Disclaimer: hers not mine.
The Marauders: The Next Generation 12
Draco left the room in a rush, down the stairs two at a time and out the front door. He had to get out of there. The walls were closing in on him and he couldn't breathe. What had he done? Bloody hell, why hadn't he told her? Draco was dying inside. As the tears streamed down his face he started to run. He had to get away, away from the house, from the pain, from himself. He ran for a few minutes and found himself at the glen. He entered the sanctuary of the glen feeling more alone than he had ever felt in his entire life. He had hurt one of the most important people in his life and he wasn't sure that he would ever be able to fix the pain. He walked over to the wall that was part of the old ruin and sat against it placing his head in his hands and he sobbed.
~~*~~
Severus had heard the raised voices and had gone to find out who it was. It sounded like a child. When he reached Kyleigh's room he was appalled at what he heard.
"But Sweetness I need to explain some things," Draco sobbed.
"DON'T CALL ME THAT AGAIN AND LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Severus couldn't believe that Kyleigh would talk to any adult like that, much less to Draco.
As he stepped into the room he was nearly run over by Draco who was exiting as fast as he could. He saw Kyleigh on her bed with her head buried into her pillow with Hermione sitting on the bed in shock with tears coursing down her pale cheeks.
That is when the old Snape came out and he started barking out orders.
"Hermione, you need to get your cloak and your husbands and go find him! Everyone else out, NOW! I need to have a talk with this young lady," he demanded.
As soon as everyone had left, Severus rounded on Kyleigh.
"Sit up and look at me," he growled in a very deep voice.
Kyleigh looked at him with a mixture of emotions. She was angry with her Mother, Draco and Master for talking to her like that but she was also a little afraid. She had never heard him raise his voice or talk to her in such a tone.
"Are you out of your mind? You must be to have just done that to Draco. How could you be so cruel?" he asked with a look on his face that Kyleigh had never seen, disgust.
"What about what he did to me?" she said defiantly.
"What did he do to you other that love you unconditionally? That man has been through hell for you. You can't even begin to understand the sacrifices he has made just because of you," Severus shot back at her.
"He let me believe that he was my father. He knew he wasn't and so did everyone else and yet he made me believe that he was," she said as she viciously wiped away the tears that were running down her face.
"Let me tell you a little about Draco Malfoy. This man you want to deny your love to suddenly has loved you from the moment your Mother told him of your existence," he said as he saw tears welling up in her eyes. He walked over to the bed and sat down. He took her hand and said quietly,
"Kyleigh, you may have seen the memory from a deranged man, but I was the one who found Draco and Hermione. When I was walking past the classroom. I heard your Mother's sobs. When I looked in I couldn't believe the violence that had taken place. Draco was almost unrecognizable he had been beaten so badly and your mother," he had to pause to keep from sobbing, "she was lying there naked, bleeding and broken. It was the most terrifying thing I had ever seen, and I had been a death eater and had seen some very bad things," he swallowed hard and continued.
"For months she wouldn't speak. She was dying inside. And then there was the secret. She had to come to grips with the fact that the man that had took her innocence, who hated her so much had gotten her pregnant. Also that the boy she loved more than life would be this child's brother. She didn't know how he was going to react. What if he hated her for it or blamed her. The woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with now carried his father's child. But did this matter to Draco? No. When Hermione told him she was pregnant and that she wanted to keep you because she loved you, he took her in his arms and said that he would raise this child as his own, that you need never know that he wasn't your father. He didn't want you to know that such a horrible man had fathered you. He only wanted you to know love. Draco and Hermione would never do anything to intentionally hurt you," he said as he stroked the tears from Kyleigh's face.
"But he did decide a couple of years ago that he would be telling you before you started Hogwarts. The daughter of one of the people Lucius used against Draco would be attending school with you and her mother would make sure that she knew the whole sordid story. Draco didn't want you to find out from some slimy little git. He wanted to be the one to explain everything to you, however someone beat him to it and now his greatest fears have come true. He thinks you hate him."
"But I don't," she said and then gasped, "Oh no, what have I done?"
~~*~~
Hermione grabbed her cloak and Draco's and ran out the door. She knew where he would be going, the glen.
