A/N: I would like to apologise for the delay in updates, I've had a very busy few days. Have a double update to make up for it.

Read, Review, Enjoy.


June 2003:

Some days were better than others. Hermione spent most of them sitting in her arm chair, reverting back to how she was before Draco entered her life. She had life growing inside of her and she knew that it should bring her joy but all it brought her was more heartache. She rested her hand on her small bump as she stared at the empty arm chair beside her. Draco had been missing for forteen weeks and three days. Harry had had a search team out looking for him, they were working tirelessly and he had been popping in every few days to keep her updated, not that there was much for her to be updated on. She appreciated him trying though, it was nice to know that Draco wasn't forgotten, that she wasn't forgotten. She had cried a lot over the last six weeks and three days, it seemed to her that she was always crying about something. So much so that it was starting to piss her off.

"Hermione." Remus Lupin called out softly for her from in the room behind her. She didn't turn around. She wasn't really in the mood to speak to anyone, especially not him. She rolled her eyes when she saw him sit down in Draco's chair. "How are you?" He asked. Hermione scoffed. She was sick of people asking her how she was, especially Remus. He was the one that told Harry to report that Draco had run off, that he had returned to the Death Eaters, he was one of the ones who thought that Draco wasn't worth saving.

"When are you going to speak to me?" He asked. Hermione just shook her head, she had no words to give the man. Lupin sighed sadly, he hadn't meant to hurt her, he hadn't meant it to seem like Malfoy wasn't worth saving. He watched as Hermione stared straight out of the window. She looked strong until you looked into her eyes. Her eyes sung a tune of complete sadness. Her eyes told the tale of a woman who had been at war, who had lost at the hands of war.

"I'm sorry Hermione. We will find him." He told her before he rose to his feet. Hermione didn't acknowledge him as he left the room, once she was certain that he was gone she let out a shaky breath. Tears sprung to her eyes as sobs consumed her once more. She missed Draco so much, every thing seemed different with him gone, the days seemed shorter, the nights seemed longer. When he was with her: She saw in colour, she had hope in her heart, she had love in her life. With him gone: She was empty. She lifted her wand from the coffee table next to her and pointed to her stomach. She muttered a spell through her tears and seconds later her baby's heartbeat filled the room. She focused on her breathing as she let the sound of her baby's heartbeat wash over her. It was the only thing left in her life that she was fighting for.


"Hermione! You're bump is really showing now!" Ginny explained as Hermione walked towards the table with their lunches in her hands. She smiled as she placed the plates down on the table and sat down. In the last week or so, her belly had popped out and it was obvious to anyone who saw her that she was pregnant. She kind of liked it; She liked that there was now physical evidence that she was growing life inside her womb.

"How far along are you?" Ginny asked as she tucked into her sandwich.

"Twenty Four weeks tomorrow." Hermione replied just picking at her food. Thinking about her blossoming pregnancy was bitter sweet for her. She loved being pregnant, knowing that her body was growing life after an act of complete love lifted her soul but at the same time made her heart hurt, she missed Draco terribly, the ache for his return just as painful now as it was twelve weeks ago when he first went missing.

The subject of the two girls' conversation quickly changed and they made small talk as they ate. They were just finishing up when the front door slammed and they were joined in the kitchen moments later by Harry, who leant against the door frame to catch his breath. He looked over to Hermione.

"Draco. We've found Draco." He informed her. Hermione jumped up from her seat, her heart pounding and her head spinning. One of her hands flew to her mouth whilst the other flew to her bump. "A rescue mission is beginning as we speak. They're planning to take him to Shell Cottage so I've come to take you both there, Tonks and Lupin are on their way to hold the fort here." Harry straightened up and after he had finished sharing his information, he walked over to Ginny and engulfed her in a bear hug.

Hermione's knees weakened as she processed the information that had just been given to her. They'd found Draco and they were rescuing him as they spoke. She looked down at her bump as a tiny fluttering sensation spread throughout her lower stomach. She clamped her eyes shut in an attempt to stop her tears from flowing but it was no use, when she opened her eyes, her vision was blurry from the build up of water. She blinked a few times to clear them.

"I'm going to see him?" She asked as she looked from Harry to Ginny who were both wearing broad grins. They both nodded eagerly. Hermione shook her head, she had been longing to see him for so long and now the moment was finally going to arise and she was buzzing with anticipation. She slowly rose to her feet and walked towards Harry.

"Can we leave now?" She asked. Harry nodded and with one hand on her shoulder and the other on Ginny's shoulder, he apparated them to the outskirts of Shell Cottage.

