When we land, we're in Diagon Alley, and Draco's still got a hold of my right arm. I turn and tell him to let me go before trying to shake my arm free of his grip, but he refuses to let go. "Baby, please!", he begs, "Just listen to me! I know you're upset, and you've got every right to be, but I'm upset, too! I swear, I didn't know! Please love, you've got to believe me!".

"I don't know what to believe!", I sob, "I don't know what was real and what wasn't!". Draco grabs hold of my other arm and pulls me close to him, and I stare up into his tear-streaked face as he stares down into mine.

"Please, don't cry, love", he says as he uses his left hand to wipe the tears from my cheek. "This is real baby…usour love is real!". At hearing this, I can't take anymore. I furiously try to pull away from Draco, but he holds on for dear life.

"Let me go!", I say angrily.

"No!", Draco says, "Stop it! Please, just calm down and listen to me!".

"Let me go!", I say again as I try to pull myself free from his grasp. Draco continues to hold on for dear life, and he shows no intention of ever letting go. He's not hurting me, but he simply will not release me, until a familiar voice speaks up from behind us.

"She said let her go, Malfoy", the voice says. Draco immediately looks over my shoulder and his facial features tighten, his worried face now turning into a scowl.

"This is none of your concern, Longbottom", he says with a hint of malice in his voice, "Leave us alone".

"Not until you let Jayde go", Neville replies.

"Shove off!", Draco says before turning his eyes downward towards me once again.

"He said let her go", another voice says from behind Draco, and as I look around to see who else has come to my rescue, I notice Dean standing just behind Draco with his wand raised; he's got it resting right against Draco's temple.

Draco freezes and I pull myself out of his grasp; "No!", he says in protest. Once out of Draco's arms I turn and walk away, sobbing heavily. Torrential rain starts pouring down on Diagon Alley, but that doesn't faze any of the several people who have stopped to watch; all of them gathered in small huddles and clearly shocked to see a member of the Malfoy family involved in a scandal right there in public.

Neville turns away from Draco and follows me, and when he reaches me he places his hand on my back and asks if I'm alright. I turn and fling myself into his arms, crying on his shoulder; "Thank you, Neville", I sob. Just then, however, we hear a scuffling noise, and I glance up from Neville's shoulder to see that Draco's taken advantage of Neville's momentary distraction, pulled his wand, and has turned on Dean.

"YOU DARE TO THREATEN ME?", Draco yells angrily as he casts a non-verbal spell at Dean. Neville immediately releases me and pulls his wand before running to Dean's aid.

"NO!", I scream, unsure of whether it's Draco's or Neville and Dean's lives I'm afraid for. Dean casts a spell back at Draco, who quickly blocks it, and then Neville joins in the fight, trying to help his friend.

Neville and Dean, however, as talented as they are, are still no match for Draco; that strange pale man was right when he said Draco was an expert dueler. He looks like the god of war, angrily flicking his wand towards Neville, then Dean, and then blocking their incoming spells. Flashes of red and green light pierce the darkened sky, and it's hard to keep up with who's casting which spell between all the rain that's still pouring down in thick sheets. I'm sure Neville and Dean's shouts can be heard all throughout Diagon Alley; apparently they don't know how to use non-verbal spells very well and they keep shouting things like "Petrificus Totalis", "Stupefy", and "Expelliarmus", clearly just trying to disarm Draco. Their spells aren't reaching him, however, and I'm quite sure that Draco's trying to do much more than just disarm them.

"Draco, Stop!", I scream, afraid he's going to seriously injure one of them. Apparently my voice did the trick; Draco stops casting spells and glances over at me, all his fury quickly turning to sadness. Neville and Dean, however, have not realized that Draco's stopped dueling, and they both hit him with a stunning spell at the same time. Draco flies into the air and then backwards, hitting his back on the brick wall of one of the nearby stores. He yelps in pain and then falls to the ground, slumped over; "DRACO!", I scream in terror. I quickly glance at Dean and Neville and cause a strong wind to blow in their direction, disarming them. Then I run over to Draco and kneel down beside him on the cobblestone street while Neville and Dean frantically scramble for their wands. I place my hand on his face; "Are you okay?", I sob.

