A/N: Happy early Thanksgiving! This chapter is a long one. Sorry. :o/

But I'm sure you will all forgive me …

"Can we really not just float this thing up there?" asked Ron as he struggled with one end of his and Hermione's old sofa as they tried to carry it up the stairs.

"Ron, we are in a Muggle building!" Hermione whispered harshly, trying to catch a glimpse of him from her bottom end but failing. "We will just have to make do."

Ron grunted but agreed. They had only gone up one flight and still had three more to go, and the way the staircase curved halfway up each floor did not make it easy.

"Did you need help with that, Mr. Weasley?" Hermione heard a voice she had come to recognize as Scorpius ask as they approached the third floor.

"No, I got it!" spat Ron, even though he had been complaining about his back just moments ago.

"For Merlin's sake, Ron, just let him help you!" Hermione shouted from down below.

Ron grunted. "Oh, bloody fine," he said, handing his side over.

Once Ron was out of the picture, the task suddenly became much easier. Scorpius was pretty strong and was able to lift the sofa over the bannister at each curve, angling it just right so they hit a minimal amount of wall. Hermione knew she should have taken the lead from the very beginning, but Ron had insisted.

When she and Scorpius finally arrived with the sofa in the small flat, Rose was trying to cast a spell on Ron to heal his back.

"Told you we never should have sent the old people to do the heavy lifting," said Hugo with a laugh.

Ron's mouth fell open. " Old ?"

"Well, I didn't see any of you jumping at the opportunity to help," said Hermione, slowly setting down her end of the sofa first, followed shortly by Scorpius.

"I just got a manicure," said Lily, daintily unwrapping a vase from one of the boxes so as not to ruin her nails.

Hermione went over and took it from her. She went into the kitchen and filled it with water before putting in the flowers she had purchased from the market that morning. Every home looked better with flowers, even small ones with too many people crowded around since everyone insisted on helping the new residents move in.

Ron came up beside her and put an arm around her waist. She gave him a small smile but it was not long before she was moving out of his touch.

They had gone to lunch twice that week and both times everything had felt forced. The conversations, the eye contact, even the awkward kiss before they went back to their own offices. Especially the awkward kiss. She knew there was no way Ron did not feel it too, but, still, he kept trying and acting like nothing was wrong.

"So have you given any more thought to who your best man is going to be, Scor?" asked Lily, still emptying her box while Scorpius and Albus moved the sofa around per Rose's instruction.

"I don't know," said Scorpius. "Rose and I were kind of thinking that maybe it should be Hugo."

Lily froze, her mouth falling open dramatically as her nose crinkled in disgust. "I can't walk down the aisle with my bloody cousin !"

"Ouch, Lil," said Hugo, who was currently trying to put Rose's new bookshelf together. Even with magic, he was doing a horrible job.

"Oh, you know what I mean!" she said. "Why won't you pick Parker?"

"Parker is not exactly speaking to me right now," said Scorpius, pushing the sofa about two inches to the left.

"Perfect!" exclaimed Rose, running over and giving him a kiss.

"Why not?" asked Lily.

Scorpius and Rose looked at each other. Then they looked at Hugo. He glanced up and blushed. "I didn't bloody know, all right?"

"We know," said Rose, suddenly turning her eyes to Lily and narrowing them.

Lily made a point not to look up at her, a small but wicked smile planted on her face.

Hermione was watching them closely. "Lily Luna Potter, what did you do?"

"Nothing," she said innocently. "Well … I might have told Parker's girlfriend, Issy, that Hugo couldn't stop talking about her."

"Ha!" scoffed Hugo. "I didn't even know who she was until she came up to me. Then come to find out she's Parker's bloody girlfriend."

"Not anymore," Lily said proudly.

"It's not funny, Lil!" he snapped. "Parker is telling everyone that when we get back to school he's going to make my life miserable for stealing his girl. I'm a lover, not a fighter! If he swings I wouldn't even know how to bloody swing back!"

Hermione's face tensed as she immediately went in to Mommy-mode. "Why didn't you tell me this? As soon as I get home I am going to owl Neville and -"

"No!" Hugo and Lily both shouted.

"You can't get Parker in trouble! He'll be kicked off the Quidditch team!" she screamed.

"Is that really your only concern, cousin ?" Hugo threw down the piece of bookshelf he was holding. "Oh, I bloody give up."

Rose went over to help him while Scorpius and Albus started pushing boxes off to the side to make room for the other stuff they needed to bring up. Lily was still unpacking the same box.

"Eww, gross!" she said suddenly. "Why do you have this hideous thing?"

Everyone looked over to see she was holding a Creatasia figurine in the shape of a Hungarian Horntail. The company specialized in making fantasy creatures look especially gruesome. The dragons were their top-selling item.

"Careful with that," said Scorpius, running over and taking it from her. "That one's my favorite."

Lily pursed her eyebrows. "Don't tell me you seriously collect those? Ugh, no wonder you want Hugo to be your best man."

Not wanting to leave his Hungarian Horntail on the floor next to everything else Lily was unpacking, Scorpius began looking around, trying to find a place for it.

"Oh, Scorpius, hold on a second," said Hermione, scanning the flat until she found her purse. She stuck her hand in and began feeling around, her heart speeding up for a moment as her fingers brushed across Draco's flask. Other than a few exchanges of business related owls, she had not spoken to him since that day she went to his office. Of course, she had thought about him a lot. Every time Ron touched her and it felt so wrong she would remember the burning sensation Draco sent running through her veins simply by being present.

