Disclaimer: All things pertaining to Harry Potter are the property of J. K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books/Scholastic Press and Warner Bros. I just like to play with them!
A/N: Hello again and thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I understand that some people no longer wish to read this story due to the Hermione/Draco twist in the previous chapter, which is fair enough...each to their own. It's not my intention as an author to force this story on anyone who doesn't enjoy reading it, but it's also not my intention to change what happens in a story because of a few bad reviews. I just go where my muse takes me and some of the best stories I've read are those that throw in a twist. A special thank you to those of you who are sticking with the story, even if reading the last chapter made you feel a bit nauseas. Anyways, you know what to do...
A/N#2: Also, in my mind, it seemed a little unfair that Harry was sleeping with both Hermione and Ginny and Hermione was being totally faithful to Harry. Maybe he deserves a little taste of his own medicine to see how much it hurts when the person you love is also sleeping with someone else...and who better than his arch enemy?
I solemnly swear that I am up to no good...
***
Love is born of faith, lives on hope, and dies of charity.
Anon
`Hermione? Hermione! Hermione!'
Hermione swatted Luna's hand away from her face in irritation and turned to look at her unamused friend.
`What? Luna, why are you shouting at me?'
In answer Luna rolled her eyes. `Cause you seem to be in a world of your own. Where is that exactly?' she asked laughing.
Hermione had been preoccupied ever since they had arrived at the Leaky Cauldron and she wanted to know why.
`Nowhere.'
`Uh-huh. What's wrong?' As always Luna got straight to the point.
`Nothing's wrong. Why would you think there's something wrong?' Hermione replied defensively thinking about both Draco and Harry.
`Well, let's see. You drank your Butterbeer faster than Ronald can devour a chocolate frog, which you know is fast, and then you preceded to order and down a Firewhiskey, which you never drink. Something is definitely wrong. Come on, you have to tell me, I'm your friend.'
Unable to keep it in any longer, and knowing how persistent Luna could be, Hermione reluctantly whispered, `You have to promise that you won't tell anyone. Especially Harry and Ginny.'
Almost immediately a broad smile lit up Luna's face. `Wow, it must be something big if you don't want to tell Harry."
`I slept with Draco last night.'
Luna gasped `You slept with Draco Malfoy? How did that happen?'
`We've, uh, gotten friendly lately, you know because of work. And he helped me move into my apartment.'
`Really? Wow. Okay, I want to know everything about your new best friend.' Luna leaned forward expectantly as Hermione blushed and looked away.
`Who's Hermione's new best friend?'
Both Hermione and Luna looked up in surprise to find a glowing Ginny and a strange and uncomfortable looking Harry standing hand in hand beside their table. Luna grinned up at them.
`Sorry, Ginny. It's a secret. Hi Harry.' Ginny barely even registered Luna's response.
`Fine by me. I have my own news anyway. Hermione, I was right! They confirmed it!'
As soon as the words spilled from Ginny's mouth, Hermione felt herself getting dizzy and her stomach lurching violently. Her worst fears had come true.
`Confirmed what?' Oblivious, Luna looked at each of them in turn, waiting for an answer, which she soon got.
`I'm six weeks pregnant!' Ginny beamed excitedly.
`Pregnant?' Luna replied at a loss for words as Hermione suddenly stood up and looking deathly pale backed unsteadily away from them all.
`Um…excuse me. I'll be right back. I just have to go…'
Ginny was pregnant with Harry's child. It was all over.
Quickly she made her way to the bathroom before her friends could see her tears. What would she do now? Slamming the door shut behind her she leaned against it and struggled to breathe. Both her mind and her heart were racing erratically. Everything seemed far away and blurred and she had the terrible urge to throw up. There was no way she could return to the table. Almost in hysterics, she left the bathroom and stumbled out of the side entrance of the pub only to hear Harry calling her name.
`Hermione! Hermione, come back! Don't run away like this!'
