Penelope Clearwater finished up the appointment with a reminder to Hermione to drink lots of fluids, eat smaller meals throughout the day to keep the nausea at bay, and that she'll send her an owl with the next appointment date.
Narcissa walked Penelope back down to the entry room, leaving Draco and Hermione alone.
"You don't have to wait for me," Hermione said, gathering her cloak and bag. "I know how to get back to the floo."
Draco shook his head. "If it's all the same, I'd rather not get an earful from my mother if I don't walk you out."
Hermione sighed, resigned. "Fine, I guess." She walked towards the door and didn't look to see if Draco was following.
He stepped in line with her within moments.
"Is there a reason that room looks like the Gryffindor common room threw up in there?" she asked.
"Mother was just trying to make you comfortable. She wasn't sure of your favorite color so she chose your Hogwarts house colors," he stated.
"Oh… that's very nice of her, I suppose," she said. "But why a whole room for the appointment? The couch downstairs would have been just fine."
Draco stopped at the top of the stairs and faced Hermione. "She's trying to be hospitable, Granger. She wanted you to have a room here, if you decide to use it, whenever you wish."
"You mean like... move in?" she squeaked.
"I told her that wouldn't happen, but if for some reason you find yourself in a need of a place to stay... you have one here."
"Oh," she said, as she followed Draco down the stairs.
They reached the entry room and Draco stood back while Hermione grabbed a handful of floo powder. Before tossing it onto the hearth, however, she turned to face him. "Purple," she said.
Draco raised one thin, blond brow. "Excuse me?"
"My favorite color. It's purple," she said.
Understanding, he gave a small nod. "I'll make sure to pass along that information to my mother."
A house elf popped up with two boxes in it's hands. "The missus wanted Millie to make sure you had plenty of breakfast, miss," she said, handing them to Hermione.
"Thank you, Millie," said Hermione politely to the elf. Then she looked at Draco as she stepped into the fireplace. "I'll let you know the date of the next appointment as soon I can."
Draco nodded before Hermione called out her residence and she disappeared with a flash of green.
She knew she should have gone straight to the Ministry, as planned, but Hermione needed to make sure Ron was ok. She hoped he was at her flat, but when she arrived, it was empty.
She sighed as she put the food she obtained from Malfoy Manor into the refrigerator, then went back to the fireplace to floo to Ministry, hoping she'd be able to talk to Ron at some point today.
Everyone had been surprised when Hermione Granger opted to start working at the Ministry right away after the war, rather than go back to Hogwarts to finish off her 7th year. She did, however, take her N.E.W.T.S. tests in early July, which she passed each subject brilliantly. She tried to persuade Ginny to return to Hogwarts, but the redhead was adamant that she was done with school. She promised her family she would sit and take the N.E.W.T.S. with her fellow classmates at the end of the school year, which would leave her time to pursue her dream: playing for the Holyhead Harpies. She got her chance to try out right before Harry's birthday and was signed on as backup Chaser for the year.
Though Hermione had only been working at the Ministry for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures for a few months, she already had an office to herself. This was mostly do to the fact that whenever she was spotted, people wanted to stop and talk to her, which would then disrupt her work. After many complaints, the Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, gave her an office which alleviated the majority of the disruption.
She almost wished she had the distraction today though, as she seemed to be reading the same line in her proposal for House Elf Rights over and over without absorbing it. With a sigh, she set the paper aside and rested her head on her desk.
A light knock on her door jolted her. She looked up to see Harry smiling awkwardly at her. "Sorry, 'Mione. Just came to see how your appointment went. Can I come in?"
Hermione smiled back. "Sure, close the door though. I don't want anyone eavesdropping."
Harry entered her office and closed the door before he sat down in one of the two chairs across from her desk. "So what happened?" he asked.
Hermione sighed. "Are you asking about the appointment, or Ron?"
"A little bit of both…. But tell me about the appointment first, then we'll get to Ron."
Hermione bit her lip. "The appointment went well, if it not a bit awkward, though that was expected. My mediwitch, Penelope Clearwater, you remember her right? Well, she said that everything looks good and the baby seems healthy. Malfoy asked for a paternity test, which was to be expected." She placed an absent hand on her abdomen. "It came out positive for Malfoy. The look on Ron's face… I told him not to give in to hoping the baby was his, but this just confirmed it and I think it broke his heart." She wiped a lone tear that slide down her cheek, then smiled. "We got to see him though. He looks adorable already."
"Him?" asked Harry, both eyebrows raised.
"Yes. I wanted to find out the gender as I'm tired of all the surprises of this whole situation."
"I don't blame you," he said. "How did Malfoy react?"
"Oh, you know Malfoy, always hiding his emotions. But he seemed attentive, especially after he had proof that the baby was his."
She looked down at her stomach again. "Am I a horrible person… for being excited about this baby?"
Harry shook his head. "No, of course not, that's your baby, Hermione. You have every right to be excited about it."
Hermione sniffled, then buried her face in her hands as she started to sob. Harry came around the desk and pulled her into a hug.
