CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Summary: The battle is over and a marriage law has been put into effect due to the rapidly declining wizarding population. Under the law, Hermione is forced to marry at eighteen or face being exiled from the Wizarding World. Join Hermione as she has to deal with her past, whilst looking forward to the future, with the help of The Weasley Twins and rising Quidditch Star, Oliver Wood. Rated M for a reason.
Disclaimer: All original characters and canon events belong to J.K. Rowling. Non-canon events are my own ideas. I am not making any profit from posting this fanfic.
Updated: 22/05/20
Page count: 15
Puddlemere United Stadium- Saturday 8th August 1998
Oliver was exhausted.
The night would bring the full moon and Hermione had already started feeling the effects of its pull the night before. He'd been woken by the middle of the night by Hermione wanting to have sex, something he was more than happy to give her. Only, she'd done it twice more and he'd barely gotten any sleep. That morning she'd snapped at him when he wouldn't get out of bed because she'd worn him out and he didn't have the energy to move. Her hormones were all over the place and he wasn't sure how much longer he could take it. He was considering hiding out at Wood Manor until the effects of the full moon were well and truly over.
As he approached his gathered teammates, laughter erupted at the sight of him trudging towards them, dragging his broom behind him and struggling to keep his eyes open.
"What's the matter, Wood? That beautiful wife of yours keep you awake?" Malloy asked, wriggling his eyebrows.
Oliver glared but a yawn came forth, it having the opposite effect on the team and they smirked. "Aye, she did keep mae awake. Am exhausted." Malloy wiggled his eyebrows. "Aye, it was sex. She really does have great stamina, a can barely keep up. Last night she woke mae three times fer sex an' she pounced on mae twice this morning. She snapped at mae when a dinnae get oot af bed fast enough."
The team laughed uproariously.
"You must be the only guy in the world to complain about his wife being so insatiable," Pallie rolled his eyes.
"It's not funny," Oliver protested, "It's the full moon tanight an' Hermione's hormones are all over the damn place. A dunno if she's gonna be able tae keep her hands tae herself taday or if she's gonna drag mae away an' lock mae in a room somewhere," he grumbled and it didn't do anything to calm down the team, who laughed harder with tears falling. "Ye better hope she doesn't run intae any af yer partners; she won't have control over her emotions like she usually does. An' a hope she doesn't want tae have sex again," he groaned. "Seriously, am so tired a'll probably fall aff me broom, Hermione'll heal mae an' then she'll want tae have sex. She's bitten mae every time!" The team were still laughing at him with no signs of stopping. "Usually, she only bites mae when she sees someone coming ontae mae but she's bitten mae every time. Am grateful she can heal mae otherwise a'd have died af blood loss by now!" The team didn't look as though they were going to stop laughing any time soon. "It's not funny, am seriously thinking aboot hiding oot at me parents'," his voice rose.
"If you want me to step up for you, I'd be more than happy to," Malloy said through his laughter.
Oliver glared at him. "Not a chance in hell," he snapped before sighing. "Ye jus' better do ev'rything she says, she's had a hand on her wand all morning an' she'll likely hex ye," Oliver muttered, their laughter quickly sobering and being replaced by fear.
"Why's no one running drills?" Hermione snapped.
The team startled and yelped in shock as they turned around to see an irritated Hermione glaring at them, her hands on her hips and her foot tapping away on the ground. They laughed nervously before quickly mounting their brooms and flying onto the pitch. Oliver's mouth twitched in amusement and when he noticed Hermione eyeing him up, she mounted his own broom and followed his teammates' lead, escaping her clutches.
~000~000~000~
It was now lunchtime and the team cautiously flew down to the Coach's box, quietly observing Hermione as she rummaged around in her beaded bag, looking for their lunch.
"Hey, Junior Coa..." Kings was cut off when Thompson threw a hand over his mouth and glared at him before turning to look fearfully at Hermione.
"What did you say?" She all but growled.
"Nothing, Hermione," Thompson said with a nervous laugh. "Did your wonderful self make lunch for us again? We really appreciate everything you do for us, I hope you know that."
Hermione's posture relaxed and smiled at him, the team sighing in relief and mentally patting Thompson on the back for saving their lives.
"Yes, I did, and here it is," she pulled out the bag and handed it to him.
