𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 // hp [1]

eternal flame

Hermione's POV

"Ow!" I groaned as my head hit the headboard on my bed. My alarm had startled me, as I had been having a nightmare about giving birth to three little Jaxon monster spawn.

Here's hoping that nightmare doesn't turn into reality.

As I stumbled out of bed and towards the kitchen, I had a brainwave. "Dammit," I sighed as I remembered that I had to speak to Jaxon again today.

I grabbed a quick cup of coffee and sat at my dining table as I pondered over how to approach this terrible situation.

"Better rip off the bandaid now," I mumbled as I reached for my cell. I dialed his number as slowly as possible, then waited for him to pick up. He did after the third ring.

"Hello, Hermione. Back so soon?"

"Not by choice. Do triplets run in your family?"

"Sure do. I'm telling you, what's in your womb is the fruit of my loins," he smirked.

I cringed in disgust before replying. "I sure hope not."

"Well, I do. Three sons to name after me. Jaxon Jr., Jaxon the Third, and Jaxon the Fourth. Sounds delightful, doesn't it, Mione?"

"Gods, no. That's even worse than the dream I had last night. And I never said they were boys, where did you get that idea?" I asked, puzzled.

"They have to be boys. Girls are too needy," he groaned.

"Excuse me? Girls, needy? You couldn't take out the trash without whining to me for hours before doing it. You always begged me to make you food, even when I was working, because you're extremely selfish and, guess what, needy."

"Whatever. You're just jealous," he scoffed.

"Of what? I am three times the human you'll ever be."

"No, not of me. Of the other girls I'm with now. You miss my excellence and how amazing I am in the sack. You miss me," he sniggered with arrogance.

"Bull. Shit." I enunciated before hanging up.

•••

I rolled my eyes before dialing a new number. The dial tone rang for a short time before he picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Draco. There's a problem."

"What's wrong? Are you okay? Are the babies okay?"

"No, nothing like that. I'm perfectly fine. Do you remember Jaxon? I'm pretty sure I told you all about him that night at the bar."

"He's the douchy ex, right?"

"That's the one. I'm worried he's the babies' father," I winced.

"W-what?"

"I know, right?"

"But... I already starting buying things for the nurseries. I was starting to get really excited about the babies, Hermione," I could almost hear his sadness through the phone.

Wow. I'm a shitty person. I had no idea he was this invested in the kids. I hadn't even looked on any baby websites yet; just figuring that it was too early since I was only ten weeks. In all fairness, it was likely I would go into premature labor since I was having multiples, but I wanted to wait to worry about clothes and whatnot for the babies until later on. I wasn't too worried about how I would handle the kids financially, since I was the Head of the Department of Magical Transportation and earned a decently hefty salary. Even if I did run into money issues, I knew Draco had the funds to handle some of the babies' expenses.

"I'm so sorry, Draco. I didn't know you cared that much."

"Well, yeah, of course I care. They're our kids. I've been looking at some cribs on a muggle website called Pottery Barn, and I was planning on asking you if you liked them. I was even wondering if you'd be down for a magical creature/zoo theme for the nurseries, since I know you love house elves."

A tear fell down my cheek as I pondered that thought. "That sounds fantastic, Draco."

"Well, if you decide to get a paternity test, can you give me the results? I want to know if I'll have to return the baby décor," he mumbled.

"Of course. Goodbye," I sniffled.

"Goodbye, Hermione," he said before hanging up.

I flopped onto my couch; lost in a whirl of thoughts. I was envisioning a big nursery with three cribs; surrounded by walls painted with every magical animal one could thing of. There were three little babies on the rug towards the middle of the room, and they were all giggling and cooing as Draco kneeled over them; making funny faces. I smiled at the imaginary scene, hoping it'd be reality one day.

I couldn't believe how different Draco was now in comparison to how he was in school. He was much more mature and kind now, and I found myself enjoying his company when we hung out.

I then imagined a filthy living room; the couch sodden with moth bites and dirt. Jaxon was perched upon it, watching Muggle football as I begged him to help me with the three crying newborns I was holding. He just ignored my pleas and yelled at me to take the babies into another room, since they were "interrupting the game."

I cringed as I finished that thought. I desperately wanted Draco to be the babies' father, even though I thought I loved Jaxon when we were dating. Who knew he'd be suck a jerk? I thought Draco was the one who was supposed to be an ass, but he had grown up and become a pretty respectful guy. Jaxon still had the maturity of a five year old.

If Jaxon is their dad, I may puke, but I have to know.

It was for this reason that I grabbed my computer and booked a paternity test with Vi for next Saturday.

Wish me luck.

•••

A/N

I wrote a chapter (!!) I'm actually writing this on the same day I released my last author's note, so it's nice I found some free time to write :).

See you next Friday (if I have time lol)

-Nat