Breakfast at Natalie's

Malfoy went home from work at five and showered. He dressed in a casual, white button-down shirt and a pair of dark denim jeans. With time to spare, he plopped himself in front of the television and listened to the weather report. At twenty minutes to five, he put on a light jacket, stuffed his wallet into his back pocket, and closed his eyes. He felt the familiar sensation of Apparition as he was compressed and squeezed through nothingness. He arrived steadily in front of Hermione's apartment door and pressed the bell.

"Oh, hi, Draco," said Hermione, looking surprised as she opened the door a few seconds later. She didn't ask him how he knew where she lived.

"I thought I'd come pick you up," he said.

"Come in, come in," she said, opening the door wide. His eyes flickered momentarily over her knee-length pencil skirt and pastel pink sweater and she blushed.

He heard the pitter-patter of footsteps, and something solid collided with his leg.

"Uncle Draco!" squealed Cassie, hugging his leg tightly.

"Hello, Cassie," he said, smiling at her.

"Uncle D!" Riley tugged at his shirt, vying for attention.

"Hey there, sport," said Malfoy, ruffling Riley's hair. "Ready to go?"

The children nodded eagerly.

"Let me grab my purse," said Hermione, reaching over the kitchen table. She slung the simple leather bag over her shoulder and pinned a strand of loose hair back in its place. "Okay, let's go."

They hailed a taxi, and Hermione sat in the front seat. Malfoy sat in the back with the children on either side of him.

"Where are we going?" asked Cassie, after Malfoy gave the driver directions.

"We're going to have dinner with some of my friends," replied Malfoy.

"Are we going to have pizza?" wondered Riley aloud.

"I'm sure they have pizza there."

The children bombarded him with questions, listening reverently to his answers. A few minutes later, the taxi came to a stop.

"You go on in," said Malfoy, motioning to Hermione. She ushered them away from the curb as he fumbled for his wallet.

"Cute kids," said the driver, holding his hand out for the fare.

"They aren't mine," said Malfoy as he paid. He didn't know why he said it. The taxi sped away in a cloud of smelly exhaust.

Malfoy entered the restaurant, squinting to see in the dim lighting of the bar. The lights above were giving off a blue glow and it made everyone's face appear slightly distorted.

"Draco! Over here!" He saw Pansy waving both arms at him from a table in the back, where the lighting was slightly better. He hurried to join them. "I'm glad you could make it," she said, kissing him on the cheek, her perfume making him dizzy. She was clad in another tight, low-cut dress in a shade of pink that made his eyes water. He nodded to Goyle in greeting.

"I'm assuming these are Hermione's children," said Pansy, when they were all seated.

"Yes," said Hermione, who was helping Cassie remove her coat. "Cassie, Riley, say 'hello' to...er, Mrs. Goyle."

"You can just call me Pansy," she said, giggling, the diamond on her left hand glinting in the light. The children mumbled shyly and concentrated on coloring their placemats.

The waitress came around to take their orders and then collected their menus.

"I'm sure Draco's already told you," said Pansy, "but Greg is going to be a pastry chef at Le Tigre!"

"That French restaurant?" said Hermione, sipping her drink.

"That's the one," said Pansy proudly. "It's got a five-star rating."

"What are you doing now, Pansy?" asked Hermione.

"Oh, I'm still working at Stunning Solutions," she said. "We design beauty products especially for witches. I can get you some samples if you like. There's a new lotion that's just fabulous..."

"Witches?" said Cassie. "You mean like, magic?"

"Yes, sweetie," said Pansy.

"My husband's a Muggle," explained Hermione. "He doesn't know I went to Hogwarts."

"I didn't know that," said Malfoy.

"I don't use magic when he's around," said Hermione, shrugging. "He thinks I work at a Muggle hospital."

"Are you ever going to tell him?"

"Only if it's absolutely necessary."

"What he doesn't know can't hurt him," said Goyle wisely, as the waitress appeared with their food.

"I'll trade you a French fry for your blue crayon," said Cassie.

"No way," said Riley.

"Two French fries."

"Use your own crayons." He took a bite of pepperoni pizza.

"But I don't have a blue one," she whined.

He leaned over to look at her drawing. "Why do you want a blue crayon anyway? Cats aren't blue."

"The one from Alice in Wonderland is," said Cassie. She tugged on her mother's sleeve.

"What is it, Cass?"

"Riley won't let me have the blue crayon."

"Riley, share your crayons with your sister," said Hermione, turning back to the adults' conversation.

He roughly shoved the crayon in her direction. "Tattletale."

She threw a French fry at him. He flung a piece of burnt pizza crust at her, and she knocked over her drink in an attempt to dodge it.

"Cassandra Elizabeth Whittaker," said Hermione in a stern voice, as Cassie lobbed another fry at her brother's head. "There will be absolutely no food throwing."

"He started it!"

"I did not!"

"Yes, you did!"

"I don't care who started it. I want it to stop, right now," said Hermione. She lowered her voice and said severely, "I expect you two to behave when we're out in public. You're embarrassing me." She called over the waitress to mop up the spill.

At eight thirty, after they'd all finished dessert and had been talking for a while, Cassie and Riley were yawning sleepily.

"I think I should take them home," said Hermione. "They're tired."

"It was lovely to see you again," said Pansy.

"I should be getting home too," said Malfoy. "I'll take you back, Hermione." He reached into his pocket, but Pansy stopped him.

"Everything's taken care of," she said. "Don't worry about it."

"Thanks, Pansy. I'll see you some other time then?"

"We're having a Christmas party. I'll be sending out invitations next week or so," she said, slipping on her luxurious fur coat. "Drop by Le Tigre sometime."

