Muggle Marriage Law 51599

Tuesday clean up

“I’ll sit in the back with Lois,” Jon smiled wide as he finished strapping Lois into her chair.

Hermione didn’t know what to say as she watched her roommate buckle himself into the seat next to Lois. She sighed as she entered her side of the dark blue Chevy Impala. She turned to see Draco still outside of the car looking slightly hopeless. Hermione rolled her eyes at him.

She opened his door from the lever on the inside. He sat down.

“You’ll have to buckle up,” Hermione said as she, too, put her seatbelt on.

He looked at her blankly. She rolled her eyes. Jon sat amused as he watched the young couple in the front of the car.

Hermione reached over Draco and pulled the belt over his chest. They both breathed in. She locked the belt in place and turned to face front concentrating on the steering wheel.

“I don’t understand why we have to be strapped in,” he said bitingly.

Hermione sighed, “Muggle laws, Draco. Just like those in the Wizarding world, we muggles have to follow laws too.”

She started the car. Draco rolled his eyes. Hermione pulled out of the driveway. They all sat listening to the radio as Hermione drove to the high school.

* * *

They all walked to Hermione’s classroom. Jon kissed her on the cheek playing up their little charade. Hermione was a little surprised, but then smiled. “I’ll see you at home,” Jon said, as he was going to meet his friend Mike at his classroom.

Hermione nodded. Jon pulled Lois up into his arms. He hugged her. “Hey, keep an eye on your mom, okay,” he smiled joking.

Hermione flushed. Draco’s ears started to burn as well. Lois kissed her uncle on the cheek before Jon placed her on the ground. He waved to the small family before leaving for his own room two buildings away.

* * *

She opened up the classroom and flipped the light switch. She breathed in as Lois rushed passed her. Draco brushed against Hermione’s back as he got his first glimpse at his wife’s classroom. She took another deep breath.

“This is my classroom,” she said looking up at him.

He nodded. He smiled at her sincerely, “It’s brighter than Snape’s was.”

She actually laughed. He smiled at her.

“What do we do first, Mommy?” the little girl asked.

Hermione nodded. “Hm, why don’t you help me wipe off the table tops starting from the back of the room? Mommy and,” she paused before she said anything she was going to regret, “and Mr. Malfoy are going to wash beakers out.”

The little girl nodded. Hermione headed for the sinks at the front of the room. Draco watched the little girl obey her mother and head to the back. Draco sighed. He followed Hermione. She was already stacking dirty beakers on the side of the sink.

“So did you use the imperius on Diego?” Draco asked half joking.

“Stop being a prat, Malfoy,” she said, looking at him.

“You could never take a joke, could you?” he said bitingly.

“No,” she said softly, her eyes starting to water. She turned towards the sink to avoid his gaze. “Especially when it’s at my expense.”

Draco shut his eyes. Why did she always make him want to bait her? “So what spell did you use?” he asked as he joined her at the sink. He watched her take a breath as she started to wash out beakers.

“Reparo,” she said as she rinsed the last beaker. She looked at him. He watched her exhale.

“Lois accidentally spilt fruit punch on my personal laptop Sunday evening,” she said as he looked questioningly at her thighs not understanding her muggle meaning.

“A computer; a data storage system,” she said. “The last day of school was yesterday. Our marks were on the computer. We owed it to the kids to show them what they got for the term.

“The juice basically short circuited everything. It was fried,” she took a deep breath. “I don’t think a muggle repairperson could have helped anyway. I had no other choice.”

He smiled a little, easing the tension. “Saved me from declaring you dead,” he said.

“Gee, thanks,” she said. He laughed. She joined in.

“So you’re getting married on Saturday,” she said softly, looking into his face. Her breath caught in her chest. She looked away, pretending to be interested in what her daughter was doing. “So who’s the lucky muggle born?”

“We uh,” he began, studying her profile. “We repealed the Marriage Laws back in January.”

She turned back to face him. She gave him a weak smile. “So who’s the lucky Pureblood witch then?” she blushed, chiding herself inwardly for being so affected.

