A/N: Thank you to all who have read, reviewed, followed, and or favored this story.

Thank you: hkmac, Kar-Kar93, Leah Andrea Black, Vanessa85, psych522, Aya Diefair, alina290, and Kou Shun'u, Angelus Draco for the reviews!

I got a couple of questions and suggestions and such. Some of those suggestions, if I pursue them, will not be for a little while. However, some of them will be provided in the long, lovely (not really) chapter. I say 'not really' because…*sigh*. You'll find out. Nevertheless, I hope the chapter was at least informative if not anything else. Read and Review, please, and tell me what's on your mind.

Hermione crept towards the door and jumped when there was another knock, contemplating whether to yell a 'hello?' but thought better of it.

With the barrier finally in front of her, she went to look through the peephole and leapt out of her skin when the person knocked again, this time louder, and shouted through the barrier, "Hermione, I know you're in there. Open the door!"

It was Harry!

Gagging, strangling, choked sounds clogged the back of her throat when hearing Harry's voice. Her heat beat more violently, her Fight or Flight instincts pounding at her muscles, urging them to move.

But there was nowhere to go?

Muggle London, perhaps? Just for a minute.

Back to the UPA? That sounded lovely. She could be back home in under thirty minutes.

"Hermione!" Harry barked and Hermione winced at looked at Alex. He was starting to stir and mumble in annoyance at the loud banging.

She bounced back and forth on her feet like the floor was boiling hot, unsure of what to do.

"Mama," Alex mumbled with his eyes still closed, a yawn escaping his lips and then smacked them together with a grimace.

"Hermione!" Harry yelled.

"Mama?"

"Hermione!"

"Mama?"

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Open the bloody door!"

Hermione stood in the medium of the door and the couch, her arms straight and hands clenched in fists.

"Mama?" Alex moaned and sluggishly sat up, his curly blond hair in disarray and a small pout in place. "Is someone at the door?"

"Hermione!"

Letting out a frustrated noise, Hermione stomped her foot into the ground and marched towards the door and unlocked it, keeping the door chain in place.

"Harry," she whispered to him, her face pressed into the four inch crack. "What?"

He glowered at her, his green eyes angry and his posture rigid, his chest rising up and down like he had ran all over the world to only come here and breathe at her.

"Where the hell have you been?" he hissed and Hermione winced, hearing Alex gasp from behind her and scamper, his little feet pitter-pattering towards her.

"Harry, now is really not-"

"Where the hell have you been?" he repeated with more venom.

Pressing her lips together tightly in exasperation, Hermione cocked her head and quietly replied, "Don't shriek at me like I was hiding, Harry. You knew where I was."

His jaw twitched and he sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. "Can we talk?"

"We're talking now," she said to him and felt a tug on the hem of her shirt. She looked away from her old friend and down at Alex.

"Who are you talking to, Mommy?" he asked through a yawn and then wrapped his arm around her leg and rested his messy, curly head on her hip. She put her focus back to Harry who was staring at the lower half of the door.

"Is that him?" Harry asked in an eerily neutral voice and took a step closer to the door. "Is that him?"

"Harry," Hermione exhaled helplessly and wiggled her leg, telling Alex she wanted him to let go of her. He didn't. "Why are you here?"

"I think it's obvious, isn't it," he forced out impatiently. "I want answers."

"Oh, Harry." Hermione looked away and then back at him, shaking her head. "Now-"

"Please." He placed his hand on the door like he thought she may close it on him abruptly.

Facing a conundrum, Hermione chewed on her bottom lip and rested her head on the door. Tiredly, she looked at her old friend and said, "No."

"Yes," he cogently said, his hand pressing harder on the door.

"It's not a good time," her voice raised, incredulity hinting in her words. Was he arguing with her? How dare he come to Draco's apartment and pound on the door? Wait!

"I'm not leaving until you talk to me!"

"How did you know I was even here? Who else knows?"

"If you let me in, I will-"

"It's not worth knowing. Goodbye, Harry. When I say I can't right now, I mean it." She went to close the door, but the man continued to block it with his hand.

"Do you have any idea how worried-"

"You knew where I was!" she shrilled. "You knew where I was. I told you where I was going and why! I wanted to go back to school. I wanted to get away from England, and I did. Don't get angry with me because you forgot!"

