Authors Note: Hello, dears! I apologize for the long wait! I feel extremely bad about that.
Firstly, I would just like to thank all the supportive and kind messages/reviews I've received from you all. It means the world to me that you all have faith in me.
This chapters not the best, and certainly not one of my favourites. It's more of a filler chapter, really. Kinda short.
I typed it up at 1:30am and I'm incredibly tired and too lazy to re-read it. So, if it has any major mistakes, which I don't think it has, then eh, I don't care(': Read on, dears…
Chapter Thirteen.
Date: Monday 28th September 1998. (Words: 2417.)
A week had passed since the fiasco at Blaise and Ginny's 'congratulations' party.
Things went along as usual. The students attended classes, often sat together at lunch, and Ron and Draco casually avoided each other's gaze.
"You can't keep avoiding him, Draco," Hermione said, rolling her eyes as she put her books into her book bag.
"Who said I'm avoiding him? Weasley's just not worthy of my attention," Draco said snootily, fiddling with his blond locks.
When he caught Hermione's piercing glare, however, he flushed.
"Sorry, it's just old -"
"Habits die hard, yeah, yeah, so you've told me a million times," Hermione scowled. "You don't treat Ginny this way."
Draco huffed slightly. He'd explained this to her a thousand times! Blimey, she just didn't listen.
"As I've said before…Ginny's not a Weasley. She's a Zabini."
Hermione scoffed.
"As if that makes all the difference in the world."
Draco gave her a long look. Finally, he placed a broad smirk on his face and began walking slowly towards her.
"Don't even think about it!" Hermione said, pointing at him. She knew that smirk. It was one that was on her husband's face most mornings.
"About what, dear?" he said in a falsely innocent voice. As he reached her, he pulled her into a tight hug, one hand reaching up to brush a stray lock of hair out of her face.
"You know what I'm talking about, mister!" she said sharply. "We don't have time!"
"We have all the time in the world, beautiful," Draco whispered, placing light kisses all over her face.
Hermione could feel herself caving. Merlin did he have her wrapped around his little finger.
"You're such a sex-maniac, Draco Malfoy," Hermione giggled, leaning into him.
"You love it."
"Why are you so late?" said an incredulous Harry Potter when he noticed his best friend and her husband stumble into the Great Hall towards the end of breakfast.
"Overslept," Draco said, just as Hermione burst out a nervous, "Studying!"
Hermione looked at Draco with wide eyes. She then coughed before turning back to the others, who were shooting them knowing looks.
"I was studying. Draco, however, decided to stroll out of the bed room just ten minutes ago."
"I bet he did," Pansy snorted into her pumpkin juice.
Hermione's face flushed. She knew she shouldn't have given into him. Now she had all of five minutes to scoff down her whole breakfast, go over her Potion's essay and get to her first class.
Her life would be much simpler if he wasn't so god-damned attractive.
"I told you they went at it like rabbits most mornings, Ronald," Luna said bluntly as she and Ron approached their friends.
Hermione flushed once more, burying her face in her hands.
"Oh god."
Draco smirked at Hermione, who was almost dying with embarrassment.
"I think we should get to class," Ron said, coughing awkwardly.
Draco shot him a small glare before wrapping his arm around Hermione protectively. He no longer thought Weasley was trying to steal his wife… he was just going to be extra careful from now on.
No one stole from a Malfoy. No one.
The group rose from the table just over five minutes later and began making their way out of the Great Hall.
Hermione hadn't managed to scoff down her breakfast at all. She had taken one look at the eggs before feeling extremely nauseas.
When they entered their Transfiguration class, Draco pulled Hermione aside.
"Are you ok?" he asked, worried.
Hermione shot him a confused look. What was he talking about?
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
He brought a hand up and stroked her cheek, smiling softly at her.
That was the smile that made her heart beat a mile a minute. It made her knees week and took her breath away. It was the most beautiful smile she'd ever seen.
"You just look pale, that's all," Draco said, dropping his hand slowly, clasping her hand in his.
"Come on, lets sit down."
Did she look pale? She didn't feel unwell. Sure, she'd felt a little sick this morning at breakfast, but it had passed as soon as it came.
By the time lunch came around, Hermione felt exhausted.
She felt like she hadn't slept in a week. Which was partially true. She was either up late studying, or up late doing something else all together. It usually involved her husband, who was constantly horny.
"I'm exhausted!" Ginny said, flumping down beside Hermione, who was sat underneath the tree by the Black Lake. "My feet are killing me!"
