Unforgettable Season- Chapter Nine

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, as they are all the property of J.K. Rowling!

***

Hermione felt the warmth of the early winter sun on her face as she woke, and she smiled as she burrowed closer to Draco’s body, burying her face in his chest. Still half-asleep, Draco tightened his hold around her body and she inhaled deeply, breathing in his scent. She could smell the soap clinging to him from last night’s shower, and coffee. She could never explain it, but Draco always smelt like coffee to her, warm and inviting.

“’Morning, gorgeous,” he mumbled after a few more silent minutes.

“Merry Christmas, baby,” she murmured, pulling out of his embrace slightly to press her lips against his, and he eagerly returned the kiss. “Let’s go open our presents.”

Smiling as Hermione rolled out of bed and hurried towards the living room, Draco followed, pulling on some pants as he went and grabbing his wand. He found Hermione kneeling on the ground in front of a pile of presents beneath the tree which had appeared overnight from various friends and relatives. Picking up the first gift, Hermione began to unwrap a large parcel from Molly and Arthur, grinning when a bulky jumper fell out as well as some homemade mince pies. Draco found the same in his parcel from the Weasley parents, and they both pulled the jumpers on, Draco’s adorned with a large ‘D’ and in an emerald green colour, and Hermione’s red with a large ‘H’ on the front.

As the continued to open the presents, Hermione got, as usual but still much to her elation, a series of new books from Harry, Ginny and Ron. George and Angelina had given her a framed photograph of Draco and Hermione getting married which George had managed to sneak in. Bill and Fleur had sent some things for the baby, and her parents had given her a very pretty journal.

Draco opened a new jacket from Harry and Ginny (Ron had conveniently forgotten to get Draco a present despite Draco’s gift of a bottle of firewhisky), and George and Angelina had sent a bottle of the same firewhisky Draco had given Ron.

“You forgot my present,” Hermione scolded, handing Draco an envelope. He raised a brow but she just smiled secretively, and he ripped it open to reveal two plane tickets to Paris. “You told me that when you were little your mother used to take you to France and how much you loved it, so I thought that after the baby was born we could go on a family holiday.”

“Thank you, love, it’s wonderful,” Draco murmured, pulling Hermione to him and kissing her cheek softly.

“Where’s my present?” she pouted playfully, and Draco chuckled.

“Yours is a little bit too big to wrap, and I don’t have it here, but we have to go to it rather than bring it to us,” Draco explained and Hermione frowned. “Why don’t we have some breakfast and then we’ll go.”

“What is it?” Hermione asked, her brow furrowed with confusion.

“You’ll find out soon enough. Now how about we just have a quick breakfast so we can get to the exciting stuff,” Draco urged, and Hermione shot him a resigned look before standing and waving her wand quickly, causing two bowls to fly out of the cupboard along with some muesli and milk.

“Is it a pet?” Hermione queried after eating in silence for a little bit.

“My lips are sealed. I never knew you were so impatient,” Draco smirked.

“Well, if it isn’t an animal, then why can’t you show it to me now?”

“I like the suspense,” he laughed, and that was all he would say on the subject.

Snow was settling outside as the couple emerged from their apartment and walked to an apparition safe-zone nearby.

“We have to apparate there, I take it?” she asked, and he nodded.

“Hold onto my arm. I’m not telling you where we’re going, so you’ll have to do side-along apparition,” Draco said, smiling as Hermione scowled but grasped his hand tightly anyway. With that the two were sucked into darkness with a pop, appearing instead on the outskirts of a picturesque little village, with the top of the little houses all covered in a fine dusting of snow.

“What are we doing here?” Hermione asked, shivering and causing Draco to wrap his arm around her waist more securely to try and keep the cold out.

“I’m taking you to your present,” he smiled, and she bit her lip in confusion.

They walked for a short way, turning down a little road and carrying along until they came to a tiny cottage which seemed to have come straight out of a fairytale.

“Merry Christmas, Hermione,” Draco murmured, putting a hand in his pocket and pulling out a key. Hermione’s eyes widened considerably and she turned, absolutely speechless, between Draco and the house.

“A…house? You bought us a house?” she gasped.

“I prefer to think of it as a modest little abode, and I bought it for you and our baby. Shall we?” he asked, indicating the little haphazard path which led to a wooden front door. She nodded and followed him along the path and through the front door which had opened with the little key.

As soon as she stepped over the threshold, all possible words escaped her. In the corner of the room, a fire was roaring in the grate of an old fireplace, throwing the room into a soft orange glow and spreading warmth through her body. It was the main room of the house, obviously, with the dining table, kitchen and sitting areas all in the one large room. The room’s furnishings were dark yet cozy, and she could already imagine herself curled up on one of the armchairs in the corner with her battered copy of Hogwarts: A History and a lovely cup of tea. The walls were lined with books, and her eyes widened at the sheer number of volumes within the room, at the same time excitement creeping through her body.

