Sometimes you hold so tight
It slips right through your hands
It wasn't every day that the maître d' of one of the most famous and recognized restaurants of the Wizarding world had the honor of being in the presence of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger—ex Malfoy, and Ronald Weasley. At least it was a big deal to him and most of the other patrons who were watching them in rapt attention as they were seated.
"I feel like an animal in an exhibit at the zoo," Hermione complained, looking at her menu.
"We are," Ron said, smiling and noticing that Hermione looked very pretty that evening. Both he and Harry were in dressy clothes, nothing to formal, and Hermione was wearing a very flattering dress that barely showed the round bump of her stomach.
"Are we allowed any meat yet?" asked Ron.
Hermione shook her head. "Sorry boys, but these two still won't let me go near any red meat yet," she replied, pointing to her stomach. "So, what are we celebrating?"
Ron cleared his throat. "Well, we brought you to dinner because Harry here," and he slapped him on the back, "has offered to marry you to help raise the twins."
"I have?" Harry asked, eyebrows raised in amusement.
Hermione broke into giggles, muffling them with her hand and trying not to attract more attention to them, as Ron laughed at the look on Harry's face. "Yeah, Pansy will claw my eyes out, twins or no twins," she said, around another bout of laughter.
"Well then, you should know that Ron has also offered to divorce Lavender to marry you as well. Hey, you can marry us both and we'll be a threesome," said Harry before the waiter approached them.
Hermione and Ron were still chortling as they made their orders for drinks and food. "Oh, guys. I haven't laughed like that in such a long time," she said, sipping the glass of water that had just appeared for each of them.
"Hmm, since I know that the three of us being married wouldn't work, especially if Mione is in prison for bigamy, let's just celebrate the fact that we're together again," said Harry with a smile.
Hermione nodded and Ron gave her a serious look. "But seriously, Hermione. We want you to know that we'll be here for whatever you may need. Don't ever hesitate to ask us for anything. Having two babies won't be a walk in the park, but you're the greatest witch we have ever known; we know you'll be able to do anything you set your mind to, but you'll need help from time to time."
Harry nodded. "We just want you to promise to tell us whenever you need help or whenever you feel overwhelmed. We're your brothers."
Hermione smirked. "Another reason why we shouldn't marry," she said. The men chuckled. "But thank you. You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say these things to me, more so now when my hormones are all over the place," she said, squeezing their hands gently in hers as the food arrived. They had a pleasant time and were the center of attention for every single person who entered the restaurant.
As they were leaving, Hermione realized that she had left her purse at the table and Ron offered to retrieve it as she got their coats and Harry went to the men's room. Her long, black overcoat did a great job at hiding her stomach, though she had gained very little weight. Her healer had told her that it seemed that the twins were the ones gaining all the weight. She stifled a yawn and looked around nonchalantly.
"I knew it was you, attracting attention as always with that nightmare you call hair," said someone from behind her.
Hermione ground her teeth in annoyance. And her night had been going so well. "What can I do for you, Daphne?" she asked flatly.
The blonde looked angry. "I hope you're enjoying yourself. You weren't happy with destroying your marriage, you had to break up mine as well," she spat.
Hermione gave her a cool look. "I've no idea what you're talking about."
Daphne sneered. "Cormac and I are getting divorced because of you. He's leaving me to come after you."
The brunette made a face. "I had nothing to do with that. I don't see how I can be to blame. I haven't even spoken to your husband since that day we saw each other in Venice. Besides, maybe those little dates with my ex-husband must've had something to do with his decision to divorce you," said Hermione calmly.
The other woman looked smug. "I bet you're just dying inside, knowing that he's moved on to someone better and so soon after your divorce."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Actually, I've never been more alive," she said slyly. "Maybe it's just the fact that life is growing inside of me." Daphne gave her a blank look. "Didn't Draco tell you? I'm pregnant," she said smugly, rubbing a hand over her rounded stomach.
Daphne looked as if she would pass out at any moment once her eyes had landed on Hermione's stomach. "Impossible," she hissed.
Hermione sighed dramatically. "But that's not all. I happen to be expecting twins. Can you imagine? Two babies with Draco's eyes?" Harry and Ron returned at that exact moment to see an evil smile on Hermione's face and a blonde who looked furious enough to hurt someone. "Have a pleasant dinner," she said, turning and leaving with the two men.
