"Draco Malfoy!" She her scream much like a banshee's.

"Yes?" He faked his innocence.

"It's you! You're the one who put those thoughts in my head! You activated that stupid bond! Didn't you?" Her words left her mouth almost too quickly for him to grasp what she was saying.

"Technically speaking. . . You activated it. I just figured it out first." He smiled, thankful that he was holding Darren. He knew that if he wasn't, his most valued appendage would have been hexed off.

"I'm going to get you back. Just wait." Hermione glared, and finally turned towards the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. After the door slammed, and he heard the shower start, Draco looked down at his infant son.

"Your mother's going to kill me."

Draco was going crazy. Really, he honestly believed he'd die before he even had the chance to marry. She was torturing him at absolutely every inappropriate time she could possible find. Dinner with his parents? Check. Dinner with both of their parents? Check. During a speech he had to make at the ministry? Check. And now, as they were surrounded by their friends in the dinning hall. Another wash of erotic images flashed through his mind, almost making him audibly groan.

Dammit.

"Granger, can I talk to you over here for a second?" He asked, grabbing her elbow instead of waiting for an answer. Darren was in her arms, fast asleep and she brought a finger to her lips as in indication to whisper. "Please, stop."

"Stop what, Malfoy?"

"You know what. I can't take it any more. Just, I'm sorry and please, for the love of god, chill out with the mental porn." Hermione found his begging a little to funny for Draco's liking.

"I told you I'd get you back." She shrugged.

"Yea, well, I'd say that causing me to get a hard on in front of the entire Ministry was good enough." He said, grimacing at the memory.

"You don't think you deserved that?" She scoffed, allowing a smirk to creep back onto her features. Damn, she was getting good at that.

Draco allowed himself to groan as she sent the dream he had so casually slipped in to her head days before, back into his. "Okay, I'm sorry. Whatever. Just stop. "

"Mess with me again, Malfoy, and I won't be so nice." She turned her heel, and walked down the hallway with Darren in her arms, and Draco watching her retreat.

"That was nice?" His words filling the empty hallway before he shoved his hands into his pockets and re-entered the Great Hall.

He didn't see Hermione or Darren again until that evening, when all the couples and their children were called to the great hall for a meeting. Draco took his seat next to Hermione, taking Darren from her arms.

"Why are we here?" he asked, trying to get Darren to stop struggling against him.

"I don't know. Professor Dumbledore just told me to get everyone here."

Draco nodded, his attention being pulled to the older man approaching the podium.

"Good evening, students. I assume you are all doing well tonight." There was a shrill cry from a baby in the back of the hall, and a few hushed tones trying to calm him or her down.

"I've been given some information about the parenting program that you are currently participating in. The Ministry has informed me, that the babies will begin to age quickly, and by the end of the week, they will be at the age of thirteen months. You've dealt with pregnancy, and taking care of a newborn. Now, it's time to deal with the toddler age."

Hermione looked down to Darren, who only looked the four months old that he was. It was hard to imagine him being over a year old in under a week.

"By the time the program is over, your child, with the advanced aging, will be about two years old. If you have any questions, I'll try to answer them the best I can." Dumbledore finished, he hadn't even gotten the last word out before Hermione's hand shot into the air. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Sir, don't you find this a bit cruel?" She asked, causing multiple heads to turn her way.

"By what means?"

"Well, Sir, I've grown to love this child as if were actually my own son, as I'm sure most in the room love their own child. But allowing them to age, and develop their own personality will only cause the parents to become more attached to the child, and consequently making the separation at the end much harder." She said slowly, her hand still half raised.

Dumbledore nodded, his hands resting on either side of the podium. "This may not seem fair, Miss. Granger, but this is the regulations that the ministry have set. If there are any changes, I'll let each of you know."

Hermione frowned, finding his response to not actually answer her question. Sure, the idea of seeing Darren at an age where he could walk and interact with them was exciting, but knowing she'd soon have to say goodbye only lessened the excitement.

