Chapter 21

Hermione woke up the next morning feeling especially good. She supposed it was from spending so much time with Draco lately. She wondered if she should feel scared about how quickly things were progressing between the two of them, but she couldn't find any of those feelings. Instead she simply felt nothing but pure happy emotions. Which was exactly what she was, happy.

She had her meeting with Kingsley in a few days about the adoption, but until then she had nothing to do but plan out different potions, and probably look over some more cold cases. There were quite a few that had been handed down to lower ranking Aurors because of the murder cases, but in her free time she liked to look over them to see if she could find anything out by looking over them to help them out. Cases like the potion store break ins and the supposed spotting of a few other Death Eaters had to still be analysed properly, but had yet to be done.

She had just finished getting ready for the morning when she saw an owl at the window. She walked over, and let it in, and it dropped a letter in her hand before flying away.

Dear Hermione,

I know this is slightly last minute, but I'm going to ask you to clear your schedule for today. I have a surprise for you, and I will be over shortly with it. Sorry for dropping by and interrupting whatever plans you may have had today.

See you then,

Draco

She shook her head with a smile as she read his note, wondering what possible surprise he could have for her. She decided to look over the cases until he got here, and enjoy a light breakfast.

It was nearly ten before there was a knock on her door. She opened it, and saw Draco standing there, alone, with nothing in his hands either. Hermione placed a small kiss on his lips as a greeting.

"Nice to see you too," he said with a smile. "I want you to know that I care about you so much, and that I probably should have asked you first before I did this, but I didn't want to let you down if it didn't work. I just want you to be happy, because you're an amazing woman, and you deserve nothing less."

"What are you talking about?" she asked in confusion. Draco didn't say anything, but he simply gestured behind him. She couldn't see at first, seeing that the doorframe of her apartment blocked her vision. But she stepped past it and saw two people standing there nervously; her parents.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in surprise. She felt overcome by the sight of them, seeing that they didn't part on great terms the last time that they were together.

"Draco brought us," her mother said softly. "I'm so sorry that I didn't believe you, Hermione. I shouldn't have dismissed your truths as tales that children spin. I was so angry that you could wipe our memories that I didn't even think about how you must have felt to do so. And listening to some of the things that Draco was forced to witness really opened up my eyes. I'm so ashamed that I could push you out of my life and want nothing to do with you, when you were the reason we were alive."

"Your boyfriend didn't tell you, but he told us that there was a hit out for us; you having the foresight to send us away was the only reason we survived," her father shakily.

Hermione felt herself feel light at what they said, and it was only for Draco holding her which prevented her from falling over.

"I'll make some tea," Draco said softly, as he stepped into the kitchen.

Hermione nodded mutely, and simply opened her door to let her parents into her flat.

She had a range of emotions coursing through her. She was angry that they wouldn't listen to her, she was sad that they missed so much in her life, happy to have them back, relieved that they didn't hate her, confused about what they meant about the hit, and about a thousand different emotions all at once.

"Please say something," her mother said, nudging Hermione out of her thoughts. They were seated on her sofa, while she sat on the loveseat on the side of them.

"Why?" Hermione said, her voice getting caught in her throat. "Why didn't you believe me? I needed you so much during the last few years, but you weren't here. Before Draco, I had next to no one. I was so alone, and I had no one to turn to."

"What about the Weasleys?" her father asked in confusion.

She shook her head bitterly, "I've barely seen them since Ron broke up with me."

"What happened between the two of you?" her mother said softly.

"You can't just push yourself back into my life and demand that I tell you everything about it!" Hermione exclaimed. "You've been gone for so long, but now you're trying to just make things go right back to how they were before. I'm not that girl who obliviated your memories anymore. Nor am I the girl who begged you to listen to her and to not hate her. I've changed, and you can't just expect me to be the same person anymore."

Draco came in just then and he clearly sensed the tension, but he didn't say anything. Instead he settled for sitting beside Hermione.

"You're right," her father said slowly. "It would be easier to simply forget, but we can't do that. Hermione, we were wrong, and it shouldn't have taken us so long to come see you. It shouldn't have taken your boyfriend coming to us. You get your stubbornness from both of us, and it's no excuse for what we did. We should have listened, but we didn't. Hermione, we just want to ask you for your forgiveness. Forgive what we did, and please let us into your life. We can start slowly, and not just pick things back up. We'll work towards where we were before. But if you need time to process everything, you can always owl us when you're ready."

