*Chapter 11 Pt. 2 (2017 Update)*
After Alicia placed the flowers near the stone she heard a thumb behind her. She turned around alarmed what had caused the thump. Her Potions Master was on his knees and in shock. She was about to ask him if he was alright, but she stopped herself when she saw his eyes were glued to the engraving on the stone.
She never saw her Professor this way. Draco's his cool grey eyes were filled with sadness, guilt, and anger, but what dominated was the anger on himself. His mind was foggy, but the memories of Hermione were as clear as day.
"Sh-She's dead?" Draco managed to utter under his lost voice.
"When I was born," Alicia started sadly. "Mum waited to give me a name and hold me before she gave up," Alicia explained remembering the story Ginny told her when she starting asking how her mother died.
It pained Ginny and everyone to relive that awful day, but to be able to tell the story to Hermione's only child was something beyond their emotional needs. Alicia needed to know.
"I can't blame her. She was starting to get weak and it certainly did not help when she found out she was pregnant. It was too late when the healers found out about her rare heart condition." Alicia ended and placed her hand on top of the gravestone.
Draco listened to Alicia's story and felt the sting in his eyes. He was crying. Draco Malfoy was crying.
"I never knew she was dead for 15 years," Draco admitted. He managed to regain his movement and tried to stop the tears from flowing any further. "I was never aware. Shortly after Scorpius was born we immediately traveled to Maldives for a new start."
"Uncle Harry wanted mum's passing to be respected and out of papers. It was kept by family and friends before they released a statement a month after she was buried."
"Why wasn't I informed? I received different news from home when we were in Maldives, but about a war heroine dying never passed through." He questioned.
"I do not know the answer to that, sir," Alicia commented, but an idea popped into her head. "But if I may be bold, sir. I heard stories about you and I am aware of your past. Uncle Harry and Uncle Ron hated you and so did mum. You called them names and.." Alicia trailed off. She was unsure whether to even speak of the word in front of him.
"And?" Draco questioned curiously about her discovery about him.
"Nothing sir." Alicia hesitated.
"Alicia," Draco started placing a hand on her shoulder. "you can tell me anything. I won't get mad. My past is my past and I can handle it." Draco assured his student.
Alicia was still hesitant, but she knew that Draco wouldn't stop until he knew what she had been holding back to mention. She took a deep breath and spoke.
"A Death Eater," Alicia finished softly and carefully not wanting to offend him further.
Draco stepped back upon her words. "I was." He admitted. "Those dark days are now behind me. It was my past and because of that, I managed to grow beyond that spoiled kid who only cared about blood purity and wealth. I learned my lesson the hard way. It may be hard, but it brought me to where I am now. I'm happy."
He was lying. He wasn't entirely happy. He was only partly happy. Yes, he was happy with his family, with Scorpius and Astoria, but he knew that only one thing brought him true happiness and now that happiness was 6 feet under the ground.
He was stupid, he was a dumbass. He let himself drown in old traditions and decades-old promise. The promise of marriage within pureblood families was impossible to fight. If refused then Draco and Astoria would have become barren and unable to produce an heir, therefore ending both bloodlines unless there are more heirs in their generation. Astoria had Daphne, but Draco was an only child. He had no choice.
Lucius even tried to find any loophole in the binding contract, but it was an airtight contract with ancient magic.
Draco badly wanted to tell Hermione, but he couldn't locate her. She was being tossed around the world for training and experience. The Auror's office wouldn't give him information about her whereabouts. His only option was to wait for her to return and tell her, but he didn't realize that it was too late.
"I can see that sir," Alicia replied. "Scorpius is the living proof of that."
Tears began to flow down Alicia's cheeks. How she missed Hermione, despite being only a newborn baby when Hermione died, she felt such a strong connection to her. That deep connection began to get stronger when she read her mother's journal and the tales the Hogwarts painting had told her.
Behind her sweet smile, her friends never noticed her tears. The longing for a mother and father in her life only brought more tears into her life. Moaning Myrtle had become her friend through the semester.
All the tears she couldn't shed at Hogwarts began to pour down and turn into deep sobs. Alicia covered her eyes with her gloved hand, trying to shield her tears from her Professor.
Draco's heartache as he watched the young girl pour all her suppressed emotions in front of Hermione's grave. He couldn't imagine how Alicia grew up without a parent beside her. Despite having the Potters and Weasleys beside her the love of a parent of a mother and father is something beyond the company of relatives can fill.
Draco bent down and enveloped the sobbing girl in a comforting hug. He held her tight not wanting to let go of the hurting girl. It pained him seeing her shed so many tears.
"Draco." He heard someone whisper. He thought it was Alicia, but she was crying on his chest. He looked up and saw no one nearby.
The voice was familiar. It haunted him.
He continued to comfort Alicia. Her tears were not stopping. Alicia did not know this, but when he would always walk in the direction of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom he would always hear constant sobbing from the bathroom. He became curious and took the opportunity to see who was in constant tears.
