The Poisoned Apple

by SeveranSnape

An atrocious act by Draco Malfoy in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor forced Hermione Granger to leave behind everything she ever cared for. Six years later, Draco after losing all that he cared for, comes face to face with the consequences. The once innocent Apple now poisoned is his last resort. Will he leave behind old Draco and earn Hermione's trust for a new beginning? ABANDONED.

59. Chapter 59

A/N: Thanks to Grovek26, aryaaa, AMBERJANUS and roni2010 for their reviews.

Thanks for all the follows and favourites.

** Firstly, I would like to tell my readers that, TPA though is a fiction based on some very sensitive and serious issues, is basically a journey of all the characters that I have tried to portray here. It is a journey for Draco, Hermione, Adrian, Audré, Narcissa, Alexis, Julian and Lillian. It is their struggles to reach their 'homes', their goals, their destinations in a journey that is TPA. All in all, this is a journey of self discovery and finding inner peace. Every chapter, long or short, has different messages and moods, different analysis and thus reading and dissecting one or two chapters to assess the true essence of this story isn't a very wise idea. Read this journey with open mind and heart. It is not necessary that you should feel or see what I see but at least, you will try to think and that's why I write for: I want to make my readers think. I am not here to entertain anyone.

**Secondly, this chapter finally explains what Draco feels for the woman he hated for half his life. This is the closest I could come up with all the emotional storms he had been going through. Draco Malfoy, as a character is very tough to write from a neutral point of view and since I am not him, it takes a lot of energy and effort to be realistic. Trust this for it is never easy to assume the emotional point of views of others that scares and sickens me.

**Thirdly, please take note of the dreams that were depicted in last two and in this chapter for I would like my readers to differentiate the three 'kisses' and their meanings. What was it for Alexis, Draco and Hermione? They were not planted to make the story 'steamy', they were written to show the subjective perspectives on that particular act with different people.

Acknowledgements:

*The very talented author Amberjanus had been kind to share some of her insights with me and I therefore, dedicate the chapter to her. Thanks Amber for your nice idea. : ))

*The song 'come what may' is copyright to 'Mouline Rouge'.

My fiction 'The Poisoned Apple' has been nominated for The Hogwarts award in the category Hermione Romance. It is posted on the site and I would like you to cast your vote on the site under 'vote' tab.

The website is hogwartsawards DOT weebly DOT com **replace DOT with a . The link can also be found in my profile.

For adult theme this chapter is rated M. (HIGH MATURITY)

Disclaimer: The copyright to Harry Potter characters belong to J. K. Rowling. Any other characters are purely work of fiction and any resemblance is co-incidental.

Chapter 59: The Moment of Truth.

"Jean, I really think you need to take the day off."

"Huh?"

"Jean, I think you need to take the day off!"

Hermione blinked several times at the addresser and the face of her goblin boss staring at her gravely came into view.

"Sir!" Hermione stood up suddenly and toppled her chair, "When did you come at my workshop?" she asked, astonished for not noticing her boss who seldom visited her office or workshop.

Geccemp, the Head Goblin of Gringotts France, tsked and shook his oblong head in defeat.

"I came here fifteen minutes ago and found you are staring at your nails. I circled the room twice just before your eyes and you didn't even notice me. So, that brings me to my final decision, Jean that you need to take the day off." He folded his arms over his chest, "And as your boss and well-wisher, I insist that you leave your work early from now on." He commanded her sternly.

"But, sir…" Hermione tried to protest at her best for she wouldn't be taken as a person who wasn't serious about her work but Geccemp quitened her with a firm look of his black beady eyes.

"Jean, you must understand that I am not questioning your seriousness or sincerity to your job." He was looking up Hermione for he was half of her total height, "It is quite the opposite. Don't thing that I didn't see it when you never looked at the time until you finished your work; you have even spent weeks working after hours. Don't think that I didn't notice it when you never took a holiday in last four years and even worked during the summer. Don't think that I forgot it when you put aside your personal problems and curse broke the Malfoy vaults for the sake of my reputation. Don't ever think that I question your sincerity. No." he shook his head, "I value you, Jean, and I don't, under any circumstances, want to lose you. You are the best in the field and you are considered as an asset by many who know the business of Curse Breaking, like Herr Amadeus." He paused, straightened Hermione's upturned chair and gestured her to sit, "But I think, for some unknown personal reasons you are suffering from extreme pressure and it is coming into your way of working. I want you to be out of it as soon as possible and you know how very selfish I am when it comes to my best employees. Since you are the best of the best, Jean, I am not taking a 'no' this time." he shook his head firmly again. "From now on, you are to leave the office early and if you want to take a few days leave from your work to collect yourself, you are most welcome to do it at anytime of your convenience."

"I am sorry, Geccemp, sir." Hermione rubbed her forehead wearily, "I am just too…" she paused to choose an appropriate word for her current state of mind, "…occupied."

"It happens, Jean, it happens." Geccemp nodded understandably, "And no one is going to deny that you have handled tremendous work pressure with commendable proficiency which might have cracked many curse breakers a long time ago. I think that you deserve this break for a while so that you can come back with full energy and vigour." He smiled kindly and with a gentle pat on her elbow, Geccemp left.

Sighing deeply, Hermione looked at the sheaf of parchments to be read, stack of letters waiting to be answered, and a large tray full of curse-broken objects that needed to be evaluated for her final approval.

It was just like her third year in Hogwarts when she had taken up too many subjects and needed a Time Turner to attend all her classes along with Harry and Ron's continued resentment over Firebolt stripping, alleged attacks by Crookshanks to eat Ron's rat Scabbers and the promise to help Hagrid with the Hippogriff case, it had taken its toll on Hermione and she had been extremely irritated all the time. It was not until the end of the year that she decided to drop Divination to free her timetable a bit more to breathe free.

Now with her demanding job, her research on Permanent Curses, her son and his issue of social awkwardness in his school regarding his father and most importantly with the role of two men – the one she loved and the one she hated – Alexis and Draco, Hermione's head was almost at its bursting point. She understood that she wasn't the thirteen year old anymore and could take lot more pressure without really cracking but somehow, Hermione felt too tired to carry on this time.

It was actually the burden two consecutive events that were troubling her like the most. The shock of letting Draco in her life for the sake of her son and letting Alexis out of it for the sake of his happy future even before she was prepared to do so was making Hermione's heart swell in extreme resentment. She was tired of sacrificing her happiness while the actual perpetrator always got off. The unfairness of it all was making Hermione wonder why fate was being so cruel to her.

And the new problem in the never ending list was reappearance of her tension headache, the one she had suffered from when she was without a decent job and with a newborn child to raise with very little money. That was before she joined Gringotts and since then it hadn't troubled her until now.

Hermione took two mouthful of Headache Relieving Potion from her potion kit and leaned forward to place her head on the hardwood table. She would take some rest before getting up to pick up Adrian from his school.

When the clock chimed once and warned Hermione that it was time that she picked her son from his school, she wrapped up her day's work before leaving her office.

Adrian was running around the school courtyard with his friends, Louis and Gina, when Hermione found him ten minutes later.

"I am faster than you." Her son was red from all the running as he rushed past his mother, "You can't catch me." he increased his speed.

Hermione stood in a corner and waited for her son to complete his race. She watched as the little boy took another four turns around the courtyard after which Gina surrendered and Louis slowed down to gain his breath halfway through the third.

"Okay, you win, little Adrian." He held up his hands in defeat, "I quit." He declared.

Adrian, Hermione noticed, was all red and panting from running but delighted from beating down his best friends who were almost two years older than he. "I am not little Adrian." he corrected Louis with a reproachful frown, "I am Adrian and I am the savior of Paris. Grandma Audré says I am her man. " he said pompously.

Race being over, Hermione finally moved towards her son who has taken out his water bottle and was drinking deeply from it.

"How many Grandmas do you have, Adrian?" Gina Jeunet, the seven year old daughter of Auror Jeunet, asked him.

"Four." Adrian replied holding up four little fingers in the air, "Grandma Adeline is Mama's Mama and Grandma Narcissa is…" he paused and Hermione was suddenly very interested to know how Adrian addressed Malfoy before his friends, "…Grandma Narcissa is my Mama's mother-in-law." she was rendered speechless at her son's quick wit, "Grandma Audré is Mama's aunt and Grandma Apolline is Mama's mother."

