Disclaimer: If you do not get it by now, I am neither claiming these characters as mine, nor am I profiting here. Otherwise, I would be updating more often.
A.N. I keep writing and rewriting scenes in this chapter, it's not even funny.
Also, the last chapter was the most reviewed chapter so far, so thank you, guys.
Special Thanks to RomanceObsessed, kyutiepie, catsgotmytongue, Elased, dutch potterfan, Guest, and Blue Luver5000
Chapter 9
Hermione woke up, staring at St. Mungo's off-white walls. She could recognize the plain colored walls with unattractive ridges anywhere. From a distance, she could hear the chatter of nurses as they run down the hall. There was the faint noise of Christmas carols that reminded her that it was Christmas. Or did it already pass?
Hermione groaned. She promised her parents that she would meet them for dinner. Their relationship was strained as it was ever since Hermione used a memory charm on them. Skipping out on Christmas would just break their heart.
"Good Morning Miss Granger."
Hermione turned her head to see where the voice came from to find one of her old professors. Hermione took one of Professor Hippocrates Smethwyck's classes as one of her requirements, and she liked the course. He was a funny professor, though he always seemed distracted because he had to run St. Mungo's Dai Llewellyn Ward.
"Good morning, Professor," Hermione said.
"Good morning to you too, Ms. Granger." Professor Smethwyck said with a smirk.
"What happened?" Hermione groaned.
"You transformed into your veela form." Professor Smethwyck explained. "Gave everybody quite a scare, might I add. Apparently, you attacked a couple during the Harry Potter engagement party last night."
A deep unsettling feeling overwhelmed Hermione. The last thing Hermione remembered was watching Malfoy and his date. Her veela took control of her body-no. She transformed into a veela. She became irrationally violent in front of her friends, and the worst part of all was that she had no control over her own body. She could have hurt someone she loved.
"Did I hurt anybody?" she asked. Her voice was filled with dread.
"No, thankfully, you did not hurt anybody." Professor Smetswyck said in a comforting tone. "There were a lot of competent people attending Mr. Potter's party. Intoxicated, yes, but very capable. They managed to stop you before you hurt anybody seriously. But you did damage some of the things at Leaky Cauldron."
Hermione groaned. She did not have room for her budget to replace any broken furniture.
"Don't worry about it. Nothing a few spells can't repair," he said.
Professor Smethwyck smiled in that grandfather manner that made her feel better. Hermione gave him the best smile she could muster.
"Now, I know you don't want to spend your Christmas catching up with your old professor." He said. "Why don't we finish the paperwork so you could meet with your visitors upstairs?"
He asked her the standard Healer questions. How was she feeling? Horrible. Was she aching anywhere? Just her whole body. Has she transformed before? No. What triggered the transformation?
Hermione had no reply to the last one. How could she tell her former professor that she-no, her veela-was jealous?
"Is there anything you noticed that might trigger your veela getting angry?" Professor Smetwyck asked again.
Hermione shook her head.
"Miss Granger." Professor Smetwyck. "I may not be an expert in veelas, but I know that veelas don't spontaneously transform. Let along with your very first transformation."
Professor Smetwyck asked her about what happened at the party. How many people were there? Not many people. Were there any couples nearby? Quite a few. It was an engagement party on Christmas Eve, there were many affectionate people that day.
Professor Smetwyck read her information yet again. He seemed pensive, even contemplative.
"What are you thinking, professor?" Hermione asked.
"I might be wrong here, Ms. Granger, but perhaps we found your mate." Professor Smetwyck said.
Hermione stiffened, but she did not let the panicked feeling reach her face.
"I can't be a hundred percent certain about it, but your mate may be at that party. I highly suggest that you ask for the guest list and go over it."
"I'll make sure to do so, Professor," Hermione said. "I'll ask Harry and Ginny for the guest list as soon as I see them."
"One more thing Ms. Granger." Professor Smethwyck said. "As a standard, we checked through other problems, and I noticed that you have early signs of fatigue.
