Chapter Four

You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This

June twentieth came quickly. Hermione and Draco both rose early that morning and met Dmitry and Davius in the dining room. One carried a tray with a full breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes drenched in syrup, a mound of bacon, and a steaming mug of hot chocolate. The other held a beautifully wrapped gift which, Hermione guessed by the size, looked like a book.

"All ready to wake the young master?" asked the one holding the food.

"We are oh so excited to give him his present and breakfast!" said the other.

Draco chuckled. "Yes, I think he's slept long enough. Go on ahead, we'll meet you upstairs."

"Yes, sir!" they said together, and disappeared. As Draco and Hermione were walking up the steps they heard Scorpius's shout from his room: "Wow! Thanks!" They arrived just in time to see him tearing open the paper on his present to reveal, as Hermione had suspected, a thick book.

Scorpius carefully sounded out the title.

"The Young Wizard's Cookbook, by Dmitry and Davius…" He paused. "Wait, you wrote this?"

"Yes we did!" they chimed together. "Just for you!"

"Wow!" exclaimed Scorpius again. "So this will teach me how to cook?"

"With the proper supervision," cautioned the first.

"That's the only copy!" said the second.

"Thanks!" Scorpius was beaming.

"Well don't let it get cold, eat up!" said the first Orhomme.

"Yes, we worked extra hard on that, we expect to see it all gone!" said the second. They both smiled and then were gone. Scorpius then noticed Draco and Hermione in the doorway.

"Happy birthday, Scorpius," they said together. He grinned at them and then started perusing the book Dmitry and Davius had given him.

"Aren't you going to eat your breakfast?" asked Hermione. "If you don't, I certainly will!"

"Oh right!" said Scorpius, as if he'd completely forgotten. He pulled the tray onto his lap and immediately began eating. Draco stayed in the doorway while Hermione sat down on the foot of the bed.

"I have my birthday present for you, too, Scorpius," she said.

"Wha ish if?" he mumbled through a mouthful of pancake.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, dear," she said gently, smiling. "My gift to you is that we won't be doing any studies today."

Scorpius finished chewing and swallowed before replying. "None?" he asked, bewildered.

"That's right. Absolutely none! Today is your special day to spend however you like. Dmitry and Davius are willing to make anything you like for lunch and dinner. All you have to do is ask. You just tell us what you want to do and we'll find a way to make it happen."

"Within reason, of course," Draco chimed in from the doorway. Scorpius was grinning from ear to ear – between mouthfuls of breakfast – and Draco was sure that he'd never seen him happier. He was determined to start doing this parenting thing right, and making his son's sixth birthday the best it could be was definitely a great way to start, he thought.

"So, Scorpius," said Hermione when he was nearly finished eating, "what sorts of things would you like to do today?"

He swallowed his last delicious bite of pancake, then said, "I don't know!"

Hermione glanced at Draco. They'd expected that. Draco had never let Scorpius have much "fun." Not anything outside the manor, at least.

"Well then," she began, turning back to Scorpius, "I think I have an idea."

Scorpius stared at her, waiting.

"I know of a few really excellent places in a town called Hogsmeade that you would just love…"

Scorpius seemed skeptical. "Like what?"

"Like a giant candy shop called Honeyduke's, and a huge joke shop called Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes!"

She chanced a glance at Draco and she noticed him stiffen when she mentioned Fred and George's shop. Well, tough. Scorpius would love it and Draco would just have to deal with it.

"Ooh! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" shouted Scorpius, practically jumping in place in his bed.

"All right, it's a plan! Let's get you dressed and ready and we'll be there within an hour!" said Hermione, and Scorpius nearly leapt out of the bed in his excitement.

As promised, an hour later they were in the crowded but quaint streets of Hogsmeade and heading for Honeyduke's. Scorpius was positively shaking with excitement and it was all Draco and Hermione could do to keep him contained.

"Are you sure allowing him access to this much sugar is a good idea?" Draco whispered to Hermione over Scorpius's head.

"Draco, he's six. Let the poor thing have a little fun…" she chided. He replied with silence and she took it as admission of her correctness.

"Here we are!" she said when they arrived in front of it.

Scorpius's smile looked like it might break his face in two when he walked through the door.