He looks up at me weakly and places his hand on my cheek; "No", he replies, "I won't be okay…not if you leave". I cover my face with my hands and sob into them, thoroughly confused. I don't want to leave Draco, but how can I stay now that I know about he and his parents' horrible plan? And yes, he and his mother swear he didn't know; but how could he not have? How can I be sure I ever loved him, or that he ever really loved me? This is all happening too fast…I don't know what to think or believe; I don't even know how to feel. I wish I had a time-turner, so I could go back to this morning and keep myself from going down to the drawing room and overhearing everything that caused all of this. I'd be perfectly content to go back in time and live my life with Draco, completely oblivious to everything; but that's impossible now. I continue to struggle with these thoughts, mentally arguing with myself, and then Draco steps in. "I love you, Jayde", he says quietly, and my heart once again melts at his words, even though I'm not sure if I believe them.

I lower my hands from his face and stare into his beautiful eyes for a moment before replying; "I love you, too, Draco", I say quietly. Then I lean down and kiss him passionately, trying my best to put every ounce of love I have for him into that one kiss. He does the same; and we make out for several minutes right there in the middle of Diagon Alley. But as we kiss, my thoughts return. "He doesn't really love you…it was all just a trick", my inner-voice says, and I immediately start to feel angry again. Then my inner voice says, "And you don't really love him", and as soon as I think this my lips and skin begin to tingle against Draco's.

He immediately pulls away from me; "What's wrong, love?", he asks. I remove my hands from his face and stare down at him for a moment, having made my decision. "No, Jayde", he says, reading my eyes, "Don't go! Don't fight it, baby! You do love me, and I love you! That's the whole reason it tingles when we touch, that's not a lie! My parents have done some horrible things, but they didn't cause that, there's no way they could've! Please, Jayde…".

His voice trails off and he stares up at me pleadingly; "I'm sorry, Draco", I reply, shaking my head. I struggle to my feet; my still-small but growing and clearly visible baby bump has been making it slightly more difficult to get around these days. Neville sees me struggling and runs over to help me up, and when I'm on my feet again I speak to him. "Could you please get me out of here?", I ask.

"Sure", he replies, and he leads me across the alley, away from Draco. I'm not sure where Neville's going to take me, but I don't really care, so long as I get away from Draco and all the people who are still staring. "Are you ready?", Neville asks. I cast one last look at Draco, who's still lying on the ground in the same spot he fell at with his eyes fixed directly on me, silently begging me not to go. I bite my lower lip, my heart breaking a little more each second, and then I turn my eyes back towards Neville and nod my head in response.

The last thing I hear before we disapparate is Draco painfully screaming, "NO!".

When Neville and I land we're out in the middle of nowhere in a field, and there's a strange-looking house directly in front of us. When we first land the sun is shining brightly on the house, but once I've been there longer than two seconds I make the sky turn grey and heavy sheets of rain start pouring down. "Neville, where are we?", I ask quietly.

"The Burrow", he replies, "This is where Ron and Ginny live. Their Mum, Molly, has 7 children, so I thought that, given your…situation…this would be the best place for you". My heart rises in my chest a little as he speaks, before falling once more. I feel relieved to know that two of my friends are here, knowing you're not alone makes any situation a little more comfortable; but when Neville mentions my particular situation despair consumes me once again.

"Bloody hell", I think to myself, "What am I going to do? It's not like getting away from Draco has solved everything, I'm still carrying his baby! How the hell am I going to raise this child on my own?". Neville interrupts my thoughts, however, and I'm glad he did; all this is just a little too much to take right now.

