The next few months were filled with research, studying, and sex. Hermione and Draco never talked about their relationship to each other. It never intruded on their research of the Horcruxes, and it never came to light in front of their friends. Ginny had come to Hermione a week after their trip out of the school, grinning like a cat who'd gotten into the cream, and confessed that she and Blaise had had sex and were now dating. She assured Hermione that she wouldn't fall too hard for him, but Hermione suspected that it was too late for that - Ginny seemed to be genuinely smitten for the admittedly easy Slytherin.
Late at night, lying in either her or Draco's bed with Draco sleeping beside her, Hermione pondered her relationship with the blond Slytherin. The softly breathing boy next to her had a sensitive side to him that he never let anyone see - she'd only caught glimpses of it herself, enough to know that it was there and that she could definitely fall in love with it.
And that scared her. It scared her on a deep, primal level that terrified her in and of itself.
She had no idea how Draco felt. He didn't talk about his feelings and kept everything behind a mask. But the way he treated her, with more respect and gentleness, led her to hope that he might feel something similar.
"Uggh…" Hermione moaned, resting her head on the toilet rim. Her heaving stomach subsided with a grumble, and she hoped to god it wouldn't decide to declare another rebellion.
The door opened and closed, and gentle hands smoothed her hair away from her face. "You've been sick for a week. Don't you think you should go see Madame Pomfrey?"
Hermione turned her head and smiled weakly up at Draco. "Yeah, okay. I'll go after morning classes." She sighed. "I hate being sick."
Draco helped her up and flushed the toilet, then left her to brush her teeth and get ready for school. Hermione sighed and stared at herself in the mirror. Her eyes had bags under them, and she looked awful. She'd had the flu for a week now, with dizzy spells and vomiting and generally feeling shitty. She'd refused to go to Madame Pomfrey when Draco first suggested it, thinking her body could fight it off alone, but now she was ready to get some help.
She sighed, and slowly began getting ready for her day.
Three hours later she hurried towards the hospital wing, feeling sick - but she refused to throw up until she'd seen Madame Pomfrey and gotten something for her illness. Opening the doors, Hermione scanned the ward for the Mediwitch but couldn't see her, so she crossed to her office and knocked.
"Madame Pomfrey?" She stuck her head in the door.
"Yes, dear, how can I help you?" The old witch replied, looking up from paperwork.
"I've been ill for the past week. I've been vomiting and having dizzy spells, and generally feeling sick and tired."
"Well, let's see what we can do." Madame Pomfrey bustled out of her office and directed the Head Girl to sit on a bed, before running some scans. She blinked in astonishment.
"Well, dear, you're not sick in the conventional sense."
Hermione headed up to the Headmaster's office in a daze, clutching two pieces of paper. One gave her permission to be out of class, and the other explained the situation to the Headmaster. Her dazed state carried her all the way into Dumbledore's office and through the handing of the two papers to the old man. She only snapped out of it when he asked her if she was all right.
"Hmm?" She focused on him. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Madame Pomfrey gave me something for the morning sickness. And the baby won't be born until after I graduate, anyway."
"And what about the father?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled concernedly at her.
Hermione shrugged. "I'll tell him, but if he doesn't want to help then I'll just raise the baby on my own. I'm perfectly capable of doing it on my own."
"I'm sure you are." Dumbledore smiled at her. "I would also recommend telling Misters Potter and Weasley. No one said that simply because the father doesn't want to help, that means that no one else will."
Hermione nodded. "Thank you, Headmaster."
She avoided Draco successfully for three days, before he cornered her and whisked her off to his room to talk. She refused to tell him, and asked that he just make her forget for a little while.
He succeeded in that, and afterward they lay tangled together among the hot sheets and let their breath slow down.
"So when are you going to tell me?" He murmured, absently drawing circles on her back.
Hermione was silent for a time, and then propped herself up on her elbows, looking him in the eyes. "Draco, will you marry me?"
"What?!" He sat up too, shock on his face. "Why?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Because I think the kid would like it better if his father was around while he was growing up."
Draco froze, eyes wide. Hermione looked down at the bedsheets, her hands fidgeting nervously. Now that she had told him it was all up in the air. It all depended on what he would say next.
"You're pregnant?" He whispered. Hermione nodded.
"About a month along."
Silence again. Finally a pale hand rose and rested on her flat stomach gently. Hermione looked up at his face and saw awe expressed in his look. "Wow," he breathed. He removed his hand and ran it through his hair. "I…I don't know what to say. Can I think about it?"
Hermione nodded and began to stand up. A hand snaked around her waist. "Where are you going?" Draco asked, confused.
Hermione turned. "Back to my own bed."
He tugged, and she fell back into him. "Honey, you're carrying my child. You're gonna have to get used to having me around, because I'm not going anywhere. Just…just don't expect me to proclaim my undying love just yet, okay?" His silver eyes begged her to understand.
Hermione smiled and kissed him. "That's fine with me, because you can't expect me to proclaim that either."
Two weeks later, when Draco saw Hermione getting off the train from Christmas break, he handed her a sapphire ring.
Epilogue
"Ophi, hold still!" Hermione said, trying to pull a sweater over the wriggling four-year-old's head. "We're not leaving until you have a sweater on, so you might as well help the process out a little bit!"
Giggles alerted her to the approach of her other offspring, along with her husband. A second later Draco entered the room carrying the mirror image of the squirming child in Hermione's lap.
"C'mon, Ophi, help mama!" Shouted Adara, bouncing in Draco's arms. "I'm all ready to go, an' the sooner you get dressed, the sooner we can see Uncle Blaise an' Aunt Ginny an' the new baby!"
Ophiuchus, the sweater finally on, glared at his twin sister. "Don' care about no dumb baby," he mumbled. "I jus' wanna see Uncle Fred an' Uncle George."
Draco and Hermione exchanged looks. "I suppose it's time for the annual talk with Fred and George, then, isn't it?" Hermione sighed. "All right, Ophi, go get your shoes on and then we can go."
Five minutes later the small family exited the house and apparated away.
Wow... I can't believe it's over. Well, I'm not completely happy with this chapter, but I decided to post it anyway because I promised a chapter last week and I didn't get it up. So there you go! The last enstallment in New Looks, New Attitudes! Thank you all of my wonderful readers, and I hope you read my other stories as well!
Ja ne!
Lara