Review offering insight to the story:

"YAY! I love it when you update, it brightens up my day and even 50 years from now, when I will think of your stories, I will only remember how they made even teenage years bearable. You developed the characters in every one of your stories to fit the exact image of Draco and Hermione, the image you believe in. It feels like, when I'm reading, that I am there, standing in the kitchen while Hermione is cooking and Draco is simply watching her. It really feels like love even though it's on a mechanic computer screen. The ability to bring out the life in these characters through an LCD projector, charged by a wall outlet, without any picture or movie, just words, is amazing and forever mesmerizing." - livelife-loveHGDM (Geo) of FanFiction net.

Thank you to the following reviewers: hanvu, Jester08, votehermione, blondiexoxo, dragoneyes5000, Aperira, TheSlayerettes, bobmcbobbob1, Demoness-MarlstonWells69er, niiic smiles, aSyLLe-cLaiRe, bethygirl94, hugs&kisses, AnaDry, Phenki-Pene, Ookami Otome, Toxxic-hugs, untamedspiral, Hamilcar, J-R-R13, Laendra, Marionette, Caligirl-HPLVR, Life is Truely Great, rachhulk, MsRisa, Hoshi-chan1, silverlovedragoness, wasu, Dramione27, Zarroc, yune-chan, saraphyyy and especially CrystalizedHeart (Mel), SeanEmma4Evr, livelife-loveHGDM (Geo), laugh.live.learn, mskiti (Tabi) and galloping-goose.

Secret Life

Chapter Five

Draco hardly ate any of his dinner, though his daughter kept asking if it was good since she apparently made it all herself. For her benefit, he'd eat a little more and tell her it was delicious, which it was because Blaise was a genius in the kitchen. All the same, he missed Hermione's cooking. He realized he could connect anything to Hermione and miss it. He simply hated not having her around. His mind constantly questioned it. He needed to know, he needed her back.

"Gin, darling, why don't you show Winnie the new book we got her?" Blaise suggested, his way of telling his girlfriend that he needed to talk to Draco alone.

Draco, of course, did not miss this, even though he seemed to be deep into his thoughts per usual. They were sitting back in the den, Blaise and Ginny had been talking while Winnie leaned up against Draco, her little fingers fiddling with his hand as it rested on her side. He immediately felt lonely after his daughter skipped out of the room with her pseudo-aunt. Were his wife there, she'd snuggle up against him, a cup of hot tea in her hand, and he'd wrap his arm around her, finding that sense of comfort that she always possessed.

"What are we going to do?" Blaise asked, abruptly. "Obviously we aren't going to leave it just up to Potter and Weasley," he said, shaking his head. "They're great Aurors, sure. But I bet right now they're focusing more on her past rather than her present. They're trying to figure her out while we already know her," he accused, sounding disgruntled. "I vote we bring in Nev! Patti brought him home too. All three of us can figure this out far faster than those two. They're nice guys, fine, and they've won a lot of awards, that I'm not entirely sure they didn't get just because they're already famous, but... They just don't know 'Mione like we do," he said, firmly. "Say the word, Draco, and I'll have Nev over here in no time at all."

Draco sat back in the couch, rubbing his temple with his hand. It wouldn't hurt for them to start their own investigation, and he was going to use his resources to find out what he could anyway. Combine that with two Aurors, not to mention two well known, wealthy purebloods, and he was bound to make headway in finding where she was. He couldn't let it get out though, both Neville and Blaise' jobs would be in jeopardy if Auror Headquarters found out about their involvement. And he wouldn't kick Potter or Weasley off the case because that would look suspicious, not to mention the fact that they might find out something useful.

"All right," he said, nodding shortly. "Tomorrow. We'll meet at my house and go over everything."

"Great," Blaise said, a smirk lifting his mouth. "Don't worry, we'll have her back soon."

"Yeah," Draco agreed, sighing. "I hope so," he murmured. Standing up, he shook his head. "I'm gonna head back now though. Hopefully Potter and Weasley have left," he muttered sourly. "Winnie, doll, we're going," he called toward the exit.

Blaise nodded, standing up and stuffing his hands in his pockets. Ginny came around the corner with Rowena on her hip, smiling softly at them. "She's getting tired," she told them.

