Hidden Meanings

Disclaimer: Not mine, but Jo's, not even the delectable Lucius Malfoy.

pinkwands: I feel Arthur needs to be more assertive in the books, Molly gets away with brow beating the poor man...

angel: They did take it well, but then what else could they do? And no, I am not going to put Sev and Remus together... there is SOMEONE I have in mind for BOTH of them... just be prepared that's all.

Citten: You will, just that Plot somehow squeezes its way sometimes.

Tiraspy: Hello, and thank you, it's rather fun writing it, I can tell you.

mary: Well, Arthur wouldn't let her, she wanted to and tried to get me to work it in the plot, but I told her that is not going to happen. She did prefer what I did instead. Will you lot be patient, Sev and Remus will get their reward...

BuckyKattGirl: You'll have to wait for more smut I'm afraid.

Ripewickedplum12: Here you go.

PART TWO

Pitter Patter

Hermione and Lucius had been married now for two months. Hermione was beginning to get worried; no signs were forthcoming that she was pregnant. If she didn’t start showing at least ONE minor sign within four months Lucius could renege on his part of the deal, and never help the Order. Although Hermione loved Lucius she felt that the Order took top priority and that was that. She was almost sure Lucius felt the same about being a Death Eater.

She and Lucius had just finished yet another wonderful coupling. She always felt glorious after they had sex. It was one of those sorts of feelings she couldn’t describe until right after the moment. Hermione liked the way that Lucius worshipped her, and she loved the way his cool, ice King exterior melted visibly when she touched him.

They had yet to make love in every room in the mansion, but they were getting there. Lucius had said that has always been one of his fantasies, but Narcissa did not wish to fulfil it. Hermione never asked why, there was always a flint hard expression in his eyes whenever he spoke of his ex-wife. Hermione knew that she was a forbidden subject of conversation, in fact her name was now the one not to be mentioned in his hearing, Voldemort he could just about tolerate.

“You’re worried about something, sweetheart?” Lucius asked, he thought that perhaps he had not performed well. He felt his seed shoot out. At least one of the little tadpoles should have made contact with the egg by now, as they made love like rabbits! What was Arthur’s secret?

“We make love at least, what? Twice a day, we’ve been married for two months, that’s eight weeks, eight times seven is 56, 56 times 2 is 112. That’s how many times we have coupled.”

Lucius rolled his eyes; she was even analytical after sex.

“What is your point, dearest?”

“Well, shouldn’t you think with THAT amount of times, I might be pregnant by now?”

Lucius sat up and thought about that. Draco wasn’t his son, and Hermione was right, they had made love an awful lot, in fact it was probably MORE than that, with the amount of unexpected quickies, and the like. She SHOULD be pregnant by now. Perhaps there was a problem with him.

“Tomorrow I’m going to get Severus here, he should know a way around this.”

Hermione nodded. She shivered, she began to feel guilty, what if she couldn’t have children? She had never had any of those sorts of tests done, and her mother was not a good indication of fertility. Apparently it had taken her parent’s years to get pregnant with her, Hermione didn’t have years, she had months.

“Are you cold, dearest?” Lucius asked as he noticed her shiver. He picked up the covers and wrapped them around her and snuggled her into his arms.

“Lucius,” she mumbled. “What if – well – what if I can’t have children?”

“I am sure the problem is not to do with you, Hermione, I am sure you’re fertile.”

Hermione shifted around in his arms to turn to face him.

“And you’re as much a man as ever, then what is wrong?”

Lucius didn’t want to think about it. He couldn’t go out of the Mansion. Arthur had stuck his neck out at the Ministry, and Scrimgeour would only let him out of the Mansion with four Aurors watching him. And this was a matter he did not want anyone else to know about. It would be the ultimate humiliation for Lucius for everyone to find out he was impotent. For once he wasn’t going to suspect the problem to be anyone else’s rather than his own, he had been married for twenty five years for pity’s sake, and his marriage wasn’t THAT frigid.

