And just as soon as Harry and Hermione turned around to see who was speaking to them, Draco Malfoy shoved Hermione with great force into the lake. With a silent scream on her lips, she plummeted into the deep water below. Panic stricken, Harry thought for a split second whether he should finish off Malfoy right here and now, along with his two goons who stood with him (Crabbe and Goyle, naturally) or should he go after Hermione. His better judgment got to him, and within a split second, he dove into the chilly lake to rescue his beloved. He quickly found Hermione, and helped her to shore. Sputtering and coughing a bit along the way, Hermione was, to Harry's relief, without apparent injury. She was shaking a bit, clearly due to the frigid temperature of the lake despite the pleasant March weather. Harry helped her out of the water, and had her sit on one of the low lying rocks by the shore. He took out his white handkerchief, and transfigured it into a towel. Placing it around her, he spoke sternly to Hermione.
'Stay here. I'll be right back,' he ordered, a most serious look on his face. Continuing to cough, she looked at him and nodded.
Hermione continued to cough a bit and then soon stopped, taking in a few deep breaths. She rubbed her eyes, scanned her surroundings, and quickly placed her gaze on her would-be attacker.
Malfoy, she thought to herself.
Her eyes narrowed, and she had the most deadly look in her eyes. And all of a sudden, like a bolt of lightning, it hit her.
She was furious. No, she was livid.
How dare he – how dare he push her, shove her like a piece of meat into the lake, especially in her current condition. Hermione felt the anger rising in her, overcoming her. She wanted in the worst way to get him back. Get him back for good, she thought to herselfAnd then as quickly as the onset of her internal rage came about, she snapped out of her thoughts.
Good lord, Hermione, get a hold of yourself, she thought.
It wasn't like her to become so angry, so out-of-control with her emotions. Hermione was very predictable, very level-headed. And these thoughts that suddenly overcame her…well…it just wasn't like her. Never before did she feel so much hatred and anger towards a single individual. Perhaps it was the pregnancy – yes, perhaps it was the hormones that made her feel this way. She closed her eyes and then opened them wide, shaking her head fiercely, as if trying to dismiss the conversation in her head, and instead placed her focused on the two boys that stood a few feet in front of her.
Crabbe and Goyle had a mighty good laugh at seeing Hermione plummet into the lake that afternoon. It was also common knowledge that the two goons had the attention span of a small flea, for they had quickly spotted a pudgy first year Hufflepuff, who was just begging to be teased and tortured according to their standards. The two boys ran off, while Draco stood alone. He was now stepping ever closer to Harry and Hermione, admiring the soggy-looking pair.
'Well Potter…save the day again, didn't you?' Malfoy said, a sneer across his lips. 'Thanks to you, the Mudblood isn't resting at the bottom of the lake, now is she?' he said with a most disgusted look.
'Piss off, Malfoy…what the hell are you still doing at Hogwarts anyway? Shouldn't you be somewhere where you're actually wanted?' Harry said, moving closer to the blond headed boy, the rage unmistakable on his face, eyes narrowing to look at the young Death Eater.
'Wanted, Potter? Who cares about being wanted. I have more power now then you'll ever dream,' Draco said through clenched teeth, still nearing the Boy-Who-Lived.
'Yeah, some power….Does it come with a one-way trip to Azkaban?' Harry inquired. He then continued speaking to Malfoy. 'Oh, and speaking of Azkaban – how is your Dad doing?' Harry asked sarcastically, knowing fully well that the oldest Malfoy was in fact pending trial. He had been recognized and caught as one of Voldemort's inner circle. Harry knew that it was just a matter of time before one of the other Death Eaters would break him free, and even though he was well aware of this possibility, Harry was currently finding great joy in rubbing the current circumstances in Draco's face.
The words Harry spoke to Malfoy stung him to the core. And just then, an infuriated Malfoy, with a scowl upon his face, reached for his wand as Harry did the same.
'No!' shouted Hermione, as she began to stand up and go towards Harry.
