Orion

The last week of class before Easter went by in a blur. 

Malfoy - Godric bless him - was kind enough to avoid Hermione. She told her friends she had decided to go home and tell her parents about the pregnancy during the days off, because - to be honest - she wasn’t ready to tell anyone the truth. 

Thankfully, Lord Malfoy’s order also seemed to have been taken seriously by the three slytherins who knew the truth. The story hadn’t leaked. But they would stare and sneer in her direction more often than not. 

Draco was also always staring. He was like a ghost. Never approached her or said anything, but she knew he was around. Like a snake preparing to bite. She went as far as complaining about it once.

“Stop staring at me! With you and your teammates doing so, people will start gossiping soon”

“What?”

“Flint, Pucey and Pole. They know.”

“I know that”

“They keep sneering at me. They never did it so much before. People will talk…”

He didn’t say anything. But Flint and Pole had bruises around their eyes the following morning. None of them looked at her again after that. 

Not even Draco. 

But he was still there.

She started to receive special meals at whatever place she sat in the Great Hall. Different, healthier, more nutrient dense. 

First she thought maybe McGonagall or Pomfrey were behind it, but when she mentioned it to Dobby one evening he apparated into her room with a protein smoothie he ran to slam his head against the bed poster. 

“Dobby isn’t to disobey his master. His old mast— his —“

“Dobby, what is it? You’re a free elf”

He pulled his giant ears down. 

“Dobby knows it missy, but is hard to disobey his old master. Old master asked something good to Dobby. To take care of Hermione Granger. Dobby is happy to help. But Dobby wasn’t supposed to tell her.” 

He went back to punishing himself, this time crackling his fingers by closing them in Hermione’s trunk. 

“Dobby! Don’t do that! Please!”

He wouldn’t listen. 

“Dobby, I’m carrying master Draco’s son. He’s a malfoy too, right?”

Dobby turned his tennis balls eyes to her. Listening. 

“I am carrying the new little master. and I am forbidding you to punish yourself. Can you do that? Please?”

Dobby smiled. 

“Yes missy! Dobby is so happy with missy and master’s baby!”

From then one, everything clicked for Hermione. 

She kept receiving these weird owls. An official letter informing her of a vault opened in her name in Gringotts bank. A letter notifying her of a new account at Flourish and Botts, from which she could place orders via owl and the books would come to her as requested. She asked for a few books on magical pregnancy and childcare, expecting to receive the bill, but only the books came. There was even a personal letter from Madam Malkins containing a magical measuring tape, asking her to please reply with her measures so she could start working in all her commissioned robes. The thing is, she hadn’t comissioned any. 

All that spoiling was the reason behind her huge scowl when Friday arrived and she went to Prof Snape’s office. Draco malfoy was making a statement. I have money. I can influence and control everyone. I’ll influence and control you and my child. And that’s why she refused to take his hand when they stepped into the floo. 

She did regret that later though, when she landed in all fours full of ashes in her mouth. Apparently flooding while pregnant was somewhat harder and she found herself vomiting all over his gray marble fireplace. 

“Granger!” he gasped, not minding the vomit in his expensive shoes and going straight to grab Hermione’s shoulders to raise her upwards. Once she was vertical, he scooped one hand behind her knees and the other on her back so he could walk her to what she assumed was his bathroom. 

She used the ride to take a look at his flat. It wasn’t exactly what she expected. Something inside her was imagining dungeons, tapestries, gothic decor and very few natural light. It was quite the opposite. 

It wasn’t exactly modern architecture, with exception of the artworks here and there. The flat was almost all marble and gold, with huge windows casting a lot of light. All of his furniture were either African Blackwood, white leather or gold. 

They went pass the living room, towards a long corridor and she counted four doors behind they finally entered a huge room. He had a king sized bed in Egyptian linens, a white leather chaise, a African Blackwood office table and the door to a walk in closet. 

“N-no” she mumbled between wrenching “I don’t want— your room”

“This is not my room, Granger” he rolled his eyes “this is your room”

With that he took her inside the largest bathroom she had ever seen. It was all white and gold. White marble floors and walls, golden towel hangers, white marble sink and toilet, golden bathtub. 

