Wow, the first chapter got a great response! I always get so nervous when I post a story that people won't like it, but you've all managed to put my fears to rest!

Chapter 2
Hermione impatiently awaited her lunch companion's arrival. She needed information and there was only one person who could help her. Pansy Zabini arrived looking harried and exhausted. "Merlin, a room without a child," she said as she took a seat across from her. "I miss adult conversations."

"And I was hoping to discuss the opposite," Hermione replied guiltily.

One dark eyebrow rose. "You want to talk about children?" she inquired. Hermione nodded. "What do you want to know? I mean, I'm not exactly an expert. Your mother-in-law might be better suited for this conversation than I am."

"About that - Ron and I broke up," she shared. Pansy tried to hide her delight, but there was no amount of brow wrinkling that could hide her grin. "I know, you think he wasn't good enough for me. Anyhow, Ron's not what I wanted to talk about."

Her friend dropped the concerned act. "So, can I gloat a little bit?" she asked. One look was all it took to tell her no. "Fine, okay, so then what's on your mind?"

Hermione explained the marriage contract Draco's parents had drafted with the Greengrass family. "I know Blaise was betrothed to someone else, but your pregnancy acted as a bit of a loophole," she continued.

"Are you and Draco talking about having a baby?" Pansy asked, her expression turning to one of concern. Hermione nodded. "Merlin, the two of you would have gorgeous, brilliant babies. Have you started trying yet?"

A dark blush colored her cheeks. "Not yet," Hermione admitted. "He's convinced there has to be another way."

Pansy nodded. "Yeah, Blaise mentioned they were having lunch today," she replied. "Must be what they're talking about. But I'll tell you this - marriage contracts are a hard thing to break. We didn't mean to break Blaise's. It just happened. Having Vincent and Isabella was probably the greatest thing I've ever done, but I wasn't prepared for it. We weren't trying for a baby, let alone twins. It killed Blaise to think that I would be on my own while he was forced to marry someone else."

"How did you know it was broken?" Hermione wondered.

"The day the marriage license is issued, the bride and groom have to sign it," she explained. "But if an heir has already been produced, which is a stipulation of the contract, it doesn't work. They can't sign it because the terms of the agreement have been violated, thus putting an end to the contract."

Hermione sipped from her water glass and sat back in her seat. "What if Draco and Astoria had a baby before the wedding?" she inquired.

Pansy grinned. "Still breaks the contract," she replied. "You read his, I'm sure. Then you know that the betrothed couple isn't allowed to...couple before the wedding night. It's some arcane Pureblood rule dating back hundreds of centuries that makes no sense. I can give birth to the Zabini heir out of wedlock, but the woman he was supposed to marry can't."

"Do you think it made a difference that you both are Pureblood?"

Pansy shook her head, her dark bob moving with the motion. "An heir is an heir," she replied. "Now, there are cases when an eldest child can be passed over as heir, but it's the parents' decision."

Hermione took in all of this new information. "So, his parents wouldn't be able to control who becomes the heir," she mused.

"Right, but if they know what the two of you are up to, they'll do whatever they can to stop it," Pansy cautioned. Her friend's good mood slipped and Pansy reached across the table to cover Hermione's hand. "I think you and Draco belong together. I remember Astoria from school. She was a couple of years behind us. Quiet, meek, not the kind of girl to keep Draco interested. But we already know that he loves you and you challenge him in a way I don't think anyone else could."

"We're not getting married, Pans," Hermione replied as she perused the menu. "Just having a baby."

The former Slytherin smirked. "That's what Theo Nott and Eliza Davies said, and they were married two months later," she stated. "Same goes for Anthony Goldstein and Cho Chang. Face it - there's no way you won't get married if you get pregnant."

Hermione shook her head. "Draco doesn't love me like that," she said. "For him, the baby would just be a convenient way to get out of an arranged marriage."

Pansy snorted. "There's nothing convenient about kids," she replied. "Unless you're stuck in a conversation with Millicent Bulstrode and you want out. They're pretty handy then, especially if you have a screamer like Isa. You should also know that women hit on Blaise all the time when he has one of the kids, especially when they were babies. Most of the time I would standing right beside him, and they'd still do it."

"So, Draco is going to attempt to use our child to pick up women," Hermione said flatly.

"No, he's gonna be too busy trying to convince you to marry him," Pansy responded knowingly.

Rolling her eyes, Hermione put her menu down. "And for that you'll do all the babysitting," she remarked.

"Gladly," Pansy replied sincerely. "You know I'll help in whatever way I can."

"Then cross your fingers that your husband managed to convince him that this baby is his only option," Hermione replied.

She returned home an hour later and waited for Draco to arrive. Sitting there alone, she thought back over their ten years of friendship. They'd had a bumpy start. Following the war, Draco had been sentenced to Azkaban to await trial. He had written the first letter, offering an apology and extending the olive branch. It took her three weeks to write back. First she had to get over the shock of an apology from Draco Malfoy, then she had to find the words to say that she forgave him. That had taken some time.

Over the months, they wrote to each other regularly. They never discussed the war or unpleasant memories of Hogwarts. They discussed the NEWT exams and their hopes for finishing their education. He wrote of the things he wanted to do, places he wanted to go, the people he missed. And Hermione never wavered in her belief that he would get to do it all. It did no good to tell him that he could be convicted. He already knew that.

That letter came a month before his trial was scheduled to begin. He was scared of spending the rest of his life in prison for crimes he had been forced to commit. In certain spots, the ink was smudged where tears had fallen. It was then that she insisted Harry and Ron testify on his behalf. Ron refused, claiming there was nothing he could say in Draco's defense. But Harry and she were enough.

It had been Hermione's idea that he move into the flat she had purchased after the war. Without hesitation, he agreed. They had been roommates ever since. They saw each other through long nights of battling nightmares and days of incessant hounding from the press. The friendship that had formed between Draco and Hermione had been fodder for the gossip columns for a year.

"What's on your mind?"

She jumped, realizing she was no longer alone. "You," she replied, turning to look at Draco.

He rounded her chair and sat down on the arm of it. "So, I've been thinking," he said seriously. "I don't want the baby to just be a way of getting out of my contract. I want you to know that I love you, and that's why I want to have this baby."

"So, we're gonna do it?" she clarified.

He smiled. "We're gonna have a baby."