~~~~~
Hermione was sitting on the couch, enjoying the cooking show that was currently on the TV, when she heard the door swing open.
"Hello, my love." Draco said as he walked over to his wife, kissing her on the cheek and setting his briefcase down on the table. "Ready to go?"
"Oh! I forgot that was today." Hermione smiled, slowly getting up to grab her coat and shoes.
"Hermione Malfoy, forgetting something? I think you've been watching that thing for too long, it's eating all your brain cells."
"Haha, very funny."
Draco laughed as he held his arm out to her, and off they went to St. Mungo's.
~~~
"Hermione, Draco! Good to see you again." Luna exclaimed as she entered the room the couple was in. She was one of the head Healers at St. Mungo's, and also happened to be the couple's gynecologist.
"Hello, Luna!" Hermione replied, lying back on the ultrasound table.
"Nice to see you." Draco added, smiling.
"So, this is your first abdominal ultrasound, is that correct?" Luna asked, sitting down at her computer beside Hermione.
"Yes." Hermione smiled, heart fluttering at the word. Ultrasound. She had specifically asked to do everything without magic, wanting to get the full experience of the pregnancy like she had seen with her cousins. She had always wanted to be a mother, and now it was finally happening with the greatest husband she could've asked for. She couldn't believe it.
Draco looked over at his smiling wife and grinned. They were both excited to be parents, but Hermione was probably even more than him. He held in a chuckle as he remembered the day she found out she was pregnant. It took him a good ten minutes to get her to stop dancing around and tell him what the bloody hell she was so happy about. It was the happiest he had ever seen her.
"How far along are you?" Luna asked, lifting Hermione's shirt up to reveal the tiny bump.
"10 weeks."
"Wonderful." Luna smiled, beginning to spread the ultrasound gel. "Has everything been going well so far? Anything seem out of the ordinary?"
"No," Hermione replied, slighting shivering at the gel. "Although I have noticed that my symptoms aren't as bad as they used to be. I read all about them when I first got pregnant, and it said that it could just be because of fluctuating hormones, but I thought you should know."
"Oh, well that is good to know, thank you." Luna replied, although her voice sounded a bit quieter than before.
"Is that bad?" Hermione asked, noticing Luna's voice change and beginning to get worried.
Luna looked up at her and smiled gently. "Well no, because it could just be, as you said, fluctuating hormones. But, I assume you may have also seen that a decrease in pregnancy symptoms can be a sign of a...miscarriage."
Hermione swallowed the growing lump in her throat. "I did...but it said at 10 weeks there's only like a 2% chance of it actually happening so I figured it would be best not to get paranoid about it."
"Yes, you're right. While it is a sign, a miscarriage at this point is rare. You two are both healthy and strong young people, so it's best not to worry."
Hermione smiled, although this time not as brightly. "Right."
Draco listened silently to the whole conversation, watching Hermione's face. He could tell that she was still worried, after what Luna had said. Quietly, he took her left hand in his and squeezed it gently. She looked over at him with a smile, but her eyes told a different story.
"I'm sure it's nothing, love. Everything will be fine." He said softly.
"Thank you." Hermione replied, almost whispering.
Luna put the transducer on Hermione's abdomen, moving it around slowly. All three of them watched the black and white picture on the screen, waiting for the baby to appear.
Finally, a small shape appeared, the top looking a bit like a round head.
"There they are." Luna said, grinning.
Hermione and Draco both breathed a sigh of relief as they watched the little thing on the screen. It was tiny, only about the size of a prune according to Luna, but it was probably the most beautiful thing either of them had ever seen.
Hermione's eyes watered at the sight, and she turned to look at her husband. His face had the biggest smile on it, and his eyes were glassy.
"Look, Draco." She said, pointing. "It's our baby."
"It really is." Draco gasped, grinning at his wife as he stood next to her. "I can't believe it."
The couple stay fixed on the sonogram picture, while Luna moved the transducer around a bit, a slight frown appearing on her face.
"You've had one ultrasound before this, to check the baby's heartbeat, correct?"
"Yes." Hermione replied, still smiling.
"And there was a heartbeat?"
"Yes." Hermione tore her eyes from the screen. "Why?"
Draco now looked down from the screen and at Luna, slightly confused. "Is everything alright?"
Luna looked down for a moment, and then back up at the couple.
"I can't find a heartbeat."
It was as if a knife had just stabbed her in the heart. Hermione's eyes filled with tears as she met Luna's gaze.
"W-What?"
Luna moved the transducer a bit more and sighed, taking it off of Hermione's stomach and looking up at her former classmate. Her heart broke at the despair in the brunette's face.
"I'm sorry, Hermione but...your baby no longer has a heartbeat."
"Does that mean that she had a..." Draco spoke up, voice raw. Luna had never seen him so close to crying.
"A missed miscarriage, yes." Luna answered softly.
"No..." Hermione whispered, tears falling down her cheeks. "Please."
Draco could do nothing but hold her as she began to shake, kissing her head as he tried to contain his own tears. Not even half an hour ago, they were going to be parents. And now, their precious child was gone.