"No I'm not," the little girl denied, shaking her head and rubbing a fisted hand in her eye. "I'm not daddy, Aunty Gin is just saying that cause she's sleepy. She yawned," she accused, nodding.

Snorting, Draco picked her up off of Ginny's hip and held her up against him, her head immediately fell onto his shoulder. "Thanks for everything," he said to them, running a hand over Winnie's hair.

"I'm glad you guys came over," Ginny said, reaching out to rub Rowena's back affectionately. "I haven't seen any of you much lately."

"Sorry," Draco replied, shaking his head. "Everything's been really hectic with Hermione working on that new Law of hers. But, uh... when she's back we'll do something. Bring along Patti, Neville, and Kelsi too. Maybe make a trip out to Nice, I know we had a good time there last time."

"That sounds great," Ginny agreed, nodding enthusiastically, though her eyes showed her worry over her good friend's disappearance.

Waving goodbye, Draco made his way out of the Manor to get to the edge of the apparition wards. He could hear Rowena's light snoring and briefly smiled down at her adoringly. It felt abnormally cold while walking across the empty yard with just his daughter in his arms. Usually he'd have Hermione pressed up against his side, her arm wrapped snug around his middle while her head rested on his shoulder.

When he met the edge of the wards he apparated them both back to the house, which meant a short walk up the road, which he never minded though it scared most others in such a deserted place. Hermione had looked into the past of the surrounding area and found that it had actually been a magical town far back into the 1700's. However, the world expanded and people moved on. The houses were torn down and the forest grew in to cover most of it. There were various magical creatures that lived on the outskirts of their home, but none of them ever passed the tree line, and the majority of them weren't used to humans, so they were rather scared of them.

Draco had seen a few Clabbert's hanging around the creek and the hidden waterfall, which Winnie had also been excited to catch sight of. The tree loving creatures, which look to be a cross between a monkey and a frog with smooth, blotchy green skin, watched them putter around the creek with curiosity. Winnie found them fascinating, pointing wildly at their short horns and wide grinning mouths. She'd even told her dad that she wanted webbed hands and feet, which he managed to convince her she didn't want. Draco was surprised to see that the large pustule that flashes red when a Clabbert feels danger or Muggles, hadn't glowed, and wondered if they had just grown used to their presence nearby. Ever since, Hermione had been spending a little extra time trying to find more out about the wildlife around the house.

When he got to the outside area of his home, he noticed lights on in the living room, upstairs bathroom, and his and Hermione's bedroom. For a brief moment he let himself hope that she had come back and would have some silly excuse about her being away. And he'd forgive her without feeling mad for even a moment. She'd read Winnie a story and then tuck her into bed, promising that she'd never disappear like she had again. Then Draco would carry her back to their bedroom and make love to her until the sun came up. His shoulders sagged, he knew wishing was pointless and that his hopes were not going to come true. If anything, Potter and Weasley likely forgot to turn the lights off when they left. Perhaps they didn't know how to use Muggle electricity; the dolts.

As he got to the porch, he noticed Buck laying bored beside the deck chairs. He whistled to notify him that he should follow him inside. Whether or not the magical creatures were willing to leave the forest, there was no telling that Buck wouldn't venture off into them. And all of the darker, more vicious animals come out at night.

Reaching out for the handle, he grimaced when he found it unlocked. Even if nobody knew where they lived, it was smart to keep the doors locked. If Potter and Weasley had been stupid enough to leave his house open to people, he was going to kick their faces in. He had special wards up that stopped any intruder from using Alohomora, simply because wizards could be discourteous enough to try and get into his place without being welcomed. They lived a life where only certain people were allowed in, for good reason too. If Lucius knew where they lived, he would make their lives a living hell. Not to mention the fact that there were still many Death Eaters loyal to Voldemort's "cause" that would gladly destroy a blood traitor like Draco.

Pushing the door open, he ushered Buck in and then closed it tightly, locking the door firmly behind him, satisfied when he felt the ripple of magic that alerted him to the anti-Alohomora charm being put into place. Removing his shoes, he slid them over by the closet and pulled Rowena's off her dangling feet.

