Unexpected Consequences - Harry Potter - Draco/Hermione - 2a/??
Title: Unexpected Consequences
Authors: sayyida_jaida and ashleyfanfic
Part: 2a/??
Rating: NC-17 (not this chapter but the fic as a whole!)
Summary: This is the sequel to Unexpected, in which Hermione goes out and runs into Malfoy. This sequel will be a multi-chaptered fic, beginning here, with the consequences of their evening of fun.
Hermione sat at the table in her flat and stared at her hands.
Or rather, she stared at what her hands were holding.
A Muggle pregnancy test she'd picked up at the chemist's on the corner.
A Muggle pregnancy test that showed two lines.
She was pregnant.
She bit her lip and felt a tear slide down her cheek.
Pregnant.
Bloody fucking hell. She'd always been so careful with Ron, but she'd been so upset when she'd Apparated out of Draco's flat that she hadn't even thought about consequences.
***
Draco leaned against the bar, two shots of vodka in front of him, and seven empty shot glasses littering the nearby bar top. He downed first one, then the other. He'd found that he'd been drinking more now than he had before he'd shagged Granger. He'd thought a lot about that night, the different signs that were there to let him know that it was Hermione. The freckles across her nose, the way her lips curled when she smiled, the nervousness from being alone with him, and finally her constantly trying to call him Malfoy.
Had it been anyone other than her, he wouldn't have worried himself with it. But she was Hermione Granger, Mudblood extraordinaire and she had willingly slept with him.
He ordered another shot at that thought. It had been the one thing that had bothered him about it all. She'd gone through with it even knowing who he was. She hadn't seemed to regret the decision until she saw that he was going to Obliviate her, then her words had echoed in his head. He'd been the only decent sex she'd ever had, which gave him a bit of satisfaction, but bothered him at the same time. She had known from the start.
He sighed as he downed another shot.
***
Hermione looked at the calendar on the wall. Several weeks had passed. She'd looked information up in a pregnancy book, and when you added in the two weeks from the first day of her last period, she was officially five weeks pregnant.
She'd bought the book at a Muggle bookstore, not wanting to have her news get out in the wizarding world yet. According to What to Expect When You're Expecting, the baby was barely starting to make its presence felt in her body and she could look forward to morning sickness very soon.
She had no idea what to do. To have it or not. To keep it or not.
Her parents would have been so disappointed in her if they had survived the war. But no, they were killed by her child's other grandfather. It was enough to make her want to vomit, which made her wonder if that was the morning sickness getting an early start.
She'd have to tell someone soon. She needed advice, but she had no one to go to. She took a deep breath and decided to talk to Harry and Ron. Hermione knew they'd be mad and not understand, but at the moment, she didn't think she had any other options.
Telling Malfoy was out of the question.
***
Ron and Harry both blinked at her, unable to actually fathom that their friend was going to have a baby. Ron's mind was running a mile a minute. He wasn't ready for a child, and given his rocky relationship with Hermione, he certainly wasn't ready to have one with her. He scowled and wondered if this was just a way for her to try and trap him into a relationship.
Fortunately for him, Harry spoke before he had the opportunity. "You're really pregnant?"
Hermione looked at the boys, watching their reactions. She'd expected the incredulous look on Harry's face, and the flush on Ron's. But she hadn't expected the obvious anger.
"Yes, Harry. I'm really pregnant. Five and a half weeks, to be exact," she said quietly.
Ron shook his head, "Well, I don't know what you're aiming to accomplish with this, but I'm not ready to be a father!"
Harry furrowed his brow and looked over at Ron, "Ron..." he said, lowering his voice.
He glared at Harry, "Shut up, Harry." He looked back at Hermione, "So are you hoping that this will make me want you back?"
"And you think I'm ready to be a mother?" she shot back, her hormones making her even faster to anger than usual at her prat of a so-called friend. "Don't worry, Ron. Even if you begged me to come back, I wouldn't. I actually had a decent shag and have learned just how completely inadequate you really were. I'd always suspected, mind, but now I know. And the child isn't yours, so don't worry about having to actually be responsible for your actions."
Ron rolled his eyes and tried to cover up the hurt of her words. The only way he knew to do that was to hurt her in kind. "Like you could ever find someone else. I'm the only person that could put up with your overbearing personality enough to date you, much less shag you."
Harry stared at him wide eyed, then looked to Hermione and noticed the anger and hurt on her face. This wasn't good. "Ron, stop."
Ron shook his head, "No! Don't you see, Harry? I don't want her anymore so she's come up with this scheme to get me to take her back and since I'm not thrilled about it, she's trying to hurt me. Well, it's not going to work," he said angrily.
"Are you calling me a liar, Weasley?" she said, her voice rising along with her anger. "What part of 'it's not yours' was unclear? There was no scheme here, you arse. And just because you always saw me as a last resort and a book with legs doesn't mean that other wizards don't notice me. I would have thought you'd remember that from fourth year. Of course, I should have remembered that the only time you seem to think of me in that way is when someone else comes along who might see me as more than a homework helper."
She shook her head. "You don't want me, but you don't want me to have anyone else, either. Not that I particularly want Malfoy, mind you, and not that I see us having a relationship. But get over yourself Ron, and open your eyes. Why the hell would I want to trap someone that doesn't want to be with me? I have more self-respect than that! And I'd never be that desperate!" she screamed, as her voice spiraled out of control.
Grabbing her purse from the floor, she threw some galleons down on the table to cover her share of lunch and Apparated away in a huff.
Both Harry and Ron stared at her empty chair a moment before Harry looked over at Ron and said, "She did say Malfoy, right?"
Ron furrowed his brow, "You don't think that... she's pregnant with Malfoy's baby, do you?"
Harry nodded, "That's... what she said. Hermione is having Draco Malfoy's baby," he said, torn between anger and shock. He'd kill Malfoy when he had the chance.
Unnoticed by the trio, a blonde head dipped over a piece of parchment, following the words being scrawled by an acid green quill, her fuchsia fingernails tapping a gleeful rhythm on the tabletop.
"Front page news, for sure," she murmured quietly to herself, watching the boys leave.
***
He had a copy of the Daily Prophet bunched up in his hand.
In her haste to get out of his flat, she'd forgotten a simple contraception spell and now was carrying his illegitimate child.
What was worse was that the entire bloody wizarding world now knew it. She didn't even have the decency to tell him first, instead telling her friends where she had been overheard, and the bloody conversation was then put into the paper. He'd handle Granger, then go after the Skeeter cow.
He banged on her front door, waiting for her to open it. It was very early in the morning, and he was in no mood to be put off. She was going to talk to him and explain what the bloody hell she was thinking first by not casting the spell, and then in broadcasting it to the bloody world.
***
The morning sickness had started that morning.
She'd bolted from bed fifteen minutes earlier than when she normally woke up and ran to the loo, vomiting until she thought her toenails were going to appear.
When her stomach was purged of dinner, water, crackers, and bile, she finally managed to stand up and go to the sink, wetting a flannel and wiping her face before leaning her forehead against the cool tile of the wall.
Just then, the alarm clock buzzed, letting her know it was time to wake up.
With a sigh, she moved back into her bedroom to get ready for the day, purposefully ignoring the dark circles under her eyes and the taste of sick still in her mouth. The thought of brushing her teeth to remove it was enough to make her gag, so minty fresh breath would have to wait awhile yet.
As soon as she silenced the clock, she heard a pounding on the door. It sounded like Ron, although she couldn't imagine Ron managing to pull himself from sleep this early, even to fight with her.
Sighing, she traipsed to the door still in her pajamas, wand at the ready, and opened it.
To say she was shocked to see Malfoy standing on the other side of it with a paper grasped in his fist was an understatement.
"What the bloody blazes are you doing here?" she demanded.
He pushed into her flat and opened up the paper to show her the headline, "This! This is what I'm doing here!" The headline seemed to jump out from the page as it read Hermione Granger Pregnant with Draco Malfoy's Love Child.
Hermione looked at the paper and blanched.
"Fuck," she said as she reached for it. "May I?"
He released the paper and folded his arms over his chest, "Were you planning to tell me, or were you asking permission from your friends first?"
"Honestly? No. I hadn't planned to tell you. Why should I? Besides, I don't know that I'm going to have it." She skimmed through the article. "Skeeter, of course." She sighed. "Well, if I don't have it, I can always make her look like a fool and say it's slander. "
She looked at him a moment. "I still don't see why you'd care. You can always say I was slandering you, after all. It's not like I want you in my life, even if I do have it. And it's not like you'd want anything to do with a child of mine. So why you're here?"
He took a deep breath, wondering if he should give even a little bit of himself. "Because it's still my bloody child. It's the only family I have, at this point, and if you think you're going to get rid of it, you have another think coming."
She raised an eyebrow at him, feeling her stomach churn... nerves, hormones, or both, and bolted past him to the bathroom to continue her earlier round of heaving.
Draco watched as she raced past him and sighed as he followed.
He stopped outside the bathroom as he heard her retching from within. He knew it was probably her pregnancy symptoms, but he'd never had to deal with anything like this, which was why he was always careful to Obliviate then use the contraceptive charm. She had halted his usual plan, however. She was carrying his child, and it meant something, more than it probably should. He'd been alone for so long, without a family or anyone to love him, that he was latching onto this for all he was worth. If she didn't want it, he did. She wasn't his first choice as the mother of his child, but it was there, it was happening, and he was willing to fight for it.
He peeked his head into the bathroom and found her with her head resting on the side of the toilet. For the first time in his life, he felt badly for her. It was very strange, but he knew that he was partially responsible. He walked into the small room, reached for a flannel and wet it, then placed it on the back of her neck, knowing it helped cool him down when he was in a similar position from too much drinking, then took a seat on the edge of her bath tub. "We need to talk."
She sighed as the cool flannel helped her settle her stomach and slowly rolled her head on the toilet seat until she was looking at him. "Fine. Talk, then. I don't think I should leave the bathroom yet, though, so you're stuck talking from there," she murmured before turning her face back into the toilet and heaving again, although nothing was coming up anymore.
"Fuck." Dry Heaves. Great. As if vomiting isn't bad enough, dry heaves are even worse, she thought to herself.
He sighed. "Look, I know I'm not your ideal pick for the father of your baby. You're not my first choice either. That being said, I don't want you to have an abortion. If you don't want the baby, that's fine, I'll raise it, but I don't... I have nothing, no one; that baby is the only family I have."
She closed her eyes at the pain in his voice. She wondered how much it cost him in pride to admit that to her.
Slowly she reached behind her and took the flannel from her neck, using it to wipe her face. Her stomach felt quieter, and so she chanced moving, standing up and leaning over the sink to fill a cup with cool water and rinse out her mouth.
After she spat into the sink, she looked over at him sitting there, and sighed.
"Let me get dressed and then we can talk."
She wandered out of the bathroom and closed the door to her bedroom, wondering what the hell she was going to do now. All of the half-formed ideas she'd worked through had been formed around one central fact: Draco Malfoy would never want anything to do with a child of hers. The fact that he seemed to... that threw her whole world upside down. Particularly in contrast with Ron's reaction... which she was not going to think about now.
She dressed quickly and went out to find him, surprised when he was standing right outside of her door.
"I think I'm done throwing up and now I'm hungry. Would you like to discuss this over breakfast?" she asked.
