A/N: This next chapter came quite easily after the past one, as the plot has (finally) begun to move forward. I really tried to delve into my OCs: namely, Adrian and Ben. Tell me what you think!
Chapter Thirteen
Harry stood in his bedroom, carefully examining his reflection in the mirror. He straightened his clean green T-Shirt (one that Mrs. Weasley had given him for Christmas), ran his fingers through his hair, and dusted off his jeans. They were his old ones, but they would do. He pinched the bridge of his nose thoughtfully, putting down his comb and reflecting over the day's events. Hermione would either bring it up instantly at dinnertime or completely avoid talking about it.
He shook his head.
There were moments when he wondered if he and Ron had been a little too successful in giving her a bit of an impulsive streak. He turned his head to the side, listening for the telltale sounds of Ron in the kitchen-the fridge opening and closing busily, and Pig hooting happily. By the sounds of it, the little owl was also industriously crashing into anything that could possibly shatter upon impact.
He hooked his thumbs in his jeans and strode out of the bedroom into the kitchen. Ron was lounging at the kitchen table, feet propped up on the table edge. In one had he wielded a clean spoon, in the other, a large and (as far as Harry could tell) nearly empty carton of chocolate ice cream.
"Off to dinner at Hermione's, then?" Ron said lazily as Harry headed toward the fireplace. "Have fun."
Harry turned around.
"You're not coming?"
With relish, Ron slowly licked melting ice cream off the spoon. He shook his head, smirking at Harry and examining his reflection in the spoon.
"No, I reckon she'd rather be alone with you," he said casually. Harry spluttered.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded, feeling his cheeks burn. Ron put down the now-gleaming untensil and tipped the carton so that the remainder of the ice cream trickled into his gaping mouth.
"Reckon I'll let you unravel that one by yourself." Ron said smugly, winking. "Or ask Hermione to do it for you."
Harry stared at him incredulously. The room suddenly seemed rather hot. " We won't be alone, anyway-- you've been talking to Ginny again, haven't you?"
Ron swung his feet down from the table, standing up and heading toward the fridge. Pig hooted and swooped around Harry's head, nearly smacking into him every time he neared his glasses.
"You know, the funny thing about sisters is," Ron commented, popping the lid off the milk carton, "They drive you mad with all their talking, but then you realize that a lot of what they're saying makes sense."
He paused, thinking as he took a swig of milk.
"Sometimes, anyway," he said, rolling his eyes, "Do you know, she's always bringing Luna around lately. Gives me these looks when I don't say hello to her, but I'm never sure if she can hear me or not."
Harry shrugged.
"Girls are strange," he commented, grateful that Ron had, at least for the time being, let Hermione go. Ron nodded in solemn agreement.
"You said it there, mate."
Harry glanced at his watch.
"I'd better get going," he said after a moment. "I wouldn't want to be late."
When he arrived by Floo a few moments later, Hermione's flat was surprisingly calm. Ben and Adrian were sitting at the kitchen table, engaged in what looked like a game of Monopoly.
He walked over to the kitchen table, watching as Ben tossed the dice to the table, and moved ten spaces down the board. Adrian looked up as he did.
"Hey, Harry," he said with a slight grin. "We're playing Monopoly. Want to play?"
He pointed at a stack of money and cards at one side of the board.
"Hermione was playing, but she said she had to get dinner ready. Her things are all there, though. I've been playing for her, too."
Harry regarded the board dubiously. Ben nudged Adrian.
"Your turn."
He looked slightly less content than Adrian did. There was a shadow of trouble that hovered over the corners of his eyes, and he looked rather sickly in the warm light of Hermione's sunny kitchen.
"I'm buying Boardwalk." Adrian announced, "Are you playing or not?"
Harry took a seat beside Ben.
"I'm not sure I know how to play," he admitted, taking the dice that Ben handed him. Adrian shrugged.
"Neither did we, until Hermione taught us. She's got loads of games in her closet-we've already played checkers this afternoon."
"Does she?" Harry tried not to sound surprised. Hermione didn't quite seem the sort for board games.
"Do I what?" Hermione's voice came from behind him. She dropped a kiss in his hair as she passed, and Harry looked down quickly, pretending to examine the money as he felt his cheeks heat up.
"Does she do that every time she sees you?" Adrian asked curiously. "Hey, look-you've got a Chance card."
Hermione rinsed her hands in the sink, saying over her shoulder, "Where's Ron?"
