Stormy Weather

As soon as classes were over for the day, Draco made his way towards the Hospital Wing. He did his best not to look as if he were in any way hurrying there, of course. Malfoys never hurried if they could help it. As he entered the room, the first thing he saw was Hermione, reading one of her textbooks. "'mione?" He asked quietly. She looked up and smiled ever so slightly at him as she shut the book and motioned him over to her. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." Hermione wrote down a few notes on the parchment situated on the table next to her. "Madam Pomfrey said that I should be able to leave in a couple of hours, but I have to see her every other day for the rest of the year."

Draco nodded; that wasn't very surprising. His mother had told him often throughout his life that because of the drops of Veela blood in his veins, even as small as they were, he was best served by choosing some mate who had some of those same drops. The risks Hermione took by having his children were incredible.

"What is it?" Hermione's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Is something wrong, Draco?"

He blinked a little and shook his head. "No, of course not. Why do you ask?"

"I thought there was, since you were kind of staring at me." Hermione said calmly, tapping her fingers on his leg. "You know, eventually you and I will have to discuss some things."

Draco nodded. "Such as?"

"The baby. That kind of thing." Hermione toyed with her quill again. "Not today, though. We have some planning to do, for the parents' weekend." She smiled a touch. "One of them is Neville's surprise for that." Draco rolled his eyes and she shook her head. Draco would always be Draco. "Any ideas?"

"Not yet." Draco really didn't care that much either. Longbottom's surprise didn't really interest him one way or the other.

Hermione nodded. "Well, if you think of anything, let me know. Professor Dumbledore has approved of the Hogsmeade trip on Saturday before the ball, but we're not helping to set it up. We're supposed to enjoy the day with our families and tell them about the baby." Her eyes glinted in amusement. "And hide you from my father."

Draco's fingers twitched ever so slightly towards his wand, and Hermione grinned. "I'm kidding. Like I said, he's going to be mad, but I think it'll be me that he's really upset at." She sighed darkly, staring down at her lap. "His bright little Hermione, who could do no wrong, screwed up in the biggest way."

Her boyfriend touched her hand a little, then squeezed it and kissed her. Hermione pulled back before they could do much more, however. "That's what got us into this position." Of course you couldn't get much more pregnant than she actually was, but why take more chances?

"True." Draco nodded, then grinned as her stomach growled sharply. "Hungry? I'll go find Madam Pomfrey. Maybe she'll let you leave so you can get some food at the Great Hall." He jumped up before she could say or do anything to protest and hurried to find the medi-witch.

Madam Pomfrey turned out to be in her office, speaking quietly with Professor Snape. "Madam Pomfrey?" Draco interrupted quietly. "Can ‘mione leave? She's getting hungry and she's feeling a lot better. I don't really think she needs to stay here any longer."

"Oh, you don't?" The nurse sounded very amused. "I wasn't aware that you had completed your mediwizard training, Mr. Malfoy."

Something in her tone sent spots of red flaring in Draco's cheeks. "I might not have, but I'll have you know my father has always employed the finest—"

"Enough, Mr. Malfoy." Professor Snape's voice rose over his. "Pomfrey, is it your opinion that Granger is well enough to leave? I certainly see no reason why she should laze about here as if she's actually injured. Pregnancy may be risky, but it is most definitely not an ailment."

The nurse nodded, a smile tugging at her lips at the same moment. "Make certain she eats a full meal, and let me know if she doesn't." Draco nodded and started back, the last thing he heard being, "Now, Professor, I know you understand the hormonal changes necessary for this, but-"

Hermione was studying again by the time he got back, but she looked up as soon as he stepped up to her. "Ready to go? You've got permission to get out of here. Madam Pomfrey did say that you have to eat a full meal, and I'm going to make sure that you do."

"Oh, really? Am I expected to eat at your house's table too?" Hermione snorted as they headed towards the Great Hall. Draco shook his head.

