Archive of Our Own

This witch must be mad.

Their 8th year was still three whole months away from being finished but apparently Hermione Granger needed to begin their charms final project now in order to keep to the timetable she had mandated (Draco's had already been magically altered by her eight times so he wondered whether she really just got off on telling him what to do). 

A few months ago, at the start of their last year at Hogwarts, it seemed like horribly awkward timing that they had gotten paired together by that meddling Flitwick for their class projects for the year. After a childhood spent at arms against each other in more ways than one, Draco was sure she would never forgive him, let alone work with him. That was, until he decided he would put some serious effort into the (somewhat hopeless) cause in the form of being the best study partner Hogwarts castle had ever seen. After carrying her books for months, researching like a possessed Ravenclaw, and buying her more rounds of butterbeer (and more rounds of apologizing drunkenly) than was strictly necessary, Draco had managed to capture the golden girl as a friend.

Lucky him, he thought while flicking his wand to check the unholy hour that she had ordained he be awake. He scoffed. She had woken him up before the birds, the sun, and the entire bloody castle.  

Granger deciding he was forgivable was probably helped by the fact that Potter and the pet weasel had left Hogwarts to go on Auror adventures instead of finishing school, because now Granger was too busy focusing on her studies (and keeping Draco from sleep) to get caught up in their shenanigans. Well, except for the weekends that they visited, because then Draco got to hear all about it while being cautiously studied (and by that of course he means getting glared at) by the witch’s two best friends. 

Draco made his way into the fifth-floor corridor, focusing deeply on the need to help Hermione Granger with her current project. The Room of Requirement was the only place in the castle equipped enough to handle Granger when she got into a mood, as there were hardly any tables in the library big enough for all the books she wanted to spread out. Draco didn't mind. The less noise from other students, the better, and no one ever bothered them there.

Charms project, charms project, charms project… Help me meet with Hermione Granger...

Eventually, the door revealed itself to him, and he made haste to hurry inside before it closed again. 

Within two steps, he had stopped dead in his tracks at the sight he was greeted with. 

Like usual, Granger was sitting at one end of a long central table, intensely focused on the work in front of her. Utterly surrounded by parchments, books, and scrolls, she was clearly buried deep in research. 

Unlike usual, however, she was not alone. Sitting on the edge of the table, swinging her legs back and forth to the tune of some muggle song, was a… little girl?

Draco froze, unsure of what to do. 

He had never really been around young children before and wasn't even sure he could tell how old the girl might be. Three? Four? Where could she have come from anyway? The school rarely allowed visitors during a school day, and it's not like this child could have wandered into the room by herself, right? 

But as Draco took in her appearance, his stomach twisted in his gut. Unruly yet familiar curly hair, deep brown eyes, and that freckled skin… he looked between the girl and Granger with a rapidly growing question. 

Who the bloody hell was this child? 

Suddenly, the girl locked eyes with him, clocking his entrance into the room before Granger, it seemed, and while Draco wasn't at all sure of what to expect from her, he could not possibly have expected her to…

“Scorp!” the little girl yelped eagerly, pointing at him.

Draco frowned, unsure of what that exclamation meant. Was she speaking a different language? 

Granger startled at the girl's outburst, but when she saw Draco had arrived, she jumped up, clearly alarmed by his presence far more than the little girl was. 

“Malfoy! Oh Merlin! I-I forgot we were supposed to meet…” she trailed off, reaching for another book and flipping it open. She was frantic. Draco could see it now, the wildness in her eyes she usually only got when she had spent the entire night in the library instead of getting any sleep. 

She forgot they were to meet? That was most unlike Granger, as her timetables and schedules sometimes narrowed down to 16ths of the hour…

“Erm- Did you manage to clone yourself, Granger?” he said, locking eyes with the child once more. The little girl giggled at his attention, and Draco couldn't help but lean his head to the side and grin impishly at her. She giggled harder. 

Okay, so she was adorable. He had a heart, dammit. And more importantly to his ego, she seemed to rather like Draco! An interesting development, seeing as not many people did these days.

“No- I, erm, Malfoy, this isn’t-” Granger never finished any of her thoughts as she rifled through her belongings and book piles. “-Merlin- where is it!” she muttered to herself. 

She dove an arm down into the extendable bag, reaching deeply until she was up to her shoulder. The thing had always scared Draco a little bit, so he just watched until she finally pulled a massive tome from the bag and slammed it down on the table. 

“There!” She said with a renewed triumph and hurriedly flipped open the book to find whatever she was desperate for. 

“This is uh- This is Lyra,” Granger said, absentmindedly remembering his question and gesturing to the girl with a little wave. 

Lyra giggled from her perch on the edge of the table, and wiggled slightly to the music that was playing around the room. Draco had yet to identify its source as the usual record player the room provided seemed to be silent.

“Well, hello, Lyra,” he said with a conspiratorial smirk. “I’m named after a constellation, too.” 

“Big Scorp!” Lyra squealed again.

She reached out her little hands impatiently in what Draco assumed was universal toddler speak for come over right now, dammit. He obediently got closer, but when he finally came within range to at least steady her on the edge of the table, she pulled him into a surprisingly tight hug for such a small girl. 

“Herumph!” he managed to get out in a strange mix of surprise and alarm.

“Sorry, forgot to warn you- she's a hugger,” Granger mumbled from somewhere between the book’s large pages. Draco frowned at her. He could tell, thank you very much. If he had air in his lungs, he would have said so, but it didn't appear that Granger noticed his current issue.

He looked down at Lyra and attempted to remove himself slowly, but she only seemed to cling tighter.

Alright, using his keen Slytherin senses, honed through a war he had survived through sheer cunning and self-preservation skills, Draco sensed…

…that he was in trouble.

How does one interact with a toddler? Draco wouldn't really call himself a hugger and could probably count on one hand the number of people who had even attempted to engage him in the activity.

Unable to free himself from this tiny girl's grip, he instead patted her firmly on the back in the sort of way he would a Quidditch mate. No, that didn't feel right. He tried patting her head not unlike like a friendly dog. A stray curl snagged on his finger. Ouch. Apparently, her hair was a hugger too. She giggled, seemingly delighted by his meanderings, so finally he just sighed and wrapped his arms around her in kind. 

There was still pain from her gripping him around his ribs but this was… better, and the girl snuggled her face into his Slytherin robes to grumble something incoherent.

It had been some time since he was this small, Draco thought. Was there ever a time that he was so affectionate? Surely not. Draco could only recall etiquette lessons and formalities. He probably learned how to bow and shake hands before learning how to hug. 

What was this feeling? Nostalgia maybe? Instinct? Something about it just felt right. Something about the hug, or maybe the girl, was tugging in his magical core, and Draco was suddenly keenly aware of a very protective feeling for her.

The girl seemed to agree, as she dug in deeper, seemingly content with her face buried in his school robes. He chuckled fondly. 

Draco took the opportunity while he was trapped to observe Granger, who was still deep in her book with one hand, writing notes with the other, and muttering to herself. Was that an arithmancy tome? He noticed several scrolls of parchment had been dedicated to her equations and diagrams, but he had never seen any of these before... 

“Merlin, Granger, how long have you been here?” 

She shifted and finally seemed to look up from her studies enough to give him (and his attached parasite) a double take.

“Erm, longer than I’d like to admit- But I ran into someone who needed some help and, well, they’re on a bit of a deadline so-” She closed the heavy tome and pulled a different one from a nearby stack, flipping through the pages rapidly. 

“And is this the one who needed help?” he gestured to the girl. 

“Um, yeah I’m- I’m sort of babysitting her for the moment?” she grumbled as she scribbled another note. “We colored for a bit, listened to music, and-”

“Mummy,” the girl muttered into a Draco chest. 

Draco and Granger both froze. 

What. 

Lyra wiggled until she was out of Draco's arms, and she reached out for Granger.

“Mummy!” she said more urgently. 

Granger sighed, setting down her quill. Straightening her slightly crinkled school clothes, she walked over and picked the girl up, leaving Draco to gawk uncontrollably. 

“I’m sorry… Mummy?” he said in disbelief. 

Suddenly and without warning, Draco was mentally doing math. The girl couldn't have been younger than two or three, he reasoned, but that… he scoffed internally.

That timeline wouldn’t make any sense! How could she have had a baby in 5th or 6th year? Even if it happened while she was Britain's most wanted and out of sight from Draco, she couldn't possibly have been fighting a war while heavily pregnant or caring for a newborn...

…right?

The girl settled in Granger's arms happily, leaving the witch plenty of room to glare at Malfoy from where he stood still looking between the two with a curious horror. 

“She’s not mine,” Granger hissed over the top of the girl's mass of curls, identical to her own.

“Granger, she's your spitting image,” he replied. 

“She’s not mine.”

“Granger, she called you mum.” 

Granger huffed and turned her attention to the little girl once again, giving Lyra a few soothing bounces. Not unlike a mum would do, Draco supposed. Something was pulling in his heart again but this time, he firmly squashed it.

“What the fuck, Granger!” He growled instead. 

“Language!” she growled back. “Don’t be a prat,” (She only mouthed that last word, but Draco still frowned), “I just need to-” Granger looked around then, the exhaustion on her face spreading now that she had been pulled away from her project.

“Want to play your favorite song again, love?” she whispered to the girl. 

In an instant, the girl straightened up and deftly squirmed out of Granger's arms. Now on the floor, she rushed to the edge of the table, where Draco realized the source of the music was sitting. 

“Wait, what is that thing?” Draco asked.

The source of music, a little metal rectangle with a glowing surface Draco had never seen before, was now in the girl's eager hands as Hermione played with the edges a bit. It was some sort of Muggle device, he was sure of it. It even made a few sounds as the older of the girls battled for control with the eager toddler.

Draco admittedly didn't know much about the things Granger referred to as mobiles, tellys, or computers, but he was willing to bet the Malfoy vaults that this thing was one, even despite the fact that it was very shiny, and that he had never seen one so... Rectangular? Strange? 

“Um, I’m not exactly sure, I think it's a muggle mobile but… without all the front buttons... maybe...” Granger said cautiously. She didn't know? 

Lyra found what she was looking for on the glowing front of the device and made a pleased sound as a song started.

I stay out too laaaate… Got nothing in my braaaain… That's what people say!  Mm-mhmm…

“Granger…” Draco ran an exasperated hand down his face. “What, in Merlin's name, is going on?” 

The witch sighed, pointedly not making eye contact, and instead watched the little girl bounce around the table happily without a care in the world.

But I keep cruisiiiin… Can't stop, won't stop mooooovin'... 

“I-I’m not sure I can say. We’re breaking so many rules as it is…” Granger mumbled. She yawned. " I really shouldn't tell you- Shouldn't have even let you see her, but I forgot-" She drew a hand down her face.

'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play! And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate! 

As Lyra danced about, babbling vaguely to the chorus of the song, Draco found an amused smile tugging on his lips once again. 

“Granger, since when have you cared about breaking rules?” he looked over pointedly at the mountain of work she had piled up that was definitely not for their class project. “You’re clearly up to something. Explain it so that I can help. Otherwise, you're going to pass out from exhaustion at this rate.” 

Granger met his eye, finally allowing herself to be seen by him as she relented. With a big sigh, she began.

“Last night I was just in here studying when some sort of… portal opened up,  just over there. It was a portal in time, Draco, and two people fell out of it, getting stuck here in 1999.” Granger shifted nervously, “One of them obviously was Lyra, but the other was- was um… her Mum…erm, me.”

“You?” Draco repeated. “You mean-”

Granger nodded. “Me, from the future. I'd say from around ten or fifteen years forward…” She rubbed at her brow. "Why is Hogwarts always so...weird?" She grumbled to herself.

Draco looked over at the girl.

Heartbreakers gonna break, break, break, break, break- And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake.

This was… Hermione Granger's daughter. Her bloody daughter!

He watched the girl spin with awe in his eyes. He had so many questions, so many theories, but for a moment, he just watched, a happy grin tugging on the corners of his mouth. He wasn't even quite sure why the idea of her brought so much joy to him.

Something like… after everything they had been through with the war and the dark lord returning (and then dying, taking Draco’s future with him into the grave), there was actually something here on the other side of it. A future… worth waiting for.

A future at all.

Draco realized he hadn't responded and shook his head, trying to clear it. 

“What happened to them? How did they end up here?” he asked. 

“Not sure exactly, but it just seemed to have been some sort of accident, nothing too scary if you don't count the ‘being lost in time’ bit,” Granger explained

“I think the war has sent our definition of ‘not too scary’ into the stratosphere, Granger,” he said plainly. 

She just shrugged. “Regardless, future me was very upset about it, but I think it had more to do with the fact that whatever happened, not only trapped her here, but took Lyra, too. Whatever happened, she wasn't supposed to be a part of it.”

“So wait, future-you is still here?” Draco looked around briefly. 

Granger chuckled. 

“In this time? Yes, they are both firmly stuck in 1999 until we can figure out the equations to send them back, err- forward that is. But In Hogwarts? No. She left almost immediately. You see, she knows how to get back to her time; the only problem is she needed some piece of technology that hasn't been invented yet, so she went out somewhere to find a suitable replacement.” Granger swallowed nervously, “Meanwhile, I have to help draw up the equations for launching them both back. If I don't get this right, they could miss their target and end up gone in their timeline for weeks or even years!”

Granger worried her bottom lip between her teeth, a habit Draco was not a fan of.

