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!
—————————————————————
Much to Hermione and Draco's dismay, Narcissa and Lucius seemed in no particular rush to return home.
As the days turned into weeks, Draco's parents lingered at the castle while Hermione's belly rounded with the advancement of her pregnancy.
Hermione visited with her own parents in secret, while Draco kept his mother and father occupied in the dining room or another part of the castle.
As much as her growing child exhausted her, taking constant doses of Polyjuice Potion did nothing to replenish Hermione's waning levels of energy.
She took to her nest as often as she could, both to avoid her in-laws, and to seek liberation from the confines of her disguise.
One evening, after a particularly tiring day, Hermione had chosen to have her dinner delivered straight to her bedside while Draco sat with Lucius and Narcissa in the dining room.
Draco was eager to finish the meal quickly.
He knew that his darling mate was only fatigued, but that didn't stop him from wanting to run to her as soon as possible and take her into his comforting arms.
Lucius and Narcissa chatted with their son while they all enjoyed their food.
"The weather's been pleasant for us, at least." Lucius sniffed before he took a swallow of wine from the goblet in his hand.
"Yes, Father, it has, indeed. Astoria and I are very happy that you two have been able to visit us." Draco nodded.
"I hope you don't mind if we stay until the child arrives, Draco." Narcissa said with her blue eyes glinting brightly.
Draco blinked as he willed his jaw not to drop open.
Oh, what a horrible idea his mother had just suggested!
As Hermione's condition progressed, it became more and more difficult for her to assume Astoria's weakened form.
He didn't want his beloved omega to have to birth a child in the body of a woman already enfeebled by disease.
"Actually, Mother, Father, I doubt that Astoria and I will be very good company in the following weeks. As the child's birth draws nearer, her health seems to decline. My wife needs her rest…...I'm certain you two understand." Draco politely reasoned with his parents.
Lucius looked at Narcissa for their decision and as Draco watched him, he realized that his main obstacle lay with his mother, not his father.
"I remember what the days before you were born felt like!" Narcissa smiled brightly at her only child, "The poor girl's exhaustion will only worsen. She doesn't even have her mother close by to assist and believe me, Draco, a woman needs another woman at a time like this."
"She has the maid, Mother." Draco frowned, "She's being cared for, don't fret."
"Of course she is, darling, but I'll look after Astoria as if she were my own daughter! And when the child is born, I'll be as devoted to your little one as if you were young again! Don't worry yourself, Draco, your father and I have already cleared our travel with the Dark Lord! He's elated that we've come to help." Narcissa beamed.
Draco's chest tightened with anxiety as he wondered how he may free himself and Hermione from their current predicament.
……..Was there even a way?
"Right, Mother." Draco nodded, "Of course…..Thank you both for your assistance."
"It's our pleasure, darling." Narcissa smiled as she reached across the wide table and took her son's hand.
Draco forced a mirthless smirk on his face to stop himself from shrieking in defeat.
Everything had been going so well, how could he have possibly allowed events to fall so hideously off track?
—————————————————————-
"They want to….WHAT?!?!" Hermione gasped later that night as Draco clutched her close in bed and let his fingers drift soothingly over her back and belly.
"Ssh, don't excite yourself, my darling." Draco whispered while he kissed Hermione's lips gently, "I'm not sure how yet, but I'll think of a way out of this…..I've kept us safe so far, haven't I?"
Hermione pouted as she looked up at her alpha and began to protest, "Yes, but I don't want to-"
Draco silenced her as he leaned in and captured her lips in a deep kiss.
Hermione groaned gently as she let herself relax against him.
"You won't have to, my love." Draco whispered as he pulled away. He tenderly lifted a hand to brush a stray piece of Hermione's amber hair behind her ear as he reassured her, "I'm your lover….your mate, am I not? Depend on me...Let me protect you……..I want you to focus on our little one, not anything else, not on the war, or your parents, or mine...Your objective is to nurture our child, alright? I'll see to everything else."
