Happy Friday! I'm going to stay home this weekend, watch movies, and battle a cold. You know what would make me feel better? Some love from my readers.

Chapter 17

GOLDEN TRIO BREAKS UP!

Pansy scowled as she read the latest rubbish in The Daily Prophet. Though she knew that Hermione had finally ended her relationship with Ron, she was sure that Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley were still going strong. Rita Skeeter, however, believed otherwise. According to the nosy, sensationalizing reporter, the couple had had a very public fight over events that occurred in Harry's past. Though, she had no details, Skeeter insisted that the "events" had something to do with Hermione.

"Think they've seen it?" Adrian asked as he joined her at the breakfast table.

Closing the paper, she shrugged. "No idea," Pansy replied. "Hermione left for Draco's hours before the paper came. Although, I'm sure Draco gets it, so it was probably only a matter of time before she did."

Adrian sighed as he skimmed the front page article. "You reckon he told the little She-Weasel about the baby?" he asked.

Scowling, she nodded her head. "I think that's exactly what happened, and it's just a matter of time before she tells everyone."

Sitting back in his chair, he ran a hand through his blond locks. "She doesn't deserve this," he murmured.

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Draco came downstairs with Lilah in his arms to find Hermione in tears. Before her on the coffee table laid The Daily Prophet. Without a word, she got to her feet and took Lilah to the kitchen for breakfast. Concerned by her behavior, he picked up the newspaper and began to read the article. White hot anger blinded him one paragraph in, and he shredded the paper to bits.

"I'll kill him," Draco threatened as he entered the kitchen.

Lilah, who was happily banging her little hands on the highchair tray, suddenly stopped. Hermione set down a bowl of oatmeal in front of the little girl and began to feed her. "Don't," she said. "That'll only make it worse."

Draco scoffed. "So, you're okay with this?" he asked incredulously. "Potter and She-Weasley have a big argument in the middle of Diagon Alley, most likely because he told her what you told him. What are you going to do if that gets out? Rita Skeeter and every other journalist, which is a term I'm using extremely loosely, will be camped out on your doorstep until something new comes along. Hermione Granger secretly gives birth to Harry Potter's love child isn't a story that'll just away tomorrow."

"And killing Harry Potter is one that will?" she countered. "Look, just leave it alone, Draco. There's nothing we can do about it. Let's just ignore it."

"How are you not more upset about this?" he demanded.

Hermione sighed and set the spoon down. "My life changed the moment I became friends with Harry," she explained. "It hurts to have my name dragged through the mud, but I'm used to it. If it gets out, it gets out. The people who needed to know now do. There's nothing more I can do."

Sighing, he kissed the top of her head. "I doubt it's worth much, but I'll stand by you," he vowed. "Whatever happens, I'm on your side."

Tilting her head up, she smiled. "Thank you. That means a lot."

Draco leaned down to kiss her lips, but was met with a glob of oatmeal instead. Turning towards his daughter, he laughed. "That's how I end up wearing her breakfast every morning," he said. "Never put the spoon down where she can reach it."

Hermione wiped the oatmeal from his cheek before kissing it. "Don't do anything stupid today," she told him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his gray eyes clouded with concern.

Turning her attention back to the baby, she shrugged. "I just lost a family, Draco," she replied. "Ron and I are over, Harry and Ginny are over, and I'm thinking it's safe to assume that Harry and I are over. And it's all my fault. Right now, I'm not okay. I promise you that I will be though."

Spoon in hand, he made a second attempt to kiss her. "Just remember that you still have us and Pansy," he murmured. "We're not going anywhere."

"Thanks," she whispered before he kissed her again and left for work. Now alone with the baby, Hermione smiled and began to feed her once more. "I think I might be starting to love your daddy."

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Draco had no reason to go to the Ministry of Magic other than to confront Harry Potter. No one had stopped him as he entered and took the lift to the Aurors' level. Again, no one stood in his way as he barged into Harry's office, wand at the ready. "What did you tell her?" he demanded, raising his wand to Harry's eye level.

The Auror seemed completely at ease. "Tell who what?" he inquired.

"Ginny. What did you tell her about Hermione?" Draco asked.

Sighing, Harry removed his glasses and rubbed his tired, green eyes. "I didn't show up at the Burrow," he recalled. "Every Sunday the whole family gets together for breakfast, but I had stopped in to see Hermione first because she said we needed to talk. I'm assuming, based on your reaction right now, that you know what she told me. Anyway, I was drunk, so I stayed home. Later that day, I was in Diagon Alley, and Ginny showed up. Told me Hermione broke up with Ron, but she didn't believe her reasons for it."

"What were they?" Draco asked.

Harry shrugged. "Just that they'd grown apart, and she was tired of him not making time for her," he said. "Ginny thought the reason was that Hermione was seeing someone else, someone behind Ron's back. I was upset, guilty, and a little drunk still. It sort of just came out. I told her that Hermione and I were sleeping together seven years ago, but that she put an end to it before she left for Australia. I don't know how, but I managed to avoid mentioning the baby. Anyhow, those pictures in the Prophet, that's what the fight was about. Ginny broke up with me then and there."

Lowering his wand, Draco sat down. "She's hurting right now," he shared. "I know there's nothing I can do to help her. I think you can though. She needs to know that she still has you as a friend."

"Seems like she's got you for that now," Harry commented tersely.

Draco scoffed. "Come off it, Potter," he replied with a sneer. "The self-loathing pity party act isn't going to work on me. Look, I don't care if you're a part of her life or not, but she does. Don't string her along. Tell her one way or the other."

"You really care about her, don't you?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I do," Draco replied. "And if you cared about her, you'd talk to her."