Extempore

Chapter 01

"The infusion should sit in the double boiler for two weeks before--"

The Potions lecture was rudely interrupted by a loud wailing cry emanating from just outside the classroom door.

The class of seventh years began murmuring and sniggering at the disruption to their lesson. Needless to say, the interruption to the highly feared Potions Master's lecture was not only a welcome reprieve, but a highly entertaining one as well. Pity the creature that had unwittingly angered the Professor, who was striding, eyes narrowed, face flushed, to fling wide the offending classroom door.

"Stop that infernal crying!" he barked into the dark corridor, to the quiet titters of his students.

The noise was silenced for a second, only to change its tune -

"SEVVUUUSS!" was the new cry, followed by what looked like a House Elf that bolted towards the dour Professor and clung onto his dark teaching robes. The force with which the creature ran into Snape caused him to stagger backwards into the classroom, revealing the creature to be a small girl with a head full of the sweetest blonde curls, who seemed to be borrowing herself into the Potions Master.

"SEVVUUUSSSS!" she continued wailing, "I'm SOOOORRRY! I shouldn't have touched the golden thingy! Then I got lost. And...and...and then it was all dark. And I woke up and I can't find anybody. And I walked and walked and... and...I can't find Daddy and Mummy!!!" she cried. "And I was scared! And I cried! Sevvus! I don't know how to go home! I said 'snackybox' but it won't open and I want my Mummy!!!" She sniffled into the Potions Master's robes.

The class of seventh years were stunned silent at the sight of the small child behaving so familiarly with their taciturn Professor. The idea that the young child held no fear for the most feared teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was nothing short of amazing.

The silence was replaced with stifled sniggers, however, as the child seemed to be climbing up the Professor's robes in an attempt to get Snape to carry her - which he did, to prevent his robes from tearing from the weight of the clinging child.

"I walked to Mummy's classroom but the door won't open. Then I cried and you opened the door!" she explained, as she flung her short arms around the speechless Professor's neck. "Oh Sevvus! I'm sorry for being naughty! I'll never touch your thingies again! I want to go home now, please!"

The seventh years began murmuring in earnest, punctuated with giggles at the sight of their Professor accosted by the child, who looked to be about four or five years old. Those seated in the back row strained forward to see what would happen next.

"Little girl," the Professor sneered with his most intimidating voice, leaning as far away from the girl as possible whilst still carrying her, "I've never seen you before in my entire life. Is this someone's idea of a joke? Who are you? Who set you up to this?"

The girl paused in her rapid-fire explanation. Her mouth trembled and turned down. And opened to an explosively loud inconsolable cry.

Frustrated, Snape turned his glare to the increased hum of his class, with a few red-faced pupils trying their best to hold in their mirth. The Potions Master eyes alighted on the amused smirk of the Head Boy and he sneered, "Mr. Malfoy, take this child to the Infirmary to have Madam Pomfrey examine her."

Malfoy's eyes widened at Snape's orders. "Yes sir," he replied, reluctantly walking over to take the sobbing child from his Professor.

The child turned to look at the other person approaching them and suddenly stopped crying. Her face brightened a little with recognition as she declared, "DADDY!!!"

***

Chapter 02

To say that they were shocked was an understatement.

To think that Draco Malfoy had a daughter - and now that she had declared his paternity, it was obvious that the child shared his genes in her golden hair and blue-grey eyes - a daughter who looked at least four years old...

That would make him a father at thirteen!

The murmuring in the class intensified, while the father in question stared pale faced at the girl who claimed to be his issue.

"Daddy!" she insisted, holding her hands out wide in a gesture for Malfoy to carry her.

Malfoy looked up into Snape's eyes and he suddenly felt a kinship with the Professor at the strange turn of events. This time, it was the Professor who had an amused smirk on his lips.

"I believe, Mr. Malfoy, that this... child... belongs to you?" he raised his eyebrow at the young man before him.

"But... but... that's impossible," the student stuttered. "She can't be mine..." he caught himself before he could continue. It would just not do to discuss his sexual adventures - or lack thereof, before the rest of the Potions class.

"Nevertheless, Mr. Malfoy, take her to the Infirmary for Madam Pomfrey to examine her. Remain with her until the Headmaster is informed. We will see about returning her to her...mother," he concluded, much to the gratified sniggering of the rest of the class.

