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"Do you know anything about Dolores Umbridge?" Hermione asked. Helena shook her head. "Well, she was this toad of a woman who terrorized the students with some misguided help during our fifth year." Greg made to interrupt and apologize. "It's all right. Water under the bridge." She said to him as she squeezed Draco's thigh to let him know she meant him as well. She left her hand there as she continued her story. |
"Anyway. She was going to use the Cruciatis curse, which is an unforgivable curse used to torture people, on Harry and I wasn't going to allow my friend to be tortured if I could help it. So, I told her that we were trying to find Dumbledore to let him know that the weapon was ready. She insisted that we take her to it. There was no weapon of course. I led her into the Forbidden Forest trying to make enough noise that something would come check it out. We lucked out that it was centaurs. I knew she would piss them off. Centaurs are very proud creatures and are easy to offend. Well, they drug her off and we made our escape. Dumbledore had to go in and rescue her. I sent her a centaur as a reminder that her prejudices got her in trouble once, and she had the opportunity to change but she wasted it, and now she's paying for it in jail. She got a life sentence to Azkahban for helping Voldemort target Muggle-borns." |
"You should have seen her, too. Hermione was so convincing about it. Crying and everything. I tried keeping Umbridge from going with her and Harry, but it was like a kid and chocolate, just too tempting to resist," Draco commented. |
"Your insistence on going with her is what decided her against letting you go. You both played right into my hand." |
"You really are a brilliantly, devious witch, aren't you? I almost feel sorry for Weasley. He won't know what hit him once we're all through with him," Theo said. |
"Remind me never to piss Hermione off," Blaise said sardonically. |
"Hermione, you have great stories. Let's do this again soon," Helena said. |
"Yes. It's getting late and we should all get going. We have to be at Hogwarts early tomorrow," said Daphne, "Hermione, we meant what we said. Let's get together for a girls" night soon." |
They said goodbye and apparated to their homes after they left the bar. Draco put an arm around Hermione's waist as he guided her out of the club and apparated them home. Hermione hugged Draco. She pulled back a little but still had her hands on his chest, his were on her waist. "Thank you for taking me. You were right. I needed to get out. It ended up being fun." |
Draco tucked a stray curl behind her ear, "You're welcome. They really liked you and they really meant what they said. They all want to be there for you. I think you made Helena feel more comfortable. I think she's always felt a little on the outside. We don't mean to make her feel that way, but we all grew up together. Plus, she's not magical, so everything we take for granted is very different for her." |
"Thank you for sharing your friends with me. It means a lot." |
"They're your friends too, now. I'm going to see if Tansy is still awake and ask her if she'll make us sandwiches for tomorrow." |
"I'll go check on Rose, then head to bed. Goodnight Draco." |
"Goodnight Hermione." He pulled her in for one more hug. He felt her hands glide down his chest as she pulled away from him. She turned and walked up the stairs to go check on Rose. He stood at the foot of the stairs watching her go. |
Watching her at the club was like seeing the a bit of the old Hermione back again. She finally opened up about what she was feeling the last couple days. He had worried that he had broken her trust irrevocably that night in the dining room. He was glad the evening had gone so well. She really would have made a great Slytherin. He grinned to himself as he made his way to find Tansy. |
Saturday, September 14, 2013 |
Draco, Hermione, Rose, and Tansy were seated around the dining table for breakfast. Tansy kept breakfast simple this morning, oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins. Hermione was quiet again. Draco was reading the paper. Rita Skeeter had been quick to print a story about last night. |
Moving On Already |
By Rita Skeeter |
Hermione Granger was seen living it up on the town last night with none other than Draco Malfoy. Could she already be moving on so soon after learning that her husband has been carrying on a long time affair? |
Underneath the blurb was a photo of Hermione and Draco at The Dragon's Den. The photographer had caught him looking down at her while her fingers were laced through his. It was of the two of them giving and receiving comfort while she spoke about the pain she was going through. The Prophet had turned it into a picture of a couple sharing a private moment. It didn't seem to matter that they were with a group of people. Beside that photo was another, this one was from behind as they walked down the street outside of the club, right before they had apparated. His arm was around her waist. The photographer had managed to capture two pictures that would give the impression that they were now a couple. |
Draco set the paper down with a sigh. Hermione looked questioningly at him. "Tell you later," he said. |
"Can I go with you to see Minerva? I want to see Hogwarts. I want to meet Hagrid. Can I go please?" Rose pleaded. |
