Cassie Time
Hermione woke up with a smile on her face knowing that her daughter was home and in bed. She had to admit that she slept better with Cassie under the same roof as her. She felt more refreshed than she had in over two months.
She rolled out of bed and threw her hair up into a loose bun as she made her way to her kitchen. She made sure to grab some blueberry scones before Cassie's arrival. They had been her favorite thing to eat for breakfast since she was six.
She pulled out two of the scones and sat them on separate plates before carrying them over to the table. She started her morning coffee as she got a glass of milk ready for Cassie.
Hermione watched as people walked the streets just outside her kitchen window. She and Cassie lived on their flat's fifth floor, meaning they could see for miles. Hermione wished they lived closer to the country but their Flat was perfectly adequate for them.
There seemed to be more clouds in the air than normal but there were no signs of rain. She and Cassie both had a busy day and she didn't want any bad weather to hold them back. On top of her own plans with Cassie, she had promised everyone that they would get to spend time with her as well.
Hermione and Cassie would go by their favorite bookstore and then out to eat. Around three they would stop by Grimmauld Place to see Harry and Ginny, and then at five, they would head to Theo's to see him, Pansy, and Blaise. Ron was upset that he couldn't make it but he and Susan had plans to go and see her mum.
What Hermione really wanted to do was to keep Cassie all to herself but she knew that the others wanted to see her. On top of that, Cassie wanted to see everyone as well.
"Goodmorning, Mummy." Cassie stood at the entrance of the kitchen with her stuffed dragon in one arm and her dragon blanket wrapped around her small body. Her hair was a whole mess of its own as her curls frizzed out in every different direction.
Hermione smiled, filling her mug with coffee. "Goodmorning, Sweetie." She grabbed her mug and Cassie's glass of milk over to the table. "Come sit. I've got a blueberry scone just for you."
A broad smile formed on Cassie's face as she ran over to sit down in her seat. "Yay! They don't have anything at Hogwarts that compares to these scones. Thank you!"
"Of course," She took a sip of her coffee as she watched her daughter. She swore she had already grown an inch in the two months she had been away. "How has school been?"
Cassie finished chewing her bite of scone before answering. "It's been amazing!" She took a sip of milk. "I sit with James in most of my classes and I made a new friend! Her name is Amelia and she's one of my roommates! I really love potions class but I have to say that I think transfiguration is my favorite so far!" She took another bite of her scone. "Oh! Nearly Headless Nick tried to scare me on my first day of classes but it didn't work. He said that I was a lot like you."
Hermione couldn't help the smile that was growing on her face as she watched the way her daughter lit up as she talked about school. She was sure that she looked the exact way when she told her parents everything. "That's good, Cassie. I'm glad you're liking it."
Cassie nodded her head fervently while chewing on her scone. "The only thing, or should I say person, that is bother me is Scorpius."
Hermione furrowed her eyebrows and leaned forward onto the table. She didn't want her daughter to have the same experience that she did while at Hogwarts. She knew that Draco would raise his son right, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't be like him. "What do you mean?"
Cassie likes out an exasperated sigh. "He's just rude!" She threw her hands out to her sides. "He acts like he's above everyone else yet I am the one that is at the top of our class!"
"Is he calling you names?" Hermione couldn't help herself. Her heart was pounding.
"What?" Cassie looked at her oddly. "No. He's just mean." Hermione relaxed. "He acts like our class work is a competition and it's not," She smiled. "Because I'm beating him. It's like every since I gave him those bad Jelly Bellies he has been out to get me."
"Remind me," Hermione thought back on her time spent in McGonagall's office. "Why exactly did you give him the bad ones?"
Cassie looked down at her plate, not bothering to look up at Hermione.
"Cassiopeia Emilia Granger!"
"It was James' idea!" Cassie blurted out.
"James'?" Hermione looked at Cassie until she explained.
"Yes," Cassie kept her eyes downcast. "On the Hogwarts Express James and I were in our compartment when we heard a knock on the door. It ended up being Scorpius. The trolly had just gone by and he was trying to trade his Helga Hufflepuff card he got from his chocolate frog."
Hermione had no idea where the story was going. From what she could tell, they were just kids being kids.
Cassie took a sip of her milk. "Scorpius said that James looked familiar so James told him his name. Well, Scorpius introduced himself and when he tried to shake James' hand he acted like he couldn't see it. I didn't know why James did it at the time but I told Scorpius that I didn't have any chocolate frogs. I ended up offering him my Jelly Bellies. What I didn't know was that James had switched out my bag for a bag of only bad ones as a prank."
