Scorpius' birthday party was three days away, and Hermione wasn't sure she was ready. Everything was organised, but even though she had been to enough children's parties to know what to expect, she hadn't hosted a child's party ever in her life. And the role of 'mother' was still all very new and she couldn't squash the nerves. Draco, of course, found it highly amusing and had been teasing her relentlessly for the past week.

Draco's parents weren't coming, of course, they'd already visited and given Scorpius their usual gift of putting money into a bank account for his future, but Astoria's were. And not only were they coming, they would be staying. Staying in her flat, in her spare room. She wasn't sure if having the parents of her boyfriend's dead ex-fiancé staying over was weird or not, but she was leaning towards the former. She had gotten to know them fairly well in the past few months, with regular phone calls and Scorpius spending several weekends with them, but this would be the first time they would be staying longer than just dinner or lunch.

While Draco and Scorpius had moved in, and she considered that this was their home as much as it was hers, they would still be staying at her flat, and she was still coming to terms with the fact that she had gone from having no real family for years, to having an instant family in just a matter of months.

But Scorpius was excited about having them stay over and had already decided that they should sleep in the room next to his. His love and adoration for his grandparents was obvious and she certainly wouldn't be the one to tell him no.

James and Teddy would be sleeping over as well, the three boys had become as thick as thieves and Hermione loved hearing the whispers and giggles and secret language they seemed to use, and since there wasn't enough room for three in Scorpius' bedroom, they had planned to camp out, as it were, in her library. Scorpius had decided that it should be a 'real' camp out and that they should build a fort and sleep in it. Plans had been drawn up and the blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags were all ready to go.

"You have to stop worrying about this." Draco said from behind her.

She turned to see him smirking at her, again, and she pursed her lips, "I'm not."

He laughed and stepped closer, "Liar. You're so tense you look as if you're about to explode."

He hugged her to him and she relaxed her shoulders, "It's easy for you, you've done this before." She looked over to where Scorpius was sprawled on his belly in front of the television. Trevor was laying across his back, his paw batting at Scorpius' hair making him giggle.

"You could give him a cupcake with a candle in it here at the counter and he'd be happy." Draco kissed the top of her head, "He's having a party where he gets to watch his favourite movie in his own personal movie theatre, there's an impending Nerf war, his two best mates are sleeping over and he gets to make a blanket fort. Believe me, he's happy."

"Are you sure?"

"This is better than anything I've ever organised for him."

"I doubt that," Hermione said, "I'm sure his previous parties have been a blast."

"No, not in the tiny flats we've lived in. We didn't have the room. So this will be the best birthday ever."

"Draco, please don't put-"

He pressed his finger to her lips, "There's no pressure on you, none at all. Everything is ready. You're the most organised person I've ever known, so please stop being nervous or scared that you'll fail, because I can tell you that he's very much looking forward to this weekend. And more importantly, he's excited that you did this for him."

She looked back over to Scorpius and laughed. He had now rolled to his back and Trevor was laying beside him in the exact same pose. He was chatting happily to the cat - who seemed to be actually listening intently to him - telling him that there would be heaps of people here on the weekend, but he didn't have to be scared because they would all love him, and he could play with them if he wanted to.

Hermione shook her head and looked back to Draco, "Best birthday ever?"

Draco pressed a quick kiss to her lips, "I have no doubt."

"Dad?" Scorpius had a look of concern on his face, "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Draco said putting down the book they were reading, "You know you can ask me anything."

It had been Hermione's turn to read to him, but Scorpius had asked Draco to swap with her. He had given no explanation as to why and Draco had thought it odd since Scorpius loved Hermione reading to him, loved spending any time with, in reality, but he knew something was up. He had shared a look with Hermione, and he knew that she wasn't upset at Scorpius' request, but she did look concerned.

They'd been reading for a while, and Draco had begun to wonder what exactly was going on, almost asking the question of what was bothering him before Scorpius interrupted him.

"Why didn't you and mum ever get married?"

"You know why." Draco said calmly and Scorpius shrugged. "Is that what's really bothering you? That we didn't get married? Or are you missing her a little bit?"

Scorpius shrugged again, "Maybe. I miss her sometimes."

"Do you need to hear mum's story?" Draco asked.

Scorpius squirmed lower under the covers and nodded, "Is that okay?"

"Of course it is. We can talk about her anytime you want, you know that." Draco said.

"Tell me the story Dad."

