Hello there,

How were your cookies? I hope they were good.

Ready for chapter 4? We've already scarred Harry, how about we get this ball rolling onto our poor Draco?

Again, and yes I will say this every time but seriously I mean it: if you left a review or a favourite thank you so much! You have no idea how stupid I looked walking around the place on Wednesday with the biggest, dopiest grin on my face. You would have thought someone slipped something into my tea.

Anyway, enough of me. Onto your favourite bookworm.

"Do you have an appointment?" The old woman at the desk asked for the third time.

Hermione sighed; she didn't have the bloody patience for this. Not today, not with what she was about to do.

"No." She replied, also for the third time. "But I need to see Draco Malfoy."

"But you don't have an appointment with Mr Malfoy?"

"No." Hermione grit her teeth.

"Mr Malfoy only sees people by appointment." The drone in the woman's voice grated on Hermione's last nerve, and she wondered if a lower tolerance for pains in her arse was a symptom of pregnancy.

"He'll see me," Hermione growled.

At least, she hoped he would. He'd better, or she was just going to have to shove her way in there and make him listen to her. The old woman ignored her and stated,

"No meetings without an appointment."

Hermione was about to pull her hair out. It was almost three in the afternoon. Hermione had owled Mary for the day off and gotten dressed at eight to come to speak with Draco. It had taken her until two to work up the nerve to leave her house, and she'd spent the last fifteen minutes arguing with the old bat at the desk.

"It's serious." Hermione said, "I need to speak to Draco Malfoy."

"Do you have an appointment?"

Hermione's eyes narrowed, and for the first time, the woman looked a little concerned.

"Yes." Hermione lied.

With that, Hermione stormed past reception as the woman stared after her and marched through the floor of offices. She knew which one was Draco's and she suddenly wondered why she hadn't just done this in the first place.

It had taken her three minutes to get to Malfoy Industries, eight minutes to persuade the security downstairs to let her in, another five memorising the layout of the building and locating Draco's office when said security guard conveniently went to the loo. Another one-minute elevator ride and then fifteen minutes were arguing with the demon that ran the front desk. The whole time Hermione had been getting angrier and angrier. At this rate, she was liable to storm into Draco's office and scream at him for knocking her up.

Hermione passed the last row of desks when Draco, sitting on the large sofa in his office, looked up at her then back down at his papers. Then back up at the witch now storming into his office.

Hermione slammed the door closed behind her.

"Your receptionist is a god damn pain in my arse." Hermione snapped as Draco dumped the papers he was reading onto the sofa beside him.

He looked bemused as he watched Hermione straighten her blouse and try to compose herself. As she breathed out a deep sigh, Draco said,

"Let me guess you told her you didn't have an appointment." Hermione huffed at him. "Agatha is good at her job, but she's a bit of a stickler for the rules."

"Yes, well. She may have just called security on me."

Draco snorted but remained seated.

"Is there something I can help you with, Hermione?" He asked, his voice silky smooth and his eyes watching her closely.

Hermione felt his eyes travel the length of her body, and it made a shiver run up her spine. No, she told herself, you are most definitely not here for that.

Hermione needed to tell him. She needed to just spit it out. She chewed her lip.

Draco watched Hermione curiously, he had not been expecting the witch to contact him at all after New Years and, despite his offer, he had most certainly not expected her to show up in his office. She fidgeted and then turned to the closed door, flicking the muggle locking mechanism. Draco's eyes widened further when she flicked her wand, and the blinds in Draco's office snapped closed.

Hermione took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Oh god, oh god. Ok, just say it. She psyched herself up and went to sit on the small armchair opposite Draco.

"I, uh-" She said and then shook her head.

No, that felt wrong. Hermione stood up again and paced. She ran her hands nervously over the black pencil skirt she'd decided to wear this morning. She'd wanted to look professional, but as Draco's eyes roamed downwards, following her hands and then back towards her buttocks, Hermione suddenly doubted her choice. She should have worn her frumpy jumper and joggers. That would have actually made her feel comfortable. She was too bloated and her breasts too tender. The bra she'd put on was the only one that worked with her current soft pink blouse, but from the way her nipples ached she wished she'd gone for something else. The joy of pregnancy, she thought sarcastically, she was maybe six weeks pregnant and already miserable. If she even was pregnant. Six positive tests later, and she was still nervous.

"Hermione." Draco interrupted her pacing and nervous in-brain rambling. His pupils had dilated, and he was watching her with a gaze Hermione now knew too well. "If you tell me you're not wearing knickers under that skirt…"

He trailed off, but Hermione snatched the tissue box off the table between them and threw it at him.

"I didn't come here to sleep with you, Draco!" She snapped.

That's what got them into this mess. Draco chuckled as he caught the small box.

"That's a shame." He said, more to himself.

Hermione let out a breath and sat down again. Just do it, she told herself. Draco watched her as she twisted her bracelet nervously and eventually sunk her head into her hands. Her elbows still resting on her knees. Hermione pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes and groaned. Draco sat up, more alarmed at her demeanour now that he wasn't thinking about getting under her skirt. Or he was still thinking about getting under her skirt but didn't think now was precisely the time, not when she muttered to herself,

"Ok. Ok. You can do this. God." And pulled herself upright. She took one final deep breath just as Draco opened his mouth to ask if she was feeling alright.

