"Draco? What is that supposed to mean? Indefinite leave?"

Ignoring the confusion in Astoria's voice as she came storming into his office on late Monday morning, his official note in her hands, he continued packing the items on his office desk into the box with quick swishes of his wand. Hearing them crash on top of the rest of his personal effects in the box was a surprisingly satisfying sound.

"Draco, please. What's going on?" Astoria now stood in front of his desk, leaning forward to gain his attention. "You know I'm going to need an explanation for your father–"

"He is the reason." He chuckled bitterly but didn't stop collecting his things, now summoning things from the shelves around them. "I need to take care of my own family right now."

"You're not making any sense. Is your daughter okay?"

With a sigh, Draco let the last items fall into the box before he placed the lid on it. Only now did he look up to face Astoria with a grim smile. "My daughters are okay..."

"Daughters? Honestly, what's going on?"

He sent her another glare because he really wasn't in the mood to explain the situation to her, even though she was the head of the Human Resources Department of his family business. "Yes, daughters. Hermione and I have twin daughters, and they didn't know about the other until recently."

"Fine," she replied dismissively and straightened again. "I'll sign it, even though I'm not at all satisfied with your answer. Just keep me updated about everything, and take your time to sort out whatever problems you have right now."

"Thanks."

"I figure dinner tomorrow with Blaise and Daphne is cancelled then?"

He took the box under his arm before he nodded, relieved to be able to leave this place for the foreseeable future. The fight with his father made it clear that he needed to sort his priorities, and right now, his own small family was more important than his position in his father's business. "Yes, sorry."

She followed him as he walked around his desk towards the office door. "We'll survive for once without you, although Blaise might be a tad disappointed. He hates having to listen to any discussion about wedding preparations."

"He's the groom..." Draco smiled briefly as he stepped out of his office to walk up to the official office Floo exit.

"Right?" Astoria closed the door behind them. "Or you could bring Hermione along if she is up for it–"

"I don't think it's a good idea right now, but thanks for the offer."

"Alright," Astoria said with another smile, placing her hands on her waist, still holding his note. "Let me know when the situation changes."

"I will." He nodded, hoisting the box into a more comfortable position before turning around to walk off.

..

Except for a quick Floo call to the Potter house in the evening, Draco decided to give Hermione some space to calm down, though he did want to keep his promise to take their daughters to the Summer Fair.

He was surprised to see Hermione at the door the next day when he arrived at the Potter house to pick up the girls. His surprised expression immediately softened into a smile. "Hi... I didn't expect–"

"Me?" She looked tired, but she couldn't hide the smirk that curled up her lips as she stepped aside to let him in. "You didn't mention anything yesterday during your call, but how did it go with your father?"

"Honestly? It was terrible. But it has been brewing for a long time..." He sighed, rubbing his neck. "I'm really sorry for everything–"

"It's okay. I'm not mad at you." Beckoning him to follow her, Hermione guided him to the living room, where he could the see the glass doors opened wide onto the terrace; children's laughter was coming through, adding to the summer feeling of the day.

"You know, my mother moved out of their bedroom that evening. I've never seen my father plead so desperately with her."

In the middle of the living room, Hermione turned to him with eyes wide in surprise; her lips started to curl up in a grin until she couldn't hold back her laughter any longer. "My... My mum used to do that too with my father when he pissed her off."

He found her laughter a relief, momentarily easing his doubts. Chuckling, he opened his arms to offer a hug. "So, we're okay?"

Still grinning, she wrapped her arms around his neck and nodded. "I was just shocked that day, that's all."

"Thanks." He couldn't resist her being so close, so he pressed his lips to hers for a short and heartfelt kiss. He missed her the day before. His heart skipped a beat when she responded by slowly parting her lips. It was enticing, but after a few seconds he pulled away again, once more completely smitten.

"Dad!" Iris was at the door, a huge grin splayed on her face. "There you are..."

As Hermione let go of him, Draco turned around to greet their daughter with a quick hug. "Are you ready for the Fair? And where's your sister?"

"Harry was telling us a story about when you went to school together," Iris replied. "Mum kicked his arse quite a bit, right?"

After an amused nod, Hermione stepped outside. "I'll tell them to finish..."

