December 21st, 2011
A/N: Based on past experience, by the time I have this published it will either be Christmas or Christmas Eve. So happy holidays you guys! I love you all lots and I just want to thank you for the encouragement and feedback you've given me. As always, thanks to the lovely and amazing Cat for beta reading this. Nilz0rz, Gleek-043, here are your twins – or at least Fred (: Anonymous 'meep', here is some Astoria!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter Nineteen (woo!)
A while after Ron's phone call, Draco, remembering that Hermione felt uncomfortable living at the Burrow, asked her if she might want to move in with him. It took a lot of deep breaths stammering on his part, but he managed to get his message across, and Hermione gratefully accepted the offer.
She later used Draco's owl to let Molly know. The kind, motherly witch showed no objection to this, so long as Hermione was happy, but Molly did insist that Hermione and Draco go to the Burrow for dinner every night or at least on Sundays, when the whole family was together.
So on the Sunday following January 9th, Draco and Hermione apparated to the Weasleys' house for dinner.
The moment they walked in, Hermione's legs were plowed into by a certain two year old boy in Harry and Andromeda's care. She would have most certainly lost her balance if Draco hadn't wrapped an arm around her waist. Hermione shot him a grateful look and picked Teddy up, balancing him on her hip.
"Hi Teddy," she said, smiling and kissing Teddy's cheek. "Have you been good for Grandma Andy?"
"Of course I have," Teddy replied, looking shocked to see that anyone would ever think he misbehaved around his grandmother.
Hermione laughed. "Of course you have." She carried Teddy into the sitting room, where she assumed the others to be, with Draco following closely behind.
Not a moment after Hermione sat down next to Fred to tell him about Cat, a whooshing sound was heard, and Percy and his girlfriend Audrey stepped out of the fireplace. They were greeted warmly, but it was Fleur who noticed the ring.
"Oh, Bill, isn't this wonderful? Percy and Audrey are getting married!" Fleur's English had definitely improved, but she still tended to stretch out her i's so that they sounded like e's.
Ron, who was sitting on the floor near Fred, started joking with him about marrying Angelina. The two had been together for quite some time, but they had never talked about marriage, although Fred had stopped to look at engagement rings on occasion.
Interrupting their conversation, Percy asked Fred, "Have you even thought about the idea? Of marrying her, I mean?"
"'Course I have, you wankers just brought it up," Fred answered with a grin.
Percy, who was continuously working on his sense of humor, was relentless. "Fred, you're an adult now and you should really start acting the part."
"Fine," Fred replied. Getting hit by a stroke of sudden inspiration, he called across the room, "Oi! Angelina!"
Angelina looked up from her conversation with Ginny, Fleur, and Audrey. "What?"
"Want to marry me?"
Though Angelina was very surprised and taken aback, she smiled coyly and said, "Alright, then." She went back to discussing Audrey and Percy's wedding plans as if nothing had happened, as if Fred hadn't just proposed, albeit in an odd way.
Fred glanced at Percy, who was absolutely stunned. Remembering a similar conversation from his fourth year at Hogwarts, Ron got to his feet, clapped Fred on the shoulder and said, "Piece of cake."
Hermione burst out laughing, for what reason Draco did not know. Teddy tilted his head to the side and locked gazes with Draco. Had Hermione gone crazy?
"Love, what's so funny?" Draco asked, slightly worried for Hermione's sanity.
Once she calmed down, Hermione turned to look at Draco and smiled. "It was like he was asking her to go to the Yule Ball with him all over again. Undoubtedly one of the sweetest and funniest proposals I've ever heard about."
"Hm," Draco said thoughtfully. Hermione regarded him carefully, and Draco grinned at her. "Don't worry; I'm not going to take a cue from Weasley there."
"Good," Hermione responded.
Hermione congratulated Angelina first and when she moved to Fred she quietly added, "I think I may have a future candidate. Go to the kitchen in five minutes. Your mother won't be there because she'll be out here hugging everyone." Fred chuckled, and Hermione managed to slip away from the crowd with the help of Teddy, who loudly proclaimed that he was thirsty.
Fred leaned back against the kitchen counter and crossed his arms, arching an eyebrow at Hermione.
"You said you may have a future candidate?"
"Indeed I did," Hermione agreed. "Her name is Catherine, but she prefers 'Cat', and I think she's perfect for George. Problem is, I don't know if they'll actually end up liking each other as more than friends or partners in crime."
Mulling this over, Fred came to the conclusion that they would only find out if Cat could be someone George fancied if the two met in person. But he couldn't set George up on a blind date with Cat, whom Fred had never even laid eyes on.
Hermione seemed to be thinking along the same lines, because she said, "I'll have to invite Cat to come along for a big celebration or gathering. The soonest occurrence I can think of is your birthday, but it wouldn't do to bring her here for that. What about Teddy's birthday?"
Fred nodded. "Teddy's birthday it is. Thanks for your help, Hermione – it's high time George got some action."
"I wouldn't necessarily put it that way, but you're welcome nonetheless."
