Chapter 19
Hermione wanted to scream. She’d thought driving with Astoria the first time was bad; Draco Malfoy was tenfold worse. She’d expected he’d react somewhat like the Weasley’s did in the car; a bit nervous, a few questions about how things worked. Nope. He’d spent the whole drive hanging on to the door handle like it was a lifeline and shouting about how they were going to die when Harry took a curve or swerved around a slower vehicle. For someone who spent a lot of time on a broom (which was statistically much more dangerous (she’d looked it up once)) and who should have been used to going a lot faster with much more jerky and sudden stops and turns, he sure was a chicken. When they finally arrived at the cinema all she could hear over her silent laughter was him trying to command the door to open. And when Harry opened it for him he was moving faster than the traffic had been to get out. Unfortunately (or hilariously depending on how you looked at it, and she thought it to be the latter) he still had his seat belt on. She burst into giggles while he attempted to remove himself from the strap that was currently trying to strangle him before taking pity on him and unfastening it.
“How have muggles survived so long, travelling in these metal death things?” He asked indignantly as he fought to catch his breath.
“Ah Draco, didn’t know you were coming today or I’d have brought some extra whiskey,” Blaise remarked as he walked up to the four of them, flashing the flask in his pocket briefly. “What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s just had his first cat ride.” Astoria supplied.
“Car.” Harry, Hermione, and Blaise corrected her.
“Right! Sorry. Car ride.” The brunette blushed prettily.
“First and last!” Malfoy exclaimed, having finally rectified himself.
“Nah, mate, you gotta give ‘em a go on the autobahn or somewhere less crowded. And trust me, driving is much better than being a passenger.” The darker man told the blond.
“What is he doing here?” They all turned to see Ginny standing in the middle of the pavement, stock-still and ready to bolt. Hermione and Harry simultaneously pointed to Astoria, wanting no part of the red heads' wrath.
“I invited him.” Astoria shrugged. “You two need to sort out your issues, and it’s much better done with witnesses.” Mione was slightly impressed at the younger girl’s calm logic.
“There’s nothing to sort out. Nothing happened.” Ginny grumbled, folding her arms defensively.
“Nothing happened? I beg to differ, Red. I seem to recall you wanting round two, in fact, after the main event.”
“Would you quit calling me red!” Ginny exclaimed angrily.
“But you’re so cute when you pout.” Blaise teased, recalling the words she’d said the night they’d fallen into bed together.
“Right, Malfoy, Harry, Stori, shall we go get our tickets?” Hermione quietly attempted to give the pair some room to argue out of their friends' prying eyes.
“Sweet Salazar, no! Are you kidding? This is more entertainment than I’ve had in a long time.” Malfoy whispered to her. She noticed, as he did so, that he was standing nearly touching her, completely relaxed and slightly hunched over like a normal person for once. She followed his arm up to his broad shoulders and then to his face and dishevelled hair before her breath caught and she had to force herself to swallow when her throat dried at the sight. When he wasn’t being a total prat he was sort of nice to look at. She wasn’t sure how it kept catching her off guard, that she found him attractive. Even as a school-aged bully she’d always had a tiny crush on him. Oh she’d never fancied his personality, he was a horrid little beast who deserved the punches she and Ron had thrown at him over the years, but he’d always been pretty in an elegant sort of way. In fourth year especially, she’d fantasized about his features if only they’d been on someone else. The straight aristocratic nose, the sharp jawline, the toned muscles that showed under his quidditch uniform and the perfectly tailored suits he wore. It was really rather unfortunate that he was such a slimy git because otherwise, he could have easily been a dream come true to be paired with. But, she reminded herself, he wasn’t. He was a (slightly less than he used to be) bigot, he had very little human decency to extend to anyone outside of his social class, and their history helped get her mind off of the fact that she found him attractive. He caught her eyes with a slight smirk and she forced herself to hold his gaze; challenging him with a raised brow instead of turning away in embarrassment like her body screamed at her to do.
