Author's note: WOW I am so amazed and completely blown away by the support I received on the first chapter! Thank you all so so so so much! That kind of response is what fuels a writer! To know that so many of you took the time to review and follow or favorite the story is just amazing! And yes every one of you is getting a shout out…unless for some reason I didn't get the email notifying me. Then I am truly sorry.
Thank you to ayuzachan, moongoddessgirl1, ImmaSlytherout, Bratalia, Adastra5, Erhodes, Grovek26, srkw89, Jessica Jasso, fefetwimom, Nologinbutimhere, FizzyFictioner, cici love, Lettuce. , Chantal9, Expanding Horizons, JuliSt, CGinny, Frogster, skellyshook, trinka belle, Jules-Millicent, Guest, PepperMiles, xXMizz Alec VolturiXx, and uicchi for all the amazing reviews!
Thank you to Adastra5, Anabrest15, Angelic Sakura Blossom, Anno6588, Bainbridge, CasuallyLazyKitten, ErzaScarlet16, IDon'tKnow349, ImmaSlytherout, JuliSt, Lettuce. , Liljackandpepsi, MicPen, MyPatronusIsAnOtter, PurpleStar2424, Sakura-N-Syaoran, Sora Loves Rain, SouthernMama23, ayuzachan, .ca, breakfastcracker, colas, cw1718, deefee, dogloverlisathekud, , jenaflint, josiew, , littlexsiren, blueagua7, mcollis3, skellyshook, snlemonpie, the-weird-ppl, xFlipJamsx, and xXkatlagXx for adding the story to your favorites!
Thank you to Adastra5, Ale1oo4, AnaBrest15, Andy.m33, Angelic Sakura Blossom, Anno6588, Aynsie, Bainbridge, Bratalia, Butterfly-fighter, CGinny, CallieCakes, CasuallyLazyKitten, Chantal9, Cherryflower101, Danir2001, Elizabeth Tym, EllaVictoria91, Enzeru no Yami, Erhodes, ErzaScarlet16, Expanding Horizons, FizzyFictioner, Frogster, Grovek26, GryffindorLover2122, HarryPGinnyW4eva, HarryPotterIsLife1221, IDon'tKnow349, ImmaSlytherout, Jules-Millicent, Lamoloser, Lettuce. , Liljackandpepsi, LollieAllie, blueagua7, LoveHistory, MCannon5887, McKenzie Shea, MiDniGhtW0IF15, Mother Gaia, MyPatronusIsAnOtter, NSValleyGirl, PADfootBalck, Princess Beautiful Lake, PurpleStar2424, Quirky74747, Rolllie, SSJ2TeenGohan, Sakura-N-Syaoran, SamiiF-11, Sasha2121, Schizo Zombie Kitten, Snowtulip, SouthernMama23, ThirdStarOnTheLeft, Varroa, Winnie Wanze, amal95, amg06113, ayuzachan, bhalesfb, .ca, bookworm209, breakfastcracker, chapou69, cw1718, dancers gland, deefee, dramoine1028, elfurio, , guillermina, hockey1, jenaflint, josiew, , kimiko87, kittie night, .Small-me-Big-ideas, littlexsiren, Mccollis3, mesa24, missixo19, moongoddessgirl1, nerfa1996, nswallow77, number6572, ouiplanete, piripipi26, reach-florance, raedenise1219, skellyshook, snlemonpie, snowangel77, srkw89, sunmoon9798, the-weird-ppl, timeladywitch, tobiz9, trinka belle, typing-pictures, uicchi, xFlipJamsx, xXMiss Alec VolturiXx, xXkatlagXx, yuuko31210, and zanetkakiss for following the story!
Last but not least thank you so incredibly much to PurpleStar2424, Erhodes, Anno6588, josiew, SouthernMama23, and blueagua7 for adding me to your favorite authors list. It means the absolute world to me!
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Draco stared across the table at the man who used to be his best friend. They had walked away from the park so as to not make a scene, and ended up in a little restaurant that Draco hadn't been to yet. Draco had stayed unusually quiet the entire walk, as had Clara. They kept glancing at one another but the second their eyes would meet they would look away.
