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The morning of November the 7th dawned dark, glum and early. Outside the heavens had opened and rain lashed down, bullying the ground with fat water droplets. Large puddles were scattered all over. A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, quickly followed by a rumble of thunder. Hermione, who had been watching the storm's progression, flinched at the sound and moved away from the window she'd been looking through.

"Can't you sleep?" A voice slurred from behind her. Turning round Hermione came face to face with Draco, who was lying, still half asleep, in bed with his attention fixed solely on her.

"No," came Hermione's quiet reply, as she wrapped herself up in a dressing gown, and sitting down on the edge of their bed. "I've been up since gone four."

"You should've woken me up," Draco answered, sitting up and shuffling over until Hermione's back was resting against his chest. He pressed a chaste kiss to her neck, before stretching his lips into a small grin. "I could've kept you company."

Hermione turned her head to the side, and slowly stared into Draco's grey eyes. "You needed to rest," she replied, her voice calm and emotionless. "And besides, I wanted to be alone; it gave me time to think."

"Time to think about what?" Draco asked, pulling back slightly.

"Time to think about what would happen if – if the worst occurs," Hermione explained, looking anywhere but at Draco's face. "I mean… what if Zabini and I can't get a divorce?" A few tears slid down her cheeks. "After all, we were married in a traditional Wizard's wedding, which practically screams 'bound for life'."

Hermione felt Draco's grip tighten, as he stiffened behind her. "I guess I'll have to kill him, then." His voice was calm and cool, but Hermione could recognise the underlying threat of promise.

She immediately stiffened.

"You will not be killing anyone, Draco!" Hermione sent her fiancé a pure look of outrage, and pulled herself out of his arms. "Do you want our child to grow up without a father?"

"Of course I don't," Draco snapped back, "which is why I won't be the one to kill him." He sent Hermione a pointed look. "I do have… connections, you know. I wasn't Lucius Malfoy's son for nothing."

"It won't stop you from being the number one suspect though, will it?" Hermione argued, incredulous at how ridiculous Draco was being. Honestly, murder? Sure she hated Blaise Zabini, but to have him dead was going to the extreme. Then again, this was Draco. "Look, at this moment in time, no one will be killing anyone. In fact, no one will be killing anyone, period. We're all adults now, and we'll (eventually) be able to sort something out."

With a reluctant sigh, Draco began to nod his head. "Alright, alright," he acquiesced, "I won't be killing anyone, no matter how much I want to. Besides, as per usual, you're right. I probably would be the first in line for questioning if anything happened to Zabini."

Hermione, a lot calmer now, was still looking at Draco with sick fascination. "What even possessed you to think of something like that, though?" She gasped, brows furrowed.

Draco didn't answer, and the couple to fall into an awkward silence; both were lost in their thoughts about the day which lay ahead. Though neither would admit it – for the sake of the other – both were silently scared of what the outcome could possibly be. In a couple of hours they would either be ripped apart from one another, or rekindling their passionate relationship.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Draco broke the silence by slipping out of bed, and heading into their en-suite bathroom. "I'll be out soon," He said shortly, before closing the door behind him.

Seconds later, Hermione heard the shower running.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Draco apologised as he and Hermione entered the Ministry of Magic two hours later, and headed for the Wand Inspection queue. "Even though this isn't much of an excuse, I guess the thought of losing you overcame me, and I felt that bumping Blaise off would be the only way to have you again."

Though Hermione's heart softened slightly at Draco's apology and (poor) explanation, she didn't allow him to know that. After all, excuse or no excuse, there had been no need for it, whatsoever – even if she did (silently) wish the same thing. "Apology accepted," Hermione returned, not giving him a second glance. "Let's hope we never have to hear you say something like that again."