Luna watched the couple sadly, slowly cleaning the gel off and pulling Hermione's shirt down. She reached out and squeezed Hermione's hand after she finished. She may have been at her job, but Hermione had always been a good friend of hers. She couldn't bear to imagine how she felt at that moment.
After a few minutes, Hermione quieted down a bit and looked back up at Luna.
"Why?"
Luna took a deep breath. "Missed miscarriages often don't have a sole reason for happening, although it is said that about 50% of them are because the embryo doesn't have the right number of chromosomes. But, all we really know is that, unfortunately, they are just a natural thing that happens to some people."
Hermione nodded, looking down at her hands.
"You just have to remember, it is no one's fault." Luna added. "Sometimes things happen that no one can control, not even magic."
She paused, looking up at Draco. She had become closer to him during fifth year, and had been one of the only people that knew about his life outside of school. She knew how long he had been trained to keep an emotionless facade, and she could see it all crumbling right in front of her eyes. The love between Hermione and Draco was so strong, that she knew he was feeling both his and Hermione's pain right now.
"I would recommend for Hermione to stay here for a couple of days, so we can see if her body will remove the embryo itself or if we need to do surgery. Also, there are many great people I can recommend you to if you ever need to talk. I am also here if you need absolutely anything."
"Ok, thank you." Draco replied, nodding.
"I will go call a nurse to get you situated in a room," Luna continued, turning to Hermione and then back to Draco. "You may want to get some of her things from home."
After that, Luna left to get the nurse, leaving the two alone.
Draco tried not to break down again as he looked at Hermione, kissing her gently. "I'll be back, alright? I love you."
Hermione kissed him back, wiping her eyes. "I love you too."
"We'll get through this."
"I know."
The nurse came in, and Draco Apparated back home.
~~~
Hermione ended up needing to have the surgery, and Draco stayed there throughout it all. He had told Harry, Ginny, and Ron, and they had all come to visit them after Hermione's surgery. Pansy and Blaise came for a little bit too, which was a pleasant surprise for Draco.
Now, it was finally the day she was getting sent home. Hermione lay in the hospital bed, staring up at the white ceiling. She had barely moved from the bed her entire stay, and yet she was absolutely exhausted. It had been a long week, after getting the news, but she was finally starting to feel okay again. Suddenly, she heard the curtains being pulled open.
Draco walked in, smiling as he held something behind his back. He came over to her side and kissed her, still not revealing what it was.
"What is that behind your back?" Hermione questioned, trying to look around her husband.
Draco moved away from her, shielding whatever he had.
"Hey, not yet." He said, smiling. "How are you?"
Hermione smiled back. "Tired, but better."
"Good."
"Can I see what it is now?"
Draco rolled his eyes playfully, but he looked almost shy as he bit his lip. "Fine."
He brought his arms out from behind his back, revealing a strip of pictures.
"I asked Luna if we could get the ultrasound pictures. I know it's kind of sad, looking at the baby we...never had," He began, trying to keep his voice steady. "But I thought that it was still something special we could hold onto."
Tears immediately started flowing as Hermione stared at the pictures in her hands, mind going back to the worst day of her life. She had been through a lot, with Voldemort and all that, but nothing could've prepared her for the pain of losing her baby.
"I can take it back, if it's too much." Draco's voice brought her back to reality, and she shook her head.
Hermione reached up and places her hand on her husband's cheek, kissing him softly. "I want to keep it. Thank you for bringing it. It can be a reminder that we had a child, and that they're probably watching over us now, making sure our next baby is healthy."
Draco looked at his wife. "Next baby? You still want to try?"
"Maybe not right this minute, but eventually, yes. I'm not letting one miscarriage stop me from living my dream of being a mother."
"There's that Gryffindor spirit."
The couple chuckled, kissing once more, both of their cheeks damp with tears.
"Come on, let's go home." Draco said, wiping his face while taking Hermione's bag and helping her out of the bed.
Hermione transfigured her hospital gown into normal clothes, and then took Draco's hand as they walked out of the room, other hand clutching the pictures. They used the Floo network instead of Apparition since Hermione was technically still in recovery, landing back in their cozy home.
"I'm going to make some tea, you find something good on that Muggle box that we can watch." Draco said, going right to the kitchen.
Hermione laughed, turning on the TV and sitting down on the couch. She looked down at the pictures in her hand and smiled sadly. It still hurt, but she knew she'd be okay. With Draco by her side, she could get through anything.
Say hi to Fred for me, my little angel.
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currently at school, sitting outside on the ground very uncomfortably for my mask break and there's a boy across from me that looks very much like a goblet of fire draco malfoy :)
this took me a while to write, half because i had to research miscarriages and half because i was trying not to cry :)
hope you're all doing good. trump just got tested positive for corona, so i am absolutely ecstatic lmao
keep voting and commenting !! oh, and if anyone has any good dramione, drarry, or draco malfoy fic recommendations pls tell me tyy
also, if ur 18+ and live in the U.S., MAKE SURE YOU VOTE !!!!
<3, mallika