The Marriage Decree

Chapter 93: Unmistaken, Mistaken Identity

Both Hermione and Draco were finding it incredibly challenging to keep their little secret from everyone since, for the past week, they've been unable to stop smiling. At first, nobody questioned them on their happy disposition, assuming their joy was from the birth of their friends' twins on the twenty-ninth of February. The delivery had been announced in the Daily Prophet, which they discovered when Ron sent them a copy, with pictures of the happy family smiling down at their twins then up at each other. There was some speculation throughout wizarding England, or at least the gossiping parts of wizarding England, about the nature of their relationship since it was apparent to everyone at the ceremony nine months ago that they hated each other. Hermione and Draco were happy for them and their little family, but their news overshadowed it. It's a good thing nobody did question them because they both would have smiled so wide the correct assumption would have been made by even the most oblivious of people. After a few days though, as the news of their expectancy settled, and their excited and nervous energy turned into a permanent contentness, shown by a soft smile wherever they went. Their smiles couldn't even be taken away by the morning sickness that traitorously only appeared in the early night time as they were attempting to eat their evening meals at their home.

Over the past week, students walked the corridors, whispering to one another about what had put Professor Malfoy in such a good mood recently. Instead of taking a fifty house points from Gryffindor when a fifth year knocked over his cauldron, he awarded twenty points each to him and his friend for effectively cleaning up the mess. Professor Granger, on the other hand, hadn't set any homework in the past few days, and no one was brave enough to question that decision for fear of being set homework as punishment. All the students had an unspoken agreement to count their blessings and enjoy their lack of homework because it surely couldn't last forever.

During meal times in the Great Hall, their colleagues could be seen exchanging suspicious glances amongst themselves as hushed laughter, and playful arguing came from the couple's end of the table as the two of them seemed to be always in a heated discussion about something.

In Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade, the people they walked past, who would usually stare and mutter to their friends as they went, still stared and muttered to their friends, but it was different. Some of them even returned their smiles or wish of good morning, or afternoon.

Their friends were the people it was easiest to hide their news from. On the fifth of March, a few days after Pansy and her twins came out of the hospital, Molly prepared a meal for the Weasley family, which of course included Hermione and Draco. The couple had spent an hour sat on their couch, facing each other, practising what they would say if they were offered something Hermione couldn't eat or drink because of their little one, and schooling their facial expression into one of not the absolute bliss. They needn't have worried so much, the Weasley's attention was obviously taken up by Phoebe and Philip, the newest additions to the family. When Hermione and Draco both refused a glass of wine, nobody batted an eyelid when they claimed they didn't drink on a school night. When the night ended with both Hermione and Draco receiving cuddles from their godchild and his sister, no one mentioned if they noticed them both trying their hardest not to cry, or the joy they felt knowing that soon, they would have a child of their own to hold.

On the other hand, Hermione's family was the hardest to hide the news from. Their Healer at St. Mungo's had advised Hermione only to drink a maximum of two cups of tea a day, which she had scheduled for on a morning with breakfast, and as soon as they got in from work to relax. After Hermione had declared it unfair for Draco to be able to drink as much tea as he wanted, and he had felt uncomfortable drinking a cup of tea with lunch at Hogwarts with Hermione intently watching him out of envy, he decided to support his wife in following along with her pregnancy diet.