"And what about your Grandpas?" Louis's eyes were round in astonishment, "Do you have four grandpas too?"

"Yes." Adrian nodded, "But Grandpa Morpheus and Lucius are dead. So, I have only two grandpas now -Grandpa Gustave and Grandpa Thomas." He stated.

Hermione was wondering from where Adrian had collected all that information when Gina noticed her approaching form.

"Hey, Adrian, your maman is here." She said and Adrian turned to Hermione, "Mama!" he exclaimed and ran to her before jumping into her outstretched arms.

Hermione kissed her son's sweaty forehead and took out a handkerchief to dry it, "Did you have a good day at school, little rabbit?" she asked him with a smile.

"Don't call me little rabbit before them, Mama." Adrian warned his mother giving a side glance at his friends, "They copy you and call me little Adrian." he flared his pink tipped nose in complaining mode.

Hermione rolled her eyes and ruffled her son's messy curls, "Okay. That's for us when we are in private." She agreed and straightened up as Louis and Gina approached them, "Louis, Gina, who are coming to take your homes?" she asked the kids.

"Bonjour Madame." Gina greeted Hermione and she nodded in acceptance, "Maman will come to take me home." she replied.

"And my uncle will come for me. My maman is ill." Louis replied.

"Why what happened to your maman?" Hermione was surprised for she knew his son's best friend's family quite well.

"Papa says I am going to have a baby sister very soon." Louis replied as his eyes lit up in unadultered joy, "He says there is a baby inside maman's big tummy."

"Congratulations!" Hermione was genuinely happy for her Louis, "Have you thought of a name for her?"

"Papa says it will be Lauren and maman says it will be Lealia." Louis replied happily, "But I said I want nothing with an 'L'."

Hermione was laughing for the first time that day when Adrian gave her flat stomach a curious look.

"Mama, where do babies live in tummy?" he asked her and she stopped abruptly when a cold drawl answered the question from behind her.

"Well, they live in a place called womb." Draco Malfoy came to stand beside Hermione and with extreme difficulty, she didn't flinch away with the man's presence just six inches away from her, "It is like a bag and in that bag babies grow big inside their mothers until they are mature enough to come out."

"Bonjour Monsieur Malfoy." Louis and Gina greeted Draco in unison while Adrian came closer and wrapped his little arms around Hermione's upper thighs protectively, "You want to buy us ice-creams again?" they asked him enthusiastically.

"If you wish of course, but I think it will be unwise to do so. The weather is turning pretty cold now." Draco's voice was unusually friendly, "So, I brought Chocolate Frogs for you." He took out two boxes from inside his travelling cloak and handed them to the kids, "Here you are."

Hermione was itching to ask why the wretched man has dared to show his face in Adrian's school when he addressed her directly.

"Jean, I came to take Adrian home. You don't have to do everything on your own." His voice was so calm that Hermione felt like cursing him into oblivion.

Hermione was opting for a scathing reply when she controlled herself remembering that they were in public.

"Sure you can, Malfoy." She said curtly and started for the nearest Floo fireplace.

Needless to say that the shameless man followed them too.

With his father by his side, Adrian was unusually quiet on their way back home. Hermione was furious and was considered kicking Draco out of fireplace when they reached their destination. As they came out of Grand Floo in Château de la Grange-Bléneau, Adrian asked his mother the question she wasn't waiting for.

"Mama, where do babies come from?"

Hermione was gaping at her five and a half year old son, too shocked to articulate an answer.

She watched as Draco, as shocked as her or maybe even more, overcame it first and knelt before the little boy.

"Babies are like Chocolate Frogs, Adrian." his demeanor was calm as he took out another box from inside his cloak and offered it to him, "When parents want a baby, they eat some special kind of Chocolate Frogs and do a bit of magic. The magic turns the Chocolate Frogs into little babies." He replied solemnly.

Hermione had never heard of a more bizarre explanation than that.

Adrian eyed the box of Chocolate Frogs in Draco's hand with interest.

"You mean that Louis's maman took a lot of Chocolate Frogs and his Papa did some magic on her tummy? Then it became a baby?" he asked him.

Draco nodded and looked up at Hermione for some support but she looked away resolutely.

"Yes." Draco replied solemnly looking back at Adrian again as he took his little hand and placed the box of Chocolate Frogs on it, "Now go with your Mama and take your lunch." He straightened up and left without another word on the matter.

"Mama, if you take this Chocolate Frogs will you have a baby too?" Adrian asked her as they walked back to their quarter in silence.

Hermione was determined not to answer her son's query about baby-making and preferred to take a different route to the problem.

"Mama doesn't want to have any more babies, Adrian." she said truthfully, "Mama is very happy with her cute little rabbit."

"But I am not. Louis will be a big brother soon. He talks about it all the time. He is happy. He is proud. I want to become a big brother too." Adrian, being the stubborn mother's stubborn son he was, was unwilling to let go of the topic, "Mama, take this Chocolate Frogs." He offered her the box, "Take the others that I have and give me a little sister like Louis's Mama."

"Adrian!" Hermione warned her son sternly, "No more talks about babies."

"But Mama I want a baby sister." Adrian stopped abruptly and stomped his feet stubbornly, "I want a baby sister like Louis. I want it." he demanded angrily.

"Adrian, if you don't stop this right now, I am going to leave you here and never come back." Hermione was on the verge of losing control of her sanity, "Do you want me to leave you? Do you want your Mama to leave?"

Adrian's innocent grey eyes filled with tears as he shook his head.

"No, Mama." He replied and threw away the box of Chocolate Frogs that Draco had given him, "I don't want a baby sister. I want you." He came forward and wrapped his hands around Hermione's midsection.

Hermione embraced her son and closed her eyes to beat down the tears.

If Adrian came to know how his mother had became pregnant her first time, he would never look at his own reflection in the mirror.

They resumed their walk and Hermione changed her son into his daily wares once they reached their quarter. With aunt Audré and Narcissa in the trial, Julian and Lillian in their offices, they had a quiet lunch in their kitchen after which Hermione lied down to have some rest.

"Mama has a terrible headache, little rabbit." She rubbed her forehead and told her son who was feeding his Peter rabbit and Hermione's dove, "I am going to take a nap. Don't go outside the quarter until grandma Audré returns. Okay?"

"Okay." Adrian tilted his head sideways and returned to his job.

Hermione closed her tired eyes and concentrated on a much needed sleep.

And when she fell asleep she didn't know.

She was wearing a periwinkle blue robe and walking down a narrow winding path that took her deep into the bowels of what appeared to be an enchanted forest. The air was lightly perfumed with the scents of Lavender and English Rose as if there was a garden nearby but Hermione couldn't find one. She continued on her walk until she reached a large lake.

Hermione looked down at her reflection on the crystal clear water. It was rippling and she noticed another figure standing just beside her.

Alexis Delacour.

Startled, Hermione looked sideways but there was no one standing beside her.

She was alone in this enchanted forest just like she was in her real life.

She returned to her reflection on the water. But to her horror, the water was darker now, like mud mixed with blood.

"My Mudblood!" a cold drawl whispered into her ears as a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around Hermione's waist tightly, almost suffocating her, "I am here. Your husband. And we are going to make a lot of babies."

Hermione was paralyzed with fear.

"You think you are going to make babies with Alexis Delacour?" the cold drawl of Draco Malfoy was cackling, somehow he was reading Hermione's mind with some divine power, "I don't think so, Mudblood, for you are mine and mine only. I love you and I am going to mark you now." Hermione felt his hot breath brushed her cheek as he tore open her sleeve and planted a kiss on her left shoulder.

"NO!" Hermione screamed loudly, "I will never become pregnant with your child again."

"Really?" Draco's voice was highly amused as he kissed the same spot on her left shoulder once again, "Says who?" he turned her abruptly so that they faced each other now.

"Says Hermione Granger." she replied boldly locking her eyes with the cold grey eyes of Draco Malfoy.

"And if I make you consent?" Draco's smile was so cold that Hermione felt a shiver ran down her spine, "If I take Adrian away and make a deal with you to beget me more children?"

"You can't do that." Hermione's resolve was crumbling now, "You took an Unbreakable Vow. You will die if you break it." she tried to remind him.