"I'm pregnant." She said, staring at his face.

Draco didn't react. At all. His face was completely impassive.

"Draco," Hermione said, not sure if she'd broken the man. "Did you hear me?"

Draco didn't move. He didn't blink. Hermione actually got concerned after a moment.

"Draco," she said louder. "I'm-"

He finally moved. Sinking his head into his hands almost in the exact manner Hermione had. He stayed like that for a moment then muttered.

"Ok. Ok. Oh, gods. Ok." He pulled his head up and looked at Hermione, his eyes wide and round like a startled animal.

"Oh, gods." He said again as he looked at her confused face.

Draco stood up. Then sat down again. He lifted one hand to his face and chewed his thumb nervously. Hermione waited, wanting to give him time to process. She'd had almost twenty-four hours of confirmation not to mention the two days of worry before that to come to grips with the idea. There had been anger, denial, a lot of crying and an entire box of biscuits offered by the traumatised Harry. She had already done a whole lot of processing, and she wasn't sure if she was even at acceptance yet. She'd just thrown a bombshell on Draco on a Monday afternoon. She understood if it took him a few minutes.

Draco stood up again. He paced, then walked behind his sofa and leaned, both hands gripping the back of the sofa tightly as he hung his head and breathed.

Finally, he looked up, that terrified look still in his eyes.

"You're pregnant." He didn't phrase it as a question, but Hermione nodded anyway. "And I'm-?"

He didn't finish the question; his voice broke into a high pitch, strangled noise as he looked at her.

"Yes." She said, "You."

Draco took another deep breath.

"Oh, gods." He said again. He stood up straight and ran a hand through his hair, ruining his perfect hairstyle and reminding her of the Draco she'd known intimately.

"That was sort of my reaction." Hermione shrugged.

Draco looked back at her as if realising, finally, that this was Hermione, another human being, telling him this news. He took a nervous step towards her, then stopped.

"Are you…" He hesitated, and Hermione wondered if he thought he'd offend her. "Are you sure?"

Hermione wasn't offended. She would ask the same thing in his position. Actually she had, making Ginny check the tests multiple times regardless of the fact she knew they were all positive.

"Sure I'm pregnant or sure you're the father?" Hermione asked.

Malfoy's eyes went wider, something she hadn't thought possible and she wondered which of the versions he hadn't contemplated yet.

"Both?" He admitted, wincing at his own answer.

"As for the second part," she said, getting the easiest one out of the way first, "if I am pregnant then yes, you are the father. As for the first... I've taken six pregnancy tests; all have come back positive."

Hermione paused, stammering over the rest of her speech.

"I've booked an appointment at St Mungo's tomorrow. I, uh, that's why I came to tell you today, in case you wanted to come."

Draco's eyes actually softened a bit. He walked around the sofa and sat down again.

"Yes." He said, "Of course, I want to come."

Hermione looked up at him, she'd half been expecting him to throw her out of his office and refuse to ever see her again.

"You do?" She asked. The surprise slipped into her voice, making Draco frown.

"Of course." Then he considered her face, "Do you… do you not want me there?"

Hermione's eye widened this time.

"No," she said quickly, "I want you there, I…"

She trailed off, not knowing what to say. She didn't want to offend Draco by telling him she'd thought he might hate her guts the second she told him. Draco, however, seemed to understand her hesitation.

They lulled into silence. To be honest, Hermione hadn't prepared for this part of the conversation. She'd spent so much time psyching herself up to just tell him she hadn't considered what the rest of the conversation might entail.

Draco flopped back, sinking into the sofa and stared at the ceiling for a few moments, then he snorted and flashed her a brief smirk.

"Six tests?" He asked, showing the most idiotic masculine side of him. "One for each time we…?"

"Don't be so vulgar." She groaned, looking at his face and wishing she had another tissue box to throw at him. "You're bloody proud of yourself for that, aren't you?"

Draco smirked again, relaxing a little into the cushions.

"Bloody right." He muttered.

Hermione wrinkled her nose at him, but she couldn't bite back the laugh. She caught Draco's eye, and he sniggered. It was ridiculous. They both snorted and laughed until Hermione wiped tears away from her eyes. Draco too slowly calmed, and when the last few breathy chuckles died off, giving way to breathy murmurs of concern. They both sat across from each other sinking back into the seriousness of the situation.

"Six tests?" Draco breathed, this time entirely without the amusement or pride.

"All positive," Hermione confirmed.

Draco looked up, staring at the ceiling. Hermione didn't mind the silence, it could be worse, he could be yelling. She let him think for a few minutes, not unlike what she'd done the day before at the Potter's cottage. Thousands of scenarios had run through her head. Was this real? Was she ready to have a child? What would Draco say?

She'd eaten the entire box of biscuits and sobbed into the sofa cushions. Harry and Ginny had patiently let her work through her tears. Afterwards, Harry, of course, had had a lot of questions. Most of them focused less on the child she now carried but on 'why did you sleep with Malfoy of all people?', to which she didn't really know. She couldn't explain it to him, but thankfully, despite his utter shock, Harry hadn't been mad at her.

The silence of the office was broken by Draco again a few moments later.

"How?" He asked, frowning to himself.

Hermione pulled herself up and sat straight again.

