His Saving Grace

CHAPTER NINE: Careful What You Ask For







Hermione sat on the sofa, a basket of laundry on the cushion beside her as she folded and stacked the clothes onto the coffee table. She smiled as she watched Draco and Harry playing with Grace on the rug, trying to get her to roll over. She smiled and cooed at them and occasionally she would roll onto her side before flopping back over onto her back. She listened in on the boy’s conversation while she went about her folding and sorting.







“So you were with Hermione from the beginning then?” Draco asked, smiling when Grace grabbed a handful of his hair and tried to put it into her mouth. He tugged her pudgy little fingers free, kissing them gently before leaning back out of her reach.







“Yes, she moved in with me as soon as she found out about Grace, why do you ask?” Harry looked over at Draco with a puzzled look on his face.







“I was just wondering…what was it like? I mean I missed out on the pregnancy and the birth, but you were there…” Draco looked down at his daughter. “I was just wondering what it was like to see her take her first breath, to open her eyes for the first time.”







Hermione set the towels she was folding onto the arm of the sofa and looked over at Draco thoughtfully. She smiled and walked over to them, kneeling down to pick up Grace.







“Harry, why don’t you take Draco into the other room and create a pensive for him, so he can see what it was like from an outside view, my memories are different than yours I’m sure.” Hermione said, carrying Grace across the room and settling her into her swing. She returned to her laundry as Harry took Draco into the library and reached onto a shelf for an antique vase.







“Draco, are you sure you want to see this?” Harry asked. “It isn’t pleasant and it was down right scary at times.”





“I’m sure, I should have been there, and I wish I had been there.” Draco said softly as he watched Harry place the tip of his wand to his temple and withdraw a silvery stream of light containing his memories of the last year. He placed it into the vase and held it out to Draco.





“Alright, don’t say I didn’t warn you, mate.” Harry said a slight smirk on his face.







Draco stared down into the vase for a moment before reaching in with his fingers and allowing himself to be lost in Potter’s memories.







****** ****** ****** ******* ******* ********



Hermione was sitting on an old worn sofa in the Weasley’s living room. Draco stood off to the side and watched as she told them of her situation, sobbing softly.





“I’m going to have a baby.” She said through her tears. Molly Weasley gasped softly and sat beside her.





“Oh, my dear, sweet girl. How did this happen?” She asked, stroking her hand over Hermione’s curls.





“It was a fluke really, just a moment that got away from us, neither of us really considering what our actions meant.” She said, closing her eyes, tears seeping from beneath her lashes.





“Hermione, who is the father?” Ginny Weasley asked, her arm draped over Hermione’s shoulder.





“He doesn’t know and I would rather not say until he does.” She said. “Suffice it to say it was a moment of weakness that caught us both by surprise.”







Draco watched as Ron knelt down at her feet, resting his hand on her knee.

“What will you do now?” He asked.





“I have a small inheritance from my grandmother that I can live on for some time, as soon as I have the baby I will find a job and try to take classes when I can. I’ll find a way to take care of us.” She said, wiping away the tears, the action was futile as tears continued to fall.







“You can live with me.” Harry said. “Molly and Ginny have cleaned and fixed up number 12, you and the baby can live with me for as long as you need to, Hermione. You won’t have to do it alone, if this is what you want, then we will help you.”







“This is what I have to do, Harry. I couldn’t live with myself otherwise.” She said softly.





“Did you love the father?” Ginny asked. Hermione laughed softly.







“In that moment I could have.” She answered. Draco’s stomach tightened at her words.





The scene before him shifted, the crooked little house morphed into the long, narrow structure of Harry’s home. Draco was standing in Hermione’s bedroom beside Harry watching Hermione try in vain to fasten a pair of trousers around the tiny curve of her belly.





“Mione, it’s not going to happen, you need to go shopping for those...pregnant lady clothes.” Harry said.





“They are called maternity clothes, Harry.” She snapped, finally giving in and flopping onto the edge of her bed. “Everyone who sees me will know I’m pregnant.” She whispered.





“Well you weren’t going to be able to keep it a secret forever.” Harry said gently.





“I know…it’s just…oh Harry I just can’t believe I was so stupid…why didn’t I cast the spell?” She shook her head sadly.





“Whoever he was, he must have really touched something in you to make you lose your head like you did.” Harry said.







