Boo!
Been a busy week, so that's why I haven't updated. Not many as usual reviewed the last chapter- where are you faithful reviewers?
Decent length chapter to look forward to. I will see what happens this week, and will either update Thursday, or next Sunday.
Love sent to: reina13, Lightning And Blossoms, cyn23, tfobmv18, sweet-tang-honney, CFCRockAngel, BustyxxxxWizard, dreadfuldelights, jessirose85, ShelbySarleslovesWWE4EVER, Siriusly-a-princess, reader2015, MissRose2481, jamesandscorpius'cheetahfan, CCCookiexC3, Lovestoreadlikecrazyyy, Callmecrazy17 and Royal shadow1.
Chapter 26: Teasing
Hermione woke up early the next morning, her thoughts unable to keep her asleep any longer. She wanted to go to the Hospital Wing to see Ginny, to make sure she was okay. She rolled over and saw that Draco was still sleeping. She smirked and then got up- the cold air making her shiver slightly. It was the 1st November after all- it would start snowing soon. Hermione made a mental note to buy some warm boots next time an opportunity presented itself. She chose an outfit for the day, and went into the bathroom to get changed. It was a Sunday, and after the excitement of the past few days, she hadn't done any work- which was extremely unlike her.
When she went back to check on Draco, he was still sleeping. She checked the clock on the wall- it was half past seven. Breakfast started at seven on a Sunday, and finished at nine, to give the students a 'lie in'. Most students went without breakfast, as their idea of a lie in was until midday.
Hermione knelt on the bed, looking at Draco. He was so adorable when he slept...not that he wasn't adorable when he was awake, but at least she didn't have to deal with him teasing her all the time. But that, she supposed, was what love was all about. They loved each other enough not to be hurt when the other made a joke about them.
"Draaaaacooo," she said softly, not wanting to scare him.
No reply.
She rubbed his arm, gently of course, and said his name again.
"Nuhhh, go away. No wake up..." muttered Draco.
"Come on Draco, it's time to wake up," she smiled.
"Noo...leave me alone," Draco rolled over. He was clearly desperate to stay in bed the whole day.
"Ugh fiiiiine, I'll go to breakfast without you then. By the time you're down, they'll have run out of the muffins you so greatly love."
"I'm up! I'm up!" Draco shot out of bed, and proceeded to getting dressed there and then. It wasn't hard, considering he only slept in his boxers.
Hermione averted her eyes before realising that she didn't have to anymore. Instead, she could relish the sight of the handsome Draco Malfoy- toned from years of Quidditch.
"Like what you see?" Draco winked.
"Of course I do, who wouldn't?" Hermione replied flirtatiously.
"Well...I think we should see how much you like it..." Draco glanced down at the bed.
"Don't, or else I may have to take you up on that offer. Come on, we have things to do today."
"Fine...there is always tonight," Draco smiled.
Hermione blushed.
"Ahh, I love it when you blush. And especially when it's so early in the morning. Just makes my whole day seem brighter," Draco teased.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, and that's why you take every opportunity to make me blush. If I didn't love you so much, I'd hate you."
"Well then, it's a good thing you love me isn't it? I'd hate for us to return to being enemies...it's much more fun this way."
"I know what you mean. Doesn't mean I'm going to be nice to you all the time though. It's fun teasing you. 'Makes my day seem brighter', know what I mean?" Hermione winked.
"Hey! Don't copy my lines! It makes me realise how corny they sound!" Draco laughed.
"Well, you should think of some less corny lines. Anyway, I don't think they're that bad. They do what you want them to anyway."
"Really? And what's that?" Draco raised his eyebrows.
"To make me fall in love with you even more," Hermione smiled.
It was Draco's turn to blush. "Aww shucks," he said in a fake American accent. "You made me blush."
Hermione giggled, and replied. "Good. Now you know what it feels like."
"I do baby, I truly do," Draco nodded, still in his American accent- which was terrible by the way.
Hermione groaned. "Will you stop talking and finish dressing? Aren't you cold in just your jeans?"
"Nope, your love keeps me nice and toasty," Draco smirked.
"OK, that's going too far into the territory of corny."
"Sorry, my bad. It's true though."
"Just get dressed will you? I'll make it worth your while..."
Draco got Hermione's hint and proceeded to literally throw his clothes on.
"Good boy." Hermione said, patting his head mockingly.
"Don't call me a boy, darling. I'm 100% pure man." Draco said proudly, a twinkle in his grey speckled eyes.
"Yeah...right." Hermione snorted.
Draco gasped. "You just insulted my manliness!"
"And yet, you just proved my point. Real men don't whine." Hermione laughed.
Draco glowered, but said nothing. Sometimes, Hermione was mean...
