A panicked phone call on Thursday from Draco had Scorpius joining them at the book shop for the afternoon.
"Hermione?" Draco's voice was strained, almost breathless, "I'm stuck at school. Mrs McGonagall, can't watch Scorp this afternoon so I told him to meet me there." Minerva McGonagall was Draco's neighbour. A retired teacher, who like everyone else that met him, fell instantly in love with Scorpius and had kindly offered to help Draco out with him whenever he needed. She usually only sat with him before school, Draco having to leave for his job before Scorpius' departure for school and preferring to pick him up in the afternoons himself. But a surprise faculty meeting threw out his plans.
"That's okay, I'll tell him when he gets here," she said, "He can stay here until you're done."
The school bus that Scorpius caught had one stop about three shops down from the book store and he would usually meet his father there on Friday afternoons. Hermione, Pansy and Ginny looked forward to his visits, they had all fallen in love with the boy, and much to Ginny's glee, her own son quite often joined them on the days she was working.
"Are you sure?" Draco asked, "I don't want to just dump him on you."
"You're not dumping him on us," she told him, "Pansy's here and she acts like a seven year old so she can help entertain him. Besides, he's already on his way here."
"Ginny's not there?" He asked, "Maybe I can call her to come and get him, then he won't be in your way-"
She cut him off, "He'll be fine here."
"Thanks Hermione, I owe you big time."
"Oh, you most certainly do," she told him and ended the conversation. Pansy looked questioningly at her, "Draco's stuck at school and Scorpius is on his way here to meet him."
"And you're happy to volunteer to have his son for him, just like that." Pansy raised an eyebrow at her and smirked, "That must have been one hell of a kiss he landed on you."
Hermione's face flushed, "Shut up."
Her friends had been relentless in their interrogation of just what happened after Draco had walked her home from the pub on Saturday night. She had refused to tell them anything more than he walked me home and that's all, but they'd hounded her for days until she finally gave in and told them that he'd kissed her.
"Really?" Pansy asked, "He kissed you? That's all? It didn't occur to you to invite him and jump his bones. You haven't forgotten how to do that, have you? I guess it has been a while, so maybe you have."
Ginny had to clap a hand over her mouth to stop the laughter bursting out. Hermione scowled at her, "Really Ginny, this is funny?" Hermione asked.
"N-o," Ginny sputtered between laughs as she tried to calm herself down, "But Pansy's right. It has been a while for you and I'm pretty sure that Seamus had a pool going as to whether you and Draco would be fucking like rabbits by the end of the night. The locals won't be happy."
"What!" Hermione exclaimed, horrified, "When the hell did everyone become so interested in my sex life?"
"From the minute you groped Draco at the pub," Ginny said, "Everyone saw, so it's your own fault really."
"I didn't grope him," Hermione said, "I was keeping Lavenders filthy hands off him, that's all."
"A likely story. You saw an opportunity and took it." Pansy sniggered and Hermione glared at her.
"Oh come on Hermione. The two of you barely noticed anyone else even existed, you were so wrapped up in each other." Ginny explained, "And do you really think that Draco would have allowed you to do what you did if he wasn't interested in more than just a drink with a friend? Would you have done what you did if you weren't interested in more?"
"How was it? The kiss?" Pansy asked and Ginny laughed.
"I'm starting to think my friends are all filthy perverts," Hermione screwed up her face, "We just need Katie here and the pervy trio will be complete. What?" Hermione asked them both as they glared at her.
"How was it?" Pansy repeated.
"A, none of your business, and B," a grin crossed Hermione's face. "Fucking perfect."
"I knew it!" Ginny said, laughing, "Was it really that good?"
Hermione brushed her fingers slowly across her lips, smiling at the memory of Draco's kiss, "It was...I have no words."
Pansy was slightly taken aback at the dreamy look on her friends' face, "If his kissing you makes you look like that imagine what else he could do."
"So what're going to do about it?" Ginny asked.
"I don't know," Hermione said, "Nothing. We were both drunk, and he wasn't supposed to be like this; all sweet and nice and not caring that I said no sex. And looking like...fuck! looking like he does. And-"
"Stop!" Pansy exclaimed, "You're rambling. He kissed you, so that probably means there's something there right? He likes you at the very least. So do something about it."
"I don't know," Hermione huffed out a breath, "When he finds out-"
"No," Ginny held up her hand cutting her off, "No what if's on this one. You are going to do something about it. You are going to ask him out, because the way he was looking at you, he's not going to care."
Scorpius bounded into the store twenty minutes later, pulling his scarf and beanie off as Pansy informed him of Draco's tardiness and that he was to be put to work. She laughed at the surprised look on his face, and told him to sit at a table and she'd bring him a snack.
"Really?" He asked excitedly, realising they weren't kidding, "He's gonna be late and I can stay here?"
"You sure can!" Pansy told him, "But you have to earn your snack, so when you're done, you can help me make coffees."
