It was Draco's twenty-sixth birthday, and I was pacing the Manor library. Narcissa had told me about her visit to Hermione Granger's office, told me the girl was doing well and trying to move on with her life, likely with Blaise Zabini and, for some reason, it made me frantic. While I knew she deserved the opportunity to find her own happiness, I felt like I was watching my son's heart get stomped all over by his best friend. Immediately after she'd told me about Blaise's behavior, I sent the young man an owl inviting him to dinner for Draco's birthday. It wasn't an unusual request; he had been a friend of Draco's since first year.

However, I needed to talk to him before Draco and Astoria arrived at the Manor. When my office Floo roared to life, he stepped out, impeccably dressed in fine robes. I looked at him, my nose in the air just like it had been when I was younger. "Blaise," I greeted, extending my hand to shake his.

"Mr. Malfoy. Thank you for inviting me into your home," he responded, the very picture of politeness.

I gestured to the small sitting area in my office. I had a decanter filled with elf-made wine breathing on the table, and he raised an eyebrow. "I was hoping we could talk before my son arrives."

He nodded, reaching for the decanter and pouring wine into two glasses.

"I wanted to thank you for keeping me up to date on how Ms. Granger is doing. Your letters have been quite… informative," I said, my tone implying there was more to come.

"But?" he asked, catching my cue.

Scrutinizing his face and posture, I tried to display an air of indifference when I asked, "You're with her now?"

The smirk he'd been wearing widened. "No, Mr. Malfoy. I'm not with Hermione. I don't know why you'd even think that, let alone ask me about it."

"Narcissa told me the two of you were quite friendly when she saw you," I stated.

Blaise shook his head. "She misunderstood the situation and we didn't bother to correct her. Hermione wants to move on, so she was more than willing to let Narcissa believe there was more going on than there actually was."

"I see. Though, if you're not in any sort of relationship with her, maybe you're not the best source…"

"I don't have to be her boyfriend to know what's going on in her life, Lucius." He paused, waiting for me to say something. I remained silent, knowing his temper was close to the surface. "She's not seeing anyone. I'm the closest person to her, though she's still staying with Harry and Pansy."

A sigh of relief escaped me. "Thank Merlin. I thought you were in a relationship with her and I was going to have to find a way to hex you discreetly."

I could tell I was confusing him; why would I, Lucius Malfoy, hex anyone over a Mudblood?

Even if that was technically true, I didn't consider Ms. Granger a common Mudblood anymore. I knew my son, and he would've found a way to divorce Astoria and take her as a wife if I hadn't stepped in. Much to my shock, the idea of her no longer made me ill in the same way it used to. Now, I mainly felt sick thinking about what I'd done to both her and Draco.

I knew my words were falling flat and sounded forced. I'm sure Blaise, a fellow Slytherin, would see right through my facade.

"So, that was why you summoned me? To find out if I was fucking Hermione?" he asked, bold as brass.

Hadn't the younger generation learned any subtlety?

I scoffed, unsure of what else I could do to convey my disbelief. "Of course not. That would be the height of rudeness."

"Since when do you care about being rude?" Blaise paused, waiting for me to answer. When I didn't, he continued, "You know, Narcissa told us that you care about Hermione in a roundabout way. Is that true, Lucius?"

I started clenching and unclenching my fists. It wasn't like my wife to be so indiscreet about things of this nature. "I feel for her. She was incredibly… distraught when she left the Manor, and she didn't look much better when I stopped her in Flourish and Blotts. I was concerned."

Blaise glared at me. "You really are a piece of work. Do you know how insane you sound? You're the one that made her Obliviate Draco and cut herself out of his life!"

"I don't want you near her, Blaise," I growled, starting to pace. "I know my son loved her. I know he did. And I ruined that. I should've let him keep her."

"Hermione Granger is not a possession to be kept, lost, or given away," Blaise replied. "She's a treasure, my Tesoro, but she's not ready for any of the shite that goes along with relationships. She's still a bit fucked up from what happened with Draco."

