A Hogwarts Reunion

Chapter One

"Scorpious! Caelum! Get down here now!" the frazzled brunette shouted, her blood boiling as she caught sight of the purple slime her daughter was covered in. She watched as her sons crept down the stairs sheepishly, guilty grins on their faces when the saw the mess their prank had made.

"What is this?" Hermione asked sharply, gesturing at her crying daughter.
She watched the twins go silent, a rare thing in the Malfoy household.

"Isn't anyone going to answer me?" she asked above Lyra's sobbing. She glared menacingly at the boys, a look almost identical to the ones she would shoot at Harry and Ron back in their school days.
"Sorry mum," they half-heartedly murmured in unison.
"I expect you to apologize to your sister right this instant! How many times do I have to tell you? No joke products in the house! I ought to-", her lecture was cut off by the sudden arrival of her husband.

"Mione, I think they've learned their lessons," the blonde chuckled at the sight of his youngest covered in relatively harmless slime.

"Just...go to your rooms," Hermione shot a stony glare at Draco and sighed. With a quick wave of her wand, the mess had cleaned itself up and Lyra was just as cheery as she was before her brothers' antics.
"Daddy's back!" Lyra waddled over to him, hugging his trousers as if he had been gone for months. The man chuckled again before picking his daughter up.
"Hello princess. How was your first day of school?" He tickled her lightly, making her squeal in joy.
"Good! I finger painted!" she squealed, wiggling out of his arms impatiently.

"Hey Dad, bye Dad," Scorpious gave his father a quick hug before apparating out of the room with a loud POP.

"Don't apparate in the house!" Draco shouted, before approaching his wife.

Hermione greeted him with a passionate kiss, a kiss that made her forget why she had been angry.
"Hi," Draco smiled as they finally came up for air.
"Ewwwww!" They heard Lyra exclaim, running up to her room at the sight of her parents' kissing. Hermione and Draco giggled at their daughter before heading into the kitchen.

"How was Rome?" Hermione asked as she charmed a knife to chop some bread in preparation for dinner.
He exhaled audibly in response.

"That bad?" She asked, shaking her head.

"I just hate being away from my family all of the time," he replied, running his hand through his frazzled blonde hair.
His wife wrapped her arms around the Slytherin's waist. He kissed her tenderly, his hands caressing her mess of brunette curls.

"It's not ideal, but your work is everywhere," she said, tossing her husband a clove of garlic to dice.
"The kids have school anyway. They aren't around as often as they used to..." she trailed off as her eyes met the faded scars on his hands, including a few fresher wounds. The curious witch's gaze traveled further up his arm, eventually landing on his Dark Mark.

She glanced at my own body, finding the scarred white words etched into her forearm. She felt tears threaten to spill from her eyes as she studied the wound. Although it was a marriage and four kids ago, it felt like just yesterday that she lay on the floor of Malfoy Manor, writhing in pain as Bellatrix Lestrange cut that word into her flesh.

Noticing the reaction of his wife, Draco abandoned the half-chopped clove and held her close.
She felt herself exhale a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding into his warm chest. He kissed her forehead, murmuring assurances that everything would be alright. The pair could've easily stayed like that for the rest of their lives, but a sharp tapping on the glass pane woke them from their embrace.

Hermione looked up to see a tawny owl on the kitchen window, a letter enclosed in its talons.

Hermione's heart quickened when she recognized the Hogwarts seal. The parents had decided to send the boys to Durmstrang and Cassiopeia to Beauxbatons. They both had rough memories of Hogwarts, although Scorpious and Caelum wished to attend their final year at Hogwarts.

The two envelopes were identical, save for one being addressed to Ms. Hermione Granger and another being addressed to Mr. Draco Malfoy.

The two began to hastily open their letters.

Dear Miss Granger,
The staff of Hogwarts is excited to welcome you to the 25 year reunion for the class of 1999. It will be held July 23rd in the Great Hall. We hope to see you there. Feel free to bring any family you would like, we await your owl no later than July 19th.
Signed,
Neville Longbottom
Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

The Malfoys both looked up in surprise. Before they could react, Lyra popped into the kitchen accompanied by her sister Cassiopeia. They were chatting absentmindedly about something, until their eldest daughter noticed her father's presence.

"Dad! You're back!" she shouted, pulling the man into an enthusiastic hug.

After the embrace, Cassiopeia and Lyra continued their conversation, oblivious to the smile on their mother's face. The two didn't behave like normal sisters, Hermione attributed it to their age difference. She and Draco had agreed that Cassiopeia was their last child, three was challenging enough. Lyra was their anniversary surprise, but they were excited all the same.

Draco shot his wife a look that seemed to say-

'What was that letter about?'

Hermione watched as her daughters left the room, and handed him the letter.
"There's going to be a reunion, I suppose," she said.

After a small silence, she spoke again. "Should we even go? It's been years since I've seen everyone."

"Don't overthink it, love," the blonde replied. "Of course we should go. Not only because of the look on Potter and the Weasel's face when we stroll in together, but because I know you miss your friends."

Hermione was thoughtful for a moment. "What if they hate me?" she asked in a hushed voice, her tearful eyes meeting Draco's.

"How could they? I'm sure they miss you just as much as you miss them. Besides, don't you want the kids to see the old campus?" he tried to reason with her, reaching out to grab her hand in his.
"Nothing bad will happen. Trust me, 'Mione. I would never let anything happen to you or our family." he continued. His wife sighed and glanced at the letter once again.

"I suppose it would be nice to reconnect with them..." she hesitated before pulling out a quill and paper to reply.

"There's the Gryffindor bravery that I fell in love with," Draco teased, returning to the dinner preparations.

Hermione took a deep breath before writing both her and Draco's RSVP, not bothering to correct her last name. They would find out soon enough.