Orion

Everything around Hermione was happening in slow motion. As realization crept in Lucius Malfoy’s eyes, he assumed a heavy steel and stern expression. His eyes were glowing with the green shining miniature in front of him. 

His wife, however, was not so collected. She had abandoned her son’s bed and was screaming things Hermione couldn’t really understand. She pointed her finger at Hermione and would’ve probably jumped at her neck if it wasn’t for Madam Pomfrey’s firm grip. 

“Now, Mrs Malfoy, please! I must ask you to leave… I can’t have someone threatening a Hogwarts student—“

Threatening? Hermione sharpened her hearing to recognize Narcissa’s words. 

“Now you care about security? Where were you when this- this- viper raped my son?!”

This got the three Slytherin players chuckling, which made Thalia Flint snap out of her admiring gaze on the little Malfoy over Hermione’s belly. 

“Marcus! Lucian! Adrien! You three leave right now!” She commanded. 

“And not a word about this” Lord Malfoy commanded. 

The trio nodded and went quickly on their way, leaving what was left of Draco’s Nimbus 2001 behind. 

“Mr Malfoy! If your wife doesn’t comply, I’ll have to stun her” Madam Pomfrey warned, still struggling against a raging blonde witch. 

“Cissa” Lucius drawled “My dear wife, I need you to get Severus here. I’m sure he’ll help us understand this situation better—“

“I am not leaving my son—“

“Then please, behave as the lady you are” Lucius smirked. He got his wand from his cane and casted two patronus “Tell Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall to meet us here”

The two pompous silver peacocks went flying towards their destination. Narcissa stopped wrestling and came slowly to stand in Lucius’ side. 

Hermione was frozen. She couldn’t move or say anything. She didn’t understand what was happening around her. Nothing made sense. 

“We shall wait for both heads of houses to arrive so they can act as representatives of the school and of Miss… Granger”

Hermione’s head turned to face the blond wizard like a whip at the mention of her name. 

“Madam Pomfrey, could you be so kind to wake my son up?” Lucius drawled with a snake smile. 

“Mr Malfoy, he needs his rest, he’s just fallen—“

“Whatever happened on the child’s play they had outside will be easy compared to the situation we have in our hands” Lucius answered curtly. “Wake him. He’s no longer a boy”

“Lucius!” Narcissa hissed, tears threatening to burst. “Our son—“

“He needs his chance of facing this matter awake and able to defend or explain himself.”

Narcissa nodded. Pomfrey went to try and wake Malfoy with renerving potions. 

“Now, Thalia, please tell me all there is to know about this… baby” Lucius requested with refined manners. 

“Oh- of course, Lucius” Hermione felt sick in seeing how her uptight and proud attitude turned into kind and helpful with a different audience. “Well, the baby is 16 weeks far, which dates the conception between Christmas and New Year’s Eve”

“That’s perfect!” Narcissa smiled clapping her hands “Draco was at the manor, he couldn’t—“

Lucius raised his hand, not aggressive, but pleading. Then Healer Flint continued. 

“His vitals are perfects, he’s developing in perfect pace to the guidelines, his strong and very big for the age…” She went on, but Hermione was caught by one detail.

“D-did you say ‘he’?” She stuttered. “Is my baby a boy?”

She felt a tear coming from her cheek and placed her hand over her belly. The runes burned her hand. 

“Ouch”

“Oh, Miss Granger” Flint admonished “Please don’t touch them, they’re very rich in your child’s blood magic. Yes, you’re having a son”

“A boy” Lucius smirked, still gazing at the runes. 

“Father? Is that you?” Draco’s low growl came from behind the Malfoy couple. 

Narcissa rushed to tend to her son, but Lucius’ answer was cold as ice. 

“Son. Come here” 

“Lucius, he’s inju-“

“Mr Malfoy!”

Both Pomfrey and Narcissa argued, but Draco forced himself up as soon as his father ordered. He did his best to hide the pain, biting his tongue to keep from whining as his recently mended bones were pressured. His walk until Hermione’s bed was slow. 

She did her best to face the ceiling. What shite show was she in. Godric.

“Yes, father?” She heard his voice closer and allowed herself a quick glance. 

He looked disgusted. But it could be the pain.  

“Look at this magical reading of Miss Granger’s unborn child. Interesting, huh?” Lucius gestured to the runes. 

“I — guess…?” Draco seemed definitely disgusted now. And maybe bored too. 

