It was a bit after five that morning when Hermione and Ginny had retreated to their room for bed. For the first time in her all her years of knowing Brown, Hermione was grateful that she finally opened her mouth to tell Mrs. Weasley how exhausted she was.
As she got into the bed, she heard the light snoring of her roommate before she could tell her goodnight and smiled. Hermione sighed contently as she relished the fact that she would now be able to get some rest after night and morning that she had.
As soon as Hermione walked into the Burrow kitchen she was ushered by Mrs. Weasley into the seat at the dining table across from Lavender Brown and was handed a freshly made cup of hot chocolate, which she immediately begun to sip.
Mrs. Weasley shuffled over to the cupboard that held family recipes and other tattered books. The Weasley Matriach squinted her eyes as she looked over the tattered book spines on the shelf.
Mrs. Weasley triumphant 'Aha!' made hermione glance over to her right just in time to see her pull down a large, tattered and dingy white scrapbook that had papers sticking out of it.
Hermione set down her cup the same time Mrs. Weasley set down the white book and glanced at the cover of the book.
If Hermione hadn't swallowed the bit of hot chocolate she had in her mouth a moment before she probably would have choked. The title of the book was 'Weasley Weddings: Plans and Outcomes'.
Honestly, Hermione had not thought that Mrs. Weasley was serious about Ron and Lavender getting married. Speaking of Lavender, Hermione looked up from the book to see a shocked look on the blonde girls face and was sure she had one similar to it on her own.
Harry and Ginny had taken that time to enter the kitchen, quickly spotting and grabbing their own cups of hot chocolate and biscuits.
Mrs. Weasley began speaking hurriedly to Lavender, out of pure excitement not doubt while Harry moved to sit down next to Hermione and Ginny took the open seat next to him.
"What is mum on about?" Ginny asked while taking a bite and munching on her biscuit.
Mr. Weasley, who was sitting as far away from his wife as possible to most likely avoid getting dragged into the 'wedding planning', answered.
"Your mother has taken out the big white book," He said with a small chuckle
"Oh no! Ron is going to have a fit when he wakes up?" Ginny grimaced at the thought of seeing an angry, purple in the face Ron.
"Why?" Harry asked sipping on his hot chocolate and taking a bite of his biscuit.
Ginny picked up her steaming mug and took a sip.
"There is no stopping my mother once she has the opportunity to plan a wedding," Harry nearly choked on his biscuit causing Ginny to smirk, "and seeing as he got Brown over there pregnant, my mother would never take no for an answer. Might need a pepper up potion because this is going to take ALL night long."
Hermione almost groaned when Mrs. Weasley called her name to ask for her opinion on what the color scheme should be for the wedding of her ex and his, now pregnant, ex.
That was when she knew she was in for a very long night indeed.
As Hermione's mind came to, she almost cringed at the thought of a wedding. Then she began to think about the detailed stag that had been imprinted on the back of her shoulder and willed herself not to think about that or HIM at the moment.
She desperately needed to sleep and thinking about those terrible things were not going to help her drift into a peaceful sleep.
So, she moved into a comfortable position on the bed and rubbed her belly, her thought only on her baby boy who would be a Christmas gift to herself.
Her mind began to unwind and she began to fall into a deep sleep unaware of the figure who quietly stood in the darkest corner of the room.
Scabior stood in the dark corner of the bedroom watching as the Weasley girl and his 'wife' went to bed. He had placed a disillusionment charm over himself and, quite easily, broke through the wards that had surrounded the Burrow.
He watched as his wife, swollen with his child, struggled to get comfortable. It was only when her breathing evened out that Scabior moved out of his hiding spot, the disillusionment charms still in place as he tiptoed over to her bed.
Casting a disillusionment spell and a quick silencio over her side of the room, Scabior removed the invisible spell over himself so only Hermione would be able to see him. He lifted the blanket slightly to get into the bed. Slowly and careful not to wake Hermione immediately, Scabior laid down next to his witch and pulled the blanket over the both of them.
He placed his nose in her hair and breathed her sweet, vanilla scent then placed a hand on her firm belly, rubbing it gently.
He could feel the gentle kicks of his child from within causing Hermione to grumble and stir slightly.
This made him smile lightly at the fact that his child knew he was around and because it felt good being able to wrap his arms around his witch.
He could feel himself getting hard from just lying next to her and sniffing her hair. As much as he wouldn't mind taking her at that moment but at the moment all he wanted was to do nothing but lay next to her and feel the kicks of their unborn child.
