Author's Note: Please don't accuse me of making Hermione look like a Mary-Sue. I obviously had to describe the changes in her appearance over the years sooner or later. I tried my best not to make her into a beauty pageant queen while at the same time giving her some pretty qualities. I hope I didn't overdo it.
And in this chapter I'll be resolving the Ginny/Harry conflict, so I'll finally be able to move on to the Draco/Hermione goodness!
As always, please review if you're reading!
Hermione didn't sleep at all that night. She was too frightened about what would ensue should she fall asleep.
After putting Harry to bed, Hermione returned to her guest bedroom and stared at the wall. There was too much to think about and not enough time to contemplate over everything. She knew that coming back here would mean drama. Her life revolved around drama.
All she wanted was to forget about everything that had happened during the last 24 hours. She wanted to turn back time – stop Ginny from ever receiving Tom Riddle's diary, and stop Harry from kissing her.
The kiss. Harry kissed her.
There was nothing to think about. She knew she had nothing but platonic and sisterly feelings for Harry, and that his feelings were mutual. She had never thought of Harry in a romantic way and was quite sure he never thought of her as anything more than a very good friend. She was so frazzled by the kiss because it had caught her by alarm. She couldn't help but feel shocked and slightly queasy when Harry had kissed her. It's how one feels when one's blood brother or sister kisses him or her. It's that nauseous, "this is so wrong" feeling. She felt as if she'd betrayed Ginny, betrayed Ron, and Krum, and every other guy in her life.
This sudden revelation sparked a flame in Hermione's mind. She felt like she'd betrayed every guy in her life. What did this mean? Did it mean Hermione was too emotionally attached to every guy she'd thought of romantically? There weren't very many – Hermione had only ever had one boyfriend, and his name was Viktor Krum. Hermione wasn't sure if she could even consider Krum a boyfriend. She never allowed him to do anything more than kiss her, and even then they had been innocent kisses. She had never done anything remotely sexual for fear of being caught or thought of as promiscuous. When Hermione and Krum had gotten back together just before the war, she was 19. Krum was 23. He obviously had some sexual encounters, being a famous seeker for a famous team, and also being quite handsome in some girls' opinions. He often pressured Hermione, pleading her to let him continue with more than just kisses, but Hermione held her morals in far too high regard to let Krum have his way. This lack of sexuality in their relationship is what eventually ended it.
Thinking back on it now, Hermione wondered if she shouldn't have just let Krum do what he wanted with her. Maybe it would have made Hermione a wiser person, someone more open-minded about sex and physical contact. But ever since she'd started school and fallen for Ron, she had refrained from dating other boys in the hopes that Ron would someday realize he had feelings for her, as well. It wasn't hard, seeing as Hermione was never considered beautiful. Her hair was far too bushy, her body seemed too small for her head, and with that hair she looked like a lioness about to pounce. She was bossy and closed-minded, self-righteous, and frightening. No boy in the right mind would ever waste his time trying to get into Hermione's pants, when there were so many other prettier and easier girls around, like Lavender Brown or Parvati Patil. So after years of romantic neglect on Ron's part and every other boy's part, Hermione eventually turned a blind eye towards romance and sex. She didn't crave it like other girls did, she wasn't curious about what it was like the first time. She didn't even believe in love. She believed in a strong will, in smarts, in succeeding. She believed in winning.
As the years passed, Hermione's body and physical appearance did as well. She was certainly not beautiful like Cho Chang or Fleur Delacour, but she wasn't quite as frighteningly overwhelming has she had been. Her hair was still abnormally brushy, but it wasn't as long as it was. It was shoulder-length and looked somewhat tame compared to what it used to be. She had stylish side bangs which managed to give her hair a definite shape. They framed her face prettily. Her freckles were gone, leaving behind a clear, smooth apricot-colored face. With her flatter hair, her head didn't seem so big in comparison to her body. She had a small waist with perfect proportion to her head. The downside, however, was her cleavage, or lack thereof. She didn't really mind it, seeing as she wasn't as in touch with sexuality as other girls were. In Hermione's opinion, she was decent looking, if not a little above average.
These thoughts of her appearance only proved to depress her more, thinking about the lack of love in her life. Hermione had always considered herself a compassionate person, in touch with humanity and human emotions. The problem, she realized, was that she wasn't passionate. She didn't live in the moment, she didn't take risks, and almost everything in her life was planned out in her scheduler. Her goal for this year was to be bold and daring, and she was determined to accomplish it.
