"Good morning, Malfoy."
"Draco! Good morning!"
The blond peeked above the latest edition of the Daily Prophet to return their greetings with a nod of his head. Hermione offered him a weak smile when Rose claimed the seat beside him. Her mother had no choice but to sit on the chair directly opposite Draco.
Tippy instantly popped in. With a snap of his fingers, Granger's and Rose's usual breakfasts appeared in front of them. Hermione profusely thanked the house elf, much to Tippy's embarrassment, and had not let the creature go until she incessantly told him he was doing a job well done. Suppressing a smirk, Draco thought she had not changed one bit.
Hermione looked loads better now. She would occasionally grimace, hands gravitating down to her abdomen, but the Healers assured them it was merely a side effect of the curse and would wear off in about a day or two. She would be weak for at least two or three more weeks, and had not given her permission to go back to work, much to her chagrin. Potter was already Owled to tell him the news, but The-Boy-Who-Lived unfortunately (fortunately, really), was unable to drop by to his flat to check up on his best friend. Lestrange's case was still in the works and Draco could not understand why they wouldn't just bloody throw him to Azkaban.
"The other rogue Death Eaters escaped," Potter explained. "We needed Lestrange for information."
He sneered, recalling that particular conversation. He knew his uncle well enough to know that he wouldn't crack, even under the most painful and legal spell ever invented. Veritaserum wouldn't work on him, too; after the whole Barty Crouch Jr. fiasco, Voldemort had developed some kind of potion that granted immunity from the Truth Serum to the Death Eaters in his inner circle. Keeping him free for a really long time for information was futile and dangerous. But Potter wouldn't hear the end of it and proceeded to be a bloody hero and squeeze whatever information they might get from Lestrange.
"Do you like my pretty earrings, Draco?"
His mind snapped back into the present when Rose's voice invaded his thoughts. Blinking rapidly to shake the dark thoughts away, his mercurial eyes landed on the proud child who was fondly cradling her earrings with her tiny hands. Hermione was torn between looking amused and curious.
"It looks ridiculous," he said with a roll of his eyes.
"No, it's pretty," she interjected with a huff.
A small smile slipped on his face and he shook his head. "I don't know why you even bothere asking me, you menace," he said, void of any malicious tone.
When he shifted his eyes to look at Hermione, he lifted an eyebrow. She was looking at him with that weird expression on her face once more, prompting his smile to falter into a frown. "What?" he demanded, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
To his surprise, Hermione merely smiled and shook her head.
"Mama, do you like my new earrings?" Rose asked, this time directing her question at her mother.
Draco expectantly looked at Granger, even having the audacity to lift a challenging eyebrow. He knew how Granger always thought Loony Lovegood's fashion sense was eccentric and sometimes bordering... atrociousness. The radish earrings were definitely classified on the latter category and wondered how Granger would answer.
"It is... unique," she finally lamely said. Draco snorted, earning him a glare from the bushy-haired brunette. She then touched one of the earrings, a wistful smile on her face. "It reminds me of someone I used to know."
"It's pretty, yes?" Rose said, eyes alight with happiness. "The lady Nott met yesterday gave me these, Mama. I really like them!"
Draco's heart plummeted to the ground when a stony expression came over Hermione's face. Internally, he cursed his best friend for once again stupidly bringing a child to one of his ridiculous escapades. He took a mental note of sending him a bloody Howler to give him a piece of his mind (and maybe Granger's), that bastard.
"What does she mean, Malfoy?" Hermione asked, deceptively calm but her eyes were saying an entirely different thing. He swore static was coming off her even bushier hair, and couldn't help but to gulp down the nervousness and face her head-on like the true Slytherin he was.
"She means," he started, coolly staring her straight in the eyes, "she and Nott met a nice lady, who then gave her earrings to your daughter."
He was awfully evasive, a tad sarcastic perhaps, but from the way a vein popped on Granger's forehead, he knew she figured it out anyway.
"That slimy, good-for-nothing –" She instantly paused when Rose curiously looked up at her. This time, Draco did not bother hiding his smirk and pointedly ignored the death glares she sent his way. Really, how could Granger have enough energy when she just got better from the dark curse?
