With Poise [D. Malfoy]

Chapter 8

A Month Later

"Ugh, never eating spaghetti again," Bella whispered sitting on the cold tile of her bathroom wiping the back of her hand across her mouth. She whispered a mouth cleansing spell and flushed the toilet. She stood shakily feeling the wave of nausea recede a bit.

"Well you're the one who requested it," Hermione laughed from the door.

"Well, Daisy should have made it. Your cooking skills are abysmal at best," Bella laughed taking in her appearance. She had filled out remarkably well and even seemed to have a glow to her skin. Her heart ached, but Hermione was helping her to move forward and enjoy being away. They had apparated to the Zabini villa in Manarola, Italy. The residence was immaculate with 10 rooms on the hillside overlooking the beach; Hermione immediately fell in love with the place and decided to stay with Bella for however long she wanted to stay. The smile fell from Hermione's face as she noticed Bella's small figure curving a bit at her abdominal.

"Bella, you know this has been going on for almost the entire month, maybe I could check..." Hermione trailed off knowing how fragile Bella still was about Draco.

"I don't want it to be. I can't... I don't know how to raise a child and alone no less! 'Mione I'm scared," Bella said tearing up. She turned to her friend who pulled her into a hug.

"I'll be here every step of the way. The Italian ministry wants to hire me and you have enough galleons to last us 5 lifetimes. You could open up a ballet studio after they're born so you could still have that in your life, and we'll do this together," Hermione said firmly.

"You shouldn't... You shouldn't give up your life because of me," Bella sobbed into her shoulder shaking.

"Come on you're my best friend and not to mention, it's like a permanent vacation living here so I'm not exactly suffering," Hermione laughed looking at her friend. Bella met her eye then nodded and stepped back as Hermione pulled out her wand and muttered an incantation at her abdomen. For a few seconds, nothing happened then immediately her stomach glowed a golden hue.

Bella gasped and immediately placed a hand on her stomach as Hermione smiled at her. "What now?" Hermione asked Bella letting her make the decision forward and willing to support her through whatever she decides.

"I need to tell Dra...Draco and Blaise," she whispered walking to the small desk in the room and pulling out a few pieces of parchment and a quill immediately penning a similar note to each man and attach them to two separate owls sending them off. Bella decided then and there watching the owls disappear that no matter what happened she would love and care for this child until her dying breath.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"No, there is no way I am letting her ruin this! We are going to be married and I am going to be a Malfoy. I will not let that little harpy destroy everything I've worked for," Astoria fumed to her older sister Daphne. She was rereading the letter Bella had sent to Draco and then she tossed it into the drawer with the other letters. For months, Bella wrote to Draco twice a week requesting to meet him to tell him something important then to telling him she was pregnant and now she revealed to him she was having a boy, but Astoria had intercepted each one of her letters. She read and kept them hidden away from Draco knowing he would have left her without hesitation to visit Bella.

"What are you so upset about? She wrote to him, big deal," Daphne had been privy to many rants about the Zabini girl but Astoria never told her the entire truth that was in those letters. Astoria only asked that if Bella wrote to Blaise to hide the letters, no matter what. Daphne being the dedicated older sister obliged her little sister being that this was one of the only things she'd ever asked of her so who was she to question her.

"Big deal is that the whore has a hold of my fiancé and I WILL be marrying him tomorrow no matter what. You're still hiding her letters yes?" Astoria asked turning and watching her sister who sipped her wine and raised a brow.

"Yes of course," she answered.

"And you still haven't read them, correct?" she asked nervous her sister had found out the truth. Daphne shook her head taking in her sister's relief evident on her face. "I'm supposed to be blissfully happy because of the wedding tomorrow not worrying about my fiancé's ex-girlfriend."

"Well quit worrying about her then and get some sleep," Daphne suggested standing and walking out.

"First to take care of perfect little Bella and then sleep," Astoria mumbled to herself walking to her desk pulling out pieces of parchment and writing two letters that were separate but relaying the same information. She then cast a spell on one letter to turn her prim writing into Draco's scrawl and then cast the spell once more on the other letter to appear as Blaise's penmanship as well. "That should do it."

She smiled attaching the letters to two owls heading for the same destination. Astoria felt relief for the first time in 7 months. Tomorrow she'd be marrying Draco Malfoy and there was nothing and no one who was going to be in her way of that.