Towards the coming of dawn, Ron Apparated in her room, looking exhausted, worried, and years older. He flopped down beside her, without saying a word.
Hermione let out a few quiet sobs, letting Ron pet her hair and kiss her face. They were comfortably entwined in Hermione's bed, Ron's strong arms around her. He kissed her mouth several times.
Eventually he whispered, "Merry Christmas, Hermione."
Hermione thought of Draco Malfoy. She sobbed into Ron's shirt until she fell asleep.
"Merry Chr – what are you two doing!"
Hermione jolted out of bed, banging Ron's head with her elbow. He groaned into her pillow, pulling the covers over himself further.
"Harry! I didn't know you were up," Hermione cried, looking for her shirt on the floor.
"Did you two…you didn't have sex did you?" Harry asked, horrified.
"Of course not," Hermione snapped, pulling her shirt on over her bra, "We just fell asleep."
Harry let out a sigh of relief, "I would probably throw myself out of the window from embarrassment if you'd…you know."
Hermione glared at him, glancing at Ron again. He was still in deep sleep, oblivious to the humiliating conversation around him. "Are you feeling better? You were terribly drunk last night."
Harry's clutched his head, "Was I? I wasn't sure what happened last night, so I apologize for anything stupid I might have done –" Hermione blushed, looking away "–I'm a horrible drunk. I made some Pepper-Up Potion for myself this morning, but I've still got a nasty headache."
Hermione smiled at him sympathetically, "You probably didn't make it right. Potions isn't your strong point, darling. I'll make you some as soon as I get downstairs."
"Should we leave Ron here?" Harry asked, eyeing Ron tentatively.
"Of course not! It's Christmas and I'd hate to open presents without him," Hermione said, giving Ron a good thump on the back of the head, "Wake up, sleepy head! It's Christmas!"
Ron groaned, lifting himself slowly off the pillow, "Wuzzgoinon?"
Hermione rolled her eyes, "I'm going to open your presents for you if you don't wake up in the next ten seconds."
Ron shot out of bed, "Alright, alright, I'm up."
They all rushed downstairs to be greeted by Fred, George, and Angelina. Fred looked so happy that his face was glowing.
"Can I tell them now?" Fred whined to Angelina.
Angelina fixed him with a stare and said, "I think I should be the one to tell them, sweetums. I've got nine long months ahead of me." Fred took her hand in his and Angelina continued, "I'm pregnant!"
At the same time, Fred cried, "I'm going to be a dad, I'm going to be a dad!"
Hermione gasped, Ron eyes went wide, and Harry's face was red.
"You're joking!" Ron said in awe, "You're absolutely bloody joking."
"Am not!" Angelina said proudly, patting her stomach, "I finally decided to see the bloody doctor after my third week of being consecutively sick. He had some good news for me, alright! Is it wonderful?"
Hermione gave Angelina a hug and squeezed her hand, "Congratulations! Oh, it is so wonderful! It must have been a lovely Christmas present."
Harry congratulated Angelina also, saying, "I bet your child will have some super Quidditch skills. A killer Chaser for a mum and a ruthless Beater for a dad!"
Fred puffed his chest out proudly, "Oh, he will. And yes, I know it's going to be a boy. It had better be, at least."
Angelina laughed and pulled Fred's ear, kissing him on the cheek.
They all gathered around to open and exchange presents, everyone enjoying the frivolity and merriment. Hermione received a beautiful necklace with a real diamond from Ron, a book of Asian spells from Harry, a box of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products from George, and a book entitled Quidditch for Extremely Dumb Dumbies from Fred and Angelina. She laughed at the last present, throwing a pillow at Fred. Her pile also had presents from Padma, Ginny, and Colin. Padma sent her a complex organizer, which sang the date, Ginny bought her a box-set of books from Flourish & Blott's about Egyptian magic, and Colin sent her souvenirs from the United States, including a snow globe with the Statue of Liberty in it and a shirt that said I Love New York on it.
"I wish I could have a fire whiskey," Angelina said, eyeing Fred's drink with jealousy.
