The first of September rolled round a lot quicker than Hermione and Draco had hoped. At the beginning of the holiday they felt as though they had loads of time in front of them, however the weeks just seemed to fly by. The last week had especially seemed to fly over as plans were made for the upcoming start of the new school year. Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall were all heavily involved in the planning of how the upcoming year would run, therefore they were around a lot in the final week of the holidays.
"I really don't want to leave you," Draco sighed as he got ready to leave.
"I know." Hermione smiled sympathetically at her boyfriend. She really wanted him to stay with her, but they both knew they had to carry on as normal to avoid people getting suspicious.
"These next few weeks are going to be torture," Draco said as he sat down on the bed next to Hermione and took hold of her hand.
"I think this whole year will be hard," Hermione sighed, resting her head on Draco's shoulder. "I'm still not sure I'll be able to leave the baby."
"Dumbledore promised he could come up with something to explain your absence in school if that was the case," Draco replied.
Over the course of the last week they'd discussed the possibility of Hermione not returning to school. As things currently stood the plan was for her to return to school once she'd given birth, but everyone was aware that when it came down to leaving the baby she might not be able to go through with it. Dumbledore already had a plan in place to explain Hermione not returning to school with the rest of the students, but he'd promised that if Hermione chose not to return at all that he would explain things at school that wouldn't arouse people's suspicions about her sudden departure.
"How would you feel if I chose not to go back to Hogwarts?" Hermione asked.
"I'd miss you like crazy, but I'll understand," Draco answered. "I'm finding it hard to leave, and the baby's not even born yet. I'll understand if you can't come back to school, and I won't resent you for not returning. If things were different neither of us would be going back, we would be together as a family."
"If that's what we really want to happen, we'll have to hope Harry and Dumbledore can defeat Voldemort," Hermione said. "As long as Voldemort's around the only life we'll have together is a secret one in hiding."
"That won't happen," Draco vowed. "Potter, Dumbledore and the Order will triumph. We will do all we can to help them so we can be a family, me, you and our baby."
As he was talking, Draco's free hand dropped to Hermione's stomach where it rested on her sizeable bump. With her due date creeping nearer, Hermione had finally started to look like she was due to give birth any minute. At just over eight months along she was a fair size, and the baby was extremely active and was constantly wriggling around and kicking.
"And you little one, have to be good for your Mummy," Draco cooed to the bump. "Be and a good boy or girl and don't make her wait too long to see you. In fact don't make either of us wait, because I can't wait to meet you either."
"Do you think we should have found out the sex of the baby?" Hermione asked.
"It's a bit late to be changing our minds now, you'll be having the baby in a few weeks," Draco chuckled. "But I actually don't regret not finding out. I'm looking forward to getting a surprise when he or she is born."
"I just hope you're here for the birth," Hermione said quietly. While Dumbledore had assured them he would do his very best to get Draco to her side when she was in labour, Hermione knew it wasn't guaranteed that Draco would arrive in time for the birth of his child.
"I'll be here," Draco promised. "Nothing will stop me from being with you when you give birth to our child. I love you Hermione, and I will be here when our baby is born."
"I love you too," Hermione whispered as she joined her lips with Draco's in a lingering kiss.
The pair were still in the middle of their kiss when Narcissa's voice floated up the stairs announcing it was time to leave. Reluctantly the pair separated and while Hermione hauled herself off the bed, Draco gathered his bag and trunk. Slowly the couple descended the stairs and made their way into the front room where Narcissa was waiting with Tonks and Remus. While Narcissa would accompany Draco to Malfoy Manor and on to the train station, Tonks and Remus would stay with Hermione and keep her company until Narcissa returned home.
"Are you ready? Narcissa asked her son.
"I guess so." Draco placed his trunk and bag on the floor as he turned to Hermione, not bothering that they had an audience. "I'm going to miss you so much."
