Disclaimer: In its use of intellectual property and characters belonging to JK Rowling, Warner Bros, Bloomsbury Publishing, et cetera, this work is intended to be transformative commentary on the original. No profit is being made from this work. Any similarities to other fanfiction stories are completely coincidental.

Hermione's thoughts

Draco's thoughts

I checked my watch and added another hour to my time since I woke up count. I was up to 27 now, which meant we had spent over a full day at the hospital and even though the healers said they were happy with her progress, Hermione's symptoms persisted. I had yelled at them during hour 18 when the first healer, who I had earlier learned went by Healer Nolan, had been all chipper and happy when discussing the treatment and her 'progress.' If Hermione had been healthy she would have reamed me for it but she wasn't in her right mind which was putting me out of sorts.

Every so often I felt a shiver go down my back and I had to remind myself that my tattoo was reflecting something between us. I was also feeling everything she was feeling even if I wasn't physically ill so when the chills started up again at hour 11 and she insisted she was fine, I snapped at her and covered her with another blanket.

The prophet arrived three hours ago and Hermione had woken up briefly so she had seen the article. Currently she was sleeping because we were also expecting a hoard of Weasleys to arrive at any given moment. Regardless, the article was brief and Skeeter was actually discreet for once. She reported the facts and nothing beyond that. It didn't even make it to the front page, shockingly.

So now, at 27 hours without sleep and feeling all of Hermione's symptoms as well as seeing the reoccurring nightmare, I was in no mood to deal with any Weasley who walked through the door. That included Ginny who I was actually growing fond of.

So when Potter arrived with Ginny and they didn't have a trail of red hair following them, my head hit the bed and I sighed in relief.

"You can't actually be happy to see us." Potter stated. I brought my head up and didn't even bother hiding my exhaustion from Potter and Weasley.

"I'm just glad the entire clan isn't here. I don't think I could handle that on top of this." I said while leaning back in my chair.

"You look like shit, Malfoy." Ginny said.

"Gee, I wonder why." I glared at her and I was already struggling to keep my eyes open in the warm room. Hermione was starting to stir which boded well for my chances of getting a nap in. "How long until the rest of the clan gets here?"

"Mum's keeping them blissfully ignorant until after lunch. So you have about 4 hours until you are blessed with a sea of testosterone and my mum. She likes you at the moment because you sent that letter so be thankful." Ginny sat on the bed next to Hermione and rubbed her hand a bit.

"Don't wake her and don't push her too hard. She needs me to translate most of the time." I said while trying to get comfortable in the chair. I wasn't going to be any good if I didn't get some sleep soon. I felt Hermione stirring and so I let myself drift off while she had her friends here. I slept for two hours until I woke to Hermione's nightmare. Potter and Ginny were both trying to comfort her but I got out of my chair and pushed Potter away so that I could sit on the bed.

"Wake up, Hermione. You're safe." I tried my best to push a happy memory into her mind to override what she was seeing but it didn't always work. Maybe an erotic dream would have more of an impact. I pushed the memory of us in the pool into her mind and it slowly brought her out of her nightmare. Though once her mind took over, her dream was drastically different from the memory. We had not actually fucked in the pool, merely groped.

"Draco…" Hermione moaned out in her sleep and her body shifted lightly. Ginny let out a laugh and I could hear Potter shifting uncomfortably.

"You are going to have to get used to this eventually, Potter." I said over my shoulder.

"Not if I can help it." Potter muttered.

"What is she thinking of?" Ginny asked as she leaned further on the bed, invading my personal space.

"A memory." I stated. "Do you need to get laid or something?"

"Someone's waiting until marriage." Ginny said and glared playfully at Potter.

"I'm sure if you asked nicely you could find a girl to go down on you if you were desperate." I suggested.

"I'll keep that in mind." Ginny said while laughing.

Draco…

I turned at the reprimanding tone I heard in Hermione's voice and noticed she had her eyes open.

"I'm attempting to get along with your friends, love." I responded.

By tormenting Harry?

"You should know that is a favorite past time of mine." Hermione shook her head at me and smiled weakly at her friends. She was feeling better than she had so far and I was hopeful that we would get out of here sooner rather than later.

The Weasleys came to visit and I sat in the corner, translating when necessary while receiving glares from the males. They stayed around for nearly three hours, only leaving the room when a nurse entered to check Hermione's vitals. Hermione's symptoms were lessening and it would appear the worst had passed. She continued to have her nightmare every few hours or so. I fell asleep in the chair next to her bed that night and woke whenever she called for me. We didn't have any visitors the next day.

Healer Nolan came in around noon and said everything was looking good and our baby boy was going to survive. He decided to keep Hermione for another day simply because she was still dehydrated and she wasn't keeping solids down. I had sent a house elf to get some ginger ale that she requested and that seemed to be her favorite thing to consume. She went through several cans worth.

That night the nightmares had eased up and Hermione was starting to stomach oyster crackers. We both slept through the night with minimal disruptions. Morning came far too quickly though and Hermione was anxious to leave. She was still weak but she was tired of lying in a hospital bed and not doing anything. I sent a house elf to bring her a book of her choosing and she berated me for nearly an hour about the unethical enslavement of intelligent creatures.

By noon, when Healer Nolan came by again to do the final exam, we were both antsy. He entered and started the exam without speaking. He and I had an unspoken agreement to only speak when necessary.

"All of the traces of the flu have left your system. You'll need to continue to drink plenty of fluids and take it easy when it comes to eating but I don't see any reason to keep you any longer." Hermione was beaming and I was just waiting for the discharge papers to be signed. "Let's look at one last thing."

Healer Nolan waved his wand over Hermione's stomach and a small image appeared about a foot above it. The healer waved his wand again and it appeared that the image magnified.

"Is that?" Hermione reached out but her hand went through the image.

"That is your baby, he's eleven weeks developed. You should start seeing some growth in your body soon." I reached forward and held onto Hermione's hand while we both watched as the infant shifted a bit. You could see that his appendages were forming and his head was rather large. I'd never studied human development so this was all new to me. The image disappeared and the healer passed over the papers to me so that we could leave. "Apparation wards have been taken down around this room for the next twenty minutes."

I nodded and the healer left. I helped Hermione into her clothing and we apparated back to my room at the manor. We both sat on the bed and Hermione curled in my arms while caressing her stomach.

"I'm pregnant, Draco."

"I know."

AN 6/30/15: I love all my followers. Thanks for staying with me.