Becoming

The following day was spent lazily reviewing grant applications that had been short-listed by Draco's Assistant Director. There were few propositions he wouldn’t consider, but Marina always knew to toss out anything along the lines of pureblood historical preservation or travelling magical menageries. What he was left with for the upcoming quarter were no less than five requests to set up scholarship funds (both in the magical and Muggle realms), and a rather intriguing proposal for setting up a selkie sanctuary in the Orkney Isles. While it mostly went without saying that one of the former category would undoubtedly secure funding in the first quarter of the next year, it was the latter that drew the majority of Draco’s attention. He set the selkie proposal aside to confer with Hermione, who would likely find it of interest. Selkies were quite uncommon nowadays, as far as Draco was aware, but Hermione would surely know of this organisation who was filing the application and whether their claims were accurate.

By the time time had come to collect Scorp from school, Draco had whittled down the scholarship requests from five to three and welcomed the change of pace of Flooing to the Nott household. He regretted it almost instantly as he stepped into a raucous discussion in the Nott’s drawing room.

Scorp and Theo’s youngest, Rafael, were having a heated argument. Draco went wide-eyed, staring around the room. Padma was seated on the sofa behind the boys, her head tipped into her hand nonchalantly as she watched the row.

The bickering stopped almost immediately as Raf noticed Draco come through the fire.

‘Uncle Draco! Scorp says he met a dragon yesterday, and that’s why he wasn’t at school!” Raf spun around to face Draco, disbelief etched on his small face.

“I did! Her name’s Penelope. And she met Noodle!”

“That’s ridiculous! Where would you meet a dragon?”

Draco looked up to meet Padma’s bemused expression – after a long day at the school, he supposed she was really unfazed by arguments such as these. Seeing no help there as Padma gave him a wink and a smirk, Draco shook his head and returned his attention to the feuding children.

“We did actually meet a dragon yesterday morning, Raf,” Draco quipped, dusting the soot from his cardigan.

“Told you so!”

“WHERE did you meet a dragon?” Raf demanded.

“We spent the morning with Luna and Rolf Scamander. They run a sanctuary and rehab centre out of their home in northern Ireland. They have a wyvern named Penelope.”

Draco’s even tone calmed Raf, but Draco could still see the suspicion in his eyes. He resembled Padma more in his features, to be sure, but the look he was giving Draco in that moment was purely Theo.

Raf spun his head in Padma’s direction for additional confirmation. She nodded at him. Raf’s small shoulders deflated as he realised he had lost the argument.

“Scorp and I took some pictures with Penelope yesterday. When we get them back from Luna we’ll bring them over to show you, okay?”

Raf nodded sadly.

Padma intervened at this point. “Why don’t you boys go out in the garden for a little bit? I need to talk to Uncle Draco for a few minutes.”

The boys took off out the back of the house, tugging on jackets and wellies to ward against the November chill. Draco shook his head and collapsed onto the couch next to Padma.

“Fat lot of good you were with that argument.”

“Raf’s been in a mood all day. If it wasn’t going to escalate, I was going to let them work through it,” Padma shrugged. She turned on the couch to face him.

“How’d the photo session go?”

“Brilliant. There really was a bloody wyvern there. I thought I was going to lose my breakfast when Scorp was petting it.”

Padma chuckled. “I’m sure Hermione had it well in hand.”

“She did,” Draco nodded. “I’ve never seen her so at ease. She was just sitting there, six months pregnant, in the grass, with this enormous dragon draped over her lap like a damned cat. Apparently the bloody thing adores her.”

“Not as if you have room to talk,” Padma remarked shrewdly.

Draco ducked his head in self-awareness. “I know.”

“Theo and I can both see it. You’re going to be good for each other.”

Draco snorted. “I’ll give you that she’s good for me, and I think she’ll be fantastic for Scorp. But I can’t imagine how I’m ever going to be good for her.”

“Is that what’s got your knickers in a twist today?”

Draco frowned at her. “What do you mean?”

“You've been in an off-moo since this morning. You still think she’s slumming it with you?”

“Can you honestly tell me she isn’t? Ex-Death Eater? War criminal?”

“President of a multi-million-Galleon company with one of the largest philanthropic ventures in Britain? Exceptional father?”

Draco waved his hand dismissively. “You forget that I personally made the lives of her and her closest friends living hell for a number of years.”

Another shrug from Padma. “You weren't any nicer to me and I still love you. Hermione’s never been one to hold grudges. She cares more about what you’re doing now than who you were in the past.”

“So she’s told me, a number of times.”

