Hey. So, for those of you who read my author's note, thank you for being patient with my updates. I've been working on other less-happy stories as of late. I literally had to force this chapter out of me, so please don't flame me if you don't like it. Thanks. Also, this is month two of Hermione's pregnancy. So, don't be confused if I skip a couple days here and there.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
(Draco pov) Set the day after where the last chapter left off
"Draco! Come on!" Hermione yelled from the living room.
It was Christmas Eve, and we were going over to Harry and Ginny's house for a party. Everyone was going to be there. Almost the entire Weasly clan, Remus and tonks, Neville and Luna, and a lot of other people from our Hogwarts years. It's a good thing they've got a big house.
I was in the bathroom, straightening my hair, and putting on my shoes. Tonight, we were going to tell everyone about Hermione's pregnancy. Granted, she was only a month along, but Hermione thought the earlier everyone knew the better. After all, she was carrying multiples.
"Wow, love, how did I ever get such a beautiful wife?" I asked, walking out of the bathroom, to see Hermione standing in the living room. She was wearing A silk red dress that wrapped around her chest and hung down to her knees. It was incredibly simple and elegant. Her hair was hung loosely, and I could tell that she had magically curled it. (Picture on profile)
"Well, for one thing, you stopped being such a git-" She said, breaking off her sentence with a giggle as I picked her up and twirled her around.
"Hey, let's not speak of that." I said, kissing her on her nose, which always made her smile.
"Yeah, yeah. Well, you better savor tonight. It'll be the last time you see me in a dress for roughly nine months." She said, putting her arm in the crease of my elbow. "Anyway, we have to get going or we'll be late." She continued, opening the door, leading me out to the porch, and magically locking the door behind us.
"Ready?" I asked, and she nodded while putting her wand in her bottomless purse. I keep my wand strapped to my arm. We then felt the familiar pull on our navels as we apparated to Harry and Ginny's house in Godric's hollow.
"We have to be very careful about how we announce this, Draco." Hermione said, gripping my arm as we walked onto the porch.
"How so?" I asked, straightening my hair.
"Because, if we do it too soon I'm almost positive that everyone will only be talking about us, and I couldn't do that to Ginny. It's her party, after all. So, I say we do it after the dinner. Agreed?" She asked.
"Alright, love." I said, ringing the doorbell.
"Hey! Merry Christmas!" Ginny shouted as she opened the door, and gave each of us a hug. "So, Hermione, how are you… ya know… coming along?"
"Ginny! Shush! We haven't told anyone else yet." Hermione said, hugging the red head.
"Why not?" She asked.
"We're going to tonight! Now can we please come in? I'm freezing out here, and I'm sure Hermione isn't much better." I said, watching the snow fall to the ground around us.
"Oh, well, come on, then!" Ginny said, letting us in. Ginny was wearing a dark green cocktail dress with black lace around the top. She looked good, but not as good as my wife. The entry way was decorated beautifully with Stars hanging from the ceiling, and a bunch of little Christmas tress everywhere. Everyone was dressed in green or red, with a few daring to wear silver.
"Hey guys!" Hermione said, walking over to where Harry, Remus, and Nymphadora were talking. Dora was about 8 months pregnant, so she was pretty big.
That will be Hermione soon.
Sigh. I stood there with my hands in my pocket, thinking about the future.
"Hey man." Blaise said, walking up to me.
"Oh, hey mate! What are you doing here?" I asked, giving him a very manly side hug.
"Well, ya know, Pansy wanted to come." He said, slumping against the wall with me.
Ah. Blaise and his on again, off again girlfriend we here. They've been going out since Hogwarts, but Pansy doesn't know that Blaise slept with Astoria. So, I doubt she ever will. Rumor is, Blaise is going to pop the question.
"Blaise, are you going to ask Pansy to marry you?" I asked, and Blaise immediately smacked my arm and shushed me.
"Shut your bloody mouth! Do you want her to hear?" He said, pointing over to where Pansy was talking with Hermione.
