Disclaimer: I do not own any of the harry potter characters.

AN: I know it has been forever and a day since i've updated. things have just been bsy. I'll try and update more often now that school's out.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Draco walked back into the infirmary with a tray of Juice and a variety of fruits. "For you." Draco set the tray on the bedside table and kissed her cheek, "Let me see my son."

Charlotte nodded and handed the small bundle to Draco. "Mind his head."

Draco gave her a pointed look saying he clearly knew what he was doing. He took the child gently from her arms, one hand under his bottom, the other under his tiny fair-haired head. Draco tenderly cradled the child in his arms and stared at how alike his 'son' was to Charlotte and himself. Aidan was sucking contentedly on his thumb and staring up at his father. Draco smiled and just stood there looking at the child in his arms. He was glad he didn't have to wait another week for this magical gift.

"We did a good job, huh?" Charlotte's softly lilting voice caused Draco's head to snap up.

"More than good. He is perfect. I see you decided on the name Aidan for him. Is his middle name Draco?

Charlotte nodded, "It seemed to fit quite well. He is my fiery dragon." Charlotte cooed at the child as he reached his hand upward towards the sky.

Draco stared down into the aquamarine eyes that seemed so full of trust and unknowing love. In that moment Draco wondered if he had ever looked at his father with such unconditional faith. He couldn't recall a moment he didn't fear for his very life.

Charlotte watched the emotions play across Draco's face, "You need to sleep. Put Aidan in his bassinette, then pull that bed over here next to mine and draw the curtain. Perhaps then we can get some sleep." She winked and lay back on the pillows.

Draco did as was told and then laid down next to Charlotte. He pulled her gingerly into his arms and settled an unshaven cheek against the cool skin of her upper arm. "Thank you."

Charlotte turned over to face him, "What for? I'm the one who should be thanking you. You pulled me through this. You sought out help when I couldn't."

"You've put up with my bullshit for so long. You could've just left me and let me fail. But instead you stuck it out and let me experience this." Draco then gave her a soft kiss on the cheek before letting his eyes close and his breathing steady.

Charlotte smiled into the darkness at the man she was steadily falling head over heels for. She hardly knew anything about him yet he wasn't as rude as he could have been. She felt that he truly cared for her but she wasn't going to jump to any conclusions. She simply laid her head on his chest and fell asleep listening to his steady heartbeat.

It was around noon when Draco woke up to the sound of a curtain being yanked open. He squinted his eyes into the afternoon light filtering through the high windows. Two people, a man and a woman, stood in front of the bed looking shocked and slightly angered. One, the man, had his jaw clenched shut and his fists at his sides in anger. The woman had a look of question and softness on her face. It could have been the tears threatening to spill over the dark lashes that he had seen on Charlotte so many times before that had tipped him off. These were Charlotte's parents.

Draco looked down at the girl lying beside him and visions of the night before flashed before his eyes. He quickly climbed out of the bed, careful not wake Charlotte and went over to the bassinette where he then touched Aidan's down like hair.

He turned to her parents and addressed them in a light whisper for Charlotte's sake and Aidan's, "Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Fitzhugh, it is good to finally meet you. We would have woken earlier but it has been a long night. I'm sure Professor Bradford has written you and told you all about it. She said she had anyway. This was a class assignment gone horribly wrong."

Mr. Fitzhugh stepped forward, and in a harsh whisper, "Then maybe you can explain to me why we came here hoping to see her and YOU were in her bed... WITH HER!?" his steps were advancing and Draco began to panic as he became backed against a wall.

"Sir, please, I have no interest in your daughter nor did I have any kind of physical relationship with her. It is just a school assignment. If I do not participate I receive a failing grade for that class."

Charlotte chose this moment to wake up. Seeing her mother first she sat up in bed and squinted a bit in the light, "Mama?" He mother then hurried to her and gathered her daughter in a hug and kissed her cheek, promptly bursting into tears. "Mama it's okay. I'm fine. Really." Charlotte then glanced over at Draco who was becoming quite worried about the situation, "Da! What are you doing? That's my muggle studies partner. Draco Malfoy. You can't kill him."

Draco visibly relaxed as the wand was taken away from his flesh and once again sheathed in the folds of this large man's robes, "You take the fun out of everything, Princess." He then smiled at her and strode over to her bedside. Draco was left standing there in shock.

There was no way he was going to let his child near these crazy people. "Draco could you bring Aidan here?" Draco looked up at her like she too was crazy but quickly obeyed when she gave him that little smile of hers. He picked Aidan up out of the bassinette carefully and handed him to Charlotte.

He whispered in jest, "Mind his head." With a slight smirk, he walked over to the side of the bed her parents were not standing on. Charlotte promptly raised a fine eyebrow at him and smirked.

Draco watched Charlotte with the child and smiled. She was a natural mother. She cared for the child even though she knew it wasn't real. His mind traveled over the events of the night before and he quickly remembered how completely vulnerable he had been.

---------------------

Dumbledore had Charlotte's parents settled comfortably in a room by the end of the afternoon. Leaving Draco and Charlotte once again alone in the infirmary together.

Draco rocked back and forth on his heels as he spoke, "So, do you want to keep Aidan here for the night or do you want to go ahead and get him settled in our room?"

Charlotte smiled. She knew Draco wanted to take the child upstairs and have him to himself for a while. "I'm sorry Draco but that isn't going to be possible until I am released from the infirmary."

Draco looked angry, "Well, why not?" His pale brow was knit in frustration.

"Can you feed him?" She looked at Draco with one eyebrow arched and a smug smirk on her face.