“Merlin- she's been gone for hours!” Granger said, suddenly coming out of her study-induced brain fog enough to become frantic with worry, “What if something's happened? What if she's left poor Lyra behind and- and-”

“Easy-” Draco put a hand on her shoulder and steadied her. “You are spiraling, Granger. Future you is fine, I'm sure of it.”

“How?” Granger asked nervously, “How can you be sure!? It’s been hours!”

“Because she’s you, obviously,” He snorted, letting go of her shoulder when she finally cracked and rolled her eyes at him. “You're obnoxiously brilliant, and so she's probably just out there being Hermione Granger and getting everything she needs done. We just need to wait for her to get back.

"We?" Granger repeated

Draco ignored her, "Yes, because now-” He clapped his hands together dramatically. “Your babysitting time is up,” He said definitively.

“What?! But-” 

“Granger, you're obviously exhausted and haven't gotten a wink of sleep tonight. You're of no use to anyone in your current state. Go back to Gryffindor tower and get some sleep, I can watch Lyra for a little bit until you, or well, you, I guess, turn up to collect her,” he said, directing her toward the door.

Granger turned back, ready to protest further, but Draco spun her shoulders towards the exit, giving her a little push to march her forward. 

With a huff, she sent him a glare, but it was evident she was too tired to do much else. She summoned her extendable bag through a yawn and managed to take a few steps before turning back. 

“I'll be back soon, okay, Lyra?" She called.

“Are you leaving, mummy?” The girl instantly bounded over and tugged at Granger's robes. 

“Yes, just for a little bit. Be good and listen to Draco, okay? And no wandering around by yourself.” The girl looked slightly confused but nodded. Once the music picked up, she was dancing around again without a care in the world. 

“And don’t talk to any strangers, okay?” Granger called.

“Okay, Mummy!” Lyra said enthusiastically. 

She didn't stop dancing. 

Finally, it was Draco’s turn for instructions: “Hold onto the weird future-mobile, Malfoy. Don’t let anyone see it unless you have to. It- well, it could mess up the timeline if anyone knew about her, so don’t talk to anyone or tell anyone about-”

“Granger,” Draco nearly growled, “Go.”

“But you can’t let anyone talk to Lyra- its very important- the timeline-”

“Go,” he repeated.

She sighed, yawning again as she turned for the door. She slipped through, and Draco let out a sigh, partly at the relief that Granger was going to take care of herself, but partly at his nerves of having to babysit what was apparently their little time traveler. 

It's like I got this music in my mind, sayin', It's gonna be alright!

—---

It occurred to Draco that the girl might be hungry if she spent all night with Study-Granger. 

Study-Granger, Draco had decided over the course of this year, was the strange beast that sometimes inhabited Granger's skin and made her stare at books unblinking for hours on end, taking in no nutrition and fearing the sun. Study-Granger was most often found in its natural habitat, the library, but was also sometimes found in abandoned classrooms or the room of requirement, depending on the season and the proximity to noisy first years and a gossiping Lavender Brown.

Draco sighed as he pulled the girl along at his side through the corridor. While she was dilly-dallying quite a bit, Lyra skipped along dutifully, enticed by his promise of snacks and a break away from the creepy piles that made up the room of requirement. He didn't really blame her. One war later, and the place was still a mess.

“Why is your hand sticky?” He asked.

She just giggled at him as he stopped on the stairwell and scorgified all four of their hands in preparation for a meal. Hopefully, there would be no one of consequence in the great hall this early, and he could get away with-

“Aunt Pwansy!” Lyra beamed, squirming deftly out of his grip and rushing for the witch that was approaching. 

Damn. 

Pansy squeaked with surprise as the little girl collided with her hips and squeezed her tightly.

“What in Morgana-” she looked down and studied the girl with an equally terrified and intrigued expression. Draco had gone completely frozen, not just out of fear, but because he had no idea how the girl recognized Pansy or why she would call her-

“Aunt Pwansy! I found you!” she laughed cheerily.

Was time flowing correctly? Draco could have sworn his heartbeat was louder than usual in his chest…

“Draco…” Pansy finally said after he had been silent for a moment too long, “What is happening to me right now?” 

The witch was standing still as a statue, staring straight at him with one twitching eye. No one moved except for Lyra, who clung to the witch and bounced excitedly up and down.

“Um- Good morning, Pansy. This is Lyra…” He said sheepishly, “Lyra, give her some space, love. It’s impolite to hug without asking.” 

The affectation slipped out without him realizing, and he knew from Pansy's flinch and the cold sweat on the back of his neck that he was in deep, deep trouble. As Lyra returned to his side and took his hand, Pansy squinted at them both, and her lips curled up into a devilish smile. 

“Draco…” she said, taking a step forward and smiling down at Lyra, who giggled back, “Who is...”

She squinted at the girl harder, eyes flicking from the hair to the eyes to the little hand she had tucked into Draco's. Somehow, it was still sticky.

“Isn't she just precious?” Pansy said, finally gathering her bearings (and polite society training), “Looks so much like our Granger, why it’s…  uncanny!” She locked eyes with Draco and took a very menacing step forward.

Fuck. 

He was in trouble.

“Pans uh, she’s-”

“Yes?”

“Lyra is just visiting us- but um- Just for the day, you see, she's-"

“Yes?"

“She’s erm- Grangers... cousin.”

Pansy stopped leaning forward and frowned at him. 

“Granger's cousin.”

“Granger's cousin!” he repeated cheerily.

“Granger’s cousin?”

“Uh, huh!” He said, trying to sound confident.

“Hermione Granger's cousin,” Pansy repeated again. 

“Yes.”

“Famous Muggleborn, Hermione Granger’s cousin.”

... Ah, Draco could see now where he went wrong now.

“Yeeess?” he said again, with a hundred percent more cringe.

Pansy frowned. “Muggles aren't allowed to just walk into Hogwarts, Draco. They can't even see the castle,” she said.

She looked around the empty hallway.

“Where is Granger? What have you done with her?” Suddenly, her eyebrows knitted together with a worried suspicion. “Draco?” she hissed more intensely, “What did you do? Where is she?”

“Sleeping!” he said, taking another step back. Lyra didn't follow (the traitor) and kept beaming up at Pansy like she hung the damn moon. “She’s just getting some rest in Gryffindor Tower! Look- Granger needed a break, so I offered to watch Lyra. C’mon, I just need to get her some food before the whole castle wakes up and sees her!” 

Draco sent what he hoped to be an innocent and pleading look at Pansy, and it seemed she relented. Thank Merlin for having old friends. Anyone else would have probably hexed him by now and sent him straight back to Azkaban.

“Aunt Pwansy!” Lyra giggled again and reached out for Pansy’s hand too, swinging away from where Draco held her close. “Can we play dwess up?”

“Um, Lyra, we still need to get some snacks, remember? I can play with you after.” Draco suggested (hoping she would forget about the dress-up part).

Lyra nodded at his diplomatic answer but still shook with excitement at seeing the older witch.

“Aunt Pansy...” Pansy repeated, quietly. She let the little girl take her hand, but shot Draco a contrite look so he might note her displeasure with him. “Very well, then, Draco. We can proceed to the great hall… as long as you answer me this one question.” 

Dracos' breathing stuttered as Miss Pansy Parkison jammed a dangerous finger in his face.

“Is she yours?” 

“No!” He denied quickly.

Pansy frowned harder, but she seemed to pivot at his response. 

“Wait, is she… Grangers?”

“That's two questions, Pans.”

“Is she Ganger’s?”

Draco faltered, “Not…. right now?”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Language, Pans!” Draco looked down at Lyra, but the girl was just giggling at the scene playing out over her head. 

“What do you mean, not now?!”

"Okay, fine! She’s from the future!” Draco hissed under his breath. “Granger’s daughter- From the future.”

A silence fell, only interrupted by Lyra's giggling as Draco looked around the empty hallway to make sure no one else heard.

Pansy looked at him carefully before squinting down at Lyra. 

“From the-” She rubbed her brow momentarily before taking a deep and patient breath. “From the fucking what?"

“Language, Pans!”

He made a show of covering Lyra's ears and smiled when this only seemed to make her laugh harder. A particularly ear-piercing chortle made Draco wince slightly, and he looked around again for anyone who might have heard. Luckily, they were still alone.

Pansy seemed to take the moment to inspect Lyra and Draco from head to toe, a look in her eye that made Draco swallow sheepishly. 

“From the future,” she repeated again. 

“Yes”

“Are you positive?”

“Yes,” Draco said, exacerbated. “Can we go now?” 

“From the future…” She repeated again, quieter this time. Pansy ignored his pleading look and knelt down so she was eye to eye with Lyra. 

“And I’m your… Aunt Pansy?" She asked, a small gleam in her eye that Draco wasn't sure he’d ever seen before. 

“You're my Aunt Pwansy!” Lyra agreed.

Pansy smiled then, wider than Draco had seen in a long time.

“Well, we’ll have to do something about that hair! Granger never lets me touch hers,” she said with a more familiar, sinister grin. “Alright then. Ready for some breakfast, young lady?” 

She grinned down at Lyra, who babbled agreement and yanked on both of their hands with excitement.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

As Draco hoped, the great hall was almost devoid of students and staff; only a handful of people got up this early anyway, and most were just bookworm Ravenclaws looking to stop in for a pastry before heading to the library to study. 

Pansy helped Lyra down onto the Slytherin bench and situated her protectively between the two of them, looking far more smug than Draco had seen her in weeks. A terrifying predicament to be sure, but he just feared what Granger would do if she found out he blurted out the big secret to the very first person he ran into.

Not very promising...

Draco summoned a fresh green apple from a nearby platter and got to work slicing it into sticks for their little follower. She watched on eagerly as he handed them over one by one and munched with an eager little happiness.

“Lyra?” Pansy started carefully. “Do you- erm, Do you always call me Aunt Pansy?”

“Uh-huh!” Lyra bounced in agreement.

Pansy thought about that.

“Because I'm friends with your mum or…”

“Pansy don't ask her questions about the future,” He jumped in, “Granger says we might break the timeline… or something.” He distracted Lyra with some more apple slices.

“Like you’re not dying to know, Draco,” Pansy teased,  “I know Granger, and I have settled our differences this year, and some might say we could be… friends…” She rolled the word around in her mouth like she was still deciding how it sounded. “-but her future children calling me… aunt? Aunt!” She said, exasperated.

Draco agreed. It was a horrifying escalation to be sure. 

“You’re Aunt Pwansy!” Lyra giggled after swallowing another little bite of apple. “Your Auntie just like Auntie Ginny! We make biscuits with Lily and Albus, but they call Aunt Ginny, Mummy,” she said, as if everyone else was an idiot. Merlin, she really was Granger's daughter. 

Pansy blinked, taking in the alarming information that she would be baking biscuits with the Weasleys in the future. For the first time, he was glad he was not included in this odd future and gave a little snort.

“That must be the youngest Weasley…” Pansy grimaced. “I suppose, I shall have to endeavor to be nice to her if I am to share in the title of auntie for you, little one.” 

Pansy patted the girl's back and looked away in deep contemplation. It was the sort of look that the witch got before a catastrophic plan was enacted. One that usually resulted in whichever wizard she was currently seeing losing his bollocks. 

Draco shivered. 

He took some ham and sausage from a nearby plate, again cutting them into bite-sized pieces for Lyra so she may enjoy them more easily. When he looked up, Pansy was staring at him this time, watching how he was hovering over the girl with a suspicious amount of interest. Of course, she had no way of knowing that somewhere out there, a scary, older version of Granger was currently running around to bring her daughter back home safely. Draco was not very interested in being at the receiving end of any hexes due to the inaccurate care of that Granger's offspring. 

Pansy still stared, evil gleam intensifying.

“Lyra… darling...” She started in a careful tone.

Draco froze. 

“What's your daddy’s name?”

“Pans-” Draco tried to use a warning tone.

The witch ignored him and watched as Lyra chewed her little bite before swallowing politely.

“Daddy?” Lyra said. 

“Yes, your daddy’s name,” Pansy said carefully.

The girl made a confused face.

“Eis name is Daddy,” she repeated with finality.

Draco chuckled. “Guess you’ll just have to scheme about Granger's future husband over the course of the next ten years or so, Pans. No hints for you as to who will father your beloved, biscuit-eating nieces.” 

Pansy frowned and turned back to Lyra, undeterred. 

“And what does your mummy call your daddy?”

“Love,” she said sweetly, biting into another apple slice with a little wiggle in her seat.

Draco rolled his eyes involuntarily. Granger would be calling this future husband of hers, love? He was willing to bet that watching Granger call another wizard pet names would be nearly unbearable to witness, and his stomach seemed to roll with agreement. Gross. Pansy was looking at him with a faint amusement at his reaction, but he just glared at her. 

Okay, so he could admit to himself that he was just a little curious as to who the wizard might be. 

“But what does she call him when she's angry at him? I bet that happens a lot, yes?” Pansy whispered conspiratorially. 

Lyra giggled, “Prat!” she said a bit too loudly. 

Draco clapped a hand over her mouth as a nearby Ravenclaw turned and stared. He grimaced and tried to ignore it as the younger student wandered past to leave.

“You called?” Another voice joined them. 

Theo approached, eyeing first Draco and then the little figure of Lyra with surprise clear on his face.

“Sweet Salazar!” Theo said immediately, before breaking into a booming laugh, “Whose child have you two stolen?” 

