Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

A/N: I LIIIIIVVEEEE! I'm so sorry you guys :/ All I can say is that I haven't had two minutes alone this whole month if I wasn't shuttling myself to prenatal appointments, getting bloodwork done, visiting my father-in-law in the hospital and taking HIM to appointments...not to mention keeping my preschooler entertained! I wish I had known I was going to get pregnant again before I published this story way back when because I would have known I would be too busy or preggo-brained to update decently :( I know it's not fair to you guys that have been with me since day one on this story and got used to weekly or bi-weekly updates. All I can say is it's my goal to finish this before January, which is when the baby is due and there's no way I'll be able to update after that for a looonnggg time :( So, I just wanted to respond to a few reviews really quickly before getting into the story. I've had a few of you guys mention how I've made Draco extremely unlikable and it's to the point where they really don't want Hermione to end up with him. I'll just say that we have to remember that Draco is a very miserable person at this point, whether or not it's his own doing, it doesn't change the fact he's unhappy. In this chapter, we'll address this :) Second, I had a reviewer let me know they can't read the story anymore now that Theo is gone. I respect and understand that. This story isn't going to please everyone and it'd be impossible to. Lastly, there are a few people that couldn't believe Hermione would be nice to Astoria. Why not? Astoria has never done Hermione wrong, and is in fact, the wronged party. I don't think I've created a Hermione that would be so indifferent to someone else's deep pain. I've tried to keep Hermione as Hermione-like as possible, while still being different enough to be a passable Slytherin. This is the girl who was vengeful enough to spell 'SNEAK' on Marietta Edgecombs' face, but is also the same girl who kindly knits elves clothing even if they don't want it. So, I still think of Hermione as compassionate enough to be kind to Astoria, especially since she feels slightly guilty about her own unknowing part in the girl's treatment. So, thank you if you're still here with me after a month of silence! Please enjoy and leave a review if you feel like it :)

Chapter Twenty-Four: It's All Gone Wrong

"Hermione."

The brunette blinked up from her chair, making out a tall head of blonde hair through the candlelight peeking from behind the library door. "Draco," she nodded her head, placing a marker in the book and closing it before checking the clock for the time. It was quite late, she realized with a start, and blinked her brown eyes tiredly. Draco entered the room, shutting the door behind him and padding over on plush carpet to the chair opposite of her. "I didn't mean to disturb you, I just saw the light and wanted to check on you before I retired," he explained, his eyes silver and dark in the weak light. She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I know you witnessed that little scene on the balcony earlier, Draco, so ask what you really want to know."

He frowned and ran a hand through his slicked back hair, a nervous habit he always has had, she mused. "Look, Hermione, I know being here can't be easy for you, all things considering. If Astoria is bothering you in any way, you can let me know. I'll...deal with her," he said seriously, leaning forward and placing his elbows on his knees, unconsciously drawing closer to her. She stared at him coolly for a few moments before responding.

"What happened between your wife and I today was completely inevitable when one as poorly treated as Astoria finally confronts the object of her unhappiness."

Draco opened his mouth to protest but she silenced him with the hardness in her eyes. Instead, he leaned back into the arm chair, looking rather small in it. "How could you, Draco? Is no one allowed to be happy because you're not? It wasn't Astoria's fault you married her and didn't love her. It wasn't Theo's fault he loved me when you did too. You can't punish people for not being what you want them to be! The Draco I knew would have never been so cruel…" she trailed off, shaking her head and looking away from his sad gaze.

No words were passed between them for a few moments. Draco watched as she sighed and moved to get up and leave the room. Before she completely made it through the door, he slipped behind her and gently grasped her hand, startling her. It was quite late and even the portraits were dozing in the hallway. She made no move to take her hand back but he didn't draw her closer either.

"Wait...Hermione...please."

She pursed her lips and looked down at their joined hands, conflicted as to whether she should leave now or listen. Curiosity won and she looked up at him expectantly. He licked his suddenly dry lips. "You're right, I have been unfair to Astoria. I married her as a means to an end and it was wrong. I-I don't know what's happening to me, 'Mione….It's like...all I can do is focus on the negative and a piece of me is always hurting, down in my very soul. It's only when I think about you...that it doesn't pain me so much anymore. I won't lie, at first, when you married Nott….the thought of you was agony, the thought of you with him bloody tormented me. Becoming a soldier for the Dark Lord was the only way to numb it, at first. Now...now...I can't stop it. I can't feel anything anymore, just the darkness and pain," he cracked, pulling his hand back from her and turning away, ashamed of such a confession.

