Hello all. I have been putting this particular note off for quite some time ever since I made my final decision on this story about ten chapters ago. If you'll recall, some chapters back I talked about how when I first started this story, I did not want to glorify nor romanticize this lifestyle in any way. With that being said, there will be an alternate ending to this story, because the original ending will be just that bad. No, I don't want to paint an unrealistic picture of this lifestyle in any way, but I am a sucker for happy endings, so the alternate last chapter will be uploaded as a one-shot in order to keep up the integrity of this story. No, the end is not (that) near, but I don't want to mislead anyone, so I'm telling you, now in case you want to jump ship. That would be perfectly understandable. Happy reading!

Oh, baby, take a look around

I'm the only one that hasn't walked out

I'm right here

-Right Here, Chase Atlantic

"…and no one's seen him since?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

She watched as Draco briefly glanced at Blaise, slight suspicion swirling there before answering her.

"No."

Hermione wasn't sure how to respond to that.

A week had passed since she'd been forced back into the life she ran away from, and ever since the night she'd aimed a gun at Draco's head, they'd barely spoken ten words to each other. It was awkward, to say the least. Now, he and Blaise were filling her in on everything that had happened since she'd left. Apparently, Teddy hadn't aimed for the head and had only managed to paralyze Riddle from the neck down. The few times Draco had seen the dark haired man in public, he'd been glued to a wheelchair, pushed around by one of his men.

Teddy had gone into hiding, both Draco and Riddle wanting him dead for different reasons, and with her gone, he'd had no one to turn to. Although, Hermione had a feeling that wasn't entirely true, and she eyed Blaise who in turn avoided her curious gaze.

"I want to find him," she said, looking both of them in the eyes.

Blaise shifted uncomfortably while Draco frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No. Leave him wherever the bloody hell he is. We're much better off…"

"It's interesting that you didn't see it that way when he was proving himself to be valuable to you when he helped you kill Ron," she snapped.

She stood up, the chair sliding back with a loud screech as she frowned at him. Anger at his casual dismissal of Teddy bloomed in her chest.

"He's the reason you were able to help me escape in the first place. I want to find him, Draco, and I'll do it without your help if need be, but I'm not too prideful to resist asking."

There was heavy silence, one that was thick with tension as she and Draco stared each other down. His jaw ticked, and it wasn't long before he was signaling to Blaise to leave them. Hermione sighed, sitting back down as she realized that she was alone with him for the first time in days, something the he would, no doubt, take advantage of. He walked towards her, the sound of his approaching footsteps deafening. He sat himself in the chair closest to her, so close that she could smell him, the familiar scent enveloping her like a hug.

"Why do you want to find him? I thought you'd be done with him considering he lied to you just as I did about that night," he inquired.

Hermione swallowed.

"I am very angry with him, probably more so than with you, but I want to make sure that he's alright. Besides, the night that…that Riddle killed that girl, I vowed to end him, and Teddy is going to help me. He knows Riddle better than any of us, and he knows that estate like the back of his hand," Hermione confessed.

Draco had already started sighing before she finished, rising and turning around with his hands on his hips as he mulled over her words.

"…and am I expected to just sit on the sidelines in all of this?"

Hermione fidgeted.

"No. I just…I know how much you hate Teddy-."

"I hate Riddle more," he said, spinning around to face her with an unfamiliar emotion in his eyes, one that made her heart clench.

Hermione looked down at that, and Draco stepped towards her.

"If I help you find him, the two of you aren't doing this alone…"

"If…?" she questioned, looking up at him.

Draco pursed his lips, slowly lowering himself to kneel in front of her. She watched as he reached out to graze her hand with his finger before thinking better of it and dropping it with a small sigh.

"I'll help you find him…on one condition," he proposed, gaze boring into her own.

Hermione's joy was short-lived, and she deflated, eyeing him.

"I don't think I'm ready to discuss our questionable engagement or lack thereof-."

"I want my son, Hermione."

Her eyes widened, genuine surprise there as she stood with a scoff. She looked down at him like he was crazy.

"I thought that I'd made my feelings about that clear…"

"Hermione-."

"We've already talked about this, and it ended with a gun in your face, remember? This is not something that I'm going to negotiate with you, Draco. My decision is final," she said, walking past him.

"It's not just your decision to make!"

She paused, turning to face him with a frown, throat tight. He was standing, fire in his eyes as he looked every bit prepared to have this fight. This wasn't a conversation that she was prepared to have in the slightest when she woke up.

