Hermione woke up the next morning with a blasting headache and dried tear streaks on her face. Greg was laying on his side so he faced her, but his deep breathing confirmed that he was still asleep. Looking around, Hermione saw that the other girls' beds weren't even wrinkled. They must have let her have the room for the night. She sent a small thanks to them for that. An audience for her breakdown was not her idea of fun.
She slid off the bed, making sure her movement didn't wake her brother. As she crossed the room to her vanity, Hermione saw a piece of parchment slipped under her door. She picked it up and read over the note.
Dear Hermione,
We thought it would be best if your brother handled you. No offense. So the rest of us are hanging out in the other girls' rooms. See you in the morning.
Lavender
Hermione rolled her eyes at Lavender's blunt tone, but guessed that dealing with a crying girl wasn't really in her field of expertise. Hermione crushed the note and tossed it into the trash bin as she continued her course for her vanity mirror. She sat down and reached for her brush, but paused when she looked in the mirror.
Her eyes were puffy from crying, her face was drawn, there were dark circles under her eyes, and her hair was a rat's nest. In a few words, she looked like crap and felt just as bad. Hermione stared for a moment before rubbing her hands over her face and glaring at her reflection.
"Stop it," she scolded. "You're moping. He wouldn't like you to mope. He'd want you to figure this out and make sure it doesn't happen again. That no one gets hurt again. So focus and get these bastards." The tone of her voice bounced in her ears and Hermione watched some of the fatigue leave her face. Resolve settled in and her heart felt a little lighter.
She stood and walked into the bathroom for a hot shower. The morning called for a good waking up and a good priming would make her feel a million times better. When she stepped into the shower, Hermione decided to use some of the scented shampoo and soap, perfuming her body so her muscles relaxed. Stepping out of the shower twelve minutes later, Hermione felt refreshed and better than she'd felt since coming back to this time.
"You seem to be in a better mood," Greg said as Hermione stepped out into the main room.
She looked at her brother and smiled. "It's amazing what a good cry and a long shower can do," she said, sitting down in front of her vanity.
Greg waited until she was brushing her wet hair before saying, "Add a rant about avenging someone and I'm sure anyone would feel great."
Hermione paused in her brushing and looked at her brother's reflection behind her. He was sitting on her bed, his legs folded under him. His expression was neutral, waiting for her response. "Sounds therapeutic," Hermione said, running her brush through her hair.
"Who is he?" Greg asked. "And why are you avenging him? Avenging him for what?"
"You ask a lot of questions for having just woken up," Hermione said, standing up and pulling on her uniform. "At least have some breakfast before you start interrogating me. You know, breakfast sounds great. How about we grab some?"
"You're avoiding the question," Greg said.
Hermione pulled a sweater vest over her white shirt, pulling her hair out of the collar. "Observant," she said. "But none of your business."
She turned to leave, but Greg leaned against the door, blocking her path. His jaw was set in the way that said he wasn't going to move until she talked. "You cried yourself to sleep last night after claiming that loving Draco Malfoy would kill him. What did you mean?"
Hermione wanted to tell him something that would get him to leave the topic alone, but that wasn't an option when he got like this. She sighed. "I had a premonition," she said, using an excuse that he would buy without question. "If Draco Malfoy and I were to fall in love with one another, it would end with his death."
"How?" Greg asked.
The wedding flashed before her eyes and Hermione swallowed the lump in her throat. "Not very well," she said. "I don't want to go into too much detail, so don't ask me any more questions."
"Can the premonition be changed?" Greg asked.
"Didn't I just say I didn't want any other questions?"
"And I'm asking some anyway," he said. "So?"
Hermione shook her head. "Why are you so concerned about this?" she said.
"Because you're in love with him."
"And I'm trying to stay away from him, too."
"That's not a solution," Greg said.
Hermione gritted her teeth. "It's the best that I've got," she said. "I've already fallen for him, so I just need to keep him from falling for me. If I keep my distance, treat him coldly, and ignore him the rest of the time, he'll find someone else to bother. I'll get over him." The lie hurt to be told, but it had to become fact in this life.
