The Truth

"Pardon my intrusion, but I was under strict orders from Potter to kick you out of this room," Theo greeted with a small smile. His leg fracture was already fixed; the only indication he was injured last night was the slight limp he was sporting, which would be gone after a few more days.

Draco snorted from the hospital couch he was lounging on. "Since when do you listen to Potter?" his best friend asked, quirking a blond eyebrow.

"Since never," Theo emphasized. "But, as much as it pains me to say, I actually agree with him." He turned his eyes on an obviously fatigued brunette and tutted. "Granger, seriously, you need to go home. Your arm isn't completely healed. Your hair is a bloody mess. I won't be surprised if rats started to appear from your hair."

"There won't be any rats in here, Nott," Hermione stated matter-of-factly. "This is a hospital."

Theo sighed and shook his head. "You really are no fun, Granger," he said with a pout. "Seriously, though, I think you should go home."

Hermione frowned and resolutely shook her head. "No. I have to be here when Rose finally wakes up."

Draco sighed and stood up from the couch. "Theo's right," he said. "You haven't slept last night. Healer Graves already said that the worst is over. The Mind Healer also said there won't be any repercussions. I think what is best for all of us now, is to call it a night and sleep in our respective homes."

Earlier, a Mind Healer, Healer Dawlish, came by to check on Rose's mind. Although unconscious, she was able to reassure that Rose was mentally well. She suspected that Rose was most of the time unconscious when beaten up by Lestrange, most likely done by a more sympathizing Death Eater, and might not remember much of her abduction. It would still be best to check on her once she was awake, but Healer Dawlish already told the mother that her daughter was out of any forms of harm.

"I'm staying," Hermione still said with a stubborn frown.

"Must you really be so difficult, Granger?" Draco asked with a scowl. The witch looked at him as if betrayed, thinking that he would at least understand her better than Nott. "Do you want Rose to see you like this?"

She looked away from him, fully knowing that she looked like a mess.

"I'll be here," Theo reassured. "Probably not a stellar babysitter compared to Draco, but Merlin, Granger, I was able to take care of Rose for a day. I think I'll manage, especially since she's still unconscious."

"You brought her to a date, Nott," Hermione pointed out, prompting the Slytherin to flinch. "That is bloody irresponsible."

Theo sighed. "You're never going to live that down, eh?" he asked, chuckling when Hermione vigorously shook her head. "Figures. Fine, if you are so worried about my babysitting skills, Potter will soon arrive and look after Rose instead."

Hermione looked at Draco pleadingly, but the blond shook his head. "You need to sleep," Draco firmly said. "At least for an hour, then you can go back as soon as you're awake. I promise."

She sighed, knowing that these two Slytherins would pester her to go home until she conceded. Hermione still had some qualms about leaving Rose behind, especially after her kidnapping, but Theodore Nott would be here. Draco seemed to completely trust him, so by default, she trusted him too. He saved them from the other Death Eaters, anyway. Some Aurors were also stationed outside of her room for protection. Still, it did not quite settle for her to leave her daughter alone.

But they were right. She was a mess. She needed to rest. Rose needed her to be happy and healthy once she woke up. Thus, she wordlessly stood up from her the seat next to Rose's bed and strode towards Draco. Hermione had to fight back a smile when the other two wizards were looking at her as if she had sprouted a second head.

"You're right," she said with a sigh. "I should take a nap."

"Well, that was easy," Theo said with a laugh. "I actually learned some defensive spells before barging in here, Granger, in case you unleashed your scary powers."

The brunette lightly glared at him. "Don't push it, Nott," she warned. Theo chuckled once more, maybe a tad nervously, and raised both of his arms in surrender.

"Come on, then," she said to Draco. Now that she was up, she actually felt tired and sleepy. Taking a nap was definitely a right choice.

__________

He accompanied her to her flat, just to make sure that Granger was true to her word and would actually sleep. They both opted to use the floo, afraid that they might splinch themselves if they Apparated instead.

