Disclaimer: All characters and things associated with Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. This writing is for pure entertainment only.
Summary: Set in the distant future, happily ever after would not last, and Hermione is no longer safe in a dangerous world. Will her children find a way to save her before everything in their world is destroyed?
Chapter 13
Hermione woke up the next morning to the sun filtering in her window. She winced, a massive headache quickly taking over as she tried to get out of bed. However, she found that task difficult, as something seemed to be pinning her down.
She turned her head, ignoring her headache to find a strong arm across her naked stomach. Immediately she started to panic. Why was she not wearing any clothes? And whose arm was lying across her? Slowly, Hermione brought her eyes to the familiar redhead who was lying next to her, fast asleep.
"Ron!" Hermione practically screamed in shock, causing Ron to jump up in a panic. Immediately, Hermione also noticed Ron's lack of clothing.
"Hermione?" Ron tried to focus his eyes, though his head too was pounding. Immediately, he winced, wondering how much whiskey he had drank the night before.
"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, pulling her sheet up to hide her exposed breast. She quickly scrambled, throwing him his boxers that were at the bottom of her bed. "Put those on!"
Ron glanced at the clothing she had thrown at him, realizing it was his boxers, which meant one thing. He glanced down. Yup, he was naked.
"Ron!" Hermione yelled again.
Ron lifted his head, putting his boxers on quickly. She was yelling too much, he couldn't focus.
"Ron, what are you doing here?" Hermione asked again, panic in her voice.
"I…I don't know." Ron admitted.
"We're naked…" Hermione's eyes began to fill with tears. She couldn't remember what had happened the night before, but she had an awful feeling she knew, giving the lack of clothing she and Ron were in.
"Well, I'm not anymore..." Ron said, rubbing his head. He was hungover.
Immediately, Hermione burst into tears, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
"Hermione, don't cry…" Ron tried to move forward and comfort her, but she shrank away from him.
"Ron…did we…" Hermione's eyes were still closed as the tears flowed freely. "Did you and I…" She couldn't bring herself to say it.
Ron felt sorry for her. He knew what she was asking of him; she wanted to know if they had slept together, but he couldn't give her an answer because he honestly didn't know. "I don't know…"
"W-what?" Hermione sobbed.
"I can't remember…" Ron admitted ashamed. "I just remember leaving the ball…I think I drank too much…"
Hermione cried harder. She could hardly remember any of the Halloween Ball. The last thing she recalled was taking Rose's mead from her and slurping it down, but even that memory was fuzzy.
"Hermione…" Ron tried again, but stood very still.
"Ron…we must have…" Hermione began to cry harder. That was not how she wanted her first sexual experience to be. She at least wanted to remember it. She slowly glanced up at Ron, her eyes red. "Didn't we?"
Ron sighed, his mouth forming a regretful line. He couldn't be certain, but he was pretty sure they had actually had sex the night before. "I think we mighta…I can't tell…maybe you can…"
Ron's words made Hermione sob harder as she noticed how sore her body actually was. She had never felt like that before, especially her legs or stomach. Both were sore, as if she had worked out for hours.
"Hermione?" Ron was worried now. She was crying much too hard.
"We did…" Hermione sobbed. "Ron, we did…"
"Alright, its not so bad." Ron sat down on the bed next to Hermione. "I mean…we can't remember it, either of us, right?"
Ron's words only made Hermione cry harder.
"Hermione, its okay…stop crying…" Ron slowly wrapped an arm around her bare shoulder, but felt her twitch away.
"I j-just…I wanted the f-first t-time to be…s-sp-special…" Hermione managed out between sobs and deep breaths.
"Hermione, its okay…neither of us know what happened…we cant even be sure we did anything." Ron tried to reason. "So its like it didn't happen…"
"But it did happen, Ron!" Hermione was suddenly yelling, tears still falling from her cheeks. She pushed away from him. "How could you be so insensitive?"
Ron's mouth hung open. If anything, insensitive was the last thing he was trying to be. He thought it would make her feel better that he was on the same page; he was embarrassed he couldn't remember anything. "I wasn't…I just…I thought…"
"Just go, Ron…" Hermione put her head in her hands and pulled her knees up to her chin.
Ron sat on the bed, staring at her for a moment.
"Go!" Hermione sobbed, kicking him in the shin and toward the end of her bed. She just wanted to crawl up and sleep the nightmare away. She couldn't believe she had been so stupid; that she had gotten drunk, slept with Ron, and then not even remember it.
Ron let out a frustrated sigh, but gathered his clothes swiftly and moved out the door, his jaw set in anger at Hermione. Sometimes he didn't understand her. He was just trying to make her feel better and she made him out to be the bad guy; like it was all his fault; and he was pretty sure it wasn't. He could remember most of the night before and she had been hanging all over him at the dance long before they left. He knew he hadn't been the pushy one the night before.
Once Hermione heard her door slam shut she let out a loud sob and could feel her body physically shaking as she pulled her sheet up around her naked form and cried into her pillow. She couldn't believe how irresponsible she had been.