"Will do," said Malfoy, shaking hands with Goyle.

As Hermione helped Riley with his coat, a man shoved past them rudely, throwing her off balance. She leaned against the table to steady herself.

"Are you alright?" asked Malfoy, glaring at the man.

"I'm fine," she said. "Let's get Cassie and Riley home."

They stepped out into the cold, a dramatic contrast with the toasty warm restaurant. There was a lone man standing at the curb, his shoulders hunched up against the wind, a hat obscuring his face. He turned as he heard them approach, quickly stowing something in his pocket.

"Hermione?" said the man. "What are you doing here?"

"Joseph," she said, recognizing him as he moved under the streetlight. "I should ask you the same thing. I thought you were out with your colleagues."

"I was," he replied.

"I was invited to dinner, so I brought the kids along," she said, noticing his eyes shift in Malfoy's direction. "I didn't see you in the restaurant."

"We were in the back," he said. A taxi pulled up to the curb. "Get in," he commanded, holding open the door for her.

"Bye, Draco," she said, helping the children into the back seat and then sliding in herself.

"Bye," he said, though it came out as a whisper. He watched the car peel away from the curb.

-------------------------------

The taxi stopped in front of their apartment, and Hermione carried the sleeping Cassie to bed. She tucked Riley in and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"Sleep tight," she said, gently shutting their bedroom door.

"Where did you get that hat?" she asked, passing her husband on the way to the bathroom.

"I've had it for a while," he said. "I just never wear it."

She took a hot shower and then sat in bed reading a magazine. She heard her husband moving about in the kitchen, no doubt fixing his evening drink. The television clicked on, and heard his satisfied sigh as he sank into the couch.

Half an hour later, she turned out the light and settled down to sleep. But her mind was restless. It seemed that all she could do was remember.

"I can't believe I never saw you for what you really are--a slimy, greedy, scheming bastard."

"Please, Hermione, you have to understand. It was the only way."

Had it really been the only way?

No, she told herself. It wasn't. He had other choices, but this is what he chose. This is what he wanted.

But how could it be?

We loved each other. I know that now. But still, he chose to throw it all away. Everything. And yet both of us have nothing.

No, that's not true. She has a husband, two adorable children, and a job that she loves.

The only thing that's missing is someone who loves me. I have Cassie and Riley, but that's different. They love me because I'm their mother. From the moment they first entered the world, it was my face they saw, my hands that cradled them, and my voice that sang them to sleep. Whether they like it or not, they are a part of me. It's not something they can choose or control. That doesn't make their love any less valuable, but still I crave something more. Familial love isn't enough to satisfy the hunger inside me. The hunger, which might be categorized as lust or something else, burns. And I have nothing to appease it with, so it roars.

Her husband came into the room and lay down beside her, his beery breath making the hairs on the back of her neck tingle.

"Hermione."

She said nothing, pretending to be asleep.

"Hermione," he said, a little louder this time. She ignored him, and eventually his breathing slowed to an even tempo. As she lay silently beside Joseph's bulky form, she knew that she had never truly loved him.

She slept now, drifting into the realm of dreams, a world of the heart's hidden desires.

It was early June.

"I can't believe you're getting married!" Ginny hugged her tightly, her long red hair flowing nearly to her waist. She tugged at her midnight blue dress. "I'm so nervous. I just know that I'm going to trip and make a fool of myself. You really shouldn't have picked me as maid of honor."

"You'll be perfectly fine," said Hermione consolingly. "Besides, what do you have to worry about? I'm the one getting married!" They dissolved into peals of anxious giggles.

"Oh, Hermione, dear, you look so beautiful," gushed Mrs. Weasley.

"They're starting," whispered Ginny, as music began to play.

Hermione took a deep breath and stepped into the aisle of the church, ravishing in her simple white gown, the veil trailing gracefully behind her.

Except...except it wasn't a church. She was inside Hogwarts again, all eyes in the Great Hall focused on her. She searched the crowd, but she didn't see any familiar faces. Who were these people? Where were Joseph's parents? More importantly, where was Joseph?

She could see a man in a suit ahead of her, but the altar seemed so far off. After what seemed like miles and miles, she finally reached the front of the room.

"Professor Dumbledore," she gasped, as the old man smiled at her. "I...but you're..."

"Dead? Things are not always what they seem," he said, chuckling cryptically. She looked around her, and her heart leapt as she began to recognize the faces. Sirius...Tonks...Scrimegour... It was an assembly of the dead. Dumbledore's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Shall we begin?" She nodded. He proceeded to read from a script. Presently, he arrived at the most crucial moment: "Do you, Draco Abraxas..."

Draco? Her head snapped up.

"Hello, Hermione," said Malfoy quietly, his gray-blue eyes boring into her. "I do," he said loudly, his voice echoing.

"Do you, Hermione Jean, take this man as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I..." She couldn't possibly say no. "I...I do."

He held out his hand, and it took her a few seconds to realize that he was waiting for her. She placed her hand in his, and he gently slid the ring onto her finger.

"You may kiss the bride..."

He lifted the delicate veil away from her face and leaned forward. She closed her eyes, and their lips touched. His lips were unusually cold, not like what she remembered. She opened her eyes, and found herself staring into a pair of red, snakelike slits. Her mouth opened, but all that came out was a rasping noise.

"You're dead, Mudblood."

And then she screamed.

She woke with a start, her body drenched in cold sweat. Joseph snored thunderously beside her. Her heart pounded wildly. She went into the kitchen and drank a glass of water, breathing deeply.

It was only a dream, she told herself, as she settled back into bed. Then she rolled over on her pillow and fell asleep again. She didn't remember the dream when she woke up in the morning.