Disclaimer: Jingle bells, I sure smell, HP be-longs to J-K.... xP
B4 on MPES:
"What happened?" he asked softly as Hermione sat back down on the bed.
"Bad dreams," she said softly, but Jr. shook his head.
"It wasn't a dream, Mummy. You were crying... I know you were... weren't you?" Hermione shook her head slowly as she let Jr. crawl in between them.
"No, baby... I wasn't crying," she said and Draco looked up at her. Hermione met his gaze and shook her head.
"But..." Jr. started.
"No, baby, go to sleep," she said softly, moving down and wrapping an arm around him. Draco did the same, his hand rubbing Hermione's arm slowly. They shared one last quick kiss before closing their eyes themselves. Jr. seemed to have taken his mother's advice, but then he gasped. "What, Draco, what is it?" Draco opened his eyes and Jr. turned to his mother.
"I forgot Melville," he said and Hermione laughed quietly, while Draco smiled and closed his eyes again. Hermione picked her wand back up and summoned the stuffed animal, giving it to her son, who held it tight. "Thank you Mummy," he said and she smiled, kissing his temple.
"Go to sleep, Junior."
~*~*~*~
CHAPTER SEVEN: How to Know It's Happy Tears
When Hermione woke, she didn't dare open her eyes.
"Please, please, please..." she whispered under her breath. "Draco?" she asked, a little louder. No response. Her heart dropped. Slowly, she reached her hand out, toward the spot she knew Draco should be. She felt nothing. With each inch of air, her tears came closer. It couldn't have been a dream... it'd felt so real...
Finally, she couldn't take it and opened her eyes. The bed beside her was empty. Hermione brought her hand back to her face, holding it over her mouth as she broke down in sobs. She curled into a ball, letting it all out. She'd never cried so hard. Each sob was exhausting... it just couldn't have been a dream... she couldn't have imagined that... Draco had been there, she knew he had.
Again, Hermione opened her eyes, hoping that maybe, just maybe, she'd been mistaken. Again, no Draco... but, there was something she'd missed before. On the pillow was a small piece of parchment. With a gasp, Hermione sat up and lifted it, unfolding the paper to see, written in loving calligraphy, the most wonderful words she'd ever read.
*I'm sorry, Mia. Someone wanted breakfast... I love you.
~Draco*
She dropped the parchment and, again, brought her hands to her face, sobbing... but this time in relief.
~*~*~*~
~Earlier~
"Daddy," whispered Jr., poking the man beside him, hoping not to wake his mother. "Daddy," he said a little louder. Draco opened his eyes.
"Junior? What's wrong?"
"I have to get up now, Daddy. Me and Eric are supposed to be at school by eight o'clock," he whispered and Draco took a breath, looking at the clock on the bedside. It was quarter of six. "Will you make us breakfast?" Draco turned back to his son and smiled.
"Sure, Draco." Jr. smiled widely and crawled out of bed, running out of the room to go wake up Eric. Draco rubbed his eyes, taking a deep breath, then turned to Hermione, who still slept soundly. He smiled. "I don't want to wake you if I don't have to, Mia," he said quietly and moved close, kissing her forehead softly. Draco dragged himself out of bed, and borrowed her wand to summon and properly fit some more of his old clothes. He'd really had bad taste at seventeen.
Remembering the fear she'd shared with him the night before, Draco searched for a few moments, finding a pen and slip of clean parchment on her desk. He wrote her a short note and left it where he hoped it'd be found. With one last soft kiss, he exited his room and started down to the kitchen.
The boys hadn't come down yet, so Draco decided to wait for them before making anything. He had no idea what they'd want. Judging by the amount of dishes in the sink, Harry and Ginny had already left, but Narcissa was probably still home. Draco opened the refrigerator and extracted a carton of orange juice, then searched through the cupboards for glasses. Jr. came in just as he found them.
"Hi Daddy!" he said happily as he climbed up onto one of the tall stools at the breakfast bar.
"Hey kiddo. Can I ask you something?" he asked, setting a glass in front of him and Jr. nodded. "Why did you wake me up, and not Mum?"
"Because Mum always wakes me up, so if she's sleeping, she must be really tired... but she's happy," he said, smiling. "I know she's happy." Draco nodded and poured the juice, then looked curiously at his son as Jr. took a sip of his glass.
"How do you always know how mum is feeling?" he asked and Jr. set the cup down slowly.
"I don't know, Daddy. I've always knowed. I just get a feeling... like this little bit of me always feels how she does. And it hurts when she cries...when it's sad tears. If it's happy tears, it tingles. I didn't know that until last night... she's never cried happy tears before. I got scared when it tingled... I thought that meant it was really bad, not really good." Draco looked at his son in awe.
"That's amazing, Junior. And your feeling is always right?" Jr. nodded.
"Except last night she said she wasn't crying... and I knowed she was," he said, almost in a whisper.
