The second day of your period is always the worst, but today you wake up without pain. You look next to you and see Draco still fast asleep. You sigh when you think about what's in store for today: Lucius and Narcissa are throwing a party to celebrate that Draco is now truly one of the death eathers. You know Draco is not really looking forward to it because he's anything but happy with this title, so you've promised to go with him to support him.
You look at the clock and see to your surprise that it is already 10:00 AM. You stretch and carefully crawl out of bed because you don't want to wake your boyfriend. You grab a hoodie from the desk chair and pull it over your head, before gently slipping out of the room towards the Great Hall. Once there, fill a tray with breakfast and sneak back up the stairs towards the Slytherin bedrooms.
"Love, wake up", you whisper softly. You put the tray next to Draco on the bed and give him a kiss on his forehead. Draco opens his eyes a little surprised and sits up. "Goodmorning cutie," he says. Smiling, he looks at the breakfast you picked up. "What a lovely surprise." You slide next to him on the bed and crawl back under the warm blankets. Draco pushes the breakfast aside and pulls you closer to him. "How are you feeling today?" he asks, genuinely interested. You almost drown in his blue eyes and almost forget to answer. "Funny enough, okay," you tell him. "Better than yesterday, anyway," you add as you pop a chocolate croissant in your mouth. Today is Saturday and the meeting with the Malfoy family is scheduled for this afternoon, so you take it easy this morning. You watch a muggle movie while hugging, until it's really time to get ready for the party.
Draco stands in front of the mirror in his black suit tying his tie and you stare at him with open mouth. "How can I be in a relationship with someone so handsome?" you tease the blond boy. "Because you're ten times prettier yourself," says Draco as he turns to you and walks towards you. "Although I would replace your pajamas with normal clothes if I were you before we go", he chuckles after it. You smile at him and replace your red pajamas with black high-waste skinny jeans. You tie the top knot but are suddenly overcome with pain in your stomach. You drop to your knees for a moment but quickly climb up again, because you don't want Draco to see it. Luckily, he's just got into the bathroom and doesn't realize what happened. "Hermione, have you seen the toothpaste?" he yells. You put on your white sweater and tie your cape on before walking over to him and taking the toothpaste from the top drawer. "It's not that hard," you say, slightly annoyed, holding the tube under his nose. "Thank you," says Draco, furrowing his eyebrows. "Is everything alright?". Hermione doesn't answer and gets ready by the fireplace with which they travel to the party location. "Are you ready to go? Draco unbuttons his cape and stands next to you. He hooks his arm through your arm and grabs some floo powder from the mantel before you remember anything. "Wait", you shout quickly and before Draco could say a word you run to the bathroom You grab a box of tampons and put it in your bag "Almost forgot", you laugh as you stand next to Draco again. "Let's go!"
Draco looks at you inquiringly. Are you sure you can travel through the fireplace? How's the cramps?" He puts his hand on your stomach for a moment while he waits for your answer. Honestly, your cramps are only getting worse since you pulled yourself into your skinny jeans, but you don't want your boyfriend to feel will worry even more. "I'll be fine," you say, placing your hand on his. "Believe me. Let's go!" You notice from everything that Draco does not believe you, yet you step into the green fire together.
Narcissa and Lucius have unpacked and rented a room to receive all the guests. "Partyhouse the Seven Dragons", you hear Draco say before releasing the Floo Powder. Together you are drawn into the light and a few seconds later you end up in a cheerfully decorated room. There are long standing tables with green napkins, a stage on which flying instruments play cheerful music and the space is already well filled with Draco's family and people you've never seen before. The atmosphere is cheerful, but you don't notice it the moment you land with a bang in space. Transforming while on your period has never been a smart idea. A fit of cramps overtakes you and you double-fold the moment you hit the wooden floor. Immediately afterwards you get sick to your stomach and you get the feeling that all the breakfast from this morning is coming out again. You feel Draco pressing you close to him. "Hermione, are you okay?", you can hear the concern in his voice. Before you could say anything, all eyes were suddenly on you and your blond boyfriend. People start clapping and you quickly stand up, hoping no one realizes that it feels like a hundred knives are being stabbed into your womb. "Draco! Hermione!", Narcissa and Lucius approach you and there is kissing and hugging. You are taken towards the rest of the group and Draco is congratulated and cheerfully welcomed from all sides. You yourself join Lucius and Narcissa at the standing table, while Draco is pulled along to talk to other family members. He looks concerned at you, but is overwhelmed by the people around him.
You get into conversation with Narcissa and Bellatrix, but you can't follow exactly what is being said. You now not only have pain in your stomach, but your lower back and thighs also start to hurt. You would prefer to sit somewhere, but you don't want to be rude and walk away. That's why you lean against the standing table, while holding your glass of butter bleed tight. You keep the other hand under your sweater and try to massage your cramps away, without results. "Are you sure you are okay, Darling?" Bellatrix suddenly asks. She and Narcissa look at you in an investigation. You feel that you are starting to blush and stand up quickly. "I feel fine!", You say with a vibration in your voice. You feel that it was not very credible, but it seems like the ladies believe it. You sigh and look around you. Draco has been gone for almost an hour now and you haven't seen it since then. The room is big and warm and you wonder why you didn't say you would rather stay at home.
