Author's note by Princess-Meru: I wrote this story, and it be honest, I got SLIGHTLY lazy. I couldn't fit in everything I wanted and I really didn't know what to write. Our final author will be writing the next chapter and she seems to have a gift for these things. Look forward to that. I'm just… a pitiful appetizer.
----
Draco
tried to ignore Ron and Neville as he curled around his new book
in
the Gryffindor common room. It was one that Snape had sent him as
a
sarcastic gift. He would have been more angry at his professor
save for
the fact that the book might prove useful.
"Whatcha
reading?" Ron eyed Draco suspiciously. Ron had become used to
the
blond, accepting him to the point of causal acquaintance.
Draco glared at the redhead, "You don't want to know."
Neville
looked up from his latest fiction novel, "What's so bad
about
it?"
"Is it erotica?" Ron allowed a smirk to play at his lips. What was with these Gryffindors and porn?
"EW
NO!" Draco exclaimed, "Its just..." he inhaled deeply and then
said
with as much confidence as he could muster, "It's called
'Taming the
Lion: How to Woo a Gryffindor.'" Draco waited
for someone to say
something, but all the boys were staring at him
in disbelief. He knew it
was a bad idea to read it in a room that
had red and gold on every bit
of decor.
"You... have got
to be kidding me," Ron finally said, "I didn't know you
wanted
him that much."
Draco just shrugged. He didn't know what
to do anymore. He wanted to be
able to form a relationship with
Harry, make sure the baby wasn't alone,
but he didn't know how
to do it. He had already tried getting to the
ebony haired boy
through the child, suggesting planning a nursery or
picking out
baby names or going shopping for baby clothes, but none of
it
seemed to work.
"You're thinking too shallow," Neville
said matter-of-factly, "You need
to think about how Harry
feels."
"Don't judge someone until you walk a mile in their shoes," Ron nodded.
Draco just snorted, "Then when
you do you're a mile away and you have
their shoes."
"Always
a Malfoy," Neville shook his head. "But seriously, you
should
take him out on a date!"
"Yeah, right." Draco hadn't exactly dismissed the idea, but chances are Harry would not be so likely to give in. The last time he had tried to talk to the boy, he had given him the cold shoulder.
"Seriously!" Ron persisted.
"He'll say no," Draco whined.
Ron snorted, "That didn't stop you from knocking him up."
Draco opened his mouth to protest but Ron slapped a hand over the blond's mouth. "MMMPH!" Ron glared at the blond for a minute. "If you swear," he said slowly, "Not to get him pregnant twice, I'll set you up."
"RON!" Neville slammed his book down.
"I'll tell him I wanna hang with him at some place at Hogsmeade and you just have to show up in my place. " Draco averted his eyes, knowing full well that it would be useless to try to talk with the redheads massive paws covering him. "Just know," Ron started speeding up in his speech, "I'm doing this for Harry and the kid, not you."
---
Harry stared at the books Hermione had piled up for him. She really didn't have to do all this work for him, but he had to admit, he wasn't minding letting her. He was already into his third week, and as it was nearing its end, Harry was starting to show. There was a tiny itsy bitsy bump on his stomach that looked a bit like gained weight.
"You know what?" Harry said to the bump, "I'm beginning to like you."
It was half true, anyway. The little thing growing inside him was feeling more and more like a part of him. He had seen on TV shows that mothers were supposed to instantly love their children with all of themselves. What if he didn't get that kind of feeling? What if the child had no love because he refused to love it? No one else wanted it… besides Draco, but he didn't count. He only wanted the baby out of obligation. "I wont let it be that way," he whispered.
"Talking to yourself?" Hermione asked, peeking over a new pile of textbooks.
Harry shook his head, "One of your books says talking to the baby is good for it."
"So you actually read them?"
"Don't tell anyone, it will ruin my image," he smiled, but there was no feeling behind it. His image was already ruined.
