This is pretty delayed, I know. I'm still a month behind and that is what it is. This chapter is quite a bit shorter than the others, but I think it ends in a good place. We're winding down to the end now, and I will probably include Halloween in the next chapter. Time will tell. Thank you for sticking with me and my story.

Beta love to mcal.

Hermione

Rolling over, the sheets bunched around her waist, Hermione reached across the bed. Her fingers brushed against Draco's warm skin, and she smirked as she lightly skimmed his sides. He flipped over with a quiet, but adorable, squeak and glared at her. "You shouldn't poke a sleeping dragon."

Hermione burst into laughter. "Am I supposed to ride one?"

His eyes darkened, narrowing as he slipped an arm behind her back and draped her over his chest. "That mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble one of these days," Draco murmured. He brushed her hair to the side, leaning up to press his lips a deep purpling love bite on her shoulder.

A weak sound escaped her, and she ground down on him. "I thought tickling you was going to get me into trouble?"

Draco snorted. "No, but that might get you knocked off the bed." His arms locked around her middle, and his lips skimmed her collarbone.

Digging her nails into his shoulders, Hermione let the sheets fall away from her body and wrapped her legs around his waist. "Do you need to leave soon?" she whispered, dragging her fingers through his already messy hair. "Or can we take our time?"

He groaned. "I'm not leaving this bed until you're thoroughly satiated." Draco's hand slipped between them, brushing against her stomach before his fingers parted her folds. "You're still wet for me."

She gasped, burying her face in his shoulder as a finger pumped into her, followed quickly by a second. "We did wake up in the middle of the night, don't you remember?"

Hermione knew he was smirking without seeing it. "Oh? I don't remember. Perhaps you should remind me."

Pushing down against his hand, and whimpering as his fingers curled inside her, Hermione quickly thought of the perfect way to take him by surprise. Her breath fanning across his neck, she murmured next to his ear, "Don't you remember me waking you up?"

"No," Draco said breathlessly.

"You don't?" Hermione pouted even if he couldn't see it, enjoying herself too much to think that she probably looked ridiculous. "Let me remind you then. I rolled over and woke you. I snuck my hand under the blanket, wrapping my fingers around your cock, and then you tried to kiss me, but I didn't let you."

"Fuck, why wouldn't you let me?" He groaned.

Hermione giggled. "Because I slipped under the blanket and wrapped my lips around you. I took your cock into my mouth and—"

"Fucking hell," Draco growled, hauling her up and pinning her to the bed. His knee wedged between her thighs. "You're going to kill me," he muttered, his breathing ragged as he lowered his head, and took one nipple into his mouth.

Hermione wiggled under him, wrapping her legs around him once more, and arching her back as he pinched the other. "Then you'd better learn to keep up."

He glowered at her. "I can keep up with you, Granger." The dark look in his eyes combined with the way her surname rolled off his tongue roughly had her back arching. "Would you like me to prove it?" Draco teased, lips skimming her stomach as he sat on his knees.

"Yes." Hermione nodded fervently, parting her legs farther. "You have that look on your face that means you're up to no good."

"Oh," Draco spoke roughly. "I assure you that you'll find it quite good."

While there was little doubt about that, Hermione whined when he didn't lean between her thighs to work over into climaxing on his tongue. "What are you—?"

Draco sat with his back flush against the bedpost and crooked a finger at her. "Will you sit right here for me, love?" He motioned between his legs.

Sighing, Hermione moved and sat with her back to his chest, his legs bracketing hers. "You know, I quite liked what you were about to do."

He sniggered quietly behind her, moving to carefully tie her hair up. "I know you do, love. If you had it your way, you'd probably have my mouth between your pretty thighs every chance we got."

She gulped, the words making her stomach twist as he reached down to part her legs. "I don't think you'd complain about that."

"Oh, certainly not." Draco rasped. "Just like that. Spread your legs for me, sweetheart."

Hermione loathed pet names. She always had, no matter who they came from, but when it was Draco she couldn't help herself. Each one made her want to curl into him, happy to let him do anything he liked to her. "Draco?"

He circled her clit slowly, barely touching her even as she pushed her hips forward. "Will you let me tease you?"

Hermione whimpered. "I'm impatient."

"I know you are," Draco whispered, kissing a path down her neck, causing her to shiver. "And you don't have to allow me this either. I'm happy to satisfy you in all the ways you want."

