Chapter 3: An Explanation
"What is the meaning of this Granger?" asked Draco again, in the same dangerous tone.
Instead of replying, Hermione continued to stare at him wide-eyed, thoughts running through her head at one hundred miles an hour. How could he have found out? Just like that? I spent four years trying to keep it secret and he comes along and ruins all that effort in five measly minutes. How dare he read my mind like that I could just-
But Hermione's thoughts were cut off when Draco snapped his fingers in front of her face and said scathingly "I asked you a question Granger."
"I...I...don't know what you're talking about," Hermione managed to stammer out.
"Don't play with me Granger," Draco yelled "you know exactly what I'm talking about."
"Stop yelling Malfoy," said Hermione in a harsh whisper, "people are starting to stare."
Draco looked around to see that people were in fact staring at the two of them, strange looks upon their faces. But one scowl from Draco made them all turn around frightfully.
"Happy now Granger," Draco whispered back, "I want to know..."
"Look can we discuss this some where else?"
"What the hell do you mean? Discuss it somewhere else? Who do I look like to you? I want answers, and I want them now!'
"I don't want this all over the media," Hermione stated shortly.
Draco thought about it and he couldn't help but agree with her. He did not want his name dragged through the mud all because of that stupid Mudblood. "Where do you propose we go?" he asked inquiringly, "there isn't any where in Diagon Alley where we can actually have a private conversation."
"Don't you think I'm aware of that Malfoy? Do I look stupid to you? Don't answer that' she said when Draco made a move to speak 'we'll have to go to my place."
'Are you out of your mind? I'm not going to your house. I'll get Mudbloodified."
"Oh grow up will you."
"But-"
"If you can come up with some place better then do enlighten me," said Hermione, crossing her arms. She was starting to loose her cool as she always did when she was around the ferret. Something about him always made her blood boil; she couldn't even look at him without feeling the urge to vomit. And to think he was...
"Fine I suppose we should go," muttered Draco, examining his manicured hands.
"Thank you!"
"Mummy what's going on?" Nick asked, he was beyond confused as to what the grown ups were talking about. The man seemed nice to Nick, but his mum wasn't quite as fond of him. As he realised this, his childhood curiosity kicked in and he wanted to know exactly what this man had done to make his mother hate him so much.
"It's nothing baby," Hermione replied picking up her son, "it's grown up matters."
"But Mummy I want to know."
"You won't understand Nick," said Hermione.
"If you've had enough of your little emotional moment, can we leave now," drawled Draco from behind them.
Hermione scowled before grabbing his upper arm roughly and apparting the three of them to her doorstep. The feeling of being squashed through an uncomfortably tight tube fell upon them all and a second later they were all standing facing a plain wooden door that had the number eleven hammered onto it in gold.
"Don't ever touch me again you filthy little Mudblood," said Draco, yanking his arm out of Hermione's grasp and brushing it off with his rather large right hand.
"As you wish you highnesses," replied Hermione sarcastically.
"You know that doesn't sound too bad coming out of your mouth, I mean you being a Mudblood and all."
Hermione simply ignored him and took her wand out of a secret pocket in her sleeve and pointed it at the door knob, muttering a complex charm under her breath.
The three of them entered the house and Draco gaped at the entrance wall. It was loaded with numerous pictures of Nick, Granger, Potter, Weasley, and people who looked to be Hermione's parents. There was a picture of when Nick was first born, and all his birthdays. There were random pictures in which Nick was riding a toy broom, playing with a strange toy, covered in mud, he could go on forever. Seeing the expression on Malfoy's face gave Hermione both a sense of pleasure as well as worry. The former being due to the fact that at that particular moment Draco "God All Mighty" Malfoy had replaced his usual expressionless mask with a look of awe and something that Hermione never thought she'd see in the man standing before her. The latter of course being due to the fact that if (she really meant when) Malfoy learnt the truth about Nick, what exactly would he do.