Ignoring his pleas, Hermione awkwardly removed her heels and holding them in her hands she ran down the dark alleyway. Unperturbed, Harry followed her into the alley which led onto the Charing Cross Road.
`Leave me alone! Just leave me alone.'
Walking as fast as she could Hermione didn't look back, in fact she didn't see anything as she hurriedly crossed the busy street, slipping dangerously in between cars.
`Hermione, I'm sorry…'
Running after her, Harry didn't spot it until it was too late and he was unable to do anything as the car slammed into her.
***
There are no guarantees. From the viewpoint of fear, none are strong enough. From the viewpoint of love, none are necessary.
Anon
`She's incredibly lucky. If that Muggle contraption had been going just five miles faster…'
Hermione scowled. For exactly fifteen minutes the healer had been explaining her `condition' to a very concerned Luna and Ginny and completely ignoring her.
`When can I go home?'
All three turned to stare at her in surprise and Hermione glared at the healer. She was studiously avoiding looking at Harry and the situation was not helped by Luna and Ginny both being claustrophobically anxious about her. The only silver lining to the whole mess was that nobody had yet asked her why she had been running away from the restaurant in the first place. She repeated her question more loudly.
`When…can I go…home?'
There was an uncomfortable pause as the healer registered the determination in her eyes and struggled to answer.
`Miss Granger, I really think…that it would be, um, unwise, to allow you home. You sustained extensive injuries and while we've been able to fix the broken bones in your leg, you really should, um, remain in the hospital for a couple of days for, uh, observation…'
As his words trailed off, Hermione furiously ripped the hospital sheets from her body and attempted to get up, wincing. Clearly the magical ointment they'd used on her extensive collection of bruises and cuts had yet to fully work its charm.
`You can't keep me here. I can discharge myself if I want to. And I want to go home right now!'
`What's going on here?'
Looking up Hermione smiled at the sight of a very cool, calm and collected Draco leaning confidently against the doorway. Harry, who was stood with his wife at the far side of the hospital room came out of the daze-like state that he had been in ever since he had witnessed Hermione's accident, as he watched him walk over to Hermione, sit beside her on the bed and gently kiss her forehead.
`Hey babe, I came as soon as I heard. How you feeling?' Resting her head against his chest Hermione immediately forgot her earlier regrets about sleeping with him as she was overcome with gratitude and relief. Draco would help her get away from Ginny and Harry.
`I just want to go home but they won't let me,' she murmured as Draco wrapped his arms protectively round her slim shoulders.
`Shhh... it's okay. I'll get everything sorted. We'll have you out of here in no time,' he replied firmly, giving the doctor an evil look.
Carefully disentangling himself, Draco stood up and walked out of the room, stopping briefly to kiss Hermione on the cheek.
Without saying a word to anyone, Harry followed and called out when they were some distance from Hermione's room. `Malfoy! I wanna talk to you!'
Curiously Draco turned to face his former enemy. `What do you want?' he asked.
Harry's voice was loaded with menace when he replied, `To tell you to stay the hell away from Hermione, that's what. I don't want you anywhere near her. You got a problem with that?'
***
`I didn't know what hate felt like, not the hate that comes after love. It's huge and desperate and it longs to be proved wrong. And every day it's proved right it grows a little more monstrous. If the love was passion, then hate will be obsession.'
`The Passion' by Jeanette Winterson
Shoulder to shoulder the two men glowered at each other. Neither noticed the bustle of healers and patients who slowed to watch them. The tension in the air, not to mention the body language, said it all.
`Yeah I have a problem with that. I also have a problem with you sticking your nose in my business,' Malfoy stated angrily. 'What is your problem anyway, Potter? Jealous? You guys have been friends since school - if you wanted her, you had plenty of opportunities back then, but you only eyes for little Ginevra. And now that she's found somebody she wants to be with, while you're off playing happy families, you can't handle it.'
Shaking his head Malfoy crossed his arms over his chest and laughed cruelly which only caused to enrage Harry even more.