Hermione grinned at her best friend.
"How's Pregnancy suiting you?"
The red head groaned.
"It's horrible!" Ginny sighed. "Why do these women always go on about the pregnancy being the highlight? It's terrible!"
Hermione rolled her eyes, chuckling slightly.
"Come in, Gin, it can't be that bad."
Ginny shot her a look.
"You wanna bet?" she said, eyebrows raised. "I'm puking my guts up every morning, I get awful back-pains and I'm always tired!"
Hermione frowned.
"I didn't think some of those symptoms happened till later on in the pregnancy?"
"Hermione, this is magical pregnancy's we're talking about. It's much worse than bloody Muggle ones. Yes, it may be shorter, but they get all the flippin symptoms all at once!" Ginny said in exasperation. "Plus, mum told me that sometimes you do uncontrollable magic."
Hermione was confused. She thought uncontrollable magic was when kids hadn't been trained yet?
"Uncontrollable magic?"
"Yeah," Ginny said nodding. "It's the baby. Don't ask me, I don't have a clue."
Hermione rolled her eyes once more. If it had been her in Ginny's position, she would have looked it up. As it were, she'd already purchased a few parenting books from Flourish and Blotts by mail-order. She wanted to be prepared.
She couldn't exactly ask her parents about it. Magical pregnancies and Muggle ones were completely different. The only advice she could get from her parents were about the morning sickness and back pains.
The rest of if she'd have to figure out for herself. Oh, and from Draco, of course.
"So how are things between you and Malfoy?" Ginny said, pulling a large cheese roll out of her bag.
"Things are - things are great," Hermione said, smiling. "He still isn't completely over the thing with Ron yet, but he's getting there."
Ginny nodded as she munched greedily on her roll.
"It's understandable though," she said once she'd swallowed her food. "I mean, he's been raised to hate us all. You can't exactly expect him to hate us one minute, then be best buddies with us the next."
Hermione hummed. What Ginny said was true, but Hermione was still slightly worried. She didn't want her relationship with Draco to ruin her friendship with Ron.
If they had another fight, Hermione honestly didn't know who's side she would pick.
Her feelings for Draco were growing more and more by the minute.
During the day, when she wasn't with him, she craved him. It was like she thought about him all the time. It was driving her nuts. In a good way.
Draco Malfoy was sat in the library, glaring down at his Transfiguration essay. He had no idea why he had to learn about 'The Pro's and Con's of being an Animagus.'
He had no intention of finding out. Why would he want to transform into a disgusting animal? No, he was perfectly fine staying human, thank you.
He grabbed his Eagle-feathered Quill, (A gift from his mother) and dipped it into his ink, pondering what to write.
He was broke out of his thoughts, however, by a tapping on the window.
His head snapped up, and Draco saw that a large, tawny owl was sat on the window sill, waiting to be let in.
Draco looked around, wondering who the owl could be for. It certainly wasn't for him. The only people who wrote to him was his mother and the bank, and this owl was certainly not their owls.
But the owl was still looking at Draco, with a rather impatient look on it's face.
Draco scanned the library once more, before deciding that it must be for him.
He dropped his quill and pushed his chair backwards before standing up and striding over to the window.
As soon as he opened it, the owl flew in and perched itself on Draco's shoulder, much to the Slytherins annoyance.
"Shoo!" he said, waving his hand at it. The only bird that was ever allowed to sit on his shoulder was his very own owl. "Shoo!"
The owl didn't move, however. It almost looked like it was glaring at Draco. The owl stuck his leg out, waiting for Draco to take the letter.
"Fine, you incompetent bird!" he snapped, removing the letter from it's leg. As soon as he had done so, the bird flew off his shoulder, through the window and out of sight.
Draco 'hmpf'd' before wiping imaginary dirt from his shoulder.
"Bloody bird," he muttered, sitting back down at his table.
He looked down at the envelope in his hand. It didn't have anything written on it.
His brow furrowed. Pulling out his wand, Draco started muttering incantations.
"No Jinxes or curses on it, then," he said, shrugging. He ripped open the envelope and pulled out a single piece of parchment.
It was… blank.
"What?" he said, frowning. He flipped the parchment over, and as he did, his eyes widened.
Dropping the parchment on the table, he stared down at note. It had one word on it. Just one word. Traitor.
Draco felt his gut drop. Traitor.
He had a bad feeling about this, an incredibly bad feeling.
