"Get out," Hermione snarled at the man before her.
"No, you bloody well listen to me! You're going to hear me out, Granger! I'm tired of your bullshit. If you're not what's best for me, then I don't know what the hell is. So why don't you just get over your know-it-all self and learn to live a little bit! LISTEN TO ME, WOMAN!" he screamed.
"GET OUT!"
"Do you love me," he asked, almost too quiet.
She paused. This was it, this was her out. With every fiber of her being screaming out "yes!" she swallowed and closed her eyes.
"No," she lied, throwing his cloak at him.
With a slam of the door, he was gone.
Hermione sunk to her knees on the cold wood of the floor. She rocked back and forth, concentrating on the hate she wanted to feel for him. The way his voice sounded when he shouted, the way his large hands grasped her shoulders wanting to make her understand. She wanted so badly to hate him, but she fell in love with him a little more.
Hermione winced as she lifted herself up; her hands had half-moon shapes where her nails had dug in. Then she noticed a small box lying by the door. She opened it.
It was beautiful, she decided. An antique really, with an old fashioned band and many sparkling diamonds. With a quiet sob she pulled it onto her finger and hurled the box through the air. It rolled and then fell silent somewhere under the bed. Hermione made her way to the window, half-hoping that Draco was standing outside waiting for her. He wasn't. The window was mocking her with its shining gaze, just like the ring. So she did the first thing that came to mind, she broke it.
He heard the sound of breaking glass and paused letting it fall at his feet. He had hidden under the overhang of her bookstore. He wanted to go back to her loft and explain himself, but what was there to say? Ohh, sorry, I forgot I was married and I want to propose to you. He began walking away, staying close to the wall to avoid any more broken glass. Draco gave a last look at bookstore, realizing he was walking away from the only thing that truly made him happy. He reached in his pocket, intending to swallow that stupid ring and choke to death on it. But it wasn't there…it must have fallen out.
A thud on her door made Hermione spin around, she sprinted hoping it was Draco. Throwing open the door she noticed the lack of a person, then realized it was just her paper. She unfolded it, sitting down in her cozy chair. On the front page was a picture of a famous couple apparently on vacation, along with a pregnancy announcement. It was Draco…and his wife, Pansy Parkinson.
In a burst of emerald flame, she was gone crying, "GINNY POTTER!"
Hermione unfurled herself from the flame, coughing slightly. "Ginny!" she called.
"She'll be back in a minute. Thanks for uh, dropping in," her best friend Harry Potter smiled at her.
Hermione couldn't stand it anymore. She couldn't stand the lie she'd been living, she couldn't stand the fact that she was in love with married Draco Malfoy. But most of all she couldn't stand the thought of someone being nice to her at that moment. Hermione burst into tears and threw herself into Harry's arms.
"Hey," he said, rubbing her back. "What's going on, Mione?"
"Aww, are you hitting on my husband?" Ginny entered, carrying a grocery bag.
Hermione flew to her instantly.
"Whoa! Crushing the baby," Ginny laughed. "What's going on?"
"Oh, the baby," Hermione said, pulling away. "You're so big."
"I know, I'm a fattie," Ginny said, putting down the bag.
"Ah, you're gorgeous and you know it," Harry laughed before leaving the room.
"So, what's going on, Hermione?" Ginny asked curiously.
"Nothing," Hermione lied. "I mean," she resolved, "everything."
Ginny made tea, while Hermione readied herself for the truth.
"You have to try and not hate me. If you do…okay, but just try not to. Please?"
"I'm not going to judge you for anything, Hermione. You can tell me anything, okay?"
"For the last year I've been seeing Draco Malfoy." Hermione said as quietly as possible.
"Oh Merlin! You lucky woman!" Ginny screamed. "Tell me how it was?"
"What?" Hermione asked confused.
"I am a horny, pregnant woman and you must tell me."
"Oh god, Ginny…we were, perfect. It started out as well, you know," she gave Ginny a look. "But then, it was everything. We ran errands together, and watched movies and did couple stuff. He cooks and I'd wash dishes and he'd dry them." Hermione lost herself in the memories. "And then it all went downhill."
"Granger! Get your cute arse in here and work this damn thing!" Draco yelled.
"It's a video player, Malfoy, what trouble could you be having with it?" she called from the door.
"Every time I go to put this blasted disc in, it shuts the door thing."
She laughed and leaned over the couch toward him, "I'd try not sitting on the remote."
He grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap, kissing her deeply.
"Oh, damn, I forgot to get whipped cream," she sighed before getting her coat.
"Oh, damn," he mimicked. "Get me all worked up and then make me leave…cream did you say?"
"Funny," she replied, as he fastened the buckles on her coat then lightly kissed her nose.