When he entered the bathroom he saw Moaning Myrtle floating in the corner of the bathroom. Blonde hair in Slytherin robes.
"It's okay." He heard Moaning Myrtle speak to the hunched student.
"It's not!" The girl sobbed and raised her head.
It was Alicia. He froze when he saw the pain in her eyes. He was used seeing her smile and laugh. Seeing her in this state scared him.
Ever since that event, he would ask Moaning Myrtle if a blonde girl visited her bathroom to shed tears. In respect of Alicia's privacy and feelings, Myrtle would tell Draco that the girl was doing fine.
Alicia. This young girl in such a fragile state broke his heart. It was like seeing his own son in tears, his paternal instincts have longed kicked in and began to shush the young girl. He desperately wanted to make her feel better, to stop the tears, but it kept going. His only option was to hold her until the tears have dried off.
"I-I'm sorry, sir." Alicia lifted her head from Draco's chest and began to wipe the remaining tears.
Alicia slowly moved away and continued to wipe the tears from her cheeks.
"It's okay." Draco understood and looked back on Hermione's gravestone. During Alicia's breakdown, he debated whether he would ask if Alicia knew her father's identity. He made a promise to himself that he would find Alicia's father he would hex some sense into him to care for this sweet young girl.
"Do you know who your father is?" Draco asked softly after Alicia had calmed down.
Alicia froze upon the question. It has been months since she heard that question.
During the first weeks in Hogwarts, she was asked the same question by different people, but she refused to even mention anything about it. It was one of the rare occasions that she would shut off and give a piercing cold stare that brought horrible chills to anyone who would dare ask. It spread like wildfire around Hogwarts and after a few testimonies from those who received the cold dagger stare no one ever dared to mention it. She was happy and relieved that her peers dropped the mystery.
"I honestly don't know." She replied her voice still hoarse from her long sobbing. "It is even forbidden to talk about it with Mum's friends," Alicia explained.
"Potter is quiet shady isn't he?" Draco thought.
Alicia had a theory that Harry and the others didn't really know who her father was that's why they didn't have an answer to her. But on the other hand, it was that possibility or her mother made Harry promise not to tell because her father didn't want her.
"Uncle Harry has secrets and I know those secrets will her revealed in time." Alicia defended, but Draco only scoffed.
"Secrets can destroy a person, Alicia. It can corrupt the truth." Draco cautioned, but it seems Alicia had too much faith in his old rival.
"For years I have asked about my father, but no one would tell me. I've searched through books, journals, news articles and even memories mentioning mum, but it was all for naught." Alicia sighed standing up and walked towards the willow tree. She placed her hand on the trunk and recalled what the Sorting Hat had told her during the sorting ceremony.
"All I know is that my dad attended Hogwarts and was sorted into Slytherin." She revealed.
"How are you sure that your father was in Slytherin?" Draco questioned.
"The Sorting Hat told me." Alicia turned around to face him and sat on the small bench under the Willow Tree. "When he was in the process of sorting me, he sensed something within me that reminded him of my father. I visited him to ask if he knew, but names and memories are foggy for him these days. If I asked 10 years ago he might have remembered who."
Alicia dropped the depressing story and smiled. "I brought food with us." She exclaimed pulling out a big brown basket from her small bag. She always loved the undetectable extension charm. It came in handy when she wanted to carry big bags.
Alicia pulled out a net of Green apples from the basket and offered one to Draco.
"I have red ones inside as well if you do not fancy granny green." Alicia offered after noticing Draco staring at the green apple in her hand. She assumes it was not his preferred flavor.
"Oh no!" Draco argued and took the green apple from her and began to eat his favorite fruit. "I'm just surprised it's all. Only a few appreciate the sour taste of green apples." Draco admitted.
"I agree, sir." Alicia laughed remembering how Harry and the others would love it as pie, but despise it as a fresh fruit. Ron even called it "A bloody green excuse for an apple."
"Professor?"
"Yes, Alicia?"
The name Alicia meant the 'noble one'. Draco remembered wanting to name his future daughter Alicia, but he was blessed with a beautiful son.
Draco remembered during a conversation with Hermione about children she had asked him what he would name his children and he told her that he had a son he would call him Scorpius and if he had a daughter he would love to call her Alicia.
"So you're going to give your son a constellation name and your daughter a mortal name?" Hermione laughed.
"Au contraire, Granger." He challenged. "Alicia means the noble one. She can be a princess." He explained which only brought Hermione into fits of laughter.
"What's so funny?" He stared at her but is glare wore no effect on her amusement.
"I can never picture you to be a dad, Malfoy. I mean you might scare the little one." Hermione giggled.
"Mum fancied you. Didn't she?" Alicia asked and brought out her mother's journal from her inner coat pockets.
Of course, he knew and he was happy and proud to tell anyone that a wonderful woman took interest in an Ex-Death Eater.