Climbing the stairs two at a time, he made his way to Winnie's bedroom, and flicked the light on. He smiled briefly at the wallpaper of a small witch casting spells on various items hovering around the walls. As he put Rowena down on the bed, the charmed witch waved at him excitedly.

Pulling pajamas out of his daughter's green dresser, he held her up with one arm as she leaned tiredly back against him, her eyes three-quarters shut. He had her dressed and ready for bed within a few minutes and carefully shuffled her under her blankets. Kissing her forehead, he smoothed her hair over her head, and smiled down at her for a long moment. "I love you, sweetie," he whispered, his voice shaking. Rising from his bent legs to walk to her door, he softly called, "G'night, doll."

"Night daddy, love you too," she called out sleepily, rolling over onto her side, her arm wrapping around the little green lion beside her.

As he switched the light off, her charmed night-light came to life. Colours danced over the dark room, bright enough to make her feel safe, but not enough to keep her awake. Each colour made a new shape; a purple unicorn would trot along the wall, an orange bird would soar across the roof, a green cat would chase after a multi-coloured butterfly. Closing the door behind him, he walked down the hall to his bedroom, finding it bright and empty.

Hermione's burgundy robe was laying across the white rectangular ottoman in front of her long oak dresser. He could imagine her sitting there, like every morning, muttering about her hair as she stared at it in the arched mirror before her. Her jewelry box sat angled on the left side, the top lying beside it, leaving her many necklaces and bracelets he'd given her over the years open to the eyes. She only ever wore them on special occasions or when they were going out for dinner alone at a nice restaurant.

Her silver brush lay on the right side, beside her favorite bottle of perfume and a photo of her holding Winnie around her first birthday. In the center of the clean dresser top was a vase of her favorite flowers, a charm kept them looking fresh and beautiful, but Hermione would normally throw them out by Friday, finding it unnatural to keep them going too long. And the last item, on the other side of the flowers, was a framed picture of them on their wedding day. Looking warm and inviting, a pleasant memory that felt as if it had only passed the day before.

Walking past the dresser, he noticed the closet was partly open and wondered if Potter or Weasley actually looked through the letters from Hermione's parents. He grabbed his green robe off the back of the door and then searched through his tall matching oak dresser for his pajama pants. Changing out of his clothes, noticing that his body seemed to ache with his tired demeanor, he pulled on his comfortable sleeping attire and made his way downstairs.

The house was rather warm, given that the fireplace was charmed to start at eight. He left his robe open, and his quick movements forced the air to play across his bare chest. He rubbed at his temples, wishing he could walk back upstairs and find Hermione curled up in bed, asking him to join her. But he wouldn't find it and no matter how much he needed to sleep, he just didn't feel right in an empty bed.

He planned on reading for awhile, maybe going through some more of the papers he had downstairs for Jocelyn's Jarvey Training School. Hermione, of course, found it to be hilarious that he was considering backing it. A Jarvey is one of few beasts that can talk, though its vocabulary consists only of rude comments and the like. What she found completely amusing though, was that a Jarvey resembles an overgrown ferret. Draco pretended he didn't remember the joke at all, but it was still a moment in his life he dearly wished he could forget. The market on Jarvies had risen dramatically as of late, so a training school to help tone down their rude attitudes seemed to be a great idea, which is why Draco took it on. Even if it left him rolling his eyes at his wife's chuckling and little jokes.

Deciding on a cup of tea to help him relax, he walked into the kitchen to see something both irritating and amusing. On the floor lay Weasley like a chubby little kid who'd just finished eating so much it made him tired. At the table was Potter, who had various papers spread out beside him, but had fallen asleep on them nonetheless. Both of them were snoring rather loudly, Weasley more so than Potter. It began to grate on his nerves and for a vicious moment he considered charming them into silence and hovering them out to the front yard. Instead, he settled for making a great deal of noise to startle them into wakefulness.

Seeing as he didn't want to wake his daughter, he put a silencing charm over the kitchen and dining room and then pulled out one of the large pots from the cupboard. Grabbing a metal ladle, he turned the pot over and began grinning as he pounded away on it like a drum. He rather felt like a mischievous little boy who had decided to play a loud tune for his parents. It was the only fun thing he'd done in awhile, watching them rouse scared and confused.