"What was that all about?" Ron asked.
"I just rubbed the twins in her face. I know it's petty, but she was looking for it. Apparently Draco hadn't told her that 'minor' detail. Idiot. She was completely oblivious. It makes me wonder how serious they are," she murmured, feeling the sting of tears approaching.
Harry wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Don't even think about him. He's not worth your tears."
Hermione nodded and dabbed at the corner of her eyes. "It's just that as of late, everything makes me cry. I'm hoping that it won't last the rest of my pregnancy. The morning sickness is gone, but now I'm feeling cravings. In particular for donuts."
Ron grinned. "I like donuts. Lav always keeps a dozen for me so that I can have them with coffee. Why don't we make a pit stop at the bakery by your flat?"
"Come on, Mione. The night is still young," said Harry as they pulled her along.
And she smiled. She loved Harry and Ron so much, she didn't know what she would've done without them. They would continue to be her solace now that she didn't have Draco anymore. Now that he belonged to someone else. Her children would be her strength to overcome anything.
For the first time in his life—more like her life—Draco was willingly holding his baby sister in his arms. He'd held her before, but always because his mother had forced her into his unwilling arms. As the girl looked at him with bright blue eyes instead of the customary Malfoy-gray, she smiled. And he smiled back at her.
In just a few months, he would become the father of two babies with his ex-wife; he needed to practice if he wanted to accomplish being a good father. He would not be like Lucius, who had never taken the time to actually care for him when he had been a tot. At least not the way he had done with the little creature in his arms. Maybe it was because she was a girl. Maybe not. Draco didn't care anymore. Those feelings of resentment had faded away after the war.
Now, as he looked at the girl again, he wondered who the twins would look like. Would they grow up to become Slytherins or Gryffindors? Maybe a blond, brown-eyed Gryffindor, and a brunette, gray-eyed Slytherin? The possibilities were endless. Maybe they wouldn't even go to those houses and they would end up in Ravenclaw. He shuddered. He hoped not. Even Gryffindor would be better than Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw.
Draco stood from his seat out in the garden and hoisted little Darlene against his shoulder, noting the way she smelled like baby and powder. Even though he had gone to Hermione's appointments, which were more frequent than a normal pregnancy, their contact was kept to a minimum. They only talked about the babies and soon after the appointments were over, she would leave without another word. He wouldn't see her until every few weeks.
"What can I do to get her back?" he muttered to Darlene, who was sucking her thumb. In a few months she would be one, and he knew that Lucius would want her to get rid of that bad habit soon. "I want her to be with me again, but I was such an idiot to her," he murmured. Darlene merely looked at him and shrieked in happiness when her eyes landed on her father.
"Seeking answers from an infant?" asked Lucius as he took the girl in his arms and gave her a squeeze.
Draco shrugged. "She listens and doesn't judge me for my stupidity. She also doesn't give me any sarcasm. Yet," he said with a faint smirk.
"You want to get your wife back?" Lucius asked quietly.
His son nodded. "I just don't know how to go about fixing things. I screwed up, and even if I told her that I loved her, I don't think she would believe me now," said Draco with a heavy sigh.
Lucius grunted and pulled his hair out of his daughter's grip. "Maybe you should do something for her. I can't tell you what, but women are very susceptible during their pregnancies. Maybe you can do something for her that will let her see that you are serious at getting back with her."
"She won't even talk to me outside of her appointments. How am I going to get her to listen?" snapped Draco.
"Enough with the whining. If you don't do anything at all, things may get worse and it'll be too late. Just find a way to make her listen. Take the angle of the children and work from there," said Lucius before turning and walking off to find his wife.
Draco sighed heavily and mulled things over. What could he do for her that would make her see that he loved her? He had a lot of thinking to do and he had a lot of work to get done.
Work was hell.
Okay, so maybe she was being melodramatic. But still, why was it that all these creatures suddenly decided to fall into large ditches, or get into fights over a female, or decide to breathe fire on each other? For the past week, she and Neville had been working on their healing potions nonstop. There had been little time for research and they had just recently been asked to work on some essays that would be published in a book that had to do with healing magical creatures. It was a great honor, but it sucked royally to be expected to complete their writings while all the animals in the country decided to get into some medical trouble.