Malfoy sighed in exasperation. "Yes, Professor," he replied, allowing the girl to transfer into his arm, before turning towards the doorway. The happy child beamed at her daddy and kissed him soundly on his cheek, much to the amusement of the rest of the class, and then she wrapped her arm around Malfoy's neck and grinned at the people in the classroom over her daddy's shoulder.

Suddenly, her blue-grey eyes widened into round circles and before Malfoy could cross the threshold with his newfound burden, she struggled wildly in his arms, causing Malfoy to lose his grip on her. The girl dropped neatly onto the floor and started running towards a young lady seated at the end of the second row of seats who, like the rest of the class, was curious about this new turn of events.

The child approached the young lady with a tilt of her head and a frown on her brow. "Mummy!" she exclaimed wide-eyed, clutching the young lady's arms, much to the shock of the entire class. The Head Girl stared at the young girl in horror, speechless. "Mummy, why didn't you come find me? I was with Daddy and Sevvus! And what did you do with your hair? And what happen to your tummy?" she asked, looking up worriedly into her mother's toffee coloured eyes.

"Well, well, well," sneered the Potions Master, "it appears that the lost little girl has found both her parents. Miss Granger, would you take your little...family...to the Infirmary before we make more startling discoveries?"

"Honestly, there must be some mistake - she can't possibly be..." Hermione would have continued, saved for the ominous threat of the little girl's trembling lips and wet big eyes. Hermione looked over at Harry and Ron, who were seated next to her in the same row. They shrugged back at her, both at a loss as to what to do. Hermione bit her lips and stood up holding the girl's hand and said calmly, feeling anything but, "Well, come along then. We'll just have to get this sorted out."

The little girl looked ecstatic at her mummy taking charge and waved at both perplexed looking Harry and Ron, "See you later Uncle Harry, Uncle Ron!"

As Hermione and the girl approached Malfoy at the door, Hermione kept her face forward, not meeting Malfoy's eye. She could feel the rest of the seventh years staring at them and she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of a reaction. The little girl felt none of the awkwardness; she grabbed Malfoy's hand with her free hand, "Come along, Daddy! Mummy's bringing us to the 'Firmy, then we can all go home!"

*******

Chapter 03

Malfoy closed the classroom door firmly behind him. He could feel the beginnings of a migraine forming at his temple as he looked at the girl and her mother. It was clear to him that the girl shared her mother's features - her curly hair, the shape of her eyes, nose and her sweet cupid bow lips. The child was a truly pretty and sweet looking princess - naturally, for she was a Malfoy, and there was no such thing as an ugly Malfoy, he smirked to himself.

"So," he drawled, attracting the attention of Granger who was struggling between ignoring the father of her child and highly curious about what he had to say about their predicament. "Looks like you eventually succumb to my devastating charms, huh?" he ended roguishly.

"In your dreams, Malfoy!" she snapped, turning away from the Slytherin and attempting to keep her growing blush down.

It was more than obvious to the two intelligent students what had happened - the girl must have somehow gotten transported back through time into their own time; which meant that sometime in the future, the two of them would... No, better not think about that now, they both thought simultaneously. Thinking about what would happen in future - in their future together would undoubtedly create more uncomfortable questions than satisfying answers.

The trio walked in silence for a while, with the little girl holding the hands of her parents, jump-skipping happily in-between them. Malfoy surreptitiously glanced at Hermione, who rigidly refused to acknowledge the Slytherin's presence. 'Typical Gyffindor reaction,' he smirked to himself.

"Well then, Princess, let's play a game," Draco smiled at the little girl, who beamed back at him in earnest. He noticed Hermione cutting her eyes over to him at his suggestion to the girl.

"Okay!"

"I'll ask you some questions, and you must answer them truthfully."

The girl nodded her head solemnly.

"If you answer them all correctly, you'll get a prize."

The girl grinned in anticipation. "Really, Daddy? Okay!"

"Are you ready, then?"

The girl nodded her head vigorously, sending her tousled golden ringlets flying.

"Good, first question. What is your name?"