"I've got a few theories." She said, and Draco looked at her expectantly. "One: the contraceptive charm didn't work because I was really, really drunk when I cast it. Two: it didn't work because I cast with a different wand than my own. Three: the spell was cast perfectly, and we were just the lucky idiots that it didn't work for. They're not 100% effective."

Draco grunted.

"Four:" he added, "I spilt fire whisky on you just as you were casting the charm, messing up your concentration."

Hermione sighed; she'd forgotten about that.

"Five: it's a combination of some or all of the above." She finished.

"And the likelihood we'll ever find out?" He asked. The despondent note in his voice already knowing the answer.

Hermione held up her hand in a fist, "A big fat zero."

"The likelihood those tests were wrong, and you're not pregnant?"

"There's a 1% chance of a false positive for muggle tests and about a 0.3% chance for wizarding tests." She told him.

Draco snorted.

"Sounds like congratulations are in order to me."

Hermione shrugged. She personally agreed, the likelihood of them finding out she was in fact not pregnant tomorrow was incredibly low.

"We'll know for sure tomorrow." She said softly.

Draco nodded. He opened his mouth then closed it again. He looked at her and then shook his head.

"Ask, Draco." She murmured, "I won't get offended, you can ask me anything you want."

He still hesitated.

"Are you… Do you think you'll keep it?"

Hermione looked down at her stomach. She knew abortion was rare in wizarding society, but she didn't blame him for asking. She had considered it. For only a moment before a painful panic had torn at her heart and she knew she couldn't do it. She'd wanted a child before, she'd thought she was ready, and it hadn't happened. Maybe the circumstances around this baby's entrance into the world wouldn't be perfect, but Hermione put on hand protectively on her stomach.

"Yes." She said firmly, "I'm keeping it."

She looked at Draco, trying to decipher his emotions at that moment. She couldn't, only that he watched the way she smoothed her hand over her stomach as she spoke.

"I don't…" Now she was the one nervous about offending him. "I don't expect you to be present if that's not what you want."

Draco's eyes flashed up to her face, narrowing slightly and Hermione added quickly

"But I'd be happy if you did. If you do want to be there."

"Yes," Malfoy said just as firmly.

Hermione's heart clenched a little at his answer. She had been terrified of the outcome, and although she was prepared to do this on her own, she wanted any child she had to know their father. She hated the idea of them growing up being in the same world as their father but never being able to acknowledge the relationship.

Oh gods, she thought. When had this all become so real to her? This wasn't just about doctors and appointments and pee sticks anymore. They were talking about a baby. A very real human baby. Hermione breathed in deep.

Merlin, she'd be a mother.

"Have you ever considered being a father before?" Hermione asked as she processed her own emotions at the realisation that motherhood was in grasp.

As soon as she said it, she worried she'd done the wrong thing. Draco's eyes widened again, and the blood drained out of his already pale face.

"Oh, god." He said, standing up again sharply and pacing. "I didn't think of that."

Hermione frowned.

"You thought about the child, but you didn't actually consider the fact you'd be a dad."

Hermione could have smacked herself; she'd literally just had this realisation about herself. And it had hit her like a brick. She watched Draco nervously, feeling bad she'd pushed it on him so soon after he'd found out she was pregnant. She needed to slow down and let him process. His eyes darted to her and confirmed that no, he hadn't actually considered that he would be raising a child. Draco sank onto the sofa again.

"I'd be a father." He said, and something clicked in Hermione's brain. She was talking to the man whose own father had raised him to be a Death Eater and was now in prison. "I'd be a dad."

Draco groaned and put his head in his hands, his face turning a pale shade of green.

"Draco?" Hermione said, getting up and kneeling in front of him. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Draco shook his head.

"I think," he said, pausing to gag. "I think I'm going to be sick."

Hermione looked around, and she quickly grabbed the small metal bin next to Draco's desk and rushed back to him. She stuck it in between his legs just as Draco's middle contracted and he vomited into the bin. She pushed his hair out of his face and rubbed his back as he continued to empty his stomach.

Hermione wrinkled her nose and muttered to herself,

"I thought I was meant to be the one to get morning sickness."

Malfoy, mid-puke started what sounded like a coughing fit. One of his large hands found her thigh, clenching it tightly as he wheezed.

"Sorry." She mumbled, "Too soon?"

Draco, still hugging the bin, coughed again. Although this time she thought she heard a hint of a laugh.

"Too soon, Hermione. Way too bloody soon."

She rubbed sympathetic circles on his back. It was rather intimate, yet it didn't feel strange. Which then made her feel strange, and she was about to pull her hand away when the door unlocked and Blaise burst in.

He looked at Hermione, his eyes widening, then shifted to Malfoy who remained clinging his barf bucket.

"Blimey, Granger," Blaise said, looking at the pair. "What have you done to Draco?"

When Hermione floo'd back to her flat an hour later, she found Harry sitting on her sofa.

"Hey," she said, dropping her belongings on the coffee table and smiling at him.

"Hey." He replied, "I, uh, wanted to make sure you were ok."

Sitting on the sofa, Hermione leaned and put her head on Harry's shoulder.

"I'm alright." She said.

"And everything went… ok?"

Hermione shrugged,

"I think so."

