The Apple of My Eye

Summary: Diego is Hermione's son. He doesn't have a father. While playing at the park, he meets a very nice man called Draco. Hermione is unaware of her son's new friend. Then one day, she spies him sitting on the lap of a man she never wanted to see again.

Disclaimer: It's surprising I know, but I don't own anything.


Chapter 7:

The surface of the lake rippled in the wind. It was a beautiful sight. He sighed. It was almost the holidays. His father expected him home but he didn't want to go. It wasn't that he disliked his family. On the contrary, he adored his parents and his parents adored him. It was just that he wanted to stay at school – the grounds would be deserted and he would have all of Hogwarts' facilities to himself, and of course the few other students who stayed behind. He didn't have that kind of freedom at home. His father had great expectations of him and therefore always kept close tabs on him to make sure he didn't go wayward.

The sound of laughter startled him out of his thoughts. Looking up he saw the Golden Trio walking towards the lake. Irritation rippled through him. Those bloody Griffindors were so damn annoying. Nevertheless, even he had to admire the strong friendship the three shared. He watched as Weasley picked Granger up and threw her into the icy lake. It made him chuckle when Granger didn't come back to the surface, making Weasley worriedly peer into the murky depths only to have her reach up and pull him in too.

What was it like to have such good friends, he wondered. He certainly wasn't short of friends, but he didn't really share a close relationship with anyone.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Startled once again, he looked down and saw that Granger had swum over to where he was standing.

"None of your business," he snapped.

"Jeez, someone has a pole up his ass," she said, slightly offended at his rudeness.

For some reason that made him laugh. And it wasn't just a sound; the laughter reverberated through his whole body and made him feel…good. The sight shocked Granger. Was Draco Malfoy actually laughing at something she said? She laughed along with him, she didn't know why. Maybe because it was such a rare opportunity. As their laughter died, they looked off in opposite directions, oddly comfortable with each other's presence. A loud splash reminded her that she was neglecting her friends. Looking over, she fondly watched her two friends having a water fight.

"Well, I guess I'll see you around then," she said.

"Yeah, see you around," he said.

She swam back to her friends and joined in their play.

He sat down on the grass and watched them. A couple of times he saw Potter and Weasley look uneasily in his direction. But he didn't really care. He could sit there and watch them if he wished.

When they left an hour later, it somehow made him feel better when Granger waved at him before walking back to the castle.


Draco opened his eyes slowly and saw that it was still dark. Why had he remembered that? It had happened years ago, in their seventh year. Towards the end of their Hogwarts days, the students had begun to realize how petty their little feuds were, and the animosity had died down to some extent. They were nowhere near being friends of course, but the Slytherins and Griffindors were no longer hexing each other on sight.

This particular incident had been a one-off for Draco. Nothing like it ever happened again. Nothing changed between him and Granger. But he remembered that he had felt content that afternoon – happy with the realization that he was human enough to be civil to the people he hated the most.

As the students in the school became sick of their trivial fights about blood, houses and heritage, Draco was slightly ashamed to admit that he was one of the last people to conform. However this small exchange with Granger had been a sort of catalyst for him. From then on, he found it easier to just tolerate the highly irritating presence of the Griffindors.

Somehow, though, he could never properly accept the Golden Trio. Yes, he would grudgingly admit that they weren't bad people. They were quite the opposite, seeing as it was them who vanquished the world of its biggest evil and so on and so forth. While Draco could hold civil conversations with most Griffindors for short periods of time, he could never do it with those three particular people. He had tried once. All four of them, plus Blaise had ended up in the Hospital wing for two days.

Civil conversations between him and the Golden Trio didn't exist.

Sigh.

Draco still didn't know what had happened yesterday. He couldn't believe that his little Diego was Hermione Granger's son. At least now the child's intelligence made sense. Then Draco remembered the lady he had seen running from the park. He now realized that it had been her. So that's how she found out…

Sigh.

Did this mean he couldn't see Diego anymore? The thought saddened him. He had gotten so attached to the child. At least this will put an end to this unhealthy obsession, he thought. Then another thought struck him.

Who was the father?

As far as he knew, Granger was a single woman. Unless you count her current flirtations with Dan, Draco grimaced. Diego was about five years old. So, that would mean he was conceived…no…it couldn't be…could it?