Hermione felt something odd inside her as she watched his bruised and scratched face. Something inside her wanted to kiss it better. She shook her head. Stupid pregnancy hormones. 

“Thalia, please move to the boy’s magic levels, it’s signature and his blood magic profile, please.” Lucius smiled.

Narcissa gripped Draco’s arm tightly. Her lips pressed in a thin line. 

“Right, so Miss Granger claims the father is a muggle but that is definitely not possible because the baby’s blood levels are too high. I’d might add they’re impressively high. The highest I’ve ever seen—“

“Really?” Lucius was still smiling but his eyes narrowed. “That’s interesting.”

“Why should we trust her?” Narcissa snapped “she said the same thing on our appointment for Draco two decades ago, she probably always says tha—“

“That’s precisely what got me wondering” Thalia grinned with excitement “I have never seen such high levels before! And it immediately reminded me of Draco’s readings.  As his too were exceptionally high” 

Hermione looked at Draco, certain that he’d be puffing his chest out in pride, but he only gulped, staring at the miniature of himself. 

“And the signature, look—“ she conjured the same glowing green orb with thousand of tiny runic lines all over them. “It’s almost identical to Draco’s. I know because I had my thesis made on his runic engraving and practically decorated them two decades ago”

She went on translating different runes. Cunning. Purity. Strong. Protection. Tradition. Leadership. Confidence. Creativity. Duty. Respect. Nobility. Intelligence. Loyalty. 

“Centuries of powerful pureblood magic concentrated in one being. The heir to the Malfoy and Black Houses…” Flint’s eyes were shining with respect and excitement. 

Hermione found her tongue again. 

“But Sirius Black is the he—“

“My cousin had no child. Draco is the only black in his generation” Narcissa cut her off. 

“Yes, and of course, there are new runes. Probably from the mother’s side. Courage. Logic. Sacrifice—“

“Gryffindor” Hermione heard Malfoy scoff rolling his eyes. 

“Excuse me? Are you mad? Don’t you see what this crazy healer is saying? She thinks you’re the father, moron” Hermione snapped at him. 

Malfoy’s face went dangerously close to green as his eyes shot to meet his expressionless father. 

“I am not crazy, Miss Granger” Flint spat. “The runes don’t lie. Now, I was intrigued but the blood magic profile proved me just right.”

She waved her hand and the green runes came back to Hermione’s belly as did the miniature Malfoy.

“Oh no, what is this?” Hermione gasped. 

“Miss Granger, let me try a different terminology” Flint pinched the bridge of her nose “do you know what DNA is?”

“Yes” Hermione snorted. 

“Very well, the runic engraving on a wizard’s blood magic profile works similarly to the DNA. Of course that I’ve told you that your portion of the magical signature is currently repressed, so this analysis only covers half of the child’s final blood magic profile. But it is the father’s half. And when we cast a simple charm to make the signature take a more - illustrated - form, we have a clear prediction of the child’s appearance as well” she pointed to the mini malfoy staring at them with a bored expression, his nose as pointy as Draco’s was. “So it is my professional report that Draco Malfoy is the father of the child growing inside you, Miss Granger”

Hermione had no time to notice or register the reactions of Madam Pomfrey or the Malfoys to what Healer Flint had just stated. Her own mind was reeling. 

“No” she mumbled weakly, cutting everyone else in the room. “It is not possible, it was a muggle… the reading is wrong” 

She didn’t know what else to say. 

There was no chance. 

She would never. 

He would never. 

They would never. 

Then the room erupted again. Madam Pomfrey tried to pacify a shrinking Narcissa Malfoy, who accused Hermione of bewitching her poor boy into a pregnancy. Lucius kept admonishing his son. Healer Flint seemed personally insulted at Hermione’s accusation about her work and proceeded to explain time and time again how she knew better than Hermione. 

It didn’t stop until Snape and McGonagall’s arrival. 

“Everyone OUT, now. This distress will hurt the baby” the gryffindor’s head had her wand raised. 

Snape, always the opposite force, seemed calm and nearly bored. 

“Mr and Mrs Malfoy, why don’t you two accompany me to my office? We could have some tea and discuss the situation”

“Come, Draco” Narcissa sniffed, pulling his arm. 

“No” Draco’s answer was clear and strong. But he didn’t meet his mother’s eyes. He kept scowling at the little boy in front of him. The little him. 

“What?” Hermione’s voice was one in the middle of several others saying the same words. 

