I hope you all don't hate the results!

Chapter 28. Consequences

Hermione had kept her promise, sitting with Draco in their Arithmancy classes but opted to be near her friends in all her other courses. He had taken to holding her hand during lectures under the desk, however, she had managed to evade any further snogging that week, which she was deeply thankful for. A rumour had yet to start about the time she was spending with the Slytherin, but she thought it was likely a result of which class she chose to sit with him. Arithmancy students were far less likely to gossip as they were far too busy with school work and whatever it was that made them want to suffer through the hour of torturous maths and droning lectures. Unfortunately, she had been partnered with him for their final assignment, which meant she would be spending at least one day a week with him until the end of the term.

All she wanted was to be with Severus, every moment of every day she wished she were in his arms, reading with him, drinking tea. The cosy daydreams enraptured her whenever she could spare some brain space and had it not been for her incessant need to impress her professors, it likely would have begun to affect her work. Thankfully, her need for Severus to think highly of her surpassed her desire to dream about him, or at least balanced it out. Sometimes the daydreams would be a little less than wholesome and required a bit more participation on her part and the urges had been growing the more time she spent apart from him.

So, when Friday rolled around, and she realized she had made it the entire week without thinking about the potential life growing inside her, she was genuinely impressed. Draco had seemed equally busy with whatever it was he was working on, so she was lucky enough to avoid him for the week, and was only partially dreading their meeting on Friday before dinner to work on their assignment. As she approached the library, she felt a flutter in her stomach that vaguely felt like nausea but passed too quickly for her to really think on it, and so she pushed open the library door and started off to find Draco. He was seated at the back at a long table with many books already spread out and a tea tray on the corner.

"Granger," he greeted when he saw her, clumsily pushing out his chair and standing as she sat down across from him. Hermione sent him a sheepish smile which he returned, sitting down once she had too and he motioned to the tea. "I asked the house elves to provide some snacks for us to munch on while we work on this." He coughed, moving some books out of her way so she could spread out too.

"You know we're just figuring out what this is, right?" She rebuffed, unpacking her bag and placing her pristine notebook in front of her before reaching for some tea.

"Absolutely," he nodded, picking up one text in particular. "I found this one passage about a man who predicts the effects of future events by writing down his experiences, then going back in time say twenty minutes to an hour and changing something and see how it affected his original present," he rambled, flipping through the pages eagerly to find what he had read. Hermione was beginning to be proud of the nervous energy she instilled in the blond. However, she opted to do nothing more than smirk at the boy, attempting to further his agitation.

"That's brilliant Draco, do you think we could try it?" She questioned, taking a sip of her tea, watching his face twist into the expected shock.

"Not unless you have a time-turner," he scoffed, handing her the book which she took with one hand while nursing her tea with the other. She smirked a bit, glancing at the text he was showing her.

"I may," she shrugged, taking a sip of her tea and not looking up. Her words were met with silence and she nearly wanted to laugh, but she simply let him wallow in his confusion for a little bit. "Professor McGonagall gave it to me so I could take extra classes. I stopped doing that after that year though, kept the time-turner just in case because she never asked for it back," Hermione explained when it was evident the boy wouldn't be able to come up with the questions on his own.

"Then absolutely, we should try it," he finally answered, to her shock. She glanced up at him, registering his cool demeanour that he managed to recover as he too shrugged and opened a new book. "We can meet next Friday, write down everything that happens that day then go back and meddle a little bit, see what happens. His results always pointed to there being a fate to things. That if we went back in time, it would serve a purpose that was meant to happen. Which I found pretty interesting," Draco continued, grabbing his own tea mug and taking a sip. The Malfoy heir was dignified, collected, and incredibly intelligent. He wasn't easily shocked and kept up with her banter. She was beginning to think this might have been a solid friendship had she not had ulterior motives to being in his presence.

"Next Friday then," she confirmed, before diving into a couple books. Easily, the witch lost herself in the words and research, summoning a few more tomes on time travel and data collection. They figured out a way to run the numbers on predicting future events and how they could tie it into their experiment. When she glanced at the clock, she nearly leapt from her seat when she found it was nearly dinner. "Draco! We've been at this for three hours," she exclaimed, gathering the books she was looking at into a nice pile and shoving her notes into her bag.