"Thank you," he smiled, taking it with his free hand as his other hand was still covering Kings' mouth.
She nodded before her eyes fell to Oliver and he silently groaned. Her eyes had an almost amber tint to her usual chocolate brown and she looked at Oliver hungrily, the team all sharing amused looks. Without speaking, she reached for his hand and dragged him away from the team, heading for her office and pulling an exhausted Oliver behind her. He twisted to look over his shoulder, mouthing "help me" and the team laughed loudly, shaking their heads.
As they were walking through the reception area, the crossed paths the girlfriends.
"I always knew you were a slag, dragging off your husband to shag him whilst you're at work, are we?" Jenny said cruelly.
Hermione, not having the patience to deal with them today, simply waved her hand and with a whispered spell she turned Jenny's hair into snakes –non-venomous, of course- and continued walking whilst she shrieked.
"You're banned from this stadium and all home matches," Hermione said calmly, not stopping in her steps as she continued towards her office, hearing Jenny's screams behind her and the other witches' fearful noises as they tried to get rid of the snakes.
When they stepped into her office, she locked and silenced the room and pushed Oliver until he slumped down on the couch and she straddled his hips.
"Sparrow, a love ye an' ye know a love doing this with ye, but am exhausted," he muttered, blinking slowly.
"But I want you," she whispered against his mouth and he groaned, his head falling back against the couch. "If you can find the energy to do this... I promise to let you take me flying."
Piquing his interest, he lifted his head and his tired eyes searched her expression before he nodded, her mouth quickly latching on to his. It was a hurried coupling, not removing any clothing and just manoeuvring around it and when Hermione cried Oliver's name and bit his neck, he didn't have the energy to hold back and found his relief, sinking back into the couch in exhaustion.
"I'm sorry," she said, her posture relaxing and seeming to have better control of herself as she healed Oliver's bite mark. "I know I'm being a pain in the arse."
"It's not yer fault, Sparrow," he sighed. "Once the full moon's over ev'rything will be back tae normal an' am a'll learn tae keep up with ye," he said, tightening his hold on her as she hugged him.
"I can't promise that'll be the last time, especially since the full moon hasn't taken full effect yet. I'll be better tomorrow, just tired."
"Am exhausted," he told her, "But, there's things a can do fer ye tha' don' require much movement on me part."
Hermione groaned. "Are you trying to get me worked up again?" He chuckled. "When we get home, I'll make dinner, you can go to bed and I'll give you a massage and then I'll shut myself in the library so I can't disturb you. I have studying to do anyway since my NEWTs are in less than a month."
"Ye work tae hard," he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"Not really, once I get my NEWTs out of the way I have about two months until the release of my first book."
"Ye never did tell mae hoo tha' meeting went," he said thoughtfully.
"I owled every publishing company that showed interest, asking questions and I had a meeting with the Chief Editor from Whizz Hard Books. They offered me the better deal. I went through the contract and we made some changes, it was revised and we both signed it. I've finished the first four years of my journals and they've allowed me a deadline of mid-October to the end of November as they know I have a busy schedule. I'm sending them my first book tonight and the Chief Editor himself will be the only person to have access to my books as they don't want it leaking to the press. We've decided that instead of releasing the books annually, we'll release one book every four weeks, which means all seven books will be released no later than July. The first book will be released before Christmas and Professor McGonagall owled to say that she wishes to add my books to the school curriculum even though they haven't been released yet. She's putting the books as a requirement on the Hogwarts letters but she's making a note that the first book won't be out until before Christmas. Fifteen percent of profits go to Whizz Hard Books, we get forty percent and the other forty-five percent is being put into an account that will divide the money between a variety of charities"
Oliver smiled tiredly. "Am proud af ye," he said and Hermione beamed.
"Thank you. Now, I've changed my mind. You're going home and I'll meet you there. It's not safe for you to be flying when you're this exhausted. I'm sorry I couldn't control myself, I'm usually not too bad during the day but this is the first full moon where I have a husband who's bound to me for life."
Oliver chuckled. "Am not goin' home," he argued.
"Yes, you are. I love you," she kissed him before climbing off his lap and casting a few Cleaning Charms.
"Love ye," Oliver mumbled exhaustedly as she took her leave and she chuckled.
