Chapter 15: The Waiting
Chapter Text
Hermione was, in one word, frustrated.
In other words, she's extremely frustrated, and one more day of waiting for something to happen and she's going to explode and barge into the Malfoy Manor and pull Malfoy out of his misery, her life be damned.
But she couldn't help it, and she knew she wasn't the only one who felt the sentiment. Ron looked as frustrated as she was.
Why?
Because it's already been three weeks since Hermione dropped the bomb, and in more than one way, she told everyone that they needed to save Malfoy. Now!
But three fucking weeks later, still, no Malfoy flaunting around the headquarters bossing Hermione and Ron around. God, Hermione would be grateful if she saw the Slytherin, even if he started being bossy and ordering her around to get his weird cravings, just so her nerves would be pacified. Just so she'd be able to sleep peacefully without worrying about Malfoy and his baby—about her best friend's life.
But no! That's not the case for Moody.
Hermione wanted to scream her frustrations to the adults, who decided it was brilliant to wait for Snape rather than plan on their own. As if they have all the time in the world. As if Harry Potter's life were not at stake—the only boy who could stop this war.
Hermione wanted to make Moody remember all the times he was accosting Ginny and Hermione to give him Harry's baby, and now that they knew for sure who they were looking for, they decided that the smartest thing to do was stand by in their headquarters and eat and sleep without a care in the worsening war.
She had already done everything to pacify her nerves. She read and read to scour all the books for any helpful spell she could use to save Malfoy herself, but she failed. She knew that even with all her knowledge, she couldn't tear down the wards without alerting all the death eaters in the mansion, all by herself.
She also had a long talk with Ginny, who took the news worse than they had imagined.
"Did you know that I pathetically begged Harry to have me back the day he told me he wanted to end everything?" Ginny said when Hermione found her sitting in one of the unused rooms, tracks of tears stained her flushed cheeks as fresh tears rolled down, and her vibrant red hair looked limp. Hermione bit her lip, and for a second, she considered if she was the right person Ginny needed. Hermione was not good with talks concerning relationships, especially with Ginny, whom she considered one of the toughest women she knew, along with Professor McGonagall and Tonks.
But Hermione could try.
"But it's not like I didn't notice, you know," Ginny continued when Hermione carefully sat beside her. "Harry was, like you said, obsessed with Malfoy in your sixth year, but it wasn't only to you that he would be talking about Malfoy."
Ginny shook her head, as her eyes went glassy, remembering her memories with Harry. "Harry bugged me about Malfoy, he would always ask me, what do I think about what Malfoy's doing? Or what do I think is happening with Malfoy? One time, we had a lengthy talk about how if Malfoy just had someone by his side, he would be better. Or sometimes, when we had time for ourselves to walk on the grounds, he would leave with a guilty expression and a sorry, only to follow Malfoy. I let him be, I knew he was really stressed, as it is with You-Know-Who, and I understood how Harry got sometimes."
"Harry was a shitty boyfriend," Hermione groaned.
Ginny smiled. "Not really, Harry had his moments, but not entirely. He was an attentive boyfriend, I felt that he cared for me, but I guess, he was just fixated on Malfoy," her smile disappeared. "At one point, we fought about Malfoy. I accused him of having feelings for Malfoy while he was with me, I mean, it's obvious that he cared for Malfoy more than he was letting on, he told me he didn't have any and denied everything," Ginny laughed. "Now we're here, and Malfoy's pregnant," Ginny scoffed. "Suspicious, my ass."
Hermione gasped at the implications of her words. "Did you think he cheated on you with Malfoy?"
"No, that I'm sure of it. I know he didn't cheat, that's not just Harry, but I should've known something happened between them the day he ended us. Maybe Malfoy stopped denying that he had feelings for Harry as well. I don't know," Ginny blinked and pursed her lips, taking a deep breath to shake off her incoming tears. "I felt betrayed, Hermione."
Ginny bit her inner cheek. "I shouldn't be, I mean there are much more important things to focus on like ending the war, their baby, and Harry waking up. More important things than my buried feelings for an ex, I mean," Ginny scoffed. "Fuck! We were only together for months, I know I moved on and I don't have feelings for Harry, and we were broken up for years, but when I saw the photo, it just reminded me of our fight about Malfoy and how he denied everything, but it's dumb, I'm dumb, fuck why am I feeling like this?"