I grimaced. I'd been keeping tabs on her, and I knew she'd been in therapy three times a week. Both Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley had met her there on occasion. There had been tension within the Golden Trio for years — it had been evident to everyone after their romantic relationships dissolved — and I assumed they were finally trying to fix the damage.

"I know she's been having issues. I'm not as heartless as most presume," I said. "And my conscience seems to only be growing the older I get. I know what I did, and I've regretted it ever since I overheard Draco talking to Harry Potter."

"When did Draco talk to Potter?" Blaise asked, and then it seemed to dawn on him. "Ah, nevermind. I remember. They saw each other at the hospital when the babies were born."

Nodding, I made my way back to the window. "I'm confused," I admitted. "I never expected to feel this way after the fact. I thought I was doing the right thing for Draco, but—"

"And that just proves how little you actually know about your son," he snapped back. "Your wife knew how he felt about her. She even told you how he felt, and you ignored that. And you want to know the really fucked up part?" He paused for dramatic effect. "Draco still wouldn't even ask her out because he thought he'd never have a chance with her because of the war and because of you. And then he got his chance — with the worst timing known to man — and gave her up to make you and Astoria happy."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, not having the slightest idea what he meant.

Blaise sighed. "Draco and Hermione had a one-off, or what was supposed to be a one-off, the night before his wedding. When I went to get him the next morning to bring him here, she was asleep in his bed and he was having a nervous breakdown because he didn't want to disappoint anyone."

My stomach dropped to the floor. "It started before he married Astoria?"

With an exaggerated eye-roll, he replied, "Yes. Before."

"And when did they start things up again?"

"On his birthday, two years ago."

Her words from Flourish and Blotts played over in my head. You're not exactly wrong, but you're not exactly right, either.

I met Blaise's eyes. "I obviously had no idea, but I can't say I would've encouraged him to cancel the wedding on that very day."

"He knew it would've been a terrible thing to do to Astoria, and a scandal—"

At that moment, Draco's wife walked into the library, stopping Blaise dead in his tracks. She put her hands on her hips. "Don't you think you should at least greet the guest of honour?" When she looked to Blaise, she scoffed. "And you — what are you even doing here? You haven't been to see Draco since the accident!"

"Save it, Stori. I know the truth of what happened, obviously," he replied, shocking her silent.

She looked to me for guidance and I shrugged. "He's close with Ms. Granger. We've been discussing how she's faring since—"

"And what does that matter?" she bit out. "Her name shouldn't even be uttered in Draco's presence! He doesn't need to think of her! You know what will happen, Lucius!"

Sighing, I said, "Well, let's all head downstairs. I don't think any of us will bring her up in conversation, Astoria. It's to all of our benefit that Draco never finds out what happened."

When we arrived in the dining room, Draco and Narcissa were already seated, Scorpius on his father's lap. As usual, the youngest Malfoy was the center of attention. No one looked our way when we walked in.

"Happy Birthday, Draco," I said, my voice as cool and collected as ever.

He looked up, his eyes darting from me to Blaise in surprise. "Thank you, Father," he said. "Blaise. It's nice to see you. I wasn't sure you'd ever be around again."

Blaise looked like he didn't know what to say. "Well, you know I'm rubbish at emotional shite. I don't know how to act around someone who doesn't have a clue what's happened in the past few years."

At that, Draco passed Scorpius to Narcissa, rose, and walked over to his old friend and hugged him. I could see the discomfort on Blaise's face, and I realised that he genuinely disliked my son. I didn't know if he was angry about the way Draco had carried on with the Granger girl or if it was simply envy, but it was as plain as day to me.

"I've missed you, Blaise. I haven't felt like me since I woke up," Draco said, being far more honest than I ever would've dreamed possible. "I'm assuming you're still working in the DMLE?"

Blaise nodded. "Yeah. Wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

Slinging an arm around his friend's shoulders, Draco led Blaise to the small bar in the corner of the room. "I can remember some things about it. Tell me what I've been missing."

