It snowed that morning, but Hermione insisted they apparate and walk to the Burrow.
"Fucking hell, Granger," he huffed, lugging his luggage through the thick snow. "Is there a reason we're walking through a fucking blizzard?"
"It's barely even flurrying out now, you big baby. And I just need some time to talk myself up before we go in."
"You couldn't do that, I don't know, while going through the floo? The warm floo?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. She knew this wasn't the best idea. She didn't even know how everyone else, besides Ron, was going to react. Maybe they'd kick her out all together for bringing him to their home.
"We're here anyway. Be nice, please."
She stood in front of the door, not making a move to knock. Draco came up next to her and nudged her shoulder, "Where's that Gryffindor courage I've heard so much about?"
Hermione nodded, giving him a thin smile before lifting her hand to knock lightly. So lightly that no one would ever hear it inside.
"For fucks sake I'm cold, Granger." he leaned forward and pounded on the door before it was pulled open by a smiling, sparkling eyed Molly Weasley.
Her smile faltered momentarily when she saw Hermione's guest.
"Hermione," she cooed warmly, "I'm so happy you've decided to come. And… And Mr. Malfoy, you've gotten so… tall since the last time I saw you."
If it was anyone else, the interaction would have been awkward. But Draco, the charming Slytherin he was, smiled politely, "Thank you for letting me come, Mrs. Weasley. Please call me Draco."
Molly's smile was relieved, "Come in, come in. You must be freezing."
Draco gave Hermione a pointed look over his shoulder as he followed Molly inside.
The loud bustle was familiar. The smells were the same, the decor was just as she remembered. And still it felt… different.
"Hermione is here," Molly announced to the house. "And her… her guest!"
George came bounding down the stairs, stopped midstep when he spotted Malfoy. "Oh, brilliant. Oh this is brilliant. Ron! Ron come say hello!"
There was a muffled response from above and Hermione swallowed harshly. She felt Draco's shoulder brush against hers and it was a comfort to know that he was just out of place as she was. What a world they were living in where Draco Malfoy was the one giving her comfort.
Molly gestured for the pair to move into the living area to say hello to the rest of the family. They were laughing and talking loudly and Teddy bounced happily on Harry's knee as he spoke to Ginny. She was actually the first to see them, her eyes widening as she stopped mid sentence to her husband.
"Ginny, wha-" Harry began, following her eyes to see why she had froze so suddenly. He practically choked when he spotted the tall, well dressed blonde blocking the doorway with his enormous body and a tiny, familiar brunette pressed up close.
The rest of the room had gone silent as well, all waiting with baited breath for some sort of explosion or a got you moment that never came. Hermione was beginning to feel out of place, swaying on her feet and picking at her nails.
She felt Draco's thumb press a soothing circle on the small of her back and she shivered at the unfamiliar, but surprisingly not unwelcome contact. She breathed out a shaky sigh at the small ounce of courage Draco's touch gave her and smiled, "Hi everyone. You know Mal-Draco."
They were still sitting in shocked silence, blinking at the pair and at each other. Draco cleared his throat loudly, which caused Teddy to look up from Harry's lap.
Even Hermione was shocked when the little boy gasped, "Dwaco!" and his hair turned a stark shade of blonde. Harry was too numb to move as Teddy scrambled from his lap and ran across the room, holding his arms up and balling his hands into fists.
Draco scooped him up and ruffled his newly blonde hair, "Mr. Edward, my how you've grown since I last saw you. You're almost as tall as me now."
It wasn't true, Teddy dangled from one of Draco's arms, but it made the boy giggle excitedly. The sound seemed to snap the rest of the room out of its shock as they began sporadically greeting the pair.
"Let me take you to your room and then you can come down for supper," Molly instructed, gesturing to the staircase behind her.
Draco detached Teddy from his arm and plopped him back on his feet, watching the boy waddle over to his godfather and crawl back into his lap. Hermione could tell Harry didn't know what was more shocking: his presence as a guest to his best friend or the undeniably… adorable relationship he had with Teddy.
Draco grabbed their bags and followed Molly up to the landing, Hermione following close behind. Molly led them to Bill's old room, with its modest full sized bed and cozy, simple decor.
"I hope this is alright."
"It's perfect, Mrs. Weasley. Thank you again for letting me stay," Draco shot her a toothy smile as he placed their things on the quilted bed.
"Come down when you're ready, dinner should be done soon!"
Molly closed the door softly behind her and Hermione rounded on Draco.
"You know Teddy?"
Draco snorted, not looking up from unpacking his clothes, "Of course I do. He's my family. The last of it, he and Andromeda. I see them every Sunday for breakfast."
