This was it. This was the day Hermione was going back to Hogwarts. Everybody was currently jammed in the little car as they rode to King's Cross. Hermione was nervous. In fact, she was freaking out a little. Tomorrow she would meet her "son" or "daughter". Hermione kind of hoped for a girl. Boys were just messy and icky and honestly she didn't feel like dealing with that.
She had only seen Draco one more time during the summer. Hermione went to his house and he taught her how to change, feed, and basically how to take care of a baby. Teddy was more than happy to be held by Hermione; he simply adored her. Draco said that she was a natural with kids, but Hermione felt like she was going to puke every time she held Teddy. That was a bit of an exaggeration, but Hermione did not know how to take care of kids.
Ron had talked to Pansy a few times via letters. They seemed to be on pretty good terms. Pansy was still slightly arrogant, but Ron had dealt with worse.
Hermione was freaking out now. How could she take care of a kid and manage schoolwork? Where was she going to take care of this baby? Hermione didn't know anything. The Ministry was keeping this project very top secret. Harry obviously saw that Hermione was nervous and rubbed her back a little, but it didn't really help much.
She was calm by the time they got to King's Cross. Everything was moving so fast. She didn't even realize that she said goodbye to her surrogate family until she was on the train and it was far away. Harry, Ron, Ginny and she sat in a compartment to themselves. They weren't talking much. Mostly sleeping. Hermione suddenly felt claustrophobic and went through the cabins. They were surprisingly quiet. Hermione wanted to find Draco. They were sort of friends now. Friends was a very loose term but they were working on that.
Hermione was still grasping her head around the fact that she and Draco were soul mates. She didn't think that that was ever possible, but apparently it was. If she and Draco were soul mates, then Hermione guessed that they would probably love each other someday. She stayed up a lot of nights thinking about this. She and Draco would be in love someday. They were soul mates, after all. Maybe the baby would push things along.
Hermione finally found Draco sitting in a compartment all by himself. He looked up from the book he was reading.
"What are you doing, Draco? You should have come found me!" Hermione exclaimed. She sat down next to him.
"I'm fine, Hermione! I just wanted some quiet time before everything gets crazy." Draco said. He put his book down. "Stay, though! We have a lot to discuss before we meet our baby."
"It sounds so weird," Hermione laughed. She brushed her golden curls over her shoulder. "Meeting our baby sounds really ridiculous."
"I know! What are you hoping for?" Draco asked.
"Well, I would say as long as the baby is healthy that I don't care, but I know that the baby will be healthy so I'm hoping for a girl." Hermione said.
"I want a girl too." Draco commented. "There are so many boys in the Malfoy family. It's time we got a girl."
The conversation went silent. It was comfortable and they enjoyed the silence together. Draco read his book and Hermione fell asleep. She dreamt of being happy with Draco with their children. Hermione would be a mum in less than fifteen hours at this point.
Wow, Hermione's head was against something really comfortable. She didn't want to get up. All she smelled was an exotic wood and clean fabric. It was delicious. The shoulder she was resting upon was heavenly. She was sleeping on Draco's shoulder. She looked up. This was going to be embarrassing. Oh, he was sleeping against her too. Hermione didn't want to wake him up, so she went back to sleep.
The next time Hermione woke Draco was awake reading his book again. "Did you enjoy your sleep?" He asked with a smile on his face.
Hermione blushed. This was really awkward. She really didn't like situations like this. Not that she ever found herself in situations like this. "It was nice. Um, thank you for letting me use your shoulder a pillow."
"No problem, Granger." He teased and he closed his book. "We should be getting there soon, so we should probably get in our robes."
They did just that, each going to the bathrooms and they met up ten minutes later. Hermione couldn't help but notice that people were staring at her and Draco. They probably didn't realize that they were together because of the law. That stupid law. Hermione didn't dwell on it and she brushed everything off and focused on what was important. When they were sitting together again Hermione couldn't help it. She couldn't she was a curious person. She just had to ask him.
"What do you think of me, Draco?" Hermione couldn't believe she just said that. It was a small question, really, but it made her nervous. A little part of her still feared that he would call her a mudblood and spit at her, but she knew that he wouldn't. She knew that he was different now.
"I think you're a very caring person, Hermione. Why do you ask?" Draco said. He knew of that little insecure part of her. Sometimes, she would say things and then brush them off like she never said them. It hurt Draco a bit, because he wasn't like that. He was never like that. "You know I would never say anything to you like that."
Draco's large arms wrapped themselves around Hermione's tiny little waist. He rested his chin on the top of her head. Hermione was short. Hermione leaned into the hug instinctively and wrapped her tiny arms around Draco. The moment was over quick enough and they both pretended that Hermione never asked that question or that Draco never pulled Hermione into a hug.
