Becoming

Dinner was relatively uneventful. Scorpius ate most of his beans and polished off his spaghetti with tomato sauce, only dropping half of his bread on the floor. The lemon and olive oil sauce Draco had prepared for himself and Hermione was delicious, though the dish was a bit past al dente to accommodate Scorp's preference for softer noodles.

Scorpius was a little quieter than usual, but Draco didn't want to push him after all the information they'd given him. He read a few easy picture books to himself in the sitting room while Draco and Hermione had tea, and when he got up to get ready for bed, he still offered Hermione another big hug before he went upstairs.

When Draco met him in his room to settle him for bed, it didn't take long for the questions to start back up, though.

"Dad?"

"Yes, love?" Draco answered.

"Will I have to share my room?"

"No, Sage will stay with Hermione when she's really little, because she'll need to be around her mum a lot those first few months. Mums feed their babies from their bodies – remember Auntie Daphne feeding Francis? Then, when she's a bit bigger, you and I will get to spend more time with her because she can use a bottle to eat, and she can probably sleep in the guest room upstairs."

"Good. Babies cry a lot."

Draco chuckled. "They do, but only because they don't know how to talk yet. It takes a lot of time to learn that."

"Yeah. Francis only knows a couple of words. I know a lot."

"You've learned a lot of words these past couple of years," Draco conceded. "But you don't need to worry about sharing a room if you don't want to."

"Cool. I like getting more family," Scorpius mumbled, his eyes dropping shut.

"And she'll love you, Scorp. You're going to be an amazing big brother."

Draco pressed a kiss to his forehead as he nodded tiredly. Draco sat there for several minutes as Scorpius' breath evened out in sleep.

Hermione had tucked herself into the sofa under the grey throw blanket that normally draped across the back. She was reading the book she had picked out earlier, but Draco was pleasantly surprised to see she had pulled her glasses out from somewhere to read by the low lamplight. She closed the book and leant her head against the back cushion when Draco flopped down beside her.

“Did he go down easy?”

“Yes, luckily. He’s always been a good sleeper.”

“Good.” Hermione stretched a hand out to him, and he tucked her fingers into his palm. “With luck, this one will be, too.”

“I think that went fairly well, all things considered.”

“He’s very bright. He caught on quickly.”

“He is,” Draco sighed. “Sometimes I can’t even keep up with him.” With a tired laugh, Draco scrubbed his free hand over his face.

“Would you like me to leave so you can rest?”

Draco brought Hermione’s hand up to brush a tentative kiss along her knuckles. He marvelled at how comfortable her presence made him.

“I won’t keep you much longer – I know you’re probably exhausted, too. But if you’re up for it, I can show you the space next door.”

Hermione nodded. Draco stood and tugged her to her feet. At the entry, they pulled their shoes on, and Draco set an alert charm on Scorpius’ room before he led her out the front door.

Hermione looked around at the dark lane curiously. Draco registered that she hadn’t actually seen his neighbourhood yet, and pointed out a few things.

“We're just inside the Cotswolds here. There’s a nature preserve down the way, and the village here is mostly younger families, though there aren't too many neighbours at this end of the lane. It's mostly converted buildings this side of town, almost all are listed. There must have been an enormous farming property here at one point, because most of the neighboring properties were outbuildings that have been turned into two or three units. This was a massive barn at some point. Oh, and it’s a Muggle town – we’re maybe an hour and a half from London by train. It’s generally quite peaceful, but we’re close enough to the amenities when we need them.”

Draco led her across the front garden to the adjoining home, smiling briefly at the faded plaque above the arched doorway that read "Holly House." With a glance around the lane for stray Muggles, he opened the heavy oak door with a couple of spells. A wave of his wand lit the few bare bulbs inside. Hermione stepped inside, arms wrapped around herself to ward off the evening chill. Where in his home, you entered into a separate entryway, the door they entered through dropped you off straight into the sitting room.

“There’s a small laundry area ‘round the back with a space to drop off wellies and coats,” Draco explained, leading her into the spacious, wood-beamed room. A low, wide stone fireplace stood on the far wall, set into the stone walls original to the building, and the casement windows had a lovely view of the front garden; this time of year, it was mostly dead, but in the spring the windows were heavy with wisteria and the garden was a veritable meadow of wildflowers.