And then she found what she was looking for.

"Here," she said, pulling out a wooden shelf she had made. "I figured we could find a spot for your dragons on the wall."

Scorpius watched, a little flabbergasted, as Hermione scanned the wall for the best spot for her shelf. She eventually decided on a place just above a small end table.

"Come help me," she said to him.

Scorpius put his dragon down on the sofa and joined her.

"You brought this for me?" he asked.

"I made it, yes," said Hermione, instructing him to hold it up straight while she used her wand to attach it.

"My mom is very crafty," Rose said proudly. Unfortunately, she could not say the same for her brother and dad, who were currently looking at the instructions for putting together the bookshelf with blank expressions on their faces. She rolled her eyes and started doing it herself.

Once the shelf was up, Hermione grabbed the Hungarian Horntail and put it in place. "Lily, bring over the others, will you?"

Lily stood and carried over the four other dragons she had unpacked. Rose and Scorpius had finally compromised on five. Hermione arranged them on the shelf in the way she thought looked best and stepped back, inspecting it carefully with her hand on her chin.

"I think it looks good, right?" she said, glancing at Scorpius.

"Uh … yeah," he said, still looking a little confused by the whole ordeal.

"Do you not like it?" asked Hermione with a frown.

"No!" he said quickly. "I do! It's just, uh … thank you. For the shelf."

Hermione smiled and chuckled softly. "You're welcome." She put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze before walking off to the kitchen where she took out glasses and filled them with ice and butterbeer for everyone.

Lily came over to help her. "I don't think his mum does the little things like you do, Aunt Hermione," she whispered. "He probably doesn't quite understand what he's getting into with our family yet."

"Hmm," said Hermione. "Well, I hope we're not overwhelming him."

"I'm sure he's fine. Might be better once his dad gets here, though. Oh! I mean your lover ." Lily winked.

Hermione blushed. "Funny," she said.

Of course, that photo of her and Draco had been published in Witch Weekly by the next day. His guess of headline had been pretty accurate. Ron had been furious, but he could not say much about it considering his own photo in the same magazine just a few months prior had been very real.

"Oh, come on, Aunt Hermione. Have a laugh about it. There are worse people you could have been photographed standing next to."

"Just help me serve the drinks, Lily," said Hermione, eager to get off of the present subject.

Lily giggled and walked off with two drinks in hand, giving them to Hugo and Ron first before coming back for more.

"You all do realize there is still a truck down there with half of your stuff in it?" asked Teddy as he walked in holding a coffee table. Victoire was just behind him carrying a small box.

"You guys came!" Rose said excitedly as she ran over to give them both hugs.

"Yes, but it doesn't look like there's much room for us," said Victoire, putting her box down on the sofa so she could hug Rose properly.

"Teddy, you're good at building things," said Rose, waiting for him to put down the coffee table before giving him a hug. "Could you help my dad and Hugo with my bookshelf?"

"Ah, our area of expertise," said Teddy, looking at Victoire. "We once put together a desk that was, what, one-hundred and twenty-two -"

"One-hundred and seventy-two," corrected Victoire.

"- one-hundred and seventy-two pieces!"

Teddy took Victoire's hand and they went over to the bookshelf that seemed to be creating even more pieces with time.

"Hugo, Al, Scorpius, do the three of you think you can help me empty out the last of the truck?" asked Hermione. "We should really get it out of the street soon."

The boys all headed for the door.

"I can help too," said Ron, trying to stand.

"No, Ron," said Hermione, holding out her hand to stop him. "You stay here and nurse your back."

She followed the boys out and met up with them downstairs, organizing everything as best she could so they could get it all up in as few trips as possible. They were able to do it in three. On the last trip, Hugo and Al took up the railings for the bed and ran ahead to put it together while Hermione and Scorpius dealt with the mattress. It was heavier than it looked and a bit more of a struggle than the sofa. Merlin knew why. Hermione was pretty sure she was just exhausted and probably should have left this task to one of the strapping young boys.

"Do you want to maybe switch ends?" asked Scorpius from the top of their current staircase while Hermione tried to lift the mattress above her head so it would not keep bumping the stairs.

"At this point, I don't even know how we would switch," she said, looking at how the mattress was taking up the entire staircase.

"I could just slide down the bannister," he said, giving it a rub and seeming like he just really wanted to do it.

"And how do you propose I get up?" asked Hermione. "Should I climb?"

Scorpius frowned. "Oh. Right."

She laughed. "Let's just try this again."

They both lifted, Hermione's end a bit higher as she, once again, tried to raise it above her head. She lost her grip in the process and it fell. She screamed and ducked, holding her hands up high in an attempt to stop it from smacking down on her head. Since her eyes were clenched shut, she was a little surprised when it never made impact. She opened them and saw that a strong arm in a dark sleeve was holding it up. She looked up and was not especially surprised to find Draco there.

"What do you have this bloody thing filled with?" he asked. "Lead?"

"Hi, Dad!" called Scorpius, letting go of the mattress with one hand to wave, only to make one side collapse again. Draco put something down quickly and grabbed the other end before Hermione could get squashed.

"Careful, Scorpius. Somehow, I think killing your future bride's mother with a mattress would put a bit of a damper on the wedding."

"Yes, I do suppose Rose would feel negatively about that," said Scorpius with a laugh. "Sorry, Mrs. Weasley."

"It's fine," said Hermione, moving out from underneath the mattress and standing up properly. "And call me Hermione."

"Really?" said Scorpius, for some reason looking at his father for approval.