“Uncle Teo!" Lyra wiggled and practically beamed at the wizard.

“Uncle?!” Pansy and Draco asked incredulously at the same time.

“Why do you two get to be family?” Draco grumbled under his breath with a pout.

“Well, how about that! I'm an Uncle already!” Theo slumped into the seat opposite the three of them and made a little teasing face at the girl. She giggled. 

“Didn’t know you two were in the market for a little elf!” he winked at Lyra and watched her bounce happily in reaction. “What’s this then, Draco? Your replacement Granger?” he smirked nastily. 

Draco snorted. 

“First of all, I've told you several times, Granger and I are not like that,” he said while Theo rolled his eyes. “Second of all, this is Lyra, and she’s just visiting. She’s Grangers… er… cousin.”

Merlin, he might be terrible at this. How the fuck did he survive the war?

Pansy audibly facepalmed, Theo raised an eyebrow, and Lyra giggled, stabbing another bit of sausage on her plate. 

“Oh, please, she's Granger's daughter from the future,” Pansy announced with an eyeroll.

“Pans! We were not supposed to-” Draco groaned, exasperated, and ran a hand down his face. 

“Well! A little time traveler! Chip off the old block then, eh?” he winked at Lyra. 

In response, she babbled something to Theo that Draco didn't fully understand through the food in her mouth. Theo then stared at her with the excitement of a dog who had just procured a brand new toy. 

Uh-oh.

“Did you know that your mummy also time-traveled for all of our third year?” he said to little Lyra as if there was a universe in which the girl was not aware of how strange and terrifying her mother could be. 

Draco rolled his eyes. “Theo, give it a rest, you've not stopped talking about that since she admitted it.” 

“Because I called it!” he giggled uncontrollably. “That whole year, I kept saying she was in two classes at once, but no one cared! I said it all year!”

Lyra laughed along at Theo’s excitement despite not following the conversation. She stabbed another perfectly cut sausage and helped it to her mouth.

“Well, I called that our professor was a werewolf in third year, but no one cared about that either,” Pansy said.

Everyone snorted at that (Minus Lyra of course, who was still busy chewing politely), and the witch rolled her eyes at them all. 

Were all three year olds (four? Draco wasn't sure) this well-mannered? It seemed that Future Granger must have provided her with similar etiquette classes that he received at this age, as he was hyper aware of how the little girl was carefully grasping the heavy fork with just enough precision as not endanger her clothes with messy bits of food. 

Draco quietly transfigured the fork to be slightly smaller for the little girl's hands. The magic shimmered a little bit, and Lyra bounced excitedly as she watched the utensil reduce just a tad within her grasp, before she was back to stabbing another little bite.

“Soooo?” Theo interrupted his thoughts. “Who's her father? Do we know?” 

“Still unclear. Poor thing has inherited all of Granger's physical traits, but she seems to think of myself, you, and that Ginevra as family.” 

“Not Draco?” Theo raised an eyebrow before cackling. “Maybe you died young, Drake. My condolences,” he mocked, putting his hand over his heart in mournful sorrow.

Draco rolled his eyes. 

“He’s my Scorp!” Lyra shouted. She pulled on his sleeve.

Everyone blinked at her curiously, not understanding the word she had apparently assigned to him.

“Yes, yes,” Draco said to his now least favorite two best friends, “You two get to be family while I’m just-”

“Scorp!” Lyra finished, sitting closer to him on the bench while keeping a close grip on his robes.

She let the fork fall to the side of the plate, situating herself on the bench so she was directly touching Draco, not unlike a small animal might do in a burrow for warmth. He couldn't help it, and slung a protective arm around her as she nestled. He held her close with a little smile. 

“The hell’s a Scorp?” Theo asked bluntly.

“Language!” Draco and Pansy both hissed.

Lyra giggled. 

“Maybe Draco gets a nickname in the future? Like maybe something really embarrassing happens, and then we all call him ‘The Scorpion’ or something?” Pansy suggested.

Draco frowned. “You are not calling me ‘The Scorpion’,” he said with as much finality as he could muster. 

“Scorp,” Lyra said, her voice muffled by his robes. Apparently, she was done eating and had decided it was now time for more hugging. 

“Yes, except for you, love.” He said, pretending only she could hear him.

“Well, what did she call Hermione? Er- Our Hermione, that is,” Theo asked, swiping a forgotten sausage from Lyra's plate.

Draco made a face, “Mum.” 

Pansy and Theo both shrugged, but Draco frowned across the table.

“Wait, when did you start calling her Hermione, Theo?” he asked with a squint. He didn't trust it.

“Minnie!” Lyra chimed in, somewhat unhelpfully. She deftly wiggled away a bit, but her perpetual stickiness allowed Draco to keep his grasp, lest she somehow decided to squirm away or crawl under the table. She had already gotten away from him once. 

“When we became best friends! Obviously,” he scoffed.

Draco rolled his eyes at Theo

“You're not best friends with Granger.”

“Jealous?” Theo had the audacity to smirk. "Hermione and I are thick as thieves, I’ll have you know! She tells me all her secrets!”

“Liar.”

“Minnie!!” Lyra said more urgently

“No, little one, Her-MIONE,” Theo politely corrected.

Draco froze, sensing the issue before the rest of the table as he became overwhelmed with a sense of impending doom. 

“Ahem,” said a clipped voice from behind them.

Everyone went silent, and Draco got a nice view of the horrified look Theo was making over his shoulder to the most unfortunate person who could have come across this mess. 

“And who is this, Mister Malfoy?” Headmistress McGonnagall asked pointedly.

When Draco looked up, McGonagall was frowning at him, but as the older witch peered around to Lyra, her face softened somewhat, and she squinted at the excited young girl. 

“Minnie!” Lyra said excitedly, “Minnie’s a kitty!”

“Oh my,” she said, chuckling softly, “You're a wee bit small to be sitting in a charms class, little lady. Does she have someone looking after her today, Mister Malfoy?” She squinted at him slightly suspiciously. “Or would that be you?”

“Oh no, professor, erm- Granger was looking after her, but she needed a break- I was just babysitting for the morning while she got some rest,” Draco floundered slightly, not having an excuse prepared.

McGonnagall squinted slightly, taking in Draco's face carefully before examining little Lyra. Draco watched the way her eyes settled over the familiar Granger traits, the hair and the eyes especially.

Their headmistress hadn't been terribly eager to trust him at the beginning of the year, not surprising after his previous crimes at the school, but with some meddling by the golden trio, the ministry had allowed him to return to Hogwarts to finish his education. McGonagall squinted at him, but the suspicion gave way when Lyra tucked herself back into Draco’s side, hugging him tightly.

“Well… you've been doing well in your marks this term, Mister Malfoy, so I can excuse a few absences today to give you and, erm, Miss Granger some time to spend with this young one if you need.” She pressed her lips into a thin smile but still waved a rolled-up bit of parchment about in a rather threatening manner. “Do spend it wisely. I shall not be giving you any grace should you use it to make trouble with your friends, instead.”

Draco nodded in eager agreement before McGonnagal puffed out her robes and strode away towards the professor's table. 

“I think we’d better go,” Draco said quietly to Pansy. “Lyra’s gotten some food, so we'd better disappear before any good-natured citizens report me for kidnapping. I don't fancy going back to Azkaban so soon.”

“Right,” Pansy said, jumping up to join him. 

Draco moved to rise too, ignoring Theo’s comments about just having arrived, but instead, he found himself with a weight on his robes. He looked down to see Lyra was pouting and clinging to him with a moody expression on her face. Within moments her face had turned an upsetting shade of pink.

Uh oh, was she about to-

With a level of foresight that Draco would have paid millions of galleons for, Pansy threw up a mufliato spell right before an ear-piercing cry sounded from Lyra. For a solid moment, Draco was frozen on the spot, unsure of how to react at all to the child suddenly sobbing loudly and pulling at his clothes, desperate for him to remain sitting with her.

“Hey! Hey!- um Lyra, love-” Draco tried to soothe her, kneeling beside the bench, but he grimaced when his words had no effect on the girl, and she continued crying regardless. Her grabby fingers were once again outstretched to him.

“You absolute pillock," Pansy whapped him in the arm like he was an idiot.” Pick her up, dammit!” she said with urgency. Draco mentally took back his galleons but did what he was bidden anyway. 

Draco scooped the heavy Lyra into his arms, letting her burrow into his shoulder and neck. Despite her newly acquired advantageous position for piercing his eardrums with any screeching, she quieted into only little whimpers instead of the previous full-blown tantrum. 

Nevermind, he decided again. Pansy would be getting millions of galleons for her next birthday.

“What's wrong with her?” he asked desperately. “Should we take her to the hospital wing?” Draco felt a frantic worry crawl into his chest, but Pansy was squinting with intense focus.

“How long exactly has she been stuck in our time?” she asked.

Draco frowned and his heart raced. Was Lyra in danger of some time-related illness? Was she going to die within seconds if he didn't do something? Was the scary, time-hopping, future Granger going to avada him on the spot for the inadequate care of her beloved daughter? He bounced the girl in his arms in what he hoped would be a soothing motion, but it did little to quiet her muffled cries.

Good Godric. What if Theo was right and the future Granger ended his life in this time, and that's why no one remembers him?

“Well? How long?” Pansy snapped him out of his worried echochamber.

“Uh - Granger said they both showed up last night! She said she spent all night with Lyra in the Room of Requirement, which is why I left her to get some sleep.”

Pansy’s frown deepened into one of immense frustration, and she stayed like that, listening to Lyra cry until Draco was sure she would sustain long-term damage from the depths of her disappointment.

“You're an idiot,” she said with a matter-of-factness that threw him off guard slightly.

“What?”

“She’s a small child, Draco! They require sleep! Frequently!” she scoffed, “No wonder she's cranky, she's probably been up playing for hours!”

Pansy stalked past Draco, then. Grabbing his arm and pulling both him and the girl in his arms, towards the dungeons. 

“Come!" She shouted, "We are getting that girl a nap!”

—----

As it turned out, Pansy was very correct. The sniffling and whining had turned into soft snores almost immediately upon contact with a sleepable surface. Draco had transfigured the curtains around his Slytherin four-poster bed to resemble twinkling stars and, as a whole, tried to make the whole place seem like the room didn't have a bunch of teenage males sleeping in it on the regular. At least this morning, it was devoid of anyone else.  

Lyra didn't seem to mind as she breathed peacefully in some pajamas that Pansy had transfigured for her.

While the morning grew late, Draco sat on the floor next to his bed, watching the rise and fall of her little chest. She certainly had all of her mother's features. Curly hair, freckles, brown eyes, a cute little nose, and even the overly large front teeth he remembered from before she changed them (okay, so he changed them, but he didn't really mean for the change to be permanent). 

It was… fascinating. 

He stared a bit longer than what was probably necessary to ensure she was safe, but there was no one around to really judge him for it, so he twirled his wand between his fingers from where he sat and just watched. 

This was Hermione Granger’s future daughter. A little girl who's just like her mum in every way. He smiled. 

It was a long while before anyone dared disturb little Lyra's nap time. One of the other boys attempted to enter their dorm, and Draco threatened them to a duel to the death using only his eyes if they so much as made a single sound. Many Mufliatos and Silencios were had, and thankfully for their hides, Lyra remained well and truly snoring. 

After the sun had risen significantly more, the castle was awake with its classes for the day. Lyra’s eyes opened, and she managed to squeak out a yawn. Still tired, she sat up, prompting Draco to straighten with rapt attention in the dark dormitory.

“Mummy?” Lyra started to whine. Her eyes landed on him instead of any Grangers (present or future), but thankfully, she didn't seem too disappointed. 

“No mum right now, love. She's still away,” he said quietly. Lyra looked up at the twinkling curtains around the bed and then promptly ignored them in favor of reaching both arms out to Draco.

“Scorp...” she mumbled. 

He picked her up into his arms and leaned back against the wall again so she could snuggle against his chest. This was the fourth time she had burrowed against him like a small animal, and he was pretty sure he had never had so much physical contact with another being in his life. 

Even though Draco routinely found that he had no idea what to do with his arms and hands, he could feel the flutter in his heart and magical core. This little girl trusted him, needed him, and he couldn't help but feel… loved. Even if she was possibly mistaking him for someone else nicknamed Scorpion. Did he know anyone nicknamed Scorpion?

Draco was again unwillingly thinking about his own childhood and the stiffness with which his parents had treated him. He was sure they didn't intend to be so cold; that was just how they were raised. Regardless, Draco was just glad Future Granger encouraged the girl to be a hugger instead. It was much better, he decided. With little circles rubbed over her back, she began to wake up to the world faster than he anticipated, and soon she was wiggling out of his arms and running around the Slytherin dorm touching things she probably shouldn’t.

He only managed a small stretch before she wormed a finger inside Blaise’s bedside drawer. Draco hastily stopped her. Merlin only knows what she would find in there. 

“Cmon, you,” He said, scooping her up into his arms again, a giggle sounding from her little chest, “I think perhaps we could use some playtime somewhere else.”

Just a step out the door, Theo was slumped against the wall of the hallway, apparently not brave enough to enter the dorm while the dragon (Draco) was guarding its horde (Lyra). 

“Ah, awake already?” He said casually.