Her hands were trembling from barely there touches, but Hermione swallowed. The thought of him touching her, but never reaching her own release, wasn't something Hermione would have considered on her own. However, as she thought about it—despite it being only a few seconds that passed—she found herself growing more curious. "Yes."

"Thank you," Draco whispered. He raised his free hand, smoothing over her stomach before cupping her breast, thumb sliding over the centre.

Rocking back against him, and against his fingers, Hermione's lips parted. "Oh." She moaned, squirming against him. His fingers moved slowly against her, and then his pace quickened, "Draco, I'm—" Close, so close to tipping over the edge and coming apart under his touch.

Even though it was only minutes that passed as she writhed under him, it felt like much longer as she tilted her head and stretched up to kiss him. His tongue met hers, and she moaned weakly into his mouth. "Draco—" There was a question on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't force the words out as two fingers pumped into her, his thumb still dedicated to the sensitive bundle of nerves.

Lips brushing against the hollow of her throat, Draco rasped, "Come for me, love."

There weren't words for how air rushed from her lungs, and she collapsed against him, her nails biting into his thighs as she rode out waves of pleasure. Hermione whimpered, turning into his chest.

"I'm so fucking lucky." He groaned as she palmed his erection, fingers wrapping around it.

Hermione peeked up at him through her lashes. "Do you remember what came next this morning?" she breathed coyly.

His brows shot toward his hairline. "I think I can figure it out," Draco muttered while depositing her into his lap.

Draco

While he stood in the kitchen, a cup of tea in his hand, Draco reconsidered his choice not to join Hermione in the shower. While it was true he needed to get home in order to prepare for his night shift at the hospital, she was a minx, and surely he could have still made time for both. In the middle of pondering stripping and joining her anyway—and pressing her to the wall while the steady stream of water did nothing to silence the delectable sounds she made—his mobile vibrated against the counter.

Holding it to his ear, he laid his cup down. "Hello, Mother."

Narcissa didn't linger on pleasantries. "How long have you known Astoria was sick?" she snapped, and when silence followed, she spoke with a chilly edge to her voice. "Draco, I just received a call from her mother, and she's catatonic."

He dragged a hand down his face, casting a look toward the doorway that Hermione could walk through any moment. "Give me a second. I'm at Hermione's and she doesn't know yet. I don't want to put her in a panic."

"You're at Hermione's?" Narcissa echoed. "Did you stay the night?"

Penning a semi-decent note, Draco told Hermione that he'd been called to the hospital and hadn't been able to wait for her. I'm terribly sorry. I'll text you the first chance I get. "You know," Draco started as he shut the door to her flat behind him. "I don't think I want to have a conversation with you about my sleeping habits."

"That's assuming you actually get any sleep." Narcissa snarked. "But, back to the matter at hand, how long have you known Astoria was sick?"

He jogged down the steps, holding his phone to his ear with his shoulder as he fished his keys from his pocket. "She hasn't told me herself, and I'd prefer you didn't let her find out that I know," Draco replied, pressing the button to unlock his car and the headlights flickered. "What did her mother tell you?"

"Astoria is creating a last will and testament. She's meeting with a lawyer later this week."

It felt like the air had been knocked out of him as he slumped in his seat. "Tori has always been well-prepared, Mother. We don't know what the prognosis will be—"

Narcissa swallowed, the sound audible from the other side of the line. "I know you want to look at this optimistically, but we can't afford to do that. You need to speak with her, Draco. And what are you thinking, keeping something as important as this from Hermione? Now, I want to think of the worst-case scenario as much as the next person, but this is life-altering."

"Mother—"

"Don't," she hissed. "It's absolutely irresponsible to keep a secret like this from your partner. Promise me you'll tell Hermione, and soon. No putting this off, Draco." His mother was right, of course. He knew that.

He'd known it since they were seated across from each other and the gravity of the situation crashed down on him. "I know. I'll talk to Tori this weekend when I pick up Scorpius."

Hermione

Staring at her toes, she wasn't certain what to think. It had been on her mind for several days, The responsible thing to do was to speak plainly with Draco about it, but Hermione hadn't been able to bring herself to do so.

It hadn't been her intention to discuss it with Charlie either, but as he sat on her sofa, his chin braced against his palm as his eyes narrowed dangerously, Hermione had done just that. "You haven't asked him about it?" He asked, his voice low, but she could hear the thinly veiled anger. "Hermione?"

She shook her head. "No, I haven't."

