Draco POV
Apollo Lost (Song: Small Bump by Ed Sheeran www youtube com/ watch?v=A_af256mnTE Also on Spotify)
Daphne had woken up feeling off today. She had complained about feeling depressed and mood swings reigned for the first few hours. After three hours of trying, and failing, to appease her she said something felt wrong with Apollo. I rushed to get her purse and grabbed snacks in case we were out long. Daphne never moved. When I asked if she was ready she laughed and said Healers were annoying and the next appointment wasn't for a week. No amount of convincing talk or bribes were working in my favor. Daphne was refusing to check on Apollo. Saying something felt wrong then sitting there staring into space did nothing to ease my roaring concern. Another hour later I stood.
"Daphne I'm going to St. Mangos to make sure there is nothing to be concerned about. Take it easy and I'll be back soon." She began screaming and throwing pillows and blaming me for forcing her into everything. I made her do whatever I wanted, apparently. Then she stood and grabbed her coat while crying.
"I might as well come with you so I don't waste your time by making you come back to retrieve me for the Healers to poke at."
Pregnancy hormones seemed to be behind everything these days. Hungry? Hormones. Rage? Hormones. Slapping me? Hormones. The end of September could not come fast enough. If Daph was in a mood then I could offer to watch Apollo and the two of us would leave her to storm. She'd already warned me she wasn't the motherly type. That was fine. I'd love to take Apollo everywhere with me!
Inside the hospital, one of the rooms had been set up for a movie scene. It was full of actors, producers, and camera crew. I was shocked to see Hermione there working on costume repair. A man dressed as a Healer came from behind her and nuzzled her neck while she worked. Alexander Moore had been in Wizard entertainment since it became a phenomenon around the time I graduated. He had a one up in the field as well because before the magical community caught on he had been in Muggle films. My first year at Hogwarts was his 7th and I remember him leaving for big chunks of time for shoots. One of the professors went with him for "private tutoring" as the Muggles called it. He was huge in both worlds now. Last I heard, about 3 months ago he and Hermione had a very public fight and hadn't been seen together since. Though, judging by this scene they had mended the rift.
"I hate being pregnant! I'm fat and can't even model. Even Granger could model better right now. I miss the lights Draco! I miss the casual glances. Before you and this baby even Alex Moore looked at me. Now he looks at Granger. It's poor taste for such a successful Pureblood like him. Stop ogling the set. You dragged me here for an appointment not to watch a shoot." She was right. I got distracted. On the way to our Healers area in the "Wee Witches Wing" Daphne slowed and sweat poured off her. Soon I was carrying her and walking as fast as possible. Along the way, we acquired a bed and Jr. Healers. As we entered Healer Sweets ran to us as his wand whipped out spell after spell.
Now we sat behind closed and charmed silent curtains in the "Wee Witches Ward". Healer Sweets joined us a bit too late. He had found Apollo in a stressed state with an incredibly high heart rate. He couldn't do anything to slow it or save him and after ten minutes of trying Apollo's heart stopped. He was vanished from Daphne's womb. If we had been here even an hour ago there would have been an 80% chance things would have been prevented. As it was, Daphne sat on the white sheet stroking her now empty stomach.
Neither of us seemed to have words for the situation. My head spun faster than my gut could handle and I vomit in the trash can outside our curtained "room". Daphne's hands never left her flat belly. She hadn't wanted a baby when all this started but grew to love Apollo as he formed inside her. As we sat digesting our loss I could feel her sorrow along with mine. Daph had wanted him too, in the end.
"It's your fault," She spoke first. Judging by that comment perhaps I should have tried harder to find words of my own. "Your family..." She went on for about 30 minutes and seemed to never inhale. I was numb. I couldn't process words. I knew they would all hit me later once my brain had done all it could to understand this. Snippets of phrases hit harder than others.
"Not so pureblooded...more integrated...Halfblood or hell Mudblood...your fault...waste of time...Apollo's gone."
It grew quiet again when I couldn't find an answer. What I wanted to say would have hurt her more so it was withheld from her. It had been six hours since she first said something felt wrong. Three since she said Apollo was in trouble. If she had agreed to go when I had packed bags Apollo would still be here. To put that on her shoulders right now would crush her. It wasn't my fault. I had tried. I tried. At the mention of going home Daphne huffed and stood. Together, but only as far as physically being next to each other, we faced the outside world.
Someone must have seen Daphne clutching her stomach as we ran in. They may have seen us towards the end as I carried her. Either way, we would not be able to mourn in peace.
"Mr. Malfoy! Ms Greengrass! Was there any serious cause for your rush? Do we have a report on Apollo?"
"Ms. Greengrass, are you okay? Is it something with Apollo?"
