Chapter 13

Harry POV

Harry was tense and silent when he and Hermione apparated back to their house. He felt truly sorry for Narcissa Malfoy. Until now he had seen Death Eaters (and he had simply considered her a Death Eater) as the bad guys, as ruthless monsters without mercy and sympathy. It had been a shock for him to see that Narcissa Malfoy was a vulnerable person, a woman who loved her son and husband and who suffered from the Dementors as badly as he had. He wondered how many Death Eaters were suffering as badly as she was in Azkaban and how many of their children missed their fathers and mothers as bad as he missed his. He still believed that they deserved to pay for their crimes and – even more important – that society had to be protected from them, but he couldn't help but notice that he and his friends – the order, the DA, the good ones – not only prevented further grief, but also caused it. Furthermore, the trial had reminded him of Sirius and Dumbledore, of those they had lost during the fight for the good cause. Maybe it was true what people said – there truly were no winners in a war.

Harry was so lost in thoughts that he only truly noticed Hermione when she came over and hugged him tightly. She didn't say anything, didn't ask any questions – she didn't need to, she simply knew. Harry returned her hug, he held her close and buried his face in her hair. He remembered the fight at the Ministry vividly – how close he had been to losing her.

"Harry, you're shaking," Hermione said worriedly and pulled apart far enough to look in his face.

"I thought about the fight at the Ministry – about the moment when I thought you were dead," Harry said, his voice shaking as much as his body.

"I'm right here, Harry," Hermione reassured him gently. "I'm not going anywhere."

Without consciously deciding it Harry kissed her. The kiss was different from any kiss they had shared in the last five years. It was passionate, hungry, desperate.

When he finally broke the kiss Harry took a few deep breaths, trying to regain control over his emotions. But Hermione distracted him from this attempt by taking his face in her hands and making him look at her.

"Harry. Let go," she simply said.

Harry frowned, not knowing what Hermione meant. Then her lips were on his and she kissed him as greedily as he had kissed her a moment ago. After that all conscious thought was gone and Harry's instincts and body took over. He kissed Hermione with fevered passion. His hands fumbled with the bottoms of Hermione's dress for a moment, but he quickly gave up and ripped the dress apart. He pulled the ruined dress along with Hermione's undergown over her head, pulled her underpants down and sat the now naked Hermione down on the first available surface which happened to be the backrest of the sofa. Somehow Harry managed to remove his own clothes within seconds. Naked and already fully aroused Harry stood in front of the sofa. In one swift motion he took Hermione in his arms and entered her body with his raging erection. She was warm and wet, alive, safe and his. While pushing in and out with quick and hard thrusts Harry's mouth wandered to Hermione's neck. His eager lips found her strong and currently racing pulse and Harry kissed and sucked and nipped at this precious proof of her life. He sucked and thrust and held onto Hermione as if he was a drowning man and she was his lifeline. Hermione shivered in his arms and he felt her coming undone around him with a helpless gasp. This fueled his passion even more, but he wasn't done yet. He needed more of her, all of her. And he took it. Hermione let out a breathless "Merlin" when another orgasm rushed through her body. Harry came a moment later, so hard that he was seeing stars.

Harry tried to get some air back in his head and willed his legs not to give in under him. His arms were still wrapped around Hermione's waist and his head was resting in her neck. After a few moments he raised his head and noticed that the skin on Hermione's neck was swollen and a bruise was starting to build. Shocked, Harry's eyes met Hermione's, searching for a reaction from her, looking for a sign that she was okay. She looked a total mess. Her face was flushed, lips swollen and her hair was damp from sweat. Merlin.

"Hermione…"

She cut him off. "Harry James Potter. Don't dare to apologize for what just happened. It was amazing and perfect and exactly what we both needed after this morning."

Harry smiled relieved. Then he pulled Hermione in his arms again and simply held her. He needed to feel her in his arms just a little while longer.

