Chapter 8
"And you're sure? I thought you said your parents wanted some alone time?" Ron asked for what felt like the millionth time as the pair of them waited for Ginny to finish chatting with Luna and join their carriage.
Hermione nodded and smiled weakly. In truth, and she hated to admit it, she couldn't remember the last time she'd actually felt at ease around Ron. It pained her to think of her best friend in this way, but she knew she didn't love him.
"Yes, I've already owled them Ron, they'll be expecting me in London." Ron sighed and nodded begrudgingly, looking out the train window as his breath steamed up the glass.
"I just don't like the idea of you being on the train alone for the rest of the journey, I'm pretty sure there's only about three students who get off at Kings cross." He sighed as Hermione smiled again.
"I'll be fine Ron, I'm sure there'll be someone I know who can help me get my case and everything." He gave her a look and nodded.
"Good, because I don't want you stressing yourself out, in your condition." He nodded towards her stomach, as if Hermione wasn't aware she was pregnant.
"I'll be fine." She sighed, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, and then smiled as Ginny re-joined them.
"Ron we're about three stops away, Hermione I asked about the weather and estimated arrival time, luckily for you, you should arrive in London a little earlier than usual, and it'll only be about forty minutes." She smiled as she took the seat next to Hermione.
Ron pouted and turned away from the girls, clearly still annoyed that Hermione wasn't coming to the Burrow for Christmas.
Ginny rolled her eyes and winked a Hermione before turning back to her issue of Witch Weekly.
Hermione sighed and checked her watch.
Three stops couldn't go by quick enough.
Hermione rolled her eyes as Draco dragged her case through the train station and out to the car park.
"I'm pregnant not an invalid I can carry my own bags." She muttered as Draco struggled with four heavy bags.
"Thank you Draco my love for protecting the health of myself and our unborn child." He grinned as Hermione shot him a look.
"Nice to see the hormones kicking in already." He winked, and his time Hermione slapped him.
He laughed as they reached his car, and Hermione gasped at the impressive vehicle.
It was a gorgeous, spotless creamy white, with impressive leather seats and a beautiful frame, it was obviously an expensive sports car.
"Oh my god. Is this one of those cars they talk about on the car shows?!" Draco rolled his eyes as he opened the boot and slung in the bags.
"It's an Aston Martin Vantage actually Hermione but never mind." He winked as he opened the passenger side door and helped her in, before closing it and smoothly swinging into the driver's side.
He revved the engine and grinned at the slightly animal purr it made, before shifting into gear and reversing out of the parking space.
"Well, whatever the hell it is, I love it." She marvelled, stroking the soft leather seas and admiring the high tech looking dash.
Draco grinned and nodded.
"It's one of my favourites, even though it's a convertible it comfortable seats four, five in at a pinch." Hermione's jaw dropped.
"It's a convertible? No way!" Draco rolled his eyes but grinned wider.
"What do you think? I obviously might have to update it when junior comes along, but this could be our nifty sports car?" Hermione nodded enthusiastically as she admired the interior of the car.
"How much did this cost?"
Draco shrugged.
"I have my money split into muggle and wizarding, for practicality obviously, and I think this one was around ninety five grand?" Hermione's jaw dropped and Draco chuckled, turning smoothly into the London traffic as they began to head just out of the city.
"Haven't you heard of the Malfoy money Hermione? My father doesn't control it anymore, the ministry would find him too easily. I've changed the safe keys at Gringots, changed my muggle bank, it's all mine and no one else can get at it." He shrugged and patted the steering wheel fondly.
"I indulge myself a little, I'll admit." Hermione laughed incredulously, but was quickly shocked again into silence as they pulled up at the gates of a beautiful town house shrouded with fir trees.
Draco got out of the car and used his waved his wand over a security panel that resembled a muggle one.
The gates slowly began to open, and Draco smiled, getting back into the car and pulling up the drive.
"Welcome to Chez Malfoy." He winked, gesturing to the gorgeous five storey, faded white stone building before them.
Hermione marvelled at the beautiful Georgian symmetry of the house, the wondrous grounds that stretched as far as the eye could see.
She could make out an orchard somewhere over to the left, and could hear the faint sound of rushing water.
"It's beautiful." She breathed, as Draco smiled at her fondly.
"It's where I've been staying since my mother passed, my father never really like the townhouse, and so he didn't make much of an influence of it, it's really beautiful, and you'll be pleased to know there's a distinct lack of anything black or green." He winked as Hermione turned back to face him.