“I said no” he hissed “I want to talk to Granger alone, now”

“Draco” His father warned, staring deeply at him. 

“Father” was Draco’s answer as he gave his father an equally strong stare. 

The older Malfoy seemed to be convinced and whispered something in his wife’s ears. 

“Mr Malfoy I don’t think it is wis—“

“If that is my child” Draco sneered at Prof McGonagall “then you don’t have any say or thought on the matter”

“Miss Granger?” Prof McGonagall asked, clearly showing her that she wouldn’t leave if Hermione was afraid or uncomfortable. 

“It’s not his, professor” Hermione gave her a weak reassuring smile, but no one in the room seemed to believe her words. “I’d just like the Healer Flint to remove the runes and the… er, mini Malfoy from over me”

“Now” Draco encouraged Flint to move quicker. She did. Then he looked around “Leave. I’ll patrono you all when we finish”

Everyone left but Pomfrey. 

“I’ll be in my office” she warned the two of them. 

Hermione looked up to meet Draco’s face and found a never before seen expression in his steel eyes. He was looking at the little bump in her belly with something between awe and resignation. No, not resignation. It was fortitude, determination and a stoic resolve. 

His sight traced a pattern coming up from her belly all the way through her breasts and a little chuckle escaped his lips before he met her face. 

“What?” Hermione dared him, suddenly too aware of her changing body. She sat up and crossed her arms. “What is it, Malfoy?”

“I shouldn’t say it just now” He said but the ghost of laughter was still around his mouth, making it curve in a smirk. 

She glared at him.

“Say it. Now.” She ordered. 

He hummed, taking a step to the chair at her side and sitting. Hermione noticed the strength he was pulling not to show any signs of pain. 

“You know, I had noticed your breasts were getting enormous weeks before the story of your pregnancy came out” he said, one hand fidgeting with the pillow on her bed, a smirk playing on his lips. 

She gasped and when she looked down to scowl at him, he met her stare with intense silver pool eyes. She gasped again. 

“You’re disgusting, you know that?” She said with all the indignation she could muster, but damn those pregnancy hormones because his dirty words found their target right between her thighs. 

“Yeah… I’m pretty sure I’d look better with black hair, brown eyes and olive skin…” He grumbled, his jaw clenching. 

Hermione let out a small squeak, taking both hands to cover her mouth. Draco took his wand from his pocket and waved in front of him in a -very impressive by the way- wordless spell. However, even before his features changed, the veil had been removed. 

How could she have been so stupid? 

Hermione sat at a high bench in a bar. Her parents went to a family gathering for the New Year’s Eve and she just didn’t want to see all her cousins and aunts bragging about how interesting their lives were when she couldn’t do the same. 

A large hand with long fingers placed itself in front of her on the bar counter. 

“Two whiskeys, please.” His voice came from above. His tall figure towering over her. 

Hermione looked down at Draco’s hands he held on his lap. They were the same olive tone now, but how could she not see before that every single vein and tendon was the same?

They had been drinking for almost an hour now, entranced in deep conversation about literature, relationships and religion. Hermione was getting dizzy and she couldn’t tell if it was for the several drinks he had bought her or if it was for the way he kept devouring her with his opal eyes. 

Hermione looked up to meet Draco’s silver eyes. But she found the opal ones, instead. The same shape, the same eyelashes, the same tiny arteries around the iris. The same intensity in the stare. She blushed. 

He kissed her when the fireworks started at midnight and she didn’t know who exactly pulled or pushed who, but soon they were ushering inside a dirty bathroom. The walls were covered in band sticks, dirty words and drawings made with permanent pens and all sort of graffitis. She wouldn’t be able to recall any of those, despite the fact that she had her palms pressed against the wall as he roughly yanked her skirt up, pulled her panties to the side and tested her arousal with his long finger.

“Fuck, you’re soaking” he had whispered against her ears, pulling her straight blond hair back to expose her neck so he could bite it. 

“No need for condoms, I’m on the pill” She panted in a high pitched moan. 

Without hesitation or warning, he impaled her and it was fucking intense. He was hard, deep, feral and mind altering. Soon she was feeling herself free falling and flying at the same time. The elastic band around her lower abdomen ready to snap at any second. 

Hermione’s gaze fell back to his trousers and then she avoided him like the plague, looking all the way to the infirmary door. It was suddenly too hot inside there. She felt her fingers shivering as she tried to run them through her bushy hair and almost jumped scared when Draco’s hand met hers there. 

