Two days later found Hermione trying (and failing) to avoid Draco.

The first day he had been gone by the time she woke up, and it was well into the night before he made it home.

She had been conveniently holed up in her room by that time.

The second day was much harder, as she had to leave the house right after he did in order to make it to work on time. She had almost timed it right, but she rounded the corner just as he disappeared through the floo. Seeing his face sent butterflies all around her stomach, bringing back memories of his kiss.

That was why she was useless today - it had to be.

She sighed for the hundredth time before laying her quill down and deciding that it was time to call it quits. She stacked all the files she had laying on her desk up and moved them to the locked cabinet beneath her. Sitting back up she rubbed her stomach absentmindedly, wondering how long she could get away with keeping her pregnancy a secret.

Probably not much longer, she thought to herself. She already had to use glamours to keep it hidden and she really didn't want to have to keep that up for much longer. She knew she would have to suck it up and talk to Draco, but the mere thought of him brought a blush to her cheeks.

A knock at the door brought her out of her musings and she glanced down to make sure her stomach was hidden by her desk before she called for the person to come in.

She blinked several times as she stared at the blonde head that hovered in the doorway, looking more unsure than she had ever seen him look.

"I, uh, that's to say" he broke off with a shake of his head before stepping further inside and shutting the door behind him. "I figured if we want this to be believable then we'll have to be seen together and what man would let his pregnant fiancée travel home by herself." He finished with a shrug, a slight pink tinge to his cheeks.

She stared, not knowing what to say. No one had ever come to see her home and she couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that Draco Malfoy was the first person to do so.

All thoughts of embarrassment faded as she gave him a genuine smile before getting up and walking over to where he stood, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck in a tight hug. She felt his arms go automatically around her waist and she pulled back enough to look up at his face. "Thank you, Draco."

Why she had avoided him for the past days suddenly seemed silly, as if something as small as a kiss could make her afraid to be around this man.

His arms tightened around her and she laid her head on his chest, just underneath his collarbone. It felt right, being in his arms, and he made her feel like he would take care of every hard thing life would throw at her. She felt protected and cherished, and she wondered why she allowed herself to ever even mess with Ronald Weasley. He was nothing compared to the man who seemed able to do the very thing the red head couldn't - be there for her.

She pulled back and dropped her arms, missing his heat as he let her go and stepped back.

"I thought you were working until tonight?" She questioned, knowing he had told her that a few days ago.

He shrugged. "Nothing was going on and my supervisor felt bad that I had worked so much back to back. I think he was afraid I would mess something major up, but I'll take it. I'm exhausted."

And he was. Now that she looked at him he had bluish purple smudges under his eyes and he was paler than normal, sure signs that he had been going on not enough sleep. She grabbed his hand and picked up her bag from her desk before gesturing to the door and saying, "let's go home."

His tired smile warmed her heart and she kept her hand firmly wrapped up with his as the exited her office and made their way to the floo. She knew she'd come into a ton of questions the next morning, but it was hard to really care anymore. Soon everyone would know if her pregnancy and then would come news of who the father was.

Might as well get the rumors started early.

After they stepped inside the fireplace together and made their way to their home - the thought still foreign to Hermione - he softly grabbed her arm. "I'm sorry for the other night. I took it too far and made you uncomfortable."

She stared into his cool grey eyes and gave him a small smile. "And I'm sorry for avoiding you."

He gave her a grin before letting her arm go and she found that she once again missed the warmth that seemed to seep out of him.

"How about we change and cook some dinner?"

She grinned at that, never before actually cooking with a man. "Deal."

They trudged up the stairs, each tired but ready to spend some time together. The kiss from the other day hadn't been forgotten, but merely pushed to the back of her mind. Truth be told, it was a bit silly to be embarrassed about kissing the man who had pledged to protect her and her -their- baby. As she changed out of her work clothes she thought back and realized that the reason she had been so embarrassed wasn't the kiss itself, but rather the fact that she wanted more. She wanted more kisses and more than what they already had. She supposed deep down she felt a tad ashamed, after all it wasn't too long ago that she had thought she'd been in a committed relationship with another man.

