**This chapter is dedicated to all the people that died yesterday morning -
Thursday 11th of March 2004 - at 7:30 in Madrid**
"Hermione! How could you be so stupid!" exclaimed a clearly upset Harry Potter, pacing around the said woman.
After Jude took off, she had asked Harry to floo over.
Hermione put her head into her hands, shaking her brown mane a little.
"I don't know Harry, I was upset at Malfoy and I wanted to get this over with someday..." she sighed.
Throwing his hands in the air, the Boy-Who-Lived sat angrily in a nearby chair.
"He's eleven, for Merlin's sake! Why are you troubling him with things he can't understand, you should have waited a couple more years..."
"Actually" Malfoy, who was standing in a corner, leaning nonchalantly against the wall, interrupted, "it's better to have told him now than bother him with that in the year he will be taking his OWLs or NEWTs...?"
Hermione looked up at that comment, her eyes bloodshot.
"He has a point you know" she commented.
Harry sighed in frustration.
"I'll go talk to him," he said, looking at the Marauder's map he had taken out of his robes. "He's in the Astronomy tower," he uttered, getting up.
As he reached the door, he was blocked by the figure of Draco Malfoy.
"He's my son, I'll talk to him"
That said, the Potion teacher walked out, leaving a quite worried Hermione Granger and Harry Potter behind.
************************************************************************
After walking out of the room, Jude had wondered aimlessly in the hallways of Hogwarts. He had ended up in the Astronomy tower that was surprisingly empty. He settled himself in a corner and let his thoughts wonder.
'How...' he thought. How could mum do this to Daddy? How could his teacher be now his Daddy?
But then again, Jude had never liked Daddy in the first place, he was just a person with a clouded face in his dreams. That walked away. Always.
Was it that bad that Draco Malfoy was his father? No, it wasn't. The bad part was that his mum had him believe his whole life that his father was Viktor Krum.
Night gently came through the tower's windows, darkening swiftly the room.
"Hey, kid" walked in a shadow.
Jude didn't say anything, he shrugged and looked at his knees that were brought up to his chest. A second afterwards, the shadow had moved and was now sitting next to him.
Thoughts raced through Draco's mind at the moment. What could he say to him? He suddenly said whatever came first to him at the moment.
"You shouldn't be mad at her, she..." he started.
"I'm not mad at her," he was interrupted, "I'm mad at him. At Viktor. This pseudo-father image that was forced upon me. I'm mad at him because he made her cry and he made me hate him. For nothing."
Malfoy didn't know what to think anymore. There he was, sitting with a kid that was his son and who was rationalizing like an adult.
"You are like your mother", he chuckled.
A long silence followed that.
Jude hated long heavy silences like this one.
Draco hated long heavy silences like this one.
"You don't love her, right?" Jude finally said.
Malfoy stiffened at the question. "Why are you asking that?"
Stretching his soar legs onto the cold stony floor of the Astronomy tower, Jude replied: "When Harry or Fred told me about Hogwarts, they always mentioned the different people they knew. You used to me mean to the Gryffindors, they always referred to you as a ferret, an evil git, a..."
"That's enough, thank you," Draco interrupted, massaging his temples at the memories coming back to him, "It's true I don't love her. But I don't hate her. Though, she is quite easy to get annoyed that"
Jude rolled his eyes at that last comment.
"Tell me about it, I *LIVE* with her" he laughed, and Draco soon smirked at that.
"I think it's about time you see your mom... no?" he questioned, getting up.
************************************************************************
It was Hermione's turn to pace around the room. Biting her fingernails, she sometimes muttered a few 'I can't believe this' or 'where is he?'. Worry was written all over her features.
Harry Potter had settled himself on a sofa, elbows on his knees, his left hand scratching his scar.
A door creaking open made the two jump up.
"Honey!" yelled a hysterical Hermione as she threw herself in her son's arms, "I'm so sorry, I didn't think, I was afraid..."