"Ms. Greengrass! Ms Greengrass!"
"Mr. Malfoy, how will this affect your career?"
"Draco!" I knew that voice. Pansy rarely spoke to get her stories. She let others do all the shouting and asking for her then used her intuition and Slytherin finesse to write articles. Others might not understand but she had asked two questions none the less: Was Apollo alright? Was I? A subtle shake, a tremor really, was all it took for her to put on a professional face. (I knew her shoulders would droop and her eyes would water once she was home or in her office. Not in the public eyes. She knew what this meant to me. She was going to be a Godmother.) by the time we reached the lobby she had vanished out of the mess of bodies following us with questions. Pansy was the only who seemed to get it. Luckily, her article would be kind. We had been friends since near birth if our parents were to be believed. She was a part of my first memory so I assumed we had been close before then. We could only hope the editors who touched the article after Pansy would be as understanding.
At my townhome (the one we had shared since getting engaged) Daphne sat on the creme fainting couch while her fingers absently stroked Mordekaiser and stared at the fireplace. She was leaving me. Her eyes always spoke more honestly than her mouth. All past conflicts flipped by behind those puffy eyes and the moment she decided I knew.
Daphne stood and summoned a large suitcase before facing me. We both knew words were arbitrary. She went first to the bedroom, then Apollo's room, the bathroom, the study, her sunroom, the kitchen, then back into the lounge for the last of her things. Following her around the house to monitor what she took seemed petty so I hadn't moved since she left. Everything had been shrunk and placed in the bag and what I lost I could easily replace, unlike Apollo. She kissed Morde's head and scratched his ears.
Floo powder met the flames and Daphne spent less than five minutes making arrangements. Once she'd finished that her shoulders squared. Our eyes met. Her right hand moved to the left and I focused on the 10 carat opal and diamond ring as it slid off her finger. It's platinum band looked more dull away from her pale skin.
Perhaps I imaged it as it looked bright against the mahogany mantle where she set it.
Daphne stepped into the marble fireplace and vanished with a green burst of flame. She had whispered her destination and left me alone with my thoughts. Not even a word of goodbye on her cruel lips.
I hadn't moved for hours when the fireplace burst from gold to green and Pansy's face filled the space between.
"I had to make sure you weren't breaking the rules. Promise I'm not being nosy; my reporter side left hours ago. You look like an acquaintance would be welcomed. Besides, if I don't come you'd break our second rule." She winked and stepped through with two snifters and a decanter of dark brown alcohol. Pansy and I had made up a code of conduct concerning the stuff to curb our crazy drinking habits. Rule one was nothing heavier than a glass of wine or beer before five. Rule two required us to never drink alone, with the exception of aforementioned wine or beer. It was more of a joke or excuse to hang out now but I was glad for her company.
"She's gone, yeah."
"Yeah."
"Daphne was a bitch anyway."
"Yeah."
"Mind if I stay the night? My heater is broken."
"Sure."
Once again, an inside joke. We used to say the fire was broken when one of our friends needed company. Heat sources were rather finicky after all. Tonight would be slightly better now that I wouldn't be alone to cyclone through my thoughts. Pansy wouldn't allow it. After charming both of the lounges into beds, Pansy summoned snacks from the kitchen and locked the Floo. In a way, laying here felt like Hogwarts again. Pretending I was safe and secure in the snake den once more I fell asleep...after a few drinks and some "Daph-bashing" as Pansy called it.
Hermione POV
A Rough Day at Work (Song: Secret by The Pierces www youtube com/ watch?v=HzNFwxsSPwU Also on Spotify)
From my office I could hear the rumble of voices coming down the hall. Knowing the way it worked and Brokes and Co. it didn't bother me. Whenever a model did a particularly great spread reporters would follow them around for a day or two. Usually the Daily Prophet posts told me all I needed to know about in the Fashion/Art section. What it didn't tell me office gossip did. It was that moment when an owl came through the charmed window and everything became clear. A black hole formed inside me and clenched everything too tightly around it.
"MALFOY MISCARRIAGE AT 20 WEEKS: HEIR LOST!"
His heir was lost. Lost to him. Ryuu was almost a year and a half old now. That baby wasn't the heir. It was a selfish realization but when it hit I was happy all the same. That small tragedy gave me more time alone with Ryuu. After realizing Ryuu was already on the Malfoy family tree in one form or another I had researched the details on such things. In Pureblooded society it was tradition to go from the hospital to the sitting room with the family tapestry. There was a small party and everyone admire the bright gold line that dropped and attached the firstborn child to its parents names. Draco would not have found a gold line next to Apollo's name. It would have been silver. There would already be an firstborn on the fabric with a gold line. A mystery child and mystery woman. Even now I knew it was there and had been undiscovered.
