Their feet touched the ground at Merlin's Gate, the extension of the school's anti-apparition ward. Caprica moved within her bundle, whimpering softly at the discomfort that came from apparating. Her little fingers extended straight. The little white nails poked through the swirl of layers in Hermione's arms. She looked down at the little face with a soft frown.
"Sorry, little one. I know that wasn't nice to your tummy, now was it?" She whispered.
The baby relaxed at the sound of her voice. The pale eyes of the newborn retreated back behind the cover of eyelids.
"How is she?" Draco asked. His voice a loud ring through their ears.
Only what answered him was not the sound of assurance from her lips. It was instead the sound of a few bodies now in motion at their arrival. That was when both of their eyes traveled from the tiny ball in their arms around the room. Sets of eyes examined them. Most were familiar sets they'd seen for years. Two were not.
The long robes and taut expressions spoke to their identities: Aurors. The Ministry had sent Aurors?
Draco's back straightened. He stepped forward, his body a shield between his infant child and strangers.
"What's this then?" He snipped. "Bounty hunters?"
Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape were there, as was Filch. All wore a similar expression of resigned indifference. It was not the welcome Hermione expected upon return. Not that she wanted a parade. It was only that she'd given birth only three days prior for the first time. Her newborn daughter was away from her family so that her mother wouldn't be Obilivated by the Ministry. Some shred of pity or respect would have been nice. Perhaps, a kind smile and a quick escort to a private room where Caprica might be settled?
Professor McGonagall's taut lips pulled back as she started to speak. "Do not be dramatic, Mister Malfoy. They were a mere precaution."
"For what? So that we might be hunted down if we didn't return on time?"
The biting tone in his voice was powerful. It might have hurt if she'd been on the end of it.
Instinctively, Hermione pulled Caprica closer to her chest. Eyes shifted about. She felt tension rise up through her body. Awareness of her wand pushed forefront to her mind as it rested in her side pocket.
"It is the law," one of the Aurors barked.
Hermione slowly shifted the weight of her precious baby bundle into one arm. The intensity of the room had her on edge. She needed one hand open to grab her wand. It was irrational, she recognized that. Ministry Aurors would not attack her for fulfilling her agreement. She returned to school. They wouldn't do that. Still, the harsh gaze in their eye did not settle her anxiety. Caprica settled within the crevice of her arm, cradled against Hermione's body, with a relaxed sigh.
"The word of the family Malfoy is as good as law," Draco barked back. "My father is a member of the Wizengamot for Salazar's sake!"
"They are not here for you, Mister Malfoy," Professor McGonagall replied flatly. Her beady amber eyes revealed just whom she meant. The witch behind his back. An expression of understanding must have crossed Draco's face because the elderly witch then lifted a brow in response. "Miss Granger is not of Malfoy family and is subject to Ministry intervention if she did not return."
It was not like Draco to joust with Hogwarts professors. He was raised better than that. However, the moment of being a new father in a threatening environment left him rather unlike himself.
"My father will hear of this," he replied slow and sharp. A threat. His eyes turned to the two Aurors. "Your boss, Rufus Scrimgeour, is close friends with my father, you know. I would expect a bit more caution from a pair of Aurors knowing what insult against the Malfoy family might mean for their career."
The blow was surprising. Words, chosen perfectly. The meaning sank in rather clearly through the hardened faces. It let them a bit stunned.
Hermione found her way to the professor that remained silent throughout the interaction. He stood a wraith of death, in silence and black. There were times that he looked out his colleague with a flash of displeasure before it melted back to the solemn indifference.
Their eyes met. His black orbs regarded her, the wide eyed plead of what might have interpreted as begging. Her eyes dipped back to the baby in her arms.
For the sake of Caprica, the moment needed to end.
They both knew that once Draco's temper was flared, a vengeance would ignite with an unquenchable thirst to ruin everyone who stood in his way. He was quickly approaching that point.
The professor then cleared his throat coarsely and said, "Only a few handfuls of Ministry employees have such a fate for lesser transgressions. Perhaps Lucius, in his grandfatherly age, might be lenient to the insult of his two heirs."
To say it diffused things would be a lie. It only added to the tension throughout.
Draco was the only one calmed by the statement. The relentless gaze of his grey eyes whittled away the Aurors' willingness to remain. They shifted awkwardly. One dared look at Professor McGonagall.
A long career within the walls of Hogwarts left Professor McGonagall a little immune to such threats from students. Her eyes rolled in their sockets. A flutter of her emerald green robes went as her arms waved in a rather dismissive way.
"We can handle the students from here. Thank you for your help. I shall personally write Mister Scrimgeour commending your service. Yes, yes. Goodbye now."
The Aurors popped away. Their bodies a vibrant void in the atmosphere.
A scathing look rose from the elderly witch. "If you're quite finished with your fit Mister Malfoy, please go back to your dormitory. We've had a band of Cornish pixies let loose in the castle. They are being apprehended, but until they are, all students are to remain in their dormitories."
"But professor - ."
"I won't hear of it," she sternly replied. "Three days of freedom at Malfoy Manor surely are enough for the time being. No doubt, Miss Granger needs to study for exams, as do you."
"She needs me there." Draco's nostrils flared red. "To care for our daughter."
The professor stepped forward. She looked at him through her beady eyes and pulled taut lips. Her glasses dropped from her nose as a necklace across her robes.
"Should Miss Granger need assistance, I'll have her report to Gryffindor Tower. There are plenty of her own house there to aid her."
Her house? They hadn't been her house all year.
It was an insult to even mention the Gryffindors in front of Draco. He was primed ready, teeth cracking at the pressure of his clench, lips curled into a snarl, when the professor of his own house stepped in. Professor Snape grabbed his student's bicep.
"That'll be all, Mister Malfoy," he said. "You're dismissed."
Hermione felt the rising rage as it boiled through his pores. It caused Caprica to wiggle within her arms. Her little lips started to whimper and moan, as if in pain.
The sound hit Draco's ears. In an instant, he defused. The height of his back fell as he went to Hermione's side to tend to his daughter.
"We'll be alright," Hermione assured him. Draco's presence always calmed Caprica. She was settled again. "Honestly. Can't be that long, can it? They're Cornish pixies."
A restrained smile crossed his lips. "I suppose so. Even Weasel could handle a pixie."
She chuckled lightly. "As long as it wasn't a spider, he'd try at least. Whether he'd be successful or not would be the question."
Draco was amused, even if he was struggling to part from them, his mood was not violent. The pain was clear in his eyes. His fingertips ran along the soft life of Caprica's cheeks.
