She had to be dreaming. Any moment she would wake up and find herself
getting ready to meet the Weasleys after not seeing them for six years
because at that very moment she had a hard time believing Pansy Parkinson
was standing in front of her, the picture of perfection, and what she could
only assume was the remaining Weasleys' partner.
"Nice to see you too" Pansy smirked, uncrossing her arms and flipping her long hair over her shoulder.
The Pansy Hermione remembered looked nothing like this. She remembered the dark haired girl in her school robes, her hair drab and her eyes dull. Her lips had always been colorless and even though Hermione remembered her as a curvy teenage girl, it didn't add up to what she had in front of her. The one thing she was sure of, of course, was that nose. Hermione would give all her galleons in Gringotts to Gred and Forge if that was Pansy's real nose.
As if reading her mind Pansy leaned towards Hermione's ear and very quietly said "We're all allowed, aren't we? Some of us shrink our teeth; others fix our nose a bit. Perfectly normal, right?" and moved back, a wide grin on her lips.
She was about to respond when Pansy interrupted her, her voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "This is James, he's five. Next to him is Jason, who's three. The one with the blue jumper is Daniel, four. And the wee one is Ian, two." She patted her large belly and continued "This one is due any day now. I've promised Ginny not to have him today or tomorrow though, even if it means crossing my legs and holding him in throughout the celebration."
She heard the Weasleys laugh, along with two voices at the same time, Harry and Molly's, "Not 'him' yet. It can always be the girl this time, Sy" and "Don't be silly dear, if it happens, it happens" respectively.
Pansy chose to respond to Harry's comment "Yes Harry, I haven't been carrying the baby around for nine months. I haven't had four of them already. I don't even know what having a boy feels like. I don't know that this one is EXACTLY the same as all my other pregnancies. This," she pointed at her belly "baby is going to be a girl as much as it's going to have my dark hair"
Laughter resounded throughout the household again. Hermione didn't think Pansy was very amusing, but apparently the rest of the household did. Even Ginny was trying to hold in a smile. Traitor.
Ginny obviously noticed Hermione's frown and quickly sobered up. She told everyone to go to the table and get ready to eat, while she and Hermione went and got the children from their playing area. The Weasleys all followed Molly into the dining area, leaving Hermione and Ginny by themselves for the first time in six years.
Hermione didn't know what to say. As she was thinking about her words, Ginny said, "I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't think it my place."
Anger surged through Hermione. How could Ginny not tell her something like this?! In the back of her mind, Hermione always thought Ron would wait for her, no matter how long it took her. Apparently she had been wrong. He had gone on with his life. Hermione still had a hard time believing...PANSY!
"Maybe you should talk with Ron first. I'm not going to meddle in your business. This is between you, Ron and Pansy." Ginny said a spark of something in her eyes. "I am really glad you're back. But you can't honestly have expected everything to remain the same"
"This is between me and Ron, Pansy has no business in it" Hermione replied, as she walked outside and saw Ginny call the children inside.
As they ushered them in Ginny turned to look at Hermione and said, "I'm sorry Hermione, but you can't believe there is still a 'Ron and Hermione.' It's 'Ron and Pansy' now, and you can't just shrug it off" and walked inside to sit at the large table, leaving Hermione to her thoughts.
"Nice to see you too" Pansy smirked, uncrossing her arms and flipping her long hair over her shoulder.
The Pansy Hermione remembered looked nothing like this. She remembered the dark haired girl in her school robes, her hair drab and her eyes dull. Her lips had always been colorless and even though Hermione remembered her as a curvy teenage girl, it didn't add up to what she had in front of her. The one thing she was sure of, of course, was that nose. Hermione would give all her galleons in Gringotts to Gred and Forge if that was Pansy's real nose.
As if reading her mind Pansy leaned towards Hermione's ear and very quietly said "We're all allowed, aren't we? Some of us shrink our teeth; others fix our nose a bit. Perfectly normal, right?" and moved back, a wide grin on her lips.
She was about to respond when Pansy interrupted her, her voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "This is James, he's five. Next to him is Jason, who's three. The one with the blue jumper is Daniel, four. And the wee one is Ian, two." She patted her large belly and continued "This one is due any day now. I've promised Ginny not to have him today or tomorrow though, even if it means crossing my legs and holding him in throughout the celebration."
She heard the Weasleys laugh, along with two voices at the same time, Harry and Molly's, "Not 'him' yet. It can always be the girl this time, Sy" and "Don't be silly dear, if it happens, it happens" respectively.
Pansy chose to respond to Harry's comment "Yes Harry, I haven't been carrying the baby around for nine months. I haven't had four of them already. I don't even know what having a boy feels like. I don't know that this one is EXACTLY the same as all my other pregnancies. This," she pointed at her belly "baby is going to be a girl as much as it's going to have my dark hair"
Laughter resounded throughout the household again. Hermione didn't think Pansy was very amusing, but apparently the rest of the household did. Even Ginny was trying to hold in a smile. Traitor.
Ginny obviously noticed Hermione's frown and quickly sobered up. She told everyone to go to the table and get ready to eat, while she and Hermione went and got the children from their playing area. The Weasleys all followed Molly into the dining area, leaving Hermione and Ginny by themselves for the first time in six years.
Hermione didn't know what to say. As she was thinking about her words, Ginny said, "I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't think it my place."
Anger surged through Hermione. How could Ginny not tell her something like this?! In the back of her mind, Hermione always thought Ron would wait for her, no matter how long it took her. Apparently she had been wrong. He had gone on with his life. Hermione still had a hard time believing...PANSY!
"Maybe you should talk with Ron first. I'm not going to meddle in your business. This is between you, Ron and Pansy." Ginny said a spark of something in her eyes. "I am really glad you're back. But you can't honestly have expected everything to remain the same"
"This is between me and Ron, Pansy has no business in it" Hermione replied, as she walked outside and saw Ginny call the children inside.
As they ushered them in Ginny turned to look at Hermione and said, "I'm sorry Hermione, but you can't believe there is still a 'Ron and Hermione.' It's 'Ron and Pansy' now, and you can't just shrug it off" and walked inside to sit at the large table, leaving Hermione to her thoughts.