Draco opened the faucets. He transfigured one soap bar into a chair and sat Hermione on top of it. Then he transfigured a toothpaste cap into a bucket and placed between her thighs. He rolled up his sleeves, exposing his pale and toned forearms, and casted a cooling charm on her. 

“Hmmm” she moaned with relief. Her head was bent down towards the bucket. 

Draco chuckled behind her and started to gather her hair and knot it into a bun. Hermione puked again. He knelt in front of her and caressed her cheek gently. Then his hands went down to her button up shirt, deftly unbuttoning it. 

“No!” She pleaded, feeling too vulnerable in her weak and disgusting state “leave me alone”

“Granger, I’ve seen this before” he pressed “let me take care of you”

Hermione knew right then that she was not in her right mind. Because she only nodded and he proceeded to take her school uniform shirt. 

“Leave the bra” she said weakly. 

He chuckled and muttered “so bossy” under his breath. 

But he left it there. As her knickers. Thank Merlin they were matching, simple white cotton but no holes or stains. 

Draco helped her enter the bathtub and then went outside. She thought he’d leave her alone, but he was back after a few minutes carrying several vials. 

“This one you take. This one's for the shower. And this one you rub on your skin afterwards” he explained. 

“What is it?”

“Some potions to ease your symptoms” He said matter-of-factly as he uncorked the second vial and downed it into her water. Hermione smelled peppermint and felt her whole body relaxing and cooling at once. 

She couldn’t help the moan that escaped her lips. 

When she opened her eyes he had uncorked the first vial, full of a baby blue liquid and held it expectantly close to her mouth. 

“May I?”

“What’s in it?” She said, resisting the urge to gag. 

“I’ll give you the full ingredients list after, Granger. Let me make you feel better.”

“Slughorn said there are no potions to ease the symptoms” she said suspiciously 

“That walrus knows less about potions than—“

“Malfoy!”

“Fine. He doesn’t know about this potion because I created it”

Hermione startled. 

“What?”

“I didn’t stutter, Granger”

“How? When? Why?” The questions blurted out. 

“Drink it and I’ll answer” He said coldly. 

“Is it even safe?”

His jaw clenched. 

“Do you think I’d risk my son’s life?!” He growled. “Drink it. Now, Granger”

She wanted to fight back. But she also was sick of feeling sick all the time so she decided to give it a go. She opened her mouth to him. He muffled a growl in a throat clearing cough as he emptied the vial on her mouth. It tasted like cotton candy and immediately made her feel better. 

Hermione was suddenly embarrassed to be in a bathtub, face dirty with her own puke and in front of Draco Malfoy. She started to clean herself with a washcloth and a tangerine smelling soap Draco gave her. 

“Why would you create a potion for pregnancy symptoms?” She asked softly when accepting the shampoo bottle Draco handed her. 

It took him so long to answer she thought he wouldn’t. 

“My mum” 

“Is she—“

“Not anymore. But she was, several times since I can remember. Each time worse than before. And she lost all of them” He was staring into his own hands. “Magical pregnancies are hard. The mother’s and father’s magic are practically fighting against each other with a baby in the middle.”

“Yes, Flint told me that” Hermione looked down too “I am sorry for your loss…”

He waved a hand dismissing. 

“I never met any of them and I didn’t mind being an only child…”

“Well, it surely was scary to see your mom so bad”

He hummed in agreement. Then he got up looking away. 

“I’ll sort our dinner out. Don’t leave the bath without me, you might have dizziness”

And he went away. 

Hermione sank deeper in the bath and started to clean her body. She thought back to the girl she was during second year, crying because a boy called her blood dirty. And now this same boy was helping her get cleaned and feeling better. She never imagined that one day she would see this side of Draco Malfoy, but then again what part of becoming pregnant at 18 of his child did she imagine?

Hermione felt silly to be bathing in her underwear, so she removed it and, once she was feeling nice and clean, moved to get out of the bath. There was a fluffy white towel hanging a few steps from her. She’d get it by herself just fine, she felt great. What did Malfoy know?

