Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine.

Chapter 19 Pregnant?

Draco stared with his mouth open until she started laughing and jumped back in bed. Pregnant? As in, they were having a baby? "But-I-When? Are you sure? I-I thought you had food poisoning again."

"The engagement party!" Katherine grinned. "I was going to go take the potion, but as you know, I was a little distracted by the sight of Astoria sucking Ron off."

So he had Weasley to thank for his first born child. Great. Draco felt like someone dumped cold water on him. The clearest thought he had so far was about the stupid weasel. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"That's my line." She had yet to stop smiling while Draco felt himself starting to panic. They were in a hotel on a tropical island. He didn't know where the nearest city was let alone the nearest healer. Katherine must have sensed this because her smile fell. "Are you alright? I'll be honest. I almost shit my pants too when the healer told me yesterday."

"I-I'm fine." Draco was sure he looked far from it. He gulped and forced himself to focus on her worried face. "I just can't believe it. That's all."

Katherine frowned. "Well, you've got over thirty weeks to get over it. Fred Jr. came two weeks early. Vicky was almost two weeks late."

"Thanks." Draco took a deep breath and tried to make himself smile. He was sure he looked demented. "We should go home. I doubt you've had a proper checkup."

"No…" Katherine narrowed her eyes, daring him to try to force her. "My appointment is in two weeks. You do want it, right? I'm keeping it."

"Of course I do." Draco wished his heart would stop pounding. He's wanted a baby for a while, actually, but she doesn't know that. He was sure he looked far from excited. "You always know how to scare the living daylights out of me."

"It'll be alright." She put both of her hands on her stomach. "I'll swell up and then have a huge thing ripped from my—"

She didn't stop until he kissed her. Draco was sure she was going to spend the next nine months torturing him. He never thought he'd look forward to her messing with him.

The next morning, Draco thought they would go out. There wasn't much here except for the beach and a bunch of restaurants, but Katherine said something about a festival, so he figured they'd go as soon as they woke up. But then she slept through breakfast… and lunch.

As dinner neared, Draco started to worry, but just before he planned to try to wake her up, she popped her head up and blinked drowsily. "What time is it?"

"Half past four." Draco pointed his wand towards the bathroom to start a bath for her. For the past few hours, he had been telling himself that yesterday was a big day and that it was perfectly reasonable for her to sleep so long. He had a feeling she would laugh at him if he suggested she see the resort's healer. "Do you want to order room service? You slept for nearly thirteen hours."

Katherine rubbed at her eyes. Her hair was in a spikey mess that he found adorable. "This is worse than any hangover… Make sure the water isn't too hot!"

Draco frowned. Now what? "Why?"

"Healer said." She shook her head when she saw steam coming from the bathroom. "You killed us both. An entire family, wiped out."

Draco rolled his eyes as she walked into the bathroom and emptied the tub. "And what else did he say?"

"She said no fish, no alcohol, lots of water, and not to panic if the baby comes out with feathers," she said so casually that Draco almost bought it. She didn't continue until she started refilling the tub. "Sorry. I think we missed most of the festival. I was looking forward to it too. I wanted to get Sirius a coconut bra as a souvenir."

Poor Black. Draco shrugged, even though she couldn't see him. He still felt numb from last night and barely slept. It was tempting to ask how she could be so casual about this and not want to go home and be tested for everything imaginable, but again, he figured she'd only laugh at him. "We'll just walk around the beach after we eat."

"And have sex on the beach!" she called out from the tub. "Just like the drink."

Draco blushed to the roots of his hair but didn't say anything. Hopefully she wouldn't get them arrested.

For the next few days, Katherine was sick to the point where she barely got out of bed. If she wasn't famous, Draco would've called for a healer, but then he worried about reporters finding them and stressing her out. He knew next to nothing about having a baby and had no idea how she could be so lax about the fact that she could only hold down toast. Out of fear, he foolishly suggested that they cut the honeymoon short, and to his horror, she actually started to cry. And by cry, he didn't mean she just wiped her eyes a little. She was nearly hysterical.

"You-you don't want to b-be alone with me," she sobbed. "Because y-y-you can't stand the s-sick!"