They walked down through her bookstore and out into Diagon Alley. She kept close to him for warmth, but not close enough to cause talk. They walked into one of the food shops and Hermione walked purposefully towards the dairy aisle. Draco stalled at the magazine rack, which depicted a very handsome looking man with what appeared to be a dog wrapped around him. Oh wait, just another picture of him and Pansy.
A warm hand wrapped around his waist and into his coat, delving farther downward.
"Babe," he sighed. "We're in public."
"I just wanted to surprise you," a new voice, a very un-Hermione voice said.
Draco spun around quickly, "Pansy…"
"Hey, are you working late tonight or are you going to come home?"
Hermione walked carefully out into the open aisle. After hearing Pansy's annoying voice, she realized that her and Draco's night was officially ruined. Thought it never pained Hermione to think about Draco and Pansy together, she wasn't sure she could stand actually seeing it.
"Look, Draco, it's the mudblood."
"Pansy, the wars over. And we were both on her side, why the mean names?"
"Old habits, I suppose," she spat, turning away from Hermione who stood lost at the counter.
"Nice seeing you, Granger."
"Malfoy," she replied, trying to hide the tears.
I'm sorry, he mouthed as he was dragged away.
But he'd come back after that, because he always came back. He'd told her how sorry he was, how much he missed her…and she fell for every line. She wanted to be an 'us', she didn't want to show up to work parties alone, or have no one to come home to. Sometimes he spent the night, and sometimes he would leave early in order to be with his wife. A subject that had only been brought up once.
"What does she think?"
"Huh?" Draco asked, missing the pancake he was attempting to catch and creating a mess.
"Pansy."
"Oh, she thinks I'm at work. Working hard, you know," he gave her a devilish grin. "Granger?"
"You call her Pansy."
"What?"
"You can call her Pansy because she's your wife. You can go out in public wrapped around each other because she's your wife. You can be with her every second if you so chose because she's your wife. And I'm just Granger." She said sullenly.
"You're more than that," he pulled her into his arms. "You're the one good thing I have. The only thing I have to look forward to each day. Why do you think I still work? I don't have to, I have enough money to never work again…but I get to see you everyday."
And so the fight lay forgotten, because she was his everything. She fell harder.
"A year, Hermione," Ginny said over her forgotten tea. "You've been with him a year and no one's ever noticed?"
"Pansy started to," Hermione muttered. "She'd show up random places. Draco thinks she had someone watching over us. She'd know that Draco was at my bookstore and she'd show up. So we had to pretend we were working on something together for our jobs, but she was very suspicious."
"How could you handle it? Being the other woman?"
"I don't know, really. Everything was so perfect, we were so right for each other and then…last night…."
"I'll see you at work, love," Draco pecked Hermione's cheek softly. "Perhaps we'll have to have a meeting over lunch. Work related of course," he winked.
"Bye," she replied.
"Granger," he paused at the door. "I love you." And then he disappeared.
A feeling whooshed over Hermione. Her stomach clenched and the room began to spin. She was fairly certain this wasn't what love was supposed to feel like. She stumbled into the bathroom and threw up.
She pressed her forehead against the cool tile floor and held a hand protectively against her stomach.
"Oh, no…" she said.
An hour later she emerged from St. Mungo's with terrible news. She was pregnant. She immediately called in sick to work and wasn't surprised around lunch when Draco arrived at her apartment.
"Hey, they said you were sick?" he rested a hand against her forehead. "What's wrong?"
"Just a headache," she lied.
He'd promised to come back after work and he did. A very childlike look on his face, it was nearly glowing.
She'd resolved earlier that the only way for things to be okay between them was for things not to be at all. She was ready to end it and raise the baby on her own.
"I've got something for you!" he crawled up her bed and moved beside her.
Before her emotions got the best of her, Hermione stood up. "Malfoy," she breathed in deeply. "We can't see each other anymore."
"What did you say?" he asked, nervous.
"I can't do this anymore, alright? It's too hard on me to not have all of you. And if I can't have it all, then I won't have any. And you and Pansy can be happy…ish." She added, despite herself.
"Look, can't we talk about this?"
"No, get out."
"Granger..."
"Oh, that's a great way to start it! That's all I am to you! Have you ever once called me by my first name? No, I'm just Granger, and love and babe, but never Hermione. I have a name, Malfoy!" She was crying now.
"I know you have a name, alright? I know that...things just feel more comfortable between us when…"
"Ohh, so it's for my benefit then? To be labeled as something that's kept at a distance! I care about you, you idiot! Can't you see that?"
"Then why are you pushing me away?"
"Because you never loved me enough to leave her," she replied honestly. "This is what's best."
"Get out," Hermione snarled at the man before her.
"No, you bloody well listen to me! You're going to hear me out, Granger! I'm tired of your bullshit. If you're not what's best for me, then I don't know what the hell is. So why don't you just get over your know-it-all self and learn to live a little bit! LISTEN TO ME, WOMAN!" he screamed.