“Apparently so, we were starting to get antsy and touch things so… better scarper somewhere else before that energy gets us into trouble… probably back to the room of requirement. I might have promised Granger that I wouldn’t let anyone see her and, well,  it would be nice to pretend I made good on that promise…”

Theo scoffed. “But its such a wonderful day outside!”

“Wasn’t it raining earlier?”

“-And you've been given license to skive class from our dear headmistress for once!” Theo continued ignoring Draco’s delicate eyeroll. “Don’t tell me you mean to coop up our visitor in that horrible room instead?” He turned to Lyra and whispered conspiratorially. “Did you know Hogwarts has a full-sized Quidditch pitch?”

Draco watched her reaction curiously and, to his surprise, she seemed to light up at this news and tugged playfully at his robes. 

“Well, that settles it. C'mon! Let's all go for a walk, shall we?”

Draco sighed and sat Lyra down in front of them. She was still very much in the pajamas Pansy made for her, complete with a pair of violet fuzzy socks

“Can’t very well go out like that.” Draco hummed a moment before nudging Theo, “Help me transfigure something for her.” 

Theo huffed but diligently got to work. While Draco tackled the outerwear into something warm Theo made quick work of her little socks, turning them into bright yellow shoes that he was quickly informed were called-

“Wellies!" Lyra stomped around in glee.

Well, she seemed to like them, so Draco didn't argue and instead finished transfiguring her Pajamas into a suitable set of warm robes and even included a little cape in case it was still frosty out there.

“Ready, Lyra?” He asked once she was all kitted out. 

“Yes!” she said excitedly. She grabbed Draco's hand again, but he frowned at Theo, sensing a new problem.

“There’s going to be people in the halls going to and from class... I'm not really eager to get stared at, and I'm sure Lyra isn't either. Plus theres the whole ‘Lyra shouldn't be seen’ thing going on.”

Theo frowned and looked down at their predicament with a finger on his chin. 

The predicament giggled.

“Let's disillusion her,” he suggested. 

“And let me lose her somewhere in the halls?” Draco said in alarm. “Have you any idea how wiggly she is?”

“You won't lose her,” he scoffed. “Plus! I'm gonna come with you! No sense in studying alone in the dorm when we can show her the pitch, right Lyra?” He snickered and turned back to Draco. “I’ll hold one of her hands, and you can hold the other- That way, even if she gets away from one of us, we won't lose her entirely.”

“Hmm,” Draco huffed. “Alright then.”

Draco knelt beside Lyra momentarily and smiled when she looked at him with big, trusting eyes. No one had ever looked at him like that before.

“I'm going to cast a little spell on you, okay? It will make you invisible, so I need you to hold my hand until we get outside.”

Lyra nodded, eager to watch for the magic. They both took a hand.

“Wait, why is her hand sticky?”

“This was your idea, Theo,” Draco growled. “Don't whinge.”

With a flick of his wand, Lyra was washed over with the spell and became nothing but a ghostly blur. She made a strangled sort of sound at the feeling, and Draco agreed. The sensation was never very pleasant. As soon as Lyra noticed the effect, however, a cheerful giggle was all that accompanied her as Theo and Draco's arms were mysteriously pulled about as if by nothing but a slight blur in the air. 

“Well then!” Theo chuckled. “Onwards!” 

“Onwars!” the blur of Lyra repeated.

Thankfully, Draco managed to find a less occupied route through the castle.  There were still a few students who gave the two boys questioning looks when they paraded through the hallways in a way that looked like they were holding hands about two feet away from each other, but that was probably to be expected. 

Despite Draco's glaring, Theo waved enthusiastically in greeting them, swinging his arm dramatically. The prat.

Outside, the air was wet, but luckily, Theo was correct in that it was not currently raining. There was even a slight hint of sunlight peaking around to say hello. With everyone still stuck inside the classes or study halls, Draco lifted the disillusionment charm, placed a discreet tracking charm over the girl (he couldn't be too careful), and let her run free across the grounds while they walked. 

On their approach to the empty pitch, Draco watched her with awe, babbling to herself while she made up games and picked up random pinecones and rocks. Was this what Granger was like when she was younger? Surely not...

Lyra looked so much like the girl he remembered from the sorting ceremony, it was uncanny, but Draco could never picture a time she might be full of boundless energy like this, unless it was for raising her hand in class he supposed. 

When he pictured a young Granger in his head, he imagined her curled up in a large armchair, reading a book that was too big for her little mind not-. 

A high-pitched squeal sounded from Lyra as she chased a lone duck off the Quidditch pitch like some sort of feral dog. 

“Perhaps we should have leashed her instead,” Theo laughed. 

Draco chuckled too as the duck quacked in what he assumed was a series of duck language profanities.

“Can we fly?!” Lyra yelled, sprinting up to Draco and Theo. She gestured to the hoops wildly. “I wanna play Qwidditch!”

Again, Draco squinted at her suspiciously. No way she got an interest in flying from Granger. Did the commonality between these two really end at physical appearance? 

“Whose child are you exactly!?” Theo chortled, “Alas, as much as I want to, little one, we don’t have a broom little enough for you,” Theo said diplomatically. 

“Fly on yours, Scorp? Just once! Pweeeas!” 

She wielded her big round eyes at him, and Draco really, really wished she didn't have a scary Future Granger mother out there so he might have a chance at saying yes to that. 

“Not today, Lyra. You're too little for a big broom. It's not safe.”

The girl pouted. 

“But I'm sticky!” She argued, looking down at her hands. She held them up as if for inspection. “Sticky!” 

A bit of grass was stuck to her palm as if by proof. 

Theo chortled, “That you are.”

As the two laughed, Lyra quickly got distracted again and sprinted away across the pitch. She found an old Slytherin banner someone had dropped and began twirling it about, while the two boys couldn't help but cheer her on. 

“Grangers are gonna kill us if she's Lyra sporting those colors,” Draco commented. “She’ll say we're trying to influence her.”

“Are we not?” Theo asked. 

“Oh, absolutely, but she can't know that.”

“WOO!” Theo hollered with cupped hands. “There she is!! The first year, Slytherin seeker!” 

Lyra and her banner raced through the field as fast as her little legs could carry her, making zooming noises and chasing invisible snitches. When she finally came to the end of the pitch, she whirled around, barreling straight for them instead. 

“-OOoof!” 

Both boys made a hollow sound as they hit the ground from the force of Lyra’s impact. She didn't seem to mind as she collapsed into giggles the moment they groaned in pain. 

“Forget… seeker…” Theo said through gritted teeth. “You can play as the bloody bludger.”

Draco tried to nod, but his neck was too stiff, and after they righted themselves, it took three tries from Theo’s wand to crack it back straight. By then, Lyra was off again, bounding around with seemingly unlimited energy.

“When did we get too old for this?” Draco said, gathering himself up again, “We used to roughhouse all the time for fun.” 

“Probably around the time we had fight a real war.” Theo shrugged. “Play fighting…got a lot less fun then.” 

Draco watched Lyra run, carefree. At least she never had to know what that was like. Draco’s stomach twisted. 

And she wouldn't, not if he could help it. 

“I should get to potions class. McGonnagal might have excused you, but I doubt I will get the same treatment.” Theo said, brushing off his robes. “You should let Pansy have a turn next.” 

“A turn?” Draco said with a raised brow.

“Yeah. A turn to feel liked childhood isn’t a prison designed to torture you with your lack of agency and free will?” he shrugged. “You know, like ours was.”

Theo wandered off, leaving Draco behind to ponder that statement. Lyra seemingly watched him go and bounded back over to Draco. 

“Uncle Teo leaving?” she said with a furrowed brow. 

“Just to go to class,” he said and tried to put on a smile for her. “He’s got to go and brew some fancy potions!” 

Her eyes lit up, “Can I go too?!”

“Not until you're eleven, I'm afraid.”

She pouted. 

“What do you say, Lyra? Up for a walk to the black lake, hmm? Want to say hello to the giant squid?”

“Giant swid?!” She squeaked with alarm. If it were possible, she looked somehow both excited and nervous at this, clutching onto his robes for support.

“Don’t worry, they only eat Griffindors, and you are a Slytherin like me, aren't you?” 

She snickered devilishly, and Draco knew he was onto something there. Once they arrived at the lake, it seemed like her energy had finally begun to settle down, as instead of running aroun,d she felt content to examine rocks and sticks instead, showing just a hint of that Granger Curiosity™ for all knowledge. 

The sun was still low in the sky, but it was nearing midday already. While the snows had already gone from the castle grounds for the year, Draco still cast a little warming charm over himself and Lyra to keep the chill at bay. 

When she had seen enough and finally got bored, Lyra ran over to where Draco was sitting on the ground,  leaning against an old log, and hugged him tightly. He chuckled through a small sigh, her heavy weight on his chest making it slightly more difficult.

“Why do you call me Scorp?” He asked her softly. 

He couldn't help it as the question was gnawing at him.

She frowned at him, “You’re Scorp.”

He sighed and brushed a few curls from her face.

“Who's your father…” he asked under his breath. The question was spoken, but only just barely, more to himself than to her. All the same, she looked up.

A small, sticky hand was then shoved towards his face. Draco grimaced slightly but quickly realized she was concentrating hard on something. He waited and watched as she took her finger and drew a line sideways across his face from brow to jaw, bisecting his nose in two. 

Lyra frowned, drawing the line again. Then again.

After a moment, Draco blew out a breathy laugh.

“Your hands are sticky, love,” he said, giving her a smile. 

She giggled.

“Sticking to Scorp!” she hugged him tighter. 

—--

Draco snored himself awake, lying on a sofa in the room of requirement. Not the most tasteful way for the next Lord Malfoy to go about an afternoon nap, but what could he say, he’d had an odd day. A small giggle next to his ear told him that mischief was afoot, as Lyra stuck another little toy into the hood of his robe.

On the way back into the castle earlier, he had carried Lyra in his arms to keep her from wriggling away (thankfully, she was still a bit sticky even after his numerous cleansing charms). Of course, she was still disillusioned, but on his hip this time, and his loose school robes nearly obscured the strange way he was carrying his arm, holding the nearly invisible girl. Surely, if anyone noticed, they probably would assume he was carrying some sort of charmed class project gone wrong and not the future offspring of the castle’s resident golden girl… provided they didn't hear Lyra's hushed giggling or notice the way she tussled his hair while they walked. 

It was there, in the hallway, that he ran into Pansy and, as Theo had expected, she was eager to join Little Lyra once again for some child tomfoolery (while also needling her about her future self, of course).

Draco yawned and sat up, a loose array of thingies and what-its the room of requirement had selected for Lyra to play with tumbling to the floor with a little crash. Pansy swore, but not at Draco, as she was playing with the future mobile while it made some sort of infernal racket in response.

Apparently, at some point in his dozing, Lyra had snuck Granger's (and subsequently Future Granger’s) weird square mobile from his robe pocket and had given it to the witch. The thing made another loud series of dings before Pansy swore again. It was becoming clear he would be getting no more shut-eye. 

“This blasted game!” Pansy said. 

She was mashing the device with a single index finger while Lyra peeked over her shoulder with wrapped attention. There was a dusty tea set on the blanket where Pansy sat.

Draco had been rudely uninvited from participating in tea by both Pansy and Lyra, both of whom had declared that tea parties were for witches only and relegated him to the sofa as a mere observer. Draco was rather put out at the prospect, but after only a minute or two, he was out like a light before he could hear any more gossiping about the future.

“I took the sticking charm off of her,” Pansy said without looking up from the mobile, “either she ran headfirst into a cursed object that transferred said annoying sticky charm, or someone put it on her intentionally.”

Draco hummed noncommittally. Was that a possibility? When could she have gotten cursed? Did Granger know?

Another few annoying dings passed, and the device made a sad sort of honk that made Pansy grimace with disgust. 

“What is that infernal racket?” Draco drawled. 

“Some horrible- flippy bird game… thing...” Pansy said, still flashing angry eyes at the bright display in her hand. 

“Fwappy bird,” Lyra corrected. 

“Sorry, Flappy Bird game.” 

He frowned.

“Oh, Right,” Draco said as if any of that answered his question. “What did I miss?” He said with a yawn. 

“Well, we played at tea, a bit of dress-up… and Oh! Lyra let me touch her hair! Look!” Pansy beamed, showing off the nice straight braid that coiled down Lyra's head.

“Very pretty,” Draco said to the girl who beamed. He sort of missed the girl's regular mess, but apparently, he disguised it well as she looked pleased at his approval. 

“Lyra said she wanted to listen to music, so we stole your strange mobile and she started showing me all this music! Apparently, my favorite artist in the future is… Erm, Lady something. Poor Lyra can't manage to pronounce the name. I guess I'll have to wait to see.” Pansy huffed.

Lyra pouted, “Lady Gaga!”

“See?” Pansy said. “I can't understand what you're saying, love.”

Draco had no idea what was going on, but a second before he opened his mouth, a spectral otter patronus bounded into the room of requirement, lighting up their space. 

“Malfoy!” the otter shouted, “Oh Merlin, I'm so sorry! I didn’t mean to sleep so long- I’m on my way as fast as I can!” It said in Granger's shrieked voice.

And with that, the otter vanished. 

“Mummy?” Lyra asked.

She had bounded over to him and was gripping Draco's robes again, preferring to stay close. She looked at him in question as if sensing the impending change. It seemed playtime was over. He put a comforting arm around her. 

