Disclaimer: What's the point in all this screaming? You're not listening
anyway. They belong to JK. ~adapted from Acoustic #3 by the Goo Goo Dolls
Last time on LGG:
"Tell me," she said. "Look me in the eye and tell me that you love me," she said, and he smiled, placing a hand to her face and wiping a tear from her cheek.
"I. Love. You." Draco said, spacing his words like separate sentences, and Hermione's lip began to quiver again. She tightened her arms around him and buried her head in his chest.
"I love you too... I love you too," she sobbed, squeezing him as close as she could manage and sobbing into his chest. Draco smiled this time. She was happily crying, which was much better than miserably crying. He buried a hand in her hair and held her head like a precious stone to his chest, kissing her crown of ebony softly.
He did it. Finally. All on his own, without anyone's help or encouragement. Who needs Eglamour?
~*~
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT: Kind des Todes "Are you sure you're alright?" Draco asked for the umpteenth time as they roamed the deserted village streets and Hermione laughed, giving the hand she was holding a squeeze.
"Shut up, will you?" Draco smirked at her.
"I'll take that as a yes. You know, I'd be a lot less annoying if I knew why you were so upset in the first place..." Hermione's smile dropped.
"Draco..." she said softly, and he shook his head.
"You don't have to say anything. I know you don't want to tell me, and although I'm a bit lost as to why, I'm willing to overlook it." Hermione let out a whine and turned to him.
"But that's just it... I want to tell you... I just... can't. Not now... god, I don't know what's fucking wrong with me. First I get all pissed off, and I over react to the simple homicide of a common household insect, then I get all weepy for absolutely no reason, and now I can't tell you something. I've never felt that way before... I mean, I know we haven't been together a long time, but you know more about me than my own parents do... Dammit, if only you'd come to wake me up this morning..."
"Hermione, don't worry about it... it's fine, I totally- wait... what do you mean 'if only I'd come to wake you up'?" Hermione paled a little and stopped dead in her tracks. Slowly, she turned up to him.
"I lied. This isn't the first time I've felt I can't tell you something..." Draco raised an eyebrow.
"You can't keep two secrets from me, Mya. One is full quota. Tell me... what happened?" Hermione took a deep breath.
"Okay, but first you have to promise you won't be mad at Lucius." Draco narrowed his eyes.
"Lucius? Hermione, if he did something, you don't have to defend him. I'll tell you now-"
"But that's just it... he didn't do anything... it was all my fault... I..."
"What? What did you do?" Draco was now sounding not only a tad suspicious, but also a bit demanding. Hermione closed her eyes and turned toward the ground.
"I kissed him," she said in a dead whisper and Draco felt his heart stop for a split second.
"What?" he asked, sounding entirely disbelieving, as if someone had just informed him that Voldemort had been permanently transformed into a green jellybean. Hermione looked up with wide eyes and tried hurriedly to explain.
"I didn't mean to, you have to believe me... I thought it was you, I was half asleep... I'm so sorry..." Draco, teeth clenched, let out a breath.
"Well... if you're sorry," he said, attempting to dismiss it, and Hermione looked almost scared. It wasn't like him to give up so easily. "Just give me a second, okay?" he asked, taking a step forward, and Hermione nodded, dropping his hand and looking toward the ground, patiently waiting for him to come back to her. After a good long moment, Draco held out his hand, and Hermione quickly stepped toward him and took it, although she kept her worried eyes on his face.
"Draco?"
"You know, the greatest effect of this, is that now my parent's know we're a couple and not just friends," Draco said, laughing slightly, and Hermione smiled. If he wasn't going to be angry, she wasn't going to remind him of a reason to be. She smirked.
"Oh, they already knew that," she said, smiling widely, and Draco turned to her.
"How?" She shrugged.
"I don't know, but your mother asked me if you were any good in bed," she said as if it were entirely appropriate mother to girlfriend conversation. Draco's eyebrows flew high.
"Did she now? And what did you tell her?"
"I gave her Celia's number." Draco looked surprised above everything and Hermione burst out laughing. "She didn't really... god, Draco. You think so highly of your mother." He let out a slight breath, possibly in relief, and shook his head.
"It's not that... it's just, it wouldn't surprise me. Mum finds the most creative ways to embarrass the hell out of me." Hermione laughed softly and sighed. She turned up to look at Draco, her face becoming serious.
"So... are we okay?" Draco lost his smile and turned to her.
"I've decided to take advantage of the fact that I can't consciously believe that you would ever do such a thing and pretend it didn't happen," he stated and Hermione looked to the ground guiltily. After a brief moment, he turned to her and lifted her chin. "Why so glum?"
"Even if you won't admit it, you're still mad at me," she said sadly, tucking her unoccupied hand under her opposite elbow. Draco smiled.
"Whatever for? I cannot think of a thing you could have done to upset me. Now, where are we going?" Hermione couldn't help but smile slightly.
"Home, I guess..." Draco lifted an eyebrow.
"Already? But it isn't even dusk..."
~*~*~*~
After touring the quaint village of Oriskany for at least two hours, including the library, school, and Granger Dentistry, Draco and Hermione reentered her home.
