Saturday Evening - 8:26 PM
"Well, are you going to start talking or just sit there?" Blaise Zabini asked the man who sat in one of the armchairs in the sitting room of his bachelor pad.
"Conversation goes two ways. You could talk too, you know," Draco answered.
"And I am, but you're the one who came over unannounced and looking frantic," he reminded his friend. He finished pouring two glasses of firewhiskey and handed one to Draco. Draco received it and stared intensely down into it, his mind racing, but his lips still.
"You'll have to speak up," Blaise teased.
Draco glared at him. He was trying to figure things out and work out what to say and Blaise's playful pressure wasn't helping.
"Best stop looking like that all the time or it will give you premature wrinkles. Just ask my mum," he snickered and took a sip of his drink.
"Have you talked to Pansy lately?" asked Draco.
Blaise was surprised by Draco's sudden change, as he was expecting a retort rather than a topic of conversation. He shook the thought and considered Draco's question.
"Well, sort of. I talked to her just last week. Why?" he asked curiously.
"Has she seemed a bit off to you?" Draco continued.
"You mean more than usual?" Blaise ribbed. "No, I don't think so. Why?"
"I don't know. I'm just a little worried about her," Draco said in gross understatement. "She didn't seem upset at all?"
"No. I mean, I don't know." Blaise seemed to be getting a bit peeved. "I don't know what it is I'm supposed to be looking for here. What's going on?"
"I don't know. I'm just concerned something might be going on with her or her family that she's not telling us," Draco replied. "Do you remember when Mr. Parkinson's office was broken into and his family owl was left dead on his desk?"
Blaise nodded and sat down in the armchair that faced Draco's.
"Then he dropped it so quickly. It just doesn't sit well with me," Draco said, looking up from his glass to gauge his friend's reaction. At Blaise's scrutinizing stare, Draco took a drink from his own glass, appreciating the searing burn that followed after the liquor.
"Do you ask for you or for Potter?" Blaise asked finally.
Draco looked quickly up at Blaise with a fierce analytical stare. "What do you know about Potter?"
Blaise snickered, rolled his eyes, and shook his head in disbelief. "Not the response I was looking for," he said playfully again. "I was hoping you'd say 'Oh! I completely forgot to tell you about that. I'm working with Potter, so don't come looking for me at work,'" he said in a taunting high-pitched voice. "You know, next time you're not going to be at work, it'd be nice to let me know so I don't waste my lunch hour looking for you."
"You never come to me at work. Why were you looking for me?"
"Well, I was excited and wanted someone to share the news with," Blaise smiled.
"What news?" Draco asked curiously.
"Well, it's not really supposed to be good news, I guess, but Jennings's wife - pretty old now - is suffering from some old person thing and he's going to retire so that he can take her to get treatment somewhere." Blaise gave a dismissive wave of his hand at what he considered unimportant details. "The point is, his position is going to be opening up, meaning that I'm now one of three candidates for a serious promotion."
"That's great," Draco said enthusiastically, hiding his nervousness beneath. He should have thought about it. He had seen it in the pensieve. The very first memory they'd looked at, Draco had told Potter and Granger that he had been attacked when he was leaving a celebration for Blaise's promotion. There were so many other important details in the memories that he had completely overlooked that one.
"Yeah, I know I haven't got it yet, but I have a pretty good feeling about it. It's not just because my boss is Pansy's dad. I've been working my arse off for the last two years," Blaise said seriously as he took another sip of his drink.
"You'll get it, mate," Draco declared confidently and supportively.
"Thanks." Blaise looked at him with a lopsided smile and nodded, truly appreciating Draco's faith in him. "So, back to this thing with Potter…" he said, leaving his words dangling for Draco to take in any direction.
"I can't discuss it," Draco said flatly.
"Ah, confidential then?" Blaise asked.
"Can you imagine Potter pulling me into something that wasn't confidential?"
"No, I guess not," Blaise said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Can you at least tell me if this thing with the Parkinsons is part of it?"
"Now that you've put it like that, I can't answer either way," Draco sneered. Blaise rolled his eyes and Draco became serious again. "Really though, I'm asking because I'm her friend and I really am concerned."
Blaise nodded in acceptance. "She hasn't said anything to me, but I'll listen and watch more carefully around them, alright?"
"I appreciate it," Draco said sincerely.
"I'd still like to know if I should report my findings to you or Potter… or Granger even," Blaise said with a smirk.
