Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any other recognizable work or character.

A/N: I'm not feeling the greatest today but I really wanted to get this out to you all. First there was some confusion last chapter, I am definitely not holding chapters for reviews. I do say I won't post for this many days or until I hit this review point well, because I know none of you like waiting! Another note, someone asked in passing how far along Hermione was at this chapter she's about 22 weeks along.

Also, Sins of My Father made it to the finals in the Granger Enchanted Awards! I am super excited and honored to be in the finals with the rest of these amazing authors! I will post a link on my facebook page (sweetlittlebullet) and also on my bio page here (if I can figure it out!) You all should go check it out! And thank you again! I know it's all because of you!

Nine

"So you haven't heard from him at all?" Ginny asked as she rifled through the rack of clothes before her.

Hermione shook her head, "No."

"And mummy dearest?"

Hermione shot her a look but the witch merely smirked in return and held up a blue blouse in question. "I'll try it on and no. I mean, I didn't really expect it but-"

"But it would be nice if they would at least acknowledge that you're carrying his child?"

Hermione nodded absently and picked another top from the rack before her. She had never really been the type for romanticized ideals of relationships or men- though in saying this she was studiously ignoring how many Mrs. Gilderoy Lockhart's she had written on spare parchment in her formative years. Nor did she have any hopes of grandeur for her current predicament and she hadn't in telling Malfoy either. No, she had only wanted him to have the choice, much like she did, because it was the right thing to do. So she wasn't sure what exactly she had been expecting after telling Malfoy about the baby. The radio silence after her appointment, however, had definitely not been it.

She had withdrawn then. Throwing herself into her work as she studiously ignored the elephant in the room. Of course it only lasted four more weeks before she woke up and could no longer fit into any of her clothes, her jumper straining too tightly over her stomach. Which was how she found herself floo calling Ginny that morning in a mild panic while the witch laughed at her from her hearth.

"I just don't see why you won't send him a howler. Or… better yet, let mum do it. Not a witch or wizard yet that hasn't buckled at one of those." Ginny said with a laugh as they made their way to the changing rooms.

Hermione sighed. Of course the thought had crossed her mind a couple of times but she also knew that being part of this wasn't up to her and she couldn't force his hand. She wouldn't. She shrugged it off as she went into the fitting room while Ginny sat down to nurse the baby who they had begun to affectionately call Jamie.

The witches continued to chat through the curtain as Hermione tried on the different clothing they had picked until she was happy with her choices and she went to the front to pay.

"Just let me know if you want to send one on," Ginny smiled as Hermione sent most of her choices home but changed into one of her new shirts quickly. "I'll get mum right on it."

Hermione laughed dryly, "You know I won't Gin."

The witch sighed, "Yes, but a girl can hope."

The two parted ways after that with a promise to stop in later for tea and some baby snuggles as Hermione hurried on to the ministry and dove headfirst into her work, forgoing any thought of Draco Malfoy as she focused on the files and parchment that littered her desk. Her work was suffering and the thought alone was enough to drive Hermione Granger nearly mad. She wasn't used to letting personal affairs affect her work and the thought that Malfoy had that much of an impact on her only made it worse.

She managed, in the time she had, to clear most of the mess from her desk and it wasn't until her stomach started to rumble far louder than she would have cared for, that she finally called it a night. She had just managed to shove the last of her left over parchments into her briefcase when someone knocked on her office door.

"Come in," she called, only semi hoping that whoever it was didn't need anything else from her.

"Oh, Ms. Granger, so glad I caught you," Robert Dunovan- the head of her department-said, "I've only just managed to get the last of your goblin case looked over and I do believe it's in your right to send it on to the liaison office. You'll want to do it quickly though as they're nearing the time they close out their cases for the month and anything after the deadline won't be accepted until the month after next."

The man thrust the stack of files into her hands and Hermione bit back a grimace as her stomach growled once more. "Uh, thank you Mister Dunovan, I'll get right on that. Do you, by chance know where I should send it?"

