A/N- Here we are again, my friends, with another chapter to this labor of love. I loved the reviews and I loved all the follows and faves I received as well. Thank you so much! It really does motivate me to write more when I get lots of feedback. Anyways, this isn't a life-changing chapter, just day to day life. Hope y'all still enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything about this story except for my own personal twist. If I did own Harry Potter, I would have made sure that Hermione ended up with Draco, or Harry, or Fred. Never Ron, but y'all know I'm a Ron hater. All credit goes to J.K.R.
Chapter 30
January 23, 1996
Hermione was on the cusp between sleep and waking, her dreams had been pleasant all night. Both boys had stayed close, closer than they usually did, truth be told, but she didn't mind. They were her heaters and she wasn't entirely sure that she could sleep without them anymore. She felt complete when she was wrapped in their arms and they claimed to feel the same way.
Fingers pumping inside of her brought her to a state of full wakefulness. Her hips started moving in rhythm with the hand, grinding shamelessly on whoever had seen fit to wake her in this manner. Her eyes fluttered open while a soft whimper escaped her lips. She hated sounding so needy, but there wasn't much that she could do about it. Holding it back just wasn't an option.
Hermione was pushed to her back while Harry crouched between her legs, his hand working its magic on her pussy. Draco leaned down and sucked the tender skin beneath her ear into his mouth, leaving a mark she was sure. Hermione didn't care about marks; the last thing she wanted him to do was stop so she kept her mouth shut.
When the blond pulled away from her neck, Hermione reached out blindly for his cock. Once it was in her hand, she began to stroke it exactly like he liked, long strokes with just a little bit of a twist at the end. He edged closer to her until his dick was right in her face. She knew what she wanted but she wanted him to tell her. She didn't understand it any better than anyone else, but she loved it when both of her boys dirty talked her.
Draco moved to the top of her head and let his cock fall into her face. He was rubbing the tiny drops of fluid on her lips and she ached to lick them clean. Instead, she turned her head just a little and managed to catch one of his balls in her mouth, sucking it in as deeply as she could. He let out a startled gasp and for a single moment, Hermione was able to bask in the knowledge that she had pulled one over on Draco.
That smug feeling disappeared when Harry lined up his cock with her entrance and slammed home. While both of her boys were more than capable of being tender and slow in their love-making, Hermione much preferred the method that they both liked. They were both dominant, possessive, and expected her to follow their instructions unless it was for a very good reason. Neither would ever hurt her, and she trusted that, therefore, she was more than happy to comply with their wishes. To be honest, she loved giving them control of this aspect of her life.
Hermione had always been in control of her life, she had always been the smart one that everyone turned to for answers. Hermione fixed problems and her friendship with Harry and Ron had been nothing short of one problem right after the other. She was always the one in charge and sometimes it was just exhausting. To let them control this one aspect of her life was a relief.
Harry was already fucking her, not allowing her a second to acclimate to his wide girth. It burned slightly, but it felt too good to tell him to stop. Hermione simply slid her arms around his ribs and held him tighter to her, urging him on with her hips, trying to match him thrust for thrust. Draco gently pulled his ball from her mouth, so he could tap her lips with the head of his cock.
"Suck my cock, Princess, let me shoot my load down your throat." Hermione opened her mouth and happily took his as deep as he was willing to go.
Draco began fucking her mouth with abandon, bottoming out inside her throat. He had his hands around her breasts, his fingers tweaking and twisting at her nipples, sending Hermione into a sensation overload. Harry was still fucking her, his cock hitting that special spot inside her that she had come to appreciate. His fingers were stroking her clit, much the same way that she stroked their cocks, and Hermione was unsure of how much longer she could last.
Out of nowhere, Harry gave her nub a sharp pinch and it sent her over the edge. Her world exploded, and she felt her inner muscles clench tighter around Harry, pulling him in as deep as she could take him. Above her, Harry grunted and slammed into her hard, she could feel him emptying inside her. As if this wasn't enough, Draco let out a groan and blew his load in her mouth, coating her tongue and throat in his seed. She gulped it down greedily, almost on instinct since she was still riding high on Harry's cock.
When she was able to open her eyes and not see spots, Hermione began to lick at Draco softly, cleaning him as best she could in the position she was in. He allowed it, his fingers stroking her jaw softly as she gave a small suck at the head to make sure that she got every drop. When she was finished, Draco pulled back and grinned at her.
"My turn. I want to lick you clean."
Hermione was still astounded by the relationship that her boys had. Neither one of them made any move on the other, both claimed that they weren't attracted to each other, but neither one of them was grossed out by the other's bodily fluids or functions. She was sure that most men would have a problem with getting another man's sperm in their mouth, but they assured her that they didn't, if they were licking it off her.
Harry was quick to comply with Draco's words, moving out of the way so the blond could kneel between her thighs. Hermione opened her mouth invitingly to Harry and he was quick to move to her head. Draco's tongue snaked out and started licking her outer folds first, tracing every single one as if it was a flower petal. While he was using his tongue on Hermione, Harry dropped his cock in her mouth from the same position that Draco had.