Astoria was watching them carefully, her blue eyes narrowed and glaring at Blaise. She moved to stand beside me. "I swear to Merlin, Lucius, if Blaise ruins everything—"

"He won't. He doesn't want Draco to remember any more than you do."

Just as she was about to ask why, I heard the Floo in the travelling room activate. I raised an eyebrow at Narcissa, unsure of who else was attending. I'd wanted to reintroduce people Draco knew slowly, not all at once, but I had let Narcissa choose who to invite. She looked at me nervously, and as soon as our new guests walked into the room, I understood why.

"Happy Birthday, Draco!" Pansy said, quickly moving towards Draco and Blaise and hugging them both. "It's so nice that we can all be together again."

Harry Potter was standing in the doorway, not sure of what to make of the assembled guests. Narcissa handed Scorpius to me and walked over to welcome him. "Mr. Potter, thank you for coming. Pansy said she wasn't sure if you'd be able to make it."

Opening her arms to the man she'd saved eight years ago, she smiled warmly. Astoria, however, looked like she was living in her worst nightmare. She was surrounded by Hermione Granger's friends in the Manor, and she was terrified at the prospect.

I observed everyone in the room, acutely aware that we all knew Draco's accident had been fabricated, and let out a sigh. Scorpius grabbed a fistful of my hair and redirected my attention, reminding me why we'd done what we'd done. When I looked at his little face, I felt marginally better, but my guilt never truly left me.

It was going to be a very long night.

About halfway through dinner, I was nearly ready to Avada Astoria. I'd been watching her most of the night, and she was hanging all over Draco like a brainless twit. He simply looked uncomfortable, likely because she never behaved this way. Every time someone else spoke, she'd found a way to interrupt or interject before the conversation could move along. It was absolutely obnoxious and infuriating, and I could see looks passing between nearly everyone else at the table.

Most notably, however, Pansy had remained silent, not contributing to the conversation unless someone asked her a direct question. This was so out of character for her that I was growing concerned.

While I was lost in my own thoughts, the conversation had turned to Scorpius and Severus. Draco was talking about Scorpius' first bit of magic — something that had just occurred today — and Potter started describing his eldest son's recent accidental magic outbursts.

"—so glad that Sev hasn't displayed anything significant yet. I can't imagine how chaotic it will be to have two magical children in the house. James already summons nearly anything he wants. It's exhausting."

Astoria's voice rang out. "Honestly, I can't wait to have two little ones running around!"

Everyone at the table turned to look at her, including Draco.

"What?" he asked, all the colour draining from his face. "Scorpius isn't even a year old yet and you've never mentioned—"

Cutting him off, she said, "Oh, Draco, of course I want Scorpius to have siblings! I loved having a sister growing up, and you've always said it was lonely being an only child."

I thought back to Draco's early years and snorted a laugh. If he'd had a younger brother or sister, the child would have been traumatized by his fits. I couldn't imagine any universe where Draco would've wanted to share anything, let alone voice that he wanted siblings.

I observed him as he struggled to sift through his memories. It was clear he came up empty. Shrugging, he said, "I liked being the centre of attention."

Potter laughed louder than he had all night. "That is the understatement of the century, Malfoy. I don't think a sibling of yours would've made it to age eleven."

Turning back to Astoria, Draco continued, "And you hated being pregnant. I wouldn't want to make you go through that again, Stori."

Even though Draco grabbed her hand and kissed it, she was pouting now. She emptied her glass of wine quickly and asked the house-elf to refill it. Again, I scanned the other members of this fucking awkward dinner party and noticed Pansy was watching Astoria carefully, scrutinizing every facial expression and behaviour. It was obvious to me that Pansy was trying to get to the bottom of something, and I was curious what it was.

Narcissa caught my eye and gave me a look that said what the fuck is everyone at this table up to?

I gently shook my head in answer. We'd be talking this over tonight once everyone else had taken their leave.

"So, Potter, how are things in the DMLE?" Draco asked, drawing my attention once more.

