I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, Hermione probably would not be with Ron right now.
Enjoy!
Chapter 2 – Draco
It couldn't have been more than twenty minutes that he'd been asleep.
The burning of the gash in his arm translated to a different kind of burning in his nightmares and he woke utterly panicked, nearly throwing Hermione to the floor in his efforts to get up.
Where was his wand? He needed to get them out. He'd protect them from him. His mind was spinning trying to pull the plans he'd made and memorized from the depths of his memory. Then there were small hands on his chest, holding him against the wall with gentle pressure. His chest was heaving and begging for air, his broken ribs screaming.
"Malfoy!" he felt warm hands encircling his wrist and pulling his arm up in front of his face. "Look! Look. It's not HIM. It's not him."
There was a blurry hand in front of his face, connected to a sluggishly bleeding forearm. Slowly but surely his eyes focused and he was able to see that it was, in fact, not the Mark slithering under his skin calling him to do some other unforgiveable thing.
He sank to the floor, the hands pinning him to the wall falling away.
"We're fixing this now." It was his wife's harsh voice above him, leaving absolutely no room for discussion. She marched into the bathroom and came back with her wand, dittany and a few other potions he didn't care enough to recognize.
She methodically moved down the list of injuries, fixing them one at a time until his ribs, lungs and arm were healed as best as possible and bandaged where necessary.
It was an hour before the bed was cleaned and made, they were both showered and free of blood, sex and dirt. By the time they found themselves in bed with the intention to sleep it was almost 3 in the morning. The boys would be waking up in just a few hours.
Hermione's head was pillowed on his recently healed chest, drawing light patterns between the scars. There was a Dreamless Sleep potion sitting on the table beside him that he had turned down to which Hermione had snapped at him about punishing himself. So he was laying there, staring at the emerald green canopy over their head, turning a thought over and over in his mind.
"Granger," even he heard it when his voice cracked. He cleared his throat.
"Hm?" she mumbled.
"I think you, Evander and Theo should leave."
Save for the barely noticeable pause in her ministrations, she gave no indication that he had even spoken.
"Did you hear me?"
"Yes."
"Well?"
"I refuse to dignify that with a response."
"Granger," he groaned. "I'm serious."
"As am I," her voice was terrifyingly calm. "We are not having this discussion again,"
To be fair, they had agreed, the day Evander was born, that he would never bring it up again.
"Yes. We are."
He could feel her heartbeat pounding out of her chest, even against the hand he held to her back.
"Malfoy," her voice was furious, and a little broken.
"Granger," he echoed. She shifted away from him and sat up, pulling her knees as close to her chest as her midsection would allow. He felt a pang of guilt at the nervous look in her eyes. Though, it was just a mere shadow of the guilt he felt about every other thing that had occurred since he returned from work. "Hermione," his voice softened. "Is this the life you want for our children?" he gestured vaguely.
"A life with parents who love each other, love them, don't serve the 'Dark Lord' and remember who they are?" her voice was venomous with sarcasm.
"No, a life where at school, while all his cousins and classmates are hearing about how their parents won the war, saved the world, defeated the most infamous wizard of all time, our sons will be hearing about their father, the Malfoy-Heir turned Death Eater who brought his followers into Hogwarts, subsequently killing the most beloved Headmaster the school has ever known." He spat. Her eyes were wide, and slowly but surely welling with tears. He was on his feet, pacing in the next moment.
They'll learn about their father who helped find people like them and their mother to put on a fucking mudblood registry. They'll learn about their great aunt who tortured their mother. They'll finally hear all about Dear Old Granddad. They'll go to school at eleven years old with the Malfoy name hanging over their head like a guillotine wishing their father was anyone else. They'll be bullied within an inch of their life Granger, by people who punish others for something they can't control, like the family they were born into. People like me. You don't think this is my punishment? This is my penalty for who I was and who I am. I refuse to let my children suffer the consequences of my actions-"
"Stop. Stop it now." Hermione whispered, tears were falling freely now and Draco deflated. "They love you. They love you more than anything in the world, even more than me most of the time. If you would like to tell your sons that their father was a total arse at 11 years old and because of that, you're leaving them then be my guest. But I won't do it. We talked about this. We discussed the talk we would need to have with them before they went off to school."