She made her way back to the Coach's box and the team smirked when they saw her approaching them and she rolled her eyes and fought the blush that was threatening to appear.
"Where's Wood? You shag him to death?" Malloy asked.
Hermione scowled and the others watched her carefully, preparing to run for their lives if they had to.
"No, I've sent him home. It's dangerous for him to be training when he's so tired," she replied. He smirked at her. "You don't understand how difficult it is to try and control your emotions when you have lupine traits. I'm very territorial of him at the moment and I can't stop snapping. I usually have better control but this is the first full moon where I have a husband," she shrugged. "Anyway, Thompson?"
He looked at her fearfully. "Yeah?" He asked anxiously.
"I hexed your girlfriend."
"I'm sorry, you did what?" He blinked.
"She called me a slag, so I hexed," she shrugged casually. "I turned her hair into snakes and then I banned her from the stadium."
"That's brilliant," Wilks shook his head amused.
"Just thought I'd let you know, she's going to be a pain in the arse," she said sympathetically and he groaned. "As I said in Ireland, if any of you want a break, you can stay with me and Oliver, however, I would advise against tonight because I'll be snappy and tomorrow I'll be exhausted. The next full moon, bring chocolate to work with you and a lot of it. All of you, it'll help me stop snapping at you. Now, get back to training," she ordered.
They mock saluted her before darting to their brooms when she pulled her wand.
~000~000~000~
Puddlemere United Stadium – Tuesday 11th August 1998
"So, Wood," Pallie began as the team gathered for lunch. "When can we expect the first Quidditch baby?"
The team all sniggered but Thompson frowned when he noticed the look on Oliver's face.
"What is it?" He asked, tipping his head slightly.
Oliver sighed before shifting in his seat. He might as well tell them, he thought. As much as they annoyed him, they were his friends and they spent more time together than they did their own families. They'd get suspicious as the months went by with Hermione possibly not falling pregnant, especially when they knew contraceptives were banned.
"Hermione suffered a lot during the war, mentally, emotionally, but most af all, physically. She may not be able tae have kids," he admitted.
They stared at him, all traces of humour lost.
"What?" Malloy asked first. "What d'you mean? Of course, she can have kids. She's only eighteen."
Oliver shrugged. "Am tellin' ye, she may not be able tae have kids. She was heartbroken aboot it, she was afraid tae tell mae but she did befere the wedding in case a wanted tae petition fer a new match. Jus' 'coz she may not be able tae have children biologically doesn't mean a love her any less. We can always adopt. It wouldn't bother mae if we had tae adopt, a'd love any child as if it were me own, as would our family. We don' know fer certain though, Hermione's tae afraid tae get tested an' the law prohibits the use af any contraceptives. So, if it happens, it happens, if it doesn't, it doesn't."
"We're sorry," Thompson said honestly.
"It's okay, either way a'll be a dad sometime in the future."
"Well, her not being able to have kids has its advantages," Wilks perked up and Oliver arched an eyebrow at him questioningly. "Imagine a pregnant Hermione at the full moon," he described and they all shivered at the thought.
"A see yer point," Oliver chuckled.
"Where is Hermione anyway?" Kings asked.
"She's in her office havin' a meeting with her editor fer her books, she'll be oot any minute now. She's dropping our lunch aff an' then leaving tae go do some stuff at home an' then she's comin' back," Oliver told them. "Anyway, ye guys are married. When can we expect the first Quidditch baby?" He asked, looking at the reserve players and they all laughed when they paled and shuddered, looking ill.
"Not any time soon," Kelsy promised, looking terrified at the very thought and they all laughed.
~000~000~000~
"Well, boys, that's everything for today. We have our match against the Falmouth Falcons on Thursday so we've got our work cut out for us," said Hermione, "So get your sweaty arses out of here," she grinned, shooing them away with her hands and they chuckled at her; it was good to have the normal Hermione back, instead of the hormone-crazed full moon Hermione.
Oliver and the team left to the locker room but Thompson stayed behind, looking nervous.
"What's up?" She asked.
"Well, Jenny's been doing my head in and she hasn't given me any space to think... And after you hexed her... You said that if we needed to we could..."
Hermione smiled softly. "Thompson," she interrupted, "Do you want to stay with me and Oliver for a few days?" She asked kindly. Quaffle barked and she looked down at him and snorted. "And Quaffle," she added, her pet seeming to have taken offence at being left out.