"I didn't forget, Hermione! I tried contacting you. The year you left, I sent you a letter around Christmas. The owl couldn't find you, so I contacted the school. They said you were no longer attending."

Hermione frowned. "I'm sorry I missed the letter, but you still could have found me. All you would have had to do is contact the Directory and ask for my name. I was still in Salem."

"Can we just…talk about this? Let me in, Hermione."

"It would be inappropriate if I invited you in," Hermione said through clenched teeth.

"It's not like he's here," he hissed.

"I know but still."

"Bloody, hell, woman! Let me talk to you!"

"Mom, who is yelling at you this time?" Alex piped up. "Why does everyone yell at you?"

Hermione looked down at her son and told him lightly, "Because everyone is mean and inconsiderate of Mummy's feelings."

Harry snorted and Alex scrunched up his face and glared at the door. He grabbed onto his mother's other leg and wiggled to get in front of her. Hermione tried to block him but was unable to, so the boy was able to press his face into the four inch crack and look up at Harry.

"Don't yell at my mom!" he bellowed, jutting his little chin out in defiance.

"Alex," Hermione chastised, and her son then momentarily looked up at her innocently.

"I don't like it when people yell at you. It's mean," he said and pressed his face back into the gap and glowering up at Harry who paled like he had seen a ghost, his eyes widening comically.

She reached down with a hand and covered Alex's face with it, telling Harry, "Please leave."

"It is true," he whispered in horror and then stared at Hermione. "You and Malfoy really did-"

"It's none of your business," she clipped and took advantage of Harry's distracted state and closed the door, locking it soundly and grabbing Alex's arm.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"Nobody you need to worry about, Sweetheart," she said to him gently while guiding him into the kitchen. "Are you hungry?" She left him by the counter and opened the fridge and moaned in dismay. There was no food in it, dammit! But why would there be?

"It looked like Harry Potter," he said. "They have a picture of him in my history book at school."

"It's probably a dreadful picture," drawled Harry and Hermione squeaked, whirling away from the fridge and gaping at her old friend.

"What do you think you're doing? You can't just walk in!" she screeched.

"There are no wards oddly enough. Why would there need to be when-"

"Stop!" she demanded and then looked at Alex. "Daddy's room is down the hall behind the double doors. Go and jump on his bed with your shoes on."

"Really? Won't he get angry?"

"Not at you! He never gets angry with you, does he?"

"No, but he'll be angry with you and yell at you. I don't like it when he does that."

"Daddy's always angry with me, Sweetheart, so go jump on his bed a whole bunch of times. Don't fall off, though. If you fall off…"

"Then you'll be upset." Alex nodded enthusiastically and hopped out of the kitchen and down the hall, leaving his mother and Harry alone, both vaguely hearing, "I wonder if I'll stick to the ceiling again."

Hermione closed her eyes and counted to five before saying, "You need to leave."

"He doesn't know," Harry softly said. "The boy doesn't know about Malfoy. You haven't told him?"

"I only found out two days ago, and I was going to tell him…like now, but you showed up."

Something akin to guilt washed over Harry's face and he said, "I'm sorry. When I found out you were here-"

"How did you find out? I didn't tell anyone I was here."

"Luna," he said with a smiling grimace. "Another soul I hadn't seen or heard from in quite some time. Ginny was a bit shocked to be receiving a Floo call from her. No one had heard from her since Rolf left her."

"Luna called you," Hermione accepted, unable to suppress the feeling of betrayal. "I was trying to keep this visit on the low key."
"She thought you may have needed a friend," he explained carefully.

"And you thought dashing over and pounding on the door and yelling at me was friendly?"

"I was anxious," he admitted with a flush.

"How did you know I was here, though? I don't think Luna knew I was coming here."

"Well, this wasn't my first guess. I tried all the obvious places: inns, hotels, and beds and breakfast. I tried the Malfoy's, but their Floo was blocked. Then I thought about this place. When I got here, I could feel magic through the door."

Hermione nodded and folded her arms protectively. "So you found me."

"I wish I only had a million questions, though."

"I'm I can't answer them, Harry," she quietly informed. "Like I said, this isn't a social visit. I'll be returning to Salem as soon as possible."