He nodded, "I could use a cup of coffee," he said as he shoved his hands into his pockets. They had never had a civil conversation in all the years they'd known one another, so being nice to her was a leap for him. However, he was willing to do what he had to do to get what he wanted. "Do you want to go out for breakfast?"
She bit her lip, considering the options. "I don't really feel up to cooking myself, and I don't think I have any coffee here. But I don't want to go anywhere where we'll be recognized. There's a Muggle diner down the block from me, if you are up to that."
He nodded, "That's fine." She lived in a quaint little flat, nothing like what he owned, but he knew it probably worked for her. He didn't know what to do about living arrangements, but he'd handle the finances for whatever she wanted to do. He'd cover her medical expenses and take care of her the rest of her life if that's what she wanted. He hadn't been thrilled with the idea that he was going to be a father at first. The fact that she hadn't told him and let him read it in the paper, though, was probably the major source of his tension. After much thinking about it that morning, as he was sitting alone in his very empty house, he realized that maybe fatherhood wasn't so bad. "Should we walk?"
She nodded. "It's just around the corner, and the fresh air will be good for me." She pulled on a jumper and headed to the door, holding it open for him before casting her wards and following him down the stairs to the street. "Left," she said as he stood on the stoop, before setting off at a brisk pace.
"Since you told your friends first, what did they have to say?" he asked, rather curious how the great Harry Potter and his bumbling sidekick took the news that their best friend was pregnant by their bitterest surviving enemy.
She looked at him, her eyes narrowed. "What, didn't Skeeter report their reactions? Although I think calling them my friends is a bit of a stretch at this point."
He raised an eyebrow, "Well, I didn't actually make it past the headline," he said softly. "I was in a bit of shock, tell you the truth."
She sighed. "I only skimmed it just now, so I don't even know. And... for what it's worth, if I'd thought there was even the remotest possibility that you would have wanted me to have it and not killed me on sight if I had shown up at your door, and if I'd known that Skeeter was there and would print that article, I would have told you first. I just... well... I honestly thought you'd rather I just take care of the problem and not bother you with it."
He frowned, "Before I came over here, I thought about it. I considered letting you handle it however you wanted to. But I was sitting there in my empty house, no one to talk to, no friends, no family, and the thought of having someone... well, it's much better than what I have now." He shook his head, "We're not fond of one another, and a lot has happened in the past for us to just push it aside and pretend like it didn't happen, but that baby is my only family," he said as he opened the door to the diner, then followed in behind her.
Hermione took a seat at a table and smiled as Sara came to bring menus.
She accepted the menu and glanced at it. "Blueberry muffin and a fruit plate," she ordered after a moment. "And milk, please." Sara nodded and turned to Draco.
He looked over the menu. "Uh, scrambled eggs, bacon, and oatmeal," he said as he handed her the menu, "Milk for me, as well," he said as he watched her walk away. "What are your thoughts, Granger?"
"At the moment? That I thought you wanted coffee." She shook her head. "In general, that I have no idea what to think about this. I am not a brood-mare, Malfoy, and I don't intend to have a baby and hand it over to you to raise as you see fit. I'm not going to let you raise my child to hate people like me. And since now I can't raise it without you in our lives, I'm not convinced having it is all that good an idea."
She took a deep breath.
"You're not the only one with no family, Malfoy. How am I supposed to explain to my child someday that its paternal grandfather killed its maternal grandparents? Or that its mother... well... you get the point. I understand not wanting to be alone. But... there has to be a better way of filling that void that having a child with someone you detest."
He wanted to roll his eyes, "Honestly, Granger, do you think I would venture into the Muggle world if I still detested Muggles? Yes, I Obliviate them afterwards, but I do shag Muggle women, which means I've gotten over a large amount of my distaste for them. My dislike for you has less and less to do with your bloodlines and more to do with the fact that we've never gotten along before." He sighed. "I know what my father did, and I can no more control what happened in the past than you can. I made bad decisions too, and you have as well, I'm sure, but I'm done running from my past. I've accepted my part in what I did and I've tried to make peace with it. You and I have never had to be nice to one another. We've never been put in this sort of situation. You don't know me and I don't know you. Let's not make assumptions about one another based on the past. Can we agree to do that?"
"Fine," she said curtly. "We know nothing about each other. Even so, I'm not going to go through the next nine months to hand over my child to a total stranger to raise who I know nothing about. And I'm still not convinced that you wouldn't be better off with a dog than a child if you're lonely."
She sighed, and rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Look, I only found out I was pregnant two days ago. The only options I have considered were not having it, or having it and leaving the wizarding world completely, since I'm well aware how unwed mothers are seen in wizarding society and I'm not subjecting myself or my child to that. So. You want me to consider a different possibility? Fine. Start talking. I'm willing to listen. Convince me."
He waited until Sara placed their drinks down in front of them, "I'll agree that, yes, the Wizarding World is old fashioned when it comes to unwed mothers, but if you have enough power and influence behind you, they learn to shut their mouths. You are one of the three saviors of the wizarding world and you might find that more people will be supportive of you than not. You're not sure what public reaction will be, and I'm not really sure why you would care. You're known as one of the smartest witches to be born in centuries, so you have a lot going for you that wouldn't get you shunned. You have a very influential friend, and if you can get him to be understanding and not try to kill either of us, you'd have a powerful ally in Potter." He shook his head. "As much as I don't want to admit it, he's a great asset for you. Your reputation can come out of this still very much intact."
He sighed, "As for the baby part, I have enough money to support both of you, and that's not meant as an insult. I don't know what your financial situation is, but if money is needed, I have it. While I'm not the public's favorite person, the Malfoy name still holds enough weight in galleons that whatever you need is yours. I'm sure you're not enticed by that idea, but you wouldn't be like a lot of other single mothers struggling to make do." He drummed his fingers on the table. "And finally, as for hating your kind, I don't, and I wouldn't raise my child to do that either. My beliefs got me into a lot of trouble and I was too stupid to see what was right in front of my face. As I've said, I learned from my mistakes. I know that Muggles are ingenious in their own right. They have means of transportation, communication, and entertainment that put the Wizarding World to shame." He frowned. "I just want the chance... to be better than my father. He was hardly ever affectionate, and a lot of the mistakes I made were in pursuit of his love and acceptance. I want a chance to prove that I can be a good man."
She looked at him. Really looked at him. Probably for the first time.
Then she sighed.
"Look, you're right about my reputation. I wasn't worried about me so much. But Malfoy, children are cruel. I would have thought you knew that. My reputation aside, when the child goes off to school, primary or Hogwarts, being my child isn't going to save it a lot of pain and teasing for being different. No matter who I have as an ally. And I know Harry will be supportive, eventually. Ron won't, but Harry will. He went through enough pain and humiliation as a child that he'd never inflict it on me or any child I had. And I hadn't thought much about finances, but my financial situation is fine. My parents were well-off enough that, in addition to what I make at the bank, I wouldn't have to worry about money."
Sara brought their food to the table, making Hermione pause.
She almost ran for the bathroom when she smelled the eggs and bacon on Malfoy's plate, but instead she swallowed hard and took a deep breath.
"Look," she said as Sara moved away. "There's no reason to make an impulsive decision. I'm only five and a half weeks along. I have six and a half weeks before ending the pregnancy becomes difficult. Why don't we take a month and get to know each other. See if we can spend time together without killing each other. If things are going relatively well, great. If we're at each other's throats, then... well... we'll deal with it then."
He tilted his head and stared at her for a moment. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and she seemed to be pointedly staring away from his plate. He hadn't even thought about the sight of food affecting her. He was very interested in her deal and nodded, "That sounds very fair. Should we start now or wait until after breakfast?"
"What? I'm sorry, I don't think I understand the question?" she asked, taking deep breaths through her mouth and picking up the glass of water Sara had brought her, holding its cool side to her cheek. "Wait for what, exactly?"
He looked at her, his expression one of concern. "Are you okay?"
"I will be. Please eat the eggs so I don't have to smell them," she said, turning away with a shudder.
He began to eat his food very quickly, not really tasting them as he feared she might vomit on the table. When he finished, he felt faintly sick from having eaten so fast. He watched as she began to pick at her food cautiously. "Is it just eggs that make you sick?"
"It's the smell of the cooked eggs. And I don't know. This was the first morning I felt sick. Why?"
He shook his head, "Just curious. You're the first pregnant woman I've ever been around."
She shrugged. "Brushing my teeth made me gag, too. Who knows what delights are in store for me. What did you mean by now or after breakfast?"
He nodded then gave a small smile, "I meant, should we start being civil to one another now, or wait until after breakfast? I'm sure you can think of some nasty things you want to say to me. I figured you could get that out of the way, and then we can start to be nice to one another after we eat."
For the first time, she gave him a genuine smile. "You know what, Malfoy, I really don't have anything nasty to say to you. Would you like me to make some stuff up? I'd make you the same offer, but I really have no desire to hear you call me names, so... if it's all the same to you...."
He nodded, "Then now it is." He tilted his head. "You said you work at the bank. What do you do there?"
"I'm a curse-breaker. Well, sort of. I work in the curse-breaker department, but I rarely do fieldwork. I mostly do research, designing new counter-curses, locator spells, that sort of thing. Although sometimes they find something small and valuable, but heavily cursed with something they don't recognize. Those they bring back to the bank and I work on in the lab."
He nodded. "Do you think they would put you somewhere else since you're pregnant. I doubt they would want to be liable should something happen to you while working on cursed objects, right? Or will they let you continue on as you are now?"
She sighed. "I don't know. I hadn't thought about it yet. I probably will still do all the research, but they'll have Bill do the actual casting. But I wouldn't worry about it. I never cast until I'm sure. I have a perfect record and intend to keep it that way. I'm pregnant, not an invalid."
He shook his head. "Never said you were. So, what did Potter and Weasley say?"
She sighed. "Harry didn't really say anything. He was too busy trying to keep Ron and me from killing each other. Ron assumed it was his, and that I had gotten pregnant deliberately to trap him. Because, according to Ron, no one else could ever put up with me or find me attractive. And obviously, I can't be happy without him in my life, and if not him, then some other wizard. After all, that's what every witch wants, right? A chance to be mindlessly and slavishly devoted to some arse who takes her for granted? And she should be so grateful for his less-than-adequate attentions that she looks the other way while he has some fun with someone else on the side, right? Idiot. I don't know why I put up with him for as long as I did. And how dare he imply that the only way someone would want me is if I trapped him."
She could feel her cheeks flushing the more she thought about Ron, as her anger at his cruelty the day before made her blood-pressure skyrocket.
"Ugh. Let's not talk about that prat, please?" she said quietly.
He nodded. "That works for me. Weasley is hardly my favorite person. You know, your friends will get over it eventually, and if they don't, then sod them. It's not their life or their decision." He shrugged, "Or, that's how I would feel if I still had friends."
She looked at him curiously. "Malfoy, I... you have friends... don't you?" she asked, confused. He'd been quite popular within his House at school. He was handsome and wealthy and well-connected and, now that he wasn't going out of his way to be horrid to her, he was quite personable.
He shook his head, "Afraid not. Apparently, after the night on the tower, people don't want anything to do with one of the people responsible for the death of Albus Dumbledore. Not to mention that both my mother and father were known Death Eaters. And my friends from school find that it's better if they pretend they don't know me for their own reputations. I can't really be mad about it, as I would probably do the same thing to one of them. To be quite honest, this is the first conversation I've had in a long time where the other person hasn't ended up being Obliviated."
