Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

Too Perfect

Chapter 10 (wow, 10 chapters already?)

Back to School

Back to school meant nothing but worry and homework. Hermione sent letters to her dad every week, as promised, but sent them to her mother everyday to see if he was lying about him being "okay." They were talking about moving him to a Muggle hospital, but Mrs. Weasly, the caring, loving woman that she is, refused for him to be put into some hospital where "they feed you plastic food and we can't visit you." Hermione had laughed and thanked her, but it still worried her that he father wasn't getting the attention he needed to get better.

She wondered if karma had brought this on her. What goes around comes around. She wondered if she hadn't had sex and gotten pregnant, her father would still be completely healthy. She wondered if God was punishing her for losing her virginity before she was married. She wondered that if she had said no to Draco, if her life would be good. It bothered her everyday. Was there something she could've done to prevent this from happening? Is there something she could do to help her father? Yes…I can keep my promises. I hope I don't have to keep some of them.

Meanwhile, Ginny was still having odd dreams. They weren't as bad as the one about Mr. Granger, though. They were more about silly things that would happen. Such as Neville tripping (which wasn't too hard to predict anyway.) or Seamus singing his hair off with a spell. She worried about having these dreams. She worried that something was wrong with her, or that she'd see something scary or bad again.

Harry comforted her when she told him about her fears, which only made her love him more. It made her feel special inside, to know what some loved her and cared for her as much as Harry did. He would put his arms around her and she'd be lost in a world of loveliness. She didn't understand it really, but everything seemed to be beautiful when she was with Harry. He dreams were left behind as Harry's kisses sent her to a far off fantasyland.

A month later, February, it was clear that Mr. Granger was getting worse. Without the proper care, he was slowly fading. Hermione's mum was nervous about telling Hermione, even though she realized that Hermione had to know before anyone else. She sent a letter to her, asking if she'd ask Professor Dumbledore to use his fireplace to "flook" to the hospital. Hermione had laughed at first by her mother saying "flook" instead of "Floo" but she soon realized that if this weren't a serious matter, she wouldn't need to get to the hospital as soon as possible. After obtaining Dumbledore's permission, Hermione packed a small overnight bag and Floo'ed to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, worried out of her mind. She hurried into the hospital and ran the familiar route to her father's room.

"Mum! What's wrong?" She cried, barging into the room. Mrs. Granger looked up from the chair beside Hermione's dad's bed, tears starting to well up in her eyes. Hermione dropped her bag to the floor with a thump and walked slowly to her silent mother.

"Mum…what's wrong? Why'd you pull me away from Hogwart's? Why did I have to ask Professor Dumbledore to Floo here immediately? What's going on?"

Mrs. Granger took a deep breath and said, "I wanted to tell you something…a-about your father…"

"Yes?"

"He's…he's…he's not getting any…better…"

"Well I knew that, Mum!"

"No, he's not just staying the same, though…he's getting…worse."

"Worse?"

"Hermione, honey, I don't know how to say this…but…he's fading, he's…." she swallowed hard, "he's dying, dear." Hermione stood, hard as stone, staring at her mother, not wanting to believe what she was hearing. Then, losing all composure, she collapsed to the floor.

Meanwhile at school, Draco was pacing in the Head Common room. Where is she? There isn't any note from her or any type of contact from her. And the teachers won't tell me anything! I'm the damn father of her baby for crying out loud! Put that in your cauldron and stir it Professor McGonagall! He stopped pacing and thought of something.

He ran from the Head Tower and towards the Gryffindor Tower. He said the password and went inside quickly. He saw Harry and Ginny over in a corner, plying Wizard's Chess. He strode quickly over to them and demanded, "Where is she?"

Ginny responded. "Where's who?"

"You know damn well who, Weasly, now tell me where she is!"

Harry jumped up and said, "Now you listen here, Malfoy. We haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about! And I don't ever want to hear you yell at her like that ever again! Do you understand me?" Draco stared at them and said, "Where is Hermione?" Ginny stared at him and said, "Hermione? I didn't know she left…"

"Yeah, well she did, and I want to know where she is! She's pregnant with my baby and she shouldn't be out gallivanting off! I don't know where the hell she is and I'm really worried about her. McGonagall wouldn't tell me anything." Ginny shrugged and said, "You could go ask Professor Dumbledore? Professor McGonagall might not be aware of you and hers situation, but Dumbledore knows all about it." Draco thought this over and then nodded saying, "That's a good idea. Thanks!" He started to walk off but turned around and said, "I'm sorry, Ginny, for what I said earlier. I was out of line." Ginny smiled and said, "It's okay, Draco. When you find Hermione, tell her to come see me, okay?" He nodded and then went off to see Dumbledore.

