Title: Colours of Fate
Author: scarletladyy
Pairing: Draco/Hermione
Word Count: 3,606
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Summary: It would only be a minute until the potion turned purple or yellow and she learned of her fate. If she saw purple, she'd escaped her mistake, but if she came across yellow, her whole life would be turned around.
Author's Notes: Written for kinky_kneazle for dramione_duet 2011. All the thanks in the world to my beta, chemical_haven.

The contents of the potion swirled round and round as Hermione added a small amount of green liquid to it. Once it was all in, it would only be a minute until the potion turned purple or yellow and she learned of her fate. If she saw purple, she'd escaped her mistake, but if she came across yellow, her whole life would be turned around.

She pinched her eyes shut and counted to sixty, not wanting to watch the potion change colour for fear of an incorrect early result. Her hands grasped the cup so tightly the pain was nearly unbearable, though not not half as much as the wait. It didn't help that the ticking of the clock kept disrupting her counting.

By the time she got to what she thought was sixty she almost couldn't open her eyes, but in one swift motion she did so and her stomach jerked as she saw the colour of the potion: yellow.

She was pregnant, and it could only be by her one night stand of two weeks ago.

*

Breathe, she told herself as she walked into Draco Malfoy's workplace. She'd known for a while that he owned his own business, but she hadn't known exactly what it was. She rolled her eyes in disgust at the photos all over the walls, which gave her a good idea of what his company did. Trust him.

The receptionist was extremely attractive, which didn't surprise Hermione in the least. Nor did the way she looked at Hermione as though she were something dirty on her shoe.

"Yes?" She began tapping her quill against the desk, but as far as Hermione could see, all she'd interrupted was the magazine the girl had been reading.

"I'm here to see Draco Malfoy," Hermione said firmly. She attempted to appear confident, though she didn't exactly feel it. Finding out Draco created and sold porn magazines brought a blush to her cheeks, and she felt mortified that the receptionist might think she wanted to get involved somehow.

"Do you have an appointment?" The woman spoke with a disdainful tone as her eyebrows arched slightly.

Hermione shook her head. "No. But it's urgent."

"Apparently not urgent enough to make an appointment," the woman quipped. "You'll have to come back tomorrow. He's busy all day today."

"I very much doubt that," Hermione snapped. The woman hadn't even looked in the diary! How did she know Malfoy wasn't free again for the rest of the day? "I demand to see him now." It had to be now; she probably wouldn't be able to muster up the courage again. If she turned around and left, she probably wouldn't come back, and she knew deep down that they had to have this conversation.

The woman's face turned sour. "Demand all you want, love. You're not seeing him. If you want a shag, you'll have to wait."

"Excuse me!" Hermione's voice was shrill and loud and she hadn't meant it to be so, but she was extremely offended by the woman's words. She snorted and Hermione glared at her. It was almost a relief when Malfoy opened a door to her far left and leaned against it, his eyebrows raised.

"Ahh, Granger. How did I know that you would be the one making all the racket?"

Hermione walked into his office, pushing past him as she did so. "I want a word. Now." He smirked at his receptionist and followed her into the room, shutting the door after them. Only when she noticed what was sprawled across the desk and floor did she realise this was a mistake. "Don't you have somewhere more appropriate we could talk?"

"I think you'll find this is very appropriate, Granger. This is my line of work and I'm very good at what I do. You're taking precious time away from me, so if you don't hurry up and spit it out, I'll have you thrown out."

"Fine." She sat down in the chair behind the desk, trying to ignore the images of nude women in various positions all around her. "Look, I... We're... I'm..." She couldn't say it.

"You're what?" Malfoy prompted, looking extremely impatient.

"Pregnant," she hissed, angered at his impatience on such an important matter. He wasn't exactly to know, but he was just such an arrogant arse she wondered what the heck she'd ever seen in him enough to sleep with him. If she remembered correctly, and her memory of the night was slightly fuzzy, she'd been drinking. Heavily.

"What?" Draco's eyes were as huge as saucers, and he was staring at her with such a look of shock and horror on his face that for a slight second she felt some satisfaction that she'd messed up his perfect life. Until, of course, she realised she'd messed up her perfect life too. "You can't be serious. Is this a joke? Because it's not a very funny one, Granger."

