The Start of Our Lives
Summary: After a drunken one night stand, bushy-haired bookworm Hermione Granger finds out that she is pregnant to none other than Master of Apathy Draco Malfoy. They begin their lives as teenage parents and learn to live together and maybe even eventually fall in love? Read & Review.
A/N: Um so yeah. Wow. I haven't updated for a loooong time. I HAVE AN EXCUSE!
So I recently went to EUROPE! with my class. Before I went I had exams. So I had to study. Ok so then I went to Europe. And then I got suspended from school for doing something naughty in Rome. Hehe. So I was in bigggg trouble off Mum and Dad when I got home. So yeah that's my excuse for not updating quicker. OH and I was sick and I cbf doing anything other than sleeping. Yepp. Okay. ONWARDS :)
Chapter Ten: Wide Lovely Eyes
Hermione waited until ten in the morning to come out into the kitchen. She didn't get a lot of sleep and she knew Draco hadn't either.
Draco stood by the counter, a goblet full of pumpkin juice held to his lips, feeling as though the perfect world he had tried to build for himself since he was a child was collapsing around him. He heard footsteps and shut his eyes, hoping it wasn't Hermione. When he opened them, he saw the girl standing at the open fridge. He sighed. Hermione turned around and set out all the ingredients she had retrieved onto the counter.
Draco studied Hermione's body. She was wearing a lovely yellow sundress that almost touched the floor and a blue cardigan over the top. He had never seen Hermione in pastels before. She must have been the only girl he knew who looked good in yellow.
Hermione turned the fry pan on and started making eggs. Draco watched her as she cracked the eggs delicately whilst the sunlight danced through the windows, reflecting off the gold in Hermione's hair. Draco wished he could have taken a photo of the moment, to capture her innocence. It wouldn't matter though. Her innocence had been stripped away from her, far too soon.
"Do you want something to drink?" Hermione enquired politely as she flipped the eggs. Draco hesitated.
"No thanks, I've already had some juice."
He continued watching Hermione make the eggs with perfect synchronisation. Her cooking skills were getting progressively better, but Draco still wouldn't accept a prepared meal from her. "Doesn't the smell bother you?"
Hermione looked up. "Smell?"
"Of the eggs. I heard that pregnant women can't stand to be anywhere near eggs."
Hermione shrugged. "Sure, I feel a little nauseous but it passes. Besides, I'm hungry and I love eggs."
She got out a plate and slid the eggs off the frying pan onto it. She strolled over to the fridge, grabbed the tomato sauce and squirted some of the stuff onto the white part of the egg. Draco grimaced. Hermione walked over to the table and began eating ravenously, as though she hadn't touched food for days.
"Draco?" She eventually said through a mouthful of egg. "Would it be alright if we go over to Hogmeade today? I wanted to get some shopping done."
Draco put his empty goblet in the sink and rinsed it out. "I suppose so. What would you like to buy?"
"We need to start getting some things for the baby and I desperately need some new clothes. Everything is getting so uncomfortable."
Draco didn't answer, but stood completely still as he gazed out of the window, wistfully staring at the Quidditch pitch. He wanted to get back onto his sleek Nimbus 2001 and ride around in the clear gray morning sky, feeling the wind whip through his hair, cherish the feel of soft snowflakes falling onto his face. He really couldn't be bothered to go into Hogsmeade with Hermione, wandering around listlessly, making false statements as he agreed with Hermione to buy whatever she wanted for the baby.
"We should get going. I want to be home by the afternoon."
Draco nodded silently, grabbed his coat and followed her out of the portrait-hole.
"Have a nice day," one of the ladies in the portrait guarding their room called out. Draco rolled her eyes as both of them spluttered and turned red with laughter.
