A/N: Thank you all for the reviews! I'm glad you all love this and it just makes me so happy to hear what you all have to say about it. There was a while there that life was hard and I was unsure about finishing this. I think there was only a couple chapter up at that time, but now... You all have encouraged me to keep it up and not give up. So, thank you. =) And for some of you, McGonagall was born in 1925. So, I couldn't really imagine her having a child around her fifties (although people do and that's all good and fine). But, it isn't Draco or Theo. And I won't be telling you, sorry. I might have to remind you I'm a little evil... Mwahaha... No? Okay, then. ENJOY!

Chapter 19

January 25th, 1997

Hermione was nervous. She sat on the edge of the hospital bed, her legs dangling off the side, and knee bobbing up and down with her anxiety. She could feel Draco's eyes on her, the hairs on the back of her neck were telling her so. But she did look at him, her eyes were staring towards the door to Madam Pomfrey's office, waiting for the Medi-witch to come out with the damned potion already.

She perked up, a small smile forming on her face when she saw the older woman coming and she finally looked at Draco to find him standing up at the other witch's appearance, sticking his hands in his pant pockets and seeming almost as nervous as she felt.

"Okay, Ms. Granger," Madam Pomfrey said and held out the vial of clear liquid to her. "Are you ready?"

Hermione stared at the potion given to her, hesitating before she grasped it, her finger gingerly curling around the glass. She swallowed nervously, almost afraid. This was it. Over the past few days Hermione had wondered about when the time came, would she want to know the sex of the child growing in her womb? Could she handle knowing if it was a boy for girl? She feared it was a boy. A boy that would end up just like it's true father. The thought was dreadful. Then she remembered the book. Feidlimid Redbrush's book. And Professor McGonagall... Both women bore children that did not take after a single thing from their father, according to what she knew, but what exempted her child from the same thankful fate.

"Hermione?"

She turned and looked at Draco. He was now sitting next to her, his eyebrows furrowed deep, though his expression was full of concern. She briefly noticed that he was holding onto her free hand, his fingers laced with her own and he gave her palm a reassuring squeeze. "You wont leave me will you? You'll truly stay with me?" she asked, unable to help her voice from quivering.

His frown was more confused. "Of course, I am. I promised you I would," he said and Hermione nodded, closing her eyes. It took a few moments, a clock nearby letting her know just how many minutes were ticking by.

"Okay... I'm ready."

Her eyes opened and she was faced with a smiling Madam Pomfrey. "Alright, dear," the woman took out her wand and Hermione held up the potion, however looked at the Medi-witch for assistance. "Now you're going to drink the potion, and then I will cast the untrasonography charm and we should know soon. It can take up to ten minutes before we get anything, though. So, don't worry if nothing appears right away, alright dear?"

"What will appear, Madam Pomfrey?" Hermione asked, needing all the details before she could go any further. "I mean, how will we know?"

"The tip of my wand will glow blue if it is a boy. If it is a girl it will glow pink," Hermione sighed slightly at that information. It didn't seem at all hard or painful, that was definitely a plus. "It's all rather simple, Ms. Granger."

Hermione closed her eyes again mentally counting, 'one, two, three.' She finally raised the potion to her lips, beginning to grimace when her mouth suddenly went dry. But then she started tasting strawberries, missing the swish of the older witch's wand. Looking to the vial she thought it a rather silly potion. Hermione handed it back to Madam Pomfrey, who took it and stored it away on a nearby stand.

Now they had to wait.

Minutes ticked by ever so slowly, it almost seemed like hours. But when Hermione glanced down at her Muggle watch, she noticed it had only been five minutes since she took the potion. With a sigh, she leaned her head on Draco's shoulder, bringing his hand over to rest in her lap as she stroked the top of his hand gently, tracing his fingers with her own, needing something to do while they waited. And this seemed like the only thing that would calm her nerves.

It took exactly ten minutes before anything happened. Madam Pomfrey let out a rather surprised sound that caught Hermione's attention and she raised her head off of Draco's shoulder slowly. Looking at the tip of the woman's wand. She watched as the glow struggled between the colors and then Hermione nearly cried when it finally settled and they were all left staring at the soft pink, pulsing glow.

She threw her arms around Draco's shoulders careful with her belly at the awkward turn, and sniffling as she burrowed her face into his neck. "It's a girl," she whispered, sounding amazingly pleased with this news. "Oh, thank Merlin, it's a girl," she said, her voice caught in her throat. She felt so overwhelmed and happy that she wasn't having a boy, knowing that her reaction would have been dreadful if it had been, the astronomy tower had been on her mind. She clung to Draco as she began to cry, and melted into his arms when they wrapped around her gently, his voice whispering soft words into her ear.

Hermione didn't notice, but the tears that appeared in Draco's eyes weren't lost on the Medi-witch.

/-/-/-/

January 28th, 1997

Draco's free period after lunch was spent up in Hermione's rooms, studying and getting their homework done. The scratch from their quills and the crinkle of them turning pages was all the noise they made, leaving them in an otherwise comfortable silence. Once and a while he would glance at her from the corner of his eye. Watching as she chewed on the tip of the feathered quill, her scrunched quizzical brow hidden by a curtain of bushy brown hair as she concentrated on her school work.