"Do you want to hide it before we go in there?", Neville asks, indicating my baby bump.

"Um…yeah I do, thanks Neville", I reply, but when I reach into my pocket I remember that I don't have my wand. It, along with all my clothes and other belongings, are at Malfoy Manor. "Bloody Hell", I say aloud, "I forgot my wand".

"It's okay", Neville replies, "I'll do it", and he pulls his wand and casts a disillusionment charm on my belly.

"Thank you, Neville", I reply as he re-pockets his wand. He gives me a few moments to stop crying and gain my composure before saying, "Come on, let's get you inside and out of those wet clothes", and he places his hand on my back and gently ushers me towards the strange house. A middle-aged kindly looking woman wearing a brown dress and white apron answers the door when Neville knocks, and I automatically know it's Mrs. Weasley; her frizzy and frighteningly red hair gives her away. She immediately welcomes us and makes a fuss over Neville's and my wet clothes, ushering us inside and out of the rainstorm I induced. She comments that she doesn't know where this storm came from as she uses her wand to dry my clothes while Neville dries his, and then she ushers us over to the fireplace, where she starts a roaring fire to help warm us from the chill of that cold rain.

Once warmed, I timidly ask where the bathroom is, and Mrs. Weasley guides me to the nearest one and says that she and Neville will still be in the kitchen, that I can rejoin them when I'm finished. Once inside the bathroom and alone I sink to the floor and rest my head in my hands, sobbing; I didn't have to use the bathroom, I just wanted somewhere private where I could fall apart. Not wanting to be rude or make Neville or Mrs. Weasley think something's wrong with me, however, I calm myself a few moments later and splash cold water on my face, trying to remove the evidence that I've been crying. I gather my composure and make the rain outside cease, and then I open the door and head back to the kitchen to rejoin Neville and Mrs. Weasley. As I approach the kitchen, however, I hear them talking excitedly.

"So what brings you here?", Mrs. Weasley asks, "And who's your friend? Is she your girlfriend?".

"She's Jayde Newsome", Neville replies.

"Jayde Newsome?", asks Mrs. Weasley, "But isn't that the girl who's engaged to Draco Malfoy, Neville? Why on Earth would you bring her here?".

"I don't think she and Draco are engaged anymore", Neville replies, and my heart sinks when he says this. I seriously consider running back to the bathroom crying, but instead I stay rooted to my spot, continuing to listen to their conversation.

"What do you mean?", Molly asks.

"She and Draco just had a row in Diagon Alley", Neville explains, "She was trying to get away from him, but he wouldn't let her go, so Dean and I fought him and she asked me to get her away from him…I'm sorry, but I couldn't think of anywhere else to bring her…Gran would have lost it if I'd taken her home with me".

"Well what about her parents' house?", Molly asks.

"She's an orphan", Neville replies, "She's been living at Malfoy Manor".

"My goodness!", Mrs. Weasley exclaims, "The poor girl must be heartbroken! Do you know why they were arguing?".

"No", Neville replies, "But Draco kept saying 'I didn't know'…he seemed very distraught".

"Oh my", Molly replies, "I do hope she's alright. Perhaps I should go and check on her".

Not wanting to be caught eavesdropping, I wait a moment and then walk back into the room as if nothing's happened, taking a seat at the large table next to Neville. Neville and Molly, however, aren't going to act as though nothing's happened. "Jayde", Neville says, "I've told Mrs. Weasley as much as I know about what happened, but perhaps you should tell her a little more…she might be able to help". I immediately start sobbing again, the rain outside coming down in torrents once more, and I cover my face in my hands…I don't want to have to tell anyone what happened…I don't even want to think about it. Mrs. Weasley comes over and wraps her arm around me, trying to comfort me, and Neville places a comforting hand on my shoulder.

I lean over and sob into Neville's chest, "Nobody can help".

Mrs. Weasley says, "There, there, dear, what's wrong?".

