This story is AU post Half-Blood Prince.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with Harry Potter.
"Mum," came a whiny cry from upstairs, "do I gotsta wear these stupid robes?"
Hermione took a deep breath. Declan had been whining the entire afternoon waiting for Mr. Draco to come, while she had been rushing around trying to get their house straightened up.
"Yes Declan, you must wear the robes. Mr. Draco is very formal and he would like you even more if you wore the robes," Hermione yelled back up the stairs, hoping bribery might make her son cooperate. When she didn't hear a response, she assumed her bribe had been noted and taken.
"Come downstairs and I'll tell you a story until Mr. Draco arrives," Hermione called.
She just shook her head at the thudding noises that came from her son's bedroom as they continued down the stairs. Declan arrived at the bottom of the stairs with his slightly ruffled dress robes askew. Hermione put a warming charm on the dinner and walked over to help Declan fix his clothes. Once everything was straightened, she pulled him into the living room so they could wait for Mr. Draco together.
"What story would you like to hear?" Hermione asked her son, running a hand over his chocolate curls.
"The one about how you met Mr. Draco," Declan squealed.
Hermione scoffed. How was she going to tell her son that his new hero was the slimmest person around when he was younger? Sure, he had grown up since then but from what she heard he was still a snob.
"Well…Let's see. I went to school with Draco…" Hermione started before she was interrupted.
"Did you go to Hogwarts together?"
"Yes, we did. Draco Malfoy was from a Pureblood family, who was very rich and powerful. He was a nice Slytherin," Hermione lied.
A new voice startled the pair, "There is no need to lie to the boy, Granger," Draco replied from where he had just apparated into the house.
Shocked, Hermione put her hand to her chest, "Merlin Malfoy! You nearly gave me a heart attack."
"Mr. Draco!" Declan yelled, before jumping off the couch and launching himself onto Draco's legs hugging them for all he was worth.
"Hey Declan, the robes look really great on you," Draco greeted the little boy.
Declan grinned over at his mother, having realized that she had spoken the truth about robes. Hermione, having gotten over her scare, motioned for Draco and Declan to join her on the couch. Draco sauntered over and sat down, pulling Declan into the middle.
"Now Declan, your mom was just being nice. I was a snot nosed little brat when I was at Hogwarts. Your mom on the other hand," Draco trailed off, "Your mom was the smartest witch to come through Hogwarts in a thousand years. Everyone admired her and the Golden Trio. She was sorted into Gryffindor and graduate first in our class."
Draco leaned over and whispered the next part into Declan's ear, "I've never told anyone this but I liked her in school. I couldn't tell her though or my friends would tease me so I was mean to her."
Hermione looked over at the two of them, asking, "What are you whispering about?"
"Mommy! Mr. Draco was telling me how much he loved you in school," Declan cried out with a smile on his face.
Hermione threw her head back and laughed before turning towards Draco who looked a little pink in the cheeks.
"Aw, did you have a little crush on me? Hermione asked. When he started to deny it she said, "Your cheeks are little pink there Malfoy,"
"No!" came Draco's strangled cry, "I told Declan I liked you, not loved you. There is a hugr difference. And for your information Malfoy's do not blush."
Declan just shrugged, while Hermione laughed, and Draco scowled. Declan quickly grabbed Mr. Draco's hand and pulled him up the stairs to show him all of his cool toys. The room and its un-gryffindor-ness surprised Draco. The walls were green with a golden trim and toys of both magical and muggle properties were scattered across the floor.
"This is quite the place you have, Declan. Can you show me how some of this stuff works?" Draco asked, patting the boy's shoulder. He felt a hand pull on his and looked down into the watery brown eyes of a four years old boy.
Kneeling down, Draco looked Declan straight in the eye, asking, "What's wrong?"
"Can I have a daddy hug from you Mr. Draco?"
Draco had no idea what a "daddy" hug was because his father had certainly never hugged him when he was a child. So he awkwardly placed his hand around Declan's back. Declan pulled Draco even closer so he could rest his head on Draco's shoulder.
A squeak alerted Draco to Hermione's presence in the room. He looked over his shoulder to find Declan's mother trying to hold in the tears from the sight before her. Pulling herself together she whispered, "He's had a hard day. Let's go downstairs to eat and then we can put him in bed for the night."
Draco, not knowing how one put a child to bed, just nodded and carried Declan downstairs to the dinner table.
Hermione's home cooked dinner was a hit with Draco although he was amazed at how it was made the muggle way. They made small talk and listened to Declan's crazy stories that only a four year old can make up. They retired into the living room after the meal had been cleaned up.
