Out of Hand II: A Matter of Time by relativelypositive

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter related and I make no money from the use of the characters created by J. K. Rowling.

Chapter 11

Hermione woke to searing pain, and her mother holding her tightly.

"It's okay, baby, we just need to do one quick test and you can take a pain reliever. They'll take the pain away again, just hold on."

Madam Pomfrey put a dab of one potion on her arm, then put a dab of another potion directly on the same spot. She waved her wand over it, then cleaned the spot thoroughly before thrusting a pain relief potion into her mother's hand.

"Help her drink it. I can't recast the charm until the potion has taken effect."

Hermione did her best to drink, but all she could do was scream. Her mother was crying and slowly pouring a sip's worth of potion into her mouth and trying to make her swallow it by gently cupping her chin and tilting her head back.

Suddenly her head was grasped at the nape of her neck and the bottle thrust between her teeth. She startled, then started to choke. She felt cool fingers do something to her throat and then it was over.

Pain gone. Euphoric haze descended.

Hermione looked up and beamed a smile at Professor Snape.

He looked at her with disgust and turned back to the next bed, where Draco was lying watching her with a worried look.

Hermione then beamed at him. He tentatively smiled back, then looked away to pay attention to what Professor Snape was saying to him.

Hermione's mother let go of her and slowly removed herself from the small bed.

"Goodness, that was scary," she muttered.

"Sorry, Mum. Didn't mean to scare you."

"No, no. I was warned. I just didn't think I'd react so strongly. Quite felt like my heart was breaking. But you'll be better soon, yes?"

"As soon as I get married!"

"That's what I hear. Professor McGonagall tried to explain all this to me, but the bottom line is that you're being forced into getting married! And you're fine with this?"

"Well, no, but since we have to get married eventually anyway this'll be easier."

"Oh, Hermione. I wanted so much more for you. And I thought you wanted more for yourself."

"I'm still going to do everything I want to. I'm going to be a curse breaker. I'm going to invent potions. I'm going to fight injustices! I'm going to figure out how to make my hair behave and why women love arseholes!"

"Don't call Draco an arsehole. He's sensitive," Blaise yelled from across the room, where he was watching over Greg.

Hermione was momentarily pleased to see that Greg was awake, but quickly became confused when she saw that he was restrained and silenced. He was red-faced and screaming at Blaise, who calmly patted his hand.

"What I'm trying to say, Mum, is that I'm going to live my life. Draco isn't going to try to stop me from reaching my goals. Instead of going it alone, Draco and I will be a team!"

"Don't be silly," the dreaded cold voice of Hermione's future mother-in-law interjected. "You will support Draco. You will do your best to pretend to be something you are not…worthy of the name Malfoy."

"Mother!" Draco shouted. "Stop tormenting Hermione! She is not going to be your dress-up doll. She is not going to be a puppy that follows me around. She is going to be a curse breaker!"

"With my grandchildren in tow? I think not."

"We won't be having children for years, Mother."

"At this rate, possibly never," Hermione heard herself say. Had she really been thinking that? It had just popped out!

"Do you hear that, Draco? Your fiancée has practically declared that you will not have relations. Set her straight or I will!"

"That's not what I said!" Hermione emphatically denied. "If he weren't such a prude I'd have screwed him silly already!"

"Hermione!" Her mother was appalled.

Narcissa Malfoy slid past Professor Snape to address her son and Hermione at the same time without the possibility of being overheard.

"We shall not start rumors," she cautioned quietly, yet menacingly. "Of course you will have children. If you persist in being contrary I will have the Wizengamot step in yet again. Not producing an heir within the first few years of marriage would reflect poorly on the Malfoy name."

"You worry too much about what other people think! Go with the flow, Narcy!"

Hermione, if she hadn't been in a strange floaty headspace, would have been horrified at herself, and fearful from the look Mrs. Malfoy shot her.

Instead, she latched onto the horrid nickname with uncharacteristic zeal.