Honestly, she wasn't sure. How was telling the man you'd had a one-night stand with that you were pregnant meant to go? It wasn't a conversation she'd ever planned on having with anyone, even less so with Draco Malfoy. The whole thing still felt pretty surreal.

"How did Malfoy take the news?" Harry asked, tensing a little under her, and Hermione realised her friend had been genuinely worried about her.

"He vomited." She said.

"Eugh." Harry said with a snort, "Seriously?"

Hermione lifted her head off his shoulder and nodded,

"Yes, but he actually took it pretty well, Harry."

Harry frowned and looked like he didn't really believe her. Hermione shoved his leg.

"I'm serious. He didn't yell or shout or call me names. He was shocked and had a bit of panic when he realised he was going to be a father, but otherwise, he was ok."

"Really?"

Hermione sighed and lied down, putting her head on the couch arm so she could still look at Harry.

"Yes. I'm surprised too." Hermione twiddled her hands, awkwardly, "He said he wanted to be there, you know, for the baby."

Harry raised his eyebrows,

"He didn't ask you to marry him, did he?"

Hermione lifted her head and yelped,

"Harry! What?"

Harry shrugged,

"I don't know, 'Mione. Purebloods are weird like that. They can barely wrap their heads around sex before marriage, I don't know how they'd feel about a baby out of wedlock."

Hermione dropped her head back and looked at the roof.

"Blimey." She said.

He was right, Purebloods and most wizards were pretty old school. Mrs Weasley had been ecstatic that both Ron and Ginny had gotten married young, and their family was considerably 'modern' when it came to dating and sex. Hermione wondered if Draco had considered it. There was no way in hell she would say yes of course, but she wondered. Malfoy was the head of his family with Lucius in Azkaban. Hermione didn't know what Narcissa was doing now, but it had been years since she'd been seen in Britain. Hermione supposed these were things she should ask Draco if they were meant to be having a child together.

"What did he say, then?" Harry asked, patting her legs.

"The usual stuff to begin with, I suppose," she said, counting them off on her fingers. "How, are you sure, am I the father, do you want to keep it, are you sure again."

Hermione dropped her hands.

"Then, he vomited."

Harry couldn't stifle his laugh.

"Harry, stop!" Hermione laughed too, "Then Blaise burst in, and I had to explain to security that I hadn't poisoned their boss."

Harry roared as Hermione detailed to him how she had broken into Malfoy Industries, then how Malfoy had had to stop her from being dragged out by his security. Which had at least stopped him from vomiting any more.

"Then I explained to Blaise that you know… about the baby stuff and he, of course, thought it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. He started teasing Draco about it until I shoved him out of the room again."

Harry wiped the tears leaking from his eyes.

"Seriously Harry, Draco was turning green. I thought he was going to start vomiting again."

"I didn't think I'd ever feel sorry for Malfoy but gods, Hermione, I thought you said it went well."

"It did!" She said defensively.

"Security almost dragging you out of the building was 'well'?" He teased her.

Hermione looked at him and said,

"At least it wasn't because I was pregnant. I was worried Draco would throw me out the second I told him."

Harry gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Did you manage to talk about anything after that?"

Hermione nodded,

"Yes, not a lot but I told him about the appointment at St Mungo's tomorrow, and he said he wanted to come. He said he wanted to come to all the appointments." Hermione chewed nervously on her fingernail again, "He seemed serious about being a part of all this. Not just for after the baby is born."

Her voice rose in pitch, surprised and a little alarmed at the prospect.

"Are you ok with that?" Harry asked, voice dropping back down to a serious tone.

"I'm not going to keep his child from him, Harry," Hermione said.

"That's not what I meant," Harry said, "are you going to be ok dealing with Malfoy regularly for what, the next twenty years. You'll share a child- it's one of those things that bind people together."

Hermione sighed; it was a huge step. She'd thought it was a big step when she'd first snogged him. Sex with Malfoy was never something she'd even contemplated let alone having her life entwined with his.

"Yes." She said, "I think so anyway. He's… he is different now, not like when we were young, and well, I want this child to grow up with a father if possible. Draco is… he seems like a good man, so I'm willing to give him a chance."

"You sound fond of him, Hermione," Harry said.

She was, she discovered surprisingly. She liked talking to Draco, which was insane considering their past interactions. He wasn't the arrogant boy she'd met in Hogwarts, and part of Hermione thought it was because Lucius wasn't around to influence him anymore. They had been so incredibly young during the war; Hermione hated the fact that so many children had been impacted by it. Trying to navigate their adult life now was messy. Half the people they knew had family on Voldemort's side or had someone who had died during the war. At least, Draco had tried to make amends. A lot of people who hadn't publicly been Death Eaters but certainly profited from Voldemort's reign had simply slunk back into the shadows again.

"I am," Hermione said quietly. A terrible thought flashed through her mind, and before she could stop herself, she smirked at Harry. "Maybe my feelings are confused because we slept together, the man is an actual god in the sack."

"Hermione!" Harry shouted, jumping up from the couch and blocking his ears. "NO! Don't ever talk like that ever again!"

Hermione laughed, clutching her stomach and rolling on the sofa.

"You don't think I have to hear about you?" She said, "Ginny is complete over-sharer."

"Uh." Harry groaned, and ran away from her to the kitchen.