'Mione, get back!' shouted Harry, not taking his eyes off of Malfoy.
And it was Draco who threw the first curse. Hermione quickly ducked behind a larger rock, a rock that would hopefully offer her more protection.
Harry and Malfoy continued to battle. Spell after spell, curse after curse. The two were bloodied and bruised in no time. The spat continued for minutes, and it was at one point, when Draco commanded the Expelliarmus curse, that Harry's wand flew out of his hand and landed on the shore a few feet from Hermione. Malfoy sneered at his proposed victory, and was about to utter another painful spell, when all of a sudden, a large shadow loomed over Draco. He suddenly rested his wand arm by his side, and turned to look behind him.
And all of a sudden, a large pail, a large empty aluminum pail, came out of nowhere, and wacked him hard on the side of the head. The blond boy fell unconscious, not even getting a chance to recognize his attacker. He fell on his back, completely oblivious to the world.
Harry, on the other hand - nose bleeding, cheek scratched, pants torn and bleeding, looked up at the giant shadow, and spoke to him:
'Thanks, Hagrid.'
Hagrid looked at Draco, and then back at Harry. A few seconds passed before Hagrid addressed Harry. 'You don't think he recognized me, do ya?' asked Hagrid, in a worried tone, again looking at the bloodied Malfoy. 'I mean, he was attacking ya, Harry, and, well…I didn't have my wand on me, ya see, and so I did the next best thing-' he said, looking down at his pail, '-wackin' him 'oer the head with this.'
'Hagrid, I don't think he knew it was you. You…you caught him by surprise…' and Harry continued speaking while looking down at Draco, '…and you got him good, too! I suppose we can't just leave him there, huh?' asked Harry with a slight smile, weighing the options as he continued to look at Malfoy's wand in his hand.
'Harry - he needs to be taken to the hospital wing,' said Hermione, who had gotten up from her crouched position, and was now standing next to Hagrid. 'As much as I'd like to leave him here to rot, he needs medical attention,' said a level-headed Hermione.
Harry looked with disdain at the Slytherin student. 'Fine,' said Harry, obviously annoyed, and well aware at all the house points and detentions that would await him upon his return to the Castle. He muttered a levitating spell, and Draco soared a few feet in the air hanging like a ragdoll.
'Harry, lemme go with-' but Hagrid didn't get a chance to complete his thought. Harry interrupted him. 'No, Hagrid – I'm not letting you take the blame. It's alright…I'll take care of it,' said Harry, glancing up at Draco.
Hermione turned and looked at Hagrid. 'Harry's right – you…you stay put,' said Hermione. Hagrid opened his mouth, and then closed it. He gave a brief nod, turned, and started to make his way towards his home.
Hermione – wet, and soggy, with a towel around her shoulders, walked with Harry (who was still bruised and bleeding), as he was preceeded by a lifeless-looking Draco Malfoy, floating in the air. The two hurried quickly towards the Castle, amongst the gasps and whispers that were heard along the way. As luck would have it, they arrived at the doors of the castle, just as Professor Snape was exiting the castle to retrieve a few ingredients for potions class from the Forbidden Forest. He stood to the side of the doors, arms crossed, allowing Harry and Hermione to pass, and watching them with a most peculiar look on his face. Without saying a word, he thought to himself that the potion ingredients can wait, and followed silently behind Harry, Hermione, and Draco to the hospital wing.
Along the way, they crossed paths with Professor McGonagle, who spurted and stuttered and was flabbergasted at the sight that was in front of her. She too followed the three to the hospital wing, and fell into step with the Potions Master.
After Madame Pomfrey patched up Draco, she left him sleeping quietly, and then proceeded to tend to Harry, who was sitting next to Hermione. The two Professors had been silent this entire time in the Hospital Wing, when suddenly, Severus Snape decided to speak.
'Pray tell, Potter-' Snape stated, looking down at Harry, '-what was it this time?'