Draco delved deeper inside her, humming in appreciation as he did so. As he dipped inside her, sucking at her inner lips, Hermione cleaned Harry off in the much the same fashion that she had Draco. She could taste herself on him, a slightly tangy taste that she didn't necessarily love, but certainly didn't hate. Harry groaned softly above her, and Hermione couldn't help but mirror his sounds when Draco brushed her clit just a little bit.
Suddenly, Draco's mouth latched onto her clit and began sucking hard, little sounds escaping his lips as he did so. Harry let her continue her ministrations but seemed to be enjoying just watching Draco pleasure her. There was something about the whole scene that Hermione found undeniably hot.
It was when Draco slid two fingers inside her of her that she couldn't help herself. Hermione came again, her pussy clenching down tight on his fingers once more. She was unsure how her boys could like that feeling, she would expect it to hurt, but they both assured her that the feeling was amazing. It seemed like this orgasm went on forever, but, it probably wasn't more than thirty seconds.
When she finally went limp, Harry pulled himself from her mouth while Draco continued to lick her clean. Her best friend peppered her face with small kisses, his fingers tangling lightly in her hair. Draco licked her clean once more, this time stopping once he deemed her fit to shower. Hermione really wanted another nap but today was a school day, so they needed to get moving so they would make breakfast. Her thoughts from earlier resurfaced and a thought occurred to her.
"You two have been awfully comfortable with sharing me with each other from day one. Have you two done this before?" Both boys looked embarrassed, but it was Harry that spoke first.
"I've never done this with another man, but I was with the Terrible Two at the same time there at the end." Hermione was stunned. Her shy, unassuming best friend had had a threesome that she hadn't even been aware of. Suddenly, she didn't feel like what she did was enough, would never be enough. Draco cleared his throat slightly before meeting her eyes with a slight tinge to his cheeks.
"Same here, but with Pansy and Daphne."
Hermione couldn't believe it. How had she not known this? Why hadn't they told her? She would never dream of asking details, but she felt that she was owed being told at the very least. While she felt woefully out of her league, she felt more betrayed because neither boy had told her before she asked. Embarking on a serious relationship, this was information that she felt she was due. When she spoke, she tried to keep the hurt out of her voice, but she was more than aware that she had failed. There was nothing she hated more than feeling weak.
"You both had threesomes with girls that hate me with every fiber of their being and you didn't tell me?" Both boys eyed her warily as if they expected her to explode. Apparently, they didn't know her well enough to know that she didn't explode when she was hurt, only angry. Harry, always the Gryffindor, spoke first.
"How were we supposed to bring that up and have it not turn into a fight?" Hermione met both their gazes.
"You're telling me that you both knew the other had a threesome, but I was left uninformed?" Both boys rubbed the back of their necks. Draco broke the silence.
"We're blokes, we tend to brag to each other about what we've done and such. It was no disrespect to you."
Hermione wanted to cry at his words. No disrespect? How was she supposed to take that as anything but? She understood boys bragged about their sexual prowess, she heard the whispers in the corridors, but she had expected better than that from Harry and Draco. She knew she wasn't the best option out there, but didn't she at least deserve the respect of not having her boyfriends brag about other girls while they were with her? If they hadn't been dating and Hermione heard the bragging, she would have silently shaken her head and moved on, paying no mind to their words. How could she do that now when it hurt to think about? Suddenly, she needed space and perspective.
"I'm going to go take a shower." She knew she sounded curt, but she couldn't help it. The last thing she wanted to do was fight, but she couldn't help that she was hurt.
Hermione rose from the bed in all her naked glory and made her way to the loo. Neither one of her boys stopped her, they simply let her go. Once the door was closed, she fully examined her feelings. The first and foremost was that she felt betrayed and lied to. They had shared the information with each other but hadn't shared it with her. Their relationship was supposed to be a partnership, not one of the relationships that the rest of their peers had where nobody trusted the other to reveal the truths in their lives.
Both boys had discussed their sex lives before her with each other. Hermione already knew that she had issues with self-worth, but it wasn't helping that they were discussing other girls with each other, almost like it was wishful thinking. Maybe that was stretching just a bit, but Hermione couldn't help but wonder. She had poured out all her painful truths to them, the pain from her muggle parent's death, how being made fun of by her classmates hurt, how she felt like she just wasn't quite good enough in anything she did. They had not seen fit to do the same, however, and the reality that it wasn't hurt.
Hermione realized that there was nothing she could do to remedy this situation. There was no pain-free fix that would right everything. She knew that. Only time and its passage would make the hurt less. She was aware that some would maybe call her a drama queen, but she couldn't help how she felt and how she felt was betrayed and lied to.