"She was crying last night, Draco. She didn't want you to worry... it was happy tears," Draco said and Jr. looked up, nodding.
"I knowed it was happy tears... but I thought my feeling was wrong when she said she didn't... why was she happy? What were you doing, Daddy?" Draco smirked, but made up a quick excuse.
"We were looking at your baby pictures." Jr. made a face.
"Why?" Draco laughed.
"I've never seen them before, Junior. I wanted to know what you looked like."
"I don't know why... I look a whole lot better now," he said and Draco laughed again.
"Draco, does anyone else know about your feelings? When Mum is sad?" Draco asked and Jr. looked down.
"Eric does. And I told Jimmy. Jimmy is my bestest friend after Eric. He didn't believe me... he said I was lying..." Jr. looked up. "Do you believe me?" Draco stood straight.
"Of course I believe you." Jr. smiled, and Draco returned it.
"I think Mum knows... but I don't think she believes me either."
"I bet she would if you told her," Draco said and Jr. nodded.
"Do you want me to, Daddy?"
"If you want to, Draco. I think she'd like to know," he said and Jr. smiled, then nodded, just as Eric entered the kitchen. "There you are, Eric. Good morning."
"Yeah, yeah..." he mumbled, dragging himself to the chair beside his cousin. Draco laughed.
"Not a morning person, huh?" he asked, pouring Eric a glass of orange juice. "So, what do you boys want for breakfast, hm?"
"You don't have to cook for us, Uncle Draco, we can just have cereal. It's faster," Eric said, perking up a little at the quick energy boost chugging an entire glass of pulp-free orange juice will give a boy of seven.
"Maybe, but it's not as good for you, now, is it?" Eric laughed.
"You sound just like my dad," he said happily and both Jr. and Draco smiled.
"You know Eric... if you told me that ten years ago, I'd have hexed you into the next century." Eric laughed.
"You mean you and Dad weren't always friends?" Draco laughed.
"No way! Now, about breakfast... I may not be able to flawlessly do magic, or fit into my old clothes, or know either of your middle names, but I can cook. Now, what do you want? Eggs are always a good choice. What do you say?" The boys smiled at each other. "Yeah? Yeah." He decided for them and opened the fridge again.
"Allen," Eric said and Draco looked to him.
"What?"
"My middle name is Allen." Draco smiled and Jr. sat straighter.
"My name is Draconis Silvius Demetrius Malfoy... the second," Jr. said, straining slightly with the syllables. Draco smiled.
"And I got stuck with a boring name like Eric Allen Potter," Eric said, rolling his eyes. Draco laughed.
"I don't even have a middle name. You know, Draco," Draco started as he made their scrambled eggs and slipped some toast in the toaster. "Before you were born, Mum and I didn't know if you were going to be a boy or a girl. I thought you would be a boy, but she wanted a girl." He smiled crookedly. "When we were thinking of names, Demetrius was the only name your mother would allow. I told her we would name you that, if and only if I got to pick out a girl's name." Jr. made a face.
"What was I going to be called, Daddy?" Draco smiled.
"Well, I wanted Hermione, but Mum said she'd kill me, so I changed it to Nerissa," Draco said, smiling and Jr. tilted his head.
"After Nanna?" Draco nodded. "That's not so bad, I guess... it coulda been worse... like... Margarite, or something." Draco laughed.
"Do you happen to know where Mum got your other middle name?" Jr. smiled widely.
"She said that a long time ago, there was this man that no body ever liked, but he wasn't really a bad guy... and he helped you and her before I was born. She didn't tell me who it was, though..." Draco smiled.
"I know." Jr.'s eyes lit up.
"Who, Daddy?"
"Professor Severus Snape. He teaches potions at Hogwarts; do you know about Hogwarts?" Both boys nodded. "Your Mum is right, though, Junior. He was a very good man. We would have been in a lot of trouble if it wasn't for Snape."
"Uncle Draco, will you tell us more about Aunt Mina and Mum and Dad when you were younger." Draco smiled, getting plates and silverware for the boys.
"When we were eleven, Uncle Harry, Aunt Mina, Uncle Ron and I all went to Hogwarts together. They were friends almost from the first day. Well, Uncle Ron and Uncle Harry were... they didn't really like Aunt Mina much; they thought she was bossy and bookish, and she was, but her grades were very important to her. They accepted her soon enough. I, on the other hand, was not part of their group. They were in Gryffindor, and I was in Slytherin. It was common knowledge that Slytherin and Gryffindor never get along," Draco told them, as he dished their eggs and toast, and placed a plate in front of each of the boys. "In fact, I hated all three of them more than anyone else in the entire school. Particularly your mother, Draco. We would go back and forth, verbally fighting daily, and occasionally I would throw the boys a punch or two. I never once hit Aunt Mina. Let me tell you this now, boys, and remember it; never, ever hit a woman. Ever. Under no circumstances. Okay? Promise me that, right now."
