The next couple weeks had passed in blur. Both Hermione and the rest of her department had spent the best part of 3 weeks living in their office. What had started as just Hermione and Draco staying overnight had quickly ended up with 5 of the 9 remaining camping out in the office. Luckily for Draco the ones that stayed behind were a lot less hostile towards him.
All their hard work had done something and yet again talks had worked. Things were growing much more peaceful out east than they expected. Tensions were still arising within the muggle community; however, the magical community were doing their best not to get too involved. This respite had been long overdue. For the first time in weeks Hermione had been able to enjoy a bath in her own home.
The kids had finally come home after spending the last month or so with Ron. On the Saturday morning while Hermione had been reading her book, Rose had come rushing in, jumping up on her bed.
"So, mum…" Hermione knew exactly what she was going to ask. Rose had obtained Scorpius address after Hermione had asked Draco for it and the two children had been owling each other ever since. "Rosie, I know you really want Scorpius to visit but I'm finally home and I'd just like to relax."
Rose glared at her mother from where she was sat, arms crossed. "You promised me he could come over. I've been waiting so long. I haven't even told daddy about this. I've even stopped Hugo from slipping up. He's my friend and I want to see him now!" At this point Rose was screaming at her mother. Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose. This really was her Weasley temper coming through.
"Rose you do not raise your voice. That is not how I raised you. Scorpius will visit when I decide. Now go to your room. And think about how you talked to your mother and whether that is the right way to behave." Rose while still very much annoyed with her mother, stormed out of the room. Hermione winced as she heard Rose's bedroom door slam shut.
As Hermione was about to get back into her book. A sleepy Hugo made his way into her room. His hair was quite the sight, it was truly unruly. Hugo climbed into the bed and cuddled up against her. "Did Rose wake you up?" Hermione asked. Her fingers running through his curls. He nodded beside her and cuddled up closer. That was at least till his stomach rumbled so loudly that Hermione couldn't stop the laugh that had escaped her lips.
"How does breakfast sound?" At the mention of breakfast, the sleepy Hugo's eyes shot open, and he practically sprinted down to the kitchen. Hermione clambered out of her bed before knocking on Roses door. "Rose, I'm making breakfast now. Come down when you're ready."
Hermione set about making breakfast while Hugo helped. He went on and on about everything that he'd been learning while they'd been apart. He'd told her all about visiting his uncle Georges shop, and the quidditch game that his uncle Bill had taken all the children to. Hermione heard the soft footsteps of Rose as she made her way down for breakfast. She took a seat at the kitchen table.
"I'm sorry mum. I shouldn't have yelled." Hermione smiled gently. "Apology accepted. I know you're frustrated Rose, but I've only just come home. I promise I'll send Scorpius's dad an owl to organise it. Just let me have this weekend?" Rose nodded and a wave of relief washed over Hermione. This was how she liked things to be.
When Hermione had headed into the office on Monday she was met by silence. The chaos of the last month had died down and the office was back in its usual state. An air of calm was about the office, and everyone, for the most part looked like they'd gotten a decent night's sleep. Which everyone had needed.
She sat at her desk and pulled down one of the files that had been left for her. She was deep in her work when a cup of coffee was placed in front of her. She looked up to see Draco who'd finally turned up for work. When she checked the time, it had already been close to 11am. The latest he'd ever turned up.
"Everything alright?" she asked. It was unusual for him to turn up that late for work. In all the years they'd worked together he was usually in soon after her. He gave her a small if not awkward smile. "Yeah. Just had to deal with some important things. I let Weasley know."
At lunchtime Alice, the girl who worked next to Hermione asked her if she wanted to eat together. Hermione had no reservations in accepting. During their nights together in the office, Hermione had grown quite fond of the girl. The two made their way into muggle London. Alice wanted to take Hermione to a small café that her friend ran. The two quickly ordered then took a seat.