Draco POV

The morning after the trial Draco visited his parents right after breakfast. He saw his mother first and was surprised but relieved when he was led to a different part of the prison than during his previous visits. Now that she wasn't a lifetime prisoner anymore Narcissa Malfoy had been brought from the high security area to a section where the Dementors only showed up three times a day to bring food to the prisoners and make sure everybody was where they were supposed to be. Not being around Dementors the whole day had already lifted his mother's spirit and she was being able to hope again and think of a future with her beloved son.

His father was furious like Draco had expected. Lucius Malfoy had seriously expected a different outcome of the trial although that had been highly improbable and to Draco's anger he didn't seem to care about the information that his wife was doing better. He wasn't happy about her new sentence either, just mad about his own fate. For the first time in his life Draco wondered if Lucius Malfoy deserved his son's and wife's loyalty, considering that he seemed to care about them a lot less than the other way around.

When he came home Draco was simply happy about his mother's condition and not even his father's rant could bring him down. Ginny was waiting for him like she had after his last visit to Azkaban and it warmed his heart that she actually seemed to care about him. Before Ginny could even ask how the visit had gone, Draco showed her one of his rare real smiles and blurted out the news.

"She's doing better, Ginny! I was so worried about mother during the last months that I couldn't even be happy yesterday. I thought she wouldn't survive 15 more months. But they put her in a less controlled area and that helped her so much. She has hope again and speaks of the future!"

Ginny beamed and hugged him.

"That's great, Draco! I'm so happy for both of you."

"We must celebrate! I know I've been withdrawn and moody last week because of the impending trial. I barely spoke to you. Let me make it up to you. How about a quick game of Quidditch and then we go out for an early lunch?" Draco suggested.

Ginny smiled. "That sounds great. It's such a beautiful day and I haven't been on a broom for weeks."

They played "Catching the Snitch" again, because Ginny had been right with her prediction that Draco would thoroughly loose when he tried to catch her balls. Ginny was one hell of a Chaser and Draco wasn't a good loser.

But even as a Seeker Ginny was a tough opponent and she was reminding him of that fact today when she spotted the Snitch first. Draco was several feet away and although he was racing to catch up with her he mentally prepared to lose this game when Ginny pulled her broom into a nosedive. She nearly had the Snitch when she suddenly pulled the broom into a horizontal position again and clung to it while swaying dangerously on the thin broom stick. Draco raced towards Ginny in lightning speed and grabbed her shoulders, steadying her.

"Ginny! What's wrong?!" Draco asked panicked while looking into his wife's deathly pale face.

"I'm feeling really dizzy all at once. I've no idea why, that never happened to me while flying."

Draco tried to control the overwhelming panic. He had to get Ginny down on the ground safely.

"Put your arms around my neck. I'll pull you on my broom and fly us down, okay? Don't worry, I won't let you fall."

"I know, I trust you," Ginny answered and did as she was told. Carefully, Draco pulled her in his arms and held her firmly while he slowly flew them down.

When they were back on the ground Draco lifted Ginny in his arms.

"I'll bring you to St. Mungo," he announced.

"Nonsense, Draco, I'm just a little dizzy," she protested.

"You nearly fell from your broom! That looked like more than 'a little' dizzy. And you said it never happened before. So we will let you get examined."

Before Ginny could argue further Draco apparated right to St. Mungo.

Unsure where to go from here he read the floor plan.

ARTIFACT ACCIDENTS... Ground Floor

(Cauldron explosion, wand backfiring, broom crashes, etc.)

CREATURE-INDUCED INJURIES... First Floor

(Bites, stings, burns, embedded spines, etc.)

MAGICAL BUGS... Second Floor

(Contagious maladies, e.g. dragon pox, vanishing sickness, scrofungulus)

POTION AND PLANT POISONING... Third Floor

(Rashes, regurgitation, uncontrollable giggling, etc.)

SPELL DAMAGE... Fourth Floor

(Unliftable jinxes, hexes, and incorrectly applied charms, etc.)

VISITOR'S TEAROOM AND HOSPITAL SHOP... Fifth Floor

If you are unsure where to go, incapable of normal speech, or unable to
remember why you are here, our Welcome Witch will be pleased to help.