"Harry and I used to play Quidditch too when we were at Hogwarts–"

"You did? I want to be a Chaser when I grow up, just like Ginny!"

"Ginny is great!" Eleanor finally joined them, waving at him with an excited grin. "But nobody can beat us..."

Draco chuckled lightly at the bold statement before nodding towards the door. "Ready to have some fun and spend some money? Give your mother a break?"

"YES!"

..

"Now, ladies," Draco said with an amused smirk when they arrived at the fair a short while later. "Let's have some fun, but don't embarrass me too much, okay?"

"Dad..." Eleanor rolled her eyes briefly and mocked him with a sigh, to the amusement of her sister. "We know how to behave around Muggles, honestly!"

"And we know how to count their money," Iris added, grinning. She looked as ready to enter the fair as her sister, with the same mischievous intent on her face. They planned to try out everything they came across and to get on every ride.

Hermione had once taught him the delights of the Muggle world, inadvertently broadening his horizons in the process. Raising Eleanor, he had tried his best to instill the same interest in and respect for her mother's heritage as Hermione would have; given how much she loved the Summer Fair and going into Muggle London, he seemed to have succeeded.

"Dad, can we go to Old Louise first?" Eleanor asked as they entered the area of the fair, looking around at the stands and the people walking between them. "She didn't have any chocolate ice cream left last year and I don't want to miss it again!"

"Yes, please!"

Draco didn't mind being essentially dragged to the ice cream stand by his daughters, as Old Louise's homemade ice cream was some of the best he had ever tried. And given his own sweet tooth, he had eaten his fair share of ice cream on holidays, yet no one had ever beaten the old lady.

"Mr Malfoy!" Louise greeted them with a smile and a wave from behind her stand as she finished serving a customer. "And... I think I need new glasses, or else I'm seeing double–"

"Do you have chocolate today?" Eleanor asked, excited as she checked out the offered tastes and pointing out a few she knew already to Iris. The girls completely ignored what Louise must be thinking seeing them together; she had only ever known there to be one Malfoy daughter.

"Neither, Ms Louise." Draco couldn't help but chuckle at the confusion in the old lady's expression as she looked at the girls and then at him. "It's a bit of a long story, but Eleanor has a twin sister who lived in Paris with their mother until now..."

"They look so alike–"

"Yay! You have chocolate!" Eleanor jumped up and down, pointing at her choice. "Two big scoops, please, Ms Louise!"

Iris had another good look at the different tastes on offer before she joined her sister in her excitement. "Yes, for me too, please."

"Make it three, Ms Louise, but a cup for me, please," Draco added, already searching for the wallet with the Muggle money he had brought along, smiling when his daughters received their respective waffle cones loaded with chocolate ice cream.

"Thank you, Ms Louise!" Iris and Eleanor replied in unison before finally having their first eagerly awaited lick, which was closely followed by delighted moans.

"You so have to try Ernestine's ice cream too," Iris said before she continued, "she makes the best red currant ice cream in the whole of Paris!"

"I know!" Eleanor replied with a grin. "I had some the day that Mum found out we switched."

"There you are, Mr Malfoy," Louise said as she handed him his cup with two scoops of chocolate ice cream. He handed her the money owed in return. "Lovely girls you have..."

..

An hour later, Draco was tempted to cast a small Cooling Charm on himself as drops of sweat ran down his neck and back. Iris and Eleanor hadn't slowed down as they explored every single stand.

Right now, he would have preferred to spend the day at the pool—either his own or the one at Potter's house— watching his girls swim as Hermione lounged on a pool chair next to him. He couldn't help but smile broadly as the image of her in her bathing suit flashed through his mind.

Never a bikini, but, damn, she had always looked good in those high-cut black suits, showing off her legs.

"Looks like Dad needs a break," Iris said with an amused giggle as she and her sister returned from a stand that had a collection of gems and other handmade jewellery on display.

"He's probably thinking about Mum," Eleanor replied as they arrived in front of him. "Same stupid grin as Mum had on Sunday morning, remember?"

"Hey!" Draco replied with mocked insult to their amusement. "But yes, a break would be nice. Did you find something nice at the stand?"

