16. Perceiving Things Differently

A/N So many of you were close with guesses of whats going on, and the start of this chapter is gunna seem a bit weird but you'll get it after awhile.

And well..THANK YOOOOOU to everyone that read and reviewed. Over 800 reviews, I'm shocked! I'm surprised anyone's still reading to be honest, I keep taking so long to update. So sorry by the way again! Exams are over though so I should be back on track soonish.

Disclaimer – I wish I owned it, I really do! But well I don't, it's all JK's.

Perceiving Things Differently

Blaise stood leaning against the doorframe of his room looking at the empty crib. He took a deep breath to maintain his very controlled composure and turned around to head out of his room for the last time.

He picked up his bags, checked the room for anything he had left and walked slowly outside to the now busy corridor. He watched everyone move about trying to gather up their things and as Slytherins surrounded him in the rooms, it was as if they hadn't lost a baby at all.

He walked down the corridor swerving around bags on floors, people moving from room to room and Pansy who was still crying.

He almost dropped his bag at a strangled yell from Malfoy's room. 'GRANGER!!'

Pansy was sitting in the middle of the corridor crying her eyes out, and when anyone tried to comfort her she would snap harshly at them. She didn't want to seem weak so whenever someone suggested she was missing her baby, she would say instead she was crying over some missing lip gloss.

Her head was buried in her hands, what was almost as bad as losing a child was the idea that crossed her mind when the grief had hit her; she would do anything to have her baby back, even sleeping with Neville. She had wanted to shoot herself right there.

She looked up through her teary eyes to see Neville crouch down in front of her.

'Look, if you're going to cry, why don't you do it in the privacy of our room instead of err blocking the corridor and trying to get attention'

Prat she thought as she rubbed at her eyes, making them even more red than they were.

'Ow' she said turning to see the back of Blaise walk down the corridor.

Her head snapped to look down the corridor. 'GRANGER!!'

Ron sat on his bed dazed as he automatically stroked Lavender's head which who on his lap, and said that everything was going to be fine for the 50th time. He only hated that he himself could not believe his own words.

He stroked her head one last time before moving it off his lap and getting up and stretching. He took a look at his battered old trunk and sighed as he started tugging it towards the door.

He wasn't looking where he was going and his heel of his foot hit the door jam and he fell backwards into the middle of the corridor where Harry was just walking.

'What you doing down there Ron?'

'Sorry Harry' He said, standing up and rubbing his back, which he had fallen on to.

'Don't worry about it. Have you seen Hermione?'

'No, I haven't sorry'

'Hmmm, I need to talk to her, oh wait there she is. See you soon mate' He said as Ron watched him head down to Hermione who was walking slowly. He inhaled sharply as he heard a voice shout loudly 'GRANGER'

'GRANGER' Hermione blinked.

'Hey Hermione, was that Malfoy I just heard?' Harry said walking up behind her.

'Yeah I better go see what's going on. I'll see you later ok?' She said giving him a strained smile before disappearing into her quarters to see Malfoy standing in the doorframe to their bedroom, rigid.

'What's wrong?' She said walking up to him and attempting to look beyond him but with no luck, as he was too tall.

'Draco, you're scaring me. Please move.' She said as he silently moved to the side for her.

Her mouth hung open as a child of about 6 years old sat on Malfoy's bed with her legs hanging off the edge. She was wearing a simple pink dress and wore her bright blonde hair in plats down on her shoulders. Her eyes were light blue and she was wearing what almost could have been considered a smirk.

'Daddy, you didn't have to shout' She said matter-of-factly hopping off the bed.

Neither Malfoy nor Hermione spoke as they took in this little girl who was exploring their room with much eagerness.

'Who are you?' Hermione choked out.

The girl, who had her head stuck under Hermione's bed re surfaced and looked at her mother somewhat pitifully and then she turned to look at her father.

'Daddy, why is Mum acting strange?' She said putting her hands on her hips and looking at her father for an excuse.

He simply blinked in disbelief.

'Ella?' he said after a few moments.

'It's reassuring knowing my parents know my name' She said rolling her eyes as if they were plain stupid.

