Hopefully, this chapter answers questions that have been asked. I did say there would be some after the last chapter didn't I? Are you guys super excited that the next chapter came this soon? It's much longer then most of the other chapters, which hopefully makes up for the fact that the chapter after next is a bit short (but very exciting!). As always, you guys are awesome and thanks so much for all the reviews!

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She told Harry first. Who else would she tell? Sweet, kind, loving Harry. Her knight in shining armor, her best friend, her first love. She had never loved anyone more than she loved him, and she knew that he would say the same about her. Harry was everything to her, her tether to keep her grounded.

"Fucking fuck!" he exclaimed when she had said he words. He ran his fingers through his hair and gripped his hair from his roots.

"I think Madam Zelda knows," whispered Hermione.

"She and Dumbledore know. Why else would he have pushed for an immediate marriage? They both lied straight to Malfoy's face to protect you. I was there. I heard her say it. 'It's as we feared?' What else could that mean? Hermione, I don't know how to fix this. I want to, I want to so bad, but I don't know how. I think I knew but ignored it. I noticed that you looked different. But I ignored it. I fucking ignored it."

"I don't know what to do," Hermione said, crying pitifully. "Why did this happen to me? What did I do to deserve this? I don't understand. I don't understand! What did I do?"

"You did nothing," Harry said angrily, "Nothing for the pressures that God has pushed upon you."

"Mother said that the Lord does not give us that which we cannot handle."

"Maybe so," Harry whispered as he hugged Hermione tightly, "But the Lord never said you had to handle it alone. CeCe and I will be here for you. And so will Abraxas."

Hermione looked guiltily at her feet.

"Hermione, you did tell Abraxas?"

"I can't."

Harry dug his fists into his hair again. "You have to. You're married to him. He needs to know before his father finds out. Before… he finds out. You two need to make a plan."

"I know. Don't you think that I know?" she cried, "How can I tell him that? You know how he will react, Harry. You know. I can't do that to him."

And he did know. Abraxas Augustus Malfoy was in love with Hermione, and he had been from day one. How could she do this to him? Destroy everything, and just add more to the stack of things between them? Everything was between them, and this would just make it everything else. Hermione could never love Abraxas because of all the things between them. And this? This would be what ended the relationship that they did share. She cared for Abraxas. She cared for Abraxas, truly. But only as a friend, and she suspected that he knew that. He cared for her far more, loved her. He would accept the child, but his heart would be broken, and his pride would be destroyed. His wife, would birth another man's child. And that child would never look anything like him, but he would call it his own, because he was Abraxas Malfoy, not Tom Riddle.

Hermione took a deep breath. Today was the day. Today, she was going to tell Abraxas that he was going to father another man's child.

Yesterday was supposed to be the day, and so was the day before that and the day before that. But today? Today she would do it. Today would finally be the day.

And then tomorrow came, and the day after that. But she still hadn't told him.

"Hermione," CeCe whispered, hugging her friend tightly, "You need to tell him. Your clothes aren't fitting as well. And robes can only hide so much."

"Do you think he'll notice if I just don't say anything?" Hermione asked in hopeful misery. "He might miss a baby." Even as she said it, she stared at the curve of her slightly swollen belly in the mirror. Soon, she wouldn't be able to hide it anymore.

"I don't think it works that way, honey," CeCe said, smoothing Hermione's hair and gripping her hands tightly. "I don't want to say this," CeCe said quietly, "But there is another solution."

"She won't go for it," Harry said sadly. "I tried."

"The child can't be punished for the sins of the father," insisted Hermione. "I won't do that."

"But you may have to. What if… he finds out that the child is his? He will never rest until he has you both under his thumb. How can a child be raised in fear like that?" CeCe insisted. "You need to talk to Abraxas. He might be more help than you would expect."

"I know he will help me," said Hermione, "That's what I am afraid of."

"I know," CeCe whispered, "But we three know it must be done. And four minds is better than three, isn't it?"

"It is," Harry agreed, "And Abraxas is a smart man. He will know what to do."

"Not to mention, he's a pureblood. That holds clout alone, and even more so that he's the next Lord Malfoy. He can protect you. That's how we came to this plan in the first place."

"Wait; what?" asked Hermione. "Plan?"

Harry sighed, "You don't really think Dumbledore just decided one day to marry you off to the heir of Malfoy known for its affinity with the Dark Arts and being the most noble and ancient pureblood house in all of England, do you? CeCe and I planned this out. We knew Abraxas was in love with you. And we knew you liked him well enough. And combined with the fact that he's rich and powerful, we convinced Dumbledore that he would be the best match to protect you from… him."

"Well it didn't protect me much at all did it?" Hermione bit out.

Harry stiffened and CeCe turned bright red.

"Hermione," CeCe began, "We didn't know. If we had known-"

"This didn't happen in the original timeline. How were we supposed to know he would do something like this? We thought he was obsessed with you. Not love – but something else. We didn't think-"

"I know." Hermione said firmly, "I'm sorry. That was unfair of me. I don't know what's wrong with me. I shouldn't have lashed out at you. It wasn't our fault."