"You should do what the lady says," said Draco. "Besides, you will want to get in the habit of calling her by a name that isn't going to change soon."

Hermione's entire body tensed. She looked up at Scorpius to see he had gone dead white. Her eyes began to flame as she slowly turned them towards Draco, about to give him a piece of her mind when someone walked up behind him and smacked the back of his head.

"That was incredibly rude, Draco," said Narcissa, looking absolutely appalled with her son. "Apologize to Mrs. Weasley."

"I was only joking -"

"I said APOLOGIZE." Narcissa's voice came out deep and frightening, making Hermione consider apologizing to herself, on instinct.

Draco took a deep breath in through his nose and looked at Hermione. "Sorry, Mrs. Weasley."

Hermione blinked. "It's fine," she said, even though it really was not. "Just help me get this mattress up, will you?"

"I thought that was what I was already doing," said Draco, giving the mattress a few good pumps with his hands. "Salazar, this thing is heavy."

"Granny, I didn't know you were coming!" Scorpius said brightly from his place on the top of the steps.

"I was not planning to but your father said I had to see this place with my own eyes," said Narcissa, glancing sideways and smiling at her son.

"Did you get it?" Scorpius asked in an almost whisper.

Narcissa picked up what Draco had put down and held it high for him to see. It looked like a small animal carrier. And then it meowed.

"Did you get them a cat?" Hermione asked, pursing her eyebrows.

"A kitten," Narcissa corrected, bringing the carrier back down so Hermione could see the little orange tabby with golden eyes.

"To replace Scuffles," said Draco with a smirk.

Hermione was mad at him, so she tried very hard not to laugh. Unfortunately, she was unable to hold back. "A much more suitable companion," she said, sticking her fingers into the carrier and letting the purring little kitten rub against them.

"Draco has been owling pet shops all week trying to find a female orange one. Who knew they were rare?" said Narcissa. "Finally, the owner of Magical Menagerie found one for us in a Muggle shelter. We took a cab there." Her eyes brightened. She was obviously proud of their Muggle adventure. "If your father ever finds out …"

Draco smiled slyly. "Probably best not to mention it."

"Why female?" asked Hermione. "Because it looks like Rose?"

"That was my thought," said Draco. He looked up at his son. "Their second cat can be a white male."

"Yes, because it won't be awkward having two pets that look like us," said Scorpius.

Draco adjusted the mattress. It seemed to be getting a bit heavy for him. "I am not carrying this thing up four more flights," he said, reaching into his pocket where his wand was.

"What are you doing? This is a Muggle building," Hermione whispered harshly.

"Yes, but how is anyone going to know if I make the bloody thing lighter," he whispered back to her, giving his wand a flick in his pocket. A second later, he lifted the mattress over his head with ease.

"Oh, this is much better!" said Scorpius.

Draco continued to stare at Hermione, that annoying smirk still formed on his lips as he and his son began ascending the stairs.

"Well, no need to be smug about it," Hermione muttered under her breath as she, Narcissa and the kitten followed after.

When they reached Rose and Scorpius' floor, Narcissa handed the kitten's carrier to Hermione and hurried forward to take the mattress. "Let me feel strong for a moment, will you, Draco?"

Draco laughed. "Of course, Mother."

She, Scorpius and the mattress entered the flat. Hermione started to follow them, but Draco grabbed her wrist and held her back. She looked at him.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"I am sorry," he said, staring directly into her eyes. "About what I said before. It was uncalled for."

"Are you really?"

Draco's jaw tightened and he looked off to the side, but he still nodded.

Hermione pulled her wrist out of his grip. "You don't know anything about my husband's and my relationship, Malfoy, so I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself."

"I know enough," he said. "So how has this 'trying' thing been working out for you?"

"None of your business."

Draco sucked air in through his teeth. "That bad, eh? So what is it that's not working? Too many naughty dreams about me?"

He reached around and grabbed her arse. Hermione smacked it away.

"Stop it!" she snapped. "This is not funny anymore! I mean … it never was but …" She sighed. "Please, just stop."

The corners of Draco's mouth fell into a frown. "Fine," he said. "If that's what you really want then I relent."

"Thank you," said Hermione, looking away from his eyes and at a spot on the wall.

"For now."

"Dad."

They both turned. Scorpius was standing in the doorway, smiling.

"Rose has her eyes closed. Bring her in."

He pointed down at the carrier Hermione was still holding. She lifted it and Draco opened the cage door. The kitten practically jumped into his hands and he very carefully carried her into the flat. It was actually a very cute sight to watch, despite how much she hated him right now.

"Scorpius, if you do something disgusting I swear the wedding is off!" said Rose from where she was sitting on the floor.

"I'm not going to do anything disgusting, baby, I promise you'll like this."

The kitten meowed.

Rose's face lit up, even though she kept her eyes closed. "Don't tell me that's Scuffles the second?"

"It is definitely not an oversized rat," said Scorpius, glancing at Hermione and winking.

Rose held her arms out as Draco got closer. He put the kitten in her hands and she pulled it close, cooing as she opened her eyes and looked down at it. "Oh my gods, she's so cute!" She looked up at Draco. "She?"

"Yes, it's a she," he said. "Please, just don't name her Scuffles." He glanced sideways at Hermione and smirked.

"I won't," said Rose, nuzzling against the purring kitten. "Oh, I love her already. Thank you so much!"

She jumped up and gave Draco a half-hug, since one hand was currently occupied. He just sort of patted her back uncomfortably in return.