The boy hugged his mother back and gently caressed her untamed hair. When she had finished weeping, he sat her down on the sofa next to Harry and looked at her tear-strained face.
"It's okay mum, I'm fine. It's not your fault," he reassured her.
Breathing back a sob, she said:
"So you still love me?"
She whipped the tears covering her face with shaking hands.
Jude smirked, and Hermione thought the resemblance with Malfoy was striking. 'No, not Malfoy, his father' she corrected herself mentally.
"Well, I might still love you, but only a little bit. Now, about that new broom for my birthday..."
"Jude!" she smiled.
"At least I tried!"
************************************************************************
Christmas break was approaching fast, and Jude was thrilled.
First, he was going to be in vacation. That was the greatest part. Two whole weeks of doing absolutely nothing.
Second, he will spend his vacation with his parents. Both of them. Not the mum-and-me kind of deal. But the my-parents-and-I one. At Malfoy Manor.
Third, this year, there will be more presents under the Christmas tree!
Fourth, and most important of all, NO MORE PROFESSOR BINNS FOR TWO WEEKS!
The last couple of months had been delightful to Jude. He had a father, which was quite new to him. And he had his mum, well, he always had his mum, but still, she was there.
Although, the one bad thing was that his parents (how he loved the sound of that) didn't get along well. After a long detailed explanation from Harry about their differences while at school, Jude understood the super happy family plan playing in his head was not about to take place any time soon.
'I wish I was still four,' he thought once, 'then I could take mum's hand and put it into Draco's, and I could ask them to marry using that sweet little baby voice and they'd fall into each other's arms crying, professing their undying love for each other'... 'I should stop reading Ginny's old romance novels, it's bad for me'
The last week of school went by quite rapidly. Before Hermione or Draco could plan it, they were standing together with their son in front of the Malfoy Manor.
'This is going to be awful...' both of them thought as they watched their son smirking wickedly at them.
************************************************************************
Draco had introduced the 2 house elves, Darcy and Ziggy, at Hermione's most profound bewilderment. He also had showed Jude to his room, where the boy was now settling in.
They were now standing in a huge room, cream and salmon pink colored. A chimney was lit and on top of it sat a mirror that was so big it reached the ceiling. On the opposite wall, a four-poster bed laid, imposingly vast, next to a window that led to a balcony.
"Wow" was all Hermione could intelligently say at the time. She had already been impressed by Jude's room, and now this.
Malfoy smirked.
"What did you expect?" he drawled, but then he continued on a more neutral tone, "It's my mother's old room"
Hermione looked into Draco's eyes to try and find some kind of hidden emotion. She was unsuccessful.
"Won't she mind?" she asked carefully.
"I don't think so, but if you're so worried about her approval, try St. Mungo's" he snorted.
The woman gasped at the information was being revealed to her. At the same time, new thoughts were flying through her mind. She didn't know anything about Malfoy, did she? She always had put him and the other Slytherin in a far away part of her brain back in school and ever since. She had never assumed anything, like Harry or Ron did, but she hadn't given them a chance either.
"Malfoy, I'm sorry, I didn't know,ยป she whispered.
Draco waved a hand at that comment, dismissing her apology.
"I supposed you want to see the library, it's at the end of the hallway, to the right ..." he started but was soon cut off.
"Actually, I want to know where the kitchens are"
"The kitchens?" the man stared back at her.
She snorted and glared at him.
"You didn't think I was going to let myself be served around by some poor slaved house elves, now, did you?" she replied.
************************************************************************
A/N: Hey!!! Wanted to end on a more humorous tone than last time cause I think it's better... I personally hate huge tension in stories. *cough* Enough about me. Hope you liked the chapter!!! I did write one more page than usual just for you, dear readers!!!
