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Chapter 3

"You're sooty," Draco informed Hermione, once he had relieved her of Ralph's weight.

"So are you," she shot back. With a few waves of her wand, the young Malfoy family was all tidied up. Hermione, trying to stall for time, fussed over Ralph's clothes until Draco sighed impatiently and turned around, carrying Ralph out of Hermione's reach. Draco led the way to an elegantly furnished sitting room, where his parents waited.

"Grandma!" Ralph exclaimed excitedly, wriggling out of Draco's arms, "Grandpa!"

"Come here and give me a kiss," Narcissa smiled, beckoning to her grandson. Hermione, who half-expected Narcissa to treat them all with cold formality, was surprised.

"Don't just stand there, you two," Lucius said, patting Ralph on the head while glaring at Draco and Hermione.

Hermione timidly took a seat, and Draco copied her.

By now, even Narcissa sensed that something was wrong. She gave Ralph one last hug and directed his attention to the small dog lying down at the other side of the room, effectively distracting him.

"What's wrong?" Lucius asked, an eyebrow elegantly raised.

Draco and Hermione looked at each other, each willing the other to speak. Draco gave in. "Something strange happened. I suppose you two know that we're married…" His parents scoffed, with Lucius raising his other eyebrow in a manner calculated to tell his son to get to the point. Draco did. "Well, we woke up this morning and didn't. Didn't know we were married, I mean. We had no recollection of being married at all."

"What?" Lucius asked in disbelief. Narcissa's eyes widened and she looked from Draco to Hermione.

Hermione nodded. "I had no idea where I was, why I was there, and who I was in bed with."

Lucius and Narcissa looked at each other before bursting out laughing. "I wish I could have seen your faces!" Lucius slapped his knee lightly.

"Grow up," Draco told them, extremely peeved. Both he and Hermione were matching shades of pink.

"I'm sorry dear, but it's funny to us! You must have been so shocked!" Narcissa chuckled. "We're not the ones who have lost our memories."

"We haven't lost all our memories, just the ones about being married," Hermione explained irritably, wishing her in-laws would stop laughing. She couldn't suppress a feeling of relief- after all, being laughed at by the elder Malfoys wasn't the worst that could have happened. "We couldn't even remember Ralph! In fact, we're still at stage where we don't even like each other."

"This is serious," Draco frowned. "For one thing, what caused this? We don't know if someone cursed us, or slipped us a potion, or something. And we don't know if our memories will ever come back."

Lucius shook his head, still chuckling. "Draco, if it was meant with evil intentions, don't you think the person would have done something else? Erasing the memories of your marriage is not something a former Death Eater would do, especially if he had the opportunity to do something worse."

Hermione sighed. Lucius was right, of course. "But if it wasn't a Death Eater, then who could it be?"

The other three looked at each other. "I don't know," Lucius said, "but I don't think the spell or potion was meant to be dangerous. It's worth going to a Healer, perhaps. This condition might not be as rare as we think."

"I was going to check the library, to see if there was anything useful," Hermione said.

Lucius nodded. "Always a good place to start. What were you two doing last night, anyway? Am I correct in assuming you still remembered your marriage last night?"

Draco shrugged. "Well, I don't remember remembering my marriage, but Ginny Weasley- or Potter, now- said we did."

Hermione frowned. "We were at Ginny and Harry's fifth wedding anniversary party last night. I don't really remember it, though- or maybe I do, a little. I think I remember everything, except that I apparently am in love with Mal- I mean, Draco, and the results of that. I remember my work, my friends, and basically everything not related to my love life."

"How can this have happened?" Draco asked his parents. "And I don't just mean this whole memory loss mess; how could I have married someone like her? She's-"

"How dare you talk about your wife in that manner!" Lucius was appalled. Draco, having clearly expected some sympathy from his parents, was taken aback. "She is the mother of your child, Draco!"

"Well, it's not like I remember that fact! I don't even like her."

"She is sitting right beside you, dear, and we all know she can hear you. You're a grown and married man, I don't need to tell you to apologize. Hermione, I know he's my son, but how could you have married someone so disgustingly rude?" Narcissa asked, causing Draco to flush.

"I wish I knew," Hermione replied ruefully. She was as surprised as Draco was that his parents were on her side. It wasn't as if she hadn't expected him to make such a comment. She sent Draco a sympathetic look. After all, she and he were used to insulting each other. She rather thought that Narcissa's retort had been crueller. Her in-laws certainly weren't the people she had always imagined them to be. She knew they had both spent time in Azkaban following the war. Narcissa's sentence had been reduced after Harry's testimony about her help in the last battle, but it was likely that Lucius hadn't been out of Azkaban for very long. Perhaps their stint in prison had changed their mindsets.

