Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. Also thanks to erbkaiser for checking this over for me. Any remaining mistakes are mine.

Hermione wanted nothing more than to go home. It had been a week since she woke up for good and caused Lucius to storm out of her room. She never thought she would feel bad about upsetting him, but here she was, a week later, still going over their conversation in her head. Lucius had not been back and she wasn't sure if she blamed him. However, she didn't have a lot of time to think about him as her room was constantly filled with people. It was a struggle to get her mother to leave for any period of time. She had the same issue with everyone else but at least she had Pansy and Luna to drag Harry and Draco away from time to time. She sighed when she thought of Harry, knowing she wanted to tell him about Sirius, but not knowing how. Therefore she avoided him, as much as was possible while confined to a single room. She knew that Harry knew that something was up.

She was spending a very rare moment alone when she heard her door creak open and someone walk into her room. Looking up, she saw Harry enter her room, alone. He grabbed one of the hard, plastic chairs and pulled it up against her bed. Taking her hand in his, he looked her straight in her eyes and asked, "What is it?"

She immediately felt tears stinging her eyes. She had wrestled with the idea of not telling him about Sirius all week, thinking it might be better for him to not know. But she knew that Harry deserved to know, no matter how hard it was going to be for her to tell him.

"Do you remember the story you told me about what happened to you after Voldemort hit you with the Killing Curse?"

He looked at her, surprise written across his face, clearly not expecting her to bring that up.

"Sure, of course. I'll never forget it. Did you...did you see him too?"

"No, not him. Gods, Harry, please don't hate me—," she was cut off by him declaring that he could never hate her, "—but it was Sirius. Sirius was there for me while I waited to see if I would wake up."

Harry's face drained of color as he gawked at her. They stared at each other in complete silence for a few moments until she felt as if the quiet would suffocate her.

"Harry. Please say something."

That seemed to shake him from his frozen position. Wrenching his hand away from hers he quickly stood up, knocking over the chair in the process, and strode out of her room. The sound of the door slamming shut behind her had her jumping in her bed and bursting into tears.

She had finally gotten herself somewhat composed and was only slightly sniffling when her door flung open and Harry rushed back into the room. Before she could utter a word, he had her gathered up in an embrace. She could hear him muttering against her hair, saying things like 'Don't cry' and 'I'm so sorry'. Finally, he pulled away slightly although still holding her at arm's length.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione. Please, please stop crying. I just...I had to get out of this room because I could feel my magic starting to go haywire. I'm not mad at you and I don't hate you, could never hate you. Dumbledore most likely had something to do with this, didn't he?"

"I think he might have possibly prevented Sirius or your mum or dad from seeing you, yes. However, there is no way to know for certain. I can tell you that Sirius is not thrilled with him, that's for sure. In fact, Sirius explained his refusal to even speak with Dumbledore."

"Is he okay? Sirius, I mean."

She gave him a slightly watery smile as she remembered her time with Sirius. It was an experience she was sure to never forget. She told him everything, delighted in the fact that she had an eidetic memory so she could share this with Harry. He laughed when she shared their cousin/Pure-blood jokes and Sirius's reaction to her marrying two men. Tears appeared in his previously clear eyes when she told him how happy and proud Sirius was of him. She decided to omit the part of the story where Sirius revealed that Dumbledore removed his knowledge of her. No good could come of Harry knowing about that incident. When she concluded her story, Harry's face was brighter and happier than she had ever seen. In that moment, she knew she made the right decision to tell him.

"Thank you for telling me, Hermione. I know you were thinking about not telling, I know you too well. But it makes me so happy to know that Sirius, Remus, and my parents are all together. And yet it also makes me sad that we aren't with them. I'm sorry you never got to know him as your cousin."

"Oh, Harry. We'll all be together again, someday. It will always sadden me that Sirius was ripped away from you, but you will always, always, have me. And you know my mother loves you like you were hers."

"I know. Love you, Hermione."

"Love you too, Harry."

Their conversation was interrupted when a healer arrived with good news. She could finally go home! She was tempted to hop out of bed right then and there, but thought better of it when she caught the glare on Harry's face. She could have sworn that sometimes that boy could read her mind. As awful as she felt about it, she was glad that healer had come when it was only Harry here. That meant she might be able to get out St. Mungo's without a fight about where she should go. She had heard some whispered bickering throughout the week on the matter even though everyone tried hard to keep it from her. Her hopes were dashed quickly though when Blaise and Theo turned up. She tried to stifle the groan she felt coming but wasn't successful.

"What's the matter, cara? Not happy to see us? You are breaking my heart."