"So what should we call her?" she asked, jumping over several boxes to get to Scorpius.

"Keep it with family tradition," said Lily. "We have Rose, Lily, and you're a flower too, aren't you, Mrs. Malfoy?" She looked at Narcissa, who had taken a seat on the edge of the mattress they had just put on the bedframe.

"Yes, I suppose I am," she said.

"But Mom's not a flower." Rose crinkled her nose. She looked at Hermione.

"How about Dahlia?" suggested Lily, still stuck on the idea of flower names. "Or Marigold? She could totally be a Marigold!"

"I'd rather go Shakespearian," said Rose, still looking at her mother. "How about Perdita? I know you always wanted me to be named Perdita."

Ron glanced up from his pile of parts that were supposed to make a bookshelf. His face stiffened as he locked eyes with Hermione.

"It only seemed appropriate since you were Hermione's daughter," said Hermione, trying to give Ron a smile. "But it's your kitten, honey. You can name her Perdita if you want, but don't think you're too mature to name her something like Pumpkin."

Rose smiled coyly. "How did you know I was thinking about Pumpkin?"

"That orange rabbit your Uncle George gave you without our permission," she said. "Since it was a little darker orange you called him Pumpkin Pie."

"And then you made me a pumpkin pie to butter me up before telling me you gave him away." She frowned. "It didn't work." Rose held the kitten out in front of her and took a good look. "I like Perdita. It's pretty, just like her. Do you like it?" she asked, looking at Scorpius for approval.

"Yes, it is very perdy ," he joked, giving Rose a kiss. They both giggled.

Hermione walked through the maze of boxes to get to Ron, Teddy and Victoire, who were all still hard at work on the bookshelf, though it looked like little progress had been made.

"What's he doing buying her a cat for?" Ron asked quietly as she sat down next to him. "Shouldn't she be figuring out how to take care of herself before getting a bloody animal?"

"Relax, Ron, it's just a cat. They're pretty self-reliant, and Malfoy was just being nice," said Hermione, picking up the instructions and looking them over.

"Yeah, I suppose you have to stand up for your lover ," he mocked.

"It would only be right."

Ron's hands clenched around the piece of wood he was holding and his ears turned bright red.

"Ron, I'm joking," she said. "It was just a stupid article written to try and sell magazines. And there will probably be a lot more like it if this deal goes through, so you might as well adjust."

Ron glanced up, pretending to look at her but obviously staring past her and what she could only assume was Draco. "He looks at your bloody arse almost every time you turn around."

Hermione blushed.

"That is true," said Victoire. "He did it a couple of times the other day." She laughed but stopped as soon as she realized she was the only one. "Sorry. I didn't know we were taking this seriously. He's just a man, Uncle Ron, and Aunt Hermione has a very nice -"

"Do you have something else you could be doing, Vickie?" asked Hermione.

"Umm … sure," said Victoire, standing up. "Come on, Teddy. Let's see if they have anything to eat in this place because I'm starving ."

Teddy took her hand and the two of them walked as best they could through the maze towards the kitchen.

"You know, you have a lot of nerve getting jealous over nothing when you had a girlfriend just last week," said Hermione.

Ron took a deep breath. "Fair enough," he said, still pretending to fiddle with the bookshelf even though he was obviously not focused on it anymore. "But he doesn't have to be so bloody obvious about it."

"Malfoy is Malfoy," she said.

Hermione glanced over her shoulder to find him holding Perdita while Rose and Lily transfigured a collar for her. He walked over to his mother and handed her over before taking a seat next to her. She whispered something to him and he laughed.

"Have you even spoken to him once since they got engaged?"

"No," said Ron. "You've been doing enough of that for the both of us."

Hermione slowly turned her head back towards him. She sighed.

"I've talked to that spawn of his. Isn't that enough?"

"That spawn is your future son-in-law, and maybe you'd realize that he's actually quite sweet if you gave him half a chance," she spat. "He loves Rose, even you can't deny that."

"Of course he does. She's the prettiest girl he's ever going to meet and way too good for him."

Hermione smiled softly. "You think she's too good for everyone."

"Only because she is." He paused, frowning as he finally put down the piece of wood. "He's going to break her heart, Hermione."

"You don't know that."

"Yeah I do. A father's intuition is -"

" Nothing compared to a mother's intuition, and I think you're wrong."

Hermione stood up and pulled something out of her pocket. It was a set of keys. She tossed them down to him.

"Do me a favor and return the truck, will you?"

"Yeah, sure," said Ron, standing.

Ron leaned in and gave Hermione an awkward kiss. Even though she closed her eyes, she knew his were open, probably watching Draco since her back was to him and he would have a perfect view of her arse.

"I'll order Chinese food while you're gone," she said.

Ron nodded and said a quick goodbye to Rose before leaving the flat.

"Where did you get the shelf to put these on?"

Hermione looked over to see that Draco was staring at the Creatasia figurines while Scorpius stood behind him.

"Mrs. Weas - I mean, Hermione made it for me." Scorpius looked over at her and smiled.

"You made it?" asked Draco, glancing sideways at her.

"I did," she said.

"In her craft room, a.k.a. the basement!" called Rose from the other side of the flat. "She does everything. Woodwork, scrapbooking, ceramics, knitting. Even dabbled in jewelry."

"I probably should have avoided that one," said Hermione. She and Rose laughed as they recalled the hideous necklace she had given her on her twelfth birthday.

Hermione walked over to the kitchen and began digging through drawers.

