Chapter Seven

"So what did ze in-law want?" Gabrielle asked as Hermione as she stepped into the office in a daze.

"Me to marry her son," Hermione said.

"What?" Ginny exclaimed.

Hermione sunk in a chair and looked up at her friends. "Where's M-"

"She's on a case," Ginny interrupted. "Now please tell me what exactly Mrs. Malfoy said?"

Hermione sighed. "A child needs a mother and a father, not just a big support group or something like that. I just can't believe this. She used to hate me, right? I didn't imagine that."

Ginny whistled. "Nope. She hated us all. What do you think changed?"

"Well eezn't eet obvious?" Gabrielle said, practically glowing. "She haz changed. She doesn't want what happened wiz her and her husband to happen with ze two of you. She knows zat eet ees true love."

Hermione burst out in tears. "I can't believe this is happening!"

Ginny knelt beside her and held her hands. "Don't worry Hermione. We're in this together. Gabrielle, wash your mouth out with soap, the muggle way, and cancel all of my appointments for the rest of the day."

"No, Ginny, you don't have to do that," Hermione said with a sniffle. "I'll be fine. I have an appointment with a few healers I met at school and we're going to see what's going on."

"Okay, but I want Harry and Ron to go with you."

"That's okay," the girls turned around, "the father will be going with her."

"I hate you."

"I hate you too."

"I hate you more."

"You're a bad kisser."

"You never complained before today, and we were together for six years."

"We dated three years before we married."

Hermione sat uncomfortably beside Draco as they took the underground to a small office in the middle of London.

"Why again are we traveling this way?"

"Because I want to play it safe."

Hermione crossed her arm and leg and looked out the window. They were one stop away.

Draco turned and looked at Hermione. "Are you actually wearing that to your appointment?"

Hermione looked at him. "I seem to recall you being the one who wore mismatching socks to court when the divorce became legal."

"Anything to piss you off baby."

Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed. "You said that last time."

"You remember everything I said?" Draco replied with a smirk. "So please, remind me, how did I get you in bed again?"

"More booze in my body than at the entire graduation party."

"Oh my! Linette!" the couple heard from across the train car. "That's Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy!"

The girls raced over to Hermione and Draco.

"We read about you in the Daily Prophet!" Linette squealed.

"I'm, like, sorry," Hermione said in a valley-girl accent. "you guys must, like, have us mistaken, haha!"

"Oh," the first girl said, embarrassed. "Sorry."

The girls walked away and Hermione looked up at Draco, who was trying to hold back laughter.

"Thank your little friend for me," Hermione huffed, standing up to walk out the door as it opened up at their stop.

"What little friend?" Draco asked, trailing a few feet behind her.

Hermione whipped her whole body around and looked Draco in the eye. "Your little teenage friend who wrote about us in her little column. What did it say? What did you tell her? How did you even get my consent?"

She turned around and continued up the escalator.

"Wait a minute," Draco called up as he followed her, "you said, and I quote, wait, okay, so you never consented, but she wasn't the one who wrote it! It was that creep who took the picture! Besides, you were a little busy on your date to consent!"

Hermione turned around. She was seething. "It was not a date!" She turned back around and stormed down the sidewalk and crossed the street.

"Hermione!" Draco yelled, trying to keep up with her. "Hermione!"

An hour later Hermione was sitting beside Draco in the taxi on their way back to his house.

"I still can't believe you behaved that way," she mumbled.

"What about you?" Draco almost squealed. "You went in there all calm and professional. You didn't even take your shoes off. It was like you were still in the office."

"That's because I have something called professionalism. Maybe if you had some-"

"Don't start with that now Hermione. You don't want to get into a battle you should know you can't win." He looked out the window and said to the driver, "it's the third house on the next block," and pulled out his wallet.

"I didn't know you lived on this side of town," Hermione said, trying to make civil conversation. The healer said that the child will be able to sense tension from the womb. She had actually apparated the last time she was there and had no idea where she'd ended up. The truth, though, was that she only lived a few blocks east, but she would never let Draco know that. She specifically moved as far away from their house as possible.

"Well, considering the fact that you spent the night there just a few nights ago, I thought you'd know how to get here and back to your house like the back of your hand." The taxi stopped in front of an average-sized house. She was surprised at how modern it was able to look with such a cozy, suburban feel. "Thank you." Draco paid the driver and stepped out of the taxi. He closed it before Hermione could begin to get out of her seat, so she slid out the other door, not that she was going to let him be chivalrous. She followed him into the house, thanking the driver.

"Could you have been any more of an arse?" Hermione hissed as Draco closed the door behind her.

"How was I rude?" Draco demanded, storming off into the kitchen to get drinks. "The parlor is to your left."

