Chapter Three

Draco Malfoy stood inside the floo grate at Nott Manor, alone, staring at his watch.

His watch was one of the few possessions he had from his old life – and then, only because he had been wearing it on New Year's Eve, and he carried it with him as he left Malfoy Manor in a blaze of glory – or perhaps, ignominy? The answer would depend on who you asked. The large platinum timepiece had once belonged to his grandfather, Abraxas Malfoy, and Draco had been given it on the occasion of his tenth birthday.

Once a source of pride, Draco was now profoundly conflicted about his sole remaining family heirloom. While Draco had been raised to idolize his grandfather, that wizard was both a staunch blood purist and the reason his family was so tied up with Tom Riddle in the first place. After he left his family behind, Draco contemplated destroying it or perhaps more prudently, selling it. But the watch had felt like a part of him since before he went to Hogwarts, and the habit of wearing it was deeply ingrained. Draco decided he would keep it, until he had enough spare funds to purchase a suitable replacement.

According to his moral conundrum, which was also a timepiece, it was 11:58 a.m.

There was already floo powder grasped in Draco's other hand – ready to go – as he waited for it to be time to leave. Time to speak with Granger. He was breathing steadily, in and out, attempting to stave off a panic attack. He was grateful that Theo had said his goodbye in the drawing room. Theo had offered Draco some advice; which he would not be taking. Theo meant well – for the most part – but he hadn't seen Granger, with sparks coming out of her curls, hexing Draco on New Year's Eve. She did not want to be kissed – definitely not by him and hopefully not by anyone else. Theo had also wished him luck, which Draco deeply appreciated. He was going to need all of the luck he could get; Merlin save him.

Now, Draco was glad to be alone. He didn't want an audience for his incipient breakdown.

The time hit 11:59, and Draco's breathing became more rapid. It took a real effort to prevent himself from hyperventilating. As the second hand rounded the '9', Draco threw the powder at his feet and barked out "Grimmauld Place," hoping he didn't look as anxious as he felt. He had barely slept the night before. He rose at an extremely early hour, reluctantly giving up on the prospect of more sleep, and found he was unable to stomach anything other than tea. Draco had only just resisted the temptation of accepting Theo's offer of firewhisky on the way out to the floo – for courage, the dark-haired wizard had said, with a mischievous grin. After Granger had mercifully relented on her furious declaration at the Ball and agreed to see him again, Draco could only imagine what the witch would think if he showed up smelling like liquor.

He arrived at Potter's home, coughing slightly from the journey through the floo network. The only time other in his life that Draco could remember feeling this apprehensive, was the day he was forced to take the bloody Dark Mark. He stepped out of the floo, entering the Chosen One's home for the first time, and cautiously looked around. He was momentarily startled when he heard Granger's seemingly disembodied voice call out "I'm in the kitchen." His body was tight with nervous anticipation, as he followed the sound – and found the pregnant witch sitting alone at a kitchen table, her wand laying in front of her, in a display he assumed was intended as a threat.

"Harry and Ginny are here; they are just in another part of the house. They aren't listening in, or anything, but they are available if I need them." Granger spoke in a clipped tone. Draco could see the tension in her own body language, as she looked up at him from her seat, her expression strained and nervous.

He nodded, afraid to move any closer or really, say anything. He felt rooted to the spot.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Sit down." She indicated seat farthest away from herself. Draco sat down, slowly, hesitantly. Granger made a disgusted noise, as she narrowed her eyes, obviously irritated with Draco's prevarication. "Stop looking like I'm about to bloody attack you! You asked to see me, so you're seeing me. Please get on with it."

"I love you, and I want to be with you and our baby." He blurted out, immediately cursing himself for his blunt declaration. Well, Granger had told him to get on with it. It was, at a minimum, a concise statement of his position.

Hermione scoffed at him, folding her arms across her chest. "Not. Good. Enough." She said, through gritted teeth.

"Why?" Draco asked. "What more can I do, Granger?" Draco looked at her, his chest felt tight and was consumed with both longing and deep regret.

