Chiaroscuro

Pansy

The rest of the weekend, Hermione pondered the interactions she had with Draco on Friday. He had been cold to her when he first arrived, seemingly disinterested in talking to her. However, after almost no time at all, he seemed to warm up. He became easier to talk to and Hermione found herself enjoying the conversation they had.

Many things about the conversation stood out to Hermione as surprising. Draco had asked her if she was happy with her choices and after a long-winded explanation, she had said she was. When she returned the question, it seemed that Draco was far from happy. The thought of his happiness, or lack thereof, hadn't occurred to her before.

From the sounds of it, life hadn't been easy for him after the war. She didn't have to ask more to know about the difficulties. She knew about his mother's death, followed closely by Scorpius's birth, and then Astoria's death. She also knew about the multitude of people who were looking for ex-Death Eaters to exact revenge upon. It was no stretch of the imagination to assume Draco had been treated less than decently by many people.

Hermione was surprised and troubled to hear that Scorpius wasn't being treated kindly by everyone at Hogwarts. She knew first-hand how hard it could be to fit in. It felt like a cruel twist of fate to hear that her ex-bully's son was a victim of childhood cruelties.

After Friday, the weather turned sunny. From the day of rain, her yard and garden were greener than they had been in a long while. With the nice weather, Hermione spent most of the weekend outside with James, Albus, and Lily. Sunday morning, she even brought them out on a hike to see a waterfall.

It had been a beautiful but quick weekend. Sunday night Hermione found herself on the phone with Ginny and Harry while the kids played a game on the deck.

"I'm glad it's going well," Harry said. "We really can't thank you enough."

"It's been fun," Hermione assured them. "I took them on a hike this morning and most of the weekend they were outside...well, except Friday, a big storm came in that day."

"They sound like they're having fun," Ginny said. Albus had sent her an owl a few days prior about all the fun he was having at Hermione's. Hermione had been honored to say the least.

"And things are fine with Scorpius visiting?" Ginny asked. "Albus mentioned something about seeing him again. I hope that's not a problem."

"Not at all," Hermione said as she glanced over at the kids who were too engaged in their game to notice her. "I think you were right about Malfoy, he's...changed."

For a moment Ginny and Harry were silent on the other end.

"I was surprised by it, too," Harry admitted. "When Albus and Scorpius started to become close, I figured it was up to me to...bury any old issues between Draco and me. I hadn't been expecting him to feel the same."

"He's a good father," Hermione said. She thought of the way Draco had held Scorpius during the movie. Despite being asleep, there was a protectiveness about the way his arm was wrapped around his son.

"He is," Harry agreed.

Monday began and Hermione found herself back at Tomes and Scrolls. Thomas had recently bought a crate of old books from an estate sale. Hermione knew that unloading, documenting, and putting away the books would take most the day if not two days. It was a big job, but she was happy to have something to do.

Hermione was just starting on the project when a familiar face walked into the shop. She put down the books she had been moving and smiled at Ron.

"'Mione," he said with a wide grin. "I was wondering if I'd see you here today."