Draco took a breath and smiled down at his son, "Your mum and I were friends for a long time before we fell in love. In fact, I didn't really know if I would ever love her like I did since we were such good friends. But when I did realise that I loved her, I thought we'd be together forever. I wanted to marry her right away, but we had to finish school first. When we did finish school, we took some time off and travelled the world with Uncle Blaise and had lots of fun. When we came back we went off to University and after we'd settled in there, we got a very big surprise."

"Me," Scorpius giggled and Draco nodded in agreement.

"You." He ran his hand across his son's head, "The best surprise we could ever ask for. And Uncle Blaise was even more excited than your mum and I were. She gave up school and decided to just be your mum. And we watched her belly grow and we could feel you kicking, and you kicked lots and lots. She always said you were very busy inside her tummy and she knew before you were even born that you would be a boy. Then one day, you decided it was time to be born. And I got to hold you first. You were tiny and you wriggled and squirmed, and you were very, very loud. But then mum held you and you were very quiet and calm. You knew straight away that she was your mum."

"And before you could get married she got sick."

"That's right, she got sick." Draco cradled Scorpius' head, "But she loved you so very much that she didn't want any medicine, because it would make her so sick that she wouldn't be able to hold you and cuddle you. And she knew she was far too sick to live for very long, so she wanted to spend all of her time with you. She was so brave and not scared at all. Your mum was very beautiful and very smart and she loved to laugh. And she had a smile that would light up a room. You have the same smile and laugh that she had."

"And when she died we were all very sad?"

"Yes, very sad. Especially Grandma and Grandpa. But they were so very happy to have you; they said it was like she was still with us. And I know just how proud of you she would be."

Scorpius rolled to his side and tucked his hands under his cheek, "Dad, do you think that mum would like Hermione?"

"Oh, she definitely would." Draco nodded enthusiastically, "She would see how much Hermione loves you and how much fun you have together and I'm sure that mum would be happy that we found her."

"Did you know Hermione lived here when we moved here?"

Draco laughed, "No. She was another big surprise."

"Why was she a surprise?"

"Well, I never thought I would ever meet anyone like her. She's very special."

"Are you ever gonna marry her?"

Draco smiled, it had been a while since this subject had come up. "One day, maybe. Why?"

"You tell Hermione all the time that you love her and I just think you should be married."

"You're right, I do love her, but getting married isn't as easy you think. Not in this case anyway."

"Why?"

"You know how Hermione was married before she knew us?" Draco asked and Scorpius nodded, "The thing is, the man who was married to her didn't treat her very well and she might not want to get married again because of that."

"But you're not like that," Scorpius looked alarmed, "She doesn't think you'll be mean to her does she?"

"No, of course she doesn't think that," Draco assured his son, "But sometimes when someone is unkind to you, like he was to Hermione, it takes a long time to forget. And you always think that everyone else is the same."

"But we're not like that, Dad. She knows we love her and we would never be mean to her."

Draco sighed, Scorpius was too young to understand this and he wasn't exactly sure how to explain it to him in a way that he would understand. He picked up his hand and kissed his son's fingers, "Scorp, I love Hermione very much and I do want to be married to her. I want to be with her forever. And I know how much you love her and you know that I would never hurt her and she knows that too. But we can't rush her, we have to wait until she's ready."

"What if she's never ready?"

"Well, then we'll just keep living here with her and we can be a family without us being married and nothing will change." Draco reassured him.

"Can you ask her?"

Draco laughed, "Ask her to marry me?"

"No," Scorpius rolled his eyes, "Ask her if she's ready to get married. Ask her and that way we'll know and if she's ready to get married you can ask her properly."

"What if she asks me?" Draco gave him a comical wide-eyed stare.

Scorpius laughed, "That's not how it works. You have to ask her. That's the rules."

"This is Hermione we're talking about," Draco pointed out, "She doesn't always play by the rules."

"But this time she has to." Scorpius said firmly, "You have to ask her."

"I'd better tell her the rules then. Just in case."

"Make sure you do," Scorpius' face was a picture of seriousness, "She'll ruin it otherwise."

"Okay, I'll make a deal with you." Draco was trying his hardest not to laugh at his son's request, "I'll talk with her, and ask her to let us know when she's ready. But we can't hassle her about this. Okay?"

Scorpius gave him a single nod and Draco kissed the top of his head, "I love you Dad."

"I love you too Scorp."

"Is everything okay?" Hermione asked when Draco finally returned and sat beside her on the couch, "You were a while with him tonight."

Draco nodded and linked his fingers with hers, "Yeah, he gets a little..." he shrugged, "Not nostalgic, I guess, he doesn't remember her, but he always has questions and we always tell mum's story around his birthday."

