With Teddy in her arms, nuzzling into the crook of her neck, she set about preparing his bottle. The child in her arms snuffled twice, his tiny button nose wrinkling in the cutest way possible. His rosy lips were parted and his incredibly soft cheeks were glowing with health.
She couldn't look away. He was mesmerising. This human had been made by two of the bravest people she knew. This child in her arms would grow up one day. This boy would soon become a man and she had the honour of protecting him until he was strong enough to do so himself.
"You'll always be my favourite, Teddy," she whispered, kissing his forehead.
He gurgled happily, wrapping his chubby fingers around her index finger. A sudden pang of pain ripped through her as she looked down at him. The way his eyebrows were scrunched together, reminded her of the quizzical way Ron had looked at her when she started off on a tangent.
"Need help, kitten?" Sirius smooth voice asked from the doorway.
She didn't reply, trying to fight the sudden onslaught of tears. Her shoulders shook as she desperately tried to fill her lungs with air. She didn't understand. She thought she had been coping, but it felt as if the freshly healed wound had been ripped open again.
"Hermione?" Sirius probed, walking towards her and gently taking Teddy from her.
His grey eyes were wide with uncertainty and concern. She shook her head, still unable to reply. She felt dizzy and gripped the countertop she had been working at, her knuckles turning white. Tears fell from her eyes and dripped onto the cool tiles of the kitchen.
Holding Teddy in one arm, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his chest.
"Hush, it's going to be alright," he murmured helplessly.
Her breathing was too shallow and too quick as she tried to formulate words.
"I- I miss h-him," she gasped.
Sirius body relaxed slightly, suddenly understanding her sadness.
"I know, so do I," he replied.
"I miss his laugh, his stupid jokes, his red hair. I miss talking to him," she began, finally catching her breath.
"I know."
"I miss my friend."
"I know," he breathed.
And for a minute everything was indeed alright. She was standing in the kitchen in the arms of one of her dearest friends, her true love upstairs painting the room of their unborn child.
She was going to be fine. She had to be.
She shuffled through the papers on her desk, her movements becoming frantic.
"I can't find it, Harry," she exclaimed shrilly.
"Merlin, this isn't good, 'Mione," he replied anxiously.
Her heart was racing and her palms were sweating. She needed to find it.
"Look in the top drawer of my desk!" she commanded, whirling around and delving through a different box of papers.
Surrounded by the loud rustling of paper, she didn't hear Draco knocking.
"Hey Hermione, here's the- Merlin! What are you doing?" he inquired, his eyes raking over the myriad of papers littering the floor.
She felt the sudden urge to growl at him. She felt positively feral.
"We're looking for the list of baby names Hermione wrote for Remus," Harry began to explain.
"I found this beautiful girl's name and my stupid, pregnant brain forgot it!" she exclaimed, digging through another drawer of documents.
Draco gave the two of them a sceptical look, then sagged slightly.
"Fine, I'll help," he said reluctantly.
"Found it!" Harry yelled from the corner of her office, waving a crumpled sheet of paper triumphantly.
She yelped with relief, rushing towards him and hugging him exuberantly.
"Where was it?"
"In your coat pocket," he replied, stifling a laugh.
She exhaled loudly, snatching the piece of parchment from him.
"I could've sworn I already looked there..." she trailed off.
"So, I guess my help is no longer required," Malfoy said, smiling sheepishly.
"No, I guess not," Harry replied.
Hermione whacked his arm, and he hooted loudly. She turned towards the slender man before her.
"You wanted to ask me something," she said.
"Oh yeah, right," Draco began, unable to meet her gaze.
She grabbed her coat off the rack and gently slid the abused list back into her pocket. She wouldn't forget where she had put it. That would be too embarrassing.
"I wanted to give you the list of possible locations where Lucius could be hiding. From what I heard Neville got him pretty good, so he won't be moving around much at the moment," Draco explained.
She nodded gratefully, taking the parchment from him and placing it in the middle of her desk, where she wouldn't forget it.
"That's great, thanks. I'll send it to Kingsley, and maybe he'll finally give us the OK to start investigating those areas. However, before we do any of that, you're going to grab a butterbeer with Harry and me," she replied, taking hold of Harry's arm as well as Draco's.
"Oh, I wouldn't want to intrude-" he began but she slapped his arm lightly.
"Nonsense! We'd love for you to come," she replied airily.
Harry gave her a sceptical look, but she merely grinned at him.
"I'm having two pumpkin pies. I'm absolutely famished!" she exclaimed as they exited her demolished office.
"Two?" Harry asked incredulously as they enter the elevator.
"Don't judge me! I'm eating for two, now, aren't I?" she shot back, cradling her rounded belly protectively.
Draco smiled awkwardly.
"You look really... healthy, Hermione," he remarked tentatively.
Harry guffawed loudly and slapped Draco on the back in such a friendly manner that she was momentarily transported back to their years at Hogwarts...with Ron.
Draco blushed slightly, obviously embarrassed by his feeble attempt at a compliment. She, however, was touched by his new-found openness. She revelled in the idea of being friends with Draco Malfoy.
They left the Ministry and headed towards Diagon Alley. When they all had a mug of butterbeer in their hands, she stood to raise her drink towards the ceiling. She beamed down at the two men beneath her.
"To friends!" she cheered loudly, oblivious to the stares of the onlookers around them.
"To friends," they repeated weakly.
She sat back down, sighing contentedly. Draco took a sip of his beer, then looked up at her, a questioning already beginning to form on his tongue.
"Yes?" she asked.
"What was the name on the list you were so frantically searching for?"
She burst out laughing and retrieved the list once more, letting her finger skim the paper until she found the encircled name.
"Rhonda," she said, eyeing the five letters.
There was a short pause, and then it was Harry's turn to laugh. She joined in, throwing her head back and flashing her pearly teeth.
"It's hideous! What on earth was I thinking?" she gasped, clutching her sides.
Draco began to sputter and she looked at him worriedly. Then he, too, started to chuckle and she realised that it was the first time she had seen him genuinely happy.