A/N: So, I owe you guys an apology for this late chapter but I was so caught up in finishing my other story that I didn't have enough time or peace of mind to write this one. Sorry for that. :)
Draco walked back to his office lazily. His hours at the office passed by at a pace too slow for his liking. Blaise was walking next to him. With a distracted mind, he heard him complaining for the umpteenth time about Ginny. He had to exert a huge effort to stop himself from slapping some sense into Blaise's thick head.
If only he could hear himself speaking, he'd realize the problem was in him as much as it was in Ginny. Blaise simply didn't know what he wanted. He spent so much time pretending that he knew what he didn't and didn't want, when the truth was the complete opposite.
Blaise wanted Ginny, wanted more of her than he dared to admit. And Draco knew too well what it was like to want somebody against your own will. But it still didn't give Blaise an excuse to act like an emotional teenager. Draco knew his friend well enough and he wasn't the same person standing in front of him now.
The Blaise he knew was cool, poised, an absolute bastard and the only thing he felt was probably hunger. Aside from being the same bastard, nothing about him was still the same. His usual poker face was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was a constant intimidating scowl.
Draco passed by a huge mirror and he was surprised to see the same scowl on his own face. His mind drifted back to his own mess. Around a month ago he was experiencing that very same situation. But last time, he had to worry about how Hermione would react when she knew she wasn't pregnant. Now he couldn't tell whether or not she was pregnant.
Normally, she should be. Twenty one days have passed since he came back from the mission that took longer than expected. Hermione had tried to leave once more.
"Draco..I have to leave." she had surprised him with the sudden announcement as he lay in bed next to her, silently enjoying the aftermath of having her.
"Why? Why do you keep insisting?" he demanded exasperatedly.
"We've already talked about this. You said you'd help me when you come back from your mission. So, are you still going to help me?"
"I would..but it's too late now."
"Too late? Why so?"
"Because, aren't you worried that what just happened could have consequences?"
"Consequence..?"
"A baby, Hermione. You might very well become pregnant."
"We've talked about this before.."
"Yes we did, and I made it clear that I don't agree with you on that account."
"Draco, nothing is going to happen."
"But what if something does? Can you be one hundred percent sure nothing will?"
"No.." Hermione replied.
"Then stay, what harm could twenty one more days cause?"
A sharp poke stabbing his ribs brought Draco back to the present. His hand was hovering over the door handle and Blaise was urging him to open it or step back so he could open it himself.
"Idgy!" Draco exclaimed in surprise when he opened the door to find his house elf waiting for him inside the office.
"Master Draco." Idgy jumped in alarm at the sight of Draco.
"What is it? Why are you here?" Draco demanded.
Idgy opened her mouth to say something then she closed it again. She looked at Blaise for a moment then her eyes scanned the room. She went to the corner of the room and dragged one of the chairs, causing a terrible screech. She stopped the chair inches away from Draco and jumped to stand on it. Standing on the tip of her toes, she tried to whisper something into Draco's ear.
Draco bent his head down slightly, straining to hear Idgy's quickly spoken words.
"Miss Hermione told Idgy to find Master Draco. She wants Master Draco to come back to the Manor."
"Has something happened? Is she alright?"
"Idgy does not know, sir."
Without waiting to hear more, Draco darted out of his office with Idgy scurrying in his wake. He ignored Blaise's calls after him. The minute his feet touched the ground outside Walpurgis castle, Draco grabbed Idgy's hand and apparated back to the Manor. He opened the door to find Hermione standing idly, looking so tiny in the spacious hall.
"What happened?" Draco asked as he strode towards her.
"Nothing.." Hermione mumbled.
She cursed herself repeatedly in her head. When she had performed the pregnancy spell once more, she did it while already predicting the result. However, she couldn't help the streak of hope that whispered to her that this time she might actually be pregnant. She had spent her days wondering whether the problem was with her or Draco. But he seemed so confident. So sure that it was only a matter of time, and Hermione wished she had half his confidence.
Then a ray of green light came out of the tip of her wand, taking the form of a fetus before evaporating. Doubting that it was just a figment of her mind, Hermione performed the spell three more times. Feeling suddenly confused by the news, she didn't want to be alone in this. She needed a fragment of Draco's self-assurance that always made things seem so easy.
Sometimes, he'd argue with her for hours over something that's worrying her and Hermione would catch herself wondering what made it seem so complicated before. Despite herself, she had grown to seek the comfort he so willingly offered. Why he offered it, though, was still beyond her.
"Nothing, Hermione? Really? So you just sent Idgy to wait for me at the office because what? You felt lonely?" Draco barely controlled the anger in his voice.
"Umm...somehow. I mean..I performed the spell. The pregnancy spell." Hermione replied, tucking her hair behind her ear as she looked down at her feet. Suddenly regretting sending for Draco.
