Hermione Granger's head throbbed painfully. She kept her eyes tightly shut against the light that had slowly begun to trickle through her window. Reaching blindly for her wand, she was determined to shut the drapes without even opening an eyelid. Her hand landed on something hard and flat next to her. A low, masculine groan sounded, the person next to her shifting at her touch.
Hermione froze. She slept alone. She most certainly did not recognize the noise coming from the person next to her. Peeling her eyes open, she turned her head towards the noise, the soft light illuminating the very blonde head of her bed partner.
She nearly shrieked.
Clutching the sheet to her chest, Hermione inched back, mouth dry with panic. The worst hangover she'd ever experienced was currently wreaking havoc on her stomach and her head. Her eyes darted about the room for her things. She spotted the ridiculous gold dress from the ministry function she'd been wearing the night before, one of her heels in the corner, her purse dropped beside the door… her left shoe and underthings were still unaccounted for.
Easing up out of bed, she grimaced at her very naked body and the soreness in her muscles, recognizing the familiar feeling of…. Well, she didn't want to think about it.
Thankfully, her wand was atop her bag. Once she had it in her grasp, she crouched, hoping to hide for a moment longer, casting a charm on the dress, transforming it into a much more conservative dress that she could slip on easily over her head. She summoned her shoes, tucking them into her bag. She'd successfully kept from waking the blonde that snored softly from across the room. She could face him tomorrow. At work. Not now. Not it a makeshift nightgown after what they'd done. Swallowing, Hermione focussed on her flat and apparated away, only to forget the pair of panties crushed beneath Draco Malfoy's sleeping body.
She thought very seriously of how she would address the situation. Yes, they'd been cordial at work, handling the study of magical remedies together quite well, but this was far from getting on at work. It was inappropriate. It was mortifying. But she kept the embarrassment from her face that next monday when she approached him at work, determined to get the awkward conversation over with.
"Malfoy, I-"
"Granger. You're fifteen minutes late."
Her eyes narrowed.
Malfoy didn't so much as look up at her as he slid a stack of parchment her way, "the test results for the dragon pox study came back. You told me to notify you the minute it got here," he looked up at her with a shrewd expression, "why are you looking at me like that?"
She released the breath she'd been holding. "Nothing, just a bit tired. I'll take those reports."
He didn't remember.
Hermione couldn't deny it anymore. She'd be a fool to try. Of course she knew what was happening. In the sudden rush of discomfort after the entire Malfoy debacle, Hermione hadn't even thought of contraception. It wasn't like she engaged in activities that warranted such thoughts. At twenty four it had been years since she'd dated. She wasn't used to the normal practices of a witch her age.
And now, with the soft curve of her belly, she was reminded of that fact. She often missed cycles, due to her hectic work schedule and knack for forgetting to eat nutritious meals, but this was ridiculous. How could she be four months along, without any inkling until now? She'd been shocked when the mediwitch had handed her a little photograph of a childlike shape, sucking on a tiny thumb. Her stomach had twisted when the nurse had said, "congratulations Miss Granger, it's a boy."
She'd stared at the photo for many hours, no inkling of what to do.
Chapter One
"Don't you dare give me that look Malfoy. I'm not above hexing you."
He scowled, a hand resting upon the fireproof cage of the creature they argued about. "It's a nuisance. It's burned everyone in this laboratory. Why you insist on keeping it-"
"We could potentially study it for burn remedies," Hermione snapped, casting a glance at the little salamander that eyed her evilly from the corner of its cage. "What was the point of going to all of the trouble to capture the bloody thing if you just want to get rid of it because you have a little burn?"
"Fine! Keep the bloody thing," he threw his hands up at her, "but it's your study and your problem and if you get burned."
She sniffed at him, shooing him away with a swish of her hand, "understood. Go finish your paperwork. I can handle this on my own."
He opened his mouth once more, possibly to snap at her for being so bossy when the receptionist of their office, Lillah Beck, approached them, "Hermione, I just got a message about your son-"
"I'll take it in my office," Hermione spoke quickly, keeping her face impassive. After three years of keeping Sebastian from Malfoy, she wasn't about to start having open conversations about their son in front of him. He'd already lost interest, leaving to return to his desk and do what she assumed was paperwork. He knew so little of Hermione's life outside the office, let alone that they shared a son.