The building had been quite large, done up into two separate units at some point in the early 1900s. While Draco led Hermione through each room, he again noted the differences in this half of the structure versus his own. It had been a while since he'd been inside this half of the long building, but his home maintenance charms seemed to be keeping up with the dust and holding it at a high enough temperature to avoid freezing the plumbing. One of the doorways from the entry cum sitting room led to a long hall running the length of the house, and the other opened to the surprisingly spacious, eat-in kitchen, which stretched along the wall that separated the two units. There was an old Aga stove against one wall, situated in what appeared to have been a large hearth at one time, and a bulky refrigerator was tucked into the far corner. At the back of the kitchen, they could just make out a small, tiled boot room and storage shelves. The workbench surfaces were a well-worn, dark soapstone, and as Hermione wandered around the kitchen looking at the fittings and trailing fingers across knotty wooden cabinetry, Draco thought he could easily see her puttering about in the space.

When Hermione had looked her fill in the kitchen, Draco led her down the hall. The two main bedrooms were a fair size and situated in the hall just off the sitting room, each suitable for double beds and a suite of furniture. There were built-in wardrobes in both rooms, which was an uncommon luxury for this type of building and had clearly been added on later (the styles didn't quite mesh, Draco noticed). The bathroom off the hall was also large for a home of this age, and had been retrofitted at some point in the last few decades – the original stone flooring had been replaced with penny tile in a jade green hue and the walls had been plastered to cover the ancient stone comprising the exterior structure – but the majority of the fittings suited the age of the home. A small conservatory at the far side of the home overlooked a walled, southward-facing side garden. The shelving that had been built-in to this room made it seem as if it could be used as a study at some point, though it was likely utilized for plants when it was installed.

“As I understand it, this half of the conversion was completed many years before mine, so they've different styles. The kitchen and laundry on my side were an addition from sometime in the mid 1950s. It’s a bit draftier in here, but it has a lot of charm that ours doesn’t, what with the beams and original flagstone. Clearly, there have been some updates over the years, but it has also been empty for nearly two years now. That back staircase by the conservatory leads up to a smallish room with a pitched roof, could be a study or guest room. Everything else is on this main level.”

“Your home is also lovely, Draco,” Hermione assured him. “This is quite a charming space. Why did you pick the other half of the house, though?”

“There is an additional bathroom on the upper level that was going to be very helpful when Astoria was ill even though she passed before we ended up moving in, and I appreciated the more modern amenities. The gas hob is excellent, and at the time I wasn't prepared to do any renovations. Scorp was also learning how to get up and down stairs at the time, so he took to that stairway pretty quickly. It's more open, and the one here has a door."

“What would your lease terms be?”

Draco shrugged. “I’d never intended to let it, so I’ll defer to the solicitor amongst us.” He shot Hermione a cheeky smile.

She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure I can come up with a standard lease for us to review,” she said drily. “What would the monthly rent be?”

“I’ve no need for the money,” Draco deferred. “Since I purchased it outright along with mine, it’s just sitting here.”

“I would insist on paying rent, Draco. I’ll not be a charity just because of our daughter.”

“It’s not like that, Granger. It’s just an empty box right now. You can pay for the utilities, I suppose. As there’s no outstanding mortgage as I bought it outright, I don’t know what market value would be. What do you currently pay at your flat?”

“Just over 500£, plus utilities.”

“That’s far more than I’d accept, frankly. 200£, at most, and straight into an account for Sage.”

Hermione scoffed. “500£ would be the minimum. This is a whole house we're talking about here, not a busted flat.”

“200£, utilities, and the annual taxes?”

Hermione pursed her lips and eyed him. “I’ll consider it. But I’ll be looking up market trends and drawing up a lease, if I decide to take you up.”

“Deal.” Draco smirked at her, tucking his hands into his pockets.

“I’d need more bookshelves, though.”

“I’d expect nothing less from you, Granger.”

When they returned to Draco’s own home, it was nearing nine in the evening. Hermione insisted on helping Draco set up the new wards on his home before leaving, seeing as they had told so many people about Sage over the course of the weekend. Draco conceded the point, and watched with awe as Hermione performed intricate warding on his home.

