Hermione woke early the next morning and got ready to leave for work. Ron had not spoken to her since last night. When she got up he was already up and in the kitchen. Hermione showered, got dressed and followed the smell of bacon and eggs.

"Morning." she said to him. He smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

"Morning. Look…I'm really sorry about the way I acted last night. I know you aren't interested in Malfoy; it just gets me so mad that you are working with him. After all he put us through…"

"I know honey. Just let it go. The way things are going I should have this project wrapped up in a short time. We are going to Hogwarts today to look through the library."

"You are going to Hogwarts? That is so unfair!" Ron pouted.

"What? Why?" she said startled. "It's not like you loved school or anything."

"Sometimes Hermione you can be so thick." Ron said shaking his head.

"Am I missing something?"

"Our daughter. You will probably get to see her and I will be stuck at the Ministry all day." he scowled. Hermione shook her head. How could she have forgotten? She let the prospect of reading new books overtake her maternal instincts.

"Oh, right." she said. "I probably won't even see her. I don't even know if Headmaster Flitwick knows we are coming."

"Well if you do see her tell her that her daddy misses her and give her a kiss for me." he said grinning.

"I will do that." Hermione said grabbing a slice of toast and slathering orange marmalade on it.

"Have a good day." Ron said watching her leave the room and hearing the pop of apparation as Hermione left.

Hermione arrived in Hogsmeade with minutes to spare. She waited near the train station since Draco never said exactly where to meet him. After a few minutes of waiting she started to walk up the main street. The street was bustling with activity. Witches and Wizards of every size and color were scurrying back and forth with their purchases. She passed the Weasley's joke shop that George still ran and Ron sometimes helped with. Finally she saw the flash of blond hair midway down the road. Draco spotted her too and gave a short wave before heading towards her.

"I realized after you left last night that I never told you where to meet me." he said as he reached where she was standing.

"I was so tired I didn't realize it either." she said. "How are we getting to Hogwarts?"

"The old fashioned way." he said as they walked back towards the train station. A carriage stood there with a scaly winged horse blinking its white eyes eerily.

"You must be kidding." Hermione said stifling a giggle.

"No, I'm not."

Draco held out his hand and helped her climb into the carriage. A chilly wind whipped through the air and Hermione shivered. Once Draco was inside the Thestral pulled away and started the slow, steady journey up the hill to Hogwarts. Hermione looked out the small windows onto the countryside. The leaves on the trees were just starting to change from green to yellows, oranges and reds. She felt like she was 11 again making her way up to the wondrous castle above. It was just as glorious as it was the first time she saw it nearly 27 years ago. The sun was jut beginning to break over the lowest roof of the castle. She could see the tiny colors of the stained glass windows coming alive with the rising sun. She sighed heavily.

"Something wrong?" Draco asked her.

"No, no…nothing at all. I was just looking at Hogwarts. Thinking how beautiful it is."

"Yeah, it is." he said leaning over her and looking out the window at the breathtaking castle.

He was wearing some sort of cologne. The subtle scent reached her nose and she inhaled. It was pleasant, not too strong. Spicy, but not overpowering. He sat back in his seat and put his arm on the back of Hermione's seat. Another ten minutes put them at the front doors. He helped her out of the carriage and for the first time in years she set foot on Hogwarts grounds. The air even smelled the same.

"Wow." she remarked.

"It never ceases to amaze me." he said. "Shall we?"

Draco motioned for the doors. Hermione nodded excitedly. She pushed against the massive doors and they opened easily, as if the school was expecting them. Headmaster Flitwick was standing there waiting.

"Miss Granger! Mister Malfoy! How nice to see the both of you again!" he squeaked.

"It's Mrs. Weasley now." she said with a smile. "And it's so great to see you too Professor."

"Oh yes, that's right. Well you know your way to the library I'm sure." Flitwick said.

"Headmaster…" Hermione started. "Is it possible for me to see Rose Weasley before I leave?"

