Happy Friday! It's pay day, which means I can finally get a haircut. It's really the little things in life I look forward to the most.

Chapter 5

There's no reason to be nervous, it's just dinner. Hermione felt the need to remind herself of that fact every few seconds as she built up the courage to knock on the Malfoys' front door. The door opened before she lifted her fist, and an embarrassed blush filled her cheeks when Draco and Scorpius greeted her.

"You look pretty. I watched for you from the window," the youngest Malfoy informed her, taking hold of her hand to lead her inside. "Daddy says that's bad."

Hermione shot Draco a curious look as Scorpius pulled her along to the sitting room. "Bad was not the word I used," he told her defensively. "It's that saying you used to use in potions, about watched pots never boiling. Did I not use that correctly?"

Hermione laughed and sat down, helping Scorpius onto the sofa beside her. "No, it was right," she replied. "I can't believe you remembered it though." He shrugged nonchalantly, but a tinge of crimson colored his cheeks. Quickly, he steered the conversation away from all things embarrassing by discussing her project.

"That's dinner," he announced when they heard the ding of a timer. Scorpius ran to the dining room while the adults followed, Draco leaving her side to go to the kitchen.

"Your daddy cooks?" she asked as Scorpius settled himself in a chair designed especially to help him reach the table.

He nodded enthusiastically; his blond locks flopping about with the vigorous movement. "All the time," he told her. "Hims good too. It's yummy."

Draco returned at that moment with a platter of roasted chicken, rosemary potatoes, and green beans. When Scorpius turned up his nose at the meal and declared it "yucky", he chuckled and summoned a smaller plate of chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes for his son. After doling out a small portion of vegetables on Scorpius's plate, he filled Hermione's next.

"This smells great," she commented, allowing the aroma of supper to fill her nose. He bowed his head in gratitude and they began to eat. She continued to compliment his skills in the kitchen as she sampled a bit of everything on the plate. Draco would merely smile and thank her before steering the conversation to another topic. Though she and Draco spoke, she watched Scorpius intently. She watched as he pushed his vegetables across his plate, and when he was no longer hungry, began to offer her his chicken nuggets. When she declined his third offer, Draco cleared his throat to stop the little boy. Soon they finished, and Draco cleared the plates.

"I'm sleepy," Scorpius announced, his head drooping forward to meet the table. Hermione helped him out of his chair and held him close to her. He directed her to his room and was all too happy to be in his bed. "Thank you, Mimi," he murmured as his eyes closed.

Hermione smiled and pressed a delicate kiss to his forehead. "You're very welcome," she replied before exiting his room.

Dessert was set out on the table when she rejoined Draco, explaining his son's sudden absence. "Thanks for that," he told her. "I swear, you'd think I was drugging him with a sleeping potion every night. I'm not, by the way. He's just always had odd sleeping patterns."

"I never thought I'd see the day when I'm eating dinner, a dinner you cooked, at your house while discussing your son," she commented. "The way he looks at you and talks about you, I hope my baby loves me that way."

"He or she will," he assured her. They finished their dessert in silence before retiring to the living room. When they were settled, he spoke again. "You know, after the divorce, I had this idea that I needed to do things differently from the way my parents had. My mother wanted me to live at the Manor, raise Scor there. I'm not ashamed to admit that that house scared me as a child, and I wanted my son to live someplace...I don't know, warm and inviting."

"Is that why you don't have elves?" she inquired.

Draco nodded and laughed. "It was a disaster at first," he recalled. "I had no idea where food came from or what to do with the kitchen appliances. Plus, I was on my own with a newborn, which I'm sure you can imagine was quite a challenge. It seemed so important to me that I do it on my own. At least when your baby comes, Weasley will be a part of it.

"Anyhow, enough about me. What are your plans for after the baby is born?" he asked.

Her eyes widened when she heard his question. How was it possible that she had put no thought into that yet? Ever the over thinker, she was always one step ahead of everyone else. She had been instrumental in planning Voldemort's defeat, and yet, with a baby on the way, she hadn't put one iota of thought into what she needed to do.

Her silence said it all. Draco laid his hand on her knee. "You've still got time to figure it all out, Hermione," he said, hoping to calm her. "Hell, knowing you, you'll have everything in place next week."

"I wouldn't be so sure," she mumbled, her eyes trained on the large hand that still rested on her leg.

He gave her knee a comforting squeeze. "I'm sure once Molly Weasley finds out, she'll never let you out of her sight again," he joked, "but on the off chance that you do escape, you know I'm here to offer any help I can."

Tilting her head to the side, Hermione studied the man before her. Gone was the cold sneer and the colder, emotionless eyes. He smiled more, and she decided she liked that. A decade ago, he would have called her a mudblood and told her to stay out of his way. But now, many years removed from Hogwarts and the Malfoy influence, he was offering to help her.

"Thank you, Draco," she whispered sincerely before covering his hand with her own. "You know, besides Ron, you're the only one I've told. I think I keep hoping Ron will take care of everyone else."

"What about your parents?" he asked.

Shaking her head, she told him about her attempt to save them before the start of the war. After modifying their memories so that she no longer existed, the newly christened Monica and Wendell Wilkins moved to Sydney, Australia. "Our relationship has been a bit dodgy since they came home. They weren't happy that I chose to remain in the magical world instead of coming home to them," she explained. "Mr. Weasley walked me down the aisle because my parents refused to come to the wedding. They don't know about the divorce yet, and I'm not sure how to tell them about the baby."

Draco shifted his hand so that their fingers laced together. His eyes had watched her mouth as she spoke, captivated by the movement of her full lips. When it had begun he didn't know, but he rather enjoyed having Hermione around. He had offered her the grant money purely for the positive publicity it would bring the company. Oftentimes, he found excuses to visit her office throughout the day just to annoy her. But then her divorce became public knowledge, and the teasing ended. An actual friendship, the likes of which he'd never truly had, had begun to form between the pair.

Without realizing it, he moved closer, his hand never leaving hers. Hermione, too, shifted until their shoulders nearly touched.

"Daddy?" Scorpius called from the top of the stairs. "I have to make."

Hermione laughed as Draco groaned. "I should be going anyway," she decided. Letting go of his hand, she rose from the couch and pressed her lips to his cheek. "Thank you for the loveliest evening I've had in quite a while."

Nodding, he watched her step into the floo before disappearing in an eruption of green flames. "Daddy?" came Scorpius's voice once more.

"Yeah, coming, buddy," he replied.