"Are you hungry?" she asked as she stepped in the door and Draco smirked as he took the cloak from her shoulders.
"Are you only asking me that because YOU are?" Hermione put a finger to her chin and turned around, looking thoughtful.
"Yes... yes, I think so..." she agreed and he laughed. Hermione smiled for a moment, then placed a soft kiss on his lips. "I'll call you when it's ready," she said and turned toward the kitchen, but Draco gently stopped her.
"Hell no." She raised an eyebrow at him. "I do believe someone has a promise to own up to," he said, rising onto the balls of his feet briefly, but Hermione still looked confused. "When you ate that fudge...? And we were having our very first deep and honest conversation?" Hermione still didn't seem to understand. "You promised to teach me, Mya." A wave of realization swept across her face.
"Oh! Right. Actually, this would be the perfect time. Come," she insisted immediately, taking his hand and pulling him toward the kitchen. Hermione dropped his hand as she entered the room, and Draco stood in the doorway, waiting for instruction. Hermione opened the fridge and extracted the cup of chicken she'd placed in there earlier, then turned to him. "Welcome to Grillin' with Granger. I'm your host, Miss Guilly. Today's lesson: chicken and rice. Easy enough. I've already... 'marinated' this frozen excuse for poultry, so it should have at least a little flavor, and there are enough decade old spices here to make it taste fairly good. First, you need to get a pan," she said, and pointed toward the ceiling, where a dozen pans hung, sparkling from magical cleaning. A bit overwhelmed, but otherwise eager, Draco lifted one from a hook. "Good choice," Hermione praised, smiling, and moved toward the gas stove. She spun the dial without so much as looking, and Draco watched, eyes widening a bit. To his relief, she quickly stepped away from the stove, opening the spice rack.
"H-Hermione," he said, taking a step closer to her, planning on keeping her out of harm's way.
"Hm?" she asked, a majority of her attention on the sloppy mess she was stirring in a plastic cup.
"That's on fire," Draco said, evidently feeling that this wasn't right, and Hermione looked up, alarmed until she realized what he was talking about. With a smirk, she turned to him.
"Yes, Drakey, it is. Good job," she said, rather like a mother speaking to a small child and Draco looked confused. Hermione laughed. "Yeah, it's supposed to be, Draco. How else are you going to cook anything?" Draco looked entirely lost, and Hermione looked to him with a raised eyebrow. "You really are clueless, aren't you?" Draco smirked.
"Yep. In fact, I'm so clueless I couldn't get a clue if I were in a field filled with horny clues in the middle of clue mating season and I smeared my body with clue musk and did a clue mating dance." Hermione smiled.
"You remembered that word for word?" Draco looked to her as if she were crazy.
"Of course. I've never been so insulted in my life," he insisted and she laughed.
"Alright, I guess we shall start with the basics. The reason we cook is not only to make our food taste better, but also to kill bacteria, and blah blah blah. To do this, an entrée must be subjected to a certain level of heat, hence the flame. Just don't stick your finger in there, and you'll be fine. Now, as I've said, the dish we are preparing is a simple chicken and rice. Here we have the chicken, which I have spiced. Now, do you have your pan?" Draco, who was utterly oblivious to the fact that she was mocking him beyond belief, held up his pan. "Good. Put it on the stove, over the flame... good."
And so went the first lesson of Grillin' with Granger. Other than a minor measuring mishap that resulted in about ten pounds too much rice, all went relatively well. By the end, Draco was perhaps more confused than he'd ever been, and had various burns on his fingertips from forgetting about the heat involved in cooking. Despite the fact that they'd been making an easy and fairly clean dish, Draco managed to get himself filthy, not to mention covered in rice, and Hermione took great amusement in this.
"I thought you said this would be easy," Draco wined as he attempted to keep the rice from once again overflowing, and Hermione laughed, reaching below his arm and turning off the heat.
"I did, and it is. In fact, it's so easy... we're done," she said, opening the cupboard and extracting dinnerware. Draco perked an eyebrow, holding the lid tightly closed on the rice.
"We are?" She nodded, shooing him away from the stove as she lifted the lid on the rice. Draco sighed. "Good." Hermione laughed.
"Maybe next time we'll make something hard... like cake," she suggested, heaving a large helping of rice on a plate and adding chicken, then drizzling it with sauce. Draco looked scared.
"You mean... it gets harder?" Hermione laughed.
"Honestly, this was probably the easiest thing I've ever made... with the exception of grilled cheese... and things like toast," she said, shoving the plate toward him. Draco looked mildly horrified.
"You have to cook TOAST?" Hermione looked to his face for a moment, then shook her head, deciding it wasn't worth it, and helped herself to dinner. She grabbed some forks and made a pit stop at the fridge for soda, then started out of the kitchen. Draco just watched her, awed at the mountain of new information.
"You know Draco, ignorance isn't a good look on you," Hermione said, smiling inwardly at the frustrated look on his innocent face. "Aren't you coming?" Draco immediately followed Hermione into the living room, where she plopped down on the sofa and picked up the remote, flicking on the TV before beginning to eat. Draco sat beside her, confusion still etched in his features. "You alright?" Draco blinked, turning to see Hermione looking worriedly at him. He shook the fog away from his eyes and nodded.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine... just... tired, I guess." Hermione, chewing slowly, attempted to see if he was lying, but Draco seemed unbothered, so she brushed it off.