Apparently a lot. 

Hermione heard several noises in less than a minute. 

First there was a weak “oh” coming from her mouth as her vision went dark the minute she stood fully up. 

Then there was a “slurp” from her feet slipping on the watery floor. 

Then there was a thick “thud” from her head slamming against the ground. 

And finally, a loud crack of apparition at her side. 

“Fuck, Granger!” There are hands behind her neck and knees. She’s pulled out of the ground. “I fucking told you to wait for me—“

“You don’t tell me what to do” Hermione mumbles weakly and even she knows how pathetic it sounds while he just found her naked on the floor of the bathroom. 

“Of course I do” He’s now walking her towards the bed “You have my son inside you, what if you fell on your belly?”

“He’s too small, he wouldn’t be hurt—“ She knows she’s logically right. But it still feels wrong. 

“No. That won’t do, Granger” He places her on the puffy linens. “You don’t get to decide things on your own anymore. This affects us both. I need to take care of you”

Somewhere between the shifting of her body while Malfoy placed the sheets over her body and the heavy beating on her head, she finds the space to question his motives. 

“Who are you?!”

“What the—“ he looked at her with concern, quickly checking her head for bleeding or swelling. 

“No, damn it! I know who you are, Malfoy” she snaps “I mean, who are you? Why are you acting like this?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He clenched his jaw. 

“Y-you were just a spoiled bully and—“

“Granger” he snarled “I thought we agreed that I’m not twelve anymore—“

“It’s not like the 17 year old version of yourself inspires much of a fatherly figure to me!” She spat raising her arms in frustration “Always so flirty and cheating Pansy on—“

“Excuse me?” He raised to his feet, crossing his arms over his chest. “You were not exactly the dutiful and  virtuous wife I had in mind when I thought about where my heir wo—“

“Stop talking about him like that!”

“What?”

“He’s a baby, my baby boy! He’s not just some title or role—“

“Granger! He can’t escape this. This is his life.” He ran both hands through his hair in frustration. “I’ll make sure that he’s taken care of, that he knows more happiness than any other before him. But he is who he is.”

Hermione burst into tears. Malfoy’s face melted into worry and he sat at her side, circling his thumbs lazily against her wrist. 

“I’m sorry! I’m not really sad! It’s just the hormones” she’d try to explain while he took one wet curl from her forehead and shushed her gently. “I- I just don’t know how to deal with you like this, Malfoy. At first I hated you because you were so mean to me. Then I started to despise you because you were so nasty to me.” She said between sobbing and wiping her eyes. “I don’t know how to deal with you being so.. so.. like this” 

She gestured at him like it was enough explanation. 

“Granger” he pleaded, widening his eyes and making her feel the electricity from the storms in his irises “You are carrying my son! I need to take care of you both! That’s my duty!”

Hermione had asked for the truth. And she doesn’t know why it hurts her so much. Maybe deep inside she had hopes that he’d be caring because he liked her. But she was just the vessel. The wrong, dirty vessel. But the one that was caring his son inside. So she’d be cared for until he was delivered. 

Maybe she wanted to hurt him back. Maybe she just wanted more answers. But she proceeded to invade his privacy wards and demand more information. 

“How can you be so set with something you’ve known for just a few days? It took me weeks to accept this new reality, to see myself as a mom and feel him as my son. But you’re so… on top of everything—“

He laughed. A laugh that had no happiness whatsoever in it. 

Then he moved back to the bathroom, took the third vial on his hands and walked towards her. 

“I am going to rub your skin with this now. Would you like to put your underwear first?”

“Wha— Malfoy! We’re having a conversation”

“We can do it while I take care of you”

“Fine” she spat. “I want my underwear”

She made the movement to rise from the bed but he casted a quick ácido and a store bag appeared. He pulled a pair of underwear from inside. They were not exactly sexy, nothing minuscule or lacy, they were made of green silk and seemed incredibly comfortable. 

“My mum said the elastic band from cotton ones bother you when you’re expecting so I got this” he said rather shyly. 

Hermione took them from his hand, raising an eyebrow. 

