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Future Parents Program	By : avari20 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 58112 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Disclaimer: I own nothing. It all belongs to JKR.

Road to Hell

Hermione was mentally cataloging the events in her life that could have warranted a punishment such as the one before her.

She was going to fail. For the first time in her life, she�d come up against something that defied all logic despite the numerous volumes on the subject. It discombobulated her, it made her want to hide under Hagrid�s massive covers and never come out again.

It wasn�t even three feet tall, damnit!

And now it had found another ally in Narcissa Malfoy, the former wife of one of the most notorious men of the age. She watched Ick, er Vivica, and Narcissa play together as though the two hadn�t just met an hour ago. They had adjourned to a sitting room for tea while Narcissa sent Malfoy on some kind of hunt in the attack. Hermione had had to bite her tongue to keep from begging Malfoy not to leave her alone. Hell had almost frozen over, but Hermione had regained her wits just in time. He�d disappeared in a huff and hadn�t graced them with his odious presence since.

Hermione fiddled with her fragile teacup. What was she going to do? She had to ace this project! She had never failed at anything before, unless one counted Divination. She�d sworn to protect, nurture, and name the child before her. One out of three wasn�t so bad, but Hermione knew the game was just beginning. Her years at Hogwarts had taught her that nothing of this caliber was ever simple. It wouldn�t be long before something happened to test her resolve and ability to carry out her self-designated duty.

But how was she supposed to protect a child that seemed to prefer Malfoy to her? Not only did that say a lot about the little girl�s questionable taste, but Hermione had yet to truly hold the child much less actually protect it. And as for nurturing�well, that was a whole new kettle. She�d read about baby development briefly, but never baby nutrition.

What did babies eat?

The little girl had to eat at some point. Clothes were a more immediate concern, but the other was an inevitability. And Malfoy was taking his bloody sweet time with whatever he was doing.

�So Hermione,� Narcissa said. She�s tried small talk, now it was time to get down to business. �I realize you and Draco haven�t exactly been the best of friends all these years, but I do hope that the two of you will come out of this program with a much closer relationship. Children do tend to throw parents together quite often, and I would imagine this precious little girl will be no different.� She rubbed her nose with the baby�s. �Isn�t that true, Ick?�

�Vivica,� Hermione corrected faintly.
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He needed a plan and he needed one now, Draco decided. He had since abandoned his search. It had occurred to him at some point that he was giving unnecessary effort when he could just send a house elf to do the job. He now passed the dusty attic floor in a flurry of activity. Think think think think think, he commanded himself.

Ok, earth-shattering revelations that rocked the very fabric of his being aside, he was going to hell in a hand basket if he didn�t pull himself together soon and come up with some kind of course of action. Hermione Jane Granger was no easy pickup. She was intelligent, stubborn, and had one hell of a grudge against him.

Difficult, but not insurmountable.

He hoped.

What the hell kind of an attitude is that? You�re Draco Black Malfoy, by the gods! Start acting like it.

Draco stopped pacing and drew himself upright. Bloody damn right! He was Draco Malfoy, heir to the Malfoy fortune and influence. He was handsome, rich, charming, and intelligent. He was the catch of the century, blast it all. No Muggle born egghead was going to intimidate him. No matter how damn sexy she looked in a bathing suit.

Draco nodded to himself. That�s the spirit, Malfoy. Get a plan, sweep her off her feet, and live happily ever damn after.

List, list, he needed to make a list. Lists made it easier for him to think. He whipped out his wand and seconds later had a quill and parchment. He appropriated a waist high trunk as his desk. Free writing was even better than list-making. Hmmm�

Intelligent, Malfoy scratched. Not easily fooled. Any plan would have to be either extremely complicated and secretive�.or�..use shock factor and tell her straight out how I feel?

Malfoy scowled at the last sentence and tapped his chin with the feather quill in thought. While the Slytherin in him relished the joys of a complex plan, the shock factor was simpler and just as effective. It would allow him to get down to the business of wooing faster. He nodded once more. Definitely the shock factor. Less time for her to hit him and more time for him to enjoy the look on her face.