Hermione didn't miss the way the man's eyes seemed to gravitate towards her midsection and she shifted nervously under his gaze as she tried to position the stack of files in front of her burgeoning middle.

"Yes, yes, it will go up to Greengrass on the fourth."

Hermione swallowed, "Greengrass?"

"Yes," the man looked down at his watch, "Oh and look if you hurry you might just be able to catch her."

"Right, well, I'll just-" Hermione started, shifting the files in her arm just a smidge to grab her bag and hoist it over her shoulder as the man in question gave her one last goodbye before he scurried off and Hermione grimaced, closing the door behind her and carefully juggling the armload as she hurried to catch a lift.

The hallways were quickly emptying as people left for the day and Hermione only slowed her progress as she reached the hall she had been pointed towards as people filed out of doors and headed towards the lifts.

She was making good progress, she thought, until- "Hermione! How wonderful to see you!" the woman said brightly and Hermione forced a smile to her face.

"Carmella, It's good to see you too," she ground out.

"Well, I would dare say you've been busy," the woman said with a sweep over her, "You must be nearly there now haven't you?"

"W-what? No! I mean, I haven't said-"

"Oh well you don't have to say do you? You're glowing and the large bump in the middle doesn't keep it very quiet does it? The Weasley family must be thrilled to add another one, what will that make for Molly and Arthur now? Ten? And I bet they're just thrilled that you'll have two at the same time what with Ronald and his new wife, what was her name again? And how is daddy to be taking it?"

"No, I mean, I don't-" Hermione started before she finally sighed, "I'm sorry Miss Clearwater, I really do have to get these to their destination. Thank you though."

"Oh of course," Carmella replied looking only slightly put out, "Do stop by sometime! Or I'll owl you for tea!"

Hermione forced a smile again as she nodded, pushing past the witch slightly, "Great, thank you."

She didn't bother to look back as she heard the witch start in on another poor unsuspecting passerby and instead she shouldered her way towards the office at the end of the hall She saw- thankfully- that the door was wide open and the witch with the long black hair stood near her desk, laughing gracefully. It was then that Hermione stopped in her tracks, feeling someone bump into her shoulder as she stood stock still in the middle of the corridor as she watched the woman reach down to caress the bump beneath her dress and Hermione felt her heart sink as flashes of the witch on Draco's arm played in her mind.

As if reading her thoughts the baby gave a great kick to her ribs and she shifted her things around in her arms before she carefully placed her fingertips upon her stomach, "I"m sorry," she whispered down to the bump before she finally took a step forward and looked up once more.

She froze again as the reason for the witch's laughter stepped forward, his suit jacket pressed and his hair perfectly coifed. The woman reached out to grasp his hand placing his palm upon her own belly, her lips moving as his own pulled up.

Hermione felt sick.

She swallowed past the lump in her throat because of course it made sense. Why would Malfoy want to be involved in her child's life if he had his own fiance waiting for him at home with his legitimate heir nestled in her womb. Her heart broke then, as she watched the happy scene before her. Not for herself but for the child that she was carrying.

Powering through the pain and anger she stepped forward, eager to be free of the burden of parchment in her hands and get back home to her own flat. She knocked on the doorframe and kept her eyes focused on only Miss Greengrass as both heads turned to look at her though she could see, out of the corner of her eye- the smile fall from the man's lips quickly as he caught sight of her.

"Sorry to interrupt," she said tightly, " Mister Dunavon said I should bring these files to you. He suggested it was urgent and I wanted to get them here right away."

"Oh, hello Miss Granger," the witch smiled politely, "Please do come in."

Hermione took a steadying breath before she stepped through the threshold and Miss Greengrass walked back around behind her desk leaving Hermione standing directly next to Draco Malfoy. She could feel his eyes on her but she didn't turn and look back. She wouldn't.

