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It's Not Over	By : cpetnm Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 70649 -:- Recommendations : 6 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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A.N. @sherlocked17: Thank you! I find the hot scenes to be difficult to write, but I'm glad it came across okay.

“Mum, would you like to come with me to my appointment? I find out the baby’s gender at this one.”

“I would love to come, but shouldn’t Draco be there?”

“He has a big meeting in Switzerland that day, unfortunately. I was wondering if you would mind if I invited Mrs. Malfoy to join us? She’s surprisingly excited about the baby.”

“I think it’s lovely that you want to include her, dear.”

“The appointment is tomorrow at 2:00. We can Floo to St. Mungo’s and meet her in the lobby.”

Hermione Apparated to the gates of Malfoy Manor and was soon greeted by Beenie.

“Miss Hermione! Master Draco is not here,” he said remorsefully.

“Well, I actually came to see Mrs. Malfoy, Beenie.”

“Come in, Miss! Can Beenie get you tea or cocoa?”

The little elf held Hermione’s hand and led her to the doors of the grand house. Hermione asked Beenie questions about the holidays and how she might be spending them. Beenie happily chattered away to Hermione, enjoying her sincere interest in his life.

“Beenie will get Mrs. Malfoy,” the house-elf said and disappeared with a pop.

Hermione looked around the foyer while rubbing her bump. A moment later she heard the sound of heels on the hard floor.

“Miss Granger, is everything alright?” Narcissa asked, walking towards Hermione.

“Hello, Mrs. Malfoy. I came to invite you to my appointment at St. Mungo’s tomorrow. I’ll learn the sex of the baby and I know you were curious. My mother will be joining me.”

“How thoughtful to think of me, Miss Granger. Yes, I’d be honored to join you. I was just about to have a cup of tea. Let’s sit for a minute, get you off your feet.”

Hermione laughed. “Thank you. I could do with a spot of tea.”

Narcissa led her to the sitting room and called a kitchen elf for tea and a small respite for Hermione. A moment later a tray laden with fresh fruit, tea and biscuits appeared in front of the two women.

“Do you have a sense of what the baby might be?” Narcissa asked.

“Not really. I know the Malfoys traditionally have sons, but I think it could be a girl. I don’t care as long as the baby is healthy.” She shrugged and smiled at Draco’s beautiful mother.

“I have an inkling, but the healer will confirm it or not.” Narcissa smiled, her eyes crinkling at the edges. “Draco told us you are planning on working for Gringotts again.”

“Yes, ma’am. I enjoy the work.”

“Malfoy Holdings always needs Arithmaticians. Has Draco spoken to you about working for the company?”

“We’ve spoken about it briefly.” Hermione took a sip of her tea and bit into a piece of melon.

“May I be frank, Miss Granger?” Narcissa was almost positive that Draco hadn’t explained the structure of the company to Hermione in detail.

“Please.” Although Narcissa had been perfectly polite thus far, Hermione still didn’t know what to expect from the elder Malfoys.

“The company is truly a family company, Miss Granger. Whatever your strengths are, they can be utilized in the work we do. Lucius and I have worked the past few years to expand into the Muggle money markets, but we were foolish in not including our son in those plans. With Lucius’ illness, Draco has had to take over the business with little help from us. He’ll need you, Miss Granger, to be a successful CEO of the company. You’ll be happier as well, using your considerable gifts.”

“What do you do in the company?” Hermione asked.

“Mainly research, but my social skills have helped us broker deals with some challenging parties. Lucius and I work as a team and we make all our decisions together. My husband has been the face of the company, but I know the company as well as he does.”

Narcissa was pleased with Hermione’s contemplative expression. Draco would be smart to involve Hermione in the company.

“Just think about what I’ve told you, Miss Granger. You may not have time over the next few years, as being a parent is a job unto itself, but I will help you however I can.”

Hermione was surprised at all Mrs. Malfoy had told her. She knew Draco’s mother worked for the company, but that Hermione might have that same opportunity was a pleasant offering.

“How is Mr. Malfoy faring?” Hermione asked. She knew the Malfoys had been under a tremendous amount of stress over the past few months.

Narcissa sighed and put down her tea. “Some days are better than others. Last night he coughed a lot, so he’s been trying to get some rest today.”

“I know we don’t know each other well, but please call on me if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Miss Granger,” Narcissa said with a small smile.

“Would you call me Hermione?”

“I will, if you’ll call me Narcissa.”

