Dealing With the Consequences

Chapter Six

Draco lay awake in his bed, tossing and turning like usual. Amos was now limiting his supply of Dreamless Sleep Potion, insisting that it was not healthy for his master. So now, Draco got about as much sleep in a week as he should in two nights. It was extremely annoying, not to mention that, lately, the Muggle clubs he'd been going to had become fairly dull and therefore not worth his time anymore.

When he heard his hardwood floor creak under the weight of another being, Draco sat up bolt right. Standing in the shadows near his doorway was a girl around his age. She was tall for a girl, and petite in size. Her long hair was brown and wavy, looking oddly familiar, but he just couldn't place where he'd seen it before. Her face was covered in a shadow, so try as he might, Draco was unable to place her.

As the mysterious woman stepped out of the shadows, her face remaining hidden, Draco's jaw dropped to the floor. Her smooth skin shimmered in the moonlight streaming through the window, but what was more shocking, was what she was wearing. Barely covering her form was an emerald green teddy, Draco's favourite. Just like his old house colours, in Draco's opinion, one of the sexiest things a witch could wear.

Draco stared as she walked over to the bed slowly. He couldn't blink and he felt like he was droolling, but he didn't care. All he could think about was ripping that teddy off and throwing her down on his silk sheets. When she reached the edge of the bed, he tried to reach out and touch her, but his arms wouldn't budge. It was as if they were permanently glued to his sides. He grolwed low in his throat, staring up into her blurred faced.

Slowly, as if to tease him further, she threw the blankets off his nearly naked form then climbed on top. Her lacy matching knickers rubbed against his silk boxers, causing Draco to shudder in anitcipation. He hadn't been satisfied in months, but he could tell, this witch was just what he needed. He tried to open his mouth to speak, to say anything, but no words could be formed. His vocal chords were temporarily out of service. The girl, whoever she was, began to grind herself into Draco, causing his erection to spring to life. He let out a low groan, throwing his head back at the wonderful sensation. The girl sped up her pace, riding him faster. Draco couldn't take it, he tried again to touch her, to reach up and throw her down, but again, it wouldn't work. He could feel himself growing harder and harder as her wetness soaked through her knickers.

Draco watched, his eyes open wide, as her hand travelled down his stomach, running her nails across his pale and toned upper body. When she reached the top of his boxers, she stopped, as if she was savouring the moment. Draco growled at her again, signalling to keep going. With a giggle, she pulled his underwear down, freeing his throbbing hard on. Putting her hand around his member, she gently massaged his length. Draco moaned out loud, her touch felt amazing. Encouraged by his moans, she pumped him harder, causing his erection to grow. Tension built up in Draco's abdomen, he could feel it coming, if only she would just let him fuck her.

As her pace increased, Draco held off, trying to wait until he was inside her. But, as she continued, he found it difficult not to cum. Her hands were amazing, no woman had ever given him such a good hand job before. Just when he felt like he was about to burst, he shouted out and suddenly, everything turned to black...

*

Draco awoke abruptly, feeling a warm sticky substance covering the insides of his boxers. He sat up slowly, looking around the dark room, hoping for a sign of the mysterious girl. When he found the room empty, he became disapointed. That girl, she was so amazing, so sexy, so talented. Sure, he never actually got to see her face, but he could tell, she was the perfect woman for him. If only she was real...

Feeling uncomfortable, Draco got out of bed, throwing off his now soiled boxers. Digging through his wardrobe, he found a clean pair and put them on. What he really wanted to do was go back to bed, but after a dream like that, he highly doubted he'd get another moment of sleep. So instead, he decided to go downstairs and make himself something to eat.

The whole house was dark and quiet, not even a house-elf stirred. Draco rather liked the peace and quiet at night, it was so different from the life he was used to. At school, Draco was constantly being bothered. If not by Blaise or Pansy or any of his other admirers, then by Granger or her lot of Gryffindor friends. At Malfoy Manor, before his father was killed, people were constantly coming and going. It had been that way since he could remember, even when he was a child he would find himself awoken in the dead of night by his father's company. He remembered always asking his mother who they were, and everytime she'd give him the same answer; "Just a few business associates of your fathers. Now go grab yourself a warm glass of milk and get to bed, this is no time for a boy your age to be up and about". Draco smiled at the memory.