“I wasn't supposed to let Lyra talk to anyone, Pans. You’d better scarper,” he said, scooping Lyra up into his lap and letting her play with her braid absentmindedly. While it was coiled very tightly on the length, it still looked to be looser around her scalp so as not pull on her head uncomfortably.

Interesting.

“Right!” Pansy stood, stepping over the tea set before stopping abruptly. Turning to face Lyra again, Pansy knelt in front of them both, a strange look on her face.

“I'll see you soon, Lyra.” She said, “When I see you again, will you ask me to braid your hair, just like I did today?” 

Lyra beamed.

“Yes! Aunt Pwansy braided my hair!” She gestured to the braid, pulling it so Draco could see, too. 

Pansy smiled, a sad sort of smile, “Very good, I'll braid it just like that next time. You'll see.” 

There was a shine to her eyes as Pansy kissed the girl on the cheek, and Draco understood the feeling. His stomach knotted at just the sight of the goodbye. They might not see Lyra for a long time, and in Draco’s case, maybe not ever… if Lyra’s clues about his future are anything to go by. 

Maybe in the future, Granger will decide he's not good enough to be her friend after all. Or worse, maybe he will prove yet again how worthless he really is. A slip back into old habits? A parade down memory lane? The last deranged Malfoy finally out on parole and letting loose on the world? Who would want to raise their child near that...

Draco watched Pansy escape through the door, leaving them alone in the room once again.

Maybe he will deserve it. That was the worst part. Maybe he will be such an unforgivable prat by then that it was a mercy, leaving Granger only to wonder what happened to the version of Malfoy that existed for only a moment during their 8th bloody year... him.

Lyra pulled on his robes, yanking Draco from his thoughts. 

“Scorp?” She asked curiously, scrunching up her nose in worry.

“Sorry, Lyra, I was just thinking,” He said. 

She reached up to his face again, drawing that invisible line over his head from forehead to chin, cutting his visage in two.

“Your Aunt Pansy was right,” Draco mused, “You are no longer sticky, love.”

She tucked the future Mobile back into his hands and slipped like a wet fish out of his grasp. Hmm. It appeared the stickiness may have been useful after all.

“Mummy coming back?” She asked. 

Draco chuckled. 

“Yes, don't worry, Love. She’s on her way.”

And Draco was right because not a second later, Granger barged into the room, flushed and barely dressed in her school robes, by the look. 

“Mummy!” Lyra jumped up immediately, abandoning Draco's side for the motherly comfort she must have missed. 

“Lyra! Oh, I'm so sorry I slept so long. I-” Granger was silenced in a huff when the girl colluded with her, knocking her to the ground.

“Melrin, I forgot she's strong!” Granger winced before laughing and hugging the girl tightly right back. 

More butterflies erupted in Draco's stomach as he watched the two tumble into a fit of giggles on the floor. The littlest Granger on top of Regular Granger, who was still trying to brush loose curls over her shoulder to see.  Her eyes widened. 

“Your hair is braided!” Granger exclaimed, kneeling to examine her(?) child from head to toe. “How…” She trailed off, looking back at Draco. 

Whoops. He did not plan for this. It was, however, imperative to maintain being on the good side of Granger so that future Lyra might know him… so of course he couldn't let slip that he had failed the only bloody instruction he was given.

“What can I say? I'm naturally gifted at maintaining hair, Granger,” He said, smirking and flipping his own head to show off.

An excellent lie. He mentally patted himself on the back.

Granger looked him up and down. He sort of expected her to snort or shove him as she usually did when he preened in front of her, but instead, she was just staring, apparently too bewildered even with the explanation. It made Draco hesitate. 

“You braided her hair?” she asked softly. There wasn't a hint of humor; she was genuine, which made his heart flutter again.

Draco sputtered in his answer, floundering under her very genuine question.

“Well … yeah-”

“This is incredible work! How did you manage it? Did you use magic?” She asked as she examined Lyra’s neatly woven braid. 

Draco swallowed, unsure. He looked at the hair and tried to study it without giving the game away. Did hair braided through magic leave any signs? Was the difference obvious? Merlin, he should have been paying more attention to Pansy instead of napping.

“Without magic of course.” He decided, “Unless you count my magic touch, as I do everything with startling accuracy, Granger. If you paid attention, you would know this.” He smirked at her. 

Finally, it seemed, his humor had eaten away her shock, and she rolled her eyes.

“Okay then King Midas. I'll let you braid my hair next time.” She huffed. “Should give ample challenge for your magic touch.” She straightened, still appraising Lyra. “Maybe her hair isn't as similar to mine as it looks… It's rather hard for me to manage it like this.”

Draco’s world was spinning.

Would she let him near her hair? Draco’s eyes unfocused as he briefly imagined it. Her sitting on the ground in front of him while he ran his hands through it. There would be little tugs and pulls as he tied the different strands together into knots and… wait, did he know how to braid hair? He made a mental note to get Pansy to teach him all her tricks. Maybe he could check out a few books from the library and…

“Has she eaten?” Granger shook him from his thoughts.

Draco nodded. “Eaten, napped, we even found time for tea,” he gestured to the dusty tea set. 

Granger's eyes widened a fraction before Lyra tugged at her sleeve again. 

“Can we color again, mummy?” she asked.

“Oh! Yes, of course.”

Granger set down her scary bag on their long table and summoned several items out of it in quick succession while Lyra got comfortable in a chair. With a little wand wave from Draco, her seat rose to help her see over the table top properly. 

“There you are,” She said to Lyra fondly, brushing the top of the girl's hair absentmindedly. A strange look crossed her features, and her hand fell to her lap. 

What did that mean? He tried to parcel her out, but Granger was suddenly a mask. 

He joined Lyra's other side, taking a piece of Muggle paper from Granger's supplies and preparing himself to doodle next to her. He got a strange look from the witch, but he just shrugged. Was he really expected to just return to class after their day?

Not a chance. 

“Was she alright this morning? Sorry I left you for so long, I only meant to nap for an hour and-” She stopped. “Oh my classes! I would have missed charms!”

“I sent a message to McGonnagal already. You've been excused from your classes for today.” Draco quickly lied. At least this lie was sort of true, as Granger had no need to worry about her attendance. 

“You- You did?” She blinked at him. “But, what about you?” 

“I’ll make an excuse. Really, Granger, it's fine.” His stomach was doing loops under her gaze, and he could feel himself flounder slightly. “I’m sure no one will notice I'm gone,” he said, swiftly concerning himself with his drawing instead. 

The little colored wax sticks that Granger had were not the highest in quality, but it seemed Lyra delighted in them all the same, and Draco got to doodle a little Quidditch scene where a tiny stick Lyra was donning Slytherin colors. He snuck it over to the girl to see, and she giggled, apparently having caught on that it was a secret from her mummy. Draco was pretty sure she saw anyway and rolled her eyes.

Granger, for her part, while pretending to draw too, but secretly had a quill in her dominant hand, scribbling through the same arithmancy notes he had seen before. 

“Oh, very nice!” She said as Lyra held up another picture. It looked to be of him, and he decided to preen slightly even though Granger had likely not studied it very closely. 

“Scorp!” She said proudly, showing him too.

“Of me? Why, it is a masterpiece!” he said.

Lyra giggled.

When he looked up she saw Granger staring back at him. The hand that had previously been furiously scribbling stopped as she watched him interact with Lyra. She then blinked and cleared her throat. 

“I think I've almost got this mapped out,” She said quickly. “Future me just needed me to draw up some of the diagrams to calibrate the spells for… well, whatever it was she needed to get.”

“And that will send them back to their time accurately?" he said, trying to peer over Lyra to see Granger's work. He was a bit intrigued by the puzzle.

“That's the goal. I think I've got this narrowed down. At worst, there should only be a difference of around thirty minutes,” She said proudly,” So hopefully when they land back in their time, they could only be thirty minutes away from the destination I'm trying to send them, which would be the exact time they left, of course.” She laughed lightly, “Some Muggle scientists, a long time ago, nuclear physicists they're called, made up this unit of measurement for the size of their projectiles and the accuracy of their aim and named it a barn, based on the Muggle phrase, ‘couldn't hit the broad side of a barn’,” she chuckled. “Not exactly the same in terms of measurements, but it feels apt right now.”

Draco raised an eyebrow. 

“They were American,” she shrugged, “and also they were using helium-3 to shoot high-grade Uranium while I’m using two living people to shoot the year of 2014, so…” Granger trailed off.

“You should aim for thirty minutes later,” Draco suggested, not having really followed her. He could tell she was nervous, and now, in the spouting nonsensical facts portion of her energy buildup, he could tell she was very nervous. 

“What?” Granger perked up.

“You should aim for thirty minutes after the time they departed, that way if you're off by thirty minutes, they won't end up arriving before they've actually left. I imagine that might pose some problems for the timeline, as well as little Lyra's development if she witnesses herself being flung into the past.” He said, looking down at the girl while she colored. 

Granger blinked. 

“Oh.” Her nose scrunched in thought. “That…hmmm, that makes sense.” She scribbled a few notes, jotting down some new equations to account for a slight delay while Draco took another piece of paper. 

This time, he drew a silvery otter.

Lyra laughed and squiggled her red stick over the middle in excitement to help him. She did a fantastic job of helping.

“Little Mummy! Lookit!” She held up the picture and Granger looked. 

“Wow, so pretty!” She said.

Just then, the room shook and began to shift, the abruptness so startling that both of them jumped to their feet, wands in their hands. Despite the way the wards felt, the room of requirement wasn't being attacked; it was just changing, the southern wall warping slowly until the bricks pulled back to reveal a grand stone fireplace complete with a burning flame in its mouth. 

“Mummy?" Lyra stuck her fingers near her mouth nervously, and Granger immediately picked the girl up, swinging her over her hip to face the fireplace with Draco. 

“I didn't know there was a fireplace hidden here...” Draco started to say, “Surely it can't be connected to the-”

The flames glowed green, proving him immediately wrong, as a figure stepped into Hogwarts completely unperturbed by the wards. Draco’s eyes went wide.

Clad all in black, with a hood over her curly hair, stood Future Hermione Granger, the golden girl, and real mother to their little Lyra. She cast her eyes over them while taking off the large hood, her gaze landing firmly on Draco. 

“Ah, I see you found help,” Future Granger drawled. Was that a little smirk on her face?

“Big Mummy!” Lyra wiggled deftly out of Granger's hands and slid to the floor, running over to her mother for a hug. The older witch braced like a trained veteran, scooping the girl up instead of being bowled over entirely. 

Draco hadn't yet blinked, afraid that if he did, she would disappear like a dream.

This was Granger. This is what she looked like… what she was, in the future! Draco was too stunned to speak for a moment, mouth opening and closing as he stared. She was beautiful. Like a goddess. Still shorter than him, but filled out and strong. No doubt child rearing assisted in some of that, but as she walked, she could see that self-assuredness, and decisiveness he recognized as something he only saw glimpses of in his own Granger. 

It was still Granger, just... older. 

“Nice to finally meet you, Future Granger.” He said, finally finding his words. 

It seemed he was defaulting to the manners he was trained to use when he was young, which he supposed wasn't the worst, after all, there wasn’t exactly protocol for meeting people from the future. He made a mental note to owl his old etiquette instructor the question, if she was even still alive.

Something caught his eye, and he noticed the silver wedding band around her finger. Hmm. 

“Oh!” Look at you.” Future Granger leaned in to look at him, Lyra in her arms, giggling madly. “A much better introduction than the first time, well done. Unfortunately for you, I'm still the same person, so I can’t exactly call this a first impression,” She snickered devilishly at his frown, but then sighed. “But it is so good to see you, Draco.”

She tilted her head to the side fondly. 

Draco? His heart fluttered at the word. He was pretty sure Granger had never uttered his first name in her life. He swallowed hard. A lot can change in ten years, he supposed. 

"How did you do that to the room of requirement? I had no idea it could create a floo connection!" Granger said, still in shock.

Future Granger frowned at that. "Bloody James," She said with an eyeroll. "Leave it to the new Marauders to find new ways to get around Hogwarts."

Draco wasn't fallowing but Granger looked stunned for amoment. "James? You don't mean-" 

"Prongs the third? Yes. -And he's a monster at sneaking around. It was only his first year, and he kept trying to join his dad and uncle Ron at the ministry for lunch... in the middle of the school day! Can you believe it? Refused to tell us how he was sneaking out, and all the way to London, as an eleven-year-old! Bloody floos..." She trailed off.  

Draco Ginned. Future Granger swore so much more, and he couldn't wait to give his Granger shit about it.

Finally, Future Granger straightened from frowning, and she sat Lyra down on the edge of the table, turning to face her younger self. 

“How did you get on?” 

“Wonderful! I have the calculations here.” Granger showed off her scrolls and rocked on her heels with a wide smile, a little habit for when she was being graded by a professor. 

“Rudimentary, but it will do. Good work.” Future Granger said after only a second of looking. 

Draco nearly choked laughing at the face Granger made. 

“Rudimentary?" She repeated under her breath, happy rocking stopping in an instant. Her lips were pressed together like she had bitten a lemon.

Future Granger didn't seem to hear her as she had produced several large shapes of metal from her extended robes' pockets and began to lay them out on the floor. They looked to be something that would fall off the back of a Muggle lorry, not magical equipment, but Draco could feel in the air that something was wrong with them. They had clearly been warped and twisted into their exact shapes with a sizable amount of magic.