On the rare occasion when both Draco and Hermione had the day off work – Hermione would never stop thanking Merlin that Cat had started working at the daycare – they ate a late breakfast together that could technically be called lunch. While Hermione was drying the dishes and Draco was putting the extra food away, there was a quiet knock on the door.
It couldn't be a Death Eater on the other side. Death Eaters didn't do quiet. Subtle, maybe, but never quiet.
"Who do you suppose it is?" Hermione asked, setting the last plate down on the counter by the sink. Draco shrugged and pulled out his wand, casting the same charm Hermione used when Zachary and Benjamin unexpectedly showed up at the flat.
"For the love of Merlin," Draco groaned, striding away from the door. "Can we just not answer it?"
"Draco, if the person isn't a threat to our lives we might as well see what they want," scolded Hermione, who hadn't seen that their visitor was none but Astoria Greengrass.
"Hermione, I don't think that's such a good idea…" Draco started, but Hermione had already answered the door.
"What are you doing here?" the two witches exclaimed simultaneously.
"I live here," Hermione said, just as Astoria stated that she was there to see Draco.
"You WHAT?" Astoria shrieked. Hermione held a hand to her ear and sighed. She had a feeling Astoria had made her partially deaf for the time being.
Draco frowned at Astoria, but Hermione insisted that he invite her to come inside, even if Astoria was impossibly aggravating. Hermione sat down on the couch while Draco hung back, facing them with his back to the kitchen.
"Well, as you can see, Draco is here. If you wanted to simply see him you could have picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet, so why have you really come?" Hermione asked curiously.
"I wish to speak with him. Alone," Astoria added with a pointed look in Hermione's direction.
Hermione rolled her eyes, but Draco was not about to let that slide.
"Anything you want to say to me you can say in the presence of my girlfriend," Draco told Astoria, putting extra emphasis in the last word. Hermione shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. It was going to be a long afternoon.
Astoria purred, and cooed, and simpered, and even made quite a few suggestions, all while Hermione sat there listening. It was a good thing Hermione wasn't babysitting Teddy for Harry or Andromeda – she wouldn't have wanted him to hear the majority of the things coming out of Astoria's pouty mouth.
"So, Draco, darling, in case you want to get in touch with me, that's the password for my floo network," Astoria concluded, smiling sweetly.
"Okay, thank you for stopping by, Draco will let you know if he ever wants to talk to you again," Hermione said, more or less pushing Astoria out the door. She hated to be rude, but honestly, that woman had some nerve.
Hermione stared after Astoria and once the pureblood had gone, she grabbed a throw pillow and screamed into it. Draco laughed and kissed the top of Hermione's head.
"You were the one who opened the door," he reminded her.
"Yes, well, I thoroughly regret my decision," Hermione replied, tossing the pillow back onto the couch.
"I thought it was kind of amusing," Draco admitted, smirking. "I never knew Hermione Granger was capable of feeling jealous."
"I am not jealous of her," Hermione said, scowling.
"Fine, you were feeling oddly possessive, then."
Hermione couldn't deny that without lying, which Draco knew. Grinning when he saw her expression, he said, "Aw, come on, 'Mione. It was cute, seeing you like that."
"But I absolutely hate it when girls act like that around their boyfriends," Hermione sighed. "Or just in general; it's revolting behavior. Positively primeval."
"Whatever you say, love." Draco paused for a moment. "Now, I don't know about you, but I for one am ready to turn in for the day…"
"Draco, it's one o' clock."
"And your point is…"
Hermione chuckled and kissed Draco's cheek. "Maybe later – I want to go find an engagement present for Ginny and Harry…and Percy and Audrey…and Fred and Angelina. You know, I'm fairly certain that Molly is going out of her mind trying to plan three weddings at one time."
"She probably is, but she can handle it. Be happy she isn't trying to get you to help. I hear planning a wedding is rather taxing," Draco said. "My mother hired at least five wedding coordinators before I told her I didn't want to marry Astoria."
"Oh my," Hermione replied, mostly because she couldn't find anything else to say. Five wedding coordinators? I hope Narcissa doesn't hire that much help should Draco and I ever marry…
Draco smiled and laced his fingers through Hermione's. He started to lead her to the bedroom they shared, but Hermione stopped him by placing a hand on his chest.
"I told you, maybe later. I have things to do today," she said. "If you want you can come with me to Diagon Alley."
"I might as well, since I'm not getting any right now."
Hermione laughed and asked, "Why is it that I'm dating you?"
"Don't you dare answer that question negatively," Draco warned Hermione, following her out of the flat and out onto the streets of Diagon Alley.
Hermione looked at the two children in front of her, her resolve diminishing as she took in their sullen faces. It was Friday, and both Aria and Flynn came from pureblood families that would surely punish them if word got out about what they did. Hermione was the teacher at the daycare who was known for being strict, although she was kind to all of her students, but she decided, for once, to let Aria and Flynn go with a warning.
Flynn was the most troublesome child in Hermione's care, but he was also the most attentive, and would stand up for the younger ones or take their punishments if he thought them unjust. Aria, on the other hand, was very quiet. Her calm presence managed to hide the dangerous twinkle in her eyes.
