A/N- Thanks so much to those who reviewed/faved/followed! It's great to hear from readers! This week has been extra busy so I'm sorry that I didn't reply to the reviews. It felt so good to come home today, sit on the couch and just relax.

Disclaimer- I do NOT own Harry Potter, but if I did I'd probably write in the line 'What the HELL is a Hufflepuff?'

Chapter Six

The gentle wind blew against Hermione's face as she held Orion's hand. It was a warm Sunday afternoon, and she had been helping Jasmine with the flower beds all throughout the morning. They had eaten before deciding to relax. Hermione had opted to read her son some books from the living room, much to Jasmine's delight. She too was an avid reader, enjoying a wide variety of stories.

"'Tinker Bell," he called softly, after making sure that the children were asleep, "Tink, where are you?" She was in a jug for the moment, and liking it extremely; she had never been in a jug before,'" Hermione read off the page, squeezing her son's hand.

"Oh no!" Orion said with child-like distain, "Will she be able to get out?"

"Yes," Hermione teased, ruffling his hair, "I'm sure she will, sweetheart,"

Jasmine smiled at them from where she was perched on the porch steps. She ran a hand through her dark brown hair and her attention went back to the book in her hands. Hermione did the same, picking up where she'd left off.

"Oh, do come out of—"

Her words, however, were interrupted by Madam Quincie, who had opened the front door with a bang.

Orion's hands flew to his ears, covering them completely. Before she could assure him that he was ok, the lady of the house raced towards them, a cordless phone in her hand.

"Julia... Julia! There's someone on the phone for you,"

Hermione raised an eyebrow. No one knew her, at least from around here, so how in the world…?

"It's Evan, dear," Madam Quincie clarified. Hermione felt a stone of dread settle at the bottom of her stomach but she took the outstretched phone none the less.

"Hullo?" She asked tentatively.

There was a short pause, followed by, "Hullo there, Granger,"

"Nice to hear from you, McDermitt," She couldn't just blurt out 'Malfoy' in front of Jasmine, now could she?

Malfoy snorted, "Good mood you're in, eh?"

Hermione breathed a small puff of impatience, "What do you want?"

"We-ell," Suddenly, he sounded nervous. But that's preposterous, because Malfoys do NOT get nervous. "I was wondering if I could come and see Orion tomorrow."

That was not what she had expected him to say, "Wait… What?"

"You heard me, Granger," Draco was irritated, and obviously so. She looked back at Orion, who was waiting patiently for her to continue, his molten eyes trained on hers, "I want to see my son,"

"You don't HAVE to see him, you know,"

"I know Granger. I-I—"

Hermione tapped a sneaker-clad foot against the wooden boards that made up the porch floor, "Out with it,"

"I want to,"

Imagine that. He wants to actually spend time with his half-blood heir.

"Sure, I guess. Just come by at three tomorrow, if that works,"

Draco signed off without another witty comment. Hermione clicked the 'end' button, setting the phone down on the ground next to the rocking chair.

"Ooh, got a date with the mysterious Evan McDermitt, have we?" Jasmine teased, looking up from her book, expectant.

"No," A date with Malfoy. As if. "Why is he so… mysterious?"

Jasmine cracked a smile. She should do that more often, Hermione thought, she looks prettier.

"He never socializes, except for business and with the boarders. He keeps to himself mostly, though he does shop at the bookstore sometimes. Every once and a while he leaves town, but he never goes away overnight. He rarely takes off work, he doesn't enjoy T.V., and he always wears long sleeves in public. The icing on the cake of mysteriousness, however, is that he never dates. Occasionally he'll be seen walking home with a girl, but he never does it more than once with the same person and he most certainly never goes out with them. He's odd," Jasmine fidgeted, "But he's always nice to us,"

Malfoy a recluse, the brunette pondered idly, I never would've guessed.

"Odd indeed. No, no, he just wanted to talk about some job options he might have for me," What a pitiful lie, Hermione.

Jasmine gave her a pointed look, but did not breech the subject again.

X

Draco cut the engine of the car, pushing his door open swiftly. He hopped out, his eyes drawn immediately to Orion, who was playing with several toy cars on the grass. His blonde hair fell into his eyes, blocking them from view. Draco could hear the boy making crashing noises and high-pitched tire squeals with his mouth. Instinctively, he stepped forward.

"Rwwwwr! And Mr. Red takes the lead because Greenie is a slowpoke! CSSSSSHHHHH! And Mr. Red wins!" Draco felt a smile tugging at his lips. He stepped forward again, this time so the boy could see him.

"Oh hello!" Draco's son cried excitedly, waving a small hand, "I 'member you! You're Mummy's friend!"

Dropping to his knees, Draco responded, "Yeah, I am. Whatcha' playing there?"

With a solemn look, Orion stated, "Racing cars,"

"Really?"

