Times Of Surrender

Hello there everybody. Thank you for the lovely reviews that you’ve given me. They inspire me to write better and more frequently. I hope as the story progresses you will enjoy every moment of it. As I said before I have changed quite a bit dramatically in this chapter. I think that some of you will find it more interesting then it was before. I know that I feel more comfortable with it now then I did months ago. Thanks for the reviews and thank you all for rereading my story to see the differences. I understand that most of you could have just given up on me because of my random decision to delete it. I am forever grateful that you stuck with me.

I should be writing more frequently now. I have just recently gotten rid of all the puppies I was fostering and taking care of so my life is more back on track. I was too busy to write before, but now I have loads of time on my hands and I am glad that I can get back to what I enjoy best. Even though I did love the ten lil puppies we had. ^_^

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Chapter Four

“What do you mean you’re pregnant with Malfoy’s baby?” Ron cried, jumping up from the kitchen chair to pace about the room. Harry reached a hand out to him, but Ron ignored the hand and kept walking to and fro.

“Just like it sounds, Ronald.” Hermione's patience had grown short and her headache was back even stronger than what is had been earlier. She wiped tears from her cheeks and looked to him for some sort of forgiveness.

“I…oh bugger.” Harry looked toward the kitchen window avoiding both Hermione’s tearful face and Ron’s troubled pacing.

“What are you going to do about it?” The red-headed boy took a seat beside Harry and reached for his pale hand.

“Well, there’s not a whole lot that can be done, now is there? I made an awful mistake and now here I am, pregnant.” Hermione leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, sniffling. “I’ve been going crazy since I found out about it. I thought I was just sick with some sort of bug. I figured that I would get some medicine for whatever it was and get over it.”

“You’re right Hermione; you won’t get over this one. You have choices though. You can get an abortion, you can keep it, or you can put it up for adoption?” Harry said trying to understand how his best friend of seven years was feeling. How would he feel if he were to find out he was to be a father?

“I could never live with myself if I had and abortion. Abortions are too cruel; they take away the gift of life. I can understand that some people get abortions because they are too young, or because they aren’t healthy enough to carry a baby. But I could never do that. I’m healthy and quite old enough to have a baby. I just couldn’t get do it.” Hermione’s eyes had snapped open and she was glaring at the green eyed boy.

“Well there is still the option of adoption. You could carry it to term and then find a good family for it.” Ron suggested.

The whole conversation was making her a little uneasy. Maybe talking to her two best friends about this wasn’t such a good idea after all. She had known that there was the possibility that they would both be mad, but she figured that they would be there to support her and comfort her.

“It’s not a dog, Ronald; you don’t just find it a good home! Besides I’m not sure I can carry this baby to term and then give it away. Oh gods, I’ve only just learned that I am pregnant and already I am defending it like some sort of mother hen.” She rested a hand on her stomach without thinking.

“So you’re going to keep the baby then? Even though it is Malfoy's, you are going to keep it and raise it?” Harry questioned suddenly. Hermione was always one to do the right thing in all situations. He had a feeling that she was going to keep it; he just knew that she wouldn’t see any other way fit.

“I’m not sure Harry, and I haven’t gotten my bearings together enough to know what I am going to do. That’s why I needed to talk to you and Ron. I don’t know what to do, how to feel, where to go from here…” She trailed off quietly.

“Well,are you at least going to mention anything about this to ferret face?” Ron inquired.

“No, I don’t know,” She leaned forward and dropped her face into her hands. “I haven’t thought of that either.”

“Well if you’re going to keep the baby I suggest telling him, that way he can take responsibility and at least pay child support or something, Hermione. Even if he has nothing to do with it, I think he still needs to help out financially.” Harry’s attitude had changed dramatically from what Hermione had expected it to be. She wasn’t going to say anything to Draco initially, but here Harry was telling her to do so. She stared down at tea cup trying to get a grip on this situation, on life.

“I don’t know what I am going to do. My first appointment with the doctor is at ten am on the nineteenth; hopefully after talking with her I will have a better idea of what I'm going to do. Thank you both for listening to all of this. I think I would have gone crazy if I didn’t talk to somebody about it. I hope you don’t think I am a complete disgrace because of everything that has happened.” Hermione took a shaky breath and fought the urge to cry again.

