Hey guys, I got this chapter wrote as quickly as I could, but I could only write a little at a time because of Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping. As of right now it's only 22 days until Christmas and my 18th birthday. :D
What do you guys usually do for Christmas, or if you don't celebrate Christmas what do you do? I 'Always' go over to my grandma's still in our Pajamas, open our biggest gift, and then one by one we all go through our stocking's together. Then we go home and get dressed, and then we have a huge family dinner cooked by my Grandma and Mom that has Turkey, Ham, Chicken, Dressing, dumplings, and homemade mashed potatoes. Then we open all of our presents together. It's really great. :)
Haha sorry for rambling on, I get really excited about Christmas. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, awesome Neville moment ahead!
Every day Hermione would go to the hospital wing, every day she'd tell him stories about everything and nothing, sometimes she'd cry, sometimes she'd get angry, but every day, Draco showed no sign of waking up. His skin was such a sickly pale it was nearly gray, he was cold to the touch, if it weren't for his labored breathing he would seem to be a corpse.
It had been nearly a month since she was brought back to Hogwarts, her stomach grew everyday and she was due in a little over a month, she feared more than anything that Draco wouldn't be awake in time to meet his child.
"Today I was eating a bowl of grapes, and I always prop the bowl up on my belly, and the baby kicked it right off in the floor." She laughed as she held Draco's unmoving hand.
"Teddy raced to pick them all up before I could even move." She smiled softly, thinking of how good Teddy had been to her.
He'd taken up a permanent residence on the couch in her common room, always getting her the food she craved, always taking care of her when she didn't feel good, he'd become her rock, the glue that held her together, keeping her from falling apart and breaking down.
"He's such a great friend Draco, and he really misses you. Sometimes when he thinks I'm asleep I hear him crying, he's worried his best friend won't wake up. You have to prove him wrong Draco, prove everyone wrong, nobody believe you'll wake up, but I know they're wrong, you have to wake up. You have to." Her voice cracked slightly and she bit down on her lip, forcing down the tears that seemed to just come from out of nowhere at any given time of the day.
"Miss Granger, I'm sorry but you're classes are going to start soon and I know you won't want to miss them." Madam Pomfrey says, placing a hand on Hermione's shoulder gently.
"O-of course, thank you Madam Pomfrey." She says, clearing her throat and wiping at her eyes.
"I'll see you in a bit Draco, I love you." She whispers, leaning down to press her lips to his forehead.
When she walked out of the hospital wing Teddy was there as usual waiting for her.
"Where to miss?" He asks, looping his arm through hers.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts." She says, smiling softly at him.
Since Professor Klaus was quite obviously not working there any longer Lupin took back his old position, and Dumbledore had called an old colleague of his, Horace Slughorn, to teach potions.
"Here we are milady." Teddy said with a smile, as they walked in.
"Thank you kind sir." She says as he pulls out her chair and then sits next to him.
"I tell you, she's a slut, Malfoy's been dead for a month and she's already shagging Nott." The whisper sounded loudly, obviously meant for Hermione to hear, and she knew that voice very very well.
"First off, Draco's not dead, second of all, I couldn't shag Teddy even if I wanted to, I'm too far along in my pregnancy, and I'd rather be shagging Teddy than be pining after a rapist for months." Hermione states, making Lavender glare at her.
"I refuse to believe my Won Won would do such a thing." She snaps, and Hermione rolls her eyes.
"Oh shut the hell up Lavender." Neville Longbottom exclaims, and everyone stares at him in shock.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" Lavender screeches, and Neville looks frightened momentarily, but he swallows heavily and glares right back at her.
"I said Shut. The. Hell. Up. Or is your brain so very filled with stupidity that you fail to understand even the simplest of commands?" He says, sounding a lot more courageous than he felt.
The room was filled with a deadly silence for what felt like hours as Neville and Lavender continued glaring at each other, and then suddenly everyone, aside from the two of them, broke into a thunderous applause, cheering loudly.
"Well done man!" Seamus Finnegan exclaims, slapping Neville on the back proudly. Neville smiles at everyone gratefully, but slowly his eyes slide to Hermione's, worrying that he overstepped himself.
But as she smiles at him widely and mouths 'thank you' he can't help but feel overjoyed, standing up for one of his friends felt wonderful.
