"What are you doing on this floor?" Viktor asked, when he walked out of the bathroom to find me walking out of my new room.

It took me a moment to realise that he was in front of me. Ron was all I had going through my mind. The guilt...

I blinked, unable to help myself as I noticed the unattended droplets of water slide down Viktor's pecs and well toned abs. The way his arms moved to adjust the towel wrapped lazily around his waist emphasised his muscular arms... Water trickling from his floppy wet hair down to his waist... I suddenly found myself staring right where his cock was and remembered the size of it. My face burned. Sex. What the hell was I doing?

"I... My... room! I just walked out of my room." I told him awkwardly. "Yes.. and... I needed to use the bathroom. Yes. I need to wash myself with... soap- which is in the bathroom."

He blinked, and leaned against the door of the closed bathroom door, folding his arms.

"I thought you slept somewhere else?" He muttered.

I tried not to look at him and took refuge by looking at my toes, which had gotten miles better from from when I first got here. The only remnants of the pain I suffered were seen by the scars on my feet. "Um... Cho moved me up here."

"I see." He looked genuinely surprised, as if he had not known any of this.

And I sure did see him clearly too. Was he not well aware of the fact that he was half naked with just a towel to cover him up? And where the hell was Cho? Right... she was attending a special meeting with Lord Voldemort over the apparent attempt that was going to take place soon to take over fragile Ireland. I had heard Cho discussing the issue with some other Death Eaters and Draco the other day in her study.

"What are you looking at that interests you so?" Viktor asked me.

He was obviously pretending to be oblivious to the fact that he was half naked!

Suddenly, it was as if the somewhat argument we had some weeks ago had not occurred at all. He looked at me with a playful grin.

Was this what Cho warned me about? Not to do anything funny... It was rather tempting though. I mean... it wasn't I who was doing anything funny right now. Viktor was standing there literally half dressed, it wouldn't take long before all that was covering him was gone and forgotten on the floor. And me? I just had an oversized flannel that Cho had given me to wear to sleep in.

I could see that Viktor was checking me out. My body shivered as it remembered his loving and attentive gaze from our before. What the hell was he playing at? And why wasn't I mad at him?

"Are you curious?" he asked me, stretching his arms up into the air.

He yawned.

I found myself unwillingly following the trail of the small hairs leading from his belly down to his... What the hell, Hermione?

"About what?" I asked him, looking back to my toes.

"Curious to find out what's under this towel?"

I tried to cover the laugh that escaped my lips, but failed to. "And why would I be? I've seen it before, haven't I?"

He suddenly shook his head, causing the droplets of water from his hair to sprinkle onto me, and smiled. "Hey, I'm just trying to lighten up the mood of you. No harm intended."

"Viktor... you're being strange."

"As are you. You haven't been yourself for a week or something."

"You've been spying on me?"

I gave him an incredulous look.

"Not exactly." He muttered. "I know how Cho sounds like when she's all depressed and whiny, but you? No."

Ron then came to mind again and I found myself feeling upset. I had lost two of my best friends now, two wonderful boys I had known since forever who I had been through almost everything with from the biggest of things to the smallest. The smile on my face faded. What the hell was I doing here? I should fight for the sake of them! They did not have to die like this!

I sighed, knowing my thoughts and wants were pointless now. Was Viktor implying that he didn't like me being all upset? If Cho got to see this side of Viktor, she wouldn't be calling her a dumb introvert anymore...

"Anyway." He said, giving me a smile. "It's nice to see your smile again."

He reached for a shirt that hung on the closed bathroom door and put it on.

Over this past week, Viktor and I had begun to talk some more, and today felt as if we were back at Hogwarts, being able to talk to each other as if it were nothing, as if the world was just made for the two of us. It made me feel better after losing so many people. It was almost like none of this disaster had happened at all.

Somehow, we managed to step closer to each other and were soon stood toe to toe. I couldn't believe how close we were. I was reminded of being in his bedroom again.

I looked up at Viktor and saw him looking back down at me. His eyes were always seeing right through me, so he knew me through and through, only this time, his gaze stopped right at my eyes. It was like he was allowing me my privacy this time.

