Hermione noticed her friends heads spun toward her quickly, whereas Malfoy lazily turned around.
"I want to stay here...for a little bit. I'll find my own place for me and the kids though. But for now...I...I just don't want to risk having to see..." She paused, inhaling sharply, "...Him..." She couldn't bring herself to say his name.
Ginny was downcast, still not trusting Malfoy. But if Hermione decided it was safe enough for her to stay...
Harry put his hand on his best friends shoulder. "If he does anything wrong...and I mean anything...let me know, okay Mione?" Harry spun his wand lightly in his fingers. Draco took that to be a warning, not that he would try anything...yet.
Hermione looked at her friends, contemplating saying something, but was cut off by a squeal of laughter as three kids ran over, chasing one another before tackling Draco to the ground. Luckily he was sitting on the grass already and didn't have far to fall, but he pretended they killed him, laughing when they came close enough for him to reach out and tickle. Hermione found herself smiling, thinking they would be okay now.
"I think we should go." Harry muttered quietly, watching his former enemy and the children. Harry grabbed his wife's arm, gently pulling her to follow. He wanted to apparate away, quickly, so that he wouldn't have to see his former enemy acting like a human being, but he felt the anti apparation wards around him. He half dragged Ginny in his attempt to leave. Hermione stood up and followed them, leaving Draco at the mercy of the children.
Harry wrapped his arms around his best friend.
"I mean it, you need anything, anything at all, just call us." He muttered in her ear. She didn't reply, just nodded her head. Ginny hugged her friend too, but, still feeling a little betrayed she pulled away quickly, vanishing through the fire. Harry muttered 'sorry' as he followed his wife.
Alone, Hermione sat on a chair, facing the fire. She hugged her legs as the tears began to fall once more. She had no idea what had prompted her to stay, all she knew was that she was staying, and she made it her goal to find her own place quickly.
Loud shouting and laughing alerted her to the entrance of Malfoy and the kids. Rose noticed her mother the first and went straight over, wrapping her small arms around Hermione's neck. She returned the hug; grateful that such a wonderful kid had came from her disastrous marriage.
Draco watched Hermione hug her daughter, and then her son when he went over. He felt his son stiffen against his leg; Scorpius was jealous. He hadn't ever had a mother to hug and love him. He had only ever had his father, after his mother, Astoria, left him and Draco behind, never caring to come back, just wanting to be rich and famous. Draco picked his son up, hugging him until he was more relaxed.
Hermione looked up, noticing the two blonds standing away from them. She relaxed the hold she had on her kids, observing Draco and his younger lookalike. Draco bought the kid over, still in his arms. He sat opposite Hermione, Scorpius wriggling out of his hold.
"Hermione, this is my son, Scorpius." The little boy mimicked his father's smile.
"It's nice to meet you Miss Hermione." She couldn't help but smile back at the sweet boy.
"It's lovely to meet you too Scorpius." Her smile made the shy child smile and glance back at his dad. Draco leaned back, glad to see everyone getting along.
"Can we go play?" Hugo pleaded, his gaze darting between Hermione and Draco. It was Draco who nodded first, Hermione agreeing afterward. Hugo shouted his happy comment before yelling at the other kids to follow. Scorpius began to, but noted Rose's hesitation. He looked at her, waiting patiently as she debated what to do. A gentle push had her following the blond out of the room.
A soon as they were alone Hermione turned to Draco.
"Malfoy, since when were we on first name basis?" She glared at him.
"Since I didn't know what name you would want to be called." He spoke gently, but the look of confusion that sat on her face told him she didn't understand. "I didn't know if you would still want to be called Weasley, or whether you would prefer Granger." He frowned delicately, but noticed her face soften.
"I don't...Hermione will do." She decided. "What...do I call you?" She added hesitantly.
"Draco." He didn't give her any other options. She winced at the thought of knowing her former enemy on first name basis, but he didn't really give her a choice.
"Malfoy..." He looked at her, one eyebrow raised. She rolled her eyes, beginning again. "Draco."Ugh, that sounds so weird. She thought trying to avoid his gaze. Admit it, you like the sound of it. Her conscious chanted in a sing-song voice. She scolded her mind internally, before giving up; anyone would think she was going crazy. She took a deep breath, starting all over again.
"Draco, why did you bring me here?" She kept her voice low. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for what you have done for me and my kids, but...of all the places you could have taken me, why to your home?" If roles were reversed, she would have taken him straight to St. Mungo's. But he didn't. He took her to his home. He did call a healer though, so he did something right.
"Would you rather I had taken you to St Mungo's instead? Where he could have found you if he had a mind to." He had originally considered taking her there, but he didn't want her to be anywhere that she could be easily found.
Hermione considered that briefly. He could see her pondering his words.
"I called in the best healer around. She healed all the broken bones, the internal bleeding, everything. She gave us this salve that we used daily to get rid of your bruises...though...I had the healer come in and deal with...the more sensitive areas...Rose was a great help, always keeping an eye on you, always helping with everything she could. She's a great kid." He looked up at Hermione, who had tears misting over in her eyes.
"She is." Hermione took a shaky breath, trying to stop her tears from falling. She knew she was lucky Draco showed up when he did. "Thank you, Draco." Her voice was soft as she looked up, into his dove grey eyes.
"It's nothing." He got off his seat, sitting next to her on the couch. "You only have one scar, one visible one anyway." He picked up her hand, running one finger down a thin white line on her wrist. She trembled slightly under his touch. She hadn't noticed the mark before, and wasn't sure if she wanted to know how that came to scar but nothing else left a trace.
"How...?" She began, but he cut her off, able to predict her question before she finished it.
"I don't know." She seemed to take that as an acceptable answer and didn't say anything more; instead her tears broke the barrier she had constructed, sliding down her cheeks.
Draco hesitated, not sure what to do. Part of him warned him to stay away from all females when they turned on the waterworks, but the other part of him longed to take her in his arms, hold her and tell her everything would be okay, but he didn't know how she would react.
Awkwardly, he put his arm out, pulling her slowly into his side. He nearly jumped up in surprise as she leaned into his chest. He held her while she cried, not wanting to let go.
Hermione was mostly aware of Draco's arm coming around her. She wanted to pull away, wanted to move, to go somewhere else, but her body automatically leaned into him. She tried to fight and put some distance between them, but the warmth from his body was too comforting for her to pull away. She held onto him, her fingers clutching his shirt as her river of tears flowed.
After what seemed like forever her tears dried up and she pulled away wiping at her eyes. "I'm sorry..." She whispered quietly. His arm was still around her and he squeezed her as gently as possible.
"It's okay. Everyone needs to let go once in a while." He muttered the last sentence under her breath, but she heard it.
"Do you..?" She watched his face turn from the gentle expression he had held a moment ago, to one of amusement. His gaze turned to the wall he had hit, and she couldn't help but let out a little laugh. Her laugh was contagious and the pair of them laughed for a moment, before the chiming of a clock caused them both to jump, pulling apart.
"Umm...where is the bathroom?" She asked softly, wondering how bad her face looked. He smirked.
"Third door down the hall, and you have your private one off your room. That is assuming you remember how to get back there." This time, she smirked in reply.
"Are you going to send your little Patronus to guide me?" Her smirk still remained on her face.
"Hey! It isn't little." He took that as an insult. Patronus' tended to represent their caster.
"Draco, it's a fox. It's not that big." He didn't reply, so she felt free to continue. "It suits you though...and it is quite cute." With that, she stood up and left the room quickly, wondering what had been coming over her.
Draco meanwhile, sat confused. He knew she was wondering what had happened. Her words came back to him. She thought he was cute?