AN: Wow! I've received over 20 reviews just for this chapter! Thank you all SO much! It makes me real happy that y'all love me! .:tear:. SO SORRY about the delay! I got home Sunday, and have had author's block! But now I think it might be settled!

Disclaimer: Want me to pay? Not today (not mine/REVIEW!)

Hermione hastily grabbed her wand as she rushed out of her room, leaving Crookshanks in a whirlwind of dark blue robes.

"Ginny, I'm going to work now! I won't be back till late because I get to work on that new thing I told you about, ok?" Hermione called, grabbing a bagel, already with a thick layer of cream cheese on it, and putting a slice in her mouth.

"Ok, bye," Ginny yawned, staggering in from her bedroom, her fiery red hair in a wild ponytail on top of her head.

Hermione smiled wickedly at her friend, still dressed in her light pink fleece PJ bottoms and black tank top. "Harry said he'd be here in an hour to tell you how faithful he was."

Ginny's brown eyes snapped open, loosing all signs of being tired. "What?! Harry here in an hour?! I can't believe you didn't wake me up earlier! I won't have any time to get ready!" Ginny squealed, her hands clenched in balls as she sprinted back to her room. Two seconds later Hermione heard the shower going, and a yelp of complaint of it being too hot. Smiling to herself, Hermione apparated to work.

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"Savannah, hand me that eyeglass looking thing," Hermione said, her eyes already enlarged by the spell she had put on them to see through a volunteer's stomach. Angie Marcus, who was four months pregnant, lay comfortably on the mattress, her plump stomach exposed. Savannah, her short blonde hair pulled back with eight miniature French braids about two inches back from her hairline, quickly handed her the eyeglass looking thing, properly called a Magifyer. "Perfect. Miss Angie, your baby has orange magi- waves, meaning that she will be a witch. Congratulations," Hermione said, shaking Angie's hand enthusiastically. Angie gathered her things and put on her coat, then quickly waddled out of the room.

"Hermione, I think the research I've conducted verifies our thoughts. I do believe that Squibs run in the family. So perhaps if we send look in previous medical records of people who have had Squibs in their families and see if any are pregnant. Do you think that perhaps, if a Squib is having a baby that you'll be able to make it magic?" Savannah asked, looking down at a clipboard.

"Yes, that sounds good. Check up on that, and I'm going to go see if I can base any experiments to help us figure out if a Squibs baby can be 'de-squib-ified'." Hermione said, putting a "spell lock" spell on her wand as she wrapped her long curls up in a messy bun with it and returned to her office exhausted. She quickly slumped into her comfortable chair, stroking Ashes, her Australian Sooty Owl, her mind elsewhere. A gentle knock startled her.

"Yes, come in," She said, still sitting relaxed in her chair. The door opened smoothly, permitting the viewing of the person entering: Draco. Hermione quickly straightened in her chair, Ashes taking flight around the office in startlement.

"I wanted to know how your research was going," Draco said, allowing himself to sit in the overstuffed chair that was strategically placed in front of Hermione's desk.

"Well, we've discovered that being a Squib is an inheritance trait. Since we've discovered that, we need to now find a person where Squibs run in the family, and then take a look at their baby. Until then, we're stuck," Hermione explained, playing with a Hippogriff's feather quill. The feather had come straight from Buckbeak himself after Hermione helped his "wife" deliver her baby.

"Well, that can be a good thing as well as a bad thing. Good because you've narrowed it down, bad because you don't know if a lot of Squibs are pregnant, or if anyone who has Squibs in their family is pregnant. I wish you luck," Draco said, beginning to stand up, his midnight blue robes falling gracefully in order. Hermione gazed into his gentle gaze, remembering how hard and steely it used to be. It seemed almost as if the blue robes softened them. Hermione then noticed the tint of blue he had were actually navy blue flecks sparking from his pupil.

"Hermione?" Draco said, Hermione finally snapping out of the trance he put on her.

"Uh, yeah...what?"

"I asked if you'd like to go to dinner next Wednesday."

Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her seat, chewing absently at her bottom lip. "Oh, Wednesday? I think I'm supposed to be going out with Harry and Ron. We do it every two weeks where we just go to someone's house and talk. Usually it's mine or Harry's, but I'm sure I can think of something..." Hermione said, crossing her arms in thought. If each of the three had their dates... "I've got it. Wednesday we'll go to dinner, Harry can bring Ginny and Ron can bring his wife, Sandra. It would be a sort of...big, triple date. Is that fine?" Hermione said, tucking a loose curl absently behind her ear. Her brown eyes were sparkling and hopeful as Draco contemplated his choice.