She swallowed, before looking at him mournfully, and sighing. "For starters, being parents of the same child is not the same as being in love with each other. As an example, you left me three months ago and I hadn't heard a peep from you since – not directly, at least. I was subjected to lots of press about your wedding plans, but I'm not counting that. If this was simply a matter of your feelings for me, I could have heard from you before now. But I didn't."

Draco absorbed that. She had a point. "I – Granger, I'm not as brave as you. I'm not. I thought you didn't love me, truly. I thought you just enjoyed shagging me."

"We also talked!" she exploded defensively, glaring at him. "You make it sound like I was just using you for sex, for the love of Merlin! I helped you with your potions' mastery, while you helped edit my policy proposals for work. I taught you how to cook. We read books together! It's not like all we did was shag!"

"I know! I know. You are right, okay. But I didn't realize that it meant anything to you – you told me you didn't want to tell anyone in your life about me – about us – when we started!" Draco felt defensive as well. He hadn't known she had cared for him – not like that, anyway.

"You mean, when we started dating back at Hogwarts, in the near immediate aftermath of being on the opposite sides of the war? When the Daily Prophet had a column dedicated to whom I might be dating in the future, for six straight months? Is that the time you are referring to? Because I don't think you can draw any specific conclusions from that, other than I don't like unwarranted press scrutiny. So thank you very much for your ex-fiancée's hit piece." Hermione's hair sparked again, as she mentioned Astoria's article in the Daily Prophet.

Draco felt a rush of guilt and he cringed beneath Hermione's well-earned rage. "I'm furious with her for doing that, but I had no control over her. Granger – look, Astoria and I were never close. The only times we were ever alone together was when we went to dinner twice, and nothing happened, except I learned that she's a boring conversationalist even if her parents aren't listening. She never meant anything to me – it was – I just –" Draco ran his hand through his hair in exasperation, struggling to find the right words.

"Granger, I felt trapped by my family. You would think, that after the war and everything it cost that they would have been better, but they weren't. They still expected me to be the perfect pure-blood heir and at no point was my input solicited, or welcomed. I know I should have put my foot down with them earlier, but from my perspective, I thought you were just having fun and I wasn't prepared to blow up my whole life and my entire relationship with my parents, when I didn't think you were that invested. I shouldn't have assumed. I should have talked with you; Merlin, I know that now. But, I was afraid if I pushed you, that you would end it. And I felt like I couldn't take the risk."

Draco's voice had gotten very small, by the time he had finished speaking. Hermione had stopped looking actively furious a few moments ago, as she listened to Draco; and by the time he had finished talking, she was biting her lower lip, lost in thought.

Granger shifted in her seat, having come to a conclusion. "It's possible," she said slowly, in a cautious, reluctant tone, "that I ought to have been more upfront about my feelings towards you, as well. But, you see, I had this lingering fear that if I sought clarity from you, I would be told that I wasn't the kind of girl for you, not really. Because for anything real – you would need a perfect pure-blood witch. So I was afraid that if I sought certainty, that you would end it."

Draco was stunned into silence at that. Fuck, he wished he had been more careful with both of their feelings.

"I was actually planning telling you I was pregnant, the night you came over. Instead, you told me we were finished, and confirmed my worst fears." The last word was spoken in a whisper, as tears started falling down her face.

Draco felt ill, and he wanted desperately to comfort Hermione, to make her understand that she was everything to him. "Granger, I want to hug you, but I'm afraid you'll hex me if I try." It physically hurt Draco to remain in his chair in the face of her distress, but he wouldn't move to without her permission.

"I'm not planning on hexing you, but please stay where you are – or I may change my mind." She wiped at her eyes, sniffling. "At least some of this is the pregnancy hormones, causing my emotions to run amok. Not that you are helping, mind you." She shot him a dirty look.

Draco swallowed, and looked down at his hands, which were folded on the table in front of him.

When Granger spoke again, her voice was very strained. "Okay. I am not prepared to be in, um, a romantic relationship with you – just because I'm pregnant. I don't want that."

