While Hermione got ready to go to Harry and Ginny's, Draco was in his room, getting ready for a day in his lab. As he buttoned up his shirt, there was a knock on his door. "Come in!" he yelled and was surprised to see Teddy enter his room.
"Hey Ted. Anything I can do for you?" Draco asked, as he pulled out some socks from a drawer.
Teddy shook his head, "Not really. I was looking for Hermione but she didn't answer when I knocked."
"She's probably in the shower and getting ready to go to the Potter's to tell them about the pregnancy," explained Draco.
"Oh… ok," said Teddy dejectedly, slumping in himself onto the edge of Draco's bed.
Draco sat next to him and patted Teddy on the back. "I'm sure she would have offered to have taken you, but she needs to have this conversation with just adults. I bet next time she'll have you come with her," he said reassuringly.
Teddy nodded and blew out a breath.
Draco frowned, "Is everything ok? Something you… want to talk about?" Merlin, he hoped he didn't want him to talk about how Hermione got pregnant right this minute… while he wasn't a prude, he didn't feel it was his job to talk to the kid about the birds and the bees.. plus he was only seven..
"What are we?" asked Teddy, breaking Draco's current train of thought.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean… are you my cousin of sorts? I'm a little confused," Teddy confessed.
"Oh.." said Draco, scrunching his brows in thought. "Well, your grandmum is my Aunt. And your mother was my cousin. So you're my… second cousin, I believe. Maybe once removed, but I'm not sure."
"And…. what will your babies be? Will they be my…. third? cousin?" Teddy asked.
Draco nodded, "I believe so, yeah."
"Oh…" said Teddy, looking down at his lap.
Draco put a finger to chin, as if he were contemplating something, "But, you know… because you'll be living here with them and seeing as how I know you'll be a big help after they're born, you'd be more like a big brother than a cousin."
Teddy perked up at that, "Yeah? You really think so?"
Draco nodded knowingly, "Yes. Definitely."
Teddy frowned, "I'll never have any real siblings of my own, will I?"
Draco shook his head and gave the child an apologetic look, "Sorry, Ted. But, there's always my kids… So what do you say? Do you want to be a big brother to the twins?"
Teddy nodded his head enthusiastically, "Yeah! Will you and Hermione mind if I call them my brother and sister to my friends?"
Draco shrugged, "I don't see why not. But, buddy, you know that we don't know the genders yet. They could easily be both boys or both girls."
Teddy shook his head, "Not uh. One of each."
Draco raised a brow, "How about a little wager? I'll bet you two galleons that they are both boys."
Teddy grinned mischievously, "You're on!"
"What's on?" asked Hermione from the doorway, her hair still slightly damp from her shower.
Draco slung an arm around Teddy's shoulders, "We put in wager on the genders of the babies. I'm betting on two boys and he's betting on one of each."
Hermione tsk'd under her breath, "Draco, you really shouldn't take bets with a child. Besides, I have a feeling you're both wrong and they're two girls."
Draco narrowed his eyes teasingly, "I don't think so. Malfoy's only sire boys."
Hermione shrugged indifferently, "Perhaps it's time your streak ran out. After all, these are the first half-blood Malfoy's ever, right?"
"Hm. I will admit you have a point. But I still think they're both boys," he said.
Hermione placed a hand absently on her stomach and smiled. "Well, we'll see in a few weeks, won't we?" she challenged before turning around and throwing a grin over her shoulder. "See you two later. And no more bets."
Draco shook his head and smiled as he watched her leave, then looked at Teddy, "I bet you anything there's some biscuits we can knick from the kitchen. Want to go see?"
With a grin and nod, the two boys left Draco's room and went in search of an early morning snack.
Hermione stepped out of the fireplace and into the modest living room of the Potters. Feeling slightly queasy from the travel, Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath to help gain back her composure.
"Everything alright?" asked Ginny, as had stepped into the room just as Hermione had entered.
Hermione nodded, "Yes. I'm fine. Just got a little dizzy, is all."
Ginny narrowed her eyes at her friend before gasping and clamping a hand over her mouth. "Are… are you? Are you what I think you are?!"
Hermione placed a hand on her stomach and blushed, giving a slight nod as an answer.
Ginny was about to squeal when Hermione stopped her, "Shh! I want to tell Harry and Ron myself."
"Alright, alright. But I want details later!" said Ginny with a huge grin as she hugged Hermione.
"Details about what? Or is it something I really don't want to know?" asked Harry, coming into the room, his hair damp and sticking up in all directions, as he hugged Hermione in greeting.
"You really don't want to know," said Hermione with a smile. "Is Ron here yet?"
Ginny rolled her eyes, "No. He floo called earlier and said that he and Pansy were running late. I think they're living together already, but he won't admit it."
"Well, they are getting married soon. Next weekend, right?"