She took a deep breath, and looked at Draco, hoping he would tell her what to do. But his eyes said nothing of direction, only telling her to trust her gut.

"Okay," she said carefully. "I do want you back in my life." Draco squeezed her hand, and she could tell that he approved of her choice. Her parents had a smile on their faces, glad that she had decided to give them a second chance.

"Ron and I broke up, because he was cheating on me," Hermione said, knowing she would have to tell them eventually. Her parents had known that she had a crush on him throughout school, and they had thought that the two of them would eventually date.

Her father looked murderous, and her mother held her hand to her mouth in shock. It was going to be a long day of filling her parents in, but she did just that. She told them what happened during the war, and what happened after the war. She told them about her job, and mentioned slightly about the cases she was working on. She told them about how she and Draco began to see each other, and the she told them about Draco and his son. She knew they might be slightly concerned about him having a child, but they didn't say anything about it at the moment. She told them how he was a Healer, and about Jamie and his blood disease. She told them how he was orphaned, and how she was trying to adopt him. Then she told them about the small things that happened to her, and informed them about the state of their affairs; how their house had been taken care of and cleaned up, and how their practice was still there, with a charm on it so Hermione could restore it, but until then, nobody unwanted could access it. She told them that she had been managing their banking affairs, but had transferred everything back to them when they had told her that they didn't want to come home.

In turn, her parents told her about Wendell and Monica Wilkins and their life as them. They told her how they started a practice in Australia, and how it was blooming. They said they enjoyed the weather there, and how they slightly preferred it, but would keep their home here for when they wanted to visit. Her parents had apparently started taking a variety of classes, from dance to cooking together because of too much free time, and had invited Draco and Hermione to come along sometimes.

She leaned into Draco's chest, happy he was here for her. She owed him so much, and she didn't even know how to repay him for it all.

It was a few hours later when her parents left for the night; Draco had apparated them back to their home in Australia. When he returned, he collapsed back on the couch beside her.

She turned to face him, "Draco, I want to thank you," she said softly, as she caressed his face gently. "I never asked you to bring back my parents for me, but somehow you knew I needed them and did so. You always go above and beyond for me, and I want you to know just how much I appreciate you for it. You're amazing."

He leaned in, and pressed a kiss on her lips, "You don't have to thank me, Hermione. I do all this because I care about you too. I want you to be happy, and if you ever want something, then never hesitate to ask me for it, because I will do it for you."

"I need to tell you something," she said softly. "I've been feeling it for a while, but I need to tell you. Draco, I love you."

He smiled at her, "I love you too, Hermione," he said as he placed another kiss on her lips. "I love you so much. I love sitting in and just eating take out with you, and I love going out on the town with you. I love the way when you smile, you have two dimples on your left cheek. And I love how you can keep a conversation about anything like politics, to philosophy, and I love debating with you. I love how you care about Scorpius; it's a rare woman who cares about the child of the man she's seeing, and who doesn't hold any resentment in terms of it. I love how you got involved in Jamie's case even though you weren't working it, and how you want to adopt him. I love you so much, Hermione Granger."

She moved her lips forward and kissed him back, "I love how you can keep up with me when we debate topics. I love how you don't want me to change to be someone I'm not. I love your gorgeous grey eyes, and I love how good of a father you are to Scorpius. I love how far you've come in your life, and how you're a Healer and how you still have time for your friends and your family. I love the way you became somewhat friends with Harry and Ginny because you knew exactly what they meant to me, and I love that you brought back my parents. I love how you want to go with me to the Ministry war anniversary ball even though you feel uncomfortable. I love you, Draco."

She cuddled her head into his chest, and he held her tightly as they talked until he had to go home for Scorpius, who had spent the entire day with his uncle Theo. Hermione was peaceful here, with him, and she loved every moment of it and of him.

Hermione was sitting in Harry and Ginny's flat as they caught up on the week they had had, and all that happened since the last time they saw them.