Hermione fell asleep in his arms, with a slight troubled frown on her face; the idea of sex was to keep the worries at bay, but this time it didn’t work. Hermione looked troubled. This couldn’t wait for tomorrow. He wouldn’t be able to sleep not knowing whether he was impotent or not.

He gently rolled her on her side and got out of bed, he wrapped a robe around his body, and picked up a candle. He lit the candle and then he walked out of the bedroom to go down the stairs. He walked up to the fireplace and threw in a handful of floo powder.

“Spinner’s End – Severus Snape,” he said clearly.

Snape was startled to say the least to see Lucius Malfoy’s head showing through the fireplace.

“And what seems to be the problem, Lucius?” Severus asked.

“Step over, I need to talk to you, its something that only one friend can say to another.”

Severus rolled his eyes. It was lucky he wasn’t much of a sleeper. He set his book aside, and picked up his mug of cocoa, and stepped through to Lucius Mansion.

“What is this problem?” Severus asked, sitting down. He was still dressed. Lucius looked at the time on the clock. It was only midnight.

“Hermione’s not pregnant yet!” Lucius exclaimed.

“And why is that a problem? There’s still four months to go.”

“Severus we’ve made love practically all the time these past two months, why isn’t she pregnant?”

“These things can’t be rushed,” Severus said. “In fact I’d widen the length of time if I were you.”

“Oh, and then the Order would say that I was deliberately holding her back on being pregnant! I want this heir Severus, but I’m afraid that I may be – well – impotent.”

Severus was taking a sip of cocoa when Lucius said that, and immediately spat it out, his eyes held laughter there.

“Sorry?” Severus asked, with large amounts of amusement in his voice.

“I think I maybe impotent,” Lucius snapped, “and it’s not funny, Severus.”

“Sorry, I know it’s not. All right, so you want me to perform the fertility charm on you?”

“Just to see if I am?” Lucius asked.

Severus closed his eyes. This was not the most perfect of situations. Lucius had to be naked for the spell to be performed. Severus was a bit of a prude when it came to seeing other naked males. Hell, he didn’t even like seeing his OWN naked body. He wished that it were Hermione that had this doubt. He would have LOVED to have performed the charm on her.

“Any reason why you feel it’s you, Lucius?” Severus asked.

“Well, I am the one that’s been married before, and Nar – well – we weren’t exactly a frigid couple you know. Twenty-five bloody years with her, and we only had Draco, and he turned out to be Black’s bastard. If you hadn’t of killed him then I would have.”

“Technically it was Bellatrix that killed Black,” Severus said.

Lucius nodded, and then he disrobed himself, and laid back on the sofa. Severus gulped. It was going to take some very good strong fire whiskey to get this picture out of his head. He put his wand over Lucius testicles, and started the fertility charm – silently. He hovered the tip over Lucius penis, and then the tip of Severus wand began to change from red to blue, and then it turned purple.

Lucius decided to not look down. He did not like the idea of Severus seeing his naked testicles anymore than Severus did, but he knew it was the only way to test it.

“Right,” Severus said, the way a healer would. Lucius sat up and put his robe back on.

“Well,” Lucius said.

“Nothing wrong with you, whatsoever, you are fertile. VERY fertile, I’d say you could give Arthur Weasley a run for his money one day.”

“What is going on?” Hermione’s voice echoed in the dark library, the only light coming from the fireplace.

“What do you mean, dearest?” Lucius asked.

“Why did I walk in here to find you naked, and Severus hovering his wand over you’re penis?”
“I was performing a fertility charm on him,” Severus said. “My apologies, Mrs Malfoy,” Severus had a self-mocking smile on his lips as he addressed Hermione.

“Why?”

“Well,” Severus said, as Hermione seated herself beside her husband, “it appears your husband feels he’s inadequate.”

“He isn’t,” Hermione said.

“Precisely, the wand glowed a dark purple. That’s absolute virility if I say so myself.”

Hermione nodded. Everyone knew that from pink to red, meant you were least likely to have children, and from blue to purple it meant that you’re as fertile as the earth.

