Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine.

Chapter 23 Explosions

Draco planned to surprise his wife on her birthday with breakfast in bed, which he didn't think was going to be too difficult, considering the fact that if she could, Katherine would snore her way through morning. Therefore, he showered and shaved without a second thought, only to find his… eccentric wife wide awake, chugging ice water, and poking herself in the stomach.

"Katherine, I love you dearly, but I hope whatever is wrong with you isn't genetic." Draco smiled when she ceased whatever the hell she was doing, thinking she would get offended or at least explain. Instead, she only took another big gulp of her water and started crunching on an ice cube. She took her sweet time before saying anything.

"Probably not genetic," she said before taking another swig. "Having a mad man up your arse your whole childhood can make you a little off. And you know, there was the whole Voldemort thing."

She never mentioned her uncle, so Draco decided not to push it and questioned the oddity at hand. "Do I want to know?"

Rolling her eyes like he was stupid for not knowing, Katherine smiled shyly but seemed a little disappointed. "I thought I felt a kick a little bit ago. But I can't get either one of them to do it now."

"So you figured you'd torture them so they'd try to run away?" Draco somehow managed to joke even though his heart suddenly felt like it was doing summersaults.

"No, I—" She gasped and put a hand over a spot just under her ribs. A big smile spread across her face while Draco was doing his best not to drop the tray he was holding. "Come here! I wanna see if you can feel it!"

Draco felt his mouth run dry when she lifted up her shirt and tried to feel it with her own hand. Stiffly, he walked over to the bed and placed the tray down. "Does it hurt?"

She must think he was as crazy as he thought she was, judging by to look she was giving him. "Of course not! It feels weird but…" She scooted over to him and grabbed his hand, placing it over the place she was previously poking. "Can you feel it?"

"No." He knew he wouldn't be able too, but the moment still felt bittersweet. It seemed like only yesterday she was taunting him with the surprise she had for him after the wedding. Although it wasn't possible yet, Katherine wasn't willing to give up without a fight.

"Well poke her! She might kick you back harder!"

"You want me to poke our daughter," Draco said flatly. She nodded firmly. "You're out of your bloody mind."

Katherine seemed to be used to it because she only smiled and kissed him deeply. "Love you too."

Kat felt like a sweaty whale. It was early August, and the day of Astoria's baby shower at Ron's flat. The Weasleys spent all night decorating, and it looked nice, but that didn't mean Draco had to wear dress robes. Kat was only wearing an oversized t-shirt and black shorts. She and Draco gave each other the same you look ridiculous look.

"What are you doing?" Kat said slowly as Draco started drowning his poor hair in gel.

"Aren't you going to get ready?" He sounded a little cautious. Her hormones weren't that bad! Not lately…

Kat heaved herself off the bed and shoved her feet in her black flip flops. "Okay. I'm ready."

With an exasperated sigh, Draco opened her dresser and took out the dress robes his mother had bought her for her birthday. "Do these already not fit? Because you're going to embarrass yourself."

Kat narrowed her eyes and put her hands behind her back. It was so hard to let that one slide. "Why would we need to get all dressed up to go to Ron's? He's taking Astoria to the movies before bringing her home to the surprise, so he's not going to be dressed up."

Draco frowned before paling. "Um… Daphne rented a hall. Is that why you only bought nappies? I got a height chair."

Oh no… Kat hoped Daphne didn't do it on purpose. Well, she hoped she had the decency to pretend to not do it on purpose. "Ron has been saving every spare knut since Astoria moved in! Since before that! He wanted to be able to buy everything himself! He wouldn't look me in the eye for days when I bought him three onesies a few weeks ago! And he only stopped being embarrassed when I said they were a loan and that I would use them when our babies were born!"

Draco smiled awkwardly, and Kat knew it wasn't his fault, but she didn't know what else to do. Ron only wanted them to buy small things like nappies and wipes! "I guess that's why Daphne said she would be bringing Astoria to the party instead of Weasley."

It wasn't his fault, Kat reminded herself again but couldn't help ranting anyway. "You mean kidnap her from the original baby shower! Ginny told her about it! Mrs. Weasley has been cooking since four in the morning! I went to the computers at the library to look up games! Fleur drew and painted the banner! It took her nearly a week to put all the details in it! She usually charges twenty galleons for her art! George—"

"What do you want me to do?" Draco asked loudly. He sounded more like he was panicking instead of yelling. "There's no way Weasley could have fit everyone in his flat! When Daphne told me she rented a hall, I thought it made perfect sense!"

