I do not own Harry Potter, it all belongs to J..

Draco held the printout carefully, as if he were holding an actual baby, and ghosted his fingers along the image.

"So that's it, hmm?" he murmured and I nodded. Things weren't any less awkward now that we'd shared a couple of sandwiches and some tea, but some of the tension had drained away. I spoke to the baby again, unable to help myself.

I'll love you no matter who your father is, Baby, but please, oh please be Ron's. I don't think I could take years of encounters like this one. Since surely, that's what would happen if Malfoy turned out to be the father. We'd meet for play dates and birthdays and pick-ups and drop-offs, speaking maybe a full two sentences between us the entire time. And if- if- Ron stayed with me in spite of the baby's paternity, it would be even more awkward. I hated to think of the possibility, but when I was faced with the hopeful, thoughtful look upon Draco's face, what else could I do?

"Yes, that's her…or him," I added when he glanced up at me sharply.

He lowered his eyes to the picture again. "Do you want a girl?" he asked me.

"A girl would be nice," I replied. "But I don't really care at this point. I just want to have a healthy baby."

"Yes, I can understand that. Well," he said, standing abruptly, "thanks for letting me buy you lunch. The least I can do, eh?" he murmured with a wry grin.

I shook my head a little and stood as well. "Er, may I-" I said, holding out my hand for the printout.

"Oh- sorry-" he said and handed it over quickly. He almost looked embarrassed. "Well. Well. I'll see you at work, then."

"You're seeing Astoria, aren't you?" I blurted out and Draco raised his brows before his face flushed somewhat.

"I, er, was," he said. The tension returned to the conversation tenfold as we paused outside the door of the shop.

"Oh- was it-"

He shrugged, a jerky motion, and looked away. "I rather expect she was upset about this business with you," he said.

"I'm so sorry," I said with feeling. "If I'd known you were seeing someone at the time, I never would have…approached…"

"Wouldn't you?" he said softly, casting those piercing grey eyes in my direction again. I shook my head again.

"No. I am sorry. I hope you're not- that is, that she wasn't too-"

"I'll be fine, Granger," he said, cutting me off. Then he looked a little apologetic. "I, well, hope the same goes for you. Weasley not giving you too much trouble?"

I suspected he rather hoped Ron was, in fact, giving me a great deal of trouble, but I spoke quite firmly.

"Ron," I said, "has been quite wonderful about it all. That's not to say he's not been a bit upset- I imagine anyone would be- but overall, he's very supportive."

Draco grunted and glanced away again. "Alright then. See you at work."

He looked a little forlorn and I suddenly felt sorry for him. "Wait," I said. "Um, would you like to go shopping with me, for just a bit? I- those were my original plans today. It's probably too early, considering I'm only at eight weeks, but I just like to plan ahead, you know. So, what do you think?" I said, half hoping he would say no. It had just been a spur of the moment offer, after all. Not the kind of thing one really meant…just the sort of thing one said when one felt sorry for someone else.

To my surprise, his brows rose and he looked almost pleased. "Are you sure?"

"I- yes," I said firmly, not willing to take the offer back once it had been made. If Ron had a problem with my choices, we would talk them over later like the two adults we were. Besides, he'd promised to be good about things…though even I was willing to admit this was probably a bit much.

"Alright. Just…for a bit, yeah?"

"That's fine," I responded and this time, Draco did offer me his arm. I respectfully declined it and his hands went in his pockets again.

"So, where did you want to go first?" he asked and after I'd named the place and pointed in a particular direction, we set off down the street together for the second time that day.

True to my suspicions, I did not see Ron that evening and he was not at the Burrow by the time I arrived for Sunday dinner the next afternoon. A Harry-less Ginny greeted me as well, a wriggling James in her arms.

"Down!" he cried after receiving a kiss from his Aunt Hermione and I laughed as Ginny set him down and he ran off on his short legs.

"How was yesterday?" Ginny asked me in a significant tone of voice and I looked at her strangely.

"The appointment? It was good. How was yours, Friday?"

"Fine, fine, listen," she said, hustling me away from the kitchen for a moment, "be careful around Mum, will you? She's got a bee in her bonnet about something that happened yesterday. I can't get anything from her except that she saw you about yesterday and she is Perturbed."

"Pissed, you mean?" I said. "But why- oh. Oh, shit."

Ginny gave me that look again and I winced. "After Ron and Harry took off for that auror business, I ran into Malfoy. I offered to let him see the printout and talk to him about the appointment- well what do you expect me to do? He might be the father too, you know!"

