Hermione avoided being alone with Draco all night. She managed to have Ginny or Harry there every time he tried to talk to her. Even when Molly was trying to prod at her after dinner about her stomach being off, she used the children to distract and skirt away. It annoyed him beyond measure. He just had to know…
Pacing the sitting room, he debated flooing over to talk with her. It made him nervous to think she had possibly no recollection of their drunken shag. What if she was holding onto a Malfoy and not a Wood? She said she wasn't shagging him… did she lie about that? He was a mess.
"Draco, what is wrong?" Narcissa questioned as she entered the room. "You have been walking the floor for an hour. Was the party that horrible?"
He huffed and scrubbed his face. "Mother, I did something appalling, and I think it might have caused someone difficulties." He mumbled, and she stopped his pacing.
"What could you have done? You have been a prime example of redemption, son." She tried to comfort him.
Draco exhaled and pinched his expression. "Mother, I think, no I know, that when I had more than my fair share of drink while camping that something happened."
Narcissa frowned and tilted her head. "What could have happened?"
Draco knew he had no one to talk to about this but his mother. He exhaled and took her hand. "I slept with Hermione. Today it is more than clear that she is… well, you know. However, I don't believe she remembers, and I don't know if she had been with anyone else prior to or after. I am quite nervous."
"Draco, darling, if she was seeing another man, the likelihood of her taking potions daily is high. If that witch is with child, you can be assured it wasn't accidental. She could have been during that trip and not even known it." Narcissa sighed and squeezed his hand.
"Mother, how do I even ask her about it?"
Narcissa smiled and ran her fingers through her son's hair. "Just ask. It may bring about some awkward conversation, but it is important. She needs to tell you herself if it is, in fact, your child or not."
Draco nodded and exhaled. "I will on Monday. She and Potter I suppose have some tedious outing to get new toys for the Potters tomorrow."
"That's my son," Narcissa responded and patted his shoulder. "Go get some rest. We have a trip planned for the Isles tomorrow. I would hate for you to be too tired to see your son pick out his first pet."
Draco gave her a strained smile and bobbed his head. "You are right. I am just stressing for no reason," he sighed and kissed his mother's cheek. "I love you."
"I love you too, son. Be good to yourself."
The wizard left the room in a stride, and the witch scratched her chin staring at the fireplace. She debated and bit her lip in question. The question. Was that her grandchild that witch was surely holding? Her excuses and shielding didn't blind Narcissa. She saw signs of the witch's changes for days. She saw signals her son gave off like a flare as he went from friendly to sometimes inappropriately attentive to the witch.
"Shall I go speak to your sister or are you going to," Lucius's voice entered the room.
Narcissa didn't turn to him and waved him off. "I stand by what I said, husband. She was seeing another wizard. No use causing her more issues; let it be."
"I know you don't believe the girl was sleeping with that Quidditch poof," Lucius grumbled.
Narcissa turned to the grim looking Malfoy. "Leave it be, Lucius. I don't want her hurt by this. If that is my grandchild, I don't want her to lose it."
"You don't want me to prevent this. I will if I have to," Lucius growled as he moved to the fireplace.
Narcissa raced toward the mantle and took the elaborate jar. "No! Leave her alone," Narcissa snapped, holding the pot to her chest.
"You are being weak," he hissed sharply.
"She is holding my grandchild, Lucius. Our grandchild. Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Narcissa murmured with a pout.
"No, Cissa because then everything we were trying to achieve will be for not."
"This could be his second chance at happiness, Lucius. He loves her," Narcissa tried to convey with a twisted expression.
"Love. Love!" Lucius huffed. "I will make this girl think twice even to claim such…" he snarled and yanked the jar from her roughly.
Narcissa grabbed his arm. "You do this, and I won't ever find forgiveness for you," she warned him.
That made him waver and groan before setting down the jar on the mantle. "You win, wife… I will not go make a scene."
She watched him a moment and pointed her index finger at him. "You promise to leave her be?"
