Blaise regretted his statement because Draco was giving him the murderous look he used to reserve for Harry.
"This is my egg. No, I didn't lay it. This is Hermione's solution to the 'problem' of me and Ron having too much sex. Interfering Gryffindors. I could spit!"
His careful tucking of the said egg into his spare bed sheet belied his angry words.
"Clever girl," Blaise murmured.
Draco glanced at him and shrugged. He changed and carefully maneuvered himself, lowering himself onto the egg.
"Hand me my Herbology textbook. I might as well do something productive."
Blaise wordlessly tossed the book to Draco and returned to his own homework. He had to admit, it was entertaining to watch Draco opening the book and flipping pages with exaggerated care so as not to damage the book with his claws. The peace was ruined by the entrance of Crabbe and Goyle. They took one look at Draco and began to obviously sidle towards their half of the room. Draco chittered irritably to himself and ignored them. They subsided, Crabbe reading and dripping drool onto a textbook and Goyle laboriously blotting an essay for Snape. It wasn't until one of them noticed Draco ducking his head between his legs that the peace was broken.
"What are you doing?"
One angry yellow eye swiveled and met Crabbe's face.
"What does it look like?"
Crabbe's blocky face was showing, of all things, prurient curiosity.
"Uhuhh…"
He had the temerity to snicker. In the perverted manner boys do when they think of perverted things. Draco's crest flared and Crabbe flinched.
"For your information, I was turning my egg! So stop thinking sick thoughts! Of all the times for you to be thinking at all!"
"Egg?"
This was Goyle's contribution. Blaise looked up, lazily and easily suppressing his smile.
"Yes, egg! I'm incubating! So shut up or get me something to eat because I can't leave it!"
Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other. Crabbe solicitously got up and left, presumably to mug some poor Third Year for their Hogsmeade sweets. Goyle shifted and returned to his essay, occasionally glancing at the speckled egg. His brow crinkled as a conclusion slopped and gurgled out of the muddy bog that was his mind.
Ron was a bit concerned when he didn't see Draco during breakfast. He figured that they could meet during the small period between classes. Unfortunately for the day, he was greeted by Pansy Parkinson.
"What a freak!" she sneered at him.
He rolled his eyes and walked on.
"Already doing the only thing Weasleys do best, I hear," another Slytherin giggled to their friend.
"And with Malfoy!"
Merlin, what was with them today? Being with Draco wasn't a novelty anymore! It wasn't until he saw Draco doing that slow boil of his that he had any idea that something was wrong.
"What's happened?"
Draco's frown didn't disappear as he kissed Ron.
"They found out about the egg."
"Oh."
"The ignorant swots rooming with me are not convinced that it's not really mine! It doesn't look like any chicken egg they'd seen before, the idiots! So they go and blab to everyone! Everyone!"
"They can't believe Crabbe and Goyle!"
"The egg is there, Ron. That's all the proof they need."
"Can't you-"
"Not without telling them why I've got it in the first place. Send Hermione my hate when you see her today, will you?"
"Draco sends his hate."
Hermione nodded equitably.
"But I'm right."
Ron felt rather irked. With Hermione, as long as she was right, all was right in the world. And that Lockhart bit didn't work for knocking her off her high horse anymore.
"Look. I know you are just trying to help but now people are being a nuisance again. Draco shouldn't have to deal with this."
"It's what's best for you right now. After you two leave Hogwarts, you can do whatever you want when you want. You can even jeopardize your future jobs in favor of having sex without my nagging at all. Is that too much to ask?"
"Maybe."
Hermione sighed.
"I'll do something about it."
She did. Hermione, like many nerds, had the ability to make anything sound positively academic and boring. She also learned, and viewed this as Draco's bad influence, to interrupt. So she cut into anybody discussing "The Egg" with her most creative biological theories. To that end, she succeeded in getting the gossips to back off.
Draco, of course, spent a lot of time incubating said Egg. Now it was Snape's turn to host someone not of House and he was definitely not appreciative of McGonagall's prim support of the couple's habits.
"After all, Severus, they are married. We were witnesses. It's entirely within their rights to spend time together. And they do go well together, don't they?"
