A Christmas Miracle

Chapter 5

Hermione was on her way to the park, feeling the need to get out of the house, deciding the book store just be closed for the day. The Daily Prophet had published news of Ron Weasley getting back together with his ex-girlfriend Lavender Brown, a moving picture of them on the front cover kissing and cuddling in a booth in some random restaurant. Just one month after the divorce was finalized.

"Maybe she can give him the children I couldn't..." Hermione thought bitterly.

She made her way towards her usual bench when she spotted a familiar little boy sitting there already, "Scorpius! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school? It's dangerous to be all by yourself out here you know."

The boy gave a sheepish expression under Hermione's scolding, "Hi Miss, sorry I just...I didn't want to go to school today."

The woman sighed, taking a seat beside him, "Does your father know you're here?"

Scorpius shook his head, "No, he thinks I'm at school right now...it's not an issue really, I don't always skip classes, only on the 3rd Monday of each month."

Hermione scrunched her eyebrows together, "I would argue it is an issue in regards to your education and safety, but....why specifically every 3rd Monday of each month?"

Scorpius looked down at his feet, slightly swinging off the side of the bench, "Every 3rd Monday of the month, my mum would visit a Muggle hospital. She'd stayed there for almost a week, and every time she came back, she had less and less hair...One day, she was supposed to visit the hospital, and she promised me she would be back...She did, but she was sleeping in this box...at least...that's what father told me at the time. I'm a little older now, so I know that she's actually never coming back."

Hermione's eyes watered at the words the child spoke of his mother, realizing why he had asked her if it was good to forgive someone who hurt them, "Darling...I didn't know your mother that well when we were in school, but what I do know is that she thought she would be coming back to you. She wouldn't have promised you her return if she thought otherwise."

The boy nodded his head, "I understand...thank you for talking to me by the way...it makes me happy that you want to talk with me about my mum. My father doesn't..."

Hermione tilted her head to the side, trying to capture the boy's gaze, "Of course I do, but you know, your father lost your mum too...he's just handling his sadness in the way he can..."

He began to cry, "But I wish he would just talk about mum...every time anyone mentions her, he changes. He's sad, and that makes me even sadder."

Hermione pulled the boy into her embrace, rubbing circles on his back as he began sobbing, "I'm sorry you're going through this, Scorpius...Do you want me to talk to your father?"

The boy shook his head, not wanting to bother him with his feelings when he knows his father is dealing with his own.

The woman pulled away slightly to look at his face and wipe away his tears, "I know you take this time of the month to mourn your mother, but she wouldn't be happy with you skipping your classes and risking your safety outside of your house. Your father will hear about it eventually if you keep it up--if the school hasn't called him already right about now..."

Scorpius sniffled, "If I don't take time to mourn my mum...I'm afraid I might forget her..."

Hermione recounted not seeing any pictures of Astoria in the house when she last visited them for dinner. She hugged the boy once more, "Don't you worry darling, I'll do all I can to help you, and the first thing I'm gonna do is give your father a piece of my mind."

Scorpius pulled back quickly, "Please don't hurt him, he's fragile."

Hermione laughed, "If your father heard you call him fragile, I don't know what he'd do...but don't worry, it will be a talk from one adult to another."

The boy looked unconvinced, "You two were going to have a food fight at dinner."

Hermione gave him a sheepish grin, "To be fair...I haven't seen your father since our days in Hogwarts, I guess our childish tendencies just re-emerged after interacting again in such a long time."

A small smile finally crept upon Scorpius' face, "I haven't seen dad smile since mum passed...I'm happy you made him happy."

Hermione felt her ears redding, but chalked it up to it being from the cold air around them, "I don't know if I make him happy per se, but I guess our old feud brought up happy memories of him taunting me and my friends while growing up."

She crunched her nose at how much of a git he was, but hearing the boy's laughter brought her back to the present, "Dad is a dummy."

"Yes, he is a dummy doo-doo head and a big scaredy-cat who took his fear out on others. How did his son end up being such an angel? It must definitely have been from Astoria's side." Hermione spoke obnoxiously, making the boy laugh even more.

She sighed, helping them both up from the bench and to their feet, "C'mon then, it's still... 9 am, I'll drop you off at school and explain to them you had an issue at home."

Scorpius tilted his head to the side, looking up at the woman, "Isn't that a lie? You know it's bad to lie."

Hermione chuckled hesitantly, "Technically it isn't a lie because the trouble at home refers to your father not addressing your emotional needs properly, which is why you were planning on skipping school...I'm just telling them the general reason. No need to explain any further than necessary. We don't want to get your father in trouble and have you taken away."

Scorpius' eyebrows furrowed and nodded his head in understanding. The boy took her hand as she began to walk him to school, "My dad may have magic...but I know he's still human at the end of the day..."

The woman looked down at the boy, having mixed emotions about his maturity for his age. "He certainly is far more mature than Draco was at his age...I guess death really does that to you, even for someone so young...I should know considering having near-death experiences with Harry and Ronald ever since the age of 11...Scorpius being even younger than that..."

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Author's Note:

We've gotten more insight into the Malfoy family now...Poor Scorpius...

Things will be looking up soon though. See you in the next chapter (^_^)