A/N: Another beta chapter! Whoop, whoop. I'm excited.
This chapter was BLAST writing. I realize that some people were not very happy with Draco's actions in the last chapter. However, we are dealing with a damaged person who had lost his wife, found out he's lost his memories and that resulted in him losing the love of his life AND the first 13 years with two of his children. Also, if I didn't get this across in the Draco POV chapters, he's struggling with alcohol use.
Not excusing his behavior, but it wouldn't make sense for him to stay cool calm and collected. Just wouldn't be justice to the character to not allow him to have moments of weakness.
Alright, split POV. Mila and Hermione coming at you!
Chapter 13: Happy Christmas
After leaving the train station, Mila stepped into the grandest receiving room she'd ever seen. The room could house the entirety of the downstairs of her mother's home. That wasn't really what had caught her attention though.
Her parents stood near a doorway, yelling at each other. Malfoy called her mother too stubborn for her own good, and her mother replied that his male ego needed to be knocked down a few notches before storming away from him.
Both Mila and her father had been stunned watching Hermione storm out of the room, as if she were intimately familiar with the layout.
He'd excused himself after that, letting her know that if she needed anything to just call Pip, Scorpius's personal elf. Pip would be able to help either her or Milo with anything they needed.
Mila didn't see her mother again until Christmas Eve dinner. She and Malfoy both apologized to each other for their behavior at the platform, and the rest of the meal had been pleasant.
Christmas morning was everything Mila had hoped it would be. Malfoy had promised them to see the Tornados Game on New Year's Eve. The twins' jumped-up dancing in their excitement, while Hermione and Scorpius just smiled politely and nodded.
Their mother had given them clothes, books, new Quidditch gear, and potions supply kits. Hermione gave Scorpius some muggle history books about the second world war. Scorpius eagerly hugged Hermione in his excitement. Apparently, Malfoy and their mother talked a lot more than Mila was aware. She would never have guessed the books would make Scorpius so happy.
As they were finishing their late Christmas lunch when a chime sounded, alerting that someone had just come through the Floo. "Are you expecting company?" Hermione asked, looking towards Malfoy, whose mouth was set in a line.
"Maybe Daphne, she comes around sometimes to check in on us. For the holidays, she typically waits until Boxing Day to come by," he said, pushing away from the table and walking towards the receiving room.
The house elves at the manor had been given the whole day off for the holiday. So, there wasn't one available to welcome guests.
"If it is Aunt Daphne, I need to go say hello to her. Please excuse me," Scorpius said. He stood and exited the room as well. Leaving the twins alone with their mother for the first time since before leaving the school.
Hermione took this opportunity to give her children her full attention. "Mila. Milo," she said, addressing them each, causing Mila to clench her teeth and her stomach twisted in nervousness. Expecting to be scolded for manipulating the situation, she was surprised when Hermione said, "I owe you both an apology."
Mila's jaw dropped open; she did not see this coming. Milo, being a good brother, reached over and used his hand to shut her mouth. "Right," Mila muttered, under her breath, "um, for what exactly?" She asked, looking at her mum with curiosity.
"I should have been upfront with the both of you about the Doxies situation. I shouldn't have waited to inform you about where I was staying. I also shouldn't have tried to stop you being able to spend Christmas with your father, just because the plans had to change." She said, letting her eyes slide between the two teens. "For all of that, I am sorry."
Rubbing her hand over her eye. She met her mother's eye before whispering, "I'm sorry for manipulating the situation at King's Cross. I was scared that you were going to say no if I asked you about staying here. I, uh, didn't know about what happened to you here during the war, and I shouldn't have tricked Malfoy into bringing you here."
Malfoy had told her about the unspeakable things that had been done to her mother after being captured by his aunt. He'd also told her that it was a large part of the reason he'd had the manor remodeled.
Before anymore was said, the trio were interrupted by Scorpius slipping into the room. When he'd opened the door, shouting could be heard and was cut off as soon as the oak clicked shut. "Scorpius, are you alright?" Their mother asked, approaching the small boy who looked startled.
"Grandmother is here" was all he said. Walking across the room, he went to sit near his siblings.