Greg shook his head. "If you love him-"
"Greg," Hermione snapped. "This was in the cards. If there was another way to keep Draco alive, don't you think they would have told me?" A look of hurt passed over his features at her tone and she softened. "I'm sorry for yelling," she said. "Please respect that this is what I have to do. Can you do that for me, please?"
He paused, probably thinking things over. Slowly, he nodded and pulled her into a hug. "I just want you to be happy," he said.
"I know," she said, wrapping her arms around him. They stayed like that for a while before parting. Hermione took a deep breath and grabbed her school bag. "Now, how about some breakfast before classes?"
"Great," Greg said, opening the door. "I'm starving."
They walked the corridors toward the hall, discussing nothing in particular. They just talked and Hermione couldn't help but feel refreshed. With this new life, she was getting a chance to connect with her friends and family. She knew she had the support of her brothers and her mother, but knowing someone has your back and actually knowing the people that had your back, were two different things. Now she was getting the chance to have both.
"Pansy seems like a nice enough girl," Greg said as they stepped off one of the moving staircases. "It was a surprise how quickly she and Andrew connected."
"I know they'll be extremely happy," Hermione said.
"Think she'll be our sister-in-law?" Greg asked, walking down the steps to the Great Hall.
Hermione turned her head enough to give him a knowing smile. "You saw them. What do you think?" she said.
"Hope she doesn't mind having a workaholic as a husband," he said.
Hermione laughed with him. She stepped off the staircase and looked up at the doors to the Great Hall. A few groups of students were milling around the open doors, waiting for friends or not ready to go in just then. So normal and nostalgic. Hermione couldn't help but smile as the feeling of today going to be a good day sank in.
"Hermione," Fargo said coming down the stairs. He looked a little stern and she had a feeling he was still ticked about the Draco incident.
She smiled at him and said, "Just the brother I wanted to see."
He paused in front of her, a questioning eyebrow raised. "Oh?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said. "I want to apologize about the Study Room incident. Although I don't appreciate you getting angry at me for making a decision that had nothing to do with you, I do appreciate your concern about me. I shouldn't have gotten angry at you for that and, in retrospect, I shouldn't tried to shag the first guy I thought of right after the breaking of my engagement. Thank you for stopping me."
Fargo studied her a moment before grabbing her shoulders and examining her eyes.
"What are you doing?" she asked, staring back at him.
"Wondering what's happened to you," he said. "Are you sure you're the same Hermione?"
Hermione shook her head, smiling. "I'm just in a good mood," she said.
Fargo continued to stare until Gene, popping out of no where, asked, "Everything ok, Fargo?"
"I'm sure something's happened to our sister," he said. "Did someone put a spell on you?"
Hermione slipped out of his grip and shook her head. "I'm in a really good mood right now. Enjoy it." She turned and spotted Pansy Parkinson coming up the stairs from the Dungeons. Hermione smiled and walked over to the dark haired girl.
"Good morning, Pansy," she said.
The Slytherin girl blinked, surprised at the cheery greeting, but smiled back at her. "Good morning, Hermione," she said.
"How did Andrew behave yesterday? Like a gentleman, I hope," Hermione said.
"Of course," Pansy said. She paused for a moment, as if collecting her thoughts, then pulled Hermione off to the side of the stairwell. She lowered her voice as she asked, "I have to ask something. Can you predict the future?"
Hermione felt a slight beat of panic before she tilted her head to the side, feigning slight confusion. "Why do you ask that?" she asked.
"I heard from Blaise that you and some of your brothers were making a bet on Andrew and me, but they backed off when you said that we'd be married by the end of spring break," Pansy said.
Hermione shrugged. "I get feelings sometimes," she said. "They can be weak or they can be strong. I just felt a strong vibe from the two of you. It means that there's a very strong connection between you and my brother." Hermione chuckled. "I'm just glad that he's taken an interest in something other than work. He's got a bad habit of sinking his teeth into a case so deep that he forgets everything. At least, if he has a girlfriend, he'll be more aware."
"So," Pansy said slowly. "You don't have a problem with us dating?"
"Not a one," Hermione said.