"Wow!" he yelled, attracting the attention of several shop goers. Draco avoided the gaze of all of them while Hermione sent them apologetic smiles. The two of them watched at a distance as Scorpius bounced from display to display looking at everything. Eventually, he made his way back to Draco.

"Father, there's so much here! Chocolate frogs and Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and Everlasting Gobbstoppers and—"

"Trust me, I know the selection," Draco said. "I used to come here all the time, myself."

"Really?" said Scorpius, his eyes widening.

"Yes indeed, I did," he smiled. "You can get whatever you want—"

"Really?" shouted Scorpius, again attracting the attention of passersby.

"—whatever you want up to five galleons worth," Draco finished sternly.

Hermione raised her eyebrows, knowing that £25 worth of candy was quite a hefty amount for a six year old, but said nothing.

Scorpius's eyes seemed like they'd pop right out of their sockets.

"Five galleons!" he cried, and practically disappeared in front of their eyes like Dmitry and Davius did at the manor.

Hermione just shook her head and smiled.

"What?" Draco demanded.

"He sure is something," she said. He paused.

"Yeah, I guess he is," Draco admitted.

"I keep picturing him as a miniature version of you, wondering if you were like that as a child."

"I was not nearly that excited," Draco protested.

"Because that wasn't your disposition, or because your father wouldn't let you be?" she prodded.

She took Draco's stony silence as an affirmative of the latter. Wanting to avoid the uncomfortable moment, she changed the subject.

"How much are you going to let him spend at the joke shop?"

"Five galleons, just like here, though I'm a little nervous about what he'll find."

"Everything they have is completely harmless…" Hermione argued.

"I know that, but I don't want my son playing practical jokes on me in the middle of the night…"

"I think he knows better than to do that," Hermione said gently. "More than likely, he will try to use a few on Narcissa, though…"

Draco tried his hardest to hide his smile.

Half an hour later they left Honeyduke's laden with bags and a slightly depressed Scorpius, as Draco had forbidden him from eating any of the delicious sweets until they got home.

"But Father, you said I could do anything I wanted!" he complained.

"I said anything within reason. Gorging on candy in public is not within reason."

"Fine…" Scorpius pouted. He was walking alongside his father and holding his hand. Hermione stood on Scorpius's other side.

"Besides," said Draco as they rounded a corner, "I wanted to show you something."

"What, Father?" asked Scorpius, looking up at him, his curiosity getting the better of his sadness. Draco picked him up in reply so Scorpius could be on the same eye level as Draco. Hermione smiled and stood back to let them have the Father-son moment.

"Look straight ahead of us, way ahead, and up that hill. What do you see?" he asked.

Scorpius squinted. "I see a great big castle! With lots of towers and buildings and windows!" He paused, then let out a great gasp. "Is there a dragon guarding it with a princess inside like in Beedle's book?" he exclaimed.

Draco and Hermione both burst out laughing.

"No, Scorpius, there's not a dragon guarding it, and there's definitely no princesses inside, although right now there's probably a fair few pretty girls taking some final exams…"

Scorpius looked perplexed. Draco smiled.

"That castle is a school, Scorpius. Do you remember me mentioning that someday you'd be going off to a real school to learn how to use magic like I do?"

Scorpius nodded.

"Well, that's it. It's called Hogwarts, and someday it will be your home while you learn how to use, control, and perfect your magical skills."

Scorpius's eyes resembled saucers.

"Really father?" he asked, his voice laden with awe.

"Yes, really. I went there and so did Hermione. That's where she learned all the wonderful things she's been teaching you."

At this, Scorpius looked over at Hermione and beamed at her. She smiled back, her heart warming at all her memories of Hogwarts and imagining the kinds of things Scorpius would get into there.

Speaking of memories of Hogwarts…

"Well, no use dallying!" Hermione said. "We have a joke shop to visit, I believe!"

Scorpius's smile changed from wistful to elated.

"Oh, right! Come on, Father, let's go!" he said, squirming to get down from Draco's arms.

Hermione's heart gave a little wrench when they reached the shop. "Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes: Fred & George Weasley, Owners" was still inscribed on the window in purple and gold lettering. She paused and stared at it for a moment. Draco didn't notice at first but stopped at the door when he noticed she wasn't following. He walked over to her and looked at the window with her, Scorpius following.

Scorpius, ever the reader, noticed the words and sounded them out.

