Spellbound

Chapter Eight

When Hermione and the children made it back to the hotel room, she smiled at the figures of Draco and Scorpius curled up together, asleep, on the bed. So, she quietly conjured up two small cots and a small crib. She tucked Rose into a cot and Hugo into the crib before gently moving Scorpius to the remaining cot, careful to not wake him up in the process. Once the children were settled, she crawled into bed with Draco for a well-deserved nap. When she snuggled up to Draco, he smiled in his sleep and snaked his arm around her.

A month later, the 5 of them were still living in the cramped hotel room. Draco stayed because Hermione did and Scorpius wanted to stay with his father. Rose and Hugo, even though they didn't want to leave Hermione, had no choice. Hermione couldn't get any of the Weasley's to answer a letter or even their doors. The only correspondence she had was with Ginny and even she wasn't getting anywhere with her family. Both her and Hermione had went to Ron's house one day and knocked for what seemed like hours. Hermione knew he was home because, looking in the window, she could see things that were in the same places he kept them only when he was there. Ginny tried getting her to just apparate inside but Hermione felt like that was intruding and refused.

Hermione was frustrated. Her letters were all returned, unopened. And to top it off, Rose had begun to have nightmares and had taken to crawling in bed with Scorpius at night because she said he kept the bad things away. Actually, she wasn't just frustrated, she was more than that. And she was frustrated because she couldn't think of a better word to describe how she was feeling.

One night, Draco had gotten Astoria to take Scorpius, and after many failed attempts with the Weasley clan (again), Hermione had gotten Ginny to babysit Rose and Hugo. The pair went out on what Draco had joking dubbed "another damn Muggle date" and, when they got back to the hotel, decided to crawl under the covers and watch a movie.

"You know, I'm really starting to like these things." Draco said, smiling at Hermione. "They're very interesting. None of them are exactly alike."

"I knew they'd grow on you." She leaned her head over and gave Draco a small kiss. As Hermione went to pull away, he tangled his hand in her hair and pulled her back. "What was that all about?" she asked, when they broke apart.

"Well, for one, you looked unbelievably gorgeous tonight. And second, we don't have to go hide in the bathroom to do what we want to do since the kids aren't here, so I thought I'd try and take full advantage of that."

"Oh, really?"

"Oh, yeah." Draco, smiling, leaned in for another kiss and Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck.

Later on, after they had both fallen asleep, Hermione awoke with a start. The dream she had been having ended abruptly, scaring her awake. She didn't feel right. The dream had felt too real to just be a figment of her imagination. It was almost like a prediction of her future; a future that didn't include Draco. Or Ron. Or anyone she loved and cared about, actually. And it scared the shit out of her. She quickly and quietly penned a short note to Ginny and sent it off before climbing back into bed. She turned on her side and just stared at Draco. She moved some hair that had fallen into his eyes and she just listened to him softly snoring. Finally, after forcing her brain to shut itself off, Hermione drifted off into a very uneasy sleep.

The pair awoke the next morning to an owl rapping on the window. Hermione got up quickly, hoping it was Ginny's answer. And it was. She breathed a sigh of relief as she tucked the letter into her purse and began to get dressed.

"Where are you off to so early?" Draco said, sleepily.

"I have to go meet Ginny to get the children. Just go back to sleep. I'll be back shortly." She had only fibbed a little, considering she really did have to pick up Rose and Hugo, but she also needed someone to talk to. Draco nodded and puckered his lips, waiting for a kiss. Hermione giggled and placed a tiny one on his lips and he fell backwards onto his pillow and rolled over.

The two women met in a small cafe, and as they sat there drinking their cappuccino's, Hermione told Ginny about her dream. "It was scary. And dark and lonely. I don't want to end up all alone, Gin. I don't think I could take it."

"It was only a dream. I don't think you're going to end up alone with 50 cats. Or alone, in general. You do have a lot of people who care about you. Even if most of them aren't exactly pleased with you at the present moment."

"But what if it wasn't a dream? What if it was a vision or something?"

"Are you psychic now, darling?" Ginny smiled into her coffee.

"Shut up. You are so not the person I need to talk to about shit like this. I need someone slightly logical." Hermione thought for a second. "Do you think you could get Harry to talk to me? I know he's probably furious, though..."

"Not as much as he was... But I can talk to him, I guess. I'm sure he'll talk to you. You are still his best friend, you know."

"Well, tell him that if I don't hear from him by tomorrow morning, I understand. But if he decided to, tell him to send me a time and place."

Hermione rounded her kids up and pulled Hugo onto her hip. Ginny placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Hey, if all else fails, I'll personally buy you Crookshanks Jr."

"Shut up, Ginny." Hermione laughed as she grabbed Rose's hand and apparated back to her hotel. When they popped into the room, it was empty and she sighed a bit out of relief. She decided to cuddle up with Rose and Hugo on the bed and watch a movie to pass the time.

Draco didn't get back until after nightfall, and about 20 minutes before he arrived an owl appeared at the window. Hermione recognized Harry's untidy handwriting on the envelope immediatly.

Hermione, it said, meet me at The Leaky Cauldron at 2. If you aren't there, I might just have to actually hate you. Harry.

She was able to hide the letter before Draco got back, but could barely hide the fact that her stomach was now in knots. She had no idea what Harry was going to tell her. And she didn't know if they would even still be friends after they were done with their conversation.

As they were all falling asleep that night, Hermione turned towards Draco in bed. "Do you think you could keep all three kids for about an hour or two tomorrow? I have some errands I need to run..."

"Yeah, sure. Anything important?"

"Not really. Just easier without tagalongs."

Draco nodded and kissed Hermione goodnight before turning over and beginning to snore almost immediately. She tossed and turned for hours before succumbing to a fitful nights sleep.

When Hermione awoke the next morning, a lot was weighing on her mind. She didn't know how much Harry was willing to talk about, let alone help her with. After pacing quietly for a few minutes, she quickly dressed, placed kisses on everyone's foreheads and apparated into Diagon Alley. She knew it was hours before she had to meet Harry, but she didn't want Draco to question her nervousness. After browsing almost every single shop, it was finally almost two and she made her way to the front of the street and to the Leaky Cauldron.

Hermione waited nervously, but patiently, at a table close to the front. And when she saw that messy head of black hair walk in, her heart jumped to her throat. This was a mistake. She just knew that Harry wouldn't be any help. She just knew it. But she spoke up anyways. "Harry!" She yelled, waving her arm in the air so he'd see her.

Harry smiled and walked over to his best friend, who he warmly embraced before he sat down.

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