If This Were A Normal Day...

Not sure if you remember, but I don’t own Harry Potter.
Chapter 28
Preparing for Departure

“Darlings!” Narcissa greeted them as they emerged from the fire place. “Back so....soon?”

Her sentenced slowed as she noticed that both were clearly upset.

Hermione was out right sobbing and Draco’s eyes were narrowed and his jaw set.

“Why don’t you go on up to our room and lay down, dear?” Draco said, gently taking Hermione’s forearm and ushering her toward the door.

She looked up at him and nodded before hanging her head and exiting the room.

Narcissa waited until she was sure Hermione was out of earshot before speaking.

“What in Merlin’s name happened?” she asked, her eyes wide.

“Her mother went absolutely ballistic! She screamed at her and called her a whore!” Draco cried. “It was horrible, Mother! She even went as far as to demand Hermione have an abortion!”

Narcissa’s brows furrowed together at the sound of the unfamiliar muggle word.

“What’s that?” she asked curiously.

“Well, apparently its a barbaric muggle procedure where unwanted children are sucked out of the womb with some kind of hose!”

Narcissa gasped and covered her mouth.

“No! She didn’t!” his mother cried.

“She did! And that\'s not even the best part! If the child were to miraculously survive the procedure, they break its neck! Then the body is disposed of in a large furnace!”

Narcissa’s eyes were full of tears.

“That\'s horrible!” she whispered sadly, her hand still clamped over her mouth.

“Well, needless to say, we won’t be returning.” he added.

“I just don’t know what to say.” his mother said, shaking her head.

Draco leaned forward and kissed his mother on the forehead.

“It will be fine. Hermione, the baby and I will be returning here after the birth and that\'s the end of it.”

“Good!” his mother smiled. “I like having you here.”

Draco gave his mother a small smile.

“I’m going to go check on Hermione.”

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

Hermione was curled up on Draco’s bed sobbing softly to herself.

Her mother had reacted just as she thought, but the abortion demand was more than Hermione could handle.

“I knew she’d take it bad.” Hermione thought. “But an abortion?”

And that horrible confrontation between Draco and her mother.

Was he serious? Was he really never going to allow her or the baby to see her mother again?

Not that she could blame him if he was. Her mother was totally out of order and she was grateful to Draco for defending her.

She inhaled deeply, trying to clear her mind and stop the flow of tears.

thump.....thump thump thump.....thump

Hermione smiled in spite of her emotional state. She rolled out of her ball and rested flat on her back, letting her hand rest on the swell of her lower abdomen.

The baby fluttered again.

“Hello, darling.” Hermione said warmly to her tummy, then immediately laughed at herself.

“I sound like Narcissa.” she thought with a chuckle.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the door opening.

Draco entered and stared at her curiously.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“The baby’s moving.” she smiled.

He flopped down onto the bed and insistently moved her hand to the side, replacing it with his.

“I still don’t feel anything.” he frowned.

“Well, just give it a little time- and don’t poke me again!!” she cried, noticing his index finger closing in.

Draco sighed and laid his head on her tummy.

“Why don’t you want to kick me?” he asked sadly.

Hermione’s tummy began to shake with laughter.

“Why are you laughing?” he demanded. “It’s not funny!”

“You’re so cute.” she smiled, running her fingers through his hair.

He looked up to scowl at her, then laid his head back down and snuggled against her belly.

“Mother’s very happy to have us home.” he said, tracing little circles across her abdomen with his finger. “Though she was very upset by your mother’s reaction.”

“Why couldn’t my Mum take this as well as yours?” she sighed deeply.

Draco raised his head to look at her once again.

Fresh tears were welling up in her eyes and slowly making their way down her already tear-stained face.

He moved up to lay beside of her and wrapped his arms around her, cradling her head against her chest.

“It will be okay.” he whispered, stroking her hair.

She didn’t speak, only snuggled closer and sobbed.

“Who cares what she thinks?” he cooed at her. “I love you and I love the baby. We don’t need your mother to be happy.”

“You may not need my mother, but I do.” she whispered, tasting salty tears as she spoke. “It’s like I work and work and work, but when I make one mistake all hell breaks loose.”

Her voice was growing increasingly louder.

“I’m not perfect, damn it! I’m human too! And maybe having a child wasn’t on my To Do list, but you know what? I’m going to have this baby and I’m going to be the best damn mother I can be! And I’m going to let my little girl make mistakes and have fun and be silly and run in the house and have all the kids from the neighborhood over and just let her be a silly, smelly, fun, happy child!”