He scrubbed a hand over his face and took a deep breath.
"Draco, they'll have James, Fred and Roxanne years above them looking out for them. They'll have Rose, Remus, Lily and Hugo and if I know Harry, Ginny and Ron, they'll coach them on looking out for Evander and Theo. They'll be safe. They'll have friends. And yeah, they will get made fun of. Especially since they'll be the first Malfoys in Gryffindor," she smirked just slightly. Draco huffed a laugh and nervously ran his hand through his hair. "But they will be okay. They'll be safe. They'll be loved. And most importantly they will have their father. They know who you are. A lesson in History class won't change that." she was passionate and vehement and sounded so sure of herself that he couldn't help but believe her. "They will also be waking up very shortly and I would love to get some sleep before that happens."
Draco made his way back over to the bed, taking Hermione's face in his palms and wiping away her tears with his thumbs.
"Okay," he slid between the sheets and tugged Hermione down with him. "Sleep, love." He kissed her forehead. She nodded and curled against him, asleep before Draco could say anything else.
Draco was certain that before he'd even really closed his eyes, there was a little finger stabbing into his cheek. He felt the bed dip and his eyes flashed open, met with a face full of Evander Malfoy. The boy's brown eyes were staring into his, waiting for them to open.
"Dad, are you hurt?"
"No," he whispered, trying to blink away the exhaustion. "Hush now. Don't wake your mother."
"Theo's awake." He whispered, spewing spit into his father's ear. "Why do you have bandages if you're not hurt?" Ever his mother's son with the never ending questions.
"Evander, quiet." He scolded gently. "Out. I'm right behind you." The blonde boy nodded once, obedient as always and raced from the room while Draco carefully extracted himself from around Hermione.
The four year old was standing in the hallway bouncing on his toes with uncontained impatience. Every time he got to see his family it was like Christmas morning. He was impossible to calm down until it was time to leave. Evander grinned brightly and took Draco's hand, pulling him towards the nursery while chattering away about everything he could think of.
"What do you think Gran and Papa will have for me and Theo today, Dad?"
"Should I wear my robes? Do you think Remus will be wearing his? I want to match him, Dad."
"Are you and Uncle Ron going to argue again, Dad?"
"Evander," Draco sighed and pushed open the door to see Theo waiting patiently, holding onto the railing of his crib.
"Dada," he babbled, brown eyes lighting up as he reached for his father.
It wasn't until he lifted Theo out of the crib that he felt the sharp throbbing ache radiating throughout his arm. He gritted his teeth and steadied his breathing but not before his son's brown eyes were narrowed in his direction.
"You're hurt." He stated with a bossy, matter of fact tone that was all his mother. Draco arched an eyebrow to which Evander crossed his arms and stalked out of the room.
By the time Hermione had woken up, the boys had eaten and were dressed for the Weasley's house. Evander had managed to get Theo as excited as he was and they were both absolute basket cases. Draco was sitting on the couch, purple bags under his eyes and a mug of coffee in his hands as he watched his sons run around with fake wands in their hands.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" Hermione asked, hands on her hips and tone dripping with irritation.
"You were tired."
"Have you looked in the mirror?"
"Have you?"
"You're hurt."
"You're pregnant."
"That hardly makes me an invalid, I'm fully capable of looking after my children, thank you very much."
"As am I."
"That's not the point. You need to heal."
"You need to rest."
"You-"
"Bloody hell, Granger. Just say thank you and get on with it." His eyes rolled and Hermione stared at him for a good minute before huffing indignantly. "Just go get dressed."
She hesitated for a moment before disappearing back up the stairs to change her clothes for the party.
"Dad?"
"Yes son?"
"You said a bad word."
"Yes, I did."
Hermione had tamed her hair and twisted it into something a little more elegant than her normal wildness. She'd thrown on a pair of muggle jeans along with a more loose-fitting blouse as no one knew about their third pregnancy just yet and they weren't quite ready to announce it. It was pink and fluttery and the neckline plunged a little lower than she was used to and when she came back downstairs, Draco's eyes widened just a bit. She had been so busy lately, and he'd been so busy with work. Seeing her all put together was a little bit of a shock. Obviously she was always gorgeous. But it had been a long time since he'd seen her in something other than her work uniform, or house clothes covered in whatever the boys had gotten into that day.