"It'll be fine." Draco whispered, sensing Hermione's every thought. Only this time, he didn't have to rely on that stupid connection she'd been torturing him with. Now, he just knew her. Hermione gave him a small smile in response before standing up from the bench and nodding towards the doors of the great hall.

"He's tired, and it's already past eight." She said, her eyes on Darren as Draco stood with him from the bench.

They walked in silence up to the common room, Hermione's eyes on the ground in front of her as her mind warped together all of the possibilities of what it would be like when they had to say goodbye to Darren.

"How are we just gonna let him disappear?" Hermione asked once they had laid Darren down and retreated to the common room couches in their head dormitory.

"We don't really have a choice." Draco replied, his eyes on the DA homework in his lap. It was obvious he wasn't trying to converse at the time being. Hermione huffed, rolling her eyes at him as she pulled her hair up into a high pony tail, fighting back the urge to yell at him for being an inconsiderate arse. They had to talk about this, and the fact that he was ignoring her and their situation infuriated her to no end.

"I'm going to take a shower." She grumbled, standing up from the couch and ignoring him as he looked up at her when she passed. He watched her retreat up the stairs and to their bathroom before bringing his attention back on the homework in front of him. Of course, Hermione was already done with all of hers and wouldn't even offer to do his for him; which annoyed him relentlessly. He should put that on the list they made back at the beginning of this whole mess. She should do his homework for him, or at least let him copy hers. It was only fair.

He heard the shower turn on upstairs and he quickly made work of the homework, finishing it up just as the shower turned off. He put away his books before quickly walking into their room, just as Hermione was walking out of the bathroom, a towel tight around her body. He didn't need that mental bond shit to know she was pissed at him. She shoved past him, completely ignoring that he was even in the same room as she quickly pulled clothes out of her dresser.

"Why the hell are you mad at me?" He asked, watching as she picked up her engagement ring off of the nightstand and shoved it back on her finger. She must have taken it off to shower, he concluded.

"I'm not mad at you."

He watched her move back into the bathroom with her clothes, the door closing and locking behind her. He pulled off his shoes and socks, quickly removing his shirt before walking over to the dresser and pulling out a pair of pants to wear to bed and changing into them. It wasn't even near the time they usually go to bed, but he knew she was going to head straight to bed after she came back out.

He assumed right, because as soon as Hermione came out of the bathroom dressed in her sleep clothes, she headed towards the bed and turned down the covers before climbing in. Draco turned off the lights and climbed in next to her, immediately rolling onto his side and propping his head up so that he could look down at her.

"You're mad."

"No. I'm just. . . Upset." She said, her hands folded over each other on her chest as she stared up into the darkness.

"About what?"

She let out a long sigh before answering, "You don't even seem the slightest bit bothered that in a few months time we will have to watch Darren disappear. How could you not care? I mean, I've always known that you're cold and harsh, but he's technically your son. You have to care." Her words were insanely rushed, and she still hadn't looked at him.

"I do care, Granger." He seethed, offended enough to use her last name. "But I also know that he's just a magic baby. We've know that we have to let him leave since the start of this stupid program."

Hermione finally turned her head to look at him, her brown eyes searching his. "He's not just a magic baby, Draco." She whispered, "he's ours." Draco didn't respond, he instead moved his arm around her waist and pulled her small frame against him. They laid in silence for what seemed like hours before Draco finally spoke.

"We could always get started on another one, if you want a kid that bad." He teased quietly, his lips against her ear as he tried to lighten the mood. In all honesty, he loved the child. Much more than he would ever let on. But in truth, Darren wasn't really theirs. He was a baby conceived by magic for a twisted program and a seriously twisted law. He wasn't a real child.

Hermione shoved away at him, shaking her head. "No." She said firmly, moving her legs out from between his, almost as if to make sure she was keeping them nice and closed.

Draco chuckled, kissing her temple quickly. "Can't blame a bloke for trying."

"When did he get in here?" Draco mumbled, rubbing his eyes after waking up and finding Darren sleeping between him and Hermione.

