Charlotte snuck back into the bedroom to look at herself in the mirror. Her
abdomen had grown another inch or so over night. Now she was showing a lot
and she doubted whether her clothes would fit anymore. She would have to
buy new ones. She giggled at the thought of buying maternity clothes. She
loved children and had always wanted a baby. Whether it was her little
brother or a cousin, she loved to take care of little kids. She grabbed her
robe off the chair at Draco's desk and headed out the door.
Charlotte made her way down the stairs carefully and quietly so as not to disturb the sleeping form on the couch. But her efforts were in vain. As soon as her left foot touched the hardwood of the common room floor Draco stretched his arms above his head and yawned.
"Morning Charlotte."
Draco's greeting made Charlotte jump, "How did you know I was even down here?"
"Instincts." He smiled smugly as he turned around to look at her, astonished at the growth she had undergone over night. "That and you sounded like an elephant coming down the stairs."
Charlotte gasped, "What do you mean 'like an elephant', Mr. Malfoy?" Was he calling her fat?
Draco's smug expression turned sour. "It was a joke Mrs. Malfoy."
Charlotte glared at him. "Well, it wasn't funny." She stomped over to the entryway and paused at the door. "I have to go get ready for class. If you will excuse me." She swung the portrait open and left.
Draco just sat on the couch watching as the portrait slammed shut and muttered, "Well, it's not my fault if she can't take a simple joke." He then got up and went to get dressed.
Charlotte hurried back to her dorm to get dressed and go to breakfast. How dare he call her fat! He did this to her, so where exactly did he get off calling her fat? As she reached the portrait to enter the Slytherin commons, she rethought her last mental statement. He didn't do this to her. What was she thinking? It must be a side effect of the potion. She just shrugged and muttered the password to gain entry.
Draco sat on his neatly made bed and pulled on his socks. Girls were completely not understandable. Last night the crazy girl fell asleep on him and this morning she was screeching at how he called her fat. If he wasn't mistaken, he was the one trying to convince her she wasn't fat. He finished getting dressed and headed down to the great hall for breakfast. Still thinking about the happenings of the morning.
Charlotte began to dress for class while standing in front of her mirror. She pulled on her white oxford and began to button it. Only four buttons would come together. She sighed and took it off. She would definitely have to go shopping soon. For now she would alter the shirt magically. She fixed the middle a bit, tied her green and silver tie and pulled her sweater over it. She pulled on her robes just as she was about to leave.
Samantha Rhinehold was sitting next to her partner in the great hall. Charlotte went to sit next to her when her partner's, Cody Laurence, voice reached her ears. "I don't know why you are in such a damn mood but don't take it out on me!"
Samantha's head was in her hands when he said this. She quickly straightened up and looked him right in the eye. "Hey I've got an idea, let's go brew another potion and let you drink it. That way you can puke your guts up for two whole days and then grow to make it look like you have swallowed a basketball. Would that be a just so bloody fun?"
Cody's face paled considerably and he just so happened to glance up at Charlotte. "Hey Charlie, what's going on?" Anything to get away from the subject him and Samantha were just discussing.
"Hey Cody, hey Sam." Charlotte grabbed the edge of the table as she swung her leg over the bench and sat down. "Sam, you've grown a bloody lot. I can't say much for myself but you look like you've had yours for six months already."
"Professor Bradford said it was normal. It all has to do with the person who drank the potion. Kind of a hormones thing." She flipped her long dark auburn hair over her shoulder. "Did Professor Bradford tell you about what we have to do once we get the babies?"
"No." At this moment Draco decided to stroll into the great hall, a look of smug assurance on his face.
"Well apparently they are going to be like newborns and the mother's get the choice to either bottle feed or breast feed."
Cody chimed in at the mention of 'breast', "WHAT?!"
Samantha and Charlotte laughed together. "So what do you think you are going to do Sam?"