Her heart was heavy. She couldn't imagine what it felt like to leave Caprica so soon. She wasn't ready for it. And just because Draco was a father, didn't mean that he, too, was affected by it. He hated it. His heart was at the back of his heart trying not to fall out.
"Mister Malfoy," Professor McGonagall said rather impatiently, "it is time for you to leave."
Draco sighed. He gripped the handle of his trunk in hand.
"I love you," he whispered as he placed his lips against Hermione's cheek.
Kissing was not exactly permitted. Professor McGonagall exhaled sharply, as if in displeasure. Hermione guessed it was the reason he'd done it in the first place.
"I love you, too," she whispered back.
Professor Snape and Draco went one way while Hermione and Professor McGonagall went another. As they walked the corridors of the castle, the chittering of pixies was all about. It echoed. There were startling crashes, as if things being pushed over in the castle, followed by the shouting of the staff as they tried to round up the pixies before the entire castle was trashed.
It was a silent trek through. Hermione kept her focus on Caprica. She held the baby close, letting their hearts align, so that the pain of being away from Draco wasn't so strong.
When she thought of this moment before Caprica's birth, she hadn't expected it to be difficult. They were apart a fair amount. They each had their own lives happening. He had Quidditch. She studied and read. It was not uncommon to be apart for any stretch of time throughout the day. Now? Now they belonged together. He was meant to be with Caprica, always, just as she was. He should be there. It was his daughter, too.
They arrived at the suite where she was left to help herself inside. She ensured the door was latched good and tight to prevent any pixies from finding their way inside. Pixies were devious in their ways. They loved to cause chaos.
Chaos with a newborn was the last thing she needed.
She laid Caprica out on the fluffy white bedspread. The baby remained still, lost in sleep. It gave Hermione time to unload their belongings for the last few days in the castle.
More than anything, Hermione wished for a nap. It was tiring to be alive and caring for a newborn. Her body ached. She still bled from birth and waddled with a soreness. Her belly was enlarged, as if she was still pregnant, and there was no other desire to do anything other than curl up with Caprica and sleep the days away.
The desire was pushed aside. She was only one person. A single mother did not get to spoil herself when so much rested upon her shoulders.
After the clothes were unpacked, toys, nappies, blankets, flannels, products were unloaded, she took a vial of potion to stop the aching in her body. The healer had given Hermione a handful to keep her energy up through exams. It helped stopped the pulsating pains in her back.
Then it was time to nurse. She fed the hungry baby until she passed out against her breast.
Hermione lowered her into the bassinet with a canopy of purple and yellow. The little puffs of breath out of her nose were too precious. She watched Caprica sleep for an inordinate amount of time before she realized she had things to do.
Books of her classes were tossed upon her bed. There were at least ten she needed to review. Had she had access to the library, she would have grabbed more.
It was easier to say that she was going to study than actually do it. Every time she found her place in the book and read a paragraph or two, her eyes grew heavy, burned and threatened to close. Soon, her blinks took longer and longer to recover from.
The sounds of contentment from the bassinet made her settle easier, deeper into the pillows. One by one the muscles in her back relaxed. Her hold on the books became lighter. Every once in a while, they'd fall from her grip onto her face or chest. It snapped her attention back to the book. But only for a while…
A thudding knock brought her back to life. She surged forward up to sitting. It was dark within the room. Light from the windows had dimmed to the early evening.
Her head spun. She must have fallen asleep.
The knock happened again. A loud thundering knock that rattled the hinges.
"Good Godric," she muttered beneath her breath.
Only, when she swung her legs to get out of bed, she hadn't realize that a tray with the evening meal had been placed at the end of her blankets and kicked the entire tray onto the floor. It clattered and boomed down to the floor. Food went everywhere. A hearty explosion of water and tea and mashed potatoes and pudding flew across the room in a makeshift bomb.
It was nothing compared to the unholy shriek that came from Caprica's mouth. Her wails soon filled the suite.
"Oh no," Hermione whimpered. She ran to the bassinet and tried to calm the baby down.
Caprica was beyond calm. She flailed her arms and kicked her legs. Her nose and eyes were wrinkled up into an angry expression. The creamy pale of her flesh was a cherry red.
Of course, the door was pounded again and again.
She shoved the dummy into the baby's mouth, hoping it might help, and flew to the door to tell whoever it was off. Her feet stomped against the fluffy white rug onto the wood boards. It rattled the water goblet on the bedside table.
The sounds of her daughter's cries were literal torture to endure.
Perhaps it was the surging hormones from the imbalance in her body or the exhaustion or the frustration of Hogwarts welcome that made her want to break down into tears right then. Whatever it was held off. Thankfully.
She flung open the door. "What the bloody hell is -."
Her mouth went instantly dry.
Ronald Weasley stood in the doorway. He was sheepish when he regarded her fiery eyes. The knocking fist lowered from mid-air at the loss of the solid wood door.
"Hey Mione," he said.
"Hey?" She growled. "That's what you woke the baby for? To say hey?"
Caprica wailed a hearty cry once more. Hermione pulled a tangled chunk of curls over her shoulder and went back to tend to her daughter. The poor little thing was shaking from being so angry.
She murmured sweet nothings into her ear as she rocked her back and forth.
"Hush, dove. Hush, hush. Mummy's sorry. She's so sorry."
The door was left open. It was not exactly an invitation for him to enter, but he did anyway.
His eyes looked at the floor where a mess of a meal laid. "Guess I startled you."
"You think?" She answered sourly.
"I tried knocking lightly." His hands shoved into his pockets. "I been out there for forty minutes trying to get you to open up."
"I was sleeping! I did just give birth you know."
"I know." He nodded. Those bright blue eyes traveled down to the little creature against her chest. They lingered on the length of platinum blonde hair atop her small head. "I mean, Professor McGonagall told me."
That witch.
Hermione internally groaned. She was tiring of Professor McGonagall. The once adored witch was now fallen to an annoyance. The professor never relented her opinion on the matter of Hermione's pregnancy. She made it clear she didn't believe Draco the father, nor that it was consensual if it was.
She sniffed in distaste. "What's it matter to you? This is just a slag's baby. A punishment for being stupid enough to get pregnant. Isn't that what you said?"
He looked down at the floor. "Yeah. I mean, yeah, that's what I said. I don't think that though. You're not a slag, Hermione. You're my friend."
Then he dared give her a glimmer of a smile. Had she not been holding Caprica, she'd have hexed him for it.
She snapped her neck around and refused to see it.
"Why are you here, Ronald?"
"Professor McGonagall came right after they got the pixies. Told me to come here. Thought we might need to divvy up our Prefect duties now that you've got the baby."
