Hermione sighed as she shuffled some papers and sorted them into their correct file. She had been drowning in her work lately, as part of the Investigation Department and Deputy head of the Law Enforcement Department.
Some might have thought with the dormant silence from the death eaters, all was well. But the wizarding world had instead went into suspicion and assumptions on what the death eaters were up to. And that meant the ministry was fretting about it too.
They had tried endless searches planned by the departments but none seemed to lead to any of the death eaters.
Harry was currently investigating a breach in the wards at Gringotts with a search team.
She cleared up her work desk and decided to head home as she hadn't been feeling well. As usual, she had been stressing with work and dedicating herself to her work, often forgetting to eat.
She grabbed her purse and coat and exited the ministry, reaching the apparition point. She turned on the spot and appeared in front of the Malfoy Cottage.
She tossed her things onto the table before retreating to her bedroom and collapsing exhausted. Her head felt clouded and dizzy as she snuggled into the depths of the large bed.
Not long after, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and gentle kisses on her neck. She pried her eyes open and turned to see Draco grinned lopsidedly down at her, his hair tousled and his dress shirt unbuttoned around the top. She smiled at him and reached up to grab the back of his neck, drawing him closer. He leaned in eagerly, kissing her sweetly on the lips, his hands warm on her sides. They broke apart breathing heavily as Hermione snuggled close to Draco's side.
"You work too hard." he said fondly, stroking her hair. She sighed inwardly in agreement as she reached up to peck the underside of his jaw before clambering out of bed and stretching.
"I'll go start dinner." she yawned, transfiguring her clothes into sweats and one of her old Gryffindor shirts.
She made her way to the kitchen and began bustling about in preparation of dinner. Draco came in not long after, his hair clean and fresh, to help her.
"Did you find anything at the crime scene?" she asked moving the food on her plate around.
Draco shook his head disappointed. "The result from the charm for the wards showed attempted assaults at the Gringotts' wards. But no sign of anything odd in Diagon Alley."
"Do you think this has anything to do with the death eaters?" Hermione asked curiously.
Draco paused on his food, looking up to meet her eyes. "I don't know." he replied softly, before they continued to eat in silence. Hermione ate a small portion of her food after Draco continued to egg her on. They cleared up and sat together on the couch, beginning some paper work.
Just as they were about the head up to bed, an owl came soaring through the open kitchen window. It landed on Draco's arm and he stroked it before taking the letter.
"Mother has taken it upon herself to throw you a birthday party this Sunday." Draco grinned tossing her the letter. She caught it and read it over groaning.
"She really didn't need to. I don't like a big fuss." Hermione said, nevertheless touched by her mother-in-law's kind action.
They fell into bed together, Hermione much too exhausted to do much else.
Her dream started off like a slideshow presentation; There was Hermione cradling the newborn James, her dear godson. Then, her and Draco lovemaking passionately on his birthday, last June. Then rewind, back to her writhing on the ground in Malfoy Manor, then the dark cloaked man gliding towards her, muttering venomously under his breath…...his wand raising to her temple…..
She jerked awake with a gasp and blinked rapidly, taking heavy breaths. Draco's ruffled hair and wide grey eyes appeared before her, pulling her against his chest.
She inhaled his scent, breathing it in, and calming her nerves that seemed to strike madly against her.
For a few precious moments, her breathing slowed and her heart calmed as they sat in silence on the bed, listening to one another's breathing. Then there came a sound of whispers and footsteps downstairs, soft but audible.
She froze and raised her head to match Draco's wide eyes.
Together, they silently slid off the bed, waving on random clothes before quietly making their way downstairs. As they neared the living room, they peered over and Hermione huffed in exasperation before storming in, keeping her wand out.
She was about to snap at the poor man but Draco beat her to it.
"What the ruddy hell do you want Potter? Giving us a damn right scare like that." Draco demanded stowing his wand away grumpily.
Harry's lips turned up at the corners and he smirked at Draco. "My sincerest apologies Malfoy but this is important."
Over the past few years, Harry and Draco had found the other more tolerable and grew more comfortable around each other, much to Hermione's pleasure.
They sat down on the couches as Harry explained. He was clad in his pyjama bottoms and a grey t-shirt, his hair wild in all directions. He had obviously been woken up too.
"I was sleeping like you two, well hopefully you were-" Harry began.