Hermione furrowed her eyebrows not completely understanding. "So the Jelly Bellies was an accident but why didn't James shake Scorpius' hand?"
Cassie sighed, looking almost scared. "After Scorpius left the compartment, James said something about him being a Malfoy. He said that Malfoy's were bad people and that I shouldn't trust them."
"James said that?!" Hermione's eyes were wide open.
Cassie nodded. "I wasn't trying to be mean to him and I tried to explain what had happened with the Jelly Bellies but he wouldn't let me."
Hermione took a deep breath knowing that she should of had this conversation sooner. "Cassie," She paused. "I've told you small stories about the war."
Cassie nodded. "Yes and Uncle Ron told me that you, he, and Uncle Harry rode a dragon!"
Hermione will forever hold that against Ron. She wanted to be the one to tell Cassie the story but Ron beat her to it. "Well, there is a lot that you don't know and I should have told you before you started school."
Cassie furrowed her eyebrows. "Are Scorpius and Mr. Malfoy bad?"
Hermione shook her head quickly. "No." She sighed. "Dra-Mr. Malfoy was fighting in the war like me and all of your aunts and uncles. The only thing is, he wasn't on the right side."
"What!?" Cassie sat up straight.
"Let me finish before you make any assumptions." Hermione calmed her voice. "Mr. Malfoy grew up differently than me, Uncle Harry, Uncle Ron, and Aunt Ginny. He thought that what he was doing was right because that was what his parents had taught him. He realized later that he was wrong. You have to understand that during something such as a war, we all do what we believe is right. He had to protect his family and in order to do that, he had to do things that he's not proud of."
"To protect his mum and dad?"
Hermione nodded. "Mr. Malfoy isn't the boy everyone thought he was in school. I don't think he ever was that boy. He had to play his role in order to survive and many people have their own opinion on it. Mr. Malfoy and his son are not bad people. Some people choose to believe the worst of others even when they prove that they are truly good."
Cassie sat there for a moment seeming to be processing the information before sighing and looking up at her mum. "I think I understand. I don't believe Mr. Malfoy is a bad person. He actually seems really nice. I don't think people should be judged for their past anyways."
Hermione smiled. "You definitely are my daughter."
~
The moment they stepped into the bookstore, Cassie ran directly to the rows of books. Hermione and she had been going to the same bookstore since Cassie was two. At the time she couldn't necessarily read, but it had always been their favorite place.
"Goodmorning, Ms. Granger." The older gentleman at the counter smiled at her.
"Goodmorning, Charlie." Hermione smiled back.
"I see Cassie is home for the weekend?" He asked as he seemed to be packaging up an order.
Hermione walked closer to the counter. "Yes, her birthday was yesterday so I was able to get her home."
"Her birthday already?! She is just growing up way too fast!" Charlie shook her head as he finished packing the order he was working on and setting it down on the counter.
"I know. It seems like just yesterday I was bringing her in here for the first time." It was the truth. She thought back to all of the times that her mother told her that she needed to stop growing up as a child. She now realized how she felt.
"Was there anything specific you were looking for today?" Charlie asked.
Hermione sighed and shook her head. "I don't think so. I'm just going to have a look around."
"Okay, then. As always, let me know if you need anything at all." Charlie smiled at her before his eyes darted behind her. "Ah, Mr. Malfoy. I have your books ready for you."
Hermione stiffened for a slight moment before turning around to see a smug smile looking down at her.
"Are you stalking me?" Draco furrowed his eyebrows though the smile remained on his face.
Hermione let out a huff of air and rolled her eyes. "Knowing that I have been coming here for years, I believe you're the one stalking me."
Draco looked at her for a moment before letting out a small laugh and grabbing his package. "Thank you, Charlie."
"Of course, Mr. Malfoy."
He started to turn away. "See you around, Gra-"
"Mum!" Cassie came running out of one of the aisles of books with an orange book in her hand. "They have the new edition of the Dragon Chronicles! Can we pleaseeee get it!" She looked to her right for a moment where Draco had stopped and turned to her. "Hi, Mr. Malfoy!" She turned back to her mum. "Pleaseeee!"
Hermione looked down at the huge smile on Cassie's face and couldn't say no. "Yes, we can get it."
"Yay! Thank you!" She squealed and ran over to one of the tables to start reading.
Hermione looked to her left and saw the way Draco looked at their daughter. It was as though he was starstruck by her. "You were leaving?"
Draco sharply inhaled and looked at her. "I was, yeah."
Hermione looked between his eyes for a moment before sighing. "You can stay, you know? I'm going to have a look around while Cassie reads before we leave."
Draco looked at Cassie before looking back at her and nodding once. "I think I'll just start one of the books I got."