“Look, you made it perfectly clear that you had moved on from me. And despite what you may believe, I did not rig the ministry to pair us together.” Ginny explained with deadly seriousness. “What we had has been over for a long time, I’m sorry I brought it up. I’m sorry I fell into bed with you again, which probably makes you think I’ve in some way confirmed your theory. I’ve been avoiding you to try and give you space so you don’t think I’m some clingy ex-girlfriend wanting to rehash everything we did or didn’t have.”
“Are you really sorry?” Blaise asked her as he stepped into her space, looking down at her with enough tension Hermione could feel it across the room. “Because from where I stand, having sex with you just reaffirmed all the things I thought we had at Hogwarts.”
“What?”
“Ginevra, you make me feel things I’ve never felt with anyone else. I’ve been chasing it in random models and girls I meet in bars trying to recapture a fraction of what we had together. Tesoro, the passion we have for each other hasn’t gone anywhere, and I want to make a real go of this with you. In the open this time. You said you wished we’d been open with each other about what we were to one another, right? Well, I am telling you, back then you were the greatest love of my life. I would have given you the world if you’d only asked. And now? I know I fucked this up, I’ve had my head up my arse about this because of some schoolboy heartache. But I want you. Sexually, romantically, in every way you’ll let me have you. I promise to give you everything we ever talked about having in the past, and so much more. If you’ll only give me a chance.” Hermione nearly let out an audible ‘awe’ at the words he spoke to her friend.
“How long did you rehearse that one?” Ginny questioned, unaffected by his declarations.
“Longer than a man should admit.” He smirked at her.
“If you ever treat me like rubbish again, I’ll hex your penis so that it will only get hard at the thought of old men and polar bears.”
“If I ever treat you like that unjustified again, I’ll hand you the wand.”
“Well, that was disappointing. And mildly disturbing. I was waiting for an all-out screaming match. You’ve lost your touch, mate.” Malfoy drawled to his friend, an unimpressed look on his face.
“I thought that was incredibly romantic, Blaise,” Astoria cooed.
“Let’s go get our tickets, yeah?” Harry asked, clearing his throat to break up the sexual tension hanging in the air.
“What are we seeing?” Ginny asked as she started walking in, her beguiled Romeo standing still for a moment longer.
“Spider-Man,” Harry answered as they stepped into the queue.
“Spider-Man? Is that like an Arachnes?” Malfoy asked curiously, looking around for the mutant hybrid.
“No, it’s based on a comic book about a boy who gets bitten by a radioactive spider and gains superpowers,” Hermione informed him.
“What are those things?”
“Which things?”
“Comet books and radical action and superpowers.”
“Comic books,” she corrected him as they moved to the popcorn stand, “are books with lots of illustrated pictures in them-”
“Like a field guide or like a children’s book?”
“Um... More like a children’s book but a lot of teenagers like to read them because they’re normally more complex than children’s stories. Radioactivity is a little harder to explain because I’m not a scientist so I don’t study it, but the best I can describe it as is matter that makes electricity work, and power’s x-rays, and makes things glow.”
“What’s eccentricity and hex rays?”
“Electricity and x-rays. Three large popcorns, six medium fizzy drinks, a pack of Minstrels, and a pack of Jelly Babies, please.” She told the man at the register as she dug into her purse for her wallet.
“Here,” Malfoy said distractedly as he handed over his credit card. “Add two Aero bars as well. What are electricity and x-rays ?” He reiterated as he turned to Mione.
“I could have paid, you know.” She grumbled as she put her purse away. That was twice now he’d paid while they were out together. She’d have to start getting quicker pulling out her readies. “Electricity is what’s running- thank you, running everything around us. All the machines and the lights.” She said as she started collecting all of the treats, thankful Malfoy was still with her instead of locating the seats with the others. His added arm space made it possible to carry nearly everything at once (with some wandless magic to help out without alerting the muggles). “It’s sort of like magic, it moves through everything and creates power. And those little metal things on the wall that all the black chords are running out of? Those are called wall sockets and they act like wands sort of. They direct the electricity into a specific place so all of the chords can take it back for the machines to use. X-rays are a little harder to explain because those are specific to scientists as well, but basically, it works as a sort of camera that lets you see your bones without any skin or organs or anything. There are other versions of x-rays that are more advanced and show you other things but that’s the most basic version of it.”
