Ch. 29

Draco's POV

I could feel Hermione's discomfort as soon as I asked that question and I immediately regretted it. Luckily though, the girls changed the subject to Halloween and she seemed to brighten up.

"We always have the parties here," Ginny explained. "There's plenty of room, and we have actually been talking about adding a few more rooms to the house."

"Can you do that with the layout of it?" Pansy asked, gesturing around. "I mean, it's in a set of muggle townhomes."

Ginny shrugged and said, "I was able to remove an entire wall without issues so I think we should be alright. We're just discussing it right now, nothing is set in stone."

"Why did you remove an entire wall?" I asked out of curiosity.

"To get rid of that horrible shrieking picture of Sirius's wonderful mother," Hermione answered, looking over at me with her nose crinkled up slightly. I thought she looked adorable like that, and I couldn't help but smile at her.

Ginny grinned. "That was a wonderful day. Cleaning went on so nicely after that."

Everyone laughed and I saw Hermione shake her head. "She's probably screaming at some fish now at the bottom of St. George's Channel."

I gave her and Ginny odd looks, and Blaise and Pansy looked just as confused as I was. The three Gryffindors just laughed and Ginny explained, "The portrait of Walburga Black was stuck to the wall with a Permanent Sticking charm, so we weren't able to remove it for the longest time. I just lost it while cleaning one day before practice and blasted the entire wall down, and when I got to practice in Holyhead I put a Disillusionment charm on the picture and chucked it into the channel."

"It was glorious," Harry said, putting an arm around his wife. "I came home and for once there was no screaming."

"And with the wall gone, there's a lot more room for everyone to be in one place for parties," Hermione nodded. "Which has been really nice."

"Alright so, Halloween's coming up pretty quickly," Pansy said, her voice laced with concern. "How big of a party are you wanting?"

Ginny grinned. "You know how large my family is. Typically it's all of them, plus a few others from school."

"Like who?" Blaise asked curiously.

"Oh, mostly Gryffindors but we have a few from different houses as well," Ginny said. "Dean and Seamus typically show up; Luna comes with Rolf; a few others from my year; Neville and Hannah."

"Sounds like a fun party," I said. Then a thought hit me and I shot a glance over at Hermione before asking, "What about your brother?"

Ginny's smile dropped off and she sighed. "I don't know. I mean, I can't really exclude him but there's a chance he might not even show up."

"I don't care if he shows up, honestly," Hermione said next to me with a shrug. "I can't avoid him for the rest of my life, and I've made my peace with everything pretty much. He's the one having problems letting go."

"I know," Ginny frowned.

"I'm still trying to get him slotted for a mission out in America," Harry added. "So it's possible he might not even be here."

"That would be nice," Hermione muttered under her breath.

I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into me, saying, "I guess we'll just have to see what happens."

The rest of the evening went by rather quickly; Pansy and Blaise left shortly after dinner while Hermione and I stayed back for tea. A few more hours went by, and after noticing that Hermione was starting to yawn every few minutes, I realized just how late it was.

"I think I'm going to take this one home," I announced, squeezing Hermione's hand.

She smiled gratefully and stifled another yawn as Ginny pouted but said, "Alright, are you two coming to brunch tomorrow?"

"Brunch?" I asked, giving Hermione a look.

Hermione tilted her head slightly at Ginny and asked, "Is your family going to be alright with me bringing him?"

Ginny shrugged. "I mean, Harry and I can vouch for him. George too, since he knows you two are together."

"Even better," Hermione nodded.

"I'm confused," I said, looking around at them. "You want me to go to brunch at your family's house? Aren't they going to hex me as soon as they see me?"

"We aren't just going to throw you to the wolves, mate," Harry laughed. "We'll let them know you're coming. For the most part, everyone is past all of that, and since they know you helped Hermione with her injuries and through the breakup, they will be nice to you."

I frowned but nodded, unsure on whether or not I really wanted to be a part of this event, but I knew I would if it made Hermione happy. She gave me a sleepy smile as she stood up before giving Ginny and Harry hugs. After giving Ginny a side-hug and shaking Harry's hand, I took Hermione's hand and apparated her back to her own apartment.

She stifled another yawn while asking, "Do you want some tea?"

I chuckled. "You should probably go to bed."

She rolled her eyes and waved me off. "I'll be alright for another hour or so. And besides, brunch doesn't typically happen until noon-ish so it's not like we can't sleep in a bit."

I followed her into the kitchen and sat at the counter, watching her as she put the kettle on. "I hope I didn't embarrass you earlier with my question."

"Question?" She turned around and gave me a confused look before her eyes widened as she remembered. "Oh, no! You didn't embarrass me, it's just not a subject I was expecting you to bring up."

"Is that bad?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I mean, not really. I'm sure it was bound to come up eventually, I just wasn't expecting it to come up tonight."

"Well, I figured since they were having that conversation..." I started to explain. "I am curious about it though."

She was silent for a few moments as she grabbed two mugs from the cabinet and set one down in front of me. "I mean, I've thought about it, yeah. But it was never a serious thought with Ron. He wanted kids, he was all set for having them, but I wasn't ready for it. And it sounds horrible, but I never really thought about having them with him."

"So, who did you think about having them with?" I asked.

She shrugged. "No one in particular, really. I wanted to have my career set and finish all the things I've wanted to do before settling down and having them."

"That's understandable," I nodded.

"Do want kids?" She asked, giving me a curious look.

"Yeah, at some point," I answered. "I think I have the same thought process though, I never really imagined having them with anyone in particular; they would just be my kids."

"You sound like you want more than one," She commented, raising an eyebrow.

"Well..." I opened and closed my mouth a few times, trying to get my thoughts together. "I mean, I didn't grow up with a sibling which I think would have been nice."