Author's Notes:
Here's Chapter 112 for you!
Wow. So much has happened since the last chapter was uploaded. All my university lectures and seminars were cancelled. In the next 6 weeks, I have 5 essays, totalling 14k words, due in, but have had little input due to the 4 weeks of university strikes and now this virus. Yesterday (Thursday 19th March) my university emailed us that the whole university would be closing Friday 20th March at 5 pm for the foreseeable future. I've spent yesterday and all today planning my 5 essays, then finding the books I will need on the online catalogue, and then rushing around the library trying to find them all in an hour before getting kicked out so they could close.
Anyway, I managed to finish the second chapter of March this afternoon so I'm uploading it straight away. I'm going home on the 30th March, after one of my essays are due in, so the next chapter will be early April but might not be the first.
I hope you are all staying safe and well.
Love DW x
P.S. Enjoy
"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Draco asks his wife, sitting at the bottom of the staircase with Scorpius on his lap, watching Hermione pulling on her boots.
"Yes, I'm sure," she sighs. "We've been over this, Draco, I'll be fine. I'm not going to drink or eat anything, I'll have my wand in my pocket, and I'm not naive enough to believe everything your mother says." She pulls on her jacket.
"Just be careful," Draco stands, Scorpius cradled in one of his arms.
"I always am," she smiles, pressing a kiss to his lips. "Besides, you've got a fun afternoon ahead of yourself."
Draco rolls his eyes. "Tea with your friends; how did I get roped into this?"
"It's a Daddy Play Date," she laughs, kissing the top of Scorpius head.
"I despise that," Draco stares at her.
"I'll be back around six o'clock." She takes his face in her hands, pulling him into another goodbye kiss. "Enjoy yourself." She grins as she leaves, walking towards the gate of the Estate at the thought of Draco, Harry and Ron getting along together, without their other halves there to keep them on their best behaviour. It was sure to be an awkward afternoon for her husband.
Her face falls to a frown as she realises that her afternoon wasn't going to be much better. She'd finally given in and agreed to visit Narcissa and listen to whatever excuse she had given to both Draco and Harry to make them keep asking her to listen to the older woman. Although Draco had assured her that he had in no way forgiven her, he just now understood why she'd acted the way she had. At the gate, she takes a deep breath before apparating to the Manor.
Mitty opens the front door with a broad smile and a bow so deep that Hermione needs to remind her she doesn't need to do for her.
"Mitty happy Hermione come back," Mitty tells her, closing the door bend her as she enters.
Hermione smiles sadly, wishing she could visit the house-elf without being near her mother-in-law.
"After today, I might be able to visit more often, perhaps," Hermione tells her.
Mitty nods understandably. "Mitty make all sandwiches. Mistress not touch any sandwiches. Mitty very angry with Mitty's self after not stopping Mistress." She frowns to the ground.
"It was not your fault, Mitty. Draco and I do not blame you." Hermione assures her.
"Thank you, Hermione," Mitty bows again.
"Where is Narcissa?" She asks.
"Mistress in library," Mitty tells her.
"Thank you," Hermione walks with Mitty to the library doors, watching as the house-elf continues to the kitchens. She tells herself she can do this, before knocking and entering the library.
In the centre of the room, Narcissa is sat in a pale yellow armchair with a hefty tome on her lap and a teacup and saucer in her hands. Beside the armchair is a side table with a teapot, sugar bowl and a small jug of milk.
Her mother-in-law glances up at her entrance, a small smug smile on her lips as she places her teacup and saucer on the side table, along with the tome, before standing up.
"Hermione, I didn't think I would ever see you again," she admits, opening her arms.
Hermione stops six feet away from the older woman, frowning at the open arms.
"I'm not going to hug you," she says.
Narcissa gracefully holds her perfectly manicured hands in front of her.
"I'm happy you are here," she states.
"Your son is persistent in his begging," Hermione says, glancing to the pale green armchair opposite the yellow. "May I sit?"
"Of course," Narcissa waits for her to sit before lowering herself back down into hers.
The two women sit in awkward silence, waiting for the other to speak while staring at each other.
"Well," Hermione asks.
"Well?" Narcissa frowns.
"What's this excuse you have told Harry and Draco?" She clarifies.
"What do you know?" She asks.
"I've been told it's a good one."
"I don't know where to start."
"How about why you tried to poison me?" Hermione suggests.
"As a muggleborn, you don't understand our way of life," she starts.
Hermione frowns, leaning back in the armchair and crossing her legs. This was not starting well.
"Love is not always a necessity in marriage. It took me a while to fall in love with Lucius after our marriage, and we were perfect for each other." She explains. "I read all the stories about you and Draco in the Daily Prophet. I could tell you were both falling in love from the pictures." She adds.
