Chapter 4- Life (6 years later)
"Scarlet Ginny Malfoy-Granger, you put that down right now!" Hermione yelled as she chased her six year old daughter down the hallway.
It had been six years since everything had happened Draco Dying, the triplets being born and Hermione becoming one of the well known stay at home/working mother. She worked for the Ministry of Magic, the department of magical enforcement. But her job was a little different then the others who worked in the department.
She had this looking glass that showed the area that she would be covering. All she had to do was make sure that the witches and wizards that were underage and over didn't do any magic in front of a muggle. If overage, make sure that they used only appropriate magic and underage didn't use any magic. So basically she had to make sure that it was peaceful in the neighborhood. She also did some supply work at Hogwart's when teachers weren't going to be available for the day.
But she liked supplying for Hogwarts the best because that usually meant that she could bring the children with her. So they usually took the Knight bus and travelled to Hogsmede. The children loved it at Hogwart's, especially Dawn, mostly because they had free range of the school and could do whatever they wanted. But Hermione could never understand why they loved to go and bug Snape. She figured because of there father, but then one day she caught their uncles telling them that Snape loved to be bugged.
After Hermione caught up with Scarlet, she lifted her up and twirled her up in the air. she laughed with the giggling girl before pulling her into herself.
"Magic Mommy! Do Magic!" the little girl asked Hermione. "Please!"
Hermione laughed and rubbed her nose with scarlet's. "Not right now hun, maybe later. Why don't you give back mommies work thing and go watch TV?"
Scarlet's eyes glinted before giving Hermione back her orb and bounding for the TV.
Hermione then went back to her office and placed the orb back in its rightful place. She then looked outside when she heard a whoosh go by the window. There she found her other daughter, Dawn, flying around on the broom that Harry and Ginny had given her.
The girl were identical down to the bone. Liam had very similar features as his sisters. Like all three of them had Hermione's nose and eye shape, while they had Draco's blonde hair. But they also had the same grey-brown eyes. Either then that Liam was definitely Draco's son, and the girls were Hermione's.
The personalities on the other hand were beyond different. Scarlet was loud, clumsy, smart, and mischevious. Dawn was nosey, smart, graceful, and fast. Liam was quiet, smart, tempered but friendly towards Hermione, and lonely. They all competited for attention, and were all intelligent children. But to Hermione they would always be her babies.
She walked out of the office and towards the bathroom. She paused at Liam's room and saw him looking at something on his bed. she very quietly walked into the room and tickled him.
"MOMMY!" he squealed as Hermione tickled him.
"Who's the best?" she asked him
"You...are...Mommy!" he said in between breathes.
Hermione stopped tickling him and raised an eyebrow at him. "You think lying will help you get out of me tickling you?"
She saw the same glint that she saw in Scarlet's eyes earlier. "Yes!" he said as he bounced off his bed and raced down the hall.
She knew where he was going, so she started to walk slowly towards her bedroom.
"Liam, where are you?" she heard a giggle. "Are you in the closet?" She opened the closet. "Are you in the laundry hamper?" she looked in there and couldn't find him. She then looked on her bed and found a big lump in the middle. "Oh my! How did this lump get on my bed?"
Liam giggled. He knew that his mom knew where he was. he just liked to play games with her. He had been looking though the picture book again. He liked looking though the book cause of the way the the pictures would move, also the way that his mother and father looked like together.
He knew that his father died before he was born. His mother told him so. He also knew that his father loved him and his sister's very much. But Liam always wanted to feel more connected to him.
Hermione lifted up the covers at that moment. "There you are!" she said as she pulled him towards her and started giving him kisses.
"You win mommy." he said while trying to push Hermione off him. "You win."
"Damn straight I do." she laughed. She then looked at Liam and noticed something was off. "What's wrong, sweetie?"
"I was just wondering about daddy." he said softly, as if not trying to hurt his mother.
Hermione blinked back the tears that were threating to spill. She still missed Draco very much, and the subject still was sore. But knew that a time would come when Liam would want to know more of his father. But she found it strange that she knew it would be him. scarlet and Dawn had already accepted it from the beginning, that their father was dead. But Liam didn't.
"What do you want to know hun?"
"We don't have to talk about it mommy if you don't want to." He looked up at her this time and saw the tears. He then sadly added. "I'm sorry."