"I'm sorry, Rose. You won't be able to go to Hogwarts until you're old enough to attend. You'll stay here with Tansy. I'm sure she has fun stuff planned for you today," Hermione said. |
"Okay. I'll stay," Rose said glumly. Hermione and Draco had told her stories about some of their adventures at Hogwarts and she wanted to go see where they had so much fun. Draco promised to take Rose flying tomorrow in the park and that seemed to appease her. |
"It's too bad she can't go," Draco said as she left the dining room. |
"I know but I don't want to ruin the magic of the first day and seeing Hogwarts for the first time all lit up and reflecting in the lake," Hermione said, looking over at the door Rose had just walked out of and back at Draco. |
"I'm sure Tansy will be able to distract her while we're gone," Draco said, reaching over and patting her hand reassuringly. |
"What was in the paper?" she asked, looking curious. |
"Pictures from last night," Draco sighed, handing the paper over to her. |
She opened it up to the gossip section, looked at the photos, and read the blurb. "Well, I wonder what she expected me to do. Lay around the house moping? So what, we went out for drinks. I hardly call that living it up. I'm not going to hide out anymore. I'm not going to let others dictate how I decide to live my life, who I associate with, or how I decide to move on from this mess. She can print what she wants. I've got better things to do with my time," she raged, flinging the paper back down on the table. |
Draco was astounded by her reaction. She didn't appear mad about the photos. She appeared somewhat apathetic. Maybe she had taken his comment about not giving a damn to heart. |
"I'm glad you're not letting those photos get to you. People will always talk and make assumptions, especially with who we both are. The papers will make the most sensational claims because that's what sells," Draco said to her. |
"I know. I really haven't had to deal with Rita Skeeter for years. I don't think I've really been that interesting since the war." |
Draco and Hermione apparated to Hogsmeade. Draco carried a picnic basket and had a red plaid blanket draped over his arm. They walked side by side up to Hogwarts and through the front gates that were flanked by winged boars. Minerva, James, and Scorpius were waiting for them just inside the gates. Hermione hugged Minerva and James while Draco hugged Scorpius. |
Draco held onto Scorpius, ruffling his hair. He looked happy. Draco was relieved that he was adjusting to being at school so well. Despite Fred's bullying, Scorpius looked genuinely happy. Scorpius introduced him to his two new friends. |
"Have you seen my mum and dad, auntie?" James asked Hermione. |
"No, not yet. Let's walk over to the lake and I'll send a patronus to your dad letting him know where you are. Expecto Patronum!" Hermione's otter patronus shot out of her wand and bounded away looking for Harry. |
"Mum, where's dad at?" Minerva asked after the otter bounded off. |
Hermione looked at Draco, her gaze full of dread at the difficult conversation. She had talked with Draco about how to bring it up and what to say. He gave her an encouraging smile and touched James and Scorpius on the shoulders to keep them back. "Let's take a walk, Minerva," Hermione said. Mother and daughter walked off toward the lake. |
"Where are they going?" James asked. |
"Something happened after you all got on the train. You're both going to have to be good friends to Minerva after this. She's going to need your help and understanding." |
"Why? What happened?" Scorpius asked. |
"Let Minerva tell you when she's ready. Just be supportive. Promise me," Draco demanded. He knew boys could be insensitive idiots when having to deal with girls and their problems. |
"We promise," they chorused. Draco didn't trust the mischievous glint he saw in James" eyes. If the kid was anything like his father, he would use whatever Minerva was going through as an excuse to cause mischief in the name of cheering her up. |
The Potters, Zabinis, and Notts walked up to them, kids in tow plus Hermione's namesake. He guessed the Goyles would meet them by the lake. James went over to greet his parents. |
"Where are Hermione and Minerva?" Tracey asked. |
"They went ahead to have a talk. It's probably okay to follow them now." Draco said. The adults nodded sympathetically, knowing the talk Hermione was having with Minerva. |
"How's she doing today? How's Rose?" Ginny asked Draco. |
Draco sighed, "She's been dreading today. Rose seems to be doing well. She's at home playing with Tansy right now. How are you two holding up?" |
"I just can't believe he would do something like this to her, to his daughters. I'm glad you've been there for her. I've been too upset about this to be too much help to her. I'm afraid I haven't been a very good friend during this," Ginny said. |
"She said the same thing about you last night. Don't be so hard on yourself," Draco reassured her. |
"So Potter, it seems your kid has turned to the dark side," Draco smirked at Harry. He could hear chuckles from the Snakes behind him. He just couldn't resist teasing Harry about James being in Slytherin. |