"It's okay to be hurting, Hermione," said CeCe, "You can take as long as you need to heal. We will not abandon you to do this alone."

Hermione nodded her head, but her soul still hurt.

Abraxas and Hermione were sitting in the most private place she could manage. Her adoptive father had let them use his office so they could talk without unwanted ears listening.

"Hermione, you're scaring me. Is everything okay? You've been so quiet this last week. Did something happen? Did he say anything to you? Do anything?"

Well, Hermione thought, he did something.

"I'm pregnant," Hermione blurted out like vomit.

Abraxas blinked owlishly and then dropped his mouth open. "What?"

"I didn't mean to say it that way. Merlin, I am such an idiot." Hot tears began to fall down her cheeks. "It's his. He- my father- Madam Zelda- Merlin, they lied to you! They lied to you. To protect me, they lied to you. I understand if you hate me. God, I hate myself. And now you're stuck with me. I should just kill myself now for putting everyone through all of this."

Abraxas sat silently watching Hermione before standing and moving to sit closer to her. "Hermione, stop." He gently took her hands in his. "First, I don't want to ever hear you say something like that again. Ever. Do you understand?"

Hermione blushed hotly and nodded, feeling like a scolded child.

"Hermione, I think I knew."

She stared at him in confusion.

"I think I knew from the start. When you father told me what happened, when he told my father and I- I think I knew. I had this feeling, and yet… I didn't care. I care about you, a great deal. And so I care about everything that is a piece of you. I'll care about this baby, Hermione. I'll raise him like he's my own. He'll be my son, even if it isn't by blood. I'll love him, because he's half of you, and I love you. I've loved you since the moment I saw you, Hermione Britannica. You're stuck with me."

Hermione burst into tears, "I can never love you, Abraxas. I can never love you. God, I'm horrible. I'm a horrible person." And she couldn't. Who could love her? How could she love again? After Ron? After what had happened with him. How could she ever be whole again?

Even though her words cut him, Abraxas never let her hand go.

"Love is a gift, Mia. It isn't an exchange. I am giving you my love freely, and I will not expect it back. It's a gift. Not an exchange, a gift."

"A gift," Hermione repeated back, "A gift."

"A gift," Abraxas said in his calm and reassuring voice. "Only for you, a gift. I'll take care of you, Hermione. I'll take care of both of you, I swear it."

"I don't deserve you," Hermione said, crying into her hands. "I don't deserve you at all. I kept asking myself how this could have happened to me. But I know why this happened to me. It happened because I let my guard down. I knew how he could be. I knew that he was evil, that he was the devil. And I thought that I could show him kindness. That all he needed was for someone to show him affection, to be nice to him. But- You know he tried this before? He dosed me with Amortentia. We didn't tell anyone. We didn't think he would – God, I am so naïve."

"I don't understand," said Abraxas slowly, "How did you know about Tom?"

"It's complicated. I know Harry told CeCe, so I'll tell you. But you can never tell anyone – ever. You see, terrible things happen to wizards who mess with time, Abraxas. And you would go mad."

"Time travel?" Abraxas asked in morbid curiosity. "From when?"

Hermione sighed guiltily, "I was born in September in 1979… to a muggle couple in Bath."

"Muggles?" asked Abraxas in horrified surprise.

"I know," whispered Hermione, "I hadn't wanted to tell you. I'm a mudblood. I've ruined your family forever."

"No," said Abraxas quickly, "Don't ever think that. I'd rather be happy, happy with you, with strong magical children than with someone like Charis Black who's an inbred idiot with about as much magic the back end of a centaur."

Hermione smiled for a moment, but then continued, "I found out I was a witch when I was eleven. I was ever so excited to go to Hogwarts. I had been a lonely child. I was an only child of two only children who had had me late in life. I've always been this way, you see. A swot? I liked books more than boys and didn't care for my looks or anything else that made a girl popular. And I thought that this might have been why. I wasn't meant to be a mundane! I was meant to be a witch. In my eleven year old mind, I thought that perhaps things would be different in the magical world, that books meant something, that I would mean something. I was wrong."

Hermione went on to tell Abraxas about what Tom Riddle would become, about what would happen.

"He split his soul?" Abraxas asked in terror. "That's- How did he even learn to do that? I-." Abraxas went green and stared at the ground for a moment before Hermione continued on to tell him about the first blood war, how Voldemort had finally been defeated by a mere baby.

"Harry? Your brother? He's the grandson of Charlus Potter and Dorea Black?"

"One in the same. His parents were gifted, extraordinary wizards. People compared me to Lily Potter every day. A swotty, smart, muggleborn. Harry and I became friends along with Ronald Weasley. Each year we faced Voldemort in some form or fashion. It got worse and worse. When I was fifteen, Peter Pettigrew revived Voldemort using a disgusting ritual that used the bones of his father and the blood of his enemy.

