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Ch. 30

"And why exactly were you going to be named Scorpius?" I asked Draco, laughing lightly.

It had been only one of our most random conversations that we had ever had while sitting, sick to our stomachs in the Hospital Wing. After catching me by surprise, Draco had feigned sleep again while Madam Pomfrey gave me a dosage of pain relieving pills for my stomach. I had also been given a horrid potion to drink, so vile that it made me think of Goblin piss. Sadly, to my discontent, I hadn't been able to steal any of Draco's pills either.

"Because", he stated, rolling his eyes comically, "That was my grandfather's name." He smirked, and I had the urge to throw that bottle of his pills at him.

"I thought your grandfather's name was Abraxas?"

Draco shook his head. "Great-grandfather, actually."

I nodded and took another gulp of the horrid potion. "My great-grandmother's name was Marie", I winced. Draco grinned mischievously and raised his brows.

"Are you wincing at the potion or the name?" He asked, obviously reeling in happiness at my discontent. I glared at him.

"Which do you think? And hey, no poking fun at that name! It was going to be mine! Start poking fun at any of my family members' names, and I'll go around calling you Scorpius in public."

Draco spluttered incoherently whilst taking a drink of water. "You made fun of mine! And Scorpius is an exceptional name! When I have children –"

But he didn't have a chance to complete his sentence, because I had stopped him there. I felt my gaze soften and something warm fluttered in my chest. Draco Malfoy, the git, the biggest prat in all of Hogwarts, wanted kids? It sounded as much of a dream as I had imagined it, and as I looked at him, my head brought up images of little blonde-haired children running about.

Draco saw the look on my face and returned my gaze with a look of confusion blended in with a grimace. "What's wrong with you?" He asked. He had obviously never seen someone with a look of compassion on their face before. I didn't answer the question.

"You want kids?" I heard myself ask him, but it was more of a murmur than a question. As I brought up the subject, I saw a flash of a smile cross his face, and as rarely as they came, this smile reached his eyes. Suddenly, the room was beginning to become unbearably warm.

"Yeah", Draco answered, and the smile crept upwards again. "Yeah I do."

I smiled back, and there was a long, peaceful silence. I looked down at my comforter, and began picking at all of the loose strands that I could find. He cleared his throat after a minute or two.

"You?" He asked.

"What?"

"Do you want children as well?"

"Oh!" I smiled, and suddenly I was nervous. "Someday, yes." At one point, I had imagined the little redheaded children that I could have, but that hope had vanished long ago. Now the children I imagined were just blank little canvases, waiting for someone to give them features. Draco leaned back into his bed, and his head hit the pillow with a small 'poof'.

"And what will you name them?" He asked me, before yawning tiredly. With his hooded eyes and relaxed demeanor, I wondered if he would fall asleep while I was talking.

It was a good question, and I pondered for a moment. I realized that I didn't even know. While growing up, I had never been one of those girls to sit with other females and chat of how their futures lives would be, playing games where they would pick the names of their children, which houses they would own, or what type of career their husband would have.

"No idea. But isn't it a bit early to be thinking about all this? We have our whole lives ahead of us, and having a child early –"

"Merlin's pants, Hermione! Did you honestly think that I was insinuating that we have children now? – "

"Am I interrupting something?" A deep, drawling voice said from the entrance of the Hospital Wing. I turned, along with Draco, and gasped.

Blaise was smirking against the structure of the door, but that wasn't the shocking part. What was surprising was that Ginny was standing right beside him.

"Ginny?" I proclaimed aloud, and she came rushing over to me, her pretty red hair flying at her speed. I hadn't seen her since the night of the ball – and being too afraid, I had been dodging her this whole time. She zoomed past Draco as if he wasn't there – I saw him scowl slightly – and rushed over to my bed.

"Hermione! Oh my God, are you all right? As soon as I heard you were here, I practically ran over!" Ginny exclaimed, and her face flushed with worry. I smiled at her. As guilty as I felt for ignoring her, she was making it seem as if it had never happened, and I appreciated that more than she would ever know.

"Thanks Ginny and I'm doing alright." I waved the small cup of potion at her and she laughed. "I've had company."

Ginny only grinned, before glancing at Draco, who was now talking calmly to Blaise, and then back at me. "Oh I'm sure you have."

I blushed, but before I could protest, a thought popped into my head. "How did you know I was here, Ginny?" I asked her. After all, we hadn't spoken in days. Rolling her eyes, Ginny jerked her head in Blaise's direction.

