Hermione felt the contractions in the middle of the night. Darkness consumed the room and kept her blind. It took a minute for her to realize what had happened. The pain occurred in her lower abdomen. The first contraction caused her to whimper in pain. The second came quickly in surprise.
"Draco!"
His name resonated throughout her room and reached the bedroom two doors away. The platinum haired Slytherin jolted awake from the sound of her voice. He clumsily got out of bed, rushing to his faux-wife's room with his wand in hand.
"Hermione? What's wrong?" Draco all but threw himself at her. He kneeled down beside her on the bed. "Lumos," he muttered.
Hermione cried out when another contraction came. Draco brushed her curls out of her face and looked down at her in concern. Hermione said nothing for a few minutes as she waited for the next contraction. When it occurred later than she anticipated, she knew she was okay.
"Braxton-Hicks contractions," Hermione muttered. She turned over to lay on her side. "False labor."
"Are you sure?" Draco asked. "Let me take you to the Hospital Wing," he said. "Just in case." He felt more worried than he would ever admit. 'What if' scenarios played in his mind and caused images he didn't like to imagine.
"Draco, the baby won't be coming until Wednesday," Hermione said. "I'm sorry I woke you," she said sheepishly. She had read about false labor, and knew the signs of it: contractions in the lower abdomen, irregular intervals, and the response to her change in position. The moment she turned to lay on her side, the contractions seemed to stop.
Draco sighed and shook his head. "Don't be sorry." He leaned down to kiss Hermione's forehead. "But let me take you to the Hospital Wing."
"No, I'm okay."
"Just in ca-"
"I'm tired, and I don't want to go to the Hospital Wing."
They stared at each other in a standoff. Both were stubborn, and both wanted different things.
"I'm the one having the baby," Hermione stated.
"I'm still the father of the baby," Draco stated.
Golden eyes clashed against grey ones. Minutes seemed to pass yet neither of them moved. Eventually Draco knew what needed to be done. He muttered, "Nox," then placed his wand on the nearby nightstand. Then he lifted the covers and laid down beside Hermione.
"Draco?"
"If you're gonna stay here, then I'm staying with you," Draco murmured. "Bloody stubborn witch." He wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head.
Hermione could help but to smile. "Hey, Malfoy?" she whispered.
"Yes, Granger?" he mumbled into her hair.
"You're not that bad when you aren't being a dick."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Draco decided to skip out on classes for the day. After all, it was his last day before becoming a parent and he thought he deserved a bit of time alone. As he walked around the Black Lake however, his only thoughts were of a certain curly haired Gryffindor. He couldn't help but to think of that morning, after the incident with Hermione's false labor.
He had laid on his side, pressed against her back as she slept in his arms. Sunlight streamed in through the windows and illuminated the room. A ray fell right onto Hermione's face, causing her features to seem more innocent and relaxed. Draco couldn't help but to brush a stray curl out of her face. He couldn't help but to marvel at how warm and soft she felt.
This girl... This sweet innocent girl was a prime example of everything he was raised to hate. She was so intelligent yet to naive when it came to the outside world. Her blood status was enough of a reason for him to hate her. After that, it was her prissy Gryffindor attitude that got in the way. Yet for some reason he couldn't find it in himself to let her go.
Draco sighed as he made another lap around the Black Lake. He shook his head, as if that would shake the thoughts of Hermione from his mind. He was sure that she was wondering where he went. Breakfast was over by now, and surely she would be confused as to why he wasn't there for classes. But Draco had planned this ahead of time, and told Harry and Blaise to make sure she was okay.
He just needed time to think. Time to process. In a day's time, he was going to be a father. But the thought of raising a child was...terrifying. Despite his efforts to stay calm, there was always a small part of him that was scared he would fail.
Don't be like him, Draco told himself. Not like him.
All movement came to an abrupt stop as a slow creeping darkness gripped Draco. His face drained of all color as a coldness washed over him. A ragged breath escaped his lips as he tried to breathe normally. But no matter how hard he tried to stop the dark thoughts- the dark memories- they pushed their way to the front of his mind.