“The master bedroom is just through here, and what will become the baby’s room next to it,” Draco smiled, pleased with Hermione’s enthusiastic reaction to the little house. “I talked to some people at the Ministry and cast an undetectable extension charm on the place so we have more room than appears. I figured that you’d have too many books for the original size to hold, so I pulled some strings and we can expand if we need to.”

“This is unbelievable. And it’s just so perfect,” Hermione murmured, utterly awestruck as she followed Draco into the master bedroom, where the dark tones continued. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the large king-sized bed and she grinned. “Show me our baby’s room.”

Draco nodded and obliged, taking her hand and leading her to the room next door where her breath was immediately taken away once more. It was in here that the true magic of the house was. The floor was a light wood, differing dramatically from the dark hardwood floors in the rest of the house, and the walls were a very soft yellow. There was an old rocking chair in the corner next to the baby’s crib, and all through the room there were signs of its heritage, both the muggle and wizarding sides.

“What do you think?” Draco asked as Hermione looked around the room.

“I think that we’re going to be moving in straight away,” she smiled triumphantly, and Draco’s face mirrored her own as she kissed his lips. “I also think that we should go and test out that fantastic looking king-sized bed,” she added cheekily, and Draco smirked.

“Oh really? I think that might be an excellent idea,” he murmured, picking her up and carrying her to the bedroom.

***

Life carried on as normal.

Hermione and Draco moved into the little house and fell into a regular routine once again. The days slipped into weeks, and the weeks slipped into months. The seasons changed and soon, five months had gone by and spring was upon them once more. Hermione seemed to be growing larger by the day, her pregnancy running smoothly with no complications to speak of.

She would still go to work, but found that her workload had been reduced because of her current ‘state’, and she could often be heard complaining to Ginny or Draco about it. Draco had been working even longer hours, and the stress was beginning to get to him.

“Our plans for a takeover are coming along quite nicely,” Nott said with a smug smile as Draco tried not to fidget uncomfortably in his seat at another meeting with The Revival. “The first part of our plan should be put into motion in the next few days, thanks to our good friend Goyle. And let us not forget the generous donation by Draco here which has helped fund our cause.” The crowd muttered words of approval before Nott silenced them with a raised hand. “Whilst we are on the subject of our dear friend, Draco, I must ask, how is the mudblood’s pregnancy going?” Nott asked with a sneer, and the other members jeered.

Draco hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to answer. “Flawlessly,” he finally decided on, not saying any more.

“Oh? Well indeed that is good news for us all to hear,” Nott continued, his tone dripping with sarcasm, and the group laughed loudly. Draco forced his lips to turn upwards slightly. “Give her my best, won’t you? If you’re lucky, I may just send a little present to her for the baby.” The crowd cheered at this as Nott’s tone turned ominous. Revulsion and worry clawed at Draco’s insides, and he could feel the bile burning at the back of his throat at the thoughts of what Nott would send Hermione flashed through his mind, each one worse than the last. “That is all for tonight. Keep your eyes on The Daily Prophet for news of our first act,” Nott said dismissively, and Draco all but ran from the room before apparating to the Ministry. It was late, but he knew Harry would be waiting for Draco’s updates on the meeting.

Impatience flooded through Draco’s body as he fought his way through the crowd of Ministry workers who were leaving for the night after a long day. He finally emerged from the crowd and hurried to the elevators, tapping his foot and wringing his hands impatiently as he waited for it to reach its destination and for the cool voice to announce that he had reached the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and when the chime sounded and the voice spoke, it took all of Draco’s willpower not to sprint towards Harry’s office. Instead he walked at a brisk pace, sidestepping other employees who were trailing from the building slowly with no real hurry to be anywhere.

“Harryhe’sgoingtotryandhurther!” Draco blurted out, his words running together as he barged through the door to Harry’s office without bothering to knock.

Harry looked up at the intrusion. “Draco? What’s wrong?” he demanded, standing up and pulling his wand out instinctively as he saw the worry and fear on Draco’s features.

“Nott…he’s going to hurt Hermione and the baby,” Draco said after a deep breath, and he saw anger and fear flicker over Harry’s features.

“Sit down and I’ll get you something to drink,” Harry ordered, and the blonde man followed his orders, sitting down across from Harry who had summoned some firewhisky and shot glasses over to them, pouring the amber liquid out. Draco downed the shot and ran his hand through his hair, wincing as the liquid burnt the back of his throat. “What happened?” Harry asked, and Draco looked up at him with a pained expression. “Start from the beginning,” he added.

“They’re planning a takeover of sorts, but they’re starting small. Nott said that the first part of the plan will begin very soon, and Goyle will have caused it. I think it will be a murder or something similar. They want to get their message across,” Draco scowled, and Harry nodded.

“Then what did he say about Hermione?”

“He…he asked how her pregnancy was going, and then said that he might send her a present for the baby. He’s going to send her something to try and hurt her and the baby. I can’t lose them, Harry,” he finished, his voice quiet, aggrieved.