Add to that the fact that she was six months pregnant—with twins—mix in her hormones, her cravings, and her heightened sense of smell, and it was a recipe for disaster. She had been feeling really tired as of late, and her head was killing her. Neville could see it, but had wisely desisted from getting her to stay home for a few days. There was just too much work to get done and he couldn't do it by himself. She should really start to look for someone else to work with them for extra help, and then to take over once she went on leave when it was time for the twins to be born.
Neville stepped into her office and grinned. "I think we're done!" he said excitedly. "We've replenished the potions and the patients' numbers have gone down considerably. I think we can finally take a break."
Hermione nodded and took a sip of her tropical smoothie. "The twins have been giving me a hard time," she commented, rubbing her growing stomach. She smiled when two different bumps rose. One, she suspected was an elbow from twin one, and the other was a knee, from twin two. Even though Harry scoffed at her, she knew who was who. A mother always knew. And she knew that because she'd met other mother's of twins. Some of them had identical—like Molly, who was acting like a soon-to-be grandmother—while others usually had a boy and a girl. She already knew what the babies were, but she was keeping it top secret. Not even Draco knew.
Her thoughts moved to Draco again. The way they usually did whenever she had any spare time. She hated the fact that she always had spare time to think about her ex-husband. He'd been seen with Daphne a few times and Rita Skeeter always had a field day when that happened. The old beetle didn't know when to quit and loved rubbing it in Hermione's face whenever she could. She always had to mention something about her in her articles.
As for herself, her pregnancy had been big news. Especially after the divorce. There had been speculation that she had cheated on Draco with Harry, because they had found out that she was living with him, and that the twins were his and that was why she and Draco had divorced. But Draco, being the hero—and Hermione scoffed whenever she thought about it—had cleared everything up after getting her consent, and had officially told the press that the twins were his, and that yes, they were going to raise them together and in harmony. Pfftt. She made a face and didn't miss Neville's amused look.
"Miss Hermione?" asked the girl from the front desk, knocking her door.
"Yes?"
"There is someone here to see you. He said to tell you that he is an old friend," she said with a slight frown.
Hmm, Harry and Ron didn't need to be announced; that ruled them out. "Okay, Kiera. Let him in." The girl nodded and left. "Stay with me, Nev. It sounds mighty suspicious to not give their name."
"Sure," he said, grabbing his own smoothie and taking a seat on the couch by the door.
The person who walked in made her always choke on her own breath. Cormac recently-divorced-McLaggen. Would he ever give up? "Hello, Cormac," she said rather flatly.
"Hermione. You're looking beautiful today," he said smoothly, handing her a large arrangement of red roses.
She had to admit that she was flattered, even though she knew that having a swollen stomach, which carried the offspring of your mortal enemy, was not very appealing to many men. "Thank you. What can I do for you?" she asked with a smile.
Cormac looked at Neville and narrowed his eyes in an intimidating manner. Hermione frowned. "Do you think we can talk? Alone?"
Hermione shook her head. "I'm sorry, Cormac. But Neville and I have a lot of work to do. Our break is over and we have some essays to work on that will be published in a book," she said, trying to sound guilty.
"Well, I'll just get right down to the point then," he said with a sigh.
"And that is?" she asked as she shuffled some random papers.
"I would really enjoy it if you would join me for dinner some time soon?" he asked with an easy smile.
Hermione stared at him. "You are aware that I'm pregnant right?"
"Yes."
"With Draco's twins."
"Yes."
"You don't care?" she asked skeptically.
"No. You're not taken anymore. Your children are important, yes, but you're not tied down anymore. I'm not either. I just want us to go out as friends, and maybe we can see if there can ever be anything between us," he said quietly.
Hermione stared. This was a new tactic. It had to be. Cormac McLaggen had always been the same arsehole he had been during school. Why was he acting like this all of a sudden? She was at a loss for words. "Uh…" she said stupidly.
"You don't have to answer me now. I'm aware that your only focus should be your kids, but don't close yourself off. Malfoy isn't the only man out there," he said with an easy grin.
