Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

A/N: I know you guys must probably hate me. I'm so sorry for making you wait so long for an update. I will explain at the end of the chapter. On with the story!


Chapter 4: Party

Since he refused to be seen carrying around a bouquet of roses like some idiot, Draco dropped off the bouquet at his flat. Later, he was walking through the aisles of Mrs. Verrier's All-In-One store. And when they said 'All-In-One', they really did mean all-in-one. The place looked like a dozen stores and a huge grocery store melded into one. They had everything. Of course, the place was as big as a huge shop on the inside, but on the outside, it looked as small as the other shops beside it. Obviously the owners had used undetectable expansion charms. Bigger space for the same renting fee. Clever business men.

It wasn't every day that you would see Draco Malfoy in a grocery store, but today, he was low on supplies. He also happened to fancy a stroll around the neighborhood, even though every time he walked by, ladies would give him seductive looks and meaningful glances. He would answer these petty attempts at seduction with the irresistible Charmer Smile and watch them melt to a puddle of goo or have them burst into a fit of giggles.

Like today: a lady approached him and not so subtly flirted with him, giving him dirty looks and even dirtier innuendos. He was a bit disgusted by it actually. How desperate could a woman get just to snag a good lay? The little slut. He brushed her off unkindly and told her, "The prostitute line is outside." The young woman, shocked at how rudely she had been regarded, angrily stomped away.

Yes, it was hard to be Draco Malfoy.

For today, he was done with his 'errands'—because men did not do groceries or shopping, especially Malfoy men—and was walking toward one of the counters when he heard a familiar voice just in the next aisle.

"Don't go too far now. You guys know how big this place is," the voice said.

It was soft but firm at the same time, with a hint of motherliness to it. He knew that voice. That voice, it belonged to…

HERMIONE GRANGER

Damn it! How small can the world be? he thought. He turned around and started to walk quickly and quietly in the other direction, away from the voice, only to be stopped dead in his tracks by a little girl and a slightly taller boy.

He recognized the girl immediately. What with hair that looked like it was on fire, who wouldn't be able to recognize her? The little boy seemed vaguely familiar though. Maybe he'd seen him once or twice. He didn't really care. Right now his top priority was getting away. He seemed to do that often when confronted with children these days.

"Monsieur! It's you!" the little girl exclaimed, all giddy and excited.

"Yes, Mademoiselle. It is me," he said with a forced smile.

Shit, I forgot the kid's name, he cursed.

The little girl giggled. She seemed so happy to have seen him. Unfortunately, he couldn't say the same thing about her. She looked like she was meeting some hotshot, big star. She was all shy and giggly.

He saw the little boy nudge the girl with his elbow and whisper something to her to which the girl just rolled her eyes.

"Of course I know him!" she suddenly exclaimed exasperatedly at her companion. "He's the one I telled you about! The one that rescued me!"

The little boy's eyes widened like saucers and his mouth formed a silent "oh". Now both children looked at him with amazement and adoration, like he was some kind of hero or something. Well, maybe he was, but he didn't want to be! He groaned. He needed to get out of here. Now. He didn't need another encounter with the bushy-haired wonder.

"Listen, uhh, children, I have some things I have to do now, so I really have to go," he told them lamely. He never had to talk to children before. He was starting to walk around them when the little redhead held out her hands to stop him.

"Wait! Will you be at my party?" she asked.

Fuck! I thought I could get away before she even remembered! Duh, how could a kid forget her own party? He berated himself. He really didn't want to go. So what if he was curious? So what if he wanted to know why Granger's daughter wasn't named Weasley? So what if he wanted to know why she was here in France? So what if he wanted to know why she wasn't with the Pothead and Weasel? So what if he was so intrigued that a small, tiny, miniscule part of him was considering going to the kid's party? So freaking what?

Besides, curiosity killed the proverbial cat.

"You see I, um, I still have some work I need to finish," Draco said.

Liar, his conscience said, and he cursed it for making its sudden appearance and for making him feel sorry for the little girl. The look she was giving him didn't do his resolve any good either. It looked like tears were beginning to form in her brown eyes and her mouth was set in a deep frown. She looked like he had broken her little heart with disappointment and was on the brink of tears.

Draco was panicking. He didn't know what to do. Should he console the kid and tell her that he would go to her party or should he stick with his resolve, deal with her tears and leave like he had planned to? He was pushed into a tight corner and was trapped. Either way, he was doomed.

"But I will be able to make it. I will be going to your party," he hurriedly said to prevent the onslaught of tears that would undoubtedly bring forth the one-mother army known as Hermione freaking Granger. He even added a smile for full effect.

Apparently it worked because in a split second the little girl's face brightened and the tears he thought were forming in her eyes disappeared so quickly that he thought he had just imagined them. Then her frown turned into the biggest smile Draco had ever seen on such a small face.

