Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Time is circular. You cannot change the past because it has already happened." Draco pushed the parchment covered in equations towards her.

"But if it did it already happ..." Hermione frowned, looking the calculations over. 

"No! Enough! I refuse to listen to this 'what came first, the phoenix or the fire?' again." Theo snatched the paper before crumpling it and throwing it with surprising accuracy into the fireplace. 

Hermione gave her smiling friend a dirty look before bringing her hands to rest on her abdomen and changing the topic. 

=======================================================================================

The great hall was noisy as it always was during mealtime. Dean and some 7th year were engrossed in a heated discussion about the prior night's Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor match. Lavender, Ginny, and Parvati were just as deeply absorbed by the latest Witch Weekly gossip. A glossy pink edition featuring a smiling French Wizard on the cover was in the middle of the table. Hermione wasn't interested in her housemates' musings. Her entire attention was focused on a wizard currently sitting at the Slytherin table or more precisely on the way the morning light played in his hair, making it seem almost white as he prepared his tea. 2 sugars, no milk. She knew exactly how he liked it.

She hadn't paid much attention the first time around, too focused on playing catch up on her studies and worried about her N.E.W.T.S. but the way he smiled was a stark juxtaposition to the brooding, tortured soul of their sixth year. She knew he still carried plenty of guilt and trauma but she enjoyed witnessing the beginning of the man he would become. She watched him pass the sugar to a little first year before patting him on the shoulder. Hermione smiled in her own cup, she would observe him again today as she had done since her arrival the previous morning and devise a well-thought-out plan to approach him. 

"I wonder if it's true." Parvati's voice pulled her out of her reverie. 

"It must be I saw them talking in the corridor after potions two days ago. She was blushing and he kissed her hand as he left," Ginny added. 

Lavender threw a piece of toast onto her plate before huffing. "Pureblood courtships, contracts, and betrothal are soooo romantic. I wish someone would present me with jewellery."

Hermione rolled her eyes, turning to the Gryffindor witches. "Betrothals and marriage contracts are outdated patriarchal concepts reducing women to chattel…"

"You're only jealous because you fancied Malfoy in the 5th year, Lav," Ginny laughed. 

"I never fancied Mal..". 

Hermione made a hand gesture to shush her. The speech about antiquated marriage practices entirely forgotten, Hermione looked at Ginny 

"What about Malfoy?"

Pavarti opened the Witch Weekly copy, finding a specific page and handing it to the curly-haired witch. 

"His parents are rumoured to have begun discussing a contract between him and the youngest Greengrass daughter, Astoria." Pavarti gestured with her chin towards a young blonde witch eating demurely at the Slytherin table. 

Without giving herself time to think it through, Hermione shot to her feet eyes fixed on the blonde wizard. Her time was up, she had to intervene now. So much for devising well-thought-out plans. There would be no betrothal contracts to any Greengrass.

Theo noticed her first. Of course, he did, Hermione would have rolled her eyes had she not been entirely focused on her mission. Theo always noticed everything. "Hermione Granger." He smiled, his eyes twinkling, "What brings you to our not-so-humble table this fine morning?" he asked flirtatiously. 

"I need to speak to Dr..to Malfoy. Privately." 

From the look on his face, only years of etiquette lessons kept Draco from coughing up his tea across the table.Theo's grin widened. "You need to speak to Malfoy here," he squeezed the blonde's shoulder " Privately?"  The dark-haired wizard turned to his housemate who was examining Hermione as if she were a strange exotic animal. "Draco, mate, The Golden Girl here would like to speak to you. Privately."

Hermione took her eyes off the blonde turning her head towards her future best friend, a clearly annoyed expression on her face. 

"Shut up, Theo!" Malfoy and Hermione spoke in unison before looking at each other in surprise. 

Nott covered his laugh with a cough. Holding up his hands in surrender. "Don't mind me. Carry on. Carry on." 

Her stomach contracted nervously as Draco narrowed his grey eyes at her.

"Granger," he drawled in lieu of a more traditional greeting while placing his empty cup on the table."What could you possibly have to discuss with me and in private at that?" 

Hermione felt her Gryffindor bravado ebb from her body. This was the Draco from their 8th year. They weren't even acquaintances, let alone friends or more. While he no longer was the outright bully from their earlier years, there wasn't anything more than a cool détente between them. They had not exchanged more than a handful of words to each other since Voldemort's timely demise, Draco's trial, subsequent acquittal, and their return to Hogwarts- voluntary for her, Ministry mandated for him. ."I should have thought this through better " she admonished herself 

"I.." she stammered. 