'You're…' Hermione trailed off.

'Why are you acting so strangely? Has someone died?' She said looking over at her father.

'No one has died' Malfoy said, now able to string a sentence together. 'You look just like me' He whispered to himself but Hermione nodded when she overheard.

'I'm really scared' She said, her eyes welling up with tears.

'It's ok' Malfoy said walking over to her and picking her up as she smiled.

'Where are you from?' Hermione asked looking around the room for clues.

'You two?' She guessed shrugging. 'Aren't you meant to tell me where babies come from?'

Draco smirked which matched Ella's as Hermione shook her head disbelievingly.

'We need to go see Dumbledore' Hermione said as Malfoy nodded in agreement.

As they walked into the corridor, the buzzing that was there previously, disappeared as everyone stared open mouthed at the girl currently in Malfoy's arms.

'Uncle Potter!' She yelled pointing toward Harry who looked as if he'd seen Snape dancing naked.

'You know Harry?' Hermione said.

'Potter' She grinned. Malfoy stifled a laugh by coughing.

'His name is Harry' Hermione said sternly.

'Daddy always told me to call him Potter'

'I cannot believe you would do something like that!' Hermione snapped.

'I didn't know I did. Wow, my daughter is cool' He said gazing into her eyes as she smiled.

'Look, I'm having trouble dealing with this. Let's go to Dumbledore.' He nodded and they both strode off towards Dumbledore's office. Hermione uttered the password and ran up the stairs to his office. She knocked and waited.

'Yes?' McGonagall said as she opened the door. Her eyes hit Ella and she gasped covering her mouth with her hand.

'Aunty McGonagall!' Ella shrieked.

Dumbledore appeared at the door a second later and he looked utterly shocked beyond belief to see a girl in Malfoy's arms.

'Erm, Minerva. Could you take this lovely young girl for a while, while I err, ask these two some questions.'

'Yay!' Ella said jumping from Malfoy's arms and taking McGonagall's hand and pulling her out the door. 'Can we play that game we always play?'

'Errm, how do you play that again?' They heard McGonagall say as the door shut behind them.

'May I ask, who that was?' Dumbledore said rubbing his glasses with his thumb.

'Our daughter. It's Ella.' Malfoy said.

'Ella? This is hard to comprehend' He said his brown furrowed.

'She has memories of everyone' Hermione uttered shaking her head.

'How did you find her?'

'I went to get my trunk and she was sitting on the bed.' Malfoy said.

'We need to ask her what she remembers before sitting on that bed.' Hermione quickly said.

'I'm going to need some time I'm afraid to think this through. You are going to have to act as if Ella is part of your everyday life. Nothing amazing has happened and you might have to ask her about how she perceives your relationship. You may for instance, have to share a bedroom if she remembers that you two are together.'

'But, I mean, oh I don't know' Hermione said lamely.

'Do the best you can and I'll do some research. You're her parents, you must act like it.'

'We understand' Hermione murmured.

'Now, you better go and find out what your daughter is like eh?' He said smiling slightly.

They reached the bottom of the steps to see McGonagall levitating things above Ella's head for her to try and catch.

'Dad, look I can jump higher than I could yesterday' She giggled jumping into the air trying to catch a quill.

'That's really good' Malfoy said trying to sound happy and excited but failing.

Hermione smiled and sat down next to Ella.

'We're going to have to ask you some questions' She said quietly as McGonagall watched on from a distance.

'Like a fun quiz?' Ella said, her eyes beaming. 'I love quizzes'

'She's definitely your daughter Granger' Malfoy mumbled from behind her.

She ignored him and carried on.

'Yes a quiz. Now, do me and your father have a happy relationship?'

She looked towards Malfoy and then back and smiled 'Yes'

'Do we all live together in a big house?'

'Yes, Malfoy Manor.' Ella said excited. 'Am I getting the questions right?'

'Yes, yes you are.' Hermione said giving Malfoy a nervous glance. 'What were you doing before sitting on our bed a moment ago?'

Ella's face screwed up into concentration but then her bottom lip started quivering. 'I d-don't know. Are you mad that I can't answer that question?'