"And when is soon as possible?"

"Like…after Christmas." Hermione leaned against the fridge and brought a hand to her head, messaging her temple.

"After Christmas? That's six weeks. What will you be doing for that long?"

Shooting hexes at him with her eyes, she dropped her hand and rumbled, "It's none of your business."

"Then make it my business. You're my friend, Hermione. Come stay with me and Ginny."

"I don't think that would be wise. I'm trying to avoid the paparazzi, and once they find out I'm no longer in Salem, they'll be camping out on your front lawn."

"I don't have a front lawn, remember? My place is Unplottable."

"You're still at Grimmauld Place?"

Harry nodded. "It looks a bit different. Ginny remodeled the whole place when she was pregnant with James. Unfortunately, Walburga is still there. I have thought about removing the entire wall, but then I'd have to put in a new wall and…yeah."

"James?" Hermione inquired, her lips itching to stretch forth into a smile. "How old is he?"

"He'll be eight in April, Albus turned four last month, and Lily is only three days old."

"Oh my," Hermione whispered, her eyebrows touching her hairline, unreasonable tears stinging her eyes. "Three kids. Wow. You've…been busy. I mean…I didn't mean it that way. I meant-"

"Yeah, every three to four years, Ginny can't get enough of me." Harry shrugged and Hermione covered her blushing face.

"Harry!" she muffled into her hands. "That's not what I meant!"

"You should see Ron's load."

"I don't think I will, thanks," Hermione said and uncovered her tomato-red face.

Harry frowned and asked, "You're not still…about Ron are you?"

"What?" Hermione furrowed her brow in confusion and then it struck her as to what he was talking about, and she violently shook her head. "No! That was…that was another lifetime ago! I actually haven't thought about him in ages. Or you. My priorities have been elsewhere."

"With Malfoy?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, with Alex. With work. I rarely saw Malfoy in the last nine years. You probably saw him more than I did."

"Alex? That's your son's name, right? The newspaper said, but I wasn't sure how much stock to put into the article."

"I honestly wish you hadn't believed a single word, but yes, that's his name. He turned eight yesterday."

"Wow," Harry breathily chuckled. "So it was when you didn't come back home with me and Ginny the night of Ron and Pansy's wedding."

"Awkward, Harry. Let's not do the math."

"But it's just Alex, right? There's not another little one running around here somewhere?" Harry made a gesture of scanning his surroundings, and Hermione clenched her back molars together, shaking her head.

"No, it's just him."

"And I noticed no ring."

"Nope. Never got married. One little boy was enough. I didn't need to take care of two," Hermione laughed off, trying to dissuade Harry away from discovering what brittle egg shells he was treading on. He grinned at her like he saw the word 'issues' painted in red on her forehead.

"Hermione," he said gently. "You don't need to hide things from me. You don't have to pretend. At least not around me. Not ever."

"But you're angry. You were furious when you came banging on the door," she reminded.

"I am. I feel like I don't know who this person is in front of me, and you purposefully kept me away so I could never get the opportunity to."

"I am not one hundred percent at fault here, Harry. You could've found me with a little extra work, but yes, I didn't contact you once in the past nine years. The reason I didn't was because I wanted that chapter of my life to be over. Everything reminding me of the war, I wanted out of my life. You know," Hermione paused for a brief moment to catch her breath, "I almost didn't keep Alex. Draco was a prime pain in the arse in school and in the war. He was young and foolish but a pain, nonetheless, and I dreaded having a souvenir of such a delight hanging about and crippling my progress in life. But…"

"You changed your mind when you saw him," Harry finished and then shrugged. "Kids. Ginny vowed she wasn't going to be as severe as her mum, but then James was born and was difficult from four months on. Children change you. I mean, really. If I didn't know this was you, Hermione, I wouldn't have even recognized you."

"What are you trying to say, Potter? That motherhood as made me into some unrecognizable swamp creature?"

"No. I'm saying you look older."

Tempted to toss an old man joke at him, she changed her mind and nodded in acceptance. "I feel older. I am a single mother with a son who is eight years old and wants to be held like he's a year old. He's getting bigger, and I'm getting weaker. I am a decade past my prime, and I look it. You can't lie and say I look fantastic for my age."

