Chapter 16: Interlude- Draco
When Draco arrived home late Saturday afternoon he was greeted by Effie who had a note from Hermione informing him that they had gone to her flat. He wasn't surprised. He hadn't expected her to hang around Malfoy Manor all day.
"They left to do some shopping," Effie informed him, clearly pleased beyond measure at this development. Draco felt a certain amount of guilt that he hadn't thought to warn his girlfriend that his elf would report everything to him, because this seemed like spying, and it wasn't that he didn't trust Hermione, Effie just considered this to be her duty because Hermione wasn't actually her mistress. "Miss Hermione is good for my Master and Little Master." She added, unintentionally adding to his guilt.
Effie's ears twitched hopefully at her pronouncement. He knew how much she wanted a proper family. Her reticence with Astoria should have been a major red flag from the beginning.
"She was okay when she left?"
Effie nodded eagerly. "I brought her breakfast. She is well."
"That was well done of you," he praised with a gentle hand on top of his beloved elf's head. "Please take the evening to do with as you wish, I will be out."
Effie narrowed her eyes at him, but nodded. She'd probably take the opportunity to give an extra polishing to the silver that absolutely didn't need it. He was very happy to soon be giving her, her own household. She would be thrilled, there simply wasn't enough for her to do at the Manor.
And with that he flooed into his girlfriend's flat expecting his son and girlfriend, but immediately did a double take. Because there was a woman who looked like an older, straight-haired version of said girlfriend seated on the floor with his son. Scorpius let out a happy sound when he appeared, but didn't move away from the blocks he was playing with. And for a split second he was worried about the stranger playing with his son, but then the woman smiled up at him and he knew immediately that she was no danger to either of therm.
"You must be Draco!" She stood up and extended her hand for him to shake.
"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage," he responded, though he was fairly certain he knew with whom he was speaking, he was unwilling to make a stupid assumption.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I'm Helen Granger, Hermione's mother."
Which was what he'd thought. He took her hand but instead of shaking it turned it over and kissed her knuckles, as he would any woman of his acquaintance. "It's a pleasure. Draco Malfoy, but I believe you already knew that."
She chuckled. It was an easy, gentle sound; not the tittering he was used to when he was introduced to a witch, even a witch old enough to be his mother.
"Yes, and now I see how you produced such a beautiful child," her smile was genuine but her eyes- blue as opposed to her daughter's brown- were playful.
"I could say the same about you," he immediately quipped in return.
She let out another laugh. "Well, thank you. But I don't believe you're here to see me. Hermione was just making us some tea, so she's in the kitchen if you wanted to speak with her," she explained, eyeing him knowingly. "Scorpius and I are fine here, if you are comfortable leaving him."
"Thank you," he said with a nod, and with a glance at Scorpius to make sure he was still okay he went off in search of his witch.
When he entered the kitchen her back was to him but instead of preparing tea she was scribbling furiously on a bit of parchment. She was wearing jeans- an item of clothing he was becoming increasingly fond of, which clung to the curves of her bum and hips, and a cranberry colored jumper with a wide neck which exposed one slender shoulder. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She startled.
"I'm sorry, did I scare you?" He kissed her neck.
She spun around, "Draco!" She exclaimed, a delighted smile on her face and he felt his heart jump at the sight. She went up on her toes and looped her arms around his neck before giving him a long, slow, kiss.
"Looks like you and Scorpius found something to occupy your time today," he said when she pulled away, tilting his head in the direction of her living room.
Her hand flew to her mouth. "You met my mum!" Her hand went from her mouth to cover her eyes and she groaned. "Did she say something to you?"
Draco tried not to laugh at her obvious mortification. "Just that she understood how I made such a good looking kid."
"Oh Merlin!" She groaned, "how embarrassing, I'm sorry!"
This time he did laugh. "You do realize that was a compliment, right? And it was one I easily returned."
"So bloody smooth," she murmured into his shoulder.
"What were you doing?" He glanced over her shoulder to see the parchment she had been writing on covered in arithmantic equations and he felt his eyes go wide in surprise. He knew that she was incredibly intelligent, but what he was looking at was...remarkable. But she didn't seem to think it was a big deal and just shrugged.
"Just an idea I had when we were shopping, I wanted to get it down before I forgot. I really am sorry about my mum, I was trying to get rid of her before you finished at work but she was definitely stalling, hoping to meet you."
"I don't mind, love. Do I get to meet your father soon too?" He worked his hand through her curls and rubbed her scalp soothingly, at least he hoped it was soothing, Scorpius seemed to like it. He smiled to himself when she leaned into his hand.