“Of course we don’t hate you, Hermione. You made a mistake, a bad mistake, and now you are facing the consequences. Even if it was Malfoy who you slept with, we are still your friends and we love you just the same.” Harry stood and walked over to Hermione. He leaned over her and gave her a lingering hug.

“I’m glad you said that Harry; you, Ron, and Ginny are the only friends I feel alright opening up too, and I would miss you greatly if you weren’t here for me.” She hugged him back as tight as she could.

“Hermione, it’s getting late. Would you like to stay here with us tonight?” Ron asked softly.

“I think I’ll go. It would seem funny if your Mum woke up and found me on the couch or in Ginny’s room.” Hermione said weakly getting to her feet.

“You can stay with us. Ron and I have expanded his room so that my things fit. There will be enough room for you to put a bed down.” Harry said taking her hand and leading her toward the stairs.

“I don’t know Harry, Mrs. Weasley wouldn’t like that.” Hermione protested pulling back from his slightly.

“Hermione, Mum knows that Harry and I like each other. We haven’t told anybody else yet, so keep it quiet alright.” Ron said from behind her. He had picked her wand up from the table and he handed it over as he made his way to the stairs.

“How did she find out?” Hermione asked, the change of topic had made her for get, for just a few moments, that she was pregnant and that her world was crashing around her.

“Erm…well Harry and I were being a little careless. We thought that Mum and Ginny were gone to Diagon Ally to visit Fred and George. But they had to come back early because they had had an accident in their shop. Something about some flooding bomb blasters going off. Well Mum came looking for us and we were in the back yard snogging.” Ron explained with a small frown.

“What did she say?” Hermione asked quietly as she was led by the hand up the stairs.

“Well…it was sort of weird. She looked at us, placed her hands on her hips, and said, ‘I suppose this was what was going to happen. Oh Harry, you’ll be an actual part of the family now.’” Ron said in a hushed tone as they passed his parent’s room.

They had just about made it up to his room when they heard a noise from below. A door opened, then closed, and they saw a flare of light below them. The stepped creaked and then they heard Mrs. Weasley call to them. “Boy’s is that you?”

“Yeah Mum.” Ron half-shouted.

“Hi Mrs. Weasley.” Hermione called quietly down the stair case.

“Hermione dear, is that you? What ever are you doing here, we weren’t expecting you?” Mrs. Weasley waved a hand and motioned for Hermione to come down the stairs to her. Ron and Harry told Hermione that they were going to bed and insisted that she go ahead without them. Somewhat reluctantly she walked down the steps.

“How are things Mrs. Weasley?” Hermione asked as she approached the plump loving woman.

“Oh they’re fine dear, how are things with you? You never come over unexpectedly, is there anything wrong?” Mrs. Weasley ushered the young girl down the steps, through the kitchen, and into the small living room.

Hermione shook her head and retold her story for the second that evening. Mrs. Weasley listened contently, she never once interrupted, and when Hermione said that she was pregnant Mrs. Weasley didn’t even looked displeased with her. She smiled at her kindly and patted her hand lovingly. Hermione, glad that Mrs. Weasley wasn’t disappointed, told her that Draco Malfoy was the father of her baby. Molly nodded her head, accepting the statement, and then hugged Hermione tightly.

“Hermione, I understand how your feeling. I was young when I got pregnant with Bill. Have you talked to your parents yet?” Molly had kept an arm around Hermione’s shoulders in a loose hug.

“No, I’ve only just learned today that I was going to have a baby. I’m worried what they’ll say, what if my parents are disappointed in me? Or ashamed of me?” The brown-haired girl asked in a watery tone. Her eyes had glazed over with tears for the third time that day.

“Your mum and dad seem like very understanding people, Hermione, I’m sure that when you tell them they are going to understand and be supportive.” Mrs. Weasley said matter-of-factly.

“I hope you’re right because I don’t know what I would do if they turned their backs on me for this. I don’t think I could bear my mum and dad to be angry with me, but I did something very irresponsible.” Hermione muttered, angry at herself more then anything.

“They wouldn’t do that. Erma and Oliver seem to be very nice people and you’re their only child. They won’t just turn their back on you because of a simple mistake.” Molly smiled at Hermione, she’d felt the same way then she had talked to her parents about Bill. She’d felt terrible at the time, but she would never have given her child up. “Plus, you were an adult when it happened. If you are seventeen in the wizarding world you are legally an adult.” She added compassionately.