"Were you jealous of us?" Hermione asks amusedly.
Narcissa glares, "No, of course not, I was angry that Draco was allowing himself to fall for a muggleborn. The Minister may have an ulterior motive with this marriage decree of his, but I thought Draco would follow pureblood traditions once the decree had been fulfilled."
"Divorce and disown?"
"Exactly, then he would marry a nice pureblood girl and all this decree business would be forgotten." She smiles sadly. "Instead, I had to watch him fall in love with you through the newspaper." She sighs. "I also saw how happy he became, thanks to you. He's been through enough over the years, and I find myself just wanting him to be happy, no matter the cost to his family." She admits.
"What's the cost?"
"A pureblood heir, of course," she chuckles. "I'll be the one who will have to deal with Lucius' disappointment and anger when he comes home. Although it's not just Lucius I'm worried about, these new Death Eater's that are rising up, they seem to have an interest in your family." Narcissa states.
Hermione laughs, "Yes, I'm aware of their interest. We're taking the necessary precautions, and we have more than enough friends in the right places to help us if need be."
"The Malfoy's haven't been on their good side since 1996, and my husband did his best to protect his family."
"By giving his son to the Dark Lord, yes, definitely did his best." Hermione scoffs.
"The choice was Draco's," Narcissa states.
"An underaged, teenage boy who wanted nothing more than to get his father's approval?" Hermione asks.
Narcissa has the decency to look ashamed. "Lucius was the head of this family, he did what was needed to keep us together, and I don't blame him for anything. I've simply done what I thought necessary to continue in his footsteps, but I have failed."
"Narcissa, your life does not revolve around Lucius. He's in Azkaban and will be there for the next thirteen years. You need to learn how to live your own life without him. I might not understand your pureblood 'way of life', but I can see you're struggling between keeping your life as similar to the way it was for Lucius' sake and trying to accept the way your life is now. In the end, it comes down to this, Draco and I are in love and divorce is nowhere in our future, especially with Scorpius in our life. Now, do you want Scorpius in your life too? No pureblood grandchildren are coming in your foreseeable future; your half-blood grandson and I are your only option for a family." She says.
"I want to be a part of your family," Narcissa states and Hermione is surprised by her abruptness. "I realise this may be the only chance I have, and I'd hate to miss out on the opportunity because of my stubbornness and unwillingness to move away from my beliefs and values. I will deal with Lucius when the time comes." She says.
"You might find Lucius is more accepting of Scorpius and me than you would expect," Hermione suggests.
Narcissa laughs, "I'm afraid you don't know my husband."
Hermione nods, "This has been good. I may not understand your reasons, but at least I know now.
"Thank you for listening," Narcissa says.
"Draco and I would like to invite you to Scorpius' christening ceremony in twelve days. The ceremony will be at the Ministry, which is why we feel comfortable inviting you." She states, withdrawing an invitation from her coat pocket and levitating it over to Narcissa.
Her mother-in-law scans the invitation then nods. "I shall be there."
"You'll get to meet Scorpius, then from there, we'll see about visiting with him, or perhaps having you visit us instead," Hermione explains. "This does not mean I forgive you, or that I ever will, but I don't want Scorpius to miss out, and I'm sure Draco told you this is your last chance."
"Yes, he did," she sits taller.
"Don't waste it," Hermione tells her, standing up.
"I won't," she says thoughtfully.
"Good, I'll be visiting Mitty now." She states.
Narcissa's face twitches, but she doesn't voice her thoughts. "Thank you for coming."
Hermione nods, "Hopefully, we'll see you on the nineteenth."
Narcissa glances at the invitation still in her hand. "Yes, you will."
Hermione leaves the library for the kitchens, ignoring Gharther's disgust at her presence as she walks over to Mitty near a plate of sandwiches.
"Hello again, Mitty." She greets the hour-elf.
"Hermione leaving?" She asks.
"Not if you've made sandwiches," she nods at the plate.
Mitty snaps her fingers, and the plate reappears on a table to the side of the room. Hermione sits at the table, gesturing for Mitty to take the seat beside her.
"Mitty love Scorpius. Master give Mitty picture Mitty keep it." Mitty mentions, removing the picture from within her garments and staring at the baby's face.
"I'm glad you love him. Draco said you liked the picture." Hermione says. "So I brought you some more." She places a small stack on the table in front of Mitty.
The house-elf gasps, excitedly picking them up. Hermione laughs as she takes a sandwich from the plate, watching Mitty as she eats.
"Scorpius bigger," she states.
"He is getting big; his healer is happy with his weight gain."
