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A Wonderful Caricature of Intimacy	By : AnasellaEmm Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 75943 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: The chapter title comes from the song �Breathe In� by Frou Frou. Thank you for all the reviews, guys!

Chapter 2: Embrace the Dissonance
The sound of tinkling bells above the doorway sounded as Hermione walked into the school, �The Little Witches and Wizards Education Centre.�

A soft smile crossed her features as she walked towards the back room of the small, cottage-like building. She had finally opened her own school after ages of saving up after graduating from Hogwarts. With Voldemort being defeated towards the end of their seventh year, Hermione didn�t find the need to stop her education. The Dark Lord had great timing.

She unlocked the room that served as the office and walked in to find Donny already waiting, holding a mug of coffee.

Donatella Miller had been Hermione�s assistant since the school had first opened three years prior. Donatella, known to her students and everyone else as Donny, was an exuberant and very sweet person who had grown quite close to Hermione over the few years they had worked together.

�Good morning, Hermione,� she said cheerfully. �I got you a cup of coffee on my way here this morning.�

Hermione set her bag down and took a seat behind her desk. �Thanks, Donny. I wouldn�t know what to do without you.�

Donny smiled and took a sip of her coffee. �You�re here later than usual.�

Hermione shrugged and blew away some of the steam from the Styrofoam cup in her hand. �Harry and Ron decided that a wake-up call at five in the morning seemed to be a good idea. They barge into my flat at that ungodly hour and start spouting off some idiot ravings about Quidditch training starting and how this would be the season that Ron�s team will finally make it to the championship.�

�The Cannons actually have quite the chance this season,� Donny mused. �But I still have all of my money on Puddlemere United.�

Hermione grinned knowingly. �This unfaltering support for Puddlemere wouldn�t have anything to do with your massive crush on a certain Scottish keeper, would it?�

Donny�s cheeks tinted a pink color and she smiled reticently. �I still can�t believe you went to school with him! Jeez almighty! What I would have given to sleep in the same tower as the Oliver Wood.�

Hermione laughed and shook her head. Donny was a petite bundle of ranging characteristics. She was quiet, but opinionated; small, but tough; and unwaveringly optimistic about everything. She could also make Hermione laugh until tears formed in her eyes.

�So, yesterday I was working with Jameson and Carly on their multiplication tables and they both did really well,� Donny told Hermione as they settled into a more business-like setting.

Hermione was in charge of working with the younger children, three-year-olds to six-year-olds. Donny was in charge of the older kids. Seeing as how many magical families didn�t want to put their children in schools, but preferred to keep them home-schooled, �The Little Witches and Wizards Education Centre� wasn�t very popular and was barely making it.

She struggled with an internal sigh as she listened to Donny explain how two of her students were not getting along.

Hermione only looked after four students and Donny taught only five. With such a small attendance, they both worked hard to make sure the school stayed open and even then, sometimes they had to deduct money from their own paychecks to keep the bills paid and the rent cleared.

�We got the new shipment of building blocks yesterday,� Donny said, looking through some papers she had in her lap. �They�re the really colorful ones for the babes.�

�I wish you wouldn�t call my students babes,� Hermione laughed. �I have to spend nearly ten minutes every day convincing them that they are big boys and big girls. Otherwise, they end up acting like babies and I have to deal with their tantrums.�

Donny grinned and shrugged. �Sometimes I would kill to work with the babes and not with the snot-nosed rascals I deal with. They get so freakin sassy at some points where I just wish corporal punishment was allowed.�

�You�re the one who specialized in adolescents, Donny,� Hermione smiled. �I�m very happy working with the early-childhood group. They are such angels.�

Donny rolled her eyes. �Bragger,� she muttered.

Hermione grinned and heard the tinkling of bells that signaled the arrival of the students.

She looked at the clock that hung on the wall and furrowed her brow. It was still too early for students to be arriving. Usually, the earliest child arrived at eight in the morning and it was only seven-thirty.