"Rose, where did you put that menu for the Chinese place around the corner that is supposed to be pretty good?"

"Oh!" Rose looked around until she found a filing cabinet. She opened it and went to the tab that said 'menus', pulling out the one in question.

"I think it's time we ordered some lunch," said Hermione. "What does everyone want?"

"Spring rolls!" she shouted, with Rose and Hugo. They both narrowed their eyes at her.

"And let me guess. Chicken Satay, Sweet and Sour Pork, Szechuan Beef, Fried Prawns and lots and lots of Fried Rice for Lily."

Lily was the only one who looked amused.

"Why do we always have to get Fried Rice?" asked Albus. "We never get Chow Mein. Even at home it's always what Lily wants."

"Exactly as it should be," said Lily, giving her brother a shove.

Albus shoved her back. Only softly but it was enough to set her off. She jumped on his back and tackled him to the floor, tickling him the whole way down.

"Dammit, Lily! Stop!" he laugh-screamed.

"Relax, you two!" snapped Hermione. "We can get both."

Lily climbed off of Albus, but he held out his leg and tripped her so she fell back down. Hermione huffed and let them continue to wrestle. She did not know how Ginny did it.

"What do you want, Scorpius?" she asked, looking over at him.

"Oh, umm …"

Scorpius bit his lip and looked at his father. Draco shrugged.

"I've never actually had takeout Chinese food before."

Hermione's eyebrows rose while Rose and Hugo's jaws dropped. Victoire and Teddy poked their heads out of the washroom, where they had been organizing toiletries, and looked at the Malfoys in awe. Lily and Albus ceased all movement on the floor, then shot up quickly, looking completely baffled.

"You what ?" asked Lily. "But … how have you lived?"

"I mean, I've had Chinese food before," said Scorpius, looking a little embarrassed. "But only in China, and I think it's a bit different."

Hermione laughed. "Just a bit. I suppose the same goes for you two?" she asked, looking at Draco and Narcissa.

"That would be correct," answered Draco.

"I'll just order some of everything."

Hermione took out her mobile and placed the order, but delivery was going to take about twenty minutes longer than carry-out so she opted for the latter, considering Victoire looked like she was about ready to eat her own hand. The bookshelf was all but forgotten about as everyone tried to unpack the boxes so the flat would at least look livable. Only, Rose was having hard time concentrating with little Perdita in her lap, and Lily was no better. Of course, everyone already anticipated that she would be more atmosphere than anything.

"So how is your secretary doing?" Victoire asked Draco while she was unpacking one of the boxes. A small smirk etched on her lips.

"Don't have one," he answered. "I fired her as soon as I got back from that meeting on Monday and Human Resources has yet to find me a replacement."

"Good riddance," said Victoire.

Draco laughed. "I don't suppose you want the job."

Victoire's mouth fell open as she slowly lifted her wide eyes to look at him.

Draco cocked an eyebrow. "Do you?"

Her mouth snapped shut.

"I just assumed you were either employed or staying home for the little bundle on the way," he said, pointing at her baby bump.

Victoire shook her head. "No, the company I worked for was bought out and we were all laid off the moment the new president entered his office. It was two weeks after I found out I was pregnant so Teddy told me not to bother looking for another job since his new one with Aunt Hermione pays so much better than his old one." She paused. "But we could always use the extra money!"

"Well, if you want it then it's yours," said Draco. "I would like to have someone around who knows how to treat important clients, even if it's only temporarily."

"Right, temporarily," said Victoire, putting a hand on her stomach. "Do you really mean that, though? You want me to work for you?"

"Of course I do. I would even be willing to beg if that's what it took." He smiled and winked.

Victoire smiled back, small at first but then it grew to a wide grin. She jumped up and squealed. "Teddy, guess what, guess what? I have a job!"

She ran over to the kitchen where her husband was and leapt in to his arms. He did not look quite as excited by the news but still jumped for joy with her.

"And on that note, it's time for me to go and get the food," said Hermione, digging around the mess until she found her purse. "There's going to be a lot of it. Hugo, can you come with me to help me carry it all?"

Hugo grunted, but was still about to stand until Draco shot up and said, "I'll go with you."

Hermione frowned. "Will you?"

"Maybe I should go," said Scorpius, who had been putting things away in their desk.

"No, I got it, Scorpius," said Draco, walking towards the door and putting a hand on his son's shoulder as he passed him. "I promise I'll be nice."

Scorpius' face tensed. "Make sure you are."

Hermione was already standing by the door with her arms crossed. She headed out first, determined to get this errand over with quickly.

They walked down the stairs and out the front door, Draco having to lengthen his strides just to keep up with her.

"Any particular reason you are in such a hurry to get there?"

"I don't want the hungry teenagers and pregnant girl to eat each other," she quipped.

"My money is on the pregnant girl."

Hermione held back her smile.

"Granger, slow down. The casualties will not commence until the food has arrived. Then we can bet on who lives and who perishes."

Her smile cracked.

"I promised my son I would be nice, so there will be no grabbing your arse this trip."

She rolled her eyes and slowed her steps.

"He likes you," said Draco. "He says you're the only one in his little flower's family other than your son and Potter's girl that seems willing to give him a chance." He pursed his lips. "I suppose that's my fault."

"And your father's," Hermione said honestly. "My son's name is Hugo and 'Potter's girl's' name is Lily. If you're going to be family then I suggest you learn them."

"Noted," he said. He paused briefly. "Scorpius' mother was supposed to come by and help this morning before I arrived. Did she?"

