The Start of Our Lives
Summary: After a drunken one night stand, bushy-haired bookworm Hermione Granger finds out that she is pregnant to none other than Master of Apathy Draco Malfoy. They begin their lives as teenage parents and learn to live together and maybe even eventually fall in love? Read & Review.
A/N: BAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHHAHAAHHA! I tricked y'alls! You fell for it! I didn't, I knew all along. I'm the smartest!
LET'S GET THIS BABY UP TO 200 REVIEWS! Yea? Yea ;) You knoww you wannttt toooo ;) ;)
Shall I keep winking? Or will this epic chapter convince you to review? ;) You like the winks but I like the reviews. Infact, I LOVE them. Y'alls are just too kind.
Cuddles and snuggles to all!
;)
Chapter Seventeen: No Mercy With Time
It wasn't everyday that a group of teenagers threw a baby shower but then again, it wasn't everyday that a group of teenagers learnt magic either. Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell, Luna Lovegood, Pavarti and Padma Patil and Lavender Brown were currently in Draco and Hermione's home, throwing pink streamers around the furniture and blowing pink balloons out of their wands. Ginny had gone down to the kitchens to get the cake and Padma was busy with her banner; 'IT'S A GIRL!' in pink and glitter. Pavarti and Lavender were very proud.
"Where's my present? Where did I put it!" Alicia shrieked as she frantically searched through the piles of wrapped presents on the coffee table.
"I don't know, just stay out of my way!" Padma yelled as she climbed on top of the coffee table to hang up the banner- at that moment Alicia chose to stand up and Padma ended up sitting on her shoulders.
"You right up there?" Alicia asked sarcastically.
"Yeah, this is better, thanks," Padma answered as she fixed it up so that it was neat and free of creases. Alicia lurched her back so that Padma fell off- luckily she landed on the lounge. She shot Alicia a dirty glare and went to review the guest list.
"Okay, so who else is coming?"
Lavender picked up her parchment and quill, taking off names as she went. "Ok we have us eight girls, all the Gryffindor boys, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Mandy Brocklehurst, Lisa Turpin, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Ernie Macmillian, Terry Boot, Michael Corner and oh...Zacharias Smith?"
"Oh, I hate him!" Lavender shrieked. "Remember when he copied out my essay for Binn's class and then told him that I had copied his?"
Everyone shuddered at the memory.
"Why is he invited?" Angelina groaned. "He is such a prick!"
"We've invited everyone in the year except for the Slytherins. Oh, and Ginny and Luna of course," Pavarti nodded in Luna's direction. The blonde-headed girl was sitting cross-legged on the floor with her eyes closed, humming to herself. It would've looked like she was mediating if it weren't for the fact she was leaning forward on her elbows, her face propped up in her hands, her ever dreamy smile present.
At that moment, Lisa Turpin and Mandy Brocklehurst walked in the open door. Everyone exchanged hello's and hugs and "I'm so glad you could make it!"
"Where's Hermione?" Lisa asked as she put her present down in the already large pile.
"She's with Draco, they should be here in about half an hour."
The baby shower had been Draco's idea- his last desperate attempt to convince Hermione to keep the baby. After the scare, he had done everything he could to suck up to her- he made her sweet tea, carried her books to class, even offered to massage her back when she complained about how sore it was. Still to no avail, Hermione's mind had not changed. He tried talking about her favourite baby names, she ignored him and changed the subject. He would say how cute the baby would look with her nose and his lips and she'd snap at him because he was ruining his concentration on her homework.
Draco was exhausted, but he wasn't giving up.
He and Hermione were currently on the Astronomy Tower deck, looking over the magnificent view of Hogwarts. Hermione couldn't help but feel somewhat peaceful as she drunk in the blue of distant mountains and the green of nearby fields. Even after five years here, it never seized to amaze her just how glorious Hogwarts really was.
"Thank you for taking me here," she said quietly to Draco. He had noticed that over the last week, she barely made eye contact with her. He had apologized for going off at her, she had forgiven him, but she was unnatural around him- as if she was almost afraid of him. Draco rubbed her shoulder because he noticed how tense she was, but she flinched before he could lay his hand on her.
"You ok?" He asked concernedly.
She nodded, shivering a little.
"Are you cold?"
Before she could answer he was already taking his cloak off and wrapping it around her. She immediately relaxed and settled back in his waiting embrace.
"You know what name I've always liked?" He said randomly. "Adriana."
Hermione didn't reply straight away. She was trying to find her voice. "Yeah, I think I remember you saying that when we were thinking of names."
