Hermione's POV

When Draco had finally kicked everyone out of the house, I stood over the crib watching little Kalili. I know a new born shouldn't sleep alone yet, but I had things that needed to be done, and Draco and I couldn't hold her the entire time. I made a mental note to get a bassinet for her as I walked down the stairs, keeping her door open so I could hear her if she cried.

Draco had already started cleaning the mess that the Weasley clan had drug in, and I got started and tackled the kitchen. I made my shelves a bit bigger so I can fit more into them, moving all of my dishes together more so that I could have a full cabinet for nothing but my potions and potions supplies.

Two hours later I heard Kalili begin to fuss and I looked over at Draco. "Tomorrow, I need you to go to the store and get a bassinet for her so we can have something downstairs to lay her in." I said as I walked up the stairs to take care of her. Draco and I both decided on her middle name being Emma. Now that I was used to the idea of having her, I wanted to restore my mother's memories and go see her. But they've built a life for themselves without me in Australia, and I had no right to impose. Plus...My mother had a child on the way. She isn't ready to be a grandmother yet.

I knew Draco wanted me to have them back in my life. But I also knew that he realized what that would mean for everyone, so he didn't say anything. When I had Kalili settled down again, I went downstairs to talk to him. He looked up from the book he had been reading and sat it down, knowing the look on my face.

"Can you ever forgive, and accept what I did to myself for months before you came to me?" I asked quietly, terrified at the answer.

"I already have. You accept that I have a Dark Mark on my arm, you see it as nothing more than discolored skin. The scars on your body, to me? They are proof that you have survived through hell, that you have pushed on, that you are brave, but that you have your own imperfections. You have your doubts, as does everyone. You are human Hermione. And as long as you remember that you are loved, by me, by Potter, by all of the Weasley's, and by Kalili, you will be fine. And trust me when I say this, you are very, very loved. Especially by me."

I fell to my knees in front of him when he finished speaking. I threw my arms around him, laying my face on his lap, and crying every bit of tension I had out of me. He just sat there with his fingers sifting through my hair, a look of complete adoration in his eyes.

"Draco?" I asked, and he looked down at me. "I want to not be afraid anymore," I whispered. "I want us to be together... I want you to be mine, and I want to be yours." I looked up at him at this. He was smiling at me.

"If I had known it would take a baby to make you feel like this, I would have adopted one for you a long time ago," he whispered. I knew I would never be able to have children, and he did too. But the simple fact that I had Kalili was a miracle, to say the least. Even if I didn't carry her, even if I didn't give birth to her, she was mine. And she was just as much Draco's as she was mine. We would take everything in stride. But I knew what I wanted at that moment, and he was sitting right in front of me, stroking my hair, and showing me just by simply being here that he loved me.

I reached up to kiss him, and I held his face in my hands as I gently held him prisoner. "I want you, Draco," I whispered into his lips. And I was telling the truth. I wanted him in more ways than one. I wanted to claim him as mine at that moment. And he seemed to feel the same way because his strong arms came around me, and lifted me onto his lap, with my legs on either side of him. The kiss became more eager as I was met with no resistance. So far, Kalili slept for two hours at a time, so we wouldn't have a lot of time, but a lot can happen in two hours, and I was going to make this work.

I ran my hands down his chest, pulling the shirt from where it was tucked into his pants, and unbuttoned it carefully, making sure my skin brushed against his periodically. When I removed his shirt completely, I touched him, stroked his skin, and scratched every inch I could, as he growled and moaned against my lips. He moved away briefly, but began to suckle, and bite against my shoulder, kissing wherever he bit me as a way to sooth the now sensitive skin. I felt him grow and strain underneath me, and I gave a purposeful rocking movement against him, that made him pull his head back and hiss in sheer need.

When he got tired of me simply rubbing against him he lifted me in his arms and carried me up the stairs, making sure to keep the door cracked so we could hear Kalili in the other room. When he laid me down on the bed, he began working my shirt off over my head, and growled when there was a bra blocking his way. But that didn't last much longer when he discovered the clasp was in the front. He kissed me anywhere he could reach, and he latched onto one of my breasts, while caressing the other with his hand. He trailed his hand across my arm where one of my many scars had been, but as he formed letters, I realized that he was tracing "loved" onto my skin. The small gesture made me tremble as I lowered my hands and attacked the front of his pants, and soon we had both managed to get rid of each other's clothing. When he lowered himself onto me, he whispered into my ear, asking if I truly wanted it, and I kissed him in return, assuring him that yes, I really did want this. I needed this, and as I spoke, he pushed inside until he couldn't anymore. I gasped as I leaned my head back into my pillows, getting used to feeling him there after having not had anyone there in a year. I squeezed myself around him, and that encouraged him to move. He was slow at first, almost unsure. But he soon became more confident, and picked up his pace. He was amazing at what he was doing to me. He held me around my back with one arm, lifting me to meet his every thrust, making everything around me go fuzzy. He made sure that his lips never left me, whether they were on my lips, my shoulder, my breast, it didn't matter. They never left my skin. His body against mine was like pure magic, and I couldn't remember ever feeling so good, so completely at ease with someone. He didn't expect anything from me, and if he did, he guided me to it, and made me confident about what I did back to him, I begged him to do things when I found I couldn't get enough. And I had to fight myself not to cry out when he started slamming himself into me.

When I felt my stomach swirl around, and tighten, telling me I was almost over the edge, he bit me hard, on the shoulder right as he slammed into me a final time, and I screamed for him. And when he heard me signal my release, he detonated inside of me, nearly collapsing on top of me, but making sure to roll us both over so that I was curled up into his side.