The girl licked her lips the way Hermione often did when she faced a particularly tough question. "My name is Victoria Olivia Malfoy," she answered carefully and smiled with a sigh, glad that she knew the answer to that question. "Everyone calls me Vicky. Uncle Harry says that my name means we won the Great War, but nobody will tell me what prize we won. Oh, and... and... Mummy says that Olivia means peace," she scrunched her face as she said in sotto voce to her father, "but I don't really like Olivia because olives tastes yucky. Oh, and Sevvus calls me Belladonna."

Hermione stopped in her tracks at the girl's answer.

"We won the war?" she whispered, looking up to see Malfoy's reaction.

"Yes," Vicky affirmed with another vigorous nod of her curly head, "Sevvus said that I was born because we won. Sevvus said that when you married Daddy, there were many bad people in the world, and Daddy and you did not want children," she pouted prettily. "Then we won the war and then you had me," she grinned. This was one of Vicky's favourite bedtime story, which she took great pleasure in retelling.

Hermione stared at her nemesis blankly, attempting to take what the girl said in. So, they had married during the war, long before Victoria was born. Evidently, they had to have loved each other enough to consider marriage.

Draco was visibly stunned. So much for not thinking about their future. Victoria had not only foretold what would happen to them - get married! What was he thinking? - and that the Dark Lord, whom his father served, would be defeated.

Vicky turned back to her father and asked with a serious mien when she found her father was non-responsive, "Did I answer correctly, Daddy?"

Startled back into reality, Draco nodded.

"Er, yes, um... yes. Answered perfectly, Princess."

Vicky's eyes twinkled brightly and she graced her father with another sweet smile.

"Right then, Princess. Second question: How old are you?"

"That's easy! I'm five years old!" Vicky declared, removing her hands from her daddy's, and holding it up to show five tiny fingers. "And Xavier's three," she closed her index and thumb, leaving three fingers in the air.

"Xavier?" echoed Draco.

"My brother. And we are s'pose to have another brother at Christmas," the girl glanced at Hermione, a frown forming a worried look on her face. "Mummy, where did Xander go?" she pointed at Hermione's middle, to Hermione's great embarrassment.

Malfoy looked amused at Hermione's spluttering.

"Um... well... that is, um... Xander..." Hermione racked her brains for a plausible excuse, "um... Xander went to... went to... um Xander's gone for a short holiday!" she tousled Vicky's baby fine hair. "But he'll be back shortly."

Draco snorted at Hermione's excuse, earning him a short glare from the mirthless witch.

So, they not only got married, and have a daughter - they had two kids, with one on the way.

'Yup, that just about summed it up,' Draco thought wryly.

"Excellent answer, Princess," he praised the girl, who was enjoying the game immensely. Draco was delighted at the discomfited witch walking with them, who was worrying her lips in a blatant display of nerves. "Now for a tough one," the Slytherin returned to questioning his daughter, "Where do we live?"

"That's an easy one, Daddy!" she rolled her eyes. "We live in the Hogwarts dungeons, of course! Mummy teaches Potions and you teach Defence Against the Dark Arts and Sevvus don't teach anything - he just walks around a lot and takes points from the students and..." she trailed off, with yet another frown to her brow. "Why are you and Mummy wearing school uniforms?"

Draco smirked. "Well, Princess, we forgot to tell you this morning - today's a special 'Wear the Hogwarts Uniform Day'. Mummy--" he glanced at Hermione with a wink, who had rolled her eyes at the easy way he had woven a tale to distract the girl "--and Daddy has a set of Hogwarts Uniform just for you too... and you can put it on after visiting Madam Pomfrey at the Infirmary."

"Is that my prize?" Vicky whispered in an excited awe.

"It sure is, Princess!" he grinned at her, dropping to his knees to meet Victoria at her eye level.

Vicky gave a cry of delight and hugged Draco, almost knocking him into the ground. "Oh, thank you Daddy! I love you!" she kissed her surprised father elatedly.

Draco easily lifted up the child into his arms and smiled genuinely at her enthusiasm. Hermione shook her head at the way Draco would obviously spoil the child, and then suddenly stilled herself at the thought of Draco as the father of her children. Hermione felt her world shift under her feet. It was not likely that Draco would be a cold and aloof father, if Victoria was so willing to bestow her eagerness to please and smiles and hugs on that... that albino ferret! If anything, Victoria seemed to genuinely love her Daddy... and unless she was sorely mistaken, Malfoy seemed to be taken with her as well. She had never seen her nemesis so open with another person, as he'd always chosen to smirk, sneer or drawl his way through his social interactions. Hmm... all the same, there were a great many details revealed by Victoria and she had to file all those bits of information away to think upon later.

