Disclaimer: I own the concept for this idea and the plot. J.K. Rowling owns everything else.

Chapter Four: Phases

Ever since the first night he and I had fallen asleep together things changed between us. Neither one of us felt the urge to admit such a horrendous thing could happen, but it had. It was apparent by the subtleties. He had become more gentle with me. We held conversations about our opposite viewpoints on everything from food to the meaning of life. We never agreed on anything, which I suppose added to the excitement. The hate was still present, as was the lust. But something deeper and more meangful had begun to develop.

Time passed and eventually we were near the end of our last year at school.

I was relieved that I had finally finished my NEWTS. I entered my dorm and noticed that he sat on the couch. I walked over and laid down on the couch, my feet in his lap. We stayed that way for a time, enjoying the peace that silence presented to us. After awhile, he made to move and I removed my feet from his lap. He slowly stood and dusted imaginary dirt from his robes. He then held out his hand for mine.

I hesitated slightly. Should I allow this to continue? The preceding months had been strange to say the least. However, graduation was to come in two days time and I needed to turn over a new leaf. I needed to move on from that blasted tryst I had with him and begin the next phase in my life.

Yet graduation was not for another two days.

I grabbed the proffered hand and he smoothly pulled me to my feet. He guided me to his room and closed the door behind us. Slowly, he began to undress himself. I quickly followed suit and we were both nude in mere seconds. He pulled my head towards him, capturing my lips in a searing kiss. He deliberately backed towards the bed before he pulled the two of us down onto the soft mattress.

Hands roamed and lips caressed. Our breaths quickly became ragged as our excitement grew. His fingers rubbed my clitoris before they entered me. I felt his hot lips on my neck and breasts. I felt them grace my stomach and thighs. As he entered me I moaned his name, my fingers twisted in his silky locks. My nails raked his back as he thrust harder and faster. My moans turned to cries as I begged him to fuck me. I buried my face into the crook of his neck and kissed his skin. The salty taste of sweat lingered on my tongue as I sucked and bit at his neck. His pants were heard next to my ear. He moaned my name and I became even more aroused from the sound that emitted from his delicious mouth.

He followed only moments after I orgasmed. Always the gentleman, he had waited for me to get off before he allowed himself to release. I felt my lungs pulling in oxygen before expelling carbon dioxide into the air. I repeated this process as my heart beat slowed and the pink flush to my cheeks was replaced by the normal tone of my skin. He rolled off of me before he wrapped his strong arms around my lithe frame.

We laid there silently for awhile before he spoke. "If I see you on the battlefield-"

I cut him off before he could finish his solemn statement. "You will not hesitate to kill me. I know." My voice was calm, and while the words I spoke would have seemed dreadful on a normal occasion, I felt a remarkable sense of peace and contentment.

"And you will not hesitate to kill me either." It had not been a question. It had been a plain and simple fact. His voice sounded as mine did, calm and serene; content with the situation.

"Yes. I will not hesitate to kill you either." As this sentence left my lips we drifted off to sleep, his arms still holding my body tight against his muscular frame.

I graduated along with the rest of my year and moved into a hideout with my friends and our protectors. The long awaited war had begun. My days were filled with strategy plans and news of deaths. Massacres were being committed amongst the muggles and two men were in charge. One with blood red eyes and one... one I knew better than I knew myself.

Every day life grew harder for those of us at the hideout. Our side was losing and dozens of people were being murdered in cold blood on a daily basis. Family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers alike were being picked off by the enemy and it seemed that the harder we tried to stop it, the more people that died. His name was in the Daily Prophet every day and I felt my stomach churn whenever I heard of the evil deeds he committed. He was projected as a ruthless killer with no emotions whatsoever.

I knew they were wrong. Yes he was ruthless. Yes he was a killer. But he had feelings just like the rest of us. He could feel remorse, happiness, anger, hatred, grief, contentment, ecstasy... He could feel anything that any other person could.

Yet still he killed. He tortured helpless women and children before he murdered them without hesitation. He did not see them as humans, only mere animals to be slaughtered. Every day came news of more killing. More pain and suffering at his hands. The ministry saw him as the second largest threat to our world.