She cocked her head to the side and considered him. She felt her heart going out to him, and she wasn't sure what to do about it.
Part of her wanted to forget their past completely and get to know this new Malfoy. But the part of her that remembered everything she'd seen and done to survive the war wouldn't quite let her. Still, if he were that lonely, she could see why he'd want the child, even if it came with her as its mother.
Always assuming he's telling me the truth, of course.
"Dra- Malfoy," she corrected herself, wondering why she'd started to call him Draco. He was Malfoy. He always had been Malfoy. "Malfoy, what... in an ideal world... what would you want from me in this?"
He furrowed his brow, "I don't think I understand the question."
"Assuming I was willing to go along with whatever you wanted in the situation we find ourselves in... what would you want? Do you only want to have split custody of the child? Or do you want, would you want, an actual family?"
He replied thoughtfully, "In an ideal world, I suppose the family. But at this point I'm willing to take what I can get."
"But I didn't ask what you were willing to take. I asked what you wanted." She looked down. "I'll be honest with you, Draco, one of the reasons I'm reluctant to have it is that I do want an actual family some day. And I know that if I have a child now... it will make it harder to do that. Maybe not in the Muggle world, but... I don't know that I really want to marry a Muggle. So... there you have it. That's a part of my consideration."
He sighed, "Well, I don't know. As I said, most people in the wizarding world want very little to do with me, which would make the chances of me ever actually having a family hard to do anyway. It's a bit early to be discussing this, isn't it?"
She shrugged. "Probably. I'm just being honest, though. If you want to get to know me, then you should know that about me. My sense of appropriate timing isn't always very good. Ron always said that's why I liked books. They didn't mind my overbearing personality."
He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well, what the hell does Weasley know anyway? He's lucky he can even find his nose on his face."
Hermione snorted into her milk at that. She wondered if she'd ever feel remorse for her current dislike of Ron, but thought she probably wouldn't. Which made her wonder what had happened to their friendship.
Oh, right. His inability to keep it in his pants, and instead feeling the need to subject other women to his inadequacy between the sheets.
"So, then, what do you enjoy doing? Any hobbies?"
He shrugged. "I still fly every now and then. I've been going to the cinema pretty regularly too."
Hermione nodded. "The cinema is always fun, although I still hate flying. I do it, but I hate it. Still, that doesn't seem like enough to keep you busy."
He sighed, "I don't really do much. I read, I go to bars, and that's it, really."
She grinned. "Reading. There's a novel idea. Read anything good lately?"
Ron never read. If Draco read, then the two of them had more in common than she and Ron ever had. Maybe even something to talk about.
"Well, I just finished the Chronicles of Narnia. I'd never heard of it until I was at a Muggle library and they were having this reading and it sounded interesting so I read the first book and liked it. I also read one on the history of the Tudor family." He drummed his fingers against the table. "Growing up with parents like mine, I was never really taught much about the history of England, only the history of our family and our world. So, it was really interesting to read about."
Hermione's grin turned into a broad smile. "I love the Chronicles of Narnia. I read it when I was seven, and I dreamed about finding the wardrobe and being transported to a world where magic was real." She sighed. "It's too bad I didn't learn the lesson in the book about magic, though. I can't help but think there were a lot of parallels between Narnia and what we find here...."
He nodded, "I found it rather ironic as well. Would you say Potter was more like the Pevensies or Aslan? Personally, I see Dumbledore as Aslan, but I could make the argument either way," he said with a bit of a smile.
"No, Harry's definitely Peter, and Ron is Edmund." She grinned. "The real question is, was I Susan or Lucy?"
He furrowed his brow, "You might be a combination of the two. Susan with all her book sense and knowledge but then Lucy with her amazement at the world around her."
She sighed. "I think I lost that sometime in about our fifth year. So, it sounds like Susan for me. Blowing the horn to summon aid in times of trouble, even though I'm perfectly capable of firing my arrows into the midst of battle."
He shook his head. "If you're doing it in terms of battle, I'd say you were more Peter than Susan. But when it comes to personality, you're Susan. You're loyal to those you love trying to find any other way beside fighting. You use your knowledge to help you in times of need. But think about it, when you first came into this world, you were Lucy. You had this wide-eyed innocence in the world around you. Yes, it's been tainted over time, but it's still there sometimes. Tell me that you don't still get excited when you learn a new spell or find a way to break a curse."
She looked at him a moment in silence. "I can't. It would be a lie." She leaned back in her chair. "Was that a lucky guess, Draco? Or do you know me better than I thought?"
He shrugged. "I don't know... Hermione," he said with a smile, "maybe a little of both."
Hermione looked down at the pile of crumbs that had been her muffin for a moment before looking back at him. "Is it too early for me to say that I'm having a surprisingly good time talking to you and I dearly hope you don't try to Obliviate this conversation from my memory?"
He smirked, "I promise I won't Obliviate you." Then, "Just out of curiosity, what did you think I was going to do to you that night? You jumped on the defensive incredibly fast."
"Kill me," she shrugged. "Thought that from the moment you Apparated us away."
He sighed, "I don't make it a habit to kill the women I shag. Obliviate? Yes. Kill? No." He raised an eyebrow, "I usually Obliviate, then use a contraceptive charm."
"Thus avoiding this or any other awkwardness. Makes sense, I suppose. Your reflexes were too slow, though. Although, if you thought I was a Muggle, you would have expected me to be too surprised to do anything about it. It's a good thing it was only an Obliviate. It surprised me enough that I didn't kill you. Between the war and being a curse-breaker, my reflexes are not slow and my wand was already in my hand," she said with a smile.
He sighed, "Well, it surprised the hell out of me when your black hair turned into those curls and instead of the black haired girl I'd just shagged it was a girl who hated me. I think the one question that's bothered me since this all happened would have to be, if you knew it was me, why did you sleep with me?"
Hermione looked at him and considered her answer. "Because it would make Ron furious."
He stared at her for a moment, then smiled, "Well, I certainly hope so."
She nodded. "I'd never planned to actually tell him, mind. But it was one of those things you do just to know you did it and then, if the moment ever really called for it, throw it in his face." She sighed. "Of course, I picked the wrong place to do that, apparently, sitting in the Leaky Cauldron, but..." she shrugged, "who knows, maybe some good will come of it."
He furrowed his brow, "Not that I'm not thrilled to be a way to piss off Weasley, but why would you want to piss him off?"
She leaned forward and put her elbow on the table, propping her chin on her hand.
"Well, we'd broken up the week before. Technically, it was a mutual break-up, since neither of us wanted to continue the relationship. But the catalyst was not mutual. I found out he'd been cheating on me. A lot. Ever since the war ended. A steady stream of witches throwing themselves at him. Merlin knows why. When I confronted him about it, he said I was frigid. When I informed him that I couldn't be frigid since I was quite capable of orgasming on my own and therefore it was his lack that was causing our problems in bed, he made some other comments about how I should be glad he was willing to put up with my personality and lack of skill, and that it was only out of his deep friendship for me that he'd stuck around as long as he had." She shrugged. "So... I suppose I used you. When you approached me in that club I decided that it was fate. Not only would I have a chance to see if it really was me, but that telling him I'd enjoyed shagging you would would hurt him more than any other wizard on the planet."
He couldn't keep the grin from his face, "Well, thank you. And just so you know, it's definitely not you."
She smiled and batted her lashes at him. "Thank you. If you ever run into him, it would mean a lot to me for you to tell him that," she said with a giggle.
He chuckled and nodded, "I'd be very happy to do just that." Then he said, "So, we enjoyed shagging one another. Interesting."
"You sound surprised. I thought that was obvious that night. As I recall, I even said something to that effect," she said with a grin.
"Well, you know the usual euphoria that comes with having good sex was quickly dashed, and truth be told, I was a bit distracted by the fact that you were... you."
"No, actually, I don't know." She shrugged. "Ron's the only other person I've ever shagged, so it was the first time I had ever had good sex. That's why I was so mad you wanted to Obliviate me," she concluded with a grin.
He shrugged. "You certainly seemed like you knew what you were doing and what you wanted, so how was I to know that you'd never had good sex?"
"For the record, I think it's appalling that you'd do that to someone, regardless of whether they'd had good sex or not. People's minds are what define them. Besides, why would you not want them to remember you fondly? Why not just give them a fake name? It's not like you live in the Muggle world."
She shrugged. "And seeming like I know something doesn't mean anything. I read. I watch movies. I have friends. And I guess I did know what I wanted. That doesn't mean I'd ever had it before."
"Yes, but Apparating in front of Muggles isn't good. So, by Obliviating them, it alleviates a lot of the problem. Also, I do live in the Muggle world."
He folded his arms over his chest, "Not to be lewd, but if you ever want to give it a go again, I'm more than game," he said with a slow smile.
She shook her head. "Don't you think it's a little early to be discussing this?" she asked with a grin, echoing his earlier comment.
He shook his head, "Not at all. We both enjoyed it, so it couldn't be a bad thing."
Hermione sighed. "Draco, it was one thing to have a one-off with you that night. But... now I'm pregnant. If I have this child, we'll be tied together for the rest of our lives. As parents, if nothing else. I don't want to make that any harder than it's already going to be. I don't think you've really thought all the way through how complicated it really is. But the fact is that, my attempt to get back at Ron aside, I don't take sex all that lightly. And I don't want to set myself up for more hurt than I'm already in for."
He shook his head. "Relax, okay? I was mostly joking. And I say mostly because as we've both acknowledged the sex was great, but I realize that there's a lot of ground we still have to cover, and you're right when you say it would only become more complicated."
She took a deep breath and nodded. "Actually, you didn't acknowledge the sex was great. Only that I wasn't frigid. But thank you, nonetheless. Are you finished here? I think I want some fresh air."
He nodded and reached into his pocket for the Muggle money he kept and tossed it on the table then stood, "Didn't we pass a park?"
She smiled and stood up. "We did. Would you like to walk with me for a bit? Continue getting to know each other?" She grinned at him. "Maybe find a swing set?"
"Find a what?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. He opened the door and allowed her to go out before him.
She giggled. "A swing set. You've never been on a swing? What a deprived childhood you must have had."
He rolled his eyes. "Deprived is one thing you couldn't call my childhood."
She looked at him a moment, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, before she smiled at him and looped an arm though his, placing her hand on his elbow. "Maybe not monetarily. But... spending an afternoon in the park, pushing your child on the swing doesn't cost anything but time and attention," she said quietly.
He sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. What exactly is a swing set?"
Hermione thought for a minute. "It is a seat with chains on either side of it, attached to a pole above. The swing hangs down. You sit on the seat and, um... swing. Back and forth. It's very soothing. When I was a child, my Mum and I would have contests to see who could swing higher," she smiled.
They walked through the fence that guarded the little play area. "I'd be happy to watch you."
"Watch me?" she asked. "Oh no, my dear. If you are going to potentially embark on fatherhood, you are going to join me on the swings. It's fun," she said, smiling.
He looked over at her, "You're getting a sick sort of enjoyment out of this, aren't you?"
She grinned up at him. "Yes, I think I am. And I feel no guilt over it at all. I spent half an hour throwing up this morning. The least you can do is swing with me."
He rolled his eyes. "Fine."
She took a seat on one of the swings and he sat on the one beside her and asked, "Okay, now what?"
She rolled her eyes back. "Watch."