"You're sure you don't mind? I don't want to intrude..."
"Shut up," she rolled her eyes. "Go and shower, then go home and pack whatever you need and come back here. I needed to stay for a little while anyway to work on something."
"You're sure you..."
Hermione pulled her wand and that had him turning around and promptly leaving, her mouth twitching into a smirk.
An hour later, Hermione was sat in her office and going over some player and match statistics for the Falmouth Falcons, when there was a knock at the door and she looked up and smiled when she saw a nervous-looking Thompson with a bag in hand.
"Right on time, I've just finished," she said brightly, shuffling the files on her desk into a pile before she put them in the drawer and then stood. She walked out of her office and closed the door behind her before making her way to the fireplace.
"You're sure..." He started but Hermione pulled her wand. "Shutting up," he nodded.
She laughed at him. "Oliver's at home with Quaffle, when we get in, you can put your stuff on the table, I'll make dinner and then I'll give you a tour afterwards. And you might want to prepare yourself, I almost had a heart attack when I first saw the apartment." He raised an eyebrow as they reached the floo. "You're not keyed into the floo, so I'll have to hold onto you and Oliver will key you in later."
~000~000~000
Wood Apartment
"Bloody hell!" Thompson spluttered, his voice echoing throughout the apartment along with Hermione's laughter as he took in the sheer size of the apartment with wide eyes and a dropped jaw.
"Told you," she shrugged amused.
Quaffle, obviously having heard their entrance, came bounding into the room from the balcony.
"How's my puppy?" Hermione asked Quaffle in a 'baby voice' as he jumped up at her, and Oliver entered into the living room, coming from the corridor that led to their room.
"You're sure..." Thompson said looking at Oliver.
"Shut up," Hermione and Oliver interrupted.
He crossed over to Hermione, pressed a kiss to her forehead and then followed her to the kitchen with Thompson following dumbly.
"What's fer dinner tanight?" Oliver asked, taking a seat at the kitchen table and Thompson did the same as he took in all of the strange muggle appliances he'd never before seen.
"In honour of our special guest, chicken poppet wraps," she answered cheerily. Oliver shook his head amused, she really did eat them at least once a week.
"What're all of those strange appliances?" Thompson asked, tipping his head in gesture.
"Muggle kitchen appliances," Oliver said, "Befere Hermione moved in, a had the kitchen renovated an' bought the muggle appliances fer her since she's a Muggleborn. A wanted this place tae be comfortable fer her an' a wanted tae incorporate her muggle heritage intae the apartment," he shrugged. "When she moved in she put the spell she created on them tae allow them tae work around magic."
"You're not allergic to anything are you, Thompson?" Hermione asked.
"No, not that I know of at least."
Hermione and Oliver chatted comfortably whilst she made dinner and Thompson commented every once in a while but most he observed. Oliver was a lot different to how he behaved when at the stadium. He laughed and smiled more often, he wasn't as tense or tightly wound. He carried himself differently, like he didn't have the weight of the Quidditch League on his shoulders. He seemed to be care-free. He looked at Hermione with adoration and whenever she walked past him he would snag her around the waist and pull her to him, refusing to let go until she kissed him. He joked and he didn't seem as reserved or serious. It was like looking at two different people. He remembered reading the article after the press conference and he now understood Hermione's words. She really did see the real Oliver, all of him and he and the team had no idea.
When Hermione placed dinner on the table, they ate, talked and laughed at Hermione scolding Oliver for feeding Quaffle under the table, he didn't attempt it since Hermione threatened him with a hex and Oliver called him a chicken which he was fine with. He would rather the name-calling than endangering his life.
After dinner, he watched Hermione and Oliver clear away together and he did the dishes whilst she dried them and they kissed whenever they could and it brought a smile to his face. It was so simple and domestic. That's what he wanted, he wanted what Hermione and Oliver had. Not what he and Jenny had.
When they'd finished, they gave him a tour and he was amazed, especially by the room that had a strange large box in that Hermione said showed talking, moving pictures and then they showed him the library and the newly done potions lab and study area Hermione had finished decorating only that day. They then took him to his room down the other corridor and way from theirs, leaving him to unpack and he found them in the library sometime later. Hermione was studying and Oliver was playing with Quaffle on the floor by the fireplace and Thompson laughed when Quaffle pounced on Oliver, sending him flying backwards as he growled playfully and bowed his back, wagging his tail.
