CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Summary: Hermione suffers a terrible attack and who should find her but one of Wizarding Britain's most eligible bachelors. The relationship that builds between them is one no one saw coming, but no one predicted the danger that would surely follow. Post-War. Rated M for a reason.
Disclaimer: I do not own canon events or characters, they belong to J.K Rowling. I am not making a profit from this fanfic, everything is purely for entertainment purposes.
Page count: 11
Diagon Alley – Thursday 24th December 1998
It was Christmas Eve, Hermione realised, and it had arrived a lot quicker than she thought it would. Over the last couple of days, she'd been so busy she'd barely had time to stop and think.
The previous day Hermione had spent at the stadium, getting herself familiar with the layout of the building, running into some staff members and introducing herself to them. It was obvious she had surprised them when she told them of her new position with the team, one of girls from the PR Department had almost fainted when Hermione shook her hand and agreed to give her an autograph when she'd nervously asked.
After that she'd made herself scarce and retreated to her office, spending some time personalising it and ensuring that the medical examination and treatment bays were up to standards and going over inventory, throwing away nearly all of the potions due to them no longer being safe for use. She honestly didn't know how Healer Dodd had passed his exams, gotten the job as the team's healer or how no one had noticed his neglect towards the players. If she hadn't witnessed firsthand his uselessness, the state of the treatment bays would've given it away.
When the team arrived at the stadium, Hermione had been waiting for them along with Coach Burton, wishing to see if they'd followed her orders and gotten new brooms.
None of them had. Not even Malloy, Pallie, Bishop or Thompson, all of who knew her personality from her being their private healers. She supposed they wanted to test her, possibly hoping that she had been messing with them. They had gotten a shock when she'd instantly put them on a no fly ban.
They'd gawked at her and then as a group, the six players all turned to look at Coach Burton expectantly, waiting for him to override her orders. Unfortunately for them he merely smirked, crossed his arms over his chest and said, "Can't argue with your healer, boys."
Hermione had smiled smugly and Oliver had struggled to contain his amusement at the situation. And seeing as he was the only one who was exempt for the ban, he was free to access the pitch, but neither he nor Coach Burton saw the point of it. Instead, Coach Burton had all but forced the team to follow him up the stands and into the building, leading them to a room which looked to be used as a classroom of sorts, with the chalk board on the wall, the desks in the centre of the room and chairs behind them.
Hermione had happily stood at the back of the room near the door, preventing anyone from leaving whilst Coach Burton lectured the six team members, then later moving onto discussing the plan of action for the up-coming practice matches that would start up after Christmas. It was clear to Hermione that the six wizards were bored out of their minds, obviously finding no joy in the theory aspect of the sport.
They'd only been there an hour when the six wizards all stood from their desks with scowls, left their brooms on the floor, and they all stormed out of the room, leaving behind an amused Oliver, a smirking Coach Burton, and a smug Hermione. Barely an hour and a half later, the six wizards returned to the stadium, each one of them with a new broom held tightly in their grasp and an annoyed look on their faces.
Hermione had lifted the ban instantly and before she could blink, they'd all flown onto the pitch in blurs, immediately starting their drills. Coach had laughed at her and turned his attention back to the no longer banned players, and Hermione winked at a laughing Oliver, before going back to her office, feeling good about herself.
And now it was Christmas Eve. That morning she and Oliver had both gone to the stadium, making sure to arrive at different times and Hermione had hidden herself away in her office. She'd spent some of the morning looking through the medical records for each player, frowning unhappily when she saw that Healer Dodd had not only been terrible at healing, but at keeping records, too. Luckily she kept a record of all the Quidditch related injuries she'd healed for her patients and she was able to update the records for five out of seven of the players, but there was little else she could about it.
After having completed that and with her services not being needed, she'd returned to the manor, collected the last of the shopping bags and spent the rest of her morning wrapping the final gifts for the children in her office. She and Oliver had stayed up as long as possible the night before to get the last few wrapped, but in the end they needed their sleep and Hermione took the opportunity presented to her. By the time lunch rolled around and she and the team were officially dismissed for the Christmas break, she'd finally finished wrapped all of the gifts.