Draco stared. That was not what he said at all. He only said that he was worried that she was getting sick so much. Unfortunately, she took his silence as him agreeing.

"You spoiled rotten little brat!" He suddenly had to duck because she threw a slipper at him. "What are you going to do when the baby gets sick? Pass him off to a house elf? I bet you won't even change his nappy!"

"What?" Draco yelled, barely having time to duck away from the other slipper.

Katherine reached over the bed and grabbed one of his loafers. She held it threateningly and yelled, "GET OUT!"

Because he was frustrated, Draco made the mistake of leaving and going to the lobby for a butterbeer. When he returned, the door was locked. He yanked at the handle when Alohomora didn't work. "Katherine! Act your age for once!"

Apparating didn't work. He couldn't get in through the balcony. The window was shut. He was only gone for twenty minutes! Thank Merlin the hotel manager was able to override the wards and let him in.

"Sorry." Draco peered into the room to see Katherine sound asleep with a half-eaten sandwich in her hand. The manger was staring, so he figured he should explain. "Well, erhm, when you're married, sometimes you go through rough patches…"

"How long have you been married?" the manager asked slowly. He had to be around his age.

Draco did his best to keep a straight face despite the blush he could feel creeping up his neck. "Nearly a week."

A few hours later, Kat woke up with a start. She didn't mean to fall asleep… Draco was going to be pissed.

Somehow he managed to get in and was sleeping next to her. As quietly as she could, she tried to sneak out of bed without him noticing. Unfortunately, his grip only tightened around her waist when she tried to slip out.

"Nice try," he mumbled with his eyes still closed. "Hold on. I need a chance to wake up before I can properly kill you."

"I didn't fall asleep on purpose!" Kat whined before looking around. "And where'd you put my sandwich?!"

Draco sighed and rested his chin on the top of her head. "I'm going to blame last night on the hormones. And if it wasn't the hormones… You're a lunatic, and I'll visit you at the nuthouse every weekend."

"It's your fault for hurting my feelings." He finally let her sit up, and Kat was happy to note that for the first time in days, she didn't feel sick. "Think I should risk a boat trip?"

"God no." With a yawn, Draco sat up and blinked sleepily, making Kat wonder how long he was locked out for. "Let's just do nothing. It'll be a while before we can do that again."

Kat frowned, feeling uneasy. He said he wanted the baby, but because of his reaction, she wasn't so sure. What he just said made her feel a little worse. "O-okay. Order room service. I'll be out of the bathroom in a couple minutes."

"Are you alright?" Draco asked over dinner while Kat picked at her steak in the hotel's restaurant later that night. Maybe they weren't ready for a baby.

She shrugged and rolled her Brussel sprouts onto her napkin with her fork. "Are you still mad at me for locking you out?"

"No…" Draco was giving her that you're being weird look. Kat hoped it wasn't turning into a you're being hormonal look. His lips quirked into a smile. "I suppose it's preparing me for the future."

Kat wasn't sure if that was a jab at her or a jab at them being parents in the future. Or it could've just been a joke. She felt like she was going crazy. "I'm sorry that the honeymoon turned into a watch-me-puke-and-throw-shoes-at-you-moon."

"You're apologizing?" Draco raised an eyebrow before taking a bite of his broccoli. "The hormones are really driving you nuts."

"That's not true!" It didn't really help her case when her eyes welled up. Damn it… "I just feel like you don't want the baby."

Draco glanced at the nearest table to see if anyone were listening. "I told you I did," he whispered. "I wasn't lying. You know how I worry."

"It's just…" Kat was ashamed to have to wipe her eyes. Seven more months… "You didn't seem happy when I first told you."

It was hard to read what Draco was thinking. He looked somewhat guilty, but there was something else she couldn't quiet figure out. "I'm scared," he admitted, too embarrassed to meet her eye. "About everything. The pregnancy, the birth, being a father. I want this but… What if I'm not a good father? What if he's sick? What if you get sick and we have to…?"

"I'm scared too, but it'll be fine. I just know it." Well, she didn't really know, but she wasn't about to tell him that. Although she was a sobbing mess yesterday, it wasn't that big of a deal if they went home. "But if you're that worried, we can leave early. You'll just give me a babymoon in a couple of months."