"Well she was wrong," Hermione explained curtly. "Nothing's changed."
"You won't need help with the baby? It's a bit to do on your own."
The implication that he would have anything to do with her baby was infuriating.
She shook her head. "She's got a father."
Again, his eyes went to the pale hair atop her head. Hermione tucked her closer inside her embrace. Something about his eyes. She hated them. She hated how much she used to want them. They were lazy and demeaning at times, kind at others.
Once upon a time, blue eyes used to be so beautiful. Shimmering blue with milky white.
Once upon a time, this baby would have been his. A full head of red hair and those same blue eyes in her skull. Caprica would have been a Weasley.
"I see that," he answered lowly. His eyes dipped to the floor. "So it's really him then?"
"Him what?"
"You cheated on me with Malfoy. He's the father. Not me."
It wasn't said with aggression. It was soft and subtle, whimpering almost.
Tears of anger surged through her eyes. "Yes. Caprica is his daughter."
"Why him?" Ron asked. "Why did you have to cheat on me with him? Why'd you have to get knocked up by him?"
Her jaw literally fell open. "Excuse me?"
"Things could've been alright between us if it wasn't for her."
That went too far.
"What planet do you live on Ronald? What planet do you think would make things between us alright? You were shagging Lavender! Everyone knew it. The entire Tower, the entire castle. With the bloody way you two carried on, it was the likely the entire world knew it!"
Caprica started to stir at the jostling against Hermione's chest. She tried to find a place to snuggle her nose. Her little neck struggling to lift her head.
It was not the place to discuss things. Her daughter didn't need to hear the pathetic hashing of old wounds. All she needed to hear was the comforting love between her parents.
Hermione gently placed her down in the bassinet. She pulled the blankets tight against the baby's body.
She swallowed back her frustrations. "You need to leave."
"Come on, Mione."
"You cannot possibly have thought we'd make up after all this, did you? After all you said to me? You threatened me, had the whole house turn on me, bullied me. Draco was right. I can't believe I let someone as dim-witted as you get the better of me. If I'd have killed myself, I doubt you would have even realized it was because of you." She pointed toward the door. "The only place where you belong is on the other bloody side of that door."
"Oi!" His voice suddenly raised, the first height of his tone the entire time. "Malfoy said things, too. I was hurt by that."
Her eyes narrowed. "Did you want to kill yourself because of them?"
"No."
"Then they don't compare," she said. Her voice suddenly went even. "Get the hell out of here and don't back ever again."
She slammed the door shut after him, forgetting that her infant was within the room. It awoke Caprica from her slumber with a rumbling cry. Hermione frowned.
Her first day back was going splendid.
Later that evening, Draco finally found his way to the suite. She'd given him the private password so that he didn't have to knock even time. He slipped inside silently while she was in the bathtub with Caprica.
His footsteps were quiet. It was only by the motion at the corner of her eye that alerted her to his presence. The doorway was filled with the black flowy robes of his uniform.
"Hello." She smiled.
His grey eyes overlooked his shoulder. "I take that it wasn't easy."
The mess of her meal tray was still spread upon the floor. The energy to devote to cleaning it was lost when the bright eyes of her baby opened that evening. It was the first time she seemed energetic enough to play. They'd talked and sang and cuddled when a nappy full of poo convinced Hermione it was time for a good washing.
Hermione shook her head. Her brown curls were knotted atop her head. There was no time to wash them with Caprica around. She liked being held too much. Every minute or so she whimpered to be held again. A fact that Hermione blamed upon Draco since all he did was hold her.
"Not at all."
His lips frowned. "I'm sorry." He approached the tub. His finger ran along Hermione's jaw line. "I should have been here."
"Where have you been?"
The sound of Draco's voice caught in Caprica's ears. She started to squirm. Her eyes searched for him.
He chuckled; arms opened up to grab the bubbly wet body from the tub. For the first time, he didn't flinch to dirty his robes. All the soap and bubbles of the bath soaked through without a second glance.
All he cared to do was hold his daughter against his chest. He bounced his body a little as she curled into the new embrace.
A sigh erupted from his parted lips. "After the crack team of pixie wranglers managed to finish their job, I was given a request from Professor McGonagall to come to her office. The witch was late. I sat there for twenty minutes waiting until she came and forced me to write lines. Apparently, my behavior was not fitting of a Hogwarts student." His lips fell to a biting snarl before it receded. "I only just finished before I came here."
"I missed you," she answered hollowly.
Sure, napping with her daughter was wonderful, but it didn't compare to napping with both her daughter and Draco.
"I missed you too," he said. He bent down and kissed her forehead. "Both of you."
Her lips pulled to a small smile. "I'm glad you're here now."
He pulled up a chair to the side of the tub and allowed Hermione soak longer within the tub as he held Caprica. With only the slight leaning against the chair, the infant was able to lay comfortably against his chest without being clutched there. She was content to sleep with her bum in the air. "What did my girls do without me?"
Hermione rubbed her tired eyes. "Slept."
"Ooh," he cooed against Caprica's ear. "Did you get to nap with mummy? Lucky girl."
"Honestly, I should have been studying. I tried. I just happened to fall asleep doing it."
"I imagine we'll sleep all holiday." He pulled the wand from his pocket and summoned a blanket to top Caprica's back. "Can't wait."
"You're not upset about what I told your mother, are you? I know we hadn't totally discussed switching houses…"
He gave her a curious glance. "It was my idea you do remember."
She applied lavender shower gel along her shoulders, chest and arms. The scent perfumed the steamy air. It reminded her of a muggle spa. Lavender was a favorite. It had so many calming properties. Wizards and witches used it in many potions for similar purposes.
Her mum had given her lavender bath products so that it might help both Hermione and Caprica sleep well. It was no lie that new mums didn't sleep all that long. Two hours was all that Caprica could go without being fed. And the poor little girl proved to be a hungry piggy.
"You are known for changing your mind." She challenged with a lifted eyebrow.
"The only way I'd change my mind is if I thought either one of you wouldn't be comfortable," Draco said.
"What about you? The muggle world doesn't make you uncomfortable?"
"I'd be more uncomfortable without you two."
It was enough to say that they all were in love with one another. Draco loved Hermione deeply. Caprica loved Draco. Both of her parents loved the newborn more than life itself. The future was filled of the constant of them three, through it all, without one, being wounded by their absence, never whole unless they are as they should be.
Eventually, Caprica needed a new nappy. Draco let Hermione finish her bath while he cared for their daughter. A melody of their coos and laughter made self-care easier to do. The feeling of joy throughout the walls was a difference compared to the emotion that Ron dragged in.