Hours later, Hermione was asleep, leaning against him, and Draco was wearily watching the partridge family. When the cute little birds and the ending credits came, he decided it was time for bed, and softly shook Hermione awake.
"Mya..." She inhaled sharply, taking great effort to open her eyes, and looked around. "Why don't we go to bed, hm?" Hermione rubbed daintily at one eye, then yawned briefly and nodded.
"Right..." she said, then stood from the couch, stretching before picking up their dinner dishes and bringing them into the kitchen. Draco flipped off the television and waited for her by the doorway. Hermione came to him, smiling, and kissed his lips softly. "Goodnight," she whispered, then started back toward the living room. Draco looked a tad confused.
"Wait," he said and she turned back, smiling drowsily. "Where are you going?" Hermione looked a tad confused as she pointed to the couch.
"Bed. I certainly can't sleep in my room," she noted, and Draco looked between her and the spot she'd dubbed for rest. He shook his head.
"What kind of a guy would I be if I made my girlfriend sleep on the couch?" he asked, stepping toward her, and Hermione smiled.
"Well, you're the guest in this situation; I'm not making you sleep out here just because I didn't have enough foresight to think of this before." Draco kissed her lips softly.
"There's a simple solution to this problem, Hermione." She perked an eyebrow.
~*~*~*~
Draco was almost asleep when Hermione entered the bedroom, wearing what he would have noticed were quite skimpy pajamas, had he the energy to open his eyes. He simply let her crawl in bed beside him and tied an arm around her shoulders while she snuggled in and gently kissed his chest. Before closing her eyes and welcoming sleep, Hermione pushed herself up and again met his lips with hers.
"Goodnight, Drakey," she whispered, but he merely grunted in response. She sighed slightly. "I'm going to tell you everything tomorrow, Draco. I can't stand that you know but you don't... know. You must think me so untrusting." Hermione sighed, knowing Draco probably hadn't heard a word. "I love you," she whispered, then let the darkness take over. It seemed much easier that way.
~*~*~*~
Draco woke alone the next morning, opening one eye before the other. Hermione was gone, but in her place was a thick brown book. He looked to the left, then the right, not sure if he was supposed to be seeing this. Deciding the coast was clear, Draco carefully lifted the dusty lid. It was a photo album... but the pictures weren't moving. Although he knew hardly anyone in any of the shots, they fascinated him. Draco lifted the book into his lap and set to slowly turning the pages, examining each thoroughly.
After nearly half the album, Draco turned the page to find something that made him stop cold. He couldn't even breathe, eyes widened at the sight. Seven pages of torture later, another set of pictures set his heart to beating double speed. He looked up at the door.
"Hermione..."
~*~*~*~
Hermione sat shakily in the kitchen, debating upon whether or not to go back upstairs. She could still back out of this, if he wasn't awake yet... each passing minute was one more closer to his awakening... one less chance to steal the album and put it again out of her mind. She shook her head, pouring another cup of strong black coffee. She was nervous. Tea was an 'isn't life wonderful?' drink, not an 'I need release' drink. Hermione took a shaky breath and resettled herself in front of another tabloid. She had to let him find the book... keeping this secret was eating her up inside.
Hermione had waited for nearly three hours before she finally heard movement upstairs. Her breath caught in her throat... if he was getting up, that meant he'd found the book... there was no turning back now. As footsteps slowly descended the stairs, Hermione turned to stare at her cup, rocking slowly back and forth, vision blurring. She couldn't imagine what he'd say.
Draco, seeing a light on, shuffled slowly toward the kitchen, clutching the brown leather book to his chest. Hermione, although he was pretty sure she knew he was there, didn't spare him a word or glance.
"Hermione..." he said softly and she closed her eyes, knuckles white as they tightly held her cup. Draco, sighing slightly, entered the kitchen, placing the book on the table. There was silence for a moment before he spoke again. "I don't know what to say..." Hermione shook her head.
"You don't have to say anything. I'm the one with explaining to do," she said softly. Draco pulled a chair closer, as he had done the previous day, and gently placed a hand on her back. Hermione took a slightly stuttered breath. "Okay... first let me say that I'm sorry it had to come to this... I suppose I should have told you the truth from the beginning, but nobody knows except Froth and Lance... not even my parents. I guess I was afraid you'd judge me..."
"I wouldn't have." Hermione smiled.
"I know. Do you remember when I told you about Froth and Lance for the first time, after we left that first detention?" Draco nodded. "I obviously left out a few things... first of all, I'm not as innocent as I made myself out to be. I was dating both of them, but my relationship with Lance was a little more... intimate. I didn't sleep with him, but I did a lot more than I ever did with Froth. Lance knew I was two-timing him and he didn't really care, considering I'd dated his brother first and he and I weren't very serious. Froth, on the other hand, had no idea. Everything was fine until..." she placed a hand on the book. "Until I let Froth spend the night and I crossed from virginity to maternity." Draco said nothing. He didn't want to interrupt her, for one, and for two, he simply had no idea what he could possibly say. Hermione wouldn't even look at him. She sighed again. "Lance wasn't happy. He'd been convinced that Froth was too scared to ever even ask me for that, and when he found out, he was... jealous I guess. I'd denied him so many times...