Pansy's shoulders slumped slightly. "Well, that's a relief," she said. "I've dated guys who had intimidating sisters before. After the triplets cornered me last night after dinner, I was getting the feeling that you wouldn't approve."
Hermione gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't break his heart and we'll be good."
Pansy smiled and gave a small nod.
"Well if it isn't the loveliest girls in all of Hogwarts?" Blaise said, walking up the stairs. He had a huge grin on his face.
"How flattering," Hermione said. "And you don't look too bad yourself."
His eyes widened a bit, mimicking his smile. "Someone's in a good mood," he said.
"It's a beautiful day, my brother has a girlfriend, you've got an internship with the Field, and I've got the job in the Auror department," she said. "I'm just going to enjoy my high for a while."
Blaise laughed. "I wish I had what you're on," he said.
Hermione smiled and turned her head when she heard her brothers calling. They were waiting by the Great Hall doors. Gene was talking with Harry and Ginny, Fargo had been the one calling her, and Greg was listening to something Ron was saying. Hermione waved to them and turned back to Pansy and Blaise. "See you," she said before hurrying over to her friends.
Gene looked up and raised an arm, allowing her to slip under it. She wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned against his side. With a smile and greeting to her friends, the group walked into the hall, ready for some hot food. They sank down onto the benches and started up conversation about school projects.
"Oh, that reminds me," Gene said, turning to his sister. "Mum and Dad sent some of their family genealogy over for our History of Magic project. We can look over it during classes. The professor said the class didn't have to show up as long as they took the time to study their assignment."
"How much you want to bet that half the class is going to bail and use it as a free period?" Hermione said, picking up an apple. "But the library sounds like a good idea. If we're lucky, we'll get the assignment done in a day or two."
"Then you can start focusing on the pranks we still have to work on," Greg said. "When was the last time you touched a prank?"
"When we broke that suit of armor in the West corridor," Fargo said.
Hermione laughed. "Was that when you tensed up about Flitwick coming to get us? You thought he'd caught up to you?" she asked.
The triplets looked at each other and nodded. "Well, yeah," they said.
Hermione smiled a little. "Then I guess I shouldn't go tell the teacher who-"
"Don't you dare," Gene said.
"Or what?" Hermione teased. "Going to send me a fake Howler?"
He paused and then a wide grin spread across his face. "That would be an awesome prank," he said. "A fake Howler. And we could put different messages in them or something. Thanks for the idea, sis."
"Glad I could help," she said. The triplets got up from the table, talking in their own weird language as they left the hall.
"That'll keep them busy," Ginny said.
Hermione nodded, then looked at her watch. "We have a few minutes until Transfiguration starts. We're doing projects today."
"How do you know that?" Ron asked.
She stiffened. Crap, she wasn't suppose to know about that. She'd just remember from the other timeline. Better think of something fast. "I heard Professor McGonagall talking about it in the hallway," she said.
"Great," Ron said, sulking. A moment later, he looked up at Hermione and said, "Will you be my partner?"
She chuckled at his pleading look, but nodded. "Sure," she said. This way, it kept her from being partnered with Draco. "I even have a project up my sleeve we can use."
"Awesome," Ron said, grinning. "This is going to be a piece of cake." Hermione bit back a smile. Close, Ron. Not a cake but more like a transfiguration pastries.
"You're still doing some of the work, Ron," she said, standing up and shouldering her bag.
"But you're so much better at all that book stuff," Ron said, following her. Harry and Ginny walked behind, holding hands and watching the funny scene.
Hermione shook her head at Ron, but couldn't help but continue to smile. She was in just too good of a mood. It lasted through her morning classes, through Ron's reluctance to research their project, and even through Potions. She was still smiling by the time she met up with Harry, Ron, and Ginny outside the Great Hall for lunch.
"Wow," Ginny said, taking in her friend's attitude. "You're in a great mood. What are you on?"
"Nothing," Hermione said, laughing. "I just woke up like this."
Ginny smiled and asked, "What do you want to do for our free period after lunch? It's a pretty nice day."
"For a school day," Ron said. "It feels as if classes are dragging on forever."
