16

"Hello. I've been expecting you!" Dumbledore said, reaching out his hand in greeting. "You must be Hermione."

Hermione put her hand in his, and he firmly shook it. "Yes, but how..."

Dumbledore let go of her and stood up. "And you must be Mr. Malfoy!" He didn't shake Draco's hand, but just stood there and smiled brightly at him. "It's so nice to finally meet you both! When I came to myself and told me that you would be showing up... Well, of course, I was just so excited!"

Draco glanced over at Hermione and circled his finger in the air next to his temple, which was the the universal sign for crazy. Hermione frowned at him. Sure, it was strange to be standing here on a beach, listening to a young version of a man that recently plunged to his death from a tower, and hearing him talking about getting a visit from himself... Strange, but not crazy.

"Excuse me, Professor, but could you please tell us what the bloody hell is going on? Where are we? Why are you torturing us this way, what gives you the right to mess with our very lives like you do, and last but not least, where are you going?" Draco asked as Dumbledore folded up his chair and started up the beach towards the hotel.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked the two bewildered people standing in the hot sun. "We have many things to discuss and no time to waste." He paused, reached into his pocket, took out something shiny and gold and turned to Draco. "I believe you lost this?"

Draco walked up to him and took the pocket watch that he had gotten from the future. "How?" was all he managed to say.

"I'll explain it... Well, some of it anyway, over a nice breakfast." He took hold of Draco's arm and leaned in close. "Please try not to lose it. It might come in handy sometime in the future when you fear all is lost," he winked at him and then motioned for them to follow.

"What did he say?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing important."

"Oh, of course not!" Hermione huffed. "When are you going to learn to trust me and not keep secrets from me?"

Draco stuffed the watch into the pocket of the colorful coat he was still weariing. "Listen, Granger. Dumbledore whispered it to me. If he wanted you to hear it, he would have said it out loud. For once in your life, just mind your own business. Hard to do, I know..."

She shot him a dirty look and walked faster. She absolutely hated being in the dark about anything. How was she supposed to be prepared for anything when she knew nothing? She looked back over her shoulder at him, and he smirked and gave her a little wave. "God, I hate him sometimes! How we ever ended up married is beyond me!"

They bypassed the hotel and took another winding path, instead. After walking for some time, they came to a private beach. Dumbledore led them to a little, white cottage, complete with a fragrant garden full of beautiful purple and red flowers with bright green, tropical foliage.

Dumbledore held out a key. "I've taken the liberty of procuring you living quarters for your short stay here. Go on inside, clean up, take a rest... Do whatever comes naturally..." He winked at them suggestively. "I'm staying at the cottage just down the beach. Come and see me when you're ready, and we'll have a nice long talk over some breakfast.

Hermione took the key, and together they watched their former Headmaster stroll down the beach. He was whistling 'I'm a Little Tea Pot' and picking up sea shells and attractive little rocks.

"He has got to be the strangest person I've ever had the displeasure of meeting," Draco said, rolling his eyes.

"He is a bit eccentric, but that's what I love about him!" Hermione put the key in the lock, turned it and opened the door. They toured the cottage, which consisted of sparsely decorated living room, a small kitchen, a bedroom and a bathroom. Not the Taj Mahal, but it was cozy. "Look, Draco, a bed!" Hermione threw herself onto the soft mattress and fluffy pillows.

Draco opened the door to the bathroom and pulled the light switch. He gasped, "Look, Hermione! A bathtub! Wanna join me?" He started to peel off his clothes. He looked back at her. She was staring at the ceiling, her arms crossed over her chest, looking upset. "You're not still angry about me not telling you what Dumbledore said, are you?" He threw his coat and shirt onto the floor and crawled on top of her.

"Of course I'm still angry! How are we supposed to trust each other if we constantly keep secrets from one another?"

Draco smoothed back her hair from her forehead. "If it bothers you that much, I'll tell you." He kissed her gently on the lips. "He told me not to lose the watch ever again."

Hermione waited. "That's it?" she said. "I don't believe you. There has to be more to it than that!"

"There isn't. That's what he said. I have no idea why... He is nutters, after all." He leaned down to kiss her again. "I promise that I'm keeping nothing from you."

She grasped his head with both her hands and looked into his smoke colored eyes. "You're telling me the truth, Draco, right? You're not lying, are you?" She searched his face, looking for a glimmer of a lie. "I know that when we were in the future, your old self must have told you many things."

A jolt went through Draco's body. He wanted so badly to tell her that she was going to be murdered. What if he did tell her, would it change anything? Would she be able to stop it from happening? The thing was, he only knew that a man they knew was going to kill her. They did not know who he was or the exact day it would happen. He had the rest of their lives to tell her. Maybe he should wait and see if he could figure it all out before he told her...

"Draco?" Hermione said, concerned. "Are you all right?"

"Huh?" He looked down at her, distracted, slightly acknowledging her presence. "I'm fine." He filed away his thoughts to dwell upon later and smiled at her. "All I told myself was that on that very night, we were going to make love and that you were going to get pregnant." Draco's smile faltered a bit.

" Is something wrong?"

