Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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"Draco, you have to let me go!" Hermione laughed one morning as she ate from the breakfast tray he sat in front of her.
After the surprisingly mild first few weeks of pregnancy had passed, her belly had rounded before either of them had expected.
Much to Hermione's mutual delight and consternation, Draco's protective instincts had doubled the moment he noticed she had developed a tummy.
His hands rarely left the swell.
The couple often indulged in long, warm baths together in the evenings, during which, Hermione found little benefit from the soothing water on her skin as her abdomen stayed covered by her mate's hovering grip.
If she asked for anything, Draco sent for it in a blind panic.
If she complained of the slightest ache, his eyes widened and his wand was in his hand, ready to call the midwife until she had protested for a good half hour.
He padded over to his ebony dresser while he shrugged, "You knew the day I brought you here, Granger…..The spell is weak enough, you can break the bonds whenever you want and walk out. You're not a real prisoner."
"I am, though!" She chuckled, "I can't possibly leave now, not since we……"
Draco turned to look at her as he unbuttoned his nightshirt.
"And…..you're my……." Hermione stumbled for words as her alpha let his nightshirt slip from his smooth, toned shoulders to slide to the floor in an elegant flutter.
The previous evening had left him without any bottoms on at all.
As Draco stood there, bare before her, in the streaming, early morning light that whispered into the room through the crack in his damask curtains, Hermione couldn't help but stare.
From his chiseled shoulders to the lines of smooth muscle that wound across his abdomen……all the way down to the part Hermione had discovered she liked best about him, Draco Malfoy commanded her attention.
"Your what, Granger?" He asked in a tone that came out rougher than he intended as he turned to open the drawer of his dresser and choose his clothes for the day.
"It's been ages since I've contacted my parents!" Hermione sighed.
"I had a letter sent that you went on holiday with a friend." Draco shrugged.
Hermione's mouth fell open at his unabashed audacity.
"...I haven't written to Ron or Harry either, they must be out of their minds with worry." She huffed as she crossed her arms.
"I had letters sent to each of them as well……and your employer also. That was the easiest bit, since my father managed to be promised his job back at the ministry." Draco casually mentioned.
Hermione resisted the urge to climb out of bed and pinch her mate's rounded cheeks.
"You're absolutely rotten, Malfoy." She chuckled as she watched him slide his arms into his shirt.
"You prefer me this way, Granger." Draco proudly determined as he held her gaze while he pulled the garment over his shoulders.
"It's impolite to stare, you know." He casually remarked as he buttoned the wrists of his shirt, "Didn't your parents teach you any manners?"
"I could ask the same of you." Hermione retorted as Draco's gray eyes settled on the outlines of her plump nipples that pressed obscenely against the fabric of her silk lounging gown.
"You're mine, Granger." Draco smirked, "I can stare at you all I want."
Hermione fell silent while Draco lifted his eyes to meet hers once more.
The moment captured them both as they realized the devastating distance that hung between them like a selfish void.
Without another word, Draco sought to draw closer to his darling as he marched across the lacquered floor of his lavish bedroom, still bare from the waist down, his open shirt the only clothing on his pale body.
Hermione couldn't hold back the eager gasp that escaped her parted lips as Draco crawled into her nest and gladly positioned himself over top of her before their lips met.
He groaned into their kiss as Hermione draped her arms over his shoulders and pulled him down close until the firm hardness of his muscular abdomen gently brushed against the swell of her belly.
As she pulled him down for another languid hour of gentle coupling, it didn't take long for Draco to find himself completely bare once more.
Once they had ended their exertions and Draco lay curled around Hermione's heavy tummy while she rested against the mound of pillows close to his carved headboard, he had never felt so very proud to be without clothes.
Lying there next to his mate, with his child's heartbeat coursing through his ears, what better way could there be to spend a morning?
"Are you craving anything?" Draco asked as he pressed a gentle kiss to his beloved's abdomen, "I'll see that it's brought straight away."
"A bit more sleep, that's all." Hermione said as she yawned, "That was wonderful……but exhausting, Draco. I don't hardly have the energy for anything anymore, I'm afraid."
He frowned as he sat up and watched her blink her heavy eyelids.
"Don't you want to eat something first? Sip some tea or some water? The baby could use a bit of sustenance." He reminded her.
"The baby could do with a bit of sleep for now." Hermione sighed as she rolled onto her side and fell into a deep slumber before Draco could protest further.
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Hermione woke sometime later to a thrumming in her rib cage that had become increasingly familiar over the last few weeks.
The uncomfortable sensation of something, or someone, using her bones as a form of amusement was countered by the soothing touch that ran over her belly in slow, thoughtful strokes.
As she blinked her eyes open, she sighed as she found Draco crouched on the bed protectively huddled against her womb.
He stared at the swell in awe as his skillful, soft fingers gave it a gentle rub.
"Have you been there the entire time?" Hermione asked.
His gray eyes flickered up to meet her gaze as he frowned, "...What if I have? I didn't realize you were awake."
"It wasn't until a moment ago." Hermione sighed as she laid a hand close to Draco's, "The movements are becoming less and less cute the further along we get."
Draco frowned in sympathy as he covered Hermione's hand with his and continued to carefully stroke her belly, as if he sought to soothe their little one back to sleep.
Hermione cast him a tired smile in silent recognition of his willingness to help.
Together, in a tangled mess, they cuddled under the soft blankets as Draco reached up and stole a kiss from her lips.
"Are you going to let us finally start working on the nursery soon?" Draco asked.
"...I wish you'd stop rushing me." Hermione sighed, "I don't expect to have him or her out of our room for the first year. What's the hurry?"
"What will happen when your heats start again?" Draco asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"I can always take suppressants." Hermione suggested while she lifted a hand and gently combed it through his blonde hair.
"Or, we can have our child's room prepared so that mother or the house elves can look after them for a bit." Draco quipped.
"I beg your pardon, but I'm perfectly capable of looking after my baby on my own." Hermione scoffed.
"Not if I have you chained to your nest filling you with the next one." Draco smirked.
"Don't make me want to smack that arrogant smirk off your face." Hermione huffed.
"Judging by the blush on your cheeks, I doubt you're thinking of smacking me." Draco smirked.
"I can't help when you talk to me like that!" Hermione laughed, "I'm not some sort of prize for you to lay claim to, Malfoy, and I'm certainly no breeding machine, either."
"Of course not, Granger." Draco shrugged, "You're my mate."
The statement still seemed oddly jarring.
As he caught Hermione glancing down with a smirk of happy acceptance on her face, he reached out, took her hand, and gazed into her eyes as she looked up at him while he asked, "Don't you want to please me, Granger?"
"...Maybe I do." Hermione challenged him as she flashed him a smirk.
"...Don't you want to be mine?" Draco pressed.
"If I didn't, would I still be here?" She asked.
"Then love me." Draco begged as he leaned in and pressed another dangerous kiss against her lips, "Love me……now and the next year and the next, until you and I leave this world."
There was some stinging sentiment in his bitterly romantic words that made tears well in Hermione's eyes.
Reluctant to do anything but love Draco, she grabbed his face with a sudden roughness that surprised them both and renewed their kiss.