"I'm going to miss you too," Hermione replied with a sad smile. "I love you, Draco."
"I love you too," Draco replied, pulling his girlfriend into his arms for another lingering kiss.
"I hate to break things up but we need to be going," Narcissa said gently. She could see how hard it was for both Draco and Hermione to be separated, but if they didn't leave soon they would be late arriving at the Manor and Lucius might start asking questions.
Draco nodded reluctantly as he picked up his trunk and bag. Saying goodbye to his girlfriend one final time, he turned to the fire and flooed to the manor behind his mother. As usual Draco and Narcissa exited the fire in an upstairs room that no visitors ever entered. Lucius had set up the room as an arrival point from Narcissa's home so no-one ever accidentally saw either her or Draco arriving. This way if there was an unexpected visitor to the manor, it would merely look as though Narcissa and Draco were coming from upstairs.
"Are you ready?" Narcissa asked her son.
Draco took a deep breath and buried all his worries about leaving Hermione deep inside him. Within a few minutes he'd adapted the cold façade that most people associated with the Malfoy family. Now no-one, not even Lucius, would be able to tell that Draco was wishing he was elsewhere.
"Let's go," Draco said to his mother.
Smiling proudly at her son, Narcissa led the way from the room and along the corridor until they reached the ornate stairway that led downstairs. Together Narcissa and Draco descended the stairs, and as usual Lucius was standing waiting for them in the front hallway.
"Narcissa. Draco." Lucius inclined his head towards his wife and son. "I take it you both had an enjoyable summer."
"It was very nice," Narcissa replied.
Turning to Draco, Lucius's cold grey eyes scanned over his son. As usual Draco looked every inch the immaculate Malfoy heir. His white blond hair was styled perfectly, his clothes were all expensive, neatly pressed and fitted his tall frame perfectly. As he looked his son over, Lucius's attention was grabbed by a green and silver pin on his son's robes. As he read the words Head Boy, his face broke out into a smirk.
"Head Boy, I'm very impressed," Lucius told his son.
"Thank you Father," Draco replied in an emotionless voice. He knew his father wasn't genuinely impressed with him, he'd been expecting Draco to get the position of Head Boy and he was letting his son know he was pleased that he hadn't failed. No doubt if there'd been no pin on Draco's uniform, Lucius would have made his displeasure clear.
"We better get going, we don't want the Head Boy missing the train," Lucius announced.
The way the Malfoys apparated to the train station hadn't changed since Draco had first started Hogwarts, so everyone knew exactly what they were doing. Lucius always insisted on being the one to do the actual apparating, so both Narcissa and Draco had to hold onto the older wizard. Once everyone was in place, Lucius whipped out his wand and apparated the family to Platform Nine and Three Quarters.
When they landed, Draco quickly removed his hand from his father's arm, while Lucius put his wand away and wrapped his arm around Narcissa's waist. To anyone watching they looked like the close family everyone thought they were.
"Make sure you concentrate on your work," Lucius told his son. "It's your final year, and I expect good exam results. For once maybe you could even try and beat the Granger girl."
"I'll try my best Father," Draco answered.
"Make sure you do," Lucius warned. "Now I think it's time you boarded the train, you want to make a good impression on whichever Professor is waiting to greet the Head Students."
Draco nodded at his father's instructions as he said goodbye to his mother. Once he'd said a proper goodbye to Narcissa, he turned to Lucius and the pair exchanged a meaningless farewell. Smiling once more at his mother, Draco turned and disappeared onto the train.
Once on the train, Draco quickly looked around for any of his friends. The Slytherins always occupied the compartments at the rear end of the train so it didn't take long to find Blaise Zabini lounging in one of the compartments.
"Hey Draco." Blaise smiled warmly as his friend entered the compartment. "Did you have a good summer?"
"Yeah. Did you?" Draco asked as he threw his bag onto one of the seats and stowed his trunk on the luggage rack overhead.