Neville looked as if he were choking on his drink when he pointed towards the door and her eyes moved. She blinked a few times and wondered if she was hallucinating. Was hallucination a pregnancy side effect? She swallowed hard as her eyes met Draco's; apparently, he had heard Cormac's words, and there were faint spots of color on his cheeks. McLaggen turned to look behind him and smirked when he saw the look on Malfoy's face. "Owl me when you make a decision," he said before standing and placing a kiss on her hand.
Hermione blinked and tried to get her brain to start moving forward again. She set the flowers on an empty spot on her desk and turned to look at Draco as Cormac passed him and they brushed shoulders far rougher than necessary. She rolled her eyes and Neville stepped over to her. "I'll put have Kiera find a vase so that she can put them in water for you," he said as he grabbed the roses and left her alone with Draco.
"Does he visit you often?" he asked her stiffly, his hands clenched.
She shook her head. "No. This is the first time I see him since we last bump into him and his ex-wife in Venice… Now, what can I help you with?" she asked, setting her hands on the underside of her stomach.
"I came over to see if you would join me for lunch," he said quietly.
"Why?" Hermione asked suspiciously.
He gave her an annoyed look. "Because I want things to change between us, Granger. You're the mother of my children and I don't want to have this cold, distant relationship with you if we're going to succeed in raising the twins correctly. I—I don't want to screw up in this," he said impatiently.
She stared again. Aside from the fact that he was a sight for sore eyes, those words were probably the smartest ones that had ever come out of his mouth. He was right. Even though it would hurt her to be so close to him and not be able to touch him or kiss him, they had to make things work for the sake of their children. She sighed and shook her head. "I can't leave the office," she said quietly. His face fell slightly and it made her heart jump in her chest. "But we can have lunch here, if you'd like."
He raised an eyebrow and offered her a crooked smile. "Are you in the mood for something in particular?"
Hermione shrugged. "I don't know. The twins usually decide what they want me to eat, but I'm not getting any indications right now," she said with a smile. "But I'm in the mood for some Italian food."
"Then we'll order and we'll eat here," he said before walking towards the hearth that was on the opposite side of the couch and was used as her private floo network.
She watched him and felt a bit lighthearted as he offered her a wink while he placed their orders. "Oh, and get something for Nev, please! He told me that he was going to stay in for lunch and that he hadn't brought anything in for himself."
Draco nodded and placed an extra order of Fettuccini Alfredo. As they waited for the ten minutes that it would take for the food to be delivered, he sat down in front of her and they stared at each other for a few seconds before she looked away. "We need to start planning on how we're going raise the twins. I've always liked to plan ahead, so this is as good a time as any," she said, standing up and stretching her aching back.
Draco held out his hand and waited for her to take it. She looked at it for a moment, hesitant and unsure, but then slid her warm hand into his. He pulled her over and ran a careful hand over the stretched skin of her stomach, feeling the movement inside and letting a smile come over his features.
Hermione looked down at him and felt her heart thudding in her chest. Why was she feeling this way now? It was such an intimate moment between him and their children; it had nothing to do with her. But then he raised his face and looked up at her, his gray eyes open and shining. His other hand was still holding hers.
"I'm sorry," he murmured.
"For what?" she asked, wishing against her own mind that he was talking about ending their marriage and throwing everything away.
"For not telling you that I loved you when I should have," Draco said seriously.
Her breath hitched and she pulled her hand out of his. "What?" she breathed.
"I was stupid for letting you go without telling you how I felt, but you have to understand that I believed those words that you swore at the beginning of our marriage; that you would always love Weasley and that nothing I could do would make you change your mind. Things were calm between us during the second year, but you always kept your distance. What was I supposed to do?" he asked, standing in front of her and keeping their eye contact.
"How about taking the time to actually talk to me about it?" Hermione asked darkly. "How could you possibly know what I was thinking? Are you psychic? Do you read minds?" she asked snidely. She felt short standing in front of him. Her flats were necessary for her aching feet, and they went with the outfit, but she had almost forgotten how tall Draco really was.
Draco scowled. "No," he bit out. "But you never bothered to talk to me either. I didn't really know if you still resented me. I couldn't talk to you about something so touchy as the reasons for our marriage? How was I going to ask you if you felt something even close to love for me?"
