Breakfast at Natalie's

Malfoy slowly opened his eyes, wincing as the bright light of the morning nearly blinded him. His head throbbed, and his mouth was dry. His stomach rumbled with hunger. He sat up stiffly, leaning against the headboard. The other side of the bed was empty, and the blankets looked undisturbed. He was still wearing last night's clothes, which smelled vaguely of cigarette smoke. He wondered if he'd merely imagined last night with Hermione.

He yawned and went into the bathroom to wash his face. The sink was already wet; someone had washed their hands recently. So maybe he hadn't imagined it. He splashed cold water on his face, and being very thirsty, drank some of the water out of a plastic cup that the hotel had thoughtfully provided for its guests. He didn't feel like taking a shower, so he just ducked his head under the faucet. He heard the door open as he was drying off his hair, and someone called his name.

"Draco?" A second later, Hermione was standing in the bathroom door, trying to balance two coffees and a plate of scones.

"Let me help you with that," he said, taking one of the coffees and sipping it. He cringed.

"That one's mine," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know how you can drink that," he said, reaching for the other one. "It's too sweet."

She shrugged and held out the plate for him. He took a scone studded with blueberries and nearly choked as he tried to swallow a large chunk of it. She took a small sip of coffee and set it down to massage her temples.

"I have a colossal headache," she announced.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have had that many drinks," he said.

"Why didn't you stop me?"

"I tried," he said.

"Not very hard, apparently."

"You looked like you were having a good time."

"I was half drunk, Draco. Of course I was having a good time."

"You're beautiful when you're drunk. D'you know that?"

She made a noise of contempt.

"Are we fighting again?"

"Maybe," she said, crossing her arms.

"Maybe? I think we are."

"Think whatever you want to think."

"What's that supposed to me?"

"It means whatever you want it to mean," she said cryptically, brushing crumbs off her shirt.

"I don't want us to fight, Hermione."

"Then don't."

"It's not that simple."

"Nothing's ever simple," she said, and he put his hand on her shoulder.

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The remainder of the week went by smoothly, though Malfoy constantly worried about Hermione's safety. He began getting up earlier so that he could accompany her to work.

"You really don't need to do this," she'd say each morning, when she came into the kitchen to find him brewing coffee for the two of them.

"I want to," he'd say.

"I'm fine, Draco," she protested as they Apparated together.

"I know you are," he said, "but I just want to make sure that nothing happens."

"You're too paranoid."

"I care about you." She would blush and mutter something about how it was unusually windy that day.

They'd arrive in the lobby of St. Mungo's together; many of the staff members recognized him by now, and they usually stopped to say hello.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy," said the receptionist when she saw him. She smiled, and he was sure that she was secretly laughing at him for trying to break into the hospital to see Hermione. "How are you today?"

"Fine," he'd say. Or sometimes, "Great. How are you?"

She never answered him, but instead continued to smile her Mona Lisa smile as she watched him escort Hermione all the way to the elevator and into the Children's Ward. Since he didn't need to go to work for another hour still, he'd usually stay to watch her administer medicine to the children. He liked going where they kept the long-term patients and visiting the children. They seemed to like him and waited eagerly for his arrival each morning. Sometimes he would look up from a storybook to catch Hermione watching him intently. She would blush and look away quickly, embarrassed to be caught staring.

He liked the Children's Ward, and sometimes he wished that he worked there too. These children had a profound effect on him. They were so carefree, even when they were covered in a layer of itchy fur or had feathers growing on their backs. They filled the void in his heart, and each time he saw them, the smile on his face was genuine. These children were so vulnerable, and he felt like he needed to protect them. If only he could see how vulnerable he was himself.

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On Saturday morning, they all woke up early, Cassie and Riley yawning over their breakfast. They'd spent a couple hours the night before helping the adults pack things into boxes. There wasn't much to pack, and with so many people helping, the job was finished quickly. There were only about five boxes, plus a few duffel bags; they would be leaving the furniture here.

"Right then," said Natalie, clearing away their dirty dishes. She'd taken the day off. "I think we're all ready now."

They stood in a circle, holding hands, and Natalie brought them to her father's house.

"This is beautiful," said Hermione upon landing on the dewy lawn.

The house sat upon a large expanse of land. Three sides were surrounded by woods, and there was a narrow lane leading to a gravel-covered road. They climbed the ancient, wooden porch and Natalie reached into her pocket for the key.

"This is it," she said, pushing open the door.

The house was a little dusty inside, as it had not been lived in for a few weeks. Malfoy thought it almost resembled his childhood home.

"Alright," said Natalie. "How about a tour?"

She led them through the first floor, showing them the old-fashioned parlor for entertaining guests, the vast library, the kitchen, the dining room, the mudroom, and the master bedroom where she had lived previously. Upstairs, there were four bedrooms, each connected to a private bath. They didn't go outside into the garden, as it was too cold, but she showed them the backdoor in the kitchen.

"Cassie and Riley can each have their own rooms," said Hermione. She turned to them. "Have you decided which room you'd like?"

"I want the one where you can see out the window into the garden," said Cassie immediately. "The one with the pink wallpaper."

"That one used to be mine when I was little," said Natalie.

"I want the one next to that one," said Riley.

"Well, that leaves the two of you then," said Natalie.

"I'll have the room next to Riley, so if they need me in the middle of the night, I won't be far away," said Hermione.

"Sorry, Draco," said Natalie. "Looks like you don't get to pick."

"It's fine," he said. "It doesn't matter. As long as I don't have the pink one."

"Okay. I'll stay here with the kids while you two go back and get the boxes," said Natalie. Hermione looked a little hesitant. "Oh, they'll be fine. Do you really think I'd let something happen to them?"

