Draco looked at Aurora in utter horror.

She was the last person he had expected to see here.

Panic tore at him as he tried to think how the hell he was supposed to talk his way out of this one.

"Draco?" She asked, confusion flooding her face as she looked from him to the Ladies sign on the door that he was still holding open.

"Aurora... I was, erm... looking for you," he said, cringing at how weak his explanation sounded.

He was in a hurry to get out of there, any second now, Katie Bell would be following him out.

And god only knows what Aurora would think of that.

Without waiting for a response, he grabbed her arm and tried to pull her away with him.

"Draco, wait!" She cried, digging her heels into the ground as she tried to wrench her arm free. "I need to use the toilet - I'm bursting!"

"Use the Men's," he said pushing her towards that door, instead, "the Ladies is filthy - no fit state for a pregnant woman."

He pushed the Men's door open and practically flung her inside, his heart thudding maddeningly in his chest as he closed the door behind them.

To his relief, it was empty.

"Draco, what the hell?!" Aurora cried, looking up at him in bafflement. "Aren't you supposed to be in detention?"

He couldn't help but notice she was hopping from one foot to the other.

"Use the cubicle, I'll keep guard." He said, ignoring her last question.

He was relieved that her urgency to pee outweighed her need for immediate answers.

As he heard the click of the cubicle door lock behind her, he quickly poked his head out of main door back into the corridor.

To his relief, he saw the back of Katie's head disappearing into the bar.

He looked back at the cubicle where Aurora was still peeing and briefly thought about just running off and leaving her there.

But then figured that would be a real dick thing to do to the mother of his child.

"Draco, are you going to tell me what's going on?" She asked after she'd emerged from the cubicle and went over to the sink to wash her hands.

He looked at her, his beautiful Aurora; the woman who was carrying his child - and he knew as much as he hated lying to her, he just couldn't burden her with this.

"I- I just miss you." He murmured, not untruthfully.

She turned around and looked at him, her eyes searching his face, as if she was looking for confirmation of the truth.

He stepped forwards, closing the gap between them and pulled her to him, cupping her face in his hand.

"I miss you," he said again, this time with conviction, looking down earnestly into her face so that she could see the truth in his eyes.

"I miss you too, Draco," she breathed, and he couldn't help but brush his lips over hers, causing them both to sigh blissfully.

And then, as though being plunged into an ice cold body of water, it hit him what he had just done.

"Draco?" Aurora gasped, as his whole body convulsed in a huge shuddering sob.

He sank down to his knees, clinging onto her, pressing his face against the small, yet growing mound of her belly.

"I'm so sorry," he wept, moving her cloak aside and lifting her top to kiss the bump that was his and Aurora's growing baby.

He suddenly feared he would never be around to be there for them; never get to hold his child or tuck them into bed at night as he read a bedtime story.

The pain in his heart was immeasurable. He had so much more to lose and he already felt as though he was failing them; his beautiful Aurora and the child they had made together. His family.

The sound of a sudden raucous laugh coming from out in the bar made them jump apart. Realising the precariousness of this situation, Draco quickly leapt back to his feet.

"Draco, you're scaring me," Aurora said, reaching out a trembling hand towards him.

He knew he must look a state; a mass of jittering nerves. He could see it reflected in her terrified expression.

"I'm sorry, Aurora, I shouldn't be here," he uttered hoarsely, panic squeezing his airwaves, making him feel as though he could barely breathe.

"Draco-"

But he had already turned, striding straight for the door. He needed to get away. To get back to the castle.

And he needed to face what he had done.

*****

I stood in the middle of the Men's toilet, staring in bafflement as the door swung shut behind him.

I was confused. I couldn't believe his story that he had been there to find me. It didn't add up.

And he had looked so frightened.

My heart hammered fearfully as I stepped out of the toilets and back into the busy bar.

"There you are!"

Blaise had appeared through the crowd, the beam on his face dropping as he took in my distressed expression.

"Aurora? What's wrong?"

"Draco was here - he... he was in the Ladies." I stuttered, looking up at him bewilderedly. "Blaise, something was very wrong with him. I'm worried."

He enveloped me in a hug, pulling me to his chest.

"Come on, let's get you back to the castle. I'm sure everything is fine. I'm sure it's nothing."

But he didn't sound certain.

Cho was waiting for us outside, shivering against the cold.

"Aurora? What's wrong? Is it the baby?" She asked, looking at me in concern as Blaise led me out, his arm still around me.

"Draco was there," Blaise explained, frowning.

"I thought that was him running back up the street." Cho scowled. "Isn't he supposed to be in detention?"

"That's what he had told me," I shuddered, fear knotting at my insides.

My hand flew to my swollen belly where he had fervently kissed it.

Something was very, very wrong.

And the journey back to the castle did nothing to alleviate my fears.

We were about halfway up the track when a loud scream pierced the air in the distance.

Cho and I looked at one another in horror as Blaise ran up ahead to see what was happening.

By the time Cho and I had caught up, Katie Bell was lying unconscious on the ground.

Blaise hurried back to meet us as Hagrid scooped up her body in the background and carried her back up to the castle.

"What happened?" Cho gasped.

"She's been cursed." Blaise explained breathlessly.

"What?!" I cried, "How? By who?"

"According to her mate, she was given a package to deliver. It was what was inside that caused it." Blaise said, looking at me gravely.

"But that's awful! Who would do such a thing?" Cho breathed.

Blaise swallowed, his eyes still on me.

"That's the thing. Apparently it was given to her in The Three Broomsticks."

I already knew what was coming next by the look in his eyes.

"She had gone to the toilet." He continued. "Whoever had given it to her had been in the Ladies."