Hermione showered quickly, not taking the time she usually did under the hot water. Once she was out of the water, she toweled off quickly before waving her wand around her head to dry her hair. When she was finished, she slipped a towel around her form since she didn't want to go out into their room naked feeling as vulnerable as she already was.
When she emerged, her boys were still sitting on the bed, worried looks on their faces. Hermione didn't say a word, but she made her way to her wardrobe to find herself a uniform. She rifled through her clothes briefly, finding the requisite clothes that she needed before turning to find both of her boys standing only a pace behind her. Draco broke the silence, surprising since he usually let Harry take the lead on the emotional end of things.
"Are you angry with us, Princess?" Hermione sighed and cast her gaze to her toes. This wasn't a conversation that she really wanted to have now, everything was far too raw and the last thing she wanted to do was say something that she didn't mean. She finally decided on her words and hoped that they would convey her feelings without hurting anyone.
"I'm not angry, I'm hurt. I don't know if I have the right to be, but I feel betrayed. Lied to. Not only did you two not tell me about an important factor in your past with girls that constantly torment me, you talked to each other about it. You left me out. We're in a relationship and I thought that we were all equals. I know I'm nothing too great, but how do you think it makes me feel to know that you two were bragging to each other about other girls? Am I not enough? How do I know you two don't brag about me to your other friends? I have poured out every sob story, every serious feeling I've had in the past year to you two and I don't get the same consideration. No, I'm not angry, I'm hurt. Very hurt. I think I need some time, some time to come to grips with the fact that nobody can fix this. I must get over it on my own. I think I'm going to see if Theo wants to hang out after the D.A. meeting. Please, just let me deal with this in my own way."
Hermione was proud of herself. She had managed to tell them what arseholes they were but not to hurt their feelings. It truly was a fine line since she really wanted to tell them to go to hell and see how they would like it if she did the same thing to them. She refused though, the last thing that she wanted to be was petty.
Harry and Draco backed off from her, clearly respecting her wishes regarding being left alone. Harry headed off to the shower while Draco began to dig in his own wardrobe. Hermione didn't put her clothes on, she instead used her wand to magic her clothes onto her body. This feat wasn't lost on Draco; it was clear that he was upset about her not even wanting to show her naked form to him in the short amount of time it took for her to get dressed.
Hermione was able to slip her socks and shoes on quickly before turning to the mirror and placing her hair in a high pony tail. She had taken to wearing her hair down since she the glamour had been removed and her hair had become more manageable, but today was the exception. Once her hair was up, she realized that she was sporting a bright purple bruise below her ear from Draco. With a quick wave of her hand, it was gone.
Hermione was aware of Draco watching her out the corner of her eye, but she didn't stop to think what her actions would possibly mean to him. She snatched her satchel from the floor beside the door and waltzed out of the Room of Requirement just as Harry was exiting the loo. She felt a slight twinge of guilt when she saw the look on his face, but she didn't let it stop her.
Hermione headed straight for the Great Hall, deciding that maybe a meal would brighten her mood. She wasn't holding her breath, but she could always hope. She let her thoughts drift as she traversed the seven floors, trying to decide if she was overreacting and being ridiculously girl, or if her feelings were justified. She went over every single detail three times in the time it took her to reach the Great Hall and found herself to be just as confused as when she had started.
Before she headed to sit at the lion's table, Hermione veered over to the Slytherin table. She rarely went over there without at least Draco, but she couldn't have cared less today. All eyes at the snake table were upon her and she could feel the weight of their stares. They regarded her as their queen, quite disconcerting, but she knew that her grandfather would be pleased. Therefore, she paid it no never mind. She strode up to her brother's side and spoke before he could.
"Would you want to hang out after our study session tonight?" None of the other Slytherins had any idea about the D.A. meetings, and his excuse was that he was always studying with his sister in areas that were a secret, so they wouldn't be interrupted. Nobody questioned it for which Hermione was entirely grateful. Before he could answer, Pansy grinned and spoke.
"You could come to the common room and sit with us, we would love your opinions on the upcoming spring fashions. Daphne and I can never agree." Hermione usually tried to be decent to the girl even though she was shamelessly jealous that Hermione had snagged Draco. This time, however, everything was raw from her encounter with both of her boyfriends.
"No, I won't be spending the evening with you, Pansy. It's not a well-kept secret that you hate my fucking guts because Draco is with me and not you. You're only nice to me, as is Daphne, because of who my father and grandfather are. Trust me, if I was still the filthy little mudblood, you'd be able to write me off and leave me alone." Pansy was silent for almost a minute. Hermione had already turned back to Theo when the other girl spoke.
"That isn't true, we don't hate you. We look up to you. You're right, we probably would have hated you outright if you were still a mudblood, but that doesn't mean that we didn't admire the fact that you always remained oblivious to our words, you never let us get you down. I know we're supposed to, but not all of us hate muggleborns. Sure, I do believe that I'm more powerful than most of them, but that's a proven fact in the magic that we've displayed. That doesn't mean that any of us want all of them dead, or even as servants. I've always admired you and how you've been a strong enough witch to not only be the best of all your peers, but to keep those two idiots you called friends from dying. Think what you want, but this isn't about Draco. I always knew that I was just a good time for him."