"The ministry denied it for an entire year, trying to say that Harry and Professor Dumbledore were liars, that Cedric Diggory's death had been a tragic accident. Voldemort wasn't back, they insisted. They didn't want him to be back because that would mean that another war would come. So they hid under a rock and were pulled out from under it when the minister and hundreds of others saw Voldemort with their own eyes at a battle in the Ministry. That's when Sirius died. When he died, he took the last bit of Harry's happiness with him.

"Last year for me," Hermione breathed out, her voice faltering, "Harry and Dumbledore began to search for the horcruxes. The diary had been destroyed, but there were others. In total, there were six, we think. We still can't be sure because we were ripped from our time and ended up here. After trying to retrieve Slytherin's locket, Severus Snape killed Dumbledore. I had always had faith in him, Abraxas. Trust Professor Snape, I said over and over to the boys. But I was wrong. He killed him. He pled for his life but he… and then his body went of the side of the Astronomy tower. That was when Harry, Ron and I knew that we had to leave. We weren't safe at Hogwarts without Dumbledore. He's the only one Voldemort truly fears.

"We ended up living in a tent in the wilderness. But the locket – it's evil, Abraxas. You've never felt anything like it. We had to wear it to keep it safe. It had a mind of it's own. All it wanted was to get back to its master. It delved deep into our minds and our hearts and pulled our deepest fears and insecurities and used it against us. Ron and Harry started to fight. At the time, I thought it was only because of the locket. I still think that the locket played a big part in what happened. It made it worse.

"But Harry and Ron… Ron was Harry's first friend, you see? Harry had a terrible childhood. He had never had any love or affection until the Weasley's took him in as their own. Ron was his first friend. He couldn't see the faults that he had. I loved Ron. I really did, but I knew the type of person he was. He was the sixth of seven, and the youngest son. His older brothers, Bill, Charlie and Percy had all been Head Boy. Bill and Charlie were both quidditch Captains and Fred and George made the team as beaters as second years. Even though Fred and George got six N.E.W.T.s between them, I think they did it to get their mother off their back so they could follow their dream of open a joke shop. They became rich and very successful through their business.

"But Ron? Ron was an okay keeper, but he barely made the team. He got picked as a prefect, but only because Dumbledore didn't want Harry to be overwhelmed. His grades were mediocre at best. He was hot tempered. His family was poor, so he only ever got hand-me-downs. And Harry? Harry was the richest wizard in Britain. He'd inherited his father's money, and his godfather's. He was the head of two respected houses. He was famous. And what was Ron? In his mind, he was always second best to someone. He had a severe inferiority complex. He would lash out against Harry over money, and eventually after a few months on the run, he lashed out over me. He screamed at Harry and I, demanded that I choose between them. How could I do that? How could I choose between my first friend, Harry who saved me from a troll when I was twelve, who had always loved me unconditionally, who I had promised to stand by and the man I thought that I was in love with? I told Ron that; that I couldn't make that decision and he left us. He left us, Abraxas!" Hermione cried, her voice cracking.

"And he didn't come back. He abandoned us. Harry was so angry, all the time. The locket made it worse, you know. He lashed out. He tried so hard not to yell at me; not to blame me. But I think somewhere in his heart he still blamed me for losing Ron. I was hurting too, and he knew that. We had both lost him. I don't really know what happened, but there was so much stress, and we were both hurting so much that eventually we… we started making love."

Abraxas looked at her in surprise, "But, how can you pretend to be siblings now? If you've done that together?" he asked.

Hermione looked at Abraxas in deep thought, "We are siblings, in some ways. We love each other as siblings. We just needed comfort, needed something to make us feel better when the entire world around us was chaos, when we were grieving. It wasn't the first time, either. Ron was right to worry about us, in some ways. We were never in love. But after Sirius died, Harry had nothing.

"Ron… Ron doesn't understand what it's like to lose someone. He had a big family. Harry was an orphan and my parents were muggles. I didn't see them for most of the year because I was staying with the Weasleys or at Sirius's home during Christmas and for part of the summer, and then I obliviated them when we went on the hunt for the horcruxes. When I came home from my third year at Hogwarts, something changed. My parents still loved me, and accepted me, but they didn't know me. And I think I didn't really know them either. I knew how Harry felt when his last chance at a parent was destroyed. I comforted him in the only way I knew that I could.

"Harry needed me, and I needed him so I gave him the only thing I knew could help us both. We leaned on each other for most of sixth year until Harry started dating Ginny. To us, it wasn't lust… it was love between two friends in need. We started it up again in the tent and we continued it here until Harry started dating CeCe seriously. I don't know if she knows, so please do not mention this to her. Harry loves her and I don't want to hurt them when they have done nothing but love and support me."

Abraxas as quiet. He wasn't really sure what to say, and so he said so.

"You don't need to say anything."

"I still care about you, Hermione. It doesn't change anything."

And to him, it really didn't.

A lot happened. Stay tuned for the next chapter! The next two chapters are complete and I am currently writing chapter 15!