This chapter is dedicated to Taintless (a.k.a Amy) because in the span of approximately two hours she read all of my updates for the past three weeks or so and reviewed EVERY one! cant lie and say that when i read all of your reviews that my stomach didn't do 'the conga', as J.K Rowling once said, seeing as before i was in a bad mood and doing homework, and i always appreciate reviewing but she's been with me since the beginning. (ah, May. It seems so far away...ha ha, I rhymed) you've always been such great inspiration (as are all reviewers) and ive decided to take your advice and try to write longer chapters. I like to end them where it seems necessary and usually that's only about 1000 words in, including the A/N. Seeing as all my good stories sob are coming to an end (I'm thinking that this may be the final chapter, but I'll leave it open ended. Could change my mind!) I'll decided whether it's over at the end of the chapter. By the way, I did get the name Amy from you, though I always liked the name. Harlow came from this website it means troops on the hill and i realized, after rereading chapters one through three that I had already named the baby Harry, I wanted to make the full name more interesting. With parents Hermione and Draco the kid was doomed to an odd name, anyway.) And that theory that Harry is the final Horcrux, that would make sense and I would really like to see how J.K pulls that in. I know that this little shout out is like half the chappie, but I'll make it extra long, just to make up for it. I plan on writing the trilogy, though I'll finish up When It's Over? and Six Years first. I miss Megan too. It's so fun to write about a character who has no restrictions. Can't wait for the next chapter of Three, can't help but nudge that in, as well as Be Strong and Thirst. Wouldn't be me if I didn't say something about it because you are one of the best writers on this site and i havent yet read a story of yours i didnt like, even the one i never read the original for, but I AM LOOKING FOR THE FORBIDDEN GAME BY L.J. SMITH!
THANX to all the other reviewers and on to the story, here we go...
"You are, perhaps, the most ignorant person I ever had the displeasure to speak with." Hermione snapped, looking over her shoulder in annoyance.
"Besides you, of course." He responded snidely, looking down at the parchment in his hand for reference once more before crumpling it and tossing it in the bin with a look of distinct distaste pasted across his face.
Hermione rolled her eyes and glanced back at her husband, fire dwelling deeply inside her dark, intelligent eyes. She had cropped her hair unwillingly but it did have a tendency of getting in the way of what she wished to accomplish. She could not be brewing potions and have her frizzy mane caught in the beakers. That was simply a recipe for disaster. "Why do you insist on being so arrogant? You should be proud." She ignored his comment effectively.
His eyebrows rose spectacularly into his dark blond hairline. He had aged gracefully, though his eyes bore every year he suffered. "I thought that you would be a bit deterred but you are distinctly set on being proud of the boy. He has an air of dottiness around him that must be genetic...on your side, of course." He added smoothly.
She knew better than to be offended. Any marriage would get dull if it were not for friendly sparring. Draco knew how to extend the phrase to the farthest depths imaginable. He had a tendency of reducing lesser banterers to tears if they were foolish enough to get into a war of words. "I would be proud of our son no matter what. And you are too. He breaks the mold." She said briskly, gathering the scattered dishes from the table quickly before pushing them into the sink.
He grunted his disproval. "Do everything the Muggle way, don't you?" He muttered audibly. With her back turned to him he missed the grin of amusement.
"Not quite." She responded, reaching for her wand and tapping the dishes. They instantly cleaned before putting themselves back into the cabinet without any prodding. "I just prefer activeness to idleness." She chanted almost hypnotically.
He brought himself to his feet, brushing the crumbs off his collar before speaking. "Sounds like one of those bloody quotes from that damned planner you gave me last father's day. Most unromantic gift I ever received, by the way." Color rose to her cheeks but she fought the blush effectively.
"And your robe-repairing kit was worthy of praise?" She asked, quirking her lips into a smart-alecky smirk.
He looked at her almost appraisingly. "That is entirely unfair, woman. You stole my expression-" She pretended to not hear him and spoke right over his critique.
"And why, may I ask, am I stuck cleaning the dishes?" She asked loudly, nostrils flaring. He looked at her in surprise.
"I made the bloody meal. You should clean." She laughed lightly, turning around to look at him.
"And you would prefer it if I cooked?"
With a quite serious expression he shook his head. "Well, your cooking is murder. For a Muggle you're about as useless as a housewife as you are as a Potions Mistress." He knew he had taken it too far when the light in her eyes faded slightly, though not significantly.
She sniffed slightly. "Well at least I can brew Felix Felicis in four months, opposed to the standard six while it takes you at least seven." She retorted. "And I never said that I would be a housewife, nor did I intend on it. Marriage is a sixty-forty relationship and the duty of raising the children, or in our case, child, should not be put on a single parent. Same with cleaning." She gave him a look so severe that he could not help but reminisce back to his days in Hogwarts when he received similar reprimands from one Minerva McGonagall.
Desperate to change the topic, he spoke hurriedly. "You look bloody fantastic." She smiled, though not at the topic.
"Now that our nest is rather empty I can see that you're enjoying the freedom to curse flippantly. In fact, during this entire argument I have not heard a single clean sentence." He wrapped his arms around her waist, placing his head in the crook of her neck.
"You smell good. How's that? Can you criticize my brutish swearing in that comment?" He inquired, whispering into her ear. She was unaffected.
Bloody tease.
"It's called soap, Draco. You should embrace it's existence some time. Might do the body good." She responded in her businesslike manner. Her complete, or attempted obliviousness was, if anything, even more of a turn on."Maybe you could show me." He said temptingly. "Harlow's been out of the house for a ruddy day and we haven't taken advantage of the alone time."
She snorted. "We'll have seven years of alone time, not counting holidays. Then the nest will be permanently empty, opposed to temporarily." He could not tell whether she was relieved or disheartened at this fact.
"We could always have another." He reasoned, though by the look on her face he was well aware that he had said entirely the wrong thing.
She was hasty to retaliate. "We can't just replace our son!" She sounded more amused by the attempt at levity than angered. "And, I don't really think that I want anymore children. This time should be for my career, for us. When you came back we barely got a spare moment to ourselves, now all we have is each other."
He did not seem to agree. "We have friends, well, you do, anyway." He smirked, kissing her neck softly.
"What if, after a while, you get bored with me? Or vice versa? We never had time to talk after you were Imperiused, we could be entirely different people..." He merely chuckled at her harebrained assumption.
"I've never taken you for a simpleton, don't make me start now. I will never tire of arguing with you. You are simply the most stubborn woman that I have ever been acquainted with and I am arrogant enough to presume that you head me under the same title." He waited for a nod of affirmation before continuing.
"And you could never grow bored with me. Really, Hermione! Me? Even in old age when I have more hair in my ears and nose than on my head I shall always and forever be the smarmy arguable bastard that I am today and I have little doubt that you will ever change." She raised her eyebrows at this.
"Little? Little doubt? Not the utmost assurance that I shall always remain the same?" He shrugged simply.
"What are you going to do to convince me? I severely doubt that you could ever change my mind-" He was cut off by Hermione seizing him by the throat and pressing her mouth to his. Despite the circumstances, he smiled.
"What about writing a congratulatory to dear Harlow? The first Malfoy to ever be in Ravenclaw?" She pushed away from him in accord.
"And, technically, the first Granger to not be in Gryffindor. Perhaps we should draft a note..." She called his bluff and summoned a quill and sheet of paper.
He shook his head amusedly. When am I going to learn that I can't beat her? "We could do that later..." Knowing victory when she received it, Hermione flew into his arms and kissed him passionately.
"We have seven bloody years to tell him how proud we are."