"Ginny, listen to me," Hermione held her hands and continued when she saw her quivering eyes. "You're right that there are more important things right now, but that doesn't mean you're not allowed to be hurt, okay? It could be five years, 10 years down the line, but your feelings are justified, okay? This isn't dumb, and you're not dumb. I would feel the same thing, Ginny."
Ginny gratefully smiled.
Hermione understood why Ginny would feel betrayed. It was like being lied to, betrayed by the person you loved. It would make you overthink all the times you assumed, only to realize you were right all the time. Hermione actually was proud of Ginny for not thinking ill that Harry could have done something as vile as cheating on her, Hermione would.
"Did you ever think that it could be Malfoy we're all looking for?"
Ginny slowly nodded. "At one point, yes. I knew for sure it was Malfoy he has a relationship with. I wasn't lying when I told Moody that Harry did tell me he was feeling something for someone else, although he didn't tell me who it was, I was so sure it was Malfoy, but then he got someone pregnant, so I also thought it couldn't have been Malfoy because he's a wizard, and you know what? It secretly made me happy that it was someone else, but then," Ginny smiled. "I realized that it truly was Malfoy, so, I was right all along. Now I feel shit again."
Hermione nodded. She knew that had it been someone else, Ginny wouldn't be this hurt, but knowing it was the same person you've been jealous of all along, was a punch in the gut with an extra hard slap on the face.
"And I felt guilty somehow that I was only telling this to you now, but for a long time, I was hurt and ashamed that Harry could've been with Malfoy instead... but what if I told you earlier? We could've had Malfoy here. We could've saved him earlier, but now he's-"
"Ginny," Hermione didn't let her finish because even she didn't want to think about what Malfoy could've been doing or feeling at this moment. "Even if you did tell us, we would not believe you, Moody and Sirius especially. You've seen how they reacted even with the solid proof."
"Yes, but you and Ron could've investigated earlier if I told you everything I know. I know how your mind works, but it took Cho, and now-"
"Ginny, believe me when I tell you that there's nothing for you to be guilty about. If Harry were awake, he'd tell you the same thing, and even Malfoy. Don't beat yourself up over something you cannot undo. The only thing you can do now is help us get Malfoy."
"And I will, I am more than willing," Hermione smiled when Ginny looked up and saw her eyes, seeing the Ginny she knew—fearless and loyal to boot. "Look, I may be hurt, but I'll do anything to save Malfoy and their baby. I'd really like if Harry could just stop this so I can go back to playing Quidditch."
Hermione shook her head fondly. "You and your brother's priorities, I swear."
But her eyes widened when Ginny suddenly pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you, Hermione. I really need that talk."
Hermione patted Ginny on her back. "And I will never tell your brothers."
Ginny chuckled. "You know me really well."
Hermione even asked Molly to teach her how to knit, and she was more than happy to do so, thankful for the distraction to keep her nerves at bay.
So she did everything except save Malfoy.
Three weeks later, one morning, she woke up, and Ginny greeted her with an anxious look and a desperate, "Aren't we going to do something? Save Malfoy?!" she knew she had to do something. They couldn't keep waiting for Snape, who was busy nursing You-Know-Who back to health.
And if Moody didn't want to do something, then that's on him, but Hermione would not allow it to be on her conscience if something bad happened to Harry's family.
With determined steps, she barged to the kitchen, and there she saw Moody, Kingsley, Sirius, Madame Pomfrey, and Remus—the concerned "adults." And before she could open her mouth to barrage Moody with guilt-tripping words, Remus got her by the shoulders, and then he was pulling her to the living room.
"Remus, I have to tell Moody. We have to-"
"I know what you're going to do and what will happen if you do it. You'll engage in a screaming fight with Moody, and you know how prideful he is, it will just leave you more frustrated, and then what are you going to do? Pull Ron, probably Ginny, and the twins with you, and then what? Once you're in there in the Manor, tell me, how are you going to save him?"