She hadn't thought to tell Draco that Ronald visited her. Only, the more she thought of it, she believed he'd feel insecure that she hadn't mentioned it. Like a secret. As if, something remained between the two of them.
Whatever emotion, true or figment, Ronald Weasley held for her, it was not returned.
Hermione dried and dressed into a pair of loose set of pajamas topped with a luscious blush pink robe. Her slippers shuffled across the floor over to the fireplace where a blank slate of floor was. It was where Draco and Caprica played, by the light of the flames. Warm air forced from the mantle.
She looked around. There was an absence of the overwhelming scent of food. The tray was empty and clean atop the bedspread. All figments of food were removed from the walls.
Though it was May, some nights were cool. The windows were fogged, telling a cold story about what rested outside the glass.
"She's doing that thing again," he said. "Rooting."
"Ah. She's hungry. Again."
She curled between his legs and placed the searching mouth against her nipple. A familiar sensation sourced at her breast; the feeling of milk being pulled from her body.
"Draco," her voice fluttered.
"I know, I know. You're hungry. I'll have the elves bring another meal."
"No. I mean, yes, I am, but that's not what I was going to say." She swallowed. Her heart pounded frantically. Something inside felt apprehensive to reveal the truth. What if Draco didn't believe her? What if he thought she loved Ron? He would go.
As if he sensed her discomfort, he folded his body in around hers. His face nuzzled into her wet locks. Their cheeks pressed together. His arms rested below hers, holding Caprica, too, in his arms. "What is it, love?"
"You didn't ask how the tray fell to the floor."
His breath warmed her neck. "An accident, I presume. Was Caprica crying?"
"She was after it went." Hermione sighed. The slippery nature of her guts knotted taut into a solid mass. "Um, you know how I drifted off to sleep while I was studying? Well, I woke up because someone was at the door and because I hadn't been awake when it was put there, I kicked it over."
Draco knew that she wouldn't tell him if there wasn't a purpose to. His mind knew better than to believe she'd tell a boring recount of nothing. Their time together was too precious.
"Yeah?" He encouraged her to continue on.
"And, um, it was Ronald. At the door."
"Really." His voice was not deceiving enough to pretend he was not upset by it. Nor curious. He couldn't help himself. "What did he want?"
"Said Professor McGonagall sent him here to discuss Prefect duties. Not that I believe it." She snorted. "I think he came to see Caprica. He seemed rather surprised that her hair was so light. Like yours."
"Join the club." It was a light humor, but at least he wasn't angry.
Hermione snickered. "I kicked him out. He was feeling sorry for himself. That's all it was. Maybe Lavender is through with him. Something. The way he was carrying on like we could have been together after all this if I hadn't had a baby. Ridiculous, isn't it?"
"Not like those Weasley's are known for anything other than their irrational urge to reproduce and abandon their children," Draco snipped. Oops. Never mind. He was angry. Politely. "Surprised he cared about it at all. His father doesn't. He leaves children all over England without a care who they are."
"Molly would string Ronald up if he behaved like that."
That was not meant as a defense of character. There was nothing respectable about it. However, it was the truth. Ronald was Molly's favorite. She'd never allow her son to behave like his father. She was much too dominating for that to happen. Besides, Ron couldn't keep any secret to himself. He told Molly everything.
"Can't do much about lineage though, can she? He's his father's son," Draco said. "It's an embarrassment to the Ministry to have an employee behave so unrefined. It is a miracle they haven't fired the wizard."
"The Weasley's depend upon Arthur's job at the Ministry. They'd starve if he didn't have that job."
"Would it be such a loss? I mean, you've seen the way they behave. Unrefined dolts roaming this castle."
"But they have no choice in who their parents are," Hermione replied. "They shouldn't be punished for something they haven't done."
"I'm only saying that the Weasley's shouldn't be given leeway to behave the way they do. The lives that are ruined by the Weasley's should say well enough that they deserve a punishment."
Hermione gasped. The little creature at her breast was the product of such a Weasley and that was not how she saw it.
"I wouldn't have Caprica if it wasn't for those Weasley's, Draco. We wouldn't have her."
"Caprica isn't a Weasley. She's a Malfoy."
"She wouldn't be if it wasn't for me being pregnant in the first place! She may be a Malfoy now because of the love bond, but she was conceived a Weasley."
Their bodies naturally pulled away. She no longer leaned against him. He'd already rose to standing, looming over her. His black shadow dulled the warmth of the flames.
Caprica remained settled in her milk coma. The muslin blanket was light and cool for the warm nights. The pale linens framed in the sleeping face.
How could she not think of the beginning? How could she not consider that her own daughter might not have happened if not for Ronald's wayward liaisons?
The suite changed in air. It was displaced. Uncomfortable. The rising height of Draco's shoulder told as much.
Hermione placed Caprica gently into her bassinet so that she might not disturb. Hermione liked to talk with her hands. A bundle of sleeping baby not only impeded that but disliked it very much.
A fire met her when she approached. Heat filled his nostrils, a protective fire through his orifices, the light of his fire inside. Malfoy house sigil was a dragon. Fitting for him.
"I thought you hated that Weasel," he snapped. His voice was erratic rather than cold. The nature of fire was that it moved, alive with emotion. That was the one thing that surprised her. Slytherin was known for ice. Ice cold hearts, cold demeanor, touch starved, standoffish, solid, unforgiving as ice. Not fire. There were times that the ice of Draco broke away to full flame, like that of the heart of a lion. "I thought you hated the whole lot of them. The entire Weasley family. They've been nothing but dogs to you."
"Don't you think I, of all people, know that? I do. I hate them so much. I'll never forgive them for what they've done." Sounds hissed through her teeth like spitting flames. "Ronald has hurt me far more than any person alive on this planet. I cannot list the ways I've been affected by his carelessness. But to condemn them to poverty? To suffering? All for what? To teach a lesson they might never learn? There are little faces out there. Baby faces like Caprica's, who aren't loved and worshipped like hers. They rely on Arthur, too. To wish him to fail all so that he might learn a lesson condemns all below him. The forgotten ones."
Draco shook his head. "They don't deserve all that they have."
"They have so little, Draco" Hermione said. "To take that away would ensure their deaths. Their ruin, certainly, but it might mean their death, too. Could you live with that on your conscience? Because I couldn't."
The houses of Hogwarts castle were each formed with key traits in mind. What each house embodied is a defining piece of their character. Slytherin house was known for their ambition and survival. Both of which involved cunning. That came at a cost. Their loyalty remained to themselves. Perhaps, their families, but the sole purpose of themselves to achieve their goals that benefitted them.