Draco leaned down his head so that they were offensively close now, "You know, sweetheart, I would love to taste a slice of bitter death for another go on your delicious and soft body." He winked before crushing his lips into hers.

"Aarrrrrgghhhhhhhhhhh!" Hermione screamed loudly and sat bolt upright.

The view of her deserted bedroom came into view.

Her heart was racing so fast that Hermione could hear it over her heavily panting breaths. Her body was clammy with sweat and her throat was as dry as sandpaper.

"It was a bad dream, Hermione, it was a bad dream." Hermione clutched over her heart and slumped back on her pillow, "It was a bad dream… it was nothing but a bad dream. Malfoy can't enter here. Adrian and you are safe here."

And that brought her to her senses. Suddenly Hermione noticed that the quarter was too quiet.

And it made her hairs stand on their ends.

Frowning deeply, Hermione left her bed and checked the balcony for her son.

"Adrian?" she called him softly as she noticed that both the dove and the rabbit were gone, "Adrian?" she looked down at the almost dark garden below but there was no trace of her son playing with his pets there.

Hermione was having a sense of déjà-vu now. It was just like the night Malfoy kidnapped Adrian from Delacours.

"ADRIAN! ADRIAN!" she called her son at the top of her voice, running to check the bathroom, the closet and under the bed which were all unoccupied, "ADRIAN! WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU, ADRIAN, WHERE ARE YOU?" Hermione was crying like a little girl who was lost her parents as she rushed out of her bedroom for the sitting room downstairs.

"Homo….num….revel…eo…" her hands were shaking so violently that she was having difficulty as she casted the spell around the quarter, "Homonum reveleo!" Hermione tried again.

But nothing happened.

Hermione was shaking from head to foot when Draco Malfoy's words echoes across her mind.

"You think you are going to make babies with Alexis Delacour?"

"I don't think so, Mudblood, for you are mine and mine only. I love you and I am going to mark you now."

"If I make you consent?"

"If I take Adrian away and make a deal with you to beget me more children?"

And with that Hermione came into a terrible conclusion.

"MALFOY! YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THIS!" she screamed in anguish and stormed out of her quarter in pursuit of her damned husband.

•••••

Draco was absent mindedly staring at the pair of women sitting before him.

"Narcissa, I must say that you aren't as plain as you appear." his aunt Audré commented with a sly wink at her sister-in-law.

"And what made you think that a Slytherin like me can be plain?" Narcissa asked back with a hint of contempt in her voice. "Is it because of the plain black dress that I wear now?"

"No but Slytherin or not, you are a cold headed plotter like I am." Audré's looked highly amused, "But I must admit that with your cunning Slytherin brain and eccentric bloodline of Black, you tackled Metzner's questions very well, Narcissa. I am planning to use them from my next hearing on Monday. Draco, have you gone through the arguments that I wrote for our next hearing?"

Draco was silent and lost in his own thoughts.

If his knowledge on Lunar Eclipse was correct then it was supposed to be on the night of a full moon. Strangely enough, Draco has noticed in past three days that the effect of the Lupus Venom was mimicking his first time with it which had also been a full moon. He had suffered from high fever and terrible thirst at that time too and though now his fever had subsided with the intake of some medicinal potions to get him through the day, the extreme thirst for water was still troubling him like it did before.

But it was not the thirst that was keeping him preoccupied in the midst of an important conversation about Rochés trial. It was the issue of Adrian and his innocent queries about babies.

Determined to be more participative to his son's daily life, Draco had taken the liberty to visit Adrian's school this afternoon to pick him up and bring him back to Château, a way to show Hermione that he too was capable of being a dutiful parent. On his way there, he had also bought three boxes of Chocolate Frogs to impress Adrian and his friends with it.

But the conversation that he overheard after he reached the school was most intriguing.

Adrian was asking his mother about babies, an indirect way of conveying his want for a younger sibling too.

Draco, being the only child of his parents, had never considered having a younger brother or sister in his entire life. He was always contented with being the apple of his parents' eyes and wished to remain so until the end; but now after watching his cousins – Julian and Lillian – quarrel and care for each other, he felt strangely lonely. Maybe, if he had a younger sister like Lillian, he wouldn't be where he was now.

An assaulter turned a husband hated by his wife.

Maybe with his own sister, Draco would've cared for woman more and thought twice before assaulting Hermione on the fit of rage.

And now an extremely somber Draco noted that with all the money in the world and all the Malfoy influences behind him, he could never give Adrian that one thing that he himself yearned – a younger brother or sister.

For Hermione would never consent on becoming pregnant with his child again and after watching first two monthes of her pregnancy in France, Draco was ashamed to the point of suffocation for making his son face unbearable hardships even before he was born.

Was his mother right in saying that he was remorseful of his actions because a child was involved in it?

Did Hermione's sufferings as an individual mean nothing to him?

Then why did he cut down Vincent Blanchard's hands?

Was it because he touched Hermione or for he touched a pregnant Hermione?

Was he really infatuated with Hermione?

If what he felt wasn't real love then what was it?

Attraction?

Empathy?

Sympathy?

Guilt?

What was it?

He had spent half of the previous night pondering over that one question and yet he had no answer to it.

"Draco? Draco?" a hand waved before him and Draco came back to reality, "Draco, where are you?" he focused his eyes and found Audré and Narcissa with an addition of Lillian, staring at him expectantly.

"I am here."He cleared his throat and took up his cup feigning that he was tired from work, "I was just thinking about the potion that I am modifying." He lied.

"I am glad that you are being serious about work, Draco." Audré remarked and offered Draco a plate of croissants, "You are the head of your family now and it is high time that you take your duties as a husband and a father sincerely."

"Yes, maman, and I am pretty hopeful that brother Draco will make an excellent husband and father if he really tries." Lillian gave Draco an encouraging smile.

"How was your visit at the Delacours? I heard that you came back early?" Draco who hadn't the opportunity to meet his sister after she returned home the previous day, asked her.

"Well, Monsieur Curtius owled me early morning on Sunday and told me to go to work no matter what. He said that the daughter of the Hungarian Minister of Magic is coming to our shop for a new wand and as his apprentice, I must be present when she comes." She replied, showing plain disinterest to talk about the topic.

"Were they good with you?" Draco asked again, eager to not let the issue die and curious to explore the reason behind Lillian's attempts to avoid the discussion.

"Yes, they were." Lillian replied impassively, "Monsieur and Madame Delacour were excellent hosts and I don't think I need to mention the foods which were in one word – superb. We, Gabrielle and I, spent a nice time toge…" she couldn't finish as her eyes widened in undulating fear, "Jean, what's wrong?" she asked Hermione instead.

'Hermione?' Draco just had a split of a second to consider what might be wrong when…

"MALFOY!" a ferocious voice called him and before he knew what happened, someone yanked his collars roughly and forced him to stand up.

Perplexed, Draco looked down and found a pair of fiery brown eyes glaring at him.

"WHERE IS MY SON, MALFOY, WHERE IS MY SON?" she bellowed, "WHERE IS MY SON? WHERE HAVE YOU HIDDEN HIM? TELL ME, YOU BASTARD, TELL ME NOW." she shook him violently.

Before Draco could reply she slapped him hard on his face.

Draco was suddenly visited by a sense of déjà-vu, as if he was thirteen years old again and Hermione had slapped him hard on face for making fun of Buckbeak's execution.

"Ouch!" he winced in pain feeling the salty taste of blood in his mouth, "Granger…" he tried to grab her hands and free himself but the woman dodged it and slapped him harder this time.

"HOW YOU DARE LOOK AT MY SON, YOU BASTARD? HOW YOU DARE TOUCH HIM?" Hermione was too shocked to even listen to Draco, "HOW COULD YOU TAKE HIM AWAY FROM ME? HOW COULD YOU? WITH ALL THE VOWS AND OATHS AND THAT BLOODY SURRENDER? HOW COULD YOU EVEN THINK OF DOING IT AGAIN AND THINK THAT YOU CAN GET OFF LIKE LAST TIME?" her shrill shrieks were piercing Draco's eardrums.

Draco was appalled by the accusations made at him and he fumbled for words to defend himself.

"Granger…" he struggled to keep the half mad woman in control, "I didn't take Adrian."