As Draco stumbled out from the floo, brushing some soot from his jumper, he narrowed his eyes and warned, "If you don't bloody rest, Granger, I swear -"

Hermione softly chuckled at him, her eyes already half-closed, before she released a huge yawn. "I will rest," she promised. "Merlin, I am really knackered. I'll just freshen up and then take a nap."

He nodded his head, and then turned around. He proceeded to get a pinch of floo powder, preparing himself to go home, but Hermione had latched onto his arm.

"Where are you going?" she inquired with a frown.

"Home," he answered. "If you must know, Granger, I am knackered too. I should also take a nap."

Her frown deepened and she looked away from him. "Can't you... can't you stay?" she shyly asked, a small blush splattering her cheeks. "I just... err..." Her brown eyes connected with his grey ones. "I don't want to be alone."

Draco, throat clogging up with nerves, wordlessly nodded his head.

"You can freshen up after me," she whispered. Again, not trusting himself to speak, Draco merely nodded his head.

Hermione reappeared after a few minutes, looking clean and slightly better. She donned on a pair of pajamas, carrying a pillow and blanket with her. Draco thought they were for him, but when Hermione plopped down on the couch and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, he stared.

"What?"

"You're on the couch."

She frowned, slightly confused. "And?"

"Well," Draco started, "since you fervently refused for me to go back to my own house, I thought I'd be crashing on your couch for now. But seeing you already claimed that spot..."

Her cheeks reddened, her eyes growing a little wide. "Oh," the brunette answered. "I... err... I-I don't think I want to sleep in my room alone. And well..." She shifted her eyes away from him. "I think it will frankly be awkward if I invited you over to my room" – Draco balked – "so, the next plausible thing is for me to crash here on the couch." She caught his eyes once more. "With you."

Draco took a sharp intake of breath, cursing his bloody heart for racing at her words. When Granger said she didn't want to be alone today, he wasn't ready with the fact that she meant it literally.

"R-right," he stuttered, firmly believing he needed to shower now. "All right. Be right back."

He had stayed too long in the shower, too nervous to come out and sleep with her on the couch. Draco debated whether he should wait for an hour more, just to make sure that Hermione had finally fallen asleep, but knew she might have escaped and went back to St. Mungo's without resting.

After 'Scourgify-ing' his clothes, he wore them once more and strode into the living room, half-praying that Granger was already asleep. Draco scowled upon seeing that she was still very much awake, although obviously fighting sleep.

'Oh, fuck it,' Draco thought, stiffly settling on the other end of the couch.

An awkward silence settled between the two of them. Draco tried to rack his brain for anything to say because he surely couldn't sleep, now that he was hyperaware of the witch sitting a few inches away from him.

"Thank you."

He blinked and looked at the brunette sitting beside him. Draco took a sharp intake of breath at the look on her face. She was looking at him openly, brightly, her eyes sparkling with emotions he could not understand. A small smile was playing on her face and it took him a moment to realize he was staring for too long.

"Why are you thanking me again?" he asked, immediately looking away from her and praying she didn't catch the blush on his cheeks.

"You said I should thank you once we know Rose is well," Hermione pointed out. "And since her Healers assured us that the worst is over, that she would be all right... well, thank you, Draco."

His eyes sought hers once more. Draco could not understand how a person could be so breathtaking, despite the horribly bushy hair or the dark bags under her eyes. It was unfair, absolutely unfair, that she could elicit such emotions from him whatever the situation was.

"Rose is..." He paused, gulped down his emotions, and continued, "I've grown quite fond of your daughter. I cannot bear the thought of losing her to that bastard."

Fresh tears welled in her eyes and Draco panicked, wondering if he said something wrong. But Hermione was chuckling, scooting closer to him until their thighs were touching.

"I hope everybody sees what man you have become, Draco," she whispered.

