A Sponsor & A Gentleman

Part VI

Part VI

"Will you pl-EASE," his voice took on a high pitch, "put the book down."

Draco Malfoy paced at the edge of the bed. His footsteps wore a tired path on the same floorboards as they had for an entire hour previous. The melody of creaking, a song that was overplayed to the ear.

A book lowered from a tired face.

"I've got to study. Exams are only a week away," Hermione Granger said. Her eyes dipped down to Draco's pacing legs. He was wasting time. "Honestly, you should study as well."

He stopped. The look on his face of pure bafflement.

"I'm a little busy at the moment." He scoffed. "As are you. You are in labor!"

"Labor takes -." Her voice cut off at the emergence of a sharp wave building in her body. She felt muscle after muscle tense to the point of breaking, indescribable pain rampaged through the tender, stretched tissues. Her jaw clenched taut. Deep breaths steamed from her nostrils as she tried to remember to breathe through the pain. Breathe through it? What kind of dolt thought of that?! It didn't help. Not one bit. It still hurt!

The slender blonde froze in place. A frightening glimmer crossed his eyes as he watched her endure the pain. His hand reached out and touched the only place he could. Her foot. It put pressure, awareness, to the one part that didn't hurt.

Her eyes aligned with his. The comfort from his presence helped even out her breaths.

A door opened behind them. Neither bothered to look. They were trapped together until the wave passed.

"Was that another one?' Narcissa questioned as she placed a basin of steaming water on the bedside table. Two flannels were dipped inside it and placed on the underside of Hermione's belly. It was nice to have a bit of heat that wasn't boiling up from her loins.

Draco nodded. His face fallen hollow and pale. Paler at least.

"Yes," he breathed. The tension in his neck showed a visible swallow through his throat. "Are they supposed to be that strong?"

Through the recovery of her strong contraction, her gasping breath was able to squeak out, "I'm fine, Draco. They're supposed to be that and stronger."

"Stronger?"

"Don't you remember a thing Professor Burbage taught us?"

"A life is entering the world," Narcissa hummed. "It takes a little pain to be given a beauty."

His mother's kind eyes regarded the witch with a soft smile. They both knew that anxiety it gave Draco to see her in pain. It plagued everyone. But the process was worth the reward. Soon their baby would be born to the world, and all woes forgotten. It would only be hell for a little while.

"Darling," her soft voice sang. The pacing had driven her to the most polite edge she had. It was nice to know that Narcissa knew what it meant to be annoyed. A strange thing, yes. But it comforted Hermione. "Rest. Please. You're going to need it. She might go well into the wee hours of the morning."

"I cannot leave her like this," Draco breathed.

'Like this' was an overstatement. She'd returned to studying her book. Her eyes scanned over the pages, fingers flipped the edges, not a second lost.

It was the middle of May. Exams were so close. It was the worst possible time to deliver a child. There would be little sleep those two weeks remaining, between a newborn and the all-important exams.