Mitty pauses on one of the pictures, placing the rest back on the table as she stares at the image.
"Mitty's favourite," she smiles, showing Hermione the picture of the three of them on the bus.
"I like that one too."
"Master Draco happy," she agrees. "Master Draco not always happy for long time. Now Master Draco smiles." She tells Hermione. "Master Draco have reason for smiles. Hermione and Scorpius." She adds.
"Draco and Scorpius make me happy too." Hermione agrees. "You can keep those pictures, and one day soon, you can meet Scorpius," Hermione assures the house-elf, who beams with joy.
Once she's finished the sandwiches, and the slice of cake Mitty had forced upon her, Hermione takes her leave, managing to avoid Narcissa on her way out.
Draco stares at the front door for a few seconds after his wife had left, then returns to the couch in the living room, lounging back and lying Scorpius on his chest. His son stares at his face, and he stares back for a few minutes, until his fireplace lights up, warning him of an impending visitor flooing. He glances up as Harry walks into his living room with James in one arm and Teddy's hand in the other.
"Hey, what you doing?" Harry asks, looking down at the relaxed posture of Draco.
He looks back down at his son, still staring at his face, and becomes uncomfortable. "I don't know," he snaps out of it, standing up. "It's been a month, but it's still surreal that I have a son." He shrugs.
"I got that after James," Harry nods, still standing in front of the fireplace. "It's like, 'wow, this is an actual living person in my arms'."
Draco chuckles, "You can come in," he mentions, walking into the kitchen.
"' Course, I brought this for us," Harry holds up a gift bag, following after him.
Draco glances at the bag, "It's not a party, you didn't need to bring anything."
Harry shrugs, placing the bag on the countertop.
"Dad Harry, can I play now?" Teddy asks, pulling on his hand.
"You need to ask Draco?" Harry tells the boy.
Teddy rushes over to his elder cousin, pulling on his shirt, "Can I play, Daco?" He asks.
"Of course, there are some toys in a box beside the television," He instructs the boy, who runs off, following the instructions.
"You've got a TV," Harry questions amusedly.
"It's not like we've got much else to do during the day," Draco shrugs, putting on the kettle. "Mine and Hermione's family are either working, or they have social events." He shrugs.
"Ronny!" Teddy squeals excitedly.
"Hi, mate," Ron greets the toddler. "Where's everyone?"
"In here," Harry calls.
Ron enters, eyes scanning the décor. "It's nice," he says, in an attempt at a compliment.
"Thanks, do you want tea or coffee?" Draco asks.
"Coffee," he nods, standing beside Harry.
"Harry?" Draco asks.
"Tea," Harry answers. "Are we heading into the living room?" He asks.
"Yes, if you shrink the coffee table and put it to the side, the children can lie on the rug." He suggests.
"I'm on it," Harry says, leading Ron into the living room.
Draco lets out a deep breath as he continues to make the drinks. "I know these are your mother's best friends," he whispers to Scorpius. "And Harry is your godfather, but it's going to be a long and awkward afternoon." He mutters, levitating the drinks through to the living room.
Harry and Ron were already occupying the couch, which was fine with Draco, who took the armchair after handing the drinks out. James, Phoebe and Philip were already on the rug, crawling around together. Draco keeps Scorpius on his lap, not wanting the older babies to hurt him as they wander around on their hands and knees.
"Where's Hermione?" Ron asks. "I know she's not here." He adds.
"She visiting my mother,"
"Is that safe?" Ron questions, sipping at his coffee.
"Really, Ron?" Harry shakes his head. "It's Hermione; she'll be fine. How's Pansy doing?"
"What's wrong with Pansy?" Draco frowns, not having been informed of anything.
"It's her father; he was attacked in Knockturn Alley yesterday afternoon. We were at the Burrow for lunch when she received the letter. She's been at St. Mungo's all night with her mother." Ron explains.
"It just seems like a random attack, from what I've heard from Vale," Harry says.
"Not in Knockturn Alley," Draco shakes his head. "Not even Mundungus Fletcher would risk an attack down there. It was premeditated." He tells Harry.
Ron shrugs, "He hasn't woken up yet, but I'm sure they'll want to question him when he does."
"Yes, I'm not on the case so it won't be me, but I'll pass on your concern," Harry assures Draco. "I'm still on your Rowle case,"
"It's been over two weeks, I'm losing faith he'll be found unless he wants to be," Draco admits.
"America's a big place," Harry points out.
"He's still there then," Ron says.
"As far as we're aware." Harry nods.
"You got any further with your prophecy?" Ron turns to face Draco.