"Er… he can't make it." Harry said, "I have to pay both of you five hundred?"
Ben took the card and scanned it.
"Yeah," he said, sticking the card back on the bottom of the pile, "but you collect two hundred for passing Go."
As Harry passed the two boys the allotted amount of money, Hermione tapped the stove with her wand and questioned, "What's his excuse this time?"
"He hasn't got one." Harry said, somewhat honestly, "He reckons we'd be all right without him."
"Is that what he said?" Hermione sounded mildly surprised. "Well, that's an odd thing to say, even for him. Ben, do you need something to drink?"
"No, I'm fine." Ben said, avoiding Hermione's gaze. "Adrian, trade you for Tennessee Avenue?"
Adrian considered, wrinkling his nose as he thought. He glanced down at his deeds, then shook his head decisively.
"No."
Ben shrugged and moved his piece forward three spaces.
"Well, that means I don't need to make as much, I suppose," Hermione remarked, taking down a cutting board and chopping up an onion. "Honestly, I'm not sure how Mrs. Weasley did it all those years-all those boys seemed to have Ron's appetite. I can't imagine cooking for nine for so long-"
Adrian tilted his head.
"Well, I suppose you will be cooking for nine soon," he reasoned thoughtfully, "Me, Ben, those three girls, the two boys, you, and Harry. You owe me, Ben!"
Hermione fell silent, looking somewhat unnerved.
"I suppose you're right," she said rather faintly, after a pause. She resumed chopping up the onion in thoughtful (or, by the look on her face, mildly terrified) silence.
About two hours after dinner, Hermione led the two boys to her study. Harry followed, finding that she had set up two small cots with pillows, sheets, and blankets.
"I've washed your things," she said to them, passing them freshly laundered and mended pajamas. "Your toothbrushes are in the bathroom-get ready for bed and I'll be back to say good night in a moment."
"Thanks," the boys said together, and Hermione shut the door to the study. She looked at Harry, let out a breath, and headed back to the kitchen. He followed her back, saying quietly, `Are you all right?"
She began washing the dishes in silence. Harry refrained from pointing out that she could do it by magic, and instead dried the plates she handed to him.
"You really seem to know what you're doing," he ventured, "With them, I mean. Adrian and Ben."
When she didn't reply, he went on, "I mean, even Ben seemed happier than before. Obviously he's still, you know, grieving over his family, but Adrian seems to love you and-"
She shook her head slowly.
"Hermione?"
She muttered something under her breath, still shaking her head.
"What?"
"I've gone mad," she said faintly, nearly shattering a glass as she slammed it on to the counter top. "Completely mad."
"So what else is new?" he tried to joke, but when she merely looked torn between outrage and misery, he backpedaled. "Hermione, it was a joke-what's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing," Hermione said, nearly dropping a dish. Her hands were shaking; whether with outrage or with fear, Harry couldn't tell. "I've only just taken responsibility for seven children ranging from three to ten and accepted a full-time apprenticeship at St. Mungo's at the same time; no, everything's perfect-"
Her face was pale, and though she seemed to be trying to look angry, she only succeeded in looking terrified.
"Hermione," he said quietly, reaching out and taking her soapy hands in his. "you'll be fine. Things will work out."
"How can I do this?" she cried, staring up at him with wide eyes, "I've never been a babysitter before, much less a mother! How on earth am I supposed to take care of over half a dozen children on my own? And apart from that, how on earth am I supposed to support them? I haven't got a steady income-and I'll be studying, for Merlin's sake-"
"Hermione."
She stopped short when he spoke. He looked at her, desperate to reassure her.
"Listen, Hermione, you're not alone. I'm a part of this too; I want to help."
He paused.
"I just got a job, you know."
Her eyes widened, and she gazed at him in shock.
"Kingsley's letting me form an official D.A.," he explained, enjoying the dumbfounded look on her face, "It's completely separate from the Ministry, but it'll help people learn to defend themselves even beyond the normal stuff you learn at school. I didn't want the money, at first, but he reckons I deserve a higher salary, for some reason-and now I can help you."
"Oh, Harry," she breathed in wonder, her hands tightening around his. "Harry, that's a wonderful idea! And you'll be a teacher!"
He grinned.
"I take it you approve of the idea?"
"Approve?" she beamed, all traces of fear disappearing, "It's wonderful!"