“Then the problem must lie with me, my mother and father spent years trying to get pregnant for me. I wonder if I am infertile?”

“Do you wish for me to perform the spell on you, Mrs Malfoy?” Severus asked.

Hermione looked at Lucius, and Lucius nodded. He got up and walked around to the back of the settee. He hovered over Hermione to protect her.

“Lucius, could you leave the room please?” Severus asked. “I can’t do this with you being so tense.”

Lucius scowled at Severus, he could damn well do it with him being so tense. He may not trust Severus all too well, but he trusted Hermione, and he had not clamped the fidelity charm on her yet. He wanted to test her, and this was as good a time as any. He walked out of the room, and Hermione undressed.

“How long is this going to take?” Hermione asked. She laid back comfortably. With females the charm worked slightly differently. Severus had to feel around her womb area first. Funny, he swore he felt something there.

“Not long,” he answered.

She let his hands do what they had to do, and then he hovered his wand over her womb, abdomen, and vagina. He frowned at the light. This was not the result he wanted to see. There was a limit, and this was his. He touched and felt around her womb again, and he shook his head. He helped Hermione up, and she robed herself and then sat down. Severus looked at her, his expression unreadable even in this dismal flickering light.

“Severus?” she inquired in that warm voice of hers.

“I suggest you get to a healer, but from my mediocre talent as one, I can detect a small life form there.”

“But that’s impossible,” Hermione said passionately. “I had my period last month!”

“Impossible or not, Mrs Malfoy, you are pregnant. I checked twice, and this fertility charm is NOT wrong.”

Hermione got up off the settee, she walked over to Severus and fell on her knees and clasped her hands in his.

“Why do you sound hurt at my name, Severus?” she asked.

“You know why,” he whispered. He took his hands out of hers and then cupped her face in them. “You could have been mine, you know, Hermione.”

Hermione lowered her eyes and then looked back up at him. She leant forward as did he and they were just about to kiss when Lucius strode into the room. Hermione immediately got up off the floor, and then she walked up to Lucius and hugged him.

“Severus seems to think that I am already pregnant. He said I should go and see a Healer to have it checked out properly, but he thinks there is a life here.”

Lucius looked at Severus. The same self-mocking sneer was adorned on the raven-haired Wizards face. Lucius sighed, and shook his head. The sooner the other Wizard would fall for someone he could ACTUALLY have, the better.

“I’ll take my leave then, as it seems my job is done.”

“Stay for the night,” Hermione said.

Severus bowed in her direction. “I would, Mrs Malfoy, but I have a cold miserable lonely bed awaiting me at Spinner’s End. I’d hate to disappoint it.”

Hermione looked down on the floor, and she turned to Lucius, who looked at Severus with something of triumph in his eyes.

“Goodnight, friend.”

Hermione rolled her eyes and punched Lucius in the chest. She walked up to Severus and stepped up to kiss Severus on the cheek.

“Goodnight, Severus,” she said.

Lucius narrowed his eyes at Severus; he took two quick strides and grabbed Hermione’s hand and yanked her back to him, and pulled her into his possessive embrace.

Severus went back to Spinner’s End, hating himself all the more, and wishing for once, someone young and beautiful would come his way. He looked at his reflection. As if!

~*~*~

Merlin swooped into Grimmauld Place the next morning. Harry grabbed the letter, the owl glared at him impertinently but Harry had decided to give it some cheese, which the owl took gratefully. It was addressed to Molly. He walked out of the study and into the laundry where he’d knew he’d find her. Or thought he knew. It was Ginny in there instead. She was doing the laundry wearing nothing but her bra and knickers.

“Uh,” Harry said. Ginny twirled around and smirked as she saw Harry’s blush creep along his face and neck.

“It’s not like you haven’t seen it before, Harry,” she murmured huskily. Harry gulped down his embarrassment, and he looked around to focus on anything but a practically naked, almost fiancée.

