A/N: Thanks to everyone of you that left a review for Perfect Noble Pureblood! This is the last part of the series, and it should be at least a two-shot when it's finished. I hope that all you enjoy this first part!
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The months that passed since their last night had been pure hell for Hermione.
After the death of the headmaster, everything that had been accumulating over the past years seemed to come to a head finally, throwing the wizarding world head first into a war that none of them were really ready for. She had Obliviated her parents for their safty, sending them as far away from the war as she possible could. It broke her heart to see them walk away from her, as if they never knew her.
But in the middle of all this pain, it seemed that someone sought to make her happy.
A week before Bill and Fleur's wedding, she lay on her cot next to Ginny's bed, drifting slowly into sleep, when she felt a sort of flutter around her middle. She sat straight up, and held her breath, as she lay a shaking hand to her stomach. When she felt it again, she got up out of bed and crept over to the bathroom that her and Ginny shared.
She counted back the days since her last period, ending at the last of May.
The Muggle, more logical, part of her brain was telling her that even if she was pregnant, it would be too soon to feel it moving.
But, since when did magic follow logic?
She went back to her bed, her hand clasped across her midsection, a tiny smile playing on her lips. She would find a more definitive way of finding out tomorrow, hoping that Mrs. Weasley had some books on it or something.
...
She found no books on pregnancy at all inside the Burrow, much to her displeasure. It was going to come down to asking straight out about magical pregnancies. She just had to find a way to do it without drawing suspicion to herself.
She caught Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen as she was preparing lunch, hoping that no one came in and bothered them.
She started off talking about how she would like to start a family after the war, God willing that she was still alive. Mrs. Weasley just smiled sadly at her and patted her hand, telling her not to worry so much. Then she moved in to find her answers.
"You know, they never explained anything about pregnancies at Hogwarts. How do you even know when your carrying, Mrs. Weasley?" She asked, looking thoughtfully at the older woman.
She gave a motherly smile, setting down at the table in front of her. "Well, it all comes down to a spell, dear. It's as simple as that. There is one that tells you if you have conceived and one for how far along you are."
"But how long do magical pregnancies last?"
"Usually seven to eight months. Because it is magical, the baby usually developers faster than in Muggle children."
She put on the most innocent look she could muster, smiling at the older woman. "What is the spell, Mrs. Weasley? That way I'll know how to do it when the time arises."
Mrs. Weasley just smiled back, going over to the tall cabinet in the corner of the kitchen, opening the top door. She retrieved an old, battered looking book and brought it back to the table, handing it to Hermione.
"This is what my mother gave to me when me and Arthur were married. It explains everything and gives various spells you can use during your pregnancy. Just return it when your done with it. I plan on giving it to Ginny when she turns of age." She said sweetly.
Hermione instantly dove into reading it, but Mrs. Weasley paid her no mind, having seen the girl do that for four years now. She excused her self from the kitchen, heading up to her and Ginny's room, her face buried in the tome. If Ron or one of the others saw her with it, she would tell them she was just doing research. They would buy it, never thinking that she was lying to them.
She scanned the index, looking for the spell she wanted. She found the page and read the text that followed.
"When you believe you are expecting, the simplest way to find out is doing it yourself. There is no need to rush to the Healers every time you think you might be with child. Just take your wand and hold it over your stomach, tapping once and saying, "Praegnatibus!" If there is a green aura around your stomach, then you are indeed pregnant, but if it glows red then you are not."
Surely it couldn't be that simple? She glanced around the room nervously, pulling out her wand and tapping her stomach gently, muttering, "Praegnatibus!"
Her entire midsection began to glow a bright green color. She felt it flutter again, and as the spell faded, she laid her hand atop her stomach once more, silent tears of joy falling down her face.
She was going to have a baby.
Draco's baby, to be precise.
But in the middle of her joy, a thought came to mind. She was about to set out on a journey with her two best friends, to take down the Darkest wizard of their time.
How on earth was she going to be able to do all that?
It would take a few months before she began to show, but once she did, how was she going to explain it to them?
She chuckled slightly, already hearing Harry's words in her head. "You know I'll help, 'Mione. Anything you need, I'll be there for you."
But would he feel that way once he knew who the father was?
She nodded absently. Yes, Harry would stick by her, no matter who she was having a child with. But Ron was a different story. She knew he had feelings for her, and truthfully, she had felt the same way for him. But after that whole business with Lavender . . .