"No, I can see you perfectly well from mine. Just don't try and cheat. I don't want you spending more time in there."

His girlfriend nodded a little, then headed over to the Gryffindor table while he went to his. Harry and Ron made room for her in between them, with Ginny seated on Harry's other side, while Sam was beside Ron, and Ramas running up and down the table nibbling food from various plates.

"Are you all right?" Harry asked her worriedly as she sat down. "Malfoy wouldn't really tell us anything."

"I will be." Hermione reassured him the best that she could. "Lavender, how have you been doing? We haven't really had a chance to talk lately."

"Just fine." The other girl colored quite prettily, her eyes flicking across the Great Hall to someone. Hermione couldn't be quite certain where her gaze was going, but something told her that she was looking towards the…Slytherin section? That was unusual. Who could have caught her eye there?

Dinner was one of the best ones that Hogwarts had ever had; not really a feast, but probably the next thing to it. Hermione chatted with Lavender, Ron, Harry, Ginny, Sam, and several others of her House that she hadn't talked to in quite a while. Lavender still kept on shooting the occasional look across the Great Hall, and with every one, Hermione was more and more convinced that her friend was looking at the Slytherin table.

In fact, I think she's looking about where Draco is. She knew that Lavender wouldn't ever try and catch the eye of a taken guy, so Draco wasn't the one who had the other Gryffindor girl's attention. I wonder if she likes a Slytherin too. Who could it be if she does? Hermione had never had the interest in gossip and dating that Lavender and Parvati had, but this mini-mystery was starting to grab her attention somewhat.

I guess she'll tell me if I really need to know. Lavender's romances were her business, after all, not Hermione's. She glanced over to where Neville was seated a few feet away, going through some of his homework as he ate. He'd worked harder and harder as the years had passed, and except in Potions, his work was graded almost as highly as hers.

"Hermione?" She turned to see Ron looking at her, the familiar look of worry in his eyes. "Are you all right? You look like something's on your mind."

"There is." Draco wasn't going to be of any use on this project, so she was going to have to handle it herself. It was really more of a Gryffindor situation anyway. "I need some help with something. Do you think you guys," she waved briefly to Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Sam, "Could help me?"

"Sure." Ron nodded at once, the light of eagerness shining from his face, just like it did every other time Harry had urged them into some kind of adventure. "What is it?"

She glanced briefly down at Neville, who had put his books aside to concentrate on eating right now, then looked back at the group. "I'll tell you in my room tonight." Her eyes flicked back towards the hapless wizard, and sighed mentally. He doesn't even know that his Grandmother is coming. I hate having to keep it from him, but it'll be worth it if everything works out properly. She had always had a kind of a soft spot for him over their years at Hogwarts. He'd been the first one of a wizarding family she'd befriended, and he'd never looked down on her for a heartbeat for being of Muggle descent. Sometimes I forget I met him before I met Ron and Harry. He fades into the woodwork so easily.

She leaned forward a little. "Are you all right, Neville? I don't think I've seen you study this much in a long time."

"I'm fine. We just have N.E.W.T.s in a few weeks, and I want to be sure I get a good score." His round face beamed towards her. "I want to try to be Professor Sprout's assistant if I can after we're done with school, and I really need top marks in Herbology for that." He sighed a little. "And Potions wouldn't hurt either, but I don't know if I can pull it off."

"You can do anything you really try to, Neville. And if you want to talk or need some help studying…" Hermione trailed off, letting it be an open-ended invitation. He smiled at her and nodded eagerly.

"Don't worry. I'll just do my best. That's what you guys have been telling me all these years, after all. If I do fail, it won't be because I didn't try." Neville opened his book again and stared down into it firmly, whispering formulae and ingredients over and over.

Hermione nodded, then glanced over at the rest of her friends. "I'm going to head up, after I say good-bye to Draco. Just knock, I'll let you in." She headed over to Draco, noting somewhere in the back of her mind that no one seemed to notice or care that a Gryffindor was heading over to the Slytherin side of things. I believe humans, even witches and wizards, can get used to anything in time.

