AN- No I don't own the characters

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Chapter 12

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Aidan blinked, his tiny fingers clutching onto Hermione's hair as his gaze remained on Draco. Hermione leant forward to kiss his cheek, trying to gain his attention. Even though he's only five months, she still wanted to know what he was thinking.

The expression on Draco's face gave her a series of mixed emotions. His grey eyes had widened when they landed on Aidan, and the way his entire body stiffened made her think for a second that someone had used Petrificus Totalus on him. She didn't know if his reaction was a good thing or a bad thing. Personally, she was satisfied that Draco finally got to see Aidan properly. But she was scared of what he would do. Would he try to do something stupid? Would he tell Theo? Did he want to get to know Aidan now?

I doubt it. Hermione thought to herself. What is he thinking?

"We really need to get going," Ginny hissed under her breath, gently pulling Hermione's arm and interrupting her thoughts.

Draco's eyes snapped to Hermione, his shocked expression masked back with a blank look. He smirked, crossing his arms and nodded. "Granger, how awful it is to see you, as usual."

"Likewise," Hermione replied, wincing when Aidan pulled on her hair. "Ouch! Aidan, be careful, sweetheart."

Aidan giggled. "Hum mah mah mah." He grabbed on Hermione's hair again and began to play with each lock as he turned around to look at Draco again.

"What is he saying?" Ron asked, wrinkling his nose as he watched a strand of saliva drip from the baby's lips.

"He's just mumbling a few baby words, Ronald," Hermione laughed, wiping Aidan's mouth.

Dropping his gaze from Draco's, Aidan let go of his mother's hair and placed his head on the crook of her neck. Hermione smiled inwardly, placing a comforting hand on his back, caressing him in a gentle manner as she kissed the top of his head. Aidan yawned, his eyes shifting to Ron, Harry, Ginny, Theo, and then back at Draco.

Draco was beginning to feel uneasy each time Aidan glanced at him. Was there something in his face that caught Aidan's attention? Why the fuck did the baby keep looking at him?

"How odd," Theo said curiously, his gaze lingering between Draco and the baby. "Hey Draco, check this out. I think I found a miniature you!"

Hermione's breath hitched for a second before her arms tightened around Aidan. She rolled her eyes and forced a laugh, shaking her head. "Don't be ridiculous, Theo."

"Yeah," Ron jumped in, glaring at the former Slytherin with disgust. "Aidan is nothing like that snake."

Draco gasped in mock hurt and placed a hand over his chest. "Ouch, Weasley! That hurts. Truly."

Ginny, noticing Hermione's discomfort, gently grabbed her arm. "C'mon Hermione. Let's go."

"Yeah, Theo," Draco said, mocking Ginny's tone, "let's go before we catch something."

"Can we meet up later?" Theo asked Hermione, ignoring Draco's protests.

Hermione bit her bottom lip, not knowing what to say. The atmosphere around them was beginning to lean towards awkwardness. She enjoyed Theo's company, but Merlin... just this once; couldn't he give her some space?

"I don't know, I've got to work later tonight and –"

"Oh, how grand!" Draco laughed sarcastically, clapping his hands together. "So have I. Guess I'll be seeing you there, Granger?"

Piss off. Hermione glared at him. "Hope not."

"Then, I'll come by to pick you up during break?" Theo asked, looking hopeful.

Hermione opened her mouth to reply back but hesitated. "Theo –"

"Why would she go with you, Nott?" Ron snapped, "What business does –"

"Sure," Hermione said, glaring at Ron for being a prat. "I'll owl you, yeah?"

Ginny and Harry both grumbled impatiently, and Ron gently pulled Hermione with them.

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"See you soon." Theo grinned, looking smug as he shoved his hands inside his pockets.

He turned around to see Draco staring at him with an unreadable expression on his face. Both of his hands were clenched into fists and his breathing was becoming heavier.

"You okay, mate?" Theo asked, frowning at his friend's demeanor.

"What was that all about?" Draco hissed, grabbing his friend by the arm and dragging him towards a nearby shop.

"We're all friends, Draco," Theo said, glaring at him for leaving an aching sensation in his arm from the tight grip.

Draco huffed, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. "Potter? Granger? And even the Weasleys?"

"We're friends," Theo repeated, shrugging.

Seriously, what the hell? Since when did Theo become friends with the Gryffindorks? Draco frowned at his friend. What was going on here? As far as he was concerned, his friend would never go for someone as nerdy and annoying as Granger. What the fuck?

"Anyway, when's your break?" Theo asked, oblivious to Draco's inward confusion. "Let me know so I can come over and catch Herm –"

"No!" Draco snapped. "No, I'm not going to owl you! Why, so you and Granger can have a lovely time together and do Merlin knows –"

"Well, we are kind of dating," Theo said, interrupting Draco with a smirk.