"No," said Hermione. "She sent Wimsy. Scorpius sent him right back."

"Sounds about right," said Draco. He sighed and began looking around the area. "This isn't so terrible."

"Much better than the neighborhood Scuffles lived in."

Draco glanced sideways at her and smirked. "Mother knows best."

The restaurant was a little farther than Hermione had initially thought, but they got there all right and their food was ready and waiting for them. The cost was close to two-hundred pounds and Hermione cringed a little as she reached into her purse for her wallet.

"I've got it," said Draco.

Hermione was about to tell him they would not take his money here, hoping he would understand she meant wizard currency, but then he took a wallet out of his inside coat pocket. She crinkled her forehead, knowing very well that Galleons did not exactly fit in wallets. He opened it, counted out two-hundred pounds and handed it over, putting all of his change into the tip jar.

When the worker walked away to get their food, Hermione looked at him questioningly. "Malfoy, how did you -?"

"I figured if my son was going to be living in a Muggle neighborhood then I should probably start carrying around some of their money. I studied the currency, I know how it works."

Hermione could not help but smile. "I know you don't like it when I make assumptions about you, but you really just … you keep surprising me, I guess."

Draco looked like he was about to say something but, before he could, the worker came back out with two other people and several bags of food.

"Here you are," she said. "And we included an extra order of spring rolls in there for you since you seem to be such fans."

Hermione smiled. "My children and I are but, actually, he's never had one." She pointed at Draco.

The woman's jaw dropped. " Never had a spring roll?"

"Yes, that does seem to be the common reaction," said Draco.

"Well, then you must have one now! Right here!"

"Oh, good idea!" said Hermione, helping the woman dig through the bags to find one. "Once Rose and Hugo get ahold of this food the spring rolls will cease to exist."

She finally found a small bag of them and pulled it out while the worker opened a peanut dipping sauce. Hermione dipped one end and held it out to him.

Draco looked at it skeptically. Then he glanced around. Practically the entire restaurant was watching him. Granted, it was small with only a handful of customers. But still …

"I promise it's not poison, Malfoy. Just give it a try."

Draco brought his eyes back to Hermione, locking them with hers. She smiled and he leaned forward, taking a bite and chewing it slowly.

Draco's eyes lit up. "That's bloody good," he said.

"Another satisfied customer," said the woman, leading the other customers and workers in a round of applause.

Draco took the spring roll from Hermione and dipped it in the sauce again, finishing the thing in two big bites. "I can see why your children - Rose and Hugo," he corrected, "like these so much." He took the small bag of them from her and stuffed them in his pocket. He smirked. "Since we have an extra order."

Hermione laughed and picked the bags up from the counter. Draco took the ones the other two workers were holding and they thanked everyone before heading out the door.

The two of them chatted almost casually as they walked back towards Rose and Scorpius' flat. Hermione hated to admit it, but she was actually starting to enjoy Draco's company. He was definitely not what she expected the day her daughter told her she was going to marry his son. It was safe to say that he had matured since their school years, but it was not just that. He was different. Still arrogant, of course, but less of a bigot, which really was the root of her hatred for him at Hogwarts. She may have disliked him before he called her Mudblood, but once she understood the true hatred behind that word everything changed. But, now, here they were, everything changing once more.

"Granger, hold on a moment," said Draco, stopping before they turned on to Rose and Scorpius' street.

"What is it?" she asked.

Draco grabbed her wrist as best he could with all of the bags and pulled her into an alley. After looking around carefully, he used his wand to clean the filthy ground and put all of their bags down.

"Malfoy, what are you -?"

Draco grabbed her close and buried his face in her neck, moving his hands so they were both gripping her arse. "I know I said I wouldn't do this, but I have to."

Hermione put her hands between them and gave him a very weak shove. He held her tighter.

"I want you, Granger. I want you to the point where I would bend you over one of these disgusting rubbish bins and have my way with you right here if you'd let me."

"I … I wouldn't," said Hermione, trying to push a little harder but failing. Her eyes closed as he moved farther up her neck, sucking and biting and making her shiver all the way down to her toes.

"I saw you up there. With Weasley. You're not happy. You don't want to be with him, so why are you forcing it?"

"My … my family …" she said, biting her lip to stop a small moan from escaping it as one of his hands moved forward, his thumb beginning to play with the button on her jeans.

Draco pulled his lips off of her but still stayed close enough that she could feel his hot breath against her skin. "If you insist on being with him then at least wait until you are ready. He had his fun, now it is time for you to have yours."

"But he never actually slept with Colette."

Draco pulled back a little more so he was looking at her and cocked an eyebrow. "Is that what he told you?"

She nodded.

"Then he's a liar. Of course he slept with her. She was ready and willing."

Hermione's face dropped. She looked sadly at him and tried to move away, but Draco held her in place.

"Come over tonight."

"I can't," she said.

"Why not?"

"Because my husband is coming over for dinner."

She tried to move again but Draco was not having it.

"So that will be over at what …? Eight?"

Her eyes flaming now, Hermione was just about to shove him with everything she had when her phone began to ring. Draco released her just enough so she could grab it. She saw that it was Ron and took a deep breath before answering.

"Was there a problem with the truck?"

"No, it's back safely," he said. "But Ernie just called and he asked if I could come help out with the job he's on. I guess they're having a bit of a problem."

"So you're going now?" she asked.

"Yeah, it should only take an hour or two. Could you tell Rosie -"

"No, Ron, if you're going to bail on your daughter then you call and tell her. I'm not even there right now, I'm out picking up food."

