A/N: I don't know if you guy noticed, but I changed my pen name to PenofaPhoenix :) What do you think?

Shoutouts to: Guest, dobby97, and Tacker23! Thank you, Guest, for your kind review. Thank you dobby97 for sticking with me, and reviewing multiple times! And thank you to Tacker23- your review actually made me really happy :) Fate is a funny thing, isn't it? Hehe

Now without further ado, I present to you...

Chapter 12

Draco's heart dropped to his feet as he read the memo from his boss. He knew he had a mission coming up, but he didn't think it would be so soon. Not to mention, he'd be with Potter. They'd made amends years ago when they both started out as Aurors, but had maintained a professional relationship. Working together was expected though, seeing as how they were some of the best in their field. Not what Potter planned for sure; if he'd a say in it, it'd be Weasley as his partner. But this mission would require their most skilled Aurors, and other senior Aurors were scattered across the globe on other missions. At least it was an opportunity to get closer to Potter, he thought. He was surprised Mrs. Potter hadn't told Potter yet; otherwise, Potter would be currently barking at him. Now the real question was, how was he to break the news to Hermione and Scorpius?

"So, anything new at work?" Hermione stood in his kitchen, making dinner at the stove. She looked so natural doing it, he thought.

"Err...yea, but I'll tell you after dinner? Don't wanna ruin it."

Hermione's eyebrows creased in understanding. "That bad, huh?" Draco nodded.

After dinner, Scorpius was playing with his stuffed dragon when Hermione and Draco sat on either side of him.

"Scorpius, darling, your father has something to tell you." Scorpius looked between Hermione and Draco; their faces were solemn.

"I got word from the Auror Office today that I'm going on a mission soon."

"When?" asked Hermione, her eyes full of concern.

"In three days—I leave Sunday at the crack of dawn." Hermione's mouth pulled down into a frown.

"...but...Daddy, will you be home for my birthday?" Scorpius' lower lip quivered.

"Of course! I wouldn't miss it for the world. I promise I'll be there, no matter what." Draco smiled lovingly as the smile on Scorpius' face was restored.

"Scor darling, why don't you get ready for bed? It's getting quite late." Scorpius ran off, leaving Hermione and Draco alone. "I assume that's not all they told you about the mission?"

Draco nodded. "It's a capture mission of a Death Eater. Rabastan Lestrange to be exact."

"Oh." It appeared that Hermione's hunch had been correct. "I suppose he won't be happy to see you, then."
"I don't suppose he will. At least I'm going with Potter."

"Oh, that's a bit more of a relief. I can count on you two to protect each other," said Hermione with a small smile. Draco hummed in agreement. "We ought to go to bed." Hermione made move to stand up.

"Stay with me tonight, yea?" Draco asked, almost pleadingly, as his hand reached out to wrap around her wrist. Hermione paused, looked back at Draco's face, and nodded. Might as well enjoy Draco while he's here.

"Love you Scor," said Draco, leaning down to kiss him on the forehead. It was three in the morning and Draco had to leave. Hermione stood in the doorway, dressed in a navy bathrobe.

"Stay safe, yea?" she said softly, wrapping her arms around Draco. Draco's arms tightened instinctively around her waist, pulling them flush against each other.

"I'll try, I really will. Now that I've you and Scor to come home to." He felt Hermione's lips curve up into a small smile against his chest. "But if I don't come back, I'm putting Scor in your care, okay?"

"Don't talk like that!" Hermione lifted her head from Draco's chest, eyes wide.

"I have to face the possibilities though. I, Draco Lucius Malfoy, fully entrust Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy to your care, Hermione Jean Granger." Hermione choked back a sob.

"I—I want you to come back in one piece, you hear?" 'I love you' was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

"I promise," said Draco, kissing the top of her head. Oh how he wanted to kiss her on the lips, but he didn't want her to get too emotionally invested. It was too late for that, it seemed. He tightened his arms one more time before letting go. "I'll see you in a few weeks, yea? Take care of yourself, Mione."

"You too, Draco, you too."

Hermione and Ginny sat together on the couch in the Potter's living room, watching Jams, Albus, and Scorpius play together.

"Who would've thought? A Malfoy playing with Potters?" Hermione let out a half-hearted chuckle in acknowledgement. "Still thinking about Draco, then?" asked Ginny knowingly.

"I can't help but feel something bad is going to happen…"

"Don't worry too much. They're due home tomorrow after all."

"Mm, I supposed. But we haven't had any contact with them at all! You don't supposed the Auror office would withhold information from us?"

"No, they'll tell us what they know, though there's little guarantee of them knowing much. We'll have to wait and see."

"What do you mean your communication centres went down?!" A hysterical sob resonated through the foyer.

The Auror looked sheepish. "Our communication centres crashed in some of the more remote locations, because of the storms, so some Aurors who were out on the field have lost communication. Communication can be restored by returning to a central communications centre, but not Aurors have been able to do that." The boss, Mr. Elderidge, walked out. Spotting Ginny, he made his way over.

"Sir, do you know whether Harry or Draco will be returning tonight?" asked Ginny.

"I don't believe they will, I'm afraid, but the last I had contact with them, they asked for a weeks' extension. I was under the impression they were close to capturing their target." Ginny nodded, silent. Mr. Elderidge saw the famous Hermione Granger next to Ginny. He couldn't help but have an inkling that she wasn't just here for her best friend Mr. Potter. He smiled to himself. Perhaps she was the reason for Mr. Malfoy's recent change in mood. If so, she was good for him; even though his hours were shorter, he was more productive. Who would've thought? But there've been stranger love stories…

"I hope they're alright," said Ginny after a long pause.