Draco stared.

No... Theo and her? No. There was no way. Draco shook his head, chuckling at how absurd the idea was. There was no way they could be dating. Besides, Granger had that baby to take care of. It wasn't like she had a lot of time to date and take care of the child.

"Seriously?" Draco asked quietly, his stare remaining at Theo's face, trying to catch any flicker of emotion.

Theo grimaced, combing his hair with his hand. "Well, fine. Not really." He didn't fail to notice the way Draco let out a deep breath. How strange... Still, he continued. "But that doesn't mean we won't in the future. Plus, poor Aidan."

"What do you mean, 'poor Aidan'?" Draco asked, clenching his fist.

"Didn't you know?" Theo asked. "Whoever the father is was a right bastard. I found them in a dark alleyway a few days after I returned here. She told me something like how the father of Aidan kicked them out and how he doesn't want them. But I'll be there for her, I can be good for them, right, Draco?"

Draco didn't know why, but for some reason he wanted to punch the smug smirk off Theo's face. His fingers are tingling; just begging to hit or throw something. Draco shoved his hands inside his pockets to prevent any of that from happening. He had a reputation to uphold, but fuck, this prick in front of him deserved a bashing.

Theo and Granger? And... Aidan? His breathing was becoming rougher, and it felt as if an invisible heavy force was pressing down on his chest and... Merlin, what was this? Why was he feeling like this?

"You all right?" Theo asked, noticing Draco's usual pale face starting to tint with colour.

"Fine," Draco muttered, turning around to leave before he gave in to his impulse. "I'll see you soon, I need to go and get ready for work."

Granger will surely be there, won't she? Draco suddenly smirked at the thought. Maybe he'll come by and visit.

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"You didn't do it, did you?" Blaise said. It was more of a statement than a question.

Astoria bit her lip, bringing her hand up to caress his arm. "Blaise… you should have seen his face when they asked that question about him being a Death Eater. You expect me to break it off at that time? What would they think?"

"I don't care what they think, Astoria," Blaise said, trying to calm his anger. "All I care about is you."

Astoria dropped her hand to her side and looked down. There was this horrible feeling sensation bearing down on her, and it's making her feel rotten. "Blaise –"

"Do you love me?" he asked suddenly, grabbing her hands with his.

"That's a stupid question," Astoria said quietly. "You know I do."

Blaise nodded, tightening his hold on her. "Okay. When do you think you'll tell him? When his mother brings in the dress? When you plan the reception? When you start hiring entertainment? Or are you going to drop it all during the actual wedding day?"

Astoria snatched her hand away from his and stood up. "When it's the right time!"

"When!" Blaise snapped back, standing up.

His lips were curled into an angry snarl, and there were wrinkles between his eyes from the frown his eyebrows were knitted in. Gently, she raised her hand to smooth the wrinkles away.

"I love you," Astoria said softly, "but you have to trust me. I will tell him way before the wedding, of course, but now isn't the time yet. I know there's a perfect time, and I will find out. When I do I'll tell Draco everything –"

"Tell me what?"

Astoria gasped whilst Blaise instinctively grabbed onto Astoria's arm. Draco had walked into the living room and had stopped, looking at their reaction with confusion.

"Tell me what?" Draco repeated, eyeing the way Astoria unconsciously stepped toward Blaise. "What's going on?"

Noticing the looks he was giving them, Astoria blinked and gathered her bearings before clearing her throat. "Uh... Um, well you see Draco… Blaise and I –"

"It's a surprise, mate," Blaise smirked, placing a hand over her shoulder. "We can't tell you yet."

Draco frowned but rolled his eyes. "Another wedding surprise. Stupid." He turned around and walked away. "I'm off to work now."

Astoria and Blaise watched as he apparated, holding their breaths at the sound of his departure. Astoria turned around to face Blaise. "Why did you do that? I was going to tell him about us, Blaise."

He shook his head, leaning down to peck the corner of her lips. "You're right. We'll wait until the time is right."

She smiled and nodded. "We'll know when the time comes. Then we can do it."

"Yes," he said mischievously, "but at this time, I can think of something else we can do."

"Really? Like what –" Astoria screeched with laughter and surprise as Blaise launched himself towards her.

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"Granger."

Hermione looked up and groaned. "What do you want, Malfoy? I didn't call you here."

"As if I wanted to be here," he scoffed, tossing a packet on her desk. "Here, Kingsley wants you to go over this and make sure everything is correct."

She grabbed the packet and began to flip through the papers. As she scanned the parchment, Draco looked around the small office and smirked. "Well... not a bad place for someone who only works here temporarily. Aren't you just another assistant?"

