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Chapter 11

Hermione raked her fork around her plate, staring down at her potatoes. She hadn't looked up when Ginny and Ron sat down, nor did she look up when Pansy sat down next to her, Harry trailing in slowly behind her.

Ginny shot a side eye to Harry who shrugged, he rolled his eyes at his wife and sat down next to her. Pansy flashed a wide smile to everyone as they stared at her silently. Hermione's eyes were still planted on her plate.

"Well, I'm sure you're all curious as to why I'm sitting here and why I'd now like to be—

"Actually, we're not." Ginny cut her off and sighed reaching for her pumpkin juice.

Feeling the sudden change in the air, Hermione's head shot up, peering to her side at Pansy.

"Hello, Pansy."

"Hermione." Pansy rolled her eyes and began to fill her plate.

Harry inhaled as Pansy cleared her throat for attention. He lowered his voice to a low whisper.

"Everyone, Pansy is pregnant, and she'd like to….get to know my friends." The words fell quickly from his mouth, almost inaudibly when he'd reached friends.

Hermione's eyes widen, wider than they'd ever been and her fork fell out of her hands.

"Why—Harry—

"It was to be expected." Pansy smiled smugly and began to fill her plate with dinner.

Hermione and Ron exchanged looks of disgust.

Harry exhaled a couple times and downed his pumpkin juice, he'd obviously been holding onto the bit of information for some time and felt relieved to finally be rid of it.

"Congratulations are in order I suppose." Ginny murmured, the shock in her voice hardly hidden.

"Not from you!" Pansy snapped, biting into a dinner roll and glaring viciously at Ginny.

Ron was stuffing his mouth, and nodding at the s ame time. When the current load in his mouth finished her muttered a low "Congratulations Harry." Then proceeded to fill his mouth nervously. Ron and Parvati were rarely seen together, when they were the
/uncomfortable air was so strong no one could stand it for long, thus Ron usually ate dinner alone.

Hermione was still stuck on the news, her hands sweating. "Pansy, that is great—great news."

Pansy gave her a confused look, irked by her stuttering and her arm blocking the potatoes. "Thanks..."

Hermione could no longer taste the food she tried to stuff in her mouth. She excused herself from her friends and made her way to her dormitory.

"Hermione!"

Hermione jumped up at the sound of Ginny's voice outside of her door.

"Hermione! The door is locked, are you alright?"

Hermione stood up in her bed. Her vision and her brain were fuzzy. She had fallen asleep as soon as she'd laid down. She jumped up to open the door for Ginny.

"Hi Ginny…I must've fallen asleep."

Ginny eyed her suspiciously. Sitting down next to her. "Hermione, what's going on?"

Hermione shook her head a few times, rubbing her eyes. "Nothing is wrong, I just fell asleep, and I've been so—

"Blaise told me you missed Potions yesterday, he said he saw you in the hall a little while ago and you were completely—

"Ginny, please. I'm just tired."

"Of what?" Ginny was looking worried.

Hermione hated the look she was being given. She was not a pet that needed to be taken care of.

"I noticed the news you received at dinner didn't fill you with joy."

Hermione rolled her eyes and Ginny smirked.

"It's ridiculous, what is Harry thinking? It's only been a month and already—

Ginny laughed. "Honestly! Like he's the only one...Dean Thomas and Cho were expecting immediately following their ceremony." Ginny continued to laugh as Hermione's expression changed to one of disgust.

"What else are we all supposed to be doing? You're the only one who has an issue with bedding your own husband…" Ginny trailed off as Hermione put her head in her hands. "What's the matter with you? You are aware that you will have to shag him again eventually,
/and eventually may be very soon if Theodore's shenanigans create trouble here at Hogwarts."

Hermione sighed. "I just don't know how two people who formerly loathe each other are expected to…how do you and Blaise—

Ginny chuckled softly. "There's no problems there."

Hermione blushed deeply. "Ginny. I barely know him and I fear he doesn't want to know me."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "You worry for nothing, he's a hormonal man. He wants to know you." She winked and giggled, turning Hermione's cheeks bright red.

….

Blaise yawned softly as Ginny droned on and on about her frustrations, ranging from Theodore scheme possibilities and horrors to Hermione and Draco's sex life to Pansy's untimely pregnancy, she was talking so fast he could hardly keep up, his eyes dancing
/between her red hair swaying left and right and the drastic facial expressions she was making.

"If you could have seen the look on her face! As if she was trying to challenge me or something hon—honestly, like that is what I want now that—oh and Hermione! The way she behaved, we have got to do something about the tension with Draco, it's absolutely
/ridiculous! Honestly, maybe we should leave we can leave and give them time to—but then it's awfully dangerous leaving them alone with Theodore and—did I tell you I saw him cornering a few second years yesterday and he—

"Ginny—

"He looked so suspicious I just wanted to hex him then and—

"Ginny, please." Blaise waved his hand and stood, straightening his suit and stretching his tie a bit as he stood.

Ginny paused, looking up at him and his now grim expression. "Why do you Slytherins where those things anyway? It's just a normal school day."

This made Blaise chuckle softly. "Since when have any of us been normal?"

Ginny nodded spreading her legs out on the couch. "Blaise, I really am worried about all of this… with Pansy and Harry I mean what—

"They're as safe as ever, Theodore won't target anyone who's already pregnant. Their fate is sealed and they're one step closer to being free of each other." Blaise paused and caught his breath as the words fell from his lips.

Ginny had fallen silent, staring up at him her eyes now dark and serious.

"Is that what you want? Now more than ever? Is that why I'm not—we're not—do you not want me to have a child at all?"