He cocked his head waiting for her to go on, clearly amused by her flustering. She quickly turned around, seeking encouragement from her friends. A terrible idea as the three witches were staring at her as if she had lost her marbles entirely. 

"Granger, while I'm sure most people are dying to hear what a war heroine has to say, I find myself rather bored." Hermione narrowed her eyes at him as he feigned polishing his signet ring on his sleeve. Around them, a few of the younger Slytherins chuckled under their breath. 

"10 years . That's apparently how long it took me to forget how much of a…condescending arse he used to be." She huffed to herself. "Fine, let's do this the hard way then."  

Her fingers wrapped around the wand in her pocket, her eyes meeting his as she uttered the spell, " Legilimens ." As expected, Draco's occlumency walls were erected in an instant as he pushed back against her weak attack. He had always been much stronger than her at mind magic, a fact she was currently counting on. 

An instant later, she felt him enter her own mind. Offense had always been his favourite defence. He had tried to teach her for years before Hermione reluctantly conceded that weak legilimency and quasi-inexistent occlumency were the extents of her capabilities. The telltale headache indicating he was now in her mind was her cue to show him the memory. 

"I was thinking she could have the fundraiser right here. It's been a few years since we-" Narcissa was interrupted by a small excited voice. 

"Mummy! Mummy!" A toddler no more than four or five ran towards Hermione. His hair, a messy short mop of curls in that particular shade of white blonde, marked him unmistakably as a Malfoy. He came to a halt in front of Narcissa, inclining his head, a perfect little gentleman. "Grandmother," he said before turning back to Hermione and resuming his excited speech "Papa bought me a broom! Can I go flying? Papa said I could go but only if Mum agreed."

The witch raised an eyebrow "Did he now?" She cocked her head to see Draco standing with his father by the opened French doors looking positively sheepish. She watched Lucius Malfoy clap his son on the shoulder ."You can always have your childhood bedroom back if she banishes you from your suite tonight," he said with a chuckle before making his way to his wife. Leaning on his snake handle cane he deposited a kiss on her perfectly coiffed grey hair. "I wonder how you thought about that?" the older witch replied with the smallest smirk. 

"Mummy! Can I go? Papa said he'd teach me all the tricks and I could play seeker for Slytherin just like him." 

Hermione watched Draco suddenly pretending to be engrossed by the simple gesture of gathering his hair in a small bun at the top of his head. "Slytherin seeker, eh?" 

Hermione felt the wizard exit her mind at once. She braced her traitorous knees as they threatened to buckle. The Great Hall came rushing back into view. Draco looked paler than usual, his carefully composed bored mask quickly replaced by confusion. "What? How? Wh…" he began, ignoring his friends' puzzled looks as they were oblivious to what had transpired between them.

He finally settled on one question." Who was that?" he asked her. 

Hermione's voice was still shaky as she answered, "Scorpius" 

The answer did nothing to clear up his confusion. His frown deepened as Hermione regained her senses and put a hand on her hip, looking straight at him. 

"Like I said, Malfoy, I need a word with you." She eyed the Slytherins surrounding them. Despite their proper upbringings they had given up all pretenses and were blatantly staring at the commotion. "Privately" 

The last word seemed to snap him out of it, suddenly remembering that they were still in the middle of the Great Hall "Right," he said, getting up from his seat, and straightening his robes. "Don't wait for me, I'll see you in Transfiguration," he told Theo before cocking his head towards the exit, a clear signal for Hermione to follow him. The hall was nearly silent as they made their way through the large set of doors.

"Enjoy the PRIVATE chat!" Theo's voice rang out.

The blonde groaned. "Keep walking," the witch muttered to herself "That's it. I'm returning his Christmas present." 

Draco led her down a corridor. "You bought Nott a Christmas present?" he asked incredulously.

 "That's your first question? Really, Draco?" 

If the wizard noticed her casual use of his first name, he did not remark on it. "No. It's obviously not, Granger," he snarled without much venom. "Let's go to the dungeons. We won't be disturbed there." 

Hermione followed him. She assumed that just as it had been the case for the Gryffondors, the returning 8th year students had been given their own space away from the younger students. 