"Hey, Potter." She called from the sofa, sitting up to watch him. "Did you know that you can use custard to-"

"No!" He yelled, pointing his finger at her, "No, no, no, no, no!"

Hermione went after him, regaling Harry with terrible things he never wanted to know until he snatched a biscuit off the bench and stuffed it in Hermione's mouth.

Hermione paced anxiously in the corridor of St Mungo's third floor. She was waiting at the central nurse's station that separated the maternity ward on the left and the plants and potions poisoning ward to the right. Her own appointment wasn't for another ten minutes, but she and Draco had agreed to meet there, and he was already five minutes late.

She bounced on the balls of her feet, and one of the nurses watched her carefully. She probably thought Hermione had ingested a Bouncing Bulb. The elevator dinged and Hermione let out a sigh as Draco, looking as well dressed as ever and a dark scowl on his face, stepped out.

His face relaxed as he saw her.

"Hi." He said, dipping his head and kissing her on the cheek. "Sorry, I'm late. Blaise decided he had to come along. I left him with Mrs Potter downstairs."

Hermione was startled by his affection and gently touched her cheek where he'd pressed his lips. She stopped and nervously avoided eye contact when one of the young nurses stared openly at them. An older nurse bumped her young companion, sternly hissing something in her ear. Hermione hoped her she was reminding her about hospital confidentiality protocols, the last thing they needed was the Prophet popping out of nowhere and asking questions about the baby she wasn't 100% even existed yet.

"Ginny's here?" Hermione suddenly asked, snapping back to what Draco was saying.

"Yes," Draco frowned, "I take it she knows? Blaise certainly seemed pleased to see her."

Hermione nodded; she hadn't informed him about her role in the pregnancy tests yet.

"Oh," she said, "Harry knows too."

Draco sneered, looking a lot like he did years ago when anyone mentioned harry.

"Great." He muttered.

"Hey," she said, fixing him with a stern glare, "Harry is my best friend. You'd bloody well learn to deal with him."

Malfoy glared back at her for a moment before huffing and mumbled,

"I can get along with Potter fine, I just don't want him in my personal business."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Currently, your personal business is inside of me, and Harry is part of my life. Ergo, it's his business if I feel the need to make it his business."

Malfoy looked away, annoyed, but Hermione refused to back down. If they were really doing this, and it seemed like they were, she wasn't going to let him be a prat to her friends. They were stuck in each others lives now, and there needed to be guidelines when it came to how they dealt with those boundaries.

Finally, Draco nodded.

"Fine." He said, "I can live with that."

Hermione smiled, look at that they weren't a complete disaster.

"If it makes you feel better, I didn't mean to tell him. He sort of walked in when Ginny was helped me with the pregnancy tests." She said, "It didn't seem like a good time to lie when he's going to notice something like that pretty soon."

Draco snorted.

"No, I guess not." He conceded.

They lulled into silence then Hermione remembered why they were there. Her heart rate jumped nervously.

"Ahh," she said, pointing down the hallway where the 'Maternity and Paediatric Ward' sign hung. "Are you ready?"

Draco gulped, looking as nervous as she felt. Hermione was pretty sure the older nurse at the desk noticed and flashed her a kindly smile.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Draco said.

They walked down the hall to the maternity waiting area and sat in the corner. Hermione couldn't help it, she stared at the other women in the room. They were only four, all in various stages of pregnancy and two with little children sitting next to them or on the floor as they played with wooden blocks. She was staring. She should stop staring. Hermione swallowed hard. If she really was pregnant, which honestly was the likely outcome of their appointment, she would eventually look like these women. Their round stomachs hanging heavily as the women smiled and talked to their children. Hermione's stomach too would grow round and distend in the same manner, making room for her unborn child. Would she rest her hand protectively on it as they did?

"Alright, Hermione?" Draco nudged her arm, "You're staring."

Hermione shook herself and looked at Draco.

"Sorry, I, uh." She stuttered, "It's just…"

"Yeah." He said, looking at her stunned face and understanding exactly what she was feeling in the moment.

"Merlin." She breathed and leant in the seat.

This was really real. They were at a hospital. Waiting for a healer. A healer who would tell them if their whole world was about to change. This was a huge moment, and it all came crashing down on her. She'd been more concerned about whether Draco would show up.

"What are we going to do?" She said, her eyes bugging and her foot tapping against the chair leg. She suddenly understood Draco's reaction yesterday. Her stomach was doing backflips as her mind raced.

Draco placed a hand on her back, mimicking the rubbing motion she had done for him yesterday.

"Breathe, Hermione." He said, "First, you're going to breathe."

"Breathe. Right. I can do that."

She could tell Draco was trying not to laugh at her as she gulped in deep breathes and let them out slowly. Once she'd done that a few times Draco continued, his voice insanely calm in contrast to her hyper-anxious state.

"Second, we're going to wait for the doctor."

"Wait for the doctor. Got it." Hermione said, her breathing slowly returning to normal.

"Third…" Draco trailed off. "Third we, ah…"

"Panic?" Hermione suggested.

"Quit it, Granger." He grumbled, then flashed her a victorious smirk. "Third: when in doubt, go to the library."

Hermione snorted then actually contemplated it. The library. Of course, how had she not thought of that? Indeed, it was more likely she should go to the bookstore.

