Chapter 2
Hermione didn't know who she could go to after the ceremony had ended. She wanted to go and find the Weasleys, the only family she had left, but she knew that Ron would be there and she didn't want to tackle that issue yet. Maybe she should just hide in the lavatories until everyone had left. No, that would be childish; she'd done that exact same thing when she was 11 and hid because of a mountain troll. Ron and his family were hardly mountain trolls, but she didn't think she could handle seeing Ron with whatever girl he'd ended up with. She started for the doors out into the Main Hall, but then saw Malfoy hugging Pansy Parkinson. She instantly felt nauseous, for a sweet four minutes she had forgotten that she now had to marry her childhood nemesis, on top of all of her problems. She sat down on a bench, looking for the Weasley's,but something tall and blonde suddenly blocked her sight.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" She asked coolly, glaring at the Slytherin graduate.
"Well, Granger, I think you'll want to take a look at this," He replied, handing her a thick, medium sized, crimson book that read "Making Marriage Merry; the Ministry of Magic's Guide to the The Magical Blood Unification Proclamation". Hermione scoffed.
"This sounds like a self-help book rather than a book designed to help others." She said.
"Well, some second-year idiot was handing them out to all of the graduates and I saw you didn't have one. Just thought a nerd like you would want it." He said icily.
"Well, thank you for your gesture, but it's going to take a little more than insults to make me attempt to be happy in this situation." She countered, flipping through the pages of the manual and reading condescending headings such as "Not all roses bloom at the same time; what to do if your partner isn't growing on you." and "Some Magic isn't Forever; what to do when the honeymoon wears off". She let out a shrill laugh, reading some of the manual's tips on reproducing.
"My god, we're screwed." She muttered.
"What was that, Granger?" Malfoy asked, leaning in and raising a white-blond eyebrow.
"None of your business, ferret." Hermione spat, and she watched haughtily as Malfoy's pale, pointed face turned bright red.
"Listen you-" He started, but a skinny arm gracefully slinked itself around his shoulder and skillfully covered his mouth with its pale hand.
"Aw, Draco, is the little Gryffindor making you upset?" Pansy Parkinson simpered. Her sharp, angled bob and slate grey robes made her appear almost dementor-like in the hall filled with bright colors and festivity.
"No, Pansy, I can handle her myself, love." He said, leaning against the Slytherin girl.
"Pansy, we're trying to talk about our future, if you can excuse us…." Hermione started, but Pansy interrupted her.
"Oh, I'm sorry that you got what I wanted when you didn't even ask for it. How do expect me to stand idly by when you got matched with my soulmate?" Her voice was loud and shrill. "You think you're so high and mighty because you helped bring down the Dark Lord, but mark my words, no human being on this planet deserves to be married to you. You pathetic excuse for a brave Gryffindor." Pansy smirked as she watched Hermione's face tense.
"Well," Hermione said, trying to control the waves of anger crashing down on her. "I'm sort of glad we have these arranged marriages, because they can let girls like you have a chance." She quipped before walking away, leaving two red-faced Slytherins in her path.
Her vision went blurry, and the next time she registered what she was doing she was up in Gryffindor Tower, nestled in an armchair in front of the dying fire. The last rays of the golden summer sun shone through the windows where she vividly remembered studying for tests and playing Wizarding Chess with Ron and Harry. She smiled as she reminisced, but then she remembered the present day situation. She knew things were never going to be the same again, but oh how she wished they could be. Maybe this was all just a bad dream. She hoped it was just a dream. She shut her eyes and listened to the crackling fire and repetitively told herself it was all just a dream.
"Hermione," Someone called off in the distance. "Hermione, wake up!" Hermione opened her eyes. The sun was in the process of being swallowed by the Black Lake, and the fire flickered happily in its hearth.
"Who's there? What do you want?" She slurred sleepily, rubbing her eyes.
"It's me, George." She opened her eyes to see the gangly redhead sitting on the ottoman in front of her.
"How long have I been asleep?" She asked, raising her arms to stretch.
"You've been missing around an hour and a half so I guess around that amount of time. Ron's really worried about you." George said, his voice getting quieter on the last sentence.
"Oh," She remarked, her voice small. "Well, I suppose he shouldn't be. We aren't together anymore apparently, according to the hat." She said, her voice bitter. George placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry about the stupid law. There's bound to be numerous complaints from everyone's parents." He said gently.