"Fides super omnia aliud," Draco said as the door opened to let them in. "Loyalty above all else," she translated. He cut her off before she could say anything. "We might be disgraced and all, but we're still Slytherins, Granger," he said with the sly smile she had come to love from his older self. She followed him up a staircase to a small sitting area. Hermione wanted to linger in the common room and look around, having missed out on the undercover mission during her second year, she had never been inside the Slytherin common room, but she understood that Draco was rather anxious for answers sooner rather than later. He gestured towards a green velvet sofa, waiting for her to take a seat before sitting himself in a similarly colored comfortable-looking armchair. 

He ran a hand over his face, the reality of what he had seen in her mind crashing in now that they were alone. "Was that some sick twisted joke?" he snarled, "to get back at me for…. everything?" The wizard gestured with a hand in the air as if to try to encompass the entire ugly history between them. 

She frowned. "Don't be ridiculous, Draco" she said pointedly.

 "Draco… since when exactly are we on a first name basis, Granger?" 

His wand appeared in his hand. "Are you really Granger?" 

She shot him an offended look. "Draco Lucius Malfoy! Put your wand away now!" Her voice sounded more like Molly Weasley than Hermione Granger at that moment. 

She didn't know if it was her tone or the use of his full name that made him tuck his wand back into his sleeve.

"And for the record, yes we are on a first name basis where I'm from, or more accurately when I'm from. Well, I call you Draco and you infuriatingly still call me Granger even if it hasn't been my legal name in almost 6 years." The witch shook her head, smiling softly as if it were an old running joke between them. Draco looked at her as if she had suddenly sprouted a second head. He rubbed his temples. 

"You're from…" 

She nodded. "The future, yes. A decade from now more precisely." 

"And in this 'decade from now' future we're….friends?" He asked, cocking his head trying to decide if she was telling the truth. 

She let out a laugh "We're a little more than friends, Draco, We're married. I've been Hermione Malfoy for more than 5 years now. I wanted to hyphenate or keep my middle name and we argued about it for months but I relented because it seemed to matter to you" 

Draco groaned trying to digest the information."Granger! Focus, please. Future. 10 years. We are married?

Hermione nodded. 

"And Scorpius?" 

"Our son. Scorpius Draco Malfoy. He will turn 4 next month. Well, next month in the future," she tried to explain. 

"Our son…Right." He opened a cabinet by his chair and reached for a bottle of amber liquid and a glass. "I need a drink". 

"Draco! It's half past 9!" she cried out indignantly as he raised a hand to shush her while taking a large swing directly from the bottle having decided to forgo the drinkware altogether.

"Ahh," he said, wiping his mouth as he put the bottle down with a flourish. Hermione wondered if she should be concerned about his mental state. 

"Let's…recap here. You," he pointed at her. "Hermione Granger"

"Malfoy"

"What?"

"Hermione Malfoy," she corrected him

He rolled his eyes. "Granger, I'm trying to think here!" 

She leaned back against the sofa gesturing for him to continue.

"You, are from a decade in the future where you and I. The Golden Girl and the former Death Eater.."

She snorted, "Skeeter had a field day with that when we announced our engagement. Narcissa had to march into the Daily Prophet…."

Draco looked nearly apoplectic. "Narcissa?  You call my mother by her first name?" He waved a hand again, stopping her from answering. "We'll get back to that later. You're from the future. The future where we're married and have a son?" 

"Yes!" she exclaimed in a tone one usually reserved for a child having mastered how to tie his own shoelaces.

"Why are you here?" he asked. Her -future- husband sounded almost shrill.

"No idea. One minute, I was having a glass of wine and the next, I was in Gryffindor Tower and 19 again. You weren't exactly forthcoming before throwing me back in the past," she said accusingly.

"I sent you back?" he exclaimed incredulously. "What do you mean, I sent you back? Granger, can you at least try to make any sense?" 

She huffed. "I forgot how infuriating you can be"

"Oh, because I'm probably a nice kind Hufflepuff in your future," he answered sarcastically

"No, in our future. You're still you. A right prat at times, but you're my right prat," she said in a loving tone. The blonde scoffed and gave her a put-off look. "Oh, right," she thought remembering this wasn't her husband but an 18 year old Draco Malfoy. Her cheeks turned red as she stammered, "I mean..hmm..you're..hmmm" 

He leaned back against the headrest closing his eyes. "It's fine, Granger, don't give yourself a panic attack. Let's try to keep the running commentary to a minimum and explain to me how you ended up here and more importantly how my older self sent you here." 

