Thank you guys for waiting! Another friendly reminder that I changed this fic's rating to M a few months ago for reasons that are apparent in this chapter.
NINE
Hermione's eyes snapped open and she slid out of the bed, making her way toward where she'd left the nursery door ajar what felt like only minutes ago. Bright moonlight still streamed through the windows, as it had for the past four times she'd awoken to the sound of Cassian's cries.
She stopped short when she saw that Draco already held their son in his arms and was whispering to him in a gentle tone.
"Draco," she said, her voice still groggy with sleep.
He turned to her, a soft smile still lingering on his lips. The soft moonlight shone on father and sons' heads alike and gave them each a beatific glow, and Hermione wondered how she'd ever thought of him as anything as harsh as the reputation that came with his family name when he could manage to look this serene.
"I tried to calm him, but I think he's hungry," Draco said.
Hermione nodded and settled into the rocking chair. She'd started to tug down the strap of her nightgown when Draco clearing his throat stopped her short.
"I—" Hermione stammered, shoving the strap back into place.
Draco handed Cassian to her. "You've barely slept. It's understandable."
"Thank you," she said.
"I'll just, uhm," he gestured to his room.
"You can just turn around, " she assured him. "I...appreciate the company."
He nodded and turned, and they fell into silence as she started to feed their son.
"Everyone will be back in the morning," Hermione said conversationally, watching the way Draco shifted awkwardly before her. "The others are due to start giving birth soon."
"Mm," Draco hummed.
"Do you think anyone else will…" she trailed off. "Should we even tell them what we decided?"
At that, Draco let out a snort. "I think they'll notice when our child is four months old when he's supposed to be four."
Hermione smiled down at where Cassian nursed quietly. "We'll be there for every moment," she said as she stroked her son's downy blond hair.
Draco didn't answer, but there was a ripple in his posture that told her the same feeling has passed through him nonetheless.
It was as they settled into silence that Hermione took in the fact that Draco was, in fact, shirtless. She found herself scanning the bare skin of his back, taking in the lean muscle that corded his figure. She flushed as she recalled their kiss and the heat that had inflamed her body in its wake. They had both continued on as if it hadn't happened, yet their every interaction since had skirted around the tension that hadn't dissipated since the kiss. She'd been trying — in vain — to ignore the feeling that drew her to him, the thrum that rose to a crescendo when they were alone—
Cassian started to squirm, pulling her out of her thoughts. She tucked herself away and cleared her throat, trying to quell the blush that still lingered on her cheeks. "Do you want to put Cassian back to sleep? He quite likes that."
Draco turned and nodded, and took Cassian into his arms. She padded softly behind him to the crib, watching silently as their baby's eyes dropped peacefully in his father's arms. Draco laid Cassian down gently, holding him as though he was the most delicate thing he'd ever touched. Perhaps he was.
They stood in silence over the crib, watching their son as he slept. Hermione's fingers curled around Draco's, the movement as instinctive as though she'd been doing it all her life.
His fingers twitched under hers. It wasn't quite a movement that she could say was him squeezing hers back, but she somehow knew that it was the opposite of rejection all the same. The warmth of his hand in hers travelled in a pleasant tingle through her body, reminding her of what she'd been trying to avoid thinking of. The kiss. The searing kiss they'd shared in a moment of mutual bliss, leaving her with a warmth that had constantly swirled in the pit of her stomach for the entire week that had passed since the incident. She thought of the feeling of his full lips beneath hers, and could not help turning to sneak a peek at him—
Only to find him looking right back at her. The thrum that had never quite ceased started up again, a flame igniting in the pit of her stomach that encouraged her to reach closer to him. It took a few seconds for her to realize she'd already been doing so unconsciously.
He met her halfway.
The moment their lips touched, the flames exploded into an inferno. She wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him closer as her body reacted to the fact that he was somehow the answer to quelling the flames, although his touch only made them swell further. His kisses were bruising, matching the desperate need she poured into her own as she melted into him.
It was when he'd moved to kiss her neck while her hands explored his bare chest, teasing at the waistband of his trousers that she had a brief moment of lucidity.
"Draco," she spoke in a low, breathy moan, "maybe we should…"
His hand squeezed where he'd been cupping her breast as he pulled back. "Mm?"
"We should...we should…" she lost her train of thought as his thumb grazed over her nipple, covered only by the thin cotton of her nightgown.
He moved to plant gentle kisses along her neck to her shoulder, slowly easing down the strap of her nightgown as he went. "Shouldn't we?" His voice was clearer than hers, tinged with the echo of the question she hadn't managed to get out. She could feel his smirk against her skin.
Her heart fluttered in her ribcage as she tried to weigh her options through the haze of lust. All the while, his mouth trailed in sensuous strokes across her skin, his fingers just barely holding the strap of her nightgown before it could fall and expose her.