"What's the rush? We're doing great work, I'm nearly done our thesis to present to Professor Vector," he complained, looking up at her with furrowed brows. She gulped, knowing that she was going to have to complete a more accurate test of her condition that evening, and she was not about to be late again for her rounds. Her monthly was due that day, and it hadn't arrived, but she was determined to keep calm. She understood from her extensive research that stress only postponed one's monthly which would only fuel her suspicions. Pregnancy was not an option, and she held firm that anything she had been experiencing with mood swings and nausea was a direct cause of her life upheaval and not poor planning.

"I have rounds tonight and I really ought to eat with Harry and Ron, they're expecting me," she turned to leave, hearing him mutter something like they're always stealing you away from me, but she paid him no mind, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "I'll see you Monday, Draco, okay?" She called over her shoulder, waving at him and rushing from the library. Hermione ran back to the Gryffindor tower and found Crookshanks curled up on the bed sleeping. A smile spread across her lips and she sat down next to the warm ball of fur and scratched behind his ears as he purred. He stretched out his front paws and nuzzled into the bed a bit more, digging in a pang of guilt as she whipped out her notebook and ripped a corner of one of the pages. She scrawled out a note and rolled it around the Kneazle's collar and roused him from his nap. "Please go find Severus," she whispered to him but he just tottered away and curled up once more on her pillow. The witch cast a tempus charm and noted she would have enough time for dinner with her friends and then stared judgmentally at her feline. "Alright, leave whenever you want to," she proclaimed with a huff before leaving the dormitories.

-x-

Dean was waiting for her outside the entrance to the common room with his arms folded across his chest. "At least you're on time tonight," he grunted when he saw her and she stepped back, offended. He passed her, taking the stairs quickly as if to get away from her and she threw her hands up in the air in defeat. Hermione had a perfectly decent dinner with her friends and finally got to talk to them about their daily lives, which was something she hadn't done in a few weeks. Her mood had been great that whole evening, especially considering she had to spend three hours with Draco preparing for their project. The project, she was excited for. Her partner? Not as much. Though it meant keeping up appearances as Severus had suggested so she wasn't terribly uncomfortable. Whatever it took to keep him safe is what she would have to do.

"It was one time, Dean! What has gotten into you?" She asked as she took off after him. He didn't stop or slow down, completely missing a snogging couple in an alcove at the bottom of the grand staircase. "Hey, get back to your common rooms. It's past curfew," she called over her shoulder as she continued after her rounds partner. It was unlikely the couple took her advice and more likely went right back to their activities but she was more concerned over her friend's behaviour. When she finally caught up to him, she grabbed his arm and pulled him back to face her. Hermione was out of breath, and that bothered her for a moment but she captured her composure and squared her shoulders. "What is wrong, Dean?" She demanded at the boy who looked as if he were about to punch something.

"Seamus-" He started, his jaw clenched. "He cheated on me," Dean finally admitted. While the brunette wasn't exactly shocked that the two had been in a relationship, she was quite actively unaware that anything had progressed between the two and took a moment to register what he said.

"How do you know?" She questioned, relaxing her grip on his a bit, hoping he would take it as a comforting gesture. He looked around the dimly lit hall for a moment, as if coming up with what he wanted to say. The witch noticed a tear forming at the corner of her friend's eye and she pulled him in for a hug. "I am so sorry Dean, I had no idea," she whispered, as he began sobbing into her embrace. She was quite a bit shorter than him, and almost felt as though he were leaning all his weight on her but she managed to keep him upright until he was able to calm down enough to stand on his own.

"I'm sorry I barked at you, and well- I'm sorry for crying," he apologised, wiping his cheeks and rolling his eyes. She offered him a sympathetic smile.

