It has been far too long since Hermione's hosted anything at her house, so she sets out to clean the house after asking Mitty to make her and Megan a breakfast spread. Draco busied himself with bathing and dressing Scorpius for their last-minute play date with Gregory and Augusta, who's only a few months older than him.
Draco and Scorpius kiss Hermione's cheek goodbye at quarter to nine before flooing to The Leaky Cauldron. From there, they would apparate to the Goyle's house. Hermione waits by the door to their fireplace for Megan's arrival.
Megan sits at a table for two in The Leaky Cauldron. As she sips her pumpkin juice, she stares at the fireplace, questioning what made her agree to Hermione's breakfast offer. During their visit yesterday, Megan had been feeling vulnerable and overwhelmed. The pain and emotion of President Harris' accusation was still fresh. She needed to talk to someone just to get her thoughts in order, but she hated burdening her friends. Although, she and Hermione aren't that close. Sure, they shared a dormitory in their eighth year, and their husbands are friends, but all they ever talk about is MACUSA and their plans to overthrow Kingsley. Maybe talking to someone who didn't know her well would do her good. Hermione would also be likelier to give her an honest, unbiased opinion.
As she decides not to cancel breakfast with Hermione, Draco Malfoy exits the fireplace with Scorpius on his hip. As they lock eyes, Draco smiles and walks over.
"You can head over early if you want," Draco informs her. "Hermione's been ready for half an hour."
Megan hadn't expected Hermione to put so much effort into a simple breakfast. "She didn't need to do too much."
"This is Hermione we're talking about," Draco jokes.
Megan cracks a smile. "You're right. I'll head over now."
Draco takes Scorpius out of the pub into Diagon Alley. He wanted to buy some cakes and a new toy or something for Augusta. He's not sure how these play dates should go since they are usually just visiting friends or family.
Five minutes into their trip, Scorpius starts wriggling, wanting to be down on the ground. Draco struggles for a bit longer, knowing it'll take twice as long if Scorpius walks, but gives in when they start drawing attention.
First, they visit Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, where Scorpius picks out a set of bug toys. Despite repeatedly informing his son that the toy is for Augusta, he isn't sure Scorpius understands that he can't keep the bugs, so Draco buys two sets so they can take one home. Afterwards, they walk down to Fortescue's, who's started selling brownies. Draco picks four different flavours, chatting with Hannah and Neville as they box them up for them.
"So, how are you feeling, Hannah?" Draco asks. "Neville talks of nothing but you and the baby at work."
Neville blushes from his stool behind the counter, but Hannah smiles fondly.
"I feel better than I have in months. The sickness is no joke. Neville told me Hermione had it bad with Scorpius," Hannah says.
"Me!" Scorpius sings upon hearing his name.
"Yes, you sweetie," Hannah laughs.
"She did, mostly on a night, so she didn't sleep much. It was only the first trimester, though," Draco agrees.
"Mine was throughout my second, but I'm in my third now and feeling generally uncomfortable. The only pain comes when he kicks me in the ribs." Hannah sends a half-hearted glare at Neville.
"What do you want me to do about it?" Neville asks.
"He, you're having a boy."
"Our healer told us there's an eighty per cent accuracy, so we're going with neutral tones in the nursery, just in case, but we'll be happy either way."
"Well, Hermione and I are very happy for you both," Draco tells them, placing the box of brownies into his bag. "We better get going; we've got a play date."
"Have fun!" Hannah waves at Scorpius as the toddler walks towards the door.
"See you tomorrow, Draco," Neville calls.
Draco waves behind as they leave and apparates to the Goyle's house.
Hermione waits by the fireplace after her husband and son have vanished, waiting for Megan to enter. Despite sharing a room in their eighth year, Hermione had spent long hours in the library. Megan was usually asleep when she returned at night or left in the morning. The few times they interacted in their dormitory, Hermione remembers snapping at her for taking too long in the bathroom and being too loud the few times Hermione had to study on her bed.
At that thought, the fireplace lights up, and Megan steps through, looking a little nervous as she glances around the room.
"Hi, how are you?" Hermione greets her, making the other woman jump. "Sorry, come in."
Megan smiles, "Draco said you were ready."