"Not sure. My mom owled me yesterday and congratulated me on my little present." Samantha rolled her eyes. "She's sending me baby clothes today." Samantha went on about her mom's letter and all the questions she needed to ask.
Charlotte wasn't listening. Instead she watched as Draco sat with his friends. Not even bothering to come over and say hi. She sighed. What did she expect? This was only the fifth day they had known each other. She tuned back in just as Samantha was finished up her monologue. "Sounds great Sam. I'll see you in class later." Charlotte then got up and headed to her first class.
Draco watched as Charlotte got up and walked out of the hall. Excusing himself he followed her. He called out her name when he was only a few feet behind her. This caused her to jump and turn around.
"What do you want?" She turned back and headed towards her class. "I'm just a fat elephant who can't walk down the stairs. Remember?"
"Now Charlotte you know I never said that. It was just a joke." Draco caught up with her and walked beside her.
"And as I said before it was NOT funny." Draco took a glance at her sweater stretched tight across her belly concealed beneath her voluminous robes. His hand reached out on its own accord and rested on her stomach. Charlotte stopped walking and looked at his hand. "I'm going to need some new clothes."
Draco looked at her with puzzlement. "And I thought you might like to help me pick some out of a catalog. We don't have Muggle Studies so perhaps---"
"Do you ever just ask a direct question, Charlotte Fitzhugh-Malfoy?"
There he went again, calling her Malfoy, as if they were really married. The thought warmed her heart and at the same time irked her considerably. "No I don't."
He smiled softly and replied, "Muggle Studies is our free time today. Maybe we could do it today. By looks of it, you're gonna need to get twenty-four outfits. One for each day you're pregnant. You sure are growing fast." His hand removed itself from her stomach and replaced itself at his side.
"Oh heavens, I don't have enough money for that many." Her face scrunched into that of worry.
"You aren't going to pay for anything. Anything you send off for just sign the order form Charlotte Malfoy and they'll charge it to my bank account."
"Seriously?" She couldn't help herself as she reached up on tiptoes, placing her hands on Draco's shoulders, and kissing his cheek. "Thank you."
Draco smiled as she made her way to class. He watched her retreating form and felt his stomach bunch into knots. They were going to have a child in twenty-four day's time. His breath caught in his throat as she turned to go into her Arithmancy class and winked at him. She was just a silly girl who needed to grow up. He shook his head and walked to Defense against the dark arts.
Charlotte sat on a couch in the Slytherin common room, flipping through a maternity magazine and scribbling down her favorite outfits on a piece of parchment, when Jordan Townsende walked into the room.
"Hey Charlie.how's your hubby?" Jordan sneered at her with what looked like anger. Jordan was known for his abuse of his girlfriends and his fierce competitive streak on the Slytherin quidditch team.
"Don't call me Charlie. Are you jealous of me and Draco, Townsende?" She laughed softly but did not look up.
Jordan stalked forward and grabbed her upper arm. "I heard the little rumor you sent around about me and that Samantha Rhinehold chit."
Charlotte's head snapped up and she shook off his clenching grip on her arm as she stood. "You mean the one about you raping her?!" Her anger was blazing in her eyes. "The one that she told me herself. That is no rumor and you know it!"
Jordan stepped forward menacingly. "Listen bitch. Keep out of my business. If I hear that you're spreading nasty little rumors about me I'll kill you."
"If you'd stop beating all the girls that you seduce into your bed, these rumors wouldn't be a problem."
Jordan raised his hand and brought it down hard across Charlotte's cheek. She was knocked unconscious by the fierce blow and her head hit the table as she sank to the floor. Jordan watched with disgust, as the petite figure lay immobile on the floor. "Get up." His voice reached Charlotte's ears to no avail. He growled as she slowly became conscious and his boot struck her abdomen, causing her to double up in pain.