Potter looked a tad uncomfortable, but replied, "Just as busy as ever, Malfoy. It seems the darkness never really goes away. We're just keeping it at bay, really."

Blaise chimed in. "It does feel like that sometimes — we're certainly in no danger of being made redundant."

Frowning, Draco asked, "Do you still find yourselves travelling often?"

It was an odd question and I wondered why he was asking it. When I looked to Astoria, I could see a pink tinge on her cheeks and a sour expression on her face.

Blaise and Potter exchanged a glance, a silent realisation passing between them.

"Um, not really," Potter answered. "Not for long periods of time, anyway."

Draco nodded thoughtfully. "Astoria mentioned that I was always away, travelling for work. I wasn't sure if that was still common."

As I watched my son, I saw determination wash over him. It was the same look he'd had when he first told me he was becoming an Auror and I immediately knew that he wanted to go back to work. If I really thought about it, I knew the change would be good for him; he hated having nothing to fill his time, and he'd never come to work with me.

But, if he returned to the DMLE, he'd be around Hermione Granger every day again, and that terrified me.

"It's not common," Blaise began, the wheels visibly spinning in his head, "but we still do it. I think I was abroad three or four days last month. I'm sure it's hard on the Aurors' families."

Ah, he doesn't want Draco to come back, either. He likely wants to keep him away from Hermione.

"That's not as bad as I thought, actually," Draco replied. "Astoria told me I was gone nearly every week."

I saw a smirk cross Pansy's face as she took a sip of wine, but no one corrected Draco, and Astoria quickly took control of the conversation.

"Well, that would still be a lot with a new baby. Surely you don't want to miss out on all Scorpius' firsts because you're away for work."

My son looked at his wife, annoyance clearly written across his features. "I never said I was going back, Astoria. There aren't exactly a lot of choices of comfortable conversation topics to bring up in this group."

Oh, if you only knew, Draco…

Pansy made direct eye contact with Astoria. "I suppose we could all talk about how we bullied Harry and wanted him dead, but that might get a bit awkward."

"Well, it's not as if Aurors and Dark Arts are suitable topics amongst this group, either!" Astoria retorted.

Clearing my throat, I spoke up. "Enough squabbling! You're in your mid-twenties, not your teens. There is an extraordinary amount of bad history in this room, but we've all moved on from it. Let's move on to something else."

A moment later, Narcissa took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. Smiling at Pansy, she asked, "And where are your boys tonight? You could've brought them along, darling."

When a venomous smile crossed Pansy's face, I knew Narcissa had asked the question she'd been waiting for. "They're with their Aunt Hermione. She's been spending a lot of time with them lately. I swear, she's going to be the best mum someday."

Again, I scanned the expressions of everyone at the table. Blaise was glaring, Narcissa had gone as white as a sheet, Astoria's cheeks were flushed with anger, and Potter was shaking his head. Pansy, however, looked like the cat that got the cream. We'd not even made it through the main course yet, and things were quickly moving towards disaster. I was sure that Draco wouldn't be able to resist asking questions now that she'd been brought up. I schooled my expression and waited for the other shoe to drop.

"Oh, that's wonderful. She's doing better then, Potter?" Draco asked, and the room seemed to hold its breath.

Potter's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean by better?"

"When I saw you at the hospital, you told me she wasn't able to handle children."

"Right," he replied. "She's doing much better now, actually. She's almost back to her old self."

Draco nodded and I thought the conversation from hell was over. However, he must have been contemplating asking his next question. "And what happened to her that she was different? I don't think you ever said."

Pushing back from the table, Astoria rose and headed for the door. "Excuse me for a moment."

Subtle. So fucking subtle, Astoria.

Blaise quickly chimed in. "Bad breakup with a real wanker. He never appreciated what he had."

"Who was she seeing?" Draco asked.

"Oh, I saw in the paper that she'd been with someone foreign. From France, right, Harry?" my wife's voice cut through the heavy silence.

Thank Merlin for Narcissa's quick thinking.

Potter jumped at the chance to confirm this and keep the secret hidden. "Yes. France."