"Have you come from home?" Hermione asks, gesturing for Megan to sit at the kitchen table.
"No, we don't have the floo network set up; we don't want certain people knowing where we live," Megan admits, her eyes wide as she takes in all the food on the table. "You didn't need to do all this."
"Nonsense," Hermione dismisses her concern as she pours their cups of tea from a teapot. "Mitty helped with most of it. I just tidied the kitchen."
"I'm surprised you have a house-elf," Megan says. "Sorry, was that too forward of me."
"No, I love Mitty; she's part of the family. Draco's tried to let her go, but she won't accept it. She practically raised him, and she's great with Scorpius. The least I can do is ensure she's comfortable in her flat and has everything she needs," Hermione explains.
Megan nods. "Tell her I was very grateful for her breakfast."
"How are you feeling after yesterday?" Hermione asks, using tongs to place a croissant on both their plates.
"Honestly, I'm a little embarrassed. I was very emotional and rude," Megan admits, blushing.
"You have nothing to be embarrassed about. You did nothing wrong yesterday or on that day," Hermione assures her.
"I'm just trying to forget about it."
"Have you told Gideon yet?"
Megan scoffs, "What am I supposed to tell him? Hey, boss, the President of MACUSA accused me of being a Death Eater and leaking out secret plans to overthrow the Minister of Magic to the new Dark Lord."
"Yeah, that might not go too well," Hermione agrees. "Once this is all over, you can formally complain against President Harris through Gideon. You'll be transferred to a different country."
"I kind of think I'm done being a foreign liaison." Megan shrugs.
"Don't give up on your plans because one person treated you like shit. It won't always be like that," Hermione tries to encourage her.
"I've been speaking to my Aunt Hestia; there might be opportunities within the Ministry. I hate spending so much time away from Augusta and Gregory. It's not fair on either of them for me to spend so much time liaising in other countries," Megan states.
"If you're doing this for the right reasons, I can't fault you."
"I'm doing it a bit because of Harris, but it's all worked out for the best. Augusta's getting older, and soon, she will start realising I'm not always around. I remember what that's like, but Augusta doesn't have a grandmother or an aunt to be shipped off to at the drop of a hat," Megan huffs. "Sorry, I don't get to vent much. Gregory doesn't understand and tries to help me fix the issue, but some problems can't be fixed."
"I'm a great listener." Hermione smiles, scooping fruit salad into a bowl with a drizzle of cream.
Arriving at Gregory's front door, Draco knocks on the front door, which is apparently a mistake because Scorpius screams and slaps his leg.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Draco bends down, picking his son up and placing him on his knee.
"Me," Scorpius cries and motions to knock on the door.
"You want to knock?"
"Knock knock," Scorpius cries.
"Who's there?" Gregory asks, having opened the door.
Scorpius screams louder.
"Do you mind closing the door so Scorpius can knock?" Draco asks.
Gregory raises his eyebrow, questioning if he's serious, but then does as requested when Draco nods.
"Go on, knock on the door."
Scorpius waddles over to the door and knocks with his tiny fist, tears streaming down his face.
Gregory opens the door. Augusta is hiding behind him, peering around his leg curiously. "Wow, look who it is? It's Scorpius."
Scorpius giggles at the act and holds onto the threshold to climb up the step into the Goyle household.
"Hi!" Scorpius says to Augusta, who ducks her head into her father's legs. "Bye," he says, walking past her and down the corridor.
"You're spoiling your boy, Draco," Gregory tells him, picking Augusta up. "What's he going to be like when he has to share your attention with the new baby?" he asks, gesturing for them to enter the living room.
Draco hadn't considered how Scorpius would react to being a big brother. As an only child, he hadn't realised it might be a big issue, but he supposed going from having all his parents' attention to having to share might cause him to resent or be jealous of the new baby.
"I hadn't thought about it." Draco sits on the couch, his thoughts running faster than the Firebolt.
"Well, how did he react when you told him?" Gregory asks, sitting in the armchair with Augusta, who immediately slides off her dad's lap and walks over to stare at Scorpius, who is crouched looking under the couch.
Draco frowns, "He's a one-year-old; he's not going to understand what being a brother is about."
