That last date was brutal (and kinda inspired by love hard, thanks Ash) and Hermione deserves a break. Maybe she'll find a break in this chapter? Or maybe someone will help her with this? Keep reading to discover!
Hermione groaned when she opened her eyes, regretting drinking all that wine with her mother the night before. She had known that she would end up drunk, but she hadn't wanted to stop. For a few hours, Hermione had wanted to forget everything.
Her phone rang at that moment, and she glanced at it to find Ginny calling her. Hermione didn't want to answer her right now, so she let the call go to voicemail. She noticed she had another eight missed calls from Ginny, three from Draco, and four from Blaise.
"It's too early for me to deal with you all," Hermione said to her cell phone, rolling over and going back to sleep.
When she woke up later, the number of missed calls and text messages on her phone was well over fifty, but she couldn't be bothered to answer them. Groaning again, Hermione decided to leave her bed and face the day.
She was glad she still had clothes at her parents' house to change into. Sighing, thinking about her horrible night one more time, she left her room to go to the kitchen.
"There's my little girl!" Jack Granger screamed, making Hermione wince at his booming voice. "I thought you were going to hibernate in your room."
"I didn't think it was that late," Hermione said and groaned, hugging her father. "It was Mum's fault for keeping me up while I was drinking."
"You say this now, but I didn't hear you complain last night." Emma dropped a kiss on Hermione's forehead. "You look better this morning, sweetie."
"Thanks, Mum. I feel better too," Hermione said, sitting down on one of the chairs around the table. Her parents shared a look, but Hermione was too hungover to care about it. "I needed some time away from everything."
"And we're glad you came over to spend time with us—even though it was a little surprising," Emma said, sitting next to Hermione. "You didn't even call; you just turned up on our front door."
"I'm sorry I didn't call. I hadn't thought that far ahead." Hermione bit her lip before looking at her parents. "I was missing Mum's hugs more than I care to admit."
"Oh, sweetie!" Emma said, giving her a hug. "You don't need to apologise for that. You can always come home."
"Even if you want to come back and live with us again, we won't say no," Jack said, coming to hug her too. "I would love it if you came to live with us again if I'm being honest."
Hermione chuckled, feeling tears in her eyes. "Thanks, Dad, but I like my flat. Besides, if I don't live here, I'll have an excuse to spend some time with you two."
"That's what I like to hear!" Jack cheered, dropping a kiss on Hermione's head. "Why don't you enjoy the morning by taking a walk around the neighbourhood? We have snow..."
"You're trying to convince me to go out because you and Mum have to go to the practice, aren't you?" Hermione smirked at the blush on her father's face. "No need to say anything. I'll go walk around."
"We won't take long, but we know how you always loved to walk around the neighbourhood and enjoy yourself in the snow," Emma said with a smile. "And we promise to be back for tea."
"Not lunch?" Hermione asked, knowing her parents usually worked during lunch hours.
"You're already a grown-up; you can have lunch by yourself," Emma said, standing up and looking at Hermione. "But I'll make some French toast for you if you drop your cheekiness."
"I'm sold!" Hermione giggled, forgetting for a moment about her worries. "With Nutella and strawberries?"
"Yes, the same way I used to do when you were a little girl," Emma replied and Hermione danced in her seat.
"I knew I had a good reason for me to come home more often." Hermione laughed and stood up to help her mother. "I'll have to have a nice walk around the block to burn the calories."
"Shush, you don't need anything," Emma said, grabbing the brioche. "I just hope you have fun while walking around."
"Me too, mum," Hermione murmured. "Me too."
Hermione took a deep breath after she left her parents' house; she loved the smell of fresh snow in the morning. Some of the children were making snowmen and having snowball fights, and Hermione couldn't help but smile at the scene.
She remembered all the times she'd had snowball fights with Ginny and her brothers, and the snowmen they had made while growing up. Sometimes, she missed the way everything was so simple back then. She noticed some neighbours had already put up the Christmas decorations even though December was still two weeks away.
Hermione was so lost in thought that she never saw the snowball coming towards her. It smacked her in the face, and she had to stop and look around who her assailant was.
"I'm sorry, miss! I didn't mean to throw it at you. I wanted to hit my brother, but he moved!" cried a little voice that she immediately recognised. "We were having a snowball fight before we go sleigh-riding."
"It's alright, Char. I didn't mind," Hermione replied, turning to see a surprised Charlotte looking at her.
"'Mione! You're here!" the little girl cried, coming to hug Hermione. "I missed you!"
"I missed you too, sweetie," Hermione said, hugging her and using the same nickname her mum always used for her.
"Charlotte Grace Nott, how many times have I told you not to run off like that?" Theo appeared as if out of nowhere, panting and looking at Charlotte with a frown. "Anything could have happened to you!"
"I'm sorry, Theo, but look who I found!" Charlotte was bouncing on her feet, clutching one of Hermione's hands in her. "I found 'Mione!"
"Oh, hey, Hermione, I didn't see you there," Theo mumbled, blushing a little, and Hermione let out a small laugh.
"How are you, Theo?" Hermione asked, seeing how he was staring at the ground and not at her. "Please don't scold her; she was only excited about the snowball fight you two were having."
"And I threw one at 'Mione, but I said I was sorry and that I wanted to throw it at you," Charlotte said quickly, smiling at the look her brother was sending her.
"Don't think you're going to be off the hook, little one, but I'll let it slide… for now." Theo was trying to look threatening, but Charlotte only giggled. "Are you ready to go sleigh-riding?"
