Manhattan
Chapter Sixteen
Hermione lays in bed and stares at the ceiling, contemplating whatever bizarre paradox she has somehow stumbled into.
In the past two days, Hermione Granger has quite literally been in bed with the enemy and has had said 'enemy' offer to do something for her, from which he gains absolutely nothing.
Hermione knows that Malfoy does not want to take her back to London– and yet, he offered to. She hadn't asked– he'd offered.
Hermione decides that Malfoy needs to stop doing nice things for her. It's unsettling. She has already slept with him, and given how that experience had gone, if Malfoy keeps doing nice things for her, she'll have to lock herself in her room in order to maintain her personal distance rule.
Hermione has deliberately not thought about her adventures in sleeping with Malfoy since it happened. It cannot happen again, so she knows that there's no use dwelling on how incredible it was. Malfoy had been a fast learner and so attentive– it would've jarred Hermione how attentive he was if she hadn't been living in such close proximity to him for so long.
Malfoy has done nothing but take care of and protect Hermione since the moment he became aware of her situation, so it stands to reason that he would do the same in every facet, but dear Godric.
Hermione scrubs her hands down her face in frustration, kicking her feet against her bed like a toddler throwing a tantrum.
Hermione decides to shift her focus in this moment away from Malfoy and instead toward her godson. She truly had hoped that she would've been back home by the time that Ginny went into labor.
When Harry had first suggested relocating her to keep her away from Ron, she had thought that it would only last a few weeks and that Ron would eventually cool off, so she could return home. Now, over a year later, she can't believe that it's taken over this much of her life.
Hermione is so incredibly excited to meet her godson. She's thrilled for Harry and Ginny– truly she is. However, she is also disappointed that Ron has stolen yet another thing from her. If she had been able, Hermione would've been pacing in the waiting room at St. Mungo's with the rest of the Weasleys until Harry would come out to announce the birth of his son.
Hermione's thoughts, despite her best efforts, drift back to Malfoy. She can't help but feel grateful to him for, once again, enabling her to see someone she loves so dearly.
Hermione decides that her gratitude toward Malfoy can be a problem for tomorrow's Hermione as she finally manages to fall asleep.
"Hood," Malfoy states as he and Hermione wait for their portkey to activate.
Hermione pulls the hood of her sweatshirt up over her curls and mutters a sticking charm so that it stays in place. Malfoy had told her that she will have to glamour herself before they step foot into St. Mungo's so that she isn't recognized. Hermione hates the idea, but understands the necessity.
When the portkey begins to glow, Hermione takes hold of one end of the broken wristwatch in Malfoy's hand and immediately feels the tug behind her navel before she is whisked away to London.
Once Hermione's feet touch the ground in an alley that she doesn't recognize, she pulls her wand out of her boot and casts a quick glamour over herself. She figures that glamouring her most noticeable feature– her hair– is likely enough, so she spells her hair shorter, straight and blonde.
"Better?" Hermione asks, meeting Malfoy's eye. Her hood is still up, and will stay up, which she also thinks will obscure her enough from anyone who might recognize her.
"No. I prefer the curls," Malfoy responds, smirking. It catches Hermione off guard. Did– did Malfoy just compliment her hair? In a weird, backhanded way, but yes, Hermione thinks that he did. "But it'll do."
Hermione follows Malfoy out of the alley and towards St. Mungo's. She keeps her head down and her hood up and walks as quickly as she can until they arrive in the maternity ward.
Harry had organized a time for her to visit when the rest of the Weasleys would not be there. Hermione knows that the majority of the Weasleys would never compromise her safety. George and Charlie, specifically, have made it clear which side of the line they stand on– and it's not their brother's. Molly and Percy are the wildcards whom Hermione is hoping to avoid at all costs.
When she and Malfoy arrive at Ginny's room, she knocks twice on the door. Malfoy is standing directly behind her, blocking her from view from the hallway. It intrigues Hermione how easily Malfoy falls into Auror-mode– how naturally it seems to come to him to turn on his protective instincts. It also intrigues Hermione how the hair on the back of her neck stands on end because she can feel him standing behind her– and that it's not an entirely unpleasant feeling for her.
Harry opens the door a sliver and his smile stretches across his entire face when he recognizes Hermione.
He opens the door further to allow Hermione and Malfoy inside, then closes it, locks it physically and casts a locking charm on it too.
"Nice hair, 'Mione," Ginny laughs from her bed, holding a small bundle in her arms. "And by 'nice', I mean, I hate it."
Hermione laughs along with her friend as she raises her wand to remove the glamour.
"Alright, I get it, everyone prefers the curls," Hermione says, mostly in jest, looking briefly back at Malfoy before turning back to Ginny.
Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione notices Malfoy lean up against the door, crossing his legs at the ankles and his arms over his chest– still in protection mode, then, Hermione realizes.
"Are you ready to meet your godson?" Harry asks, taking one of Hermione's hands in his and leading her over to a chair beside Ginny's hospital bed.
Hermione is quite sure that she has never loved something so intensely, so quickly, until the first time she holds James in her arms.
Hermione looks down at the beautiful baby in her arms and feels a single tear slip down her cheek, unsurprisingly.
It amazes her that after everything that Harry has been through, that he is here today, with his wife and brand new son– alive and happy and healthy.
Hermione doesn't know how long she sits there, staring at the boy in her arms, but she doesn't want to take her eyes off of him, lest something happen to him.
After what feels like several eternities, Hermione finally looks up– straight at Malfoy. She hadn't intended to, she doesn't think, but somehow her mind had sought him out immediately.