When the train stopped Draco was a perfect gentleman and helped Hermione out of the train. Everybody was gathered around the Thestrals. Hermione wanted to cry. Almost everybody there could see them. It was heartbreaking to watch as the kids realized why they could see them. They all had each other though as they rode to Hogwarts.
Hermione was really nervous to see Hogwarts. She knew that Hogwarts had needed major repairs and she hoped that the people did a good job. From what she could see, the towers were standing tall and beautiful again. The ride was fairly quick. She hadn't caught up with Harry, Ron or Ginny so she went with Draco, who was sitting across from her.
Draco helped Hermione out of the carriage. He was seriously a perfect gentleman. He was way too quiet. Hermione promised herself that she would socialize more for Draco's sake. He didn't really have anybody. Hermione cried as she looked up at Hogwarts. It was beautiful and perfect. It looked just as it had been. Nothing looked different. The towers were tall and sturdy and everything shined bright as if Hogwarts was a person and she was welcoming her children back home.
Hermione felt silly for crying. She looked around and other people were too. She felt a large hand grasp hers and she looked up and Draco was smiling at her. "We do everything together, Hermione. I'm not just going to let you cry all by yourself."
"Thank you, Draco. For everything."
The sorting ceremony was somewhat dull. It was very different. Professor McGHowever, there was an unusually high amount of first years. The older students were too preoccupied in talking to each other after not seeing each other for months. Everybody seemed just a little closer. All of the houses seemed to be friendlier towards each other. The Slytherin population was almost diminished. Thankfully the few Slytherins that were there wanted to talk to everybody. Hermione couldn't even name a few of them.
Soon enough the feast ended and all the seventh and eighth years were asked to stay back. Hermione looked over to Draco and he got up and sat down next to her. All eyes followed him as he walked over.
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and the Great Hall was silent. "I think everybody is aware of the circumstances for this year. I was unable to exempt students from this Marriage Law, but I was able to postpone it." She got up then and started walking to the entrance of the Great Hall. "If you would follow me I will take you to your living quarters."
Everybody looked at each other in confusion as they got up and followed Professor. Draco was with Hermione, his hand resting in the small of her back. "Do you have any idea where we're going?" Draco whispered.
Hermione craned her head up to look at him. "No idea." She whispered back. "We aren't going to the Gryffindor common rooms, I know that."
Professor McGonagall gave a stern look at her and Draco. "I know this is hard for all of you, but you will have to deal with it. Hogwarts didn't have the space for everybody and their children, so during the renovations we put an addition on in the back. We wanted to stimulate a real life almost. The addition looks almost like a tiny town. We had more than enough land. There are three neighborhoods. There is one lower class, one middle class, and one upper class neighborhood. If you and your partner have excellent grades, expect to be in the upper class. If not, then expect to be in the middle or lower class. You will receive money throughout the school year, which is almost like a pay check of sorts. If you get higher marks, then expect a bigger pay check. Every household will have bills to pay and a lawn to maintain. It is very much like real life. There are also many stores throughout the town in which you can buy groceries, clothes, furniture and other items. Your houses are already furnished. Families will be allowed to dine in the Great Hall, but are required to have one meal a day in their homes. I will be giving each family an envelope. It has money and the required paper work to start everybody off. If you would step forward when I call your name I will give you the envelope and you will be allowed to go to your houses."
Hermione and Draco stopped paying attention after the first few names were called. Behind those doors was a town. Hermione wondered what it looked like. She knew that she and Draco had good grades, so she supposed that they would be in the upper class. However, she didn't go to school last year and neither did Draco so who knows where they would be.
"Would the Malfoy household please come forward!" Professor McGonagall stated. Hermione walked forward and Draco trailed behind her. Professor handed the enveloped to her and smiled. "Good luck."
Hermione forced a smiled back. Draco opened the doors and holy shit. This wasn't just a few houses put together. This was an actually town. It was down the hill so Hermione could see all parts of the town. She could see the center of the town, which was a park. Surrounding it were probably all the shops that Professor McGonagall talked about.
"Shall we head down?" Draco asked, holding his hand out.
Hermione took a deep breath and took his hand. "Let's do it."
Together they walked down the hill. Hermione decided it would probably be a good idea to open up the envelope and see if it had information on their house. She hated to let go of Draco's hand but she had to. His hand fit perfectly in hers. It provided warmth and comfort and a sense of security.
There were some random papers in there. The baby's birth certificate which was filled out except for the name, gender, and the parents signatures, a blue print of the house, some cash (a lot of cash), and then Hermione finally found the paper with the address on it. There were still some more to look through but Hermione would look through those later.
"It says that we live on 16 Merlin Lane, which is right off of Granger Corner. Really? Why did they have to do that?" Hermione sighed and looked at the street names. "Granger Corner is just down this way."