“What are you talking about?” Harry asked as Mione and Malfoy found their seats (she assumed she had Astoria to thank for seating her between Harry and Malfoy).
“I’m trying to explain x-rays because he asked about radioactivity.” She answered handing out the popcorn and drinks and giving Harry his Jelly Babies. “Malfoy this is your seat, you can sit down.”
“Why are there so many people? And why are these chairs so small?”
“Because it’s a theatre. You’ve seen shows before, haven’t they had the same seating as this?”
“Mother, Father, and I always get a box so I wouldn’t know what other people sit in. Don’t they have a box we can sit in here?”
“No, this is it I’m afraid. You’ll have to make do.”
“You still haven’t explained superpowers.” He grumbled and scowled before gingerly sitting in the folding chair, looking afraid it might eat him.
“Right,” she acknowledged as she took a sip of her drink. “Well, basically superpowers are magic but for very specific muggles. They can make someone really strong, strong enough even to lift a house, or really stretchy. Sometimes it lets them shapeshift like a werewolf but without any pain and anytime they want with the ability to keep their minds. All kinds of different things really, muggles are very creative.”
“Muggles can really do those things?” He asked sceptically as he took a bite of popcorn.
“Nah, mate. It’s fictional. Muggles make up stories about people who can do those things, but it’s not real.” Blaise assured him as the room started getting dark.
“Where’s the stage? I don’t see a curtain they can lift.”
“No, the big white thing along the wall in front of us is a screen. We’ll be able to see the film on that.” Hermione whispered as the ads started.
“See what? What exactly is a film?” Malfoy asked exasperatedly. Mione noticed a few of the patrons in front of them turning to give him a dirty look.
“You’ll have to keep your voice lowered or we’ll get kicked out.” She reminded him. “And a film is like a wizard’s picture. Muggle pictures are stationary and don’t move right? And wizards, their pictures show a few moments of time as they’re happening with movement. This is kind of the muggle version of that. Except they’ve used science to find a way to make it much longer than a few moments, and you can hear sounds and dialect like you would at a theatre with much more clarity.”
“Oh. Why’s it so loud?” He said, enthralled as a commercial for snacks came on with an animated bee. Soon enough the movie started, and Hermione was glad to see him leaned forward (snacks and question forgotten) as he watched the screen. “What’s that coming out of his wrists?”
“Shhh!” A few people turned to say to him.
“They’re spider webs,” Hermione whispered quietly, hoping he’d get the hint and keep his voice down.
“Wait, isn't that the guy he just let go?” He asked a little while later.
“Shhhh!”
“Yes, Malfoy. Can you please ask your questions after the film is done?” She reprimanded him as Harry, Ginny, and Blaise chuckled softly.
“What’s Thanksgiving?”
“SHHHHH!”
“Malfoy!” Hermione whispered.
“Sorry,” he replied quieter finally. “What is it though?”
“It’s a US holiday about when the country was colonized. Now please stop talking.” They continued watching thankfully in silence.
“HUH!” The theatre gasped as the Green Goblin was impaled by his glider. Mione looked over to see Astoria hiding her face in Harry’s shoulder while he absentmindedly rubbed her shoulders, and Ginny was white-knuckling the chair with her mouth agape while Blaise just blinked and shook his head at the events unfolding on the screen. She was pleasantly surprised when Malfoy refrained from asking her about or commenting on what had just happened. She was more surprised when she realized she’d been relaxing into his side on her chair. She straightened herself, grateful that he was so consumed by the film that he didn’t seem to notice.
“Whatever life holds in store for me, I will never forget these words: With great power comes great responsibility. This is my gift. My curse. Who am I? I’m Spider-Man.”
The lights slowly came back on and Hermione stood up, casually stretching and popping her back as the seats started to empty.
“That was so cool!” Astoria exclaimed after a few moments. “I didn’t know muggles could levitate themselves! And how was that spider silk strong enough to hold a fully grown human man?” She chattered as she and Harry headed out the aisle after Ginny and Blaise (who were quietly discussing what they did and didn’t like about the movie).
“How did the muggles figure out how to levitate?” Malfoy asked her as they began to descend the stairs.