She straightened her shoulders, steeling herself. "Three days ago, well three days ago for me in the…" she stopped as he shot her a dark look. "Three days ago, it was around 22:00. Theo and I were having a glass of wine, waiting for you, well not You, future you-" Draco audibly sighed but did not interrupt her. "You flooed in, returning from a conference. You gave me a small velvet box. You always bring me back jewellery even if you know I rarely wear any. May I have some water please?" She knew Draco well enough to know he wanted to say something acerbic but he simply filled the glass beside her with a wandless aguamenti and pushed it toward her. Hermione took a sip. "I tend to prattle when I'm nervous," she said softly, offering an explanation.

She reached inside the collar of her jumper, pulling out a dainty gold chain with a small hourglass pendant. "This was in the box, along with a folded note. You put it around my neck. It glowed and voila! I was 19 again in my old dorm bed still holding the box." 

Draco seemed to be taking her story in stride or he was planning on having her committed to the Janus Thickey ward.  

"The note?" he inquired. 

She reached inside her robes, unfolding a small piece of parchment. She traced the elegant handwriting, rereading the words for the hundredth time before handing it to him. 

"Tell me about us.

Time is circular, Don't overthink, you will not affect the future.

I love you.

You'll know when it's time to travel back, Draco" 

"Can I keep this?" he asked, unfolding his long legs. Rising from his seat, he folded the note and placed it in his inner pocket. "Unfortunately, the ministry does not care about my time-traveling wife and would love nothing more than to throw another Malfoy in Azkaban if I were to start skipping classes." She nodded in understanding familiar with the terms of his probation The young witch followed him out of the Slytherin common room

He stopped in the doorway, angling his body towards her. "Will you?" 

"Will I what?" she asked, unsure of his meaning.

"Will you tell me about us?" 

The witch smiled broadly. "Tomorrow, Draco. I'll tell you tomorrow"

Chapter Text

Hermione Granger had never been a skilled liar but remembering how intense she had been in preparation for her N.E.W.T.S. she easily convinced her Gryffindor friends that she and Malfoy were forced to work together-an Ancient runes project worth half their final grade. It explained her stunt in the Great Hall at breakfast and gave her a built-in excuse for meeting with Draco. Everyone knew better than to come between her and an Outstanding. As such, she avoided questions when she left the tower after dinner the next day.

She could see his back as she reached the last stair of the astronomy tower. He leaned on the railing, his forearms resting against it. "I haven't been up here since...you know."

She let out a small gasp, her hand covering her mouth. "I did not think! I apologize, Draco! It's been years for me"

"Don't fret. It feels like years for me too." He pushed off the railing before sitting on the stone floor, his long legs sprawled in front of him. He cocked his head to look up at her. "Sit, Granger before you give me bloody vertigo."

She huffed and sat a respectable distance from him.

"So how did we meet? Again, I mean," he asked, scratching the back of his head nonchalantly as if this conversation was about Quidditch instead of his future.

"You seem calmer about the entire ordeal," she said without answering his question.

"I had some time to think, and that note was in my own handwriting, so I have to believe future-me had a good reason for…the entire ordeal as you eloquently put it," he shrugged.

She accepted his reasoning. For someone with a flair for the dramatic, Draco Malfoy could be very pragmatic when the situation called for it.

"December '99, well I guess next December. You'll be working for a foundation, a charitable organization -part of your parole- it focuses on helping families that have lost everything in the war. Rebuilding, food distribution, finding child care for the orphans"

"Of course, you would be working for a charitable organization. Needed a new pet project after Potter and Weasley?"

She grimaced. "I'll have you know that I was working at the ministry, thank you very much."

"So I was helping the orphans, and you were working your way up at the ministry satisfying your insatiable thirst for power?" he deadpanned.

She chuckled. "Yes, junior clerk for the Department of Regulation of Magical Creatures. The fast track to Minister for Magic, obviously."

"And we met how..?

"Theo," she answered.

"Theo?“

"Theodore Cantekerous Nott, '' she confirmed.

"How in Merlin's name did you ever get my best mate to tell you his middle name?“ Draco snorted

"Well, he's my best mate now, as he likes to point out quite often, and I blackmailed it out of him in exchange for agreeing to make him Scorp's godfather," Hermione admitted proudly.

