Monday, November 30, 1998
The late summer sun was shining through the trees, casting a beautiful glow across the book in her lap. She could feel the warm rays caressing her cheek as she turned a page. Never in her life had she felt more content.
A soft cry took her attention from the story. Hermione shielded her eyes as she looked across the garden. A pair of bright blue eyes met hers. "I think someone is waking up." She felt herself smile as her eyes fell from Draco's face and onto the pram he was pushing towards her. Another cry, more urgent this time, escaped from the infant's mouth and he stopped quickly to lift the crying baby into his arms.
She rose from her comfortable spot on the bench and reached her hands out. Her heart swelled with love and her arms ached to hold the plumb child. Her child. "Shhh," she whispered, "Mummy's here." But just as her fingers brushed against smooth skin, the sky darkened and she took a step back. There was a tension in the air, and she felt the presence of other wizards closing in around them. She reached for her wand but realized, too late, that she had left it inside.
"We know you're there!" She turned to see that Draco was already in a fighting stance, one arm wrapped protectively around their baby, and the other grasping his wand tightly. "Show yourself!" He demanded angrily.
"Have you been having fun playing house, Draco?" Lucius stepped out from behind the tree Hermione had been reading under just moments before. "I'm honestly surprised how," he paused, "domesticated you seem to be."
Draco's face was void of emotion as he slowly handed the baby to Hermione and moved in between them and his father. "Yes, well not everyone wants to leave the child rearing to the house elves."
The remark didn't faze the older Malfoy. Instead, his eyes moved from his son to Hermione. "Yes, I wonder where you acquired those sentiments."
"What do you want?" Draco sneered.
Lucius stepped forward. "I think you know." He lifted his hand and pointed a finger in Hermione's direction. "I have to erase them from your life."
"Hermione, get inside!"
She didn't need him to tell her that. She was already running towards the door. A flash of light soared past her left ear and the baby screamed loudly. She was almost to the steps when someone apparated right in front of her. She was running so fast she almost crashed right into them.
"Where do you think you're going girly?" An unfamiliar wizard asked with a gap toothed smile.
"Get out of my way!" She yelled.
"Give me the baby and I'll go wherever you want."
Her heart raced in fear while her brain tried desperately to figure out a way to get around the man. Draco cursed behind her.
"You seem surprised son." She heard Lucius laugh coldly. "Did you honestly think I'd come alone?" He nodded to the man in question. "Tobias, if you'd be so kind?"
The wizard in front of her, or Tobias as he was called, stepped closer, wand raised. Was this it? Was she really going to go down like this? She clutched the screaming baby closer to her chest. Maybe if she could turn her back at the last second the curse would hit only her and somehow Draco could get the baby to safety. Her muscles flexed in preparation for her plan.
"Just leave them alone!" Draco cried out.
"I'm afraid that's impossible. I can't have our bloodline tainted. As long as that child lives there can be no peace, not when a true Malfoy heir can be challenged by them."
Hermione felt her face grow hot with rage and she turned her face towards Lucius, but the moment her focus shifted from Tobias, he had her.
"Stupify!"
She was frozen. Unable to move, unable to blink, and unable to do a thing to stop the man from snatching the baby from her arms. She could hear Draco's angry shouts between hurried curses while a sorrowful desperation filled her chest. She watched on helplessly as Tobias lifted his wand.
"No!"
"Hermione," Ginny's voice drifted into her troubled sleep. "Wake up."
Hermione rubbed her eyes, confused by the darkness still lingering in the room. "Ginny? What time is it?"
"Early." She said, taking a seat on the end of the bed. "You were whimpering in your sleep."
She sat up. "Was I?" The dream was slowly coming back to her; the garden, her child, and…Lucius. Her pulse quickened at the awful memory but she took a deep breath. It wasn't real. It wasn'.. "Sorry, it was just…a dream."
"Hermione, I know I haven't exactly been the greatest friend to you lately, and I don't deserve your confidence but if something is bothering you, you can tell me."
