One week later

Ruffling a hand through my hair I yawned as I grabbed a glass of orange juice from the fridge. Grabbing a few dishes off the drainer I started putting them away, it was the least I could do to help out after everything Harley and Aiden were doing for Hermione and I.

"You don't have to do that Drake." Aiden said as he too came into the kitchen, his hair a mess and his eyes tired.

"I just want to make sure I'm not a burden. I am grateful to you for letting us stay." I replied as I finished putting the cutlery in the drawer. Over the past week Aiden and I had become close, he was a decent bloke. It was strange for me to see the sense of freedom in his eyes that no one in the wizarding world had anymore. We'd all jut come out of a wizarding war and nobody came out of that without a scar or two. The muggles didn't have that, sure they'd know some weird stuff had been going on and scary news reports reported a lot of random attacks but they didn't know what it was, they didn't know that they were on the blind side of a war. After watching the way Harley and Aiden were with each other I felt a little guilt over judging muggles so quickly, being raised to hate them by my father had completely blinded me to how normal they were. They weren't weak or dumb like I'd been taught to think when I was little. If anything, they were smarter than us because they had to figure out ways to do the things that we took for granted. We could just wave our wands and fix a broken bone or tidy the house, but they had to do it all a lot slower. In many ways it was refreshing not being able to use magic around them. It had given me an appreciation for the only things that separated us.

"You can stay more often, you do more than Aiden!" Harley chuckled as she too strolled in. She was dressed for work and was just packing her bag as Aiden made a dramatic motion symbolling his fake hurt. Aiden worked from home on a lot of different screens that I couldn't even begin to describe what he was doing. He did a lot around the house and kept it ticking along so I knew Harley was only joking but it was funny to see Aiden's reaction.

"What's our instructions for today hun?" Aiden asked after he was done being dramatic.

"Well, just keep an eye on her but It might be good if you can get her standing or even walking." Harley said quickly as she grabbed a banana and kissed Aiden.

"I shouldn't be too late home, behave the pair of you." She said pointing at us both like naughty school children in detention before hurrying off to her car. Considering they were both only in their early to mid-20's both Aiden and Harley had their lives fairly settled, and I couldn't imagine much changing. Aiden and I chatted our way through our breakfast before heading upstairs to check on Hermione.

She had been doing so much better in the past week. She was no longer fading in and out of consciousness, but she was still sleeping for a long time overnight and her injuries were healing slowly. I could tell she was still in a lot of pain, but she refused to let it get her down. We never ran out of things today and whilst she felt bad for the pain, she'd put everyone through and guilt that we'd both been away from Scorpius so long it felt good to have a little time to just talk. She kept saying she couldn't remember exactly what happened after I was taken away, but I got the impression that something about that night was bothering her. I wanted to wait to ask her once she was better. Our argument was well in the past now, she had forgiven me for lying to her and hurting her although I knew the memories remained I could only hope that our new memories would over shadow the pain I'd put her through. We'd decided to take things slow and really get to know each other and put the past behind us but I couldn't help thinking she was the one for me.

She was sitting up reading as we strolled in. She looked very much in her element.

"Morning beautiful, what're you reading?" I asked casually as Aiden checked her bandages as always. He'd start work right after this and check on us every so often to see if we needed anything.

"It's a new book, its only just been published, Harley gave me it. It's called The Fruit bowl and its absolutely brilliant so far, it's been a while since I've sat down and read a good fiction book." I laughed as I sat down next to her and watched the pure joy in her eyes as she finished her chapter before putting her book down.

"I can't tell you what's happening, but you have to read it once I'm done." She said excitedly before looking across to Aiden to get her daily update.

"You're doing much better Hermione, the burns are healing incredibly well and Harley thinks you're ready for a walk today. Take it easy and if either of you need anything don't be afraid to shout. I'll be in my office, see you in a little bit guys." He said smiling as he walked out of the room.

"Thanks Aid, see you in a bit." I replied earning a shocked look from Hermione. I raised my eyebrows at her smirking.

"I never thought you'd get so close to them so quickly." She said softly before blushing slightly at her own thought.

"Neither did I. They're pretty cool, I'm glad I've met them. Anyway enough about me what about this walk?" I replied quickly, changing the subject and watching as Hermione looked away slightly.

"I'm a little nervous. I've not been moving really. What if I'm not strong enough?" She admitted at last looking at her hands to avoid my eyes. I sighed and took her hand softly.

"You're the strongest woman I know and I'll be here every step of the way." I replied trying to comfort her. She visibly relaxed and I could see she was calming herself down.

"You're right I'm being silly. Help me up?" She said softly. Taking her arm and being careful not to pull to hard on it I helped her to swing her legs off the bed and carefully position herself to stand. She looked unstable and unsure as she stood for the first time on her weak legs but leaning on me she managed a few steps quite quickly.

"I really didn't think I'd get to this point again." She said breathlessly, trying to stop herself from crying.

"A week ago I thought I'd lost you. I'm so grateful for every breath you take." Hermione laughed as she continued to move slowly.

"I've got this." She muttered to herself quietly reassuring herself far more than me.

The day had come for us to say goodbye to Aiden and Harley. Hermione had gained enough strength that we could travel back to Hogwarts, or home as we had told Harley and Aiden, I felt a little bad that we couldn't share something so basic about our lives with them but I knew we couldn't tell them.

"Thank you so much for everything." I said as we both made it to the door.

"Promise me you'll keep us updated on how the recovery goes." Harley said hugging Hermione gently and earning a slight wince.

"Of course, I'll write letters to you and hopefully come along to visit again soon." Hermione replied without missing a beat.

"…and we'll go for that drink in a few weeks Aiden." I added making both girls roll their eyes and Aiden smirked eagerly. Saying our final goodbyes we left the house and got far enough away before apparating to the edge of Hogwarts grounds.

"You know this is going to be crazy once we go inside don't you?" I asked taking Hermione's hand as she looked across at me, slightly pale from the apparition.

"I wouldn't expect anything else. I just want to hold my son again." She replied looking up at Hogwarts where we knew the world would be crazy. Once everyone heard about Hermione the whole school would be talking and right now she just needed time to fully recover.

"I'm just glad to be bringing him his family again." I replied ready to face the music with the love of my life. Little did i know, she was hiding a secret that had the power to rip us all apart forever.

Sorry it's been so long guys! Work has been crazy for a few weeks and it's been hard to find a moment to write! Hopefully more coming soon and I'm so grateful for everyone reading! xoxo