Hermione sighed as she nuzzled into the crook of Draco's neck and breathed in his soothing scent.
As she closed her eyes and focused on the calming smell of her alpha, she was reminded of vibrant lavender and rich, antique mahogany, crisp and firm……..beguiling.
She wrapped herself around Draco as best she could while his fingers rubbed her gently until she fell into a deep sleep.
Draco laid awake for hours that night as he frowned while he watched his pregnant wife rest.
He let a hand drift down to gently ghost along the swollen curve of Hermione's abdomen, careful not to rub her womb too aggressively and wake the life that thrived within it.
As Draco contemplated their situation, he wondered if he wasn't going about finding a solution in the entirely wrong way.
Perhaps it would be better to rely on his parents' promise of unconditional love and at the moment of complete vulnerability, reveal to them the true decision he had made in selecting a mate?
—————————————————————
Hermione's belly grew with each passing day.
Draco became more of a gatekeeper than a son or a husband.
He spent the majority of his waking hours making sure Narcissa stayed occupied while he batted away her inquiries about Astoria's condition with one claim after another that she slept long hours at a time.
By the month the child was expected to arrive, Lady Malfoy could no longer tolerate the Polyjuice Potion, which left her husband with the complete burden of keeping her out of his parents' sight.
Hermione began to greatly resent the Malfoys when she alone laid in her nest as she wrestled with the primal need to be held close by her alpha.
There were some times when she simply could not bear the separation.
During those times, Hermione sent her mother and father to walk Lucius and Narcissa around the castle grounds on false pretenses.
Their distraction allowed her to selfishly have her alpha to herself for an hour or two.
Despite his best efforts, Draco wasn't always entirely successful at keeping his mother at bay.
On some afternoons, while Hermione remained safely buried under the covers, Narcissa would come in and read to her or chat about her own early memories of motherhood.
As he watched nervously from the doorway, it saddened Draco to see the bonding that his wife and mother missed out on due to the war and foolish prejudices.
—————————————————————
The midwife's visits became more frequent in the fortnight before the child was expected to arrive.
Draco abandoned his parents to stay by his wife's side.
Hermione's pains started early one chilly morning.
Mr. Granger tended the Malfoys to keep them distracted while Draco stayed with his wife.
Mrs. Granger called the midwife and shed her disguise as the Malfoys' maid to join her daughter, eager to support Hermione while she struggled on her birthing bed.
As the hours slowly passed, Hermione's groans of pain began to echo throughout the castle while her mother blotted the perspiration from her face.
Draco let his poor, tormented mate lay against him and squeeze his hands for encouragement while their child fought to enter the world.
Lucius was content to stay far away from the situation, but Narcissa frowned as her heart ached in sympathy for her daughter-in-law.
The elder Lady Malfoy was well acquainted with the dangers and agony of childbirth.
It had taken her days to bear Draco.
She had lost a good portion of blood and at the healer's request, she and Lucius had never conceived again after their son's birth.
With a true desire in her heart to aid in any way possible, Narcissa slunk away from Lucius and Mr. Granger, climbed the stone steps of the castle, and crept towards the bedroom that Draco shared with his wife.
Hermione panted as another tortuous pain ended when she noticed her bedroom door creak open.
She groaned weakly as Draco's grey eyes widened while Mrs. Granger and the midwife turned around.
"Mother!" Draco croaked as Narcissa stepped into the room.
The midwife blinked.
Mrs. Granger's jaw dropped.
Hermione sobbed while she clutched her belly and silently pleaded with her mother-in-law to take pity on her and her baby.
Hermione couldn't help which family she had been born into, or the history of her blood, her only crime was loving Draco and attempting to fashion a life with him.
As Narcissa stared at the scene in front of herself, her mouth fell open in silent shock.
There on the bed, the woman labouring…..that was not the woman whom she had watched her son marry.
Narcissa reeled for a moment as she tried to process the unignorable truth that in his arms, Draco cradled the one he had chosen as his mate, unbeknownst to her…….Hermione Granger, the woman he had claimed to have slaughtered.