5 July 1998
"You're sure this is going to work?"
"Muggles use them all the time, they're 99% accurate. It's going to be just fine"
"But" the redhead sighed and tucked a stray hair behind her ear "what about the other 1%?"
Hermione laughed and put her hand on Ginny's shoulder "if this is positive we'll go to the doctors to confirm"
"Or a mediwitch" Ginny mumbled as she leaned on the door frame
Hermione sighed "I think it would be better to use a Muggle doctor for now Gin. I'm sure Rita Skeeter would have her wand in a knot if she found out. She hasn't had any good stories since the war and if the golden Trio was expecting she'd have a time. I highly doubt that she forgot when I put her in a jar and" Hermione shrugged sitting on top of the toilet lid "It's been over a year."
Ginny sighed again and nodded slightly "when you're right, you're right." She pushed herself off the door frame and kneeled down in front of Hermione "so" she glanced up at the bushy brunette and smiled slightly "When will we know?"
Hermione glanced down at her friend and grabbed a box off the sink looking down at it "Well, when I bought this at the shop I didn't read it. I didn't want anyone to see me have it." She glanced up at Ginny for a second before she brought her attention back to the box shaking in her hands "well," she inhaled a shaky breath "it says here that I can either pee on it or pee in a cup and hold it for a full five seconds and then after that we wait three minutes." Hermione and Ginny locked eyes "I have to do this, I have to know."
Ginny nodded and stood up "I'll be in the living room watching the felly-vision. I've grown accustomed to that Maury Povich." Ginny walked out of the bathroom glancing back to Hermione one last time.
Hermione stood up, shut the door and grabbed a Dixie cup off the counter. It had been two months since she had seen Draco last. If she was, she wasn't sure she knew how to tell him or even if she wanted to tell him. He never came back like he promised. She was heartbroken and devastated but she never let it show. She couldn't let it show. It was uncertain if Harry knew but Ron certainly didn't know of her illicit two year affair with Slytherin's prince. Ginny, Her best friend in the entire world, didn't' even know who it could have been.
Shaking hands opened the box and Hermione closed her eyes tightly, silently praying. Two minutes later Hermione emerged from the bathroom and slowly shuffled into the living room.
"So now we wait" she shrugged plopping down on the sofa next to Ginny.
Ginny side eyed Hermione and ran her hands down her jeans "are you going to tell me whose it is?"
Hermione shook her head "I can't right now." She paused and stared at the wall before carrying on "maybe after I tell him" she closed her eyes tightly, the tears welling up in her eyes "If I tell him."
"If? What do you mean if?"
"Well, I'm not entirely sure he'd be happy to be a father Gin-"
The door opened suddenly revealing a bespectacled dark haired man and a freckled ginger behind him, both carrying bags from the corner shop Hermione had bought her test from.
"Ron" Harry looked at him as he shut the door "Just because you're unsure how Slinky's work doesn't mean you can throw them around and expect them to come straight back." Harry walked over to the counter and placed his bags down "It's not a boomerang, mate" He clapped Ron on the shoulder before unloading the purchases.
Ron looked confused as he placed his bags down next to Harry's "They come back when you do this thing with your hands" he mimicked moving them up and down next to each other "you'd think it would come back if I threw it out in front of me" He moved into the living room and plopped in the chair in the very corner "not like whatever a boomerang is."
Harry walked over and sat on the arm of the couch next to Ginny "everything okay?" he glanced at the pair, realizing how quiet they had been through the entire conversation.
Hermione shook her head and stood up from the couch "It's been three minutes"
Harry looked over at Ron and then down at Ginny "Three minutes for what?"
Hermione returned to the living room as fast as she had left, clutching a white stick in her right fist, her left hand steadying herself on the wall "it's positive."
"I'm sorry but what exactly is positive?" Ron questioned.
"This" Hermione held up the pink tipped plastic test and closed her eyes "this right here. It reads positive"
"Y-you're pregnant?" Harry questioned, his voice soft "Who?"
Ginny shot daggers his way "She won't say and it's her right not to"
"What am I going to do?" Hermione looked between her friends, tears welling up in her eyes "The brightest witch of her age turns out to be fraudulent because she was dumb enough to forget a simple little spell" Hermione leaned on the wall "and to be expecting while unmarried in the wizarding world is…" she paused staring at the floor "it's completely uncalled for."
"Many wizards and witches now a days don't care about if a witch is a single mother. If they did a lot of people would be-"
"I'll do it" harry said cutting Ginny off "I'll marry you"
"Don't be absurd, Harry." Hermione sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands "Everyone knows you and Gin are getting married next spring" She inhaled and slowly slid down the wall.
Harry got up and joined Hermione at the wall. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and laid his head on top of hers which skewed his glasses a bit "It was just a thought."
"A very kind gesture Harry, thank you." Hermione smiled slightly causing more tears to leak out her eyes "But I'm sure Gin would kill us."
"Not kill, never kill." The ginger smiled from her position on the couch.
"I'll do it." Ron stood up from his position in the corner chair.
Hermione stiffened and looked at him "I can't have you do that Ronald." She looked at him as he sat down on her other side "I'm not worried about being married, loads of people do it every day-"
"Would you just shut up for a second?" Ron said hotly "Everyone thinks were together anyway, your child needs a father and I can pretend it's mine" He shrugged "Lavender's gone, I've got nothing to lose." He stood up and Hermione followed him with her eyes, at a loss for words "So, if that's it then." He gestured toward the door "I'm sure mum would like to know, better tell her myself." He looked at Hermione before walking out the door.