Draco sighed. "It's just something I said right before I died. I said that you getting pregnant was both wonderful and awful. I have no idea what I meant." He rolled over and clutched a pillow to his chest. "I was trying to get it out of... him... me, whatever, when I died."

Hermione turned over onto her side. "While you were in the room talking with yourself, I was having a very informative conversation with our granddaughter."

The corner of Draco's mouth twitched. "Our granddaughter. It still seems so weird, doesn't it?" He tossed the pillow to the end of the bed and sat up. His hand was shaking as he reached out and lifted her shirt up to expose her smooth, tan stomach. "Our baby is in here," he said, running his fingertips gently over her skin. He laid his head on her so that his ear was pressed against her bellybutton. "Hello in there. This is your daddy."

Hermione giggled, her hand playing with a strand of Draco's pale hair. "I don't think she can hear you yet."

Draco paused and listened. "Yes, she can, and she answered back. She said 'I love you mummy and daddy. I promise to be a good little girl and never give you any grief.'"

Hermione's heart skipped a beat. Draco had no idea what would happen to his first-born daughter and that she would get involved with the Dark Arts, abandon her family and break his heart. She did not want to ruin the moment by telling him. It could wait until later. "She's half yours, so therefore it's a given that she won't be a good girl."

Draco kissed Hermione's tummy. "She'll be my little angel."

"An angel with devil horns and a crooked halo!" Hermione laughed.

Draco pulled her up and hugged her tightly. "I love you, Granger."

Hermione smiled into his shoulder. "I know. Now, how about we take that bath?"

The water was very warm and soothing. Hermione slid into the tub, the bubbles popping, and leaned her back against Draco's chest. The floral fragrance lingered in the mist and steam, making it feel like they were in paradise. Draco picked up the sponge, dipped it into the water and lathered it up.

Hermione closed her eyes as the soapy sponge slid over her breasts, rubbing a little harder on her nipples. She could feel Draco's erection growing against her back, and it sent shivers of anticipation through her.

With his free hand, he caressed her face, his fingertip tracing the line of her open lips. She took his finger into her mouth and slowly sucked it as he swirled the sponge lower and lower. He rubbed his rock hard cock against her wet back and moaned into her ear, "Lift your ass out of the water, I want to see myself get you off," he said, his voice quivering with lust.

Hermione grasped the edge of the tub with both of her hands and lifted herself up. Draco dropped the sponge and slipped two of his finger slowly inside of her. She grasped the edge of the tub even harder, moaning as she rocked her hips.

Draco pumped harder, slipping a third finger inside of her as she started to come. He stopped, his fingers jammed all the way in as she screamed out, her body shaking uncontrollably. He sucked the tender skin on her neck, his fingers slipping from her.

She turned around, kissing him desperately and passionately as he thrust into her, making the water in the bathtub slosh over the side and onto the tile floor. She moved hard against him, moaning every time her clit came in contact with him.

He grabbed her by the hips and rammed his cock into her as another orgasm flooded through her body. Slipping a finger into her ass, he exploded inside of her as she groaned in pleasure.

Resting forehead to forehead, they held each other, eyes closed, breathing heavily.

"I love you," Hermione said, capturing his lips in a heated kiss.

Draco smiled into her lips. "I know. Now, how about we go and see Dumbledore?"

***

As they approached Dumbledore's cottage, they saw him sitting on the porch steps. He was whittling a tiny horse from a block of wood.

"I told you he was nutters," Draco said, lifting an eyebrow. Hermione elbowed him in the ribs.

"Hello, Professor!" Hermione said and waved.

Dumbledore looked up, and his face lit up in a welcoming grin. "Did you have a nice rest?" he asked and winked.

"Er... um...yes. It was just what we needed." Draco said, taking a seat next to him on the step. "What's that you're doing?"

"It's a present."

Hermione sat down on his other side. "A present? For whom?"

Dumbledore finished the tiny ear, blew the wood dust from it and handed it to her. "It's for your baby."

"Thank you." Hermione turned the horse over and over in her hand, studying every detail. Finally, she looked up at him. "Is it that obvious?" she asked him. "That I'm pregnant, I mean."

Dumbledore patted her on the arm. "No. In fact, if I hadn't told myself, I would have never guessed."

Draco rolled his eyes. "I am so confused! Why is all of this happening?" He got up and started to pace, kicking up sand. He stopped and looked straight at Dumbledore. "Why are you doing this?"

Dumbledore took off his glasses, cleaned them and then put them back on. "Because, Mr. Malfoy, I can."

"What the hell kind of answer is that?" Draco was becoming furious. Who did this man think he was? God? "You have no idea what we've been through! I was almost forced to rape her, we were chased by fucking dinosaurs, she almost plunged over a cliff, I narrowly escaped death by a Minotaur." Draco's face was contorted with anger. "I had to see myself die, for Merlin sakes! Not to mention prancing about in a hideous coat playing a flute while leading rats to their watery grave." He ignored Hermione's hand gestures telling him to shut up. "God only knows what happened to those children I lured away just so that I could save Hermione from that freak of a wizard! I just want to know why!"

"If you would just calm down, Mr. Malfoy, I'll tell you what I can."