Question: Guess how much packing got done today?
Answer: Not a whole lot.
Repercussions: My mother is going to shit kittens when she gets here on Friday. I should have paid someone to pack.
"Please. Don't pretend like you've suddenly fallen in love with me."
"Fallen in love…you infuriating, mental, lunatic of a woman! Of course I've fallen in love with you! I haven't had any bloody choice! You gave me a child! You're around me all the goddamn time! It was hard to avoid the natural progression of this relationship - arranged or not!"
It was another classic impasse between Draco and Astoria once Anya was tucked into her crib for the night. They never knew what started the fights, but it never mattered once they were knee deep with rage because the way to win was to see which button the other could jam in the hardest.
"You don't love me. Not the way you're supposed to!" Astoria exclaimed.
"I love you in all the ways that count!" Draco spat. "If I tried to love you any harder I swear it would bloody kill me."
Astoria scoffed, shooting him a glare before walking out of the room. "Believe me, Draco. I'm not that lucky."
"Draco?"
He felt a familiar hand lightly brace his shoulder as it lightly shook him out of his train of thought. Looking up, he saw a sleepy Hermione take a seat next to him on the uncomfortably padded bench in the waiting room at St. Mungo's, still in her pajamas. "The children -"
"My parents have them," Hermione said softly. "I flooed them over and apparated here as quick as I could."
He nodded, swallowing the lump of emotion tinged with bile that was threatening to rise in his throat. "The healers aren't saying much."
Hermione nodded, her hand retracting from his shoulder. She wasn't sure what she should do, and was trying to resist the urge to apologize for all but sleeping on him while his wife was roaming about upstairs. Her guilt she could deal with later, but she didn't know what to do for the man sitting in front of her as he waited for someone to tell him anything. "Have you, has someone contacted her parents or your father?"
Draco gave a simple nod. "Her parents said they would come once there was news. As if the news of her being at the bloody fucking hospital isn't enough."
She bit her lower lip, unsure of how to respond. She was already preparing herself for the worst as they sat in the silent waiting room. Hermione kept a small bit of space between the two of them as they stared in every direction but each other. Draco stole a glance at her every few seconds, watching as she studied the silver borders around the tiled floor. He reached out for her hand and grabbed it tightly, exhaling a small sigh of relief when she didn't make any sort of move to pull away.
Jean was able to get Scorpius to go down in a portable crib in the room across the hall while her husband still had Claire sprawled out on his chest as he laid in their bed, mindlessly flipping through the muted television channels. She knew something was wrong, being woken up in the middle of the night and taken to Hermione's parents house, and every so often a small whimper would escape her lips.
Removing her robe as she walked into their room, Jean climbed back into bed and watched her husband as he stroked a hand lightly over Claire's long blond curls. "Richard, do you want me to put her in Hermione's room?" she whispered.
He shook his head no. "She's fine right here."
She could tell by his tone of voice that there was no point in arguing. He'd lie there all night if it meant Claire would stay asleep. After all, Jean had seen him do the same with Hermione all those years ago. Leaning over, she gave Richard a soft kiss on the cheek. "You're a good man, Richard Granger."
Richard smirked. "Just now figuring that out, love?"
"Yes," she playfully mocked. "I did make you earn that first date, after all."
Claire snuggled into Richard's embrace as he kissed the top of her head, keeping a firm hand on her back. "Yes," he whispered as he remembered. "Chased you for six months, I did, you wretched tease."
Jean stifled a laugh as she pulled the blankets up over her and settled back down, her head resting on her pillow. "Just wanted to see how serious you were. Goodnight, love."
"Goodnight, sweetheart."
Draco and Hermione waited an hour before they heard any news. Healer Nelson looked didn't have to say anything. The look on his face was enough, and Draco was fine without hearing the actual words. As he pulled off his scrub cap and mask, his shoulders dropped in defeat.
"It was just too advanced, Mister Malfoy. Cancer in wizards is rare and we're still learning how it affects our bodies in comparison to muggles."
He felt Hermione's grip on his hand tighten as he watched slow tears begin to roll down her cheeks. He managed to hoarsely squeak out a "yeah," and vaguely catch the details as to what to do next. Draco heard himself ask Healer Nelson to contact her parents, which he agreed to do before hearing himself ask if he could see her.
"Of course," Healer Nelson replied. "Please. Follow me."
Draco squeezed Hermione's hand as he let go, rising to his feet to follow Healer Nelson. She made no movement to follow, which didn't surprise him. Reaching the waiting room door, he turned around and looked at her. "Don't leave me," he said, not even caring at how weak he must have sounded. "Please, Granger."
She nodded, wiping her tears away as she steeled her nerves. "I'm not leaving you. Promise."
Astoria was as peaceful as he'd seen her in months, lying in the bed with the blankets pulled up to her chin. Draco managed to keep his composure, taking a seat next to her bed and slipping his warm hand into her cold hand, but it was all lost once Healer Nelson left him alone in the room. Choking sobs racked his body in a way he didn't realize was even possible as he squeezed her lifeless hand tight. All the things that went unsaid between the two of them were beginning to cloud his mind as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand, his thumb and forefinger digging into the corners of his eyes as if to plug away the tears that wouldn't stop.
