The next morning, Draco woke up to an empty bed. After a moment, he remembered her words from the night before, and his half-awake brain first thought it had only been a dream because he had been halfway down the path to sleep when she told him about being pregnant. Where was she? He thought they could discuss it properly in the morning, once they were both awake once more. With a smile, he got up to get a coffee in the kitchen before he would start his day.

"He's not an idiot, Hermione," Pansy said, her voice coming from the kitchen as he approached it.

Hermione clicked her tongue. "He didn't even freak out. There was just silence, you know? Silence. And then he asked me to marry him. Just that."

"What did you expect?" Millicent asked, sounding bored.

"Just a few more questions, maybe some excitement. Maybe even some first discussion what we're going to do now. I'm pregnant, for Merlin's sake!"

"I know," Draco said from the door frame, smirking when the women in the room turned their heads towards him in surprise. "I heard what you said last night. And I can tell you it was a shock."

"But–"

"Hermione, come on, you've waited until I was basically asleep to tell me." He entered the kitchen and wandered to the counter with the cupboards to reach for a mug, sighing when he saw their sceptical faces. He needed his coffee before he could face their trial because that was what it felt like right now. "And you haven't answered my proposal yet."

Pansy scowled at him, while Hermione took a sip from her coffee, a piece of buttered bread untouched in front of her while she chewed on a piece of apple. "Romantic much?"

He scowled right back at Pansy. "Do you want me to kneel down and be poetic about it?"

"Drink your coffee, maybe then you'll come to your senses!"

Pansy's indignation—which was surely on Hermione's behalf—was unbearable before his first coffee. His proposal might have lacked the usual pomp, but it had been in earnest. Sure, he had been shocked to hear the news because he hadn't expected it, and it still seemed a bit like a dream now, but he wasn't going to back out now.

Pansy kept scowling at him while he emptied his first mug of coffee. "You... really. The biggest romantic I know and then you just... No." She shook her head in disbelief.

Draco didn't even respond to her remark, it wasn't worth the trouble, as they would end up in an argument if he took the bait. Instead, he turned around to refill his mug before he joined them at the table. "Look, Hermione, I love you with everything that en–"

"Yes."

Her interjection caught him off-guard, and he stared blankly at her while slowly sitting down on her side, opposite Pansy. "What?"

"My answer is yes."

His eyes widened, first in disbelief at what he had just heard, then in shock. He was unable to respond in the first moment; however, he managed to keep his mouth closed while staring at her. "Y-Yes?"

Hermione chuckled; her head leaned on her hand while she looked at him. "Yes." The previously wary expression had changed into one of love, softening her features and curling up her lips into a big, warm smile.

"Oh, come on, kiss her already, you idiot!" Pansy said, holding back a laugh. "Now that the damage is done..."

..

However happy they were in their tiny bubble, the town was in an uproar following the bomb explosion in the fascists' headquarters. In retaliation, everyone who had even slightest known connections to the local resistance group was arrested and at least interrogated—the rumours spreading through the town told of gruesome methods to get a confession of collaboration from those arrested. Those who could tried to flee the town; those who couldn't tried to hide from the fascists.

Even Draco was in trouble now, as Gruber had set his mind on catching him in the act, so to speak. Soldiers were following his every step through town, not the least bit covert about it. They were just waiting for him to make a mistake, and he had to be particularly careful whenever he left his place, and even more so when he returned to it.

When the fascists started to do mass arrests, he decided to drop his guard and act true to his beliefs, turning the café into a safe place for any townspeople trying to hide from the fascists. With every Repelling and Protection Charm he could think of, he hid his café in plain sight— officially, it was closed as there wasn't any business to be made with the fascists in full retaliation mode, but for the knowing, it was open as a hiding spot. And still, the numbers of those arrested increased, and fast.

It had taken him a long argument with the women hiding in his place, protected by the Fidelius Charm, to convince them to stay inside. He wasn't going to risk any of them being arrested, not Hermione, who was pregnant with his child, not Pansy, his oldest friend, nor Millicent, for Pansy's sake.

"Boss?" Martin pushed his head through the door to Draco's office one early afternoon, worry clearly written on his features.

"What is it?" Draco said, turning his attention from the ceiling he had just been staring at mindlessly to his employee.