"He's Scorpius' godfather? Wait? You blackmailed him? How positively Slytherin of you, Granger." He cocked his head, towards her, the corner of his mouth twitching

"Yes, well I spend too much time surrounded by snakes these days. Bad influence and all." It felt so much like joking with her Draco, and she hoped to return home soon.

"And we met because of Theo?" the blonde prompted her to resume.

"Yes, we ran into each other at the ministry. He was there to sign paperwork about his lordship, some clerical pureblood thing or another because of his father's life sentence." She stopped herself, afraid to have offended him. While her father-in-law would be out for good behaviour 2 years into his 5-year sentence, this Draco's father was still very much in Azkaban. She didn't notice an adverse reaction so she continued. "I think at first he just wanted to apologize for his family's part in the war. He invited me for coffee. We both needed more friends or different friends. I wasn't the same person after the war. The break up with Ron, Harry skipping his last year for Auror training. Turning the page on Hogwarts, you know"

"He doesn't but he's too polite to point it out," she thought as Draco let her continue her rambling. "Theo liked his work with the foundation, it gave him purpose. It still does. We run it together now. Your mother has been helping with the fundraising events since last year."

Draco ran his hand through his hair before tutting, "focus, Granger"

"Right, so Theo convinced me that my many talents and keen intellect- I learned humility from you as well- were wasted at the ministry and that I should go work with him at the Foundation."

"And I was completing my 2 years of indentured servitude there," he said, nodding.

"Funny, you called it that back then as well."

She grinned, "I almost turned on my heels and went back to my cubicle when I first saw you. Theo had not thought, or had thought better than, to inform me of your presence."

"You were expecting, well, what I made sure you could expect of me," he guessed.

She nodded, biting her lip. "Yes, but you weren't anything like what I expected. You took me aside and apologised that first day. I forgave you everything." Hermione pretended not to hear the sharp intake and continued, "You were charming but not cocky. We butted heads over everything, but it never was mean-spirited. We worked surprisingly well together. You asked me out to dinner on your last day of probation. I accepted. You resigned the next day." Hermione dabbed her eyes, the memory of those first years with Draco making her a little emotional.

"If I don't work with you and Theo on solving every problem in the wizarding world, what does future-me do?"

Hermione covered a yawn before pushing to her feet instinctively knowing that telling him their story would be better in bite-size pieces. Draco always needed time to process information, let he reacted without thinking.

"I'll tell you about it tomorrow. Goodnight Draco."

Chapter Text

"So, Granger, is future-me the head of the DMLE, or am I just living the life of leisure and hedonism the Malfoy vaults afford me?" 

They were sitting in the same spots they had occupied the previous night, him with his back to the railing, hers to the wall on his left. 

"No, that title would be Harry's. Youngest department head in the history of the DMLE."

She watched him physically cringe with amusement. "You pursued a mastery in arithmancy, studying at night while 'volunteering' at the Foundation. Pretty and smart." 

He smirked at that. "You think I'm pretty, Granger?" 

She shrugged. "I said 'Yes' when you asked, I must enjoy looking at you." 

"Good to know it wasn't just for my vaults and name" 

"Definitely not for the name!" She burst out laughing, "or your vaults, silly!" she quickly added when he raised an eyebrow. 

"Speaking of your brains, name, and vaults. You used a combination of all three to secure a position as an independent researcher within the DoM. Not quite an Unspeakable but you rub elbows with them." She fingered the little hourglass at her throat. "You research time." 

Draco looked surprised. "Time?" 

"While you can't speak about much of your research, you tried to explain to Theo and I this idea of time being circular, as the note mentioned, a few times over the years. From what you've told me, you and a friend started this project in your 8th year. So, I guess you'll find out soon enough." 

The rest of the evening was spent talking about more mundane things. 

Their first flat- they had spent the first few years together away from the manor. 

Hermione's insistence that he loved Indian takeaway as well as a Muggle Television series named "Star Trek". -Draco did not believe her. 

His relationship with Teddy Lupin-Draco was an active part of his nephew's life and loved to tease him for being the Black family's only Ravenclaw in recorded history.

Why his hair looked ridiculous in her memory - He had caught her looking appreciatively at a muggle surfer with the same hairdo when they visited California with Scorpius the year prior to Hermione's travel. 

By the time curfew forced them to leave the astronomy tower Hermione thought it had been nice to see Draco laugh. She let him enjoy it, knowing the subject matter would only get heavier as they went.

===============================================================================

The next evening, she beat him to the tower and made herself comfortable on a throw she had transfigurated out of her school robes. 