"Don't even joke about that, she'll be suggesting dinner tonight if she hears you."
"Is there a reason you don't want me to meet your parents?" He asked, feeling his humor fade away as he grew concerned.
"You mean besides the fact that they're sure to interrogate you and embarrass me?"
He barked out a surprised laugh. "Really, that's what you're worried about?!"
She tilted her chin and looked at him with panicked eyes. "Isn't that enough?!"
Draco could admit that meeting the parents wasn't really within his skill set, considering he'd never done it. He'd known Astoria's parents for years before they'd begun courting. And meeting the muggle parents of a girl he used to bully mercilessly was, in many ways, utterly terrifying. But he was mostly just so relieved that her only concern seemed to be they were going to embarrass her that he didn't even really think about his next words. "Let's have dinner then, I don't see any point in putting it off."
"Are you serious?" And the disbelief in her tone alerted him to the fact that this was a very good chance to prove to her that he was, in fact, very serious about her.
"Are they busy tonight?"
She pulled away from him so that she could fully view his face. "Oh, wow, you really are serious
aren't you?"
He just quirked an eyebrow in response.
"Well, I'll go ask Mum and if they're available then I can pop to their house and pick up my dad and then they can drive home together later. If it sounds good to you there's an Italian place within walking distance. We won't need a reservation and it's not too fancy for Scorpius, but it's really good."
"That sounds lovely."
She started to walk away but he snagged her hand and pulled her back to him. "Hi," he murmured, placing a sweet kiss on her lips.
"Oh Merlin! I'm sorry, Draco, you just have a way of flustering me!" She pulled him in for a deeper kiss. "How was your day, did everything get worked out okay?"
"Mmmm, yes," he hummed against her lips, " just a bunch of bureaucratic nonsense. I needed to talk to a few people personally, prove that I was serious."
She smirked up with him. "I'm the Assistant Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Lord Black," she teased, "don't tell me you did anything illegal, I'd be obliged to turn you in."
"Of course not," he smirked right back, "I just had to throw my weight around a little bit." He tossed her about in his arms demonstratively.
"Oh I forgot, you're very important and all of that."
"Don't forget again, Miss Granger," he chuckled. "You had fun with your Mum?"
She grinned at him. "We really did! I'll have to show you what I bought, it's all so adorable. And Mum is already more than half in love with Scorpius."
"Well that's easy to do."
"It is," she confirmed with a nod. "Not just him either," she said as she began to toy with his collar.
His breath caught "Hermione," he rasped out.
"I'm not ready to say it yet, but I thought you deserved to know that I'm getting there. That this morning wasn't a total fluke."
Draco pulled her fully against his chest. He wasn't ready for her to say it either, or to say it to her in return. But he knew that he would be, and probably sooner rather than later, and as he felt his entire being relax against her he realized how worried he'd been. It was wonderful to hear that they were on the same page.
She smiled up at him, it was tentative but bright and he had to close his eyes in the face of the force of his emotions. He felt her place a kiss on his jaw. "Let's go talk to Mum and if they're free I promise not to take too long long retrieving my dad while you face the firing squad."
"Firing squad?" He frowned, turning the ominous sounding but unfamiliar term over in his head.
"Oh," she paused, "that is a muggle thing, isn't it? It's a form of execution."
"Hermione!" He laughed, "Merlin witch, it couldn't possibly be that bad." He stepped back so that he could look at her seriously, cupping her face in one hand. "Your mother is not going to scare me off by asking questions, and given what she knows about our history, I'm sure she has some understandable concerns. That's fine. I may be rather new at it, but I'm a parent too, I get it."
She swallowed thickly but understanding dawned in her eyes so she just nodded and, taking his hand, led him into the living room.
Helen was so obviously thrilled with their plan that Draco had trouble not chuckling at her enthusiasm.
And, despite Hermione's reservations, when they were alone together while she did ask him questions, he didn't feel interrogated by the older woman. She was clearly curious about him, but again, he couldn't blame her for that. As little as a year before he may have felt differently, but becoming a father had changed him fundamentally.
She mostly enquired about his business and what he'd been doing all day and it was with a deep sense of satisfaction that he realized this woman didn't have any idea how wealthy he really was. Not that he would have cared if Hermione had told her, but the fact that she apparently hadn't, told him a lot about her motives and priorities. Not that he ever truly believed that Hermione was interested in him for his money, but the fact that she was so thoroughly uninterested was very refreshing.