Declan curled up into Draco's side and promptly fell asleep. Draco shot a panicked look at Hermione when Declan's head fell into his lap.
"Just let him sleep for now. We'll take him up to bed in a minute," Hermione replied to his look.
The two adults sat there in a quiet silence before Draco spoke up.
"Granger, can I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead."
"Who is Declan's father?"
"I was wondering when you were going to ask that," Hermione sighed. Taking a deep breath she continued, "I made a mistake after Ron broke up with me six years ago. I went out and got drunk at a random bar and ended up sleeping with a wizard I met there. That wizard ended up being Adrian Pucey."
Draco's head shot in her direction, "Pucey, as in Adrian Pucey? The Slytherin?"
Hermione nodded, "The one and only."
"So he is Declan's father?"
"Yes, he is but he rarely contacts us and he has no legal rights when it comes to Declan."
Draco quietly replied, "Granger, when a pureblood has a child they automatically have rights. You can't ban him from Declan's life. At any point he could come take Dec away from you."
A furious look crossed over Hermione's face, "But that's barbaric!"
"No, that is called the Pureblood Right Act."
"How can I prevent Adrian from taking him away from me?"
"You get married to another Pureblood, who then 'adopts' Declan," Draco responded.
Hermione laughed, "Well thank Merlin I don't have to do that. Adrian is getting married next week to Lavender Brown, so the chances of him wanting Declan are slim."
"Never underestimate a Slytherin, Granger. It will come back to bite you," Draco drawled in a low voice.
Hermione shook her head to clear her thoughts, brushing off his warning, "Okay Malfoy. Lets get this little guy to bed."
Draco picked up the sleeping child and carried him up the stairs, following Hermione into Declan's bedroom, carefully laying the boy on his bed. Hermione conjured up some pajamas and soon Declan was tucked into bed. Hermione placed a quick kiss on Declan's forehead and Draco gently rubbed a finger down Declan's cheek, feeling somewhat empty. Hermione turned off the light, cracked the door open, and whispered to Draco, "Would you like some coffee?"
Draco shrugged his shoulders in agreement and followed her back down the stairs to living room.
On the way back downstairs, Draco realized nothing was keeping him here now that Declan was asleep. He wasn't friends with Granger and had absolutely no intention of ever changing that. True, she had a cute child, but other than that…
"Granger, I'm going to take off," Draco stated, trying to remain friendly. He didn't want to completely piss off a war heroine in her own home.
Hermione nodded, "I didn't even expect you to stay this long."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Well it was obvious you could barely stand to be in the presence of a mudblood, Malfoy."
"Granger, the only reason I came tonight was because of your bloody son. I would never in a million years dream about being friends with someone like you." He was annoyed that his earlier effort to be civil had been undermined.
"Who said anything about being friends? I was just trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, because for some reason my son likes you. I can't for the life of me think why, but that is just something I am going to have to put up with," Hermione growled back.
"Well, if it wasn't for your son then I wouldn't be here," Draco reiterated.
"Thanks for repeating yourself, Ferret," Hermione shot back, turning to walk out of the room, "Now why don't you go back to your mudblood-hating ways and leave my family alone."
"You know, for someone who claims to be open-minded you are making a lot of assumptions. And you do know what happens when you assume something, don't you?" Draco snapped as he walked to the fireplace.
Pausing, he turning around and said, "You make an ass out of yourself. Granger, you have a pretty cool kid, despite him being a half-blood and having a mother like you. Now I'm telling you this for his sake - find a pureblood and get married. Do not underestimate Pucey."
Before she could respond, he shouted "Zabini Manor" and was gone in a flash of green.
Draco stumbled out of his best friend's fireplace to find the foyer empty. Knowing where Blaise would be, Draco made his way to the drawing room. His fellow Slytherin had remained neutral during the war due to his Italian blood. Draco and he had been friends since they were in magical diapers and Blaise had stayed by Draco's side in his darkest days, sixth year at Hogwarts, never abandoning him. Lately, the Italian had made a name for himself as a hotshot lawyer who only took on cases for the underprivileged - namely half bloods and muggleborns.
Draco stopped on the threshold of the drawing room and yelled out, "You're not starkers, are you?"
A soft voice responded, "No Draco, don't worry. The nargles won't let Blaise have his wicked way with me."
Draco chuckled. Despite having protested initially against Blaise's choice of wife, he truly enjoyed talking to Luna Zabini, formerly known as Looney Lovegood. He had tried calling her Looney to her face once, but as soon as Blaise heard him… well, let's just say Draco's ears hadn't been quite the same for a good while after that. They'd had the annoying tendency to turn purple and emit a noise which sounded suspiciously like "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" any time the word loony came out of his muth near Luna.