As she approached she heard him. It was the most devastating thing she had ever heard. When she walked in she saw him sitting against the wall sobbing. Her heart sank. She slowly made her way to him, gently wrapped his cloak around him and then pulled him close into her embrace. After a while when his sobs quieted she said,
"Draco, all will turn out fine. She is just in shock right now. She has been through so much," Hermione said trying to sound reassuring.
"But she hates me," he said as Hermione started to wipe away his tears.
"No love, she doesn't. She is just very confused right now. This is a lot for a 10-year-old to digest. As soon as she has had time to think she will be alright, besides," Hermione said with a small twinkle in her eye, "Snape is back."
Draco looked at her puzzled. "How so?"
"Well as soon as you left he took charge and started barking out orders. You should have seen the look on Katarina's face when he told everyone to get out of the room," Hermione said trying to suppress a little smile.
"That's right, Kat has never seen him in Snape mode before," said Draco.
"No she hasn't and I think she was more than just a little intimidated." Draco just gave a small smile and shook his head.
"Well, are you ready to talk to your daughter again?" asked Hermione.
"In a few minutes," he said. "Right now I just want to sit here with you."
Hermione smiled at this and rested her head on him chest.
"Hermione," he said.
She looked up at him and he said,
"I love you."
"And I you," she said.
He cupped the side of her face and gently brushed his lips with hers. She melted. After all these years he could still make her feel that way.
~~*~~
Nearly two hours later, Draco and Hermione made their way back up to the manor. They had stayed at the glen discussing what to say and do when Kyleigh finally wanted to talk.
When they entered the house Severus greeted them.
"Draco, are you all right?" he asked concerned.
"Yes, how is Kyleigh?" asked Draco.
"She is better. We had a very long talk. She is a very bright little girl. Only now since what she said to you she thinks that you hate her."
"I could never hate her," said Draco.
"I know."
"Do you think she will want to talk to us now?" asked Draco.
"Yes. She has had something to eat, took a bath and is waiting for you to come to see her."
"Good," said Draco. As he turned to go upstairs, Hermione touched his arm and said,
"I think maybe you need to see her alone first."
"Thanks," he said as he kissed her on the cheek.
"I love you," she said.
"And I you."
When he reached the hall outside Kyleigh's bedroom Draco heard the soft tinkling of the music box that he had given her for Christmas.
He took a deep breath and opened the door.
Ginny was sitting by Kyleigh's bed. When she heard Draco enter she got up.
"She fell asleep and few minutes ago. After she ate and took a bath she was exhausted."
"I think I will just sit here with her, I don't want to wake her up," said Draco as he sat in the chair next to her bed.
"Okay, I'll tell Hermione. If you need anything just let us know."
"Thanks."
When Ginny left, Draco gently laid his head on Kyleigh's bed. After a short while, he too fell into an exhausted sleep.
Somewhere in the middle of the night he had a dream that him and Kyleigh had made up and were having fun in the fountains in Palm Beach where he and Hermione had first fell in love. Then someone was stroking his hair. As he woke he realized it was Kyleigh. She was crying softly as she ran her fingers through his hair.
"Hello," he said tenderly.
"Hello," she replied as the tears started coming faster.
"Why are you crying," Draco asked.
"Because I hurt you. And I am so very sorry for hurting you like I did," she said as the tears came running down her face. Draco got out of the chair and sat on the bed with her.
As he pulled Kyleigh into his arms he tenderly said, "I should have told you long ago. I am so sorry. There is one thing in this world that I want so badly it hurts and that is to be your father, but I'm not, I'm your brother."
"Well," she said hugging him tightly, " you may be my brother but you will always be my Daddy."
With these words he himself started to cry.
"Kyleigh, I love you so much," he said as he kissed her tenderly on the forehead.
"I love you too Daddy."
~~*~~
The next morning when Hermione woke, she came to Kyleigh's room to talk to her and Draco. When she opened the door a big smile adorned her face. There sitting with his back to the headboard was Draco sound asleep tenderly holding Kyleigh as she rested her head on his chest. She turned and quietly shut the door.