Alright, so the admission part of the process was pinned down. He�d tell her what�s what and make sure the entire school knew it too. Wouldn�t want anyone sniffing around and making this harder than it had to be. Draco briefly and only mentally thanked Dumbledore for sticking his joyful little nose where it wasn�t wanted. Ick would be the perfect beginning bond between himself and Hermione. Ick was cute, adorable, intelligent, and a Malfoy. Probably needed tons of attention and together time with both of her parents.

He had noticed Hermione�s stiffness around the baby. It was understandable. Hell, the only reason he didn�t take off running from the little thing was that Ick looked too damn much like him to abandon her. He saw himself in the little mite, and he�d be damned if he would be like his father. He was sticking with her come hell or high water or more disgusting substances emitting from her mouth.

He�d just have to do a lot of researching first.

Which led him back to Hermione. Visions of the three of them ensconced in a quiet corner of the library warmed him. She�d get more comfy with Ick and he�d definitely make sure he got comfy with her. What could go wrong?

But the library wasn�t the only possibility. He had to find out what she liked. Oh, sure he knew her weaknesses and the like, but not in the whole I think you�re wonderful let�s get married sort of way. How did Muggles court? He would have to look it up. He could fall back on wizarding tradition but Hermione was a whole new animal, so to speak.

He shrugged. Besides, Muggles seem to multiply like lust potioned rabbits, so whatever they were doing was definitely working.
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Narcissa had abandoned her. She had questioned her endlessly until Hermione had begun to understand what victims of the Inquisition had felt like. When did she and Draco first meet, how did Ick come into being, what did Draco say when he found out about the program. The question about where Malfoy had been when his clothes first disappeared had been a bit odd, but Hermione had answered and explained about Malfoy�s near drowning. Narcissa had let loose peals of laughter that had been surprisingly pleasant to listen to.

She finally had lost patience with Malfoy and conjured the sweetest clothes Hermione had ever seen for Ick. Tiny little blue and green stripped lounge pants and a simple white little tee shirt should not have affected Hermione so, but there it was. Ick looked as cute as a mini-Malfoy could be. Narcissa had then Apparated the pair to a library while she went in search of her son. �Lots of good baby books here,� she said over her shoulder.

A house elf had appeared with a tray of finger food that reminded Hermione that she hadn�t eaten in hours.

�According to this,� she told Vivica, who was playing with her own book. Hermione sat Indian style on the floor with the baby. Ick turned the pages one way and then another. Hermione would have taken it away for fear of torn pages, but the threat of a crying spree from Vivica was enough to stay her hand. Hermione looked back at the book in her lap and reached over to get a cracker from the tray next to her. �According to this, Vivica,� she repeated, �Your motor skills should be that of an infant of twelve months. You can almost use words, imitate others� actions, and--� Hermione�s brow raised �--say Mama or Dada?�

She looked at Vivica in an assessing manner. �Well? Can you?�

She was asking validation from a year old infant. Hermione sighed. She should have stayed at home this year. �We�ll come back to that later. Let�s see�.ok, drinks from cup.� Hermione watched Ick hold a tea cup Narcissa had given her and greedily gulp. �Check,� Hermione muttered. �Can eat finger food�.What�s finger food�� The tray caught her eye. �Ah.�

She picked up several choices. �Are you hungry, Ick, I mean Vivica?� She crawled a few feet. The little girl eyed her warily, but didn�t cry. Yet. Hermione decided this was encouraging and get ever closer, holding her offering out. �Here baby baby baby�.� she coaxed.

Great. This is what she was reduced to. Bribery, and bad bribery at that.

Well, she had to get the little girl to like her somehow, right? Hermione reasoned. It wasn�t so bad. Almost like getting her late cat Crookshanks to eat.

Hermione ignored the pang the memory of her beloved cat caused and refocused on the situation at hand. �Come on Ick. Look,� she bit into the cracker and chewed with excessive relish. �Yummmm,� she moaned. �It�s good. Why don�t you try it?� She held her hand out again.

It was almost scary to see the workings in Vivica�s eyes as she decided if it was safe to take food from the hands of the crazy lady. Hermione could practically see the pros and cons being weighed in the little girl�s mind. Whatever her beginnings, this child�s brain was no slouch. Hermione would almost bet that given time, this child would say a great deal more than �Mama� or �Dada�.