`You know nothing about me and Hermione. But I know all about you. You may have fooled the rest of the world into believing you've changed, but I haven't forgotten who you really are. And I will not stand by and let you hurt Hermione.'
The words came out as more of an animal growl than a human response but Draco heard him loud and clear and narrowing his eyes answered with false amusement, `You think I'm scared of you, Potter. The only reason I'm not gonna hex you for what you just said is because you're her best friend and that's it. But mess with me again and I won't be so nice.'
Instead of backing away, Harry got even closer to his rival and for the first time Malfoy seemed to take his threats seriously.
`Keep putting the moves on Hermione and not only will I mess with you again, but I'll give you another taste of my Sectumsempra, and this time Snape won't be around to heal you.'
At the back of Harry's mind, he realised what an idiot he was being, but Malfoy had always been able to rub him up the wrong way. And he was also having one of the worst days of his life. The image of Hermione's body being thrown through the air kept replaying in slow motion over and over in his head, and even worse Ginny's voice telling him that she was pregnant accompanied it. He felt like he was going mad.
Draco's next words made him feel a million times worse.
`Putting the moves on her? You haven't worked it out yet have you? Hmm. Funny. I would've thought…' Pausing he shook his head slightly and then continued with obvious glee, leaning close to Harry's ear to whisper. `I'm past putting the moves on her. I'm sleeping with her. And you know what? She's a little tiger between the sheets. Looks like you really missed out, huh?'
In that instant Harry saw red. The image in his head of Hermione being run over was immediately replaced by that of her and Malfoy naked, making love. And before he even knew what he was doing, he had pulled out his wand and yelled, `Stupefy!'
Several things happened at once. Malfoy ducked and pulled out his wand and Harry prepared to defend himself. But at that moment Ron arrived and seeing what was going on quickly disarmed both men with a flick of his wand, just as Ginny came round the corner and spotting her husband cried out, `Harry, what are you doing?'
What answer could he possibly give her?
***
Rain fell last night, quiet, gentle rain, that tapped against my window pane. And called me back from troubled sleep, to soothe a heart too numb to weep. My loneliness was too deep and real, and like a wound that would not heal. It throbbed within me, and I knew, my arms were empty without you.
Anon
When Hermione woke up, she found that both her cheeks and her pillow were wet with tears. She was not surprised. She had cried herself to sleep every night since the first time that she and Harry had made love, in the bed that she lay in now. He had had to leave her to go home to his wife, to make love to his wife, while she remained alone, lying beside the empty space he had occupied, consumed with guilt and hope, fear and love.
It had been six months since that night and three months since her accident. Three months since she had last seen Harry. That day in the hospital had changed everything. She had heard about Draco and Harry's war of words in great detail from Ginny. She had even told Hermione that she was lucky because in Ron, Harry and Neville, she had three men who would do anything for her. The bond of a shared adolescence, Ginny had called it. She had even said how sweet Harry was, trying to protect her from Draco's attentions. It never occurred to her that her husband's behaviour was irrational, inappropriate or suspicious. It never occurred to her that his motive was jealousy not friendship.
Glancing across at her alarm clock, Hermione sighed. She didn't need to look. She always woke up at the same time every night, always woke up at one thirty in the morning. And she could never get back to sleep again. The only difference was that this time she had fallen asleep fully dressed. Shivering slightly she sat up. She was alone for once.
Ever since the accident, Draco had cared for her and been there for her in every way. They spent their nights together at either his place or hers, except when he had to work late like tonight. He had been her rock as well as her lover. And in return she had tried hard to love him. She had tried hard to move on with her life without Harry.
Getting up Hermione walked slowly through the shadowy apartment towards her kitchen. Outside it was raining heavily and every so often thunder disrupted the quiet and lightning illuminated the dark. Sitting down at the table she closed her eyes tightly and allowed herself for once to dream of Harry. He had persisted for almost two months, had tried desperately to get her to have something to do with him but to no avail. And anyway, he had his pregnant wife to look after. She could still picture his anguished face though, as Draco had wheeled her out of St Mungo's. Could still hear his last desperate plea on her Floo messaging service.