Hermione was quiet for a moment. While it was true Ginny had been giving her a bit of a cold shoulder, she knew the redhead still cared about her. If things stayed as they were between them, she knew their friendship would never last. "I'm struggling, Gin." She finally whispered. "Every time I think I've got it all figured out, something comes along and plunges me back under water. I'm barely staying afloat." Ginny placed her hand on her knee.
"Are you worried about the baby? Or…" her words drifted away. Hermione knew what she was asking, even if she couldn't say it.
"Both?" She answered honestly. "When I found out about the baby I was terrified. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. I was supposed to be the smart one, the career path witch. I had so many plans and getting pregnant with Malfoy's baby definitely wasn't one of them, but it happened. I didn't know what to do, or what to think. I felt so alone. I didn't know how Draco was going to handle it, or how any of you were going to handle it. I was so worried about how everyone was going to react that I forgot to worry about what came after. " The pain and anger from the previous night flared up in her chest. She didn't want to rely on them anymore. She could do it herself.
She took a deep breath and looked up to meet Ginny's gaze. "I know how angry this must have made you, but honestly, I wouldn't take it back. This child," She said, placing a hand on the small bump of her abdomen, "means everything to me. I don't care how anyone else feels about it now. I know how I feel. I want to protect it no matter what." The visions of her dream flashed in her mind. No. She wouldn't let that happen. The last pieces of a plan where coming together now. "Even if that means giving up everything else I've come to know and love."
Ginny's eyes widened in surprise. "What are you talking about? You don't have to give up anything, Hermione. We may have been angry, but you're our friend, we would never-"
"That's the point." Hermione started, cutting her off. "I've let everyone else's feelings and demands take precedence over my own. I'm not playing that game anymore. I'm tired of being told what to do! I'm tired of getting my hopes up and I'm tired of being hurt!"
"What happened last night?" Ginny asked.
Hermione contemplated telling her about Ron, but it was probably going to come out sooner or later. "Your brother came to me last night and told me he wanted us to work things out."
"Ron did?"
She nodded and told her everything he'd said. "It turns out he was right about one thing, though."
Ginny leaned in closer. "And what's that?"
"Draco. We…ended things last night, not that I'd say we were technically together. It's odd, though. I told him what Ron was suggesting and he didn't seem particularly surprised. In fact, he completely agreed with him. There's so much going on, and I know there are things he isn't telling me, but he made promises when I told him not to and to hear him say he wanted me to go along with Ron's plan, it just….it killed me, Ginny. I know you don't understand. You look at Draco and you see the vile thing that killed your brother. I get that. I do. But none of you have seen what I've seen in him. I…" She struggled, wondering if she should even be confessing her feelings out loud, "I think I love him, but I'm not stupid enough to believe that he truly feels the same. No matter what he says. One thing is certain, though, he does care about what happens to the baby. He believes its life would be in danger if we stayed together."
"His father you mean?"
Hermione closed her eyes and nodded. "If word got out to his family that he fathered a half-blood, he thinks his father will find a way to dispose of it, and me, if he had to. I didn't believe Lucius Malfoy would go that far but that dream, that dream has made me afraid. There's no way around it. I want to have this baby and I want them to have a good life."
"So why don't you come home with us then?" Ginny grabbed a hold of Hermione's hand. "Ron's right, we can just let everyone assume it's his. There won't be anything to worry about."
"No. I don't think that would work. I don't…I don't think I could do it. I can't pretend it's his. I believe he thinks if we do that, then I will fall back in love with him and we can be a happy family."
"And what is so bad about that?"
"I don't love him anymore." She spoke truthfully. "Not in that way at least. I can't agree to his plan if he thinks we are going to get back together. I won't do that to him. He deserves happiness. Besides, if my baby comes out with a head full of blonde hair no one is going to believe they are a Weasley."
"Well, as long as Lucius doesn't find out then everything will be good right?"
"Even so, I don't want your family to get hurt. What if things get better and I leave? What then? Do I have Ron pretend to be Daddy for the rest his life? That's not fair. No. I've made up my mind. If protecting everyone means I'll have to go back to London and leave the Wizarding World behind me, that's what I'm going to do."
