AN: Thank you so much for all the support! It is very deeply appreciated!
Another morning, another Elvis song blaring from the neighbor's house.
Hermione rolled over to her right and threw her pillow over her head. She tried to ignore her neighbor shouting over the King of Rock and Roll, but it proved to be a futile endeavor. How on earth the woman's off-key voice could be heard over the radio was a mystery. Did she use a sonoros spell? If so, was there any kind way to convince her that Elvis' songs did not need to become duets?
After the third song blared from the radio, Hermione groaned. Cursing her neighbor along with all morning people, she trudged out of bed into her bathroom. When the nightshirt fell to the floor, an old, familiar scar came into view.
Mudblood.
Over a decade later, Hermione's stomach churned at the letters. Hers was a scar which could make even the strongest of wizards recoil. Years ago, the healers had seen it. While most attempted to focus upon her face, their eyes always wandered to the scar. In Vegas, most people did not know the origin of the scar. All they knew was that "mudblood" was only uttered by pureblood supremacists, and should never be said aloud. Anyone reminding them of the word was either a pureblood supremacist, or ignorant of the Wizarding World's darker history, both inexcusable crimes.
She'd tried everything to remove the scar, bought every dark magic removal potion she could, cast every charm she could think of, and even had muggle laser surgery. The scar had not faded in the slightest. Every day, it taunted her with its existence. Sometimes the only remedy for her disgust was to meditate on a mix of herbs and spices, wrapped in a masculine scent she'd come to crave every evening. She had one friend who accepted her. Even if he didn't know about the scar, he knew about her past, and accepted her. Right now, that was all she needed.
Taking a deep breath, she turned on the shower. No point in meditating on her desire for a pure, unscarred arm when it could never be. Best to hide her arm underneath long-sleeved dresses and hope people were too polite to ask questions about her attire.
"You look like an angel! Walk like an angel! Talk like an angel! But I got wise!"
She grimaced at this song. It had to be the most obnoxious one on the Elvis Presley playlist. At least it wasn't the yacht rock playlist. Good God was that annoying! If she heard Rupert Holmes singing about piña coladas one more time she was going to ram her head against the shower wall.
"You're the devil in disguise! Oh, yes, you are, devil in disguise!"
Hermione ground her teeth together. How Melonie could listen to the same playlist day after day and never grow bored with the songs was a mystery Hermione had never been able to solve.
"You fooled me with your kisses! You cheated and you schemed! Heaven knows how you lied to me! You're not the way you seemed!"
At six-thirty in the morning, listening to Elvis was hell.
Slow days were a mixed blessing. On the one hand, slow days meant fewer customers asking him asinine questions about potions, and/or demanding a refund because they didn't use it properly. On the other hand, slow days meant less profit. Of course, not consuming half his headache potions counted as making a profit. A headache-free day was appreciated after the chaotic 4th of July Sale.
The front door chimed, interrupting Severus' thoughts.
"Uncle Severus?"
"Draco?" Severus glanced up.
"Yes," Draco approached him, a woman hanging on his arm.
"Ginevra," he bowed his head. "What can I do for you two?"
"Well," Ginevra's eyes glistened as she turned to Draco. "Do you want to tell him? He is your godfather after all."
Draco's eyes glistened. "But I thought you wanted to break the news to everyone."
"Yes, but I don't want to ruin your moment."
"It isn't just my moment. It's yours too."
"True, and I am the one doing the hard work."
"What kind of work are you doing?" Severus asked.
Ginevra burst out giggling. "I'm helping with the family."
"Did Lucius finally give your marriage his blessing?" Severus asked.
"No," Ginevra's expression didn't falter. "Though he may have no choice but to accept our union now."
"What did you do, show him that having a red-head in the family increases one's wealth by twenty percent?"
"No, in fact," Draco held Ginevra tighter. "We may lose money on this."
"You do not sound too upset about this potential financial loss."
"It's worth it," Draco gave him a serene smile. "This is worth a few lost galleons."
"Please, please tell me you have not booked out every suite in the Luxor in order to throw a Hogwarts class reunion," Severus shook his head, remembering Draco's drunken plan to do just that a few months before he began dating Ginevra. To the relief of all involved, she had the good sense to talk him out of it.
"No, though that may be fun to do in a few years," Draco admitted.
"A few years?" Severus raised an eyebrow.
"Severus," the door chimed behind a familiar silhouette. "I came here with your book. I was thinking that…"
"Hermione!"
"Ginny," Hermione's face lit up. "I didn't expect to see you here."
"I didn't expect to see them here either," Severus replied. "They were going to tell me something important, just as soon as they figured out who will break the news."
"That sounds ominous," Hermione stood beside Severus' counter, book in hand.
"Okay," Draco cleared his throat. "We are here because we need to buy some antenatal vitamins and a few potions for maternal health."
Severus blinked while Hermione twisted her lips.
"I'm pregnant!" Ginevra announced.
"Oh my God," Hermione threw the book on Severus' counter before embracing Ginny. Both women squealed and leapt together.
"Congratulations," Severus beamed as he extended a hand to Draco. "I know you have desired a child for quite some time. I am happy you are finally going to have one."
"It's great to be a father," His eyes glistened as he shook Severus' hand.
"Actually, you're a father now," Ginevra broke away from Hermione. "You just can't hold your baby, or feel it kicking yet."