"Alright there, Malfoy?"
He nodded once and stood, grabbing her wrist as he passed her on his way to dress as well.
"I like this." He murmured the words in her ear, nipping at her earlobe and tugging lightly on the hem of her blouse. The blush came uninvited and he kissed the color that bloomed across her cheeks before heading up the stairs.
His outfit was chosen carefully as always. Long sleeves, despite the fact that it was April and a little too warm to be wearing a thick black button up and a blazer. The bandages peeked out from under the cuff of his sleeve but there was nothing he could do about that without infuriating Hermione.
His ribs ached with every inhale and he wanted nothing more than to skip this party but Hermione was right and he wasn't about to alienate his only remaining biological relative. Still, when he risked a glance in the mirror to fix his hair, he nearly settled on bailing for fear of startling all the children. He looked absolutely awful. Hermione had not been lying. Molly Weasley's incessant worrying was already ringing in his ears. His silver eyes were dull grey and sunken, surrounded by the dark purple bruising that came with exhaustion. His shoulders were hunched to accommodate the ache in his torso and when he tried to straighten up, he nearly vomited.
Draco sighed gently and turned on the faucet, collecting cold water in his palms to splash against his face as if it would wash away the exhaustion.
It didn't.
The moment they appeared in the Floo at Potter's house shrill screaming echoed loud enough that Hermione flinched so hard she nearly dropped Theo. It was Draco's arm around her waist that kept Theo in place even as she leaned hard into him, panting a little as she fought the rising panic. Draco released Evander's little hand and cupped the back of Hermione's head to kiss her forehead.
"Alright?" she nodded. "It's just the kids. You're safe." He murmured.
"I know that," she responded firmly, readjusting her grip on Theo and stepping out of the Floo.
Potter's large house was in utter chaos. Party decorations everywhere, children running around underfoot. Molly, Ginny, Luna and Neville were in the kitchen. Harry, Teddy, James and Ron were engaged in two separate games of wizards chess, Victoire hovering behind Teddy's chair. George was chatting with Arthur, Andromeda and Bill. Fleur was redoing Dominique's braids as the nine-year-old cried; Fred and Louis were laughing so hard their faces were red. It was just a complete mad house, as usual.
Molly was bustling towards them in an instant, gathering Theo and Evander in her arms. Hermione tucked herself into Draco's side and glanced up at him. The corner of his eyes were tight as he watched Molly hug and coddle his boys. He knew Hermione felt the same sharp pang in her chest watching Evander and Theo be smothered by the only "Gran" they'd ever known.
Molly Weasley sat down on the nearest chair, Evander on one knee and Theo on the other as she handed two little parcels to each of them. The boys tore them open and giggled with glee. Each holding a stuffed, crocheted version of their favorite animal. Evander's was a small owl, Theo's a cat.
Evander threw his arms around Molly's neck, hugging her tight while Theo followed suit, mimicking his big brother.
The ever-grateful Malfoy boys made their parents proud and Mrs. Weasley beam. They were nothing like the spoiled brat their father had been as a child.
"I'm needed back in the kitchen. Off you go, boys." She smiled warmly and eased them both off her lap. Theo toddled back over to Hermione who lifted him back onto her hip.
"Hermione dear, lovely to have you home." Molly pulled Hermione into an awkward hug. "And congratulations." She whispered in Hermione's ear. She chuckled under her breath because of course Molly knew.
"Draco," Draco leaned into the offered hug and resisted the urge to pull away. "Oh! So thin, the both of you. We must do something about that." She sighed and turned back towards the kitchen.
Evander was long gone, hugging Rose as tight as his little arms could manage.
"'Mione!" Ron shouted jovially. She smiled brightly and waved a little. At Ron's outburst, Ginny whirled around and ran from the kitchen as fast as she could. Draco shrunk back then, trying to disappear into the stones of the fireplace behind him. Fifteen years and he still felt like a complete outsider. When Ginny reached Hermione, she nearly knocked the both of them off balance and Draco resisted the urge to steady his wife and separate the two of them. The protective instinct never wavered.