"Harry." Hermione warned, dropping her head in her hands. Harry chuckled.
"Sorry. Well, I was sleeping when there was an emergency owl from the ministry at my window. I opened it and there was a letter from Kingsley saying a women was reported missing." Harry explained sounding perplexed.
"What's the report?" Hermione asked sitting up straighter.
"Her boyfriend reported her missing at 2:30 am, claiming he had seen her home after a long day at work and she was taking a bath while he made her a late cup of tea when he returned to the bathroom, she was gone." Harry continued.
"But if it's just a missing person, how's it such an emergency that they had to wake us up in the middle of the night?" Hermione asked furrowing her brows.
"I'm getting there." Harry grumbled, shooting her an annoyed look. "The women is a witch who will be the new DADA professor at Hogwarts. Kingsley didn't give the rest of the information and instructed us to come straight there. There's something we have to see." Harry said, sounding frustrated, in wonder of what was the fuss.
Hermione snuck a glance at Draco, who's face was a mask of perfect blank.
"Don't you think it's a bit odd….." Harry began also watching the both of them. "That after years of silence and years without trouble from the death eaters, there was suddenly an attack on the wards to get into Gringotts? Then not 24 hours later, a women is reported missing?"
"It can't be a coincidence." Hermione agreed shaking her head. "It's all too planned and thought out."
"I have to go to the ministry and set up a search party to go inspect. I know it's late, but Draco, you're one of the best aurors and Hermione you're deputy head and the head of the investigation department. I hate to ask…..but with something like this…."
"Don't worry, Harry, we'll be there." Hermione assured standing, and Draco followed suit nodding along.
Harry nodded back his thanks as he headed towards the fireplace. "I have to go get Ron, he's at his fiancee's." he yawned before disappearing in a whirl of green.
Draco turned to face Hermione, his face finally showing some fear and worry. He was about to say something when Hermione placed a finger on his lip and shook her head. "Don't say anything. Worst case scenario, it has to do with the death eaters. Let's go investigate first." she sighed as they headed back to their room.
They put on some proper clothing as fast as they could before they headed out together and apparated to the ministry.
When they arrived, the ministry was in a disastrous state, with aurors and hit wizards and other workers rushing about all in a rush to get wherever they needed to be. Several people nodded to Draco and smiled at Hermione, as they passed by.
Over the years, both of them had built up a reputation and had created a new meaning for the Malfoy name. No longer was Malfoy said and thought of with fear and superiority. Now, the name was rewritten with respect and admiration.
Draco was a top rank auror now, who had caught many death eaters, none major, but minor ones, foolish enough to get caught in the first place. He had solved many cases and earned his way up the ranks. Hermione had been pestered with questions on a subject outside of her department so much a few years ago, Kingsley told Harry to just give her Deputy head and make her head of investigation.
As they took the lift up to their floor, it was even more chaotic than the atrium. They headed to the meeting office which was where the most noise was coming from. There stood a now, alert Harry, barking out orders as people settled in to listen for his brief meeting. Draco and Hermione stood at the back of the room, listening.
"Okay everybody, listen up. The situation I've just been updated with, is that there was a woman suspected of kidnap. It's much easier to just go there and investigate for ourselves than hear minimal info from me. I want 50-60 hit wizards to suit up and head there first. Then, I want Hermione, your department to head there and mark off the scene and take your investigation. The rest of you, are coming along for security and for the sake of investigating too. If there's a chance to give chase, we give chase." Harry said, his lips pressed in a thin line, before he gave a curt nod and everyone stood to exit as fast as possible.
Hermione squeezed Draco's hand before heading to her office to meet her team. She felt his hand grip her arm and hold her back. She turned to look at him, and he leant down, close to her.
"Please be careful." he murmured over the noise.
"I always am." she smiled lightly before exiting with the crowd. She met her team consisting of-Terry Boot, Cho Chang, Brianna Marks, Ernie Macmillan, Susan Bones and Anthony Goldstein.
"Looks like we're up for a 3am search." she said grimly as she lead them to apparate to the location.
They turned on the spot and arrived at a townhouse in central London. "Brianna, Susan and Anthony, start looking for the perpetrator's evidence left behind. Terry block off the crime scene and take notes on how it first looked. Cho get close and take samples of anything, you feel we might need." Hermione instructed as they each entered the house, wands drawn.
