Against All Odds

Chapter Five

----

Hermione has a son. It was too hard to believe; the more he thought about it, the more ridiculous the whole idea seemed to him. It was impossible! Hermione wasn't married, and as far as he knew, she wasn't divorced. Could this boy be a bastard? Could he have been born out of marriage?

It wasn't like Hermione to have a child outside marriage. She just wasn't this type of girl. She was too goody-goody.

"So how is it possible that she has a son?" Draco demanded.

Ron and Luna exchanged worried glances. Hermione had warned them over and over again not to tell Draco the truth at any case. Only problem was, she hadn't told them exactly how to do that. They didn't know what to say – they knew they had to say something to make Draco not to suspect; they needed a good lie. The only question was – what?

"Umm," Ron said.

"Well?" Draco asked impatiently. "You must know. You've been there when he was born, right? You've been there when she was pregnant, you must know how she got pregnant!"

Ron said nothing. Then he heard Luna: "We don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Draco demanded.

"We don't know who the father is," Luna replied. "When Hermione came and told us she was pregnant, we all asked her who the father was, and she refused to answer. We asked her why, and she said it was a very personal secret and told us not to ask any more questions."

"So you don't know who the father is?!" said Draco, stunned. "You don't know how she got pregnant? But you're her best friends, she must have at least hinted it!"

"No," Luna answered. "Over the years, we kept asking her again and again who the father was, and she asked us not to bother her about this. She said she had sworn to take that secret with her to her grave. So we gave up; what else could we do?"

"And you don't even have a guess?" Draco asked. "I mean, didn't she have a boyfriend at the time, so you could assume he was the father?"

Ron looked at Luna; she went on easily, as if she had planned this story beforehand. "She didn't have a boyfriend then," she said. "But my guess is she simply got drunk one night at a party, and slept with some guy. Maybe we know him, maybe not. But then again, it's just a guess. We'll probably never know the truth."

There was a knock on the door; Ron opened it, and Ginny came inside with her daughters and with Daniel.

There was a pause; Draco and Daniel gazed at each other. However, each of them felt something completely different. Draco was still shocked about his discoveries, and wondered who on earth was this boy's father. Daniel, on the other hand, was filled with happiness to see Draco again. For a moment, he felt bad, because he remembered his mother's warning, but immediately he told himself to forget it. 'I didn't invite him; I didn't initiate this meeting at all,' he thought, 'it was a coincidence. So I'm allowed to enjoy it.'

And he grinned and went over to say hello.

"Hi, Mr. Malfoy," he said happily, "nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you too, Daniel," Draco answered and grinned back, still trying to solve the mystery. Then he raised his eyes and noticed everyone was looking at the two of them.

What did they want?

Daniel sat down next to Draco and they started talking. Draco was looking at him closely; he was trying to see if this boy resembled anyone he knew. He had almost no doubt he knew the father, because Daniel looked a little familiar the first time he had seen him. But who was the man, Draco couldn't tell.

"Umm, Daniel?" Ginny said hesitantly, "I think it's time to go."

"What? But we've just got here," Daniel protested.

"Yeah, I – I've just remembered I told your mother we'd be home when she comes back, and she's supposed to come home early today."

"So you go and tell her I'm here," Daniel said stubbornly. "I want to stay."

"Daniel," said Ginny sternly, "come here."

"No." Daniel crossed his arms determinedly.

"Daniel!"

"I think you should go, Dan," Ron whispered to him. "She'll tell your mom."

"I don't care!"

"Is there a problem?" Draco asked. "The boy's got a point, you've just arrived."

"I said it's time to go," Ginny insisted. "I'd told Hermione we'd be there when she comes."

"So what's the big deal? Send her an owl, St. Mungo's is really close."

Ginny ignored him. "Daniel, come here this instant!"

Daniel looked upset; he got up and shook Draco's hand. "It was nice seeing you again, Mr. Malfoy."

"Yeah, it was great seeing you, too," Draco answered. "Maybe I'll come to visit you and your mother next week, what do you think?"

Ginny, Ron and Luna exchanged terrified looks, but Daniel's face lit up.

"Great! I'll see you next week then!" he cried and ran happily towards Ginny.

----

"WHAT?!" Hermione shrieked.

"I'm sorry," Ginny said miserably. "I tried separating them, but they seemed to have this bond I couldn't break. We all know what it means, right, Hermione?"

"What do you mean?"

Ginny looked at her.

"Hermione, you have to let them know."

"Let them know what?"

"Let them know they're father and son! They should know, and you should be the one telling them. You should at least allow Daniel see Draco."

"No." Hermione's voice was strict and determined. "I've sworn to keep it secret."

"So what, you're never going to tell Daniel that he has a father? Can't you see why he's always so sad, Hermione? He needs a dad, he wants a dad, and now that he has a chance to get his dad – "

"Ginny!" said Hermione sharply. "I've been raising my son for ten years, and I know what's best for him. Draco has never taken care of him; he has never even seen him until now. He doesn't know him at all. Besides, I have made up my mind: this is my son, and this is my decision, and I'm not going to change my mind."

Ginny looked tiredly at the ceiling. This stubbornness was driving her crazy.

----

Daniel couldn't pretend he didn't care what his mother would say; he loved his mother more than anyone else in the world. He respected her and admired her opinions, but he was convinced that this time, she was wrong. There was absolutely no point in forbidding him to see Draco. His mother wasn't a saint, she made a mistake once in a while. She hadn't even bothered to explain to him why he wasn't allowed to see Draco, so she couldn't expect him not to do anything about it. He was not a baby – he was ten years old; he was old enough to make this kind of a decision by himself!

And this was how Daniel decided to disobey Hermione, and keep in touch with Draco behind her back. He was going to keep it in secret at first, but he was smart enough to understand she would probably find out sooner or later, and when it happened, he wasn't going to lie about it. In his opinion, there was nothing wrong about keeping in touch with that man, and if she wanted to prevent him from doing that, she would at least have to explain him why.

However, one thing he promised to himself: if this really was a mistake, and his mother had a good explanation for everything, he would shamelessly apologize to her.

The following day after he had seen Draco in Ron and Luna's house was Friday. Ginny and her daughters did not come on Fridays. Daniel took advantage of the situation, and send his owl, Max, to Draco, asking him to meet him as soon as possible. He received an answer half an hour later:

----Hello Daniel.

It was great hearing from you.

I would love to meet you any time you want. How about this Monday – I'll wait for you near Harry and Ginny's house. Is that okay?

Love

Draco Malfoy----

Daniel owled him back, telling him it was okay. All he had to do now was to get away from Ginny somehow, but he wasn't worried: he would think of something. Now, all he could think about was the fact that he was going to see Draco in three days... and he was happy.

----

A/N: I'm soooooooo sorry you had to wait for so long! I wish I could update more often – after June the 6th, I promise, I swear, it won't take that long. I'm doing my best, really, but I have my 10th grade finals now... Last Monday, for example, we had our last history exam before the final, and it was tons of terribly boring material to study. I hate it... I had to work really hard. Hope you understand. And thank you so much for your reviews – I'm reading them all! You're terrific! Please keep reviewing!