She let out a small laugh. "You go do that then."
Draco walked over to where Cassie was and sat in one of the large sofa chairs that had a straight-line view of Cassie. Hermione watched as Draco pulled out one of his books and turned to the first page. Though it looked like he was reading, she could see him peering over the top of his book.
She shook her head with a smile on her face as she went to look through the Shakespeare section. It took her nearly fifteen minutes before she settled on Hamlet. She had read the novel on multiple occasions but she didn't mind reading it again.
She made her way back to the front of the shop and she saw Draco with his book in his lap, still on the first page, as he watched Cassie read. Cassie looked to be a quarter of the way through her own book.
He watched her with such curiosity. It was as though she was a puzzle that he was trying to figure out. Here was this child that sat in front of him that was his and yet he had no idea who she was.
She approached the two and only when she was within a few feet from them did Draco look up and instantly close his book. "How is the book?" Hermione glanced down at the book in his hands.
Draco took the book and put it away. "It was- It was good." He looked up at her. "Very informational."
Hermione laughed as she took the seat next to him. She watched her daughter as she spoke. "Don't blame Scorpius for being mean to Cassie."
"What?" He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at her.
Hermione sighed. "Cassie told me about the whole Jelly Bellies incident and it wasn't her or Scorpius' fault."
"Then whose was it?"
Hermione looked at him with a guilty smile on her face. "James'"
"Potter?" Draco looked confused. "How was it his fault?"
"Remember first year when you tried to shake Harry's hand and he basically turned you down?" Hermione watched as he nodded before she continued. "Well, that's what happened, but instead of you and Harry, it was Scorpius and James."
"Really?" Draco scoffed.
"Yup," Hermione tried to hold back her laugh. "It's funny how history repeats itself."
Draco shook his head in disbelief. "So what happened with the Jelly Bellies then?"
Hermione looked over to Cassie. "Supposedly James had given Cassie a bag of bad Jelly Bellies as a prank and she offered them to Scorpius without knowing."
"So it was just a misunderstanding?" Draco questioned her.
Hermione nodded. "That's how I see it. We're going to Grimmauld Place today and I'm planning on talking to Harry about it."
Draco furrowed his eyebrows. "Why would you do that?"
Hermione looked back at him and furrowed her own eyebrows. "Why wouldn't I?" She paused. "I'm not going to let history repeat itself over a misunderstanding."
He searched her eyes for something but Hermione couldn't tell what. "Okay." He turned back to look at Cassie before sighing and standing up. "I should be going."
Hermione stood with him and waited for him to gather his things before speaking. "Cassie and I are going over to Theo's for dinner tonight. Pansy and Blaise will be there as well. If you want to you could join us. Were supposed to be there by five."
Draco seemed to think about it for a moment as he looked from Cassie to Hermione. "I should be able to. Are you sure they want me there?"
A grin formed on her face. "They'll be fine with it and if they aren't then I'll make sure they are."
"Okay, then. I will see you later." He nodded.
"Cassie," Hermione waited for her to look at her before she spoke. "Mr. Malfoy is leaving."
Cassie smiled and waved. "Bye, Mr. Malfoy!"
"Goodbye, Cassie." He smiled at her and then at Hermione before leaving turning and walking out of the shop.
~
"Aunt Ginny!!!" Cassie ran threw the Floo and straight into Ginny's arms the moment she saw her.
"Hello, Little One." Ginny embraced her and pulled back to look at her face. "I swear you've already gone another inch!" She and Cassie both laughed.
Hermione smiled at the two of them before spotting Harry. She walked over to where he stood at the bottom of the stairwell. "We need to talk about something."
Harry looked at her with his arms crossed and was already wearing his "What is it now?" look. "Am I in trouble?"
Hermione wore a thin smile. "That depends."
Harry sighed and nodded his head in the direction of the kitchen for her to follow.
The moment they made it to the kitchen, Hermione leaned up against one of the countertops and looked at him. "Cassie told me a story about James."
Harry let out an exasperated sigh like a child. "What did he do now?"
Hermione chewed on her bottom lip. She didn't blame James for what had happened, she just wanted to clear some things up. "Cassie and Scorpius have had some problems at school."
"Malfoy's son?"
Hermione nodded. "Long story short, I guess there was an altercation on the train at the beginning of the term in which James denied shaking Scorpius' hand."
A small laugh escaped Harry's mouth which was fixed with a look from Hermione. He cleared his throat. "Like what happened between me and Malfoy?"
Hermione nodded again with a sigh as she set her purse down on the counter and crossed her arms. "After it happened, James told Cassie that the Malfoy's were bad people and that they couldn't be trusted."
