"How can you not know that Dad is a famous quidditch player?!" Scorpius asked in disbelief. "He's on the front page of nearly every Daily Prophet during the season!"

"Well, my mum used to think the media is all rubbish, so none of us paid attention to it," Kenzie explained. "My mum and dad didn't care for quidditch much either."

Scorpius looked at Kenzie like she was some nutcase. "Quidditch is my dad's life . I hope to be famous like him one day."

"He can't play quidditch forever. Besides," she made to point out in a matter-of-fact, "now that I'm here, he's going to have think more about me and less about quidditch."

"If you think he's going to quit his job, you're crazy! My dad has been playing since before you were born! That's almost ten years!"

"Scorpius, he's not some young chicken anymore! Contact sports are tough on the body! How many professional players are in their forties?"

Scorpius shrugged. He took a moment to plan his next move in the checkers game that they were playing. "Not many at all. Two, maybe..."

"Well there you go then-- king me!" She giggled in delight when he let out a groan. "Did I mention that I placed first in the checkers tournament last year?" Kenzie offered in a not-so-innocent tone.

"You failed to inform me of that, yes," Scorpius grumbled.

"Thank you, Scorpius," Draco told him gratefully a few minutes later. Scorpius saw that his father was now accompanied by a woman, and it didn't take much of a thought to know that she was the birth mother to Kenzie. The woman looked quite identical to Kenzie, only much older.

Scorpius watched as Kenzie and the woman (who he faintly knew as Hermione Granger) stare at each other until Kenzie abruptly stood up and ran to Hermione, wrapping her arms around the Hermione's waist.

"You're her !" Kenzie announced through a sob. "You're my birth mum!"

Hermione bent down and let out a series of sobs before picking the girl up into her arms. "Yes, sweetheart, it's me!"

Kenzie then burst into tears. " Why ?!" she wailed out. "Why did you get rid of me?! Didn't you love me?! What was wrong with me?!"

Hermione continued to cry. She was so emotional that she couldn't even speak for a few moments, and the two just held onto each other, weeping away.

Finally, she set the girl back on her feet and wiped at her eyes, then did the same to Kenzie's loose tears that stuck to her cheeks. She smiled down at the girl. "It was never you! Never ! Do you understand? I just wasn't ready to be a mum, and I felt the couple who adopted you were just perfect! They had been trying to have a family of their own for years, and you were their little miracle !"

Kenzie nodded, using a sleeve to wipe away the the stray tears. "Mummy always said I was her miracle baby! She thought you were great! She was so happy that you gave me to her! Daddy was too, of course! They told me how smart you were, that you were the smartest witch of the entire world!"

Hermione laughed softly. "Well, I wouldn't say I'm that smart!" She took the child's hand and lead her to an oversized chair. "Tell me what happened to them, sweetheart. Tell me everything. I was told they disappeared?"

Draco and Scorpius left the room so the two could talk privately.

"What's going to happen now, Dad?"

Draco frowned, momentarily at a loss of what to do. With her adopted parents gone, that left McKenzie without a home, though neither Hermione nor Draco would allow that to happen.

Draco swallowed down a forming lump in his throat. "I suppose there's nothing more to do than to take one day at a time, Scorpius."

"I want to take her home with me."

"You've hardly the living space for an extra person," Draco pointed out. He was upset that Hermione was already trying to take control of the situation. McKenzie came to him , not her, and in addition, she didn't even want McKenzie to begin with. Hermione never gave Draco the option to raise his daughter, and it was beginning to look like she was going to do it a second time.

"She'll be fine there until we sort things out."

"Or, instead, my daughter can live here, where there is space for her. A pick of her own room, if she pleases."

"There you go again, flaunting your riches! Honestly, have you at all changed?!"

"Do you know what I feel?" he challenged with a cold voice. "I feel, since this was all your mistake to begin with, that you shouldn't get to take control of it at all!"

"That's hardly fair," Hermione sounded hurt. "She's not just your daughter--"

"Well, you certainly didn't give me a chance to be her father, did you?"

Hermione clamped her mouth shut. "Look, I'm sorry--"

"You should be--"

"But now, we're in this together--"

"Then stop trying to make all the decisions without discussing anything with me."

She nodded. Then Hermione sighed. "The adopted parents might show back up," she warned him. "I contacted the aurors in France, and they never found any bodies."

"What's your point?" He knew what she was hinting at, he really didn't want her to say it, but he was irritated that she dragged him into this disaster.

"There's a possibility that they'll come back, and…" She bit her lip, unwilling to continue.

"And I'm going to be a part of McKenzie's life whether they reappear or not. Even if I have to fight for it."

"They are her legal--"

"She's my blood!" he shouted, finally losing his cool. He stepped back, immediately realizing what he had done. Hermione's eyes were wide. Draco had never before shouted at her. "I have the right ," he started, quiet, but breathing deep with every word, taking all of his might not to raise his voice, "as her father, I have the right to be a part of her life. As much as you thought you could decide that, you were completely wrong!"

Hermione was close to tears. Draco felt a little bad about making her feel guilty, but she absolutely earned this on her own.

He sighed, exhausted from the night he just had. "For now, she stays here, Hermione. You're welcome to take a guest room if you wish to be around her, but you won't take her from me a second time."

Hermione was close to tears. Draco felt a little bad about making her feel guilty, but she absolutely earned this on her own.

He sighed, exhausted from the night he just had. "For now, she stays here, Hermione. You're welcome to take a guest room if you wish to be around her, but you won't take her from me a second time."

AN: I've been so busy with the holiday. I wanted to do so many things, but there's not enough time to do everything. It's been exhausting. I'm just glad that I was able to complete this story. :)

Did I mention how lousy ffnet mobile app is? Ugh... Formatting is a nightmare...!

I'll update the next chapter after my lunch today.

Review Responses:

santosranina: Thanks so much! :)

To the Guest: Thank you for reading. Scorpius is 13.

James Birdsong: Haha, thank you :)

shweta.wadhwa.1303: They're herrrre!

tmtcltb: I know, it's like "Hermione is a jerk!" in one chapter, and the next is, "Oh, I can see why she did it. Somewhat." lol Seems to be how most readers are taking this. Thank you for always being here. *squees*