As It Was *Complete*

97. Isn't Exactly Contagious

The following day's paper arrived and true to his word, Lance did not publish their little expose, and he did in fact, publish the news about Rita Skeeters arrest and impending trial dates. As everyone thought there were several other people who came forward with claims of their own against the evil wench and as Ron said, the paper sold out before 9am that morning and had to issue a reprint - 7 times! That means in one day they sold 7 times ore than they usually would.

Lance was in his element. This was apparently the fastest selling edition in the history of the paper, and he promised to keep his readers up to date on the court dates and trails as they progressed. It seemed Ms Skeeter was going away for quite a long time.

So with their names not appearing, and their lives not turned upside down, the group settled back into normal school life. Astra kept attending her weekly hospital appointments to check on baby with all being well and her little boy cooking nicely. Draco never missing one, always by her side -most of the time with snacks as her cravings kicked in.

Astra found that after the 17-week mark that her headaches and nausea lifted, and she was actually able to fully enjoy being pregnant. She had a burst of energy now that she discovered eating little and often was key to keeping nausea at bay. So she now carried a little picnic around in her school bag with her and Draco in his, just in case. And in case of emergency she always knew that Ron and Theo carried snacks around with them although they sometimes didn't like to share.

By 23 weeks she was starting to show...a little. She had the tiniest bump would could easily be mistaken for a food belly. But she was delighted when she began to feel little flutters which Madame Pomfrey assured her was the baby moving.

Narcissa had been a huge help in prepping for baby. She bought a crib and cot and converted one of the bedrooms on the first floor to a nursery for baby Malfoy. She had bought clothes and was even being taught how to knit by Molly Weasley who, thanks to Andromeda, was spending a lot of time with both Black sisters and they had become good friends.

Even with the announcement at the New Year's party, most of their fellow students were still blissfully unaware of Astras pregnancy and also Blaise and Maddi's wedding which both couples were happy about. Both Astra and Maddi were nervous as how what their classmates would say, to their face and behind their back.

But (in Astras case anyway) they were bound to find out when she grew to the size of a small house. And they did.

On 14th February, Astra woke up to the overpowering smell of what she thought was perfume. She opened her eyes, feeling the cold from Draco's side of the bed and sat up. The whole bedroom was covered in white roses. They were scattered over the bed, over the floor, her dresser and vanity with a white rose petal pathway leading out into the little living room of her trunk. Astra blushed as she used her wand to dress herself and tiptoed out of the bedroom to see Draco standing leaning against Atlas' cage with two mugs in his hand, one of which he held out to her.

"Happy Valentine's Day, he smiled as she took the mug and he leaned in to kiss her sweetly.

"You too," she smiled back at him and looked around. "You did all this for me?"

Draco tilted his head to look at her. "No Atlas," he smirked. "I wanted him to feel loved on his first Valentine's Day. Right buddy?" Atlas, who was currently lying on a cushion on the armchair simply gave a salute.

"Sometimes I think he is too smart," Astra giggled. Draco may have changed for the better but he was still as sarcastic as ever. "And you," he gently kicked his leg "are so bloody funny."

"Funny for showcasing my affections to Atlas?" He raised his eyebrows.

She took a large gulp of her coffee and handed it back to Draco. "Well then I shall leave you both alone to enjoy your time together. One ferret to another." She started to walk to the steps trying not to smirk as she heard the clink of mugs and before she could step onto the second stair she was scooped up into Draco's arms making her squeal in delight.