"What?!" Harry furrowed his eyebrows as his cheeks reddened.
"I know that it couldn't be your fault for him to say such things, but I thought you should know." She bit down on her lip. "I don't want him to get in trouble as he probably doesn't know what he is talking about."
Harry shook his head in disbelief. "My son?" He took a deep breath to calm himself. "I promise you that he did not hear any of the sorts from me or Ginny. I don't know where he heard it from but I will be going to Hogwarts soon to talk to him."
"Harry," She sighed. "I don't think that's necessary. I would just write a letter to ask where he heard it from. I don't believe that James is a bad kid."
Harry rubbed his temple before dragging his hand over his face. "I'm glad you told me this before you told Ginny."
A small laugh escaped her lips. "Ginny would have apparated to Hogsmeade that moment I said what James had done."
He nodded in agreement. "Either way he shouldn't be speaking about it. Ginny and I didn't raise him to judge people on their past."
"I know, Harry." Hermione smiled at him before walking toward him and wrapping her arm around his. "Let's go see what Ginny and Cassie are doing."
~
After spending two hours at Grimmauld place, Cassie was nearly wiped out from playing with Albus. She chased after him as he flew around on his new broom that Harry had gotten him.
Ginny then exhausted them both as they chased after her as she rode her own broom. Harry and Hermione watched from the ground as they spoke about the little things that had been going on.
Hermione and Cassie said their goodbyes and Flooed from Ginny and Harry's place to Nott manor. The moment they stepped through, chaos ensued.
Pansy, Theo, and Blaise were all standing right in front of the Floo as they stepped through.
"Cassie!" Theo yelled as he dropped to one knee with his arms open.
"Uncle Theo!!" Cassie ran straight into his arms.
"Took you two long enough," Pansy said with her usual snarkiness.
Hermione rolled her eyes as she took her coat off. "We're right on time, Pansy."
"Aunt Pansy!!" Cassie ran over to Pansy and hugged her waist.
"There's my favorite niece." Pansy leaned down to give her a hug and a peck on the cheek.
"I'm you're only niece." Cassie laugh.
"Exactly." Pansy smiled.
"I think you're forgetting someone." Blaise stood with his arms open to Cassie.
"As if I could forget about you, Uncle Blaise." Cassie went to hug him.
"That's my girl." Blaise smiled as he hugged her.
Dolly popped into the drawing-room where they stood. "Dolly is here to say that-" Her eyes went wide. "Miss Cassie!!" She walked over to the young child. "Dolly missed Miss Cassie! Dolly is excited you is here!"
"Dolly!" Cassie hugged the small elf with the brightest smile on her face.
Dolly pulled back. "Oh! Dolly has come to say dinner is ready!"
"We're waiting on one more," Hermione said and everyone looked at her with furrowed eyebrows when the fire roared to life and Draco stepped through the Floo.
All eyes went to Draco the moment he entered the room and he stood not knowing what to do. He peered over to Hermione for help before someone finally broke the silence.
"Mr. Malfoy!" Cassie walked over to him and stuck her hand out. "I didn't know I'd be seeing you again today." She smiled up at him as he shook her hand.
"I wasn't sure if I would be coming." He smiled down at her.
Hermione looked to the group and shrugged her shoulders.
Theo clasped his hands together loudly and sighed. "Well, Dolly said that dinner was ready so let's eat!"
Everyone made their way into the dining area and took their seats. Cassie sat in between Hermione and Theo as Draco sat in front of Hermione and next to Pansy and Blaise.
Theo broke the silence first. "We weren't expecting you, Draco."
Draco cleared his throat as he sat his fork down on his plate. He looked to Hermione who had a smile on her face before looking to Theo. "Like I told Cassie, I wasn't sure I was going to make it."
Theo nodded his head slowly. "And how did you come through my Floo?"
"Your Floo is still connected to the one at the Manor. That is where I have been staying until I can find a place for Scorpius and me."
Pansy's fork clattered to her plate as everyone looked at her. She straightened up before looking at Draco. "You're staying at the Manor?"
Draco nodded once. "Yes."
"Why is everyone being weird?" Cassie tried to whisper to her mum but the entire table heard.
Everyone looked back and forth at each other before breaking out into a laughing fit.
"Just old friends reconnecting is all, Cassie." Blaise laughed as he spoke to her.
Hermione smiled down at her daughter. "Nothing to worry about, sweetie."
Dinner continued normally as everyone spoke about different things such as work and what had been going on in their life. It seemed as though things were finally started to feel normal again.
The only thing was, Hermione could tell there was still something holding all of them back from forming the connection that they once had before.