“They haven’t.” Hermione chuckled softly. “They’ve got a pulley system that has really strong wires that lift the actors up and down to give the illusion that they’re flying or they use a really big lorry that lifts the object they’re standing on up.”
“But I didn’t see any wires.” He told her, confused.
“They were probably edited out by the film supervisor. That’s like the photographer but after they’ve taken the shot they use computer programs to make things look nicer. They erase wires, or fix flyaway hair, or enhance what the actors are saying so that you can hear them over the crowds or the wind.”
“What’s a computer? Granger, why is that all day you’ve seemed to be talking in riddles?” He questioned, exasperated that he had to keep demanding answers from her.
“Malfoy I’m not an expert on all this stuff. Just because I grew up as a muggle doesn’t mean I know everything. A computer is something I really can’t explain to you without it sitting right in front of us because you wouldn’t understand any part of the explanation.” She told him as she threw her rubbish away.
“I’m not an imbecile, Granger. Don’t treat me like one. Just because I’m confused about all of this doesn’t mean I am in any way stupid, as you seem to enjoy implying.”
“What? When did I say that?”
“You just told me I wouldn’t understand something. That seems to be a pretty clear indication of what you believe my mental capabilities to be.”
“That has nothing to do with it! I can’t explain it because you’ve literally never heard of half the components I would need to use in said explanation.”
“I’m trying, Granger!”
“I know you are, but can’t you ask someone else this stuff and get short with them? Harry can answer your questions too. I don’t know everything! And I don’t have the capability to metaphorically dumb it down enough to let you understand.”
“So you are calling me dumb?”
“No!”
“Whatever,” Malfoy snapped as he stormed past her. Hermione wanted to bash her head into the wall, it seemed like it’d be less painful than this vocal merry-go-round she and Malfoy were on.
“Malfoy, wait, you’re taking this completely the wrong way.”
“No, I think I understand exactly what you’re saying. Your muggle ways are so superior that my tiny pure-blood brain couldn’t possibly understand them, right?”
“When did either of us bring up your blood status?” She asked, her own blood starting to boil as they edged the dangerous territory of his old torments.
“Well, St. Potter seems to know well enough! I should go ask him, shall I? Because he was raised by muggles as well, so the two of you must be smarter than I am,” he was starting to attract eyes from around the hallway and Hermione really wished their friends hadn’t kept walking without them.
“This has nothing to do with Harry! Why are you so worked up because I can’t tell you what a computer is? This is absolutely ridiculous! It wouldn’t matter if you were a half-blood or a muggle-born either, if you didn’t grow up around this kind of technology it would simply be ludicrous to try and explain it to you without demonstrations or the physical thing in front of us.”
“Thought you knew everything, you pathetic, little-” *SMACK* Her palm collided with his cheek loud enough to quiet down the people milling around them.
“I can not believe you, Draco Malfoy.” She growled as he clutched his cheek.
“Granger, w-”
“So much for that apology, you claimed to have meant. What are you going to say this time, old habits die hard?” She asked as angry tears started to escape her eyes.
“I wasn’t going to say-”
“Yes, you were. Don’t even try to deny it. Let your Mother know I will not be coming over any more this week. I don’t want to see your face ever again, but since that’s not an option I damn well deserve at least that long.” She demanded as she stormed away from him, wiping her cheeks.
“Hermione? What's wrong?” Ginny asked as she neared where her friends had congregated outside of the cinema.
“The damn ferret, that’s what’s wrong.” She grumbled, trying in vain to get the tears to stop.
“What did he do?” Astoria questioned softly as she came over to rub her back.
“It doesn’t matter. Can someone just apparate me home please, before I start bawling out here in the open?”
“Blaise, Harry,” Ginny called as Astoria started guiding them to a secluded spot where they could safely apparate. “We’re going to Grimmauld. Deal with that arsehole, would you? I’ve half a mind to go hex him myself but there are too many muggles around.” She spoke the last part to herself. The three girls piled into a small passage as Ginny and Astoria pulled out their wands.
“Let’s go drink some wine, and you can tell us all about what we need to punish him for, hmm?” Astoria told her friend kindly as they disapparated with a crack.
