A/N: I do not own anything that is recognisable from the HP fanfiction so please don't sue me!
Draco Malfoy had never been one to be interested in marriage. His parents had been trying to set him up with witches since before he could even talk, and then there was the war, he was definitely sure then that no one would want to marry him, so no, he had never considered the fact that not only would he indeed get married, but that he would also be a widower by the age of 26. He had met his late wife Astoria when he been forced to return to Hogwarts to complete his final year. His role in the war certainly didn't put him at the top of the popularity list, and even friends he had since childhood turned his back on him but the one person who never treated him in any way but as a fellow human being was Astoria. Their romance had been slow to start, neither one really believing that they were worthy of love. It was a year after Astoria graduated that the couple moved in to his flat together. A penthouse apartment on the top floor of a magical hotel in London, it would be three years before the couple would marry and move into a small muggle village in West Sussex. A farmhouse hidden on the outskirts of the village, surrounded by acres of woodland and fields. It was their dream house to raise a family in, however it seemed that life had other plans for the couple. They had been delighted to learn that Astoria was pregnant with their first child a year to the date after their wedding. However, the pregnancy activated an ancestral blood curse that had laid dormant within her, the pregnancy was hard on Astoria who despite becoming deathly unwell delivered two healthy babies, Elladora Astoria Malfoy and Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy. For a few months after the twins' birth, Astoria's condition improved slightly but the improvement did not last for long. Two weeks after the twins first birthday, Astoria passed away leaving Draco to not only navigate the world alone but also parenthood. Two and a half years had passed and Draco still thought of Astoria often, he saw her in the way Scorpius scrunched up his nose and in Elladora's love for the stars. The farmhouse he still lived in felt too large at times, Astoria had wanted what she quoted as a "small army" of children and the house was chosen because it could accommodate that. These days thought the family used only the first two floors, the top floor remaining untouched and very much un lived in.
Draco sighed to himself as he walked in to the large playroom downstairs, the twins were bickering over a plastic dragon that Elladora was holding as he approached.
"Hey, hey, enough fighting, we've got to get ready to go to the shops." Draco said as he lifted Elladora to her feet and took the dragon out of her hands.
"No shop!" Scorpius protested. He was about to make a run for it but Draco managed to grab the boy's robes in time to stop the escape.
"Unfortunately, Scorp, I can't avoid it any longer so yes, shop." He told the child. He checked over both the children's appearance before he led them in to the sitting room, the only room in the farmhouse apart from his office that was connected to the floo network.
As the young family stepped in to the fireplace Draco reminded the children to hold on to him as they travelled, he knew that Elladora would obey but Scorpius was known to be sneaky and try to let go. He gave Scorpius one final warning not to let go before he summoned the floor powder and announced his destination.
For a Saturday afternoon, the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley was quiet compared to the hustle and bustle of the back to school crowds that flooded the street in the month leading up to September. Draco was thankful for the quietness, not because he was ashamed of who he was, no, he'd gotten over that years ago, his hesitancy about goes out was more due the embarrassment his two children usually caused wherever they went.
With a child holding a hand each, Draco hurried out if the floor arrival area and towards the potions supply store. He tried to ignore the bickering of his children. Moving with toddlers was slow and they constantly had to stop for either one of the children to point at something or pick something up off the ground or to argue about why one of them has a stone and the other one doesn't. Eventually they reach the potions supply store and after he gave the children a brief behave yourselves warning, they entered the shop. As soon as Draco's back was turned the children were off running up and down the aisle.
"Children please, come here." Draco asked, turning round to once again pull Scorpius back by his robes with his free hand. "Don't make me use a sticking charm to stick you to me so you cannot run off." He warned the child before he let go. This time to Draco's delight, Scorpius stayed beside his father and the two children helped Draco collect the rest of the ingredients he needed and take them to the counter.
"Good morning Mr Malfoy." The shop keeper greeted. "I see you have your hands full." He nodded towards the children who were stood next to Draco, whispering between themselves. Draco nodded and ran a hand through his hair. The shop keepers statement seemed like an understatement. He paid for his goods and led the children back outside where Scorpius straight away took off down the cobbled street. Draco cursed under his breath as he took Elladora's hand and started to chase after his son which didn't take long.
"I've told you Scorpius Malfoy, stop running off!" He lectured the child as he pulled him towards the book store. Elladora skipped happily along a few steps in front of him but Scorpius, who was not happy about being told off dragged his feet which caused Draco to just pick him up and carry him. He wanted this outing to be over as soon as possible.
Once inside the bookshop, Draco placed Scorpius back down but kept hold of his hand. They greeted one of the members of staff who smiled fondly at the children, to which Scorpius responded to by hissing at her. Draco felt the warmth rise in his cheeks as he mumbled an apology and hurried to find the book he needed. Elladora giggled at her brother but hid her giggles behind her hand.
"Scorp, please don't hiss at people." He said to his son who looked at him briefly before looking away again. There were rumours about the children's heritage and Scorpius going around and hissing at people certainly did not help. "Elladora don't encourage him." He added. Elladora dropped her hand from her mouth and walked ahead of him a few paces.
