AN: Short and extremely fluffy this week. I had a bit of minor surgery and this was all I could manage. Enjoy!

Hermione tip-toed to the door of Grimmauld Place's main bedroom and tapped on the heavy wooden slab. Downstairs, Charlie and his dad were nearly finished the washing up. Molly, who had been up all night while Ginny laboured, was asleep on the drawing room sofa, and everyone else had left to get on with their busy days. Hermione was knackered herself and wouldn't be going into the office. But she couldn't leave without seeing Harry and his family one more time.

It was Ginny's voice that answered with an almost inaudible, "Come in."

Tucked into the bed, Hermione found Ginny lying on her side with the baby nestled against her front and Harry sleeping behind her, an arm thrown over her waist, his fingers curved in the empty space where her bursting belly had been a few hours before. His breaths were deep and steady, blissfully asleep. Baby James was in that hazy newborn state of being neither asleep nor awake, his little hands worked free of his swaddling and flexing in the air, as if he was casting spells.

"Oh, he is just perfect," Hermione said as she sat on the edge of the bed, letting James's tiny fingers close around one of hers.

Ginny deliberately misunderstood, reaching over her shoulder to tousle Harry's mop of hair. "I always thought so."

Hermione gave a soft laugh through her nose.

"This one, on the other hand," Ginny said, smoothing James's impossibly silky black hair. "This wee one is working himself up to start howling to be fed again."

"Do you want me to walk with him? Take his mind off it a little longer?" Hermione offered.

"No, it won't work. He's obsessed with me. Another way he's already just like his father," Ginny said. "It's alright, Auntie. He needs to eat and he's feeding better since Audrey showed me a few tricks. I imagine between you and Charlie you've already guessed she and Percy wrote that Wizards What to Expect book."

Hermione nodded. "Yes, we called the book's helpline and Percy answered. Charlie knew his voice right away even though he told us he was Perry Wazlib."

Ginny laughed. "They didn't tell me that bit. But Audrey did tell me the rest, Hermione." She was suddenly serious, looking up from her darling, restless little boy into Hermione's face. "She told me the Malfoys had the nerve to approach you and Charlie for help with a fertility spell - "

Hermione was interrupting. "Now, don't panic. We haven't - "

"And I think you should do it," Ginny finished.

Hermione sat back. "You what?"

"If you can bring yourself to help the Malfoys keep a pregnancy, do it," she said. Ginny was gathering up her baby, rising to sit close to Hermione, face to face on the edge of the bed, out of Harry's hearing should he wake up. "This little monster of ours has me thinking about the past. You know, the grandfather he's named for who he'll never meet. And more than that, he has me thinking about the future, and how vital it is that we don't keep fighting the same war every generation. Fred really isn't coming back. And Bill - he was literally chased out of Gringotts by the same families who keep bringing the Death Eaters to life. They don't need a Voldemort to get them plotting and murdering for money and power again."

Harry flinched and stirred on the mattress behind them.

"All I'm saying," Ginny went on, almost in a whisper, "is that after what happened with Bill, it seems pretty obvious that things haven't changed in our society nearly as much as we all wish they had. We need real change in order to have real peace. We need changes that trials and fines and prison terms can't make. We need changes of heart."

Hermione sat frowning in the dim light. Maybe Malfoy was a good candidate for a change of heart. He didn't care for money or prestige as much as he cared to have a family of his own. "But," she said, "Malfoy wasn't on the board of directors at Gringotts when Bill left."

"No, but he could be if he wanted to," Ginny insisted. "You can't buy an ally like that. You have to change their hearts. And trust me, Hermione, I've been a parent for about six hours and nothing changes a person more than this does. Make Draco Malfoy's family line entwined with ours for its very survival, and then set him and the heir he owes to you and Charlie loose in the vile little world he comes from. It might be the start of real change."

Hermione sighed and rubbed her palms on her face.

Ginny laid a hand on her knee. "You may be the only one of us who has never given up hope when it comes to Malfoy. Even back in school, you always believed he could be saved. If anyone can do this, it's you. Especially with Charlie's help. He won't let you get lost or confused in your feelings. He'll keep you safe. He'll get you out, if you need to leave."

Hermione dropped her hand on top of Ginny's. "I still worry about the safety of our baby in all this."

"Audrey says it should be fine as long as you all truly trust each other," Ginny said.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, so you're Audrey's best friend, top fan, and confidant now."

"I am," Ginny grinned. "You should have seen how sore and weepy I was when she first came up here this morning. Hopeless, completely hopeless. But she got me soothed and sorted and ready to get mothering along. I'm already starting to think I might have another one someday. All thanks to Auntie Audrey."

Baby James didn't seem to like the sound of a baby brother and began to snuffle and fuss against his mother's chest. "Listen to him, he thinks his cries are so fearsome and commanding, but they're really just adorable."

Harry heard the baby and bolted upright in bed. "James? Ginny?"

"Here, love," she said as he summoned his specs. "We're just saying goodbye to Auntie Hermione."

Harry let out his breath and fell back on the pillow muttering his goodbyes.

Hermione patted his hand. "Goodbye, Harry and family. I love you all more than I can say."