Hermione sneaked a glance up at Draco. He was walking with his hands stuffed in his pockets, jaw set and eyes staring straight ahead. She bit her lip nervously. He had been acting so withdrawn ever since they had found out the sex of the baby. She figured that he was disappointed that the baby wasn't a boy but how long could he stay upset for? She was worried that he wouldn't love the baby anymore but told herself that Draco had changed because of the baby and for the baby. He was angry at his father, maybe even angry at himself. But in the back of Hermione's mind was a nagging little thought- maybe he didn't want anything to do with her and the baby anymore.
"Draco?" She asked cautiously.
"What?" He snapped, startling her. She anxiously grabbed a lock of hair and curled it around her index finger which released some of her nerves.
"Uh, don't worry," she hesitated in answering, worried that he was going to snap at her again.
This was going to be a long day.
xox
The ride to Hogsmeade was quite brisk albeit uncomfortable. The carriages were warm but smelt funny and there were many bumps on the road, not to mention the fact that Draco was staring out of the window and didn't answer Hermione when she asked what was wrong.
She tapped her fingers together and wished she could hear what he was thinking. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. Draco's eyes were glazed and his fists were clenched together. That was definitely not a good sign.
When the carriages came to a stop, Draco banged open the door and started walking towards the village of Hogsmeade, not even helping Hermione get down. She glared at his retreating back, swung her bag over her shoulder and set off after him.
"Draco!" She called out, getting annoyed. He heard her, she knew it, but yet he kept on walking, fiercely stuffing his hands in his pocket. Hermione rolled her eyes and muttered, "Childish bastard!" under her breath.
She managed to catch up to him and got a firm hold of his arm. He tried to yank it away but she held on strong.
"Get off," he murmured.
"Not bloody likely, Draco. Not until you tell me what's wrong!"
"Nothing's wrong for the last goddamn time!" He glowered at Hermione, expecting her to back down. She didn't. She was made of stronger stuff. She set her mouth in a hard line and fixed him with a defiant stare. Draco rolled his eyes.
"Fine, you win, Granger."
"Oh, so now you're back to calling me Granger now, are you?"
"Just fucking leave me alone, Hermione!"
He ripped his arm away from Hermione and trudged away in the snow. Tears immediately watered in Hermione's chocolate brown eyes. She bit her lip and shook her head. What the hell had she done wrong?
Silently, she headed toward the Three Broomsticks. She desperately needed a drink. And a comforting shoulder. Sure enough, as soon as she stepped inside the lovely, toasty inn she found three of her friends sitting in a booth at the back, sipping on Butterbeers and laughing loudly. She hesitated. Would they still want her to sit with them even though she was living with their number one rival? Nah, she thought. We're best friends.
"Hey, guys!" She called out as she made her way through the crowded room, weaving through tables. They didn't even glance her way until she was standing over them.
"Hey," she smiled down at them. Harry looked up and his face broke out into a smile when he saw his best girl friend.
"Oh, hey Herm! Sit down." He moved over so Hermione could have some room.
"Thanks." She leant back in her seat and closed her eyes as the pink flush in her cheeks slowly subsided from the cold outside.
"How are you feeling?" He asked her in a concerned tone.
"I'm okay. Just a little ticked off, that's all." She opened her eyes again and turned to look at Harry, just in time to see him crinkle his brow and just in time to stop herself from thinking that she thought he looked cute.
"At who?"
"At who else? Malfoy!" Ron piped up across the table. Seamus Finnigan nodded knowingly.
"Is it Malfoy? What did he do to you?"
"He-" Hermione broke off and gazed around the room as though she was trying to look for someone but really she was trying to stop the tears threatening to make an appearance. "He just said some heated words, it was really nothing."
"It's obviously something. Look Hermione, you're crying." Ron pointed out. Hermione shook her head and grabbed a lock of her hair and twisted it around her index finger.
"I'm not!" She choked out. Harry sighed. He enveloped his arms around her tightly. Feeling the warmth of her friend, Hermione couldn't help but burst out into tears. Seamus looked bewildered and avoided looking anywhere but at her. Ron sat on the edge of his seat, stony faced, muttering under his breath, "I'm gonna kill that good-for-nothing bastard!"