Luna hadn't slept well at all. She had a gnarling feeling in her stomach that something wasn't right. She was already suspicious of Draco and Ron's encounter, but it was more than that. She decided she'd just have to wait until she could speak to Hermione and see what was going on.
Breakfast had been a solemn affair. Hermione sat quietly, her eyes puffy and red, taking tiny bites of food now and then while Ginny whispered to her. Ron was equally as quiet, though his appetite wasn't affected in the slightest. His eyes kept resting on Hermione's downturned face. Luna would have found that strange if not for her accidental spying session with Blaise the day before. Ron had barely looked at Hermione the last two weeks, and now he couldn't seem to stop looking. It took all of her strength not to pour the rest of her food on his tray and take Hermione out of there.
She felt a warm hand intertwine with hers underneath the table. "You alright?"
She looked over at Blaise and whispered, "Do you know what's going on?"
"Yes." He nodded, "At least on my end. I'm not sure what's going to happen, though."
Luna looked down at her plate dismally. She had been so sure things were going to work out for them. Why did Draco have to back out at a time like this? "I suppose there is nothing we can do about it."
He leaned over and gently kissed her cheek. "We'll talk about it later."
Bang! Slam! Screeeeech!
The loud clamoring of books slamming and chairs sliding across the floor was enough to induce a dizzy spell. Theo raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. The classroom stopped spinning for a moment and he took a deep breath, trying once more to charm the head ache away. It didn't work, of course, he'd figured as much since he'd tried before getting out of bed that morning; but there was no harm in double checking.
Pansy put a hand on his shoulder and he started. "Are you alright?"
The boy nodded. "Just feeling a bit under the weather." Her brows knitted together in concern as she pressed her hand flush against his forehead. "Really, Pansy. I'm fine. I'm sure it's nothing." He said, batting her hand away. "Just go on. I'll catch up."
She didn't look convinced but she did as he asked and headed to her next class.
He sighed again as he rubbed his temples. Maybe he should have just stayed in bed. He hadn't been able to focus on his course work at all. He tried to remember what had happened the night before that could have caused this horrendous headache, but it was all fuzzy. There were bits and pieces of him and Pansy, and also some images of him working on Professor Flitwick's assignment, but it just didn't make sense. He knew he hadn't been drinking. Hangovers were quickly cured with the right charm, and that hadn't worked. Something was off.
He wracked his brain for clues.
"Is it true? That you're becoming an Auror?" He recognized the voice as his own, and then blue eyes and blond hair flashed in his mind.
"Yes."
Sweat beaded along his hairline. What the bloody hell was that? A memory? When? He tried to fight the urge to lay his head down on the desk. This was wrong.
"Think about us. Your friends. Or don't you care about us either?
A cold, calm voice replies. "I'm sorry that my decision affects you, Theo."
He felt sick. He doubled over, almost falling out of his chair.
"You're teaming up with the prick to go after the Death Eaters? To go after my father?"
The classroom was spinning now, but he couldn't stop it. The floor was already rushing up to meet him.
Draco's face finally came into focus. "I don't owe them a damn thing."
A scream echoed in his ears.
"It's nothing personal."
Another scream rang out as his body jerked against the stone floor. It was so loud he thought his head may split in half. Who the hell was yelling? Stop. Make it stop! He rolled onto his side, vomiting violently before realizing, to his horror, the screams he was hearing belonged to him.
"Nott?!" Someone shouted above him. "What's wrong?" He struggled to answer, his head throbbed and trying to speak only made it worse. "It's alright, I've got you." The voice said softly. He felt himself being lifted into a sitting position. "Quick, someone help me get him to Madam Pomfrey!" He turned his head slowly, trying to see who it was that was helping him. His vision was blurred but the voice sounded so familiar. He tried to speak again but all that came out was a choking sound. "Shh, don't try to talk."
Someone else was kneeling beside him now. "What happened here?" It sounded like Professor Patton.
"I don't know, Professor. I just came to the classroom and he was on the floor screaming."