Very, very slowly, a pudgy little hand reached out and took the offering.

From there on it became easier. Vivica stuffed her little face while she allowed Hermione to pick her up and place the little girl in her lap. She watched in a little bit of awe when Vivica decided that Hermione needed to be fed as well. She used Hermione�s body for leverage and stood up on her own. Hermione kept her hands on the little waist while she accepted the crackers shoved in her mouth. It seemed to please the infant and she bounced in excitement, grinning from ear to ear. It was rather like watching a pixie, Hermione decided.

When Vivica finished eating some minutes later Hermione decided it was time to test the waters. �Wonder if you can walk?� She got to her knees and set Vivica on her feet. The little girl looked a bit confused, but stayed steady. �Come on, Vivica. Show me what you can do.� She held out her arms. �Come here.�

It was then she felt it. As Vivica was about to take her first step, an icy chill ran down Hermione�s spine. Something was watching them.

In seconds Vivica was snatched up in Hermione�s arms and clutched close, her wand out and pointing at an unseen menace. She looked around the library. There was no one in sight. The entire room had taken on a chilling temperature, however. Only a few sconces were lit, leaving the rest of the room in flickering shadows. Narcissa had apparently not meant to stay away so long.

Every hair stood on end and every nerve twitched with awareness. Ick seemed to feel something as well. She buried her head in Hermione�s shoulder and whimpered. �Who�s there?� Hermione demanded. Nothing moved. All she could see were dark bookshelves and paintings. But she knew something was there.

She could hear it breathing.

Hermione felt panic welling inside but kept a part of her detached. She had been in many situations of extreme peril. This had the same vibe. Whatever it was, the intruder was no friend to her or Ick.

It was moving. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to its motions, only seemed to want to get closer to her.

�Mudblood,� something half growled, half hissed. �Foul, dirty creature,� it said again from several feet in the opposite direction of the first utterance.

Very real fear froze her blood. She couldn�t track it. She did a complete circle. �We�re hear at the invitation of Draco Malfoy himself,� she said in false haughtiness. �Who are you to insult his guests?�

�A creation of the first Malfoy, set to protect the purity of this house. It has been so for a thousand years, and shall not be disrupted by your infection any longer.�

Hermione felt the breath on her neck.

It was right behind her.

She whipped around. Her eyes widened.

A scream of terror ripped through the manor.
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There was a popping sound in the attic next to Draco. �Master!� cried a terrified house elf. �Master must come quick! Master�s guests are in danger!�

Malfoy whipped around. �What? What�s happened?� Suddenly Narcissa Apparated next to the house elf. �Draco, the paintings are screaming!� she cried out. �What�s going on?�

�It�s the Lamia, Master!� the house elf said.

Draco went cold. It couldn�t be true! He�d heard legends in his childhood of the Lamia. A Greek queen had once been Zeus� lover, then had been cursed by his wife Hera in her jealousy. Her children had been killed, and her body transformed. From the waist up it was supposed to be a beautiful woman but for her brass claws and iron teeth, with eyes that glowed with unholy fire. From the waist down Lamia was a giant serpent. The first Malfoy was supposed to have imprisoned Lamia and named her guardian of the manor. Only there hadn�t been a Muggle born in Malfoy Manor is so many centuries it was impossible to know if it was true or not.
Until now. When he'd brought Hermione.
And Ick.

And Lamia ate human children in revenge for the loss of her own.

Fear rippled through him. �Mother, get your wand!� he barked, whipping out his own.

Narcissa already had hers. �They�re in the south library. Oh, Draco, what if they�re hurt?�

�Then the gods help Lamia,� Draco vowed.

They Apparated to the library in question only to find it in a unholy wreck. Massive bookshelves had been flung around like little building blocks. There were holes in the wall and burn marks in the floor. Traces of frantic magic still lingered in the air. �Come on,� Narcissa called. They ran for the door to the library and out into the hall. They heard Ick wail and the screeching of something in pain.

Hermione�s wand lay at Draco�s feet. She was defenseless.
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Hermione was running for life.