"How are you doing, Lunes?" Draco asked, walking into the sunny room to find the happy couple sitting on the sofa watching a… noovie, he believed it was called. Plopping elegantly into the nearby armchair, he smirked at the husband and wife.
Blaise was glaring at him, letting Draco know that he had obviously interrupted something, while Luna was, as usual, smiling at him serenely. Blaise's hand was wrapped protectively over Luna's baby bump. The couple was expecting their first child in exactly three months and neither one could be more excited.
"So, why are you here in my house, interrupting my night, Malfoy?" Blaise questioned his blond friend. Normally Draco would be out schmoozing some poor woman.
"I had an interesting run in today that I wanted to talk to Luna about," Draco smirked.
"Of course, use our friendship to get to my wife. Thanks a lot, Drake," Blaise grinned back.
"Shut your mouth, Blaisey. I met Hermione Granger's son today."
"How?" Blaise questioned, surprised; the two weren't exactly known for socialising with each other.
"Well, I was eating lunch in the same place I always do -"
"You eat lunch in the same place? I thought only old people did that?" Blaise interrupted, smirking.
"Do you want to hear the story or not, Zabini?" Draco spat back, not in the mood to put up with his best friend's teasing.
"Yes, Blaise darling, it would be beneficial if you would hush for more than two seconds," Luna commented, patting Blaise's leg in a condemning manner.
"As I was about to say, I saw this little boy sitting on my park bench, crying. I couldn't just leave him there," Draco continued, ignoring Blaise's laughter at the words 'park bench'. "So I gave him part of my sandwich and talked to him for a bit. Smart chap, that Declan."
"Wait!" Luna interrupted, "Why was he alone in the first place? I know Hermione would take more precaution than that."
"Oh, he ran away from the man-ogling nanny and got lost. Anyway, I eventually got his name out of him and took him back to my office, called Granger and she came to pick him up. I got an invitation for dinner out of it and just came from Granger's house," Draco finished his tale.
"But that doesn't explain why you are here, Draco," Luna pointed out. "Was there something you wanted to ask me? About Declan?"
Draco hesitated, trying to put his recent revelation into words without sounding like too much of a sap.
"Draco, I'm sorry to rush you, but I'm afraid that you only have two minutes to tell me what the problem is," the woman informed him, leaning into her husband and resting her head on his shoulder.
"It might take longer than two minutes, Lunes," Draco responded.
"Well that's really too bad, because you only have two minutes. My bladder can hang on for two minutes but if you don't spit it out, you are going to have to replace a pee-stained sofa."
Draco laughed outright. If he could count on one thing with Luna, it was her honesty. Shaking his head ruefully he said, "Granger let me help her put Declan to bed and at that moment I felt like something was missing. Like something in my life is missing." He'd failed - he sounded like a sap.
Luna paused and tried to figure out a way to put what she wanted to say less bluntly. She couldn't. "Draco, I am going to be frank and I apologize ahead of time - you had a terrible upbringing."
Ignoring his protests, she continued.
"Yes, your parents might have gotten you everything you wanted, but you weren't loved like a child should be loved. What you need in your life is love, not the kind of loving you get from a one night stand, but from a deep, meaningful relationship," Luna replied very quickly before jumping off the sofa and running to the bathroom.
"Love? Seriously, that's what she thinks I need?" Draco questioned his friend.
Blaise's expression was serious, a rare occurrence. It made Draco slightly nervous.
"Draco, I had the same, typically cold and distant, pureblood upbringing that you did and it was only after I met Luna that I realized how much was missing from my life. The feeling you get when someone depends on you and needs your protection is nerve-wracking, but worth it - unbelievably worth it. I hope one day that you will find that someone, my friend," Blaise said, placing a hand on Draco's shoulder. Knowing the other man needed time with his thoughts, Blaise left the room to find his wife and tell her how much he loved her.
Draco sat there in the Zabini's armchair, thinking about having someone depend on him. He sat there for three hours reflecting on his loveless life, before finally drifting off to sleep.
Draco awoke the next morning to awful crick in his neck and the smell of coffee. Hearing voices down the hall, Draco followed the soft chatter to the kitchen. Muttering a good morning, he gladly accepted the steaming mug Blaise passed him. Once the caffeine had restarted his basic functions, Draco announced, "I am going to find someone to love."
Blaise whispered in Luna's ear, "Well this ought to be entertaining."
AN: Leave a review with your thoughts on this chapter. Chapter 3 will be posted tomorrow :)