Hermione stormed into the parlor and flopped onto the couch. The room was tidy, considering that he was a bachelor, with similar furniture that they had all those years ago. Back then, though, they lived in a big house with more rooms than they would have needed whether they'd had this child before or after their separation. They were more than comfortable and had plenty of space. Their house was usually designated as the party house when they had affairs or just Sunday brunch or Thursday drinks.

Draco walked back into the room with two glasses of Iced Tea. He sat on the coffee table in front of Hermione and handed her a glass.

"It isn't poisoned, is it?" Hermione asked sarcastically with a sly grin.

"Why don't you drink it and find out."

Hermione rolled her eyes and took a sip. "Draco," she said as she put the glass down, "why did you come to my appointment?"

Draco sighed and looked at her. "I am the father of your child and-"

"And your mother made you come?" Draco looked away, assuring Hermione that she was correct. "What else has she come to you about?"

"For us to be remarried, raise the child together and live happily ever after," he said. "Apparently ours is a love that is true and can survive anything."

Hermione almost snorted at what he said. "Are you serious?" When Draco nodded, she burst out laughing. "Well one thing's for sure. If there is one thing that we can agree on, it's that your mother has gone insane."

"Those who live in glass houses…"

Hermione sent him a glare that used to scare him into taking out the trash, the muggle way, but now he stared straight at her ear rather than eyes and wasn't affected.

"I know you're staring at my ear smartass."

Draco stood up and took a seat in the chair by her. "Why are we even discussing any of this?"

"It's a fun way to pass the time?" Hermione suggested with a grin. "Draco," she said, getting serious, "we need to talk. If you insist on having any part in this kid's life we have to talk."

Draco leaned back and crossed his arms. "What about?"

Hermione stood up and began to pace around the room. "First off, trust. I want you to mind your own business and trust anything I do and say."

Draco smirked at her. "That's two things."

"Fine. First, I want you to trust me. Second, I want you to only poke your nose into what I allow you to."

"My rules. First, we will agree on the life that you will be living while you are pregnant and you will begin by sitting and calming down," Draco said. He stood up and gently led her back to the couch.

"It's my life-"

"No. It's your life and the baby's life and therefore my life as well. Where are you going?"

Hermione had walked out of the room. Draco followed her to the kitchen to find her searching through his drawers until she pulled out a pad and paper.

"Make some coffee Malfoy. Obviously we're going to be here for a while," she said, sitting down.

Draco put his hand to his head. "Hermione, we have nine months to discuss this."

"I want to begin discussing ideas. We both have busy schedules and by the end of my second trimester, I won't even be in the country for a few weeks," Hermione said in a business-like manner. "I want to get as much over with as soon as possible so there are no questions or arguments later on."

"Why are you going out of the country?" Draco asked.

"Business."

"Where is Hermione?" Harry asked Mandie.

"Do I look like her keeper?"

"She went to her doctor's appointment," Ginny told her husband with a kiss on the lips. "Hi honey. How was work?"

"Not in front of the brother," Rom joked. He slapped the two apart. And pulled up a chair for Mandie from the next table. "So where is Preggers? The appointment should have been over with by now."

"Are you keeping tabs on her or something?" Mandie asked.

"Are you menstruating or something?" Ron replied.

Mandie fidgeted in her seat and blushed. "A little," she mumbled. "I want chocolate milk."

Everyone laughed at her and Ron asked the waitress at the next table for a glass of chocolate milk.

"So where is she?" Harry asked the girls once more.

They looked at each other then away from the boys.

"Ginny."

"Don't," Mandie whispered.

"Ginny, where is she?"

"I sleep with him," Ginny told Mandie.

"Well I sleep with Hermione," Mandie hissed back.

Ron and Harry's eyes opened wide and they looked at each other with smiles, The girls knew what they were thinking. "Okay okay, wash your brains out. She did not mean it like that," Ginny said.

Harry took Ginny's hand and brought her onto his lap. He looked into her eyes and smiled. "Ginny…"

Ginny turned to Mandie with puppy eyes then back at Harry. "She's with Malfoy," she blurted out.

Harry and Ron jumped up, causing Ginny to fall onto the floor.

Just then, Hermione came running into the café out of breath. "Hey guys. Sorry I'm late. Ginny, why are you on the floor?"

"Hermione, you were with Malfoy?" Harry exclaimed.

Hermione looked at Mandie and Ginnny. "You guys told them?"

"It was Ginny!"

"What were you doing there for so long?" Ron asked as calmly as he could muster.

Hermione gave the waitress her order and turned back to her friends. "We were setting out guidelines for the rest of my pregnancy and what will happen after."

"What did you decide?"

"He will accompany me to my check ups and we will not let his mother force us into marriage," Hermione said. "By the way, she wants to throw a dinner party and invite all of our friends and family," she rushed.

"What?"

"Oh, and it's two days from now. Like Sunday. Well, I have to go find a dress. Bye." With that, she jumped up and practically ran out of the café.