A/N – I know not everyone likes Dark Hermione stories, so I thought I would post an additional story alongside Daughter of Darkness for everyone to enjoy. What's in a Name is 6 chapters long and will be published weekly on a Wednesday. I hope you all enjoy this short story.
Emerging from the en-suite bathroom, Hermione Malfoy jumped in surprise when she found her husband, Draco, sitting on the edge of their king-sized bed. Unusually for a Saturday, Draco was heading into the office for a few hours, so Hermione had expected her husband to already be downstairs getting himself some breakfast.
"What are you still doing up here?" Hermione asked as she headed over to the wardrobe to sort out her clothes for the day. "If you don't hurry up, you'll not have time to eat before you have to leave."
"I was thinking I should contact father and have him handle the meeting," Draco said.
"Why?" Turning back around, Hermione frowned at her husband in bewilderment. "This is your deal. You've been working on this for months. So why wouldn't you want to be there as it is finalised?"
"I just thought it might be more important to be here for you," Draco said softly, giving his wife a pointed look.
"It's a period, Draco," Hermione replied, smiling at her husband as she walked over to where he was perched on their bed. "I've had plenty of them in the past, and I'm sure I'll have plenty more in the future."
"I know, but this is different," Draco said quietly.
"It really isn't," Hermione insisted with a subtle shake of her head. "This is only our first month on the fertility potion. The Healers warned us not to expect anything these first few months. It takes time for the potion to acclimatise and begin to be effective."
"I know all that, but despite it all, I had hoped for the best," Draco admitted with a sigh.
"So had I," Hermione agreed.
"And despite your pragmatic outlook today, it wasn't the same last night," Draco pointed out. "Last night, you were devastated."
"I shouldn't have been," Hermione said with a sigh as she plonked down beside her husband and rested her head on his shoulders as his arm wrapped around her and pulled her closer to him. "I knew it wasn't going to happen this month, and it probably won't happen next month either. But I just feel like we've been waiting for so long."
"We have," Draco said, pressing a kiss to the top of his wife's damp curls. "But at least now we have some real hope. This potion works for almost ninety percent of couples who use it."
"And what if we're in the ten percent it doesn't work for?" Hermione whispered, voicing the worry that neither she nor her husband had spoken out loud. After several years of trying for a baby, the newly discovered fertility potion they had just started on had offered them the first glimmer of hope they'd had in a long time, and neither of them had wanted to truly think about what would happen if it failed them.
"We'll cross that bridge if we come to it," Draco replied. "But we must think positively. We have to believe this will work, Hermione, and we will get the family we so desperately want."
"I hope so," Hermione sighed. Giving her husband a peck on the cheek, she rose to her feet and returned to the wardrobe. "Now, go and get yourself some breakfast before you have to leave."
"Are you sure you don't want me to stay at home?" Draco checked, standing up but making no move to leave the bedroom.
"Go," Hermione ordered, giving her husband her sternest glare. "I will be fine. Besides, I'm supposed to be meeting Ginny this afternoon."
As Hermione knew it would, the thought of her not being alone all day was enough motivation for Draco to give in and carry on with his pre-arranged meeting. Of course what she didn't tell her husband was that she would be sending an owl to Ginny later that day to cancel. Even though the lack of conception hadn't come as a surprise, and she'd certainly had plenty of disappointments over the last few years, she did still feel as though she needed some time to herself to digest the latest blow she'd been dealt. Despite Draco's optimism, and the new fertility potion she was taking, she was beginning to believe that her and Draco having a baby wasn't meant to be.
Once Draco had left for work, Hermione had a leisurely breakfast as she gave herself time to think before cancelling on Ginny. By the time she'd eaten and had cleaned up, she was positive that she wouldn't be going out with her friend, so she quickly jotted a note to Ginny, claiming she was feeling under the weather, and they would re-arrange for another time. Half an hour later her owl returned with a note from Ginny, wishing her a speedy recovery and agreeing that they would rearrange and have their girls afternoon another time soon.
