The Boys
Hermione woke with nerves already working their way through her belly. How in the bloody hell was she going to tell her two best friends that the father of their niece is their childhood nemesis? It was hard enough trying to keep them at bay over the years on their guesses.
She thought the most absurd one would have to be Seamus. She didn't know how the boys came up with it, but they knew how much Seamus repulsed her in school. The only person who had always known since the beginning was Ginny because she was there during her 8th Year.
When they got their letters after the war to finish out their studies, they all had different plans. Harry decided to take the opportunity from Kingsley and start his Auror training only a month after the end of the war. Ron wanted to play quidditch but after half a season he started his own Auror training. Hermione on the other hand took the chance of going back to Hogwarts.
It was hard for her at first, being in the place where so many of her classmates and peers had died, but it got better. She buried herself in her studies and only hung out with Ginny. She spent most of her days in the library which is where she ran into Theo Nott.
Theo had forced her and Ginny to a party in the Slytherin common room. (If he were to tell it he would say differently.) That night was what led to her daughter being born. Well, maybe not that night specifically, but that was the night that started it all.
Hermione was pulled from her thoughts when an owl tapped on her window. She knew the moment she saw the owl who the letter was from. She opened the window and grabbed the note from its talon, throwing the owl a treat before it flew away.
She sat down on her bed and unrolled the note. To her surprise, it wasn't what she was expecting.
Dear Ms. Hermione Granger,
This is not the type of letter I wish to send you about your daughter but, it seems we have run into a bit of a situation. If you could please come to my office immediately it would be much appreciated. I have opened the connection from your Floo to the one which resides in my office.
Thank you,
Headmistress
Minerva McGonagall
Hermione's motherly senses went into a frenzy. It had only been 24 hours and already something had happened. Did she get hurt? Did someone try to hurt her? Her thoughts raced with all of the possibilities as she quickly threw on her robes and ran to her lounge room.
She stood in front of the Floo and grabbed the powder in her right hand. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves before throwing the powder into the fire. "Headmistress McGonagall's Office."
The moment she stepped through the Floo, she didn't believe the sight that was laid out before her. Cassie and Scorpius were sitting down in separate chairs in front of McGonagall's desk. Draco was standing off to the side of his son looking down at his feet with his hands in his pockets.
Hermione looked at every person in the room trying not to explode. "What happened?"
Draco and Scorpius went to speak at the same time, but Hermione stopped them with her hand. She walked over to Cassie and looked down at her. "What happened?"
Cassie let out a loud sigh. "Scorpius put bubblegum in my hair."
An exasperated sound came from next to her. "I did not! She gave me all the bad Jelly Bellies!"
There was a small laugh that came from next to Scorpius. Hermione made direct eye contact with Draco. "You think this is funny?"
Draco's lips cracked with a smile. "I mean, yeah?"
Hermione rolled her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh, turning to McGonagall. "What is the punishment?"
Minerva cleared her throat. "Well, with it being their first-time offense, twenty house points will be taken from each of their houses." Scorpius and Cassie both groaned, making her address them. "The next time something happens you will have detention. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Headmistress." The two said at the same time.
Minerva took a deep breath. "You two may leave now. I need to speak to your parents." She looked directly at Cassie. "I would suggest you go to Madam Pomfrey for your hair."
Cassie nodded to McGonagall before turning to her mum. Hermione gave her a kiss on her head while Cassie hugged her. "Go on, now." Hermione watched as Cassie and Scorpius walked out of the office together before turning back to Minerva.
Minerva gestured to the chairs their children once sat in. Hermione and Draco sat down in their seats feeling as though they were back in school. "It is only the second day of the year and I have already had your children in my office. I would hope that this does not become a constant occurrence."
"It won't. I promise." Hermione stated and turned to Draco waiting for him to say something as well. When he didn't, Hermione took it into her own hands and hit his arm.
"Ow!" Draco exaggerated.
"Oh, calm down. I did not hit you that hard." Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Both of you are grown adults and I expect you to start acting like it this instance!" Minerva snapped at the two.
Hermione and Draco both looked up at Minerva before looking down into their laps, fiddling with their hands. "Sorry." The two said at the same time.
Minerva took a deep breath and sat down in her chair. "Now, I don't want another one of you two running around Hogwarts. I would suggest you talk to your children or as I said, detention will be the next step."
Hermione and Draco nodded to Minerva.
"Good," Minerva paused. "You two are dismissed and let's hope I don't see you again before the end of the term."
Draco and Hermione stood, walking over to the Floo. "This isn't going to stop, is it?" Hermione whispered to him.
Draco laughed. "Did you learn anything from the two of us?"
Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head, stepping through the Floo to her Flat. Just another thing she would now have to worry about.