"Well, not everybody is as accepting as you are, Granger," he grumbled, thinking about Beardy McLaggen and his unfair management. He recalled all the judgmental stares and hisses he had to endure every time he ventured out of his flat. He remembered all those who cursed him, telling him he should have been sent to Azkaban despite his change of heart. And Draco accepted them all, unceasingly, because he knew they were right. That despite his change of role in the war, he still did a lot of unforgivable things in the past and he rightfully deserved to be punished.

"Everybody deserves a second chance," she softly reminded him. "Especially you. Gods, if only there is a way for me to show the whole world how much you've changed."

Draco closed his eyes and leaned against the couch. "It's not your job to prove that I've changed, Granger," he pointed out. "You have other things to busy yourself with."

Hermione scoffed, prompting him to lightly smile. 'Champion of the Poor and Downtrodden, indeed,' he fondly thought.

"You know what's strange, though?"

"What?"

"That after hearing you call me by my first name, I thought you'd continue using it."

His eyes flew open as he glared down at the highly amused witch. "That was a one-time thing, Granger," he spat. "Don't flatter yourself."

"It sounded nice, you know," she confessed, her cheeks coloring. "Hearing my name from your mouth."

Draco matched her color, thinking that both of them were too close for comfort.

"You never once called me that when we were on missions, too," she said, now lightly pouting. "Even after you started trusting in me."

"Habit," he flippantly said. Well, as flippantly as he could.

"But I call you by your first name," she protested.

Draco made a huge show of rolling his eyes. "Why are you making a big deal out of this?" he exclaimed in exasperation. "I thought we agreed that we'll both sleep our tiredness away and immediately go back to St. Mungo's?"

Hermione sighed and leaned back on the couch. "I can't sleep," she revealed. "I know I am tired. I can feel it. But, try as I might, I cannot sleep a wink. I think... well... I just worry for Rose too much. And I know, I know, she is well. Nott is with her. Aurors are stationed outside. Harry will drop by soon. But every time I close my eyes, my imagination suddenly takes over and I cannot bear the images of my daughter, under the mercy of Lestrange, and..."

She trailed off, looking distressed once more. Draco did not know what he could do to put her mind at ease when he himself was experiencing the same thing. He was thankful it was him that had found Rose, bruised and battered on that cold bedroom floor. He couldn't imagine the trauma Hermione would experience if it was her who had seen Rose first.

"Granger," he whispered. "Look at me."

Hermione blinked, a single tear trailing down from her eye, before obliging.

"Rose is well. She is safe," Draco assured. "I know you worry for her, but she is safe."

She vigorously nodded her head, discreetly wiping away her tears. "You're right," she said, chuckling to herself. "Harry and Ron used to tell me I worry too much."

Draco, mockingly, nodded his head with all the seriousness he could muster. "Worrywart, yes, that's what you are," he retorted with a smirk. It turned into a grin when Hermione playfully swatted his arm.

"I think you just need some tea to calm down. Maybe I should prepare -"

"No!"

He looked at her, surprised.

Hermione refused to meet his gaze. "What I mean to say is... err..." she sputtered. "Just... just don't leave. Stay here. I don't need tea."

Draco looked at her strangely. "Well, I want some," he insisted. Upon seeing Hermione's frown, he sighed. This woman would one day be the death of him, he was sure of that. "Fine. I won't prepare it myself... Tippy!"

His house-elf appeared before him with a loud pop. Normally, Tippy would have bowed low and question his need, but he was too busy looking around Granger's flat with wide eyes. "Miss Hermione!" Tippy gushed out, hand over his heart. "Tippy terribly misses you, Miss Hermione."

Draco tried to hide his smirk as Hermione was torn between being touched with Tippy's words and mild irritation at Draco for calling out a house-elf. "I miss you, too," she finally said with sigh.

The house-elf practically preened with her words. His ears dropped, however, when he noticed the obvious fact that her daughter was missing. "But, where is Little Miss Rose?"

The two shared a look, silently concurring it wasn't wise to reveal to him about Rose's current status.

