Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns all characters, settings, etc. I do not own anything.
Draco Malfoy sighed. Next to him, Hermione did not wake at the noise. She had been sleeping a lot lately. The pregnancy was tiring on her petite frame. He put a hand where their child lay. There wasn't a reflexive movement on the child's part and he rationalized that it must be sleeping.
He did not know what to do. He had spent many sleepless nights attempting to find an answer to the problem. The problem was this child. His parents would not approve of this child. They did not approve of illegitimate children. He thought back to all the times his mother had scorned women that had children out of wedlock as "easy women without dignity". He was sure his mother would've been accepting of his love child and she would've insisted he ask the mother to marry him in an attempt to correct the scandal. However, he knew his mother and father would not be accepting of his love child nor would they insist he marry the mother because the mother was Hermione Granger of all women. Hermione Granger was a Muggleborn. Muggleborns were tolerated by the Malfoy family now that the Dark Lord had been defeated but, only for business purposes. Associating with Muggleborns was good for business and public image. However, marrying and breeding with Muggleborns were different scenarios. The Malfoys preferred to stay purebloods.
Even if his parents did insist on him marrying Hermione Granger, he wasn't sure he'd ask her to marry him. It was Hermione Granger. His younger self would've scorned him for getting involved with the annoying Gryffindor know it all. She was annoyingly knowledgeable. She was always correcting him, insisting her methods were always better, and everything was a debate with her.
There wasn't much to her looks. She was rather plain looking. Before the pregnancy, she had been thin. Now she was soft and rounded out. Her breasts and buttocks had plumped, but not as much as her burgeoning belly. With her short stature she appeared to be farther along than she actually was and she had taken to complaining of that lately. She moaned that her feet and ankles were swollen, that her back hurt, and urged him to massage these areas. He did sometimes but, most of the times he simply lied; stating he had other issues to attend to. After all, he was Draco Malfoy: a very important investor.
She expressed disappointment at his aloofness often these days. However, her hormones seemed to drive her to ignore this by the end of the day as she wouldn't recoil at his sexual advances. Lately, it seemed that he was just interested in bedding her. However, getting what he wanted in the bedroom was becoming exceedingly difficult as she complained that certain positions were uncomfortable and her growing belly was often in the way. It made him want to cringe and filled him with shame to be bothered by this.
She was a lovely person...when she wasn't pregnant and constantly moaning at him. Perhaps, she would go back to her normal self when she gave birth. He had been holding onto this idea for a while. As the pregnancy progressed, he gradually lost faith in this idea. He doubted this child would bring back the spark in their relationship. If anything, it would mean Hermione badgering him on about how he wouldn't help enough with the child.
The child...He wasn't prepared to be a father. There wasn't any doubted in his mind that getting involved with Granger had been a mistake when she told him she was pregnant. He had seen this as a temporary affair. They were young and curious about each other. He had always thought that they would part their separate ways and act like this affair had never happened. After all, who would think that Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger were a compatible couple and fit to be married to each other?
Apparently, Hermione Granger did because she had mentioned buying a house together this evening. She had smiled at him and waited for his response. He had smiled back and said, "Maybe." His lie must've been convincing because she pecked him on the lips.
This had led to him thinking about the future of their relationship for the rest of the night. She behaved normally, if not a tad more loving than usual. He had tried his best to follow her act while thoughts invaded his mind. Thoughts of leaving her…
He covered his face after tossing in bed. Just thinking about abandoning her filled him with anxiety. But, so far this was the best solution to the problem. He wasn't a masochist: he wouldn't condemn himself to be tied down to Granger, the illegitimate child, and have his parents ostracize him.
He spent the rest of the night justifying abandonment to himself. He was doing all parties involved a good service. Granger would be devastated in the beginning about the prospect of being a single mother but, she would be grateful in the long term. She would be free to find someone else to spend her life with. She would no longer be snubbed by the Weasleys and Potter for fraternizing with the Malfoys. She wouldn't have to worry about explaining his and his family's dark history to the child: she could simply make up a story about how heroic and Gryffindor-like he was. Granger also wouldn't have to worry about being cordial to his parents. She had always been hesitant about mentioning them. How could she not after she was tortured in their house and was the epitome of the type of Muggleborn they hated?
The child was the one that benefitted most from him leaving. The child wouldn't know the difference. It wouldn't grow up wondering why its father had been involved with the Death Eaters and dealing with the incessant questions its peers would ask about him. It also wouldn't have to deal with the prejudice from Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy. The child would be spared of having to deal with his inept attempts to be a good father. For Draco knew that fatherhood would not come naturally to him. He had been a bully: it could be expected that he would accidentally mock the child in attempts to be a constructive critic and then try to make up for his slips of tongue with expensive presents. The child would not grow up spoiled in Granger's hands and it wouldn't be pompous for sure.
Furthermore, the entire Malfoy family would benefit from being ceasing to be involved. His parents would never have to know about the illegitimate child. It was save the family shame and added strain onto their already strained relationships. He would be free to live his life normally again. He would have more time to dedicate to work, to his own happiness...It was really the best solution in the long term.
And with his actions justified, he got up at five in the morning. He rubbed Hermione's belly one last time, smiling sadly at their child's reflexive movements. He proceeded to pack his essentials quietly with magic and left the flat.
A/N: I'd appreciate some feedback. I was thinking of extending this but, let me know if it's better as a one shot.