Daphne was nodding sagely at her side and Hermione felt extremely guilty. She had never once considered the fact that the Slytherins might admire her for reasons other than what she had assumed. She realized that she felt out of her element and was worried that she had lashed out due to her feelings toward Harry and Draco. Hermione gathered her wits about her, she was still acting of course, this information could go straight to her grandfather.
"Being the muggleborn on the other end of your taunts, Pansy, it was easy to assume that you didn't think very highly of me. That being said, I agree with your statement. I don't believe we should kill off all the mudbloods, that would be counterproductive. I'm not saying that they all must be slaves, but the muggles should be. I loved my muggle parents, but I never felt as if I belonged. They were mean to me because I was different. I believe that every drop of magical blood should be cherished, we are the supreme race. I just wish that there were more definitive roles in our society." Hermione wasn't sure that Pansy and the others would say anything to contradict her; her explanation was shady at best. She could only hope that since they regarded her as their queen that they would take her words to heart. Pansy nodded.
"That's how most of us feel, that's why we look up to you more than we do your grandfather. You're a brand-new way of thinking, one that we agree with." Hermione wanted to snort when she thought about what the woman would say when she realized that Hermione was double-crossing them all, but she held it in.
"I apologize for my previous words then." Pansy looked surprised at her words, and though she felt a little sick at uttering them, she did feel a fraction bit better once she had apologized. After apologizing, Hermione turned back to her brother expectantly. He gave her a confused grin.
"I would love to spend time with you, Sis." Hermione wasn't sure if this was a genuine term of endearment of if he was posturing in front of his friends. She gave him a nod and started to the lions table, thankful to be away from the ambiguity that surrounded the snakes. The Gryffindors were so much more predictable.
Hermione took her normal seat at the lion's table, neither of her boys were there yet. The whole table fell silent when they realized that neither Harry or Draco were with her. She tried not to let the stares bother her but that was difficult when it was the whole table. After she was seated next to Ginny, whispers went up around her and she knew that they were about her. Ginny, bless her soul, tried to distract her.
"Don't mind them. They want to see problems just because you came down separately." Hermione neither confirmed nor denied Ginny's words but she nodded.
The Gryffindor had just spooned up her usual fruit when Harry and Draco came into the Great Hall, heads bent together and talking softly. Hermione tried to act as if nothing was out of the order. They took their seats next to her and began serving themselves breakfast. Everything went back to normal at the table, there were no more whispers, once everyone saw her boyfriends sit next to her as if nothing was amiss.
The trio ate their breakfast as normal, nothing hinting to the fact that Hermione's feelings were deeply hurt. She did favor Draco with a smile when he passed her the orange juice, knowing that she wasn't particularly fond of pumpkin. Nobody seemed to realize that they were all three exceptionally quiet. Hermione wasn't looking forward to the silence that was sure to follow throughout her classes. She wished that she had classes with Ginny, at least then she would have someone else to talk to.
It was going to be a long day.
-O-
Harry was ashamed of himself. He felt terrible that Hermione was as hurt as she was over the fact that they hadn't been honest with her. He knew that Draco felt just as bad as he did.
Harry wasn't sure why he never told Hermione that he had a threesome with Lavender and Parvati. Both girls were horrid to Hermione, they did everything they could to hurt her feelings or make her feel like shite. The Terrible Two must assume that he had told Hermione since they hadn't tormented her with the information yet. Honestly, that scene had played out in his mind and it had scared the life out of him.
What was even more shameful was the instances in which he and Draco had told each other their history with other girls. They had both told each other everything about the girls they had been with, from the girls they had lost their virginity to to how far they had gotten with the other girls. While Harry wasn't proud of the fact that he had been bragging with Draco, what was truly shameful was the fact that Hermione had been unconscious at Grimmauld Place when the conversation had taken place.
It had been the second night that she had been out, Sirius, Remus, and Severus had all been called away to deal with a Weasley argument since Arthur hadn't been there. The pair of them had bantered back and forth over her sleeping form, sharing the most personal details of the lives. Not to say that either boy had no reasons behind sharing; they were both worried out of their minds and full of nervous energy, unsure if or when Hermione would wake and how she would take the fact that she had a scar the size of the Grand Canyon spanning her chest.
Harry and Draco had agreed that while their past encounters had been enjoyable, they felt that their time spent with the girl between them had been far better. At that point, they hadn't had sex with her, but now that they had, Harry truly felt that if they didn't work out, he wouldn't be able to find anyone to even come close to how amazing Hermione felt.
Harry loved sex with Hermione; she was impossibly tight and the most responsive girl that he had ever fucked. He had never found a girl that was willing to submit to him completely and the fact that Hermione was a control freak in real life only made that submission so much sweeter. He also loved watching Draco fuck her, he loved that there were two of them to always be there for her in any way that she may need.
