Chapter Nine: Wherefore Art Thou Malfoy?

After a rather fitful sleep, Hermione woke up panting. A thin layer of sweat covered her skin, clinging to the twisted sheets under her. She had twisted to a horizontal position on the bed, her legs tangled in all sorts of fabric on the bed: sheets, comforters, pillows, and (to her slight amusement) the curtain that hung near her bed.

She sighed, knowing this was neither the first nor the last night of nightmares. It was always the same, unrecognizable faces looming by hissing hatetful words and curses, haggard profiles of her friends turning away from her, and the falling…like there was no end...through smoke of burning, flashes of red, green, and white flying by her. It made her miserable at first, and she used to wake up screaming. But it was different now. She had to be stronger for Ron and Ginny. And Harry. Especially Harry, who looked as if he didn't quite believe it was over. Harry, who glanced up frantically at shouts or loud noises. Harry, who seemed broken and incomplete.

But she had long given up asking him to talk or reassuring him. It's not what he wanted, and he shrugged it off carelessly, refusing to talk ...refusing to remember, although she knew it was never far from his thoughts.

While thinking this, and obviously managing to tangle herself further and more fully into the sheets and covers, Hermione then proceeded to fall off her bed with a large thump.

She let out a sudden peal of laughter loud enough that it made Draco, who had been passing her door at that moment, question the sanity of his future bride.

Later that evening, Hermione entered her last class of the day. Family Planning. A nervous thrill swept through her when she saw that the sides of the room were littered with cribs.

Hermione drew close to one of the white cribs and peaked through the handlebars. She was surprised to see it contained a baby doll, like ones that Hermione had played with when she had been a little girl.

Hermione looked up and noticed that the seventh year students had started gathering in the front of the room. There were very few students that stood in their pairings. Most had opted to remain within their houses. Hermione spied Harry and Ron standing off to one side. They noticed her and beckoned her towards their secluded corner.

"Hermione, Ron was just telling me that he thinks he may have figured out why there are so many Order members on the staff this year." Harry said in a hushed whisper.

Hermione looked questioningly at Ron who was grinning from ear to ear.

"As I was telling Harry, I think that the Order still thinks there is a threat, which makes sense since the Prophet had been telling people that there may be another attack soon, and coming up with stories each week about how they have insider information about who will be responsible for the attacks"

"That's what he told me," said Harry, "and I think he may be right. I was talking to Lupin earlier today, but he seemed agitated about something, and ran off in the middle of our conversation, mumbling something about protecting the school."

"Yah," said Ron, "and yesterday I was thinking that there might be another horcrux. Everyone in the Order was surprised to know that there had been seven, but what if there had been an eighth? We should definitely leave school and try to see if we can find out that the last one was actually destroyed."

Harry had started shaking his head in the middle of Ron's speech: "No, I don't think that's it. The last horcrux was destroyed. I felt it. Voldemort is dead and won't come back. Whatever the Ministry and the Order are worried about is something different. Perhaps it has to do with the Pureblood factions that the minister mentioned."

"Yah," said Ron disappointedly, "but don't you think we should leave and figure this out?"

He turned to the other two hopefully.

"Ronald Weasley, you just don't want to do this project." Hermione said critically, "Also, if you don't remember, your mother vowed to skin us alive if we ever left without telling someone first. I personally would like my skin to stay ON my body for the next sixty years or so."

Ron turned red, and started to protest but then thought better of the idea. He said instead "So you will marry Malfoy then?"

"I don't know," said Hermione, " According to the Minister, I still have three months to make a decision, and I don't want to disappoint him. But with the way things are going, I don't think that we will ever make anybody believe that we are in love (she spat out the word as if the mare thought of it was toxic). I don't know what's worse: a rude, spoiled Malfoy with a bad vocabulary, or the silent one that acts like he is the victim in this situation."

"I know what's better," said Ron solemnly, "a farret Malfoy."

The three looked at each other and then broke into laughter.

"Quiet, Quiet children."

The voice came from Professor Weasley who had just entered the classroom. She stood in the front of the room and asked the seventh years to gather around her.

"To start, our lesson today will discuss the grading of the project as well as the nine inch essay that will be collected every month as part of your reflection on the project. My main goal is to get you adjusted for the recent years to come, and I plan to teach you just that. You will be graded mainly on the effort you put in the project, and how seriously you approach the problems you are given.

If you find that you are in need of my assistance during any point in the project, do not hesitate to send an owl. I will not be residing on the grounds, so this will be the most efficient means of communication for us."