Draco always knew that the people visiting were never business associates of his father's, Lucius never took his work home with him. Usually, he would just spend long hours at the office, sometimes he was there until nearly dawn. But still, Narcissa never admitted to her son what those people really were, not even after Draco was admitted into the ranks of the Death Eaters where he faced those witches and wizards regularily in meetings. His mother had always been over protective of him, putting his well being above her own. That's why, when the two had both begun to notice Lucius' quick decent into madness, she'd suggested joining the Order of the Pheonix. Draco hadn't been fond of the idea at all, but after watching his godfather, Snape, murder Headmaster Dumbledore, he knew he had no choice. It was either join forces with the light, or be killed for a crime he'd never wanted to commit in the first place.

When Draco and Narcissa had contacted Molly Weasley about joining forces, he hadn't been the least bit surprised when she'd been skeptical. It had taken a lot of convincing, and even an oathe, but eventually, they gained their trust. No one was told of the new alliance that didn't need to know, which had greatly pleased Draco since that meant Potter and his friends were kept in the dark. It was hard, working against his father right under his nose, he constantly feared that he would be found out. But luck had been on their side, his father had become mad and power hungry, anything that wasn't about the war wasn't worth his time. In the end, Lucius never knew what hit him. At least, not until the day of the final battle...

*

Flashback

Draco was sitting in his room at Malfoy Manor, reading over a letter from his best mate, Blaise. The war had been raging on for months with no end in sight. Draco had been positively swamped, between his Death Eater meetings, Order meetings and all the spy work he was doing, it was really beginning to take his toll. He was in constant fear for his life, expecting his father to discover the betrayal at any time. He spent as little time as possible around him, and when he was around, he refused to look him in the eye. Everyday, he prayed to the gods, thanking them for his skills in Occlumency, allowing him to close his mind to the many Death Eater he pretended to be close to.

Over the months, Lucius had grown mad. He was now Voldemort's right hand man, the best reward a Death Eater could received. He'd become obsessed with wiping out all Muggles, Muggle-borns and half bloods. He believed that no wizard was worthy of his powers unless his blood was pure. Slowly but surely, Draco had grown to hate his father and the beliefs that he'd imposed in his young son's mind.

Draco was just about to pick up his quill and write a reply to Blaise when there was frantic knock at the door. Setting the quill down, he made his way to the large oak doors. His hand was just barely at the doorhandle when the door flung open and his mother rushed inside, looking desperate.

"Draco, it's time." Narcissa said simply, her face paler then usual. Draco simply nodded in response, grabbing his cloak and mask before taking his mother's hand and aparating to Headquarters.

"Good, we're all here now," Molly Weasley greeted the two as they walked through the door. Her red hair was done up in a bun atop her head, but just barely. She looked warn out and stressed, constantly fidgeting with her wand in her robe pocket. "Now, we must be quiet about this because everyone else is in the other room. We need the two of you to stay undercover until you're absolutely needed."

"But how will we know when we are needed?" Draco questioned the red haired woman. He found she never seemed to explain things fully which often annoyed him.

"Remus or Tonks will send you a Patronus," Molly told them. "When you see a wolf Patronus, step in and help."

"And until then?" Narcissa asked, placing a shaking hand on her son's shoulder.

"Until then, stay out of our way and do not help You-Know-Who. If you must, stun, but do not kill!" Molly emphasised the last four words, showing that she still did not fully trust the two Malfoys.

"We will do our best. Good luck," Narcissa and Molly exchanged nods before the two Malfoys aparated back to the Manor to prepare.

The battle had been terrible. Major lose from both sides. Draco had been instructed by his father to be the Dark Lord's lookout, he was told to kill anyone who got close, anyone except Potter. He had done his best to make his father think he was doing as he was told, hiding behind Tom Riddle Sr's grave, keeping his wand at the ready. A few times he was forced to stun Order members, but that was no surprise. As more bodies continued to fall, Draco began to lose hope. There was still no sign of Potter or his friends, perhaps the brave little Gryffindor was finally showing his true colours.

At the last moment, Draco spotted him. Hiding in the shadows behind a dead tree was Potter, acting like the coward Draco had always known him to be.

"Harry, where are you?" Rang the cold laugh of Voldemort throughout the cemetary. "Come out and play, Harry." Draco heard his father join in, laughing like a lunatic. Instantly, the blond was filled with hate for the man who had raised him.