"The most important thing is your daughter had fun yesterday. Right, Rosie?" he asked, his smirk morphing into a bright smile as he shifted his gaze to the young girl.
"Yep!" she said, face immediately brightening. "We had yummy food and... and Selena is really nice."
Draco lifted an eyebrow. It was clear from Theo's reaction yesterday that he met Luna Lovegood last night. Why was she using a different name?
"I think Nott and Selena will see each other again, Draco."
That was a surprise. His best friend usually only brought a girl to one date before gallivanting around in search of another fair maiden. He wondered how Theo's date with Luna Lovegood ended because she was most definitely not Theo's type.
Hermione was looking at him weirdly once more, prompting him to sigh. "If you really have anything to say, Granger, say it now," he snapped, glaring lightly.
The brunette regarded him with curious eyes for a while, before finally sighing and shaking her head. "You're... weird, Malfoy," she finally said, cheeks lightly blushing, with embarrassment, perhaps.
"What does that even mean?" he demanded. Draco Malfoy was a man of many things but he was most definitely not weird. Luna Lovegood is weird. But not him.
Instead of answering, she merely smiled and proceeded to finish her breakfast. He knew he should be relieved she completely dropped the issue that Theo brought a child to one of his dates, but still. He could not put a finger to her strange looks every time she looked at him.
Sighing, he momentarily dismissed those thoughts away and peacefully ate his breakfast.
__________
"I'm bringing Rose home."
Hermione carefully watched for any emotion from the blond but was disappointed when he merely schooled his emotions.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Granger," Malfoy finally said after a few moments of silence. He looked up from one of the desks in his small library to catch her gaze. "The Healers said you will need weeks to recuperate. Since you were once a strong advocate of house-elf rights with that ridiculous spew of yours, I doubt you own any house elves to help you take care of the child."
"It's S.P.E.W.," she snottily corrected, lifting her chin as an added effect. The way his lips quirked into a smirk did not escape her notice. "And... well..." She had no answer to her current predicament. Usually, she left Rose in the care of Mrs. Figgs, a Squib that used to be Harry's neighbor, but she was out of the country for an indefinite period of time to take care of her ailing mother. Hermione was short of help and doubted she could find anyone she could trust soon.
A thought suddenly came into mind and she dreaded his response. It was the most logical thing to ask for, although it went against everything she believed in. "Then... then perhaps you can lend me one of your house-elves?" she grumbled.
He didn't bother to hide that infamous smirk of his anymore. "What was that, Granger?" he slowly asked, eyes alit with amusement.
'He's enjoying this,' she mentally thought. 'That bastard.' Sighing, she repeated, louder this time, "I said, perhaps you can lend me one of your house-elves."
"I maybe hearing things, but I think you said you'd like to borrow a house-elf?"
"Oh, shut it, Malfoy," she snapped, eyes dangerously flashing. "Although this is clearly slavery, I can perfectly see that they are happy with what they are doing. Seeing you interact with Tippy made me think you weren't treating them badly at all. And... and I bet you have loads in the Malfoy Manor and it wouldn't hurt to ask for help. It's not as if I'm going to abuse their kindness. I would just occasionally ask for help, not expect them to do everything. I'm still perfectly capable, albeit weak, but they could be awfully, awfully efficient and" -
"Granger."
"- Rose gets along with them anyway and her safety wouldn't be an issue-"
"Granger."
"- Maybe I can give them some compensation like money or... or socks -"
"GRANGER!"
That had finally shut her up. She bit her bottom lip, cheeks tinged with red in embarrassment. She knew she tended to ramble when she was flustered. Hermione actually forgot how Draco Malfoy could easily rile her up with that sharp tongue of his.
"Bloody hell, Granger, I get it," he said with an exasperated look on his face. She sheepishly smiled in return. "But to answer your question, no, I can't lend any of my house-elves to you."
She frowned. After rambling for minutes and embarrassing herself, she expected a different answer. "Why not?" she demanded. "You have loads of them, Malfoy."
"Tippy is the only house-elf I trust with a child," he stated matter-of-factly.