Hermione stared at her former professor. "I was hoping you and Sirius could join us and we could save Malfoy-"
"How? Hermione, we can't just go there with the intention of saving him. Not everything would go according to plan-"
"We can kidnap him. Sneak in the Manor-"
"And the wards? Hermione, we are outnumbered."
"Then, we can lure Malfoy out."
Remus sighed. "How? Do you have communication with him? Lure him in what way? Throw a stone at his window? You don't even know where his room is," Remus shook his head. "Hermione, this isn't a well-thought plan, and you know that. This isn't a Hermione-approved plan, this is your plan out of your frustrations. We both know that something as rash as this will harm Malfoy more than it will save him. Now I know why you're in Gryffindor."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Remus gave her a smile, the one she called his 'professor' smile. "You're a really smart witch, Hermione. Far smarter than I was at your age. But this? This is reckless behavior, normally seen in a Gryffindor."
"I am reckless because this concerns Harry! And," Hermione gritted her teeth. "And it felt like no one cared-"
"Hermione, you are not the only one who cares. I care. You don't know how many times I wanted to go there and pull Malfoy myself. And don't even get me started on Sirius. Sirius is angry and frustrated beyond belief, Harry's like a son to him. My husband," Remus choked. "He can't sleep, I don't know if he ever did since three weeks ago. And besides worrying, I know he felt guilty about what he did to Malfoy. So don't go telling me no one cared because everyone cares."
"Then, if you're telling me that you truly care, we should do something, Remus! We can't just wait! The more we wait, the more we make Malfoy's situation worse!"
"There are situations where all we need to do is wait, this is one of those situations. Hermione, don't forget that Moody is a retired Auror. He knows what he's doing."
Hermione bit her lip. Her parents taught her not to talk back to adults, but they also told her to fight for what's right. "If you think I'm going to sit back one more day while my best friend lies there, defenseless, with his chance of survival in my hands, then you thought wrong."
In one second, Remus had his wand in his hand. "Don't make me do what I know I will regret doing. I respect you as my former student and a wise witch."
Hermione pulled her wand from her wand sleeve. "I respect you as well as my former professor, but this is my best friend we're talking about."
Both Hermione and Remus stared at each other, measuring each other up, waiting for the other to attack. But before one of them could utter any spell, an apparition reverberated inside.
"Professor Snape! Finally you're here!" Ron's voice broke the tension between them.
And then, both Remus and Hermione were scrambling to go to the hall where Moody, Sirius, Kingsley, Tonks, and the other members were with Snape, who had his eyebrow raised.
"I know I'm the most important in this group," Snape ignored Sirius' scoff. "But you looked more than eager-"
"Malfoy's we're all looking for, he's pregnant with Harry's baby." Hermione thought it was she who broke the news to the others, so it should be her right again to break the news to Snape.
And broke it to him, she did. Hermione wanted to pat herself on the back for rendering Snape, who didn't have a single emotion other than his default ones, which were snarling and frowning, speechless.
"W-wha-" And then he was stammering, something out of character for him as well. "T-that can't be." He gasped. "No. What?" He glared at Sirius. "What did you do? Do you think there's a time for a stupid, immature prank, you useless mutt?! Do you think I'll believe this?!"
Sirius laughed, but it sounded humourless. "Do you think this is a joke? Do you think I would ever think of something as cruel as this? This is real," Sirius smirked. "Why yes, Snivellus, not only your precious Lily fell for Jamie, but your precious godson, which I'm sure you treat as your son, also fell for Harry. That's two of the most important people in your life, and I'm sure they're the only, falling for Potters."
Since the first time Hermione saw Sirius and Snape verbally fight back in the 3rd year, Snape has always looked in control, he's always the one with the upper hand. But today, he looked as desperate as Sirius was when Hermione told him the news. "Draco wouldn't do that! He would never! My smart godson would never sully himself with someone like Potter, that boy is stupid."
Sirius snarled. "Welcome to my club, Snivellus, I named it disappointed godfathers and questioning everything they know about their godsons, and yes, I am the founder-"
Sirius was cut off when Snape let out an inhumane sound, and then he was hexing Sirius, fortunately, Remus was there to shield his husband.