Scorpius had hardly sat down before both French doors were flung open. A blonde woman wearing immaculate forest green dress robes stood before them. A look of horror and disgust crossed her face as soon she noticed their mother standing in the room.
"You? What are you doing here?" The woman sneered, her pale blue eyes narrowing.
It was clear that whoever this was, she and Hermione were not on friendly terms. Mila tugged Scorpius so that he was positioned behind her as soon as the blue sparks began coming off her mum's chestnut curls. "Narcissa, always a pleasure. I thought you were exiled to France, shame to see I was misinformed."
"Why you filthy mudblood…" the woman started to say before she was cut off by Malfoy coming up behind her.
"Mother, I'll have to ask you to not use such language in front of my children." He said, stepping up and wrapping an arm around Hermione's waist.
To the siblings' surprise, Hermione didn't instantly move away. Instead, she seemed to lean into his touch, as if he were keeping her grounded in this showdown.
"Children?" The woman, who was apparently her grandmother, said. She leaned around the couple standing at the head of the table. She finally noticed Mila and Milo; both were standing in front of Scorpius. Her face lit up at the sight of two more grandchildren, but when she turned back towards their mother her scowl was reset.
"You didn't tell me you had more children, Draco," she said, scolding her son as Scorpius tugged on the back of the twins' shirts.
"We can use the elf entrance and slip out of here." The younger boy whispered as he slowly pulled them backwards towards a wall.
Neither Mila or Milo argued with the clearly scared boy and followed his lead. He pressed his hand against a little otter carved in the wood, and then there was a slight shimmer of magic. Stepping into the wall, he disappeared just like at the barrier of platform 9 ¾. The twins easily followed the same steps as Scorpius had done and hid away in a small corridor.
From this side, the children still had a perfectly clear view of the room, and no sounds were obstructed. "Can they hear or see us?" Mila whispered; Scorpius shook his head.
"No, this is here so that the elves can watch dinner parties without being seen or heard. Then they can refill drinks without anyone having to ask. It's not a common thing to have, but Dad added it in the remodel to help the elves. If you follow this path, you'll end up in the kitchen. Grandmother doesn't know of its existence, and I think Dad forgot about it too," Scorpius explained, still keeping his voice low even though it wasn't necessary.
"If he doesn't know about it, then how did you find out it was here?" Milo asked in an equally low voice, still watching the adults arguing.
"Pip showed me. The first time she took me from the room, Grandmother had come after mom… Well, she wasn't happy Dad wouldn't let her move back into the manor." He finished speaking just in time to watch Hermione throw her hands in the air and announce that she was going to the library.
None of the children were willing to miss whatever it was the adults were about to say as they all stayed put and stopped talking. "I cannot believe you neglected to inform me that you and the mudblood were having babies! Twins, Draco, you've already kept Scorpius from me and now I find out you've had two other children hidden away!"
"I was obliviated, mother. I had no idea of their existence. Not until the start of the school year when I was dropping Scorpius off at the train station." Malfoy's fist clenched, turning his knuckles even paler than they already were. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?" He asked, looking down his nose at his mother.
"Don't be ridiculous, Draco." She said, waving her hands like she was brushing away the very idea. Though, the hard facade had started to crack now that Hermione was no longer in the room with them. "I want to have a relationship with my grandchildren, please Draco. I've missed so much being away, and I just want to know them."
"I've told you, when you can give up your ridiculous blood purity mindset, you'll be allowed to be around Scorpius. Astoria and I agreed that we weren't going to allow those ideas to destroy his life the way it had mine. I have no say in Mila and Milo, but the way you were just treating Hermione, I highly doubt she'll let you come around them. Even if she were to have a lapse in judgment and say you could, I'd still enforce the same boundaries I have set with Scorpius."
"Draco, I've told you; I can't just turn my back on how I was raised." Narcissa said with a heavy sigh, as if Malfoy was being the absurd one.
"Can't or won't?" Malfoy snapped, "I told you the only way we could both live under the same roof again was if you denounced that bigotry. Instead, you chose to move to another country while my wife suffered from that blood curse. You left me to raise a five-year-old on my own, all because you wanted to stay a bigot!"
At their father's words, Mila reached out to take Scorpius's hand. From what she'd heard from her half-brother, he struggled greatly with the death of his mother.