"Oh, Narcy! When I have Draco's babies you won't be around! I'll be on an adventure, or I'll be on a vacation! Or I'll be at my parents' house! I'll be far, far away from your evil clutches! Geranium and Camelopardalis will be safe with me! None of the evilness of you or your husband will taint my children. They will be carefree, happy, and Grangers!"

"Geranium and Camelopardalis? Really? That's what you want to name our children?" Draco was smiling widely at Hermione, and Hermione wondered if she wasn't the only one on a pain potion.

"It has to be a flower and a constellation, right? They're the first to come to mind."

"Camelopardalis came to mind?"

"When I was little…"

"Stop this nonsense!" Mrs. Malfoy hissed. "As Draco well knows, the next family names are Scorpius and Hyacinth. There is no choice."

"You're so strict, Narcy! You are so not going to be the favorite granny!"

Mrs. Malfoy turned to Professor Snape and said, "Since the bonding is postponed, I shall return to the Manor. Why I have to be here for this I don't know! I am planning a society wedding in eight months. Do none of you take my schedule into account?"

"We no longer need a wedding!" Hermione protested. "We're getting married today, aren't we?"

"Greg broke a bunch of bones in my hand," Draco held up his hand for Hermione to see. "We have to wait until the Skele-gro does its thing and then we both have to get the potions out of our systems. Tomorrow afternoon at the earliest."

"Fine, but wedding planning can stop!"

Mrs. Malfoy gave Draco a suffering look. "This little ceremony tomorrow will not affect the wedding."

"But—"

"It has not escaped my attention that you are wearing the Malfoy crest," she addressed Hermione without looking at her. "Magically, you are already bonded to our family. You are already married. Is it a legal bond? No. Hence the need for the Ministry to bond you. It also negates the bond with your chaperone, which you somehow managed to botch. The wedding is for appearances. We will appear excited. Society will just have to deal with you then. You will not believe me, but since I am stuck with you I hope you show well."

"She's not a dog in a competition!" her mother scolded Draco's mother.

"Of course not," she shot back with the hint of a smile. "Those dogs have breeding."

Hermione grabbed a hold of her mother before she could launch herself that the awful woman.

"Mother! Stop! You're behavior is embarrassing me!" Draco interrupted.

Mrs. Malfoy turned to her son and almost looked contrite. She firmed back up quickly and turned again to Professor Snape.

"Tomorrow. Do try to keep things proper. And give the girl a sobering potion! She's a loon!"

A lot of the tension in the room left with her.

"What a bitch," Catherine stated emphatically.

"Agreed," three voices chorused immediately after.

Hermione missed the devastated look on Draco's face as he watched his mother depart.

"So! Catch me up. Looks like Greg woke up…and got a makeover! Which I'm guessing he isn't fond of, based on his reaction over there."

Blaise smiled at her wearily. "Unconfirmed, but Snape believes Voldemort's soul attached itself to Greg when his body died. Neither of them are coping well. Gruesome stuff."

"Hermione, do you recognize the woman on the bed in the corner?" her mother redirected.

She craned her neck to get a better look, then gasped. "That bitch! How did Tilda get here?"

"I think when she found out she wasn't being bonded to you she tried to poison you anyway. I hexed her," Draco announced proudly.

"Well, now what?" Hermione asked the room.

Silence reigned for a bit too long.

Not because there was nothing to say but because there was so much.

"Hermione," Draco whispered sleepily, capturing her full attention. Professor Snape was putting away a vial that must have been a sleeping draught.

"Yeah?"

"My mother is a bitch."

"Yeah," she agreed apologetically.

"Hey?" he sleepily called.

"Yeah?"

"Love you."

Hermione's heart stopped. "Yeah," she breathed out as she watched his eyes close as he fell into a deep sleep.

A/N:

Should be on a regular schedule now! Life is back to normal…at least until the holidays actually hit.

Thank you for being patient and for reading so diligently!