"Okay, Tom," Came Potter's voice from behind the tree. "You want to play? I'll play." Draco watched the tree, expecting Potter to hop out from behind and instantly be killed, but he didn't move. Instead, he appeared from behind a tombstone a few yards away.

"There you are, Harry," Voldemort laughed at the raven haired boy walked slowly towards him, wand clenched in his shaking fist. "Such a pity that now you must die. AVADA KEDAVRA!" Bright green light shot out Voldemort's wand. Potter tried to dodge it, but it was no use. He was struck hard in the back, falling limply to the ground. Voldemort's cackle rang throughout the cemetary as both sides stopped to stare at the fallen Harry Potter.

"How do you feel now?" Voldemort asked, addressing the members of the Order. "Your hero is dead, and soon, you shall all join him. Say hello to Dumbledore for me."

"You haven't won yet, Tom." came Potter's voice, sounding like it was ringing through the whole area, echoing eerily. Draco's eyes shot to the tree where he could still see Potter hiding. When he heard Voldemort shout, he quickly looked over to where the other Potter was laying. He watched as the dead Potter's skin began to bubble, his body slowly changing form. The dead Potter soon changed into the form of Mundungus Fletcher's lifeless body, proof that he had finally paid off his debt to the boy.

"WHAT?!?!" Voldemort screamed out, grabbing Lucius by the throat and throwing him to the ground. "THIS CAN'T BE!!"

Potter quickly jumped out from behind the tree, his wand at the ready. He pointed his wand at Voldemort's heart, pure hatred etched on his face. "Avada Kedavra!" Potter shouted, green light emitting from his wand. The light hit Voldemort square in the chest and he fell to the ground with a sickening thud.

The world seemed to stand still for that moment. Potter was staring at the fallen dark wizard, a look of pure triumph on his face. Lucius was staring, his wild eyes open wide in disbelief. All the others fighting around them stopped, staring at the scene before them.

"I'll kill you!" Lucius shouted at Potter, standing quickly and lunging for the boy. Thinking quick, Draco did what he had to do, he jumped out from behind his hiding spot, pointing his wand at his father's retreating back.

"Sectumsempra!" Draco shouted the first thing he could think of, aiming the spell at his father. Lucius's robes sliced open, revealing deep gashes across his chest. Dark blood poured from the open flesh as Lucius fell to the ground, screaming in agony. Potter stared at Draco in disbelief as the blond removed his Death Eater's mask.

"Malfoy, you just-"

"No time to be grateful now, Potter. Let's finish this." Draco shouted to his former enemy. Potter nodded in understanding before running off to help Lupin fight off Greynir. Draco looked over at his father, writhing in a growing puddle of his own blood. He couldn't believe he'd just done that, but in the end, he knew his father had gotten what he deserved. Besides, his mother didn't need the burden of visiting his souless father in Azkaban after this was all over and he was administered The Kiss. It was the best possible thing, for all of them. He walked over to the man, now a pasty white from the blood loss.

"Traitor!" Lucius hissed once Draco was within view. He reached for his wand, but it had fallen just out of reach.

"It had to be done," Draco replied, his eyes cold. His father's life was slowly fading away. "I will not allow you to dictate other's lives anymore. This is for the best."

Lucius sneered, spitting on his son's polished shoes. "You're no son of mine."

"So be it. Goodbye, Lucius." Draco aimed his wand at his father yet again, turning away before performing Avada Kedavra. He heard his father's body fall limp, signalling his task was complete. Without another glance, he ran off into the heart of the battle, hoping to do a bit more good before this was all over.

As Draco ran through the raging battle, he fired off stupefys left and right, being careful to aim for only Death Eaters. He took out quite a few, including his uncle Rudolphus Lestrange who was duelling with both Ron and Ginny Weasley. Although the two seemed to be doing a fairly good job of holding off his uncle, both had obvious injuries. All around, bodies lay limp on the cold ground. Draco recognized many from both sides, making the whole thing seem just that much more real. Blood was split everywhere, nothing but wreckage around them all. The sight was depressing, but no one had time to feel bad, the battle was almost won, it was time to fight.

Draco was running towards the sound of his aunt Bellatrix's high pitched cackle when he tripped on a broken tombstone, falling hard to the ground. He looked up to see his aunt towering over Granger who's head was bleeding rapidly. Draco recognized that laugh, his aunt had been torturing the girl. Thinking quickly, Draco pointed his wand at his aun't back, shouting, "Avada Kedavra". Bellatrix spun around fast, just in time to watch the curse come from her nephew's wand and hit her right in the chest. Her wild eyes opened wide in shock. Her body fell to the ground, hard, in a heap of bones and flesh. Not wasting any time, Draco ran to Granger's side.

