A Slither and A Pounce

Chapter 7

Well well, a day early and an extra two/three pages worth of content, someone is on a roll *winks at self*

Though Monday mornings were notorious for being terrible, this Monday was awful in a special way. After a night of less-than-adequate sleep, Hermione found herself wishing that they did not have school today.

Almost immediately she was confused and angry with herself because Hermione does not fret about work! It was a fleeting thought then, she decided.

Ginny was brushing her hair and fixing her uniform on her cot as Hermione walked by towards the bathrooms. "Good morning Hermione!" She sounded chipper as ever, which was a good thing, but then again, she had no reason to feel otherwise, Hermione thought. Suddenly, with a strong wave of nausea, Hermione remembered last night.

"Hermione Jean Granger, and Draco Malfoy," McGonagall's voice rang out in her memory. The horror and disappointment came washing over her again, feeling like a drenching typhoon. The emotions blew themselves over her heart and pushed her back and forth between anger and fear; confidence and insecurity. She heaved over the sink feeling her head spin and her breath hitch, last night it seemed surreal, it seemed fake. She could have imagined it. But now, in the brightness of the sun, which burnt away all lies and deceit she saw clearly that this was no jesting matter.

After seven years of magical schooling, seven years of fighting what chaos the Death Eaters had brought during Voldemort's reign. All this time, only to be rewarded by a forced marriage to a Death Eater himself. There was no way she could do this.

"Hermione? Are you ok?" Ginny rushed over to the brunette and grasped her arms securely. "Oh I'm so sorry Ginny — It's just that —"

Hermione did not finish her explanation because at that moment her tears came flowing down. Once they started there was no end, her incoherent mumbles were met with soft, soothing rubs on her arm, Ginny just held her there. She had little to say, indeed there was little that could be said.

For the first time in a very long time, Hermione missed class that day. She did not turn up at all, she and Ginny stayed up in the common room. At first, Hermione would just cry and have barely any energy or breath to explain herself. Within an hour she had cried herself into an uneasy sleep. She woke up well past two.

"Oh, Godric Ginny! Why didn't you wake me! I've missed all my classes today! I'll have to call in sick! I'll have to write all my teachers notes, I'll talk to McGonagall and —"

"'Mione stop," Ginny pressed a hand over Hermione's mouth, she smiled cheekily and said, "Now that's much better, you need to try this sometimes."

Hermione pushed her off lightly and rolled her eyes, Ginny ignored the eye-roll and continued, "Don't worry about classes, Harry told me that at breakfast McGonagall canceled all classes for a week to help us adjust, it's only for seventh years though. She said that tomorrow we start Couple's Counseling and Bonding sessions, as well as Marriage Counseling."

Hermione rubbed her forehead, she felt drained from her long cry, and groggy from her nap, her eyes burned and her cheeks ached. In short, she felt awful. She fell backward onto her pillow and sighed, "Great. Well, at least that is one problem less on my list."

"Do you wanna go have dinner? I told Harry to meet us down in the Common Room when you woke up."

Hermione sat up confused, "How does he know when I wake up?"

"He doesn't," Ginny said simply, she grinned, "That's why I just made him stay there since ten,"

"GINNY!" Hermione threw her pillow at the red-head hoping to Godric that she was joking. She dashed out of her bed and took a second to tame her hair into a horrid pony at the back of her head.