"A what?" Draco shook his head. Severus was sending her potions, and if she had a glass of water in the morning, she didn't get sick as often. Today was one of her better days, so she supposed he wasn't as worried as he was yesterday. "I'm overreacting. Tomorrow afternoon we'll go snorkeling like we planned, and I think there's another festival tomorrow morning, so we'll make sure to get up early enough for that."

"And go skydiving?" Kat did her best to sound hopeful but couldn't help snickering when Draco's eyes popped out of his head. "Alright fine! No flying for James until he's born."

Draco glared at her. "Scorpius."

"James Sirius."

"Scorpius Hyperion."

What the… Kat started choking on her steak. "Scorpius Hyperion?" she exclaimed between coughs. "Do you want this kid to get beat up?"

"James Sirius?" Draco sounded just as outraged by her name as she was about the one he wanted. "Do you want our child to burn Hogwarts to the ground?"

Kat sighed. She'd just have to convince him later.

When they got back, Kat wanted to tell Teddy first, but then there was the whole waiting until three months thing. She thought that was stupid, but she didn't want to confuse Teddy if something did happen. Then thinking of the 'something' made her all emotional (Draco's fault), so they decided to keep it simple and tell Draco's parents first and Remus and Sirius when Teddy was at a friend's house. Well, simple was a rather strong word.

"You're back!" Narcissa hugged Draco tightly the second they stepped through the floo. When she let go, she smiled awkwardly at Kat. "Welcome home, dearest!" Lucius scowled. "Are you going to stay here for a while? You haven't slept here in months."

"We'll stay for at least a month." After not really seeing them for so long, Kat sort of forgot that Narcissa and Lucius didn't like her very much. She didn't know what was worse. Narcissa pretending to like her or Lucius not bothering.

"I apologize, Katherine," Lucius said dryly. "We forgot to stock up on… What do you call them? Cheese puffs?"

Her diet wasn't so bad that she needed a constant supply of cheese puffs! Kat plastered a fake smile on her face. "Not to worry, Lucius. Draco and I will get some after my healer's appointment."

"Over my dead body," Draco mumbled. He could at least pretend to be on her side! The thought of the orange, powdery cheese made her nauseous, but that was beside the point!

Narcissa frowned worriedly. "Are you sick? Perhaps you drank contaminated water."

"Oh yeah." Kat threw herself on the pink couch by the floo and ignored Draco's questioning and very suspicious look. "I'm nauseous, and I get sick every once and a while. I've been really tired lately too."

Unsurprisingly, Narcissa started focusing on Draco while Lucius rolled his eyes and poured himself some brandy before sitting on the couch across from her. "You should get tested too, Draco. Were you at a Muggle resort? They can't know how to clean water properly. Do you have any symptoms?"

"Actually—" Draco started.

"Make sure to tell the healer if you missed two periods too, Draco," Kat added, smiling evilly when Narcissa froze and Lucius started choking on his drink. That's what they get.

Draco sighed and sat next to her. "This is why I wanted to tell them."

"You're having a baby?" Narcissa looked so happy that Kat almost felt bad. Not quite though, especially since Lucius was frowning at Draco, who nodded with a small smile on his face. "Oh my—A baby! I-we didn't think—Is it early? When's the baby—"

"January-ish. We'll get a due date today." Kat couldn't take her eyes off Lucius, who got up to pour himself another drink. Malfoy men must not take baby news well. Narcissa was too happy to speak while Lucius was acting like she told him she had an STD. If he had a problem with James… The old man was going down.

Draco seemed to sense a fight brewing between her and his father, so he oh so kindly decided to distract her. "So no more cheese puffs."

"Dude! I haven't had Cheetos in like three weeks!" She knew what he was doing, but she didn't care. Her diet wasn't that bad… Usually. Well she ate healthy stuff too! Especially when Remus cooked.

"What did you call me?" Draco cut her off before she could call him a "dude" again. "It was a joke, Katherine."

"Can we come to your appointment?" Narcissa asked before Kat could respond.