"I can't make any promises though, mind," Draco said, hoping that his joking nature would make Hermione smile slightly. "But, alas, I shall try. If my lady doth wish it, then I shall oblige." He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, but Hermione didn't snuggle into his embrace like normal. With a sigh, Draco realised how annoyed and scared his fiancé truly was. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, I don't," She replied, giving out a tight smile so to lessen the bite within her words. "I just want to get today over and done with, and then never talk about it again… unless the worst happens." She shrugged Draco's arm off of her back, but then slipped her hand loosely through his.

They finally reached the Wand Inspection desk, and handed their wands over to the guards. Once everything was in order ("As if anything would be wrong with my wand," Draco had boasted crassly much to Hermione's embarrassment), they made their way through into the main lobby, and then left for the lifts.

All around, whispers flew.

"Are we meeting everyone else down there?" Draco murmured, as the elevator door closed on the nosey faces, and the machine began to make its way down to the ninth floor.

Hermione, fear clogging up her throat, didn't dare speak; the only reply she gave Draco was a quick nod of the head. As the lift drew nearer, Draco noted how Hermione's grip had become tighter. Though her facial expression didn't show how scared she was, her eyes and body posture did. In a matter of hours, Hermione would either walk out of here smiling or in tears.

Draco couldn't help but hope it would be the former. If he were to lose Hermione today then his entire world – his entire life – would cease to exist. With a small bump, the elevator arrived at its designated level, and the gates slid open.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione stepped out of the elevator with her fiancé close behind. "We're here, Draco," He heard her say, her voice firm and collected. "Come on. Let's get this over and done with."

"What's she doing here?" Hermione declared, as soon as she laid eyes on their judge. "I was told that it would be a Mr. Chester Fairson and certainly not a Dolores Jane Umbridge, at all." Her eyes caught that of Percy Weasley's, who was to be Scribe for the Hearing, demanding an answer.

In the background Hermione could hear Blaise chuckling with amusement, and the pregnant witch found herself scowling.

"Well, the thing is, Mrs – er – Granger," Percy stammered, trying to cover up his mistake. "Mr Fairson, unfortunately, was taken quite ill last night, and Miss Umbridge here, kind woman that she is, offered to take Mr Fairson's role instead."

In the background, Hermione heard Draco, Harry and Ron snort.

"But why weren't we informed of this change?" Hermione demanded to know, feeling all her anger rise up within her. "You had plenty of time to let us know, and yet you didn't!"

"Mrs Zabini," Umbridge simpered from her seat. "I apologise, on behalf of this court and the Ministry, for not owling you with this rather insignificant change." Her toad-like smile broadened. "However, in future cases, I will personally make sure that you are informed." Hermione silently fumed at her patronizing tone. "Is that okay?"

"Yes, Your Honour," Hermione gritted out, her knuckles growing white as she clenched her hands together. "That would be greatly appreciated."

The rest of the room were silent, keen to watch how the two women would act. It was obvious that there was a bitter history between the pair.

"Good," Umbridge stated out of the silence. "That's… good." A tense silence had fallen over the room, and many of the occupants – okay, all of the occupants – were staring between the Ministry Official and former Gryffindor. The former Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor quickly cleared her throat. "Excuse me," She crowed causing all the attention to fall back to her. "But if you'd be so kind, can we begin?"

"Certainly, Miss Umbridge," Draco drawled before Hermione could snap at the Judge again. He caught his fiancé's eye, a silent warning to remind Hermione of whom they were dealing with. He hated this as much as Hermione did, but knew better than cause unnecessary trouble.

Well, only where the Ministry was concerned anyway.

With a sharp nod from Umbridge, a small wizard rose up in the silent court. He looked around, acknowledging the judge and both sides, before opening his mouth to speak. "Witches and Wizards of the jury, today we are here to decide whether the allegations Mrs Hermione Zab – I mean, Miss Hermione Granger has accused Mr. Blaise Zabini of performing are true or not." He paused for breath, and then continued. "Today we will hear stories from both sides, whilst under the influence of Veritaserum, as well as those who were – for lack of a better word – witnesses to the event." Another pause followed, allowing everyone in the room to digest the words which had been spoken. "All of the above," the Wizard continued after a few seconds, "has been agreed by both the opposition and proposition."