Hermione groaned. Here we go again. Another lecture on how she was overworking herself. How she needed to scale back on her workload. That she was working herself too hard.
"I know that the Holidays could be a very stressful time for some people." Professor Smethwyck said, which surprised Hermione.
Wait, no lecture on how she's overworking herself?
"It's more likely that your transformation pushed you over the top during these very stressful times." Professor Smethwyck hypothesized. "Just in case, we would like to keep you here for a couple of days for observation and to make sure that you rest."
Hermione opened her mouth to complain. She could not stay in bed during the holidays. She had people to see and presents to give. Not to mention all the things she still needed to do! She still needed to read her textbooks, write a proposal, and submit it to Kingsley.
What good was a couple of days of rest if she ended up worrying about everything she had to do?
"No buts Miss Granger." Professor Smethwyck said. "I am informing the nurses that you are under bed rest."
He left her room and told a nurse along the way to call Hermione's visitors.
As she sat alone in her hospital room, she listed through everything she needed to do. She had to meet up with her parents, read her textbooks for next semester, go over her proposal with the Minister, and get a head start on the paper due in five months. She was so engrossed with the list of things she still needed to do that she didn't realize that the Weasleys already came in.
"What are you thinking, Hermione?" Ron asked.
"You know, Hermione," George said in a teasing tone. "She's probably worried about that essay she needs to submit in six months."
Hermione blushed in embarrassment.
"It's only five months from now, and I barely even cracked the book open," Hermione said, which made the Weasleys smirk in amusement.
Ron was the first person to hug her and greet her Merry Christmas. George greeted her next, followed by Bill, Fleur, Victoire, Percy, and Charlie, who showed no signs of awkwardness followed him. Molly greeted her in a manner that lacked her usual warmth, but Arthur made up for her.
Ginny came up to her next. She hugged Hermione and whispered to her ear.
"Don't worry about mum," Ginny whispered. "She's just upset that you were hiding a secret from her."
"I'm really sorry about ruining your engagement party," Hermione told her.
"Don't worry about it," Ginny said. "I'm just happy that you are alright, and nobody was hurt."
The last person who greeted her was Harry, which registered as odd for Hermione. He practically hid behind everybody else. Once Hermione did spot him, he had an apologetic look on his face.
"Hey, Hermione." Harry greeted.
Hermione greeted back.
"Well… the cat is out of the bag, huh?" Harry said in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"I think the cat is running around and hissing at everybody who would try to approach," Hermione said.
"Soo…" Ron said. "What exactly happened last night?"
"I guess it's time to tell you all," Hermione said.
She settled herself in a comfortable seating position. She had hoped that she had more time to tell them.
"I transformed into my veela form." She said.
None of them was surprised by the news. Hermione guessed that they figured out her secret and had time to let the news sink in. Judging from the expectant stairs she received, Hermione could tell that they wanted her to elaborate.
Therefore she explained to them about her heritage. About her Greek veela and French veela ancestry, that still confused her.
"Why didn't you tell us about your veela heritage earlier?" Molly asked.
"I just don't want to explain something I'm confused about," Hermione said. "I'm still discovering my limits."
"Hey, Hermione," George said. "How does it feel to transform into a bird?"
"Horrible," Hermione said. "Imagine all of your bones breaking while skele-grow fixes it all at once."
Everyone winced at the thought.
"When are you getting out of the hospital?" Ron asked.
"In a couple of days," Hermione replied. "Healer Smethwyck said that I had signs of fatigue because it was my very first transformation. They are forcing me into bed rest."
"Well," Arthur said, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "Looks like we are celebrating Christmas in at St. Mungo's. Do you mind if we open our Christmas gifts in your room, Hermione?"
This news surprised Hermione.
"Wait, you guys haven't opened your Christmas gifts yet?" Hermione asked.
"Why, of course," Molly said. Her tone hid a jumble of emotions she must feel right now. "We can't enjoy Christmas with you in a hospital bed."