"I don't see why not." he replied. "I will send her up to the library around lunch. Would you like to see Scorpius as well Mr. Malfoy?"

"That would be fine." he replied.

"Very well. Good luck in your research. And if you need anything don't hesitate to find me. I'll be in my office."

Flitwick toddled away and left the both of them standing in the hall. Behind them the giant hourglasses clinked with stones as house points were gained and lost.

"Gryffindor's winning." she grinned.

"It's only the third week of school." Draco reminded them. "Besides, I don't mind if Gryffindor wins considering that Scorpius is in Gryffindor."

Hermione's mouth nearly hit the floor.

"What?"

"Surprised?"

"To say the least."

"So was I. But as long as he's happy so am I." he replied as they started off for the library.

Hermione didn't know what to say. How could a Malfoy end up in Gryffindor? She was at a loss.

Finally she spoke again.

"I wonder if my daughter and your son get along as well as we did back then." she said grinning.

"Oh, well I should hope that I have taught him better than that. I haven't really received a letter from him yet, so maybe we can ask them ourselves later on."

Hermione nodded and they finally reached the massive library.

"Still smells the same." she said softly. She spent many a happy day there reading long forgotten, dusty tomes.

"Find us a seat will you? I know where the books are that we should start with."

"Alright." she replied, heading over to her favorite reading spot. It was next to a particularly beautiful stained glass window. Two squashy armchairs were situated next to one another. The morning light streamed in through the tiny colored glass making glorious colors dance on the wooden floor of the library. She sat in the chair on the right and looked around. Dozens of students were sitting at various tables around the room. The sound of pens scratching parchment was all that could be heard. Several students stopped writing and looked over at her as if trying to figure out who she was and why she was in the library. She tapped her foot against the edge of the chair until Draco finally came back with two large and dust-laden books. He handed the larger of the two to her.

"Thanks." she said as she opened the book. It was written by the original creator of the Gemino spell. "Wow." she exclaimed realizing what she was holding.

"I know." he told her. You have the original handwritten one. I have the copied one. I thought you might notice something in that one that wasn't in this one.

"That is a good idea." she said trying to read the first page. The writing was tiny and narrow, but she could make out the text easily. She dug into the book and was fascinated by the ideas witches and wizards of that day came up with. She looked over at Draco and he was reading just as intently as she was. It made her smile. He must have felt Hermione looking at him so he looked up and met her eyes briefly. He smiled back and went back to reading.

Hours passed and students went in and out of the library, some stopping to watch them oddly before leaving. Hermione stopped reading for a moment and realized that for the first time that day the library was completely empty. She marked her place in the book and set it down. Her legs hurt from sitting so she stood up and stretched before rubbing her eyes.

"I think I'm going to need glasses soon."

Draco looked up at her.

"Oh, sorry. I just get so caught up in books like this." he replied before shutting his own book. She was pleased to see he was almost to the spot she was in hers.

"Odd things wizards and witches used to do don't you think?" she asked him.

"Oh, yes. Can you imagine needing all those potions for things we just use charms for now?"

Hermione grinned.

"Hope you don't mind me taking a break. This is the first time there have been no students in here with us."

"Enjoying the silence?"

"I suppose." she told him walking around the bookshelves. "I think I was the only student at Hogwarts that loved to just sit in here and read."

"You weren't." he said.

"I never saw you in here." was her reply.

"I stayed to myself. In the corner on the upper floor. That way no one could bother me."

"Do you realized how much we had in common back then?" she asked. He opened his mouth to answer but then said nothing.

"I think I would have liked having someone who had the same interests in me. We could have been good friends." her voice floated off at the end.

Draco sat there and looked at her. She was right and he knew it. If not for his insane hatred of Mudbloods while he was in school they could have been very good friends. He opened his mouth again and this time he said what was on his mind.

"I think I would have liked to have someone on my level intellectually. Merlin knows none of my housemates were." he stopped and thought of Crabbe. "I shouldn't have said that. I know better than to speak ill of the dead."

Hermione nodded and felt sad for his loss, though it was many years ago now.