"He tricked me!", I sob, "I thought he loved me!". I say nothing else and continue to sob against Neville's chest, and Neville wraps his arms around me in a gentle hug and rubs my back awkwardly, trying to soothe me.

Mrs. Weasley pats my back at the same time and says, "It's alright dear, you don't have to talk about it now if you don't want to". She and Neville continue to soothe me, and after a few moments both my crying and the rain stop and I sit upright in my chair again, drying my eyes with the tissue Mrs. Weasley's just handed me. As I'm still sitting there wiping my eyes, the door that Neville and I just entered through opens and I hear several peoples' feet shuffle into the room.

"Neville!", I hear Ginny , Ron, and Hermione's voices say. I don't turn around to allow them to see my face however; I'm a little embarrassed to be sitting here sobbing like a child.

"And…who's your friend?", Hermione asks tentatively; she walks around the table to face me and then gasps when she sees my tear-streaked face. "Jayde!", she exclaims, "What's wrong?".

And of course, thinking about the answer to Hermione's question makes me start crying again. She and Ginny rush over to me and kneel down beside me, pulling me into a very wet three-person hug; Mrs. Weasley steps aside to allow them to get closer to me and Neville places a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Jayde, what's wrong?", Ginny pleads, "And where's Draco?".

Molly hushes Ginny but it's too late; I start sobbing even more forcefully at the mention of his name. Ron doesn't speak to me, however, he walks outside into the on-again rain and I hear the kitchen door slam behind him. I wonder through tears where he might have gone, but I don't have to wonder long; I hear him talking loudly to someone outside over the rain and everyone else in the room listens to the conversation along with me. "Whoa, don't go in there just now, mate", I hear him say.

"Why not?", I hear Harry's confused voice ask, "It's raining buckets!".

"Jayde's in there", Ron says, "She's a bit upset, she just needs a moment".

"W…well what's wrong? Shouldn't she be with Malfoy?", Harry asks darkly.

"Um…I think that's sort of the problem", Ron replies, "They must've had a row or something, because all Ginny did was mention his name and she started crying…that's where all this rain's coming from".

"What?", Harry asks angrily, "What did he do?".

I hear a scuffling noise at the door that lets me know Harry's trying to get in the house, but Ron is apparently blocking his way. "I don't know, but don't go in there just now!", he says through gritted teeth, "She's very upset!".

"Let me through, Ron!", Harry says, "I swear, if he laid one finger on her, I'll KILL him!". Finally, Harry breaks through Ron's grip and bolts into the house, dripping wet, and over to my side; he nearly knocks Hermione down in his haste to get to me. He kneels in Hermione's place in front of me and says, "Jayde, what happened? Did he hit you?". I shake my head and though I know Harry's relieved, he also seems a bit perturbed that he now has no reason to kick Draco's arse. "Tell me what happened", Harry says, but I'm still too shaken up and upset to talk at all right now, much less about what I found out today.

Immediately Mrs. Weasley says, "She doesn't want to talk about it right now, and I'll thank all of you not to upset her anymore!". She shoos everyone away from me and helps me to my feet; "Come on dear", she says, "You look like you could use some rest".

"All of you get dried off, now!", she calls back to the others as she guides me from the kitchen and up two flights of stairs, into a small bedroom. "Now then", she says, "This was Bill's bedroom, but he's just got married and has his own house now; you'll sleep in here".

"Oh, no, Mrs. Weasley, I couldn't impose on you like that!", I say through tears, "I'll go stay in one of the rooms above the Leaky Cauldron".

"Absolutely not!", she says, "You're a friend of Ron and Ginny's and you're more than welcome here; I won't have you staying all alone in a smelly pub. Now, get some rest, and I'll come up and get you when dinner's ready". And without another word she walks from the room and closes the door. So, a bit uncomfortable but thoroughly exhausted from all the crying, I walk over to the small, twin-size bed and lie down.