"We have a problem."

Groaning from the sting in his neck muscles, Draco got up to follow Martin downstairs. Problems were all he had these days; it was a scarily thin line to walk these days in order not to be arrested. And with Gruber, it was just a question of when for Draco, not if.

"They are coming for you! Gruber wants you arrested!" It was the resistance member with the brown beret; he had been smart enough until now to escape arrest. He was on the verge of panic, pacing up and down in front of the stairs, waiting for them to join him. "Gruber knows about your spells and stuff to protect the café. He wants you!"

"Slow down," Draco said, finally reaching the landing. "What does he know exactly?"

"Everything! He knows that you protect it with spells, and that you use it to harbour those trying to get away! You have to leave; they are getting closer as we speak! And he has more of your kind with him!"

Draco had expected it, but not this soon. He was speechless for a moment, staring straight through the brown beret, while his ever-calculating mind was already working on a plan. For seemingly long seconds, he didn't respond in any way.

"Boss?" Martin asked after a few more seconds, shoving Draco to get his attention. "We need to leave–"

"I need to send a message. Resistance headquarters still standing?"

The brown beret nodded, his brows furrowed in confusion. "Not many left there to operate it, though..."

"A single person is already enough," he said before concentrating on Transforming essential parts of his looks. It had become second nature to use Transformation Spells, but casting them still required concentration if he wanted to get it right. Once done, he looked exactly like one of those older farmhands coming into town for the market. He went over to the bar to grab a pen and one of the note blocks Edith and Yvette worked with to scribble down a few things. "Martin, leave immediately. You and the girls can hide here if it gets worse. It's protected by the strongest spell, one they can't break. Tell them to think of the place when they stand in front of the address. Don't give it to anyone else, understood?"

"But-but, this is your address!" Martin cried out, nodding tentatively that he understood.

"Martin, if everything is going as I hope it will, then I won't come back. At least not until the war is over."

"This is goodbye then," Martin replied, putting the notes away, only to extend a hand for a shake.

"This is goodbye, yes." With a sense of apprehension and a sinking heart, Draco accepted the hand. He would never admit it, but he was going to miss his barkeeper and the girls. If they made it through the war alive, he would come back and find them.

..

When they left the building through the secret exit, Draco could already hear the soldiers in the nearby streets, and he felt his adrenaline rise instantly. It had been a narrow escape, and he didn't want to imagine what he would have done just to avoid arrest—it was war after all.

Using side streets and detours, and barely avoiding a run-in with unsuspecting soldiers just a few houses away, he finally arrived at the resistance headquarters—he had never felt more glad that Pansy had insisted on Protection Charms surrounding the place; it made the headquarters almost impenetrable for outsiders, similar to what he had done to his café.

"Let me in!" he shouted impatiently while knocking the code to receive entry.

"Who is it?" a woman opened and stared at him for several long seconds before the glint of recognition sparked in her eyes. "Get inside."

Without any hesitation, Draco entered the headquarters and immediately lifted the Transforming Spells. Only to be surprised by a tight hug. "Merlin, Millie, what are you doing here?"

With an embarrassed grin, she let go of him and even took a step back. "Just collecting a few important things–"

"I thought we agreed on–"

"Not now, Draco," she stopped him with a stern glare that accepted no further protest. "Why are you here?"

After a deep breath, he ran his hand through his hair. "We need to send a message to the Allies to get us out. Gruber now wants to arrest me; I barely escaped in time. And he might be after you all too."

She nodded, her face growing a tad paler than it already was. "I'll get the codebook, you write the message down."

..

Back home at his place, after a frustratingly long time to finally convince the Allies to get them out, Draco immediately started collecting everything they would need.

"Draco, wh-what's going on?" Hermione asked when she woke up from her nap, turning around with a yawn.

"We need to leave. Now."

"Draco, the town is swarming with soldiers–"

"I know. Gruber has sent his people to arrest me. Pack everything you need." He Summoned everything from the wardrobe into a magically extended bag, something Hermione had shown him. "The Allies are sending a boat, and we need to catch it."

"What about Pansy and the others?" Fully awake, she climbed out of the bed and stopped him momentarily.

"Millie is packing her things right now."