With Ginny not about to pop up, expecting her to go out, and Draco at work finalising the big deal he'd been working on for months, Hermione was free to curl up in the living room and wallow in her grief at the fact that another month had gone by when she hadn't conceived.
Hermione and Draco had actually been married for a few years before they'd decided to actively try for a baby. Before that, they had usually used some form of contraceptive, but if they'd forgotten, it hadn't been treated as a big deal. And even when they'd first started to try for a baby, the arrival of Hermione's period had been greeted good naturedly as they accepted that their efforts hadn't produced the desired result, and they'd simply vowed to try again the following month. However, as the months passed, Hermione grew more and more despondent at the arrival of her period each month.
After a year of trying for a baby with no luck, they'd visited the healers and got themselves checked out. Both Hermione and Draco had been given a clean bill of health and the healer explained that some people just took longer to conceive than others, and they shouldn't be disheartened. Even so, they'd visited the Healers every few months just to keep an eye on things, and as the second year passed without any joy on the baby front, the healer admitted that it could be time to try and aid a pregnancy along.
For a few months they'd followed a series of traditional solutions to try and conceive their much longed for baby, and when all of them had failed, the healer had mentioned the new fertility potion Hermione was now taking. At the time, the potion had still been undergoing its final tests, and the Malfoys had been forced to wait another six months before the healer could prescribe it for Hermione. So, by the time Hermione took her first dose earlier this month, she and Draco had been trying for a baby for nearly three years.
Although what made it even more stressful was that in those three years, several of their friends had had babies. At a time when Hermione could have done without being surrounded by the very thing she longed for, they were all around her. Not that she wasn't happy for each and every one of her friends. But it was hard seeing everyone else in her life, gaining the one thing she and Draco longed for, but were struggling to get.
Lost in her thoughts, Hermione had no idea how much time had passed, until the doorbell rang, and she jerked to attention, realising that it was nearly half past one in the afternoon. Deciding to grab something to eat after she'd answered the door, Hermione headed into the front hallway, debating whether she should also cook something nice for Draco arriving home. At least it would stop her sitting around brooding over something that couldn't be changed. There was no baby this month, and sitting around thinking about the situation, wasn't going to change that.
With her thoughts now focusing on what she could cook for dinner, Hermione opened the front door and was greeted by a very attractive blonde woman she'd never seen before. The woman was wearing a deep blue baby sling, with a sleeping baby nestled against her chest.
"Hello," Hermione greeted, wondering if the woman was a new neighbour in the small village she and Draco lived in as she knew there were several cottages for sale nearby.
"I am looking for Draco Malfoy," the woman replied in a lilting French accent.
"I'm afraid, he's not here," Hermione replied. "I'm his wife. Can I help?"
"His wife?" the woman gasped, her eyes widening in surprise and for a moment Hermione thought she was going to back away. "I am sorry," she said as she regained her senses. "I did not know he had a wife."
"What exactly do you want?" Hermione asked bluntly.
"I must speak to Draco," the woman said, sounding slightly regretful as she gave Hermione a sympathetic look. "It's important," she added, her hand coming up to stroke her baby's back.
Hermione didn't miss the move, and she was smart enough to know what the woman was trying to say without actually having to say the words. For a moment she felt sick to the stomach, but common sense soon kicked in and she knew her reaction was purely down to the fact she'd spent the morning thinking about babies. She knew in her heart that Draco would never cheat on her, and despite what the woman on her doorstep was implying, the child in her arms was not her husbands.
"Please Mrs Malfoy," the woman begged softly. "I'm sure you don't want to do this outside, where anyone passing can hear."
"I suppose you better come in," Hermione admitted reluctantly as she stepped backwards to allow the woman to enter her house.
Rather than take the woman into the living room, Hermione led her into the floo room, which was much smaller and less personal than the living room. Gesturing for the woman to sit down, Hermione walked over to the window and stood gazing outside for several minutes while she gathered her thoughts. She had every faith in Draco, and his fidelity, but she needed to know what this woman had to say for herself.
