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document.write(''); chapter four: Seeing Green

The whole discomfort over announcing a fake engagement might have not turned out to be such a monstrous mistake had circumstances been right. Hermione was just about to tell Harry that it was all a joke or a slip of the tongue or Turrets or SOMETHING when Mrs. Weasley rounded the corner, her eyes wide with shock.

" I'm sorry to eavesdrop," she said quickly, " but did I just hear what I thought I heard? Our Hermione, engaged?"

And before Hermione could dissuade her, Mrs. Weasley was running out into the main room of the store, shouting the 'blissful' news to anyone who would listen. The next thing she knew, Hermione was being swept off to a congratulatory lunch party at a local Muggle restaurant, along with Draco, Harry, the Weasleys, and Kimmy.

However, though the purpose of the lunch was supposedly to celebrate, the only person who seemed happy about the entire thing was Mrs. Weasley. She kept crying and going on about how glad she was that Hermione was finally settling down, how she thought of her as a second daughter and so on and so forth. And though that was all very flattering, Hermione couldn't help but notice the faces of all her friends around her. Fred, George, Ron, and even Mr. Weasley looked as though they were positively seething, Ginny seemed to be on the verge of homicide, and Harry was still refusing to meet her gaze. And Kimmy-

Well, come to think of it, Kimmy looked quite happy, as well. Not happy in the same sense as Mrs. Weasley...it was more a triumphant look, like she had just beat Ron at chess, or something.

Hermione still couldn't bring herself to look at Draco. She could only imagine what he'd have to say to her when they were finally alone again.

"-when will the wedding be?" Kimmy was inquiring, watching Hermione closely. " I hope Harry and I will be back from our honeymoon in time."

Trying not to wince at the word 'honeymoon', Hermione forced a smile. " Well, you know...things are still a bit uncertain."

Mrs. Weasley beamed at them. " Of course they are. But you two are planning on starting a family soon, aren't you? Your children would be so lovely--"

" Hold it!" Draco cried abruptly.

Hermione looked around in great surprise and wonder. The people in the room had literally frozen in place. Mrs. Weasley's mouth was still open, and everyone else had been caught in mid-movement. Hermione turned to Draco wonderingly. " You killed them..."

" No, I didn't," Draco returned curtly, " it's just a spell that my father taught me before he...you know, went all insane and started trying to kill me."

" That's very impressive magic," Hermione felt herself babbling, " I wonder if you could teach it to me sometime? I'm certain that I've never read anything on it..."

" HERMIONE."

She sighed. " I know, I know. I've messed up horribly, Draco, and I'm sorry. Now Harry won't even look at me, and Ginny looks absolutely livid--"

" I don't care what Ginny thinks," Draco snapped peevishly, though she noticed that his face had grown a bit crimson at the mention of her name. " But I refuse to be labeled as Mr. Hermione Granger when I'm not even getting any of the benefits!"

" I'm sorry, Draco," Hermione repeated. " Believe me, I am. But it's too late now-- we'll just have to play along with it until I can come up with a good excuse for breaking it off with you."

Draco raised an eyebrow. " You, break it off with me? I don't think so. If anyone is going to end our sham engagement, it's going to be me."

Hermione nodded quickly. " Yes, of course. Whatever you say." She turned to him desperately. " Please, Draco, you have to help me with this. I'll do anything you ask."

He paused, seeming to contemplate this. " You'll pay that galleon that I owe Ginny?"

" Of course."

" And you'll tidy up my office and do my laundry for a month?"

" Absolutely."

" And you'll do an exotic dance dressed like Princess Leia with the whole golden bikini number?"

" Draco..."

He grinned. " Sorry, had to try. All right, fine, I'll help you out."

Hermione flew at him and hugged him tightly. " Oh, thank you, Draco. I'll love you forever for this." She pulled back and studied him. " Now, when you unfreeze time, I want you to find a way to explain things to Ginny."

Draco seemed vaguely embarrassed. " I already told you, I don't care what she--"

" I know you're much too manly and callous to care about what she thinks," Hermione returned impatiently, " but for her peace of mind, and mine, will you please explain to her what's going on?"

He gave a long, drawn out sigh. " Fine..."

A moment later, the group was unfrozen again. "...with Draco's lovely hair and skin and your eyes and bone structure..." Mrs. Weasley finished, and sighed.