“Right, so, um, where’s your mother?” he asked.

“In the kitchen,” Ginny replied, she walked up to Harry, swaying her hips. She placed a soapy hand on his white shirt, the water seeped through the cotton, and made it see through. “You really should have a tattoo on your chest.”

“I think you’re mum’ll kill me if I did anything like that.”

Ginny giggled, and pulled Harry close to her. She tiptoed up and placed her lips on his, and Harry responded. He wrapped his arms around his petite girlfriends waist. Their tongues danced together beautifully, and he was just about to shove her into a wall when they were interrupted.

“Disturbing something?” Remus asked. Harry looked up at Remus and Ginny grabbed a towel to wrap her body in.

“Sorry, Remus. I was just, er, on my way to see Mrs Weasley.”

Ginny ruffled Harry’s hair, and after securing the towel with a spell she attended to the laundry. Remus liked these two youngsters most of all. He would, they reminded him of James and Lily. Ginny got back to the cleaning of the clothes. Remus dumped his bag on the floor and left the room.

He walked into the library and took out a photograph he stolen from Harry’s photo album of Hermione, taken about six months ago. His heart ached for her, and he felt lost and lonely these past couple of months.

~*~*~

“Molly, this letter’s for you,” Harry said. “It was from Malfoy’s owl.”

Molly had just put a pie in the oven that was going to be part of lunch or dinner. She turned around, she placed a flour-smudged hand on the letter, and she narrowed her eyes at the seal. No matter what her husband said, Hermione Malfoy nee Granger was a tramp. She broke the seal and read the letter out loud.

“Dear Mrs Weasley,

Please meet me in St Mungo’s waiting room, I am going to check that I am pregnant, and as excited as I am by the thought that I am pregnant, I am also scared and I need you. I would ask my own mother, but she doesn’t even know I am married; her opinion of my husband is – well – not friendly to say the least.

I know what you must think of me, considering what you thought about me during the whole Viktor thing, but I honestly did not want any of this to happen, but it did. I didn’t want Ron to die. I truly loved him, Mrs Weasley, and I still am heartbroken by his death.

I love Lucius though, it’s strange but there you are. Sometimes the most bizarre things can happen. He’s a changed man, honestly. He said that if he had an opportunity to go back he’d live his life differently.

I hope to see you there, I honestly don’t want to go through this alone, and I love you, Mrs Weasley. If I could EVER choose a mother, it would be you. Isn’t that a terrible thing to say? That I’d rather you, than my own mother, but there you have it, you are my fantasy mother.

You loved Ron and this must hurt you indeed, but I did too, more than you could ever imagine. If this is a boy I am going to try and incorporate his name that is if I am pregnant.

Yours in friendship

Hermione Malfoy.”

Harry had a lump in his throat; he had never known Hermione to be a cruel liar. Her feelings and emotions are completely genuine. She’d never use words to twist people around her little finger, what Hermione wrote there was all true.

Molly looked up after reading the letter. She put it carefully on the table and undid her apron. She walked up to the sink and washed her face and hands. She put a tidying charm on her hair, and then she picked up her bag.

“The pie needs to come out in about half an hour, Harry. And tidy up the kitchen whilst you’re about it.”

Harry sighed. “Yes, Mrs Weasley.” Once she was out of the kitchen he smiled, and breathed a huge sigh of relief. He knew she wouldn’t stay mad at Hermione for too long. Not once Hermione had explained herself to Molly.

~*~*~

Hermione was hopping from one foot to the other in nervousness, this would be the first time Hermione would look into the eyes of her would be mother in law since her marriage. She hadn’t even checked herself in yet. She couldn’t. Not without Molly. If Molly didn’t turn up, Hermione would just set up camp in here until she did.

Molly came in the door, and she gazed furtively around the room to catch sight of a brown haired girl. Hermione spotted her first, and her heart leapt out of her throat. Her first impulse was to run to her and fling her arms around the older Witch’s neck. But her nerves stopped her from doing that. Molly finally found her, and she strode up to the young Witch and as soon as they were face to face, Hermione looked down on the floor.