And the thought of spoiling her rotten was deeply amusing to him. She wouldn't know what hit her.
Her father was far more reserved, even downright suspicious, but not confrontational.
Draco was actually impressed by the fact that neither of her parents seemed in any way intimidated by him even though he knew that they were both aware of what he was capable of, and of the sins of his past.
He was beginning to learn that being with Hermione was going to be like a series of revelations. Because watching the Grangers interact was shocking, mostly in a wonderful way. But in a way that also made his heart ache.
He loved his parents, he had no doubts about that, but his relationship with them was empty. He discussed business and politics with his father. He asked after his mother's friends and her health. But he didn't know them, not really, and he doubted they could ever begin to understand him. Whereas, despite being muggles, Hermione's parents knew the details of her projects at work, they were clearly close with her friends- especially Potter, and she, in turn, seemed well aware of the minutiae of their lives as well. They were a family and that was something he had desperately wanted for Scorpius before he'd even begun to understand the desire, much less seen it up close. Now he wanted this family for his son.
And Scorpius, well, it was as if he knew that he needed to make a good impression. He smiled, ate his meal with a tidiness Draco hadn't known he was capable of, and happily went to both Helen and Richard when they offered to hold him. Meanwhile Hermione spent the evening beaming at him like...well, like a proud mother.
He knew she was a Gryffindor but wondered how she'd feel about emeralds. He could have them set in yellow gold, that was an appropriate compromise, wasn't it?
When they returned to her flat after seeing her parents off she was a bundle of excited energy and Scorpius, who normally would have been in bed at least an hour before, had also caught on to her mood. Draco watched in amusement as she flitted about gathering the shopping bags and then showing him her purchases. It appeared that almost everything she'd bought had been for his son and she wasn't just happy with showing him, no, she insisted on having Scorpius model it all.
Part of him wanted to roll his eyes, but mostly her enthusiasm was catching.
"These are my favorites!" She announced as she pulled out what appeared to be blankets...with hoods.
His confusion must have shown on his face because she threw one over Scorpius's head and then wrapped him in it.
"It's for after the bath, you see?" She asked.
He nodded, then noticed what appeared to be eyes sewn into the fabric on either side of the baby's head, and fabric scales protruding from the hood in a queue down his spine. Draco tilted his head this way and that. "Is he meant to be a dragon?"
"I think the muggles intended a stegosaurus, but a dragon works too," Hermione said, speaking almost double time in her excitement. "But isn't it adorable?"
It was, in fact, rather adorable. But there was a voice in the back of his head which sounded a lot like his father that made him reluctant to agree, so he simply nodded again, which was apparently good enough for Hermione.
"I've saved the best for last!" She whipped the first one off and threw the second over his head, Scorpius remarkably compliant with her actions. This towel was of a similar design as the first except on this one there were antenna protruding from the hood. "Look at our little bug!"
Part of Draco rebelled at that pronunciation, his son was not an insect, but in the end he could only smile. They both just looked so happy. Scorpius had allowed her to maneuver him in and out of outfit after outfit- an activity that usually ended with him screaming his displeasure- with nary a sound other than the occasional happy screech.
"How much do I owe you?" He chuckled when she appeared to be through with her little show.
"Owe me?"
"You basically just bought my son a new wardrobe, Hermione. How much did it cost?" He clarified.
"I don't want your money." She appeared affronted. "He needed muggle clothes and I bought him some because it made me happy and we were having fun."
"Still, you don't need to be spending your money on him," he argued.
She took a deep breath and sat herself beside him. "It's not about need Draco," she pursed her lips and, on her lap Scorpius tugged at one of the antenna on his head which pulled the hood over his face. They both seemed to notice this at the same time, their eyes met and they shared a laugh. "I've bought plenty of baby clothes in the past...as gifts. These weren't meant as gifts, I wanted to shop for him. I don't know how to explain it, but please," her eyes were wide and pleading, " let me do this?" He could only nod in response.
Scratch emeralds, he was going to buy her gemstones in every color of the rainbow.
Author's note: It's so fun to get inside this rather besotted Draco's head, so we'll definitely be returning here from time to time. If you feel like looking at cute babies in hooded in towels check out the Pinterest board for this story. Which reminds me, thank you Weestarmeggie for being the ultimate cheerleader for this story and finally pulling rank last night and giving me the push to finish this chapter, and then for reading it over. But thanks especially for sharing my enthusiasm for said hooded towels ;) Guys, I know she's primarily known as a Tomione/triad author but she has some awesome- and almost always steamy- Dramiones you should definitely go check out!