~Asphodel~

chapter 5

DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. This fiction is purely for my own enjoyment and yours. No money is being made by me or anyone else from this fiction.

Draco was silent as they exited the hospital. He noticed Hermione glancing at him every few seconds and braced himself for her mouth, but she stayed quiet. She seemed to be struggling with her thoughts and kept making odd faces and wrinkling her brow. They walked in silence down the sidewalk until they reached a small alley. Then Draco grabbed Hermione's arm and muttered, "Hold on," before apparating* to Malfoy Manor.

When they arrived, he immediately dropped her arm as if it were something unpleasant and ignored her string of reprimands. As he strode towards the front door of the Manor, he stared up at its foreboding structure, his gaze searching for some clue that this wasn't real. He couldn't be married to Mudblood Granger, he just couldn't be. The wedding band on his finger seemed t burn for a moment and he winced. He wasn't just imagining this. It was real. And being married to Granger wasn't even the worst part. The faces of two little girls, one with bushy brown hair, the other with blonde curls, both with cool grey eyes danced in his mind. He'd never seen them before, but somehow he knew their names and faces, that the brown haired one adored going to the beach and the blonde one always drank a cup of warm milk before bed. The knowledge scared him. He didn't know how or why he knew it, but the fact that he did made this strange life he had woken up to more real.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw Hermione walking slowly up the walk, a far away expression on her face. She was smiling, and he knew she was thinking of the baby she now carried inside her. The baby both of them had seen on the screen as St. Mungos. Their baby.

A lump formed in his throat. No. This has got to stop. "Granger!" he snapped, making her jump. "Hurry up, we haven't got all day." He glared at her as she hurried up beside him and pushed open the door.

Immediately something small and blonde attached itself to his leg and seconds later, a shrill, "Mummy! Daddy!" was heard from down the hall. Draco looked up to see the little brown-haired girl come bounding down the hallway. She was a Granger miniature - bushy brown hair, small, petite figure, and a button nose. Only her eyes were different. She had his eyes. Draco's eyes. Gulping, Draco stared down at the little blonde girl holding his leg.

"My girls!" cried Hermione and knelt down to hug them. Draco looked at her sharply, his mouth slightly agape. "Come here, my beautiful girls," Hermione said, and the brown haired girl threw herself into Hermione's open arms. Draco felt the blonde release his leg and totter over to her as well.

The happy scene lasted for a second more before the brown-haired girl -which one was she? Draco thought, wracking his brain as she pushed herself from Hermione's embrace, stuck her chin up in the air, put her hands on her hips and demanded, "Where were you?"

Draco almost laughed. The girl looked exactly like Hermione when she was angry. If he hadn't been so shocked by the word "Daddy" he might have smiled. Served Granger right.

Hermione looked taken aback for a moment, but then she smiled as said, "Daddy had to take me to the Healers because I fell this morning and we wanted to make sure the baby was alright." Draco made a strangled sound at her words. Hermione gave him an odd look before returning her attention to the girl before them. The change in her demeanor was instantaneous.

"Is the baby okay?" she asked, concern in her little voice. Hermione nodded.

"Yes. The baby is perfectly healthy." Then she smiled a knowing smile that made Draco's eyebrows furrow in confusion. "I'll still take you to Diagon Alley, dear, just as I promised." The little girl's face broke out into a huge smile. She squealed and clapped her hands before throwing herself back into Hermione's arms.