She laughed at Blaise's antics. One thing she had learned about him during this week is that he had an uncanny ability to make her laugh even when she felt awful.

"Of course I'm happy to see you both. It's just—."

She was cut off as Harry blurted out what the healer had just told them. This time, she did not even bother suppressing her groan as the squabbling she knew would happen began. She could only count her blessings that Narcissa, Draco, and Severus were missing at the moment, knowing they would not be able to resist putting in their two cents. Hermione could not suppress a sigh.

"Boys. Boys!"

All three of them turned to face her, looking at her in surprise. It was almost as if they had forgotten she was there.

"I feel as if I would be more comfortable in my own bed at Grimmauld Place."

She did not miss the smug look Harry leveled at Theo and Blaise, nor did she miss the look of hurt that crossed their faces.

"Of course, love. Whatever you think is best for you," Theo responded.

"Maybe you could both stay the night with me?"

Her suggestion had an immediate effect on their moods, lightening them considerably. She smiled at them both and the three wizards helped her get ready to leave. Before she went anywhere, she penned a quick note to Narcissa—knowing she would let Draco know—as well as Severus to let them know she would no longer be at St. Mungo's. Blaise took her letter to the hospital's owlry as Harry and Theo took her home. He would join them immediately after.

As soon as she arrived home she went straight up to her bedroom, dragging Theo along with her. She flopped down onto her bed and let out a very contented sigh. As much as they charmed the beds at St. Mungo's for comfort, nothing could compete with her own bed. She felt the bed dip slightly as Theo joined her. She rolled over onto her side so she could face him and a wide smile appeared on her face. Her smile must have been contagious as he returned her smile with one of his own.

"Happy to be home?"

"You have no idea. I was starting to think they were never going to let me leave."

Theo's face grew grim at her statement.

"You almost didn't leave there. The healers told us they almost lost you a few times. Merlin, Hermione, you have no idea how scared I was! How scared we all were. I don't...I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come back. I love you, Hermione, I don't want to lose you again."

"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have taunted Dolohov like that, but it was like I just couldn't stop the words from leaving my mouth. And Theo? I love you too."

His previously serious face changed in an instant at her declaration. It was the first time he heard her say that to him since they agreed to resume dating. The next thing she knew, Theo's very enthusiastic lips were on hers. He very gently rolled them over so he was on top of her. When his hand brushed lightly against her breast, her quiet moan allowed him to easily deepen the kiss. She was just about to slip her hands under Theo's shirt when she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"Starting without me, I see."

She looked over Theo's shoulder to see Blaise standing in the doorway, a smirk on his face. She said nothing, cocking an eyebrow and beckoning him forward with her finger. He then ran straight towards the two of the them, laughing the whole way, and jumped on the bed right next to them. His action dislodged Theo from his position on top of her and Blaise took advantage of that by quickly gathering her in his arms.

"I missed you, cara," he said in a low voice right before he captured her lips in a scorching kiss. She felt Theo shift next to her, his lips descending onto her neck, when they were interrupted. Again.

"Oi! Learn to shut and lock the door! I really didn't need to see that. Besides, I'm not sure that's what the healer meant when she said you could go home if you promised to rest, Hermione. Doesn't look like much 'resting' is going on."

Harry was rewarded for his interruption by receiving a pillow straight in the face. Laughing, he left, but not before making sure to close and lock the door, leaving the trio to get reacquainted.

The next couple of weeks flew by for Hermione. She was thankful that she was able to return home and luckily the constant flow of visitors seemed to taper off a bit. Sure, Narcissa still stopped by daily, but everyone else seemed to have somewhat gotten back to their normal daily lives. She still had far more visitors than she ever had before though. Severus liked to show up at random times and try to shove various potions down her throat. The last time he attempted this he ended up with a head of pink hair courtesy of her wand. Needless to say, he wasn't exactly happy with her right now. However, there was one noticeable exception to her stream of visitors, Lucius.

She hadn't seen or heard from him since the day he had stormed out of her hospital room. Each day that went by had her feeling worse and worse about the words that passed between them. She had spent the last few days thinking about the best way to resolve things with Lucius. The conclusion she finally came up with is that if he would not come to her, she would have to go to him, as loathe as she was to return to Malfoy Manor. She decided that she would floo right into his study, hoping that this way she would not encounter Narcissa or Draco. She waited until she was mostly alone in Grimmauld. Harry was around somewhere, but no one else was there. She strode purposely to the floo, wanting to go before she changed her mind.

"Lucius Malfoy's study!"