"A little birdie told me."

Blaise grimaced. "Can't you use any other example than little birdie? For example, a snake or maybe –"

"Ferret?" I suggested, before meeting eyes with Draco. He sneered, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Just drink your potion." He muttered, crossing his arms.

"Good one!" Ginny snickered, and we exchanged high fives. Even Blaise couldn't help but chuckle. There was a beat of pleasant hush, until Blaise piped up again.

"So when we walked in, if I'm not mistaken, you two were talking about children? You two must be really sick if you're going to share heartfelt things like that." He snorted.

"Well maybe we just ran out of conversation topics! And besides, we're friends." Draco protested, and I fought the urge to beam. The fact that he actually acknowledged our friendship made me want to hug him.

"Still getting used to that, you too red?" Blaise asked Ginny. She shrugged nonchalantly. Ginny didn't really care if we wanted to be friends, she had only told me to be careful. Because of Draco's previous actions and attitude towards her family and Harry, Ginny still held a small grudge against him, but with my help, she was getting over it. People could change. Surely she knew that! Her own brother…

I shushed the thought almost immediately – I didn't need to think of Ron.

"Anyways, on the subject of kids, have you told her what you want to name your daughter, Draco?" Blaise inquired mischievously, and Draco flushed lightly. He shot him a warning look.

"Shut it, Blaise", was all he said, before taking a large drink of water. Ginny smirked at his embarrassment. I, however, who had actually been extremely curious to hear his answer, slumped back into my sheets.

"When I have children, –"

"Oi! No one wants to hear about what you're going to do with the Boy Wonder! Seeing you snogging him around the grounds is quite enough, thank you." Blaise muttered, interrupting what would've been an extremely joyful moment of fantasy for Ginny. She glared darkly at him.

"I could say the same thing about you and Daphne Greengrass." Ginny said calmly, before flipping her hair over her shoulder. At once, Blaise's demeanor changed, going from pompous and sarcastic to slightly uncomfortable. Draco glanced at Ginny reproachfully.

"Enough, the both of you. Is it not time for lunch? Go bicker elsewhere." He sighed, and his head sunk deeper into his pillow. Draco seemed too exhausted to put up with nonsense. I didn't blame him, he looked even more ill than me at the moment; and he lacked the fervent wit that he always had. Ginny and Blaise looked at one another before getting up.

"You're right Draco. After all, you need your rest and this one", Blaise pointed a finger at Ginny, "is certainly keen on not letting either of you have it." Before Ginny could object, Blaise pulled her along. "Come on red, looks like its naptime for these two."

He had managed to steer Ginny halfway towards the exit before she called out. "Bye Hermione! We'll talk later!" She said urgently, before her figure disappeared through the large oak doors. I could still hear their bickering even after they had exited the Wing.

Draco chuckled. "Looks like Blaise has made a new friend", he commented, and I nodded dozily. Seeing Draco curled up in his covers like that had made me start to welcome sleep as well. We didn't talk for a few minutes, until we heard the great clock by the astronomy tower strike twelve. Suddenly, I gasped, and Draco jumped at the sudden noise.

"What?" He asked incredulously, and by the look on his face it seemed that he thought I had been having some sort of attack.

"It's nearly Christmas, Draco!" I exclaimed, and a smile stretched my tired face. It was true. Christmas break was only a week and a half away, and with all of the issues that I had been having, I had been too ignorant to acknowledge it. Not that I had had the time to, really. Draco scoffed softly from his bed, and I turned to him.

"So? What's your point?"

"It's the holidays! Don't you just love it? Think about it Draco, Christmas carols, gifts, spending time with family? What's not to adore?" Christmas had always been my favorite holiday. I got to see my parents again, spend time with family and old friends. Everybody was always happy around Christmastime!

Weren't they?

But he only shrugged nonchalantly.

"I dunno."

Curiously, I propped my head up against my hand and balanced on my elbow. "Well what are your plans then?" I asked. Draco glanced at me, his silvery eyes looking oddly blank before he returned his stare to the high ceiling above him.

"That's a good question. Usually I spend the Christmas break with Blaise, and then spend the last few days with my mother, but Blaise is going on vacation to Switzerland with his mum this year, and I'm not quite in the mood to go home. Perhaps I'll just spend Christmas here, at Hogwarts." He answered, and the way he said these things were so blanched of feeling that I stared at him in awe. The way he could disconnect his emotions from some things was quite overwhelming at times. I wondered if he sounded that way because he was simply drowsy, but I knew that wasn't the case.