"You are not going to Daphne's party!" Kat hissed. "When she shows up at Ron's, tell her that I went into labor again and that everyone's at the hospital."

Draco glared at her. "Don't even joke about that, Katherine. The pregnancy isn't even viable yet."

"I'm not joking!" If Daphne wasn't so scary, Kat would knock her out and leave her in a bad part of London. "Do something that will get rid of her for a few hours. Ron will never forgive her for this!"

"Draco," Daphne drawled as he drank his coffee very slowly at the Leaky Cauldron, "I told you second year. I'm not interested in you and would rather snog Pansy."

He was twelve! He fancied her for about a week when he was twelve. Katherine wanted him to distract her while they threw the shower for Astoria, but he wasn't like her! He couldn't drink coffee for four hours straight! He wasn't sure what to say to Daphne and found himself taking tiny sips of coffee in silence.

Daphne narrowed her eyes. "We're already running late. Father's going to worry."

"Oh, well, um…" Draco cleared his throat. What could he say to distract her? "I need to talk to you…" She raised an eyebrow and stared at him expectantly. He had to say something that would keep her still for hours. "About… I'm thinking of… Leaving Katherine… Pansy and I are having an affair."

Daphne frowned and waved at a beetle that was flying around her head. She didn't buy it for one second. "Really? Do you think she would be interested in a threesome with Ginny and me then? I've always wanted to do it with a celebrity, and Ginny… Well, you know."

"Shut up, Daphne!" Draco barked before he could stop himself. He swore under his breath when she smirked. Daphne was too terrifying to lie to properly. "Fine. Why would you plan another shower behind Weasley's back? He's the father. Not you."

"Oh please." Daphne rolled her eyes and downed the rest of her black coffee. "Weasley can barely afford a one bedroom flat! He should be thanking me! He can't afford to take care of Astoria, let alone my nephew."

"He's a Gryffindor. What do you expect?" Draco growled. "I don't care about Weasley's feelings, but you should. Who do you think Storia will choose? Someone disrespects her relationship or the father of her child?"

"Disrespects her relationship," she grumbled with a snort. "You know what she told me? That she wants to work at the Leaky as a waitress. She walks like a fucking duck, and she wants to get a job on her feet all day. She—"

"Needs to tell you to mind your own business," Draco hissed. "Maybe she's bored. Weasley's often gone on missions, and it looks like you're pushing her away. I have to deal with the pregnant blast ended shrewt that was my wife, so I can't spend time with her. What else is she supposed to do all day?"

"Set up her nursery," Daphne said stiffly. "Oh wait. Weasley can't afford a place with room for a nursery or anything to put in it. I guess she'll just have to work until she drops."

"Daphne!" Draco yelled as she got out of her seat and started to stomp outside to apparate. "Don't you dare!" He banged his head on the table when she slammed the door behind her. Katherine was going to kill him.

Kat had zero faith in Draco, so half an hour into the party, Kat tried to keep Astoria away from the door, meaning keeping her with the food in the kitchen. At least that meant she had an unsuspecting Mrs. Weasley on her side. Poor Ron was in the living room trying to figure out how the Muggle baby monitor Mr. Weasley brought worked.

"The chicken is the best," Kat said, while Astoria was trying to politely nibble on everything she shoved at her. "Mrs. Weasley will be offended if you don't eat a lot of it."

"Katherine," Mrs. Weasley chided but said nothing else to correct her. After nearly an hour of nibbling, Astoria looked like she was starting to panic. Hopefully Ron wasn't stupid enough to take her out to lunch before they came here.

When Daphne finally kicked open the door, Kat swore loudly but had to admit to herself that she was surprised Draco held her off this long. Astoria sagged in relief and hastily put her plate down. If only Kat had thought to put on music so she couldn't hear the door.

"Daph! Where's Dad?" she asked happily. She peered over her sister's shoulder to try to see if her father or any of her other friends showed up, not knowing that they were waiting for her somewhere else.

"He…" Daphne took a second to glare at Ron. "I rented out the ball room in Diagon Alley so you could have a proper party."

Ron turned bright red at her words, and even little Fred started crying as the rest Weasleys went silent. Astoria frowned as Kat was waiting to for RBW (Ronald Bilius Weasley) bomb to explode.

To her complete disbelief, Astoria managed to speak before the RBW explosion. "But this is a proper party."

Daphne laughed sarcastically. "Come on, Story. You can't seriously think…"

"I told you," Ginny sang mockingly as Astoria remained firm for once, and Daphne's face fell.