Would people think she was loose? Especially when they knew she had gotten pregnant out of wedlock? They hadn't really spoken about marriage much after their initial conversation, though she knew he wanted to before the baby was born. Which meant that there wasn't actually a whole lot of time, as she was already a bit more than halfway through. She knew neither wanted a large ceremony, and to be honest she would be happy with it just being the two of them.

It was sad, but she really didn't have anyone important in her life anymore. Maybe she never really did, maybe they always belonged to Ron and she only got to enjoy those people while they were in each other's lives. Even if no one knew they were dating, they had always been close and even her friendship with Harry wasn't as strong as his with Ron. It seemed as if she was always the odd one out and it was nice to be on the inside instead of the outside looking in for once.

Pulling her unruly hair into a messy bun she left her room and made her ways downstairs to the massive kitchen that she guessed was rarely used.

Especially when she saw Draco looking around helplessly.

She must have laughed out loud because soon her turned towards her and gave her a sheepish grin. "I've never really cooked much, to be honest."

She laughed and walked up to him. "I haven't either, so we'll just have to make do with what we can."

Thankfully after some searching they found a frozen pizza that Draco proudly claimed that he had bought all by himself. She resisted the urge to pat him on the head like a child.

They popped the pizza into the oven and she stretched as they waited. The popping sound her back made prompted Draco to tell her to go sit down and relax; he could managed to make a frozen pizza on his own. Too tired to argue she agreed and found herself leaning back on the plush couch as she rubbed at her stomach.

She had begun feeling small kicks throughout the day, but hadn't felt any strong enough for anyone to feel besides her. Part of her loved the fact that she was able to experience something no one else could, but there was another part of her that wondered if Draco would like to feel the baby move.

"Your daddy might not even realize that he will eventually be able to feel you too." She murmured to her child, still rubbing circles overtop her t shirt.

"Who are you talking to?" She looked up to see Draco standing by the edge of the couch, peering at her curiously.

"The baby."

"Does he or she talk back?" He teased, knowing good and well that almost all expectant mother's talked to their unborn babies.

"Eventually." She said with a shrug before jumping slightly. "Draco! Come here!"

He furrowed his brows and came closer, standing right next to where she sat. She grabbed at his hand and placed it on her stomach, hoping that the baby would kick as hard as he or she had moments ago. Thankfully as soon as Draco's hand was pressed to her expanding belly the baby kicked again and his eyes flew to hers, shock written all over his face.

She smiled up at him and was surprised when he knelt down beside her and pressed his other hand to her stomach. The baby kicked once more and the look of awe on his face was enough to send her to tears, which she quickly tried to wipe away before he noticed.

"That's our baby in there." It was spoken so low she almost missed it, but she didn't and she moved one of her hands overtop one of his.

"It is." He looked up at her with an unreadable expression. She almost said something else when he rose and dropped a light kiss to the top of her head. "Thank you, Hermione."

That brought fresh tears, and she didn't even try to hide this this time. He wiped the ones that fell down her cheeks away before tugging her up and wrapping his arms around her, resting his head on top of hers.

She tucked her head under his chin and allowed his soft shirt to soak up her tears. She hoped he knew that they weren't tears of sadness, but rather tears of joy. Her heart felt constricted and she clung to him as she finally left herself believe that it would all be okay. She had never had anyone gaze at her the way Draco just had, and she refused to let anything or anyone come in between her and the man who's arms were wrapped tightly around her body.

After a few moments he pulled back and took her right hand in his and together they walked back to the kitchen to finish up their pizza.

It was so normal, but for that moment, life was perfect. She knew that there were a lot of hurdles that they would have to get through, and soon, but she didn't think about those things. She spent her whole life trying to always be once step ahead and now she just wanted to be in the moment. She just wanted to savor this feeling and lock it away so that she could keep it with her always.

Ron had broken her, but it seemed Draco was the glue that she needed to put herself back together.

.00.

This chapter was more fluffy transition rather than anything meaty, but we're getting there!

I'd like to hear what everyone thinks will happen once the wizarding world knows about Hermione and Draco. Do you think Ron will find out about the blood adoption?

Do you want him to find out? Let me know! :)

Until next time!

*Muah!*