"Granger?" Draco choked out.
"Yeah, she's working on the case too, isn't she?" Blaise asked smugly.
"Where'd you hear that?" Draco demanded.
"I have my sources," Blaise replied, examining his fingernails.
"What, you stalking me now?" Draco sounded playful, but he wondered how Blaise knew. Not even his mother knew that he was working with Potter and only a few select people in Magical Law Enforcement knew that Hermione was in on it also. And, well, as of about two hours prior, all of the Weasleys.
"No, but it'd be rather interesting, I think," Blaise smirked. "Sadly, I have no time to waste on such things and not enough money to have you tailed even if I wanted to."
"No, you just have sources," Draco said, trying to read his friend.
Blaise's smirk held and he continued. "So, what does that kid have to do with the whole thing?"
"What kid?" Draco asked, panic beginning to swim inside of him.
"The little boy," Blaise said as though it were obvious.
"Now, I have to know your source, Zabini," Draco said seriously. His nostrils flared as he tried to suppress his building anger and fright.
"I'm playing around with you, Draco," Blaise said lightly.
"I'm not playing," Draco told him, his grey eyes hard. "If you don't tell me your source, then you're going to have to tell it to Potter."
"The kid's that serious in all of this?" Blaise asked, truly stunned.
"Zabini!" Draco demanded.
"Relax, Malfoy. My source is my mother," he answered, eyeing his friend apprehensively.
"Your mother?" Draco recoiled. "She's in the country?"
"Yeah, her fiancé," he said the word with distaste, "is in France for business, so she decided that instead of staying in Italy alone, she'd come and visit me. She's been here a whole week and managed to set aside some time to see me for lunch today. She had to squeeze it in today as she goes back home tomorrow," he said bitterly. "I wish she would have decided to surprise him by showing up in France instead. It'd be good for them both if she caught him with a mistress there. Sleazy, Italian knob… You know he's got a mistress. Has to."
Draco remained silent. He had comforted his friend over this many times and no longer knew what to say. The man had every right to be angry with his mother and her fiancé. Blaise had had many step-fathers throughout his life and didn't think much of any of them. During the war, his mother had left him at school and hid in Italy where she met someone. When the war ended, his mother informed him that she had sold their family home and was moving to Italy permanently to be with a man that was only nine years older than him. Blaise was infuriated and refused to follow his mother. Instead, he struggled to stand on his own two feet. That was when Pansy's father gave him a job and allowed him to stay in their home for a few weeks while Blaise found a flat. Blaise felt quite close to the family now, possibly closer to Mr. Parkinson than to Pansy.
"Digressing though…" Blaise said. "When I met my mum for lunch, she asked when you and Granger had gotten together and told me that she thought your son was beautiful." Blaise snickered. "So I figured that either Granger was working on the case with you and Potter or that you finally opened your eyes and noticed that sexy, proud lioness."
"Merlin, Blaise, I get that you have a thing for Gryffindor girls, but that doesn't mean everyone does," Draco retorted uncomfortably.
"And I know that you feel that way, so I used the mighty power of deduction to assume that she was working with you and Potter. The kid really threw me off so that was a stab in the dark," Blaise admitted. "If he's really that important though, you might not want to take him out in public like that."
Draco fell silent. He agreed with Blaise. He didn't like the idea Aurelian exposed for the world to see. Hermione had told him that she wasn't going to hide him, that people would find out about him eventually, but 'eventually' sounded a lot safer to Draco. He had told her himself that it would end up in the papers and she said that she understood that. She said to let them speculate. But, there were people out there who could be a threat to him. He didn't want to risk that. Still… he understood Hermione's point, as well. It wasn't fair to force Aurelian to stay hidden. So long as no one learned his true origin, he would be safe.
"Is it Death Eaters then?" Blaise asked. "Potter finally get somewhere tracking the last?"
"Blaise, I'm going to have to leave if you keep this up. I can't talk about it," Draco growled.
"Alright, alright. I'll drop the case," Blaise conceded. "But, I'm not dropping the topic of Potter and Granger. What are they like now?"
"What do you mean?" Draco asked, perturbed by his friend's insistence to continue a conversation that made him uneasy.
"Well, I haven't heard much about either of them in the last two years," Blaise said with a shrug. "I mean, I heard about them receiving Order of Merlin First Class and Potter becoming an auror and tracking down Death Eaters with your help, but then they pretty much disappeared off the map. What are they like now?"