She reached up a hand and closed it over his, tugging his fingers away from the strap. Then she slid the strap on the other side down, letting the fabric pool at her feet. She cupped his cheeks in her hands, drawing his face toward hers. His grey eyes glittered in the moonlight, darkened with lust as they trailed her naked body before landing on her eyes.
In for a penny… she thought to herself before drawing him back into a bruising kiss.
Hermione woke up to bright rays of sunlight streaming through her windows. She yawned and stretched before she abruptly froze. She was still naked, and the memories of the night before came rushing back to her. The spot where he'd lain was empty, and she flushed as she remembered falling fast asleep before she could tell if he intended to spend the night or not.
The lingering stickiness between her thighs made her opt for a quick shower instead of checking on Cassian first — a decision which she immediately regretted when she entered her son's nursery only to find his crib empty. She couldn't stop herself from trembling as she stumbled over to Draco's room, then the sitting room to find all places devoid of father and son.
Hermione tried to force down her panic as she threw open the main door and rushed toward the stairs, the logical part of her brain that seemed to have short circuited reminding her that of course Draco had simply taken their son somewhere, perhaps for a stroll—
Hermione stopped at the top of the grand staircase, taking in the scene in the common room. The rest of the Eighth Years had returned, and they all made a tableau reminiscent of the morning after the women had been magically inseminated. Some were bent doubled over, their hands buried in their hair while another person comforted them. Others were pacing and muttering angrily, while others stood having low arguments.
There was a small huddle around a high-backed chaise in the corner near the fireplace, and as Hermione descended the steps the huddle of people shifted enough to give her a glimpse of Malfoy, who sat poised upon the chaise, holding Cassian in his arms with a triumphant smirk gracing his features.
"Hermione!" Parvati called as she approached where Draco sat with their son.
Draco's eyes rose to meet hers as Padma, Harry, and Pansy looked up from where they'd been admiring Cassian. She flushed and averted her eyes to Cassian, but not before she saw his smirk widen minutely.
"Rough night, Granger?" Draco drawled.
His innuendo served only to make her flush deepen. "A little," she mumbled, trying to banish the memories of just how rough he'd been for the first two rounds, before getting gentler afterward—
"You have a son," Harry said. He gestured to Cassian and then looked back at her, blinking as he seemed to process the words he was saying.
"Honestly," Pansy gave him a sidelong glare. "Has her being pregnant for the past four months just completely gone over your head?"
Hermione giggled at the scene, welcoming the distraction from the heat of Draco's gaze on her.
"He's adorable," Padma said. "Oh, I can't wait to meet my little Emily—"
Parvati scoffed. "Never mind my sister and her drab names. Cassian is perfect. Fitting for a Malfoy, as much as it pains me to say it," she added, meeting Malfoy's ensuing scowl with a smirk of her own.
"It's technically a compliment," Pansy said. "The best you'll get from that one, I reckon."
Draco's scowl only deepened. "You—"
"I thought we'd agreed that you'd tolerate her because she's carrying one of your best mates' daughters?" Theo said as he sidled up next to Parvati and wrapped his arms around her bulging middle. His caress lasted only a moment before Parvati elbowed him in the ribs.
"Ow," Theo rubbed his rib. "Must you insist on continuing this, love? We are due to be linked for the rest of our lives and all."
At that, Hermione blinked. "Wait— do you already—"
"Know of your little discovery?" Pansy said. "Why do you think there's been chaos here all morning?" She waved around the room.
Hermione caught Blaise and Lavender having a low argument several feet away, and Dean rubbing comforting circles on Hannah's back a few feet beyond them.
"They owled us all a few days ago and told us we had the option of keeping our children if we wanted," Parvati explained.
"Oh," was all Hermione could manage.
"We've decided to keep her," Harry blurted.
Hermione blinked in surprise and looked at where he'd placed a protective hand on Pansy's stomach. Pansy hadn't brushed him away, but instead was looking down lovingly at her bump.
"Did you think that Potter could convince me to give up my daughter?" Pansy scoffed. "I'd sooner chuck him," she added, flipping her hair over her shoulder nonchalantly.
"You're—?" Hermione blinked.
"Yes," Harry answered swiftly.
She opened her mouth to ask him another question, only for him to tilt his head in a familiar motion that meant later.
"That was one thing, but this morning they gathered us to tell us that we have to decide before the children are born. Seeing the fact that we're all due to give birth this week or be induced…" Parvati trailed off with a scowl.
"Oh," Hermione said again. "I— I don't know what to say."
"Well, there isn't much to say to that one now, is there?" Pansy mused. Her eyes flicked over Hermione's figure. "How long did it take for them to right you, anyway?"