Hermione blushed, twiddling her thumbs together, "Sorry, I just… I didn't know."
Draco looked at her, his face amused. "You never asked. It's fine. At least I have another ally here, Edward loves me."
"You call him Edward?" Hermione wrinkled her nose as she began to also unpack her bags.
"Of course, Teddy is an unbecoming name for a member of the Black family."
"He's a member of the Lupin family," Hermione said pointedly, throwing a sock at his chest. It bounced off and rolled into his suitcase while he snickered. "Besides, no child wants to be called Edward."
"Well then perhaps they shouldn't have named him that in the first place, hm?"
Draco was surprisingly… fun. In an arrogant, pompous, sarcastic way. His humor was dry, but when you caught the slide twitch of his mouth and knew he was kidding; it made it all the more endearing. She couldn't remember the last time she and Ron had joked like this where it hadn't ended in some kind of argument.
Her heart squeezed painfully at the thought of her ex, who was somewhere in the house gallivanting with his new belle.
"Hello?"
Hermione jumped.
"Sorry?" she asked, shrinking under Draco's concerned look.
"I asked if you were ready to go down for food. Are you sure you're alright?"
Hermione licked her lips and nodded, "Yes. Yes. Just nervous about… seeing him and… her."
Draco rolled his eyes and while a quick feeling of offense flooded Hermione, it was quickly quashed when he said, "Granger, he's the one who fucked up. Not you. He's the one who should be nervous. Now come, you made me walk through a mile of snow and I'm starving."
Ron had reacted almost exactly how Hermione had expected.
Red faced, hands balled into fists, "Malfoy? You brought Malfoy to my house?"
The couple had found surprising allies in the rest of the Weasley family, including Harry, who had worked collectively to calm Ron down enough to sit for dinner.
Hermione was more shocked at the way Astoria had reacted to seeing Draco. While he lounged against the doorframe lazily as Ron had his fit, seemingly uncaring, Astoria was all wide eyed and fidgeting. Hermione narrowed her eyes at the girl who seemed almost entirely put off by Draco's presence. Hermione made a note to ask Draco about it later.
Now they all sat at the dinner table, everyone talking loudly and ignoring a fuming Ron who sat directly across from Draco.
Teddy sat to the left of Ron and was making small shrieking noises to the red-head to get his attention.
"What?" Ron huffed. "What is it?"
Teddy smacked a hand next to his plate and then shrieked again, "I don't know what you're trying to say."
"He wants you to cut up his chicken."
Ron sneered and turned his attention to Draco, who had ceased eating and stared back at him, "And how would you know?"
Draco rolled his eyes, reaching over to the other side of the table to grab Teddy's plate. He carefully cut the food into small, appropriately sized pieces before placing it back in front of the toddler who smiled contently and began feasting quietly.
Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione could see Draco giving a pointed I told you so look to Ron and she had to hold in her laugh at Ron's newly reddened cheeks.
Ron had never been very good with children. Never knowing what to say or how to say it or what was appropriate for a child. It was always a source of tension between them: although Ron had grown up with a big family, he had no desire to have one. And Hermione had always known, among her other dreams and aspirations, she wanted to be a mom.
Draco was good. Maybe it was just because it was Teddy, who was his family, but he somehow understood his toddler garble and was patient with his tantrums. It was almost heartwarming.
She felt Draco nudge her foot with his. Are you okay?
She knocked her knee against his thigh. Okay.
It was a code they had created during meetings to communicate with each other.
He tapped two fingers on the table. Follow my lead.
Hermione turned to him, her brows furrowed. He smirked and, with a casual glance to Ron, reached forward with his thumb to wipe an invisible crumb from the corner of her mouth.
"You had a little something," he grinned, "I got it, don't worry."
Hermione opened her mouth to give a witty retort, one that would solidify the point to Ron, but she couldn't form words. His hands were so warm and so large against her face. Even the smallest touch of her mouth made her lips vibrate in anticipation. She was blushing fiercely, unable to turn away from Draco even as he resumed eating.
"Hermione," Ron's angry voice came from across the table. "Can I talk to you? In private?"
Hermione's stomach rolled nervously and she saw Draco's face out of the corner of her eye. He was glaring venomously at the redhead, his fork clenched tightly in his fist. He played the jealous boyfriend convincingly well. She nodded and stood on shaking knees, trying to compose a cool, unaffected persona, "Of course. Kitchen?"
Ron was pacing. It gave Hermione some sense of satisfaction that her plan really was working. He was angry. He was jealous.
" Malfoy?" he snapped suddenly, causing her to jump.
"Yes," Hermione crossed her arms. "And what about him?"