Weasley half jumped off the floor, his hand moving around in his robes for his wand uselessly. "Who's it? What's it? What the bloody hell?" he shouted, shaking his head and forcing his eyes open.

Potter leaped out of his chair, forcing it backwards to clatter loudly on the floor. He managed to get his wand out but had it pointed at Weasley, funnily enough. "Uh..." he muttered, fixing his once askew glasses. "Ron?" he asked, staring at the struggling wizard across from him.

Finally calming from his laughing, Draco put the pot beside him and leaped down from the counters, shaking his head. "Settle down, you fools," he told them, motioning with his wand for the lights to turn on. His grin turned into a half smirk. "As Head Aurors, shouldn't you be better at waking up and being alert immediately?" he asked, lifting a brow. "I did the same thing to Nev and Blaise and both of them managed to throw hexes at me," he said with a mocking laugh.

"We haven't slept much, Malfoy," Potter replied, annoyed. He shook his head while rubbing at his eyes behind his spectacles. "It was a long trip back and we were immediately put on the case, so we had no time to get any rest."

"No excuse," Draco said, sighing as he walked to the stove to grab the silver tea pot. "What are you still doing here anyway?" he asked them, turning on the tap to fill the pot and glancing at them for an answer.

"We were learning more about Hermione to better assess what she might've been doing when she... disappeared," Potter told him, gathering up the papers on the table and walking across the dining room to lean against a counter in the kitchen.

"Yeah, that's what it looked like while Weasley slept on the floor, a dirty spoon in his hand and a formerly full pan of dessert beside him," Draco answered, dryly.

Clearing his throat sheepishly, Weasley wiped at his mouth and brought the dishes to the sink.

Draco placed the teapot on the stove and turned it to high, before turning his attention to look through the packages of tea in the cupboard, deciding which one he wanted.

"What can I say, Mione makes a great English Toffee cake," Weasley said, sounding a bit defiant.

Snickering, Draco shook his head. "No, I make a good English Toffee cake. Hermione can't bake. Cook, yes, bake, not for her life," he told them, crossing his arms loosely before pointing at the empty pan in the sink. "And that cake was supposed to be going to Patti Longbottom, because Hermione told me her apprenticeship will be up this weekend and she will become a full fledged Healer for whichever floor she chooses. But I guess I'll have to tell her some idiot oaf ate all of our food without being the least bit considerate," he said, sneering.

"Oh... Sorry then," Weasley grunted, his eyes rather thin as if it took a great deal for him to mutter out the due apology.

"Whatever, I can make another tomorrow," he replied, crossing to the now shrilling tea pot and pulling it off the elements. Pulling a mug down, he paused. "Are either of you interested in a cup of tea?" he asked, frowning to himself.

"Sure, thank you," Potter replied, sounding a bit uneasy.

"Yeah," Weasley grunted.

Rolling his eyes, he pulled down an extra two cups and dropped a tea bag in all three. Pouring the water in, he pulled a few teaspoons from the drawer next to him and dropped one in each cup. The sugar was sitting in a small white jar that matched the four that raised in size beside it. Walking to the fridge he pulled it open to grab the cream and found that it was getting low on food. He glared at Weasley for a moment and then walked back to the counter, pouring cream into his own and motioning for them to do what they wanted to theirs as he crossed to the kitchen table.

"Did you find anything?" he asked, glancing briefly at them but then focusing his eyes on the light brown colouring of his tea. They sat down at the table with him, across from each other.

"Not yet," Potter replied, wrapping his hands around the hot mug and shifting his glance from Draco to Weasley. "It could take a few days, or more, but I'm sure we'll find something soon."

"Good," Draco said shortly. Sighing, he rubbed at his brow, feeling a headache coming on.

"Y'don't look so good," Weasley commented, apparently curbing any niceties. "Fact, ya look downright horrible."

"Thanks for that," Draco muttered, shaking his head.

There was a long pause before Potter seemed to need to ask him something. "You guys spent every day together," he said, sounding incredulous. "Wasn't it... I mean... Didn't you ever feel... suffocated?" he wondered, staring at him with a questioning look.

"Have either of you ever had a real girlfriend?" he asked, staring at them searchingly.

