Broken

Fighting

January

'Want it,' Scorpius frowned at Rose, reaching to grab the cuddly rabbit from her hands.

'No, mine!' Rose snatched her toy away, eyes narrowing.

'Want it. Have it!' Scorpius launched forwards, clutching at the toy.

'No! MINE!' Rose shouted, pushing him away.

Hermione and Draco heard the children start shrieking. Hermione dropped the kettle back onto the kitchen counter and raced into her living room. Draco ran after her, tripping over a box of Christmas decorations.

Rose and Scorpius were rolling around the floor, screaming and punching at each other. The ceiling lights flickered on and off, as cushions flew around the room. Hugo lay in his Moses basket, giggling and waving his chubby fists as each cushion soared overhead.

Draco threw Scorpius over his shoulder and carried him over to the sofa, still screaming. Hermione plopped Rose onto the Time Out Chair. Rose put her thumb in her mouth, glaring mutinously at Scorpius.

'...absolutely unacceptable. We are guests in their house. I expect better from you, young man!' Draco was saying to Scorpius, wagging his finger.

'Rose, that was no way to treat a guest. I know that you know how to behave. What was that all about?' Hermione raised an eyebrow as Rose sat in silence, determinedly sucking her thumb. 'Rosemary Weasley. I asked you a question. Why were you fighting?'

'My bunny. Not his. Boy not have it,' Rose muttered, glowering.

'You were fighting over Floppy Bunny?' Hermione spotted the toy, lost under the sofa in the argument. 'I think Floppy Bunny can have a Time Out too, then.' Hermione put the bunny on top of the bookshelf, out of harms way.

'Mine! My have it!' Scorpius yelled, pointing at the bunny, ignoring the angry hiss from Rose.

'Scorpius, no. That belongs to Rose, not you. You can't have it. Sorry Hermione, he's, well he's an only child and after his mother...well I suppose he's a little bit indulged...'

'No surprise there, he is a Malfoy after all! Rose just has so many cousins she's used to a "hit hard, hit fast" kind of world...'

'Punch first, ask questions later? Not shocked, I remember her father and uncles lived by that philosophy back in the day. You did too, now that I think about it...'

'That was one time! And you totally deserved it...'

'You broke my nose!'

'You were an arse!'

'Yeah, I was. Sorry.'

'You...wait, what? Did you, Draco Malfoy of the most ancient and noble house, just apologise? To a mudblood?'

'Don't call yourself that. Yes, I did, because you're right – I was. And it's the Black family that referred to themselves as most ancient and noble, not the Malfoys.'

'Did the Malfoys just stick with "pompous, arrogant and rich elitists" instead?'

'Harsh. No, we prefer "I can't hear your inferiority over the sound of our wealth and status" thank you very much...'

Draco and Hermione grinned at each other. Bored of being ignored, Rose and Scorpius started to grumble, bringing their parents' attention back to them.

'Shall we go to the park?' Hermione suggested, finding it a little hard to breathe. Her tiny house seemed a lot smaller when Draco smiled like that.

'You! What are you doing here?!' Ron was stood in the doorway, wand pointed fiercely at Draco.

Rose and Scorpius stopped fussing and stared at Ron in bewilderment.

'...Dada?' Rose said, uncertainly.

'Expelliarmus!'

Ron's wand flew out of his grip and into Hermione's waiting hand. He gaped at her as she pointed her wand at him.

'You. Outside. Now.' She ordered, face like thunder.

'What the hell is he doing here?' Ron exploded as soon as they stepped out of the front door.

'I invited him. Rose and Scorpius are having a play-date.'

'You did what?! I don't want a Death Eater near my children!'

'Excuse me?' Hermione's voice was dangerously quiet.

'You heard me! I will not allow him near my children!'

'He saved my life! And Hugo's!'

'Damn right he did, he owed us after all the times we bloody saved his!'

'Unbelievable. People change!'

'Not that much. Not him.'

'No. You haven't changed. You're still a stubborn, intolerant, immature bastard. I can't believe I used to respect you.'

'You don't respect me but you respect that?! He's a DEATH EATER!'

'WAS! I'll bet that he wouldn't feel emasculated by my successful career! Yes, I noticed! I know you struggled as an auror. I know it was too painful after everything we went through. I understood. I supported your choice to join George in the shop. I knew you needed to. But I didn't care that I earned more than you, that I had more success than you, that Harry soared to the top of the ranks while you worked behind a till in Diagon Alley. That never mattered to me! It only ever mattered to you! You could never see past your own damn insecurities to be proud of what I achieved!'

'When the hell did this become about me?!'

'You always make it about you, I figured I'd just skip right ahead to that part and save you the bloody trouble!'

'No. You don't get to do that. You don't get to change the subject away from you exposing my babies to that dangerous influence!'

'Do you even hear yourself? When did they stop being our children? I am their mother. If you think that their health and well-being isn't at the forefront of everything I do, then you clearly don't know me.'

'No. I clearly don't.' Ron stormed down the driveway, leaving Hermione spluttering in rage.

'You didn't punch him in the face,' Draco observed, lounging in the doorway.

'I've grown up since then,' Hermione sighed.

'So I've noticed...' Draco winked at her and looked her up and down with exaggerated slowness.

Hermione was horrified to realise she was blushing, then with some amusement she saw Draco was too. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

'I'd offer to hex him, but I'm pretty well acquainted with how well you can do that yourself, so I know you've got it covered.' He smiled encouragingly at Hermione, who was looking tearful. 'Thank you, by the way. For sticking up for me. Not many people do that, you know, ever.'

'Well, sure,' Hermione shrugged. 'I trust you not to hurt my children. I wouldn't let you within a hundred miles of them if I didn't.'

'And I respect that. Just like I respect the fact that you can, and have, break my nose or hex me a hundred different, miserable ways if you so choose.'

Hermione smiled weakly, as she tried to figure out when she had started trusting Draco Malfoy, the bully who tried endlessly to make her school life miserable.

'Come on, let's go get that cuppa and go to the park,' Draco gently led her back into the house. 'Hey, just think, at least all the fighting took care of that awkward silence we had going on when me and Scorpius first arrived...'