Draco had dozed off on Hermione's lap when his mother arrived. Hermione had gently shaken him awake.

"Draco," she said softly, "your mother's here."

"She's in the sitting room with Scorpius," Hermione said. "You were sleeping so well."

Draco nodded, "I know." He moved the get up, pulling Hermione with him. "Okay, let's get this over with."

He left the study with study with Hermione trailing behind him. He wanted to reach back and take her hand, but didn't.

"Mother," he greeted as he walked into the sitting room. Narcissa had Scorpius on her lap and he was telling her about his sleepover at James'.

"We almost stayed up all night!" Scorpius said excitedly. "But I fell asleep and James too."

"Oh, hello, dear," Narcissa said, after Scorpius finished his story. "Sorry for the late notice, but I hadn't seen Scorpius in nearly two weeks!"

"It's fine, mother," Draco took a seat across from her. "I wanted to speak with you, anyways." He looked over at Hermione, who was standing sheepishly in the doorway, "Would you mind taking Scorpius to his room to play for a bit."

Scorpius jumped off his grandmother's knee and ran to Hermione. He took her hand, as she led him to his room. Once Draco was sure Scorpius was out of range, he started.

"I want to know what is going on with father. He showed up at Hermione's last week and startled her," Draco cut straight to the point.

Narcissa looked shocked, "I had no idea. He never mentioned that he went there."

"Well, he did. And he called her a – mudblood," Draco hushed the last word.

A crease formed on Narcissa's forehead. "I can't tell you why he did that because I don't know, Draco."

He sighed, "He hasn't told you anything? Is he upset about my relationship with her? Does he plan on harassing my family more?"

Narcissa shook her head. "He only wishes to speak with you. He wants to see his grandson. Yes, he was – shocked, for lack of a better word about your relationship with Hermione, but he wasn't angry."

Draco ran a hand through his hair and then down his face. "You can tell him that I will speak with him. But he is never to show up here or at Hermione's again. If he does, I am not responsible for what will happen to him."

"I believe he has changed, Draco," Narcissa said quietly. Draco shot her a sharp look. "I will tell him and I understand why you are being so hesitant about letting him back into your life. If would just give him a chance, I'm sure he would appreciate it."

Draco only nodded. Despite his mother's and Hermione's wishes, he didn't want to give his father a chance. And he certainly didn't want him back in his life. Everything had been going so much better without him around. Draco thought back to how he felt when he had first met Hermione in her bookshop. He had wanted so badly for her to know that he had changed. What if his father was feeling the same way?

Letting out a deep breath, Draco said, "I'll go get Scorpius."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Before Narcissa left, she smiled at Hermione. "It was so lovely seeing you again."

Hermione smile graciously, "Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy. It was nice seeing you again also."

"I have not forgotten about tea, Hermione," Narcissa said softly. "We will have tea as soon as everything is – settled." His mother took a deep breath before continuing. "I must thank you for being so wonderful with my grandson. He deserves someone like you."

Hermione blushed and looked down at Scorpius. "It's my pleasure, I assure you."

Awkwardness filled the room. It seemed that no one knew what to say next. Hermione fiddled with her hands, wringing them together.

Draco leaned in to give his mother a farewell kiss on the cheek, "I'll see you soon, mother."

"You will think about what I said, Draco," Narcissa said in a hush tone. She placed a hand on his arm.

Draco nodded briefly, "Yes."

Narcissa smiled brilliantly. Scorpius ran up to Narcissa and hugged her around her legs. "Bye nana!"

"Oh, bye, dear," Narcissa said before stepping into the fireplace.

Once she left, Draco could feel Hermione's stare on him. He knew that she wanted to discuss his talk with his mother. But he didn't want to talk about his father, not right now anyways. He was tired and tired of the subject. So he reached over and placed a quick kiss on her lips.

"Let's have supper?" Draco spoke before Hermione could.

"Yes!" Scorpius shrieked and jumped excitedly.