"Yeah!" The child exclaimed, grinning wildly. Draco felt a tug at his heart. Dammit, stop acting so loveable, Orion!

"Well, could I play?" He inquired, blinking innocently. Orion nodded, handing him the battered green matchbox car.

"Sure but you hafta' be Greenie, 'cuz Mr. Red always wins and I'm always Mr. Red,"

Draco smirked. Of course Granger had gotten her son red and green cars and had told him that the red one must always win. If the boy ever went to Hogwarts he'd be sorted into Gryffindor without a second thought. A sense of nostalgia ran through him, though just for a second. Perhaps he had hated Hogwarts when he had gone, but now it seemed like a safe haven. It would be interesting to see if his son had more Gryffindor than Slytherin in him if he went.

I'm getting ahead of myself.

Shaking his head, Draco took the toy from his son's hand.

"Let's play, shall we?"

So they did. Draco moved the toy car around, pretending to lag or crash whenever Orion dictated. He was not particularly bossy but he knew exactly how he wanted each game to go. He was a surprisingly normal child. Anyone who'd met him would've thought the same. He didn't act like he had been under Voldemort's clutches for nearly all of his life…

"Orion!" Granger called suddenly, pulling Draco out of the magnificent little world he had created with his child. Why did she have to ruin everything?

"Malfoy," She stopped, surprise coloring her voice. Draco looked up, finding an irritated Hermione Granger looking down at him. He stood quickly, brushing the grass from his jeans.

"Lovely afternoon, isn't it Granger?" Extending a hand, he didn't even shudder when she placed her dirt-covered hand on his. She had probably been gardening, or something equally as revolting. She wiped her hand on her worn jeans, banishing the dirt from her skin.

"Well well well, Malfoy, being awful nice today, aren't we?" Had Draco not known better, he could've sworn there was a smirk on her face. However, she turned away so suddenly that he was wondering if she had even looked happy at all.

"Let's sit, shall we?" The witch walked towards the front of the house, leaving Draco to catch up quickly.

"Be back soon, Orion," He called hastily as he followed Granger. He sat in the chair next to her on the porch, watching as his son continued to push the small toys around on the grass.

After several minutes of silence, Granger spoke.

"Why did you want to see him?" She asked, turning her head to face him. He met her speculating gaze before dropping it, looking at his hands instead.

"He's my son, Granger," Draco's response was flat and typical, but it was the truth. Orion was his son, and even though he never wanted Granger to get knocked up, there was no denying that Draco felt something for the little boy. He was sweet, shy, but also very bold, in his own way. He reminded Draco of himself at that age, before the nonsense was beaten out of him and replaced with prejudiced thoughts.

"And you don't care that he's a half-blood? You don't care that I've appeared out of nowhere and just told you out of the blue that you have a son? You don't care that he doesn't know that you're his father?" Her voice rose steadily until she was practically yelling.

"No," Draco said, looking at Orion. He didn't care, "Screw the Malfoy pureblood lineage crap. I'm sure that I've been blown off the family tree already. And, honestly Granger, I'd rather have you find me late than never at all,"

"Why did you—"

Sensing that she was about to dive into questions involving the past, Draco changed the topic.

"He's a good kid, Granger. Very articulate, pretty smart for a kid his age and he's not bad looking either," He winked at Granger mercilessly, making her purse her lips. Orion did look exactly like him, but with slightly tanner skin, something that he'd no doubt gotten from his mother.

"Yeah," The brunette whispered, half to herself. She twisted a piece of her thick hair around her pointer finger, "He is,"

They lapped into silence again, both parents studying their child. It hit Draco then, like ten ton bricks. They had created this child, no matter how he had come into being. He was a combination of both of them; getting his father's looks and his mother's brain. Orion was perfect, even though he was quiet and enjoyed muggle cars too much. He was the best thing that had happened to Draco since... Well, ever really.

"Well, there goes the indifference," He muttered. Hermione whipped to the side, staring at him.

"What?" Her tone was sharp, causing a very emotionally confused Draco Malfoy to flinch.

"Nothing, nothing…" The silence resumed.

"When are we going to tell him?" Draco asked after some time.

"Tell him what?" Granger settled back against the white-washed rocking chair, still staring straight ahead.

"That I'm his dad,"

The witch sighed, shifting in her seat, "I don't know, Malfoy. I just don't know,"

They sat there for a while longer, simply looking around at the yard. Draco felt relaxed, and no one from the boarding house came to pester them with questions. Everyone, it seemed, had their own plans to follow through with. Granger even drifted off to sleep several times, her breathing deepening only slightly when she did so. The sun shone down, and there was not a cloud in the sky. Orion played with his cars before he too fell asleep, right in the middle of the grass.

None of them noticed the shadow of a man standing just inside the trees, watching them with a calculating gaze.