Ginny bobbed forward to kiss her cheek. "You too. So think carefully about what I've said."

Too exhausted to let even the thought of missing work keep her awake, Hermione slept through the rest of the day. She kept on sleeping even as a squawking racket came rising up from her back garden.

It began in the middle of the afternoon when Draco Malfoy apparated to their front door carrying a large box covered in a heavy drape. Charlie eyed him with surprised amusement as he let him into the Granger's front hall. Somehow, Malfoy looked breezy, almost carefree even there in the modest London Muggle house. It was as if he was finally free of some tension he'd been holding ever since Charlie had met him.

It couldn't be left unmentioned. "You've had a good rest after all the excitement last night, have you Malfoy?" Charlie said as he led Draco into the lounge.

He saw his error as Malfoy rounded on him, beaming at him over the top of the covered box. "As a matter of fact, no," he said. "It was something much better than that. And since we're supposed to be all about trusting one another now, I will tell you that Astoria has recovered physically from her loss, at last, and we are back to normal marital relations. Took care of it right there in the library soon after you left us."

Charlie cringed. "For stars' sake, Malfoy. I don't need details. Or any knowledge at all about your - relations."

"Ah, but you do," Malfoy said. "If we ever succeed in convincing you to help us with our baby spell, you will need to know when we conceive. It has to be before your child is born. Timing is everything."

"Fine," Charlie said, waving a hand to shut him up. "Let us know when you're ready, but spare us the play-by-play beforehand."

"If you say so," Malfoy said, breezier than ever. He glanced at his surroundings, at the electric light hung on the ceiling, the blank black rectangle all the furniture seemed oriented toward. He gave a slight shudder.

Charlie sniffed a laugh. "First time in a Muggle house?"

Malfoy's face slipped into a sneer as he said, "Yes. It's rather tied up in these black wires running under and around everything, isn't it."

"That's for the electricity," Charlie said. "The place is all but uninhabitable for Muggles without electricity. It's not magic, but it demands respect all the same."

Malfoy looked sceptical. "Respect," he sneered again.

"Honestly," Charlie said. "Keep your wand and your fingers away from the wires and anything they come in or out of and you should survive here long enough to take care of - whatever you've come for."

"Yes, my build-trust-with-Weasley project for today," Malfoy announced. "It's right here under this drape." He patted the top of the box rather gingerly, and it jolted at his touch.

Charlie sighed. "Trust project - did Hermione send you here to do it? Or Astoria?"

Malfoy tossed his hair. "No, this brilliant idea was all me. Are you ready, Weasley?"

Charlie heaved his deepest sigh yet. "Fine, Malfoy. What've you got under the sheet? An animal, I assume."

"And what an animal it is." With that, Malfoy whisked the drape off the box. It was actually a cage, and inside it was the massive eagle owl Charlie had met twice already. But he had never seen it like this. The creature flapped its wings, clawing at the bars of the cage, shaking the house with a shocking squawk. As it thrashed, it glared at its master through the bars, completely furious with him.

Charlie gasped. "What've you got him locked up in there for?"

"For my own safety, of course," Malfoy called over the bird's noise. "Look at him, he's mad enough to claw my eyes out."

"That's because you've shut him up like that."

"No, that's WHY I've shut him up like that," Malfoy insisted. "Look, I'll be first to admit that the care of magical creatures is my weakness. I could use your help in managing him. They say he's too old to be retrained but I believe in you, Weasley. You could even say, I trust you. So how about it, chap? You can help us, can't you?"

Charlie looked up at the ceiling over his head. How was it possible Hermione was sleeping through all this noise? She couldn't keep it up much longer. It was for her sake and the owl's more than for Malfoy's that Charlie opened the cage.

Whatever Malfoy had been expecting Charlie to do to help, it wasn't loosing the beast into his inlaws' lounge. With a strangled cry, Malfoy leapt behind the doctors Granger's armchair to shield himself from the now free, still angry owl.

Charlie was making a shushing sound through his teeth, holding his arm in front of the cage's open door as the bird clawed toward it. "Step up nicely now, you proud thing. Pull your dignity together. Don't let him ruffle your feathers like this."

The bird's talons closed over Charlie's arm. It didn't mean to scratch at his skin but it couldn't be helped.

Malfoy stood cringing behind the chair. "Careful, Weasley. Hermione won't go lightly on me if he ruins your looks."

Charlie clucked his tongue. "He'll do no such thing. He'll only act like a monster if we treat him like one. Look at him. Not a whiff of fire in his breath, but he's a fine bird. Terribly proud, in case you hadn't noticed. How humiliated he must have been, getting crammed into a cage and lugged through the countryside like an old trunk."

Malfoy gaped as the owl folded its wings and tilted its head for Charlie to scratch. "How are you doing it?" Malfoy asked. "What enchantment did you use? He never lets anyone touch him."

"He doesn't let anyone unworthy touch him," Charlie corrected. "There's no spell needed, just mutual respect. As far as I've seen, all you do is insult him in a play to hide your fear of him."