"Yes! I'm super ready!" Charlotte jumped up and down, and Hermione couldn't help but smile at her childish excitement. "Can 'Mione go with us? Pretty please, Theo? You know you want to ask her, too!"
Theo coughed and blushed, glancing away from them for a quick second. "You're going to need to ask Hermione if she wants to come with us. But don't be sad if she has other plans."
"Okie dokie." Charlotte nodded before turning to Hermione. "'Mione, do you want to go sleigh riding with us? Pretty please with a cherry on top?"
Hermione giggled and knew she would never be able to deny the little girl anything—especially after she had just revealed Theo's little secret.
"Well, since you're inviting me, I don't think I can say no, can I?" Hermione said with a small smile, which made Charlotte squeal. "Show me where your sleigh is."
Charlotte dropped Hermione's hand and started to run in front of the two adults, yelling how she couldn't wait. Hermione sighed and started to walk after her, but Theo's hand on her arm made her stop.
"You don't have to say yes if you have other plans," he said, looking at her with concern written all over his face. "Charlotte will understand, and I wouldn't want you to do anything that you didn't want to do."
Hermione smiled at his concern. "Don't worry, Theo. I'm not doing anything I don't want to… Unless you don't want me to come along…"
"No—I mean, yes! I mean—Yes, I'd like it if you came along," Theo stammered, his face reddening to the point of bursting. Hermione thought he looked adorable with his crooked beanie and Christmas-themed sweater.
"I'm coming," Hermione said. Theo's face lit up in excitement, though he tried to keep his face calm. Hermione continued, "Besides, I think I need to go sleigh-riding today with an over-excited Charlotte."
Theo's grin was stuck to his face as the backs of their hands occasionally touched while they strolled after Charlotte, who was impatiently waiting for them. Hermione didn't know what she had hoped to find when she had left the house that morning, but so far, her morning was way better than she had hoped.
"Are you sure this thing is safe?" Hermione asked for the fifth time, sitting in the sleigh. "I don't want to get hurt in it."
"Don't worry, Hermione, this is pretty safe." Theo was smiling at her, and the knots of worry in her stomach began to disappear. "I would never put you—or Charlotte—in danger."
"Right, I know you're right. I just needed to be certain." Hermione took a deep breath and sat behind Charlotte, who was singing to herself. "Are you ready, Char?"
"Theo still needs to sit, and then, we can go," the little girl said in a tone that didn't leave room for disagreement. "Are you ready, Theo?"
"I'll give the sleigh a push and I'll jump in behind Hermione, alright?" Theo said, and before she could reply, he started pushing. "Here we go!"
Theo shoved the sleigh down the hill and jumped in behind her, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her shoulder. She couldn't overthink that at the moment since she was holding Charlotte as if her life depended on it, but Theo's manly yet not-too-overwhelming cologne made her swoon; she wanted to inhale as much of it as she could.
Soon, the ride was over, but Hermione couldn't forget the feeling of Theo's strong arms around her or the way his nose was buried in her hair. She was trying not to think much about it since she still was a little scarred from the date of the day before, but her brain wasn't letting it go.
"Can we go again? Please, Theo? Pretty please?" Charlotte was bouncing on her feet, and Hermione thought the scene was too cute.
"Yes, we can go again." Theo chuckled, and something inside of Hermione shifted at the sound. "Why don't you start climbing up the hill while I bring the sleigh?"
"Okie dokie," Charlotte replied happily. "Let's go, 'Mione?"
"I'm sorry, sweetie, but I'll have to decline this time," Hermione said with a small pout. "The ride made me a bit nauseous."
"But you're still going to watch me, right?" Charlotte asked with her big doe-like eyes and Hermione nodded. "Yay! Let's go, Theo!"
Hermione chuckled at how fast she was climbing while Theo stared at Hermione with a small smile on his face. "What?"
"Nothing, I'm just looking at you." He shrugged and Hermione's face warmed. "You're going to watch Char, right? You're not going to run away, are you?"
"No, I don't think my stomach can take another ride," Hermione said, putting her hand on her stomach. Theo looked at her with an unreadable look on his face. "Nothing's wrong. It's only a hangover."
"I hope you feel better soon." Theo winked at her before climbing the hill, where Charlotte was waiting. Hermione felt herself smiling without a reason.
They stayed on the hill for over an hour, but soon, it was time for lunch. Hermione knew she should return home and answer her friends' calls even though she didn't want to.
Playing in the snow with the Notts had lifted her spirits, and she was feeling a little lighter already. Hermione was almost regretting having to say goodbye.
"Thank you for inviting me today, Char. I had a great time," Hermione said when they were returning home.
"I had fun too!" Charlotte exclaimed. "Do you want to have lunch at my house?"
Hermione faltered, not knowing how to answer her, so Theo came to her rescue. "Charlotte, you don't know if Hermione has plans with her parents or not."
"They're at their practice, so I was thinking about ordering lunch," Hermione said before she could help herself. Slapping a hand over her mouth, she looked at Theo with widened eyes. "Oh, my gosh! I'm sorry, I didn't want to sound like I was intruding, I just—"
Theo interrupted her babbling with a chuckle. "I was going to invite you anyway, but Char got to it first. So why don't you accompany us for lunch?"
"Yes, and in return, I would be delighted if you two come over for tea at my house?" Hermione asked, feeling shy all of a sudden.
"It's a date!" Theo beamed at her and Charlotte squealed. "Come on, Char, lead the way."
And just like that, Hermione wasn't feeling down at all. Following the Notts towards their house, she started to feel like herself again. She would send a message to her friends when she returned to her house, but for now, she would enjoy the company she had.