"Ah, Princess," Malfoy tapped his finger on his daughter's button nose, "but you haven't finished answering all my questions yet."

"But I said we live in the Hogwarts Dungeons... but not all the time. We stay at Grandfather's house in the summer where Grandfather would take me flying on his broomstick and Grandmother would bring me shopping at Diagon Alley. We also visit Grandpa's house in London and I get to play with Grandpa and Grandma's dentist thingies. But I like Hogwarts best of all because Sevvus is here."

"Sevvus?" the young man prompted, with a twinkle in his eye.

"Sevvus is my Godpapa, of course! He's the bestest Godpapa in the whole wide world," was the earnest reply.

"Indeed," her father replied with an elegantly raised eyebrow, while her mother filed yet another tidbit to her evergrowing pile of 'weird things to ponder on'.

The family turned into another corridor and Malfoy asked another question.

"Good answers, Princess. Ready for your next question?"

At her nod, Draco asked, "Where were you before you woke up?"

Vicky cast her eye downwards and glanced fearfully at her mother. "I was... I was... I'm sorry, Mummy. I know I wasn't s'pose to touch Sevvus' thingies, but..." The girl took a deep breath and looked determined to tell what would obviously get her into a great deal of trouble. "I was looking for Sevvus in his office, but he wasn't there. So I looked into his cupboard. Then I saw the golden thingy and when I touched it, it became dark and then I woke up and I can't find anybody. I'm sorry Mummy, I really am!"

Victoria looked so sorry and miserable that Hermione's heart went out to her. Unconsciously, Hermione lifted her arms and Vicky transferred herself from her father's arms to her mother's. Vicky gave her mother a fierce hug and started sobbing quietly into her shoulders, whilst Hermione stroke and patted her back. "There, there, love. I know you are sorry. You know you shouldn't go touching magical objects - there's no telling what they'll do to you," she admonished the girl gently. "That's enough, dear. You're safe," she whispered more soft comforting nonsense to Vicky and the child calmed herself once more.

Draco observed the way the girls interacted surreptitiously. He had a strange mixed feeling about all that Victoria had revealed. Surely this warranted much thinking; after all, Ars Potents Est was not one of the Malfoy Family Creed for nothing - what more fore-knowledge.

"Vicky?" whispered Hermione when she felt the child slumped heavily against her. Victoria had fallen asleep, knackered out by the emotional upheaval of the day.

"Here, let me take her," Malfoy offered, stepping close to mother and daughter.

Just as Malfoy reached out to carry up the sleeping child, the girl in question started to fade away.

*********

Ars Potents Est: Knowledge is Power

Chapter 04

In an hour of facing shocking revelations after revelations, the disappearance of a child in Hermione's arms should not have come as a surprise, but it did.

The left behind parents-to-be were left staring at each other both in surprise at the missing child and wariness at their sudden proximity, which was quickly shifting into something more emotionally intense.

Hermione darted her tongue out in her usual nervous action. "There must have been a charm that returned Victoria from whenever she came from," she offered the obvious into the awkward silence. Hermione was beginning to feel slightly breathless from the intensity of Malfoy's stare. He seemed to be looking deep into her very being, making his mind up about something.

He stepped forward, invading even more of her personal space, which she quickly stepped back to evade him, all the while mesmerised by Malfoy's intense blue-grey eyes. In less than three steps, she was hindered by the wall and closed in by the Slytherin.

'What does he want? What is he thinking of?' was her last thought before she felt the pressure of his warm lips on hers. She responded instinctively, closing her eyes, and felt a warm peace settle over her. No one has ever kissed her like this, in the corridors, against the school wall - not Viktor, nor Harry, nor Ron, nor any of her other male friends. As kisses go, it was not a passionate one, but it was sweet and she sensed that it held a certain conviction, a certain promise. "Draco," she whispered eyes languidly opening, meeting the ice-blue eyes that were reading her own toffee coloured ones, "we can't possibly..."

"Hermione," he whispered just as intimately, leaning his mouth close to the shell of her ears, eliciting a gasp from his erstwhile nemesis, "I'm sorry..."