He made it to Dumbledore's office without really thinking, and knocked on the door. He heard him say, "Enter." Draco opened the door and slid inside quietly, feeling a little nervous, a new feeling for a Malfoy.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Sir, I came to ask if you knew where Hermione might be?"

"Yes, I do happen to know where she is."

Draco stared at him, waiting for him to answer.

"Ah, you thought I would just tell you, did you?"

"Well…"

"You thought that because you fathered her baby, you have the right to know everything, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco was taken aback, not used to being talked to like this, especially from a teacher. He also wasn't truly aware that Professor Dumbledore knew so many details on Hermione's pregnancy. He said to him, "Well, yes sir. I had thought that I had a right to know." His earlier comment about Professor McGonagall floated into his mind…put that in your cauldron and stir it Professor McGonagall…despite his situation, he found himself smiling.

"You find something amusing, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco shook his head and Professor Dumbledore said, "Well, I guess that the information isn't exactly a secret so I guess I can tell you. She received a letter from her mother, asking her to ask my permission to Floo to her immediately. It concerns her father."

"May I go see her, sir?"

He thought this over for a minute and said, "I see no reason why you shouldn't. Be sure to return promptly."

Draco walked to the fireplace and picked up some of the powder in the flowerpot on the mantle. He threw it into the fireplace, and with one last look at Dumbledore, he yelled, "St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries!" He stepped in the fire, thinking about how much of a mouthful that was.

He stepped out of the fireplace, feeling slightly dizzy, which was the usual feeling he got when he traveled by the Floo Network. When the room stopped spinning, he hurried towards Hermione's father's room. He got to the door, and took a deep breath, fearing what he was about to find. He opened the door and stepped inside slowly. He blinked a few times, adjusting to the new light. He stared around the room.

Mr. Granger was awake in the first bed, but staring off into space. He cleared his throat and Mr. Granger's head turned quickly towards the sound.

"Draco?"

"Hi, Mr. Granger."

"I distinctly remember telling you to call me Henry."

"Alright…Henry…well, I was told Hermione came here on urgent news. I came to see if she was okay."

Henry Granger's eyes drifted to the foot of his bed, his hands wringing themselves. He said after a moment, "Well, Draco…she was told that I'm not getting any better, that I'm getting worse. That I'm dying. It was a shock for her, and she fainted. One of those doctor-like people came in and moved her into a different room. I don't know any more of her condition." Draco stared at the floor, his feeling of hope disappearing.

"Which room?"

"I don't know."

He took a deep breath and said, "I'll go find out. I'll talk to you soon, Mr.—I mean Henry. Take care."

"Wait, Draco. Come and tell me how she is when you find her. I don't know what to expect."

"To be honest, I don't either…but I'll come and let you know."

A/N- yeah, it's short, and I've taken forever to update. I'm terribly sorry. I had a severe case of Writer's Block, plus I had another story (College Years) to work on, and I just started a new one (The Outsider—The Outsiders.) I ran out of inspiration, and I'm not sure when it will come back, so I decided to end it here and let you know what's happening. I'm kind of disappointed…I FINALLY figured out how to check my stats (took me long enough, right?) And over 1000 people have viewed this story, but haven't reviewed, and tons of people have this story on their Favorites, but haven't reviewed! Please review! Reviews make me so happy! I thoroughly enjoy them! They absolutely make my day, and when I'm happy, I get good inspiration, and then I'll write more, thus presenting you with a new chapter quicker! A reviewer asked if I could add more Ginny into my story, and I was like :O! I didn't realize I hadn't been putting her in here enough. I'll try MUCH harder in the next chapter. It's kind of funny, really. This story started out as Harry/Ginny, but turned into Draco/Hermione. Weird. It's probably because "The Two" was Ginny/Harry, but I don't know. Before I leave, I'd like to add: I will never abandon a story. I promise! If I feel a story is doing crummyingly, then I'll add an Author's Note chapter, asking if anyone still wants updates, and if not, then I abandon it. I hate it when people abandon a story. It makes me mad, and I've vowed not to EVER do that, so don't EVER worry that I will! So, please review, thank you to previous reviews, and I'll update as soon as I can!

Hope to hear from you soon,

Love,

DC