"Hermione, I have a question." Alice asked, a wicked grin on her face. One that was rather unsettling if you asked Hermione. Nevertheless, Hermione waited. "Is there something going on between you and Mr Malfoy?" Hermione choked on the coffee she'd been drinking. She gave her an incredulous look. Trying to wrap her head around what had just been said. "I'm only asking because you two always seem to go off together. He even brought you coffee this morning. I know there's a very complicated history there. From what I've heard but I just had to ask. Like before you used to refer to him as Malfoy but now it's always Draco."
Hermione hadn't really given it much thought. Was their new 'friendship' obvious. She hadn't even realized that she'd been referring to him as Draco. While they were at work.
"Nothing is going on. We ran into each other outside of work and our kids formed a quick friendship. Didn't feel it would be appropriate to call him Malfoy when our kids were around. I guess it's just stuck." She was lying through her teeth. She just had to hope that Alice would buy her lie.
"Oh, so that's it. I didn't realise Mr Malfoy had a son. I really was wondering. I just…I overheard Mr. Weasley talking to Auror Weasley about your divorce. I wasn't trying to listen in or anything. I just needed to give him some documents." Alice replied, her expression still as bright as before, "Don't worry. I didn't tell anyone. It's not my place."
Hermione really felt like dying. She couldn't believe how careless Ron had been. How he would've talked about such a private matter at work. Especially considering the media did not know. Hermione did her best to keep her composure during the lunch. She couldn't blame Alice for anything. However, she really wanted to give Ron a piece of her mind. She did see herself as too mature for that. Throughout the rest of the day, she couldn't get what Alice had said out of her mind. If Alice had noticed it, she wondered if the rest had noticed too, and Percy in particular.
By 6pm everyone in the office, minus Hermione and Draco had left. Draco doing his best to catch up on the work he missed. While Hermione prepped the documents that Percy would need for his meeting the next day. Hermione kept stealing glances towards Draco. She watched Draco throw down his quill, running his hands through his hair.
"I feel like you're burning holes in the back of my head. What's wrong?" he looked rather annoyed. Making Hermione feel rather guilty. She chewed on her lip. Trying to push what Alice had said to the back of her mind. Should she mention what Alice said or not. She couldn't decide.
"Well, actually, it's about Rose and Scorpius." The annoyed look slipped and was replace with one of relief. "Well, Rose was asking me about it. She's very insistent on them meeting soon. Even yelled at me on Saturday over it." A smile spread on Draco's face. "Scorp was the exact same. Kept asking about it. Is there a date you're thinking? I can check my calendar." Hermione looked at the calendar on her desk, pondering whether to ask about this weekend or the week after.
"What about this weekend? I know it's soon but honestly I feel bad for not being around the last couple weeks." Hermione didn't have to wait long for an answer. "That's perfect. Say a time and I'll have Scorpius there." Hermione sighed with relief, "Say, 12 o'clock?" He gave her a thumbs up before quickly going back to work. Which Hermione herself did. She left before he did, once the documents were finished she was out the door to collect the kids from Ron's.
Saturday rolled around and the house was a frenzy. Hermione was rushing around like a mad man trying to clean the house which looked a mess. Clothes, toys, and books everywhere. She had both the kids in their rooms cleaning from the early morning. Once the house was clean, she had practically shoved the kids into the shower. Sending Rose in first as she didn't need much help. She knew she'd have to help Hugo. Once everyone was washed, she set about drying and attempting to make their hair presentable.
At the strike of 12, she heard a knock on the front door. Before Hermione could even get to the door, Rose had sprinted down the stairs and flung it open. Revealing a rather startled Scorpius and serious Draco. "Hello, Mr. Malfoy." Rose briefly said hello before dragging Scorpius up the stairs to her room. Hermione had managed to catch a glimpse of the wave he'd sent her way.
Draco didn't move from where he was stood. In all honesty he had no idea what he was supposed to do. He wasn't sure if he was leaving Scorpius there or if he was supposed to stay. The only people Scorpius had spent time with were the children of his few remaining school friends. At least the ones that had had a change in tune about blood purity. "Aren't you coming in?" Hermione beckoned Draco into the house. He thanked her.