Ginny nodded in confirmation as the three of them made their way to the kitchen, "Yes. I can't wait till it's over. Mum is driving us all crazy. She and Pansy's mum kept butting heads on everything but I think they're finally working together." Ginny glanced at Hermione as she handed Harry some glasses from the cupboard, "Are you going?"
Hermione nodded, going to the drawer where the silverware was at, "Yes, though maybe not for the whole time, maybe just the ceremony, but we'll see how tired I am and go from there."
Harry looked at Hermione questioningly, "So have you finally gone to see a mediwitch to see what's ailing you? I know something is wrong with how tired you always are at work."
"Um, yes. I found something out," said Hermione with a faint blush, not looking Harry in the eye, "That's the reason why I wanted to talk to you all today, actually."
"Oh.." Harry placed a comforting arm around her, "Is… everything ok? You're not like… dying, are you?"
Hermione gave him a smile and kissed his cheek, "I'm not dying. I promise I'll tell you all everything once Ron get's here."
"Did someone say my name?" asked Ron, walking into the kitchen with a grin, Pansy following close behind, her hand holding his loosely.
"About time," Ginny grumbled, "It's not nice to keep a pregnant girl waiting, you know."
Ron looked at her sheepishly, "Sorry, we, uh, got caught up with something."
Pansy snorted and ducked her face behind him before glancing over his shoulder, "Sorry, we'll try to be here on time at the next get together."
"Yeah yeah," Ginny grumbled under her breath, but gave Pansy a wink to indicate she really wasn't mad.
"Grang-, Er, I mean, Hermione. It's good to see you again," Pansy said with just slight awkwardness.
Hermione gave her a small smile, "You too. Are you excited about the wedding?"
Pansy's face lit up with a smile that seemed to light up her face, "Extremely. I'll tell you all about it while we eat," she said.
Hermione swore she heard Ginny and Harry groan at this declaration, but she cleared her throat and said, "Actually, I have something I wanted to discuss with you all, now that we're all here."
"Before you begin, can we please go sit down and start eating? I wasn't joking when I said not to make a pregnant girl wait to eat," said Ginny seriously.
The group agreed and made their way to the table as Harry brought out their lunch, which consisted of homemade macaroni and cheese and a fresh loaf of bread.
As Ginny moaned in delight after taking her first bite, Ron looked over at Hermione as he was about to shovel food in his mouth, "So, 'Mione, what did you want to talk about?"
"Oh, um…" she glanced at the table, everyone looking at her expectantly, except for Ginny, who was grinning and nodding at her to continue. Why was this easier to tell my parents than my friends? she wondered. "Well, what I came here to tell you is… I'm pregnant."
Both Harry and Ron's mouths dropped open, each earning a jab to the rib by their significant other before Ginny beamed at her, "I knew it! Was that why you were asking me about my symptoms? Oh Merlin, how far along are you? I wonder if we're due at the same time!"
"I didn't suspect until after you announced, actually. And I'm six weeks along currently," informed Hermione, who kept looking over at Harry and Ron, who were both still gaping at her.
"Oh, I'm about five weeks. Only a week difference! Won't it be amazing if our kids share the same birthday?" Ginny asked excitedly.
"Well, they probably won't considering that it's rare that twins make it to their due date," supplied Hermione with a small grin.
"TWINS?" squealed Ginny in shock.
Pansy, who still hadn't said anything, dropped her mouth open in surprise too, then mumbled something that sounded like "Way to go, Draco," under her breath with a smirk.
Hermione nodded and smiled at her friend, then looked at Harry and Ron, "Can you two please say something? Your silence is unnerving."
Harry finally shook himself back to focus and said, "You're pregnant? With twins? Wow… Congratulations, 'Mione!"
"Wait.. with… Malfoy?" asked Ron
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Of course, with Draco. He's my husband."
"Yeah, but you weren't supposed to sleep with the bloke!" Ron retorted.
"And why not? He's my husband," asked Hermione indignantly, crossing her arms.
"But you said you were going to wait a year and get medical help when it was time to have a kid," argued Ron.
"Plans change, Ronald. Plus, I never said anything about getting pregnant with medical help, only if it was needed. And why does it matter to you anyways? Yes. Draco and I sleep together occasionally. So what? It's mine and his choice to do so. I don't go making you feel bad because you sleep with Pansy!" said Hermione, fighting back angry tears that were threatening to shed.
"Shit, Hermione, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that.. I just.. I still have issues with you marrying him, you know that. Any other bloke and I wouldn't care as much. But him? It just… gets to me," said Ron with a sheepish look.
Before Hermione could say anything, Pansy narrowed her eyes at her fiance, "And what exactly do you have against Draco? I grew up with him, I still consider him one of my good friends, and when we dated he wasn't that bad of a boyfriend. Hermione's lucky to have him."
