Chapter Five

A/N: Like I said before, I may or may not be including little things from book six, so consider this a spoiler warning!!

Disclaimer: I only own Lola. I also only own the HP world in my dreams…I really wish they would come true!

After returning back to Malfoy Manor, Draco settled into the sitting room and just sat there twirling his wand. It bothered him that he was still thinking about her. He knew that he should not be, but it was not something that he could help. It was now 5:30 in the evening.

Movement in the opposite corner of the room drew his attention. There stood Grufty the new house-elf he had just employed. He had let all the others go about a year ago when his mother fell ill. He did not want anything in the house to remind her of his father, so that is what he had been doing for the past year along with slowly taking over the Malfoy Investments and Estates.

"Sir, Mrs. Malfoy is asking to talk to you, sir," Grufty said very formally as he bowed to his master.

"You can go to your quarters now for the evening. Your work is done for the day," Draco replied very tiredly. He got up from his chair and slowly walked around and out of the room. As he walked down the corridor and into his mother's sitting room, his mind leaped back a few years when he saw his mother.

"Draco, you cannot do it on your own. You are my only son, and I will not see you killed or kill. Let Severus help you."

"Mother, it is my duty. I will reclaim the Malfoy honour. Don't worry about me. It will be done. It must be done."

"Son, you do not understand. You will never understand."

It occurred to him though just three months ago that he did finally understand. No one defies the Dark Lord without being punished. He knew now how his mother attained her sickness, and that even though he was exiled for three years for his failure, he would still be reaping what had happened eleven years ago at Hogwarts. He had failed his mission, and his family would have to continue to suffer for it.

"Hello mother, you called for me?" he said softly as he took her hand. Her breathing was very ragged and had continued to get worse as she took a few breaths to prepare herself to speak.
"Draco, I know you are a strong boy. You always were. It is time to tell you that I have always believed in you. This is just going to be memory one day. You will grow…" She stopped for a few minutes to breathe.

"Don't mother, you are too weak."

"No, no…I must finish. I love you, and expect to see you do great things with your life. Do right, and stay away from the Dark, Draco. Don't make the same mistakes your father did, son. Make me a promise that you won't, please son," she rasped then went into a light daze only to return a few minutes later and see her only son with glistening eyes and tears running half-hazardly down his face.

"Mother, I promise. I promise, just don't leave. Please, please don't leave me. You are all I have. I love you, mother. I love you," he cried as he buried his head in her arms like a young child.

"I will never leave you Draco if you keep your promise my son. Always keep my promise," she whispered as she fell into a deep sleep with her son crying uncontrollably over her body.

Narcissa never woke from that sleep. Her son mourned for her until the tears would no longer come.

Hermione had finally gotten Lola down for the night. It had always been a struggle with Ron there. Lola never tired when he was around. She had fought, cried, pouted all the way to the bath and then to her bed. Ron volunteered to tuck her in with a story, which gave Hermione a few extra minutes to clean up around the house and finally settle on cleaning the dishes by hand. For all the years that she remained in the Wizarding world, dish washing by magic had just seemed strange, so she continued to do them by hand.

"She is finally in the clouds." Ron said as he came up to hug her from behind as she continued to dry the plates.

"Oh, thank you," she said after reaching to put a cup in the cabinet.

"You know Herm, I have been thinking. I mean really thinking. Things are really starting to look up for me, and you are soon to start working on your own bookstore. Well," he started as his ears turned red, "I was wondering if we, um, if we could. Blimey, this seamed a lot easier when I was playing it through my head, but um, wouldyoubemywife?" he said as quickly as possible after dropping to one knee right there in the middle of the kitchen with his ears turning the reddest Hermione had ever seen them.

"Ron! Are you sure? I love you, but Lola is soon to start school, and she is going to need braces, and the bills, and I, we have Harry and Ginny's wedding. Our parents, oh gosh our parents?!" she said while breathing very hard and fast out of shock.

"Herm, Herm settle down. I know…I mean yes, I know…I, I love you very much, and I love Lola. I think she is the greatest, and she really needs a dad. I thought this out a lot Herm, really I did. It just feels right, you know? I promise to be there for you, just say yes, Herm, please," he pleaded. In the back of his head he knew that she was rationalizing everything that he just said, and everything that was going on in her life and his. That is what made Hermione who she was, but he was on the brink of screaming if she didn't hurry up and answer him.

At the moment that he thought he couldn't take it anymore, she looked up with tear in her eyes and looked directly into his to say, "Yes."

That word to him was the most beautiful word he had ever heard in his life. He picked her up and spun her around and then set her back down on the ground to hug her like he was scared she would run off all the while laughing uncontrollably. This was the best day in his life.

His eyes were dancing happily; she could tell that she made him happy. She herself was ecstatic. She was going to be married! Lola was going to have a dad! Lola is where her mind landed for the moment while she clung to Ron. When she decided that she wanted to adopt, Ron had been the first person to object. He had always had a mom and dad right there beside him, and refused to accept the fact that Hermione was firm and set in her decision. It wasn't until she begged him to come over that day seven years ago. He fell in love with the blue-eyed beauty harder than all the rest that had ever met the four year old. Now, thinking of her child and her new fiancé it felt like nothing could effect or hurt her world. She was in love with the best man in the world, and had the best little life.

After settling down on the couch in front of the fire with Ron, it wasn't until she was asleep that she remembered her run-in with Draco in Diagon Alley. She had dreamt of him, but this dream wasn't a happy one. She saw him in a far hallway walking toward her with tears streaming his face and a vile of poison in his left hand that was dangling by his side. He looked like death, and at that moment Hermione sat straight up on the couch panting and drenched in sweat. She looked over at Ron and at his peacefulness. She thought about the day's events and her happiness, only now, after seeing her dream did she felt a slight dread to the decision she had just made two hours ago while standing in her apartment kitchen.