Draco was deathly loyal to his family. But friends? Not so much.
She knew that he might be able to take ruthless action to ruin a family such as the Weasleys. It was what made Lucius Malfoy a talented businessman. The dissociation of empathy.
It was a trait that was a burden and a gift, as all the house traits were. Draco would not blink to harm another if it meant protecting himself or his family. He was able to do what needed to be done, if need be. Sleep would be his friend, a companion, something he never yearned for.
Hermione's compassion was the same way. A weight to carry around under the burden of guilt, even if there was nothing to be done. She carried all those emotions around with her. Compassion molded her to think of others first. If she could give something she wanted to someone else, she would just to see them happy. However, it disabled the ability to care about herself first.
"It's okay to be angry," she told him.
"Funny," he muttered shortly. "I was going to say the same thing."
She stopped short. Her breath caught in her chest as the words seemed to echo.
Experience told her that these things were bound to happen. Every relationship fought. They argued. It was a bad sign if they didn't. Still, it'd crept up on silent wings. She never expected it. The way he loved her was too true, too strong, too close to his heart.
"Are you angry at Ronald or are you angry at me?"
His eyes crossed her face. A twisted tortured hurt split through their solid grey.
"Him. I hate him. I hate that he got to you first. I hate his guts for getting you pregnant and abandoning you. I hate the way he made you cry. Everywhere. There isn't a soul in this castle that didn't see you crying because of the prat, and I hate him for it." An angry had grown through. His voice was hoarse with rage. "I hate that he's the one they all think you should be with. After all this. He'll be the one they remember."
A rugged hand ran through his hair. It split the spell of his hair and fell into messy strands on either side of his head. He unraveled his tie. It was yanked violently from the knot and tossed over his shoulder as he muttered, "bloody thing."
Hermione was stunned speechless. The words failed to come. Thoughts of words failed to come. Everything just failed.
So, she stood there, lost for words and any semblance of comprehension, until the silence was noted by the other within the room, once he pulled from his own frustration. His eyes downcast. The once white fists fell loose.
He approached, slow but steady. The rising strength of cologne gave his proximity in readable measures. Once it filled every breath, she knew he was so close their noses might touch.
"I wanted all this with you," his lips murmured, only threatening to break at the end. "He was never supposed to be part of it."
She nodded. Her eyelashes fluttered back small tears making them a dense wet mess of hairs every which way above her eye. Their black frame only aided the foggy vision in being useless.
Hermione wiped below her eyes. "Well he was, alright? He was there. He caused all this. But that doesn't mean that I care. Whatever scum he is made of, I don't care, because he's the reason I got to have you and Caprica Skye. I won't question destiny or how it brought us together. All that matters is that we're here. We made the choice. Our lives are just beginning. But they can't do that if you hold onto the past. I mean look at her. Look at our daughter. She is the most precious thing in this world. I would kill for her. I know you would, too. She's a Malfoy. Maybe once she was something else, but she chose you. She chose your love, your blood, she became apart of you. Shouldn't that matter more?"
By the end of it, she was crying. Uncontrollably.
It was his fault for making her so upset. The hormones of pregnancy still surged within her veins. Had he waited until they were regulated, they might have had a conversation without tears and shouting.
Stupid wizards.
Draco wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Their bodies molded together as he pulled her close. The heat of his chest warmed her cooled cheeks. His shirt smelled like bath bubbles.
"I'm sorry," his lips muttered into her hair. "Of course, it does. It matters so much more."
"You don't have to be jealous of Ron, Draco. He's nothing to me."
He snorted derisively. "I am not jealous of anyone."
"You are of Ronald. He makes you insecure. And you don't need to be," she said. She tried to sniff back all her tears that still slid down her cheeks. "The way I feel about you is like the sun compared to the flickering flame of a candle that I felt for Ron. Honestly. Now that I know this is how I can feel about someone, I question whether I ever loved him."
His lips parted. A long sigh fell from them.
"I know," he mumbled gently into her ear. His hand held the back of her head, allowing her tears and sadness to smear into his clothes. "I know, love."
The evening fell late. They were both exhausted. The first day of school had not been kind to them.
They fell into a deep sleep together. Legs twisted around, latching onto one another, which was a mess to work out when Caprica awoke in need of milk. They laid together with their little girl between them for a little while longer before she was put back in her bassinet.
Much of the night carried on in the same fashion. Sleep, wake, feed, sleep, wake, change nappy.
By the time the tired morning light crept through the curtains of the suite, Hermione guessed that she'd been awake at least six times that night. Her body felt it through the tired muscles.
She stretched out her limbs as she did every morning and was surprised when she realized she was in her bed alone.
It was Monday. Breakfast started soon. She would be expected to be in attendance.
Hermione slipped in the loo for a quick shower and mummy diaper change. The flow had started to decrease. She decided on wearing her normal knickers with an extra absorbent pad. It made a horrible noise as she walked. A simple silencing spell muted those squeaky rustling sounds.
Caprica slept in peaceful slumber within her bassinet. A night of waking had left the poor thing exhausted. Hermione worked quietly to undress the baby and change the dirty nappy and adorn her into a sweet little outfit. It was her debut within the castle.
Plans were quashed when Caprica spit on the entire outfit. Hermione took a breath. She vanquished the evidence with a quick spell. It was by the grace of Merlin for magic, otherwise, had she been a muggle, that would have made her cry.
The two girls made their last adjustments when Draco slipped in through the suite door. He was dressed in a fresh school uniform. Hair was teased and styled back. He'd slipped out to ready for the day with a shower and change of clothes, it seemed.
His smile grew when he saw them. A sparkle came to the corner of his eyes.
"Good morning." He kissed Hermione's forehead. "Oi, look at you. You look like a right royal Malfoy with that grow suit."
"I thought so too."
It was one of the few articles that weren't purple or pastel yellow. The grow suit was dark, with black, grey and green vertical stripes. A matching hat made her eyes pop through the darkness with their vibrant silver.
"You belong in Slytherin with these colors." He wiggled his fingers as little toys.
Caprica lifted an unimpressed pout. She was not happy to be awake.
"They fit her," Draco stated as he absorbed the image of his daughter donned in the colors of Salazar Slytherin.
Hermione snickered. "Perhaps we better take them off then."
He playfully snarled as they exited the suite. It was the first time Hermione had left since she arrived last night.
The corridors of the castle were strange. They were a frightful place to have a baby. Darkness and shadows. The ominous appearance of unruly ghosts as they roamed unsettled Hermione's stomach. Peeves, the school mischievous ghost, never listened to anyone. He lived to prank the students. As they passed his known haunt, she held her wand tight.
