Lies, Buried and Bound - A Dramione Story

Part Five

Charlotte Belle Granger was three-and-a-half-years-old and her vocabulary was quite extensive. And she spoke almost constantly in front of the people she knew, owing her the nickname "Cricket" by her mum. But outside of her little bubble of Bordeaux, France, she didn't dare speak a word. And if she did, she resorted to speaking French only.

Once again, Hermione hadn't meant to completely cut off all ties with Harry or the Weasley family. But this was why.

No one in the entire wizarding world of Great Britain could find her - no one had ever tried. Her best friends didn't try to find her, because as long as she seemed happy and regularly visited, there were no questions asked.

She'd become a coward - the very thing she thought she'd never be.

And it was too simple to pull off. Hermione realised she was pregnant while sitting at Draco Malfoy's hearing. After having vomited all over the floor and remembering that she had actually prevented him from pulling out and no other contraceptives were used, she excused herself from the witness stand and the court proceeding in tears. Afraid she would be followed she escaped to an apothecary in the middle of France.

That's how she came to find two lines on a muggle stick inside a cramped cubicle.

She tucked it away in her pocket and returned to the Ministry of Magic, admitting that she no longer found herself fit to testify on Draco Malfoy's behalf. Though she wouldn't say why, it was clear she was too distressed to carry on. But deep in her womb was his child. Her credibility had been tampered with by irrefutable evidence that they had been deeply involved.

She couldn't shake Draco's eyes off her skin, as if he could see the ins and outs of her body. He looked so hurt and exhausted.

She knew she wasn't going to tell him.

She stayed with the Weasleys for a few months in the beginning. The timing worked out perfectly, as around the time she had begun to show, she'd been accepted into a prestigious university in Paris and moved away almost immediately.

Although during their brief time together, Ginny and Harry were especially perceptive and could tell Hermione wasn't herself. But was anyone really themselves these days since the war? In the end, they gave her a lot of grace for the distance she began subtly setting between herself and all of them. That alone probably broke Hermione the most; they let her do this.

To some degree though, it had been the safest course of action.

She remembered the day she delivered Charlotte all too well.

—

Childbirth was the most intense pain she'd ever felt in her life, and it rang and throbbed all throughout her body too. Her mum had told her this was not going to be easy, but she could be brave and fight.

Hermione had asked for a rag to bite down on. It shouldn't have mattered so much to her that she did, but her medical staff complied and proceeded with the delivery. She strenuously held her breath and groaned tiredly but continued biting the rag. The pain even brought tears to her eyes.

Bent over with her legs hitched up high, Hermione's last push had been the hardest and most painful. Finally, she threw herself back up against the pillow with random curls plastered to the sweat on her neck.

Everyone was silent, except the doctor. He gave instructions to the nurses in a muffled voice behind a surgical mask.

She heard words in French that she loosely translated to "unwrap" and "not breathing."

"Is my baby okay?" She tossed her head around.

"Est-ce qu'elle va bien?" Jean Granger repeated to the medical team.