She stood and pushed as far back as she could, then sat, letting the swing go forward, stretching her legs out in front of her. As it reached the top of the arch, she tucked her legs back and leaned forward, feeling the swing descend. After a few arches, she felt the swing moving at a decent pace, and looked over at Draco.
He gave it a try and after a few failed attempts, he was swinging beside her. He found that, as she said, it was fun. He dragged his feet along the ground to stop and looked at her. "What were your parents like?"
She dragged her own feet to stop and looked over at him as they sat side by side on the swings. "My parents? Um... goodness, that's a hard question to answer. They were good people. Very caring. I... I wasn't an easy child to raise. I mean, I was always different from their friends' children. Even before we knew I was a witch. But they were very supportive and encouraging. And then I got my Hogwarts letter, and they finally had an explanation for why I was so different. It was quite a shock to them, though."
She bit her lip. "The first time they were ever in the wizarding world was the summer before second year, when we were shopping in Diagon Alley for my school supplies. The year before I had been escorted by Professor McGonagall, along with several other Muggleborn students." She looked at him a moment. "I don't know if you remember that day. We ran into you and your father at Flourish and Blotts."
She sighed. "As the war heated up, we grew apart. I didn't want them to worry about me, so I stopped telling them things. And they were more and more involved in their practice as I got older. They were both dentists. Mum and Dad were older when they had me, they'd met in dental school. When Mum had me, she started working only two mornings a week while I was young and stayed home with me until I was old enough to start school. What did you want to know?"
He shrugged, "Did you get on well with them? I got on with my mother very well. I always felt like she gave me so much attention because I didn't really get enough from my father. We had our own little traditions and things." He sighed. "And I know I hurt her as I got older with the way I treated her. I was her only son and while I loved her, I really wanted attention from my father. I was just hoping you had a better relationship with your parents than I did."
She thought about it. "No, I don't think I did," she said softly. "I mean, as a child yes. But, the older I got, the more they didn't understand me or my life at all. They didn't understand the politics of the wizarding world, they didn't understand the role my friends and I were playing in it, and they had no concept for what was safe and what was a deadly danger. They loved me, and I loved them, but they didn't understand me. After a while of being told I should just quit and come home, I stopped trying. I think... talking to other people like me... I think a lot of Muggleborns go through that. The people who love them don't understand their lives, and the people who do understand them, don't want them in their world."
He frowned. "But you at least knew that they loved you. I know my mother loved me, but I have doubts about my father."
She looked at him a moment and then started swinging again.
"Yes. I have always known I was loved. My parents, my grandparents, my friends and their families. I've never doubted that."
He nodded. "I thought so," he said sadly. Thinking about his parents always made him sad. Missed chances and opportunities to tell his mother that he loved her. Always wanting to his father to see him as something more than an inconvenience. He leaned against the chain and sighed, "Let's talk about something else."
She thought for a moment. "All right. What were your favorite subjects in school?"
"Potions and Arithmancy. Yours?"
"Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. Transfiguration was close, though. That's why I went into curse-breaking. Well, that and I didn't want to work for the Ministry. The goblins are good to me. I don't think the Ministry would be."
"They probably wouldn't. After all, you were part of the trio that did away with the Dark Lord, a task they couldn't manage. So, you're right, they probably wouldn't be good to you."
She nodded. "On top of that, the Ministry is corrupt, racist, elitist and sexist. Whereas the goblins only care about bringing in the gold." She shrugged. "Were you and Snape close? Everyone said he and your father…. "
He nodded. "Yes. Did everything he could to help me that last year, and I just wouldn't let him.
She looked at him a long moment, contemplating. "Can we talk about what happened then? Or... are you not ready to? I just, well, I think I need to know your side of what happened. Not to judge you. You have to know that Harry, Ron, and I, not to mention the rest of the Order, did a lot of things that I'm not proud of. I'm not an innocent. But I'd like to hear from you what happened."
He shrugged, "We can talk about it. After my father was arrested, the Dark Lord sent for me. Told me he had a very important task he was trusting me to do and if I wanted my parents to live, I had better complete it by the end of the year. If I didn't, I'd have to watch as he tortured and killed my parents, then me. My mother was furious because instead of my being scared, I was anxious to do the job." He sighed, "So, she made an Unbreakable Vow with Snape to ensure that if I couldn't do the task, he would. I had tried all year to get the Death Eaters into the school. I knew that cabinet was the key from the year before, but it was just one failed attempt after another. Part of my task was to get them in, but the more important part was to kill Dumbledore. He knew there was no way for me to succeed. It was just a way for him to... he never thought I would pull it off. So, that night on the tower, I'm standing there, my wand on an obviously ill man, and I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill him, even though I had never liked him. His words had given me hope for the first time in over a year. I wanted to believe what he said, and when I lowered my wand... Snape came onto the tower and... he cast it."
He shook his head. "We left the school and went to my mother first, where she sent me to a relative in France to hide me. I was more than willing to go then as I thought she was going to be right behind me. But minutes passed... then an hour. When Snape found me, he told me that I had left Malfoy Manor at the right time as the Death Eaters stormed in only seconds later... and killed my mother. They left my father's lifeless body there as well." He shook his head.
"Severus was the only family I had until he died and the cousin that I had stayed with just recently passed as well."
She nodded. "That's more or less the story I heard from Harry," she said quietly. "Thank you for telling me. For what it's worth, I probably would have done the same thing in your shoes."
He shook his head. "If I had listened to Snape and trusted Dumbledore to protect us, who knows what would have happened."
"Draco, I loved Dumbledore, and I trusted him with my life. Many times, in fact. But that said, Dumbledore was a strategist. He saw us like pieces on the chessboard. And in chess, you have to make sacrifices. Sometimes you have to do things you don't really want to do. For all that I loved Dumbledore, I hated him too. He did things to people that were horrible. He didn't have a choice, he didn't want to do them, he was putting the good of the many over the good of the one... but... when you are best friends with that one... when you are that one, it's not as simple."
He nodded, "I just... I wanted to believe him." He furrowed his brow. "Do you know why Potter testified for me? I mean, he hated me, and when he showed up at that trial... I've just always wondered why."
She realized that was the biggest difference between her friends and Draco.
"Because it was the right thing to do. He'd seen it himself and no matter how he felt about you, he couldn't let you be imprisoned for something you didn't do."
He sighed, "Well, I owe him. I thought for sure I was going to be locked away in Azkaban for ever."
She grinned. "Good way to start repaying the favor, then, by knocking up his best friend."
He looked over at her, then shrugged, "Well, it's not like I set out to do it, you know. There was a bit of deceit on your part, wasn't there?"
Her grin grew wider. "Why, Malfoy, are you saying that, had you known it was me, you never would have approached me? Whyever not?"
He smirked, "Well, you had this strict policy of hating me. It would have had a bit part in it."
"But if it was only a bit part, why would it deter you?" She pumped the swing harder, her hair fanning out behind her. "But honestly, I don't know that I hated you. Hate's a very, very strong word. Disliked and distrusted, maybe. But hate?"
He shrugged, "I like my jacket and wouldn't want a drink thrown on it."
She smiled. "I'll keep that in mind the next time you piss me off. Go for the jacket. Got it."
He chuckled, "I'm sure you will." He looked over at her and asked, "Why did you use a glamour in the first place?"
"Because I can't go anywhere without being recognized by someone, but I wanted to be noticed. And let's face it, I'm not exactly God's gift to men. Ron was right about that, at least. It's not like I go out and get offers for an evening of fun when I look like myself," she said quietly.
He looked at her, then rolled his eyes. "Weasley is an idiot. I think... there's something very sexy about you."
"Riiiight. The ability to disembowel someone thirty-six different ways, and all but 4 of them wandless, combined with my bushy mass of hair is enough to drive men wild," she said, shaking her head.
"Yeah, all that and a great arse," he said with a smile. "And your hair's not really bushy, exactly. It's just... wild."
"You clearly have been alone too long, Malfoy. My hair defines bushiness. It was all I could do not to laugh in your face when you said that you thought women would be jealous of my hair that night. I just hope our child gets your hair."
He looked at her thoughtfully. "I think you might be the first woman I've ever met who thinks so little of her appearance." He shook his head. "Which is odd, really, considering you have natural beauty as opposed to what those other women have when they put all that stuff on their faces."
She shook her head. "Lots of women think little of their appearance. Most, even. I'd say you've just been entertaining yourself with a specific demographic group called young and attractive... or vain. Take your pick. But, for what it's worth, I'm glad you think I'm not some hideous monster."
He shook his head. "You changed your hair and eye color, but other than that, it was still you."
She smiled at that. "Well, it was a bit more than just hair and eye color, but I suppose you're essentially correct. So then, what does it say about you that of all the women in the bar that night, you sought me out?"
He smirked. "It says that you were the sexiest one I saw that night. I had been there for over an hour already. When I saw you, I had to have you."
She looked at him a moment and sighed. "Flattery is still not going to get you back in my knickers, you know." She shook her head.
"Did it ever occur to you that the child might not be yours? I mean, you took the word of Rita Skeeter at face value. That can be quite dangerous, you know."
He nodded, "That's very true. But I think your reaction this morning pretty much confirmed it." He stared at the ground, then back at her, "It is mine, right?"
"Yes," she said quietly. I'd broken up with Ron a week before we ran into each other, and there hasn't been anyone else since. Ron was too early in my cycle and I cast a charm. So, unless he's potent enough to overcome the charm and have his swimmers survive for a week when it's scientifically proven that sperm can only last three days in the female system... yes. It's yours."
She shook her head ruefully. "Ironic, isn't it. Ron and I supposedly had a relationship for four years. We've been best friends since we were eleven. And when he thought he'd gotten me pregnant, he said it was a scheme to trap him, and made me into this horrible monster out to get him. You and I have never spoken a civil word to each other. At least, not when you knew it was me. Yet you actually seemed... pleased about a baby."
He shrugged. "People change. But I think that's pretty obvious by now, isn't it?" He stood. "So, ready to head back?"
She nodded and jumped lightly down off the still-moving swing. "Come on, then."
He offered her his arm, "So, how do you think the rest of your friends will react? I just need to be prepared in case they might want to hex me."
She thought about that. "I don't think they'll want to hex you too badly, but you probably should keep close to your wand as much as possible. I didn't tell them... what happened that night. Only that we'd shagged. So... they don't have any real reason to hate you more than they already do... well, other than the fact that I'm now pregnant. But, I think they're more mad at me than you. But don't worry. I'll protect you from the big bad Gryffindors," she said with a smile. "After all, I have no desire to do this all on my own."
He smiled back. "Well, if I've learned anything from your temper, it's that I wouldn't want to stir it up."
She threw her head back and laughed. "I think I just caught you in a lie, Malfoy. After all, you've gone out of your way all our lives to rile my temper. Personally, I think you like it when I'm mad at you."
He shook his head, "Uh, no. The last time you were really mad at me, you slapped me. So, no, I don't want you mad at me."
She smiled. "Actually, the last time I was mad at you, I kicked you. Tell me, did I manage to hurt either wrist or wand?"
"Hell, I don't know. I was in shock, to tell you the truth. My wand is still intact and my wrist doesn't hurt."
She sighed. "I'm losing my touch then." She snickered. "Actually, I just wanted to disarm you before you killed me. Of course, after that, I'd say you would have been too distracted to actually kill me, so I was fairly safe."
He nodded, "That's very true." As they neared Hermione's flat, Draco noticed that there were two figures looming in front of her door. "Um, it looks like you have company."