It seemed as if all the anger had left Draco's body and had been replaced with confusion. So there was a child involved. But the child was very obviously not Blaise's but his? He couldn't quite place her age so he couldn't place when exactly Hermione could have gotten pregnant. How the hell had she not lost the baby when she had been on the run with Harry and Ron? How had Harry and Ron never noticed? Why the hell hadn't Blaise told him? Why hadn't Hermione told him? She had to have been pregnant when they were still in school, had she not found out until afterwards? Why had his child been kept from him for almost six years? Did Clara know he was her Father? Worse, did she think Blaise was her Father? Had Hermione and Blaise developed a relationship over raising the girl?
All these questions were running around in Draco's head and he didn't even know where to begin with asking them all. A pretty waitress interrupted his thoughts by coming over to the table and giving Blaise a dazzling smile.
"Hello Miss Clara! Blaise, would you guys like your usual today? And I see you've brought a new friend with you! Do you need a few extra minutes to look over the menu Sir?" She asked as Blaise and Clara nodded their heads at her over their orders.
Draco turned his attentions from Blaise to the waitress and shook his head.
"I'll just have the penne with marinara. No meat." He answered her. She smiled at him and gave a small laugh.
"That's exactly what Miss Clara orders every time! I'll get that in right away." She walked away and Draco refocused his attention to Blaise. He opened his mouth to say something but Clara cut him off with a large sigh.
"So are you related to my Dad or are you my Dad? Cause we look the same so we're obviously related. Mom and Uncle Blaise have always told me that I'll meet him one day, my Dad that is, when things aren't so bad back where they lived before they moved here." She said. Draco just looked at her and then back to Blaise raising an eyebrow.
"Which parent did she inherit her forwardness from?" He said sarcastically. Blaise laughed and Clara huffed at him and crossed her arms.
"Answer my question Mister Draco." Draco paused trying to carefully find the words to answer her.
"Clara, I think I'd like to talk to your Mother before answering that question." He said softly. She stared at him for a few seconds before accepting his answer and looking up at Blaise.
"Uncle Blaise can I go help Isabelle in the kitchens?" She asked. Blaise chuckled at her and nodded watching as she bounced out of the booth and towards the kitchen.
"Isabelle is an old friend of Mother's. She taught Hermione how to cook real Italian food when we first decided on settling here. Clara is always wanting to help her out in the kitchen whether we're here, her house or ours." Blaise said.
Draco bristled at hearing Blaise say our house. He needed explanations and now he could get them without Clara around.
"You have a lot of explaining to do so I suggest you start doing it before I hex you so badly you can't speak well enough to explain anything ever again." He drawled. Blaise nodded in understanding.
"Well, where to begin?" He started.
"How about from the beginning." Draco interrupted.
"Well, you obviously know that Hermione and I stayed in contact through the war. Same as I did with you. I didn't go to Italy with Mother because I wanted to make sure you two would be ok. You both were going through your own version of Hell, it didn't feel right to just up and leave. As soon as she found out she was pregnant she owled me. It was a miracle that she hadn't miscarried yet, all the stress she was under. It was even more of a miracle she didn't lose it at the Manor after what Bellatrix did to her."
Draco lowered his eyes to the table and softly nodded for Blaise to continue.
"After the war was won she was around four months along. She was scared of her friends finding out, of everyone finding out. She wasn't ashamed of having a child by you, but she sure as Hell was scared thinking about how everyone else would receive the news of a war hero giving birth to a Death Eater's child. She was afraid they would think you raped her at school or that they would shun Clara. She didn't want her to be raised around that. Your trial was set and she had a feeling that they were going to let you and Narcissa go. She was still so heart broken that you had let the Death Eaters in the school. That you had chosen to stay on the dark side over coming to the light with her. She didn't trust you and she certainly didn't trust herself around you. She felt like she couldn't tell Harry and Ron, that they would react too harshly and go after you. It wouldn't have been hard to turn the Wizengamot's minds around and send you straight to Azkaban with a few harsh words from two thirds of the Golden Trio. Especially with the win of the war still so fresh. So she asked me to take her away. It was a hard decision mate believe me. But in the end I did what I thought was going to best for her and the baby."
"And you didn't think to tell me this at all? Your first reaction should have been to tell me she was pregnant Blaise. The second you found out you should have sent me an owl." Draco said.