Oliver and Hermione had been sure to be the last ones to leave so no one would notice that they both floo'd to Oliver's manor. They'd both flopped on to the couch and sat in silence for a few minutes, before they made their way to the kitchen and had lunch together.
Afterwards Oliver left to change out of his practice robes and Hermione had decided to bake some ginger bread men for the children at the orphanage. She was so glad of the fact Oliver's kitchen was so big and he had several ovens, making her task a lot easier. Oliver had offered to help her but after he'd accidentally gotten some of the ingredients mixed up, she'd put him to work with the cookie cutter and placing the ginger bread men onto the tray and into the oven, whilst she focused her attention on mixing the ingredients together, and later decorating the ginger bread men once they'd cooled.
Oliver had eagerly offered to be the taste tester, "Just to be sure they were edible," were his words, and after laughing at the innocent look on his face, she'd relented and allowed him to steal one, after all, there was more than enough for all of the children and staff.
After shrinking all of the gifts, tins of ginger bread men and the food for the Christmas feast down and placing them in large cardboard boxes, she and Oliver had floo'd to The Leaky Cauldron, easily blending in with the crowd of last minute Christmas shoppers as they made their way to the orphanage.
"This is it?" Oliver asked, looking up at the building with a frown on his face, seeing that it definitely needed some work doing to it.
"Unfortunately," Hermione replied.
"Is it even structurally sound?" He said, turning his eyes to her, worry crossing his face.
"It's structurally sound for now, but in a few years probably not. It's why we're trying to get a new building as soon as possible, not only because it's unable to house all the children and staff comfortably, but for safety," she explained, lifting her hand to knock on the door, and moments later footsteps were heard and it was pulled open.
Hermione smiled down at the little girl that grinned up at her, her red hair pulled into a messy pony tail, her green eyes shining with excitement and her yellow dress covered in dirt and what looked to be children's paint.
"Hermione!"
Hermione chuckled and wrapped her arms around the little girl as she flung herself at her and wrapped her hands around her waist, looking up at her with a big smile.
"Hello, Daisy," Hermione said.
"It's been ages since we saw you, we've missed you," the little girl pouted slightly.
"I've missed you all, too, and I was only here on Saturday," Hermione chuckled. The little girl shrugged and stepped back from her, turning her eyes to Oliver and looking at him curiously. "Daisy, this is Oliver, a very good friend of mine," Hermione introduced.
"It's nice to meet you, Miss. Daisy," Oliver spoke, tipping his head and giving her a dazzling smile.
Daisy giggled as she clasped her hands behind her back and rocked on the balls of her feet, and Hermione looked at Oliver with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged in reply and gave her a dazzling smile, too. She just rolled her eyes at him.
"Is he your boyfriend?"
Hermione sighed, pushing her hair back from her face and Oliver turned to look at her with an amused look on his face and an eyebrow raised questioningly.
"No, Daisy, he's just my friend."
"You need a boyfriend," the little girl stated.
Hermione made a noise and frustration and threw her hands up dramatically. "I'm sure I've already had this conversation before. Have you been speaking with Hannah?"
The little girl shrugged her shoulders and gave Hermione an innocent smile. Hermione scowled and Oliver chuckled.
"Alright, Daisy, I think that's enough now. At least let Hermione through the door before your interrogation begins," Nancy spoke, appearing from around the corner and pulling the door open further in invitation for them to enter.
Hermione stepped into the house and hugged her in greeting whilst Daisy was sent off to be with the other children.
"It's good to see you again," Hermione spoke, following after her and noticing that as Oliver followed after them, his eyes took in his surroundings with an unhappy look on his face, obviously not liking what he saw, and she didn't blame him either.
She and Oliver both took a seat in the small staff room whilst Nancy bustled about, making some tea, putting the completed beverages on the small table and taking a seat herself.
