Hey guys! Can you believe there are only TWO more chapters left?
Anyway, I thought we should shake things up in this chapter. No one's marriage is perfect :)
"She gets this from you," Severus said one day, standing in their bedroom, trying to calm a screaming Charlotte down.
"Me? She doesn't get this from me," Hermione protested, rearranging the crib that they had put into their bedroom before taking Charlotte from Severus' hands.
Hermione sat on the edge of the bed, bouncing the girl gently, and speaking to her softly. Eventually, she fell quiet, and then closed her eyes. Slowly, Hermione stood, walking to the crib and lowering Charlotte down onto the blanket. When she was settled, Hermione instantly headed to the bed and flopped down on her stomach with a sigh.
"Severus, what are we doing wrong?" she groaned into the comforter.
"Maybe she just needs some time to adjust,"
"Liv wasn't like this," Hermione said, turning her face towards him. "She was a little out of hand when we first brought her home, but she settled down,"
"All of our children won't be like Olivia," he said, flipping a page.
"All of our children?" Hermione asked raising her eyebrows. "You say that like you expect more in the future,"
"I wouldn't mind," he mentioned casually, still keeping his eyes on his book.
Hermione lifted herself up to a sitting position, staring into his face. From the man who stated he had never planned to have children, he was surprisingly okay with the idea of more. Hermione climbed under the covers, turning on her side.
"You know, you shouldn't talk about having kids so casually,"
"Who said I was talking casually?" Severus replied, pulling her against his chest and pressing his lips against her neck.
"You don't seem to put much thought into it when the topic comes up,"
"I don't need to think about it, I know what I want,"
Hermione didn't reply as Severus shut the light off and resumed his position, pressed against her back.
"And what about you?" he murmured against her skin.
"What about me?"
"Do you want to have more children?"
"Yes, I do," she answered honestly.
"Any preference on a number?" he pushed.
"A number of children?" Hermione laughed, turning over to face him. "Why, do you have a number in mind?"
"Maybe two or three more," Severus replied hovering above her.
"I think that's reasonable," Hermione replied, running her fingers through his hair.
Things for the family slowed down for a few years. Olivia was five years old, and Charlotte had just turned three. Severus and Hermione were trying for another child, but so far, nothing had happened. It was during the summer, when they were all stuck indoors because of the light drizzle that hung over the town, that the peace was disrupted. While playing with the girls in the living room one night, Hermione heard a few knocks on the front door.
"I've got it!" Hermione called to Severus, who was working in his study.
Hermione tried to smooth out her hair that was pinned in place with just her wand. The girls had a habit of getting their hands on it if Hermione didn't watch them carefully, and not only did having her wand in her hair prevent visits to the hospital, but it kept Hermione cool.
Quickly making her way forward, Hermione swung open the door, anxious to see which of their friends had decided to pay them a surprise visit. She was shocked to find the pale face of Draco Malfoy starring back at her. Immediately she tore her wand from her hair, freeing her curls, while pointing the wand directing at Malfoy's face. The two simply stood staring at one another, until he began to remove his hand from his robes.
"Don't you think about it," Hermione snapped, afraid that he was going to attack her.
"Mommy?"
Hermione's heart jumped into her throat as she heard her daughter in the hallway behind her. She was the only thing standing between Draco and Olivia.
"Liv, can you do Mommy a favor? Take your sister and go to Daddy's study and tell him I need him,"
Hermione thankfully heard Olivia return to the living room to retrieve her sister so they could make their way to Severus' study. Olivia politely knocked.
"Daddy?" she asked.
Hermione heard Severus push his chair away from his desk and make his way to the door. She didn't dare take her eyes from the unwanted guest whose eyes were darting between Hermione's face, and her two children in the hallway. Hermione listened to the door open.
"And how may I help you young ladies?" Severus asked with an obvious smile in his voice.
"Mommy told us to come, and she said she needs you,"
"Oh?"
"She's at the door," Olivia replied.
The house fell silent for a moment.
"Take your sister in there," Severus spoke in a calm tone, but Hermione could hear the tense undertone. "Don't come out until your mother or I come and get you,"
The door was shut, and his boots struck the hardwood with resounding thuds as he rushed forward. A moment later he had placed his body in front of her, his wand drawn.
"What are you doing here?" Severus asked.
"I don't have anywhere else to go," Malfoy replied.
"I don't trust you around my family," Severus stated.
Hermione waited for the door to slam in his face, but the slam never came.
"Here," Malfoy said.
There was a rustle of robes and a long pause.
"Come in," Severus quietly replied, the hostility gone from his voice.
"What?" Hermione said stepping back as Severus opened the door wider.
She saw that Severus held Draco Malfoy's wand in his hand. He had disarmed himself to show that he wasn't a threat, but Hermione wouldn't buy that for a moment, not when her two daughters were currently shut in their father's study.
"He's my godson," was the explanation to her question.
Hermione spun on her heel, immediately heading to the study. She didn't care what Malfoy had to say, she had dealt with him enough to know that she didn't want her family anywhere near him, and whatever he had to say, she did not want to hear a word of it. Hermione entered the study, scooping the two girls up.
"Come on, time for bed," she said quietly.
