An Unexpected Gift

An Unexpected Gift

~ Chapter 08 ~

Snape was sitting at the desk in his office grading the potions from his sixth year classes and the essays from his seventh year classes. After about an hour and forty-five minutes, he came across two flasks: one labelled 'Colin Creevey' and the other 'Ginny Weasley.' He smirked and chuckled to himself. Along with finishing his own potion, Colin had obviously finished Ginny's as well after she had been taken to the hospital wing.

After checking them over and finding nothing wrong with them, he was about to give them both 'O's, when he heard a pop from the direction of his empty fireplace - which was empty no longer. He looked over to it, only to discover that Professor Dumbledore's head was sitting in a newly lit emerald fire.

Snape put his quill down on top of his grade book, the inky tip hanging over the edge so as not to smudge the marks already placed there, and walked over to the fire. He stood there for a moment, his arms crossed, before saying, "Yes, Albus?"

"I need your assistance with something. Could you please locate Mister Malfoy? I need the both of you to join me in the hospital wing immediately."

"Alright," he said warily. "But, what for?"

"You will find out when the two of you get here," Dumbledore said.

"Yes, sir. We'll be there as soon as I can find him and get there."
"Thank you. I have to go, now; there is a few other people I need to summon." And, with a pop, he vanished, leaving the fireplace empty once again.

Snape stood there a couple more seconds, trying to comprehend what in the world Dumbledore needed him and Malfoy in the hospital wing for, before he left his office, shutting and locking it as soon as he was out. He headed towards the Slytherin common room, thinking it the most logical place to look first. When he got to the entrance, a stretch of bare, damp stone wall, he said the password and the entrance opened. As soon as he was in, it didn't take him long to find Malfoy, who was over on the far side of the mostly-deserted common room; he was pacing back and forth, arms crossed, brow furrowed, and a set expression on his face.

~*~

Earlier....

Draco Malfoy was sitting in his Transfiguration class, not really listening as McGonagall rambled on about something or other. He kept zoning out as he hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep the night before. Finally, relief came as the bell rang, signaling the end of classes for the day.

As the seventh year Gryffindor and Slytherins began to gather their things together, most of them talking the entire time, McGonagall shouted the homework out for the next day, her voice carrying above all the noise. Malfoy mentally stored it in his head, continuing on his way out the door and in the direction of the Slytherins' dungeon common room. On his way, he passed by the Potions classroom, just as the sixth year Gryffindors and Slytherins were exiting it, all students from Gryffindor in a group and the same for Slytherin ones, talking quietly to each other. Draco deliberately walked closer to them, straining to hear what was being said. Why he even cared, he didn't know.

"I can't believe she went into labor right in the middle of class," one of the Gryffindors said.

"I hope Ginny's okay," another said.

Draco was rooted to the spot. 'Ginny went into labor? Oh God,' he thought. He stood there in the corridor until all the Gryffindors were gone.

Braxton came up to him. "You all right?"

Draco's thoughts were immediately broken. "Huh? What?"

" I asked you if you're all right."

"Er... yeah. I'm... fine. I just have a lot of stuff on my mind."

"Okay," Braxton said, a hint of skepticism in his voice.

"What happened to your eye?" Draco asked, noticing the bluish-purple swelling around his right eye.

"Oh, that." He put his hand briefly over his eye. "After that Ginny girl had to have help from Snape just to get to the hospital wing, I made a comment about her, and that Colick kid, or whatever the hell his name is, took a couple of swings at me, gave me this black eye. So I gave him a bloody nose. I wrestled him to the floor, but Snape walked in before I could do him any more damage, though. Which, of course, I would have."

"I don't doubt it. You're pretty tough."

"Not that it takes much to get that one messed up, but thanks anyway. Well, I'm gonna go ahead down to dinner. You comin'?"

"Maybe in a little bit. I'm not too hungry right now."

"Alright." He looked at Draco again for a moment before saying, "Are you sure you're okay? Because you look a little more pale than usual. And you look worried about something."

"No, I'm okay."

"Okay."

