Haunted

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Draco Malfoy, though I wish I did. I only own the plot of this story. I make no money from the posting of this story.


A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. It’s really gratifying to see how much people are enjoying what you are creating. Keep them coming. Without further ado….

Chapter 6

Months passed by quickly. The Christmas holidays started after class today. Nearly everyone was leaving this year to be with their families. The last year I was at Hogwarts, the atmosphere had been very different. Parents were terrified and Voldemort was steadily gaining power so most students remained within the relative security that Hogwarts provided. I tried to swallow the lump that was forming in my throat. Draco had asked me to accompany him home so that I could formally meet his parents. To say that I was nervous was the understatement of the year. I know that Draco had informed them of who his mate was, but that didn’t mean they were happy about it. His father had been Voldemort’s right hand man for many years after all. Just because he had switched sides at the last minute didn’t mean he had suddenly seen the light, so to speak. I was a muggleborn, the epitome of everything that was wrong in the magical world, in his eyes.

I smoothed my hands over my stomach fretfully as I stood by my window overlooking the vast grounds of Hogwarts. I was four months pregnant. My stomach had a very noticeable bump now. I hadn’t been able to feel the baby move yet, but I could sense him with my magic. It was surreal that I could sense the moods of my unborn son. Whenever I got upset or stressed out, I reached out to him. He was so peaceful and content all the time that it helped me calm down.

But that was another thing that worried me. Draco hadn’t told his parents about the baby yet. He was going to tell them tonight. He said that it was the best Christmas present that he could give them. I was skeptical. Somehow, I couldn’t picture Lucius Malfoy being happy that his son was going to pollute the precious purity of the Malfoy line.

I shuddered slightly as I pictured his reaction in my mind. I wasn’t worried so much about Narcissa. I was fairly positive that she would be elated by the news of her first grandchild. The Malfoy patriarch was entirely different matter. I could still remember the evil look in his eyes that day in the Department of Mysteries. I have no doubt that he would have avada’d me if he had the chance.

It would have been more than ironic if he had. He would have inadvertently caused his son’s death and the prestigious, pureblood Malfoy line would have perished with him.

I rubbed my bulging stomach absentmindedly. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t hear him come up behind me. Warm arms snaked around my growing waist and I jumped, gasping loudly.

I felt his smirk against my hair. “How on earth do you do that?” I asked trying to calm my racing pulse. He seemed to delight in sneaking up on me and scaring the daylights out of me. Prat.

I knew he could hear me. I still couldn’t hear him but I could sense his moods clearly now. He was smug about startling me but he was also content, happy.

Finally, he answered, “It’s not my fault that you are so monumentally unobservant, cara.”

“I’m not unobservant, just merely distracted,” I returned.

He pushed his face into my hair, inhaling deeply as he pulled me closer to him. I could feel the love pouring from him. “I know you are thinking about tonight, worrying. I won’t let anything happen to you. I will protect you. I assure you that nothing bad will happen. I love you and I need you, as much as the air that I breath. Don’t forget that that my father is a veela too. He understands what it means to be mated,” he said softly.

I sighed deeply. Draco couldn’t understand my fear of the man. He wasn’t the one dueling him at the ministry. He wasn’t the one persecuted from day one because of their parentage. It was a ridiculous notion in the first place. Being pureblooded didn’t make you superior. Only purebloods gave birth to squibs. There has never been a half blood squib. Magically, I was superior to most purebloods. Harry was the most powerful wizard I knew and he was a half blood. I was the top of the class but yet I was considered inferior because of my blood.

“You hit the nail on the head, cara.” I smiled at his use of a muggle phrase. I was rubbing off on him, whether he liked it or not. He pressed himself against my back and rested his hands on my stomach. “My father accepts you as my mate. It’s not as if he can change it. And you are powerful magically. How many fifteen year olds can duel competently, much less duel a deatheater? As crazy as it sounds, your blood will strengthen the Malfoy line for centuries to come. I can feel our son’s magic now strongly. He will be a force to reckon with. Also, if you haven’t noticed, most pureblood families can only have one child. That’s why we are a dying breed. I want a whole houseful of children.”

“A house full?” I said weakly. I didn’t know if I ever wanted to get pregnant again. The morning sickness was gone but I couldn’t forget the rush to the toilet in the mornings.