"Wheezy's… wiz-ard-ing… wheezes…" he started. Hermione didn't have the heart to correct him. "Fred and George… Wheezy… Owners." He beamed at Hermione, expecting praise.

She gave a sad smile. "Very good, Scorpius. Those were some big words."

"Will we see…" – he glanced back at the window – "Fred and George Wheezy inside?"

Hermione swallowed hard. "You know, I bet for sure we'll see George in there, but I don't know about Fred."

"Why not Fred?" Scorpius asked innocently. Draco suddenly remembered why Hermione seemed so extraordinarily sad.

Hermione did her best to smile at Scorpius. "Fred hasn't been around for a while. Sort of left George to take care of the shop on his own, but he doesn't mind."

"Oh," said Scorpius, struggling with the concept. "Well, that's just silly!" he declared.

"Brothers do silly things, sometimes," Hermione admitted. "Come on, let's go inside and see if we can meet George." She glanced at Draco and he gave her a sympathetic glance before leading Scorpius inside by the hand.

As final exams were currently taking place at Hogwarts, the shop's most frequent buyers weren't populating the place at the moment and it was relatively empty. Thus, George – who still had only one ear - noticed immediately when the three strode in.

"Good morning and welcome to Weasley's Wizarding—" he stopped when he recognized Hermione. She smiled.

"Hermione!" he cried, embracing her in a hug. "How lovely! Haven't seen you in ages! Ron still won't shut up about you…" his voice faded as he noticed who was with her.

"Who've you brought with you then?" he asked skeptically, suspecting who it was by his looks but not wanting to judge.

"Actually, George, he's the one who brought me here… I'm sure you remember Draco Malfoy…"

George nodded his head as acknowledgement. Draco did the same.

"…and he's brought his son, Scorpius along. It's his sixth birthday today, you see, and we thought—"

"Oh, a birthday, you say?" exclaimed George, quickly regaining his happy composure. Hermione figured that George wasn't one to pass along hatred to one's heirs. "We have special things just for birthdays here at Weasley's…"

"Why do you only have one ear?" Scorpius interrupted.

"Ah! Yes, that. Been so long I forget about it most days. I had a run in with a mad, dark wizard a few years back!" George exclaimed darkly.

"Really?" asked Scorpius, amazed.

"That's right!" declared George.

"Are you George?" Scorpius asked.

"Why yes, I am!" George said, beaming.

"I read your name on the window," Scorpius replied, glowing with pride.

"Well what a precocious little six year old you are!" George said, ruffling Scorpius's hair. (Draco cringed.) "Go on, why don't you and your daddy explore the shop, and you just ask me if you have any questions. I'll make sure to whip up a special birthday present just for you!" he finished. Draco forced a smile and led Scorpius away through the rows of shelves and tables. Once they were safely out of earshot, George lost his smile and looked at Hermione carefully.

"Hermione, I'm sorry, but I really have to ask—"

"What on earth am I doing in a joke shop having been brought by Draco Malfoy?" she finished.

"Well, yeah. I mean you two aren't dating are you?"

"Oh good heavens, no!" she cried, ignoring the skip in her stomach when George had suggested the idea. "No, Scorpius's mother actually died shortly after he was born and now that he's of learning age, Draco has hired me on at Malfoy Manor as Scorpius's… governess, in lieu of a mother."

George was silent for a moment, the raised his eyebrows.

"You can't be serious."

"Quite serious, George."

Silence again.

"But you're Hermione Granger!" George declared suddenly, as if this were the answer to everything. "You're the brightest witch of the age, maybe of the century! How in the world are you working as a lowly governess for sod like Malfoy?"

Hermione sighed.

"Unfortunately, George, being the right hand woman to Harry Potter, even coupled with being 'the brightest witch of the age,' cannot compete in the real world with a full, official schooling. No one will hire someone who didn't finish all their years at either Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, or Durmstrang."

George appeared very frustrated.

"Well goodness, Hermione, why haven't you told anyone? Certainly one of us could have helped you…"

Another sigh.

"My mother needed me at home. My father died shortly after I returned after the war and she was lonely and heartbroken… after a while I became comfortable there, but eventually I knew I needed to get out and do something. I tried and tried to get a decent job somewhere, anywhere, but no one wanted me. Seems the wizarding world has no place for school-drop-out heroes. Finally, I saw the ad in the paper for governess of Malfoy Manor and I thought, what the hell, why not? So I wrote him and he, amazingly, accepted and… here I am."