"Come on," said Malfoy, grabbing her arm before she could say anything. "Let's go."

They Apparated back to the apartment and did a final sweep to make sure they hadn't left anything behind. They levitated the boxes and bags and returned to the house.

"Right, everyone, grab your stuff," said Malfoy, dumping everything in the middle of the floor.

Cassie and Riley eagerly retrieved their bags and immediately went inside their proclaimed bedrooms.

"I always wondered why my father had all these extra rooms," said Natalie, helping them bring the boxes upstairs. "It seems that he could see the future."

"We're probably going to need to clean before you actually unpack," said Hermione, as Malfoy opened the wardrobe and coughed when a cloud of dust came out.

"That's no problem," said Natalie. "I know a lot of household spells. I can teach them to you so it'll be faster."

Even so, the house was very large, and they had to take a break around noon.

"Ugh," said Natalie, peering into the empty refrigerator. "I can't believe I forgot to get groceries."

"I didn't," said Hermione, bringing in a large wicker basket full of already made sandwiches and drinks for them all.

"Where'd you get the basket?" asked Malfoy, trying to find a sandwich without mustard on it.

"In your apartment."

"Really? Where? I didn't know I had one."

"It was shoved under the bed," she answered, taking a turkey sandwich for herself.

"You're so thoughtful," said Natalie, as they sat around the table. "You remember everything."

Hermione glowed at the compliment.

When everyone had finished, they finished cleaning the house and unpacking, and then decided to head to a grocery store.

Malfoy had never been on a more hectic grocery-shopping trip. He had to keep an eye on Cassie and Riley while constantly being asked his opinion on random food items by either Natalie or Hermione. Not to mention that Cassie and Riley kept trying to slip bags of candy into the shopping basket.

"I don't know," he said, as Hermione asked him if they should have chicken for dinner.

"What do you mean you don't know?" she demanded. "I'm asking you what you want for dinner, not what you want written on your headstone."

"You might as well be," he muttered.

"What did you say?"

"Let's just have pasta," he said, sighing in defeat. "Something easy."

"Chocolate or vanilla?" asked Natalie, holding up two boxes of cake mix.

"Aargh!" Both women stared at him. "Will you stop asking me questions? Just buy whatever you want. I don't care!"

"It's not like they're hard questions, Draco," said Natalie. "I just wanted to know which kind of cake you wanted. I was thinking of baking one tonight. To celebrate."

"And you should care," interjected Hermione. "You live in the same house. You should at least care about what goes on in it."

"I do care," he said. "I'm just tired, alright?" He sighed. "Get chocolate," he said to Natalie. He reached over to the shelf and picked up a random box of pasta and dumped it into the basket. "Are we done now?"

"You forgot cereal," said Riley, holding up a box of his favorite sugar covered breakfast food.

"Stick it in the basket," said Malfoy, too exhausted to tell him that it wasn't good for him.

"And bananas," said Cassie, plunking a bunch of bananas on top. "You can't forget the bananas."

"Okay," said Malfoy, moving the bananas so that they wouldn't squash the bread. "Anything else?"

"Nope," said Riley. Natalie and Hermione shook their heads.

"Don't you want anything, Uncle Draco?" asked Cassie.

"Well, I guess I kind of want a bottle of wine," he said, looking over at Natalie and Hermione. "Any objections?"

There weren't any, so they all followed him to the wine section. They ended up with three bottles: one that was Hermione's choice, one that he and Natalie both liked, and one the kids thought had the coolest bottle.

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After their dinner, Cassie and Riley roamed around the house, playing hide-and-seek, as they had not brought the television with them. Natalie and Hermione were sitting in front of the fire reading books, and Malfoy retired to bed early. However, he couldn't fall asleep. He spent hours tossing and turning, not even knowing how much time had passed until the grandfather clock downstairs struck midnight.

There was a soft knock at his door, and he rose out of bed, shoving his freezing feet into slippers to answer the door.

"Hermione?" he whispered, as her face appeared at the crack in the door. She was holding her lit wand, shivering inside her bathrobe. "What's wrong?"

"I can't sleep," she said, shaking her head. He opened the door to let her inside. He turned on the small lamp on the nightstand. Its small light cast eerie shadows against the dark walls.

"I can't sleep either," he said, sitting on the bed and pulling the covers over his legs. He patted the left side of the bed. "Come here. You look like you're freezing."

"I am," she said, discarding her bathrobe at the foot of the bed and climbing in. "I think Natalie forgot to turn on the heat."

"There's a fireplace in every room, including this one," said Malfoy. "Maybe we should light a fire."

"Good idea," said Hermione, and she pointed her wand at the logs. They crackled to life, and soon the room was filled with a soft, sleepy warmth.

"That's much better," said Malfoy, snuggling under the covers. "I might actually be able to fall asleep now."

Hermione didn't say anything, but lay flat on her back, staring at the ceiling.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Joseph," she said.

"Don't think about him," he said. "He's never going to find you."

"It's not really that," she said. "I'm just worried about Cassie and Riley growing up without a father. Do you think it'll impact them a lot?"

"They have me. I'm sort of like a father to them," he said. "But I guess that's not really the same."

"No, it's not," she agreed.

"But you're a great mother. They'll be fine."

"Thanks, Draco."

He kissed her lightly and pulled her into a warm embrace.

"You worry too much."

"I know."

He planted a series of tiny kisses along her neck, and she moaned softly.

"Don't," she whispered.

"They're all asleep," he said. "It's fine."

She didn't say anything else after that, but she let him kiss her and cradle her. She didn't even protest when he pushed up her nightgown. She just closed her eyes and moved with him, pretending that they were back at Hogwarts again.