Hermione heard the distressed sounds of a frightened child and followed them to a small boy hunkered down just outside the shop doors, clutching his knees to his chest. She bent down next to him and offered him a smile. She knew the child before his fall too amiliar eyes locked on her.

"Well, I'm willing to bet you a tour of this shop that your last name is Malfoy." She smiled as he nodded. He was adorable with his damp cheeks and blond bangs scattered across his forehead.

"I am. I'm Pye. P. Y. E." He gave her a watery smile and extended his little hand politely. "It's short for Scorpius."

"Well, Pye P. Y. E., why don't you come inside and tell me your tale of woe over some silly sweets?" She shook his hand and helped him to his feet.

He looked up at her with his wide mercurial eyes and smiled like she was the sun. It was a tad disconcerting to see that kind of devotion served up to her with a happy grin. She blinked and squeezed his hand gently.

"Do you like hot chocolate?" She led him over behind the counter. "I make it with little marshmallows and a sprinkle of cinnamon."

"I like hot chocolate, but Nana only serves it with creamy stuff and never in the middle of the day." He squeezed her hand and flinched a bit.

She smiled down at him and twitched her fingers. The diagnostic spell showed he had skinned knees and a few small cuts on his hands. It wasn't serious, but it was worrying.

"How did you wind up all alone?" She lifted him up into a chair. "The Alley is so busy today."

"The floo pushed us out in the wrong place and some men grabbed Daddy. They pushed me away and one of them knocked me over. I wanted my daddy, but they kept a pushing me back. Then I was outside." His little shoulders slumped and he wiped at his eyes with the backs of his fingers. "I saw the bright colors and came here when I couldn't find my daddy. Is he lost?"

"From a certain perspective." Hermione nodded, and watched the boy lean back. "But we will find him."

She could hear George coming, throwing his boisterous spirit about for one and all. After her brief career at the Ministry, she'd decided to work at WWW. She slept better at night and George buoyed her spirits.

"Mr. Weasley is about to pop over here. Don't worry if he seems insane. It's just that you're perceptive."

The boy nodded, but she could see him storing up questions in his mind. He was obviously used to adults talking around him. She patted his hand as George found them.

"Who is this then?" George pointed at the boy and tossed him a wink. "Are you trying to steal my partner away?"

"No, sir." Pye blinked up at George and shrunk back into the seat a bit.

"She's not married. Perhaps you want a wife?" George waggled his brows.

"No, sir." Pye shook his head and sat up straight again. "I don't want one of those."

"Oh, well, then, that's alright. Isn't it?" George rubbed his chin and popped a canary cream into his mouth. Hermione grinned and watched the boy's face light with wonder as the redhead moved off in a swirl of feathers. Working with George might drive her spare from time to time, but it was worth it.

"He's a bird?"

"He's something." Hermione grinned. "Do you want some help finding your father? I'll get Harry on it, if you'd like."

"Harry Potter?" The boy's eyes flashed with wonder. It was obvious Malfoy wasn't trying to poison his mind. "My Dad knew him at school."

"I knew your Dad, too." Hermione smiled and ruffled his blonde hair. "We were all in the same year."

"You're Hermione Granger." The boy's eyes widened. "Your the bravest person my father has ever known."

Hermione blinked. That was unexpected and oddly flattering. She smiled and shook her head.

"I'm just a crazed Gryffindor." She raised her fingers up like claws and growled mockingly. "Sometimes we do pretty silly things."

"My daddy doesn't lie." Pye crossed his arms over his chest. "If he says you're brave, you are."

"Okay." Hermione raised her hands in surrender. "I might have a smidgeon of bravery. Shall we summon Harry? He really is brave."

"Daddy says Harry was lucky because he had you." The boy looked up at her through his pale blonde fringe of hair. "So, I will trust you, but can we try Daddy first?"

"I'll do my best to be lucky for you." Hermione ruffled his hair again and lifted the boy up to her hip. She pulled out her wand and let Pye splay his fingers along the back of her hand before summoning her patronus.

