Out of Hand by relativelypositive

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and I make no money from the use of J.K. Rowling's characters.

Chapter 19

Hermione woke up in the Hospital Wing with two young men watching over her.

She took one look at Harry and Ron and burst into tears. She felt like tears were becoming a fixture in her life.

"Jeez, Hermione, it's okay. Madam Pomfrey said it'll grow back!"

"Ron, I don't think she cares about her hair right now."

"Oh, the Malfoy thing? I'd cry about that, too."

"Don't be a jerk."

"Hey, Hermione, come on, now. It'll all be okay."

"Don't lie to her, either."

"Harry, what do you want from me?"

"I want you to let her cry. She's been through a lot, and none of it has anything to do with you. So shut up and let her."

Hermione slowly stopped. She knew she was being self-indulgent, but she had been through a lot in the last three days. At a certain point you have to give your emotions an outlet or something bad will happen. Like your magic will try to burst forth and defend you, like childhood accidental magic…or what happened in Dumbledore's office.

On the bright side, she was clear-headed for the first time since Romilda had punched her. When followed up by smacking her head on the stairs, her bell had been thoroughly rung.

"Shit, Granger, your hair wasn't that bad!" Zabini strolled into the Infirmary and looked around. "Where's Draco?"

"Malfoy? What would he be doing here?"

"Are you joking? You're engaged. He should be here."

"Well, he's not, so go away." Hermione couldn't stand it if Zabini started a fight with her friends.

"Fine. Whatever. When he comes in, let him know I'm looking for him."

"That was odd," Ron commented when Blaise left without further insulting someone.

"Yeah." Hermione agreed. She'd never had any contact with Blaise Zabini, but she guessed that was about to change. "What's been happening?"

"Well," Harry started, "First there were two Draco Malfoys. They walked past the Great Hall at lunch and half the girls swooned. Then the Aurors showed up and hauled Pansy Parkinson kicking and screaming through the Entrance Hall. Why they didn't Silence her I'll never understand. Screeching like a banshee."

"So she's gone then?"

"Expelled, and on her way home from what I understand. Since she's a minor, she'll be under house arrest until the trial."

"The trial?"

"Assault. Impersonation with the intent to harm. Kidnapping. I don't even know what else."

"What about Romilda?"

"We don't think she's in the castle. She doesn't show up on the Marauder's Map."

Shit. Now she'd have to worry about her popping back up. Now that she really was engaged to Malfoy she wondered how brutal she'd be, if given the chance. Constant vigilance would become the name of her game.

"Okay, what else is happening?"

"The protesters were looking for you. Apparently you offered to make a speech yesterday afternoon. They are taking this Muggleborn Pride thing a little too far," Ron commented. "They have t-shirts with your face on them! They're all downstairs this morning reading Rita Skeeter's article about you in the Daily Prophet. When they saw you talking to her yesterday morning they all got excited, and wouldn't stop talking about it all last night."

"I didn't give Skeeter an interview!" Hermione was outraged. "I am going to kill Pansy Parkinson!"

"Yeah, well, it'll have to wait. We have to get to class," Harry said.

"Go on, Harry, I just want to talk to Hermione for a moment."

"Sure. I'll be back at lunch, Hermione. Feel better!" Harry left Ron and Hermione awkwardly staring at each other.

They were both Gryffindors. They were going to hit this head on.

"I'm sorry I didn't do what my Mum wanted me to do."

"I'm not. I would have been in a better situation, but I wouldn't want you to be forced to do anything you didn't want to do."

"But I did want to! I do!"

"No, Ron, you don't. It's okay."

"I do!"

"Then why didn't you just do it?" Hermione snapped.

Ron blushed.

"Because I didn't know how to go about it."

"Go about what? You could've just asked me. I would've said yes."

"Really? Because I was under the impression that you were a virgin, and we aren't dating or anything."

Hermione wondered if they were having the same conversation.

"Ron, if you had asked me to marry you I would have said yes. What are you talking about?"

Ron's blush deepened.

"Mum suggested I seduce you."

"She what?"

"Well, her actual words were something like 'save that lovely girl no matter what you have to do.' I…sorry. I guess my brain went straight to…um…relations. And can I just add that it is very odd to know that I can talk to you about all the taboo subjects now because you're engaged?"

Hermione realized her dream of marrying Ron had finally died. The thought made her unbearably sad. She no longer wanted to talk about this.

"You had better get to class. I expect you to take extra good notes for me."

Ron hesitated. "There's something else I want to ask you."

Ron visibly gathered his courage as his blush entered tomato range again.

"Would you consider…since there's no chance of anything bad happening…well, bad isn't the right word. You're my best friend and you'd…really the right word would be inconvenient as I've said I'd…never mind."

"What, Ron?"

"I'm a virgin!" Ron blurted.