Ron sighed, slowly making his way down the girls dormitory stairs and into the common room, where he found Rose curled up on the couch, still in her black dress from the night before, and her heels dangling from her left hand that was off of the couch. The picture of his daughter's sleeping form only made Ron feel worse. Clearly he and Hermione had been busy the night before, and it had forced Rose to sleep on the couch in the drafty common room.
Ron took the jacket he had been wearing last night, that he had carried down from Hermione's room and laid it across Rose's exposed legs, trying to give her some sort of blanket.
At the touch of the material to her legs, however, Rose began to move a bit, her eyes fluttering open. She had always been a light sleeper, but back in her world, in the future, she had become an even lighter sleeper, once the Third Wizarding War had started. It was too risky to sleep through anything during that.
Rose rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms, glancing up at her father with a yawn. It rook her a second to realize she was in the Gryffindor common room.
"Sorry to wake you." Ron said quietly.
"Uh…yeah…no problem." Rose sat up, although the weird position she had squished herself into the night before had made her back a little swore.
"And sorry to make you stay down here last night…" Ron sighed.
Rose could tell immediately that something was wrong. "You okay, dad?"
Ron looked up at his daughter; glad he had only known her for a month. He knew if he had actually watched her grow up, and if they weren't practically the same exact age at that particular moment he would never want to have this conversation with her.
"Your mum's mad at me…" Ron sighed. "I think, anyway."
"What did you do?" Rose asked, confused. She thought last night would be a good night for her parents, although she did not really want to think about it.
Ron's eyes glanced up the stairs he had just come from, where Hermione lay still upset and then shrugged, not meeting Rose's eyes. "Nothing…"
"Dad, if it's about last night…" Rose took a deep breath; unable to believe she was about to say it. "I…I know where you were coming from…"
Ron's face practically matched the color of his hair at his daughter's words.
"Its…fine…" Rose couldn't believe she had said that. The idea of her parents having sex at any age was not fine for her. Still, she played it off. "Technically you two aren't my parents yet…and…you're young…" She forced a smile.
Ron just studied Rose's face, his own expression beat red yet blank.
"So what happened?" Rose asked, hoping her father would understand she wanted to know why he was upset, not what happened the previous night.
"Well last night…I mean I am sure you know…you didn't come into your mum's room so…I mean…" Ron was stumbling over his words and could feel his ears glowing red.
Rose shuttered at the idea of what her father was trying to tell her but nodded. "Yeah, you and mom were…busy…"
"Right…" Ron said quickly, not meeting Rose's eyes, which didn't bother his daughter in the slightest, she had suddenly found her nail very interesting. "Well…your mum's a little upset…neither of us…well…we can't really remember much…"
Rose suddenly was looking directly at her father, her eyebrows raised. "You both blacked out?"
"Yeah…" Ron said softly, nodding.
Rose felt as if she had been hit by ten Hogwarts Expresses at once. Not only had she tricked her mother into getting drunk, but she had gotten her mother so drunk that she couldn't even remember losing her virginity. In some sickly twisted way, Rose felt like she had ruined her mom's life.
Before Rose could say another word, however, Lily came down the stairs rubbing her eyes, her blonde hair disheveled. Clearly she was still tired from the night before.
"Sorry…" Lily realized she had interrupted something between her Uncle Ron and cousin. "I just…well…Aunt Hermione woke me up…"
"Woke you up?" Ron was confused. He thought Hermione had locked herself in her room.
"Well, her crying did." Lily admitted. "She seems really upset…"
"Great…" Ron threw his hands up in defeat and then allowed them to wrap around his neck, his head hanging low.
"What happened?" Lily asked, her eyes darting between her uncle and cousin.
"My parents…got friendly last night…" Rose said as if Lily didn't know that already. "And now…well my mom seems upset…well neither of them can remember it…"
Lily's nose squished up in disgust; first at the thought of her aunt and uncle having sex and second at the idea that she had been part of the team who had gotten her aunt so drunk that Hermione couldn't even remember what she had done the night before. Lily felt awful. Hermione should have remembered it; she had not meant to drink. Lily didn't, however, feel bad for her Uncle Ron. She knew if he had forgotten anything it was simply because he had gotten himself so drunk.
"That's awful…" Lily said after a beat.
"I ruined it…" Ron said, sorrow in his voice.
"You didn't ruin anything." Rose rolled her eyes at how dramatic her father was being. "Just give her sometime…it's not like you remember anything more then she does."
"That's what I said!" Ron seemed relieved that someone else was thinking along the lines he had been.
"That's clearly not the point…" Lily rolled her eyes.
"What am I gonna do?" Ron's' head was back in his big hands.
"Maybe, talk to her?" Lily suggested.
"She won't let me…she kicked me out." Ron told his niece.
"Well, maybe…Rose can talk to her?" Lily glanced over at Rose hopefully to see Rose mouthing a huge 'no'.
"Yeah?" Ron's face suddenly lit up and he was looking at his daughter. "Could you, Rose?"