Every person around me was falling into depression. Despair overcame us all as all hope was sucked from us. It was as though a group of dementors had sucked the happiness out of us. It got worse by the day as more people died. Many of the people that we had grown up with were suddenly and painfully ripped from our lives by the same hands that once caressed my skin. He and his followers destroyed our morale. Bit by bit they annihilated everything we held dear; everything we fought for.

I had come down with what I thought to be influenza. I paid a visit to the resident nurse at the hideout that had become my home to receive a potion to cure me. I could not afford to be sick if I was called to fight. She insisted on running tests on me and the results shocked me to my very core.

I was pregnant.

I was pregnant with his child.

Thoughts swirled around in my head as they fought for the prominant position in the forefront of my dazed my mind. How could this happen? How could I let this happen?

With a resounding crash, the reality of the situation hit me and I realized that I was to be a mother. I was to be the mother of his child. Of all people, why him? Why did it have to be him? I detested him with every ounce of strength I had, yet ironically he had fathered the being growing inside my abdomen.

Days passed as I decided what it was I would do. Abortion never even entered my mind. It was murder, that was all there was to it. I could never kill an innocent being, especially one of my own flesh and blood. Every person deserves the chance to live. It was not this child's fault. It was my doing. It was his doing. But this defenseless child had no choice in the matter and deserved the opportunity to live a happy and healthy life. The real question was whether or not I would raise this child or give it up for adoption.

One day the answer came to me as I was eating lunch. I would keep this child. It was my responsibility. The newest question was how to tell those I lived with of my condition.

Several more days passed before I had gathered the courage to confess my secret to my friends. I sat down in a chair across from them after dinner one night and told them. No ribbons or frills. Just the cold hard truth.

"I'm pregnant."

They were shocked into silence and I awaited their response with baited breath. They asked me how and who the father was. I rolled my eyes and told them that they knew perfectly well how and that the father was of no importance. The next day my news had spread until every person at the hideout knew. Most were shocked, but it was as though my pregnancy renewed the faith in our cause and brought a fresh hope for the future. With renewed strength and vigor, the enemy was beaten back from our doorstep.

Time went by and the war continued to rage on. I still refused to reveal the father of my unborn child, much to the chagrin of those around me. I was kept protected in the hideout and was forbidden to venture outside of its walls for any reason. Less of my people died and more of his people died. The deaths in the Prophet lessened, however, the ministry had yet to capture the elusive Number Two.

Then one day sharp pains began in my stomach. I screamed as jolts of pain shot through me. A liquid gushed from between my legs as people came rushing towards me.

Thirteen hours later I had given birth to a beautiful baby girl. As I held her in my arms, an exhausted smile adorning my face, I uttered one word. "Hope."

A month later the war was over. Our side had come out victorious, although nobody had truly won. Too many loved ones were lost for us to exalt much in the defeat of the enemy. Their faces would never again be seen. Their laughter would never again be heard. The snake with the red eyes had been killed, but his right-hand continued to evade capture. Search parties were sent to track him down with no success. Everyone began to move on with their lives. Hope and I moved into a tiny one-bedroom flat in London and I was quite content with my life. Then one day six months later a joyous yell was heard throughout the flat.

Harry ran into the room yelling, "Hermione! He has been caught! Draco Malfoy has finally been caught!" A bittersweet smile formed on my face as I was grabbed into a bear hug and whirled around. Once he left, I gathered Hope into my arms and kissed the top of her head.

"Your daddy has been caught baby. I am sorry you will never get the chance to meet him." It was true that I hated him, but hate was a complex emotion. I could not put my finger on what it was I felt for him, I only knew that a part of me seemed to die and leave an empty abyss in its place. I remembered his caress and the intensity of his silver orbs. I remembered his kisses trailing across my skin. I had let out a soft sigh before I set off to begin the next phase of my life.

A/N:

Well, that's it people.It's finally finished. However, I might write a short epilogue. Tell me what you think. Should I write one or should I leave it as it is? I would like to thank everyone who supported me through this story and the long time between updates. I would also like to thank everyone who reviewed and encouraged the creation of this fic. I appreciate each and every one of you. I know you all are probably saying that this story is too short, but it was originally meant to be a one-shot. I'm proud that I managed to stretch it out this long. Anyways, please review. I would love to hear from all of you. And again, thank you!