He and Draco had no idea how to fix what they had done. There really wasn't any fixing it, there was only soothing the hurt feelings and promising that something like that would never happen again. Harry only hoped that it would be enough. While he knew that Hermione loved both of them, the last thing that she would be okay with would be being lied to, even if only by omission. Harry could only hope and pray that she would forgive them and let them prove to her that it would never happen again.
Harry and Draco still flanked her on their way to Herbology. He was more than understanding that she needed some time from them both, but there was no way in blue hell that they were going to leave her open to attack again. Who knew if or when Ron would strike again? Draco held the door to the greenhouse open for all three of them, but Hermione was still silent when she passed through.
The trio took their normal seats at the front of the class since it was a lecture day. Class passed by without incident and Harry couldn't have told you what the lecture had been about. He suspected that Draco was in the same boat as he was, but Hermione took perfect notes as always. They packed up their belongings and followed Hermione from the greenhouse, walking just behind her since she was in a long-winded conversation with Neville about some plant Harry had never heard of. They made their way to Charms, Harry and Draco falling just far enough behind that Hermione couldn't hear them. Draco cast a sidelong glance his way.
"Do you think she'll forgive us?" Harry nodded.
"Yeah, but I'm not sure if she'll stay with us. Hermione is the most honest person I know, and I know that dishonesty is the one thing that she wouldn't stand for." Draco heaved a sigh as he nodded.
"That's what I was scared you were going to say."
The pair fell back into silence, catching back up to Hermione as they reached the Charms classroom. Just as they had in Herbology, they took their usual seats in silence. Truthfully, the silence was starting to weigh heavily on Harry; he had never been the type to give the silent treatment when he was angry.
Charms passed in much the same way as Herbology had, Harry and Draco not paying attention and neither one of them taking notes. They were doing their best to make it appear as if nothing was wrong; the pair had noticed how tense Hermione had been at breakfast because everyone had been staring at them. Once Charms was over, the class dismissed to make their way back to the Great Hall for lunch.
Hermione sat next to Fred this time and began discussing the pranks that they wanted her to work on and what her limitations would be on her own inventions. Harry quietly eavesdropped, he had been surprised that the twins would ask for Hermione's help at all, so that made him want to know the details even more. She seemed happy with the distraction, and though it did nothing for his current mood, he could tell that it made her feel better.
Lunch ended and the three of them fell into step next to each other to make their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry hated this class with a fiery hot passion, but he would rate more detentions if he skived off. Therefore, he suffered in silence, well, close to it anyways. They had just taken their seats and Harry watched Hermione glance up to the board and freeze. She reached out and grabbed both his and Draco's wrists.
"Is this really January 23rd?" Harry could see that her pale skin had gone even paler. He wasn't sure what the cause of her lack of color was, but he didn't like it. She had clearly not been speaking to them all day and this had prompted her to break her silence. He softly pried her hand from his wrist, her grip surprisingly tight for someone so small, and threaded her fingers with his.
"Yes, that's the date. What's going on?" Hermione didn't get a chance to answer before Umbridge made her way into the classroom. Several tears streaked down Hermione's cheeks as she raised her head to pay attention in class. She dashed them away quickly, her hands leaving both his and Draco's, so they could take up her quill after erasing the proof of emotion on her cheeks.
Umbridge was her same old self, preaching to them the importance of avoiding conflict and ways to go about doing so. At the end of the class, she had explained the theory behind the disarming spell, a second-year spell that Harry had covered in the D.A. months ago. Hermione didn't take any notes whatsoever, though he couldn't say that he was surprised.
Umbridge was terrible to most of the Gryffindors, handing out detention to several of them for the rest of the week. It was by pure luck alone that she didn't assign any for that evening since it was a D.A. night. Usually Hermione would open her mouth when the professor got too out of control, but today she seemed to be completely out of sorts. When the toad dismissed class, Hermione stood quickly and bolted. Harry and Draco were right behind her.
Their girlfriend didn't slow or stop until she reached the Great Hall for dinner even though both he and Draco had called for her continuously to stop. She ignored them, and Harry wasn't sure if it was because she was ignoring them or because she was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear them. She slid into her usual seat before she would meet their gazes. Draco reached out like he wanted to take her hand, but he pulled back at the last moment.
"What's wrong? Why is the date important?" Hermione took in a shaky breath.
"Today is my parent's wedding anniversary. When I was younger, we would always go out to dinner as a family and my parents would take turns choosing something fun that we would do. The last winter that I wasn't at Hogwarts, we went to the cinema because there was a movie that my mum wanted to see."
Harry instantly understood. Hermione had done remarkably well getting past the death of her muggle parents, but there were times where her grief resurfaced as if they had just died the day before. There was nothing that he could do, that anyone could do for that matter. So far, he had just let her cry it out, curse the world for taking them too soon, and then help distract her. He wasn't sure if she would let him or Draco do any of those things now. Therefore, he was wary as he snaked a hand out and wrapped it around her shoulders to wrap her in a half-arsed side hug.