Draco inhaled sharply; she had clearly misunderstood his motivations. "Granger, that's not why I want to be with you. I love you!"

Hermione flinched and looked so wounded; Draco felt as though his heart had stopped. "Please, please don't say that to me, Malfoy. I'm not kidding – just don't." She looked at him, desolate, her eyes briming with tears. "It hurts too much to hear that. Now. Because we both know that if I wasn't pregnant, you would still be set to marry Astoria Greengrass in the Spring." She looked so heartbroken. Draco wondered if he would ever forgive himself for hurting her like this.

There was a long pause, while Hermione visibly struggled to regain her composure. "When you didn't know that I was pregnant, you were engaged to another woman. And you didn't make any changes, until you found out I was pregnant. Whatever you say now, your actions have been pretty loud, when it comes to me. And I would rather be single for the rest of my life, than be with anyone who was with me only because they felt obliged to be so." The last sentence was spoken with an edge. Granger was deeply hurt and still very angry, it seemed.

Draco felt like he was being swallowed by his own heartache and regret. While he could not find fault with the Brightest Witch of her Age's reasoning, per se, Draco knew she was still wrong about him. Admittedly, it took a great deal longer than it ought to have, for him to get to this point – but he was confident that now, he knew his own heart. Draco had been betrothed to Astoria because he was a fucking coward – not because Granger had been in some way deficient.

It was a lot, to realize how much his own lack of courage had sabotaged his personal happiness and inflicted so much suffering on Granger. Merlin willing, she'd eventually believe him – and know that he truly loved her for her. Their baby – the prospect of which was still blowing his fucking mind – was an added and unexpected bonus. Granger was an end unto herself, not an obligation and Draco would do everything he could to make her see that, eventually. But he knew that now was not the right moment to push back. So Draco nodded, swallowing, as he was unable to meet her gaze.

"However, that is different from how we approach this baby." She put her hands on her abdomen as she spoke. "I am in charge of this child – just me – until such time as I am sufficiently convinced that you will be as protective of her, as I already am."

"Her?" He snapped his head up in Granger's direction. "It's a girl?" His voice broke as he said it. Malfoys only ever had first born sons, and almost never had more than one child. It had been a very long time since anyone in his family had a daughter, certainly many decades and perhaps even centuries.

Hermione smiled, a bit sadly. "Yes, Draco. You are having a daughter."

Draco drew in a shaky breath. "Hermione, I would never, ever let harm befall you or our daughter. I would die first."

Hermione looked at him intently and her tone became gentle. "I know that you feel that way and I know that you would die for her – truly, Draco, I do. What I need to see that you will live for her, because that's where I have significant doubts. I need to see that the changes you are making in your life are ones that you will stick with. And that you won't decide it's too hard for you and then go back to Sacred bloody Twenty-Eight practices, in exchange for getting your old life back."

Draco nodded, thinking over Granger's words. Potter had evidently given him good advice. Draco knew he'd never go back to his parents, but she needed to believe it too. He indeed needed to show Granger he had changed, not merely tell her.

Hermione drew a shaky breath. "So, we will start this off slowly. You will have plenty of chances to demonstrate your bona fides to me – and as 'Malfoy' literally means 'bad faith', I feel that I'm already being fairly generous here."

Draco gave a sort of strangled chuckle, wiping away the tears that had started to well in his eyes. He was having a daughter.

"I will have more to say on this as we go along, but for starters, she is never, ever going to have to endure being in the presence of people who think she is lesser than they are because of her 'blood status'. That includes any of your friends, any of your extended family, any of the bloody portraits at any of their bloody manors, your parents and even yourself. Do I make myself clear?"

Hermione's hair was crackling again. Had it always done that? Or was it because she was pregnant? Draco nodded, emphatically. He had already said something similar to Narcissa on his way out of the Manor – Granger would get no disagreements from him.