"No," she said tersely. "It's not a joke."

"You've used the pregnancy check potion?" She nodded and he rubbed his hands across his chin anxiously. "What are we going to do?"

Hermione found herself shocked that Malfoy had said 'we' in that sentence rather than 'you', which implied he wasn't going to tell her to bugger off and deal with it on her own. She wanted to smile at his maturity now, but it just didn't appear to be quite the right time. Maybe later. With this baby, there would be a lot of time spent together. "I don't know. I want to keep it. You?"

"You're carrying my child, Granger," he said, pointing out the obvious. "Of course I want you to keep it. This is my heir."

Of course, Hermione thought. She'd forgotten how traditionalist the old pure-blood families could be. "Right. We're agreed then."

Malfoy nodded and picked up a quill and parchment from the shelf beside the door. "What's your vault number?"

"What?" Hermione frowned at the sudden change of conversation.

"Your vault number, Granger. What is it? You're going to need a lot of money to make sure our child gets the best they deserve. I also think it would be a good idea for you to move into Malfoy Manor—"

"Slow down!" Hermione stood and held her arms up in surrender. She had expected to come in here and be told to bugger off, not to be given money and a place to live. "I'm not moving in with you and I won't be taking any of your money."

Draco arched an eyebrow. "Pardon? You can't seriously expect our child to grow up in your one bedroom flat in Muggle London, can you?"

"How do you know where I live?" Hermione blanched. The night they'd spent together had been in a Muggle hotel, and she was certain she hadn't mentioned where she lived or what it looked like to him.

"I'm a Malfoy, Granger. I have connections." He put the quill and parchment back on the shelf and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Spies, more like," she muttered under her breath. "Look, thank you for your offer of help. I appreciate it, but I'll be fine on my own."

"If you're living with me, nobody ever has to know you're pregnant. Nobody even has to know we're living together."

Now that was certainly tempting.

*

It was four months into Hermione's pregnancy, and she was already wishing she hadn't gone through with it. Not seriously, mind. She was starting to put on weight now as her morning sickness had finally ended, which meant that contact with her friends was pretty much out the window. She had also taken to wearing baggy Muggle clothes, and while Harry gave her strange looks, nobody else seemed to have noticed.

She was tired a lot of the time and had even began napping during her work breaks, and the constant urination was becoming a very annoying habit. She'd just come back from the toilet when she found Malfoy sitting down in the café. She'd asked him to meet her there but she had arrived early, preferring to wait for him than have him waiting on her. She grabbed her cup of tea from her own table and joined his, sitting down opposite him.

"Morning." He was genuinely smiling at her and she knew exactly why. "Are you ready?"

Hermione sighed heavily. "Yes, I'm all packed."

"Good. We'll fetch your stuff after this." He went for a sip of her tea but she batted his hand away. "All right, fine. I take it you're still experiencing mood swings then."

She glared at him, but realised she was proving his point. "The baby and I are doing fine, thanks for asking."

"That was indeed going to be my next question," he said, calling over a waitress and ordering his own tea. "I believe you have your next scan in a few weeks. Will you allow me to accompany you this time, or shall I wait outside again? I'm perfectly aware that Muggle hospitals are not a place I really want to be, but since you insist on using them, I really have no choice, now, do I?"

"Yes, you can come. But you're not coming to the antenatal classes." He rolled his eyes, but she wasn't going to budge on that one. It was embarrassing enough as it was, and since they were all Muggles, Malfoy really wouldn't blend in well at all. She didn't even want to imagine the situations he might get himself into.

"I've put you on the second floor. It's mainly used for guests, so you'll have it all to yourself. Mother and father and I are all on the third floor, so you won't be disturbed." The waitress brought over his tea, which he sipped eagerly in spite of the heat. "You also have your own en-suite and walk in wardrobe, and the house-elves are on hand throughout the day and night if you ever need anything."

Hermione forced a smile. "Thanks." It wasn't that she wasn't grateful, of course she was. It was just hard to comprehend the whole situation, especially having more than civil relations with Malfoy. "And your parents really don't mind? They're not going to hex me in the middle of the night?"

