8

A/N: Again with the long wait, I know, and I'm sorry! My stupid life is too busy! Thanks for all the reviews! Lady Emerald Black, I have to agree with you with the Hermione/Ron pairing thing. I'll try and write faster but lately I've had so much going on it's just impossible!

Here's chapter thirty-four!

Chapter Thirty-Four

"Hermione, it's not here," said Pepper worriedly, her voice slightly muffled by the wall of the toilet stall. She and Hermione were in the first floor bathroom doing last minute preparations for the Hogsmede trip occurring this afternoon.

"What's not here?" said Hermione a bit absentmindedly as she applied a little blush to her cheeks the way Pepper had taught her to. Her mind was on the Hogsmede trip. It was the weekend before Valentine's Day and she was going with Neville on their first real date.

"My period," Pepper replied.

"Was it supposed to be here today?" Hermione asked, opening the tube of mascara and putting the brush to her eyelashes.

"No, it was supposed to be here almost a week ago," said Pepper irritably.

Hermione's mouth made an "O" as she worked with the mascara brush and she said, "So? You may just be irregular this month."

"I'm never irregular, Hermione," cried Pepper, opening the door of the stall and coming to stand next to Hermione, who put the mascara wand back in its tube.

"You don't think you're pregnant, do you?" asked Hermione quietly. When Pepper didn't answer Hermione's eyes grew wide. "You do think you're pregnant?"

"I dunno," responded Pepper softly.

"We should go check with Madam Pomfrey," said Hermione urgently.

"After Hogsmede," Pepper told her, knowing Hermione would rather Pepper go now but also knowing how important this trip was to Hermione.

Hermione obviously had no problem leaving Pepper to walk the streets of Hogsmede with Harry and Ron. As soon as they had come to the wizarding town she and Neville had taken off. So Pepper, Harry and Ron began meandering through the shops. Harry and Pepper had to listen to Ron complain about Hermione and Neville's relationship, as usual, until they hit the Quidditch shop. Pepper pretended to be interested in the Quidditch supplies as she strolled through the store, picking up objects, but her mind was really on the subject of her possible pregnancy.

Coming up behind Pepper, Harry put a hand on her shoulder. Pepper jumped, startled, and turned around to look at Harry. "What's wrong Pepper? You seem very distracted today" Harry asked.

"Nothing," said Pepper, trying to brush off Harry's comment with a small smile. "Are you guys almost done looking around? I wanted to see if there's an Apothecary here so we can pick up some items for the potion."

"I have to pick up a birthday present for Ron," Harry said, not convinced that "nothing" was bothering Pepper.

"His birthday's coming up?" asked Pepper in a slight panic. Ron had never told her when his birthday was…

"March the first," Harry nodded.

So Pepper and Harry spent the better part of the next hour evading Ron in the large Quidditch shop so they could pick up gifts for him. Then they proceeded to the Three Broomsticks since there was no Apothecary in sight. Besides, Harry decided, it wouldn't be too smart to go into the Apothecary looking for rare potion ingredients, especially with Ron there.

Hermione and Neville were in the Three Broomsticks and Ron, Harry and Pepper joined them at their table by Hermione's invitation. Hermione and Neville looked like they were having a great time, a fact which Harry, Ron and Pepper weren't too happy about. "Hey," said Hermione, rosy cheeked from laughter. Ron ordered three Butterbeers, trying to ignore how much fun Hermione was having with Neville.

The five Gryffindors spent some time in the Three Broomsticks before going there separate ways again. Though this time Pepper went with Hermione and Neville since Hermione suggested it and Ron and Harry encouraged it. Pepper guessed that it was because Ron and Harry wanted her to keep an eye on the happy couple.

The rest of the afternoon was pretty much uneventful. Pepper noticed that Hermione was having what looked like a forced great time with Neville, whereas she would have a great time with Ron, even as friends. She didn't say anything to Hermione until they were back at Hogwarts and eating dinner.

"Hermione," said Pepper, trying to be tactful, "did you have a good time with Neville today? I mean, you can tell me if you didn't, I am your friend, you know." She speared a piece of chicken with her fork and looked across the table at Hermione expectantly. Hermione just had her eyebrow raised.

"What are you getting at Pepper?" she asked. "You're not very suave, so out with it."

"Don't you think you would have had a better time today if you were with Ron?" Pepper asked, raising an eyebrow herself. "You seemed a little uptight with Neville… like you weren't having the best time…"

"Pepper, I had a wonderful time with Neville," said Hermione briskly. "Besides, you shouldn't be fretting over me; you should be worrying about what you'll find out when you visit Madam Pomfrey after dinner."

"Oh, yes," said Pepper, looking down at her plate. "So, Harry, why'd you want to dump me on Hermione?" she asked, her voice cheering up and she waited for Harry's response. Ron and Hermione smiled knowingly as Harry replied, "To keep an eye on her of course." But Pepper could tell they were keeping something from her.

After dinner the four friends went back to the common room to complete some homework. Hermione, determined to get Pepper to the hospital wing, told the boys they were going to the library to look at a few things for an essay, and she dragged Pepper from the common room. On the one hand, Pepper wanted to go to the hospital wing so she could find out what was going on, but on the other hand, if she was pregnant, she didn't really want Madam Pomfrey to know and she certainly didn't know how she would handle it. She was dreading the visit.