He squinted at her then ran his fingers through his hair. He took a deep breath. He looked away, “Celeste Profesi.”

There was a long pause as if Hermione were collecting her thoughts. She breathed in. “Blonde, blue eyed, fashion model. Wealthy family,” she said as if reading from a rap sheet. “I guess your parents are quite happy about the merger.”

He looked at her, his face intense and slightly flushed. She gulped, “I didn’t mean anything by that,” she said apologetically.

His look softened a little, “She has qualities all her own, Granger.”

“I know, Malfoy,” she said. “I just meant,” she stumbled over words. With a weak smile, she looked into his face and said softly, “I’m happy for you, too.”

She saw his shoulders rise and fall as he took a breath. She herself took in a breath trying to think of something to say to change the subject.

“So how big a wedding are you expecting?” she asked not able to look at him.

“Seven thousand,” he said laughing. “If Celeste gets her way, there’ll be 10 by Saturday morning.”

They both laughed. The little girl watched the two adults intently as she pretended to organize the rocks that her mother used for her short geology lesson on how they tied in with chemistry.

“I take it the ceremony will be at Malfoy Manor?” she asked not looking at him.

“Yeah, on the back patio,” he said glancing at her. He watched her bite her lower lip.

“Dean’s my Best Man,” he said.

She smiled at Draco. She had always thought Dean Thomas to be a great guy.

“He and Ginny are married,” he continued to gaze at her.

Hermione was speechless for a moment. Then she smiled to herself. “Since when?” she asked, curious.

“About a year and a half ago,” he said. “Ginny asked him. Muggle Marriage Laws were still in effect. They’re pregnant.”

“Really?” he saw her eyes twinkle.

“Yeah, she’s expecting next month,” he said breathing. He laughed, “They’ve already got the kid’s name picked out, Ronda.”

“A girl?”

“Yeah,” he smiled at her interest. “They’re naming her after that git brother of hers.”

“Malfoy!” she admonished.

He smiled holding his hands up, pretending to protect himself from her. “Sorry, I forgot you two were an item.”
She looked down at her hands. Draco wanted to kick himself.

“He was a good guy,” Hermione said softly. She looked up at him, “A good friend.”

“Granger,” he looked at her, his eyes piercing. He couldn’t believe he was going to ask this. But he needed to know. “If he were alive, and if he had asked you to marry him before we got together, would you have accepted?”

She took in a deep breath. She looked back at him. She gulped. “It would have been like marrying my own brother. He was my best friend. We didn’t really like each other that way.”

He nodded understanding what she was trying to say. “They miss you, you know,” he said to her.

Her breath caught in her throat, thinking about the red headed younger witch and the black half blood. She turned to the sink again, as she blinked rapidly, keeping tears at bay, “Well, we should really start cleaning up if we want to get out of here in time.”

Draco nodded and actually rolled up his sleeves to help wipe down counters. She watched him for a moment before continuing her task.

They cleaned for a good three hours. Hermione had turned the radio on. Draco watched out of the corner of his eye as Hermione danced to the upbeat muggle music.

They heard a knock on the open door. A tall girl walked in. Lois ran to her.

“Jaci,” the toddler squealed.

“Hey, how’s my favorite two year old?” the dark haired graduated senior asked as she picked up the little girl.

“Good,” the youngster said as she played with the older girl’s digital camera that hung on a strap around her neck.

“Hey, Jaci,” Hermione said hugging her now former student. “Can’t get enough of this place, can you?”

The former volleyball player laughed. “Just stopped by to say, ‘bye,’ before heading to Yale,” she said as she smiled at her teacher’s male visitor.

Draco watched the exchange of pleasantries. He never remembered Hogwarts professors as candid and informal with their students. It was actually refreshing to see.

“So who’s your blonde haired hottie, Ms. Granger?” the young girl asked teasingly as she placed her teacher’s daughter on the ground. Hermione flushed. Draco smiled.

Hermione cleared her throat. “Jaci Mayat,” she said looking at her student, “This is an old friend of mine from England, Draco Malfoy. Mr. Malfoy, this is Jaci, one of my better students.”