"Sorry, mate." I said, wondering when Pansy and Hermione became friends.
"Anyway, yes, I am. Soon. I'm going to on her birthday. January 28th." Blaise said, and I slapped him on the back.
"Great. Now you get to join the club. It's dark and cold down here." I said, and he laughed.
"I bet." He said, before Pansy came over to him.
"Blaise, do you want to- oh, hello Draco." She said, stopping her sentence to look at me and blush.
(Hermione pov)
"Did that really happen?" I asked Harry and Remus.
"Oh yes. Harry here is quite the shot. I think he won." Remus said, sipping his punch.
Harry and Remus were telling me about their bachelor party/paintball tournament, and how that she devil Astoria showed up. I had just laughed at some joke, when I saw Draco talking to Blaise in the corner of my eye.
Well, I guess it's good that Draco's got someone to talk to. I thought, but then Pansy came over to their group. She said hello to Draco, and then she….. Blushed?
Oh no she didn't!
"Um, could you guys excuse for a minute?" I asked Harry and Remus.
"Sure!" They both said.
I nodded, smiled, and then walked over to where Blaise, Pansy and Draco were standing. Draco's back was to me, so I simply tapped him on the shoulder.
"Oh, hey Hermi-" Draco said, stopping his sentence as I planted my lips on his.
He was momentarily surprised, but after a few seconds, he put his arms around my waist, and opened his mouth. His tongue just barely danced across my bottom lip, when I pulled back, and stared pointedly at Pansy and Blaise.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Hello Pansy, Blaise. How are you doing?" I asked, not bothering to look at Draco, who I could see from the corner of my eye, had his mouth open looking at me in shock.
"I, uh, um, we're uh, good…" Pansy stuttered. She then grabbed Blaise's arm, who was staring at Draco and I in confusion, and dragged him over to a different group of people.
"What?" I asked, once I turned to face Draco, who was still staring at me, open-mouthed.
"What the heck was that about?" He replied.
"Well, a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do to protect her man." I said, and his confusion turned into a smirk.
"I never took you for the jealous type." He said, putting his arms back around my waist, and pulling me closer.
"Hey! Pansy was totaling blushing at you! And, mister husband, you were completely oblivious!" I said.
"Hermione, love, that's because the only girl I notice is you." He said, and a swear, I heard someone go 'aw'.
I did my best not to smile, but when I couldn't keep that up, I buried my face in his chest. "You know, this whole charming thing is making it really hard to be mad at you."
He chuckled and hugged me closer. "I know. That's the point."
"Okay everyone! It's to eat!" I heard Ginny call. I looked up to see her and Harry standing in the middle of the room, ushering us into their living room.
We all went into the room, to find two tables filled with heaps of food, and several other tables to sit at. An hour and two plates of food later, I was sitting at my table with Draco as Harry got up and walked to the front.
"Merry Christmas everyone!" Harry said, holding his glass of champagne.
"Merry Christmas!" We all chorused.
"Thank you everyone for coming to celebrate Christmas Eve with us. I also want to thank my beautiful wife who put all of this together. Come on up here, Gin." Harry said, and we all clapped as Ginny went up to the front and went to Harry's side. "So, please, enjoy yourselves! There's a fully socked bar in the corner of the room, and dancing too! But, if you've got kids like us, I would stop at one glass of champagne."
Everyone laughed as Harry and Ginny made their way to their seats.
"Hey Harry?" I asked at he sat down at our table.
"Yeah?" He replied.
"Do you mind if Draco and I say something?" I asked, and Draco got up and pulled me up with him.
"Oh, sure, sure!" He said, pointing to where he and Ginny were just moments ago.
Draco and I held hands as we walked up to the front, my heart racing while he was perfectly calm. We stood there while everyone else was talking in their seats, until Draco cleared his throat.
"Hey! Listen up! We got something to say!" Draco yelled, and the entire room went silent as they all stared at us. "The floor is yours, doll."