“Molly, I’m…!”

But she was cut off by an extremely fierce hug from Molly Weasley.

“What’s done is done,” she said, rubbing Hermione’s back. “I was angry I must admit, and still am. But there’s no use in us not being friends. Besides, there’s a little baby to be got out of this. A life for a life.”

Hermione burst into tears on Molly’s shoulder, and Molly sat her down.

“I loved Ron, I really did, Molly. Not a day goes by when I don’t think of him, and the more I think of him, the more determined I am to make sure this happens.”

“It is a bit unorthodox though,” Molly said. “Most girls would rather kill the killer.”

“Since the killer can only be killed by Harry that won’t accomplish anything. What we can do is minimize his ranks, which is a far more effective revenge. Lucius will do what he say’s he would do.”

“I can’t be so sure,” Molly said. “There is a little bit of history between Lucius and I.”

“WHAT?” Hermione asked.

“Oh yes, he tried to split me and Arthur up. But he didn’t succeed; I was pregnant for Bill at the time. This was something I never told Arthur. I had to do a test to see if the child I was carrying was indeed Arthur’s. Thankfully it was.”

Hermione had some shocks in her life but this would explain the tension that was always apparent when it came to Arthur and Lucius. She regarded Molly closely.

“So, why does he like me?” Hermione asked out loud.

“I don’t know why, but he does.” Hermione got up, and then walked up to the desk to check herself in. She walked back up to Molly, and sat down on the chair. She looked around to see if there were any magazines. “What are you doing, dear?” Molly asked.

“Looking for a magazine to read whilst I’m waiting,” Hermione explained.

“What a strange muggle custom,” Molly said.

“What do you mean?”

“MRS MALFOY, PLEASE REPORT TO ‘OTHER NON MAGIC RELATED PROBLEMS!’ ON SIXTH FLOOR. TO SEE HEALER THOMPSON.”

Hermione furrowed her brow. They had added a new floor; she supposed that St Mungo’s didn’t want Wizards and Witches to cure themselves only to be selected to go to one of the first four floors.

“That was quick,” Hermione said, as she and Molly were walking up to the lift.

“Oh yes, it’s fast here you know.”

Hermione held tightly onto Molly’s hand. The lift stopped to let more passengers on, and more off. They eventually reached the sixth floor.

Healer Thompson was a professional looking Witch that sorely reminded Hermione of what her mother looked like in her dentist gear.

“Ah, what seems to be the problem, Mrs,” Healer Thompson double-checked the notes to see if she got the name right. “Malfoy.”

“I think that I maybe pregnant. I had a friend do a fertility charm on me, and he said that he felt life. He suggested I come here to have it done professionally,” Hermione explained in a rush.

“I got the gist of that,” Healer Thompson said smiling, although her eyes showed no hint of amusement. “Well, if you’d like to take off your clothes and lie down on the bed there, I’ll perform the fidelity charm and have a potions test.”

“What potion test?” Hermione asked.

“The Patriarchus,” Healer Thompson said in a neutral tone.

“Are you implying I sleep around? Believe me, Healer Thompson, if you were married to a man that could satisfy you with just a wink of an eye then you wouldn’t NEED to sleep around!” Hermione exclaimed hotly.

“Hermione,” Molly said. “It’s just a standard test. No one was questioning your fidelity.”

Hermione flushed. “Sorry, but rest assured if I am pregnant then the baby’s father is definitely Lucius Malfoy.”

Healer Thompson faltered slightly at the name. She looked at the young woman lying on her bed; she must be pretty brave to be married to a known Death Eater. Or pretty dumb… she looked at Hermione again, and decided on the former. Close scrutiny of the eyes told the Healer immediately that the girl might be many things, but dumb wasn’t one of them.

Hermione unclasped her bag, and brought out a small piece of blonde hair cut from Lucius fringe.

“He said to expect that potion, but I honestly didn’t think I needed it.”

