By the time Lucius and Narcissa brought Rose and Scorpius home almost a week later, Draco and Hermione had settled into married life, the only real changes to their routines outside of the kids were that they now shared Draco's bedroom and didn't shy away from touching each other anymore. Rose and Scorpius were happy to be home and talked non stop about all the different things they had done and seen while in France with their grandparents. Scorpius had visited the vineyards before and Lucius had taken the kids to Paris for a day trip as well. "We had lunch at this really fancy restaurant and Grand-père ordered in French and everything." Rose told them, sprawling across Hermione's lap on the sofa in the parlor.
"And then Rose ate snails and got sick." Scorpius commented, snagging one of the chocolate covered shortbread cookies from the tray on the coffee table. "Oh Merlin! I'm so sorry!" Hermione turned to Lucius who looked rather abashed, "I should have warned you of her food allergies before you left."
"I knew about the shellfish allergy, we just didn't realize the escargot could cause a reaction as well." Lucius fidgeted with his teacup,
"The healers were very nice though and spoke English to me when they realized I didn't speak French. And they taught me how to say 'Je suis allergique aux–"
"crustacés." Scorpius supplied. "Ma sœur est allergique aux escargots."
"Show off." Rose muttered, sticking her tongue out at Scorpius as Draco complimented him on his pronunciation.
"We got to see Aunt Ginny play against the French national quidditch team too." Scorpius continued. "they won 210 to 150."
Rose giggled "The French couldn't keep the quaffle for more than a second, and their seeker only managed to catch the snitch because it hit him in the face."
"I believe a small red headed girl screaming obscenities at him from our box was rather distracting." Narcissa observed,
"Rose!" Hermione exclaimed, "what have I told you about watching your language?" Rose ignored her mother,
"Everyone was shouting nana. And should you even be a professional player if the crowd is able to distract you?"
"I am so sorry Narcissa."
Her mother in law waved a hand, "I remember Draco doing the same thing when he was about her age, only he was shouting in French." Draco had the grace to blush.
"The children were over all quite well behaved, and we had a lovely visit. We will have to do it again soon."
Two weeks later the children started back to school the day before Hermione left for Hogwarts.
Draco and Hermione agreed to pull the kids for the day so they could see their mother off on the Hogwarts Express as a selection of teachers were required to ride the train as chaperones. Rose and Scorpius had been to platform 9 ¾ before to see cousins off to Hogwarts but this was the first time saying goodbye to one of their own and both Rose and Scorpius were teary as Hermione said goodbye. "Cheer up darlings! I'll be home for dinner tomorrow night!" Hermione told them as she pulled them both into her arms. "And you've got school tomorrow yourselves."
Rose sighed. "but you won't be here for breakfast!"
"Or bedtime." Scorpius added,
"You have your father. And he's a much better reader than I am."
Draco snorted a laugh, "that's debatable."
She shot him a grin as she stood up, her robes swirling about her feet.
"We shall miss you." He reached for her and she went willingly into his arms.
"I shall miss you as well. But it's only for one night." Hermione tilted her head, "how does the saying go? Absence makes the heart grow fonder?"
"Mmm. Indeed." he leaned down and brushed a kiss across her lips, "we'll be waiting for your return." The children hugged her tightly as well and with one last farewell to her family Hermione boarded the Hogwarts Express for the first time as a teacher.
Late that night, well after the children had gone to bed and the beginning of term festivities had come to a close, Hermione lay in her borrowed bed and stared at the ceiling- realizing that there was no real reason not to return home for the night. The floo in her office was already connected to the one in Draco's office, she could nip through and curl up in her own bed beside the warmth of her husband who was probably just beginning to wind down for the evening himself, rather than lay here in the cold by herself. And so she found herself on her feet, the blue housecoat she had stolen from her husband wrapped around herself, the scent of him in the fabric making her blood heat. She was definitely going home. Her small room was adjacent to her office and it was only a few steps between the door and the floo, a fist full of powder flung down as she called out for his office.
The house was still and quiet as she stepped out into the now familiar space. She breathed in the pleasant scent of wood, leather and old books that pervaded the room. She was home.