Draco grumbled a bit before kissing her and Aidan goodnight and heading to bed, "If you need anything, just," he handed her a little silver bell, "ring this. Wherever I am, I'll hear it." He kissed her once more and left the hospital wing.

He had been walking for maybe 30 seconds when he heard a distinct ringing in his right ear. He turned around and sprinted to the infirmary. Bursting through the doors, he found Charlotte lying limp on her bed. The glittering bell held limply in her hand.

He ran over to the edge and put both hands on the sides of her face, "Charlotte can you hear me?" He searched her face, "Charlotte!"

A small smile spread across her gentle features as her green eyes fluttered open, "The goodnight kiss wasn't to my liking."

Draco looked at her with incredulously before his mouth swooped down on Charlotte's in such a possessive manner that it took the breath right out of her. His mouth slanted over hers again and again. She felt the tip of his warm tongue touch her bottom lip coaxing her mouth open but before she could comply, Draco's hand was on the side of her face and his thumb on her chin forcing it open. His velvety tongue wrestled with hers in a fight for dominance. With a small moan, Charlotte smoothly slid her hands onto Draco's waist and pulled his body closer to hers. When Draco pulled back they were both gasping for breath. Her eyes were clouded over in passion as his glittered with lust.

Draco's arrogant smirk brought her out of her reverie and with a forlorn sigh she stated, "I guess that will have to do." Draco smiled and gave her a firm but gentle kiss.

"Goodnight, madam." He then left and minutes later found himself in his room.

Draco lay awake for hours thinking about his new temporary family. He now had someone to care for. Someone to talk to. He had someone to love.

He pondered this last thought into the morning. He groggily climbed out of his bed and into a lukewarm shower earlier than usual. Breakfast wasn't being served yet so he went straight to the kitchens and ordered a full breakfast meal for two to be delivered to the infirmary. He didn't question this action until he got to the massive double doors of the hospital wing.

"What if she's asleep?" he thought aloud to himself. "What if she doesn't want to see me?" Suddenly he was feeling very insecure, not at all the confident Slytherin Prince he was. He frowned and wondered why he even cared, she should be grateful. He pushed the door open slightly before sighing and letting it shut again. He was about to walk away when he heard the soft cry.

He walked into the room to see the baby crying in his bassinette. He glanced over at Charlotte to see that she was still asleep. He picked up Aidan and shushed him quietly. As soon as the baby's pale fingers wrapped around Draco's index finger the soft whimpers ceased and his sleepy eyes drifted open to look into his father's steel gray ones. He held Aidan in his arms and smiled.

Draco just stood there looking as his son with adoring eyes. He slowly and very carefully walked over to a window in the room and opened the shutters. "This will be your very first sunrise Aidan. I expect you will grow up to be just like me. Just like I am like my father." Draco then looked away from the child and into the horizon, "Cold and unfeeling. That doesn't care about his wife or child."

Draco looked down at Aidan only to see him fast asleep, his fingers still holding onto Draco's like a lifeline. Draco smiled and kissed his forehead. When he turned around Charlotte was looking at him.

"You aren't you know." Charlotte looked at him intently.

Draco Smiled tightly at her and noticed that something in her eyes had changed. Something about her seemed...older. "I'm not what?"

"Like your father."

"How would you know? You never met the man. You don't know what I'm really like."

Charlotte thought about this for a bit while he laid Aidan back in the bassinette. "I know what I've seen and I know what I've heard about Lucius. I've heard that he was an awful man, that didn't care about anything or anyone but himself. I've heard that he beat his wife and demanded perfection out of his son. So from what I've heard about him and what I've seen from you, you are nothing like him at all."

Draco turned on her with anger, "How do you know I won't beat you?! How do you know I'm not going to demand perfection from Aidan? You don't know. You know nothing. You are a silly little girl who can't seem to get it through her small head that things aren't always perfect. They aren't always what you want them to be. I'm not who you want me to be." His voice had raised and Aidan had woken up with a loud cry.

Charlotte's eyes sparked with anger but Draco didn't notice, "I don't want you to be anything Draco. I want you to be yourself. In the past 48 hours I have seen the most loving compassionate worried person that I have ever met. If you cant seem to see that too then there's reason for us to even try and work together. I will not let you hurt Aidan." With this she struggled out the bed and picked Aidan up in her arms. His mouth nudged at her breast and she quickly complied with his wishes.

Draco, with a slight blush, turned away. "Charlotte, don't do this. I'm not going to argue with you over this."

Charlotte sat down in the rocking chair beside the window and draped a blanket over the child and her exposed breast. She didn't answer Draco, just rocked in the chair and held her baby.

Draco turned around when she didn't answer. He walked over and watched her. There was definitely something different about her. "I ordered us breakfast." Still no response. "It should be here any moment." He checked his watch and sighed, kneeling before her, "Charlotte," She continued to look away from him and out the window, "Look at me." He demanded.

Charlotte looked at him and her eyes took on an icy glint, "Yes?"

"You really don't know what you're getting yourself into." He smiled slightly meaning it as a joke.

She didn't take it that way. "Then tell me Draco, what am I getting into? You're mother is the only immediate family member left for you. Your father is gone. You don't talk to the rest of your family. It isn't that complicated."

"Merlin, but you are stubborn girl." His brow furrowed as he stood. "I have classes this morning. I will see you later this afternoon. Would like me to come at Lunch?"

Charlotte just shrugged indifference, "Whatever you feel is necessary, Malfoy."

Draco's fists clenched at his sides and he stomped out of the room, the double doors slamming behind him.