Chapter 13
Hermione was surprised to see Harry in good spirits when she came to visit him the first weekend in March. Of course it could have had something to do with the fact that Cedric was sitting in a chair by the bed. The two looked like they had been sharing some private thought judging by the smile of Cedric's face and the way Harry looked away as Hermione stood near the bed.
"I'll see you later this evening, Harry," Cedric promised as he stood and grabbed his cloak. Before heading out of the room, he added, "I'll bring up something from the cafeteria." When Harry gave him a thumbs up, Cedric turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Hermione took the seat Cedric had vacated and after an awkward silence she said, "I suppose Cedric told you."
"About the betrothal?" Harry asked. When Hermione nodded, he sighed as he adjusted the bed. "Ced told me about it." Taking his best friend's hand, he asked, "Are you okay with that?"
"No," Hermione replied, quickly. "No, I'm not. I-I mean even if…" After taking a moment, she sighed. "Draco and I agreed that we are going to go through with this because we want to because we care about each other."
"But?" Harry asked, noticing how uncomfortable Hermione was talking about it. Was it because she really didn't want to be betrothed to Draco? Or because she was honestly in love with him?
"An arranged marriage wasn't what I had planned when I started things with Draco," Hermione replied, getting up and pacing. "At first it was just blackmail because no one else would go to the Halloween Ball with him. Then there was the Yule Ball…"
"If it makes you feel any better," Harry said, touching the brace he wore. "I never planned on breaking my spine and falling in love with another guy." Hermione stopped pacing and stood next to Harry's bed, trying to think of the best way to ask the question. But when she and Harry looked at one another, he seemed to know what she wanted to ask and said, "I still can't feel my legs."
"I'm so sorry, Harry," Hermione replied, as she sat on the edge of the bed. She knew that regaining sensation had given Harry hope that he'd one day regain the use of his legs but now that he'd even lost sensation below his waist, Hermione could see how dejected Harry felt now.
"It's alright," Harry said, honestly. Seeing a look of doubt in Hermione's eyes, he added. "They told me the chances of regaining sensation were slim."
"So when do you get to come back to Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, changing the subject a bit.
"Dr. Candlewood said that I can go back to school April 10th," Harry replied, not sounding entirely enthused. "I'll be out of the brace March 20th and then I'll have about 3 weeks of physical therapy so I can start getting around again."
Picking up on the lack of enthusiasm, Hermione waited for Harry to confide in her but when he didn't, she prompted, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing," Harry insisted, trying to look nonchalant. But after a few moments of Hermione staring at him, he said, "I just don't think it's fair."
"You don't think what's fair?" Hermione asked, confused.
Harry thought for a moment about how to explain and then said, "You and Malfoy are enemies—former enemies," he amended, seeing Hermione about to argue the phrasing. "And yet the two of you are together and engaged."
Hermione caught on quickly and nodded. "But a fair portion of the wizarding world—and the muggle world—frowns on marriage between homosexuals," she finished, understanding. "Right."
"Yeah," Harry said, dejectedly, once again feeling that it was unfair how Malfoy always seemed to get whatever he wanted.
Cedric found it hard to concentrate on his schoolwork as March wore on.
Harry would soon be back at school and back in his life full time. At least until the end of the term.
And then what? Cedric hadn't often discussed the future with Harry—mostly Cedric had been trying to shop Harry from trying to break up with him—and didn't know how they would continue to see each other once Cedric was out of school.
But more than that, Cedric had been wondering how to help Harry. If the two of them eventually found a place together somewhere, Cedric would have to help Harry with his day to day life. Even the simplest actions like getting dressed or going to the bathroom were challenges to Harry right now.
"Not hungry, Mr. Diggory?"
Cedric looked up from his untouched dinner to see Dumbledore standing in front of him. Looking around, Cedric also noticed that there were only a few students left in the Great Hall. Looking up at the headmaster, he shrugged. "Just thinking about things, sir."
"Take a walk with me, Mr. Diggory," Dumbledore said, lightly. After Cedric joined him, the two left the hall and started up the stairs. "You are thinking about Harry's return to Hogwarts, I would presume?"
Cedric nodded and replied, "Last weekend, I stopped in at a group that was meeting at the muggle hospital in London. It was a group for those who have a loved one who's disabled." Seeing that Dumbledore was listening intently, he went on. "I keep thinking about after I graduate, sir. I want to help Harry, but…"
"Madame Rosmerta has a spare room above the bar she sometimes rents out," Dumbledore suggested with a smile. If your problem is a proximity issue…"
"That's part of it," Cedric admitted as he and Dumbledore reached the headmaster's office.
Once in the office and the two had cups of hot chocolate before them, Dumbledore asked, "What was your other problem?"
"Hmm?" Cedric asked, sipping his hot chocolate.
"You mentioned that proximity to Harry was only one of your problems," Dumbledore prompted, sipping his own beverage.
"Right," Cedric said, quickly. "Well, it's… Well, there's Harry's disability, obviously. And then there's the fact that, well…Harry and I are in a relationship."
There was a twinkle in the headmaster's eyes as he looked at Cedric. "You're worried about how the two of you would be received if you moved in together?"
Cedric nodded. He was embarrassed to say it. He loved Harry but the two of them still got looks both at school and at the hospital. "I-I just don't know what to do."
The twinkle in Dumbledore's eye didn't fade in the slightest as he said, "In regards to unconventional relationships, I suggest you talk with Mr. Draco Malfoy and the ever-charming Miss Hermione Granger."
Even though he had plenty of time before the wedding, Draco wanted to surprise Hermione with the perfect wedding dress. Sitting alone in the Room of Requirement, Draco sat with one of his sketchbooks and a pencil, drawing different designs and features.