"He was crying last night, so I just brought him in here." Hermione whispered, her eyes still closed as she tried to let herself fall back to sleep. Unlike Draco, she had woken up in the middle of the night to feed a crying Darren and then had to rock him in order to get him back to sleep.

"We could have rolled over and crushed him or something."

Hermione groaned, finally opening her eyes. It was obvious he wasn't going to let her go back to sleep. Besides, from the smell of it, Darren needed a diaper change. "He was fine." She grumbled, sitting up and running a hand over her eyes.

"Whatever. He stinks." He complained, sneering down at the sleeping infant.

"Then change him, Draco. Geez." It was too early for him to already be getting on her nerves as much as he was.

Draco groaned as he slowly picked up the sleeping child and moved him into the crook of his arm. He stood from the bed and carried Darren into the nursery and laid him down on the changing table. He made quick work of the dirty diaper and cleaning him up. He brought the freshly changed baby back into the room, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to where Hermione was laying.

"You owe me. That one was more disgusting than normally."

Hermione chuckled, taking Darren and cradling him against her body. "Fine. I'll tell mom to make those desert treats you love for tonight." She said quickly, slyly letting him know that she had arranged for them to go to her parents tonight.

"Awesome." Draco said with a wide grin, before coming to terms with what she had just said. "Wait- what?"

"I forgot to tell you. My parents really want to see Darren again, and they sent me an owl yesterday asking if we could come for dinner tonight."

"I don't wanna." He whined childishly. "Come on 'Mione. Can't you just take him? I don't wanna go."

"You're going."

"Why?"

"Because, we're engaged. My parents want to see you too. You have to come." Honestly, Hermione didn't want to have to answer all the questions that were sure to be asked if Draco didn't come. Her tone made it evident that there really was no point in arguing with her. She had already obligated him to dinner with his soon to be in-laws.

The rest of the day went by a little to fast for Draco's liking. Before he knew it, he was standing on the front stoop of Mr. and Mrs. Granger's house, Darren seated in what Hermione had called an 'infant seat'. Some muggle contraption that had took him an hour to figure out how to work, and now he had been forced to be the one to carry it. A four month old was a lot heavier when in this thing, he concluded.

He followed Hermione inside, closing the front door behind them as Hermione ran into her mothers arms, giving her a tight squeeze before moving on to her father.

"Oh, Draco. So nice to see you again." Her mother beamed giving him a quick side hug before completely moving her attention to Darren. She took the seat from Draco's hands and sat it down on the couch. She worked the buckles quickly and pulled Darren into her arms, cooing at him.

"How did she do that so fast?" Draco asked quietly next to Hermione.

Hermione laughed, shaking her head as she placed her hand on his arm and squeezing gently. "It's not that hard."

"Yeah? Well I didn't see you helping me with it earlier."

"I was enjoying the show." She teased, before moving away from to join her mother and Darren.

"How are the sleepless nights going?" A voice came from behind Draco, causing him to turn around and come face to face with Hermione's father.

"Not so bad anymore, actually. He usually sleeps pretty well now." Draco answered, shaking the man's extended hand before shoving his own into his pockets.

"Boys, are you two ready to eat?" Susan asked, looking up from the child. Once Henry nodded, she and Hermione led the men into the dinning room where the table was already set.

They went through the regular pleasantries of asking how school and work was. Susan gushed over how beautiful the Christmas ball had been and Henry bounced Darren until he spit up all over his onsie and his grandfather's vest. Hermione jumped up from her seat and quickly took her son from her father so that she could clean him up. Thankfully, she had remembered to bring a diaper bag and had packed an extra outfit in case this happened. Her father had the knack of making babies spit up, and because of this, he was usually the butt of all of the jokes. Once both Henry and Darren were clean, they returned to the table and Susan took the child away, cooing over him.

"So is there a day care program at the school?" Susan asked.