Way to be subtle, Dray.
"So, uh, hi!" I shouted, and I was replied with a chorus of awkward hellos. "Um, since everyone I know and Love is here, I thought this would be a good place to make an announcement."
Everyone in the hall sat up a little straighter, with looks of curiosity written all over their faces.
Well, in about 7 months, Draco and I are going to have a few extra mouths to feed." I said with a smile, and the entire room's eyes widened, and they all smiled.
"You're pregnant!" Luna stood up and said, running up to the front and hugging me. "This is so great! You're to have babies!"
"Well, that is the general idea of being pregnant, honey." Neville said, coming to stand behind Luna. "Congratulations Draco, Hermione."
"Thanks man." Draco said, shaking hands with Neville while Luna and I hugged some more.
A lot of people came up to us within the next two minutes hugging us and saying 'congrats'. After that was over, Draco went to talk to Hermione, and I went to talk to Ginny.
"So, Mrs. Potter, how are you doing?" I asked. She always shivered when I said her last name. Said she felt like a princess when people called her that.
"Oh, just great, Mrs., Malfoy." She said, and I shivered too. "See! It makes you feel weird, right?"
"Yeah, it does." I said, sitting next to her at the bar. "Like, royalty, or something."
"Yeah." Ginny sighed, taking another sip of her champagne. "So, how do you fell? About the pregnancy, I mean."
"I-" I began, but was interrupted.
"Can I get you anything?" The bartender asked, and I immediately recognized him as Drayley Atkinson, a Ravenclaw from Ginny's year.
"Um, I'll have a ginger ale with a cherry." I said, and he turned to Ginny.
"Strawberry Cosmo, please." She said, and the boy went to the other side of the bar to make our drinks.
"Anyway, to answer your question, I feel….. Well there's not really a word for it." I said, and she narrowed her eyes at me.
"Of course there is! That's what words were made for!" Ginny said, smiling. "Now, how do you feel?"
"Uh, I guess I kind of feel…. Whole. I mean, I felt that way when it was just me and Draco, but I feel a sense of, fulfillment. Like I was meant to do this. I feel…really happy." I said, and she smiled bigger.
"That's great!" Ginny said, patting my arm as the boy came back with our drinks. "All I felt for the first three months was nausea."
"Ginny!" I said, laughing.
"What?" She asked, which only made me laugh harder.
"Speaking of kids," I said, taking a deep breath. "Where are James, Annabelle, Austin, Aislyn, Cameron, Caleb, Isabella, Anna, Molly, and Elizabeth?" I found it amazing I remembered all those names.
"Oh, I had my friend Megan watch them. She took them to the burrow with Charlie and Arianna." She said, sipping her Cosmo.
"Oh, well, I guess that's a good place for them to be. Away from all this alcohol." I said, and Ginny tipped the rest of her drink back, and looked at me pointedly.
"Hey! This alcohol is pretty dang good!" She said, and I could tell she was already tipsy.
"Ginny, how much have you had to drink?" I asked, when the bartender brought her another drink.
"I don't know, five?" She said, drinking half of the drink in one gulp.
"I think it's time to switch to water, Gin." I said, taking the drink out of her hands.
"What, No!" She said, barely slurring her words. "Never mind, I have to go find Harry!"
Ginny jumped off her chair, and walked away towards the dance floor. She almost fell couple times, to which I laughed, until the bartender started to undress me with his eyes.
"Why hello my beautiful, pregnant wife!" Draco said suddenly, coming up behind me and hugging me. "Get lost, bar boy."
The bartender quickly scurried away, as Draco took Ginny's seat.
"Well." I said, smiling.
"Well what?" He said, taking a sip of butter beer.
"And you called me jealous." I said, and he smirked.
"Yep. I didn't come and snog you. I just told that guy how it was. He obviously didn't hear our announcement, or he just didn't care. I do have a wife and kids to protect now, you know." He said, kissing my cheek.
