From Venice with Love

Hermione took a moment to compose herself, and then followed Draco out the portrait. She walked down the corridors quickly towards Gryffindor tower. As she reached the portrait, she heard angry, muted voices coming from a corridor ahead. She peered around the hall to see Draco and Harry facing each other in an empty classroom, both looking extremely angry.

Pulling out her wand, Hermione whispered, “Undisonus,” and she could at once hear their voices clearly.

“…stoop so low,” Draco was saying to Harry. “Using her like that. What if she was caught there? I can’t believe you’d take that risk.”

“Why would she be caught?”

“There are wards on the house,” Draco sneered at him. “She may be able to get in, but the second you or your bloody Order cross the threshold, the alarm will trigger.”

“Then tell us how to turn it off,” Harry snapped.

“Never,” Draco said in an icy voice. “Perhaps you’ll just send her in by herself, a pregnant woman. You’re no better than he is. Using innocent people to achieve your ends.”

It took Hermione a moment to realize he meant Voldemort. Harry had gone pale with anger. “Never compare me to him,” he hissed, gripping his wand tighter.

“Perhaps you thought you’d scare me into helping you by using Hermione,” Draco said, folding his arms in front of him. “It won’t work. I’m not noble like you, Potter. I’ve owled my father that there may be a spy mission on the houses,” he went on in a smug voice. “He’ll have anything of importance moved immediately.”

“You evil, self-centred bastard!” Harry roared, bringing his wand up.

Draco smiled at him. “Go ahead, curse a prefect, see what happens.” Hermione noticed his own wand move up as well.

Harry seemed to think better of it and lowered his wand. “I can’t for the life of me understand what Hermione sees in you,” he said.

Draco shrugged. “She kept coming back, so there must be something.”

“How dare you talk about her that way! She’s your wife!” Harry shouted.

“She betrayed me,” Draco said darkly.

“She did not. She told me no, you arrogant arse! Wouldn’t tell me anything about the house or you.”

Draco seemed to falter for a moment. “I can’t trust her,” he said finally. “I thought I could, but I can’t.”

“Well, she trusts you,” Harry said in a lower voice, sounding defeated. He slouched over on a desk. “I thought you would go in her place. I wouldn’t have let her go.”

“I’m not a Gryffindor, Potter.” Draco said, his voice losing its edge and just sounding tired. “You should have known that wouldn’t have happened.”

“You’re married to her; she’s pregnant with your child. You should want to protect her.” Harry said, glaring at him.

“I’ll protect her from my father and You-Know-Who,” Draco said. “I will not take a side in your bloody war. Hermione knows that.”

Harry shook his head. “I don’t understand you,” he said. “If I fail, then you’ll lose Hermione because he will kill her. Do you not understand that?”

Draco didn't answer, but Harry continued. “Do you think he’ll let a half-blood Malfoy live? Do you honestly?” When Draco still didn’t respond, Harry turned to leave. “Even you can’t be that thick.” He left the classroom and ran smack into Hermione. He gave her a weary glance and walked away towards the Gryffindor Common Room.

Hermione paused a moment at the door, then opened it. Draco leaned on the edge of a desk, looking at the ground. He looked up when she entered, but his face remained expressionless.

“Did you really owl your father?” Hermione asked quietly, taking a seat on the desk beside him.

Draco shrugged. “I’m not telling you.” He looked up over her head. “Go run away and find your friends,” he said. “I don’t have anything to say to you.”

“You’re my husband.”

Draco laughed bitterly. “Like that means so much to you. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you and the baby are well provided for. Go find Potter and save the world.”

Fear rose in Hermione and her throat closed. “What do you mean? Are you…leaving me?”

“We’re bound for life. I’ll take care of you both, but I can’t be around you, knowing you’d betray me to that idiot Potter.” Draco still wouldn’t look at her.

Hermione sat for a moment, thinking. “Look at me, Draco.”

He finally met her eyes. Hermione saw anger and sadness in there looking back at her. “I love you,” she said.