"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked kindly.
"Better," replied, taking a seat in the other armchair in the room. "It's nice not having someone nagging in your ear at the bloody time."
"I'm really sorry for turning her hair into snakes," she said sheepishly.
"Don't be; it was brilliant, I'm just upset I didn't get to see it." She laughed at him. "It's nice here," he remarked.
"Tha's Hermione's doin'," Oliver said from his place on the floor, play fighting with Quaffle. "Ye should've seen it when she moved in."
"He's right, the only thing that had colour was the kitchen, library, our room and my old room and that was only because he hired a decorator. The place blinded you."
"Why is this place so big?"
"It's the presidential suite," Hermione said. "Oliver owns the building."
Thompson's eyes widened.
"We own the building" Oliver corrected with a roll of his eyes.
"Fine, we own the building. We're the only apartment on this floor. Every other floor either has two or three. Some of the apartments are half this size and others are three times smaller," she shrugged. "But this is the largest apartment since it takes up the entire floor."
"How many apartments are in this building?"
"Fifty-twa," Oliver replied.
"No wonder you could afford a nine thousand galleon ring," he muttered and Oliver smirked.
They spent all night talking and when Hermione started yawning, they decided to call it a night.
"Remember to use Silencing Charms," Thompson teased said as they walked out of the room. Hermione was already in the bedroom so she didn't hear, luckily for him.
"Thompson, we dinnae use a Silencing Charm when our Marriage Official was here, why would we use one fer ye?" Oliver smirked and Thompson choked in surprise.
"You? You...?"
"Ravished me beautiful wife against our bedroom wall whilst the Marriage Official waited fer us in the living room whilst we changed? Aye, a did," he said smugly. "It was her own fault, we were otherwise engaged an' she turned up banging on the door befere ten on a Sunday morning. She made a few comments a dinnae appreciate an' was tae busy staring at mae an' glaring at Hermione, so she deserved it," he shrugged. "She looked very flustered when we came out af our room," he said amusedly and Thompson stared at him.
Seriously, where's the Wood from training,' he thought.
With a "good night" Oliver took his leave and Thompson returned to his own room, staring up at the ceiling and thinking about his life, his future.
Should he stay with Jenny and have an unhappy future? Should he break off the engagement and risk the Ministry? What if he was matched with someone worse? What if he was matched with someone better? His perfect match? After hours of laying awake and his mind repeating the same thoughts and arguments, he climbed out of bed with the intention to head to the balcony to get some fresh air.
As he entered the living room, he saw hundreds of balls of light letting off a soft glow in the kitchen and Hermione was sat at the kitchen table with a cup of tea in hand. She was wearing Oliver's Quidditch jersey and it fell to just below her mid-thigh and fell off one shoulder, it being too big for her.
He wished he had someone like Hermione. Someone kind, someone that didn't care about his fame or fortune. Someone that didn't dress up all the time and covered themselves in makeup. Someone who would wear his jersey and support him, be proud of him.
She looked up and smiled at him before she stood to make him a cup of tea and when she was done, she retook her seat at the table and put his tea in front of the chair opposite her, gesturing to it. He crossed over to take a seat, lifting the mug and sipping at the hot liquid.
Someone who could make a good cup of tea.
"Couldn't sleep?" She asked.
He shook his head. "You?"
She shook her head. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked offered. His lifted his gaze to see her soft and kind expression and he sighed in defeat.
"I don't know what to do," he admitted.
"About Jenny?" She checked.
"I don't think I love her. I don't know if I ever did or if I was blinded by her beauty and sucked into her lies. I look at you and Oliver and see the love you two have for each other. The way you look at each other like your each other's forever and you've just told each other that you're in love. The way you always find a way to touch each other like you're afraid you're going to be taken away. The way you speak to each other so softly because you're afraid you might unintentionally hurt the other with your words. The way you gravitate towards each other when you're in the same room. When I think about me and Jenny, I don't see any of that or feel it. I feel tired and like I'm suffocating, like she's sucking the life out of me," he said honestly and Hermione took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently. "She nags me all the time, and I don't mind some nagging as long as it's for the right reasons." She chuckled at him. "But all she does is complain and spend my money."