"No," she said, trying to calm her temper, "I work for a department, whereas you work for one person."

"Oh, look at Granger!" Draco said sarcastically, waving his hands obnoxiously. "She works for a department!"

Hermione sighed. She didn't need this right now. She needed to hurry up with the documents so she could go home to Aidan. "What do you want?"

Draco dropped his hands and threw himself on the chair in front of her desk. Ignoring Hermione's dirty looks, he grabbed the nearest file of paperwork and absently scanned the pages. "Are you dating Theo?"

Hermione stopped reading mid-sentence and glanced up. "What?"

"You heard me," he said, throwing the papers back on the desk and leaning against the back of his chair, throwing his hands over his head.

She rolled her eyes. "No. We're just friends."

"Good," Draco said, rocking his seat back and forth on its legs. "Listen Granger, I told you to stay away from me, my family, and friends –"

"I did," she interrupted, glaring at him, "it's not my fault he started up a conversation with me. He's actually quite nice to me and –"

"I don't know why," Draco interrupted, "you're not even appealing. Merlin, you've got the same attraction as a fucking troll."

Hermione tried her best to ignore the stinging pain forming in her chest. "Get out."

"Excuse me?" Draco asked, bringing the front legs of the chair back to the floor. "What did you say?"

"Get out," she repeated in a strained voice. "Don't come here again unless –"

"Fuck you, Mudblood," Draco snapped. "You had no right befriending my friend and –"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Hermione shouted, her anger getting the better of her. "It's not my fault if your friends find me nice enough to talk to, Malfoy! I happen to think they're good people, unlike you –"

"Shut the fu –"

"No! You shut the fuck up!" Hermione screamed, after secretly silencing the office to prevent the workers around her office from hearing them.

She had had enough. Now that she was no longer in a very fragile state, she felt free to say and do whatever she wanted without worrying about her being pregnant. "I am tired of you bossing me around! You have no right to treat me like this. I blame my hormones at the time for being so weak –"

"You are weak –"

"But bother me again, Malfoy, and I will tell Shacklebolt everything!"

Draco strode towards her, their faces only inches apart. Hermione stubbornly maintained her stance. Now was not the time to back down.

"Do it, Granger," he hissed, his breath hitting her face harshly, "do it and I'll tell him that you refuse to let me see my own son –"

"Excuse me –"

"I'll tell him that I just want to meet our son and –"

"YOU LIAR!"

Draco paused, shocked that she still had the voice to scream that loudly, at him too.

She continued. "You wanted nothing to do with Aidan, remember?"

"So –"

"I gave you one chance that day, Malfoy, and you screwed it up!" Hermione raged on, sparks appearing at the tip of her wand from her tight grip and anger. "Don't you dare make that rubbish up!"

"So, you're letting Theodore Nott get to know Aidan instead of his real father?" Draco asked, wanting to hurl something at the wall.

Hermione laughed harshly. "What are you talking about? Besides, in case you haven't noticed, Harry and Ron had been helping me. They've become great father figures –"

"Oh two fathers!" Draco laughed back. "Bloody fantastic; let's see how that will affect him –"

"They're way better than an abusive one like you!" Hermione could feel her throat drying from all the screaming, but she didn't care. "I will never let you get to –"

"What are you going to do when he grows up and starts asking you who his real father is, huh?" he snapped back, their noses practically touching, but neither of bothering to move apart. They were both too consumed in their fight to even notice how close they were.

"I'll tell him the truth," Hermione said simply, lifting her chin up challengingly. "I'll tell him how you didn't even care –"

"Well, I just asked now if I can –"

"NO YOU DIDN'T!" she shouted loudly. "You didn't even ask me, Malfoy!"

Draco stopped and swallowed down his insults. He was so close he could count each freckle sprinkled across her face, and the way her eyes were bright from anger. Her forehead remained in the stubborn scowl of hers, her lips were pursed, and her arms were crossed over her chest. Wait… had her eyes always been that colour? And the way her chest was heaving up and down was kind of a distraction...

"Well?" Hermione snapped suddenly. "Get out!"

Draco blinked, his thoughts reorganising themselves as he took a step back away from her. He stared down at the floor for a minute before looking up at her, his determination set on his face.

"You're right," he said calmly. He took a seat again and kept his eyes trained on hers.

Hermione's breath caught in her throat as she stared back at him in shock. Did he...? Did he just...? "What?"

"You're right," Draco repeated. "Can I see him? Aidan, I mean. Can I see Aidan?"

What the hell? Was there something wrong with him? Hermione shook her head. "No, you can't."

Draco's calm expression morphed back into a scowl. "Why the hell not?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "You're seriously asking that question? No. I warned you that I wasn't going to let you see him. I never want you near him; I don't even want you to ever look at him."

