Chapter 16
Ron stumbled into Hermione's office the Monday following his visit to her apartment. He had thought long and hard about what had happened, and had decided that it was time for him to see her again. He had acted rashly and foolishly, allowing his anger to get the best of him. If he wanted to get Hermione back, then he needed to show her that he could be better for her than Malfoy ever could be. He would have to show her that he could give her things that Malfoy never could.
"Ron!" he heard a voice squeal, as soon as he entered her floor. He looked to see a blonde standing in front of him. What was her name? Laura…Lauren…Lisa…? Oh well, it didn't really matter too much to him. She was just a one night stand; someone to help him get to know the inner workings better of where Hermione worked, so he could keep up to date on what was happening with Hermione, seeing that Harry refused to tell him about her life, saying that it was none of his business anymore. Some friend he was.
It was through the blonde bird that he had learned that Harry was having Hermione and Malfoy over for dinner. Apparently, he had been telling his secretary that he had to leave early so he could pick up a few things for their dinner. It had disgusted him to find that out, so he had planned a visit to their dinner to stop in on them and talk to Hermione to tell her just how wrong she was to be with him.
He hadn't slept with her since, she was too loose for that; but she had kept providing him information in the hopes that he would once more. Since that time he had been with a few other women, but nothing too serious. If there was one thing he learned from being a professional Quidditch player, it was that it was best for the public only to see you in a serious relationship with one woman, however, your personal life was where you were allowed to shag as many women as you wished.
The PR person for his team had told him that he needed to clean his personal life up, or he would be kicked off the team. Apparently being seen with many different women sent off the wrong kind of image for the team, and they needed to show how committed he could be.
It was half the reason he needed to get Hermione back. She was about as serious as it could get, and she definitely would send all the right signals for the press to pick back up. They were the second most popular war couple as voted by Witch Weekly a few years back, just behind Harry and Ginny.
He had it all planned out. It would have been perfect: get back onto good terms with his family, and keep his job.
While his family still kept in contact with him, he could tell they were all ashamed of what he had done to Hermione. It wasn't his fault that she couldn't be what he needed for her to be! His family should have understood that, yet they decided to take her side! Well it was all the more reason to get her back.
What he hadn't anticipated was the fact that she might have moved on. Seriously, it was Hermione Granger! She wasn't even that pretty, so why would anyone want to be with her? And it would be bloody Malfoy who she was dating! Obviously she was trying to make him jealous so he would come back to her.
So why the bloody hell hadn't she broken up with him yet? It was obvious to her that Ron wanted him back. Maybe she was playing hard to get, trying to see just how hard he would try to get her back before giving up again. Well if that were the case, then he would show her just how serious he was about it.
"Aren't you even going to say hello?" the blonde whined as she draped herself over him. Ron quickly pushed her off, not wanting Hermione to see her all over him. It would set him back on his progress, which was the last thing he needed at the minute.
"Not now, Lisa!" he said. "I have an important meeting."
"It's Lana," she huffed as she stormed away. Right, Lana; that was her name. It wasn't like it really mattered anyways.
He walked to the office he knew Hermione was in, and knocked on the door. There was a faint "come in" from the other side, so he turned he door. Once he did, he saw her at her desk, books scattered everywhere, and her head, as usual, buried in them.
But that wasn't the first thing he noticed. She was glowing, like she was positively radiant. Did she sleep with Malfoy over the weekend? He wanted to ask her, but just spitting out the words would lead to him being kicked out of her office. That slut! She had made him wait for three years before she gave it up to him, and even that took a lot of coaxing and insistence saying that they were soul mates, and were going to get married eventually. Look how well that worked out.
"Ron," she said in surprise. "I thought you were Harry. He was supposed to come up for a case we're working on." He could tell that she was uncomfortable, and probably looking for a way to kick him out of her office. He couldn't let that happen; not before saying his piece.
"I know we left things off badly when I came by, but I wanted to apologise for it. My actions were inexcusable. Let me make it up to you."
She was still looking at him, unsure of what she should do. Her eyes were contemplating her actions, and he swore he could see the process as it happened in her mind.