"They're Potter and Granger. What do you want?" Draco muttered moodily.
"Yeah, well, they had to have changed some. Last time you worked with Potter you were coming over here kicking and cursing every night," he reminded him.
"Yeah, we've both grown up a bit since then, I guess," Draco conceded. "It feels even more awkward now though."
"How so?"
"Well… Back then we both knew where we stood. We were angry and hated each other. Now he's… civil," Draco admitted.
"Say it ain't so," Blaise laughed. "How can you stand to work with a man that's civil?"
Draco threw him scathing look but it melted away to a lighthearted smirk. It was hard to be upset with Blaise when he smiled and laughed the way he did. Draco understood himself to be a person that was offended much too easily. He had to regularly remind himself that Blaise was only being playful and never really meant any of his taunts.
"I'm not complaining. It's just weird," Draco clarified. "He hasn't forgotten the past, but he brings it up so easily. He acts likes everything is behind us now."
"Everything is behind us now," Blaise reminded him.
"That doesn't mean that people don't hold grudges. Potter and I have a long history that goes back years before the war. I don't know how he's let it go so easily. Last time I worked with him, he looked like he could never forgive."
"It's true that people hold grudges. It's nice to know that Potter's not one of them, but I doubt it was easy for him. You've got to stop thinking of yourself as unforgivable, though. You did a lot to make up for your participation in the war. Much more than you had to."
Draco nodded.
"So? What about Granger then? What's she like now? She's in Magical Law Enforcement, too, isn't she?"
"Yeah, she deals with evidence and paperwork. And if I'm honest, I can't say that I ever really knew her. I mean, what did we ever know about her except that she was Potter's friend and the know-it-all top of our class?"
"I know that her witty retorts used to piss you off to no end," Blaise smirked. "You've been working with her for a bit now, haven't you? You have to know something about her."
Draco was silent for a moment. "It was her that convinced Potter to give me a chance after the war," he stated quietly.
"Really?" Blaise asked, sitting up in interest. "Potter told you that?"
"Not by name, but he said that someone did and I saw the way he looked at her."
"Wow… that's something," Zabini replied. "Do you know why? I mean, not that you didn't deserve it, but if Potter needed convincing, why her?"
"She's very serious about equality. The same sense of justice for everyone," Draco answered, unable to hide his respect.
"A true Gryffindor. I think I like that girl," Blaise declared, nodding in approval. "Go on."
"She acts like Potter; she's civil. She's more defensive than he is though... You can see that her mind is always working, but she only shares her thoughts when she feels it necessary. I don't know if it's just around me or if she's always like that. Like I said, she's defensive. She looks at me kind of warily sometimes, but I still think she trusts me," Draco said distantly, lost in a pensive daze.
"Merlin's pants… You fancy her!" Blaise burst out. His eyes lit up with glee.
"What? No!" Draco denied heatedly.
"Yes. Yes, you do." His smile grew.
"You don't know what you're talking about," Draco insisted.
"I think I do," Blaise disagreed. He crossed his arms and sat back in his chair with his taunting smile. "You lie, Malfoy, and you're exceptionally bad at it… at least with me. Now why deny? She's a good person. You just admitted it yourself."
Draco sat stiffly in his chair with his jaw set. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know why he was denying it. He and Zabini had talked about women a lot in the past. Blaise knew all the women he had eyed up in the last two years. Why did he have such a hard time owning this?
"This is why you came here. I know it is now. You've got a thing for her and it bothers you. Why?" asked Blaise. His tone became softer, the teasing tone gone from his voice as he saw just how upset his friend seemed.
"Because it's Granger!" Draco shouted in exasperation.
"No, I don't buy that," said Blaise. "Yes, I'm sure it makes things feel a bit weird, but not like this. You're really upset. What's going on? Does she know? Does she feel the same?"
"I don't know," Draco replied in frustration. He got to his feet and ran his fingers through his silky blond hair.
"Well, you have to know something. Something happened. What?" Blaise insisted.
Draco looked around the room as if considering escape. His heart raced painfully fast. He took a deep breath and a grumbled confession fell from his lips. "I kissed her."
"WHAT?" Blaise blurted out, sitting up in his chair again, his eyes wide with surprise. "When?"
"Today," he murmured. "We took the boy back to her flat and the two of us talked for a couple minutes. It was out of nowhere and surprised me just as much as it did her. I just… I just kissed her."