The two shook hands. Jaci nodded at her teacher as she noticed Mr. Malfoy’s eyes. She looked over at Lois and then smiled.

Hermione noticed her perceptive student’s action. She took a deep breath.

“Well,” Jaci said breathing in as she fingered her camera. “I just wanted to tell you, ‘thank you,’ for everything the last three years. I know I was a handful in the beginning.”

Hermione gave the young lady another hug. Draco watched this exchange, smiling to himself. Hermione really was a very good teacher.

“You had better e-mail me,” Hermione said. “I’d like to hear all the gossip from the hallowed Ivy League halls.”

“Will do,” the younger woman said. “Hey, how ‘bout a picture? I have to use up the whole memory card anyway.”

“Oh, really, Jaci,” Hermione began.

“Aw come on, Ms. Granger,” she smiled. “How ‘bout one so that Mr. Malfoy can have a memento of his visit.”

Hermione turned to Draco. He shrugged. Hermione inwardly groaned. She turned to Jaci, “Okay. Where do you want us?”

“Right there is fine,” she said as they took their seats. Jaci quickly picked Lois up and without warning placed her gently on Draco’s lap. Hermione was about to protest. Draco was slightly taken aback.

“Alright,” Jaci said, “Say cheese on three.”

She took the photo with the three smiling. Great family photo, she thought. “I’ll e-mail you the picture, Ms. Granger,” she said, breathing in triumphantly. “I’ve still got two other teachers to go thank.”

“Okay,” Hermione said, speechless as they watched her student walk out of the door.

“She seems like a nice kid,” Draco said looking at Hermione.

“Hmm,” she said still wondering whether her student guessed her secret. “Yeah, she is.”

“You love this job, don’t you?” he said smiling at her.

“Yes,” she answered truthfully.

“Mommy?” the little girl tugged at her mother’s jeans.

“Yes, dear,” Hermione said looking down at grey eyes.

“I’m hungry,” Lois said. “Can we go have lunch?”

Hermione looked at Draco. He nodded. Hermione turned back to Lois, “How about McDonald’s?”

The young girl nodded as she placed her small hand into the wizard’s palm. Draco took a deep breath. Hermione blinked.

“We’d better go if we want to get to sign those papers after lunch,” she said breathlessly.

Draco nodded. He squeezed the little girl’s hand, smiled and walked out of the cleaned classroom. Hermione shut her eyes. This was going to be a very long lunch break.

* * *

“Should we have invited your husband?” Draco asked as he watched her pull Lois from her car seat.

Hermione breathed in as they exited the car. “Jon had a lot to clean up,” she said. Jon was actually going to have lunch with Michael.

They looked at the menu board. Draco had no clue what kind of establishment this was.

“What’s good?” he whispered in her ear.

She breathed in. “Fat and grease, lots of sugar,” Hermione joked. “Everything is good.”

“I’ll have whatever you’re having then,” he said as he looked at the rather intimidating menu board.

Hermione sighed. She looked at the cashier. “One four piece chicken McNugget Happy Meal, barbecue sauce, with apples and milk. Two Quarter Pounder with cheese meals with Diet Cokes as drinks, please,” she looked at Draco to see if that was okay. “Also, three taro pies.”

The young cashier punched the order in and collected the money. The three waited for their order on the side.

“It’s pretty busy,” Draco said as he noted the long line that had formed behind them.

“Yeah. Lunchtime and all,” Hermione said as she looked up at him. He pushed up against her as several customers went by them. They both exhaled.

“Orders up,” the runner said to Hermione. Hermione finally got her bearings straight. She turned and thanked the runner. She took hold of the full tray.

“I’ll get the utensils?” Draco offered.

“Uh, napkins and straws are right there, Malfoy,” she said nodding her head toward the small counter.

Hermione led her companions to a seat in the middle of the dining room. Draco sat. Hermione sat as well and pulled Lois onto her lap. Draco watched the young mother kiss her daughter on the forehead before pulling out the food from the package that Hermione had called a Happy Meal.