"What do you know of my Obliviation? Mother, I know you know something." Malfoy said, after a pause, when his mother didn't respond to what he'd just said.
"I don't know what you're talking about , Draco. I already said that I don't know anything about it." Narcissa said with a cool air that made Mila shiver. Regardless of her calm demeanor, Mila felt that something was off.
Apparently, Malfoy thought the same thing, because he only narrowed his eyes. "You have lost your touch, mother. I can tell you're lying" he said. "What do you know?"
Narcissa let out a heavy sigh. When Malfoy looked down his nose at her with his arms crossed, she finally answered. "It wasn't my idea. If I had known about the children, I would have tried to stop it. These are questions for your father. You had an undesirable match and you had a duty to the family." She explained before turning towards the door and walking away from where Malfoy stood.
Pausing at the entrance, in a low voice she spoke without looking back at her son. "I am sorry, if I'd known about the twins, I might have been able to do more." Without another word or backwards glance, she disappeared out the door.
As the click sounded, Malfoy swiped his hand across the dining table. The leftover food, plates, and glasses scattered across the room with a crash as it all hit the floor. His face flushed with rage, Malfoy tipped his head back and yelled into the open room.
"Dad…" Scorpius whispered, just before he began trying to step back into the room. Milo reached a hand to stop him with a shake of his head. Turning back, the siblings watched as their father let tears freely fall.
ooo
Curled up like a kitten, Hermione was settled in the same armchair that she'd personally dragged into the manor when she and Malfoy had finished the remodel. She had personally put together this muggle section in the library, while overseeing the rest of the room. This section included everything from her personal favorites to educational texts.
It wasn't a large selection by any means, but it was a start. Since their remodel days, Hermione had craved being able to continue expanding the collection, but fate had other ideas.
Seeing Narcissa tonight had been a shock. The woman, while she'd been willing to save Harry for Malfoy, was still the same pureblood cow she'd always been. She couldn't count the number of times they had fought with each other.
The first time had been at their Hogwarts graduation. Malfoy had told her about being accepted into the Curse Breaker program and she'd turned and walked away after laughing at him. The sight had made Hermione's blood boil and she was more than happy to step in and tell the woman off.
After that, there had been no love lost between the two women. Narcissa had sent a Howler after Draco told her that he and Hermione were dating. A cursed envelope was delivered to Hermione shortly after Malfoy had replied that he was not going to be ending things with Hermione. It was never confirmed, but Hermione knew it had come from Narcissa.
Before storming out of the dining room, Hermione had ensured the children had managed to slip away first. It was a small comfort to know that they wouldn't bear witness to the unfortunate woman that was their grandmother. Their unpleasant nature and blood purist beliefs that Malfoy's parents held onto, even after the war, had been why they agreed to not tell Malfoy's parents about her pregnancy.
After the twins had been born, Hermione just never saw a reason to send a birth announcement to the ignorant grandparents. Keeping them in the dark had been the easiest parenting decision she would ever face. Now that Narcissa knew about the twins however, it was only a matter of time before she began hounding Hermione to see them.
Regardless of all her faults and shortcomings as a person, Narcissa always had been a doting mother. Based on her reaction to finding out about having two more grandchildren, it seemed she was the same as a grandmother. Mudbloods were scum, but Malfoy blood triumphed over all of that.
Settling back into her book, Hermione wanted to wait until she had properly calmed down before speaking with her children about the afternoon's events. It would not go well for anyone if she went in with these high emotions to answer their questions. And knowing her children, Mila would have a lot to say about Narcissa Malfoy.
Someone cleared their throat and brought Hermione from the thoughts she'd lost herself in. A sad smile hung on her lips as she looked up to Malfoy standing in front of her. "Hey" she whispered in acknowledgement. "Wine?" She asked, holding up the bottle she'd secured from the cellar before heading to the library.
"Please," he said, plopping down into the seat next to hers. "I apologize for my mother. Her visit was unexpected, as she usually doesn't come see us for the holidays." Malfoy explained, taking a mouthful of the dry red she'd poured for him.
"No apology necessary," she replied, waving him off. "Narcissa has always been a right hag, even in our more civil encounters."
