HPOV

"Alright, thank you so much. I'll be in touch."

Or not.

I'd been sitting in my office for the past hour interviewing one bad choice after another. It was like the universe wanted to make this more difficult than it was.

I took a deep breath and called in the next person, but who walked through the door was definitely not who I was expecting.

"Granger, long time no see."

I stood to shake his hand, "Indeed Zabini, it's been quite a while. Please, have a seat."

He sat down and looked around my office, as if trying to figure out what he was reall doing there. Hell, that made two of us. I mean this was Draco's best friend, here in my office, interviewing to be my assistant.

I cleared my throat and decided I might as well get this done with quickly. "So what makes you think you'd be a valuable asset to Buxom and Brant Industries?"

"Well," he said, his Slytherin smirk finding its way onto his face, "I'm good at everything, and what I'm not good at I can learn pretty quickly. And as a plus, I'm happy to take direction from such a renowned business woman such as yourself."

I supressed the urge to roll my eyes, and continued with my questioning. "Do you have any previous job experience that would be beneficial for working here?"

"Well I worked at Malfoy Unlimited for three years."

Wow, big shocker there. I glanced down at his resume, and found that he actually was the most skilled person for this job, and that thought alone had me completely distressed.

Although, Zabini and I had never really had any problems. The Italian was a Slytherin smooth talker for sure, but he never did me any real harm.

I took a deep breath and tried to reason with myself what I was doing. Was I really going to hire Blaise Zabini as my assistant. When I started to think back to the rest of the people I'd interviewed I made a decision rather quickly.

"Well Mr. Zabini, congratulations. You've got yourself a job."

He smiled and stood up, shaking my hand again, "Thank you Gra-Ms. Granger. You won't regret it."

"Make sure that I don't." I said as he walked out the door.

What the bloody hell had I just gotten myself into?

~OoOoOoOoOoO~

"I hired Blaise Zabini."

"You did what?"

As soon as I'd finished at work I'd went to see Ginny and explain who I'd picked to be my assistant.

"I picked Blaise. Ginny, you have no idea how many horrid choices walked into my office. Zabini was the only one who was even remotely qualified for a position in a law firm."

She smirked and picked Rose up onto her lap, "Well, you sure did pick a hunk."

I rolled my eyes, "That is so the last of my worries right now. I mean do you really think he's just going to do what I tell him?"

"If he wants the job, damn straight he will."

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. I knew that I wasn't freaking out because I'd hired Blaise because he was Blaise, it was more so the fact that I'd hired Blaise who was Draco's best friend. They were seen in the paper multiple times hanging out and getting into trouble.

I couldn't help but feel like I'd just opened a door I didn't want to walk through. I mean, ever since that day in the park it's been harder and harder to keep Draco out of my mind. Trying to process everything, especially the divorce part, was driving me crazy.

In some ways I really wish he would have just stayed away from me, because then I wouldn't have to wonder if he knew that Rose was his daughter, but in another way I couldn't help but feel happy that he'd come up to me.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't believe a single word that came out of his mouth, because it was too late for all that crap anyway, but just to have him there with me...I couldn't deny that it was something I'd missed.

"Where's Harry anyway?" I asked looking around. I hadn't seen him in a few days and it was quite unusual.

"Oh, he and Ron decided to go take a fishing trip or some nonsense like that. They should be back tomorrow, but with those two you never really know when they'll wash up."

I laughed and nodded my head in agreement. Those two never failed to get into some sort of mess while trying ot accomplish the simplest of tasks.

Speaking of Ron..."How are Ron and Lavender?"

"On the outs yet again. Not that this should come as any surprise to you. They break up and make up like it's their job."

"I think it's something they practice religiously." I said between laughs.

Ginny laughed too, and when she caught her breath she nodded, "I don't know why either of them puts up with the other, I really don't. And between the two of us, Ron could do better than Lavender. I mean he had you for Merlin's sake!"

I sighed, "Ginny, you know it never would have worked between Ron and I."

"I know, I know. But still." she said, running a hand through Rosie's curls. "It's just weird to see you of all people with a child and..."

"No husband. I know. It's not exactly what I would have chosen for myself, but I'm happy Ginny. I really am." I said, glancing at the clock. It was almost six.

"I suppose you should be leaving then." she said standing up and handing Rose to me.

"I'll be by again tomorrow as usual." I said kissing her on the cheek. "James, Albus, Lily, I'll see you all tomorrow!" I called up the stairs.

I suddenly saw three heads peeking over the banister, "Bye Auntie Mione!"

I smiled and waved to Ginny once more before apparating to Diagon Alley. I needed to pick up a few books from the bookstore before we went home.