Hermione cried this time and pulled Liam into a hug. She sat there with him in her arms for a couple of minutes.
"Don't you ever be sorry, for wanting to know about your father, Don't ever be." she whispered in his ear.
"But you were going to cry. I don't like seeing you cry." He hugged her back this time.
"Oh honey. I was crying because I knew that you were going to ask me about him one day."
Liam looked confused. He wanted to know what she meant by that. "How?"
Hermione wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. "Well I'm sure if I were to say that you are your father's son, you wouldn't believe me. Right?"
He nodded.
"Well I am going to explain something to you and I want you to listen carefully." So then Hermione started to explain everything to him, since the day that Draco died, all the way up until this day. She explained how Draco was there when he was born. And how she thought she had heard a soft click when Draco held him in his arms.
"Do you see why now?" she asked him once she was done.
"I get some of it, but for now mommy, i think that i will have to live with that." He hugged her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"MOM! Dawn took my stuffed animal again and put it up in the tree!" Scarlet yelled up the stairs.
"No I didn't. She's lying!"
Hermione her head and sighed. "If you two don't quit it, the both of you will not be going to Hogwarts with me tonight."
All she heard after that was the pattering of little feet rushing up the stairs. Then two more blonde things flying at her.
"Mommy, you didn't say we were going there!" Dawn whined.
"Ya mom. That isn't fair, you can't take Liam and not us!" Scarlet added.
"Oh yes I can. Liam was being good, while you two were being trouble makers."
"But if you take Liam, were would we go?" Dawn asked, while Scarlet nodded her head.
Hermione smiled. "To your Aunt Fleur and Uncle Bill's." She laughed as both girls pretended to die.
"but there boring!"
"Well then I guess ALL of you should get ready to go then." She watched as three little blondes ran out of her room.
She then got up and went to get ready herself. She closed the door and pulled off her shirt and sweat pants. She threw them into the laundry hamper and went to go and look for something for tomorrows classes.
"Well I knew I always liked you best like that!"
Hermione smiled and turned around the face him. "Well we never could keep our hands off each other."
She watched as Draco got up and walked to her. "How right you are Mya. How right you are."
Hermione then hugged him. "I thought that you were gone for good. You never came back after the children were born."
Draco ran a hand though her hair, and down her back. "I had to wait until now. I wanted to come before, but I had to wait until now." He said in a distance voice.
"Draco, your not coming back after this, are you?" Her voice was sad and sounded a little harsh.
"No Mya. This will be the last time. I'm sorry, I came cause I wanted to hold you one last time." He held her tightly.
Hermione didn't know what happened. She was happy to see him, then sad, now she was all of a sudden mad. She pushed him away and grabbed her wand, she then put a silencing spell on the room. She then placed her wand down and turned on him.
"You fucking asshole! You come here, into my house, and get my hopes up. You did it in the hospital room, and now here. It's been six years Malfoy.! Six fucking years since the last time that I saw you. I won't, I'm sorry, I will not allow you to do it again. I want you out. I want you GONE!" She yelled at him.
"Hermione you don't mean that." He was starting to get worried It was thee last time that they would see each other, and he didn't want it to be like this.
"Yes I do! Just go!" she fell to the floor crying.
"Mya, don't do this." He went to go and hug her.
"Don't touch me. Don't fucking touch me."
Draco looked at her back and heard the seriousness in her voice. "Mya since you don't want me her, will you please just listen to me."
He waited for her to answer, and since he figured he wasn't going to get one he continued.
"When you get to Hogwarts and the children are in bed, I want you to go to the tower. There's something for you there. Read it please.
She nodded her head. "I think that you should go."
When she didn't hear him anymore, she bursted into new found tears. She didn't really want him to leave. And now she would never be able to see him again. She then got up and walked to the dresser, she then pulled out some clothes that were needed for tomorrow. She then on a white sweater and a pair of jeans. She looked into the mirror and stared at her reflection.
What she saw was a twenty-three year old woman with brown curly hair. Her eyes, the colour honey chocolate, her mouth the colour of pink rose petals, and her perk nose. She stood at 5'3 and had curves in the right places. But what she saw now was a women who was a mess. She then grabbed her wand and said a spell to clean herself up.