He lifted his hand up and caressed my cheeks with it, feeling me so softly I gasped. We were so close right now, I could feel him pressed right up against me. Without a thought, my arms were around him and I held him tightly, not wanting to let him go. This feeling of comfort was something I missed so much; comfort wasn't something that existed in the world of Voldemort.

Soon, Viktor's arms were wrapped around me to and I felt like we were one being.

A thought then came to me. It was a thought I knew that I was going to deeply regret.

"Viktor..."

"Hermione?"

"I want-" the words seemed to stop right at my tongue. I didn't know what was stopping me. Was it Ron?

I rested my head against him. Viktor was playing with my hair with his fingers. He patiently waited for me to continue.

"I want to-" I took in a deep breath. Here goes... "I want to make love with you again."

I could feel his entire body tense up as soon as I uttered those words. His manhood was aroused and pressed against me.

"Are you sure?" he asked me, sounding embarrassed at the fact that his penis was against me.

"I'm not under a curse. I'm perfectly fine."

"You aren't." he said. "You're just confused. You just want to feel comforted."

I gave him a pained look. "And you? What about you? Cho hasn't been attentive with you or cares about you. You're never around because of her."

"I know that..." Viktor muttered. "I just don't want sex between us to be just about the fuck, you know? You mean too much to me for me to treat you that way."

"Then what about before?" I asked him, suddenly feeling mad. "You knew I wasn't being myself, yet you allowed the sex to happen."

He scowled at me.

"And right now, I am being myself and asking you to have sex with me and you reject me?"

"I was being greedy then. You were naked in front of me! What was I supposed to do?"

Then I did something I didn't think was possible. I unbuttoned my flannel top and let it drop to the floor. My bra and underwear soon followed. Viktor just stood there watching the entire time, speechless.

I looked at him and smiled cheekily. "You didn't stop me, Viktor."

He was still looking at me, only this time, with a shocked expression. "Wow... you're... beautiful."

Our lips then met and it was then that I knew that Cho was going to kill me one way or the other. But right now... this felt right. I wanted Viktor and Viktor wanted me. Today was ours for the taking. Nothing was going to stop us.

"Bathroom?" he asked me, the excitement clearly heard in his voice.

I jumped onto him.

...

Time flew by and I was soon close to being four months pregnant. It was a weird feeling... this baby. My hand managed to find its way to swell of my tummy every once in a while and it was comforting... strangely comforting. I had also spoken a couple of words to the baby inside of me sometimes without realising, but it felt like the right thing to do. I worried every now and then though because I felt like I was going to become attached to my- the baby; I didn't want to feel torn to pieces later... But it seemed right to talk to myself... the baby. Could it hear me?

"Are you eating well?" Cho asked, appearing out of nowhere.

I gasped, surprised and stared at her. "Um, yes of course."

Cho smiled. "Were you just talking to yourself?"

"Um, you could put it that way."

"It was good of Voldemort to put Viktor in charge of one of the groups to take over Ireland. How long has he been gone now? A month or so?" she then said. "We didn't need to do anything to cover you up."

There was something in her eyes that I didn't like; it was disturbing. Was she saying what she had just said because she knew there was something between Viktor and I? Or was it just because she didn't want Viktor to know that I was pregnant? Something must have happened because I could tell that she had been crying again and screaming at something or someone. I looked at her hand and noticed that she was holding her wand.

"Lavender's given birth two months ago." Cho suddenly said. "I can't believe I just found out today... I was wondering why the Dark Lord was all thrilled over whatever Greyback did."

"Prematurely?" I asked, worried for Lavender. She was probably suffering a lot.

"No. Apparently it's normal for the offspring of werewolves," Cho muttered, eyes focused on my belly. "According to Greyback, that is." She wrinkled her nose. "But that's all going to change once Draco's two babies come along."

"Why?" I asked, although I knew.

"Because they aren't tainted by some other blood." she told me. Her voice was becoming less comfortable to hear and more strained. "But for now, The Dark Lord is thrilled with that disgusting cub."

