Mrs.Malfoy

“Dobby!”

He was there before she even finished the second syllable of his name. “Yes, Misses?”

“Don’t you DARE tell Master Malfoy or Master Snape! Do you understand? Not one word! No hints, no slips of the tongue, not one word!” Hermione’s finger wagged in his face.

“Yes, Misses. But why must Dobby not tell? Baby is happy news, yes?”

Hermione sat down on the edge of her bed. “No, Dobby. Baby is not happy news. Not now anyways.”

Dobby looked to his mistress with deep concern. He understood completely. The baby could be either man’s child. He could ascertain that much of worry in her voice. “Yes, Misses, Dobby understands. Dobby help Misses any way Dobby can, Misses.”

“Thank you. Could you please make sure the other house-elves don’t know about this? Use that Memoriam Oblivia if you must. No one must know,” she said as she began to lie down.

“Yes, Misses. Dobby will get rid of knowledge. Misses rest. Misses needs rest.”

“Dobby! No talk of rest. No ‘eating for two’. No hints of any kind!”

All Dobby did was nod and vanish the next instant. She looked up to the ceiling above her, propping a pillow behind her head. She thought of all the possibilities. Her last encounter with Severus was almost two weeks ago. It was fairly possible that, if they did have sex that missing morning, he was the father. However, Lucius did return home. And that night had been nice, much to her surprise. But was it long enough ago to conceive his child? Wizard magic being able to detect pregnancy early, be damned. She’s still human. It couldn’t have happened that fast! That was the last thing Hermione reeled her mind over when sleep took her. She tossed gently in her sleep having dreams of a bassinet and tiny blue booties.

*****

“Dobby told me everything!”

Hermione shot out of the sheets that had found themselves wrapped around her. Her eyes were bulging and the clear look of fear was all over her face. “HOLY MERLIN! HE TOLD YOU!?”

Severus stood for a moment perplexed. “Of course. Why wouldn’t he tell me Lucius came for a visit?”

Her shoulders slumped, her posture slacked, and a deep sigh escaped her lips. “Yes, Lucius came for a visit. I’m sorry. I was dreaming. I didn’t realize what you had said at first.”

“That was obvious.” He took a seat beside her desk across the room. He looked to the surface and noticed the diary that she managed to bring back with her from the library now that Lucius was gone. “Interesting find.”

“Yes, it is. Not much about her personal self though. Mostly just theories and notes,” Hermione replied. “Severus, why are you here?”

He sighed and placed the book back in its place. “I’ve decided to put aside whatever uncomfortable feelings I have about this entire situation in order to assist you in your endeavours to be rid of him. That is, of course, if you still want me to do so.”

Hermione raised up from the bed and donned her robe. “Yes, Severus, I would like it very much if you helped me. I don’t know what happened. Er…Well, I can appreciate the possibility that something did, but that doesn’t deter me from my original plan. I will be rid of Lucius and all of the pureblood hypocrisy by the time I’m through. Now, first things first. I’ll get dressed and meet you in the study. I want to show you some interesting texts I found on the subject of pureblood society and political hierarchy.”

Four hours and a multitude of books later, Hermione began to feel…strange.

“Are you alright, Mrs. Malfoy,” Severus asked, being sure to use her formal name to keep anything personal out of their associations. “You looked peaked.”

Hermione eased herself into the closest comfortable chair beside the desk where she had been standing over page after page of Bridget Wenlock’s history. “Yes, I will be fine. Just a bit famished is all. I haven’t eaten since you woke me this morning.”

“Ah, yes. My apologies,” he muttered as he left the room. He walked back in a few minutes later with some light sandwiches and a couple of Butter Beers.

Hermione picked up the small triangle of ham and cheese and devoured the entire thing in three bites. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that her research partner was staring at her aghast at her bad manners. “Sowwy,” she whispered with a full mouth.

He dismissed her behavior with a small wave of his hand and joined her in the refreshments. “You might want to get a drink to wash that down before you choke.”

Her hand was wrapped around the bottle before she realized what she was doing. “I can’t…”

His eyebrow perked again.

“That is to say, I don’t drink Butter Beer anymore. I need my senses to think clearly if I am to be free of this prison,” she reasoned. He seemed to accept her explanation and returned to his reading as he took small bites of the turkey breast and rye in his hand.

They remained that way for the longest while. Hermione sat on the sofa with her legs tucked beneath her, one book in one hand and a sandwich in the other. Severus was across from her in the leather wingback chair, his legs crossed such as a man would, with a book in his lap and a cup of coffee beside him on the small table to ward off the exhausting effects of the Butter Beer.

Severus didn’t know what happened. One moment, they were both engrossed in their books, and the next, Hermione was dashing for the loo. The faint sound of retching made him shrug his nose up in disgust.

She emerged a few moments later, wiping her chin with a wet washcloth.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, just morning…” she began. The word just seemed to pop out. He was no idiot. He could figure it out. The way she looked pale and weak earlier, and now, the vomiting and her slip of the tongue. She looked to him with large scared eyes.

His brow was furrowed slightly at first. Then slowly it receded back to its normal position. His eyes were squinted slightly, but then they were as wide as hers. Yes, he figured it out.

“How far along are you?”

She looked to her hands which were ringing themselves together. “I don’t know. I only just found out.”

He looked her over and pulled out his wand. A swish and a flick later and some muttered words Hermione didn’t quite hear, he answered, “It’s too early to tell. Could be weeks, could be days.”

She only nodded and went back to her book. All the while, he stared at her. He knew this complicated matters. If she was to give Malfoy an heir, according to the law, she was bound to the marriage forever, only to be freed through either her or her husband’s death. No divorce would be granted; regardless of Lucius’ sanity. They would just have to find another way than to try the mind games again.

However, if the child was his…

Author note: Didn’t think I’d give it away that early, did you? Hehe!!