"That's quite bold of you…considering that he might not even be yours," she whispered.

Draco flinched, a look of hurt washing over his features. Hermione hadn't said it to be hurtful, she'd merely said it as a truth, a truth that they might have to face. She'd long accepted that she might have been carrying her rapist's child. She took a step towards him, eyebrows furrowed.

"What will you do then? If he isn't yours…? Would you kill him?"

It was a thought that had crossed her mind once or twice, but she'd always pushed it to the side, never having any intentions of Draco finding out about him.

He closed the space between them, resting his hands under her jaw and tilted her head upwards. His grey eyes roamed over her face, a thousand different thoughts and decisions dancing along his own.

"No," he said, brushing his thumbs along her cheeks. "I would raise him as my own. I'd be the only father he'd ever know. He would be mine."

Hermione briefly closed her eyes, heart simultaneously warming and clenching for something that would never happen. She turned away, slipping out of his hold.

"I won't put him in danger. I'm sorry…"

"You can't do this," he snarled.

She spun, glaring at him with wide eyes, face only inches away from his own.

"I can do whatever the hell I want!"

"This isn't fair to me nor him!"

"Do you think I care? You don't get it, Draco," she hissed, almost desperately.

He didn't reply, watching as she fought to hold herself together.

"You just don't get it," she brokenly whispered.

Hermione wrapped her arms around herself, biting her lip as she looked down.

"When he was born…he didn't cry. I just knew that he was dead, and that broke me in a way that you can't even imagine. Even when he did finally make some noise, I still thought that he was going to die. He was so…small…too small," she murmured, head hanging as she leaned against the wall.

She shook her head at him, looking up.

"I vowed to do whatever it took to protect him, no matter how much it hurt me to do it. You say it isn't fair to you, but you know what's not fair? It isn't fair to him that he was born into this life, and it wasn't fair to me that I was forced to give my child away to protect him from the life I'd unknowingly placed the both of us in."

Draco didn't respond, jaw tight as he held his eyes shut.

"It's one thing to give up your child when you want to, but it's a completely different story when you're forced to. I wanted to keep him. I wanted to raise him and watch him grow up to be as devastatingly handsome as the man I hope is his father, but I was forced to choose between raising my son and protecting him, something no parent should ever have to do."

She brushed past Draco, bumping his arm as she went.

"…so don't lecture me about fairness, Draco Malfoy."

"You know where he is…don't you?"

Blaise sighed, looking out over the large property, the sun making his brown eyes glow. Draco was out of the house, and per orders, and even her own decision as well, she was confined to the house and its grounds. Blaise was acting as her personal guard, walking alongside her as she made her way around the property.

"Yes," he finally confessed, exhaling. "I suspect that Draco knows, or at least he has his suspicions, but I don't think he considers Theo important enough to pursue it."

"How is he?" she desperately asked.

"…better. He expected you to skip town after he told you about that night, but it was still hard for him, nonetheless. Especially considering…"

"Did you know?"

Blaise paused, glancing at her before shaking his head and answering.

"I suspected. I never cared to ask though. Believe it or not, Draco is capable of cleaning up his own messes without my help…"

Hermione turned, walking through the extravagant garden with a sigh, the wind blowing her unruly tresses around her face.

"They both lied to me…and I don't know how to deal with it," she quietly told him.

She looked at him, relieved to find understanding in his eyes.

"Theo is my best friend. He knows me better than anyone, knew of my past with Ron and my conflicted feelings about him, and lied to me about it. He knew how his death would affect me…and still…he lied to me about it," she murmured.

Hermione suddenly stopped, eyes somber and shoulders sagging.

"To think, this whole time… He had been there that night, witnessed it, hell, he even helped! Theo could give me some bullshit reasoning about doing this for me or because of Riddle all he wants, but we all know he did it for himself," she spat.

"He knows that you know," Blaise informed her.

"Good," she scoffed. "I hope it keeps him up at night."

Blaise suddenly smirked, the action reminding her so much of Draco.

"That…among other things…"

Hermione shoved him away from her with a grimace as Blaise chuckled, looking rather proud of himself.

"You're disgusting," she complained.

Blaise shrugged, unperturbed. She gazed at him, a small frown slowly working its way onto her face.

"It was Draco, wasn't it?" she suddenly voiced the question that had been on her mind for nearly a year, catching him off guard.

