A Christmas Miracle

Chapter 2

Hermione made her way to the back entrance of an old bookstore that was going through renovations. The Ministry had paid her quite handsomely, allowing her to live off of the number of galleons in her vault at Gringotts alone, but she loves being busy and was now living out her dreams of having her own bookstore.

The basement of the building was reserved for storage, the first and second floors were accessible to everyone, but the third floor allowed only magical beings access to it, as it contained magical books and grimoires. Upholding the secret of magic from the muggles saddened her at times, as she believed that knowledge is a gift meant to be shared...but remembering the Salem Witch trials always relieved her of any guilt.

After having finished organizing the final sections on the third floor, and dusting and polishing the reading areas, Hermione was ready to host the grand opening of "Granger's Books Imporium".

She took a sip of her honey-infused green tea and smiled, "I mustn't take for granted the events in my life that have led to this new chapter...I know I'm still hurting, but I must allow myself to enjoy this."

After turning the sign to have "Opened" facing the outside, Hermione quickly ran behind the store's counter, hoping her guests would be coming soon (and having a sliver of hope Ron would come to support her too).

Hermione must've been on the fifth page of a random Muggle book when she heard the bell chime, signaling someone has entered the store. A mob was heard before they were seen, "Hermione!" "Nice place ya got here 'Mione!" "Everything looks fantastic!"

She set her book down and quickly made her way to give everyone a hug. Arthur, Molly, Bill, Fleur, George, and Angelina had arrived first altogether. They all spoke together animatedly before another chime rang, signaling the arrival of Harry, Ginny, and their sons James and Albus.

Hermione excused herself from a discussion with Bill and Fleur, making her way to give the Potters hugs, "Look at you boys! You're all so grown up and it's only been a few months since I've last seen you two!"

James looked around before asking, "Is there a kids' section Aunt Mione?"

Hermione smiled and gestured up the stairs, "It's on the 2nd floor, you'll be able to easily find it, there are Muggle toys you can play with as well!"

The two boys thanked their godmother before racing up the stairs, leaving their parents with the rest of the adults. Ginny yelled after them, "Try not to break anything!"

Harry placed his arm around his wife's shoulder, "Oh c'mon love, they're just having a bit of fun, besides we can always fix anything with magic."

Ginny gave her husband a pointed look, "Harold, if we don't teach them how to behave properly, they will get minus points for Gryffindor or whatever house they'll end up in!"

Harry chuckled, "That's still years away love, no need to get your knickers in a twist."

Ginny removed his arm around her, "You're sleeping underneath the stairs tonight."

With that, the Weaslette left her husband to join her parents, without noticing the visible shiver that coursed through her husband's spine. Hermione's eyebrows shot up at the exchange, "Merlin Harry, what did you do to make Ginny so worked up?"

Harry sighed, "Her time of the month must be coming up soon. Her werewolf side is starting to seep through---"

That earned him a Bat-Bogey Hex.

Hermione sighed, as she watched George laugh at the scene, Bill try to reverse the hex, Molly scold her daughter, and Arthur and his daughters-in-law continue to chat without having noticed.

"Gotta love family gatherings." She thought.

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Ron never came to show his support for Hermione's grand opening of her bookstore, and though it did hurt her a bit, she felt grateful still towards the Weasleys for treating her as still part of the family despite the divorce.

After everyone had said their goodbyes and apparating away, Hermione finished rearranging the shelves, and was about to close the shop for the evening until she heard the chime at the door. A familiar flash of nearly white hair upon a little boy's head appeared in her vision.

Hermione quickly made her way to the front of the store, "Oh hello! Nice to see you again, it's getting dark soon, are you with your parents?"

The little boy from the park was about to say something when a man quickly called, "Scorpius! Son, please don't run off like that! You're gonna give me a heart....attack."

The man slowed down to a stop when he made eye contact with Hermione. She knew those silver eyes anywhere, "Malfoy..."

She took in the sight before her, Scorpius was a spitting image of his father and was subconsciously kicking herself for not realizing sooner. She hated to admit it but Draco Malfoy had been attractive throughout their school years and now even more so, having aged like fine wine.

Draco cleared his throat, "Granger...What are you doing here?"

She scoffed, "I own this bookstore. I should be asking you that question, what are you doing here, in Muggle London of all places?"

Draco quickly glanced at his son who was watching the exchange with curiosity, "My son and I live nearby. Anyway, sorry to disturb you, Scorpius, let's go back home."

Before Hermione could say anything, Draco quickly picked up his son, threw him over his shoulder, and ran across the street after seeing there were no cars in sight. The little boy could only laugh and scream as his father ran away with him from the bookstore, leaving the brunette to attempt to process the recent exchange that had occurred.

She slowly retreated back into the shop and turned the sign to say "Closed" before thinking to herself, "Draco Malfoy...living amongst Muggles...and Scorpius...there's no way that child is half muggle if Draco's his father. Lucius would've disowned him so quickly...Narcissa...I don't know her too well to judge her reaction, but if she willingly married Lucius then perhaps she shared his views on Blood Purity...Perhaps the rumors are true and that his wife is Astoria Greengrass..."

Hermione shook her head, pausing in front of one of the walls of books, "He apologized for disturbing me...I suppose children really do change you, even if a little bit..."

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Author's Note:

And so starts the beginning of our Dramione ship setting sail in this story, hehe...I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, see you next time!