"No, we're working on the grave of the hound but to no avail. Although, we doubt the Death Eater's are still meeting at this grave now it's been published, whether or not anyone knows where it is." Draco explains.
"Daddadadadada," James starts chanting, crawling over to Harry, then using the couch to pull himself up.
"He's already talking," Draco says.
"He can say about four words, can't you, James." Harry grins down at his son.
"No," he giggles.
"He says dada, mama, bye-bye, and his favourite word, no." Harry sighs.
"He say Teddy too," Teddy announces from where he's completing a jigsaw puzzle. "James," Teddy stands, walking over to the younger boy. "You say 'Teddy'?" He asks him.
Teddy bounces on his feet, looking at Teddy. "Ddy."
"See," Teddy proudly announces.
Harry laughs, "Okay, apparently, he can say five words."
"How about your Phoebe and Philip?" Draco asks Ron.
"Well they're crawling," he gestures to his two children crawling around the rug in circles. "Which is great, just what we needed." He says sarcastically. "They're making noises but no words yet." He shrugs.
"James, come play," Teddy calls him over.
James falls onto his bottom, then crawls over to the other boy near the toy box.
Since the elder children are out of the way, Draco lies Scorpius down in the centre of the rug. Instantly, Philip and Phoebe crawl over to him, interested. They sit beside him, staring and babbling back and forth.
"I'm sure they've got their own language," Ron shakes his head fondly.
"You should ask George," Harry suggests, and Ron shrugs.
The three men watch as the twins each lie down either side of Scorpius and kick their legs in the air.
"This is weird, isn't it?" Ron voices after a few minutes.
"What's weird?" Harry asks.
"Us three, sat here, watching my kids play with Draco's kid. Never thought I would see the day." Ron chuckles.
"Well, we are friends with the other's spouse." Draco points out. "It was bound to happen, that our children would become friends." He clarifies.
"Only because of Kingsley, if it weren't for his decree, we'd never be sat here right now," Ron adds. "Though neither would our kids, I guess I prefer it this way." He smiles.
Draco nods in agreement. "Was Minister Shacklebolt always this manipulative and interested in popularity?" He asks.
Harry and Ron glance at each other, shrugging.
"After Dumbledore's death, he took over as most obvious choice. He held a high Ministry office until the takeover. Then after that, we weren't exactly attending Order meetings while we were on the run." Harry explains.
"It's no secret that he used his position in the Order to get voted in as Minister after the war, though," Ron adds.
"I think he's more of an opportunist. After the war, he realised he was in a position of authority, and he could use that to gain more power, so he did. He did well at first. He organised the rebuild of Hogwarts." Harry points out.
"He's quite proud of his work in fixing the internal struggles of the Ministry," Draco adds.
Harry stares at him. "When has he said that?"
"He pulled us in for a little talk before the anniversary dinner in June. He wanted to make sure we weren't planning anything after the whole War Anniversary protest." He answers.
"Did he say anything else?" Harry asks, sipping his tea, hoping his eagerness wasn't obvious
"Plenty, he's worried about his image. He's looking forward to the next election. He wants to be re-elected, but no one remembers post-war Ministers. I'm assuming neither of you paid attention in History of Magic?" He looks between them, and both the men shake there head. "They fix things and keep the community calm, then they're quickly forgotten when they're replaced. He's been trying his best to hide that the previous Marriage Decree didn't work in the long-term. Thirty years after the decree, the population had levelled out again. He doesn't need it to work in the long-term though, just long enough to last him to the 2005 elections. He's despicable." Draco states, his anger coming through. He sips his tea to calm down.
Harry shakes his head, "He's getting out of hand. I'm worried about what he's going to do if he is re-elected. His issue is that his intentions are there. He wasn't trying to control us, he was trying to increase the population,-" He explains.
"And eliminate us, pureblood families. We are old families with old money, traditions and influences. I'll admit we've caused a lot of trouble in the past, but as much as he claims no purebloods were paired together to decrease the risk of squibs, he wanted to control us and wipe us out. Dilute our blood, our money and our influence." Draco states.
"That's an interesting theory?" Harry hums.
"Not a theory, it was written in the instructions for the Officials that were pairing us. None of the questions mattered but sexuality, blood status and number of children. Hermione and I were paired because the two Officials thought it would be funny and placed a bet for how long we'd last." Draco admits.
Harry sits taller, "Do you have a copy of this?"
Draco hesitates, wondering whether he should be talking about this with an Auror, a Ministry worker. "No, I don't."
"Can you get hold of a copy?" Harry asks.
"No, we lost our access to the archives." He says.
"Alexander Vyner," Harry nods. "He's a good man, I know him." He smiles.