"Draco, dark magiks like that...well, they say that the Dark Lord sacrificed his soul for that power. His most loyal followers are depraved and have no humanity left, just look at them. If you don't stop going down this dark path, I fear for what you'll become. I can't be a light for you, Draco, no one can. You have to pull yourself out of the darkness."

She didn't wait for him to reply, but turned quickly away and hurried down the hall back to her rooms. Nathaniel had long been asleep and the headache between her eyes told her she was past her bedtime as well. She just didn't have the energy to deal with Draco right now, she didn't even have the energy to deal with her own emotions.

As she rushed away from him, Draco stared at her retreating form for a few moments before sighing and leaving for his own quarters. Neither noticed the pair of keen blue eyes witnessing the exchange with concern.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As the days passed into weeks, Hermione could feel the icy chill of Nott Manor drawing her closer and closer. Draco and she had not spoken since that night in the library, at least, not in private. There was the standard 'How was your day?' or 'Sleep well?' that passed between them, but she was much more focused on coming up with a plan to escape her father-in-law and keep Nathaniel safe to be too bothered by a moody blonde. She knew hiding from him within the wizarding world would be almost impossible with all his connections to Voldemort, who was the Minister of Magic in all but name. Even if she could, because she considered herself quite clever after all, what kind of life would that be for a child? No, hiding was not a solution.

Returning to the muggle world would present its own set of problems. Nathaniel has never had to hide his magic, not even with his own grandparents, and would unlikely be able to now as a toddler. He knew he was a wizard and knew no other way of life. How she would support herself was another problem. All her education was on how to be a witch, not how to be a lawyer or a doctor or any sort of muggle profession. She would need to go to school and she just didn't have that luxury with a dependent. Her parents would certainly help, sure, but is it fair to them to put their lives on hold for a few years to watch their grandson so she could get an education?

Narcissa, in her own way, was trying to help by keeping Astoria busy and out of her hair. Lucius had taken quite a shine to her little boy, surprising everyone, and let Nathaniel accompany him on errands that were of a suitable nature. Narcissa smiled sadly when the young witch had commented on how well Lucius was suited for little boys and told her that Lucius had always wanted a large family but they were unable to after Draco. It went unspoken that now their son faced the same issues with procreating, as did many old families these days.

As her last week drew to a close, Hermione found herself alone with Narcissa for afternoon tea. Astoria had gone to visit her sister while the men were in Diagon Alley for lunch, along with Nathaniel. The prim blonde poured her companion tea first, then herself before sitting back and observing the witch. Once Hermione had sipped her beverage, Narcissa casually started talking about how pleasant her gardens were this time of year.

The curls of the brunette's hair bounced as she agreed politely that, yes, the Malfoy gardens were quite lovely and she was quite fortunate to be here in spring to see it in all its splendor. "The umbrella flowers are quite the sight to behold, Narcissa. You must be very proud of how large they've gotten," she smiled politely, taking another sip of her tea. Narcissa's teeth glinted in the sunlight as she smiled back.

"Yes, I imagine you didn't see those every day in your parent's muggle neighborhood growing up. Quite the sight, indeed."

Narcissa waited calmly for her guest to stop choking on her tea and for the coughing to subside. She graciously offered the girl a handkerchief to clean herself up.

"Whatever is the matter, dear?"

Hermione just looked back at her incredulously, unsure of how to answer that. Her jaw hung open unattractively for a few seconds more before she managed to close it. "…Pardon?" was the cleverest thing she could utter at the moment. One blonde eyebrow went up slowly. "I said that magical flowers must have been quite different than the muggle flowers you were used to, seeing as you are a muggleborn."

Hermione's heart was racing faster than a hippogriff and her mouth was so very dry. "I'm really not sure what you mean, Narcissa. My family may not be as old as your's-" but she was cut off by a slim hand in front of her. "You, Hermione Granger, are the first of your name. There's really no need to continue on, really. Your parent's are as muggle as they come, we both know it." Hermione let the protests die on her lips and she began to try and think of a way out of room. But first, she had to know one thing.

