AN: thank you so much to ppl who kept on reviewing and encouraging me to continue this. to be honest i almost gave up on the story completely...but no more! i'm back on track now and i'm gonna continue with this story. for a while there i forgot how much i liked this one so no worries, i'm sticking to it lol. Read on! and hope u enjoy
Chapter 11
Hermione was sitting in the waiting room, her head bent over a magazine trying to read an article. But it proved to be rather difficult as the words would blur as she looked at it. She'd frown down at the page every now and then in attempts to clear her head but it was no use. All she could think about was Draco's early morning visit. Hermione grunted to herself and gave up, tossing the magazine onto the nearby table where other magazines resided on.
She had an 11 o'clock appointment with Dr. Stanley, her gynecologist, that morning. She'd gotten there a little early…nearly an hour early and she blamed Draco for this. Had he not woken her up maybe, just maybe, she could've squeezed a few more hours of peaceful slumber before returning back to her cruel unavoidable reality. Hermione glanced up at the clock. 10:30. She still had at least half an hour left to kill. She sighed and looked back at the stack of magazines once more. Her hands traced over the covers until she saw one which caught her eye.
"Home and Lifestyle", the title read. She picked it up reluctantly, looking over the table of contents. She would've put it down had she not read the title of one specific article which intrigued her curiosity. "Tips for New Mothers". She quickly flipped to that page and just stared at it.
'Are you nervous? Anxious? Having trouble sleeping? Being a mother for the
first time can put a lot of pressure on you. But don't sweat; in the following are
10 simple tips to make the transition a lot easier for yourself and your newborn.
Tip #1: Do not over-exert yourself. Exhaustion is quite common when having
a newborn around the household for the first several weeks. But exerting your-
self to stress can definitely affect the way you take care of your baby. Migraines
usually accompany stress and the baby will also sense this negligence, especially
while it is still in the womb. Tip #2-'
"Nice choice of reading material," a voice from behind her broke her concentration.
"Holy Jesus!" Hermione nearly jumped out of her chair, the magazine falling haphazardly on the floor by her feet. She glared menacingly at her intruder who stood just behind her right shoulder, smirking smugly. "What the hell are you doing here Malfoy?" she hissed.
He shrugged. "Well I knew you were coming here so I thought I'd join you." He bent down to pick up the fallen magazine.
She narrowed her eyes as he did so. "What do you do—steal my organizer?"
"Actually yes."
He stared at the article she was reading only a minute ago before one side of his mouth twitched up in triumphant victory. "Tips for new mothers eh?" he mocked, holding up the page for her to see. Hermione tried to snatch it from his grasp but quickly ducked it out of her reach. "Now why would you want to know about being a mother?"
She crossed her arms and scoffed.
"So I like to read…big deal" she sneered, rolling her eyes.
Draco just stared at her, a tireless look in his eyes almost as if saying "You're busted".
"Alright fine! You caught me. I'm carrying your baby. Is that what you want to hear?"
"Hell no."
Hermione flinched slightly. "Then what did you come here for!"
He shrugged again. "I wanted to hear you say I was right."
"Piss off." She turned her back on him, waiting for him to leave. But he just stood there, hands in his pockets waiting her out. Minutes passed. "Why are you still here?"
"So you're keeping it?" he answered her question with another one of his own.
She turned back around to glare with disbelief. "Of course I'm keeping it. How dare you even suggest I'd abort an innocent little baby!"
"Calm down Granger, I was just asking."
Silence again.
"So…" Draco was now uncomfortably looking around the white room. "Should I send you money…or something?" Hermione sent him a questioning gaze. "I mean, that's what fathers do right? Ones that don't live with the mother anyway…" He trailed off.
Hermione only snorted. "Don't worry ferret. I don't want anything from you, I don't need anything from you, nor am I expecting anything from you." Draco was frigid momentarily then relaxed, like he'd already expected her to say that. "And now that you know, I'd appreciate it if you keep that big egotistical mouth of yours closed. If you as much as breathe a word of this to anybody, you're dead."
"Ms. Granger," the receptionist called. "The doctor's ready to see you now."
Hermione stood up and smoothed the wrinkles from her skirt. "By the way Malfoy," she added as an afterthought. "Stay away from me."
o0O0o o0O0o o0O0o
"So what's up Ron?" Harry asked as he drummed his fingers on the metal stand, waiting for his ordered food to cook. Ron and Harry were hanging out earlier that day and were walking through the busy streets of Brent when Ron caught the smell of barbequing hotdogs on a grill around the corner. So naturally, both drooling by the intoxicating aroma and only then realizing they hadn't had lunch yet, they just had to buy one. Now as they stood by the hotdog stand while the vendor rolled the dogs on the grill using his tongs, Ron seemed to be staring past the grill and into another dimension; a strange look on his face of worry mixed with anguish which Harry found both disturbing and unnerving.
"Ron?"
"Uh, Harry, remember that day at the Burrow when I asked you to find out if anything was wrong with Hermione?" Ron inquired, averting his eyes to look in his friend's general direction.
"Yea, sure. What about it?" The vendor handed the hotdog bun containing the meat to Harry's outstretched hand while the other hand dropped several coins onto the side table.
"Well…what did you find out? I mean, did she tell you anything? Anything out of the ordinary?" He looked at his friend hopefully, also taking his food and paying the correct amount of change.
