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Polyjuice Potion took a month to brew under normal circumstances.
One of the luxuries that came with knowing the Dark Arts was understanding how to manipulate the world into getting what one wanted.
Such skills had been acquired by Lord Malfoy.
Draco had to cast an acceleration charm several times on the bubbling cauldron, but he eventually succeeded in completing the potion within a few brief days.
The text in the ancient book on display in the Malfoy family's hall of Dark Artefacts mentioned another charm designed to ensure that the mixture wouldn't harm Hermione or their child.
Draco had to wear his mask of false smiles and hateful sneers while he worked, but his efforts came to fruition.
After a level of finagling that should have earned him a medal of bravery and recognition as a master of deception, the evening before the Malfoy-Greengrass wedding, silence echoed throughout Malfoy manor's hallway.
Draco was careful not to shatter the night's calm as he left his room, padded down the corridor, and stealthily crept into the chamber where his betrothed lay.
The hinges of the wooden door let out an aged squeak as he closed it behind himself.
The noise woke Astoria's parents in the next room and in response, they set up in bed to look at each other.
"Did you hear that?" Astoria's mother hissed.
"Indeed." Her father nodded, "She doesn't usually leave her bed at night."
"Do you think that Lord Malfoy's come to her?" Astoria's mother asked with narrowed eyes.
"...And what if he has?" Her father quipped as he settled back down, "They're to be married in the morning. No scandal will result, go back to sleep."
Astoria's mother frowned at her husband as she rolled over in bed, pulled the blankets up to her shoulders, and closed her eyes to rest again.
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Draco's expression was soft and loving as his gaze fell on the bed.
He watched the covers rustle gently until Astoria looked at him from where she lay, nestled against her mound of pillows.
A silent smirk played across Draco's lips as he walked over, shed his green velvet robe, and slipped in next to his darling.
While they cuddled together under the blankets, Draco cupped Astoria's face in one hand, closed his eyes, and pressed his lips against hers in a deep, loving kiss.
Astoria whimpered against him while she moved her hips slightly.
Draco draped his leg over hers as they wound together more closely.
At the height of their embrace, Draco pulled back and moved to hover over his fiancé as he looked down at her, placed a hand on her lower, flat belly and whispered in a deep purr, "I love you, Hermione."
Hermione, disguised as Astoria, sighed happily as she clasped a hand over his, stared into his eyes, and whispered back, "I love you too, Draco~."
While Draco and Hermione let their hands rest over their unborn son or daughter, their lips met again in a sweet crash.
Far away from Malfoy manor, the real Lady Greengrass stared out of the porthole in her room on the ship bound for Germany.
Astoria was simultaneously too weak to apparate but too resilient to give up.
Draco had kindly given her the chance to see her long lost friend once more before the illness that she battled claimed her life.
Astoria smiled to herself, grateful for Draco's help, but it was Draco who had been grateful for Lady Greengrass's generous consideration and donation of hair.
Lord Malfoy's arranged bride-to-be's reluctance had given him the ability to choose who would ultimately become his wife.
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The following morning, Malfoy manor found itself plunged into chaos as the entire estate prepared to host the wedding of the family's heir.
Draco had been swarmed by his father and several of his fellow Death Eaters as they gave him advice, helped him dress, and chatted with him about how to keep a wife happy.
Narcissa and Asotria's mother were involved with Hermione's, er, Astoria's readying as well, but to a lesser extent.
The bride-to-be was an ill woman, which meant it was best to trouble her the very least amount.
Hermione couldn't believe her luck that Astoria had been the one that she needed to emulate.
As an expectant mother suffering through the fatigue, nausea, headaches, and malaise that came with the early months of pregnancy, Hermione's disguise easily passed as believable.
She and Astoria were very nearly the same size and her belly remained flat, which conveniently gave her no issues fitting into the wedding gown that the Greengrass family had commissioned for their daughter.
Lord Malfoy and Lady Granger would have chosen a different location, different clothing, different food, and certainly different guests for their wedding if it had all been up to them.