"I take it you're going to tell me that my husband is the father of your baby," Hermione said, turning back to the stranger.
"I'm afraid so," the woman replied with a nod. "I just want to let you know that I had no idea he was married when I met him."
"How did you meet him?" Hermione asked. "And where did you meet him?"
"I met him almost a year ago in Paris," the woman answered. "I was in the city for a few months with work, and I met Draco when he was also in the country for work. We spent three glorious weeks together, then went our separate ways. I discovered I was pregnant a few weeks later. I thought about getting in touch to tell him about my pregnancy but decided to do things by myself. However, shortly after Amelie was born, I lost my job."
"So you want money?"
"Only what I am entitled to," the woman answered. "As Amelie's father, Draco should help provide for her."
"I agree her father should provide for her," Hermione said with a nod. "But sadly, her father is not my husband. I trust Draco, and I know he would never cheat on me."
"I am not lying," the woman retorted sharply. "Whether you want to believe it or not, your husband is the father of my daughter. And I wish to see him. I will not leave until I do so."
Hermione could tell the woman wasn't bluffing, and quite honestly, she couldn't blame her. If she genuinely thought Draco was her daughter's father, then she was right to stand her ground and get him to provide the support she deserved. However, Hermione knew that there had been crossed wires somewhere along the line and the woman sitting in her house had gotten the wrong end of the stick, as she would bet her life that Draco had never cheated on her.
"I will contact his office and see if he's free," Hermione eventually decided. Even though she trusted Draco and didn't believe what she was being told, things would still get sorted out quicker if her husband were here.
Connecting the floo, Hermione called Draco's office and found his meeting had just finished. Her husband was rather shocked to hear from her, and while she didn't go into details, he promised to be home the second she ended the call. When Hermione did end the call, she informed the mystery woman that her husband was on his way.
"Thank you," the woman replied as she took several deep breaths as if steadying her nerves.
Seconds later the floo lit up and Draco hurried from the flames. Not sparing a glance at their visitor, he rushed straight to Hermione to check she was okay. However, Hermione's attention was on the woman sitting on the sofa, and she saw the look of total bemusement that settled itself on her face at Draco's arrival.
"There's someone here to see you," Hermione said quietly, nodding her head in the direction of their visitor.
Turning around and spotting their guest for the first time, Draco bobbed his head in greeting. "Hello, I'm Draco Mal…."
"No," the woman interrupted before Draco could finish. "I wish to speak to Draco Malfoy," she said to Hermione.
"I am Draco Malfoy," Draco insisted.
"No, you are not," the woman sighed. "Please do not play games with me, Mrs Malfoy. I wish to speak to your husband."
"This is my husband," Hermione said firmly. "And he is Draco Malfoy."
"Maybe there's another Draco Malfoy in the country?" the woman suggested.
"Not in our world," Draco snorted. "I take it you are a witch?"
"I am," the woman replied with a nod of her head. "And I am looking for a wizard named Draco Malfoy. He comes from a place called Wiltshire, and he grew up in a place called Malfoy Manor."
"Still me," Draco said. "Malfoy Manor is my family home, and I can assure you, I am the only Draco in the family."
"No, no, no," the witch repeated, shaking her head. "I do not believe you. You are not Draco Malfoy."
"I'll give you proof," Draco muttered, pulling his wand from his pocket and summoning a framed picture and a roll of parchment. Unrolling the parchment, he showed it to the French witch who was questioning his identity. "This is our marriage certificate, as you can see, it clearly says my name is Draco Malfoy. And just in case you don't believe me, this is a picture from our wedding day," he added, also showing the witch one of the many pictures that had been taken the day he and Hermione had married. "Oh, and that large building behind us is Malfoy Manor."
"Aha," the witch cried, snatching the picture from Draco's hands. "There he is," she announced triumphantly. "That is Draco Malfoy."
Stepping forward, Draco and Hermione craned their necks to see who the woman was pointing to. Instead of pointing at Draco, she was jabbing at one of his groomsmen – Theo Nott.