"How did you know?"

Narcissa reached into her grey robes and pulled out a piece of parchment. "When Draco wanted to break his contract with Astoria for you, I knew it would be no simple feat to sway Lucius to his cause. You were an unknown. Astoria comes from a long, traceable lineage of English purebloods while you came from a rather small branch of a much lesser family, or so we thought. So, I began doing a little digging to try and find out more about you, this mythical Hermione Granger of the Dagworth-Grangers, and something rather odd happened. I reached a magical dead end. As it turns out, your closest relative to the Dagworth-Grangers was your great-great grandfather, who was a squib. He married a muggle and was lost to the muggle world from there on out. Obviously the magical gene manifested itself in you, several generations out. Strange how that happens, isn't it?"

Hermione listened in shock. "You knew this entire time….and said nothing? You…allowed me in your home, with my half-blood son, and have never been anything but kind…" she shook her head in a daze, trying to sort it all out. "I don't understand. You hate muggles and muggleborns," she furrowed her brows. Narcissa sighed heavily. "My dear girl, have I ever told you about my sister, Andromeda?" After Hermione shook her head, she continued. "My older sister was everything my parents taught us to be, Slytherin and obedient. She was contracted in her seventh year to a boy of my parent's choosing, a boy from another Slytherin pureblood family who also supported the Dark Lord. When she graduated, instead of going home as expected, she went and eloped with a boy named Tonks. A Hufflepuff who was a muggleborn. When my father heard of it, he had her blasted off the family tapestry and her name was never to be spoken of again. Our eldest sister, Bellatrix, ranted and raved against Andromeda to anyone who would listen and married a Lestrange to prove she was not a muggle lover. She went out of her way to torture muggleborns when she first served the Dark Lord. I married Lucius and never spoke of her again until one day I saw her in Diagon Alley. Her husband was with her and they were holding the hands of a little girl whose hair constantly changed colors. They looked….very happy. I thought to myself that anyone who could make my sister happy like that could not have been all bad.

Then, I met you as a little girl with the biggest smile on your face when you were with my son. Draco was always so enamored with you, the two of you a thick as thieves together. You encouraged his good traits and helped to keep him on track in school. When Lucius was incarcerated, you didn't leave Draco behind and even wrote to me when so many of our other 'friends' were nowhere to be found. I thought to myself what a wonderful young woman you were and how glad I was that Draco and you found each other. When Draco asked for you instead of Astoria, I was not a surprised as I should have been, I suppose. In a way, I always knew that he would fall in love with you. I was almost heartbroken when I realized that the two of you could never be. That's why I have never said anything or treated you any differently, Hermione. I know, better than most I think, that muggleborns are not all bad."

Hermione sat back on her chair, gob smacked. There were no words, no thoughts that could possibly do justice to the maelstrom in her head. Before she could respond, her host asked the most complex question she possibly could.

"You loved my son, didn't you?"

The young witch nodded morosely. "Very much so," she whispered, looking down into her lap. Narcissa nodded to herself, confirming her suspicions. "That's why you let him go. So he would never find out your secret and leave you," she murmured. "Yes. It was better to have him hate me for loving another than to hate me for being a muggleborn and a liar."

"Did your husband know when he married you?"

Hermione shook her head and hot tears blurred her visions at the thought of Theo. "Not then. He had no idea. He wanted to elope quickly because I was not of the Twenty-Eight and his father would never approve. He didn't find out until we were expecting Nathaniel, and I couldn't keep it from him any longer. He was angry at first, naturally, but he said he loved me enough that it didn't matter and we would keep my secret," she replied thickly, the tightness of her throat almost unbearable.

She suddenly shot up.

"Nott Sr! He must know!"

Narcissa nodded solemnly. "Yes, I would think he would know as much as I do. Anyone who wanted to look could find the same information I did. I'm positive he plans to kill you when you go to Nott Manor. He will take the boy because, half-blood or not, he is the only heir he has with Theodore gone."

Hermione began to cry in earnest. Her son, Theo's son! She had to leave and take him far away, damn the consequences! Nothing was more important than the safety of her son, nothing. She quickly wiped away the tears and stood abruptly. "I have to leave now, then. I'll take Nathaniel as far away from here as I can and-"

"I already have a plan, but you're not going to like it."