"Seriously!?" He looked as though he would burst with excitement.
"Seriously," Pansy said with a laugh, "But we have to be careful, because it's very hot." Scorpius nodded eagerly, stuffing the muffin Pansy had placed in front of him into his mouth, causing her to yelp and tell him to slow down or he'd choke to death.
"Is Hermione here?" he asked through a mouthful of food.
"I am," Hermione said appearing from the back of the shop, "Hey Scorpius." She scruffed his blonde hair affectionately.
"Pansy said I can make coffee." He told her and Hermione shot Pansy a wide-eyed looked that said what the hell?
Pansy flapped a hand at her, "He'll be fine. He can press the buttons, I won't let him near the steam."
"No, it's not that. You won't let me near the coffee machine, why does he get to help?"
"Well. He's way more adorable than you," Pansy said winking at Scorpius, who laughed.
"Fine," Hermione huffed in mock annoyance, "But be careful with the steam, because if he burns himself, you can explain it to his father."
Scorpius was watching the exchange between the two, his head turning from side to side as if watching tennis, "I won't burn myself Hermione. I'm seven." He told her, as if his being seven explained everything.
Pansy snorted a laugh, "See, he's seven. He'll be fine."
Draco arrived at half past five, just as they were closing up for the day, apologising profusely, rambling about a last minute meeting that went for longer than expected.
"Dad!' Scorpius exclaimed and Draco let out an oomph sound when his son slammed into him, circling his waist in a hug.
"Hey Scorp," Draco hugged his son, "Did you have a good afternoon?"
"I did," he said, "I helped."
Draco shot an apologetic smile Hermione's way, "Thanks for this, he wasn't too much trouble?"
Hermione shook her head and smiled warmly at him, "No thanks needed, he was perfectly behaved, and he kept Pansy in line, so he can come here whenever he likes."
Draco laughed, "Well, I meant it, thank you. And the Malfoy boys owe you big time."
"You should come and have dinner at our house! Dad can cook, he's really awesome!" Scorpius said excitedly, then turned to Draco, "Can she dad? Please can she?"
"It's fine with me, but you have to ask Hermione." Draco told him.
"Can you come for dinner tonight?" He asked her excitedly.
"Maybe not tonight. Any special requests?" Draco smiled at her assuming she would say yes. Hermione thought that he looked way happier than he should have at the prospect of cooking for her.
"Vegetarian, that's about it," She said and he hmm-ed, "If that's a problem, you don't have to do this. I really didn't mind having him here."
"He can cook vegetarian," Scorpius assured her, but by the look on his face he wasn't sure what vegetarian actually was, "So you'll come then?"
Hermione smiled at him, "I would love to have dinner with you Scorpius."
He let out a loud woo-hoo and wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist, then looked at Draco, "Tomorrow night?"
"No," Draco said, "You're going to Grandma and Grandpa's tomorrow."
Scorpius' shoulders slumped, "Oh, yeah, that's right." But then he brightened, "I'll be home Sunday, can you come then?"
Hermione glanced at Draco, who said that would be fine, "Well, Scorpius," she said, "It sounds like we have a date."
Pansy choose that exact moment to return from the office at the back of the shop, her jacket on and scarf wrapped tightly around her neck. A smirk planted firmly on her face, "Thanks for your help today," she said to Scorpius, but her eyes never left Hermione, who rolled her own eyes in return.
"You're welcome," He replied, "Hermione's gonna have dinner with us."
"I heard," Pansy said, "I'm glad she said yes, she hasn't been out for dinner with a handsome young man since...you know what? I can't remember the last time that happened."
Draco tried unsuccessfully to hide a snigger, and Hermione glared at Pansy, "Wow, I'm so glad you're my friend."
Pansy just laughed, "Well, I think this is just what the teacher, oh I mean, doctor ordered," she smirked and then turned her attention to Scorpius, effectively ending the conversation, "Will we see you next week Scorpius?"
Draco was smiling at her, he held up his phone, "Hey, give me your number, I'll call you with details." She relayed the number to him, and he hit send. Her own phone chimed, "And now you have mine. Are you ready Scorp?"
They headed out the door with Pansy, who looked back over her shoulder and grinned. Hermione sighed, Pansy and Ginny were going to be unbearable for the next three days.
Hermione growled in frustration. She'd changed clothes three times, not knowing what to wear. A casual dinner with the hot, blonde English teacher and his adorable son; what the hell do you wear to that dinner? Her stomach was in nervous knots, and she admonished herself repeatedly, this was just dinner, it wasn't a date.
After their agreed upon non-date, she'd seen Scorpius again the following morning. He arrived with Draco on Friday before he went to school, which was unusual since he never accompanied Draco in the mornings, but the second he reminded her of their Sunday night dinner, she understood why he was there. The excited boy wanted to make sure she hadn't forgotten their plans since he was going out of town after school that afternoon to spend two days with his grandparents. She held back a laugh and told him she most definitely hadn't forgotten and was looking forward to it.