There's a ghost of a smile on Malfoy's face– almost imperceptible, but she sees it– and for a reason which Hermione isn't quite ready to dissect, it makes her heart skip a beat.
Hermione averts her eyes from Malfoy's and instead turns her attention to Ginny.
"He's so beautiful, Gin," Hermione says quietly, her voice betraying the emotions she is feeling.
Ginny has sort of a strange look on her face, which Hermione can't exactly define, before she smiles.
"Yes, yes, I spent nine months growing him only for him to come out looking exactly like his father," Ginny scoffs playfully, eyeing her husband pointedly.
Hermione laughs lightly, rubbing her thumb against James' cheek. He does look quite a lot like his father.
Hermione is mildly surprised when she notices James' previously mentioned father step away from his wife's hospital bed and over toward the bodyguard at the door. She knows that the two men speak occasionally regarding her case, but to actually see two former enemies talking civilly momentarily surprises her.
They keep their voices low, so Hermione can't hear what they're saying, but she finds herself unable to take her eyes off of them.
When Harry approached him, Malfoy stood up straight, but left his arms crossed over his chest. Hermione hates that she notices, but that pose is rather becoming on Malfoy– he's standing up at his full height, and his crossed arms force his biceps to fight against the fabric of his shirt and, of course, his wand holster is stretching across his back and over his shoulders.
Hermione tries–sincerely, she does– to not think about the way that those arms that she seems so fond of had felt wrapped around her, but clearly she fails.
Hermione doesn't realize that she is blatantly staring at Malfoy until the aforementioned wizard looks briefly at her and catches her. She feels her cheeks heat up when he smirks darkly at her before turning his attention back to Harry.
Hermione forces her gaze back down to James. After all, he is the reason that she is here. She's supposed to be getting to know her godson– not ogling Malfoy.
"Granger," Malfoy states, drawing Hermione out of her focus on the baby in her arms. She knows, without him explicitly saying so, that it's time to go.
Hermione frowns, looking up to Malfoy and nodding before standing to pass James back off to his mother.
"Thank you," Hermione whispers into Ginny's hair when she hugs her gently. "This means the world to me. I promise that I will be around more for him soon."
Ginny smiles a somewhat watery smile, squeezing one of Hermione's hands for a moment.
"There is no one else we would've chosen to be his godmother," Ginny assures her. "And yes, you will. As soon as it's safe."
Hermione squeezes Ginny's hand back before stepping back from the bed. Next, she pulls Harry into a tight hug. Harry hugs her back just as tightly, which seems to put some pieces of her which had felt out of place back together.
Once finished with her goodbyes, Hermione joins Malfoy. He guides her out of the hospital room, and begins walking alongside her toward the exits.
Hermione can't help but examine her surroundings. She doesn't see many familiar faces, but out of the corner of her eye, she sees a flash of red. It's in that moment that Hermione realizes that she hasn't cast her glamour again. Her hood is still up, but she's not sure that that's enough to hide her from the likes of Molly Weasley.
Hermione reaches out and takes hold of Malfoy's forearm, trying to silently get his attention. Thankfully, Malfoy understands this action for what it is and spins subtly in place to face her.
Malfoy seems to notice the lack of glamour too, but arrives at the same conclusion which Hermione had– casting it now would draw even more attention. He also seems to notice the Weasley matriarch standing at the visitor's desk, just as Hermione had.
Hermione's heart begins to pound. Once upon a time, she would've never considered hiding from Molly Weasley– but unfortunately times have changed. Molly had never believed Hermione when she accused Ron of being the reason behind her injured face– among other things– and she made that very clear.
"Act bereaved."
Malfoy's order is quiet, but it gets the point across.
Hermione barely has time to pretend to cry before Malfoy drapes his right arm around Hermione's shoulders and pulls her toward him, tucking her face into his chest.
Hermione has to admit that Malfoy is clever. She's in a hospital– she'll look like anyone who just received unfortunate news. A crying woman is unlikely to stand out in this setting and it hides her face from view. Smart.
Hermione attempts to remind herself that the gentle caresses which Malfoy is doing along her back and arms are just to sell the charade, but she can't deny that it feels quite nice.
Hermione wraps her arms tightly around Malfoy's waist. Her reasoning for this is that if she were a bereaved woman and Malfoy was someone close to her who was comforting her, she would likely be holding on for dear life– she also just wanted to touch him again, and she refuses to analyze that right now.
Hermione isn't sure how long she stands there pretending to cry– long enough to feel slightly intoxicated by the scent of Malfoy's cologne, for sure– before Malfoy steps back. He leaves one hand on the small of Hermione's back and the other high on her waist, and she almost hopes that he won't let go.
Hermione meets his eye, realizing then that she is also still holding onto him.
"She's gone," Malfoy whispers, his fingers flexing against Hermione's ribcage.
Hermione nods, strangely breathless, unsure if she can form words at the moment.
"We should go. We have a portkey to catch."
Hi, friends. Bonus upload. (:
I had an exceptionally difficult day today. Any of you who are single and attempting to date in this world, my condolences are with you. I know that I don't usually say personal things like that on here, but I just cannot believe that what happened to me today actually happened. I was verbally attacked by someone that I had agreed to go out with, but who I thankfully never met in person. I spent most of the day in tears and something that helped get me through it was going back and rereading your comments, so I wanted to upload this chapter as a thank you. If you are dating in this world, please be safe and trust your gut.
In any case, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and enjoyed getting a bonus upload today. (: We're getting close to the end, y'all, but don't worry, you can't get rid of me that easily.
Once again, thank you for spending a bit of time here with me this week. Your support means the world to me and I cannot stress that enough.