Someone to Watch Over Me

Someone to Watch Over Me

Chapter 20: Secrets and Plans

Ginny made a fuss over all the cute baby stuff Hermione and Snape had bought, as was expected of her. Joyce and Blaise had not emerged from their room, so it had been up to her to listen to Hermione prattle on about the shopping experience. The stab of jealousy she was trying so hard to hide made her grateful that she had not been the one to take Hermione shopping.

Hermione's eyes welled up with tears as she related the fact that she'd been keeping her parents in the dark about everything.

"Snape's right, you really do need to tell them," Ginny commented.

"I know. Any advice on how I should go about it?"

"You want advice from me? Do you not remember what happened when I broke the news of marrying Draco to my family? At least all you have to worry about is your mum and dad, and not six older brothers!"

Hermione sighed tiredly.

"I'm so ready for all of this to be over," she said, patting her stomach wistfully.

"Well, Joyce says you should enjoy the peace now. Once the babies get here, I think we'll all be kept pretty busy," Ginny reminded her.

Hermione gave her an adoring look, eyes filling with tears yet again.

"Really? You're going to help me?"

"Of course I am! There will be four babies, Hermione. You and Snape are going to need all the help you can get."

Ginny suddenly found it hard to breathe when Hermione started squeezing the life out of her in a big hug. She felt one of the babies kick her stomach, as she was smashed against Hermione.

"Sorry, they do that when something presses against them," Hermione said, then yawned.

"Well, if you're going to tell your parents tonight, you should probably get some rest," Ginny said, doing her best 'Joyce' impression.

Hermione smiled and nodded.

She helped Hermione into bed and left to find Draco.

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She found him, along with Joyce, Blaise, and Snape having a heated discussion in the kitchen.

She quietly slipped into the empty seat next to Joyce, and gave the other woman a small smile. Joyce smiled back, but it was weak, and Ginny could tell that she'd been crying.

"So Dumbledore's big plan is to have Harry use the killing curse on the Dark Lord? Has he ever killed anyone before?" Blaise demanded.

"No. Potter has never used any of the Unforgivables on another human being to my knowledge," Snape said.

Blaise threw up his hands in frustration.

"Even if Harry could cast a successful killing curse, would it actually kill Lord Voldemort?" Ginny asked.

They all turned to look at her as if seeing her for the first time.

"I mean, didn't he cast the curse on Harry, only to have it rebounded back onto himself? If it didn't kill him then, how can we expect it to kill him now?" Ginny continued.

"That's what I asked. Harry just said he'd try anyway," Draco said with a scowl.

"When is Harry supposed to do this?" Joyce asked.

"Tomorrow night. It all ends then, one way or another," Draco answered solemnly.

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Hermione apparated just outside her parent's front door and looked around her nervously. She smoothed non-existent wrinkles in her dark green robes and made a vain attempt at sucking in her stomach.

"Just get it over with," she whispered to herself, and then knocked on the door.

"Hermione! I'd thought you'd forgotten all about us," her mother said pulling her into a hug.

"My you've certainly been eating well! Come on inside where it's warm," Mrs. Granger said, pulling her into the house.

Hermione opened her mouth several times, but couldn't seem to make any sound. It didn't really matter; her mother was talking enough for both of them.

"Hermione's here, dear," she called to Mr. Granger.

"Hello princess," her dad said, hugging her.

"Do you not get any exercise saving the world?" he asked, patting her stomach.

"It's probably the sugar. We rarely gave her any when she was a child," Mrs. Granger commented to her husband.

"That stuff is more addictive than cocaine!" he growled.

"Hermione, darling, I know it will be difficult, but you can get off the sugar again. And this will help." Her mother thrust a copy of 'Dr. Atkins' Miracle Diet' into her hands.

"But mum-" she began.

"Now, now. It won't be easy, but we'll help. You'll drop that weight in no time! Then we can find you a good husband..."

Her parents were both smiling at her mischievously.

"I AM NOT FAT, I'M PREGNANT!" she yelled, throwing the book across the room. "And I don't need you to find me a husband, because I'm already married!"

She held up her left hand to show them her ring.

They just stared at her in shocked silence.

"Well, say something!" Hermione demanded.

"Darling, you should really tell people that you're pregnant when you first see them, or they'll think that you're fat," her mother said finally.

Hermione groaned and sank down onto the couch.

"Why me?"

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Draco was sitting at his desk, focused intently on the sheet of parchment in front of him.

Ginny came up behind him, and started rubbing his shoulders.

"What are you working on?" she asked in a low voice.

He quickly turned the parchment over and leaned back into her touch.

"Nothing important," he said, and then groaned aloud when she started massaging his scalp.

"Good. We have some unfinished business to see to," she said, turning his chair around to face her.

His hands went to her waist as she straddled his lap, and kissed him deeply.

Her hands moved down his chest to the buttons on his pants, but he grabbed them to stop her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

He lifted her hands to his mouth and reverently kissed her palms, as if they were precious to him.

When he looked up at her, she watched a single tear slip from his eye.

"Draco, tell me what's wrong!" she demanded.

Ginny was scared. She'd never seen her husband cry before.

"You know I love you, right?" he asked, ignoring her question.

"Yes, and I love you. Now what..."

He cut her off with a kiss, and held her tight against him.

"Draco?" she gasped when he finally let her up for air.