Whatever Future Granger had created while away, it likely took a lot of power.

With a wave of her wand, the pieces flung into the air, and Draco realized they were taking the shape of a large circular frame, suspended and held together by magic. They began to spin slowly, as if waiting for more input. 

Lyra clapped her hands together, excited, and Draco settled next to her, watching the two Grangers cast their diabolical creation towards the frame. 

“The next one now- In sequence!” Future Granger called.

Both wands cast some orange lightning, and the circle started to glow, illuminating the floor. 

“Now reversed!” She called again. 

More lighting. 

It was sort of magnificent how well they worked together. Draco knew they were the same person, of course, but he had to assume that on some level, it must be hard for them both to bear not being the smartest witch in the room. He chuckled at that thought. 

“Mummy…” Lyra grumbled next to him.

Draco realized with a jump that she had wiggled down from her seat on the table and had already made it a few steps towards the strange magic before he caught her arm, taking her little hand in his. 

“Little escape artist! We have to wait till your… erm, mummy’s are finished before we go over there. Okay?” 

Lyra pouted, but then a thought occurred to her. 

“We watch? Watch like big kids?”

Draco was sure she was talking about something specific, so he just shrugged. “Yeah,” he decided. “We're going to watch! You and me, cause we’re big kids.”

Lyra beamed, stomping excitedly and gripping Draco's hand harder. 

“We're watching, Mummy!” She announced to the Grangers. 

Granger looked back and smiled fondly, but Future Granger had too many floating notes around her and could only give a half-hearted thumbs up. 

“Ready for the last spell?” Future Granger called. 

The two circled with their wands until the frame began to pick up speed. It circled and circled until the magic was cast out like a net, and a green film filled the center.

A portal through time itself. It was done and hovered in the center of the room, a great big glowing disc the ripled and began to stabilize, as if it was being held on the other end as well as this one. 

Both grangers panted, out of breath from the exertion and the toll ontheir magic. It was staggering. Lyra pulled on his hand excitedly, and he couldn't help but grin at this thing the Grangers had created together, thought impossible for generations of wizards...

But she had done it. Hermione Granger had done it.

“Whoa!” Granger finally said, coming to stand back to look at the magic ripple across the surface of the portal. It hummed eerily. 

“Rudimentary my arse,” Granger said under her breath, huffing a sigh of relief. “Did you invent this all by yourself? Do you have a team back home? A lab?” She asked. 

“You know I can't answer that,” Future Granger chuckled. 

Draco frowned, feeling Lyra's little hand in his, “So is this it then? You're just leaving?”

“Well, first I need to run the diagnostic and make sure we won't get splinched going through, and then I should reach out to my time travel partner to properly make sure it's stabilized on both sides…” Future Granger trailer off looking back. 

She must have seen something on Draco's face that gave her pause. She could read him strangely well, all things considered, something he noted as odd. How long would he and Granger be friends for in the future? How long did they have left before he was gone from her life, and Lyra wouldn't know him?

“You're not gonna answer any of our questions? You're just going to leave, just like that?” Draco sneered bitterly.

He didn't mean to be so angry about it, but it came out raw and emotional, the goodbye to someone he had allowed himself to care about- who cared about him- suddenly too much to bear.

“You know we can't stay,” Future Granger said diplomatically.

It hurt how nice she was about it.

“We don't belong here, Draco.”

He looked down at Lyra, not being able to stomach letting go of her hand. For a second longer, it felt like he could be a part of her future. Even if he couldn't be there where she came from. Whether he was dead or missing or-

“Why does she confuse me for someone else?” he blurted out.

Both Grangers frowned, but Future Granger stared at her daughter, confusion furrowing her brow. 

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“With the small, and reasonable, exception of mixing up her two mums," He snorted, "she been very good about knowing whos who.” 

His Granger put her hands on her hips accusetorily and Draco cleared his throat to lie.

“We looked at pictures! She recognized Pansy and Theo as her aunt and uncle!” He said quickly. 

Granger let her arms drop, and they both looked to Future Granger, whose eyes were hard to read. Draco sighed. His heart felt heavy in his chest. He wouldn’t be remembered. Not really. He would never get to see little Lyra in the future or this future Granger and her life. It would all be…

…without him.

Of course, what could he expect? He was never made for nice things. For good things. 

Future Granger cocked her head slightly at his frown, “Hey,” she started softly, "What's wrong?”

“She doesn't know me,” he said. Why did his heart hurt so much? He hated it. 

Future Granger just looked confused. 

“In the future,” He clarified, “She doesn't know me. Does she?”

Future Granger laughed suddenly, startling him. "I assure you she does.”

Draco looked up. 

“What?”

“I said, I assure you she does, Draco.”

Suddenly, his heart was fluttering, but he almost didn't want to believe it in case it wasn't true. 

“But- but why doesn't she know me now, then?”

“Know you? Of course, she knows you.”

“Recognize me!” he said desperately. “She keeps calling me, Scorp!" 

For a few seconds, that information needed to sink in, and then suddenly Future Granger was laughing hysterically, gripping her stomach as her shoulders shook. It took several moments of stunned watching from Draco and Granger for her to collect herself, wiping tears from her eyes. 

“Sorry, that’s-” Future Granger snorted “that’s just-”

“What?" Draco whined impatiently, “What does it mean?”

Future Granger rubbed a hand down her face before she looked back at him.

“Scorpius!” she said finally, breathing a big sigh, “Scorpius Malfoy. That's who she's confusing you for.”

Draco’s mind went blank as his jaw went slack. 

“That’s-” He was putting the pieces together, “Not-” 

“MmhHhmm!” She confirmed. “He's your firstborn. You're spitting image, too, the little traitor.” 

Lyra pulled at his sleeve, giggling, but Draco just stood, still as a statue. 

His… what?

“You got your doppelganger just like I got mine! He's a bit older than Lyra, but they're utterly inseparable, thick as thieves, actually,” Future Granger was still talking. “It's a bit chaotic, actually, you wouldn't believe the things they're capable of getting up to together. Worse than James and Albus.”

Draco’s mind was still whirling. He hadn't even considered- the bloody possibility of- Draco blinked again. 

His son.

He would have a family.

A real family. He wouldn't die young or live forever as the shell the war made him to be. He would be someone else, and presumably find someone else to do this with and then eventually... Scorpius Malfoy... Not just a concept or a hypothetical heir to the Malfoy legacy... A person... his son.

“Erm, Malfoy?” His Granger said from across the room. 

He looked over to her. 

“You’re um… You're glowing a bit there,” She said sheepishly. 

He realized with a jump that she was right, and that Lyra was actualy giggling at the way he was actively shimmering in the room of requirement from some accidental magic. He wasn't sure if he had ever had that reaction before. Very embarrassed, Draco vanished the little warm lights and immediately cleared his throat. 

“Right, em-” He said to Future Granger. “That makes more sense. So, she thought I was- am-”

“Little Scorpius! He might just be her favorite person in the whole world, except, of course, for her mum and dad,” she said proudly.

“You're my Scorp!” Lyra said, hugging his legs tightly. 

Future Granger frowned. 

“Well… perhaps it's a close call.” 

Draco beamed down at little Lyra. “I’ll get to see her again? And I’ll get to see this…my… Scorp,” he repeated. Lyra beamed, realizing that Draco finally got it.

“Scorpius, yes,” Future Granger agreed. 

He looked into the middle distance. “Scorpuis,” he repeated dazedly. 

“Scorp!”

He knelt down suddenly and pulled Lyra tight against him, in the biggest hug he could manage. I’ll see you again, he thought, and he hoped with everything he had that it would be true. He needed it to be true.

Damn, maybe he was a hugger too.

Granger stepped closer and knelt beside Lyra as well, giving her future daughter a sorrowful look that made Draco’s heart pull. It was time for goodbyes, then.

“I’ll- “ Granger choked a bit, clearly trying not to cry. “I'll see you soon, okay, love?” 

She wiped a tear from her face, and the Future Granger suddenly looked pained. 

“-Before you know it.” 

Granger hugged the girl tightly before Lyra let go and grabbed her real mother’s hand.

“Bye bye, Little mummy!”

Everyone choked out a small laugh at that.

“Hermione! Merlin sake- Finally!" A man’s voice warbled into existence from beyond the portal. Draco couldn't see past the thick green magical barrier that rippled, but he assumed the sound of strangled voices would probably be proof of life on the other side at least.

“Are you there?” the man called.

“Here!” Future Granger called. 

“Who’s that?” Granger asked, taking the words right from Draco. Something about the voice felt familiar, but it was warbled, deeper… but it almost sounded like…

“You’re both fine?” The man asked.

“Yep! Just a bit tired. How long was it for you?”

“Only about half an hour.”

“Yes!” Granger quietly cheered before huffing. “Rudimentary…” she scoffed under her breath.

Draco almost didn't hear her. Something was bothering him, and he narrowed his eyes, trying to place the voice. 

Future Granger wrung her hands, “Sorry, you must have been worried. Lyra is fine- We’re both fine.”

There was a chuckle then, sounding strange as it vibrated through the magic. 

“Looks like it's stabilized on both ends. Can I come through?” The man asked

Granger rolled her eyes lightly. 

“Yes, and I already need to initiate the backup plan. Come and help me with it,” she tossed a look over to Draco. “They're curious anyway.”

“They? Who's they?”

Future Granger smirked devilishly. “Well...Past Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, of course!"

The man laughed again, louder this time, and Draco was beginning to suspect a trap. He stepped instinctively closer to Granger. She must have thought the same because she stepped closer to him as well.

“Who is that?” Draco repeated. 

“My time travel partner, of course,” Future Granger explained, “The ministry doesn't let any old unspeakable make time travel equipment by themselves, apparently.” She rolled her eyes at this, “Too dangerous. So they assigned me a curse breaker in case I got myself into any trouble."

Future Granger laughed and shook her head.

“Luckily, I had one in mind!”

Finally, a shadow loomed in front of the portal's green hue, and a hand appeared first, followed by an arm and then the rest of him.

Draco's eyes widened as he looked upon the tall man who stepped through, and he instantly understood why Lyra had not recognized him. 

It was him.

Future Draco was much broader than Draco was now, wearing dark robes that seemed to obscure an awful lot of dangerously cut muscle that he found himself in awe with, intimidated by, and proud of, all at the same time. Honestly, it was very confusing for his ego. But more than even that, there was a singular long scar running the length of his face, bisecting the bridge of his nose cleaning in the middle.

Draco stared.

“Merlin’s fucking-”

“Language,” Future Draco tutted.

Draco had to blink several times to make sure he was not experiencing ocular errors. A glimpse to the side gained him the knowledge that his version of Granger was doing the same thing, although with a little more red tinge to her cheeks.

Well, that was something.

“Daddy!” Lyra beamed, suddenly dropping Future Granger’s hand and sprinting toward the portal. 

Future Draco grinned, scooping up the girl with a practiced ease and settling her in the crook of his shoulder. 

“There you are, love!” He chuckled, “Have an exciting adventure, did you?”

Merlins.

Fucking.

Beard.

Draco looked at Granger.

Granger looked at Draco

Future Granger looked at Future Draco

Future Draco looked at Lyra. 

“Scorp!” the girl shouted, pointing back at him.

“But I- But you said- but we-” Draco floundered. He looked around, trying to find someone to question, but he just ended up staring at Granger again. 

“There was- but what about- that's not-” she managed, equally as floundering as him. 

Granger stared back.

“Well said!” Future Granger chuckled.   

“Quite.” Future Draco agreed. 

Everyone stared around for a moment as the news caught up with them. Future him was Future Granger's husband… which meant… Draco was briefly aware that his mind was overclocking itself, running out of power like an old broomstick midair, leaving him to freefall… he shook his head to clear it.

“But what about Scorpius!” He finally managed to blurt out a fully coherent sentence. He mentally patted himself on the back.

Future Granger looked at him, puzzled. “What about Scorpius?” 

“But he-- you said- he was my son.”

“And mine you prat!” She laughed. “He was our first, a bit older than Lyra, of course, but that's life for you! She seemed uncomfortable for the first time since these uncomfortable topics began, and cleared her throat. “Accidents happen!” She finished cheerily. 

Draco nearly fainted. 

Future Draco snickered.

“Wait! Wait. Why are you telling us so much!?” Granger asked, still red in the face with shock. “You’d be spoiling everything- and you can't have known this your whole life while also following the timeline correctly and-" Granger cut herself off abruptly, a dawning look of horror spreading across her face. 

Draco (who was still trying to relearn how to breathe) felt her grab his sleeve in a sudden movement.

“Oh my god, they're planning to obliviate us,” she said frantically. 

“Oh fuck-” Draco agreed.

“Langwidge!” Lyra shouted. 

Although he was still reeling from the packed information the last thirty seconds had provided, he did feel the instinctual pull of protecting his mind and drew his wand accordingly. 

Within a heartbeat, both he and Granger were disarmed and they looked up to see future Draco, still holding Lyra with one arm, now clutching both of their wands in the other. He tisked both of their younger selves with a world-class smirk on his face (Draco made a mental note to practice that in the mirror next chance he got). 

“Please don’t worry!” Future Granger said frantically trying to calm their younger selves with her hands,  “Young me is correct- we can’t have altered the past as that's not how time travel works, but we’re not going to hurt you,” She chuckled, “and believe me, you both will not be missing out!” 