"Then, you can maybe lend Tippy and get a new one from your Manor."
"No," he deadpanned. "Tippy's staying."
Her frowned deepened. "You usually send him to the Manor for some errands," she protested. "I think you'll manage without him for weeks."
"I said no, Granger," he snarled. "He's my house-elf and he's staying."
Hermione's eyes narrowed, unwilling to back down. "Why, Malfoy?" she demanded. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you don't want Rose to leave."
It was meant to spite him. She knew how the blond was hesitant in taking in her daughter while she went to China to capture her husband's killer. It was even laughable to think that, knowing he would have gladly rid of the menace, as what he so fondly called her daughter, and finally give him the peace that was disrupted ever since she dropped by that one stormy Sunday night.
But when Draco refused to look at her eyes, her jaw dropped. Even his cheeks were tinged with pink and Merlin's pants, he was embarrassed and definitely did not want Rose to leave yet.
Unwittingly, a huge beam appeared on her face. Her stomach ached a little from her action, but Hermione ignored it. "You don't want Rose to leave," she stated once more, a knowing glint in her eyes. "Merlin's beard, Malfoy, you don't!"
"Shut up, Granger," he snapped, glaring darkly at her. "Your daughter's a menace, so I'd gladly rid of her, if you must know."
One thing she learned from spending times with Draco Malfoy during missions was that his go-to defense mechanism was always, always insults. Perhaps, if she knew about this when she was younger, she would have understood him more. The young man who had saved her back countless times before and the man sitting right before her eyes were too different from the smarmy, snotty boy she went to Hogwarts with. She still wondered if eleven-year-old Draco Malfoy ever imagined himself in this situation.
"Rose tends to have that effect on people," Hermione explained, ignoring his past comment. "People tend to dote on her whenever she's in the vicinity." Chuckling, she recalled fond memories of her adorable daughter making everybody swoon in the office. She even melted Mad-Eye Moody's heart, and that was saying something!
A wistful expression then grew on her face as she looked back at Draco. "My daughter... she demanded attention with just her mere presence. She just, you know, lights up the whole room every time she comes in." She chuckled and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "It was something she inherited from Ron, thank Merlin. People instantly liked Ron." 'Unlike me,' she thought, a stab of pain going through her heart. It was always something little Hermione never understood.
"She's very bright," he said. "Just like you."
Was it her imagination or was Draco Malfoy comforting her?
She looked back at him and was frustrated to see that his mask was still in place. 'That prick,' she thought with an internal sigh. Despite years, she only managed to crack through his mask during rare moments of Malfoy's vulnerability. It was definitely ugly, the things he kept inside, and Hermione always pestered him that showing emotions was not a weakness - that showing emotions would be good for him. Apparently, he never kept her words at heart.
"Her appetite, though." He made a face this time. "Definitely Weasley's."
Hermione laughed, the sound filling up the whole library. "She's a growing child, Draco," she said after her laughter died down. "What do you expect?"
"I wasn't that voracious when I was younger," he pointed out with a huff.
Neither was she, always a picky eater, but it was one trait that made her five-year-old endearing all the more.
"So... a house elf?" she raised once more. Deep inside, however, she knew Draco would protest until the ends of the earth. He didn't have to know this, but she thought a male adult figure in Rose's life would do her some good. Harry provided the role for three years, but he was constantly away and fighting monsters anyway. In Rose's eyes, her Uncle Harry was merely a bloody superhero.
"No," he said, sneering once more. "Stay here for weeks, Granger, I don't bloody care. Just don't bring one of my house elves. You might try to free them one-by-one again."
He pinned her with a stare whilst she sheepishly smiled. She remembered camping out in Malfoy Manor one night and was caught in the act by the Malfoy heir himself when she tried to free his house elves. She was banned ever since, not that she planned on going back to that awful place. The scar Bellatrix gave her twitched uncomfortably; she still had nightmares of that day.
"Sure, Malfoy, the house elves," she said with an eye roll. It really wasn't difficult for him to admit he would terribly miss Rose. But then again, this was Draco Malfoy - he wouldn't admit embarrassing things to save his life.