Draco walked in just as Jordan Townsende brought his boot down on a figure on the floor. Draco was just about sick of hearing of Townsende's infamous reputation of abuse. He was not going to let this happen again. As he walked towards the unsuspecting bully he glanced at the floor and recognized the petite form of Charlotte. A feeling of panic flooded his body like an electric shock. He pulled Townsende away from her and hit him square in the jaw, causing him to trip over the same table Charlotte had hit her head on. Draco scooped Charlotte up in his arms and ran toward the hospital wing. He whispered into her hair and he walked briskly to the infirmary. "Charlie honey, wake up. Please say something. Anything."
Draco kicked the doors to the infirmary open, "Madame Pomfrey!"
The astute nurse ran out of her office and quickly pulled back the curtains of a hospital bed for the unconscious patient to lie on. "Mr. Malfoy, what happened to Miss Fitzhugh?"
"She had a brief run in with Jordan Townsende."
Madame Pomfrey nodded in understanding. She had treated a several girls who had confided in her about the dangerous young man. She promptly shooed Draco out of the infirmary and told him to return in a few hours time.
Draco slumped out of the room and headed back to the Slytherin Common Room. He found the room empty and he walked over to the couch where she was sitting. Here he found her catalog and list of clothes. He immediately had every outfit on the list ordered along with ten extra of his choice. The only person he had to provide for was his mother now that his father was in Azkaban and she was cheap. She hardly ate anymore and she didn't order expensive clothes she would never wear. Buying all these things for her would be nothing. Draco also ordered Charlotte a dozen yellow roses from the florist in Diagon Alley. He shook his head and sent his owl on his way.
The next day Draco spent the day bedside to Charlotte in the infirmary. He watched as her chest rose and fell with a steady breathing. Charlotte was engulfed in a dreamless, potion induced sleep. He sighed as he listened to the wind blowing outside the stained glass window next to Charlotte's bed. His thumb traced lazy circles in Charlotte's palm as he thought about the side effects the injuries she sustained would be. Charlotte's hand suddenly clasped Draco's, imprisoning it in a cocoon of ivory flesh. Draco looked down at her limp body on the bed and saw her aquamarine eyes looking up at him with a sort of curiosity.
"How long have you been here?" Her voice was strained from the hours with out use. Her dry lips cracked and bled as her mouth moved in speech.
"Madame Pomfrey wouldn't let me stay last night but I've been here all day." Draco tried to sound nonchalant but the pain was evident. "Are you feeling alright?" Charlotte nodded and Draco continued, "I had all of your things moved to my room for safety's sake and Samantha is now always with Mr. Laurence." At Charlotte's attempt to speak Draco held up his hand for her to say nothing. "Save your breath.I have already cleared it with the headmaster. You are in a delicate situation." He looked pointedly at her stomach, "And the headmaster believes it would be acceptable for the time being. We would have had to arrange some sort of boarding arrangement with the baby coming and all and this just gets it done quicker." Draco smirked.
Charlotte pulled her self up in the bed and winced. "I feel like I have had a piano dropped on me."
Draco smiled sympathetically. "Madame Pomfrey has a wheelchair so that we can take you to my room if you'd like something more comfortable."
"Sounds loverly."
Half an hour later Charlotte was tucked into the large four-poster bed that she would be sharing with her 'husband'. Charlotte took another dose of sleep aid and Draco placed a chaste kiss on her forehead as her eyelids drifted together in the overwhelming sensation of heavenly warmth.
Draco muttered the password of the Slytherin common room and stormed into the vast area with fury. He quickly scanned the common room before heading up the stairs to the boys' dorm. His anger was released when he found the dorm room locked. Instead of using magic to open it, he just kicked it free of the hinges. It was there he found Jordan Townsend standing in front of the mirror. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" He asked the question while stepping forward and grabbing the boy by his collar. "If you everthink about touching Charlotte again I will kill you. Do you understand that?" he slammed Jordan against the wall, "I asked you a question you insolent bastard! Answer me."
