I do not own Harry Potter.
Ch. 21 Fear
For the rest of the co-ed party Draco and I open some gifts, and then the women leave the men to their fun. Ginny takes them to a pub in magical London to start the girls' only part of the night. Once they arrive at the pub Ginny gathers the ladies at the bar.
"Okay, Ladies you all have your dare sheets, and we will work as a team to finish the tasks. Once you have completed a task, mark it off; you will get a point for each completed task. Whichever team gets the most points, will win." Ginny says then calls to the barman for drinks. "Hermione, I got you a virgin butter beer." She says as she hands me a mug.
"Thanks." I reply then turn to scan the pub. There were quite a bit of people out tonight.
"Hey, what's the occasion lasses?" A bloke says as he sidles up to our group. "Did you all go to Hogwarts?" he asks gesturing to Katie's Gryffindor dress.
"Most of us did." She answers then turns obviously not interested in the brave bloke and walks away.
"We are wearing these dresses because our friend Hermione is getting married soon, and we are celebrating." Alicia explains smiling sweetly at the bloke.
"Which lovely lady is Hermione?" He asks not taking his eyes off of Alicia. She gestures to me and I take a drink to hide my grin at Alicia's obvious attraction.
He turns to me and his eyes widen. "You're Hermione Granger." He says then looks around the group of women. "You're the Weasley beater for the Harpies." He says looking at Ginny.
"Okay I understand how you know Ginny, she is fairly famous being a professional Quidditch player and all, but how do you know me?" I ask curious.
"I think everybody knows who Hermione Granger is." He says smiling then looking a little sheepish, "The Golden Trio, the wizarding world owes you." He finishes blushing slightly.
"Well, um, thank you I think." I respond then start to introduce the women who were standing around me. "These are my friends, Ginny Weasley, whom you know, Angelina Weasley, Luna Thomas, Fleur Weasley, Hannah Longbottom, Narcissa Malfoy, Cassie Raven, Glori Stevens and Alicia Spinnett." I finish watching as Alicia flushes and glances at him from under her lashes.
"I'm Marcus Towler." He says and nods to the group.
"Wait, did you go to Hogwarts?" Luna asks. "Your name seems familiar."
"Yes, I did, that's how I knew your dresses were the houses from Hogwarts." He says. "My younger brother, Kenny, would have been a couple years ahead of Hermione. I would have been four years ahead of my brother."
"Kenny was in my year." Alicia says.
Marcus looks at Alicia for a minute, and then asks, "Were you a chaser for the Gryffindor team?"
"Yes, I was." She says smiling hugely. "You should hang out with us tonight."
"Sure sounds fun, can I ask why you are wearing a Ravenclaw dress, if you were in Gryffindor? You as well Hermione, you were not in Slytherin." He says looking at us perplexed.
"That would be my doing." Ginny says, "We are sort of playing a game, so I divided us into teams according to our dresses. Also mixing it up a little with who was put where." She says winking at Narcissa. "I believe Alicia just completed one of our tasks."
"Which one?" Narcissa asks happily while Luna and Angelina groan.
"Pick out a cute guy and ask him to join you for the party." Ginny grins then winks at Marcus.
Marcus looks at Alicia who is blushing furiously and shrugs. "Cute huh? Whatever helps you win." He then takes her hand and pulls her out to dance.
I laugh and turn to Ginny, "You are devious." I say, "You should be wearing the Slytherin colors."
"Nope, you're the one marrying a snake." She says laughing as Narcissa and I both whack her arm. "Hey, I need this arm for work, bugger off." She says still smiling and ordering another round.
"Look." Luna says pointing to the dare sheet she is holding, " Let's find a guy that will show us his bum, he should be cute though don't you think?" She says to Glori and pulls her away.
Narcissa takes my arm and leans in to whisper, "Let's find a place to sit, and we can coerce a handsome young man to show us his belly button." She points to the list she has.
I laugh as I walk with her to a table with two guys, one blonde and one red headed, and two empty seats. She takes one and pushes me into the other. "Hello boys." She says is a wonderfully wicked sensual voice. My mouth drops.
"Hey Ladies." The guys say checking us both out.
"We were wondering if you could help us out, you see my friend here is getting married." Narcissa says nodding her head toward me still talking lowly. The guys both lean in to hear.
"What can we do to help?" The blonde haired guy asks, looking at me.
"Well, we need a cute guy to show us his belly button." I say glancing down the front of his shirt, then back to his eyes.
Angelina walks up to the table then, where we are sitting, and takes the red headed guys hand. "I need to dance with a red head, and I do like me a red headed man." She says grinning and pulls the guy away from the table, while the blonde looks between us and his friend being pulled away blinking.
"My belly button?" He says in disbelief while is gaze returns to me. "You look familiar." He adds looking at me intently.