"We will terribly intrude your solace," she continued with a smile, prompting him to grimace. "Rose is a menace and I'm" -
- "A bloody menace, too, if you ask me." -
"I was going to say 'injured', but close enough," she finished, looking at him with amusement.
Draco sighed. "Tippy can take care of things," he flippantly said.
"Right, you're busy with the Malfoy business," she said, her grin widening. "It would be a shame to bother you, eh?"
He glared. "If you must know, Granger, this Malfoy business fills my vault with unimaginable wealth," he snarled. "Peasants like you wouldn't understand."
Boisterous laughter escaped from her mouth. Tears formed at the corner of her eyes and her abdomen protested, but she was too amused to care. "Merlin, Draco, you haven't changed one bit," she said, her laughter turning into soft chuckles despite his glares. "Peasants. Who even uses that word now?"
"If you're going to be a bother, I think it is best if you get out, Granger," he growled, cheeks slightly tinged with pink.
Her amusement didn't waver, but she raised her hands in surrender. "All right, all right," she said, slowly standing up from her chair. The book she was reading left untouched, prompting her to raise an eyebrow. It was the first time she spent some hours in a library without reading anything. "It would be a terrible shame to bother you, your highness."
"Shut it," he snapped.
Hermione grinned and placed the book back into its proper place. She excused herself, smile still on her face. Before she could completely step through the threshold, she swivelled around and called for his name. He lifted his face, askance, prompting her smile to widen once more.
"Thank you, Draco," she said, mustering all the gratitude she could. The past years had been terrible to her, and it made her feel worse Rose was caught in the middle of it all. It felt... nice for someone to look out for them this time. "For everything."
Her heart softened in fondness when Draco gave her one of his rare smiles. She once pointed out it made him look different in a good way before, which predictably made him stop smiling all the more.
"Anytime, Granger," he said.
__________
"Draco! Draco! Draco!"
The library door burst open and in came an overly excited five-year-old.
Draco sighed, wondering if it was a bad idea to spend some time in the library today. Tippy cleaned his study before, forcing him to use the library. He knew his house elf was already done, but he thought it would be a waste of time to change his position. He was tempted right now, however, but he could not do anything anymore when Rose climbed onto his lap.
"What do you want?" he thought, giving her a disapproving glare.
Rose did not take notice. "I'm having my birthday soon!" she exclaimed in excitement. "I told Mama I want to have a party here, but she said she'll ask you later because you are busy. But I got too excited and wanted to ask you myself!"
He really marvelled her vocabulary and her fluency at such a young age. During five, he still had trouble saying Voldemort's name. Humored, he bet Rose could say it perfectly.
"You should have listened to your mother," he admonished, scowling at his still-unfinished business report. He really, really needed to finish it but the mother-daughter duo wouldn't leave him in peace. Hermione was right when she said they would both be a bother.
"But may I have a party here Draco, please please please?" she pleaded, her blue eyes unnaturally round. "I promise to be good and-and I can invite Nott, too! I'll call him Theo if you want, but he should bring Selena so that Mama can meet her."
He lifted his eyebrow at that. Maybe Luna Lovegood meeting Hermione wasn't a bad idea after all.
"Then we can invite Uncle Harry" - Draco made a face - "and maybe Aunt Figgy, too, but Mama said she is away." He wondered who Aunt Figgy was. "Of course Sir Ginger will be there. And the rest of my toys!" She squealed and excitedly clapped her hands. "We can have a tea party with Mama and Theo and Harry and Selena and everybody!"
Draco groaned. It was starting to sound bad.
"Then Mama will make her delicious lasagna," she continued. "Have you tasted Mama's lasagna? It's delicious! Uncle Harry can bring Florean's, too!"
"All right, all right, slow down," he said, highly amused. It was no doubt he inherited Granger's blabbering.
"So can I have my birthday party, Draco, please?"
Draco sighed and made a huge show of rolling his eyes. "Do I really have a choice?" he asked.
Rose squealed and gave him a hug. "You're the best, Draco!" she exclaimed. Unwittingly, he smiled and patted her back.