"Yeah, I hear ya." Jordan looked smug as stared back into grey pools of fury.
"Wrong thing to say." Draco threw him away from the wall and slammed his fist into the assaulter's jaw. "Stay away from her." he threw the boy to the floor and slammed out of the room.
Charlotte made her way down the stairs carefully and quietly so as not to disturb the sleeping form on the couch. But her efforts were in vain. As soon as her left foot touched the hardwood of the common room floor Draco stretched his arms above his head and yawned.
"Morning Charlotte."
Draco's greeting made Charlotte jump, "How did you know I was even down here?"
"Instincts." He smiled smugly as he turned around to look at her, astonished at the growth she had undergone over night. "That and you sounded like an elephant coming down the stairs."
Charlotte gasped, "What do you mean 'like an elephant', Mr. Malfoy?" Was he calling her fat?
Draco's smug expression turned sour. "It was a joke Mrs. Malfoy."
Charlotte glared at him. "Well, it wasn't funny." She stomped over to the entryway and paused at the door. "I have to go get ready for class. If you will excuse me." She swung the portrait open and left.
Draco just sat on the couch watching as the portrait slammed shut and muttered, "Well, it's not my fault if she can't take a simple joke." He then got up and went to get dressed.
Charlotte hurried back to her dorm to get dressed and go to breakfast. How dare he call her fat! He did this to her, so where exactly did he get off calling her fat? As she reached the portrait to enter the Slytherin commons, she rethought her last mental statement. He didn't do this to her. What was she thinking? It must be a side effect of the potion. She just shrugged and muttered the password to gain entry.
Draco sat on his neatly made bed and pulled on his socks. Girls were completely not understandable. Last night the crazy girl fell asleep on him and this morning she was screeching at how he called her fat. If he wasn't mistaken, he was the one trying to convince her she wasn't fat. He finished getting dressed and headed down to the great hall for breakfast. Still thinking about the happenings of the morning.
Charlotte began to dress for class while standing in front of her mirror. She pulled on her white oxford and began to button it. Only four buttons would come together. She sighed and took it off. She would definitely have to go shopping soon. For now she would alter the shirt magically. She fixed the middle a bit, tied her green and silver tie and pulled her sweater over it. She pulled on her robes just as she was about to leave.
Samantha Rhinehold was sitting next to her partner in the great hall. Charlotte went to sit next to her when her partner's, Cody Laurence, voice reached her ears. "I don't know why you are in such a damn mood but don't take it out on me!"
Samantha's head was in her hands when he said this. She quickly straightened up and looked him right in the eye. "Hey I've got an idea, let's go brew another potion and let you drink it. That way you can puke your guts up for two whole days and then grow to make it look like you have swallowed a basketball. Would that be a just so bloody fun?"
Cody's face paled considerably and he just so happened to glance up at Charlotte. "Hey Charlie, what's going on?" Anything to get away from the subject him and Samantha were just discussing.
"Hey Cody, hey Sam." Charlotte grabbed the edge of the table as she swung her leg over the bench and sat down. "Sam, you've grown a bloody lot. I can't say much for myself but you look like you've had yours for six months already."
"Professor Bradford said it was normal. It all has to do with the person who drank the potion. Kind of a hormones thing." She flipped her long dark auburn hair over her shoulder. "Did Professor Bradford tell you about what we have to do once we get the babies?"
"No." At this moment Draco decided to stroll into the great hall, a look of smug assurance on his face.
"Well apparently they are going to be like newborns and the mother's get the choice to either bottle feed or breast feed."
Cody chimed in at the mention of 'breast', "WHAT?!"
Samantha and Charlotte laughed together. "So what do you think you are going to do Sam?"
"Not sure. My mom owled me yesterday and congratulated me on my little present." Samantha rolled her eyes. "She's sending me baby clothes today." Samantha went on about her mom's letter and all the questions she needed to ask.