"So am I! If we weren't we'd already be engaged! What's your point?"

"Would you…could we…um…will you…be my first?"

Hermione felt something twitch in her heart. "Are you seriously asking me to de-virginize you because we're pals, and now that you wouldn't be stuck with me for the rest of your life you'd like to take me for a ride?" It was impossible to miss her mounting anger.

"Well, not right now. You're looking a little rough. I can wait."

"Are you fucking serious right now?"

"Ummm…no? I mean yes. Well, if you're keen, then yes. If you're pissed, then no."

If he thought she'd cheat on her fiancé, no matter who he was, less than twelve hours after being engaged, he really didn't know her. How could she be with someone who thought her capable of doing that? And she considered him one of her best friends?

"Ron?"

"Yeah?" he responded eagerly.

"Not even if it would cancel my engagement to Malfoy."

XXXXXXXX

Ron Weasley would never know how close he came to becoming a piece of lint.

Draco's wand was pointed straight at Weasley's stupid ginger head, his entire body quaking with the need to act, and ten painful hexes on the tip of his tongue.

How dare he.

He watched the wanker leave and just barely kept himself from following him.

He let his Disillusionment spell dissipate and approached Granger's bed.

Her eyes were closed, but he knew she wasn't sleeping. He'd been watching all night to make sure Romilda Vane didn't make an appearance, and knew she needed to be lying on her side to sleep.

As her fiancé, Dumbledore and Snape had allowed him to be in the room when they entered the Pensieve. He didn't get to go in, but he did get to know the results.

Draco was still flabbergasted that a girl he'd never met went to such extremes because she thought he wanted Granger. And she thought everybody else wanted Granger, too.

Turns out she wasn't completely delusional.

Weasley wanted her.

Draco was going to have to do something about that.

For now, she had answered Weasley's question correctly, and Draco was pleased.

He watched her eyes fly open when he sat next to her on the bed.

She looked at him shyly, but didn't say anything.

He slowly reached out and lightly pinched her chin. He moved her head slightly to the right, then to the left. Pomfrey did good work, but there was a lot of Healing left to be done. He supposed time would be a factor, but he wished it weren't.

Her black eyes were almost gone. The swelling had been greatly reduced and that horrible gash on her forehead had been mended completely.

No hair.

Oh, well.

Blaise was right. I was going to be odd to have a bald wife.

He snatched his hand back when her eyes filled with tears again.

"I know I look like death."

Draco was noncommittal.

"How long have you been here?"

"Since about four yesterday afternoon."

Granger gave him a questioning glance.

"Blaise is right. I am your fiancé. Where else would I be?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "It was a very Muggle thing to do, and a rude one at that. The consequences…I'm just so sorry!"

Draco wondered what he should do. The tears were leaking slowly down her bruised cheeks.

"So. What do we do now?" she asked, wiping her cheeks with her hands, trying to make herself stop.

"Nothing," he replied.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"We just accept it?"

"You ask that like we have a choice."

"Well, how long can an engagement last? It could go on indefinitely. People can be engaged for decades and never actually get married, right?" She sounded entilrely too hopeful.

Draco was trying not to get mad again.

"I mean," she continued, "we wouldn't have to actually be together. You can go your way, I can go mine!"

"Are you trying to tell me you aren't going to go through with the wedding?" Draco was shocked and dismayed.

"I'm telling you that you don't have to marry me!"

"You would do that to me? I'm a Malfoy! Not only would that disgrace my family, it would be like…like holding my sperm hostage!"

"Excuse me?"

"I am the last in the line of the House of Malfoy! Do you think you can just blithely live the rest of your life without providing me with an heir?"

"I am not a brood mare!"

"No, you'll be my wife! There are duties and obligations!"

"Just…take a mistress! I won't fight it! I'll even accept any kids as your heirs!"

Draco froze. His heart was beating so fast and hard that he lifted his hand and rubbed irritatedly at his chest, as though he could soothe it that way.

"I can't. There is a fidelity charm that is passed down in my blood. It originated as a curse hundreds of years ago, but it has turned into a source of pride for the Malfoy men. We do not cheat. We do not touch other women, even casually, if we can avoid it. We do not speak to unmarried women if we can avoid it. We don't even think about other women, if at all possible."

"You can't make me do this!"

"No. Technically you're making me do this. How fair is that, Granger?"

"I hate to interrupt this fascinating conversation," Snape drily muttered, "but your parents are here."

A/N:

Sorry about the double e-mail on the last chapter. Something went wrong the first time so I had to reload it.

Thanks for all the notes: Somnus Verus, Pregiera, Sampdoria, Chester99, ASJS, dracosgirl007, Vukk, brighteyes2889, Ceralyn, yuigkh, giada, werevampluvr, annaes3077, KodeV, jojojoj, and ray. I appreciate the time it took to do that for me.