Please don't be related to the death eaters. She thought desperately as she entered too, to aurors marching around taking notes and seeing who must be the boyfriend sitting under a small questioning with Draco and Harry before the interrogation. She walked on, up the stairs, taking careful note of everything before she reached the bathroom.
Terry had already blocked off the boundaries and was carefully peering under the tub, his gloved hand holding his wand to see.
"Hermione." a voice said, she recognized to be Cho's. She turned to see Cho looking pale and startled. "Come look at this." she breathed.
Hermione reluctantly made her way over to the tub that was still full of water where Cho was standing in shock. She took a deep breath and peered in. She stumbled back slightly, utterly shocked. Her breathing became harder as she looked once more, before telling Terry to go get Harry and some aurors.
"Cho, after Harry sees, take a sample of the blood. We need to know if it's the victim's." Hermione said, barely managing to get her words out.
She took a step closer and properly studied the reason, this case was a top emergency. Why, she was here at 3am. There in the tub water, was the dark mark, big and intimidating, no message needed, shaped with blood.
She felt as a sudden nausea overcame her and she stumbled out of the crime scene, collapsing to her knees and threw up violently in the hall.
She heard footsteps thundering towards her, but all she felt was the disgust she needed to let out. A hand lay on her back, rubbing soothing circles as the other held back her hair.
After a few minutes of a violent hurl, she was breathing hard as she leaned back, into the strong familiar chest. Draco wiped away the sweat beads on her forehead and helped her up slowly, supporting her at her waist.
"I'm taking her home Harry." Draco called and she looked to see Harry's pale horrified face as he backed away from the tub. He nodded and turned back.
Draco carried her down the stairs and apparated them back to Malfoy Cottage. The apparition made her feel even more nauseous, as the image of the bloody death mark crossed her mind. She jerked out of his grip and threw up into the bush. She felt his hand again, soothing her as she let out her insides.
He then swiftly carried her back to their bedroom and cleaning her with a wet cloth before flicking his wand as her clothes changed. He tucked her into bed and kissed her forehead before changing himself and crawling in next to her. He sat in bed beside her, holding a wet cloth, he draped over her forehead and gripping her hand tight. He remained silent, not wanting to instigate any more traumatic thoughts.
"It was a dark mark." Hermione whispered looking up at his startled grey eyes. "A dark mark in the tub shaped with blood." she continued sounding horrified.
Draco was stunned silent as he took in her words. His face turned morose and serious as he wordlessly placed a cooling charm on the cloth.
"So they're back again." he said leaning against the headboard. "They're causing trouble again."
"I don't think they ever stopped. It seems they're just picking off where they left." Hermione murmured. "They were bound to start again, we were just spending three years fretting about it, while they planned and plotted how their new comeback would be. And this…..is a pretty morbid comeback."
Draco pursed his lips before extinguishing the light and tucking them in, before he wrapped his arms around her waist and snuggled his face in her hair.
"Sleep. You need to rest since I have a feeling you will insist on going to work tomorrow."
Hermione woke up feeling queasy the next morning, with her hair matted with sweat and her face clammy.
She slid out of Draco's embrace, he was too exhausted to notice her missing presence. She showered quickly, before pulling on some peach colored ankle pants and a dress shirt before sliding on her suit jacket. She let her hair braid itself neatly before she headed down for breakfast. Her stomach didn't feel like it could settle for a single thing so toast had to suffice. Draco came down, clothed in black trousers and a buttoned up black shirt with his auror robes thrown over his shoulder. Hermione swallowed her toast as she watched Draco stride towards her.
"How are you feeling, really?" Draco asked cupping her face with his hand.
"Queasy but I'm still going to work." she persisted much to his annoyance.
She smiled and leant up from her stool to kiss him tenderly. He leant into her kiss and snaked his hands behind her waist, firmly. He maneuvered his way in between her legs as her hands gripped his hair. She let out a soft moan as she threw her head back. He dove into her neck, kissing her exposed skin and fingering her collar. She hastily unbuckled his trousers and pushed his boxers down, exposing his length. He groaned as he hoisted her up onto the counter so she was laying down. He climbed on top of her and she pulled him down by his collar to kiss her firmly on the lips. His hands pushed down her pants and roughly tore aside her knickers which were already damp with excitement.
She felt him enter her and she groaned out arching her back in pleasure. He began rocking in and out of her causing them both to moan with joy.