"I knew he'd over react, so I kept it a secret until my sixth month, which wasn't as hard as one may think. We'd slept together when I came home for Christmas, so when I went back to Hogwarts, I found a concealing charm, and no one knew... then I came home for summer, and it wore off... and, quite frankly, he noticed. Really, I was lucky he didn't find out before. Froth was so excited... he took the news possibly too well. I sent him pictures once a month, including the ultrasounds I had to knight bus back to London to get on the weekends... it surprises me that Froth didn't tell anyone... no one. He didn't even have a reason not to. His parents wouldn't be surprised, and mine wouldn't even know, probably for years...
"But when Lance found out, he took it even worse than I thought. It took a couple weeks to get me alone, but..." she stopped, inhaling sharply and attempting to hold back her tears. Draco leaned closer, again keeping his peace, but attempting to console her, rubbing his hand over her back. Hermione pulled the photo album to her and opened it. There were seven pages she was looking for... the same ones that had scared Draco that morning. At the top of each page was the word 'Month' followed by a number. Below the title, there were profiles of her tummy as it grew and various ultrasounds. Hermione flipped to the seventh and last month documented. "Two days after these were taken..." she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "He killed my baby." Draco stopped breathing.
"What?" Hermione nodded, bringing a shaky hand to run over the black and white ultrasonic picture. "How?" She swallowed.
"He beat the bloody hell out of me... I went into labor, but he was stillborn. I named him Ewan," she said, smiling slightly. "Young warrior." Draco tried to smile, but he was much too overwhelmed to do anything but gape. Then, Hermione frowned again. "Froth was devastated... I couldn't tell him it was his brother's fault, it would have crushed him..." she said and Draco let out a breath.
"What did you tell him?"
"That I fell down the stairs... which isn't entirely a lie. I was pushed down the stairs," Hermione said, lifting a shoulder slightly. She turned the page of the album, to the next set of pictures. A funeral, consisting of a party of three people. Hermione, Froth, and Lance. She was crying and in most held by Froth as they stood around the tiny closed casket. "We had him buried in the cemetery across from the library... we passed it yesterday," she continued and Draco gave a soft nod.
"I remember." Hermione smiled softly.
"Anyway... what happened was, we were walking, like I said before, and I tried to tell Froth what really happened. I said something along the lines of 'How can you act like you did nothing wrong?' to Lance, then I tried to explain, but he turned it around and said 'You wanted to keep it a secret, not me,' and told Froth about our relationship... I couldn't get a word in edgewise... he yelled and told me he never wanted to see me again... said it was good things turned out the way they did... when he tried to question Lance, he said 'I thought you knew', and that was that... they left me. In reality, though... he was probably right. I was only sixteen... I wasn't ready to be a mother... I'm still not... and this way, I never have to see either of them again if I don't want to... it's just... Ewan... it wasn't his fault, he didn't deserve that." Draco waited a moment, to be sure she was finished, then pulled her into his arms, hugging her close.
"I'm so sorry, Mya..." Hermione hugged him, but didn't cry. There was simply something about this situation that made her feelings too powerful to express in tears.
"I'm okay," she said, feeling him kiss her hair. "It seems like it's been so much longer than a year..."
"Do you want to go see him?" Draco asked softly, still holding her close, and Hermione scowled into his chest.
"I don't particularly want to see either of them any time in the near future," she stated, but Draco shook his head.
"No... I mean Ewan." Hermione seemed to tense slightly, then shook her head.
"No... I haven't been back since the funeral. It'll make it seem too real," she whispered. "Sometimes... it almost feels like he's still here," she said, pulling back slightly and placing her hand on her midsection. "I can almost feel him..." Hermione looked up, into Draco's eyes for the first time that morning. "I have dreams. Ewan is always there, and he's never more than four or five years old... we play and talk and... sometimes he comforts me... if I've had a bad day or... something. But, almost every time... he dies at the end. Sometimes he just goes to sleep while I'm holding him, but I know he's dead... and other times," she shook her head. "There's so much blood..." Draco pulled her close again.
"That's why you like Lucius so much, isn't it?" Hermione nodded into his chest. "And that's why you don't like to sleep alone..." Again, she nodded.
"Never once has he died a crude death when you're with me," she whispered, and Draco kissed her hair again.
"If I have anything to do with it, he never will again."
~*~*~*~
A/N: And the secrets out! Were you expecting that? Maybe you were, if you speak German. The title means Child of Death. I needed a super huge twist, sorry if it freaked you out. Hey, at least she came clean. No secrets between them. Good start...
I'd do PRFs but there are about a thousand and it's been so long since I've updated anything... plus it's 11 at night and I have a big exam tomorrow. Don't cry, you still got a chapter!