I shrug "Do I?" I say innocently.
"I know why you look familiar, you own a bookshop, Hermione's Books." He says his eyes lighting up. "I love your café." He says smiling at me.
I blink at him. "Thanks, I'm Hermione. This is my future mother in law, Narcissa." I say and shake his hand.
"I'm Jeff." He says and then adds. "So you need to see my belly button, why not." Then he stands and pulls his polo shirt up to give us a look at his belly button. "Congrats on getting married." He says as he lowers his shirt.
"Thank you." I say, "Next time you come in to the store, say hey." I add then Narcissa and I excuse our selves.
We meet up with the group of girls who are getting decidedly louder as the night wears on, and Luna indeed had found a cute guy to flash his bum, Ginny has gotten a sock from someone. Alicia still has Marcus and Angelina has gotten a dance. Glori rushes up waving a pair of boxers around that she stuffs into her bag. Cassie, Fleur and Penelope have gotten fifteen Knuts giving them a point per Knut. Pansy walks up looking quite please and holds out her hand. She had two pictures of women whom are significant others to a guys she doesn't know, each worth a point, and a pair of boxers.
"Plus I did a body shot off two different guys, Katie can vouch for one, and this handsome bloke can vouch for the second." She says as we all look at the guy standing a bit behind her.
Glori puts Pansy's items in her bag as Pansy introduces us.
"Girls, this is Troy." She finishes, "He will be joining me tonight as well.
"Gosh, Pansy you sure have been busy." I say cheekily smiling at her. She just shrugs and grins back.
"I think we are going to move on to a Muggle pub now, so be sure to remember not to use your magic." She says happily and we all leave the pub to walk to the next place.
"So, Hermione, who's the jammy bloke that you're marrying?" Marcus asks as we walk from magical London, to muggle London.
"Draco Malfoy." I answer looking over at him walking in between Alicia and me; we are towards the back of the group, me being a bit slower than the others.
"No way, really?" He asks in astonishment. "Never would I have seen that one coming." He says shaking his head laughing.
"A lot of people didn't see that one coming." I answer laughing with him.
"Not to sound rude or something, but I know you are not fat, so then I also congratulate you and Draco in becoming parents." He says amicably.
"Thank you." I say rubbing my belly, "That is very sweet, and I suppose it could have been rude, but you made it work." I say and then get the subject off me.
"So you asked Alicia if she was on the Gryffindor team, did you ever see her play?" I ask and am surprised that Marcus blushes.
"Actually I did see her play, when I was in school." He acknowledges. "Do you still play?" He asks her.
"Yes, every now and then at The Burrow when Ginny comes back. She is a much better player than I am though." She adds. "Maybe sometime you could come over and play, we usually have a big game every now and then on Sundays." She suggests to Marcus smiling shyly.
"That would be fun, though I'm not very good." He says smiling warmly at Alicia, and then he looks up. "Here we are." He holds the door for us and we both walk in to a crowded pub.
We find a table and talk about different things, while watching our large group of matching ladies doing silly things. At one point Luna stands on a table and starts singing loudly, apparently earning another point. Narcissa walks up to us with a stack of napkins containing phone numbers. I watch Angelina talk a guy into letter her put lipstick on him. Cassie walks up to a guy who lets her draw a tattoo on his arm, then kisses his cheek. Ginny gets three guys to serenade her then gather a group of guys to serenade the bride.
I sit there feeling embarrassed as a group of guys sing me a song, rather well actually. When they are done everyone in the pub claps and cheers. Pansy walks up with a stack of money, still holding on to Troy. I decide that I need to use the loo so I excuse myself from the group and head to the loo.
"Hermione, could I talk to you for a bit?" I hear a guys voice and I turn to see Draco.
"Draco? What are you doing here?" I ask feeling pleased, although a bit confused.
"I just needed to see you, that's all." He responds easily, leaning in and getting closer.
"I need to go to the loo, walk with me?" I say as I clasp his hand in mine, I smile as I head to the back corner of the pub.
As I open the door to leave the loo, Draco pulls me quickly into his arms and kisses me almost a bit harshly. I tense up at first not being prepared for the kiss, then relax as his mouth moves against mine. Something feels off about the kiss, almost harsh and possessive, I tense up again. I feel like Draco's body is getting hotter, not in an aroused way though I can feel he is indeed aroused, but an odd sort of heat. Draco pulls back I look into his face, and he smiles at me. I feel confused about his, because this doesn't feel like Draco, this just feels different, and I give him a little smile wondering what is going on. Then I see what is happening, his face starts to distort, and I can feel his body changing since I am leaning snug against him. I realize this isn't Draco, this isn't the man I love nor the man I have come to know so well. Finally his face stops shifting, his hair turns from blonde to red, his eyes from grey to a cold blue, and he's a bit taller than Draco. I feel my stomach drop as dread crawls up my spinal cord and back of my neck, he holds me tighter.