As he hit her core, she felt her release and he followed not long after, both screaming the other's name. He collapsed beside her, both of them breathing heavily. Draco reached an arm around her waist and he turned to kiss her temple.
"We should get going." Hermione said after a few moments. Morning shags were wonderful and all, but it always made her late. And she hated being late.
She readjusted her clothes as he reluctantly fixed his, his eyes eyeing her as they exited the house together.
They arrived at the ministry, joining the crowds for the lift. They parted once they reached their level but not before Draco leant down and whispered in her ear.
"Hermione, if the dark mark case is really traumatic for you, I want you to ask Harry to resign from this case." he said seriously, looking at her hard.
She reached her hand up to caress his face before hugging him tight. "I can handle it." she assured, and before he could protest, she headed into her office.
There she was greeted by mountains of paperwork. She sighed, sitting down and began reading each page and before she knew it, it was 11:30, so she decided to check on her team.
She headed to her team work lab where she spotted Brianna, Susan and Anthony reading over their notes and talking to one another about what they found.
Terry was crouched over his notebook, scribbling hastily with his quill muttering to himself. Cho was wearing goggles as she hunched over her samples of blood and other evidence. She felt her stomach lurch and turned away, heading for the trio first.
"Did you guys find any trace left behind?" she asked.
"Nothing!" Brianna exclaimed sounding severely annoyed. "They always leave behind something. And I intend to find it."
"What about the wards? How were they left?" she asked again.
"They were easily dispatched and let down, before anyone noticed." Anthony sighed disappointed. "It doesn't really help."
"Why don't you go check the muggle security cameras and see if you see anyone. muggle security cameras have helped us out a fair few times." Hermione suggested before making her way to Cho.
Cho looked up from her work and smiled looking exhausted. "The blood seems to be a perfect match with the victim's. I'm testing the swabs I got from the tub to see if I can find a match." Cho said. Hermione nodded and left her to her devices before approaching Terry.
"Anything?" she asked sitting next to him.
"I am just writing up a report on the scene when we first arrived. But there was something interesting underneath the tub."
"What did you find?" Hermione asked, remembering seeing him inspecting underneath.
"There was a timer that was lodged in the pipes beneath. The timer was at zero when we arrived, but it was a cube shaped timer. I need your permission to tamper with it and see if I can figure out what the timer was for."
"Well done Terry! That's great evidence. I was about to go for a meeting with Harry, can you come with that?" she asked standing and leading him to the main meeting office.
They found seat just as Harry entered and shut the door. He moved to the head seat and stood to address them all.
"The victim was Valentina Simmons. 30 years old, finance of Marc Loss, was reported missing yesterday at 2am. Last seen was in her bathroom tub by her fiance. Ron and I had just finished an interrogation with her fiance Marc and he seems innocent, from what we gathered." Ron had stopped playing quidditch after one year and had become Harry's partner. Ron had seemed to mature slightly and had built a more civil relationship with Hermione again.
"His alibi can't be proved true or not right now. But we will later on, go to her work office and question her co-workers and the head of her department. Our biggest issue is the blood shaped death mark."
"What can we determine from it?" Percy Weasley asked pushing his glasses up.
"We obviously assume it is the work of a death eater, which isn't the least expected." Harry sighed. "Hermione, anything on your end?"
All eyes turned to her and she could feel Draco's intense stare particularly. "We found no trace of the perpetrator, the blood matches the victim's but Terry found something interesting." Hermione began before allowing Terry to explain.
"That's awesome Terry. Give us regular reports on that. You have permission. Alright everyone, we'll break now." Harry said dismissing them all.
The rest of the week passed in a series of evidence searches, suspect interrogations as the ministry attempted to piece together the whereabouts of Ms Valentina Simmons. The press, as usual had gotten wind about what was going on and had released several articles, regulated by the ministry on how the case was progressing.
Saturday morning, Hermione and Draco were taking advantage of their moments of rest early in the morning. They were both being overworked as they tried to solve this case. No extreme progress had occurred. Harry and Ron had talked to all her co-workers including Bill Weasley at Gringotts, where Valentina was a curse breaker. They had found nothing unusual, meanwhile Terry failed to find a result to the timer.
Hermione's blearily opened her eyes and discovered Draco missing from beside her. She yawned and made her way downstairs, reaching the kitchen where Draco was frying some omelettes. Draco turned with a spatula in hand and smiled at her.