**Special thanx to 'Strand of Golden Chocolate' who has so far reviewed EVERY chapter! Lol, even went back and reviewed the ones she didn't before! Thanx!**
Last time on LGG:
"Tell me," she said. "Look me in the eye and tell me that you love me," she said, and he smiled, placing a hand to her face and wiping a tear from her cheek.
"I. Love. You." Draco said, spacing his words like separate sentences, and Hermione's lip began to quiver again. She tightened her arms around him and buried her head in his chest.
"I love you too... I love you too," she sobbed, squeezing him as close as she could manage and sobbing into his chest. Draco smiled this time. She was happily crying, which was much better than miserably crying. He buried a hand in her hair and held her head like a precious stone to his chest, kissing her crown of ebony softly.
He did it. Finally. All on his own, without anyone's help or encouragement. Who needs Eglamour?
~*~
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT: Kind des Todes "Are you sure you're alright?" Draco asked for the umpteenth time as they roamed the deserted village streets and Hermione laughed, giving the hand she was holding a squeeze.
"Shut up, will you?" Draco smirked at her.
"I'll take that as a yes. You know, I'd be a lot less annoying if I knew why you were so upset in the first place..." Hermione's smile dropped.
"Draco..." she said softly, and he shook his head.
"You don't have to say anything. I know you don't want to tell me, and although I'm a bit lost as to why, I'm willing to overlook it." Hermione let out a whine and turned to him.
"But that's just it... I want to tell you... I just... can't. Not now... god, I don't know what's fucking wrong with me. First I get all pissed off, and I over react to the simple homicide of a common household insect, then I get all weepy for absolutely no reason, and now I can't tell you something. I've never felt that way before... I mean, I know we haven't been together a long time, but you know more about me than my own parents do... Dammit, if only you'd come to wake me up this morning..."
"Hermione, don't worry about it... it's fine, I totally- wait... what do you mean 'if only I'd come to wake you up'?" Hermione paled a little and stopped dead in her tracks. Slowly, she turned up to him.
"I lied. This isn't the first time I've felt I can't tell you something..." Draco raised an eyebrow.
"You can't keep two secrets from me, Mya. One is full quota. Tell me... what happened?" Hermione took a deep breath.
"Okay, but first you have to promise you won't be mad at Lucius." Draco narrowed his eyes.
"Lucius? Hermione, if he did something, you don't have to defend him. I'll tell you now-"
"But that's just it... he didn't do anything... it was all my fault... I..."
"What? What did you do?" Draco was now sounding not only a tad suspicious, but also a bit demanding. Hermione closed her eyes and turned toward the ground.
"I kissed him," she said in a dead whisper and Draco felt his heart stop for a split second.
"What?" he asked, sounding entirely disbelieving, as if someone had just informed him that Voldemort had been permanently transformed into a green jellybean. Hermione looked up with wide eyes and tried hurriedly to explain.
"I didn't mean to, you have to believe me... I thought it was you, I was half asleep... I'm so sorry..." Draco, teeth clenched, let out a breath.
"Well... if you're sorry," he said, attempting to dismiss it, and Hermione looked almost scared. It wasn't like him to give up so easily. "Just give me a second, okay?" he asked, taking a step forward, and Hermione nodded, dropping his hand and looking toward the ground, patiently waiting for him to come back to her. After a good long moment, Draco held out his hand, and Hermione quickly stepped toward him and took it, although she kept her worried eyes on his face.
"Draco?"
"You know, the greatest effect of this, is that now my parent's know we're a couple and not just friends," Draco said, laughing slightly, and Hermione smiled. If he wasn't going to be angry, she wasn't going to remind him of a reason to be. She smirked.
"Oh, they already knew that," she said, smiling widely, and Draco turned to her.
"How?" She shrugged.
"I don't know, but your mother asked me if you were any good in bed," she said as if it were entirely appropriate mother to girlfriend conversation. Draco's eyebrows flew high.
"Did she now? And what did you tell her?"
"I gave her Celia's number." Draco looked surprised above everything and Hermione burst out laughing. "She didn't really... god, Draco. You think so highly of your mother." He let out a slight breath, possibly in relief, and shook his head.
"It's not that... it's just, it wouldn't surprise me. Mum finds the most creative ways to embarrass the hell out of me." Hermione laughed softly and sighed. She turned up to look at Draco, her face becoming serious.
"So... are we okay?" Draco lost his smile and turned to her.
"I've decided to take advantage of the fact that I can't consciously believe that you would ever do such a thing and pretend it didn't happen," he stated and Hermione looked to the ground guiltily. After a brief moment, he turned to her and lifted her chin. "Why so glum?"
"Even if you won't admit it, you're still mad at me," she said sadly, tucking her unoccupied hand under her opposite elbow. Draco smiled.
"Whatever for? I cannot think of a thing you could have done to upset me. Now, where are we going?" Hermione couldn't help but smile slightly.
"Home, I guess..." Draco lifted an eyebrow.
"Already? But it isn't even dusk..."
~*~*~*~
After touring the quaint village of Oriskany for at least two hours, including the library, school, and Granger Dentistry, Draco and Hermione reentered her home.
"Are you hungry?" she asked as she stepped in the door and Draco smirked as he took the cloak from her shoulders.