"Can I be honest with you?"
"Brutally?"
She nodded, and being curious as to what she might say, he agreed.
"I think that Jenny's a mean and selfish bastard," she stated without remorse. His eyebrows rose high, she didn't usually speak ill of people, well, unless it was Skeeter but that was understandable. "If she can't see what she's doing to you then she's fucking stupid. You're intelligent, humble and kind. You're the nicest of all the boys on the team. You work hard and you deserve someone you can rely on. Someone that will love and support you and nag you for all the right reasons. You deserve someone that will wear your jersey and be proud of you and that will leave the house not looking like a clown and that won't spend your money on pointless shite. I think Jenny's using you because she knows that you're too kind to say something. She's taking advantage of you and I hate seeing that she's causing you this much pain. When I joined the team, you took me in and made me feel like part of the family. You all did. And that makes you my family. I don't have any of my biological family left, but I have the Weasleys, the Woods and the team. You all may piss me off daily to try and get a rise out of me, and to the point where I consider hexing you into next week, but I love you all. The only time you are happy is when you're at the stadium and that's not what you deserve. You deserve better."
He looked at her feeling very vulnerable after her speech and he saw both honesty and anger in her eyes.
"What do I do?" He asked helplessly.
"I think you already know your answer," she said. She then stood and walked around the table, pulling him up from his chair and hugging him before standing on her tiptoes and kissing his forehead, exactly as a mother would their child. She drew back, picked up his mug and pressed it into his hands. "Try and get some rest and we'll talk more in the morning," she said softly.
"Thank you."
"We're family," she smiled, turning and leaving the kitchen.
She halted in her steps, seeing Oliver leaning against the wall in the corridor and given his soft expression, she knew he'd heard the whole conversation, especially as sound travelled in the large apartment. She rushed to him and he led her into their bedroom, closing the door behind them as she clung to him, crying into his chest.
"I can't believe he feels that way," Hermione sobbed. "I wish I could help him."
"Ye already have, Sparrow, tha' talk did him a lot af good. Ye proved tae him tha' people do care aboot him an' tha' ye care aboot him. Yer've made him see things from a different perspective an' now his life can only get better."
"Unless he gets paired with someone worse," she argued.
"A doubt he will, they're supposed tae be paired with their perfect match. They brought us tagether, dinnae they? Maybe they do know what they're doin'."
"I love you and I promise I'll never take you for granted."
"A love ye, tae, Sparrow, an' anno hoo lucky a am tae have ye."
~000~000~000~
Wood Apartment – Wednesday 12th August 1998
Thompson entered the kitchen freshly showered and dressed for the day and feeling better than he had in a long time and he smiled at the sight that met him. Hermione and Oliver were both showered and dressed, and a song he didn't recognise was playing loudly from a strange small box that was on the table. Hermione and Oliver were dancing around the kitchen together and Quaffle was jumping up and barking around them.
Hermione was singing along to the song and Oliver was laughing whilst dancing with her.
"Is it in his face? Oh no! That's just his charms. In his warm embrace? Oh no! That's just his arms. If you want to know if he loves you so, it's in his kiss," Hermione sang and Oliver kissed her. "That's where it is, it's in his kiss!" He kissed her again. "That's where it is. Kiss him and squeeze him tight!" Oliver laughed as he tugged her into his chest. "Find out what you want to know. If it's love, if it really is, it's there in his kiss!" He kissed her again. "How about the way he acts? Oh no! That's not the way. And you're not listenin' to all I say. If you wanna know if he loves you so it's in his kiss!" Oliver kissed her again. That was what he wanted in life. "That's where it is, it's in his kiss!" Oliver kissed her once more before Hermione noticed Thompson stood watching them with a smile.
"Morning," Hermione said in a sing-song voice, pulling away from Oliver and returning to making breakfast and the song changed to Body Movin' by the Beastie Boys and Hermione sang along as Oliver took a seat at the table and laughed at her.