Well, lets just say that she saw how their future together would be. She wasn't the type of woman who sat at home while her husband went out with a different floozy every other night. And if she had chosen Ron, that would have been her life. He was too jealous, too full of himself at times. If they actually succeeded in this plan to kill Voldemort, Ron would be even more of a prat. And she didn't want to spend the rest of her life crying because a fan girl wanted a quick shag and he couldn't say no.
If he found out who she had chosen over him . .
She shuddered at the thought, almost afraid to fully think about it. It didn't matter though. As long as she had her Draco then nothing else in this entire world mattered to her.
She lay back against her pillow, closing her eyes and humming softly to the tiny being that was a product of her and Draco's love for one another, pushing all the bad thoughts out of her mind.
She would deal with them as they came.
If only it had been that easy.
...
Her morning sickness started one month after they had fled the Burrow during Voldemort's overthrowing of the Ministry. She hid it well, at first. But after a while, Harry began to take notice, watching her with narrowed eyes as she excused herself to the upstairs loo of Grimmuald Place. He didn't come out and ask anything; he seemed to be waiting for her to come to him and tell him what was going on.
She couldn't bring herself to do it, though.
Not yet, anyway.
But it seemed Fate had a different idea.
... ... ... ...
She was beginning to show. Not a lot, but you could see the smallest bump right above her abdomen if you looked at her at just the right angle. And Harry noticed it as well. He was upstairs, going through some old books in Regulus's room, when he called for her to join him. She came in the room and sat down on the bed as he continued to scan the pages, and just as she was about to ask what he wanted, he spoke.
"How far along are you?" He spoke softly, still not looking at her.
She debated on lying to him, telling him not to be silly, that there was no way she could she be pregnant?
But even as she thought it, her mouth still spoke the truth.
"About three months."
He looked up at her, shocked. The only thing she could figure was that he was expecting her to deny it.
"W-who's the father? I-is it Ron?"
"No."
He gave a deep sigh, sounding relieved. "Thank Merlin. I hoped you didn't tie yourself to him for the rest of your life, 'Mione. He's my best mate, but he has some serious jealously issues."
He reached it and took her hand, holding it tightly. "So, who is the father?"
When she just looked at him is disbelief, he chuckled. "What? Did you honestly think I wanted you with Ron? I've seen how he does you, Hermione. When all that happened with Lavender, I wanted to tell you then not to fool with him, but I thought you might get mad at me. I hoped you would come to your senses about the whole thing and realize that was what he was always going to be like." He grinned at her, laying their hands on her stomach, "and apparently I was right, huh?"
Before he could say another word, before he could ask her once again who the father was, she blurted it out.
"It's Draco. The father is Draco."
He stared at her in disbelief for what seemed like an eternity before he finally spoke. "D-did he r-r-rape you?" He whispered.
She gave a small laugh and shook her head. "No, Harry. H-he loves me a-and I love him. He doesn't want to follow Voldemort, Harry. He wants to get his family away from the Dark. That's why he isn't here with me now; he's trying to get them to safety."
He didn't speak at first, his mind trying to wrap around everything she said. "But, he was still being a prat to you!? If he cared about you, then why - ?"
"Do you really think we could have come out with all that at school?" She asked, cutting in. He thought a moment before shaking his head.
"No, we couldn't have. For one thing his family would have been in danger. Do you think Voldemort would have stood by and let one of his followers take a Mudblood for their partner?"
Harry's face darkened slightly. "So he is a Death Eater?" He whispered.
She nodded, tears coming to her eyes. "He had to do, Harry. If he didn't, Voldemort would have killed his family."
"So what are we going to do about all this?" He asked, still holding her hand. She gave a tiny sob and threw her arms around him. She had known he would stand by her, but it was still wonderful to hear the words come out of his mouth.
"I don't know just yet. I - I hadn't really planned anything out for the moment.."
Harry busted out laughing and held her out to look at her. "You, Hermione Granger, haven't got a plan? Did Malfoy take your brain with him or something?" He asked with a snigger, making her swat his arm.
"No, I've just been a little too preoccupied to come up with anything!" She laughed. But it died away as her situation began to sink in.
"You can't fight, 'Mione." Harry spoke softly. She looked up at him, ready to argue, but he held up his hand.