"Are you only asking me that because YOU are?" Hermione put a finger to her chin and turned around, looking thoughtful.
"Yes... yes, I think so..." she agreed and he laughed. Hermione smiled for a moment, then placed a soft kiss on his lips. "I'll call you when it's ready," she said and turned toward the kitchen, but Draco gently stopped her.
"Hell no." She raised an eyebrow at him. "I do believe someone has a promise to own up to," he said, rising onto the balls of his feet briefly, but Hermione still looked confused. "When you ate that fudge...? And we were having our very first deep and honest conversation?" Hermione still didn't seem to understand. "You promised to teach me, Mya." A wave of realization swept across her face.
"Oh! Right. Actually, this would be the perfect time. Come," she insisted immediately, taking his hand and pulling him toward the kitchen. Hermione dropped his hand as she entered the room, and Draco stood in the doorway, waiting for instruction. Hermione opened the fridge and extracted the cup of chicken she'd placed in there earlier, then turned to him. "Welcome to Grillin' with Granger. I'm your host, Miss Guilly. Today's lesson: chicken and rice. Easy enough. I've already... 'marinated' this frozen excuse for poultry, so it should have at least a little flavor, and there are enough decade old spices here to make it taste fairly good. First, you need to get a pan," she said, and pointed toward the ceiling, where a dozen pans hung, sparkling from magical cleaning. A bit overwhelmed, but otherwise eager, Draco lifted one from a hook. "Good choice," Hermione praised, smiling, and moved toward the gas stove. She spun the dial without so much as looking, and Draco watched, eyes widening a bit. To his relief, she quickly stepped away from the stove, opening the spice rack.
"H-Hermione," he said, taking a step closer to her, planning on keeping her out of harm's way.
"Hm?" she asked, a majority of her attention on the sloppy mess she was stirring in a plastic cup.
"That's on fire," Draco said, evidently feeling that this wasn't right, and Hermione looked up, alarmed until she realized what he was talking about. With a smirk, she turned to him.
"Yes, Drakey, it is. Good job," she said, rather like a mother speaking to a small child and Draco looked confused. Hermione laughed. "Yeah, it's supposed to be, Draco. How else are you going to cook anything?" Draco looked entirely lost, and Hermione looked to him with a raised eyebrow. "You really are clueless, aren't you?" Draco smirked.
"Yep. In fact, I'm so clueless I couldn't get a clue if I were in a field filled with horny clues in the middle of clue mating season and I smeared my body with clue musk and did a clue mating dance." Hermione smiled.
"You remembered that word for word?" Draco looked to her as if she were crazy.
"Of course. I've never been so insulted in my life," he insisted and she laughed.
"Alright, I guess we shall start with the basics. The reason we cook is not only to make our food taste better, but also to kill bacteria, and blah blah blah. To do this, an entrée must be subjected to a certain level of heat, hence the flame. Just don't stick your finger in there, and you'll be fine. Now, as I've said, the dish we are preparing is a simple chicken and rice. Here we have the chicken, which I have spiced. Now, do you have your pan?" Draco, who was utterly oblivious to the fact that she was mocking him beyond belief, held up his pan. "Good. Put it on the stove, over the flame... good."
And so went the first lesson of Grillin' with Granger. Other than a minor measuring mishap that resulted in about ten pounds too much rice, all went relatively well. By the end, Draco was perhaps more confused than he'd ever been, and had various burns on his fingertips from forgetting about the heat involved in cooking. Despite the fact that they'd been making an easy and fairly clean dish, Draco managed to get himself filthy, not to mention covered in rice, and Hermione took great amusement in this.
"I thought you said this would be easy," Draco wined as he attempted to keep the rice from once again overflowing, and Hermione laughed, reaching below his arm and turning off the heat.
"I did, and it is. In fact, it's so easy... we're done," she said, opening the cupboard and extracting dinnerware. Draco perked an eyebrow, holding the lid tightly closed on the rice.
"We are?" She nodded, shooing him away from the stove as she lifted the lid on the rice. Draco sighed. "Good." Hermione laughed.
"Maybe next time we'll make something hard... like cake," she suggested, heaving a large helping of rice on a plate and adding chicken, then drizzling it with sauce. Draco looked scared.
"You mean... it gets harder?" Hermione laughed.
"Honestly, this was probably the easiest thing I've ever made... with the exception of grilled cheese... and things like toast," she said, shoving the plate toward him. Draco looked mildly horrified.
"You have to cook TOAST?" Hermione looked to his face for a moment, then shook her head, deciding it wasn't worth it, and helped herself to dinner. She grabbed some forks and made a pit stop at the fridge for soda, then started out of the kitchen. Draco just watched her, awed at the mountain of new information.
"You know Draco, ignorance isn't a good look on you," Hermione said, smiling inwardly at the frustrated look on his innocent face. "Aren't you coming?" Draco immediately followed Hermione into the living room, where she plopped down on the sofa and picked up the remote, flicking on the TV before beginning to eat. Draco sat beside her, confusion still etched in his features. "You alright?" Draco blinked, turning to see Hermione looking worriedly at him. He shook the fog away from his eyes and nodded.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine... just... tired, I guess." Hermione, chewing slowly, attempted to see if he was lying, but Draco seemed unbothered, so she brushed it off.