They probably should have waited to say something after dinner. Kat started to say no, but Draco beat her to it. "Of course."

Paperwork. It was almost as bad as sitting in a waiting room with Malfoy-in-laws. Kat tried to focus on the lesser of two evils as she was stuck waiting for her appointment. It didn't help that they were upset by what she was putting on the damned forms.

"You haven't had any magical vaccinations?" Narcissa asked incredulously. "Not even for Dragon Pox?"

"I've had a flu shot…" Kat chewed on her lip as she left the page for her mother's family medical history blank and could only write look it up yourself on the page for her father and his side of the family. The Malfoys probably had cases of the sniffles documented from 1592.

"Not to worry, Cissa." The moment they sat down, Lucius grabbed a newspaper and had yet to look up from it. "Katherine can remain isolated until the New Year."

Why did you even come? Kat wanted to shout. Instead, she doodled on the medical sheet while Draco filled out his without a problem. Stupid Malfoys and their ability to remember everything about their family. "Well, my parents went into hiding after I was born. The Dursleys hated magic, so…"

"Do you want to find out if it's a boy or a girl today?" Draco squeezed her hand and smiled sadly. "All the James and Scorpius fights could be for nothing."

Kat tossed her forms to the side and smirked. "It's a boy."

"What makes you so sure?" Draco asked lightly, but she could tell he thought so too. His family tree was huge, bigger than Sirius's, but Kat couldn't find a daughter anywhere. Sure, her eyesight was terrible. And sure, the Malfoys picked such bizarre names that there were some instances where she couldn't be one hundred percent certain, but they were having a boy. She just knew it.

"It's a boy," Kat insisted. "And I thought you can't tell the sex until twenty weeks."

Narcissa frowned and brought her brows together like she thought that Kat was either stupid or trying to make things up to mess with them. "What makes you think that, Katherine? I found out Draco was a boy the moment I found out I was expecting. And I believe I was… four weeks along at the time."

"Well on the telly…" Kat sighed when Draco rolled his eyes. Thankfully, she didn't get a lecture on how magic was so much better than Muggle technology, although she had a feeling that she didn't only because the secretary called her name. He tensed, so Kat let it go and kissed his cheek. Here goes nothing…

"Hello!" The healer was bright and bubbly, all smiles and rainbows. Kat hoped they didn't send her running away crying. "My name is Healer Embers! How are we feeling today?"

Silence. Kat almost laughed at the look on Lucius's face, but she didn't want the healer to think she was laughing at her. He clearly thought she was had a head full of cotton. She supposed Malfoys liked stuffy healers who were about a thousand years old and knew their patients by what treatment they were having instead of their actual names.

She was surrounded by Malfoys and lying on an examination table. At least she didn't have to change into one of those gowns that Muggle hospitals uses. It would be weird to be lying next to Lucius and Narcissa only wearing a thin paper dress.

"Well…" Kat did her best to smile and not let a laugh slip out. "I'm just hoping that I'm not going to lay an egg."

The healer blinked before getting the reference. Once she understood, she laughed so loudly that Narcissa jumped. "Oh yes! I've never had a patient carrying a Veela baby before. My friend did last year, so we'll have lots to talk about when she comes back from Africa!"

"Excuse me?" Lucius hissed, jumping on the opportunity to criticize the healer. "How many patients have you had Ms. Embers?"

The healer's lips twitched, but her smile didn't falter. "Healer Embers," she corrected, although she forced herself not to sound offended. "And this is my fifth year. I've delivered forty babies."

Lucius scoffed as if she said four instead of forty. "I think we should find a different healer."

"Well I like her." Kat knew a big part of the reason she did was because Lucius obviously didn't, but she couldn't help it. There was no way she was going to let him bully her into making decisions for her own baby. "She's Angelina's healer."

"I have a picture of Freddy in my office." Embers acted like Lucius hadn't tried to reject her, which Kat had to give her credit for. She herself would have started to sour. "How are you feeling, Katherine? No pain or bleeding? Light bleeding and cramps can occur but don't hesitant to send me a Patronus if it happens."

Kat shook her head. "I feel like I'm slowly entering that phase where you can't tell if I'm pregnant or just fat."