The hand that Granger grasped at his sleeve slid down to his hand as she clutched him desperately. He clutched her back, aware of how suddenly his heart fluttered and how royally he was fucked. 

He was going to marry her, and he wouldn't even remember. He had to remember. Somehow, he had to. It was the most important thing in his universe.

Future Granger smiled at them, both turning to her past self first. There was a sharp pleading look from his Granger before suddenly she was scooped up into a tight hug, leaving Draco's hand forgotten as she let go with a huff. 

Huh. 

He could see now where Lyra got it from. 

Granger's face scrunched up as she looked suddenly like she might cry. 

“You’ve done so well,” Future Granger told her younger self quietly, “Trust yourself. It will get easier with time.” She rocked the younger version of herself back and forth for a moment in a way that was probably influenced by her maternal training. 

Granger suddenly sniffed loudly.

“You look so much like mum, you know.” 

Future Granger just laughed, but it was weighed down by sadness in it's tone. 

“You think Lyra was the first clone? Nonsense.” She pulled away slightly to put her hands over Granger's face. “You’re going to be alright,” she whispered. 

Now it was Granger’s turn to laugh horsely, rubbing the tears from her face, “How can I know that? When you're about to obliviate me.” She sniffled. “I love her so much, and she's not even mine yet!”

Draco's heart pulled as he realized he felt the same. He looked back at Lyra.

His daughter. 

Oh fuck. He couldn't forget. He couldn't-

“You’ll only lose the memories,” The older witch corrected, “Everything else will stay right where it is. Your love for her will be waiting until you see her again.”

Granger sniffled. “Promise?”

“I promise.”

Future Granger turned her attention from her past self over to Draco, causing him to straighten with alarm. She only stared wistfully at him instead. With her head cocked to the side, she let her eyes roam over him in a way that made his face heat.

“I forgot how young we were.” 

Draco snorted. “You've seen me younger,” he tried to say with a sneer, but her gaze held his, and his stomach wormed into knots.

She grinned. 

“Older, too.” 

His cheeks grew even warmer. 

Suddenly, her hand was on his shoulder, and she gripped him tightly, like he might vanish if she wasn’t secure enough. He didn't know why, but he reached for her arm as well, like she was family, which he supposed was kind of correct. 

“You're doing so good, Draco,” she said with a soft smile on her face.

He loved hearing his first name from her, he decided. He couldn't forget this.

She leaned in towards Draco conspiratorially. “You have so much to look forward to! You have no idea.” 

And before Draco could blink, she leaned in and placed her lips against his cheek with a soft reverence. He was pretty sure he flushed from head to toe at that and nearly choked when she leaned away to snicker at his reaction. 

He steadied his feet slightly and looked to his future self in time to catch him shooting a wink to the younger Granger that had a similar effect on her, as she was beet red as well. Tosser. 

“No one else saw Lyra, right? Just you two?”

“No, of course not!” Granger said quickly. “We kept her here the whole time, right, Malfoy?”

Draco flinched, occumency walls bracing for impact.

“Right!” he lied. 

He looked to future them but it was only future Draco that narrowed his eyes. 

Oh fuck... 

He forgot that if he was a natural occlumense then so was… well, him. And he would have surely noticed the lie.

For a moment, it looked an awful lot like future Draco’s mouth was about to pull into another smirk before he spoke once more. 

“C’mon, love. Best be off now.”

“Right!” Future Hermione said.

Joining the rest of her family beside the portal, the future parents raised their wands against them both. 

As Hermione grabbed his hand again beside him, he looked to her, instead of the portal, watching the way her hair bounced around her face.

My future. He thought. For Merlin's sake, let it come quickly.

“Obliviate!” the future called.

…

..

.

They stepped through the portal quickly, Lyra still tucked securely in Draco's arm. They only got one last look back at the slumped figures of their past selves there on the ground, as the magical gate closed with a tiny fizzle and the makeshift metal instruments his wife had created fell to the floor with a clatter. 

Draco looked around, glad their workshop resided here at the manor, where he could safely drop his youngest child off (although after today they definitely will need to review how easily she can sneak in while they are working). He set Lyra down just in time, it seemed, as he heard a familiar set of running footsteps coming to meet them.

“Mum! You're back!” An eager voice called. He was waiting dutifully on the side of the room that only the big kids were allowed to watch from (much to Lyra and Lily’s displeasure).

Scropius looked around, wringing his hands nervously as he approached. Merlin, Draco thought. Scorpius was, in fact, the spitting image of his younger self. It was uncanny. No wonder Lyra got confused. The boy’s little face lit up immediately upon seeing his baby sister. 

“Scorp!” Lyra beamed with excitement upon seeing her favorite person in the whole world. 

“Lyra!" Scorpious charged forward and pulled her into a tight hug, lines on the floor be damned.

They both hugged like they had spent a decade apart and not an hour and a day respectively, and Draco sighed in relief at the sight of the kids back together. Scorp had not taken the news well that his mother and baby sister had been abducted by some rogue time magic very well, and had been a nervous mess for the entire half hour they were gone, no matter how much Draco reassured him that they were going to be fine. 

“Why don’t you two go play while we clean up the workshop?” Hermione suggested with little stretch.

"Yes, take her upstairs. Lyra's had a long day," Draco agreed. With the time difference they just experienced, his wife should be exhausted, especially if she spent the entire time working to get them both back.

“Stick together!” Draco added to the kids. As if they ever spent time apart... 

Both kids looked eager and jumped up, sprinting from the room back to the main wing of the Manor. There was a yowl from somewhere in the hall as the ancient half-kneezle that also resided here was presumably almost stomped on. 

Hermione slumped her shoulders, and Draco caught hold of her instantly. He pulled her over to a small leather sofa and let her sink into it beside him. 

“Hmmm,” she said into his chest, “haven't slept in… I actually don't know.” She yawned, “I'll be fine, just need a nap.”

He chuckled. 

“Told you we should have put a bed in the workshop. Now you will have to walk all the way to our wing,” he poked her stomach teasingly. “What a pity.”

His wife cracked a dangerous eye open to smirk at him.

“Prat,” she muttered. 

Draco snuggled into her neck, trying to pull her as close as was physically possible. The old clock on the wall echoed the large space, but he was actively ignoring all the time pieces and project components that were in need of his attention. 

For at least a few more moments, Hermione needed him more. 

“I forgot how thin we both were…” she said, her mind still back in the past.

“Thin?” Draco asked with a scoff. He gave his belly a poke too. Well… there might have been a bit of pudge...

“Haggard,” She clarified, “-exhausted, run down…not in a good way.”

“Ah,” he said, ”We had just come out of a war, love. I'm pretty sure you threw yourself into your bloody study schedules as a means of finding control.”

“What was it you used to call me when I got into my revising mood?”

“Ah, Study Granger! The grouchiest creature in all of Hogwarts Castle.”

She slapped his chest playfully. Somewhere in the house, Lyra and Scorpius were already making a ruckus, delighted to be reunited once more. There was a small crash, and both trained parents braced, listening intently, but no wailing or a tentative “muuuum” followed, so they relaxed once more, leaving Mipsy to deal with it. He made a mental note to give the elf another paid day off. 

Hermione sighed deeper and Draco sensed his opportunity. 

He smirked.

With a flick of his wrist he wandlessly flung a hex across the room and cracked the timepieces into little bits. The things they had just spent weeks working on crumbled onto their worktable before their very eyes.

“Hey! My project!” His perfect wife protested. “You destroyed it! That was years of our research, Draco!” 

The wife was not very pleased. 

“Our research is all just fine,” he said, gesturing to the stack of papers scattered around. “The device, however… needs improvement before we meddle with time again, yes? I will not have my wife nor any sticky-fingered children being abducted again before it's fully completed.”

She sighed and nodded before looking back at him. “We need to renew that sticking charm on her. She’s gotten slippery again. Maybe one of us undid it in the past or something.”

His beautiful, perfect wife took in his face and leaned closer. He thought for a moment he was getting a boon for his hard work, but then she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. 

“You're hiding something.”

“No, I'm not.” He said, smirking indignantly. 

He had been very careful the last few years to not give the game away, but now that the whole thing was over, he couldn't help but let it slip just a bit. Of course, he knew his brilliant wife would catch on immediately regardless, but that was besides the point.

“Yes, you are. What did you do?” She looked at the broken timepiece and back at him. “What are you doing?”

“Not occluding. It feels wonderful to be honest.” He smirked harder. If such heights were possible

“What did you do?!”

“Don’t you remember that I’m a natural Occlumense? I can’t help it sometimes, but for some reason it always activates on its own when I'm feeling anxious or threatened." He rubbed his chin in mocking thought. If it were possible, his smirk deepened to an obnoxious degree.

His perfect, beautiful, and ridiculously smart wife looked at the broken timepiece and finally back at him, mind whirling.

“You prat! You let him remember!” She tried to jump up, but he held onto her. “We have to go back and-”

Draco chuckled. “Too late, I'm afraid, you'll just have to let him go.”

“You knew this whole time? About everything?" Her eyes were wide and manic, thoughts searching her past for the hints of what she left behind. 

“No, of course not! You can’t block an obliviate that easily, and I did obliviate him, don't worry.” He chuckled. She was not laughing but instead was frowning at him deeply. 

“But you remember something?!"

“I think bits started to come back over the years, especially after our little ones came along,” he chuckled, “But, after we came round on the bloody floor, I only remembered one thing for sure.”

She rolled her eyes. “And what was that?”

Draco pulled her closer on his lap, making their noses touch.

“How badly I wanted to kiss and then marry you.” He said, pulling her against him firmly.

She blushed, a little smile creeping across her face. 

“Do you remember when we woke up?” Hermione said with a chuckle. “I guess that all makes sense now... I knew I wouldn't have fallen asleep on the floor!”

“You? Never. But Study-Granger?” he clicked his tongue before she elbowed him in the ribs.

Slowly, she huffed and relaxed against him once more before another thought occurred to him. 

“Oh fuck,” he said. Hermione looked up at him in confusion. “Ugh… Theo and Pansy.”

“What about them?” She asked. 

“I mean-’ he cleared his throat.” I think I caught my past self in a lie there towards the end. I think they probably saw Lyra at some point and figured it out…”

She rolled her eyes. 

“I have no doubt that Pansy weeded the truth out of you somehow,” she huffed. “You wouldn't remember that?”

He thought hard. 

There was a blurry memory, there, protected somewhere deep. A warm feeling and a tight hug, he wanted to remember rather desperately. Maybe some curly hair and… a little voice calling Scorp.

“No. I can’t tell.” 

“The prats. I'll ask Pansy about it on girls' night. Tequila first. That will get her lips moving.”

Draco chuckled.

“Such a Slytherin.” He tutted dramatically, “I'm telling you, Lyra’s going to be one too.”

She smacked his arm lightly. 

“Not a chance.”

They sat like that for a moment longer as Draco ran his fingers through Granger's curls like he did, the warm feeling lingering in his chest the longer he thought about it.

“If you could go back…” she began quietly. He hummed into her hair in contentment. “Would you change anything?”

He smiled.

“Not a thing.”

----

1999- Hogwarts Floor:

Draco Malfoy woke up on the floor of the room of requirement, his hand inches from Granger's. He blinked and startled, shooting straight upright before crying out in pain, a headache splitting his skull.

“Granger!” he shouted. “Wake up!” 

“Hmm?” She was slower to wake than he, apparently. “Did I fall asleep studying again?” She yawned before blinking around at where she was. “Well, this is…. definitely new. I usually fall asleep over the book I am reading, not…” She looked around at the floor. 

“Did you stun me?” Draco asked, wincing again at his head.

It seemed to be fading, but something in his mind was screaming at him. Why was his occlumency fragile? Too fragile. It felt like he pulled a muscle, straining himself to remember something… but what?

“Stun you?!” Granger snorted. “Of course not! Wait. Why are we both on the floor?” 

“No idea,” he said with a shrug. 

“Ugh.” She threw her head back, and an exhausted chuckle escaped her lips. “Why is being at Hogwarts always so weird?"

He looked at her then, even as she yawned and her hair held bits of dust and debris from the room's floor, something pulled at his heart. Something Theo would most definitely tease him about if he knew. 

Merlin, she was pretty. He knew it before, of course, as he had eyes, and perhaps he even tried to ignore it. But why? Why would he try to ignore the way he... felt? It all seemed rather stupid now. 

She caught his eye and blushed slightly. 

“You’re- um, you-” He started to say. 

You're so beautiful? You're amazing? You're the most insane and scariest witch I've ever known, and I would really like to marry you? The thoughts crossed his mind before he could stop them.

“You…” he tried again.

She raised an eyebrow at him this time.

“You… have dust in your hair, Granger,” He snickered with an unbecoming snort. 

1999- Hogwarts Library:

“Malfoy, at least try a little! We're going to be graduating soon, so you'll have to decide sometime!”

Draco was slumped into a chair in their corner of the library, now devoid of all students since the exams were mostly done. Only Granger would want to be here now, as according to her, they still had their lives to study for. 

He shrugged, wallowing in a feeling that had been growing for months. A momentous feeling that was threatening to consume him as the end of their Hogwarts years grew closer and closer. 

“You should know what you want to do by now! And don't even say it- I know you don’t need to work," She rolled his eyes at him, and he cracked a pretentious smile, “ But you will have to do something to occupy your time. You’re too smart to be content doing nothing but drinking expensive firewhiskey and kicking about a stupidly big manor with Theo.”