"So," Hermione said. "Instead of feeling so down, let's do something fun."
"Well, there's a few of the guys who want to do a Quidditch game for fun," Harry said. "Interested?"
"I think Hermione and I will pass on playing, but we'll watch," Ginny said.
Hermione nodded in agreement. "If we run back to the Common Room, I can grab a blanket for the two of us."
"And I'll grab some hot chocolate. Maybe a few sandwiches," Ginny said.
"Just gonna make it a whole thing, huh?" Ron said.
The girls looked at each other and smiled. "Duh," Ginny said. "Come on. Let's go grab our stuff. Hey, maybe some of the girls want to join us." Hermione turned and followed Ginny toward the staircase. "See you on the field, guys," she said before racing to catch her ginger haired friend.
On the way to the dorms, they ran into Lavender and the Pavarti twins. After telling them what they had planned, the girls agreed to join them. Hermione grabbed a blanket off her bed and, after donning her warm clothes, tucked it under her arm. She joined the girls in the Common Room, waiting for them to finish going through the small picnic basket of warm goodies. Once they were ready, they made their way down the staircases and were just about to leave the castle when Pansy and Blaise walked out of the dining hall.
"Where are you off to?" Blaise asked, taking in the basket and blanket.
"Quidditch game," Hermione said. "It's a nice day, so we're gonna go watch a few guys play."
"Sounds fun," Blaise said.
Hermione shrugged and raised her gloved hand in parting, following the other girls out of the castle. Getting to the field through the snow was a bit of a challenge, but was worth it when they climbed up to the benches and found the boys already splitting up into groups. They'd spelled their jackets to different colors to tell the two teams apart. Hermione used her wand to melt the snow on the seats and sat down, ready to enjoy a good game of Quidditch.
The teams mounted up and started the game. Though Hermione did have the skills, Hermione wasn't much of a flyer. This didn't stop her from enjoying the game. Now that she remembered, in her past life, she'd gone to Krum's game and received their invitation. She'd brought the Malfoy's with her to show how well connected she was so Draco wouldn't have been transferred to Durmstrang, but she wouldn't have a need to do that in this life. However, it would be good to see him again.
"Check out who entered the field," Ginny said, breaking Hermione out of her thoughts.
She looked down onto the field and saw a group of Slytherins with the brooms. The players in the air noticed the arrivals and descended to the ground. They dismounted, facing the new group.
"What are you doing here?" Ron's voice floated up to the girls in the stands.
"We heard there was a Quidditch game and thought it might be a good use for our bright day," Blaise said.
"Then play somewhere else," Ron said.
"Come now, Weasley," Draco said, stepping forward and leaning on his broom. "That's not very sportsman like of you."
Hermione stiffened. He was here? Damn. Her good day feeling was fading. No, it's fine. She'd have to deal with him in her classes. Just think of this as practice. Besides, they wouldn't be there long.
"Actually," Harry said. "A match between Gryffindor and Slytherin might just be a good thing."
Or not.
"What?" one of the other boys said.
"Yeah," Harry said. "If they want to lose to us, who are we to stop them?"
"Big words, Potter," Draco said.
"Looks like there's going to be a show down," Pansy said, appearing next to Hermione.
The brunette jumped a bit and turned to the Slytherin. "What is Blaise doing?" she asked.
"He liked the idea of Quidditch, so got a few of the guys together," Pansy said. She looked down at the bench and said, "Can I join you?"
Hermione cleared out a spot for her and Pansy took a seat. Whatever had been said on the field had resulted in both Gryffindors and Slytherins in the air, ready to face off. Of course, Draco and Harry played Seeker for their teams. Blaise had taken a position as a Chaser and waved to the girls on the benches. Hermione only shook her head while Pansy rolled her eyes.
"I hope he gets hit by a Quaffle," she said.
The other girls laughed and Ginny handed Pansy a cup of hot chocolate. "We're gonna be here a while," she said. "Might as well keep warm." Pansy took the cup, a little surprised at the warm welcome she was receiving. Hermione smiled to put her at ease, then turned to the game.