Blaise stiffened, eyes curious as he frowned at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Theo told me why he left you… It was Draco," she repeated.

Blaise let out a soft chuckle, crossing his arms over his chest as he glanced down, tongue darting out to wet his lips. It was probably the most uncomfortable she'd ever seen him. He looked at her from beneath his lashes.

"You're a clever little thing, you know that?"

"So it's true... What happened?" she asked, genuine curiosity lacing her tone.

"I fell in love with my best friend is what happened. I knew that it was a recipe for heartbreak, but…well, you've met Draco."

Hermione snorted, understanding exactly what he meant.

"Despite the fact that I knew he'd never want me the way I wanted him, I kept putting him first, something I never do…and something that wasn't fair to Theo. It would cause so many arguments and I just kept saying 'he's my best friend…he's my best friend', but we both knew that wasn't the whole truth."

Blaise sighed, looking out over the garden, a troubled expression on his features.

"Eventually he left…and I had no one but myself to blame," he quietly finished.

There was a brief silence, a comfortable and not unwelcome one.

"I love Draco too," she finally said, looking up at him. "I do. I love that arrogant man, but he isn't a good person. He isn't a good person in the slightest, so what does that make me?"

"It makes you human," Blaise immediately answered to which Hermione reluctantly nodded.

"I suppose. None of you are good people, and I guess that I can be thrown in there, as well. I've killed people. I almost led my former best friend to his death…"

"You were doing it to protect your friends," Blaise assured her.

"That's true, but…part of me wanted to," she whispered.

She swallowed, finally voicing something that she'd never had the gall to say aloud before.

"There was the smallest part of me that wanted him to really pay for all that he'd done to me. It definitely wasn't something that warranted death, but…the angry and hurt college freshman inside of me…she wanted to see him pay. That scared the hell out of me, Blaise. That wasn't me…and when it finally did happen, that small part of me didn't even feel relieved, just guilty…"

"That doesn't make you a bad person, Hermione," Blaise whispered.

She shook her head, visibly disagreeing.

"Does all of this ever get to you? Does it ever feel…surreal?"

"Sometimes," he quietly replied. "Although, not so much anymore. I grew up in this life. It's all I've ever known."

Hermione nodded at that.

"It just…it feels like a game, sometimes. No," she immediately backtracked, shaking her head. "Not a game. That's not right…"

She turned around, looking at the impressive mansion.

"It feels like…a house. Ever since I found out the truth about Draco's life, I've felt like I'm in a house…made of cards," she voiced.

She turned to face him again, eyes distressed.

"Everything has just been so hectic, and I feel like one wrong minor move could have everything tumbling down, but we just…" she shook her head in disbelief. "…we just keep stacking them higher and higher, increasing the risks, making the fall that much harder."

"Is that why you won't bring your son home?"

She wasn't surprised to find out that he knew.

"You know that Draco would protect him," he continued when she didn't respond.

"I know that he would try, but…look what almost happened when Riddle took me. Hell, look what did happen. I can't take that risk, Blaise. I physically cannot do it," she forced out. "What if Riddle gets him? What if he gets him and finds out that he isn't his? What if he finds out that he is?"

"Draco would never let that happen-."

"We don't know that!"

She took a calming breath.

"Draco means well, I understand that, and believe me...I don't want to keep him away. I'm getting no pleasure from this, but I feel like I don't have any other choice. I'm just desperate to protect my son…."

Blaise didn't say anything to that, and suddenly exhausted, Hermione made her way back inside.

Hermione sat on the expensive rug in the equally impressive den, staring into the roaring flames. Draco's previous house didn't have a fireplace, and Hermione didn't realize what a loss that was then. She enjoyed fireplaces, thought there was something rather inviting about them.

She wasn't sure how late it was, but she just knew that she couldn't sleep. She hadn't had a decent night of sleep in months, including the nights that she didn't have nightmares. At first, she'd thought it was because of the baby, but after he'd been born, the problem still persisted. Hermione sighed, wrapping the blanket tighter around her as she heard approaching footsteps. She didn't look at him as he sat beside her, but she felt it as he rested one hand on the floor behind her, arm grazing her back.

"You should be resting," he said, voice low.

"I can't sleep," she murmured, shaking her head.

Draco sighed, no doubt about to protest, when she moved to stand. He reached out, halting her movements and turning her to face him.