Sirius growled. "Oh fuck you, you slimy git!"
"Stop this stupid joke!"
"Joke?! Hey, if you don't believe me-"
Sirius was cut off once again by Cho. "I have here the thing that's probably going to change your mind."
Cho, whom Hermione assumed was now okay, was holding a vial of her memories.
Snape growled and snatched the vial from her, almost clawing her. "Give me that!"
Summoning the pensieve, one of the few things they packed from Grimmauld Place, Snape poured Cho's memories. Sirius, Snape, Moody, and Hermione all pushed their heads onto the magical item.
The first thing Hermione saw when she opened her eyes was darkness, but when she blinked and looked to her left, where Sirius, Moody, and Snape were already looking, she saw four people in what she guessed was Malfoy Manor's basement. Cho was in the cage with Bellatrix, Snape, and Malfoy outside, each with varying expressions.
"Negative," Snape in the pensieve said.
"I know this memory," Snape muttered.
Hermione winced when she heard Bellatrix let out a laugh. "You're going to die now, you silly cow!" She sounded deranged, and Hermione didn't know how she was able to copy her insanity. No wonder the goblins didn't believe her, she didn't think anyone could imitate Bellatrix. She's just too far gone.
Sirius growled, and Hermione knew the man would have done something about his wretched cousin if only this weren't a memory. And Hermione had to remind herself that this is a memory, that Cho is safe and sound.
And then Malfoy was saying, "Did the Dark Lord know, Aunt Bella?"
Hermione saw how Bellatrix snarled and left the place with the pensieve Snape in tow.
And as soon as they were out, Hermione saw how Malfoy opened Cho's jail, and then he was saying, "Let's go, Cho. I'll get you out of here."
Hermione didn't have to look at her companions to see that they were all stumped by Malfoy's behavior. He had truly changed, he was far from the boy she knew at Hogwarts. But she still looked and was glad that Sirius was reconsidering his opinion of the blonde.
Cho and Malfoy were talking, and they looked comfortable enough that Hermione assumed a bond had formed between them. Malfoy must have been the one taking care of Cho.
And then, Cho was smiling. "Thank you, Draco!" She threw herself into Malfoy's arms, but she pulled back as quickly as she could.
Her smile vanished, and her eyes fixed on Malfoy's flat midriff. "You're pregnant."
"Malfoy glamoured his bump, but it's there. It's still small, but it's there." Moody announced it to the group, and Hermione was a bit jealous that she couldn't see the bump.
Something soft snuggled in her when she imagined Harry and Malfoy's baby. They'd be the cutest, and Hermione would be a great aunt to them.
"I don't know what you're talking about. It's just my stomach." Malfoy sounded scared.
And Cho sounded angry. "You're the one." But it turned into fear when Malfoy raised his wand. And Malfoy must have probably not noticed it, but he touched his stomach, and Hermione gasped when she saw his bump.
It looked adorable on him. It made the blonde look soft and familiar to her, never mind his nasty attitude and his vile names for Hermione. Hermione had to control herself from running onto Malfoy and wrapping him in her arms. She teared up a little, imagining Harry's reaction if he just knew he was going to be a father. He's going to have a family of his own.
"Malfoy, no!"
"I'm sorry, Chang."
The memory blackened for a little while, and then the scene changed. If Sirius' gasp was any indication, Hermione realized this was when Sirius, Tonks, and the others had saved Cho.
Hermione, once again, imagined Cho minutes earlier, alive and safe, when she heard Bellatrix's cackling nasty words at her. Then, Bellatrix was casting Crucio on her, and Hermione wanted to cry with her and pull out because it was too much.
"Someone is casting a shield on her," Moody concluded, turning behind him and pointing out, "There!"
"Draco," Snape muttered, astonished, when they all saw an unnoticeable Draco Malfoy, saved for his blonde hair, slumped on the wall, his wand outstretched, counteracting Bellatrix's damages.
From the little light, Hermione saw that Malfoy looked tired, and Hermione knew it was taking a great toll on him, especially since he's pregnant, and Hermione knew pregnant witches' spells' were always fucked up. Malfoy was truly a great wizard, and it must have taken a great part of his raw power if he could still cast something as controlled as the shield while their baby was siphoning off his power.