"Right." She said, nodding and Draco's face dropped. "You know Flourish and Blotts has a whole section on magical children. I bet there are loads of books on magical pregnancies too. Maybe I could-"

Draco groaned,

"You know," he said, "I'd almost forgotten you were such a know-it-all."

"I'm not!" She said, "Clearly I need to brush up on my knowledge about pregnancy, I'm completely unprepared. I wonder if Flourish and Blotts has any books about-"

"Granger?" The call came from across the room.

"Thank god," Draco muttered, already dreading the tangent Hermione had started.

Hermione, now feeling a lot calmer and even more like herself at the prospect of research, looked up to see a middle-aged woman with auburn hair and a soft face in healer robes.

"Yes," Hermione said, getting up and crossing the room to greet the woman.

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Granger," she said, "I'm Healer Andrews, but you can call me Linda."

Hermione smiled; she liked this healer. She had a genuine smile and bright, cheerful green eyes.

"You can call me Hermione," she said tugging Draco, who was practically hiding behind her. "This is Draco Malfoy."

"Of course," Linda beamed at him, "and are you here as support or father-to-be, Mr Malfoy?"

Draco hesitated for a few seconds as if suddenly having this actually be a real medical question had thrown him. Hermione watched as he gulped slowly, then the confident business man's mask fell into place. He shook Linda's hand.

"Father." He said, one hand gently touching Hermione's lower back reassuringly. "Please, call me Draco."

Linda nodded and smiled, gesturing them into a room.

Hermione hopped up onto the small exam table that Linda indicated to, and Draco sat on the stool next to her. He, to her surprise, tugged her arm to him and slipped his large hand around hers. It was pleasant, a small gestured, but she felt a lot more connected to him. Or maybe he was just nervous and needed to know she wasn't about to bolt on him. Either way, she didn't pull away from him.

"So," Linda said, "You think you're pregnant?"

Hermione nodded.

"Have you done a pregnancy test yet?" she asked, a quill perked up on her desk, and as a clipboard with parchment floated toward it, it began scribbling notes.

"Yes," Hermione said.

"Six," Draco smirked. Hermione flashed him a warning look.

"All positive," Hermione said.

Linda nodded, and the little quill scribbled that down too. It paused, nib pointed towards Hermione as Linda asked whether she'd used muggle or wizarding tests as if it was watching her curiously. Hermione told her she'd used both. Draco looked at her curiously, and Hermione realised he probably had no understanding of muggle medical knowledge. So far it actually hadn't been that different, and just from the question, Hermione wondered two things about Linda. How much she knew about Hermione and Draco and also if she too was muggleborn.

After the initial questions were done, Linda flicked her wand and floated two vials and a medical tray to her. Setting them out on the trolley next to her, she smiled at Hermione.

"Let's get this bit out of the way first shall we. This is a potion to detect hCG in your blood. It's similar to the pregnancy tests at the apothecary, but it is more accurate and doesn't take as long. I'll also draw some blood so that we can send off for a complete blood screening if you are pregnant. There's a complete list of what we test for and why in a pamphlet I'll give you to take home later."

Hermione nodded, and Draco took the pamphlet that floated towards him and poked his cheek. Linda didn't seem to notice as she continued to ask Hermione questions.

"When was your last menstruation, dear?"

"10th of December," Hermione said.

"And when were you expecting to start again?"

"Around the sixth."

Linda picked up a small needle, and with a 'this might pinch a little' inserted it into Hermione's arm. With another flick of her wand, the blood pooled out effortlessly into the awaiting empty vial. Then she picked up the vial containing the potion and filled it with the rest of the way to the top. While she attended to the needle and pressed a cotton bud to Hermione's arm with a 'press down on this, dear' the little vial shook itself.

Draco's eyes followed it nervously.

Linda, settled back in her chair while the potion floated in the air. She smiled kindly at the two clearly nervous individuals and said.

"Now, that will take a minute until it reacts, but I'd like to take a moment to ah… address the elephant in the room."

Hermione looked away from the vial and watched Linda. Draco, although reluctant to stop staring at the small vial slowly did the same when Hermione clenched his hand. Linda crossed her legs.

"I am aware of who you both are," she said clearly and confidently while maintaining a professional attitude, "It's rather hard not too, you're both in the papers regularly enough."

She spoke kindly, but Hermione still tried not to blush, remembering the last few mentions she'd had in the Prophet.

"However, St Mungo's has a very clear patient confidentiality agreement. Nothing you say or anything we discuss will ever leave this room."

Hermione let out a small breath.

"Thank you." She said, even though she expected nothing less, it was nice to hear it. Draco smiled at Linda and nodded politely.

"I will also be seeing your pregnancy through however you decide to proceed so if you ever have any questions or concerns you may contact me directly."

A small business card shot off the desk and bumped Draco's hand. He plucked it after the second bump. Linda didn't seem to notice it; she was now looking at the hanging vial.

"Ah," she said, "it appeared to be turning a nice purple."

Hermione gulped. Draco squeezed her hand.

"What does purple mean?" He asked hesitantly.

"Pregnant." Hemione and Linda said at the same time.

Hermione and Draco both let out a small.

"Oh."