The last time he'd been there was when he'd borrowed her floo network after the muggle bar. He noted that it did look a lot cleaner than last time. He followed Her into her kitchen, taking a seat at the table. "Coffee? Tea?" She asked. "A coffee would be perfect." He replied rather awkwardly. Both parents were startled by a crash my upstairs, only to relax when they heard laughter. "I don't even want to know what contraption their uncle gave them." Hermione laughed, trying to break the awkward tension in the room. They heard another crash followed by more laughter. Draco let out a chuckle. That one chuckle put Hermione at ease.
Once she'd finished making the coffee, she handed it over to Draco. Who graciously took it from her before practically chugging it back. "Sorry, Scorpius was pretty much up all night. Couldn't sleep. Kept coming in to talk to me. Think I may have fallen asleep around 4." He groaned rubbing his eyes. Hermione motioned to the French press between the two, "Drink as much as you want." With that they both grew silent. It was comfortable. For Hermione it all felt a little intimate though. The last time Draco had been at her house they'd both been drunk. Now though, both were very much sober, and Hermione constantly felt on edge that Ron just may suddenly pop round. She did not want to deal with that kind of blow up.
Hermione and Draco had moved to her living room now. Both had slowly grown more comfortable with each other's presence. They had been discussing work when the three children came bounding down the stairs. "Mum, I'm hungry." Rose had come stumbling into the living room, hair a mess and a huge grin on her face. Neither parent had actually known what time it was. It was only when they'd finally looked up, that they realized it was already dinner time.
Draco had shot out of his chair. Quickly taking his empty mug to the kitchen. "Thank you so much for having us over." Draco thanked her and went to grab his jacket. Yet again she felt like this could potentially bite her in the ass. "Why don't you stay? We're having a barbecue tonight. It's no hassle honestly. I've got enough food to feed an army." Hermione winced at her choice of words. Hermione watched as Scorpius practically begged his dad to stay. Scorpius had worked his magic on his father. So, Draco and Scorpius stayed for the evening.
Draco had offered to help with the cooking, taking Hermione completely by surprise. She assumed that just like every other pureblood family he had zero skills in the kitchen as they had house elves. "I didn't know you cooked." She stated. Watching as he carefully dealt with the food. Draco hummed, "I don't have a house elf." Hermione didn't press further. She imagined that it most likely had something to do with his punishment.
"Do you want anything to drink? I've got 7Up, Beer, water, juice?" Draco smiled at her. "A beer would be lovely." Hermione went to get drinks for everyone and by the time she came back the food was just about finished. Rose and Scorpius had been taking the plates of food from him. Once everyone was sat down, they tucked into the meal.
Once everyone had practically eaten themselves into a food coma Hermione and Draco set about clearing the table. They placed the towering pile of dishes in the sink. Hermione looked out the window to see that the children had become much more docile. Clearly exhausted from the day and all the food. Both parents realised that it was probably time for them to leave. It was getting close to everyone's bedtime, and honestly both parents were exhausted too.
"Scorp, it's time to go!" Draco shouted out into the garden. His sons head shot up from where it had been. He and Rose had been talking in hushed voices while Hugo did his best to stay awake.
Rose knocked Hugo's arm and the three children made their way back into the house. Hermione picked up the sleepy Hugo, whose eyes were growing heavier and heavier. The Granger-Weasley clan walked their guests to the door to say goodbye. Rose and Scorpius hugged each other tightly, while Hugo flung his hand out in something that resembled a wave. "Thank you for having us Hermione. We had a wonderful time." Draco smiled while Scorpius nodded vigorously next to him. "Next time, you've got to come to my house. I've got loads of things I want to show you." Scorpius beamed at Rose. "That's a plan." She beamed back. The three of them waved goodbye as Draco and Scorpius took off down the street.