"And? What did she do?" Blaise pressed urgently. "What did she say? What did you say?"
"I don't know," Draco mumbled, looking away.
"Well, did she kiss you back?" Blaise pried.
"Well… I… sort of," Draco replied, completely overwhelmed.
"How does one 'sort of' kiss?" Blaise had to force himself to calm down again. Draco was completely unnerved and Blaise wasn't doing a good job of making him feel better.
"I didn't really give her much option," Draco admitted.
"But, she didn't push you away?" Blaise asked carefully.
"No."
"That's a good sign. And she did actually participate? Even if it was hesitant?" he probed gently.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean it's a good thing," Draco said, beginning to pace behind his chair now. "I don't know what I was thinking. I wasn't thinking. It was so stupid to do. You should have seen her face. She looked completely horrified."
"Horrified?" Blaise said skeptically. "No… terrified, I could see, but not horrified."
"What's the difference?" Draco demanded scathingly.
"Horrified gives the impression that she was repulsed. And I refuse to believe she was, as she didn't try to push you away," Blaise explained. "But if this, as you said, came out of the blue, then I'm sure she was rather startled and maybe a bit afraid. Girls always get frightened when they don't know what to feel."
"I don't know how to feel!"
"And, don't you feel frightened by it?" Blaise asked. "The difference is, you default to anger when you get like this. Totally natural."
"And her? Is she going to be pissed off at me?" Draco demanded.
"I don't know. I don't know her," Blaise shrugged helplessly. "But, you still haven't told me what you feel about this."
"I don't know what I feel about this. You can't begin to imagine how much I regret it. And contrary to your belief, I don't know what I think of her. I just… I don't know how to explain it to you… There's potential with us. I know there is. And I just… urgh!" Draco tugged at hair in frustration. "I guess I just wanted to know what it felt like. I just needed… urgh!" Draco turned away from Blaise and pressed the palms of his hands hard into his closed eyes. He needed to talk about it. He needed to tell someone, but he couldn't and he couldn't properly tell Blaise what he was feeling without explaining what he had seen in the pensieve.
Draco just needed to know what it felt like to kiss her. He couldn't stop wondering what her lips felt and tasted like. The pull of them had just been too much to resist.
"You just needed to know if you felt anything?" Blaise chanced.
"Yeah," Draco grunted dejectedly.
"And what did you feel?" Blaised persisted.
"I was as confused and frightened as she was," Draco admitted.
"And?"
"And I felt something. I already told you… there's potential for us. Or there was…"
"Then there still is," Blaise assured him.
"There's not," he argued miserably. "I know what I saw. I know what I want. I see the way she looks at me but it's not me that she wants, it's him. She tolerates me, nothing more."
"Wait, wait…" Blaise interrupted, trying to make sense of what Draco just revealed. "Who's 'him'? Does she like someone else?"
"No. Sort of… When she looks at me, sometimes she sees someone else, someone she wishes I was," Draco said bitterly.
"Is she with this guy or trying to get with him?" Blaise asked, upset on his friend's behalf.
"No. He's no one. She's in love with an idea." Draco was seething as he tried to suppress the many emotions raging inside of him.
"I'm sorry, mate, but you've lost me here…" Blaise apologized, looking warily at Draco.
"I know. I'm sorry. I just… This is so complicated. I don't know what to do. There was potential and I ruined everything. I moved too fast. Things aren't supposed to work like this. I fucked everything up," Draco fumed.
"I'm not following well here anymore, but I still think you're wrong. Relationships are confusing. You may have moved too fast, and you can't take it back now, but that doesn't mean that you can't work things out. You can't run away from her because you're working together now. That might be in your favor really, whether you believe that or not. You're just going to have to talk to her."
"And say what?" Draco demanded.
"The truth. Tell her that you like her and you didn't mean to frighten her. Tell her that you understand that you moved too fast. Just talk to her," Blaise urged. "It sounds as if she is just as uncertain as you are. She'll be glad that you want to talk about it. It may feel awkward, but it can't feel any more awkward than this, can it?"
Draco sighed. Blaise didn't understand and he couldn't. This wasn't just about himself and Hermione. This case was important and they couldn't allow their feelings to get in the way of it. But just as important to him was Aurelian. Hermione was the gatekeeper. If he wanted to see Aurelian, he had to go through her. If things were not okay between the two of them, then he wouldn't be able to see his son.