"Lucius, please. Lucius he's just a boy!"
"Let go of me, Cissa," hissed Lucius. He roughly pushed his wife away, causing her frail frame to fall onto the hardwood floor. His grey eyes were blazing as he turned to face the six year old carbon copy of him. "Stand up straight, boy," Lucius ordered.
Draco fixed his posture and stared straight ahead, not daring to look his father in the eyes. He didn't even dare to glace at his mother, who was on the floor still.
"Do you know what you did wrong?" Lucius asked calmly.
Draco inhaled sharply. Fear gripped his throat as he struggled to decipher which was the correct answer: the lie or the truth? He could tell his time to answer was quickly running out. "No," he lied.
"No...?"
"No, Sir," Draco corrected himself.
For a moment, there was a silence. It was never good when things were quiet, he knew that much. So when the back of his father's hand collided with his cheek, Draco saw it as no surprise. His head whipped to the side with a clear red mark on his pale cheek. Lucius grabbed a fist full of his hair and pulled harshly as he forced Draco to look up at him.
A cry came from Narcissa as she screamed at Lucius to stop. Draco could only bit the inside of his cheek to refrain from showing his pain, but the sadness showed in his eyes. His grey eyes that came from his father.
"You were fraternizing with that muggle filth today!" Lucius shouted in Draco's face. "What had I told you before I took you to London?"
"Do not speak to the muggles," Draco answered, without missing a heartbeat. "Do not look at the muggles. Do not touch the muggles."
Lucius gave his hair another hard yank. "And what did you do the moment I turned my back?"
Draco did not reply this time. He couldn't bring himself to talk about what happened. Mostly because he was scared of his father's reaction, but also because...he was confused.
He had been in London with his parents, staying close to Narcissa as they walked down the busy streets of London. He eyes remained forward, though disregarded the people they landed upon. Eventually their walk came to an end as they approached a shop. It looked old and abandoned, but a mere paper OPEN sign was taped to the front. Lucius and Narcissa went in and had left Draco outside.
"Stay by the door," Lucius had ordered.
And Draco did...for the first few minutes. His short attention span led to him looking around the streets and at the nearby shops. He glanced a the shop next to the one he was at, but saw a large sign with words he couldn't read. All he could recognize was a tooth, which for some reason had a face, and arms, and legs. In its hand was a toothbrush.
"My mum and dad work in here," came a quiet soft voice.
Draco's eyes had darted over to the door to see a girl around his age. Her hair was a curly mess that resembled a bush. Her two front teeth were missing, leaving a large gap in the smile she sent his way. Her large light brown eyes stared at him, with so much kindness it nearly scared him to death.
"Your hair is awfully blonde," she stated.
"Your hair is awfully messy," he shot back.
Instead of getting upset, the girl laughed. "I know," she said. She walked towards him and stuck her hand out for him to shake. "It's nice to meet you."
Draco stared at her hand for a full minutes, unsure of what to do. She looked harmless enough. There was no dirt on her hands. No sign of 'muggle filth' as his father loved to say. After awhile, he tentatively reached out to shake her hand. "Hi."
Before he could say anything else, a large firm hand pressed against his shoulder. Draco didn't have to look up to see who it was. He quickly retracted his hand and wiped it on his slacks. The girl seemed to be aware of a dark presence and ran into the place her parents worked in. The scared look on her face must've resembled the one Draco had on.
"Draco," Lucius hissed. "What are you doing?"
Talking to the muggle girl was what he did wrong. Looking at the muggle girl was what he did wrong. Touching the muggle girl was what he did wrong. And yet, he found himself not regretting it. He couldn't help but to feel glad it happened. The warm smile the girl sent him was more affection than he received from Lucius.
"Do not be deceived by muggle girls," Lucius said as he tightened his grip on Draco's hair. "They are the worst of all- whores and thieves. You will do well to remember not to associate with a muggle." Lucius released Draco's hair, and gripped his throat instead. "Muggles are filth, and Malfoys are not."