"I couldn't let you put yourself or your child in danger just to help me. You can be the brains behind all of it, so to speak. It's not like you haven't had experience in that already." He grinned.
She seemed ready to disagree for a moment, before she relented and gave a feeble nod. She knew he was right, even if she didn't want to admit it.
"So, does Malfoy know about - about your situation?" he asked worriedly.
"N-no, not yet. I didn't want to tell him for fear that he would do something stupid and get himself hurt trying to come to me."
Harry smiled wryly, shaking his head. "Do know how weird this is going to be? You being with the Ferret? And having his kid?" He emphasized, making her laugh.
As they talked, relaxing for the first time in weeks, they never noticed the glaring blue eyes that peered thought the crack in the door. They never heard him muttering under his breath about whores and traitors.
But some things are better left in the unknown...
...
Time passed in a blur for Hermione. Since they had stolen the locket from Umbridge and left the comforts of Grimmuald Place, they began to trail the country side, trying to find a way to destroy the horcrux.
She began to use a glamour charm for her stomach, least Ron find out and go ballistic. She hated having to use it, feeling as if she was hiding what her and Draco's love had created but, with no answers on the horizon about how to handle the situation, it was the safest step.
Fate, though, seemed to have other plans.
They had began to take turns wearing the locket, to keep it with them at all times. All three of them seemed to suffer some sort of side effect from wearing the vile thing, though. And it was on one of Ron's days that everything finally went to hell.
It had started out normal enough; Harry gave the locket over to him that morning, beginning the ginger's shift at wearing it. He was light hearted at first, making them laugh as they ate breakfast.
But as the day progressed, his mood began to sour.
He started out just replying to everything they said with snarky remarks, sneering and rolling his eyes at any comment they made. But when they all three sat down to dinner, which was a poor one at that, he just exploded.
"What is this slop, Hermione? Haven't you caught on by now how to at least not burn everything that you cook?" He snarled, flipping the food over with his fork.
Harry, trying as always to be the diplomat, took a bite, trying not to grimace. "It's not as bad as you think, mate. Just give it a try."
Ron snarled, knocking his plate to the side and covering the table with food. "Give it a try? You want me to give it a try? Like how Hermione gave Malfoy a try and ended up pregnant?" he growled.
Hermione paled, looking to Harry fearfully.
"What are you talking about Ron?" He asked slowly.
Ron snorted, fixing him with a dark glare. "Don't give me that shit, Harry. You might not mind her being with a Death Eater, but I do. She's carry his spawn," he said with disgust, "and she's a Death Eater whore!"
Hermione gave a loud sob, covering her face with her hands. Harry glared at the redhead, extracting his wand and holding it under the table, just in case.
"She's not a whore, Ron! And as for Malfoy, she said he wants to get away from Voldemort. He told - !"
"I don't care what she told you!" Ron yelled, interrupting, "she's a traitor and so are you if you stand by this!" He stood up, knocking the table over and breaking all the dishes that sat on top. Hermione squealed, jumping back out of her chair and out of the way. Harry moved just in time, jumping up and pointing his wand at the irate redhead.
"Knock it off, Ron! Your just upset because of the locket! Just take the damn thing off!" Hermione yelled, clutching her stomach protectively. Ron sneered at her and took off the necklace, throwing it at her.
"Here! Take the damn thing!" he snarled. When she caught it, he looked at Harry, his face still twisted in anger. "I say we just destroy the damn thing and be done with it."
Harry looked somewhat relieved, letting his wand drop a hair. "I know, mate. . But we need to figure out a way to get rid of it first. I don't know the first thing about destroying horcruxs, so -"
Ron chuckled darkly, shaking his head. "I wasn't talking about the locket, mate. I meant that abomination that she's carrying." He said, pointing at Hermione. He drew his wand faster than either of them expected, firing a hex towards Hermione.
She hit the ground in a torrent of pain, writhing and screaming as the curse made its way through her body. She heard Harry scream and the pain Came to a halt. There was a thud near her and she tried to turn over and see what it was, but her muscles seemed frozen. Hr vision began to blur and she groggily wrapped her arms around her stomach, dazedly trying to feel any movement from her child. She began whimper softly, before her body took over, forcing her vision to blacken as she passed out.
Sometimes our bodies know better than we ourselves do.
- I know, I know! I hate cliffhangers too! But trust me, it's worth it! Let me know what you think, so please review if you can!