I have a hard time getting to sleep, however, because I'm in a strange place, and partially because Draco's not beside me; the Burrow's nothing like Malfoy Manor. I curl up into a little ball, however, and cry for nearly an hour before exhaustion finally overwhelms me, and I fall asleep. When I wake Ginny's standing over me; "Jayde, Mum said for me to tell you to come down to dinner", she says. I rub my eyes and sit up immediately, gathering my composure and unwillingly accepting the harsh reality of the day. A few dry sobs left over from my earlier episodes escape my throat as I make to walk downstairs, but Ginny stops me; "Jayde, what happened today?", she asks.

"I'll tell you later, Ginny", I reply, "I just can't talk about it right now".

"Ok", she replies, and she follows me back downstairs. I walk into the kitchen to find that Harry, Hermione, and Neville are all still here, and Mr. Weasley has come home from work. He also has pale skin and shockingly red hair, but he has a kindly look about him. He eyes me apprehensively when I walk in the room, but he introduces himself and shakes my hand. I take a seat next to Ginny and try to avoid Harry's prying eyes during dinner, and I eat heartily; Mrs. Weasley's a good cook. I feel the baby move during dinner, I assume it's trying to punish me for not eating sooner, but I don't place my hand on my stomach because I don't want to make anyone else aware of my predicament.

Immediately after dinner Neville stands and says that he must get home so his Gran doesn't worry about him, but he asks me to walk him out. I quickly oblige and step out the door behind him. It's not raining just now, though I can feel a storm coming. We walk in silence for a moment, a little ways away from the door so as not to be overheard. Then Neville speaks. "Jayde, I know you don't want to…but if you're going to be staying here, you need to at least tell Mrs. Weasley about that", he says, indicating my stomach when he says 'that'.

"Well I told her I'd go stay at the Leaky Cauldron, but she wouldn't let me", I respond.

"And she's right", he says, "You definitely don't need to stay somewhere like that alone, given your present condition".

"Ok…ok", I reply, "But will you help me tell her?".

"Sure", Neville replies, smiling at me. Then he walks back over to the door and asks Mrs. Weasley to step outside with us for a moment. It's Neville who speaks first when Mrs. Weasley reaches us. "Um…I think there's something else Jayde should tell you, Mrs. Weasley", he says quietly.

"Alright, dear, what is it?", Mrs. Weasley asks, turning to look at me with a confused but eager expression on her face.

"I…I'm…", I begin, not looking directly into her eyes, "Neville, I can't", I finally stammer, turning to look to him for support. He doesn't speak; instead he simply flicks his wand towards me, removing the disillusionment charm he'd placed on me earlier. I stare down and hear Mrs. Weasley gasp as my baby bump reappears; her stunned silence lets me know this has completely taken her by surprise.

"H-how far along are you?", she finally manages.

"22 weeks", I sniffle in response. When she still hasn't responded to that a few moments later I look up, expecting to see disgust and disproval in her eyes, but instead I find concern and pity there.

"It'll all be alright, dear", she says, "I promise", and she pulls me into a bear hug. I can't help but be a little relieved that she's not angry at me, and though I feel like crying again I simply don't have any tears left. We hug in silence there for a moment before releasing each other and straightening ourselves up. Then Neville says he really must be going and bids us goodbye; I thank him for everything and he promises to come by and check on me; he tells me to write to him if I need anything. He then quickly disapparates and Mrs. Weasley and I walk back towards the house. Before we enter, however, I remember that my belly is no longer hidden.

"Mrs. Weasley", I begin.

"Yes, Jayde?", she replies, turning to face me.

"I was wondering", I say, "Do you think you could…you know…hide my stomach again? I'm not really ready to have to tell the others about this".

"Of course, dear", she says, and she quickly waves her wand over my stomach, causing my belly to disappear once again. When we walk inside she tells me I can join the others, who are sitting in the living room talking, but I help her clean the kitchen instead. Then she and I join the others in the living room, and though they're all laughing and joking, I don't join in the conversation; I simply sit there and stare out into space, thinking about everything that's happened in the past 24 hours.

