In the cheerful nursery belonging to her daughter, Hermione sat in a rocking chair beside the window. In her arms, almost asleep, was a two week old Lyra. The last two weeks had passed in a blur, and now Hermione had to make a choice about returning to Hogwarts or staying at home with her daughter. She'd already missed the first month of school and everyone knew that despite her brains if she missed much more she wouldn't be able to catch up without seriously pushing herself.
Looking down at her daughter, Hermione was torn about what to do. She didn't want to give up her education and go into hiding. She wanted to get her exam results and help the Order defeat Voldemort so her daughter could grow up in a safe world. However, she dreaded the thought of being separated from Lyra. In the last two weeks she'd seen how hard Draco found it only seeing his daughter occasionally, and it would be much worse for her since she'd been with Lyra constantly since her birth.
The previous afternoon, Dumbledore had visited and spoken to Hermione. While the headmaster had been supportive and hadn't wanted to push her into making a decision, he'd made it clear that time was running out. If Hermione was going to return to school she needed to do it fast, not only for her sake but also for the sake of the school and Draco. As it was he was managing his head duties with a lot of help from Snape and McGonagall, but if Hermione wasn't going back to Hogwarts they would need to appoint a Head Girl. That of course would impact on how often Draco could come and see Hermione and the baby as he would no longer have the privacy of the Head Dorms if he was sharing with a different Head Girl.
"What do I do, angel?" Hermione sighed softly as she watched her daughter's eyes flutter shut and remain that way.
Satisfied Lyra was definitely asleep, Hermione carefully got up from the chair and gently settled her daughter into her cot. Instead of leaving immediately, Hermione stayed with her daughter, hoping to get the answers she wanted. When no answers were forthcoming from Lyra, Hermione turned round and jumped when she found Narcissa standing in the doorway.
"How long have you been there?" Hermione asked.
"Long enough," Narcissa answered with a gentle smile. "I know you're still undecided about returning to school. Do you want to talk about it?"
Hermione nodded in response as she turned on Lyra's baby monitor and picked up the second half. Leaving the nursery door half open, Hermione followed Narcissa down stairs where the two witches settled down in the front room. While Narcissa organised tea, Hermione checked the baby monitor was working fine before she relaxed on the large comfortable sofa.
"So, returning to school," Narcissa said once the tea had arrived and they were left alone to talk. "You're no nearer to making a decision, I see."
"I keep thinking I should return to Hogwarts, but then I look at Lyra and every argument I've made for leaving goes out of my head," Hermione admitted. "Logically going back to school is the right move, but emotionally I don't think I'm ready to leave Lyra."
"I don't mean to sound harsh Hermione, but it's not going to get any easier. If anything it's going to get harder the longer you stay at home with Lyra," Narcissa told the young witch. "I know it seems too soon to be leaving Lyra, but if it's going to happen it's going to have to happen soon."
"I know," Hermione sighed. "What do you think I should do?"
"It's really not my place to say," Narcissa said hesitantly. She knew exactly what she thought Hermione should do, but the last thing she wanted was for her son's girlfriend to think she was bossing her around.
"Please Narcissa, I need your help," Hermione pleaded.
Narcissa looked at Hermione and nodded once before she offered her opinion. "I think you should go back to school. I know it will be so hard to make the initial break, and I doubt it'll get any easier as the year wears on, but you need to think about the future. Whatever decision you make now, will impact your future life."
"You mean Voldemort?" Hermione asked.
"No, I mean after he's gone," Narcissa clarified. "I believe Dumbledore and the Order will defeat The Dark Lord, and I know you do as well. Once he's gone, you'll have a life to lead with Draco and Lyra. I may be wrong, but I don't think you're the stay at home mother type."
"I'm not," Hermione answered. "Not that there's anything wrong with that," she added, remembering that was exactly what Narcissa was.
"I know you're nothing like me, dear," Narcissa chuckled and smiled at Hermione to let the young witch know she hadn't offended her. "I was raised to believe I was destined to marry a respectable pureblood wizard and my duty was to be a devoted wife and mother. I never harboured any ambitions of a career because I knew it would never happen for me. But you're not me Hermione, you've grown up imagining having a great career. Being a mother shouldn't stop that, but it might if you don't go back to school."
"Without qualifications I would struggle to find a job," Hermione conceded. She knew she was bright enough to do most things, and while she may be able to set up her own business, not getting her final exam results could hurt her future prospects.
"Of course I don't want to push you," Narcissa said. "You might be quite content to stay at home with Lyra. But don't forget, she'll not be a baby forever. I don't know what your plans will be about her early education, but at eleven she'll be off to Hogwarts and unless you have more children, you'll be left alone with no-one to look after. I know from experience that it's not easy to adjust to such a big change. I was lost when Draco first went off to school."
Hermione thought about Narcissa's advice and mulled over her choices. If she did choose to stay with Lyra, she was limiting her career options when she did choose to begin work. And if she waited all the way until her daughter started school she would find it practically impossible to get any job other than a menial one.
"Not that you have to work of course," Narcissa said. "Draco already has a sizeable inheritance, and depending what happens with Lucius he could be in line to inherit a fair bit more. Whatever happens, money won't be an issue for the pair of you."