"Of course," Weasley replied, looking affronted by the insinuation.

"Yes, a few," Potter answered, nodding.

"And did you love any of them?" Draco asked, lifting his brow.

"Well... I loved shagging them," Weasley said, tipping his head. "But I dunno, they had some weird habits that really got on my nerves."

Potter shook his head at his friend, rolling his eyes slightly. "I loved one of them, but I don't think the others were anywhere close to that. The one girl was great up until the point where she wanted to move in. She kept pushing it and I didn't think it was the right time," he told him, sounding peculiarly honest and forthcoming.

Sipping his hot tea, he sighed. "Hermione," Draco said, leaning back in his chair, "has a habit of spouting off information randomly. I mean, she'll have this brilliant thought and she'll only tell me maybe the middle of what she's thinking and then interrupt herself with other things. She does it randomly. We can be having dinner, watching a movie, or half asleep in bed," he said with a chuckle. "It used to really bug me. In the beginning, I mean. Because she'd never continue on or explain it to me, and I was left in the dark. But after awhile, I got used to it. And it became one of those quirks that I really like about her."

Shaking his head, he ran his finger around the rim of his cup. "When we first started dating we were nearly inseparable. We spent our mornings having coffee and talking, and we went out for dinner or cooked for each other almost every night. It just seemed logical to move in together since we spent so much time together already," he said, shrugging. "And when we moved in, everything fell into place easily. She had a habit of organizing the flat a certain way, which also kind of irked me because I could never find my stuff, but she knew exactly where it was."

He smiled to himself, sighing. "I asked her to marry me because it got to the point where when I came home, all I wanted to see was her. If my day sucked or if it was wonderful, I wanted to share it with her. I was completely committed to her and it felt like we weren't supposed to be apart. We searched around for a house that suited us and we continued on with our work without telling anybody about this sort of secret life we had together. We got married in Blaise's back property and we moved in here shortly after."

Swallowing a mouthful of tea, he glanced up at Potter and Weasley, who looked surprised to be hearing so much. He himself was surprised he was sharing it, but he had been missing her so much lately that he just... really needed to talk about her. He'd rather talk to her, but that wasn't an option. And if the two people in front of him planned on finding her, then it was best if they figured out early on that his wife meant everything to him, and maybe then they'd stop focusing on how she was in the past and start thinking about her life in the present, otherwise she'd have no future.

Sighing, he shook his head slightly, "During the time after we got married and right before Rowena was born, we had our own schedule that didn't include diapers or playtime at the creek. It was just us and we spent every available moment together. She was working at St. Mungo's a lot then, so I didn't get to see her nearly as much as I wanted to. She was always home at night though and I saw her off to work every morning. That only lasted ten months, but it was hectic and even though we lived together, sometimes it felt like we hardly saw each other."

Half-smiling, he nodded, thinking back to the beginning of their marriage and when his daughter was becoming a part of his life. Sipping the chilling tea, he licked his lips and stared down at the quickly emptying cup. "After Winnie came though, everything changed. We didn't want our lives to be so fast paced that we hardly saw her or each other. So I stopped working at my office in central London and started working from home. Obviously Hermione can't do that and I wasn't about to suggest that she stop her work. Healing is everything to her, besides her Activism at the Ministry. She always had time for her family though, when it came down to it, she would have given up working there if she thought Rowena needed her at home more." Rubbing at his eyes, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, knowing his wife would tell him to move them made him smile briefly.

Downing the last of his tea, he shrugged his shoulders and glancing up at the two men listening intently. "Our relationship was hidden from most people for safety and... other reasons. So we don't get to go out in public very often, or show off our daughter to the world... even though I've tried talking Hermione into it more times than I could count," he said, chortling a moment before becoming very sober. "But that was just how it was. It has its problems and not everything is perfect. But I like my life and I know Hermione does too."

Tipping his empty glass, he sighed, staring down into it for a few seconds. Swallowing, he shook his head, "When your whole life becomes one person, you never feel suffocated. You feel more like... Like you don't know what you'd do if they weren't there."