"We're sorry, 'Mi. We know there's nothing we can do to bring them back, but if we could, we would. We don't like seeing you hurt." She leaned her head against his shoulder for a moment before she pulled away.
"Thank you." Harry didn't push the issue, he felt happy that she had let him comfort her at all. Maybe after they groveled that evening she would be more amenable to taking their comfort. Truthfully, Harry didn't want to do anything more than cuddle with her anyways. Fearing that he was going to lose her had cured his insatiable sex drive for the moment.
Hermione was silent for the whole of dinner. Harry and Draco conversed quietly about what they were going to teach at the meeting that night. Everyone was excited to begin learning the patronus charm. He knew that Hermione and Draco had already started practicing so he was really hoping that they would master it quick enough to help him teach the class.
Harry wanted to drop his things off in their room before they reopened the Room for class. He made sure to leave dinner before most of the other students, so they wouldn't cotton on to the fact that the trio had made their bedroom in the same room they learned defense in. Hermione and Draco followed him quietly, neither of them in the mood for chatter.
Their trip through the castle was uneventful, they made it to the seventh floor in just under ten minutes. Harry paced the corridor in front of Barnabas the Barmy and when the door appeared, the trio entered. Harry dropped his bag unceremoniously on the floor just inside the door while Hermione set her things on the couch that was placed close to the fire. Draco followed her example, but then went to his wardrobe so he could strip off his robes. Deciding that Draco had the right of it, Harry followed suit and stripped down to just the standard uniform.
Hermione chose to keep her robes on; since she had returned to Hogwarts after being injured by Dolohov, he knew that she was more self-conscious about how much of her scar showed when she wore certain clothes. He knew that if people like Lavender and Parvati didn't make comments about how ugly she was now that she was a "scarred-up hag", Hermione wouldn't have had near the hard time adjusting. He and Draco did all they could to reassure her that she was still beautiful, that her scar would only prove to the world that she was a true warrior, but he knew that that was hard to believe when hearing the opposite nearly every day.
The trio vacated the Room long enough for Draco to pace in front of the tapestry this time. When the door reappeared, they entered once again to find the large room that they held D.A. meetings in. As she usually did, Hermione beelined for the bookcases at the far end of the room while he and Draco moved the practice dummies to wherever it was that they needed them to be for that session.
It was only ten minutes before students started entering, a few at a time so as not to draw attention to themselves in the corridors. Hermione was largely avoided by everyone in the room, almost as if everyone could tell that she didn't want to be bothered. Harry wasn't surprised when Theo approached the pair of them before their meeting began.
"Is Hermione alright? She's been acting odd all day." Harry really didn't know how much Hermione would want her brother to know about her personal life, so he shook his head.
"She's just having a really bad day. Try to distract her when you hang out tonight." Theo eyed him for a few moments and Harry was sure that the Slytherin knew that he was lying. After nodding, he relented.
"I'll do my best."
Harry called the meeting to order after Theo made his way over to Hermione. He gave a brief explanation about what the patronus charm was used for and exactly how to cast it. He warned them that they would not master it on their first try, possibly not even the tenth. He did not lie when he told them exactly how hard the charm was.
He split them all apart, telling them that they would need space to perform this charm. Hermione placed herself in the far corner next to the bookcases, Draco about ten paces away from her. Neville was on Hermione's other side and Theo was next to him. Harry couldn't help but wonder if they were putting Hermione in a friend bubble.
Harry called for everyone's attention and waved his wand, calling out "expecto patronum". His mind focused on Hermione and Draco, keeping their smiling faces in the forefront of his mind. His stag burst forth from his wand, cantering around him before walking off to sniff at Hannah Abbott. He let the charm fall before the stag reached her, the last thing he needed was another reason for Hermione to be hurt. He didn't want her to think that he was sub-consciously thinking of Hannah or some rubbish like that. Everyone exclaimed over his silvery animal, everyone audibly wishing for whatever animal they felt represented them.
Harry called for them all to get to work and was happy to see that everyone complied without any complaint. To his absolute delight, Draco managed to complete the spell on his second attempt, probably close to his tenth altogether. True to his name, a Peruvian Vipertooth exploded from his wand, soaring through the air while Draco concentrated. After a round through the room, he landed in front of Hermione and shot fire from his nose towards Neville and Theo. Harry grinned to himself; if that wasn't a clear statement saying that even his patronus would protect Hermione, nothing was.
Harry clapped Draco on the shoulder in congratulations and Hermione offered him a tight smile telling him that he had done a wonderful job. Neville and Theo both looked on in envy and started trying again with renewed efforts. Draco went to Neville and started telling him how to hold the memory at the front of his mind when he cast the charm, that he couldn't let anything else happening in the room distract him. Harry noticed that Hermione was getting more and more frustrated and seemed to be on the verge of throwing her wand. He made his way over to her and she buried her face in her hands.