"Sophie! Adrien! It's time to go," he heard Granger call out somewhere near them.

Draco resisted the urge to run as far away from the voice as possible. Any second now, Granger would be emerging from the other aisle and spot him with her child, or children. Thankfully, her daughter called out to her, "Coming, Mum!"

She smiled brightly at Draco one last time, and he could have sworn it looked like she had just sent him a look that said, "I'll be waiting!"

The two children left Draco Malfoy with his horrible realization. He had been manipulated by a child, using tears, to go to her birthday party. And to add salt to the wound, he would have to tolerate her mother which, by the way, he hated. And he was pretty sure the feeling was mutual.

Great! Fucking great!

Sophie spotted her mum near the exit of the store and ran toward her. The three walked out of the store and toward Hermione's home.

"Where have you two been? I've been looking for the both of you everywhere!" said Hermione with a smile.

The two kids giggled. "We just looked at some of the candies, Mummy," Sophie answered.

Adrien looked at Sophie questioningly. 'Why didn't you tell your mum about monsieur hero?' he seemed to ask.

Sophie put a finger to her lips. 'It's a surprise!'

Adrien gave her a confused looked, to which she only shrugged. They continued to walk beside her mother, who was oblivious to their silent exchange.

She remembered the talk her mum gave to her before saying goodbye at school. She had warned Sophie to not get her hopes up about the man that had rescued her yesterday because he might not come. Boy, was her mum in for a surprise!

Ding dong!

"Sophie! Guests!" her mum called. She saw her mum make her way toward the door from the kitchen and Sophie followed, coming in from the backyard. They both welcomed the new guest, Mr. Belaire.

"Monsieur Belaire!" Sophie exclaimed and hugged the old man.

"Bonjour, Mademoiselle Sophie!" the man greeted. "Mon vous regardez belle, ma chère."

Sophie giggled and twirled around to show off her fancy dress. It was a white dress with a pink ribbon tied around the waist, which ballooned a bit at the bottom, making it look like a ball gown, but ended just below the knees. It had pink sequins and beads tailored into an intricate design so that it seemed to shine when it was hit by the light. She had had her hair done by Auntie Emily. Half of her soft curls held back from her face with pins that had white flowers on them, so it looked like she was showered with little white flowers, leaving the bottom half of her hair to fall on her back.

She cleared her throat and curtsied.

"May I escort you to the backyard, Monsieur Belaire?" Sophie said in a formal tone. She then glanced at her mum to see if she was doing it right. Her mother gave her a smile and a small nod.

Mr. Belaire looked at Hermione with an eyebrow raised. Hermione merely smiled and nodded her head toward Sophie.

"Oui, vous pouvez," He handed Hermione the present he was holding and offered Sophie his arm.

Hermione watched as Sophie and Mr. Belaire headed off into the backyard, where the party was being held. She was grateful for Mr. Belaire's presence in Sophie's life, even though he was only a neighborhood friend. He acted as a father figure to Sophie, along with Uncle Anton, Emily's husband.

Hermione often wished she would meet someone that could help her raise Sophie better. She knew she and Sophie were doing well by just themselves but it just wasn't the same. Sophie used to ask her where her daddy was, and Hermione's guilt would gnaw at her already breaking heart whenever she answered Sophie the same lie. "Daddy can't be with us because Daddy's in a faraway place where he has to work, but Daddy wants Mummy to tell you that he loves you very, very much."

At night, Hermione used to tell Sophie stories about her father. How she and her daddy met. That they used to be best friends. That he also had red hair. That he loved chess too. How much he loved Quidditch. Their adventures together along with Uncle Harry. And that her daddy was a hero. She showed Sophie pictures of them when they were younger. She also told her about her grand-père Arthur and grand-mere Molly, her many uncles and her one and only aunt Ginny. Even though Sophie's father, or any of them, wasn't there with her and her daughter, Hermione didn't want Sophie to not know her father and the rest of the family. They were present in Sophie's life without being present at all.

She remembered one particular night when Sophie was only three years old. She had found Hermione crying silently in her room. Hermione was on her bed with her knees hugged to her chest and head bent over them. Some nights, Sophie didn't want to sleep alone, so she would seek out her mummy to ask if she could sleep with her. So much was her despair, that she didn't even hear her little girl enter the room and approach her.

"Mummy," she called.

Surprised, Hermione looked up with red-rimmed and tear-filled eyes. She hastily wiped at her tears and tried to smile at her little girl.

"Sophie," she said, "what are you doing here, baby? You should be in bed right now."

She picked Sophie up and went back to her bed. Sophie had buried her head in the crook of Hermione's neck.

"Sophie, what are you doing up, sweetie?"

Sophie looked up at her mummy and asked, "Mummy, I do someting wong?"