Lucius walked into the room, his eyebrows raised at the sight of his son’s girlfriend and his wife enjoying afternoon tea.

“Lucius, Hermione came by to invite me to her appointment at St. Mungo’s tomorrow afternoon.”

“Hello, Miss Granger. It’s kind of you to include my wife.”

“It’s my pleasure, sir,” she said, smiling at Mr. Malfoy. “I should get going. We’ll meet you in the hospital lobby ten minutes before the appointment?”

“Yes, that will work,” Narcissa said as she stood to walk Hermione to the door.

“Goodbye, Mr. Malfoy.”

“Good afternoon, Miss Granger.”

The next afternoon Jean and Hermione arrived in the St. Mungo’s lobby. Jean’s eyes were large as she studied an old woman with a horn erupting from her cheek.

“Oh, my,” she muttered, staying close to her daughter.

“There’s Narcissa, Mum. Let me introduce you.”

Jean examined Narcissa’s regal bearing and finely-made clothing. Her long blond hair and big blue eyes gave her a youthful appearance. The women exchanged pleasantries and made their way to the obstetrics ward.

Once Hermione was on the table, the healer looked at the three women.

“Let’s check the baby’s general health and during this visit we should be able to see the baby’s gender.”

Jean squeezed Hermione’s hand. Narcissa envied Jean’s easy relationship with her daughter. She hadn’t had that with her mother and such demonstrativeness had been discouraged when she had been a young mother. Over the course of the past few months, she and her son had become closer, but their relationship paled in comparison to what she was witnessing between the Grangers.

“Narcissa, Hermione tells me you have an idea of the baby’s gender.”

“I do, but it would be most unusual if I’m right.” Narcissa smiled at Jean Granger.

The healer used her wand to project an image of the baby in the air above Hermione’s abdomen.

“The heartbeat is strong. The baby’s magical signature is very developed. You might notice your own magic a bit off, Miss Granger. Be cautious if you notice your spells aren’t working as usual.”

Hermione nodded. She had been tired the entire pregnancy, so she wasn’t alarmed by what the healer was telling her.

“The detail is amazing,” Jean said, admiring the image. “The baby is perfect.”

“Are you ready to know the gender?” the healer asked.

“Yes,” Hermione said excitedly.

“Your baby is a girl.”

Jean hugged her daughter. Narcissa clapped her hands and laughed.

“I knew it. Lucius didn’t believe it, but I knew this baby would be a girl.”

Hermione beamed and rubbed her belly.

The three women sat drinking tea in a little shop in Diagon Alley.

“How do you feel about becoming a grandmother, Jean?”

Much to Hermione’s horror, Jean began to tear up. Jean rummaged around her bag for a moment before finding a tissue and wiping at her eyes.

“I want my daughter to be happy,” she said diplomatically. “But I had hoped she would have more time to experience life before starting a family.”

Narcissa murmured her agreement. Hermione sensed that it might be better if she left for a few minutes to let her mother speak to Draco’s mother without having to censor her words.

“Mum, I’m going to run to the loo.”

Jean looked at Narcissa. “Our children aren’t really doing anything in order.”

“No, they’re not. Of course we’d have preferred marriage before pregnancy, but I do know our son cares deeply for Hermione.”

“She feels the same way about Draco.”

“Jean, may I ask you a personal question?” Narcissa said quietly.

“Sure.”

“Did you want more children?”

“No. We weren’t even sure about one, but fate had different ideas. But we love our daughter more than anything. She’s a miracle to us.”

“We tried for years, had several miscarriages and finally managed to have Draco eight years into our marriage. After trying and trying for another baby, we finally gave up hope. It’s a blessing to us during this difficult time in our family to have something so wonderful to look forward to.” Narcissa looked down at the table trying to stave off the tears threatening to trail down her face.

Jean laid a hand over Narcissa’s. When Hermione came back to the table, she found her mother comforting the normally unflappable Malfoy matriarch. She gave her mother a questioning look, but Jean just shook her head as if to say “not now”.

Hermione cleared her throat. “I thought it might be fun to find a layette set now that we know the baby is a girl.”

Narcissa took a deep breath and looked at Hermione. “That’s a lovely idea.”

“Well?” Draco said to Hermione as soon as she opened the door.

Hermione stepped into his arms and kissed his neck.

“It’s a girl.”

Draco was silent for a moment. “Really?”

“Really. I have two witnesses who can vouch for me.”

