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Hermione Granger and Theodore Nott's divorce was finalised just over ten months ago, as the arrival of their third and final child, Luna Celeste Nott, happened simultaneously to Hermione at St Mungo's Hospital. She was alone apart from her best friend, Harry Potter, who had been beside Hermione through every moment of her divorce with Theo. While the divorce hadn't been messy, the two had come out the other side mutual with one another for the sake of the children, it was extremely exhausting for the heavily pregnant Hermione.
And now, ten months — almost eleven — had passed, and it was time for the annual family holiday they took. There had been murmurs about whether it was a good idea to go this year, but for the sake of the children, they kept the dates set, and to keep things less awkward, each person invited their best friend, so it was more of a friends' holiday. And the children never complained, especially the twins: Helen Minerva Nott and Henry Theodore Nott. They loved their uncles a lot more than they cared to admit to their parents.
The severing of their marriage caused the breakage of the heart spell, which became a permanent scar on the person's chest as a constant glaring reminder of the breaking of a sacred vow shared between two people.
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Day Zero
Hermione stands in the foyer of Nott Manor, Luna sitting on her hip as Harry makes silly faces at the young, almost eleven-month-old baby. The giggles and babbles echo around the large open-plan room, hitting her uterus in a way that her body couldn't handle right now. She tapped her foot, impatiently waiting, Helen and Henry running circles around the two best friends, bumping into the furniture of their old home.
"Granger," Draco spoke as he entered the space, as Theo scurried in behind the blond.
"Daddy!" Henry screeched loudly as he ran into Theo's empty arms, jumping up as Theo wrapped his arms around him.
"Oh Merlin, you are getting so big, my boy." Theo laughed, the noise echoed from Henry, nuzzling his face into the boy's neck as Theo blew raspberries. "Are you excited for this holiday?" Theo bounced his son as Helen ran towards her father, wrapping her arms around his legs as Hermione smiled at the scene, feeling some stormy grey eyes glued to her back as she kept a wriggling Luna against her hip.
"We should get going." Harry tapped his Muggle timepiece as he stared at the weird family that was formed in the room. "The floo networks should be well-connected by now. The Ministry has been a massive help with this travel process." He commented as Helen ran away from her father and towards Harry, where he grabbed the black-haired man's hand.
"Ready?" Hermione asked Luna, bouncing the girl on her hip as they moved closer to where Harry was activating the Nott Manor's floo. The girl answered in babbles as she reached out with grabby hands towards her father, who was still carrying Henry.
"Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" Henry bounced in his father's arms as they neared the floo, standing beside Hermione and Luna, who were standing behind Harry and Helen. Hovering around further back from the family was Draco, scuffling about on his feet as he waited to follow behind Granger, Nott and Potter.
The floo activated, and in stepped Harry and Helen, closely followed by Hermione and Luna, then Theo and Henry, before Draco moved through the space until he was stalking through the floo. He exited out into the large holiday home that Theo had rented for the week's holiday while they were in Italy. Draco sighed a big breath out as relaxation sank into him at the warm Italian air that hit him as he moved through the holiday home.
This was everything and more if he could execute this properly; at least Theo promised to help.
Day One
Hermione rolled over, sinking into the mattress as she moaned, stretching out and yawning as the mid-morning sun broke through the gaps of the curtains, and she decided whether she could be cheeky and stay in bed for a few more minutes. This was the longest time she had slept in for months, especially with a newborn baby's screams waking up everyone in close proximity.
She didn't have the village she had when she had the twins. Even though Theo and she shared custody of the kids, it still felt a lot in the early days of Luna being born. Luna was still demanding, but that was what babies were like, especially Luna. She was clingy beyond belief, apparently like Hermione at the same age as Luna, especially compared to her two older siblings.
"Good morning," The door slowly creaked open as Harry's voice filled the bedroom, and her twins rushed into the room. They leapt onto the bed and crawled underneath the covers, snuggling up to their Mummy. "Here's a cup of tea for you." Harry pushed the warmed mug into the curly-haired woman's hands as she sipped at the steaming liquid, moaning at the taste.
"Perfect." She sighed. "Thank you." Hermione smiled.
Henry squealed as Helen tickled her brother, their kicks barely missing Hermione's legs. That could have been a huge accident of spilt boiling tea everywhere. Helen laughed, scrurrying underneath the blankets as she crawls towards her brother, but he barely escapes her hands as he slips out of the blanket and cuddles up to his Mummy, now on top of the blankets.
"Careful." Theo's voice entered the bedroom, Luna snoozing on his naked chest. He stares at the blanket monster that Helen had become as Henry rushes towards her father for safety from the monster that his twin sister had become.
"Dad, can we go on an adventure today with Uncle Harry?" Henry bounced up and down as the blanket monster Helen joined them and started bouncing up and down too. The twins loved copying each other's movements, but times like this, it was cute to see that they still did it.
Harry and Theo glanced at each other before turning their attention back towards the twins. It was suspicious. They were clearly up to something, and yet, Hermione was being kept out of the loop. Something was definitely going on, and she was worried that they would get the twins in on it. Her Helen and Henry loved causing mischief, mirroring what she imagined Fred and George would have been like at that age — poor Molly, Hermione thought as it flashed through her head.
She could sense the trouble but didn't question the men, as perhaps, she was sensing something completely off what they were showing.
"Of course, but only if it's okay with your Mum." Theo looked towards her. Even though they were two separate parents, he always made sure it was okay with her, too. That was one of the things she had always loved about him.
If she said the twins couldn't do something and they tried going to their dad to get a different answer, he always stuck by her side. They were separate parents, but they were still a team that stuck by each other when it came to raising their children.