"Yeah yeah. Anyway, could we go home now? All these scents are starting to make me sick. Not to mention the smell of vodka and whiskey." I said, and he nodded, took my hand, and we walked through the house, saying goodbye to everyone. Once we were at the front door, Draco suddenly stopped.
"Why did you stop?" I asked, standing outside in the snow in my thick coat.
"There's mistletoe here. I can't leave without a kiss." He said, pouting at me.
I rolled my eyes, walked up to the door, and gave him a short, light kiss on the lips. "Now can we please go?"
"Certainly." He said, picking me up bridal style.
"You know, you don't always have to carry me." I said, as he walked through the snow with me in his arms.
"Oh, I know, I just don't want you to get tired. Plus, it seems like my arms were made so I could hold you in them." He said, and I kept thinking about how wonderful my husband was, until we reached the end of the street, and we apparated home.
~o0o~
I was nearing the end of month two of my pregnancy, and everything was going great. Of course I was throwing up non stop and smelling certain things sent me running to the bathroom, but over all it was going good. I was super excited because at the end of my third month, I get to find out how many babies I'm carrying and the gender. I wasn't showing just yet, but that would come soon. Everything seemed fine, until I got a letter.
"Hey 'Mione?" Draco said, coming into the room from outside.
"I'm in the kitchen!" I shouted as I ate my cereal. He came into the room with the mail. "What's up?"
"You got a letter. I don't know who it's from." Draco said, and handing me an envelope.
I took the envelope, and noticed that the messing handwriting looked familiar. I gently tore open the letter, and gasped at what I saw.
Dear Hermione,
I know how badly I hurt you, and that I don't even deserve the time you're putting in to read this letter, but I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I'm sorry I caused you so much pain, I'm sorry about cheating on you, and most of all I'm sorry that I missed out on a life spent with you. I can see how happy you are with Malfoy, and I don't want to stand in the way of that. But, I just thought you should know how sorry I was.
I understand if you never wanted to talk to me ever again, or even think about me. You're happily married now, and I can respect that. And, I'm so incredibly sorry about what I did at that bridal shop. It was most likely the dumbest thing I've ever done. And, Avalon, my…. Wife…. Had our baby 2 weeks ago. It's a girl. We named her Mia. It makes me think of you. And Anna, that other girl, is 5 months pregnant. We're having a boy. I also heard that you and Malfoy are having kids. (Ginny let it slip. She was drunk and called me) I'm really happy for you. I know you'll be a great mother.
And, I just wanted to say that I regret everything, from the day I even met Lavender at that coffee shop, to now. I know that I have no business telling you this, but I hope that someday, you can forgive me. I know that I shouldn't even be asking you that, but I just had to. I've known you since we were eleven, and I don't want to lose you forever.
I'll always regret not being there for you.
Sincerely,
Ronald Weasly
I was crying by the time I finished the letter. I don't know why. I was having so many emotions right now. Anger, sadness, pity, joy, more anger, and a lot of other things I couldn't name. I looked inside the envelope and saw a picture of a red-haired newborn. (Picture on profile) Written on it were several things, but I kept coming back to the word 'Mia'. That's what Ron used to call me.
"Love, are you okay?" Draco said, putting his hands on my shoulders why I dried my tears.
"Actually," I said, folding up the letter, putting it on the table, and turning towards my husband. "I've never been better."
He smiled that intoxicatingly beautiful smile, and leaned in towards me. "I love you." He whispered.
Those three words were all I needed, and more.
"I love you, too."
A/N: IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! The wedding pictures are up on my profile! Go check out Hermione's dress! I hope this was okay. Please, review, it makes my day. There are 7 chapters of Hermione's pregnancy left, with one chapter for after the birth. Who knows, maybe there will be an epilogue. So, review, and remember, Your flames do nothing but warm my heart. Thanks! -Nikki a.k.a.- Twipotterfreak28