"And now you're insulting me in your head."
"No, of course I wasn't..."
Hermione raised an eyebrow.
"OK, I was...but I was only kidding. Like you were with the manliness joke. We're just teasing each other...right?"
Hermione coughed, "of course..."
"Hey!"
"I'm only kidding. Of course I'm only teasing you. I love you too damn much to hurt you, and also, it's really easy to tease you. You can be really gullible sometimes." Hermione smiled, before pressing herself against Draco, giving him a short but sweet kiss.
"Fine, you're forgiven. Now come on Hermione! We don't want all the muffins to be gone!"
And with that, Draco pulled Hermione out of the room. Hermione protesting that she was the one who wanted to be gone early. Draco scoffed and told her to not be so silly. Hermione glowered at Draco's back.
An hour later, Harry, Pansy, Draco and Hermione arrived in the Hospital Wing. Draco rubbing his stomach, wondering if he shouldn't have eaten that last blueberry muffin.
The Weasley family- including Blaise and Luna- were already there.
"Hello, Mrs Weasley." Harry smiled.
"Harry dear," Mrs Weasley beamed back, before giving him a hug.
"Did you sleep well last night?" He asked.
"As well as expected. It's still quite a shock if I'm honest with you. Ginny, pregnant. It makes it so much harder to see her as our little girl."
Harry nodded awkwardly. It wasn't really his territory.
Draco noticed Ron sitting in the furthest chair and nudged Hermione. Hermione nodded in reply, but didn't walk over to Ron. She stayed close my Draco's side, making sure that Ron saw them. So what if she spent 'all her time' with him? That was what they were supposed to do.
Everyone settled into quiet conversations. Madam Pomfrey came into the room to tell the group Ginny would wake up in the next hour.
The waiting commenced.
Ron got up to pace up and down the corridor of beds, and Hermione decided to talk to Luna. She was after all going to be one of her bridesmaid. Hermione briefly wondered how big Ginny would be by Valentine's Day. She would be around four months pregnant. Hermione took note, so when they shopped for bridesmaid dresses; they needed to find a dress which could be easily reshaped in case Ginny gained a lot of weight.
Hi Luna," Hermione sat down in the seat next to her.
"Hello, Hermione," she replied pleasantly. "Your party last night was beautiful. I loved the whole theme. Are you getting married at night?"
"Thanks. We decided on sunset, but it probably will drift into night-time. I hope it will be a clear night. The idea of watching the sun set, and then watching the stars come out seems so...romantic."
"Yes," Luna said dreamily. "You will have to put up boundary spells to make sure no Dooglers get inside."
Hermione hid a smile. Luna didn't mean to be funny, and Hermione had got used to her naming weird creatures. It still made her laugh though.
"Dooglers?"
"Yes, they are creatures of the night, and like to cause mischief. I would hate for them to come and ruin your lovely night."
"Yes...that would be quite unfortunate," Hermione let out a chuckle. Then she changed the subject.
"How is Ron?"
"Do you mean, how is Ron generally, or how is Ron about Ginny?" Luna was quite perceptive.
"Generally."
"His mood changes quite a lot. Sometimes, he is the Ron I love. The Ron at our engagement party. But most of the time, he goes for long walks, and when he comes back he doesn't talk to me. A few days ago a sofa appeared in our room. Since then, he's slept on it. He seems to have so much emotion bottled up inside himself. He's like a volcano, waiting to erupt. I don't really know what the matter is."
"You don't? I would have thought he'd have told you..."
"What? What do you mean?" Luna sat up straighter. "Please, Hermione. I need to know."
Hermione was surprised by this sudden burst of anxiousness. It was uncommon to see Luna...not calm. Luna was such a serene person, nothing seemed to affect her. But apparently, Ron did.
"Well...last night Ron came to talk to me. We got into an argument. He feels like he is being ignored, and he doesn't like it. He wants us to be close again. He doesn't like that we've gotten so close to our partners, especially me and Draco. He didn't expect that."
"By...'he wants us to be close again' does he mean...does he mean him and you?" Luna whispered. She looked at Hermione and her eyes went blank.
"What? No! Not in that way. Don't be silly." Hermione put her hand on Luna's knee. "He loves you Luna. And I love Draco. I wouldn't trade what I have with him for Ron, no offence. We tried it last year, and it just didn't work out. I've seen you together, and you just fit. In a way that we never did."
"Really? You truly believe that?"
"Of course I do," Hermione smiled kindly.
"I guess we'll have to have a talk about this tonight. I really hope this can be resolved. I love him Hermione, and I don't want to lose him."
"It will be okay," Hermione said reassuringly, before putting her arm round the sixth year.