DRACO'S POV:
He stood in his spot, holding his face and watching her storm away. What in Circe's name is her problem? He thought to himself as he rubbed his cheek. He started to notice people standing around him and sneered as he realized they were glaring at him as though he’d done something wrong. He walked confidently into the loo to see the damage she’d done this time (the woman was sure violent for someone who claimed to care for all sentient life). He was appalled to see that she’d left a raised, bright red handprint on his cheek and looked around quickly before casting a disillusionment charm to hide it. He ran his fingers through his hair, uncomfortably aware of the fact that he wasn’t sure how to get home from here (or at least how to find the nearest apparition point that was safe to use). He was frustrated to the point of physical discomfort. His mother had been annoyingly insistent that he attempt to learn more about his ‘future wife’ and try to learn about the things she liked. She was sure that they’d have a long happy marriage if they both tried. According to her, they had a lot in common. He suspected that she was full of pixie dust. What could he possibly have in common with a bookish, muggle-born, know-it-all? But Narcissa Malfoy was nothing if not persistently pushy when she was trying to get something. So he’d agreed to try and spend some time with Granger today, even going so far as to bribe Stori with her favourite sweets to get him invited to the moving today ( that’s what it had been called, right? ). Everything had been so confusing. The metal-death tin they’d ridden in, the whirling noises around the building, the glass case that somehow got away with creating ‘Pop-Corn’ without being confiscated for using magic in front of muggles (surely that’s what it was right?), and for Merlin’s sake what was that moving picture they’d witnessed? He felt like he’d been thrown into a foreign land with no map and no common tongue to anyone around.
“What the hell did you do, Malfoy?” Potter asked as he barged into the lavatory, Blaise hot on his trail.
“Po- Harry, let me handle this,” Blaise interjected, manoeuvring himself between the blond and the darker haired man. “Draco, what did you do?” He was slightly less accusatory but still condescending.
“What are you two on about? I didn’t do anything. Unlike that witch, who slapped me across my face! At least she didn’t break anything this time.” Draco grumbled.
“Bullshit,” Potter growled, ears tinted red in anger and fingers twitching towards where Draco knew he kept his wand. “Hermione has put up with a lot of Ron and I’s crap for years. She’s very tolerant of a lot of shite she shouldn’t be when it comes to dealing with men. And you managed to piss her off. I warned you at the jeweller not to mess with her. I don’t think I’ve seen her cry in frustration since the Yule Ball and she’s done it over you twice now since this whole mess started!”
“Harry, let me deal with this. Cool off, mate, yeah?” Blaise suggested. Draco raised a brow at the comradery between one of his best mates and the man who’d made his life hell since first year. Luckily, St Potter seemed just as unnerved by it. “Draco, what did you say to make her hit you this time?”
“Nothing! I asked her what a commuter was, and she went batty on me. Accusing me of being a dunce and insinuating I’m too dumb to understand muggle things.”
“Ok, and what did you say in response?”
“I told her I was under the impression she knew everything, so she should be able to explain it to me.”
“Hermione wouldn't lose her temper over that. What did you say exactly? ” Potter growled. Both of the men stared at him expectantly and Draco growled in frustration.
“I said, ‘I thought you knew everything, you pathetic little-’” Potter drew in an angry breath through clenched teeth and Blaise pinched the bridge of his nose. “‘Bookworm.’” Draco finished. “I couldn’t even finish speaking because the bint slapped me before I had the chance.”
“Gee, I wonder why.” Potter ground out dangerously.
“Draco, you do realize why she slapped you, right?”
“What? Why would I know why she slapped me? She’s mental, is what she is! And you’re sounding like you believe she had reason to do it.”
“Malfoy, you’re an idiot,” Potter told him.
“Draco, do you remember how you used to taunt her?” The blond thought back to his school days.
Draco was showing off his new broom. A Nimbus 2001. His father had bought them for the Slytherins to celebrate his son making the team. They’d been on their way to the pitch when they’d run into the Gryffindor team, and he was thrilled that they were so disappointed that their second rate team had to give up the pitch to his more superior one.