“Think you’ll ever believe her?”

“I think, come next week, she’ll be regretting this.”

“Do you regret it?”

“Not one bit. I’m thrilled.”

“But you’re worried. About what, exactly?”

“That I can’t be the partner she deserves, or the parent either of the kids deserves. That she’ll realise that I’m not good enough to be in her life. That it’s more trouble than it’s worth to be connected with me forever.” Draco scrubbed his hand across his face as the confession slipped from his lips.

“You’re thinking in terms of forever, are you? What happened to just co-parenting? Wasn’t that the idea when you were here last week?”

“Have you met the woman, Padma?” Draco muttered in exasperation. “Wouldn’t you want forever with someone like Hermione Granger?”

“Incredibly intelligent, beautiful, powerful, truly an excellent kisser. Yup, just my type,” Padma teased with a smile.

Draco couldn’t speak for a moment as an intriguing image played in his mind's eye. “Wh-what? Have the two of you–?”

Padma rolled her eyes at him. “Hermione and I were both at Oxford at the same time. Our paths crossed at more than a few parties. She gets a bit handsy when she’s drinking – I wasn’t complaining.”

Draco could only stare at Padma, whose smirk was firmly in place.

“Oh come off it, Draco. You’re one to talk. I happen to know that you and Theo more than snogged while we were at Hogwarts.”

“That’s because I’m quite irresistible, my dear,” Theo announced as he entered the room.

“Sod off, both of you. Did you know about them?” Draco asked Theo, waving an exasperated hand at Padma.

Theo only shrugged. “I would have bedded Granger too, if I had the chance.”

“Oi!” protested Draco.

“Just because it took you over a decade to realise how shaggable she is, doesn’t mean it took the rest of the world so long.”

“Hermione’s a catch, Draco,” Padma shrugged again. “But she also doesn’t do things by halves. If she’s in this with you, she’s not going to back down. Give her the benefit of the doubt.” Padma reached out a comforting hand and squeezed his forearm. “You can’t tell me she hasn’t given you any sort of indication that she wants you?”

“Aside from jumping in bed with you six months ago,” Theo hastened to add.

“She told me she wants to give a relationship a go,” Draco admitted. “And we spent the weekend together while Scorp was with the Greengrasses. But I know how pregnancy hormones are, and I don’t want her to regret that, regardless of how I feel.”

“Do you only want her because she’s carrying your child?” Theo inquired, his brow furrowed.

“Of course not!” Draco exclaimed. “That would be utter shite. I – I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t wanted her since the gala. I just felt so guilty for how I left things with her.”

“Then why is it so difficult to believe the same of her?”

“I don’t deserve her.”

“Bullshit,” Padma quipped.

“Too right,” Theo added. “You’ve spent the entirety of your adult life making things right, despite what the world expects of you, and despite how much they want to see you fail. Granger can see that, or she wouldn’t have taken a tumble with you in the first place.”

“I just don’t want her to feel like this is a mistake.”

“If she thought that, she wouldn’t have given you any options, mate,” Theo said staunchly. “This is Granger we’re talking about. She gave you four separate contracts the day she told you she was pregnant because she wanted you to have options when she was well within her rights to never tell you at all if she didn’t want to.”

“Look, Draco,” Padma said with a sigh. “We all know Hermione is one of the smartest people in our generation. Even Harry Potter has admitted we would have lost the war a dozen times over if it hadn’t been for her. She is a brilliant solicitor for a reason. She would have examined every possibility, every outcome, before she ever came to you. You know that. Do you really think she’d waste her time or energy on you if it wasn’t something she was willing to give her all?”

Draco nodded and dropped his head into his hands briefly.

“I’m sure she’s told you all of this already.”

Draco nodded again.

“Then get your bloody shite together, and love the damn woman if she lets you.” Theo’s words were final, and the accompanying glare from Padma left no room for further argument.

Draco accepted defeat, and felt his heart ache in an entirely new way. What was he going to do with himself?

It was another half an hour before Draco managed to tear himself away from the Notts. He had finally remembered to bring up Scorp’s non-friend from his class to Padma, who had promised to look into it (“That would be the Finnegan boy. Seamus was never a fan of yours. I’ll have a word with him.”), and they extracted a promise from him that he would bring the photographs and statement with him in the morning for Padma to give to Parvati at tea. Scorp was red-faced from running around, his earlier disagreement with Raf forgotten, and was eager for dinner by the time they made it to the Floo.