Granger was unconcious. The cut on her head wasn't fatal, but he still used a spell to stop the bleeding. After checking all her vitals, Draco carefully picked up her limp form and placed her behind a tombstone where no fights were going on. Then, he gave her one last sad look before continuing to help with the fighting.

It didn't take long before Order members outnumbered Death Eaters, and those of the dark side began to flee. Draco ran into his mother, and together along with Percy Weasley, a newly revived Granger, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley, Remus Lupin and Tonks, they began to stupefy each Death Eater that was cowardly enough to run away. Sooner then he'd expected, the battle was over. They had won...

*

Draco walked into the dark kitchens, opening the cupboards to find something to eat. After retrieving a few eggs, he got to work making himself an omlette. When he was finished, he grabbed a stool and sat at the counter to eat. As he ate, he thought over that final battle in his mind. He could remember it so well, the bodies strewn about the cemetary, the smell of blood and death lingering in the air. There was so much loss that the war just seemed pointless. He didn't know how his father and Voldemort has expected to wipe out all Muggles as well as more than half of the wizarding population. The whole concept behind the war just didn't make sense, a person had be to completely mad to think that would have worked.

Without warning, Draco found his thoughts wandering to Granger. He didn't know why, but for some reason, he'd been thinking about her a lot. He hadn't seen the witch since their graduation, he could remember exactly how she'd looked on that day. She'd been wearing a scarlet gown, one to match her house colours as every other girl had done. He remembered that she'd curled her hair for the occassion, even though she'd wanted it up. She'd been trying out different hairstyles for a week, asking Draco on his opinion one day, only to have him tell her the exact opposite of what she was thinking. He'd never really expected her to listen to him, actually he'd really liked the up do, the only problem was he'd left a mark on her neck and he didn't think she would have wanted everyone seeing it. That was the last time they'd spoken.

Thinking back, Draco felt rather bad about what happened between the two. They'd shared a pretty amazing night, one of the best he'd ever had, but afterwards, he just felt awkward around her. Also, he'd felt guilty. Not because they'd slept together, they'd both done that willingly. No, he'd felt guilty because that's all that could have ever been between them, just sex. Meaningless just for fun one night stands. He felt bad because, even though he hated to admit it and only did so in his own mind, he knew Granger was above all that. Granger was a beautiful, intelligent, talented witch. She didn't deserve to be someone's meaningless fuck, a way for a wizard to release his tension. She deserved to be loved and treated with respect, and that was something Draco could not do for her. Not with how they'd been towards each other for years, it just wouldn't have been right. He knew he'd really hurt her when he avoided her for pretty much the whole last week of school. It wasn't like he didn't want to be around her, quite the contrary. He'd stayed away out of fear for his actions. Because, he knew, that if they'd been around each other much more after what had happened, he would have lost control. Everytime he saw her after the seventh years' party, he found himself lusting for her. He'd wanted to just grab her and throw her down. And he knew, that was not something he wanted to do. If he had done that, he knew that his feelings would have grown and he would've been unable to let go. She deserved better then a bloke like him, she deserved someone who treats her well. Someone not like him.

Draco finished eating his omlette, placing his dishes in the sink. It was odd, he wasn't sure why, but everytime he had some quiet time to himself, he seemed to always find himself thinking about the past. More specifically, the people in it. He missed his old friends and housemates, he missed his old teachers, hell, he even missed the bloody Golden Trio. He longed for his old life, the life where all he had to worry about was school and coming home for the holidays.

Everyday, Draco was tempted to pack up his things and move back home, but lately, the feeling was increasing. Something just wasn't right with his mother, it was like the first time he had questioned her about the Death Eaters, back when he was fresh from his first year at Hogwarts. Whatever she was hiding, it was causing her a great deal of pain to keep to herself. He didn't have a clue as to what it could be, but he knew that if things didn't change soon, he would pack up and come back home. It didn't matter if he was still having sleep troubles, his mother's well being was at sake.