Hermione squeezed his fingers, her slight concern at Scorpius' request for Draco to read completely disappearing. Scorpius' insistence that Draco read to him that night even though it was her turn made sense. He wanted to talk about his mother and she couldn't possibly have had that conversation with him.

"Do you miss her?" Draco looked surprised at her question, "She's the mother of your child and it's his birthday, its okay if you do."

"Not as much as I used to." Draco shifted closer to her and touched her thigh, "Besides, tonight he was more concerned about you."

Hermione frowned, "Is he not happy with his party?"

Draco laughed, "Not happy with a birthday party organised by his most favourite person on the planet? I thought we agreed that we wouldn't panic about that."

Hermione gave him an annoyed look.

"No, he's not worried about his party." Draco frowned and then took a deep breath, "He has the idea in his head that we need to get married, so we'll be together forever."

"Oh," Hermione said quietly.

"Hey, I'm not proposing here. But if I don't tell you what we talked about, he will. And I don't want you to think that there's a Malfoy conspiracy going on here to get you to marry me. He's just worried is all."

"Is he still worried that I'll leave?"

"No, I don't think it's that," Draco's lips twisted and he looked at her with a small frown on his face, "I think he's worried that if we don't get married, the same thing that happened to his mum, will happen to you." He held his hand up as Hermione opened her mouth to respond, "He knows she was sick, and that you're not. But I guess in his mind he thinks that since his mum and I never got married, us getting married will stop it from ever happening to you."

Hermione picked up the remote and turned the television off, "Is that something you want?"

"To be married?" Hermione nodded and he grinned, "To you?"

She slapped his arm, "Can you be serious?"

He twisted to face her and pulled her legs over his, his arm slipping across her waist to rest his hand on her hip. "It is exactly what I want. You have no idea just how happy you've made the both of us."

She sucked in a breath and felt her eyes fill with tears. She looked down at her lap, not wanting him to see her; he'd seen enough tears from her of late, regardless of the fact that her current tears were of the happy variety. But the thought of being married again, no matter how much she loved him, unsettled her stomach.

"Hey," he said quietly, cupping her jaw and lifting her face to look at him, "Like I said, no proposals. Not tonight. And not until you're ready."

"Draco, I'm not sure I'll ever be." She admitted and he nodded.

"And that's fine." He rubbed his hand along her thigh, "But you have to let me know if you are, because according to my son, the rule is I have ask you. You can't ask me."

"He said that?"

Draco nodded, "He did, and he'll be most displeased if you take it upon yourself to ask me."

She ran her hand along his forearm and tangled their fingers together, "I wouldn't anyway. I know I have strong opinion on most things, but there are some things that should remain traditional. You asking me is one of those."

Draco's stomach twisted and he swallowed hard in an attempt to keep from dropping to one knee and asking her right then. He'd simply meant to tell her what Scorpius had said, and leave it at that. He had not expected the conversation that they were now having. "You'd be open to this then?"

Hermione look down to their linked hands, and smiled back up at him, "I would be. But not right now."

He looked at her, watching her face as she smiled at him. He wondered if he would ever work out what she would say to surprise him next. Just when he thought he had her pegged, when he thought he knew all of her habits and what she would say next, she threw out a comment like you have to ask me and had him almost leaping off the couch in joy.

But he retained his composure, remembering what he'd told Scorpius – we can't rush her – and simply squeezed her fingers. "Not right now," he agreed, "But at some stage in the future, if I was to ask you, you would say...?"

Hermione laughed, "I'm not telling you that. That would ruin the surprise."

Clara had taken charge of getting the three sugared-up, hyperactive boys to sleep. Hermione had given up, and had resigned herself to the fact that she'd have three grumpy and sullen eight year olds to deal with in the morning. Clara had patted her arm and told her not to worry, that she'd have them asleep in no time, but going by the laughter and chatter that was coming from the library, Clara wasn't having any more success than she'd had.

The party, however, had been a huge success. Ten eight year olds had taken over the flat, loud and raucous, and Hermione was sure they would be finding foam bullets everywhere for the next month. After a lunch of all the things that Scorpius wasn't usually allowed to have - anything and everything that had as much sugar as possible – the boys, and Trevor, all retreated to the darkened library, popcorn and drinks in hand to watch The Lego Movie.

Hermione had brought up the bean bag chairs from the children's reading area in the shop and had transformed the library into a movie theatre. She'd recruited Theo and had him set up the screen and projector, and had completely blacked out the entire room. She'd also placed a mini Lego kit in each of the boy's bean bags, and they were all suitably impressed.