"Harry, what are you doing?" Draco asks, curious.
"Nothing at all, shall we open that gift I brought, it's just some biscuits Molly made." Harry stands to fetch them.
Draco and Ron exchange a look when Harry's gone, but the other man just shrugs. "He gets like this, and there's no stopping whatever he's planning, so it's best to just leave him to it."
Harry returns with a small tin box with shortbread inside, offering Draco the first piece, then Ron. Before he can take a piece himself, Teddy and James rush over for a piece, which he hands them, then taking his own.
"Mum was asking if you're coming to the Halloween party at the end of the month," Ron asks him.
"I think we're doing something in the Muggle world with Hermione's family," Draco tells him.
"Are you going trick-or-treating?" Harry asks with a laugh.
"If that what you call wandering the streets, freezing in silly costumes, begging for sweets and chocolate, then yes." He complains.
"It's not that bad, I think. It was one of my cousin's favourite days. He used to plan his route by which houses had given the most previous years. Although most of his consumes were just masks with a cape or something basic." Harry shrugs.
"Did you not go with him?" Draco asks.
Harry barked a laugh. "No, I wasn't allowed."
Draco's confused why his family wouldn't let him join his cousin, since, as he had read growing up, Harry had been raised by his Aunt and Uncle. Although sensing some awkwardness in the other man's expression, and seeing as Ron was shaking his head at him, Draco doesn't push any further.
"How is Ginny's training going?" He asks instead, starting a topic of conversation both Harry and Ron were interested in.
"She loves it. She's been promised to get some pitch time in a friendly match in January. It's making her train harder; she wants to prove herself." Harry explains proudly.
"I'm sure she'll do just that, I was impressed with her ability in her first game at Hogwarts. Although her chaser skills are much better than her seeker skills." Draco says.
"I'm glad that game wasn't against Slytherin," Harry jokes.
"I would have shown no mercy to the Weaslette." Draco smiles.
Ron scoffs, "She would have wiped the floor with you."
Draco quirks an eyebrow at him, silently asking 'really?'.
Ron shrugs in defeat, "Fine, you were alright."
"Thanks," Draco laughs. "Don't injure yourself with a simple compliment."
Harry laughs at Ron's offended expression.
"You put up a fair fight," Harry mentions.
"Didn't stop you beating me in nearly every match," Draco adds.
Harry smirks behind his cup of tea.
Draco rolls his eyes as he stands up, "We've got some sandwiches in the fridge if you're interested. Hermione made them this morning." He states.
"Sure, if Hermione made them." Ron agrees.
He shakes his head as he collects the sandwiches already on a plate. When he returns, Scorpius is kicking and waving his arms about uncomfortably beginning to cry. He picks his son up, rocking for a moment before realising he needs a change.
"Excuse me a moment," he heads upstairs to Scorpius' bedroom. "Are you having fun with your friends?" he asks his son as he removes his little feet from the feet of his baby suit. "I think we're doing quite well." He adds, waving his wand with a baby changing spell. "All clean, now." He mutters, redressing his son.
Back in the living room, Teddy is sat on the rug, eating a sandwich, while James is eating a slice of buttered bread from Harry's sandwich. Draco collects a bottle from the fridge to feed Scorpius with one hand while eating his own sandwich with his other.
The three continue their Quidditch conversation, discussing various teams and players. It was a safe topic for the three of them, something they all enjoyed and kept up to date with. Although, eventually, even they ran out of things to say about Quidditch, and moved onto their children, another topic that all enjoyed. Once they'd finished their small lunch, which after the sandwiches, consisted of a slice of cake and more tea, or a coffee in Ron's case, Ron has to bid them all goodbye, when Phoebe falls asleep, face buried in the rug and her bottom in the air. He nods his thanks to Draco for lunch, collects his children from the floor and floos back to his own house to put them down for their afternoon nap.
Harry stays not much longer, waiting until Teddy has finished another jigsaw puzzle before bidding them goodbye.
Once their guests had left, Draco waves his wand to clear the mess of crumbs on his rug from Teddy and James, them resizes and repositions the coffee table. He levitates the dishes into the sink, setting them to wash themselves before positioning Scorpius on his baby play mat so Draco can write a quick letter to Pansy. He folds the parchment, putting it in his pocket to send later since Athena is at Sophie's. He then picks Scorpius up, sitting back on the couch and waving the television on, just in time for Blue Peter. Scorpius drifts off to sleep on his father's chest, listening to his rhythmic breathing.
Hermione's last visit to Lucius had been nearly two months ago, after their holiday to Devon before Scorpius was born. That morning, she had carefully chosen a selection of pictures of Scorpius that she was excited to show Lucius, however, since her discussion with Narcissa, she was feeling less than enthusiastic with visiting her father-in-law.