Draco laughed and she couldn't help but do so too. "They're happy to welcome you into their home. You are carrying their first grandchild, you know. Admittedly they were shocked at first, but they're coming round to the idea."

"Right." She wasn't sure she liked the sound of that. ""They're not going to tell anyone...?"

"No," he said sharply; he'd already assured her that they'd keep quiet many times before.

Hermione nodded her head slowly. "Good. I really don't want Harry and Ron finding out."

"You know they're going to find out eventually, right? When you give birth, they're going to wonder why you kept this baby a secret. Perhaps they'll even feel betrayed. Merlin, I don't know how Gryffindors feel when they're lied to. Slytherins don't give a damn."

"I know I have to tell them at some point before the birth, just not yet. I'm not ready." Her mouth twisted into a thin line as she thought about Malfoy's words and how she knew he was right. Harry and Ron would feel betrayed, especially since Malfoy was the father. A pang of guilt ran through her.

"In fact," Malfoy carried on, "won't they wonder where you've moved to?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. I'm not telling anyone I've moved. I've kept the old place, so if they ever want to come round, I'll just take them there."

Malfoy smirked. "You know, I think there's a little bit of Slytherin in you after all."

Hmph.

*

"Are you fucking kidding me, Granger?" Malfoy stood there in his green-checkered pyjamas, looking exhausted with his usually kept hair all over the place. "You woke me up because you want ice cream now?"

Hermione nodded. "The house-elves wouldn't go out and get some, said they didn't know where, so I got you. After all, you did say you would always be there for me."

"Yes," Draco started, running a hand through his hair, "but this... this is insane! Nowhere is even open at this time."

"How do you know? You haven't looked!"

He arched an eyebrow. "Trust me. Look, we probably have the ingredients and there's a thousand and one cookbooks downstairs. Just ask the house-elves to make you some. I'm going back to bed. Don't wake me for something so trivial again. I thought the bloody baby was coming!"

Absolutely fuming, Hermione mimicked him as he made his way out, giving her a look that said he wasn't in the mood to be messed about. Well, neither was she. She was going to find a bloody cookbook that told you how to make ice cream, give it to the house-elves, and then make damn sure Malfoy got a bowl of it, too.

The cookbooks were easy to find, since Narcissa had her kitchen fairly organised, and she tasked the house-elves to flick through the pudding ones and find her a recipe for ice cream. They looked around anxiously, but did as they were told. She didn't like using them, but she certainly couldn't make it. She felt guilty as they bustled around the kitchen, and just as she was nodding off in the corner she received a little prod to her arm.

"It is ready, Missus."

Hermione blinked a few times to wipe away the sleep, then took the bowl of ice cream from the little elf. She smiled politely and thanked him for it, then took the whole bowl with her as she made her way to Malfoy's room. She opened the door ever so quietly so as not to wake him, crept up to his large king size bed, and emptied the entire bowl onto his sleeping face.

He jumped up, screaming and moving around as though he were being attacked. He reached for his wand on his bedside table and pointed it in her direction, before wiping the cold and wet substance out of his eyes and away from his mouth. It took him a few minutes to focus on her and realise what had happened, but as soon as it clicked, he dropped the wand and began to yell. "Granger! What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"Draco? Draco!" Narcissa came running into the room at full speed, Lucius trailing behind her. They were both in their expensive silk dressing gowns and brandishing their wands in front of them. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, mother," Draco hissed. He glared at Hermione and turned his attentions back to her. "I thought you wanted the ice cream to eat, not to chuck all over me."

"I did," Hermione started, making her way towards the door, "but then you pissed me off, I lost my appetite, and I had all this ice cream and just didn't know what to do with it." With a sly smirk that could compete with any of the Malfoy's she left the room with three glaring, staring faces trained on her.

*

"I'm not doing it! I'm not bloody well doing it!" Hermione screamed, clutching her pregnant stomach and watching Malfoy's eyebrows raise as she swore.

"You have to do it, Granger," he said, so serenely and calmly that it made Hermione want to punch him. "In fact, you're going to have to do it whether you like it or not."