Tears stung at the back of her eyes. She was an engaged woman to one of her best friends at that. Hermione stared at the floor thinking about how Ron didn't have to do what he did, and how she was lucky to have friends like that. She wasn't sure if 'lucky' would have been the right word to describe her situation because lucky was defiantly something she would have called herself at the moment.
.x.
Later that night after Ron had returned with many heartfelt congratulations from Mrs. Weasley the girls made dinner and the boys played wizard's chess. They left a while later leaving Hermione alone with Ron's promise of owling her to make arrangements for when he could move in. Hermione was going to tell him that he didn't have to but he had mentioned how much closer to the ministry he'd be in muggle London. After being spliced he hated apparition.
Left alone with her thoughts, all Hermione could think about was how her life had changed so dramatically in three minutes time, although she had an inkling the past month and a half. She stood up from the position on the couch her friends had left her in a few minutes before and made her way to the kitchen table, grabbing the Daily Prophet that had been delivered earlier that day but the front bore less than welcome news. The entire front page held tribute to the Malfoy-Greengrass engagement something that Nigel Hornby said was no surprise to the Hogwarts sweethearts. Hermione snorted at the line and threw the paper promptly in the bin which left her in the predicament she was currently in.
If she told him.
She ran her hands down her face and picked up a piece of parchment paper and her quill. She quickly put it down and screamed into the empty dining room. Where did all her courage go? She helped defeat Voldemort for Merlin's sake! If she could do that, then she could write a letter to the man she loved. To the man who once loved her.
"Okay, Hermione" She whispered to herself "Relax. Just write it, you don't have to send it but you have to write it." She inhaled sharply and dipped the tip of the quill in the ink and began to write.
5 July, 1998
Dear Draco,
I know this is the wrong time to write to you, seeing as you're recently engaged. Congratulations on your engagement to Astoria, you make a very handsome couple and I am truly happy for you. I wish you a lifetime of happiness together. I do have a confession to make, I'm not entirely writing to you about your engagement but to tell you something with the upmost importance. I'm pregnant. You don't have to worry about taking care of it, I'm not asking for anything financial or for you to be in its life. Ron and I got engaged today too, if you can believe that. He's promised to take care of me, and this baby. I can only hope it's for the best.
Love always,
Hermione
.xx.
19 July, 1998
"Love is in the air! Hermione granger and her longtime boyfriend Ronald Weasley are engaged! Reports special correspondent Rita Skeeter!" Draco slammed the paper down on the table staring at the picture of Hermione smiling and shying away from the camera, her head buried in the Ron's shoulder. He was so mad he could spit quills.
"Is everything alright, Draco?"
His stone grey eyes moved from the front page of the Daily Prophet up to the blond woman sitting across from him "Yes, Astoria, Everything is bloody perfect."
Astoria sighed and put down her silverware with a loud clink "Draco, we are to be married in the autumn, if we're going to make this work—"
Draco held up his hand and cocked his head to the side, his eyes closed to block out that blasted photo "Astoria there is no need for this to work. It's arranged and has been since your birth. I do not, and will not divulge in any feelings." He grabbed the paper and looked at her again "there is no us, and there never will be."
"I understand" She whispered as she looked down at her plate "I don't want this either, Draco." She paused for a long time before looking up at him "Theodore and I are—were – very much in love. I saw how you looked at her when you thought no one was looking. I know how it feels, Draco. You're not alone in this."
He sighed and looked up at her, pain swimming in his eyes "Does it get any easier?"
"No."
.x.
21 August, 1998
"Draco!" Astoria rushed into his study clutching the Daily prophet to her chest "Hermione's pregnant. A month, the prophet says, happened right after their engagement" She handed him the paper and touched his arm gently "I'm sorry"
.x.
24 August, 1998
A storm raged outside, rain beating on the window panes threatening to get in. Thunder shook the table causing Draco to look up from his lamb roast to Astoria, whose blue eyes danced with concern.
"they say she lost it. The baby" he looked back down at his dinner before pushing the plate away "I feel terrible for her and Weasel."
"Maybe you should reach out to her. It's only been a few days since they announced it. It must be very traumatic for them."
"You know I can't, Astoria." He pulled his plate back towards himself and took a bite, his heart aching for her. He'd have given up everything just to hold her.
.x.
1 December 1998
"What do you mean they broke up?" Astoria said, her voice laced with disbelief.
"Yeah" Draco leaned on the door frame to the green house and looked at his wife "Skeeter says she saw weasel moving out the day after a big fight" he shrugged "He's always been a git."
Astoria nodded in agreement before she started to tend to her flowers "you could always send her a letter, Draco." She glanced sideways at him before she looked back at her flowers. It only took a few seconds before the door to the greenhouse shut and Astoria closed her eyes, thanking Merlin that Theo's life wasn't public. There was no way she could go through what Draco was.
AN: I hope you all enjoyed! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read and review; Grahamgirl93, blondfirefly, percabethbooklion and Green Eyes Lana Lee! And a generous thank you to those who liked and commented on Facebook (names withheld for privacy reasons). Just a quick little ditty about formatting. The .xx. is changing character perspective from Hermione to Draco and the subsequent .x. is just a time jump between the last paragraph and the next. If this is confusing please let me know and I'll work on changing that J Thank you again SO much. I look forward to next week J