"It's my favourite. What's yours?"
Hermione knew why he was doing this. Holding back tears, she bit down on her lip, drawing blood. "Um..."
"Hermione?"
"Gracelyn," she finally whispered, her throat all thick and her voice broken. "I like Gracelyn."
Draco felt the warm salty tears on his hand as he gently caressed her face.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I know you don't like to talk about it but-"
"If you know that I don't like to talk about it then why do you insist that we do?" Hermione shook her head and wiped the tears away. Draco mentally punched himself as he kissed her forehead and rubbed her back.
"I'm sorry, I'm such an idiot."
"Yeah, you are."
Draco chuckled at that and then he stood up. Offering his hands to Hermione, he heaved her up. She sighed and rubbed her back.
"I can't wait until I can get up on my own again," she mumbled and started towards the door. Draco rushed after her and grabbed her hand, leading her gently down the spiral staircase.
"Can we go back home?" Hermione pleaded softly. "I'm so tired."
Going home was a good idea but Draco didn't know what time it was- they were supposed to be back by three, which was the time the baby shower started. The only way he was going to know was if they went into the Clock Tower Courtyard to check the time- the perks of throwing away the watch passed down to him by father, Draco thought bitterly. He decided to risk going back- Hermione and stairs didn't agree with each other.
As they reached the corridor where they resided, Draco started running to the portrait hole, knowing Hermione would be ages away.
"Is it safe?" He whispered to the guardians of the portrait. They giggled and nodded.
"Everyone's here. Good luck."
"Thanks." Draco back to Hermione who was just rounding the corner.
"What was that for?" She grumbled.
"I just felt like running. I do that sometimes...Stop looking so grumpy."
Hermione's surly expression didn't improve so Draco just grabbed her hand and pulled her gently along the way. He declared the password and hesitantly stepped in. The lights were all turned out, something that clearly annoyed Hermione.
"What the hell? Why are there no lights on?"
Somebody whispered, "Lumos," and all the lights flickered back into place.
"SURPRISE!"
Hermione's face remained stony as everyone she knew jumped out of the hiding places. Fred and George Weasley lit off a bunch of Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks and the girls all clapped and cheered. But they all soon stopped when they noticed that Hermione was looking at them with murder in her eyes. Fred and George awkwardly tried to stand in front of the fireworks.
Seething through her teeth, Hermione rounded on Draco.
"Was this your idea of terrifying me to death? To get a whole bunch of idiots to give me a heart attack? Really? God!"
"Clearly she doesn't have hormones or anything," Seamus whispered into Dean's ear, who quailed until the furious look Hermione had just given him.
"Well, you can all go back to your houses now. Well done, you succeeded. You're lucky I didn't have a bloody stroke!" Hermione shouted as she teared down the streamers hanging above her head, making Angelina, who was in charge of the decorations, wince and moan as Hermione threw it on the ground.
"Uh, Hermione..." Draco started, shielding his face with his hands because it was likely that she would attack. "We weren't trying to scare you. This is a surprise party."
"But..." Hermione breathed heavily, staring at all the nervous guests. "My birthday isn't until September."
"Look up there Hermione," Harry pointed up to the banner hanging in the middle of the room.
"I don't wanna be the one to give it away but this is a baby shower," Ron emphasized on the words 'baby shower'.
"I don't understand..." Hermione trailed off, shaking her head.
"We want to help you Hermione," Lavender took a step forward to her ex-roommate. "Draco told us all about your plans to give the baby up for adoption-"
"-And frankly," Pavarti added. "We think it's a terrible idea."
The rest nodded in agreement.
"You're not alone in this," Ginny smiled sadly at her best friend. "We all want to help you. Every single one of us."
"Erm, I don't really want to help her," piped up Zacharias Smith from his spot in the corner. "Can I go?"
Ginny glared the famous fierce Weasley glare at him and pointed to the door. Once he was gone, she turned back to the trembling pregnant girl.
"We know you're worried about classes but we can babysit for you whenever you need a break- we're just around the corner."
"And we know you're worried about money so we have found Draco a job in Hogsmeade under Dumbledore's permission," Harry put in. Draco looked up surprised. He met his ex-rival's eyes and mouthed, "Thank you."
"We've also brought you a ton of stuff so you don't have to worry about buying anything just yet."
"And you also have your mother to help you."
Everyone gasped at the short woman with the bushy brown hair standing in the doorway. Hermione slowly wheeled around to find her mother, positively gleaming with pride at her daughter.