Suddenly, the buzz is transcended by a loud cheer as Lucius takes over the microphone on stage. "I would like to propose a toast to my son and new member of the community: Draco." Draco reluctantly walks onto the stage and looks searchingly into the audience. Only when he has found your eyes does he heave a sigh of relief. The other present Death Eaters start cheering even louder and you get the feeling that you have to throw up. Suddenly the pain is just as bad as it was yesterday, so you gasp and run into the hallway you think are the restrooms. You can just see Draco getting ready to follow you from the stage, but he's stopped by the merry crowd. You run down the long black hallway, your cape waving behind you as your hips move from side to side. You throw open the swinging doors and heave a sigh of relief when you see that you did indeed find the right way to the toilets. You enter a cubicle and change your tampon, then sit on the floor next to the toilet. You pull your legs up and put your head in your hands. "Just a little rest", you think to yourself. You don't know how long you've been on the floor. Ten minutes, maybe twenty, yet you make no move to go back. You still have pain all over and the thoughts of having to walk again bring tears to your eyes. Suddenly there is a knock on the door. "Miss Granger, are you in there?". You look up in shock when you hear Professor Snape's voice. You don't know what to say. "Hermione? I saw you go in here," he continues softly. "I'm here," you whisper. "Come in."
The door swings open and Professor Snape steps inside. You're still on the floor and want to get up quickly, but the Snape stops you. "Sit down," he orders. Not in the mood to argue, you do as he says. "Still not feeling well, Miss Granger?" You shake no. "Listen. I know I wasn't very nice yesterday. Honestly, I just don't understand the monthly woman problem and didn't know how to react to your situation yesterday. I stayed up all night and brewed a magic potion to hope to ease your pain a bit. My response yesterday made me realize that my students can't help this and that I better help them instead of treating them like that. I'm sorry about my reaction," he says as he tells you handed over a bottle with a purple liquid. You look up surprised. Snape's face is red and doesn't look like he's comfortable. You take the bottle gratefully. "There may still be side effects associated with it," warns Severus. "The pain will most likely increase at first and you will get very tired. I advise you to take it tonight, when you are in bed. You look gloomy, because you want to get rid of the pain as soon as possible." Is it that bad?" Snape asks concerned. You don't answer. "Thank you Professor", you say as you slide the bottle of purple liquid into your bag. Slowly you try to get up, Snape grabs your arm and helps you up.
Severus will not let go until you walk back into the hallway. Slowly you walk back to the main hall. It's quiet, but you notice that your professor is looking at you with concern. Suddenly a headache sets in. 'That could also be added', you sigh to yourself. You put your hand on the door handle but are suddenly stopped by Snape. "Hermione, I can safely take you back to Hogwarts. Then you can take the potion and you'll be free of pain," Severus suggests. You really don't want to leave Draco behind and the idea of going away with a teacher now gives you the creeps, but you also long for your bed. Snape sees you doubting. "Let's search for Draco," he suggests. You nod in agreement before you walk through the door together. The music has since turned into magic party hits and everyone is dancing and jumping. You go looking for Draco, but can't find him anywhere in the crowd. Suddenly a feeling of fatigue overtakes you. You feel a sting in your head and see stars before your eyes. Slowly you sink away, the last thing you feel is two hands that catch you and carry you away.
The moment you wake up, you will land in the room you left with Draco this morning. You look at the person holding you and see to your horror that it is not Draco, but Professor Snape who brought you home. "You're awake again", he says relieved as he puts you on Draco's bed. "Are you able to dress up in something more comfortable?". You don't ask any more and nod, before going to the bathroom. You sigh as you loosen your tight skinny jeans and toss the garment in the corner. You put on your old, ugly pajama pants and exchange your white sweater for Draco's black hoodie. You don't look like much, but you don't care what Snape thinks of you today. You walk out of the bathroom and look at Snape, who is waiting for you uncomfortably but eagerly. "Lie down," he says coolly. You smile when you see that he has put a glass of water on the bedside table and has connected the heating pad to the socket. You snuggle under the thick blankets and gratefully take a sip of the purple stuff Snape hands over. "The pain may get a bit worse at first," the professor warns again. You push the heating pad on your stomach and crawl a little deeper under the covers. The pain does indeed get worse and you push your legs against your stomach to distribute the pressure. A soft moan escapes from your mouth and you squeeze your eyes shut to focus on the pain. Suddenly you feel a cold towel on your head and you open your eyes in shock. "Try to relax," Snape whispers softly. You close your eyes again and feel the cramps slowly diminish. Just before you fall asleep, you can hear Snape's heavy footsteps walking towards the door. "Professor?", you whisper softly as you half open your eyes. "Thank you for… all this." "You're welcome, Miss Granger. And if you ever have trouble again, feel free to come and see me," he smiles before walking out the door.
You fall into a deep sleep painlessly and only wake up when the room is lit green. You open your eyes and see Draco running towards the bed and kneeling in front of you. His eyes are large and there are beads of sweat on his forehead. "When I heard from Snape what happened I came right away. I'm so sorry Hermione, I should have stayed with you," he says with tears in his voice. Still a bit dazed from the potion, you sit up straighter. "You don't have to apologize, love. Professor Snape brought me home because we couldn't find you, everything is fine. I'm going to sleep now and then you can go back to your parents and go to the party," you say while you give him a hug. "Absolutely not, I'm not leaving you again today," emphasizes the blond boy. He gets up and takes off his suit, while you lie back flat on the bed. The cramps are still there, but the nausea and headaches are gone. Draco takes off his blouse and gets into bed with you. You lie on your side and he takes a seat behind you, massaging your lower abdomen. "Thanks, love", you whisper softly. "Always. I love you so so much", Draco whispers back softly, but you have fallen asleep again. Draco smiles when he hears your soft regular breathing and gives you a kiss on your forehead. "Sleep well darling."