"Secondly, and I would hope this goes without saying, but I expect that you will never use your access to me – because of our daughter – to pressure me into rekindling our, um, romantic relationship. Assuming you can now acknowledge that it was a relationship." She had started off hesitantly, but the last sentence was said fairly bitterly.

Draco looked offended. "Granger, I heard your refusal loud and clear. And I wouldn't use our daughter –" Draco stopped as he swallowed back a sob. He was going to have a daughter. He was going to have a daughter, with Granger.

She sighed, before speaking in a quiet, tremulous voice of her own. "Draco, I am not refusing you. You're framing this like I rejected you – but you left me. For someone else. You – you broke my heart and I have no intention of handing it out to anyone ever again, unless I am certain it will be cared for. I am not currently capable of trusting you, because of how you treated me. That's not quite the same thing as a refusal." Her voice was full of sorrow, and it was now her turn to only look at her hands.

"You are right, it's not. My apologies again." Draco swallowed roughly, before finding the courage to make eye contact with the witch across the table, as she met his eyes. There was a moment of silence, that stretched out as the distance between them seemed to grow. The two of them looked at each other, an expression of anguish and regret mirrored on each of their faces.

Hermione blinked first, letting out a long breath, before interrupting the silence. "I accept your apology. Now stop making them. I'm not listening to you say 'sorry' constantly while we're figuring out co-parenting. Honestly, it's already annoying and I am easily irritated these days. What about you? Do you have any questions for me?" Her tone and manner had become more business-like. Granger was always more in her element when she was planning.

"Um, when are you due? What is 'co-parenting'?" Draco asked, nervously. Maybe it was a Muggle thing?

"Oh, sorry! I'm due on May 8th." Hermione flushed, as though she was embarrassed she hadn't already told him. "And co-parenting is the term used to describe people who aren't married or living together, but who are the parents of the same child. It might be more common with Muggles, I don't know. The 'co' aspect refers to co-operative. Which is what I would like us to be."

Draco nodded at her – that's what they were, or rather what they would be, when their daughter was born. Although, Draco was still holding out for more – he'd aspired to eventually convince Granger of his bona fides in all areas of his affections for her, as well as their daughter. Hopefully sometimes before the future Mini-Granger graduated from Hogwarts, presumably at the top of her class.

"Okay, I'm sure I will have more questions as we go along, if that's okay." Hermione nodded, chewing on her bottom lip. Draco inhaled and pressed forward. "Regarding Astoria, I want to issue a statement to the Prophet in response to her sob story. Make it clear that you and I had a long-standing, pre-existing relationship, and that my now-broken betrothal was an effectively business arrangement between my parents and the Greengrasses, not an actual romantic relationship."

"You never slept with her?" Hermione blurted out, before looking ill and waving her hand as if to dismiss her words from the air. "Sorry, that wasn't appropriate. If it was after we broke up, it's none of my business."

Draco shook his head and gave her a wry smile. "I've never slept with anyone but you, Granger."

"Oh." There was a pause, her wide eyes blinking slowly. "I didn't know that."

"I was exactly bragging about being a virgin, especially not when we were still school."

"Right. Okay. Um, I will need to see any statement, before I can confirm that I'm okay with it. But as a concept, I agree it might be for the best. I understand that Astoria's out for revenge and she's looking deliberately hurt you – us – whatever, but some day our daughter might see all of this. We should at least attempt to correct the record – even if it's ultimately futile. I think just a statement though – not an interview." Hermione seemed a bit flustered, whether it was from Draco's revelation that she was the sum total of his sexual experience, or lingering animosity towards Astoria, he wasn't exactly sure.

"Agreed. But, speaking of interviews, I have a job interview next week with the Apothecary in Diagon Alley – making potions. Do you think we can get our statement out in advance of that? I'm already an ex-Death Eater, so if I can clear up any additional aspersions on my very tarnished character before that, I think it would improve my chances at employability." Draco said dryly, as he shrugged.

"Draco, how many times do we have to go over this? You were never really a Death Eater. It was something that was done to you – not a choice you made." Hermione's tone was exasperated, as she fell into an old argument, seemingly without thought.

