Chapter 18

After their conversation, Draco left Hermione to her own devices. He had stuff to do. His father was still giving him a crash course on being king and Draco felt he really needed the help. He would have to be in every single meeting and attend all kingly stuff with his father. It got so boring sometimes and he didn't get to spend as much time with his wife as he would like.

"Are we boring you, son? " the king asked. Draco was shook out of his thoughts, all the people at the table were looking at him as if they expected an answer from him.
"Ehm, no, no not at all, all very interesting stuff." He quickly stuttered. "Hardly" the king smirked. "Your mind seems to be elsewhere, Draco, so why don't you take the rest of the day off?" Draco didn't have to be told twice. He excused himself and left the room as if it were on fire. He wanted to find Hermione and spend the rest of the day with her. They hadn't had a real date in so long and they were supposed to be making babies. He searched for her in their rooms and the stables. He quickly fed Roach some carrots but Hermione still remained missing.
"Alright, so where would our queen go if she had some time off?" he asked Roach while patting his nose. The horse snorted and Draco smiled.
"You're right, our little bookworm would definitely be in the library." He turned on his heel, grabbing a carrot from the pile to snack on. He made his way towards the library quickly, carrot in hand. As he entered, he found Hermione immediately and he walked over to her but stopped in his tracks as he noticed James sitting next to her. They were talking about something. Hermione's back was turned towards Draco but James looked straight at him. He leaned in closer to Hermione and brushed a lock of hair from her face, while his eyes never left Draco's. Hermione quickly turned her head and found Draco standing in the doorway.
"Hi! Didn't you have meetings all day?" she asked, smiling at him. He walked towards the pair and sat down next to Hermione. He wrapped his arm around her and pressed a kiss on her cheek.
"They gave me the afternoon off" he smiled. Hermione's attention returned to the book in her lap and Draco's shifted to James. His eyes locked with James' and he brutally bit off a large chunk of carrot.
"Hermione and I were just reading up on the history of her country" the snake smiled innocently.
"I can see that, I'll be helping her now, if you don't mind." Draco hissed. Hermione looked up from her book at both boys.
"Take it easy, guys." She hissed, ending the fight.
"It's alright, my queen, I'll take my leave." James smiled. He grabbed Hermione's hand and pressed a kiss on it. Draco almost gagged. When James stalked off he turned to Hermione.
"I hate that guy" he spat.
"I know you do, just ignore him, he is nothing to us" she answered, pressing a kiss on his lips.
"He just gets under my skin" he hissed.
"Don't let him get to you, he's trying to achieve just that." He knew she was right, but what did she expect. He was a Slytherin and they didn't back away. They fought sneaky snakes by being even more sneaky. "I will" he lied. Hermione leaned into him and they continued reading the book together.

A few weeks passed by almost unnoticed. Hermione and Draco spent a lot of time together, when Draco wasn't learning how to be King and Hermione wasn't acting like a queen. They grew closer and closer. Every one could see their relationship blossom, everyone, even their enemies. Things took a turn though when Hermione had an appointment with a doctor on an early Sunday morning. The court physician entered her chambers where she was laying in her bed, a wet cloth pressed to her forehead.
"My queen." The man bowed and Hermione looked up at him.
"Thank you for coming to see me" she whispered.
"I've been feeling dreadful all week." She continued. The man sat down on a chair next to the bed.
"What have you been feeling?" he asked. Hermione sat up and placed the wet cloth on the nightstand.
"Well, I've been nauseous every morning for a week. And I can hardly stand the smell of cooked meat. It makes me want to barf." She explained. The physician had a very serious look on his face, but upon hearing Hermione talk about her symptoms, it changed gradually to a look of excitement. He asked her if he could feel her stomach and Hermione complied. After a couple of minutes he seemed satisfied with his examination and he draped the covers over her body.
"My queen, this is good news!" he exclaimed. Hermione frowned.
"So I'm not sick?" she asked.
"No, it's a wonderful blessing, my queen. You are with child." He told her. Hermione's mouth fell open.
"I'm what?" she stuttered.
"You are with child." The doctor repeated.
"But, I can't be" she denied.
"Well, of course you can." The doctor frowned confused at her.
"Alright, well, that's just great then, thank you" she quickly stated. She signed to one of her ladies and they ushered the doctor out of the room. He was muttering something about special herbs he would bring by. Hermione got up from her bed. She quickly dressed herself in a simple gold and red gown that flared to the ground like waves.
"Where is prince Draco today?" she asked.
"He had a riding lesson" her ladiesmaid responded.
"fetch me my red coat, will you?" she asked. The girl grabbed the red coat with fur lining along the gigantic hood. Hermione wrapped it around her body and decided to find Draco. It was snowing outside and she had to lift her dress to get to the stables. Draco was inside, grooming his horse to go riding. Hermione walked up to him.
"Hi" she whispered.
"Oh, hey!" he smiled, walking over to her. "Are you feeling better?" he asked.
"Well, not exactly" she started. His smile faded and a worried look overtook his face.
"What is going on?" he asked, grabbing her hand.
"Well, I have something to tell you" she started. He remained silent, his eyes fixed on hers. Hermione took a deep breath.
"You're kinda making me nervous here, Hermione, are you okay? Is it something serious?" he asked.
"It's serious alright" Hermione responded.
"Draco, I'm…" she hesitated. "I'm pregnant." She whispered.
"You're pregnant?" he asked. Hermione bit her lip.
"I am pregnant" she repeated. Hermione was afraid to look Draco in the eye.
"I'm so sorry, I don't know how this happened." She whispered again. He grabbed her face in his hand and made her look up at him.
"Are you kidding? Don't apologize!" he smiled at her.
"What?" she frowned.
"This is amazing news!" he shrieked, before grabbing her waist and twirling her around. Hermione smiled at him, surprised at his reaction. He put her down and grabbed her face, pressing his lips to hers. He pressed his forehead against hers. "I am so happy" he whispered.