She watched the boy's eyes go wide as her silvery otter popped into existence. It swam around them before it stopped and sniffed at the boy in her arms. Pye laughed and wiggled about, but he didn't move his hand from its place on her hand. The otter finished his inspection and stared at them patiently.

"Draco, your son is with me at WWW. Say something, Pye." Hermione nodded to the boy. "I'm having fun, Daddy. It was scary, but it's fine, now."

Hermione waved her wand and sent the otter off to find Malfoy.

Harry Potter glared at the panicked blond man in interrogation. He wasn't cooperating. Not that he expected Malfoy to do the right thing.

"Auror Potter, sir?" One of the aides scrambled into the observation room. "There is evidence to support Mr. Malfoy's claims."

"Of course there is." Harry rolled his eyes. "Someone came forward and acknowledged seeing the event?"

"No." The aide straightened to his full height. "The Floo Network has been throwing people out in unusual places for the last five hours. Most people are only slightly inconvenienced, but, in this case, it would appear Mr. Malfoy is a victim."

"If he's been telling the truth, his son is out there all alone." Harry looked into the room and wondered how Malfoy was still sane. "I'd best get in there and release him. Fetch his wand, will you?"

The aide nodded and was out the door in a flash. An angry Malfoy was a thing of legend, but a justifiably angry Malfoy was more frightening than a dementor. Harry walked to the door and took a deep breath. This was going to be damn hard.

"We've confirmed your story." Harry stepped into the room and dropped the wards. "Unfortunately, we don't know where you're son is. I will help you find him though."

"He's been alone for two hours. You'd best have every auror on duty looking for my son." Draco smoothed his shirt. "I know I'm not your favorite person, but this was a ridiculous abuse of power."

"I am sorry." Harry frowned and looked down from the man's molten gaze. "I've sent for your wand."

"Do you want me to thank you?" Draco glared at him and pushed toward the door. "I need to find my son. I can get my wand later."

"You won't be able to leave the room without your wand. It's a security feature." Harry shifted his weight from foot to foot. "I'm sorry."

Draco took a deep breath and stood beside the door.

"I know you don't like me, Potter. You have good reasons." Draco clenched his fists. "I may be an arse, but if my son has been harmed…."

With a flip and swirl, a silver otter swam through the door and looked directly at Malfoy. It delivered it's message and swirled about Draco before disappearing in a spectral splash. Harry watched relief and sadness flash across Malfoy's face.

"I'll take you there as soon as your wand gets here." Harry tried to smile, but recognized it probably appeared to be more of a grimace. "I can apparate directly."

"Thank you, Potter." Malfoy nodded.

George saw Harry and Malfoy by the front doors and sighed. The pair couldn't look less comfortable. It was a good thing Hermione had taken the poor tyke upstairs.

George headed through the store with a Slytherin green Pygmy Puff planted on his head. It was chittering away, happy as could be. He'd pulled it from the cages earlier with the Malfoy boy in mind.

"Hello Harry." George smiled widely. "Seems you found our wayward wanderer."

"Tried to imprison me, more like." Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Where is Pye?"

"Hermione took him upstairs to her place. He was hungry for more than hot chocolate. Harry can show you up. Oh, but one thing." George plucked the Puff from his head with a smile. "May we give Pye a gift?"

"It won't bite him and make him change colors, will it?" Draco looked at the purring fluff ball suspiciously.

"No, but those are some interesting ideas." George rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hermione would never let me do it though. She's keen on keeping the clientele safe."

"You have had fewer issues since she bought in." Harry shrugged. "Profits are up, too."

"Yeah, well, she's bloody brilliant." George shrugged. "Fred would have been right proud."

"No higher praise." Harry nodded. "Should I just take him up then?"

"Afraid?" George smirked as they crossed the store. "She hadn't tried to kill you in at least two weeks."

"Yeah, its all fun and games until the loo bites your arse." Harry rubbed his backside and rolled his eyes. "It was a bloody blind date."