"I won't Daddy," Jr. swore through a mouthful of eggs, putting his hand to his heart as if saying the pledge. Eric smirked.
"That's common sense, Uncle Draco. Of course I won't." Draco smiled.
"Good. Anyway, it wasn't until sixth year that I started being more accepting to those Gryffindor. Your Mum didn't really become a part of the group until that year, either, Eric. She had the biggest crush on your dad since even before her first year; everyone knew about it. She was shy and didn't want to be around him, but she told everyone that she just didn't want to hang out with her brother, Uncle Ron. But in our sixth year, Professor McGonagall, who teaches Transfiguration at Hogwarts, assigned Aunt Mina as my tutor in her class. She was already tutoring Harry and Ron, in more than just transfiguration, and she was determined to do anything to please a teacher. Fact of the matter is, your Mum was the smartest girl in school, Draco.
"So, we would all get together in the library after school, and, once it was decided that fighting wasn't going to get us anywhere, we relaxed and actually had a good time. It didn't take us long to become friends... and in the middle of sixth year, I asked your Mum to be my girlfriend. She has been ever since." Eric looked confused.
"Aren't you and Aunt Mina married?" he asked and Draco smiled, but shook his head.
"But Daddy, Mummy has a ring on her finger," Jr. said, pointing to his ring finger. "I've never seen her take it off and I asked her what it was, and she said you gave it to her. Doesn't that make you married?" Draco chuckled.
"Not quite, Junior. What your Mum has is an engagement ring. I asked her to marry me, and she said yes... but we never actually got married. If we had, I'd have a ring too," Draco said and held out his hands, showing the boys his bare fingers. "Do you remember Uncle Ron's wedding?" They nodded. "Mum and I never had one of those."
"Are you going to?" Jr. asked, looking excited.
"I hope so, kiddo. It's up to your Mum," he said and Jr. smiled, then went back to his eggs. A few minutes later, Jr. gasped suddenly. Draco looked worried. "Junior? Junior, what's wrong?" Jr. dropped his fork and squeezed his eyes shut, fists clenched.
"Daddy... it's Mum. She's crying... it's not happy tears... it's never hurt this much before, Daddy..." he said, sounding as if he really were in pain. Draco paled.
"Oh god, she thinks I'm not here..." he whispered. "Draco, I'm going to fix it, okay? Eric, will you watch him, please? Try and eat your breakfast, and don't touch the stove," he said quickly as he moved toward the door.
"It's bad, Daddy," Jr. said and Draco frowned.
"I know, Junior. I'll fix it, just sit tight," he said and kissed his son quickly on the head leaving the kitchen and before bounding up the stairs.
"Draco?" Eric asked, almost as worried as his Uncle. "Draco, are you okay?" Jr. was straining to breathe. "Draco?" Then, he started to calm down and relax, his breath coming back. Jr. breathed deep.
"It's going away, Eric..." he said quietly, then relaxed entirely. "She's still crying... but she's happy now," he said and Eric just looked scared.
"Are you okay?" Jr. nodded. "Good. Eat, Draco, we have to get ready."
~*~*~*~
~The kitchen scene leads up to when Hermione finds the note; when Jr. stops hurting. Get it?~
Hermione sat in bed, sobbing, laughing, crying... everything, all at once. She'd been so terrified... and now she was so happy. She rocked back and forth, hugging a pillow to her face to absorb her tears. Then, a thumping came down the hall. Hermione turned her head to the door, just in time to see Draco bound into view. She felt herself grow even happier. She smiled widely and wiped her tears.
"Mia! Oh, Mia, I'm so sorry," he said, running to her and wrapping his arms around her. Hermione held him tight, her tears dampening his shirt. He kissed her head. "I'm here... stop crying, please," he whispered, and she pulled back.
"I know, Draco... I found your note..." she said and sniffled. "Thank you," she shook her head. "I thought... oh, Draco, I was so scared..."
"I'm sorry, Mia... maybe I should have woken you up..." She shook her head.
"I'm okay now," she said, and he smiled, kissing her lips softly. "I just love you, you know."
"I love you too," he agreed and she smiled.
"What time is it?" Hermione asked no one, turning around to look at the clock. It was ten after six. "Oh, shit... the boys, I have to get them up, they're going to be late..." Draco chuckled.
"It's okay, Mia. They're up... I fed them, everything's okay. Calm down, baby," he said, kissing her again. Hermione smiled.
"Thank you..." she took a breath. "But I still have to get them ready... those boys," she said shaking her head and getting out of bed. She charmed into simple flared jeans and a black sweater, magiked her hair into a loose bun, and placed her wand into her pocket. Draco stood next to her and she wrapped him in a tight hug. "I'm glad you're still here." Draco smiled.
"Where else would I go?"
"Back to your eighty-dollar-a-month apartment?"
"Never."