"No, there is none." Hermione shook her head, looking over at Draco when he stretched and let his left arm fall onto the back of her chair. She liked that he knew to still sell the image of a decently happy couple to her parents. Sure they were happy some of the time, but they couldn't fight their nature. More than not, there was some sort of tension between them. And if they weren't fighting, that just meant there was one building up.

"So you two always have him?" Henry asked, his eyes wide as if surprised.

Draco's groaned answer of a 'yes' let them know just how exhausted the young parents were.

"Well, if it's alright, we'd be glad to keep him for a night or two. Give you two kids a break." Susan offered.

"Mom, I couldn't let you do that. He's exhausting." Hermione answered, only to feel Draco nudge her under the table. Of course he wanted to pawn their son off to her parents. But something about it just didn't seem right. She hadn't spent a night away from Darren since he was born, and he wasn't her parents responsibility.

"Really, it's not a big deal. We'd love to spend some extra time with him. Besides you two need a day or so to yourselves. It's not healthy for a young couple to never be alone."

"But, I didn't bring any extra clothes. Just one other outfit and a diaper bag. And I didn't bring any of the formula." Hermione bit her lip, obviously wrestling with the idea. A night off sounded like a blessing, but she felt wrong for letting her parents watch him.

"We'll take care of it, don't worry. We'll keep him tonight and tomorrow night, and then you can come get him the next morning." Henry spoke up, causing Draco to grin. He figured once Henry had spoke, that was the final word of it and it was official. They were off the parenting duty.

"Well, I suppose."

"Come on, Granger. Just say goodnight." Draco groaned, standing by the front door. Dinner had long since been over, but he couldn't get Hermione to part from their son.

"If you have any problems at all, just send me an express owl and I'll be here to get him." Hermione said for the fifth time, slowly handing over her son after telling him goodnight and that she'd see him in a few days. "And when you bathe him, make sure the water is luke warm. He doesn't like hot water. And his bottle has to be warm, or he won't drink it." She said, walking backwards towards Draco, who was still egging her on. "And sometimes he eats too fast and gets a little gas. If he starts fussing just rub his stomach and he'll be fine."

"Hermione, we've been through this with you. Just go. We promise he'll be fine." Susan said, kissing her daughter's cheek before sending her the few extra feet towards the door.

Draco took her hand and waved goodbye to the Granger's before finally pulling Hermione out of the house and down the drive way. He moved his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his body. To others it would look like a sweet gesture, but really he was holding her back so she couldn't change her mind and go back and get Darren.

"I don't know about this, Draco." She mumbled as they walked back into the alley, their usual apperating spot.

"He'll be fine, Granger. Come on, we get to go to bed tonight with out having to worry about dirty diapers and spit up." He said, grabbing her hand before apperating them back to their common room. They landed on their feet with a 'thud', Hermione instantly frowning at the fact that it was so quite in the dormitory. There was no sounds of a baby, and she honestly kind of missed it. She didn't like that they only had a few weeks left with Darren and she had already given up two nights with him. She wanted all the nights she could get.

"It's too quite." She complained, following him up the stairs and to their room. She was exhausted, and she could tell by the way he was dragging his feet on the stairs he was just as tired as she was. Once in the room she quickly grabbed a pair of shorts and one of his t-shirts before retreating into the bathroom to change, and brush her teeth and hair. When she returned to the room, Draco was already undressed and in bed; and if she didn't know any better she would have thought he was sound asleep. But, Draco snores when he's asleep. Sure, it's not a loud bear snore. It's light, and sometimes if you're not paying attention you can easily ignore it.

She crawled into the bed next to him, instantly comforted when he pulled her to him, his lips on the top of her head. "You were a little to eager to get rid of Darren tonight." She complained. Draco chuckled, pulling her tighter against him and intertwining their legs together.

"I haven't gotten you to myself since. . well, ever. You're my fiance. I should have have plenty nights alone with you by now." He said, his hand resting on the curve of her side under her shirt, his thumb tracing a single rib bone slowly.