He chuckled at my anxiety. Prat. “I was lonely as a child. I always wanted a brother or a sister to play with but mother couldn’t have any more children. So, yes, I feel the more kids the better. We have a huge house and unlimited wealth to provide for them. We can have a nanny if you want. But I want lots of kids. At least five. I dream of a whole house full of Malfoys.”

“Sounds like something from my worst nightmares,” I joked feebly. I couldn’t imagine being pregnant four more times. Maybe Draco would change his mind after our son was born. I looked back out the window over the grounds. It was very beautiful here. I would miss it after we graduated. Draco pulled away from me. “Come on, love, it’s time for dinner. And I have to finish packing.”

I turned to face him, arching my brow. “You haven’t packed yet? What is it with you boys and procrastinating about everything? Harry is the same way. Of course you could probably leave everything here and not be missing anything.”

He smirked. “That’s a great idea actually. I don’t really need to bring anything with me. Have I ever told you that you are a genius?”

I rolled my eyes at him and at the same moment I felt it, a soft fluttering in my abdomen. My hands shot to my stomach in reflex as I gasped at the sensation. Draco misunderstood my gasp and immediately panicked.

He rushed to my side. “Hermione, what’s wrong? Merlin, we have to get you to Madam Pomphrey.” He was pushing me out the door as I was struggling with him to get his attention.

“Draco…. Draco!” I cried excitedly. “Nothing’s wrong! I felt him! He moved!”

“Nothing’s wrong?” he asked relieved.

I shook my head. “Here, give me your hand.” I pressed his palm to my stomach under my shirt. The baby chose that moment to give a good thump. It’s like he knew where his dad’s hand was. Merlin, that felt so strange. Draco stood frozen as he felt his son move within me. I could feel his awe and happiness.

“That’s him?” he whispered.

I nodded my head. He laughed suddenly and picked me up, twirling me around. “I’m officially the happiest man in the world.” He kissed me as he set me down and I could feel his love pouring through our bond. I never felt more loved and accepted in my life. The baby thumped once more. That was going to take some getting used to.

We turned to head to dinner, holding hands. I spotted Lavender Brown at the end of the corridor scurrying away from us. From the look on her face I could tell that she had witnessed what was supposed to be our own private little moment. The whole of Hogwarts was about to find out about the newest Malfoy.

I groaned quietly. There were only a few people that we had told about the baby. Harry and Ginny, Blaise Zabini, and of course the professors knew. Now that Lavender knew, the whole of Hogwarts would know by the end of dinner.

Draco turned to me and asked, “Are You okay, love?” He must have heard my groan or maybe he felt my dread. I guess he didn’t see Hogwart’s own gossip queen running away from us.

“Lavender Brown just saw you rubbing my stomach. You know what that means?”

“Well,” he stated carefully. “Everyone was going to find out eventually. You can’t hide it forever.”

I nodded my head and sighed. “I know. It’s just that I’m not ready for everyone’s questions and staring. Things just now got back to normal. I hate being the center of attention. This going to put us right back under the microscope.”

He looked at me confusedly. “What’s a micro…. Micro….Oh, whatever the bloody hell you just said?”

I laughed at him. “It’s a muggle tool. It makes things that are too small to see big enough to see.”

He looked at me astonished. “Muggles can do that?”

I giggled quietly. “Yes. You’d be amazed at some of the things that they have invented because they don’t have access to magic. I think that’s why Arthur Weasley is so fascinated by them.”

I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings as we walked. I looked up and saw the doors to the Great Hall at the end of the hallway. That was a fast trip. I stopped in my tracks and Draco stopped as well. “You know this might be a repeat of the first day that we came into the Great Hall together, right?”

He nodded and squeezed my hand. “I know and I don’t care. I’m thrilled that I’m going to be a father. I’m happy that you are his mother. If anyone else doesn’t like it, they can sod off.”

“Language, Draco! You can’t talk like that in front of the baby. I don’t want my son’s first word to be a curse word!” I admonished.

A smirk pulled at his lips as he answered, “He isn’t here yet. I can talk how I want.”

He was wrong, of course. And I loved pointing it out to him. “Actually, I’ve been reading a lot of books on pregnancy and according to those books, he can hear and recognize voices from the womb. So, please don’t talk like that in front of the baby.”

He frowned. “I need to be reading some of those books too, I guess. There’s so much that I don’t know.”

We walked on, hand in hand. He paused at the doors. “Are you ready, love?”

