Broken Scales

****Authors note****
YAY! editied version done!!! thanks everyone for all your patience and great comments! please keep them cooming the more you review the more i want to write!!!!

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Hermione stared blankly at McGonagall, desperately trying to understand the information that was displayed in front of her. Her mouth had gone completely dry as her mind raced; She was supposed to do what? With Malfoy? Raise an enchanted child? Live with him? What could she have done to deserve this? Why did McGonagall want her to fail?

The panic in her body rose like bile as she flushed. Shooting terrified glances at Malfoy whose mouth was hanging slack staring blankly at McGonagall. Suddenly Hermione nearly spat the words she had been thinking, “You’re kidding, professor, this is some kind of sick joke, to scare us, right?”

“I assure you I am not kidding, Ms. Granger; you both will attend to this “child” as if it were your own, until Christmas break. You are to name her, feed her, and do all the things parents would be expected to do for her. As I am sure you have noticed the child is not more than a doll at the moment,” she passed them each a note with an incantation, “when you reach your new dormitories you will decided on a name and say the name in unison after you have spoken the incantation the child will animate.” She lifted the dolls shirt to reveal a cute pink tummy. “The child’s tummy will turn pink or red when she is unhappy or ill treated you will be required to report to me or professor Snape three times a week to ensure the child’s health and happiness. I will warn you now, take care of your child, also one party will not be the sole provider for this child, and it will yearn for both parents.”

She shot both students a glare and the corners of her thin mouth twitched in an almost imperceptible smile. And slid the child across the table in between them, Hermione shot a look at Malfoy’s face it was sallow, almost green with what appeared to be dread.
Just perfect Hermione thought, and lifted the child into her arms. The look of the tiny doll in her arms made Hermione want to scream and run from the room, she shivered and she shoved the doll into Draco’s arms.

He immediately dropped the doll onto the floor with a crack. Both women stared at Draco; he was a sickly green with a sheen of sweat covering his face. All composure had instantly gone from his once regal face. He knelt to pick up the doll muttering what Hermione assumed to be an apology.

McGonagall excused both of them with a simple, “Your new dormitories are on the third floor in the second hallway, see you both tomorrow in class.”
Hermione had turned to head out the door, trying desperately to gather her thoughts; it wasn’t until she had almost reached the stairway that she realized she was walking alone. As she turned to locate Draco she heard it: the gut wrenching sound of someone getting violently ill.

Prince Malfoy had his head in a trash can the doll laying on its head the legs and arms flailing around on top of its self.

What an overreaction! Hermione was instantly irate; walking over to snatch the doll and walk upstairs to her new dorm. useless, intolerant, rich, git! How was she supposed to do this with HIM of all people? This couldn’t be so hard, it would be easy, yes that’s it, easy she could do it alone. Hermione pumped herself as she stomped to her new dorm.

The portrait was of a cute little family she shouted the password at them. Affronted, they swung open to reveal the room. A cozy family room with a desk and a squashy couch and an ancient rocking chair that sat in the living room in front of an ornate black onyx fireplace roaring with a warm fire. Yes, this would be easy! After all, her parents raised her, didn’t they?

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Draco had crumpled next to the bin a quivering mass of emotions. What the hell was he going to do? Not only did he have to take care of this stupid doll thing and see what a bad parent he would be, but he had to live with Granger! Was she determined to destroy his life?

What the hell was she wearing in there? She was stellar, she was beautiful, her legs were so long… STOP it! he ordered himself, You need to figure this out. What are you going to do? You can’t keep thinking about this girl like that, it will mess everything up. This was some sick joke, he was dreaming. He was still on the train with Pansy. He had dosed off. This was a nightmare! WAKE UP DRACO! He paused, waiting for his life to settle back into normalcy; nope he was still sitting on the floor the taste of sick in his mouth. You have got to be kidding me. He hid his face in his hands. Feeling the cool stone on his back he tried to calm his breathing. Ok, think Draco, you need to get yourself together. This isn’t so bad. How hard could it be? It’s not like you will be sleeping in the same bed. And this baby thing isn’t real, it’s just some stupid school project. That’s it, nothing more, just something you need to handle, you will be fine remember the bucktooth little know it all is the same girl that has infuriated you forever. And you know she isn’t going to let you help with the project, sure you will mess everything up. That’s it. I’ll just ignore it, let the little tart do it alone. He stood, feeling a little better, feeling a little more in focus. It’ll be fine, Draco, just let her deal with the doll and ignore her and the project. Somehow his feet had taken him to the portrait of the little family on the third floor.