"Mr Malfoy, a word please!"
("Bugger off!")
"Draco, tell us what your are feeling?"
"Malfoy, what do you think caused this miscarriage?"
"Mr Malfoy, where is Daphne Greengrass?"
("Daphne's gone. She left.")
"Mr Malfoy!"
It was one of the first times since our breakup that I felt sympathy for him. No one deserved to be hounded after such an awful night. Despite knowing it was a risky idea (for me anyway) I stood and left my office.
"Mr Malfoy, at the hospital last night when you first were told about the lack of heartbeat, what was your..."
"SHUT UP! CAN'T YOU LET A MAN MOURN?"
Both Eddy and I had arrived at his outburst. Eddy ran to comfort Draco while I told the reporters they were disrupting the designers. They were told to keep their reporting away from this area. All this was said loud enough for both Draco and Eddy to hear. Both would get my meaning. This would be a quiet place to escape if nowhere else was safe. A nod from Draco confirmed and thanked me.
From then on my day was quiet. I had three new concepts by lunch, one of them was quickly evolving into the theme for my next collection. Mirrors with tints from gray to highly reflective black ran along one of the dresses. Something about the way it demanded attention but reflected everything away and changed constantly as the fabric shifted captivated me. If someone had asked me to design my soul's fabric it would have been something like this. All I wanted to do was develop it but I had promised a little boy a mommy/son picnic for lunch and it was time I left.
No one was in the first two hallways as I made my way to the Floo. In the model area, a few reporters lingered. Down near the main lobby, the rest of the news mongrels watched a photo shoot in progress: no need to guess who was in there. Draco was trying his best to ignore the one-way window but it reflected in the rigid movements that it hadn't quite escaped his notice.
Wiping my thoughts of Draco Malfoy was harder than expected. Especially when I stepped out of my marble fireplace to find Ryuu already in his Weasley jumper and ready to go. McGonagall allowed me to bring Ryuu to Hogwarts every few weeks for a lunch and walk around the lake. After the normal process of using the Floo into her office, Disallusioning Ryuu, and walking to the hill by the lake we sat, all illusion spells removed, and took out the picnic basket. These lunches were always my favorite. Lunch was normally a 20 minute thing, if I took one at all, but these one lasted a full hour. Ryuu threw rocks into the lake and the squid brought them back like some oddly tentacled puppy. We rode broomsticks around slowly, napped a bit, looked at clouds, and Ryuu asked for a Hogwarts story. They were the simple and lovely moments of my hectic lifestyle.
"Miss Granger! What a surprise to see you here!"
Shit! Marcella cooed as she came around the corner and her eyes seemed to gleam hungrily as she noticed Ryuu clinging to my leg.
"I was just looking around for a potential shoot location and thought after looking around the castle I'd check the lake. I was about to leave but I'm so very glad I came back to examine this area. Imagine my surprise when I saw you and this little man. He does look remarkably like Draco Malfoy, doesn't he?"
Without hesitation I stunned her and sent my patronus to fetch Minerva and Pomfrey. Ryuu was confused and fought tears at her harsh sounding words and expressions. Within five minutes both ladies had arrived and Poppy had taken Ry to play with the squid a distance away. I wasn't sure what to do or how to phrase what happened but Minerva seemed to understand perfectly. "We will do an Unbreakable Vow and make sure this stays within our circle. Come now, wake her up and let's get this finished."
I woke Marcella and she found herself pinned under both my own and the Headmistresses wands. I tried to speak but all that escaped was a choked huff. Minerva spoke like steel.
"Marcella Macmillion, you were allowed here in good faith on the understanding that you would briefly look around the castle for a proper location. You were not given leave to explore the grounds and did so after being escorted to the gates. Due to the seriousness of your meddling, I'm afraid we will need a Vow from you before permitting you to leave."
"An Unbreakable for something as petty as a child out of wedlock? That is rubbish!"
"So you weren't planning to expose Miss Granger or Mr. Malfoy?"
"It would get out eventually and who am I to withhold information if someone were to ask?"
It didn't take much more than that to confirm her intent. Designers at Brokes and Co. were like starved beasts and would fight dirty and kill to get ahead. The rumor mill in that building, no, just that hallway, was probably more vicious than the one at Hogwarts. Minerva was in position to cast the spell before I had raised my hand or Marcella had stood. Once we clutched out hands together and the spell was spoken I started the vow:
"Will you, Marcella, keep the secret of my son, Ryuu, from those who are not currently present?"
" I will."
A tingling ran up my arm as a band of fiery smoke wound around my forearm.