“Yeah, I guess so. There isn’t much I can do about it now except get it over with,” I stated reluctantly.

He nodded his head and squeezed my hand again. At least we would do this together. I didn’t have to face everyone alone. He pulled open the doors and we stepped inside. I noticed that all eyes from the Gryffindor table turned to us when we entered. So the rumor hadn’t spread through the whole student body yet. Lavender must be losing her touch. Ron’s ears were red and his face was pink. I could almost see the steam pouring from his ears. I really couldn’t care less if he was mad. It wasn’t his business. As he had never apologized for the scene he made at breakfast or for the filthy names he called me. We still weren’t on speaking terms.

I caught Harry’s eyes and he offered an apologetic smile and glared pointedly down the table at Lavender Brown. I nodded my head to let him know that I understood. I let Draco pull me over to the Slytherin table since they weren’t staring at us like we were some sort of science experiment.

“Pansy, Blaise,” I greeted cordially as I sat down across from the quiet Slytherins. As crazy as it seemed, I wasn’t ostracized nearly as much by Draco’s housemates as I was by my own.

“Hermione, Draco,” Blaise replied.

Draco nodded to his best friend as he settled into his seat. Pansy looked at us thoughtfully. Despite her reputation, the girl was quite intelligent. Finally she said, “Your entrance this evening caused quite a stir at the Gryffindor table. Care to share what caused it?”

I glanced at Draco and sighed. “You might as well tell her. It will circulate before the end of the night,” I said wearily.

Draco looked at Blaise and he arched one perfect eyebrow at his friend. Draco cleared his throat, “Hermione and I are expecting a baby. He moved for the first time tonight and that Gryffindor trollop, Lavender Brown, saw me as I felt him move. She couldn’t wait to get the gossip machine rolling, I guess.”

Pansy’s mouth was open in shock. “You’re having a baby?”

Draco nodded. “A son,” he clarified.

Pansy recovered herself quickly. “Well, that’s wonderful news. I’m sure your parents will be ecstatic that you’ve provided them with an heir already.”

My anxiety increased with the mention of Draco’s parents. He may have provided an heir, but he won’t be the pureblooded one that Lucius Malfoy would prefer. He would only be a half blood. I was positively dreading the moment that Lucius Malfoy became privy to the fact that I was pregnant with the next Malfoy.

I pushed my food around on my plate, my appetite having fled with my rather faulty Gryffindor courage. Maybe I should have been in Ravenclaw after all. At the moment, the coward’s way out was looking rather appealing. Staying at the castle was becoming more and more likely by the second.

Draco leaned toward me whispering, “Please, don’t back on me. Come with me. It will mean so much and I couldn’t bear to be without you for such a long period of time. Please….”

His scent wafted over me and I inhaled his perfume deeply, cursing Draco for using such Slytherin tactics to coerce me. He knew I couldn’t resist anything that he demanded once he released his pheromones on me. It took all the fight right out of me.

“That’s not fair, Draco,” I whined petulantly. “You know what that does to me.”

Blaise smirked across the table and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. I glared at him in return as Draco replied, “Yes, I know. Otherwise I wouldn’t do it. I don’t know why you bother resisting in the first place. I always win.”

Blaise’s smirk broadened and Pansy smiled as I rounded on Draco. “You win only because you cheat,” I hissed furiously.

Draco smiled and replied haughtily, “It’s not my fault I’m irresistible. But as much as I love to hear your beautiful voice, you must eat. The train ride to King’s Cross is very long and the journey to the Manor is even longer.

“Can’t we just apparate or floo?” I asked. I didn’t want to ride on the train with curious students or spend time with Draco’s parents cooped up in an enclosed space. Especially when we could get where we were going in a few seconds.

Draco shook his head. “It’s too dangerous to do either while you’re pregnant, cara.”

I looked at him incredulously. “I’m pregnant Draco. Not dying. We could floo.”

“Absolutely not. I won’t risk you or my son,” he said, finality ringing in his tone brokering no room for argument.

I sighed with defeat and he continued, his tone softer, “Besides, I already owled Mother and Father and they agreed to send the car.”

“Your family owns a car?” I asked curiously. I would have thought that Lucius Malfoy would never own something of muggle origins.

“Of course,” he scoffed. “Things have changed since the war. Besides, even my father can’t resist a Rolls Royce.”