"You're right… I just have to hope this is fixable," Draco muttered.
"Good. At least we have a slightly positive statement out of you. Let me refill your glass and you can listen to me go on about my bitch of a mother. Fair?" Blaise asked, raising the bottle of firewhiskey in question.
"Well, so long as firewhiskey's involved…" Draco teased, a small smile quirking at the corner of his mouth.
"I can't mention my mother without it," Blaise said bitterly.
"I know…" Draco replied sympathetically. "So, let me do the pouring, as I do so more generously, and when this meager bottle runs out, we'll replace it with one of mine."
"And that is why I talk to you about her and not Pansy," Blaise smirked.
"Yeah, she doesn't understand the true healing powers of liquor," Draco agreed. He poured generous amounts of the amber liquid into both of their glasses and handed one to Blaise.
"You are truly an understanding friend," Blaise said, raising his glass. Draco raised his glass also and they drank. Blaise took a deep steadying breath and began unloading his frustration.
Sunday Morning - 11:14 AM
Hermione held Aurelian close to her body and cautiously surveyed their new surroundings. When it seemed that no one had seen her Apparate beside the large hedge at the corner of an intersection, she gently placed Aurelian next to her and readjusted her dress. Aurelian quietly took in his surroundings, curious about the strange place he had never before seen the likes of. He walked around the hedge and stood on the paved walk beside the road in a quiet suburban area in Oxfordshire. The street was empty and quiet. Fine brick houses lined both sides of the street, all looking very similar, except the different patterns and colors found in the flower beds and strategically placed bushes in each well-manicured lawn.
"Ready?" Hermione asked.
"Uh-huh," Aurelian nodded.
Hermione rubbed her sweaty palm on her cotton sundress before taking hold of Aurelian's hand. He smiled up at her and she did her best to smile in return. They walked slowly up the sidewalk and Hermione and Aurelian both looked at each house as they passed. The late morning sun was climbing toward its peak and pressed the muggy heat down around them.
"Are you okay?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah-huh," he answered, tugging on her hand as he walked quite oddly.
"Then why are you walking like that?" Hermione tilted her head to get a better look at him.
"My legs feel naked," he said, tugging at his pair of denim shorts. "And dey keep walkin up my bum."
Hermione pinched her lips tightly together and chuckled, trying not to burst out laughing at the toddler's obvious discomfort. She had learned only that morning that he had never before worn muggle clothing. The only trousers that he had ever worn were pajama bottoms and he had never worn denim of any kind, so wearing the shorts she had gotten him was definitely a new experience for him.
"I'm sorry, I guess they may take a little time to get used to. They aren't too uncomfortable, are they?" she asked sympathetically.
"I like 'em, Mummy. I do," Aurelian said earnestly. And as uncomfortable as he looked, she believed him. He sounded thrilled when she told him he needed to wear muggle clothing.
"Okay… we're here," Hermione said, stopping at a cobble stone path that led up to the doorway of one of the many brick houses. Hermione bent down a little as she walked so that her whispering better reached her son. "Now, when we get inside, I'm going to need to speak to them for a few minutes, okay?"
"Okay," Aurelian answered.
Hermione stopped in front of the door, took a deep breath and knocked firmly.
"Oh, Hermione," a kind woman smiled when she opened the door. "You're right on time. But where... Who is this?" she asked looking down at Aurelian who was again tugging at his shorts.
"This is Aurelian," she introduced simply.
"Well," she held her smile, but it did not cover her puzzled expression, "when you said that you'd be bringing a guest, I guess I sort of expected someone a little older… No problem though. Come in."
Hermione walked in and looked nervously around for her father. Aurelian followed after and closed the door for them.
"So, did I hear her right? Your name is Aurelian?" Hermione's mother asked the boy kindly. The boy nodded.
"Hermione," her father greeted as he met them at the door. "I thought you said you'd be bringing a guest."
"She did," Mrs. Granger answered, stepping to the side to reveal the curious toddler. "This is Aurelian. Aurelian, my name is Helen and this is William. We're Hermione's parents."
"I know," Aurelian answered simply.
Mr. and Mrs. Granger looked from the boy to Hermione, expecting one of them to explain more of who this child was and why he had been invited for brunch.