Scabior closed his eyes and sighed contently.
"I've missed you beau'iful," he whispered softly into her ear while taking his hand off her belly to trace his fingertips lightly up her right arm. He smirked as she gasped and shivered involuntarily from his skin touching hers,a natural reaction from the bond between them.
He could feel her shifting around in his arms no doubt trying to get out of his grasp, something that was hard for her to do especially since she practically had a basketball for a stomach.
"Shhhh! Hush love. I won't be doing none of that tonight. Let's just relax and sleep. Yeah?" Scabior proposed holding Hermione still against him. She refused to listen to him however, and continued to struggle against his grasp until she tired herself out.
"Finished?" He asked her.
He heard her huff and felt her nod against his chest.
"Good. Now relax," He told her placing his hand back on her baby bump before closing his eyes while getting comfortable again. A couple more minutes went by before Scabior could feel Hermione slowly begin to relax.
"Why have you come here Scabior?" She asked him sleepily.
"Because I needed to see you love." He whispered to her.
"Why?" She asked.
Scabior took a deep breath and began explaining the trials he had gone through the past few weeks.
He explained that after he had released Hermione back under the care of the Weasleys, he had been watching Hermione's reunion with the family when his sense began to tingle.
With one last look at his wife he'd apparated to his hideout only to be immediately bombarded with harmful spells and jinxes Aurors were sending his way.
He barely managed to get out of the way when a bright green light came near to striking him in his chest. He had tried to apparate but realized that they had places an anti-apparition spell over the perimeter. That is when he ran into the forest surrounding his hideout.
Aurors had been chasing his when he found a spot far enough from the house to apparate.
He'd apparated four times to various part of Europe hiding out in the forests until he found himself a new place to call home where he knew no one would look for him there.
He heard Hermione hum softly. She was thinking, he could tell.
"Where did you manage to hide?" She asked.
He smiled lightly at her question and stroked her belly gently making the baby move around.
Hermione placed a hand on top of his to hold his hand in place probably to stop the baby from moving around as much, so she could relax more comfortably.
"The only way you will know is if you see my past. The only way to see my past is if I let you know." He told her.
He heard her scoff at him.
"Didn't know you were a Ravenclaw," Hermione mumbled to him sleepily.
Scabior chuckled softly.
"No, love. I was a Slytherin when I was in school. Though, I suppose I did hang about with a bit of the Ravenclaw house time to time." He informed her.
"No doubt. You are quite cunning yet you can sometimes be quite intelligent."
He smiled at the compliment he was sure she didn't know she'd given him.
There was a moment of silence before Hermione spoke.
"Are you going to show me?" She asked him.
Scabior nodded, more to himself than her since she could see him.
"Only if you are ready to let me in," He told her waiting for her response.
She stiffened momentarily before relaxing slightly. When she nodded, Scabior wasted no time in showing her some of his childhood memories through their bond, which he was proud of.
He showed her how his mother had abandoned him at three years old, leaving him with his muggle father who was a hunter from Romania. He let her see how he was trained every day since he was five to become a hunter.
She saw him become an orphan at the age of ten. He let her see when he got accepted into Hogwarts and everything he went through. How he had found his mother and forced her to tell him why she let him go. How he had witnessed her death at the hands of her own sister and had falsely accused of being responsible, landing himself in Azkaban until Voldemort infiltrated the Ministry.
After Scabior showed her everything he had to take a deep breath. Some of those memories he hadn't touched since he left Hogwarts had taken a toll on him and suddenly he found himself exhausted.
He shifted slightly next to Hermione and pulled her closer if possible.
He could hear Hermione open her mouth to speak, but quickly hushed her.
"The sun is beginning to rise," he said after finally noticing how much lighter the room had gotten, "you need to rest."
For once the witch seemed to agree with him. A few moments later her breathing became even and he knew she had fallen asleep. He soon fell asleep after her, not before wondering whether he could trust his beautiful witch with the vital information he had just given her. She would be the death of him one of these days.
I have so much homework but this idea for the story wouldn't get out of my head. I had to write and post this. So, I thought I would do something a bit different, a slight Perspective from Scabior. Don't worry next chapter I will try to make sense of it all for you guys. I'm not sure if you guys can tell but sometimes the tone of these chapters are based on my emotions. Sometimes they are sad, mad, or happy and that will be the outcome of a chapter. Anyway, enjoy! Read and review. I have so much more to write.
-Dani