A/N: College applications are coming along, so I had some extra time to write! Three cheers for writing fanfic! This chapter has a little bit of everything. I hope you all will like it. And if you don't I'm sure you'll let me know in a nice way. Have fun reading!
lucidity- Yes, Hermione can counteract the curse, she just doesn't know how to do so. There are bits of foreshadowing in this chapter. I promise you that it will all come together.
Satine-cm- Big ball of greatness? Why thank you! That's impressive! The ministry doesn't know that wizards were involved in the heist, but if did find out then who knows what'd happen!
Pia O'Leary- Firstly, thanks for being such a thorough reviewer. Honestly, I'm not a big prophecy person myself, but I got the idea and thought "Eh, what the heck!" I'm glad it works out. I'll completely agree with you that the shagging is quite random, but I blame that on a little thing called teenage sexual frustration. When let loose, it can be dangerous. I'll try to incorporate more fluff, anyway.
ShadowDown- Making Ginny a goddess sounds like a lovely idea. I've always been attached to that character. It's surprising I don't write H/G stories LOL!
angel and devil- I sucked you back in? YES! Now I will brainwash the minds of all who read my story once and for all! MUAHAHAHAHAHA! - cough cough - I mean, enjoy this chapter!
Cursed Wedlock by MyKonstantine.
Chapter 11: Visuals and Confessions
After a long morning of odd glances and bickering with Ron, Hermione was quite pleased to leave the Burrow for a little while. She tried to avoid thoroughly explaining her visions, as she didn't want to worry anyone. From their attitudes about her silence, Harry and the Weasleys would've preferred some more worry. Still, she didn't relent.
Diagon Alley sparkled with a soft winter glow that brightened Hermione and Ginny's eyes and cheeks alike as they walked towards Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Of course, 'all occasions' meant weddings as well.
"I hate having to buy some enormous wedding robe." Ginny sighed, dragging her feet through the slush. "I never expected to look back on my wedding pictures and analyze how fat I look."
"You're not fat." Hermione cooed. "You're pregnant. People honor and respect that. When you and Harry look back, you two will honor and respect that too." She smirked, knowing that Ginny couldn't argue with her word choice.
Ginny turned to Hermione as she pushed through the door to Madame Malkin's. Her fiery hair tumbled down over her left shoulder. The reflection of crystalline snow sparkled in her eyes. "Yeah, me and Harry and our little one won't mind. This is my wedding robe, after all."
As Ginny entered, Hermione followed numbly. Her mind was still dwelling on Ginny's words. This was Ginny Weasley. Little Ginny Weasley. My, oh my, how little Ginny Weasley had grown. She was now womanly, self-sufficient Ginny Weasley. Hermione's heart swelled with pride, but her eyes could only watch with admiration.
Madame Malkin grinned. She was no stranger to Hermione and Ginny's visits to her shop.
"Hello dears, what can I get you?" she said, flicking her wand and sending a feather duster to clean off a sign in the back of the shop.
Ginny spoke up in a clear, cool voice. "We're actually looking for wedding robes."
"Oh, yes." Madame Malkin piped up. "I've already heard about your engagement to Harry Potter! Congratulations!" Though her words were cheerful, her facial expression grew distort when she glanced down at Ginny's stomach. "Wedding apparel is way in the back of the shop, I'm afraid, both bridal and otherwise."
Hermione didn't feel the need to thank the old woman that was staring at Ginny like some common prostitute. Instead she turned Ginny around and started walking towards the wedding dress, muttering "Wench" under her breath.
Shopping for Hermione was easy for them. Ginny had already decided on dressing her in burgundy, a color that turned out to suit Hermione very well.
"I haven't bought a dress robe in ages." Hermione called out from the dressing room. "My last one was from the Yule Ball."
The dress robe Hermione was putting on was the same size as the one she'd worn to the Yule Ball, too. Too bad she could barely button it.
Hermione still struggled to get the robe on. She could still fit in to it! She wasn't that much older!
Sucking in a deep breath, Hermione snapped the final button shut. She wanted to jump up and down in success, but she just couldn't move. Her hands couldn't even undo the buttons.
"Giiiiinnnyyyy.." Hermione squealed. "I need you to come in here! I'm about to pop!"