"GET OUT!"
"Do you love me," he asked, almost too quiet.
She paused. This was it, this was her out. With every fiber of her being screaming out "yes!" she swallowed and closed her eyes.
"No," she lied, throwing his cloak at him.
With a slam of the door, he was gone.
"You're pregnant," Ginny was stunned.
"Yes," Hermione couldn't believe it herself.
Harry leaned against the living room wall. He knew that listening in wasn't a great idea, he knew as soon as Hermione collapsed into his arms…but finding out the truth. He was filled with anger.
He turned on the spot, concentrating as hard as possible on Draco Malfoy.
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm not sure. I'll have to think of something though; I want this baby, Ginny. It's ours…it's our baby, even if he can't know about it."
"You're not going to tell him?" Ginny stood up.
"He's already got one child on the way, he doesn't need mine too."
"I thought it was both of yours?" Ginny asked.
"Shut up and drink your tea."
Draco felt the hit before Harry had even fully materialized.
"You bloody bastard," Harry hit him again.
"Lay off, Potter. I didn't do anything!"
"You broke her heart, that's what you did!"
"She told me to leave, I did what she wanted!" Draco threw himself back, away from the angry man. "Wait, how do you even know about her?"
"She's over at my house sobbing her eyes out to Ginny, that's how!" Harry yelled, pushing Draco into the wall. "You have your fun and leave her high and dry, eh?"
"I want to be with her, Potter! I bought her that fucking ring, didn't I? I'd buy her anything she wanted!"
"How 'bout a man who has a chance of being a good father."
"You think I'm not terrified, leaving Pansy in the middle of all this…"
"I'm not talking about Pansy, you pillock!" Harry yelled. "I'm talking about Hermione!"
"Hermione isn't…" then it dawned on him. "Hermione's pregnant?"
Harry stopped. "You didn't know?"
"I bought a ring." Draco was talking nonsense. "When the rumor came out about Pansy expecting…I told her I wanted a divorce. I bought Hermione a ring…I just…Oh, Merlin." Draco dropped to the ground. Harry sat down beside him.
"What are you going to do?"
"Nothing, she won't even bloody talk to me. All mad about me calling her Granger and not Hermione."
"You've never called her by her name?" Harry narrowed his eyes.
"Shut up."
"Hermione, do you want to be with him?" Ginny put her arm around her friend.
"Of course I bloody do! I'm terrified of raising this baby on my own!" she cried.
"It's getting late, Hermione. Do you want to go home or do you want me to fix up the guest room?"
"I'm leaving, I'm leaving." Hermione made her way to the fireplace. She pointed at Ginny's tummy. "I'm really happy for you, Gin."
"He'll come around, you know. The boy never could take his eyes off you."
Hermione stepped into the flames.
The first thought that entered her mind was that she had been robbed, and then her apartment was set on fire. But then she realized she was surrounded by hundreds of candles.
"I've some explaining to do," drawled a voice from the shadows. "See, I thought you'd gotten tired of me. Or perhaps found someone new. Maybe you were dying, or maybe you'd rather have a dog than a boyfriend. But then someone knocked some sense into me…and I read the paper…and then I learned why you wanted me out of your life. It really was for the good, Granger."
"I don't know how you wanted me to find out, but I know about the baby. And I'm really excited. I just wanted to give you something before you completely kick me out of your life…but I think you already have it."
Hermione looked down at her ring finger.
"I'm getting divorced, Granger."
"You're leaving Pansy…you arse!" Hermione found herself angry. "She's pregnant and you're leaving her!"
"She's not, Granger."
"Oh, like you know."
"I do, because Pansy and I have never had sex."
"What?" Hermione was genuinely surprised at this new information. "You've been married a year."
"So? I've been busy at the office…and other places." He winked.
"I'm getting divorced," he repeated then leaned down in front of her. "And nothing in this world would make me happier than to make you my wife."
"I think I'm going to throw up," Hermione said.
"I'm going to take that as a yes," Draco helped her to the bathroom and as a true gentleman, held her hair back.
"Hey," he said hours later as he rested his head against her stomach.
"Hmm?" she sighed.
"I love you, Hermione." Her eyes shot open, loving way her name sounded.
"I love you too, Draco."
He smiled and pulled her towards him, kissing her. She pulled away slightly.
He smiled knowingly, "Run."
A/N: This was just a short little "what if" thing. I need some help though. I read this awesome fic...and no...I don't know the author...or the name. But it was basically Draco keeps showing up at Hermione's house drunk and it's very entertaining. At one point the cops bring Draco to her house. If anyone knows what it is PLEASE PLEASE tell me...and then read it, because it's fabulous.