"Before I visit with the children, I have some news," Hermione spoke, taking a sip from her mug. Nancy gave her a nod of encouragement and a smile pulled at Hermione's mouth. She turned to look to Oliver, seeing a smile was also on his face, earning a raised eyebrow from the older woman. "Do you recognise Oliver?" Hermione asked.
"Vaguely," the older woman nodded. "I'm sure I've seen you in the papers."
Oliver smiled kindly. "A'm the Captain af Puddlemere United."
"Oh, I met your teammate, he's a lovely young man," she commented.
Oliver tipped his head slightly, not agreeing with or denying her words. "Well, Hermione's a good friend af mine, an' both she and Malloy have explained the circumstances surrounding the orphanage, an' both meself an' Malloy spoke tae our Coach, in hopes he could do somethin' tha' may help."
Nancy looked at him in intrigue, but also confusion.
"I've recently been recruited by Puddlemere and made their team's healer," Hermione said.
"That's wonderful news, congratulations," the older woman smiled warmly.
"Thank you, anyway, I was hesitant to take the job until they made it so I was unable to refuse. First of all, not only is Puddlemere United going to donate a large sum of money to the orphanage with the stipulation that it is to be used to purchase a new building to house the children and staff, but they're also going to fund, host and sponsor the fund raiser we're planning." Nancy's mouth fell open and her eyes widened. "The team's going to be taking a day off from their busy training schedule and they'll help to run the stalls, as well as offering photographs, autographs and flying lessons. Every knut that is raised goes straight to the orphanage. I spoke with Coach Burton yesterday, the team's PR Department is going to promote and advertise the fund raiser and they're going to hire an events planner to take care of the entire day, all we have to do it turn up and make sure the children enjoy themselves."
"I can't believe it," Nancy whispered in reply, her eyes watering.
"That's not all," Hermione smiled. "Since I agreed to take the job offer, Puddlemere is also going to pay for the children's tuition to Hogwarts and further education should they wish to go down that avenue after graduation. I am unsure of how long they plan to do so, but for the time being, that will cover each child that is currently under your care right now."
The tears were falling down her face freely now, and a she gave a slight laugh. "That's wonderful, thank you so much," she said, turning to look at Oliver.
He smiled back. "The children have been through a lot an' they deserve tae be taken care af. We only ensured the big bosses knew af the good work yer doin' an' tha' the circumstances surrounding the orphanage were less than ideal, an' they agreed. Fer the time bein' the orphanage will be financially stable, an' ye'll be able tae find a better suited property."
"There's something else," Hermione piped up.
"I'm not sure my heart can take much more," Nancy laughed, wiping away her tears. Hermione and Oliver chuckled at her.
"Over the last few months, Harry and I have been transferring money into a muggle bank account for a single purpose. We want the children and staff to have the Christmas they deserve. Harry has purchased items of the wizarding variety, he's also bought several brooms and he's hired a flying instructor to teach the children for the next year. He should be by later this evening once he's finished he's shift at The Ministry."
Her mouth had dropped open once more, and then she and Oliver both removed the many boxes from their pockets and resized them. The older woman turned her eyes towards them then back to Hermione and Oliver.
"Whilst Harry has done that, Oliver and I ventured into the Muggle World. Tomorrow morning each child will wake up to gifts under the tree. They'll each receive a toy, a new pair of shoes and three new outfits. And we've also made sure you have everything you need to ensure the children and staff are treated to a wonderful Christmas feast."
Tears were flowing freely down the older woman's face and Hermione stood and walked over to her, enveloping her in a tight hug.
"I have no way to repay you for your generosity," she sniffled.
"Naw repayment necessary, we jus' want the children tae have a Christmas they'll never ferget," Oliver replied.
"We'll leave you so you can tell the staff about the fund raiser, I'll visit with the children for a little while and introduce them to Oliver, but we can't stay long I'm afraid, but I'll make sure to come back and visit after Christmas."
After another hug and smiles were exchanged, Hermione and Oliver left the staff room and she led him to the common room where she knew the children would be gathered. They both stood in the door way, Hermione chuckling when she saw Oliver's eyes widening at just how many children there were crowded into that single room, seeing them all chatting, laughing and playing.