“And I suspect the slytherin green is for the baby’s health as well?”

He gave her a sheepishly smile. 

“No, that’s for me”

She scoffed and proceeded to - very awkwardly- dress herself under the sheets. Malfoy seemed to try to hide a smirk. 

“Now. Can you tell me how you are so fine with everything?” She asked once she was done. 

Malfoy pulled the sheets slowly giving her goosebumps. He looked at her body in an almost reverently manner and uncorked the vial with his mouth. 

“I am not” he stated before rubbing the potion between his palms to warm it. “But I made lots of promises to me during my life and as the opportunity rose to fulfill them, I stepped up.”

She bit the inside of her lips to hold the moan that wanted to escape her when he started rubbing her shoulders, going down her arms with firm yet gentle pressure. 

“A-and what p-promises are those?” She gasped trying to keep a nonchalance act about the super intimate situation. 

“First, that I’ll not be my father” he said as his hands went up again to her collarbones and cleavage. 

Hermione closed her eyes to focus on the overwhelming sensation: the potion was cooling and refreshing; Draco’s hands were kneading all tensing alway. 

“And second?” She yelped when his hands went to her belly. He took his time there, rubbing gentle circles

“M-my mum” he said. 

“You don’t want to become her either?” Hermione tented, trying to take her attention away from how much she wanted his hands to go lower. 

”Don’t be daft” he chuckled, still staring into her navel “I just don’t want you to go through what she endured. I promised to take care of the mother of my children”

“Children?” 

She woke up from the daze and stared hard at him. He shrugged with amusement. 

“Well, Granger… You see, I had hopes it would be my wife I’d be caring fo—“

Something shut him up. His eyes were so wide right now she feared they’d pop out. He looked in awe back to where his hands where placed over her body. Then Hermione felt it too. The baby was kicking. She smiled fondly. 

“He does that a lot, you know?” She said, closing her eyes again and enjoying his touch. “If I was still in muggle world I’d start preparing his football career—“

“Can I—“ he squeezed his eyes shut as if trying to decide whether or not to ask the question, but another kick made him brave “Can I talk to him?”

Hermione giggled because she was not expecting that. 

“Sure, go ahead”

He looked like a five year old allowed to eat ice cream before dinner. He looked back her belly and placed his head real close, his pointy nose almost touching the skin under her navel. 

“Hey, mate.” He started shyly and, as though it was almost painful to do so, Hermione looked away to give him his privacy “This is daddy. Well, father, actually. But you can call me daddy, I’ll let you.”

The baby kicked his hand and Hermione smiled to herself. 

“You like that, huh? I’m so happy that you’re here, mate. We’re going to have so much fun together.” Hermione didn’t need to look to know he was smiling too. “I can’t wait for you to come out and— actually I can wait. You’re not ready yet, so stay right there until you—“

Another kick. 

“Okay, okay. Let’s make a deal then, shall we? You stay put, don’t give your mum much trouble, eh?” Hermione felt something cold and fizzling inside her hearing he talk to their child about her like that. “And I promise you we’ll be flying together before your first birth—“

“Malfoy!”

“Before your second birthday” he conceded, as if it was much better. “I love you, mate. I’ll do everything to make you happy!”

Hermione felt something cold and wet against her belly. She knew it wasn’t her feelings of endearment. She looked down to see that Malfoy was silently weeping. Before she could think better of it, her hand was caressing his cheek. 

“You’ll be a great father” She said, her voice breaking with her own cry. It was too much. To intimate. To raw. She had to change the atmosphere “which is weird, because you’re a prat”

He chuckled. But he didn’t talk back to her, instead he looked at her belly. 

“Well, mate. I must get going to rubbing your mums feet and then feeding her because she’s getting a bit cranky”

Before Hermione could complain she felt the baby kick Malfoy’s hands again. Great, so the two were already together making fun of her. 

“I never really talked to him, you know?”Hermione said, staring at the ceiling While Malfoy’s hands rubbed her thighs. “I read aloud a lot, but never really talked to him. Feels weird for me, you know?”

“I think he likes it” Malfoy smirked, kneading her muscles with all the attention. 