"Apologies, Nott was being more nosy than usual and I could not get away." He lifted his hands in a defensive gesture, "not that I'm ashamed of him knowing I'm with you, it's not like that."

She patted the blanket next to her. "I know, it's just easier than to explain the truth."

He eyed the blanket warily, "Despite what you were taught Mudbloods are not really contagious," she said lightly.

He sat next to her, crossing his ankles as he leaned against the wall. "Don't," he said in a tone leaving no room for discussion. "But while we're on the topic..." 

"Of Mudbloods?" A little voice in the back of her head told her she was being petty but this Draco, unlike her husband, hadn't atoned for everything yet. 

He pinched the bridge of his nose, his signet ring catching the light. "Granger..."She smirked at the annoyance in his voice.

"On the topic of...prejudice, to put it delicately, How did everything change? Until you rudely interrupted my morning meal a few days ago, I thought that my future was set in stone. I would marry Astoria Greengrass." Draco missed the fleeting grimace on her face at the mention of the pureblood girl. "Produce an heir before my 21st birthday, and take over managing the business interests.

He looked at her. "Slowly turn into my father minus the whole "join a death cult" affair. You know," he waved his hand in the air suddenly looking more tired than his 18 years." Do what's expected of me. How did I go from that to…"

"Slumming with a Mu…Muggleborn?" she offered.

"Turning your back on hundreds of years of tradition?"

"Oh wait, my favourite: tainting the sacred blood of the noble house of Malfoy"

He raised an eyebrow. "Direct quotes from my father?" he guessed as he reached into an inner pocket, retrieving a silver flask. 

She nodded, confirming it had indeed been Lucius' words the day Draco announced their engagement.

She reached for the offered beverage. "My first Christmas at the manor"

She took a sip, waiting for the burn in her throat to subside and answered his question. "You've always been fairly vague about your reasons. You said the war left you disillusioned about blood supremacy." 

He nodded, confirming it was the case. She continued, "You talked about befriending a Muggleborn your 8th year. From the little you told me, they left a lasting impression and it gave you the push you needed to escape your 'gilded cage' so to speak and make your own decisions." 

At that, Draco frowned slightly. "And my parents?" he asked after a moment

"Your mother supported your career choice, and eventually talked your father into accepting you'd never have an active role in the family business. She loves you very much. They both do." 

Draco scoffed but did not argue. "Accepting that I would not spend my adult life bribing ministry officials… I mean 'involved in the family business' " His fingers mimicked quotation marks in the air, "is one thing, a Muggleborn wife is another." 

Hermione extended her legs, her left foot inches from the wizard's leg. "Narcissa reconnected with her sister after her house arrest. I think that helped sway her, but in the end, it was seeing you happy that made your mother accept your decision."

He looked at her, his expression almost pleading. It made her heart squeeze. "Am I happy in the future, Granger? Are we happy?" 

She nudged his leg with her foot. "Yes, Draco. We're happy. Very much so." She shifted her weight to get up.

"What about my father?“ he asked, stopping her with a loose hand around her wrist. 

Her lips curled into a wicked smile and she winked at him. "I'll show you tomorrow." 

He nodded, bringing the silver flask to his lips. "I think I'll stay here a little longer. Sleep well."

"Granger," he called out as she reached the dark staircase. She turned around, her hand on the bannister.

He gave her a small smile. "Thank you." 

"Goodnight, Draco."

Chapter Text

She ran up the stairs two by two, wheezing as she reached the top of the tower. 

"I'm sorry, Ginny, Lav and Pavarti forced me into a girl's night. Said I've been studying too much lately!“ 

Draco closed his book, his face was less haunted than it had been the night before. She took it as a good sign. 

"Arithmancy, I see." She pointed at the book.

"I was told I had an affinity for the subject," he shrugged, depositing the book on the stone floor. 

"My father," he asked without preamble. There would be no funny anecdotes tonight.

"Ah, yes. Your father," she answered, shedding her robes before sitting in her now usual spot, rolling her wand between her fingers. 

"Your father came out of Azkaban and found himself in a world where he no longer wielded power nor influence. Not over the ministry, not over his family, not over Muggleborns." Draco let out a small bitter laugh but Hermione continued "Add the leg injury, making his ostentatious cane more than a fashion choice, and top it all off, with a son refusing to follow in his footsteps, refusing his perfect marriage contract and bringing back a Mudblood with his own grandmother's ring on her finger." 