Charlotte wasn't listening. Instead she watched as Draco sat with his friends. Not even bothering to come over and say hi. She sighed. What did she expect? This was only the fifth day they had known each other. She tuned back in just as Samantha was finished up her monologue. "Sounds great Sam. I'll see you in class later." Charlotte then got up and headed to her first class.
Draco watched as Charlotte got up and walked out of the hall. Excusing himself he followed her. He called out her name when he was only a few feet behind her. This caused her to jump and turn around.
"What do you want?" She turned back and headed towards her class. "I'm just a fat elephant who can't walk down the stairs. Remember?"
"Now Charlotte you know I never said that. It was just a joke." Draco caught up with her and walked beside her.
"And as I said before it was NOT funny." Draco took a glance at her sweater stretched tight across her belly concealed beneath her voluminous robes. His hand reached out on its own accord and rested on her stomach. Charlotte stopped walking and looked at his hand. "I'm going to need some new clothes."
Draco looked at her with puzzlement. "And I thought you might like to help me pick some out of a catalog. We don't have Muggle Studies so perhaps---"
"Do you ever just ask a direct question, Charlotte Fitzhugh-Malfoy?"
There he went again, calling her Malfoy, as if they were really married. The thought warmed her heart and at the same time irked her considerably. "No I don't."
He smiled softly and replied, "Muggle Studies is our free time today. Maybe we could do it today. By looks of it, you're gonna need to get twenty-four outfits. One for each day you're pregnant. You sure are growing fast." His hand removed itself from her stomach and replaced itself at his side.
"Oh heavens, I don't have enough money for that many." Her face scrunched into that of worry.
"You aren't going to pay for anything. Anything you send off for just sign the order form Charlotte Malfoy and they'll charge it to my bank account."
"Seriously?" She couldn't help herself as she reached up on tiptoes, placing her hands on Draco's shoulders, and kissing his cheek. "Thank you."
Draco smiled as she made her way to class. He watched her retreating form and felt his stomach bunch into knots. They were going to have a child in twenty-four day's time. His breath caught in his throat as she turned to go into her Arithmancy class and winked at him. She was just a silly girl who needed to grow up. He shook his head and walked to Defense against the dark arts.
Charlotte sat on a couch in the Slytherin common room, flipping through a maternity magazine and scribbling down her favorite outfits on a piece of parchment, when Jordan Townsende walked into the room.
"Hey Charlie.how's your hubby?" Jordan sneered at her with what looked like anger. Jordan was known for his abuse of his girlfriends and his fierce competitive streak on the Slytherin quidditch team.
"Don't call me Charlie. Are you jealous of me and Draco, Townsende?" She laughed softly but did not look up.
Jordan stalked forward and grabbed her upper arm. "I heard the little rumor you sent around about me and that Samantha Rhinehold chit."
Charlotte's head snapped up and she shook off his clenching grip on her arm as she stood. "You mean the one about you raping her?!" Her anger was blazing in her eyes. "The one that she told me herself. That is no rumor and you know it!"
Jordan stepped forward menacingly. "Listen bitch. Keep out of my business. If I hear that you're spreading nasty little rumors about me I'll kill you."
"If you'd stop beating all the girls that you seduce into your bed, these rumors wouldn't be a problem."
Jordan raised his hand and brought it down hard across Charlotte's cheek. She was knocked unconscious by the fierce blow and her head hit the table as she sank to the floor. Jordan watched with disgust, as the petite figure lay immobile on the floor. "Get up." His voice reached Charlotte's ears to no avail. He growled as she slowly became conscious and his boot struck her abdomen, causing her to double up in pain.
Draco walked in just as Jordan Townsende brought his boot down on a figure on the floor. Draco was just about sick of hearing of Townsende's infamous reputation of abuse. He was not going to let this happen again. As he walked towards the unsuspecting bully he glanced at the floor and recognized the petite form of Charlotte. A feeling of panic flooded his body like an electric shock. He pulled Townsende away from her and hit him square in the jaw, causing him to trip over the same table Charlotte had hit her head on. Draco scooped Charlotte up in his arms and ran toward the hospital wing. He whispered into her hair and he walked briskly to the infirmary. "Charlie honey, wake up. Please say something. Anything."