Draco groaned at the little family. They were so happy playing with their little baby smiling while it cooed contently back at his loving parents. He grunted the password at them as they swung to allow him entrance. Hermione had her books already spread across the desk, the doll sitting at her feet, still and lifeless.

She had waited for him to active the wrenched little thing. She was absorbed in whatever she was doing, strange strings hanging from her ears as she hummed to a tune, some muggle contraption he assumed. Draco needed her attention but wasn’t sure how to approach the subject. Should he touch her? NO! The thought was horrifying. Maybe say her name? No that still seemed a little personal; He couldn’t remember if he had ever said anything nice to this girl ever. Now he was supposed to talk to her?

This was going to be harder than he had originally thought. Starting of a conversation with her was impossible. What do you say to someone after four years of solid dislike? Um, excuse me, do you want to have a baby? How about wild kinky sex? Somehow that just didn’t seem like it would work, so he cleared his throat in attempt to get her attention.

Hermione made no sign that she had heard him, just continued to hum to herself. Still in that green top, damn her. “GRANGER!” He shouted, mission accomplished, she jumped about a mile in the air turning to glare at him with pure malice.

Ripping the little white stings out of her ears and dropping them beside a tiny device on the desk, she glared at him, “Done being a ponce, Malfoy? So we can get on with this?” she glared at him fire behind her molten chocolate eyes.

Her anger was extremely sexy for some reason. So sexy in fact his mouth had gone dry, she moved with purpose, fluidity, her grace was entrancing to him, the glare was aggressive to the point where he wanted to wipe it off her face, show her what he could do, all the ways he could make her beg for him. He could feel his lips betraying him with a smirk, and the next words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them:
“Granger, the question should be weather you think you can handle “getting on” with all of this.” Shit, now he was being coy, where the hell did his self control go today? He looked at her, her eyebrows raised looking at him like he was disturbed.

“Malfoy, what is wrong with you? And what are you talking about? I am talking about our,” she paused and gave a small shiver, “punishment.”

“Uh yeah I am too. Let’s get this over with. I guess we need to come up with a name or something, right?” Draco stammered slightly. Great, a name, now you get to pick a name you twit.

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Hermione stared at him. Had he just asked if she was ready? What the hell does that mean? How dare he sneak up on her like that? A name, well that was another matter, she had thought about a name, Sophia. She looked at him, “How about Sophia?”
He considered this for a second.

“Hmmm, Sophia Malfoy, I like it,” his expression was thoughtful.

“Sophia Malfoy? What makes you think she gets your last name?” Hermione was instantly angry again. What the hell gives him the right to assume his last name to this child? I mean really I am the one that will be doing all the work, not him. Sophia Granger, that’s what her name should be.

“Well, um, I am the man. I guess I just assumed her last name would be mine, they do that in the muggle world, right?” Malfoy replied, as he tried to hide his signature smirk.

“This has nothing to do with the muggle world, Malfoy, and you know it. It just has to do with men domineering over the children in their families!” Hermione was furious, how dare he assume that his lack of help will be rewarded with his own sir name at the end of the child’s name. How typical of him to be that self centered.

“Listen, Granger, first of all, you said you wanted to name it Sophia, I had nothing to do with that, and secondly, what the hell is wrong with it having a Sir name of Malfoy? I mean, it’s not a real baby, after all!” Malfoy had suddenly lost his temper along with her. He had moved closer to her in his own rant invading her personal space, flapping his arms around as the volume of his voice raised.