Ginny sighed. "I know, I know. So you had lunch with him? What else?"

"I may have dragged him a few places, since Ron couldn't make it," I mumbled. "But what was I supposed to do? Scrap the whole day? And you'd made it quite clear you had no desire to go shopping-"

"Shopping by yourself or with a friend who doesn't want to go is one thing, Hermione," she insisted. "Think of how going about with Malfoy to all these baby shops must look to anyone else!"

"Okay, okay!" I hissed. "Look, I'll go talk to your Mum about it-"

"No, no, whatever you do, don't bring it up!" Ginny said hurriedly. "Maybe we can get through the meal without her saying anything."

"Fine, I won't bring it up," I sighed. "Now can we please go in? I'm starved."

Ginny breathed a sigh of relief. "After you," she said, seemingly pleased with herself for averting disaster.

Except she hadn't averted anything, only postponed the inevitable.

Molly managed to keep her mouth determinedly shut, aside from a few cryptic remarks, through dessert. We'd just started the pudding when she spoke up again. It was the last straw for me, especially considering there were young children at the table- and Percy and his smug wife really did not need to know my business.

"If you want to go shopping for new things for the baby, Ginny," Molly said loudly, "you might take that Draco Malfoy. I hear he's a good shopping partner."

I slammed my fork back onto the table and Molly looked at me innocently. The woman was insane. I loved her, but once she got a backwards notion in her head it took a threat of death to disabuse her of it. Threats of death I could do. After all, Ron had taken after his mum.

"Molly," I grit out, "this is not the place. There are children here."

She flushed slightly and Arthur glanced between the two of us before siding with me. "Whatever it is can wait until after the pudding is finished, eh, Molly?"

"Well," she said imperiously. "In that case, I'm finished. Are you? Let me collect the dishes." She began waving her wand and dishes, some still full of pudding, began flying over to the sink and dropping down with a crash.

"Ah- why don't we go into the parlor," Arthur announced to the other family members, who were staring at their spoons and forks in shock. "Hermione, you can help Molly? That's a good girl. Come on, Bill, Percy- I need your help-"

"Tough break," George whispered to me on his way out and Ginny cast me an apologetic glance. I merely stared at Molly's back stonily.

"Well? Why don't you get it out of your system, whatever it is you want to say," I murmured.

"I have no idea what you mean," she sniffed and continued to scrape bowls.

"No? Then I have a few things to say," I replied. I stood up. "First off, I suppose you've guessed I'm pregnant. It was a total accident. I made a mistake and now both Ron and I are paying for it."

"So Draco Malfoy is the father?" she asked, still not facing me.

"He might be. Or Ron might be."

She turned to look at me then, and the entire expression on her face had changed. "My Ron? Might be- but of course he is! That's why you were back together last week, isn't it? Oh, Hermione, my dear- why didn't you say anything?"

I gaped. Had she not heard what I said? Or was she ignoring it? But then she'd moved forward and was throwing her arms about me and hugging me and blubbering about what a surprise it was, but how happy she was and she was sorry for being such a nit at dinner. I was so stunned that I just stood there and let her go on. Ginny poked her head in the door a moment later.

"It's awfully quiet- are you two- Mum? Hermione?" she asked, gaping as well.

"Oh, Ginny, darling, Hermione and Ron are having a baby! Isn't that lovely!"

Ginny looked at me accusingly, as if I must not have told Molly the truth, but I shook my head and held up my hands. She looked back at her mother.

"Mum," she said, "you are completely mental."

"Now, now, Ginny. I already apologized to Hermione for being so rude. She forgives me, don't you, dear? There we are. Why don't you have some more pudding- here, take the rest out to everyone. Along with some cookies- no, no, you must keep up your strength. Come on, then-"

I followed her out the door helplessly, my arms filled with desserts.

"What did you say?" Ginny hissed at me as I passed.

"The truth, I swear!" I whispered back. "She asked about Malfoy being the dad and I said yeah, either him or Ron and she just went off about how Ron has to be the dad- it's as if I didn't say anything about Malfoy at all!"

Ginny raised a brow. "She is, isn't she? Gone mental. Totally nutters." She shook her head. "I hate to tell Dad."

I laughed weakly. "Cookie?"

"Thanks, I will," she replied. Then we followed the delusional Weasley matriarch out to the parlor, where she proceeded to announce my news to the entire family. My face was a bright red the rest of the evening.

AN: I didn't want Molly to be in complete bitch mode. She's funnier being delusional, I think. And what's up with Draco's and Astoria's break-up? We will find out eventually...