A/N: Here is chapter three! I suppose I better explain a few things first. In the Canon world we have Hermione Granger living freely because The Light won the war. In the parallel universe Voldemort won the war rather than The Light winning like in the Canon universe. Because Voldy won in the parallel universe he decided to make 'The Brightest Witch of the Age' his wife as an example to other muggle-born witches and wizards (this will probably be explained in a side-story). I'm only planning a few POV's from the parallel universe otherwise I will probably get distracted and off track with 'Alice' however I am thinking about making a side-story after finishing 'Alice'.
Also, 'Alice' is only going to be a relatively short story as it's basically a pre-sequel/prequel to how Draco and Hermione get together and shows Alice in her younger years. I will be writing a sequel of sorts about Alice when she's a teenager, attending Hogwarts etc.
Disclaimer: I am not JKR therefore I do not own HP. I only own the plot and Alice.
CH. 3
Draco arrived that night at six o'clock on the dot. Knocking on the door, he waited. Five minutes later Hermione opened the door, Alice in her arms. Ushering him in, Hermione completely ignored his look and closed the door behind him.
"I apologise, I haven't had the chance to go grocery shopping yet so we'll have to order in. It was raining a lot today so I didn't want to have Alice out there for too long and I don't have a car seat for her." Hermione said gesturing for him to follow her into the lounge.
"It's fine. So, who's baby is she?" he asked, sitting on the couch.
"That's where it gets interesting. She's my biological daughter but at the same time she isn't mostly because I've not been with anyone since Ron back at Hogwarts and even then nothing of that nature ever occurred." Hermione started. Draco raised his eyebrows.
"Not to mention everyone at work would have noticed if you were pregnant." He commented.
"Yes, yes I know. Read the letter, it should make more sense." She replied, shoving the thick parchment in his face. Frowning he took it and read.
"So basically she's yours and Riddle's child from a parallel universe but you from the parallel universe didn't want her daughter growing up there and found a way to send her here?" Draco asked, sounding slightly confused.
"Yes, basically. I only told you because I trust you plus you're my friend and workmate. I keep thinking whether I should tell Harry and Ron or not." Hermione confirmed, as she stopped her pacing and sat next to him.
"Ok. Well, I don't think you should tell Potter or Weasley. I doubt they know how to keep something like this a secret and Weasley's temper will probably get the better of him, which we don't want. May I hold her? You can go and order dinner." Draco said, confirming her thoughts about Harry and Ron.
"Sure, careful." She said, gently placing Alice in his arms. As she stood she looked at his face, smiling when she saw the careful adoration and anxious concern flit over his face. Draco wasn't really one to show emotion like that but seeing those emotions made her wonder what he'd be like as a father with children of his own or what he would have been like had he been an older brother. Smiling and standing near him and Alice watching the interaction she lost herself in her thoughts and memories.
"-anger. Granger? HERMIONE!" Draco called, knocking her out of her reverie and waking Alice slightly in the process.
"Hm? What is it? Is Alice ok? Does she need feeding or changing? Oh, Merlin! I still haven't bought her any food or nappies yet!" Hermione said, starting to panic.
"Hermione, calm down. Alice is fine. I was just wondering if you were going to order dinner or not. You've been standing there for about twenty minutes now."
"Oh, I have?" Hermione asked, blinking.
"Yes, you have." Draco replied, amused.
"I suppose I had better order dinner before it gets any later." She muttered, walking off in the direction of the kitchen where she kept the phone and takeaway menus. Draco chuckled as he continued to gently rock Alice.
"Malfoy, what do you want to eat? Chinese? Indian? Fish & Chips?" Hermione called from the kitchen. Draco sighed and stood, walking to the kitchen to talk instead of waking Alice by shouting.
"Chinese will do I suppose. Preferably beef Chow Mein." He said answering her. Hermione glanced at Draco, Alice still in his arms, and smiled.
"Why don't you go put Alice in her crib. It's in the living room at the moment but I'll move it later." Hermione suggested as she dialled the Chinese takeout place.
"Alright." He replied, heading back into the living room.
"Hello, I'd like to order a medium beef Chow Mein and medium chicken fried rice. I'd like it delivered please. Thank you." Draco heard her say into the phone as he laid Alice down. He smiled slightly at the sight of the baby wriggling in her sleep. Footsteps approached and he turned to find Hermione standing behind him with a wistful smile on her face. Walking over to the crib she looked at her daughter before turning to give Draco an unexpected hug. Surprised, Draco awkwardly patted her back unsure what to do since he'd never really had a proper hug before. After a few minutes, Hermione pulled back.