"You just need help remembering," Narcissa said decisively. "Maybe something can trigger your memory."

Hermione snorted. "You'd think waking up next to each other would trigger it. Or, if not that, then seeing Ralph."

All of the adults turned to look at Ralph, who was giggling and playing tug-of-war with the small dog. Hermione could feel herself smile in spite of the circumstances. He really was an adorable child. She couldn't believe that he was hers.

Moreover, she couldn't believe he was Malfoy's. Draco Malfoy, a kind and loving father? It was almost laughable. And yet, she remembered the way he had coaxed Ralph into his trousers, and then played with him afterwards. It was obvious Ralph adored his daddy.

"You know," Narcissa said, still watching her grandson, "if you two need time to sort things out, Lucius and I can take Ralph for a while. At least, until this problem gets fixed."

Hermione looked at Draco, who raised his eyebrows at her. She turned back to Narcissa. "Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy-"

"Narcissa," the older woman corrected. "Or Mother, if you'd like. You're Mrs. Malfoy now too."

Hermione grimaced. "Oh right. Thank you, Narcissa," she tried again, "but I think it's best if Ralph stays with us. We don't know if this problem will ever be fixed, and it would be more difficult on him if we weren't there. It's bad enough that we don't remember him, and if we continue to distance ourselves from him, instead of reacquainting ourselves and making new memories, we might just make things worse."

Narcissa nodded understandingly. "Quite true, dear."

At that moment, Ralph ran up to Draco. "Excuse me," he chirped, and waited patiently until he was sure he had his father's attention. "Daddy, lets play," he said, tugging on Draco's hand.

"Sure, Ralph," Draco answered easily, "but not right now. Let's have lunch first. Remember how hungry you are?"

"Please, Daddy? I wanna play." Ralph looked imploringly up at his father. Hermione hid a smile, wondering how Draco could bear to say 'no'.

Draco looked tempted to give in, but his own stomach rumbling reminded him that he hadn't eaten anything that day. "We'll play later, I promise. But we'll have lunch first. I'm starving because I didn't eat breakfast. Be a good boy and wash up now, you smell like a dog." Draco effectively neutralized the sternness in his voice with a smile.

A house elf came to help Ralph wash for lunch, and Narcissa looked pointedly at the younger generation of Malfoys. "It's a terrible pity how you've lost your memories now, of all times! I remember you mentioned something about expanding your family a few months ago- I wonder how that's going?"

Hermione blushed and shot a glance at Draco, who was making a strange choking sound. "Um…Did we say that?"

"Yes, I distinctly remember something about one or two more children."

"Mother, I hardly think that in the current circumstances where we're not even sleeping in the same room-" Draco was pink in the face. "I mean, more children aren't exactly our top priority right now."

"Hmm," Narcissa said, sounding slightly disappointed. "I do understand, but-"

"'Cissy, did I hear Ralph calling for you?" Lucius asked, sounding deceptively innocent. Narcissa eyed him suspiciously.

"I'm sure I did," Hermione piped up, for once glad that she had married into a family of Slytherins.

Narcissa gracefully got to her feet. "I'd better see what he wants, and then let's have lunch. You look peaky, dear." She directed her last comment at Draco.

Once she was safely out of earshot, Lucius looked at his son. "I do hope you know that your mother was just making that up. She's desperate for more grandchildren."

Draco breathed a sigh of relief. "I suspected, of course, but with Mother one never really knows." He shot a sideways glance at Hermione. "I don't suppose we should get a test, just to make sure?"

Hermione pretended not to hear him. As far as she could remember, she'd never had to worry about pregnancy before. Pregnancy was practically a foreign concept to her. It was hard for her to grasp the idea that she'd already experienced something so monumental and had absolutely no recollection of it. The idea left her shaken.

The Malfoy men seemed to notice her discomfort. "Shall we proceed to lunch?" Draco suggested.

"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed, coming to a realization. "If we had been trying for another child, I doubt I would have had any alcohol last night." She was so relieved that she forgot she had pretended not to hear Draco's suggestion of a pregnancy test. "So we're in the clear."

Draco looked quite relieved too. "You're right. Thank Merlin!"

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "Excellent reasoning. I suppose I shall have to be the one to break the news to Narcissa. Now, lunch?"

Lunch was as pleasant as it could be despite the circumstances. They avoided the delicate topic of the memory loss, and spent half of the meal discussing current events, and the other half teasing Ralph.

Ralph had by no means forgotten Draco's promise, and neither had Draco. They headed for the small playground that Lucius and Narcissa had had built especially for their grandson. Draco rolled his eyes when he saw it- his strict parents turned out to be doting grandparents who loved to spoil his son.

"Don't play too long, it's quite cold," Narcissa cautioned them, as she, Lucius and Hermione sat in a small gazebo near the playground. "It might snow later today."