Draco reached down and picked up his son. He threw the boy in the air and caught him. Scorpius squealed and laughed loudly.

"Again, daddy, again!" Scorpius giggled, so Draco threw him up again.

"You're getting far too big for this, Scorp," Draco huffed. Placing Scorpius back on the ground, he moved to rub his back.

Hermione gently placed a hand on his back, rubbing it lightly. "You're only twenty-five, Draco," she laughed lightly.

He laughed softly, "I don't feel twenty-five."

He felt so much older. Watching Hermione chase Scorpius into the dining room, he thought about how much better she had made his life. Yes, he loved Scorpius dearly, but he wished that he could have had had him in later in life. That way he could have enjoyed his youth a bit longer. Hermione made him feel young, like he was supposed to feel.

Having her here with him was incredible. He loved waking up to her and he loved having her there. Watching her interact with Scorpius and helping him with Scorpius, made Draco appreciate her even more, more than he ever thought he could.

And she had stuck by him. She hadn't run away when Scorpius asked her to be his mother, she hadn't run away when his crazy father broke into her house.

"Merlin, I love her," He mumbled before he could stop the words from escaping his mouth.

She turned around and looked at him. His heart pounded in his chest. It wasn't the time to tell her yet. It was a new feeling, a scary feeling. He wanted to be absolutely sure about his feelings.

"Did you say something, Draco?" Hermione asked.

"No," he said a little too quickly. "I said I was hungry."

Hermione gave him an odd expression, like she didn't completely believe him. Shrugging slightly, Hermione steered Scorpius into the dining room.

"Come on, buddy," She smiled. "Let's get something to eat!"

There was a tapping on the window and Draco turned to see Pansy's red screech owl. He walked over to the window. Upon opening the window, the small owl hopped in. He gently pulled the letter from the owl's leg. The screech owl spread its wings and took off.

Draco quickly read the letter. It basically stated that Pansy needed help moving next week and wanted his help. Pansy also wanted Hermione and her friend to help, if they were willing.

"Hey, Hermione," Draco said, running to catch up with her. She was already sitting at the dining table, cutting Scorpius' food into smaller portions.

He took as seat beside her and she looked over at him. She nodded in acknowledgement, so he continued, "Pansy needs help moving next week. She needs extra wands to help her levitate the heavy boxes. She asked if you could help."

"Of course," Hermione smiled. "I wouldn't mind at all. I actually like Pansy, which is surprising. But stranger things have happened. I would actually like to have her as a friend."

Draco nodded in appreciation. "That's great, but she also asked if your friends would help."

Hermione frowned. She set the utensils down and turned to face him. "I know Harry will be more than willing, but I'll ask him anyways. Ginny probably shouldn't help seeing as she's almost six months pregnant. Ron probably won't be that thrilled about it, but I'll try to convince him. Believe it or not, he's actually very helpful when it comes to things like that. He often helps me in the shop with large boxes."

Draco groaned, "Merlin, I don't know if I can spend another afternoon with those to squabbling."

Hermione tossed her head back and laughed. "It was awful wasn't it? I hope we never sounded like that."

"We definitely didn't," Draco smiled. He took a deep drink from his water.

"Do you think – uh – they have sexual tension?" Hermione asked timidly and Draco choked on his water.

After his coughing fit calmed, Draco looked at her, dumbfounded. "No! No, absolutely not!" He cried.

Hermione frowned and turned to her plate, "I don't know. I think there might be something there."

A feeling of protectiveness towards Pansy rose up in Draco chest. He loved Pansy like a sister and he never wanted her to get hurt again.

"Pansy would never," Draco said simply, and Hermione's frown deepened. "I only mean, that Pansy is a spoiled rich girl and I mean that in the nicest way possible. It's just what she is and she could never…she just wouldn't." Draco shook his head several times in denial.

"Well, I don't think that it's that hard to believe," Hermione shrugged.