When the redheaded witch pulled away, she took Theo with her and hugged her nephew, cuddling him and chatting with him, Hermione long forgotten. It was Harry who hugged her next. It was a long one and Draco watched Hermione's arms wrap around him as she sagged against him. The lack of jealousy Draco felt surprised even him. Harry just hugged her, protectively, like the big brother he was. They were muttering things to each other that nobody else could hear and Draco still wanted to disapparate. Or sleep. Maybe both. He didn't know. He just knew he did not want to be here.
"Uncle Harryyyyyyy!" Evander's loud little voice echoed and cut through everything else as he barreled into Potter.
"Hush, Evander. Inside voices, dear." Hermione chided, pulling away from Harry and straightening her shirt.
"Sorry, mum." He said absently, even as Harry swung him up onto his hip. "I've been practicing what you and Dad taught me, Uncle Harry. With the snitch? Mum won't let me have a real broom. Can you believe her?" he prattled on. Harry chuckled. "I tried to teach Theo but he's too little. Do you think I'll be a Seeker, Uncle Harry? Like you and Dad? I'd love to be a Seeker. Maybe I'll be even younger than you."
"Blimey, Vander, take a breath why don't you." Ron called from across the room. Evander flushed crimson, pouted and stuck his tongue out. Draco bristled.
"Evander," Hermione scolded.
"Aw, ignore them, Ev. You're going to be a great Seeker, some day. Just keep working at it." Harry encouraged gently, tousling the boy's hair with his free hand. The proud look on the four-year-old's face made Draco smile, just barely.
"Where's Remus?"
"He's out back with Lorcan and Lysander. They're looking for Nargles, I believe." Draco scowled.
"Mum, can I go?" Hermione nodded.
"Be safe. Take Rose with you. Stay in the yard. Don't dirty your clothes." He was already running, dragging Rosalie behind him.
"Hermione," Harry laughed. "They'll be fine, I promise." The promise had darker undertones than the phrase itself called for. Draco had a feeling that the number and strength of enchantments protecting the house today were significantly higher than normal.
Then Molly was beckoning Hermione into the kitchen and Draco was left with nothing standing between himself and the room full of Weasleys and Potters. He could feel the anxiety crawling up his throat again, just as it always did. He was cornered and claustrophobic and somehow the idea of pulling away from the safety of having his back to the wall made his vision black out.
"Oy, we finishing the game or what, Harry?" Ron shouted.
"Later," Potter shouted back and then he was standing in front of Draco with his hands buried in his pockets. "Malfoy," Harry greeted calmly, nodding at the door. Draco had never accepted an invitation so fast in his life.
He followed Potter out onto the porch and inhaled deeply, sucking in blessed fresh air by the lungful. The muttered spell he heard Potter whisper under his breath was followed quickly by a flask of Firewhiskey materializing in the other's wizard's hand. Potter offered it to him first and he accepted immediately, downing a little more than maybe he should have.
"Happens to me too," Potter muttered after a few moments of silence. Draco grunted in agreement. They said nothing else for a long while and for that the blond wizard was grateful. "Donner's been let go," was the second thing he said into the silence after they'd passed the flask back and forth a few times. "He apparated back to the Ministry and I dismissed him after his debrief. By the time I sent reinforcements, the Death- the others were gone."
"Should we really be talking about work right now, Potter?" Draco sighed, running his hand through his hair and taking another pull from the flask before passing it back.
"I suppose not, no." Potter chuckled, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "Just wanted to say sorry, is all, I guess." He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Shouldn't have happened."
"Part of the job."
"Right." Silence. "We should head back inside."
"Right."
"Malfoy?" Draco arched a blond eyebrow at him, waiting for him to continue. "You leave her, I'll kill you." He deadpanned. And somehow, Saint Potter managed to make a death threat sound nonchalant and lighthearted though they both knew he meant it.
"I know,"
"Right then." Potter nodded and screwed the top back onto the flask. "The couch in the sitting room has a good view of the room, Floo and front door. You can double check the Wards too if you'd like."
Draco nodded, steeled himself and followed Potter back into the house.