Donny�s head blocked the narrow window that peeked out into the entrance of the small school as she looked to see who had entered.

Hermione pulled out her lesson plan for the day, knowing that Donny would go deal with the visitor.

�Holy mackerel,� Donny breathed, her brunette head looking closely through the small glass. �Hottie alert.�

Hermione chuckled and dipped her quill in the ink-well to bullet her plans for the day.

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�But I want to stay with you, daddy,� Zane pouted.

Draco looked down at his son, who was walking slowly next to him, his small hand held in Draco�s larger one. They walked through the quiet Hogsmeade street that led to the small school Draco had read about in the Daily Prophet.

�You have to go to school, Zane,� Draco told him. �Don�t you want to learn new things?�

�I already know my aphlabet��

�Alphabet,� Draco corrected.

�Yes, and I know my numbers up to one hundred!� Zane pleaded. �I want to stay with you.�

Draco squeezed his son�s hand and smiled sadly. �I�m sorry, mate.�

�Why can�t I stay with Gamma and Gampa?� he asked.

�Grandma and Grandpa agreed with me that you should go to school,� Draco explained. �Don�t you want to make friends?�

�You�re my friend, daddy,� Zane said stubbornly.

Zane always knew what to say to tug at Draco�s heartstrings. The kid was a Slytherin through and through, manipulative and cunning.

The school was located on the outskirts of Hogsmeade, far away from everything else in a secluded corner of the magic village.

The small building looked more like a residential cottage than it did a school, but the sign reading: �Little Witches and Wizards Education Centre� proved that it was indeed a school.

�Please, daddy?� Zane pleaded once more as he looked at the school with wide eyes. �I don�t want you to go to work and leave me here all by myself!�

�You won�t be by yourself, Zane. You�ll have classmates and a teacher,� Draco replied as he opened the door to the school.

Zane tried to pull back from walking into the school by digging his heels into the ground, but Draco swiftly picked him up and carried him.

�No fair. You�re stronger than me,� Zane said sadly.

Draco looked around the small, entrance/waiting area of the school that seemed deserted.

�No one�s here, daddy. Let�s go home,� Zane said quickly and hopefully.

Draco laughed softly and ruffled Zane�s hair. �Here comes someone now, so be polite, Zane.�

Zane buried his face in his father�s shoulder in response.

�Hi, there!� a short, vivacious brunette strolled out of a back room. �Welcome to 'Little Witches and Wizards Education Centre!' My name is Donny Miller.�

She stuck out her hand for Draco to shake. �I�m Draco Malfoy,� Draco introduced. �I wanted to enroll my son for school.�

�Awesome!� Donny said enthusiastically. �What's your name, cutie?�

Zane buried his head further into his father�s shoulder.

�He�s a bit shy,� Draco explained lamely. �And he�s mad that I�m putting him in school. Zane, why don�t you say hi?�

Zane grunted in response, but didn�t lift his head.

Donny smiled. �It�s nice to meet you, Zane. You don�t have to be shy here. Everyone is super nice and we all want to be your friend.�

Draco stopped himself from rolling his eyes.

�Well, you�re in luck, Mr. Malfoy because we have open enrollment throughout the year and all you have to do is fill out some paperwork and talk with our early-childhood teacher.�

�Sounds great,� Draco said. �Can this be done today or do I have to come back?�

�We can do it all this morning and have Zane start today. Let me just go get Miss Hermione.�

Draco nodded absently and then felt his eyes grow wide as Donny walked away. Did she just say Miss Hermione?

------------------------------------------

�Miss Hermione, he�s got a little babe, so he won�t be in my class,� Donny said, walking into the small office.

�How old?� Hermione asked, looking up from the lesson plan she was working on.

�Don�t know, maybe three or four years old. But hot damn, Hermione, the dad is a major cutie and guess what? No wedding ring,� she said in a sing-song voice.