***
Part 2 of Chapter 2
Authors: sayyida_jaida and ashleyfanfic
Part: 2a/??
Rating: NC-17 (not this chapter but the fic as a whole!)
Summary: This is the sequel to Unexpected, in which Hermione goes out and runs into Malfoy. This sequel will be a multi-chaptered fic, beginning here, with the consequences of their evening of fun.
Hermione sat at the table in her flat and stared at her hands.
Or rather, she stared at what her hands were holding.
A Muggle pregnancy test she'd picked up at the chemist's on the corner.
A Muggle pregnancy test that showed two lines.
She was pregnant.
She bit her lip and felt a tear slide down her cheek.
Pregnant.
Bloody fucking hell. She'd always been so careful with Ron, but she'd been so upset when she'd Apparated out of Draco's flat that she hadn't even thought about consequences.
***
Draco leaned against the bar, two shots of vodka in front of him, and seven empty shot glasses littering the nearby bar top. He downed first one, then the other. He'd found that he'd been drinking more now than he had before he'd shagged Granger. He'd thought a lot about that night, the different signs that were there to let him know that it was Hermione. The freckles across her nose, the way her lips curled when she smiled, the nervousness from being alone with him, and finally her constantly trying to call him Malfoy.
Had it been anyone other than her, he wouldn't have worried himself with it. But she was Hermione Granger, Mudblood extraordinaire and she had willingly slept with him.
He ordered another shot at that thought. It had been the one thing that had bothered him about it all. She'd gone through with it even knowing who he was. She hadn't seemed to regret the decision until she saw that he was going to Obliviate her, then her words had echoed in his head. He'd been the only decent sex she'd ever had, which gave him a bit of satisfaction, but bothered him at the same time. She had known from the start.
He sighed as he downed another shot.
***
Hermione looked at the calendar on the wall. Several weeks had passed. She'd looked information up in a pregnancy book, and when you added in the two weeks from the first day of her last period, she was officially five weeks pregnant.
She'd bought the book at a Muggle bookstore, not wanting to have her news get out in the wizarding world yet. According to What to Expect When You're Expecting, the baby was barely starting to make its presence felt in her body and she could look forward to morning sickness very soon.
She had no idea what to do. To have it or not. To keep it or not.
Her parents would have been so disappointed in her if they had survived the war. But no, they were killed by her child's other grandfather. It was enough to make her want to vomit, which made her wonder if that was the morning sickness getting an early start.
She'd have to tell someone soon. She needed advice, but she had no one to go to. She took a deep breath and decided to talk to Harry and Ron. Hermione knew they'd be mad and not understand, but at the moment, she didn't think she had any other options.
Telling Malfoy was out of the question.
***
Ron and Harry both blinked at her, unable to actually fathom that their friend was going to have a baby. Ron's mind was running a mile a minute. He wasn't ready for a child, and given his rocky relationship with Hermione, he certainly wasn't ready to have one with her. He scowled and wondered if this was just a way for her to try and trap him into a relationship.
Fortunately for him, Harry spoke before he had the opportunity. "You're really pregnant?"
Hermione looked at the boys, watching their reactions. She'd expected the incredulous look on Harry's face, and the flush on Ron's. But she hadn't expected the obvious anger.
"Yes, Harry. I'm really pregnant. Five and a half weeks, to be exact," she said quietly.
Ron shook his head, "Well, I don't know what you're aiming to accomplish with this, but I'm not ready to be a father!"
Harry furrowed his brow and looked over at Ron, "Ron..." he said, lowering his voice.
He glared at Harry, "Shut up, Harry." He looked back at Hermione, "So are you hoping that this will make me want you back?"
"And you think I'm ready to be a mother?" she shot back, her hormones making her even faster to anger than usual at her prat of a so-called friend. "Don't worry, Ron. Even if you begged me to come back, I wouldn't. I actually had a decent shag and have learned just how completely inadequate you really were. I'd always suspected, mind, but now I know. And the child isn't yours, so don't worry about having to actually be responsible for your actions."
Ron rolled his eyes and tried to cover up the hurt of her words. The only way he knew to do that was to hurt her in kind. "Like you could ever find someone else. I'm the only person that could put up with your overbearing personality enough to date you, much less shag you."
Harry stared at him wide eyed, then looked to Hermione and noticed the anger and hurt on her face. This wasn't good. "Ron, stop."
Ron shook his head, "No! Don't you see, Harry? I don't want her anymore so she's come up with this scheme to get me to take her back and since I'm not thrilled about it, she's trying to hurt me. Well, it's not going to work," he said angrily.
"Are you calling me a liar, Weasley?" she said, her voice rising along with her anger. "What part of 'it's not yours' was unclear? There was no scheme here, you arse. And just because you always saw me as a last resort and a book with legs doesn't mean that other wizards don't notice me. I would have thought you'd remember that from fourth year. Of course, I should have remembered that the only time you seem to think of me in that way is when someone else comes along who might see me as more than a homework helper."
She shook her head. "You don't want me, but you don't want me to have anyone else, either. Not that I particularly want Malfoy, mind you, and not that I see us having a relationship. But get over yourself Ron, and open your eyes. Why the hell would I want to trap someone that doesn't want to be with me? I have more self-respect than that! And I'd never be that desperate!" she screamed, as her voice spiraled out of control.
Grabbing her purse from the floor, she threw some galleons down on the table to cover her share of lunch and Apparated away in a huff.
Both Harry and Ron stared at her empty chair a moment before Harry looked over at Ron and said, "She did say Malfoy, right?"
Ron furrowed his brow, "You don't think that... she's pregnant with Malfoy's baby, do you?"
Harry nodded, "That's... what she said. Hermione is having Draco Malfoy's baby," he said, torn between anger and shock. He'd kill Malfoy when he had the chance.
Unnoticed by the trio, a blonde head dipped over a piece of parchment, following the words being scrawled by an acid green quill, her fuchsia fingernails tapping a gleeful rhythm on the tabletop.
"Front page news, for sure," she murmured quietly to herself, watching the boys leave.
***
He had a copy of the Daily Prophet bunched up in his hand.
In her haste to get out of his flat, she'd forgotten a simple contraception spell and now was carrying his illegitimate child.
What was worse was that the entire bloody wizarding world now knew it. She didn't even have the decency to tell him first, instead telling her friends where she had been overheard, and the bloody conversation was then put into the paper. He'd handle Granger, then go after the Skeeter cow.
He banged on her front door, waiting for her to open it. It was very early in the morning, and he was in no mood to be put off. She was going to talk to him and explain what the bloody hell she was thinking first by not casting the spell, and then in broadcasting it to the bloody world.
***
The morning sickness had started that morning.
She'd bolted from bed fifteen minutes earlier than when she normally woke up and ran to the loo, vomiting until she thought her toenails were going to appear.
When her stomach was purged of dinner, water, crackers, and bile, she finally managed to stand up and go to the sink, wetting a flannel and wiping her face before leaning her forehead against the cool tile of the wall.
Just then, the alarm clock buzzed, letting her know it was time to wake up.
With a sigh, she moved back into her bedroom to get ready for the day, purposefully ignoring the dark circles under her eyes and the taste of sick still in her mouth. The thought of brushing her teeth to remove it was enough to make her gag, so minty fresh breath would have to wait awhile yet.
As soon as she silenced the clock, she heard a pounding on the door. It sounded like Ron, although she couldn't imagine Ron managing to pull himself from sleep this early, even to fight with her.
Sighing, she traipsed to the door still in her pajamas, wand at the ready, and opened it.
To say she was shocked to see Malfoy standing on the other side of it with a paper grasped in his fist was an understatement.
"What the bloody blazes are you doing here?" she demanded.
He pushed into her flat and opened up the paper to show her the headline, "This! This is what I'm doing here!" The headline seemed to jump out from the page as it read Hermione Granger Pregnant with Draco Malfoy's Love Child.
Hermione looked at the paper and blanched.
"Fuck," she said as she reached for it. "May I?"
He released the paper and folded his arms over his chest, "Were you planning to tell me, or were you asking permission from your friends first?"
"Honestly? No. I hadn't planned to tell you. Why should I? Besides, I don't know that I'm going to have it." She skimmed through the article. "Skeeter, of course." She sighed. "Well, if I don't have it, I can always make her look like a fool and say it's slander. "
She looked at him a moment. "I still don't see why you'd care. You can always say I was slandering you, after all. It's not like I want you in my life, even if I do have it. And it's not like you'd want anything to do with a child of mine. So why you're here?"
He took a deep breath, wondering if he should give even a little bit of himself. "Because it's still my bloody child. It's the only family I have, at this point, and if you think you're going to get rid of it, you have another think coming."
She raised an eyebrow at him, feeling her stomach churn... nerves, hormones, or both, and bolted past him to the bathroom to continue her earlier round of heaving.
Draco watched as she raced past him and sighed as he followed.
He stopped outside the bathroom as he heard her retching from within. He knew it was probably her pregnancy symptoms, but he'd never had to deal with anything like this, which was why he was always careful to Obliviate then use the contraceptive charm. She had halted his usual plan, however. She was carrying his child, and it meant something, more than it probably should. He'd been alone for so long, without a family or anyone to love him, that he was latching onto this for all he was worth. If she didn't want it, he did. She wasn't his first choice as the mother of his child, but it was there, it was happening, and he was willing to fight for it.
He peeked his head into the bathroom and found her with her head resting on the side of the toilet. For the first time in his life, he felt badly for her. It was very strange, but he knew that he was partially responsible. He walked into the small room, reached for a flannel and wet it, then placed it on the back of her neck, knowing it helped cool him down when he was in a similar position from too much drinking, then took a seat on the edge of her bath tub. "We need to talk."
She sighed as the cool flannel helped her settle her stomach and slowly rolled her head on the toilet seat until she was looking at him. "Fine. Talk, then. I don't think I should leave the bathroom yet, though, so you're stuck talking from there," she murmured before turning her face back into the toilet and heaving again, although nothing was coming up anymore.
"Fuck." Dry Heaves. Great. As if vomiting isn't bad enough, dry heaves are even worse, she thought to herself.
He sighed. "Look, I know I'm not your ideal pick for the father of your baby. You're not my first choice either. That being said, I don't want you to have an abortion. If you don't want the baby, that's fine, I'll raise it, but I don't... I have nothing, no one; that baby is the only family I have."
She closed her eyes at the pain in his voice. She wondered how much it cost him in pride to admit that to her.
Slowly she reached behind her and took the flannel from her neck, using it to wipe her face. Her stomach felt quieter, and so she chanced moving, standing up and leaning over the sink to fill a cup with cool water and rinse out her mouth.
After she spat into the sink, she looked over at him sitting there, and sighed.
"Let me get dressed and then we can talk."
She wandered out of the bathroom and closed the door to her bedroom, wondering what the hell she was going to do now. All of the half-formed ideas she'd worked through had been formed around one central fact: Draco Malfoy would never want anything to do with a child of hers. The fact that he seemed to... that threw her whole world upside down. Particularly in contrast with Ron's reaction... which she was not going to think about now.
She dressed quickly and went out to find him, surprised when he was standing right outside of her door.
"I think I'm done throwing up and now I'm hungry. Would you like to discuss this over breakfast?" she asked.
He nodded, "I could use a cup of coffee," he said as he shoved his hands into his pockets. They had never had a civil conversation in all the years they'd known one another, so being nice to her was a leap for him. However, he was willing to do what he had to do to get what he wanted. "Do you want to go out for breakfast?"