She threw her arms around his chest and hugged him tightly. He grinned happily, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"I want to help you, Hermione. And I'm sure Molly does, too." He paused. "It's a great thing you're doing, even I can tell."
She drew back suddenly.
"I have to say good night to the boys," she said, studying him carefully. "But I don't want you to use your money trying to-"
"I want to. Final word, Miss Granger," he said sternly, and she flashed him a quick, sheepish smile.
"Then… thank you, Harry. A thousand times over. I'll try and pay you back someday, I-"
"Oh, no, you won't," he interrupted. "I care about those kids just as much as you do, Hermione. It's just as much my idea as it is yours."
She smiled again, and her eyes fluttered closed as he bent and kissed her cheek.
As he drew back, he couldn't help but smile when her eyes remained closed for a few seconds after his lips touched her cheek.
He brushed aside that insistent curl of hair and she turned away quickly, blushing.
She hurried toward the study, cracking the door open cautiously and knocking softly on the door. The lights were still dim.
She crept in quietly, with Harry standing at the doorway, then noticed Ben sitting on the floor next to his cot. He was staring intently at the candle in front of him, passing his finger quickly through the flickering, pale white flame.
Hermione stopped by Adrian's cot. Adrian was already fast asleep, and she bent and kissed his forehead, murmuring a quiet good night. Ben looked up at that, his troubled features looking even more shadowed in the light of the flickering flame.
"You're not my mum, you know. And not his, either." He spoke after a pause. Hermione hesitated, then gently touched his shoulder.
"I know I'm not, Ben. I'm not trying to be."
Ben looked at her, then spoke again, this time in a whisper.
"But you are," he said, passing his whole hand through the flame again. "You're going to try to adopt us, aren't you? I heard Healer Smitt saying something like that to the others. Before we left."
She knelt beside him.
"I'm just going to give you a home until we can find you a place to be happy-you and Adrian," she said gently, and Harry could see her eyes glow as she spoke. It seemed she, too, had been struggling with exactly what she was trying to do. "If that's with me, fine. If that's with someone else-that's fine, too. Anywhere that you think you and Adrian could be happiest."
Ben's blue eyes glinted almost eerily in the candlelight.
"But Mum's never coming back, and that's enough to make everything miserable," was all he said, in a painfully flat, colorless voice. "I don't know if Adrian even cares anymore. He loves you more than Mum, and it's only been a day."
Hermione glanced over at Adrian.
"I'll never replace your mum, Ben," she said quietly, "not in Adrian's heart, and not in yours. I wouldn't want to. But it's not a matter of replacement at all- it's just creating a new space for someone else."
She took his hand.
"Come along, then. Bed."
He allowed her to help him into bed. She tucked the blankets under his chin and looked him in the eyes.
"Good night, Ben." She bent down and kissed his forehead softly. "Sweet dreams."
As she drew back, Ben asked suddenly, "Is it true you know the song?"
She looked at him blankly.
"The song?"
"The lullaby. The one about the horses," he said. Hermione nodded, taken aback.
"Mum used to sing that to us," he said in a drowsy voice, "Adrian said you sang that to him-when you found… when…"
He choked on the words and fell silent, looking embarrassed. He looked away and turned over in bed abruptly, causing the sheets to rustle loudly. Harry thought he could hear his voice break as he spoke.
"Good night."
Hermione came and stood by Harry at the doorway, looking into the dim room at Ben's blond head. Her eyes softened in a way Harry had never seen them do before-in a tender, gentle way that was so different from the brisk practicality that defined her behavior normally. He felt a lump form in his throat
"Good night, Ben."
She shut the door, and Harry smiled at her, the lump dislodging enough for him to joke hoarsely, "What was that you were saying about not knowing how to handle kids?"
She turned, and her eyes glistened with tears, making her eyes look twice as bright.
He reached out and embraced her tightly. For a moment, he felt himself relax fully-she felt so comfortable in his arms; her warmth seemed to reach every part of him through the smallest amount of contact. She smelled vaguely of parchment, and he could swear he smelled the faint scent of vanilla lingering about her hair.
"Hermione, that was… you were-were perfect," he said, leaning his cheek against her hair, "I may not know a lot about parenting, but Merlin, you're going to be a fantastic mother someday."
She smiled against his collarbone. A shiver went through him as her lips moved with her next words, brushing across his skin.
"Thank you, Harry. I hope so."
-->