Ginny rose to her feet abruptly. " Excuse me, I need to powder my nose." She turned and stalked away from the table.

Draco waited for a moment, then rose to his feet. " I need to visit the little boys room, as long as we're taking a break." He rose to his feet, started to leave the table, then awkwardly turned back and squeezed Hermione's hand. " Be back in a flash, sweetheart."

Mrs. Weasley and Kimmy "ahhed." The men at the table looked disgusted.

Draco caught up with Ginny right before she made it into the bathroom. "Wait a moment, I'd like a word."

Ginny glared at him. " I have a few choice words for you, too, Malfoy."

" This isn't what it looks like," Draco informed her. " I'm just doing Hermione a favor."

" Yes, that seems to be your specialty, doesn't it?" Ginny retorted. " You're always falling all over Hermione. Why don't you just admit that you're in love with her, you slimy git? You're worthless and foul and horrible and...your hair is utterly ridiculous!"

And with that, she stalked back toward the table.

Draco felt his own temper rising. " My hair is ridiculous?" he repeated. " My hair is ridiculous...?"

He returned to the table, taking his seat beside Hermione and scooting it closer to her as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. " Are you cold, darling?" he inquired.

She stared at him blankly. " No, I'm all right."

Across the table, Ginny rolled her eyes.

" Tell us," Kimmy spoke up, smiling at them both. " How did you propose to her,Draco?"

" Oh, it was a very simple proposal, really," Hermione spoke up quickly. " He just got down on his knee one night and--"

" Sweetheart," Draco interrupted, " we can tell them the truth. They're our friends." He cast his gaze around the table, smiling widely. " Now, Hermy is going to be embarrassed when I tell you this, but I actually proposed to her in a karaoke bar."

" A karaoke bar?" Ron repeated dubiously.

Harry looked up. " Hermione doesn't sing," he stated flatly.

" Well, no, she can't carry a tune, bless her soul," Draco said, laughing and squeezing Hermione's shoulder, " but she absolutely loves going there with me. Anyway, I requested a special song--"

" Which song was that?" Mrs. Weasley inquired.

Draco chewed his lips, glancing around the room. " Well...hold on, I have an idea." He rose from his seat abruptly and crossed over to an oddly shaped machine in the corner that the Weasleys couldn't quite place but those who had been Muggle-raised could not help but recognize.

Placing a quarter in the jukebox, Draco pressed the appropriate button and then turned to Hermione as the first chords of the song began to play. " You're just too good to be true," he sang along in a surprisingly good voice, " can't take my eyes off of you..."

He advanced toward her, drawing her to her feet despite her protests. " You'd be like Heaven to touch," at this he ran a hand along her cheek, " I wanna hold you so much. At long last love has arrived, and I thank God I'm alive. You're just too good to be true, can't take my eyes off of you."

As the music began to pick up, he jumped atop of the table suddenly, to the utter delight of Mrs. Weasley and Kimmy. " I love you baby," he belted, " and if it's quite all right, I need you baby..."

People were turning to stare now. Hermione turned a bright shade of magenta, wishing that her parents had never gotten tipsy that fateful evening twenty some odd years ago. She slid back into her chair, refusing to meet anyone's gaze.

" So let me love you, baby, let me love you!" At this, Draco glanced briefly over at Ginny before taking Hermione's face into his hands and kissing her passionately.

All at once, the jukebox machine exploded, emitting a loud bang as it began to smoke horribly. Ron gave a tight grin. " Sorry...my wand slipped."

" Oh, Draco," Kimmy gushed, " that was so romantic."

Draco hopped down from the table and seated himself next to Hermione once more. " You have no idea. Although, it can't nearly begin to compare to the song Hermione sang me that night when we were alone together."

All eyes were turned to Hermione, who sunk even lower in her seat. " You sang Draco a song, dear?" Mrs. Weasley inquired. " How lovely...which one was it?"

Draco nudged Hermione. " Go on, Hermy, sing it for them."

Hermione was going to murder Draco. She was going to chop him into little bits and then dance the mariachi over his mangled corpse.

Tentatively, she cleared her throat and began singing the only song she could think of. "At last, my love has come along--"

" No, no," Draco cut her off. " It wasn't that one, remember? It was..." He cleared his own throat and began. " It's getting hot in here, so take off--"

Hermione clapped a hand over his mouth. " That's private," she hissed at him, suddenly very glad that no one present listened to much Muggle music. She wondered vaguely how Draco had ever heard the song and decided she'd rather not know.