"It's okay. It's okay, Hermione." Harry put a soothing hand on her face and stroked her cheek slowly with his thumb. This seemed to calm Hermione down a bit because she wiped the tears from her eyes and gave a watery smile and a shaky laugh.
"Sorry," she said sheepishly. Harry shook his head and smiled.
"There's nothing to be sorry about. You have every right to be upset."
"Where is he, Hermione?" Ron growled out. "Tell me where he is and I'll kill him for you!"
Hermione shook her head. "I don't know where he went, but don't worry about doing that. Really, you guys. Thank you, but this is just something I need to deal with on my own. Just..." She paused and glanced around at all three of the boys. "Can I ask you guys a favour?"
"I said that I'll do you a favour by killing him but you won't let me!" Ron pouted and crossed his arms. "So, no."
"Fine," Hermione smirked at him and mimicked his position. "Now you'll never know."
"Don't listen to the little ginger bugger," Seamus stated in his thick Irish accent. "He's just being a big puss."
Harry snorted with laughter. Hermione tried to keep a straight face as Ron rolled his eyes at Seamus' comment. "Um, okay Seamus..." Harry reached over and patted him on the back. Seamus looked puzzled but didn't say anything.
"Okay, now. Tell us, Hermione."
Hermione forced herself to stare into Harry's deep emerald eyes and for a moment found herself lost swimming in her own thoughts.
"Hermione?"
"Huh?"
"You wanted to tell us something."
"Oh, yeah, right. Erm, okay. Here's the deal. Would it be alright if I slept back in Gryffindor Tower for just a couple of nights? I don't think Draco wants me anywhere near him at the moment. I don't want to have to explain this to McGonagall and Dumbledore because for one thing, McGonagall said that this housing arrangement with him wouldn't work and I want to prove her wrong. And also, I don't want anyone to know about it either."
"But it's okay for Gryffindor to know-"
"No, it's not. Look, you guys wouldn't understand. I don't want to explain anything. And, to be honest, I'm quite happy not to share a room with Lavender and Parvati again ever. They would harass me about what's going on with Draco and I just don't want to deal with them. So... would it be be okay if I slept in your dorm?"
Harry, Ron and Seamus gaped at her.
"Please!" Hermione begged. "It's only for a night or two! Just so Draco can cool off."
"Erm, I don't know about that Hermione," Harry said nervously, looking around to see if anyone was eavesdropping. "If McGonagall finds out she'll kill us!"
"But she won't if no one says a word!" Hermione said earnestly. "I'm sure Dean and Neville will be okay with it! I'll just sleep on the floor in Harry's invisibility cloak-"
"There's no way I'm letting you sleep on the floor, Hermione," Ron butted in. "You'll sleep in my bed and I'll sleep on the floor."
Hermione's face lit up. "So, I can?"
The boys exchanged glances and Hermione held her breath in anticipation. Finally, Harry spoke up. "We suppose so. But no one must know about it!"
"Yay! Thank you guys so much!" Hermione grabbed Harry and hugged him around the neck. He patted her back and wondered to himself if it was really such a good idea.
xox
"Okay, guys," Harry clapped his hands together. Ron, Seamus, Dean and Neville were all standing in a line in the centre of their dorm. Hermione hovered anxiously by the door, fighting with herself over whether this was the worst idea she had ever had. "Hermione will be staying with us for a couple of nights so we have to make sure that no one sees her coming in and out of the common room. If word gets out to McGonagall that she's staying here, we'll all get into trouble in a blink of an eye. Can we all promise to keep quiet about this?
The four other boys nodded and smiled at Hermione in an encouraging way.
"Okay, well..." Harry nodded at Neville. "Show her around."
Neville stepped forward and smiled shyly. "Hi, I'm Neville Longbottom."
Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, I know that, Neville."