"But everyone got the person they're with! I got stuck with the person who called me mudblood for seven years straight! I was tortured in his house!" Hermione exclaimed, pulling her sleeve back to show the word scarred into her arm. George winced.
"I'm sure he's changed. Besides, his aunt did that to you, he was trying to escape the Death Eaters then." He countered softly.
"Well, I don't want to marry Draco, I want to marry Ron." She said stubbornly. George's eyes grew wide.
"You-you love Ron that much?" He asked. "I mean we all knew that you liked him and all, but you want to seriously be with him?" Hermione blushed.
"I mean, yeah of course. I've never like, picked out our wedding date or started shopping for a house or anything, but I would write names I liked down in my journal and stuff, assuming they'd end with Weasley, but I guess now they'll have to end in Malfoy." She murmured. George smiled.
"If I may, what names did you write down?" he asked. Hermione blushed.
"Well, I started the list a long time ago, but off the top of my head I remember Alexander, I think, along with Naomi, Josephine, Oliver, and like pages more."
"Well, I'm not trying to encourage this whole arranged-marriage to your enemy thing, but I think the old hat knows what it's up to. Sure, Malfoy was a selfish git who did some awful things, but was is the key word. He seems to have changed after this war. I mean, his father's in Azkaban for life, and his mum was exiled to France for five years, so I assume he's had to adjust." George quickly turned red. "Don't think I'm standing up for the white-haired bouncing ferret though, because any prat who thinks calling you a mudblood, regardless of when he did, should know that if he ever decides to hurt you, he'll have me and the rest of the clan to answer to." Hermione smiled weakly. Ever since Fred's death, she'd noticed how serious George had gotten.
"Thanks George. That really means a lot to me." She said. He leaned in to hug the bushy-haired girl.
"I meant it." He said as he wrapped his arms comfortingly around her. Hermione sighed, and inhaled his scent, which was exactly like his deceased twin's.
"You know, I felt his presence here today," She said softly. "At the ceremony, I could hear him saying 'that's rubbish!' when McGonagall announced the law, just like when Dumbledore said people under 17 couldn't submit their names into the goblet." George laughed weakly.
"He brewed the Age potion, y'know? I suck at Potions, but he sucked at Transfiguration, so we each could help each other when the other couldn't figure it out." Hermione heard him sniffle a bit.
"Hey," She said, pulling away from the hug so she could look into his eyes. "We're all here for you. I know we've been saying that for a year, but we all really mean it." Hermione sniffled. "I lost both of my parents for good, and that's been hard but I'm getting through it. He'll never really be gone, he's in you, and Ron, and Ginny. We're all united by his love, and yeah it totally sucks that he's gone, I wish it didn't have to happen but it did, and now the only thing we can do is honor his life by living." She said softly. George cracked a small smile.
"Thanks 'Mione. I think that, well, I really needed that. Every time I come back here all I can do is see him here and I then I remember he's not there when I turn around to tell him something." Hermione leaned in to hug him again.
"Well, just know I'm always here." She said. George nodded.
"Thanks, Herms. Y'know, no matter how cross you used to get at us, you've always been like a second sister in the Weasley family." Hermione grinned.
"You guys are my family. Since my parents are gone," Hermione paused. "You're the only people I have. Now since I apparently won't be with Ron, I'm not even sure if I'm still allowed to hang out with you guys." George scoffed.
"Don't let a stupid law get in the way of your life Hermione, and you'll always have a home with all of us." Hermione laughed weakly.
"You might take back your offer when I'm living in the basement of your shop."
"Oh, shut it, Hermione. You wouldn't be called the "Brightest Witch of you Age" if you had enough potential to live in my basement." They both laughed.
"Now, are you ready to go down?" Hermione shook her head.
"Not really." George smiled and stood up.
"Well, brave people do things before they're ready." Hermione sighed.
"Why'd you have to pull the brave Gryffindor card?" She whined, standing up.
"Because I knew it would work." He said, offering her his arm. "Let's go find the rest of the family, Mum'll be worried sick." She took one last sweeping look around the dormitory she spent eight years in, before taking George's arm and leaving Gryffindor tower.
Hey guys!
I'm SO SO SO SO sorry about the hiatus. School's crazy, and that makes me crazy too. Please review because I'd love to hear your lovely thoughts about it. I have some down time coming up which means I'm trying to catch up on all of my fics, which [spoiler: shameless self promoting] are all available on this site so please check them out it would mean the world. Hope to see y'all soon!
xx Liz