"She doesn't date, and you shouldn't set her up without any warning." George shook his head. "Poor ol' Wood is scarred. If he tanks in the match tomorrow, I'm gonna blame you."

"I do appreciate the comedy show, but I'd like to retrieve my son." Draco darted ahead of them and wrenched the door open. He was gone, and Harry sighed.

"Relieved?" George looked over at his brother in law.

"Not hardly." Harry slumped. "We had him in custody. The kid was separated from his father because of us. If Hermione finds out, she will make a triumphant return to the Wizengamot floor."

"I'd be more worried about what the toilets at the Ministry will do to you lot." George chuckled. "She took to the kid right off. You're in real trouble."

Draco swallowed and stood just outside the door to Hermione's flat. Fate did like to twist the knife. He gathered what remained of his tattered dignity and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Hermione opened the door and stepped back to allow him passage. "He's sleeping in my bedroom. He liked the tacos well enough. I think he was amazed to be allowed to eat with his fingers."

"Mother is not one for finger foods." Draco glanced around the apartment. "We don't have to do this. We don't have to pretend it's all okay."

"He's adorable." Hermione smiled softly. "He reminds me of you."

Draco swallowed and looked around. They should have kept pretending. His eyes couldn't seem to focus. Everything was a blur of color until he glanced up at the painting over the mantle.

It was like being hit with sectumsempre again.

She'd kept it.

She'd kept the painting he done of her sleeping on his green sheets with a book tossed down next to her.

She kept it and hung it in her living space.

"I couldn't part with it." Hermione came to stand by him. "No one knows about us. Well, maybe George, but no one else."

"Maybe?" Draco glanced at her.

"Well, he was the one that fished me out of a bottle on your wedding night." Hermione shrugged. "I have no idea what I said, but he's never mentioned it."

"That was the worst night of my life." Draco swallowed. "But I wouldn't have Scorpius without it."

"He is amazing." Hermione brushed his shoulder with hers as she stepped past him. "Would you like something to eat? Your son didn't manage to eat it all."

"I haven't had tacos since we went to that conference in San Antonio." Draco followed her and stepped into a kitchen that defied the known limits of extension charms. Nothing matched. The cabinet tops were different than the bottoms. Some had papers stuck on them with her wild scrawl fighting itself for notice. Each floor tile was a different color.

"I know it's chaotic, but I do most of my work here. George and I simply can not share workspace." She shuddered. "Every so often I return it all back to the normal color scheme and start over."

She spun her fingers in a circle and two plates floated from a shelf while tacos assembled over the stove and landed on them. Her hair stood out from her head in a nimbus. The stray bits of her magic lighting it in a variety of colors.

"You always brought so much color into my world. The Fates know, I've missed it." Draco grabbed her arm and turned her toward him.

Her wide brown eyes flicked around his face. She never bothered to hide her emotions from him, but they were myriad and he was woefully out of practice. He yanked her toward him and caught her up in his arms. Her nails dug into his shoulders. He felt her gulping breaths against his chest.

"If you don't want this, tell me now." He waited a moment before crushing his lips to hers.

He was sure bells were ringing as his joy exploded out in a wash of power. He was home in her arms. Her magic swirled and mixed with his. He felt the bond sing through him, full, vital, and alive.

Hermione gasped against his lips before melting against him. He swung her up in his arms and paused as reality crashed down on him. He had no idea where to carry her.

"We should probably talk anyway." Hermione chuckled and patted his chest. "I only have the one bed."

"Let me guess." Draco grinned. "You made the guest room into a library."

"Of course I did." Hermione rested her head against his shoulder. "Put me down, so we can talk."

"You want to talk?" Draco blinked.

"What I want and what I need don't always align. How did this happen?" She raised her arm up and he saw the runes still glowing on her wrist. "That wasn't our first kiss."

"In a way, it was." Draco let her body slide down his so she could set her feet on the floor. "The contract with Astoria kept my magic in check. It couldn't bond with yours before."

"So, we kissed." Hermione stroked the runes on his wrist. "And, boom, we're married?"