Embers tilted her head to the side. "You've only gained two pounds since two weeks ago. You're probably just bloated."

"Awesome." Kat felt her face heat up when she heard Narcissa try to cover up a giggle with a cough. She was already regretting letting them come, and the appointment barely began. "So no egg?"

"Nope. Your little bugger is due on December 23rd! If not, we'll induce by January 2nd!" The healer took out her wand so quickly it made a loud swishing noise. "So what is first? The tests or the heartbeat? Some people want to know the sex immediately. Or we could talk some more."

"The tests." Draco was so pale that Kat was tempted to ask if he wanted to sit down. He seemed more worried than usual lately, so she hoped finding out everything was alright would calm him.

With more energy than Kat thought anyone could muster for having to run tests, the healer ran across the room as fast as she could in her black stiletto heels. She wheeled over a machine that kind of resembled a fax machine but was made of wood and put a patch on Kat's stomach from under her green t-shirt. "We'll print everything out on this. But we can put the sex on a separate piece of parchment if you want to learn it."

"It's a boy." Kat wrinkled her nose at Draco, preparing to tease him, but he was staring at the machine like he thought it could jump up and attack him.

Embers silently cast the diagnostic spells over Kat but hummed as she did so, making Lucius cringe. Kat stared at the ceiling. Everything was fine. Draco just worried too much.

The second they were done, Embers snatched them up and read the results so fast that her eyes were zipping across the parchment. Draco was squeezing her hand so hard that it hurt.

"Everything's fine!" Embers chirped. "Just try to eat a little more and drink some more water. Easier said than done in the first trimester, I know, but you only have another month left! Then, hopefully you'll feel a little better."

Hopefully? Kat thought. Some days she was fine, but others she couldn't hold anything down. At least Draco lessened his death grip on her hand. "I usually hear I need more iron… And everything else."

Embers grabbed her chart and played with her thick brown braid as she read through it. "Yes… That's why you were prescribed the strongest prenatal potion available when you saw a general healer two weeks ago. Looks like it's working!"

"Yay…" If Narcissa laughed at her one more time, Kat was going to explode. She tried to distract herself by looking around the room. "Do you guys do ultrasounds?"

"Ultra-what?" She must be a pureblood. Kat looked at Draco and his parents to see that they also had no idea what she was talking about. St. Mungo's had to have one somewhere...

"You know…" Obviously they didn't. "The thing you where use the soundwaves and get a picture of the baby."

"Inside of you?!" she asked eagerly in a way that reminded Kat of Mr. Weasley. "I've never seen a live fetus this early in gestation!"

Merlin this was so awkward. "Yes. Never mind. So, you just do the heartbeat and the sex?"

"And I'll make sure everything's positioned correctly!" Embers scribbled "ultra-sound?" on a notepad before continuing. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah." She was looking forward to the ultrasound too. Maybe she could tell a clinic that she getting most of her care from a midwife who didn't believe in ultrasounds.

"Alright! The moment Nanna and Gramps have been waiting for!" All the disappointment rushed out of Kat when she saw Lucius's and Narcissa's face. The healer might as well have slapped them. Now it was her turn to laugh at them. She wondered if they were going to expect an infant to be able to pronounce Grandmother and Grandfather. Lucius's eye twitched, and Narcissa wrinkled her nose in absolute revulsion.

There was a really loud whooshing sound that kept Kat from teasing them. That was the baby? Draco sagged in relief next to her.

"Can you attach a recording to the parchment with the gender?" Narcissa asked, speaking for the first time. Kat didn't say anything. She didn't think she could. No wonder Draco was so worried about James. Hearing his heartbeat made it feel like he was already here.

"Yes of course!" Embers tapped the machine, and Kat wondered how she could be so excited if she did this every day. She leaned over to watch it scrawl out "male."

"It's a boy," Kat said when she finally found her voice. She had never been so sure of anything.

FE

MALE

"Why does it look like that?" Lucius snapped immediately before Kat could think to ask what that meant.

Embers tapped the machine with her wand. After a moment, it finally spluttered out FEMALE. "The ink was probably jammed up. Congratulations! It's a girl!"