~*~*~*~
Hermione shuffled into the kitchen, smiling and followed closely by Draco. Jr. jumped off his stool and ran to her.
"Mummy!" he said, embracing her. He knew she was okay... it didn't hurt anymore... it actually felt... good.
"Good morning, baby. Are you all finished here?" she asked, picking him up. Jr. nodded, smiling widely. "What say we take a bath, hm?"
"Aw, do I have to?" he wined and Draco smiled. Hermione hugged Jr. tight.
"Yes you have to," she said. "Good morning, Eric."
"Good morning Aunt Mina," he said back, smiling. Hermione turned around to face Draco. She pecked his lips.
"Will you watch Eric for me? Narcissa usually does, but I guess we're all running a little late this morning," she said and sighed. "A lot happened yesterday." Draco smiled and gave her another kiss.
"Everyone except Junior," he said with a smile. "Of course I will."
"Thank you," she said, kissed him quickly and stepped past him, heading to the downstairs bathroom. Draco watched her go, then turned to Eric, who was still eating slowly. With a small breath, Draco took the seat next to the seven-year-old blonde and started to polish off Jr.'s plate. Eric made a face.
"What?" Draco asked and he shook his head. "No, tell me."
"Draco was just eating that," he said, pointing to the plate and Draco nodded.
"I know," he said, smirking and shoving another forkful of eggs in his mouth. Eric shook his head.
"Ew..." he said and Draco shook his shoulders.
"Taste's fine. Want some?" he asked, teasingly shoving a speared glob toward the boy. Eric backed away, laughing.
"Stop! Now you're really acting like my dad!" Draco smirked and placed the fork back on his plate.
"Now, Eric, I don't think it was necessary for you to insult me," he said and Eric laughed. Draco smiled, then sighed. "You know, kid, there's something I really think I should talk to you about," he said and Eric turned to him. "About... what happened... why I didn't come back." Eric's smile dropped to its very lowest depths.
"What about it?" he asked sadly and Draco turned to look at him.
"Do you really think it was your fault?" Eric paused a moment, then nodded slowly. "Why?"
"Because, if it weren't for me, you'd have come home. If you hadn't saved me, you wouldn't have missed out on so much."
"That may be true, Eric, but think about it. If you could go back and do it again, what would you do differently?" He shook his head.
"I don't know; I don't really remember what happened..."
"Exactly. How can you be held accountable for something you don't even remember doing? And what would have happened if I hadn't been hit, hm? If you were banished, instead of me? You were two years old, Eric. You'd either have died in the forest, or been raised by that tribe of people. You wouldn't live here, you wouldn't know Nanna, or Aunt Mina, or Draco... you wouldn't know your Mum and Dad. Do you think that would have been better?" Draco asked and Eric paused for a moment.
"Not for me, but for you, yes. I didn't have a girlfriend and a baby to go home to... I didn't even have a home. You would have been there when Draco broke his arm falling out of the tree house, you would have been there for the pre-school play, when he had to wear a chicken costume and it looked absolutely ridiculous. You would have watched him grow up, and been there for him... and it would have been better for Draco. He would have had a Daddy..."
"He does, Eric. I'm Draco's daddy, and I'm here now. You've been a very, very good friend to him, Eric. Draco loves you. Yes, I would have been there... but you wouldn't have. He needs you too. And now, everyone is here, together. If I'd always been here... you never would have. Do you see what I'm saying, Eric? You're just as important to Draco as I am, and to Nanna... and much more to your Mum and Dad. They love you, Eric. Just look at the way things are... it's not so bad, right?" Draco said and Eric smiled.
"I guess you're right," he said quietly and Draco grinned.
"That's what I thought. Do you still think it was your fault?" Eric, again, paused, then nodded.
"It was my fault, Uncle Draco. You can't change that... but you did show me that it wasn't as horrible a thing as I thought. I'll always feel a little guilty that you missed so much... that Draco missed so much... but at least I can say, hey, I was there." Draco smiled proudly.
"That's all I could ask," he said and opened his arms. Eric smiled and accepted his embrace. Draco held him tight. "You're a good kid, Eric," he said, letting go. Draco smiled and Eric turned back toward the floor, then he looked up.
"Thanks, Uncle Draco. I really do feel better. I'm going to go get ready now," he said and Draco smiled at him.
"No problem, Eric," he said and watched the boy leave the kitchen, before he ventured off to partake in bath-time.
A/N: Wow. Sorry if your name happens to be Margarite.... lol. I don't know if you have to have the same middle name as your dad in order to be a 'the second' but I don't particularly care. Lol. I wanted symbolic middle names...
PRF: Woo Hoo! 100 Reviews!
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Angelgurl06: Of course I will... I doubt I'd stop even if my reviews did cold turkey. Although I don't want that to happen!