Traditionally, his parents would be planning the wedding, but Draco had promised Hermione that he would keep his parents' involvement to a minimum and had therefore decided that he would try and plan everything.
The wedding would take place here in Hogwarts—with Dumbledore's blessing, of course—and there would be a reception at the Weasleys' home for only a small select group.
Instead of an elaborate honeymoon, Draco would take his new bride to a small ocean-side cottage in the States.
Finishing his current drawing, Draco studied his work. Hermione's hair was lightly curled and she wore a simple garland of gold ivy leaves in her hair. Around her neck, Hermione wore a queen-style gold and diamond necklace that had belonged to his great-great-great grandmother. The dress was simple, with spaghetti straps and a corsage of pink roses on the right side.
But Draco paused as he looked at the dress. Even though the dress should be white—or at least silvery—he wanted something special, something that made sure to announce that Hermione Granger was a Gryffindor. Grinning as he thought of the reactions from his father and mother, Draco colored the wedding dress with red and gold.
Leaning back and studying his work, Draco smiled as he looked at Hermione's portrait. She would be a beautiful bride and he would give her anything she'd ever wanted. But as he looked at his drawing of Hermione, he wondered if she would actually want him to give her everything.
When the door opened suddenly, Draco turned to hide his drawings but the Room of Requirement was a step ahead of him and had already morphed into an elegant sitting room.
"This is where you spend all of your time?" Cedric said, looking around. "For some reason I pictured something more…"
"Something more cave like?" Draco supplied. "Like the Slytherin Common Room?" Taking a seat in one of the armchairs by the fireplace, he asked, "What are you doing here, Diggory?"
"Do the other Slytherins accept your relationship with Hermione Granger?" Cedric asked as he sat down in the other armchair.
"No," Draco replied, simply. "Lately I've grown used to hearing the phrase 'blood traitor' and 'mudblood lover'. Why do you ask?"
"So why not just walk away?" Cedric asked, curious. What was it that Dumbledore him to find out about Malfoy and Hermione? "Just let things go back to the way they used to be?"
"Because they can't," Draco said, standing and walking around the room. Looking into a mirror hanging on one wall he studied his own reflection for a moment. "Because even without being bound to Hermione I just can't stay away from her. She's full of this… fire." Turning back to Cedric, Draco said, plainly. "I love her. There's no other way to say it. I would do anything for her."
Cedric nodded, still not sure what he was supposed to know.
While it was never in a Slytherin's nature to be sociable to a Gryffindor—much less a muggleborn—Hermione had noticed that since sealing the betrothal with Malfoy the attitude towards her had become even worse. Hermione often found threatening notes on her seat in classes and in Potions classes, some of the Slytherins had even resorted to switching ingredients to sabotage Hermione's potions.
The Weasleys—Ginny included—had taken up being Hermione's personal bodyguards, walking with her in between classes and making sure that someone was with Hermione at all times.
But to Hermione, the protection wasn't helpful—it was annoying. Hadn't she shown, time and again, that she could take care of herself? Besides, almost three-quarters of the Slytherin students in her Potions class were serving weekend detentions due to the messing about in class.
The only bright spot lately was Draco, as strange as that was. Even after everything he'd done, Draco Malfoy's behavior still surprised Hermione and she often found herself speechless when Draco surprised her with small drawings of her dressed like a princess or bouquets of roses in the Gryffindor Common Room.
Heading to the library, flanked by Fred and George, Hermione was stopped by Cedric who seemed to be having some sort of personal crisis. Looking at the two Weasleys, Hermione gave them a look as she said, "Give us a minute, will you?"
Once in a quiet corner, Cedric got right to the point. "I love Harry. I care about him more than anything."
"Cedric, if you love Harry than it shouldn't matter if he's a guy," Hermione said, knowing what Cedric's problem was. "You think Harry hasn't had problems with being gay? That his friends don't look at him differently? Why should you care what other people think?"
Cedric nodded. He knew what Hermione was saying and she was right. "I know. But Harry will be back in about two weeks and we need to figure out what to do. And also," he added, as he could almost feel his hormones raging at the very thought of Harry coming back. "There's the fact that Harry's still underage and he can't… Well, be in a physical relationship."
Hermione studied Cedric for a moment and then replied, "Actually, in the wizarding world, the age of consent for legal sexual relations is 16."
Cedric looked surprised at that news. "So when Harry's 16…"
"When he turns 16," Hermione continued. "—most wizarding courts believe that Harry is mature enough to make his own decisions as far as sex." Putting a hand on Cedric's, she added, "And remember, if you love Harry than it doesn't matter what others think of the two of you as a couple."
Although Harry was relieved to finally be out of the back brace, he'd been unprepared for how hard the physical therapy was. Even though he'd been inactive for only three months, Harry had to really push himself as he slowly rebuilt his upper body strength.
On the plus side, however, since the bone sliver had been removed from his spine, Harry no longer had the stabbing pain in his lower back which meant less pain as he worked on moving around again.
Lifting himself out of the wheelchair and onto a pile of mats in the PT room, Harry saw Dr. Candlewood coming towards him and to his surprise, she was smiling. "What's going on?"
"You're doing well, Harry," Zoe replied, happily. "I spoke with Professor Dumbledore and if you're up to it you can get out of here in the morning."
"What?" Harry asked, surprised.
"You'll still have physical therapy sessions," Zoe went on. "But I think you'd probably be happier at Hogwarts than here, am I right?"
"Yeah," Harry agreed. "So can I get back to classes, too, then?"
"You still have a week and a half, Harry," Zoe replied, hoping Harry would get the hint that he shouldn't rush things. "You'd be wise to take it."
Knowing the doctor was right, Harry nodded. "Okay."
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Next chapter will have Harry's return to Hogwarts and someone tries to keep Draco and Hermione from being together.