Katherine was still in shock when they flooed home. Luckily, Mother was over the moon and was able to shake her out of it.

"This is so exciting!" she gushed. "I have no idea how many years it's been since there's been a little girl in the house! Come on! We have to tell the house elves to make a pink cake to celebrate!"

Katherine reluctantly followed, leaving Draco alone with Father. The man clenched his jaw and started heading for his office. It had only been a day, and Draco was already fed up.

"If this is about the bloodline, then get over it," he snapped. "Or Katherine and I are moving out."

Father gritted his teeth, but he didn't say anything and gestured for Draco to step into his office. He didn't speak until the door was firmly shut behind him. "I've been meaning to talk to you about this…"

Draco narrowed his eyes. He didn't like the sound of that. "About what?"

"Have you been on edge lately?" Father seemed to already know the answer. Of course he was nervous! His wife was having a baby! "I didn't want to tell you this because first, I thought you'd make an arrangement with Granger and end up miserable. Then, I thought Katherine would get pregnant and run off. I would have told you if it was life or death, but I didn't want you do something stupid."

"What are you talking about?" An overwhelming sense of dread replaced the anger that Draco had been building up towards his father for the past few hours. He thought he was going to have an argument with the man about accepting the baby.

Father sighed and sat behind his desk. "You understand that Separation Sickness is meant to make sure you are form a bond with your mate?" Draco nodded impatiently. "Evolutionarily speaking… If you and Katherine were to die, there may not be someone to take care of the child. So Veelas with that type of bond died out a few hundred years ago."

"What type of bond?" Draco asked nervously. Father was telling him and not telling him at the same time. Whatever he was trying to say, it couldn't be good.

"You'll still be magically linked." Father rubbed at his temples like he was getting a migraine. "But once the child is born, if you die, Katherine won't, and vice versa. And you can be separated for as long as you want."

That's it? Draco let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. "Believe it or not, Father, but I don't want my wife and unborn daughter to die if something were to happen to me."

Father glared at him, telling Draco that he wasn't finished. "That also means you won't feel it if she gets hurt. The Veela in you won't understand, and it will panic, which is part of the reason you're feeling so anxious. You subconsciously know that the bond is weakening, but because you are not the female, you don't instinctually know why. So you'll be more protective for a while. I'm worried about a repeat of the St. Mungo's incident. As she gets further in the pregnancy, the less you will feel. I know you wouldn't forgive yourself if something were to happen to the child before she is born. I was hoping the two of you were going to wait a couple of years when you had more self-control."

"So you weren't going to tell me?" Draco yelled, feeling like his father had reached into his chest and squeezed his heart. Once she started to show, there were going to be reporters following them everywhere in the magical world. They would be surrounded, just like at St. Mungo's that day. "What if-what if my instincts knew before I did? You should have told me this before I came into my inheritance! How could you—"

"I'm sorry, Draco. I was in prison!" Father snapped sarcastically. "I was trying to keep myself under control while I had no idea what was happening to you and your mother! I get it! It's not easy when there's danger. I didn't tell you because I don't trust Katherine! You're mother wants you to be happy, and so do I, but she is the worst person that Magic could have chosen for you. When she isn't looking for trouble, it finds her. I didn't want her running off with my grandchild to be raised by that filthy savage Muggle!"

"Don't talk about my wife like that! He's long gone. You could have told me after we got engaged!" Draco didn't know what else to say as the words started to sink in. He had no idea what he was going to do.

Before Father could respond, Katherine opened the door and poked her head in. "Help me!" she hissed. "I am not naming the baby Daffodil! Kids will call her Daffy Duck!"

For the first time in well, ever, Father smiled warmly at Katherine. His poor Gryffindor wife thought it was genuine and seemed taken aback. "My apologies, Katherine. I'm sure you know that Daffodil is another name for the Narcissus flower."

Katherine's cheeks turned pink. "No. And I don't think I can stomach cake right now. The smell…"

"Not to worry, Katherine." Father kept his eyes on her and kept up the father-in-law of the year charade. "You and Draco have had a long day. Both of you should go lie down."