Draco stood up angrily, but didn't move towards her. "That's not fair, Granger."

"Says the man who has been treating me and Aidan like crap."

"As his biological father, I have the fucking right! I have –"

"You have been nothing but cruel to me and –"

"Fuck you, Granger!"

"Go to hell, Malfoy!"

Draco took a step closer to her but stopped when Hermione raised her wand towards him. They were both breathing heavily now. Draco stared at the tip of her wand and took a step back.

He glanced at Hermione and cleared his throat. "Granger –"

"Get out," Hermione said hoarsely. "Malfoy, just leave me alone."

He shook his head, "Not until you let me see my son."

Hermione couldn't help it. She let out a loud laugh at his nerve. "Oh my goodness, I can't believe… Now he's your son?"

Draco wanted to take the wand that was pointing at him and snap it in half, just so he could give the witch a piece of his mind. How dare she make fun of him? How dare she? He could feel the anger rushing through his veins, but pushed it down. Cursing her wouldn't help him now.

"What are you still doing here? LEAVE!" Hermione yelled, stepping forward and digging the tip of her wand into his neck.

He could see the fight draining her. If he wanted, he could keep pushing and pushing until push came to shove. But no. With one last dirty look, he turned around and did as she asked.

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"Guess what?" Ron asked, kicking her house door open.

Harry and Ginny followed behind him, looking apologetic but equally as excited.

Hermione laughed at Ron's excitement. "What is it, Ron?"

"My parents surprised us with tickets to see a Quidditch game!" Ron grinned. "Come on, Hermione, you have to come!"

She grimaced. "I don't even like Quidditch –"

"Come on, Hermione," Ginny pleaded. "Please? My parents won these tickets from my dad's work. You need a little break anyway!"

"What about Aidan?" Hermione sighed, shaking her head. "I can't just leave him –"

"Ask Nott to baby sit him," Harry shrugged. "He's proven to be a decent wizard. Plus, for some bizarre reason, Aidan likes him."

He was right. Ever since Theo had been hanging around with them, Aidan had found a playmate. He would always bring new toys and play with the baby whenever he was awake. She was glad; Theo was a nice guy, after all. But still... she didn't know if she could just leave her son with him while she was away.

"I'll go with you and spend an hour there, and then come home quickly," Hermione said, trying to bargain with her friends.

But they complained some more.

"No!"

"That's not nearly enough!"

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Fine!" Hermione laughed, reluctantly giving in. "I'll stay for three hours tops. Only three hours."

Once they knew they couldn't persuade her any longer, they agreed.

"Finally!" Ginny said, placing an arm around Hermione's shoulders. "It's about time you had a day off to yourself."

"Yeah," Hermione agreed, still hesitant. "Fine, I'll ask Theo to watch Aidan for a few hours, okay?"

"Sure!" Ron said, nodding. "I mean it's only three hours. What can that bloke do wrong in that time?"

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Draco lay on the bed, absently staring at the ceiling. Today had not been a good day for him. He didn't know why, but the image of Theo with Hermione and Aidan made him want to do something rash. It was... unsettling, those foreign feelings.

Why won't she let me see Aidan? Am I really that bad?

A sound from the window interrupted his thoughts. He looked at the direction of the sound and frowned, noticing an owl tapping its beak on the window. Sighing, he threw his blanket away from him and rushed towards the window to let the owl in.

Great... this was Theo's owl. What did he want now?

After untying the letter from the owl's leg, he unfolded the paper and read.

Draco,

Hermione asked me if I knew anyone to watch Aidan next week. Do you know of anyone? I said I would, but I forgot that I already have plans. I would take him with me, but I'm sure the poor little boy would be too restless. Apparently all the Weasleys and Potter will be gone for something that day too. Could you ask your mother, or Astoria?

Hermione wouldn't mind, I'm sure.

Let me know!

Theo

Draco re-read the letter, a thought slowly forming in his head. So, she needed a babysitter. Well, then. He was sure his mother and Astoria wouldn't mind either. He quickly grabbed another parchment and jotted down his answer. Yes, they could definitely babysit Aidan.

Once the owl flew away, Draco couldn't stop the mischievous smirk forming on his face. Oh, Granger. I guess I will get to know our son, after all.

What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her...

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sorry for the wait! here's a new chapter, hopefully it's not too bad!

and YES. I finally got awesome betas so i made a few changes and added a few things here and there on the previous chapters. so if you're extremely bored, you can always go back to read them if you want! haha

thank you guys for reviewing! they mean a lot =)

THANK YOU TO MAGICIS-MIGHT FROM TUMBLR FOR BETA-ING THIS CHAPTER! YOU'RE AWESOME!

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