While cooking up breakfast-for-dinner, Scorp was full of questions about the creatures they had met the day prior, and about Hermione and the baby. A few days of processing were apparently all he needed, and Scorp had settled into a baseline hum of excitement. Draco fielded the answers as best he could, but it was still nearing bedtime before the questions had slowed.

It was with some measure of relief that Draco sent Scorp off to brush his teeth. Draco loved his son with all of his being, but four year olds were simply exhausting. For all that he enjoyed every moment in his son's company that evening, Draco also revelled in the few minutes of peace while Scopius readied for bed. He thanked Merlin and all the gods that Scorp was easy to get to bed when he was tucking him in that night, because once the boy drifted off, Draco finally had the silence in which to ruminate on the events of the day. Well, the events of the last two weeks, if he were being perfectly honest with himself.

It was in these quiet moments of introspection, sipping on a mug of chamomile tea by the fire, when the Floo roared to life at a quarter to ten that evening.

Hermione stepped through the Floo and onto the rug spread by the hearth. She waved her hand to vanish the soot from what was clearly a set of lounge clothes. The Muggle t-shirt she wore, which bore the name and likeness of some band Draco had never heard of (Snow Patrol?) was stretched taut over her swollen abdomen, and her plaid pyjama pants hung low on her broad hips. She clutched nervously at a packet in her hands.

Draco gave her a broad smile as he stood to greet her with a soft kiss brushed across her lips. She accepted it eagerly, but refused his offer to sit down.

“Can’t, sorry. Ginny’s still at my place – she doesn’t get evenings away from the kids very often so she’s a bit in her cups.”

Draco snorted. “Not the most polite, drinking in front of a pregnant woman.”

Hermione shrugged. “It’s lovely to see her one-on-one. I’ve scarcely seen her in months.” Hermione’s teeth worried at her lower lip. “I can’t stay long. She almost followed me through the Floo.”

“Is she upset?”

“No, I think she just wanted to see us together with her own eyes. She’s been brilliant – very supportive. And she has some strong opinions on the photos,” Hermione laughed.

Draco hesitated for a moment. “Do you want to bring her through?”

“She can wait,” Hermione dismissed.

“If she’s not going to curse me, I don’t have a problem with it, Granger. Scorp’s asleep. We can use all the support we can get right now, yeah?” Draco surmised. He sounded a bit more calm than he felt, but a voice inside him reminded him how important Hermione’s family was to her.

She was biting her lip again, and Draco reached up to thumb it out from between her teeth. “Go get her. I was already given an overly-supportive lecture by Padma and Theo today – I can handle a Weasley if it means a bit more time with you.”

“Potter,” Hermione corrected, her lips twitching in a grin. “If you’re sure?”

“Grab her. I’ll put the kettle back on.”

Hermione nodded, still a little uncertain, and handed over the packet she had been clutching. “She might be a little loud,” she warned as she made toward the Floo.

“I’ll throw up a muffling charm on the staircase,” Draco promised as he headed toward the kitchen.

Scarcely a minute later, Draco heard the Floo chime again. He put the kettle on the hob and started pulling some additional tea cups from the cupboard when he heard their footsteps. He had barely turned around to greet the new arrival when the redheaded woman rushed around the counter and threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug. Draco froze, tea cups held aloft in each hand and not knowing how to respond. Hermione, who was a step behind her friend, just giggled.

“Uh… good to see you too,” Draco fumbled out.

Ginny Potter pulled back and gave him a dazzling, if inebriated smile.

“This is just brilliant, Malfoy -- I’m so happy for the two of you,” she gushed.

“Oh?” was all Draco could muster up, still a bit floored from the greeting. Hermione moved forward to take the cups from him and set them on the counter.

“I probably should have warned you that she’s a hugger,” Hermione quipped.

Ginny snorted a laugh, flipped a rude gesture at her, and turned back to Draco. “No, but really. This is great. You two are just lovely together. That kid is going to be beautiful.”

Hermione scoffed. “That’s hardly the most important thing, Gin,” she said crisply.

“No,” Ginny conceded, “but most babies are quite ugly. Merlin knows mine weren’t cute as infants. But after seeing those pictures of Scorpius, I know you’re going to make a beautiful baby.”

“Thanks, I think?” Draco said, bemused.

“Ignore her,” Hermione cautioned. “Though, actually, you told me to bring her, so you get to deal with her being a bit pissed. She only just finished off the last of the bottle of wine before I brought her through.”

“So, tea is definitely a good idea,” Draco said with a shake of his head.

“Have you got any black tea? Mione’s only got herbal shite back at her flat.”

