Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter.
Arriving at the Manor later that evening, Draco was greeted by his house elf, Mopsy.
"Master Draco, you have a guest waiting for you in the parlor."
"Thank you, Mopsy. Do you know who it is?" Draco asked as he passed the elf.
"No, but Mopsy know it's a bad man, Master Draco."
Draco walked to the parlor and flung the doors open, not knowing whom to expect. To his complete surprise, Adrian Pucey was sitting on the couch.
"Ah Pucey, I was wondering when you would come to visit. Long time, no see, my friend."
"Quit your bull, Malfoy. I am here to warn you to stay away from Hermione and Declan Granger."
"And if I don't?"
"Then they'll pay for your idiocy."
Draco smirked at the other man, "But I am not the idiot, am I? Aren't you the one who gave up a child?"
Adrian glared at the other man, "Well it's only a matter of time before I get him and HER back. Pureblood right and all. Plus I'm sure that our dear Hermione would leap at the chance to marry me in order to keep her son. And that would make you the one all alone."
"Get out of my house," Draco growled, reaching for his wand.
With a short laugh, Adrian backed away. As he was walking out of the parlor, he called, "Just remember Malfoy, things aren't always as they seem. Ron Weasley is a perfect example. The man did everything I set in front of him, including the tramp he cheated on Hermione with. Have a glorious afternoon, Malfoy and remember my warning."
Draco shot a hex at the door but Adrian was gone. Now, he knew what he was dealing with and it was going to take a lot of help to ensure that Hermione kept Declan. There was no way that boy was going to grow up with that man as his father.
Grabbing a fist full of floo powder, he threw it into the fireplace. Arriving at his destination, he saw the person he needed and said, "We need to talk."
Draco flooed directly into the house, knowing that the man he was looking for would allow it. Much to his surprise, the man in question was sitting in a rocking chair by the fire as if he had been waiting.
"Draco, to what do I owe this pleasure of seeing you," a raspy voice hissed out. The snake's bite had cause permanent damage to the man's vocal cords.
"Severus, we need to talk," Draco replied, sitting down in the chair opposite his old potions professor and godfather.
"About what exactly?" Severus Snape question softly.
Draco looked around the old room and noticed very little had changed since his last stay at Spinner's End. This is where Severus had taken Draco after that terrible night on top of the Astronomy Tower. This is where Draco had hidden from Voldemort before asking Severus to take him to the Order.
The memories of that night continued to haunt Draco to this day.
"Tell me all you know about Adrian Pucey."
"Mmm," Severus said solemnly, trying to pull out any information he had on the boy.
"He was two years older than you and always struck me as odd. He would take to one task and work at it relentlessly until it was completed. He's marrying the Brown nitwit soon, isn't he?" Severus asked, hedging as to why Draco might be asking about him.
Leaning his head back against the rocker, Draco sighed, "Do you know that Hermione Granger has a son?"
"Yes, but how is that pertinent to this conversation?"
"Because Adrian Pucey is the father of her child."
"You don't say. Well that could cause some problems."
"By Merlin, you are as unhelpful as you were ten years ago. What do you know, Snape?"
"Nothing that I can tell you yet, Draco. To get the information you seek, you must go to the source directly. Only she will be able to help you out. "
Draco growled in frustration and apparated directly out of the room.
Draco stewed over the information Severus had unhelpfully given him for the next few days. During his work at the Auror Department, he poured over files from the death eater trials in hope of finding something that would get rid of his Pucey problem. Honestly, he had no idea why this was driving him mad. This child wasn't his and he didn't really like Hermione all the much but something about her son stirred something in his heart.
On Thursday, he had been so intently studying files on Pucey that he didn't notice the guest standing in his doorway until they cleared their throat slightly.
"Draco?" A dreamy voice called out, startling him from his spot. His wand whipped out and a curse almost crossed his lips until he saw who was standing.
"Good gods, Luna, you nearly gave me a heart attack."
The blond moved swept into his office with a slight smile, "I am sorry, Draco. I was here at the Ministry and thought I would drop by to see how your day with Declan went since you never bothered to tell me."
Draco stood from his seat and walked around the desk to give Luna a hug. She was the closest thing he had to a sister and truly valued their friendship, even if she was a bit odd at times.