"That is truly awful, Dean, I'm really sorry he did that to you," Hermione consoled, rubbing his arm a bit and almost daring to hug him again, but he just shrugged his shoulders and looked away from her. He was never good at feeling his emotions, even his anger he kept relatively bottled up. Which she supposed came with his upbringing and the secrets they all kept from him. When he found out about his father's heritage and ultimate death, he was forced to keep it concealed from his mother and stepfather who had told him the whole way along his father had abandoned them.

"Serves me right, falling for a straight man," he chuckled but Hermione didn't find it quite as funny. Dean had been in love with the boy for as long as she could remember, but he had always been secretive about it. Very few people knew, but he could always talk to her. Her shock came from him not sharing that the two boys had begun seeing each other. I guess I haven't been the most present rounds mate these past weeks, she thought guiltily.

"He obviously wasn't straight if he was seeing you," she attempted to comfort him but it only proved to make him laugh a bit harder.

"No, I think he was just testing the waters honestly, but it's okay. I thought we were together, and he obviously didn't," he added with a sigh, biting his lip and shrugging at her. She wasn't sure what to say. The witch had never experienced a situation like this beside her fruitless crush on Ronald which hardly applied. While she had been hopelessly pining for him, like Dean had been previously with Seamus, she had never once been under the impression they were dating. Back when they were in the same position, she could easily empathize with the wizard and help him navigate as she went through the same problem, but he was swimming out into uncharted waters that she had yet to study.

"The only thing I could offer would be to talk to him, tell him how you felt about it all and see what he says?" Hermione was always one to attempt to fix peoples' problems instead of simply being there and listening to them. She was trying to get better, but whenever she was faced with an issue she hadn't solved before, she was eager to test out theories, even if they were tests on other's lives. That was something she definitely had to work on. He almost winced at the suggestion, so she quickly backtracked. "Sorry Dean, I shouldn't be telling you what to do."

"No, you're right. I just have to suck it up and talk to him. I can't just keep avoiding him all the time, he doesn't even know why I'm mad at him," he conceded, kicking his foot and shrugging again. "Did you tell those lovers back there to head to their common rooms?" He asked after a bout of silence.

"Yeah," she smirked and he nodded, motioning for her to follow after him.

The two finished their rounds successfully, having caught two more couples and a straggling student out past curfew. They returned to the tower together, and Hermione quickly left the common room to take a short shower in the Prefect's bathroom. She was intending on meeting with Severus tonight and she definitely wanted to feel her best and that always started with a long, hot shower. Pushing open the shower curtain, she charmed the door to lock behind her and quickly undressed after ascertaining there was no one else in the room. The water was perfectly warm and she slipped under the stream, wetting her hair and letting herself fall into a daydream. She may have been able to manage to keep her mind contained during school hours, but it was Friday and she had plenty of time before she would have to meet Severus at their normal midnight appointment.

He snaked his arms around her as they stood in the shower. His hands firmly gripped her buttocks and lifted her from the ground, keeping her steady as she wrapped her legs around his torso and began grinding against his erect cock. His member pressed against her sex and she moaned loudly, leaning back against the shower wall as he began rubbing her clit, twisting his wrist to fit his fingers between her legs. Her eyes were closed but she felt his eyes burrowing into her before he began devouring her neck, her pleasure building as she desperately wanted him to impale her. "Fuck me, Severus," she begged, feeling his fingers work faster as she started shaking, her climax burrowing into her core as she climbed towards it. She scrambled to find something to grip onto in the shower to hold her steady as she neared her undoing. Chewing her lip frantically, she moaned and rocked her body with every building wave of pleasure that tore through her. Her toes clenched, her whole body tensed as he skillfully worked her nub, drawing her closer to ecstasy.

"Oh gods," she moaned, her climax so powerful it woke her from her daydream as her sex throbbed with the waves of pleasure. As she came down from her high, she laughed, loudly, resting her back against the cold shower wall and riding the rest of her orgasm. Masturbation had never really worked for her in the past, she always got frustrated and gave up part way through or was too worried about getting caught working herself up in bed. Severus seemed to spark an insatiable need in her she didn't know was there, and it had only grown in the last several days. This would be her third time sneaking off into the showers that week, and she was nearly worried it was becoming a habit.