She groaned again and picked up her phone, calling Ginny, who would blindly pick out an outfit for her and it would look amazing.
"You're standing in your closet and you don't know what to wear, am I right?" Ginny didn't even say hello.
She and Pansy had delighted in the fact that Scorpius had asked her on a 'date' saving his father the trouble. Their constant innuendos and straight out filthy comments regarding all the things she could do with Draco after Scorpius went to bed had her leaving them in the shop mid-morning on Saturday and disappearing to her flat upstairs. Of course that hadn't helped and she spent the next twenty four hours nervously fretting over her non-date date
She growled into the phone, "You know that's exactly what I'm doing." Then she huffed in frustration, "Help me Ginny, and please don't give me grief on this one."
"Your dark blue jeans, that cute white top you never let me borrow, your chocolate brown leather jacket, and your brown Dior suede ankle boots." Ginny said without hesitation.
"I've been looking at that combination for an hour and hated it; how the hell do you do that?" Hermione put her phone on speaker, pulling off her sweat pants and tugging on the jeans Ginny had suggested.
"It's a talent," Ginny said in a haughty voice.
"The boots won't be too high? Maybe I should go with flats." Hermione bent down to pick up one of her most prized possessions – her Dior boots – and scrunched her nose in contemplation at the chunky four inch heels.
"No," Ginny said, "They'll be the perfect height, he won't have to bend so far down to kiss you goodnight. Oh, and put on that new underwear you said you didn't buy but I know that you did, just in case."
Hermione was glad Ginny wasn't standing there with her. Her face had suddenly grown hot; she was already wearing the new white lace French cut knickers and matching bra. Regardless of her sex life, or lack thereof, she had always had a penchant for lavish underwear. She'd brought this set on a whim a few months back (not that she actually needed it, her underwear collection was the envy of both her best friends) long before Draco had arrived in town and turned her world upside down. She'd not planned for anything to happen, not with Scorpius there, definitely not, but she decided that she could at least feel like she was prepared if something were to happen.
"Might I remind you, this isn't a date, so there'll be no kissing and certainly no just in case." Hermione said, trying to keep her voice steady, her stomach was still flipping.
"Oh my god!"Ginny cried, "You're nervous! This so is a date!"
Hermione winced, she hadn't hidden her knotted up stomach as well as she hoped. She had repeated to herself for the entire day that this wasn't a date, it was just dinner. But if she was being honest with herself this really was a date, but she denied it to Ginny, "His son will be there, so I'm fairly certain it's not a date."
"I'm sure Scorpius will be asleep before you leave; take advantage of his father after that." Ginny encouraged, "Come on Hermione, how long has it been since you had someone in your bed?"
"Well, since dinner is at his place, it would be his bed." Ginny whooped a laugh and Hermione realised what she had just said, "No! I mean...argh!"
"Live a little, my friend," Ginny told her, "Let him in, what's the worst that could happen?"
"He breaks my heart and I have to go through all that bullshit again," Hermione said.
"Nope," Ginny disagreed with her, "This one's different."
"Thanks for your help Gin," Hermione said hoping to end the call.
"I want details," Ginny sung before Hermione hit the end button.
"Hermione!" The door was flung open and Hermione was greeted with the excited anticipation that was a seven year old boy. She couldn't help but laugh as he grabbed her hand and all but dragged her through the door.
"She's here dad!" He yelled down the long hallway. "Hermione's here! And she brought cake!" He eyed the three small, white chocolate cheesecakes Hermione was holding, and she silently prayed that his dragging her through the door wouldn't have them ending up on the floor.
"Stop yelling." Draco called from what Hermione could only assume was the kitchen.
"Sorry!" He yelled back then grimaced, "Oops. Come on, the kitchen's this way. Dad's excited that you're here."
"Your dad or you?"
He tugged her down the hallway, looking back over his shoulder to smile, "Both of us," he told her, "It's been forever since anyone came for dinner, except grandma and grandpa."
Hermione's heart leapt into her throat at that snippet of information. Draco hadn't cooked for anyone in a while it seemed, she was the first since…maybe since Scorpuis' mother. But she had no idea what the story was there, she didn't seem to be around so maybe he hadn't even cooked for her.
Then she inwardly berated herself for being so shallow.
"I think your son may be right, your kitchen smells amazing," Hermione said entering the kitchen and inhaling the mixture of aromas currently assaulting her senses. The sight of Draco in the kitchen, cooking, had her stomach flipping all over again.
"You had doubts?" Draco raised an eyebrow at her, but the smile he was trying to hide told her he was pleased with the compliment, "Butternut squash risotto," he informed her, "Hope that's okay?"
"Well, Molly tries here hardest to cook for me, but usually it's a disaster, so I'm sure this will be perfect." She smiled at him and he smiled back, feeling for all the world like a sixteen year old on a first date and she wondered if he felt the same. Of course most first dates didn't come with a seven year old in tow, but the fact that Scorpius was there didn't make her any less nervous.