"I don't want to live off Draco," Hermione said firmly. "I want to help provide for our daughter. I want to help rid the world of Voldemort and his supporters, so my daughter can be safe. I then want to have a normal life with Draco and Lyra, and that involves having a job I'm passionate about."
"Am I to take it you've made a decision?" Narcissa checked.
"I have," Hermione confirmed with a firm nod. "I'm going back to school. If we speak to Dumbledore tomorrow, I can be back on Monday morning."
"He's already promised the floo in the Head Dorms will be open from morning until night," Narcissa said. "You'll be able to come back to see Lyra whenever you want. You could come on a morning and check on her, and you could then come back after lessons and be here for her nightly feed and to put her to bed. It'll be just like you're a working mother, leaving your child during the day, only you'll not have to deal with the sleepless nights on top of everything."
"That sounds good," Hermione said. "I'm sure we could work out a proper schedule. That might make things easier."
"It might," Narcissa agreed. "You know we'll do anything to make things as easy as possible for you and Draco."
"I know, and we really appreciate everything you and everyone else has done for us," Hermione said. "Without your help I don't think we could have coped."
"We've all been happy to help." Narcissa smiled at the young witch as she reached out and squeezed Hermione's hand. "Now why don't I floo Dumbledore and we'll see about getting your return to Hogwarts sorted."
"Tonight?" Hermione questioned. "Shouldn't we give him some peace, it is Saturday evening."
"I'm sure he'll be more than happy to come and see us," Narcissa said as she stood up and made her way over to the fire.
Sure enough Narcissa was right and a brief floo conversation had Dumbledore rushing over to visit with Draco in tow. Narcissa sent for more tea while Dumbledore arranged for Remus, Tonks, McGonagall and Snape to all be involved in the meeting. Once everyone was present a discussion got underway about Hermione's return to school and how things would be handled once she was back at Hogwarts.
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After a long discussion a decision was made for Hermione to return to school on Sunday evening. That way she could spend some time with her friends before having to face her first lessons. It had also been decided that she and Draco would stick to a routine to visit Lyra. The couple would visit on a morning, before returning after lessons to see their daughter before she settled down for the night. Apart from that the only other times they would visit would be in the case of an emergency.
On the Sunday afternoon, Draco flooed home from school and he and Hermione spent the entire afternoon with their baby daughter. When it was time to leave, a tearful Hermione said goodbye to her daughter before heading off to Hogwarts with Draco. Dumbledore had already arranged for her luggage to go on ahead, so Hermione was free to travel without the burden of her trunk.
"Are you okay?" Draco checked with his girlfriend when they arrived in the Head Dorms.
"I will be," Hermione sniffed as she swiped at the tears falling from her eyes. "I'm just going to miss Lyra so much."
"I know the feeling," Draco said, wrapping his arm around Hermione's shoulders. "I've spent weeks missing you and Lyra. But hopefully it'll be easier now we're together."
Hermione nodded, hoping her boyfriend was right and that together they could cope with missing their daughter. Although they would at least be able to see her every day and Hermione had packed a whole pile of pictures of her daughter in her trunk.
"Come on, show me the Head Dorms before dinner," Hermione said, deciding to focus on something other than Lyra before she turned around and changed her mind about returning to school.
Draco quickly showed Hermione around the common room and small kitchen area, before he led her upstairs. There were two bedrooms upstairs, one decorated in Slytherin colours clearly meant for Draco while the other room was decorated in Gryffindor red and gold for Hermione. There was also a large shared bathroom, which attached to both bedrooms as well as having a separate entrance from the hallway.
"It looks like Dumbledore expects us to sleep in separate rooms," Hermione remarked, looking at her trunk sitting at the bottom of the unused bed in her room and her bag that was lying on top of the red covers.
"I'm sure he's just keeping up pretences," Draco replied. "Considering we have a child together, I think he knows we'll be sharing a room. Unless of course you want to sleep separately."
"I don't want to sleep separately," Hermione insisted. In fact she was really looking forward to curling up and falling asleep in Draco's arms, something which she'd missed doing since her boyfriend had returned to school.
After finishing the tour of the Head Dorms, Hermione and Draco headed back to the common room where Draco filled his girlfriend in on what she'd missed over the past month. They also spoke about head duties and what was expected of them as Head Boy and Girl. The couple remained curled up on the sofa talking until it was dinner time.
"Do you want to walk down to the Great Hall together?" Draco asked.
"I don't think that's the best idea," Hermione replied. "We don't want people questioning why we're suddenly so friendly, especially since I've only just returned."
"I'll go first then," Draco said. "Will you be able to find your way back to the Head Dorms after dinner?"
"We're on the third floor, aren't we?" Hermione questioned, remembering what Draco had told her earlier. "It should be fine. Although I'm guessing directly after dinner I'll be going up to Gryffindor Tower with my friends. I've missed them and I'm dying to catch up with them."
"Okay, the password is unity," Draco told his girlfriend, giving her a kiss before he exited the common room to head down for dinner.
