The New Minister

A/N: Enjoy! :D

Chapter 7

It could have been just a day, perhaps a week, that had passed since that morning when Malfoy told me that he would fall in love with me, but looking at my calendar now, it had been approximately three and half years since then.

Malfoy had been promoted in the last three and a half years more than anyone else in the department—and it wasn’t at all my doing. It was his charismatic style of leading the projects that he came up with, and the way that he handled them so quickly and efficiently. The Minister for Magic, Bill Weasley, had been called down to my department many times in the last three and a half years to listen to other members of the department talk good things about Malfoy.

It had taken him only four months to get the Galloway branch of the Romanian reserve opened. After that, he had taken on his other project—that I had at first declined him—of a House-Elf Union. He had had a least another dozen projects get off the ground since then, and no one could be more proud of him than I.

He was now the head of his own section of the department. At first it was Domestic Magical Creature Affairs, but when his House-Elf Union idea went global, it became International Magical Creature Affairs.

It was because of his international House-Elf Union that he had been in Hong Kong for the last six days, litigating with the Chinese Magical Government over their use of House-Elves as sweat-shop labourers.

He was well-liked—and even loved—by most. He had broken out of the stigma that came with the name Malfoy and was not only quite successful in his endeavours, but also had gained the trust back that had been lost to him through the war. He had made a man of himself. He was who he really was, and not what everyone thought he should be.

And here I was, sitting at my desk in my office, staring again and again, as if mesmerised, at the small phial of blue liquid in my hand. I turned it over again and watched as the bubble crawled up the side until it crashed into the other end, then turned it back over and watched it do the same thing.

I mean, I knew that it could happen; I knew that it would happen at some point, but I had honestly not been thinking that it would actually be happening now. I was just ruling out possibilities, and had expected the liquid to be clear. But it was blue, and therein lay the explanation of why—for the first time in my adult life—I had missed my period.

I was pregnant.

I turned the phial over again and stared at the bubble making its climb again, wondering if the foetus inside me was as big as it yet.

It was such an odd feeling. I hadn’t planned it at all. I mean, Malfoy and I had been shagging for three and a half years now. We lived together, worked together, slept together—and yet not many people actually knew about our relationship. We kept it, not secret, but much more under wraps during work, and let ourselves go when we got home. If we acted all lovey dovey around each other at work and at home, we would probably get sick of each other, honestly.

I was pregnant with Malfoy’s baby.

It finally hit me and when it did, it really hit me. I smiled so wide that my lips hurt. I was having Malfoy’s baby. Inside me was a tiny little foetus that would someday be our child. I made a squeaky sound in my throat and picked up my phone, intent on dialling Malfoy’s number before I remembered that he was in Hong Kong. He would be home tonight, I mollified myself. Who else could I tell? Ron! No, he was at work still. He would be home in an hour-ish though.

With no one else to tell at the moment, I walked out of my office. My secretary was sitting at her desk with her friend sitting upon it.

‘…seen Malfoy’s arse? It’s gorgeous!’ my secretary was saying and I bit my lip. Yes, he did have a rather remarkable arse.

‘Mmm, what I would give to get my hands on it,’ her friend replied. Nope. That was my arse, no one else would be touching it but me. Now or ever.

‘Marla!’ I said excitedly, interrupting their conversation about my boyfriend’s backside.

She looked at me strangely. Okay, it wasn’t so strange. We really didn’t converse at all, and I barely ever used her given name. ‘Yes?’ she asked.

‘I know that you and I really don’t talk much and all, but at the moment I have no one else to tell and I’m so excited that I just have to get it out,’ I rambled.

‘Yes?’ she asked again, in the same dreary tone that she had had for forever.

I squeaked again. ‘I’m pregnant!’ Marla and her friend both gave me a strange look, and this time I had no idea what for. ‘What?’ I asked.

‘But…’ her friend started.

‘But you’re frigid!’ Marla exclaimed.

This time it was my turn to give both of them a strange look. ‘Who says?’ I asked. Surely Malfoy wouldn’t go around telling people that I was frigid, especially since I most surely was not frigid—as memories of last week and thoughts of what would happen tonight came into my head.

‘Just look at you,’ Marla said. I obeyed and looked down at my dress. I was wearing a pair of black flats, some tights, with a black button-up shirt and a mid-length red dress over it. So it was somewhat conservative, but I wouldn’t call myself frigid because of it—actually I looked somewhat like a University professor. ‘You used to wear sexy clothes. Amazing shoes, short skirts, stockings!’

I thought about what she said for a moment. I did used to wear sexier clothes to work, but that was when I wanted to attract a bloke, and since I now had a bloke, I usually stuck to clothes more fitting of the Minister of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

‘Come into my office for a minute,’ I told them. They both walked in with weird looks. I closed my door behind them and then unzipped my dress.

‘What are you doing?’

‘I just realised that I used to spend so much money on shoes: five-hundred quid for a pair, and I was trying to figure out where I spent all the money now since I have pretty conservative shoes.’ I opened the buttons of my shirt and opened it. Underneath lay a fine lace bra in a dark shade of green, Slytherin Green, Malfoy’s favourite—in fact, I was wearing this particular set today because he would be home tonight. ‘And you said I was frigid.’

‘But who sees it?’ Marla asked.

I shook my head at her. ‘Did I not just say that I was pregnant?’ She didn’t say anything. ‘I’ve had a boyfriend for over three years now. I dress to make him happy, not other people.’

They nodded stupidly.

My phone rang.

Seeing the number, I put it on speakerphone. This would be good. ‘Hello?’ I asked.

‘Granger. It’s Malfoy.’

‘Hello,’ I smiled towards the phone. Marla gave her friend a look and nodded towards the phone.

‘Uh,’ he murmured, sounding embarrassed.

‘What is it?’ I asked.

‘Well, these bastards aren’t giving anything up. I’m supposed to have dinner with them tonight, so I won’t be able to make it back today, I’m sorry.’

I frowned. ‘Well, that’s okay.’

‘Are you sure?’ he asked.

‘Yeah, that’s fine, Malfoy. Take all the time you need, it’s your project.’

There was a slight pause. ‘You’re wearing the green knickers, aren’t you?’ he asked in a seductive voice.

Marla gasped out loud and stared at me with huge eyes. I smirked at her. Damn Malfoy. ‘Yes,’ I said in a breathy whisper.

‘Damn,’ he deadpanned. ‘I was so ready to come home and fuck you until we were both too exhausted to move. Fucking hell, I can't think about that now, or I'll have to have a wank before dinner. I’ll try to make it home tomorrow. I have to have lunch with my mother, but I’ll make you dinner. Does that sound good?’

‘Sounds wonderful,’ I smiled.

‘Okay, well, I have to go. Love you, you gorgeous woman.’

‘Love you, too.’

‘Bye.’

‘Bye.’

Click.

Silence.

Then: ‘You and Malfoy!?’

I looked at her flatly for a moment. ‘I’m surprised you didn’t know already, honestly. Do you know how many times we’ve fucked in here?’

She looked around the office with a new kind of awe. ‘I’m sorry I called you frigid.’

‘It’s perfectly fine.’

She left my office.

I remembered that I was pregnant.

I remembered that I forgot to tell Malfoy.

I remembered that I was going to tell Ron.

I apparated to Ron’s new house in Manchester.