"Go on out to the playground," Hermione said, ruffling Flynn's hair as she passed them to open the sliding door that led outside. "But if you ever catch you telling Emily where a bezoar comes from again…she's only four. Wait until she's a little older, alright?"
"Okay," Aria agreed softly. "Sorry Miss Hermione."
"It's alright, now go on and play."
Hermione, watching Aria and Flynn go, wondered how it would be to be a parent herself. She didn't know what she would name any future children, but Hermione knew for sure that she would never drop them off to be taken care of by strangers.
Biting the inside of her cheek, Hermione turned around and walked back to her office to pay the bills for the month.
"Oh for the love of Merlin," she muttered, stopping abruptly out in the hall when she saw who was waiting for her. "Ron, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?"
"I was hoping we could talk," Ron said sheepishly.
"The last time we talked I left feeling quite offended," Hermione reminded him, slipping into her office and sitting down in the chair behind her desk.
"I also wanted to apologize for that."
Hermione's eyes met Ron's. "You're not going to leave until you say your piece," she stated. It wasn't so much of a question as a means of clarifying what she already knew. Hermione sighed. "Well, since you're here, you might as well go on and tell me what's on your mind."
"You are," Ron blurted. He had the decency to blush after the words were out of his mouth.
"Ron, you are dating Lavender, and you need to accept that," Hermione said. "You also need to accept that I am happily dating Draco."
"How can you be happy with him?" Ron asked, genuinely confused. "He made our lives living hell for half of our lives!"
"Hardly half, Ronald. And Draco's a completely different person now. Stop thinking of the past and focus on the present, before life passes you by," Hermione instructed him. "Imagine how Lavender feels, knowing that you're unhappy with her and being content to try and fix that anyways."
"She really isn't as bad as you think."
"I don't think she's bad at all!" Hermione exclaimed. She did not add that that was probably what Ron thought. "She seems like a lovely person and you should really try and treat her with more respect and love."
"Who are you to say that I don't?" Ron demanded. "You're hardly ever around anymore because you spend all of your time with Malfoy!"
"As I've said before, because I'm dating him! This is exactly why I didn't want to talk to you! I knew things would end up like this!"
"Like WHAT, Hermione?"
"Us yelling at each other! This needs to stop, Ronald! We're supposed to be friends, and friends accept it when the other is happy with someone else, even after they break up," Hermione said, slowly breathing in and out in an attempt to calm herself.
Gina timidly poked her head inside of Hermione's office. "Er, Hermione, Blaise decided to pick Zane up early and he wanted to say goodbye to you, but if you're too busy…"
Hermione stood, not breaking eye contact with Ron. "It's no problem, Gina. Ron was going anyways."
"I'll see you on Sunday, Hermione," Ron said, disapparating with a loud crack.
"What was that about?" Gina asked once Ron was gone. (A/N: lol…it rhymes…)
"I don't even know anymore. You said Zane was leaving?"
Draco pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Weasley had been with Hermione for longer than he had and he still didn't know when to shut his damn mouth.
"Love, you've got to calm down. Stop pacing, you're causing a draft," Draco said from his spot on his couch. Hermione paused to look at him and Draco took hold of one of her hands and used it to tug her to him. "You're worrying about nothing."
Hermione let Draco hug her close, but her agitation didn't disappear completely. "What if Ron does something and I become a home-wrecker?"
"Is that what's got your knickers in a twist?" Draco asked incredulously. "I thought Weasley said something that actually offended you. Here I was fretting about you going off and killing one of your best friends."
"I don't even know if I can call Ron a friend."
"Now you're just being melodramatic," Draco said, kissing Hermione's nose. "And if there's anything I know about Hermione Granger, it's that she tries her best to never be dramatic at all."
"I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me. I know I'm blowing this all out of proportion and I'm overreacting and I'm sorry about that."
Draco got to his feet, taking Hermione with him. He walked over to their shared bedroom – what was the point of her moving in if they didn't share one, uncomfortable feelings aside? – and gently set Hermione down on the bed.
"What are you doing?" Hermione asked, laughing as Draco proceeded to tuck her in like one might a young child.
"You need to relax," Draco replied in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Are you being impersonated with the help of Polyjuice potion?"
"No," Draco said, looking at Hermione like she was out of her mind. She smiled and pulled Draco down so he was lying next to her. "But if you want proof I can suggest something that will make you call me impossible again."
"Okay, I believe that it's you," Hermione said, obviously amused as she shifted so that she was no longer confined in the sheets and her head was on Draco's stomach.
"Are you okay now?" Draco brushed stray locks of hair away from Hermione's face to better see the emotions there.
"I'm calmer, if that's what you mean."
"Yes, that's what I meant. As much as I dislike Weaselbee, it wouldn't do for him to mysteriously disappear."
Hermione rolled over onto her side so she was facing Draco. "I suppose you're right."
"I will never get tired of hearing that," Draco declared.
A/N: Happy holidays, guys! Hope you're spending them with people you love :)
Leave a review as a Christmas present to me! ;D