Disclaimer: I don't own anything made by J.K. Rowling-nuff said
She probably should have gotten the little hints he'd dropped. Now that she thought about it there were clues everywhere, she just hadn't understood them.
"What do you think of the name Cassiopeia?" he'd asked, arm wrapped around her waist as they languished in a post-coital afterglow. Sex had always seemed to make Draco's mind race and body pump with adrenaline, while she'd never wanted anything more than a nap-and maybe a repeat afterward.
"Hmm," I'd murmured then, hearing the words, but partially caught in the rip of Morpheus, not really comprehending. "Sounds like a nice idea. We can go and get one tomorrow, yeah?"
I never remember hearing his response, as I had practically passed out and when I'd awoken, making any type of sound beside a moan really wasn't possible.
When Pansy an Harry had little James Oliver Patrick, a combo in which Harry only managed to win when it came to the first name and no one is sure to this day if his name is legally Potter-Parkinson or Parkinson-Potter, it should have been a clue. Draco had never liked any of my brother's offspring, but had clung to little James like a fierce monkey and refused to let him out of his sight.
"Isn't he just the cutest?" Draco cooed at the little bundle, blissfully oblivious to the gunk staining his robes from the afterbirth. Harry glared at Draco behind his back, huffing every so often at the pale haired man. When he had found out that Pansy had gone into labor, he had rushed to the maternity ward immediately, pulling me along as he went. Using sheer determination and intimidation, he had managed to bypass every official and shoulder his way into the room, eager to watch the birth. He had even managed to shove Harry away from Pansy and take up the roll of birth coach, glaring the man down even he even twitched in their direction. Harry had just sullenly taken up a post in the far corner so he could watch, refusing to leave the room as Draco kept insisting and leaving me in the other corner alone as Draco had nearly taken his head off for moving in my direction.
"Draco," Pansy drawled, somehow looking majestic despite the fact that the midwitch had just pulled the babe from her womb and was busy at work betwixt her legs. "I think it's only polite that one of the parents holds their child first, not the godfather."
"Ron's to be his godfather," Harry piped up from his corner, a fierce scowl coming across his face.
I just watched them amusedly as they all seemed to forget about the newborn in favor of bickering heatedly over who would be his godfather, Harry losing soundly in the end with a compromise for another child.
The one thing that seems to be quite obvious to me is the catalyst to this entire ordeal. Many people had always assumed that Draco was constantly competing against Harry, which isn't true-well, post-Hogwarts no. Draco was constantly in a competition to be better than his best mate-Blaise Zabini. The two heirs were heirs to prestigious families and ran in the same circles so it makes sense that they would be diehard competitors. When one was listed as the most wanted bachelor for Witch Weekly, the other had strived to be on every page of the Daily Prophet's society pages. When one just so happened to be dating, the other would scramble to find an available with better than the former's. I had figured this out via Pansy, when I'd told her it seemed that Blaise would pop up mysteriously at every outing we seemed to have. She informed me that this had been going on since they'd all been in primary school and that I'd just have to stiff upper lip it until they got a clue, which didn't seem anytime soon. I took her advice to heart, but every milestone in our relationship just seemed to be repeated and had to be done on a grand scale.
Our first date had been at Monkshod, a place that had just opened on the far end of Diagon Alley and had quickly gained a reputation for serving only the best. Blaise, of course, had been there parading his latest model fling, but I hadn't thought anything of it as I hadn't realized then what they were up to. The day Draco had told me he loved me, we had been in the middle of dinner in Paris, a surprise that he'd claimed was spur of the moment. I figured out later that it was preplanned and that Blaise had been reported singing his heart out in Italy to some bint on a yacht. Our first time making love had even been replicated I found out later, the boys trying to see who had one upped another in the bedroom on the first time.
When Draco and I had gotten married in the monstrosity that was a combination of our mother's ideas, resulting in the wedding of the century as it joined two noble families and ended a centuries old feud, Blaise had one upped him by eloping and selling pictures to the highest bidder to his wedding to multiple time Play Wizard centerfold Mai Yoshiro, who is a famous Spells Mistress worldwide and heiress to a fortune larger than Merlin. Our honeymoon had even
been a part of their bloody pissing contest, with our trip to Greece being one upped to a trip to Brazil to stay with native wizarding tribes. This was just another part of their little one-upmanship and I know it.