I suck in a breath of air then on a whimper I say "Ron?" I hear the door to the men's loo open but before I can turn my head, Ron turns and apparates us to dingy flat.
"What are you doing?" I ask and am annoyed that the fear I feel is also in my voice.
"I told you Hermione, you are mine and I will have you." Ron responds looking pleased.
"Where are we?" I ask trying to sound strong.
"We are in my flat, where no one can finds us." He answers. "You all think I am stupid, but I have learned from you." He adds moving toward me like a predator stalking his prey.
"Wha what do you mean?" I ask hating myself for stumbling on my words as I wrap my arms around my belly backing away from him.
I feel my back against a wall and I mentally curse. Ron moves right up against me and wraps his arms around me effectively trapping me against him. "I mean that I was able to stay hidden because of you." He whispers and dips his head as if to kiss me.
Appalled I turn my head and he kisses my cheek. Then he pulls back and I look in to his eyes which are cold and a little wild. "Don't fight me, love." He says then with out giving me a chance he holds my face in his hands and pushes his mouth against mine.
Instantly tears flood my eyes and I feel truly scared. Ron is bigger than me, I'm pregnant and I am more scared than when I was fighting the war. I need to protect my babies, I feel the edges of a panic attack coming on and I wish in my heart that somehow I could get out of this situation.
"Kiss me back." Ron demands and I shake my head barely being able to move it while he is holding my face. I close my eyes not wanting to look at what has become of one of my best friends.
With my eyes still closed he lets my face go then a split second later I feel a flash of pain across my cheek. My eyes fly open as I stagger to the right. I steady my self against the wall. "Ron, why are you doing this?" I plead with him.
He smirks at me then grabs my arm and pulls me away from the wall and toward a sofa. "You are mine." He growls and I feel even more frightened.
His grip tightens on my arm and I cry out, "Ron that hurts, stop." I say automatically even though I know he doesn't really care.
He jerks me around by the arm so that I am in front of him with the sofa behind me, I hear a snap then a white-hot pain shoots up my arm, and I cry out. I feel another flash of pain across my face and see spots for a couple seconds.
"Shut it." He yells and I feel his breath across my face. "You need to know that you are mine, and you will do whatever I say, you will not tell me what to do."
He shoves me back and I fall on to the sofa I cradle my hurt arm against my chest and fold my other arm across my belly. I feel tears on my cheeks and my face is throbbing. I know that if I don't do something to protect my babies, there is a very real chance I could loose them.
"I'm sorry Ron, I didn't mean to tell you what to do." I say trying to placate him and maybe keep him from hitting me again.
He nods and his lips lift in a scary version of a smile. I really look at him and there is a crazy gleam in his eyes.
He sits next to me and places his hand on my stomach, I flinch as he looks at me and says, "I'm glad I used that confundus charm on you." He moves his hand to my chest. My hurt arm is lying across my chest and he moves it.
I bite my lip to keep from crying out in pain, instead I gasp out, "What do you mean?"
He glances up into my eyes and says, "I used a confundus charm so you would forget to use a contraception charm, and I wanted to get you pregnant so you couldn't leave me." He shrugs, "Once my family finds out, they will be behind me and want us to be together."
I blink at him shocked he could be so thick, "They already know." I say softly.
He looks back down at my chest and then frowns, "Why does your dress say Slytherin?" He questions harshly, his eyebrows drawing together in a scowl. I move my good arm to cover my chest and he stops me. "No, these are mine too." He says and roughly palms my breast.
"Ron, please." I say going to ask him to stop.
"You can't tell me what to do anymore." He pushes me over a little trying to press himself against me.
He leans against my hurt arm and I can't help but yelp, he slaps one hand across my mouth and then other he lowers from my breasts to my stomach where he stops for a minute then moves his hand lower to the hem of my dress.
He removes his hand from my mouth, "Don't say anything, you are mine, and nobody knows where you are. You are going to do everything I say, so that you don't hurt my kid." He says menacingly, moving his second hand back to my chest and under my dress, I her the fabric rip, while he slides the other up my thigh.
I close my eyes to try and push the panic away, I feel his mouth on mine and clamp my lips together, he leans against me still squeezing my breasts and sliding his other hand even higher under my dress. Still leaning against me he pulls his mouth from mine and grips my upper thigh.
"Kiss me back." He demands and leans completely on me crushing my already throbbing arm and I can't help but to cry out, he squeezes my thigh even harder and my cry gets louder, he backhands me across the face and I black out.