Molly and Arthur took out the presents from a small red pouch that Hermione suspected were charmed with an undetectable extension charm. They distributed the gifts, including the ones Hermione sent over for them a few weeks ago.
For the most part, everybody received what he or she wanted for Christmas. Everybody got a new sweater from Molly. George gave away brand new products from his shop. Charlie gave away souvenirs from Romania. Percy gave every man a tie and every woman a gift card to Madam Malkin's. Hermione's gift was more practical. She gave everybody books.
As they opened their gifts, Hermione felt at home. The overwhelming sense of family and belonging caused Hermione to tear up. The thought of family also reminded her of her parents.
"Oh my gosh," Hermione said, which surprised the Weasley clan. "I need to send an owl to my family. They don't know that I'm in the hospital, and they're expecting me for lunch."
Hermione scrambled to find a piece of parchment, quill, and an ink-well. Thankfully, Percy always had office supplies with him for whatever reason.
"Do you want us to leave you alone while you write a note to your parents?" Molly asked.
Hermione gave her a thankful look as Molly ushered her family out of the room.
She wrote a three-foot letter apologizing to her parents. She explained that she was at St. Mungo's, the wizard hospital. No, they did not need to worry about her, and everything would be all right. She even asked to reschedule for New Year's Eve.
Once she finished her letter, Hermione called one of the nurses to send an owl for her. She knew that the hospital has a bunch of owls for emergency purposes. Hermione also knew that the staff members define the word "emergency" very loosely when it comes to those owls. All Hermione needed to tell the nurse was that the note was for her parents for them to send her letter.
The favor did not come without a price, though. The nurse informed her that she needed to be in bed soon because of her mandatory bed rest. Despite her complaints, the nurse allowed Hermione five minutes to thank and say goodbye to the Weasley family.
The gentle caress on her cheek woke up Hermione. Her eyes fluttered open to see Anthony standing over her.
"Hey there, Sleeping Beauty," Anthony said. "How are you feeling?"
"Like someone broke all my bones and healed them all at once," Hermione said.
She looked over Anthony's clothes. He was wearing his lime green Healer robes. His face was tired and stressed, telltale signs of a new Healer, His shoulders were slumped. He looked twice as horrible as the last time she saw him.
"They put you on duty? During Christmas evening?" She asked.
Anthony nodded.
"Yeah, people tend to be rowdy during the holidays, and the ones with seniority wanted to spend time with their families. All the newbies have to help out." Anthony yawned. "I just finished a double shift, so I'm heading home straight home after visiting you."
Anthony sat down on the chair right next to her bed. His eyes were heavy, and Hermione could tell that he could pass out at any minute.
"This is the first time when all of the department heads were unavailable. It was kind of a mess." Anthony said.
"Kind of a mess?" Hermione asked.
"Yes. Everybody just seemed lost. A big lot of the newbies don't know what to do without their supervisors."
He says "newbie" as if he was not one.
"Wait, Professor Smetwyck was just right here," Hermione said. "He's not with his family?"
Anthony scoffed.
"That poof. He came at nine o'clock in the morning as he found out that the 'famous Golden Trio' was in the hospital. He left as soon as he finished taking care of you and your guests. The man wouldn't even go near this place if you were not hospitalized."
Hermione knew that Anthony must feel frustrated about his role as a new Healer, one of the least respected Healers in the entire Hospital.
"Don't worry so much about it," Hermione said. "One day, he'll retire, and you'll take over his office."
This made Anthony smile. Signs of tiredness disappeared if only for a moment.
"Not unless you start your own department," Anthony said. "I'll join your Magical Genetics Department as soon as you open it. Then I'll spend the rest of my life working as your very handsome assistant."
"That would not happen for a very long time." Hermione laughed. "Maybe I'll hire a younger, more handsome assistant instead."
"Cougar." Anthony teased.
He leaned over and pecked her lips.
"Fine. I'll be your co-founder instead." Anthony said. "You'll do all the work, and I'm going to be the public face."