"Nick, please go up to your bedroom. Mr Malfoy and I have something to talk about," Hermione finally spoke, disrupting the silence.
Nick knew it was not the right time to argue with his mother so he jumped out of her lap and ran up the stairs to play with his Pygmy Puff. As soon he was out of sight Draco turned to Hermione sniggering.
"Mr Malfoy?"
"Oh be quiet Malfoy, what else was I supposed to call you? Mr I Think I'm Too Good For You All? Or maybe Mr Ferret would have been better?"
"Shut up, Mudblood."
"That's another thing, never call me that in front of my son, I don't want him learning foul language from you out of all people."
"Speaking of your son, what the hell was all that about?: asked Draco, remembering why he was actually there.
"I don't know what you're talking about," said Hermione, a lot more confidently than before.
"Look, Granger, stop making this difficult. You wouldn't have brought me all the way here if you didn't know what I was talking about. Unless you have some sickly twisted feelings towards me."
"I have no feeling for you whatsoever, thank you very much Malfoy."
"Well then get on with it."
"What exactly do you want to know?" asked Hermione, she knew she was irritating him beyond belief but she couldn't care less. She was trying to stall, telling Malfoy her darkest secret was not something she was used to.
"You know what I want to know? I WANT TO KNOW WHY THE FUCK DID I SEE MYSELF WHEN I TRIED TO FIGURE OUT WHO THE FATHER OF YOUR SON WAS?" Draco yelled his only reason for doing so was because the stupid Mudblood was getting on his nerves with her prissy little attitude.
"Stop shouting, Nick will hear you."
"I don't give a FUCK. Give me answers, that's all I want."
"Well…okay…this is hard to explain…I…"
"What is so hard to explain? Just tell me whether I'm the father or not," Draco said furiously.
"Well I think you should have figured that much just through the Ligemency you did."
Draco's eyes grew the size of dinner plates and he stared at Hermione his mouth hanging open. "But…how…when…where…why…what the fuck…" he spluttered.
'I don't think I need to tell you how, that's pretty obvious, when well it was back in seventh year on graduation night, where: the head's common rooms and why: because those two goofs you call friends spiked the chips and well everyone started seeing what they wanted to and for some odd reason you thought that I was…well…you know and that's about it."
"I…I don't believe you," Draco stated.
"What?" asked Hermione incredulously.
"I don't believe you" repeated Draco, unnecessarily.
"What is there not to believe, you did Ligemency, you saw for yourself that…"
"Granger I know this is just one of your twisted jokes."
"What the hell are you talking about? I do not play twisted jokes, that's you."
"Well it's simple. You obviously are in love with me and you being the know-it-all you are, you tricked me into seeing myself as the father, when it's really not me at all."
"Malfoy, take your head out your ass and smell the flowers. I am not making this up, what the fuck did I ever do to make you think that I even felt the tiniest thing aside from hate for you, let alone love."
"Like I said Granger, I do not believe you. N.O.T. Get it?"' said Draco with an air of superiority.
"Well believe what you want, it won't stop it from being true," said Hermione, crossing her arms and looking at Draco with a challenging look upon her face.
"Prove it!" Draco sensed her challenging attitude, and Draco Malfoy never backed down from a challenge.
"I will," said Hermione and with that she turned on her heel and left the living room (as they had shifted there during their quarrel) only to return two minutes later holding a round basin and a small crystalline bottle containing a silvery, misty liquid.
Hermione placed the Pensieve onto the coffee table and uncorked the vial. She then tipped its contents out into the sink and watched to float around until it became a window looking down upon the Head's common rooms. Draco had joined her by now and almost instantly, the two of them, one after the other, plunged into the Pensieve. They stood their looking at their drunken class mates.
'Guess what Crabbe' came Goyle's voice from behind them 'I've spiked the potato chips'
Draco and Hermione watched as slowly everyone in the room, besides Hermione, started shovelling handfuls of chips into their mouths. Draco almost fainted when he saw what his seventeen year old self did next. He walked right up to Hermione and wrapped his arms around her from the back and whispered something in her ear. The look of horror upon the present Draco's face was clear as he saw himself trailing small kisses down Hermione's neck and then he roughly pulled her up the stairs, into the bedroom.