He chuckled. “Maybe. But you’d still sell me out to Potter.”

She sighed. “No, I wouldn’t. Would you please stop the pissing contest between you and Harry for a moment and think about what would happen if Voldemort won, how life would be for me, for my baby. Our baby.” She took his hand. He flinched, but didn’t pull away. She put it on her stomach. “That’s whose side I’m on. This baby’s side. I want whatever is best for him or her, no matter what.”

She held Draco’s hand there in silence and suddenly she felt a strange feeling, like little bubbles around her stomach. Draco looked at her strangely. “It’s the baby kicking,” she explained.

“I didn’t owl my father,” Draco said softly, rubbing her slight tummy. He shook his head a little. “Go get Potter, I’ll wait here.”

“Thank you,” Hermione whispered and ran to the Gryffindor common room. She saw Harry playing chess with Seamus and went quickly to him.

“Harry? Can I speak with you? It’s important.” Harry looked at her warily, but nodded.

He followed her in silence to the classroom where Draco was standing, writing something on a piece of paper. He finished and handed it to Harry, who took it. “When you’re on the street read this to yourself and you’ll see the house,” Draco said quickly. “I can’t do anything about the wards, but if you enter from the terrace you shouldn’t trip one. This is it, Potter,” he said. “If I hear of you involving Hermione in any of this again, I’ll kill you myself. Is that clear?”

“Quite,” Harry nodded and squeezed Hermione’s hand briefly as he left the room. Hermione closed the door behind him, whispering a locking charm. She turned around and went over to Draco.

“Draco-“

“I did that for our child, not for you.” Draco said, pulling away as she touched his arm. “It doesn’t change anything.” She grabbed his arm again and again he pulled away. “I mean it.”

Hermione continued towards him until she had backed him into a desk with no where to go and put her hands on both his arms. He just stared at her, his breathing ragged. She moved one hand to touch his cheek, her eyes never leaving his. She pushed herself in between his legs to get even closer to him. He let her lean in and kiss his lips, but he didn’t respond. Hermione pushed forward and deepened the kiss. His mouth opened to her tongue but he still didn’t respond. “Draco, please,” she whispered. “I need you.”

“You can’t solve everything with sex, Hermione,” he said, but she could feel his erection on her leg telling her otherwise. She continued to kiss him and whisper how much she loved him, needed him, until finally she felt him respond. His hands came up into her hair as he roughly returned her kisses. Hermione moved hers to the belt of his pants and began to undo them as his hands began to work on her shirt. He turned them around so she was the one pushed up against the desk and lifted her onto it, all the time ridding her of her clothes. He paused a moment and his gaze slid to her stomach. It was hard to see through her clothes, but without them he could see it was definitely round now. He slid his hand across it, and then leaned down on kissed just below her belly button where the baby was growing. Hermione held her breath a second and he pulled his head back up to her lips and he pushed her gently down so her back was on the table. Hermione held his gaze throughout their lovemaking, irrationally afraid that if she broke it he would be gone. She clasped her legs around him as if to hold him to her even when they were both spent. They laid there for a moment, panting, before Draco pulled her back up and started to hand her clothing back to her.

“Stay with me,” she said quietly as he pulled her shirt back on her. “Tonight. Please stay.”

“I can’t,” he said, buttoning her shirt back up gently.

“You can. Snape will know where you are, he won’t say anything.”

Draco paused a moment, seeming to think it over before shaking his head. “My roommates will notice.”

“Who cares? I’m sure you spent some nights out before I came along. I need you to.”

Draco buttoned his pants and sighed. “This doesn’t fix everything, you know.”

“I can fix it,” Hermione said, stroking his hair. “You just have to let me.”

He lowered his forehead to hers. “Okay,” he said finally. “Let me go first. I’ll meet you in your room.” He kissed her forehead and left the classroom. She followed quickly behind him and kept him in her line of sight; desperately afraid he’d turn off and never come back. She sighed with relief as she saw him walk down the corridor towards her portrait. She looked around the corridor, checking for people, before she followed him.