“At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way onto the team. They all got in on pure talent.” The muggle-born snit had told him snarkily. His mood was instantly soured. Who did she think she was? He couldn’t believe that she thought that was remotely true. Of course, it may have been in the case of the Weasley twins. They didn’t have two Knuts to rub together as a family. But the rest of them? Of course, they’d bribed their way onto the team. That’s how you got where you wanted to in life. But he didn’t want to deal with her any more than he already was.
“No one asked your opinion, you filthy, little, mudblood.”
Filthy, little, mudblood. Pathetic, little, bookworm. Pathetic, little... Shit . “Fuck.” Draco groaned as he finally realized why she was so upset and why she’d brought up his apology from before.
“Yeah fuck." Potter mocked.
“You need to go explain yourself and apologize, Drake.” The blond cringed at the nickname. Blaise only used it when he was mother hen-ing him, and he believed Draco needed to be talked down to like a tot.
“I’m sure she’ll get over it, it’s not like I actually said that word.” He didn’t even sound believable in his own ears.
“Yeah, right. You know she once went months ignoring Ron and me because she caught us copying her homework? And you don’t even want to know how she reacted when Ron tried to ask her to the Yule Ball. Hermione’s got a vindictive streak a kilometre wide. And you’ve managed to piss her off. If you don’t apologize, she may not talk to you again before the wedding. Hell, she may not even show up. Do you really think they’ll throw her in Azkaban? Because I don’t.” Potter chided, earning another scowl from Malfoy.
“Drake, it’s time to be an adult. You need to explain to her that you were not going to say what she thought you were. Explain what you were going to say and apologize. And find yourself a new insult. Not that you should insult your wife anyway.” Blaise grumbled.
“She’s not my wife, yet,” Draco grumbled as they led him out of the loo.
HERMIONE'S POV:
The girls arrived in the alley around the corner from Grimmauld Place and walked briskly to the home before anyone saw them. When they got inside, Astoria led her to the settee and Ginny grabbed a bottle of wine and a few glasses.
“Ok, talk. What did that prick do?” Ginny asked as they all took a sip from their glasses. Hermione sniffled slightly and Astoria handed her a tissue.
“Thanks,” Hermione said as she tried to clean the tears off of her face and whipped her nose. It was incredibly embarrassing that she still got teary-eyed when she was furious. It made speaking her mind a pain in the arse, especially when the opponent thought they’d hurt her feelings or made her sad. “He didn’t necessarily do anything. But what he said pissed me off, and you know how I get.”
“What did he say?” Astoria asked gently. It was weird how she affected their dichotomy. Normally, when Mione was upset all she had was Ginny feeding her with her own anger or Harry awkwardly trying to understand what was going on and failing miserably around her own emotions. With Stori, it seemed almost maternal how she handled the situation. She was calm, she pushed and prodded but in a caring way that didn’t seem to overstep any boundaries that may be in place. Hermione had noticed it before when the girl had helped her console Ginny the day after she’d had sex with Blaise.
“He was asking me all kinds of questions today, and it was annoying but I was trying not to blow up on him because it was kind of sweet in a rather bizarre way that he wanted to know more about the things around us at the time. Anyway, when we came out of the theatre I was explaining to him about how the director’s edit the film to hide the wires or fix clothes and such on a computer-”
“A what?” Astoria asked, confused.
“It’s a muggle contraption. It kind of looks like a box but doesn’t at the same time. And they have these things called web-sits, that’s what they’re called right, Mione? Anyway, these web-sits let you look at pictures or read all kinds of information about almost anything you can think of or talk to people around the world.” Ginny explained.
“Okay?”
“Well, this is why I was trying to tell Malfoy I can’t just explain what it is. You still have no idea what she’s talking about do you?” Stori shook her head. “That’s because you’ve never seen anything like it before. You have nothing to compare it to, and therefore no way of imagining it or understanding its components. And we were both getting frustrated because he thought I was calling him stupid, which I wasn’t. I was trying to explain why I couldn’t just tell him about a computer without one in front of us. And somehow our blood statuses came up and he was accusing me of implying muggles were in some way superior to pure-bloods because of technology. I told him, ‘no, muggles aren’t necessarily smarter or superior because of technology. Growing up muggle had nothing to do with it. Even muggles who had never seen a computer before wouldn’t understand.’ I was getting fed up with him because he kept twisting my words so I told him to go ask Harry or somebody because I couldn’t rightly tell him. And he said, ‘I thought you knew everything, you pathetic, little, mudblood.’” The other girls gasped.