George looked dumbfounded. He lowered his voice a little more before continuing.

"How's he… you know… treating you? Everything all right? He got you cursed or something?"

Hermione chuckled. "No, George, he hasn't cursed me. He treats me well enough. He's still Draco Malfoy, but he's learning how to be a father."

George let out a little huff.

"Well," he said finally, "If you ever need anything – anything at all, for any reason – you know where to find me. All right?"

"All right, George," she conceded, closing the conversation with a smile. "Didn't you say you were going to put something together for little Scorpius?" she reminded.

"Ah, right, that I did!" he exclaimed, almost giving her whiplash for how quickly he bounced back to the happy-go-lucky shop owner she knew.

"He's a cute kid, really," George admitted. "Seems like he'll be talented."

"He's very smart. He learns quickly."

"Maybe having lessons from you will teach him how not to be a slimy git like his father…" George mumbled, because Draco and Scorpius were returning to the front of the store and he didn't want to be overheard.

"Only five galleons father?" Scorpius cried. "It's not nearly enough! Please, just a galleon more… there's so much here!"

Hermione chuckled to herself. Five galleons had seemed like a treasure's chest full to Scorpius at Honeyduke's, yet here it was paltry. She had a vague feeling that Draco was hoping in vain that his son would not grow up to be a natural marauder.

George, overhearing this, interrupted. "Five galleons! Why, five galleons can buy an awful lot in this place! Here, let me show you around," he said, and took Scorpius by the hand and led him back into the store.

"I don't think I remembered him being quite so animated at Hogwarts," Draco admitted.

"He's a little over the top," Hermione conceded, "but he's compensating for the lack of his brother."

Draco was silent.

"I always looked down on the Weasley twin's behavior, but after the war got bad, I realized that some jokes and smiles were just what people needed… It's really great, what they did here. They started up in the thick of a war and they're still successful today."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Draco said.

"I can't imagine how difficult it must be for George. Losing a brother is hard, but losing a twin is just awful… there's a bond there between them that's broken."

"I'm sure."

Realizing that Draco didn't want to continue the conversation in this vein, she switched it.

"George is quite taken with Scorpius. Says he has a lot of promise."

Draco smiled a little. "That's good to hear. I hope he does well."

"I think he will. He really does very well with me in his lessons, Draco."

Draco looked over at her. She looked back.

"Somehow, I knew he would. That's why I accepted your application without question. I never even thought about taking anyone else."

Hermione was taken aback.

"What do you mean, Draco?"

"I mean that your owl was the first one I'd received, and I never even considered any others. I knew how you'd been in school, I knew that you had a caring heart, and I just knew that you'd be good for my son."

Hermione was shocked.

"In fact," Draco pushed on, "You've been more than good for Scorpius. You've turned him from a troublemaking pain to a genuinely good kid, and in just two months. He adores you. I've never seen him smile so much as when he's around you." He paused. "Actually, I've never smiled so much in five years until you came along…"

Hermione's heart skipped a beat as his eyes met hers. She, Hermione Granger, was making Malfoy smile? Making him happy?

"Thank you, Draco," was all she could manage to get out. "That's really very touching, truly… I've greatly enjoyed my time at Malfoy Manor so far."

"Have you really?" he asked. It seemed he didn't fully believe her.

"Yes, I really have. Scorpius is wonderful, Dmitry and Davius are just fascinating and you…" she trailed off.

"I?" Draco prompted. He waited.

"You're… just… you're hardly a boss. You're a companion. A… friend…" she tried out the word.

Draco considered that for a moment. He'd never been much of a true "friend" to anyone. Most Slytherins were always out for themselves, no one else. Friendship was something only pretended, a mock-up for appearances.

Yet Hermione considered him a friend…

"Who would have thought," he replied, and smiled. "Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger… friends…"

She gave a small smile back. "Who would have thought, indeed…" she said. She stopped when she saw George and Scorpius returning from the back of the store, both of them with arms full of merchandise.

"Oh, dear…" Hermione said. Draco saw, too. They piled all of it onto the counter.

"See, lad?" George was saying. "All of this, plus your birthday surprise" – George placed a wrapped box with a bow on top of the pile – "for a lowly five galleons."

For Scorpius, it might as well have been Christmas morning. His smile was brighter than sunshine.