"Well, Weasley doesn't really like me, and he's the type to hold grudges..." Draco started, his eyes betraying his cool look by looking unsure.

"Ron will listen to me if I say give you a second chance. Harry trusts you, to an extent, and Sandra, oh, that's Ron's wife, doesn't even know you. Ginny thinks you're wonderfully handsome, so you've won over everyone but Ron. Trust me, I made enough decisions in school that Ron had to trust in order to pass a class for him to trust me now. Don't worry about anything," Hermione said, stepping around her desk to pet a now squawking Ashes, who was on her perch near the window.

Draco gently drummed his fingers on his robed arm, thinking. "I suppose. I'll get back to you later, though. I need to go meet someone for lunch," He said, heading for the door.

"Oh fun, who?" Hermione said, turning her head quickly as Draco tried to slink out the door.

"Oh, who? Um, Haley..." He said quietly, quickly closing the door as he escaped Hermione's treacherous glare.

"Great, I line up a date with him only to find out he has a date with that hot girl Haley," Hermione said, giving Ashes one last pat before flopping down in her chair, gently caressing a quill between her fingers and chewing on her lip. She quickly glanced at her clock, the familiar enchanted green numbers reading "10:27".

"That's an early lunch date," Hermione pondered aloud, twirling the quill in her fingers and thinking about what they had talked about. She shrugged, then sighed, jotting down notes and opening a new folder on her research on the Squib magic.

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"Dr. Granger, we have a patient for you," a high pitched voice pierced through the silent air of Hermione's office, disrupting her concentration.

"Coming," She said under her breath, hastily standing and glancing at the haunting green numbers that read "2:04". "Great, I over worked my lunch break."

Hermione briskly walked towards the front where the receptionists on her floor had the waiting room. The elderly receptionist, Bonny, held out a clipboard, peering at Hermione through bright red, half moon glasses with fake diamonds studded around the thick lens, magnifying her lazy brown eyes to be large and almost terrifying.

"Sandra Weasley, Healer Granger will now see you!" She croaked out, her sagging skin almost rippling from the vibrations of her voice. Hermione choked back laughter as the receptionist waved her wand, causing the seat where Sandra had been sitting to sanitize.

"Sandra, it's so good to see you again!" Hermione said, quickly embracing her best friend's wife.

"And am I glad to see you!" Sandra said, her bright blue eyes eager. Hermione smiled warmly and glanced at the clipboard, flipping to the second page.

"You might be pregnant?" Hermione whispered excitedly, her cinnamon eyes sparkling as she stared at Sandra. Sandra nodded gently, her silver dangling earrings rocking as she did so.

"Oh Sandra!" Hermione said, embracing her friend once again and pulling back, regaining professional demeanor. "Follow me, Mrs. Weasley." Hermione quickly led the way to her assigned room for her testing and helped Sandra sit down on the hospital bed.

"So, how far along do you think you are?" Hermione asked, pulling her wand from her hair, causing her curls to gently tumble down her back. Hermione looked up to Sandra, only to see her gaze leading towards the door. Hermione turned around, half expecting to see Ron, the other half expecting to see Savannah returning with her research. Who she saw shocked her into dropping her wand.

"Hello Healer Granger," Haley said, her green eyes glinting dangerously as she slid an arm around Draco's waist.

"Excuse me, Haley, Draco, but I'm with a patient right now. Could you please excuse us? We don't allow mental patients down on this end of the wing. That's two floors up," Hermione said acidly, the words that slipped off her tongue feeling foreign and cruel.

"Hermione, I was just bringing Haley to my office to show her where I'll be stationed for the next six months. I just thought I'd let you know that I'm back incase any serious case comes up and I'm needed," Draco said, his eyes their normal gray color. Haley glared intently at Hermione, and got a dangerous glint in her eyes. Hermione watched as Haley gently closed her eyes, her puckered lips making their way to Draco's cheek. Hermione saw the disaster coming before it even happened. Haley's left heeled shoe was planted on the hem of Draco's robe. Draco, seeing that his purpose with Hermione was through, turned to leave as soon as Haley's lips almost met his cheek, causing his robe, which was under her foot snugly, to slide out from under her quickly, sending her sprawling on the ground.