"He was a complete arse to us in school, especially to Hermione," said Ron, trying not to get angry at his fiance.
"So was I, but I don't see you complaining now do I?" Pansy asked pointedly.
Ron struggled with an answer, "That's different… I… we… " he looked between Harry, Hermione, and Ginny, his eyes pleaded for help. Ginny held up her hands as if saying she wasn't getting involved, Hermione just stared without expression, and Harry was busy inspecting his meal, never taking his eyes off of it.
"It's not different, Ron. He's a Slytherin, just like me. His parents were Death Eaters, just like mine. We both grew up hoping that You-Know-Who would return and not get killed by this guy," she said, motioning to Harry. "We both grew up with fucked up views, but that's not the case anymore and you have to let it go. He's changed and I'm sure Hermione wouldn't fuck him if he hadn't." Ron tried to interject, but she wouldn't let him, "If you can't get past Draco being married to Hermione, or the fact that my whole family and all of my friends are Slytherins, then… maybe we shouldn't get married after all." Pansy stood up and looked at Hermione, "Congratulations, by the way. I really am truly happy for you and Draco. Tell him I'll owl soon."
Hermione nodded in response as the black-haired witch strode from the dining room towards the front of the house.
Ron stared after her for a few seconds, cursed under his breath, then got up to follow without saying goodbye to his friends.
A few silent moments later and Hermione said, "Well, at least he's learning to go after someone instead of hiding or running away." She took a bite of her meal and smiled at Ginny, "This is delicious."
Ginny smiled back, "Thank you. It's mum's recipe."
"So… twins?" asked Harry. "I bet that was a surprise."
Hermione nodded, "Yes. It was quite a shock, trust me."
"How long ago did you find out?" asked Ginny.
"A week or so ago. The only reason why you just found out now was because Draco and I wanted to tell our families first. We invited my parents over for dinner last night and broke the news."
Ginny grinned, "I bet Mrs. Malfoy and your mum are ecstatic."
"You have no idea... they're already planning the baby shower and how to decorate the nursery. I have a feeling I won't be allowed to do any of that stuff with those two planning everything," Hermione said fondly, shaking her head.
"Get used to it," chuckled Ginny.
Hermione returned back to the manor a few hours later, feeling utterly exhausted. She dropped her bag onto the floor and sat on the end of her bed, letting her back fall against the mattress. She closed her eyes for what she thought was just a few a minutes, but when a knock on her door roused her, she noted that two hours had passed. She mumbled for whoever was on the other side to enter and wasn't surprised to find Draco step into her room.
"Hey," she said with a sleepy smile, sitting up.
"Hey. Did I wake you?" he asked curiously.
She nodded. "I didn't even realize I fell asleep. I just laid down for a second and next thing I knew, it was almost dinner time," she said, chuckling. "They weren't kidding when they say that growing a baby, or in my case, babies, takes a lot of energy."
Draco nodded and sat next to her, "So how did telling your friends go?"
Hermione groaned and flopped back onto her back again.
Draco chuckled and laid next to her, "That bad, huh?"
"Well, Ginny and Harry are happy for us. Ginny is positively thrilled and is crossing her fingers that our kids and her baby will share a birthday." Draco nodded but didn't interrupt as she continued, "But Ron… he was, well... Ron," she said with a slight shrug. "He and Pansy ended up arguing and they left pretty abruptly."
"Yeah… Pansy floo-called me and told me about it. But our conversation was cut short because Weasley showed up. I haven't heard from her since so either they've made up or she killed him," he said flippantly.
Hermione chuckled, "Hopefully not the latter." Draco nodded in agreement.
She sighed in frustration after a moment, "I just wish he'd get over his dislike for you. I mean, yes, we all had issues while in school, but you and I are ok now, and you and Harry get along well. He just can't seem to let go of his dislike for you."
"I don't know if it's all his fault, honestly," said Draco, "Our families have been feuding for centuries. The Weasley's are actually really, really distant cousins, that's not uncommon for pureblood families, but became estranged when the Malfoy's weren't accepting of their status as 'blood traitors' as they called it."
"I just hope Pansy can finally get through his thick skull and beat some sense into him," Hermione grumbled.
"Knowing Pansy as well as I do, I'm sure she will," he said rather fondly of his friend.
Hermione smiled then blushed as her stomach growled, "I guess I'm hungry."
"Well, that's a good thing, because dinner is just about ready." Draco got up from the bed, then offered his hands to help pull her up and onto her feet. Hermione smirked, "You know in a few months, doing that won't be that easy."
Draco smirked back as they walked out of her room, "I'm always up for a challenge."
A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Next one will be in a few days as I'm getting ready for my mother-in-law to visit and then need to get ready for my sons 6th birthday party this weekend.