Ginny rushed in quickly, taking a good minute to laugh at Hermione's sorry state before helping her out of it. "We'll just have to get you a size up, now won't we?" she laughed.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Make that two sizes up."
After successfully finding Hermione a dress that fit her properly, the search began for Ginny Weasley's perfect wedding dress robe. It was a long and tedious search indeed, as Ginny was a very picky lady.
"Hermione!" Ginny called out eventually. "I've found it! I have to go try it on!"
Ginny only showed Hermione a quick flash of a white robe before dashing into a dressing booth. As curious as Hermione was, she just cracked a grin and waited patiently for Ginny to come out.
A leg moved out from behind the curtain, and there was a giggle before the purple curtain opened dramatically to reveal Ginny, who was drunk with happiness.
The elegant silk robe flowed down her body smoothly. It cut slightly shorter than most robes, revealing Ginny's pale but strong legs. A silvery rope tied the robe shut in the middle with a bow and there was a v-neck at the top. The robe looked even better because Ginny was positively glowing.
"It's amazing." Hermione said breathlessly. That was all she really could say. Ginny had made an excellent choice. "Now let's go buy it!"
Ginny giggled. "Help me get it off!"
Hermione pushed the curtain out of her way and reached for the first button on the dress robe. However, as she touched the button, a familiar wave of nausea came over her. Hermione fell back against the wall of the changing booth, heaving in her breaths. There was no use in fighting it. She opened her mind to the flood that was trying to break through.
The vision was much more gruesome that the ones she'd had before. She was seeing a lifeless bloody corpse from every possible angle. The blood seeped out from the body's very own pores. The fingernails had cracked off and fell down beside the blood-drenched hand. Where there were supposed to be eyes, there were only two hollow sockets.
The body was wearing a silken v-neck wedding robe with a rope around the waist. It was Ginny.
Hermione came back to her senses when she heard a shrill scream. It took her a moment to realize that the scream was her own.
"Hermione! Hermione, please!" Ginny cried out, her eyes full of concern and panic.
Hermione took a moment to gain her breath then quietly mumbled "I'm okay."
"What's going on in there?" Madame Malkin's voice rang out suspiciously.
"Nothing." Ginny called back. She reached around and began taking off her dress robe herself. She didn't care about Hermione's presence. "Hermione just tripped and got a bit of a fright, that's all."
Ginny threw her casual robes back on. She threw a sharp yet worried look at Hermione, who hadn't moved an inch since her spasm. "What happened?"
"I had another vision."
Ginny thought for a second before clutching Hermione by the arm and pulling her along. They couldn't just discuss this in a robe shop.
"C'mon! We have to go home. Harry and Ron need to know about this."
Hermione's only response was a long, drawn out groan.
The floo network was unusually kind to them on their trip back to the Burrow and did not whip them around in such a way that they would lose their lunch.
"HARRY! RON!" Ginny wasted no time in beckoning the two men down to the parlor. Hermione only shook her head. She was just too drained to tell of the things she'd seen.
Ron strolled into the parlor with a half-eaten apple, and Harry's footsteps echo like thunder as he came down the stairs just in time to see Ginny forcing Hermione into a seat on the couch, looking flustered.
"What's this all about, then?" Ron inquired. He walked slowly towards Hermione, as if he might've contracted a very contagious disease if he moved too quickly, before taking a seat next to her on the couch.
Ginny sat in an old wooden rocking chair. "'Mione's had another vision again."
The youngest Weasley felt horrible for exposed her dear friend's fit to them all, but she realized it had to be done. Hermione was the guardian, but that didn't mean she could keep everything to herself and do it alone. They had grown into a team over the years. They had grown into a family.
"Well," Harry said in a surprisingly calm voice, probably for Ginny's sake more than his own. "What was it all about, Hermione?"
"Maybe I should start with the first one." Hermione sighed, throwing her head against the couch backing.
Ron raised an eyebrow, the apple in his hand long forgotten. "How many of these things have their been?"
"Three." "THREE? How come you didn't ever tell us?"
"Not now!" Harry grumbled at Ron. He leaned forward so that he had a prefect view of Hermione from where he sat next to Ron. "Start wherever you'd like. Just start."