Hermione laughed and shook her head, an action she constantly exhibited around Donny. �He wants to enroll his son?�

�Yep and he�s waiting now to talk to you, so go. Remember to flirt, Hermione,� Donny said seriously. �We need to get you a man and that stud out there is six feet so-and-so inches of pure masculine manly manliness.�

�Yeah, I�m going to go flirt with a student�s father. Brilliant plan, Don. Just brilliant,� Hermione mocked her by applauding.

�I�d totally go after him if he were my type. But I can never see myself with a guy more beautiful than me,� Donny said with a small smile. �Plus, how am I going to snag Oliver Wood if I�m lusting after other guys?�

Hermione rolled her eyes.

Donny smiled widely and winked. �I�m going to go set up for class. Have fun with the hottie daddy!�

Hermione shook her head again and stepped out of the office with the pile of paperwork for the new student�s parent. The minute she walked into the entrance/waiting area, the pile of paperwork dropped to the floor and her mouth gaped open.

�Malfoy?�

Draco looked at her and shook his head slightly. �Wonderful,� he muttered. He had heard Donny correctly. The frizz-bomb nuisance known as Hermione Granger was going to be in charge of his kid five days a week. Wonder-freakin'-ful.

�What are you doing here?� she asked very unprofessionally.

�I�m the damn chimney-sweep. What the hell do you think I�m doing here?� he retorted.

A muffled voice came from the small child in his arms. �Two bad words, daddy.�

�Sorry, mate. What�s the punishment?� Draco asked, ignoring Hermione�s stunned silence and turning to his son, who still had his face hidden in shyness and sullenness.

�Ummmm� two minutes time-out at home,� came Zane's smothered reply.

�Fair enough,� Draco said and kissed his son�s unruly dark blond locks.

�He gets to punish you?� Hermione asked, her brain and mouth fighting an epic battle of wits of speaking before thinking.

�Yes. If he uses bad words, then I punish him. I wouldn�t be a very good example if I threw around curses without any justified reciprocity,� Draco explained, growing bored with the conversation. �So, you�re the teacher?�

Hermione straightened her shoulders as she bent down to pick up the papers. Surprisingly, Draco bent down to help as well. Had hell frozen over?

�Yes, I�m the early-childhood teacher and the owner of this school,� Hermione said solidly. �I didn�t know you had a son.�

�Well, now you do,� Draco replied condescendingly, standing up and handing her half of the papers.

Hermione stared at him, old feelings of hate and bitterness surging through her veins at the arrogant way he presented himself. Even after taking the coward�s way out during the war by playing neutral, he still held his head high and made even the proudest person feel inferior. Ignoring the intense grey gaze he featured and the strong bone structure he had grown into and the way his bright hair slightly fell into his eyes instead of being slicked back the annoying way it had when he was younger and the way� um� where was she� oh yes. He was an asshole.

�Can I enroll him or do you just want to ogle me all day?� Draco's voice broke through her reverie.

Hermione scowled and thrust the stack of papers in front of him, handing him a quill and ink well from behind the front desk. Still, the little boy he held remained clutched to his father desperately.

She watched as Draco spoke softly to him.

�Can I set you down so I can write?� Draco asked him.

His dirty-blond head shook as he sniffled, strengthening his hold on his father.

�Are you crying?� Draco asked.

Zane nodded his head and sniffled again.

Draco�s shoulders sagged with heavy emotion as he knelt down to place his son on his own feet. Draco stooped down to face him at eye-level.

�You promised me you wouldn�t cry,� Draco said quietly.

Hermione watched as the former Slytherin prince spoke to his son with more tenderness and adoration than she could have ever thought possible. It was obvious from the onset that Malfoy loved his child.

When he had set his son on the floor, Hermione saw the little boy�s face. His resemblance to his father was remarkable; yet, there was a softness, a naivet�, an innocence to his young face. His large grey eyes were pooled with tears, which were making their way quietly down his rounded cheeks.

