I wish I could be one of those people who enjoys the rain. They're probably people who don't have body parts that hurt whenever the weather takes a turn. Knees, back and elbow are all achy, and I'm blaming the weather. Sunshine would be nice right about now.

Chapter 8
"But he refers to you as his wife?" Ginny Potter asked. "That's a good sign."

"Only in public," Hermione muttered. "The rest of the time he calls me Granger."

Seated at the Weasley family's kitchen table, the two young mothers commiserated about life with their husbands. Ginny and Harry had married only a year after the war ended. Just months before Ana was born, James Sirius Potter entered the world. Sixteen months later, his brother, Albus Severus, joined the family. Both boys were the spitting image of their father, from the messy, dark hair and green eyes to their penchant for mischief. Ginny often had her hands full with her sons while her husband worked for the Auror department.

"Do you think Ana notices anything out of the ordinary?" Ginny asked, as she spoon fed Al his lunch.

Hermione nodded. Like her mother, Anastasia was an inquisitive child. If there was a question to ask, Ana demanded it be answered. With Draco's return home, the questions increased more and more as the days went by. The tension between her parents had definitely begun to affect the little girl.

"She asked me yesterday why he's sleeping on the sofa," she shared. "And today she asked why Daddy and I never kiss anymore. Maybe it would have been better if he stayed at the hospital until his memories returned."

Yelping, Ginny attempted to pry her red locks from her son's messy hand. With food in her hair and a frown on her face, she returned her attention to her friend. "I thought you said being home would help him recover his memories," she pointed out. "Has he remembered anything at all?"

She thought back over the last few days since his return. "Well, he's accused me of having an affair," she said. "He doesn't speak to me. He spends all of his time with Ana, which I've chosen to take as a good sign. But, no, he doesn't seem to remember anything."

"Must have been difficult prying her away from him today to come here," Harry commented, joining them at the table. Frowning, he began to remove mashed peas from his wife's hair.

Hermione sighed. "She cried. She whined. She pleaded. She tried bargaining," she said. "It was pretty difficult to get her to leave without him. It's a miracle she hasn't asked to go home yet."

Harry chuckled as he watched the kids play in the backyard. "James seems to be doing a pretty good job of keeping her distracted," he commented, laughing harder when George joined in the fun by allowing the two children to jump on his back.

"Harry, the Auror department has been investigating Draco's accident. Is there anything you can tell me?" Hermione asked. "Anything that might give us some clue as to what he was working on? Maybe if the healers know what it was, they can figure out a way to reverse the effects."

He looked to his wife as if silently asking her if she thought it a good idea to share anything with their friend. The redhead gave a minute nod before removing Al from his highchair to clean him up. Now alone, Harry turned to Hermione and removed his glasses. "I'm not a part of his case given my connection to your family, but I have heard things," he said quietly. "The Ministry has been working on finding a way to reverse memory charms. It seems Draco's potion backfired when he added the wrong ingredient."

"That's not like him," Hermione interjected. "He's always been good at potions, and he's meticulous about his ingredients. There's no way he would have added the wrong thing."

"What if someone switched something on him?" Harry wondered.

Dark brows furrowed. "Do you think someone tried to sabotage him?" she asked. But Harry could only shrug. "So, these new memories he has, they're part of the potion mishap?"

"They could be," Harry hedged. "Blaise is supposed to be looking into it. His other project was shelved. Has he said anything to you about it?"

She shook her head. "Maybe he's not supposed to," she reasoned as the kitchen door opened. Their conversation ended when George carried Ana and James inside just as rain began to fall outside.

"Mama, see Daddy now?" Ana asked, squirming in her uncle's arms. He set her down and she ran to stand beside Hermione. Her small hands touched the swell of her mother's stomach, and she received a small kick from the life growing inside of her. "Silly baby," she added with a giggle.

"We'll go soon," she promised, stroking her soft, curly locks as Ana glued herself to her side. "It's almost nap time anyhow."

Ana perked up as an idea formed in her head. "Take nap with Daddy?" she asked, attempting to climb onto her mother's lap.

Hermione helped her up and smiled. "I think Daddy would like that," she replied. Turning her attention back to Harry, she asked, "Can we talk about this more tomorrow?"

"We can have lunch tomorrow around noon," Harry suggested. 'Ginny can take Ana if you need her to."

Hermione expressed her gratitude and set Ana back on her feet to say her goodbyes. "Draco doesn't seem to trust Blaise," she said to Harry once Ana was out of the room. "Why do you think that is?"

He looked around to make sure they were alone. "I know what you're thinking," he replied. "Blaise has been good to your family, Hermione. Besides, Draco has no memory of that day. There's no reason to believe that he doesn't trust him because he messed with Draco's experiment. I mean, that is what you were thinking, right?"

Hermione laughed. "Yeah, yeah it was," she said, glad that her friend could always read her mind. "I just wish I understood it."

"I understand it," Harry murmured innocently. "He thinks the two of you are having an affair, right? Remember back in sixth year? All those years, Pansy Parkinson hung all over Draco, then sixth year happens and she's all over Blaise. The guy thinks he's eighteen again, Mione. He just found out that the only family he's got left is you and Ana. I think he's afraid of losing you, even if he doesn't really like you."

"Thank you, Harry," she said, hugging him as tightly as she could.