"Morning, sunshine." he said turning back to the stove. "Hungry?" he turned to the island with a plate full of omelettes. Hermione sat down and inhaled the eggs, feeling her stomach lurch forward.
She clapped a hand to her mouth and raced to the nearest bathroom, where she flung open the door and dunked her head down, feeling vomit go splattering into the toilet. She felt as if she were a dragon breathing fire, as her throat burned while her stomach sent everything straight back up.
She felt Draco behind her, his ice cold hand on her sweaty back and his other hand once again, holding her hair back.
"Not hungry?" he asked once she resurfaced.
Hermione shot him a dirty look and he smiled gently as she leaned into him.
"I think we should go to St. Mungos." Draco said suddenly, helping her stand.
"I'm fine Draco." she said weakly. "Really," she added at his disbelieving glance.
"I want to go just to be sure. You've been throwing up a few times lately. It's probably some post-trauma from seeing the dark mark." he said hurriedly, waving his wand so her clothes were changed and so were his. He lead her to the fireplace and wrapped his arm tight around her waist.
"I'm fine Draco." she tried again, feeling dizzy as they stepped in.
He snorted and ignored her, grabbing some floo powder and announcing 'St Mungos.'
They arrived in the lobby, as Draco lead her to the secretary. "Can we have a check up for her? She's not feeling well."
The secretary told them to wait momentarily and a healer would come to check.
Within moments, a young male came marching out with a clipboard and smiled at the pair, beckoning for them to follow. They entered a small room, where Draco helped Hermione up onto the table.
"What seems to be the matter?" he asked scanning her up and down.
"She's not feeling well." Draco responded, crossing his arms and standing behind her, watching carefully, in case she were to fall.
"Let's take a look." the healer said before performing some spells. After a while, he smiled at the pair and excused himself, promising to send in an expert on the subject.
"Well at least tell us what's the matter!" Draco called annoyed as the healer exited. Draco turned to face Hermione and tucked a curl behind her ear. "How are you feeling?"
"Queasy." she sighed honestly, before resting her forehead on his shoulder. His hands rested on her hips and he kissed her head lovingly.
Just then, in walked Parvati Patil, with a clipboard, smiling at them too.
"Hello Mr and Mrs Malfoy. I hear Mrs Malfoy, you're not feeling well?" Parvati asked scribbling something down. Hermione nodded and Parvati performed some spells, similar to the male healer before. She looked up and cocked her head at the pair. "Mr and Mrs Malfoy, I think there's something I should show you." Parvati waved her wand and a small pale circle hovered between Hermione and Draco, thudding steadily. "This, Mr and Mrs Malfoy, is your baby."
Hermione's jaw dropped before she turned to see Draco with an identical expression. She then turned to study her little bud. "I'm….pregnant?" she asked.
"Most definitely. One month and a few weeks to be exact. I'll leave you two alone for a few minutes." Parvati smiled before leaving the couple alone.
"Draco?" Hermione asked tentatively as she tore her eyes from her child to watch her husband. Draco's eyes were glued on the little fetus.
Draco finally, turned to meet Hermione's surprised eyes. He then surged forward and kissed Hermione hard, crashing his lips down on hers, his hands resting on her still rather flat stomach. She placed her hands on top and they broke apart, breathing deeply.
"Thank you, love. Thank you…." Draco breathed, touching their foreheads together.
"Well, it wasn't exactly a one person job." Hermione grinned and he grinned broadly back. "What do you think?"
"I think….this is perfect. This is amazing and wonderful and bloody hell….I'm going to be a dad." he said his eyes glazed over in wonder.
"And me….a mommy." she whispered gazing at her stomach fondly where her little baby rested. Parvati walked back in, smiling at the couple.
"I expect you to return every month for a regular check, and any odd experiences or unsure feelings, I expect you to visit. You will probably feel some morning sickness, tender breasts, fatigue, frequent urination and food sensitivity. But you're beginning your second month of pregnancy now. Here's some pamphlets on pregnancy care and symptoms. I'll see you two soon. Congratulations."
Hermione was still strangely surprised to be pregnant. She and Draco had a pretty active sex life and they must have forgotten magical protection on one occasion.