As the enchanted grandfather clock in the foyer rang 8 o'clock, Draco decided to get dressed before Flooing his mother. He returned to his bedroom, retrieving some clothes from his wardrobe. He then entered the bathroom connected to his room, turning on the shower. He quickly showered, trying his best not to think about his dream as he did so. When he was finished, he dressed in a black t-shirt and black dress pants. Then he washed his face, brushed his teeth and combed his hair. Usually, he liked to put products in his hair, but after the sleep he'd just gotten, he deserved a lazy day. Good thing his father wasn't around to see.

Once Draco was satisfied with his appearance, he made his way into the sitting room to Floo his mother. Waiting for him in the room, as usual, was a silver dish filled with bisquits, croissants and a cup of tea. He took a small sip of the tea, nearly burning his tongue, before taking a handful of Floo-powder and throwing it into the fireplace. Not needing a word to be said, the flames turned emerald, connecting to the spare bedroom at the Manor, where his mother now slept. Draco stuck his head through, looking into a bright and empty bedroom, the bed made neatly by the house-elves.

"Mother?" Draco called, not really expecting an answer. He brought his head back into his sitting room, then threw another handful of powder into the flames. He reappeared in his father's old study to find it too empty. Draco noticed the top drawer of the desk seemed to be slightly open. Knowing that his mother had been spending a great deal of time in the study lately, his curiousity got the best of him. Draco pulled himself through the flames, spinning out of control before planting his feet firmly on the ground at the Manor.

"Mother?" he repeated, just to be sure. Slowly, he creeped into the room, careful not to make a sound. He'd been sneaking around into this study ever since he was young, he was getting rather good at it.

*

Narcissa sat in the Manor's West Wing sitting room. She was curled up on the window ledge, pillows and cushions surrounding her. Propped open on her lap was Draco's baby book. She smiled and laughed to herself as she turned the pages, pictures of a smiling blond haired, silver eyed baby looked up at her. Some were waving or giggling, some Draco was just learning to crawl. There were even one or two of Draco flying his first toy broomstick back when he was five. There weren't many pictures of the entire family together, and there was even less of Draco with Lucius after his first birthday. Yes, Draco always looked quite happy in those pictures, but Narcissa couldn't help but wonder how much his childhood would have changed if his father had been around for more photos.

Narcissa turned another page, coming to the section about her healer's apointments. The first page contained a detailed description of the results of her apointments as well as her first ultrasound. The image was quite blurry, but it was charmed so that the baby's heartbeat flickered like the real thing. The second page was filled with a photo of Narcissa and Lucius designing the nursery. The pair had their wands raised and pointed to a crib across the room. They'd been arguing about what colour theme would be best for the nursery. Narcissa had wanted a sky blue ceiling and walls with a bright green carpet, but Lucius insisted that the nursery match the Manor theme. In the end, Lucius had won and the nursery was turned green and silver. It wasn't as if Narcissa didn't like her own Slytherin house colours, she just felt that they were more inviting colour combinations than green and silver.

Narcissa turned over to another page, coming to another apointment results and ultrasound. At that time, she'd been twelve weeks pregnant. The ultrasound was a bit more clear, she could make out the forming image of Draco, but just barely. She hadn't been showing yet at the time, so she'd been able to hide the pregnancy from her family and friends. She would have liked to have been able to tell everyone the joyful news as soon as she discovered it, but things had been complicated back then.

Narcissa had met Lucius way back on her first day of Hogwarts, they'd been placed in the same house and had instantly taken a liking to each other. They spent a lot of time together in the common room, studying late at night or sharing their dreams. Back then, Lucius had been different, full of life and energy. Narcissa had fallen for Lucius by their fourth year, but she'd kept it a secret. Lucius had been so much like Draco, he did not do well tied down, which Narcissa knew very well. Finally, the summer after their sixth year, the two began dating. Lucius had settled down and grew to only have eyes for Narcissa. The two married almost immediately out of Hogwarts, but things became rocky from there.

For the first three years of their marriage, Lucius was rarely around. The Dark Lord had risen and Lucius had slowly become his worshipper. Juggling both running the family business and following the path that Voldemort had set, Lucius left Narcissa at home. Narcissa had never fully agreed with the Dark Lord's ways, she'd been raised to believe that pure-bloods were above anyone with Muggle blood, but she was just fine with simply turning up her nose at those beneathe her. Still, she never argued with her husband or questioned his ways. When she became pregnant, Lucius settled down slightly. He was at home more often, even attempting to hide the fact that he was still an active Death Eater. For nearly the first year of Draco's life, the Malfoys were a normal family. But after the fall of Voldemort, Lucius became determined to help bring his lord back to power. From there, his sanity slowly faded, leading to the betrayal of his own wife and child.

