Ch. 26

After Hermione had calmed down a bit and Ginny had gotten her to laugh, the girls went back down to the common room and found that the boys had disappeared. They shrugged and went to sit on the couch, chatting quietly.

"I hope Blaise comes back soon," Ginny muttered nervously.

"Gin, I doubt that he would be willing to leave you for very long after what happened," Hermione said reassuringly. She didn't want to say it but she was slightly nervous too, especially since the boys had disappeared earlier while the two girls were exploring the new dorm and Draco had come back obviously annoyed. Would the same thing happen again?

"I know, but still." Ginny shifted in her seat, pulling her legs up onto the couch and leaning over the arm of the couch. "I just don't want it to happen again."

"That only happened because you two were apart for days and were unhappy. You two are happy now; I'm sure that affects it somewhat," Hermione shrugged.

"Maybe." Ginny sighed and looked over at her friend. "So what are you going to tell Draco?"

"About what?" Hermione asked, eyeing her friend.

"Well," Ginny shifted again. "I'm sure he knows that you're feeling some sort of unhappiness. Remember what Professor Rhodes said?"

"Yes, he's already made it clear that he can feel what I'm feeling," Hermione said with a laugh. "It's rather annoying sometimes but there's nothing I can do. He said he would let me think on everything and then when I was ready, we would talk. He's been very good about giving me time to process everything."

Ginny smiled. "He really does care for you, Hermione. And I know he just wants you to be happy. Maybe talking to him about everything will ease your fears. And if all else fails, remember it's not as big of a deal as everyone makes it out to be so really, don't worry about the whole 'mating' thing. Besides, who better than him?"

Hermione laughed. "I guess you're right. Still, don't you think it's weird? I mean, I'll be the future Mrs. Malfoy and you'll be the future Mrs. Zabini."

"I suppose it does feel a bit strange," Ginny nodded, looking towards the fire. "I had always imagined being Mrs. Potter. But I'm happy with Blaise; and I'm not looking to get married for at least another year."

"I would hope not!" Hermione said, smiling. Then her face turned to a look of horror. "Oh no, his parents are going to be my in-laws!"

Ginny looked up at her with an equally terrified expression. "Do you think Draco's told them about you already?"

"I have no idea," Hermione groaned as she leaned back into the couch and looked up at the ceiling. "He did say he didn't care what his father thinks anymore but at the same time, I'm fairly certain his father is still stuck in his ways."

"Sounds like Blaise's mother," Ginny said bitterly. "I had the pleasure of meeting her already. It sounds like we'll have to keep the liquor cabinet stocked for when in-laws visit us."

Hermione laughed slightly. "Gin, I may need to escape to your house when they visit. Or we'll plan a convenient vacation away from them, just the two of us."

"I can work with that!"

They were interrupted by the portrait opening, and they both smiled as Blaise and Draco entered the dorm. The two boys smiled in return and Draco immediately went over to Hermione and kissed her quickly on the lips.

"Sorry, I had to run a quick errand," He said as he sat down next to her and then looking at Blaise.

Blaise nodded and pulled Ginny up off the couch, leading her to their dorm while Ginny looked back at Hermione, confused.

"Why aren't we staying there?" Ginny asked as they stepped into their dorm.

Blaise smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "He wanted to talk to Hermione so I thought it was best if we left them alone."

Ginny smiled in return and nodded.

"Draco," Hermione started as she turned to him. "I'm sorry for how I acted earlier after the class."

He shook his head and squeezed her hand. "It's alright, I understand that it was alarming to learn all of that. I wasn't even aware of some of the process so it caught me off guard as well."

She looked at him skeptically. "You didn't know that you would be marking me and that would most likely lead to us...?"

"I knew somewhat about the marking, and I assumed eventually we would end up doing the mating part," He said, grinning. His grin faltered though when he noticed her shift uncomfortably. "But you know that I wouldn't force you to do any of that until you're ready, right?"

"Yes, I know," Hermione sighed as she looked down at her hands. "I'm just not sure if I'm ready to deal with an over-protective Veela. You're already very protective and if it's only going to increase, I'm worried I might hex you out of annoyance."

Draco laughed and she smiled, looking back up at him and saying, "I know I want to be with you; I'm just not ready for the next steps."

He smiled and gave her hand another squeeze. "Well I am perfectly happy just being with you until then."

She couldn't help but blush at this slightly and he grinned. "You look adorable when you blush, did you know that?"

She put her head down to hide her face as her face grew hot and she heard him laugh. Then he stood up, holding out a hand to her. "Come on, let's go get changed for dinner."

She bolted upright in her bed, panting hard. She wiped away the tears that were making their way down her cheeks and she took a few deep breaths, trying to calm her fast-beating heart.