With a downcast gaze, Draco said, "That's really too bad. That man was obviously an idiot. Granger is… brilliant." His words halted for a moment and then he looked up, a smirk on his face, and I saw a glimpse of how he used to be — before the war, before the arranged marriage, before the Obliviation. "You're right, Pans. She'll be a great mum one day, I'm sure. She managed to keep Potter and Weasley alive for years, after all. A baby will be almost no work at all."

At this, peals of laughter rang out around the room. Even Potter was laughing, though I suspected it was partially stress-induced. This topic had been the thestral in the room all night, and we'd managed to talk about it without giving anything away. I wanted to let out a relieved sigh, thinking we'd made it through the woods, but then Blaise spoke again.

"She just needs the right man in her life and then I'm sure she'll settle down. There are plenty of men who would be willing to commit to her and give her everything she deserves."

These interactions were painful to watch, and I wanted to kill Pansy for bringing Hermione Granger up at all. What in the name of Salazar had she been thinking? Why did she want to stir things up and upset the fragile peace we'd managed to achieve?

Draco was obviously confused, his brain likely trying to picture Granger and finding blank spaces where she should be. I wondered what he had left of her — could he see her in the DMLE? At Ministry functions? Anywhere?

"I'm sure you're right, Blaise. I can't imagine it'll be hard for her to find someone new," Draco answered respectfully.

A heavy silence settled over the room; no one wanted to continue this particular conversation.

When Astoria came back into the room, an icy mask was fixed on her face. She sat down beside Draco again and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "So, what did I miss?"

Pansy snorted a laugh and took another long sip of wine, making me wonder just how drunk she was.

"Oh, we just finished up our conversation about Ms. Granger. I'm sure you wouldn't have had much to contribute to it since you didn't know her all that well," Narcissa said.

Smiling sweetly, Astoria replied, "Yes, I really have nothing to say about her. Let's move on."

Again, Blaise looked angry, Draco looked confused, and Astoria looked smug.

Narcissa, being the gracious hostess, moved the conversation along. "So… does anyone have travel plans for the summer?"

I prayed to Merlin that we'd make it through the rest of the night without more awkward conversations.

Thankfully, the rest of dinner and dessert had been relatively pleasant. Astoria and Narcissa had skillfully steered the conversation, keeping the dangerous subjects out of the forefront. We'd moved to one of the sitting rooms and Scorpius was being passed around. His baby laughs filled the Manor, and even Blaise was smiling.

"He's a cute kid, Draco. I'll give you that," Pansy said.

Draco smiled. "I know. I mean, he is mine, and I was a cute kid."

Chuckling, I replied, "Oh, he may look like you, but he's got a much better temperament."

And it was the truth — Scorpius was generally a very happy baby and Draco had been colicky and fussy.

When everyone was getting ready to leave, Pansy said, "Astoria, can I speak to you? I'd like to arrange a playdate for Sev and Scorpius for when they're a bit older."

Astoria nodded, following Pansy into the corridor. I discreetly cast an eavesdropping charm on Astoria, needing to know what Pansy had actually wanted to say.

"You're a manipulative cunt, Astoria. I can't even believe you're related to Daphne."

"Who are you to judge me, Pansy? I'm making this work! It's a second chance, and I love him."

"Yeah, well, he still doesn't love you, and another baby isn't going to change that." I waited for Astoria to respond, but she remained quiet. Pansy's voice came through again. "See, deep down, you know I'm right! But you're just going to keep spreading your legs and hoping that you manage to keep him this time."

"I will keep him! He does love me. Things are different now!"

"Keep telling yourself that. Sex isn't love, Astoria, and I know you saw the look on his face when I said her name. Even if he doesn't know about their relationship, he still feels something for her."

After that, I'd heard enough to know I needed to break up their conversation. It was heading into dangerous territory, and I didn't want Draco to overhear anything. When I walked out into the hallway, I could hear hissed whispering and quickly made my way towards them.