"You haven't told him?" Gregory looks surprised.
"No, are we supposed to tell him?"
"What? You'll come home one day with a baby and expect him to handle it. You need to get him used to the idea."
"How do you know all this? There was nothing in the baby books about it."
Gregory shrugs. "It's common sense."
Draco laughs abruptly. "Sorry, I'm sorry," he apologises, but Gregory is laughing too.
"Da, bug." Scorpius hits Draco's knee, then holds his hands out for the bug toys.
"We don't know how these play dates are supposed to go, so we bought Augusta a gift." Draco brings out the shrunken toy and enlarges it before passing it to his son. "Where's Augusta?"
Scorpius glances around, looking for the person in question, then points at Gregory.
"No, that's Gregory."
"Gegy?"
Gregory burst into laughter.
"Yes, that's Gegy," Draco cements the name in Scorpius' mind. "That's Augusta," he points to the little girl still watching from behind the coffee table.
"Hi," Scorpius tries again, walking over. He holds the box out to Augusta.
The young girl glances at her dad, who nods for her to take the box.
"Open it up, Augusta. What is it?" Gregory asks.
Slowly, Augusta figures out how to open the box and then grins brightly upon seeing the bug figures.
"Pider," Augusta says, pointing at the eight-legged model of a spider.
"She loves spiders," Gregory explains.
"Capillar," Scorpius points to the caterpillar.
Augusta turns the box upside down, and all the bugs fall onto the table. Together, the two toddlers begin investigating and organising the toys.
"This is easier than I thought," Gregory admits.
"It seems they're occupying themselves."
"I'll put the kettle on," Gregory states, yawning.
"Megan mentioned you're working a lot," Draco mentions. "Are you alright?"
"Great. I love working in the kitchen."
"What do you do, exactly?" Draco asks.
"I'm a kitchen porter. I wash up, clean stations, and carry the heavy bags of vegetables. They're training me, though. Right now, I'm learning how to cut vegetables. They have to be the right size, or they don't cook evenly," he explains.
"Megan said you're happy."
Gregory nods. "Did she tell you she's quitting in the summer?"
"Yeah, it's for the best. We weren't happy when Harris told us how she'd treated her," Draco says.
"I want Megan to take time off, so I've got to work long hours and train. Right now, I'm on minimum wage. Four pounds ten an hour, that's about fourteen sickles. We're doing okay, but Megan needs a break," Gregory explains.
"If you need anything, I'll be more than happy to help," Draco offers.
"We both know I won't accept that."
"I know, but the offer is there. Your family's health and safety are more important than your pride," Draco tells him.
Gregory grunts as he makes their coffee.
"And then Gregory fell into the bath. As you can imagine, water went everywhere. Our kitchen ceiling was leaking, and now we've got water marks. The landlord wasn't pleased when we called him, but we managed to fix the worst with magic before he came over," Megan tells her story.
"What is it with babies hating baths? I wish I could have one every day, like Scorpius. Honestly, the baths Draco draws are amazing. The perfect temperature, and he charms the bubbles into animals that gallop around the bath," Hermione explains.
"That is adorable," Megan chuckles, then shudders slightly. "Sorry, sometimes I quite suddenly realise who our husbands are. Do you ever feel guilty for loving him?" She asks. "Like younger, you wouldn't understand or accept that you've fallen for their bully."
"It used to bother me a lot during the first few months, but Draco really showed me who he was and replaced all those awful memories with new, beautiful moments," Hermione admits.
"How is Narcissa treating you these days? Gregory's mother despises me and Augusta. She thinks I've used a love potion to keep him around longer than the decree," Megan says.
"Our relationship with her is constantly rocky. She's not been in the right frame of mind since Lucius was sentenced, and she blames Draco for that. She's waiting for Lucius to serve his time so she can have her perfect family back, but that doesn't involve me or Scorpius. We rarely visit as she can't hold back her vitriol, and it does hurt, even though I know it's not true," Hermione sighs.
"I'm so glad I never had to grow up in that pureblood world, and our children won't have to either. Gregory and I have started looking at local nurseries to send Augusta to when she turns two. We don't want her to grow up not knowing what else is out there. We live in the muggle world; she must know how to survive. It was a steep learning curve, even with my NEWT in Muggle Studies."