"I… If you don't mind, there's something I was hoping to talk to you about before we sit down to eat," Hermione said hesitantly. Hermione's parents exchanged stern looks and both nodded slowly. Whenever Hermione addressed them that way, it meant that they were not going to like what she had to say. Hermione nodded and knelt down next to Aurey. "Now, Aurelian," Hermione started, taking a small pouch out of her handbag. "I have two chasers and a quaffle in here. Why don't you take these into the sitting room and play for a few minutes. And mind they don't break anything."
Aurelian nodded and took the bag. "Okay, Mummy," he smiled and scurried off into the room Hermione had just pointed to. She stood up abruptly and gaped at her parents.
"Did he just call you Mummy?" Helen asked, looking at her daughter and husband completely gobsmacked. Hermione stared horrified at her parents. This was not the way she had hoped to tell them.
"Hermione Jean, you had better explain," her father growled, his eyes narrowed.
"Dad, I…" Hermione started. She fished around for a proper way to explain, but she wasn't sure that one existed. "I don't know how to start…"
"You can start by telling us why that child referred to you as 'Mummy,'" her mother said. It was obvious that the woman was searching for a reasonable explanation, while it was just as apparent that Hermione's father did not believe for a moment that the boy had been mistaken.
"I… well, I am… sort of…" Hermione managed to get out. She didn't often have problems speaking, but speaking to her parents about things of importance made her so unnerved that she regularly stumbled over her words and did not know how to respond to their inquiries.
"Sort of?" William said skeptically. His face was stone-like, and his tone low and stern.
"Yes, it's… complicated," Hermione bit her lip. "It's always complicated." Hermione's face screwed up and she struggled to keep her tears at bay. "D-do you remember the time-turner that I told you about? The device that was entrusted to me in my third year at Hogwarts? I used it to go back an hour here and there so that I could make it to all my classes?"
Hermione's parents made no sign that they had even heard, let alone understood, but she knew that they did. At their silence, tears began to well up in her eyes.
"Aurelian showed up a few days ago. He's from seven years in the future… and he's mine," Hermione explained.
"Of course," her father said derisively.
"William," her mother admonished.
"He… things went bad in the future, very bad, and his mother, my future self, sent him back here to protect him and to prevent certain events," Hermione said quietly.
"Now, I'm certain that every other wizard probably owns a time-turner and this kind of thing is rather common, but do you mind explaining this a little better for a set of ignorant muggles like ourselves?" William quipped.
Hermione bit her lip and took a small pause before continuing. "This is actually extremely rare. I've never heard anything like it. Time-turners are monitored very carefully by the ministry and usually can't go back more than a few hours, let alone years. To use one like this is actually kind of illegal… It was just serious enough that it had to be done."
"You mean that you did this illegally?" Her mother asked incredulously. "Are you going to be in trouble for it?"
"Well… technically no. Technically I didn't do anything. I personally made no decisions regarding this action and even if I had, nothing was technically stolen as that specific one hasn't even been created yet," Hermione said anxiously.
"And were you able to prevent the events that you mentioned?" her mother asked, her voice and demeanor still stern.
"Things have already changed, yes," Hermione said evasively.
"And what does that mean for him?" William asked, jerking his thumb in the direction of the sitting room.
"Well… when events change here, it changes everything. The world he came from no longer exists as he knew it. So… at this point, if we were to have a look at the year he came from, he would have never been born. So… So, he's here now," Hermione explained the best she could.
"Who is his father?" William snapped suddenly.
Hermione stared at her father's face and had to remind herself to breathe. She steeled herself and stated as flatly as she could, "Draco Malfoy."
"Malfoy?" Her father roared. "That evil child that made your life hell for all those years?"
"Things change. People change," Hermione responded quietly.
"Leave it. Leave it now. Leave that whole damned world behind you," her father ordered.
"Dad, I can't…" Hermione answered in a whisper. Unable to look him in the eye, she stared at the rug beneath her feet.
"You said that he's here now permanently. Am I right in assuming that you plan to keep him?" her mother asked.
"Yes," Hermione answered with a nod. She chanced looking up at her mother and her insides squirmed. Her mother looked quite disappointed and distressed, but held herself straight. Hermione had a hard time reading her.
"Hermione Jean, I'm telling you to leave that place. Leave that whole damned world behind. It's nothing but pain and chaos. Leave it. That's an order," he said firmly. "You go back to that flat of yours and start packing right now. I will put a stop to this and-"
"Dad, I can't…" Hermione said miserably. The tears finally came, sliding one by one down her cheeks. "I can't just leave it behind. My friends, my work…"
"You can and you will. I'm not-"
His speech was interrupted by a sound from the sitting room. There was a 'tink' of china and a steady dripping sound.