There was no one in the hospital wing when they arrived so Madam Pomfrey was able to see Pepper right away. When the medi-witch asked why Pepper was visiting, Pepper gulped and said in a small voice, "Pregnancy test."

Madam Pomfrey looked slightly surprised, but regained her composure quickly and ushered Pepper to a bed and telling Hermione to have a seat in the waiting area.

Hermione flipped idly through a Witch Weekly while she waited for Pepper to be checked out. She thought about her first date with Neville this very afternoon. He was a lot more outgoing when she was alone with him than he was around a group of people, even if it was just his friends. He was funny and sweet to her and he seemed to fancy her. Pepper was right, however: she hadn't had the best afternoon with Neville. Most of the time she had spent comparing Neville to Ron: the way Neville smiled, the way they talked together, the way Neville held her hand, the way he kissed her, and even the lack of rows they had had. Hermione sighed. She knew Pepper was right – she really WAS in love with Ron. The question now was how was she going to tell him how she felt without him going totally mental? She had yelled at him and told him she didn't want to be in a relationship right now, then she had gotten into a relationship with Neville and now she was going to tell him that she was in love with him? Hermione wasn't sure Ron would buy it, after what she had put him through. Not to mention the little detail that he probably wasn't in love with her.

She flipped a page in the copy of Witch Weekly in her lap, trying to focus on Pepper's problems for the moment. After all, Pepper's problems were more important than Hermione figuring out that she was in love with Ron. Her eyes fell on the page she had turned to.

FALLEN OFF YOUR BROOMSTICK FOR A BLOKE BUT DON'T KNOW HOW TO TELL HIM? OUR STEP-BY-STEP PAMPHLET CAN HELP!

Hermione blinked blankly a few times at the ad. It was like it had read her mind. A second later she shook her head, coming to her senses. A pamphlet could never help her tell Ron that she loved him. Though, she thought, it was worth a shot, wasn't it? It couldn't hurt. She repeated the company's mailing address a few times over in her head so she could remember it.

Pepper emerged from the other room a minute later with a very composed look about her. She was walking deliberately, with her back straight and her face was very serious. When Pepper reached the place where Hermione was sitting, she said, "Let's go." Her voice was very tight, and Hermione feared the worst as she followed her friend from the hospital wing.

"What happened?" Hermione asked gently.

"He's dead," said Pepper evenly in response.

"Shit," said Hermione, causing Pepper to look at her in surprise.

"Shit's right," Pepper agreed stonily. "Fucking bastard." The two were silent for a bit until Pepper spluttered, "I'm pregnant! There's something alive growing inside of me, Hermione! What am I going to do?"

"You could get an abortion," suggested Hermione supportively, though she was strongly opposed to abortion.

"I couldn't do that," said Pepper, and Hermione was relieved. Pepper shook her head in despair. "No, it's not like Malfoy raped my or anything. I mean, when I put the Truth Spell on him he said he hadn't forced me to do anything…he said he hadn't needed to…Oh god, I'm pregnant! And it's my fault!" Pepper cried, suddenly spinning to face the corridor's wall and kicking it as hard as she could before resuming walking.

Hermione wanted to defend Pepper, though she was disappointed that Pepper did let this happen. "It's his fault too, Pepper! He could have used a contraceptive spell or a condom or something! You were drunk!"

"I shouldn't have let it happen," Pepper moaned. "I shouldn't have even come here in the first place! None of this would have ever happened if I had just stayed at home. I've screwed up too many lives…I don't know how I'm going to tell Harry, Ron and Ginny, my aunts and Malfoy about this! Everyone's going to disown me! Well, Malfoy won't but everyone else will! Why did I get myself into this?" She felt the sting of tears behind her eyes but refused to let them flow freely. "I'll tell Malfoy first, I think. Then I'll kick his ass."

Pepper didn't see Malfoy until Monday in Potions, where she couldn't talk to him. She was having trouble keeping her pregnancy a secret from Harry, Ron, Ginny and her aunts, but she had done it for the past day and a half and she planned on doing it until she talked to Malfoy.

She was sitting at a desk with Hermione today, since they didn't need partners to make this potion, and she scribbled a note on a scrap piece of parchment to give to Malfoy.

Ferret,

We need to have a little chat. Meet me at the top of the Astronomy Tower at midnight tonight.

It was short and simple and Pepper was satisfied with it. On her way out of the classroom she dropped it on his desk. She didn't look back to see him grab it quickly and stuff it in his robes to be read later, a puzzled expression on his face. She did not stick around to see the look of realization suddenly come over him, nor did she see his slightly worried expression as he exited the classroom.

Pepper was waiting on the Astronomy Tower. She chuckled and made a mental note to stop meeting Malfoy in secret in the cover of darkness. She sat down on the hard stone ground, her back against the tower's wall, her hand going to her stomach involuntarily, as it had been doing for the past day.