"Daddy, drink?" She asked as Draco collected a book from the shelf and guided them towards the till. Draco smiled at her, at told her that they just needed to go to the bank and then they would stop for a drink before going home. This seemed to be adequate for the child who just nodded at him. He paid for the books that Draco needed and guided the two young ones out of the shop, thankfully without Scorpius hissing at anyone.
After a painful visit to Gringotts bank, where Scorpius had run off and been captured by a Goblin who was not pleased about the child's behaviour and made no effort to hide it as he yelled at Draco in the main foyer of the bank and then proceeded to kick them all out of the bank before Draco had even had the chance to do what he needed to do. He decided that it was enough now and guided the two children into the Leaky Cauldron so they could stop for a drink.
He sat the two children next to each other in an empty booth by the large wonky windows and instantly the children started to bicker and hit at each other so Draco told them off and swapped with Elladora so that they two children were separated by the table. After a debate between him and Scorpius about the fact that no, the three year old couldn't have a butterbeer and by the time the waitress came to take their order he abandoned the idea of cold beer and ordered three apple juices and a portion of chips for the children. The waitress smiled at him sympathetically as he had to move the salt and pepper out of Scorpius' reach before he could pour the entire context of the jars onto the table. Draco returned the smile and off she went to put in their order. Draco turned his attention to the children, he produced three toy dragons from his pocket and they were happily playing away when their drinks and chips turned up.
"But me have lellow straw." Scorpius whined as his sister happily drank from the glass of apple juice with the yellow straw whereas he had the glass of juice that had a red straw. Draco charmed the straw to yellow which apparently wasn't good enough because the young boy threw his head back and let out an almighty scream before he started to dramatically cry and whine about how he wanted the real yellow straw. Draco tried to soothe the child and asked Elladora if Scorpius could have her straw and she could have the other yellow one, to which she happily passed hers over and accepted the one Draco was offering her.
"There, Scorpius Elladora has let you have the real yellow straw." Draco tried to gain the attention of his crying child, but it was no use, Scorpius just cried harder and started to kick the table in front of him. Draco had had enough and instead of pandering to the boy further he picked the child up and instructed Elladora to pack up her things. Scorpius continued to kick and scream under Draco's arm as he left a handful of galleons on the table and ushered his daughter towards the exit.
Hermione Granger stood leaning against one of the kitchen counters with her steaming cup of coffee held tightly in her hands. With her eyes closed for a moment she took a moment to just enjoy the brief moment where she was alone. She could hear the chatter of her children from the living room. They had woken her up at 4:30 in the morning and it was now 7:30 and Hermione was already beyond exhausted. She had been thankful when Ginny had padded downstairs and offered to sit with them for a while.
Hermione and her twin children, Rose and Ruben, had been living in with Harry and Ginny Potter for just over a year now, after Ron was killed in an aura battle with escaped Death Eaters, Hermione found that she just couldn't cope living in the home they had shared so happily for so many years on her own and had moved in with her best friend and sister-in-law. Hermione knew that the time would come where she would have to consider getting another place of her own as this stay was only ever meant to be a temporary one but for now she tried to push the worries about living on her own with the children out of her mind. She would worry about that when the time came, or at least that's what she would try to convince herself.
"Mama, I'm hungry!" Her five-year-old son informed her as he wandered into the kitchen. Ruben reminded Hermione of Ron so much, from his looks to his never ending appetite he was a carbon copy of his late father. She smiled at the young boy as she placed her coffee cup behind her on the counter.
"Well seeing as Auntie Ginny is awake now I suppose we should have breakfast." She said. Ruben cried out in delight before he turned and ran back into the living room, proudly announcing that mama was cooking breakfast.
An hour later, Ginny, Hermione and the two children were dressed and ready to head into Diagon Alley. Hermione smiled at the two children as Rose took her hand and Ruben took Ginny's hands. Both of the children loved travelling by flew and were chattering with excitement and bounced on their toes. Hermione and Rose stepped in to the fire place first.
"Can I drop the powder please mummy?" Rose asked as she stared at her mother hopefully. Hermione nodded and let the girl take a handful of powder. She counted to three and then firmly called out their destination. Green smoke burst up around them and soon the sensation of falling hit them. They whizzed through the circling tunnels until they slid out of the chimney in the alley behind the main street of Diagon Alley. They quickly stepped out of the way and Hermione was brushing soot off of Rose's shoulders when Ginny and Ruben joined them. The quarter started to walk towards the main alley with the two children discussing their travel through the floo system whilst Hermione made a mental list of what she wanted to achieve.
The group had just been to the twin's joke shop and poor Ginny was left carrying the large amount of bags.
"You could shrink then down you know." Hermione pointed out to Ginny as they made their way towards the Leaky Cauldron for some well earned lunch.
