The Dark Side (Unedited)

Chapter 27

The morning after that disastrous night, breakfast in the Great Hall was extremely awkward. Ron rushed in late, with what looked like suitcase-sized bags under his eyes and kept his eyes on the table. Hermione observed him with a worried expression, as although he usually piled a mountain of food onto his plate, the past couple of days he'd barely eaten more than a bread roll. She locked eyes with Harry, who seemed to share her despair and then struck up a conversation with Ginny, needing a release from the stress.

"Hey Gin, have you thought of names for the bub?"

"Yeah, Harry and I discussed it a few weeks ago and we've come to an agreement. It's really beautiful actually, we decided on James Sirius Potter."

"Ginny that's great! Oh, that's so thoughtful. I'm so excited for you, how long now?"

"About five months. I honestly can't believe it. I'm so worried because I have no idea what I'm doing! I'm going to be a horrible parent. I'm still a child - how in the world am I supposed to raise one?"

"Ginny, it's still five months away, you still have plenty of time to prepare. And I know that you and Harry are going to make amazing parents." Hermione tried to smile reassuringly, but she couldn't help but realise that if she were in Ginny's position, she'd probably still be in shock.

As everyone finished their breakfast, Hermione checked her schedule and saw that she had double potions with Draco first up. She smiled - what a perfect way to start the day. As she stood up, Ginny grabbed her arm and murmured that she needed to speak to her in private. Hermione nodded, and asked Draco if he could walk with Harry. After he swiftly kissed her on the cheek, she spun around to face Ginny and... Ron.

"Okay, I know it's a little early, but I honestly can't think of anything else but this baby at the moment, so I've decided who I want to be the godparents." As soon as it clicked in her mind, Hermione beamed and hugged Ginny, so honoured that her best friend trusted her that much. It reminded of her of James and Sirius. Hermione squeezed her tighter before realising that Ron was still there and broke apart to see his reaction. He had a huge smile plastered across his face, he looked the happiest he'd been in weeks.

He put his arms around Ginny and buried his face in her shoulder. When he finally pulled back, his eyes were glistening with happy tears and Hermione felt glad that amongst his other feelings of deep sadness, he could muster genuine happiness at the news.

"Thank you so much, Gin. You have no idea how much this means to me." He said, his voice thick and husky.

"I'm so glad that you're happy about this." Ginny pulled Hermione in for another hug and whispered in her ear. "By the way, I'm sorry if Draco might be offended about this, I know it's traditionally a couple thing but this is a big deal to me and it needed to be someone I trusted and I know Ron would really appreciate it but I didn't want Draco to feel left out so I don't know what else to do-"

"Ginny, shut up. Trust me, he'll be fine with this." Ginny giggled and ran off to Harry. Hermione looked up to see Ron staring at her, the remnants of his smile fading. After a few moments he cleared his throat, his eyes suddenly focused on the floor.

"Listen about the other night, I'm so embarrassed that I did that and I'm sorry if it caused trouble with Draco." He muttered, shuffling his feet.

"Ron, honestly don't worry about it. Draco was absolutely fine about it, he even helped me take care of you and half carried you back to your room." Ron blushed and shook his head, obviously ashamed and she knew that what she was saying was making it worse. "Listen, we both know that you're having a rough time and I'm really sorry for the way everything has turned out. Even though some things are different between us, I'm still you're best friend and I need you to open up to me about this. Has Harry been talking to you about this stuff?"

"Yeah, he's been great. And Mione, you shouldn't worry about me. I know that you are really happy with Draco, and I suppose that makes it slightly easier."

"Okay, I just want you to know that you can come and talk to me any time you want." He half-smiled awkwardly, and Hermione knew that he would never come and talk to her openly about what was wrong. He'd never been one to openly share his feelings. She began to turn away as they were probably already late to Potions. "Oh but Ron, if you ever decide to talk to me in the middle of the night can you please be sober and let me know that it's you so that I don't accidentally hex you into oblivion?"

He smiled and started to walk with her. She grabbed his arm and put it over her shoulders, snuggling into him. She was glad that it wasn't too awkward between them and they could still continue to be great friends.

----

"Hey babe, sorry I got here late but guess what?" Hermione whisper-yelled excitedly as she crept in behind him and quickly slammed her books down on their desk.

"What?" He whisper-yelled back, obviously amused at her feeble attempt to disguise the fact that she'd arrived late to class, as Professor Slughorn had already began teaching. Hermione would never get in trouble anyway, she was the Professors favourite.

"Ginny asked me and Ron to be the baby's godparents!"

"That's great." He smiled, and it took a while for Hermione to realise that it didn't reach his eyes.

"What's wrong. Are you upset that Ginny didn't make you the godfather? Or is it because it's Ron and I, when it's generally a couple thing?"

"No, no of course not. I wouldn't understand if Ginny made me the godfather, she barely knows me and who would trust me anyway?"

"Aw, Draco it's not because she doesn't trust you." She lied, quickly. "It's just... well you've seen how upset Ron has been lately, and since Fred died he's felt a little lost. This might give him some purpose, you know?

"Yeah, I totally get it, I just wonder... I wonder what it would be like to have the responsibility of a child's life. I've never really thought about it until now, I've always thought that I didn't want kids. But I'm starting to realise that there's not much that I want more than to be able to hold a child in my hands and know that it depends on me. That it loves me."

"You are so sweet. Don't worry, we can have as many children as you'd like in the future." She replied with a smile, but went rigid when she realised what she'd said. Her cheeks flamed, Draco probably wasn't looking for commitment, he wouldn't want to have children with her. He was probably going to break up with her when she left Hogwarts. "That's not what I meant, I meant to say that I'm sure you'll have children in your future but not with me." She stammered.

"Hermione Granger, I would be over the moon to have children with you." He said as he looked deep into her eyes, trying to transmit his feelings for her. In that moment, Hermione realised that this wasn't a silly fling, it was a serious relationship that could potentially develop into something more. As she sat in Potions, hand in hand with the person she loved, she began to wonder if she could get used to her name being Hermione Malfoy.