"Haley!" Draco said, grabbing her arms and trying to help her up in a dignified manner as Hermione and Sandra stifled laughter and pinched eachother as they got carried away.

"Draco! My ankle! Oh, my ankle!" Haley cried, holding her swollen left ankle. Hermione's doctor side sliped in descretely as she approached Haley, her wand in hand.

"Move your hand, Haley. Now," Hermione said, prying Haley's fingers from the already bruised skin. "Draco, help her onto that bed next to Sandra's. Ankles are a tricky business, even in the wizarding world."

"I want Draco to make it better!" Haley wailed, crying into Draco's shirt like a child as he scooped her up in a cradle position and whisked her to the bed.

"Ankles aren't my specialty, and if you want a perfect, back to normal ankle, I suggest you allow Hermione to do it," Draco said, backing off and waiting for further instruction.

"Draco, will you find Savannah? She knows all the potions I need and where they're stored. Now Haley, I'm just going to perform a simple spell to decrease swelling and numb the pain," Hermione said, mumbling a spell and directing the silver, dust like spell towards Haley's ankle. Haley winced, and bit her tongue as the pain ceased.

"Er, Hermione?" Sandra said, starting to get off the bed. "Is it best that I leave and come back in an hour?"

"No, no! I can't do anything more with Haley until Draco returns with Savannah, so she'll be fine," Hermione said, flicking her wand towards Haley to make her disappear behind royal purple curtains.

"Ok, but just let me know if I should come back at a better time for you," Sandra said unsure of herself.

"So Sandra, how far along do you think you are?" Hermione asked, pulling out her wand and swishing it this way and that, making little wires appear out of no where and attach themselves to Sandra's stomach.

"Well, actually I think I'm already two and ½ months along. I know I've been pregnant, but I haven't had the courage to tell Ron. He's looking forward to this so much though, but I just wanted to triple check. I'm starting to get chunkier," Sandra said, pointing to her stomach, which had expanded an inch.

"Two and ½ months?! Wow, that's a long time to be pregnant and not go to an appointment, let alone keep it a secret! But that's perfect! You know how I've been researching how to stop Squibs? Well, I can begin observing a child from month two, and it's light should be shining already. I won't go over all the details, but would you mind if I checked?" Hermione asked, stepping back to read what the wires where scribbling on their charts.

"Uh, sure. I think my Uncle Adam is a Squib, so it's possible it runs in my family, so I might as well have it checked. Could you also tell me what it is? I mean, a boy or girl?" Sandra asked, putting her arms behind her and leaning back to get more comfortable.

"That's very possible, and I will."

"Hermione, I've returned with Savannah. We can continue Haley's healing so I can take her home," Draco said, his hair looking slightly out of place and wind-blown.

"I'll be right with you Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said, emphasizing the "Mrs" so Draco could introduce himself. He didn't take the hint.

"Savannah, I need potion number 3-A and potion 27-X. Be a doll and hurry," Hermione said urgently, revealing a provocatively posed Haley from behind curtain number one.

"Oh Draco! It hurts badly!" Haley whined, reaching clumsily for the hem of Draco's sleeve, missing barely and nearly toppling out of the hospital bed.

"Haley , think it'd be best to lay still," Hermione said, feeling heat radiate off her neck in anger.

"I want Draco to do it," Haley said in a rather childish manner, folding her arms and puckering out her bottom lip as Savannah returned with two small vials of potion.

"The green one is for the bones to heal," Hermione started instructing Draco, handing him the vial only an inch tall, "and the midnight blue one is for a peaceful, dreamless sleep. Broken ankles are nothing to joke with, and even with our evolved magical healing world, I won't joke with this break. It seems to be poking out of your skin," Hermione finished, pointing at the white tip protruding Haley's ankle. Haley immediately paled, and gulped, huge, salty tears forming behind her eyes.

"They taste bad, according to the last time I broke a bone," Draco said, uncovering the first vial.

"No, I've discovered a better way. The green one tastes like apples and the blue one tastes like strawberries," Hermione said, a clever and proud tone in her voice.

"Right..."Draco said sarcastically as Hermione turned back to Sandra, ignoring Haley and Draco.