"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Draco asked.
Sounds that echoed through the hall were that of a full Great Hall. The morning had passed faster than Hermione remembered. They were entering at the time when most students were awake and eating before class.
Draco's question was frustrating because the true answer was no. She was not ready. The choice, though, was not hers. She had to be there. The law required it.
She forced a smile as genuine as she could manage. "Honestly, I doubt anyone will notice."
The moment they stepped into the Great Hall, every single pair of eyes landed upon them.
Apparently they did notice.
"They've expected us," Draco whispered as they walked to the Slytherin table. Caprica rested in his arms. She wasn't bothered by the noise of the students at all.
Perhaps it felt home to her. Hermione was pregnant in the same noisy environment.
A group of familiar faces emerged through the onslaught of stares. Daphne and Millicent waved excitedly. Pansy's lips were curled, as if in a smirk of satisfaction. She instructed students to move so there was enough space for Hermione and Draco to sit center of their group.
"Let me see her," Pansy said. "We've been on pins and needles. How come neither of you wrote? So rude."
Hermione grimaced. With everything that happened, she hadn't thought to let her friends know.
Draco's raising was quite different. "I did write, Pans."
"Two days later." The witch's eyes went to the bundle within Draco's arms. "Well, go on. We've waited long enough don't you think?"
Hermione peeled away the protective layer against Caprica's cheek. It exposed her puffy pale cheeks to the room. Her little eyes flinched and turned away against Draco's chest.
"She's a little thing," Goyle commented. It read a tone of surprise. "Thought she'd be bigger with the size Hermione was there toward the end."
That earned a very sharp snort from Pansy's nostril. "Gregory!"
Daphne slapped his arm. "Dolt."
A scared expression passed through his one-note face. "I didn't mean it like that."
"That's alright, Goyle," Hermione assured him. "I was very large. There is a lot more that sits in the belly than just the baby. It does come out unequal, unfortunately."
"Don't listen to him," Daphne said. "You looked beautiful."
Pansy then stood up, both palms against the table. "All of you, shut it." The table fell quiet. "She's yawning. A little baby yawn."
"Merlin, she's a beauty," Millicent cooed.
"Good work to the both of yous," Daphne said. Her eyes, too, were glued to the infant in Draco's arms.
Caprica was the new attraction like at a theme park. She captured every one of their hearts. Pansy greedily held her until there were only a few minutes left of breakfast for the rest of the table to formerly meet her.
"Whose up first?" Crabbe asked.
The Slytherins looked around, confused.
"We all have Defense Against the Dark Arts first, so Professor Burbage is going to care for her while teaching a few students about infant care," Hermione explained. "Then we switch, depending on the class and how important it is. DADA and Potions are the two we can't miss because they're practical skills. Unfortunately, that means she'll have to go with Professor Burbage then."
"I wish I could help." Daphne puffed out a bottom lip. "Exams are going to be tough this year. All I've been doing is studying."
"You should ask what Hermione was doing while she was in labor," Draco joked.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Studying for the transfiguration exam."
"That's what I've been doing too!" Daphne sighed. "I need more help than I can get at this point."
"I'll be glad to help you study," Hermione offered. "As long as you don't mind a bit of interruptions. Caprica likes to eat every two hours so we live on a two hour schedule."
Although the invitation had been for Daphne to study within Hermione's private suite, it really meant the entire Slytherin sixth year. They all spent their free periods there. Studying. Books upon books were against the floor, tables, the desk, the sofa.
Pansy overtook Hermione's bed with all her notes and textbooks. Blaise laid stretched in front of the fireplace. Shoes off. Crabbe and Goyle read lazily on the sofa. The stack of books between them moved slowly, as did their eyes as they read.
Millicent was at the desk. She had a bad back and needed the support of the chair as she worked.
Daphne laid on her belly with a spread in front of her. Her feet dangled up in the air, swinging as if she was having fun, frantically re-reading her texts books. Every once in a while, she'd hang her face in her hands.
Hermione and Draco found a space amongst the chaos to sit, each in their own space, to study.
Sometimes, the boys left (except Blaise) for Quidditch practice. It left the girls more space to stretch and gossip before the wizards all returned to demand quiet. Blaise didn't even mind if they played a bit of music to fill the silence.
The atmosphere of intense studying must have been soothing to a newborn baby. Caprica slept soundly as they worked. She'd wake only when she needed fed or changed. Hermione was allowed to cast a charm that reflected eyes as she nursed her daughter. Not that any eyes tried to pry as she breastfed. Exams were too close for such nonsense.
The arrival of Narcissa's care packages were at the right time. They were all burned out of studying that it physically hurt to read.
"These things are so gross. I'd spit it out, if I wasn't so exhausted." Pansy laid spread out like she was crucified to the bedspread. In her hand was a small cellophane wrapper.
"What are they?" Crabbe piped up.
"Peach Owls," she moaned back. Her tongue hanged from her lips. A streak of light orange hue down the middle of the pink flesh.
"Gimme," he replied. "Can't get enough of those."
"Trade me."
He shrugged. "For what?"
"The sugared butterfly wings."
"No way Peach Owls equal butterfly wings." Crabbe snorted.
"Can anyone tell me three differences from doxies and fairies?" Millicent cried from the desk. Care of Magical Creatures was her least favorite class. All her questions were related to animals.
Draco had settled into taking a break. He had Caprica leaned back against his thighs. The light from the open windows traveled through. Wind fluttered the curtains away from their holds at the wall. The small head of the baby moved excitedly when the fabric blew close.
More and more Caprica was being more alert rather than just a sleeping angel. Her eyes held eye contact. They watched the faces above her. She got especially excited when Draco's face came into view.
Not only did Caprica resemble her father, she loved his attention. A true daddy's girl.
It was not unlike her mother, who was the best bud of her own father. William was Hermione's favorite person as a child. Often, he still was the parent she came to when she needed something.
"One chocolate frog," Pansy said. "That's the highest I'm willing to go."
"One peppermint toad," Crabbe countered.
It caused the witch to sit straight up. "Are you mental? No way. No way is a peppermint toad equal to butterfly wings."
Daphne cried in from the loo. "Guys!"
"What is it?" A few voices called.
"I've really messed up. I think it's – oh Salazar, save me. I think it's permanent!"
"Nothing you're doing in there should be permanent," Pansy shouted back.
"It's not changing."
Uh oh.
Daphne let out a small whimper. "I'm never going to pass this blasted exam."
