I'm having one of those days today when I wish I were 5 again. I would take my fear of closets over the constant pestering I've received today. In my defense, I was only afraid of the closets in my kindergarten classroom because I thought they might eat me.

Chapter 17
"Have you told him yet?" Hermione asked, completely unfazed by the rather large knife in Pansy's hand.

Pansy set down the knife and onion she was slicing, and turned to her friend. "Please stop asking me that," she said as politely as she could. "What I want to know about is these rumors that have been going around about Harry Potter and Astoria Greengrass. Word is they were looking rather cozy at the Three Broomsticks last weekend. What happened to the little Weaslette?"

"They broke up," Hermione replied as she mashed potatoes. "Why won't you tell your husband that you're pregnant?"

Pansy shrugged. "It's not time yet," she mumbled. "Isn't it a baby law that you're supposed to wait twelve weeks before telling people?"

"That doesn't include your husband," Hermione pointed out. "Besides, you told me."

"You guessed," Pansy replied.

"After you heavily insinuated, and then didn't deny it," Hermione retorted.

The kitchen door opened and Blaise's head poked in. "Need any help?" he asked. "What's with the yelling?"

Pansy turned and glared at him. "Please go back and watch your children," she instructed. "They're not Draco's responsibility."

His eyebrows rose questioningly, but he said nothing as he returned to the living room. "Are the two of you fighting?" Hermione wondered. Pansy shook her head as she tossed the chopped onions into a skillet. "Just the hormones then, I reckon."

The other witch shrugged as she seared her onions. "What if I don't want it?" she asked, her voice hushed for fear that someone might overhear her. "I already have two, one boy, one girl. I don't need another. And the sleepless nights and incessant crying and stretch marks, I have to do it all over again? There's no one I can talk to about this. No one understands. You wanted your baby. There was no doubt in your mind that this is what you wanted. Am I a bad mother for thinking this way?"

Hermione switched off the burners and pulled her over to the table to sit. "You're scared, and that's okay," she said soothingly. "Yes, I want my baby, but that doesn't mean I'm not terrified of what's going to happen once she's here. But I know I'll have you to help me through this, just like you'll have me. You can do this, Pans."

Pansy held her hand and smiled despite the tears in her eyes. "I can do this," she whispered to herself. Hermione nodded in agreement and helped her to her feet to finish cooking the meal.

Blaise sat beside Draco on the living room sofa and listened as his daughter read to her uncle. When Isabella finished, she shut the book and handed it to Draco. "Can you name the baby Cinderella?" she asked.

Draco chuckled. "I don't think so, sweetheart," he told her. "But you, Izzy, are getting your wish. We found out the other day that it's a girl. We can't go into a shop without her fawning over all of the adorable dresses and outfits she can put the baby in. Is there some switch in a pregnant woman's brain that makes her go crazy over baby stuff?"

"That's not just pregnant women," Blaise replied. "Pansy's been right there with her. She has a stack of catalogs next to the bed, and every night she goes through them, circling all the things she plans to buy for your kid."

"But I thought-"

"Who's hungry?" Hermione asked. "Dinner's on the table." She called Draco to her side under the pretense of needing help. "He doesn't know," she whispered.

Blond brows furrowed. "What do you mean he doesn't know?" he asked, dumbfounded by this revelation. "She's pregnant, it's his. Why doesn't he know? It is his, right?"

Hermione nodded. "Just don't say anything," she warned. "You're not even supposed to know. Pansy will kill me if she finds out I told you."

"She'll have to go through me to get to you," he promised with a smile before leaning down to kiss her. "No one will ever hurt you or our baby."

Behind them, Pansy rolled her eyes. "Stop being mushy, or you'll ruin everyone's appetite," she told them as the food floated in front of her. "Now, get to the table. Hermione's getting far too big to be on her feet this much."

"I didn't hear her complain when I helped cook dinner," Hermione said from the side of her mouth as Draco held out her chair for her. He laughed softly, and sat down beside her. The Zabinis were soon seated as well, despite a minor dispute from the children who each wanted to sit beside Hermione. It was quickly settled when Draco offered to move over one seat to accommodate the twins. "Sorry, Draco, looks like I'm the more popular one now," she teased.

"I wanna be near the baby," Isabella stated. "Mummy, when can I have one like Aunt Minny?"

Blaise choked on his water, but his wife seemed amused. "When you're 40," Pansy told the little girl.

"Aunt Minny isn't 40," Vincent said, wearing a look of confusion. "She's young like you, Mummy."

Pansy turned an amused look her friend's way. "To be fair, Aunt Minny is older than me," she replied.

"Let's be nice," Hermione advised. "Dinner looks fantastic, doesn't it? It's a good thing Pansy had me there to help."

"Chicken's salty," Blaise commented, taking a hefty gulp of water. "Pans used to oversalt everything when she was pregnant. Not your fault, Hermione."

The two women exchanged a nervous look. One Blaise quickly caught. "Um, yeah, sorry about that," Hermione replied with a hesitant chuckle.

"I thought Pansy made the-" Draco started, but shut his mouth when he received a swift kick to the shin. "Ow."

Setting aside his utensils, Blaise sat back in his seat. "What in Merlin's name is going on here?" he inquired. "I feel like someone isn't telling me something."

Instead of answering her husband, Pansy turned to Hermione. "Did you tell him?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, it just sort of slipped out," Hermione excused.

"How could you!"

"She said she's sorry, Pansy," Draco said, coming to his girlfriend's defense.

Blaise slammed his hand down on the table, effectively silencing his dinner companions. "What's going on?" he asked, his voice calm and even. When no one answered, Draco told him what the fight was about. "You're pregnant?" he asked, eyeing only his wife.

Before she answered, she sent the twins to their rooms. "Yes," she told him when it was just the two couples.

"Why did Hermione and Draco know before I did?" he inquired. "How long have you known? How long did you intend to keep this from me?" With each question asked, his voice rose louder and louder.

"I planned to tell you," Pansy replied. "I just didn't know how."

Blaise scoffed. "Well, this seems like the ideal way. Just have Draco do it," he retorted. "If only he had the nerve to divulge his own secrets as easily as he does other people's."

"What does that mean?" Hermione wondered, glancing first at Draco, then Blaise.

"It means he never wanted to have a baby."