“I do too” she said but the last word came as a loud moans when his thumb went right at a sensitive spot in her inner thigh. 

Malfoy raised an eyebrow. 

“Just, go south, please” she said, squeezing her eyes in embarrassment. 

“You know” he took his hands to her legs, kneading her calves “they do say that it is very healthy for a pregnant woman to have sex frequently”

She tried to yank her leg from him, but he held her by her ankle. 

“Easy, Granger!”  He chuckled going back to his massage. “I’m not going to try anything… unless you want it”

“You have a girlfriend” she hated herself for using this as an excuse and not the fact that she didn’t want it. 

“You’re my priority now” he said curtly. “And you seem very uptight, I’m just trying to ease some of the tension” 

Hermione was ready to retort, but her head fell back and she moaned savagely when he rubbed her sore foot. She hadn’t put on any significant weight since the beginning of the pregnancy, but her feet did hurt. 

“Fuck, I remember that” He growled quietly near her foot, placing a gentle kiss on her thumb. 

This time she did manage to yank it up. 

“Malfoy!” 

“What?”

“Don’t do that?”

“What?”

“You know what! Let’s not make this messier than it already is”

He sighed. 

“Okay, let me finish the other leg then.” He sounded annoyed and gestured to her left leg.

She did. But just because he was so good at it. 

…

“Malfoy, this is too big!”

“Granger, I must admit I find it simply appropriate.”

“Seriously, I can’t take all that! It’s too much”

“I think you can take whatever you set that giant brain of yours into”

“Malfoy! Seriously, this is going to make me sick!”

“There are potions for that, love…”

“Don’t call me love! Now, that’s exactly why I didn’t want to stay just the two of us alone in your flat for a week…”

“Granger, it’s just dinner. You eat how much you want and then it’s over” He pinched the bridge of his nose.

Hermione stared into the dining table before her in his dining room (who has a dining room in a flat anyway?). 

“Tell me the truth. Did house elves make this?”

He sighed, pulling her chair so she could sit. 

“No. And spare me that crap you go on and on in school—“

“It’s not crap. It’s C.R.A.P. Creatures’ Rights Advocacy Program and—“

He sat in his chair, across from her in the oval table with several dishes. 

“Just eat. My son needs his nutrients.”

“Malfoy, did house elves m—“

“I already told you NO” he was grabbing a piece of lamb and placing it on his plate “I have a chef. Alright? He comes when I am here and he cooks. I pay him very well by the wa—“

“A muggle?” Her eyebrows shot to her hairline. 

“Yes” he said tiredly “a muggle”

“But how—?”

“He’s a squib. So he knows about magic. Granger, I swear to Merlin that I’ll force feed you if you don’t start eating right now”

“Just because I’m hungry” she stated pettily while plating some lobster and asparagus with hollandaise sauce to herself. 

After a few delicious bites, she asks him:

“So, why not house elves?”

“You convinced me of their misery” he shrugs. 

“Really?”

“No”

She scowls at his smile. 

“Drink a bit of iced tea” he says pointing to the jug in front of her as he pours himself some whine. “The elves in my home are loyal to me but still answer to my father. I wanted to have this place private for myself”

Hermione almost spills iced tea from her nostrils as she scoffs with his statement. 

“Yes?” He drawls irritated. 

“I’m sorry, I just find it funny. The rich boy trying to get some privacy on the flat his daddy bought him”

He tenses up, rolling his tongue in his cheek. 

“I bought this flat myself” he says coldly. 

“With his money?”

“No. When I was born I inherited the Malfoy’s heritage vault, it belongs directly to the heir until the new heir is born. I started investing in the muggle stock market and several other enterprises at the end of third year. I’ve tripled the fortune I received and live solely out of my profits since I was fifteen.”

He took a sip from his wine. 

“Our son will never have to ask me for money in his life because he’ll be rich enough to buy England as soon as he’s born” Hermione shivered at his words. “But I will - as my father did - be happy to provide for our household and gift him with everything he desires.”

