Chapter Eight: An Unexpected Change

Author's Note:

I'm sorry that I haven't published a chapter in a while, I've been completely overwhelmed with school work and mock exams. I'm hoping that I have more time in the next few weeks. Also, this chapter is quite short, but I really liked the ending, so I didn't want to prolong it unnecessarily.

Lots of love and happy reading,

Pixie Willow

August 5th:

Hermione was ecstatic. Today was finally the day of her first ultrasound, and although she was worried, she couldn't wait to hear her baby's heartbeat for the first time. Malfoy, who had been brilliant for the past few months, was going to be coming to the appointment separately, so as not to attract any unwanted attention. They had been careful at not exposing their relationship until now, and they didn't want to ruin that. Of course, at a little over 12 weeks, now would be a good time to announce Hermione's pregnancy, but they wanted to bask in their own, private joy for a little while longer.

Hermione had decided that she would rather go to a muggle hospital during her pregnancy, and Malfoy had agreed that that would be best, so she was heading to the closest hospital on foot. It would take 25 minutes to walk there, but she had always been fond of walking, so she saw no inconvenience in the time it would take her. When she got to the hospital, she headed to the meeting place that she had set up before hand with Malfoy, hoping that she wouldn't have to wait too long for him to arrive. She had been reading up on first scans for the past two months, but she still didn't feel ready for it. She knew that she had to drink large amounts of water for the scan to even be possible, and she was unsure of how she would survive such copious amounts of fluid intake, as she needed the bathroom every five minutes at the moment. She was struggling with the idea of needing a bathroom break when she finally saw Malfoy approach. He looked just as happy as she felt, but she couldn't help but distinguish a certain look of fear in his eyes, although upon second glance she thought she must have been dreaming. He smiled at her, beaming from ear to ear. He was breathtaking. Hermione turned her eyes away before he could read her thoughts.

"I'm glad you could make it, Malfoy," she said, with no edge to her words. It had been a reoccurring joke between them for the past week, as to whether or not he would actually be able to stomach coming to the scan. Malfoy had a fear of hospitals like no-one Hermione had ever met, and she couldn't help but laugh every time the topic came up and he turned pale. She was worried that he would find out her own irrational fears at some point, as she knew that he would tease her about it for weeks on end. She was glad that they had gotten to a stage in their friendship when they could laugh openly with each other, even if there were some moments when it still seemed surreal.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world Granger," he replied honestly.

Together, they signed in at the reception and sat in the waiting room. Hermione had brought a book with her, but she wasn't sure that she was actually going to be able to read. She couldn't help herself from starting to feel nervous, even though she felt quite sure that everything would be fine. At least, that's what she hoped. She sat fiddling with the hem of her dress, unsure that she would be able to chat calmly with Malfoy if she tried. Malfoy himself seemed unusually quiet, although she didn't want to make him feel worse, so she didn't mention it.

She was just thinking of starting up a conversation when a nurse called for a "Mrs Malfoy". Hermione didn't even react, although Malfoy looked up, wondering how it could be possible for someone else in this waiting room to have the same surname as him. None of the other people in the room looked up though, and it took Malfoy a couple of seconds to realise that it wasn't anyone else being called: they were calling Granger. He laughed out loud.

"Granger, I think that's your cue," he said. Hermione looked up, wondering how she could have missed her name being called. "Apparently you're Mrs Malfoy now, is there something I don't know?"

Hermione stood up, heading towards the nurse, Malfoy following quickly behind her.

"Just so you know, I'm not Mrs Malfoy. It should say that on your file," she said sweetly. The nurse frowned, obviously not understanding what Hermione was getting at.

"I could swear that it said Mr Draco Malfoy," she replied.

"Oh it does, but that doesn't mean that I'm Mrs Malfoy," Hermione said, hoping she didn't sound too impolite. The nurse's smile turned sour.

"Ah," she said. "You're one of those couples then."

Hermione couldn't believe how rude this woman was being. She exclaimed: "And what on earth do you mean by that? Do you try to aggravate every pregnant woman that comes through here?"

She felt a hand on her arm, and turned slightly to see Malfoy smiling at her. She didn't think that they had ever actually touched before. She liked the feeling.

"Just ignore her, Granger. She's not worth getting stressed out."

Hermione had to agree with him, so she just turned to the nurse and said: "well, isn't there somewhere we need to be?"

With that, the nurse turned on her heels, stopping in front of one of many doors. She faced the wizards again. "You can wait for the Doctor in here," she said curtly, before walking away. The couple stood in front of the door. Malfoy took Hermione's hand in his.

"Here we go," he said quietly.

"Here we go," she reciprocated, before pushing open the door with her other hand.

They were only waiting for another ten minutes in the room, but they were some of the hardest moments of Hermione's life, including the war. She didn't think she had ever felt so stressed. If Malfoy hadn't been there, she might have combusted before the Doctor had time for her check-up.

When the Doctor finally walked into the room, quietly excusing herself for being late, Hermione was more than ready for the check-up to be over with, despite the anticipation of seeing her foetus for the first time.

"How is the mummy-to-be doing today?" the Doctor asked kindly.

"At this point in time I'm really stressed and I really need a wee, so I've been better."

The Doctor and Malfoy both laughed.

"It's just like you to laugh at my misery, Malfoy," Hermione said, only half joking. He squeezed her hand in reply.

"Let's get this party started then, yes?" asked the Doctor, squeezing freezing cold jelly onto Hermione's tiny belly. She almost jumped at the temperature, which made Malfoy smile. Before long, Hermione could hear a faint beating, and it took her a moment to realise what it was that she was hearing. Tears came to her eyes and before she knew it she was crying.

"Hey, hey love, don't cry," Malfoy tried to sooth her. He tried to put an arm around her, although this proved awkward with her lying on the bed.

"I'm just so overwhelmed," she replied. "Happy, but really overwhelmed at the same time. I'm sorry that I'm ruining this." Hermione hated crying, but she couldn't help it at this point in time.

"You don't need to apologise for feeling, Hermione."

Hermione stared up at him. She didn't think that he had realised it yet, but for the first time ever, he had called her Hermione. Looking into his eyes, she realised that he also had watery eyes, although he wasn't crying.

"We're having a baby," he said gently. She didn't trust herself to be able to speak, so she just nodded, slightly smiling up at him. He still had his arm around her. Hermione felt safe.