By half nine, she had made it through most of the list of measures she had suggested, and Draco had spent some time with Brutus to discuss his new instructions on delivering letters. Brutus had hooted reassuringly and taken off for his evening hunt.

Hermione looked utterly exhausted by the time she wrapped up for the evening. She had intimated she would be working late the next day to accommodate the interview with Luna on Tuesday, and Draco was concerned she was overtired after her painful night prior. Only after extracting a promise from Draco that he’d open an owl post box in the morning did she consent to returning home.

“Will Scorpius be alright missing school on Tuesday morning?”

“It will be fine. He likes going new places. I hear the Scamanders have got some interesting creatures at their house, so he’ll be interested.”

“I’m sure Rolf would love to show you ‘round. Do you still want to take some photos together for the Prophet release? Luna said we ought to be done with the interview around ten and can move on to photos.”

“Yes, I think so. I’ll talk to Scorp tomorrow and see how he feels.”

“I’ve asked her for some headshots of myself, as well, so I’ll be doing some additional photos alone. I haven’t had a professional photo taken since the Ministry and it feels like time to update my business cards. I thought I might treat myself before the holidays, and this seems like a good opportunity to get dressed up.”

“Does Lovegood do a lot of photography?”

“Yes. She does most of the photography for the Quibbler, but also dabbles in private events on occasion. Weddings and the like. She’s got a unique eye. She did Cho and Roger Davies' wedding last year – they got married in the Highlands, and the photos were phenomenal.”

Draco nodded thoughtfully. “Do you have a preference for how we dress? I’ve only ever had formal portraits taken.”

Hermione thought for a moment. “I’d want you to be comfortable, above all else. Does Scorp always wear Muggle clothes? I know you do.”

“Most of my clothes are Muggle nowadays,” Draco shrugged. “I only wear robes for special events or board meetings. Even then I’ll sometimes wear Muggle suiting instead.”

“I remember,” Hermione said with a twinkle in her eye. Draco recalled he had been wearing a formal tuxedo at the Memorial Ball, and he felt a ball of desire spark to life in his stomach.

“I’ve still got that one,” Draco said. He pulled Hermione flush up against him, tearing a breathy laugh from her.

“A bit too formal for traipsing about outside,” Hermione murmured. She wrapped an arm around Draco’s shoulders to play with the hair at the nape of his neck. Draco closed his eyes at her touch.

“Why don’t you write down your sizes for me? I’ll figure out what I’m wearing and pick something up for you. And Scorpius, of course.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Draco protested.

“It will be a nice distraction,” Hermione grinned. “Just make sure you wear those grey trousers.”

“Oh?” he smirked.

“Yes. The fitted ones. Your arse looks quite good in them,” Hermione admitted.

“Will do,” Draco murmured, dropping a quick kiss to her lips.

“Now, I should be getting home,” Hermione sighed as she pressed another kiss to his lips. “So write down your sizes so I have something fun to do tomorrow evening after I'm done at the office. I left the statement for the Prophet by the range.”

“I’ll take it to Padma this week, and I can drop the photo off when we get them. I assume we’ll have one by Thursday?”

“Yes. Luna said she’d get them to me on Wednesday with the draft of the article.”

Draco released Hermione to pull her trainers and coat back on, and wandered into his study for a scrap of parchment. He shook his head as he jotted down the information Hermione had requested.

When he returned to the entry, Hermione was picking at her fingernails and suppressing a yawn.

Draco shook his head, and led her back to the Floo after passing over the parchment.

“I’ll come by with the clothes tomorrow evening,” she promised in a low voice. “If Scorpius doesn’t want to come on Tuesday, don’t worry about it.”

“I’ll talk to him tomorrow, but I’m sure he’ll enjoy the distraction.”

“I think Luna’s got some Kneazle kittens, if that helps convince him. I'm sure there will be all manner of new animals in the house.”

Draco laughed. “I don’t know if I’m ready for the pet conversation,” he admitted. “Now, go. Sleep.”

Hermione wrinkled her nose at him, but yawned despite herself. It was now past ten, and Draco was sure she needed sleep just as badly as he did. He pressed one last, lingering kiss to her lips, and watched her Floo away.