Cold fear gripping him like a vice, Draco sat up. Surely she would have told him? Looking at the clock he saw that it was 3:00 am.

Could it be? It certainly can't be! He thought. Granger of all people would have said so…I think…

Unable to go back to sleep, Draco set up his Wiz-computer. Logging on to the Wiz-Net, he looked up 'Hermione Granger'. There were thousands of files and sites that matched that entry. Hermione Granger was after all, one very famous witch. Every site he went to mentioned her many credentials, glorified her role in the war, highlighted her affiliation with people of the likes of Harry Potter, her current job, her many awards, public functions she had attended…but nothing about her personal life. The most he could find was that she had had a brief fling with famous Seeker, Viktor Krum back in her school days. Draco already knew that…and it wasn't what he was looking for. Granger was obviously a very private person. Nowhere could he find even a mention that she had a son. Usually successful women gloated if they could juggle a great career and a family. But not Granger.

Sigh.

The clock now read 5:12 am.

Draco had to find out. He had to know; whether it was possible…He just couldn't believe that Granger would keep something like that from him. Looking at his daily planner, he saw that he was completely booked out today. And tomorrow…and the day after. He didn't have any free time for a week. But he couldn't wait that long. He supposed he could see her after hours, but she wouldn't be at work and he didn't know where she lived. Well, he kind of did. He had had that dream…but it couldn't possibly be true, could it? Either way, he didn't feel it would be appropriate to go to her house.

Looking again at his planner, he wondered which ones he could cancel. The lunch with the Mayor today could always be made a dinner appointment. And he could ask the Mayor to bring his family along. Draco was excellent that way – he knew exactly how to get high ranking officials to eat out of his palm, and impressing the family was one of the best ways to do it. If he did that, he'd have three free hours. Hopefully he'd be able to catch Granger then.

I need to know…


The Daily Prophet

The Secret Life of a Dragon

Draco Malfoy is one of Europe's most successful businessmen. But there is so much more to this dashing young man. Dorris Hutchinson uncovers a few secrets.

At the age of twenty-two, Draco Malfoy has achieved more in life than most eighty-year olds. Five years ago, when he was fresh out of Hogwarts, Malfoy joined his father's company. Faced with Death-Eater allegations, and the prospect of a life sentence in Azkaban, Lucius Malfoy was losing business drastically. His young son however, saved Malfoy Inc from bankruptcy and it is now the Europe's most successful wizarding company.

With his charming good looks and vibrant personality, Draco Malfoy has caught the heart of the entire female population of Europe. This reporter can exclusively reveal that Malfoy and Summer Bettany are no longer a couple. Yes, that's right; Draco Malfoy is a free man once again! While Malfoy refused to indulge the details of the break up, close friends reveal that it was done at a family function hosted by Bettany's family. When contacted to provide a few words for this article, Ms Bettany promptly burst into tears and claimed that 'Draco was my one true love! And now he's shattered my heart into a thousand pieces and in front of my friends and family too. I don't know how I'll be able to live without him now…"

Inside sources reveal that Bettany has not left her exclusive Soho apartment since the break up. I'm sure we all feel for the girl.

Story continues page 4

Hermione snorted at the ridiculous article. She couldn't believe that this had made the front page of the Daily Prophet. The world is lowering its standards, she thought.

She was sitting at the table for breakfast, with Diego across from her, and Bess to the side. There had been an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the swooshing of an owl delivering the newspaper. Seeing the front-page article on Draco Malfoy had not helped Hermione's mood in the slightest. She thought back to the day before. After her embarrassing outburst to Malfoy, the receptionist (what was her name again? Dianne?), had given her some tea and biscuits and respected the fact that Hermione was not willing to talk about what was wrong. For that she was grateful. Instead, the young girl had chit chatted about random things, trying to lighten the mood and put Hermione in better spirits. It had helped a bit. She had left after an hour, departing with the girl's phone number and Wiz-net address.

Thinking back, Hermione could see that she had not handled things as well as she could have. For one, she should have just made an appointment with Malfoy, or ambushed him when he wasn't with someone else. It was obvious that he was shocked to find out that Diego was her son. At least I know he wasn't swindling my son with the intent of hurting me, she thought.