Ron scoffed as if she was stupid. It was something Hermione always hated; how he could think so poorly of her judgement even after all this time. "Really, 'Mione? Do I need to remind you? It's Malfoy. Evil, Death Eater Malfoy-"
It made her stomach roll and sink. A wave of protectiveness for the man coursed through her, "Dont," she hissed. "Don't talk about him like that."
"You're mad. You've lost it," he laughed, "he's probably using you, I wouldn't put it past him!"
Oh how wrong you are, Hermione thought, I'm using him.
"He's great, actually. He's smart and sweet and he appreciates my ideas-" Hermione stopped, suddenly aware that she wasn't even lying. He was all of those things. And he had given up his quiet holiday to help a co-worker. One he didn't even particularly like.
"You don't have to like him," Hermione sighed. "But you have to respect that he's my guest here. Goodnight, Ron."
She left him red in the face and sputtering madly behind her.
Draco was waiting for her on the staircase, arms crossed and leaning against the railing. Hermione blushed, he had probably heard everything. The rest of the house was quiet as the rest of the Weasleys retired to their respective rooms.
"Are you really considering getting back together with that?"
His voice was so rough, in a way he had not spoken to her for years. It was accusatory.
"I love him."
"And that's enough?"
Hermione stared down at the floor, feeling like a scolded child. Draco sighed and rubbed his eyes, "I'm sorry. I suppose it's just a side effect of being around so many Weasleys for too long. Come on, let's get you to bed."
They were silent as they ascended the staircase and got ready for bed. When Hermione returned from the bathroom, Draco was transfiguring several of Bill's left behind clothes into blankets and pillows.
"What are you doing?"
"I for one am not used to sleeping on the floor," Draco said, "So I'm attempting to make it as comfortable of an experience as possible, Merlin willing."
"Why would you sleep on the floor?"
Draco sputtered, actually looked scandalized as he blinked up at her. "I may be an arse, but I'm still a gentlemen, Granger, I wouldn't let you sleep on the floor-"
"Why don't you just share the bed with me?"
If Draco's eyes could get any wider, they would fall out of their sockets. Hermione blushed. "I mean- I just- It's just a bed and we're both clothed- sorry- I'll just-"
But Draco was already getting his things situated on the bed, "Listen, I'd be a fool to refuse sleeping in a bed instead of on the floor, especially with a pretty witch. As long as she stays on her side and doesn't snore."
Hermione's blush deepened at the compliment. She knew he was just teasing, but it made her feel good. Feel pretty, for once.
Hermione crawled onto the bed next to him, facing the other way. He was so broad he took up most of the bed, even laying slightly on his side. Hermione huddled to herself as they laid in silence. She shifted slightly and her arm brushed up against his.
"Sorry-"
"It's okay-"
They stayed in the awkward silence for a moment until Hermione finally broke it. "Malfoy?"
"Hm?" he hummed sleepily.
"Why was Astoria so nervous to see you?"
He snorted. "Probably never thought she'd have to face me again."
"Why's that?" She felt him shift and their arms brushed again.
"Probably because I told her if I ever saw her again I'd hex her bald."
Hermione turned her head slightly to glance at his face. "What happened?"
She felt him tense behind her. "Does it matter?"
"Sorry," she whispered quickly, "I'm too nosy sometimes, you know that."
The room fell silent again.
"She cheated on me," he said suddenly, "with Blaise, you might remember him from school. He was in Slughorn's club. She… she liked him and she liked my money and she found out she couldn't have both."
"I'm sorry," she whispered, nudging his foot with hers on the bed. Are you okay?
He sighed and rolled over, his shoulder pressed against her back, "It's fine. She did me a favor if anything. Pureblood marriage contracts are binding. And it's not my problem anymore. Everyone knows Weasley got a hefty sum of money in reparations and has a good, well paying ministry job that keeps him away. What more could she want?"
Hermione hummed. She thought that she would feel bad for Ron, she thought the information would make her want to go to his room, kick Astoria out on her cheating blonde arse, and take him back for herself. But she didn't. All she felt was the anger for Ron and the sympathy for the man lying next to her.
"She's a cunt."
Draco laughed, too loudly for the quiet room, "I know she is… so is Weasley."
"I know." she said quietly, turning to face him.
His eyes were bright, even in the dark room. He was a warm, comfortable presence next to her. Her stomach twisted as her eyes flickered to his lips, illuminated by the sliver of light coming from the window. She leaned forward slightly, only a centimeter or two, before Draco sighed.
"Get some sleep. Goodnight, Granger."
Hermione blinked, aware that she had been mere moments from kissing him. How could she be so irresponsible? He was here to help her. He was here for a… a favor. This wasn't real.
"Night, Malfoy."