His Saving Grace

CHAPTER EIGHT: Goodnight Sweetheart









“She even smiles in her sleep.” Draco whispered as he peered down at the baby. He had watched Hermione feed and change the baby before handing her off to him and allowing him to tuck her into bed. A tiny smile lifted her perfectly bowed lips while she slept, then said lips puckered as though she were sucking on a treat only she was aware of. “She is so happy.”







“She is loved more than any child I have ever seen, children thrive in such environments.” Hermione said as she gathered Grace’s discarded clothes and tossed them into a hamper in the corner.







“Loved by everyone except the man who shares his genes with her.” Draco said, referring to his recalcitrant father.







“Don’t count your father out just yet, Draco. He will need time to adjust.” Hermione said as she raised her wand to lower the lights in the room.







“He couldn’t even look at her.” Draco said, shaking his head as he followed Hermione out of the baby’s room.







“Oh he looked at her, Draco. He couldn’t stop sneaking looks at her when he thought no one was watching. He wasn’t unmoved by the sight of Grace, I promise you.” Hermione said, stopping beside her bed to remove her robe and shoes. She sighed and curled her toes into the carpet before reaching up and pulling the clip from her hair. “Would you like something to drink?” She asked, snatching up the receiver to the baby monitor.







“Sure, if it’s not too late for you.” He said, feeling a tad uncomfortable as he watched her make herself more comfortable.





“Not at all, I don’t have to work tomorrow.” She said, leading him through the hall and down the stairs. She disappeared into the kitchen for a few moments, leaving Draco alone in the living room. When she reappeared carrying two mugs of hot chocolate, Draco had shed his robes and was sitting on the sofa loosening his tie.







“Hot chocolate?” He laughed, looking down into the steaming mug.







“With marshmallows. Remus swore that nothing could fix what ails you quite like chocolate.” Hermione said, blowing gently into the mug.







“Maybe I should have tried it long ago; I was living in Switzerland, lots of chocolate to be had there.” He said, trying to lick away the gooey, melted marshmallow that clung to his lips.







“Want to talk about it?” She asked, pulling her legs up and tucking them beneath her on the sofa.







“Nothing much to tell really. You know the state of mind I was in the last half of our seventh year.” He sighed heavily and took another drink of his chocolate. “After graduation I spent the better part of the next year moping about my family’s mountain chalet. I slept a lot, didn’t eat, and didn’t do much of anything really. Finally my mother sent me to see a thera-witch. A few weeks into it and I began to see my past more clearly and deal with the things that were weighing on me so heavily. Slowly but surely I began to re-engage in my life.”







“How are you now? This is a lot to deal with, a baby, your father.” She asked, concerned for his emotional health.







“Incredibly, I’m fine. I don’t have any negative feelings at all when it comes to the baby, in fact I would say she is about the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I’m glad you didn’t try to keep her from me.” He said softly.







“I wouldn’t do something like that, Draco. She has a right to know you, just as you have the right to know her. I am glad you have decided to be apart of her life.” Hermione set her cup aside and walked across the room to a large roll top desk. She withdrew a small box and carried it over to the sofa where she sat close to Draco and rested the box on her knees before lifting the lid.







“What is all that?” He asked, very aware of her close proximity as he looked into the box.







“These are the letters I sent you, photographs and copies of her birth certificate and the announcement.” She said, sliding the box onto his lap. “I thought you might like to have it.” Draco looked through the contents, scanning the letters she had sent telling him of her situation. He shuffled through several photographs, some were of Hermione, her belly round with his child, and others were of Grace just after her birth, her little face all wrinkled and red and even more of her first few months of life. He picked up the birth certificate and noticed that the line for the father was left blank.





“I would like for us to go to the ministry together on Monday and register Grace. I want her last name changed to Malfoy as soon as possible.” He said softly before placing the items back into the box and replacing the top. “I also think we should discuss my father’s comments from earlier.”







“What about them?” She asked, setting the box on the table and turning slightly to face him. “He was trying to get a reaction and he succeeded.”







“He also had a point...should we get married, for Grace?” He asked, cringing slightly. Hermione stared at him in stunned silence for several long moments, and then erupted into fits of laughter. “Well I don’t see as how it is all that funny!” He said, embarrassed and a little upset by her amusement at his expense.







“I’m sorry, Draco, its just…why on earth would we want to do that?” She asked, smiling still.







“Well, we have a child together and a child should have two parents.” He answered.









“She does have two parents, Draco. And godparents, grandparents and a whole slew of uncles. She is not lacking in family, there is no need for us to get married.” Hermione said. “Your father just wanted to get us riled up; obviously he succeeded in getting to you.”







“What if you meet someone and he doesn’t like me hanging around all the time.” Draco asked, frowning at the thought of her with another man.







“Then he wouldn’t be hanging around for very long. Grace is and always will be my first priority.” She said softly. “You could say the same for you, what if the pureblood you marry doesn’t want your half-blood child around?”







“No, I don’t think I would marry anyone who couldn’t accept Grace. I can’t believe a person can feel so strongly for someone they barely know.” He said thoughtfully.







“I know, I said the same thing right after she was born.” Hermione smiled. “We are going to work it out, Draco. You and I will find a way. What is meant to be will be.”







“And what if that night by the lake was a sign…what if you and I are meant to be a family?” He asked, finally saying out loud what he had been thinking since he laid eyes on Grace.







“Then it will work itself out.” She said softly. Draco reached out and pushed her hair back off her shoulders, cupping the side of her neck and stroking his thumb along the underside of her jaw.