"I leave for one minute," He sighed. "Alright then, I'll be back in a moment. Get back everyone!"
As he was taken out of the classroom and away from the gathering crowd, he tried to remember whose face the voice belonged to.
Draco was on his way to his Transfiguration class when he heard that Theo had been taken to the hospital wing. He and Blaise exchanged worried looks before heading there.
"It couldn't have been the spell could it?" Blaise asked with a touch of tension in his voice.
"Not, likely," Draco replied. "I used it on Pansy and she was fine, not to mention Hermione's parents. They had their whole lives rearranged. You only took away a few memories."
"I know, but, it feels like it's my fault. I mean, you heard what that fifth year said. He was convulsing on the floor."
He stopped walking. "Don't. Don't do that."
Blaise stopped to look at him. "Don't do what?"
"Blame yourself." He spoke sternly. "Theo knew too much, and was in too much of an emotional state to be reasoned with. Our friendship, if what we had could even be called that, ended for him last night. He will never forgive my going to The Ministry." He began walking again, though his pace was much slower than before. Each step felt heavy to him as Theo's angry and hurt face flashed in his mind's eye.
"Theo may be the silent, broody type but he cares deeply for his father. "He said quietly. "I respect that. Family is very important. I've done my share of horrible things for the sake of mine, but he knew about Hermione and I. Maybe we weren't cautious enough. We took his silence as ignorance. But he did know. It would only be a matter of time before he learned that she was pregnant with my child. In Theo's hands, that information would be deadly. He had to forget. If you wouldn't have done it, I would have. "
Blaise agreed. "I know we did the right thing, but I still-"
"I'll take full responsibility for the incident if his illness is caused by the spell."
"Draco-"
They were coming up on the door to the infirmary. Draco took a deep breath. He hadn't really realized how worried he actually was until he was right in the doorway. "Let's just see how he is doing."
All she wanted to do was go back to bed. After the terrible night she'd had, she'd had a very trying morning as well.
She'd heard screaming while she was walking to her last class and ran into the room to see Theodore Nott on the ground, having what looked to be a seizure. She'd briefly wondered why she'd thought Wizards were immune to such things while she rushed to his aid. She turned him onto his side to keep him from choking on the bile and saliva that spewed from his mouth. He was muttering curses and she thought she heard Draco's name. She called for help and he was soon whisked away to see Madam Pomfrey.
Though it wasn't the worst thing she'd ever seen, it had shaken her a bit, so when she saw Harry practically running down the hall towards her she shook her head and held up a hand as she passed right by him. "Not now, Harry.
He ignored her and kept pace just behind her. "Ginny told me what you're planning to do."
Hermione stopped mid stride and turned around to look at him. "Oh?" Of course she did. "And you are here to try to change my mind?"
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know if I can, but I'm sure going to try."
"I'm not really in the mood for a debate."
"Just…hear me out. If you hate what I have to say then tell me to bugger off." He paused for a moment, waiting for her to protest. When she didn't he continued, "You love being a witch, Hermione, and you're a damn good one. No matter where you go, you'll still be a witch. So why try to fight it? You don't have to leave it all behind."
"I do, Harry. It's what's best for everyone."
Harry took her hand in his. "I know you believe that, and you've probably thought about it a hundred thousand times in the last 12 hours. I can tell that you're determined to do this, and I don't want to try to tell you what to do. It just…It pains me to think of you being alone in London. You don't belong in the muggle world anymore, especially after you lost your father. I know don't want to live at the Burrow, Hermione. I understand that. You want to do things your own way and that's what I love about you."
"I feel there is going to be a huge 'but' in there somewhere." She replied wearily.
He frowned. "Here's the part where I think you should hear me out. I think you should stay at the burrow for a while." She opened her mouth to protest but he held up a finger. "Not for long, but long enough to get your bearings. I know you're strong. You've proven it time and time again, but this is so different. You don't know how you'll feel after having the baby. Do you even know how to care for one? This is something a book can't prepare you for. I mean, I haven't taken care of an infant or anything, but I can imagine. You may need help and you know Molly and Arthur would want to help you. They love you, regardless of whether or not you're with Ron."