The two, who usually protested their bedtimes, were quiet, as if they could sense the tension in the air. Hermione walked out into the hallway, looking back just as Draco entered the sitting room. Severus looked at her, but Hermione turned away and headed up the stairs. She wanted the girls with her that night, so when they were ready for bed, Hermione settled them down in the master bedroom. When Severus finally made it upstairs, Hermione was seated in a chair, watching their children sleep, thinking about what she could do.
"You're still up?" he questioned upon entering into the room.
"What did he want?" she fired back, ignoring him.
"Things with the Malfoys haven't been going so well,"
"Severus, what did he want?"
He sighed, his back to her.
"He needs a place to stay until he gets back on his feet,"
It was then that Hermione recalled that she hadn't heard the front door before Severus came up.
"You didn't," she choked out past the lump in her throat.
"What could I do?" he hissed, turning on her, his eyes burning.
"Severus, you let him into our house?" Hermione snapped back, standing from the chair in outrage, but trying to keep her voice low.
"He'll only be on the couch,"
"Our children are in this house! How could you give him a place to stay?"
"He disowned his family, and he's no longer a part of the Death Eaters. There is no threat,"
"Have you forgotten what he did to me? For heaven's sake, he used to hunt me in the halls of the school! God, I put his father in jail, Severus, do you think he forgot that?"
"He said-"
"To hell with what he said! I don't care if he told you how much he hates his family; Lucius is still his father and will always be his father,"
Severus turned away from her, yanking a drawer out of the dresser in order to get ready for bed. Hermione didn't know what else to say to him, but of one thing, she was certain of.
"We can't stay here," she stated calmly.
"What are you talking about?" Severus said exasperated.
"I am not going to let our daughters sleep under the same roof as him. I don't care what he told you, what you think, or how many wards you put up, I'm not putting our children in danger. I would feel better if they weren't here,"
Without waiting for a reply, Hermione walked to the bed and woke Olivia and Charlotte up softly.
"How would you guys like to have a sleep over with Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny?" Hermione asked when their eyes were focused on her.
The two adored Ginny, so they needed little incentive to get out of bed. Ginny was the 'fun' aunt, and let them get away with things Hermione would never allow. As the two scampered to their room, Hermione made sure to cast a charm at the top of the stairs to alert her if someone came up. Quickly she stuffed a few things into her beaded bag before a vice grip locked on her arm.
"You are not going," Severus said quietly, but coldly.
"Severus, I'm not going to run the risk of those two getting hurt. I don't care if he attacks me, but if anything happened to those two…"
She went to pull her arm away, but he didn't release her, instead, he dug his fingers painfully into her skin. Hermione looked up into his face.
"Let go of me," she stated, shocked that he wouldn't release her.
The two had a glaring contest before his tight grip loosened slightly, enough for her to yank her arm free. Hermione grabbed a few more things before leaving the room without saying goodbye. When she entered her daughters' room, she found them rushing around with clothes everywhere.
"Are you two ready?" Hermione asked, helping Charlotte pull a sweater on.
Hermione was grateful that Olivia helped Charlotte pack, for the most part. Neither girl knew how to pack, but they were so excited to see Ginny that they didn't wait for their mother's help. She still had to make sure the two had the essentials, and was sure to pack things for a few days, not knowing how long they'd be gone. Hermione picked up Charlotte and took Olivia's hand as they left the room.
"Is Daddy coming?" Olivia asked.
"No, sweetheart, he's not," Hermione said into the darkness, afraid to look behind her, feeling a set of eyes burning into her back.
They were silent as they walked down the stairs and out of the front door. A moment later they were on the steps of Grimmauld Place, waiting for someone to answer the door. Harry appeared a moment, still fixing his glasses.
"Hey," he said. "What are you doing here?"
"Do you think we could stay a night or two?" Hermione said with a note of desperation.
"Of course, come in," he said ushering them inside just as Ginny came down the stairs.
Ginny lead the girls upstairs and made them settle down, promising that if they went to sleep, she would take them to Diagon Alley the next morning and they could pay a visit to George. Once Harry and Ginny were seated at the table, Hermione told them what had happened.
"Malfoy is living in your house?" Harry reiterated in disbelief.
"As of right now, yes," Hermione replied, bringing her now cold cup of tea to her lips. "You don't think I'm over reacting, do you?"
Ginny immediately shook her head.
"Even if Malfoy did change, you can't risk having the girls there. Severus at least can handle himself, if he needs to,"
"I know," Hermione sighed.
She turned in soon after that, but couldn't sleep. There was a part of her that couldn't sleep because Severus wasn't beside her, but a more prominent part of her was worried about him. He was in the house alone, and it had been a few years since he had to sleep with one eye open all the time. She just wished his reflexes were still in shape. Hermione tossed and turned, and checked on the girls more times than she could count. Eventually, she sat on the edge of her bed, watching the sun rise in her window. When Hermione heard the girls moving around in the next room, Hermione made her way to the kitchen. She opted to stay behind that day and let Harry and Ginny take the girls to Diagon Alley. Instead, she sat in the library, falling asleep almost instantly, and did not awake until the four had come home. She listened with smiles as the girls told them everything they had done and all the things that George had given them.
After dinner, the girls fell asleep on the couch with Ginny, and Harry helped carry them to bed.
"How are you doing?" he asked when the door had closed over.
"Fine," Hermione replied.
"Have you talked to Severus?"
"No," she said, her eyes straying to the ring on her finger.