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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Lucius and Narcissa remained ignorant to the hardship that their impromptu visit would force upon their son and his expectant wife.
Mr. and Mrs. Granger wore their disguises and planned on swallowing a transformative elixir to remain anonymous in the eyes of their enemies.
Draco had kept an ample amount of Polyjuice Potion on hand for Hermione, in wise preparation for the event that they would ever receive an unexpected guest.
Lord Malfoy's parents' letter detailed nothing about the date they intended to arrive so he did his very best to make sure that his stores were ample and that his charms were cast.
The last thing that Draco wanted was for any harm to come to his darling Hermione or their baby.
While Lord and Lady Malfoy waited for their visitors to arrive, the heir to the noble family seemed to be thriving as it lay safely nestled inside of Draco's mate.
Mrs. Granger did everything possible to help keep her daughter in good health.
A midwife came from the nearby village that lay next to the castle once every other week and examined Hermione.
During those times, Mrs. Malfoy was always in her own form, not Astoria's, since the midwife knew nothing of their situation.
However, at every visit, the midwife did assure Hermione and Draco that the pregnancy was going well.
Lady Malfoy's belly was proof enough of that.
Round and full, as one month turned into several, Draco remained in awe of the magnificence of his wife's supple figure.
The silky robes that he dressed Hermione in were soft and forgiving in a way that made it as comfortable as possible for the expectant mother to move around.
Lady Malfoy's robes did have the habit of clinging to her breasts and belly, which kept Lord Malfoy's grey eyes distracted and his mouth watering.
Hermione felt fortunate to have her mother and her husband by her side.
Through the aches and joys of carrying her lover's child, she nearly forgot about the threat posed to her family as she basked in her alpha's smile and her mother's tender care.
Hermione and Draco began to daringly dream of more pleasant times.
While they waited for Lucius and Narcissa, they took small excursions out into the village below the castle to shop for linens, furniture, and fine decorations.
Mr. and Mrs. Granger helped the young couple place their purchases in the bedroom closest to theirs and over the course of a few weeks…..a nursery was gradually established.
The nursery became Lady Malfoy's second favorite place to be in the castle.
She often spent afternoons there rearranging books, folding some of the baby clothing that she and Draco had purchased, or holding one of her child's soft toys as she sat in the rocking chair and admired the view of the beautiful valley that surrounded the background of the castle.
Hermione napped in that rocking chair one afternoon with her head over to the side and her eyes closed until her mother came sweeping through the doorway.
"Wake up!" Mrs. Granger hissed, careful not to call her daughter by name as she gently shook her shoulder, "Wake up!"
Hermione roused with a start and furrowed her brow at her mother as a hand flew to her belly.
"What's the matter?" Hermione asked urgently, "Mother….what's wrong?"
"Your visitors have come, my child." Mrs. Granger frowned as she offered Hermione a vial of Draco's charmed Polyjuice Potion, "Your husband's with them now in the foyer…..Drink this down….and go to them before they come to you."
Hermione returned her mother's somber frown as she took the vial from her hands, flipped the silver cap towards the ceiling, and raised the container to her lips…….
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"You should have written to me, Mother." Draco sniffed as he stood in front of the castle's front door, just beyond the first step of the dizzying staircase that the large, stone estate boasted. He frowned as he went on, "It would have been ideal to know the exact date that you and Father planned to arrive."
Lucius scowled while Narcissa did most of the talking.
She mirrored her husband's expression as she replied to her son, "Your father had business to tend from the Dark Lord before we could be free to travel. I wrote letter after letter, Draco, but they were all ripped up! Our plans changed by the time I finished sealing the envelopes! Honestly, darling, your father and I can't help but become a bit wounded…….We haven't received a single update on the health of our grandchild."
Narcissa hadn't hardly finished speaking those words yet when a quiet crack sounded from the top of the staircase.
Draco, Narcissa, and Lucius all looked up to watch Astoria walk towards them.
Hermione kept her smile demure to convey the guise of a strain on her health, although she really felt rather wonderful.