Before leaving the common room, Hermione took a few minutes to make sure she looked okay and her recent pregnancy wasn't too obvious. As had been the case when she was pregnant the style of her clothes hid the extra weight she was still carrying, so she was confident no-one would notice anything different about her.
The second Hermione entered the Great Hall, she was the focus of almost everyone's attention. A lot of the students stopped to stare at the newly returned Head Girl, while some just settled for whispering about her. However, Hermione's attention was firmly on her beaming friends.
"Hermione, you're back," Harry declared, pulling his friend into a bone crushing hug when she reached the Gryffindor table.
Once Harry had let her go, Hermione found herself embraced by Ron and then Ginny. Several of her other friends also said hello and said how pleased they were to see her back, but they refrained from public displays of affection.
"When did you get back?" Ron asked as he scooted down the table to make room for Hermione.
"Not long ago," Hermione replied. "I was just settling into the Head Dorms before dinner."
"It's nice to see you looking so well, we were getting worried about you," Harry admitted. "I didn't know Chicken Pox lasted well over a month."
"I didn't actually find out I had Chicken Pox until the day before we were due to return to school," Hermione said. She didn't feel comfortable with lying, but knew it was the only safe option. "Obviously Dumbledore was really worried about me infecting the school, so we were extra vigilant before deciding it was safe for me to return."
"It is safe, isn't it?" Ron checked, looking at Hermione to see if he could see any remaining spots. From what Harry had told him about the disease he really didn't want to catch it.
"It's perfectly safe," Hermione reassured her friend. "I'm completely healthy and illness free."
"That's great," Ginny smiled. "And at least now things can return to normal and we can stop worrying about you."
"I did say in my letters that I was fine," Hermione said.
"We know, but it's just reassuring to speak to you in person," Harry said. "Anyway, enough about your illness, now you're back you can tell us about your holidays."
Hermione was easily able to concoct a few stories about her summer based on her past holidays, but luckily she was able to quickly turn the subject around to what her friends had been up to. Harry and Ron both told her about joining the Order, although they wouldn't talk about what they'd been up to in such a public place.
"Maybe after dinner we can come and see the Head Dorms," Ron suggested.
"That's not a good idea," Hermione said with a shake of her head. "Malfoy and I decided on a few rules before dinner and one of them was no friends in the Head Dorms."
"Whose idea was that? Malfoy's, I bet," Harry grumbled, glaring across the room to where the blond Head Boy was sitting laughing with his friends.
"I bet his friends will be up there all the time," Ron complained bitterly. "He just doesn't want us around."
"We agreed no friends at all," Hermione said. "We're both going to be busy with head duties, not to mention our exams are this year. We both agreed that the Head Dorms should be a place where we can both get some peace and quiet and are able to study. I can come and see you lot in Gryffindor Tower whenever I want, and Malfoy can go down to the dungeons to see his friends."
"You make sure he sticks to his side of the bargain," Harry told his friend. "Don't let him bring his friends into the Head Dorms, when we're not allowed in."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure things are fair," Hermione reassured Harry. "Now since the Head Dorms are out of bounds, how about I return to Gryffindor Tower with you after dinner?"
"That sounds like a plan," Ginny said.
After dinner, Hermione headed back to Gryffindor Tower with her friends. For nearly an hour they remained in the common room with their other friends, catching up and enjoying the last few hours of their weekend. After Hermione had spoken with all her friends and had a good catch up with everyone, Harry and Ron took her up to the boy's dorms so they could speak in private.
For the next hour Harry and Ron filled Hermione in on what they'd been doing with the Order. Once they'd been fully initiated into the Order, Dumbledore had explained to them that Voldemort was using dark magic called Horcruxes to ensure he was indestructible. However, Dumbledore was hot on the heels of several of the Horcruxes and Harry and Ron had helped him destroy a locket over the holidays. Currently Dumbledore was working on locating the next Horcrux, and Harry and Ron were hoping to be involved in its destruction when he located it.
After a couple of hours in Gryffindor Tower, Hermione started to tire. A fortnight of getting up several times in the middle of the night to see to Lyra had left her tired and eager for her bed. While she may have been missing her daughter like crazy, she had to admit she was looking forward to having an uninterrupted night's sleep.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Hermione said to Harry and Ron as she said goodnight.
"See you tomorrow Hermione," Harry smiled. "It's good to have you back."
"Yeah, it's great," Ron agreed as he said goodnight to his friend.
Giving Harry and Ron a final hug, Hermione left Gryffindor Tower and made her way back to the Head Dorms on the third floor. When she entered the common room there was no sign of Draco, but she could hear the shower upstairs. Trudging up the stairs, Hermione entered Draco's room just as he boyfriend was emerging from the bathroom.
"How was your night?" Draco asked as he pulled a pair of pyjama bottoms from his drawer.
"Good," Hermione replied with a small smile. "I've really missed my friends, it was great to see them again. However, I'm now completely knackered and all I want to do is curl up and sleep."
Heading into the bathroom, Hermione quickly washed and brushed her teeth before returning to Draco's room and sliding into his shirt. The couple then crawled into bed together, and within minutes Hermione was fast asleep in her boyfriend's secure embrace.