“FORGET IT MALFOY!” Hermione spat back “Have it your way, Sophia Malfoy, what a darling little addition to your scary family! I am sure your father with be SO proud!” her voice had cooled to an icy blast but she had not stepped back to avoid his malevolent glare.

He stepped even closer to her at the mention of his father’s name, his voice now dangerously low, “Don’t you dare speak of my father, Granger, stick to your perfect little world, and don’t assume to know the nature of mine.”

Hermione had shrunk under his approach and had backed herself up against the desk now Malfoy was almost on top of her his crystal blue eyes now the color of a violent storm, his face was stone and only inches away from hers. Her mind skidded back to her own fantasy in the bathroom and she let out a small squeak of noise. As she felt his body press into hers and looked into his eyes for a merest of a second.

At this moment he seemed dangerous and she knew the fight had been won, not because he had been right, but because she had somehow lost the will to speak with his body pressed against hers like this. Hermione was mortified at her body’s reaction, what the hell did he do to her? How could he make her speechless like that? And why was it sexy in a sick way?

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As His anger broke Draco realized he was pressed against Hermione, pinning her with his body weight and she was speechless. He had never seen her like this before, he was used to her yelling until she had turned colors, now she was silent, pressed against him, a faint pink color on her checks and holding ludicrously still, a look in her eyes that he had never seen before. Shit, he had freighted her, her breathing had gotten ragged and she was shooting small glances at him from under her lashes.

He backed away quickly, “Fine, name the damned thing whatever you want, Granger,” God she had felt good pressed against him. How could he be so stupid, allowing himself to get so close? His princess, his valkrie, was banging against the cage in his mind, howling for attention, shouting out dirty desires as Granger stood still frozen against the desk. In that damned green top. He could see her shallow breath and her hands shaking ever so slightly.

She whispered softly, “We can name her Malfoy,” her voice was delicious when it shook like that. It caressed his name with some unknown tone he assumed was terror, his knees almost went out at the sound.

“Um, yeah, sure,” he ran his fingers through his hair absently, “sorry, I mean, whatever you want, Granger. I guess it doesn’t really matter anyway, right? Its just some stupid punishment.” His voice was almost shameful, “Let’s get this over with,” He bent down, careful not to touch her leg and grasped the doll under the arms offering her one side.
They opened the parchment and spoke the enchantment together, finishing it off with Sophia Malfoy. The child sprang to life instantly, cooing and looking at each of them with a happy smile on its face. Hermione took the child in both hands and held it like a real child.

Sophia reached up and touched her new mother’s face and gurgled happily. Then reached for Draco, He had frozen in place staring at it, as it touched him babbling in baby talk. Draco was horrified again, this was going to suck, and it was too real, way too real. Its small movements had taken him by surprise. He reached down to the supplies they had been given with Sophia’s schedule folded neatly on top. 8pm bedtime, it was 7:54 well I guess that’s all the parenting time he had to do tonight, guess that was a plus.
There was a crib set up in the corner of the room pink and lacy it screamed newborn baby girl.

“Well, I guess we should put her to bed, right?” He asked quietly, “It says her bedtime is at 8 pm.”

“Yes, I guess you are right, Malfoy,” Hermione said almost in a whisper, the baby looked at the sound of her name and gurgled again still tugging on Hermione’s hair. Draco took the child from Hermione’s arms walked quickly to the crib and lay it down gently.

The child wailed instantly, balling her tiny hands into fists and kicking her feet in protest. Draco picked the child up again and the child settled back down smiling up at Draco. What the hell is wrong with it? Bed time: 8 pm he knew that’s what the paper had said, why was it crying when it was laid down.

He looked at Hermione with fear in his eyes. “What’s wrong with it? It said bedtime was at 8 pm?”

Hermione looked back at him bewildered, “I don’t know, do I look like I have children? My mom said when I was little I needed to be rocked to sleep maybe that’s what she needs.” Draco moved to the rocking chair and settled himself in the chair and rocked the baby girl she was bright eyed and didn’t look at all ready to sleep to him. But hey what did he know, right?