"So sorry about that delay, again. This is my apprentice, Savannah," Hermione said, indicating the blonde girl next to her, holding the tools needed to observe what kind of magi-glow the baby had, "and I think we've got everything needed in order to observe your baby! Don't worry, there are no harmful side effects except the doom in knowing if you're having a boy Weasley," Hermione joked, causing Sandra to give her a pretty smile.

"All right, Savannah, if you could set it up while I create a curtain around us," Hermione said, pulling out her wand as Savannah quickly set up the equipment. Soon a purple curtain surrounded them, shutting them off from everyone else in the room (Haley's snores and Draco's muffled footsteps as he left the room).

"Ok, let's take a looksie at what Ron doesn't know about..."

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"You're still coming to dinner at my place tomorrow, right?" Hermione said to Sandra as she gathered her things to leave.

"Yes, it's Ron, myself, Harry and Ginny, right?" Sandra asked, putting the papers Hermione gave her about her future baby girl, who's magi- waves were orange.

"That's correct. I might invite a guy for myself since I'd be like the odd one out, without a date and all," Hermione said, guiding Sandra to the front.

"Great, we'll be there at four so I can help cook and prepare my talk to let everyone, including Ron, know that I'm pregnant. Could we perhaps invite his parents to desert? And his brothers that live near by?" Sandra asked, tucking a loose strand of auburn hair behind her ear.

"No problem, that just means I have to go buy four more gallons of ice cream," Hermione joked, hugging Sandra one last time.

"Ok, see you tomorrow then," She said, leaving the office in a pop of apparation.

"Hermione, would you like me to file the papers on Sandra? We have 10 minutes till we can leave," Savannah said, holding a neatly organized file on Sandra Jaclyn Weasley.

"No, just put it on my desk. I think I'm going to ask Draco to check move Haley to a constantly observed room with a few new healers and then leave after I take Ashes out of my room," Hermione said, putting the "magic- lock" on her wand and putting her hair in a messy bundle of curls.

"Ok, see you on Monday!" Savannah called, quickly passing Hermione as she made her way to the office.

"Draco?" Hermione called from the slightly ajar door, pushing it open more to permit herself. Draco sat at his desk, writing in quick, scribbled handwriting on several charts.

"Yes Healer Granger?" He asked, his voice dull and bored as he glanced up from his work, placing his quill down gently. Hermione brought her eyebrows together briefly, confused at the different tone and attitude he was using towards her as opposed to early in the morning when he had asked her out.

"I was wondering if you would move Haley to an observed room for the night," Hermione said, feeling shy and weak on the inside as her voice came out strong and steady.

"Already did that. And I had to contact my boss about it. Oh how great sounding that howler was when he told me over and over 'ALL I ASKED WAS FOR ONE SIMPLE DATE WITH MY DAUGHTER, AND YOU MAKE HER CRIPLE! YOUR LUCKY YOU'RE SO IMPORTANT IN YOUR JOB OR YOU'D BE FIRED!'" Draco said, his eyes dull and threatening.

"Well, it wasn't my fault she just has to prove a point to everyone that she can get any guy she wants because she's skanky!" Hermione said, her voice and temper raising steadily.

"Oh please! It's not as if I'm your boyfriend! We are dates on one stupid thing for publicity and the whole world thinks we're getting married!" Draco said, standing in frustration.

What a major mood swing. And they say women are the only one's that go through PMS...Hermione thought hotly.

"Then I suppose you don't want to go out on Wednesday after all, then, huh?" Hermione said, her voice quiet. She watched as Draco's temper fell quickly, his gaze meeting hers in a regretful manner.

"No, I'm not taking that back. I'd like to get to know you better, but mind you, we're not dating only eachother. We can see other people." Draco said, sitting back down in his chair.

"See you at work on Monday then," Hermione said, quickly leaving his office and slamming the door behind her.

"Men," she murmured under her breath as she hastily walked to her office, picking up her pace when she heard Draco's office door open.

"Hermione, wait, I meant to apologize for my harshness!" She heard him say softly, but pretended not to notice as she went in her office, lit the fireplace, and with floo powder in one hand, and Ashes on the other wrist, Hermione plunged into the flames, the swirling fires around her engulfing her and sending her home.

THANKS SO MUCH! I'm sorry, but I don't exactly have a lot of time to put up thanks, so you'll have to wait till next chapter. Once again, sorry for the delay but I think I can promise another update by next week! (if driver's ed doesn't get in the way!) Well, thank y'all and please review!