Harry laughed at his teasing. "I hate to burst your bubble, but after you and Snape ended up not being such utter arsewipes, I thought maybe Slytherin wasn't as bad as we all thought. Seems to me like a self-fulfilling prophecy. You tell people the house they are in is bad and it creates dark wizards and all the other houses treat you like they're just waiting for you to go dark. What did we expect to happen to children who were ostracized like that? Seems like we weren't any better than the blood purists." |
Draco gaped at Harry for a second. They had been friendly for years now but he had never heard Harry talk like that about house prejudices. "Well, we weren't all innocent," he finally said. |
Harry shrugged, "No, but maybe things could have been different." |
They all headed off toward the lake and looked fondly at the Quidditch pitch as they passed, remembering the games they played. |
"We should've brought our brooms," Harry said wistfully. |
"Maybe next time we can get a game going," Draco said. |
"Maybe then you'll actually catch the snitch," Harry teased. |
"Maybe a bludger will do us all a favor and hit you in the head again," Draco retorted. |
They reached the lake and spread the blanket out on the ground. They pulled it to extend so that it was big enough for everyone to sit comfortably. |
"We didn't bring anything for your picnic. We don't want to intrude," said Ginny. |
"We packed extras. Don't worry, there's enough food to go around. You're welcome to join us." Draco said. He had asked Tansy to pack food for twenty people. Three extra people wouldn't be a big deal. |
The Goyles came up in the boat. Theo and Blaise went over to help them out. Helena was looking a little awestruck. They greeted their daughter and came over to the Potters and Draco, who was lining the baskets up in the middle of the blanket. Draco took the basket of food from Greg and placed it with the rest before introducing them to Helena. The two were as surprised as Hermione had been to find out Helena was a Muggle. |
Hermione and Minerva came up at that time. Minerva ran off to greet Harry and Ginny and was drug around to meet the parents of the Baby Snakes. Hermione surprised him by wrapping an arm around his waist and leaning into him. He draped an arm around her shoulders. "How did she take it?" he asked. |
"Not well. She's mad, devastated. She really hates that boy. Then she finds out he's her half brother. She's mad at Ron. She's too young to really understand the full magnitude of what he's done. I can't tell her everything obviously. I'm afraid for how she's going to feel when she gets older and realizes what happened and not the child friendly version I gave her," Hermione answered as they both watched Minerva talk to Daphne and Theo with Drake standing beside her. |
Draco really wasn't sure how to reassure her. He didn't know Minerva well enough to accurately gauge how she was going to react to the full implications of her parents" divorce, especially if this got messy. Hermione and Draco were both doing their best to ensure that Rose was sheltered from everything that was going on. Minerva didn't have that luxury being at school. |
Hermione released him to say hello and hug everyone. Theo and Blaise teased Draco about the pictures in the paper. Once everyone was gathered around the picnic, Draco called the Baby Snakes over to him. |
"Hermione, Harry, Ginny, these are the Baby Snakes," Draco said waving at the children gathered around him, "You've met my Scorpius. This is Daphne and Theo's son, Drake," Draco waved toward a tall, gangly boy with brown, close-cropped hair and aquamarine eyes. |
"This is Tracey and Blaise's daughter, Florence," pointing out a short girl with skin the color of mocha and short, dark, curly hair and hazel eyes. |
"And Hermione, this is your namesake, she likes to be called "Mione," he gestured toward a stout girl with lank, brown hair and a pug nose. |
"Mione came to hug Hermione. "Thank you for saving my dad," she said quietly. |
"Oh, sweetheart. I'm so glad we did," Hermione said as she hugged her tightly. |
Hermione walked a little way down the beach away from the group after "Mione walked back to her parents. Draco came up and stood behind her as they gazed out across the lake. He touched her on the shoulder to get her attention. She turned to face him. "Are you starting to see the lives you've touched? Without you, she wouldn't exist. Scorpius wouldn't exist. Greg and I would be dead. And it just ripples out from there. All the ways the world would be different without that one act." |
Hermione looked out over the water, "It wasn't just me. Harry decided and we followed." |
"I know," he said, moving to stand in front of her and forcing her to look at him, "Harry sees the results of his actions all around him though. How can he not? But you, Hermione, you seem to have forgotten that you are Hermione Granger. You are just as much a hero as Harry was. You are the brightest witch of our age. You are the Light. It's time for you to start remembering that." |
"Look around you and see all the good your actions have done," he continued, grasping her shoulders, "Feel the pride and the power that comes from knowing the world has become a better place because of you. It's time to remember who Hermione Granger is. Not the jilted wife of that idiot. But the powerful witch who helped save the world, who brought blood prejudice to its knees." |
"I don't know who that witch is anymore," Hermione said, crying softly into his chest. |
He tipped her face up to him and brushed the tears away. "It's time to find her again. I'll help you. Everyone here will help you. You're not alone anymore." |
