Chapter 16: The Grim Reaper

A/N: If you are coming back to this story after reading it back when it started, I encourage you to re-read, as I've made some changes. It's been a long eight years since I last updated this story. Didn't realize it had been so long, but I guess that's what life does to you. I finally got inspired again, after adjusting my original expectations on this story, and realized I perhaps had a path to get to the end. Only problem was, I couldn't let myself add another chapter to this while leaving the rest of it the way it was. In some ways, writing a story at 13 is so much easier than when you're older, when you have higher expectations (such as actually showing some development, as opposed to just stating it). As such, I decided if I wanted to continue, I needed to edit the rest. So that's what I have done. Nothing major event-wise has changed, but I'd like to think that I helped smooth some things out that my 13-year-old self just barreled through. Please let me know in a review what you think of the story now. Happy to take constructive criticism; reviews in general have powered me through this thing, and I appreciate you. It was definitely a bit exciting to go back through this and edit, so I hope you enjoy.

For the second day in a row, Hermione found herself waking slowly, unwilling to part with the warm embrace of sleep. Once again, she realized that her warmth came not just from the bed, but also from the arm of the one who lay next to her. Ron's arm was draped over her side; she tentatively reached up to brush her finger along his hand. He twitched slightly, but otherwise didn't move. His soft breathing stayed even as he continued to sleep.

Hermione smiled to herself as she considered the past few days. With all of the stress of the upcoming Horcrux mission, she had never thought that something as inconsequential as her feelings for Ron would have ever come to surface. Before the game, Hermione had been determined to keep any thoughts of such buried until they had finished helping Harry. She couldn't help but feel thankful that the cursor had forced them all into the situation it had, despite her misgivings about her current situation. Speaking of which….

Hermione gently maneuvered Ron's arm from on top of her, turning to lie on her back. Moving carefully back into a sitting position, she pushed the blanket from on top her and brought her hand to her stomach.

A bump. Bigger than it had been last night. She tried to stifle the panic that suddenly ran through her. She might not be able to hide it today. Breathe, she told herself, just breathe. It was all a game, not of it was real. If it were real, well, she would know the bloody contraceptive charm, for one, and would never be in this position in the first place.

But here, in this game, she was pregnant. And soon, everyone around her would know. Strangers they may be, but Hermione was not keen on having other real people know how their controller had cheated. She pressed her palms against her eyes, trying to shut out the fake world.

"S'matter, Hermione?" Ron mumbled from beside her. She released her hands, glancing over to see him reach over and lightly brush her thigh. Hermione felt herself turn pink, but she smiled at him.

As he looked up at her, the sleep slowly disappearing from his eyes, Hermione felt her panic melt away. Even though she knew she wouldn't have a problem standing up for herself, it warmed her to think that Ron would be there for her. Despite the petty arguments they had, and the bickering in the past, Ron wouldn't leave her. She didn't think she knew anyone else who would stand up for his friends more than Ron Weasley. And perhaps she was shifting into more-than-friend territory.

"Nothing, Ron, I'm fine now." He shoved himself back, sitting up. The heat from his arms warmed her, he was so close. Hermione's breath caught as he watched her, his concerned glance slowly melting away into something new. Something that caused a shock of heat to flow through her. Ron's eyes flickered to her mouth, and she knew right then that she wanted nothing more than for him to kiss her. The night before had been cut off quickly due to their energy bars, and the previous encounter had been tainted by the cursor, but right now, alone in the room, with no cursor yet to be seen…

Ron hesitantly reached his hand up and rested it against her cheek, thumb lightly brushing across her face. Hermione felt her eyes flutter closed at the touch.

"Hermione…" he breathed. She snapped her eyes back open to see him close his own briefly, before he seemed to collect himself and started again. "Hermione, I know this game hasn't given us a whole lot of free will. But I want you to know that, that I wouldn't change any of it, if it meant it got me here, with you." He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers, moving his hand back to rest at the nape of her neck. "I love you, Hermione. I think I have for a long time." He moved his mouth closer to hers, but then hesitated again, backing away from her so he could see her face. Waiting. Uncertain.

Could he not hear her heartbeat racing? Did he not sense the joy that shot through her at his revelation? How could he still doubt, after all they had been through?