After dinner found them all in the backyard. The Weasleys and Potters had managed to pull together a casual game of Quidditch. People were getting more and more drunk. The kids were watching a movie in the house under Andromeda's watchful eye. Teddy, Hermione, Draco, Molly and Arthur were sitting on the sidelines. Molly and Hermione chatting quietly, Arthur yelling pointers from his seat. Teddy said nothing for a while, watching closely, eyes following the snitch wistfully.
"How come you're not playing?" Teddy asked quietly. Draco's eye's snapped open where they had been drifting shut, little by little with each slow blink.
"Wouldn't be fair to the others." He winked. Teddy laughed.
"Uncle Draco?"
"Hm?" he hummed.
"Do you still think Hufflepuff's are…idiots?" Teddy tripped over the word.
"What?" Draco nearly choked. "No. Absolutely not. What made you ask that?" The teenager flushed and looked down.
Hermione and Molly had looked over at Draco's outburst.
"Tell me," Draco insisted gently. Teddy sighed.
"I overheard Uncle Ron telling George that he hoped Evander got Hufflepuff. He thought it would be funny because you thought they were idiots." Draco inhaled a breath that shook with anger. "Do you think I'm an idiot?" Ted's voice sounded tiny.
"Lupin," Teddy winced. "Listen carefully." Draco's voice was firm and he was working hard to keep the anger out of it even as Teddy looked up slowly.
"Your dad taught my third year." The boy already knew that. "We were learning about Bogarts, one day. I knew what form mine would take. It was…before."
He clumsily skipped over the name of the being he feared most now.
"My fears were different then. I was raised by bad people." Including my aunt, who killed your mother. "I was raised by a father who – disciplined me. He ingrained in me hatred and bigotry. Nothing I ever did was good enough. But I was prideful. I was determined that nobody would ever know what went on in my home."
Draco cleared his throat and glanced away from the focused and curious eyes of his cousin.
"I stepped up and the Bogart was released and there stood my father." cane raised over his head. "Your father stepped in and saved me from what would have surely been one of the most mortifying experiences of my childhood."
Draco huffed a tired laugh.
"And your mum… my cousin. She was a Hufflepuff."
Teddy nodded.
"Lupin, she was one of the bravest people I've ever known. Your Uncle Harry, Aunt Hermione, Evander, Theo, the Weasleys… none of them would be here today without her. And above all else – Teddy you're a Hufflepuff. So no, I do not think Hufflepuffs are idiots." Draco shifted uncomfortably at the watery eyes of Teddy and Hermione that were staring at him. "I'm going to be having a word with Weasley." Teddy blushed.
"Uncle Draco?"
"Yes,"
"I don't think you're a bad person. Your family was just mean. You're not." Draco laughed.
"Thank you, Lupin."
"Teddy!" a voice cut across the makeshift Quidditch field that drew Teddy's attention. He looked at Draco.
"Go on," Teddy took off across the grass and the moment the boy was out of sight Draco was on his feet and pacing away from the pitch. He heard the women muttering behind him as he stomped away towards the other side of the house, away from the noise.
It didn't matter.
None of it did. Marrying the Golden Girl, suffering the war alongside everyone else, losing and renouncing his family, the birth of his children, holidays with the Weasleys. Nothing short of a miracle would redeem him in their eyes. It was utterly exhausting.
It was his childhood all over again; constantly disappointing those around him.
He was being physically attacked for age old beliefs.
He'd come close to alienating one of his few remaining relatives because of a childhood rivalry and his eleven-year-old self's behavior.
It would never end.
And that was why when Ronald Weasley and his wife came around the corner his patience snapped.
Weasley was shouting, voice loud with intoxication as he and the blonde borderline attacked each other. His voice was like nails on a chalkboard as he bragged about his athleticism. They didn't even notice Malfoy until Ron nearly tripped over him where he was seated on the grass, back against the house.
"Cockroach!" Ron shouted, laughing obnoxiously. The girl sighed.
"Ron," she tugged on his arm and he didn't budge.
"You don't want to do this Weasel," Malfoy muttered, staring at the grass that was visible between the knees he had pulled up to his chest. He could feel his patience like an old rubber band. It was pulled tight and breaking little by little with each of Weasley's too loud breaths.
