"My wife will not be joining us today. As you all know she is on maternity leave--" He trailed off as the door opened.
"I'm so sorry I'm late," Hermione said, entering the room and taking her seat at the head of the table. "What did I miss?" She was wearing a business suit and heels and was still pudgy from her pregnancy. Her brown hair was pulled into a neat bun on top of her head and she carried a small briefcase.
Draco glared at Hermione but she ignored him, pulling out a sheet of parchment and dipping her quill in the ink in front of her, ready to take notes.
"Um, Mrs. Malfoy?"
Hermione trained her eyes on the man who was addressing her. "Yes Roy?"
"You don't have to be here right now. Surely Draco can fill you in on the meeting later--"
"Nonsense. We break ground next week. Let's begin." She looked expectantly at her husband who was sitting opposite her at the other end of the table.
"Hermione may I see you in the hallway for a moment?" Draco asked through his teeth. He felt the eyes of the other board members on him as he stood and walked to the door.
"Sure darling." Hermione rose, wincing at the pain in her lower body.
She followed Draco into the hallway and closed the door behind her. "Yes?"
"Are you insane?! You had a baby a week ago Hermione! A week! Why are you here? Where is Scorpius?"
"Calm down Draco! You're being so dramatic. He's with Ginny. She came over with Teddy and James and I asked her to look after him so I could attend the meeting."
Draco stared at her incredulously. He was going to have a serious conversation with Ginny Potter. "Come on. I'm taking you home. How did you even get here?" He took her by the hand but she jerked away.
"I'm not leaving Draco."
"I'm not asking you Hermione. Let's go. I'll have Michelle reschedule the meeting."
When she didn't move, Draco pinched his nose in frustration. "Hermione please. Stop being difficult."
"I'm not being difficult. I'm here to do my job."
"I'm giving you one last chance to be reasonable before I lose it."
She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.
"I guess we're doing this the hard way." He carefully put his arm underneath her knees, gingerly picking her up and walked toward the lift.
Hermione gasped and banged her fists on his chest. "Draco Malfoy you put me down this instant!"
"You're making quite a scene Mrs. Malfoy. Quit squirming!" They passed Michelle's desk and he paused. "Michelle can you reschedule the board meeting for later this afternoon? I need to attend to my wife."
Hermione had stopped fighting but was pouting in Draco's arms. He took her downstairs and put her in the passenger seat of her car before climbing into the driver's seat.
"You are being absolutely ridiculous!" Hermione said angrily. "I was already there; You should have just let me attend the meeting."
Draco ignored her as he drove toward their home.
"Do you hear me Draco? I'm talking to you!"
"More like talking at me," he mumbled to himself.
"What was that?"
"Nothing love. Look, I need you to calm down."
"I will not calm down!" She shouted irately.
Draco was quiet as she continued to shout at him the rest of the way home. He pulled into the driveway and turned off the car. Hermione was silently fuming next to him with her arms folded across her chest.
"Why don't you want to be alone with Scorpius?" Draco asked quietly.
"What? That's ridiculous--"
"Hermione."
She still had her arms crossed but he could see the tears in her eyes, threatening to fall. "I don't know! Every time I look at him I feel like crying and then he starts to cry and...I can't sleep, I can't eat and..." Her voice caught in her throat as she started to sob. "I don't feel like he's my baby." She gasped and covered her mouth before unleashing another wave of tears. "I can't believe I just said that! I'm a horrible mother! Draco, I, I--"
Draco wrapped his arms around her as best he could in the car and tried to comfort her. "Hermione, love breathe. It'll be okay--"
She pushed him away from her and screamed in frustration, catching Draco very off guard. "You don't get to tell me it'll be okay! You don't have issues with him; he loves you! He cries when you leave the room, did you know that? Every single time!"
Draco shook his head as she glared at him. "Would you like me to take some time off of work so I can help you?"
She laughed mirthlessly before her expression turned somber again. "How would that help?"
Draco got out of the car and walked around to her side, opening the door and kneeling in front of her. "What can I do to make it better love? Tell me what you want me to do. I'll do anything to make it better."
Her eyes were vacant of any emotion as she stood abruptly, almost knocking Draco over in the process. "That's just it. I don't think there's anything you can do." She walked past him and into the house leaving a thoroughly bewildered Draco in the driveway.
********************
Draco came into the house a few minutes after Hermione and saw her laying on the couch in the drawing room with her head in Ginny's lap. He started to walk into the room but Ginny shook her head and gestured toward the staircase. He sighed and trudged up the stairs stopping in the nursery. He was surprised to see Jean sitting in the rocker with Scorpius.
"Hello Mother Granger."
She looked up and smiled at her son-in-law. "Hi Draco. Do you want him?"
Draco nodded and took Scorpius from her, taking a seat on the ottoman in the corner. Scorpius squirmed in his father's arms before settling back into sleep.
"You're really good with him," Jean observed, as she walked around the room cleaning up.
"Thank you," He was quiet, pondering whether or not to proceed with his question. "Mother Granger?"
She stopped what she was doing and looked over at him. "Yes, dear?"
"What can I do? About Hermione, I mean. I want to make it better but...I don't know how."
Jean gave him a sad smile before sitting back down in the rocker. "I'm sorry to say there isn't really anything you can do."
They sat in silence for a moment before Jean spoke again. "I had the same problem after I had her. I was miserable for weeks; I felt like I couldn't do anything right and Mathias' mother made everything worse. She would come over and insult me endlessly. Of course, he never knew because I chose not to tell him. I was afraid he would think I was a disappointment as well. So, I suffered in silence. Eventually, I went to a psychologist and worked through it."
She looked out the window and rocked back and forth quietly. "Hermione has already told you what's wrong." She turned her gaze back to Draco. "That's the first step."
Draco was pensive. "Thank you, for sharing that with me. I do have to ask though; What's a psychologist?"
********************
Later that evening when Draco returned home from work for the second time that day, Jean was waiting for him in the drawing room. She was pacing back and forth nervously, greatly reminding Draco of Hermione when she was anxious. Her eyes snapped up when she heard him in the fireplace.
"Draco! I tried to stop her, I really did," she was speaking frantically.
"Tried to stop what? What's going on?"
"Hermione's gone."
Draco felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. "Gone? What do you mean gone?"
Jean had tears in her eyes. "She came into the room I've been staying in, handed me Scorpius and said she had to leave. That she couldn't do it anymore. Before I could stop her, she had disappeared into thin air."
"She apparated?! Oh no, oh no. Mother Granger can you stay with Scorpius? I have to find her; She could have hurt herself!"
Jean was nodding as Draco headed back to the fireplace, grabbing a handful of floo powder. "I'll find her. I promise. Potter Residence, Godric's Hollow!"
A/N Hello and welcome to the sequel! I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter! I know it's a little heavy but postpartum depression is real and I wanted to touch on that a bit. Please vote, comment and share :)