"I think you should go," Astoria said quietly. Her sister looked like she slapped her instead of meekly whispered at her. There was a finality in the younger sister's voice that made Daphne stare blankly before briefly looking absolutely crushed and leaving.

Later that night, Kat met Ron at a bar because from the Patronus he sent her, she could tell he was totally wasted. It was at a Muggle bar so at least she wasn't recognized. She already had to get find a way to get back at Draco for the latest evening edition for The Daily Prophet. The papers were now referring to her as the pregnant blast ended shrewt! They only just stopped calling her the Girl-Who-Lived too!

"She chose you," Kat said as she stole one of his cheese fries. "And Ginny said she's going to get Daphne to donate all the stuff from the other shower. After she stops drinking like you are, that is."

"I can't do it," Ron slurred. "You know-do you know how long it took to save up for the bloody effing crib she wanted? Daph-fen-knee could buy it with a snap of her fingers."

Kat wrinkled her nose as she tried to make sense of that. "Daph-fen-knee" seemed to finally realize that she was no longer in charge of Astoria, and Ginny said she was devastated because that also meant not taking care of her anymore. She thought Ron would be celebrating. "You're up for a promotion—"

"Does matter… Don't matter!" Ron yelled before ducking his head and falling asleep for a second. "She's right. I can't even make sure he's got a room! Even my parents made sure I had a room! Can't buy her a ring either."

"Well Ron…" Kat chewed on her lip. She knew it must be hard for him. She and Draco had money. Blaise and Hermione were just getting back from another holiday in Italy. Ginny was on her way to being the next biggest Quidditch star. "I think Astoria is happy with the way things are. You've got a few years before Reid needs a room. Babies don't notice that stuff. They just want food and a dry bum. They aren't that different from you."

"Thanks!" Ron said a lot louder than Kat thought he wanted to. He slammed his fist on the table and knocked down a bowl of peanuts. "You don't understand! You can accept gifts without needing to!"

"I know I don't." Kat sighed and waved to the bartender to ask for a pitcher of water and secretly pay Ron's bill. "But you're a great auror, Ron. A better one than I would've been. I think you're going to get that promotion, and you'll be head auror by the time he's out of nappies. It's going to suck for a while but not forever."

"Great pep talk," he slurred as he took one last swig from his beer. "That's why I'm a better auror. You can never get the team excited, Neville."

"I'm telling Neville you called him fat," Kat declared as Ron started to nod off. She hoped Ron remembered at least some of her words when he woke up the next morning.

"Daphne's been drinking with baby toys for three days," Draco said as he was getting ready for work. Kat did her best to ignore him as she tried to pull the comb out that was stuck in a nasty knot in her hair. From what she could tell, Astoria was refusing to talk to her older sister. "What does Ginevra say?"

"Ginny says that if you're really leaving me for Pansy, that Daphne's offer still stands." She laughed to herself when Draco groaned. "She said that she thinks Daphne will apologize when the baby gets here."

"In four months?" Draco said incredulously. "I'm surprised Ginevra hasn't dumped her."

"Three and a half." Kat cried out as she finally ripped out the comb. "Although she scares the shit out of me, I know Daphne meant well. Ginny knows too. Can we get pizza for dinner?"

"Katherine…" Draco rolled his eyes. "And no. Mother is still worried about your iron. You're being stuffed with vegetables tonight. Sorry."

Great. Narcissa must think she was eating Cheetos at Number 13 all day because she made sure every food group was at dinner whenever she ate at the Manor. If she had to choke down one more Brussel sprout… "Fine. And if Daphne really misses Astoria, she'll apologize."

"Okay, Katherine." He kissed her cheek as he started heading out of the bathroom. "I'll make sure to tell you went hell freezes over."

"'Kay, bye." Now that he was gone, Kat had bigger problems to worry about. She was going to get pizza if it was the least thing she ever did.

The next day Draco was having coffee with Hermione when Katherine called her cell phone. It was still morning, so he was surprised to hear that she was awake. They were trying to figure out how to tell Katherine to leave the business side of the Quidditch center to the interns and to try to be a full time coach instead.

"Speak of the devil," she muttered before answering. "Hey, Kat." Hermione took a sip of her coffee and tried not to smile. "Oh? I'm sure Remus loves that you're taking Teddy out for pizza for breakfast." She shook her head at the absurdity of it. "Putting broccoli on it does not make it healthy."

"Are they walking to the one down the street?" Draco was starting to hate that one because it was open all night, meaning that Katherine felt she could make him get her one of their sandwiches at two in the morning.

Hermione shook her head and covered the speaker with her hand. "Sounds like they're driving."