'He tripped,' Harry stated quietly, not bothering to look at the Professor, and instead concentrated on the laceration Madame Pomfrey was trying to heal on his right hand.
'Amusing, Potter. To say the least,' Snape said, glaring at Harry.
'Potter,' the Headmistress interjected, moving closer to Harry and away from Severus, '…no matter if you were defending yourself…or Miss Granger for that matter, it should have not resolved…to this' she said, looking at Harry, and then Draco, and back to Harry.
'I'm afraid house points will be deducted. And likewise, a detention is in order,' said the Headmistress, a most displeased look upon her face.
Severus Snape, looking especially smug, spoke to Harry.
'Detention, Potter: my office, tomorrow evening, seven o'clock,' he said to the boy. And as he made his way to exit the infirmary, turned around and spoke to Hermione. 'And Miss Granger – seeing as you were also involved in this matter, you are also expected tomorrow evening. ' She looked at Snape in disbelief, not believing what she was hearing. She was expected at detention as well? What had she done wrong? With one look at Professor Snape's face, she thought it best not to argue with his decision. She merely put her head down, and allowed the Potion Master to exit the hospital wing, robes billowing behind him.
The Headmistress, in the mean time, continued to lecture Harry on controlling his temper. Harry had heard this speech before, in fact many times before. Some times, his temper got to the best of him. And he did admit to himself, that he did lose his temper for a good reason this afternoon. A very good reason. If he had not been there, it was likely that Hermione would have drowned. And this was something that Harry could not get out of his mind. This was something, that was down right unforgiveable.
The Headmistress soon left, and moments after, Draco began to stir. Madame Pomfrey hurried to the injured Slytherin. She arched his head, and had him drink yet another potion, this one a deep purple. The potion immediately quieted him, and she reached out her hand to check the wound on his left leg. It was indeed healing quite nicely. Madame Pomfrey made her way back to the two and was about to dismiss them, when Hermione looked up at the witch and spoke.
'Madame Pomfrey, can…can we talk to you for a moment,' Hermione said in a sort of whisper. Madame Pomfrey nodded with a quizzical look on her face, and sat down in a chair, facing Harry and Hermione.
Hermione began to speak again. 'Harry and I…we…well, before all this happened today, we had…Oh!' she said, and remembered that Draco Malfoy was nursing his wounds on a cot several feet in back of them. Hermione took hold of her wand, and muttered a silencing spell around the three of them.
'Sorry,' Hermione said, looking sheepish. She began to speak again. 'Harry and I were talking this afternoon, and we…we want to know if we can find out the sex of the baby,' she said, looking at Madame Pomfrey. The mediwitch looked at Hermione with soft eyes, and spoke to her. 'Of course, dear. Here: lie down,' she instructed Hermione, and she placed a curtain around the cot to protect Hermione's privacy.
'Lift up your shirt, Miss Granger,' Madame Pomfrey commanded, and once Hermione had situated herself on the cot, she lifted her shirt up slightly to reveal her abdomen. Madame Pomfrey placed her wand over Hermione's abdomen, and spoke a few complex spells. All of a sudden, Hermione's stomach glowed a golden color. Harry looked in awe, as Madame Pomfrey continued the incantation.
And all of a sudden, Hermione's stomach started to morph into a different color, a color other than gold. Harry watched the event unfold, and then all of a sudden, a smile grew upon his face, a smile that stretched from ear to ear, and he looked up at Hermione.
Hermione's abdomen had turned blue. The softest shade of blue, the color of a cloudless sky.
Hermione looked down in awe, and smiled. She looked back up at Harry, who was obviously overcome with happiness. His eyes began to well with tears -tears of happiness, no less. He would be a father to a son. His son. As the two continued to focus their gaze on each other, and on Hermione's abdomen, the Mediwitch spoke.
'A boy,' Madame Pomfrey said in a warm voice. She too was smiling, continuing to look at Hermione's abdomen. 'It's a boy,' she whispered.