At times when he let his eye wander, he would find himself fixated by her belly. Round and protruding with the child she carried. She seemed to have a bit of a glow to her skin and he couldn't help thinking how annoyingly beautiful she was. It was only annoying because he kept being entranced by it, she stole his focus every time he saw her. He was turning into a Nancy-boy. While it was a bit bothersome, in the end he didn't particularly care.

In the back of his mind he was always reminded that the child, the baby girl, was not his. But in truth, it was. Not by blood, no. Although, he could find himself already attached and he hadn't even met her, hadn't even felt her kick in her mothers stomach. And each time Hermione told him about the incidents he wished he'd been there. It had only happened once or twice so far, so he wasn't worried.

Blaise and Theo had made fun of him numerous amount of times when they caught him staring at her. And all he could offer them was a simple 'fuck off', before his attention was once again captivated.

Now she sat there, beside him, unaware that he was falling head first into a pool of emotions he couldn't even name. And it sucked. He hated it and loved it at the same time.

He wished his mother was around, so she could help him decipher what he was feeling. Why did his heart pound quicker every time he saw her? Why did his palms sweat at the thought of kissing her? Why did he feel completely at ease just being in her very presence?

He sighed disgustedly. He wasn't used to this, at all! All this emotional baggage... He never had it growing up, so he always felt so uncomfortable when it came up and bit him on the ass.

Hell, he'd been so uncomfortable and frigid after his 'stay' with Greyback, he had Snape obliviate him. It had been too much to handle. Now all he knew was the minor things that had happened, his brain hurt whenever he questioned what else had occurred. So, he didn't know and couldn't even speculate that he had been defiled.

Comparing the two seemed wrong. His feelings, whatever they were, for Hermione had nothing at all in comparison to his feelings on the matter of Greyback. Both made him uncomfortable, but in two extensively different ways.

"Is something wrong?" her voice snapped him out of his daze and he raised an eyebrow, finding Hermione looking at him, concern etched into her features. Her hair now tucked behind her ear and her quill setting in the middle of her textbook.

All he could do was shake his head and he watched her lips turn into a smile, his own breaking out when she leaned forward and planted a kiss on his lips. Her lips were so smooth, it was almost impossible to think that lips could be so soft... When she pulled away she yelped and he jumped, thinking something was wrong.

"What is it?" he nearly rolled his eyes at the frantic tone of his voice.

She shook her head and smiled up at him brightly before she took his hand and then placed it on the side of her belly. His eyes flew wide when he felt the lightest of movements beneath his fingers. He leaned forward, looking down at her stomach in complete and utter awe, as he placed his whole palm and spread out his fingers over her sensitive skin. "Wow..." It was the only thing he could comprehend, the only thing that made sense to say. What else could he say?

/-/-/-/

The look on Draco's face had been astronomically stunning. Hermione stared at his face while he continued to watch her belly as if he might be able to detect the movement with his eyes as well as feel it with his hand.

"You know, Madam Pomfrey said that the baby... She, should be able to hear us," she spoke softly, almost a whisper but loud enough for him to hear. His reaction was to look at her like she was crazy and she chuckled, shaking her head. "Oh, come on. Give it a shot, it'll stimulate her. She might move some more," it was getting easier to think of the baby as a being now. As a little girl. Her daughter. Well, their daughter. If Draco was absolutely positive about staying with her through this. Because she could only imagine the inner ravings he must have, since the child wasn't his.

She observed silently. Heeding the way he slowly leaned his head down closer to her belly, his hand moving across her abdomen to the other side of her monumental globe of a stomach... And to think, it was only going to get bigger... She noticed his Adams apple bob nervously, his eyes flickering to her uncertainly. She could only smile, providing a nod of encouragement for him to continue.

"Um-" he cleared his throat. A moment passed and he sighed with a roll of his eyes and she could only imagine what he was thinking. Most likely something along the lines of 'get straight you fucking ponce. It's a fucking stomach, speak to it and then be done!' While he was nice to her, he was still a dick at times and it wouldn't bother her if he was really thinking that. "I can do this," she heard him mutter and she subconsciously nodded again. "Hey, little one..." he said hesitantly, wincing at his own words. "I'm your- Well, I'm..." he looked to her once again.

Hermione slowly brought one of her hands up and brushed her finger through his hair, "Your her daddy, Draco," she said quietly. The quiver in her voice a response to her nerves on the subject. And again she questioned herself if he would stay.

Very slowly a smile appeared on his face. It was small, but it was a smile nonetheless. "Yeah," he breathed out, looking back to her belly. "I'm your daddy."

Hermione felt her breath leave her body, her heart nearly exploded with the sincerity in his voice, and the open devotion on his face. 'I'm your daddy.' She shook her head and had to look away, although couldn't quite quench down the urge to cry when his thumb was gently stroking her skin just below her belly button.

'I'm your daddy.'