"She is... away," was what she settled to answer.

Tippy merely nodded his head, although still peering curiously at them. Then, as if remembering that he was summoned by his master, he immediately bowed low at Draco. "Master Draco requires for Tippy's assistance?" he asked.

"Yes, please prepare some tea for Granger and me," he requested.

The house-elf bowed and disappeared with a pop.

"I told you I don't want to drink tea," Hermione commented with a frown.

"You're just annoyed I'm ordering around a house-elf," Draco pointed out with a smirk.

Before she could retort something back, Tippy reappeared, balancing a tray of tea and some scones he also graciously prepared. After Hermione thoroughly thanked him for his service, Tippy finally bid them goodbye and left.

"Drink your tea," he ordered. "Then, for the love of Merlin, get some rest, Granger."

__________

Her tea was long finished, but Hermione still could not rest. She knew she should already sleep so that they could go back to the hospital for Rose. Seeing that there were no owls or emergency firecalls from Theo or Harry, Hermione knew that Rose still had not woken up. Hermione also suspected she would never hear the end of it from her best friend if she reappeared in the hospital, obviously not well-rested. And so, almost reluctantly, she relaxed. But not too much; she still had to be on her toes when another unforeseen event happens.

She looked at Draco, who was also widely awake like her. Hermione didn't know if he noticed he was absentmindedly playing with her curls. She debated whether to point it out to him or not, but end up clamping her mouth in the end. It actually felt nice, and somehow it was helping to relax her tumultuous mind and heart.

As they continued to bask in silence, her thoughts consumed her, mostly involving the man sitting beside her. Hermione could not remember the last time she had felt deep gratitude for a person. Quirking a smile, she remembered her younger self praying to anybody who could hear her to punish Draco Malfoy for just existing.

Now, she could not fathom a life without him anymore.

He had just deeply ingrained himself in their lives, weaving through all their days as if he was meant to be there. It was like he had one day planted himself and unknowingly grew roots that were too deep to be uprooted.

Recalling her earth-shattering revelation on that day they fetched Rose from the daycare, Hermione still could not believe how deep her feelings for this blond were. It was just so natural, for her to care profoundly for him, and she wondered if Draco even had an idea how much he had shook her world and Rose's.

Ron never made her feel this way. She thought, all these years that they were really meant to be together. Everybody predicted that they would end up anyway, so why disappoint them? Rose's birth was not a mistake; she firmly believed she had been deeply in love with Ron after all. She didn't doubt Ron's feelings for her, too. This was why it took her a long time to realize that the love she felt for Ron was more sisterly. She loved him as much as she loved Harry and it wasn't special.

But with Draco...

Or maybe she was merely mistaking her feelings for something else. She had spent the last years putting Rose first, wanting what was best for her – what makes her daughter happy. And she could see that Draco in their lives made Rose infinitely happy. Her daughter finally had someone she could look up to besides her mother; sometimes, she thought that Rose seemed to love Draco more than she loved Hermione. Strangely, it didn't make her jealous at all. In fact, it made her... peaceful, for lack of a better word.

To know that Rose had someone who would selflessly put her above all else made all years and years of fitful sleep and constant worrying seem to melt away. She had thanked the blessed stars above for Harry, for constantly sticking by their side. But Harry had his head filled with other things. Being the celebrated hero of the Wizarding World had been too much for him, and Hermione didn't want to burden him further with her child.

'Yes,' she thought with a pensive frown. 'Maybe that was it.' Maybe it was because Rose finally found a suitable paternal figure in her life. Maybe it was because Hermione thanked all the good things in life that Draco had this natural parental instinct in him that made Rose matter to him. Maybe it was because to have him in their lives had somehow eased her burdens and made her breathe, finally breathe, with relief.

Or maybe it wasn't that, too?

Hermione closed her eyes and internally groaned. 'One thing at a time, Hermione,' she told herself. Once Rose was better, she would sort her feelings out. For now, all that mattered was Rose. She'd think about herself soon after.