Snape rued the day he witnessed Minerva's romantic streak. Apparently a woman was a woman, no matter how withered up they became from age and teaching brats. It also didn't help that Ron was better than Harry at being diffident in order to catch less ire. Being a son of Molly Weasley does that to you. So Snape had to endure Ron's entering the Slytherin Common Room for studying. Fortunately, they did exactly that instead of the much more aerobic and vociferous deed that he knew both preferred. He didn't know if he could resist dousing them with something acidic if they did have sex. Pity. He had extra stores of manticore blood that was not going to be used in the foreseeable future. And then those two twits invited him to their wedding party! He'd refuse. Well. Draco was a good student. And it would twist Lucius' nose when he found out. Maybe… No! Festivities. Happiness. Dumbledore happily festive. His insides convulsed at the idea of voluntarily subjecting himself to that. Outside of Christmas. Snape sighed. Wasn't he an ex-Deatheater or wasn't he? He could stand it. It would make Draco happy. Drat. He was going soft.
Blaise was never one to be affected by the sometimes embarrassing shows of affection he witnessed over the years in Hogwarts. Draco and Ron, however, disturbed his neat method of dismissing emotional displays. All they did was study, with Ron reading out loud for Draco while Draco sat on the Egg and occasionally rearranging Ron's hair with his beak. Sometimes, when Ron was working on his own homework, Draco would rest his head on Ron's shoulder and Ron would absently reach back and pet Draco's crest. It was an intensely private tableau that he witnessed and he felt for the first time in his life, wistful.
Ron was sleeping. Blaise was staring into the fireplace, watching the embers gutter and Crabbe and Goyle were snoring. Draco reached out with a clawed hand and pulled the covers up to Ron's chin. He shifted, sighed, and continued to sleep. Draco stretched, his wings shuddering.
"How long does Granger expect you to incubate?"
Draco considered. The question was innocuous enough, but one never knew when it came from Blaise Zabini.
"Until the last exam is finished."
"Then what?"
Draco shrugged.
"I've noticed I'm not the only one fraternizing with Gryffindors," he remarked.
"Ah?"
Draco did not repeat himself.
"Creevey is doing a favor."
So it was safe to mention. Good.
"What can Creevey do for you?"
Blaise's smile became entirely anticipatory.
"It is my business."
Draco nodded. He didn't think Creevey would stoop down to taking blackmail photos for Blaise's benefit, but then, Blaise could afford to pay him off.
"Aren't they lovely?"
Ginny was staring at the two rings nestled in their velvet box. Platinum bands with a single embedded diamond solitaire glinted up at her.
"Not gaudy in the least. Mrs. Malfoy has taste," Hermione carefully lifted one ring up. "It's even got their names engraved inside, see?"
Ginny nodded.
"They are so pretty."
Ginny began to giggle.
"I don't think Ron will have the heart to wear his!"
"Why not?"
"Hermione, a ring like this is probably worth four or five months of Dad's salary. Ron's brain would implode just thinking about wearing that much on his finger!"
Hermione shrugged.
"Mrs. Malfoy contributed. I'd say he'd better wear it."
She turned the ring about, letting the sunlight show off the diamond.
"Besides, he's such a boy. He'd probably only think about how shiny it is."
She put it back into its box.
"Mrs. Malfoy even got them House neutral. I expected silver and emeralds."
Ginny nodded in agreement.
"I hope she can help me go shopping along with you once I get to be a bride!"
The end of term was near. Anyone involved in the wedding got out their dress robes or bought new ones. Hermione was still frazzled until Ginny convinced Harry to chip in and they both presented her with a certificate to an exclusive spa in London for her efforts. Now that took some research, considering that Harry had no previous knowledge whatsoever about spas and Ginny had only the vaguest idea that a spa was a place to go to get some relaxation and pampering. Fortunately, Mr. Weasley was kind enough to lend them his collection of Muggle phone books. Unfortunately, Hedwig, Pigwideon and Errol refused to follow any further orders from then on for the rest of the term. But, Hermione would get some much needed time off. Which as worth the trade off of not having obedient owls, in their opinion.
TBC