"Oh Ron," she whispered, "of course I feel the same." She saw the same joy that filled her reflected across his expression, before his lips were on hers.

It was like fireworks exploding around them. The heat of his touch and the warmth of his mouth left her breathless. She turned and straddled his lap for better access in the bed they shared. His mouth moved to trace along her jaw and down her neck. Hermione stifled a moan by moving her own lips to his neck, letting her teeth graze the skin there.

"Gods, Hermione," Ron groaned, leaning his head back to catch his breath. Hermione giggled slightly, catching her own and sliding back down next to him.

They sat there quietly for a minute.

"So, you wouldn't change anything, eh?" Hermione asked jokingly, bringing her hand over to rest on her belly.

Ron immediately turned red. "Oh, er, well, I didn't mean…" His eyes suddenly latched onto her stomach. "Blimey, Hermione."

Hermione let her hand drop, feeling subconscious all of a sudden.

"Hey." Ron took her hand. "I'm sorry. Sometimes, I just can't…make the right thing come out of my mouth."

Hermione smiled up at him. "You've been saying some pretty great things today." She leaned over and kissed him lightly.

She was just about to deepen the kiss again, when a knock came at the door.

"Knew it wouldn't last," Ron groaned. Hermione jumped back so quickly that her feet got tangled up in the blanket. Ron reached out quickly to grab her arm, but before he could, she fell right over the side of the bed and thumped to the floor.

Ron launched himself out of the bed. "Are you alright?" He asked, panicked, but Hermione just laughed as she used his offered hand to pick herself off the floor.

"Just because I'm pregnant, doesn't mean I'm that fragile." Another knock sounded on the door. "You know, I suppose we're lucky there are other staircases in this building, otherwise we'd have people barging in all the time." She let out a laugh before finally making it to the door, opening it to find Ginny.

"Hey Hermione." She looked past her to Ron. "I think the cursor is gearing up to send you and Harry off somewhere, he's been stuck on the phone waiting for it to decide.

Feeling disappointed that the cursor didn't seem to be in a hurry to send them home, Hermione and Ron left the room with Ginny.

Not long after, Harry and Ron were sent off to a bookstore on a separate lot (but not before Hermione whispered urgently for him to grab her a pregnancy book). After arriving in the new area, the cursor sent Ron into the store, but left Harry on his own. Hey tried to follow, but for some reason, the game wasn't allowing him. Instead, he found himself aiming for a bench outside the store. Sighing, he went to sit.

A familiar voice from the side startled him. "Oh, hey Harry!" Laura smiled at him, sitting next to him. Reluctantly, Harry turned. "Sorry for using your real name, by the way, I noticed it on my list. I can't help it though, I do like the name Harry more than James, I hope you don't mind." Harry just nodded. "Okay, so I have a bit of a weird question." Her expression turned nervous, and she bit her lip while twisting her hair. "So you've noticed how we have these wants and fears, right? Well did you know you can actually buy things with the points you receive when you fulfill them? Well, you know how tough it's been for me with studying and gaining the skills I need here at University. I've already failed one semester, and I really need to pass this one. Well, one of the rewards you can buy is called a thinking cap, and it would help me gain the skills I need quickly in just a day."

Harry's head spun as he tried to follow, not understanding where she was going. She continued on. "Well, I am so close to getting enough points. And I wanted to know if you could help me. Now, of course, you know this is all a game, yeah? Not real, and all that jazz. And I know you're engaged to that Ginny girl you came here with. But don't worry, she's not even here on the lot, so it won't negatively affect you or anything." She trailed off, looking uncomfortable. She seemed sincere, though Harry tried to keep in mind what Ginny had told him about her. "Anyway, so one of my wants appeared and won't go away. If you could help me with it, you could help push me over the edge to get that reward. So, do you think you could just…make-out with me really quick?"

Wariness filled him. He did feel bad for her, and for the fact that she seemed to be having issues. But game or not, he wasn't about kiss her voluntarily.

"Look, I'm sorry you're having a tough time, and yeah, I know it's a game. But Ginny's not just a game for me, and I couldn't do that to her. Maybe you can pick one of your other wants to do?"

Laura's expression flattened into one of cool regard. "Right. Of course, you and Ginny." Harry felt chilled at her change in tone. Thankfully, the cursor arrived to pull him inside. "Have a good rest of your time in the game, Harry." Laura's voice was flat and impassive as he turned to go inside.