Narcissa wiped a tear from her eye, turning the pages of the baby book, not really paying much attention. Finally, she got to the page about the twenty-fifth week of her pregnancy, when everything began to go wrong. Narcissa had been extremely stressed, Lucius had begun to help with the Death Eater attacks, torturing poor Muggles and leaving them to die. She lost sleep, she couldn't eat. She'd worried constantly for her growing family. Her hormone and magic levels dropped and she began showing signs of a miscarriage. Lucius had done everything within his power to save their unborn child, resulting in them investing in a personal healer and an assortment of expensive potions. Narcissa had been advised to remain bed-ridden for a month and was dosed with a stress reliever potion daily. The rest of her pregnancy was taken with extreme caution, Lucius wouldn't even allow her to walk down the staircase by herself. Eventually, Narcissa went into early labour, giving birth to Draco. After all the complications she'd experienced with her pregnancy, Narcissa's healers suggested she not bare anymore children. For the sake of her sanity and well being, she kissed her dreams of a big family goodbye and began to give Draco all the love and affection that had been deemed appropriate by Lucius.

So consumed by her thoughts, Narcissa didn't hear Erma pop into the room. The house-elf crept quietly into the room, uneasy about distrubing her mistress when she was obviously upset.

"Mistress?" the elf asked timidly, her big brown eyes staring at the tears falling from Narcissa's blue eyes.

"What is it, Erma?" Narcissa asked, wiping her eyes. Erma had seen her cry plenty of times, but the past was nothing to cry over. It was passed for a reason, it no longer mattered.

"Master Draco is in my late Master's study, miss," Erma told her, wringing her ears in her hands. "He is sneaking around like his old days. Childish, he is."

"Thank you, Erma," Narcissa quickly stood, placing the baby book under a pillow. She then wrapped her silk robe more tightly around herself and hurried to Lucius' old study.

Narcissa threw open the oak doors just in time to see Draco about to pull open the top drawer of Lucius' old desk. When his mother came into the room, he froze like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Draco, it's always a pleasure to see you," Narcissa told her son, walking towards him with a fake smile upon her face. "But you are not a child anymore and therefore I should not be finding you sneaking around through your father's old things. I would have thought you'd outgrown this behaviour by now."

"Mother, how did you-" Draco was at a loss for words, he'd been so close. Narcissa pointed her wand at the desk drawer, locking it shut.

"That look on your face is quite unbecoming," she told him, sounding like her old self. Draco imediately closed his mouth, turning his grey eyes to the floor.

"I'm sorry, mother," he apologised. "I just got worried when I didn't find you in your bed this morning. I figured I'd come for a visit but when I came through, this drawer was open. I was only about to close it back up for you."

Narcissa smiled, oh how he sounded just like his father. "Lying will not get you anywhere in life, Draco. If you were just going to close the drawer, you would not be looking like a gnome caught in a wandlight. Now come, let's have some tea." Draco stared at his mother, unable to speak. She amazed him, some days, it seemed as if her sanity was nearly at the breaking point, but others, she was just like she was before the war. He cherished the times that she seemed like her old self, happy to catch her on those rare days. With one last look at the top drawer of the desk, Draco followed his mother out of the room, watching as she locked the door before leading him downstairs for tea.

*

Hermione apparated to the Burrow early in the morning for breakfast. It had been over a week since she'd been alone with Ron. Ginny had left for Hogwarts the day before, and even with Ron not speaking with her, she still liked to spend as much time at the Burrow as possible. Hermione was finding it increasingly unbearable to be alone most of the time, so she tried to be around friends and family as much as she could. But with all the tension between Ron and herself, she was starting to spend less and less time at her second home.

Ron worked nearly everyday at the Ministry, so Hermione rarely saw him, but when he was there, he usually ignored her completely. Hermione desperately wanted to speak with him, but she didn't know what to say. Should she appologise? She didn't believe she had to, they'd tried being more than friends before and it just hadn't worked out. She wasn't sorry, they were great just as friends. Ron knew that, he'd fully agreed on it after they'd broken up the past March. She wanted to question Ron, to ask him what the hell had brought on the change, but everytime they even came close to being alone together, Ron would leave without a word. His new behaviour had brought fourth some of the strongest emotions she'd ever experienced; anger, frustration and hopelessness. In short, she could just feel herself beginning to resent her old friend.

