Hermione woke, and while she was probably a little uncomfortable, she had never slept so well or felt so safe. Despite the events of the day before, she'd had no nightmares. When she opened her eyes, she couldn't help but smile. Now she knew why she felt the way she did. She had apparently fallen asleep across both Severus and Draco's laps, and they had fallen asleep as well.
Severus had shifted around so that his head lay on the arm of the couch, and one of them had extended the size of the couch because Draco was laying beside him, tucked in under one arm. She herself was wedged between them, though she didn't actually touch any part of the couch. Oh, how she hoped that this would become a common thing. This was how she wanted to wake up every morning for the rest of her life, including a real bed preferably. This morning, however short it had been thus far, had erased any remaining doubts she'd had about a threesome working out. Now she just had to convince them.
Hermione knew there was no way she was getting away without waking one or both of them. But she really had to use the toilet, so the best she could hope for was only one waking. She gently and slowly lifted the arm around her waist up, and returned it to Draco's side. She then moved on leg at a time over Severus, and reached one arm out to support herself on the edge of the couch beneath Severus' side so she could roll across Severus' chest and off the couch to her feet.
As she tried to roll, her hand slipped. She didn't know if it startled her more that she completely lost her balance, or that Severus reached out and caught her and prevented her from landing on the floor. Either way she couldn't stop the yelp that escaped. Given the awkward angle, the only choice Severus would have to change the fact that she was half on him, half hanging off his arm, would be to let her drop. Or, she thought that was the only option until Draco picked her up from behind and set her on her feet. He had apparently rolled over the back of the couch to come up behind her.
Hermione knew she was blushing. She could feel the heat in her cheeks. She couldn't help the little squeak she let out with her exhale. Severus, who had not even opened his eyes yet, was smirking at her. "Um, I'll be right back!" With that she darted off to the bathroom. The almost-fall had not helped her bladder. As she closed the door behind her, she heard both men laughing. She smiled, it was a good sound.
*~*~*~*~*POV Shift*~*~*~*~*
As Hermione darted off to the bathroom, Severus stood and returned the couch to normal. Draco started chuckling, and it wasn't long before both of them were laughing. It did not escape Severus' notice that he was well rested, perhaps more so than he had been in a long time.
As they waited for Hermione to emerge, Severus started some tea. Draco returned to his rooms to dress for the day, and Severus would go into his bedroom to do the same as soon as the blond returned. They would need to be present for breakfast, since they missed dinner the night before, but they needed to speak with Hermione first. Albus had offered to cancel her classes for the rest of the week, and they needed to have an answer for him at breakfast. However, Severus was more concerned with how she was doing after yesterday.
He watched Draco reenter to rooms, looking much refreshed and elegant as always. Despite all else that had happened, Draco had never lost that need to be perfectly presentable when out in public. Severus couldn't help the small smirk that appeared on his lips as he glanced at the other man. Of course, that would be the time that Hermione came out of the bathroom.
She had taken a shower, and her outer robes were open over the towel wrapped around her body. The rest of her clothes were held in her hands, as were her shoes. Severus' mouth went dry as he couldn't stop his gaze from feasting on the exposed flesh. Bare legs from hips to painted toes, and an elegant neck above an expanse of chest leading to cleavage. Out of the corner of his eye, Severus noted that Draco's eyes were also riveted to the vision in front of them. Severus' gaze finally found her face, and it appeared that she was oblivious to their gazes.
She smiled at both of them, waving her clothes in the air. "I'm going to go get some clean clothes, and then we can go to breakfast. Okay?"
"Hermi, ho..." Before Draco could get any farther in his question, Hermione interrupted him.
"I'm fine. I promise. We know what happened, I'm sure Albus has already taken care of it. I'm also certain that he offered to cancel my classes for the next two days, and that is simply not necessary." She was smiling at them, and Severus found himself believing her assurances. It had only taken two or three flashbacks for her to be able to get past them after a good night's sleep, and be able to face the day with no ill effects. When Draco glanced at him, a question in those grey eyes, Severus simply nodded, conveying that it was fine.
"Alright Hermione. If you're sure, then go get dressed. I still have to get ready myself. We'll meet in your common room, and go to breakfast together?" Severus waited for her nod, shared a speaking glance with Draco, and headed off to his room to fetch clean clothes.
*~*~*~*~*POV Shift*~*~*~*~*
Hermione had gotten a devious idea while in the bathroom, and set about putting it into motion before she lost her nerve. She had cast a quick charm after she had gotten out of the shower, to hide the blush already developing on her cheeks. She knew that by the time she got to her room, the blush would practically travel all the way down to her naval, and that was not part of the plan. Actually, the plan hinged on the men thinking she didn't notice their looks.
When she stepped out into the room, her plan immediately worked. Both her men's eyes were glued to her body. She smiled inwardly, giddy at the results. It was not easy to miss the lust and longing in both their eyes. Perhaps tea with Mrs. Weasley and Ginny would help her figure this out. She was more determined than ever to convince the men that the menage-a-trio would work. She had finally weaseled the details from Draco about their relationship, and now that she knew what to look for, she could easily spot the signs that spoke of their feelings for each other.
When she entered her room, she allowed her giggles to escape, her mood light and giddy. Quickly dressing, as usual not particular about what went on under her teaching robes, she ended up tossing on some jeans and a tank top. Slipping on some comfortable black sneakers, she walked back into her common room.