"LIAR! LIAR!" Hermione screeched and her slaps became harder with each word she uttered, "LIAR! YOU ARE A LIAR AND YOU TOOK MY SON FROM ME LIKE THAT NIGHT!" spits were flying out of her mouth as she shrieked and shook Draco violently, "GIVE HIM BACK TO ME THIS INSTANT!" she caught Draco by his collars again and hurled him on the nearest sofa before throwing herself on him, beating and scratching him like a wild cat, "GIVE MY SON BACK TO ME NOW OR I AM GOING TO KILL YOU WITH MY BARE HANDS! GIVE HIM BACK TO ME THIS INSTANT!"

"Jean, listen to me, Jean." Audré came to Draco's rescue whose face was burning from all the slaps and scratches that he had received, "Leave Draco and tell me what happened." She tried to disentangle Draco from Hermione who was beating him regardless of being before the whole family, "Calm down, dearest, tell me what happened." She fought to free Draco's collars from her deadly grip, "Lillian, Narcissa, what are you looking at? Come here!" she almost barked at the stunned pair.

It took the combined forces of Audré, Lillian and Narcissa to rescue Draco from Hermione's wrath and he sat up panting heavily, rubbing his scarlet cheeks as he tried to decipher the meaning of Hermione's words.

"Here…Jean, come to aunt Audré…nothing has happened… we will find out where Adrian is…" Audré was out of breath as the three ladies wrestled down a crying and howling Hermione to the floor, "JEAN! FOR MERLIN'S SAKE, TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED!" she shook the frantic woman, trying to bring her to her senses.

Hermione looked completely insane now, with her curls disheveled, her dress disarrayed, her eyes bloodshot and fixed on Draco with extreme loathe while foams leaked down the corner of her mouth as she spoke from between three ladies.

"I was… I had a bad headache…told Adrian not to go out of quarters…as I took a nap…then I had a bad dream…very bad dream…he…" she pointed an accusing finger at Draco, "…he wanted to make me…preg…nant…once again…I said…no…but he…told me…he will take…Adrian away…if I didn't…consent…" she broke off and looked up at Audré who was tightly embracing her, "…I woke up and…Adrian is nowhere…he took him…again…" she dissolved into tears,

If Draco said he was shocked by Hermione's words, it would be an understatement.

"Me?..." he spluttered as he leapt to his feet, "I left Adrian with his mother on the lobby before I returned to my office. I came back just half an hour ago and I haven't seen Adrian since."

"Liar…he is liar." Hermione said, choking between her uncontrollable sobs, "Vow or not I don't trust him an ounce. He is lying, aunt, he is lying. He took my son away…to make me stay with him and…make me pregnant again."

"But where does this issue of pregnancy come from?" Audré asked Draco incredulously, "Draco, did you ask Jean any such thing?" she demanded angrily.

"NO!" Draco spat furiously, "Of course not, aunt. Why would do such a thing?" he demanded back, "Am I out of my bloody mind? It was just a conversation between Adrian and his friends at school where Louis said that his mother is going to have a baby soon. It made Adrian curious about babies and he asked Jean how they came into being." He recounted the actual events, "Of course I couldn't tell him the truth so I told him that a mother has to take some Chocolate Frogs and do a bit of magic on her tummy so that the Frogs turn to a baby inside the womb." He rubbed his right which has been subjected to more slaps, "I can never ask Jean to bear more children after what she went through when she was pregnant with Adrian." he said firmly.

"You heard Draco, Jean, he didn't take Adrian. Now cool down and drink some water." Lillian said kindly as she handed a goblet of water on Hermione's shaking hands, "Don't worry, we will find out where Adrian is. The Château may be vast but the elves know every know nook and corner of it and we will find Adrian in no time." she assured her.

"My son…my little rabbit…I don't know where is he…how is he…and we are sitting here wasting time in silly talking…" Hermione took a small seep from the goblet, pushed it aside and wiped her mouth dry with her sleeves, "I am going to look for him right now." she said before standing up weakly.

His face burning from all the slaps and humiliation, Draco was seriously considering if external forces such as the Knights of Walpurgis were involved in Adrian's disappearance, "But how is it possible that anyone can break into a Fideliused quarter and kidnap my son? Aunt Audré is the Secret Keeper and no one can coerce, force or Leglimens a Secret Keeper to make her tell it to them." He told the small gathering thoughtfully as the wheels of his Slytherin brain ran fast to ascertain a possible loophole.

"Thank you, Draco, for your nice insight on the burning issue but since you yourself broke into Delacour household and kidnapped Adrian in the first place, it quite natural for Jean to suspect you. In fact, I would have done the same if I were her." Audré gave him a dark look, "Let this be a lesson for you to understand that one should never come between a mother and her child." She warned him before turning to Hermione and giving her as assuring smile, "Don't worry Jean, I am going to call the elf matriarch Peggy and she will look after the elves' search team while we will scour the Château both manually and magically." She said and lifted her hands to clap when a tender voice echoed across the tension-filled parlour.

"Why is Mama crying?"

"ADRIAN!" Hermione's exclaimed loudly and Draco whipped round to find his son standing beside his six feet tall uncle Julian. The little boy was holding his rabbit firmly and Hermione's dove was perched on his shoulder.

"ADRIAN, MY SON! MY LITTLE RABBIT!" Hermione broke free from Audré and Lillian's restraints, almost threw herself on the gaping boy and engulfed him into a tight embrace, "Adrian, my rabbitty boo, where were you?" she cried as the scared rabbit scampered away and the frightened dove flew around the parlour making loud chirping sound, "Where is all this blood coming from? You aren't hurt, are you?" She noted a speck of blood on Adrian's porcelain skin and ran her shaking hands over his petit form, "Thanks Merlin, you are not hurt. You almost killed Mama, Adrian, you almost killed me when I couldn't find in the quarter." She kissed him feverishly and hugged him so tight as if she was trying to merge their bodies, "Where were you?" she pleaded and broke into tears again.

It was this sight that shook Draco to the very core of his existence. Previously, he had seen how Hermione had broken her own arm to be in the same pain as her son, but to what extent her love for Adrian could ran, he didn't know. Now, with this pitiful scene of Hermione and Adrian hugging each other and crying their hearts out, Draco realized for the first time, what must have passed through the woman when he had abducted her son and why she Cruciatused him without any regret.

He knew that even he would have done the same to the abductor of his only son.

Draco let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as he watched Hermione and Adrian with a heavy heart, his paternal side yearing to reach out and hug his son but his more logical side of the brain asked him to refrain from such act for it can have rebounding effects on an already very emotional Hermione.

"Mama, I am okay." Adrian wiped his tears and assured his frantically crying mother, "Mama, I am a man and I am okay. I am fine." He patted gently on her head.

"What happened, maman? Why is Jean crying like that?" an awed, Julian asked his mother and Draco noticed that he was carefully holding something like a bundle of white feathers in his large hands, "And who slapped you like that?" he asked finally noting purple slap and scratch marks on his cousin's cheek.

"That is a just a dose of Muggle vitamins that Draco received from his beloved and charming wife, Chief Curse Breaker of Gringotts Jean Granger." Audré replied solemnly, "And I consider it very tame of her considering his reputation." She remarked as Narcissa walked over to her son and placed a hand on his shoulder gesturing him to sit before she took out her wand.

"I will take care of the marks but the pain, I think will remain for a day or two." She said as she started working on Draco's purple marks, "You are a Potions Researcher, Draco, and I don't think I need to tell you to take a good Pain Relieving potion for that."

With many assurances that her son was indeed fine, Hermione finally overcame her emotions and occupied a sofa for them where the little boy sat on his mother's lap and rested his curl adorned head on her bosom as Hermione laid her cheek on his head. Finally at each other's arms, they both looked completely at peace.

"Will anybody tell me what happened here?" Julian asked impatiently, "You, ladies seem to have shaken the stars from their orbits."

"Since you are no mother, Julian, you will never understand what passed on a woman when she loses her child." Audré settled beside Hermione and gently stroked her head, "Jean was sleeping when she had a bad dream about Draco taking away her son. She woke up and when she couldn't find Adrian in her quarter she thought that Draco must have broken in and taken away Adrian. And since your esteemed cousin has already done that to make his reputations even more spotlessly clean as a kidnapper, she came after him demanding to know where he was hiding Adrian and that is when she gave him those vitamin doses." She tilted her head to the slap marks on Draco's face.

