Hermione was torn out of her light slumber by the sound of the sliding doors opening. She opened her eyes to find a giant bird allowing itself in. Startled, she shrieked, walking her husband as well. He snarled.

"There's this thing outside."

Lucius turned around and looked at the window. "It's a crane," he commented dryly.

"I can see that," Hermione snapped.

"You have to let it in. Official documents need to be stamped upon receiving."

"I'm not wearing anything."

"It is nothing but a bird."

The slender animal raised its head and quickly opened and closed its beak disapprovingly.

"You're lying on my kimono," she said tucking on the fabric.

Lucius rolled over and the young witch covered herself. Annoyed, she got up and walked towards the majestic creature. Hermione removed the sealed letter from its long leg. Signing the receipt, she accioed her seals.

Nothing happened. She tried it again and again. At some point, Hermione was sure that the arrogant bird was laughing at her. She was angry and frustrated which made focusing even harder. Relief swapped over her when she finally succeeded.

She pressed her hanko on the paper. "What kind of treat are we supposed to give the crane?"

"We might have a few day-old chicks stocked. Elf!"

Nothing happened.

"It's Kiki." Hermione glared at the pureblood. The elf appeared at an instant. "Would you please see if we have a treat for the crane and bring it?"

Kiki had merely disappeared when he returned handing Hermione a couple of fluffy dead chicks. She took a deep breath before throwing them towards the crane. The auspicious creature effortlessly caught them in flight.

After the crane took off, Hermione went through the documents. Holding her marriage certificate in her, she swallowed hard. This was it. She was now officially a Malfoy. She didn't know whether she wanted to laugh or to cry.

Lucius took the on thick washi paper written document and tore it apart. Hermione flinched. He handed her the side and he had filled in and kept the half with her blood and stamp on. A couple of seconds later, the missing side magically duplicated itself to make the contract look complete again.

Hermione continued to stare at the document. While she had trouble reading the calligraphy, it still had an impact. The young war-heroin hadn't planned on getting married any time soon and the circumstances weren't exactly every girl's dream.

Skinning through the content she found her new visa. Within the envelope was also a small booklet. It caught her attention. Looking at it she had at first trouble identifying its purpose. 母子手帳. Maternal and Child Health Care Handbook.

It didn't make any sense to her. Why would the government think she needed it. She was about to toss it away when she realized that she received an awful lot of comments about babies. Surely not all wizards and witches were that eager to reproduce.

Like always her trail of thoughts followed the trace, running ahead of her, not caring if she could handle the information she dug up. Within a split second, she felt her confidence drain. She didn't want to go there, but it was already too late. Hermione anxiously chewed on her lower lip. She tore tiny bits of flesh from her lips, tasting the blood beneath it. She wasn't usually that stupid.

A tear ran down her cheek. She hadn't planned on sleeping with him. She had wanted to take things slow, afraid of another painful breakup. Hermione had thought about starting on the potion, but she didn't think it would have gone well with the polyjuice. And after everything she had put her body through it didn't seem wise to take any more chances.

Luckily one of the things she admired about Lucius was that he was so thorough and always prepared for all eventualities. She should ask him, just to be sure. But the young Gryffindor didn't want to look like an idiot. This was so embarrassing. She didn't have any experience with things like that and they've only been together for a couple of days now. Why hadn't she thought about it earlier?

"Lucius?"

"Mm."

"I've been wondering. I mean we have to talk about it at some point, I mean. What kind of contraceptive potion are you on?" Her face was bright red. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the impact.

"None," he said.

She must have misheard it. Surely a wizard of his standing would take better care of his inheritance.

She took a deep breath. "You must have noticed that we were getting closer…"

"I did. I have thought for a long time about the best route of action, so I purchased a potion to ensure I could only father daughters. I would never want to risk upsetting Draco."

No, he didn't. Trying not to panic, Hermione took another deep breath. "That seems to be a high risk to take for a man of your standing. Also, isn't a potion like that illegal?" She was grasping for straws and she knew it.

"It might be a bit of a grey area, really. And no, I never take unnecessary risks-"

Hermione snorted.

"- There are other methods of protection than potions. I not only know how to cast the charm, I am proficient at it. I was forced to learn it before I was even old enough to get an erection. So I can assure you doing it wand- and wordlessly is no feat for me."

A small sigh of relief passed her lips. "So you did cast a contraceptive charm?"

"With you? I did not see the need for it," he admitted hiding a spark of joy that lit up. This was getting interesting. Not wanting to be disappointed again, he tried stay grounded. "Surely a witch as responsible as you would use multiple methods, just to be sure."

She swallowed hard. Yes, that would be exactly what she would have done… This wasn't happening. This is not real. Why didn't she have this conversation a week ago? Because a week ago, you were nothing but roommates. And now? Now, she didn't have a clue what to do.

Tears formed in her eyes. Hermione wanted to run away and have nothing more to do with the man. How could she have been so foolish? And who develops feelings for Lucius fucking Malfoy?!

Looking at her hands, her chewed up lips were twitching. "I'm not on anything," she whispered.

The former Death Eater had a hard time keeping his growing smile in check. He sat down next to her and placed his hand on her lower back. She looked up at him with those watery brown eyes. He swallowed. With his other hand, he gently wiped over her cheek.

"There is a spell… if you want to know," he said softly.

Hermione nodded, unable to speak a word.

"It will be alright." He summoned his wand and murmured an unfamiliar spell and tapped it on her belly.

A small white light appeared. She instantly knew what it meant, even though she had never seen or heard about it before. She couldn't explain it, but she knew it. She knew it, and she was afraid of it. What was she supposed to do now?

He didn't show it but Lucius was very pleased with the situation. The Death Eater pictured himself in the garden, showing an amazingly intelligent little girl how to fly a broom. He hoped that Draco and his grandson would be there as well. He saw himself enter the library. Their little bundle of joy would run up to Hermione, telling her unfiltered how much fun they had.

She would grow up far too quickly and before even choosing her subjects for year 3, the little one would already worry about how many Outstanding she could receive in her OWLs. He hoped for ten. The thought of his little one marrying, belonging to a different family was painful.

Hermione stood up and ran out of the room without looking back. Standing in the genkan in front of the big fireplace she broke down sobbing. Why was it always her?