Chapter Thirty-five: Moving Downstairs
Hermione stood in the office of Healer Melkin as that medic cast a spell to check on her baby's progress. He had a confused look on his face as Lucius told him of the recent events and the uneasy truce between the humans and basilisks that arose from the occurrence.
"It is as I thought," he said as he looked up at the wizard with a bit of a grimace. "Hermione's pregnancy is progressing faster than usual. In just three weeks she has grown to roughly three months pregnant in size. If the trend continues, I believe this child will arrive much sooner than June or July."
"How can that be?" asked Hermione worriedly. "It's not going to hurt him to grow that fast, is it? It won't hurt me?"
"I cannot say, I'm sorry to admit," he said with a puzzled frown. "I have never heard of such a pregnancy before. However, as the events you have told me are also unheard of—that Salazar Slytherin's true heir resides within your womb—I am certain that some sort of magic must be involved, and perhaps that magic will keep you safe."
"That's not very reassuring," Hermione told him as she began to pace nervously in a small section of the room.
Lucius came over and wrapped her into his arms. "Don't worry, my darling, everything will turn out right. I know that this must be most distressing for you, but you will have my love and support the whole way through."
Hermione took his hand and gave it a squeeze, then smirked wryly.
"What's so funny, love?" he asked.
"I was trying to envision what I'd have said if someone had told me this would happen to me once the war was over," she admitted. "I don't think I'd even have believed the first part, wherein you and I fell in love. It was a most surprising event. But not one I would trade for anything in the world."
"Nor I," he said as he kissed the top of her head.
"I'll need to keep a close watch on your fiancée, Professor Malfoy, to be sure she remains in good health as the pregnancy progresses."
"Yes, of course," Lucius agreed. "I believe that perhaps we ought to step up the wedding plans, Hermione, and move you into my rooms completely. When the baby arrives, I feel you would do better to stay at the Manor for a few weeks at least, though I will miss you sorely if those weeks are not during the school break."
"At this rate, I'll be able to return for graduation," Hermione said with a small shake of her head.
"We shall see," said Lucius as he took her by the arm. "Well, Melkin, we shall check in with you sometime next week, if that is agreeable."
"Yes, of course," he agreed. "And Hermione, I wish you much happiness in all of this."
"Thank you, sir," she said with a smile. "I am quite certain I will have it."
#
"Draco? Draco, where are you?" Hermione called out as she entered their dorm a few hours later. "Your father and I were hoping to take you out to dinner with us." As she mounted the stairs and went to knock on Draco's door, she heard what sounded like someone scurrying about on the other side. "Draco? Is that you? Is everything okay?"
"Um, yes," he said nervously, and then she heard him and a distinctly feminine voice both chuckling. "I'm kind of busy right now, Hermione," he added, then gasped as the female in question giggled some more. "I'll have to—um—I'll have to join you two another time."
"You can bring your friend along, if you like," Hermione told him with a small snicker. "I'm sure she must like to eat, too."
Another giggle, decidedly muffled as though the girl's mouth was full.
"Um, yeah, she does seem to enjoy eating," he answered nervously, then yelped for good measure.
Hermione laughed then. "Well, I suppose I'll leave you to it, then, shall I? Oh, and I'll be needing help to move my things downstairs sometime soon. Lucius wants me to stay in his rooms from now on until the new housing units are finished."
"All right, Hermione," he agreed with a laugh. "And don't enjoy yourself too much later tonight."
"I should say the same thing to you," she chuckled as she stepped away again.
Stepping into her room, Hermione realized there really wasn't that many items in her room to collect. Since she'd used that Obliviate spell on her parents and they no longer knew her, Hermione had spent all of her days afterwards exclusively in the Wizarding World. Most of her childhood belongings were lost to her, and she hadn't bothered to take her things out of her magical sac since she'd returned to Hogwarts because it was just as easy to simply Accio whatever she was after.
As she shrank a few odds and ends and added them to the little bag, she couldn't help but wonder who Draco had in his room. Whoever the girl was, they couldn't have been an item for long. She was fairly certain Pansy Parkinson was not the person he had in there, as she'd not spoken to him over the last two months at all, at least not that Hermione knew of.
With a small shrug, she shut her bag and stepped back out into the hall, only to see a blushing Astoria Greengrass heading for the bathroom. She cast the fellow student a warm smile of greeting as she headed for the stairs. Astoria nodded to her briefly before darting into the bathroom and closing the door. It was only then Hermione realized she'd been buttoning her shirt along the way.
"Well, I'm glad to see Draco has found something better to do with his time than stew over me and his father," she muttered as she headed down the stairs and joined Lucius as he arrived at the bottom, almost ready to come up to look for her.