She may have healed physically but not emotionally.
For some reason she was not surprised when she heard the sudden, quick knock on her door. Nor was she surprised to find Harry stood in the hallway, soaking wet in the middle of the night.
Somehow, deep inside, she had known he was coming.
***
`That you can lose yourself. Everything. All boundaries. All time. That two bodies can become so mixed up, that you don't know who's who or what's what. And just when the sweet confusion is so intense you think you're gonna die…you kind of do. Leaving you alone in your separate body, but the one you love is still there. That's a miracle. You can go to heaven and come back alive. You can go back anytime you want with the one you love.'
Andrew Martin, Bicentennial Man
He looked terrible...there was no other word for it. He was soaked to the skin, his clothes clinging to every inch of his body, his hair was slicked back with the rain except for a single lock, which fell into his right eye. Mud streaked his suit. He was trembling and pale and his eyes were red and swollen from crying. But most worryingly of all, was the ugly cut on his forehead, which seemed to have clotted but had trailed blood down his face and shirt.
A million thoughts raced through Hermione's mind as she stared at him. She didn't have a clue what to say or do. Why had he come? What had he told Ginny? Why was he bleeding? Did he know that Draco could be home at any moment? That she and Draco were practically living together? But in the end all she said was, `What happened?'
Sniffling, Harry answered quietly and intently, taking a step back from her door.
`Ginny and I had a fight. She said that I don't care about the baby or her anymore. It was horrible. I stormed out, not because she was wrong but because she was right! I don't know myself anymore, Hermione, I don't like the person I've become. I lie to my friends and family, my wife! I threatened Malfoy because he went out on one date with you and I prayed to God that Ginny wasn't pregnant with my child. What sort of person does that make me? I didn't mean to come here. I just needed to be somewhere else...anywhere. I Apparated and I guess I wasn't concentrating properly because I very almost splinched myself. Then I realised were I was…don't send me away…please.'
Harry seemed unable to stand still such was the state he was in, but when Hermione stepped out into the corridor and gently took his face in her hands and pressed her lips against his, he became motionless. For a moment it was an innocent kiss, almost a brother-sister kiss. But it soon deepened, enveloping them both as they desperately clung to each other for comfort and so much more.
Twisting her round, Harry easily pressed her up against the wall beside the open door of her flat and refusing to release her mouth from his own, he fumbled with numb, icy cold fingers to undo the buttons of her shirt while Hermione in turn tried unsuccessfully to peel the wet jacket from his shoulders.
When they finally pulled apart, gasping for breath, the feverish look that had been in Harry's eyes was replaced with one of love and leaning his head against hers he whispered hoarsely with closed eyes, `I'm leaving her, Hermione. I'm not going back, I can't. Even if you don't want me…I can't go back…'
Physically incapable of answering, Hermione simply nodded and reaching up undid the rest of the buttons of her shirt. And without another word, Harry reclaimed her mouth with his and circled her waist with one hand, moving the other slowly up her leg and beneath her skirt, pushing it up towards her waist while she tangled her fingers in his hair.
Neither heard the gasp. But they both sensed someone watching them and pulling away they glanced across the corridor to the stairs.
Where Ginny stood.
Her tear filled eyes did not meet Harry's or Hermione's. She was already racing down the stairs, her sobs loud in the sleeping building. And Harry quickly, without a single hesitation, ran after her, calling out her name as he did so, leaving Hermione leaning against the wall, unable to move. She heard both sets of footsteps on the stairs as well as Ginny's yelling and Harry's pleading.
And she heard Ginny suddenly cry out and then the sound of someone falling down the stairs, painfully, and hitting the bottom. And then nothing.
***
Mischief managed!
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