“Yes, he did.” She said, smiling slightly. She jumped suddenly, a shocked expression on her face. “Oh my gods…Harry, it moved! The baby moved!” She said, resting her hand over the slight bump.





“Does it hurt?” Harry asked.







“No, it’s like little bubbles moving inside me…it’s weird…” She closed her eyes and immediately she began to cry.





“Hey…what is wrong with you?” Harry asked, pulling her into a hug.





“The owl came back again…still no word from him. He should be here.” She said.





“I’m sorry, Mione. I know this is hard for you.” Harry said, rubbing slow circles over her back. “We will find him and tell him eventually.”







The images changed once more and Draco was downstairs standing in the hall. Ron Weasley came running around the corner, sliding into the wall.





“Harry, she’s completely mental…I have no idea what to do…she put on her shoes and suddenly she was sobbing!” Ron said his face red and his eyes manic. Harry just sighed and pushed past his friend to get to the front room.





Draco followed behind him and watched as Harry smiled and kissed the top of Hermione’s head. She was standing near the front door wearing a pair of soft grey leggings and a white button down shirt over her enormous round tummy. Her head was tucked low and she was crying.





“Hush now, not too much longer.” Harry said, laughing softly. “You need me to take care of it for you?” He asked. Hermione lifted her head and nodded, her eyes red and glistening with tears.





Draco watched as Harry knelt down and tied her shoes.





“She was crying because she couldn’t tie her ruddy shoes?” Ron asked, staring incredulously at Harry as he tied Hermione’s trainers.





“Shut up, Ronald. You see how you feel when you can’t bend over anymore to do something as basic as tying your own blasted shoes!” She snapped, reaching for a tissue to blow her nose. “Cant see my damned feet anyhow, if it weren’t for the fact that they hurt all the damned time I would wonder if they still existed.”





Draco’s eyes widened as she went on a little tirade over her feet. The memories shifted again and Draco was standing beside a sleeping Harry’s bed. The door slammed open and Hermione waddled in, slapping Harry on his boxer clad bum. The young wizard sat up abruptly and pulled his wand from beneath his pillow as he looked around frantically.







“Mione? What is it, are you alright?” He asked.





“My water just broke…the baby is coming!” She said, her eyes wide with panic. Harry scrambled from the bed, snatching a pair of jeans from the floor and a shirt from the chair.







“Ok, we are ready for this, Mione, stay calm.” He said, shoving his bare feet into a pair of trainers and his wand into his pocket. He grabbed her by the shoulders and led her down the stairs. Just as Harry grabbed the suitcase the memories shifted once more and he was in a hospital room.





Hermione was lying on her back in the bed while Harry sat in a chair at her bedside. She was sweating, her face red and blotchy. She suddenly curled around her abdomen and rolled onto her side.





“Son of a fucking mother…” She groaned and grimaced as she clutched her abdomen. “I swear to all that is holy if I knew where the sodding little prick was he would think twice before ever considering another moonlight tryst.” She groaned. Harry was staring at her in shock, slowly scooting his chair back, he couldn’t go much further, soon his back would hit the wall.





“Um, Mione, are you going to be alright?” Harry asked. Her eyes snapped open, wild and unfocused.





“Do I look like I’m alright, Harry? I have a person trying to force its way out of my body!” She yelled, groaning as another wave of pain hit her. “Bugger! I hope his cock shrivels up and falls off!”







“Mione…I’ve never heard you swear like this…”







“Oh shut the fuck up, Harry!” She snapped. “Quit your whining you big baby!”







Draco was frightened and he felt sorry for Harry, guilty because it should have been him she was abusing, he was the one who had put her in the situation to begin with.







“Sorry, Hermione.” Harry said, his back pressed against the wall.







“Gods I can’t believe that something that felt so good could result in something that feels like this!” She screamed. The images flashed forward and Draco was standing beside Harry once more at Hermione’s bedside. A brunette medi-witch was between her bent legs telling Hermione to push. Draco watched as she curled around her belly, her face turning purple as she strained to push their daughter into the world.







“Very good Ms. Granger, ok, relax and breathe.” The medi-witch said, sitting up and patting Hermione’s knee gently. “I still can’t believe you are doing so well without pain relievers.”





Hermione rested against the pillows, her hair a mess, her face red and perspiring. Harry looked stunned as he reached out to take her hand.







“Um…doing great, Mione.” He croaked. His head snapped towards her and his mouth opened on a silent scream when another pain hit her and she squeezed his hand as she pushed.