She bit her lip, considering the options. "I don't really feel up to cooking myself, and I don't think I have any coffee here. But I don't want to go anywhere where we'll be recognized. There's a Muggle diner down the block from me, if you are up to that."
He nodded, "That's fine." She lived in a quaint little flat, nothing like what he owned, but he knew it probably worked for her. He didn't know what to do about living arrangements, but he'd handle the finances for whatever she wanted to do. He'd cover her medical expenses and take care of her the rest of her life if that's what she wanted. He hadn't been thrilled with the idea that he was going to be a father at first. The fact that she hadn't told him and let him read it in the paper, though, was probably the major source of his tension. After much thinking about it that morning, as he was sitting alone in his very empty house, he realized that maybe fatherhood wasn't so bad. "Should we walk?"
She nodded. "It's just around the corner, and the fresh air will be good for me." She pulled on a jumper and headed to the door, holding it open for him before casting her wards and following him down the stairs to the street. "Left," she said as he stood on the stoop, before setting off at a brisk pace.
"Since you told your friends first, what did they have to say?" he asked, rather curious how the great Harry Potter and his bumbling sidekick took the news that their best friend was pregnant by their bitterest surviving enemy.
She looked at him, her eyes narrowed. "What, didn't Skeeter report their reactions? Although I think calling them my friends is a bit of a stretch at this point."
He raised an eyebrow, "Well, I didn't actually make it past the headline," he said softly. "I was in a bit of shock, tell you the truth."
She sighed. "I only skimmed it just now, so I don't even know. And... for what it's worth, if I'd thought there was even the remotest possibility that you would have wanted me to have it and not killed me on sight if I had shown up at your door, and if I'd known that Skeeter was there and would print that article, I would have told you first. I just... well... I honestly thought you'd rather I just take care of the problem and not bother you with it."
He frowned, "Before I came over here, I thought about it. I considered letting you handle it however you wanted to. But I was sitting there in my empty house, no one to talk to, no friends, no family, and the thought of having someone... well, it's much better than what I have now." He shook his head, "We're not fond of one another, and a lot has happened in the past for us to just push it aside and pretend like it didn't happen, but that baby is my only family," he said as he opened the door to the diner, then followed in behind her.
Hermione took a seat at a table and smiled as Sara came to bring menus.
She accepted the menu and glanced at it. "Blueberry muffin and a fruit plate," she ordered after a moment. "And milk, please." Sara nodded and turned to Draco.
He looked over the menu. "Uh, scrambled eggs, bacon, and oatmeal," he said as he handed her the menu, "Milk for me, as well," he said as he watched her walk away. "What are your thoughts, Granger?"
"At the moment? That I thought you wanted coffee." She shook her head. "In general, that I have no idea what to think about this. I am not a brood-mare, Malfoy, and I don't intend to have a baby and hand it over to you to raise as you see fit. I'm not going to let you raise my child to hate people like me. And since now I can't raise it without you in our lives, I'm not convinced having it is all that good an idea."
She took a deep breath.
"You're not the only one with no family, Malfoy. How am I supposed to explain to my child someday that its paternal grandfather killed its maternal grandparents? Or that its mother... well... you get the point. I understand not wanting to be alone. But... there has to be a better way of filling that void that having a child with someone you detest."
He wanted to roll his eyes, "Honestly, Granger, do you think I would venture into the Muggle world if I still detested Muggles? Yes, I Obliviate them afterwards, but I do shag Muggle women, which means I've gotten over a large amount of my distaste for them. My dislike for you has less and less to do with your bloodlines and more to do with the fact that we've never gotten along before." He sighed. "I know what my father did, and I can no more control what happened in the past than you can. I made bad decisions too, and you have as well, I'm sure, but I'm done running from my past. I've accepted my part in what I did and I've tried to make peace with it. You and I have never had to be nice to one another. We've never been put in this sort of situation. You don't know me and I don't know you. Let's not make assumptions about one another based on the past. Can we agree to do that?"
"Fine," she said curtly. "We know nothing about each other. Even so, I'm not going to go through the next nine months to hand over my child to a total stranger to raise who I know nothing about. And I'm still not convinced that you wouldn't be better off with a dog than a child if you're lonely."
She sighed, and rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Look, I only found out I was pregnant two days ago. The only options I have considered were not having it, or having it and leaving the wizarding world completely, since I'm well aware how unwed mothers are seen in wizarding society and I'm not subjecting myself or my child to that. So. You want me to consider a different possibility? Fine. Start talking. I'm willing to listen. Convince me."
He waited until Sara placed their drinks down in front of them, "I'll agree that, yes, the Wizarding World is old fashioned when it comes to unwed mothers, but if you have enough power and influence behind you, they learn to shut their mouths. You are one of the three saviors of the wizarding world and you might find that more people will be supportive of you than not. You're not sure what public reaction will be, and I'm not really sure why you would care. You're known as one of the smartest witches to be born in centuries, so you have a lot going for you that wouldn't get you shunned. You have a very influential friend, and if you can get him to be understanding and not try to kill either of us, you'd have a powerful ally in Potter." He shook his head. "As much as I don't want to admit it, he's a great asset for you. Your reputation can come out of this still very much intact."
He sighed, "As for the baby part, I have enough money to support both of you, and that's not meant as an insult. I don't know what your financial situation is, but if money is needed, I have it. While I'm not the public's favorite person, the Malfoy name still holds enough weight in galleons that whatever you need is yours. I'm sure you're not enticed by that idea, but you wouldn't be like a lot of other single mothers struggling to make do." He drummed his fingers on the table. "And finally, as for hating your kind, I don't, and I wouldn't raise my child to do that either. My beliefs got me into a lot of trouble and I was too stupid to see what was right in front of my face. As I've said, I learned from my mistakes. I know that Muggles are ingenious in their own right. They have means of transportation, communication, and entertainment that put the Wizarding World to shame." He frowned. "I just want the chance... to be better than my father. He was hardly ever affectionate, and a lot of the mistakes I made were in pursuit of his love and acceptance. I want a chance to prove that I can be a good man."
She looked at him. Really looked at him. Probably for the first time.
Then she sighed.
"Look, you're right about my reputation. I wasn't worried about me so much. But Malfoy, children are cruel. I would have thought you knew that. My reputation aside, when the child goes off to school, primary or Hogwarts, being my child isn't going to save it a lot of pain and teasing for being different. No matter who I have as an ally. And I know Harry will be supportive, eventually. Ron won't, but Harry will. He went through enough pain and humiliation as a child that he'd never inflict it on me or any child I had. And I hadn't thought much about finances, but my financial situation is fine. My parents were well-off enough that, in addition to what I make at the bank, I wouldn't have to worry about money."
Sara brought their food to the table, making Hermione pause.
She almost ran for the bathroom when she smelled the eggs and bacon on Malfoy's plate, but instead she swallowed hard and took a deep breath.
"Look," she said as Sara moved away. "There's no reason to make an impulsive decision. I'm only five and a half weeks along. I have six and a half weeks before ending the pregnancy becomes difficult. Why don't we take a month and get to know each other. See if we can spend time together without killing each other. If things are going relatively well, great. If we're at each other's throats, then... well... we'll deal with it then."
He tilted his head and stared at her for a moment. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and she seemed to be pointedly staring away from his plate. He hadn't even thought about the sight of food affecting her. He was very interested in her deal and nodded, "That sounds very fair. Should we start now or wait until after breakfast?"
"What? I'm sorry, I don't think I understand the question?" she asked, taking deep breaths through her mouth and picking up the glass of water Sara had brought her, holding its cool side to her cheek. "Wait for what, exactly?"
He looked at her, his expression one of concern. "Are you okay?"
"I will be. Please eat the eggs so I don't have to smell them," she said, turning away with a shudder.
He began to eat his food very quickly, not really tasting them as he feared she might vomit on the table. When he finished, he felt faintly sick from having eaten so fast. He watched as she began to pick at her food cautiously. "Is it just eggs that make you sick?"
"It's the smell of the cooked eggs. And I don't know. This was the first morning I felt sick. Why?"
He shook his head, "Just curious. You're the first pregnant woman I've ever been around."
She shrugged. "Brushing my teeth made me gag, too. Who knows what delights are in store for me. What did you mean by now or after breakfast?"
He nodded then gave a small smile, "I meant, should we start being civil to one another now, or wait until after breakfast? I'm sure you can think of some nasty things you want to say to me. I figured you could get that out of the way, and then we can start to be nice to one another after we eat."
For the first time, she gave him a genuine smile. "You know what, Malfoy, I really don't have anything nasty to say to you. Would you like me to make some stuff up? I'd make you the same offer, but I really have no desire to hear you call me names, so... if it's all the same to you...."
He nodded, "Then now it is." He tilted his head. "You said you work at the bank. What do you do there?"
"I'm a curse-breaker. Well, sort of. I work in the curse-breaker department, but I rarely do fieldwork. I mostly do research, designing new counter-curses, locator spells, that sort of thing. Although sometimes they find something small and valuable, but heavily cursed with something they don't recognize. Those they bring back to the bank and I work on in the lab."
He nodded. "Do you think they would put you somewhere else since you're pregnant. I doubt they would want to be liable should something happen to you while working on cursed objects, right? Or will they let you continue on as you are now?"
She sighed. "I don't know. I hadn't thought about it yet. I probably will still do all the research, but they'll have Bill do the actual casting. But I wouldn't worry about it. I never cast until I'm sure. I have a perfect record and intend to keep it that way. I'm pregnant, not an invalid."
He shook his head. "Never said you were. So, what did Potter and Weasley say?"
She sighed. "Harry didn't really say anything. He was too busy trying to keep Ron and me from killing each other. Ron assumed it was his, and that I had gotten pregnant deliberately to trap him. Because, according to Ron, no one else could ever put up with me or find me attractive. And obviously, I can't be happy without him in my life, and if not him, then some other wizard. After all, that's what every witch wants, right? A chance to be mindlessly and slavishly devoted to some arse who takes her for granted? And she should be so grateful for his less-than-adequate attentions that she looks the other way while he has some fun with someone else on the side, right? Idiot. I don't know why I put up with him for as long as I did. And how dare he imply that the only way someone would want me is if I trapped him."
She could feel her cheeks flushing the more she thought about Ron, as her anger at his cruelty the day before made her blood-pressure skyrocket.
"Ugh. Let's not talk about that prat, please?" she said quietly.
He nodded. "That works for me. Weasley is hardly my favorite person. You know, your friends will get over it eventually, and if they don't, then sod them. It's not their life or their decision." He shrugged, "Or, that's how I would feel if I still had friends."
She looked at him curiously. "Malfoy, I... you have friends... don't you?" she asked, confused. He'd been quite popular within his House at school. He was handsome and wealthy and well-connected and, now that he wasn't going out of his way to be horrid to her, he was quite personable.
He shook his head, "Afraid not. Apparently, after the night on the tower, people don't want anything to do with one of the people responsible for the death of Albus Dumbledore. Not to mention that both my mother and father were known Death Eaters. And my friends from school find that it's better if they pretend they don't know me for their own reputations. I can't really be mad about it, as I would probably do the same thing to one of them. To be quite honest, this is the first conversation I've had in a long time where the other person hasn't ended up being Obliviated."
She cocked her head to the side and considered him. She felt her heart going out to him, and she wasn't sure what to do about it.