But still. She couldn't believe that Draco Malfoy was spending time with a young child. What was he? Some kind of pedophile? She desperately wanted to know how he had met her son, but Diego refused to speak to her. She thought about asking Bess, but decided that she'd rather hear it from Diego's mouth, whenever he got over this silly little mood of his. Really, the child was being stupid. He didn't understand what was going on. Diego couldn't possibly like Malfoy that much…could he?

Still, Hermione didn't think she ought to go apologize to him like Bess said she should. She hadn't done anything wrong. She had a right to be enraged.

So then when did she feel so horrible inside?

Looking up at her son, her heart caught. Diego had his head in one hand and with his other; he was absent-mindedly stirring a spoon through his porridge. His silky white-blonde hair hung over part of his face. His eyes downcast, he looked positively miserable.

"Diego…" she started uncertainly.

He looked up.

"Diego," she said again, "I think we need to talk about what happened."

The child's shoulders stiffened visibly.

"I want you to understand that I'm not trying to be mean here. I'm doing this because it will be the best for everyone."

Diego looked back down at his porridge. "But, mummy, Draco is my friend. I like him very much."

"Malfoy is no one's friend! The selfish bastard cares only for himself!"

"Hermione!" Bess admonished. "That is no way to talk to your son."

Breathing in sharply, Hermione gripped her glass of orange juice tightly. "I have not changed my mind about what I said before. You are still forbidden to meet him again."

Seeing that the boy's bottom lip was trembling, Bess pleaded with the angry mother. "Hermione, think about what you're doing! He's only a child; he doesn't understand what is happening. Cutting him off from Draco will only hurt and confuse him. This will be detrimental to him in the long-run."

"Oh, Draco now is he?" Hermione eyed Bess coolly. "Well, since you're such good buddies with him, I suppose now you're going to sneak around behind my back and arrange secret meetings with he so that he can further corrupt my child?"

Utterly outraged, Bess stood abruptly. "I never thought I'd see the day when you, Hermione, would turn against me. I thought you of all people would know that I would never do such a thing. Our relationship was built on honesty and trust and it seems that you no longer trust me."

Realising that she had made a mistake, but her pride getting in the way, Hermione remained silent.

Sensing this but still feeling absolutely resolute, Bess asked very bluntly, "Would you like me to stay or leave?"

Taken aback, Hermione gaped at her for a second. Part of her felt like snapping back and telling Bess she could leave if she liked. But she knew she couldn't do that. Bess had watched her growing up and helped her through the hard times. Looking down at the table, Hermione said quietly, "I'd like you to stay…please."

Bess walked over to Hermione and hugged her from behind. "Don't let a man like Draco Malfoy keep you from being the best mother you can be to your wonderful little boy. He's confused, he doesn't know about your past. He needs you."

Hermione slumped back into Bess's embrace and sighed.


Draco tapped his quill on his desk in contemplation. He had already wasted twenty minutes of his three free hours. Why? Because he was too scared of facing Granger. Scared was probably the wrong word. Apprehensive maybe? Sigh. Walking over to his window, he gazed down at the busy lunchtime traffic. He really needed to find out.

Picking up his wand, he apparated to the foyer of Ministry of Magic. As he waited for the elevator, he looked around the small crowd in the foyer. There was an assortment of people, ranging from the stinking rich to the poorest of the poor. Of course, he was richer and more influential than anyone else here. But what did it matter? At the moment he felt like he was the poorest person in the world.

When the elevator opened at the right floor, Draco considered going right back home. But he couldn't. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep at night until he found out. At the front desk he asked if Granger was in. As he walked towards her office, he received a few odd looks from people. Not that he noticed. Pausing outside her door, Draco took a deep breath. Before he could knock however, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Whirling around he was startled to see Potter looking quizzically at him.

"What brings you here, Malfoy?"

"Uhh, I'm here to see Granger."

"Why?"

"None of your damn business, that's why!"

Potter raised an eyebrow at him.

"Look, I just need to see her about something, okay?"

Raising his other eyebrow as well, Potter reached past him and knocked on the door. "It might help if you actually knocked on her door." And with that, he walked off.

Scowling at his retreating back, Draco turned back to face the door. He was still scowling when Hermione opened the door.

Seeing him, she began closing the door again, but he reached out and stopped her. "Granger, we need to talk."

"No we don't. You just need to stay away from my son."

"Please, Granger?"