"You were lucky to have real friends." he added.

"I was, but sometimes…sometimes I thought I was more of a tutor than a friend to them."

"I know what you mean. I allowed them to copy my papers for a while, but it got to the point where they wouldn't do any of the work themselves. Then I put a stop to it."

Hermione couldn't believe that they had such similar experiences in school, and yet they were so different.

"I wonder when we can see our kids." she said aloud.

"Probably around the lunch hour." he said standing up and stretching himself.

"Do you miss your son?" she asked. She missed Rose terribly.

"Yes, the house is empty without him. Asteria is living in Paris while he's at school."

"What?" Hermione said loudly. She immediately covered her mouth and looked around for the librarian, who thankfully was no where to be seen.

"It's not a big deal. I told you, she leaves me to myself. What we have is more of an arranged marriage. Her father wanted me to marry Daphne but she was such an annoying bint. My father and hers came to the agreement that I would marry Asteria."

"So you don't love her?" Hermione said moving closer and lowering her voice.

"Love is a big word Hermione." he replied.

"It is. That's why it's usually used to describe your feelings about your spouse."

"I certainly love her. She is the mother of my son. But we don't love each other in the way that married couples should."

"I'm sorry for asking such a personal question. It was out of line." she said turning from him.

"No, it's alright. It's not a big secret."

"Do you think she loves you?" she asked. Her mind was intrigued by his situation.

"She loves the Malfoy name and money. I can't say she loves me either."

Hermione felt so sad for him. She didn't know what she would do if Ron stopped loving her or she stopped loving him.

"I'm sorry." was all she could think to say.

"Don't be." he replied. "Would you like to stop for lunch?"

She shook her head no. She wanted to wait for Rose to find her and if possible eat with her. Yawning, she opened the enormous book back up Draco sat in silence for a moment before speaking again.

"Do you love Weasley?" he asked. "I mean do you love him like you did when we were in school?"

Hermione's mouth fell open.

"Of course I do." she replied forcefully. "And what makes you think I was in love with him while we were in school?"

"Oh please." Draco said. "It was painfully obvious. To everyone but the pair of you I think."

Hermione blushed.

"Maybe I did have a little crush on him from the start, but he was so thick!" she exclaimed. "By the time I went to the Yule ball with Viktor I had endured enough of him. I didn't really become interested again until our sixth year."

"When he was dating that one girl…what was her name again?" he asked, putting his hand to his chin and thinking.

"Lavender." Hermione snorted in disgust.

"Oh yeah, Lavender. I heard she has been divorced several times and has half a dozen kids to boot."

Hermione couldn't help but giggle. Probably all had different dads as well; Hermione thought.

"I was always surprised you didn't marry Pansy Parkinson." Hermione said changing the subject away from Lavender. It had always been a sore spot for her.

Now it was Draco's turn to snort.

"Are you joking?" he asked. "She was a complete cow. Of course my mum and dad would have been pleased as punch if I had agreed to it. But in the end I would have rather been sent to Azkaban than marry her."

Hermione couldn't' help but giggle again. She had always loathed Pansy. She was glad to know that she wasn't as well liked as Pansy would let on. She turned back to the book but her eyes refused to focus on the words. Her stomach gave a loud growl.

Just then Hermione heard loud arguing coming from the entryway to the library.

"I told you not to do it." a familiar girl's voice said.

"We didn't get caught." a boy with a quiet voice replied.

"Then why are they here?" the girl asked.

"I have no idea."

"Headmaster Flitwick owled them. I know he did. We are going to get expelled and it's only our third week."

"Rose, they are not here for that. I have no idea why my father is here, or your mother, but I'm quite sure it has nothing to do with that." the boy whispered to her.

"You are quite right." Hermione said standing in front of her daughter and Scorpius Malfoy. "We were here doing research."

"But now that we know you two did something," Draco replied folding his arms. "You two had better fess up."

A/N I hope you are enjoying this story. I am having a great time writing it! Happy reading and don't forget to review.

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