"Everything should be in order," Hermione said as she handed the rather large stack of files to the witch across the desk. "I've worked personally with Blaylock and while I don't mean to disparage the court system I do feel like this matter should have been handled differently. It's my hope that the Liaison office will be able to open it back up."

"Right," the witch said with a nod, "I believe you have a valid point Miss Granger and I will make sure these get to the head of the department first thing. Thank you for bringing them here."

Hermione faltered then and her eyes went to Malfoy of their own accord. She was sure the witch would have been angry, or hostile, or anything but cordially polite as she was at the moment.

"You're welcome-" she supplied tightly in response.

The witch smiled once more, "I had no idea that congratulations were in order either Miss Granger, it's nice to see another working mum here-"

Hermione clenched her teeth, "Yes, well thank you."

"I hope you've been able to get some time off though, I know your department is busy but rest is important as well."

Hermione nodded, "Thank you, I'll be sure to remember that. I really must be going but thank you again."

She could have sworn she heard Malfoy swear under his breath as she hurried from the room and back down the- now empty- corridor towards the lifts.

It wasn't until she reached them and angrily stabbed at the button that she heard him catch up to her.

"Granger-" he said tersely and she turned to see him staring at her expectantly, "What are you-"

"Does she know?" she huffed angrily.

"What?"

"You said at the benefit that you weren't that kind of man but seeing as your fiance had no idea that I was pregnant I'm assuming that part of the equation must have just slipped your mind."

Draco's jaw clenched, "What I do or don't tell her is none-"

"You're right," Hermione said edgily, "It's none of my business but you were so want to make me out to be a tart-"

"I never-"

She raised a brow, "I'm sure memories don't lie Draco maybe you should go back and revisit them."

"That was never my intention," he said stiffly. "As it were I expected more communication from you about… this." he gestured to her stomach.

She rolled her eyes, "What, was the invitation not formal enough for your tastes?"

"What invitation?"

"The- no, nevermind. It doesn't matter. Look I only wanted to tell you because I thought you ought to know, it's not- I don't- we don't need anything from you. Or your mother. I've done what I could and I don't expect anything more from you so… you're off the hook."

"To what hook are you referring?" Draco asked as the lift appeared and the gate opened loudly.

Hermione sighed as she stepped in and turned around, pushing the button. "It's a muggle expression. Just, goodbye Draco."

And with that the lift doors closed and Hermione turned away, letting her head fall back against the wall as the baby set about a relentless assault on her insides.

She placed her hand upon the swell of her stomach as she sighed, "I know baby, I know."

This time she didn't give in to her emotions as she arrived home to her flat and made herself some spaghetti bolognese and ate it unguilty in front of the telly. She ignored her overstuffed briefcase as she changed and collapsed into bed and let sleep overtake her.

She dreamt that night, of cold gray eyes and hands that pulled her child from her arms and when she woke- three hours before her alarm- she didn't even bother trying to go back to sleep. Instead she dressed in her baggiest shirt and made her way to the nearest bakery and ordered the biggest eclair she could and ate it as she walked the rest of the way to the ministry knowing she would scarcely have time for much else.

By the time Harry arrived for the morning, bleary eyed and holding a very large cup of coffee, Hermione had managed to make quite a noticeable dent in her files.

"'Mione, what are you doing here so early?" he asked as he came into her office.

She shrugged, "I thought I would come in early and get some work done since I couldn't sleep though it looks like you're not faring much better."

Harry grimaced, "Honestly I'm glad I've returned to work," he said with a shudder and Hermione couldn't help but chuckle. "Molly said it's just a growth spurt but I'm beginning to think the first four months were just him pulling our leg."

"He can't be that bad, he's a baby."

"A bloody menace- don't tell Gin I said that." he yawned.

"I'll add it to the list of things we never speak of. Like that one time in Brighton when you and Ron accidentally-"

"Hermione," he warned before he shook his head slowly and hermione couldn't help but laugh before the man continued, "In any case, Gin wants me to invite you to dinner tonight at our place."

