As much as she loved the annual Hogwarts open day, Hermione was looking forward to the end of this particular one. As usual, she was thoroughly enjoying showing the younger magical children what fun magic could be, specifically Transfiguration as that was her subject. However, there was no denying the fact she was very heavily pregnant and the active day was taking its toll on her.
Truthfully, Hermione should have already stopped work, but she'd been reluctant to walk away from Hogwarts so close to the end of term, and so she'd persuaded her husband that staying to the end of the year was the right thing for her to do. To pacify his worries about her workload, she'd struck a deal with the headmistress, and McGonagall was currently teaching a significant portion of her lessons, leaving her with mainly paperwork to contend with. The only classes Hermione had insisted on teaching herself were those of her fifth years and seventh years, who had both been taking important exams.
Another bargaining chip Hermione had used to remain at the castle was the presence of a permanent medi-witch. Madam Pomfrey had retired some years earlier, but her replacement, Alicia Spinnett, was equally as skilled as the medi-witch who had seen Hermione and her friends through school. And as Hermione had pointed out to her husband, at Hogwarts Alicia was on hand if she was needed, but if she went home, she would be all alone and would have to send for help.
Although as well as seeing her students through their exams, the main reason for Hermione wanting to stay at school until the end of the year was her family. Her husband was a fellow Professor, and while she knew he would have made it home as often as he could if she'd gone on maternity leave, it was simply easier to see him when they were both in the same building all day. Then there was the fact her two children both attended Hogwarts, although her son was in his final year. So with the people she loved all at Hogwarts, it was only natural it was where Hermione had wanted to stay. Besides, the holidays were only days away, and then she would have plenty of rest until the newest member of the family put in an appearance.
With that cheery through foremost in her mind, Hermione grabbed something to eat from one of the food stalls, and wandered into The Great Hall for a bit of relaxation. The Great Hall was decked out in its usual style of the four house tables and the Professors table at the top of the room. The Sorting Hat was even placed on its chair at the front of the room, giving the younger children a chance to see how the sorting took place. When the open days had first started arguments were made that by allowing children to see Hogwarts before their arrival in first year it was diluting the magic, but in Hermione's experience it only enhanced it. Nothing could compare with the first time a child stepped foot into The Great Hall as a student, even after a child had seen the castle on one of the open days. All the open days really did was increase the excitement a child felt about attending Hogwarts.
Seating herself at the Gryffindor table, Hermione had just started to eat her pastie when she spotted her two best friends entering the room, along with Harry's wife, Pansy. Raising her hand, she waved them over to where she was sitting, more than happy with a bit of company for a while.
"Are you okay, Hermione?" Ron asked as they sat down. "You look tired."
"Of course she's tired, she's eight months pregnant," Pansy snorted. "You men ought to try carrying around a growing child for nine months. It is not easy."
"I'm sure it's not," Harry said, trying to placate his feisty wife. "But it's all worth it in the end, isn't it?"
"I suppose so," Pansy replied, although the warm smile on her lips revealed that she fully agreed with her husband.
"Even with being tired, are you okay?" Ron checked. "We don't want anything happening to you."
"I'm fine," Hermione assured her friends, truly appreciating their concern. "I won't lie, I've reached the stage where all I want is to have the baby and for this pregnancy to be over."
"I can remember those days," Pansy said with a chuckle. "By Sophia I was so desperate to just get her out that I tried every trick I could find to induce labour. I ate more spicy food than was probably good for me, and I was downright sick of sex."
"You were the one who said it would help," Harry muttered, flashing his wife a fake pout.
"I read it somewhere," Pansy replied with a casual shrug. "Not that it worked though. She made her appearance when she was good and ready, and not a moment before."
"Let's hope this little one isn't quite as stubborn as your Sophia," Hermione remarked with a wince, recalling how Harry and Pansy's third child had been almost a month overdue.