A pause. "You're angry."

"No."

"I can call him back and tell him I can't -"

"Just bloody go, Ron!"

Another pause. "I'll call him back and tell him -"

"Ron, no," she said, lifting her free hand and massaging the bridge of her nose. "You should go, you want that promotion. I'm just stressed over this move. It's fine."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

"I'm still coming over tonight, right?"

"That is the plan."

"Okay. I'll call Rosie now and I'll see you later."

"Uhuh."

"I love you, Hermione."

Hermione took a deep breath and looked at Draco, who was watching her closely. "Yeah … Love you, too."

She hung up the phone and put it away.

"You didn't say 'I'," said Draco as soon as she was looking back at him.

Hermione blinked. "What?"

"Right now. You just said 'love you, too'. Not ' I love you. too'. I used to always say that to Astoria. It felt different. Like it was less of a lie."

Draco stepped back a little, but he kept his hands on her hips.

"I am going to be home tonight. Just me. All night," said Draco, lifting one hand to brush a strand of hair out of her eyes. "And when your husband finds some way to disappoint you, which he will, I'll be waiting for you."

Hermione gulped. "And if you're wrong and my night goes just fine then I … I think it's only fair that you leave me alone."

She felt Draco's body tense against hers, his hand now clenching into her hip. "Fine," he said with straight lips. "If I am wrong and the two of you share some magical evening that fixes all of your problems then yes, I will leave you alone."

Hermione thought she would finally relax when he said that, but her body only stiffened more.

"But I don't believe for one second that that is what you really want."

"And why is that?" she asked.

"Because," he said, leaning in again and brushing his lips along her neck, "I'm still holding you and you are not even attempting to get away from me."

Draco gave her neck a soft kiss before moving up and doing the same to her cheek. Then he gripped her arse one last time before stepping back, grabbing the bags of food off of the ground. He handed her a few but took the majority.

They walked the last block back to the flat in silence, but were practically bombarded by the chaotic and hungry teenagers the moment they stepped through the door.

Everyone ate and, by mid-afternoon, the flat was pretty much unpacked. Hermione had taken it upon herself to put together the bookshelf and Draco actually ended up coming over to help her. She was pretty sure Scorpius suggested it since he so obviously wanted the two of them to get along. Little did he know …

To Hermione's surprise, the two of them actually made a pretty good team. The instructions were not really necessary, all they needed to remember was to build up. It was just a bloody bookshelf.

Ron did not make it back to the flat before Hermione headed home. Hugo was supposed to come with her, but Rose asked if he could stay the night and help them with the last of the unpacking. There was not much left to do, and Hermione was fully aware that her children just wanted their parents to have dinner alone, hoping it might rekindle some romance. She agreed and left by herself.

Back at her house which seemed far too quiet, Hermione went to work on making dinner, even though she was still very full from all of the Chinese food. She thawed out some chicken and started cooking Ron's favorite dinner. It was just about finished when her phone rang. She looked and saw that it was Ron.

"Hey, where are you?" she asked.

There was a slight pause. "Don't kill me."

Hermione's hand clenched around the phone. "Why?"

"We're uhh … we're still working on this job. It looks like it's going to be a while."

Hermione said nothing, just concentrating on taking deep and steady breaths.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry! If I knew it was going to take this long I never would have agreed -"

"It's fine," she interrupted. "Another time."

Ron sighed. "If it's not too late I can still come by after."

"Maybe." She paused. "Just call me."

"All right, I -"

Hermione hung up the phone. She leaned onto the counter and looked at her finished dinner. After wiping a few tears from her eyes, she packed it up and put it away. She had no interest in eating it right now.

Once that was done, she took a quick shower and put on her penguin pajamas, going into the living room and trying to read to take her mind off of things. But no amount of literature could, and soon she kept catching herself staring at the fireplace.

Hermione hated being alone in this house. She had half a mind to go back to Rose's flat. But she knew very well that this was not the attention she was seeking right now. She wanted something more. Needed it even. So, without a second thought, she put down her book, marched right over to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of Floo powder out of the pot beside it. After taking a deep, meditative breath, she threw it in and stepped inside.

"Malfoy Manor."

She closed her eyes as she was sucked away from her home, feeling quite positive that she was going to regret this.

When she arrived at Malfoy Manor, Draco was sitting in an armchair facing the fireplace, staring at nothing while leaning forward on his knees with an untouched glass of scotch in his hands. His eyes traveled up slowly, actually looking a little surprised to see her there.

As Hermione stepped out of the fireplace, Draco put his glass down and stood from his armchair. He put his hands in his pockets and looked her over. When he found her eyes, he smiled.

"Nice jammies."

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest. "Forgive me for not feeling the need to impress you."

Draco strutted over to her. "That's all right," he said, taking her arms and moving them to her sides. "I don't imagine you will be wearing them for very long." He reached up and undid the top button.

Hermione pushed his hand away. "I have a few ground rules first."

"I thought as much," he said, reaching back up and unbuttoning another. "Let's hear them."

"This is only temporary. You said before that this could never go past the wedding, and you were right. If, for some miraculous reason, this is still going on when that happens, it ends."

"Agreed." He unbuttoned the next one. "What else?"

"We tell no one. I don't care how trustworthy your friends are, you will not tell them about this. I can't risk this getting back to Rose."

"Fair enough," he said, moving a little closer.

"Malfoy." Hermione put her hand on his chest and shoved him back. "I mean it. Rose cannot know about this. She would never forgive me."