"You didn't eat or drink anything unusual, did you?" Draco asked Ginny, trying to decide whether they needed to go to the second or third floor.

"Oh yes, now that you mention it, I drank a suspicious looking potion from a bottle that somehow appeared in our yard," she answered sarcastically. "Off course I didn't! How stupid do you think I am? And could you finally let me down?! I can walk on my own."

The Welcome Witch looked over to the quarreling couple and asked politely:

"Is there a problem I can help you with, Sir, Ma'am?"

"No, I was just bored and decided to drag my wife here for fun, you incompetent idiot!" He yelled at the poor woman. "My wife is ill! She suddenly started to feel dizzy a few minutes ago when we were flying."

"Like I accidently overheard you didn't consume anything unknown to you, Ma'am. So I would suggest you ask our Healers on the second floor for help," she said, still smiling despite Malfoy's impolite behaviour.

"Thank you so much! I have no idea what I would have done without your help," Draco answered sarcastically.

"Draco!" Ginny hissed, but he ignored her and carried her (much to her obvious annoyance) all the way up to the second floor.

There, he was greeted by no other but Hermione Potter, previously Granger.

She seemed as surprised to see them as the other way around, but she quickly recovered and gave Ginny a worried look.

"Ginny. What's wrong?"

Before Ginny could answer Malfoy snapped at her. "We are here to find that out, of course, so stop wasting our time. What are you doing here anyway? Never mind, I don't care. Get us a Healer! Now!"

Hermione gave him an angry look and answered coolly: "I work here. As a volunteer. The Healers quickly noticed that I am more than capable to run a diagnosis and therefore I perform the initial examination. If necessary I consult a Healer for treatment."

"Well, in this case you will consult a Healer immediately. Have you forgotten who I am?! Draco Malfoy's wife won't be touched by a volunteer!"

Distracted by his argument with Hermione Draco must have loosened his grip around Ginny and she used this opportunity to jump out of his arms.

"Draco Malfoy's wife can speak for herself!" she snapped at him. "And I am more than happy to let Hermione examine me. You know how brilliant she is! She has read about magical diseases since her first year at Hogwarts and her father is a Muggle doctor. She knows about magical and non-magical cures for all kinds of diseases."

"You won't use stupid Muggle cures on my wife, is this clear?!" Draco snapped at Hermione, ignoring Ginny.

"I will use whichever cures I find best for Ginny, who happens to be my friend, Malfoy! And now stop wasting all our time with this argument. The earlier I can examine Ginny, the earlier I can help her."

With one last angry look Draco sat down on a chair next to the bed in the examination room, keeping a close eye on Hermione. He knew that Hermione was clever and seemed to know everything, but he was still reluctant to trust her with Ginny.

Ginny sat down on the bed and Hermione directed her attention at her friend, both women ignoring him.

"So, Ginny, why are you here?"

"Draco and I were playing Quidditch and when I went for a nose dive I suddenly felt really dizzy," Ginny explained.

"All of a sudden? You haven't felt any discomfort before?"

"Well, now that you mention it, I've felt a bit tired during the last days."

"Anything else?"

Ginny shook her head. Hermione looked thoughtful. "Ginny, when was your last period?"

Draco pricked his ears and looked from Hermione to Ginny, anxious to hear her answer.

Ginny looked surprised at the question, then she seemed to think about it.

"Ahm, that was shortly before my wedding. About… six weeks ago."

Ginny went pale, looking shocked. Draco held his breath.

Hermione pulled out her wand and ran a diagnosis spell over Ginny. A golden hue appeared around Ginny's abdomen.

"There is no mistaking. You are pregnant, Ginny." A bit forced she added: "Congratulations, Ginny."

But Ginny didn't look like she was in the mood to celebrate; she seemed to be still in shock.

"But we…"

"…. Only spent one night together," Draco thought. And then grinned from ear to ear. One night, one shot, one hit.