"Oh honey," Kate Granger shook her head. "My, you have blossomed!"
She held out her arms to hug her only daughter but Hermione just stood there, slightly swaying, staring at her mother.
"Mum?" She whispered. "Wh-what are you doing here?"
"Draco owled me a few days ago and told me to come down here for your baby shower. I couldn't miss this."
Her arms were still expectantly waiting for Hermione but she didn't move.
"You...You haven't spoken to me for four months. Do you honestly think that I will just welcome you back into my life after the way you've treated me. After the way that you let dad treat me? All those letters he sent me...I never got any from you."
"Yes, well you can blame that on your father who I am divorcing by the way."
Hermione's brown eyes widened with shock. "What?"
"Your father, to put it bluntly, is an asshole. Hermione, I knew that you were trying to send me letters but he intercepted them. Clever of him really. He's been doing that ever since you first attended Hogwarts. I tried to send you letters back but he threatened me. After all the years of abuse he put us through, I decided that I just couldn't stand him anymore. I kicked him out. Besides, he was cheating on me anyways. Oh, and I've decided to quit my job as a dentist. The only reason I joined a dentistry career because my father had been a dentist and wanted me to follow in his footsteps. That was holding me back. Now, I just want to focus on being a mother to my daughter and a grandmother to my grandchild."
"Granddaughter," Hermione corrected slowly. "She's a girl."
The smile on Kate's face was evident enough. Hermione couldn't help herself, she fell straight into her mother's eyes.
"I'm so glad you came back, mumma. I really needed you. I can't do this without you, I can't!"
"Shh, baby. I'm here."
Everyone else who was occupying the room smiled at the sight of the reunited mother and daughter. Draco felt his heart leap with uncontainable joy. Now that Hermione's mother was back in her life, Draco was almost certain that Hermione would change her mind.
When she finally let go of her mother, she gazed around all her fellow classmates.
"I...I need to discuss something with Draco," she announced. She grabbed his hand and pulled him out, everyone gaping after them.
"Well this has been a cheerful afternoon," Luna nodded her head smiling.
Just outside, Hermione had taken Draco into an empty Arithmancy classroom. Draco sat down on a desk as Hermione stood at the front near the desk.
"I want to be a teacher here at Hogwarts," Hermione began. "I've always believed that I could get fantastic OWLs and NEWTs. After I got pregnant, my hopes were dashed and I didn't have the same self-confidence as I've always had. I was scared that Sunshine would think of me as a failure if I didn't succeed to my dreams but...I know that she will think I'm a failure if I'm not in her life."
Draco's grip on the desk tightened.
"What is your biggest fear?" Hermione suddenly asked.
"That you will give Sunshine away and that I will never see her again," he answered immediately.
Hermione swallowed and stared at the ground curiously. "You wanna know what I'm afraid of?"
"I think I already know- that you won't be a good enough mother to Sunshine. But Hermione-"
She cut him off by holding up a finger. "That's the second thing I'm most afraid of."
"Well...What's the worst thing."
Hermione took a deep breath and forced herself to meet his eyes.
"You."
Draco arched an eyebow. "Me? Is it because I yelled at you last week? Hermione, I already said that I was sorry and I really mean it-"
"No, I'm not afraid of you, I'm afraid of losing you. I've already lost a father due to the fact that he's a selfish prick...I don't want Sunshine losing her father. I'm scared that we keep the baby, you'll leave."
Draco stared at Hermione in disbelief and shock. "You really think that?"
Hermione shrugged her shoulders sheepishly. "You could say that I'm a pessimist."
Draco whistled lowly. "Yeah, you could say that. But Hermione, you have to understand something; you and Sunshine are my first shot at having a family. A real family. A family who loves and cares about me, who supports my decisions in life and who is always there for me. I never had that growing up and it's just killing me that you want to take that all away. If you give Sunshine up then where does that leave us? I'm scared that if I lose Sunshine, then I'll lose you as well.
"So. I guess we're both afraid of losing each other."
Stormy silver met velvet brown.
"There's only one thing we need to do to make sure that never happens."
xox
"Ok guys, remember to close up your ink pots when you're done, we don't want to leave any stains lying around do we?" Lavender shouted as everyone wrote down their favourite baby name on a scrap of parchment. "Hermione and Draco can use these names."
"But they're not keeping the baby," Hannah pointed out.
"Yeah, if they're not keeping it then why did we have to buy all this stuff?" Justin groaned half-heartedly. Lavender rolled her eyes and ignored them.