"Stop! Right now! Astoria, go back in there and pack up your child while I have a word with Mrs. Potter." With a huff, she stomped back into the sitting room. I focused my attention on Pansy. "What were you thinking?"

"She's a smug little bitch, and I don't like it. Hermione has been living with us for two months, and she's been a fucking mess until recently," she said in a hushed tone. "And Lucius, I really fucking hate you for forcing this life on all of them."

I met her angry gaze. "I'm not exactly pleased with the way things have turned out. Between the DMLE and the feelings he still carries for Hermione, Draco is longing for his old life, and he doesn't even know the half of it. It's not been pleasant for me to watch."

"Good. I hope you suffer just as much as Draco and Hermione are," she spat before storming back into the room.

Oh, I am. I will be for the rest of my life.

As soon as everyone had gone, I turned to Narcissa. "What in the hell were you thinking? Inviting the Potters? Really?"

"Their sons will go to school with Scorpius and, whether we like it or not, Draco is going to find a way to go back to work. I want to maintain close ties with both Harry and Blaise. Who do you think we'll be relying on to keep them apart?"

I sank down into an armchair and summoned a tumbler and bottle of firewhisky. "Narcissa, we can't let him go back there if she's still working in that office. It's begging for a disastrous outcome."

"And how do you propose we stop him, Lucius? Hire another Obliviator? Erase that part of his life entirely?" she replied, her voice angrier than I'd ever heard it.

Rather than answering her, I sipped my firewhisky and got lost in my thoughts. What had I learned today?

Blaise Zabini wanted Hermione Granger for himself.

Draco still had some sort of infatuation with her.

Astoria wanted to get pregnant again, and I was sure it had more to do with holding on to Draco rather than a desire for another child.

Hermione was still staying with the Potters, unable to live on her own.

Pansy was torn between her lifelong friendship with Draco and her newfound one with Hermione.

Narcissa finally spoke again. "I want Draco to be happy, and he's not happy right now. He might be content, but that's about as far as it goes. He needs something else in his life, Lucius, whether that's work or friends. Pansy and Blaise have been his closest friends since Hogwarts."

"But they're too close to Ms. Granger," I replied, referring to her formally rather than casually like I did in my head now. "We're asking for trouble if we let him re-establish those bonds."

Sighing, she said, "I know that. Really, I do, but I don't see another way. He needs some ties to his old life. Right now, he only has us."

"And Astoria and Scorpius," I added. "Scorpius makes him happy."

We both smiled at the thought of our grandson, and she warmed to me again, moving across the room and sitting in my lap. I wrapped my arms around her waist, hugging her small frame close to my body. Her lips moved to my ear and she began to whisper. "Lucius, think about us. Think about how we were at Draco's age. We were sickeningly in love—"

"Aren't we still?" I interrupted, making her laugh.

"Of course we are," she answered, sucking my earlobe into her mouth for just a second. "But think of how he and Astoria are. Things between them appear to be a bit better since they moved back to their house, but it's not real between them."

Deep down, I knew she was right. Draco still looked uncomfortable whenever Astoria touched him. It wasn't effortless for either of them; they had to think about every hug and kiss before attempting it. Even tonight, Astoria was simply putting on a show for the Potters and Blaise, knowing their behaviour would likely be relayed to Hermione.

And then I thought about the pictures my investigator had taken of Draco and Hermione. They were always smiling, always touching — even when they really shouldn't have been. I was sure he'd spent most nights in her bed until he found out about the pregnancy. Again, I felt a fresh wave of guilt crash over me as I compared Draco's affair with Hermione Granger to my relationship with Narcissa. Their love had been real — like ours was — and I'd put a stop to it.

Sensing my distress, Narcissa wrapped her arms around me, pulling me closer. My lips found her neck, and I breathed in the scent of her perfume. It always helped to calm my racing mind. "Do you think it will ever turn into something real?" I asked.

As she held me close, she said, "I don't think it can, Lucius. This kind of love is rare, and I'd say most people are lucky to find it once in a lifetime, nevermind twice."

Again, I thought, what have I done?