I had talked to Mai at our last family dinner a month ago, a Weasley tradition that had started post-War as a way to gather everyone together once a month that seemed to encompassing the entire wizarding world the family had grown so much. She had confided in me that she and Blaise were going to start trying for a baby soon and that she hoped to be pregnant by the dinner next month. I had wished her luck and thought nothing about it, but apparently I should have closely examined the words she'd said as it would've prepared me for this.
I quickly left the bathroom and stormed down the stairs, knowing exactly where he would be. He'd claimed he had some paperwork to do, but I could easily imagine him on the Floo with Blaise, cowing his success at impregnating me. When I finally managed to reach the study, muttering about the bloody mansion we lived in and wishing we'd stayed in his London flat instead, I had reached a boiling point and was about ready to take my darling husband's head clean off.
"You're a bloody prick you know," I screamed as I slammed the door open. I blinked for a second as I realized that Draco was in some sort of meeting, judging by the fact his assistant was sitting in the guest chair and a Japanese wizard could be seen in the fireplace. Feeling embarrassment flooding through my body and a flush rising over my cheeks, I stammered a quick "sorry" and slammed the door shut, hoping beyond hope that that scene had not occurred. I leaned against the wall across from the door and closed my eyes, wishing that things could just be simple for once. I knew that even in my imagination my hopes were in vain-I had married Draco Malfoy after all.
"Ginny," I heard, knowing that he was trying to console me with that tone of his. I felt my ire rise again as I remembered what he'd managed to do to me. "Is everything alright? I was worried and my meeting is canceled now, we can discuss anything that's bothering you."
"What's bothering me?!" I bellowed whilst keeping my eyes tightly closed still. "You are bothering me! I can't believe you would go and do something so foul, so underhanded, so-"
"Gin," he interrupted suddenly-How dare him! - making me even more furious. "Open your eyes dear, please."
I cringed, knowing exactly what he was getting at. I sighed and stiffed my resolve, preparing myself to uphold my argument no matter what. I snapped my eyes opened and was confronted with his presence at once, dominating the entire hallway. My eyes raked over his ash blond hair and pale face, lingering over his sharp yet perfectly angled bone structure. I looked further down
and noticed that he was wearing his favorite pale grey jumper- a gift from my mother on our first Christmas as a couple. He'd also donned his stormy grey slacks with his Italian leather shoes to match upon his feet.
"You don't really look dressed to do business," I sprouted suddenly, knowing I was still avoiding looking at him as much as was possible.
"Ginny," he pleaded, his wheedling tone being the last straw. "Just look at me dear and tell me what's wrong."
My eyes shot to the pale grey orbs set in his face, staring back at him as he was at me. One night, drunk off of passion, I'd told Draco that I loved his eyes and that they were my window to his soul. I also made the mistake of telling him they made him quite yummy and I could never be angry with him once I'd had a glance at them. I have cursed Sod's law ever since for his stupid perfect memory. As I looked into his eyes, sincerely filled with concern, I felt slightly guilty for having caused him such worry.
"I'm pregnant," I said softly, almost as though it were an afterthought. "I was worried because I was late and come to find out I was pregnant. I'm so sorry for messing up your meeting. I just get so paranoid sometimes that everything about us has to deal with Blaise and the hormones have made me so irrational I-"
"Shh," he said, opening his arms to me. I immediately sought the comfort he offer, wrapping my arms around him tightly. "Let's not talk about Blaise right now, okay? Let's just focus on our beautiful baby and our future together. I mean, I'm happy about this, and you are right?"
"Yes," I whispered to him, feeling the guilt gnaw at me even worse at the thought that he doubted my happiness at having a baby. "I'm extremely happy and I can't wait until we have our little boy or girl."
As he squeezed me tighter at these words, I just closed my eyes and basked in his warmth. If I had seen the smirk curling on his face upon my words, I'm sure he wouldn't have survived the night, let alone my entire pregnancy.