"Wait 'til you taste it. Dad's the best cook ever." Scorpius proudly told her, the boy was still holding Hermione's hand as if he was scared she'd change her mind and leave.
She squeezed his hand gently, "This is not some trick to poison me and take over my store so you can have all the books you want, is it?" She bit the inside of her cheek at the look of horror on Scorpius' face.
"Why would you think that? We would never do that." He looked crestfallen.
"I think she's joking Scorp," Draco wasn't even trying to hide his amusement, laughing at the look on his sons face.
"That wasn't funny, you know." Scorpius scowled at her.
"It was a bit funny," She wrapped her arm around his shoulders, "Sorry, Scorpius."
"That's okay," he said smiling sweetly at her, "We won't poison you this time, maybe next time." He giggled and ducked out from under her arm and hid behind Draco, grinning like a mad man.
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, "Well then, maybe I won't come back."
"I didn't mean it!" He cried, "I was only joking. You have to come back." Hermione started to laugh and he pursed his lips, "Joking again?" and she nodded. He steeled her with what Hermione guessed was his stern face and told her, "Maybe we won't ask you back."
"Okay, you two, enough fooling around," Draco said, "Can you pass those glasses Scorp?" He pointed to the wine glasses on the opposite counter and then turned to Hermione and nodded at the cheesecakes in her hands, "You can put those in the fridge. And grab the wine while you're there."
"Is he always this bossy?" Hermione asked Scorpius, who laughed and answered in the affirmative. She picked up the bottle and placed it on the counter, "Did you want me to open it as well? Drink it for you maybe?"
"That'd be great. There's a corkscrew in the top draw." Draco said with that smile. He had to stop smiling; her stomach couldn't take much more of it.
Scorpius placed three glasses in front of her, "And you're having….?"
"One of those thanks," He said with the same smile his father was currently sporting.
"Um, you're seven." She pointed out, and looked at Draco.
"Yeah, I let my seven year old drink wine." He drawled sarcastically at her and shook his head at his son, "Seriously Scorp, I'm trying to make a good impression here. You can have a beer after she leaves."
Hermione snorted a laugh, and looked at the bottle she was holding, 2006 Château Puisserguier, Saint-Chinian Blanc she read, "Well, you've made a good start here. Count me as duly impressed." She opened the bottle and poured two glasses, laughing at the look of defeat on Scorpius' face. "You're seven," she reminded him, "And apparently you only drink beer," She winked at him making him laugh. She looked in the fridge, finding pear juice. She held it up to him and he nodded and she poured it into a wine glass so he at least felt a part of their non-date date.
Scorpius held his glass up to her, "Cheers, Hermione!"
She clinked her glass against his, "Cheers, Scorpius. Thanks for inviting me."
"You're welcome," he said cheerfully.
Draco served the risotto, and held up block of parmesan, "Vegetarian, not vegan," she told him and he grinned telling her just making sure and topping her portion with a generous amount of the freshly shredded cheese. Scorpius led them to the table, grabbing his fork and digging right in causing Hermione to wince; tendrils of steam were still coming off her food .
"This is amazing Draco, where'd you learn to cook?" she said when she finally took a bite. Draco smiled with gratitude.
"Not from Grandma, that's for sure." Scorpius scrunched his nose up, "She burns water!"
"And we don't ever tell Grandma that, do we?" Draco gave him a conspiratorial look.
Scorpius laughed and shook his head, "Not if we know what's good for us,"
Hermione watched the exchange between father and son, enjoying how easy they bantered. Scorpius clearly adored his father and Draco, as she well knew form her daily conversations with him, was proudest father that ever walked the earth.
"I taught myself actually," he said and looked at Scorpius, "Apparently children need vegetables, not frozen pizza, to survive." He laughed at the look of horror on her face, "I wasn't always this good. But when you become the sole person responsible for another human being, you kind of have to adapt. So I taught myself, and I don't think I've cooked anything he doesn't love."
"Uh-uh," Scorpius muttered still shovelling food into his mouth, "I don't like asparagus."
"Really?" Hermione asked, "I love asparagus."
"Weirdo," Scorpius said grinning at her then choked slightly.
"And that's what happens when we talk with our mouths full," Draco shook his head, a look of distain on his face.
Scorpius, having spent the majority of the weekend with his grandparents, obviously hadn't had the chance to catch Draco up on his afternoon at the shop. He talked endlessly about the book shop, telling Draco how amazing it had been, and how lucky Hermione was to have it, and how excited he was that she knew so much about the books he loved, and how she had the most awesome name ever.
Then he told Draco about Pansy and how she'd showed him how to make coffee, and that Hermione had said that Pansy never let anyone touch the coffee machine except Ginny. And when he helped to clear the tables, an old lady gave him money for doing such a great job.