"What's this?" Blaise Zabini said when Draco had stormed up to him, shoving the letter in his face.
"It's a letter," Draco said simply, pacing back and forwards.
"Yeah, I can see that. Why are you giving it to me?"
Blaise asked, confused. "What's wrong with you?"
"Read it," Draco said, completely ignoring his last question.
"What?"
"Read it!"
Blaise rolled his eyes, opening the envelope. He pulled out the parchment.
"Traitor?" he said, looking back up at Draco. "You calling me a traitor? Listen mate, if it's about hanging out with Potter then -"
Draco huffed, stopping his pacing to turn and glare at his best friend.
"It's not about you, you bloody idiot!"
Blaise looked a little taken aback.
"Not about me? Then who's it about?"
"Are you really that dense?" Draco asked, eyebrows raised. "It was sent to me!"
Blaise looked back down at the letter, re-reading the one word before looking back up at the blond.
"Who sent it?"
Draco frowned. He didn't know. He had a hunch, and he hoped he wasn't right.
He shot Blaise a look, who immediately started shaking his head.
"No, don't be an idiot. He couldn't have possibly sent it!"
Draco ran his hands through his hair.
"How do you know that, Blaise? Are you psychic?"
"No. But I'm not an idiot, either. Mate, there's no way!" Blaise told him.
"And how do you know that?" Draco said furiously.
"Because he's in prison! Last time I checked, prisoners weren't allowed to send letters."
Draco would have agreed with him, if he hadn't had that gut feeling.
"Who else could it be, then?"
"I don't know," Blaise said, shrugging. "Some crazed girl who hates you for marrying Hermione, maybe?"
Draco's eyes widened.
"That's why he sent it! Because I married Hermione!" Draco groaned.
Blaise huffed. His friend was such a idiot at times. Always jumped to conclusions. Which was why he got in the mess that he did with Weasley.
"Draco Malfoy. Will you shut up? Your father is not sending you letters! I doubt he even knows about your marriage to Granger!"
"Not Granger," Draco muttered, looking down at the floor.
"Whatever," Blaise said, waving a hand. "If this is worrying you that badly, then tell Hermione about it! But for Merlin's sake pull yourself together!"
Draco looked up at Blaise, one eyebrow raised, a slight smirk on his face. It wasn't often that Blaise lost his cool. When he did it was usually with Draco.
"I can't just go and tell her! It'll worry her sick!" Draco told him.
"Mate, if you don't tell her, I will," Blaise said firmly.
Draco didn't say anything. Only glared at him moodily.
He sometimes hated Blaise. Always sticking his nose in. The great oaf.
Nearly an hour later, Draco finally plucked up the courage to make his way back to his and Hermione's flat.
When he walked in, he saw Hermione sat on the settee, fiddling with her hands.
"Draco!" she said, smiling nervously as he walked in.
"Sorry I'm back late, was with Blaise," Draco said, placing his library books on the coffee table. "Something the matter?"
Hermione gulped.
"I think we need to talk," she told him.
Draco sighed, sitting down beside her.
"Yeah we do," he said, nodding.
"Oh, do you want to go first?" Hermione said.
Did he? Not particularly. He wanted to take her and hide her away for ever, so his father could never get to her.
"No, it's fine, you go first," he said, taking one of her hands, stroking her knuckles.
"I um - well I was talking to Ginny earlier and I -" Hermione stuttered, not getting her words out properly.
Draco looked up at her face. She looked pale again. She wasn't ill, was she? He'd better take her to the infirmary, just to check.
"What is it?" he said, worried.
"Well, she was telling me about her pregnancy. Telling me the symptoms and stuff," Hermione said, looking down at her lap.
"So?" Draco said. She was really worrying him now. Her hands were shaking! She couldn't look him in the eye, or anything. Something was clearly bothering her.
God, what was going to happen when he told her about the note he received? How would she react? What if she got really scared? He didn't want her to be scared. He didn't want her to worry, either…
He had to tell her. Right now. He had to get it out of the way.
"Hermione I-"
"Draco I think I'm pregnant!" she blurted out suddenly.
She - what? Pregnant? She couldn't be. Not now. Not when he'd just got that note! It wasn't supposed to happen like this!
They couldn't bring a baby into this! Not yet!
Oh god.
End Authors Note: Oooh, so Hermione thinks she's pregnant and Draco gets a one-worded note. DUN-DUN-DUNNN!
As I mentioned up the top, not too fond of this chapter, but it was needed.
Review replies:
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