"No. Sophie did nothing wrong," she said. Tears began to pool in her eyes again and she tried furiously to blink them away. She would not let her daughter see her weakness. She would not let cry in front of her daughter.

Sophie lifted her small hand and touched her mummy's cheek. Hermione placed her hand on top of her daughter's and leaned into it. Despite her resolve, her tears began to fall.

"Mummy, cry. Mummy, sad?"

"Yes, baby. Mummy is sad."

Hermione just didn't have the energy to lie and fight off the guilt that was already consuming her.

"Why?"

"Because, baby, Mummy misses Daddy."

Her daughter looked at her and then wrapped her little arms around her mummy's neck.

"Sophie miss Daddy too."

Hermione didn't bother holding back anymore and let the tears flow. She cried for the friend and lover she had lost. She cried for her daughter who never had a father to be there for her. She cried for the man that had turned his back on the most wonderful little girl in the world. She cried.

From then on, Sophie had lessened her request for stories about her father. She had somehow sensed that if she asked her mum to tell her stories about her daddy her mum would miss him, and she would be sad again. Sophie never wanted to see her mum sad again. Never. Hermione knew because her little girl told her so.

Hermione checked on the party to see if everything was in order and to see if the kids hadn't broken anything yet. So far, so good.

She went into her room to get her video camera. She wanted to record every moment her daughter had and this day was definitely a very special moment.

The party had already started and Emily, with the help of Ms. Summers, was outside hosting the games. Hermione insisted that Emily host the games because she was great with kids. Great, meaning even the grown-ups would shut up just by her looking at them.

She easily spotted Sophie in her white dress with Mr. Belaire. The children were playing musical chairs with their parents. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves despite the fact that it was a child's birthday party. Parents were having fun with their children, and the other adults were talking with each other and enjoying the finger food they had prepared. The presents were neatly piled up on the table beside the table holding the food. Little Sebastian seemed to be enjoying himself as well, showing off to the kids who were fawning over him. Hermione never knew animals could be conceited until now.

Ding dong!

Confused, Hermione looked up from her filming and tried to distinguish if that was really her door bell or if she had just misheard. She looked at the guests and did a once-over of her guest list. Everyone was already there, so who else could be at the door? She decided that there would be no harm in making sure so, she went and took a look anyway.

Sophie had told her that she wanted to personally welcome her guests when they arrived; it was her party after all. So, Hermione sought out Sophie with her eyes and found her birthday girl talking to her friends. She seemed to be telling a story. Hermione saw the children listening to her tale nod and gasp, fully absorbed in her daughter's tale. Sophie, too, seemed to be fully immersed in her story-telling and made Hermione reconsider calling her.

She set the camera on the tri-pod and made her way toward the door.

She opened the door and found herself proven horribly wrong.

There standing in her doorway was Draco Malfoy.

"Do you think he'll come?" Emily asked.

"No, I don't think he will."

The renowned Slytherin Prince and wealthiest bachelor in France, Draco Malfoy, stood outside the house of annoying bookworm and hair-disaster Hermione Granger with a present in one hand, a bouquet of red, white and pink roses in the other, and a scowl on his face that could scare even Dementors. 'What a sight I must be,' he thought.

What was he thinking?

Let's make a breakdown of things Draco Malfoy did without asking his brain:

Number one: saving a little girl that was the child of buck-toothed Granger.

OK, maybe he could let that one slide. He didn't enjoy watching kids get hit by cars. He wasn't that evil.

Number two: not leaving quickly, and thus getting invited to Granger the second's birthday party.

Number three: doing his own 'errands', resulting in meeting little snot again.

'Note to self: Never do one's own errands'

Number four: agreeing to go to little snot's party.

'Weakling! Falling for the oldest trick in the book, the Puppy-dog Eyes.'

Number five: buying a present for her.

Well, it was a birthday party after all.

Number six: going home to pick up flowers his mum told to give to the hag...ahem... host.

Number seven: going to house of said hag. No point denying it. She was a hag, period.

Number eight: standing like an idiot in front of said house and not yet leaving.

Maybe he was having bad luck because he went against a bet with the opposing team's lawyer. Was it his fault their lawyer was stupid? He started the bet anyway, not Draco. So why was he being punished? Fate must have something against people who win.

He had thought about leaving the gift and bouquet on the doorstep and leave but that would make him seem like a complete pussy. Besides, this was just a kid's party. What was the worst thing that could happen?

He rang the doorbell.

And then his brain conjured up images of a red-and-gold-themed party.

He swallowed.

Gryffindorks all around the room, looking murderously at him.

One step back.

He saw himself dressed in a lion costume, singing happy birthday to Granger's kid with the Potty and Side-kick Beggar Boy taking pictures of him and sending it to the Daily Prophet.

He turned around, ready to take his leave.

The door opened.

Pause.

"Malfoy?"

Shit— too late. Good thing his mother was good friends with Rita Skeeter.