That was it, she thought. No doubt now. Not that the six other positive tests really left any doubt, but it felt different with the healer's confirmation. She really was pregnant. There was a tiny human inside of her. Both Hermione and Draco sat in stunned silence for a few minutes. Linda, who Hermione was beginning to believe was a darling of a human being, stepped out under the guise of getting them some tea.

"Oh," Hermione repeated. "Wow."

"Huh," Draco grunted.

Slowly they both turned and looked each other in the eye.

"This is…" she trailed off.

"Big." Draco finished. "Life-changing kind of big."

"Yeah." Hermione breathed, and they sat in silence for a few moments, just holding each other's hand.

Draco seemed to come to his senses or at least his ability to speak first.

"I think I have a couple amendments to the steps."

"Oh," Hermione said, half expecting him to announce step three would be him running for the hills. "Ok."

Draco looked at her.

"Step three," he said, "I'm going to kiss you now."

That shocked Hermione out of her stupor.

"Why?" She asked, bemused at his response.

Draco shrugged.

"I have no idea. I just want to, and I think it'll make me feel better."

"Oh, ok," Hermione said.

Draco moved quickly. She'd almost thought he was joking until he dropped her hand and clasping her face in his hand his lips pressed firmly against hers. She returned the kiss with vigour, hands grabbing his face, and her lips parting to let him push the kiss further. He snogged her hard at first then relaxing his hands on her cheeks his kiss gentled until he was only just brushing his lips against hers and his forehead touched her own.

"Better?" She asked when she could breathe again.

"Mmm," he said, "A little."

Slowly he released her and sat back in his stool. She brushed her lips with her fingers, they still tingled with his touch. It had been unexpected but enjoyable, somehow the way it made her heart race stopped the panicked butterflies in her stomach that had begun swarming upon seeing the purple vial.

"Any more of those steps you'd like to add?" She asked breathy and dazed.

Draco snorted at her,

"Yes." He said, "Step four: you are going to ask that poor woman an incessant number of questions while I get progressively more and more annoyed about listening to them."

Hermione smiled, but he continued.

"Step five: We go to Flourish and Blots and raid their pregnancy section."

That earned him a full-blown grin and Hermione was tempted to lean down and kiss him again when a tap at the door announced Linda's return.

"How are we doing?" She asked, handing each of them a small paper cup of hot tea.

"Good," Hermione said, and for the first time she actually meant it, she glanced briefly at Draco. "I think."

He nodded. Linda crossed her legs.

"Good then." She said, "Now if you would like, we can discuss your options."

She paused briefly; the message clear but Draco shook his head.

"We're keeping it." He said firmly.

Linda inclined her head but looked to Hermione for confirmation. She nodded, possibly too vigorously.

"All right then." Linda smiled, "Let's talk babies."

The smile on her face was amused and excited. Hermione liked it, babies it seemed where Linda's passion.

"Now you said your last menstruation was on the 10th, correct?" Linda said, glancing at her notes. Hermione nodded. "Do you have any idea about the date of conception?"

"The 22nd." Hermione and Draco both said instantly.

Linda looked up from her notes, her patients didn't often know the exact date although usually they were married couples. Linda, despite being a professional, couldn't help the tiny eye-widening and 'oh' of realisation.

Draco snorted, and Hermione twiddled her thumbs awkwardly. All of them were thinking about the rather incriminating article, and accompanying photos, published by the Daily Prophet on the 23rd of December, the day after the Malfoy Christmas Gala.

"So, I take it we all read the Prophet," Draco said, making all three glance nervously at each other and a laugh caught in their throats.

"I assure you, Mr Malfoy, I'm only surprised that they managed to print something factual. I usually prefer the Quibbler, but my sister is rather fond of the Prophet's Best Dressed section."

Hermione let out a little breath. As if it wasn't awkward enough half the wizarding world had seen evidence of their evening, soon they would find out about the… results of the encounter. Hermione personally hoped no one would manage to work out the dates.

"Speaking of dates," Linda said, double-checking her calculations, "I've got your expected due date."

Hermione's eyes went round, and she glanced at Draco. Due date. That put everything in a very orderly timeline. D-Day for their lives being completely turned upside down, although Hermione supposed that could also be considered today. Depending on how you look at it. Draco nodded at Hermione, and Hermione nodded at the healer.

"Ok, so you're expected date is the 14th of September. Remember that this is just an estimate and it will all depend on when baby is ready to come out. Magical pregnancies tend to be a little more unpredictable than muggle ones."

The 14th of September. It was incredibly real. Hermione understood deadlines, she'd lived by them during Hogwarts. She'd had all her OWLs and NEWTs scheduled, assignments, study sessions, exam revision. Hermione knew how to prepare; except she'd never really thought she would need to study for a baby.

She had, at one point, considered it. She and Ron had even discussed it. They'd agreed to try. Hermione knew, however, that she hadn't been ready. She'd later realised that even if she was prepared for a child, she hadn't been ready to have one with Ron. She hadn't read anything about conception, child-raising or pregnancy. She'd shied away from the topic, not asking questions or trying to learn about other women's experiences. She had a plethora of women who could have given her the answers she now lacked, but she hadn't wanted to know. Until now. Now she was going to need to know.

Hermione shifted, leaning at the edge off the table. She needed to prepare. To research and study. She wanted to learn, and if there was one thing Hermione was good at it was learning. Thankfully, Linda seemed ready for her. Recognising Hermione's determination to catch up on any missed time, she launched into her usually new-patient spiel.