"Of course," Theo crouches down, leaning in towards the twins' faces so only they could hear what he was going to say, leaving Hermione in the dark again. "Leave Mummy and Uncle Draco together." Theo laughed, sticking a finger over his lip as he wordlessly asked his children to keep the secret, even jokingly looking at Luna as if she would be able to keep the secret too.
Theo and Harry smirked at one another as they left the house, leaving Draco and Hermione completely alone with each other.
She scuffled out of the bedroom, wearing light blue denim shorts and a loose-fitting crop top as she made her way out onto the patio. The sunlight beamed across her skin as she slumped down on the chair, digging into the breakfast platter that was laid out with a statis charm over the top so the food wouldn't spoil while Hermione was still resting inside.
"Good morning, Granger." Draco plonked himself down opposite her as he poured himself an iced coffee. Hermione's eyes were glued to the glass as he made himself the sweetest coffee she had ever seen. She could feel her teeth aching at the sight, her father's words about the dangers of sugar echoing in her mind.
Her heart ached at the memory of her parents and their constant warnings about sugar, but now didn't feel like the right time to lecture the blond about it. He probably had excellent teeth regardless of the amount of sugar he stirred into his iced coffee.
"Draco." Hermione smiles, nodding at him before returning her attention towards choosing something suitable for breakfast. Her stomach gurgled just at the sight of this delicious food. "Merlin, everything looks incredible." She mutters to herself, not aware that it was obviously loud enough for him to hear.
"Theo made it all, or at least most of it," Draco uttered, dropping something about Theo that Hermione had never known about him. Perhaps it was a new thing he had started getting into. "He wants to find a way into Potter's trousers." He mumbled, but the words caught Hermione off guard. Was that what all this was about? She stared at the blond as the words sped through her brain, overthinking before she shook herself out of it.
All of those sudden blooming questions would be directed towards her best friend and perhaps even her ex-husband later on, when there was a quiet moment after the children had all gone to bed.
She picked up her bowl of yoghurt and granola, deciding to take it inside. The heat had become stifling amongst the new realisations. Hermione didn't acknowledge her exit as she sat down upon the sofa in her bedroom, staring out the window as she slowly made her way through her brunch.
Hermione was napping in the afternoon when Harry and Theodore returned with the children. The twins nestled into bed beside their mother as Theo put Luna down for a nap, keeping an eye on her with the Muggle baby monitor. Hermione snuggled her babies close to her as they wriggled into her body.
Day Two
Day two of the holiday was a complete blur. Draco surprised Hermione with a dedicated day trip exploring a small Italian Muggle town near their holiday house. She could see herself exploring the town with her parents if they still remembered their daughter.
She brought a few magnets and postcards for her cousins and herself, but apart from that, it was a slow day spent with Draco, which she enjoyed.
It was nice to get to know him while he was travelling through a Muggle town, the prejudice having soaked from his body years ago, but it was interesting to watch him in action. He even spoke Italian, which had done things to Hermione that she hadn't experienced before, even in her marriage to Theo.
Day Three
"Welcome, welcome!" Blaise smirks, greeting them as the children ran towards him. All but Luna, who remained glued to her mother's hip. "Draco. Theo." He nods at them, smiling before turning towards Hermione and Harry.
"Uncle Blaise!" Henry babbled.
"Uncle Blaise!" Helen screeched, grabby hands reaching for Blaise's hands as he spun her around.
"Zabini, please be careful with my darling daughter." Theo scolded one of his best friends. He rubbed at his face in panic and exhaustion. He hadn't slept very well, as he had promised to keep an eye on the children, to allow Hermione to get a full night of sleep, as the previous night she had been struck by recurring nightmares of her parents.
It had been a hard night for the two of them, but today would be better. Draco had promised her that it would be better. And she had to put on a brave face for her children; she didn't want to panic them that something was wrong. She wouldn't ruin this holiday for the children and her ex-husband, and her best friend. And Draco. She didn't want to ruin this occasion for any of them.
"Follow me," Blaise announced, guiding them through the tour of the vineyard. The children didn't really care for the information, but Blaise had enchanted balloon animals to fly around them, as if creating a circus for the children, and they were entranced with the sight. It was something they had never seen before.
Blaise finished the tour by carrying Luna and holding the hands of Helen and Henry, taking them down into the caves where they would ride a train while explaining to Harry, Theo, Hermione and Draco that there was a dinner prepared for them upstairs in the main area. The central area of the vineyard.
The room twinkled with fairy lights, and it was stunningly beautiful. Hermione was gobsmacked that Blaise had managed to pull all of this off without any help. It was his idea, apparently. But Hermione couldn't believe him because something was clearly going on.
"Hermione." Theo's voice pushed against her brain as she was guided further into the room. Harry's hands were pressed against her back as he pushed her into the space.
"Hermione." Draco purred, his voice oozing towards her soul as she met the blond in the middle, and Harry and Theo quickly disappeared with a wolf whistle and a smirk.
She stared at him, but everything disappeared from around them as he stalked towards her. Draco grabbed her, swooping and pressing his lips against hers. She gasped, and he swallowed down the noise, and it tasted delicious to him.
He pulled inches away, resting his forehead against hers.
"Hermione Granger, I have loved you for a long fucking time, and I finally can admit that without ruining my best friend's relationship because he and Harry are somewhere else, probably snogging until Blaise comes back with the children." Draco sighed, staring into the gorgeous brown pools of gold that were Hermione's eyes.
Hermione stared back at him, breathless.
"You are everything and more to me. I have waited so long for this moment." He kissed her again, and it felt like something from one of the cliche romance films that she used to watch with her mother.
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