She did not see him sliding his wand from its sleeve pocket, nor could she see him close his eyes in full concentration, nor was she able to decipher what he meant by his apology when she heard only one word whispered from his lips:

"Obliviate."

***

Hermione blinked her eyes rapidly. She was slumped against the wall and someone was holding her up.

'Malfoy!' her mind scrambled to register the nasty smirk on the countenance of her school enemy.

"You could stand to lose a few stones, Granger," he sneered. Malfoy had avoided calling her 'mudblood' since sixth year in the hopes of making Head Boy. Now that he was Head Boy, he was wary of giving the Gryffindors ammunition to get him ousted from his coveted position.

"Wha... what happened?" she bit out, her head felt heavy. Did she knock her head against the wall? She couldn't help thinking there was something important she was suppose to remember.

"That was a nasty prank played on us, Granger," the boy replied, still holding onto her elbow to keep her upright. "Someone's pathetic idea of a joke - transfiguring a House Elf to run around pretending to be the illicit love child of the Head Boy and Girl," he scorned. "As if you're worthy to be a Malfoy matriarch," he added nastily.

Hermione winced and shook her head lightly to clear it. What did Malfoy mean? What illicit love child? Vaguely, her mind cleared into an image of a sweet angelic looking girl with curly golden hair. Still feeling a little woozy and confused, she reverted to her practical nature and stated simply, "I can't remember anything... what happened?"

The tall boy continued to hold on to the Head Girl by her elbow and directed her towards the Infirmary, which was on the right, at the end of the corridor. "We'd better get you to the Infirmary before Potter and Weasley puts this on my head again. Are you able to walk or do I have to Mobilicorpus you?"

Hermione closed her eyes and felt a wave of nausea - Not a good idea, witch! - and indicated that she was able to walk. Despite her mind not working at full capacity, she knew better than to allow Malfoy to levitate her through the narrow corridors.

"We were sent by Professor Snape to escort the girl to the Infirmary, where no doubt the prank would be revealed. In fact, the transfiguration was so poorly done that the charm wore off before we even got to the Infirmary and the House Elf Disapparated in a hurry. There was someone following us at a distance and when the transfiguration charm lifted, the person threw a Confundus which hit you squarely in the head. I tried to go after the prankster, but he gave me the slip," Malfoy explained easily, throwing surreptitious looks at her reaction.

"Oh."

Hermione was still confused about the entire affair. She did not know what to think; her mind felt like it was swimming in cotton wool.

Later, she would piece from Harry and Ron what happened in Potions class, and what the child had said. Later the entire school would be engaged in rife gossips about the brilliant and daring prank played in Snape's Potions class on the Head pupils; and with each retelling, the story would get more and more preposterous that eroded the nagging feeling that Hermione always felt at the back of her mind whenever she was alone with Malfoy in their Head duties.

Eventually, the teasing and sniggering behind the backs of the Head pupils would die down, replaced with a more current topic of conversation about another brilliant prank, this time devised by the Puccini triplets, which involved the entire Ravenclaw Quidditch team and a tube of muggle superglue.

***

That Easter holiday week, Draco Malfoy had a great deal to discuss with his father.

*************

Chapter 05

Victoria Olivia Malfoy, also known as 'Vicky', also known as 'Belladonna' to Sevvus, woke up blearily in her beloved Godpapa's Headmaster office, on his most comfortable sofa.

As her eyes gained focus, she could see the worried face of her mother peering intensely at her.

"Mummy?" she whispered, her lips parched and felt stuffed with thick cotton wool. A familiar face joined the first in her vision. "Daddy?"

As if suddenly realising that she was back in the comforting security of her family, Vicky Malfoy burst into tears.

"Mummy! Daddy! I want you...*sob* Mummy, I was so scared! I had a nightmare! It was so dark and I was so scared and I was alone and I cried. And then Sevvus opened a door to your classroom and Daddy was there and you were there and Uncle Harry and Uncle Ron were there too. *sob* I'm sorry for touching Sevvus' thingies. I'll never touch them again. But you already forgave me and... and... Daddy was there... and Daddy," she sniffed quietening down, turning her reddening eyes to her father who had crouched down to her eye level, "Daddy promised to get me a set of Hogwarts uniform for 'Wear the Hogwarts Uniform Day'... and Mummy... Mummy!" the girl's eyes were staring incredulously at the very pregnant tummy belonging to her mother. "Mummy! Xander's come back from his holiday!"