The wooden door opened and Malfoy stepped out into the cold air. He looked around, not seeing Pepper. Spotting her at the far end of the tower, he made his way over to her and sat down next to her before she could stand up. He put a little distance between himself and Pepper, though, because he had a hunch why she asked him here and he figured she would be furious and might try and beat his ass.

He was getting better at fighting the Indirect Imperius Curse and tonight he decided that he would be nice to Pepper Halliwell. He wouldn't be his usual arrogant, sarcastic self. He would just tell her the truth. He would fight off the Indirect Imperius for as long as he could while talking to Pepper and he would just tell her the truth.

"You're not pregnant," he said before anything could come out of Pepper's mouth. Even though it was very dark he could feel her intense gaze on him.

"What?" said Pepper in disbelief.

"That's why you asked me here, isn't it?" he said. "Because you think you're pregnant."

"I know I'm pregnant," Pepper corrected. "And it's your fault!" She suddenly remembered that she was furious with him and made a move to get up, but he slid over to her and grabbed her arm before she could.

"Listen to me, Halliwell," he said with a glare, though his voice was gentle. "You're not pregnant. You may think you are, and every medi-witch in the world can tell you the same, but I'm telling you otherwise."

"You better explain Malfoy. Right now," said Pepper in both shock and confusion. The thought of beating him until he couldn't move left her mind for a minute – if he really was telling the truth than she wouldn't have to.

"The Dark Lord was going to kill you," said Malfoy.

"What?" Pepper stuttered in horror. "I thought—"

"That he didn't know about you?" Malfoy smirked. "Is that what Dumbledore told you, then? Well, he's wrong. He's been planning to kill you for a few months now, and I'm his inside man." Pepper's eyes widened and she tried to back away from Malfoy, but he held onto her arm. "My father's been ordering me to…well, I won't get into that. To make a long story short, the Dark Lord wanted an heir. He chose me to impregnate you, so he would have someone very powerful to take over for him when he died."

By this time Pepper was shaking her head violently, not believing her ears. Voldemort's heir was growing inside of her?

"Halliwell, listen to me, will you? Stop struggling! I'm not going to hurt you." Pepper stopped struggling in Malfoy's strong grasp and he continued. "You're not pregnant, though, Halliwell. I didn't go through with it. I couldn't. I wouldn't. And if I didn't get you pregnant then the Dark Lord would kill you faster than you could blink. The first plan was for you to have the baby and then he would kill you…but we'll have time to work something out."

"You mean you don't want me to die?" said Pepper coldly. "You don't want Voldemort—" (Malfoy flinched) "—to have an heir and prevail?"

"I don't want anyone to die," replied Malfoy. "Bloody hell, I thought you thought better of me, Halliwell."

"Well I don't. Especially not after what you did to Ginny."

A flicker of pain and regret flashed across Malfoy's face. He didn't let it faze him, though, and he continued. "I made a potion and put it in the Firewhisky you so loved. I gave you no reason to believe we hadn't shagged because that's what I was supposed to do: shag you."

"You mean we didn't even really have sex?" Pepper asked mouth agape again. He shook his head. "And I'm not really pregnant?" He shook his head again. "But what about…well, it felt like we had sex." She was thankful it was dark because she felt her cheeks burning up.

"Spell," he said. "And the potion I gave you to make it seem like you were pregnant will last a few months. Madam Pomfrey will probably think you're pregnant for a few months…then she'll probably tell you you've had a miscarriage…you won't show, of course, even if you really were pregnant the Dark Lord told me to take care of that with a Concealment Spell. We'll just have to figure out a way to keep you alive and out of his grasp."

"Why are you doing this for me?" Pepper asked, oddly touched at Malfoy's gesture. "Why didn't you really get me pregnant? Why are you telling me this? Why are you helping me evade Voldemort?" Malfoy shuddered again, but Pepper ignored it this time.

"You owe me," he said simply and she knew what he meant. He wanted her to help him get rid of the Indirect Imperius Curse. And now she had to.

"You're fighting it now, aren't you," she said. He raised his eyebrow at her and rolled his eyes, which she took for a yes.

"Oh, Halliwell, and about what I did to Ginny…" he said, sighing. "Well, tell her I'm sorry. I really am. And now you can tell her that I didn't really cheat on her…it wasn't my fault. Can you tell her that I…I…"

"You love her?" said Pepper softly.

Malfoy looked down at the ground. "Yeah. That I love her," he said.

Pepper smiled. "You do? Really?" she asked. She thought it wasn't possible for Malfoy to care about anyone but himself, though she supposed he had shown compassion tonight.

"Yes, I do," he said, and she could tell he was blushing.

"Will do," she assured him. Getting up, she headed towards the tower door to return back to her own tower. "Oh, and Malfoy," she said, turning around to face the still sitting form of the Slytherin. He looked up at her. "Thanks," she told him before turning back around and making her way through the dark, teacher-infested hallways to the Gryffindor common room.

A/N: Way too much stuff happened in that chapter! I just have to say that this is not AT ALL where I was taking this story! I didn't expect Hermione to be in love with Ron or Draco to be in love with Ginny…the characters are running away from me! Okay, so I'll write as fast as I can and have another chapter up relatively soon (I hope!)