The Dark Side (Unedited)

Chapter 18

When Hermione and Draco returned to Hogwarts, carefree and gleeful, she realised how much she had missed their school, their Prefect's room and all of their other friends.

They all - Hermione, Draco, Harry, Ginny, Ron, Luna and Neville - sat together in the train, squeezed into a cramped compartment. Ginny sat on Harry's lap, conversing with Luna who had her hand interlocked with Neville's. Hermione smiled, happy for all of them.

Her eyes drifted next to Harry, where Ron was sitting, slightly apart from everyone else. He had been staring at her, she was suddenly aware. His stare pointedly held hers for a couple of moments, before he jerked his head to look out the window.

She knew Ron too well for her own good, and as he looked back at her worried face and forced a sad smile, she knew he was hurting and she knew that she couldn't help him. If she returned to Ron now, he would know that it was only because of guilt. And what would that do to Draco?

The improvement she saw in Draco made her proud. Instead of the permanent scowl, his face always looked untroubled and his skin glowed. His behaviour around her friends was improving day by day, and he was slowing becoming more comfortable and open with them.

She noticed that he mostly spoke to Ron, which she found pleasantly strange. She remembered how protective Ron was over Ginny, when she was dating his BEST FRIEND. Now his arch-enemy had basically stolen his ex-girlfriend. She smiled and shook her head.

Ron cleared his throat and sat up as if he had just remembered that he needed to tell us something.

"So, Harry and Ginny already know, but I'd just like to share some news with you." Hermione promptly straightened, hoping with all her might that he was going to share news about a new girlfriend. However Ginny caught sight of her excited face and shook her head slowly, and Hermione understood. He hadn't moved on.

"Over the holidays I spoke to George. He hasn't done anything with his life since..." He trailed off and gulped but regained his composure. She noticed Draco stiffen and she grabbed his hand, trying to comfort him. Oh how she wished she could comfort them both. "So I was thinking I could help him with his business, when we leave school. He agreed, so I guess I found my first job." He smiled, obviously proud. Hermione clapped, happy for both him and George, who obviously needed a new purpose in his life.

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They headed to their common room, excited to return to their safe haven. They found their trunks in their respective rooms, and Hermione felt strange standing next to her bed, unused and dusty. She hadn't been in her room for so long, being more than happy to share with Draco.

She heard him scoot past her and grab her trunk, but he stopped. "Oh wait, I forgot. Miss Granger, do you allow me to escort your trunk into my bedroom or will you have a fit and carry on like a drama queen?" She burst out laughing, remembering the incident on the train with her luggage.

"Go ahead, Mr Malfoy. I'll get Crooks." She grabbed the cage, which held her cranky cat. She noticed the pieces of parchment sticking out, her present from Draco. She noticed Ginny's one had huge, messy righting on it. Because it was so different to her usual loopy, careful writing Hermione quickly grabbed it and saw,

HERMIONE I NEED YOU RIGHT NOW! COME TO MY DORM AS SOON AS YOU GET THIS!

She smiled as Harry's voice suddenly replayed in her head. "After 18 years of not having any family, I just can't wait to start my own." She remembered standing at the train station when Harry told her he was going to propose to Ginny.

She stuck her head in Draco's room on her way out, screaming something incoherent about visiting Ginny and Harry. She ran to the Gryffindor common room, her feet barely touching the ground. Her best friends were finally getting married. She flew through the portrait and up the stairs to Ginny's room.

She flung the door open with a huge smile on her face, but instead of a happy couple she found Ginny alone in her bed, sobbing.

"Ginny, what's wrong? Where's Harry?" Hermione knelt beside her, rubbing her arm, trying to decipher the situation. Ginny's arm pointed to a small box at the end of the bed. Hermione grabbed them and saw they were tampons. "Gin, what's going on?"

Hermione started to worry, Ginny hardly ever cried. Gin hiccuped a few times before she regained the ability to speak. "I was unpacking my bag and I found them." Hermione's eyebrows knotted in confusion. "I was due two weeks before the holidays. I just thought I was late, but it still hasn't come." Understanding crashed down on her.

"I'm pregnant, Hermione."