Draco kicked the doors to the infirmary open, "Madame Pomfrey!"
The astute nurse ran out of her office and quickly pulled back the curtains of a hospital bed for the unconscious patient to lie on. "Mr. Malfoy, what happened to Miss Fitzhugh?"
"She had a brief run in with Jordan Townsende."
Madame Pomfrey nodded in understanding. She had treated a several girls who had confided in her about the dangerous young man. She promptly shooed Draco out of the infirmary and told him to return in a few hours time.
Draco slumped out of the room and headed back to the Slytherin Common Room. He found the room empty and he walked over to the couch where she was sitting. Here he found her catalog and list of clothes. He immediately had every outfit on the list ordered along with ten extra of his choice. The only person he had to provide for was his mother now that his father was in Azkaban and she was cheap. She hardly ate anymore and she didn't order expensive clothes she would never wear. Buying all these things for her would be nothing. Draco also ordered Charlotte a dozen yellow roses from the florist in Diagon Alley. He shook his head and sent his owl on his way.
The next day Draco spent the day bedside to Charlotte in the infirmary. He watched as her chest rose and fell with a steady breathing. Charlotte was engulfed in a dreamless, potion induced sleep. He sighed as he listened to the wind blowing outside the stained glass window next to Charlotte's bed. His thumb traced lazy circles in Charlotte's palm as he thought about the side effects the injuries she sustained would be. Charlotte's hand suddenly clasped Draco's, imprisoning it in a cocoon of ivory flesh. Draco looked down at her limp body on the bed and saw her aquamarine eyes looking up at him with a sort of curiosity.
"How long have you been here?" Her voice was strained from the hours with out use. Her dry lips cracked and bled as her mouth moved in speech.
"Madame Pomfrey wouldn't let me stay last night but I've been here all day." Draco tried to sound nonchalant but the pain was evident. "Are you feeling alright?" Charlotte nodded and Draco continued, "I had all of your things moved to my room for safety's sake and Samantha is now always with Mr. Laurence." At Charlotte's attempt to speak Draco held up his hand for her to say nothing. "Save your breath.I have already cleared it with the headmaster. You are in a delicate situation." He looked pointedly at her stomach, "And the headmaster believes it would be acceptable for the time being. We would have had to arrange some sort of boarding arrangement with the baby coming and all and this just gets it done quicker." Draco smirked.
Charlotte pulled her self up in the bed and winced. "I feel like I have had a piano dropped on me."
Draco smiled sympathetically. "Madame Pomfrey has a wheelchair so that we can take you to my room if you'd like something more comfortable."
"Sounds loverly."
Half an hour later Charlotte was tucked into the large four-poster bed that she would be sharing with her 'husband'. Charlotte took another dose of sleep aid and Draco placed a chaste kiss on her forehead as her eyelids drifted together in the overwhelming sensation of heavenly warmth.
Draco muttered the password of the Slytherin common room and stormed into the vast area with fury. He quickly scanned the common room before heading up the stairs to the boys' dorm. His anger was released when he found the dorm room locked. Instead of using magic to open it, he just kicked it free of the hinges. It was there he found Jordan Townsend standing in front of the mirror. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" He asked the question while stepping forward and grabbing the boy by his collar. "If you everthink about touching Charlotte again I will kill you. Do you understand that?" he slammed Jordan against the wall, "I asked you a question you insolent bastard! Answer me."
"Yeah, I hear ya." Jordan looked smug as stared back into grey pools of fury.
"Wrong thing to say." Draco threw him away from the wall and slammed his fist into the assaulter's jaw. "Stay away from her." he threw the boy to the floor and slammed out of the room.