"Why the fuck not?"

Her wince didn't go unnoticed.

"Give me a second. I'm at Hermione's and she doesn't know yet. I don't want to put her in a panic."

Hermione brought her knees to her chest. "For all I know, he has a very good reason for this." She reasoned. "Now that I've allowed so much time to pass, it only looks even worse that I've waited to—"

Charlie held up a hand. "No, it doesn't. What makes this look worse is how he's apparently keeping something from you."

"He might have a good reason not to worry me," Hermione repeated, but even she didn't believe the hollow words that left her mouth. "All right, even if he did, I wouldn't want him to keep things from me for the sake of not worrying me."

Charlie nodded. "That's right. He shouldn't keep anything from you, and you ought to call him out on it."

Despite the fact that he was right, it was the absolute last thing Hermione wanted to do. The near promise of conflict set her on edge, but she had to admit that their relationship had been strained—at least from her side—for days. Draco had noticed the littlest details: how she found ways out of holding his hand, how she shied away from physical intimacy.

She blew out a harsh breath. "I know."

"Then you'll confront him about it? Because if you don't, I'm going to," Charlie warned. "I'll break that man like a twig."

Hermione snorted. "No, you won't." While Draco didn't possess the burly build that Charlie Weasley did, Hermione was intimately aware of just how strong Draco was. "And even if you could," Charlie looked offended, "you wouldn't. You wouldn't want to upset me."

He grimaced. "Well, if he upsets you, all bets are off."

Her mobile rang, an unknown number stretching across the screen. Normally she wouldn't answer, but Hermione dragged her finger across the screen anyway. "Hello, this is Hermione."

"Hermione, it's Astoria."

Hermione's eyes shot open and Charlie stared at her, making several motions with his hands and mouthing, "Draco's ex-wife?"

She waved him off and stood. "Hello, can I help you with something?" Hermione replied, pacing in front of the couch. "Is everything all right?"

There was a deep breath. "Yes, everything is," Astoria's breathing hitched. "Everything is fine. I was wondering if you might be able to meet me to pick up Scorpius? Draco was called into surgery hours ago, and he's still in the operating theatre."

Hermione had offered the month before to pick up Scorpius if Draco couldn't, but Draco had reworked his schedule where she wouldn't need to.

"Of course." Hermione rushed. "One thing though, I don't have a car seat, and—"

Charlie held up a finger. "I have one in my backseat for Victoire."

"Nevermind." Hermione cut herself off. "My friend has one already for his niece if that's all right?" She mistakenly stubbed her toe on the coffee table and bit down on her lip hard to refrain from emitting a long string of curses.

"Is that 'Mione?" Scorpius asked in the background.

"Yes, sweetheart. She's coming to pick you up. Is that okay?"

"Yeah!"

Astoria returned to the phone. "Yes, that would be perfect. I'm so sorry to spring this on you."

"No, no." Hermione stepped into her flats, snatching Charlie's keys from the hook. "I don't mind. I'm happy to help." She threw her door open, whispering to Charlie to lock it behind him. "Where can we meet you?"

Astoria was sick.

Hermione knew it from the moment she stepped out of the car at the park, and Scorpius rushed to her. Swinging him into her arms, and settling him on her hip, she wasn't sure what to say. It wouldn't be acceptable to ask Astoria anything, Hermione imagined.

There were dark circles beneath her eyes, and she appeared weak, frail on her feet. Gone was the rosy colour that seemed to come naturally to the blonde. Now her complexion rivalled her son's and not in the best way.

"'Mione, I missed you." Scorpius wrapped his arms around her neck, squeezing tightly.

"Me too, buddy. Why don't you play with Theo for a minute while I talk to your mum?" Hermione set him on his feet. While the man's name left a bad taste in her mouth given the shared history between Draco and Astoria, it wasn't her place to judge. "It's nice to see you." Hermione smiled. "Astoria, this is Charlie. Charlie, this is Astoria."

Tori shook his hand. "You don't mind if I speak to Hermione alone, do you?"

"I'll make myself scarce," Charlie said, making his way toward Theo and Scorpius.

Hermione shifted her weight, tucking her hands into her pockets. "What brings you to London?"

Taking a seat at the table, Astoria waited for her to sit across from her. "I had another appointment with a specialist." She murmured quietly. "Before you ask, everything is all right. You just caught me on a bad day."

Hermione forced a smile. "I have no doubt."

