My Constellation--Dramione

Part 6

When the sun woke up and peered through the thin drapes of Ginny's windows, Hermione had only gotten two hours' worth of sleep. It was five-fifteen in the morning. She scrubbed at her eyelids groggily and sat up. The first thing she thought was of how badly her breasts ached.

Ginny was still asleep, not snoring like she used to, but she did purr slightly. Hermione let out a wry chuckle to amuse herself.

She walked into the bathroom and used the toilet. While washing her hands, she noticed something about the way she looked. Unattractive. Pale. Thin—even thinner than before she gained the necessary weight to carry Archie. Unhealthy. Exhausted. Unloved. The pain came in waves like the night before, but now she was rendered numb. She lifted her sleeve and revealed the purple scars left on her arm. "Mudblood," she told—no, reminded herself.

After finishing up in the loo, she walked down the stairs. The light outside, though still rising, wasn't hidden behind thick clouds, making the rays beam brightly. She didn't so much as wince when it flashed at her retinas. She met Molly, Arthur, and Bill in the kitchen.

"Goodness, Hermione, what are you doing up so early?" Arthur asked.

Hermione moved her head side-to-side sadly. "I couldn't sleep."

"Poor dear, you don't look so well!" Molly fussed. "You look like a ghost!" She allowed Molly to feel her head for any signs of a fever and hug her.

"Maybe I want to be a ghost," she grumbled.

"Nonsense! I'll fix you up some Belgian Waffles and cook up an egg for you! What kind of meat would you like on the side?"

Hermione stopped her with her hands. "I apologize, Mrs. Weasley, but I don't feel hungry at all." A flash of hurt struck Molly's face but she seemed concerned for Hermione's health.

"Hermione, is something wrong?" Bill questioned, setting his mug of scalding tea on a coaster.

Something is very wrong, she admitted, albeit to herself. "No, nothing's wrong." Placing a hand on her stomach and practically collapsing into a chair. She looked awful, white and pasty, and Molly swore she noticed green hues in her skin tone as well.

"Oh dear," Arthur cried with surprise.

Hermione's head flopped to the table and rested over her arms. To say she was low on energy would be a major understatement. She was completely devoid of energy.

"Well, how about I fix you a pot of tea, what do you say?" Molly suggested, taking Hermione's limp hand into her own worn and experienced hands. She graciously accepted the tea and stayed for hours at the table, just listening to the Weasleys chatter fluently and sipping her mint tea.

Mostly everyone was up by nine o'clock and ready to get on with the day. Ron and Harry were still asleep, but no one expected any less of them.
"It's just about nine in the morning," Molly said excitedly. "How about breakfast, dear?"

Ginny knew she was talking to Hermione, who hadn't eaten yet, but couldn't help by responding herself. "Starving, Mum, thanks."

That earned a hearty chuckle from everyone in the kitchen. "I'll have a little bit, Mrs. Weasley. Thanks, I'm not looking to get fat this morning."

"Well, you could really use it. You look too thin to pass for human! Honestly, you'd think you were looking at a skeleton! Scratch that," Molly amended, "I've seen skeletons with more meat on their bones, come now! Eat!"

George laughed, catching the surprise lots of people. "Mum! We taught you well. You cracked a decent joke!" "We" meant him and Fred. He was still sad to see that he no longer had a twin brother, but tried to remain happy for his family. Fred would've loved to have seen their forced-to-be-reckoned-with mother of brute strength crack her first "funny" joke.