Rose felt so uncomfortable. She wanted to help her dad, but at the same time she didn't not want to have a conversation about sex with her mother. The one she had when she was ten was more then enough. "I…uh…"
"Please, Rose?" Ron slipped to his knees, his hands clamped together in front of his face. He was begging. It was almost pathetic.
Pathetic and yet endearing. Rose realized her father was extremely upset. She knew, despite how uncomfortable it would make her, she would have to talk to her mother. "Fine…"
Ron was on his feet, his hand placed thankfully on Rose's shoulder. "Thank you so much, Rose."
"Sure, sure…" Rose waved him off as if it were nothing and then stood, brushing past Lily. "Go tell McGonagall the plan's in motion. Make sure the boys know as well."
Lily just nodded and then turned, along with her uncle, to watch Rose slowly descend the stairs toward Hermione's room. Lily couldn't help but laugh at the idea of the uncomfortable conversation ahead for Rose. Lily knew she would never be able to do something like that.
The knock on the door startled Minerva McGonagall as she sat at her desk in her small, old office. Her eyes quickly darted to the closed door. "It's open."
Slowly the door opened and Hugo, Lily, Albus, James, Owen, Brian, Sage, and Dan all filed into the room, surprising the old professor.
"You're up rather early…" McGonagall noted.
"Rose sent us down…" Lily explained.
"She did?" McGonagall raised an eyebrow, glancing around. "And where is she now?"
"With my mom." Hugo said. Although, Lily had told them all about the reason Hermione was upset, they had decided that little bit of information was not important enough to share with the professor.
"So last night was a success?" McGonagall asked.
"If you mean, did Mr. and Mrs. Weasley make a baby…we'd say yes…" Brian grinned devilishly.
"Shut up…" Hugo made a face at the Irish boy.
"That's good news though. Now we need to just keep an eye on Mrs. Weasley…Miss Granger…whatever she is going by…" McGonagall felt herself getting confused.
"How long will it take to know if she is pregnant?" James asked.
"Most likely a month." McGonagall said. "Though it would be hard to notice until she gets some symptoms."
"So now what?" Sage asked.
"We work on the horcruxes…" James said, glancing at McGonagall. "We ran into Scorpius last night and he confirmed what Lily and Sage thought…that wand is making horcruxes."
"It is?" McGonagall was surprised.
Lily nodded, James had told her that the night before.
"Well then…we need to get that wand in my office. Someone please let Rose know that…" McGonagall said.
"We will." Albus responded.
"And Scorpius is starting to figure out some of the horcruxes…" James added.
"Good…" McGonagall nodded. "And please, go find a history on the Malfoy's in the library. It may be a good indicator or where to start looking for horcruxes."
"We can do that." James nodded, glancing at Dan and Owen.
"Good…" McGonagall nodded, slightly worried about all the new information being brought into the room, and yet slightly happy that at least they were now on the right track with saving the future.
Scorpius walked silently next to his father as both blondes moved toward the Great Hall for breakfast. There were few students in the hall, a testament to how fun the Halloween Ball had been the night before.
"Did you have fun at the dance?" Draco asked, rounding one of the corners near the Great Hall.
Scorpius nodded, yawning slightly. "Was alright." He really didn't want to talk about the dance with his father; other, more important, things were on his mind. "Did you…figure anything out about the wand?"
Draco sighed, shaking his head and digging his hands into his pockets. "No. Couldn't find it anywhere. I don't have a clue where it went, but I need to get it back…for obvious reasons."
Scorpius nodded, trying his best to act as if he agreed with everything his father was saying. "Or no more horcruxes…"
"Right." Draco nodded, quickly adding. "Though I think I've made enough of them…six in all…"
"Didn't Voldemort have more last night?" Scorpius asked.
Draco's eyebrow furrowed and he seemed to glare at his son as if Scorpius had asked the wrong question. "Well, I made six for him. Doesn't mean there are only six out there. He managed a few on his own you could say…"
"What?" Scorpius was beyond confused by his father's cryptic message.
Draco just shrugged. "Not anything really. Six are important things to me…a few belong to Voldemort, that way it's a little more difficult to destroy them…not that its easy to do that anyway…"
"Harry Potter managed to…" Scorpius said.
Draco's jaw immediately set at his son's words and he practically pinned an unsuspecting Scorpius against the wall. "And Potter will never be able to do that again!"
"Right…no…I know…" Scorpius tried to wiggle himself free.
Draco immediately relaxed, releasing Scorpius as a group of second year Ravenclaws walked by.
"I just…can't let anything cloud my mind…Potter was lucky once, he won't be again. He's the reason I even have to do this…if he hadn't gotten in the way last time…" Draco seemed to apologize without saying he was sorry.
Scorpius just nodded, straightening his tie out and walking ahead of his father into the Great Hall. It seemed to him that his father was more tormented by his mission and the fact that he had been assigned it then by the idea of actually following it through.
