Hermione Granger walked out of work with journalists and photographers from the Daily Prophet following her. They screamed out question after question but she ignored them. She apparited to her best friend, Ron Weasley's, house, the Burrow. She walked inside and was greeted by her best friends, Harry and Ginny Potter. "Hi, Hermione," Ginny smiled, "how was work?"
"It was great, thank you," Hermione smiled back. "Where's Scorpius?" Ginny and Harry shrugged before they heard yelling.
"Get back here you little squirt!" Ron yelled from upstairs. There were little footsteps running down the stairs before big ones followed behind.
"Mommy! Mommy help me!" Her son Scorpius cried as he jumped into her arms.
"What's going on?" She asked him.
"He's yelling at me. I didn't mean to slam the door," he cried into her shoulder. Ron came around the corner and Hermione glared at him.
"How dare you yell at my son!" Hermione yelled.
"He needs to be disciplined!" Ron defended.
"You have no authority to discipline him!" Hermione spoke.
"Yes I bloody do! He's just as much my son as he is yours!" Ron yelled.
"He is not! He is Draco Malfoy's son and you know it!" Hermione spat with tears running down her face.
"He's been missing for 4 years now, Hermione! I thought you were supposed to be smart! He's dead and you know it!" Ron shouted. "You can't raise this baby on your own!"
"He isn't dead!" She snapped. "And you just watch me!"
She grabbed hers and Scorpius's things before appariting to her apartment. She put Scorpius down and wiped his tears away.
"It's ok, baby," she whispered. "He'll never yell at you again." Scorpius gave her a weak smile.
"I love you, mommy." He sniffed.
"I love you too, honey." She smiled. "What do you say if we moved? Just you and me, far away from here." Scorpius nodded and she gave him a kiss on the nose.
She packed all her and Scorpius's essentials; clothes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, picture frames, food for the road, money, and Scorpius's favorite toy. She put them in one big suitcase and called a cab. While they waited, Hermione turned to talk to Scorpius. "Now listen, Scorpius. Where we're going, there probably won't be many wizards or witches so we'll have to pretend to be muggle while other people are around. Can you do that for me?"
"Yes, mommy," He smiled.
"Good boy," She said and kissed his forehead.
The cab took them to the airport and she bought two tickets to the states. They boarded the plane and waited for it to take off. Hermione felt bad for not telling anyone they were leaving but she didn't want them trying to convince her to stay. Something had been pulling her towards going to America since Draco disappeared but she never committed to it. She was being led somewhere in America, she didn't know by who or why but she felt it was the right thing to do. She wasn't sure if it was just because of Draco's dream of running away to the states or not.
After the plane took off, Scorpius fell asleep almost instantly. She smiled down at him and kissed his head. He reminded her so much of his father. He had his hair and eyes and he of course had his personality. The way he acted as though he was tough but was a baby on the inside and how he always flirted with the girls he went to school with. Scorpius was the only thing she had left of Draco other than the Malfoy Promise Ring she still wore and Narcissa.
When they arrived to the airport in America they grabbed their bags and grabbed a cab. She took Scorpius's hand and made sure not to let go. She waved down a cab and went to the hotel she had reserved a room for on the flight over. She set her things down in the room before carrying Scorpius, who was tiredly leaning on her arm, to bed. She went and got ready for bed and stared at herself in the mirror.
Even now in America, she still felt like something was pulling her somewhere else. She'd go buy a car tomorrow and let the force take her and Scorpius where ever it led her, without looking back. She got into bed and instantly fell asleep.
The first thing Hermione did the next morning was buy the cheapest car at the used car dealership. She grabbed Scorpius's and her stuff and packed it all into the car. She and Scorpius got breakfast before heading on the road. Scorpius didn't know exactly where his mom was going but neither did she. "Mom, where are we going?" He asked.
"I... I don't know, honey," She answered honestly. He sighed and looked out the window as she turned up the music before turning on the highway.
They drove for days, stopping late every night at a hotel and getting up early in the morning to get back on the road. They only stopped for food and the bathroom. Scorpius mostly slept in the car, even though it was uncomfortable. He didn't complain though. He knew his mom needed to be where they were going. He hoped it would make her smile, the smile his grandma Cissy, and aunt Ginny would tell him about. He's never seen her smile before, not a real smile at least, only a small fake one. His Aunt Ginny says she hasn't smiled or been happy since his dad went missing. His grandma doesn't like to talk about it.
They were somewhere in West Virginia now. She could feel them getting closer as the odd force was getting stronger. She turned onto a back road and hit a pothole. The car jerked and she pulled into a gas station parking lot. "What's going on?" Scorpius asked.
"Nothing, honey, just stay in the car," she said as she unbuckled her seat belt. She got out of the car and looked around to see what happened. The front right tire was completely torn and flat. Hermione sighed and looked around. The gas station was closed and the sun was setting. She couldn't see anything else within walking distance from there. She opened the back door and smiled at her son, who smiled back at her.
"What's wrong, mommy?" He asked. She got in and sat next to him before closing the door.
"Thank you, honey. For being so patient and flexible throughout this whole trip," she spoke calmly. "We're almost there, I know it. But we're going to have to spend the night in the car."
"Ok," he said. "Anything for you, mommy." They smiled at each other before laying down and falling asleep.