"Insult - fear - he's a bird - "

"Exactly," Charlie said. "He's a living creature, clever and proud and bred to serve you with dignity. You've got to show him you're not afraid of him, but that you do understand how marvelous he is. Now stop cowering and come here."

Malfoy took a single step out from behind the chair, freezing in his tracks when the owl lowered its head, like a snake about to strike. "See, this is why I brought him to you, Weasley. Show me how to manage him. I've never been able to send a message anywhere without administering a light stupefying spell to get it tied onto his leg."

Charlie swore.

"Come now, Weasley, we've all been stupefied. We know it doesn't hurt," Malfoy argued. "And it's either that or I'd need to get rid of him altogether, send him off to some refuge for untrainable creatures. But - I don't know - mad as he is, I can't give up on him. The badly behaved things in this world need the most chances. So help me give him a second chance, would you?"

Charlie blew out his breath. "Before I help, you promise me you will never stupefy this animal ever again."

Malfoy gave a sharp nod. "Done. Now for stars' sake, put on a glove while you've still got some unbloodied flesh left on your arm."

They moved their training exercises outside. The bird, as it turned out, had a proper name given to it before it came to the Malfoys which it was hardly ever called. It's name was How-nee-ow and Charlie insisted Malfoy look it in the eye and apologize to it for the years of inept treatment. After several tries, Malfoy got through the apology without snickering. Whatever they lacked in their relationship, Malfoy had kept the bird clean and well-fed, completely healthy. And it was rather keen on working with Charlie to learn some commands.

"You see that?" Charlie beamed as How-nee-ow swooped out of the sky to land on his gloved arm, dropping the furry grey mouse decoy they had been flinging into the air with their wands for him to catch. "He's been yearning to live up to his potential and be a good owl all this time." He tipped his arm so the bird would step off him and onto the top of the cage.

"Here, Malfoy, have a go," Charlie said, unstrapping the glove and handing it to him. "He'll associate the glove with taking commands now. Give it a try."

Malfoy made no move to take the glove from him. But Charlie was in full training mode and he took Draco by the wrist and cinched the glove tightly around his arm for him.

"I don't know," Malfoy said. "We've spent so many years not getting along. I've done wrong by him so many times. It's hard to imagine he could be over it already, after just a couple of hours."

Charlie nodded, looking truly sympathetic for the first time that day. "He brought the mouse back each time you threw it."

"Yes, but he brought it back to you," Malfoy said, his voice low, his eyes on the grass at their feet.

"No, he dropped it between us," Charlie said. He slapped Malfoy on the shoulder, rocking him forward. "You've been feeding this bird for years. It knows it needs you. It wants things to be good between you. And forgiveness is real, Malfoy. It works."

"It works!" a voice chimed from over their heads. There, leaning out the second storey window, was Hermione, her hair a colossal mess from having slept on it all day, her smile wide and warm. "You can do it, Malfoy!" she called.

Charlie grinned back at her. Draco stood with his eyes wide, mouth slightly agape. He closed it and swallowed hard. "Forgiveness works," he mouthed to himself. There was proof of it, Hermione Granger, on his side, cheering for him in spite of everything, getting more and more willing to bring him his family.

Draco gave his head a hard shake and set his arm in front of the owl. "How-nee-ow, step up."

Hermione watched from above as Malfoy cast the bird into the sky. Charlie flicked the mouse decoy as high as he could and the bird caught it, soared twice over the garden, and dropped the decoy on Malfoy's feet before roosting again on his arm. Charlie flung his arms around Malfoy and hoisted both him and the bird onto his shoulder as if he'd just won the House Cup at Hogwarts. They turned in a circle, laughing and cheering.

From above, Hermione was speechless at the sight of them, happily ridiculous as schoolboys in her parents' back garden. Charlie was everything, pure love, her family. And Draco - he was something too, something she wanted, and perhaps needed to progress in her postwar healing, to change her heart and his, as Ginny had said.

"Draco Bird-master Malfoy!" Charlie shouted.

"He isn't biting me!" Malfoy was calling.

"You did it!"

"I did it!"

All the noise was a bit much for How-nee-ow and he hopped back to the top of his cage, preening his feathers but not complaining.

Charlie tipped Malfoy back onto the grass but the momentum was too much and they both tumbled down, rolling onto their backs on the green and laughing up at the sky, side by side.

Malfoy dropped his hand on Charlie's shoulder. "You didn't think it'd work."

Charlie laughed. "I always knew there was a small chance it would work. And if not, I knew we could patch up whatever damage the bird did to you. It was a good gamble in the end." He sat up, tugging on Malfoy's hand to raise him to sitting as well.

As they sat up, Hermione came into the garden, stepping out of the back door in a fluffy dressing gown.

"Did you see that, Madam Weasley?" Draco called out to her.

"Yes," she said in a clipped, decisive tone. "It was extraordinary and am very pleased with both of you. And I have something to tell you."

Both of them stood up, becoming a little too grave as they waited for her announcement, one which had been percolating in her mind since she'd seen Audrey and Ginny that morning. "I have decided to mend things between Astoria and myself. To build our trust," she said. "And I will do so by asking her to be my midwife."