"Thanks Nostradamus I don't have a wife. I love my cheeks the way they are." Julian rubbed his cheek absent mindedly before he gave the bundle of feather to Adrian, "I wonder what these hands are made of to leave those lovely prints on Draco's pale cheeks." He knelt before Hermione and took her hands to examine them. "Is it made of steel or rock or wood?"

"Don't take this woman's hands lightly, Julian, for they are the hands that built their destinies." Audré took Hermione's hands from Julian's hands and kissed them lightly, "They are my brave daughter Jean's hands."

Hermione smiled weakly at Audré as Narcissa turned Draco's head on the other side to work on his remaining cheek.

"Well, the brave woman gave birth to an even braver boy, didn't she?" Julian stood up and took a seat beside his sister, "Tell them what happened, Adrian. Tell them how you saved that poor little bird." He indicated at the bundle of feather that he was holding.

Adrian looked up at his mother and kissed her tenderly on her wet cheek, "I am sorry, Mama, I made you cry. It will never happen again." He said apologetically. "You know, I am your man and I always will take care of you." He said and Hermione nodded, "I gave Peter and Gwyn their meals. They ate it and I was playing with them. But then I saw a big bird came. It was very ugly, just like the drawing of greedy birds in that book uncle Edmound gave me. Arabian Nights. It was just like the books, Mama. And it was holding a tiny bird in its claws. The little bird was fighting. But the bad bird was too strong. He was going to eat the little bird." His innocent grey eyes were wide with pure horror as he recounted the event, "I couldn't take it. You know, I am the savior of Paris, Mama. So, I took out my sword and went outside." Even with his head turned the other side, Draco was listening to his son tale of heroic events, mesmerized, "Peter and Gwyn came too. Gwyn was very brave. She attacked the bad bird. The bird came down and I attacked it with my sword. It got hurt and threw the little bird. I caught it." he showed the feeble bird to his audience like it was a prized trophy, "The bad bird fled and we saved the baby bird." He patted his rabbit with his other hand.

"Oh my love! My brave little Adrian!" Hermione hugged and kissed her son tenderly, "Mama is very very proud of you. Mama is very proud of Peter and Gwyn too." she stroked her bird, who gave her an affectionate nip on ear.

"Let me tell the rest of the story." Julian interrupted as he shoved two croissants at a time in his mouth over his sister's incredulous frown, "When I returned home, I found a bravely fighting Adrian who has just saved the mankind by saving the bird. I watched him scare away the mighty bird which was a hawk and I am sure I heard it promised to come back and take revenge on Adrian. When I was sure that the big battle was over and there were no major causalities, I approached the group of human, rabbit and dove, all united under the same roof to save an innocent bird from a terrible fate. Adrian was nursing the wounded bird into health with such care that I envisioned him as a successful Healer. But then I remembered that he said that he wanted to be painter. What a terrible loss for wizardkind." He sighed mockingly and Lillian punched him hard on his back, "Ouch! Sister, that hurts." He winced and rubbed the spot, "I examined the survivor, I mean, the rescued bird and found out that it is a baby owl. An owlet."

"The baby owl was taken away from his Mama." Adrian said sadly, looking down at the bundle of feather that was the tiny owl, "Mama, will you become its Mama too? Like you are to me and to Peter?" he asked Hermione.

"Of course, why not." Hermione agreed immediately and Draco's heart almost burst from his yearning to adore his innocent wife and son, "But that baby owl needs a name, doesn't it?" she gently stroked the head of the weak little bird.

"I think I have never seen a more unique mother than Jean." Julian commented and Narcissa finally finished removing slap marks on Draco's cheek which were still burning, "I mean she is mother to a human, a rabbit and now an owl too…" he couldn't finish as Audré threw a cushion at her son, "That is an extraordinary achievement." He remarked.

Everyone but Draco laughed and the mood of the parlour became considerably lighter as everyone settled down to take evening coffee.

"I have a suggestion for naming it." Hermione was gently rubbing the baby owl in Adrian's hand, "How about Hedwig?" she asked him.

"What is a Hedwig?" Adrian asked his mother and Draco was wondering if it was another pet Hermione had owned once apart from Gwyn when he received the answer.

"Hedwig was a snowy owl and it belonged to a very brave man called Harry Potter." Hermione replied solemnly, "Harry loved his bird very much. It was his only connection to the Wizarding world when he was at his aunt's place. But one night Hedwig died." Her face fell as if she remembered something very sad, "Hedwig loved his master and he died trying to save Harry." she said to her even sadder son.

"Hedwig is soooo brave!" Adrian's voice said that he was deeply moved by the story, "But who is Harry Potter?" he asked his mother.

Draco was reminded of his once scar-headed archenemy whose fame as the Chosen One had tormented him for most of his school life. He wondered why Hermione never told her son about her best friends.

"He is someone I know from my old school, Hogwarts." Hermione replied calmly, "He once saved Mama from a Troll." She gave Draco a look of pure hatred, "Harry even saved his arch enemy from dying in fire." She said and looked away, "He is the best man I ever knew."

"Yes, Mama, he is a good man" Adrian nodded in approval, "He saved my Mama. He saved his enemy too. Mama, can I meet him?" he asked his mother.

There was a pregnant silence that followed Adrian's question during which Hermione bit her lips and shook her head, "No, we can't." she replied at last.

Draco, who knew how Hermione had lied to her best friends and left Britain stealthily, couldn't deny that he felt very sorry for being responsible for it.

"Why?" Adrian question bank seemed as endless as the tunnels of Gringotts, "Why can't we meet Harry Potter?" he asked Hermione innocently.

Unbeknownst to himself, Draco was waiting for Hermione's answer when his aunt suddenly interfered.

"Jean, don't you think we ought to start working on Adrian's Hallowe'en costume?" she asked the sad woman with a charming smile, "How about doing it tomorrow? If you can manage a leave we - you, Narcissa and I, can finish it if we work the whole day."

"Tomorrow will be fine, aunt. My boss Geccemp told me to take a leave if I need it." Hermione nodded feebly.

"I think that gives our family an excellent excuse to attend the Masquerade Ball the Ministry is going to arrange for Hallowe'en." Julian seeped his coffee and looked around the parlour, "It will be on coming Sunday and I heard there will be a Fancy Dress Party for children's of Ministry employees too. Jean, I hope you and Adrian will come with us and let my creepy nephew participate in it."

Draco, who had heard of it while in the office and was wondering how he was going to ask Hermione, Adrian and his mother to accompany him thanked Julian internally for doing the job on his stead.

"I have heard of Ministry's Hallowe'en Masquerade Ball." Hermione told her brother-in-law, "Alexis is the Junior Undersecretary and he always brought invitations for the whole family."

"So, you have been to the Ball before?" Julian asked Hermione.

"No." Hermione shook her head, "I am not very interested in Balls and dances. It is pretty boring."

'Why did she say that?' Draco frowned deeply, 'She danced very well with Krum in the Yule Ball.' He noted.

"Boring?" Julian repeated after Hermione, astonished.

"Well, Jean is right, Julian." Lillian supported Hermione firmly, "Just because you and Draco work there doesn't mean it is the best place on Earth. In fact, if you ask me the Ministry is a completely bogus place mostly full of bogus people and I have no intention in wasting my precious time in visiting a party full of masked morons." She waved her hand dismissively.

"Is that you opinion based on your undying love for Alexis Delacour?" Julian jibed his sister playfully.

"THAT'S NOT FUNNY, JULIAN!" Lillian exclaimed suddenly as she leapt to her feet, "I WILL NOT HAVE YOU TALK TO ME LIKE THIS!" she stormed out of the parlour unceremoniously.

'Now what is wrong with her?' Draco frowned at his cousin's sudden unexpected outburst and returned his eyes at Hermione, who was determinedly looking away, "Doesn't anyone think that I am owed an apology for being misjudged?" he asked her deliberately.

Hermione feigned as if she hasn't heard anything at all as she stood up, "Aunt, if you need me, I will be in my room." she said curtly as she stood up, "I am very interested to know what happened in the hearing today."

"I will be there shortly." Audré said and an unabashed Hermione left with Adrian and his assorted pets.

"Women!" Julian threw his hands in air and went back to his coffee.

"What with them now, Julian?" Narcissa asked her nephew.