After watching the cursor send Harry and Ron out, Hermione stopped by her normal dorm room to change, before meandering outside with Ginny. Finding an option to look at the clouds, they both sat down in the grass.

Ginny sighed, leaning back to look up at the sky. "Do you think we'll get our own house after we graduate? Or go back with that Nancy woman?"

"I do hope it lets us have our own place. I'm ready to get away from all these strangers. I don't fancy having a bunch of spectators to all our cursor-related drama." Hermione moved her hand to her stomach.

Ginny looked over at her. "How is that going by the way? Do you feel any different?"

Hermione looked down, trying to tell if she had gotten any bigger yet. It seemed to be on a slow progression, rather than sudden changes. "Well, it is odd, because I do feel the weight. Maybe because I'm not slowly getting used to it, as in a normal pregnancy, but it feels a bit like I picked up something slightly heavy, and am just holding it in front of me. Of course, I was feeling sick yesterday, and today so far it's been fine, it just seems like my bars are running down quicker. I really wish I had some parchment I could track this on, I'd be very interested in studying how this feels compared to in the future, when the real thing happens."

"So you want kids in the future then?"

Hermione contemplated that. It felt very hard to look much farther in the future beyond what laid immediately ahead. "I hadn't put a lot of thought into it before, but I definitely see myself wanting one or two, down the line. You?"

"For sure. I grew up in absolute chaos, it felt like, but I can't imagine not having several kids. Not seven, mind you, but two or three, that seems about right."

They fell into a relaxed silence. A few minutes later, Hermione was pulled out of her trance by Ginny pointing up into the sky. "Hey, do you see that? What –" Hermione barely had time to look up and see something black and metal in the sky, before it came crashing down, landing square on top of Ginny.

Hermione screamed, jumping up in shock. A crashed satellite lay in pieces on the ground, and Ginny had disappeared. Hermione just stared open-mouthed, barely registering what happened. Suddenly, a frightening creature appeared nearby. Hermione's first terrified thought was that it was a dementor; the skeletal creature had a long black hooded cloak, and floated along the ground towards the downed satellite. Hermione finally noticed the long scythe, and realized it was the fabled Grim Reaper.

"Wait!" She shrieked, stumbling forward a step towards the creature. It turned back to her, and she fought to keep from falling backwards; it's rib bones were visible through the translucent cloak, and she could see no face. Hermione looked frantically between the satellite and the Reaper. "Please, can I—can I have her back?" It pulled out a clipboard from under its cloak, flipping through the pages. If Hermione hadn't been so petrified, she might have laughed at the sight. It seemed to find what it was looking for, and the clipboard disappeared. It through the scythe away, which also disappeared, and then it held out its ghostly hand. A small, blue light grew from its palm, until it shone brightly. Hermione felt herself mesmerized at the sight; she could see it bouncing around, ever so slightly. The Reaper closed its palm, and the light disappeared. Then the Reaper moved both hands behind it's back, shook them around, and brought them back in front, both palms closed and face down. It looked up expectantly at her.

Hermione stared wide-eyed at the hands. Was it serious? Did she have to guess which one had the ball of light? She tried to keep from hyperventilating as she shakily reached out a hand, pointing to its left. The Reaper slowly opened the hand, and Hermione thought she might faint at the sight of the blue light shining through.

The Grim Reaper made an exaggerated sighing motion, before summoning its scythe again and waving at the ground. The ghostly figure of Ginny, eyes closed and limp, rose up from the ground. She gained color suddenly, and her eyes snapped open as her feet solidly hit the ground.

Ginny looked at the disappearing figure of the Grim Reaper, then at the fallen satellite, before turning to Hermione, looking astonished. "Did I just fucking die?"

Hermione couldn't help it; she let out a giggle. "Merlin, Ginny, you just died."

It was just too much, and soon both girls were hunched over, laughing and crying.

"I—can't believe – that thing fell on me! And how did I come back? What was that thing?"

"I think it was the Grim Reaper, and I had to pick which hand it hid your soul in to get you back."

They stared at each other for a second more, before bursting back into laughter.

"This game, I swear."

A/N: Leave a review if you still think this is worth continuing!