“The funny thing is” he whispered now too close to her ear, heat pooling at her lower abdomen “I remember thinking that the hair was too slick, it was not the best to pull… Too slippery”

His fingers were entangled in her curls, giving them a gentle tug that made Hermione have to bite her lip to keep from moaning. 

“N-no… it’s impossible, we couldn’t—“

“Granger. Look. At. Me.” He growled, commanding. 

When she turned to face him, he was the man in the bar. And with a quick wave of her hand, he was Draco again. Nothing changed, but hair-eye-skin color. Hermione gasped loudly, tears forming on her eyes. He had the audacity to smirk at her. 

“Fuck. Come. For. Me.”  He growled, commanding. 

She came, her whole body shaking convulsively and clenching around his cock like vice. With a loud roar he came inside her, bruising her hips with his fingers and biting her neck. 

Hermione was hyperventilating, she felt like she could throw up and faint at the same time. Her body was shaking, her mind was blank and she could almost taste the cold sweat pouring from her forehead. 

“Granger? Fuck? Granger?” 

She was out. 

…

“Miss Granger? Miss Granger?” Madam Pomfrey’s voice came from above. 

“Urgh” Was all Hermione managed to say. 

“She’s up. Please be more careful from now on, Mr Malfoy? Think of your baby!”

“No, it’s not hi—“ Hermione mumbled on the verge of tears. 

But Madam Pomfrey was already walking back to her office. 

“Merlin, Granger” Malfoy was standing at her side, paler than a ghost, his hair in a perfect dishevelled as if he had run his hand through it several times. He did it once again while she was watching. “Don’t you dare scare me like that again!”

“I scared you???” She squeaked, prompting herself up in a seated position.  “You were the one— talking about — you were — how could you—“ she started hyperventilating again between each attempted sentence. 

“Granger, slow down” He urged, holding both her arms. 

It was like she was being electrified. Hermione yanked her arms free from his grip. 

“Y-you lied” she mumbled “You tricked me into—“

“Don’t try to act stupid Granger, you won’t fool no one” He sighed, seating at her side “I wasn’t exactly aware that it was you either—“

“How couldn’t you? I just glamorized my hair and eyes!”

He chuckled. 

“Now that you say that, I should’ve recognized that body of yours indeed”

“Don’t talk about me like that!” She hissed. “Don’t you dare even look at me like that again”

His chuckle died in his throat and he glared at her. 

“Grang—“

“Do you think I would ever—“ She whined “To think that we— That now you— I would never”

He clenched his jaw. “May I know why you are so disgusted at the idea of having sex with me?”

“Because you’re a blood purist! You’ve bullied me and my friends for years! I’d never put myself in such a low—“

“Well, turns out you already have” The smirk he once held was now long gone and he scowled at her. “And now that you are carrying my son we need to decide how to raise him together”

She started crying. 

“He’s not yours!” She whimpered “He’s mine! I’ll raise him by myself! I don’t want you near h—“

“That’s not an option.” He stated firmly. 

“No!” She bawled. “He’s mine, he’s inside of me! He belongs to m—“

“He is the Malfoy heir.”

“I would never have a Malfoy in my family. He’s a Granger. He’s mine and you w—“

“The thing is, Granger” he drawled with disgust, raising from his seat with attempted ease, ignoring his pain “you already have”

“I am a m-mudblood, he’s going to t-taint your p-pure f-family line and I — I don’t really mind doing it all by myself — no one needs to kno— you can marry a pureblood heiress and have oth—“

He now looked livid. 

“That’s enough!” He hissed and somehow that was even scarier than screaming. “I am aware that I was a tosser when I was twelve, but I am a man now. And this is my son. My heir”

“I don’t want you as his father,” Hermione cried. 

“Too late.” He spat coldly, casting his borzoi patronuses. 

“Now here’s how things are going to go. I have no idea of how you’ve been treating my son until now, but judging on your performance at that Ravenclaw party last month” Draco tsked “it’s clear that he needs me to step up—“

“I had no idea I was p—“

“And of course, we need you being cared for by the best team of healers in the country. I want to be sure that everything is alright with my s—“

“Of course he’s—“

“Therefore, as we have the upcoming Easter Holiday, I’d like to have you over at the manor for a few days so we can sort everything out.”

Hermione's mouth fell open. 

“I - I… no.” Hermione stuttered. 