She hurtled around corners at breakneck speed, heart pounding, the air struggling to get into her lungs. She�d recognized the thing on sight, and couldn�t keep the scream inside at the realization. Hermione had thrown all she had into the spells she�d hurled at the Lamia in the library, only to have them shaken off like so much water. The creature was ancient, Hermione realized. It would take more than a seventeen year old girl to defeat it.
Even the killing curse had only fazed it long enough for her to fling several bookcases at it. It bought her enough time to make it to the door. �MALFOY!� she had screamed. �MALFOY HELP!�

She had skidded across the marble floor when she turned to fast. The Lamia, screaming in rage while half buried underneath the massive bookcases, had used its tail to hurl a chair through the double doors. The chair clipped Hermione in the shoulder and sent her crashing to the floor. She�d wrapped both arms around Ick to shield her, but her wand had gone flying several feet in the opposite direction.

Her breath gone, Hermione had reached out for it�.

Only it was too late. With a roar the Lamia had freed itself from the pile and thrown itself after Hermione. It had been stay and die or run and live.

So Hermione ran, leaving the wand behind.

�MALFOY!� she yelled as she ran. �GET YOUR ARSE DOWN HERE AND HELP ME!� She dove to the floor when a painting came boomeranging through the air from behind, it�s occupant crying out in terror. �How dare that thing throw me!� the woman inside hollered.

�Get Draco!� she told it, getting back to her feet. The Manor was huge and unfamiliar to her. There was so many twists and turns Hermione wasn�t sure if she was running away from the Lamia or toward it. �Go!� she barked at the painting. She rounded another corner out of Lamia's sight. Hermione hurtled through the first door and slammed it closed behind her.

She was in some kind of showroom. It was huge, like a ballroom. She stood at the top of a long flight of stairs that led to what looked like a�training auditorium?

She didn�t stop but ran down the steps. On the back wall were weapons of all shapes and sizes. Hermione bypassed punching bags and other training devices of all kinds to get to the wall. Ick and she held on to one another tightly, but Hermione realized that she could not hold the little girl if she had any hope of fending off Lamia.

�Mudblood!� Lamia roared from the hall. Hermione knew that Lamia could probably smell her fear and would find them soon. She searched for somewhere to hide Ick. To either side of the wall were piles of mats that one could tumble with. Hermione went to the one on her right and pushed it out of the way enough to put Ick in the corner. Ick whimpered and didn�t want to let go, but time was of the essence. �I�ll come back for you, baby,� she whispered urgently. �You must be very very quiet, alright? Don�t let that thing find you!� She shushed the child briefly and put her in the corner, pushing the mats back so that they would protect and cover her.

She lurched for the nearest weapon just as Lamia burst through the door, the wood splintering into the air. It was down the stairs in mere seconds, coming at her with unnatural speed. Hermione wanted to run, but knew that leaving Ick would never be an option. She tore a spear from the wall and threw it with all her might. The thing wobbled and fell short of Hermione�s mark, but managed to hit the tail nonetheless. The Lamia screeched in pain. Poor Ick wailed. Hermione would have wailed with her if the situation had not been life or death. She ran back to the wall and grabbed a sword.

It was heavy, but adrenaline aided Hermione where mere strength of arms failed. She heaved it up and bravely faced her opponent.

Blood seeped from the wound in the tail. Furious, the Lamia knocked the spear away and hissed at Hermione. The girl came closer, preparing for battle. The Lamia smiled grotesquely. �Foolish little one, do you think you can defeat me with your bit of metal?�

�I am definitely going to try,� Hermione shot back.

The creature lunged, claws at the ready. Hermione dodged, but just barely. Pain ran across her back and side. Blood dripped, but Hermione ignored it, brining the sword in a cross swing that sliced through the flesh of the Lamia�s arm. Magic may not have much affect, but mortal weapons could still kill.

Or so she thought until she saw the flesh begin to heal.

And so it went on for what seemed like an eternity. The Lamia would land blows and quickly heal from the ones Hermione inflicted. Hermione knew that she wouldn�t last long if this kept up. The terrible moment came when the Lamia sent the sword flying out of Hermione�s hand and was going in for the kill.

�Sectum Sempra!!� Malfoy bellowed. The Lamia cried out as hundreds of lacerations appeared over its body. �Accio Hermione!� Malfoy yelled again.