Finally, he fell silent and sat down again. For Hermione, Draco, Blaise and everyone else within the room, this was a sign that the questioning was about to start.

"Now," Dolores Umbridge cried, after a few seconds of scanning the room. "If you'd be so kind, would Mr. Blaise Zabini take to the stand?"

"The story's quite simple really," Blaise started after he'd taken a few drops of Veritaserum, and had been asked to reiterate his side of the story. "For the past year or so, Hermione and I had been having an affair." Gasps of outrage and surprise echoed through the room, and Hermione's eyes bugged at the blatant lie. Besides her, Draco stiffened. "The day she found out she was pregnant – and, ever so unfortunately, with Draco Malfoy's child – she immediately came to me, begging for my help." He paused and turned his head to where Hermione sat, shaking with fury. For a brief second his lips twitched upwards in what many took as a loving smile; for Hermione though, it was a small flicker of triumph.

"He's lying," Ginny hissed quietly to her husband, who looked ready to kill Zabini, and Colette. "Somehow, he's been able to overrule the influence the Veritaserum should have on him."

"But how?" Colette whispered, sending her boyfriend's sister a worried look. "As far as I know, there isn't a cure for those put under the influence of Veritaserum."

"We have to stop this Hearing," Ginny said, as Blaise continued with his statement. "Something has happened to ensure that Blaise wins."

"We can't though," Colette replied, her face horror-struck. "We've got no proof. The jury – and the Ministry for that matter – would just think we're doing it to stall Hermione's testimony." She closed her eyes, and took in a deep breath. "I'm sorry Gin, but we're going to have to sit this one through."

"It was on Hermione's request that I cast the Abortion Curse on her," Blaise stated, his voice loud and clear. "She said – and I quote – that 'she didn't want a Malfoy's spawn' and, as this kid wouldn't have been mine, I happily obliged." Hermione felt physically sick at how easily Blaise lied, and twisted the court around his little finger. She dared a glance at Draco, who looked livid. "It wasn't until the pain took affect that she realised how dangerous the curse was. Immediately she begged me to stop it, but I refused; she couldn't keep changing her mind. That was when she fled back to Malfoy and, by the looks of it, concocted up these lies to make it seem like I was the bad guy in all of this."

The room was deathly silent; people were either staring at Hermione or Blaise. To say that everyone was shocked would've been an understatement.

"That will be all, Mr Zabini," Umbridge simpered. "You may return to your seat." As Blaise did this, she focused her attention on Hermione. "Mrs Zabini, if you could be so kind, would you please come to the stand?"

Slowly, Hermione stood up and made her way over to where Blaise had been standing a few minutes beforehand. With shaking hands she took the second vial of Veritaserum and downed it in one, before turning to face Umbridge and the jury.

"I do take it that you're Mrs Hermione Jane Zabini, then?" Umbridge asked, as she folded her hands together, and leant over the table slightly.

"By accordance to this marriage, I am Mrs Hermione Jean Zabini," Hermione said, the potion forcing her to answer truthfully. "However, as far as I'm concerned, I'm still Hermione Jean Granger, and fiancé of Draco Malfoy." She paused and sent a pointed look at Blaise. "I am also pregnant with Draco's child, and happily so."

Whispers flew around at this admission, and many of those in the jury felt torn. Who were they to believe?

"Erase everything after 'Zabini', Mr Weasley," Umbridge ordered, sliding her gaze to Percy who was busy scribbling everything down. Hermione glared at the elder woman. "Everything after that is irrelevant information."

Gasps of outrage were heard from Draco, who looked ready to kill their former Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. She could just see Harry and Ron holding him back, but they looked just as angry.