When Hermione arrived at the Burrow, she walked through the door to find Arthur and Ron nearly finished their breakfast. Molly was cooking some more french toast and fried eggs, she usually ate before everyone else was up. Harry was hidden behind the day's Daily Prophet, as he'd taken to doing when Ginny wasn't around. His breakfast sat nearly untouched next to a nearly empty cup of coffee.

"Good morning everyone," Hermione greeted them, hoping most for a response from Ron.

"Good morning, dear," Molly said over top of Harry and Arthur's greetings. "Breakfast will be finished shortly."

"There would be more, but some hungry bloke couldn't get enough." Harry explained, eying Ron over his newspaper.

"That's all right," Hermione replied, taking the vacant seat beside Harry. She tried to catch Ron's eye, but he was much too busy stuffing his face next to his father.

"Hogwarts is still looking for a professor," Harry commented. He'd been doing that often throughout the week, hinting to his friend.

"From what I've heard down at the Ministry," Arthur chimed in, placing his empty dish in the sink. "They're looking more for talent than experience, they're not even very interested in age. Just someone who would be in it for long-term, Minerva is tired of hiring new employees."

"Now that would be a dream," Molly commented from the stove.

"I could never do that," Hermione told them. "Their standards would be much too high, there has to be a catch."

"But who better for the job than the brightest witch of our time?" Harry asked her with a smile.

"Harry Potter." she smirked back.

"Actually, I'm more of a Defense Against the Dark Arts type, but Lupin has that covered for now."

"But not for much longer," Molly reminded the pair, placing two full plates on the table. "After this year, Remus is taking a year off to help Tonks with Teddy." Remus and Tonks had just had a baby four months before, Theodore James Lupin, naming Harry his godfather.

"Look at the time," Arthur exclaimed, checking the clock hanging on the wall. "Come on Ron, we'd best be going."

"All right," Ron shoved his final fried egg into his mouth whole, nearly causing Hermione to gag. He then put his dish in the sink and grabbed his cloak.

"Goodbye all," Arthur said, kissing his wife. "We shouldn't be too late tonight, but I'll owl you if anything happens. Merlin knows that Kingsley does like having us around." Ron nodded a goodbye to no one in particular, then they apparated to the Ministry. Once they were gone, Hermione took a few pieces of french toast and began to eat.

"Hermione, why don't you try eating a few fried eggs?" Molly suggested. Hermione looked over at the eggs and her stomach turned. Their strong scent suddenly reached her nostrils, and she fought back the bile which threatened to come up.

"I'm fine, thanks." she told the older woman, refusing to look at the dish.

"Nonesense," Molly insisted, piling three eggs onto the young girl's plate. "After all, you are now eating for two."

"Actually Molly, that's a well known misconception about pregnancies," Hermione corrected her, begining to quote information she'd found. "While pregnancy does result in eating more, it is not to be used as an excuse to over eat. Portion sizes are increased, but in moderation. In no way should a pregnant woman consume anywhere near double her daily food intake."

"Big mistake," she heard Harry mutter from behind the newspaper. She could practically feel Harry's shock. Rarely was Molly Weasley corrected. Even more rarely did the person get away with it unscathed.

"And how might you have come across this information?" Molly asked, her sweet smile countering the cold tone to her voice.

"I read it on the internet," she replied.

"Stop now," Harry urged under his breath.

"So, you'd rather take some information from a Muggle contraption than a person with seven times of experience?" Molly questioned, her brown eyes glaring at the girl.

"Molly, the information on these websites is posted by highly knowledgable experts. They're very informative, and so far, they've helped me out a lot."

"Enough arguing," Molly snapped, obviously getting frustrated. "Eat your eggs."

Not wanting to argue any further, Hermione put a whole fried egg in her mouth. She chewed it as quickly as she could, but before she could swallow, the image of the greasy piece of egg hanging out of Ron's mouth came to her mind. The scent of the eggs filled her nostrils all at once and she swallowed. For a moment or two, everything seemed fine, but when she took another look at her plate, she began to gag.

"Bloody hell!" Harry exclaimed, throwing down his newpaper and standing to help his friend.

"Take her out back," Molly instructed, moving chairs out of the way before opening the back door. Hermione placed her hands over her mouth, fighting back the bile which threatened to come up. "She can't make it up the stairs like that."