"Then I believe that one of our biggest mistakes in our marriage was the lack of communication," she said with a shrug. "What's your point? Why are you bringing this up now?" she asked, trying to ignore the fact that he had used the love word at the beginning of their conversation.
"I—I want to make things up to you," he said quietly.
"How?" she asked just as softly.
"I want you to know that I—"
"Miss Hermione, your food is here," Kiera said, knocking on her door.
Hermione let out the breath she hadn't even known she was holding before Draco walked towards the door and paid for the food, asking the man to take the extra platter to Longbottom's office. He turned to look at her again and noticed that she had sat down and was going through some papers, dividing them and putting them into separate stacks.
"Here you go," Draco said, handing over her food and drink.
"Thank you," she said slowly, taking the food, but her appetite had been waning since her conversation with Draco had started. He started to eat while she pushed her food around for a bit. "I was thinking that once the twins are a few months old, you can take them on the weekends. So that you don't get overwhelmed, you can take one on Saturday and the other on Sunday."
"Only weekends?" he asked, not sounding convinced.
"Do you have any more time to dedicate to them?" she asked seriously. "Once they're older, they can spend more time, but not when they're babies."
"Well," Draco started, "I went to spend time with them both, at the same time… and with you."
Hermione stared at him and shook her head. "That's not a good idea. What will Daphne think?" she asked, voice dripping with sarcasm and scorn.
He stopped chewing and gave her a strange look before swallowing and taking a sip of his drink. "You don't actually believe all the rubbish in the papers, do you?" he asked with a scoff.
She narrowed her eyes. "The papers don't matter much. I heard it from the woman herself. She didn't even know that I was pregnant. So, won't she flip-out or something? I mean, she is a basket case when it comes to you, so I am a little apprehensive about my children being around her," she said, finally trying her lasagna and salad.
Draco shook his head. "She and I are not involved, regardless of what she says. We go out to dinner, but that's it. There's no serious relationship and we're not even dating. We're friends. I go out with Pans just the same," he said with a one-shouldered shrug.
Hermione didn't know whether to believe him or not. "The pictures in the paper show something different."
"They're misleading," he snapped, putting down his knife and fork. "Can we not talk about this? She and I are not involved and that's the end of this. I don't want to see her, and I don't want to be with her. The only woman that matters to me at the moment is you, and it has been you for a while now," Draco said darkly.
"Don't do that," she said with a heavy sigh.
"Do what?"
"Make me think that you care about me and not only the twins," said Hermione, her eyes looking suspiciously glassy. "I can't deal with that right now."
"But I do care about you," Draco muttered, he dabbed at his mouth with a napkin and stood, walking over to kneel in front of her. "That's what I really wanted to say to you today, and I was a bit surprised that you actually accepted to have lunch with me because you've wanted me to keep my distance."
She shook her head and looked away from him. "But you threw everything away so easily."
"And I'm sorry," he stressed. "I was stupid, and I may have screwed things up too much for you to forgive me, but I want a chance to do things right this time. I… love you too much to give up on us anymore. I miss you."
Hermione swallowed hard and couldn't hold down the tears that had built up in her eyes at his words. She stood and moved away from him, swiping the tears from her face and trying to keep from sobbing. "How can I trust what you're saying to me?" she murmured.
Draco walked over to her and took her hand in his once again, touching her skin gently. "I don't know. That's up to you whether you want to trust me again, and I really want you to."
"I'm sorry." She shook her head.
His heart plummeted to his feet and he felt numb all over. "Why?"
Hermione touched his cheek. "I need time. I just… I just need to think things through. I can't make a decision now. I won't walk into this blindly again because I went to make a decision that will be good not only for me, but for our children. Please understand," she pleaded.
Draco nodded and let out a heavy sigh. "I do. Though I may not like it, I do. Just, don't take too long."
"Well, you know me. I like to think things through more than once, and I'll analyze it from every possible angle," she said, trying for a small joke.
"You're such a nerd, Granger," he said fondly.
She didn't question where he had gotten the word 'nerd' from. "We'll work something out, Malfoy. Even if I can't bring myself to trust you again, we can work something out. If only for the sake of the twins," she replied sadly. She stopped talking when she felt her vision tilt.