Granger sounded so much like she had when they had first started talking to each other in 8th year, that Draco wanted to cry again. Her righteous, completely unearned and undeserved, defence of him had always made Draco fall at least a little bit in love with her. It heartened him to no end to know that she still had that in her, after all that happened.

It gave him hope.

"While I appreciate your view of the matter – truly, Granger, I do – not everyone feels the same way. I have the proper credentials, I can absolutely handle the work, but they have to be willing to hire Draco Malfoy and let me work there. I just think I will do better if I can be slightly less mired in scandal, you know."

"Fine. If you owl me a statement tonight, I will get it back to you with my notes by tomorrow morning. Will that suffice?"

"Yes." He felt like was being shuffled towards the exit. "What are our next steps, after that."

"I have an appointment next week, at St. Mungo's, if you'd like to come with me. There's no point in trying to keep your participation a secret, thanks to Astoria." Hermione's mouth puckered when she said Astoria's name, as if the word itself left a sour taste in her mouth.

"I'd like that." Draco felt a tiny bit guilty about the rush of exhilaration he felt at the prospect. He was going to get to be involved – and, he wasn't going to have to keep it a secret. He was very pleased by that, if he was being honest with himself. Thanks to Astoria, indeed, he thought, ruefully.

"Where are you staying now? In case I need to get a hold of you?"

"I'm staying with Theo Nott while I look for work. I want to know where my job will be, before I try to find a flat. Unless I can move somewhere close to you – er, your flat – if you would be alright with that?" He held his breath.

She looked at him, teeth worrying her lower lip as she considered his words. "Well, as you know, my flat is in Muggle London, but it is close enough to the Leaky Cauldron. So if you wanted to look at my neighbourhood, that would be okay with me. If you get the job at the Apothecary, it be convenient enough for travel. Either way, I'm not planning on moving, so you will be close to us, once she's born."

Draco nodded, relieved. This was probably a decent outcome, all things considered – unless she was willing to elope with him immediately. That had been his first choice.

She cleared her throat nervously, and then looked him in the eye, expression hesitant. "Draco? I should tell you that her last name is going to be Granger. But I would like it – very much – if we could agree on her first and middle names."

Draco swallowed and nodded. Fair enough. He pushed down his own slight disappointment and offered Granger a smile he didn't quite feel, keeping his tone light and pleasant. "Granger, is this part of a ploy, so I have to call you Hermione? If so, I have to say, I'm impressed."

Hermione was so surprised by that, she actually laughed. "Yeah, you got me. This is obviously a flawlessly executed plan to get you to call me 'Hermione.' I've been working on it for years."

He chuckled in reply and stood up. He really didn't want to overstay his welcome – especially given how emotional they had both been. Better to give her some space now, and hope for a better outcome later. "Get some rest, Granger. And owl me with the details for your appointment and anything else you'd like me to know. If you think of anything else I can do – anything at all, please let me know."

Draco started heading back towards the floo. Hermione got up, walking him out. He did a double take once she stood up – her newly rounded form was much less obvious when seated behind a table. The reality of their prospective parenthood was more tangible to Draco when Granger was standing before him, their impending future visibly present in the curve of her stomach.

"I will Draco. And thank you for offering to help me. I truly appreciate it."

Draco snapped out of his reverie about their future daughter, and rolled his eyes at Hermione, burying any lingering anxiety and sorrow deep beneath a passably cheerful façade. "Granger, my life is now yours to command. Whether you chose to exercise that right or not, is up to you." He flashed his trademark smirk in her direction, winked and floo'd back to Nott Manor, without another word.

xXx

A little over a week later, Draco was running to meet Hermione at St. Mungo's, cursing himself for his tardiness. He hurried to the treatment room Granger had been assigned – the slightly harried medi-witch out front had told him where to go – praying he had not missed the Healer.

"My appointment was 5 minutes ago, Draco." Granger said through gritted teeth, glaring at him as he entered the room. "If the Healer hadn't been also running late, you could have missed this entirely."