Gulping, Astoria clasped her hands over the table. "I'm actually happy Draco was busy because I wanted to talk to you. If that's agreeable with you…?"

The woman's mood had made a dramatic shift since their first meeting months ago. "I'm not in any rush," Hermione replied quietly, her eyes straying to where Scorpius was attempting a handstand. Or, she thought that was what he was doing.

Astoria sucked in a deep breath. "I owe you an apology."

What Hermione had expected, that hadn't been it. "I beg your pardon?"

"I've acted like an absolute cow."

Hermione snorted.

Astoria's eyes lightened. "Yes, I'm quite aware that's putting it mildly. I wasn't ready for Draco to start dating, or for him to find 'the one' on the first attempt."

Two words were all it took to render Hermione silent.

"And sharing my son with another woman—especially one he adores so much—hasn't been easy either. Still, that's no excuse for my behaviour on either part. I lost Draco due to my own selfishness, and if I'm required to share my son with someone," Astoria lifted her eyes, placing her hand over Hermione's. "I find that I like you. Once I got over myself, that is."

Still reeling from every word that had been spoken, Hermione didn't know what to say. So, that was all she said.

"I'm sure it's a great deal to take in." Astoria laughed, pushing her hair from her face as the wind blew past them. "I understand that you loathe Theo."

"I—" Could she say she didn't? Hermione sighed. "He's not my favourite person, but treating him badly won't improve the situation. What occurred during your marriage is done, and there's no changing that. From what I can see, Theo is doing a lot for you now, and I can't be angry about that."

"I might love him," Astoria whispered. "You're the only person I've told that."

Out of all of the conversations in her life, this must have been the most surreal. "Perhaps you should tell him. Somehow, I doubt he'll say anything but the same."

She shook her head. "That's not fair, is it? For me to fall in love with the same person I ruined my marriage over?"

Unsure of what Astoria expected her to say, Hermione chose to pretend that this wasn't Draco's ex-wife. This was a stranger, maybe even a tentative friend. "Mistakes don't mean you should deny yourself happiness." Hermione turned her hand over and squeezed Astoria's. "And to be blunt, you chose him for a reason, I imagine. While I can't fathom making that kind of decision, letting him go means ending your marriage for nothing."

Pretty blue eyes grew glossy as they watered, and Astoria slid her fingers through Hermione's. "That's very kind of you to say."

Hermione smiled, and it was genuine. "You're still allowed to be loved and move on with your life. You don't need to punish yourself anymore. Let that go. Everyone is healing, or I think they are, at least."

"Oh, yes. Draco is nothing like what he was last year. You've done so much for him, for Scorpius, that I'm not sure how I'll ever repay you."

Arching an eyebrow, Hermione thought it sounded ridiculous. "You don't need to repay me for anything. Just promise me you'll take care of yourself, and you'll stop punishing yourself."

Astoria smiled.

Draco

Dinner with his parents had not been planned, nor had it been wanted. Not even in the slightest, but when his father called with the news that they were in the city, and had made reservations for four, there hadn't been a good way out of it.

Hermione had taken the news quietly, nodding her head before putting her earbuds back in and typing madly away at her laptop.

She was another problem he hadn't solved yet. Hesitant to use the word problem, but not knowing what else to say, Draco knew something was wrong. Hermione had been distant for days now but hadn't said anything to him. In fact, he'd been forced to hear from Tori that their visit had gone very well, and she wanted to celebrate Scorpius' birthday next month together.

Two months ago, that would have signalled the end of times.

"Hermione?" Draco whispered, massaging her shoulder.

She shut her laptop softly and looked up. "Is it time to get ready? Your father will probably expect us to be early, or he'll tell me how I'm—"

"What's wrong?"

She clammed up, her mouth snapping shut and she turned away from him. "Nothing's wrong. What are you talking about?"

Sighing, he leaned against the desk in her living room and folded his arms over his chest. "Hermione, you've been upset for a week. I'm not blind. I thought it might be best to give you space, but—"

Hermione dropped her notebooks on the counter. "I don't think the correct time to talk about this is before we meet your parents for dinner."

He frowned. "Well, the correct time would have been anytime this week, but since you haven't—"

She glared at him, her lips pressed into a thin line. "Oh, you're blaming me? That's fucking classic, Draco. It couldn't be your fault, could it?"

His eyes narrowed. "As far as I'm aware, I haven't done anything to upset you."