'No, that's ok Ella.'

'Do you come to school with us every year?' Malfoy said from behind Hermione.

'I think so yes. I can't remember back to when I was born'

'That's ok. No one can' Hermione quickly said as she saw Ella look ashamed.

'Where does my father and mother stay Ella, when we're living in Malfoy Manor'

'They live with us silly, Why are you asking me questions that are obvious?'

'We just want to know that you're taking everything in' Hermione said again turning to face Malfoy with a look of fear.

'Do you go to muggle school?'

Ella looked absolutely disgusted. 'I don't go to muggle school, in the summer Nanna and Granddad teach me all I need to know'

'My parents?' Malfoy enquired.

'No, well sometimes but mummy's parents normally teach me about numbers and spelling'

For the next hour they sat there asking her various questions and trying to make it sound light hearted but sometimes Ella noticed the expressions on her parents face as they looked towards each other after each question was answered. She knew something wasn't right.

………..

Through out dinner everybody was completely stunned at the little girl eating hungrily from her father's lap at the Slytherin table. Hermione had told people what was going on and it had spread so everyone knew the situation and could act accordingly when around her.

Pansy who was quite eager to play mummy to Malfoy's daughter attempted to talk to her.

'Hello Ella, can you say Slyth-e-rin?' She said as if speaking to a 2 year old.

'Yes, the question is whether you can spell it' Ella said smirking before eating another roll while half the table started laughing. Pansy crossed her arms and turned her back to Malfoy who was talking to Blaise.

'How does she know everyone's names?' Blaise whispered into Malfoy's eyes so Ella wouldn't hear.

'She's got memories of at least the past 2 years of coming here and seeing everyone. So just pretend you know her and see her all the time.'

'Got it. Hey, imagine if your father found out' He laughed but stopped at Malfoy's look of complete fear.

'He won't'

'Daddy' She said looking across the hall to Hermione and Ron. 'Can I go and sit over there?'

Malfoy tried not to show he was upset by this request and just nodded as she jumped of his knee and scurried over to sit next to Hermione.

Hermione, who had just finished explaining and answering peoples questions about Ella, smiled in greeting as Ella sat next to her but as she was too short to see over the table, climbed onto Harry's lap.

Harry smiled awkwardly as he could feel Malfoy's eyes burn into the back of his neck.

'We have Potions next don't we?' Ron said while stuffing his face with anything he could see.

Hermione opened her mouth to reply but Ella had got there first. 'Yep, potions is my favourite'

'You sit in our classes with us?' Harry asked dubiously.

'No, not all the time but Uncle Sev sometimes lets me sit in on the lesson if I'm extra good during the week'

'But you don't understand potions, do you?' Hermione asked curiously.

'I've been practicing' She beamed proudly.

'How old are you now Ella?'

'Nearly 7, you should know my age Uncle Potter'

'Oh I do, you just act older' he said smiling at her.

'Thank you' She said as she played with a strand of her blonde hair.

……

The teachers up at the head table were staring at the scene on the Gryffindor table with much puzzlement. None of them had any idea what was going on.

'They're must have been something wrong with the spell we did, Albus' McGonagall suggested.

'That's not possible. We used the same spell for everyone and they are the only two with a child'

'I know. Oh I don't know what to think.' McGonagall said.

'I still have to talk to Mr Malfoy and Miss Granger' Dumbledore said as he looked between the two.

'Why?' McGonagall said curiously.

'Severus found them in a rather compromising position'

'Oh yes I reme-' She let out a high-pitched squeak when Ella suddenly appeared on the other side of the table.

'Oh, what can I do for you dear?' She asked adjusting her glasses slightly.

'I want to talk to Uncle Sev' All the teachers smiled in amusement as she walked down two steps and smiled.

'Can I come and sit in your next potions lesson please?' She said smiling her best smile.

'Pardon?' He said astounded.

'I've been awfully good this last week. And this time I promise not to ruin Neville's potion.' She said pouting a little and turning on her charm.

Snape looked to Dumbledore then to McGonagall and then back to the girl that was easily manipulating him to get the answer she wanted.