They went their separate ways, Braxton to the Great Hall and Draco to the Slytherin common room. When he got there, he said the password and the stone door artfully concealed in the wall slid open. He went in to the almost deserted common room and sat down on a black leather couch near the fire. After about five minutes, however, he got up and began to pace back and forth, his arms crossed and a set expression on his face.

'Why am I so... worried about her?' he thought to himself. 'She's a Weasley, she's poor, so she's nothing. She's nothing but a blood traitor.'

However, the more Draco tried to tell himself this, the more he realized that he thought the exact opposite, that he had thought the exact opposite for a long time now.

'What am I thinking?' he went on. 'She's carrying my child. Or was rather. I can't just abandon her now.' He kept pacing. After about a minute, he thought, 'But she'd never agree to keep me around. And her family.... They'd skin me alive! Gosh, I just don't know what to do.'

He kept pacing, even though his thoughts were relatively silent, for close to an hour. Just as he was thinking he should probably sit down and try to get some homework done (as if he could keep his mind on it even if he tried), the entrance to the common room opened and Professor Snape entered, only to find the common room still mostly empty and Draco still pacing, back and forth, in front of the fireplace. He walked up to Draco and stood there for a moment before loudly clearing his throat. Startled, Draco whipped around to face Snape, almost falling over in the process, but himself just in time.

"Yes?" he asked, a surprised look still on his face.

"Professor Dumbledore requests both our presence in the hospital wing immediately," he said.

"Oh," Draco said, a look on his face that registered confusion, nervousness, and knowing all at once. "Did he tell you what for?"

"No. He said we would find out when we got there."

"Oh." He looked down at the floor.

"What is it, Draco?"

"Nothing. It's just... I think I know why he wants us there." And he said nothing more.

Snape just gave him a questioning look, but didn't say anything else about it. "Well, come on," he said. "We should get down there."

"Okay."

They walked swiftly in silence all the way to the hospital wing, Draco looking down the whole way there. When they got to the wing, they went in, only to find Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Madam Pomfrey standing there waiting for them. Ron was pacing back and forth in the middle of the room with his hands behind his back. Snape walked over to McGonagall, Dumbledore, and Madam Pomfrey and talked with them in low voices. When Ron spotted Draco, a furious expression covered his face and he glared at him for a minute. Draco, not knowing what to do, just stood there looking - for the first time ever - nervous around Ron Weasley. Ron didn't do what his expression clearly showed he wanted to, but walked over to a corner of the hospital wing and leaned back against the wall.

Draco shut the door quietly and stood there for a moment before sitting down on the edge of a bed near the door. Looking around, he saw that the professors and Madam Pomfrey were still talking and Ron hadn't moved from the corner. Madam Pomfrey went into her office. After about five or so minutes, Dumbledore walked over towards Malfoy, leaving the two other professors standing there in the middle of the room. He sat down on the bed next to the one Draco was sitting on. After a moment, he spoke.

"Do you know why you are here, Draco?" Dumbledore asked, using Draco's first name for the first time.

"I... I think so." Silence. "It's Ginny... isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Oh god," he said, putting his head in his hands. "I knew it." He sighed. "I can't believe this happened. Why did I have to be so stupid/"

Dumbledore was silent for a moment. "You know your responsibilities now, right?"

"Yes," he said, putting his head up and looking at the headmaster.

"And are you prepared and willing to live up to those responsibilities?"

"To the best of my ability, sir."

"Good. I was hoping to hear you would say that. Would you like to see your child?"

"Um... yeah. Sure, I guess so," he said, seeming very unsure of himself.

"They are right behind that curtain," Dumbledore said, pointing to the curtain that surrounded Ginny and the baby.

"They?" Draco asked nervously.

"Yes," Dumbledore said, "they. Ginny is behind there as well. She is sleeping at the moment, however. She is exhausted. Judging by her reaction when she saw the child, I do not believe she knew you were the child."

"Oh."

"Did you know?"

"Yeah, I was pretty sure."

"And you did not inform Miss Weasley?"
"I didn't think she'd believe me."

"You are probably right, and I understand. Would you like to see him - your child?"

"A boy? Wow," he said, awe in his face and voice. "Yeah, I'd like to see him. Can I... hold him, too?"

"Yes, if you would like to."

"Okay." Slowly, he got up and walked over to and behind the curtain.