The Similarities of Love and Hate
By Caitlin Wasson
Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be. What little money I have in my bank account comes from my minimum wage job working at a jewelry store.
Chapter Three
Tell
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Draco Malfoy was even more annoying after he found out her little secret. His attitude shifted slightly toward mocking sympathy but never even close to kindness. That was not in his personality. Rather than being flat out mean, he was just making snide comments occasionally.
Hermione was curled up at the corner of one of the couches, closest to the fireplace. She had reading glasses perched on the end of her nose.
"How's the baby bookworm?" Malfoy asked, sprawled out on the other couch. "Ready to be born bushy haired and long-molared?"
"What is your problem Malfoy?" she asked. "Do you revel in the pain of others?"
"No," he replied indignantly.
"Then what is it Malfoy? What? Why do you enjoy knowing that my life is never going to be the same again? Do you enjoy knowing that someone raped the mudblood?" she asked angrily.
"No," he said. "Sorry."
"Don't be sorry, damn it! Go back to the way you used to act! Be mean! I don't want your sympathy!" she shouted at him, getting up from the couch.
"Believe it or not, I am human, Granger," he replied, somewhat angrily. "Even if you and Potty can't seem to grasp it, it is possible for me to feel some sort of sympathy toward you. I just don't like you very much."
"Why Malfoy?" she asked. "Why do you dislike me? I can't help the fact that I was born to muggle parents, just like you can't help being born to wizard parents."
"I dislike you because you're smarter than me!" he said. "And I don't understand how someone this smart could let something like this happen to them or why you're being stupid enough not to just get rid of this—this thing!"
"You think I let this happen to me?" she asked in disbelief. "You think I didn't fight my hardest when I found myself being pinned to the ground by some Deatheater scumbag? You think I didn't try to fight off the Imperius curse? I fought as hard as I could!"
He looked at her in shock.
"Yes, Malfoy, a Deatheater raped me," she said.
"Who?" he asked.
She turned away from him. "It was dark. I'm not sure. But I think… I think it was Blaise Zabini."
Draco was in shock.
"What Draco?" she demanded. "Didn't think your little friend was capable of it? No wait! You're one of them! You'd do it too if you got the chance, I bet!"
"I'm not one of them," he said. "I haven't taken the mark—yet."
She just looked at him.
"Whether or not you believe it, it is true. My father is waiting until after Hogwarts," he explained.
"Oh," Hermione said. She sat back down on the couch, hugging her knees to her chest. There was a long hard road ahead and she was walking alone. What was she going to do?
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Hermione woke up the next morning and her stomach felt horrible. She ran to the bathroom, her hand over her mouth. The door to the bathroom was closed but she didn't care. Flinging it open, she made it to the toilet just in time to heave into the bowl. As she dry heaved, Malfoy got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist.
"God, Granger, throw up some more. How do you even make it through the day?" he asked.
She flushed the toilet and hugged her knees to her chest.
"Do the professors just let you run out of class when you need to barf?" he asked. "God, you are a teacher's pet if they trust you to do that."
"They don't know," she replied quietly.
He looked surprised. "What? Do you really think you can hide it? I mean, the expanding size of your pants could be written off as weight gain but how about a bouncy brat partway through the year? That might be a little harder."
"I don't know Malfoy. I haven't got it all figured out like you!" she exclaimed.
"I would've thought you'd plan it to a T considering what a bloody know-it-all you are," he remarked.
"Evil bastard," she said, getting up.
He followed her as she stalked to her room. Apparently, in the short amount of time she was in the bathroom, a house elf had already came in and made the bed. She reached into her wardrobe and grabbed a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt. She needed new bras desperately since her breasts were swelling.
"Granger, you're going to start showing more than the little pudge you have now very soon. I suggest you figure out what to do quite soon," he told her
"Please pull up your towel," she said calmly. "And then get out of my room so I can get dressed and get ready for class."
He smirked at her and left the room. Begrudgingly, Hermione admitted that he was, indeed, correct. She needed to tell. Not even Harry or Ron knew that she was pregnant, much less her teachers. It was time to tell them.
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"…He raped me. Now, nearly three months later, I'm pregnant. I'm pregnant professor! I'm only 17!" she said, nearly in tears.
Dumbledore looked at her sympathetically. "Child, this is a serious matter. We have much to discuss," he said. "Pregnancy cannot be taken lightly."
"I know," she said. "But I cannot get rid of it."
"I assumed you wouldn't or else you would have done it by now but there are other things that need to be considered," he said. "You're focus is in Transfiguration and Potions, both of which can be dangerous for your child."
"I know," she said. "I've been looking everything on the syllabus up to make sure it won't hurt the baby."
"But you are still exposed to harmful things," he said. "We shall have to consult with Severus and Minerva."
Hermione nodded. "What am I going to do when the baby is born?"
"I don't know child," he said. "But we have a while to figure it out." He frowned slightly. "Do your parents know?"
Hermione shook her head. "I didn't realize I was pregnant until I got to school… and I didn't tell anyone."
"Who else knows?" he asked.
"Draco Malfoy. He guessed. He heard me throwing up in the mornings," she explained.
"Poppy does have treatment for morning sickness," he said. "We shall have to talk to her as well. Please take the day off from your classes. I need to think on some things. Get some rest child. You're going to need it."
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Another chapter, although the chapter a day treadmill will probably stop soon. Enjoy it while it lasts.