"It's magic." Draco took a deep breath. "It's the way things were always supposed to be."

"But, this isn't about you and me against the world anymore." Hermione took a step back from him. "There's Pye. How is he going to feel about this?"

"He will love having a real Mum." Draco smiled widely. "Astoria handed him over to me directly after his birth and was gone the next day. Neither of us saw her again."

"How could she?" Hermione plopped down in a chair and shook her head. "That little boy is so sweet."

"She wasn't happy with the marriage either. I was forced into total fidelity and she was required to give me an heir of my body and blood." Draco sat down across the small table from her. "She wanted to be wild and free, so she did her part and left. I was glad to have her gone. It wasn't much of a change though. We never actually lived together. She stayed at the townhouse, and I moved back to Cliffside."

"You're living there?" Hermione blinked rapidly, and he knew that she didn't want to cry. He grabbed her hand and held it as she struggled for control.

"Where else? It was supposed to be our home. It was the only place I approached feeling whole after we said goodbye." Draco knew his own eyes were glassy as he looked up at the ceiling. "I couldn't leave it."

"I didn't even know this was possible." Hermione squeezed his hand. "How can we just step into this?"

"Its a magical bond, Hermione. It will not be ignored." Draco took a deep breath and rubbed his thumb along her wrist. "There's a kind of sentience about a magical bond. It will get what it wants. If we are apart too long. Our magic will bring us together. I might wake up here, next to you, one morning. You might appear on my lap at dinner time."

"You just like the idea of me in your lap." Hermione rolled her eyes. "So, we need some kind of ceremony. I want something for Pye to see. I want him to know that he's part of this, that we are a family."

"The stones are still there." Draco smiled. "If you're willing?"

"I get to talk, right?" Pye watched his father fuss with his tie. "I get to say she's my mummy."

"Yes, Pye." His father turned around and squatted down next to him. "You get to tell her that she's your mummy."

"Why do we have to wear these clothes?" Pye picked at his own tie. "Is she gonna make us dress like this all the time?"

"No." Daddy chuckled and shook his head. "We are dressed like this because getting a new mummy is special. we want her to know we think she's special, right?"

"Why can't we just tell her she's special?" Pye looked down at his green tie. "Or give her flowers?"

"This is for us, too, Pye." Daddy stood up. "We get to special today, too."

The young boy sighed and grabbed his father's hand.

Grown ups were weird.

"Tell me the story." Pye glanced up at his father.

"Hermione was brave and strong, but she was also forgiving. After the war, she helped the very people that had once reviled her.

I was desolate and alone. I hated my name. I hated my heritage. I hated to look in the mirror.

I didn't understand it, but Hermione Granger didn't hate me. She became my friend.

I wanted to build a life with her, but there were promises to keep." His daddy paused.

"So, you kept them." Pye nodded.

"I kept them and was gifted with you." His fathers fingers tightened on his hand. "I learned to look in mirrors again so I could see your smiling face next to mine."

"Then the floos went crazy." Scorpius made a huge exploding sound. "And you were lost."

"I was lost, but Hermione found you and then me." His daddy grinned widely. "She's very clever."

"And she's keeping us." Pye looked up at the stones and saw his new Mummy standing there in a pretty dress. "She dressed up, too."

"Well, we Malfoy men are pretty special." His father squeezed his hand gently. "How could she resist?"

Narcissa Malfoy stood disillusioned next to Harry Potter. His invisibility cloak brushed against her legs in a comforting way. It gave her a sense of gravity, of being.

She watched as her son made vows with the woman he'd always loved and watched as the woman made vows to her grandchild. She saw the magic flare brightly as they became a family.

It was beautiful.

"Thank you for bringing me." She was proud that her voice didn't shake.

"You shouldn't have messed with the floo system." Potter removed the spell and took off his cloak. "You can't endanger people to get your way."

"One day, you will understand, Mr. Potter." Narcissa smiled up at the man. "You will move heaven and earth to see your children happy. Nothing will stop you."