Draco nodded even as Hermione shook her head in fond exasperation.

“I’d tell you this is just the alcohol talking, but Ginny’s like this perfectly sober, as well.”

“Yep,” the redhead agreed. “Anyway, I really am excited for the both of you. Mione’s going to be an amazing mum, and I’ve heard you’re just fabulous with your son.”

“So, our past isn’t going to be a problem here?” Draco asked tentatively, dragging his eyes back and forth between the two women.

“Not for me,” Ginny shrugged, allowing the question to roll off her back. “My issues were mostly with your father. We were just fucking children, weren’t we? People change, and I see the papers – you’ve done more changing than most.”

“Told you,” Hermione piped up slyly.

The kettle whistled then, and Draco busied himself preparing tea for the women.

“I always thought the two of you had a spark,” Ginny added with a smirk. “That punch was just the beginning of the sexual tension between the two of you.”

“You’re kidding, Gin.” Hermione shot her friend an exasperated look. Draco returned one of confusion.

“Oh, come off it. The two of you were always the smartest, most powerful students at the school. The most outspoken, the loudest. Always competing with each other and at each other’s throats. We all figured you’d either end up killing each other or snogging each other senseless on prefect patrols.”

Draco and Hermione both let out a chuckle and Draco passed around the tea so they could make their way into the dining room. Hermione grabbed the packet of photographs on their way through, tossing it to the table between them as they sat.

“Thank you for that illuminating statement, Ginny,” Hermione said drily. “But neither of us would have been good for each other back in school. It’s much better this way.” Her statement brokered no room for argument, had Draco even wanted to, but he wholeheartedly agreed with her.

“Anyway, I am offering my services as a Daily Prophet contributing writer for you two to pick your announcement photo,” Ginny stated, taking a sip of the tea Draco had given her.

“You’re a Quidditch correspondent, Gin. I hardly think that qualifies you to pick out something for a pregnancy announcement in the society pages,” Hermione scoffed into her own cup.

Ginny rolled her eyes. “But I do know what makes you look good, Mione, you can’t pretend that I don’t. And Merlin knows I’ve spent enough time in the papers over the years to know what sells. We did one of these for Jamie, remember? Didn't have much of a choice with the way Skeeter was hounding us after the wedding,” Ginny complained.

Draco shook his head and grinned at the bickering women and opened the packet they had dropped to the table. Inside were several dozen photographs, seemingly in no order. Draco’s heart skipped a beat when he saw the one on the top of the stack. It was one of Hermione and Scorpius when Hermione had been making flowers for the boy. The loop of the photo was a close-up of Hermione crouched in front of Scorp, her wand raised between them as a brilliantly purple pasque flower grew from its tip. The delight on the small boy’s face was palpable, and Hermione’s eyes were crinkled in happiness.

“That is a good one, innit?” Ginny declared, watching Draco closely. Draco nodded, tearing his eyes away to look at the next one in the stack.

This second photo was a still photo, rather than a moving frame. It was of himself and Hermione in the paddock, her hands on top of his where they rested on her swollen belly. They were both looking down with small smiles.

Draco flipped through several more, including a brilliant one of Scorp running through the field as Hermione’s patronus scampered around him, before he landed on one of them together and dragged in a sharp breath. The moving photo showed all three of them turned to face the camera, Scorp perched on Draco’s hip and Draco’s arm around Hermione’s back. She was turned into the two of them, the profile of her abdomen on full display and looking every inch like a goddess in her wreath of holly and breathtaking smile. Draco himself was torn between looking at her and at the joy on Scorp’s face as the photo moved and he watched himself hold both of them closer.

“Yeah,” Ginny interrupted his thoughts. “It’s that one.”

Draco could only nod, tearing his gaze up from the photo to look at Hermione across the table. She was grinning at him.

“Glad you agree,” she murmured, her eyes glittering.

Draco cleared his throat. “It’s perfect.”

“There’s also a really lovely one of you and Scorpius in there,” Hermione added. “You can have whichever pictures you’d like – Luna sent duplicates.”

Draco shuffled through a few more photos until he found it. Scorpius was in his arms again, reaching out to adjust the greenery on Draco’s head before swapping it with his own wreath. Draco grinned at the photo.

Draco flipped to the next one. “Oh, perfect. Scorp and Raf – Theo and Padma’s youngest – got into a bit of a tiff this afternoon about Penelope,” he said, waving the photo of Hermione and Scorpius cuddled up with the wyvern. “Raf didn’t believe he’d met a dragon.”