He blushed profusely and mumbled, "This is my bed, which is where I sleep. I keep my pet toad Trevor in a drawer now so that he doesn't get away." He gestured vaguely to his bedside table. Seamus and Ron sniggered at the baffled look on Hermione's face, which she politely masked when Neville glanced at her.
"Seamus Finnigan sleeps here. He's the only one who keeps his curtain shut, even when it's really hot. Sometimes in the middle of the night I can hear him making noises but I'm too scared to go and check to see if he's alright..."
Dean, Ron and Harry burst out into fitfuls of uncontrolled laughter as Seamus furiously mouthed at Neville, "Shut up!" Hermione put a palm over her mouth so Seamus wouldn't see her smile. ((A/N: We can all guess what he's doing in there if ya know what I mean *wink wink*))
Neville stepped over to the next bed. "This is Harry Potter's bed," Neville stated in a voice dripping with admiration. "He's pretty famous. He stopped You-Know-Who from killing him when he was just a baby. Then he stopped him from taking over the school and becoming immortal. Then-"
Hermione turned to the rest of the boys. "Why is he doing this?"
Ron shrugged. "Erm, I think he's forgotten who you are, Hermione." The others doubled up in laughter as Neville continued acting as if he and Hermione had never met.
"And Ron Weasley sleeps in here. Ron scares me sometimes. He snores really loudly and it startles me. I get angry because usually I'm having a dream about eating Professor Snape's head with Trevor but I never say anything because I'm scared he will hit me."
Now it was Hermione's turn to crack up. Rons ears turned red. "Neville, stop acting like a nutcase and get on with it!"
"And this is Dean Thomas's bed. Dean is a nice person but I don't really understand him. He has a poster up of a person with a black and white ball and I don't understand what that person is doing. Dean says it's called sock-her. That's pretty mean. I don't know why you would want to follow a sport where men sock women."
All five of the dorm's occupants were now literally on the floor. Ron and Seamus were laughing so hard they could barely breathe. Dean had tears streaming down his face and Harry was on all fours, slapping the floor. Even Hermione could hardly control herself.
They managed to calm down enough for Ron to tell Hermione that he had taken the liberty of sending an owl to Draco telling him that she would not be returning to their 'house' for a couple of nights. Dean had forged Hermione's handwriting and they had also managed to get hold of a house-elf and asked it to pack up a few clothes and some girl necessities from Hermione's room and to send it up to the common room. Hermione smiled cheerfully and hugged Ron.
"You guys are the best! How could I ever thank you enough?"
"Don't worry about thanking us Hermione," Ron snickered and bowed low. "Just consider us as your knights in shining armour."
Hermione smiled and kissed Ron on the top of his head. "Thanks, you guys. I'm gonna put on my pajamas. Can you tell me where they are?"
Ron pointed at the foot of his bed where all of Hermione's stuff was. She thanked him and retreated into the bathroom.
The boys changed into their pajamas as well and hopped into bed. Neville fell asleep immediately. With a sneaking glance at the other three, Seamus climbed into his bed and drew the curtains around him. Ron set up a pillow and a blanket on the floor for himself and waited for Hermione to come out of the bathroom. When she did, he gasped.
She was wearing a white silk nightie that came just above her knees and a short red silk robe. She had taken her hair out of its bun so that her brown locks cascaded down her back and over her shoulders. Man, was she beautiful! She dumped her clothes in the hamper and bent down to sit on the floor with him.
"Thanks for helping me out with this, Ron," she whispered so as not to disturb the other boys. "I couldn't spend a night with Draco, not in the mood that he's in."
Ron waved a hand around like it was nothing. "Hermione, you're my best friend. And best friends help each other out."
"Yeah, I know."
"Hey, could you two stop yapping so loudly?" Seamus piped out from behind his curtain. "I'm busy- I mean, I'm trying to sleep."
Ron and Hermione covered their mouths so he wouldn't hear them giggle. "Come on, let's go into the bathroom," Ron suggested.