“That’s all right, a lot of other women feel that way about this particular test.”

Healer Thompson took a pair of tongs, and opened a fridge door, she clamped the tongs around a phial, and then she put a warming spell, and the potion defrosted. She sprinkled the hair into the potion and immediately the potion frothed and bubbled, and she smiled satisfactorily. The Healer nodded and jotted down some notes. She then walked up to Hermione and massaged around Hermione’s womb. She walked back to her note pad and wrote some more down. She walked back to Hermione, and placed her wand over Hermione’s womb, abdomen, and vagina. The colour matched the one in the potion. She walked up to her notepad and jotted some notes down again. She laid her quill down, and then she swung her chair around, and looked over her glasses at Hermione.

“I suggest you get dressed,” she said. Hermione got up off the bed, and got dressed. She sat down, holding tightly onto Molly’s hand. “Have you had any symptoms?”

Hermione shook her head.

“Hmm, no morning sickness, skipped periods?” Hermione shook her head again. “How long have you been married to Mr Malfoy?” she asked.

“Two months, tomorrow,” Hermione said.

“You are two months pregnant, Mrs Malfoy. You must have conceived either before your marriage or on your wedding night.”

“You mean? I am pregnant?” Hermione gasped. “But – but that is impossible. I had my periods.”

“A skipped period is not always an indication that one is pregnant, Mrs Malfoy. Neither is not being sick in the mornings.”

Hermione felt woozy. She looked briefly at the notepad.

“Can I take some proof that I am to my husband?” Hermione asked. “He’ll demand some sort of medical proof.”

“Of course,” Healer Thompson complied. She handed Hermione the potion and put a freezing charm on the bottle. “THAT should allay his doubts.”

Hermione took the potion phial, and placed it in her bag, and got up off the seat.

“Thank you, Healer Thompson.”

“I could tell you the sex of the child if you like?” Healer Thompson offered.

“No thank you, I always thought of pregnancy as a present that is labelled, ‘do not open until nine months,’ and I do not wish to spoil the surprise.”

The Healer nodded, and offered her hand, and both Hermione and Molly Weasley shook hands with her, and they walked out of the room.

~*~*~

Lucius sat on the bed, holding the phial in his hand and looked up, there were tears of joy in his eyes. Hermione smiled down at him, he placed the phial in a draw by his bed, and took her in his arms and spoke to her womb.

“Now listen to me, young lad, one thing I do not tolerate is slackness. You better arrive on time, and be good to your mother. Also you are a Malfoy! Got that, a Malfoy! ACT like it.”

Hermione giggled and held his head against her womb. She sighed, and he started to cry.

“What’s wrong, Lucius?” Hermione whispered.

“I am in love with this child already, isn’t that silly?”

“No,” Hermione said, “it proves you’re human after all.”

Lucius nodded, and kissed her belly button. He squeezed Hermione’s buttocks and then he looked up at her.

“I love you, too,” he said hungrily.

“I love you, Lucius, and this child will be perfect.”

“With both our looks and brains, of course he is.”

Hermione laughed, and swatted his shoulder. He leant back causing Hermione to go with him. He rolled her over on her back and her brown eyes gleamed with joy and love.

“How are you so certain it’s a boy?” Hermione asked.

“The purple tip proves that,” Lucius said.

“It just means that you’re fertile,” Hermione said. Lucius stroked her sides.

“I’ve always found women that are pregnant more beautiful than when they are not.”

Hermione stroked his face and she leant up and kissed him passionately.

“I’ve always found proud fathers sexy, too,” she murmured huskily in Lucius ear, before she nibbled it. “Oh, now what about your part of the deal?”

“Tomorrow,” Lucius muttered, as he sucked on her earlobe.

“Now, otherwise…!”

Lucius scowled at her. If she wants to play like that fine, he’ll let her.

A/N Just to say this is going to be a bloody long story, as I've already reached 117 pages on word, and this is the first story to go up to 70 reviews WOOW, give yourselves a good pat on the back people... and more like them please!