Quietly she gestured to the chair across from her. "Okay, but if we're going to talk, listen to what I have to say first. We're over. You made that plenty clear. I've moved on, and I'm happy. I don't know if you think I'm dating him out of spite, or just because I want you back, but whatever the case is, my relationship with Draco has nothing to do with you, and is none of your business. And frankly, as much as I would like to be your friend again, if you cannot accept that, then that's your problem, and I do not want you in my life. So whatever you have to say to me, leave him out of it."
He wanted so badly to sneer at her words and lash out at her. But he knew if he wanted to make any progress at all, then he would have to listen to her and not bring up her love life, no matter how much it pained her. No, for once in his life, he would think it through instead of using his Gryffindor mindset and charge straight into the situation without having an endgame in mind.
"Okay," he said with a nod. "I miss you, Hermione." He started, "Before we began to date, we had seven years of friendship and memories. And I know I hurt you, I do. I want to make it right by you, and if you've moved on, then I can accept that, even if it's with Malfoy."
He saw her let out a sigh of relief. He wondered if what he was about to say next would ruin all that, but he needed to get it out there, so she would know.
"I still love you though, with all of that said. I want you back, but I know I was wrong with what I did. So I want to prove to you that I've changed. I want to show you that I can be good enough for you, and that I care about you, and only you. I want you to know that I'm going to keep fighting for you, and hopefully one day, you'll realise that you still love me too, and that you're willing to give us a second chance, give me a second chance to make up for all my faults the last time round."
So he was lying through his teeth, sue him. He saw her sigh again, but it was different than before, and knew that she was frustrated. Whatever. At least he had said all that he wanted to say. At the end of the day, her feelings didn't really matter, as long as she got back with him so he could save his career.
"Ron, don't bother waiting," she said softly. "I'm happy, I told you. And even if Draco and I don't work out, I don't think I could ever date you again, I'm sorry. So move on, and find someone who makes you just as happy as he makes me."
He wanted to argue back, but at that moment, there was a knock on the door. Hermione stood up to open it and Ron as able to recognize Harry's secretary on the other side.
"Miss Granger, I'm sorry to bother you, but Draco Malfoy made a floo call for you. He told me to tell you that Jamie had an episode and wanted to let you know in case you wanted to go see him."
He saw panic flood to her eyes. Who was this Jamie, and why did they affect Hermione? It would be bloody Malfoy who interrupted their talk. Ron knew with a bit more persuasion he would have had her at least in a position where she took his words into consideration. Well if he knew Hermione, she would just shake it off and wait until after work before she went to meet him.
"Oh Merlin," she said shakily. "Diane, could you tell Harry that something personal came up, and that I had to leave? Tell him that I'm caught up on my work, but everything pertaining to the case that I was working on, I'll bring home with me and finish later."
She started packing up her notes and files and Ron began to steam with anger. They weren't done their conversation. Who was she to dismiss him?
"Miss Granger, you should attend to your personal matter. I'm sure Mr Potter will be more than understanding, and won't hold it against you. I'll tell him you had to leave though, just don't worry about your job. Mr Malfoy sounded slightly urgent in his call."
She shot her a smile, "Thank you, Diane. I don't know what this department would do without you." She turned to him, "I'm sorry I have to leave. I meant what I said though, Ron. You need to move on, preferably with someone else who can make you happy. I want to be friends with you, but you need to let go of us." She grabbed her bag and ran out the door.
He stood there and watched her leave, wanting to say something to her, but unable to due to how fast she had had left.
"I trust you can show yourself out, Mr Weasley?" the secretary said, a hard tone in her voice. What was her bloody problem? Did she not know who he was?
"Of course," he said stiffly. He would just have to find another way to convince Hermione to get back together with him. Clearly just talking to her wasn't enough. No, he would have to do something larger, much grander to win her back. He wished he could talk to Harry about it; after all, weren't that what best friends were for? However he knew Harry wouldn't even let him get as close as bringing it up before Harry would close the topic for good. No, this was something he would do on his own. He would show everyone that he was capable of doing something for himself.
Hermione rushed to Jamie's room. When she heard that he had had one of his episodes, she knew she had to go see him. The boy hadn't been getting better lately, but the number of episodes he had were severely reduced.