“Excuse me?”

“I am staying with the Patils”

“Granger, I need to take care of you, of our son…”

“I am doing a fine job right n—“

“Is that why you’ve lost like 4 pounds since you discovered the pregnancy? You’re always on the verge of vomiting or crying, clearly you’re unwell—“

“Well, I’m certain that a weekend over at your place with your parent won’t make anything better!” She spat offendedly. 

He sighed and ran his hand over his hair. “You want to go somewhere else? Just the two of us? I have a flat in muggle London and—“

“No! I don’t want to be near you!”

“Granger, we’re going to have a child together. This is a lifelong bond. Get your arse out of this denial and face the reality” he barked. 

“I am not co parenting with you!” She snapped 

“Then you’re on for a very good fight, Granger. I am not giving up on my son.” He stated firmly. 

Hermione opened her mouth to retort but her answer was interrupted by the arrival of McGonagall, Snape and the Malfoys. 

“Miss Granger, are you alright?” The Gryffindor head came worried and Hermione realised she probably looked a mess with all the crying she did. “Would you like me to call your parents?”

“That would be a great idea” Lucius drawled with a menacing smile. 

“No!” Hermione would very much like her parents at her side, but if Lucius Malfoy thought it to be a good idea then she’d do the opposite. “I am of age. There’s nothing they could do but worry”

“Well, I’m here to represent your best interest, of course!” McGonagall said, pressing her lips in a thin line. 

“Of course, we are all aware of her interests” Narcissa sneered. 

“Excuse me?” McGonagall snapped. 

“This wanton wants to trap my son into a marriage, obviously” 

“I do not” Hermione spat. “I want nothing to do with you and your family.”

“Which is perfect” Lucius intervened “because all we need is the baby boy. Once the Malfoy heir is delivered, we’ll take care of his upbringing and Miss Granger can go back to her…” He checked with Snape “ministry career?”

Snape nodded. 

“Exactly, and having lots of friends there, Miss Granger, I can assure you the best internship possible”

There it was. A way out. A way out of dealing with the Malfoys. A ticket back to her 10 year plan. The chance of building her career. Hermione never wanted to be a mom this soon. 

All she needed to do was give her son up. 

“No” Hermione said firmly. “I am not abandoning my child”

“Miss Granger…” Lucius smiled condescendingly “You don’t have a house, a way of making a living, you don’t have child caretakers or any idea of how to raise a child…”

Hermione hated how right he was in every word. 

“… Your parents are muggle” Hermione and McGonagall raised their eyebrows at such statement. “Which doesn’t make them inferior, obviously, but heavily unprepared to care for a magical child, specially one with so much power. Wouldn’t you rather have been raised in a magical home?”

Hermione always thought about it. How easier it would’ve been to learn things first hand, not from books. To grow up in the wizarding world where she belonged. But she certainly didn’t think that the Malfoy manor would be the place she’d choose. I mean, take a look at Draco. He was a prat. 

“I — I am his mother” Hermione sobbed

“Father” Draco stated curtly, positioning himself so Hermione couldn't  see Lucius. Or vice-versa. “Hermione should not be under stress now.”

“I am not putting her—“

“Oh so it is Hermione now?”

Draco silenced both his parents by raising his palm. 

“She has just agreed to spend the Easter Holiday with me at my London flat, so we can arrange every detail. We’ll also have healers check on her and the baby’s health.”

“Why the flat?” Narcissa spat with disgust “We can properly host her at the Man—“

“Mother, there’ll be plenty of time for dining at the manor. Now, I need to decide with the mother of my child how to best assure his well-being until the delivery.”

“She should obviously be kept at home, the school environment is to stressful for the b—“

“Mother!” Draco hissed. “I’ll be deciding that.”

Hermione looked at Narcissa who scowled back at her. She couldn’t see Lucius but she knew now what he planned. Neither of them had any plan of having her dirty blood around. They wanted to take the baby from her. 

You’re in for a good fight. Draco had said and now she understood why. They had connections, money, power, time and all other resources needed to steal her child from her. She wasn’t very aware of how different the wizarding law was from the muggle legislation about parenting rights. But she was somehow sure that the scale would tilt in their favor. 

You’re in for a good fight. He said. And somehow he turned out to be her only ally on it. At least Draco didn’t seem too eager in taking the child from her. He just wanted them to do it together. 

“I’ll be going with Malf—Draco.” Hermione whispered. “To his London flat.”