"Now, once Ginny is out of here and settled back into the daily life of things, I want you and Ron to come to our room to have a move night. It will help us go back and build on our friendships again. Also, I want you to come with me, Ginny and Pansy to Diagon Alley in a few weeks to browse dresses. It will be nice to have a girly trip, and I feel as though you need some relaxation. Sound good?"
Luna smiled brightly, her eyes shone. "Yes, that sounds like just the thing I need."
Hermione glanced at Ron, who hadn't been paying attention to their conversation. Good.
Luna smiled at Hermione, and then got up to walk with Ron. She watched as Luna put her hand on his upper arm, and Ron jumped nervously. He smiled when he saw it was Luna and embraced her. Hermione took it as a good sign that he hadn't walked away from her. She didn't want any more drama for the time being. So much had happened in such a short space of time.
She gestured for Draco to come over; he had been talking to Blaise by Ginny's bed. Draco went over to her and sat down next to Hermione.
"What were you talking to Luna about?" Draco murmured.
"Nothing that will interest you, Draco," Hermione smiled and leant her head on his shoulder.
Half an hour later, the room was quiet. Everyone was watching Ginny sleep. She would be waking up any moment.
Ron and Luna were sitting by the windows, deep in whispered conversation. Draco was playing with Hermione's hair whilst she listened to Draco's beating heart.
Then, Hermione heard a small cough. She sat up and glanced at Ginny. Her eyes were scrunched up.
"Ginny!"
Everyone immediately crowded round the bed. Blaise was whispering to Ginny, encouraging her to open her eyes.
"Blaise?" Ginny croaked.
Blaise cheered. "Yes Gin. I'm here. You're fine now."
"Mum?" Ginny opened her eyes.
Mrs Weasley dabbed at her eyes. "Oh Ginny. Don't scare us like this every again. I don't know what I'd do if that happened."
"Don't worry Mum," her voice cracked. "Can I have some water?"
"Madam Pomfrey! She's awake!" George shouted as he hurtled into the office where the school nurse was listening to a programme on the wireless.
Madam Pomfrey appeared seconds later with a glass of water, and a steaming potion.
"Here, drink these," she gestured to the cups in her hands.
"Do I have to?" Ginny glanced at the frothing cup.
Madam Pomfrey nodded. "You need to keep your strength up."
Ginny sat up, aided by Blaise. She grimaced when she drank the potion. But at once, her pale face brightened considerably. She looked like she usually did now, and Hermione was glad.
She went over and hugged Ginny.
"Merlin, Ginny. Trust you to upstage my engagement party." She laughed, and winked to show that she was only teasing.
"Sorry about that. What happened? I remember talking to you about Ron...and then I woke up here."
Everyone glanced at each other, wondering who was going to tell her.
"I think we'll go get Professor Dumbledore..." Harry said quickly, took Pansy's hand and fled from the room. They clearly felt awkward standing there, and didn't want to be there when they told Ginny she was pregnant.
"Umm..." Hermione hesitated, then looked at Draco.
Draco looked at Ron.
Ron looked at Mrs Weasley.
Mrs Weasley glanced at her husband.
Mr Weasley glared at Blaise.
"Umm...well...the thing is," Blaise stammered.
"You're pregnant," Luna stated.
"Luna!" A chorus of voices echoed around the room.
"What? None of you were going to do it. I thought I'd take the plunge," Luna defended herself.
"I'm-I'm pregnant?" Ginny asked, her eyes widening. She looked at her flat stomach.
"Yes, love," Blaise took hold of her hand. "You're pregnant."
Ginny burst into tears.
Hermione lunged forward for another hug but Ginny waved her free hand.
"N-n-no," she spluttered. "I-I-It's happy t-tears."
Blaise grinned. "We're going to have a baby."
He kissed her tear stained cheek. Ginny smiled, opened her arms. Everyone took this as a sign to hug her, and congratulate her. Hermione noticed Ron was the last to hug her, he looked grim. But, Hermione considered, he didn't make a scene. That's something at least.
They stayed until Harry and Pansy arrived back with Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall.
"Hello everyone," Dumbledore smiled. "If it is no inconvenience to you, I would like to have a talk with Blaise, Ginny and her parents alone. If you can stand the strong wind, why don't you all take a walk in the grounds? Or light a fire in your room? I'm sure you have homework to catch up on."
Everyone nodded, and Hermione, Draco, Ron, Luna, Harry and Pansy- accompanied by George, Fleur, Bill and Angelina- left the Hospital Wing. They heard the lock click, and could hear no more.
Did you think Ginny's reaction was an accurate portrayal? I've (obviously) never been pregnant, so I wouldn't know. Lol.
What was your favourite moment in the chapter? What would you like to see come up in the next couple of chapters?
Review please *smiles*