"True," Draco turned his attention to Ginevra's pelvis, "Though I'm very excited to meet our child."
"How long have you known your pregnant?" Hermione asked.
"We found out last week," Ginevra answered. "According to the mediwitch, I'm seven weeks along."
"I'm so happy for you," Hermione's eyes misted.
"Indeed, I know you two will be wonderful parents," Severus replied, "so long as you remember that you will never get a moment's peace again. That child will find new reasons to scream and will find new ways to keep you awake for decades to come."
"Severus," Hermione gave him a playful glare. "The least you can do is be happy for them."
"I am happy for them," he argued. "But being happy for someone does not entail that I must minimize the difficulties they will face."
"Don't worry, I have the sleep under control. Narcissa already told me to sleep when the baby does," Ginevra answered.
"And if that baby is anything like Draco, they won't sleep at all," Severus warned.
"Did I really not sleep?" Draco paled.
"Yes, you were rarely asleep," Severus answered. "It's why I did not visit Malfoy Manor until you were three. I had little interest in hearing you shout the day away."
Draco gulped.
"Don't worry," Ginevra took Draco's hand. "I was a quiet baby, so I'm sure Baby will take after me."
"That's what Lucius is afraid of," Severus muttered.
"Severus," Hermione hissed and elbowed him in the arm. He gave her a playful glare before rubbing the area where she'd touched him.
"Father says he's excited about this baby," Draco cut in. "He's already offered to set up a hefty trust fund for them."
"Which means he already adores the child," Severus' lips curled up.
"Indeed he does," Draco beamed.
Ginevra opened her mouth before turning to the book. The spark in her eyes lessened. "Oh dear, did we intrude on something?"
"Excuse me?" Severus asked.
"That book," Ginevra pointed to it. "I didn't realize you and Severus had something scheduled. We didn't mean to interrupt your reading club."
"Oh no," Hermione blushed. "I was just giving this to him during my lunch break. It's our new bestseller. I've already read it. It's quite engaging, and the twist ending is amazing. I didn't see it coming, but I feel as if I should have. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it."
"I look forward to reading it," Severus took the book before thumbing through the pages.
"Are you giving Uncle Severus free books now?" Draco asked.
"No," Hermione moved closer to the desk. "He's going to buy Pizza Castle for me tonight. It's a fair exchange."
"You're going over to his house again?"
"Why not? I'm there almost every day of the week."
"Yes, but aren't you running out of quarters given how often you lose?"
"I'm fine on quarters."
"You are?"
"Yes, I still have plenty in my jar, There are more than enough quarters for tonight."
"I am happy to hear it," there was a spark in Severus' eyes.
"You said you were over there almost every day?" Ginevra drawled.
"Yes."
"No offense, but why? You don't seem to be the person who wants to spend her free time gambling."
"We don't just gamble. We also discuss books, potions, amongst other things."
"You do?"
"Yes, our conversations are quite invigorating."
"Indeed they are," Severus answered. "They are the highlight of my day."
"They are?" There was a gleam in Hermione's eyes.
"Indeed they are," Severus eyes were just as bright.
"That's good, because sometimes I'm the only socialization you get outside of work."
"You may be correct in that assessment."
"See, someone has to go over there and ensure Severus socializes with someone," Hermione turned to Draco and Ginevra. "The last thing any of us would want is for Severus' social skills to waste away because the only people he'd been dealing with were dunderheaded customers."
"Dunderheaded," Ginevra drawled.
"Yes," Hermione answered. "Dunderheaded."
"That's an interesting choice of words," Ginevra pondered aloud.
Severus' stomach sank. Years of experience had taught him to distrust that gleam in Ginevra's eyes. Whatever she had planned was bound to give everyone around her an enormous migraine.
"Yes, Hermione is doing quite well on her vocabulary lessons," Severus answered, doing his best to ignore his growing sense of foreboding. "I am pleased with her progress."
"I'm sure you're an excellent teacher," Draco replied. "Not that she ever needed to be taught how to insult people."
"That isn't true. When I moved here, my insults left something to be desired," Hermione admitted. "Calling people idiots wasn't adequately expressing my rage at the world. Dunderhead, know-it-all, and insipid fool roll off the tongue much better."
"Indeed they do," Severus smirked.
Draco twisted his lips.
"Anyway, I should leave you two alone. It looks like you're busy," Ginevra cut in.
"Oh no. I actually need to leave soon to tend to my store," Hermione glanced down at her watch before returning her attention to Severus. "Let me know how that book is."
"I will do that," Severus promised.
Hermione waved at him before leaving his apothecary and walking across the street to her store.
"It must be nice for Hermione to be so close for most of the day," Ginevra began.
"I'd rather she be across the street than some dunderhead who is selling slot machine parts and divination supplies anyway," Severus answered.
"There are stores like that?" Draco asked.
"This city has everything you could ever dream up, including your nightmares."
"I see."
"Well, we should be collecting our potions now," Ginevra took Draco's arm before her eyes glistened again. "We just had to tell you our news in person."
"I am thrilled for you both," Severus' voice was soft. "You will both make outstanding parents."
"Thank you," she answered.
"Yes," Draco choked, "Thank you."
Severus watched them peruse the aisles, relieved that at least two people could create something beautiful. After the tragedy which was the Second Wizarding War, a little love went a long way.