"It's probably the smokes," Harry said pointedly and then surprised her by patting his breast pocket on his jacket and then winked.

"Not you, Harry," she moaned her hypocritical disproval. "When did that start?"

"When did you start?"

"Which time?"

Her question made Harry cock an eyebrow in intrigue. "You started more than once?"

"Like a good mum, I kicked the habit when I was pregnant. I…" Hermione licked her teeth and looked down at her shoes uncomfortably, "started again a few years back. It was stupid of me. Funny thing, though. Ten years ago, I used to think I was the smartest person I knew. But then I became a mum and realized how incorrect I was, so I tried to become intelligent again."

"How did that work out for you?"

"It didn't, obviously."

"Let's hope our children never find out how dim their parents really are."

"I may not be the brightest witch anymore, Harry, but I have learned that by pretending to be more brilliant than you actually are is the key to good parenting. Furthermore," Hermione raised a warning finger, "you can't slip up. You have to maintain that pretense."

"Who said that?"

"Me. That's something they don't teach you in the parenting books. Unfortunately, I don't think it works after children turn twelve."

"I'll keep that in mind," Harry said and an awkward silenced filled the kitchen.

Hermione looked down at her shoes again and finally spoke up, "You have to go, Harry."

"The offer still stands. You can stay at my place."

"No, I don't think so," Hermione declined.

"So you'll stay here?"

"No," Hermione sputtered out in a laugh. "No way. I was merely dropped off here, and I will not be staying in this…this memorial."

"You're not going to stay at the Malfoy's, are you? I can't think of anything worse."

"Me neither, and no, I won't be staying there."

"I'm sure Ron has-"

"Harry." Hermione put up a hand and closed her eyes in frustration.

"Okay. You'll figure out. Do you want to come over for dinner tonight, at least?"

Hermione simply stared at him.

"Right. I'll go. It was…depressing to talk to you," Harry winced. "I'll go now."

He Disapparated and Hermione pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes and breathed in sharply, her chest aching to stutter in a violent sob. Harry's visit had been painful. Why did he have to rush over in a snit and reveal how much had changed in their lives?

Because he's a friend, she reasoned. Or he wants to be still. Whichever.

Leaving the kitchen, she slowly walked down the hallway towards Draco's bedroom where Alex was, her stomach bitterly sour and full of dread. She was going to have to tell him about his dad, and this flat was a horrible place to do it. Terrible setting, but she couldn't put it off any longer.

The double doors were ajar and Hermione slipped passed them and grunted at the disheveled bed with emerald green sheets.

"Alex," she said in admonishment and looked up at the ceiling where her son had stuck himself to, the flat of his hands and his knees attached to the drywall near the chandelier. He smiled mischievously down at her, his bum facing her and wiggling it at her in a teasing manner.

"Mom," he replied in the same tone.

"Get down from there."

"I don't know how, remember?"

"If you can stick yourself to anything, then you can un-stick yourself."

"I don't think it works like that."

"Fine." She withdrew her wand from her pocket and pointed it at Alex and levitated him down to the floor. When he landed on his feet, she extended her hand, indicating she wanted him to take it. "Come, I need to talk to you in the sitting room."

"Okay," he said and placed his smaller hand in hers and followed her down the hallway. "I like Daddy's room. It's big."

"Yep," Hermione said and took him to the couch and patted the cushion beside her. He plopped his bum next to her and swung his dangled legs.

"He has a big bed, too. Bigger than yours."

"Alex." She took his little hand again and held it in hers. "Do you know why we're in England? Do you remember what Mr. Zabini told you?"

The boy nodded enthusiastically. "To meet Dad's mom and dad."

"Yes, but we are also here to do something else. Did Daddy ever tell you what his job was?"

Hermione expected him to say no, but Alex's eyes widened and lips sealed shut, his free hand covering his mouth.

"What's wrong? Why are you doing that?" his mother asked.

Alex shook his head and muttered something into his hand.

"What are you saying?"

His little shoulders sagged, and he uncovered his mouth unsurely, his gaze drifting to his lap. "I'm not supposed to tell."

Hermione slit her gaze and turned her head slightly to the side in inquiry, "Tell what, Alex?"