COOKIES TO: insanity-is-my-life, angel-dolphin1, TwinklingStarlightAquila, Forever Broken, Sarahamanda, blue-chick, C.C. !!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Hermione! How could you be so stupid!" exclaimed a clearly upset Harry Potter, pacing around the said woman.
After Jude took off, she had asked Harry to floo over.
Hermione put her head into her hands, shaking her brown mane a little.
"I don't know Harry, I was upset at Malfoy and I wanted to get this over with someday..." she sighed.
Throwing his hands in the air, the Boy-Who-Lived sat angrily in a nearby chair.
"He's eleven, for Merlin's sake! Why are you troubling him with things he can't understand, you should have waited a couple more years..."
"Actually" Malfoy, who was standing in a corner, leaning nonchalantly against the wall, interrupted, "it's better to have told him now than bother him with that in the year he will be taking his OWLs or NEWTs...?"
Hermione looked up at that comment, her eyes bloodshot.
"He has a point you know" she commented.
Harry sighed in frustration.
"I'll go talk to him," he said, looking at the Marauder's map he had taken out of his robes. "He's in the Astronomy tower," he uttered, getting up.
As he reached the door, he was blocked by the figure of Draco Malfoy.
"He's my son, I'll talk to him"
That said, the Potion teacher walked out, leaving a quite worried Hermione Granger and Harry Potter behind.
************************************************************************
After walking out of the room, Jude had wondered aimlessly in the hallways of Hogwarts. He had ended up in the Astronomy tower that was surprisingly empty. He settled himself in a corner and let his thoughts wonder.
'How...' he thought. How could mum do this to Daddy? How could his teacher be now his Daddy?
But then again, Jude had never liked Daddy in the first place, he was just a person with a clouded face in his dreams. That walked away. Always.
Was it that bad that Draco Malfoy was his father? No, it wasn't. The bad part was that his mum had him believe his whole life that his father was Viktor Krum.
Night gently came through the tower's windows, darkening swiftly the room.
"Hey, kid" walked in a shadow.
Jude didn't say anything, he shrugged and looked at his knees that were brought up to his chest. A second afterwards, the shadow had moved and was now sitting next to him.
Thoughts raced through Draco's mind at the moment. What could he say to him? He suddenly said whatever came first to him at the moment.
"You shouldn't be mad at her, she..." he started.
"I'm not mad at her," he was interrupted, "I'm mad at him. At Viktor. This pseudo-father image that was forced upon me. I'm mad at him because he made her cry and he made me hate him. For nothing."
Malfoy didn't know what to think anymore. There he was, sitting with a kid that was his son and who was rationalizing like an adult.
"You are like your mother", he chuckled.
A long silence followed that.
Jude hated long heavy silences like this one.
Draco hated long heavy silences like this one.
"You don't love her, right?" Jude finally said.
Malfoy stiffened at the question. "Why are you asking that?"
Stretching his soar legs onto the cold stony floor of the Astronomy tower, Jude replied: "When Harry or Fred told me about Hogwarts, they always mentioned the different people they knew. You used to me mean to the Gryffindors, they always referred to you as a ferret, an evil git, a..."
"That's enough, thank you," Draco interrupted, massaging his temples at the memories coming back to him, "It's true I don't love her. But I don't hate her. Though, she is quite easy to get annoyed that"
Jude rolled his eyes at that last comment.
"Tell me about it, I *LIVE* with her" he laughed, and Draco soon smirked at that.
"I think it's about time you see your mom... no?" he questioned, getting up.
************************************************************************
It was Hermione's turn to pace around the room. Biting her fingernails, she sometimes muttered a few 'I can't believe this' or 'where is he?'. Worry was written all over her features.
Harry Potter had settled himself on a sofa, elbows on his knees, his left hand scratching his scar.
A door creaking open made the two jump up.
"Honey!" yelled a hysterical Hermione as she threw herself in her son's arms, "I'm so sorry, I didn't think, I was afraid..."