"I know, Merlin, I know. I'm so sorry Granger, but – I got the job." Draco was out of breath, apologetic, but also pleased with himself. He had a job.

"Oh, congratulations, I guess. Good for you." Some of her irritation had dissipated, but he could tell she was still ruffled by him being late. Granger was never late. The witch habitually arrived early to all events. The habit was so ingrained in the Golden Girl, that on the very rare occasions she was merely 'on-time', she became extremely anxious about it. To Granger, 'on time' was more or less tantamount to being 'late.'

Also, given their fraught recent history – as distinct from their fraught longer-term history – Granger had probably spent the last half an hour being worried that Draco had abandoned her. Again.

"Perkins had just offered it to me and I accepted, but then he wanted to talk to me about how he founded the Apothecary in the first place, all about his business philosophy and he's a touch long-winded. I didn't feel like I could just leave. It took me some time to stage a graceful exit."

Hermione looked mollified by his explanation. "Well, alright then. I'm glad you got the position. I told you they'd be mad not to hire you."

Draco smiled fondly at the pregnant witch, causing her to blush and look away. Granger truly believed because she thought he was a victim of circumstance during the war, that everyone else would think the same. There was a knock and the door opened, revealing the Healer – an older woman with a pleasant, professional manner. After introducing herself to Draco, she made small talk with the two of them for a bit, before withdrawing her wand and performing investigatory charms over Granger's stomach.

"Baby looks good! Everything is proceeding as it should. Ms. Granger, other than getting some more rest and trying to avoid stress, there is nothing you need to do before our next appointment." Draco resisted the urge to snort audibly when the Healer told Granger to rest – he'd been telling her that for years, even before she got pregnant, and it was like trying to talk to the bloody wall. Hermione shot a glance in his direction when the Healer brought it up, and Draco was proud – and relieved – that he'd managed to keep his face looking neutral. Granger rolled her eyes at him anyway, as if she knew what he was thinking, despite his placid exterior.

The appointment did not take long. When they were still with the Healer, Granger had asked if Draco had any questions, which warmed his heart. He didn't though – Granger had sent him owls, thoroughly updating him as to everything she knew about the baby, as well as the expected medical care, and the Healer hadn't really offered anything new. Granger had given him a set of books about pregnancy and early childhood that she expected him to read. Some of the books she had owled to him were clearly Muggle in origin, which he had accepted without comment and was in the process of reading. He felt like she had expected him to object, or at least question their inclusion. It felt like bait and Draco wasn't falling for it – when he told her he'd do anything she asked of him, he'd meant it.

Draco did take the pamphlet on labour and delivery the Healer offered to him. Not that he'd tell this to Granger, but the looming prospect was fairly terrifying to him and he was happy to have a few more months to mentally prepare. It was a good thing he wasn't the one who got pregnant. He wasn't nearly as strong as Granger, and Draco didn't think he'd be coping as well as she appeared to be, if their situations were somehow reversed.

"That's it for baby-related things for now, I think. Until my next appointment, anyway. Eventually, I will have to start setting up my apartment, but I'm not quite ready to do that yet. However, Ginny is talking about throwing me a baby shower, and I wanted to ask if that was something you'd like to attend."

Draco stopped walking. They were headed into Diagon Alley – Hermione had taken a half day off of work and she had some additional errands to run before going home. Hermione stopped when she noticed he had. Draco was surprised, and pleased, by Hermione's offer to allow him to join her at the shower.

"I'd like that. Thank you for including me, Granger."

"Don't thank me yet. It's all of my friends – all of them, including Ron. The whole thing will probably be held at the Burrow, if Molly has her way. No one is particularly disposed to be kind to you – at least not yet. Well, except for Harry. He came around on you pretty quickly, actually. I'm still a bit surprised."

"Sorry, are you saying that I have Potter's approval?" Draco was surprised by that, himself. How did that happen?

"More like, he doesn't actively wish you were dead. Approval might be overstating it. Still, it's a contrast to how he felt before New Year's – so I assume you did something right."