He was an adorable child, with a hint of mischief lurking beneath the slate irises. Too bad he was the spawn of Hades.

�Don�t leave me, daddy. I�m scared,� he sobbed quietly.

Draco reached his hands out to wipe his son�s tears away. He kissed each cheek softly and brushed his fingers through his son�s hair. Hermione found herself in complete awe at his actions, rooted to her spot and watching quietly.

�What did we say, Zane? What do I always tell you?� Draco asked, rubbing Zane�s shoulders.

�Big boys don�t get scared,� Zane recited, his lip quivering, his chest rising and falling with urgent, crying breaths.

�And are you a big boy?�

Zane nodded vehemently and ran the back of his hand across his eyes.

�So you shouldn�t get scared,� Draco said. �I�ll only be gone for a few hours and I�ll be here to pick you up at exactly five o clock.�

Draco rolled up his sleeve and held out his wrist to Zane. �Show me on my watch when five o' clock is.�

Zane pointed his little finger at the watch and counted to the number five, pointing at the right number and sniffling.

Draco took off the watch he had received on his seventeenth birthday and strapped it to Zane�s wrist. It was ridiculously big on his small arm, but it didn�t matter as Draco adjusted the strap to fit him perfectly.

�Now you�ll know when I�ll be coming to get you, ok?� Draco said and kissed his son once more. �You�re going to have fun, mate. I promise.�

Zane nodded his head sadly, his attention still focused on the watch on his wrist. He petted it protectively and held it close to his body.

Draco stood up from kneeling and his eyes met with Hermione�s. She was watching him strangely. It disconcerted him.

�What?� he asked snidely.

Hermione shook her head and pointed to the paperwork, indicating that he should finish it. She stepped from behind the desk and knelt down in front of Zane, much the same way that Malfoy had.

�Hi, Zane. My name is Hermione,� she said kindly. �I�m going to be your teacher.�

Zane stared at her, still hugging the watch to his chest. He didn�t reply.

�Zane, be nice,� Draco said distractedly above them as he filled out the superfluity of papers. �Say, hi.�

�Hi,� Zane said quietly.

�How old are you, sweetheart?� Hermione asked.

Zane held up four fingers.

�Since you�re here early, do you want to help me set up for the class today?�

Zane shrugged wordlessly.

�Talk, Zane,� Draco said, signing his name for what had to be the seventh time.

�Yes,� Zane said, looking between his father and the pretty lady in front of him.

�Well, we�re going to set out the building blocks first and then we�re going to put out the crayons and parchments for art time.�

�What�s art time?� Zane asked, his eyes wide with wonder.

Hermione smiled. �Art time is where you can either draw, or paint, or make sculptures using clay. Do you like any of that?�

Zane nodded his head.

�Well, that�s great, then. You�re going to have a lot of fun today. Especially when you meet your classmates,� Hermione said with a smile.

Draco watched the two of them talk as he finished with the bureaucratic part of the enrollment process. The annoying chit seemed to have a way with children, her voice soothing and kind. She spoke to Zane as an equal, and not as a baby, the way Pansy did. Just the thought of his ex-wife made Draco want to revisit his breakfast.

The muggleborn's hair was still a goddamn awful mess. For shit�s sake, hadn�t she heard of conditioner? Her know-it-all, annoying temperament always masked her physicality in that Draco could never get over how bloody irritating she was to see her as a person, as a woman. Her soft facial features and kind brown eyes were focused solely on Zane and her cupid�s-bow lips smiled and relaxed in fullness.

God, he needed to get laid.

His last tryst had been with Pansy in the closet at Blaise�s party: the night Zane was conceived. Draco deserved a fucking medal for staying abstinent throughout his marriage to the banshee. Four years� he was a blasted monk.

He was so desperate that he was looking at Granger as if she was attractive� HA!

Hermione stood up and somehow she held Zane�s hand in her own. Zane�s shyness seemed to be slowly ebbing away as he gazed up at the witch curiously.