Draco followed Hermione. Draco always followed Hermione. She didn't know why, but he trailed around her like a lost puppy. She had to admit it was kind of cute watching him get confused. She had to teach him how to be independent though. Every time Hermione saw him he looked a little better, a little healthier, and a little happier. They walked down together and their fingers were laced once more.
Granger Corner appeared to be an upper class neighborhood. They walked down the street together and saw a few houses; she didn't recognize a lot of the names that were on these houses. The houses were large. Most of them were colonial houses. It was a very Americanized neighborhood. Well, it looked American to Hermione. They finally reached the end of the street and turned right. This was Merlin Lane. The houses were even larger now. Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen! They reached a large brick colonial house at the end of the cul de sac.
This was Hermione's dream house. The large brick colonial house had a large porch and black shutters and a garage and everything Hermione ever wanted. Hermione rummaged through the envelope and found the key.
"I guess this is where we go inside." Draco said. He took the key from her gently and unlocked the door.
Hermione walked in the house and gasped. It was so beautiful. She guessed all that hard work paid off. "This is amazing!" She exclaimed. The floor plan was very open. She could see the large kitchen from the front of the house. The walls were light olive green, and the cabinets were white and the counters were granite. The tile looked Moroccan. Hermione loved it. The best part about it was that everything didn't match, but it all matched at the same time. It reminded her of the Burrow. It even smelt like the Burrow. To the left of the kitchen was the table, which was white. The home was traditional but almost bohemian. It was very clean and neat and Hermione loved it.
Hermione remembered the baby. This was real. This was happening. Hermione didn't want the baby. She was far too young for this. Would the baby be upstairs? She guessed so. She had to send in a lock of her hair about a month ago so the potions makers could make him or her. Maybe if she avoided going upstairs then she wouldn't have to deal with the baby.
Hermione continued surveying the house. The stairs were next to the kitchen, and next to the stairs was a door. When she looked there it was a garage which had two very expensive looking cars. She wouldn't need them; the town was very small anyways. Beyond the kitchen table was the living room, which had brown and blue accents. The couch was huge and on the wall was a flat screen television. Hermione didn't understand why they had electronics because they wouldn't work but she went with the flow and didn't worry about it.
There was a study off of the living room. Hermione didn't know what to call it actually. It was more of a library. There had to be thousands of books in here. The walls were red. It felt like the Gryffindor common room. There were stairs in the library, and when she went up them there were even more books. Hermione would spend a lot of time in here. It was so beautiful and felt like home. The whole house did. Draco had wandered off and was probably exploring on his own. When she went back downstairs to the kitchen where there was a room behind it. How many rooms did this house have?
Draco was there, staring at a magnificent grand piano. It was beautiful. Hermione could tell that it was very old. It had so much detail in it. Who would use it though? Did Draco play?
"Do you play, Draco?" Hermione asked.
"I do." Draco looked like he was about to cry. "I did, I mean. When I was younger I played, and then father forbade me to play it anymore. I would sneak back at night and play, but when everything started happening I couldn't sneak back anymore. And then I moved out and I couldn't get my hands on a piano andhow did they know? How did they? How did these people know that I play the piano?"
Hermione put a hand on Draco's shoulder. "This is a magical house. I think it decorates itself to look like exactly how we want it to be. It is almost like the Room of Requirement."
"It's amazing." Draco murmured. "We have to meet our kid."
"I know," Hermione said. "But I don't want to."
"Why don't we explore the upstairs and then we will meet her?" Draco suggested. He laced his fingers with hers and started walking towards the stairs.
They walked together and discovered that there was an above the garage, which was like another living room. It had a computer too. They continued on their journey to find their kid and looked in all the bedrooms. There had to be ten bedrooms in the house! They were all decorated the same except with a different color scheme. They were probably guest rooms.
Hermione was glad that they wouldn't have to sleep in the same bed. She wasn't ready for that. Not yet. She and Draco weren't even close! They were barely friends. They were friends that held each other's hand a lot. She hoped that she wouldn't have nightmares, but she probably would. Hermione would have to put a charm on her room.
Hermione obviously knew this was her room. It was green and it was so beautiful. It was very bohemian. Nothing matched but it all worked together in a beautiful chaos. The walls were green, which had grown to be her favorite color. The frame of the bed was white and full sized and the comforter was a mix of colors, but was primarily teal. It was so beautiful. Draco was across the hall looking at his room, which was green also. She could see that everything was sleek and masculine just like him. Hermione walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. He turned around.
"We should probably go meet our baby." Draco said. He started to look nervous.
"We probably should." Hermione replied.
They looked to the last door at the end of the hallway. This had to be the baby's room.
"Let's go meet our child." Draco said.
Together, they opened the door.