Exceptional love

Chapter 22

"Hermione! Stop hiding away!"

Hermione turned away from her wardrobe to frown at Harry as he flopped down onto her bed. "For your information, I am not hiding. I need to pack, Harry. And I need to focus for this trip that's completely short notice."

"Um... Hermione," Harry began sweetly, fingering the embroidery upon the bed covers. "You know how my husband is sometimes cruel and likes to play games? How he loves to mess with people..."

"Yes," she answered warily.

"Well," Harry went on, grinning slightly, "your bodyguard for Russia is here."

Hermione's hands dropped limply to her sides. "No," she moaned.

"He's waiting downstairs."

Hermione took a deep breath and then glared at him. It was actually a very evil glare that had Harry rising from the bed and slowly backing away towards the door. "I'm pregnant!" he exclaimed before turning and bolting out of the room.

Hermione huffed in annoyance. Usually she would have sent a stinging hex at him, but how was she supposed to do that when he was pregnant? She couldn't. "Blast you, Harry," she muttered.

"Tom did it!" she heard Harry yell from down the hall. "Tom's the evil bastard! It was his idea!"

Hermione sighed and turned back to her wardrobe. Somehow she doubted it was completely the work of the Dark Lord. But... despite it being Andrew, she was glad to have a bodyguard. She'd actually been kind of worried to be going on this mission with only Bellatrix Lestrange as a partner. That was actually a terrifying thought. Especially since Bellatrix only slightly tolerated her and that was only because for some reason, Bellatrix adored Harry.

Putting Andy out of her mind for now, Hermione continued on packing and went back to smiling as she thought about Harry and his pregnancy. Obviously the pregnancy made her friend ecstatically happy and she couldn't be happier for him. Even the Dark Lord seemed pleased over a baby, though a little annoyed that there would actually be two at the same time. That was sort of funny, but no one dared show their amusement around him.

After the pregnancy announcement, Harry had gone on to complain about how the Dark Lord was trying to control his life and the fact he had declared there would be no sex. Hermione was not surprised Voldemort was trying to control Harry now that he was pregnant- she could understand his reasons- but she had been surprised by the no intimacy rule; but only a little. Tom Riddle had been born in the nineteen thirties and grown through the forties and fifties... back then, some people were very strict when it came to intimacy with their pregnant spouses. She reminded Harry that at least the Dark Lord hadn't waited until they were married before consummating their relationship.

Harry had pouted a bit and he had admitted this rule of Tom's was cute and flattering- "we'll not tell Tom that ever"- and it wasn't as if that's the only thing they had going for them in their relationship. He'd fallen in love with Tom long before they'd even had sex. In fact, Hermione could admit she'd been surprised at the beginning when she realized Harry's love for the Dark Lord hadn't anything to do with wanting the older man physically. That was just an obscenely great bonus. The Dark Lord being a fit Dark God and all that. Hermione snickered as she recalled Harry saying those exact words and having no idea Voldemort had come upon them just in time to hear that. The Dark Lord had smirked smugly throughout the rest of breakfast.

"Twins," she said to herself as she finished packing and shrank her belongings. She laughed as she headed to the door, anticipating seeing Harry and the Dark Lord with their babies. Her laughter abruptly cut off as soon as she left her room and came face to face with a grinning Bellatrix Lestrange.