"You don't mean…alone, do you?" I ploughed on, and he laughed, but it sounded bitter in my ears.

"Of course I do, Granger."

I bit my lip, not just out of pity that he would be spending Christmas alone, but because he had retreated to my surname again. I had learned that he did this when too many questions were brought up, ones he couldn't handle with a witty remark or smirk. I didn't call him out on it; for fear that he would go back into his shell and not share anything with me again. I didn't ask why he didn't want to go back home for the holidays either.

Upon seeing the shattered look on my face, Draco turned to me and laughed flippantly.

"Don't worry about me, Granger. How bad could it be? Christmas is just another day like any other. Hogwarts suits me just fine." He shot me a small smile, but I only saw a façade. "You know, sometimes you're just too damn sympathetic."

Worrying my lip, I clutched onto my pillow. It was true, I was. But that didn't change the fact that it was upsetting to hear about anyone being alone at a time that required family and friends. Here at Hogwarts, Draco wouldn't be able to laugh or play or bake; silly, frivolous things that came with the holidays. He would be missing out, and instead, be sitting here alone.

"But no one deserves to be alone during the holidays!" I protested.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Well what do you want me to do? For the last time Granger, I'll be fine –"

"You can come stay with me!" I blurted out, before I could comprehend what I had said. There was an odd moment of silence before Draco's eyes met mine, looking incredulous.

"You're not serious?" He said, and he seemed as if he wanted to laugh at my rabid outburst. I sat up slightly, and my eyes darted to my covers. Draco was still staring at me in disbelief. I felt stupid. Why had I even suggested it?

For a moment, it had been as if Draco wasn't who I thought he was, some bigoted prat against Muggleborns, but apparently I had been wrong. The old opinion that he had was still present, and I wondered why he was even talking to me in the first place.

"Well, I thought we were friends, so I just…um…thought that maybe you would want to. But it's you, so obviously you would rather spend your Christmas here and alone rather than with a bunch of Muggleborns. Just forget I said anything." I stuttered. I went to burrow myself underneath my covers when he stopped me.

"Wait. It's not that, Hermione." Draco said quietly. As hard as it was, I managed to look at him again. "It's just surprising that you would even want me to spend Christmas with you. It's just hard for me to imagine, you know? But it's got nothing to do with you or your family being Muggleborn, at least not now anyways. If you had asked me any other year, I probably would've hexed you. It's certainly better than being alone." He admitted, and I laughed quietly. I turned to him again, happy that he hadn't shunned or blatantly declined my offer.

I tucked a stray curl behind my ear before answering him again. "Well the offer's still up…that is if you're interested, of course." I looked down at my hands, and as I did, I wasn't surprised to see that they were shaking.

Draco gazed at me silently, a grim smile adorning his face. "I'll think about it", he said quietly, and his tone was appreciative. I nodded, and my head hit my pillow once more, leaving the topic to rest. After many minutes, when sleep finally began to overcome my body, I spoke again.

"Hey, Draco?" I murmured, my fingers tracing patterns into the comforter.

"Yeah?"

"Blaise said that you had a name in mind if you had a daughter…what would you name her?"

I listened closely for signs that Draco would not answer me as he shifted in his bed. There was a slight pause, and then my eyes met his. He was staring into nothingness, his silvery blue eyes looking strangely clouded and filled with emotion. For a moment I wondered if the question had been too intrusive. Draco beamed quietly.

"Oh. Maia", he answered, smiling faintly, as if the name was a gentle rose petal between his lips. Draco's eyes met mine again and nodded. "Maia", he repeated, this time a bit more curtly.

Caught by surprise that he had chosen such a beautiful name, I nodded drowsily and turned in my bed, so that my back was to his half upright form.

"That's a lovely name", I whispered, but I didn't know if he had heard me or not. Making sure that Draco couldn't see, I pressed my face into my sheets, so that he wouldn't catch the large smile that refused to leave my face.

VVVVV

Hey guys! So the story is officially thirty chapters in! And to think I wanted this story to have a thirty chapter limit! Psssh. I hope you all had a lovely Holiday! This is my late Holiday present to you! Love you all, and thanks for keeping up with the story and giving me delicious reviews! More please? I am now accepting ideas for this story, so if there is anything you'd like to see, let me know and I will consider putting it in! If it does make it in, I will make sure that you receive credit for it as well. Feel free to leave reviews, ideas, or constructive criticism! Love to all!