Chapter One: Dreadful News

The sun had gone down a few hours ago, the full moon shown brightly in the sky that night. The stars were shinning brightly in the dark sky. A light breeze blew through the trees as a woman walked through the garden. She pulled her sweater closer around her. The breeze was still a bit chilly in the early spring nights.

She sat on a porch swing in the garden and looked up at the sky. A small cloud was coving a few stars, but she didn't mind. It's just like the first time we knew who each other was. She thought to herself. A silent tear ran down her face as she thought back to her sixth year at Hogwarts when they first realized they liked each other.

"Mum," a young child yelled out into the garden, "are you out here?"

She wiped the tear off her face as she stood to walk back over to the small child calling her. She picked up the nine-year-old boy in her arms and hugged him tightly. "Mum, Rie just threw up and she wants you." The boy said.

"Alright Sep, go play in the living room." She said setting her son down as he ran into the house. She slowly walked into the house and upstairs to her six-year-old daughter.

She cleaned the small girl up and changed her clothes. From the bathroom she carried the small sick child to her daughter's bedroom and tucked her into bed.

"Mommy, will you read me a story?" the small girl said.

"What story do you want me to read, Gabrielle?" the woman said as she picked up the fairy-tale storybook that was on the floor.

"The one about the girl who falls in love with the Price." Gabrielle said looking up at her mother.

"They almost all are like that." The woman said as she smiled at her daughter.

"With the evil sisters." Gabrielle squeaked.

"Cinderella?"

"Yeah!"

The woman opened the book and began to read. Within the first five minutes of her reading Gabrielle was sound a sleep. She tucked her daughter in a kissed her goodnight. She walked to the door and closed it. The woman was about to head to her room when her son came running upstairs.

"Mommy!" he yelled.

"Shh, you sister is a sleep." She said

"Sorry, but there a three men in the living room, they want to talk to you." He said as she looked down at him.

"Why don't you go to your room? It's about time for you to go to bed. I'll come in a say goodnight in a while." She said as she kissed his forehead and then headed downstairs. She walkeddown the stairs and halfway down over the banister she saw her two best friends and her old potions teacher.

"Harry, Ron, Professor Snape, why are you three here?" she said and then shaking her head quickly she said, "I'm sorry. I mean… welcome to my home." She smiled at them. Once down the stairs she stood in front of them. "Please, sit down" she said motioning to the chairs.

"We'd rather not." Professor Snape said.

"It's still strange to come here to see you, Hermione." Ron said looking around the manor.

"Well thank you, Ron, I think." She said with a smile.

"Hello Hermione, How are you?" Harry said giving her a hug.

"Just fine, but would you like to tell me why you are all in my house this late at night?" she said looking at the three.

"We have some new for you." Professor Snape said.

"Ya might wanna sit down." Ron said. She looked at them, but then sat in a chair.

"It's about Malfoy." Harry said. Hermione clapped her hand over her mouth and looked into Harry's emerald eyes.

"Tell me he's fine." She said choking back the fear in her voice.

"I'm afraid he's not. Well to be honest…" Snape started

"He's dead, Hermione." Ron said. Harry hit him on the arm for being so ruff with this news. Hermione's eyes widened and tears began to form in her eyes. She looked down at the ground with her hand over her mouth. Her eyes were moving wildly around the room as she thought what this meant.

Her husband for 12 years was dead, her children had to grow up without a father, and what's worse is that she was suppose to go with him today, except Gabrielle ended up sick. She looked up at Harry, and Ron as tears fell out of her eyes. She slowly stood up and looked at the pictures on the mantelpiece, their graduation picture, their wedding, being the in hospital when each child was born, and the family picture of them all, which was taken two years ago. They were smiling in it and laughing with each other.

She turned back to Harry and Ron. The smile she had once held on her face when they arrived was gone. She walked to Harry and hugged him tightly. More tears fell down her face. Ron rubbed her back as she hugged Harry. Suddenly little feet were heard on the stairs.

"Mum, when are you coming to tuck me in?" her son called to her from his place halfway on the stairs. She pulled away from Harry and wiped the tears off her face. She turned to look at her son.

"I'll be up soon. Just go and wait for me." She said through more tears that formed in her eyes.

"Okay mum." He said and turned back up the stairs.

"Bloody hell, he looks just like Malfoy." Ron said as she looked up at the boy going back upstairs. "More then he did when I last saw him."

"Yes, and he has a lot of his father's attitude as well, but Draco refused to treat him how he himself was treat by his father." Hermione said.

"I assume that I'll be seeing young Malfoy in my classes soon?" Professor Snape said looking at Hermione.

"In about two years. He says he wants to grow up to be just like his father, but I refuse to let him be that bad." Hermione said with a small smile.

"Well, Potter, Weasley, we need to be off now. I'm sorry about Draco, he was a good man." Professor Snape said.

"Right. It was good to see you Hermione. I'm sorry. I never really approved of him, but it was your life. I hope to be in touch soon." Harry said giving her one last hug.

"See ya Hermione. And whatever you do, don't let him turn out like Malfoy." Ron said giving her a hug.

With one last goodbye Harry, Ron, and Professor Snape disappeared through the fire. Hermione bit her bottom lip as she thought about Draco. Another tear rolled down her face and she turned and headed up the stairs. Slowly she walked down the hall toward her son's room. All the time she walked the thought about the times she had spent with Draco and how they had grown to love each other.

Hermione pushed open her son's door and walked in. He was sitting on his bed waiting for him. She smiled as she walked over toward him.

"Why are you crying mum?" her son said.

"Well, Septimus it's simple. Those people gave me news that one of our old friends had pasted away today. He was a good friend to us, but he was always extremely kind to me. Well once he really got to know me." Hermione said as Septimus climbed under the covers of his bed.

"Hey mum, wasn't dad suppose to be home by now?" Septimus asked looking up at Hermione. She gave a small weak smile at him.

"Daddy won't be coming home tonight." She said trying to hold back tears.

"Okay. He promised me he was going to teach me to fly a broom tomorrow. I wanna be just like him, mommy." He said smiling. He was so happy that Draco was suppose to teach him how to fly.

"You can be just like your father, as long as, you promise to be as kind to people as I have taught you to do." Hermione said grinning down at her son.

"Okay." He said and hugged his mother. He lay back down in his bed. Hermione tucked him in and kissed his forehead.

"Good-night my son." She said and walked toward the door. She stopped and leaned against the doorframe as she watched her son fall asleep. He was so much like Draco. He had the normal Malfoy silver-blonde hair and the same body structure as Draco had. The only difference was is that he had the brown eyes of Hermione.

With a small sigh she turned and closed the door behind her. She made her way back toward her and Draco's bedroom. Hermione sat on the end of the bed and broke down into tears. She couldn't hold it any longer. Her husband was dead and she would never see him again.

Suddenly she thought of Septimus and how he had been planning on Draco to teach him how to fly. Hermione covered her face in her hands and cried harder then she had ever done before. She figured she could ask Harry to teach him. Harry was, as good of flyer as Draco, well actually better, but Hermione never told Draco so.

Hermione sat thinking of how her and Draco had first fallen for each other.