Harry led Hermione outside as quickly as he could. No sooner had her feet touched the grass when she fell to her hands and knees. Harry held her hair back tightly as she emptied her stomach, unable to look. By the time her vomitting has ceased, she was sweaty, pale and shaking, tears forming in her eyes.

"Are you all right?" Harry asked, his voice filled with worry. Hermione took out her wand, cleaning up the mess she'd just made.

"Do I look all right to you?" Hermione snapped, motioning to her pale and sweaty face.

"Well, not exactly," he replied, obviously uncomfortable. "Least you've only got a few more months until this is all over."

"That's not true," she argued, suddenly in a foul mood. "Sure, I've only got a few more months of morning sickness and all that, but after that's done, I'm going to have a baby to take care of. I'll be responsible for another life!"

"Yeah, but compared to taking down Voldemort, raising a baby's going to be a piece of cake." he told her, attempting to lighten the mood.

"Well then, if you're so convinced about how bloody easy this is all going to be, why don't we switch? You can be the single teenage parent and I'll try being the unemployed freeloader?" Hermione was shaking, her sudden anger bubbling over.

"'Mione," Harry said, staring at his friend in disbelief. "What the hell has gotten into you?"

"Oh, Harry," Hermione embraced her friend tightly, holding back tears. Her anger had vanished and been replaced with pure sadness and guilt. "I can take this much longer, it's all just too much to handle."

"Hermione, I know what you're going through," Harry told her, pushing the girl back a bit so he could look into her watery eyes. "I know what it's like to have a responsibility that you're not ready for thrust upon you. You can't start out perfect, knowing how everything works. You have no control over it and sometimes things can be overwhelming. All you can do is adjust, and when you need to, ask for help. You always think I'm being modest when I say this, but all those times that I faced Voldemort, I had help. Everytime. Stop trying to be all brave and take this on yourself."

"But why should any of you pay for my mistakes?" Hermione sobbed, unable to hold it in any longer. "Your lives don't have to change just because I was stupid."

"Hermione, we're practically family," he told her. "We've all put eachother through hell; my fulfilling the prophecy, Ginny and Ron's constant bickering. And you've helped us all so much with things like studying and homework. Plans for finding horcruxes and distractions for defeating dark wizards. Let us give you something back in return."

"What about Ron?" she asked, wiping away the last of her tears. "He's still being a foul git around me."

"He gets like that sometimes," Harry said. "What do you think set him off this time?"

"Um," Hermione's face flushed. "We were talking last week and he started acting kind of odd. Then he leaned in like he was going to kiss me, so I left."

"He never told me anything about that." Harry said, sounding hurt.

"Well I thought we were passed all of this."

"So did I," Harry agreed. "Just give him time, though. Eventually, he'll come to his senses and stop being such a bloody prat."

"Are you sure?" she asked, her brown eyes looking up into his green ones.

"Positive, he's done this to me loads of times." Harry told her, offering his friend a smile. "But how about we head in? You could help me prepare for my interview next week."

"You have an interview?" she repeated, giving him a smile. "Where?"

"At the Ministry," he said. "If all goes well, I'll be the new assisstant Auror trainer for at least a year."

"Congratulations!" Hermione exclaimed, throwing her arms around Harry's neck in a tight embrace. "But how do you prepare for an interview to be an Auror trainer?"

"It's actually quite simple," he told her with a smile. "All I really have to do is practice saying, 'nice to meet you, I'm Harry Potter'."

Hermione laughed, smacking her friend playfully on the arm. "And to think, I actually thought that the great Harry Potter was modest!"

"Hey!" Harry shouted, growling playfully. Hermione let out a scream, running into the house as Harry chased after her.

To Be Continued...

Sorry about not posting this last night, I've had a lot going on lately. I'm really happy with the response I got from the last chapter. Thnxx goes out to: mibella (don't worry, I don't plan on it), kazfeist, ucdevil (I don't think emailing you would be a problem, I'll send you one right after I post this...if only you'd left me your email), Amaya (only one? Oh wow, that's a surprise lolI'll try to make sure to add in how Hermione feels about Draco, thnxx for the idea) && scarletwitchextreme (thnxx for the offer, I'll be sure to email if I need you, I really appreciate it). I'm absolutely loving all these reviews, so please, keep them coming. The next chapter is in progress (as well as many others, I tend to get random ideas here && there) so be sure to give me lots of motivation to post them!

Much Love...

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