"It's all right, Mother, we're all wrapped up. Careful now," Draco warned Ralph as the little boy immediately began to climb up the stairs that led to the slide.

Ralph nodded and concentrated on what he was doing. "Hold on tight, hold on tight," he told himself over and over, "I'm all right."

Draco only barely managed not to laugh at his son's mantra. How many times must he have told Ralph to hold tight? He caught the boy at the bottom of the slide and swung him around in the air, both of them yelling in delight. Draco, who had never felt comfortable around children before, was in his element. As he played with Ralph, he wondered, filled with a new kind of anger, who could have taken these precious memories away?

And were they really gone? Playing with Ralph felt so natural, Draco wondered if the memories were just buried deep in his mind, still there somehow. Perhaps if they tried using a Pensieve…

"Zoom!" Ralph yelled as Draco swung him around. "Zoooom!"

"Zoom!" Draco agreed, tossing Ralph into the air and catching him again.

"Daddy, that's not zoom," the little boy said sternly. "That's 'whoosh'."

Draco looked chastised. "Sorry. Whoosh, then," he threw Ralph into the air again. Ralph shrieked with delight.

Hermione watched them from the side, a smile wide on her face. "Careful, you two just ate," she yelled. Then she turned to Lucius and Narcissa. "Malfoy's a pretty good father." It was a statement, not a question.

Narcissa nodded. "He is. Draco runs the company and so has a rather flexible schedule, and he oftentimes prefers to work from home unless he has meetings, so he can spend more time with Ralph. Unfortunately, sometimes his schedule gets quite erratic, which is why it's also good that your work hours are regular. I do hope you two sort everything out," she said. "If you need help, or have any questions, Lucius and I are right here."

Hermione had so many questions, she didn't know where to start. "Do you know why we named him Ralph?" she asked curiously. "Malfoy finds it terribly Muggle. Did we fight about that too?"

"I'm not sure how much you two argued that issue," Narcissa chuckled, "but it certainly wasn't an easy decision. Draco wanted one of the traditional Black or Malfoy family names- he kept teasing you with constellations, his professed favourite being Hercules. You, on the other hand, would read everything you could get your hands on and jot down long lists of every possible name. You stumbled upon Raphael- it means 'God heals'. It seemed like a fitting name, for both you and Draco had been through much in the war, and were still in the process of healing and living. You chose Raphael and Draco chose Cepheus- which means the king- as a second name."

"Raphael Cepheus. And we shortened it to Ralph," Hermione realized. "Well, he does look like an angel." And is treated like a king, she thought.

Narcissa smiled. "That, he does."

Hermione took a deep breath before tentatively posing her next question. "Do you know why Jeeves, the house elf, has such excellent elocution?"

It was Lucius who laughed. "Dear girl, I've never met anyone with views on house elves such as yours. You actually educated your slaves!"

His wife shot him a quelling look. "When Lucius and I moved here," she explained, "we took the family house elves with us. You're no fool, and you realized that Malfoy Manor is so big that it needs house elves to run it. So you and Draco looked for elves of your own. You found two young but capable elves who were willing to work for a small salary and who were willing to be taught."

"Draco was in shock," Lucius chuckled. "He had agreed that the elves you hired be paid and taught, but he never expected you to actually find any elves willing to agree to it. I must say, it is nice to hear elves with proper elocution, and Jeeves and Wooster, for all their notions of grammar and wages, still know their place."

Hermione bristled at his condescending tone, but Narcissa stopped her with a shake of her head. "It never ceases to amaze me," Narcissa said, "that you and Draco come from such different backgrounds, and yet manage to make this work. You do fight, quite often, but in the end always manage come up with an intelligent solution."

The older woman's honesty gave Hermione the courage to ask her next question. "Mrs. Malfoy- Narcissa," she corrected herself, "if I may… What changed your mind about me? What made you accept me into your family?" She glanced at Lucius as well, who was pretending not to have heard. She wondered if it was a question she had asked them before, or if it was the first time she had questioned their affection.

"Draco did," Narcissa answered softly, her eyes on her son. "He was so in love with you. It was impossible to miss how happy he was, how happy you made him." Abruptly, she turned to Hermione. "Lucius and I made many mistakes in our lives, especially when it came to raising Draco. We weren't about to make another. And after spending time with you, we're sure we made the right choice this time."

Hermione smiled, blushing slightly. "Thank you."

Narcissa looked back at Draco. "I'm sure things will work out," she said optimistically. "You can't love each other that much and not remember anything of it. But even if you never remember…"

"What if we never fall in love again?" Hermione asked, picking up Narcissa's train of thought. "Or what if we love each other, but not the same way as before?"

"Impossible. That would be like the sun forgetting how to shine just because of a few days' rain."