Chapter Twelve

Truthfully This Time

------------PARENTS AT SEVENTEEN------------

Confused? Draco himself will be called Draco, and the Draco in the memory will be called Malfoy. Everyone else has their own names.

The change didn't happen until weeks later. Things had been going okay with Draco and I. Josh was happy as always, he was even learning to pull himself up and stand on his feet while holding on to something.

Draco and I were so proud.

I was surprised that Draco was so proud by this. I even asked him, "you're really getting into this whole father thing aren't you?"

"It's good practice for the future" he said as we watched Josh look around from a whole new perspective.

Josh finally saw us in his observations and smiled, turning one foot to face us.

"Here, let's try something" Draco said sitting up straighter. He held out his arms in Josh's direction, and said, "come here Josh."

Josh knew this act from when he had learned to crawl. But this time he looked down at his slightly unsteady legs and back over to Draco. Slowly letting go of the table, he walked alongside it to where Draco was sitting on the floor. He didn't go very far before falling.

He looked around, as if wondering what had happened. Then he looked back to Draco, who was smiling. Josh smiled back at him.

He had been walking the length of the table, so Josh used it again to pull himself up. He looked back at Draco and then slowly let go.

This pattern continued for a while until he finally reached Draco's open arms. Draco closed his arms around Josh and hugged him.

"Can't expect him to be perfect on his first try now can we?" Draco asked looking at Josh. "But hey, he's learning pretty quick isn't he?"

I nodded looking at the two. Call me crazy, but this is how I was starting to picture the rest of my life.

I knew I was falling for Draco Malfoy. I couldn't help but fall in love with him.

"Come on" said Draco standing up while holding Josh. "It's time for dinner."

We made our way downstairs and to our respective tables. Draco decided to have Josh eat dinner with him, so that left me and the others alone, since their partners all had their babies as well.

"I can't wait until this project is done," said Seamus as he sat near us. "I'm getting tired of all the cryin' babies laying around."

"Well just think Seamus" I said to him. "This project is going towards graduation credits. Once we get to the end of the year, all the babies will go away."

"Except yours of course" said Dean Thomas who had come to sit by Seamus. "Since he's your brother and all."

"Yeah."

"So how's Pansy Harry?" Ginny asked. Ever since she and Harry had started dating, she was a little upset by Pansy sleeping in the same room as her boyfriend. But not in an annoying way.

"She's fine" Harry said impassively, which was all it took for Ginny to drop the subject, satisfied.

"So when are you going to tell him Hermione?" Ginny asked quietly, only loud enough for me and Harry to hear her, seeing as Ron was talking with Lavender.

"I don't know. Things have been going onto a whole new level ever since he broke up with Christina." I looked over to see Draco playing with Josh while eating. I smiled. "Things are just kind of falling into place now."

"Hermione, you need to tell him," Harry said, softly trying to push me with his words.

"I know Harry. And I will. Soon."

------------PARENTS AT SEVENTEEN------------

That evening Josh had a sleepover set up with Arabella. I dropped Josh off, kissed him goodnight, and set off for my own dormitory.

When I opened the portrait hole, I noticed Draco was sitting on the couch, just staring into the fire. He looked up when I entered, smiled to me, and then went back to staring.

I had nothing else to do, so I decided to join him. I sat next to him on the couch, and stared, like him, into the fire.

"So how did your day go?" I asked him, just trying to make conversation.

He shrugged. "Normal. How was yours?" he asked looking at me.

"It was good," I said softly, staring at him. It was then, as I looked at him looking at me, as his features were lit up in the most fantastic way by the firelight, that I knew I was in love with Draco Malfoy. My once sworn enemy. And I was in love.

And then, the most amazing thing happened.

He must have been thinking something similar to me, because at that moment, Draco leaned over and kissed me.

Kissed me!

I had been waiting for this moment forever it seemed like. The moment he kissed me, my head suddenly cleared of all of the doubts and worries that had been keeping me up for months, and all I could think about was how wonderful this kiss was.

As he pulled away, he started apologizing. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry Hermione. I shouldn't have-"

"No. Don't you dare start apologizing. I feel the exact same way" I said smiling to him.

He stared at me for a moment, then smiled and started kissing me again.

"I knew I was starting to like you, and things just got worse with Christina. I was liking you more and her less, and I knew it was just time to break it off."