I laughed quietly as I imagined Lucius Malfoy tooling around in a muggle car. It painted quite the picture. I finished my dinner and pushed away my plate. Draco rose from his seat and I followed him reluctantly. I was not looking forward to this evening. I had endured torture at the hands of Draco’s insane aunt and a long car ride with the Malfoys certainly seemed to fit the definition.

We reached our dorm and I shrunk my trunk placing it in my pocket. I fed Crookshanks and scratched his head for a moment. I had arranged for the house elves to care for him while I was away. I didn’t feel comfortable bringing him into a den of snakes.

Draco slid behind me and wrapped his arms around me. “Come on, cara. The carriages are waiting.” The baby thumped and I jumped in response. “Strong little thing, isn’t he?” Draco murmured into my ear.

“Mmmhmm… I’ll be lucky if he doesn’t kick me black and blue.” I laced my hand in his and we descended to the front door and out to the carriages. I didn’t miss the curious looks and surreptitious glances we were receiving from the students milling around us. It would appear that the news of my pregnancy was spreading like fiendfyre.

We climbed aboard the carriage followed by Ginny and Harry. We sat in uncomfortable silence for several minutes, the only sound being the creaking of the carriage. Ginny, ever the Gryffindor was the first to speak. “So, the baby moved?”

I glanced at Draco. “Yes. Scared me half to death, too. Draco thought there was something wrong. He was trying to take me to Madam Pomphrey. We must have created quite a scene in the corridor. Lavender saw us as I pressed Draco’s hand to my stomach so that he could feel him too”

Harry scowled darkly, “Yes, the little bint wasted no time telling all of Gryffindor the news. I wanted to jinx her but Professor McGonagall stopped me.”

“It’s okay, Harry. It was bound to come out sooner or later. Maybe things will calm down over the holidays,” I said hopefully.

The carriage jolted to a stop and we climbed out and stepped aboard the train. Draco and I rode in the Head’s compartment. I invited Pansy and Blaise to join us knowing that Harry and Ginny were riding with Neville and Luna. I watched the scenery flash by as Draco and Blaise talked about quidditch and holiday plans. I must have fallen asleep at some point because the next thing I knew Draco was shaking me gently.

“Cara, wake up. We’re here.”

My eyes flew open in surprise. His words were the only thing needed to jolt me awake immediately. I had slept the entire train ride. Damn. I hated being pregnant. I was always so tired. I gulped nervously and rose from my seat. Draco took my hand and escorted me from the train.

The moment my feet hit the pavement, I could see the Malfoys standing at the end of the platform, looking regal as ever. Their figures were so imposing that the people bustling about the platform gave them a wide berth, as if they sensed the darkness emanating from them. But then again, most people in the wizarding world knew who Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were and automatically kept their distance.

We started to push our way through the crowd of happy parents and excited students when Harry stopped us. He engulfed me in a tight hug using the opportunity to speak privately. “Be careful, Mia. I don’t doubt that Malfoy will protect you but don’t let your guard down. It is Lucius Malfoy, after all. Never forget what he is capable of.”

Draco growled a warning. I could feel his jealousy flare. He had been trying hard to keep it tamped down but his inner veela made it very difficult. I stepped away from Harry before he caused a scene. “Have a happy Christmas, Harry. Send Arthur and Molly my love. I’ll owl you later.”

He smiled crookedly. “You better. If I don’t hear from you, Mia, you can expect me to show up at Malfoy Manor.”

Draco cleared his throat. “That won’t be necessary, Potter. I assure you that I will take care of her.”

“You better,” Harry threatened darkly. Then he turned and moved toward the mass of red heads at the other end of the platform. I felt the loss of Ron’s friendship keenly. Any other year, I would be with them. I would still be welcome there. Molly would never ban me from coming but my presence would make things awkward and uncomfortable. It would be a long time before I would be comfortable going back to the Burrow.

Draco squeezed my hand bringing back to the land of the living. He tugged my hand and I picked up my pace once more. We came to a stop in front of Draco’s parents. I nodded to Narcissa and then raised my eyes meeting the cold gaze of Lucius Malfoy as Draco greeted his parents. “Mother, Father, I’d like you to meet my mate, Hermione.”

End Note: Well what did you think? Not my best chapter, I think. A little boring. But every chapter can’t be action packed. *sigh* Up next, the showdown with Lucius Malfoy. Drop me a line, tell me whether you loved it, hated it, or want a Draco for your own. I know I do. *wink*