"We did not see him for a year after the Christmas I mentioned. I think I understood him better than you did that year. You were so angry, Draco." 

He ran his finger through his short blond locks. "I've been angry with him since 6th year. This part of my future is very easy to accept,"  he laughed without any mirth. 

"We were married in May in the Manor's rose garden. Your mother begged us, passing it as her idea but I think your father couldn't bear the thought of his only son doing so anywhere else, and she knew it. He stayed long enough for the press photos but did not utter a word to either of us." 

"Of course, he did not," the wizard spat under his breath, patting his robe for the familiar silver flask. 

"I like to think that his silence was his wedding gift. It allowed you to enjoy the celebration." 

He took a long sip. "What changed? Of everything I saw in your head in the Great Hall, my father being an active part of my life was what took me the longest to wrap my head around." 

She held her wand up. "Do you want me to show you, like before?“ 

Draco nodded somberly. "This was 6 months before Scorpius' birth," she said. "Legilimens."

She only caught a glimpse of his occlumency walls, not looking quite as solid as they had been a few days earlier, before they were both in her head. 

She stepped into the private study. Her estranged father-in-law sat behind his large ornate desk. He did not look up from the letter he was in the midst of writing. Hermione refusing to take part in that petty powerplay took a seat without having been invited to do so, her wand held loosely on her lap, speaking for itself. 

Lucius put down his eagle feather quill. "Miss Granger, how may I be of assistance?“ he asked in a supercilious tone.

"Please call me Hermione, Lucius," she answered, matching his demeanour, "but if you insist on such formality even amongst family 'Mrs Malfoy' would be more proper, don't you think?"

Lucius' knuckles turned white as he gripped the side of his desk. 

"You gold-digging jumped up little…"

"Yes, yes, jumped up little Mudblood," she finished for him in a bored tone. "So predictable, Lucius." 

She rose from her seat, taking time to remove her outer robes, carefully laying them down on the armrest. 

"Now, Lucius why don't you listen-" 

"How dare you speak to-"

"Tutt tutt," she said in her best imitation of Dolores Umbridge. She watched him grind his teeth. Sensing she might have gone too far she continued in her normal voice. "I'll get to the point. I have something to say, you'll listen and I'll leave. I will not come back until you personally invite me back. Fair?" she asked.

He nodded curtly. 

"While I personally could not care less about you, your wounded ego, and misplaced pride, I happen to love your son very much. Not because he's a Malfoy, with everything that entitles," she waved her hands around, indicating the room, the manor, "but because he's Draco."

Lucius sat ramrod straight, his face betraying no emotions. 

"I'm telling you this for three reasons, and three reasons only. Because I believe that every despicable decision you've made the last 20 years, you did not make out of hate but out of fear."

He sneered but stayed quiet. 

"Fear that the world was changing and that you no longer would enjoy its privileges, but more than that, fear that Draco would not breathe that rarified air you so enjoyed at the top." 

She sighed, "I wish I truly believed you to be evil, it would make forgetting all about you so easy, but alas, I think you really love your son."

Hermione balanced her wand on her folded robes in a small offering of peace that did not escape Lucius. 

"Which brings me to point number two." She raised two fingers in the air. "Draco loves you and spent his entire life trying to prove to you that he was worthy of your affection. I don't have to explain to you the sheer lengths he went to. For you." 

She eyed his left forearm, now covered in a perfectly tailored bespoke shirt as she emphasised the last words.

"Right now, he's angry and he will stay angry. You will lose your only son."

Lucius' jaw twitched.  

"Unless you swallow that damned Malfoy misplaced pride and tell him that you love him. That you're sorry. That you're proud of him. I know you are! How could you not be?" 

She took a deep breath, getting her emotions back under control. 

"Which brings us to my last point." 

Hermione stepped from behind the chair, the swell of her womb no longer camouflaged beneath her robes. She watched Lucius' eyes widen slightly. 

"This," she placed a hand on her stomach, "Is your grandson." 

She paced as she spoke."I would like him to have his grandparents in his life. Both of them. Draco is happy to raise our family in London with the occasional visit from Narcissa but I would like to raise our son, and his future siblings here, to grow up in Draco's ancestral home, as he was, as you were, as it is tradition. Something I expect we both value, Lucius."

She gathered her robes and wand before heading towards the door.