"You know, something has been bugging me for ages."

She cracked one eye open and questioningly looked at him. When he still hadn't spoken after a few seconds, she opened her other eye and straightened up. It was obvious he was conflicted whether to ask or not. Hence, she simply waited for him to speak.

"What... really happened between you and Weasley?"

She stiffened, eyes growing round with his question.

"Look," he quickly added, "you don't need to answer my question if you don't want to. It's not my place to ask, really."

"No," Hermione said after getting over her shock. "No, it's all right. I think you should know."

He wordlessly pinned her with his gaze and Hermione was suddenly overwhelmed with emotions. Ron's death was still a particularly sensitive topic for her to broach. But after everything they went through, after finally catching Lestrange once and for all, she thought it was time for him to know.

"Ron and I... we were having some problems months before his death," she started. A hollow laugh escaped from her lips, shaking her head. "No, Merlin, we were having problems even years before. All we did is fight and it was just so, so tiring. I realized I was miserable with him. Rose was still too young, but... I knew in my heart that she knew something was wrong and it was making her miserable. Try as we might, we couldn't stop fighting in front of her, and I knew that we must put a stop to it."

Draco's lips thinned in understanding. "You wanted to divorce," he simply said.

Hermione nodded, tears now gathering at the corner of her eyes. "I... I cannot bear to see Rose cry every time we fought," she said. "And so, after a particularly nasty fight, I hinted a divorce and Ron..." She faltered, closing her eyes as Ron's devastated face came into mind. It was her last memory of him and it still breaks her heart after all these years that he died without resolving whatever issues they had.

"Ron couldn't accept it," she finally continued after taking in a deep breath. "He begged for me to reconsider, promised me that he would change for us. He promised he wouldn't pick a fight... that he would be a good husband to me, but I just... I knew we would never work anymore."

She wiped away some tears from her face and continued. "He left our flat that night," she choked, as more tears streamed down her face. "He drowned his misery with alcohol and that was how Lestrange found him, inebriated and unable to fight. M-Molly and Ginny blamed me for his death, told me it was my fault that Ron was intoxicated in the first place and I... I agreed with them. It was my fault. If only I had been a good wife, if only I listened to Ron and made us work again... I just..."

She bit her lower lip, her sobs threatening to tear away from her mouth. Hermione expected Draco to look at her with judgment, to see the same accusations she had seen in the Weasleys after Ron died, but all she saw was understanding in his eyes.

"I know it was selfish of me," she hiccupped. "B-but I was thinking of Rose, too. I cannot expose her to a disastrous marriage. And it just pains me that because of my decisions, because of my selfishness, Ron died a-and Rose only has me."

"You're wrong."

Her eyes widened at his claim, but upon seeing the small smile on his face, she grew curious. "What?" she asked.

"You're not the only person Rose has," he expounded. "She has Potter and... and me." His cheeks colored a little and he looked away. "Bloody hell, she even has Theo!"

Hermione released a watery chuckle despite her emotions.

"And maybe you are partly to blame," Draco then said. "The Weasleys, after all, lost a son and a brother. But I think... I think it isn't healthy for you to continue dwelling in the past, to continue blaming yourself for everything that had happened to you and to your daughter." He took a deep breath and gingerly held her hand. "The best thing to do now is to forgive yourself. For your own sake. For Rose's sake. The Weasleys may one day come around, maybe not sooner than what you hoped, but of course they need more time."

She smiled at the situation, of Draco Malfoy comforting her above all else. But most importantly, she smiled at his words, knowing that he should follow it, too. Still, it warmed her heart how he was trying his best to give her some semblance of comfort.

"Thank you, Draco," she said, wiping her tears away. Draco fished out a handkerchief from his pocket and she almost rolled her eyes at his embroidered initials on it. "You have no idea how much I needed to hear that."

He nodded, eyes sparkling and lips stretched into a lovely smile. Hermione found her heart skipping a beat once more as her cheeks warmed with his look.