She and Draco had invited the motley crew of friends that they called their family to have dinner with them after all the boys but James and Teddy had left, extending Scorpius' birthday even longer much to his delight, and it had stretched much later than anticipated, with Harry and Ginny, Pansy and Theo and even Katie and Cedric enjoying Scorpius' grandparents company so much that they had all lost track of time and were surprised to find that it was almost midnight before they all knew it.

The biggest surprise, however, was when Scorpius had run to the door hours earlier and excitedly announced that Uncle Blaise was here, and he had a girl with him. Alicia had arrived with him, unbeknownst to all – even Katie – the pair had been seeing each other for the three months since their meeting on New Years. They had left much earlier - apologising that they had a long drive home - much to the amusement of Draco, who had whispered to Hermione that he never thought he'd ever see the day the Blaise Zabini would leave a party early, even if it was only that of an eight year old.

Hermione had refused the offers of help to clean up, sending everyone on their way. But Cuthbert insisted on helping, and stood beside her at the sink helping her with the dishes while Draco was taking the bean bags chairs back downstairs to the shop.

"Draco mentioned the latest dinner with his parents actually went well," Cuthbert said with a glint in his eye.

"Yes, surprisingly well," Hermione said with a smile, "It was as though someone had warned them to be on their best behaviour."

"Interesting," he laughed, "I wonder who might have told them that?"

'Hmm, I wonder indeed." Hermione picked up a towel and dried her hands. She leaned back on the island and folded her arms across her chest. "I've been told that someone who is ordinarily a big cuddly bear turns grizzly when poked with a stick. Do you have any idea who that might be?"

Cuthbert simply laughed and patted her cheek, "He sounds like someone not to be messed with."

"Oh, I'm sure that Lucius is regretting poking that grizzly bear."

Cuthbert laughed, "You'd think after all this time he'd learn."

"Thank you," she said, "Not just for me, but Draco as well. It made what could have been another horrendous evening much more bearable."

Cuthbert held his giant hands out to her and she took them, "You, my dear, are the best thing to happen to those boys. I know that Clara told you the same, but I want you to hear it from me as well. And it's about time that Lucius and Narcissa took their heads out of their arses and saw more in their son than disappointment.

"My daughter..." he paused and briefly closed his eyes. Hermione squeezed his hands and he smiled at her, "We never expected him to be on his own forever, we hoped that he wouldn't be. All we did hope for was that he found someone who loved him, and loved Scorpius just as much. And you do. You love that child like he's your own. I watched you with him today, I watched him with you today, and he loves you more than anything. Astoria would be so pleased that they found you. So there's no need to thank me, I did nothing more than what was needed."

"And what was needed?"

He winked at her, "What was needed, my dear, was for those two to be pulled into line. They look down their noses at everyone, and in doing so, they miss seeing people for who they really are. I imagine that Lucius was impressed with you by the time he left?" Hermione grinned, "I thought so. He had no clue as to just how successful you've are because he is too busy being disappointed in his son. Too busy trying to make Draco's life so difficult that he would give up teaching and go to work for him."

"Is he so stupid to realise that won't ever happen?"

"Apparently," Cuthbert said, "So I told him in no uncertain terms that since we love you, it was about time that they did the same."

"Are you trying to steal my girlfriend?" Draco said making them both jump. He nodded at their linked hands, "Because if you are, you'll have a fight on your hands."

Cuthbert pulled Hermione into a hug making her laugh, "No, I'm just telling her how wonderful she is. So wonderful that I'm considering offering her a job, which I guess would mean stealing her away."

Hermione's face flushed and she hugged him back, "So that big cuddly bear story was true?"

Cuthbert laughed, "Just don't provoke me."

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it."

Clara came back into the kitchen, a look of defeat in her face, "I don't think they're going to sleep for three days."

Cuthbert chuckled and hugged an arm around her shoulders, chiding his wife good-naturedly, "Ah, you've lost that magic touch, I see."

"Magic touch? You'd need a magic wand to make those three calm down," she let out a frustrated breath, "We'll have three very tired and cranky boys to deal with in the morning."

"Maybe they'll sleep until noon," Draco said hopefully, glancing at the clock.

"I doubt it," Hermione wrapped an arm around his back, "Scorpius has been waiting all week for the boys to stay, he's going to want to make the most of it."

"I think you're right," Draco groaned.

"Well, in that case, its bed time for the grown-ups too." Cuthbert said with a laugh.

"Thank you both for all your help." Hermione said hugging each of them in turn.