Hermione looked down to her plate. She should think that was better than having a lowlife stranger be the father of her son. But it was so cold, so matter of fact… She knew money wasn’t the most important thing. Her former best friend Harry was richer than anyone yet he’d trade everything for a day more with his father. 

“Presence is worth more than money, Malfoy” she said after a while. 

“He’ll have both.”

…

The next morning, Hermione was woken up to a floating tray on the side bed in which there was - along with the most delicious breakfast ever - the potion she had to take that morning. She found a note underneath. 

Drink this potion before breakfast to keep from vomiting it all. You have medical appointments at 10h with our team of healers. I expect you to be in the sitting room 5 minutes before that. I have a dress for you in the closet. 

-M

Hermione called him nasty names before downing the potion and getting started on her poché eggs. It was something new, being able to eat without the nausea. In fact, she also felt much better after a good night of sleep, which she hadn’t had in a month with all the symptoms. And this bed was rather comfortable. 

She had 30 minutes according to the bedside clock, so she took a quick shower and went to see the dress Malfoy had mentioned. But she found hundreds of them. Every surface of the walk-in closed was filled with expensive designer clothes. Were this possibly things he always kept for his trysts? Or maybe they’d forgotten them there and it was a big lost and found of the supermodels he dated?

Hermione felt disgusted at the mere idea and opted to go with her own dress instead. The cotton knickers she owned were very uncomfortable compared to the silky one, but they were clean and she refused to take her chances with the underwear in the closet. She put on a cocktail dress she used for family gatherings and finally realised that her body was not the same anymore. Her breasts were huge, almost spilling out of the neckline. Her hips were wider, giving her a feminine hourglass body she did not possess before. And her belly, well, there was clearly a little bump there now. 

She spent some time in front of the mirror but Malfoy was clearly ready to spend double, ogling her when she walked in the living room. She ceased a bit of it to eye him herself. He had white Oxford shirt and grey suit pants, with black leather shoes. His shirt leaves were rolled up exposing his strong and pale forearms. She could see his signet ring and the gold delicate chain dancing underneath the two open buttons of his shirt. 

“What?” She asked when she saw his eyes traveling everywhere on her body. 

“Good Morning, Granger” he came towards her and took her hand to place a peck on the back of it “I should be offended that you’re not wearing what I picked, but you look so beautiful—“

“Don’t” she spat raising her palm “I don’t know what exactly is you kink in dolling up the women you have over but I’m no—“

“Granger, I usually don’t dress them, I undress and f—“

“What about the clothes? A bloody wardrobe full of them!” she 

“I got them for you.” 

“Why would you do that? I have clothes, I brought a trunk full of them actually” 

Malfoy ran his hands over his face as if really tired. 

“Granger, first of all your body is going to change and grow and you’ll need to be comfortable.” She bit back her cheek and avoided his gaze because she had already noticed how the knickers he bought were a lot more comfortable than hers. “Second of all, you are the mother of my son, you are carrying the Malfoy heir. I am not going to have people saying I can’t afford to dress you up nicely—“

“This is nice” she gestured to her dress exasperatedly. 

“No” he said firmly “You are gorgeous and you do this dress a huge favor, but you’d be dashing in what I’ve bought you”

“What do you even know abo—“

“If you don’t like them, fine. We’ll go and get new stuff. But you’re not going to appear publicly as anything less than the queen you are”

“Wow” she pouted “That’s really humble. I am a queen? And that makes you the k—“

But her sentence was silenced when someone arrived at the floo and Malfoy placed his hand protectively on the small of her back. 

Healer Shafiq appeared with a very broad smile, eager to greet Malfoy and Hermione. The girl opens her mouth to correct Draco when he introduces her as his fiancée, but he shuts her up with a strong squeeze on her bum. 

The consultation lasts 2 hours. Marlene Shafiq is much more attentive, respectful and humble than Healer Flint was. She asks Hermione about everything since the time her parents conceived her until that morning. Malfoy also receives lots of questions about his health history. She examines the witch's feet to hair. 