"Aurelian?" Hermione called and hurried into the sitting room. She looked around but did not see the child in question. "Aurelian?" she called a little more worried.
She walked toward the other side of the room but stopped when she looked at the small table beside the sofa. There sat a tea tray covered in spilled milk that dripped onto the floor. The floral china creamer lay on its side. Hermione frowned. No longer frightened, she carefully surveyed the room and saw that the drapes behind the armchair were swaying. She sighed and walked over to the armchair.
"Aurelian, please don't hide from me. Come out, please," Hermione said in an even voice, kneeling beside the chair. Slowly Aurelian crawled out from behind the armchair. "Thank you. I see there was a little accident. Can you tell me what happened?"
Aurelian's lip stuck out in a large pathetic pout and he sniffled. "Dey throwed da quaffle into da milk. I tried to get it out and it went all over," he explained.
"It was an accident. Accidents happen. You can't run and hide from them, though. Next time something happens, you need to come and tell me so that I can help fix it, okay?" she asked kindly. Aurelian nodded and Hermione pulled out her wand. She flicked it over at the tray and the milk vanished and the creamer righted itself. "See? No harm done."
"Mummy…?" Aurelian leaned around Hermione and looked anxiously at his grandparents before leaning in to whisper in her ear.
"Oh…" she answered. She looked around behind her and cast a quick spell at the VCR. The cassette door opened and a figurine on a broom zoomed over to her. "Why don't we put them back in the bag for now?"
Aurelian nodded and did as he was told. Hermione stood up and faced her parents again with renewed faith in herself.
"Dad, I know how you feel about-"
"You brought him here to meet us, didn't you?" William interrupted. "Judging by the look on that young man's face, he never met us in his own time."
Hermione didn't know how to answer that. It was true, but she couldn't tell her parents that they never got to meet him because they were most likely dead.
"I'm not asking this time. You told me just a minute ago that your future self sent him back here to protect him. So do it. Leave that god-forsaken world and all the tragedy that comes with it. If you want me to accept that child as my grandson, then you will take him out of that world and never look back."
"Dad…"
"William," Helen warned again.
"I mean it. I'm not going to invest myself in that boy if you're just going to let him suffer like you have. I won't. The choice is yours." William Granger took one last look at the worried boy in front of him and left the room.
"Dad!" Hermione cried after him. She dropped her face into her hands and took long deep breaths, trying her best to remain calm. Helen Granger rubbed Hermione's back consolingly.
"I'll talk to him," she told her daughter. Hermione nodded, unable to speak.
"Why him mad, Mummy? Why him mad?" Aurelian asked, slowly walking up to Hermione. "You okay, Mummy?"
"Yes, Mummy's fine," Hermione answered lightly touching Aurelian's head to soothe him.
"Yes, he's just a bit upset right now," Helen assured him. "He'll be alright. We should go eat though. I bet you're probably pretty hungry now, aren't you?"
"Yeah-huh. My tummy growleded," he told her seriously.
"Well, the food is all set up in the kitchen here. Why don't you go pick out a chair?" Helen offered.
Aurelian went ahead and Helen held Hermione back for just another moment.
"He will be alright. He's upset. You know how he gets, but you also know that he loves you. Give him time," Helen suggested, tucking a wild curl behind Hermione's ear.
"And you?" she asked nervously.
"I don't like the world you've chosen to live in either, but it's not my choice to make," Helen answered seriously. "If we're honest with ourselves though, that world sort of selected you. The chaos in your life didn't start when you entered the wizarding world, it just made sense then."
"I know it's hard for you to understand, but despite all that's happened to me over the years, I like my life. I-"
"I know, love. We both know you do. You don't have to explain it. It's just hard to watch your child suffer… as you'll soon discover," Helen told her. She looked into the kitchen and saw Aurelian sneak a grape from the fruit bowl and quickly pop it into his mouth. Hermione chuckled when she saw him. Helen patted her daughter on the back again and left her to find her own chair at the table.
"What would you like to drink, Aurelian?" Helen asked. "We have orange juice or milk."
"I have pumpkin juice?" he asked.
"She doesn't have pumpkin juice," Hermione told him. "She said orange juice or milk."