Hermione smoothed a hand over her flat stomach, still relieved to have that semblance of normalcy. "A few sessions over a couple of days," she said. "Magic has its conveniences—"
"'Mione," the familiar voice calling out to her made her freeze.
"Ron," she answered, her voice tight. Her strayed to Cassian, and an excuse to tend to him started forming on her lips before she swallowed it back, recalling the fact that her son was in his father's arms, who also happened to be the center of her conundrum. As it were, Draco's eyes were fixated upon her, a smirk curving his lips and an eyebrow raising as he appraised the scenario.
She turned slowly to face Ron, forcing her eyes to meet his and a bright, false smile on her face. "Hi Ron!" she said, her voice a pinch too high. She coughed. "How was your break?"
Ron searched her eyes with a small frown on his lips. His gaze unusually probing, as if he could see the way her entire body seemed to scream I had sex with Draco Malfoy last night—
"You're kidding, right?" Ron sighed, tilting his head for her to follow as he shuffled away.
Maybe he can see it, she thought frantically, panic sealing her mouth shut as she recalled just how vocal she'd been the previous night. He knows me. He'd see it written all over my face from a mile off—
Hermione collided into Ron's back as he paused at the foot of the grand staircase.
He peered at her over his shoulder. "Are you alright?"
"Fine," Hermione squeaked. "Just— new mum stuff," she added in a tone she hoped was nonchalant.
At that, Ron's expression shifted, his blue eyes dimming slightly. "Can we chat for a bit? About— this?" He gestured toward where the rest of the Eighth Years continued to bicker around the common room.
Hermione nodded and followed him up the stairs, her heartbeat slowly steadying to normal. When Ron stopped in front of the door to her and Draco's rooms, however, it began to flutter anew.
"H-here?" She looked toward where Ron and Padma's rooms were. "Why don't we—"
Ron shook his head. "I'd rather Padma not interrupt. And Malfoy seems rather occupied at the moment, anyway."
She nodded mutely and said the password, letting the portrait swing open for them. Ron followed her inside and made a beeline for her bedroom, her protest falling on deaf ears as he went in and flopped back onto her bed.
The same bed in which she's shagged his sworn enemy in the night before, over and over—
"'Mione?" Ron said, sitting up.
"Mm?" She tried to stay calm as she wondered if the room still smelled of sex or if it was her imagination.
Ron raised an eyebrow. "I said that Padma wants to keep our baby."
"Right," Hermione nodded as she made her way to the other side of the bed, discreetly running her hands over the sheets as she searched for any lingering wet spots, trying to recall if she'd said the cleaning charms she'd never once forgotten with Ron. She cursed herself for not using the silencing charms she and Ron had always tried to use either—
"That's it?" Ron said, cocking his head at her.
Hermione blinked at him. "Erm…" she said slowly, trying to remember what he'd said. "Padma wants to keep the baby. Right. Emily, isn't it?" Hermione said, her eyes still darting between Ron's face and the bed.
"It didn't feel real until we named her," Ron said softly.
His tone made Hermione's eyes snap up to him, and it was then that she saw the sorrow that lingered on his features. "Oh, Ron," she said, moving so she could give him a hug.
"I'm sorry, 'Mione," he mumbled into her chest.
Hermione pulled back and looked into his eyes, wishing she could do something to remove that look from them permanently. "Sorry for what?"
"We never had to— I ruined our relationship, didn't I?" he said. "I said I didn't want them, but every test I ran, every heartbeat I heard—"
"Oh, Ron," Hermione said, pulling him back and quieting him. "I think you need a cup of tea."
Ron nodded and let her pull him up and lead him toward the sitting room. She doubted he even noticed the relived sag in her shoulders as she guided him to the sitting room.
A few minutes later, they were both on the sofa with steaming mugs of tea that a house elf had brought up.
"I mucked up, didn't I?" Ron said. "I thought I'd never want them, but everything we've gone through changed me. Gin's seen so much of it and she hasn't changed her view in the slightest. But— I want her now, 'Mione. I want her so bad."
Hermione reached out and took his hand. "I know," she said, stroking her thumb soothingly over the back of his hand. "It's alright to feel conflicted. None of us came back to Hogwarts this year wanting — or expecting — any of this."
Ron nodded, looking solemnly down into his teacup. "Are you angry with me?"
Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Why would I be?"
"Isn't that the reason mucked us up?" he asked. "You wanted children, and I barely wanted to consider it. And now a couple of months later…"
Hermione smiled and tilted his chin until he could look at her. "Ron...I think we both know deep down that there's more than that that made us drift apart. We—"
"I feel butterflies with Padma," Ron blurted. His cheeks flushed a deep red. "The butterflies you mentioned when we broke up. I feel them. With her, I mean."
