Recap of Chapter 12

'Speaking of turns,' Blaise commented, 'if she decides to accept a relationship with us, how are we going to work out the logistics?'

Draco snorted. 'Have you seen Granger at exam time? Not only will she put us on a schedule, but it will be colour coordinated and timetabled to the nth degree!' There was silence for a moment before they all erupted with mirth.

A/N: Shout-outs to repeat reviewers pgoodrichboggs, GeekybyNature, Dutchess of the Depraved, SlythKris, Snowflake Dazzle, Virginie Cires, kimbclar, GeekMom13, riaroo400, Green Eyed Lana Lee, coyg81 (so do I, you have no idea how much!) and Meuba (me too!).

Special shout-outs to new reviewer xXMizz Alec VolturiXx.

I need to do a correction for the recommendation I gave in the last chapter, the author's name is naarna and not naaran as I mistakenly put, apologies!

Today's story / author recommendation is Beautiful Disaster by ForeverAlwaysTogether, it's a Hermione gets pregnant story and I really enjoyed it.

Chapter 13

Monday 4th September 1998

The first day of classes went well for Hermione, remarkably well in fact. She had expected a few remarks about The Daily Prophet article and Ron's hurtful comments but no one mentioned it; she couldn't help but wonder if perhaps Ginny and the Silver Trio had something to do with that.

After lessons Theo asked Hermione if they could go over the Arithmancy homework that had been set. While they were busy Draco disappeared on an errand of his own and went in search of Clara Bentley, a seventh year Ravenclaw. He smirked when he found her in the first place he looked – the library.

'Hello Clara, I'm Draco Malfoy, we have DADA together,' he began, aiming for a friendly tone.

'I know who you are. Hello Malfoy,' the girl looked wary, almost scared. This wouldn't do at all, he thought.

'I was wondering if I could have a word, it's about a project I'm doing in Muggle Studies and, well, I could use some insight to be honest,' Draco attempted to look bashful in the hope that she would open up a bit. It seemed to work because she nodded her head.

'Yes, okay. We could sit over there so we don't disturb the others,' Clara gestured at the other occupants of her table. Draco smiled and let her lead the way.

Once settled and with parchment and quill at the ready he got straight to the point. 'The project is to compare muggle childhoods with those in the magical world. What can you tell me about things that muggle children, especially girls, might do?' Without further prompting Clara launched into a detailed description of things that she had enjoyed as a little girl and Draco wrote down everything that he thought might be helpful, interrupting occasionally with questions.

'So a Care Bear is a stuffed toy, right? Much like a magical child would have a stuffed dragon or niffler?' He wanted to make sure that he understood the concept before his next question.

'That's right,' Clara beamed at him, pleased at the interest he was taking. He seemed so different from how she remembered him previously, there was no sneering for one thing. 'They come in different colours and have different pictures on the front. So for example Love-A-Lot bear is pink and has hearts on her tummy, while Grumpy bear is blue and has a raincloud on his,' she explained. Draco pretended to understand though in truth he was a little lost.

'And if I wanted to get hold of one of these bears, how would I go about that? I'm hoping to get an Outstanding so I want to pull out all the stops,' he added hastily, trying to justify his odd request. Please don't say a muggle shop, please don't say a muggle shop!

Clara thought for a moment, 'well, normally you'd have to go to a muggle toy shop, but seeing as that's not possible during term-time I suppose I could ask my parents to owl me a catalogue. You could write down your order and give me the money for it then they could buy the teddy and send it here. It seems a bit convoluted but I'm guessing you don't know anyone who would make the trip for you?' Draco sighed internally with relief at this solution.

'Not really, no. I'd be really grateful Clara if you and your parents could help me out. When you say 'teddy' do you mean one of these bears?' Draco had heard of teddies but thought they were lingerie, he was confused again.

'Oh, yes sorry, I forgot that you wouldn't know about soft bear toys being called teddy bears,' she said apologetically.

'I can fetch some money from just now if you like. Will 100 galleons cover it do you think?'

'Goodness me no, that's far too much! Once you've decided what you want to order I'll convert the total from pounds Sterling into wizarding money and let you know. I'll owl my parents later to ask them to pick up a Hamleys catalogue, it may take a few days,' she warned him.

'Yes of course, that's fine. Thanks so much for your help, I really appreciate it,' Draco gave her a genuine smile and made his way back to the common room, humming a Weird Sisters tune as he went. Clara sat for a few moments, wondering who that person had been and what he had done with Draco Malfoy.

At around 9 o'clock that evening Theo went over to the large study table and put his hand on Hermione's shoulder to get her attention. 'That's enough work for tonight little mouse, time for bath and bed. I'll be up in a bit to read your story,' he ordered. Her face showed the range of emotions that flew through her mind – confusion, followed by indignation, then contentment and he was sure he saw a flash of arousal in her eyes.

'But I haven't finished reading through my notes from History of Magic yet,' she protested, but they both knew it was half-hearted.

'Hermione, you can't study until all hours, you need to have a sensible bedtime to get enough sleep. Now put your things away and go upstairs for your bath,' Theo said firmly. She got the feeling that he didn't want to repeat himself again.

'I'll run your bath while you pack up your books, dolcezza,' said Blaise. Hermione's mouth gaped open for a moment but then she found herself doing what she was told. It was an odd sensation and made her feel a bit miffed yet pleased at the same time.

An hour later Hermione was curled up in bed in clean pyjamas and the subtle scent of bluebell bath oil upon her skin. Theo came in and smiled in approval, 'good girl.' He watched in satisfaction as her pupils dilated, her breath hitched and finally her lips moved into a tentative smile. 'Now move over a little,' he commanded before lying down beside her. He made sure to lie on top of the covers so as not to unsettle her, promising himself that it was worth it to go slowly and build up their intimacy gradually. Draco had been right, she had a lot of healing to do.

'Come here and snuggle in,' he said gently and Hermione did just that. She felt safe and warm next to Theo and closed her eyes to listen to the second chapter of Rebecca. Ten minutes later Theo finished reading and concluded 'hmmm, that Mrs Van Hopper was a bit of an old cow, wasn't she?'

Hermione grimaced, 'just a bit. You can see why the heroine's so eager to be rescued by Maxim.'

Theo looked at her thoughtfully, 'yes, I can.' He eased himself out of bed carefully, trying not to disturb her. Then he leant over and stroked her face, moved in to kiss her forehead and softly said 'goodnight little one.'

'Night night Theo,' Hermione gave him a sleepy smile and closed her eyes.

Theo descended into the common room and met Draco's expectant gaze. 'I see what you meant last night, she loved it. And so did I,' he turned to stare at the fire. Blaise felt a little jealous that he hadn't had a turn of reading to her yet, but pacified himself with the thought that it wasn't long to wait until tomorrow night. Draco returned to his book and looked vacantly at the page, he felt distinctly unsettled by Theo's pronouncement.