The Ministry Officials guarding the office of the Head of Azkaban were so used to Hermione's presence in the prison, as they had very few other visitors, they barely raised their eyes from their playing cards at her arrival.
"Good afternoon, Owen, Kurt," she greets them.
"Afternoon," Owen grunts.
"It's Lexi's today," Kurt informs her.
"Thanks," she smiles, knocking on the door to the Head of Azkaban's office herself.
"Enter," Lexica Park calls.
Hermione enters, closing the door behind her. Lexi sighs, placing her quill down atop a pile of parchment at her presence. "Ms Granger, it's been a while." She gestures to the seat in front of her desk.
"It has been, you may have heard I gave birth recently," Hermione mentions.
Lexi nods, "I read about that, and the Prophecy. Do you really think it's wise to be visiting a known Death Eater during these times?" She asks.
"Very few people know of these visits, and Lucius has no means of communication with anyone outside of Azkaban, so I feel safe enough to continue our visits," Hermione assures her.
"Very well," she nods. "There has been no change to his state since your last visit, which is not necessarily something bad. He still won't speak to me, but his relationship with Rasheed has improved. I don't know why he refuses to speak to me," she states.
"I wouldn't take it personally, sometimes he doesn't speak to me, he just listens," Hermione says.
"I don't take it personally," Lexi assures her, packing her parchment into her bag as she stands up. "Shall we," she gestures to the door.
Outside Lucius' cell, Lexi enlarges a desk she pulls from her bag, along with a chair, so she can continue with her work. Hermione stands in front of the door as she waits for the guards to finish opening the complex locks.
"Thank you," she smiles at the two guards, both of which ignore her.
She steps into the room, finding Lucius at his desk, reading the most recent copy of The Quibbler.
"Hello, Lucius," she greets him, walking over to his desk and leaning back against the piece of furniture.
Lucius glances up at her with disinterest before going back to the newspaper.
"What's the matter?" She asks, but he ignores her. "I apologise it has been a while. I know we try to visit at least once a month, but we've been rather busy." She mentions.
Lucius' eyes flicker to her stomach then up to her face, a smile breaking through his attempt at staying annoyed. "You had your baby," he says, leaning back in his chair, arms crossed against his chest.
"That I did," she smiles.
"I assume that's why Draco isn't with you," he mentions.
"Draco's at home with our son. He's having a play date with Harry and Ron." She states.
Lucius laughs once, "I'm sure he's enjoying himself."
"I'm sure he is."
"You had a boy?" Lucius says.
"Hmm," Hermione makes eye-contact.
"You mentioned your son, your baby's a boy," he states.
"Yes," Hermione grins. "We have a son."
"The first half-blood Malfoy in generations."
"You sound like Narcissa," she jokes until his face frowns. "I'm sorry, I've just come from visiting her for the first time in months." She explains.
"How- how is Narcissa?" He asks, trying to sound nonchalant.
"She apologised for her poisoning attempt, and seems to have decided she wants me and my son in her life, despite us not being purebloods." She says. "She said she did it for you." She adds.
"For me?" He frowns.
"She mentioned how you tried to keep your family together during the war, especially after the attack of the Ministry in 1996. She's been trying to do what's necessary to continue the Malfoy name in a way you would approve of when you get out of here." Hermione explains.
"My wife is a strong woman," he states. "But she is weak when it comes to her heart. She loves her family intensely and would do anything for us, she has done anything for us. A lot can change in thirteen years, and I would not expect my family to be exactly the same when I leave here." He says.
"She realises this may be her last chance at a family. Draco and I were not going to divorce like some of the other Decree Couples, I think Narcissa has realised this now, and she's trying to push her beliefs aside so she can be a part of Draco's family." Hermione explains.
Lucius nods silently for a moment, seemingly thinking over her words and she lets him, glancing down at The Quibbler, which had become more of a travel newspaper now Xenophilius and Luna spent most of their time travelling around the world together.
"How is Draco taking to fatherhood?" Lucius eventually speaks.
"Like a duck to water."
Lucius frowns.
"It's an expression, it means he's a natural. He loves our son more than anything else. He talks to him all the time, telling him what he's going to teach him when he's older. Obviously, he loves dressing our son in cute outfits, despite me telling him they're just going to end up dirty within an hour, he doesn't care." She laughs.
Lucius smiles, "He's a good father?"
"He is," she confirms. "I have some pictures if you want to see."
"Of my grandson?" He sits taller.