Letting go, he grasped her elbow to help her sit in a chair. Once Luna was settled, he sat on his desk so he could face her.
"My day with Declan was interesting to say the least. He nearly destroyed this department and called me a meanie head when I told Hermione about his little fiasco. But what made the day even more interesting was who was waiting for me back at the manor," Draco trailed off, remembering Adrian's threatening words.
"Do you have a Blibbering Humdinger floating around in your stomach?" Luna huffed, "Tell me who was waiting!"
Draco scoffed, "What the bloody hell is a Blibbering Humdinger?"
Rolling her eyes, Luna replied, "Honestly Draco, you would know so much more about if you actual read the Quibbler I send you every month. But it's this little insect that floats around in your stomach causing various forms of memory loss."
"How can something in your stomach cause memory loss?" Draco retorted, the Malfoy smirk prominent on his face.
"Draco Malfoy, you are upsetting both me and the baby. Unless you want me to go into labor early, then tell me," Luna nearly shouted, losing all her patience and placing a delicate on her protruding stomach.
Now, Draco was no idiot. He knew she was manipulating him but at the same time, he didn't care.
Leaning forward slightly, he said, "Adrian Pucey."
"No," gasped Luna, a hand flying to her mouth.
"Yes," grimaced Draco, "he was there to threaten me away from Hermione and Declan."
Luna sat there stunned. She hadn't honestly thought that Adrian would actually do anything to Hermione but now she wasn't so sure. And neither was Draco.
"Do you think he'll do something?" Luna whispered.
Draco sighed. This is why he had been studying Adrian Pucey. It was his goal to learn how Pucey thinks so that he could be one step ahead but through all his research, he had barely found anything that would help him come to a decision.
"I wish I knew, Luna. I honestly wish I knew."
While Draco had been trying to discover every little fact he could find about Pucey, Hermione had been living her life as normal as possible. Her days consisted of getting Declan ready in the morning, taking him over to Luna's or leaving him with the nanny, spending her day at the bookstore, then coming home to spend time with her son.
Today, she decided that she was going to take the long way to work and floo into the Leaky Cauldron then walk down Diagon Alley. After the war, shops had reopened and the magical alley had flourished. New, innovative shops were popping up all over the place and Knockturn Alley had been converted into more shopping areas. The Auror's had taken care of all the 'dark magic' shops by completely demolishing certain blocks then rebuilding them into quaint storefronts.
Her shop was located just on the edge of Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley. In her mind, she was going through her schedule for the day when she ran full on into someone. The wall she ran into let out a small grunt, while Hermione fell flat on her bum.
"I am so sorry," She blurted out, embarrassed for not paying attention.
"It's no problem. No harm, no foul," a deep voice replied, holding a hand out for her to take.
She reached for the hand and looked up at the stranger for the first time. Gasping, she pulled her hand back and stood up by herself.
"Adrian?" She questioned, looking into the strong contours of this man's face.
"Yes, how are you, Hermione?" He answered, giving her a smile.
She didn't know what to do or how to act. How was supposed to act around her child's absentee father?
"I'm fine, just on my way to work."
Adrian held out his hand again, "Do you mind if I walk you to your shop?"
Startled, she stuttered, "I-I g-guess so."
"Great," he grinned at her, "So I was thinking that I would like to see Declan soon. Would you two come have lunch with me sometime soon? Maybe tomorrow if you're not too busy?"
Hermione had no idea how to respond. She didn't want this man anywhere near her child, especially when he was marrying the vindictive Lavender Brown in a few weeks.
"Adrian, I do-" she started to say but stopped when she felt an arm wrap around her waist and pull her tight.
"Sorry, Pucey but Hermione and I are taking a long weekend at one of my estates in France. So I don't think her and Declan are going to be able to meet with you anytime in the near future," Draco drawled out.
Hermione turned to look at him in shock before nodding, "Sorry, Adrian."
Adrian narrowed his eyes and snapped, "Are you two dating or something?"
Draco's eyes took a predatory gleam, "I think we are more than dating."
"What are you doing?" Hermione whispered in his ear.
"Saving you. Please don't hex me for this," He whispered back, before leaning down and capturing her lips in a kiss.
AN: Let me know what you think in a review. I fell behind on updates, again. Having an 8 month old and a crappy Chromebook will do that. But the story will be posted completely by Friday.