"Please, Ginny. No more questions. Just love me," he whispered, hoarsely.

She nodded, and he picked her up and carried her to their bedroom.

Ginny's worry increased as Draco slowly made love to her. It was as if he was desperate to make it last as long as possible.

When he finally pushed himself into her, she forced the worry from her mind, and gave herself completely over to him.

There would be plenty of time to talk later.

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Hermione apparated home with a disgruntled pop. Snape had been waiting for her and quickly set aside the essays he'd been grading.

"How did it go?" he asked, helping her remove her outer cloak.

She sighed wearily, and sat down on the sofa.

"It went fine," she said, putting a hand over her eyes.

"They weren't disappointed?" he asked carefully.

"With me for being married and pregnant? No. They were disappointed that their intern, Steven, would not be the future son-in-law they had decided on," she replied tersely.

"Well, did you..."

She placed a hand over his lips.

"Please, Severus. I don't want to talk about it anymore. Suffice it to say that they now know, and are expecting both of us for Christmas dinner."

He nodded.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Just tired, like normal. I am a little hungry, though. Do we have any cheesecake? Mum and dad are on this no-carb kick, and dinner was less than satisfying," she said in a rush.

He hid a grin, and helped her to her feet.

They went to the kitchen and had coffee and cheesecake while discussing plans for the nursery.

Snape then told her of Dumbledore's plan as she had missed their little meeting earlier. He immediately regretted it, however, as she jumped up from her chair and started screeching.

"IS HE MAD?" she demanded.

"Hermione, love, please calm down. The others are in bed, we don't want to wake them," he said as soothingly as possible.

"Surely Harry didn't agree to such an idiotic..."

The look on Snape's face made her let out a frustrated yell.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! THEY ARE ALL MORONS!" she shouted and stamped her foot.

They heard the sound of someone clearing his throat and looked up to see Blaise standing in the doorway.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, hesitantly.

"Oh sure, everything is perfect! Except for the fact that we're following the orders of a man who has a lemon drop for a brain," she answered sarcastically.

Blaise coughed to hide his chuckle.

"I guess you told her about the plan?" he asked.

Snape nodded.

"This is so stupid, I..."

She stopped and put a hand to her abdomen.

"I-I need to sit down," she said, swaying slightly.

Snape quickly pushed a chair under her.

Once seated she hunched over and moaned.

"Hermione? What is it?" Snape demanded placing a hand on her stomach.

"Cramps," she whimpered.

"I'll get Joyce," Blaise said, and raced away.

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An hour later, Hermione was tucked into bed with Joyce fussing over her.

Blaise and Snape watched from the doorway, staying out of the midwife's way.

Joyce placed one more pillow behind Hermione's back and asked, "Are you comfortable?"

"Yes, thank you," Hermione said, gratefully.

She felt much better now.

"Good, because you're not moving for three months."

"What?!"

"Oh, no you don't. Calm down. You have to remain calm," Joyce said as soothingly as she could.

"You almost miscarried tonight Hermione. It is much too early to have the babies, they would have died. You could have died," she admonished gently.

Hermione felt tears begin to slide down her face.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

"I know you didn't. And I know you'll do much better from now on. I should have been monitoring you more closely."

She handed Hermione a tissue.

"From now on, you are to stay off of your feet as much as possible. Do not attempt to go up or down the stairs on your own. You must do your best not to get upset or over-excited. Do you understand?"

Hermione nodded.

Joyce leaned down and gave her a hug.

"We'll make sure that someone is always nearby to check on you," she said, looking up at the men in the doorway.

They nodded emphatically.

"Get some sleep. I'll examine you again in the morning. Severus, please come and get me if you suspect anything might be wrong, okay?"

"I will, thanks Joyce."

After she and Blaise left, Snape crawled into the bed beside Hermione, and wrapped his arms around her.

"I am so sorry, please forgive me," he begged, kissing her cheek.

"For what?" she asked.

"For upsetting you. This was all my fault," he explained, moving a hand to her stomach.

"No it was my fault. Sometimes it just feels good to get really angry. I didn't realize that doing so could hurt the babies, or I'd have done a better job of holding onto my temper," she admitted, relaxing into his embrace.

He didn't say anything.

"Severus? I promise not to lose control like that again, but please don't let it stop you from telling me things! I want to know what's going on while I'm confined to bed," she pleaded.

"I'll keep you informed, as long as if you promise to concentrate on resting and staying well," he said finally.

She smiled and kissed him. "I promise," she vowed, then drifted off in his arms.

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Ginny awoke the next morning and was pleased to see Draco still deeply asleep. Quiet as a mouse, she slipped out of bed, and pulled on her robe.

She looked down at him again then crept out the door, making her way to his study. She headed straight for his desk and smiled when she saw that the parchment he'd been writing on last night was still there.

She turned it over and stared down in astonishment.

"Ginny, don't-" Draco called out as he entered the room.

It was too late.

"Draco, what... why?" she asked, feeling the bile rise in her throat.

He sighed in defeat then crouched down in front of her.

"I can't let Harry face the Dark Lord tonight on his own. I don't know what's going to happen, but I don't think we're going to win. I just, wanted to be prepared, that's all," he said.

She started crying and he pulled her down into his arms.

The parchment fluttered to the floor as Ginny and Draco held each other close.

Over her shoulder he could read the words at the top of the page.

Last Will and Testament of Draco Malfoy

End Chapter 20