Draco looked into her amber eyes and nodded. "I know," he said. "Scorpius would never forgive me either. He is the only thing I have truly done right in my life and I do not plan on losing him now."

Hermione gave him a shallow nod in return. Draco went in to kiss her but she turned her head away. He sighed and kissed her neck instead, his hands undoing the last few buttons on her nightshirt.

When it was all the way undone, Draco pushed it off of her shoulders, stepping back to look at her before grabbing her left breast and caressing her nipple with his thumb. He leaned down and took the right one in his mouth. Hermione moaned as one arm wrapped around his neck, gripping tightly onto the hair she found there. The other began undoing his trousers while his hands were aggressively rubbing the skin just on the inside of her pajama bottoms.

Once his zipper was undone, Hermione reached her hand inside of his boxers and began stroking him. It did not take much time at all before he was rock hard, pulling her bottoms to the floor and carrying her over to the sofa.

It was only a matter of seconds before Draco was inside of her, thrusting slow at first while her hips rolled against his but steadily increasing his pace until the sofa was scraping against the stone floor.

"Fuck, harder, Malfoy!" she urged as the familiar heat began to burn inside of her.

Draco grabbed her leg on the outside of the sofa and lifted it higher, pulling his own body up a bit to get a better angle. He thrust in deeper, curving just right to hit both her clit and her g-spot with each quick but smooth thrust.

Hermione closed her eyes and tried to focus on that feeling, but then she began to hear every sound happening in that room. The fire crackling, the sofa rattling, flesh hitting flesh, her own loud moans echoing through the high ceilings … and then there were his sounds. Soft grunts that were slowly becoming louder, heavy breathing and the occasional catching of breath.

"Fuck, Granger," she heard him mutter. "So fucking good." His voice was quiet, almost as if she was not meant to hear it.

Even without opening her eyes, Hermione knew that he was enjoying himself, and that only turned her on more. To have someone there who actually found pleasure in her body, and did not just fake the motions for as long as he could, only to finish himself off in the shower later.

Draco's hand grabbed roughly onto her breast and, a moment later, she felt his tongue circling her nipple. He grunted again as she moved her hips so they smacked hard against his, eager to get that release she had been craving since the last time they had done this. Taking her entire nipple between his teeth, Draco sucked on it while he lengthened his thrusts, one hand still holding her leg up while the other moved down and gripped her arse, practically bruising it as he prepared to finish them off.

Hermione knew he was close, holding back as best he could by biting even harder onto her nipple. He opened his mouth and began panting loudly. She moved her hands into his hair and gripped hard, practically pulling it out by the roots as he moved even faster. She was still so focused on his sounds that she did not even hear herself scream when it hit, the heat pulsing through her body as she let herself go. Draco continued to thrust hard, refusing to come until she was finished pulsating around him. And then he let loose, screaming her old name as he came inside of her.

Draco dropped her leg and collapsed, his sweat-soaked body pressed delicately against hers as he kissed any piece of flesh he could find. Neck, shoulders, breasts; his breathing was still heavy but Hermione could already feel him hardening again inside of her.

Dropping her head back, Hermione stared up at the ceiling, her eyes glazed at first but soon focusing as she realized this was the one part of this room that had not changed. Her body stiffened as she was suddenly drawn back to that horrible day in her life she had tried so hard to forget.

Draco was already moving, about to reposition her and have sex again when she grabbed onto his arm and held on tight.

"Malfoy, I …" She gulped. "I don't want to stay in this room."

"Oh." He looked around. "Right."

He held out his hand and summoned her clothes. The majority of his were still on, which he planned to remedy very soon.

"Then it's off to the bedroom we go."

Wrapping his arms tightly around her, Draco Apparated them to his room, eager to keep this night going for as long as he could.

Several hours later, Hermione poked her head over the side of the bed, searching for her phone that would not stop ringing. She finally found it in the pocket of her pajama bottoms. It was Ron, of course. She answered.

"What is it?"

"I'm off," he said. "I was wondering if maybe I could stop by."

"No, Ron, I'm already in bed."

"Oh." He paused. "But maybe you could just wake up for a little and -"

"No," she said sternly. "I'm sleeping."

"Oh," he said again.

Hermione sighed. "Look, I really do think it's important that we talk, but not now, all right? Call me in the morning."

"All right," he said, sounding a bit sad. "I will."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Hermione. I lo -"

Hermione hung up the phone and tossed it back on the floor. A pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her into a warm body.

"You neglected to mention whose bed you were in," said Draco. She could practically hear the smirk.

"Did I?" she said, for some reason feeling very little guilt as his hand traveled downward until it was between her legs. "I do have to get back to my bed at some point, though. Hugo is going to be home in the morning and it might look odd if I'm not there."

"We still have time," said Draco, trailing his tongue down her ear. "A good five hours, at least."

Hermione pressed against him with enough force that he rolled onto his back. She twisted herself around, throwing one leg over him so she was straddling his lap. "I understand you like to be in control, but don't you think it's time you let me take charge?"

Draco laughed. "By all means." He put his hands behind his head. "Have at it."

"I plan to," she said, bending down and trailing kisses along his chest, making sure to give each of his nipples a bite as she passed them. And then she continued downward, gazing up at him as she followed his happy trail all the way to the end, surprised at how eager she was to please him when she had never really liked doing this. But those sounds he produced while she pleasured him … those happy, enjoying himself sounds that came out while he stared down into her eyes made it all worth it.