"You are late, Hermione Granger." Circe's portrait had a clipped angry tone when Hermione walked into the flat. Hermione was exhausted and had no energy for Circe and her nonsense tonight after spending hours at the DMLE offices with Harry.

There were two Aurors stationed in her building now and Hermione wasn't thrilled about that either.

"It was a rough day," Hermione intoned, dropping her heels by the front door and throwing herself onto her blue chaise.

"It is nearly tomorrow and I had no idea where you were. Ginevra came by and pounded on the door. I could hear her yelling for you, but she did not linger once she was sure that you were not within."

Hermione pulled out her wand and conjured her patronus, sending the little otter off to let Ginny and Pansy know that she was home safe and she would come over tomorrow for dinner and tell them what happened after they left the restaurant. She still couldn't believe that an assassin had tried to murder Malfoy…Draco…and Scorpius in the middle of a crowded Wizarding restaurant. Her mind went back to the argument that Draco had with his father.

"There was an attack where we had brunch, but I'm fine Circe. I handled it, like I always do." Hermione sighed, wishing that she had someone to bring her a glass of wine and rub her poor feet. This is what she got for wearing less than sensible shoes all day plus attempting to put the heel through a man's larynx. She should have done it.

Would Lucius truly attempt to kill Scorpius to force Draco to have another heir? Would Draco do something like that if his son was killed?

"You know Circe, whenever I think humans can't fall any lower in my approximation, they manage." She just wanted to cry, but she thought all the tears were for her neighbour who was tucking Scorpius into bed in the flat across the landing.

What a nightmare. She couldn't imagine what he was going through. He'd confessed though that Lucius wasn't a very positive paternal role model. Maybe that was the worst sort of Draco Malfoy understatement.

Noone deserved that and certainly not the Draco that Hermione was coming to know. He deserved a family that cared and supported him. Not this. Never this.

...

After his divorce, Draco had decided that in his new life that he would always deserve the best treatment because he would never put up with any other. It had been a line in the first Muggle book that he had ever read. And while he wasn't sure that he deserved anything of the sort, he liked to consider it a goal.

If he married again, she would have to treat him well, not as though the only things that had value about him were his Gringotts vault, his Manor and his family name. It wasn't too much to ask, he thought, a wife that treated him with care and consideration. It wouldn't take much for anyone to treat him the best he had ever been treated in his life.

Even Draco had to admit that his personal history hadn't been filled with much devotion. His mother's love could be cold, but she'd do anything for him, he knew. He couldn't imagine how furious she would be once she learned what Lucius had tried to do. Theo and Blaise were his best mates but they were starting a family soon and he had to allow for that. He couldn't expect to be the most important thing in their life.

He stood in the door of Scorpius' room and watched him sleep, before walking towards the kitchen to pour himself a glass of Ogden's when a pounding on the door startled him.

Opening the door, Draco was startled to find his aunt standing there with the Auror behind her.

"Draco, tell this well meaning young man that I am your aunt and am able to visit you."

Draco only nodded at the Auror, who shrugged and headed back down to his post. Undoubtedly he wasn't too thrilled about guarding a Death Eater.

"Aunt Andromeda, why are you here?" Draco opened the door to allow her into his small flat.

"Harry failed to pick up Teddy for their sleepover, then showed up late at my house to stay over so they could do breakfast and cartoons in the morning before work and told me what had happened. You're really alright?" His aunt's hands were on his cheeks and she was looking him over as though checking for injuries. Draco didn't know why, but tears started to flow over his cheeks. "Oh, my dear child." His aunt pulled him into a hug.

"We're fine. Scorpius and I weren't hurt." Draco replied, unsure how this was happening, but enjoying that someone in his family cared that much about him. "Granger stopped the hit wizard."

"Oh thank the gods for that girl." Andromeda held onto him for a long time, and Draco let himself hold on to her in return. She didn't even comment on his tears.