"With it's parents, it's likely to be even more stubborn," Ron laughed.
"True," Harry agreed, chuckling along with his best friend.
Hermione shook her head, but she didn't take offence at her best friends words as she knew they were true. She'd always been stubborn, and her husband wasn't much better. Although to be fair, neither of the children they'd had so far had been overly stubborn. Her son was pretty laid back and carefree, and while her daughter was every bit as feisty as she was, she couldn't really be described as stubborn.
"There is one thing you can both do if you're so concerned about my welfare," Hermione said.
"Name it," Harry offered as Ron nodded in agreement.
"Make this quidditch match this afternoon a short one," Hermione begged. "I'm not keen on quidditch at the best of times, let alone when I'm so heavily pregnant."
"Sorry Hermione, I love you and would do almost anything for you, but I can't promise anything when it comes to quidditch," Harry replied solemnly. "We are playing to win this year."
"Don't you play to win every year?" Pansy asked. "With Draco on the team, I'm not sure how you can do anything else. He doesn't like to lose."
"He is rather competitive," Harry agreed with a chuckle. "He's even made poor Neville have extra lessons with Oliver."
"Why would Neville need lessons?" Pansy questioned with a frown. "Don't tell me the poor sod's finally been persuaded to play."
"I wore him down eventually," Harry admitted.
"But he never played quidditch in school," Pansy argued. "I never got the impression he was that interested."
"He wasn't," Hermione confirmed. "And to be honest, I still don't think he's that fussed. I think he just got sick of being asked every year."
"I bet he's regretting it now if Oliver's got his claws into him," Ron remarked, well aware that the flying instructor Oliver Wood had a reputation as being a tough taskmaster when it came to quidditch. "I was always so grateful I was never on the Gryffindor team at the same time he was. The twins used to tell such horror stories about him."
"He was fairly tough," Harry admitted. "But he was also a fantastic captain. And if anyone can get Neville into shape, he can."
"I still feel sorry for him," Pansy said with a shake of her head.
"Then he should have said no," Hermione pointed out. "Believe me, Neville isn't as passive as he appears. If he truly didn't want to play, he wouldn't have agreed to it. And he wouldn't have agreed to lessons with Oliver unless it was what he wanted to do."
"I don't think Draco gave him much choice," Harry snorted. "He all but marched him off to see Oliver as soon as he agreed to play."
"He still could have said no, even to Draco," Hermione argued. "If you ask me, he's said yes this year to get you off his back. Come next year, he won't play."
"Of course he will," Harry argued. "No-one can resist the pull of quidditch. Trust me, once Neville has had a game, he'll be eager for more. His name will be first on the team sheet next year, I guarantee it."
"How much do you want to bet that this is a one off?" Hermione asked her best friend.
"Anything you want, name your price," Harry replied confidently.
"Babysitting anytime I want for a year," Hermione suggested. "And if you're right, I will take all your weekend duties for a year."
"It's a deal," Harry declared, reaching across the table to shake hands with Hermione.
Hermione agreed to the bet with a sly smile, before announcing that she should get back to her duties before the quidditch. Deciding they should also head back outside, her friends got to their feet. However, as they headed out of The Great Hall, Pansy held Hermione back and asked her what she knew about Neville's stance on quidditch that her husband didn't.
"Nothing, I just know Neville," Hermione replied with a shrug. "Harry's problem is that he thinks everyone is the same as him and will love flying and quidditch. I know that like me, Neville has never been too keen on flying, and his interest in quidditch is minimal. I very much doubt one game is going to change his mind."
"And if it does?"
"Then I've got a hell of a lot of weekends to dread once I'm back from maternity leave," Hermione chuckled, linking her arm through Pansy's as the two witches headed out into the sunshine, and unwittingly into the drama that was about to play out.