He was met with silence, which he rather liked in that moment. Standing up, he crossed the dining room into the kitchen. He rinsed out his glass and ran a cloth around the rim before placing it in the dish rack. Crossing his arms, he walked back to the dining room. "I'm going to assume you won't be here when I wake up. Though the last time I assumed you'd be gone, I found you sleeping in my kitchen," he said, frowning. "When you leave, use a locking charm."

They nodded silently, so he left, making his way to the stairs and returning to the second floor. He decided his head hurt too much to read or work, so he was going to lay down, probably stare at the roof until he fell into an uncomfortable sleep only to wake up shortly after. Running his hands through his hair, he stopped halfway to his bed and changed course to walk into the connected bathroom. He turned the water on in the very large, deep rectangular jacuzzi bathtub and sat down on the white tile stairs that led up to it. He glanced at the candles surrounding it and stared for a moment at the bottle of bubble bath sitting beside the tap.

Closing his eyes and rubbing at his temples, he walked to the sink, wondering if he looked half as bad as he felt. His eyes were dark and his skin looked rather sickly, as if he had been ill for days. His jaw had a browny-blonde stubble running over it, in need of a shave that he still hadn't taken care of. He decided to consider it after his bath, and left the reflection of his not-so fantastic features.

The bath was nearly ready, so he stripped off his pajama pants and tossed his robe to the side, climbing up the two stairs to sink into the water. He leaned across the tub to turn the taps off and then leaned back, letting his head loll until it was staring up at the plain ceiling. The water was steaming hot, nearly burning in its temperature. He had lain in the bath countless times before, though more often than not Hermione was leaning against him. Closing his eyes, he thought back to one of those many moments between them and let out a heavy sigh, his body sinking more into the water until it was lapping at his jaw.

"We should do this more often," she told him, her head leaning back against his shoulder so her breath tickled the side of his neck. "This was one of the reasons you wanted this house and we hardly ever use it," she reminded, sighing.

Lifting the arm that wasn't partly trapped beneath her, he picked up the sopping loofah beside him and ran it from her navel up to her neck, leaving a trail of white bubbles behind. "That's because we have a three year old daughter running around the house that constantly needs our attention."

"I vote we call in her godmother to take her for the weekend," Hermione suggested, turning to look up at him with her excited brown eyes. A smile broke out over her face as she leaned her head back and kissed his chin. "Huh? What d'you say?"

"An entire weekend?" he asked, unsure, as he managed to get his arm out from under her to weave his sudsy, dripping hand into her hair. "I don't know if I can stand a whole two days without her. It'd be unnaturally quiet."

Chuckling, Hermione shook her head, "I'm sure we can manage to create a noise level to your satisfaction," she breathed against him, leaning her head close until her lashes brushed his cheek.

"Maybe one weekend wouldn't be bad," he said rather huskily. Her legs moved against his beneath the water, before breaking out, shining and dripping. Moving the loofah down her torso, he trailed it up her angled leg, eventually letting it drop so he could simply run his hands over her. Her arm reached back, fingers wrapping around his hair and bringing his face down to meet hers.

Draco's eyes fell closed, his lips dueling with hers in a passionate frenzy. She nibbled at his top lip, nipping and then licking at the area a moment later. Her tongue slipped in, tangling with his and exploring the area she already knew inside out. She turned her body until she was straddling him, pressing her upper half against him.

The water hummed around them, wrapping around their tangled bodies and lapping at their skin. His arms wrapped around her waist, hands pressing into her body to keep her close. Bubbles popped around them from their movements, while some of the water managed to slosh out on to the steps.

She broke away from his mouth, trailing her lips over his face and down his neck. Her hands wrapped around his biceps, fingers pressing into his damp skin. He felt her hair brush the underside of his jaw as she began kissing down from his Adam's apple to the space between his clavicles. Their breath came out quickened, feeling rather cool against their heated skin. His fingertips ran up her spine, stopped at the nape of her neck, clasping it loosely.

Continuing her way down his chest until she met the rim of water, she lavished his chest with her lips, before changing direction and going back up. She paused on his throat for awhile before moving up to his mouth, hovering over it for a moment. Their gazes met, silver and brown, until she leaned in slowly, brushing her lips against his gently. She melted against him, their movements slowing into a lazy embrace.