Rose took a deep breath as she stood outside the door to the dorm room she shared with Hermione. She could hear her mother's soft cries on the other side of the door and really contemplated what she was doing up there. She knew whatever conversation she was about to have with Hermione would be awkward and uncomfortable, even if her mother was only nineteen in this time.
After another deep breath, and listening to Hermione cry a little harder, Rose knew she had to at least attempt to fix things. She felt awful for getting her mother so drunk that she blacked out and she felt awful for making her father so upset. She could easily tell that Ron had been beside himself earlier that morning.
Rose knocked slowly on the door, causing Hermione's cries to stop instantly, and yet no voice came from the other side of the door.
"Mom?" Rose called out softly. "Can I come in?"
No response again.
Rose rolled her eyes and took a deep breath before opening the door to her dorm. She was ready to deal with her mother yelling at her to get out, but not remotely ready for what she actually found once the door was open.
Rose felt her heart fall into her stomach at the sight of her mother. Hermione was curled up in bed, her pillow and face soaked from tears. Rose noticed that Hermione's dress from the night before was in a pile on the floor and that the only thing her mother seemed to have wrapped around her was her sheets, which were pulled up practically to her chin.
"Mom?" Rose moved just far enough into the room to close the bedroom door.
Hermione looked at her daughter and then buried her head in her pillow, covering her face and allowing her brown, curly hair to fall across her pillow.
"Mom?" Rose took a cautious step closer.
"Get out, Rose!" Hermione's head suddenly snapped up and venom filled her voice as tears filled her eyes.
Rose took a step back in surprise. She had never, in her entire life, heard her mother yell like that before. Not even when she was six and had accidently changed Crookshanks into a toad.
Before Rose could say anything, Hermione was back to crying, and Ginny had come into the room.
"What is going on?" Ginny asked, standing there in sweatpants and a t-shirt, her red hair a mess. Clearly, Hermione's yells had woken her from her sleep. Once Ginny took a look at Hermione though, she snapped her eyes at Rose. "What did you do?"
"Me?" Rose was shocked that her Aunt Ginny was so quick to accuse her of causing Hermione to cry so much. Her Aunt Ginny usually took her side.
"Yes, you!" Ginny snapped, stepping at her niece. "You have been driving your mum mad for weeks!" Ginny pointed back to Hermione. "What did you do now to upset her so much?"
"I didn't do anything…" Rose felt herself being back into her a corner by her aunt.
"I highly doubt—" Ginny started.
"She's right, Gin…" Hermione's voice was strained from crying. "She didn't do anything…"
Ginny turned to see Hermione sitting up in bed now, the sheets pulled around her small breast and her head hanging low, as if she were ashamed. "Hermione, what happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it…" Hermione waved a hand as another batch of tears threatened her eyes.
"Hermione…" Ginny moved to sit next to her best friend, slowly wrapping an arm around the brunette's bare back. That was when Ginny noticed it. "Hermione, where are your clothes?"
"I don't…I don't want to talk about it…" Hermione said, and then lifted her head to see Rose still standing in the corner her aunt had left her in. "Not in front of Rose…"
Ginny glanced back at her niece. "Rose? Could you maybe…" She tilted her head toward the door.
"I…I already know what happened…" Rose found herself saying, though she had no clue why. Her aunt had just given her the chance to escape the most uncomfortable conversation she had ever had in her life and yet, for some reason, she wanted to stay. Rose knew why though. She would stay for her dad. He had asked her to talk to her mother, it was the least she could do.
"Y-you do?" Hermione lifted her eyes to meet Rose's eyes, which only caused Hermione to cry harder. Rose had the same blue eyes as Ron.
Rose nodded, taking a cautious step forward. "I…caught dad downstairs…when he was leaving…"
"Oh…" Hermione's face dropped and she glanced down at her sheets now, pulling them closer to her naked form.
"Its really not a big deal, mom." Rose tried her best to comfort Hermione.
Hermione's chest heaved at Rose's words in a bitter laugh.
"What's not so bad?" Ginny asked, seriously confused.
"I…Ron…" Hermione motioned to her dress on the ground and then began crying.
"You and Ron?" Ginny raised an eyebrow, her eyes moving to the red dress on the floor and then onto Rose in confusion as she patted Hermione's back.
Rose wiggled her eyebrows and moved her arms and hips to create a thrusting motion, hoping her mom wouldn't see it and her aunt would understand.
Ginny did understand and her eyes grew as big as saucers as she turned back to Hermione "Oh…you and Ron…"
"We had sex!" Hermione shouted, her eyes looking straight at the ceiling as she began sobbing. "And it is bad…" She turned her attention to Rose. "This is not something you should be hearing."
Rose shrugged. She agreed with her mother, it was awkward, but then again, she realized the nine-teen year old girl was only the begins of her mother, which made it a little less weird. "I mean…its not like I don't think you guys ever…you know…I mean how else did me and Hugo get here?"