Hermione and Draco, however, were staring in disbelief. Hermione knew the relative cost of some of the items in that pile and just two of the items together were worth five galleons…

"So how about it, Dad?" George said. "Five galleons for the lot."

For a moment, Draco couldn't speak.

"George…" Hermione started. "That's just… that's… impossible…"

"Nothing is impossible for a friend of yours, Hermione."

"Twenty galleons," Draco suddenly said. "I'll give you twenty for all of it and not a knut less."

"No, only five galleons," George corrected with a smile, as if Draco were being positively silly for wanting to pay more.

"Twenty," replied Draco firmly.

"Five."

"Fifteen."

"Only five."

"Ten, then."

"Truly, five is enough!"

Hermione was amazed. Absolutely amazed. George didn't even seem miffed about it. Surely he was gaining no profit whatsoever, even losing money on this deal. But he was doing this simply because of Hermione's love and care for Scorpius…

However, she knew that Draco's pride would never let him take charity from a member of the Weasley family, so she dug in her purse until she found five galleons and laid them on the table.

"Done. Five galleons. Thank you so much for all your help, George!" she beamed.

"Thank you, George Wheezy!" Scorpius exclaimed.

Draco glared at her.

"Hermione…"

"I'll just get this all bagged up for you then!" George smiled and waved his wand and in a moment all the goods were standing before them in bright orange and purple bags.

"Wow!" was Scorpius's reaction. He picked up a smaller bag while Hermione gathered up the rest and handed a few off to Draco.

"Hermione…" he growled again.

"Yes Draco?"

"What. Are. You. Doing."

"Making sure your son's birthday is as good as it can be," she said sweetly. "Do help me carry these, won't you?"

He was fuming, she knew it, but she didn't care. She wasn't about to let George lose that battle and she'd do anything to make Scorpius smile.

As soon as they were home, Scorpius ran upstairs to examine all the things he'd gotten from the joke shop. That left Hermione and Draco alone in the foyer. Draco put a hand in his pocket and counted out twenty galleons and handed them to Hermione. She refused.

"Draco, if you insist on paying me for it, give me the five galleons I gave up. Only five."

"I'm trying to give you what all of that was worth…" he said.

"According to George, it was only worth five galleons," she said, smirking.

"You and I both know that's not true."

"So what? That's what I paid for it, and that's all I'm going to take from you as payment."

Draco was silent for a moment, then decided he could just make up the extra fifteen galleons in her next paycheck, and handed over the five coins.

"Thank you," she said, and smiled.

The rest of the day passed quickly. Scorpius requested his favorite, chicken noodle soup, for lunch and spaghetti with meatballs for dinner. Dmitry and Davius were all too happy to oblige, and even came out with a massive chocolate cake with six candles alighting the top of it after they'd finished eating. After dinner, Draco and Hermione gave Scorpius the gifts they'd bought earlier in the week (he loved everything but the clothes) and then, after making a few potions from the kit and reading a French story, it was time for Scorpius to go to bed. Draco tucked him in again. Hermione stayed down in the parlor, knowing that Draco was now perfectly capable of taking Scorpius to bed on his own.

She had just gotten up from her chair to grab another book when Draco entered the room again. She put her current book down on the side table.

"How is he?" she asked.

"Sleeping soundly," he replied. "As I pulled the covers up he said, 'Thank you, Father.' I said 'For what, son?' Then he said, 'For the best birthday ever…' and then he fell asleep."

Hermione knew he was trying to look modest but he couldn't fully hide his happiness at his son's pleasure in him as a father.

"Thank you, Hermione," he added.

"For?"

"For being the one who truly made this the best birthday ever for Scorpius. I hope he will have many more to come with you."

"Draco I… thank you, but… I mean… I was only doing my job…"

He took a step towards her.

"I think you and I both know that this is more than just a job for you…"

Hermione was silent, not wanting the conversation to come to this.

"In fact, I think we know that you're more than just an employee to me…" he added, taking another step closer to her.

Hermione felt like her heart might beat right out of her chest. Surely he could hear it, feel it, it was practically shaking the room…

He took one last step towards her, and then there were only mere inches between them. Hermione's breath caught and seemed to stop entirely. She moved her gaze upward, met his eyes, and then slowly found them closing as he leaned forward, put his hand on the back of her neck, and gently touched his lips to hers.