"Much better." she said to herself and grabbed her stuff and headed downstairs.
When she walked into the living room, she saw all three children sitting on the couch and watching a muggle program.
"Come on Munchkins. Time to go." she said as she headed to the fireplace.
"Are we going by floo this time mommy?" Dawn asked though a yawn.
"Yes honey. Mommy is just a little bit tired right now. So we are going by floo." she pulled out her wand, "Engorgo!" and watched as the fireplace got bigger. "Come on gather together and hold on to me."
She waited until each of them had a firm grip on her. Scarlet was clamped to her left leg, Dawn on her right. While Liam waited for Hermione to pick him up. Once she picked him up and he settled him onto her hip. Once that was done she picked up some floo powder and clearly said "Hermione's room, Hogwarts." before dropping the powder.
They were all pulled though what seemed like another dimension. Then were flung out into the tower were Hermione stayed. She then counted each of them and waited for them to unlatch themselves from her.
Once unlatched she looked at all of their faces. They were tired. It was already 9:00 and an hour past their bedtimes.
"Bedtime." she said and listened to their usual protest.
"But mommy," Dawn stopped on a yawn.
"Were not tired!"Scarlet continued with her yawn.
"Oh yes you are. Come on off to bed." she watched as they walked off to the room that was made of them.
Once she was sure that they were at least in their beds she walked to Scarlet's room. She knocked on the door and waited for a answer. When no answer came, she opened the door and saw Scarlet sprawled all over her bed. Hermione smiled and shook her head. She walked over to the bed and moved Scarlet, so that her head was on the pillows. She then pulled up the blankets and kissed her on the nose.
"Good-night Monkey."
She then walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.
Then she went to Dawn's room. She walked into the room and saw that Dawn already was in bed with her stuffed dog tucked under her arm. Hermione walked up to her and stroked a hand down Dawn's hair.
"Good-night, my little Otter."
She then kissed her on the forehead and then walked out of the room and closed the door. She then walked to Liam's room.
She then walked into Liam's room, already knowing that he wouldn't go to sleep until she had come in and said good-night.
"Mommy?" He said in a tired voice.
"Yes hun."
"I love you." he said while struggling to keep his eyes open.
Hermione bent down and kissed his cheek. "I love you too, Tiger." She then headed towards the door.
"Mommy can you sing me something, please?"
Hermione turned around. "What song?"
"The one you used to sing when I was in your belly." He yawned.
"Okay." She sat down on the bed beside him and cleared her throat.
"Baby, Pretty baby,
Don't you cry.
Mommy's always there for you,
Even when you cry
So baby don't you worry,
I'm always there
'Cause I will always love you,
And always care
So baby, baby don't worry,
'Cause I will always be there."
By the time she was finished, he was fast asleep. She kissed his cheek one more time and walked to the door. She then closed it behind her.
She sat one one of the chairs that was by the fireplace. She didn't even noticed when Dumbledore came into the room.
"Hello." He said and watched as Hermione's attention focused on the room.
"Oh, hello professor. What class do I have tomorrow?"
Dumbledore looked at her. "Herbology. Professor Sprout isn't feeling up to the weather."
"Okay." she said and watched as he continued to stay where he was. "Is there something else?"
"My dear it has been six years this day, hasn't it?"
Hermione looked at him with a confused look and the gasped. She hadn't realized that it was today. She had just spent the last time with him, angry.
"No sir I didn't realize it." She said as she headed towards the door. "Please send a house el, I'll be right back." And with that she rushed out the door.
"Make this one memorable." He said before calling up a elf.
Hermione ran down the stairs. Tears were blinding her eyes. She had to go to the tower. She didn't even noticed that she bumped into someone.
"Sorry." she mumbled quickly before continuing on her way.
Professor Snape looked confused that the lady had just bumped into him. He thought that it had looked a lot like Granger. He shook his head and shrugged it off.
Hermione had ran all the way up the stairs and though the trap door.
"I'm here Draco! What is it you want me to do?" she said as she looked around the room. Her gaze the brought her to a letter with a lily on top of it. Then more tears streamed down her face. She picked up the lily and breathed in the perfume of the flower.
"You remembered." She whispered and picked up the letter, and caught an object before it hit the floor.