“I know, and I promise you won’t lose them. We’ll get some Aurors searching through any suspicious packages that are sent to either of you, and there will always be one in Hermione’s area, don’t worry,” Harry said reassuringly, but Draco couldn’t help but feel that she would still be in danger somehow. “Go home, Draco.”

Draco nodded once, jaw clenched. He feared that if he opened his mouth to speak that all his fears would come pouring out, and he couldn’t burden Harry more than he already had. Draco stepped into the fireplace, disappearing in a roar of green flames and appearing in the grate of the fireplace at the small house in the countryside.

“You’re late,” Hermione greeted him with, but she smiled serenely at him from her position on the sofa, book in hand, her face soft and eyes welcoming.

“I know, love, I’m sorry,” he said quietly, and Hermione’s smile turned into a frown.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, standing up from the couch slowly with one hand on her back, the other on the couch for support and walking over to face him.

“Nothing, I’m just tired,” he lied, melting in the warmth of her chocolate eyes.

“You of all people should know that I’m no fool, Draco Malfoy, so don’t you dare try and lie to me. I can read you like a book, and something is clearly wrong,” Hermione said sternly, one hand on her hip and the other on her enlarged stomach.

“I can’t tell you,” he muttered after a few moments of silence, and Hermione scowled.

“Stupid Unspeakables. You are my husband, and when something is troubling you I should damn well be able to know what’s wrong with you, screw the secrecy!” Hermione snapped.

“I don’t want to face a life in Azkaban because I told you one little thing that’s troubling me. It isn’t even a big deal, okay? Can we drop it?” Draco asked, growing weary of trying to hide what was on his mind.

“I don’t really think that it is a good idea for us to drop it, but fine. We’ll talk about something else,” sighed Hermione, resuming her seat carefully with some help from Draco.

“Thank you. How was your day, love?”

***

Hermione Malfoy was hurrying through the crowd on a busy London street, eager to get to her destination on time so as to not make the person she was meeting leave without seeing her. She had decided on meeting them at a muggle restaurant for fear of being overheard by members of the wizarding public, and she really didn’t want anyone seeing them.

Hermione rounded the corner and quickened her pace, finally reaching the small restaurant where her guest, Harry, was waiting patiently for her arrival.

“Hermione, you’re looking wonderful,” he greeted her with a smile and a kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks, Harry. How have you been?” she asked out of sheer politeness, and she listened, nodding and commenting briefly as he talked about family life with Ginny and James.

“Now, I take it this isn’t a social visit?” he said after a few minutes of talking.

“What gave you that idea?” Hermione questioned, feigning innocence.

“If it was, you would have insisted that Ginny was here with James so you two could share baby talk, or something like that. Why did you want to meet me for lunch in a muggle restaurant?”

“I need to talk to you about Draco,” she said firmly, watching as Harry’s mouth fell and formed a perfect O-shape.

“What about him?”

“He’s scared and worried, Harry, and I know that you know why. I need you to tell me,” Hermione said, leaving no room for discussion from the Boy Who Lived.

“I can’t tell you anything, Hermione, and you know that. This is about his work, and although I do know what it is about, the matter is so serious that I can’t talk about it to anyone outside of those directly involved,” Harry said, choosing his words with caution and rolling around each word before deciding it was the correct one for the situation.

“Look, I know that I am one of the strongest abiders of the rules, but honestly, at the moment, I don’t give a fuck about rules. I need to know what’s wrong, and if what he’s working on is dangerous,” Hermione demanded.

“Hermione, I- ” Harry started, but Hermione cut him off.

“Don’t give me any of that bullshit about not being able to say anything, Harry!” Hermione said impatiently. “I am pregnant with Draco’s child, and I don’t know if I could stand anything happening to him, okay? I can’t lose him, so could you at least cut me a break and tell me if I need to look out for him? I…I need him.”

Harry watched her fiddle with her food which had been delivered, fighting an internal debate with himself. He knew that Hermione should be able to know what Draco was doing and where he was going, but he also knew that it could compromise the entire investigation, and he couldn’t have that. He needed a happy medium, but he had no idea where that was.

“Hermione,” he began, “just hear me out,” he added as Hermione opened her mouth to interrupt once more. “Yes, Draco is working on something at the moment, and it could potentially get dangerous, but there is no chance that he will get injured or hurt in any way. I can’t tell you any more than that, because this is a huge operation, and if anything is leaked it could end in disaster.”

Hermione felt both fear and relief descend on her. Fear because, despite Harry’s reassurances, she was worried about Draco’s safety, but relief because she knew at least the tiniest detail about Draco’s work life, something she had never been informed about in the past. “Thank you,” she murmured finally. “I should go.”

With a brief wave and a peck on the cheek, Hermione departed, her mind whirling between thoughts of Draco, his work, and their baby.

***