"I'd still like to go." Draco said, more than a little apprehensive, but resolved. He had already determined that he would never turn down an opportunity to spend time with Hermione, if she offered. He couldn't bloody well show her he had changed unless she was seeing him, after all. "Do you think you could at least assure my physical safety? I'd rather not have to pull my wand and I do not enjoy getting punched by Weasley – which I swear is that wizard's go-to move with very little provocation."

Granger snorted. "I'm well aware of Ron's tendency to fly off the handle and hit you, in particular. Although, at least some of the time you've deserved it, Malfoy. I might have to cry at him to ensure it, but I'm positive I can at least keep you safe from physical violence. But I do expect him to yell at you. Even a pregnant woman's tears have their limits."

Draco grinned at her. "Why Granger, I had no idea you could be so manipulative? I'm shocked, shocked that you would use your wiles, to manage Ron Weasley thusly."

Granger rolled her eyes. "You aren't shocked, you're – oof." Hermione stopped walking abruptly and put her hands on her abdomen, wincing.

Draco immediately rushed closer to her, terror spiking as he put his hands on her arms and scanned her face. "Granger, are you alright?" He was unable to keep the fear from his voice, as he looked at the woman he loved.

Hermione exhaled, smiling as she nodded at him. "Yes. Sorry to alarm you. Um, the baby just kicked very hard. More so than I've felt before." She smiled, seemingly to herself, her eyes lit up in wonder.

Draco hesitated, biting his own lip for a change. He looked at her pensively, not saying anything. Hermione looked back at him oddly, as if she was trying to come to a decision. "Would you like to see if you can feel her kick?"

"Merlin, yes, Granger – I thought you'd never ask." Draco gingerly put his hand forward, on the spot Hermione had indicated. Her bump was more solid underneath his hand than he would have expected and for a moment, nothing happened. Then he felt a small thump from underneath his hand. Draco withdrew his hand in surprise, before smiling and putting it right back in the same spot – hoping he'd feel another kick. His eyes lit up, as he moved his gaze up to Hermione, who was looking down at him with a small smile. "I felt it! That's her! That our daughter." He whispered the last bit, reverently. "Can I talk to her?"

"If you must." Hermione said, looking both amused and bemused by his conduct.

Draco got down on his knees and started addressing Granger's bump directly, heedless of any onlookers from the sidewalk. "Hello, little one. I'm your dad. And I am so excited to meet you. I don't know much about being a good dad – I don't have much experience on that front myself, but you have the smartest mum on the planet, so we are very lucky that she'll be available to tell me what to do."

Hermione scoffed, audibly. "Draco, you – "

"Shush, Granger. Don't interrupt. I'm talking to our daughter," Draco told her with feigned severity. Hermione rolled her eyes at him, trying and failing to keep the traces of amusement off of her face.

"Don't mind her, love. Look, your dad has made a lot of mistakes in his life, but you are not one of them. I love you and I can't wait to meet you." He kissed the bump, and then cringed, immediately looking at Granger. "I am so sorry, Granger. I should have asked for permission."

"It's fine. Maybe check with me first. She can't feel that, you know. Just me." Hermione looked sad and also like she was trying to hold back a smile at the same time. All of this was still so bittersweet. Draco stood up, recognizing that he'd do well not to push, especially not with Hermione already appearing so flustered.

"Shall I escort you back to your flat? Do you need any groceries, or the like?" he said, with a nonchalance he did not feel.

Granger gave him a pained smile. "We can say goodbye here." She broke his heart a little with that – Draco very much wanted to keep spending time with her, especially after feeling his daughter kick. But, his heart did heal a bit when Draco realized that Granger had sounded hesitant. As though she too was reluctant to say goodbye to him. That moment would fuel his day dreams over the next few days, in all likelihood.

They exchanged farewells and Granger headed off on her own, her pace a bit slower than it had been in their school days. Draco just smiled and waved goodbye, keeping his sadness to himself, watching as his whole world walked away and turned around the corner, once again leaving him on his own.