Hermione and Draco had went to Diagon Alley, on Hermione's request and purchased some pregnancy books. They then had lunch together at the Leaky Cauldron.
As they made their way home, Draco kept his arm wrapped securely around her waist, holding her close. They sat down together on the couch, falling into one another's embrace. Draco drew slow circles on her barely protruding stomach.
"Are you alright?" she asked noting Draco's solemn features.
He turned his gaze from the bright fire and looked down at her. "I'm just thinking."
"You're always thinking." Hermione quoted him teasingly.
He smiled a small smile before, he returned to his solemn expression. "I'm just thinking about my father. About what kind of father he was. And now I'm going to be a father."
"And you're worried you'll be just like him." Hermione finished softly.
He nodded looking at their intertwined hands, his grey eyes filled with emotion.
Hermione pressed herself closer to him and turned his chin so he was looking at her.
"You are a much better man than your father, Draco. You are not your father and you won't make the same choices and mistakes he did. I know, you'll be a wonderful father to our child." Hermione murmured sincerely.
He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, nuzzling his nose against hers. "I hope so." he replied kissing her gently.
She responded lovingly, grabbing him by the shirt collar, pulling him close. He turned them so she was beneath him and gently began unzipping her sweater.
"I love you, Mya. Thank you...so so much." he breathed, meaning every word.
"I love you too." she replied, running her hands down his chest. He traced her waistline all the way to her hip bones as his lips began their trail down her neck.
She roughly tore off Draco's shirt and tossed it behind them, gripping his bare arms, feeling his strong muscles.
He proceeded to rid her of her clothes, his magic fingers playing in between her legs. She moaned loudly, gripping his shoulders as he slowly entered her. He then began making love to her, long into the night and well into the morning.
Hermione and Draco woke up together in a heap on their couch. Hermione turned to see Draco already awake, playing with strands of her hair.
"Happy birthday love," he whispered kissing her sweetly on the lips. She smiled hugging him close.
"Do we have to attend my birthday party?" she asked tracing a finger down his chest. He shivered and grabbed her hand, pressing it to his face.
"If you keep doing that, we'll be late. Yes, we have to go, as much as I'd love to spend the whole morning shagging." he said, seeming to reconsider it himself too.
Hermione smiled and moved her hand to rest on her stomach, stroking it, picturing a mini Draco residing in there.
Draco smiled at her warmly and kissed her temple. "Do you think it's a tiny Draco or a tiny Mya?" he asked sliding down so he was level with her tummy. "Hello little one. It's your daddy, and we're so happy you're here. We can't wait to meet you, baby…..and I'm sure you'll be a little angel won't you?" he asked kissing her stomach.
Hermione laughed and played with Draco's hair. "Depends on who it takes after." she joked playfully, as he resurfaced to hover over her.
"Are we announcing it today?" he asked nibbling on her neck. She struggled to respond without moaning as her hands fell to is shoulders.
"Why not?" she managed to get out. "Narcissa's hosting it at Malfoy Mansion, and all our loved ones will be there." she whispered.
He smiled and bit down on her neck, sucking on the spot gently, causing her to gasp out in pleasure. He began stroking her breasts, kissing each one feather light. Hermione felt her warm clit spur in agreement to his actions. He chuckled as she pressed herself closer and conceded, pressing himself into her. He slid in and out, as their hips rotated together, in a well rehearsed routine. They each found their release and collapsed onto the couch, panting.
"Happy birthday babe," he mumbled snuggling into her.
They had woken up a little later to eat breakfast, Hermione stomaching little. They lounged around lazily until after lunch, when they began getting ready for the evening.
Hermione put on a white chiffon dress with thin straps that curved nicely down to above her stomach where it wrapped around tightly. It then flared down prettily in a champagne rose material with a thin layer of lace on top. She set her hair down, and pinned back with a clip. Her makeup light as usual, finishing with a pair of 3" printed heels.
Draco met her with a bouquet of roses, suited smashingly in a grey dress pants and a blue dress shirt.
"Beautiful," he murmured kissing her hard. She smiled up at him as they stepped into the fireplace, flooing to Malfoy Mansion.
Narcissa was a flawless and the most creative party planner, Hermione had ever met. The hall was decorated with streamers, balloons and beautiful table decor.
She had invited all Hermione's closest people in her life and as she entered, they all shouted happy birthday.