Molly of Ozz: Lol. Thanx, and I tried to make the baby thing pretty accurate... except the phenomenal-ity part... lol
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Thanx guys, you're getting better... I guess I can safely say chapter 8 is on it's way ;o)
B4 on MPES:
"What happened?" he asked softly as Hermione sat back down on the bed.
"Bad dreams," she said softly, but Jr. shook his head.
"It wasn't a dream, Mummy. You were crying... I know you were... weren't you?" Hermione shook her head slowly as she let Jr. crawl in between them.
"No, baby... I wasn't crying," she said and Draco looked up at her. Hermione met his gaze and shook her head.
"But..." Jr. started.
"No, baby, go to sleep," she said softly, moving down and wrapping an arm around him. Draco did the same, his hand rubbing Hermione's arm slowly. They shared one last quick kiss before closing their eyes themselves. Jr. seemed to have taken his mother's advice, but then he gasped. "What, Draco, what is it?" Draco opened his eyes and Jr. turned to his mother.
"I forgot Melville," he said and Hermione laughed quietly, while Draco smiled and closed his eyes again. Hermione picked her wand back up and summoned the stuffed animal, giving it to her son, who held it tight. "Thank you Mummy," he said and she smiled, kissing his temple.
"Go to sleep, Junior."
~*~*~*~
CHAPTER SEVEN: How to Know It's Happy Tears
When Hermione woke, she didn't dare open her eyes.
"Please, please, please..." she whispered under her breath. "Draco?" she asked, a little louder. No response. Her heart dropped. Slowly, she reached her hand out, toward the spot she knew Draco should be. She felt nothing. With each inch of air, her tears came closer. It couldn't have been a dream... it'd felt so real...
Finally, she couldn't take it and opened her eyes. The bed beside her was empty. Hermione brought her hand back to her face, holding it over her mouth as she broke down in sobs. She curled into a ball, letting it all out. She'd never cried so hard. Each sob was exhausting... it just couldn't have been a dream... she couldn't have imagined that... Draco had been there, she knew he had.
Again, Hermione opened her eyes, hoping that maybe, just maybe, she'd been mistaken. Again, no Draco... but, there was something she'd missed before. On the pillow was a small piece of parchment. With a gasp, Hermione sat up and lifted it, unfolding the paper to see, written in loving calligraphy, the most wonderful words she'd ever read.
*I'm sorry, Mia. Someone wanted breakfast... I love you.
~Draco*
She dropped the parchment and, again, brought her hands to her face, sobbing... but this time in relief.
~*~*~*~
~Earlier~
"Daddy," whispered Jr., poking the man beside him, hoping not to wake his mother. "Daddy," he said a little louder. Draco opened his eyes.
"Junior? What's wrong?"
"I have to get up now, Daddy. Me and Eric are supposed to be at school by eight o'clock," he whispered and Draco took a breath, looking at the clock on the bedside. It was quarter of six. "Will you make us breakfast?" Draco turned back to his son and smiled.
"Sure, Draco." Jr. smiled widely and crawled out of bed, running out of the room to go wake up Eric. Draco rubbed his eyes, taking a deep breath, then turned to Hermione, who still slept soundly. He smiled. "I don't want to wake you if I don't have to, Mia," he said quietly and moved close, kissing her forehead softly. Draco dragged himself out of bed, and borrowed her wand to summon and properly fit some more of his old clothes. He'd really had bad taste at seventeen.
Remembering the fear she'd shared with him the night before, Draco searched for a few moments, finding a pen and slip of clean parchment on her desk. He wrote her a short note and left it where he hoped it'd be found. With one last soft kiss, he exited his room and started down to the kitchen.
The boys hadn't come down yet, so Draco decided to wait for them before making anything. He had no idea what they'd want. Judging by the amount of dishes in the sink, Harry and Ginny had already left, but Narcissa was probably still home. Draco opened the refrigerator and extracted a carton of orange juice, then searched through the cupboards for glasses. Jr. came in just as he found them.
"Hi Daddy!" he said happily as he climbed up onto one of the tall stools at the breakfast bar.
"Hey kiddo. Can I ask you something?" he asked, setting a glass in front of him and Jr. nodded. "Why did you wake me up, and not Mum?"
"Because Mum always wakes me up, so if she's sleeping, she must be really tired... but she's happy," he said, smiling. "I know she's happy." Draco nodded and poured the juice, then looked curiously at his son as Jr. took a sip of his glass.
"How do you always know how mum is feeling?" he asked and Jr. set the cup down slowly.
"I don't know, Daddy. I've always knowed. I just get a feeling... like this little bit of me always feels how she does. And it hurts when she cries...when it's sad tears. If it's happy tears, it tingles. I didn't know that until last night... she's never cried happy tears before. I got scared when it tingled... I thought that meant it was really bad, not really good." Draco looked at his son in awe.
"That's amazing, Junior. And your feeling is always right?" Jr. nodded.
"Except last night she said she wasn't crying... and I knowed she was," he said, almost in a whisper.