~
Hermione stared at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a light blue summer dress, hoping the color would calm the boys and herself. If she waited another minute, she would be late for their weekly dinner, but no matter how bad she wanted to skip the entire thing, Hermione Granger was never late.
She Flooed into Grimmauld place to see that everyone was already there. Susan couldn't make it because Rose was sick at home, but Hermione was slightly thankful for that.
"Damn," Ron said with a defeated expression.
Hermione looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. "What? Did I miss something?"
Harry laughed. "No. Not at all. Ron is just mad because he thought you were going to be late. I bet him 5 Galleons that you would be right on time." He gestured his hand out to Ron. "Pay up."
Ron groaned. "Fine, but this isn't over."
Hermione let out a small laugh. "Ronald, if you think I am ever going to be late to anything, you have me mistaken for someone else."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Ron took his seat at the dinner table.
Harry sat down next to Ron; Ginny next to him. Hermione took her seat between Ron and Ginny. She always loved their weekly dinners, but the way Ginny looked at her meant she didn't forget.
Hermione may have hoped Ginny would forget what tonight was really about, but those Weasley women and their perfect memory can be torturous sometimes. She just wanted to make it at least until dessert before she told them. Ron would be too busy enjoying his pie and Harry would at least have a few drinks in him by then.
"So, how has it been with the kiddos out of the house?" Ron asked the group.
Hermione felt a pit in her stomach. She tried not to think about her daughter being gone but her flat felt so empty without her daughter's giggles filling the entire place. "It's been quiet." She settled on.
Ginny gave her a sympathetic smile, reaching to hold her hand. "I know what you mean. Of course, we still have Albus to keep us busy, but it's weird only having one kiddo in the house."
Hermione sighed. "Try having an empty place all to yourself." Everyone in the group looked at her with sad faces. "Oh, you all stop it, I'm fine. I promise." Was she really?
Ginny made to change the subject. "Well, I'm thinking about quitting quidditch."
"WHAT?!!" Ron and Harry both yelled at the same time, silverware clattering to their plates.
"What do you mean you're quitting, Gin'?" Hermione asked, absolutely shocked at the news. Quidditch had always been Ginny's thing. Sometimes she even wondered if she loved it more than Harry.
Ginny shrugged her shoulders. "I've been playing for 10 years. These bones aren't going to keep me up forever."
"Gin'," Harry paused. "Are you serious? Like, is this what will make you happy?"
Ginny nodded. "Yes. With James leaving this year I've given it a lot of thought and I want to spend more time at home with the kiddos. So, I'm taking a year off, and then I'm going to start recruiting."
"Recruiting?!" Ron finally spoke after being frozen in shock.
"Yup," She smiled. "Jess has decided to retire at the end of the season and she decided to appoint me as the new recruit for the Holyhead Harpies."
Hermione leaned over to give Ginny a hug. "That's amazing, Gin'."
"Thank you, 'Mione," Ginny replied.
"Well, as long as you are happy, I think that's amazing, Wife." Harry leaned over and gave Ginny a peck on the cheek.
Ron's face twisted at the sight. "Well, as long as I still get free tickets-HEY!"
Ginny had picked up a dinner roll and threw it at Ron. The entire table burst into laughter—except Ron.
"'Mione, can you help me grab the pie from the kitchen?" Ginny asked as she stood from her chair.
Hermione's heart plummeted into her stomach. She removed her napkin from her lap and set it down on the table. "Yeah, sure."
The two walked into the kitchen to grab the pie and plates. Right as Hermione was about to make her getaway, Ginny stopped her. "Not so fast."
Hermione closed her eyes and sighed, turning around to face her. "Yes?"
Ginny gave her a knowing eye. "You know what you have to tell them."
She let out a child-like whine. "Do I have to?"
Ginny laughed. "Yes, 'Mione." She picked up the pie off the counter. "I set you up pretty good with my news anyways." With that, she turned and walked out of the kitchen.
Hermione stood frozen with her mouth wide open. Why didn't she realize what Ginny was doing? She groaned and took a deep, trying to keep the plates from shaking in her hands. Finally, she put one foot in front of the other and walked out of the kitchen.
"Finally," Ron started. "I was starting to think I was going to have to eat my pie off the table."
Hermione let out a small laugh, trying to mask her nerves. There were many ways this conversation could go. The best thing that could happen would be them both being supportive and not having anything bad to say —she doubted that would happen—but the worst-case scenario would be if they stopped being her friends. That wouldn't happen, right?
She sat back down in her seat and cut herself a slice of pie. A bite of her pie was on her fork and halfway to her mouth before she was interrupted.
"'Mione has something to tell us." Ginny blurted out.
