Imperiused (Dramione)

The End of the Holidays (Part 4)

As Hermione Granger settled on Draco's bed to sleep, she couldn't help herself looking at him lying down on the couch. She was really grateful for his surprise earlier, celebrating with her friends made her happy.

It was still quite early to sleep, considering tonight is New Year's Eve, but Draco wanted her to lie down early because she needs her rest. She tried reading a book to relax her and lull her to sleep but she couldn't concentrate. Her eyes kept on wandering towards him.

Draco Malfoy was already lying down on the couch, a book was also on his hands. His mind kept on going back to Hermione's glowing face earlier, making him smile. He could feel her eyes lingering on him, but he pretended not to notice it because he might do something stupid.

He will be visiting his mother tomorrow morning at St. Mungo's as he promised her on his letter. He need to talk to her about Hermione and hopefully she would accept her as the mother of her grandchild. He also hoped that a future grandchild will make his mother better so that her depression due to his father's death will heal.

********************************************

When Harry and Luna arrived at the Burrow earlier, most guests have already arrived. They went straight towards the Weasley's backyard where the New Year's Eve dinner will be celebrated.

Neville Longbottom was already seated on the extended dining table with his grandmother, Augusta. The elderly witch was talking to Andromeda Tonks who was carrying Teddy Lupin in her arms.

Luna walked towards Neville, leaving Harry to look for Ginny amongst the people sitting or walking around the yard. He spotted Ginny levitating a huge cauldron full of soup walking towards the table. He slowly walked towards her to greet her.

"Ginny," Harry called once the cauldron was placed on the table.

The redhead turned towards him upon hearing her name. "Harry, you're back!" She greeted him with a smile. She then pulled him away from the table to an area devoid of people. "How's Hermione?" She asked her boyfriend.

"She's fine. Luna and I had a nice dinner with her and Malfoy," Harry responded while looking around for Ron. "Where's Ron?" He asked.

"He's still inside, helping George prepare the fireworks for later," she informed him. "I've been keeping an eye on him. I'm worried that he might not keep his promise," she said worriedly.

"What did you tell Molly and the others about Hermione's whereabouts?" Harry asked.

"I told them she went to her parents' old home and needed some time alone," she answered sighing. "That's the best excuse I could think of and thankfully they have accepted that as truth," she added.

"That's very likely if it weren't for Malfoy turning her world upside down," the black haired boy replied. Upon seeing Ginny's arched eyebrows, he added, "I actually meant that in a positive way. She looks well taken care of."

"That's good," she said. "I'm still worried about her though. We'll be returning to Hogwarts in a few days, how will she handle it?" She asked looking around to check if nobody's within hearing distance.

"We really haven't talked about her condition during dinner since Luna was with us," Harry informed her, also looking around them.

"McGonagall would be furious once she knew about her pregnancy," she said worriedly.

"Probably. But I know she'll help her though," Harry responded. "By the way, Luna knows now too. Actually we were surprised that she already knew of her pregnancy before any of us told her," he added when he saw Luna skipping around the yard with the garden gnomes.

"She did?!" Ginny was amazed by the blonde girl's intuition.

"Yes, we were all surprised when she touched Hermione's abdomen when we were saying goodbye. She told us Hermione will be having a son, and also guessed that it was Malfoy's," he whispered as he saw a few of the guests have been walking around the yard, greeting each other.

"Well, that's Luna," Ginny said, knowing how intuitive their friend was. "I'm glad you brought her there. I'm sure Hermione needs us more than ever. Come on, let's greet our friends now to avoid suspicion," she said, taking his hand.

********************************************

"Happy New Year, Draco," Hermione whispered to him as the clock striked midnight.

She had set-up an alarm on her muggle wristwatch before taking a nap earlier. She was leaning towards the sleeping wizard, sitting on the edge of the couch he was sleeping on.

Draco felt her presence near him but pretended to be asleep, wanting to know what she would do as he slept.

The brunette leaned closer to the sleeping blonde wizard and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. She gently touched his face afterwards, just staring at him.

"I know that I should still be furious at you after everything you've done to me, but I don't think I could stay angry anymore. I could see the efforts you have been exerting these past few days to show me that I mean something to you and I appreciate that. But, I still need some time to think. I don't think I could trust you fully yet," she told him seriously as she continued on staring at his face.

He tried his best to keep breathing evenly as he heard her words. Of course, he understands why she still needs time to think. Their relationship started with a lot of deceptions on his part and she needs to learn to trust him if things will work out for them. He just hopes it will be soon enough.

"Good night, Draco," she whispered before standing up from the couch and going back to bed.

Once Hermione left his side, he still pretended to be asleep. He didn't want her to know that he heard her. He feels that she couldn't say those words to him when he's awake, so he gave her a chance to tell him anything she wanted to.

Although he felt relieved that she was not angry anymore, he knows that he hasn't forgiven himself yet for defiling her. He promised to himself to make it up to her and their son for the rest of his life. With thoughts of Hermione, he drifted off to sleep again.

********************************************

The New Year's Eve party at the Burrow ended with fireworks. George and Ron set off different coloured fireworks which lit up the sky. It was a successful dinner party, everyone had a good time and were full from Molly's delicious cooking.

Ginny and Harry were relieved that Ron never said a word about Hermione all throughout dinner. But, as the last fireworks ended ten minutes after midnight, their relief were crushed.