Ginny stifled a laugh and Hermione also smiled a little bit as tears still fell. She slumped her shoulders over and looked at the ground. "Its not funny…"
"Its not so bad, Hermione…" Ginny said. "I mean, I don't like to know what you and my brother do but…its not so bad…"
"I can't remember it." Hermione said softly, glancing up at Ginny. "Neither can Ron…"
"Oh…" Ginny understood now, but then confusion flew across her face. "But you didn't drink. I mean, Ron did but you…"
"I did." Hermione nodded, embarrassed about the entire situation. "I had some of Rose's mead.
Rose felt as if she had been stabbed by Hermione's words. She knew the half a glass of mead her mother had taken from her had not caused her to black out. She knew the only reason her mother remembered nothing was because she had fed her a potion to make her entirely too drunk.
"Well then…if neither of you can remember…" Ginny started.
"I think Ron lied about that." Hermione began to cry a little again. "I think…I mean…what if I was so awful he did not want to tell me so he just said he couldn't remember."
Rose could feel her face go red in embarrassment. Up until that point the conversation had been strange, yet seemingly objective, so it had not bothered her. Now, things were getting too detailed, and too intimate. Whether her parents wouldn't actually be her parents for a few years did not matter anymore, she did not want to be part of this conversation.
"I am sure that's not the case." Ginny turned to Rose. "Did Ron, I mean your dad say anything to you about remembering it or…"
"He…he said he couldn't." Rose said quickly, hoping that would end the conversation.
"See?" Ginny smiled at Hermione.
"What if he lied to Rose too?" Hermione asked, a little calmer but still worried.
"He didn't." Rose said, assuredly. "But even if he was going to, who cares? Guys suck their first times way more than any girl ever could."
Hermione raised an eyebrow at her daughter while Ginny giggled a bit.
Rose could see it in Hermione's eyes; a million questioned were about to come. Rose realized, in her haste to end the awkward conversation she had just completely turned it on its head.
"How do you know?" Hermione asked.
Rose felt her face go red but she shrugged it off. It's not like in the future Hermione was not well aware of her daughter's sexual endeavors. She had, after all, been thrown out of Hogwarts for them, much to Hermione's disappointment. "I just…do…"
"Rose…" Hermione could feel the mother rising inside of her, despite of the fact that she herself was beside herself with her own actions. "Please do not tell me that you are…"
"Mom!" Rose cut in sharply. "I'm almost eighteen…"
"And I am nineteen!" Hermione was appalled by what she was hearing. Here she was, sobbing over the lost of her own virginity to the man she knew she would marry and there was her future daughter, not worried about her virtue at all.
"This…isn't about me anyway…" Rose tried to remind her mother. "Its about you…and dad…and…" Rose would give anything to have her mom crying over her father again. That was comforting; that conversation was even comfortable compared to the one they were having now.
"Rose…uh…Rose Weasley!" Hermione could feel her motherly instincts taking over.
"My middle name's Molly…" Rose interjected, causing Ginny to laugh a little.
Hermione's mouth went into a thin line and then began trembling as tears formed in her eyes again.
Rose's smirk dropped immediately, and she wished she could take back whatever she had done to make her mother cry.
"Mom…please…" Rose started.
"This is all my fault…" Hermione shook her head.
"What's your fault?" Ginny was just as confused as Rose.
"This is the start…" Hermione sobbed. "This must be where I become a bad parent…setting awful examples…" Hermione's mind began to raise. "Do I tell you about this in the future? What I did last night…"
"What?" Rose's eye got wide. "No, definitely not." It was the truth. Rose had no idea that her parents had ever had another child before her. "And trust me…what you and dad do has nothing to do with how I turn out…"
"Don't be silly, Rose…" Hermione cried. "Of course it does…"
"No, honestly." Rose knew she was in a lose-lose situation, but she was desperate to stop her mother's tears. "Mom, I swear…trust me…you aren't happy with that I did…when it came to sex or anything…"
Hermione looked up at Rose with teary eyes but said nothing, almost silently asking her to explain herself.
Rose sighed, closing her eyes; unable to believe she was about to relive the entire ordeal that had really caused her relationship with her mother to deteriorate in the future. "I lost it when I was…fourteen."
"What?" Hermione and Ginny both said at the same time.
"I know…stupid…it's the reason I got kicked out of Hogwarts…" Rose said, not making eye contact with her mother.
"Kicked out?" Hermione's thoughts were running rapid now, but were no longer focused on what she had Ron had done the night before.
Rose decided it was at least a plus that her mother was now gawking at her rather then crying. "Yeah…I kinda…I got caught with…Scorpius in the Great Hall…"
"Caught? Doing what?" Hermione was not putting the pieces together fast enough.
Ginny looked at Hermione like she had ten heads. Clearly, Ginny knew exactly what Rose was talking about. She turned back to her niece. "You mean Malfoy's kid?"
Rose nodded, shrugging a bit.
"You…" Hermione realized what Rose was saying and her eyes grew wide. "With that boy? You seem to hate him!"
Rose shrugged. That had never been the case. She had never hated Scorpius; in fact she was pretty certain she had loved him. She would have never broken his heart, but after that had happened at Hogwarts neither one of their parents wanted them to do a thing with each other. Rose had understood that, and so she had let Scorpius go.