"Alright," she nodded, "Usual time?"

Harry yawned with what sounded like an agreement and Hermione smirked as he raised his coffee to his lips and waved a goodbye as she dived back into her work. She hadn't gotten very far when she heard a knock at her door.

"I told you I'd be there Har- Oh, Malfoy-" she said as she looked up mid-sentence to see the man standing in her doorway.

"Granger-" he said stiffly, "Do you have a moment?"

She bit her lip, "I guess so-"

The man stepped forward then, closing the door behind him and Hermione checked that her wand was still near her out of habit before she forced herself to not think about it as he stepped into the room and sat down in the chair across from her. He looked very out of place in her office chair and for a second she wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all before she quickly pushed it away.

"I wanted to speak with you about yesterday-" he started.

"I don't think there's anything to speak about." she interrupted. "I've told you that-"

"I don't want to be off the hook," he said, the words foreign on his lips.

"You looked it up?"

"I did and since I'm assuming you didn't mean a fellytone receiver I can only assume you mean freed from obligation-"

"Telephone."

"What?"

"Nothing," she said hurriedly.

"I did not know that you had sent an invitation either," he continued on, "I was out of town until not long before you saw me yesterday, on business. After I arrived home last night my mother told me what you had done…"

"Malfoy-"

"I think there was also some confusion," he stated, meeting her eyes- his gaze fierce- as he continued as though she hadn't spoken. "I was in Daphne's office yesterday because she had asked me to stop by when I returned to the country-"

"Daphne?" Hermione asked as she thought of the woman yesterday.

"Yes, Astoria's older sister and also Marcus Flint's wife. Some in the ministry still call her by her maiden name of-"

"Greengrass," Hermione breathed.

Malfoy nodded, "I am engaged to her younger sister but she asked me to stop by to discuss being the godfather to their child."

Hermione was quiet at his explanation. Of course he hadn't had to tell her anything, in fact he could have used it as an out. An excuse. Instead he was here, in her office and she tried not to dwell on what that meant.

"But you are engaged," she finally said, "and you haven't told her or anyone-"

Malfoy stared at her unabashedly, "and what would you have me tell them Granger? That Hermione Granger might be carrying my child after one irresponsible night together? Would you have me ruin someone else's life over something that might not-"

Hermione clenched her teeth, "And this is why it's better if you took an out Malfoy, because I won't have my child raised as some illegitimate mistake."

"I never said-"

"I don't want anything from you nor do I need it as far as I'm concerned we can just forget this whole thing happened."

Draco scoffed, "You're the brightest witch of our age, surely know about wizarding families and blood ties despite not being brought up in one. Surely you know that-"

"I don't care-" Hermione spat, leaning upon her desk as she thought of the Black family tapestry of the names seared off in fits of anger, of her child's being done the same. "I would rather claim Argus Filch as the child's father than allow her to feel like she isn't wanted."

Draco gaped at her then, "You found out the sex?"

"No, I-" Hermione shook her head, "I just feel like it's a girl."

Draco opened his mouth, poised to speak once more when a knock sounded on the door. Hermione sighed before she called out, "Come in."

Dennis appeared in the doorway, a rather sheepish look on his face before he caught sight of Malfoy and his eyes narrowed before he looked back to Hermione, "Sorry to interupt but a patronus just came asking for you to head down to the courtrooms."

"Alright, thank you Dennis," she said and the man hesitated before he finally disappeared back through the door. Hermione breathed as she picked up a few of the files from her desk and then looked at the man before her. "Look Malfoy, I just- this isn't something to do out of obligation or because you're stuck with it. As you said before, I'm the brightest witch of the age, if anyone can figure out a workaround, it's me."

"Granger-"

"I have to go," she shook her head as she heaved the files up and crossed around her desk, holding the door open for him until he slowly moved out of his seat and through the door. Hermione shut it behind her and threw a quick nod at Dennis before she and Malfoy parted ways.