Hermione gasped as they walked over the sand dune that then revealed a wonky cottage literally on the edge of the beach. The sun was shining brightly in the pale blue sky. Hermione inhaled the fresh sea air feeling the lightest she had in weeks. She followed Harry inside of the cottage and smiled when she saw Fleur Weasley waiting for them in the kitchen. The two women hugged quickly and were shown to sit down at the round kitchen table. They were offered tea and briefed about the ongoing mission. Hermione's leg kept shaking, it was her body's way of expelling the excess energy that had built up in anticipation of Draco's return. Each moment that passed brought her a moment closer to his arms, to him, to a life together with him, a long and happy life just them and their child. All that was left was to sit and wait.


After a while, Hermione decided to go for a walk on the beach. She stood and watched the tide repeatedly roll in over the sand, her mind picturing a small child with white blonde hair splashing around in the shallow waters. She was so lost in her daydream that at first she didn't hear the voice calling her name from up the beach behind her. It was only after a few calls did her brain twig that someone was addressing her, it only took once more after that for her to realise who it was. She spun around on the spot to see Draco walking towards her. She gasped as tears instantly sprung to her eyes, these were not tears of sadness, they were tears of relief. He walked towards her with a huge smile on his pale lips. His skin was ghost white, a beard had formed on his jawline and his hair was long and matted. He wore a muggle pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Obviously borrowed from the supply at Shell Cottage. Hermione shook her head in disbelief as he stopped in front of her. She lifted her hands to cup his face. Her fingers lightly traced his worn features as she stared at him in disbelief.

"It's really you." She whispered. Draco nodded, tears started to fill his own eyes and for the first time in what felt like years, Hermione's lips came in contact with his. He kissed her hungrily, his arms pulling forward to wrap around her waist whilst hers slid around his neck. He could feel the dampness from her tears but he did not care, he had to feel her to truly believe that this was real and not another one of his dreams. The couple finally parted and Draco's hands slid round to Hermione's bump. He leant down slowly and placed a lingering kiss on her belly button. She beamed at him as he stood up slowly and laced his hands with hers.

"Hermione Granger, I love you." He confessed through his tears.

"Draco Malfoy, I love you too." She replied through tears of her own. Draco stepped back and his eyes fell to Hermione's rounded stomach. He gasped as his flicked back up to hers. She was smiling at him softly, her eyes twinkling with a happiness he once thought that he would never see again.

"How much have I missed?" He asked, his voice croaky and low. Hermione's heart broke as she watched him slowly lift his hands and place them on his bump.

"I'm Twenty Four weeks gone." Hermione whispered to him as she placed her own hands over his. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she felt their baby start to wake up. She could feel the little one wriggling around she looked into Draco's eyes, they were wide with amazement and awe, he too could feel his child moving around.

"She knows you're here." Hermione whispered softly. She leant forward and pecked Draco's lips with her own. They both had tears rolling down their cheeks as Draco stood, his hands glued to Hermione's bump just feeling his child wriggle and kick from inside the womb.

"Amazing." He muttered to himself, for so long, he had been dreaming of this moment. He had imagined Hermione with a growing bump for so long and now she was here, in front of him and it was real. He hadn't thought he could be more attracted to his witch than he already was, but seeing her stomach swell due to the new life she was growing, it made him ache for her in ways he never imagined possible.


That night Draco slept, properly slept for the first time in nearly four months. With Hermione in his arms and a hand protectively on her bump, he dreamed of a future where there was no war, just love, hope and happiness surrounding all of them.

When he awoke, he panicked slightly his mind taking a few moments to remember where he was. Once he had digested his surroundings, he started to calm down. He sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. A bright stream of sunlight crept in from underneath the curtains which lead Draco to believe that it was the middle of the day. He stretched out his tired legs and climbed out of bed. He'd been supplied with some muggle clothes for the short while which he honestly didn't mind too much, most of it was much too big for him, he had lost a lot of weight during his time as a captive. A prisoner of war, Kingsley had called him last night upon his return to the Order's safe house. A prisoner of war. Draco scoffed to himself as he got dressed. Draco was not a prisoner of war, he was a prisoner of life.

Once dressed, Draco went downstairs in search of Hermione, he found her tucked up on the sofa with a book in her hands. He stood in the door way and watched as her facial expressions changed as she read completely unaware that she was no longer alone.

"You are just so beautiful." Draco said out loud, a warm smile on his own face. Hermione looked up from her book, her cheeks tinted red as she smiled up at him, his heart fluttered as he watched her put down her book and rise to her feet. He opened his arms out wide for her to step inside, she did so and rested her head above his heart. Draco closed his arms around her and took a deep breath, making sure to inhale her scent which was permanently etched into his memory. He couldn't explain in words how good it felt to have her back in his arms. To know that she was safe, that their child was safe.

Hermione lead Draco into the kitchen and made sure that he had something to eat, she revelled in having him back with her and she wasn't going to be letting him go so easily this time.