“I understand that Mrs. Weasley, but in the muggle world you have to be eighteen in order to be an adult. My parents follow the muggle laws and that is one of them. And they were rather strict on me being around boys for a long time until they realized I was just friends with Ron and Harry.”

“I’m positive that everything is going to be alright.” Mrs. Weasley said with certainty. She hoped that she was right about it; Hermione would die if her parents were angry with her.

“I think you better get back to bed Mrs. Weasley. Thanks for talking with me. Would you mind if I took a shower before I went up to Ron and Harry’s room?” She asked timidly. She needed to be alone for a while now that she had talked about the pregnancy. She really just needed some time to think.

“Sure dear, that’s fine with me. Would you rather stay in Fred and George’s old room?” The older woman questioned with a raised brow.
“I’ll be fine, I already told the boys I would stay with them.” Hermione gave her a smile and snorted with laughter.

Hermione watched Mrs. Weasley head into her room and then made her way to the bathroom. Flipping on the lights, she turned the faucet in the shower on and set her wand down on the counter. She looked at herself in the mirror and studied the reflection staring back. She couldn’t believe that she was, at this moment, carrying a child. The thought made her dizzy and she sat on the toilet to wait for the water to warm. Feeling the heat rather than seeing the steam, Hermione stood up and began undressing. Putting her clothing into a pile by the sink, she stepped into the scalding water.

She stood under the pounding water from above. Her neck muscles were tight from her headache and she bent her head down to let the relaxing warmth wash over the tight spot. Her whole body slowly began to relax and she sighed thankfully. Hermione hadn’t been having the best couple of days, her stomach had been turning, causing her to run to the bathroom frequently. At night she couldn’t get to sleep because she hadn’t known what was wrong with her, and now to top off the sudden illness, she found the culprit of the situation was an embryo in her womb.

She lathered her mass of chestnut hair with long fingers. As she massaged her scalp she thought about her life. Hermione was always one to do the smart thing no matter what the situation was. She hadn’t ever done anything without thinking about it first. She had always thought that doing something without thinking would only get a person into trouble and here, now, she had all of the proof she needed.

She hadn’t thought about the consequences when she and Malfoy had begun messing around. A small voice in the back of her head had screamed for her to stop and she had ignored that voice. She had ignored her own warnings and had fallen prey to something she had never had before; a lover. Granted, Malfoy wasn’t the best person to pick as a first choice, she didn’t even want to think him attractive. But the body wants what it wants and on that night it wanted Draco Malfoy. Yes, he had made her feel things that she had never felt before, he had shown her true ecstasy, and she had enjoyed every last moment of it until she realized just what she had done.

Malfoy hadn’t been walked out on before and that was one thing that Hermione was sure of. He had stared at her angrily as she had gotten dressed and the rest of the school year had been a nightmare. She would see him in the halls and try to ignore him but somehow he found a way to get under her skin every chance he had. Hermione was used to this, but she wasn’t used to the bitterness and the foulness that came along with it. Typically he would tease her and try to make her angry just so he could get a good laugh. After their incident together he had become hurtful and cruel.

She pulled herself out of her thoughts and set to the task of washing her body. Her breasts were abnormally tender to the touch, and as she washed them she wondered if that was from the unexpected pregnancy. Her pregnancy…she didn’t know what to think about it. She was carrying the combination of herself and Malfoy within her abdomen and it was all because she wasn’t strong enough to resist him.

Hermione finished washing up and climbed out of the shower. Pulling a towel around her body and another around her hair, she turned to the task of drying off. She’d forgotten that she didn’t have any other clothes to dress in. She hadn’t brought pajamas, but when she looked at the counter where her wand was, she saw a neatly folded night gown. Picking it up she looked at the pretty garment before slipping it over her towel wrapped head. Quickly she cleaned up the water mess from the shower and then set to brushing her thick hair. After she was finished she hung up her towels and headed sleepily to Ron and Harry’s room.

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Hermione stood at the archway of Diagon Alley. The street was bare, and for some reason the archway from the Leaky Cauldron wasn’t opened anymore. She looked at the brick wall before her and inspected it carefully. There had to be someplace along the wall that triggered it to open, it wouldn’t just close now would it? There had to be something wrong with it.

She set down her stack of books and pulled out her wand. She had never had to open the brick wall before, but she had read somewhere how. The only problem was that she didn’t know the pattern that was used to open it. She tapped randomly along the wall trying to see if there was anything noticeable about any of the bricks specifically. She was lost in thought and didn’t notice that there was somebody walking up behind her very slowly. That was until it was too late.