As she came up to Draco, she was about to get his attention when something else caught her eye. The boy seated next to him seemed to be casting quick glances over towards the Gryffindor tables. She glanced back over, and blinked. Lavender? He's looking at Lavender? Wait…that's the boy who was with Draco in the Hospital Wing when he was hurt! Blaise Zabini! He and Lavender are looking at each other like that?? Well, it seemed new things happened every day.

It still wasn't her concern, though. "Draco, I know you were watching me, so I know you saw me eating. I'm going to head up to my room now. I'll see you tomorrow." She dropped a soft kiss on his lips and headed away, noticing that Blaise and Lavender still kept eyeing each other when they thought no one was looking. I think Draco and I started a trend.

Hermione muttered the password to get into her rooms and started working on her homework, getting as much of it done as she could before there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" She would've opened the door herself, but since Crookshanks had curled up on her lap in his usual ginger rug position, it was a bit on the impossible side.

Ron, Harry, Sam, and Ginny came in, closing the door behind them as they did. Hermione put her book down and got things started. "Everyone knows about the surprise we're working on for Neville, right?"

"Right." Ron nodded, glancing at Sam. "I told her about it before we came up here."

"Good. The surprise is going to be ready for the family weekend, but we still want to surprise Neville. I still don't know how though."

Harry tapped his fingers on the arms of the chair he was in. "My invisibility cloak could be used, I guess."

"Then the whole school will know that you have it." Hermione pointed out. Harry just shrugged.

"Not necessarily. It's not like mine is the only cloak in the world. We know Mad Eye Moody had one, after all."

Sam raised her hand a bit. "What if they came early, and came directly to the common room? Someone can need his help with Herbology and they can keep him in here until they show up and say ‘hi'."

Ron's head drooped glumly. "I could use some help with Herbology…for real."

"Perfect." Hermione approved. "You know that's Neville's best class. I'm having trouble competing with him in that class." Her grin got even wider. "The family weekend is less than two weeks away. I can get Draco to bring them to the Fat Lady and I'll get them inside."

She pulled a piece of parchment over to her and started to write a quick note to Draco. Once it was ready, she leaned back, her arms wrapped around her stomach. "There is more, though. There's a chance that I might lose the baby." She shivered slightly, thinking of the small life, and great danger, growing inside of her. "Not just the baby, though. I could lose my life. Draco is part Veela and it's next to impossible for someone without Veela blood to carry that person's child."

Ron looked at her, his eyes touched with steel. "You're not going to die."

"Madam Pomfrey and Professor Snape are working on something that will prevent that from happening." Hermione told them. "But unless they can find it, I don't see that fact changing."

"Hermione," Ron rolled his eyes just a bit. "Who generally winds up finding the things we need?"

The Head Girl gave him a very dirty look. "I hate to tell you this, but I don't know how to get out of this one." She motioned to the book she had been reading. "Normal Veela pregnancies are seven months. The baby develops so much faster in Veelas, which is why it's so dangerous for those who aren't Veela to get pregnant by someone who has just an ounce of Veela blood in them." Her hand shook ever so slightly. "I'm so scared."

Ginny touched her hand reassuringly. "We're here for you." Hermione glanced from one face to another, seeing nothing but friendship, support, and love from all of them. This was what it meant to have friends.

"Guys, we have N.E.W.T.s coming up right after the family weekend," Hermione decided it was time for a change of subject. "Why don't we arrange some study sessions?"

Ron groaned, sinking his head into his hands. "Do we have to?"

"Yes." Hermione snapped. "Life isn't stopping just because I'm pregnant, you know. These tests are incredibly important to the things we're going to be doing after we're through with Hogwarts. Besides, I need something to keep my mind off what's going on, and there's nothing better than studying for that!" She stood up, Crookshanks tumbling to the floor at the same time. "Now, I've got homework and sleep to finish. Excuse me."