"They will be," said Hermione, though she didn't know whether she was reassuring Ginny or herself.

Scorpius woke up to the smell of waffles. Bounding out of bed, he looked at the calendar. November 7th. He ran into the kitchen.

"I'm 8 now, Mummy, I'm 8 now!"

Hermione froze, nearly causing the batter to drip. Did he just call her Mummy? Her heart skipped a beat.

"You are Angelo! You're a big boy now!"

"Does that mean I can get a broomstick now?"

"I dunno about that, darling. You'll have to wait until your party to find out." Draco had purchased a broomstick for Scorpius a while ago, and Hermione had kept it hidden in hopes that he'd be able to give it to Scorpius, but at this rate, he wouldn't make it…

"Mummy, where's Daddy? He promise he'd be home for my birthday…" Scorpius' smile turned upside down.

"I hope so darling, I hope so."

Ginny had offered to host Scorpius' birthday party, seeing as how there wasn't enough room at either Draco or Hermione's apartments. After playing for a while, Hermione called back all the kids for cake.

"Make a wish, Scor!" said Hermione with a smile.

I wish my Daddy would come home safe. Scorpius blew out the eight candles, after which Hermione and Ginny proceeded to cut the cake. Just then, the door to the backyard flew open with a bang! Ginny and Hermione's wands were out in an instant, pointed at the intruders, when they registered that it was Harry and Draco! Ginny made move to run toward Harry, when Hermione put out an arm to stop her.

"Harry, how did I destroy Hufflepuff's cup? Draco, what was the name I gave Scorpius when I first found him?"

Harry replied, "You used a basilisk fang; Ron got you in the Chamber." His mouth turned up slightly at the memory. Of course, Hermione hadn't changed at all, always the cautious one.

"Angelo, his name was Angelo," said Draco. "Italian for angel." Hermione's face lit up with a bright smile as she ran to hug Draco. Ginny and Harry were locked in an embrace, as well as a rather passionate liplock. "I missed you so much, Merlin. I wasn't sure whether I'd see you again," said Draco in a low murmur.

"It was unbearable, worrying and waiting for you. I'm so glad your back." Hermione leaned back and placed a kiss on Draco's lips, caught up in the high emotions. She pulled back, a light flush staining her cheeks. Scorpius' voice was heard. "Daddy! My wish came true!" Hermione backed off and made her way over to Ginny and Harry as Scorpius ran into Draco's embrace. They were talking about the mission, she realised.

"…lost connection, wasn't too bad. Mission didn't go as expected, but it was ok."

"And Lestrange? What happened to him?" asked Hermione.

"Dead," Harry answered bluntly. "Tried to kill Malfoy, made a misstep and went plunging down the depths of the cave."

"You're sure he's dead then?"

"There's no way he could've survived the fall. We used Homonus Revelio and got no response. Even if he'd be alive, he wouldn't have been able to put up defences quickly enough to block the spell. We sent another team down to check, just in case, but we had to come back." Hermione left Ginny and Harry alone and made her way to where Draco was playing with Scorpius. Even in dirt and dust in his hair, cuts and scrapes and bits of dried blood, Draco's face was still glowing just by being with his son. Hermione blushed at the memory of how she'd greeted him. Draco looked up, smiling at Hermione's nervous appearance.

"You did a good job with Scorpius," said Draco, as Scorpius ran off to play on his new broomstick.

"That's it? Am I just his babysitter now?" teased Hermione. "I'm not even getting paid!"

"Isn't my love enough payment for you?"

"Y—your love?" Hermione stuttered, shocked.

"Yes, my love. Though Scor loves you, I imagine it's quite different from what I feel. I love you Hermione, truly."

Hermione bit her lip, but smiled. "I love you too, Draco Malfoy." Draco's smile mirrored his own, as he scooped her in his arms and proceeded to kiss her passionately.

"We'll continue this tonight, yea?" he said with a wink, putting her down. Hermione's cheeks tinted pink at the thought of what he'd do—would he really live up to his reputation as Slytherin Sex God? It had been much too long since she'd gotten any, she thought. She squeezed his hand, as they left to rejoin the party.

A/N: *squeee!* they finally confessed their love for each other! Distance makes the heart grow fonder, right? ;3; and oh...the dirty things Draco's going to do to her ;) *saucy wink*

So, what did you guys think about the chapter? I could've left you all on a cliffie and not known what happened, but I decided to be nice :P (Reviews are accepted as payment/thanks.)

Lmao what is life. As soon as I'm inspired and want to write, I have to do more physics/calculus T_T *sobs* #risingjuniorstruggles do you guys think I'm old? My mom thinks I'm too old to write Fanfiction. =_=

Do you guys think you can get me to 100 reviews by the next chapter? ;) I'd like that before I upload the next one! Again, if you read this long Author's note, comment ### for a shutout!

~xx, PenofaPhoenix

(signing out, Midnight Rose 97)

DramioneAddiction: hahaha your review made me laugh XD It's not the first time I've had one of these 'threatening' reviews, but luckily I'm updating (within a month) so no need for that ;)

Tacker23: Does this answer your question? ;) Don't worry, I've a lot more planned for Draco and Hermione~