Prologue
February 3, 1999 ~ 8th year
Hermione's stomach was twisting with fear and nervousness as she ran through the Hogwarts corridors. It felt as though her insides were being twisted and stretched over and over again. She wasn't sure if she should cry or throw up.
The kids in the corridors looked at her as though she was crazy but it didn't bother her. She had to tell him. He needed to be the first to know. The entire thing was dumb but she knew where she stood on the... situation.
Hermione huffed as she came to a stop outside of the Slytherin common room portrait. The painted snake unwrapped itself and slithered down to Hermione's height.
"Password?" The snake hissed.
Hermione was trying to catch her breath, her chest moving up and down quickly. "I don't know it." The snake started to slither back into a ball. "Wait!" It stopped. "I need to speak to Draco Malfoy, it's urgent."
The snake looked at her for a moment with hesitation before slithering back into its ball. Hermione groaned and went with her second option, knocking. She banged on the frame of the portrait three times and waited ten seconds before trying again.
She was starting to get annoyed that no one was coming to open the passage. She rolled her eyes and went to knock again. On her second knock, the door opened.
"Granger?" Theo Nott was standing in front of her looking like he was working through a hangover. "Why are you banging on our portrait at seven in the morning?"
Hermione sighed. "I don't have time for this. I need to speak with Malfoy."
Theo furrowed his eyebrows and squinted his eyes before letting out a deep breath. "Okay fine. I'll go get him just stay here."
Hermione nodded and watched as the portrait door shut. She crossed her arms and started to pace. Time seemed to be going slow. Every second felt like a minute and every minute felt like an hour. She bit down on her lip and tried to keep the nerves from surfacing in her stomach. Suddenly, there was a sound of a creaking door and she stopped in her steps to see him standing five feet away from her.
"Granger?" Draco looked back and forth to make sure no one was in the area. "You know you're not supposed to be here."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I know that, okay?!" The panic in her voice was more known than she would have liked it to be. "We need to talk."
Draco looked her over with a curious stare. "Okay, but we can't speak here."
Hermione threw her arms out to her sides and sighed. "Fine, meet me in the astronomy tower in five minutes." With that, she started on her way to the tower.
Hermione was pacing again, she wished that the orange and red colors of the sky would calm her but it only made her feel like she was on fire. She could hear the distant steps coming up the stairs and it only made her feel worst. How the bloody hell was she going to do this?
"I'm here. What is it?" Draco was standing at the top of the stairwell, clutching the railing and looking as though he was going to be sick.
That's when it clicked inside of her mind. "Shit." She whispered. "We can do this somewhere else I don't know why I thought-"
"It's fine." Draco cut her off. "As long as the sun is out."
Hermione took a deep breath and looked at him. He had no idea that she was about to change everything and it killed her to know that. "I need to tell you something and I don't know how you're going to react."
Draco didn't speak but Hermione could see a hint of worry in his eyes.
She turned around and walked over to the railing of the tower, not wanting to look him in the eyes when she said the next few words. "I don't know how it happened, but..." She looked down at the railing and gripped it with her hands, her knuckles turning white. "I-I'm pregnant."
The deep voice spoke from behind her. "That's not possible."
Hermione braced herself and turned around to face him. "That's what I thought too but you are the only person I've been with."
There was a glistening of fear in his eyes. "I-It was only a few times and we took precautions."
Hermione nodded. "I know."
Draco shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair before looking at her. "I'm engaged to be married after the end of term."
Hermione nodded again and looked out at the view. The sun was coming up just over the water, making the water look a peach color. She started to feel tears coming to her eyes. "That's why I'm giving you an option." She looked back at him.
Draco's face fell completely. "What?"
She bit down on her lip to try to keep the tears from falling but one escaped. She quickly wiped it away. "I'm keeping it no matter what but I'm not asking you to be in his or her life."
Draco furrowed his eyebrows, taking a step towards her. "What are you saying, Granger?"
"I'm saying," She paused. "You can be in this child's life or I can tell people that I don't know who the father is. Whatever you decide I will be okay with it. I just needed you to know. I wasn't going to hide this from you."
Hermione noticed the water rising in his eyes and she knew she had her answer. "Hermione, I can't. Not with everything-" He broke off and looked as though he was struggling to get the words out.
Hermione nodded and wiped another tear away from her face. "I understand." She started to walk past him but stopped just a foot behind him. She looked at his back from over her shoulder as he stared down at his feet. "I just want you to know, I'm never going to keep them from you. If you ever change your mind, come find us. It doesn't matter if it's a week or five years from now. They will always be your child."
She heard a sniffle and watched as his hand came up to wipe his face. Hermione didn't know what was in store for them in the future but she knew that this was only the beginning.