"What's the age range?" He asked her, noticing that some of the children appeared to be teenagers and some were considerably younger.
"As far as I know, the youngest is three and the oldest is seventeen. Are you ready to face them?"
"Probably not," he answered.
She laughed at him. "If you can handle crazy fan girls, you can handle these children. They're not as bad as you would think. Most of them are really well mannered, even those that can be handfuls."
She took his hand in hers in a comforting gesture and she tugged him forward into the room and she called out loudly to be heard over the children. Oliver blinked as every single one of them turned to look at them, smiles appearing on their faces at seeing Hermione and the older children look surprised to see him there, too.
"Who here knows my good friend, Oliver Wood, Captain of Puddlemere United?" Hermione asked, smiling when the majority of hands shot up in the air.
They'd been at the orphanage and with the children for oven an hour, the children crowded around them, asking questions and for Oliver's autograph, which he happily gave them. Hermione was sure she'd have to massage the cramp out of his hand later on, bless the man.
He was currently sat on an arm chair with a gaggle of children sat on the floor surrounding him, listening to him retelling stories of Quidditch matches he'd played in, all of them being enraptured by his words and excited hand gestures.
Hermione watched him fondly as some of the girls sat with her on one of the couches, little Daisy being perched on her lap as she brushed the hair of a girl sat on the ground in front of her, whilst Hermione braided her hair for her. Oliver looked up from the children and sent her a wide smile, his eyes sparkling in his excitement, before turning to look back at the children in front of him. At that smile Hermione was sure her insides had melted and her stomach flip-flopped. She shook her head and tied off Daisy's braid, hooking it over the little girl's shoulder.
"All done," she told her.
"Thanks, Hermione," she grinned in reply.
She hopped off Hermione's lap and ran to find a mirror so she could look at her new hair style. Hermione only laughed when Jasmine -another little girl with wild hair to rival her own back in her childhood- climbed on her lap, wishing for Hermione to do her hair, too. She'd lost count of how may braids she'd done in the last hour.
Shaking her hair, she quickly pulled the tangled blonde hair back from the little girl's face, doing her best to remove some of the knots without hurting her and securing the thick strands in a braid. As she was tying off the braid, Hermione's eyes caught that of someone entering the room.
It was Evie, Nancy's daughter. She helped her mother to run the orphanage and look after the children. Hermione thought she looked more like her father than her mother, with her short black hair tied back from her face, her dark eyes framed by even darker lashes and her skin almost as pale as her own.
Hermione's eyes widened slightly when she caught sight off the bundle in Evie's arms. The little boy couldn't have been any older than four months, and as far as Hermione was aware, there hadn't been any children admitted to the orphanage lately; it must've happened after her last visit.
"Hi, Hermione," the young woman smiled in greeting. "This is our new resident, Timmy." She nodded to the little boy she was currently feeding a bottle to. "He arrived on Monday. Father unknown and mother died a few days ago," she explained. "He's with us until a relative can be found, if not then..." Hermione nodded in understanding. "Would you mind giving him his bottle? Heather, Johnny and David need my help in the kitchen preparing the children's dinner."
"Of course," Hermione smiled at the young woman.
Hermione shifted Jasmine off her lap and accepted the little boy from Evie, settling him into her arms and continuing with feeding him his bottle. Evie thanked her and disappeared from the room, being followed by some of the children begging for her to give them a snack before dinner.
Hermione looked down at the little boy, feeling a smile settle on her face as he stared up at her, quietly drinking his bottle. Hermione couldn't deny he was of the cutest babies she'd ever seen, not that she'd seen many mind. He had the bluest eyes she'd ever seen and a thick head of brown hair. His little hand reached out and gripped onto one of her curls, holding it tightly in his closed fist.
A shadow settled over her and she felt a presence beside her; she didn't have to look to know who it was. She tore eyes away from Timmy and looked up, getting caught in the puppy dog eyes that belonged to Oliver, a surprisingly soft look held on his face.