They watch entranced as she casts diagnostic charms and even a computed womb photograph. Hermione sees her real baby for the first time, not the mini Malfoy hologram. Not that there is much difference. She can already see the pointy nose and chin, the protuberant cheekbones. He has no hair yet and his eyes  are closed, so she doesn’t know if they’ll be pale blond and grey like his father’s. Draco is the most excited of the trio. He asks her to get different angles, demands to have copies of the photos and even tries to talk to his son to get him to smile in one. The baby does. 

“He has dimples like you” Malfoy turns beaming to Hermione. 

Healer Shafiq explains all about her prenatal care calendar, consultations, potions, physical therapy and preparation for birth. 

“So are you planning for a home birth?”

“What?” Hermione hadn’t thought about it but she didn’t even have a home to give birth in. She looks at Draco and he squeezes her hand. 

“We haven’t decided on that just yet. What are her options?” 

Healer Shafiq goes on talking about the birth rooms in St. Mungus, the birth houses in London and of course the option to birth at home. 

Hermione is feeling warm and happy after the healer leaves. 

For lunch, Malfoy took her to a fancy french restaurant - but only after she changed into the green dress he had chosen for her. She didn’t mind changing the underwear, in fact she relished the new found comfort. But she effectively threw a fit when he insisted on her wearing emerald earrings to match the dress. He lost that battle. 

“Why did you choose her over Flint?” Was the first thing Hermione asked after they were sat in a private booth. 

“I’d assume it was obvious” Malfoy snorts “She’s much nicer. And she’s not licking my fathers boots. She’s new and has a much broader and better approach.”

“Malfoy?”

“Yes?”

“How much is this costi—“

He raises his palm at her. 

“You are forbidden to ask that again. He’s my son and I’m providing for him. Do not question my spendings on him. Alright?”

Hermione sighed. 

“I just don’t want to be a burden to you while pregnant”

“You’re not. You’re the mother of my child. You’ll only work a day in your life if you desire to do so, not out of necessity”

Hermione was going to protest or question his words but the waiter arrived to take their orders. 

“I’m sorry to insist on the same topic over and over, Malfoy, but you seemed to have aged decades in the week you’ve become a father” Hermione murmured sipping her juice 

He scoffed. “Yeah, Granger. I’m sure Weaselbee would be all clumsy, desperate and lost. But not all men are like that” He sipped on his champagne “Some of us won’t have you being the brains of the matter as well as the womb—“

“What’s that supposed to mean, you misogynistic prat?” Hermione spat offended. 

“Calm down, Granger” he growled and she didn’t know why her body responded so eager to obey. “I am not saying you couldn’t be the brains. I am saying you don’t have to worry about appointments, baby layette, house arrangements and legal obligations ON TOP of making organs and growing a baby inside your womb. I want you to be able to relax and focus on being well, while I take care of the rest. Is that difficult? Am I asking too much?”

“N-no” she mumbles, crossing her legs tightly to give herself some friction because that was hot. 

“Good”

Hermione has come to notice that, unless giving orders and answering her questions, he’d always go back to silence. And she didn’t want to annoy him. But silence made her overthink and overthinking made her babble. 

“What about Pansy?” She blurted out when they were half way through their meal. 

“What about her?” He raised one eyebrow still looking at his food. 

“She’s your girlfriend, right?”

He just hummed, neither confirming or denying. 

“Won’t she be jealous that you’re caring so much for me?”

“I don’t actually give a single fuck if she does”

“Malfoy!”

“Granger.”

“She deserves respect!”

“And she has mine, until she does anything to disrespect my child and his mother.”

Hermione scoffed. 

“She has yours? Were you respecting all the times you cheated on her? One of them being the time our son was conceived?”

He cleaned his mouth with the cloth napkin and took a sip from his wine, both deliberately slowly, before answering. 

“I’ve broken up with Pansy nearly weekly since sixth year.” He smirks “She doesn’t accept it. Merely ignores me and moves on as if nothing had happened. Maybe she thinks that being the future Mrs Malfoy is worth enduring me fucking other girls”

It’s so cold and mean that Hermione flinches. 

“Is she?”

“What?”

“The future Mrs Malfoy?”

“I was actually hoping you’d accept that title” He said nonchalantly.