With a hand on the doorknob she turned to face the blonde wizard. "And if you ever make this child feel less than because of his blood status, what you endured at Voldemort's side will seem like child play in comparison."

The memory ended abruptly as she pushed Draco out of her head. 

Hermione panted, rubbing her temples. 

"You tutted my father," he said incredulously before laughing, his eyes crinkling. "I could kiss you" 

"You will one day," she retorted, enjoying the pink tinge colouring his cheeks.

Hermione snatched the flask away from his hand. "He owledl you the next day. I don't know what was said but we started preparing the nursery in our own wing at the manor the next month." 

She took a swig. "He's been addressing me by my first name since the day Scorpius was born." 

Draco helped her to her feet.

"That was enough for tonight. You need some sleep. Goodnight, Granger."

Chapter Text

It was the last night before the weekend. Draco had forgone his usual spot against the railing to join her against the wall, their knees touching. 

He had been quiet all night, a distracted smile here and there as she told him about their friendship with Theo, and to a lesser extent Harry & Ginny. 

He interrupted her story about the time the two Slytherins had begged her to take them to a muggle club. 

"Granger," he said. His voice sounded nervous, his eyes not meeting hers as he twisted the Malfoy signet ring on his finger. 

"What is it, Draco?" she asked softly. She could guess what was coming. He had skirted the topic all week. 

"Tell me about him," 

"He's…" She smiled, her face lighting up. "He's perfect, Draco. He's kind and affectionate. He's curious and wants to know about everything. He's intelligent, generous, and mischievous. Narcissa says he inherited that from you." She pushed her shoulder slightly against his for emphasis. 

Draco still stared at his hands so she continued. "He had his first bout of accidental magic at 3. He levitated chocolate biscuits straight from the cooling rack. He has his father's sweet tooth. He loves books like me and usually carries one around. Theo brings him a new one every Saturday. He loves him like his own."

She had avoided touching him all week so as to not make it awkward between them, but she covered his hand with hers. "Your parents would give him the moon. Just last week I caught your father sitting on the floor of his study with him."

At that, Draco looked up. "I swear, I pinched my arm to make sure it was real! He's the balm that helped us all heal."

His voice was shaky when he asked what she was sure had been on his mind all week long. "Am I a good father, Hermione? Is he happy?“ 

She squeezed his hand tightly, her throat constricting. She knew him well enough to answer the unspoken question. "You're not your father, Draco. He's not trying to impress you, he adores you. You're his favourite person in the world and he's yours." 

Draco closed his eyes and swallowed. She did not let go of his hand. 

"I watch you teach him kindness and tolerance… alongside table manners and how to tie a perfect double Windsor. " Draco chuckled at that. "You never lose patience with him, even when he and Nyall, his best friend, who happens to be a Muggleborn, run after Lucius' prized peacocks" 

Draco turned his face to her, his eyes betraying an array of emotions. "The manor is filled with laughter and he's proud to be a Malfoy."

The wizard frowned at that but she continued, "because for him, that means being like his father." 

She pressed a hand to his cheek and he covered it with his. He did not let go of her hand as they sat side by side for a while. 

"Hermione," he broke the silence with her first name. 

"What is it, Draco?" she asked. 

"I think it's time for you to go back." 

She let out a slightly bitter laugh. "I wish I knew how"

"No, I mean it's time to travel back. I know how to send you back." 

Her cheek flushed. "What do you mean, you know how…" 

He fished the note from his pocket and handed it to her.

It was still the same. She did not understand.

"Tell me about us.

Time is circular. Don't overthink, you will not affect the future.

I love you.

You'll know when it's time to travel back, Draco" 

"You know that Muggleborn friend from my 8th year?“ He pointed at her. 

Hermione opened and closed her mouth. 

"The last line, it was meant for me. Not for you." And with that Draco tugged her into a hug. 

"Thank you for telling me about us. I can't wait to see you again," he whispered in her hair before touching his fingers to the clasp of her hourglass necklace. 

Blue light surrounded her. 

"DRACO MALFOY, YOU UTTER….ARSE!" she yelled, smacking her husband's chest with her open palms. He caught her in his arms as her knees buckled. 

"I love you. I love you so much. Thank you. Thank you for saving me. I wanted to tell you for so long," he whispered as he kissed the top of her head. 

"I see you did enjoy that private chat," Theo chimed from across the room before scuttering away as he watched Hermione turn to him with an angry look on her face.

"You!"