"She was crying last night, Draco. She didn't want you to worry... it was happy tears," Draco said and Jr. looked up, nodding.
"I knowed it was happy tears... but I thought my feeling was wrong when she said she didn't... why was she happy? What were you doing, Daddy?" Draco smirked, but made up a quick excuse.
"We were looking at your baby pictures." Jr. made a face.
"Why?" Draco laughed.
"I've never seen them before, Junior. I wanted to know what you looked like."
"I don't know why... I look a whole lot better now," he said and Draco laughed again.
"Draco, does anyone else know about your feelings? When Mum is sad?" Draco asked and Jr. looked down.
"Eric does. And I told Jimmy. Jimmy is my bestest friend after Eric. He didn't believe me... he said I was lying..." Jr. looked up. "Do you believe me?" Draco stood straight.
"Of course I believe you." Jr. smiled, and Draco returned it.
"I think Mum knows... but I don't think she believes me either."
"I bet she would if you told her," Draco said and Jr. nodded.
"Do you want me to, Daddy?"
"If you want to, Draco. I think she'd like to know," he said and Jr. smiled, then nodded, just as Eric entered the kitchen. "There you are, Eric. Good morning."
"Yeah, yeah..." he mumbled, dragging himself to the chair beside his cousin. Draco laughed.
"Not a morning person, huh?" he asked, pouring Eric a glass of orange juice. "So, what do you boys want for breakfast, hm?"
"You don't have to cook for us, Uncle Draco, we can just have cereal. It's faster," Eric said, perking up a little at the quick energy boost chugging an entire glass of pulp-free orange juice will give a boy of seven.
"Maybe, but it's not as good for you, now, is it?" Eric laughed.
"You sound just like my dad," he said happily and both Jr. and Draco smiled.
"You know Eric... if you told me that ten years ago, I'd have hexed you into the next century." Eric laughed.
"You mean you and Dad weren't always friends?" Draco laughed.
"No way! Now, about breakfast... I may not be able to flawlessly do magic, or fit into my old clothes, or know either of your middle names, but I can cook. Now, what do you want? Eggs are always a good choice. What do you say?" The boys smiled at each other. "Yeah? Yeah." He decided for them and opened the fridge again.
"Allen," Eric said and Draco looked to him.
"What?"
"My middle name is Allen." Draco smiled and Jr. sat straighter.
"My name is Draconis Silvius Demetrius Malfoy... the second," Jr. said, straining slightly with the syllables. Draco smiled.
"And I got stuck with a boring name like Eric Allen Potter," Eric said, rolling his eyes. Draco laughed.
"I don't even have a middle name. You know, Draco," Draco started as he made their scrambled eggs and slipped some toast in the toaster. "Before you were born, Mum and I didn't know if you were going to be a boy or a girl. I thought you would be a boy, but she wanted a girl." He smiled crookedly. "When we were thinking of names, Demetrius was the only name your mother would allow. I told her we would name you that, if and only if I got to pick out a girl's name." Jr. made a face.
"What was I going to be called, Daddy?" Draco smiled.
"Well, I wanted Hermione, but Mum said she'd kill me, so I changed it to Nerissa," Draco said, smiling and Jr. tilted his head.
"After Nanna?" Draco nodded. "That's not so bad, I guess... it coulda been worse... like... Margarite, or something." Draco laughed.
"Do you happen to know where Mum got your other middle name?" Jr. smiled widely.
"She said that a long time ago, there was this man that no body ever liked, but he wasn't really a bad guy... and he helped you and her before I was born. She didn't tell me who it was, though..." Draco smiled.
"I know." Jr.'s eyes lit up.
"Who, Daddy?"
"Professor Severus Snape. He teaches potions at Hogwarts; do you know about Hogwarts?" Both boys nodded. "Your Mum is right, though, Junior. He was a very good man. We would have been in a lot of trouble if it wasn't for Snape."
"Uncle Draco, will you tell us more about Aunt Mina and Mum and Dad when you were younger." Draco smiled, getting plates and silverware for the boys.
"When we were eleven, Uncle Harry, Aunt Mina, Uncle Ron and I all went to Hogwarts together. They were friends almost from the first day. Well, Uncle Ron and Uncle Harry were... they didn't really like Aunt Mina much; they thought she was bossy and bookish, and she was, but her grades were very important to her. They accepted her soon enough. I, on the other hand, was not part of their group. They were in Gryffindor, and I was in Slytherin. It was common knowledge that Slytherin and Gryffindor never get along," Draco told them, as he dished their eggs and toast, and placed a plate in front of each of the boys. "In fact, I hated all three of them more than anyone else in the entire school. Particularly your mother, Draco. We would go back and forth, verbally fighting daily, and occasionally I would throw the boys a punch or two. I never once hit Aunt Mina. Let me tell you this now, boys, and remember it; never, ever hit a woman. Ever. Under no circumstances. Okay? Promise me that, right now."