"Excuse me, Miss Umbridge," Hermione gritted out politely, causing the toad to look in her direction again. "But I feel that this piece of information is relevant to the case because it goes to show that –"

"Mrs Zabini," Umbridge snapped, cutting the younger witch in mid-sentence. "Please be quiet. I have asked for the last part of your comment to be removed from the records, and I expect you to respect that decision. In this court, what I say goes and no one can change or challenge that matter." She watched in silent satisfaction as Hermione grudgingly agreed with her. "Now, like Mr Zabini has so kindly done for us, would you tell us your side of events?" The grin she gave Hermione was patronising to say the least. "After all, you deserve a chance too."

And so Hermione did, starting from the minute she had woken up on the 13th of October. "I must've arrived back at mine and Draco's home around half past four," Hermione said, as her day came to an end. "I was just sliding my keys into the lock when a shadow fell behind me." She paused and swallowed the lump that had built up in her throat. "Naturally, I had thought it was Draco. However, upon turning round I saw that it wasn't my fiancé at all; in fact, it was Zabini. Blaise then raised his wand at me, stunned me and I then came around four days later to find that I was… married to him."

"So you have no recollection of what happened between the time you were supposedly stunned by Mr. Zabini, and the time you woke up in his bed?" Hermione shook her head in answer to Umbridge's question. "Hmm… very interesting," She flicked through a few notes on her desk, before speaking again. "How can we be sure that you're not lying? For all we know, Mrs Zabini, you could've gone and modified your memory to make it seem that this is the story of events."

Hermione scoffed. "Excuse me?" She cried, her brown eyes blazing. "What on earth makes you say that?"

"Sudden memory loss is normally a side affect from the Obliviation Spell," Umbridge explained to Hermione and the people around her. "And the fact that you were able to marry Mr. Zabini here – when the spell used in a Wizarding Ceremony detects if you're forced or not – shows that you must have been willing."

Murmurs of agreement flew through the room and Hermione stood in the centre of it all, angry and upset with how easily Umbridge – and Blaise, for that matter – had manipulated them. The only group of people who hadn't fallen for Zabini's lies, were those who'd been by her side since day one.

"I was not willing!" Hermione cried, outrage pulsing through her veins. "Though I may not have definite proof, I can tell you now that Zabini had me under the Imperius Curse!"

"Like you said, Miss Granger," Umbridge's grin grew bigger. "You have no proof, so we cannot look into it." She glanced quickly at a list of names. "Now, would you please step down to allow Mrs Eugenie Zabini a chance to speak?"

The past four hours had been a gruelling process, where everyone from both sides had been questioned over and over again. Hermione, who had to keep leaving the room due to the return of her morning sickness, was feeling exhausted and wanted nothing more than to get this over and done with. The sooner she could leave court and the Ministry, the sooner she could get home and put her feet up.

Currently, the man who had opened up the Hearing was making his closing his speech before Umbridge and the jury went out to make their final decision. The decision, unfortunately, could take up to another two hours – but at least it meant she could leave this God forsaken place for a little while.

"… remember to make your decision wisely," the man said, sending pointed looks at Umbridge and the Jury. "Make sure that favouritism and personal opinion are unable to fall into the mix; look at the facts and the notes been made." He looked around the court once more. "You may go," he said before sitting down again.

Slowly the jury and Umbridge rose from their seats, and made their way through a small door at the other end of the courtroom. Hermione watched them go, bile rising in her throat.

"Please make the right decision," she whispered, rising from her seat and grasping Draco's hand. "Please may they get this marriage annulled."

Author's Note: Tense chapter, eh? I hope it was believable. Yet again, I've left it on another cliffhanger – sorry about that! Well, not really, just gotta say that to appease you readers! Also, really sorry for the belated update (only by two days mind); I'm back at Uni now and things are massively hectic! I should warn you that updates may become a bit further apart from here on in (though not by much), as Uni is my priority (sorry lovelies) and will come first.

Please let me know what you thought with a review! Thank you,

VickytoriaGreengrass