Cho then glared at me, and tears began to run down her cheeks. Was this strong emotion of hers from the anger of the birth of Lavender's child, or because of something else? There was so much hate in her eyes- but at whom? Her wand yielding hand gripped her wand tightly. She muttered something to herself, a strange mantra that I was positive was some sort of ancient old spell, but it wasn't one that I knew of, having had my self studying in the school library cut short because of all of this. What was she saying? What was she doing? Merlin... what on earth was she doing?

Cho lifted her wand and pointed it towards me; my growing tummy rather.

"Hermione, you've done well thus far." she muttered, lifelessly. "Don't hate me for this." Cho took in a deep breath before opening her mouth to finish of the long ancient incantation. "Infans ex utero ego furtum."

I suddenly felt the worst pain I had ever felt in my life. My mind went blank before being filled with a constant screaming of the pain inside of me. All of the hurt and suffering from the war combined was nothing compared to this. This couldn't be happening to me! Was I dying?

Looking down at myself, I could see that I was bleeding... heavily. Red liquid were dripping down my thighs; I couldn't believe this was happening! It was as if something inside of me was being ripped out of me. I crumpled to the floor, trying to regain myself, but the pain wouldn't let me. What was Cho doing to me? Was she mad at me for sleeping with her husband? But she had told me there were no feeling going on between them, having had a political marriage between them.

I looked up at her, giving her a look that pleaded her to stop all of this pain, but the only thing that she did that showed me that she acknowledged the pain that I was feeling were the tears dripping from her eyes. She didn't want to do this, that much I knew, but why was she?

I tried to think clearly, attempting to make out the mantra she had said earlier. Looking down at myself, I could see that my belly was shrinking. The pain inside of me and all over my body was reaching its optimum. Merlin... no... it couldn't be... this spell... oh Merlin... I had read about this spell before... it couldn't be possible though... this spell was merely a myth... a legend... it wasn't possible... the book said... no... no... no!

Suddenly, a moment came when I felt weightless. I felt like I was floating in the air, as if I were a dust particle; nothing special, a piece of this earth that nobody was going to care about. The pain had left me. I was completely lying on the floor, helpless. I didn't feel as heavy as before, like there was a baby inside of me. But that was because there was no baby inside of me anymore. The baby was inside of Cho...

Cho pointed her wand at me and began to mutter spells to clear up the blood and the wounds I had gotten from my baby being ripped out of me. I felt so numb though; the spells were pointless.

This was why Cho had told me not to worry. This was why she hadn't been worried about people wondering whether she was pregnant or not. This was why she was so pleased that Viktor wasn't around right now. Had she been instrumental to having him in charge of one of the groups that were sent to Ireland? Had she planned this all along? Of course she had! How else would she have been able to execute this so perfectly? But where had she gotten all of this information from... ripping the baby out of me. Oh Merlin... I hated her. I hated her so much. The baby in her... was... is mine. Merlin...

"I know you hate me right now, Hermione," Cho suddenly said. "But you will thank me for this later. I never meant to hurt you at all. If I had known from the start that the female slave that Viktor was going to get was you... it might not have ended this way at all."

Tears were running down my face.

"But it did, Chang." I growled. "And I fucking hate you for this."

"You will thank me later, Hermione Granger." She said. "You just don't realise this right now."

A/N

What do you guys/girls think? I can't believe I came up with the pregnancy theft thing at all. I had been wondering how on earth I was going to make Cho look pregnant and Hermione look as if she wasn't and that was the first thing that came to mind. I had thought about a glamour charm, but that is so lame for a dark fic like this. Baby theft seemed to fit the dark fit much better than a bloody glamour charm.

I don't think all of you should hate Cho for that at all though... because when you're desperate, I'd think that you'd do anything to get what you want and that is exactly what Cho did.

Well... I'd like to know what you think about this chapter. This chapter is the one that I have worried and am worrying about the most of all the chapters I have written seeing as the happenings inside this one is quite... different.

Thanks for reading and I love you all.

And just in case, I think the Latin translation into English for 'Infans ex utero ego furtum' is 'stealing baby from the womb'? I'm not entirely sure, translating websites are never correct.