"Then what would have happened Draco? Don't be stupid mate. What if the owl had been intercepted? What if anyone on Voldemort's side would have found out that she was pregnant and that it was your child? They would have gone after her and not stopped until they had her. She would have been killed and I don't even want to know what would have happened to Clara."
"You had plenty of time after the war to tell me. You had seven days of seeing me face to face, every day you visited there was a chance to tell me."
"She didn't want you to know Draco. It wasn't my place to tell you."
"You were my best friend Blaise if it wasn't your place then whose was it?!"
"I AM your best friend and it was HER place to tell you. You and I have been friends since we were in nappies yes, but I am her friend too, and I protected her and YOUR child!"
"Don't you think six years is a little excessive? There's been plenty of time to notify me. You did such a good job at hiding don't tell me you didn't know I was looking for you both."
"We were never meant to be gone so long. It tore her up being away from Harry and Ron and Ginny. She was depressed for such a long time, but then we arrived here and slowly I watched that depression go away. I watched her become her old self again. Over time I think she just became comfortable with our life here."
Draco was silent, not sure how to ask his next question. He ended up not getting the chance however as Clara came back to the table holding a plate of food followed by the waitress.
"Here you guys are. Miss Clara is quite the Master Chef in the kitchen. She said she's been practicing at home with Hermione. Isabelle couldn't be more proud." She said. Blaise smiled up at her.
"Yes any time Hermione cooks she's always in the kitchen helping out, and speaking of cooking lessons, are we still on for Saturday night?" Blaise asked her charmingly.
Draco felt relieved as Blaise had unknowingly answered the next question he was going to ask him. There was no way he and Hermione were involved if he was securing plans for a Saturday night with the waitress. She blushed and nodded her head before going to tend to her other tables. Draco watched and both Clara and Blaise tucked into their food and he decided to do the same.
Hermione walked into her house and immediately sensed that something was off. She paused at the entrance and realized that there was a magical presence in the house that did not belong there. Her breath quickened as she walked further inside, slowly.
"Blaise? Clara?" She called out. She heard a movement coming from the living room and she froze. It seemed like hours before Blaise popped his head around the corner and she let out a sigh of relief. She could hear Clara laughing in the room and wondered why she hadn't heard her when she had first walked in, and what was it that she was sensing?
"Oh Merlin Blaise you scared me. I thought for a moment someone had broken in. Do you have someone over? Things feel…prickly, for lack of better word." She rambled as she hung up her coat and keys. Clara came around the corner and jumped into her arms before he had a chance to respond.
"Mommy! Come on come on! You need to talk to our new friend! He looks just like me! I think he's my Daddy but he won't tell me the truth until he talks to you. Grown ups are annoying. I've been waiting for this day for forever!"
Hermione froze and almost dropped Clara. Her eyes locked on Blaise and the expression on his face told her that her little girl, while being overly enthusiastic about a situation she wasn't aware was so serious, was absolutely telling the truth. She felt like she couldn't breath. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears. Then she watched, in what seemed like slow motion, as a head of platinum blonde hair came around the corner. Her eyes met his grey ones for the first time in years. They were the last thing she saw as her world went black.
"Hermione? Hermione are you ok? Take it easy, slowly, atta girl." She could hear Blaise cooing to her as he helped her sit up.
"What happened?" She asked hazily. She brought a hand to her head and looked up to see Clara clinging to Draco. He was holding her, their little girl, in his arms and the scene couldn't have looked more perfect to her in the most frightening way.
"You fainted." Blaise said simply. She glared at him and he raised his hands up in defense.
"Are you ok Mommy?" Clara asked her from Draco's arms.
"Yes Clara I'm fine. Just very surprised to see your new friend, my love. Why don't you go with Uncle Blaise to that little ice cream place you guys love so much? Give Mommy a chance to talk with him." She said breathily.
Clara looked at her with a weird look for a second before wiggling out of Draco's arms. She planted a kiss on Hermione's cheek before pulling Blaise out the door without another word. Hermione stood and looked down at her hands as she played nervously with the hem of her white button down shirt where it had come untucked.
Draco took the moment to look her over. She was wearing a dark grey pencil skirt that ended just above her knees with a pair of black pumps. Her hair had been tied in a low bun at the nape of her neck and a few pieces had escaped it framing her face. He was surprised to see that she was wearing more makeup than he had ever seen her wear before. While simple and tasteful in a more natural way and completed with a dark wine colored lipstick, it was still a lot more than he ever would have thought she would wear. But she still looked as beautiful to him as the last day he had seen her.