Hermione drew a deep breath. "Give me a second. I'm at Hermione's and she doesn't know yet. I don't want to put her in a panic."

All of the colour drained from his face.

Still glaring, she asked, "Does that sound familiar? You said it while you left me a note telling me you needed to get to the hospital for surgery."

"Shite, Hermione, this isn't as bad as you think it is." Draco rushed. He'd really gone and fucked this up. "Astoria is sick, and they don't think the prognosis will be good."

"I know that, you tremendous prat."

"She told you?" Tori hadn't even told him yet.

"It's fucking obvious!" Hermione growled. "It's a terrible thing, and I don't know specifically, but how hard is it to say 'Astoria is sick, and we're worried about the worst?' Fuck, Draco, you told me you were worried over dinner last month!"

When he took a step toward her, Hermione took a step backward. "I know this was a mistake. I'm so sorry."

Hermione shook her head. "I would have understood if you told me you were worried, but that you didn't want to talk about it. What I'm most angry about, what I'm hurt," her voice wavered, "about is how you left a note that you'd been called into surgery. This is something you tell me at least once a week, sometimes more than that. How am I supposed to believe that now?"

Draco reached for her, and let his hand fall when she didn't reciprocate. "Hermione, I would never lie to you. I thought that this—"

"I'm going to get dressed," Hermione stated. "I'm going to do my makeup as well, and I would prefer not to cry anymore." She turned away from him, her eyes watering.

Draco wished he'd just cancelled the fucking dinner, especially once they got there.

Hermione

Draco didn't attempt to apologise again, even though she could see how he would open his mouth and shut it just as quickly. He didn't hold her hand in the car, and she missed the contact desperately. He met her outside the car after the valet opened her door, and while he would normally have placed his hand at the small of her back, Draco allowed his hand to hover instead.

Hermione couldn't decide if she wanted to grab his hand or continue to keep her head high and remain angry. Anger never solved anything, she reasoned, but she couldn't accept the fact how easily he'd lied to her. Whether it had been an attempt to spare her feelings, or not. It bothered her that her trust was seemingly fractured.

The only consolation was that she knew he was sorry, and Draco would likely never make this mistake again. She just needed to work through this was all, and it would be fine. Their relationship would resume its own normalcy and she could roll over in bed in the mornings he stayed the night and lazily rock against him.

Narcissa stood from the table, kissing Hermione on the cheek and wrapping her in a one-armed hug. "It's so lovely to see you, dear. Thank you for making time for us." To the left of them, Lucius scoffed. "Behave." Narcissa hissed, pinching his bicep.

Already feeling wholly unwelcome, Hermione took her seat as Draco held it out for her. "Thank you for inviting me." Hermione's voice was quiet, polite, and she avoided Lucius' eyes from across the table when she could.

In fact, the man hardly spoke, which Hermione considered to be a blessing. She wasn't sure she was up to verbally sparring with the man at the moment.

"How is work?" Narcissa asked.

Draco offered a sufficient answer of how the hospital was as busy as it ever was, but there had been an increase in knife related crimes, which led to an increase of teenagers being brought in. "It's a terrible thing." He said, his knee bumping Hermione's under the table. "One can only hope it will lessen soon."

Lucius took a long drink of his whisky. "Perhaps parents will learn how to raise their children as well. So many deviants in the streets here," he stated distastefully.

Hermione frowned. "You can't possibly lump all of those teenagers into the same category of having bad parents."

Draco released a hard breath.

Lucius glared at her. "Perhaps not, but one could say infestations start at the root." His features were drawn, "Do you often let her spout whatever nonsense is on her mind?"

"Father—" Draco snarled.

Hermione laughed. "You must be under the impression that your son is my keeper. I'm sorry to disappoint, but I'm my own person. Careful, Mr Malfoy, your prejudice is showing when you talk about those so called deviants. Several of them have been failed by the system."

Lucius' fingers curled around his fork, and he pointed it in her direction. "So you'd defend them?"

Draco squeezed her knee under the table. She wasn't sure if it was out of support or a warning. "The violent offences they're committing are atrocious, but you complain about a problem without getting to the root as you so eloquently put it."

A smile curved Narcissa's lips, and she winked.

"It's not the job of others to fix—"

Hermione snorted.

He took her laughter as well as she could have expected. "Is this how you plan to raise Scorpius? To talk back to his elders, and spout utter nonsense."