"I think that's enough," said Hermione, pulling Draco and herself out of the memory.
"WHAT THE HELL?" raged Draco almost knocking over the Pensieve.
"Is that enough proof for you," asked Hermione her eyebrow arched.
"Look Granger, this is not the time to toy with me"
"Oh really"
Draco, who had been pacing around the living room, came to a sudden stop and stomped his way over to Hermione and when he was a few mere inches away from her face he asked quietly:
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Isn't it pretty obvious? I mean it's not like I got raped by my worst enemy. Do you really think I had it easy? Do you really think I wanted it? Believe me, I love Nick to bits, but every time I look at him all I see is you! Do you really think that makes me proud to know that my son is just the result of an accident, the worst accident in my whole life? Do you really? So don't make it sound like I did something bad, that I'm the one to blame here," Hermione almost yelled, breathing heavily.
"I'm not saying it's your fault," his tone had changed slightly after Hermione little speech and she was glad to see that he was actually human, "I just want to know why?"
"Well you aren't exactly the person that one can invite over to dinner at random to announce that you are in fact pregnant with your child."
Draco shook his head at this and walked away from Hermione. He knew what she was trying to say, but that did not help the situation any further. Even though he was a selfish bastard, he still had the right to know whether he was going to be a father, even if the mother was his worst enemy. Draco couldn't help but feel a little upset. He had been a father for four years without knowing it; he had missed out on so much. His thoughts drifted to the countless photos that were on the wall in the entrance of Granger's house. All those happy memories, the times where Nick, his son, was smiling cheekily up at the camera, his eyes filled with joy. All the moments that he, Draco, should have been part of: wasted. He had to do something, something to make up for this part of his life.
Hermione watched him pacing. He had an adorable look of confusion on his and he was tapping his chin with his finger as though he was thinking really hard about something. She slowly took in his appearance. One could tell just by looking at the bastard that he was filthy rich. His long black robes were made of expensive silky material that showed of his well toned body. His hands were finely manicured and his hair although neat, looked absolutely sexy. Hermione she thought to herself what the hell are you think. Draco Malfoy and sexy in the same sentence do not sound right. But isn't he rated the sexiest man in all of Europe? HERMIONE!
Her thoughts were however interrupted when Draco abruptly stopped and turned to look at her, upon seeing the dreamy look on her face he stated, "like what you see Granger? Knew you couldn't resist me."
"You wish!"
"Whatever. Now let me make this short and clear"
"I'm listening."
"First of all I want to apologise for the way I treated you that night. I know that I wasn't in my senses when it happened, but no one deserves that. So I'm sorry."
"I accept you apology, Malfoy, but that's only because what happened that night gave me the best thing in the world. I can't hate you for that."
"Secondly, I want to be a part of Nick's life from now on."
"But-"
"Look, Granger, I know that's not what you want. I know I'm an asshole to you and that you don't trust me. I also know that the Nick's conception was horrendous and tormenting for you. But I had a right to know, Granger. You should have told me. I would have helped you. Besides as his father, I had the right to be a part of his life."
She listened to him without saying a word. She wanted desperately not to agree with him, but then she thought back to last night and the way in which Nick had asked for his father. There was no way that she could deny that he longed for a father and remembering them reading together back at the book shop she knew that she could come between them no longer.
"Fine," she said sighing, "what do you want to do about it?"
"I think that you and Nick should move into the Manor," replied Draco, pleased that she was willing to cooperate.
"What? No, that's a bit abrupt."
"I know that, but it's the only way I can think of making up lost time. I'm always busy with work, but if you both lived with me then I could make time whenever I wanted, and I could see him everyday."
Hermione turned her back to him and was once again lost in her thoughts. Eventually, after several moments of intense contemplation, she turned back around, and agreed reluctantly.