“That’s it, just a little more!” The medi-witch said. “Come on, harder…” Harry actually yelled when Hermione bit into the side of his hand. “That’s it! Keep it coming…” Draco was looking back and forth between the medi-witch and Hermione trying to bite off Harry’s thumb frantically, his heart racing.





Hermione let out a blood curdling scream and fell back against the pillows with a sigh of relief.





“It’s a girl!” The medi-witch announced, placing the baby on Hermione’s stomach as she cut the umbilical cord and cast a cleansing spell over the screaming ball of red flesh. She helped Hermione wrap the baby in a blanket and snuggle her into her chest while the medi-witch went about getting Hermione cleaned up.





“Congratulations, Mione, she’s beautiful.” Harry said, looking down at the baby in amazement.







“Oh, she looks like him…like her father.” Hermione said, her finger stroking over the blonde fuzz atop the baby’s head. Draco peered over her shoulder, tears stinging his eyes as he watched the baby open her eyes for the first time. “She has his eyes.” Hermione gasped and began to cry.





“Hey now, this is a happy time, Mione. Don’t cry, look at your daughter, she needs a name.” Harry said, rubbing her shoulder and wincing at the purple teeth marks bruised into his skin.







“Grace…Grace Elizabeth.” She said softly.





“What about her surname?” Harry asked.







“I’ll leave that up to her father when he has the chance to figure out what he wants.” She said. The images shifted and Draco was suddenly surrounded by Weasleys, the room was nearly bursting with them as they surrounded the bed, kissing Hermione and gushing over the baby. Just as quickly he found himself standing in the quiet darkness of her room. Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating the bed where Hermione sat nursing the baby.





Draco looked down at Harry, slumped into a chair in the corner feigning sleep as he watched her.





“You were made in the moonlight you know?” She whispered to the baby. “Your daddy doesn’t know about you, I wonder what he will say when he sees you? You look just like him, Grace, he looks like an angel too when the moon shines in his hair.” Draco stood in amazement as he listened to her tell their daughter about him. “I’m sure he will love you. Even if he isn’t in your life, I’m sure he will love you. He has a great capacity for love I think, he just needs to learn how.” Draco wished he could reach out and touch them but he knew he would just pass straight through them. “For now, it’s just us and Uncle Harry.” She said.







“I’ll take care of you, both of you, Mione.” Harry said from the corner. The images began to shift rapidly from that point. Draco watched as Hermione sat on the couch, nursing the baby and falling asleep. He saw Harry take the baby from her arms and shift Hermione so she was lying down, covering her with a blanket before turning off the light and carrying the baby up to Hermione’s room where he slept in the bed beside Grace.





He flashed through scenes of diaper changes, baths, laughter, walks in the park and visits to the Weasley’s, all the things that Draco had missed. Harry had gifted him with memories of his daughters first months of life.





**** ***** **** ***** ******





Draco was slammed back into the chair, exhausted and stunned, emotion filling him as he set the vase onto the table.





“You doing alright?” Harry asked, offering him a glass of water. “Pensives can be quite draining.”







“I am so sorry.” Draco said, staring up at Harry. “You shouldn’t have had to go through that, I should have been there.”







“No worries, I would have been there regardless.” Harry said, taking a seat in the chair across from Draco. “Mione and Grace are my family, nothing would have kept me away.”







“You took care of them, you still do…you love them very much don’t you?” Draco asked.







“I do.” Harry said softly.







“Do you resent the fact that I have come back?” Draco asked. He could understand if he did.







“No. I am a little disappointed, I won’t lie to you, I did want to be Gracie’s adoptive father.” Harry said, sitting back and crossing his legs. “But she has a chance to know her real father, and believe me, I know how important that is. She’s a gift, Draco, don’t forget that.”







“I won’t. Thank you for sharing your memories with me, Harry.” Draco said, offering his hand in friendship to Harry. “Sorry about your hand.”







“Yeah well, if things work in your favor maybe the next time it will be your thumb she noshes on.” Harry said, laughing at the horrified expression on Draco’s face.





~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~





Thanks to everyone for reading! I know vulnerable Draco isnt the norm, but I think maybe in the end, it was more likely where his head was, well that and somewhat up his arse LOL. I like to explore their potential alter egos.....







mariteri - I am doing much better thank you....things are heading back in the right direction I just wish I could talk to hubby more. Thank you for asking :)