Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every second and fourth Saturday!
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"I...I beg your pardon?" Draco asked in a hushed gasp.
Beyond the acrid scent of Lady Granger's sick, Lord Malfoy took a moment to notice the smell that wafted from her skin.
It was sweeter, thicker, and ever so slightly richer.
That fair perfume tickled his alpha instincts with the overwhelming urge to protect,
That was his mate.
That was his child that lived inside of her.
Lady Granger had spoken truthfully.
Hermione cleaned her mouth, straightened her spine, and turned to face her alpha.
"I'm with child, Draco." She repeated with a heavy sigh as her sad amber eyes bore into him.
A look of horrified disbelief crossed Draco's face as he stared down at his omega.
The forest seemed to sway in front of him.
All of a sudden, Lord Malfoy felt like he was going to vomit.
"I'm to be married in a week." He blurted out in a panicked confession before he could stop himself.
"...What?!" Hermione hissed.
Draco saw a fiery anger creep into her brown eyes before she paled and turned to retch again while he held her hair back for her once more.
Lord Malfoy's heart was beating as quickly as Lady Granger's.
It was difficult to say that his terror was any less.
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Once Lady Granger's stomach settled to a tolerable degree, Lord Malfoy escorted her back into the cottage and gathered his courage to face the wrath of his beloved's parents.
Between her nausea and her tears, Lady Granger looked quite miserable as she sat next to Lord Malfoy on the sofa.
"Is it true?" Hermione asked Draco remorsefully while Mr. and Mrs. Granger looked on, "Have you broken my heart to such a cruel degree, sir? Have my affections, the hours we've spent together, the promises that you made to me…...has that all meant nothing to you?"
"I spoke honestly, my lady." Draco nodded as he glanced around the room, first to his lover then to her disgruntled parents as he explained, "The promises that I've made to you, I will keep, that is my vow and that is my truth. The quiet moments of sentiment which we have shared together were all genuine and I will carry them with me until my dying day. Unfortunately, I do find myself currently engaged to be married to another, however, that is not by my own choice. Lord Voldemort has commanded that I take a wife and my parents have chosen one for me."
At Lord Malfoy's confirmation, Lady Granger let out a shrill sob and Mr. Granger frowned in rageful disappointment.
The four sat in the small living area of the cottage and contemplated the serious circumstances for a long moment before Draco spoke again.
"Lady Granger and I are in love." He boldly declared to Mr. and Mrs. Granger.
Through her tears, Hermione looked over at Draco as he took her hand in his and nodded at her, "I'll do what it takes to stay with you and our child for that is the only way in which I may live. The existence that I have now, without you, my lady, is hardly one that can be called 'living'."
"You can't accompany us to Germany." Mr. Granger told Draco with a firm scowl, "You'll be followed. You'll bring them all down on us, Lord Malfoy. My family won't stand a chance."
"That's true, Mr. Granger, I can't come with you to Germany." Draco replied, then he looked over at Hermione as he nodded, "However, now I'm afraid that I can't allow my darling to leave. We must find another way."
"I say, sir, do you intend on keeping my daughter here as a hostage?!" Mr. Granger retorted with a dangerous snarl on his face as he rose to his feet, "Although I find myself at a great advantage against your abilities, I will duel you if I must in an attempt to safeguard what is mine!"
"There is no need for violence, Mr. Granger." Draco said calmly while he held up a hand to soothe the angry muggle, "I am merely trying to protect what is mine. If you'll listen to my plan, I think the outcome will be favorable for all involved."
Draco looked over at Hermione and gave her a reassuring nod as his grey eyes sparked with a soothing gentleness.
Mrs. Granger frowned sympathetically at the young couple.
When Mr. Granger saw the look of love that Lord Malfoy gave his daughter, he slowly sat back down in his chair.
Listening to Lord Malfoy's ideas had hastened the survival of his family up until that point, why should Mr. Granger not at least hear what Draco had to say?
"It will be easy to find means of concealment for you two if you do not wish to undertake your journey and leave your daughter behind. As for Lady Granger and I, it seems there's already a wedding arranged." Draco said with a confident smirk, "It only needs the correct bride."
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Lord Draco Lucius Malfoy was not only a wealthy wizard and a dominant alpha, Lord Draco Lucius Malfoy was a resourceful man.
He knew what he wanted and he knew what he had, but he possessed a rare talent to use what he had to bring himself what he wanted.
Not everyone wielded that level of cunning.
Lord Malfoy wanted his omega, his child, and the safety of Mr. and Mrs. Granger.
Lord Malfoy had a flawlessly secret passage arranged to Germany and his own wedding slated to take place uncomfortably soon.
The Malfoys had made their fortune largely through trade and it was through a sort of trade that the Malfoy heir sought to correct his own destiny.
A fortnight before their nuptials, Lord Malfoy and Lady Greengrass found themselves having tea on the front lawn of Malfoy manor.
Nearby, two house elves tended the topiaries while they kept an eye on the couple as they fulfilled their secret duty to act as chaperones.
"Lady Greengrass, you look as melancholy about this whole affair as I do." Draco quipped with a smile of bitter understanding.
"Forgive me, Lord Malfoy, it is my great pleasure to become your bride." Lady Greengrass replied with a stuffy, formal tone of forcedness.
"...Lady Greengrass?" Draco hesitantly asked with a wry grin.
When his fiancé frowned at him, he chuckled mirthlessly as he spoke, "There's no need to lie to me. I can see the despair in your eyes, my lady."
Lady Greengrass looked down as if she had just been caught in a horrible crime while she answered in a quiet voice, "My….My time in this world is quickly coming to an end, sir. I had hoped that I may see one of my old friends again, but he lives far away and this is my parents' wish for me. So I will go to my grave being a good daughter….a noble lady who chose wisely and ignored the desires of her heart in the best interests of her family."
Lord Malfoy had no romantic attachments to the woman in front of him, but he couldn't help but admire her courage.
When he heard her words, it made his chest swell with triumph that his plan would convenience not only himself, but both of the ladies in his keep as well.
"Lady Greengrass, where does this friend of yours live?" Draco asked curiously.
"Far from here….on the eastern side of Latvia." Lady Greengrass answered with a sigh, "He is unable to leave the confines of his home. I would have surprised him with a visit…….I was saving my strength to do just that, but now I suppose my strength will be used to bear your son."
Draco smirked at the woman in front of him while he asked, "...What would you say if I were to tell you that I could help you disappear and live your final days according to your own wants?"
"I beg you, Lord Malfoy," Lady Greengrass replied with another distraught sigh as she lifted her weary gaze to meet Draco's grey stare, "I am a very ill woman. Please, do not tease me with fleeting fantasies of whimsy."
"Lady Greengrass, I am not speaking of fleeting fantasies or whimsy of any kind." Draco replied with confident assurance as he held her stare, "I mean no offense to you, my lady, but I am also a victim in this situation. However, I do believe that I have found a way to free us both from our unwanted confines."
"...How can that be, Lord Malfoy?" Lady Greengrass asked.
"Tell me, my lady," Lord Malfoy asked, "Do you feel that you're well enough to make a voyage by sea?"
"...I suppose that I may yet find the energy." Lady Greengrass nodded, "If by doing so, I may be reunited with my friend once more."
"Excellent." Draco nodded, "Then leave the rest to me, my lady. I shall only require some of your hair."
"My hair?" Lady Greengrass blinked.
"Yes, Lady Greengrass." Draco replied with a devious smile, "Just a bit of your hair will do nicely~."