"Ok, say I do stay awhile afterward, then what? Do you have a marvelous plan for that?"
"Yes." He stated, "You can come live in Grimmauld Place with me."
She stared at him in shock. That was quite unexpected. "You'd let me stay with you?"
"Of course. There's plenty of room there. It needs some major touch-ups, but it's a great house. I'll probably be gone a lot at first, but Ginny should be moving in during the summer so you'll have company. You can stay as long as you like."
She was silent for a moment and Harry thought she may decline his offer, but then her eyes locked with his. "I'll take it into consideration." She said. "Luna is worried about me being alone after the baby is born. And I won't lie, I'm completely terrified, but I want to do things my own way."
"I'd be crazy to think I could boss you around," Harry smiled. "You're still Hermione Granger, the Chosen One's best friend after all."
"Yes." She mused. "Yes, I am."
Whitehall, London
It was nearing midnight when a hooded figure crept quietly through the streets. He normally hated such travel, sneaking about in the middle of the night, but it was imperative that he meet up with his comrade. While things were going smoothly, there were a few matters that needed to be addressed. One of which was his henchmen's thirst for blood.
The pub where they were to meet came into view and the man entered without as much as a glance from the patrons already downing their pints. He took a seat next to the back exit and ordered himself a pint as he waited, trying to blend into the background. He brushed back his hood and a few loose strands of curly black hair fell into his face. He left them alone as he sipped on the beer in his hand and thought about how the plan was coming along.
It didn't take long before he spotted Fenrir Greyback making his way across the room.
The werewolf plopped down on the seat, ushering to the bartender that he too, wanted a drink. "What did you call me out here for, Bastien?" A small, slender girl set down his drink and he eyed her hungrily as she walked away. " I thought you wanted me to stay put." He said before taking a huge swig and giving the waitress another once over.
Bastien frowned. "Yes, that was the plan wasn't it?" He asked, eyeing the dark brown blood stains under his fingernails. Anyone one else would assume it to be dirt. "So, would you care to tell me what you were doing in Muggle Loughton last night?"
The amused look on Fenrir's face disappeared. "Some nosy kids were snoopin around. I thought they saw something so I followed em."
Bastien rubbed his temples in annoyance. "Listen, I understand that you have urges, especially during the full moon, but killing muggle children so close to our hideout as a means to fulfill your twisted desires is not something I will tolerate." He narrowed his eyes and his tone became threatening. "I will not put up with insolence."
"But they-"
The dark haired man nearly slammed his fist on the table. Now was not the time to be making mistakes that could get them apprehended. "I don't care if they walked in on you taking a piss, you were not to kill any muggles without my approval."
"I'm tired of waiting around. You're gone all day, where's my fun?"
"Fun? Fenrir, need I remind you what happened the last time you disobeyed my command? I believe I left you to die on the forest floor. I won't let your urges get in the way of fulfilling my goal. I won't hesitate to kill you."
They stared at each other for a moment before he leaned forward. "Can I have a bit of fun with that one then, Lord Aldamar?" He asked, gesturing to the waitress. "To get out the rest of my…urges?"
Bastien held back a nasty remark as he glared at him. While the werewolf had proved useful, he was horrible company. He smelled, he was loud, and his blood lust was hard to manage. Now Bastien didn't mind bloodlust, but when it came to the werewolf, he took it to a whole new level. As soon as he had better, more reliable pawns, he would rid himself of the nuisance, but until then Greyback would have to do. "Fine." He agreed, rising to leave. "But clean up your sodding mess this time."
Yay! I finally finished this chapter! It's been so long since I've been able to write! Anxiety Medications can seriously mess with your head. I lived in a fog for almost a year but I'm glad to say I'm finally medication free! I really hope I did ok on this chapter. It's the first one I've written since coming off Effexor and being myself again. Hopefully you all still like it and are still enjoying the story. Like I've said before, even if you have your doubts, don't give up on me. I WILL finish this story no matter what!