"I can't do it, I'm thinking about my parents and it's not enough. I'm just like my grandfather, only dark wizards can't produce a patronus. Nobody can say that I'm not strong enough." Harry felt his heart squeeze at her words. Only Hermione would instantly think that she was a dark witch because she hadn't managed a patronus on her first ten tries. He wrapped his hands around her wrists, so he could tug her hands away from her face and meet her eyes.
"You're not a dark witch. Tell me about the memory you're using." She sniffled slightly before she met his eyes and spoke.
"It's from this summer, the first day back from Hogwarts. My dad wanted to celebrate me being home, so they took me out to dinner and gave me season passes to the Museum of Natural History. It was the last thing we got to do as a family before they were killed." Harry released her hands, so he could brush her hair away from her tear-stained cheeks.
"Don't take this the wrong way but try thinking about something that hasn't made you cry in a while. You're sad about your parents, I understand that all too well, just try thinking about something that has made you happy." Hermione's eyes flashed for a moment and Harry was certain that he was going to be on the receiving end of her wand. He could only hope that Draco would save him. Then she gave him a sullen nod. Harry stepped back so she could have plenty of room. She took a few steadying breaths and waved her wand.
"Expecto patronum."
The room burst out in excited chatter once more when a dainty little fox with a bushy tail jumped from the end of her wand. It ran through several people's legs before settling on the ground between Harry and Draco. It began to lick its front paw before sniffing the air. When it disappeared, Harry turned to see that Hermione was grinning as widely as he had ever seen.
Everyone congratulated her, calling out how smashing her little fox was. Hermione was thrilled, and it was the first time she had appeared to be happy all day. She moved to help her brother with his wand movement, knowing that if he could master the spell, that would be another person to help teach the others. Harry was happy that she had mastered the spell, she needed something to bolster her mood. She even favored him with a smile when she caught him watching her.
Maybe this day wasn't a complete wash.
-O-
Hermione was on cloud nine. Her patronus was adorable and she absolutely loved it. At the beginning she had been scared that her animal would be a weasel or a rat or something that nobody would want. After she had become worried that she would never master the spell, she didn't really care what her animal would be, she just wanted to know that she had one.
The Gryffindor was delighted with her fox.
Hermione had started helping Theo after she had completed the spell. After only a few tries, he was already getting wisps on smoky mist, and he was thrilled. She was sure that he had been worried about not being able to cast one as well, due to his who his father was, but seeing both Hermione and Draco cast one had renewed him with hope. An hour later, Harry called everyone to the middle of the room.
"Excellent work, most of you are getting the smoke from your wand. I bet I only produced that for the first twenty times I tried this spell. Don't get disheartened, you will get it eventually, you just have to keep working." Everyone clapped and slowly started to gather their things. Hermione just wanted to go back to her room and go to bed, but she had asked Theo to hang out with her and she wouldn't renege on her word.
Theo waited for her to make her way over to him, and she could tell that she was going to get the third degree. She wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to share exactly why she was so hurt. Hermione didn't want there to be any chance of people thinking that they were fighting, therefore tormenting her even further, so she vowed to keep her mouth shut unless she just got a good feeling.
Hermione gave Harry and Draco a wave as she followed Theo out of the door and several doors down. Neither one of them had their bags so it would be pointless to go to the library. Once they were ensconced in the empty classroom, Theo waved his wand at the door, warding and silencing it. Hermione waved her hand over the desk, turning it into a couch so they could stretch out. Theo grinned at her choice and flopped back.
"Your fox is pretty cute." Hermione grinned now, still exultant from the memory.
"I know, I'm pretty happy with it." Theo began spinning his wand in his fingers.
"You going to tell me what's wrong or am I going to have to guess?" Hermione didn't think that he would jump into the conversation that fast. She still wasn't sure if she wanted to tell him everything. Hermione settled on half-truths.
"Harry and Draco kept information from me but shared it with each other. It hurt my feelings that they would hide something from me when I haven't hidden a single thing. That and today is my muggle parent's wedding anniversary." Theo narrowed his eyes at her.
"I thought your parents weren't very nice to you because you were different. Why would you be upset?" Hermione cursed herself. Deciding that if she lied Theo would catch on quick, she decided to skirt the truth.
"I lied. My parents loved me, it was all the other muggles that were horrid to me. I didn't have a single friend before I came to Hogwarts. It didn't carry near as much meaning if I told your friends that I hated all muggles except my dead parents. They would tell my grandfather and he would wonder at how loyal I am." Theo nodded. It was clear that he believed her by the expression on his face.
"That's probably true. My bunch is loyal to a point but if it comes down to their hide or yours, they'll always save themselves." She snorted.
"I'm aware, Draco has already warned me to not trust a one of them." Theo chuckled lightly before his face sobered again.
"Are you going to break up with Potter and Draco?" Hermione cast him a surprised look.