"I won't Daddy," Jr. swore through a mouthful of eggs, putting his hand to his heart as if saying the pledge. Eric smirked.
"That's common sense, Uncle Draco. Of course I won't." Draco smiled.
"Good. Anyway, it wasn't until sixth year that I started being more accepting to those Gryffindor. Your Mum didn't really become a part of the group until that year, either, Eric. She had the biggest crush on your dad since even before her first year; everyone knew about it. She was shy and didn't want to be around him, but she told everyone that she just didn't want to hang out with her brother, Uncle Ron. But in our sixth year, Professor McGonagall, who teaches Transfiguration at Hogwarts, assigned Aunt Mina as my tutor in her class. She was already tutoring Harry and Ron, in more than just transfiguration, and she was determined to do anything to please a teacher. Fact of the matter is, your Mum was the smartest girl in school, Draco.
"So, we would all get together in the library after school, and, once it was decided that fighting wasn't going to get us anywhere, we relaxed and actually had a good time. It didn't take us long to become friends... and in the middle of sixth year, I asked your Mum to be my girlfriend. She has been ever since." Eric looked confused.
"Aren't you and Aunt Mina married?" he asked and Draco smiled, but shook his head.
"But Daddy, Mummy has a ring on her finger," Jr. said, pointing to his ring finger. "I've never seen her take it off and I asked her what it was, and she said you gave it to her. Doesn't that make you married?" Draco chuckled.
"Not quite, Junior. What your Mum has is an engagement ring. I asked her to marry me, and she said yes... but we never actually got married. If we had, I'd have a ring too," Draco said and held out his hands, showing the boys his bare fingers. "Do you remember Uncle Ron's wedding?" They nodded. "Mum and I never had one of those."
"Are you going to?" Jr. asked, looking excited.
"I hope so, kiddo. It's up to your Mum," he said and Jr. smiled, then went back to his eggs. A few minutes later, Jr. gasped suddenly. Draco looked worried. "Junior? Junior, what's wrong?" Jr. dropped his fork and squeezed his eyes shut, fists clenched.
"Daddy... it's Mum. She's crying... it's not happy tears... it's never hurt this much before, Daddy..." he said, sounding as if he really were in pain. Draco paled.
"Oh god, she thinks I'm not here..." he whispered. "Draco, I'm going to fix it, okay? Eric, will you watch him, please? Try and eat your breakfast, and don't touch the stove," he said quickly as he moved toward the door.
"It's bad, Daddy," Jr. said and Draco frowned.
"I know, Junior. I'll fix it, just sit tight," he said and kissed his son quickly on the head leaving the kitchen and before bounding up the stairs.
"Draco?" Eric asked, almost as worried as his Uncle. "Draco, are you okay?" Jr. was straining to breathe. "Draco?" Then, he started to calm down and relax, his breath coming back. Jr. breathed deep.
"It's going away, Eric..." he said quietly, then relaxed entirely. "She's still crying... but she's happy now," he said and Eric just looked scared.
"Are you okay?" Jr. nodded. "Good. Eat, Draco, we have to get ready."
~*~*~*~
~The kitchen scene leads up to when Hermione finds the note; when Jr. stops hurting. Get it?~
Hermione sat in bed, sobbing, laughing, crying... everything, all at once. She'd been so terrified... and now she was so happy. She rocked back and forth, hugging a pillow to her face to absorb her tears. Then, a thumping came down the hall. Hermione turned her head to the door, just in time to see Draco bound into view. She felt herself grow even happier. She smiled widely and wiped her tears.
"Mia! Oh, Mia, I'm so sorry," he said, running to her and wrapping his arms around her. Hermione held him tight, her tears dampening his shirt. He kissed her head. "I'm here... stop crying, please," he whispered, and she pulled back.
"I know, Draco... I found your note..." she said and sniffled. "Thank you," she shook her head. "I thought... oh, Draco, I was so scared..."
"I'm sorry, Mia... maybe I should have woken you up..." She shook her head.
"I'm okay now," she said, and he smiled, kissing her lips softly. "I just love you, you know."
"I love you too," he agreed and she smiled.
"What time is it?" Hermione asked no one, turning around to look at the clock. It was ten after six. "Oh, shit... the boys, I have to get them up, they're going to be late..." Draco chuckled.
"It's okay, Mia. They're up... I fed them, everything's okay. Calm down, baby," he said, kissing her again. Hermione smiled.
"Thank you..." she took a breath. "But I still have to get them ready... those boys," she said shaking her head and getting out of bed. She charmed into simple flared jeans and a black sweater, magiked her hair into a loose bun, and placed her wand into her pocket. Draco stood next to her and she wrapped him in a tight hug. "I'm glad you're still here." Draco smiled.
"Where else would I go?"
"Back to your eighty-dollar-a-month apartment?"
"Never."