'Fine'

'Yay!' She squealed jumping up and down and running back down to Hermione.

………………………….

'I don't think the dungeons are any place for a 6 year old, Malfoy' Hermione said as she walked along beside him as Ella skipped a long in front of them.

'Oh come on, lighten up'

'Lighten up?' She said sounding hysterical. 'Do you realise that I would have had to have sex with you when I was 10 for her to exist? And what if she doesn't go anywhere or disappear. She's with us for the rest of our lives.' She whispered in a hush tone.

'That's a bit extreme. I'm enjoying her company at the moment. She can manipulate anyone she wants, she smirks the same as me, and earlier I saw her actively try and trip Neville up.'

'Well, she is Slytherin after all'

'Oh I know' He smirked heading into the dungeon and sitting as far away from Hermione as possible.

Ella stood in the middle of the room looking at Hermione, then at Malfoy, then back to Hermione. 'Why are you both sitting so far away? You normally both sit with me'

'Oh yeah, I forgot.' Hermione said standing up and throwing an apologetic look to Ron and Harry.

She sat down next to Malfoy with Ella on the other side looking eagerly towards the front.

Half way through the lesson, as Hermione was writing down ever word that Snape was saying she felt a hand touch her leg, her eyes widened and she jumped a little causing Snape to look towards a smirking Malfoy, an embarrassed Hermione and very confused Ella.

'Miss Granger' He said slowly.

'I'm sorry sir' She said giving Malfoy a kick under the table.

She sighed and then continued writing when she felt the hand return to her thigh.

'Malfoy' She said under her breath.

'Yes' he whispered.

'Move your hand before I chop it off'

'Fine, I'll move it further…this way' Her eyes widened as she stood up abruptly making Malfoy laugh and her chair to crash to the floor.

'Miss Granger' Snape shouted. 'What on earth are you doing? Sit down. 40 points from Gryffindor'

'I'm sorry. Ella, how about you switch seats with me?'

'Why?' Her eyes narrowed.

'As your mother, I demand you to swap with me'

'Fine, sorry.' She said moving slowly and sitting in Hermione's seat.

As they walked out at the end of the lesson, Hermione crouched down and told Ella to go off with Harry and they'll catch them up later. Harry shot her a suspicious look and mouthed that they needed to talk before following Ella.

She grabbed Malfoy's hand and pulled him into an empty classroom.

'Right you little weasel. What the hell were you doing? We have bigger problems than you feeling frisky ok?'

'Fine'

She blinked. 'You're agreeing?' She said stunned.

'Yes' he nodded looking at her up and down.

'Oh well, don't do it again. Thanks'

'No problem' He said shoving his hands inside his pockets and leaning against the door that was her only way out.

'Well, thanks. Can you please move?'

'No' He said simply.

'Please?'

'Ermmm…. no' he said walking slowly towards her, 'I've missed you.'

'Missed me? You never had me'

'Oh I think I did. You just didn't know, Granger.' He said running his hand down the side of her body and letting it rest on her waist. She shuddered involuntarily as he brushed his lips against hers.

'Relax' He said before kissing her passionately while turning her around and pushing her against the door.

'Mulfo-' She tried saying against his lips but he was not listening. 'Malfoy' she said breaking away as he started kissing down her neck.

'We should stop this now. What if a teacher came in again.' She said putting her hands on her hips.

'I don't care anymore' he mumbled against her neck as his hands tried to take off her top but she shoved him away hard.

'No, just no' She said hugging herself as she ran out the classroom leaving a dishevelled Malfoy behind.

He ran out after her and got her wrist. 'We agreed' He said quietly.

'Agreed what? That we can do what we want to one another in private? Well yeah, but situations have changed Malfoy ok?'

'I want you' he said putting his other hand around her waist.

'I know' She said before shaking of his hand and walking off.

'I will have you' He muttered as a smirk graced his pale face.

………………………………………

A/N me again, I tried to get the Malfoy/Hermione relationship more on track now, even though they have a daughter, that wont stop them ;-) Hope you guys aren't disappointed with what I've done.

I will try and update again soon, I'm already writing the next chapter.