Too smart. He reveled in the compliment.

“Perhaps. Are you going to finally tell me what you're going to be doing then?” he asked. She stood over him now, laying out books and papers over their table while he still had his feet up. She scowled and shoved his feet to the ground.

“No. Shant.”

He grinned sneakily, “Really? I thought you'd be dying to share. Didn't you receive the good news this morning?”

She looked over to him, startled. 

“How did you know that?” She threatened him with the quill she had in her hand, “Did you read my mail?!”

“I saw you practically beaming at your letter this morning, Granger. I don't need to read it to know it wasn't a rejection letter or even a note from one of the wondrous duo.” 

“Stop calling them that,” she frowned.

“So what was it, hmm?” he asked. “A position of law, perhaps? Working under our new minister, your old friend Kingsley? No, no, no-” he waved the idea away like an annoying fly, “Not groundbreaking enough for you. Perhaps something near your prodigious pals at the DMLE? It's certainly active enough, but… one could say it's too active. I'd think you'd get bored fighting every problem with brawn instead of brain.”

“Having fun?” she pouted, hands on her hips. 

“Tell me, already. What is it?” 

Draco was not above begging, but she sighed and seemed to relent. 

“Unspeakable,” She said with a proud little smirk.

Draco grinned. “An Unspeakable! Well, there you have it: adventure, discovery, and puzzle solving. Perfect for Granger.” 

She rolled her eyes. 

“So? What do you want to do, then? Do you have a plan?” Her posture was annoyed, but her eyes betrayed her. She was worried about him.

He sighed and thought about it.

Granger was going to be an Unspeakable, which meant he would not be able to visit her on floor nine or the department without permission... There were a few jobs he could take at the ministry that might give him the proximity to her that he craved… but he could also…

“Well?” She pressed.

“Cursebreaker,” He said. 

“Oh!” She looked surprised and dropped her arms. “I didn't realize you had thought about it.”

Granger looked a bit sheepish and cleared her throat.

“Well, I guess you don’t need me to help you with it then. I just thought… seeing as I didn’t know where you'd end up, that I’d help you find something to do, but-” 

She was rambling, and Draco stared at her. Her mane of curls, her deep chocolate eyes. He did not resent the end of the school term because he didn't know what he was going to do with his life. He resented the end of the year because he would have no reason to see her anymore. 

And even though she didn't know why he had become so moody, she still resigned herself to helping him. Because she was good and kind and just… did that. 

Merlin, she was perfect. 

“Malfoy? Are you alright?”

He realized he was standing now, staring at her with an awestruck wonder and doing positively nothing to cover it up. She leaned her hip against the table.

“Better now that we have all that figured out,” he said. 

She frowned. “Is that the truth? I can't always tell when it comes to you.” She said, shifting. “You’ve just seemed worried lately. I didn’t want you to think you don't have anyone to help you…” She trailed off. 

“I’m lucky then,” he said, “That I have a person to care… and that that person is you.”

She blushed, and Draco hoped it was for him and not embarrassment over the attention. He wasn't sure why he even said it. Had he been following her around for months, staring and brushing too close? Oh Absolutely. But daring to cross the line? Never. Draco was always too worried he’d fuck it up forever and ever. 

After all, he does have a history of fucking everything up.

She chuckled, swiping at her hair, “Well, that's what friends are supposed to do, you know.”

“Yeah,” he sighed.

Friends. 

He watched her eyes then, the way they looked a little sad too. They were going to leave Hogwarts tomorrow. He'd only have a few more hours before she'd leave his life and have no reason to return. Even if they did stay in touch, how long would they keep it up? How long would it be before they drifted apart and forgot to make the time to meet up, to floo, to write?

“Oh fuck it all-” Draco said abruptly.

He clenched his hands into fists and leaned over until their noses touched. Granger made a surprised squeak and he slowed, giving her time to take a breath before he pressed his lips against hers, as softly as he possibly could. 

He probably should have asked. He probably should have just told her how he felt. But Draco sodding Malfoy was never very good at figuring out what he should be doing. 

Within a moment, Granger pulled away, and before he even had time to murmur an apology, she was grinning from ear to ear. 

“Finally, you prat!” She said and grabbed his face, pulling him down again. 

Somewhere in the world, trumpets were playing.

2004- A Malfoy residence somewhere in the South of France:

Hermione rushed into the bedroom where he was getting ready. It was far too early in Draco's opinion, but dutifully, Draco was awake and already straightening his perfectly manicured tux in the mirror. The photographer would be there in exactly an hour, and he was sort of hoping Hermione would need his help getting into the dress… How long could they postpone the pictures if they took their time?

He chuckled when she nervously peeked at him around the bed.

“I promise love, the equations can wait till we get back from the honeymoon. Surely your brilliant mind can last till then?” He said while finishing with his pocket square.

She had already woken him up twice in the middle of the night this week alone, with exclamations on how they could manage their calculations differently. It was really quite staggering how her beautiful brain never quite turned off.  

Well … Not unless he was-

He caught her eye in the mirror and his smile faded. She was wringing her hands nervously, and most startlingly, not a sound had escaped her mouth since entering the room. 

“What's wrong, love?” he asked, turning suddenly and crossing the room in just a few strides.

“I- I-,” She swallowed nervously. “I don't know how this happened!” 

Draco's stomach was in freefall, but he tried not to let his emotions run away without him. He swallowed. It was just nerves. Right? Wedding days are supposed to be jittery. 

“Love…” Draco said, softly brushing a strand of hair from her face. She looked like she was going to cry. “What's wrong? Talk to me,” he said, but his voice hitched and betrayed his anxiety. “If you need more time- if we rushed this-”

“What?” Hermione gasped. “No, that's not why I'm here!” she said frantically. She sniffled, and Draco's mind raced. 

“I’m pregnant, you prat!”

2005- St Mungos, Room 4030:

“Erm- Hermione?” 

Theo’s mouth was still moving despite Draco's insistence that he just let her bloody sleep. His wife’s day had been exhausting enough without his best, and most annoying, friends talking so much. 

His wife sighed from her pillow, and Draco scowled from where he had his head leaning on the side of her bed.

“Yes, Theo?” she grumbled.

“Are you sure this one's yours?” He asked. 

“Yes, I was just thinking that,” Pansy agreed. 

His friends were useless. He should have avaded them years ago.

“It's just… Well, she doesn't have enough curly hair? Why is it so blond?” Theo said with a confused look. “You sure the hospital didn't mix yours up with someone else’s?” 

Draco huffed and glared at the two of them. Honestly, asking stupid questions when his wife needed to sleep. They had the decency to look at least a little ashamed, but they still persisted. Curious. What is Merlin's name were they up to?

“What are you two on about?” he interrupted, “You just got here. Stop complaining, say hello to my child, and get out before I change my mind and let Granger make the bloody Potters the godparents.”

Hermione snorted slightly but still did not move. She looked lovely. Practically glowing from her accomplishment. He couldn't wait to see it again. And maybe again, if she let him.

“But I'm not sure she-” Theo started, gesturing to the infant, swaddled and sleeping. 

“He’s not her, you absolute pillock,” Draco said, more annoyed this time. 

“Language…” Hermione grumbled.

“-He’s a he!” Draco finally lifted his head from the bed and gestured with the hand not holding Hermione’s to their newest family member, a small smile spreading across his face at the mere sight. Even mad at his friends, he couldn't help it.

“Meet, Scorpius Malfoy,” He said dramatically. 

Pansy and Theo made sudden eye contact and then looked down at the baby. Draco rolled his eyes, but even as he lay his head back down, he thought he might understand what they meant. He didn't know why, but there was a vision in the back of his mind he had had since 8th year when he had fallen head over heels for Hermione Granger. He and her sitting at a long wooden table, a curly-haired girl between them that was just…theirs... 

A fantasy, he thought, blinking it away. Something he made up when he was lonely. He wasn’t lonely anymore. He had Granger, and now he had Scorpius too.

“Oh,” Pansy said. 

“Well, I guess… Nice to meet you… Scorpius!” Theo said.

His friends made eye contact again, blinking rapidly like they were communicating in Muggle Morse code. 

Draco sighed. Those two were always being so weird.

2009: Nott Manor

How old is he turning?” Pansy asked, swirling her wine around the crystal glass. 

Draco sighed, taking in the amber color of his own firewhiskey. “Five.” 

“You- hic- you could look a little bit happier about it, mate,” Theo snickered into his own glass. 

Draco tried not to frown. “I know. It's just hard for Hermione. At this rate, the next one will barely be saying Scorpius's name before he leaves us for Hogwarts… She wanted another one ages ago...”

He trailed off and sipped his drink, trying not to think about it. They already knew this, of course, but three glasses into their evening and Draco was getting talkative.

“What did the healers say?” Pansy asked.

Draco glared at her, but she just rolled her eyes.

 “I didn't pry!” She scoffed, "Hermione only mentioned she saw one.” 

“I regret getting you both to do girls' nights.”

“I don't!" Theo exclaimed quite a bit louder than he probably intended. He was already on his fifth glass. “You should see how much Ginevra can d-drink!”

Pansy frowned. “I’m still confused on how you managed an invite.”

“As am I,” Draco agreed. 

Theo slurred his words with a hint of a smile. “I'm s-charming.” 

Theo wobbled over to where Draco was standing and clapped him on the back. “Don’t-s worry so much, mate, you'll get your other one! I know you will!”

Draco looked amused at his drunk friend and almost missed the way Pansy quickly set her wine down and grabbed the back of the robes to drag him into a nearby sofa. 

“Yes, I think what Theo means is that we're sure this is just a hiccup of nature. You and Hermione managed just fine with Scorpius and the next one-”

“-it will be soon!” Theo shouted, again a bit loud, “I know the futu-”

Pansy clapped a hand over his mouth.

“Of course, it will be soon,” She said through gritted teeth while she glared at Theo, “You have nothing to worry about, Draco.”

Draco sniffed and sipped his drink. 

His friends were so weird. 

But what was the alternative? Getting drunk with Potter and Weasley? 

He looked at the glaring exchange taking place between Theo and Pansy. 

Hmmm. Maybe.

2013: Malfoy Manor

There was movement in the house. Draco knew the wards were alerting him, so he sighed and threw his feet reluctantly over the side of the bed, missing the warmth of his wife already.

More prodding from the wards.

“Mmmhph- I know, I know…” he grumbled as if the magic could hear him. 

He checked Lyra's bed first. 

Empty. 

Draco yawned, wandering across the hall to Scorpius's room. It was silent except for the soft snores and twinkling stars that lay overhead. Lyra was curled up next to her big brother, both fast asleep, tucked into each other. 

He sighed and looked at the two fondly. Inseparable as always. 

A good parent would probably scoop little Lyra up and take her back to her own bed, but Draco was starting to believe he was raising his kids to be just as spoiled as he was.

Lyra must have had a nightmare, and like she always did when she was scared, she went to her big brother for comfort. It would almost hurt Draco's feelings if it weren't so bloody adorable. Hermione had been worried for years that their age difference would set them apart; neither of them had siblings growing up, so they weren’t sure what the dynamic would be like.

They couldn't have been more surprised, and happily so. Scorpius had been fascinated the moment he set eyes on her, always wanting to hold her, and was more frantic than even most new parents when the baby cried. Whenever he and Hermione were tired or just needed a moment to themselves, Scorpius was there, ready to sit and just hold Lyra with a watchful eye, a small smile on his face. The perfect babysitter.

Now that she was toddling about, Draco worried about how Lyra would fare once her older brother left for Hogwarts. Draco chuckled and leaned down to stroke her hair from her face.

“Scorp…” she murmured sleepily.

Draco froze.

...Scorp?

Her little words always made him smile as she was never much of a talker, opting instead to watch and listen. But something about the word stuck in Draco's mind, and he stopped to take it in. He had heard her call for her big brother every day since she started babbling, but this time he felt it in his soul, in his magic. 

A memory of a little girl, curly hair, and the softest little murmur in her sleep. No... it couldn't be...

“Scorp…” she grumbled again, and Scorpius cuddled her tighter in his sleep, not letting go.

Draco studied her a moment longer before shaking the thought from his mind. He was just tired and emotional. The kids did that to him, he supposed.

He left them where they were.

Snuggling against his wife once again, she grumbled, only slightly awakened by the movement.

“His bed again?” 

Draco huffed a chuckle into the back of her neck. 

“His bed again.”

2021: Home

Hermione was stalking back and forth in front of the window, waiting very patiently for any news while Draco watched from his chair.

Scorpius was already in his sixth year, and he couldn't believe the boy was almost done already. 

“Maybe we shoul-” 

Before Hermione could finish, there was the flutter of wings. The perk of marrying someone who is friends with so many Hogwarts professors.

She flung herself forward and tore the letter from the bird before the poor thing could even squawk. Draco leaned forward with anticipation.

“Oh, Merlin!” she exclaimed. 

“Which one! Don't leave me hanging, witch!’

“She’s in Slythiern!” 

Draco raised a fist in victory.

“Ha! I knew it!” he said. 

Hermione rolled her eyes. “And a broken clock is right twice a day.”

“Nooo… I'm a genius.”

“Well, I guessed the Scorpius was a gryffindor so I guess now we’re tied,” she smirked. 

Damn, he realized they kind of were. 

“Let's have another!” he said quickly.

His wife, love, and time travel partner for life laughed.

“We’ll see.”