Hermione opened her mouth, then shut it again. It was too much. It was just too much. Her eyes darted back and forth between Harry and Ginny. "I really don't think you want to hear this."
"We want to. Believe it or not, we can handle it." Ginny spoke after a minute or two of observing in silence.
Hermione sucked in the breath. "The first one was the night we found out about the curse. Ginny didn't put the ring on and Harry left it downstairs. I picked it up to give it to him, but as soon as I touched it, I saw.." Hermione's voice was already struggling to keep steady. "I saw the ring on a bloody hand. Someone was screaming, too."
The other three sat in quiet contemplation for a moment before someone muttered "Go on."
"The second one wasn't bad like that. Actually, it wasn't that bad at all." Ron smirked at Hermione happily, waiting for her to tell her version of the story.
"I was walking down the isle towards Ron." Hermione recalled. "Harry was the best man. We were at Hogwarts. I didn't have a wedding ring, I had this."
Hermione lifted up her hand to show them the glowing mark of Lucidare on her wedding finger that they all knew had only appeared the night before. She tried to continue nonchalantly. "Ron looked happy, I suppose, but I could see that something was bothering him. Oddly enough, I couldn't really feel my own emotion."
"And that's the only one anyone knew about, only because I told them." Ron didn't want to glare at Hermione, so he stared down at the floor.
"Well, do you like knowing that I'm being haunted by these damn things?"
"Of course not, but if you don't tell us, we can't do anything about it!"
"Oh, get on with it!" Harry interrupted the lovers' quarrel before it got too far. "What happened today?"
Hermione paused again. "I really, really don't think you want to hear this."
"Say it, Hermione."
Hermione held back the tears as best she could. How could she tell her best friends what she'd seen knowing what it would do to them?
"Ginny had her wedding robe on. I went to help her get it off."
Harry's face turned pink before he spotted the bag by Ginny's foot. "Wedding robe?"
He reached a hand towards the bag, but Ginny slapped it away. "Harry! No!"
"Awww why not?" Harry pouted. Ginny turned a little red herself. "You can't see! It's tradition!"
"Go on, Hermione." Ron called out loudly, drawing everybody's attention but to the bushy brown haired woman.
"As soon as I touched the dress robe, I saw Ginny in that robe. She was.. oh God, she was dead. There was blood everywhere." A tear sprung out of Hermione's right eye. "There were no eyes. No fingernails either."
Everyone stayed deadly quiet. A few more tears leaked out of Hermione's eyes. Ron put an arm around her in an unconvincing attempt to pacify her. Harry looked like he was going to be ill. What scared Hermione most was that Ginny had barely reacted at all.
"I'm so sorry, Gin. Please just tell me you're okay." Hermione's voice squeaked out.
"I'm fine, love." Ginny replied in a numb voice without moving an inch. "I think I just need a nap, that's all."
"Let me help you upstairs." Harry stood to help Ginny out of her seat. They left the room slowly. Hermione wallowed in the sound of their footsteps until she could no longer hear them.
"I don't know how I did that. I don't know how I can do this." Hermione's tone sounded almost as numb as Ginny's did a few moments ago.
Ron's arm tightened around her. Her head fell onto his shoulder and one lithe arm wrapped around his middle.
He looked down at the mass of chestnut curls and said, "We'll get through this. We've been through worse before, haven't we?"
"But this isn't about me!" Hermione cried. "If I don't solve this, nothing happens to me! But you and Ginny- Ron, you or Ginny could die if something goes wrong!"
"We're not going to die though. We've got a back-up plan, remember?"
Hermione lifted her head so that she could look him in the eye. "You don't really want to get married. I could tell in the vision that you didn't."
"It's not that I don't want to, I just don't want to force yo- force anyone to marry me when they have so many better opportunities in their lives."
"You think there's a better opportunity for me than you?" Hermione inched her hand forward until Ron's hand was clasped in it.
"Yes. No. I dunno! Christ, Hermione! I always thought you'd chose someone better than me!"
"Better than you?" Hermione said, a twisted, confused look on her face. "Because I don't know how I feel, right? Because my feelings since bloody third year don't matter?"
"Third year?" Ron reiterated, looking quite impressed. "I can't say I admitted it before fourth year, myself."