"We can't just leave–"

"You find that we can. I'm not going to risk losing you again." Taking her hands in his, he leaned forward until their foreheads touched. "Please, Hermione, staying here is suicidal. With Gruber out to get his hands on me, it's no longer safe for any of us, even with the Fidelius protecting this place. As much as you hate to hear it, I do feel responsible for your safety, and I'm not going to–"

"Yes, I hate to hear it..." With a grim smile, she made a step to the side towards the small improvised nightstand to grab her wand before placing a soft kiss on his cheek. "But I'm not suicidal. Not with what I have now."

..

"Draco, please don't be so nervous," Hermione said, standing next to him at the coast, their eyes fixed on the landmass just across the Channel.

Draco sighed and reached for her hand, immediately relaxing into the soothing touch. The last few days had been hell, trying to reach the spot where the Allies had sent a boat to. Whatever they had tried in order to hide their tracks, the fascists had been close behind them, driving him mad to the point of paranoia.

And it had been damn close twice, only warned moments before the fascists entered the building they were hiding in. Too damn close. Millicent had barely been fast enough to cast a Shield Charm when the fascists had attacked them before she could hide in a side entrance. And they hadn't just sent soldiers after them, but wizarding folk that were able to track their magical traces.

But to his surprise, Hermione proved to be the most ruthless of them all, hitting back with every jinx and curse she could think of, not even restraining from the Killing Curse in response to Millicent almost being hit by it. It had been as if she was taking out her grief and her anger on them, only to break down afterwards, once they settled down for the night.

"It's just..." Draco sighed and squeezed her hand briefly.

"I know," Hermione replied in a whisper and leaned into him. "I'm sure they will arrive soon."

Longing for more contact, he pulled her in for an embrace, smiling when she let him wrap his arms around her shoulders while hers slipped under his open coat to hold onto his waist. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"I just want to know you're safe." He closed his eyes, letting his mind follow the patterns she was drawing on his back for a moment. "They knew where we were heading, they can't be too far off–"

"I'm safe wherever you are," she replied softly, interrupting his spiralling thoughts before he couldn't snap out of them again. Chuckling, she tilted her head up to look at him. "Hell, that just sounded corny."

"Yes." He joined her chuckle and then took a deep breath. "You know that I didn't just propose because..." because–"

"Because I'm pregnant and you wanted to protect my honour?" She shook her head. "No, I never thought that, but it wasn't exactly how a woman wants to be proposed to, honestly. And we will tell our daughter–"

"Son–"

"–our DAUGHTER a different story about your proposal. More like how you surprised me with a proper ring–"

"If we make it over, I'll buy you that damn ring–"

"Let me finish, all right?" She smiled softly when he nodded. "It's not important what we're going to tell her; it's only important that we love each other... I know you can be an over-protective snarky git, and I'm probably a clingy, sometimes insufferably head-strong swot, but in the end, we just want to see the other safe and happy. That's what counts. I'm sure we're going to make it work."

"Oh, you two!" Pansy remarked when she limped closer on her crutches, built out of branches they had found on the streets between villages, with Millicent just behind her, checking the surroundings. "Ever the sappy couple..."

Draco scrunched his face in response while Hermione could help but laugh. "Ignore him, Pansy. Just his frustration speaking."

Pansy briefly joined the laughter at his expense, but then froze when she looked out on the sea, only to have a big smile break out seconds later. "Here they are."

Both Draco and Hermione turned around to find what Pansy had meant. There was indeed a fishing boat visible, coming closer at high speed. For Draco, this was the first moment he allowed himself to relax in days. "Here they are," he whispered, repeating Pansy's words rather absentmindedly.

Hermione nodded. "We made it," she said in the same whispering tone and pulled him down for a heartfelt kiss.

Draco couldn't help but smile into the kiss, letting the soft, soothing touch of her lips turn his fears into hope. Safety was within reach, promising a future he had barely dared to hope for. And holding onto this promise, he kissed her back, no longer restraining himself, just enjoying the ardent moment.

It was Pansy who eventually brought them back with a tap of her crutch to their legs. "The boat is here. Let's get on and leave this country."

Holding hands, Draco and Hermione followed Pansy and Millicent onto the boat. They made it, and the future was theirs, whatever it would hold. "Here's looking at us, love."

END