I smile as I feel kicking in my belly, as the babies move around. I can feel them moving and pushing and I feel so much love in my heart for my little boy and little girl. I can't wait for them to come out so that I can meet them. I then start to feel uncomfortable, I wonder why I am laying slumped over, my arm and face hurt, and I try to figure out what is happening. Then I remember Ron taking me from the pub and a bubble of panic rises in my throat.
I clamp down on the instinct to cry out. I can't tell if he is still in the room with me or not, so I try to listen to see if I can hear something. I hear breathing; I don't think it's mine and it's close by. So I listen closely and sure enough by my head is somebody breathing steadily seemingly asleep. I smell it then the mixture of mould, sweat, alcohol, and stagnant air, and the smell that is uniquely Ron. I wonder how long I have been out, I crack my eyes open and I can't get them both open all the way. Through slits I look around I can see Ron's leg and thigh next to my head and his arm is laying over me, his hand possessively on my stomach. I want to move away so badly a couple tears slide out of my sore eyes.
I steady my self by closing my eyes and counting to push away my panic and think through my pain. I decide that I need to at least sit up, if I don't I could seriously harm my babies or me. Slowly I grit my teeth against the pain in my arm and push against the sofa to ease myself upright. His arm slides a bit down to my waist where I don't want it, so I decide to ease his arm off me first. I use my good arm to lift his arm away from me and onto his thigh. I wait for a minute to see if he wakes up and then ease my self fully upright while also putting some distance between us. I have to stop moving and lean my head against the back of the sofa feeling pain in my back, side, arm, neck, face, and even my stomach. I breathe through the pain then I start to feel the common sensation of having to use the loo and I almost laugh with the randomness.
I can feel myself starting to really panic and I focus on my breathing as I calm myself enough to think. Finally I slit my eyes open and roll my head toward Ron, he is indeed asleep his head rested against the back of the sofa his legs sprawled in front of him, there is an empty bottle of firewhiskey loosely grasped in his hand. I decide that he might be passed out from drinking, so I can maybe make a go of leaving. I slowly, trying not to disturb him or pass out from pain, push myself off the sofa. I stand there using my good hand to steady myself against the arm of the sofa, once the room stops spinning (mostly) I slowly move toward the door, the whole time trying not to pass out. Finally I reach out to the doorknob and lean my head against the door breathing deeply trying to keep a grip on reality.
I hope that he was too preoccupied to put up any wards as I twist the doorknob. Luckily it twists freely and the door makes a soft click signalling that the door can be opened. I pull slightly and then stop with the door cracked just an inch. I turn to see if Ron is still sleeping, he seems to not have moved and his breathing is still even so I ease the door open more and move so I can go through. It feels like an eternity as I keep the door from squeaking or making any noise, as I finally get it open far enough for my enlarged form to fit through. I glance out into the hallway and don't see anyone; I move through the door and then pull the door slowly closed behind me. The door clicks when I get it closed and I hold my breath as I wait to see if it woke him.
So far, it seems okay so I move a few paces down the hall then stop, I have no idea where I am, I don't know where my wand is, and I feel like at any moment I will pass out. I think of little Lucas and Libra, and I feel tears falling down my sore cheeks. Then I picture Draco's face in my mind, and I feel despair, I can picture his smile and joy when he asked me to marry him. I can see the love in his eyes when he talked about being a father to Lucas and Libra. I hear him in my mind talking to my babies and calling himself their daddy. The tears are coming faster and I feel dizzy.
Knowing it isn't a good idea though not really being able to fight it I slide down the wall and sit for a minute trying to catch my breath and hold my arm that is in so much pain I can hardly think. I lean my head against the wall and close my eyes.
"I love you Draco." I whisper and then I silently cry, trying and failing to get myself to move, I have to get out of here to save my babies.
Taking a deep breath, I struggle to heave myself off the floor gasping for breath and forcing myself to stay awake. Finally upright, I take a couple steps then brace myself against the wall again. I take a few more steps then I have to stop I lean against the wall and hope for somebody to come help me, anybody, other than Ron.
I hear a door slam and I cringe, I feel fear overtake me and I suck in air though not feeling it fill me as I slide to the floor, my body goes cold and I instantly start to shake. Frightened panicky tears are flowing from my eyes and I am biting my tongue so as not to cry out. I squeeze my eyes closed and then I take a deep breath and whisper, "I'm sorry Babies, I'm sorry Draco." Then I let the fear and panic overwhelm me; the last thing I hear is a frightened voice yell "Hermione." Before everything goes gray then black
Next Chapter is ready to go, and I want to thank all of you who have reviewed! Oh, I do want to let you know I am making an effort to keep from switching points of view unless there is a line separating the change. Grammar and such has always been hard for me...but I'm trying! Reviews make me feel better about what I write, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I promise I will update faster, with more reviews... Thanks again! :)