~*~*~*~
Hermione shuffled into the kitchen, smiling and followed closely by Draco. Jr. jumped off his stool and ran to her.
"Mummy!" he said, embracing her. He knew she was okay... it didn't hurt anymore... it actually felt... good.
"Good morning, baby. Are you all finished here?" she asked, picking him up. Jr. nodded, smiling widely. "What say we take a bath, hm?"
"Aw, do I have to?" he wined and Draco smiled. Hermione hugged Jr. tight.
"Yes you have to," she said. "Good morning, Eric."
"Good morning Aunt Mina," he said back, smiling. Hermione turned around to face Draco. She pecked his lips.
"Will you watch Eric for me? Narcissa usually does, but I guess we're all running a little late this morning," she said and sighed. "A lot happened yesterday." Draco smiled and gave her another kiss.
"Everyone except Junior," he said with a smile. "Of course I will."
"Thank you," she said, kissed him quickly and stepped past him, heading to the downstairs bathroom. Draco watched her go, then turned to Eric, who was still eating slowly. With a small breath, Draco took the seat next to the seven-year-old blonde and started to polish off Jr.'s plate. Eric made a face.
"What?" Draco asked and he shook his head. "No, tell me."
"Draco was just eating that," he said, pointing to the plate and Draco nodded.
"I know," he said, smirking and shoving another forkful of eggs in his mouth. Eric shook his head.
"Ew..." he said and Draco shook his shoulders.
"Taste's fine. Want some?" he asked, teasingly shoving a speared glob toward the boy. Eric backed away, laughing.
"Stop! Now you're really acting like my dad!" Draco smirked and placed the fork back on his plate.
"Now, Eric, I don't think it was necessary for you to insult me," he said and Eric laughed. Draco smiled, then sighed. "You know, kid, there's something I really think I should talk to you about," he said and Eric turned to him. "About... what happened... why I didn't come back." Eric's smile dropped to its very lowest depths.
"What about it?" he asked sadly and Draco turned to look at him.
"Do you really think it was your fault?" Eric paused a moment, then nodded slowly. "Why?"
"Because, if it weren't for me, you'd have come home. If you hadn't saved me, you wouldn't have missed out on so much."
"That may be true, Eric, but think about it. If you could go back and do it again, what would you do differently?" He shook his head.
"I don't know; I don't really remember what happened..."
"Exactly. How can you be held accountable for something you don't even remember doing? And what would have happened if I hadn't been hit, hm? If you were banished, instead of me? You were two years old, Eric. You'd either have died in the forest, or been raised by that tribe of people. You wouldn't live here, you wouldn't know Nanna, or Aunt Mina, or Draco... you wouldn't know your Mum and Dad. Do you think that would have been better?" Draco asked and Eric paused for a moment.
"Not for me, but for you, yes. I didn't have a girlfriend and a baby to go home to... I didn't even have a home. You would have been there when Draco broke his arm falling out of the tree house, you would have been there for the pre-school play, when he had to wear a chicken costume and it looked absolutely ridiculous. You would have watched him grow up, and been there for him... and it would have been better for Draco. He would have had a Daddy..."
"He does, Eric. I'm Draco's daddy, and I'm here now. You've been a very, very good friend to him, Eric. Draco loves you. Yes, I would have been there... but you wouldn't have. He needs you too. And now, everyone is here, together. If I'd always been here... you never would have. Do you see what I'm saying, Eric? You're just as important to Draco as I am, and to Nanna... and much more to your Mum and Dad. They love you, Eric. Just look at the way things are... it's not so bad, right?" Draco said and Eric smiled.
"I guess you're right," he said quietly and Draco grinned.
"That's what I thought. Do you still think it was your fault?" Eric, again, paused, then nodded.
"It was my fault, Uncle Draco. You can't change that... but you did show me that it wasn't as horrible a thing as I thought. I'll always feel a little guilty that you missed so much... that Draco missed so much... but at least I can say, hey, I was there." Draco smiled proudly.
"That's all I could ask," he said and opened his arms. Eric smiled and accepted his embrace. Draco held him tight. "You're a good kid, Eric," he said, letting go. Draco smiled and Eric turned back toward the floor, then he looked up.
"Thanks, Uncle Draco. I really do feel better. I'm going to go get ready now," he said and Draco smiled at him.
"No problem, Eric," he said and watched the boy leave the kitchen, before he ventured off to partake in bath-time.
A/N: Wow. Sorry if your name happens to be Margarite.... lol. I don't know if you have to have the same middle name as your dad in order to be a 'the second' but I don't particularly care. Lol. I wanted symbolic middle names...
PRF: Woo Hoo! 100 Reviews!
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Angelgurl06: Of course I will... I doubt I'd stop even if my reviews did cold turkey. Although I don't want that to happen!
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Thanx guys, you're getting better... I guess I can safely say chapter 8 is on it's way ;o)