Narcissa was close behind. �Accio Vivica!�

Both girls flew through the air toward the stairs. Malfoy caught Hermione to his chest effortlessly and hugged her close only briefly. He quickly sat her down and gave her the wand he�d found. �Mother, protect Ick,� he said. The little girl was sobbing and Narcissa hugged her close.

�Where have you been?� Hermione demanded.

�Out for a stroll, what do you think, Granger?� Malfoy shot back. �I�ve been looking for you! Was it really necessary to cause so much damage to the hall?� Fear and relief made him angry, not the actual damage. He waved away Hermione's ready retort. �We�ll talk about this later,� he huffed.

Together they advanced on the ancient creature. She was more furious than ever before, and attacked the duo in a haze of pain and rage. Hermione and Draco hurled curse after curse at it, the loss of blood weakening it. The fact that a Malfoy, it�s lord and master, was attacking shifted the advantage in their favor. The Lamia had a built in weakness toward the Malfoy�s particular source of magic.

Endless minutes later, Malfoy uttered a final �AVADA KEDAVRA!� With a chilling cry, the Lamia fell to the floor dead.

Breathing hard, Malfoy looked at the creature and tried to get control of his raging emotions.

�Hermione?� Narcissa said behind them. Concern suffused her tone, and not a little alarm. Draco turned sharply. Hermione stood a few feet away, her back to Narcissa. His mother was staring at Hermione�s back with a face that was almost as white as Hermione�s.

Hermione stood perfectly still. Then her hands began to shake. Then her legs, and then her entire body. �Granger--� Malfoy started, walking towards her.

Hermione�s legs gave out. He rushed forward and caught her before she could hit the floor. Hermione cried out as soon as his arms wrapped around her. Her eyes rolled back in her head. Her body sagged.

Alarm shot through him. �Hermione, what�s wrong?!� Something warm and sticky dribbled on his hand. Malfoy saw the wounds then, deep claw marks that curved around her side. Behind him Ick wailed louder than even when they�d been attacked. �We have to get her to St. Mungo�s,� he told his mother. �Follow me there.�

Narcissa nodded, trying her damnest to comfort the little girl in her arms. �Go.�

�Hang on Hermione,� he told the girl in his arms. A pop sounded, and the couple disappeared.
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St. Mungo�s was in chaos, which was to be expected. It wasn�t often that a creature from Greece, said to have been dead for more than a thousand years, suddenly showed up in England and attacked a wandless witch. It was the wee hours of Sunday morning before things were settled. Draco had refused to leave Hermione. Narcissa had gone home at his insistence.

Ick had finally calmed down once she was back in Draco�s arms and near Hermione. She stubbornly fought sleep even though he knew she was as exhausted as he was. The three of them had had an eventful evening to be sure.

So while Hermione slept on, Draco enlarged her bed and climbed on top. He got as close as he dared to Hermione without disturbing her. He turned on his side so that he faced her and settled Ick so that she mimicked his pose. She yawned mightily and dropped off in moments. Draco knew he would follow soon. It was just that he wasn�t entirely over the emotional roller coaster of the last day. He�d figured out he was in love only to have his lady rush headlong into danger yet again.

Some things never changed.

Except that now Draco had a goal. He was going to wait for Hermione to wake up. He was going to tell her what he knew he should have realized years ago.

He was going to make sure she knew that he wasn�t going to just sit back and let her run willy-nilly into danger again.

Then, when all that was settled, he�d ask her about the scars on her back.

The ones that had been there even before the Lamia attacked.

Draco yawned. Yes, all that would start tomorrow. Right next to the beginning of term and their return to school and hopefully normality. No more of this near-drowning, clothes-disappearing, almost killed by a Lamia stuff. He reached for Hermione�s hand. Ick was between them, protected and warm. Yes, life would go back to normal tomorrow.

A/N--Ok people, I�d like to credit Gareth�s Encyclopedia of Monsters at http://webhome.idirect.com'donlong/monsters/monsters.htm There really is such a monster as Lamia, although I added a few traits of one called the al, an ancient Babylonian monster that also fed on babies. You can find all of these plus Hippogryphs, boggarts, and Cornish pixies.
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