"You can invite more, if you like," he said, already making a mental note of how to arrange the dining area to accommodate her visitors.
To his surprise, Rose shook her head. "I'm okay with you, Mama, Uncle Harry, Nott, Selena, and Aunt Figgy," she said.
"What about your friends?"
Rose looked confused. "All my toys will be there," she pointed out.
Draco frowned. "I meant, other children like you," he explained. When Rose frowned at him, his eyes widened. "Blimey, you have no friends!"
"I have my toys!" she interjected. "They're my friends."
He didn't bother correcting her that she didn't have real, breathing, human friends. He took a mental note to demand Granger why she never exposed her child to other children before. No wonder she was a bloody menace.
"Rose!"
He and Rose looked at the library to see a horrified Hermione. Her daughter immediately scrambled down and ran towards the brunette.
"Mama, Mama, Draco agreed!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down in glee. "He said I can have my birthday party!"
Granger placed a hand on her shoulder, prompting her to stand still. Sheepishly, she glanced at Draco. "I meant to ask you later, during dinner but" - she weakly gestured at Rose - "you know how she can be awfully persistent."
"Like you," he snorted. This made her smile a little. "I agreed now so can I finally have some peace?" He pointed at the papers on his desk. "I have work to do."
"All right, all right, sorry for the intrusion," Hermione said, lifting Rose into her arms. She smiled prettily, prompting him to look away. "But thank you for agreeing to the party, Draco."
What was with her today? She kept on incessantly thanking him, making him uncomfortable.
"Yes, yes, now go," he said, making shooing gestures.
"We'll see you at dinner later," she said, then left with her daughter.
'Finally, some peace,' he thought and proceeded to finish the bloody report for the rest of the night.
__________
"Draco."
He gasped in shock and grabbed his wand under the pillow. Draco blinked several times, allowing his eyes to adjust in the dark, and found himself staring at Rose's wide, blue eyes.
"What the hell, Rose," he grumbled, placing a pillow atop his head. "Go away."
She snatched the pillow and threw it away. "I want cookies," she said, now shaking him awake. "You said I can eat some today."
"Bloody hell, it's bloody midnight, go away."
"No! Cookies!"
She started to pinch his arm and they really hurt. He hissed in pain and glared her down, already wide awake. Rose wasn't unfazed by his expression and already ran out of his room. Draco had no choice but to follow, grumbling all the way until he arrived in his kitchen.
Rose already prepared two glasses of milk and a plate of cookies.
"Well, you already prepared some yourself," he said, scowling at his disturbed sleep. "You should have left me to sleep in peace."
She shook her head. "If Mama comes out, I'll tell her you wanted some cookies," she said matter-of-factly, then proceeded to eat one of the delicious snack.
Draco rolled his eyes. She really would be well suited in Slytherin, despite her protests.
Sighing, and very much awake, Draco finally eased himself on one of the chairs and ate cookies quietly. Like Granger, his mother would scold him for hours every time she found him sneaking into the kitchen after bedtime to eat some midnight snack. He always forced Dobby to prepare him some, and the house elf always got the brunt of Narcissa's scolding. Lucius caught him once, and suffice to say, Dobby did not merely get a scolding and Draco wasn't given breakfast the very next day. Ever since then, he didn't dare eat midnight snacks anymore.
He found it funny that as an adult, he still felt a little nervous eating cookies in the middle of the night. If Granger caught them, she would undoubtedly point her finger at him.
As if on cue, the lights turned on and a stern Hermione Granger walked in. Rose immediately dropped her cookies and pointed her stubby finger at him. "Draco wanted cookies, Mama!" she exclaimed, prompting him to roll his eyes. There was no use in defending himself, really.
To his surprise, Hermione did not spare him a glance. "Come right here this instant, Rose Weasley," she said, placing her hands against her hips. Draco was reminded of the times when Rose would do this action and couldn't help but grin at the uncanny resemblance.
Rose jumped down from her chair and dejectedly strode towards her mother. "Sorry, Mama," she said.
Hermione sighed. "What did I tell you about eating cookies after bedtime?"