Eleanor shook her head. "The lady told us to go away when Iris started to tell her that she has the uses for those quartzes wrong–"

"Heavens..." Now Draco let out an earnest sigh and briefly brushed his hair back. "Let's sit down and have a drink. I definitely need one now."

"Did you really think about Mum when we came back?" Eleanor asked as they walked over to the closest stand that served drinks. "I mean you never told me anything about her before–"

"Maman never said anything either; but she has a crumpled half of a picture in her nightstand."

"Just like Dad." Eleanor claimed the first unoccupied shaded table that they passed, clapping her hands when she saw that it was next to another of her favourite stands. "George has some great lemonade! You have to try it!"

Moments later, they all had a glass of lemonade in front of them, decorated with a straw and a slice of lemon. Though he found it a bit too sweet, Draco still enjoyed the refreshing hint of sour taste on his tongue, while the girls made the funniest faces as they slurped their drinks down.

"Dad? Can we ask you something?" Eleanor said, sounding surprisingly apprehensive as she shared a look with her sister. "We thought about asking Mum, but then we didn't want to upset her again..."

"What do you want to know?" Putting his drink back on the table, he straightened up in his seat, trying to put on what he hoped was an inviting smile.

"Why does Grandpa hate her?"

"Yes! Why did he say that Maman is beneath you?"

Draco took a deep breath to ease the sting in his heart, faced with their questions. "It's not easy to explain–"

"Dad, please!" Iris begged, leaning closer with her big brown eyes.

"Alright," Draco conceded, leaning back. "You know how proud your grandfather is about coming from a pureblood wizarding line. Every man in the Malfoy family before us has married a girl from one of the other pureblood families, like the Parkinsons, or the Greengrasses..."

"And Mum is not a pureblood," Iris mentioned with a faint smile before taking another drink.

"No, your mother is not a pureblood. Her parents were Muggles–"

"Yes, we visited them once in Australia! They have a house at the beach— that was fun!"

Draco smiled, reaching for his drink. "So, your mother and I dated for a few years after we graduated from Hogwarts; we even lived together."

"Did you love her?"

He nodded, pulling the straw into his mouth for a long, slow sip to gain a few seconds. "Very much. But then Grandpa didn't like that I asked her to marry me when she got pregnant with you. We tried to ignore him and married in Scotland, with just our closest friends and her parents. You should have seen her in her dress... She looked beautiful, glowing, and she couldn't stop smiling through the ceremony. We were both happy that day."

"What happened then? Did you hurt Maman?"

"In a way, yes." He had another sip from his drink, hoping to ease the knot in his throat. All the questions were bringing back the memories of the fights he had with Hermione when everything started to go downhill in their short-lived marriage. "Grandpa treated her badly, because for him she wasn't refined enough. She didn't have the right upbringing or the right manners. After you were born it became even worse, and I wasn't there to protect her. And one day, she had enough. So she left."

"Why... Why didn't you help Maman?" Iris asked quietly after a few seconds of silence between them. "She never talked about it, but I'm sure she missed you."

A bitter chuckle escaped Draco, and he put his empty drink back on the table. "Maybe I wasn't brave enough back then to tell Grandpa to back off."

"And..." Eleanor sighed, leaning on her hand. "And why didn't she take both of us? Why did she leave me behind?"

"She loved you both to pieces, but..."

"I hate Grandpa!" Eleanor let out in an angry growl.

"Eleanor, don't say that!"

"Dad, please! He made Mum and Iris leave! And I know you missed her too, or you wouldn't keep that crumpled picture on your nightstand..."

"I know, I know." With a resigned sigh, Draco rubbed his face before brushing through his hair. "Look, Grandpa's ideas are outdated and he hurt a lot of people, but he only wanted the best for his family."

"Mum is family too–"

"I know, Eleanor," he interrupted her, now rather exasperated. She was a lot like her mother in that she was quick to anger with perceived injustices, but there was nothing he could do about it right now. "But I won't let her go again this time. Not like this."

With tears in her eyes, Iris got up from her seat to hug him, her arms tightly around his neck.

"Hey, everything okay?" Surprised, Draco pulled her into his lap, holding her tight as she let out a sob that was muffled by the shirt on his shoulder. "You're my daughter too, my dear. No one can take that away from us..."