"Sounds like you had a great afternoon," Draco was smiling at his son, clearly proud that Scorpius had helped and not hindered them while he was at the store.
"I did dad," he said, "And Hermione said I could help out anytime I wanted to."
"Slave labour, huh?" Draco said with a grin.
Hermione laughed, "Only when it's adorably cute and has the customers wrapped around its finger."
"Well, maybe we'll just keep our Friday afternoon visits then," Draco said as Scorpius yawned, "And maybe it's time for bed."
"But it's not even bedtime," Scorpius whined. Draco glanced at the clock; it was almost eight, half an hour earlier than his normal bedtime, but the weekend with his grandparents and the excitement of having Hermione for dinner had worn him out.
"You've had a busy weekend, my boy. An early night won't kill you." Draco told him.
"But Hermione's here and I'll miss out."
"Miss out on what?" He asked with a laugh.
Scorpius' brow furrowed, thinking hard, "Cake!" he cried triumphantly, "She brought cake and we didn't eat it yet."
"Nice try, kiddo," Draco pushed back in his chair, "You can have it tomorrow. It's bed time."
Hermione offered to clean up so Draco could get his son ready for bed. Scorpius had explained that they read every night before bed, and they were currently reading The Borrowers. She smiled telling him that it was one of her favourites, loving that Draco did that with his son. Her own father had done the same with her, it had been their own little bedtime ritual until she was about eleven and became way too cool for her dad to read to her.
Draco, of course, refused, "You're our guest, weren't you taught that guests don't do the dishes?"
"No," she said, "I was taught it is polite to offer assistance."
"Not in this house," Draco told her, "You can just watch."
"You could read to me while Dad cleans up," Scorpius suggested to Hermione, then quickly looked to Draco, "If that's okay dad."
Draco looked at Hermione, "Its fine with me," he said, and Hermione nodded that it was okay with her.
Draco cleared their plates with a smile, while his son led Hermione down the short hallway off the living room and into his bedroom, chattering non-stop. His smile widened as she gasped and made much of the decor - Iron Man was Scorpius' current favourite and his bedroom reflected the fact.
"And then the aliens made a wormhole and Iron Man flew into it with a bomb and blew them up and The Hulk caught him and saved him," Scorpius exclaimed, retelling her the end of the movie he had watched earlier that afternoon, Draco's way of calming him down when he arrived home from his grandparents and the over excited countdown to Hermione's arrival started.
"That would be the Chitauri," Hermione said knowingly, "Loki was trying to rule the earth with them as his army."
Draco laughed quietly at Scorpius' gasp. Hermione may have just become his son's first crush. He listened as the conversation between the two shifted and Scorpius told her all about his books; the two large shelves he owned were almost full, with just enough room on them for his action figures.
Draco had observed her throughout dinner, conversing easily with Scorpius, his son completely besotted with her, but then he wasn't surprised. Her knowledge of all the things his seven year old son liked was impressive and after watching her and his son interact, her display of action figures on the counter at the store made complete sense. When had asked her about it, she had insisted that they were there to simply encourage the boys in town to read more, but since her knowledge of the Marvel Universe was more extensive than that of his sons, and his son was more than impressed, he figured there was a comic book nerd hiding somewhere inside her.
She appeared in the doorway of his bedroom, "Pyjamas." She explained and Draco grinned.
"I'm surprised he didn't just strip off in front of you,"
"Um, he started to," she grimaced making him laugh. He hoped that his son's lack of inhibitions would be something he would grow out of, he truly wasn't looking forward to a future of bailing his son out the lock up for streaking.
"Ready!" Scorpius yelled.
"You really don't mind?" Draco asked again and Hermione shook her head.
"It's either I read to him, or I do the dishes. The choice is yours."
Draco held up his hands in defeat, "Don't let him con you into more than one chapter." Draco said loudly enough for Scorpius to hear, "He has school tomorrow." They both laughed at the groan of Da-ad that came from the bedroom.
Draco lowered his voice, "Don't be surprised if he only lasts one page, he's exhausted." Hermione nodded and disappeared back into Scorpius' room.
Draco stood looking at the door to his son's bedroom and let out a slow breath. He was attracted to her; there was no doubt about that. He found himself looking forward to seeing her every morning, and loved watching her with Scorpius on their Friday afternoon visits.
And it was not simply a physical attraction; it was more, so much more. She had conversed easily with him about literature, about history, politics and the state of the world as a whole. And he found her more attractive for it. Only Scorpius' mother had had that ability with him, and he had been sure that he would never find it again. He hated to compare the two, and it was really the only similarity that they had, Scorpius' mother had been reserved and quiet, where Hermione was sharp witted and never held back an opinion.
And whether she was aware of it or not, Draco wanted to learn everything there was to know about Hermione Granger. It had seemed like forever since he'd felt so strongly about another person, and he looked forward to spending more time with her away from the book shop. He looked forward to their daily in-depth conversations, the crazy banter that he'd already experienced, and even the conversations that he was sure that would involve his son regarding who was the best Avenger.