"I know that but then it doesn't feel like we've been shopping if we don't have the bags." Ginny explained as she heaved the bags through the door to the pub turned restaurant. They sat themselves down at an empty table, Rose instantly asking for one of the new books she had been purchased. A basic phonics books with pictures. Hermione chuckled as Ginny handed it over, as much as Ruben reminded her of Ron, Rose reminded her of herself. Quiet and introverted, even at the age of 5 she was very interested in books and drawing, she was hesitant about anything that could be deemed dangerous and could chatter away for England.
"Mummy we have milkshake please?" Ruben asked from behind an upside down menu. He was all about being a big boy and doing things for himself at the moment.
"oh please mummy! Can we have milkshakes?" Rose asked as she lifted her head fro, the book she was looking at. Hermione smiled at them, they had been really good whilst out and about today so she nodded.
"Sure, let's have milkshakes." She agreed. The twins grinned back at her and excitedly thanked her before starting to debate what flavour milkshake they would have. A decision that was taken very seriously by not only the children but Ginny too. Hermione chuckled at her sister-in-law, Ginny got on well with the kids because at heart, she was still one herself.
When the waitress came to take their order both Rose and Ruben opted for chocolate milkshakes and when arrived a short while later both the children's eyes lit up. The milkshakes were in tall glasses with straws that were almost as big as the children's heads.
"woah!" Ruben exclaimed as his was levitated in front of him. Similar remarks were expressed by his sister when hers arrived in front of her. As the children slumped away at their milkshakes and the adults commenced small talk, a loud cry interrupted the room. A young boy was having an almighty temper tantrum over at a table on the other side of the room.
"It's Draco Malfoy's child." Ginny informed her, from where she was sat she could see over Hermione's shoulder towards the other side of the pub.
"Why is that boy crying?" Rose asked, she was sat next to Ginny and watched the boy with a concerned expression on her face.
"I don't know sweetheart, just try not to stare okay?" Hermione replied, she was desperately resisting the urge to turn around. Having been the parent who had to deal with public meltdowns from a toddler she knew the embarrassment it brought but it was Draco Malfoy out in public, he was known to be very much reclusive since the death of his wife, something she also knew a bit about. However, curiosity got the better of her and quickly glanced over her shoulder to see Malfoy pick up the crying toddler under one arm and guide the other one out with the other hand. Hermione turned back to Ginny; she had this strange urge to follow him but she tried to swallow it down.
"That's not the first time that's happened, Fred told me the other day that so and so has barred the children from his shop." Ginny gossiped and had opened her mouth to say more but Hermione had risen to her feet. The urge to follow the single father had won.
"Can you watch the kids for a minute?" She asked a confused looking Ginny who nodded and mumbled an agreement but didn't have much time to question anything because Hermione had taken off towards the door.
She saw Draco across the other side of the cobbles kneeling in front of his children who were both crying now. She stood back for a moment as she watched him distract the children's attention with a dragon he had charmed to fly around them. She had heard through gossip and whispering that he was a devoted father and very much a changed man but seeing it for herself felt different. If being a parent wasn't enough to change someone then being a grieving single parent surely was.
"Did you want something Granger?" Malfoy's tone was harsh and snapped Hermione fro, her thoughts. He turned to face her before he quickly realised his mistake and grabbed out for Scorpius' robes just as he was about to run.
"I... well..." She stammered with her words for a moment. "I thought you might have needed some help." She managed to admit at last. Her heart rate doubled and she could feel that her palms had started to sweat. His stated at her, his expression unreadable as he surveyed her. It was only then she realised that she hadn't made an effort that morning so her hair was more unruly than it usually was when she was out in public, her clothes were old and her jumper even had a hole in the elbow. She'd also not charmed her face so she probably had bags under her eyes and the odd pimple. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have intruded." She apologised and started to turn away, whatever confidence that had brought her out here had well and truly vanished and she was already mentally reprimanding herself for even considering the idea.
"No... Granger wait!" Malfoy called out to her. She stopped and turned back to him, her heart hammering even faster than it was before, something she wasn't even sure was possible. "I would be lying if I didn't admit that I need help." He admitted quietly. Hermione's heart started to slow down.
"Owl me." She said after a few moments of silence. "I am staying with the Potter's at the moment, do you have their address?" She asked, she was sure that she had seen Harry correspond with Malfoy before but she didn't want to just assume. Draco nodded.
"This is Scorpius." Malfoy introduced the young boy who was standing just in front of him. A spitting image of his father with his white blonde hair and grey eyes. "And this is Elladora." He ruffled the curls of his daughter who was clung to his leg, her grey eyes peered at Hermione nervously. Hermione smiled at the two children and then at Draco, she found that her nerves were quickly dissolving as she greeted the twins.
"I better get back to Ginny and the kids but please do owl me and we can organise a play date." She encouraged Draco who ensured that he would before he ushered the children away and left Hermione walking back to the pub more than a little confused.
A/N: So there you have it, a new fic! I used to write and publish fics under the screen name mellysaurus however because it's been years I have lost access to that account and therefore have started a fresh. So welcome, this isn't going to be a long story, just a little fluffy, lovey dovey, happily ever after fic. Anyway, feel free to leave a review and DFTBA.