He took a step towards her earning a step back from her. He frowned and stayed where he was, not wanting to scare her.
"It's been a long time." He said lamely. She looked up and gave him an annoyed look.
"What are you doing here Draco?"
"Finding out I have a daughter that's been kept from me for six years apparently." He said crossly. Hermione looked back down at her hands with an ashamed look on her face.
"I couldn't stay there Draco. I didn't trust you. I don't trust you." She said sadly.
"Whether you trust me or not you had no right to keep her from me."
"I'm not sorry for leaving Draco. I wasn't going to raise her by myself as the daughter of a Death Eater, when it would have been obvious she had been conceived during the war. Look at her, she's the spitting image of you. Everyone would have known and no one would have accepted it. I wasn't going to raise her in a hostile environment like that!"
"I wasn't sentenced and apparently you knew they'd let me go! We could have faced it together!"
"Why would I have wanted to face anything with you?!" She screamed at him, tears started to fall down her face. "You chose to stay on his side! You chose to do his bidding! You let Death Eaters into the school for Merlin's sake Draco! How could you have done that? There were so many innocent lives that didn't deserve to be thrust in the middle! Did you have no conscious?! We're you spending your time with me to throw Harry off your back? Did you sleep with me for some sort of sick pleasure? Or did Voldemort tell you to do that too?!" She cried.
"Don't you dare! Don't you for a second think that what we had was forced by Voldemort's hand. I fell in love with you on my own! Long before sixth year Hermione I was just too stupid to realize it until long after you had left! I know I messed up that night at school. But all I could think about was saving my Mother, that was literally the only thing on my mind. I'm sorry I didn't choose you that night. I'm so sorry I didn't stop Bellatrix from what she did at the Manor. I'm sorry that I didn't find you sooner after the trial. I wanted to tell you every single day from the second you left me in the Astronomy Tower that I love you. I would have protected you and our child with every fiber of my being Hermione. You would have had nothing to fear from anyone! Neither of you will have anything to fear…ever. I let you go once, I'd be absolutely daft to let you go again." Draco had stepped closer to her with each sentence.
Hermione was looking up at him, silent tears streaming down her face. How could she trust him? Everything was moving way too fast for her.
"How can I possibly trust you after what you did?" She asked him softly.
"I will do whatever it takes to gain your trust back Hermione. But you can't deny me my daughter any longer. She needs to know that I'm her Father and that I love her and will always love her and that I never abandoned her."
"I never said you abandoned us. Blaise and I have been nothing but honest with Clara from the minute she could understand why her Father wasn't around. She doesn't know all of the details but she knows I left on my own. I've always told her that she would meet you one day when it was safe to go back." Hermione said.
"It's always been safe! Even if you didn't think you could trust me do you really think that Harry and Ron would have let anyone treat you illy or try to harm you?!" Draco shouted. He saw the confused look that passed her eyes at him calling her friends by their first names.
"Yes Hermione I said Harry and Ron instead of Potter and Weasel. I enlisted Harry's help to find you as soon as I had found out you'd vanished. Imagine my surprise to find that you had left with Blaise and no one else knew where you had gone off to." He scoffed.
"I told you I'm not sorry for leaving. I'm not sorry for asking Blaise to help me leave either. If there is anything I am sorry about it's not allowing Harry, Ron and Ginny in on what was going on. But I didn't want them to go after you when they found out." She looked down at the ground again. "Everything was in such a fragile state still and I thought that if they found out they would go speak against you at your trial. Do anything they could to see you thrown in Azkaban."
"That would have probably been true back then. But things have changed now. I would even go so far as to acknowledge them as friends. I spend enough time with them. Ron's kids even call me Uncle Draco, he hates it so much." Draco laughed softly.
Hermione laughed as well. Draco reached out to lift her chin so she would meet his gaze. He searched her eyes silently and rubbed a thumb across her bottom lip.
"I've missed you so much." He whispered.
"Draco…it's been six years." She whispered back. He leaned his head down to hers, lips hovering above her own.
"And I will spend the rest of my life trying to make everything up to you if I have to." His lips touched hers for only a moment before he withdrew them.