"Mumma, dadda, Aun'y Gin said I haffta eat peas! I don't like peas!" Rowena's voice came shouting through the door, startling them both for a moment.

Draco nearly laughed, but shook his head instead. Hermione rested her head on his shoulder, pressing a kiss to the side of his neck. "Winnie, eat your peas. They're good for you," he called to her.

"But they's icky!" she replied, whining.

"D'you want to be a really strong witch?" he asked, lifting his brow and staring at the door.

"Yeah!" she exclaimed, excitedly.

"Then eat your peas!" he told her, lifting a wet hand in the air as if to wave her away.

"D'peas really make you stwong?" she wondered, sounding suspicious.

"Yeah, all vegetables do. Would I lie to you?" he assured, nodding. Hermione snorted, her hand moving slowly up and down his chest, dipping in the water to leave a dripping trail of hot liquid in her ascent.

"Okaaaay," Rowena replied, sighing. "But I gonna make Aun'y Ginny eat 'em too."

"That's fine," Draco called back, amused. "Now go downstairs and finish your dinner."

"Uh huh," she responded.

He heard her retreating footsteps and shook his head, returning his attention to Hermione, who was sleepily leaning against him. "Tired?" he asked, running his hand up and down her arm.

Exhaling softly, she nodded. "Long shifts, lots of paperwork," she told him, shaking her head slightly.

"Com'on, you can rest and I'll relieve Gin from watching Winnie," he said, sitting up slightly and holding her against him so she wouldn't slip away.

"Oh but we never get to have time like this alone," she murmured, before yawning.

Smiling, he nodded, moving her forward so he could use his arms to pull himself out of the tub. Hopping to the floor, he grabbed a couple towels, wrapping one around himself, and reached into the bottom of the tub to pull the plug. Holding his arms out to her, he helped her stand, swathing her in a towel before picking her up and out of the draining water. She shrieked at the sudden movement but then laughed softly in his arms. He carried her into the bedroom, dropping her down on the bed and leaning across her glistening body.

Reaching out, he brushed a damp lock of her brown hair off her cheek to behind her ear. Pressing a warm kiss to her mouth, he crossed over to his dresser to search out his pajama bottoms. "D'you want me to wake you up to read to Winnie later?" he asked, tossing the towel around his waist away and slipping into soft green pants.

She mumbled something and he glanced back to see her eyes closed and her face relaxed.

Chuckling, he nodded, pulling his robe on from the back of the closet door. "Love you," he called to her while crossing the room.

"Love you too," she replied sleepily.

Closing the door behind him, he smiled briefly to himself. While it was a short interlude, he wouldn't have changed it. They always managed to make time for each other, even if it was just a small bath where their daughter interrupted to have a debate about peas. Life wasn't meant to be perfect, just lived to the fullest, and they certainly were.

Sighing, Draco rubbed his forehead, deciding a bath without her was a bad idea. Climbing out of the chilling water, he kicked the plug out and ignored his clothes on the floor, crossing into his bedroom and crawling into their bed still wet, tired, and lonely. He motioned with his wand, sitting on the end table, to put out the lights and then sunk low into the mattress. His hand reached out deftly to his side, unconsciously looking for her, before curling and returning to lay limply by his head.

Tomorrow would be better; it had to be. Because things didn't feel like they could get much worse. Closing his eyes tightly, he sighed loudly, trying to force himself into sleep, hoping that he'd wake up and she'd be laying there beside him. It was a nightmare... all a nightmare, and he'd wake up any minute.

A/N I'm happy to say that my back is no longer bothering me. My deepest thanks goes out to all of you who sent out your 'get wells' for me, I really appreciate that! I'm working on updating all of my stories outside of Secret Life and The Werewolf Tamer, which each have a number of chapters already written. Since I don't usually write ahead for BITTT, AFA, or Growing, I have to write them in my spare time. Right now, however, I'm getting ready to move to another apartment. I'm also quite worried about my computer, which is breaking down on me. I have all my stories on it, and I'm beginning to worry that i might just lose them all. Unfortunately, I can't afford to get it fixed or get a new one. Sighs... In any case, I hope you'll stick with me and I'll try and update the other stories soon:D

Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Thank you for reading, please review.

Much Love,
-Amanda