"I promise to give her the choice to speak to him or not," he said, and Narcissa exhaled with relief.
"Thank you, Lucius. Draco should never have to regret a chance at life."
"Of course, darling…" he trailed off and bobbed his head. "I am going for a swim."
She leaned to him and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."
Hermione Granger was laughing as she sat with her friends and Andromeda in the sitting room of their house. Ginny was helping her organize the potion routines, vitamins and even had brought over the vast amount of books she had packed away. Harry was running his fingers through Hermione's hair as they talked about the children.
It was Sunday afternoon and they had just finished shopping. The children were in Teddy's room and it gave them a chance to talk freely about Hermione's pregnancy. She had it confirmed secretly; a favor Harry had owed by Augustus Pye this morning. It was official and as scary as that was for Hermione… she was happy.
"So, darling? Are we expecting some sort of drama to unfold with the donor in question?"
Hermione snorted and rolled her eyes. "I don't need to tell the donor in question, as you so fondly put it, anything."
Ginny groaned loudly. "You need to tell him."
"I do not," Hermione said with a smile.
Harry rubbed Hermione's shoulder and kissed her cheek. "I don't care if you do, Hermione. I am just happy you are having a little curly-haired little one."
"Blond?" Ginny hissed and Harry frowned at his wife on the floor.
"Why blond?" Harry asked.
"A joke. Just a silly little joke," Hermione grumbled.
Andromeda glanced at her with a neutral expression. "I suppose Oliver has blond ancestry roots."
Hermione grinned with a motion of agreement. "Of course, Drom."
"I have a real question. How are you going to fit another child in this house?" Harry questioned, scratching his chin.
Hermione glanced over at Andromeda and frowned. "We haven't talked about that yet," the younger witch responded.
"Don't be silly girl. We will renovate the study into a baby's nursery and add bookshelves in here. That way I can watch the baby while you work, darling. I thought you knew that I would never leave you to do this alone."
"Thank you, Andromeda. I am so glad I don't have to do this by myself." Hermione sighed.
"That is something that should be discussed with the father," Ginny snapped.
"Why does this matter?" Andromeda questioned.
Harry waved his finger. "Wait, why doesn't it? My lovely wife does have a point."
"Because the person in question isn't Oliver Wood. The man I happen to have shagged doesn't even know he shagged me!" Hermione snapped and rubbed her face.
Harry's face dropped, and he shuddered away from Hermione. "Stop, who did you shag? Who is your baby's father?"
"Please, don't ask me, Harry," Hermione huffed as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Draco bloody Malfoy," Ginny said flatly.
Hermione gasped. "Ginny!"
"Malfoy? You shagged him?" Harry inquired, his face pink.
"Because George got us sloshed and I wanted to. I like him, Harry. So much. He doesn't remember that night. I already asked." Hermione puffed.
Harry fixed his glasses on his nose and breathed deeply. "You know, I kind of thought so. There's something charming and caring about the way you two act. Why don't you just tell him the truth? Surely it is better for him to know even after the fact."
Hemione pouted and pressed her forehead to her knees. "Because, Harry," Andromeda said with a furrowed brow. "Hermione refuses to be up front about her feelings for my nephew."
"Drom, it has nothing to do with that." Hermione said, her vision snapping toward the older witch.
"It has everything to do with it and you know it," Ginny barked, smacking a book down roughly on the carpet.
"Then prove them wrong and tell him tomorrow, Hermione," Harry said before thinning his lips.
Hermione groaned and pulled at her hair. "And what? Deal with his crazy parents? Become a Malfoy matriarch? Have to deal with the fact that he didn't sleep with me because he actually wanted to but because we were sloshed? He would likely do the right thing and try to be a good father, but what next? Marry him because he is obligated? No, I think not," Hermione snapped.
"Why not give him the option to choose? I asked you that last night," Andromeda said, rubbing Hermione's shoulder.
