Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter universe, nor do I the characters, they belong to J.K Rowling. However, I do own the plot, because it was my idea

Summary: Hermione's now 24 years old and has a six year old daughter named Leila Anastasia. Her father Ron abandoned them to run away with London's richest hooker, Madison Malfoy. What happens when a changed Draco tries to help a broken family because of his stupid cousin's mistake?

Chapter 2: Invitation

The encounter with Draco Malfoy the night before was a real shock to Hermione. She still couldn't get over how their conversation had lasted until a little over midnight. Having not seen him in ages, she couldn't believe how much he'd matured. Perhaps three years in Azkaban prison had given him a lesson.

Downing a drought to cure the hangover of all the rum from the night before, Hermione took Liela to school and then went to work. She received an owl while she was at work from Mrs. Weasley, asking for her and Liela to visit them the next day, which was Saturday. She sent back a response advising her that they would be there.

It'd been a while since she or Liela had visited the Weasley's. She tried to avoid going there as much as possible because of all the pain that it caused her to be in the place her relationship with Ron had developed. If she didn't put her past behind her sooner or later, it was going to haunt and destroy her future.

Work passed slowly that day, but when it did finally come to an end, Hermione was glad. She was looking forward to seeing Mrs. Weasley. Even if it was still hard for her to go to the Burrow, at least she'd be able to talk to an adult like herself because the only person she was ever around was Liela. After dinner and getting bathed, she put Liela to sleep and went to bed herself.

The next morning Hermione woke up in a better mood than usual. She fixed the two of them a decent breakfast, and after getting dressed; dressing in a pair of khaki slacks and an oversized sweater, they walked a block up from her flat an alleyway to apparate to the Burrow.

Ground catching their fall, she sighed in contentment at the sight of the familiar house. A few inches of snow covered the yard and snow continued to sprinkle down as they walked to the door. As her hand rose to knock, the door flew open and someone took her into a tight embrace.

"Hermione, you came! Mum wasn't for sure if you were coming or not. It's so nice to see you!" Ginny squealed, her arms squeezing Hermione a little too tight.

"You're going to kill me before I even get through the door," she groaned, hugging her back. "I owled her to let her know that we were going to come."

Ginny backed away, hugging Leila as well, and led them inside. "Yeah, well you tell us a lot that you're going to come and you never show up. So how were we supposed to know if you were going to come?"

"Ginny, you know it is still hard to come around here. A year isn't a very long time to get over what I've been through," she said with a sigh. Harry and Ginny were supportive, but they had a family to take care of, and they really didn't understand the pain that she went through or how much everything that happened tore her apart. Just the thought of him at times made her heart feel as if it was in a blender, being shredded to pieces.

Walking into the kitchen, she was surprised to see it empty except for Mrs. Weasley, who was at her usual spot, in front of the stove. "Hermione dear, how lovely to see you," Mrs. Weasley gave her a cheery smile and a hug. "Where is the child?" The red-headed plump witch hadn't changed a bit since the last time she had seen her, except for a tad grayer to the hair.

"She's in the sitting room with Albus and Lily. How are you doing? How is everyone?" Hermione asked, taking a seat at the long table with mismatched chairs. Mrs. Weasley handed her a cup of tea and placed a plate of treacle tart onto the table. Hermione helped herself.

"Everyone is good here. Bill and Fleur were over last weekend and shared the news that they are expecting again, a brother for Victorie. Charlie is in as well, but he's over in Diagon Alley with George. He's found himself a nice Romanian woman, a very nice girl she is…" She ranted.

Hermione smiled, nodding, and questioning when the time came, but she wasn't feeling too comfortable.

The news about Bill and Charlie only made her heart twinge in sadness. She wanted so bad to have another child, let alone a companion, but that wasn't going to happen. Since the divorce with Ron, she told herself that she would never remarry, and by the looks of it, she wasn't going to, even if she wanted to break the rules she'd given herself.

"… and George and his wife finally had their son, they named him after Fred. It's still hard to think about him," Mrs. Weasley sniffed, dabbing her eye with a cloth. "But enough about us, how are you and Liela doing?"

Hermione shrugged, her finger circling the rim of the cup. "We're doing well I suppose. Liela is receiving good marks in school and I'm finally on my ten-hour schedule. The long hours were getting to both of us. 'm glad that the Ministry finally got everything settled down."

"You should be. No woman should have to work like that, not even for the Minister of Magic! It's really good to see you here; it's been so long since you visited us last."

She nodded. "I'm sorry; it's a little hard to come around. It still hurts some to be around these parts if you understand."

"Of course dear, of course. Have you spoken with him any?" Mrs. Weasley curiously asked. "Him" was what they called Ron; they never announced him by his name around her.