"So he just went over there and brought them back for you?" Ginny inquired as she took a sip of the herbal tea that her mother had recommended for her pregnancy.

"Yeah," Hermione said with a smile.

"I know that look," Ginny grinned. "Something happened between the two of you, didn't it?"

"I told him that I loved him," Hermione said, causing Harry to choke on his tea in surprise.

"That's great!" Harry said with a smile. "What did he say to that?"

"That he loved me back," Hermione said, a slightly blush on her cheeks.

Ginny and Harry smiled as they offered their congratulations.

"There's something else though," Hermione said softly. "You know Draco's patient, Jamie?"

"The one with a blood disease who you and Draco are trying to help cure?" Harry recalled, as he nodded at her. "What about him?"

"He's an orphan," Hermione told them. "I've spent a lot of time with him, not only for medicinal reasons because I can tell that he's really lonely, and it got me thinking about how he had no family. And when I spent time with him, I had an idea that I wanted to be that family for him. I looked over my financial records, and I have enough to support a child. Draco and I met up with his adoption agency, and I still have to meet with Kingsley, as well as a lot of other legal hoops, but if everything goes well, then I can adopt him as my own."

They were shocked at first, but Ginny was the first to speak, "I think that's wonderful, Hermione!" Ginny praised.

"Honestly, if anyone is equipped to be a mother, it would be you," Harry said honestly. "You're one of those people who were always meant to be a mother, even when we were younger. You're my friend, and like my sister, and if you need any help with any part of it, from the legal hoops, to raising Jamie, then never hesitate to ask us for it."

Hermione smiled at them both, "Thank you so much for your support. Draco said that he wanted to co-adopt him too, but wouldn't be able to until after Jamie is out of the hospital, assuming everything with his treatment goes well, but that's being optimistic."

"How is it going, by the way?" Ginny asked curiously. "With the potion."

"I'm still researching what would have been the most potent combination. We know the two main ingredients, but there are still so many possibilities of what could be mixed with it to get the right one. But I have a few samples of Jamie's blood, and when I get one that I think might work, I can add it to the vial and see if there is any change without having to test it out on Jamie."

"That's good!" Harry encouraged. "If there's anyone who can be successful at finding the right combination, it's you. You were always really good at Potions, and well anything else you put your mind to."

She smiled at him, "Thanks, Harry," she said, as she stood up to leave. "I should probably get going, I have a lot of research to do, between that, and the cold cases from work, I have a busy rest of the weekend ahead of me."

"It was good seeing you," Ginny said with a smile. "Come by again soon."

Blaise was ecstatic. He had finally broken through on a curse which had been placed on an ancient Egyptian object which was of high value and that Gringotts desperately wanted to acquire. He had gotten his job there nearly straight out of Hogwarts and after he had been cleared by the courts of being a Death Eater as a way to protect his own mother. He had never killed anyone, nor harmed them in any way intentionally. He had been so grateful to Granger for getting all of those who had no choice a second chance.

When he was in school, he had found so many subjects interesting, from Ancient Runes, Potions, and even Tranfiguration. He supposed he could have always taken over the Zabini family company, but since his father's death, the appointed CEO had been doing an incredible job, and had only been taking about thirty percent of profits. Besides, it wasn't really something that he was interested in either. When he had finally made up his mind about being a Curse Breaker, the hard part was basically over. He had become an intern for a year, unpaid, before being promoted up to being part of the staff there. In the few years he had been there, he had climbed significantly up the ranks of Gringotts, only being a few ranks lower than the top workers there, including Bill Weasley.

He was happy with his life. He had managed to rise his name back up in the world, and he had an amazing group of friends. Yes, he was the only single one of the three of them, and when they got together, it was sometimes slightly awkward, but he didn't mind it. He had no inclination at the moment to be in a relationship. He had his own condo in the middle of wizarding England he loved living in the centre of it all.

Not that his mother didn't try to set him up with the occasional socialite or someone of a similar manner.

He looked down at his work, and groaned, unsure of how much longer it would take to work on this stupid artefact so he could go home and relax with a nice glass of Firewhisky while enjoying his evening as he did absolutely nothing at home but relaxed.

A/N: Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews, favourites, and follows. It's wonderful to know how many of you guys read this story and what you think of it!