Little James of about 3 years old now, raced towards her eagerly and torpedoed into her, hugging her legs, almost knocking her over.
She laughed as she easily swooped up James and pecked him on the cheek. "Why, don't you look charming in your little suit?"
He grinned, showing a little teeth, as she tried to flatten his hair, to no avail. "You've got your father's hair haven't you?" she asked shooting Harry a smile before setting James down. James raised his chubby arms and indicated he wanted to be lifted again.
Draco lifted him up and swung him around, James squealing happily. "Uncle Dwaco, don't auntie 'Mione look very pretty?" he asked smiling.
Draco nodded very seriously and smiled at Hermione. "She does, doesn't she?"
The boy nodded his head vigorously as Draco set him down, as he raced to his cousins, allowing a swarm of adults to surround Hermione and envelop her in hugs.
"Wow, you're so old." George joked tugging on one of her curls as he wrapped his arm around Angelina.
Hermione rolled her eyes but smiled at him. "You're older Weasley."
Many people had attended her birthday party including: Her parents, the Potter's and their son James. The Weasley's their spouses and children. Andromeda and Teddy, Narcissa Malfoy, the Longbottoms, The Zabini's (Blaise and Lara), Theo Nott, her investigation team from work, Luna Lovegood and a few other co-workers.
There were magical projections of Hermione from her childhood to her adulthood. There was one of Hermione as a little baby, a few days old, then her as a toddler reading a small picture book, then fast forward a few years and she was riding a bike. Then her blowing out candles on a cake, to her and her wizarding materials, then many of her, Harry and Ron at school, one of her at the Yule ball, a dozen of her and Draco as well as their wedding.
"Happy birthday Mione." Ron smiled lightly hugging her. She stepped back and smiled at Ron and his fiancee, Lavender Brown. There was still often tension between them, but she was thrilled that he had moved on and found himself in a relationship with Lavender, even if she severely disliked her. Ron needed someone who would fit him perfectly, with attention and who listened to him. Hermione just couldn't be that for him.
Hermione watched happily, as Draco played a game of exploding snap with Teddy. He had grown fond of his first cousin once removed, or something complicated like that. Teddy had taken Draco's hair color for his own today as he laughed at something Draco had said.
Bill and Fleur had two daughters-Victoire and Dominique who were both charming darlings and were currently playing tag with James Potter. George and Angelina's oldest son Fred, was cheering on Draco and Teddy, joining in chattering madly. His younger sister Roxanne was 2 years old, sat sucking her thumb, watching intrigued at their game. Percy and Audrey Weasley's eldest daughter Molly was eating cupcakes with Ron, her little peals of laughter erupting as she watched Ron, get a splotch on his nose.
Hermione shook her head, smiling wryly as Ron wolfed down a cupcake. Her eyes travelled back to Draco, who was finishing up his game with Teddy and Fred and walked towards her. Her hand subconsciously went to her stomach where she thought of what a wonderful father he would be. The little bud residing inside her, was all theirs….. The thought alone made her beam with pride and joy, at the little Malfoy that was going to be theirs.
He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting on top of her hands, kissing her ear. His hot breath tickled her neck as he brushed the hair aside. "Are we announcing it now?"
"I can think, of no better time." she replied kissing him softly before clearing her throat loudly. The people near her silenced in respect and nudged for others to do the same. Within mere moments, the room was silent, even down to little Roxanne and Molly.
"Well, we have an announcement to make to all of you." Draco said loudly, his arm firm against Hermione, his eyes betraying how overjoyed he felt. His face broke out into a wide grin and allowed Hermione to tell the big news.
"We're going to have a baby." Hermione beamed, as the room broke out into applause and cheers.
"Yass mate! Cheers to the little Malfoy!" Blaise cried clapping Draco on the back and bending to wink at Hermione's stomach.
"Oh they'll be the same age and go to Hogwarts together!" Ginny exclaimed, her eyes welling with tears.
"Congrats Hermione. You too Draco." Harry smiled hugging Hermione.
Molly and her mother were ecstatic with the news, crying in joy, hugging both her and Draco. But Narcissa was by far the most excited.
"Mother?" Draco asked raising an eyebrow.
Narcissa broke into tears and flung her arms around her and Draco. "I'm going to be a grandmother!"
Author's Note
*For the timeline of this story, just so it won't drag on, each chapter will be one month.*
Thoughts on the chapter?