“I should have known that this is where I would find you, Granger. Made a run to the bookshop I see? Well, it’s a good thing you took so long looking for your books.” Draco Malfoy stood leaning against the side of a building forebodingly. He had his wand out in his hands turning it slowly between his finger tips. There was something about the look of him that sent a chill up Hermione’s spine.

“What are you doing here, Malfoy? Why’s the entrance closed?” Hermione stepped away from the barrier and made her way slowly around Draco on the opposite side of the walkway.

“You’ve always been smart, Granger; don’t you know why it’s closed?” Draco asked mockingly as he watched her creep along the wall.

“I don’t know…” She answered honestly and looked toward the bookshop only a few buildings down.

“I wouldn’t try running for it, Granger. There’s nobody here, save you and me. Oh yes, and we need to talk.” A malicious grin spreading across his pale face.

Hermione tried to still her frantically beating heart while she looked into his silver eyes. “What do you want?” Her voice came out shaky and she cursed herself for showing weakness. She placed her hand across her large stomach protectively by instinct.

“I think you know. I’ve come to talk with you about that thing you’ve dubbed my child that grows in your womb.” He raised a brow at her.

“What about my baby?” Hysteria leaked into her voice as she spoke.

“’Our baby, I do believe.” He waved his wand at her as if her were waving a finger at a naughty child.

“What do you want, Malfoy, I don’t want to play games with you.”

“I wanted to let you know that this baby must be destroyed when it’s born. I cannot have a child that is mine who isn’t pure like me. It would shame my family and I won’t have it.” Draco said simply as if he were talking about some nothing; certainly not a life.

“I can’t…I won’t…!” Hermione cried.

“Then I’ll destroy it now.” Draco pointed his wand at Hermione but she was already dashing toward the bookshop.

Hermione ran as fast as her large stomach would allow. She stopped before the book shop and threw herself against the door. The lights were off and nobody was inside. But that was impossible, there had to be somebody there; she was only in there no more than ten minutes ago. She turned around at the sound of approaching footsteps. Draco stopped only feet from her and pointed his wand at her stomach. He murmured something under his breath and light shot from the tip of his wand.

There was a stabbing pain within her stomach and she quickly buckled to the pain. Her hands went around her stomach, wrapping around it protectively. Sharp pains shot through her body and she began rocking back and forth. Without him telling her, Hermione knew that Draco was causing her to miscarry.

“I told you Granger, I cannot do this to my family. Perhaps if you would have listened to me sooner you wouldn’t have to be put through this agony."

She looked up at him with tears and hatred in her brown eyes. She was in the worst pain she had ever felt in her entire life and he stood there smiling down at her wickedly. She took deep breaths and said, “I swear to Godric that I’ll kill you if I lose this baby, Malfoy.”

“I suppose I’d better watch my back then, shouldn’t I, Granger? There’s no way in hell that you’re going to keep that baby. You’ll miscarry; the baby isn’t developed quite enough yet to survive.” He laughed cruelly and vanished.

Hermione held onto her contracting stomach and screamed in pain. She yelled for help but nobody came, she prayed and no answer arrived, she was helpless and there was nothing that could be done about it.

“Oh Godric, not my baby, please not my baby!” She cried to the sky at the top of her lungs.

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Hermione sat bolt upright in the bed that had been arranged for her and gasped. She looked around her frantically trying to take in her surroundings. She realized that she was at the Weasley’s home and that she was perfectly safe. She had only been dreaming, having nightmares that woke her from a restless sleep. She felt her heart thumping against her ribcage, her chest was still heaving as if she had been running for miles from the devil himself.

Slowly, she lay back down and began to relax. Her mind was racing and the thought of sleep seemed impossible. Perhaps sending a message to Malfoy wouldn’t be such a good idea. She had already decided that when she got home she was going to send him a message. Was it silly to think that maybe her dream was a vision of what was to come? If she decided to keep it would Malfoy find her somewhere and do what her dream had just shown her? Would she find herself alone screaming for the well-being of her unborn child?

Turning onto her side, she stared out the window. The night was lit brightly by the moon and the stars that twinkled in the sky. Unknowingly she rested a hand on her flat stomach, as if that one small touch might prove that she still carried the baby. Her eyes grew heavy and slowly she slipped into the darkness.