An eyebrow raised in her direction as Malfoy took in another drink. "Why do you call my mother Narcissa? " He asked after pausing to pull out a cigarette and lighting it.
Glaring at him for choosing to smoke. Hermione rolled her eyes when his only answer was shrugging and taking another drag.
"Of all the names I've called her over the years, that's the one she hates the most." Hermione said, smiling at the memory. Narcissa had walked into Gringotts, looking for Draco to take him to lunch for the fifth time in so many days. All these lunches, however, had also included Draco meeting 'appropriate' women.
On that particular day, Narcissa had walked in demanding for Draco to stop his meal with Hermione and come with her. Hermione, who had grown more and more protective of Draco over their years of friendship, decided enough was enough. She'd slammed her teacup down and in her best impression of Umbridge, she'd said 'why don't you join us for lunch instead, Narcissa?'
The outrage that Hermione would address her so informally had cemented Hermione forever using the woman's first name. Never could any insult come as close to the amusement of turning Narcissa Malfoy's face that shade of red.
When Malfoy gave her a questioning look, Hermione just waved him off with a laugh. "You'll just have to wait to see that memory. The story does not do it justice."
Realizing that was the most he would be getting from her, Malfoy stretched out his long legs in front of him. The pants he was wearing were cut perfectly lean muscular thighs showing through the fabric. He was still as fit as he was during their curse breaker days, while Hermione was not.
The realization that she was ogling Malfoy hit her hard. Hermione tipped her glass to her mouth in an attempt to hide the flush that had crept up her neck. Maybe he would just think it was the alcohol?
They sat in a comfortable silence for a time, each enjoying their wine. Both went for a second glass without hesitation. A small fireplace, not meant for travel, was cracking next to them, keeping them in a comfortable warmth.
After a while though, Malfoy turned to face her and get her attention again. "My mother admitted that I was obliviated against my will." Malfoy whispered, so that his voice just carried over the sound of the logs popping and snapping in the fire.
Hermione's head snapped up, jaw gaping at this information. "Does she know who performed the charm?" She asked, watching as Malfoy's throat bobbed as he took another long drink.
"No, she said I need to speak to my father. She did ask for a chance to get to know the twins though." Malfoy finished his drink and set the glass to the side. It disappeared almost as soon as it touched the surface of the table. "I should have known he'd be involved somehow. Not even being in Azkaban could stop him from fucking up my life."
Not knowing what to say, Hermione just sat silently with him. She knew what it felt like to be out of control in life and just needing an anchor to steady yourself. At one point, Malfoy had been the anchor she'd needed.
"I'm guessing this part of the library was your contribution?" Malfoy finally asked after a long silence.
"The entire library was my contribution to your remodel. When you decided the entire manor needed a fresh start, you gave me free rein here." Hermione said, gesturing to their surroundings.
"Your mother was not pleased, first to be shipped off to France while we broke some of the darker curses and rid the foundation of the Dark Magic. Then she was appalled that you hired Theo and Penny for the remodeling and interior designing. The icing on the cake really was when you told her I was solely responsible for the library."
"I remember clearing the curses and Dark Magic with someone; and that I hired Theo and Penny. I should have figured it was you who helped break this place of Dark Magic."
"You were my best friend, Draco." Hermione whispered, looking into the small hearth. "I'm sorry that was taken from you. If only it hadn't happened, who knows how life could have gone."
Standing up and walking over to where she sat, Malfoy leaned over, letting his lips settle on the crown of her head. The soft kiss was left in her hair, and his face lingered there just for another moment.
"I think I'm going to retire for the evening after checking on Scorpius. Goodnight, Hermione." The words were whispered, but Hermione's tingling body felt like they'd been screamed.
Watching him walk away, silent tears slid down her cheeks. Yes, if only life hadn't taken him from her, things could have been much different.
A/N: Oh, that hurts. Narcissa doesn't like Hermione, but she loves grandkids. Narcissa dropped a lot of truth, or at least started leading us to where we need to be looking for answers!
More sibling love. Dramione moments. Only way to go now is up! Right? Yeah, we're getting there lol.
Next up is Mila only POV, what could three kids POSSIBLY get into at Malfoy Manor while the parents are out?