Her eyes were wide and she was trembling slightly. He moved his hand from her chin to the side of her face and brought the other one to rest on her hip pulling her to him gently. She brought a shaky hand up to mirror his own on her cheek and grabbed his arm with the other. She held him tightly, as if she were to fall if she let go.
"I'm not ready to go back. I don't even know if we can make this work." She whispered. He nodded at her.
"Then we can stay here until you're ready to go home. And I promise you that I will do whatever it takes to make this work. Besides you're forgetting one thing."
"What's that?"
"A Malfoy always gets what he wants." He grinned at her before capturing her lips with his own again. She smiled against his lips and he deepened the kiss pushing her back against the wall. She ran her hands up through his hair and he tightened his grip on her hips.
"Ahem!" They sprang apart and looked to see Blaise standing in the doorway, Clara clinging to his legs with a frown on her face.
"That's gross Mommy, Mister Draco." She said staring up at her parents. They laughed and Hermione wiped the tears off of her face while bending down and reaching for Clara. The little girl ran to her and jumped in her arms.
"Soooo does this mean you are my Daddy?" She asked looking at Draco. Draco looked past the little girl at Hermione who nodded in response.
"Yes Clara, this means I am your Dad." He said, unsure of how the girl was going to react. Clara shrugged her shoulders and looked over to Blaise.
"I knew it. Pay up Uncle." She said sticking out her hand. Draco and Hermione both looked at Blaise incredulously.
"What?" He shrugged, digging into his pockets. He pulled out a few gold coins and set them in the little girls outstretched hand. "She's just like her Father."
6 months later
"Clara! Hurry up or you're going to be late!" Hermione yelled up the stairs to her daughters room. She finished gathering Clara's ballet shoes and anything extra that they might need for the recital that night. Draco walked into the living room fidgeting with his tie. Hermione leaned over without a second thought and fixed it for him. He smiled warmly at her and gave her a small kiss.
"You look beautiful." He told her, causing her to blush.
"Alright I'm ready! I'm ready!" Clara said, bouncing into the room. "Is Uncle Blaise going to meet us there?" She asked, taking Draco's hand. Hermione nodded at her.
"He went to pick up Carmella and Isabelle and then said he would go straight there! And afterwards were all going to go out for ice cream!" She answered.
"Yay!" Clara cried, throwing her hands around Draco's neck.
A little while later found Hermione and Draco seated in the front row of the little auditorium that Clara's recital was being held in. Draco waved over Blaise as soon as he saw him walk in. He took his seat next to Hermione and fidgeted with the small device that she had called a camera recorder.
"All you have to do is press this button and keep the camera on her." She had explained to him.
He marveled at how well his daughter performed. She was the epitome of elegance. A perfect mixture of himself and Hermione. He whistled out at her as she took center stage and bowed, receiving a standing ovation. His little girl was only six and was already so accomplished, he mused. She was going to conquer the world when she was older, and he'd do everything in his power to help her.
"Draco…you pushed the wrong button." Hermione's voice interrupted his thoughts. He blanched and looked down at the recorder in his hands.
"Bloody Hell."
Hermione watched as Draco chased Clara down the pier to where his boat was docked. They had gone to get ice cream after the recital and then Clara had asked if they could go for a little boat ride. Hermione wrapped her shawl around her tighter and looked up at the moon that was shining brightly above them. Blaise stepped up beside her and put an arm around her shoulder. She leaned into him and smiled.
"I think it's time to go home." She said softly. Blaise kissed the top of her head.
"I think I'm going to stay a while longer. Ask Carmella to move in." She smiled up at him.
"I think that's a wonderful idea! Although I'm not sure how Clara will fair without you. She's never been away from you for more than a few days." Hermione said.
Blaise watched as Draco carefully placed his little girl on the deck of his boat. She started running around to all sides, looking over into the water.
"I think she'll be ok." He said. Hermione looked back to the boat and watched her daughter, her's and Draco's daughter, and smiled.
"I think we'll all be ok." She said, walking towards the boat, Clara and Draco's laughter drifting over the breeze.
Author's Note: (Wipes tears from her eyes) Don't we just love a happy ending? WELL IT'S NOT THE ENDING YET! Two more chapters to go! Next we see how Harry, Ron and the others react to Hermione coming home! Please review and let me know what you thought!