The ring had a silver band with five gems on it. In each of the gems were letters D,H,S,D, and L. The first two gems were green and pink. Hope and love, while the others remand white.
She placed the ring on her finger and unfolded the letter.
Dear Hermione,
Well it is I, Draco. Your probably wondering why the letter, the flower and the ring are up in the this tower. Well this letter is here to explain all of that to you.
Firstly, the flower. The flower is there simply because I wanted it to be there. And also to show tat I still remember.
The ring is for you and me. Also For Scarlet, Dawn and Liam.
Your also probably wondering why the ring is like this. Well this just proves that I am smarter then you.
She laughed at this, and knew that it was his way of saying I love you. She then continued reading.
But part of the reason why I am able to come back, in a living dead form, is because of certain purposes. Each time that one of those purposes are fulfilled the stone will turn a colour that was meant for that person.
Ours are probably filled because of the lifes that we made together. Yours is hope. Hope because you had hope in me, even in our children. Which meant that it was filled today.
Mine being pink. Which I have no clue why it had to be pink! But anyways, mine being pink because i was able to fall in love, even when I didn't know how too.
Mya you made me love. You helped me since the beginning. I thank you for that.
I'm sorry for today. I wanted it to be a happy moment, but you were right. For six years I did get your hopes up, by making you think that each day would be the day that I would come. Believe me when I say this, I wanted to everyday.
I love you with all of my heart.
Love Always,
Draco
Hermione brought the letter to her chest and hugged it. She hugged it because she thought that it would bring her closer to him. She would keep the letter of a memory of him. she didn't cry this time, when she thought she would. Instead she smiled and looked at the ring.
"Ok, so I lied earlier."
"I knew that you would." she looked up at his face.
"Am I that bad of a lier?" he said as he pulled her into his arms, and held on tightly.
"No. After I read the letter I knew that you would come back. To explain some things." Hermione breathed in his scent, and held on to him. "The some things that couldn't be explained in the letter."
He smiled. "My smart little witch. And yes there are some things that would be better said."
He let go of her and turned around to look out the window.
"Mya, you will go though rough times and good. The children will go though them as well. Liam will go though the hardest of them all. I will be doing this to them as well. Coming and seeing them like this. The ring will turn the colours that were meant for the children."
"There's more. isn't there?" she touched a hand to his arm.
He turned to her and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "This time, will be the last time that I will see you. But I will be able to visit you in dreams."
Hermione didn't say anything, only nodded her head. She didn't want to say anything due to th fact that she was scared. She was scared that she would say something wrong,
"Hermione I want you to say something. Anything! I don't care what, I just don't want you to stay quiet." He lifted her chin, and looked into her eyes.
What he saw were tears falling gently down her face. He rubbed them off with his thumb. He then smiled.
"I will always be here Mya." He was starting to fade away.
"Draco, don't go. I need you! Don't you get it? I miss you so much, and the kids do too. I can't do this without you." she hugged his fading form.
"I know you can do this Mya. Your strong, and a beautiful women. I miss you and love you always." He crushed his lips down on hers.
Drcao mt passion, with passion. He felt all the emotions that were pent up inside of them, release on that one kiss.
Hermione moaned and bit his bottom lip. She was feeling him slowly fading away, with each passing second.
I love you alway." she murmured against his lips.
When she finally opened her eyes, he was gone from sight. She then smiled and looked out the window, to stare at the sky above.
Sometime later, she was walking back to the tower, which was her own. She then bumped into somebody.
"Sorry, Sir."
"Well I see that your old habits haven't changed one bit, have they Miss Granger?"
When she looked up, she saw a man with pale skin and greasy black hair, she gave him a smirk.
"Oh I'm sorry Professor. I;m sure that the children will be delighted to see you tomorrow." she gave another smirk. "Good-night sir." And she continued on her way.
After Snape was sure that she was out of sight and hearing distance, he let out a whoop of joy. Which got most of the pictures to stare at him oddly. He would never let anyone know that he liked those children, because then it would make people think that he had gone soft.
When Hermione walked into the room, she saw Dumbledore sitting in the chair that hours ago she had occupied.
"So is it over, Miss Granger?" He said with a smile in his eyes.
She shook her head, "NO sir, I think that it is the beginning of many adventures, yet to come."
Well the next chapter is the last one. Enjoy.