Hours later, Hermione was asleep, leaning against him, and Draco was wearily watching the partridge family. When the cute little birds and the ending credits came, he decided it was time for bed, and softly shook Hermione awake.
"Mya..." She inhaled sharply, taking great effort to open her eyes, and looked around. "Why don't we go to bed, hm?" Hermione rubbed daintily at one eye, then yawned briefly and nodded.
"Right..." she said, then stood from the couch, stretching before picking up their dinner dishes and bringing them into the kitchen. Draco flipped off the television and waited for her by the doorway. Hermione came to him, smiling, and kissed his lips softly. "Goodnight," she whispered, then started back toward the living room. Draco looked a tad confused.
"Wait," he said and she turned back, smiling drowsily. "Where are you going?" Hermione looked a tad confused as she pointed to the couch.
"Bed. I certainly can't sleep in my room," she noted, and Draco looked between her and the spot she'd dubbed for rest. He shook his head.
"What kind of a guy would I be if I made my girlfriend sleep on the couch?" he asked, stepping toward her, and Hermione smiled.
"Well, you're the guest in this situation; I'm not making you sleep out here just because I didn't have enough foresight to think of this before." Draco kissed her lips softly.
"There's a simple solution to this problem, Hermione." She perked an eyebrow.
~*~*~*~
Draco was almost asleep when Hermione entered the bedroom, wearing what he would have noticed were quite skimpy pajamas, had he the energy to open his eyes. He simply let her crawl in bed beside him and tied an arm around her shoulders while she snuggled in and gently kissed his chest. Before closing her eyes and welcoming sleep, Hermione pushed herself up and again met his lips with hers.
"Goodnight, Drakey," she whispered, but he merely grunted in response. She sighed slightly. "I'm going to tell you everything tomorrow, Draco. I can't stand that you know but you don't... know. You must think me so untrusting." Hermione sighed, knowing Draco probably hadn't heard a word. "I love you," she whispered, then let the darkness take over. It seemed much easier that way.
~*~*~*~
Draco woke alone the next morning, opening one eye before the other. Hermione was gone, but in her place was a thick brown book. He looked to the left, then the right, not sure if he was supposed to be seeing this. Deciding the coast was clear, Draco carefully lifted the dusty lid. It was a photo album... but the pictures weren't moving. Although he knew hardly anyone in any of the shots, they fascinated him. Draco lifted the book into his lap and set to slowly turning the pages, examining each thoroughly.
After nearly half the album, Draco turned the page to find something that made him stop cold. He couldn't even breathe, eyes widened at the sight. Seven pages of torture later, another set of pictures set his heart to beating double speed. He looked up at the door.
"Hermione..."
~*~*~*~
Hermione sat shakily in the kitchen, debating upon whether or not to go back upstairs. She could still back out of this, if he wasn't awake yet... each passing minute was one more closer to his awakening... one less chance to steal the album and put it again out of her mind. She shook her head, pouring another cup of strong black coffee. She was nervous. Tea was an 'isn't life wonderful?' drink, not an 'I need release' drink. Hermione took a shaky breath and resettled herself in front of another tabloid. She had to let him find the book... keeping this secret was eating her up inside.
Hermione had waited for nearly three hours before she finally heard movement upstairs. Her breath caught in her throat... if he was getting up, that meant he'd found the book... there was no turning back now. As footsteps slowly descended the stairs, Hermione turned to stare at her cup, rocking slowly back and forth, vision blurring. She couldn't imagine what he'd say.
Draco, seeing a light on, shuffled slowly toward the kitchen, clutching the brown leather book to his chest. Hermione, although he was pretty sure she knew he was there, didn't spare him a word or glance.
"Hermione..." he said softly and she closed her eyes, knuckles white as they tightly held her cup. Draco, sighing slightly, entered the kitchen, placing the book on the table. There was silence for a moment before he spoke again. "I don't know what to say..." Hermione shook her head.
"You don't have to say anything. I'm the one with explaining to do," she said softly. Draco pulled a chair closer, as he had done the previous day, and gently placed a hand on her back. Hermione took a slightly stuttered breath. "Okay... first let me say that I'm sorry it had to come to this... I suppose I should have told you the truth from the beginning, but nobody knows except Froth and Lance... not even my parents. I guess I was afraid you'd judge me..."
"I wouldn't have." Hermione smiled.
"I know. Do you remember when I told you about Froth and Lance for the first time, after we left that first detention?" Draco nodded. "I obviously left out a few things... first of all, I'm not as innocent as I made myself out to be. I was dating both of them, but my relationship with Lance was a little more... intimate. I didn't sleep with him, but I did a lot more than I ever did with Froth. Lance knew I was two-timing him and he didn't really care, considering I'd dated his brother first and he and I weren't very serious. Froth, on the other hand, had no idea. Everything was fine until..." she placed a hand on the book. "Until I let Froth spend the night and I crossed from virginity to maternity." Draco said nothing. He didn't want to interrupt her, for one, and for two, he simply had no idea what he could possibly say. Hermione wouldn't even look at him. She sighed again. "Lance wasn't happy. He'd been convinced that Froth was too scared to ever even ask me for that, and when he found out, he was... jealous I guess. I'd denied him so many times...