Harry tensed visibly, but of course Ron hadn't noticed it. Harry cleared his throat and fixed the glasses on his nose. "Well, um, why do you ask?"
The redhead gave him an off-look. "C'mon Harry. I'm not as stupid as everyone would like to believe. I know I'm not the only one who notices just how oddly she's been acting lately; you see it too. You know this morning I…" He glanced around him uncertainly before lowering his voice to a mere whisper. "I caught her crying after someone was banging on the door or something. And you know what she said? Said it was a salesperson. A salesperson, Harry! Does she really think I'm so undeniably gullible that I'd believe something as stupid as that? I love her, so much, but she's just been so distant nowadays it's like…" He frowned deeply, shaking his head. "She's lying to me and I don't even know why."
Ron lifted his gaze up once more to look at his friend in the face but Harry was carefully avoiding eye-contact. "Harry, if you know something I don't, tell me, please. I need to know." Harry wasn't looking at him directly but from his peripheral view, he can see the pain and helplessness in Ron's eyes. Damn stereoscopic vision! He was torn between keeping his promise to his best friend and doing good by helping his other best friend. Either way, he felt he was betraying the other.
"Ron…" he started unsurely. The vulnerable redhead stared at him with anticipation, and Harry could now feel the weight of his voice burying deep in his throat, the chorus of voices in his head singing 'traitor, traitor, traitor!' He gulped. "I- I don't want to intrude. I mean, this is none of my business after all. You should really talk to Hermione about it. I just…I don't want to get caught up in between, you know."
That was inexcusably lame yet it was the only thing he could think of saying without having to choose sides. This was probably the hardest part about being Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley's best friend: he was occasionally forced to play the middleman. It was nothing new; a constant occurrence actually, even before they started dating. He couldn't even as much as lean in one direction for fear of Hermione's tendency to getting violent when set off, or hurting Ron's feelings and sending him to a silent tantrum in which case he doesn't talk to either of them for days, sometimes even weeks.
Ron looked at him, in an almost displeasuring manner. "So you do know something."
'Uh oh,' Harry thought, cringing. 'Here it comes.' He regretfully watched the redhead's eyes turn from desperate, to a flashing annoyance and determination.
o0O0o o0O0o o0O0o
Draco sighed loudly as he just apparated into the foyer of his magnificent large manor, pulling his cloak off and sending it flying towards the hook hanger in the corner of the room whilst rubbing his eyes in discontent and heading for the liquor cabinet as if automatic. In fact, it was such a routine that he could probably find it without banging into anything even with blindfolds on. He set a glass down, pouring only a small amount of rum.
"Thirsty, darling?" a voice behind him said. It was an icy voice, one that made your bones tingle…but not in the good way. The way it does when a cold breeze hits your exposed skin so suddenly.
Draco slowly turned to look at the door, already knowing who that voice belonged to. "Pansy," he replied, mocking that tired smile she so fakingly displayed. "What brings you to my quarters? Didn't I tell you to stay the hell away from my study?" His words were harsh but ironically said it so sweetly.
Pansy's smile melted momentarily as if her makeup was dripping, but did her best to keep up a front. "Where were you this morning? I told you we had a guest coming over," she said most calmed and controlled.
He snorted. "Millicent fucking Bulstrode hardly counts as a guest, my dear," he said with a chuckle, downing his drink.
She wanted to snap, yet still she kept her cool. "Yes but she is my friend, sweetheart."
"Tiffany was my friend and you kicked her arse out on the porch the minute you met her."
"I saw her in bed with you!" she yelled in his face.
He shrugged nonchalantly. "So what? We were close friends."
"Where were you?" she asked again. He didn't answer and while pouring himself another drink, he didn't look like he was planning on answering. "You were with a girl weren't you?" Her eyes narrowed with growing anger. "You're a fucking pig you know that."
He drank and poured himself yet another glass of rum, this time filling it fully. "What do you want from me Pansy?" he asked finally, having had enough of this conversation. She didn't say anything, only carrying a disgusted and disgruntled expression like a bitter taste in her mouth.
"Do you have any idea what the other pureblooded families say about me? I'm a fucking disgrace thanks to you!"
Draco rolled his eyes. "Well maybe I wouldn't be sleeping around if I got better action from you, but I'll tell you what. If you're so bloody sick of me then go ahead, divorce my arse." He looked at her daringly, taking a sip of rum. She stared back unflinchingly but eventually turned away, biting her bottom lip.
"Don't think I'm stupid. I know about the prenuptial agreement you tricked me into signing."
"You know for someone not-so-stupid I would've assumed you knew what you were doing."
Pansy snatched the glass from his hands and whipped it at the wall, shattered pieces flying everywhere. For a fleeting moment they just stared at one another, challenging the other to make the first move; whether it be a move of attack or for retreat, just anything. Draco's mouth twitched into a smirk just as Pansy exhaled from her nostrils, like a bull waiting eagerly to be let out of its cage.
She turned away and stormed out, leaving the relatively laidback Draco unphased. He scoffed. "The bitch still doesn't know I know about her assassins. Hell, she doesn't even know about Granger yet. Fuck, I bloody well better keep it that way or I won't be the only target on her hit list," he said to himself, grabbing a different glass off the cabinet.
Next chapter: Ron finds out she's expecting...finally! lol