Slowly releasing the door, Hermione let him in. "I have protection spells in here, you know."

Draco looked confused. "Uh…so?"

"So…don't try anything."

"I'm not here to hurt you, you fool," Draco said with a disgusted look on his face.

Sitting behind her desk, she clasped her hands together and placed them under the chin. "Whatever. What do you want?"

"I…Um…about Diego…"

"There's nothing to discuss about him. You are never to see him again. I've told Diego the same, and that's the end of it."

"Diego doesn't want to see me anymore?"

"He understands that his mother knows best and he obeys me," Hermione lied.

"Oh," Draco looked down at his hands.

"If that's all, you can leave now, Malfoy."

"Actually, I had one more question."

Eying him hesitantly, Hermione waited for him to continue.

"I don't know how to say it properly. I was wondering…I mean, I was thinking about it and it didn't make any sense. With all that happened I didn't know, but I want to know, you know?"

"Malfoy, that didn't make any sense."

Draco sighed. "Who's his father, Granger?"

Hermione gaped at him for a second. "Wha-what?"

Draco just stared at her. Regaining her composure, she asked coolly, "Why do you want to know?"

Unsure of how to put his feelings into words, he just shrugged helplessly. "I…I was just wondering. I mean, Diego himself doesn't know. But he said that his father was still alive. Who is he?"

"I don't see how any of this concerns you, Malfoy. Now, if you don't mind, I have a lot of work to do." And with a deft flick of her wand, Draco felt himself being pulled by an invisible force out of her room.

"No! I want an answer!" Grabbing hold of the doorframe, Draco tried to resist the spell.

"Get out, Malfoy. You're making a scene," Hermione said, without even looking at him. Instead, she went to her cabinet and started going through some files.

Anger and frustration coursing through his body, Draco began to shout. "Granger you're a bitch! You're cutting me off from the boy. The least you could do is answer my question – I deserve to know! Who the hell is Diego's father?"

Hearing the commotion, a few curious people came out into the hallway to see what was going on.

Embarrassment glowed bright red on Hermione's cheeks. "Silencio!" she screamed, to stop him from making any further noise. Seeing that the spell was still trying to drag him out of the room, Hermione rushed around her desk and physically pulled him back into the room, slamming the door shut. Still, Draco was flung against the closed door, the doorknob sticking painfully into his back.

"Using your fucking wand!" he tried to say. Hermione only saw his mouth move.

"What?"

Draco pointed desperately at her discarded wand lying on the floor.

"Oh." Picking it up, Hermione muttered the counter-curse.

Sliding to the floor, Draco pressed one had to the small of his back, wincing in pain. "I thought you were supposed to be the smartest witch in our year."

"I'm the smartest witch to ever graduate from Hogwarts," Hermione spat back at him.

Draco held his hands up in mock defeat. And for a few moments, they both stared at the floor.

"Why the hell were you shouting like that?" Hermione barked, suddenly remembering that she was furious at him.

"Because I want an answer to my question," he said simply.

"No."

"Why not?"

"It's none of your god damn business!"

Draco looked up at her and sneered. "You think you're so good, don't you?"

"What?"

"Yeah. You think that just because you're bloody Hermione 'Saviour of the World' Granger, you can do whatever the fuck you want."

"That's preposterous. I'm not like that."

"Oh, really? Then why is it that you can keep whatever you want from people, but if other people don't want to tell you anything, you beat it out of them?"

"I don't do that!" Hermione protested.

"Really, Granger? Can you honestly tell me that you don't abuse your fame?"

"Yes…" she muttered unconvincingly, staring at the floor once again.

Draco scoffed.

"But you do it too!" she said defensively.

"Doesn't make it okay for you to do it. Besides, I only do that to waiters. If I want information, I charm my victims. I never use my wand."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You're an egotistical prick."

"You're a hypocritical bitch."

Raising her wand, Hermione glowered at him. "I hate you."

"That's okay, I hate you more."

"Ha! Malfoy, you have no idea how much I hate you."

"Oh, I think I do. I hate you for pretty much the same reasons that you hate me." Ignoring her wand, which was incidentally pointed at his throat, Draco examined his fingernails.

"No, Malfoy. See that's the thing. You don't even know why I hate you the way I do!"

He frowned. "That's a bit unfair don't you think? Maybe it was something I did by accident…maybe I didn't actually mean you to have such a hateful reaction."