"You've got to be kidding…" Hermione shook her head, her face in clear shock. "I…I can't believe I let that happen to you…your morals…"
"Trust me, it was hard for me to break the mold you made…" Rose joked slightly. She was completely uncomfortable and embarrassed, but at least it had stopped her mother from crying. She glanced over at her Aunt Ginny to see Ginny slightly smiling at Rose, either amused with the embarrassing story, or glad to see Hermione's mind off of what had happened last night and that morning.
Ron sat in the room he shared with Harry, although it was currently empty. He wondered where Harry had wandered off to so early in the morning. He had not seen his best friend since the previous night, and he really was looking for someone to talk to.
Ron was so embarrassed. Embarrassed that he could not remember his first night with Hermione. It killed him to know that; after all he could vividly remember his one and only time with Lavender and it was something he wished he could forget. Hermione was special, and his brain simply wouldn't let him enjoy that.
Ron sighed tossing his dress shirt, jacket, and tie onto the floor, flopping down on his bed and starring at the ceiling and not bothering to change out of his dress pants. He couldn't fall back asleep even if he wanted to. A few minutes later, he heard the door to his room creak open. He shifted his eyes to the door, not bothering to lift his head.
"You're back." Harry observed as he shuffled in the room.
Ron nodded. "Where were you?"
Harry held up some toast. "Breakfast. I just went to grab some. I hardly ate last night and honestly, the firewhiskey made me a bit sick…"
Ron just nodded.
"You alright?" Harry asked.
Ron shook his head, sitting up slowly. "Not really."
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, sitting down on his own bed and nibbling at his toast.
"I woke up this morning…well naked…next to Hermione…" Ron said slowly, and then added. "She was naked too."
Harry's eyebrows moved up his forehead in surprise, practically reaching over the rims of his round glasses.
"Yeah…" Ron nodded, knowing exactly what Harry was thinking. "I think…I think I slept with her…"
"You think?" Harry choked out.
"Can't remember…" Ron said honestly. "I hardly remember leaving the dance…"
"You did have a lot of whiskey…" Harry recalled.
"Don't I know it…" Ron sighed. His head was still throbbing but it was nothing compared to the pain in his heart from upsetting Hermione.
"So, Hermione's mad you can't remember?" Harry assumed. "I mean, honestly, I'm even surprised with her. After that big roe you two had a few weeks ago I didn't think she was even contemplating…well…being with you like that right now."
"I don't know if she was, honestly…" Ron lowered his head and sighed. "She can't remember it either…"
"What?" Harry was shocked. "How?"
Ron shrugged. "She did drink a little bit…I honestly don't know." He glanced up at Harry. "It's a bloody mess though…"
"Sounds it." Harry nodded in agreement.
"What do I do, Harry?" Ron asked his best friend. "I feel awful. She is so upset…I hate seeing her upset."
"Don't…don't let her feel bad about this." Harry told Ron. "Its no one's fault, and if neither of you can remember, then its like it didn't happen…"
"But it did happen." Ron said. "We both know that much…I think…"
"Well…then just try and be there for her…just don't let her be upset about this…" Harry suggested.
Ron raised an eyebrow at Harry's suggestion as if his best friend were the dumbest wizard alive. "Do you know Hermione?"
"I know, it won't be easy. But you care a lot 'bout her. Just do your best to not let this bother her…let her know it doesn't bother you…" Harry said.
"It honestly doesn't." Ron said. "After the fight last week over it…I started thinking 'bout how nuts Lavender got after I slept with her…I didn't want things to be like that with Hermione. I really was gonna wait."
"So tell her that." Harry said.
"You think?" Ron asked.
Harry nodded. "Honestly, yeah. I mean, if you were okay with waitin' and neither of you can remember it then it doesn't matter, does it?"
"You're right." Ron took a deep breath and stood. "I should talk to her."
Harry just nodded. "You should put a shirt on first."
Ron looked down at his bare chest. "Right." He moved quickly to his dresser, pulling out a red t-shirt and tossing it over his head before swiftly making his way out of his dorm room. He was exhausted, and his head was pounding, but making sure Hermione was okay was much more important at that point.
After the awkward conversation in Hermione and Rose's room, Ginny had stayed to calm Hermione down, which had allowed Rose to sneak out. She was completely drained from the conversation and felt guilty for accidently getting her mother so drunk, and even worse for having to share her own sex life with the teenage version of her mom.
What Rose really wanted was a tall glass of a good old American beer. But seeing as how they were at Hogwarts, and the fact that her mother was sobbing about blacking out of her first sexual experience, Rose decided beer was out and some fresh air would have to suffice. She quickly made her way out of the Gryffindor common room, down the drafty halls, and out to the courtyard, where the first frost of the year clung to the plants. She shivered, realizing she was still in her dress from the night before.