" Well, that's lovely," Kimmy said, snuggling up against Harry's shoulder. "Don't you think so, Harry?"

" Yeah," Harry grumbled, " lovely."

Mrs. Weasley glanced around the table, seeming to notice her children's morose faces for the first time. " For goodness sake, is the food sour, or something?"

" Something's sour, all right," George returned under his breath, glaring at Draco.

Kimmy seemed to have not overheard. " Draco, we'd love to have you at the wedding. Since Hermione is maid of honor, she'll be escorted by Ron, as he's Harry's best man, but we do need another escort for Ginny."

For the first time, Draco looked vaguely flustered. " Well, you'll have to ask Ginny." he said finally.

All eyes turned to Ginny expectantly. She forced a smile. " Why not? If Draco's marrying Hermione than he's practically part of the family now, isn't he?"

" Yay," the three Weasley boys chorused at once.

Kimmy smiled broadly. " Wonderful. We'll take you to get your tux right after lunch, then. Hermione, do you want to come along?"

Hermione shook her head quickly. " I'm not feeling too well..." she admitted honestly.

Mrs. Weasley frowned. " I hope it's not serious."

" No," Hermione assured her quickly, " I'm just a bit nauseous, is all."

Was it just her imagination, or had Kimmy smiled at that last statement?

Harry looked up at Hermione for the first time that afternoon. " I'm not feeling too great, either," he informed her. " We can go back to the Burrow together."

If Kimmy had been smiling before, there was no trace of that now. " But, Harry, we need to make those last adjustments on your suit..."

" Ron's my size," Harry reminded her. " He can stand in for me." He rose to his feet and looked at Hermione questioningly. " Ready?"

A moment later, they were out at the curb, heading toward an unfamiliar car. Hermione looked at it dubiously as Harry climbed into the passenger seat. " Harry, I didn't know you could drive."

" Kimmy taught me," he informed her. " Her parents are staunch Muggles and wanted to make sure I'd fit into their world. It isn't so bad, really."

They drove in silence back to the Burrow. Hermione had absolutely no idea what Harry was thinking. True, he'd seemed rather upset about her engagement, but so did Ron, Fred, and George; Draco sort of had that effect upon people. Still, it had seemed to her that she had seen some sort of spark in Harry's eye. Jealousy? Anger? Surprise? She couldn't be certain.

" Hermione," Harry said finally, " I really don't know what to say."

*You and me both,* Hermione thought to herself.

Harry glanced over at her, searching her face. " I would never have really paired you and Draco together," he admitted.

Hermione shrugged, searching for the right words. " Well, opposites attract, you know..." She laughed, though it sounded utterly forced, even to her own ears.

Harry pulled the car to the side of the rode abruptly, much to the annoyance of the cars behind him, who honked their horns rather loudly. Ignoring them, he turned to Hermione and looked at her intently. " Hermione, listen, I think I know what's going on."

" You do?" Hermione inquired, her voice tinged with panic. " Harry, I can explain, honestly..."

Harry reached out and took her hands. " You don't have to go through with this. If it's an issue of money, you know that I'll support you."

She stared at him, taken aback. " Money?"

" I don't know what Malfoy's told you," Harry spat bitterly, " but there are other ways around this. You don't have to marry him just because you're pregnant. I'll take care of you, and your baby, too."

Hermione's mouth barely gaped open for a few moments, unable to form logical words. " Pregnant?" she stammered finally. " Harry, I am NOT pregnant."

" You're not?" Harry said, and his voice was tinged with hopelessness now. "Then...why?"

Hermione was trying to think of a plausible lie, but she couldn't help but hear Harry's words echoing in her mind. "I'll take care of you", he'd said. "Honestly, Harry, you're too good to be true," she said, as tears spilled down her cheeks.

Harry reached out and took her into his arms. " I'm sorry, Hermione, I guess I just don't understand...I want the best for you. You deserve the best."

His arms were so warm and his touch was so sweet and he smelled so good...She wished that she could melt into his embrace, that they'd never have to part again and that she could freeze the world like Draco had and it would just be her and Harry, forever in each other's arms. She wanted so much to tell him, to let him know that she loved him and always would.

Instead, she found herself saying, " I can't explain it really, Harry. Sometimes you just do strange things for love..."

***

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