"And will you, knowing failure to do so means death, refrain from hinting toward this vow or it's contents?
"I will."
Another band, this one silvery, joined the first ever-moving band around us.
"And should it come to light, will you remain silent about your knowledge of his existence?"
"I will."
An emerald green band joined the first two before they seemed to sink into our flesh, burning a bit as they left their marks. It was done. Marcella was bound and Ry was safe again. It wasn't more than a minute before I was alone with the school matrons and Ryuu again. Minerva asked me to stay a bit longer today and relax before going back to work as she and Poppy returned to the school. It was exactly what I needed. A bit more time before facing the world. After a Hogwarts story we took a twenty minute nap and packed up our assorted wrappers and snack baggies. As we stood and gathered our things Ryuu slipped in the mud and fell face first into it. His scowl reminded me so much of Draco my insides cracked. If I was a less selfish person I would tell Draco about Ryuu. Merlin knew he needed a bit of good news. But that would mean the end of our little existence together. Draco would want to be a part of it, and rightfully so. At the moment I couldn't do it. I wasn't ready. Attempting to convince myself all the way home failed as well. My mind had decided to tell him but as I said goodbye and headed back to finish the work day two silver eyes locked my heart again.
In my absence, all the reports had moved into the models hallway and waited to jump on people. I was their next catch, unfortunately.
"Ms. Granger, what do you think about the current Malfoy tragedy?"
Oh, the things I could say. "What do you think I'm going to say, or anyone will say about this? Losing a child isn't easy. Ever. Losing a baby that far in is unimaginable. I hope everything settles down and they are left alone quickly. Now, I've got work to return to." They were obviously disappointed but much more gossip would set me off and I preferred to keep my cool at work.
Back in my office the mirrors held my attention again. For two hours I changed the angle on a mannequin and adjusted lines. It wasn't until just after five a the first skirt was sent to Eddy for feedback that the day grew eventful again. Every one of those reporters needed to find a new haunt by tomorrow. They were trying to whisper their questions over one another as Draco walked this way. All the empty offices were before mine, as it was the corner, so it shocked me to see the crowd outside my door. There was a few seconds of quiet as they waited for an answer that must have looked like it was coming. Instead the door opened and Draco slid in, only slivering the door it's barest amount to get past. Reporters filled the windows to get the inside scoop on our conversation. With a flick of my wand we were alone for the first time since he left me.
He was shaking but those eyes (Oh so familiar eyes!) were steady on me. After a few tries he got words out. Painfully.
"I know you remember." His feet shuffled a bit. "June wasn't a good month for either of us. I was so concerned about holding you back or damaging your chances by being near you. It's funny is because instead of some cushioned a ministry job or amazing internship you are right here with me. Salazar, I was stupid!"
With that remark he crumbled. Not even during his Azkaban trials had he looked as dreadful as he did now. Two seconds later I had him clinging to my shoulders and bowing his head. "Daphne left me right after we got home from the Healers. She said if the Malfoy lines had been diversified, muddied were her words, even a cousin more we'd still have Apollo on the way. Last I saw she had been chatting up an old lover, Seamus Finnegan. When she left I assumed it was to visit him. Daphne put her ring on the mantle as she left. Just when everything was settling down..."
He continued to cling and cried Ito my hair. "I've hurt you the most! Why did I ever think tampering with your mind was a good idea? I'm sorry. I am so very sorry." There! There was my moment, but what did I say? Could it be thrown out there like a normal announcement? "By the way, we have a child together. He is an amazing boy and means the world to me." No way! Now I was panicking. It needed to be said before Draco walked away again. He was calming down already as my anxiety picked up.
"Draco, I've..."
"No, I don't need your pity. I'll just show myself out."
Before a word was said he pulled away and Apparated. Judging by the noise outside he went to the empty office next door and left as soon as his features had cleared a bit. The chant of "Mr. Malfoy! Mr. Malfoy!" Followed him away and replayed in my mind. Come morning we would both convince ourselves that conversation and confession session hadn't happened. We had never spoken unless required by the job. It would continue this way tomorrow.
At six everything stopped in my mind and it would have been pointless to keep pushing. On my way to the Floo Eddy sent me a nod. It was his way of showing pride without keeping us at work longer. He had both approved of my mirror collection and thanked me for "scattering the hounds" in a note earlier.
Ryuu greeted me at the door and as he ran my emotions escaped me. I sobbed. I felt terrible for not telling Draco all about our little miracle. "Hold you Mommy!" With Ry in my arms everything was a bit brighter. "Sorry love. Work was really stressful today." He repeated his attempt at the words stressful today and tucked his head under my chin. "You make it better though. Let's go make dinner buddy. You can help me stir tonight."