Just as we were walking into the bookstore Rosie said, "Mummy look, that man has my hair color!"

I turned around and saw none other than Draco Malfoy sitting with Blaise Zabini outside a little cafe. I tried to turn and head into the store before either of them could notice me, but Blaise looked up and made eye contact.

"Granger, hey, come over here!" he called.

Draco snapped his head around and his eyes met mine. It was like I literally couldn't move. But I had to do something other than stand there.

"Mummy let's go say hi."

I sighed and grudgingly walked over towards the two men.

"Well isn't she cute. Your daughter?" asked Blaise, looking between me and her.

I nodded, "My one and only."

"Where'd she get the hair color?" he asked with a smirk.

I could strangle him, but I didn't let it show on my face. Instead I replied as honestly as I could. "A fling five years ago."

"Hermione Granger actually has flings?"

"Not flings, a fling." I corrected him.

"Well aren't you going to say hello Draco?" taunted Blaise, eyeing his best friend.

He let out a breath and looked up at me, "Hello Hermione, hello Rose."

DPOV

Seeing Rose again like this made me positive that she was my daughter.

"Hi," she said, her voice sweet and kind, so much like Hermione's.

I saw a look flash behind Hermione's eyes and that's when I knew for sure.

"Hello Draco."

Hermione turned her attention back to Blaise, but Rose was looking at me, as if trying to figure me out.

This entire situation was ridiculous. I had a child with the one woman I ever loved, but she wanted nothing to do with me, and she obviously didn't want me to have anything to do with Rose.

When I finally tuned back into the conversation, it was Hermione who was speaking. "Rose, it's not polite to stare."

"But mummy, he has my hair." she protested, yanking on Hermione's curls.

"Ouch! Rose, stop it. Plenty of people have blonde hair." She turned to look at both of us and said, "I have some things I need to get before the stores close."

And there she was again, walking away from me. How many times in my life was I going to have to see Hermione leaving me?

In my defense I'd tried to stop her all those years ago when she found out I was supposed to marry Astoria. I had tried to convince her that it didn't mean anything, that she was the only person I would ever love, but she wouldn't listen.

Not that I blame her. She had the strength to do what I never could, and that was to be honest. Merlin, I remember that night like it was yesterday.

"Draco, do you even hear yourself? You're being ridiculous!" she shouted.

I ran a hand through my hair, "Hermione please. I have to marry her it's-"

"You are an adult Draco. You have the power, the choice, to stand up and tell your father that you're not going to let him control you anymore, but instead you just go along with everything he says. You're a coward. I'm done. I can't do this," she laughed but it was a sound devoid of any real happiness, "Whatever the hell it is we've been doing, anymore. It was one thing to have a fling, but with someone who's engaged...if you really expected me to be okay with that you really don't know me at all."

"I just want to be with you!"

"No, you don't!" she screamed, her tears finally escaping and running down her cheeks, "If you did you would stand up to your father, but you can't do that. You can't do that for yourself and you certainly can't do it for me."

She took a deep breath and looked me straight in the eye as she said, "Goodbye Draco."

I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the memory, but it was still there. It would always bloody be there.

I stood up and mumbled something to Blaise along the lines of not feeling well, and followed Hermione into the bookstore.

I had no idea what I was going to say to her, but I knew that if I didn't I'd be exactly like the person she accused me of being five years ago. A coward.

And I wanted so desperately to prove her wrong.

I saw her with Rose on her hip, attempting to reach for a book that was just out of her grasp. I walked up behind her and pulled the book off the shelf.

She turned around and looked up at me, a confused look on her face.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Just then I felt a tug on my hair and looked down to find Rose pulling on it. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Rose, that is rude!" said Hermione, taking a step back.

"It's no big deal." I said, my eyes still on Rose.

I heard Hermione take a deep breath and set her down. "Rose, why don't you go talk to Mrs. Shelly about the book you wanted to get?"

"Okay mummy." she said giving her a kiss on the nose. "Bye Draco," she said waving to me before she disappeared around a bookshelf.

"What do you want from me Draco?"

I looked up at Hermione and saw that her eyes were glassy. Merlin, I didn't want to make her cry again. I'd done more than enough of that.

"Hermione,"

She closed her eyes and a single tear slid down her cheek. Before I knew what I was doing I stepped over to her and wiped it away with my thumb.

She looked up at me, and she had the same look in her eyes that she did on that last night. Confliction.

"Why are you here? Why are you doing this?"

"Because I don't want to be the guy you accused me of being five years ago." I said quietly. I was stunned that she wasn't moving away from me.

"Five years is a long time. A lot can happen." she said, refusing to meet my eyes.

"Are you talking about Rose?"

"Rose, you, me-everything. Everything changed Draco."