"What?" Draco snapped before he could stop himself. He hadn't noticed if she had been driving lately, but he really didn't want to do it while pregnant. He didn't want her to do so period because she drove so fast and had gotten in that accident a few years ago. In the back of his mind, he knew it was the Veela side of him that was making him so angry, but he couldn't help himself. "Give me the phone."

Hesitantly, Hermione handed it over but not without trying to lecture him. "Draco, I think you should take a minute to—"

"Katherine!" he yelled into the phone. "Pull over and apparate!"

There was a pause, followed by a stubborn, "I like to drive."

"I don't care!" He stood out of his seat at the round café table when Hermione tried to reach for the phone. "You're pregnant, and you drive like a maniac. Get out of the damn machine!"

"Listen. I know your Big Bird instincts are driving you—" Katherine shrieked, and there was a sound that he would later learn were tired skidding across the pavement followed by a loud crash. "Mother fucker…"

"Katherine!" She ignored him, and he distantly heard her ask Edward is he was okay. The poor boy was crying and demanding to be out of his car seat.

"Hey lady!" someone yelled. "Don't you know break lights when you see them? I just bought this car!"

"I'll pay for the bloody thing," Katherine grumbled. "Did you call the cops?"

"You're damn right I called the cops!"

There was the slam of car door, and Draco couldn't hear anything else over Edward's cries. Finally, Katherine seemed to take him out and pick up her phone. "I'll call you later, Draco. Tell Hermione to tell Remus that Teddy's fine, and I was in a minor accident."

"Minor?" Draco yelled. "Katherine!" But it was too late, she snapped the phone shut, and he didn't hear from her for hours.

Draco paced Grimmauld while Hermione tried to reassure him that it sounded like Katherine only hit someone in the back. Only? She drove too fast for any accident to be minor. Lupin and Black were with them, and Black sent an annoyed Patronus stating that Teddy thought getting into an accident was fun because Katherine bought him a candy and ice cream to get him to stop crying. Hermione tried to send Katherine a Patronus, but like her phone, she didn't answer, which only made Draco more furious. When she finally came home, he was ready to explode.

But she must think he was over it because she simply sunk into the couch tiredly and casually told him what happened. "The guy I hit thought I was ready to pop, so he panicked and called an ambulance. I'm not that big yet. Anyway, they said my blood pressure was a little too high, so they made me hang out in the hospital until it went down."

Hermione slipped out the front door and asked Black, Lupin, and Edward if they wanted to go out to eat. They must have sensed the storm brewing because they left for Edward's sake.

"You were in the hospital," Draco seethed. With each word his voice rose. "You were in the fucking hospital, and you didn't tell me?"

"It was no big deal," Katherine muttered, but she must know that it was because she wouldn't look at him. "I wouldn't have gotten into the accident if you weren't up my arse anyway."

Draco was so angry that he felt his hands shifting into talons. Katherine glanced at him but quickly went back to staring straight ahead at Lupin's and Tonks's wedding portrait. He couldn't stop himself from saying the stupidest thing imaginable. "You tell me that you worry about being a good mother, and you pull shit like this. A good mother wouldn't endanger her children for no reason."

Katherine tensed and then shook slightly at his words. She finally turned to him like she was looking for reassurance. "You don't mean that."

"Of course I mean it!" Draco spat. "The only reason you kept driving was because you wanted to prove to me that my opinion doesn't matter to you! You could have seriously hurt them! If this is what it's going to be like in the future, then you shouldn't be a mother!"

"GET OUT!" As soon as he heard the hurt in her voice and saw her eyes well up, Draco realized what he just said. "GET OUT NOW!"

Kat and Draco ignored each other for a week. Not even Remus tried to get her to talk to him after Hermione figured out what she was saying when she tried to explain what happened in between sobs. She did see his side of it, but she was too angry and hurt to care. He took the one thing she was most insecure about and threw it in her face.

After a few days of crying in bed all day, Kat realized that she missed him. She got about of bed, but only acted like everything was normal for a few days before gathering the courage to head off to the Manor. Sirius tried to persuade her to stay home with promises of Chinese food, but she headed over around lunch time anyway.

She headed to the dining room by the lake, because that's where the Malfoys liked to have lunch. All the walls were windows except for the hallway, where Kat paused to hear what they were saying.

"We really should get her family history, dragon." Narcissa sounded like she was trying to act like everything was normal when it wasn't. "Who knows what Muggle diseases her grandparents had."

"Mum." Draco sounded exhausted. Good.