"I'm sorry," he stated, eyes meeting her own, a sincerity there that she was seeing more of lately.

She frowned.

"I'm sorry about the other day. It wasn't right of me to say that, no matter how I may have felt. I don't know what you went through, and I can only imagine how scared you must have been… How scared you still must be to keep him away," he whispered.

Hermione nodded, accepting his apology. He pulled the blanket up over her shoulder, eyes roaming over her face with a sad smile.

"Tell me about it…?"

Hermione was quiet for some time, tracing the pattern on the carpet with her eyes.

"You're right…I was scared. I suddenly had this whole other life to think about and put before my own…and I was alone. My mind kept coming up with all sorts of morbid thoughts and scenarios, and when he was born, I thought they were coming true."

She stared into the fireplace.

"I didn't know what to think at first. I think that I was in shock the first few weeks after I found out. Then came the fear. The fear of not being good enough or screwing something up or…losing him. Then I thought about his potential fathers and the fear really kicked in. I suddenly had all of these new things to be afraid of. Sometimes, it would shake me so badly that I'd be physically ill. I just kept thinking…what if the wrong person gets their hands on him? That fear has still yet to go away."

She looked up at him, brown and grey colliding.

"I'm sorry, Draco. I really I am. I know that it isn't fair to you, either, but I don't have any other choice," she quietly said.

He squeezed her hands, pulling her closer, eyes desperate and determined.

"I would protect him, Hermione," she frantically shook her head. "I would. I would never let anything happen to him."

"No."

"I would protect him with my life-!"

"We both might have to, and then what would happen to him? He's better off where he is," she interrupted.

Draco shook his head, lips pressed together, nostrils flaring.

"No, I don't agree with that. He needs to be with us-."

"I'm not playing Russian Roulette with my son's life!"

"You wouldn't be! Why don't you trust me?"

They were both standing, now, chests heaving and anger flaring. Hermione opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

"That's what it comes down to, doesn't it? You don't trust me…with him…"

Hermione swallowed, throat incredibly thick as she rested her hands on her hips, unable to look him in the eye as she gazed at the wall behind him. Her face crumbled, a tear skipping down her cheek.

"No," she finally answered.

She heard Draco take a deep breath, and she didn't need to look at him to know that he wasn't looking at her. Maybe he couldn't stomach to. She wasn't going to apologize for that, her feelings were valid.

"I'm sorry that you feel that way," he quietly responded.

Hermione sighed, shoulders sagging.

"Please don't ask this of me again, Draco," she pleaded, voice tired.

She looked at him as he looked at her, something she couldn't place lurking in his gaze. The corner of his lip curved upwards just the slightest.

"Okay."

There was a brief silence, one strained with exhaustion.

"What's his name?" he quietly asked.

"Scorpius."

Draco smirked.

"I like it. It's a strong name," he praised.

"Thank you," she sincerely replied.

"I'm terribly sorry that you had to go through that alone, Hermione. I wished that I had been there," he suddenly said, eyes flitting over her frame.

"I know, and it's okay. I left…and stayed away. It was something I'd chosen…"

"…because you felt you had to, because you were afraid, because you didn't trust me," he finished.

Hermione didn't need to respond to that, and he knew it, so he bent down to grab the blanket she'd dropped instead. He reached out, laying it over her shoulders and pulling her closer.

"I've arranged something for you tomorrow," he murmured.

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed, a question in her eyes as she looked up at him.

"…what?""

He simply smirked, pressing a kiss to her forehead before bidding her goodnight.

Hermione didn't think she could wrap her arms around them tighter if she tried. Tears had burst from her eyes before she realized it, and soon, she was nothing but a blubbering mess in their arms. She didn't even care that she was making a scene.

"Sweetheart, don't cry," her mum shushed.

"I'm sorry, I just… I haven't spoken to you in so long and this was completely unexpected," she sobbed.

She had been woken up bright and early, Blaise ushering her to shower and get dressed with no mention as for what. It was a rush as she was all but forced into a car with one of Draco's men, Alex, and being driven hours to a mall some towns over. Her confusion had quickly dissipated at the sight of her parents.

"I know, dear-."

"…and the last time we really talked-."

"Shh, I know. It's okay," her mother whispered, wiping her tears away.

"It's so good to see you," her father said, kissing her hair.

"How…?"

Hermione wanted to question how Draco had done this, and what he'd told them. They all but led her over to a table in the food court, the lively chatter of shoppers and children fading to the background.