I wonder if Draco got up and went home, or if he's still lying in that same spot; and though I know I should be more concerned with my own predicament, I'm more worried about him. I keep trying to remind myself that I'm being foolish, though; "Of course he's fine", I think to myself, "He never really loved me anyway. He's probably off with some other girl right now, glad to be rid of his responsibilities as a husband and father". Deep down in my heart somewhere, however, I hope that that's not true, and I mentally kick myself for holding out such foolish hopes. I'm still off in my own little word thinking when I hear my name being called from somewhere to my left, and it's only then that I realize that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley have gone to bed and my friends and I are the only ones left in the room.

Hermione calls my name again from beside me; "Yeah?", I reply, turning to face her.

"Are you alright? You seemed a bit…out of it", she replies.

"I'm fine", I say quickly. "So what happened today?", Ron asks; I can't help but notice that everyone's staring at me intently, especially Harry.

"Nothing, really", I reply, "I just had to learn the hard way what you were all trying to tell me all along; that Draco's a selfish, spoiled, good-for-nothing prat who thinks he's better than everyone else and doesn't care about anyone but himself. You were all right and I'm sorry I didn't listen to you".

"That's okay", Hermione, Ginny, and Ron all say at once; "We're just sorry that you got hurt", Hermione says.

My response, however, was clearly not good enough for Harry; "But what did he do to you?", he asks.

"Nothing, Harry", I reply, "I just…found out how much he enjoys toying with other people and their emotions; he's very manipulative".

"I'll say", Ron replies.

"But…", Harry begins, but Ginny cuts him off.

"Harry!", she says, casting him a warning look which causes him to fall into silence immediately.

"Well…at least you found out now before you married the git", Ron says cheerfully; my sudden outburst of tears at this statement confuses him. Sure, I didn't marry Draco, I'm just carrying his…what was it Harry called it? His…evil little spawn! Hermione and Ginny scold Ron with their eyes for making me start crying again, and then they take me by the arms and usher me upstairs, back to Bill's old bedroom. They sit down beside me on the bed and hold my hands, helping me calm down.

It's Ginny who breaks the silence a few moments later. "Hey, I know what would make you feel better!", she says, "A sleepover…just the three of us! We'll stay up all night drinking pumpkin juice and talking about how horrible guys are!".

She and Hermione seem a bit surprised when I giggle at that; "That sounds great", I reply with a smile.

"Great!", Ginny says, "Hermione and I'll run to my room and get in our pajamas, and I'll bring you a nightgown, since all your clothes are…there…and we'll bring the pumpkin juice and popcorn when we return. Well, what're you waiting for, come on Hermione!".

She pulls Hermione to her feet and they run from Bill's room to Ginny's excitedly. I stay seated on Bill's bed until they return, and when they do Ginny flings a nightgown towards me. I pick the gown up and examine it; there is no way me and this baby are squeezing into that little thing. "I think I'll just sleep in this tonight", I say quietly, folding Ginny's gown and laying it on the bed.

"Why? What's wrong with that?", Ginny asks.

"Nothing!", I reply, "It's just…a little too small, is all".

"Too small?", Ginny asks, "What're you on about? You, Hermione and I all wear the same size!".

"Um…not anymore we don't", I reply quietly, which draws confused glances between Hermione and Ginny. Finally, I decide to break the awkward silence by revealing to my best friends what they should have known a long time ago. I walk over to Ginny and ask her to hand me her wand. When she does, I cast a silencing charm on the door, preventing anyone outside from being able to hear this next bit. Then I wave her wand across my stomach, removing the disillusionment charm, and I speak at the same time; "I'm pregnant", I whisper, and then I take a deep breath in and wait for the explosion that I know is coming.