She emerged from the loo with a brow every single color of the rainbow. The hairs were vibrant neon pink, red, purple, yellow, green, blue. It was very eye catching.
Goyle couldn't contain his laughs behind his coughs. Sooner it led to Crabbe laughing, too.
It was one of the few moments Blaise raised his attention away from his studies. "Nice brows, Greengrass."
Her lips downturned to a pathetic, puffed pout.
"Reverte," Hermione casted.
Nothing changed.
"Strange," she said. "That's never failed me before."
Pansy climbed off the bed to inspect the damage closely. Each hair was drenched in color. It was not a typical action of the Crinus Muto spell. Hermione's spell hadn't changed a single one.
"Merlin, what the bloody hell did you do to your face, Daph?"
Her face fell into her hands. "I don't know," she howled.
"Maybe if we just toss her into the Black Lake," Crabbe offered.
"That lake will strip the color off your skin," Goyle added.
For the second time, Blaise looked away from his book. As the only person of color within the room, it was right that he was moved to shock by their statement. "Do you two even hear yourselves?"
They didn't. They hadn't even heard him. Crabbe and Goyle were focused upon their open packages in their laps.
Daphne managed to have the spell on her brows stuck tight. It wouldn't reverse. Even after a good ten times of using the reverse spell, the rainbow colors were still in effect.
"Let's just use the spell to color them her natural color." Pansy sighed. "It's taking too long to riddle this out. We've got an exam later. We can't waste time."
"All you've been doing is looking at a fashion magazine," Millicent retorted.
"I glanced at it."
"Your nose must have fallen off between the pages because it was stuck down there pretty far."
A shrill cry split the still of the loo. "What about my eyebrows? Look at me! I look like I should have a leprechaun dancing across my forehead."
Hermione frowned. "Finding the perfect shade to match their color will take too long, too, I'm afraid."
"Cedric cannot see me like this." The poor witch looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes focused upon the line of hairs just above the watery eyes.
Cedric Diggory had recently shown interest in Daphne. They made plans after term end to meet up for a date.
"Cedric would like you if you're entire head was rainbow."
"Poppocock!" Daphne exclaimed back.
It took the better coaxing of an hour for the brows to return to their normal color. Daphne declared she'd never mutter the spell again. By that time, she was too exhausted to continue her studies. She decided on a walk by the Lake to clear her thoughts. Blaise had plans in the library so he left soon after.
All the treats of Narcissa left Crabbe and Goyle sleepy. Their eyes moved at a snail's pace through their materials. Draco watched Crabbe nod off and on again four times before he told them to go get some rest.
"I'm alright, Draco. I'm just studying."
"It takes you two minutes to blink," he said in his normal icy tone. "Crabbe's not read past the first sentence."
The rest of the Slytherins fell away to their own plans leaving Hermione and Draco finally alone. Their infant daughter was stretched out on her belly against her father's forearm as he walked the length of the suite. Her silver eyes looked around. Attentions turned to her surroundings. The pressure against her body convinced her of safety as she was exposed to parts of the suite she hadn't seen before.
"I can't believe she is already two weeks old," Hermione hummed. She ran a soft touch down the back of her daughter's hair.
Draco sighed as he regarded the infant in his hold. "Two weeks of this place."
"I thought you liked it here."
"I don't. They don't respect her as my child. I miss everything. You're here alone. It isn't fair that I'm to be kept away just because we aren't married," he said bitterly. "She needs both of us. Not just you to care for her all day and night."
It was difficult, the nights that Draco couldn't slip away. Lonely nights.
"I know. We miss you those nights."
"The Slytherin dorm is an insult when I could be here staying with you two."
She could just imagine the way Professor McGonagall's head would spin right off her neck if she heard such a thing. It was bound to spin all the way down to the dungeons.
Hermione shook her head. "We both know that isn't going to happen."
"Why not? I have much a right to be here with Caprica as you do."
"Can you imagine what the other parents might do if they heard the school was practically giving us permission to shag every day of the week and possibly make another baby? They'd riot. It would be like the school endorsing pre-marital sex."
"All they do here is have pre-marital sex."
"The school doesn't endorse it," Hermione chuckled. "There is a difference."
Draco waved his hand. "Do you know there is so much fluid found on the furniture here that the elves have to carry a special soap every where they clean? Because it's everywhere! They should send the bill home to the parents, so they realize just what their children are doing in their free time."
She chuckled. "I can just imagine what you'd look like if a letter came home with Caprica that said that. You'd burn down the whole bloody castle."
"Don't be ridiculous, love. I'd not burn it down. I'd only…make a few additions to the castles many charms. Might be difficult to shag if you can't touch one another eh?"
She smiled. That protective side of him was so handsome. He glowed like a true angel with his daughter in his arms, her in his eye. Some source ignited a happiness beneath his flesh. It consumed him with a fatherly cloak, overprotective and over loving.
Her feet lifted until only the tips of her toes pressed into the floor. His lips were surprised to be ambushed in the middle of conversation. Still, his sway stopped. He leaned into her kiss, deep and firm. A devilish side of him emerged when his tongue flicked at her closed lips playfully.
Six weeks was a strict order of rest. One she intended to keep.
Draco wore a smile when their lips parted. His eyes opened lazily, half shuttered with lust and love.
"I cannot wait to see you be a dad to a teenager." She grinned with glee. The idea of him dealing with the drama of Hogwarts from afar without the power to intervene was too hilarious. It might take a true curse to keep him locked with the Manor. "Caprica is going to turn all this hair grey."
"Fat chance!" His eyes turned upward toward his beloved platinum locks.
The castle descended to excitement at the last night. The finals exams were the next day. Afterward, the carriages would arrive to bring them to the train. Home was in sight. The corridors vibrated with the very emotion.
Caprica sensed it, too. She was awake that night without the desire to sleep.
The morning of exams, Hermione awoke with drooping dark bags beneath her eyes. Thoughts moved like slow sludge slower than which her body moved toward the Great Hall with her inkwells and quills clinking within her satchel. The tiny infant wrapped in muslin cloth bound against her chest slept soundly. Her nostrils moved a millimeter as she breathed, the only indication that she was alive at all.
She reached down into her satchel to grab her supplies, left her attention away from her walking path, and as she rummaged through the mess of dummies and nappies in search of a quill, bumped into someone.
"Steady on," the voice said. Two hands gently touched the ends of her shoulders and held her upright. It was not forceful, nor strong. They were delicate hands that fluttered away the moment her two feet landed back.
"Oh." She gasped. The green eyes behind overgrown, dark hairs shined bright. "Harry. Sorry. I didn't see you."