For a few seconds, Hermione was speechless at her daughter's distraught soliloquy. It was more than obvious that this nightmare experienced by Vicky was very real to her; quite possibly she had been transported into another realm or another time. Just as her mind wrapped around that very idea, she felt a niggling thread of thought loosen and everything that happened in her seventh year came rushing back to her. "You!" her eyes narrowed onto her beloved husband, who was looking highly amused at the turn of events. "You sneaky, little ferret--"

"Now, now, my darling. Not in front of the Princess," he grinned, with a glint of what looked like triumph in his eye. "Let's get her back home first before we talk."

Hermione was fuming, but she knew Draco was right. They had a great deal to talk about later.

***

Much later that evening, sitting in front of the crackling fireplace, with a cup of warm chocolate in her hands prepared by her husband, Hermione waited for Draco to complete the children's bedroom rituals.

As far as she knew, Vicky was probably gone and returned in less than a minute in their time, but she had spent about an hour in their past. It was fortunate that Vicky was so young - she would merely chalk up her very real and dangerous adventure as a dream and not dwell on it anymore after today. It could have been worse, much worse - Vicky could have been sent into a hostile situation. She could have been sent into the worse of the Great War. Another thought grew out of that reflection - some of the magical artefacts in the Headmaster's cupboard did not have any built in reversible magic and Vicky could have been lost forever. Hermione shuddered at that thought.

"Are you all right?" the familiar drawl drifted over her, as her husband folded his tall frame beside her on the sofa. Draco shifted their position such that he had Hermione's feet resting on his laps as he proceeded to give her a well-deserved foot rub.

"I'm fine," she replied, rolling her eyes at his question, but gave him a tiny smile of appreciation for his thoughtfulness. Teaching was backbreaking work to a woman seven months into the family way. "But Vicky gave me quite a scare today - she could have been really hurt. Or lost."

Draco nodded and waited, as he concentrated on kneading her soles, toes and calves. He knew it was a matter of time before she would bring it up.

"Why did you do it?"

It came out as a whisper, and Draco paused in his ministrations and looked into his wife's open eyes.

"It was the most logical way to proceed."

***

'Why?' was the question that nagged at him for the rest of the month until he was able to go back to Malfoy Manor. Why did he kiss her? Why did he oblivate her? Why?

At first, it was a pure Slytherin instinct - the foreknowledge would come in handy in deciding what to do about the inevitable war. After all, a visitor from the future was undoubtedly more accurate than any prediction a Seer would make. And the key to making sure that the future would come to pass meant that few people must wield that knowledge, otherwise people might either be more reckless in their actions or they would start to second-guess themselves. Worse would be those who would not even struggle against the establishment, trusting the future to come to pass.

If anything, Draco knew that regardless of whether he ended up with the Gryffindor, that knowledge about the future was a treasure galleons cannot buy, and true to his Slytherin nature, a powerful knowledge in which he would use to increase his family's ambitions.

Then, there was the future described by Vicky that appealed to him. He had known for a long time that despite Hermione's unfortunate birth into a muggle family, she was easily the best witch that Hogwarts had to offer. She was not a conventional beauty, but she had an innate beauty in her loving kindness to the people around her. For a long time, Draco had coveted her attention, but knew that in the great divide caused by Voldemort's war, pursuing her was just impossible.

But she had loved him enough to marry him! And loved him enough to have the most beautiful and intelligent children with him.

The future gave him great hope and he knew that he had a chance with her when she had responded to his kiss. But when he broke the kiss and she had said that what they possibly could have was impossible, he knew he had to erase her foreknowledge in order to start afresh, to start proper. Hermione's Gryffindor nature would never accept him, never accept that they would be fated to be together and he knew she would do all in her power to prove what was wrong to be right. And then where would Victoria Malfoy be? He owed it to that beautiful little girl with Hermione's sweet features and his colouring to bring her child-like exuberance into this world.

Besides, he was a Malfoy, and despite knowing how it would end, was 'Aut inveniam viam aut faciam' not one of the Malfoy Creeds as well? Draco enjoyed a challenge and he knew with a gut feeling that the time would come to pass when Hermione would even forgive him obliviating her memory.

