The lavish study was silent as the lawyer pursed his thin lips, reading over the notes Scorpius's mum had sent.
"Have you paid her any money?"
Draco nodded. "Yes, about 160,000 galleons. I have the bank receipts here." He handed over a thick blue folder.
The lawyer sighed, rubbing the crease in between his eyes. "And why, Mr. Malfoy, would you do such a foolish and asinine thing like that?"
Draco stared at him. "Excuse me?"
"The mother abandoned the child. That is illegal. Furthermore, she committed extortion and blackmail, both of which are also highly illegal. Why the devil would you not report it to the Aurors immediately?"
Draco was at a loss for words.
"With all due respect, continuing to pay this woman was probably one of the most idiotic things you could have done, Mr. Malfoy. This ought to have been reported immediately and the situation resolved. As far as I can see, the mother has no claim over your son. She could, of course, sue you for custody, but it is doubtful that she would actually receive it."
"But…I'm a Death Eater." He pushed up the sleeve of his robe, exposing his faded Dark Mark. The lawyer grimaced in distaste.
"Yes, well. The charges put forth on you were dropped when the Wizengamot determined that you deflected to the side of Light during the last battle. That and your refusal to murder Albus Dumbledore got you cleared of all charges. The recent assault charges, however, could be used against you."
"So she can't get Scorpius?"
"No," the lawyer confirmed, pushing up his spectacles.
Draco felt as though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
"However," the lawyer continued, shuffling through a stack of papers, "we need to file for custody immediately. It won't look good that you have waited nearly a year to do so, but I suppose we can say you were hoping the mother would return."
Draco nodded, repressing the urge to hug the stodgy old man. He took a quill and signed where he was told. The lawyer signed as well before putting the papers into his briefcase.
"I'll submit these to the Court today," he said. "I'll be in touch. Good day, Mr. Malfoy."
They shook hands and Draco escorted him to the door.
"Thank you, Mr. Barnes," he said sincerely, opening the door. Then he froze in shock. Hermione Granger stood in front of them, her face pale and her small hand raised to knock.
The lawyer nodded curtly. "Pardon me," he said, edging around her.
Draco stared.
"Hi," she said in a small voice. "Look, I'm sorry I wasn't home the other night. You see, Ginny, you remember, Ginny Weasley? Well, she's Ginny Potter now, and last night she had her baby, and she wanted me there and I had to be there because I'm her best friend, and well, I got so caught up that I completely forgot about you. I know it was very wrong, and I should have written a note or firecalled you, or even sent a Patronus, but I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry."
She realized she was rambling and stopped, her cheeks burning.
"Er," Draco said, shaking himself slightly. "Why don't you come in?"
She bit her lip, her face paling even more. Draco was confused by her reaction, but then he remembered the last time Hermione Granger had come to Malfoy Manor. He cursed himself inwardly.
"Nothing will happen," he promised. "It's changed a lot. I completely redecorated after the war."
Hermione hesitated, rubbing her arm agitatedly.
"I promise," Draco said.
She took a deep breath and nodded shakily. "Okay."
He stood back and let her enter. She slowly walked into the foyer, looking around.
"Would you care for some tea?" he asked cautiously, afraid she might bolt if he spoke too loud.
She nodded again. "Please."
He led her to the main sitting room. She sat down on the edge of a red velvet loveseat, looking for all the world as though she were about to be sick.
"Tibby!" Draco called. His house elf appeared. He noticed Hermione's eyes narrow, and he smirked. He remembered her little SPEW campaign in fourth year.
"Tea, please," he said. Tibby nodded eagerly, her long ears flapping.
"Yes Master Draco sir. And Master Draco, young Master Scorpius is awake, should Tibby bring him to you and your guest?"
Draco shot a glance at Hermione.
"I would love to meet him," she said softly.
Draco hesitated. He really didn't like anyone around his son, but on the other hand she might feel more comfortable with the Manor is she saw a healthy, happy baby lived here. He nodded.
"Yes, you may bring him in."
Tibby curtsied before popping away. She returned a moment later with Scorpius, handing him to Draco, and Hermione's heart melted.
He really was one of the cutest babies she had ever seen. He was sitting up on Malfoy's lap, peering alertly around and garbling. Seeing them together, there was no doubt they were father and son. Scorpius had the same silky pale hair and delicate features as his father. His eyes, however, were different. Where Malfoy's were a shade of the palest blue imaginable, the baby's were the rich color of melted chocolate and slightly turned up at the corners. His skin was also a few shades darker than Malfoy's ivory paleness.