"Yes, and some of Draco and I with him." Hermione chuckles, removing them from her jacket pocket. "This is from the day of his birth. He was born on the seventh of September." She passes Lucius a picture her mother had taken of Hermione in bed with Scorpius in her arms, and Draco sat on the edge of the bed, staring down at his wife and child.
Lucius takes the picture carefully at the edge, staring at the new family. "It's not moving," he mentions.
"It's a Muggle picture," she tells him.
He nods. "Draco looks happier than I've seen him since before the war." He mentions.
Hermione smiles, handing Lucius the next picture, the one of just Scorpius since his face wasn't very visible in the first picture.
"He has your eyes," he states.
"He does, but he definitely has the Malfoy face." Hermione laughs since everyone always mentioned her eyes when they met Scorpius.
"He has your curls too, although they're lighter than your hair." He glances up from the picture to Hermione, comparing them both.
"You'll see in the next pictures how much his hair has lightened since his birth. He was eight days old in that one. It should say on the back."
Lucius turns to picture over.
'Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy; 8 days.'
"Scorpius Hyperion?" Lucius reads curiously.
"Ah, yes, his name," Hermione tells him, although it's already apparent from the back of the picture.
"You stuck to tradition with Scorpius," Lucius states, but he's frowning. "Who is Hyperion? I haven't heard you mention him since you asked about my mother's diary." He stares into Hermione's eyes.
Hermione can feel the edges of her mind being tickled whit the tell-tale feeling of legilimancy. She pulls up her walls, instantly blocking her father-in-law from her memories of Hyperion. She had learnt to do so when Dumbledore thought it was appropriate for Harry to learn in their sixth year.
"Please don't use legilimancy on me, all you need to do is ask, and I'll tell you as much as I can." She sternly tells Lucius, who pulls out of her mind.
"I apologise, I am not used to people being truthful." He states.
"It's fine, just don't do it again."
"It's been a while, I'm a little out of practice; otherwise, your walls would not have been able to keep me out." He mentions. "They were good, but I can tell you are self-taught. Might I suggest asking Draco for a lesson, I thought him myself." Lucius tells her.
"Thanks, I will ask him." Hermione smiles. Lucius was telling her to improve her occlumency skills to better protect herself.
"Who is Hyperion?" Lucius asks again.
Hermione takes a deep breath, not sure how much Draco would want her to tell his father about his uncle and Lucius brother. "This is difficult; I'm sure Draco doesn't want you to know, and yet you must know that this person has some importance to us for us to give our son his name." She starts.
Lucius nods, waiting for her to continue.
"Hyperion is a Malfoy," she says, observing his face.
He frowns, "I had never heard the name before you mentioned it to me months ago."
"There is a reason for that, he is a squib." She states.
"A squib," he repeats in understanding. "He would have been removed from the family tree."
"He was, but not from the Ministry's record archives," Hermione says. "Which is how we found him, along with another Malfoy squib, Arche Malfoy. There were nearly fifty years between the two, but we thought Hyperion may have tried to find him when he was abandoned, and we were right. We found Hyperion, and Arche's wife, Arche had died during the Muggle second world war." She explains.
"Are you going to tell me how he is related to the Malfoy's?" He asks, but Hermione just stares at him, hoping he can figure it out himself, so she doesn't have to tell him herself. Lucius, getting the idea, starts to think aloud, watching her reactions intently "He must have been someone of importance to my mother for her to react the way she did at his absence. My mother was a Black, so he wasn't her brother." Lucius' eyes widen, realisation hitting him. "Hyperion. I have a brother. That is not possible, Hermione. I would have found out about him before now. I was curious in my youth, I would have discovered if I had a brother." He stands up, pacing around his room.
"Your father, he would remove your memories every time you went to him with questions about Hyperion," Hermione tells him softly, not wanting to anger him.
"My father died in 1977," he snaps at her. "You expect me to believe after discovering I had a brother multiple times in the twenty-three before his death, I never figured it out in the twenty-three years since."
Hermione shakes her head, "I don't expect you to believe that."
Lucius stops abruptly in the middle of his room with a sigh, "Narcissa."
"I'm sure she was just trying to protect her family. I know pureblood's don't look too kindly upon squibs. She probably didn't want this information to get out and affect the Malfoy family name. Since your father had started this, she probably thought there was no harm in continuing to do so herself." Hermione wonders why she is defending her mother-in-law; she needs Lucius to calm down.
"You named your son after my squib brother." He states, looking up at her.
"Draco didn't want to stick completely to tradition, of naming his firstborn son after himself, and I'm sure you're aware of how he feels about you. He may have dropped some of his anger towards you, but there was no way he was going to name his son after you. He's gotten very close to Hyperion this past year. We've been on holiday with him and his children and grandchildren." Hermione explains, standing up.