She retreated to the privacy of her office, glancing at the note resting atop her desk before heading for the fireplace, tossing a bit of floo powder in. She leaned forward and called her destination.
"Mione!" Ginny called happily when she noticed Hermione appear in the fireplace. The floor was covered in toys.
Sebastian perked up from behind her and dropped his toy dragon to approach the fireplace. Even with his long, thick curls he was the mirror image of his father. His hair was far smoother than hers had ever been, glossy white curls that often got him coos of affection from those who saw him.
"Mummy!"
"Hello darling," she smiled fondly at her little boy before turning her attention to Ginny, "Is everything all right?"
Ginny's one year old son James toddled over unsteadily before landing in his mother's lap. He grinned toothily at Hermione. "Oh there's nothing wrong. I didn't want to be a bother. Harry just mentioned you and Bastian might like to stay over for dinner tonight? I know Teddy would love to see you. Andromeda should be dropping him off soon."
"Thanks Gin, that'd be lovely."
"We get to stay?" Her little boy asked excitedly, silver eyes bright.
Hermione couldn't help but smile. "Yes darling. We can stay for dinner. But mummy has to go back to work now, so mind your aunt Ginny, okay?"
"Alright mummy," he gave her a little smile before turning back to his toys.
"I'll see you soon!"
Hermione left the floo and returned to her paperwork, her mind drifting, as it often did, to her son's father. None knew the secret she kept. Since the war had ended quite some time ago, Malfoy had kept a rather low profile. The intense dislike between Malfoy and her two best friends had gradually faded with time. Did they like him, no, but they were cordial and had even exchanged a conversation about quidditch at the last ministry function, much to Hermione's dismay.
No, she'd not kept the secret of Sebastian's paternity a secret out of fear of how her loved ones would react. She'd kept the secret for purely selfish reasons. She didn't want to share him. She'd worked hard to be enough for her little boy, and she didn't want to share him with Malfoy. But there were little moments, like when he did something that reminded her of her son, that she toyed with the idea of someday telling him. But she knew that she wouldn't.
She left her office with her completed daily paperwork, and just as she stepped into the lobby, Malfoy was exiting his office as well. His white button down had been rolled to his elbows, hair a bit messier than usual, his confident stride reminding her so much of Sebastian it nearly stopped her in her tracks.
"You alright Granger?"
Hermione blinked. "I'm sorry?"
"Your son. Is everything alright with the tot?"
She instinctively felt herself tensing at the turn of conversation, as she always did whenever Malfoy mentioned her son, however innocently. "Yes. Of course. Why wouldn't everything be?"
He looked at her strangely as he waved his wand at the elevator, summoning it to their floor. "Beck said something about your son. Didn't know if everything was alright."
"Oh. Yes. He's fine."
They entered the elevator in silence. Hermione tapped her foot impatiently, waiting to be on the Ministry's main floor, the silence between the two tense as the arrow moved slowly from floor to floor.
"He's what, four?"
She tensed once more. "Three."
He nodded silently.
Though she felt uncomfortable at the sudden turn of conversation, Hermione wanted to keep it going, having never had such a direct conversation about him with his father. "His name is Sebastian," she said hesitantly.
"Sebastian what?" He eyed her curiously.
"Sebastian Granger."
"Not Weasley?"
Hermione choked. "I'm sorry?"
"Thought he was weasley's."
"Ron is not my son's father," she said shrewdly. Ron and her had had a… moment when they were young, but it was just that. A moment. He was happily dating a female quidditch star from Ginny's old team.
"Well that is interesting," Malfoy drawled, "and here I was, like the rest of the wizarding world, assuming you two had produced another ginger haired brat into the world."
"Don't be a prat, Malfoy."
"So, if it's not Weasley, then who is the father?"
Hermione's heart stopped. The elevator doors opened. "None of your business," she said quickly, before striding from the elevator, practically running from the ministry. Malfoy watched her go with a frown, but knowing that Granger's behavior was often strange, he let it go as he headed home.