She glared at him and leant against the wall, knowing he was right. She'd gone into labour a couple of hours ago, and as the contractions increased, so did her swearing and refusal to go through with it. Not that she really had a choice, but it felt good to be able to say it. It was even worse that his parents were right outside, looking in through the window ever so composed. As soon as she actually began giving birth, she was having those curtains closed.

"Look, Granger—"

"Why do you still call me by my last name? I think we're on first name terms now, Draco." His face softened a little and she immediately felt guilty for being such a bitch. She never was usually, or at least, she hadn't been before this pregnancy, but her hormones had been all over the place and she felt horrible every time she had to lie to her friends and decline invitations. Since she'd been heavily showing, she hadn't seen any of them for fear they might figure it out. They thought she'd become a recluse.

"Fine, Hermione. I suppose you are the mother of my child." Everything went silent then and they both stood staring awkwardly around the room. The only sounds to be heard were those of nurses and doctors bustling around in the background. Then he suddenly blurted out, "I'm not an arse, you know."

"I know," she replied quietly. If there was one thing she'd learnt about Draco Malfoy over the last nine months, it was that he could actually be a decent person. "And I'm not a bitch, either."

Malfoy laughed. "Could have fooled me." She scowled playfully at him. "After the baby comes and you've finally told everyone the truth, where are you going to stay? Are you going back to your flat?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. It's too small." She'd loved her little home, but it just wasn't an appropriate environment to bring up a child. She hated to admit it, but she knew she needed his help. "If you want me out, though—"

"No," Malfoy said suddenly, cutting her off. "I'd, we'd," he gestured to his parents, "love you to stay. I want to be as active in my son's life as possible."

"Son?" Hermione questioned. "I have a feeling we're having a daughter."

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "My heir is going to be a boy, Granger, not a girl. We can have the girl next."

"What?" If she weren't in so much pain, she would have laughed out loud. "You know we're not technically together, right?"

"Er, yeah. I've been meaning to talk to you about that." He was blushing, and she realised that what he was about to say he must have wanted to say for a while. She didn't speak, not wanting to ruin his moment. "I was going to ask you if you wanted to make a go of it."

"You want to go out with me? A Mudblood?" The words came out of her mouth before she even knew what she was saying.

"We slept together, didn't we? And you are having my baby. I guess that qualifies you as suitable. A Malfoy never leaves his family in the lurch. We look after our own, and like it or not, you're one of us now." She raised her eyebrows at that, but found the thought slightly comforting. As much as she knew her friends would be there for her, there was nothing like having the father involved. "Well?"

"Can I think about it?" He nodded, and it was then that another contraction came over her. She grabbed onto the wall and held her stomach hard, bending low as she screamed for all she was worth. Her face went bright red and she scrunched her eyes shut. "You're not coming anywhere near me ever again, Malfoy!"

"That's just the pain talking, Hermione." She opened her eyes to glare at him and found him smirking at she. She lunged towards him, but the pain stopped her going further than a couple of steps forward. The contraction passed quickly, allowing her to walk over to the bed and relax. She took a few moments to compose herself and blew the hair out of her face.

"Perhaps I didn't quite mean that," she said quietly, completely humiliated. "I shall consider it. Now could you please go and fetch me some ice cream?"

Malfoy's eyes narrowed. "Are you going to chuck it all over me again?"

"No," she said, laughing. "At least not for another eight minutes, I should think." He ran off quickly then, presumably wanting to get her the ice cream and have her eat it before another contraction came upon her. While he was gone she thought about what he'd said, and found herself thinking that it might actually work. Their relationship over the last few months had been pleasant, and now she thought about it, he would actually make a great partner. Not to mention they'd already had sex. Admittedly they were drunk, but from her vague fuzzy memories, she'd enjoyed it.

And then there were his parents. She glanced at them and they smiled at her, and she thought about how they'd taken her in and cared for her every need. Well, their house-elves had at any rate. She smiled back as Malfoy returned with the ice cream.

"Thank you, Draco." It certainly helped that he was very attractive, what with his sleek blond hair and beautiful eyes. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea. At the very least, they could give it a go.

Though in eight minutes time, she'd be cursing him to hell and back and thinking herself crazy. Which was, she realised, what her friends would probably think too. Well, if crazy meant having a good-natured, slightly arrogant partner by her side, then that was fine with her.