"It was a mistake alright."

"What was?"

"Nothing."

Sigh. Draco was getting fed up with her silly game. He stood up and took a step towards her. Hermione took a step back and hit her desk. "Can you please just tell me who Diego's father is?"

"It's my private life, it has nothing to do with you, so fuck off!"

"That's not very nice, Granger. It's a very simple question. I know you want me to go away. And I will…after you tell me."

Hermione snarled and began to hex him. But before she could finish saying the curse, Draco had grabbed her arm and twisted it.

"Ow! Get off me, you pedophile!"

"What the hell did u call me? I am not a pedophile!"

"Then why do u hang around little kids?"

"I don't!"

"You were hanging out with Diego all the time."

"That was different, we had a connection. There's something special about Diego."

The next thing Draco knew, his head snapped back and his nose ached. Dumbfounded, he staggered. "You hit me!" Still reeling from the shock, he pushed her. Hermione hit her desk again.

Furiously, she pushed him back. "You stay away from my son. He's my son, you hear? If I say stay away from him, then you stay away from him." When her pushing didn't seem to have much of an effect on him, Hermione began hitting, scratching and clawing at him.

Draco tried to push her off, but she kept coming back. Granger is deranged, he thought to himself. Finally he couldn't take it any longer; she was starting to hurt him. So, Draco slapped her. It wasn't very hard, just a sharp tap across the face. But it was enough to stun her. "Who is his father?" he asked with clenched teeth.

Hermione sank to the floor. "Idno" she mumbled.

"Sorry, what?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you 'don't know'?" Draco asked incredulously.

"Right after seventh year…it just happened…I met some guy at a bar and I was extremely drunk and the next morning I was alone in a hotel room."

"You're joking, right?"

She scowled. "No, I'm dead serious. I don't even know his name."

"Why couldn't you just tell me this before?"

"Because I'm Hermione Granger. I don't do things like this. It's shameful. It's not like I prance about going 'Hi, I'm Hermione. I had a one night stand and now I have a five year old son!' I certainly wasn't going to tell you of all people about it."

"So that's it? You just don't know? What are you going to say to Diego when he gets older? Do you just expect him to never have a father?"

Hermione sighed. "I don't know. I guess I just…actually you know what? Go away. This has nothing to do with you. You got your answer now bugger off."

"But…"

"Fuck off!"

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Just tell Diego I'm sorry, please?"

"Leave!"

And so Draco left.


That night, Draco couldn't sleep. Now that he knew, he felt relieved. Yet, he was still confused. It didn't make sense. Like Granger had said, she didn't do things like that. But why would she lie? And Draco himself knew that one couldn't always trust a person to be that same all the time. People did very unexpected things sometimes. But still. It was weird.

It just saddened him that he couldn't see Diego anymore. He desperately wanted to, but Granger had forbidden it. And since she was the child's mother, there was nothing he could do. The world was such a cruel and horrible place. Turning onto his side, he winced when one of the scratched Granger had given him touched the pillow. God, she was a bitch.

Sigh.


Hermione stared out her window at the moon. She had a hot mug of coffee in her hands, but it seemed like she had forgotten it was there. Her mind was in turmoil.

Yes, she had lied to Malfoy. But she had no choice. She couldn't tell him the truth. Everyone would be better off this way. Mainly Diego. He was the world to her. He was the only reason she was still here today. Back then…when all her hopes and dreams appeared to be shattered, she just looked at his tiny, beautiful face. Everyday that she looked at him and saw how he had grown, her heart would swell with pride. He was her gorgeous baby, and she wouldn't let anyone take him away from her.

Especially not Draco Malfoy.


FINALLY got this chapter up. I actually wrote half of this within a week of posting the last chapter…but then things just kinda fell apart from there. But I was up all night last night doing this…and then my stupid wireless modem thingy decided to screw up. But it's all fixed now and here it is!

I am really sorry that it took a long time though. I just hope that you guys are still willing to continue reading, and I really hope you guys liked the chapter!

I guess now, I'll be updating Unfortunate Fates next. Don't give up on me yet, guys! I haven't abandoned my fics yet. All my reviewers – I LOVE YOU! Thanks for encouraging me to keep writing. I couldn't have done it without you guys )

Love,

A vision of violets

xoxoxo