"Of course not, I just told them that I needed some time away from them, that I needed to regain perspective. I didn't want to say something that I couldn't take back because I was hurt." Theo watched her for a few moments.
"Was it about sex?" Hermione couldn't believe that she been so transparent. How was it that she was able to lie to her grandfather with such ease but everyone else spotted the truth?
"Yes, but I'm not going to go into details." Theo grinned at her wolfishly and at that moment she wondered if her brother was as amorous as her two mates. She would never dream of asking, however, there were lines that brothers and sisters just shouldn't cross. He reached out and nudged her foot (she was spread out across the couch).
"You want me to kick their arses?" Hermione couldn't help the bubble of laughter that erupted from her mouth. She really didn't see that working out well for Theo, but she appreciated his offer nonetheless. The Gryffindor went to her knees, so she could lean over enough to hug her brother.
"I actually think that might cause more problems but thank you. It means so much that you would even offer." Theo ruffled her curls lightly before shoving her off him good-naturedly. The action reminded her of how the Weasley boys treated Ginny.
"You're my sister, it's my job to make sure that you don't get hurt. I'm no Dark Lord, but I can still swing at them."
They passed the next hour in easy conversation, still getting to know each other. Theo questioned her about Bellatrix and exactly how Dolohov got the drop on her. He was righteously outraged at the fact that she had almost died but was happy to hear that Severus had dispatched of the man and made an example of him. Hermione could only nod, nothing about any of her encounters with Death Eaters over her break made her happy to think about.
Ten minutes to curfew, Hermione shooed her brother out the door and told him to hurry down to the dungeons, so he wouldn't get caught and end up in detention. He chuckled at her insistence but followed her instructions after a quick hug goodnight.
Hermione had enjoyed her time with her brother. They studied together a lot, but Harry and Draco were almost always present. She loved spending time with all four of them together, but it was nice to see Theo just the two of them as well. Hermione hurried back down the corridor, so she could slip back into the Room of Requirement. She really didn't want to have a conversation that night about her boys lies to her. Honestly, she just wanted to change into her night clothes and go to bed.
Both boys were already in the Room, but she had known that they would be. They were surely lying in wait for her arrival, so they could speak with her. However, she was going to burst their bubble. They both rose from the couch where their school books were spread before them and headed in her direction. Hermione held her hand out to stop them.
"I don't want to talk about it right now. I'm exhausted. I just want to change, take my potions, and go to bed." In that moment, Hermione was able to clearly see just what her boys were really worried about. Sure, they felt terrible about hurting her, but they were scared to death that she was going to leave them and waiting all day to discover what would become of their relationship was killing them. She heaved a deep sigh.
"I can see that you're worried about me leaving you. I'm not. I can see that you're both sorry for what you've caused me, but I'm not sure that I can trust you not to do it again. I don't think you will and that's the only reason that I'm not leaving you. This being said, we are not okay. We have things to discuss. Right now, though, I just want to crawl in bed and have you both hold me and make the bad memories go away." Instant relief flared in their eyes and Hermione wondered if she should have put them out of their misery so quickly. She squashed that thought, she didn't want to torment them and make them doubt her love for them if she was planning to stay with them in the end.
Draco stepped forward first and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest. She inhaled his familiar scent and she felt a little bit of her stress fall away. Harry stepped up behind her and pressed a kiss to the crook of her neck while rubbing her arms. Hermione let it happen, reveling in the fact that she didn't feel alone for the first time all day. Harry broke the silence.
"Go get changed so we can get you to bed." Hermione gave a grateful nod. She wanted to think that she was so tired because of the last vestiges of the curse from Dolohov but she knew that it wasn't. It was emotional stress.
Hermione stepped away from her boys and went to her wardrobe, so she could find clothes to wear. She usually only slept in panties, but she didn't think that would be a good idea after the day she had had. After pulling out a pair of shorts and a tank top, Hermione stripped her clothes off right there, caring less that Harry and Draco were getting a free show. Once she was dressed, she turned to the table next to the bed, so she could take her potions. She was down to six at night, much better than the original twelve.
Hermione wasted no time crawling in bed after she had rinsed her mouth. Her boys had stripped down to their boxers and took their usual spots next to her. Harry reached out and rolled her to him, snuggling her into his side. Her arm went around his chest and her legs tangled with his. Draco spooned her from behind, his legs adding into hers and Harry's, his arm thrown around her waist. Hermione sighed softly, nestling down into the warmth and comfort they provided. Harry turned and kissed her forehead mere moments before Draco kissed her neck in the same spot he had left a love bite that morning. Maybe now, in the arms of her mates, she could rest and let the world fall away.
In their arms, she felt like she was home.
A/N- Whewww, another chapter down! Hope you all don't hate me for what I just did to you, but sometimes ya just got to shake things up a bit. Hope to hear that you all enjoyed. Leave me your thoughts, they make me smile. Reviews=love.
Next chapter, Death Eater attack on Hogsmeade.
Love,
Alicia