"I did," Blaise grinned. "I spent most of it in Italy visiting my grandparents. I met loads of fun witches."
"You can tell me about them later," Draco chuckled at his friend. "Right now, I need to go to the Head's Compartment."
"You got Head Boy, congratulations," Blaise said, clapping Draco on the shoulder.
"Thanks. I'll be back in a bit," Draco said as he slipped out of the compartment and made his way down to the other end of the train to where the Head's Compartment was located.
Draco slipped into the compartment to find Snape waiting for him. Snape nodded his head in greeting, but neither wizard spoke until the train had left London.
"Was there any problems with your father?" Snape asked once the train was moving.
"No." Draco shook his head. "Everything was the same as normal."
"Good," Snape said with a sharp nod. "Now here's your list of prefects for the year and the first list of passwords for the common rooms. When the prefects arrive in a few minutes, give them the passwords and just tell them the usual about patrolling the train and leading the first years back to the common rooms after the feast."
"And what do I say if they ask where the missing Head Girl is?" Draco questioned.
"Tell them you have no idea what's going on," Snape answered. "You don't even know who the Head Girl is."
"It doesn't take a genius to guess who that would be," Draco chuckled.
"Even so, you say nothing," Snape warned the blond boy. "If anyone asks, say you were told to handle things by yourself on the train."
Draco nodded in understanding as his head of house rose from his seat and exited the Head's Compartment. No doubt Snape would then apparate off the train so no students could go poking around in the Professors compartment looking for answers regarding the absent Head Girl.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"I swear, she's not on the train," Harry frowned as he returned to the compartment he was sharing with Ron and Ginny.
"She has to be," Ron protested.
The trio were looking for Hermione, since they hadn't seen her on the platform before the train departed from London. They'd assumed they would find her on the train, but two searches of the train had proved fruitless. From what they could gather, Hermione was nowhere to be found.
"Have we checked every compartment?" Ginny asked.
"I checked every one that I passed," Harry said as Ron also confirmed he'd poked his head into every compartment. "I even checked the boy's toilets."
"I checked the girl's bathroom," Ginny said. "The only place left to try is the Professors Compartment and the Head's Compartment."
"Of course, how could we have been so thick?" Harry declared, slapping the palm of his hand on his forehead. "It's seventh year, Hermione will be Head Girl."
"I bet she's already tucked up in the Head's Compartment doing her duties," Ron sighed in relief.
"We can find out when you go to the prefect meeting," Ginny told her brother.
"Shit, the prefect meeting," Ron looked at his watch and let out a loud groan. "I'm ten minutes late, I better go."
Bolting from the compartment, Ron sprinted down the train and yanked open the door to the Head's Compartment. All the prefects turned to look at Ron as he slunk into the compartment, but Ron's attention was on the platinum blond Slytherin who was glaring at him.
"You're off to a great start Weasley," Draco sneered. "The meeting is practically over."
"Sorry, I forgot the time," Ron muttered.
"And you're the best Gryffindor has to offer." Draco shook his head in dismay, before returning his focus to giving the last of the orders to the prefects.
Ron only half listened to Malfoy's orders as he gazed at the empty seat beside the blond Slytherin. He knew from previous years that the Head Girl should be in the meeting with the Head Boy, but it looked as if Malfoy was in sole charge. Ron was still puzzling over the Head Girl's absence when the prefects were dismissed.
"Did you not hear me Weasley?" Draco questioned as the redhead failed to leave the compartment. "I said you could go and do your duties. If you even know what they are."
"Have you seen Hermione?" Ron asked through gritted teeth, he hated having to ask the Slytherin for help, but he'd fully expected to find Hermione in the Head's Compartment.
"No," Draco answered as he stood up. "Now if that's all, I want to get going."
"But isn't she Head Girl?" Ron questioned as Draco herded him out of the Head's Compartment and locked it behind him.
