Chapter XIX: day after

Hermione woke, refreshed at the blissful dream she just had. She never felt such happiness in a long time. Not since Ron was ill.

Strangely, it was Ron who she dreamt about. She dreamt that she and Ron were having a lovely evening just by themselves. And it ended with a nice carriage ride towards home.

It was something to remember.

"Oh, Ron," she sighed.

"Fifteen," Hermione turned to look at Luna, who was sitting on her bed with a dazed but wary look in her expression.

"Fifteen what?" Hermione asked.

"Good morning," Luna looked at her friend warily. "You have sighed Ronald's name fifteen times in your sleep." Immediately, Hermione blushed.

"Have I?" she asked but knew the answer. "But how did you know?"

"I charmed a quill to write down everything you said during your sleep," Luna answered.

"What made you do that?" Hermione was puzzled. Luna usually did not do anything without a reason, albeit sometimes it was weird ones.

"I did it on a hunch," Luna explained. "Before I tell you, what made you sigh Ronald's name?"

"I had a very nice dream about him," Hermione said as she sat up, when she did, she noticed that she was wearing an elegant chemise that was almost see-thru. It was almost indecent.

Indecent but sexy.

"How did I get this?" Hermione asked.

"I charmed it," Luna said nonchalantly. "When Jäger placed you on your bed, he asked me to make you comfortable since he might get embarrassed."

"Somehow I doubt that," Hermione said. "You chose this?" the indicated the chemise.

"I was actually going for pajamas but the thing stayed elegant," Luna smiled. "What was your dream about?"

"It was lovely, Luna," Hermione sighed in pleasure. "Ron took me out to an elegant dinner. Then during dinner, we paused to partake in some light dancing and afterwards we took a lovely stroll under the stars. The dream ended with a carriage ride where I fell asleep with his arms wrapped around me."

"Uh-huh," Luna smiled almost skeptically. "Out of curiosity, what did you and Jäger do last night?"

"He took me out to an elegant dinner and then he asked the band to play some soothing music and he asked me to dance. Did you know that he's a great dancer? And then we took a stroll in the night. Afterwards a carriage stopped in front of us and gave us a ride where… I… must have slept…" Hermione's eyes widened when she realized what she had said.

"I might have known that was the case," Luna sighed as she looked at her friend. "When Jäger brought you in he had this defeated aura surrounding him. When I asked what was wrong he just smiled and asked me to take care of you."

"He did?" Hermione felt ashamed that she had caused one of the nicest men she had ever known such sorrow. "I had a really wonderful time with him and I repaid him by saying Ron's name in my sleep. He must really hate me."

"I don't know about that," Luna supplied as she charmed her bed to fix itself. "If he hates you, he would break that oath he made."

"Li is a man of his word," Hermione admitted sadly. "He will not break a pledge simply because he spites me. And somehow, I know that he does not give his pledge freely."

"But he is still a man. And men have their pride," Luna said much to Hermione's dismay.

"It is not his pride I have hurt," Hermione said as she looked at the window. I have shattered something more fragile than pride, Hermione thought. I may have shattered his heart.

…… …

"Women," the Hunter growled as he glared at Cho Chang while they shared a cup of coffee at the infirmary office. Cho, on the other hand, was smiling as if his demeanor amused her.

"What did she do?" she asked out of curiosity. She had been around him long enough to know that this was one subject that she should not trend on lightly.

"She moaned Ronald Weasley's name," Jäger said dispassionately as he sipped his coffee.

"You're a fast worker," Cho said with a frown. "Only two days and you got her into your bed." She, being the eldest of the friends, was protective over Hermione. She was even willing to face the Hunter for her sake.

"She was sleeping in the carriage when she uttered that name," Jäger said nonchalantly as if it did not mattered. Cho was afraid of what was happening. Jäger was beginning to retreat to his cold shell and become heartless once more. If she didn't do something soon, Jäger's liable to kill everyone in spite. Oath or no.

"You're not going to do anything stupid, are you?" Cho asked in alarm.

"Whatever I will do would not be stupid," he assured her but for some reason it did not work. "Whatever I would do would be carefully planned and executed."

"As always," Cho sighed. "Please think it over. I don't want Hermione to get hurt. And I know deep inside you would not want her to get hurt either."

"Too true," Jäger sighed.

"Li?" Jäger broke his cup in his hand when he heard that voice. Cho smiled as she turned and found Hermione, still in her sleeping gown looking sheepish.

"Ms. Granger," Jäger took a napkin from the table and wiped his hand clean. Cho shook her head as she smiled. Despite his annoyance of Hermione whispering Ron's name in her sleep, he still liked her.

"I forgot to… well… that is… I wanted to thank you for a lovely evening last night," Hermione was blushing in embarrassment. "And I wanted to apologize for any inconvenience I had given you."

"You'll never become an inconvenience to me," his voice was so soft that it made her look up. When she did, she saw the most serene face she ever saw.

"Ah… good," she found herself blushing. "That's good. Soo…. I guess I'll be going back to…"

"Your room," Jäger supplied.

"Right…" she blushed. "My room. Well, see you." She smiled and exited the room.

"That's a surprise," Cho smiled as she watched the Hunter follow Hermione out with his gaze. "Maybe there's hope for you yet."

"Maybe," he said and Cho noticed that his voice was less than cold. "If someone else does not agree."

"My brother will take her away from you," a voice in the shadow said and Jäger turned to face the owner.

"He could try," he said and Cho looked between the two. "And if you do anything towards my sister, you would wish you crossed over." With that, he left the room leaving the specter in the shadows where she was.

"Never cross Li," Cho told the specter as she stood and left the room.

The specter was starting to realize that Cho was right.