"Body movin', body movin'. A-1 sound, sound so soothing. Body movin', body movin'. We be getting down and you know we're crush grooving!" She walked over to Thompson and dragged him into the kitchen, forcing him to dance with her whilst she sang and he and Oliver laughed at her. "Now let me get some action from the back section, we need body rocking, not perfection. Let your backbone flip but don't slip a disc, let your spine unwind just take a risk. I wanna do the freak until the break of dawn, now tell me party people is that so wrong. The ship is docking, inter-lockin', and up-rockin' electro-shocking. We're getting down computer action, do the robotic satisfaction. All of y'all get off the wall, have a ball and get involved with body movin', movin'!" She finally released him and allowed him to take a seat as she turned back to making breakfast.
"Is she always like this?" He asked Oliver.
"Pretty much," Oliver nodded, looking to Hermione and smiling fondly. "She keeps mae on me toes."
Hermione set three cups of tea on the table along with three glasses of orange juice before she turned off the music and put the plates on the table, taking a seat and making a start on eating breakfast. Thompson stared at the food in surprise; his plate was stacked high with six pancakes in two piles with some cut up fruit on top and syrup. He looked to Hermione.
"On the left, you have banana pancakes and on the right, you have chocolate chip pancakes," she said.
Oliver sniggered at his surprised expression. "Took mae a while tae get used tae it, tae. She used tae live with Weasleys an' a think she's tryna fatten mae up."
Hermione stuck her tongue out at him and he chuckled. Thompson shook his head, laughed and then started eating and giving compliments on Hermione's cooking and she thanked him.
"Have you decided what you're going to do?"
He nodded. "I think it's time to break off the engagement and put my faith in the Ministry," he said and Hermione smiled at him.
"I'm proud of you," she said, and then she whistled and Ali came flying into the kitchen from the balcony where her cage was kept. She Accio'd some parchment and a muggle pen and handed it to Thompson. "Write to the Ministry first, let them know and they can find you a match quicker and Jenny will be out of your hair. You should write to Gringotts, too, and have her access removed from your vault."
Nodding, he did just that after getting over the fact that muggle pens were 'genius' and Hermione penned a note to Kingsley before she tied the letters to Ali and sent her off with some bacon.
They finished eating breakfast and still had time before they had to leave for work, so Oliver headed to the library and Thompson helped Hermione clear away.
"Thank you for helping me."
"No problem, you've been feeding me and you've helped me get my life back on track. I don't know how to repay you," he said.
"A hug will do," she smiled and he chuckled before hugging her gratefully. "Do you want to break the news this morning? I can come with you as back up, be your wing woman," she nudged him with her shoulder and he laughed but nodded. "Do you know where she'll be?"
"At my apartment, no doubt, she's taken over the place because it's bigger than hers. She practically lives with me even though she has her own place."
"I'll come with you and Oliver can take Quaffle and let Coach know that you're with me."
~000~000~000
Thompson's Apartment
They floo'd into his apartment and Hermione examined her surroundings carefully, seeing that Thompson hadn't been kidding when he'd said Jenny had taken over his apartment. It was nowhere near as big as her and Oliver's, the walls were a blush pink, it looking to have been charmed poorly as patches of white shined through. Light wooden floorboards covered the ground, two white cotton couches and a glass coffee table, made up the living room and there were women's clothing and makeup seeming to cover every surface. The kitchen was small and fitted with white marble countertops and cupboard doors that were a shade darker than the flooring and there were two doors, one led to the bathroom and the other the bedroom.
Hermione could hear shouting and she stood patiently waiting, not wanting to intrude just yet. Five minutes later, Thompson stormed out of the bedroom.
"Let's go," he said angrily.
"No, you go ahead and wait for me at the stadium, I won't be long." He looked at her curiously and when she smiled sweetly, he decided he didn't want to know.
When he'd floo'd out of the apartment, Hermione headed for the bedroom, stepping in through the open door. There was a king-sized bed with white and pink polka dot bedding, a white carpet and once again, blush pink walls being poorly charmed as patches of blue and gold seeped through. Hermione thought she'd just discovered the awful witch's favourite colour and what a surprise it was pink. She could think of another awful toad-like witch that had adored the colour, too, and things hadn't ended well for her. The bedside table and chest of drawers were white and there was a walk-in wardrobe, clothes and shoes looking to be spilling from inside and into the room.
Poor, Thompson, she thought with a sigh, her eyes soon landing on Jenny.
"What're you doing here?" She sneered at Hermione.
"Just come to collect what's Thompson's," she said with a shrug of her shoulders.