"Yes, Ron! Third year! Even when I could've had Viktor Krum if I wanted! You were always the best for me." Hermione's cinnamon eyes gazed into his stormy blue eyes, and Ron knew in his heart that she was sincere.
"But if I ask you to marry me, I want it to be right. I want you to be able to plan your perfect wedding, not some makeshift one thrown together because you felt responsible for my family." Ron leaned his head down so that he and Hermione were touching foreheads. "I want you to be ready so that it's everything you've dreamed of."
Without warning, Hermione pounced forward playfully and pushed Ron down. He lay back on the couch, Hermione's chin leaning on his chest. "Are you asking me to marry you, Ronald Weasley?"
Ron shrugged his shoulders with a mischievous grin on his face. "Not yet. I want that to be perfect too."
"Why?"
A shiver ran through Ron's body before he tensed up. "Because I love you, Hermione."
Hermione tried to embrace Ron, but it was impossible, as his back was sunk into the couch. "Oh Ron, I love you too."
They savored the moment as best they could, but the events from earlier that day haunted them both. They lay there for an eternity without a word, just trying to sort out their ever-so-complex thoughts.
Ron looked down from the ceiling and realized that Hermione had fallen asleep while still sprawled out on top of him on the couch. He studied her complexion, her twitchy nose and her rosy lips. It wasn't sexual at all. Nothing had happened between them. She'd only pounced on him playfully when she thought he was about to propose.
No, it wasn't sexual at all. It was art and beauty and perfection.
Still, Ron realized that she'd sleep much more comfortably in her own warm bed.
He propped himself up on to his elbows slowly. He didn't want to wake her, but that wasn't going to be easy. Ron wasn't exactly adept in lifting small women off a couch using nothing but his upper torso.
In fact, he couldn't move at all without waking her. It was damn near impossible. He let out a grunt of exasperation and fell back into the couch.
"Need a hand, mate?" A man with dark, messy hair chuckled out from behind him.
"If you don't mind." Ron replied, though very quietly. "Where's Ginny?"
"In bed. She's taking a nap, but I'm not tired enough myself." Harry walked over quite casually and stuck his arms underneath Hermione, minding Ron's legs. With a shock intake of breath, his lifted her into his arms and stumbled backwards.
"Don't drop her!" Ron mumbled in an excited whisper as he hoisted himself off the couch.
Harry tried to regain his footing, but failed miserably. "Well, I have no sense of balance, so I suggest you get her now."
Ron sighed deeply before putting his hands beside Harry's and taking Hermione from him. She wasn't an extremely heavy girl, but she wasn't exactly light either.
"Thanks, mate. I'm going to bring her upstairs, then I'll be down here again."
He clambered up the stairs, almost falling twice. This was definitely an activity he'd have to get used to with time. He smiled at the thought of being able to carry Hermione up the stairs for years to come, but he didn't want to rush it. At least he'd do it for now.
He congratulated himself on a job well done as he opened the white door and approached her bed. However, he did it too soon. When he was a few feet away, he tripped over the edge of the carpet and fell forward.
Hermione landed on the bed with a small shriek. Ron's arms were still under her. He pulled them out quickly and stared at her like an innocent little puppy.
"Ron! What are you doing?"
Ron shrugged while his cheeks and ears turned bright red. "I was just.. you know.. saying a little prayer for your well-being."
Hermione smirked through her sleepy haze. "You brought me upstairs? Why didn't you just wake me up?"
"You looked so peaceful." Ron said quite honestly.
Hermione was no longer looking at him, but at the shining jewel on her bedside table. Hermione had taken to Lucidare Crystal from Ron earlier that same morning.
"I dunno, Ron." She sighed. "But there's something more with that thing than me. It's got powers, I just don't understand them."
Ron brushed a stray hair out of her face. "We'll research it later, okay? I promise."
"But you hate research!"
"I'm liable to fall asleep, but I'll try." Ron noticed the small yawn Hermione let out as he spoke. "You just rest for now. I'll be downstairs if you need anything."
After giving Hermione a quick kiss on the forehead, Ron pivoted towards the door. A little voice stopped him.
"I love you."
Ron swiveled around, leaning a hand on the doorway. He didn't want to ruin the moment, but he had to ask. "Why?"
"Because you're daft."