"Aren't you curious about her aunt?" Lucius laughed to himself as he got ready to make his joke. "You've got to wonder what they did to raise that. I wouldn't be surprised if they locked her in a closet for ten years."

"Lucius!" Narcissa chided, but there was laughter in her voice that made Kat feel sick. They didn't know but… She didn't wait to hear if Draco defended her or not. She didn't care. She just wanted to be as far away from them as possible.

Draco felt terrible. So terrible that when Father made the joke about Katherine, he flipped out and threw his great grandmother's teapot across the room, shattering it into tiny pieces. He screamed and cursed at his father while telling him what little he knew about his wife's childhood. Then he locked himself in his room and didn't get out of bed until Lupin knocked on the door.

"Fuck," he muttered, fully expecting a punch in the face when he opened it. Instead, Lupin awkwardly handed him a suit case. "I… I have more clothes here."

Lupin frowned, and Draco's heart thudded as he waited for the werewolf to tell him that Katherine wanted to be separated. "These are Kat's maternity clothes. She flooed over to talk to you hours ago."

"No she didn't." Draco felt the color drain from his face. "I've been in here since one. I haven't seen her."

Like he didn't believe him, Lupin leaned in the doorway and looked around his room. "She flooed over at around twelve thirty."

Draco shook his head in denial. Surely she didn't hear what Father said. "I—No she didn't."

Lupin's eyes darted around the room again, and Draco could tell that he was starting to panic. "Can your house elves tell if she's here? Perhaps she's hiding from you."

Draco nodded numbly. The Manor was big enough. She was probably sitting in the library getting peanut butter on the books or something.

Katherine was nowhere to be found. After two days, they filed a missing person's report, which was a bad idea since she was a celebrity. They got dozens of letters within a few hours, and most of them were false. Weasley found a promising one that stated she was seen in Godric's Hollow, sitting on a swing in the rain. She apparated when the person who spotted her got too close.

Draco was going crazy. Every night he couldn't stop himself from transforming, and Weasley had to stun him when he was spotted flying over London.

Hermione stopped by after three agonizing days. "She used to do this. And I used to cover for her. It happened the first time on the one year anniversary of Tonks's death."

"And your just telling me this now?!" Draco hissed. He wanted to strangle her when she shushed him. He was sulking by the floo in the Manor, waiting for her to pop out like she got lost in the fireplace for three days.

"Yeah because I'd find her high out of her mind!" Hermione yell whispered. "So I don't think she's in some drug house considering the circumstances! Besides… I checked, and she's not at any of her old hangouts. Not even that girl Channel knew where she was. Flint's having an affair with her by the way."

"Fascinating," Draco drawled. He didn't know whether to scream or start crying. "Believe it or not, Hermione, you've only made me feel ten times worse."

Hermione sighed tiredly and awkwardly hugged him. "What I'm saying is, she's doing it again. But she's not. Kat avoids her problems, but… if she was at Godric's Hollow… I don't know where she is, but I think she's trying to face what's bothering her instead of covering it up."

"So what?" Draco yelled. He flinched when thunder clapped outside the window behind him. "I'm supposed to sit here and wait for her to come home?"

Hermione winced and reluctantly whispered, "Yes."

A woman with dead eyes pulled a pot roast out of the oven. Almost robotically, she set it on the table and watched the girl who she hadn't seen in years pour them both some juice. It had been almost three days, and they barely spoke. Petunia didn't even ask why until now. Perhaps it was because she already knew the answer.

"Why are you here, Katherine?" she asked as she cut up the roast that was more suited for a dinner for four. Vernon's empty place at the table made her chest ache.

Lily's green eyes met hers, and they filled with tears. "I-I want to know why you wouldn't be my mum."

:'( I guess everyone's on Kat's side for this one? Remember she did have him waiting and worrying for hours…

Anyway, I wanted to explain why Petunia let her stay over. I think without Vernon and Dudley, she doesn't have much left in her. She devoted her whole life to them, and I think with Vernon dead and Dudley living on his own, she doesn't care much about anything anymore, so when Kat showed up, I don't think she cared either way, especially since there was no confrontation for three days.

Thanks for the reviews gr8rockstarrox, justaislinn, and crazypagen!

crazypagen: I'm sure it was hard, but I hope everything turned out okay!

justaislinn: Orange is a little inspired by my crazy dog. She is in love with my mom and used to try to attack my dad if she got to close. I used to joke and say that she think's my mom is her wife. :D

gr8rockstarrox: I probably should have said magenta. I was mixing pink and blue in my head, but I know red and blue makes purple and not pink and blue. I might change it to dark magenta later tonight.