Rose hugged herself as she walked through the courtyard, letting the morning sun warm her skin as best it could. As she walked around the edge of the courtyard she could see the mountains and lake surrounding Hogwarts and realized, for the first time, just how beautiful the school actually was. Rose suddenly got the urge to run, and keep running, through the beauty that surrounded her.
Rose was so lost in her own thoughts that she did not hear the pair of footsteps come up next to her.
"Hey…" Scorpius spoke softly over Rose's shoulder, though she still jumped and twisted quickly, practically banging into his chest.
"Shit! Don't sneak up like that…" Rose huffed, backing away a bit when she realized who she was standing in front of.
"We've got to stop meeting like this…" Scorpius smirked.
"We will…if you stop following me around." Rose smirked back, causing Scorpius grin to slightly shrink.
"What's with the dress?" Scorpius changed the subject. "Didn't you sleep at all last night?"
"I did…in this…" Rose sighed, motioning to the small black dress. "I would have changed but, unfortunately, we had a dilemma this morning."
"What happened?" Scorpius asked.
"Well…my parents ended up sleeping together…but apparently we got my mom a little too drunk…" Rose sighed.
"Did she puke?" Scorpius scrunched his nose up.
"Worse." Rose admitted. "She blacked out. So did my dad…they woke up with each other, but they can't remember anything…"
"Well, maybe they didn't do anything then…" Scorpius suggested.
"They did." Rose nodded quickly, cringing at what she recalled from the night before. "I…heard them…"
"That's…disgusting." Scorpius said.
Rose nodded in agreement. It was certainly a few select noises she would not forget anytime soon.
"So, neither of them remember, and if I recall anything about your mum, she is beside herself over the simple fact that she lost control…" Scorpius dedicated.
"Not just control. Her virginity as well." Rose felt like throwing up on her own words. No child was supposed to stand by while its mother lost her virginity. It went against nature, and order, and science.
"Rough." Scorpius nodded.
"It gets worse." Rose sighed. "I…ran into my dad this morning, and he was upset because my mom was upset…so he asked me to talk to her…"
"What?" Scorpius' grey eyes budged wide.
"Yeah." Rose nodded, her brown curls from the up-do she had worn the night before bouncing. "And I did…I felt bad because…I mean…its my fault she was that fucked up."
"You felt bad?" Scorpius seemed shocked, and smiled a bit. "Rose, I think you are actually starting to get along with your mom…"
"I've always got along with her…" Rose said. "When I was younger…"
"Exactly." Scorpius smiled. He had known how turbulent Rose's relationship with her mother had been. Scorpius never doubted that Rose loved Hermione; he just doubted how much she could tolerate her mother sometimes. Although he had only seen them interact a few times in the future, he could tell Hermione's presence always made Rose stressed.
"Doesn't matter. I did it…and it got unbelievably awkward…" Rose sighed. "Someone, it turned on me…and I had to explain…how I got expelled from Hogwarts…"
Scorpius was laughing immediately. "You're joking."
"I wish I were." Rose rolled her eyes.
"You're serious?" Scorpius was practically crying.
Rose nodded.
"You had to explain that you got kicked out of Hogwarts for having sex with me in the Great Hall?" Scorpius asked through his laughing.
Rose nodded, her jaw set. She did not find it as funny as he did. "Yes."
"I'm sorry…" Scorpius tried to regain his composure. "Its just…that's bloody awful."
"Yeah." Rose sighed, waving it off as she rubbed her arms to keep herself warm. "It's over with anyway…as long as my mom is pregnant at the end of this, it's worth it."
"Speaking of…" Scorpius shrugged, his jean jacket off and offered it to Rose, who accepted it only after a moment of hesitation. He didn't let it stop his train of thought, though he was relieved she took his coat. "My dad wouldn't tell me much about the horcruxes, just that they are important to him…"
"You think he put them in things he keeps close to him?" Rose deducted. She could read Scorpius like a book, despite everything that had happened between them.
Scorpius nodded. "I've put a list together of things I can remember from home that he kept an eye on. I'd assume whatever the horcruxes are, he kept them close in the future, so he could keep an eye on them." Scorpius pointed to his coat. "Lists in my pocket."
Rose rummaged through the pocket on the jacket and pulled out a small, crumpled piece of paper.
"Look at it later. I think its our best bet though…to try and trace that stuff." Scorpius explained. "I could be completely off but until my father tells me anything one way or another…"
"Keep trying." Rose told him. "I'll…hold onto this…look it over." She waved the paper.
"Good." Scorpius nodded. "I'm gonna head back in…"
"Oh…" Rose began shrugging the jacket off.
"No." Scorpius put up a hand to stop her. "Keep it. You'll probably be out here a bit longer." Scorpius knew Rose would not go back to the Gryffindor common room anytime soon.
"Thanks." Rose smiled warmly at her ex-boyfriend as she watched him give her one last nod and then head back into the castle. As he moved away from her, she let out a nervous breath she felt like she had been holding since he had walked up. She never had a chance to realize how much she had missed him when they first broke up because the war had started and everything had gotten too crazy to worry about anything personal. Now that she actually had time to think about him, however, she realized she missed him more then ever.
