The Baby Project

A/N: And for those of you that thought I would NEVER finish.....
I'M BACK!!!!
(I'll be posting chapter 34 next week...we're almost at the end, people!!!!)


THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO KIMBERLEY1983.
Congratulations on the birth of your baby girl...and I have to say that I am HONOURED that you actually named her Airyn-Lucille...seriously...you have no idea.

*Tears Up*

I hope both you and Airyn-Lucille are doing great, and I certainly hope that you enjoy the next few chapters :) xx


Chapter Thirty Three

Because I told you, you would live to regret it,
and now I don't wanna make you feel bad.
But when it comes to me just forget it,
I'll be the best you never had.
You put me through so many emotions,
Now baby it's your turn for that.
'cause in your empty heart I left a mark,
The best you never had.


Draco's current expression would not lift from his face.

Hermione knew the exact reason, but right now she was determined not to bring it up with him. Instead, she watched Airyn wriggling around in her Father's arms restlessly to find some sort of escape, then giving up for a few brief moments and resting her head on his shoulder in defeat before getting her second wind and trying again.

"Under the circumstances, I think you will find our motives behind this particular decision understandable." Dumbledore told them assertively, gracefully getting up from a wooden chair in the cosy kitchen.

Draco almost snarled at the man in front of him. "Yeah, because this is the one place my Father would not think to look."

Hermione frowned at him. "Actually, from what I've heard... this is probably the last place your Father would want to look."

Draco rolled his eyes whilst fighting off his daughter's wayward arms. "That makes me feel so much better."

"I can assure you that your safety was put first in all of this, Mr. Malfoy" Snape said smoothly from the other side of the room. "This is the safest place possible for you at this very moment."

"I don't feel very safe." He told them all irritably, still attempting to stop Airyn from wriggling out of his arms.

"It's nice to know that our presence has that effect on you, Draco."

Hermione glared at him for being so rude in front of their accommodators. They didn't have to do this for them; they were more than obliged to turn them away... and yet here they were, ready to take them in as a gesture of goodwill for their faith in Professor Dumbledore.

"I am sure Mr. Malfoy will learn to watch his tongue in future, Andromeda." Snape answered the dark haired woman standing by the kitchen door.

"I have handled the petulance of his Father’s character before." Andromeda said sternly, looking down at Draco's bowed head. "I am fairly certain that my sister would have shown her offspring that manners cost nothing... something her Husband had sadly never been taught."

Draco fought hard to bite back a remark. He knew that his Father was the whole reason that they were hiding away, but Family honour was just that... honour. He was not going to last five minutes in this place if that blood traitor was going to continue to rub him up the wrong way.

"I don't mean to offend anyone." Hermione cut in suddenly, seeing the look of restrained anger on Draco's face. "But I thought the safest place for any student was Hogwarts?"

Dumbledore nodded with contempt. "In different circumstances we would keep you at Hogwarts under no uncertain terms... but it has come to my attention that there may be eyes and ears within our walls that might unintentionally cause damage." He saw both students looking at him curiously. "Therefore, myself and both Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape thought it be best to arrange another accommodation where you would be in safe hands and under close watch."

"Right." Draco almost snorted in disbelief. "That's what you call this place?"

"I am the only one who would take you in, Draco." Andromeda cut in, her sharp voice reminding him of his Mother's for a moment. "Everyone else heard your name within the equation and turned you away."

"Maybe you should have done the same." He almost spat at her.

"Maybe," She answered thoughtfully. "But then again, I am not inhumane...I cannot turn one of my own away, no matter how much I may dislike what they stand for."

"I am not one of yours" Draco retorted, holding his baby tighter to him as he felt the anger flare up inside of him once again. "I will never be one of yours."

Andromeda gave him a fraction of a smile. "Oh, how little you know."

"Then it is settled." Dumbledore announced, sounding oddly cheerful despite the tension. "I will send news if I hear anymore progress, and once everything seems to be settling down I will alert Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley of your new situation... I am sure a few visits will go unnoticed if we are discreet."

Hermione nodded and smiled; now not feeling as lost as she had a moment ago.

The Professors bid their students farewell before getting into the tiny grate by the fire and flooing themselves back to the school.

Hermione looked around the small kitchen, glancing over at Ted Tonks as he sat on one of the little wooden chairs around the table, absentmindedly smoking his pipe as he read the daily newspaper.

Silence consumed the room uncomfortably as Andromeda bustled about the kitchen, making herself busy in a very Mrs Weasley-like fashion. She was about to make idle conversation about Nymphadora when Draco shot up from the chair suddenly and made his way towards the wooden door, cutting off the kitchen to the rest of the house.

"Where do we sleep?" He asked bluntly, not looking at anyone in particular as he said this. Airyn was currently staring up at the picture of Tonks on the wall next to her, letting out giggling, babbling sounds as Tonks’ hair changed colour and she pulled faces within the picture.

"There's the attic and the room across from mine and Ted's." Andromeda told him blankly, choosing to stab at an unpeeled potato. "Take your pick."

Hermione watched as Draco opened the door and walked through it with great strides, obviously wanting to get to his destination rather quickly. She turned back to Andromeda, feeling uncomfortable again.

"Thank you." Hermione told her simply.

The older witch turned around and gave the girl a smirk, and Hermione was reminded for the first time of Bellatrix Lestrange.

Although Andromeda's face seemed softer than her sisters, Hermione was all too aware of just how close to Draco's heritage she was at that moment.

In fact, in the right light Andromeda could actually be mistaken for Bellatrix.

A cold shiver ran down her spine.

"You're welcome, Hermione"


oxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Draco placed Airyn onto her back on the bed with shaking hands. Taking a few necessary breaths to steady his temper, he couldn't help the smirk that appeared on his face when he saw his baby rolling from side to side on the bed, attempting to roll herself over onto her front.