Hermione scoffs, "Sorry, but Muggle Studies is utter crap. Professor Burbage was half-blood, and neither of her parents were muggles. There's no way she could have had much real-life experience to teach. The course was a joke. At least now, Jonathan Atkins is teaching, an actual muggle-born. However, he still has to follow the Ministry's curriculum, written by a bunch of purebloods."
Megan smiles across the table at Hermione. "I'm surprised you went into teaching. I always thought you were going to make a real difference."
"I am making a difference. None of those students have had a stable education at Hogwarts since they started," Hermione defends herself.
"I know you're passionate about education, but I saw you working your way up the Ministry. Maybe Head of Education, fixing everything wrong with Hogwarts," Megan admits.
"Honestly, I didn't have much vision for my life after the war and throughout my eighth year. Then Minerva offered us the teacher training and position, and I jumped at the familiarity. I don't think I'll be there forever like every other professor seems to do. In another few years, then I might try something new. We're still so young; I don't know how they can expect us to know what we want to do for the rest of our lives at twenty-one."
"Well, I'm going to try something new, so I say go for it. You've got a lot of friends in high places, especially within the Order, so once Shacklebolt has gone, you'll be able to walk into any job you want," she states.
"So will you; you've played just as big a role as us in this business," Hermione reminds her.
Megan shrugs awkwardly, not used to accepting praise or merit.
Behind the couch, Draco and Gregory sit at the dining table, keeping their eyes on their children as they play. Scorpius and Augusta are invested in the bug figures and only leave the game they invented to sip at the juice and nibble at the biscuits Gregory provides.
"Ta," Scorpius politely thanks Gregory for his snacks, sitting on his father's lap as he noisily enjoys them.
Suddenly, Gregory bursts into a fit of laughter, earning a confused look from Draco and an annoyed one from Augusta.
"Can you imagine our fathers doing this when we were children?" He asks.
Draco frowns, "Of course not; Lucius didn't speak to me until I was five years old and could converse."
"It's only now I'm away from all the pureblood traditions that I realise how weird they were," Gregory admits.
Draco nods, "It's taken a while, but we've made it out the other side relatively well."
Gregory sighs, "Do you think about Vincent much?"
"Not as much as I should. We could've very easily ended up like him," Draco says. "I'm unsure how well he would have adjusted to The Marriage Decree and our new lives. I was a dick and hurt people because it was expected of me. You hurt people because you were following my leadership. He hurt people because he liked it."
Gregory nods sadly. "When you went off with Blaise and Pansy more often after our third year, it was just me and him. He was scary sometimes, but he was like my brother, and I miss him."
"It's alright to miss him, Gregory. But we don't dismiss our actions, so we shouldn't dismiss him just because he's dead," Draco states.
Gregory sniffs, "I know." He shoves a biscuit in his mouth, effectively ending the conversation.
After nearly two hours, Hermione and Megan tidied up their many breakfast plates and bid the other goodbye.
"I'll send Draco and Scorpius your way when I get home," Megan promises, hugging Hermione. "Thank you so much for this. It was fun, and I needed someone to talk to about everything."
"I had fun, too. Maybe next time we can invite some other ladies, make a tradition out of it," Hermione suggests.
"Of course, see you soon," Megan says as she steps into the fireplace and floos to The Leaky Cauldron.
Gregory is washing up in the kitchen when Megan returns home. She shrugs off her jacket, hanging it on the peg behind the door, then joins him in the kitchen, pressing a light kiss to his cheek.
"How was your breakfast?" He asks her, his hands all bubbly from the washing-up liquid.
"Perfect, just what I needed." She grins.
"Great, Augusta's been asking to go to the park. You up for it?" He asks, drying his hands on a tea towel.
Megan knows he is being purposefully gentle with her, but she truly does feel better than ever after talking to Hermione. She might as well ride that feeling before ending up back in her pyjamas and lying on the couch.
"Let's go now."
Draco wishes the Goyle's goodbye with a brief hug as he leaves their house. Scorpius sits on his shoulders, a compromise that keeps his son from walking himself, which takes twice as long. Once in a secluded area, Draco brings his son down into his arms and apparates back to the gates of their house. Scorpius runs the entire length of their driveway straight into Hermione's arms. He only falls over three times, but Draco leaves the boy to pick himself up since he doesn't cry.