"I see you escaped," she said with a smile.
He shook his head slightly and chuckled at her. "It wasnae easy, but a was able tae convince them tha' we should take a break."
Georgia who had been sat beside her on the small couch jumped off the cushion and ran out of the room when she was called by another child, and Oliver moved to occupy the space. The couch was so small that he couldn't sit beside her without his body touching hers, their arms and legs pressed against each other.
"It suits ye," he commented, his voice soft and a fond look crossed his face as he eyes darted between her and Timmy.
She gave him a smile and turned her eyes back to the little bundle. "I've always wanted children," she confessed. "Not yet though, I'm happy to help here whenever I'm needed, but I'm not ready to be a mum yet, at the moment I'm more of the fun Aunt and I'm happy with that." He chuckled at her. "I want to wait a few more years before I consider starting a family and of course I need to find someone to do that with. I'm thinking maybe two or three kids."
He nodded slightly. "A want the same," he agreed and she turned to look at him.
"You want to have children?" She questioned.
"Aye, but like ye said, a'm not yet ready tae have kids either. Bein' an only child is lonely, a've always wanted a brother or sister but it never happened, so a'd like tae have a couple af kids so they never know tha' loneliness. A need tae find someone a can raise a family with, an' a'd like tae wait a few more years, too, especially since a've just made Captain an' a've still got a promising career ahead af mae. A want tae make somethin' af meself an' create a legacy tha' me kids can be proud af."
Hermione smiled at him. "I assure you, Oliver, you've already done so," she said softly. She looked back down at the child in her arms and missed the fond, almost loving look that entered his eyes.
Timmy finished his bottle soon after and Hermione placed the empty bottle on the ground before shifting Timmy so that he sat on her lap and he was tilted forward slightly as she gently held his face and neck as a support and she patted at his back with the other hand, winding the small child.
"Yer a natural," Oliver commented, when Timmy gave a loud burp and Hermione praised him with a baby voice and she wiped away the spittle from his mouth with the bib that was around his neck.
"I used to babysit for some of my neighbours once I turned sixteen," she explained. "As much as I loved my books, even I got bored with reading during the school holidays and with nothing better to do, I found myself agreeing to watch the neighbours' children. Most of them weren't too much bother as they were easy to distract and old enough to understand that I was there to watch over them and keep them safe until their parents got home. One or two of them were handfuls as they were at the stage in their lives were they started back talking." He laughed at her. "But there were three young babies I used to look after whilst their parents were at work. Penny was fourteen months, Jack eight months and the youngest was Hailey at three months. I didn't mind it. More often than not they were quiet and slept most of the time, and it allowed me to gain experience with children of all ages, which comes in handy given my day job," she shrugged.
"Do ye still see them? The kids?"
"I haven't seen them in years, no, not since I left with Harry and Ron during the war," she shook her head.
She turned her eyes back to Timmy when he gave another loud burp and she wiped the sick from his mouth before shifting him back into her arms, holding him against her chest and rubbing his back gently. As she did this, some of the children would run up to her and Oliver, showing them the pictures they'd drawn before running away with smiles on their faces when they exclaimed how good they were.
Before Hermione knew it, Timmy had fallen asleep and she really needed the toilet. She turned to look at Oliver and he looked away from the little boy showing him his favourite children's book and to her, raising an eyebrow at the look on her face.
"What?" He questioned.
"I've really got to pee."
"Right?"
She huffed slightly, looking down at the baby asleep on her chest and then back to him. He eyes lit in understanding and he cleared his throat, shuffling in his seat slightly.
"Oh, well, ye might as well give him tae mae," he spoke with a shrug, trying to hide his discomfort but she saw right through him and they both knew it.
"You won't hurt him, Oliver; he's asleep, it's not as if he's going to cause you any trouble," she told him, amusement working into her tone.
She stood from the couch and bent slightly, pulling Timmy away from her chest and resting him against Oliver's, taking his hand in hers and she pressed it against Timmy's back to keep him in place, and she stepped back from him.