He started to rock Sophia slowly, looking down at the enchanted doll they had been given as a punishment, what had happened to this school?

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Hermione was still, watching while Draco rocked the small child in the chair. How strange he was. Her body tensed while she thought about the changes she had seen in him over the last few days.

He had always been a self absorbed git. Cruel and mean to anyone weaker than himself, always flanked by his two lackeys for anyone he picked a fight with who just happened to overpower him.

Now she looked at him being gentle with this doll, almost paternal. It was creepy, she shivered. Not exactly sure why the image made her feel squishy inside, Sophie cooed and giggled. She watched that smirk slide into place as Malfoy swirled his finger in front of her face as she tried to grab it.

That was it. She needed to get out of there, go somewhere away from here where life made sense. This has got to be a dream, it just can’t be real. Ginny will know what to do!
Hermione opened her mouth to tell Malfoy where she was going, but no sound came out. Forget it, she thought, and turned on her heels to crawl out the portrait hole. Leaving the twisted scene behind her, she rushed through the almost empty corridors. Up to Gryffindor tower and her friend, Ginny, who would need to know the newest developments in her latest predicament.

The day had just turned out weird and slightly disturbing, without even a backward glance she walked through the portrait hole of the fat lady. Ron and Harry were sitting in the big squashy arm chairs next to the fire with scrolls of parchment rolled out in front of them.

Both looked up at her when she walked in, “Thank Merlin you’re here, Hermione, we need some serious help with this potions essay.” Ron grinned sheepishly at her while he held out his unfinished essay to her.

She paused, looking at the two boys with their hands stretched out, no how are you, Hermione? no where have yah been, Hermione? no how was detention, Hermione? no nothing! All they wanted was for her to fix their homework. Not even one ounce of concern of her or her day.

She grabbed the scroll of Ron’s hand and slammed it down on a table and quickly read the small amount of chicken scratch he had scribbled down, she looked up at him, fire in her eyes, “Its crap Ronald, you will have to write it again. Maybe you should use more than two brain cells the next time.” She turned and stomped up the girl’s stairs leaving both boys to sit in shock.

Selfish, self-absorbed, pigs! Hermione stomped into Ginny’s Dorm, slamming the door behind her, still irate.

“Hermione! What happened to you? You look deranged. I take it detention didn’t go well?” Ginny’s voice was concerned with just a hint of humor.

“I have to live with him, Gin! We have a baby!” Hermione blurted out in a rush and launched herself into a full explanation of the night events. Ginny did nothing while Hermione explained, letting her get it all out.

After she finally finished there were tears in her eyes, her breath catching in her chest she had started crying somewhere between the fight they had had and explaining the softness in his expression when he held Sophia, the whole day was odd. Hermione couldn’t believe she had been reduced to tears over the day’s events. Sitting straight up her mind jumped back to this afternoon which seemed like decades ago. “And not only that all the boys are avoiding me because of your brother and that stupid fight.” She groaned, “I’m a pariah!” and Hermione wailed again.

“You are not, Hermione, you know my brother, he’s an ass, and he thinks you will love him eventually, if he tries hard enough.” There was an uncomfortable pause before Ginny spoke again: “Wow it’s almost one am we both need to get to sleep. are you feeling better?” Ginny looked exhausted.

“Sorry, Ginny, I have kept you up too late. Thanks for listening, Gin,” Hermione was feeling a little better now that she had vented. She got up stretched and headed for the door, and down the stairs, she had quickly breezed out of the common room and down the hall back to her own new room.

Hermione Gave the password to the portrait of the sleeping family it swung open and the sight in the room made her freeze. Draco was asleep in the rocking chair where she had left him. His shirt was off and Sophia was asleep on his chest. His hair had fallen into his eyes, his washboard abs were relaxed, but even in this state they were unbelievably sexy.

The softness of the image was burned into her eyes, as she gasped with a mixture of emotion, every cell in her body seemed to yearn for this evil boy.