She stumbled slightly upon her arrival, but was able to catch herself before she tumbled gracelessly to the floor. A quick look around the study found it empty. Well, shit. Since she wasn't planning on making a return trip, she thought her best bet would be to wait to see if Lucius came back.

It couldn't be said that Hermione was a patient person. Within five minutes, she was bored out of her mind. Standing up from the chair she was lounging in, she started pacing in front of Lucius's desk. She wasn't trying to snoop exactly when she noticed pictures peeking out from under some paperwork. Curious, she carefully lifted the papers to reveal two old photographs. The first was Narcissa laying in a bed, holding two newborns. It was obvious that the babies were she and Draco. Switching to the second photo, she saw Lucius holding one of the babies. Looking closer, she couldn't tell if the baby was Draco or herself. She did find something surprising about the picture, though. The expression on Lucius's face as he gazed down at the child in his arms caught her off guard. She was not sure she had ever seen his face look so open. One could clearly see that he loved this child and yet there was also a hint of sadness in his countenance. The picture itself had worn edges and creases, as if the owner spent a lot time looking at it. Turning the picture over she saw a couple of sentences written in Lucius's handwriting and something else that surprised her. Tear stains.

June 5th

Holding Cassiopeia. Both the best and worst day of my life. Your father will always love you, baby girl.

In that moment, it was as if time had stopped for Hermione as she stared at the words written on the back of the photograph. Flipping it over once more, the reason for the sadness on Lucius's face was now apparent. She couldn't help herself from flipping the picture over and over again, going between the picture of her and Lucius, and Lucius's words. She had had her doubts over his actual feelings towards her, even going so far as thinking he was happy to give her away. Seeing the image combined with his words blew this theory out of the water. Feeling her legs grow weak, she collapsed into Lucius's desk chair. Had she really been wrong about him this whole time? The guilt she felt over their last visit was now increased tenfold.

The door to the study opened with a creak, startling Hermione. She quickly stood up as Lucius sauntered into the room. At first he took no notice of her, as he had a hand full of papers that held his attention. He finally looked up at her when he approached his desk. His inscrutable expression gave nothing away about his feelings over finding her in his study. They stared at each other, moments passing, neither saying a word. Finally, his eyes left hers, flicking briefly to the pictures she still clutched in her hand.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice sounding harsh, as if he hadn't been using it much. Unexpectedly she was at a loss for words. She knew why she was here, but seemed to have all of a sudden lost the ability to speak.

"I...I...um. Icametoapologize," she blurted out.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

The very slight upturn in Lucius's mouth told her that he did indeed catch what she had said. He obviously wasn't going to make this easy on her, not that she expected anything less from him.

"I said I came to apologize. I know it is a poor excuse, but I was upset and feeling poorly and I took it out on you. I didn't realize..." she trailed off as her gaze focused on the pictures in her hands once more, "...how hard it must have been for you. I honestly thought you didn't care all that much. But that's not true, is it?"

She returned the pictures to the desk and slid them over toward Lucius. He stared at them with the impenetrable mask he was so famous for before lifting them off the desk.

"No, that is not true at all. I may be a terrible man, who has done atrocious things, but the fact remains that I very much love my family. I was deeply depressed when I gave you up, so much so that I fear I wasn't quite the husband or father I should have been. When you didn't return to us on your seventeenth birthday, I was close to drinking myself to death until Severus put a stop to it. Hermione, if there had been any other way, any other way at all, I would have done it. You are my daughter and I've loved you since the minute I first set my eyes on your face."

Hermione was taken back at his heartfelt confession, never have expected that Lucius would be so open with her. With tears prickling her eyes and threatening to fall, she rushed around the desk and launched herself into Lucius's arms. He stumbled slightly, obviously not anticipating suddenly having his arms full with his daughter. He recovered quickly, however, and wrapped his arms around her as she started to cry in earnest, muttering how sorry she was against his chest. He pushed her slightly away and used his hand to gently wipe her tears away.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, my dear. I'm the one who is sorry. More sorry than you could ever possibly know."

"Thank you. Father."

As soon as that word left her mouth Lucius embraced her once more, clutching her tightly. As they stood there she felt his tears dripping onto her head and she knew she did the right thing by coming here. He wasn't perfect by any means, neither was she, but he was her father and he loved her. She could finally see that.

A/N: So that was so incredibly hard to write. I spent a long time trying to get the scene between Lucius and Hermione right and man, am I glad it's finally done. I hope everyone enjoyed it!

I think this story is starting to come to a close, so if there's anything you are just dying to know, make sure you tell me now (hopefully in a review!).

Next up: a quick time jump to a wedding. But whose? :)