The Harry Potter universe and its characters are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. By using them below, I am in no way claiming them as my own.
The horror in Hermione's eyes was reflected back in Draco's. He began to release his grip, lowering her onto the floor. The small child stared up at them, no more than the age of four. She had pale blonde hair pulled back into pigtails, her eyes dark brown to match Hermione's. There could be no doubt about its parentship.
'Mama,' the child asked again, its small arms reaching out for her. When Hermione made no move to pick her up, she began to scream. Draco grimaced at the noise and not knowing what else to do, Hermione reached for the girl. Once she was sat comfortably on Hermione's hip, the small hands entwined in her hair, the child began to quieten and stare with curiosity at Draco.
'This isn't right,' Hermione whispered.
'I don't know,' Draco smirked, waving a finger in front of the child's face to amuse her. 'She's kind of cute.'
The child leant forward, it's teeth locking onto Draco's finger. He swore and pulled his hand away, while the girl giggled.
'I take it back,' he wiped the finger against his singed shirt. 'She's not cute.'
'We must have done something to alter the course of time.' Hermione shook her head, annoyed by the turn of events. 'We'll have to change it back.'
'The reality where we're married and have a child is so abhorrent to you?' Draco replied, hurt. She wasn't sure how to respond, so decided to try and reason with him.
'We can't stay outside of our natural time, Draco, even if we want to. We don't belong here.' The child began to tug at Hermione's hair, wanting the attention of its mother. 'If we stay,' she continued, ignoring the child in her arms, 'we won't survive. We'll die.'
The child began to cry again, wriggling and writhing in Hermione's grasp. The door opened further along the corridor.
'Elspeth?' A voice asked playfully, 'where are you hiding?'
Lucius Malfoy appeared from the entrance of the study, striding out into the corridor. He paused upon seeing Hermione and Draco, surprised, then continued moving towards them. 'Hermione, darling. I thought you weren't back from Nairobi till next week.' Lucius Malfoy placed a hand on her shoulder and kissed her cheek. Stunned, Hermione let him take Elspeth from her arms. Lucius pulled a funny face at the child, silencing her cries, then pouted at her. 'You shouldn't run away from daddy.'
... WHAT!? Hermione and Draco's thoughts were united in horror and surprise at this revelation. Hermione's daughter, Elspeth, had inherited her blonde hair from the Malfoy bloodline... but not from Draco.
How on earth could this happen? Why would I ever marry Lucius? Hermione's thoughts flew wildly around her head, uncomprehending any possible scenario where she might develop feelings for the father of her teenage crush. He was an abominable death-eater, who had carried out reprehensible evils against her friends and the general populace. He had placed the book which had almost killed Ginny into her cauldron. He had brought forth Voldemort from his pathetic existence. He had aided the scheme to manipulate Draco into murdering Dumbledore.
Hermione couldn't help but let her distaste show, but Lucius misinterpreted the attention of her focus.
'Son,' he said, turning to Draco. Elspeth had completely relaxed in his arms, laying her head against the mane of pale blonde hair and closing her eyes. 'What are you doing here?'
Lucius used his free arm to wrap around Hermione's waist, pulling her closer to him and further away from his son. Her eyes shot to Draco, and saw the confusion in his eyes.
Hermione slept with... my father? The resulting mental image burned into his mind and he felt bile rise in his throat. How could this have happened?
'Draco?' Lucius repeated, concerned by his son's dishevelled appearance.
'I...' he struggled for words. He couldn't bear to look his father in the eyes. The man who had abused him and manipulated him half his life, taught him to hate those who didn't come from the pure-blood families had gone and taken his girl. The muggle-born love of his life. Was this just another way his father had tried to control him?
'I met him in the village on my return,' Hermione answered, guessing the inner turmoil Draco was subjecting himself to. 'I invited him to join us.'
This seemed sufficient for Lucius, who gave her waist a quick squeeze. She wasn't sure of the meaning behind the gesture.
'Well, of course. You must join us for dinner, Draco.'
Draco bit his lip and gave a brisk nod. What else could he do?
'You should clean yourself up,' Hermione continued, taking on the role of matriarch. 'We should give him the guest room, upstairs.' Lucius shot her a perplexed look, indicative of some prior feud in the Malfoy family that she hadn't lived through. There was no way of knowing what had happened to make Draco's return to the ancestral home such a surprise, or to make his father - her husband - uncomfortable at offering him hospitality. Lucius turned his gaze back to Draco, a forced smile on his face.
'Why, yes. You heard your stepmother, Draco. You're a mess.' He readjusted his hold of Elspeth, lifting the young girl into a cradled position against his chest. 'Elspeth would be happy to have her brother to play with, once you've changed your clothes.'
'I'll show you,' Hermione quickly offered, pulling herself free from Lucius' hold. It was the only way she could ensure that they might have a few moments alone, to figure things out. Without waiting for Draco to respond, she placed a hand against his shoulder to push him along the corridor. She turned to glance back at Lucius and her child as they moved away. 'I'll only be a moment... dear.'