Hermione opened up the nuggets and the barbecue sauce. She opened up the half-pint of 1% milk and opened up the apples and caramel sauce. She then nodded at Draco as she took a swig of her diet soda.

He looked down at the food that was wrapped in paper. He took a sip of his drink. He shuddered at first, having to get used to the taste. He watched her unwrap her sandwich and take a bite.

He did the same and nodded. “This is a good sandwich,” he said.

“It’s called a hamburger,” she said as she ate two fries.

“Well whatever it is, it’s good,” he smiled. “It’s probably really bad for me though, huh.”

She laughed. “Live a little, Malfoy. I’m sure you’ll still be able to fit in your dress robes come Saturday.”

Draco nodded slowly as he watched her look down. She turned to face her daughter who was enjoying her piece of chicken, rather slowly.

The threesome ate quietly for a while. Draco ate the last of his burger as he watched the little brown haired toddler lick her fingers free of the caramel sauce for the apples.

The little girl looked just like her mother. Her dark brown hair fell in curls a little past her shoulders. The toddler smiled up at her mother. The older witch smiled back. Draco took a breath. The little girl took a swig of her half pint and then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Hermione couldn’t help but laugh. She looked up at Draco who had a smile on his lips.

Draco averted Hermione’s eyes. “So, Lois,” Draco asked the little girl, “What do you guys do for fun around here?”

The little girl canted her head at Draco. She nodded, “We go to the beach, play at the park. Mom and I go to picnic at the small park.”

Draco looked up at Hermione. “Sounds like fun,” Draco said. “So how old are you, Lois?”

“I’m this much,” she said as she held up two fingers.

“Well you’re very smart for this much,” he said as he held up his fingers, too. The little girl smiled.

“She takes after her father,” Hermione said as she ruffled her daughter’s hair.

“I’m sure you had something to say for that, too,” he nodded at his former classmate.
He turned to the little girl, “And you’re very well spoken as well.”

The young girl nodded her head and smiled, “You too.”

Hermione laughed and then kissed her daughter on the head. Hermione shrugged at her ex-husband. Draco couldn’t help laughing either.

“You almost done, Kiddo?” Hermione asked as she wiped her daughter’s mouth with a napkin.

“Mmhm,” the little girl said as she jumped off Hermione’s lap. She helped to put all her trash in a neat pile on the tray. Hermione stood up and Draco did as well.

“We’d better start out if we want to get to the Ministry before it closes,” she said.

Draco pulled the little girl up into his arms without a second thought. Hermione’s breath caught in her chest.

“Lois, Mommy and,” Hermione said as she threw the trash into the bin. “Mr. Malfoy have to run some errands. You behave for Grandma Celia, okay.”

Draco had placed the little girl into the car seat as deftly as any seasoned parent would have. He smiled to the little girl who smiled back. He joined Hermione in the front of the car, buckling his seat belt by himself. Hermione inwardly smiled.

* * *

“Jon won’t be able to watch her?” Draco asked as they pulled into the driveway.

Hermione breathed in as Draco was already heading for the back seat. He pulled the sleeping child out of the seat and rested her on his chest as he carried her. Hermione again took in a deep breath.

“He’s probably still at school,” Hermione said. “I can take her.”

“It’s alright. I’ve got her,” he smiled at her disarmingly.

Hermione turned and headed towards her neighbor’s front door. She had to take several breaths to calm down. She knocked on the door as Draco joined her on the porch.

“Hi, Celia,” Hermione said.

“Ah, Hermione,” the older woman said giving her neighbor a hug. She smiled at Hermione’s gentleman companion.

“Celia Rodriguez,” Hermione said as she breathed in. She looked square into her older neighbor’s eyes and chose her words wisely. “This is Draco Malfoy, my ex-husband. We have to take care of some paperwork. Would you mind?”

She didn’t even get a chance to finish her question. “Of course not, dear,” Mrs. Rodriguez held her arms out. Draco hesitantly handed the sleeping girl over to her babysitter.

“I’ll be back to pick her up before dinner,” Hermione said thanking the older woman with her eyes. The older woman nodded her head.