"Um, guys?"
Silence wafted throughout the room. They were back.
Hermione nervously stepped through the portrait hole, surveying all her friends. "There's something we need to tell you."
The whole room waited, a collective breath held at once. Draco clasped his hand in hers and squeezed it reassuringly me.
"Draco and I have come to a decision."
The tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Ginny crossed her fingers in her mouth, bouncing up and down in anticipation.
"We're keeping the baby."
A stunned silence filled the air before what sounded like an explosion was heard. The guys were coming up to Draco shaking his hand and girls were crowded around Hermione squealing. Kate burst into tears and Harry was busy comforting Ginny who was literally bawling her eyes out.
"I'M JUST SO HAPPY!" She wailed loudly.
"I know my lamp, I know," Harry rubbed her back comfortingly but he couldn't wipe the huge grin off of his face.
"Ok, ok guys! It's present time!" Lavender grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her over to sit down on the lounge, Draco immediately joining her. She handed Hermione a large pink box with a tacky pink ribbon tied around it. Hermione carefully tried not to tear the paper but Draco reached over and ripped it all off. She smacked his arm but forgot about it when she saw a pink themed baby bath set, filled with dresses that looked as though they would fit a doll, a pink teddy bear, bottles, nappies and a shampoo set all in pink.
"It's from me and Pavarti," Lavender grinned at the sight of Hermione getting teary at her brilliantly fashioned present.
"Oh Pav! Oh Lav! C'mere!" She motioned her friends to hug her from her sitting position because it would be too much of an effort to stand up.
"I'm next!" Ginny shouted, running forwards and knocking Terry Boot out of the way. Her present was a stuffed snowy owl with a pink bow wrapped around it's neck, reminding Hermione strongly of Hedwig.
"Thanks Ginny, she will love it," Hermione grinned and gave her best friend a hug.
The rest of the group handed out their presents; Hermione received various clothes, not just in pink but also in yellow and white, more nappies, blankets, a baby monitor, a sling for Hermione to carry the baby around in...She was overwhelmed by the end of it.
"You guys...seriously, you are the best. I love you all," she said thickly through her tears of happiness. Ever since she had made the decision to keep Sunshine, she couldn't keep the radiating smile off of her face.
"Potter and Weasley haven't given you their present yet!" Draco pointed at them accusingly and Ron stuck his tongue out mockingly at him.
"That's because we have to show Hermione it," Harry winked at Draco as he already knew what it was.
"May I?" Ron bowed low in front of Hermione and stuck out his hand. Giggling, Hermione took it and both he and Draco helped her up. Draco stood behind her and put his hands over her eyes and Ron took her hand and began leading her through the small hallway where Draco and Hermione's bedroom was, along with the bathroom and spare bedroom.
"Where are we going?" Hermione asked curiously.
"You'll see," Harry sang out in an annoying sing-song voice.
The three boys were so excited they could barely keep themselves from jumping up and down. They led her into the room, shushing each other eagerly.
"Can you remove your hands from my eyes now?"
Draco did so.
"You did not!" Hermione screeched, causing everyone to come running to see what she was yelling about.
A large crib made of dark oak wood along with a matching changing table and dresser stood in the middle of the room, along with a pram. To put it bluntly, Hermione was floored.
"Are you serious?" She whispered.
"You're our best friend Hermione and we love you. We want you to be happy."
"Harry paid for it all but I chose it all," Ron put in proudly.
"I...I don't know what to say."
"I would suggest a thank you but would that seem to common?" Draco asked sarcastically.
"Thank you!" Hermione screamed, launching herself inton Harry and Ron's arms. They hugged her back, glad that the Hermione they knew and loved was back. "I love you guys so much!"
"We love you too," Harry and Ron murmured.
"Aww," the group melted at the sight of the Golden Trio sharing such a golden moment.
Draco leaned back on the wall and surveyed the three. A year ago, he hated all of them with a passion. Now here he was, deeply in love and ready to become a father, healing his relationship with Harry and Ron. It had been a hectic year but he felt as though he was ready to take on the world now.
Now all he needed to do was get through the birth of Sunshine.
A/N: Query: I like pet names. Today I called my boyfriend Chomps Ahoy and he got...let's say...PISSED. Really. So if I call you Lady Dough-Face, will you be offended? Coz you know Imma do it.
If you don't review I will stop winking and my seed face will become the sadness face
:(
YOU WANT ME TO MAKE THAT FACE?
LADY DOUGH-FACE, I'M TALKING TO YOU!