"Well, aunt, no one can deny that they pretty unpredictable." He remarked openly, "Not to mention that it is very hard to impress them too."

Narcissa folded her arms on her lap and gave Julian a cold stare, "Do you take it as a shortcoming in our part?" she asked him seriously.

"No, aunt, why would I take that?" Julian shrugged, "In fact, I admire their courage and intellect. What I meant by unpredictability is their tendency to behave out of norm. Like, I expected you to stand up for your son when Jean slapped like Draco like he was nothing more than a rag doll. But instead, you seemed to support her silently by healing the marks she left on Draco's cheeks and not even uttering a single word to defend your son. That is what I find unpredictable, aunt Narcissa, very commendable but unpredictable none the less."

Narcissa's demeanor softened considerably, "I saw myself in Jean today, Julian." She sighed, "Her reaction upon losing Adrian reminded me of us, your uncle Lucius and I, looking for Draco during the Battle of Hogwarts. It was a deadly battle Julian, deadly…" her voice was lost, "The Dark Lord, his snake Nagini, his followers, Giants, Acromantulas, werewolves…what wasn't there? Half of the school got destroyed…the school that had stood there for thousands of years…and the worst part was that no one knew where he would be in the next moment…no one knew who was friend and who was foe…" Draco was reminded of a Death Eater who had tried to kill him right after Potter saved him from Room of Requirements, "…no one knew when death will strike him…and in the midst of that horrible battle, we, the Malfoys were in the most vulnerable state…except for me, none of us had wands." She recounted and Julian leaned forward in interest, "Lucius's wand was taken by the Dark Lord to punish him, Draco's got lost during the battle…" Draco noted how his mother lied to save his image before his cousin, "I was the only one left with my wand and I gave it to Draco who went to get his wand back. But when he didn't return and the battle grew worse, Lucius tried to persuade The Dark Lord to call a ceasefire so that we can go and look for him. But the madman didn't grant his wish and we…we thought that we had lost our only child. The memories of that day still frighten me, Julian." Narcissa bit her lips and fixed her stare at Draco, "Jean doesn't owe you an apology, Draco, it is you who owe her thousands of apologies. It is I, who owe her hundreds of apologies; apology for raising a son who grew up to be a bigot criminal." She prodded on her bosom lightly, "Audré is right when she says that Lucius and I, tailor made you what you became, Draco. She is right because I did make you the man that you are today." She sighed dejectedly and stood up, "Audré, I think I have had enough talking for today and I am off to my suite to take some rest."

"Sure." Audré nodded and Narcissa left for the parlour door, "Julian, dearest, can I ask you something?" she turned her attention to her son.

Julian was watching Narcissa's retreating form with a deep frown, "Yes, maman." He replied.

"Don't make insensible jokes with Lillian." Audré bid him, "She is not a little girl anymore, Julian, she is a full grown lady now and when you make fun of her like that, she takes it quite seriously."

"Maman, you know I love her." Julian's voice was sincere, "You know I meant her no serious offense."

"Then go and explain it to her." Audré motioned her hand at the direction of the parlour door, "I don't know how you are going to do that, Julian, but I want to see my daughter cheerful once again before dinner." She stated firmly.

As Julian left for Lillian's suite to carry out his mission of persuading his sister, Draco considered asking his aunt the questions that were keeping his thoughts preoccupied recently. He knew that Audré's eyes were sharp and her observation skills were impeccable. If anyone could help him find his answers regarding his feelings for Hermione, it was definitely Audré.

"I know you stayed back deliberately to ask me something, Draco." he heard Audré remark lightly, "Your eyes tell me that something is troubling you. Let me arrange us some privacy." She waved her wand and the door closed immediately with the placement of an Imperturbable Charm, "Ask away, Draco, ask away." She said lightly.

Draco considered where should he start.

"I want to know what I feel for Hermione." he stated as plainly as he could after a while, ascertaining the root of the problem, "I want to know why I feel that for her."

Audré joined her fingers and rested her chin on it, "If my memories tell me correctly, Draco, then you told me just last Wednesday that you love Jean." she said calmly, "It is only Monday and you are already in doubts regarding your own feelings?"

"No." Draco shook his head firmly, "I am not in doubt. I do love her. But it is Hermione, you and my mother that has thrown me into his dilemma with your claims that I don't. Hermione says I covet her, mother says that I am infatuated with her because I have no sex partners and you said that it was a 'cock and bull story'."

"Well, what's wrong if we said that?" Audré shrugged, "If you are so sure that what you feel is genuine, when why should you be bothered by us?"

"But I need to know the truth, aunt." Draco said desperately, "I need to know why I feel what I feel for Hermione. I need to know it because…" he broke off.

"Because?" Audré asked softly.

"Because mother said that there are many other feelings that can be misinterpreted as love, like empathy, attraction and guilt." Draco replied honestly, "Last night she told me about her early days of marriage with father. She told me that they were not in love when they got married but they eventually fell in love. That made me curious to explore my feelings regarding Hermione. I want to know if it is real love or empathy or sympathy or impulse based on guilt."

"So, basically you are assessing yourself. Right, Draco?" she asked him casually.

"Yes, I am. I am trying to assess my true feelings for her." Draco confessed. "After mother left me in this puzzled state last night, I took a bath, tried to cool down and then asked myself the same question many many times, that what was this feeling that came out of blue? I have never known love until Astoria came in and I thought what I feel for Hermione now was love… I still think that it is love but…" he rubbed his head uncertainly, "But try as I might, aunt, I can't reach any authentic conclusions. It is like an alien feeling and it is very distracting. I want to reach a proper answer to take our relationship ahead. I want to know what is it."

Audré gave Draco a thoughtful look, "You see Draco, Narcissa is right in saying that love is a very vague and misused term. It does take quite some time to really fall in love and once you fall there, Draco, there is no coming back. It is a one way journey for not even death can part you from your beloved." She said and Draco thought of Astoria telling him that she came to him because they truly loved each other, "So, if you fall in and fall out of love, it isn't true love; it's attraction."

"But I haven't fallen out of love." Draco supplied firmly, "I am in love with Hermione." he slammed on his fist the armrest, "But mother says that I am deluding myself with this concept of love with a woman whom I could hardly stand just a month ago. She says it is infatuation. That is why I am after the real answer."

"So Narcissa shook the base of your strong belief." Audré's tone couldn't be placed, "Tell me Draco, how desperate you are to find the truth?" she asked him. "Are you ready to do anything for the truth?

"Yes, I am." Draco replied firmly.

"Even if it includes answering unpleasant questions regarding your past actions?" Audré asked again.

"Postitive." Draco was determined to find an answer, "You can ask me anything, aunt, I will be truthful."

Audré leaned against her sofa and gave Draco a piercing look of her blue eyes, "Then let's go back to the very beginning. Tell me Draco, where did you first see Jean?"

"Back in my first year, when we were being sorted into our Houses - in the Sorting Ceremony at Great Hall." Draco replied.

"What was your first impression upon seeing her?" Audré was calm.

"Repulsion." Draco professed unabashedly, "She was a Muggleborn witch."

"That's not quite unexpected of you if I consider your heritage." Audré remarked, "What happened after that? What was your next feeling when you started taking classes together?" Audré's voice was gentle but her interrogation was thorough.

Draco pondered over the question before replying, "Jealousy and dislike." He said honestly, "She beat me in every subject that we took. I disliked being overshadowed by her achievements. Father was very displeased that a Malfoy got beaten by a Muggleborn. So, I started insulting her in public by calling her a mud…you-know-what." He confessed.

"What happened next? Did your feelings change towards her? Did you ever feel any weakness for her when you were at school?" Audré seemed engrossed in Draco's answers.

"No, that was completely out of question." Draco replied fervently, "She is a Muggleborn witch and I am a pureblood. Besides, she was best friend to my once arch enemy Harry Potter and his sidekick Ronald Weasley. I never felt anything apart from jealousy and dislike for her until…until she was brought to our Manor and I...assaulted her."

"What happened after that, Draco? What was your next feeling for her after you raped her?" Audré was being uncharacteristically open.

"Hatred. Loathe." Draco considered what he felt after he violated Hermione, "I blamed her for making me into doing it. I also blamed her for taking away my first…sex from me while her friend, Potter, took my first wand."

"What happened that that solid impression changed so suddenly?" Audré was pensive.