Hermione blinked and then burst into laughter.
"What?"
Hermione kept smiling widely at him as she sobered. "That's all we both needed Ron. Children was just the tip of the iceberg, don't you think?"
Ron pulled her into a hug and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek. "Love you 'Mione."
"Love you too. Like a brother, to specif—" Hermione cut off mid-sentence as she heard a throat clear loudly behind her.
She didn't have to turn to know it was Draco. She made to spring away from Ron only for him to hold her closer for a moment before slowly letting go. Hermione sprang to her feet, wringing her hands nervously as she looked between both men, somehow managing to avoid meeting their eyes altogether.
"Malfoy." Ron's voice was tight.
"Weasel," Draco said. Cassian's bright blonde hair stuck out from the bundle in his arms.
Hermione zeroed in on her son, feeling the yearning to hold him close renew as she crossed over to Malfoy and reached for Cassian. She navigated awkwardly to cradle Cassian as she ignored the tense barbs the men exchanged, careful not to come into contact with any bit of Draco's body despite every bit of her own yearned to do just that. She tried to avoid touching Malfoy at all, really, but it couldn't be helped considering the fact that the man seemed determined to touch her. Just as she'd managed to securely grasp their son, Draco trailed a finger deliberately down her arm, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. She met his eyes to find them dancing with humour, and she gave him a scowl that she hoped contradicted the way her skin flushed.
"—and you can just piss off, Malfoy. I only came to see 'Mione anyway," Ron said as Hermione tuned back into the conversation.
"Congratulations, by the way," Ron said, his voice softening as he looked at the bundle in Hermione's arms. "I'll come by to meet him officially later, yeah?"
Hermione smiled down at where her son slept peacefully. "Thank you."
"Jealous, are we?" Draco smirked.
Ron glared at him. "Watch yourself, Malfoy. The only business she'll ever have with you has to do with Cassian."
Draco's smirk widened, and his eyes danced with mocking humour. "Is that right?"
"Alright Ron!" Hermione cut in loudly, gesturing toward the door. "That's enough between you two for the day." She tried to mask the panic in her voice with concern. "Let's end this here, alright?"
Ron gave Draco one last lingering glare before he left, making sure to give her a chaste kiss on the cheek on his way out.
Hermione made a beeline past Draco, and managed to make it to the nursery to put Cassian down only to find that he'd followed her silently. So silently, in fact, that she hadn't noticed his approach until she turned to find herself looking at his chest.
"Draco!" she admonished, her hand fluttering over her racing heart. "Announce yourself next time, will you?"
Draco raised an eyebrow. "Did Weasley announce himself too, or is he back to sneaking in loudly enough to wake the dead?"
Hermione wondered if she'd ever stop flushing in his presence before promptly deciding that she most likely wouldn't. "We're over, Draco."
He continued to watch her silently.
"What?" She asked, shuffling.
"It's amusing how easy you are to read, is all," Draco answered casually.
"I'm going out," Hermione answered, turning on her heel and striding away.
She made it about a dozen steps before he spoke again. "This," he said. "Is the bathroom."
"I'm aware, Draco," Hermione answered, glaring at her surroundings as she heard the gloating twinge in his tone, likely at the satisfaction of just how flustered he'd managed to make her.
"Flustered, are we?" he said as if on cue.
She felt the heat of him at her back as he stepped forward, and she shuffled forward another step only for him to follow.
He trailed a slow finger up her spine. "Tell me to stop," he said lowly, his breath tickling her ear.
Hermione shivered and forced her eyes shut, trying — and nearly failing — to stop all rational thought from fleeing her mind. She spun around and placed her hands on his chest, trying to ignore the hard muscle she felt as she tried to gather her words.
"We—I—" she faltered. She tried to find a reason why they couldn't do what they were doing, but found that she couldn't grasp at any particular one. Every reason that she tried to grasp at dissipated into a mist of inconsequentialism, leaving only her and him and the heat that radiated between their bodies.
"Mm?" He asked as he gathered her effortlessly and hoisted her up onto the sink. His fingers toyed along the bare skin of her legs beneath her skirt as he leaned his forehead against hers. "Ask me to stop and I will."
They were so close that their breath mingled. She could easily say no, and end things where they were. Maintain their boundaries of co-parenting, and that alone.
His fingers teased higher, just under the hem of her skirt. "So?"
Hermione's breath hitched as his fingers teased higher. "Don't," she breathed.
"Don't what?" He asked as she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck.
"Stop," she answered. "Don't stop."
Both of his hands slid up under her skirt, only to come back down with her knickers tangled in his fingers. "Last chance," he said into her skin, pressing a slow kiss to her collarbone.
"I'm sure," she said with finality, pulling him into a kiss.
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