However, as Hermione walked down the aisle that afternoon, under Astoria's borrowed image, the joy was plain on Draco's face as he imagined being able to actually see his mate coming towards him in her grand, gorgeous dress.
When Hermione made it to Draco, took his hands, and gazed into his eyes, she couldn't help the tears that welled in hers.
They were marrying under the watch of those who would slay them on the spot if they learned the truth, but regardless, they were marrying.
Draco squeezed Hermione's hands tightly as the officiant began the ceremony.
They may not have been able to come together under ideal circumstances, but both were profoundly overjoyed that they could at least…..come together.
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One passionate wedding night and a couple weeks was all that stood between Draco, Hermione, and being able to make her pregnancy known.
Before their child arrived, Draco hoped to be far away from Malfoy manor and far away from the dangers that threatened his new wife and child.
The Malfoy wedding celebration was a fabulous affair that lasted all day.
The couple's families, along with Voldemort and his most elite followers, shared dinner together that night at the long, ebony dining table.
"Your mother and I have yet to give you a wedding gift, son." Lucius mentioned to Draco while everyone at the table enjoyed their meal.
"Oh, Father?" Draco asked, careful to feign innocence in hopes of bending the situation so that Lucius and Narcissa would offer what he and Hermione needed.
"While you and your wife," Lucius nodded at Astoria, "...are welcome to stay here, your mother and I were wondering if you two would enjoy taking up temporary residence in our family's other property?"
"An excellent idea, Lucius!" Voldemort chimed in with an eerie smile as he looked over at Draco, "Perhaps a bit of privacy for the newlyweds will hasten the arrival of some new blood in our ranks!"
The rest of those seated at the table chuckled while relief flooded Draco's system.
He glanced over at Hermione, er, Astoria, with a subtle grin before he looked at his father and Voldemort while he agreed, "Of course, my lord, if it pleases you, we'll see to that matter right away. I agree with you and our esteemed leader, Father. I think that my new wife and I would enjoy some seclusion very much. It may take us some time to arrive, however, she's not well enough to apparate."
Hermione silently drew in a breath as she wondered when her alpha would stop.
She didn't mind undertaking the journey to the Malfoy family's other property, wherever it was.
She only wanted her baby, her parents, her mate, and herself to escape safely.
Wasn't that enough for her husband too?
Was he really so bold as to ask the people that wanted them dead for a means of transportation to their own respite?
"Worry not, dear Draco." Voldemort said in an unsettlingly calm voice as he made a grand sweeping gesture with his pale hand.
Hermione and Draco watched as Voldemort pulled a small box from the inside of his black robes and slid it across the table.
The box skidded to a stop directly in front of them as Voldemort grinned and explained, "When you're ready to leave, merely place your hands on the top. You'll be transported there straight away. Make no mistake……!" He cried as he gave the young couple a predatory smile to reassure them, "...The journey will be most gentle, my magic will see to that."
"Of course, my lord," Draco nodded, "Your powers know no bounds."
Draco spoke with absolute confidence, even while Hermione glared at him.
He didn't feel a single qualm.
Draco knew that Voldemort meant what he said, the trip would be safe for his little family.
The Dark Lord was a villain indeed, but that didn't mean that he was untalented.
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Hermione and Draco wasted no time in fleeing their persecutors.
That evening, after the wedding guests had left, while most couples would have been lying in their marriage bed, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy walked down the hallway, hand in hand.
Draco carried their trunks in his arms while Hermione carried their baby in her womb.
When they arrived at the Malfoy dining room, they each reached a hand out and placed it on that small box in the center of the table.
A second later, they whizzed effortlessly through the air while Voldemort's spell transported them to what they hoped would be a safer place.
As they traveled, the Polyjuice Potion began to wear off.
Draco smiled over at his bride, who had returned to her true form as she smiled back.
Somewhere, en route to the Malfoy's spare property as well, the family's new maid and butler smiled at each other as they traveled on a large ship without the assistance of magic.
Mr. and Mrs. Granger looked forward to wearing their intricate disguises.
Draco had given the Grangers directions after he had discreetly paid for their passage and helped them board the ship undetected.
Lord Malfoy's cocky plan had gone quite smoothly.