His shoulders shrugged. "That's alright. You've got more to pay attention to now, haven't you?"
The last day of school had Harry Potter donned in his most hastily thrown together uniform. His hairs stood on end. A greasy shine through the scalp. The dark fabric was full of wrinkles and misshapen folds from his casual tossing about of his robes. The collar was only half folded. One side struck straight up against his ear. As did only one edge of the shirt at his waist.
She appraised his appearance with a rising need to chastise him for being so untidy. It was hard to pass up even with the lack of sleep.
"I suppose I have," her voice echoed softly.
"She's beautiful, you know," he said. He scratched at the back of his head. His weight shifted in discomfort. "I caught a glimpse in Care for Magical Creatures the day you brought her. She's a small little thing, isn't she?"
The feet of her daughter started to stir against her belly. It brought awareness to the infant displayed at her chest. The idea that she was small at the ache of her back from toting her against her body was humorous.
"You should try wearing this thing," Hermione snorted, "she won't feel so small then."
A shimmer captured his eyes as they stared down at the perfectly content face rested within a warm cocoon. It hurt to see the longing in his eyes, the curiosity to see just what his friend had created.
The entire pregnancy, she could have tossed Ronald and Harry into the Black Lake for their stupidity. They acted that of complete wankers. Ronald, being the worst, but Harry not totally innocent either. Their willingness to throw their years long friendship away over wounded her deeper than she ever thought possible.
Now, it was the blessing in disguise. She found a strength without them. True happiness, too. Draco was a better suited best friend. He completed Hermione's deficient pieces just as she did for him.
None of it would have happened without the loneliness that came from Gryffindor's abandonment.
It was true that her heart was deadened to the carings of Harry and Ronald. They were in the past. However, she was not so keen to see them injured on that behalf. She'd grown to see that they were not the best fit, and the best fit came for her.
"Single file. No talking," boomed the great voice of that dark professor donned in his black shroud. His eyes were sharp as all his students filtered in through the open doors.
Harry and Hermione casted their sad, supportive smiles, knowing that their conversation had ended. It was time to part. For real, this time.
Waves of tired and anxious students walked through the Great Halls doors. Professor Snape stood at the front. He examined each and every student that passed by. Neville Longbottom sped by without breathing. His feet did a strange skip to get past the fastest.
A gaggle of talking Hufflepuffs started through. Professor Snape remained them of silence.
"I expect top marks from you, Miss Wenlock, on the potions final."
"Sir?" The witch stopped short.
"To have the time to gossip before the exams exudes a confidence that should only come from a perfect score."
The Hufflepuff paled. Her chin ducked through and passed without another word.
As Hermione began to filter through, his hand shot out onto her shoulder. The ice-cold touch seeped through her robes.
"I spied a wide desk at the back, Miss Granger." His voice mumbled lowly. "Perhaps a good choice for those with extra weight to carry."
"Oh, um, thank you, professor."
The professor then followed her inside the Great Hall. He took up stalking through the aisles near the back of the room where Hermione and Caprica sat. She tried to find her friends through the crowds. Daphne was near the front of the room. Crabbe and Goyle sat alongside one another at the back. Crabbe waved when he spied her searching eyes.
Draco walked in later than most. The moment he appeared through the doorway, he was ushered by Professor McGonagall to the front of the room. He wasn't given a moment to breathe. The desk he was given was conveniently out of sight, thanks to a line of heads.
"Eyes front, Mister Malfoy." The elderly witch snipped. Her voice carried through the expansive room. "No notes or texts are permitted during this exam. Should you be found with any, it will result in automatic failure and a note of explanation written to your parents."
The professors raised their arms. Exams fluttered out of the ends of their wands onto each desk.
Quills dipped in ink the next moment and the silence fell to complete focus.
Hermione made great time. She'd finished her Transfiguration exam and moved onto her Potions exam before Caprica moved. Her throat made a soft groan. Little arms stretched out through the fabric into Hermione's vision.
She worked faster, not wanting her baby to disturb everyone's final exams.
Of course, it was when the end was in sight that Caprica fussed. Her lips quivered after sucking on her hand for a few minutes.
"Oh, no. Hush, hush, dove. Mummy's almost done," Hermione cooed. She moved her wrist so quickly that it started to ache.
Caprica did not settle. Her upset went from quiet to noisy. Though her cries were soft, the people around her noticed. Their eyes turned with a sharp frustration at being interrupted from their concentration.
Tension went to the back of Hermione's throat. She had an essay answer that would take quite a few minutes crafting, but she couldn't bare to have her daughter break the concentration of all the other students.
She stood up from her seat and went into the hall to calm Caprica. Only, a dummy wouldn't suffice.
"No, no," Hermione whimpered. "I can't feed you. I've got to finish. Please, love. Go back to sleep."
The infant didn't understand. She simply fussed. Her body writhed in hunger.
She paced the length of the corridor trying to rock her daughter to sleep. To no avail.
Professor Snape entered the corridor with a page in his hand. "Miss Granger, you have left a question blank."
"I know, sir. But see, Caprica is hungry and she's upset and she won't stop crying." She rubbed her eyes to keep the tears from falling. All her future looked so much harder from this view. If she couldn't finish a single exam, what else couldn't she do with a baby? "She won't settle until she eats."
The deeply etched scowl of the professor lessened. "Give her to me."
"What?"
He sighed. "Give me the child and go complete your exam."
Hermione hesitated. "But – sir? Do you know how to care for an infant?"
"Miss Granger, I am not a mentally deficient wizard." Two pale hands split from his black robes. They waited for the baby to be placed in his arms. "She will be safe when you return."
She wrapped Caprica from her chest, a sudden rush of chill escaped when the seal broke, and handed her daughter over, carefully.
The professor adjusted to the weight gracefully. His arms wrapped Caprica close, a blanket of his flowy sleeves against her chest. She still fidgeted with discomfort, though she was enraptured by the new figure within her gaze.
"Do not stand there and gawk, Miss Granger," Professor Snape hissed gently.
His eyes remained focused on the being within his hands. Something strange throughout his expression, a visible shock and gentleness throughout.
"Yes, sir." She grabbed the exam from his hold. "And, well, thank you, professor. You're the best. And I mean that."
"Are these compliments better than top marks, Miss Granger?"
She shook her head. "No, sir."
"Then off you pop."
Hermione bit back a smile. "Yes, professor."
A/N: Thanks for all the support on this work. I never expected it to be so long! It was just an idea for a short story until all your comments and reviews begged for more. I know it has been slow going within updating. Now that the weather is turning colder, I'll have more time to write. Please be patient with me.