes. "That was your decision. If you hadn't been so hardheaded, you could've stayed at the Manor and accepted my help," he said dryly. "What is this about? Are you really that jealous of me going out with a friend?"

This time, Hermione glared at him head on. "Of course not," she bit out.

"Because if that's the case, all you have to do is ask me not to go out with her again and I will stop," he said calmly.

"You can do what you want," she said irritably. "I have no right to ask that of you."

Draco scooted closer and slid an arm around her slim shoulders, his mouth close to her jaw. "You are the mother of my children and the woman I want to marry again. Your wish is my command," he said before kissing the spot under her ear.

Hermione's eyes fluttered closed at the feel of his lips on her skin. How was it that with such a simple touch from him, her heart nearly stopped beating in her chest? She pulled away and turned to look at him fully as the gentle breeze ruffled his hair and pushed hers into her eyes. She forced her hair back and gave him a strange look. "You would really stop seeing her for me?"

Draco nodded watched her eyes soften before she shook her head and refused to say another word. "I'll stop taking her to dinner. You don't even have to ask. I just hadn't realized how much it bothered you, and I'm sorry if I caused you grief."

Hermione pushed his silky hair away from his eyes as well and smiled. "You know, if you had shown me this side of you when we were in school, we could've been married a long time ago and our kids would be toddlers by now. We could've avoided all of the pain and grief, and harsh words."

"And the physical assault on your part," said Draco with a snort. She grinned and nodded at the memories.

"But I guess all this has made us stronger people. Ron is happy with his wife and son, and I'm happy with you," she admitted.

Draco smirked and leaned forward to steal a kiss from her. There was something terribly satisfying about hearing Hermione say that she was happy with him. He had waited long enough to ask her to marry him again, and the time felt right. He just had to find the moment to do it while Potter and Pans weren't around.

"Ugh, get a room," Potter called from where he was swinging Darius gently in a baby swing.

Pansy slapped him on the back of the head before going back to bouncing Darien in her arms and the baby giggled in glee. She began to walk towards them with a sly grin on her face. "You know, if you two need some time alone, Potter and I can baby-sit for a few hours," she said.

Hermione laughed and shook her head. "No, thank you. I'm saving myself for marriage," she said, voice filled with sarcasm. Draco smirked and offered no comment.

Harry walked over with the other baby in his arms and grinned. "Why don't we go get something to eat? I'm starving," he said as he gently placed the boy in the stroller.

Hermione looked at Draco and he nodded. "Okay, just give me a few minutes to go back home and get the boy's their bottles. I wasn't planning on going anywhere else so I would go home in time to feed them," she said as she stood and threw her cup into the trash bin.

"I'll go with you," said Draco.

She shook her head. "No, you'll get in the way and I won't talk long," she said with a smile, not trying to insult him in any way. "Just stay and watch over your children."

"Fine," he muttered as she pressed a kiss to his cheek and then to the twins before grabbing the keys from her purse and walking the short distance to the building where her flat was located.

Hermione grinned to herself and felt her heart warm at the thought of Draco giving up one of his "friends" for her. Though he may have seen Daphne as a friend, it was so very obvious that she didn't see him the same way. The further Greengrass was from Draco, the better for Hermione. She had never been so insecure regarding the men in her life, but she and Draco had gone through so much, she had a right to feel the way she did.

As she prepared the two bottles of formula for her twins—even though she fully supported breastfeeding, but wasn't willing to do it in public when everyone was watching—she heard a knock at the door and rolled her eyes. Why couldn't Draco just listen to her for once? It couldn't be her mother, she was away for the weekend, visiting one of Hermione's aunts from her father's side and would return tomorrow morning.

She walked over to open the door with a sigh that stopped when she saw who was at the door. "Hello," she greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"May I come in? There's something of dire importance that we need to discuss."

Hermione hesitated but finally nodded and stepped aside to let her visitor in. She just hoped that the visit was quick so that she could get back to her sons and Draco. Her visitor wasn't dangerous. At least, that was what she thought.

Draco looked at his watch in annoyance and was getting tired of watching Potter and Pansy looking at each other with that lovey-dovey look. "How long can it take to make a bloody bottle?" he asked no one in particular.

Potter shrugged. "I know it doesn't take this long. I'll go see what's taking so long," he said before kissing Pansy's cheek.

"No, I'll go," said Draco as he stood from the bench and eyed his sons. "They better be safe when we get back," he threatened as Pansy rolled her eyes and gave him a dismissive look. He just smirked and walked quickly towards Hermione's flat. He had a strange feeling in his gut that he couldn't quite place. Hopefully it would die when he set eyes on Hermione again.

As he neared her door, he noticed with a frown that she had left it open. He stepped inside and looked around for any sign of trouble. He felt slightly foolish, but he couldn't hear any type of noise anywhere in the flat. "Hermione?" he called, but received no reply. "Stop playing, Granger," he said as he walked into the kitchen and spotted the half-made bottles of formula.

The feeling in his gut expanded to his chest and he walked to her bedroom to check if she was there. She wasn't there either, and as he turned to go, something taped to the mirror of her vanity. He moved towards the sheet of paper and pulled it off easily, his heart thundering in his chest. He sat down and read the note, realizing with a painful jolt that it was her neat handwriting. He couldn't believe what the note said. He didn't want to believe that Hermione would be capable of doing such a thing to him. To their sons.

Potter found him sitting there like a statue, no feeling in his eyes as he stared at nothing. "Where's Hermione?" he asked.

Draco handed over the note without a word and stood, walking out of the room. Harry frowned and wondered about Malfoy's strange behavior, but then he read the note the other man had handed over and felt the blood drain from his face. No, he couldn't be reading and seeing correctly. Hermione would never do what the note said. Never. This was some type of sick joke. He checked her drawers and her closet.

Everything was gone. He read the note again and felt his heart sink into the pit of his stomach.

'Draco, I'm sorry for doing this, but I can only hope that the children remain safe under your care. I'm tired. I can't care for them both on my own anymore. You and I will never be. Please don't look for me because you won't find me. I will never come back again. I will start over far from here, so please take care of the boys. I'm so sorry.

Hermione G.'