Ron took a deep breath before moving up the stairs to Hermione's room. He was not sure how he was going to approach the conversation that lay ahead of him, all he knew was tha the had to try. He took another deep breath, fixing his red hair to lay flat on his head before moving up to Hermione's bedroom door. It was closed. He knocked.
"Who is it?" Ginny's voice replied.
"Ginny?" Ron's face scrunched up in confusion as he looked at the door behind him and then back at the door in front of him. He was sure he was at the right door.
A second later, Ginny opened the door an inch to see her brother. "What are you doing here?"
"I want to talk to Hermione." Ron said, his voice almost demanding.
"Ron…I…" Ginny started.
"Please, Gin…" Ron gave her a puppy dog face.
Ginny sighed, glancing back behind her and then nodding. "Fine." She slipped out the door closing it behind her so she could speak to Ron in the hall. "But Hermione is a mess, Ron…I mean….I've never seen her so upset."
"I know." Ron nodded. "That's why I need to talk to her."
"Just be careful…" Ginny seemed to threaten more then warn.
Ron nodded and then watched as his sister walked past him. He took one more deep breath and walked into Hermione's room. Instantly, he felt his heartbreak.
Hermione was curled up on her bed, though now she had managed to put a pair of maroon sweatpants on and a white tank top. Her back was to Ron, and he was clearly staring out the window. She had not even flinched when he closed the door.
"Hermione?" Ron said softly, moving slowly toward her bed.
"Just go away, Ron…" Hermione breathed, not looking at him.
Ron could tell Hermione was still crying. He didn't need to see her face to know that much. He sighed, running a hand through his red hair before gently sitting down on her bed, noticing how ridged she went when he did so. He didn't care though; he slowly reached out a hand, gently brushing her exposed shoulder. "Hermione…please…"
Hermione just shook her head, choking in a sob.
"Hermione, I am so sorry this happened this way." Ron started. "I'm sorry neither of us have a clue about what happened last night. It's my fault, honestly. I must have put the idea in your head last week…I mean…I—"
"It's not your fault, Ron…" Hermione cried a bit more, still refusing to look at him.
Ron let out a small smile of relief that she could not see. At least she was talking to him.
"I…I had been thinking about it for awhile…" Hermione said.
"Really?" Ron was surprised.
"Well…a little…since…since Rose and Hugo arrived…" Hermione admitted. In truth, when realizing she had children with Ron in the future, the idea of how those children came to be did plague her mind. The thought of marrying Ron, and sharing a blissful, proper wedding night had been in her dreams every night.
"Oy! You picked on me for that…" Ron tried to joke.
Hermione whipped her head around, her tearstained face glaring at her boyfriend. "Not in the same manner as you, I assure you."
Ron swallowed hard. He had only been kidding. He didn't want her more upset.
"Regardless…I am sure we both had…something to do with last night." Hermione said, a little less threatening.
"Don't worry about it…" Ron gently brushed a tear from her face, thankful she would let him.
"I…I promise next time…I'll be better…." Hermione whispered, looking down at her hands in embarrassment.
"What?" Ron was confused. Had he heard her right?
"Next time…" Hermione sighed, still not looking at him. "If you want a next time…"
"Hermione, I mean…I am sure you were brilliant…I honestly, I meant it, I can't remember a thing…" Ron admitted.
"You weren't lying?" Hermione asked.
"No way." Ron shook his head, smiling at her a bit. "Did you think I was? Is that why you've been upset? Bloody hell, Hermione, I thought you were just upset it was me."
Hermione shrugged, smiling back a bit and then blushing. "I just…I never envisioned losing…my virginity and not remembering it…I mean, I am grateful it was you, Ron…I just envisioned it being more romatic."
"Trust me, maybe its better you don't remember. Wish I could forget my first time…" Ron smiled, shaking his head at how awkward and awful it had been with Lavender.
"What?" Hermione's face dropped a bit.
Ron's brow furrowed immediately. He knew he had said something wrong. "I just meant…first times can be awkward. I mean, mine sure was…"
"Last night…wasn't your first?" Hermione felt as though she had been punched in the stomach. She immediately pulled her hand, that had somehow entangled itself in Ron's, back toward her lap.
Ron's face fell in shock. Harry had known he had slept with Lavender, so he just assumed Hermione had found out two years ago as well. "I mean…I thought you knew….Harry knew…I…"
"Lavender?" Hermione choked on the name, tears threatening her eyes again.
"I…I…" Ron stammered.
Hermione shook her head and pushed him off her bed. "Get out!"
"Hermione, I am sorry. It was a mistake! I thought you knew…" Ron tried to explain as he stood up.
"Out!" Hermione cried louder. "Or you will regret it so much, Ronald Weasley!"
"I…" Ron backed to the door. He could see it in her eyes; he had completely broken Hermione. He sighed, not knowing what else to do as she glared at him as if she wanted to rip his head off. He slowly backed out of the door, realizing he had possibly just destroyed the women he loved.