When Ginny found her parents and children, she found they had left Harry's display behind and that Ron was also no longer with them. However, the twins were bubbling with excitement and she didn't want to ruin their day by bringing up the Hermione situation. Instead, she suggested they head inside for some lunch, before heading around the back of the castle to the greenhouses, where there was apparently a dazzling display of magical plants courtesy of the Herbology Professor, Neville Longbottom. Although Ginny was hoping that The Great Hall would distract the twins long enough for her to confide in her parents about what she had witnessed.
As she tried to decide what to actually say to her parents, Ginny fell slightly behind the rest of the family as they headed towards the castle. As such, she totally missed who was leaving the castle as they were about to enter. It was only as she jogged up the front steps aiming to catch up with her parents and children that she realised they had stopped just outside of the front doors. And it only took her a moment longer to realise that her parents were introducing her children to the one witch she didn't want anywhere near to them.
"Get away from him," she cried, lunging forward as Hermione reached out to shake Ethan's hand. Quickly she pulled her son behind her, out of Hermione's reach.
"What the hell, Ginny?" Ron questioned in annoyance as Hermione flinched away from the angry redhead. "What are you playing at?"
"I don't want her touching my son," Ginny spat.
"Why? What do you think I'm going to do to him?" Hermione questioned, clearly confused by Ginny's attitude towards her. Given their history, she hadn't been expecting a warm meeting between them, but Ginny's attitude was downright baffling.
"Merlin knows with you," Ginny snorted. "You're toxic, Hermione. I always knew you were bad news, but I never could have imagined you would be this sick."
"Ginny, stop it," Molly hissed, aware that people close by were starting to turn and stare. "I don't know what your problem is, but you need to stop."
"I most certainly do not need to stop," Ginny snapped. "It's about time people learnt the truth about Hermione sodding Granger. No-one would listen to me all those years ago, but they're damn well going to listen now."
"Not this again," Ron groaned, shaking his head at his sister. "No-one is interested in your past delusions, Ginny."
"You just couldn't see the truth, Ron," Ginny argued. "You were blinded by her. But she got inside your head and twisted your thoughts. She was the one who convinced you to dump Lavender."
"No, she didn't," Ron interrupted in a forceful voice. "Lavender and I had run our course. Our relationship was never destined to last. I knew it, and Lavender knew it. What we had was great, but it was only ever temporary. Our split had nothing to do with Hermione. And if you don't believe me, find Lavender and ask her. I know she's here today as I've been speaking to her. But you need to stop blaming Hermione for something she never did."
"And don't you dare start on me," Harry said as Ginny's eyes drifted in his direction. "I told you at the time, my decision not to reignite out relationship had nothing to do with Hermione. All you heard was my best friend encouraging me to live my life without answering to anyone. She didn't mean you, as I'd already made my choice as far as you were concerned."
"I didn't," Hermione confirmed in a low voice. "I don't know what I've ever done to you, Ginny, but I am not the manipulative monster you've got me pegged as. I won't deny I was jealous of Ron and Lavender, but I loved Ron enough to stay out of his relationship. If Lavender was where his heart had lain, then I would have been happy for him. And as for Harry, I've never given him advice on his love life. It's not my place to say who my friends should date. Ron and Harry have only ever made their own choices."
"That all sounds very convincing, but I was there," Ginny spat. "I saw the way Harry and Ron hung on your every word. You didn't have to explicitly say anything to them. All you had to do was drop hints and subtle comments. They were both so enchanted by you they would have done anything for you."
"You're jealous," Hermione gasped, suddenly understand where all of Ginny's hostility had come from. "It's as simple as that. You're jealous of the bond I have with both Harry and Ron. But why? Why should my friendship with them bother you? It doesn't diminish the relationship you and Ron have, and the one you and Harry had. I was never a threat to you, Ginny."
"I know what you were, and more importantly I know what you are now," Ginny seethed, furious that Hermione was twisting everything yet again. "I know just what sort of woman the golden girl has turned into. A cradle snatching slapper."
