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She looked at her husband in confusion. “You’re serious.”
Draco raised a blond eyebrow. “Of course, I’m serious. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You really haven’t carved a pumpkin before? Your father never did it with you?”
He barked out a laugh. “You have met my father before, or do I have another father that I don’t know, Hermione?”
Hermione rolled her eyes. “Really, Draco.”
“Well, my father is Lucius Malfoy, and he’s definitely not known for being the fatherly type,” Draco reminded her. “Plus, the house-elves always decorated for the holidays with magic. The only time my parents or I did anything was when my father would help me place the topper on our Christmas tree.”
“True,” Hermione agreed. “But we’ve been together for almost four years, and how have I not known this?”
“Because this is our first Halloween as a married couple?” Draco replied with a shrug of his shoulders and a questioning lift to his voice at the end.
Hermione took a few moments to think over what he said before nodding her head. “You’re probably right. Well there’s a first time for everything and we’re going to remedy that tonight though.”
Grabbing her husband’s hand, she pulled him over to the small table in their kitchen. “Come on, love.” As they sat down, she added, “First thing’s first, you’ll want to roll up your sleeves.”
Draco quietly followed his wife’s directions as she explained what the implements were for. He smiled as her voice washed over him, he loved hearing her talk, especially in moments like this. She had such a calming voice when she was explaining something; it was why she was perfect for taking over Professor Flitwick’s post when he decided to retire from teaching six years ago.
“Does it all make sense?” Hermione’s cut into Draco’s thoughts. She poked him in the shoulder when he didn’t reply. “Are you even listening to me?”
“Sorry, love,” Draco said as he turned to give Hermione his undivided attention. He grinned at her unrepentantly. “Your voice distracted me. Again.”
Hermione rolled her eyes, but the grin she sent his way told him she wasn’t mad. “You, sir, are incorrigible.”
“Yes, but that’s why you love me and one of the reasons you married me,” Draco countered with a smirk.
“I’m really starting to regret that,” she teased as she poked him in the ribs. “Joking aside, why don’t we get started and I’ll have you follow me. Sound good?”
“Yes, love,” Draco replied as he picked up the duplicate of the knife Hermione held in her hand.
Standing up, Hermione said, “The first thing we need to do is remove the guts from the inside.”
Draco could hear the grin in her voice, so he knew she knew something he didn’t, but he stood up and followed her directions.
A few minutes later, Draco figured out what she already knew. His hands were covered in pumpkin innards, and his wife was giggling at the horrified look on his face. But Hermione had told him the worst of it was over, and they had two perfectly cleaned out pumpkins ready for carving for their efforts. After washing their hands, Draco continued to follow Hermione’s instructions, finding this portion of the project much more enjoyable than cleaning them out.
Draco was working on the final details of his pumpkin when the sound of a baby crying pierced the air. Hermione moved to stand up, but Draco placed a hand on hers. “Stay, I’ll get her. It’s my turn.”
Hermione shook her head. “You stay here and finish your pumpkin. Carina is probably hungry.”
Draco nodded and watched his wife walk out of their kitchen, a smile tugging on the corners of his lips. Little Carina was only two months old, and she was the reason Hermione was currently home with Draco instead of teaching this year. While Draco wasn’t able to spend as much time with his wife and daughter as he would like, since he had cases to handle for the Wizengamot, he enjoyed the time he was able to spend with Hermione as they watched their daughter grow.
Cutting out the last piece of pumpkin, Draco placed the smaller knife on the table next to the other implements he and Hermione had been using. Standing up, Draco took a step back to look at the pumpkin he had created. While it wasn’t as nice as Hermione’s, Draco was proud of what he had accomplished with his first time carving a pumpkin.
The sounds of footsteps coming down the stairs alerted Draco of Hermione’s return. He looked just as she walked into the kitchen, Carina held gently in her arms. Draco noticed that Hermione had unbuttoned the blouse she had been wearing earlier, leaving the lightweight material to flutter behind her as she walked.
“Everything okay?” Draco asked as Hermione joined him.
“Yes, love. As I expected, she was just hungry,” Hermione replied, sitting down. She tried to shrug out of her blouse, but with Carina in her arms, she was struggling.
“Here, let me,” Draco murmured as he helped his wife out of her blouse. He then helped her slip the strap of the camisole she wore down her arm.
“Thank you,” Hermione whispered as she helped Carina latch on to her breast.
Sitting back down next to his wife, Draco pressed a kiss against her temple. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Hermione replied as she laid her head against her husband’s shoulder.
Tapping his wand against his pumpkin and then Hermione’s, he lit the candles they had placed inside. “Not too bad for my first time, don’t you think?”
Hermione looked at the two lit pumpkins on their counter. She smiled. “Nope, not too bad at all. Although,” she picked up her wand and flicked it in the air, “nox.”
“There, much better,” Draco replied as he wrapped his arm around Hermione’s shoulders.
Her grin widened. “Agreed.”
The couple settled in to enjoy their freshly carved pumpkins, their daughter happily suckling her mother’s breast with her hand wrapped around Hermione’s finger.