-x-

Hermione had been rifling through her trunk to find her time-turner when her cat came pattering into the room, sitting down beside her and rubbing his face against her jeans. "Just a second, Crooks," she grumbled, moving aside a box of shoes her mum had bought her but she refused to wear as they were far too tall. "Aha!" The witch exclaimed, pulling out a small wooden box and opening it. The delicate golden necklace was comfortably placed in the velvet encasing, so she closed it and shoved it back under her pile of jumpers. At least now she knew where it was so she could bring it to Draco on Friday for them to begin testing for their project. It was an interesting prospect, playing with time, but she knew that bad things happen to wizards who mess with time. Hermione just hoped nothing bad would happen to her as a result of their testing.

The witch closed her trunk when she had been satisfied her device was hidden and turned to give her cat some pets. Crookshanks purred and pressed into her hand, beginning to drool slightly at the attention. She easily found the note that was attached to his collar and unfolded it, taking a moment to appreciate how the parchment smelled faintly of Severus.

I love you, Hermione. See you soon. Her smile returned at the words and she tucked it quickly into her pocket before standing and walking over to the mirror. She had opted for a peach blouse over a classic pair of denim to find out if she was pregnant with Severus' child. The thought made her stomach churn but she steadied herself and started for the door. As she went down the stairs to the common room, she passed by the duo she was beginning to despise, Lavender and Parvati, who were likely heading to sleep.

"Didn't you just come back from rounds?" Lavender questioned, cocking her brow in scepticism. Hermione rolled her eyes and didn't bother with a response, taking the stairs a bit faster than before and forcing longer strides towards the door. She heard the blonde call something after her but she didn't stick around long enough to figure out what it was as she took off for the Room of Requirements. Half-way through he travels, she disillusioned herself. The witch snuck through the door once she reached the room and took in the sight of the room. It was cosy, rather than the clinical she had been half expecting, with a couch facing a burning fireplace and a blanket. A bucket was conveniently placed beside the loveseat and she was nervous just looking at it.

"Hermione," Severus stated as he came through the entrance. "Forgive me, I have been drinking." The comment made her heart sink and her expression morph into worry as she approached him, folding into his arms. She said nothing, just stood there with her eyes shut tightly, holding onto the feeling as he tightened his grip around her. At least a few minutes passed like this until he pulled away and looked down at her. "Are you ready?"

"No," she croaked. All the worry she had been holding back came flooding back to her and tears pricked at her eyes. What if I am pregnant? What will I do? How can I tell Harry? Ron? Draco? Her mind swirled with anxiety and all he did was haul her back into his grasp, hugging her tightly. He ran his fingers down her hair and rested his cheek on her head, continuing to comfort her as she fell further into her own mind. I have four bloody months of schooling left, and I would definitely be showing by then, right? And this war, it could start tomorrow. I have to be ready to fight, alongside Dumbledore, and Severus, and Harry. I can't be bearing a child at a time like this. How did Lily do it? How did she have Harry in the middle of a war? She died, that's how, Hermione thought grimly, the salt water trickling down her cheek as she nuzzled further into Severus' chest.

"Hermione," he breathed, drawing her from her thoughts. "I must know," he continued when she finally had the courage to look up at him. The brunette managed a nod and stood back, her arms wrapped around her midsection as she stumbled towards the loveseat. Gingerly, she laid down on the cushions and looked up at the ceiling, which had been as beautiful as every time she'd seen it before. She vaguely heard him cast the spell as she lost herself in the designs and architecture that went into the castle. "Hermione," Severus repeated, but she bit her lip and shook her head, refusing to look at the answer that was floating in the air beside her. "I love you," he whispered, kneeling beside her and placing a hand on her stomach.

She hiccoughed, followed by a whimper as she dissolved into tears. Out of her periphery, she saw it. She saw the answer the question she had been burying under excuses and emotional barriers for the past week. She saw her future and she didn't dare look at it head-on. Finally, she gathered enough air to whisper shakily to no one in particular, "I am pregnant."

A gift for those who want a Snamonie baby 😊