"I don't like milk," Aurelian stated.
"I know, so what do you think you should answer?" Hermione prompted.
"Orange juice, pwease," Aurelian said, his 'please' ending with a cheesy grin.
"Orange juice it is. And don't just sit there, Hermione, start serving. The food is already getting cold," the woman smiled genuinely.
When her mother's back was turned, Hermione cast a quick warming spell over the hot dishes. And with another quick swish of her wand, all three of their plates were evenly proportioned with a bit of everything. She was a bit sad when she looked at her father's empty plate, but took a deep breath. She wouldn't let it ruin her time with her mother and Aurelian.
"So," said Helen as she set a glass of orange juice in front of Aurelian and a glass of milk in front of Hermione, knowing it was her choice without asking, "has Aurelian been staying with you?"
"Yes, he's been staying at my flat," Hermione affirmed. "It's sort of small, but we've been doing alright, haven't we?" she asked Aurelian. Aurelian nodded as he continued to shovel down his meal. Both women smiled, knowing that the toddler had answered without having a clue as to what he'd been asked.
"What are you doing with him while you're at work?" Helen inquired.
"He's been staying with Molly… er, Mrs. Weasley, Ron's Mum," Hermione replied. "She loves watching him, but hasn't asked for payment yet. I know she'll never ask really, so I don't yet know how to broach the subject. I don't want to insult her, but I can't ask her to watch him all the time for free. Luckily, my hours have been quite flexible lately, so he's only ever had to be over there for a few hours a day."
"And what do your friends think about this?" she asked.
"They're really supportive. They know this is difficult. They're… they're really supportive."
"Would you like some more eggs, Aurelian?" Helen offered.
"Yes, pwease," he answered with a smile.
"Such nice manners," she smiled, piling more scrambled eggs onto his plate.
"What do you say now, Aurelian?" Hermione prompted.
"Thank you," the little boy answered through a mouthful of eggs. Hermione shook her head, smiling fondly at her son.
"So what about this Malfoy boy? Does he know about him?" Helen questioned, looking a little displeased at the mention of the boy that put her daughter in tears more than a few times.
"Yes. He does."
"You said that people can change. Has he?" she pressed.
"Yes. He has."
"And?"
"And, I don't know… I honestly don't know what to make of him. I've let him see Aurelian, though. He's really good with him. I just don't know-" Hermione was cut off by the tune of her mobile phone. She took it from her handbag to check the caller ID. "I'm sorry, Mum. I have to take this."
Mrs. Granger nodded and Hermione stood up and walked into the sitting room to take the call.
"Ginny?" she answered.
"Hermione, I'm sorry to call you now. I know that you're with your parents, but I need you," Ginny pleaded.
"Why? What happened?" Hermione asked anxiously, her heart racing in panic.
"It's Harry. He heard from Hagrid and now he's ready to run off. He won't listen to me, but he'll listen to you. He always does. I hate to ask but-"
"No. It's fine. Where is he now?" Hermione asked hurriedly.
"Here at the Burrow. Ron's upstairs trying to talk to him right now," Ginny answered.
"What is he trying to do? What did Hagrid say?" Hermione asked quickly.
"Hagrid saw Dennis."
"I'll be right there," Hermione said. She closed the phone without a goodbye and rushed into the kitchen.
Aurelian and Helen looked up at Hermione with concern.
"I'm sorry, Mum, but I have to go. Harry's-"
"I understand," her mother sighed. "It's always something."
"Mum, I-"
"It's okay. Really," she reassured her daughter. "Now, go stop Harry before he does something rash."
"How did you-?"
"It's always Harry, isn't it?" her mother asked. Hermione nodded and smiled sadly. It was true. If it wasn't her in trouble, it was Harry.
"We going now?" Aurelian asked in confusion.
"Yes, sweetie, you get to go see Aunt Molly and Aunt Ginny," Hermione answered.
"But, I not finished eatin'" Aurelian pouted.
"It's okay, Molly will have food for you," Hermione assured him. Aurelian still pouted.
"Would you like to take that muffin with you, Aurelian?" Helen offered.
"Can I?" he asked hopefully.
"Of course. You take care and I'll see you next Sunday, okay?"
"Thank you," Aurelian beamed. He jumped off his chair with the muffin in his hand and Hermione scooped him up in her arms.
"I'm sorry, Mum. I'll call you soon."
Helen nodded and Hermione Disapparated with Aurelian.