The boy hugged his mother back and gently caressed her untamed hair. When she had finished weeping, he sat her down on the sofa next to Harry and looked at her tear-strained face.
"It's okay mum, I'm fine. It's not your fault," he reassured her.
Breathing back a sob, she said:
"So you still love me?"
She whipped the tears covering her face with shaking hands.
Jude smirked, and Hermione thought the resemblance with Malfoy was striking. 'No, not Malfoy, his father' she corrected herself mentally.
"Well, I might still love you, but only a little bit. Now, about that new broom for my birthday..."
"Jude!" she smiled.
"At least I tried!"
************************************************************************
Christmas break was approaching fast, and Jude was thrilled.
First, he was going to be in vacation. That was the greatest part. Two whole weeks of doing absolutely nothing.
Second, he will spend his vacation with his parents. Both of them. Not the mum-and-me kind of deal. But the my-parents-and-I one. At Malfoy Manor.
Third, this year, there will be more presents under the Christmas tree!
Fourth, and most important of all, NO MORE PROFESSOR BINNS FOR TWO WEEKS!
The last couple of months had been delightful to Jude. He had a father, which was quite new to him. And he had his mum, well, he always had his mum, but still, she was there.
Although, the one bad thing was that his parents (how he loved the sound of that) didn't get along well. After a long detailed explanation from Harry about their differences while at school, Jude understood the super happy family plan playing in his head was not about to take place any time soon.
'I wish I was still four,' he thought once, 'then I could take mum's hand and put it into Draco's, and I could ask them to marry using that sweet little baby voice and they'd fall into each other's arms crying, professing their undying love for each other'... 'I should stop reading Ginny's old romance novels, it's bad for me'
The last week of school went by quite rapidly. Before Hermione or Draco could plan it, they were standing together with their son in front of the Malfoy Manor.
'This is going to be awful...' both of them thought as they watched their son smirking wickedly at them.
************************************************************************
Draco had introduced the 2 house elves, Darcy and Ziggy, at Hermione's most profound bewilderment. He also had showed Jude to his room, where the boy was now settling in.
They were now standing in a huge room, cream and salmon pink colored. A chimney was lit and on top of it sat a mirror that was so big it reached the ceiling. On the opposite wall, a four-poster bed laid, imposingly vast, next to a window that led to a balcony.
"Wow" was all Hermione could intelligently say at the time. She had already been impressed by Jude's room, and now this.
Malfoy smirked.
"What did you expect?" he drawled, but then he continued on a more neutral tone, "It's my mother's old room"
Hermione looked into Draco's eyes to try and find some kind of hidden emotion. She was unsuccessful.
"Won't she mind?" she asked carefully.
"I don't think so, but if you're so worried about her approval, try St. Mungo's" he snorted.
The woman gasped at the information was being revealed to her. At the same time, new thoughts were flying through her mind. She didn't know anything about Malfoy, did she? She always had put him and the other Slytherin in a far away part of her brain back in school and ever since. She had never assumed anything, like Harry or Ron did, but she hadn't given them a chance either.
"Malfoy, I'm sorry, I didn't know,ยป she whispered.
Draco waved a hand at that comment, dismissing her apology.
"I supposed you want to see the library, it's at the end of the hallway, to the right ..." he started but was soon cut off.
"Actually, I want to know where the kitchens are"
"The kitchens?" the man stared back at her.
She snorted and glared at him.
"You didn't think I was going to let myself be served around by some poor slaved house elves, now, did you?" she replied.
************************************************************************
A/N: Hey!!! Wanted to end on a more humorous tone than last time cause I think it's better... I personally hate huge tension in stories. *cough* Enough about me. Hope you liked the chapter!!! I did write one more page than usual just for you, dear readers!!!
COOKIES TO: insanity-is-my-life, angel-dolphin1, TwinklingStarlightAquila, Forever Broken, Sarahamanda, blue-chick, C.C. !!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!