Therefore, armed with the sure knowledge and evidence of Voldemort's defeat, he had gone home that Easter to meet and discuss with his father their plan of action. Needless to say, Lucius was less than happy when confronted with Draco's information about the final defeat of the Dark Lord. Likewise, he was outright furious when told about the parentage of his future daughter-in-law. It was only the promise of surviving the war to enjoy prosperity and simple pleasures with his grandchildren that allowed Lucius to overlook the problem of Hermione's parentage. Even Lucius had to concur that Hermione's immense magical prowess and talents would be wasted on a less worthy family than the Malfoys.

A Slytherin family through and through, the Malfoys were not beholden to anyone except their own, and knowing that they were practically backing a sure loss in Voldemort caused the Head of the clan to change his horse in mid-stream. Power and Authority was what the family craved, and if, to attain Power and Authority meant backing Dumbledore's side, they would do their best to turn to it. A visit to Dumbledore was all it took to severe their allegiance to the Dark Lord Voldemort, and since Draco's graduation, the Malfoys worked alongside Severus Snape to both spy and sabotage the Dark Army.

It was during those dark years that Hermione was assigned by the Order of the Phoenix to work closely with Draco, processing his coded messages to the Order, as well as looking out for him during his more dangerous missions with Harry, Ron and Neville. Hermione's admiration for her childhood enemy grew with each brave exploit the young man underwent, eroding what hurts she had suffered by the Dragon's taunts in her dealings with him. Although Harry, Ron and Neville did not become Draco's best mates during the war, they did learn to respect the other party's strengths, and worked alongside each other.

Late one night, after Hermione debriefed Harry and his team on a particularly harrowing mission in an obscure muggle pub, Draco remained behind with her when the other members of the team left for hearth and home. That night, Draco held Hermione's hand and confessed his love for her. The particulars of the mission had caused him to worry that they might not survived the war after all, and that in obliviating Hermione, perhaps he might have cause something to go wrong in his calculations.

Hermione had waited so long for Draco's confession. She could not explain why being in his presence felt so right and her own confession of love mirrored her childhood foe's. Not knowing when the war would ever be over, or if they would survive, they decided to marry in secret to seal their love for each other for all eternity.

***

Hermione rolled her eyes. Xander was kicking again, and this usually kept her up late despite having to teach the next day. Fortunately, Severus was an understanding Headmaster despite his surly demeanour, and had moved all her classes to the afternoon. Hermione's insomnia would stop once the baby was born.

Glancing at the clock on the mantel, her eyebrow peaked at seeing that it was already two in the morning. Draco had explained his reasons long into the night, nursing the snifter of brandy and refilling her cup of hot chocolate twice. Yes, another toilet break was in order.

When she got out of the bathroom, Draco led her to the bedroom. She saw that he had cleared up their living area satisfactorily and knew that Draco had an early class the next morning. 'A Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw class - better that than a Slytherin-Gryffindor combination early in the morning,' she smirked to herself.

Lying on the bed, Hermione turned to her side; that was all she could do to get comfortable until baby was out, and she felt her husband's warmth heat her back as he spooned into her.

"A great Slytherin once said that it was easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission," he whispered into her ears. "I don't think either one is easy at all. Love, if you must know, I am sorry to have to obliviate you all those years ago. But if I had to do it all again, I would. I don't think I could ever live without you by me. You don't know how often I relived that kiss we shared before I obliviated you; it gave me hope to believe and it was more than I ever hoped for."

"Dray," his wife replied, "I not only forgive you, but I understand. I love you, Dray," she said, straining her head over her shoulder to look into her husband's eyes in the dimlight. "And I wouldn't have changed anything about that day... well," she smirked, settling her head comfortably back on the pillow, "Perhaps you should be punished for that weight comment you made after you obliviated me."

Draco grinned into his wife's shoulder, bestowing it with a light kiss, "Ooo... a punishment, Mummy? And what do you have in mind?" he quipped.

"Well, Daddy," she teased back, feeling her eyelids succumbing to Morpheus, "You could get Vicky her Hogwarts Gryffindor uniform in her size tomorrow."

"You mean Slytherin."

"I mean Gyffindor. And that's your punishment, my darling," she smirked.

The End.

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