"Blasted woman," he muttered, sniffing as he wiped his nose on his shoulder. "You weren't supposed to do this to me. Not this way. Not that you ever listened to me before…"
He stifled another sniffle as he gave her hand one more squeeze. Standing up, he leaned over and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead, his lips lingering for the briefest of seconds.
Draco managed to numbly find his way back to the waiting room, staying only until her parents and Daphne arrived, the three of them distraught. Unable to handle the emotional toll of it all, he gave Hermione a look and in moments, Healer Nelson reappeared to talk to his in-laws. As the three of them left to see Astoria one final time, he let Hermione reach for his hand and in a second, they popped out of sight.
They apparated into the Granger's living room, Hermione skilled to the point that she was able to apparate with the faintest of pops as they appeared in the dimly lit room. It took Draco a moment to realize where he was, but when he remembered his children were here as well, it made sense. The silence was thick between them as they walked towards the staircase, Draco lumbering behind Hermione as his shoulders felt like they were ready to crumble from the weight of the evening's events. He went into the spare bedroom, finding Scorpius inside the muggle playpen contraption Jean used when Hermione wasn't around to transfigure a bed out of the existing furniture. Draco wanted to scoop his son up and hold him tight, but was afraid if he woke him, he wouldn't be able to handle looking at his innocent face, or tolerate his cries, as he would have to lull him back to sleep.
"Claire's sleeping in my parents room," he heard Hermione's soft voice speak from behind him. Turning around, Draco could see she was just as upset as he felt, though she was trying her best to wear a strong face. He knew she wore her emotions on her sleeve…he didn't expect anything less.
Stealing one last look at his son, he walked out of the spare bedroom and into the hallway where Hermione stood, her hair falling out of the messy bun she hastily pulled it up into earlier that evening. "Fuck," he suddenly muttered as another weight felt like it dropped on his shoulders. "Anya."
"I sent a patronus to McGonagall when you were…" her voice disappeared towards the end of her statement. "I'll get her tomorrow."
"I'll go," Draco rasped, dragging a hand over his exhausted face.
Hermione shook her head. "You'll stay here. I'll get her. Come on."
He felt him grab ahold of his hand and lead him down to her bedroom. "What are you doing?"
She opened her bedroom door. "You can stay in my room. I'll sleep with Scorp. You need to get some sleep."
Draco shook his head no. "I can sleep with Scorpius."
"Draco, I'm really not arguing about this," Hermione whispered with exasperation. "Please, just sleep in here."
A hand on his lower back, she gently nudged him into the room, following him as he took a seat on her bed. Standing in front of him, Hermione stared at him before his head collided with her stomach, leaning into her as he broke down into another round of sobs. A flick of her hand sent her bedroom door closing with a soft click so he wouldn't disturb the house, her other hand rubbing soothing circles on his back as she stood there, tears pooling in her own eyes.
He sniffled as he swiped tears from his cheeks with the back of his hand. His breathing was labored, though Draco felt himself calming as Hermione continued to move her hand across his back. "Don't leave me," he managed to speak in between his settling sobs.
"I'm not leaving you," she reassured him, her own voice wavering slightly.
"No, I mean now," he all but begged. "Please. Please stay, Hermione."
A thousand different reasons were screaming no in her head, but when Draco looked up at her with his sorrow filled eyes, Hermione didn't have the heart to say anything but yes. With a silent nod, he stood up from the bed and watched as Hermione carefully turned down the blankets on her bed. Draco shuffled over to the other side and peeled off the thin white t-shirt he was wearing, dropping it to the floor in a heap. Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but her voice wouldn't speak. She wanted to ask what he was doing, but realized as he crawled into bed and under the covers that he was so tired he wasn't realizing that he was doing anything different from what she assumed was normal for him.
Carefully, Hermione followed suit, peeling her socks from her feet and climbing into bed. She was cautious about staying on her side of the queen-sized bed from her youth, rolling onto her side so that her back was facing him. Exhaling, she saw the glare of the alarm clock and realized she would be awake again in a few hours.
"Granger," she heard Draco's ragged voice squeak out her name.
"Yes?" she quietly replied.
He cleared his throat a bit as he took in a deep breath. He didn't know how to ask her, and he wasn't sure how to ask her without seeming incredibly improper given the circumstances. But he was on edge - his nerves felt like they were about to set him on fire and he knew that touching her would calm him down. "I just…I need…I want…" he stammered, fumbling over his words as he watched her roll over, facing him.
She hesitated for a moment before placing a hand on his cheek. "What, Draco? What do you want?"
Draco exhaled the moment he felt her hand on his cheek. "That," he whispered hoarsely.
"This?" she asked, her thumb brushing against his cheekbone as she stifled a yawn.
"Yes," he mumbled as he felt his body relax, his eyelids flutter before shutting completely. "Please don't leave," he mumbled, moments before he felt his body succumb to the mounting exhaustion as he fell asleep.
Hermione watched him for a few moments, her heart breaking as silent tears made their way down her cheeks. "I'm not leaving you," she repeated, reassuring him even as he was too exhausted to comprehend her words. "I promise."