"See? Nothing to worry about, I'll be right back."
Before he could reply she made her way through the crowds of children and out the room, heading to the nearest bathroom. She was gone no more than ten minutes and returned to the common room after being cornered by one of the older boys asking her if she knew when Harry would next be visiting. She took a moment to stand in the door way and watch Oliver, going unnoticed.
He hadn't moved from his place on the couch and Timmy was still asleep on his chest with Oliver's hand pressed against his back, only now, two young children were sat in the seat she'd left, one sat on the arm rest beside him, little Holly who was only three was perched on one of his parted knees and leaning against his chest –being mindful of Timmy- and several more children were sat on the ground in front of him, all listening attentively whilst Oliver read aloud from a children's book.
She leaned against the door frame, a smile pulling at her mouth, her eyes softening and her insides melting at the scene in front of her. She could imagine him being a father; reading to his children, teaching them how to cook, teaching them how to fly and how to play Quidditch. She could imagine him being kind and encouraging, being understanding and patient; Merlin knows he was certainly those things with her and she knew she could be a pain in the arse.
She could imagine him having a son and he'd be a little clone of him with his puppy dog eyes, long lashes and brown hair. She could imagine him having a daughter; she'd be the apple of his eye and he'd treat her like a princess, ensuring that no male got within one hundred yards of her. She knew Oliver would be a wonderful father someday. She could see it, and the visual she'd conjured it had her heart fluttering.
As if sensing her eyes on him, he suddenly looked up from the book and his eyes caught hers, a wide smile appearing on his face when he saw that she was back. She smiled in return and moved into the room, approaching the couch.
"As much as I hate to say this, it's getting late and we should probably go. We're due at The Malfoys in a couple of hours and we need to get ready."
His smile faltered a little in disappointment before he nodded and closed the book, earning noises of frustration from the children, but Hermione was able to shoo them away. Hermione took Timmy from Oliver once more, holding his sleeping form gently against her chest and after saying their goodbyes and with Oliver's hands filled with drawings from the children, he followed Hermione out of the room and through the building until they reached the kitchen. Hermione called for Evie and she appeared in the hallway they stood in.
"Goodness, I'm so sorry Hermione, I hadn't meant to be gone for so long, but the stove wouldn't light and then there was a spillage, and then Johnny cut himself, and Heather..."
Hermione chuckled, cutting her off. "Don't worry about it, he's no bother," she told the rambling woman. "We'd like to stay but we do have to get going, we're expected somewhere shortly."
"Of course, I'll just be right back." She disappeared behind the door and come back out moments later after removing her apron and washing her hands, taking the sleeping baby from Hermione carefully as to not wake him. "Thank you, Hermione."
Hermione smiled. "You don't need to thank me, he's a sweet baby. He finished his bottle, he's been burped and he's been asleep for about half an hour." Evie nodded her thanks. "We better get going, I'll see you later."
They both turned and left down the hallway, Hermione popping her head into Nancy's office to say a quick goodbye and they stepped out of the orphanage and made their way back to The Leaky Cauldron, Diagon Alley still be heavily crowded with last minute shoppers.
"Yer visiting again, right?" Oliver spoke.
She turned her head to look up at him and smiled knowingly. "I am; I try my best to visit once a week."
"Can a come with ye?"
Her smiled widened. "Of course, the children loved you. And I must say, you were rather good with them." He ducked his head slightly and she laughed at him. "So, change of topic. We're due at Malfoy Manor around seven. Given the time we're at now, we should still have time to have a light dinner and get ready for the ball. There isn't a meal but there will be finger-food."
He nodded. "Alright, hoo aboot soup, it won't take long tae make an' it shouldn't be tae heavy on the stomach tha' we won't want tae eat anythin' later."
"Perfect, let's go home and get ready."
Oliver would be lying if he said he didn't like it whenever she referred to the manor as home, and he slipped his large hand around her much smaller one and guided her through the crowds, keeping their heads down and making sure their hoods were up to conceal their identities.