"They're bad for your teeth," she murmured, tears already filling her eyes.
The brunette sighed once more. "Go back to bed," she ordered, and Rose did not need to be told twice.
Once she was gone, Hermione pinned an amused Draco a glare. "Number eight on the list I gave you specifically said you can never give her sweets after bedtime, Malfoy," she sternly said, tightly crossing her arms against her chest.
He rolled his eyes. "She's just a child, Granger," he appeased. "Besides, she had a rough few days and deserved some comfort. It's not as if she's doing it every day."
She narrowed her eyes. "This isn't the first time, is it?" she growled.
"It's just the second time," he replied with a frown. "Don't make a big deal out of it, really, Granger."
If looks could kill, Draco would be dead by now. But then again, he always had a knack of surviving dangerous times. "She needs to be properly disciplined, Malfoy," she said with a scowl. "Don't tell me how to raise my daughter, you slimy ferret."
"Oh, so we're back to name-calling now," he said, his jaw tightening in annoyance. "And since we're on the topic of how you raise your daughter, you bushy-haired know-it-all, why don't we talk about how she severely lacked friends."
This mellowed her down, face clouding with slight confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked, this time with a frown.
Draco sighed. "Rose wanted to only invite six people for her birthday, and none of them are her age," he explained. "The rest... well, if you considered inanimate objects as real friends, then they're invited, too."
A stormy expression formed on her face. Draco patiently waited as Hermione paced for a while, finally deciding to occupy the seat beside the blond. To his amusement, she worriedly munched on a cookie. "Bloody hell, you're right," she groaned.
"No bad words, Granger," he said, smirk in place.
"Shove off, Malfoy," she shot back with a light glare. Hermione finished a cookie, before looking back at him again. "I didn't realize..."
Draco nodded. "I figured," he said. "You're a busy witch, which is to be expected from a War Heroine like you."
"But that makes me a bad mother," she said, downing some of Rose's abandoned milk. "When she was born during the War..." She shifted uncomfortably and sadly looked into his eyes. "You and I both know the Headquarters is no place for a child."
He didn't say anything and waited for her to continue.
"After Voldemort was defeated, she was almost a year old, and things got a little busy with my marriage and all..." She looked wistfully at a distance and sighed. "I signed up to the Auror program instantly and didn't have enough time to look after her. And when Ron died..."
Her eyes shone, but no tears fell. "I'm a bad mother," she said, and looked down on the tabletop.
Draco felt highly uncomfortable, unknowing how to comfort the distressed brunette.
"Blimey, Granger, I just said she needed some real, human friends her age," he snapped, too quickly for his own comfort. "I didn't mean you're a bad mother." In fact, she was brilliant for raising a bright kid, with impeccable manners, and stubborn optimism. He was just too embarrassed to say those aloud.
Hermione gave him that weird expression once more. Before he could demand what that look actually meant, she spoke, "Parenting came naturally to you, Draco, you know."
Well, he did not expect that.
Sputtering and cheeks inflamed, he glared darkly at Hermione. "What the actual fuck?" he spat, but Hermione was unfazed. In fact, she became more amused.
"I know you'll kill me for saying this, but I think you'll make a good father," she said, complete with that dazzling grin of hers. Draco's skin crawled with her insinuation and she was right in thinking he could Avada her right now for spouting ridiculous things.
"You are... you are good with Rose," she said, her cheeks now tinged with pink. She refused to meet his eyes and instead focused her attention on drawing circles on the rim of the tall glass. "Harry, bless his heart, tries his very best, but you're... you're different. In a good way."
She shyly glanced at him and he internally groaned in embarrassment.
"I let her eat ice cream once with peanuts, which triggered her allergic reaction," he blurted out. He never wanted to tell her that, knowing she'd have his head, but blimey, he needed to think of something to stop this stupid, stupid conversation.
"WHAT?!"
"But she's alive and happy now, yeah?" he said, immediately jumping out of his chair. "Goodnight, Granger, and don't you fucking dare repeat what you said to anyone ever again, understand?"
He did not wait for her to say anything in return. Draco swore, however, that he heard her wonderful laugh.