Draco shook as he tried to push the memory away. He had to stop himself from remembering how his father had beat him. Up until Draco was eight, Lucius was a monster. He had been cruel to his wife and son. It wasn't until Draco's eighth birthday when Narcissa gained enough courage to stand up to Lucius. Of course, she had the help of Severus Snape and her sister Bellatrix.
For three years Lucius was sent away. Draco never found out where he went or what happened to him. All he knew was that once he came back, he had changed.
But Draco couldn't afford becoming anything like him. He couldn't fathom what kind of monster he might be to his future child. The thought horrified him. He thought back to his conversation with his mother before the school year started.
"Draco," Narcissa said softly. "You are nothing like your father."
"I know," Draco replied truthfully. He stared at himself in the mirror, and ignored the physical similarities between him and his father.
"Draco, this parenting class-"
"Mum, I'm fine."
The two of them shared a look as Draco continued to get ready to go out. He was preparing to go to Roar, where he would meet Theo and Blaise.
Narcissa nodded slightly as she said, "You're good, Draco."
It had taken years, but Draco eventually learned to forgive Lucius. His father tried to make up for his past mistakes by buying Draco anything and everything he wanted. And it worked. Draco and Lucius were now on good terms.
But still...the past was still there, and it could repeat itself at any moment.
Draco opened his eyes and stared at the Black Lake. "I'll do better," he vowed. "I'll do better."
Wednesday came like an unwanted storm. Anxiety ran through all of the students. Even the underclassmen were anxious. Nobody knew who would give birth first. Baby names were being suggested left and right. Though it was hardest for Hermione and Draco, due to their lack of knowledge of the baby's gender.
"What about Gemma for a girl?" Ginny suggested.
"No," Draco said curtly.
"Lucy?" Luna offered.
Hermione and Draco shared a look before shaking their heads.
"Boy names," Draco said. "Say some boy names."
"Dante," Blaise said.
"Ezra," Pansy chipped in.
More names were continuously thrown at them, but nothing ever sounded right. As breakfast started to come to an end, many students believed that none of the labors were going to occur. That was until Hannah Abbot cried out in pain. Never before had anyone seen Neville freak out as much as he did then. He shot up from his seat and ran his hands through his hair.
"The baby? Now?" he asked frantically.
Hannah could only manage to nod. She took a deep breath before getting up. Neville reached out to help her, but failed miserably when he couldn't figure out where to hold her. Eventually he wrapped his arm around her waist and rushed her out of the Great Hall.
"How wonderful," Draco muttered bitterly. He was slightly sore that Neville of all people would have a son, who would be the eldest of all the faux-children.
"Hannah told me that they're naming their son Aaron Frank, after Neville's father," Ginny said.
The dreamy smile on Luna's face only seemed to widen at the news. She leaned against Theo and rested her head on his shoulder. "How lovely."
By the end of breakfast, five other couples had gone into labor. Everyone was on edge as they made their way to their classes. All of the underclassmen parted like the Red Sea whenever they saw a pregnant witch.
Draco's arm was practically attached to Hermione's waist as they walked to Defense Against the Dark Arts. He shot everyone who got too close a glare. If Hermione noticed, she didn't say anything.
They were almost through the doorway when they heard Ginny groan in pain. The witch's face was twisted into a grimace.
"Contraction?" Blaise asked.
"Should a contraction feel like something is gripping my uterus and hurting my back in the process?"
"Yes!" Hermione answered.
"Then yes, that was a contraction."
It wasn't long until Blaise was whisking Ginny away to the Hospital Wing.
"Who knows," Draco said as he ushered Hermione into the classroom, "we might be next."
A/N Everyone's labors next chapter! Love you all, and thank you for the support. I've spent the past week unpacking for my trip and repacking for another one. I'm going to try my best to start writing tonight and tomorrow so I can have the next chapter up soon.
It's currenly 11:10pm and I've been functioning on 4 hours of sleep. With that said, sorry for mistakes! You guys have been amazing with any mistakes though, so thank you all for that!
Love,
~KittyKat