Forever and Always - Dramione/Blinny Veela Sequel

Ch. 1

This is the sequel to Loving You ; if you haven't read that yet, I highly recommend turning around and reading that! :) 

January 2000

Hermione laced up her trainers, stifling a yawn. She was starting to regret agreeing to run with Ginny in the mornings, but she couldn't deny that it certainly helped her get energized for the day.

After she stretched a little bit, she sighed and made her way to the front doors of the manor. Draco had surprised her with the finished manor for Christmas, revealing that he and Blaise had both commissioned matching manors to be built near each other in the middle of the Savernake Forest. Hermione and Ginny were both ecstatic, as it was basically in the middle of everything; Ginny could easily travel to Wales for her quidditch practices, and Hermione was able to quickly make it to London for her job in the Ministry. It was also close to the Malfoy Manor and the Burrow, which not only made the girls happy, but also the rest of the Weasley family and the Malfoys.

She smiled when she saw that Ginny was waiting for her just outside of the gate, bouncing up and down in the freezing air. Hermione jogged out to meet her, happy that she had the foresight to cast a warming charm on her clothes before leaving the house.

"Still can't believe I let you talk me into this," Hermione grumbled, stifling another yawn.

Ginny rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, I totally had to twist your arm. It's only been a few weeks, you're not used to it yet?"

"I'm getting there," Hermione said with a wave of her hand and looking up at the sky. "Let's go before it starts snowing."

The two girls took off with a light jog down the path that they had worn down in the few weeks they had spent together in the mornings. It only took them a couple of days to find a trail that was easy enough for them to navigate and took them between both manors. The manors were not exactly next to each other, but were both in clearings separated by about four miles of forest which the girls used as their running trail. They would switch off on the manor they started at, and would end at the other manor.

Hermione noticed after the first mile that Ginny was starting to pick up her pace with a grin on her face. Ginny liked to turn their runs into races, which Hermione didn't necessarily mind. It gave her a thrill and it helped both girls stretch their newfound speed given the Veela traits running through their veins.

Ginny sped up again and Hermione picked up her pace to match Ginny's, grinning. The cold air nipped at their cheeks and Hermione could feel it burning her lungs with every breath. It didn't bother her though, and they carried the same pace for the next mile.

There was one particular tree that Hermione knew Ginny always would start sprinting at after they had passed it. She decided to get the upper hand this time and once the tree was in sight, she took off, catching her friend off guard. Ginny let out a playful yell and quickened her pace to catch up to Hermione, who was laughing triumphantly. The girls were both laughing as they tried hard to get in front of each other, and soon Hermione had to slow down before she fell over, stopping to take some deep breaths as she grinned.

Ginny slowed down as well, leaning against a tree with her hands on her knees. She looked at Hermione and between breaths was able to get out, "You've gotten faster!"

"Have I?" Hermione said between breaths as she put her hands on the back of her head and tried to slow her breathing. "I haven't noticed."

"You made me work for that one," Ginny huffed. Then she pushed herself off the tree and walked around a bit. "I'm going to be sore tomorrow."