The Request by redhead414

Chapter 5

"Well look at this - the prodigal daughter returns."

Hermione rolled her eyes as Richard Granger greeted his daughter with a hug in the foyer of their home located in the Belgravia neighborhood of London. "Hilarious," she mocked while removing her scarf and coat to hang up in the hallway. "I saw you two weeks ago."

Richard kissed his daughter on the cheek and gave her a hug. "Yes, but that was at Christmas, so naturally, your presence was mandated by your mother. Besides, you know how she gets when you go for days without a phone call at the very least."

Pushing the sleeves of her thin pink cardigan up, she linked an arm with her father as they began to walk. "Though I highly doubt anything's changed with you all since I last spoke with you four days ago on the phone, how've you been?"

"We'd be better if you had been accompanied by two small munchkins and one sassy teenage girl," Richard said with a smirk.

Sighing, Hermione clapped a hand over her father's that gently held her upper arm. "Yes, well, oddly enough, I have a feeling you'll be seeing a bit more of them in your immediate future."

Walking into the kitchen, Hermione inhaled the scent of her mother's infamous chicken and dumpling soup as if it was enveloping the room in a comforting embrace. Jean smiled brightly at the sight of her daughter as she took a seat at the kitchen table, though Jean couldn't help but notice that she looked exhausted as Hermione slouched back in the chair, crossing her arms against her chest. "Are you having issues sleeping again?" Jean asked with a concerned stare.

"No," Hermione replied. "It's just been a long week."

"It's only Wednesday," Jean countered.

"Believe me, Mum, I'm aware."

Jean went back to cutting pieces of dough for the dumplings on the counter as her father sat down next to Hermione, wrapping an arm around her. "Tell Daddy what is wrong," he said, just like he used to when she was smaller. "And we'll fix it."

"I'm not sure you can fix it, Dad," she replied with a sad laugh.

"Pish posh," Richard retorted. He was a tall, lean man with hair that was beginning to resemble that of a salt and pepper mosaic as opposed to the dark brown hair Hermione knew him to have while growing up. If he wasn't wearing dentist scrubs, he was wearing slacks and a button down shirt, despite his mother's best efforts change it up a bit. Even when he was working on the car he was currently restoring in the garage, he wore slacks and a button down, though Richard would swear he'd only wear the ones his wife deemed too worn or stained for public. "Your Dad can fix anything. Well, almost anything. Definitely anything if it comes with a cavity. Your problem wouldn't happen to be about a cavity would it? Because if it does, it means you aren't brushing at least twice a day."

Snorting, Hermione shook her head no as she leaned her head against his shoulder. However, if she were honest, she'd take a couple of cavities and a few root canals to boot if it would change the events of the past few days. "No cavities, Dad, and to be honest, I don't even know where to start."

"Try the beginning," Jean offered as she wiped her hands on her apron. Lean and on the short side, like her daughter, she too had long brown hair though the curls Hermione inherited came from her father's side. Jean often kept her hair up in some sort of French twist or bun, but every once in a while, like today, it was down, stopping just short of her shoulders and parted to the side. "If for no other reason than it's often the only good place to start."

Taking her mother's advice, Hermione could hear the entire story spewing out of her mouth before she could censor any of it. She told them about Astoria's healer appointment and how there was nothing more that could be done. Hermione told them about her having a mere six months to live at best, and how it put Draco on edge even more than he already was, while his daughters were devastated. She told them how Astoria asked her to step in, mother her children, and indirectly, take care of Draco despite telling her that there was certainly someone else more suited for the role. Hermione continued to ramble, telling them what Harry and Ginny thought, and about the first proper conversation she and Draco had about the situation itself today at lunch and how she assumed they were both on the same page but she wasn't absolutely certain because of course, nothing was certain about the given situation.