Ginny snorted. “Penelope has always had a soft spot for kids. If Luna could get her on a lead, she’d be going on walks in the park every day.”

Hermione and Draco both let out a chuckle as he flipped through the remaining photos. One of Hermione in profile, her hair blowing in the breeze. Hermione lounging with Penelope across her lap. One of him and Hermione at the moment Hermione’s hair disrupted their kiss. A closer, still photo of the two of them embracing. Draco lingered on one where Hermione was clearly pressing his hand onto her abdomen to feel Sage kicking. Hermione was smiling softly, and Draco’s stomach gave an uncomfortable wobble at the look of open adoration on his own face.

“Lovegood really does have an eye for photography,” he admitted finally, swiping a thumb across the photo.

“She does. Doesn’t hurt that the two of you are painfully gorgeous,” Ginny smirked. “Hey!” she cried out – Hermione had kicked her under the table.

“You’re a married woman, Gin. Keep it in your trousers.”

“I can still appreciate, Mione, give me a break,” Ginny groused. “I know a fit bloke when I see one, yeah? And Malfoy’s always been fit.” Ginny turned slightly to give Draco a wink, and Draco felt his cheeks flame with heat.

“Thanks,” he coughed.

“Embarrassment, though, that’s a new one for you, Malfoy,” Ginny mused. Draco felt his cheeks grow hotter.

“It’s one you get familiar with when you’ve done things in your life you should be ashamed of,” he quipped back.

Ginny arched an eyebrow at him curiously, but Draco directed his attention away from the women and back to the photos. After a moment of silence, Draco changed the topic.

“So, we’ll send this one to the Prophet,” he said, pulling out the agreed-upon photo. “I’ll get it to Padma tomorrow morning with the statement.”

“Harry and I are happy to field any inquiries or quote requests that come through over the next while,” Ginny offered helpfully, “And I’m going to meet with Ron on Friday to babysit him at the shop so he doesn’t do anything stupid when the reporters come crawiling.”

Draco nodded gratefully at Ginny. “Thank you. I’ll let them know. Daphne’s doing the same on my side. She’s sitting down with my Scorp's grandparents and will run interference in their circles.”

“I’m hoping for a quiet week next week,” Hermione confessed, “because our first day of hearings for the werewolf suit is Tuesday. They’ll hopefully get their trash out of the way over the weekend before I get photographed coming out of the Ministry courts looking like a sunbathing seal in my barrister robes.”

“Oh!” Draco started. “Speaking of seals, I have something I want to run by you about a selkie sanctuary up north.”

Ginny snorted a laugh again. “You two really are perfect for each other.”

Hermione swatted her friend on the shoulder. “That is it, Gin, I’m taking you home,” she said, exasperated.

Draco just chuckled as Hermione chivvied Ginny up out of her seat and pushed her through to the sitting room. He followed them at a leisurely pace.

He had barely approached the hearth when Ginny had thrown her arms around both of their necks and drawn them into an awkward group hug. “Just brilliant, you two. I’m dead chuffed. Enjoy these last couple of months, Malfoy,” she added as she pulled away. “It’s the last quiet you’re going to get. Once there’s two kids running around, there will never be any peace.”

“And yet, you and Harry went for a third just when things started to quiet down at your place,” Hermione reminded her primly.

Ginny shrugged. “Eh, the chaos keeps us young. But Lily’s the last, don’t worry about that. G’night, Malfoy!” Ginny called as she stepped up into the Floo.

Draco and Hermione watched her spin away in a burst of green flame, and then Hermione turned to him, shaking her head.

“I warned you she would be a handful.”

Draco shrugged. “S’alright. I think that went rather well. She’s probably my favourite Weasley, anyway. She could have taken Britain to the World Cup again if she’d stayed on.”

Hermione’s smirk was positively devilish. “Oooh, don’t let her hear you say that. You’ll never hear the end of it. Although, I think you and Bill would get on alright.”

Draco seized the moment to drag her closer to him. He pressed a soft kiss to her smiling lips, and was rewarded when she snaked a hand up to the nape of his neck and she hummed contentedly into their kiss. Draco slipped his own arms around her waist and tugged her flush against him. He deepened the kiss, slanting his mouth over her own and nipping at her lower lip. They stayed in their embrace for a long moment, Draco revelling in the feel of her lips and body against his own. When Hermione finally pulled away, looking regretful, Draco smiled.

“Night, Granger.”

“Goodnight, Draco.”

She pressed a final, tender kiss to the corner of his mouth and stepped into the Floo, powder in hand.