Ron helped Hermione up and they both stepped into the boy's bathroom. Ron closed the door behind him and cast a Silencing Charm so no one would hear them talk. He watched Hermione perch herself on the edge of the bathtub and cross her slim legs.
Ron sat across from her on one of the sinks. "So. Would you like to tell me what's going on between you and Malfoy? You know you can tell me, Hermione. I'm your best friend and you can trust me with whatever."
"I know that, Ron," she said softly. "There's really nothing going on, though. I think I'm just overreacting to it."
"Just tell me, Hermione."
"Okay. Well, me and Draco found out that we're having a girl for a couple of weeks ago."
"Really? That's wonderful, 'Mione! Congratulations!"
Hermione gave Ron a warm smile. "Thank you, Ron. Sorry I didn't tell you earlier but we haven't really spoken to each other since I moved in with Draco. Anyway, I think that he's a bit disappointed that the baby's a girl. I think that he was hoping that if it was a boy, his father might soften up a bit. And also, I think he's still upset about his father disowning him. So lately, he's been really withdrawn and not talking much. He's always casting me dirty looks and-" She swallowed. "I think that he might be backing out. I don't think he wants this baby anymore."
She rubbed a hand across the bulge of her stomach. Ron smiled sympathetically at her.
"Herm, even if that's true, it wouldn't matter. Your baby is going to be so happy with you as her mother."
"It's not that," Hermione continued quietly. "I'm starting to become really paranoid. What if I have to raise her by myself? Without my parents or without Draco?"
"That's not true Hermione. You'll never be alone. If that does happens then... then... I'll move in with you. Yeah, how about that?"
"Ron, you can't be serious."
"Why can't I be? If Draco leaves you, then I'll step in. I'll be a father to your daughter."
Hermione shook her head gratefully and blushed. She gracefully made her way over to him. He wrapped his strong arms around her and kissed her on the top of her head. Hermione tilted her head up, stood on her tippy toes and kissed him on the cheek.
"Hermione," he breathed out.
"Don't speak," she whispered in his ear. His breath got caught in his throat as he felt her sweet, warm breath on his face.
Slowly, he gazed down into her eyes. She really did have the loveliest eyes he had ever seen. This is it, he thought to himself as he slowly inched his way down to her lips. When their lips met for the first time it was like fireworks for both of them. They were both screaming inside their heads. Hermione ran a hand through Ron's red hair and pressed herself up against him, not even caring that he could feel the baby. Ron barely noticed, he was too enthused in finally kissing her as he held her in his arms. One hand was placed firmly on her waist, the other was caressing her hair.
They finally broke apart, out of breath and panting slightly. Ron rested his forehead against Hermione's and kissed her nose.
"I love you, Hermione," he said sincerely.
Hermione leant her head on his chest. She could feel his heartbeat, pounding fast and hard. "I know you do, Ron. I love you, too. But I don't know if it's the same way that you love me yet."
They remained silent for a minute until Ron suggested that they should get some sleep. Hermione agreed and they both stepped out of the bathroom and back into the dormitory.
Ron stood in front of Hermione and held her hands. She blushed and grinned. "Goodnight, Hermione," he whispered. "Sweet dreams." He leant down and brushed his lips against hers again. A shiver went up her spine, a good tingly one.
"You too."
They both departed to their 'beds' in complete bliss, unaware that the dormitory door was slightly ajar. Unaware that someone had been watching them.
A/N: WAAAZZAAHHHH! WTF? RON AND HERMIONE? ISN'T THIS SUPPOSED TO BE A HERMIONE AND DRACO STORY? YOU ASK. Well my dearies, you are right. But I've just added a lil bit of twist for ya. Gosh, ima bitch! Yea I was gonna have Harry and Hermione kiss and Ron be heaps jealous but my fingers wouldn't let me type that. DAMN YOU FINGERS!
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