He wasn't sure what had drawn him to the little book shop that first morning, and he truly didn't believe in fate - this wasn't a fairytale - but whatever it was, he was sure that they were meant to be, and he just prayed that she did too.
Hermione heard the soft sigh, a tiny snore and then the even breathing that came with sleep. She kept reading, just one more minute, she thought, so as not to wake him with the sudden halt of her voice. But when she looked at him, she smiled. He was out cold. Draco was right, he was exhausted. She put the picture of Iron Man that they were using as a bookmark a few pages back, assuming that's when he fell asleep, and placed the book on the dresser. She pulled the covers over him, brushed her fingers across his forehead, but resisted the overwhelming urge to kiss his cheek. She wasn't his mother, she was just a friend. She watched him for a few more seconds, her chest constricting, wondering how was it that she has become so enamoured of him - and his father, if she was honest- in such a short amount of time?
She quietly shut the door, lifting her heels from the floor, not wanting the clunk they made when she was walking to wake him and tip toed back down the hall. She paused in the dim light of the living room, watching Draco. He appeared to be in deep in thought but was still effortlessly moving around the kitchen, wiping the countertops, closing the dishwasher and pressing the button to start the cycle. She watched him for a moment curious to as what was on his mind and hoping that he wasn't put out by his son insisting that she read to him.
"Hey," she said quietly so as not to startle him.
"Hey, that didn't take long," He said refilling their wine glasses as she leaned against the counter.
"You were right, he was exhausted. I think we only got through four pages." She really needed to go, because she was sure that if he kept smiling at her like he was, this would certainly end in tangled sheets and sweaty bodies, but she couldn't make herself say goodnight. And he'd already refilled her glass...
"What?" He asked noticing her watching his every move.
"You cook, you do dishes," she looked around his flat, "Your place is immaculate, are you sure you're not a woman?"
"You don't think men can do all this?"
"Yes, of course men can do this. I just haven't seen it." She explained, "My dad wasn't, let's just say, the neatest person that ever lived. He and my mother were polar opposites, she was a neat freak and he wasn't. And my ex-husband, well, it was pretty much the same deal," she smiled at him, "So this is a nice change."
"Ex-husband?" He queried, keeping his surprise in check. Ex-husband. An interesting fact that had not come up in the course of their morning conversations. He had noticed there wasn't ring on her finger on the first day he met her, but had told himself that meant nothing. A lack of a ring didn't mean she wasn't involved with someone, he'd hoped she wasn't, and it was to his glee when Harry and Theo told him she was single. But an ex-husband had caught him by surprise.
"Correct, ex-husband," she said, "It ended three years ago. And my flat has never been neater."
Draco laughed and led her to the couch. "Well, I'm just waiting for my son to be old enough to do all this for me, and then I can take the pretty girl into my room and strip naked for her." He winked at her making her blush.
Without even realising what she'd done, she kicked her shoes off and curled her feet beneath her as she sat on the couch. She felt so comfortable here, everything felt so familiar, so right. Something she hadn't felt since the first few months she and Oliver were together. Draco, however, didn't miss that she had made herself completely comfortable, and liked the idea of her doing so.
"Ex-husband?" He asked again and she smiled.
He saw the hesitation, her shoulders tensing slightly and the miniscule flicker of anger that crossed her face, before she shrugged and finally said, "Not much to tell really. We were together for just less than three years, married for one. We just didn't work and he left."
"Was there anyone else involved?" he was cautious not sure just how far he could push this line of questioning. She was guarded, her walls were always up, and while he had managed to get to know a little about her at the book shop, he'd discovered very little about her personally. Harry and Theo had warned him not to push her, to let her tell him, but her reaction clearly meant there was more to her marriage ending than a simple 'we just didn't work.'
"I didn't think there was," she rolled her eyes, and he saw her mentally d'uh herself, "But much thanks to the gossips in a small town, I discovered that he had been seeing another woman for about three months before he moved out."
Oh, Draco thought, the ex had been the one to leave. What an idiot. Why on this earth would he leave her?
"I don't imagine you took that well at all," he remarked and he said a silent thank-you to her ex-husband.
Hermione shook her head, "No. Not at first. I'm fairly certain I would have ripped his balls off had he come near me in those first few weeks. But I don't dwell on it now. It's over, and I'm really not sure what direction my life would have taken if I had still been with him."
"So the arsehole did you a favour?"
"Yeah, I guess he did, but I certainly don't give him any credit for it." Hermione laughed, "You should talk to Pansy and Ginny about him; you'll learn more colourful words than you ever thought existed."
"I'll be sure to do that," He laughed and then hesitated "Um," he said and she just looked at him, waiting, "I just thought you should know that Scorpius may have spent the entire weekend talking about the awesome bookshop lady to his grandparents."