“He didn’t,” Astoria said, horrified.
“I’m gonna skin him with the dullest knife I can find,” Ginny muttered murderously.
“Yeah. That’s when I slapped him. He tried to say something about not meaning it, or he wasn’t actually going to say the word or something like that. I told him to save it and let his mother know I wouldn’t be by their’s anymore this week.”
“Wait, did he say he didn’t mean it or did he say he wasn’t going to say it?” Astoria asked carefully.
“I don’t remember properly, but I think he tried to claim he wasn’t going to say it. He'd only gotten to pathetic, little before I cut him off,” Mione replied as she downed her glass. Astoria shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
“Ok, I’m gonna say something but I need you to know that I am not in any way taking his side ok? I completely believe you and I don’t doubt you in any way.” Astoria hedged. “ But , Draco is very childish when it comes to insults. Like, extremely childish. And he’s told everyone that he’s taken... that word... out of his vocabulary. He’s even shouted at Pans the few times she slipped up and said it. I really don’t think he was going to call you what you think he was.”
“Well, what in Circe’s name was he going to call her, starting an insult like that? We all know that’s how he always started to say that to her!” Ginny growled angrily on her friend's behalf.
“I’m not arguing that he very well might have said it that way in the past. And of course, if you full-heartedly believe that’s what he was going to say then I support and believe you. I’m just trying to let you know that it just doesn’t seem like something he’d say these days.” Astoria explained, rubbing a hand on her friend’s arm.
“Whether or not he was going to say it is irrelevant. He is an adult, but he was treating me like a toddler and twisting literally everything I said. He deserved to be slapped.” Hermione announced.
“Oy, what are you lot talking about?” Ron asked, appearing out of the basement and scaring the women.
“Ron, how long have you been listening to us?” Ginny growled at her brother.
“I haven’t been long. I didn’t know anyone was here, I’ve been playing a new game downstairs. I just came up to get some nosh and heard Mione say something about slapping someone.” He shrugged.
“I have to use the loo, I’ll be right back,” Astoria announced, trying to get out of the awkward tension in the room. "Ginny, why don’t you show me the way?”
“What? You kno-”
“I seem to have forgotten, so you’ll have to show me again!” Astoria interrupted the red-haired witch. Hermione watched her friends walk away, confusion written on her face.
“So, who did you hit?” Ron questioned, casually leaning against the door frame.
“Malfoy.” She grumbled.
“What did that git do now?” He asked as he walked around the settee to join her.
“Nothing, just an argument we had that got heated,” she explained tiredly. “I’m so sick of dealing with him already, and we aren’t even married yet! God, I wish this law didn’t exist.”
“Well, there’s still time. We can go down and get it changed and still be happy.” He told her excitedly. She did not have the available brainpower to try and decipher what he was saying.
“What are you on about?”
“The marriages. There’s still time to go down and get ours switched. I’m sure they’d be fine with it, and we should have been paired in the first place anyway.”
“Ron, seriously, what are you talking about?”
“You and me. I hate Parkinson. And Malfoy is obviously all wrong for you to be matched with. If we go now, we can catch Kingsley before he leaves for the day and get this whole mess sorted out. Mum will be ecstatic to finally have you in the family, and we can just send out a quick owl to everyone saying the original matches were a mistake.” Hermione stared at her ex-boyfriend for a good, long minute.
“Ron, I’m not going to go try and get us paired together. I didn’t want to marry you before either, remember? You already asked me. And I’m not about to break the law over an argument.”
“You and I are a better pair than me and Parkinson or Malfoy and you! Mione, I still love you! I was hoping that you’d see that when you came back but you took too long and we missed our chance. Now, we can go get married the right way! The way things happened shouldn’t have gone that way, but I’m sure if we explain it the right way we’ll be allowed to switch partners. I mean, common! Who’s going to say no to the saviours of the wizarding world? Just think of the publicity our marriage would get! The press already loves you and me separately. Together? Even more. And everyone will forget in a few months that the matches were botched. Especially when you get pregnant!”