Both teams were going at it pretty intensely. It was almost like a real match. Blaise was showing off, though. He would flex his arms in a comical way as he flew by the bleachers where the girls were and wink at the Pavarti Twins. They knew he was just kidding and waved him off. Pansy shook her head and yelled at him to get back to the game.
"Makes you glad he's not really on the team, huh?" Hermione said.
"We'd never get past the first play," Pansy said. "Thank god we've got Draco."
Hermione looked at the boy in question. He was looking around the field for the stone that had been spelled for the use of the Snitch. He had his back straight and swept his gaze around the field with a smooth movement. He was focused on the task at hand. Hermione remembered how he use to get the same look on his face when he had been studying something difficult. It use to make her smile, but she also remembered that he'd looked like that when he'd worked on the case that got him killed. The one she had to pick up and make sure never ended the way it had.
"Hey, Hermione," Ginny said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Want to add some fun to the game?"
"What did you have in mind?" Hermione asked.
Ginny pulled out her wand and pointed it at the snow. A clump of it rose and packed itself into a tight ball. "Snow Bludgers," she said.
"But they don't have bats," Lavender said.
"If they get hit with these things, they'll only get wet," Ginny said. "No harm. And we get to have our own fun."
Hermione shook her head. "I'm good," she said. "But it wouldn't hurt if you lodged one or two at Ron. Maybe it'll encourage him to study."
Pansy snorted. "Doubt it," she said. "No offense, but I don't think one or two snow bludgers are going to get him to change. But it'll be fun. I'm in." She pulled out her wand and formed her own ball of snow. With a conspiratorial grin, the two girls started flinging the balls.
Hermione watched the snow balls knock into a few players. A few laughed them off, a few yelled at the girls for hitting them, but her vision seemed to zoom in on Draco. A large ball of snow was aimed right at his head and he didn't see it coming, as his head was turning in another direction. The ball hit him and he toppled off his broom. He didn't scream as he fell, probably too stunned and confused to register it just then. No one was close enough to catch him, though Harry dove down, arm extended in an attempt. But it was no use. Draco's body hit the cold ground with a sickening snap.
Hermione felt her body give a harsh jerk and she gasped, blinking rapidly. She looked around and saw the teams still playing as if nothing had happened. She located Draco on his broom, scanning the field for the spelled stone. A snowball came up behind him and knocked him off his broom. Pansy gasped and Harry looked around. He started his dive toward Draco, but Hermione knew he wasn't going to make it. She grabbed her wand, planted her feet on the bleachers, and cried out a spell. Draco's body froze in the air, hovering a few inches from the ground.
Harry pulled up before he could run into Draco and landed on the ground. He took Draco's hand and helped him into a standing position as Hermione released the spell so he could move. Both boys were confused and, by now, the game had stopped as every player turned to see if they were alright.
"Good reflexes, Hermione," Ginny said. "If you hadn't caught him-"
"I know," Hermione said, not wanting her friend to finish that sentence.
"You saved his life," Pansy said.
The boys were saying something, then Harry looked over to where Hermione was still standing on the bleachers. Draco looked over, as well, and she was caught by those silver eyes. There was surprise and relief in those eyes, as well as confusion and a bit of fright. He'd almost died. She'd seen it happen-
Hermione turned and started to leave.
"Hermione, where are you going?" Ginny called.
"I just need a moment," Hermione said, walking down the bleachers and to the exit. She left the arena without looking at the field. She got away from the arena and found a little solitude under a tree. The niche she leaned against hid her from the castle's view and she took a deep breath, rubbing her eyes.
A vision. Surrounded by people, she'd had a vision. Stupid. They could have seen her silver eyes and then everything would have been ruined. She leaned her head back against the bark of the tree. At least she'd been able to help. That was a consolation. She closed her eyes and took a few more deep breaths, calming herself down. Once she was calm, she looked at the arena. It didn't seem like a good idea to go back just then, so she turned toward the castle. Maybe she could get a bit of her genealogy project done before her next class.
AN: Hey, everyone. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Sorry for the long wait. Tell me what you think or if you have any questions.