"Oh-kay," she said slowly, "And I'm guessing your parents had some questions?"
"Well, that's just it. Not my parents, his mothers'." Draco explained and she could hear the nervousness in his voice.
"You kind of have to help me out here," Hermione said with an encouraging smile, "I know nothing about any of this."
Draco let out a breath, "He spends one weekend every month with them, and time during his school holidays and Christmas, the usual stuff," he shrugged one shoulder.
"And his mother?" Hermione asked hesitantly.
"She passed away." he said simply.
Hermione gasped. He hadn't cooked for Scorpius' mother because she was no longer here to cook for. Her stomach clenched and she felt the stinging bile of her own shallowness stick in her throat, "Draco, I'm so sorry."
"It's okay," he ran the tip of his finger absently across the rim of his glass, "We were young," he looked up and smiled, "Both of us planned on teaching and we'd completed two years of university when she got pregnant. Scorpius is our 'oops' baby. Our much adored, much loved, much wanted oops baby."
Hermione smiled, he didn't need to explain it to her, she knew how much he loved his son, had seen it with her own eyes.
"She dropped out of school without hesitation," he continued, "Not even caring if she went back to finish or not. She was beyond happy about being a mother. Our parents were, let's just say, not happy about us not being married, mine more so than hers. My father wanted me to drop out as well and work for him, but I refused. We figured we'd have the baby, I'd finish school and then we'd get married."
"But there's no happily ever after here."
"No," he said, "About six months after Scorp was born, she got sick. She'd been perfectly healthy one day, and deathly ill the next. It was..." He closed his eyes, shaking his head gently, "They found a tumour on her brain, inoperable. And she refused treatment. She wanted only to enjoy her son without being violently ill from the treatment they were offering."
"She didn't think it might save her?" Hermione asked, "Give her more time with him?"
"That's what we all tried to tell her, but she knew the prognosis wasn't good, that she'd only get a few months more with him, so she refused. And she loved him with every single fibre of her being for the short time she had with him."
"Of course she did," Hermione reached out and squeezed his hand, "You loved her. And you loved her even more for doing that for her son."
He nodded, "Very much so. I thought she was it for me, but I guess the universe had other plans."
"How old was he?" And Hermione winced when Draco told her he'd just turned two. She'd lost her own parents at nineteen, and she had thought that was bad enough. But to have his mother die when has was just two years old, that was unfathomable.
"And her parents?" Hermione asked, slightly nervous about the answer.
"They completely adore him, of course, but they had some questions," he looked thoughtfully at her, "They've not heard him talk about anyone like he did about you."
"What did you tell them?" She was hesitant to ask, but curious as to how he had defined what was going on between them. If he thought anything was going on between them. One drunken kiss, a relationship did not make.
"I told them usual; that we're just friends. That we met you at the bookshop and we go there every day to get coffee and cake," he shrugged, "I'm not sure how much I needed to tell them, this is all new for me. I mean they're his grandparents, and while I respect that they have the right to know about the people in his life, I'm not sure they need to know everything about mine."
Hermione smiled inwardly. This was all new for him and she took that to mean he wanted more, "So, there's not been anyone else since...?"
He placed his glass on the table and shifted closer to her, taking her own glass and placing it next to his, "Pansy said it's been a while since you've been out to dinner with someone?" Hermione nodded, "Well, it's been the same for me. No one serious, in any case."
Oh, she thought, how was that possible. Had he looked in a mirror?
His hand slid up her thigh, coming to rest on her hip. She held her breath, anticipating the kiss that was sure to come. And if it was anything like his kiss from the previous weekend, she was sure her 'no sex' rule would be forgotten and they'd end up naked and sweaty.
"You promised me that I could kiss you again." He said and then he descended on her placing a soft kiss on her lips. And it was exactly how she remembered, actually, fantasised about was probably more apt, and it made her want to purr.
His hand moved from her hip and brushed the side of her breast on its journey to cup the back of her neck. She wasn't sure if it was intentional or not, but the tingle it left in its wake had a not unpleasant feeling creeping through her core. His thumb gently stroked against the base of her skull, sending shivers down her spine, her own hands gliding up his chest to wrap around his neck, pulling him closer.
He gently eased her back and they tumbled down to the soft cushions, and she shifted slightly giving him the room to lay beside her, his back pressed against the soft back of the couch. She hooked her leg over his hip anchoring herself to him, his thigh settling between hers, his hand tangling in her hair. His mouth never left hers, kissing her as if it were his last, the sweet taste of wine on his tongue as it moved against hers.
He pulled back smiling at her, silently asking if this was okay. She cupped his jaw, her thumb tracing along his mouth, his cheek bone. She nodded at his unasked question, "Draco," she whispered, "No-"
He pressed a finger to her lips, "No sex," a smile crossed his face, and he quirked an eyebrow at her, "Not yet."
Hermione laughed and raised her own eyebrow at him, "Maybe not ever."