“Woah, woah, woah! Ronald, what are you on about? Have you gone bloody mad? I am not marrying you! We are not having any children together, there will be no press, none of this is going to happen! We were matched with Malfoy and Pansy-” He cringed at his fiancé’s name. “And that is who we are going to marry. It was one thing to break a law or two when we were trying to defeat Voldemort, but there is no logical reason to do so now. It doesn’t matter who we are, no one is above following the law. And you still love me? We’ve barely spoken two or three sentences to each other alone since I got back! You’re always in the basement with Harry, and when you’re not we’re all in the kitchen. You haven’t said anything about loving me since the last time I told you no when we still might have been able to be paired together. I love Molly dearly, but the woman has put daft thoughts into your head-”
“Now wait just a bloody minute! Don’t you dare speak about my Mum like that!”
“Are you listening to yourself? In that one statement about how you believe you love me you’ve mentioned breaking the law, involving the media, and how you expected me to fall back into your arms after three years! You don’t know me any more now than you did when we broke up! I’m not the type to fall into a relationship for the sake of having a relationship. I despise the public eye, I always have! And I start at the ministry next week! For Merlin’s sake, you think I’m willing to risk my career for a marriage?”
“But we were so good together! We could have that again! The two of us, and Harry and the brunette. Surely that’s worth more than some job? Especially once the children came, you’d have to quit any way so it really doesn’t seem like a big deal.”
“The brunette’s name is Astoria, Ronald. And we were not good together. We despised each other at the end of our relationship! We’d go days without talking before having a forced conversation. We have and had nothing in common since we left Hogwarts! We didn’t spend time together just to be together. Everything was strained. And when we were together, we were arguing or blowing things up in anger!”
“We wouldn’t have argued so much if you’d put out more!”
“You really think I wanted to have sex with you after you’d been in some other bint’s trousers? Don’t even try to argue, I was well aware of your infidelity. The fact that I didn’t seem to care or that I didn’t try to break up with you sooner because it was a hassle should have been a big indicator that we weren't good together!”
“If you knew why didn’t you try harder to stop it? I would’ve if you’d asked me, or if we had sex more than a couple of times a month!”
“I shouldn’t have to ask you to not cheat on your girlfriend, Ron! That’s just common sense! Which you still don’t seem to have, even after all these years. And I told you when we started dating that my career came first. That I didn’t want kids for a few years to get myself on solid ground before we started a family. And I told you time and time again that I would not be a stay at home mother!”
“Yeah, but you would have changed your mind once the baby was born!”
“No, Ron. I would not have. I am not stay-at-home mum material! I love the work I do, I love having a career! I’m excited to start the next chapter of my life, but I would never give it up for a child, no matter how much I want to be a parent. I’ve explained this to you ‘till my face was blue and you still don’t understand! How can you possibly think I’d want to be your girlfriend, let alone your wife when we know even less about each other now than you knew about me then?” Ron’s face was almost the same shade of red as his hair as she chastised him. He opened his mouth to keep speaking but she cut him off. “Ron, either go back to your game or leave. I am not going to continue this conversation with you. I don’t want to hear one more word from you about this, because it’s not going to happen. And you need to get that through your thick skull.”
“You don’t even get an option. You leave now, or I tell Mum about how you’re trying to pray on Hermione’s feelings for personal gain.” Ginny said lowly as she and Astoria came back into the room, arms folded in sync as they glowered at the man.
“You can’t kick me out! It’s Harry’s house! And Gin, I’m your brother! You need to treat me with more respect than that.”
“You wanna say that again, Weaselbee?” Hermione turned to see Blaise, Harry, and Malfoy standing in front of the floo, varying stages of annoyance on their faces. “You speak to my fiancé like that again, and I’ll rip out your eyes while she casts her bat bogey on you. Understand, you bastard?” The dark man threatened.
“Whatever, I was heading out anyway. I’ll catch you later, Harry.” Ron grumbled as he disapparated.
“Someone want to explain what that was all about?” Harry asked the people spread around his living room.