Turning her head to the side, Iris nodded, opening her embrace when Eleanor joined them.

At that moment, holding both his beloved daughters tight in his arms, Draco felt grateful for their plan of switching places at the camp; they had brought the family back together. For the first time in a decade, his life felt complete.

"Do you..." Iris sighed, trying to cover a small hiccup. "Do you think Grandpa will ever change his opinion?"

Trying to find the right words, he placed a comforting kiss on Iris' head. "Don't worry about him, okay? We'll find a way. And knowing who your mother is friends with, you'll soon have more grandparents than you ever wished for..."

To Draco's relief, she smiled and sat up. "Harry's parents came over for dinner yesterday, they are cool."

"Yes! They teased him a lot about not having grandchildren yet, and then Mum allowed us to show James a few tricks on the brooms! Did you know that he was a Chaser too at Hogwarts?"

"I've seen the trophy in the cabinet, yes." After one last squeeze, he let his daughters climb off. "I'm sure you two will get your own trophies, although your mother might prefer you'd get them for good grades."

"Is it true that Mum was the best in your year?"

"She was, yes." With an amused smile, Draco nodded. "An annoying little know-it-all who beat me in every single test. Sometimes it was just a single point. But she was always better than me."

"But how did you become friends then if you didn't like her?" Iris asked, looking at him with great curiosity as she took her own seat again.

"When we were partnered in Potions we discovered that we were quite similar, so we started studying together— Harry never wanted to sit down with her." After straightening his shirt, he rose to his feet. "Now, how about we find a present for your mother, and then have dinner at my place? You could help me with the cooking..."

That brought the smile back on his daughters' faces, and they both nodded, joining him as he continued their stroll through the market.

"She likes jewellery, so we could find her a necklace," Iris mentioned as they passed the next stand, displaying food.

"Then let's find her a necklace..."

..

"So, you three had a nice afternoon at the Fair?" Hermione asked later that evening, leaning comfortably into Draco's side as they sat on his terrace after dinner. She was absent-mindedly playing with the necklace the girls had brought her back from the Fair.

Enjoying the quiet moment, he wrapped his arm around her, glad that their daughters had decided to go play in Eleanor's room. "They are a handful, but yes, it was a great afternoon... Did you relax a bit?"

"Nah, strolled through Diagon Alley and then through the rest of London, like a proper tourist." Her arm found its way around his back. "It was really nice not having to think about anything— just enjoying the moment and doing some shopping."

He kissed her temple, then let his lips wander down as far as he could reach, smiling when she purred lowly in response. "Would you like to stay over tonight? I do have a guest room that could be made ready–"

"I'd love to stay," she whispered with a content smile as she leaned her head back, reaching for his neck with her free hand to pull him down. "With you, in the same room."

"That sounds like a promise." A teasing smirk playing on his lips, he kissed her tentatively— an invitation— and she responded. He couldn't get enough of the feel of her soft lips or the way she let her tongue swirl around his; there was still a faint taste of the red wine they had for dinner, as rich and smooth as she was tonight.

The kiss slowly grew more intense, and Hermione shifted her position for better access, her hands on his upper body. She let out an approving moan when he finally pulled her on his lap.

He found the fervour with which she kissed him utterly enticing, and tonight, he was willing to give her everything she wanted and everything she needed. His hands on her bottom pulled her even closer as he kissed her just as fervently, playing with her tongue and sucking on her lip.

"No holding back tonight." Her words were only whispered against the skin on his jaw, as she started trailing his neck with hot kisses, yet they made Draco moan in anticipation.

"You-You're sure?"

She looked up, her eyes darkened but showing a teasing spark; she briefly licked her reddened lips as she nodded. "I'm sure you remember how to use those Silencing Charms."

He chuckled and let his hands run up her back to play with the ends of her hair. "Of course I do. Just... let's wait until the girls are officially in bed. You deserve my full attention."

"Hmm..." She nodded, grinning broadly as she leaned forward again for another round of kissing. "I remember what that means, my dear. And yes, I deserve it."

He laughed, swatting her back gently in response. "Gods, I missed you..."

"Missed you too." With that, she claimed his lips once more, as no more words were needed to express their feelings. Their presence right now was enough.