Draco frowned at the key question.

What had happened that his opinion of Hermione Granger changed drastically?

"I saw her when she broke her arm for Adrian." he replied truthfully, "I saw her blood. It was just like mine…red and salty…not like what I imagined it to be for a mud blood."

His proclamation followed a long silence.

"What was your next feeling for her, Draco?" Audré resumed the questioning session after some time. "What made you send her a Pain Relieving Potion under a pseudo name?"

"I felt sorry for her." Draco relived the moment once again as he replied, "She injured herself for Adrian. She had chosen pain over relief for my son and I have never seen any mother act like that. Prior to that incident, I used to think that Hermione, a Muggleborn witch, could never be a good mother for my son. I had always given that place to my pureblood wife Astoria. But when I saw her blood, I realized that I have always wrongfully prejudiced her; I felt sorry for being rude to her, aunt."

"And then? What happened after that, Draco? What was your next feeling for her?" Audré seemed tireless in asking questions.

Draco shuddered involuntarily when the memory of the night when he had found a hallucinating Hermione struggle in the corridor resurfaced.

"I felt shocked." He replied, "I felt ashamed of my act. I wanted to destroy myself for doing that to her. I wanted to amend it."

"I know that part, Draco, for you came to me asking for another chance." Audré was so calm as if she was meditating, "I want to know your feeling, Draco, I want to know how it felt when you saw Hermione like that."

"I felt terribly angry… on myself for assaulting her." Draco didn't know what else to say, "I..." he started again when Audré shook her head.

"No, Draco, no." she said solemnly, "You didn't actually feel angry for assaulting her, no, though you half destroyed your suite in the fit of rage. It wasn't the anger." She shook her head, "I will tell you what you felt when you saw Hermione. You felt horrified, appalled…because you felt that your false walls of lie and deceit that you have built to shield yourself from your crimes had just collapsed…you felt like a snail whose outer shell has broken suddenly…you felt insecured…you felt vulnerable…vulnerable to the truth…to the reality and the consequences. And that vulnerability brought forth the anger; the anger that one feels when he realizes that he has thrown himself into a trouble by his act of foolishness. Your self-realization wasn't because of your nobility, Draco, it was quite accidental and it robbed you off your last defense – your self-righteousness, your firm claims that you weren't responsible for what happened to Hermione."

Draco remembered that voice that jeered at him when he returned to his suite that night after discovering Hermione on the corridor, it had taunted him mercilessly.

"Then what is this that I feel for Hermione?" Draco asked his aunt desperately, not willing to discuss that horrific night any longer, "Is it guilt?"

"My questions still aren't over, Draco." Audré stated evenly, "But if they are distressing you then I will try in a different approach. Tell me Draco, what is Hermione Jean Granger's first and foremost identity for you. Name just one."

Draco tilted his head and looked at the ceiling.

"She is Adrian's mother." He replied after a while.

"And who is Adrian?" Audré enquired.

"He is my son. He is my only son." Draco was unsure where the questions were leading him to.

"You can have more sons if you let Jean go and get married again. Why stick to Adrian?" Audré asked the same question as Narcissa, "Moreover, they will be purebloods too; not a half blood like Jean's son is."

"I want to stick to him because he is Adrian. Because he is what I seek…I need…I love…" Draco replied exasperatedly, "Because he looks like me, aunt…he draws like me…he flies like me and most importantly…and he is strong, intelligent and brave…he is any father's dream." he said passionately, "He is the most innocent child I have ever come across, aunt. Take this evening for example, my son went out to save a little bird and fought for it. I don't remember myself ever even consider doing anything remotely as noble as that. I would be like why should I bother if a bird is killed? It is not hurting me." he said earnestly, "But Adrian, despite having half share of my blood, isn't like me. With his innocence, he surprises me…he awes me and I..." Draco paused as the answer suddenly hit him, "I know I can never have a son like him if it was not from Hermione. So, I don't give it a damn it he is not a pureblood, aunt, I don't care for his blood status at all." He declared truthfully.

"A very good confession, Draco." Audré clapped lightly, "So, that brings us to our last question, dear nephew, after which I will tell you the results of my assessment. Do you see Jean as a separate entity or do you consider Adrian and Jean together?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Draco asked back, puzzled.

"I am being very clear, Draco. Do you see Jean and Adrian as separate persons or are they one in your eyes? Is there any demarcations between them?" Audré elaborated the question patiently.

"Adrian is Hermione's son and Hermione is Adrian's mother." Draco replied impatiently, "Why should there be any difference?"

"There is a difference, Draco, maybe it is very fine but there is one. The woman Hermione and the mother Hermione aren't the same." Audré shook her head, "We often mistook a woman as a mother. We consider her as a mother and mother only, forgetting that underneath all the love and care that she showers for her children, she is a person too; that she can have a different identity, different choice and different dreams. We take motherhood as her ultimate fate and that way, we take the sacrifices that she makes for her children as granted. We think that it is normal because she is a mother and what else a mother should do if not sacrifice? And that is what has happened to you too. You were alone and craving for a son when Adrian came to you like an angel from dream. You became desperate to gain him at all costs and as a result Jean had to sacrifice her last chance of happiness to keep her son safe from you. Like all others, you took her sacrifice for granted. But that day, when Jean broke her arm for her son, that day when it wasn't necessary that she sacrificed her comfort and yet she did it for the sake of her love for Adrian, she shook you to your very core, Draco, she destroyed your false prejudice and she moved the base of your foundation." Draco was hanging to Audré's every word as if his life depended on it, "That day you discovered that you were wrong about her and with that came the realization that Jean is an excellent mother. And that is what attracted you to her, Draco, for you are unable to separate Adrian and Jean." she paused to take some air, "You want to know what you feel for Jean? You want to know if is genuine?" she arched an eyebrow at Draco, "Here is my answer. You admire her, Draco, you admire her very very deeply." She proclaimed, "It started the day she got hurt on purpose and it is increasing with every passing moment. You might wonder why I said that. But try to remember what you bargained for when you took up the daunting task of volunteering in Lupus Venom research project. You wanted to retrieve memories of Jean's pregnancy, Draco. They are her pregnancy memories, the time which connects her with her child most intimately. If you were interested only in the woman as your mother said, you could have easily spent your time in observing her more closely to know her better. There was no need to go for the memories to do that. But what you did you do instead? You went for her pregnancy memories. Why? Because you are keen to find out about the woman who sacrificed her everything to become a mother. Because unconsciously, you admire her for her innocence and purity; because you know that you are indebted to her for giving you a son like Adrian, the one you yourself said that you can never get from another woman. That is the reason you call it love while it is nothing but deep admiration for a woman whom you spent half of your life hating for her blood."

Draco was suddenly visited with the images of Hermione's first batch of pregnancy memories. It had felt wonderful to know how deeply she loved Adrian. And that brought him to his next question.

"Then what is it that I feel when I think about the hurts that I have given her?" he asked Audré, "You once said that I don't know what true remorse is; that I can't even spell 'remorse'. Then why I feel terribly sad when I see her suffer? Why I feel like amending it?"

"That brings us to our memory number two." Audré raised two fingers in the air, "I guess that you first felt this so called bout of remorse when you saw the second memory. Ever since then you are deluding yourself that you are regretful of your actions while in actual sense you are not."

"I am, aunt, I really am." Draco said stubbornly, "I just want to know if it is due to involvement of Adrian?"

"No, you are not, Draco." Audré shook her head, "What you feel is more akin to…" she paused and frowned, "…should we say self realization. It is a very mild form of remorse. While in the first memories you were happy to see Jean settle down in France with her child, in the second you feel angry for making her go through numerous hardships. Her struggles, the attack on her by her colleague and her being labeled as a prostitute should she not provide the name of her child's father finally made you realize what you have done to her. You realized why she should flinch at your sight but you are not completely remorseful because with true remorse comes the true realization and determination to never repeat the same mistake again. You are not remorseful because otherwise, you wouldn't have made her sacrifice again and again and again knowing that it hurts her immensely."

"But I want to make amends for my past mistakes." Draco said desperately, "I want to be a good man for her, for Adrian, for mother."