"You don't have to thank us," Clara told her, "You did all this yourself. We just showed up. We should be thanking you for doing all of this for him."

Her lips twisted into an embarrassed smile, "I was happy to do it for him."

Draco snorted a laugh, "You weren't saying that a week ago."

"Don't listen to him. You did a marvellous job." Clara said squeezing her arm affectionately. "Now, don't get up too early. Enjoy a sleep in and we'll have breakfast ready for you both."

Cuthbert screwed his face up comically, "No sleep in for this cuddly bear then."

After a final check on the still whispering boys, Hermione flopped down onto the bed, a gush of air rushing from her lungs. "They're not ever going to go to sleep."

"I'm sure they will eventually," Draco kissed her cheek, "You're sleeping in your clothes then?"

"Yes," she groaned, "I'm not going to move for a week. I wasn't aware that an eight year old's birthday party would be so draining."

Draco kicked his jeans off and pulled his t-shirt over his head. He ran his hand along the hem of her shirt, "Do you need me to help you undress?"

She raised her head and narrowed her eyes at him, "Don't even think about it."

He pulled back the covers and lay under them. He brushed his finger across her cheek, "I'm not thinking anything. I was just going to help you undress since you're so exhausted."

"Yeah, yeah. A likely story." she groaned, pushing herself up and slowly stripping off. She curled herself into the mattress, Draco spooning against her, his hands snaking around her and drawing slow circles on her stomach. She sighed and closed her eyes.

He kissed her cheek and nuzzled his nose into her hair, pushing it aside and hooking his chin over her shoulder, "You're amazing, you know that?"

She tilted her head back and hummed in response, "Two very handsome men tell me that quite often."

He shifted behind her, placing warm kisses across her shoulder. He knew that she was exhausted and close to sleep, but he wanted to tell her. "I mean it. He'll be talking about this for weeks.

"Just glad he had fun," she murmured, her voice was slow and sleepy.

She rolled to face him, her eyes heavy and drooping. She slipped her hand across his chest, his stomach and finally she flung her arm across his waist and wormed her leg between his, snuggling closer. She pillowed her head on his bicep and Draco's fingers lazily skimmed across her back, his lips pressing to her forehead. He ran his hand through her hair, and she murmured his name. It was a quiet, humming sound that he loved, the ease at which his name rolled off her tongue, the comfort at which he felt as the sound washed over him.

He wasn't lying. She was amazing. She was more that he could have ever wished for, for both he and his son. And he loved her even more after everything she'd done. Not only for Scorpius, but she had welcomed Astoria's parents into her home, had made them feel welcome. It was something she truly didn't have to do. She had told him how perfect he was – even when she was angry – but he was sure he didn't come close to her.

They lay together not moving, the quiet settling around them in the dark room. Draco felt her relax, and he shut his own eyes, but he couldn't sleep. He was still in overwhelmed awe of what she had done for his son. Her concerns about not being his mother were truly pointless after the day they'd had. She had gone above and beyond to make Scorpius' day truly all about him.

All the nervous worrying she had done over him not loving the party she had planned was for nothing. He could see in his sons face all day, and late into what would most likely be a long night, the excitement of a birthday party he couldn't have imagined. Football in the park, or a day at the movies was Draco's best effort, but his own movie theatre (of sorts), and the raucous fun and games that she had organised; there was space in her flat for the boys to wrestle and play and shoot foam bullets at each other had been more than Scorpius could have wanted.

She hadn't gone overboard, not at all. She had simply taken all the things Scorpius loved and made them even more fun. His actual birthday wasn't until Monday, so his gift from them was safely hidden in their closet. He smiled to himself. Their gift. The one they would give him together. The one with the card that didn't just say From Dad, instead it read From Dad and Hermione.

He had assumed she'd dropped off, but her murmured Thank you startled him.

"For what?"

"For letting me do this for him," She pressed her lips to his chest. "For letting me be..."

Draco waited, but her sentence hung in the air, unfinished. The silence in the darkened room stretched between them, and he wasn't sure of just what she had intended to say. The tension of the previous week had left her and he wondered.

"Did you like being a mum?" He dared and then held his breath.

She nodded against his chest and whispered, "I liked being his mum."

Draco's face split into a wide smile, "I like you being his mum." He whispered back, and he hoped that she would remember this conversation in her half-asleep state. He trailed his hand through her hair, his fingers coming to rest on the nape of her neck and caressing her gently, his touch lulling her to sleep.

A/N: Again, thanks for reading and thanks for the reviews. Always appreciated.