"Already giving yourself a promotion, I see," Hermione said. "Fine then, your first job is to come with me to meet with the Minister. We're going to need his endorsement to attract investors for the research."
Anthony's teasing face turned to panicked one.
"You got a meeting with the Minister? How? You haven't even drawn up a proposal for the research yet." Anthony said in a panicked tone. "You haven't even finished your program in that muggle university. Do you even know what to do?"
Hermione chuckled at his panicked expression. He was no longer tired; instead, he was panicking about the thought of meeting with the Minister.
"Relax," Hermione said. "I already drew up some drafts of the proposal, so we do not have to worry about going in empty-handed. We really do not have to explain a lot of the technical stuff anyway. We just need to tickle his interest."
"Are you okay?" Anthony asked.
"I'm okay," Hermione answered. "Why?"
"You just seemed tired," Anthony said. "I'm tired because I have work. You shouldn't be tired since you are on holiday."
He walked toward the foot of her bed and grabbed the clipboard attached to it.
"Professor Smethwyck wrote down that you have signs of fatigue," Anthony said. "Do you know how tired you must be for the physical signs of fatigue to show up?"
Hermione blushed in embarrassment.
"I was taking a lot of classes last semester," Hermione said. "On top of that, it was the Holiday season, so I had to go gift shopping for everybody."
"If you're tired all the time, maybe we should meet up more often," Anthony said. "I could be your little study buddy, and we could provide each other with some stress relief."
Anthony leaned over to give her a kiss but paused when he saw her frown.
"There's something I need to confess," Hermione said. "I slept with someone."
Anthony was not surprised by the news. Instead, he looked on alert. His body was stiff, and his jaw was clenched.
"Was he your mate?" Anthony asked. "Or were you just relieving an itch."
Was he your mate? That was the question he asked whenever Hermione meets someone new. He was not possessive by any means. He introduced himself, and he was always polite. It might be her imagination, but Anthony seemed to hold he breathe every time he asked the question.
Hermione cannot help but think that he was just bidding his time until she finds her mate.
"No," Hermione said. "He was not my mate. I just really need to relieve an itch yesterday."
Anthony relaxed and gave her a cheeky smirk.
"I kind of figured that you would take a second lover," Anthony confessed. "You may have noticed that your libido has been steadily increasing."
"What?!" Hermione exclaimed.
Anthony grabbed her clipboard yet again and pretended to flip through it.
"Yeah. You've been visiting me more often as time goes by. The only time it's slowed down was when you took that muggle class microbiology."
"Please don't tell me that you created a flow chart of every time I get horny."
Anthony hid his clipboard behind his back.
"You didn't," Hermione said accusingly.
Anthony backed away.
"Anthony!"
Hermione jumped up from her bed and tried to grab the clipboard from his hand. Anthony tried his best to keep the clipboard away from her. He raised his arm so that Hermione would have to stand on her toes to reach it.
"Am I interrupting something?" Draco Malfoy asked from the door.
Hermione and Anthony both jumped away from one another.
Hermione's heart beat faster when she saw him. He looked handsome in his impeccable black robes that contrast his pale complexion. Hermione felt haggard by comparison. Her lips were chapped, her hair was definitely a mess, and she was wearing an unflattering hospital gown.
In embarrassment, Hermione retreated to her bed and tried to hide under the covers as much as possible.
"No, you weren't interrupting anything," Anthony replied to Malfoy. "I was about to leave."
"No, Anthony." Hermione reached for his hand. "I want you to stay."
Anthony obliged and let Hermione held his hand. Anthony laced his fingers with hers. Hermione felt herself drawing comfort from Anthony's hands as she watched Malfoy walk toward the middle of the room.
"Is there something that I could help you with?" Hermione asked.
Malfoy's face was neutral, impassive even as he spoke.
"I just want to see how you were," Malfoy said. "I heard that you would be hospitalized for a couple of days, so I want to make sure that you're alright."