"Because I don't want to be anyone's forced choice. I want to be their choice because they want it." Hermione mumbled and rubbed her eyes. "I hate being this upset about this…"
"Hermione, you need to tell him," Harry whispered. "It is imperative that you give him the chance to show you that you are his choice. It isn't like you dragged him off to your tent and demanded it, he cares deeply for you. We all saw it yesterday. The more he tried, the more you pushed him away."
She thought about it. Hermione took a long moment to envision what the man would be like with her. A figment of him grinning wildly as he ran his hand over her expanded stomach swirled in her mind. Holding her hand when she was having a horrible day. Reading a book aloud to her and Scorpius as the little blond child listened to his sibling moving in her abdomen. Hermione didn't realize a large tear skated down her cheek until Harry brushed the trial away.
"Okay, I will tell him tomorrow," Hermione conceded.
Ginny exhaled loudly and bobbed her head. "Thank Merlin. I was debating on going there myself if you didn't agree."
Andromeda clapped and nodded. "Wonderful! I am elated that we will get to celebrate soon as a family."
Hermione snaked an arm around Andromeda and kissed her cheek. "Yes, a family."
"What in the world are we going to tell the rest of the Weasleys?" Harry questioned, scrubbing his face; his glasses nearly falling from his gesture.
Hermione tilted her head and shrugged her shoulders. "I haven't gotten that far yet. I am still trying to hold on to optimism that Draco will be happy with this."
"You must be joking," Ginny snickered, rolling her eyes. "That wizard was nearly pleading for you to let him support you last night. I think he was utterly jealous that my siblings were suggesting the child was Oliver's."
Hermione's cheeks turned scarlet. "I forgot he was there for that."
"It was far worse when you were up voiding your guts in the loo," Ginny responded with a nod. "He looked quite upset."
Andromeda hemmed. "Hermione, I believe my nephew has been quite enthralled by you for some time. It does not surprise me that a little drinking lead to what it had. He is more than a touch captivated by you."
Hermione thought about it and her lips parted. How long? When did it start? Where did he become a reality for her? "What do I even say? Hello, by the way, I am having your baby?"
"How about this," Harry murmured with a smile. "Malfoy, I told you that I wanted flowers, not a baby."
Ginny laughed and waved her hand. "No, no, no. This is better. Malfoy, did you know that we are going to have the most stubborn child?"
Hermione could see Harry was warming to the concept faster than she thought as he chuckled and nodded. "Oh, and I bet it will be a little girl. Can you see him trying to braid hair and play with dolls?"
"Dinners at the Burrow will be outstanding. He will look so odd trading stories about their children. Can you see it? Ron will spit flames," Ginny snickered, rubbing tears from her eyes. "Not to mention the concept that he will have to look my dad in the eye and explain how this all came about."
Andromeda covered up her smile. "You two are batty with anticipation…" she trailed off.
"And mum," Harry said through laughter. "She will nearly yank his hair out to see if he is making sure Hermione is taken care of."
"You are really alright with this, Harry?" Hermione questioned with a frown.
Harry let his laughter settle and he beamed. "Hermione, Malfoy would rather deal with threats by a wand and walk into a house where he knew he wasn't welcomed in than to see you upset or disappointed. Whoever he was ten years ago is not the wizard he is today. Remember how he came to my house to ask me how to apologize to you? That takes more courage than pride. If he doesn't love you, then he is well on his way to it."
"I like him. He would rather sit in a room and be completely out of his element than to fail you." Ginny responded, patting Hermione's knee. "You just have to be ready to accept that he is likely going to be a neurotic mess when he finds out. I am quite sure he will spend exuberant quantities of galleons on your care."
Hermione sighed and shook her head. "If that's the case, maybe I don't tell him."
"Too late, Hermione. You have no choice now that I know," Harry said with a motion of agreement. "Tomorrow you tell him."
Hermione cupped her cheeks. "Tomorrow I tell him I am having his baby…"