He was giving Draco an opportunity to tell Katherine what they were just talking about. Suddenly feeling lightheaded, Draco sank into the nearest chair while she sniffed the air once Father left to find Mother.

"It doesn't smell like you guys have been smoking anything." She smirked. "Did you yell at him?"

"No-I…" Draco took a deep breath. She wouldn't be angry with him. But what if she thought he would hurt the baby? She might not want him around anymore. "He's worried that you won't want him around the baby. He was hoping we would wait a few years, and by the time we did start a family, the two of you would have a better relationship."

At least there was a tiny element of the truth in that boldface lie. Father did want them to wait a few years. He only felt ten times worse when Katherine actually bought it and even looked a little guilty. "I was worried he wouldn't want anything to do with the baby. Like your mother would love her and Lucius would be standing next to Narcissa and ignore her."

"Poor Daffodil." Draco forced himself to smile and change the subject. "So… No Scorpius. I like the name Aster."

That did the trick. Katherine bristled and put a hand over her stomach as if she could shield the baby from the name. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Her name is Minnie!"

"Mini?" Draco repeated, pushing his worries to the back of mind. "She won't be small all her life, Katherine."

"Short for Minerva," she said hotly. "Minerva Hermione. The next brightest witch of her age."

"Aster Carina does not need that kind of pressure." Draco forced himself to stand and kissed her softly. "C'mon. I'll have supper brought up to us. Mother will be too busy buying tiny dresses for Daffy to notice."

"Draco!"

For the next two weeks, Draco tried to act like the conversation with his father never happened. He was nervous about the pregnancy and becoming a father, that didn't mean that he would lose control of his instincts. Nothing bad had happened, so he didn't feel overprotective. It was getting easy to convince himself that Father was exaggerating.

And then Katherine came home one day after having dinner with Black, Lupin, and Edward. He was getting ready for bed and turned around to greet her, only to see that she was sporting a black eye.

"Thanks for not swooping in." She threw off her brown shoes and yawned. "Tonight was one of Sirius's and Remus's many anniversaries. Sirius opened a bottle of champagne, and the cork hit me right in the eye! At least I wasn't wearing my glasses! That would've been awful."

Draco felt himself go rigid. Very slowly, he reached up and touched his own eye. He didn't feel a thing. Usually, he ignored the occasional stings because Katherine used those ridiculous Muggle contacts, but he still felt it when she poked herself. Her left eye was currently red and twice its usual size, and he couldn't feel the slightest amount of pressure.

"So now, when we tell Sirius, we'll also tell him that he's given a pregnant woman a black eye," she said brightly. "I can't wait. Teddy's going to Vicky's tea party in two days. We'll tell them then!"

"I'm sorry," Draco said so flatly that she stopped putting her pajamas on. "I-I think I'm coming down with something. C-can we start the shopping next weekend?"

Katherine shoved her pajama bottoms on and walked over to feel his forehead. "Did you get all worked up? You could have come over. I just worried about you asking in front of them if the baby was alright. You know how you panic and go bananas."

"No." Draco tried to swallow at the lump in his throat and walked past her to lie on the bed. "You should sleep in the other room. I don't want you to catch it."

Like it was nothing, Katherine waved him off. "You don't have a fever. I think you just got really nervous because—"

"I said go in the other room, Katherine," he spat venomously, feeling like a horrible person right afterwards. He didn't want her to know, not yet. "Just-just leave me alone."

Katherine's eyes filled with tears, but through the tears, he could see that she ready to rip his head off. She grabbed a pillow, and although she was having hot flashes and didn't need it, she took the blanket too. Draco did his best to ignore her when she took his robe next. He narrowed his eyes when she purposely knocked over his cologne, causing it to spill all over the carpet, but he didn't say anything because he knew she was trying to start a fight. There would be hell to pay in the morning, but Draco didn't care. He had to figure out how to prevent himself from hurting her again.

Poor Draco. :( We'll see how he deals with this next week!

Thanks for the reviews remeyqueen74, Guest, gr8rockstarrox, and draco7347!

Now it's Aster vs Minerva! Which do you like better? I like Carina and Minerva, so half and half. :)

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!