"Wow Neville, that was amazing. I was wondering if you'd like to go out sometime?" Katie Bell says, batting her eyelashes at him flirtatiously.
"Thanks Katie, but no thanks, I've got my eye on someone else." He says, turning back to face the front of the class room, thoughts of Luna Lovegood swirling through his mind.
"What's all that ruckus?" Lupin says, a smile in his eyes as he walks into the room.
"Neville Longbottom stood up for Hermione to Lavender Brown." Teddy says, and Lupin stares at Neville in shock.
"Well done Mister Longbottom, 10 points to Gryffindor." He says, and Neville blushes, his shy side showing again.
"B-but Professor! He insulted me!" Spluttered Lavender, and Lupin arched his eyebrow at her.
"What exactly happened Miss Granger?" He asks, knowing Hermione wouldn't lie.
True to his beliefs she repeated the story in great detail, belaying everything both Neville and Lavender said.
"Ah, well I see then. Mister Longbottom, 20 points to Gryffindor. Miss Brown, detention tonight with Filch." He says, and everyone snickers quietly as Lavender turns purple in the face, her mouth opening and closing like a fish.
"Well then, let's start our lesson shall we?"
Ron paced his room frantically, thoughts of Hermione rushing through his mind. He craved her so much, longed to see her, touch her, everything. He'd kill for it.
A snarl ripped from his throat as an image of Hermione sleeping with that ferret popped into his head.
"Soon Mione, soon you will be back in my arms and I'll make you forget all about him." He whispers, tugging at his hair.
"But first I have to kill that little brat of yours." He growls, excitement dancing in his eyes as he pictured killing the infant.
"You will be mine forever, I promise."
A couple hours later Hermione was in the library with Teddy and Neville, working on an assignment for Potions class, when she was filled with an irresistible urge to get up and find a different book.
She could vaguely hear Teddy asking her where she was going, but she ignored him, she Had to go find this book right now.
She started walking faster, her heart racing, terrified at the thought of not finding this book, she came to a stop in an aisle in the restricted section, she didn't even remember coming back here, but it didn't matter, she had to get this book.
She browsed the aisle quickly, her eyes scanning over every title quickly, her heart pounding in her ears, she was getting closer, she could feel it.
She froze suddenly as her eyes caught the title she was looking for, and with a shaking hand she reached out and grabbed it, her eyes scanning the title repeatedly, her tongue darting out to lick her lips in excitement.
Dangerous roots and how to use them.
Her heart finally calmed as she began flipping through the pages, stopping as one particular page title caught her eye.
Deținător de minți (Deh-tea-nah-tore deh minty-ee) Romanian, translation: Keeper of Minds.
A smile spread across her face at the sight of it, a smile very unlike hers, in fact, it strongly resembled Professor Klaus.
Outside of Hogwarts, Professor Klaus gave an evil smile as he watched Hermione stuff the book into her satchel. His plan was working out exactly as he planned.
Hermione shook her head, confusion covering her face. "How did I get in here?" She muttered to herself, as she turned around and made her way back to Teddy and Neville.
"There you are! Why'd you run off like that?" Teddy asked, running up to her.
"I-I don't know. I don't even remember what I did." She says honestly, her eyebrows scrunching together as she desperately tried to remember anything that had taken place.
She looked up to see Teddy looking worried, and instantly she felt guilty, she didn't want to put anymore on his plate.
"It's probably just my pregnancy hormones acting up." She says, smiling at him, and he nods in agreement but it's obvious he doesn't believe her.
As she sits back down she notices her Satchel is heaver than it was a moment ago and she peeks into it, her confusion growing even more as she reads the title.
At first she decides to put it back, but her curiosity gets the best of her and she decides she'll just take it for today, and put it back tomorrow after she's done reading it.
Little does she know, she's just made the worst decision she could ever make.
Well, what do you think? Was it horrible? This chapter was slightly short, but I'm already working on the next chapter, so I should have it up by Christmas. :)
If you liked it review because most people just favorite but they don't review at all.
Oh yeah, on a random note, I was told that I needed to make a fan page on Facebook for this story so I could update people on when I started writing, and give sneak peeks to upcoming chapters. I think that would be a bit too cocky though I am flattered that people like my story enough to want a fanpage lol.
Love you guys! :)