She resembled a tortoise stuck upside down inside its shell.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and put his head into his hands, before letting out a deeply suppressed sigh. How the hell had his life managed to lead him here? All his life he had been told the dangers of trading on the other side...the cost of what that would mean.

Yet, here he was... living under the very roof of the one person who had disgraced his family’s honour all those years ago.

'You've lived with Muggles, Mate,' He thought to himself grimly. 'You might as well go the whole hog and marry a Muggle while you’re at it.'

He knew the story.

Andromeda Black; the middle child of three sisters. Disgracing the Black family name when she ran off with a Muggle born wizard and married him.

Disowned by the family and banished from the tapestry, Draco had never seen his estranged Aunt before now.

All of his life he had been brought up to regard her as he would a Mudblood... impure vermin. His cousin Nymphadora had received the same treatment, and he had only ever seen fleeting glances of her every now and again through childhood.

God he hated this.

He was about to do some serious pacing when he felt a tug on his school robes from behind him. He looked around curiously, only to find that Airyn had somehow managed to turn herself around on the bed and was now attempting to pull herself up into a sitting position using what she could of his robes as leverage.

Draco smiled at her adoringly, forgetting his worries for a moment as he picked her up into his arms before allowing her to use her own legs to stand on the bed.

Airyn looked down momentarily, not sure what to make of the texture beneath her feet. When she looked up at Draco, she beamed a brilliant smile and then began to bend her legs and bounce herself whilst holding on to Draco's fingers for dear life. She let out a few high pitched giggles as she began to find her feet more, her head bobbing up and down as she tried to find leverage.

Draco couldn’t help but smile brightly at her, holding her hands tightly when she fell back onto her bottom on the bed. This did nothing to suppress her laughter. Draco let go of her hands and put one of his around her back to support her as she sat there bouncing herself up and down on the bed, clapping her hands with glee.

"She's a clever girl." He told her happily, before grabbing hold of her and throwing her into the air. This only served to bring more giggling forward, and she screeched loudly as her Daddy threw her higher.

"I've been looking for you."

Draco looked around sharply, about to shout at the intruder who had just witnessed a private moment between him and his daughter.

His accusing eyes let down their guard when they saw Hermione standing there in the doorway, her arms crossed and a smile upon her face.

"You've found us." He accused her mockingly, giving her a small smile.

Hermione made her way into the room gracefully, a look of happiness upon her face as she walked over to her makeshift family and kissed her baby on the cheek, ruffling her blonde curls in the process.

"Where's mine?" Draco almost purred into her ear whilst sneaking one arm around her waist.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "You'll get one as soon as you apologise to your Aunt."

A cascade of freezing cold water had descended upon Draco's demeanour instantly. He stepped away from Hermione and put Airyn upon his shoulder, paying her all the attention she needed.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You really are stubborn." She sighed in a bored voice.

"You don't know what you're talking about." Draco shot back in a dead pan. Hermione was one of the only other people in this house he could stand apart from Airyn... he really didn't want to argue about this now and lose all of that.

Then he really would be alone in all of this.

"I know that your Aunt had selflessly put us up in her house, without caring about what had happened in the past." Hermione nudged, knowing that she was close to making him lose his temper.

"She's not my Aunt." He answered, his voice starting to crack with his anger this time. But no... He had Airyn in his arms and in his presence. He would not subject her to any more arguing. "She never was my Aunt and she never will be my Aunt."

"But it was so many years go." Hermione began stubbornly, watching his body language carefully. "Andromeda lived through it all, and yet you are the one with the prejudice and you weren't even there."

He turned sharply to look at her. "She almost tarnished the Black name." He spat out. "There is no bigger dishonour than that"

"Oh, now that's your Father talking."

His eyes lit up menacingly. "This has nothing to do with my Father. This has everything to do with family honour and dignity... something that blood traitor downstairs knows nothing about."

Hermione's face was set in stone. "Have you learned nothing this year?" She asked him in a small voice. "You spent a whole two weeks in my house with my family." She said angrily. "You sat at my table and ate food that my Mother and Father cooked for you." She looked him dead in the eye. "Are you going to try and tell me that felt you were dishonouring your Family by staying with Muggles?"

Draco looked away. He knew what she was getting at. She thought that if he could so easily think so low of someone of his own blood heritage, then he was probably lying to her about his feelings on other subjects.

"You know that I got on well with your family." Draco told her, his anger fading and being replaced by guilt. "It was a very big step for me, and it was not something I was expecting at all."

"I understand that." she told him honestly, looking down at the floor.

"But this goes deeper than that, Hermione." He admitted truthfully. "This is about my blood... this is about family dishonour."

She looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Can't you just forget about that whilst we're here?"

Draco was torn. Too many times she had brought him to his knees and made him forget about his morals... the ones he had been brought up to respect. Was she making him go a step too far this time? She had pushed him to breaking point so many times, and he wasn't too sure just how much more he could take.

"I can't."

"Try."

"I don't think I can."

"Then just try for me."

Draco looked over at her and instantly regretted it. Her eyes were big and round, making his resolve melt right in front of her. How did she have the power to do that to him? He would never have guessed in a million years that Hermione Granger of all people would be the one to make him come crashing down.

"What do I get if I try?" He asked her with a defeated smile.

She answered his with a coy one.
"Me."
How the hell was he supposed to say no to that?


_____________________

A/N:

BIG BIG BIG thankyou to Dani!!!
Seriously, without you girl i would go crazy!!!!!
(and you're brilliant at the beta thing too...you know you are more than a spellchecker!!! hehe!!)


Hope you enjoyed this one, guys.
I had to bring andromeda in...more to come!!!
thanks for reading, really appreciate it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

shelly
xx