I looked at him as he explained these things to me, then smiled and leaned in for more kissing.

Then things got a little heated. There was touching in some places that weren't normally touched, and, well, I think you are getting the picture.

Soon we were walking toward the bedroom while kissing and taking of items of clothing. It was all very clumsy, but I didn't care.

As we plopped down onto the bed, both of us in nothing but our underwear, I stopped kissing him long enough to look into his face and say, "I love you Draco."

He stared at me for a moment, then gave this huge smile and said, "I love you too Hermione."

This time around, it was done the right way. I was in love, nothing bad was happening, and, the most important thing of all after my last ordeal, we used protection.

------------PARENTS AT SEVENTEEN------------

The morning after, I woke up to notice I was in his bed, laying next to him with his arm draped around me. And the clouds in my mind started to clear, and I realized the reality of everything.

I had just had sex with Draco Malfoy, my once sworn enemy, who was now the man I loved, and who didn't know he was the father of my child. I felt sick. He needed to know. I couldn't carry a relationship with him if he didn't know the whole truth to the story.

I got up and took a shower, then put on some clothes. I made myself some tea in the kitchen, and it wasn't long before Draco came up behind me , put his arms and me, and kissed the back of my neck.

"Good morning." He said. I smiled at the wonderful place I was in, then reality came creeping back.

I turned around to look at him. "Why don't you go take a shower, I want to talk to you."

He smiled and kissed me. "I'll be back."

When he did come back, I was our room waiting for him, sitting on my bed. He smiled as he sat on his bed and said, "what did you want to talk to me about?"

I didn't start immediately. "This is going to be hard for me to tell you."

He looked confused. "What is it?"

"You and I have had sex before."

"Of course we have; we did just last night."

"No, we had sex before that."

He looked and me curiously. "Hermione, what are you talking about?"

A tear fell from my eye and I could barely choke out, "there's something I need to show you."

"A pensieve?" he asked, looking at the bowl I indicated laying on the dresser.

"Do me a favor, don't ask questions, just go inside."

He looked at me weirdly, then did as I said.

------------THIRD PERSON------------

Falling into the pensieve had to be one of the worst feelings in the world Draco had ever experienced. He honestly felt like he was going to fall forever, never knowing when it would end.

And then suddenly it did. His feet lightly touched the floor and all he could do was stand stark still until he could figure out what had happened.

He had never been inside of a pensieve before; this was all new to him. But when he finally looked around and noticed he was in a dark corridor in the Hogwarts dungeons, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Now don't misunderstand this; the dark dungeons, especially at night, could get scary. But not for Draco. He knew these corridors inside and out; he was the Slytherin Prince after all. This was his domain.

"Lumos!"

He turned sharply as he heard the whisper, not knowing who it could have been. But there, standing in front of him, was Hermione.

She was wearing her prefect badge over her Hogwarts robes and looking around, slightly uncomfortable. She walked straight towards him, though not seeing him. Draco, knowing he couldn't interfere, stepped aside quickly to let her pass, and then followed her.

She must be doing her rounds he thought, suddenly realizing why she would be here. He recognized her clothing. This was shortly after school had begun last year, she never wore that outfit again that year. But why isn't she with anybody? These halls can be dangerous at night.

He followed on in silence. After all, no one could hear him, what would be the use? After nearly ten minutes of walking he was starting to get restless. Why would Granger bring him into her memory to just see her walking through the halls?

Just then someone leaped out of the shadows and grabbed her, holding their hand over her mouth so no one would hear her scream. She tried anyway, and her wails sounded muffled and hardly carried down the hall at all.

This mysterious person started walking, trying very hard to keep a struggling Hermione in tow. Draco followed with his mouth open in shock. Who would do something like this, right within the halls of Hogwarts? This was obviously a very serious matter by the look of it. So who would be foolish enough to try it?

He followed them for what seemed like hours, but was only minutes. Hermione continued to struggle the entire time, though neither of them could figure out who this third person was.

Finally the person stopped and opened a door along the wall, entering it with Hermione in tow. Draco walked in behind them quickly, before the stranger could shut the door.

Draco had figured out that this person was a man, and he watched as he put a silencing charm on the room, and turned around. Draco gasped and stepped back in horror.

He was watching himself kidnap Hermione.