"That is not an amendment Draco, that is basically an attempt to rebuild the walls that were shattered the night you found Jean lying on the corridor." Audré countered solemnly, "You are insecure about your image in your own eyes; that is the reason you took shelter behind Apolline and asked her to persuade Jean to forgive you if you succeed in your mission. You know you can't do it alone. So, you are trying to make a wall of achievements so that you can stand behind it and ask for forgiveness from Jean. You want to be sure that you will not be denied or rejected. Why? Because you are extremely selfish."

And now, suddenly everything was clear to Draco.

Why he couldn't take it when Hermione said that she loved Alexis?

Why did he cut down Vincent Blanchard's hands?

Why he felt ashamed for mistreating her previously?

Why he couldn't be angry with her when she slapped him just an hour ago?

Why he wanted to reach out and touch her?

Kiss her.

Love her and be loved in return by her.

Because, he was selfish even when he regretted his actions. And being the selfish man he was, Draco wasn't willing to let go of the woman he deeply admired now. Hermione was his last hope to a new life, a new identity with the son he had always dreamt of. They were now his one and only salvation.

Though the truth sounded bitter, it gave Draco a strange sense of relief. He felt happy with the knowledge that he didn't covet or wasn't infatuated with Hermione as his mother claimed. He wasn't all physically attracted to her, not quite still and armed with this new realization, Draco leapt to his feet and went for the parlour door.

"I hope you are not moron enough to write Jean a love letter, Draco, because considering what happened just an hour ago, I think that will be the last thing that you will ever do." his aunt called after him as he left.

But moron or not, Draco had a new spring in his steps and he was going to celebrate that.

He didn't covet Hermione.

He wasn't infatuated.

He deeply admired her.

It was such a relief and he was going for a ride.

It didn't take Draco more than five minutes to reach his suite and take out his Thunderbolt Ultra from his broom cupboard. He went directly into his balcony and mounted the racing broom before kicking off.

The cool air acted like tonic on his recently slapped face and feverish body as he flew like an eagle into the night air and soon Draco was circling the whole garden from a height of hundred fifty feet.

He knew that Hermione's quarter being Fideliused, he couldn't possibly see it. But his heart was contented with this knowledge that they were with him in the same Château.

He admired her and it felt so good that he was almost in love.

He admired Astoria and they fell in love.

He admires Hermione and that was just a few steps away from true love for her.

Draco was circling the garden for the third time in a row, savouring the cool night breeze as well the new found feeling when he noticed a blonde witch pacing restlessly on aunt Audré's terrace.

'Lillian.' Draco thought as he swiveled his broom at her general direction, 'Hasn't her dullard brother pacified her yet?' he asked before speeding up his broom.

Lillian seemed deeply in thought regarding something when Draco reached her half a minute later; she didn't even notice him as Draco circled above her head several times.

"Ride with me, Lillian!" Draco tried to startle his sister on purpose and her head jerked up at him, "Come." He lowered his broom and reached out for her.

Lillian shook her head and backed out, giving Draco's broom suspicious looks, "No, Draco, I thank you but I am not very comfortable with brooms, a feat for which I am constantly ridiculed by my dear brother." She said dejectedly.

"Who cares about him?" Draco was determined now to take his sister for a ride, "Come." He offered her his hand.

"Draco, I really don't think I should ride your broom." Lillian was wide eyed and fearful, "I mean I saw how you almost broke your neck in that match…aaarrrgghhhhhhhh…" she screamed as Draco lunged forward, scooped the woman in his broom before she could protest and started for the private Quidditch pitch, "…Good Lord, Draco…" Lillian smacked him on his back as she balanced herself on Draco's broom, "…Now I understand why Jean thinks you are a kidnapper. You can make a decent living out of it."

Draco gave a steep dive and that caused another loud shriek from his passenger.

"I can also make a decent living out of scaring people, sister, for I am really good at bullying." Draco smirked as he sped his broom and felt Lillian's hands tightened around his mid section, "I am not your average lovey dovey guy."

"I know." Lillian's voice was shaking, "Draco, please don't break my neck. I am my maman's only daughter."

"And the first Malfoy girl in eight hundred years." Draco shot back, "I know how to take care of your delicate neck, sister." He swerved and did a somersault in the midair to scare her.

"DRACO! PLEASE STOP IT! I AM SCARED OF HEIGHTS!" Lillian was trembling like a leaf as she gripped Draco even tightly, "Please take me down."

"Sing a song for me." Draco ignored his sister's wish and bid her instead, "It will be a good exercise for your throat."

"Song? Here? Now?" Lillian's astonishment reached the many stars of Jupiter, "I can't Draco, please, take me down. I am scared of heights." She pleaded.

"Sing first." Draco was enjoying this little game with his sister, "You know I won't hurt you, Lillian. The broom is completely under my control." He assured her, "Sing, please."

"I am not very musical, Draco." Lillian tried her best to avoid the offer, "You will not like it."

"I will." Draco said firmly, "Start." He bid again.

Lillian seemed desperate to do anything to get off broom unscathed, "What kind of song, brother?" she asked him.

"Muggle of course." Draco replied, remembering the song that he had heard in the Muggle restaurant when Julian took Hermione and Adrian for a dinner, "Something that says how love is like."

"Love song? Muggle?" Lillian's surprise was evident in her voice, "Draco, are you sure you are alright?" she unwinded her right hand and tried to check his temperature.

"I am fine." Draco beat off the hand with a slight jerk of his head, "Now sing."

"Well, if there is anything Julian and I have in common, Draco, it is our taste for Muggle songs." Lillian placed her hand around Draco's waist again, "Muggle songs are hundred times better than songs like 'cauldron full of love' or 'you charmed my heart out' or 'you are my crystal ball of future happiness'." She laughed for the first time on his broom.

"That's better sister. I don't like it when you cry or scream." Draco confessed and slowed the broom, "Are you alright with this speed?" he asked her.

"Loads better." Lillian replied, "Do you still want me to sing or it was a ploy to make me feel better like Julian tried to do an hour ago? I just sent him off when he came."

"I told you, Lillian it is not a ploy and you are not getting out of this broom unless you sing for me." Draco stated firmly, "Now, sing."

He heard Lillian take a deep breath.

"This one tells what a man feels when he first falls in love." She said as she hummed a little, "Never knew I could feel like this…" she started in a low voice.

"Louder, Lillian, I didn't hear you." Draco was having the time of his life as the first line of that Muggle song struck him hard.

"Don't fret, Draco, let me do my singing the way I like it." Lillian shot back before she hummed again.

"Never knew I could feel like this…
Like I've never seen the sky before!"

Draco looked up at the star studded sky; the moon was almost round now as it approached the Full moon on just two nights. He had seen many nights, many skies – morning, afternoon, evening, night, summer, autumn, winter and spring, but this night after the discovery of his true feelings regarding Hermione seemed strangely different. He has, indeed, never seen a beautiful sky like this.

Want to vanish inside your kiss
Every day I love you more and more.

Draco remembered the kiss he and Hermione shared in his dreams. It was pure bliss until the dimwitted Descartes had decided to interrupt. Draco would really love to vanish inside Hermione's kiss once and for all.

Listen to my heart, can you hear it sing?
Telling me to give you everything.

Draco thought of the words that he wanted to tell Hermione, that he was sorry, he was remorseful, he admired her – if not completely but still it was some degree of love and his desire to make her happy and gain her trust. What he wouldn't do to make Hermione love him!

Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place.
Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace.
Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste.
It all revolves around you.

Yes, Draco's world now revolves around Hermione and Adrian. Strange it may sound but it isn't the waste it was before he met them, before he discovered the truth and beauty of this unique relationship that Hermione shares with her son.

And there's no mountain too high, no river too wide.
Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side.
Storm clouds may gather and stars may collide.
But I will love you until the end of time.

Lillian's Muggle song was slow paced yet soothing and it seemed to say every word that Draco now felt in his heart.

That Adrian and Hermione were his beacon is the sea of darkness and with their innocence, they kept his rotten heart alive and fighting to reach them.

That he found the meaning of his godforsaken life when he looked at their pair and struggled to be by their side at any cost.

And that he will finally find a way to make them his.

If this wasn't true love, then Draco would be happy to do anything to have it.

For it gave him something to live and die for.

He knew it was selfish but he couldn't help it.

He was, after all, as his aunt rightfully stated, Draco Lucius Malfoy and Malfoys are always selfish; be it love, hatred or remorse.

Always.