"Cradle snatching?" Pansy queried with a slight frown. Hermione's husband was actually slightly younger than her, but only by a few months. There certainly wasn't enough of an age gap to call Hermione a cradle snatcher.
"I know all about it, Hermione," Ginny crowed, well aware that a crowd had gathered both at the bottom of the steps and inside the entrance way, hanging on every word that was being said. "I know your dirty little secret. I know about your baby."
"It's hardly a secret," Hermione snorted, resting her hands on her protruding stomach.
"Oh, but the daddy is, isn't it?" Ginny taunted. "You wouldn't want anyone to know that the father of your baby is a student."
Shocked gasps could be heard from all directions, and Hermione swayed on her feet as she clung to Pansy. Ginny smirked at the sight of Hermione being thrown off guard, but before she could say anything else, someone pushed past her and she spotted a flash of platinum blond hair move in Hermione's direction. It only took her a moment to identify the hair as belonging to the young Malfoy boy who Hermione had taken as her lover.
"Are you okay?" he asked on concern, his focus entirely on Hermione and ignoring the watching crowds.
"Not really," Hermione muttered, his gaze flicking past the boy and landing back on Ginny. "I want to know just what I am being accused of."
"I would like to know that as well," a cold voice called from further down the stairs and Ginny turned her head as Draco Malfoy strode into the picture.
"I'm sorry Malfoy, I should have tried to speak to you in private," Ginny said apologetically. "There's no easy way of saying this, but Hermione Granger has seduced your son and is carrying his love child."
"Oh sweet Merlin," Molly gasped as several snickers could be heard, as well as several gasps of horror.
"Just look at them," Ginny spat, waving her hands to where Hermione was now standing in between Pansy and her teenage lover, the young boy's arm wrapped protectively around her shoulder. "They're not even hiding their relationship."
"Why should we?" the boy Ginny thought was called Scorpius, if she'd heard correctly, snapped at her. "Everyone here knows the state of our relationship."
"No," Ginny gasped, her eyes flicking over those closest and seeing they were all looking at her as if she had just made a total fool of herself. "You're lying. There's no way everyone can know and be alright with it. You're her student for crying out loud."
"I'm her son, you stupid cow," Scorpius yelled.
At the word son, Ginny felt her entire world begin to tilt and she started to question everything she thought she had known. Just moments ago, everything had seemed so clear in her head, but now it was all a massive jumble.
"No, I heard you," she muttered, almost talking to herself. "Hermione said she loved you."
"Do you never tell your son you love him?" Hermione scoffed.
"But he said it back," Ginny argued. "What teenage boy tells his mother he loves him in public?"
"One who is not embarrassed to love his family," Scorpius said with disdain.
"I rather think you have gotten this all very wrong," Draco commented in an icy voice. "And just for the record, Hermione is carrying a Malfoy. But the child is mine. There is nothing sordid going on here at all. Except in your head."
"I'm sorry," Ginny mumbled with a shake of her head. However, no-one seemed to realise that she wasn't apologising for the false accusations she had made, she was sorry for the mess she had created for herself.
"Perhaps you should go home," Arthur suggested softly, taking her by the elbow and turning her away from the still watching crowds.
"But the twins, I can't ruin their day," she argued, mental wincing as she realised they had seen everything and had seen her making a complete and utter fool of herself.
"You will if you stay much longer," Arthur returned. "Your mother and I will look after them for the rest of the day. You go home and think about how you are going to apologise to Hermione."
Despite what had just occurred she had no intention of ever apologising to Hermione. She may have been wrong about her teenage lover, but she had been right about everything else. Hermione was bad news, and she was damned if she was going to say sorry to her. However, she did need to escape the inevitable gossip that would follow the scene she'd just made. Knowing that her parents would look after the twins, Ginny did as her father requested, and left the open day. However, she didn't know that the dramas of the day weren't quite over and there would be another surprise at Hogwarts before the day was over.