A/N: Hello Blackian's and my dedicated followers, both new and old. I know I have been away from the keys for quite a while. This was in part, due to losing my muse and in part to going back to school. I have had my nose to the ground and been driving hard at school and I will end up finishing in a year, graduating with an Associates in Teaching. Then it'll be on to university to work on my bachelor's so that I can teach. As of right now, I have about a month off, before the first summer semester starts, and I plan to use that time to write and read. So with that being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

XoXo,

Elle.

Chapter 16

Hermione's mind woke before she did, which was the way things always seemed to work for her. Mostly, though, it was her mind telling her that her bladder was full and must be evacuated now—which had become par for the course as of late. With a stretch of her body on the bed, she caught sight of a small shaggy blonde head tucked under the covers. The pillow was wedged between the headboard and the wall, and the little boy snored softly, the sound muted by the sheet balled in his tiny fist and pulled up to his nose.

Scorpius had taken to sneaking in Hermione's room whenever he could get away from Narcissa and spend time with Hermione. If Hermione happened to be napping, she would often wake up to find Scorpius in a similar position to the one he was in now.

As Hermione padded into the bathroom, she thought to herself about her stay here at Malfoy Manor. It had been almost a month now. With George making regular visits to spend time with her and Draco treating her as a mind healer, she was making progress. But if she were being honest with herself, the most progress made was because of that little white-haired boy, with the wide, caring, compassionate and curious blue eyes.

With an empty bladder, clean hands and a freshly washed face, Hermione made her way back to the bed, checking on Scorpius. He was still sound asleep. As she watched the small mound of covers move as he breathed deeply and evenly, she contemplated how she ever considered ending her pregnancy. How she ever even thought about just erasing the last piece of Tad she would ever have.

Scorpius had helped her with that. After all, if Draco Malfoy, ferret extraordinaire, could have a son like Scorpius, then her child was sure to be amazing.

George eased the pain by making her laugh and smile. He brought new prototype products in that Ginny had come up with. And truth be told, Ginny had a knack for the business—who knew? But there was still a hint of sadness behind his eyes, a loneliness that permeated the room. So Hermione was always glad when he left, even though she felt bad for feeling that way.

But Draco had helped her in starting her journey of getting past the trauma, the grief, the pain, the longing and the reluctance to accept what had happened to Tad. He knew from personal experience just what that was like, and when Hermione had apparated to George, she thought she'd be getting all of that help from him. But instead, he'd brought her to Draco, who understood even better.

At the knock on the door, Hermione broke her lingering gaze on the little boy and walked over, opening the wooden panel. On the other side was Draco, smiling softly. "I'm home from work early and thought we could talk."

"Of course, but we should go elsewhere, Scorpius is sleeping still." Hermione tilted her head in the direction of the bed, smiling up at Draco.

Draco nodded, grinning around Hermione at his son. "That little boy has become quite attached to you." He stepped aside and held his arm out, allowing Hermione to pass, shutting the door quietly behind her.

As she followed Draco down to the end of the hall, he opened the pair of French doors that revealed just a portion of Narcissa's beautiful gardens. Hermione took a seat in the ornate iron furniture, her eyes taking in the beautiful flowers and herbs which Draco used for his healer potions. Hermione had walked through the gardens with him as he had picked some of the ingredients he needed for her prenatal potions. Those potions had worked wonders on the morning sickness. "He spends most of his day with me. Which actually, I think your mother loves. She comes up and asks if we're okay, then tells us she's going out with Andromeda."

"That is much needed for her. She has treasured the rekindling of her relationship with her sister. But with taking care of Scorp while I'm at work, it is hard for her. Though she can take him and let him play with Teddy some. Though it bores Teddy a bit since he is quite a bit older." Draco took a seat opposite her and looked her over. His eyes had switched from a caring father to mind healer in a split second. "How are the nightmares?"

Hermione swallowed, her throat thickening with emotion as she thought about her most recent. "They are becoming less frequent, though still just as terrifying. The last I had was a week ago."

Draco nodded, steepling his fingers and bringing them to his lips, "Are you still using the sleep potion?"

Yet again, her eyes drifted out over the gardens, zeroing in on the purple peonies dancing in the light breeze. "No, I stopped using it almost a month ago. I didn't like the way it made me feel. I also feel like it was exacerbating the nightmares. They only began to become less frequent when I stopped taking the potion."

At her admission, Draco nodded, logging what she had said into his mental database, he was still such an intelligent man. "Okay, I need to rework the potion then, to account for nightmares in PTSD cases. The morning sickness and nausea?"

"The potion for those is working wonders. I haven't had any symptoms of either in weeks. Though, I am reaching the twelve-week mark, right?" when Draco nodded she continued, "The muggle doctor said that those things should start to subside by now. Even though I know wizarding pregnancies can differ." Hermione's voice trailed off as the sound of tiny footsteps approached.

"Daddy? Herminny? Why you out here?" Hermione smiled at Scorpius, watching as he rubbed his sleepy, cobalt blue eyes, wisps of the trademark Malfoy silver blonde hair falling back into them.

Draco beckoned him forward, "Hermione and I were just talking, Scorp. Daddy was checking to see how she was feeling. Did you have a good nap?"

Scorpius nodded as he climbed into Draco's lap and curled up, "Yes. Daddy, I'm hungwy."

Hermione smiled softly and stood, "So am I. This little baby likes to eat. What do you say we go find a snack before supper, hmm?" Scorpius quickly came awake and scrambled down from his father's lap, taking Hermione's hand. She let the little boy lead the way because she knew how he liked to be in charge. So much like his father, she thought. When she looked back, Draco was watching them from the doorway of the terrace, his eyes glazed over and a soft, but slightly pained and confused smile on his face. Hermione wondered what that could be about, but resolved to ask Draco later. For now, the rumbling in her stomach was becoming harder to ignore.