"He's not breaking off the engagement, we're getting married," she hissed adamantly.
"Then you'll be the only one at the altar," Hermione rolled her eyes. "Give me the ring and get out."
"No, we're getting married!"
Hermione laughed as she drew her wand. "It's cute that you think you have a choice," she said sweetly, the engagement ring disappearing from Jenny's finger and reappearing in Hermione's open palm.
"YOU BITCH!"
Hermione flicked her wand, Stunning the God-awful woman before she made her way back into the living room to get some boxes so she could start packing her stuff, when something caught her eye. A contract. She walked over to it and picked it up; it was the contract for the lease on the apartment and after skimming through it, a smirk pulled at her mouth. Things truly were working in Thompson' favour.
She transfigured some bags into suitcases and sent spells around the apartment, packing anything that had Thompson's name on, looked like it belonged to him or she thought might be his. She packed clothing, photos, wash products and personal items and trinkets as everything came from different rooms and she shrunk down the suitcases and placed them in her beaded bag. She then walked back into the bedroom and cancelled the Stunner on Jenny, the other woman looking furious.
There had been a change of plans. Thompson was moving out and Jenny was staying.
"I'm not leaving; this apartment is mine just as much as it's his!" She argued.
No, it isn't, Hermione thought with a snort.
"That's okay, you can have it," Hermione said sweetly. "By the way, the Ministry is already aware of the engagement being broken and Gringotts has removed your access to Thompson's vault. They're finding new matches as we speak. I hope you get matched with someone as equally as horrid as you. You're truly are a disgusting human being. You set your sights on Thompson because you knew you could get your claws in him. You took advantage of a kind and humble man and dragged him down. You're pathetic and not worthy of him. You're so desperate that you had to lie to get a man and control him. He was never going to marry you; three years engaged without any wedding planning should've given it away. Stay away from him or I'll hurt you so bad they'll have to create a new ward at St. Mungo's so they can study you," Hermione warned before she turned on her heel and left the seething witch behind, feeling pleased with herself.
~000~000~000~
Puddlemere United Stadium
Hermione made her way down the stands of the Coach's box and over to the team who were watching Thompson pace back and forth agitatedly. When he heard footsteps approaching, he looked up and halted in place.
"Well?" He asked anxiously.
Hermione smiled and threw him the ring and he caught it, looking down at it in surprise. "You're no longer engaged, you're a free, single man."
He released a huge sigh of relief before crossing over to her, picking her up and hugging her as he spun circles.
"Thank you," he said as he set her back on her feet. "That means I can have my apartment back."
"Yeah, about that," Hermione interrupted and his attention snapped to her and he narrowed his eyes.
"What?" He asked quickly, almost being too afraid to ask, dreading the answer.
"I told her she could keep the apartment," she shrugged.
"You did what!?" His voice rose and the team startled in surprise.
"I said she could keep it. You see, I couldn't help but notice a certain property contract on the table and since I'm nosey, I couldn't help but read it. Apparently, you're rental agreement's due to expire and you need to renew it. But, did you know that you're overpaying for that apartment? And did you know that Oliver and I are renovating six empty apartments in our building? And did you know that the price for rent is the same as what you're paying now?" She said, tipping her head questioningly.
He stared in surprise before he lifted her off the ground in a hug once more.
"You're a gift from Merlin," he sighed and she laughed at him as he put her back on her feet and stepped back.
"They won't be done until sometime in November, but you can stay with us until then. We'll even give you first choice of the apartments and you'll likely get a discount on the rent, as well, because you're family, so you'll be paying even less for an apartment almost four times bigger than the one I let Jenny have. And since Jenny's name wasn't on the rental agreement, and you haven't signed the contract, you no longer own the apartment. So, unless she pays rent, she has to move out."
She smiled at his beaming smile and she looked over at Oliver to see him smiling softly at her as well.
"Now that the drama is over, we should get to work; we have a match tomorrow." She looked at the team to see them looking at her strangely. "If any of you need a wing woman, I'm your girl," she said confidently.
"She really is," Thompson agreed, his eyes darting between the ring in his hand and Hermione.
He was now a free man. Well, until he received his Ministry match and was forced to marry, that is. But things could only get better. He couldn't imagine anyone being worse than his ex.