"Hey, are you two okay over here?" Harry asked as he walked up to them. |
Hermione pulled away from him, brushed the tears from her face, and squared her shoulders. "We're fine. Draco was just reminding me of something I'd forgotten." |
"Let's go sit down then. The kids are getting hungry," Harry said, leading Hermione away with an arm slung over her shoulder. Draco followed behind them. |
Everyone sat down on the blanket and passed around the food. The other couples had come prepared as well and there were enough sandwiches, crisps, juice, and butterbeer to go around. Hermione leaned up against Draco's side as they all ate and chatted with each other and their children. It was a pleasant way to spend their afternoon at Hogwarts. They watched the giant squid swimming lazily across the top of the lake. |
Scorpius told him all about his classes, the sorting, and his run-ins with Fred. Fred seemed to like calling Scorpius "Death Eater scum'. It enraged Draco that his son would be bullied like that. It seemed that no matter how hard he worked, there would always be people ready to point out the biggest mistake of his life. He could take the ridicule pointed at him. In a way, he felt he deserved it, but Scorpius was innocent. That it came from Weasley's son made it seem worse for him. He already hated the git for what he did to Hermione. It enraged him that Weasley was teaching his son similar prejudices that they had fought against. |
He was glad that Hermione was in his house to distract him. Draco thought that without her he would probably be the one moping around in his pajamas. Hearing that his son was being bullied made him wish he'd kept him home and just homeschooled him. He'd seriously considered the idea but his mother had convinced him that Scorpius should go. |
Draco saw Harry stiffen out of the corner of his eye. He looked around and saw Weasley walk up with Lavender and a boy he supposed was Fred. Draco got his first good look at Lavender. He hadn't really been paying attention to her on the platform. She was plumper than she had been in school but having four children would do that to a woman. Her blond hair was brushed back simply and hung down in waves on her back. He could admit that she was a good-looking woman, nothing like the fiery beauty of Hermione. He found it strange that she was looking at her hands, which were knotted in front of her. |
Fred stood beside his mother looking on with a sneer that reminded him a little too much of a younger version of himself. The boy was tall and gangly for his age, much like Weasley had been. He also had the signature Weasley hair that was cut close on the sides with gelled curls on top. |
"The kids are having a good time, Ron. If you're here to cause a scene and ruin that, you lot can leave," Harry said. |
"Harry, don't be like that. We're mates. Been friends since we were eleven. I never thought I'd see the day you chose to hang out with Death Eater scum over your best mate," said Weasley nastily. |
"That's enough, Ron. The war is over. It's past time to put away our differences. And I told you not to cause trouble, so it's time for you to leave," Harry said, his voice starting to rise in anger. |
"I have a right to see my daughter," Weasley said stubbornly. |
Minerva turned up her nose and refused to look at him. Hermione asked her if she wanted to go for a walk with her father. She shook her head no. Hermione was tense beside him. She found his hand on the blanket beside her and latched on to it. |
"She doesn't want to see you. I'm not going to make her either. It's time you left Ron." Hermione said. |
"Turning my daughter against me already, Hermione," Ron said bitterly. |
Ginny got up from the blanket. "Ronald Bilius Weasley! How dare you! You brought this on yourself. I have never been more ashamed that you are my brother. I'm so disappointed in you. I thought you were a good man. A good husband. A good father. Your choices, your actions. Those aren't the actions of a good person." |
"Shut up, Ginny. You don't know what you're talking about. We're leaving. I'm not going to stand here and take this." Ron stalked off with Fred and Lavender behind him. The adults around the group let out a collective sigh of relief as they left. |
Draco passed Minerva a cookie from the basket. "You wanna talk about it?" he asked, "We're all here for you." He didn't know how she'd react. She didn't know him but he felt bad for her. He was glad when she decided to open up to the group. |
"I'm just so mad. I don't understand how he could go out and have a bunch of kids with that woman. And Fred is vile. That boy is my half brother and I just keep wondering why. Weren't Rose and I enough? I know we weren't boys, but we were good. I just don't know why he would want that insufferable git over us. He says I turned on him but it feels like he turned on us," Minerva said, looking forlornly at her hands. |
"You can't blame yourself for this. He made bad choices. For him, I don't think it's about wanting Fred and his other children over you and Rose. You're all his children. He loves you all. I know you're hurting now, but he's still your father, and he loves you and Rose. You'll have to try to find it in yourself to forgive him," Hermione said to Minerva, as she hugged her close. |
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