"He's adorable," she breathed. Malfoy grinned.
"Takes after his dad."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "May I hold him?"
She saw Malfoy hesitate before handing the child over. She snuggled him close.
"Hello, Scorpius," she murmured. The baby peered up at her intently before smiling. Drool cascaded down his chin and onto the emerald green overalls he was wearing. He reached up and grabbed a hank of her hair, warbling. Hermione winced, but smiled.
'So," Malfoy said awkwardly. "Weasley and Potter had a baby, eh? Poor kid."
Hermione glared at him. "Yes. A boy."
Malfoy nodded. An awkward silence fell over the room, the only sounds the baby's happy chattering as he tugged on Hermione's curls, one hand in his mouth.
Tibby popped back into the room, bearing a silver tray laden with cups and plates. She arranged them on the low coffee table in front of them and bowed before disappearing again. Malfoy poured Hermione and himself some tea.
"Sugar?" he asked.
"Please. One."
Silence fell again.
"Why were you at the bridge that night?" Hermione blurted suddenly. She flushed.
Malfoy avoided her gaze. "Just in the right place at the right time, I suppose."
Hermione's eyes narrowed. "It was the middle of the night and nowhere close to here."
Malfoy shrugged, taking a drink of tea. "Was it?"
Hermione sighed in frustration. "What's the deal, Malfoy? Why are you paying so much attention to me?"
"I'm not," he said shortly.
"Oh, really? Flowers? Passages from my favorite book, a muggle book no less?"
"Just making sure you didn't do anything drastic," he said curtly, running a hand through his silky hair in agitation.
"Why. Do. You. Care?" Hermione spoke through gritted teeth. Scorpius cocked his head up at her curiously, prodding her lips with his chubby fingers.
"I don't!"
Hermione sighed, standing up. She handed the child to Malfoy. "I should go." She turned to leave.
"Wait!"
She paused.
"I…it's my fault you were like that."
She turned back. "What?"
He flushed, shifting the baby to his other knee.
"It was my fault that you were depressed. It was my fault you were on that bridge."
Hermione frowned. "How do you figure?"
Malfoy looked uneasy. "What happened to you here…"
Hermione paled.
"Well, I got a letter. It said that I was responsible for ruining your life and that only I could fix it. At first, I didn't care, you know? Why would I? We aren't friends. We never were. We have been enemies since we were eleven. What was it to me if you were a bit sad? But then one day I saw you walking down the street in London. And you didn't look like I remembered you. You were thinner and sickly looking. No offense," he added quickly. Hermione stared at him.
"But I saw you, and I remembered that letter. And I thought about it for a long while. I want to redeem myself. I want to be known for something other than being a Death Eater and a bully. The war changed me. I saw the actions for my consequences. I saw people killed and tortured. After my parents both died in Azkaban, it made me realize that the staying the way I was before would only kill me. So when I saw you, I thought maybe I could better myself by helping you. But I didn't know how to approach you. I…er…I followed you for weeks, trying to figure out a way to speak to you. I knew I was the last person you would ever want to confide in. But then I saw you on the bridge and I knew I had to say something."
Hermione swallowed hard, sitting back down. "You…stalked me?"
Malfoy flushed. Scorpius cooed.
Hermione took a deep breath. "Who sent the letter?"
Malfoy looked uncomfortable. "Potter."
She processed that. "That day here, with Bellatrix…why did you say you didn't recognize us?"
Malfoy stared down, stroking his son's downy hair. "I don't know."
There was silence.
"I'm not the little toerag I used to be," he said quietly. "I want to raise my son to be better than that."
Hermione breathed deeply. She was overcome by an overload of tangled emotions. She sat, trying to sort through her muddled thoughts.
"Well," she said at last. "Shall we start over?"
Malfoy looked at her, confused. "What?"
She took a deep breath and smiled shakily. "Hi. My name is Hermione Granger. Nice to meet you."
Malfoy eyed her warily for a moment before extending his hand. "Draco Malfoy."
The baby clapped his hands and garbled happily as Hermione and Draco's hands met.
"Well, well, well. What this, then?"
They both jolted and looked up. Standing in the doorway to the sitting room was Adrian, Theo, and Blaise.