The boy shrugged.

"Alex, what were you not supposed to tell?"

"It's a secret," he said. "Daddy said I wasn't supposed to tell you."

"Daddy told you to keep a secret from me?"

"I didn't want to because I knew you'd get mad at him. You're always mad at him, and he's always mad at you. I don't like it. All you two do is shout at each other, but he told me the secret anyway because he said I was old enough to know."

"Know what?" Hermione pressed again.

"I can't say. It's a secret," her son repeated resolutely.

She stared at him penetratingly, thinking of what Draco could have possibly told their son to keep a secret.

"When did he tell you this secret, Alex?" Hermione asked.

"Easter. Right before he left. It was when you locked yourself in the bathroom and said you would only come out when he left the house."

Easter

"I'll break this bloody door down, Granger! I swear I'll do it!"

"Go ahead! Show me how angry you are, Malfoy! Break things, smash things, destroy things! You're so good at it! You do it to everything!"

Alex wept quietly underneath his mother's bed with the plastic Easter egg clutched in his hand. His mom had organized an Easter egg hunt at the house and invited all of his friends. As his friends' baskets began to fill and his didn't, Alex went looking in special places his mother reserved eggs for only him, one of them being underneath her pillow. He had quickly snatched it with a pleased grin which disappeared quickly when hearing shouting coming towards him. Panicking, he dove underneath the bed and heard his mother stomp into the room and into her bathroom, slamming the door behind her. His father followed close behind and started banging on the door, and their fighting escalated.

"Yeah, that's me! I ruin everything! Upset that I put a bump in the blissful life you and that plonker made together? What's his name? Mr. Li?"

"We're not together! I don't know how many times I've told you that, but you won't listen! You never listen!"

"Your words are shit! I know you're sleeping with him!"

"Even if I was, it's none of your business! You and I are not together anymore!"

"Granger, just open the bleedin' door!"

"No! I can't stand the sight of you! I hate you! Everything has gone to hell because of your petty jealousy! You embarrassed me in front my friends! In front of all Alex's friends! All Mr. Li did was come up and hug me and thank me for inviting him and his son to the party, and you barge over and yell at him like he was trying to rape me! I'm sick of it, Draco! I'm sick of your jealousy like you have a right to be! We're not together anymore! We're done! Finished!"

"And whose fault is that? I didn't want it to be over! Everything is peachy for years until out of the blue, you refuse to let me touch you. You won't even bother to tell me why you're acting like a bitch, leaving me to scramble like a bloody dog to get you to even look at me! And then when I do find out why…" he paused to take a breath. "You still wouldn't talk to me. You wouldn't let me fix it!"

"It wasn't fixable!"

"We could have tried again! You told me the Healer said it was still possible. We could have tried again. We could have gotten her again if you would have only let me, Granger! Dammit, I wanted another child! You didn't even tell me you had been pregnant! I had to find out from Lovegood of all people! There I was standing like a sod as she gave her regards and regrets, thinking I knew shit!"

"Shut up! Shut up! Don't bring it up! Leave! Go back to England! Go back to Astoria! Have a baby with her! I don't care! Just go! I never want to see you again!"

"I had a right to know! You did it with Scorpius, waiting until the last bleedin' minute to tell me! You were going to do it again! Were you planning to give her away like you were him?!"

"You bastard, you know nothing! Get out! You have no idea how…" Hermione's voice wavered and stopped, violent sobs filling the area. "You have no idea how hard it was for me. You weren't there."

"You didn't tell me!" Draco barked and Alex snuck a look, lifting up the bed curtain. He saw his father pressing his forehead against the bathroom door, his back shuttering from emotional despair. "But if I had known, I would have been here for you. You wouldn't have had to go through it alone."

"I was going to tell you," she wept, her voice distant and harsh. "I was going to surprise you on Alex's birthday; I swear it, but it didn't…"

Draco sniffled and pushed more of his body onto the door. "Open the door, Hermione. Let me hold you. Let me love you again."

"No," she choked out. "You have Astoria. You love her. You're going to marry her."

"But I love you more. I want to marry you more. Tell me to call off the engagement, and I will."

"Please go."

"Hermione-"

"Go! I'm not coming out until you leave!"