As a healer, she informed them, she was specialised in maternity and paediatric care. She confirmed to Hermione there weren't nearly as many different names for the different areas of specialisation as in muggle medicine but that she was versed in all care when it came to mum and baby. She then laid out their schedule, they would be seeing Linda almost exclusively until closer to the due date and then meet the team that would likely be present for the birth. Hermione asked her at least seventeen different questions about when she would be getting check-ups, how to schedule them, what she needed to do before and after them, and how the check-ups worked compared to muggle ones.

Linda didn't seem in anyway fazed by the plethora of questions Hermione shot at her, even when Draco had rolled his eyes at her bouncing on the seat as she had done at Hogwarts. He expected her to start sticking her hand in the arm and waving it frantically. Step four was right on track. To make it worse every so often, Hermione would ask a question which would prompt another pamphlet to fly off the charmed shelf and managed, every single time, to poke Draco in the head before he could snatch it out of the air. Neither witch seemed to notice him waging war with the informational paper weapons as they were too far invested in their own medical questions.

He had to draw the line when Hermione began engaging the healer in debates about muggle medicine, of which Linda also knew a vast deal about. It had started with questions about pregnancy, but they were now discussing burn care.

"Granger," Draco growled as she detailed how muggles had almost developed ways to grow and reproduce skin cells and how if they could mimic that in magic…

"Huh?" she said, looking at him like she'd forgotten he was there.

"Could we stay on topic?" he said, nodding to her stomach.

Hermione looked down and then nervously laughed.

"Right." She mumbled, "Sorry."

Even Linda shuffled, likewise chastised when she realised, they were now definitely going over schedule and were eating into her lunch break. Still, she cleared her throat and brought them back on task.

"How about I give you a demonstration of the ultrasound magic?" She said, smiling.

Hermione's eyes widened.

"Really?" she said, "Is it advanced enough to see anything this early?"

Hermione had gotten distracted by the magic again, but Draco pressed a hand into hers, remembering why they were here and exactly what the ultrasound would show. Linda nodded as she stood up.

"Yes, there's not much, but we should be able to see something. Thanks to magic we can get a better image with transabdominal ultrasounds, no need for transvaginal unless something is of concern."

Hermione let out a little breathe of relief, Draco had been taking everything well so far she still wasn't sure she could face the idea of having to put her legs in stirrups in front of him. She'd try and keep that dignity until the baby was born if she could. Linda indicated for Hermione to lie back on the table and lift her shirt.

"It's just a wand incantation," she told Hermione, "but it might tickle your skin."

Hermione nodded, and Draco edged closer to her. Linda waved her wand intricately above Hermione then pressed it lightly on her lower belly. Instead of a monitor like muggles, the ultrasound projected in front of them hanging in the air. A grey blur was all they could see, then a small black oblong oval appeared somewhere in the middle. Linda focused on it and after a few adjustments pointed to something like a squiggly grey line in the middle of the black.

"That," she said, "is your baby."

Hermione looked awestruck, suddenly the magic of it wasn't the most incredible thing she'd ever seen.

"Oh, my god." She said, reaching out to touch the little grey image.

"It's just a tiny speck." Draco mused, unable to take his eyes from it.

"For now." Linda said, "It will grow quickly."

Linda flicked her wand in another pattern, and suddenly the image floating in the air solidified and shrunk. She plucked the photograph out of the air and handed it to him.

"I'm afraid we've run overtime," Linda said, smiling, "but do you have any more questions for me?"

Hermione actually looked stumped.

"Anything you think of, just write it down. You'll be back soon for your nine-week check-up."

Hermione nodded as she pulled down her shirt.

"Thank you." Hermione smiled and shook Linda's hand. "Oh, actually do you have any recommendations for some books to read?"

Linda nodded,

"Oh, I have a whole list if you're interested."

Hermione's eyes lit up, and Linda copied a piece of parchment with at least twelve books. Hermione took it gratefully and then turned to Draco. He was still sitting, the little photograph in his hand staring at it.

"Draco," Hermione said, "are you coming?"

"What?" he said, not looking up.

Hermione raised a bemused eyebrow and tugged at his shoulder. He barely glanced up as he let her lead him out of the room. Hermione thanked Linda again, and nudged Draco down the corridor. They were in the elevator, thankfully alone, when he finally looked at her. He showed her the photo again.

"Look at it, Hermione." He said, "Did you see it?"

Hermione quirked an eyebrow.

"Yes, Draco. I saw."

He let out a confused little hmm and Hermione laughed at him. The elevator door pinged as they reached the ground floor. She nudged him again to get him walking, but they were only a few metres away from the doors when they were stopped.

"There you are!"

"Finally!"

Blaise and Ginny popped up in front of them, both bouncing excitedly despite the fact this was not a planned or prepared for event.

"So?" Ginny said, looking between the two.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but Draco smirked and flashed them the ultrasound picture.

"Meet the Speck."

Hehe me again. I hope you liked this chapter, it may not have been exactly what you were expecting (or maybe it was, I don't know) but we've still got a whole bunch of twists and turns to go.

Next chapter will be up on Monday, I have to get my ass kicked by some assignments this weekend.

Nif.