“I just assumed the baby would be a boy.”

“Are you disappointed?” Hermione asked looking up into his eyes.

“No, not at all. It’s just a surprise.”

“The healer says her magical signature is already well developed. I had noticed some small issues with my energy level, so I’m not entirely surprised she’s helping herself to my power.”

“Any of our children will be brilliant, Granger. Who went with you to the appointment? Your parents?”

“Actually, my mother and your mother came with me.”

“You invited my mother?”

“When we had dinner last week she was excited about the baby, so I thought she would like to join me and Mum when we went to my appointment. I think she appreciated being included.”

“Thanks for inviting her. She was nice to you?”

“She was quite sweet. After the appointment she joined us for tea and some shopping. Both she and my mother were emotional about the baby.”

Draco let Hermione lead him into the kitchen.

“I was just about to have lunch. Do you want to join me?”

“Sure, Granger. Are your parents at work?”

“Mmmhmm. Is lasagna alright?”

“Yeah, sounds good. I’m actually pretty hungry.”

Hermione served them leftover lasagna, salad and garlic bread. They sat and ate, chatting about his trip.

“Your mother spoke to me about working for the company.”

“What did you think?”

How much bloody time did Hermione spend with my mother?

“I can’t really make any decisions right now, Malfoy.”

“Because we’re not married?”

Hermione stared at him, her mouth agape.

“We need to get married before the baby’s born, Granger. Then you can move to the Malfoy estate and come work for the company, if you want to work after the baby is born.”

“Wow, that was romantic, Malfoy,” she said sarcastically, getting up and putting their dishes in the dishwasher.

“Well, what do you want me to say, Granger? I’ve made my intentions clear, but you don’t seem so interested anymore. Maybe you want to work at Gringotts so you can see bloody Theo?”

“Every time you’re unhappy with my reaction to something, you throw Theo at me. Yes, we dated and yes, it was a good experience, but ultimately, I wanted to be with you. I don’t like that you’ve planned my life out for me, Malfoy. I want to marry you, but what’s wrong with asking me and giving me a bloody ring? Granger doesn’t need that lovely memory- is that what you think?!”

Her voice had risen and her face was flushed. She turned around and left the kitchen, leaving Draco to watch her depart.

“Granger,” Draco growled, following her to her bedroom. He found her sitting on her bed, looking out the window. She was so ferociously determined, smart and strong but the past few months he had seen her appear unsure. She was trying to adapt to all the changes in her life.

Draco sat next to her and put his arm around her. “You were right. That was a pretty shite proposal.”

“It wasn’t even a proposal,” she said, sniffling.

“Can you understand that I’m ready for us to start our lives together? You know we make a great team, Granger. I have no doubt it will be challenging, but I really think we’ll enjoy living and working together.” He kissed the top of her head. “When I thought our relationship was impossible, I would fantasize about waking up with you and talking to you about work in the evening. Simple, every day things that would keep us in close contact. You’re my best friend and I don’t want you to feel pressured, but I think you can trust me to keep your best interests in mind.”

She turned her face towards his chest and pressed her cheek against his heart. It was beating quickly, probably because he was nervous.

“I’m your best friend?” Of all the things he could have said to her, that was probably the most effective. He was her best friend. She exchanged the occasional owl with Harry, but when she wanted to talk or laugh or cry, she wanted Malfoy.

“Of course.” He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a box. “I want you to know I’ve been carrying this around for months.”

Gently pushing her back so they could look at each other, Draco opened the box to show her the platinum ring with a large round cut diamond flanked with two sapphires.

“Will you marry me, Hermione?”

“Yes, Malfoy, yes.” She let him slip the ring onto her finger.

Their mouths met in a sweet kiss.

“You’re my best friend, too,” Hermione murmured, her forehead resting against his.

As Draco’s responsibilities increased, he blossomed. Since the day she had gone to him and pulled him from his black depression, he had been given a second chance and he refused to blow it. Hermione belonged by his side and he wanted her to be proud to stand by him.

“I want to marry you soon, love. The closer you are to having the baby, the harder it will be for us to have the wedding and move in together. I know it feels like you don’t have control over a lot of what’s happening in your life, but you can choose these other things.”

Hermione took a deep breath and squeezed Draco’s hand. “When did you become so wise?”

“I totally blame you for that, Granger.”

He pulled her up to her feet. “Come on, my little list maker. We have some planning to do.”
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It's Not Over