Hermione quite literally dropped her fork onto her plate, tiny pieces of pie hitting the table. Harry stopped what he was doing and looked up at her, waiting.
Ron on the other hand was still stuffing his face with pie. "What is it, 'Mione?"
Hermione shot Ginny with a murderous glare hoping that she knew that she was going to murder her later. She rested her hands on her lap and cleared her throat. "Well," She wanted to run. "I have decided to tell you both who Cassie's father is."
Ron choked on his pie. "Excuse me?"
Harry's mouth was completely wide open. "You mean now? Like right now?"
Hermione nodded hesitantly. "Yes."
"Okay, wait," Ron spoke up. "Harry and I need to make our final bets."
Ginny looked like she was going to come across the table and smack him across the face. "Seriously, Ron?!"
Ron shrugged his shoulder. "What? This has been an ongoing bet for over 10 years."
Hermione and Ginny both rolled their eyes as the two boys got up from the table and walked into the kitchen to discuss.
Hermione looked over at Ginny. "If this goes wrong, I am blaming it on you."
Ginny laughed. "It's not my fault you decided to sleep with the git all those years ago."
Hermione was just about to hit her when the boys walked back into the room and took their places.
"Alright, we're ready. Tell us who the git is." Ron said smugly.
Hermione took a deep breath. "Before I say it, you two promise to always be my friend no matter what, no matter who it is?"
The two boys nodded. "Come on, tell us. I have a feeling I'm going to win anyway." Harry said.
"There's no way you're winning, Harry. By the end of the night, I am going to be 20 Galleons richer." Ron smiled at Harry.
"You two are betting 20 Galleons on this?!" Ginny said sternly.
"You betcha," Ron said, crossing his arms and looking at Hermione. "Give it to us."
Hermione could feel her hands shaking in her lap. With how much anxiety she had, she was surprised she hadn't passed out by now. She decided to lift her chin and look at the boys as seriously as she could. "Cassie's father is Draco Malfoy."
The entire table went silent as Hermione waited for the outburst to start. Harry and Ron had gone completely still with shock, even Ginny looked like she feared what was to come.
Suddenly Ron groaned and Harry shot up from the table. "HA! I TOLD YOU, RON! PAY UP!"
Hermione and Ginny were frozen in shock as they watched Ron pull 20 Galleons from his pocket and handed them to Harry. Harry was currently dancing around the table and smiling like he had just won the lottery.
"Whatever, Harry." Ron sulked in his seat.
"I'm sorry," Hermione said. "What just happened?"
Harry sank into his seat with a sigh full of joy. "Oh? You didn't think I knew?"
Hermione and Ginny glanced at each other and at the same time said, "What?"
Harry smiled, leaning back in his seat. "It took me a while but come on, Cassie has his eyes and after you randomly introduced the git to her yesterday it all made sense. Why else would you introduce my childhood nemesis, who you haven't seen in 11 years, to your daughter."
Hermione's mouth hung open. "So, you're not upset?"
Ron leaned forward onto the table. "No, 'Mione, we're not upset. When Harry first brought it up, I didn't want to believe it but as he said, she has his eyes, and that ferret is the only person who hasn't been around since before she was born."
"Yeah, we thought it was Theo Nott for a while." Harry laughed.
"Theo?" Hermione furrowed her eyebrows.
Ron sighed. "Yeah, that's who I bet on. He's been around Cassie, so it made sense. Plus, he was also there during your 8th year."
Hermione shook her head absolutely dumbstruck. Out of all the ways this conversation could have turned out, she was not expecting this one.
"Don't get me wrong," Harry started. "It was somewhat hard to understand at first, but we're all grown up. It doesn't really matter to me what happened in the past. Also, other than Gin', we all testified at his and his mother's trial. His father, I don't necessarily care for, but he's not in the picture anymore so it doesn't cause an issue for me."
Hermione let out a sigh of relief. "Well, this is not how I thought tonight was going to go."
Ron cut himself another piece of the pie. "If you want to, we could start acting like a couple of prats."
She quickly shook her head. "No, I'm okay."
Both of the boys laughed as Ginny started to speak to Harry. "I can't believe you knew and didn't say anything to me!"
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "You kept it from me."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Well, at least we got through the conversation."
Harry was about to take a bite of his pie when he stopped. "I would like to know the full story though."
"I second that," Ron said.
Hermione sighed, knowing this conversation was coming. "I will tell it to both of you at our next dinner."
Harry groaned. "Fine. I just can't wait to tease the git. He's stuck with us now."
Ron and Harry both laughed as Ginny and Hermione once again rolled their eyes. Hermione was glad for the way the night went. It lifted a weight off of her chest that she had been carrying for so long, but soon she would have to tell Cassie. She didn't know how she would react, but hopefully, it was just as good as the boys did.