She had never seen one herself, as the last one happened before she met Jamie. But Draco had told her about them. During them, heart would start pumping like crazy, trying to get all the blood to each part of his body, and he would break into heavy sweats. His body began to boil, causing his blood to boil, and bumps would break out over his body. It would get to the point where he nearly went into cardiac arrest due to the symptoms. In a few cases, his lungs nearly gave out, as they were unable to provide enough oxygen for the amount of blood being pumped. Draco had told her that he tried everything from cooling charms, to more sophisticated practices, which seemed to lower the symptoms, but not get rid of them completely. The only way an episode would end was by going through its natural course, and eventually returning back to normal.
"How is he?" she asked Draco as he came out of Jamie's room.
"He's asleep at the moment. It's easier to keep him calm if he's asleep for the episodes," Draco said tiredly. "Hermione, it was worse than any of the other ones he's ever had. Honestly, I didn't think he would make it through. I was afraid that everything that I used in the past wouldn't have been enough to get him back to a normal functioning level. If he keeps having episodes like this, then I don't know how much longer he's going to have. We need to find a cure for him, now."
She felt her heart clutch. Jamie was so young; too young to have to go through all of this pain alone. He didn't deserve it; he didn't deserve any of it.
"Can I sit with him for a bit? I know he's not awake, but just to make sure he's going to be okay. I want to go through more of the books to see if I can find anything. There has to be something in them," she said desperately. She blinked back tears. Draco scooped her up into his arms, "If anyone can find something to cure him, it would be you, Hermione."
"And if I can't?" she whispered in fear. "What if I can't do anything to save him?"
"The first thing you learn about being a healer is that you can't save everyone. I don't want to think like that, because as a healer, I have to try and help everyone, but sometimes you can't, Hermione. It's the hardest with kids. They're so young, and they don't deserve any of the pain, and watching them is heart breaking. But you just have to keep carrying on."
She squeezed her eyes shut as she took comfort in his arms. She knew there was truth in his words, but she hated to believe that it would come to pass. No, she would help Jamie, one way or another. And if that meant brewing her own cure, then that she would do.
A few hours later, she was still there with Jamie. Draco had gone home to pick up Scorpius and grab them dinner. Hermione could tell that he felt bad for not getting to spend much time with Scorpius lately, as he asked her to watch his son for a bit while finishing up his rounds. But he promised his son that he would return in an hour and then they would all be able to hang out together.
Scorpius had been curious to see the older boy, and had asked Hermione many questions about him as Jamie slept.
When he asked her where his mommy and daddy were, she had to explain to the young boy how his mommy and daddy were gone to a happier place, but Jamie stayed here. Scorpius had been confused at first.
"Like my mommy?" the young boy asked. It broke her heart to know that Astoria didn't really want much to do with the young boy. Yes, Scorpius was the heir to the Malfoy line, but he was also her son too. She knew from Draco that Astoria had insisted on seeing Scorpius every once in a while, but it was clear to her that she didn't want a relationship with her son as a mother other than as a title.
"It's different, sweetie," she tried to explain. "Jamie can't see his parents anymore."
When Jamie woke up, he smiled to see Hermione sitting there with him. He had inquired about the younger boy, who she explained was Healer Draco's son. Scorpius had been slightly shy at first, but within a few moments, he began to bombard Jamie with questions. Jamie had been slightly awkward, and Hermione knew it was because he couldn't remember the last time he had talked to someone else around his age. But Jamie politely answered all of his questions. It was only after several minutes that Jamie relaxed completely, and talked to Scorpius as one would to a friend.
Draco came back in after a bit, without his Healer robes, and placed a kiss on her cheek. He sat in a chair beside hers, and held up a large bag full of takeout food. Using paper plates, Hermione helped him distribute the food to the two boys before taking servings for herself. He had picked up some pizza, as well as a bunch of other muggle food, which Hermione assumed he had gotten from a local place.
Together they sat, and they ate together, all while talking and joking around. As Hermione watched the interaction between all them, she smiled. It was like a real family, bonding together. And even though Jamie wasn't either of theirs, he blended in well, almost as if he was meant to be with them.
She remembered the thought she had a while back, and knew in her mind that it was what she wanted to do. But that could wait for later. For now, she would simply enjoy the current moment.