"Draco it's wondrous! How on earth do you have such spectacular grounds when you're just forty minutes from the inner city?!"
He smiled and shrugged.
"The outskirts of London, you have to remember, weren't the outskirts of London when this house was built. In the Georgian era London was really quite a small city, these houses were built practically in the countryside back then." Hermione nodded and continued to marvel at the glorious house.
Draco pulled up in the garage just to the right of the house, and helped Hermione out of the car with her bags.
"Ready to explore Madame?" He winked, kissing her hand as Hermione rolled her eyes and tried not to laugh.
"Why of course kind sir." She smiled, taking his arm as they climbed stairs to the huge oak wooden double doors between the white marble pillars of the Malfoy's home.
Hermione gasped as Draco carried their bags into the master bedroom.
As if the gorgeous high ceilinged entry way with the stained glass 6ft tall windows hadn't been enough, two floors up was the most glorious bedroom Hermione had ever seen.
Much to her surprise, the entire room had a blue and cream theme, not the dark green and silver one she'd been expecting.
The entire room seemed to be furnished on a budget of millions, with ivory carved bed posts and gold plated wardrobe handles, it was beyond luxurious, but somehow not in an over the top way.
Hermione loved it. Right from the dusty blue bed sheets to the balcony looking over the cherry tree orchard.
"Draco, this, is this your room?!" She exclaimed, opening one of the gold gilded door handles to reveal a walk in wardrobe.
He shrugged and grinned.
"Our bedroom you mean." She spun around, a shocked smile plastering her face.
"No way?!" He laughed and gestured to the wardrobe.
"Why do you think this is half empty? I left you most of the shoe space as well, mother always said a woman's shoes were her prize possession."
Hermione laughed and fell into his arms, kissing him softly as she did so.
"We also have an en-suite, a whirlpool bath included." He murmured as she grinned.
"Seriously?"
"Well, the main bathroom on the third floor is the biggest, rather like the prefect's bathroom at Hogwarts, but a little more refined."
Hermione grinned and winked suggestively as she dumped her coat onto the bed and headed for the door.
"Whaddya say we go for a bath?" He smirked and headed towards her, leaning in to whisper in her ear.
"Sounds like a plan."
Hermione rolled over, opening her eyes a crack and smiling slightly as she saw the silhouette of him as he stood on the balcony looking out over the orchard in the glowing morning sunshine.
With a delighted sigh, she stretched out her arms, and stood in her thin nightgown that already showed off her steadily growing bump and went out to join him.
"Good morning." She smiled, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him on the cheek.
Much to her surprise he did not reciprocate the action, and merely grunted to acknowledge her presence.
"Is something wrong?" She asked, quickly removing her arms from around his neck and moving to face him.
He sighed and looked away, before speaking softly, sounding strangely sad.
"Hermione if I ask you a question will you promise to be honest with me?" Hermione nodded, shivering slightly in the fresh December air.
"Are you carrying my child?" Hermione looked at him in open mouthed shock before raising an eyebrow in steadily growing anger.
"What?" She snapped, he turned and glared at her, suspicion and slight disappointment etched in his vision.
"I'm not an idiot. You're only, what nine weeks pregnant and you're already showing pretty damn well." He snapped as Hermione pursed her lips.
"So you're suggesting I lied to you? That I'm actually four months pregnant with Ron's child?" She snapped, and then her eyes widened when she realised that was exactly what he was suggesting.
She sat down slowly, holding her head in her hands.
"Oh, my, god." She breathed, shaking her head slowly as Draco quickly turned around and put his arm around her.
"Hermione please don't, I'm sorry it's just, my mother used to be a mid-witch, and I know that you're not supposed to show until you're at least three months along, I could be wrong I just,"
Hermione rubbed her temples, before interrupting.
"Draco it's ok, we have an appointment this morning, everything will be fine, we can just as the mid witch." Hermione smiled, convincing herself as much as she was Draco.
He nodded and helped her up, wrapping his jacket around her before they headed back inside.
Hermione noticed after about fifteen minutes that she'd been reading the same page of witch weekly for the entire time. With a sigh, she put the magazine back down on the small table in the pregnancy and childbirth waiting room in the West wing of the hospital.
"Granger-Malfoy?" The mid Witch called, and both Hermione and Draco practically jumped out of their uncomfortable chairs, Hermione with slight difficulty.