"Let go, Gabi –Or what? Your father will hear about it?" he laughed, shrugging Gabrielle's hand off of his arm.
"Ron," she shrieked. "Let's go, leave 'im alone."
It was too late. Malfoy saw red and was on his feet with Ron's shirt in his hands in the next moment.
"Shut your mouth," he hissed. Ron laughed and Draco's blood boiled. "Who the fuck do you think you are? Planting that utter shite in the kids' heads?" his nose was almost touching Ron's.
"You, mum, 'Mione, even Harry, all keepin' the kids' heads in the sand." He babbled, smacking Malfoy's hands away. "Not mine. Mine'll know." He spat in Draco's direction. Draco's hands were clenching and unclenching in sheer fury. "I may let them be friends with Hermione's kids, but I'll be damned if my Rose ends up with a Malfoy." Gabi gasped and ran back the way she had come. Good.
"Flipendo!" Malfoy's voice rang out clear and angry. Ron laughed and picked himself back up
"Good. Prove me right, please." Draco paused and inhaled slowly. The Weasel had a point.
"You will not say those things within earshot of the children. Especially not Teddy. Do you understand, Weasel?"
"Why not? It's true. Don't you think he deserves the truth about what Uncle Draco thinks about him?"
"You don't have any idea what you are talking about. I was a child. I can't believe you're still on about this."
"You can't believe it? Really? You worked for Voldemort, Malfoy. Voldemort! If it were up to me you'd be rotting away in Azkaban right 'bout now. So, please. Hex me, why don't you? Maybe there's still a chance of that dream coming true after all." Ron said wistfully.
Draco surveyed the drunk red head, looking him up and down before taking a deep breath. Ron was goading him intentionally. He was trying to prove a point by forcing Draco to lash out and show everybody just how evil he could be.
So instead, Draco squared his shoulders, looking Weasley in the eye.
"No,"
Ron's eyes widened a bit in surprise.
"No? What, afraid 'Mione'll come to her senses?"
"No, Weasley. Unlike you, I actually managed to keep her." He smirked. Ron's face flushed darker. "I don't deserve her. If she ever wants to leave me, I'll let her. But until then, I will dedicate my life to atoning for every mistake I've ever made to her, and her alone. Until she decides she has had enough, I'll keep fucking her senseless every damn night because Merlin knows I have to make up for the time she dated you."
He went too far. He knew that. If Hermione had heard, there would have been hell to pay. But Ron had gone too far when he involved the kids in their age-old rivalry.
"Reducto!" Ron shouted, slurring even through the spell.
"Fuck," Draco choked as he felt the bone in his arm literally snap under the weight of the breaking curse and he fell back against the wall again, breathing hard.
"Ronald!" Molly shrieked, coming up behind him and grabbing him by the ear.
"Bloody hell – mum – ow!" he shouted slapping at her arm. Hermione was at Draco's side then, fussing over his arm and muttering spells under her breath until Draco could breathe again when the pain subsided.
"Molly, wait." Hermione said as she helped Draco to his feet. Molly stopped in the middle of dragging Ron back to the house by his ear, allowing Hermione to catch up. Then, she was face to face with Ron with the most betrayed and angry look anyone had ever seen on her face. Harry, Ginny and Gabrielle had gathered at that point and Harry looked completely shell shocked as Hermione's eyes welled with tears and she slapped Ron across the face.
Gabrielle gasped.
He had the decency to look at least a little ashamed.
"You've gone too far this time, Ron. I'll never forgive you for this." She sniffed then and smoothed her blouse before turning to Molly once she had composed herself. "Thank you for a lovely evening, Molly. I think it best we collect the children and go on our way." She smiled tightly. Molly nodded.
"Of course. And Draco, dear – "
He held up one pale hand to stop her and gave her a subdued smile.
"Thank you for hosting such a delightful evening, Mrs. Weasley. Your cooking was wonderful as always and I quite admire what you've done with the garden. The alliums are lovely."
The mannerisms of a wealthy heir showed through the cracks and Molly sputtered her thanks, blushing under the warmth of the compliments.
Draco bowed his head politely before ducking into the house after Hermione to gather their boys.