"And..?" Draco asked calmly, all traces of his anger gone.
"I'm pregnant." Hermione announced.
"And how are you feeling about it?" Draco prompted.
"I don't know." Hermione admitted, "It's what we've agreed upon."
"That doesn't really answer my question." Draco pursued.
"I'm...excited. I want to be a mother, I just don't know what to expect from now on. From people..from you-know-who. I don't know how things would go from here."
"I'd be lying if I said I know what we should expect." Draco admitted, "I have to pay the Dark Lord a visit and tell him about this. If we want to survive this then he can't simply find out on his own."
"How do you know he won't kill us both?" Hermione asked.
"There are laws, rules that even he has to abide by if he wants to maintain the control he has over the wizarding world." Draco replied, "He needs Death Eaters as much as they need him. If he starts taking their privileges away, he looses their conditional loyalty."
And there it was, Hermione thought. The calm assurance. The way he answered her question so matter-of-factly gave her the impression that nothing could possibly contradict his theory.
"I should go now." Draco said.
"So soon?" Hermione almost whimpered.
"The sooner the better. Aren't you fed up with being confined to the Manor already?" Draco asked.
"Yes, but..." Hermione agreed.
"Hermione," Draco cupped Hermione's face between his hands, "it will be alright." he promised.
Hermione nodded faintly. She closed her eyes as Draco pressed a chaste kiss to the bridge of her nose. She watched him leave, knowing that this time trusting Draco's words might cost her her life.
She watched the clock for too long. Her panic rose to dangerous levels by every passing minute. After three agonizing hours, Draco was back. His face looked paler than usual. His gaze kept eluding hers as if he was afraid of making eye contact with her.
"Should I be running for my life?" Hermione quipped.
"He wants to see you." Draco informed grimly.
Thirty minutes later, Draco's hand was on Hermione's elbow as he guided her through the several stairs and corridors of Walpurgis castle. People were staring at them in disbelief. Some of them thought Hermione was long dead. Some couldn't believe Draco actually managed to capture Hermione Granger. And some of them couldn't help but envy him the reward that he must expect for capturing her.
Draco stood before a huge wall-length door. "I really need you to trust me with this." he nearly begged.
The door opened. Obnoxious bastard, Hermione thought when her eyes fell on the huge throne-like chair that dominated the room. Nothing screamed megalomania more than the man sitting in front of her. She stopped abruptly in her tracks. A stab of pain seemed to run through her eyes and directly into her brain. Her thoughts were clouded and suddenly she couldn't think of anything anymore.
"Stop those bloody thoughts, Granger." Draco hissed at her out of the corner of his mouth.
"Oh, there she is! The brightest witch of her age." Voldemort greeted with mock admiration. "Step forward." he ordered.
Hermione hesitated for a moment before taking several steps forward. She raised her chin up, refusing to show any hint of the fear that grew inside her.
"Such an undeserved title. But it was inevitable. All that mud running through your veins had to eventually corrupt your mind." Voldemort spat disdainfully.
Hermione winced at the contempt the man's voice dripped. The longer she spent in his company the more certain she became that she wouldn't leave this room alive. She was no longer affected by being called a Mudblood. Hearing the same insult said over and over again until it became an everyday term, made it lose its ability to offend her.
"I have to admit, Hermione Granger, that I can't really tell. Were you extremely smart or just ridiculously lucky?" Voldemort glanced briefly at Draco, "I'll go with the second."
"It's a shame I'll have to disagree." Hermione blurted before she could stop herself. She heard Draco's sharp intake of breath indicating she had just done a mistake.
"You think so highly of yourself, Mudblood." Voldemort spat, "I'm glad I have to eliminate killing you. It would've been too easy for you. You're getting what you deserve. Hermione Granger, the girl who fought so relentlessly for Harry Potter...wife to a Death Eater and mother of one." he twisted his mouth in what looked like a sadistic smile.
"Crucio!" Voldemort roared suddenly, pointing his wand at Hermione.
Draco's hand closed tightly over Hermione's arm. He pulled her away from the red ray of light, seconds before it hit her. They both stood fixed in their places. Voldemort slowly tilted his head at Draco, questioning him silently.
"My lord," Draco bent his head slightly, "she has my child."
Voldemort bit out a short cruel laugh, "Lies, Draco." he hissed, "That's not all. You want the girl for yourself. But I don't mind that; I'm in a generous mood. Plus, you deserve your own spoils of war."
Voldemort stood up and made his way towards Draco and Hermione. He narrowed his eyes on Draco, standing one step away from him.
"Take her, Draco. But you should know from this moment on, if she becomes by any means affiliated with the insurgents, if she as much as greets anybody who is remotely related to them, she's dead. And you will do it yourself." Voldemort promised ominously.