"I knew he'd over react, so I kept it a secret until my sixth month, which wasn't as hard as one may think. We'd slept together when I came home for Christmas, so when I went back to Hogwarts, I found a concealing charm, and no one knew... then I came home for summer, and it wore off... and, quite frankly, he noticed. Really, I was lucky he didn't find out before. Froth was so excited... he took the news possibly too well. I sent him pictures once a month, including the ultrasounds I had to knight bus back to London to get on the weekends... it surprises me that Froth didn't tell anyone... no one. He didn't even have a reason not to. His parents wouldn't be surprised, and mine wouldn't even know, probably for years...
"But when Lance found out, he took it even worse than I thought. It took a couple weeks to get me alone, but..." she stopped, inhaling sharply and attempting to hold back her tears. Draco leaned closer, again keeping his peace, but attempting to console her, rubbing his hand over her back. Hermione pulled the photo album to her and opened it. There were seven pages she was looking for... the same ones that had scared Draco that morning. At the top of each page was the word 'Month' followed by a number. Below the title, there were profiles of her tummy as it grew and various ultrasounds. Hermione flipped to the seventh and last month documented. "Two days after these were taken..." she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "He killed my baby." Draco stopped breathing.
"What?" Hermione nodded, bringing a shaky hand to run over the black and white ultrasonic picture. "How?" She swallowed.
"He beat the bloody hell out of me... I went into labor, but he was stillborn. I named him Ewan," she said, smiling slightly. "Young warrior." Draco tried to smile, but he was much too overwhelmed to do anything but gape. Then, Hermione frowned again. "Froth was devastated... I couldn't tell him it was his brother's fault, it would have crushed him..." she said and Draco let out a breath.
"What did you tell him?"
"That I fell down the stairs... which isn't entirely a lie. I was pushed down the stairs," Hermione said, lifting a shoulder slightly. She turned the page of the album, to the next set of pictures. A funeral, consisting of a party of three people. Hermione, Froth, and Lance. She was crying and in most held by Froth as they stood around the tiny closed casket. "We had him buried in the cemetery across from the library... we passed it yesterday," she continued and Draco gave a soft nod.
"I remember." Hermione smiled softly.
"Anyway... what happened was, we were walking, like I said before, and I tried to tell Froth what really happened. I said something along the lines of 'How can you act like you did nothing wrong?' to Lance, then I tried to explain, but he turned it around and said 'You wanted to keep it a secret, not me,' and told Froth about our relationship... I couldn't get a word in edgewise... he yelled and told me he never wanted to see me again... said it was good things turned out the way they did... when he tried to question Lance, he said 'I thought you knew', and that was that... they left me. In reality, though... he was probably right. I was only sixteen... I wasn't ready to be a mother... I'm still not... and this way, I never have to see either of them again if I don't want to... it's just... Ewan... it wasn't his fault, he didn't deserve that." Draco waited a moment, to be sure she was finished, then pulled her into his arms, hugging her close.
"I'm so sorry, Mya..." Hermione hugged him, but didn't cry. There was simply something about this situation that made her feelings too powerful to express in tears.
"I'm okay," she said, feeling him kiss her hair. "It seems like it's been so much longer than a year..."
"Do you want to go see him?" Draco asked softly, still holding her close, and Hermione scowled into his chest.
"I don't particularly want to see either of them any time in the near future," she stated, but Draco shook his head.
"No... I mean Ewan." Hermione seemed to tense slightly, then shook her head.
"No... I haven't been back since the funeral. It'll make it seem too real," she whispered. "Sometimes... it almost feels like he's still here," she said, pulling back slightly and placing her hand on her midsection. "I can almost feel him..." Hermione looked up, into Draco's eyes for the first time that morning. "I have dreams. Ewan is always there, and he's never more than four or five years old... we play and talk and... sometimes he comforts me... if I've had a bad day or... something. But, almost every time... he dies at the end. Sometimes he just goes to sleep while I'm holding him, but I know he's dead... and other times," she shook her head. "There's so much blood..." Draco pulled her close again.
"That's why you like Lucius so much, isn't it?" Hermione nodded into his chest. "And that's why you don't like to sleep alone..." Again, she nodded.
"Never once has he died a crude death when you're with me," she whispered, and Draco kissed her hair again.
"If I have anything to do with it, he never will again."
~*~*~*~
A/N: And the secrets out! Were you expecting that? Maybe you were, if you speak German. The title means Child of Death. I needed a super huge twist, sorry if it freaked you out. Hey, at least she came clean. No secrets between them. Good start...
I'd do PRFs but there are about a thousand and it's been so long since I've updated anything... plus it's 11 at night and I have a big exam tomorrow. Don't cry, you still got a chapter!
**Special thanx to 'Strand of Golden Chocolate' who has so far reviewed EVERY chapter! Lol, even went back and reviewed the ones she didn't before! Thanx!**