"Sorry about that." She apologised with a small smile.
"It's fine." Draco replied with a small chuckle. The pair stood next to the crib awkwardly for a few moments before moving to sit on the couch. Silence ensued which was then broken by Hermione.
"So, dinner will be here shortly. I still don't know what to tell everyone else. They're bound to notice something is going on sooner or later." She babbled.
"Ok. Don't worry about the others. We'll find an excuse and then explain to them what's going on. They don't have to know the truth." Draco said, trying to calm her nerves. Hermione sighed and started thinking, before long fifteen minutes had passed and a knock on the door sounded. She stood and grabbed her wallet from the bench before opening the door.
"Medium beef Chow Mein and medium chicken fried rice? That'll be £25." The delivery guy said to Hermione when she opened the door. She rifled through her wallet and pulled out the requested twenty-five pounds. (A/N: I don't live in the UK so the price is just a guess however the Chow Mein is based on how it's made here in NZ, vegies included with the meat and noodles.) Grabbing the bag which held the containers of food she paid the delivery guy and closed the door, heading into the living room and setting the food on the coffee table and going to get forks.
As they ate an idea popped into Hermione's head. When they finished she took everything to the kitchen before coming back with drinks and sitting back down.
"So, during dinner I came up with an idea." Hermione said casually.
"Oh, and what is that?" Draco asked, intrigued.
"We tell them a half-truth; that you were over one day and I felt my wards shift. When I opened the door, we found Alice on the doorstep. I don't know where to take it from there though." Hermione explained.
"Well how about we tell them we just started a relationship the week before because we'd been interested in each other for a while. You've got to admit that we do kind of act like a couple sometimes; even our colleagues whisper about us behind our backs." Draco said, not looking at her.
"I suppose it is true. But does this mean…you want to…date…me?" Hermione agreed, whispering the last part.
"Yes. I've liked you since you punched me in third year and I wanted you since the Yule Ball in fourth year." Draco admitted, turning to look at her and finding Hermione staring at him.
"I never hated you. Not even when you were bullying me. Then when I saw you after fourth year, I started to like you more than I should have. I never told anyone, not even Ginny. Admittedly I kept a journal and wrote about a lot of things that happened at Hogwarts in it." Hermione said, reminiscing and not noticing Draco was directly in front of her.
"Granger, stop talking." He said before kissing her softly and chastely before pulling away. Hermione blinked owlishly before grabbing Draco's head, pulling her to him and kissing him back. Their kiss quickly became heated and passionate escalating from built up sexual tension.
Panting, Draco pulled away and grinned at Hermione's flushed face. He leant down and kissed along her jaw line down to her neck. Hermione moaned as he sucked on a sensitive spot, effectively marking her. Pulling back, Draco admired his handy-work.
"Draco, are you sure about this? I don't want to rush anything; especially not with Alice in the picture now." Hermione said breathily.
"I said before that I've wanted you for a while. I intend to keep you, you're not getting away from me ever again; especially not with Alice in the picture. I plan on dating you for a few months before marrying you and having our own family. Don't you think it's time we settle down since all our friends have done so?" Draco explained.
"I suppose so. Pansy and Harry are expecting and I think Ron and Luna are as well. What about Blaise and Ginny? I heard they were getting married soon. I was surprised when Pansy and Harry got together but they're happy enough. Then there's Theo and Lavender, Neville and Tracey and-" Hermione started but was cut off by Draco kissing her again.
"You're doing too much talking love." He said, voice becoming low and husky. Hermione shivered slightly causing him to chuckle lowly.
"Let's take this to the bedroom shall we?" He asked giving her a wicked smile, a glint in his eyes making her toes curl. They levitated Alice in her crib to the bedroom opposite the master bedroom and put up a charm that would alert them if she woke before heading to the master bedroom and continuing with the evening's activities.
A/N: There is chapter three. I hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter will hopefully be up soon. Sorry this one was so late, I had trouble figuring out where to go with it and a bit of writers block but now I have a loose plan. This story will probably only have a few more chapters before I end it and post the first chapter of Alice: All Grown Up. Anyway I think I've done enough rambling. Don't forget to review!