�He�s really smart for his age,� Hermione said, looking Draco straight-on. �If he didn�t look so much like you, I would wonder about his parentage.�

And there was the comment that reminded him of why she was a stupid hag.

�I�m hurt, Granger. Really, I am. Now, can I pay you and get on with my day? I can only take so much of your presence,� Draco replied dryly.

�Monthly tuition is 80 galleons. You can pay at the end of the month or the beginning,� Hermione replied.

�I�ll pay now,� Draco said, reaching into his business robes and pulling out a small dossier. �Do you take Gringott�s bill notes?�

Hermione nodded and watched Draco sign the equivalent of a Muggle check. He wrote it out for 200 galleons.

�This should take care of two months,� Draco said, handing her the bill note. �And a little something extra to make sure he gets the best education.�

�We don�t take bribes,� Hermione replied, staring at the bill note in her hand. Bloody Mary, 200 galleons?!

�Think of it as a donation,� Draco retorted. He knelt down in front of his son and kissed his forehead. �I�ll see you at five, Zane. Be good.�

Zane nodded and hugged his father before putting his hand back in Hermione�s. �Miss Hernime��

�Hermione,� Draco corrected, the name feeling foreign on his tongue.

�Miss Hermione said I can help set up for art time. And I am going to draw you a picture, daddy,� Zane explained.

Draco smiled and stood back up. �I can�t wait to see it, mate,� he said and turned to leave. �Au revoir.�

�Adieu, daddy!� Zane replied.

---------------------------------------

Hermione looked at the little boy clutching her hand as his father left the building. �You speak French?�

Zane shrugged his shoulders. He wasn�t yet at the age where he was cognizant of knowing a foreign language.

Hermione couldn�t help but be curious� insanely curious... about this little boy; about his rogue father. Where had Malfoy been all these years? Who did he have a child with and why was he back in England? When had he become so loving (even if it was just towards the fruit of his loins)?

And when on earth did he overcome his prejudices to leave his darling son in the care of a muggleborn whom he hated fervently?

�Did the hottie leave?� Donny asked, coming out of the back room and startling Hermione out of her wayward thoughts.

�What�s a hottie?� Zane asked.

Hermione shot Donny a sharp look. �It�s nothing, Zane. Come on, let�s go set up for art time and then you can meet your classmates once they get here.�

�Is there going to be girls?� Zane asked, with his brows furrowed slightly.

�Yes, there are two boys and two girls in your class,� Hermione explained.

�Yuck,� Zane responded. �Girls are stupid.�

Hermione heard Donny snort in laughter behind her.

�That�s not nice, sweetheart. The two little girls who are your classmates are very, very nice,� Hermione said. �The two boys are also nice.�

Zane shrugged and followed her into the room. His hand was so small in hers. She worked daily with small children, but Zane seemed different. She felt something for the child. His father loved him intensely, that much was obvious, but the little boy still had an air of insecurity about him. As if, maybe, he had been rejected�

Despite who had sired him, he seemed like such a sweet child. Maybe he wasn�t Malfoy�s. Who would have thought the ferret would produce such an innocent offspring?

�I�m sorry,� Zane said quietly as she showed him where the crayons were.

�For what?� Hermione asked.

�I said girls are stupid,� Zane said, his eyes wide in his usual childlike gaze. �That�s a mean thing to say and daddy says I shouldn�t be mean to anyone.�

�Your father told you that?� Hermione asked, surprised beyond her words.

Zane nodded. �You are a girl and you are not stupid. You�re nice.�

Hermione smiled and patted his hand as they laid out the papers and parchments. �I think you�re nice too, Zane.�

Zane beamed and rubbed at the watch strapped to his wrist. He was going to like this Miss Hernime. She was nice and she smiled so prettily at him. Her name was hard to say, but that didn�t matter.

Maybe school wouldn�t be so bad�
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A Wonderful Caricature of Intimacy