"What's wrong?" he asked her, taking a hold of her arms as she almost stumbled. "Hermione? What the hell?" he asked as he held her up and eased her into a chair.
"I'm okay," she muttered, trying to calm her erratic breathing.
"No, you're not," he snapped. "Has this happened before? Are the twins okay?"
Hermione nodded and swatted at his hands as they touched her forehead and then her cheeks. "I just got a dizzy spell. The twins are fine, I can feel them kicking each other," she said with a faint smile, her vision slowly returning to normal.
"Come on," he said, pulling her to her feet and wrapping an arm around her waist to help her to the door.
"What? No!" she yelled, trying to push him away, but it appeared that the lightheadedness was still there and she had to grab onto his arm to not fall over. "Okay, fine. Where are we going?" she snapped.
"To the Manor," he said, helping her towards the apparition point. As they passed the girl at the desk, she gave her instructions about some papers on her desk and what to tell Neville. "Forget all the rubbish she just said. She's going to be seen by a healer because she just had a strange episode and we're worried about her health and the twins' health."
The girl only nodded worriedly and watched them go before she ran towards Neville's office.
Draco helped Hermione onto the bed they had shared during their marriage after apparating them there. She laid down and rubbed a hand over her face as she toed off her shoes. After nagging at him that he was overreacting, Hermione accepted to see a healer. She checked everything regarding the twins and asked Hermione many questions about how she had spent her week.
"Is something wrong with her or the children?" Draco asked impatiently.
The woman smiled and shook her head. "No, but I'm afraid that you really need to cut back on work, Hermione. From what you told me, you overworked yourself this week and that is dangerous for you and the twins. I'm going to have to make this mandatory."
Hermione scowled. "I can't leave Neville with all the work now!" she whined.
The healer gave her a stern look and decided to go harsh. "Okay. Then pick between the safety of your children or your job," she said as gently as she could.
Her words had the desired effect and the pregnant woman nodded reluctantly. "Fine. But, you mean to tell me that I can go to work at all?" Hermione asked.
The healer shook her head. "It's best if you take care of simple paperwork from home, if that's possible."
"It is," said Draco before Hermione could say anything. "Don't give me that look, Granger. Have Longbottom hire five other people if you have to. Besides, you're the boss and you're pregnant, so you can get away with it."
"Well, please take it easy, Hermione. I will see you at your next appointment and we'll see if you've gotten any better. Remember, no stress, no work, and you'll be okay."
Hermione nodded. "Thank you," she said before the healer left. She turned to Draco, who was scowling at her. "What?" she snapped.
"Did you see I wasn't exaggerating when I said that I didn't want you living alone with Potter and exerting yourself when you didn't have to?"
Hermione just crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not used to being waited on. I'm not like you, rich boy."
"Well, you certainly have the money. But from what my accountant has told me, you haven't touched a single knut," he said in annoyance.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "And I told you I wouldn't. Now, get me some parchment and a quill, please. I need to write some things that will help him along, and I really need you to go get my essay for me. I'm close to finishing it," she said with a pleading note in her voice.
Draco rolled his eyes. "On one condition," he said seriously.
"Which is?" she asked impatiently.
"I want you to stay here during the rest of your pregnancy. Just let me do this for you," he said seriously.
Hermione shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea."
Draco sat on the bed and placed a hand against her cheek, his eyes open and pleading again. "Please, do this for me. Let me take care of you," he whispered, his lips inching towards hers.
She felt her breath stop as their lips met gently. Sweet Merlin, she had missed this so much. But it didn't last long. He pulled away shortly and held her eyes in his. Why, Merling, why? "Fine," she muttered as her resolved crumbled. She didn't miss the way his eyes changed and he smiled slightly. "Harry and Ron are going to murder us both."
Draco snorted. "They can try," he said before walking out to get some tea for her and the parchment and quill she had asked for. It didn't matter what those two idiots tried. He would take them both again if he had to because Hermione was worth it. Besides, now that she would be living there with him, he'd have a better chance at convincing her to accept him again. The deities were taking pity on him and were giving him a ray of hope in his bleak life.
He was highly aware that he was being dramatic, but it didn't matter. Hermione was here and he had a chance to make her see that he loved her, and maybe he would get to hear her say it back to him some time soon.