"I just (hic) I feel so many mixed emotions right (hic) now. I'm excited to have the baby but I'm devastated that it's not with (hic) Ron. I'm afraid he (hic) hates me."
"Shh. You know that's not possible. Ron could never hate you. He loves you," Harry said.
Hermione looked up at him, eyes red from crying. "Then why did he run out of the appointment after he found out the baby was a boy? I haven't been able to talk to him all day since then."
"I'll talk to him, see if I can bring him 'round and have him come find you," Harry said.
Normally, Hermione wouldn't let Harry get in the middle of this, but she was just too damn tired and exhausted to even argue. She gave a nod, then sat back down in her chair while Harry returned to his seat.
"I actually have some news myself," Harry said, and this time, Hermione lifted a brow.
"We finally heard back on when Malfoy's trial will be," he said, slightly hesitantly.
"Oh… when is it?" she asked.
"Two weeks," he said with a sigh.
"Two weeks?! That's not nearly enough time for him to get ready! I don't even think he has a lawyer set up yet. I should write to him and-"
"I'm going to testify for him," Harry stated.
"You… what?" asked Hermione, confused.
"I'm going to testify for him. Tell the court why I don't think Malfoy should go to Azkaban."
Hermione regarded him cautiously. "You're not doing this because of the baby… are you?"
Harry shook his head quickly. "No, no. I had already decided to testify for him before all of this came to light. But, I did want to talk to you about that…. Since I'll be testifying for him, your pregnancy should really remain a secret until after the trial. This way, the judges won't think the same thing you just did."
Hermione nodded. "Yes, I agree. I actually need to talk to Malfoy and see what or how we should go about this with the press. I can't hide the pregnancy, or the fact that Malfoy has an heir, from the Wizarding World for forever."
"Well, I'll let you handle the details regarding that particular situation with Malfoy himself. And like you said, no, he hasn't contacted a lawyer yet, so the Ministry will appoint one for him. I'm going to choose one, actually, and then we'll meet with Malfoy later this week to discuss the trial. I just wanted to let you know incase he says anything."
"Do you think it would help if I testified too?" she asked.
"Honestly, I don't know, " he said, his eyes flickering to her stomach. "I'll think about it and get back to you, ok?"
Hermione nodded. "Ok." She looked around at all the paperwork on her desk. "I should probably start working, I suppose. I haven't been able to really focus today, but now that I've talked to someone about the appointment, I think my distractedness is finally over."
Harry smiled. "I'll let you get to it, then. And 'Mione? Don't worry about Ron. I'm sure he's just mulling things over."
Hermione smiled back, hoping it was convincing enough. "I hope so, Harry. I really do."
Later that evening, as Hermione sat on her sofa and watched some telly, she couldn't help but glance over at the fireplace every now and again. She had seen Ron briefly at the end of the workday and asked if he was coming over that night. All she got in return was a shrug and an "I dunno" before he kissed her cheek and floo'd to the Burrow. She should have followed him, but she also didn't want to start an argument either, especially if Harry was right and all Ron needed to do was take some time to think things over.
Unable to keep her eyes open any longer, she clicked off the telly and turned off the lights in the living room before heading to her bedroom.
Though she was worried about Ron, sleep found her easily until the bed dipped next to her and a strong arm circled around her waist.
Ron snuggled up against her back and kissed her neck. "I'm sorry," he whispered.
Hermione squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tears to not fall. Damn these hormones, she thought.
"Why did you run off like that?" she whispered back.
"I just.. I don't know. Getting confirmation that Malfoy was the father was painful. But finding the baby was a boy? That was like twisting the knife," he said quietly.
"Would you have been this upset if the baby were a girl?" she asked.
"Probably not as bad, no. I think with a boy, it's just… well, he'll continue the Malfoy name. Take over the Malfoy business, whatever that is, and just.. I don't know. I keep picturing another blond hair git, bullying muggleborns at Hogwarts, then realize, that that git is your child, and I feel horrible thinking that way about some kid that isn't even born yet."
"A girl can take over the business too, you know," she said.
Ron chuckled. "Trust me, I know. But with a boy… I don't know, it seems different. When he marries, he'll still be Malfoy. At least with a girl, her last name will change."
"Not necessarily," Hermione said, finally turning to her other side to face him. "I've told you before that I don't plan on getting rid of my last name whenever I marry."
Ron sighed and pressed his forehead against hers. "I know. I don't how to explain it, except, that maybe, it's a jealousy thing, I suppose. I wanted to have children with you. I wanted to have a son with you. And a daughter. But instead, you're having Malfoy's son and it just… it made me so mad and hurt today that I didn't know what to do."
"I'm sorry," she said, snuggling into him. "I'm not sure what else I can say, honestly. I don't want you to feel jealous over this baby. I want you to be happy with me. You'll be part of his life too, you know."
"I know," he said. He gathered her up and rested his chin on her head.
They fell asleep soon after, nothing really resolved, but at least, they were together, and at that moment, that's all that mattered.
A/N: Thank you all for reading and leaving reviews. I gives me the motivation to write!
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