Blaise shook his head and lifted her legs so he could sit back down.

"Ginerva, of course not. I have no intentions of ending—any of this." He brushed her hair back and patted her thigh. "When things with Theodore settle down we can start planning for a ba—a life, I just don't see a rush now—obviously Potter did, anyone
/forced to marry Parkinson probably would."

Ginny giggled. "I guess you're right. Harry? A father…it's quite mad to think of it."

Blaise leaned in to kiss her head, his eyes darting towards the clock. "Potter will manage, he always has."

"And what do you think about Hermione and Drac—

Blaise waved his hand again. "Ginny, I really don't think that's in our power to control."

Ginny huffed and rolled her eyes. "There must be something we can do."

…..

Draco pulled off one of his gloves as he left the Qudditich pitch, he was exhausted and starving, the last thing he wanted to do was run into anyone in the changing rooms. He made his way up to his dormitory.

He let out a deep sigh when he heard a high pitched voice he knew to be—

He paused realizing Pansy wasn't alone and her partner was whispering. Curious, he stepped slowly and listened.

"Pansy, please…just be civil, we'll be away from Hogwarts soon—

"I'm sick of your friends thinking I'm some vermin, tell them the truth about us or I—

"Now isn't the time, we agreed we'd wait till—

"I don't care anymore! Now with the baby we should be honest and upfront about all of this. We've pretended to hate each other long enough!"

Draco gasped, stumbling back he caught himself and passed by the corridor quickly. He saw Harry's head pop up from the other side of the wall, seeing no one they walked on.

Draco shook his head. Not only was Pansy already pregnant, apparently she was in a serious non coerced relationship with Potter? Could the baby be a product of a relationship before the Marriage Law—how did she keep all of this from him? Draco shook his
/head and pushed those thoughts aside, he wasn't an idle gossip, what Pansy did in her spare time was absolutely none of his business.

Still, the thought that she could ever be happy with Potter depressed him, and the fact that everyone but him seemed to be successfully moving forward in their sham of a marriage made him sick to his stomach. He wasn't even sure how to properly start
/a conversation with Hermione, let alone bed her again without the aid of a potion. His hormones were telling him one thing and his head another.

Reaching his dormitory Draco crossed the room opening his bedroom door slowly. To his surprise Hermione was there sitting on the edge of their bed reading.

"Eh….erm, hello." He stepped back, closing the door slowly. He brushed back his silver hair and gave her a forced smile.

Hermione looked up from her book slowly, making eye contact with him.

"Hello... Draco."

Draco nodded slowly, a thought crossing his mind. "Good day then?"

Hermione looked up from her book again, clearly irritated he was interrupting her reading time. She nodded quickly.

"Eh, tomorrow I will go see mother in London!" He hadn't meant to yell but his nervousness made it come out as a high pitched declaration rather than a statement.

"Oh." Hermione set her book aside slowly, looking down at it.

"I would like you to join me…uh, to visit my mother, then to—to dinner with me." Draco hurried the sentence then cursed himself for sounding so unsure of himself. "If you would like, I would like you to accompany me to London tomorrow."

A look of shock crossed Hermione's face but it evaporated as she too cursed herself for being so timid. She watched him turn his back to her and shake his head in embarrassment.

"Draco…I—I would, I will join you tomorrow."

Draco turned back to her, his face brightened. "Great then, we'll leave half past noon."

Hermione nodded and grabbed her book. "Okay."

Draco rushed into the bath, a smile grin creeping unto his face. Inside the bath and behind a door he exhaled and smiled ear to ear.

….

"I have no idea what I should wear! Ginny for god's sake quiet!"

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ginny's giggling. They were sitting in the common room, Hermione had just relayed her conversation with Draco to her and Ginny's excitement couldn't be communicated in anything other than nervous giggles.

"Will you stop?! You are acting so childish, this is serious! I haven't seen Narcissa since—and well we've never actually conversed on positive terms, what will she say? Why is he taking me to see her tomorrow and dinner afterwards what is the meaning
/of—?

Ginny clasped Hermione's hands together growing silent.

"Hermione! He's taking you on a date!"

Hermione looked at Ginny and frowned. "A date?" She shivered a bit at the thought of it. She had to admit to herself it was a nice gesture and it made her quite nervous.

"He wants to go on a date." Hermione whispered, convincing herself. "But first, his mother..."

Ginny nodded. "Yes, that bit, maybe not so good…but a date! In London, how romantic. Maybe you can show him some muggle things and—

"Ginny don't be ridiculous, the Malfoy's a muggle tour."

They both roared in laughter.

"You'll have to help me pick something to wear!"

For the first time since all of this madness began Hermione was genuinely excited, as much as she had been trying to hide it her attraction to Draco had grown. There was only so much you could hide after sharing a bed with someone for weeks and spending
/ample time with them. She wanted to know more of him, to see more of him, to be with more of him.

"Are we clear on the logistics of all of this?"

Astoria Greengrass exchanged looks with her sister Daphne. "Yes, we're both experts on the topic."

Theodore looked from one sister to the other. "I'll need both of you to make sure that you're as vague and natural as possible."

Astoria nodded slowly. "Daphne meets with Narcissa, I give Hermione the letter."

Theodore nodded pleased. "This letter is of the utmost important and mustn't be read by anyone other than Hermione, it is sealedby a truthtelling charm, so she will know that there has been no tampering with it—

"What's in this secret letter?" Daphne cleared her throat impatiently.

"Just a little...controversy, to get the games started." He smirked. The girls exchanged confused looks.

A/N: Finally edited this chapter! So so sorry for the delay! New chapter coming soon J 06/16/2016