"You're welcome," he whispered, reaching forward to brush a stray curl away from her forehead. "... Hermione."

__________

Rose woke up with a gasp, the remnants of her nightmare still clouding her mind. She instinctively grabbed for Sir Ginger, but upon noticing that her beloved plush toy was nowhere to be found, tears welled in her eyes.

"No," she cried, blindly searching around, still desperately hoping she would be able to see Sir Ginger.

She shivered, once again recalling her strange nightmare. Everything was fuzzy to her, but she remembered strange, masked men hovering above her as they maniacally laughed. She could not understand what they were saying nor doing; all she could understand was how frightened she was and wished that her Mama was with her.

"Mama?" she then croaked, haphazardly wiping her tears away. Looking around, she finally realized that she wasn't home. She recognized the sterile, plain room in St. Mungo's, prompting her to frown. Looking at her clothes, she also recognized the standard gown of a St. Mungo's patient.

Rose was confused, trying to wiggle her body to see if there was anything that had hurt. She tried to recall if she had any accidents at home; Aunt Figgy always told her she was too much of an accident-prone and wouldn't be surprised if she would be brought to St. Mungo's one day.

Still, Rose could not remember why she was here. Fear gripped her heart when she was still unable to see her mother. More tears welled up in her eyes, sniffling in distress, and was about to jump down from her bed and zoom out of the room to search for her mother, when a soft snore from nearby startled her.

Curious, she jumped down from her bed to investigate. She paused for a while, shivering at how cold the floor was, but the snoring continued.

Rose quietly tiptoed until she reached the small couch and was surprised to see a sleeping Draco. Pure relief flooded her system, knowing that without Sir Ginger or her mother to comfort her, Draco will do.

"Draco?" she called, poking him on his stomach. The blond flinched and batted her hand away, before shifting on his seat and not even cracking an eye open.

The child figured he might have had a long day. Soft snores startled her once more and she had to giggle behind her hand to stifle the sound.

Instead of waking him up once more, Rose gently clambered on the chair and snuggled against him. Draco automatically draped an arm around her. The redhead smiled and closed her eyes, still feeling a little tired and sleepy. She didn't feel scared of her nightmare anymore, though, because she knew Draco would be here beside her.

__________

Hermione rubbed her itchy eyes as she meandered through the busy corridors of St. Mungo's.

She and Draco finally arrived back after taking a well-deserved two-hour nap on her couch. Hermione still couldn't recall how they finally fell asleep. After he had said her first name, her mind buzzing and her heart thrumming wildly inside her ribcage, everything was a blur to her. The next thing she knew, Draco was waking her up and telling her to get ready to go back to St. Mungo's.

When they arrived, it was Harry who greeted them. The auror looked positively exhausted, and after grunting a hasty goodbye to them, he Disapparated away. Hermione wouldn't be surprised if Harry managed to splinch himself due to fatigue.

Rose still hadn't woken up when they arrived. Healer Dawlish arrived a few minutes after, requesting to talk to Hermione in private. Draco assured that he would look after Rose while she talked to the Mind Healer.

Her meeting with Healer Dawlish went well. She told the mother that Rose still did not exhibit any severe repercussions from her abduction and believed that her daughter would leave the hospital unscathed - save from some bruises and scrapes. Nightmares may occasional occur, but she assured her that they shouldn't be any cause of worry.

It was like a huge burden was suddenly lifted from Hermione and she fervently thanked the cosmic powers above that her Rosie was safe from harm.

Her thoughts were halted when she finally reached her daughter's room. As she stepped through, horror struck her raw when she found Rose's bed empty. But then, after a quick scan of the room, she immediately found her daughter, tucked snuggly against Draco, who once again fell asleep on the couch.

Hand over her heart, Hermione approached the slumbering pair with a huge smile on her face. If Rose managed to snuggle against Draco, it meant she had already woken up. Perhaps, cuddling with Draco lulled her back to sleep.