Fred put his hand on Angelina's stomach, saying condescendingly, "Now, now. We don't want our son to have any defects. We want him to be handsome like his daddy, and how can I tell him he's ugly because his mum's a roaring alcoholic?"
Everyone laughed, raising their glasses to that, and drinking deeply. Angelina laughed too, because it was true – she loved to drink. She was as feisty as a fire whiskey, and there wasn't a day that went by when Fred didn't acknowledge his luck in catching Angelina for himself. Hermione hoped she could have that simple happiness someday.
Hermione excused herself to the kitchen to get another drink and Ron followed her.
"How was Ginny?" Hermione said, not looking up when he entered.
Ron sighed heavily. "She was embarrassed as ever that you told me. She didn't want to talk at all; she basically just shut me out. I stayed with her though and she seemed back to normal. I told her to talk to Harry, but she said she was sick of making the first move."
Hermione sipped on her wine. "Love is so complicated. Ginny and Harry know they love each other and belong together, but they're so caught up in their pride that it will take them forever to realize they're made for each other."
"I think we should just tell Harry what's going on. Maybe it'll give him the initiative to do something about it," Ron said, exasperated.
From outside of the kitchen, Hermione heard Angelina call, "Ginny! I've got great news!"
Hermione and Ron looked at each other, surprised, and ran out into the parlor. Ginny was standing there, timidly playing with the hem of her skirt and looking at the ground. She looked absolutely adorable in a simple way. She wore no make-up, had a plain pink ribbon in her hair, and was wearing a sweater two sizes too big.
Still not looking up, she said, "I'm sorry to intrude. Can I talk to you, Harry?"
Harry was transfixed, planted to the spot. Hermione had to violently elbow him in the ribs to get him out of his trance.
The next half hour was torture for the impatient Ron and Hermione, and extremely confusing for Fred, Angelina, and George, none of whom had any idea about Ginny and Harry's fallout.
Occasionally shouts could be heard, and at one point Hermione thought she heard Ginny cry. When Harry and Ginny emerged from the kitchen, they both looked exhausted, as if they'd just run a marathon.
Ginny took Harry's hand in hers and said, "We're getting engaged."
Hermione gasped, her hands moving to her mouth. She was completely speechless and shocked. Angelina ran up to Ginny and hugged her tightly, telling her about her own good news – her pregnancy.
Fred and George clapped Harry on the back, said "It's about time!" and kissed Ginny soundly on each cheek. Ron slowly got up, shaking Harry's hand and pulling him into a hug, and held Ginny at arm's length, giving her a stern but fond glare, as if to convey the message, "You'd better behave yourself."
Harry and Ginny looked extremely happy, albeit extremely exhausted as well. They held hands for the remainder of the morning and afternoon, and Hermione felt a huge weight being lifted off her shoulders. She unwound and let loose, drinking and talking happily with her favorite people.
It was unfortunate when 7 o' clock rolled around, and Hermione had to leave back for Edinburgh.
"Can't you stay another night?" Harry pleaded, "I feel like we hardly talked at all."
Hermione smiled at him, "I can't, Harry. I have work to do and Padma's all by herself. I really wish I could stay, but the summer will be here before you know it and I'll be back for two months."
Ginny hugged her tightly whispering to her, "Thank you so much for taking care of me last night. I know I said some nasty things to you, and I want you to know I'm so sorry. I know I can be a right bitch when I'm upset, but that's no excuse for treating you the way I did."
"Don't apologize, Ginny. I'm just glad you're better and glad that you and Harry are getting engaged!"
"That's right!" Ginny giggled, "And I can't think of a better Maid of Honor, can you? I'll miss you when you're gone, girl, and don't forget to write! I'll keep you posted on the Harry-front."
Hermione kissed Angelina on the cheek, congratulating her again, and embraced Fred and George in a bear hug. She kissed Harry good-bye and turned to Ron last.
"You'd better write to me, sir, or you will have some serious explaining to do," she said mock-sternly.
He looked back at her innocently, "Don't know what you're talking about, I write you all the time. And you'll be seeing me in March! Don't forget about my Quidditch game!"
She beamed at him, "I'd never. I'll see you soon!" She kissed him on the mouth gentle, patting his cheek, and with a final good-bye to everyone, she Apparated out of Harry's parlor and into the London Portkey Station.
"Time to go home," Hermione whispered to herself, heading into her designated Departure room.