“I thought of you and that night by the lake everyday, it was the only thing that made me smile.” He whispered, bumping his nose against hers. She reached up and clasped his wrist, her breathing becoming slightly more labored as she slid under his spell.







“I know I was not the first girl to be with you, I had no idea what I was doing…you don’t have to flatter me.” She said her voice low and raspy.







“You were the first girl who didn’t expect anything from me. You spent the night with me not my money or my name, just me.” He said, pressing soft, pecking kisses against her lips. “You are the only one to see beyond the mask.”







His lips pressed into hers, his hand cupping the back of her head to hold her steady as he kissed her. She was just as sweet as he remembered, shy and tentative at first, then slowly becoming more ardent as the kiss progressed. Draco left her lips to traverse the soft skin of her cheeks; the sweet spot just below her ear and down the side of her throat.





“Please, if you don’t mean it…” Hermione whimpered softly when his teeth nibbled at her collarbone. “I’m not as strong as you think…you can break me easily if you toy with me.” Draco pulled back slightly and pressed his forehead to hers.





“I told you, I thought about you everyday for the last year, wondered if what happened was just a fluke, a momentary flash or if there was something else, something more that pulled me there that night.” He was breathing heavily, his pale cheeks flushed as he looked her in the eye. “When I saw you for the first time the other day, I felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach, I don’t believe it was a fluke and it has nothing to do with the baby, it’s you…we have chemistry…or am I alone?”







“You’re not alone, I feel it too.” She whispered. “It’s just…I don’t want us to rush into something that may fizzle out…passion is fleeting at best, we shouldn’t get carried away else we find ourselves ten years from now with four kids and nothing to say to each other.”







“So we won’t rush…we’ll just let it evolve…get to know each other.” He ran his palm over her curls. “Four kids? Rather ambitious aren’t you?”







“Well I had heard that purebloods had a hard time procreating, the Weasleys seeming to be the exception, yet you got me on the first try.” She said, laughing softly.







“That is true, perhaps it is only pureblood couples, and maybe the fact that you are muggleborn makes it easier.” Draco said, trying to imagine what life could be like with a wife and a house filled with children. “You know, Malfoys rarely have girls, I think you and I may be going against every single Malfoy tradition….not only do we have a half-blood child, but it’s a girl child and we are unmarried. My ancestors are surely rolling over in their crypts.”







“Why do you sound like you are proud of yourself?” She asked, laughing.







“Well, it is nice to know I will be a family legend.” He smirked slightly and kissed her again. He pulled her into his arms, pressing her tight to his chest as he tasted her lips, his tongue prodding playfully at the seam until she opened and allowed him inside. He nipped and sucked gently at her tongue as she became more and more bewitched by the exchanged.







“Merlin’s moldy arse, my eyes!” Draco and Hermione pulled apart quickly to stare up at the intruders. Harry was staring at them with an amused grin while Ron covered his eyes with his hands. They had been so wrapped up in each other they hadn’t heard anyone enter. “Please tell me they stopped?” Ron said, peeking at them between spread fingers.







“Um….what are you two doing here?” Hermione asked, her cheeks blushing bright red.







“Well, I live here.” Harry said, smiling. “I needed a jacket and this is where I keep my clothes. Ron came along to get away from Luna, she’s stalking him. What are you two doing here?”





Hermione closed her eyes and counted silently to ten. She knew they were going to torment her.







“Draco and I were just talking.” She said.







“Perhaps the two of you should learn the basics of conversation before you repopulate the wizarding community all on your own with your little chats.” Harry said.





“It’s an idea.” Draco said dryly. Harry cocked his head and stared at him for a moment, and then he laughed.





“Well, at least your kids are cute. Now, what happened to this thing between the two of you being a one-time, caught in the heat of the moment thing?” Ron asked, flopping into a chair and propping his feet on the table.





“We realized that maybe it wasn’t just a one time, heat of the moment thing.” Draco said, taking Hermione’s hand in his.







“So you two are gonna date then?” Ron asked. “You know Malfoy, you really need to learn the order of things, mate. First you date, then you marry, then you get her sprogged up.”







“Well, I never was one for playing by the rules.” Draco said. “On that note, I should probably get back home; no doubt father will wish to talk to me.” He said, rolling his eyes.







“How did dinner with the family go by the way?” Harry asked, snagging his jacket from the coat rack.







“Well, Narcissa fell in love with Grace the moment she saw her.” Hermione said, smiling at the memory.







“Who doesn’t?” Harry smiled. “And what about Lucius?”







“He is going to be a bit more challenging I’m afraid, but I have no doubt that he will soon fall under her spell as well.” Hermione said.







“I wouldn’t hold my breath, love. You don’t know my father.” Draco said. He leaned in and kissed her softly on the cheek. “Can I come by tomorrow?” He asked.







“I’ll be doing laundry and some tidying up around here, but you are welcome to keep Grace and I company if you like.” She said.







“Then I will see you tomorrow. Goodnight everyone.” He said, reluctantly releasing her hand, and vanishing into the green flames that swirled in the hearth. Hermione turned to face her friends.







“Are you going to be jerks about this?” She asked, nervously biting her lip.







“No.” Harry said, smiling at her. “Just be careful, you’ve already demonstrated that he makes you lose your head, among other things.”







“I can’t believe you were snogging Malfoy willingly. I think I need some of that fizzy stuff you keep in the medicine chest!” Ron said, laughing at her. She shoved his feet off of the table and fell onto the couch where she rested her head on Harry’s shoulder.





“You gonna be alright?” He asked, bumping her head with his playfully.







“I’ll be fine,” she said, “just as soon as I figure out my heart.”