He grinned at her, "Well, I guess I'll just have to be happy with snogging you senseless."
"Is that what this is?" Hermione asked innocently, "A teenage snogging session on the couch while your parents aren't home?"
"Well, exchange my parents for my seven year old son who's asleep in the next room, and you're close." Draco laughed at the expression on her face, "Don't worry. Once he's a sleep, he's out for the night."
Draco gently tipped her chin up, to give him better access to her throat, remembering the tiny moans he pulled from her when he'd kissed her there after their drunken night at the pub. Remembering how many nights since then he'd fallen asleep with the memory of those sounds in his ears.
His hand splayed across her lower back, pulling her closer, her thigh squeezing against his hip. She closed her eyes as his mouth found hers again and she could feel him hard against her, and her body betrayed her, her hips grinding slowly against him. He ran his palm over the curve of her arse and down along her thigh, pulling her leg higher and shifting his hips to fit snugly against hers.
They traded kisses, the sweet taste of wine lingering between them. His hand that was rubbing warmly along her thigh came up to cup her jaw, his thumb brushing gently across her cheek and she sighed, gripping the sides of his shirt and grinding languidly against him.
The steady friction that was building, the gentle rocking of his thigh against her core, had her thinking that she should just let this happen, she should just let him lift her off this couch and take her to bed. Let him see the just in case underwear, to stop holding back. Instead she hesitated, told herself to slow this down, to not let it go too far, but his lips found the thrumming pulse in her neck and she couldn't seem to get the words out.
She didn't need to.
"Da-ad!" The holler from down the hallway startled them both.
Draco groaned, "Is he serious?" and Hermione began to laugh.
"He'll stay asleep, huh?" Hermione said through her giggles and Draco groaned again.
"Da-ad! My door is closed. You need to open it." Scorpius yelled.
"Sorry," Hermione said, "My fault." She'd closed his bedroom door thinking that if she and Draco were talking she didn't want to wake him. Apparently that wasn't the case.
"He doesn't normally wake, but he doesn't like his door fully closed." Draco said as Scorpius hollered for him again, "Just give me a minute, I'm coming." He yelled back.
Hermione clapped a hand over her mouth and her body shook with laughter. Draco looked down at her, her eyes were wide and he realised what he'd just said, "Oh, you're gonna be a twelve year old?" His comment just made her laugh more. He smirked at her, kissing her quickly before forcing himself off her and standing.
She was still laughing when raised an eyebrow at him, and nodded towards the bulge in his jeans, "Are you going to be able to walk?"
Draco looked down at himself, and smirked, "I'll be fine. I just hope Scorp doesn't notice and ask just what Hermione has been doing to me."
An undignified snort escaped her and she clapped her hand over her mouth again, her shoulders shaking, "Go, before he wakes the neighbours and they all want to know what we've been doing."
He leaned down and kissed her again, winking as he said "Don't go anywhere."
Hermione sighed and sat up, watching as he walked towards his sons' room. She ran her hand through her hair, untangling the mess that had amassed there. She reached down and pulled on her boots, listening to the muffled voices of father and son.
She didn't want to leave, but she had to. She wasn't ready to share her 'no sex' reason with him yet. It was the one thing that always held her back, the reason she kept her wall up and wouldn't let anyone in. And out of the handful of men who had been in her life in the past ten years, Oliver had been the worst by far. He'd almost broken her, and she didn't want to be disappointed again. Not with Draco, but the way things were headed on the couch that rule would most certainly have been broken and she wasn't ready for that just yet.
"You're leaving?" Draco was looking at her palms up, slightly amused.
Hermione shrugged into her jacket, "Yeah, I should go. Thank you for inviting me. It's been...great." she said, fiddling with the keys in her pocket, not wanting to say good night. This was stupid, she told herself, she'd see him the next morning.
"Thank you for accepting. I think my son has slight crush on you."
She laughed, "Well, I might have a small crush on him too."
He held his hand over his heart in a mock display of dismay, "He's only seven and already stealing the ladies away from me!"
"Well, maybe you'll just have to pick up your game." She told him.
He stepped closer to her and she looked into his grey eyes, her heart tightened in her chest and her breath hitched. She was sure that her legs would give out and she would end up as a puddle on the polished wood floor if he moved any closer to her. He brushed his fingers down her arm, "Any suggestions?" he asked.
Draco Malfoy might actually be the death of me, she thought, "Well, I'd start by abandoning your son," she suggested, "He's the problem here."
He chuckled and cupped her jaw, "Maybe I'll just dye his hair, make him look less adorable."
"Not possible, he's far too adorable; it would just make him more so. Sorry." Hermione said with a rueful shrug, "Goodnight, Draco. And thanks again."
"Goodnight, Hermione." he replied bending slightly to kiss her quickly, "Until next time."
Hermione smiled up at him, "Next time."
Draco watched her turn and walk away, admiring the view from behind. He closed the door and thought, Hermione Granger will be the death of me.