Through the silkiness of her luxurious clothing and the fur shawl that she held around her shoulders, the curve of her healthy belly was on full display for her in-laws.
Draco called out to Hermione as she neared the bottom of the steps, "Astoria, my darling, surely you remember my parents from our wedding? They've come to visit us at last, isn't that lovely?"
"Oh, yes." Hermione nodded as she stepped off of the staircase and curtsied as best she could to Lucius and Narcissa, "It's pleasant to see you both again, Lord and Lady Malfoy."
Lucius stared at Hermione's belly with his cold, grey gaze while Narcissa smiled widely at her daughter-in-law and asked, "Don't you look beautiful, Astoria? I can see that our son has taken wonderful care of you."
"He has, indeed, Lady Malfoy." Hermione, er, Astoria, nodded politely while Draco unconsciously took a protective step towards her.
Although Draco's instincts flared when he detected the slightest hint of nervousness from his deliciously sweet-smelling mate, he surmised that the baby in Hermione's belly may be her one saving grace from persecution.
Although Lucius did not share Narcissa's tenderness, his wife's heart was as sweet and gentle as any mother's.
Even Hermione saw the softness in Narcissa's blue eyes as she glanced between her, Draco, and the womb that held her unborn grandson or granddaughter.
As strong as Narcissa's prejudice ran, Draco had little doubt that it would stop her from loving any child of his, no matter who its mother turned out to be.
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During Draco's parents' visit, the Grangers portrayed themselves as faceless servants in the background of the castle's daily workings.
Lucius and Narcissa presumed the couple to have been hired from the village in light of Astoria's disapproval of house elves.
Lucius and Narcissa felt that that was a silly opinion, although they said nothing about it as they all sat down for dinner later that night in the castle's medieval dining room.
Silverware clanked and goblets clinked while the Malfoys shared their evening meal.
Lucius chatted with Draco about the war, the family's business endeavors, and a plethora of other subjects that his son would truthfully rather not discuss.
While the men held their own conversation, Hermione felt Narcissa's blue eyes boring into her.
Hermione hoped at first that her mother-in-law simply chose to gaze at her for a moment, but when her stare became unignorable, Hermione blotted her mouth with a napkin and courageously met Narcissa's sharp, sapphire stare.
"May I inquire about your health, my dear?" Narcissa asked with a soft, curious smile.
"I've managed….for the most part, anyway." Hermione nodded, careful to feign Astoria's chronic illness.
"Have you sought a midwife's counsel?" Narcissa asked.
Hermione noticed from the concerned look in her eyes that Draco's mother's inquiry came from genuine worry.
"I have, indeed." Hermione nodded, "She comes every other week from the village. The midwife has assured me that I'm doing as well as can be expected and that my husband's heir is doing even better."
"That's wonderful to know." Narcissa said with a smile that seemed surprisingly sincere, "After all of the sadness that my son had endured, I'm grateful to you for giving him some happiness in his life."
Hermione nodded before she quietly responded, "You have no need to thank me, Lady Malfoy. Bearing children is part of the wifely station. My mother has informed me of that many times."
"While that's certainly true..." Narcissa nodded, "...Perhaps one day you may come to know and understand my gratitude, Astoria. There is no greater gift that anyone can give you besides your child's happiness."
The smile that danced across Narcissa's pale face as she finished speaking struck Hermione as beautifully melancholy, punctuated by repressed joy.
"I hope that one day, I shall, Lady Malfoy." Hermione answered with a soft smile.
While Draco and Lucius continued their conversation with their brows furrowed and the tones of their voices deeply serious, Hermione struggled not to weep as she watched tears well in Narcissa's eyes.
She knew very little about her mother-in-law.
Hermione certainly disagreed with Narcissa's viewpoints and beliefs, but in that moment, one fact was made plain to her…...Narcissa loved Draco more than anything else in the world.
As Hermione considered the situation, she held onto that truth, because truths in times of war were hard to come by.
Although it seemed impossible to know yet, Hermione silently hoped that Narcissa's love may be the very weapon she needed to save herself and her family.