"I have no idea," Draco shrugged. "I was told to handle things myself on the train and Dumbledore would speak to me when I got to school."
Before Ron had a chance to ask anything else, the blond turned on his heel and strode off along the train. Deciding not to bother going after the Head Boy since he would be no help, Ron tried knocking on the Professors compartment that was situated next to the Head's Compartment. However he got no response from the compartment and when he tried the door it was locked.
As he made his way back to where Harry and Ginny were waiting for him, Ron once again checked the compartments he passed and he asked everyone if they'd seen Hermione. By the time he reached his compartment, Ron was convinced his friend wasn't on the train. Not only couldn't they find her, but no-one had seen her that day, either on the train or back in London.
"Well, was she there?" Harry demanded when Ron returned to the compartment alone.
"No." Ron shook his head as he sat down opposite Harry. "Malfoy's the Head Boy and he was conducting the meeting on his own. Apparently he hasn't seen Hermione, and all he was told was to conduct the meeting by himself on the train and that Professor Dumbledore would speak to him when we get to Hogwarts."
"What the hell is going on?" Harry frowned. "Where is Hermione?"
The question of where Hermione was continued to bug Harry, Ron and Ginny for the rest of the journey. However, there was no-one around to ask so they had to settle for running various scenarios past each other. With Voldemort knocking around the trio were worried about Hermione's safety, but they did think that if something bad had happened to their best friend that they would already know. The fact that Dumbledore had let them travel up to school without knowing what was going on reassured them that Hermione was safe, wherever she happened to be.
When the train pulled into Hogsmeade station the trio of Gryffindors were among the first off the train. Quickly they made a dash for the carriages and climbed into one of the first ones that took off up to the school. The journey passed in tense silence and when they alighted from the carriage they found Professor Dumbledore hovering in the front hallway of the school.
"You three better come with me," Dumbledore said before Harry even had a chance to speak.
Instead of leading the trio up to his office as they'd expected, Dumbledore merely led them into the nearest classroom and shut the door behind them.
"Is Hermione okay?" Harry demanded. "She wasn't on the train."
"Miss Granger is fine," Dumbledore reassured the concerned group. "However, she will be slightly late back at school this term. I got a letter from her parents a few days ago to inform me that she had contracted a muggle disease called Chicken Pox."
"Chicken Pox, is that like Dragon Pox?" Ron gasped. He didn't like the idea that his friend had a variation of a potentially deadly disease.
"It's not as deadly as Dragon Pox," Dumbledore told a worried Ron. "It's pretty harmless, but it's infectious."
"It spreads really quickly between people who haven't had it before," Harry supplied. "I had it when I was younger after Dudley caught it at a friend's birthday party."
"What exactly is it?" Ginny questioned.
"It's a muggle disease that manifests itself as really itchy spots," Dumbledore answered. "With it being a muggle disease it means the majority of the school haven't had the disease, but even those that have had it can catch it again. I don't want to risk an outbreak of a muggle disease in a wizarding school, especially as a lot of the parents wouldn't like it. So it's been decided that until she is completely free of the disease that Miss Granger will remain at home. Hopefully she should be back with us by the end of the month."
"Can we write to her?" Harry asked.
"Of course you can," Dumbledore answered. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to catch the Head Boy and have a word with him. Until Miss Granger is back, I'm afraid Mr Malfoy will have to manage on his own."
The group all left the classroom together and entered the Great Hall. Once Dumbledore established that he hadn't missed the Head Boy, he returned to the entrance hall to wait for Draco while the Gryffindors settled at the table. While they waited for things to get started and the feast to begin, Harry explained a bit more about chicken pox to his friends.
After the first years sorting, Dumbledore stood up to deliver his start of year speech. During the speech he addressed the fact that Hermione was ill and would be returning to school in the near future. He also made it clear that in her absence there would be no replacement Head Girl and that the Head Boy would be in sole charge of the prefects and any other Head Duties.