Hermione was no fool. She found it hard to believe that Malfoy would visit her in the hospital when they were never in amicable terms.
"I'm doing fine. Thank you for asking." Hermione said.
There was a pregnant pause where nobody knew what to say next.
"I was wondering." Malfoy starts. "If you would like to join me for lunch one of these days. We spent seven years at Hogwarts and even fought a war together. I just realized that we barely know each other."
Her veela wanted nothing more than to have lunch with him, but her brain told her to be cautious.
"I don't think I would have time for that," Hermione said carefully.
She turned towards Anthony. With her eyes, she pleaded him to play along.
"We still need to write up a proposal to present the Minister," Hermione said.
"Yes," Anthony said reluctantly. "We still need to write up a formal proposal, plan out what we're going to say…"
"Oh, and I still need to read my textbooks," Hermione added.
"Read your textbooks?" Anthony said. "Hermione, there's still three more weeks until school starts."
"Exactly! Do you know how dry university-level science textbooks are? It takes me a day to read six hundred pages!"
Anthony laughed good-naturedly.
"Only you would think reading six hundred pages in a day as slow."
Malfoy looked between the two of them. His face was still impassive.
"Hermione, you said that you have a proposal for the Minister," Malfoy said in a bright tone.
"Yes," Hermione said with the same careful tone she used on him before. "It's for a research project I wanted to start. I hope that I could get the Minister's endorsement so I could attract sponsors."
"Can I take a look at this proposal of yours?" Malfoy said. "I might want to sponsor it."
"No. I don't think that you would like to do that." Hermione said. "It's a research project that is very likely to take a lot of money and a lot of time."
Anthony squeezed her hand. She could tell he wanted her to go easy on a potential sponsor, but she did not care. She did not want to end up reporting to him.
"There were also a lot of technical things we need to iron out. Many of the equipment we would need are muggle. I'm not sure if you would want to support a research project that uses muggle technology."
"And why would I not support research that would use muggle technology?" Malfoy asked.
His voice was aloof, and it irritated Hermione.
"Because… because of your history." Hermione said carefully.
"Hey, don't be mean to the guy." Anthony chastised.
Hermione blushed in embarrassment. She should not have hinted at war, but Malfoy was the one who brought it up earlier. Besides, it would be best if she told him-and all of her potential sponsors-right away that she intends to use muggle technology.
"How about I offer you a proposal instead," Malfoy said. "Before you finish drafting your proposal, I would go over it and discuss how much money you would need to purchase muggle equipment. I could even look for a facility that could run…whatever it is that makes muggle technology run. That way, your proposal would be more attractive to sponsors and investors."
Both Hermione and Anthony were gobsmacked.
"Wow. That's very generous of you, Malfoy." Anthony said.
"Too generous, in fact," Hermione said. She looked straight at Malfoy's gray eyes. "I can't in good conscience take a large amount of money from someone who doesn't even know what they are paying for."
Malfoy shrugged as if what he offered them was no big deal.
"It's the least that I could do since I'm practically the one who sent you to the hospital," Malfoy said.
There was a pregnant pause between the three of them. Hermione could tell that Anthony was eyeing the two of them suspiciously, but she did not care. What did Malfoy want from her? He clearly was not here to see if she was okay. And she must be stupid to believe that anyone-let along Malfoy-would readily agrees to finance her dream without even looking at a proposal.
Whatever it Malfoy wanted, Hermione knew that Malfoy would not tell her while there was an audience.
"Anthony, can you please leave the room? I would like to talk to Malfoy in private." Hermione said primly.
Reluctantly, Anthony did as Hermione requested.
"Now that your little boy-toy is gone." Malfoy drawled as soon as the door closed. "We could get to business.
"Okay, then," Hermione said.
She points at the chair right next to her. Malfoy came forward and sat on the indicated seat.
"What do you want from me?" Hermione asked.
"I just want to know one thing," Draco said. "When are you planning to tell me that I'm your mate?"