Part of her wanted to forget their past completely and get to know this new Malfoy. But the part of her that remembered everything she'd seen and done to survive the war wouldn't quite let her. Still, if he were that lonely, she could see why he'd want the child, even if it came with her as its mother.
Always assuming he's telling me the truth, of course.
"Dra- Malfoy," she corrected herself, wondering why she'd started to call him Draco. He was Malfoy. He always had been Malfoy. "Malfoy, what... in an ideal world... what would you want from me in this?"
He furrowed his brow, "I don't think I understand the question."
"Assuming I was willing to go along with whatever you wanted in the situation we find ourselves in... what would you want? Do you only want to have split custody of the child? Or do you want, would you want, an actual family?"
He replied thoughtfully, "In an ideal world, I suppose the family. But at this point I'm willing to take what I can get."
"But I didn't ask what you were willing to take. I asked what you wanted." She looked down. "I'll be honest with you, Draco, one of the reasons I'm reluctant to have it is that I do want an actual family some day. And I know that if I have a child now... it will make it harder to do that. Maybe not in the Muggle world, but... I don't know that I really want to marry a Muggle. So... there you have it. That's a part of my consideration."
He sighed, "Well, I don't know. As I said, most people in the wizarding world want very little to do with me, which would make the chances of me ever actually having a family hard to do anyway. It's a bit early to be discussing this, isn't it?"
She shrugged. "Probably. I'm just being honest, though. If you want to get to know me, then you should know that about me. My sense of appropriate timing isn't always very good. Ron always said that's why I liked books. They didn't mind my overbearing personality."
He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well, what the hell does Weasley know anyway? He's lucky he can even find his nose on his face."
Hermione snorted into her milk at that. She wondered if she'd ever feel remorse for her current dislike of Ron, but thought she probably wouldn't. Which made her wonder what had happened to their friendship.
Oh, right. His inability to keep it in his pants, and instead feeling the need to subject other women to his inadequacy between the sheets.
"So, then, what do you enjoy doing? Any hobbies?"
He shrugged. "I still fly every now and then. I've been going to the cinema pretty regularly too."
Hermione nodded. "The cinema is always fun, although I still hate flying. I do it, but I hate it. Still, that doesn't seem like enough to keep you busy."
He sighed, "I don't really do much. I read, I go to bars, and that's it, really."
She grinned. "Reading. There's a novel idea. Read anything good lately?"
Ron never read. If Draco read, then the two of them had more in common than she and Ron ever had. Maybe even something to talk about.
"Well, I just finished the Chronicles of Narnia. I'd never heard of it until I was at a Muggle library and they were having this reading and it sounded interesting so I read the first book and liked it. I also read one on the history of the Tudor family." He drummed his fingers against the table. "Growing up with parents like mine, I was never really taught much about the history of England, only the history of our family and our world. So, it was really interesting to read about."
Hermione's grin turned into a broad smile. "I love the Chronicles of Narnia. I read it when I was seven, and I dreamed about finding the wardrobe and being transported to a world where magic was real." She sighed. "It's too bad I didn't learn the lesson in the book about magic, though. I can't help but think there were a lot of parallels between Narnia and what we find here...."
He nodded, "I found it rather ironic as well. Would you say Potter was more like the Pevensies or Aslan? Personally, I see Dumbledore as Aslan, but I could make the argument either way," he said with a bit of a smile.
"No, Harry's definitely Peter, and Ron is Edmund." She grinned. "The real question is, was I Susan or Lucy?"
He furrowed his brow, "You might be a combination of the two. Susan with all her book sense and knowledge but then Lucy with her amazement at the world around her."
She sighed. "I think I lost that sometime in about our fifth year. So, it sounds like Susan for me. Blowing the horn to summon aid in times of trouble, even though I'm perfectly capable of firing my arrows into the midst of battle."
He shook his head. "If you're doing it in terms of battle, I'd say you were more Peter than Susan. But when it comes to personality, you're Susan. You're loyal to those you love trying to find any other way beside fighting. You use your knowledge to help you in times of need. But think about it, when you first came into this world, you were Lucy. You had this wide-eyed innocence in the world around you. Yes, it's been tainted over time, but it's still there sometimes. Tell me that you don't still get excited when you learn a new spell or find a way to break a curse."
She looked at him a moment in silence. "I can't. It would be a lie." She leaned back in her chair. "Was that a lucky guess, Draco? Or do you know me better than I thought?"
He shrugged. "I don't know... Hermione," he said with a smile, "maybe a little of both."
Hermione looked down at the pile of crumbs that had been her muffin for a moment before looking back at him. "Is it too early for me to say that I'm having a surprisingly good time talking to you and I dearly hope you don't try to Obliviate this conversation from my memory?"
He smirked, "I promise I won't Obliviate you." Then, "Just out of curiosity, what did you think I was going to do to you that night? You jumped on the defensive incredibly fast."
"Kill me," she shrugged. "Thought that from the moment you Apparated us away."
He sighed, "I don't make it a habit to kill the women I shag. Obliviate? Yes. Kill? No." He raised an eyebrow, "I usually Obliviate, then use a contraceptive charm."
"Thus avoiding this or any other awkwardness. Makes sense, I suppose. Your reflexes were too slow, though. Although, if you thought I was a Muggle, you would have expected me to be too surprised to do anything about it. It's a good thing it was only an Obliviate. It surprised me enough that I didn't kill you. Between the war and being a curse-breaker, my reflexes are not slow and my wand was already in my hand," she said with a smile.
He sighed, "Well, it surprised the hell out of me when your black hair turned into those curls and instead of the black haired girl I'd just shagged it was a girl who hated me. I think the one question that's bothered me since this all happened would have to be, if you knew it was me, why did you sleep with me?"
Hermione looked at him and considered her answer. "Because it would make Ron furious."
He stared at her for a moment, then smiled, "Well, I certainly hope so."
She nodded. "I'd never planned to actually tell him, mind. But it was one of those things you do just to know you did it and then, if the moment ever really called for it, throw it in his face." She sighed. "Of course, I picked the wrong place to do that, apparently, sitting in the Leaky Cauldron, but..." she shrugged, "who knows, maybe some good will come of it."
He furrowed his brow, "Not that I'm not thrilled to be a way to piss off Weasley, but why would you want to piss him off?"
She leaned forward and put her elbow on the table, propping her chin on her hand.
"Well, we'd broken up the week before. Technically, it was a mutual break-up, since neither of us wanted to continue the relationship. But the catalyst was not mutual. I found out he'd been cheating on me. A lot. Ever since the war ended. A steady stream of witches throwing themselves at him. Merlin knows why. When I confronted him about it, he said I was frigid. When I informed him that I couldn't be frigid since I was quite capable of orgasming on my own and therefore it was his lack that was causing our problems in bed, he made some other comments about how I should be glad he was willing to put up with my personality and lack of skill, and that it was only out of his deep friendship for me that he'd stuck around as long as he had." She shrugged. "So... I suppose I used you. When you approached me in that club I decided that it was fate. Not only would I have a chance to see if it really was me, but that telling him I'd enjoyed shagging you would would hurt him more than any other wizard on the planet."
He couldn't keep the grin from his face, "Well, thank you. And just so you know, it's definitely not you."
She smiled and batted her lashes at him. "Thank you. If you ever run into him, it would mean a lot to me for you to tell him that," she said with a giggle.
He chuckled and nodded, "I'd be very happy to do just that." Then he said, "So, we enjoyed shagging one another. Interesting."
"You sound surprised. I thought that was obvious that night. As I recall, I even said something to that effect," she said with a grin.
"Well, you know the usual euphoria that comes with having good sex was quickly dashed, and truth be told, I was a bit distracted by the fact that you were... you."
"No, actually, I don't know." She shrugged. "Ron's the only other person I've ever shagged, so it was the first time I had ever had good sex. That's why I was so mad you wanted to Obliviate me," she concluded with a grin.
He shrugged. "You certainly seemed like you knew what you were doing and what you wanted, so how was I to know that you'd never had good sex?"
"For the record, I think it's appalling that you'd do that to someone, regardless of whether they'd had good sex or not. People's minds are what define them. Besides, why would you not want them to remember you fondly? Why not just give them a fake name? It's not like you live in the Muggle world."
She shrugged. "And seeming like I know something doesn't mean anything. I read. I watch movies. I have friends. And I guess I did know what I wanted. That doesn't mean I'd ever had it before."
"Yes, but Apparating in front of Muggles isn't good. So, by Obliviating them, it alleviates a lot of the problem. Also, I do live in the Muggle world."
He folded his arms over his chest, "Not to be lewd, but if you ever want to give it a go again, I'm more than game," he said with a slow smile.
She shook her head. "Don't you think it's a little early to be discussing this?" she asked with a grin, echoing his earlier comment.
He shook his head, "Not at all. We both enjoyed it, so it couldn't be a bad thing."
Hermione sighed. "Draco, it was one thing to have a one-off with you that night. But... now I'm pregnant. If I have this child, we'll be tied together for the rest of our lives. As parents, if nothing else. I don't want to make that any harder than it's already going to be. I don't think you've really thought all the way through how complicated it really is. But the fact is that, my attempt to get back at Ron aside, I don't take sex all that lightly. And I don't want to set myself up for more hurt than I'm already in for."
He shook his head. "Relax, okay? I was mostly joking. And I say mostly because as we've both acknowledged the sex was great, but I realize that there's a lot of ground we still have to cover, and you're right when you say it would only become more complicated."
She took a deep breath and nodded. "Actually, you didn't acknowledge the sex was great. Only that I wasn't frigid. But thank you, nonetheless. Are you finished here? I think I want some fresh air."
He nodded and reached into his pocket for the Muggle money he kept and tossed it on the table then stood, "Didn't we pass a park?"
She smiled and stood up. "We did. Would you like to walk with me for a bit? Continue getting to know each other?" She grinned at him. "Maybe find a swing set?"
"Find a what?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. He opened the door and allowed her to go out before him.
She giggled. "A swing set. You've never been on a swing? What a deprived childhood you must have had."
He rolled his eyes. "Deprived is one thing you couldn't call my childhood."
She looked at him a moment, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, before she smiled at him and looped an arm though his, placing her hand on his elbow. "Maybe not monetarily. But... spending an afternoon in the park, pushing your child on the swing doesn't cost anything but time and attention," she said quietly.
He sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. What exactly is a swing set?"
Hermione thought for a minute. "It is a seat with chains on either side of it, attached to a pole above. The swing hangs down. You sit on the seat and, um... swing. Back and forth. It's very soothing. When I was a child, my Mum and I would have contests to see who could swing higher," she smiled.
They walked through the fence that guarded the little play area. "I'd be happy to watch you."
"Watch me?" she asked. "Oh no, my dear. If you are going to potentially embark on fatherhood, you are going to join me on the swings. It's fun," she said, smiling.
He looked over at her, "You're getting a sick sort of enjoyment out of this, aren't you?"
She grinned up at him. "Yes, I think I am. And I feel no guilt over it at all. I spent half an hour throwing up this morning. The least you can do is swing with me."
He rolled his eyes. "Fine."
She took a seat on one of the swings and he sat on the one beside her and asked, "Okay, now what?"
She rolled her eyes back. "Watch."
She stood and pushed as far back as she could, then sat, letting the swing go forward, stretching her legs out in front of her. As it reached the top of the arch, she tucked her legs back and leaned forward, feeling the swing descend. After a few arches, she felt the swing moving at a decent pace, and looked over at Draco.