"He has a family."
"Yes, he got married, adopted a son, then had four children of his own. The first time we met him, it was the day of his wife's wake. That was rather awkward, but we moved on." She laughs awkwardly.
"Does- does he remember me?" Lucius asks.
"Yes, he named his firstborn Avis Lucia, after you. He never forgot you." Hermione tells him.
Something in Lucius' eyes twinkle. "I have a brother." He mutters.
"He looks just like you, too," she smiles, offering him the picture of Hyperion whit Draco and Scorpius.
Her father-in-law takes the picture staring at the man that is almost his double. Hyperion has shorter hair, stubble around his face and a little more weight around his middle. "He looks like our father," he says, sitting back down in his desk chair. "Although he's happy."
"We'd just told him Scorpius' full name," Hermione mentions, leaning back against his desk. "Here are some more pictures of Scorpius, I want you to keep them. Although, I didn't get permission, so keep them hidden." She tells him.
Lucius takes the small stack, flipping through them carefully.
"That one was his first ride on a bus," she points out.
"A bus?" Lucius raises an eyebrow.
"It's a Muggle form of transportation."
He goes to the next picture.
"My uncle David bought him that fox, he loves it." She laughs. "That one is from my birthday dinner with my family, and that is my whole family, except my Grandma Emily. I didn't bring her picture."
She watches as Lucius' eyes scan each face in the picture. "Draco grew up with only myself and Narcissa. I'm glad your son has such a large family." He states.
"I'm glad too, all my cousins were born while I was at Hogwarts so I never really got to meet them. When I was growing up, it was my parents and three grandparents. My aunt was always out with friends, and my uncle never visited much, but that changed when he had Sophie." Hermione admits.
"Gwenog Jones' daughter."
"Yes, she's in America now, she sends letters for Sophie, but it's not the same as actually being here for her. Sophie's looking forward to her return at Christmas. David has finally agreed to let Sophie meet her maternal grandmother."
"I read in this newspaper about Gwenog Jones' move to America. Miss Lovegood as included one page for celebrity gossip, the majority of which is uninteresting. Still, I found Miss Jones' departure strange after she had worked to reconnect whit her daughter." He states, placing the pictures nit eh back of his journal.
"You sound like Draco, he doesn't like Gwenog, never has." She sighs.
"It must be for a good reason; my son doesn't trust easily," Lucius mentions.
Hermione shakes her head, glancing at her watch, half-past five. "Your dinner should be here soon, and I promised Draco I would be home by six o'clock. I'll visit again soon, with more pictures of Scorpius. His christening is soon, I'll be able to get a picture of him with Narcissa if you like?" She asks him, unsure of how he'll react to seeing a picture of his wife after over two years.
"You would do that, for me?" He asks, eyes wide, staring at her in disbelief.
"Of course, you haven't given me a reason to distrust you, you told me you were fine with me being your daughter-in-law, despite being a Muggleborn, and you didn't show any discontent when I showed you those pictures. You've never asked me for anything, if this is something you want, then I can do it for you." She tells him.
Slowly, he nods, "I would like that, thank you, Hermione."
Hermione smiles as she stands up, "It's no problem, Lucius, I'll visit soon." She promises as she flicks the switch for the guarding officials to open the door.
When she returned home, it was to find Scorpius asleep in his Moses basket in the dining room, while Draco was cooking his favourite, spaghetti bolognese for their dinner.
"How was your afternoon?" She asks, wrapping her arms around him from behind in a much-needed hug.
"Better than I expected," he admits. "How was yours?"
"Similar to yours," she smiles, breathing in her husband's scent. They hadn't spent longer than an hour apart since their son's birth, and she'd missed her little family. "I invited your mother to the christening, and your father appreciated the pictures. He also approved of his name." She announces, moving away to check on Scorpius.
Draco pauses in his stirring turning to face Hermione. "His full name?" He questions.
"It was on the back of the pictures," Hermione explains.
"Does he know?"
"Lucius has great detection skills. He knew Hyperion must have been someone important to his mother, but since he had the name Malfoy, it can't have been her brother. He went from there and figured it out. I didn't want to lie to him." Hermione admits.
Draco sighs, going back to their dinner. "It's fine, he would have found out eventually. Dinner's nearly ready." He adds.
Hermione helps set the table while Draco plates up their dinner. After they've eaten, they'll settle on the couch in each other's arms and watch whatever film came on at nine o'clock, like they did most nights, before heading to be afterwards. In the past month, they'd gotten themself into a little night-time routine that suited them well.
Just an unrelated question, is anyone a fan of Star Wars?
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