"You have me alone every night. Darren's always in the other room. Well, except last night." She laughed, her own hand mimicking his on his back.

"You know what I mean." Draco whispered, his voice husker than before as he opened the bond between them and sent her images of just exactly what he meant.

Hermione's cheeks turned a bright red, and she was thankful it was dark in the room and he couldn't tell. But judging by his low chuckle, she assumed he knew. "No, Draco." She said, shaking her head firmly as his lips found her neck and he rolled his body over hers.

"Come on." He sighed, his hands moving to the hem of her, well, his t-shirt and lifting it slowly. Hermione sighed, arching her back and against her better judgment, allowed him to lift the shirt over her head. His body pressed more firmly into hers and the feeling of skin against skin made her sigh contently, her lips finding his in a deep kiss. His hands ran over her sides and midsection slowly, tracing every outline and curve before moving over her chest. To Hermione it seemed as if he was trying to memorize her body; she'd never let any man get this far with her and now she was wondering why. The way he touched her made her feel more alive than she ever had, almost delusional enough to give into his touch and allow him to make love to her right then and there. But, she had been saving herself for her wedding night. Although, it was never about religion or her family views, she just had never wanted to sleep with anyone but her husband. And although it was guaranteed that Draco would be her husband, he wasn't yet.

"Draco." His name came out of her lips in a breathy sigh, if she didn't know any better she would have sworn it was a moan. And she was positive that would have been too much for his ego, and she simply could not have that.

"Yeah?" He asked, his lips at her collar bone and still descending.

"Stop."

"What? Stop. Come on, Hermione. Don't tell me to stop, not now." He looked up at her, moving his body back up so that he could look her directly in the eyes.

"This is great, really. But I don't want this to get carried away. Not until we've said 'I do'." She said, her hand tracing his cheek and trying her best to ignore the pitiful look he was giving her. He kissed her once more, distracting her so he could throw her shirt off of the bed and across of the room. If she wasn't going to let him go any farther, she damn well wasn't putting that shirt back on. He at least wanted a view to wake up to tomorrow.

"Alright. Goodnight, 'Mione." He whispered once more, letting his lips ghost over hers.

"Goodnight." She said, sighing as he rolled off of her and pulled her back to him so that she could get comfortable for bed.

They lay in silence for a few minutes, both regaining their composure. Hermione kept the sheet wrapped around her bare upper-body, to Draco's dismay. He was the first to speak, his hand in hair hair as he twirled strands of curls around his finger idly.

"Let's go to dinner tomorrow." He said, looking down at her.

"You mean, out out? Like a date?" She laughed, six months ago if someone said Draco was going to ask her out on a date, she would have laughed in their faces.

"Well, we haven't gone out since we announced the engagement. And he don't have to hide anymore. And, we don't have Darren. It's perfect." Draco said.

Hermione grinned, nodding her head against her chest and she wrapped her arm around his torso. "Alright." She agreed.

"Alright. Goodnight." He said, his words muffled by a yawn.

"Goodnight, Draco." She whispered, allowing the words 'I love you' to exchange between them in their bond.

AN:

So. Opps. I've had this chapter half written on my lap top for almost a year. I just saw it tonight when I was deleting some old files. I can't believe I abandoned all of you like that. I am so sorry! I can't promise when the next update will be! But I can guarantee it won't be a year again! lol

The next chapter involves the date and things might get a bit more 'intense', who knows. I can honestly say I have no planned plot outline with this story. I just write, and where ever it ends up, it ends up. I have no idea when I'm ending the story or how. I'm just writing.

Again, I'm so sorry it took me so long to post this. I feel like a fool. But I hope this chapter suffices! I kinda like it. They're starting to understand each other more, and Draco's able to get Hermione more and more out of her comfort zone and I'm loving writing their opposite personalities! Anyways, Review please! And those of you who reviewed recently, or ever the past few months! I have been seeing all of the reviews, and this story is not abandoned! I promise! I'm back!

Love, Lindsey.

Please review and favorite! :)