Hermione wanted to save him there and then. Then, he was raising his hand, and a distress spell shot out of him.
"Oh, fuck, it's him," Sirius muttered in awe.
Before the memory ended, they saw how Malfoy slumped on the wall, exhaustion visible on his face, but he looked happy as he touched his bump. Hermione, there and then, had just a newfound respect for the blonde. And she knew she wasn't the only one.
-
"What happened?" Remus asked as soon as they all pulled out.
"Malfoy is..." Sirius was saying. "He's different from his father, and I now understand what Harry saw in him. Harry deserves him," Sirius shook his head, and he sounded a little sheepish when he said, "They both deserve each other. I was wrong. Everything I said about him was wrong."
Remus smiled.
Ron and Hermione shared a look, but she shook her head when Ron sent her a questioning look, telling him she'd tell him later. Beside her, Hermione scoffed when she saw a charged look on Moody's face, and it confirmed her suspicion that one of the factors keeping Moody from busting out Malfoy themselves was because Moody was suspicious, still.
Screw his constant vigilance.
It was something knowing that their golden boy was shacking up with a death eater and knocking him up in the process, but even Moody would not be swayed by that. He probably thought it was Malfoy's plan to get knocked up just to kill them all, as if Malfoy were that stupid to intentionally get himself pregnant in the middle of a war. It even had to take Malfoy almost sacrificing his life to make Moody see him in a different light.
And now Moody wanted to save him.
Hermione just hoped, everything was not too late.
"Leave this to me," Snape said after some time, raising his hand when Moody and Sirius wanted to fight back. "And I meant that. Do not interfere, do not save him on your own, you're going to cause more damage to Draco. I will try to talk to Draco and see if I could get him to leave with me and hide here, but I don't think that will be an easy task, I don't think Draco would want to hide here."
"But we're talking about Harry's baby! The key to waking him up."
Snape rolled his eyes at Moody. "And Draco's baby as well, yes. It's not just Potter's baby. We could make it look like we kidnapped him, but I doubt the Dark Lord wouldn't know the truth, and he could use his parents," Snape shook his head. "Draco's mother against him."
"And so? I saw what Malfoy did, he's changed. I doubt that's anything of interest to him."
Snape snarled. "You may hate your parents, Black, but Draco is different. You do not know Narcissa the way Draco does. Draco would sacrifice his life for her. In fact, Narcissa was the reason Draco did what he had to do in his sixth year."
Ron and Hermione shared a look again. She knew they were going to talk about that. But she's starting to see how Malfoy and Harry's relationship started.
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Even if it meant sacrificing his baby and Harry's lives?"
"I wish we hadn't come to that. And there's also the mark, the Dark Lord could just summon Draco anytime he wanted or torture him if he remained hidden, and torture him he will once he realizes the truth," Snape's eyes thundered as soon as everyone in the room had a startling realization. Draco's mark. He's bound himself to You-Know-Who, and the monster could do anything he wanted to Draco even with their distance. "Now the question is, how long would it take before Draco folded? And how long would it take before we all did? He could kill Draco even if he remained hidden from him."
Hermione's body tensed. She didn't know that's the extent of the monster's power over his followers, that he could just claim their lives and torture them whenever he pleased, and they didn't have any chance to keep themselves safe or fight for themselves. That must be the reason why Snape couldn't do anything either, his hands are chained. Now Hermione is grateful she didn't do anything rash. Remus was right, in some situations, all they could do was wait for the right timing, and this is the perfect example.
Right timing is very crucial to saving Malfoy.
"And we couldn't give him a potion to induce a natural birth," Madame Pomfrey added. And Snape nodded at her. "It takes three months to brew the potion, and there's the risk of the baby dying."
"So then what are we going to do?"
Snape sighed at Sirius. "Leave it to me."
Hermione shared another look with Ron, they both wanted to do something, to help, but they also knew they couldn't do anything. All they could do was trust Snape. They all knew the man couldn't care less about Harry, but they also knew Malfoy meant something for Snape.