Hermione was out of breath by the time she was finished.

She turned to see Draco looking at her wide-eyed with an eyebrow raised.

“Umm....well then, okay.” he said, nodding his head.

She was obviously extremely hormonal at this point and Draco feared for his life if he were to mention there were no children living anywhere near Malfoy Manor.

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

The morning they were to return to Hogwarts, Hermione woke with sunlight steaming in on her face.

Her hand instinctively groped for the form of Draco, but he wasn’t there.

Frowning, she sat up in bed and scratched her head, looking about the room.

A set of clothing was laid out over one of the chairs and both her and Draco’s trunks were no longer in the room.

Draco slipped into the room and shut the door behind him. He was carrying a plate piled high with sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, and various sliced fruit.

“I have loaded our trunks into the carriage and made all the necessary arrangements for our departure. So, I thought you could have a peaceful breakfast in bed, then take a long shower or bath if you prefer, then we would go down to the South Parlor and say goodbye to mother.” he stated, obviously proud of all he had accomplished.

“That sounds lovely.” Hermione smiled back at him.

She propped the pillows up behind her and leaned back against them while Draco placed her plate in her lap.

She smiled and began to eat slowly.

thump....thump.....

“Guess who’s awake this morning!” she beamed happily at him.

He gave her a small smile back, but was obviously sad.

“You’ll be able to feel her in time.” she said soothingly, reaching out to pat his arm.

“It’s not fair.” he grumbled.

“Oh, if you would like to take a turn carrying her I’d be more than willing to share!” she laughed at him.

He gave her a genuine grin back.

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

Her bath was extremely relaxing. She breathed in the smell of the bathroom deeply, cozying down deeper into the water.

She wanted to stay there forever and just let all her problems melt away. Her mother...the baby....Ron....

Ron.

He should be released by the time she got back to school.

Her stomach turned and did a flip-flop.

She really, really didn’t want to deal with him right now.

Everything just felt so....sensitive between the two of them. She wanted so badly to forgive him and she understood that at the time, Ron was sick. It didn’t change what happened though. It didn’t stop the nightmares or ease the pain.

She sighed heavily, then let her head slip under the calm surface of the bath.

The water filled her ears, making the sound of her heartbeat throb through them.

“What are you doing?” the muffled, concerned voice of Draco cut through.

She popped her head back up and looked at him.

“I was just resting...” she said, frowning.

“I figured you’d be happy!” he smiled at her. “It’ll be back to the books in just a few short hours.”

“Yea,” she chuckled nervously. “I’ve missed so much. How am I ever going to make it up?”

“Well, considering the fact that you’ve probably read all the books and memorized the spells, it should be fairly simple.” he said, extending his hand to help her out of the tub.

He bundled her up in a towel and kissed her forehead.

“You should get dressed.” he smiled at her.

She stepped into his bedroom and surveyed the clothes he had laid out for her.

She was surprised to see it was very close to something she would have chosen herself.

“I think you know me a little too well.” she called into the bathroom as Draco brushed his teeth.

She heard him chuckle, then turned to pick up her clothes.

She slipped on her pants, then pulled her sweater down over her ever growing tummy.

She frowned when she noticed it barely reached the bottom of the curve.

“See?” Draco whispered, sneaking up behind her and wrapping his arms around her. “I told you you’d need new clothes soon.”

She looked up at him and gave him a half smile, letting her hand roam over her tummy.

She was suddenly very body conscious. She had never been fat, nor even close to pudgy and it was really beginning to bother her.

“You’re so beautiful.” he whispered to her, before kissing her cheek and pulling her toward the door.

A/N: Okay, I know this is a slightly pointless chapter, but i wanted to do the whole return to Hogwarts thing in the next chappie! I started to get fanmail recently!! I knew there were people who enjoyed the story, but never really thought of them as my fans! To all those who sent me the emails full of love and support, I LOVE YOU! You’re the reason I’m continuing to write right now due to the fact that I’ve been extremely down in the dumps lately. I’m still trying to decide on the multiple fetuses thing. I’m afraid it will make the story cheesy cause everyone does the twins thing. It just seems like a very cookie cutter way to go. I mean, I just dont know. That would also kind of screw up my sequel as well b/c I know what life is like taking care of one baby, but no idea what its like to take care of 2!
Anyway, thank you for all your kind reviews! I really really appreciate it! Also, feel free to email me whenever. I loooooooove getting email!!!!!