Hermione crept from the room silently on slippered feet and made her way through the long halls, the soft almost imperceptible hum of magic emanating from the house that she'd grown so accustomed to over the months living there warmed her. Welcome home. Welcome. Home. You're Home. the whispers in her heart made her smile. She'd only been gone for the day, but it felt like forever.
The common room was still and dark as she made her way through their main living space, but there was a small light seeping underneath their bedroom door, showing that her husband hadn't quite called it quits for the night yet. He was probably sitting up reading.
She crept quietly into the room, just in case he had fallen asleep with the lights on.
"I was wondering what happened to my housecoat."
Hermione grinned at her husband who sat shirtless in their bed, his current read cast aside as he watched her come through the door.
"I got homesick." she said,
"It was less than twenty four hours, love.'' He set his reading glasses on the nightstand and threw back the quilt for her to join him.
"The mattress was lumpy." She took off the housecoat, throwing it across the chair on her side of the bed before crawling in beside him.
"They always were in the dorms." he wrapped his arms about his wife, breathing in the scent of her hair and she laid her head on his chest.
"I missed you." she sighed.
"I missed you too." he wove his fingers into her hair and then with a murmured "nox" he put out the lights.
Hermione left before the kids woke up the next morning and their day proceeded just as everyone expected until Draco picked them up from school. Mrs. Ferguson, Rose and Scorpius's teacher was waiting for him when he arrived and asked him to step into her office for a minute before they left. Rose and Scorpius stayed in with the rest of the class waiting to be dismissed as Draco sat down opposite Mrs. Ferguson's desk.
"I don't want to concern you unduly, Mr. Malfoy, I just wanted to let you know that Rose has insisted that her name is wrong on my roster and I wanted to be sure that I'm still correct in addressing her as Granger-Weasley as I know your family dynamic has recently changed."
Mrs. Ferguson had been James' teacher the year before and was familiar with the family.
"You are correct, her name hasn't changed." Draco replied, and then paused. "If I may ask- what has she said her name is?"
"She's requested to be called Rosamund Malfoy- and indeed has written that on all of her papers the last two days she's been in class." Mrs. Ferguson was an older woman, but not uncompassionate with her young students. "I don't have any problem calling her Rosamund- but She does need to have the appropriate name written on her work."
"Thank you." Draco said, taking in what the teacher was telling him. "Her mother and I will talk with her about it."
Draco collected the children and they headed home for homework and some time flying before Hermione arrived home in time for dinner.
"Dad- Mrs. Ferguson said I had to put Granger-Weasley on my papers. But I'm a Malfoy aren't I? Because you and mum got married, so that makes me a Malfoy now doesn't it?" Rose asked as she stabbed her chicken with a bit more force than necessary. Draco had got the chance to tell Hermione about his conversation with Mrs. Ferguson just before dinner so she wasn't surprised by the question.
"Technically I'm your stepfather," Draco replied, "And your mother is Scorpius's stepmother. So the only one who's name would actually change is your mothers, but she has chosen to keep Granger."
"So I can't be a Malfoy like you and Scorpius?" Rose sounded like she might cry at the thought.
"If I adopted you, you would be my daughter, and not my stepdaughter, and then your name would be Malfoy like mine." Draco explained carefully.
"If mum adopted Scorpius, does that mean his name would be Granger?" Rose asked after a minute, and Scorpius just watched quietly as the discussion played out around him.
"If he wanted it to be." Draco replied, "but even if Hermione adopted him, he could also keep his name as it is."
"So If you adopted me, would it just be my last name that would change?"
"Your name could be whatever you wanted it to be." Hermione told her, and Rose sat with that for a long while.
Hermione and Draco made eye contact across the table and the tears that glistened in Hermione's eyes told him all he needed to know. Ron had never really been a father to his daughter. But Draco had. From the minute she had stepped into his home, Draco had become the father she needed. Just as Hermione had stepped into the empty space of mother for Scorpius.
"I want to be daddy's Rosamund." Rose said finally. "Rosamund Minerva Malfoy."
And so, she was.
The End