"Anything else we can do to help?" Ron wondered. Hermione snorted.

"Find a way to prevent the future from ending for me?"

The redhead just grinned at her with all the irrepressible energy that came in with being a Weasley. "I don't think that'll be a problem. We've done harder things. We passed Potions, didn't we?"

Hermione shook her head and whacked him on the arm. "We haven't really passed yet. But you guys are the greatest. Get out of here, I have to study."

Hermione came down to the common room two weeks later, and the first thing she saw was Ron and Neville poring over some Herbology texts together. She could see the light of comprehension dawning in Ron's eyes at last, and wondered just how Neville was phrasing it so that he understood. Ron had done fairly well in the lower years, but as they had gone through the years, things had gotten a little too complicated for him.

"Good morning," she smiled at her friends. "I'm going out for a little while. How are you doing, Neville?"

"All right." Neville nodded without even bothering to look up from the book as he segued into answering some more of Ron's questions. Hermione grinned, then headed out of the common room.

Just as the Fat Lady closed behind her, she saw Draco leading two people over towards her. She kissed him on the cheek once he got close enough, then looked at the others. "Are you ready to surprise him?"

"Definitely." One of them nodded eagerly, their companion just as eager. "It's been a very long time."

Hermione turned and whispered the password again, once she made sure that Draco wasn't able to hear it. The Fat Lady's portrait swung to one side, and the three of them clambered inside. She motioned for them to stay just out of sight, then headed back into the common room.

"Neville? Could you come over here for a few moments? I've got something for you." She waited for him to get over to her, then signalled the two of them to come out. "Neville, it seems there was a slight error on the guest list for the family weekend."

As she stepped to one side, Neville looked very confused. "What are you talking about? Hermione?" His eyes grew huge and wide as he realized just who was standing there.

Frank and Alice Longbottom stood there, sense and reality in their eyes that Neville couldn't remember seeing in his entire life. Alice stepped over to him. "Neville…" She held her hand out to him, and Neville stared, utterly unable to move or speak.

"Hello, son," Frank touched his son's shoulder lightly. "We've missed you."

Neville blinked several times, stuttering, "I…you…but…a…" All coherency had deserted him. "How?"

"It's the work of Nicholas Flamel." Frank explained quietly. "Once we were fully aware again, he told us that he'd modified some of the remaining Elixer of Life he had to restore our minds, instead of granting us eternal life. We've been getting caught up on what has been going on in the wizarding world and putting our lives back together, or we would have been here sooner to meet you."

"This young lady," Alice motioned to Hermione, "planned this little surprise with your grandmother."

Neville looked from his mother to his father, then looked over at Hermione, his mouth working without anything actually coming out, sniffing at the same time. A few fat tears slid down his cheeks, then a complete waterworks spouted forth as he hugged his parents with all the strength in his body.

Hermione smiled a bit, then slipped away, heading for the usual spot in the Astronemy Tower. Draco was already there waiting for her. "Well?" He glanced over at her as she walked over to him.

"Everything went just as planned." Hermione dropped a kiss on his lips. "My parents and Harry's aunt should be arriving shortly. Are you ready to meet them?"

Draco nodded a little. "I think I can handle a mere set of Muggle dentists. They're not all that scary, after all."

"You'd be surprised." Hermione grinned. "I do hope you remember your promise."

"Promise?" Draco looked as playfully innocent as he could and she smacked him again. She knew he remembered; he was just being himself.

"Tomorrow night, we reveal who we saw in that potion to each other?"

"All right, all right." Draco leaned into her for a moment. "Come on, we have people to meet. My parents should be here already too."

Hermione shivered lightly. "Your parents. My parents. At the same place, and the same time." This will be the first time Muggles have been inside Hogwarts. I hope the Headmaster knows what he's doing. She trusted his judgment, but some of the parents of the half-and-halfs or Muggleborns could be really weird at times. "Well, let's get going."