She stopped short, her head whipping to the side to stare at Draco. "What are you talking about? I'm not Scorpius' mother."

Narcissa appeared stricken. "Draco, you were meant to—"

Hermione swallowed hard, ashamed of the fact that she had gotten fifteen minutes into dinner before it fell apart. "Are you keeping even more things from me?" She whispered.

Raking his fingers through his hair, Draco looked pained. "It's not so simple."

That was a yes. "You're kidding." Hermione pushed away from the table. "I'm sorry to have ruined your dinner, but I can't stay."

His mother nodded, sympathy clouding her features as Hermione pulled her handbag over her shoulder.

With watering eyes, Hermione left the restaurant and Draco was right on her heels as she hurried down the sidewalk, reaching into her bag for a cab fare. "Hermione, stop, please," he rushed.

She froze in the middle of the street. "Draco, I'm sure we'll talk about this, and everything will be fine, but I don't want to look at you right now."

Draco moved in front of her, planting himself in her path as if she wouldn't just walk around him if she liked. "Astoria has cancer," he blurted. "It's not looking good right now, and while we're hopeful, we're preparing for the worst. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want to put you under pressure."

Her lips morphed into a scowl. "Did you ever consider the fact that this affects me as well? I understand that I'm not family, but I deserved to hear the truth from you and not your father. Who, by the way, is probably overjoyed that we're fighting."

"All I've thought about is how this will change everything."

She nodded, pursing her lips. "How long has she known?"

A car passed them, spraying water over them, and Draco looped an arm around her waist, pulling her out of the way before she was drenched. "She hasn't told me herself yet. I haven't questioned her either. It's a delicate situation, as you can imagine."

Hermione stared at the sky overhead, counting to ten before sighing. "My bet is that Astoria has known ever since she cried in the kitchen while telling me about Scorpius' favourite foods and books. She's known for a while. If she's seeing a specialist now, then that must mean…" She didn't want to ponder that.

Draco didn't let go of her, and she didn't move. "My father wanted to rile you up. He couldn't have known what he'd be revealing, but he aimed to hurt you."

Of course. "Tell me right now everything you need to tell me," Hermione stated. "If you don't, I'll take a cab home because there will be nothing left to say."

Heaving a sigh, he did just as she said. "Astoria's created a will. She's getting her affairs in order, and one of those would be you."

Eyes widening, Hermione tilted her head up.

"She doesn't want Scorpius to be without a mother."

Her legs wobbled, and Draco steadied her. Hermione hadn't considered children much, but this? "I'm not his mother," Hermione whispered. "She'll always be his—"

Draco cupped her cheek. "She knows that, Hermione. She's just scared for him."

"He'll have you," she breathed.

"Of course he will, but all she's ever wanted is for Scorpius to grow up in a healthy home with two people that love him. I didn't want to put this on you. It's so much to ask when we've only been dating for a short time."

Her heartbeat was loud in her ears. "I still don't agree with that decision."

He chuckled. "Believe me, I know. You've made that clear. I'll never keep anything from you again."

Hermione curled her fingers in his shirt. "You've told me what Astoria wants. What do you want?"

Blond hair fell into his face as he jerked. "I can't ask you anything, Hermione. This is your choice, and I don't want to sway you either way, despite how selfish I am."

That was half of an answer, wasn't it? Hermione shook her head. "Please, I want to hear it from you. I couldn't make this choice without hearing it."

Draco cradled her face and leaned down, pressing his lips to hers feverishly. It must have been the desperate kiss they had ever shared, his thumb running along her cheekbone until she was dizzy. When he pulled back, Draco murmured, "I'm quite certain that all I've done in my life is wander until I found you."

Tears burned her eyes. "Draco..." she whispered.

He smiled. "I've spent the bulk of my life not doing what I truly wanted, and all I want is you. I'm not asking you to make a sudden decision to be the mother to my child right now, but I'd like to know if it's a possibility."

It wasn't something she'd ever wanted until right then. The circumstances were horrifying, and she hated to think of the absolute devastation it would bring to them. But even with the worst circumstances, Hermione knew the answer.

She stretched up on her toes, pressing her lips to his and bumping his nose with hers in the process. "The answer is yes," Hermione murmured and laughed quietly when he picked her up off her feet.

It is super weird knowing I'm starting to wrap up my loose ends now and plot out the ending to this story. But I'm excited to finish this and move on to my next dramione to post. Let me know what you thought of this chapter if you like!