Hermione shook her head. "No, Mrs. Weasley I haven't. Nor do I care to. I saw him a few months back at the Ministry with "her", and then of course all the time on magazine covers. I saw a picture of them yesterday in the Daily Prophet; I can't believe she's pregnant."

"Haven't we all," she said with a heavy sigh, as if the conversation seemed to be bothering her as well. "Well, I guess you already know that I didn't ask you here just for a cup of tea and some treacle tart." Her fingers twiddled slightly as she spoke, Hermione watched her closely. "We received an owl today, from the Malfoy's."

Instead of having to explain, from her apron, Mrs. Weasley pulled out a piece of folded parchment and placed it in front of Hermione. She immediately picked up the letter, unfolding it, and began to read.

The Weasley, Potter, and Granger Family:

We are pleased to inform you that on Christmas Eve night that we, the Malfoy family, are going to be hosting a Christmas party, and the Malfoy family along with your son would like to see you attend. The party will begin at seven and rooms will be set up for those who wish to stay overnight, for gift exchanging and a feast the next day. Your response is appreciated.

Narcissa Malfoy

Hermione reread the letter three times before she folded it back and handed it to Mrs. Weasley. Was it some kind of stunt? Why were they inviting her? She was no longer part of the Weasley family. Perhaps Madison was trying to pull some kind of joke, and Hermione didn't find it funny. But thinking again, could it have been Draco who added her name to that list?

"This must be some kind of game. Do they think I am going to attend some mudblood hating family's Christmas party whenever my ex-husband is there?!" She snapped.

"There is no need for such language, dear. You are part of this family, more than that broad will ever be. The only reason we're attending is for Ron, even if he doesn't deserve our companionship, we're still his family. It's funny how things don't work out, you two were so close. I don't understand what went wrong…" Mrs. Weasley sighed.

How wrong everything went indeed, a question Hermione could never answer herself. At Mrs. Weasley's mention of what happened; Hermione slipped into a revere of her and Ron's relationship, remembering when things went wrong.

Everything began after the battle at Hogwarts when Harry defeated Voldemort. When Hogwarts was reopened, she returned for one last semester at Headmaster McGonagall's request, to complete her NEWTS. While attending, she was announced Head Girl, which had been a real honor.

Passing her NEWTS, the Minister of Magic; Kingsley Shacklebolt asked for her to work as his secretary, but she had turned down his request -until a year later- because after moving in with Ron, she found out she was pregnant.

Everything had seemed fine for the longest time; they were the happiest couple. Perhaps an awkward couple, but happy they were. Working his long hours in the Quidditch Department at the Ministry, she stayed at home until after Liela was born. She started working for the Minister after the child had turned six months. Four years into the marriage was when things started to change, or Ron rather.

Having found a new group of friends since Harry constantly worked and never left Ginny's sight, he would spend his nights and weekends in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade, drinking himself away. He only came home for dinner and sex that he couldn't even perform, and would wake up and do the same thing the next day after work. Hermione didn't know if it was then or before, but around that time was when she thought the Malfoy hooker came into the picture.

She didn't know he was going out on her, but there were a few signs she tried to ignore. He came in one night with red lipstick smudged against his collar, then another night having caught addresses in his pocket that belonged to different women. He denied everything of course.

While Ron was changing one night, she spotted ten inflamed nail marks down his back.

That's when her anger let loose, causing her to explode. He didn't tell her who had done them, or why he was cheating on her, only that he'd never do it again. Then a week later was when Hermione woke up to see the letter beside her, stating that he was gone and wanted the divorce.

Hermione wasn't the only one who was furious about the whole situation; the Weasley's were as well; Mrs. Weasley especially. She didn't know what had gotten into his thick head, throwing away his family as if they were garbage. She didn't raise him that way. She thought divorce was reasonable for certain situations, but that hadn't been one of them.

"Hermione, did you hear what I said?" Mrs. Weasley asked, her fingers snapping in front of her face.

"No I didn't, I'm sorry." Hermione said, shaking her head.

"I was asking if you were going to attend. Will you, for us? You don't have to be around Ronald, Ginny wants you to go as well as Harry. We would enjoy having our family together." Mrs. Weasley pleaded.

Hermione sighed, not knowing how to respond. How was she supposed to attend a party that she truly welcomed to, and more than that, where her ex-husband and his new wife would be? She was no longer part of the Weasley family; she was just the ex-wife. "I don't know, Mrs. Weasley. I don't think I'd be comfortable being around him."

Mrs. Weasley shook her head. "You're not going to be around him. All you have to do is keep your distance and stay with us. He will mostly be spending most of his time amongst the Malfoys. Do it for us, for the family. By showing up at that party, you can show him that you're not grieving over him. He will realize what he lost."

The thought of that made Hermione feel slightly better, but she still wasn't convinced. She had a week to decide if she was going to go or not, that would be enough time. "I'll think about it."