"Draco," she called, her fingers lightly touching the top of his head.

The blond stirred, cracking his eyes open to look at her. He then suddenly stiffened, finally noticing the small child pressed against him. "She's..."

"Shh, she's sleeping again," Hermione whispered back with a smile. "But yes, I think she woke up."

The relief that appeared on his face was tremendous and it warmed Hermione's heart how he didn't even bother hiding it from her.

"How did your meeting with Healer Dawlish go?" he asked, absentmindedly playing with Rose's curls.

"It went well," she replied. "She was confident that Rose will not have any repercussions from her abduction." 

A small smile appeared on his face. "That is good to hear," he said with a sigh. Then, as an afterthought, he added, "Blimey, she really is growing up too fast."

It made her heart hum, seeing them together, and the dangerous thought that perhaps they would all look good as a family resurfaced in her mind again. Blushing, Hermione willed those thoughts away. She was just beginning to make some sense of her newfound feelings for Draco. It wouldn't do her some good if she imagined too far into the future.

Her eyes widened, however, when Rose suddenly stirred in Draco's arms and opened her eyes. Hermione waited with bated breath as her daughter's wide, blue eyes swept between her and Draco, before lifting her arms and wriggling her fingers.

Tears welled in Hermione's eyes once Rose was settled against her, ignoring her protesting arms with her daughter's added weight.

"Sweetheart," she whispered, brushing a light kiss against her forehead, "how are you feeling?"

"Mama," Rose rasped out. Her voice made her more emotional, pressing her daughter closer to her. "I'm hungry."

She chuckled, tears now freely streaming down her face. Draco was sporting a disbelieving smirk on his face, but she could see that he was very much relieved.

"Oh, Rosie," Hermione sighed, cuddling her tighter. Rose giggled in her arms. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Are you crying, Mama?" her daughter asked with a frown. "Are you upset?" She threw a tiny glare at the seated wizard. "Did you make Mama cry again, Draco?"

Malfoy rolled his eyes whilst Hermione's smile grew. "No, you menace," he said, sounding slightly annoyed she was blaming him. "Can't you see? Those are happy tears. Your Mama is just too happy that you are okay."

"Oh," the child replied, her mouth forming into a perfect 'o'. Her inquisitive eyes then roamed all around the room before finally settling back on her crying mother. "Why are we in St. Mungo's, Mama?"

Hermione gave Draco a brief glance before answering her daughter. "You were hurt, my love," she gingerly started, brushing her curls away. She still had no idea how much Rose remembered, and she didn't want to overwhelm her too much. "So Draco and I brought you to the hospital."

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Rose gasped. "Mama, I had a very, very bad dream!" she exclaimed, pure terror on her face. "There were big, scary men with a scary masks and Mama, I was so scared! Very scared!" Her arms tightly wound around Hermione's neck. "I'm so glad Mama and Draco are here."

"You're not scared anymore, Rosie?" Hermione asked, secretly relieved that Rose believed her kidnapping was a mere nightmare.

"No, Mama, because you're here!" she chirpily replied, face brightening with her words. "And Draco, too!"

Rose squirmed in her arms and Hermione placed her back on the ground. Then, Rose climbed back onto Draco's lap and also gave him a tight hug. "You'll protect me and Mama from the big, scary men, right Draco?" she sincerely asked, fully looking him in the eye. "Right?"

To Hermione's surprise, Draco snorted. "I think your mother can singlehandedly vanquish those big, scary men you dream about," he declared. The brunette beamed as Rose vigorously shook her head.

"But what if Mama was hurt?" she protested. "You'll still protect me and Mama from the big, scary men?"

A small smile appeared on his handsome face. "Yes," he firmly said unblinkingly. His grey eyes then connected with Hermione's. "Yes, I will protect you."

Hermione took a slow, deep breath and smiled.

If she was confused with her feelings before, she truly, fervently, terrifyingly believed she wasn't anymore.