"Don't be like that! This is not the time for your childishness!"

"That is a hypocritical accusation, Draco! I don't want to look at you! I don't want to talk to you! All I want is for you to leave!"

"I'm no le-"

"I'm not talking to you! Muffliato!"

"Granger!" Draco pounded on the door, but she didn't answer. He bellowed her name for what felt like hours to Alex. He watched his father unsheathe his wand, resorting to magic in opening the door. Nothing worked.

The boy slid back towards the middle of underneath the bed and buried his face into the floor and cried, doing his best to do it silently.

"Scorpius," he heard his father say, and Alex reluctantly turned his face and saw him holding the bed curtain aside and kneeling down to look at him.

"Scorpius," his father repeated. "What are you doing underneath the bed?"

Alex said nothing but reburied his face into the floor to avoid the knowing gaze of his dad.

"Scorpius, did you hear me and Mummy fight?"

With his nose pressed into the floor, Alex shook his head.

"You didn't? Are you sure?"

The boy bobbed his head.

"Fair enough. Would you like to come out?"

Alex shook his head no.

"I would like it if you did. I need to tell you something important."

The boy then looked tearfully at his father and whimpered out, "You're not coming back, are you?"

"Don't be silly," Draco said and slid his arm towards him and beckoned him closer. "I'll be here for your birthday. I never miss it, do I?"

"And Christmas?"

"And Christmas."

"But Mom said…"

"She's sad right now. She didn't mean half of the things she said."

"Why is Mommy sad?"

His father sighed, his expression stricken with grief. "For many reasons?"

"Is it because of me?"

"No," he dryly chuckled and shook his head. "No, your mum is barmy over you. She loves you more than anything, but she's sad because I make her sad."

"Why do you make Mommy sad?"

"Because she won't let me make her happy. Now come here. I need to tell you something. You're old enough to know. Practically a man already, aren't you?"

"Mom says I'm still a baby," Alex whispered, not moving from his spot.

"She'll be saying that when you're forty," his father muttered and the said, "I need to tell you something important, but I guess I'm going to have to do it here. Have I ever told you about my work?"

"No," Alex answered in a small voice.

"Well, I am in charge of a big section of very large company. Someday, the entire company will be mine, and I'm going to have to take care of it for a very long time. I won't be able to do that forever, though, so I'm going to need someone who can continue the work. Do you think you could do it?"

Shrugging his small shoulders, Alex said quietly, "I don't know."

"You don't know? How come you don't know?"

"What if I don't do it right?"

"If there is one thing a Malfoy can do right, it's run a company, Scorpius. One day everything will be yours."

"What about Mom? Does she get some of it, too?"

His father's mouth formed a grim line. "I'm afraid not, and she probably wouldn't want it anyway. But I need you to keep this a secret. You mustn't tell Mummy."

"How come?"

"Mummy is stubborn and may not understand how important this is, so don't tell her. I will someday, but you need to know now, okay?"

"Kay."

"Will you come out from under there now?"

Alex nodded gingerly and crawled out from beneath the bed, his father immediately picking him up and holding him close. The boy laid his head on the man's shoulder and clung to him.

"I love you, Daddy," he muffled into Draco's neck, and his dad rubbed his back affectionately.

"I love you, too. You're my boy, Scorpius."

"If I get the company, can I see you more?" asked Alex.

"I hope so. I think so. The company is in England, and that's where I live. You'll probably see me plenty of times. You'll get tired of seeing me."

"No, I won't." The boy shook his head vigorously. "But if it means I get to see you more, then I'll take your job. Can I do it now?"

Draco chuckled and kissed Alex on the cheek. "You'd be brilliant, I'm sure. Hold that thought for a while longer. Can you do that?"

"Maybe." Alex shrugged.

"Maybe? Well, I guess that will have to do for now, but I have to go, Scorpius. Mum wants me to leave."

"But I don't want you to leave. I want you to stay forever and ever and ever."

"I know, but I've got to leave or I'll make your mother even more upset." Draco went to put Alex on the floor and groaned. "Scorpius, we talked about this."

"Sometimes I can't help it," the boy explained in a small voice.

"You need to learn to control it. If you can't, then you need to learn to unstick yourself."

"I don't think it works like that."