"How was the play date?" Hermione asks Scorpius, wrapped up in her arms.
"Capillar," Scorpius tells his mother.
"You found a caterpillar?" Hermione asks.
"No, pay capillar," Scorpius frustratingly tells her.
Hermione looks up at Draco for comprehension.
"We bought Augusta a bug figurine collection, and Scorpius' favourite was the caterpillar. He played with the caterpillar," Draco explains.
"Oh, that sounds exciting," Hermione gives the correct reaction.
Scorpius turns to face his father. "My capillar, peas."
Hermione narrows her eyes at her husband. "You better not have bought him more toys."
Draco grimaces, "You heard him. How could I refuse? He said peas." He enlarges the shrunken bug figures set and passes it to his son.
"Draco Malfoy, we can't see our living room floor for all of Scorpius' toys," Hermione chastises him.
"I'm sure the baby will enjoy them too." He wraps his arms around his wife, kissing her cheek. "I think we should tell Scorpius about the baby.
"I'm sure he's aware." Hermione glances down to find their son oblivious to their conversation and attempting to rip into the box.
"Gregory thinks we need to tell him, or he'll be jealous when we bring the baby home," Draco explains.
"I suppose that makes sense," Hermione agrees, sitting on the step of their porch. "Hey, Scorpius, come here, baby."
Scorpius attention is drawn, so he leaves the box and wanders over to his mother, sitting on her lap.
Curious about how this will go, Draco sits beside his wife, watching with amusement.
"Scorpius, you're going to be a big brother," Hermione informs their son. "Do you know what that means?"
Scorpius looks at his father and frowns.
"We're going to have a new baby in the house?"
Their son's head tilts to the side as he begins to understand. "A bus?"
Draco laughs, "Not a bus, a baby."
"He's saying Albus," Hermione translates for their toddler.
"Oh," Draco chuckles.
"Albus is not coming to our house. It'll be a different baby, and they will live with us forever," Hermione explains.
"Why?" Scorpius asks.
"Because the baby is family. They'll be your brother or sister," Hermione answers.
Scorpius pauses to think before replying, "No, tank ou."
Hermione and Draco lock eyes, having not realised it would be this difficult.
"It's too late, Scorpius. The baby is inside my belly." Hermione gestures at her stomach.
Scorpius stares at the ever-growing bump. "Bye-bye."
"Okay, let's leave it there," Draco decides. "We can try again later. There's still plenty of time for him to come around to the idea."
The family of three heads inside their home. Scorpius is more than happy to play with his set of bug figures while Hermione and Draco prepare for the following week at work. By lunchtime, they take a break to cook and eat together, then spend the afternoon by the river, which has become one of their favourite places, walking near their home.
Scorpius runs ahead with his caterpillar toy, making it soar through the sky, despite Draco telling him caterpillars can't fly until they transform into butterflies.
"I know we wanted to wait a few more years before having our second child," Draco begins, squeezing Hermione's hand to gain her attention. "But when I was filling out that questionnaire for The Marriage Decree, I imagined it this way."
"You did?"
"Yeah, I saw my eldest pushing their trolley onto platform nine-and-three-quarters with a younger sibling on their trunk, but they weren't that younger. Then my wife and I were holding the hands of our third child, who was quite a lot younger, maybe four years old," he describes.
"Who did you imagine as your wife?" Hermione asks playfully.
Draco laughs, knowing precisely what she's doing. She's trying to see if she lives up to his own imagination of his ideal wife.
"My focus wasn't on her; I was answering the question on how many children I wanted, and when I wrote one, it had just disappeared," he further explains.
Hermione huffs, not getting the response she wanted, so Draco rolls his eyes and presses a kiss to the knuckles of their entwined hands.
"My imagination was my wildest dream, where I would get paired with someone who would love me and want to stay together after the birth of our first child. My dreams have come true, Hermione," he informs her softly.
Hermione chuckles as she blushes. "You're embarrassing me," she mutters but grasps his hand tighter as they follow after their son.