"You think I don't know that? You think it didn't kill me every day to know that I fucked up the one thing, the one fucking thing that I ever cared about more than anything?"

"Draco-"

"I know it was my fault Hermione. I'm not denying that. I just...I don't want you to ever doubt that I loved you-that I still love you."

She opened and closed her mouth a few times, as if arguing with herself over what she wanted to say.

"I want to believe you, but the past five years make that really hard."

I closed my eyes and tried to figure out what I could say to even make her think about giving me a second chance, even if it was just as her friend.

"I was a coward, Hermione. Just like you said I was, but I'm done. I stood up to my father, granted it was five years too late and I got kicked out of the house, but I did it. I did it because I wanted to prove to you, and to myself that I wasn't a coward. That I could change." I said, trailing my fingers over her cheek.

"Draco I don't know what to say to you." she said, looking up at me.

"You don't have to say anything as long as you let me see you again."

She shook her head, "Draco, I can't do this. You chose Astoria all those years ago and I dealt with it. I listned to your father and I left you alone, I raised our daughter I-" just then she clapped her hand over her mouth.

"Our daughter?" I asked quietly.

"It doesn't matter." she said, trying to step away from me, but I pulled her back, blocking her in between me and the bookshelf.

"Hermione, is Rose my daughter?"

She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, taking a few deep breaths before she opened her eyes and looked at me.

"Yes,"

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Because you looked happy!" she shouted. "No matter how much I hated you for being able to just leave me like that, I only ever wanted you to be happy. And your father made it very clear that you were better off without me."

Her voice broke on the last part and I felt like my heart was breaking, again, for this beautiful woman that I had no right to know.

"Hermione, you have to know that my life was only better when you were in it. You should have told me that I had a daughter."

She laughed, but it was a humorless sound, "What difference would it have made Draco? You still would have married Astoria, you still would have stayed with her until the marriage contract was up. You wouldn't have been able to see her except in secret...Rose deserved better than that."

"And I deserved to know my daughter!"

"You don't deserve anything from me, and certainly not from my daughter."

"Our daughter, Hermione. You can lie to everyone else about whose child that is, but you can't lie to me."

"You don't just get to show up and expect me to fall right back into your arms. Our daughter doesn't know you, and she's done just fine without you. We both have."

I would have believed her, had it not been for the tremble in her voice. I put two fingers under her chin, and held her face so she was looking at me.

"You're not that good of a liar Hermione. You can try to lie to me, but you can't lie to yourself. You miss me, and that alone makes this worth it."

"How do you figure?" she snapped, her tone defiant.

"Because if you didn't, I wouldn't have a chance left." I said softly.

"What makes you think you still have a chance now?"

"You're still here." I said simply.

She stared at me for a few moments before she spoke again. "When I walked away from you, I thought that was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do, but it wasn't. The hardest part was staying away, when everything in me wanted to do nothing more then run back to you."

"Hermione, I wanted you. I only ever wanted you, and I'll only ever want you."

"Mummy Mrs. Shelly got the book for me."

Hermione quickly wiped her eyes and walked over to Rose. "That's lovely dear. Did you say thank you?"

"Of course mummy." she said rolling her eyes in a way that was almost fucking identical to how Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Alright then, let's go home."

Hermione turned and looked at me, as if trying to figure out whether or not she wanted to say what she had in mind, but as soon as she did I couldn't have been happier.

"I'll see you later, Draco."

She didn't say it with a smile, but she said it none the less, and it meant that maybe, just maybe, I could get to know Hermione and Rose the way I should have all those years ago.

"Later then," I said, unable to keep the smile off my face.

This was my second chance.

I am a smart, brave, and strong woman.

But I'm not perfect. I'm not perfect, and I don't pretend to be.

I'm scared. Scared for my daughter. I don't want her to grow up without knowing her father, but I don't know that I can let him back into my life.

He left me completely shattered. Broken. Destroyed.

And he didn't look back.

But if I believe what he told me today, I guess he did look back. He looked back a lot, he just never did anything about it. He never proved to me that I was wrong about him.

But maybe that's what he's trying to do now. Prove to me that he's changed.

The thing is, does it really even matter? Will it change anything? Can I really forgive him for breaking my heart?

I honestly don't know the answer to that.

The only thing I do know, is that just because I ignore him, doesn't mean he's just going to go away. It doesn't mean that the pain just isn't going to be there anymore.

Because I think, that no matter what I do, I'm always going to be bruised, battered and broken by what happened to me. To us.

I want to believe that he regrets what he did. That he wanted me then and still wants me now, but I just can't let myself believe it. After everything we've said and done to each other, it would be stupid of me to go back to him.

Right?