"The young Mr. Malfoy told us everything, dear," her mum said.

Hermione frowned, eyes hesitantly darting between the both of them as a small panic began to settle in her gut.

"…what?"

Her mum took her hand, squeezing it as they all sat down.

"I'm sorry that I didn't believe you. He told me how he'd offered to help you, feeling sympathy for your situation, and how the two of you…fell in love along the way. He said that it was nothing like what I thought. Just a purely innocent situation of him helping you out."

Hermione didn't know what to say. It was a lie.

"Is that why you've been avoiding us for so long? You thought that we would never believe you?" her father asked.

"I…yeah. Mum just seemed so sure of what she thought, and-."

"Nonsense. You told me the truth, and I refused to believe it. I jumped to the worst, and I shouldn't have," her mum apologized.

"The Malfoys are good people, dear. Nothing like that blasted Riddle. He's a fine young man, Hermione," her father praised.

Hermione felt a bit out of her element, unsure of what to say to the lies they'd been fed. If only her father knew that Draco was almost as bad Riddle. If only they knew the truth of why she'd stayed away.

"Yeah," was all she could manage to say.

"Well, I believe you, now. Why don't you tell us about him?" her mum proposed.

Hermione found it oddly easy to talk about the things she enjoyed about Draco. Unsurprisingly though, a few lies and stretched truths had to be thrown in there, as well, and her parents ate it up. They spent the rest of their time eating and shopping and catching up, Alex subtly in the background, her parents oblivious to his presence. She was sad that the day was coming to an end, but now that things were better, maybe she'd see them more often.

She dried her hands before leaving the restroom, body freezing as she stepped back into the mall. Her eyes widened as her gaze landed on that of a familiar tall, dark haired man stnding across the food court. Her heart began to pound in her chest, and she was just about to step forward when a hand gently grabbed her arm.

She looked up, startled, into the face of Alex, concern plastered over his features.

"Hermione…?"

She turned back, but saw no sign of who she thought she'd seen. Or…? She shook her head. Draco said that he was paralyzed from the neck down. Even if he was there, he wouldn't be casually standing around, watching her.

"Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine. I just thought I saw…," she trailed off, looking around.

The blonde man followed her line of vision, eyebrows furrowed.

"What did you see?"

She suddenly shook her head again.

"Nothing. Let's get back to my parents…"

They entered the house late that night, Draco's name already on her lips, worry lacing her words.

"Hermione…" Blaise suddenly said, appearing in the foyer. "…before you go up there, I need you to stay calm."

"I need to tell you something," she frantically said, hurrying towards him.

Concern immediately bled into his eyes as he looked from her to the man behind her and back.

"What is it?"

"Today, at the mall, I think I saw-."

She suddenly cut herself off, frowning as she finally registered his words. She reared back slightly, eyeing him.

"What's going on? Why would I need to stay calm?"

"Sykes, leave us."

She heard the other man walk away, and Hermione glanced around, noting Draco's absence.

"Where is Draco?"

Blaise began to pat her down instead of answering, and Hermione's eyes widened, shoving him away.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm making sure that you aren't armed," he casually replied.

Hermione shook her head in confusion at his strange behavior.

"What is going on?"

Blaise sighed, clearly hiding something.

"Promise you won't get mad. You can't really blame him," he pleaded.

"Where is he?" she asked again, an edge in her voice as she began to assume the worst.

"…he's upstairs," he hesitantly answered.

"Why? What is up-?"

She was cut off, eyes widening and mouth dropping as the sound of a crying infant echoed throughout the house. She stared at Blaise in a horrified disbelief, heart dropping to her stomach. He wouldn't…

"No," she whispered.

Blaise reached out.

"Hermione-."

She didn't hear what he had to say, feet taking the stairs two at a time as she ran towards the noise. She sprinted straight ahead, following it to Draco's room just as the crying diminished. She didn't spare a second as she threw the double doors open, heart pounding in her chest. Draco stood with is back to her, a soft humming noise escaping his throat, head bent down. A soft gurgling noise filled the room, and Hermione's knees grew weak, vision swimming when the blonde man turned around.

There, in his arms, was a baby with brown hair and the eyes to match, just like his mother.

She watched as Draco pressed his lips to his forehead, finally looking up at her from beneath his lashes, gaze hard.

"Mummy's home," he whispered.

Let me know what you think!