The Surrogate - A Dramione Fanfic

Chapter 1

Hermione smiled as she made her way home. It had been a wonderful day at the Ministry and now, all she wanted to do was curl up on the couch, in her much too large sweats and sweater, with a good book and a nice hot cup of tea before she expected Ron to be back from his Quidditch tour in a few days.

She was standing in line for the Apparition point when

"Granger? Is that you?"

Hermione turned to see who had called her... her eyes widened in shock "Astoria Greengrass?"

"Malfoy, actually... we got married last year" Astoria stated as she showed Hermione the ring.

Hermione looked at the ring with awe "I guess he must have liked it if he put a ring on it"

The two women laughed before an older man behind them cleared his throat. Hermione blushed as she got out of line to let the man pass. Astoria grabbed her hand with a sparkle in her eye

"Would you like to join me for a cup of coffee?"

"Oh. Uh, sure"

The two women sat at a patio table in a cute little café as they sipped at their drinks

"So tell me dear, how's life been treating you?" Astoria asked with a bright smile as she leaned on her elbows like a child

Hermione giggled at the comparison "it's going good. Ron and I are set to be married here in about a year and a half, my job at the Ministry is going well, and Ron is currently on tour as the Cannon's Keeper"

"You work for the Ministry? How's that?"

"It's good. Kingsley offered me a high position right out of school, but I wanted to earn my way to the top. So now, I've currently worked myself up to a legislative. I review all the bills before passing them on to Kingsley for final approval"

"So do you think you might make it to being the Minister someday?" Hermione shook her head... Astoria frowned "Why not? Surely you're wise enough for the position."

Hemione smiled as she put her cup down "Thank you, but no. We're hoping to start a family after we're married someday, and when that happens, Ron wants me to focus more on raising our children."

"Ron wants it, or you do?" Astoria asked with a frown.

Hermione blinked in shock "Er, well, I-I do"

"You don't sound so sure dear" she stated with concern.

Hermione sighed "it's not like that, it's just... I want to be there for my family. Do I still want to work? Sure, and once the kids are all old enough to attend Hogwarts, I could easily apply to work again. But the thing is... Ron wants to have about seven to ten kids, so by the time the youngest will be of age, I'll probably be ready to retire. So..."

"So you're just... giving up?"

Hermione shrugged "I'll choose my family over my job any day. But until then, I'm working to help make the Wizarding world a better place."

Astoria smiled sadly as the tears began to gather behind her eyes. Hermione's eye widened

"Oh my gosh, Astoria, are you alright?" she asked as she rushed over to the sobbing woman. Hermione pulled the other woman's hands from her face gently.

Astoria sniffed as she tried to control herself again. "I-I'm sorry... hormones"

Hermione's eyes widened as she smiled at the good news... before it fell as Astoria's shaking head

"I'm not pregnant" she whispered sadly "I... I-I can't get pregnant... I've always wanted a family, you know? I always wanted to feel a little being growing inside of my body, feel the little flutter of their first kicks... the urgent bathroom calls, the morning sickness, the weird cravings, the drastic mood swings, I'd welcome them all, but... even with magic... it's impossible" she began to cry again. Hermione suddenly looked up to notice people around them staring at them... was that a camera phone?!

Shit

Hermione quickly rose to her feet and began guiding the crying woman to the alleyway around the corner, leaving the bill and tip on the table.

Once they were alone, she apparated them to her apartment and lead Astoria to sit on her couch as she ran to make some fresh tea. By the time she came back, Astoria had calmed down and was now just breathing tiredly.

Hermione sighed "Japanese Thai?" Astoria accepted the cup, but just held it and stared into its dark hue.

"I love him you know? Draco? I've loved him since I first set eyes on him back in Hogwarts. And he loves me. He tells me every day that it doesn't matter what I look like on the inside or the outside, that he loves me as the person I am, and he doesn't want me to change a single thing... but his parents... they're starting to wonder why, after a year, I haven't given them an heir... they don't know the truth... Draco does, he's known since we were just dating, but he still accepts me... and wants me... even if I can't give him what he wants most in the world... when we were just starting to date, back in Hogwarts, he would constantly talk about his future son, about how he would teach him to become the greatest seeker in the world, how he would outsmart any little Granger brats, how he would be a better father than his own... then I told him... and ... he never brought up kids again. But what was most surprising was that... he didn't leave me. He wasn't disgusted like I thought he'd be, he didn't go running and call me a freak, and then our first time together... he made love to me like you'd only read in romance novels. After that, it almost seemed like my condition was a blessing... we could snog or shag anywhere, time, or day we wanted to and never have to deal with the consequences... and since he didn't have to carry around foils like his friends... we never got caught. But then we got married. And now every dinner with his parents, they're constantly bringing up babies... whose having one, their friends grandchildren, whether our child will be a boy or a girl, when we are supposed to have a child, why we don't have a child yet, if the problem is him or me... it's gotten to the point that Draco has stopped responding to the dinner invites... he says he's fine, that he's happy with just me, that I'm enough for him, and I believe him, but then... I see him looking longingly at a toddler learning to walk in the park down the block... he smiles when he sees a child swinging between their parents' arms, and he looks like he wants to cry whenever he sees a father bouncing their little one to sleep... it's killing me, Hermione... watching him like that is killing me... I want it too... I want a baby too. I want to be a mother, to wake up to their crying to change their diapers, to sing them to sleep, to scold them for bringing a frog into the kitchen and being covered in mud... but I can't. It's impossible. Draco has talked about adoption to appease his parents, but... they would never accept the child as a Malfoy... it wouldn't be their own blood, so why would they accept it? That's why... that's why I've been sneaking off to St Mungo's while he's at work, to see if there was ANY possible chance for us to possibly have a child of our own... I just want to give him a child, which is why I've been taking the hormones, to hopefully help my body to accept its role and allow me the chance to become a mother... but... most people with my condition are infertile. In fact, only a handful of them ever do have kids, and even that is pretty risky... but for me... huh, apparently, according to the doctors today... it looks like that's not the only disorder I have... gosh, I'm sorry for unloading this all on you, but I can't thank you enough for hearing me out... I really need a friend right now, and... none of my friends know... or would accept me... my own sister abandoned me after I told her about my first disorder... but yeah... apparently one disorder wasn't enough... I just HAD to have another, equaling out my chances of birth down to a negative zero."

Hermione felt a little awkward, but if the girl was opening up to her, then maybe... it was okay to ask? "Another disorder?"

Astoria sighed "Turner Syndrome... I just found out today"

Hermione blinked in surprise... that was not what she was expecting at all. A little awkwardly, Hermione brushed her hair behind her ear and asked "a-and the first?" Merlin, she didn't know what could be worst

Astoria chucked lowly while shaking her head "I'm intersexual. Hermione" Astoria looked her straight in the eyes as she took her hands in her own "I'm a hermaphrodite".