Professor Weasley explained the terms of the project in full, and assigned them a section in Madam Malfa's Wizard Children to read for the next week. She also explained that they would be using an advanced transfiguration spell that would transform the dolls into three month infants. The spell worked by transferring some of the living energy in both students to the infant. There, it would be manipulated by another spell to act with the patterns of an infant. Then she asked each pair to stand by a crib and wait for her to say the spells that would transform the doll into a living creature.

Some did so hesitantly, peaking into each crib to see which doll looked the nicest or the least tattered. Others loitered around a crib, trying to act the most nonchalant or the most repulsed.

Professor Weasley started with the Head boy and Head girl. She stood opposite Hermione and Malfoy with the cradle between them. She had them each pull a hair, which she twisted around each other until the thin gold strand glinted within the heavy brown one. She placed the hairs on the doll's chest, and started to murmur the spells. The hairs started to glow, pulsing with a soft vigor that grew with every word that was said. Soon, the pulsing started to grow over the chest, then the arms, then the legs, until finally, it covered the baby's head. It pulsed there, waxing and waning with a beautiful ethereal glow, until the spell was finished, and then slowly started to recede.

Hermione heard many girls squeal as one pink-white fist became visible as the glow receded. To her surprise, she saw herself surrounded by many other curious students: Girls craning their heads to look into the crib, and boys acting uninterested but still peaking through the corners of their eyes.

Hermione glanced back at the spell-baby, noticing that the head was covered with curls of white-blond hair. Her heart sank. This wasn't her baby… it was part-Malfoy, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to forget that from now on. Then, the receding glow uncovered, to Hermione's horror, stone grey eyes. It was a Malfoy!

She turned away as the rest of the glow receded, unable to see her baby, which she had hoped would look nothing like the unwilling father, become more of a Malfoy.

Instead, she watched as Draco saw the baby, his face unreadable as he looked at her thin wisps of platinum blond hair and large grey eyes. He held out a hand, as if to touch the tiny baby with his extended finger. The baby looked inquisitively at the appendage, and extended its own tightly coiled fist, touching Malfoy's finger ever so slightly. Malfoy shrank back, as if burned by the touch. He caught Hermione's eyes, flashing her one of his most unpleasant grimace, and walked out of the class room.

Hermione fumed, thinking that she had more of a right to be angry at the situation. After all, the baby was a complete copy of a Malfoy. But she checked her emotions quickly. The baby couldn't help how it looked. It had as much choice as she did in the matter. It made her feel a twinge of guilt towards the child.

"Congratulations," said Professor Weasley softly, before moving onto the next couple, "It's a girl."

A girl! She had hoped it would be a girl. It mad her look at the child with a newfound interest. And then she discovered something that the hadn't seen before. The curls were reminiscent of her own bushy hair. And the eyes, they had her shape! And her nose, that rounded prettily on the soft skin. And her rounded chin.

"Oh, how stupid I have been! I should have known. 'What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet!' What does it matter that you are a Malfoy, sweet child? You are still mine!"

The child giggled, a beautiful tinkling giggle, as she heard her mother talk.

"Oh, darling child! That's your name, isn't it? Rose? Beautiful baby Rose!"

Baby Rose turned her head towards her mother as if to agree, lifting her arms and gurgling. Hermione lifted her baby, her beautiful baby, and pressed her against her chest.

And Rose, as little as she was, found herself unconditionally loved.

"Oh isn't he just perfect, " Lavender cooed, leaning over the cradle to look at the infant, " a perfect baby boy! And Harry, he has-"

"My mothers eyes" Harry said softly and in shock.

And indeed he did have large green eyes that were looking straight at his parents as he giggled.

Harry had always been told that he had his mother's eyes, and he had been the only one he knew of for so many years, carrying on that legacy. But here was a baby, perfectly tiny, perfectly smiling, with perfect green eyes, staring inquisitively back at his father. His eyes. His mother's eyes.

The fact that the baby was a doll, unreal, faded away, leaving a simple, sweet, innocent baby who was just as helpless as Harry had been when he was put on the Dursley's doorstep so many years ago.

Harry was enchanted.

A/N:

Hi guys,

I am sorry for the slow updates. I have been focusing on my MCATs which I am giving soon! (eep!). But I am so grateful to all of you for being patient and sticking with this story! Thank you so much!

How did you guys like this update? Did you guys expect this?

I had to put in a little Shakespeare here. The quote is from Romeo and Juliet where Juliet asks herself whether a name really matters. I felt that it held true for what Hermione was feeling. For those who may not know, wherefore means why (which might help to make sense of the title..foreshadowing...dun...dun..dun.)

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and I will stop rambling now! Please don't be a silent reader!

~Icechanter