/-/-/-/

February 10th, 1997

Hermione was trying desperately to get to her classes on time, but with her pregnancy she couldn't run. She hadn't even the energy to hurry. She was tired, she was cranky, and her back and feet were killing her. She more than once growled at people to get out of her way. She actually growled. Then she broke into tears when a third year pushed passed her, causing her to drop her bag and all of its content spilled out onto the floor.

She wasn't supposed to bend over to pick things up, so she was left to squat down with a hand on her back as she one by one picked up her books and papers from the floor. People passed her, not even acknowledging that she just might need help. Until a pair of hands grabbed her potions text and she looked up to find a pair of bright green eyes looking at her, pleading with her not to shut him out.

Standing, she took the book he offered to her and set it into her bag, but there was still more to get. When she went to squat once more, he waved his hands and shook his head almost violently.

"No, no," he said before crouching down, getting on his hands and knees while he gathered all of her stuff together in a pile. "I'll get it, you shouldn't stress yourself."

She raised a curious brow, but said nothing until he stood up with his arms full, nearly dropping it all in his rush to get up. She sniffled and wiped away the tears on her face. She was rather grateful, he'd saved her from having to put any extra strain on her back. "Thank you, Harry." She told him, opening up her book bag, so he could stuff all the junk into it.

"It's no problem," he said, blushing a little, pushing his hands into the pockets of his robes once her school things were safely back inside her bag. "I'm mean... We're still friends. I help my friends."

She stared at him for a long moment after that, and she could tell she was making him uncomfortable. If him shifting from one foot to the other was anything to go by. A part of her didn't care, but then she slowly smiled at him. It wasn't exactly genuine and nor was it insincere. He was trying and she acknowledged that.

"I can't forgive you right away, Harry-"

"I'm not asking for your forgiveness, Hermione," he interrupted her, much to her annoyance. However, she let him continue. "What I did... Abandoning you- I've had some things I've been dealing with too since this summer- and that's no excuse, I should have been there for you, but I think what I've been doing took away my ability to rationalize."

She couldn't stop the snort that came or the incredulous look on her face. She'd been hanging around Blaise and Theo far too much. "Rationalize. You, Harry?"

His cheeks colored further and she relented with a sigh, but before she could say anything, he spoke again. "I know I'm not exactly the type to think things through. I run out into the unknown, guns a blazing," she smiled at the Muggle term. "But I do try, and I've been meeting with Dumbledore, he's been helping me out," she opened her mouth to ask. "Please, don't," he said raising his hand to stop her from questioning what was going on. "I'm not allowed to tell anyone. I haven't even mentioned anything to Ron. Just know, that I really am sorry, Hermione," he said and she watched as his head ducked down and he looked at his shoes forlornly. "I'm sorry about your parents. I'm not saying it because I feel guilty, I'm saying it because I mean it. Although, I do feel guilty about not being there for you, not helping you through the pain..."

The water works started again, stinging her eyes, and she could just see passed the blur of tears, just making out the alarmed look on Harry face. "Oh, shit," she laughed a little at his choice of words, but couldn't stop the current onslaught. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry!"

She laughed again and lightly hit his arm. "I'm pregnant, Harry. I can't help getting emotional when you say things like that. Don't be sorry," she then told him, trying to wipe the tears away as more and more people were starting to notice.

It seemed Harry noticed too, because he looked at a fifth year and glowered at the poor boy. "Stop staring and get to class," she nearly laughed again, because he sounded just like Professor Snape for a moment there.

"Hermione?" She turned towards the all too familiar voice and smiled through her hormonal state. Draco stood there, just a few feet away, surveying the scene and looking like he might pummel Harry. "What happened?" he then moved forward, bringing his hands up to clear away the tears with gentle caresses of his thumbs. "What did he do?" the venomous words were directed at Harry and she watched the Slytherin shot him a malevolent scowl.

"Nothing," she said, placing her hands over Draco's with a sniffle and trying to calm herself. "I dropped all of my stuff and he helped me pick it up."

His head turned quickly back to her. "And you're crying over that?" she could tell he noticed the harsh way he spoke, when he winced shortly after. "Sorry."

"It's okay," she said and then looked back to Harry. "I think we've come to an understanding, haven't we, Harry?"

Harry's posture had stiffened since the arrival of the Slytherin, and Hermione noticed that his expression was a little disgusted at the display but she wouldn't let that damper her mood. She didn't forgive him, but she felt like maybe she could someday.

"Right," her fellow Gryffindor said with a jerky nod of his head.

"Want me to escort you to your next class, love?" Draco asked, wrapping his arm around her waist. For show or just because, she didn't know. They had grown on one another since they started this faux pas and feelings had surely rooted and bloomed, at least on her end. And it didn't seem he minded when they snogged.

"Sure," she smiled up at him and then offered a pleasant smile to Harry. "See you around, yeah?" she said, letting Draco turn her around so they could get to the next class they shared together.

"Wait, Malfoy!"

Both of them turned around to look at Harry, Hermione's nerves twitching, and Draco's hand squeezed her hip lightly.

"You better take good care of her," the 'or else', while not said, was easily interpreted.

TBC