They made their way into the side room, where they were met by an extremely smiley mid witch whose name badge stated cheerfully that her name was Magda.
"If you would just like to take a seat in the corner for a minute sweetie while we get your lovely partner here prepped." The witch was, as expected, painfully cheery.
Hermione left with the witch behind the curtain, and Draco tuned out the ramblings of the sunny mid witch as he tapped his fingernails lightly on the arm of the chair.
He'd been playing it calm, trying to stay positive for her, but in all honesty he was terrified.
He knew that if the baby was Weasley's she'd feel like she had to stay with him, there'd be no turning back.
"Wow sweetie you sure are big for just nine weeks!" The mid witch exclaimed, rather unhelpfully as the curtain was drawn back to reveal Hermione lying, looking as nervous as he felt, with her shirt up revealing her bump.
"Well honey you're all linked up with the screen right there, now when you're ready I'll just wave my wand over your belly and we'll be able to see your little cutie in the screen right there, and how far along you are because I'm not sure nine weeks is quite right." Draco's jaw tightened, but he forced a smile and grabbed Hermione's hand.
She clutched him tight and closed her eyes as the mid witch waved her wand slowly over Hermione's slightly bulging stomach.
Draco looked away from the screen, not wanting to see the dates. Not yet.
"Well sweetie, looks like congratulations are in order I guess." The witch chirped, causing Hermione to open her eyes a smidge and look at the witch's beaming face.
"You're expecting twins!" She squealed as Hermione's jaw dropped in sudden realisation.
Draco spun around and gazed in wonder at the screen and the meaningless shifty blur of movement, his children.
His smile grew as he saw the date.
Nine weeks. They were Malfoy's alright.
"Are you serious?" Hermione spluttered as the mid witch took another look at the screen and shook her head.
"Oh silly me, looks like I was mistaken." She grabbed a clipboard and began scribbling down a few notes, Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as Draco relaxed slightly beside her.
"There's the third heartbeat right there."
Hermione clutched at the little moving picture in her hands, tears still trickling down her cheeks as she relaxed against the soft leather in the car.
"Triplets." She whispered, still not quite sure she believed it.
"How is this even possible?!" Draco breathed, looking at her incredulously.
Hermione shrugged, trying to come to terms with the whole thing.
"Naturally the conception rate of triplets is only about one in a hundred, but the Granger-Thomson does have quite a spectacular record when it comes to sets of triplets." Draco laughed and grinned at Hermione.
"And you just forgot to mention this?"
Hermione rolled her eyes, putting the picture carefully in her purse as she rubbed her stomach tenderly.
"I was an only child, I guess I just thought that the gene had run out." Draco laughed again as he reversed the car out of the space and began driving into town.
"Well, I remember from my mother that triplets can be up to eight weeks early, so it might be good to start shopping now, especially since…"
Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Especially since I'm going to be huge." She groaned as Draco smiled.
"You'll be gorgeous." He insisted as she shot him a look.
"It's your job to say that, you have to be nice to me because it's your fault I'm going to be a whale."
They both laughed this time, giddy with anticipation and avoiding several subjects that desperately needed to be addressed.
At that moment the pair were just marvelling at their little miracle.
Well, three little miracles.
Ooohohoohohho plot twist yayayayyaay!
Just so all of you people who are going to complain about this being unrealistic, 1. It's just a bit of fun! Lighten up!
2. I've done my research. I 've mentioned the genetic link already, I've researched how early their normally born all of it so please don't get all annoyed?
ANYWAYS, REVIEWS:
NikkiHeat2000 - You, I must admit are becoming a favourite of mine as you're a regular :P thanks so much for the review, and you got your punch :D
.3 - Hey there! Nice to see a new reviewer :) and thanks so much for the questions, I hope I gave you a good explanation :)
PandaPillowPet - Another fresh face, great to see ya! Thanks so much for the review, I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)
sneezingpanda12345 - glad you liked it! Enjoy this one too :)
jksavedmylife - That is so nice! Thanks a lot, I really hope you like this chapter!
rockachicka98 - Woop! Me either, I will soon start asking people about baby names so that should be fun! :D
dutch potterfan - I'm leading up to a couple of pretty big face offs, the key one being Ron. It will come a little later and will have some pretty serious consequences for everyone involved...
SO please review? I might post early! :D xo