He gave it a try and after a few failed attempts, he was swinging beside her. He found that, as she said, it was fun. He dragged his feet along the ground to stop and looked at her. "What were your parents like?"
She dragged her own feet to stop and looked over at him as they sat side by side on the swings. "My parents? Um... goodness, that's a hard question to answer. They were good people. Very caring. I... I wasn't an easy child to raise. I mean, I was always different from their friends' children. Even before we knew I was a witch. But they were very supportive and encouraging. And then I got my Hogwarts letter, and they finally had an explanation for why I was so different. It was quite a shock to them, though."
She bit her lip. "The first time they were ever in the wizarding world was the summer before second year, when we were shopping in Diagon Alley for my school supplies. The year before I had been escorted by Professor McGonagall, along with several other Muggleborn students." She looked at him a moment. "I don't know if you remember that day. We ran into you and your father at Flourish and Blotts."
She sighed. "As the war heated up, we grew apart. I didn't want them to worry about me, so I stopped telling them things. And they were more and more involved in their practice as I got older. They were both dentists. Mum and Dad were older when they had me, they'd met in dental school. When Mum had me, she started working only two mornings a week while I was young and stayed home with me until I was old enough to start school. What did you want to know?"
He shrugged, "Did you get on well with them? I got on with my mother very well. I always felt like she gave me so much attention because I didn't really get enough from my father. We had our own little traditions and things." He sighed. "And I know I hurt her as I got older with the way I treated her. I was her only son and while I loved her, I really wanted attention from my father. I was just hoping you had a better relationship with your parents than I did."
She thought about it. "No, I don't think I did," she said softly. "I mean, as a child yes. But, the older I got, the more they didn't understand me or my life at all. They didn't understand the politics of the wizarding world, they didn't understand the role my friends and I were playing in it, and they had no concept for what was safe and what was a deadly danger. They loved me, and I loved them, but they didn't understand me. After a while of being told I should just quit and come home, I stopped trying. I think... talking to other people like me... I think a lot of Muggleborns go through that. The people who love them don't understand their lives, and the people who do understand them, don't want them in their world."
He frowned. "But you at least knew that they loved you. I know my mother loved me, but I have doubts about my father."
She looked at him a moment and then started swinging again.
"Yes. I have always known I was loved. My parents, my grandparents, my friends and their families. I've never doubted that."
He nodded. "I thought so," he said sadly. Thinking about his parents always made him sad. Missed chances and opportunities to tell his mother that he loved her. Always wanting to his father to see him as something more than an inconvenience. He leaned against the chain and sighed, "Let's talk about something else."
She thought for a moment. "All right. What were your favorite subjects in school?"
"Potions and Arithmancy. Yours?"
"Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. Transfiguration was close, though. That's why I went into curse-breaking. Well, that and I didn't want to work for the Ministry. The goblins are good to me. I don't think the Ministry would be."
"They probably wouldn't. After all, you were part of the trio that did away with the Dark Lord, a task they couldn't manage. So, you're right, they probably wouldn't be good to you."
She nodded. "On top of that, the Ministry is corrupt, racist, elitist and sexist. Whereas the goblins only care about bringing in the gold." She shrugged. "Were you and Snape close? Everyone said he and your father…. "
He nodded. "Yes. Did everything he could to help me that last year, and I just wouldn't let him.
She looked at him a long moment, contemplating. "Can we talk about what happened then? Or... are you not ready to? I just, well, I think I need to know your side of what happened. Not to judge you. You have to know that Harry, Ron, and I, not to mention the rest of the Order, did a lot of things that I'm not proud of. I'm not an innocent. But I'd like to hear from you what happened."
He shrugged, "We can talk about it. After my father was arrested, the Dark Lord sent for me. Told me he had a very important task he was trusting me to do and if I wanted my parents to live, I had better complete it by the end of the year. If I didn't, I'd have to watch as he tortured and killed my parents, then me. My mother was furious because instead of my being scared, I was anxious to do the job." He sighed, "So, she made an Unbreakable Vow with Snape to ensure that if I couldn't do the task, he would. I had tried all year to get the Death Eaters into the school. I knew that cabinet was the key from the year before, but it was just one failed attempt after another. Part of my task was to get them in, but the more important part was to kill Dumbledore. He knew there was no way for me to succeed. It was just a way for him to... he never thought I would pull it off. So, that night on the tower, I'm standing there, my wand on an obviously ill man, and I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill him, even though I had never liked him. His words had given me hope for the first time in over a year. I wanted to believe what he said, and when I lowered my wand... Snape came onto the tower and... he cast it."
He shook his head. "We left the school and went to my mother first, where she sent me to a relative in France to hide me. I was more than willing to go then as I thought she was going to be right behind me. But minutes passed... then an hour. When Snape found me, he told me that I had left Malfoy Manor at the right time as the Death Eaters stormed in only seconds later... and killed my mother. They left my father's lifeless body there as well." He shook his head.
"Severus was the only family I had until he died and the cousin that I had stayed with just recently passed as well."
She nodded. "That's more or less the story I heard from Harry," she said quietly. "Thank you for telling me. For what it's worth, I probably would have done the same thing in your shoes."
He shook his head. "If I had listened to Snape and trusted Dumbledore to protect us, who knows what would have happened."
"Draco, I loved Dumbledore, and I trusted him with my life. Many times, in fact. But that said, Dumbledore was a strategist. He saw us like pieces on the chessboard. And in chess, you have to make sacrifices. Sometimes you have to do things you don't really want to do. For all that I loved Dumbledore, I hated him too. He did things to people that were horrible. He didn't have a choice, he didn't want to do them, he was putting the good of the many over the good of the one... but... when you are best friends with that one... when you are that one, it's not as simple."
He nodded, "I just... I wanted to believe him." He furrowed his brow. "Do you know why Potter testified for me? I mean, he hated me, and when he showed up at that trial... I've just always wondered why."
She realized that was the biggest difference between her friends and Draco.
"Because it was the right thing to do. He'd seen it himself and no matter how he felt about you, he couldn't let you be imprisoned for something you didn't do."
He sighed, "Well, I owe him. I thought for sure I was going to be locked away in Azkaban for ever."
She grinned. "Good way to start repaying the favor, then, by knocking up his best friend."
He looked over at her, then shrugged, "Well, it's not like I set out to do it, you know. There was a bit of deceit on your part, wasn't there?"
Her grin grew wider. "Why, Malfoy, are you saying that, had you known it was me, you never would have approached me? Whyever not?"
He smirked, "Well, you had this strict policy of hating me. It would have had a bit part in it."
"But if it was only a bit part, why would it deter you?" She pumped the swing harder, her hair fanning out behind her. "But honestly, I don't know that I hated you. Hate's a very, very strong word. Disliked and distrusted, maybe. But hate?"
He shrugged, "I like my jacket and wouldn't want a drink thrown on it."
She smiled. "I'll keep that in mind the next time you piss me off. Go for the jacket. Got it."
He chuckled, "I'm sure you will." He looked over at her and asked, "Why did you use a glamour in the first place?"
"Because I can't go anywhere without being recognized by someone, but I wanted to be noticed. And let's face it, I'm not exactly God's gift to men. Ron was right about that, at least. It's not like I go out and get offers for an evening of fun when I look like myself," she said quietly.
He looked at her, then rolled his eyes. "Weasley is an idiot. I think... there's something very sexy about you."
"Riiiight. The ability to disembowel someone thirty-six different ways, and all but 4 of them wandless, combined with my bushy mass of hair is enough to drive men wild," she said, shaking her head.
"Yeah, all that and a great arse," he said with a smile. "And your hair's not really bushy, exactly. It's just... wild."
"You clearly have been alone too long, Malfoy. My hair defines bushiness. It was all I could do not to laugh in your face when you said that you thought women would be jealous of my hair that night. I just hope our child gets your hair."
He looked at her thoughtfully. "I think you might be the first woman I've ever met who thinks so little of her appearance." He shook his head. "Which is odd, really, considering you have natural beauty as opposed to what those other women have when they put all that stuff on their faces."
She shook her head. "Lots of women think little of their appearance. Most, even. I'd say you've just been entertaining yourself with a specific demographic group called young and attractive... or vain. Take your pick. But, for what it's worth, I'm glad you think I'm not some hideous monster."
He shook his head. "You changed your hair and eye color, but other than that, it was still you."
She smiled at that. "Well, it was a bit more than just hair and eye color, but I suppose you're essentially correct. So then, what does it say about you that of all the women in the bar that night, you sought me out?"
He smirked. "It says that you were the sexiest one I saw that night. I had been there for over an hour already. When I saw you, I had to have you."
She looked at him a moment and sighed. "Flattery is still not going to get you back in my knickers, you know." She shook her head.
"Did it ever occur to you that the child might not be yours? I mean, you took the word of Rita Skeeter at face value. That can be quite dangerous, you know."
He nodded, "That's very true. But I think your reaction this morning pretty much confirmed it." He stared at the ground, then back at her, "It is mine, right?"
"Yes," she said quietly. I'd broken up with Ron a week before we ran into each other, and there hasn't been anyone else since. Ron was too early in my cycle and I cast a charm. So, unless he's potent enough to overcome the charm and have his swimmers survive for a week when it's scientifically proven that sperm can only last three days in the female system... yes. It's yours."
She shook her head ruefully. "Ironic, isn't it. Ron and I supposedly had a relationship for four years. We've been best friends since we were eleven. And when he thought he'd gotten me pregnant, he said it was a scheme to trap him, and made me into this horrible monster out to get him. You and I have never spoken a civil word to each other. At least, not when you knew it was me. Yet you actually seemed... pleased about a baby."
He shrugged. "People change. But I think that's pretty obvious by now, isn't it?" He stood. "So, ready to head back?"
She nodded and jumped lightly down off the still-moving swing. "Come on, then."
He offered her his arm, "So, how do you think the rest of your friends will react? I just need to be prepared in case they might want to hex me."
She thought about that. "I don't think they'll want to hex you too badly, but you probably should keep close to your wand as much as possible. I didn't tell them... what happened that night. Only that we'd shagged. So... they don't have any real reason to hate you more than they already do... well, other than the fact that I'm now pregnant. But, I think they're more mad at me than you. But don't worry. I'll protect you from the big bad Gryffindors," she said with a smile. "After all, I have no desire to do this all on my own."
He smiled back. "Well, if I've learned anything from your temper, it's that I wouldn't want to stir it up."
She threw her head back and laughed. "I think I just caught you in a lie, Malfoy. After all, you've gone out of your way all our lives to rile my temper. Personally, I think you like it when I'm mad at you."
He shook his head, "Uh, no. The last time you were really mad at me, you slapped me. So, no, I don't want you mad at me."
She smiled. "Actually, the last time I was mad at you, I kicked you. Tell me, did I manage to hurt either wrist or wand?"
"Hell, I don't know. I was in shock, to tell you the truth. My wand is still intact and my wrist doesn't hurt."
She sighed. "I'm losing my touch then." She snickered. "Actually, I just wanted to disarm you before you killed me. Of course, after that, I'd say you would have been too distracted to actually kill me, so I was fairly safe."
He nodded, "That's very true." As they neared Hermione's flat, Draco noticed that there were two figures looming in front of her door. "Um, it looks like you have company."
***
Part 2 of Chapter 2