*~*~*~*~*POV Shift*~*~*~*~*
Given that she had no patients in the hospital-wing, Ginny was free to join everyone for breakfast. She was watching avidly for any sign of Hermione. When she saw Hermione walk into the great hall, Severus and Draco following not far behind conversing over something, Ginny released a breath she was not aware she had been holding. Her best friend had a smile on her face, and certainly seemed to be in high spirits.
Ginny was so grateful of that fact, and she didn't think that her brother and Harry could have helped her nearly as much as Severus and Draco had. Now, she had some ideas that might help Hermione get both of her men, and she thought if she could convince her to talk to Mum about it that Saturday, then maybe the three Gryffindor women could dupe the two Slytherins. The thought made her positively giddy, and she flashed Hermione a huge grin as she sat down at the head table. As usual, Hermione was seated between her two men.
*~*~*~*~*POV Shift*~*~*~*~*
Molly Weasley was ecstatic. Her only daughter, and the girl she considered a daughter were coming to visit today. They had planned to have tea like this much sooner, but things had gotten in the way, and the tea had been pushed back until now, the weekend before Halloween. Ginny had owled her last night to confirm their plans, and to make sure Molly had managed to make sure that the three of them would be the only people at the Burrow.
Of course she had. Once Ginny had told her why, Molly had very skillfully maneuvered her family. Luckily, Aurthur had been called into work that day. That was something that happened on a regular basis, not that he was the head of the Mis-use of Muggle Artifacts Department. Bill and Charlie were out of the country with their jobs, and they never came home without an owl warning her of their time off, so she hadn't had to worry about them. Percy, oh how it hurt to think of him, and the years that had passed without even a single word from her third eldest.
She had fire-called the twins to invite them to brunch, and just as she knew they would, they had insisted that they were in the middle of testing some new product, and promised to make it up to her another day. Ron was the most difficult, because it was him that was the biggest worry. But a word with her husband had taken care of that quite neatly. Though she hadn't told him exactly why, Aurthur was happy enough to take his lunch around their tea time to track down their youngest and corner him into lunch. She's only had to promise to explain later, and that was easy enough.
When Ginny had told her what had happened to Hermione back in August, it had broken Molly's heart the same as if it had been Ginny herself whom had been victim to the attack. It was only compounded by the news of Ginny's annulment, and cheating husband. Molly had cried herself to sleep in her husband's arms for a week after that, her heart absolutely shattered for the pain her girls were going through.
During the weekly fire-calls with Ginny after that, Molly had learned that both girls were handling their respective situations with admirable strength and grace, and both were coming through it well. Neither would recover without scars, but that was to be expected. Molly honestly could not have been more proud of either of them.
She was just putting the tea on when she heard the fire jump to life, and the unmistakable sound of one of her children coming through. Hurrying into the other room, Molly was just in time to see a giggling Hermione brushing the soot off both herself and the garment bag she held. She guessed that was her costume for the Halloween Ball, as Ginny's owl had mentioned that they would be picking it up before heading over.
Molly immediately took Ginny into her arms, hugging her youngest tightly. She looked up and noticed the longing on Hermione's face, and immediately opened her other arm for her. Hermione tossed her bag on the back of the couch and rushed to her, and as Molly's arms closed around her, all Molly could think of was how grateful she was to have her girls here with her.
"Mum! We're thrilled to see you too, but I need to breath!" Ginny broke up their embrace with a laugh, and reached up and kissed Molly on the cheek. Hermione followed suit as they moved into the kitchen. She motioned for the girls to take a seat as the tea pot began whistling. Waving her wand at it, the pot gently floated over to the table where she had placed a cozy for it, and she pulled the fresh biscuits out of the oven. Another wand wave, and they were cool enough to eat. Molly watched the girls giggling as the biscuits bounced one by one into the basket waiting for them.
"So, Hermione, are you going to show me the costume I've heard so much about? Ginny said something about it being designed to catch a stubborn man's eye?" Molly chuckled as she watched the blush spread on Hermione's face, and Ginny started giggling hysterically. She had to raise an eyebrow at her youngest, because she didn't think it was that amusing. Then, Hermione mumbled something, and Molly's brow disappeared into her hair. She wasn't quite certain she'd heard that right. "What was that dear? I didn't quite catch it." Her eyes widened when Hermione repeated herself, and confirmed that Molly had, indeed, heard her correctly.
"Men, Mrs. Weasley. As in two stubborn men." Molly sat in her chair perhaps a little more roughly than she'd intended. It wasn't the thought of a threesome that so surprised her, but rather that it was Hermione.
"Well, dear, I believe we have much to catch up on!" Molly smiled brightly, and watched as the girls laughed, though the blush had not faded from Hermione's face. Molly happily listened, sipping on her tea, as Hermione explained her feelings for Severus and Draco. Ginny would pipe up with the occasional observation, adding to the details.
When her explanation was through, Molly set out to prove that a woman could be as devious, as clever as any Slytherin when given proper motivation. The rest of the afternoon was spent trying to figure out how Hermione was going to convince two of the most stubborn men alive that they could indeed both have her.
*~*~*~*~*A/N*~*~*~*~*
next chapter: the dance! (I swear! Cross my heart! 3)