He turned around with the trademark Malfoy smirk on his pale face, hiding his panicky thoughts.

"Hello, Granger."

Hermione stared at him with wide eyes. She thought he wouldn't come. She was so sure he wouldn't. Maybe he'd grown a conscience and didn't want to disappoint her little girl? Then again, he was Draco Malfoy. He wouldn't do anything unless he was forced or was gaining something. Damn Slytherins, always had a secret agenda. Why couldn't he just come out of the goodness of his heart? Or better yet, STAY AWAY. Plus he was wearing Muggle clothes! With flowers! Who was this man?

"Granger, I know I'm gorgeous but could please try not ogle me so openly? It would be so embarrassing to your daughter, seeing her mum fantasize about a man on her birthday party. Tsk, tsk," Malfoy said, looking oh so smug.

Hermione regained her lost composure and glared at Malfoy. Yup, he was still the same asshole.

"What are you doing here?" Granger asked.

"Why, I thought it would have been obvious!" Draco exclaimed. "I'm here to fix your toilet with this present and flowers. Could you kindly point me to the bathroom please?"

Granger glared even harder on him. Her frown deepened and her cheeks flushed a light shade of pink.

Damn, he forgot how good it felt like to rile Granger up and how…adorable… she looked when she did. Adorable! HA!

Granger opened her mouth to say an undoubtedly smart-ass reply but was cut off by the arrival of the red-headed celebrant.

"Monsieur Hero! You came!" the little girl exclaimed. "And you have flowers!"

Draco blinked twice. She was the same little girl, just differently dressed. He had to admit, the snot looked great. She looked elegant in her dress, in a casual way.

He looked at her glaring mother and back to the child again. The adorable, smiling child looked angelic while the mother looked like a she-beast about to release her wrath on mankind. Odd. If it weren't for their same soft brown eyes, he would have thought the she-beast was merely a sitter.

But before he could further analyze the child's appearance and parentage, said child's voice broke him out of his musings.

"Welcome, Monsieur," she greeted and then she did a low curtsy. "May I escort you to the backyard, Monsieur...," the little girl trailed off, not sure what her guest's name was.

"Malfoy. Draco Malfoy," he supplied.

He heard Granger snort and mumble something that sounded a lot like, "Try ferret-face."

But before he could call her on her rude, out-dated, and immature remark, he was once again cut off by the celebrant when she cleared her throat.

"May I escort you to the backyard, Monsieur Draco?" She then looked at her mum but her brows furrowed when she saw the look on Granger's face. Granger looked like she was trying to kill Draco by glaring at him. And if looks could kill, he would have been a sure goner.

Draco raised an eyebrow at the little girl's display and smirked. The little snot, er— kid wasn't so bad.

"Oui, vous pouvez. Mais d'abord ..." he turned to Hermione and gave her the flowers with a small bow. "For the hostess. Thank you for having me here."

Hermione blinked twice and stared at the man before her. Draco Malfoy, The Draco 'Slytherin Ass and Amazing Bouncing Ferret' Malfoy, was giving her a beautiful bouquet of roses and saying thank you, thank you, toher, to Hermione 'Gryffindor Bookworm' Granger. Where was a camera when you needed one?

She gingerly took the offered flowers. She eyed them cautiously, for it might have been a prank. She waited for something bad to happen, but then her eye caught the white glossy paper in the middle of the flowers instead. 'To the Hostess', it said, and it was written in an elegant cursive handwriting that she was familiar with.

She relaxed, for she knew exactly who it was from and a small smile appeared on her face.

'See you on Monday. Tell me EVERYTHING.'

Hermione chuckled at the note and its nosy author. She looked up and saw that Malfoy was watching her suspiciously with narrowed eyes. Knowing Narcissa, she must have spelled the card so that only the recipient could see what was written.

She smirked at him and his face turned into a scowl.

"Thank you for the lovely flowers," she said sweetly.

Sophie giggled behind her fisted hand. He turned to the little girl and handed her the present. She eyed it curiously and shook it to guess what was inside, before she handed it to Hermione. Then she turned her brown eyes to Malfoy, looking at him expectantly. He seemed to remember Sophie's offer to escort him formally, and he offered her his arm and allowed her to lead him toward the party.

Hermione looked toward the pair, or rather, just the blond prat with her daughter, then at the flowers and gift in her hands. This was going to be longest day of her life, she thought.


A/N: As promised I said I would explain. I've been really busy lately thus my lack of updates. Plus, there's writer's block. Then there's the finding of a beta. Aughh...

Regarding that, I was wondering if any one of you lovely readers could be a beta for 'Her Hero'. If any of you is interested, give me a shout and I'll PM you about the specifics and stuff.

Please leave a review so that I know that I'm giving you guys something worth reading. Criticism are more than welcome! Please leave a REVIEW! Please! :)