Chapter Two: Temper, Temper

Hermione frowned slightly at the Daily Prophet. The title blared up in large black letters: Draco Malfoy: Acquitted! There, on the cover, was a photograph of Harry standing with Draco and his mother, Narcissa. A reporter squeezed into the photograph, pushing towards the silver haired man. Harry put a firm hand on the reporter's shoulder, frowning and shaking his head no.

Hermione took a quick sip of her coffee, pushing her curly hair from her face. She read quickly. Draco Malfoy was acquitted yesterday of all charges, and emerged from the Ministry of Magic escorted by none other than The Boy Who Lived and Died and Lived Again. There was an uproar of protests at this sudden turn of events. Overwhelming evidence has already been given against the Malfoy heir. Final testimonies were being gathered and Malfoy was scheduled to appear in the Wizengamot later this year. Charges included but were not limited to: conspiracy to commit the murder of Albus Dumbledore, participation with the hate group known as the Death Eaters, the kidnap and torture of Mr. Garrick Ollivander, and the kidnap and torture of Miss Luna Lovegood.

Malfoy has remained in solitary confinement for the past year due to an attack on one Rodolphus Lestrange. Eye-witness Azkaban guards claimed Malfoy attempted to murder Lestrange within the first month of his awaiting trial. His irrational behavior made him a danger to other prisoners. His appearance in court was denied due to his unpredictable rage.

Hermione went slightly cold at the name Lestrange. Her heart slammed against her ribcage, fingers grasped the paper tightly and her lungs felt heavy and full. She closed her eyes, taking a sip of her coffee and placed it down quickly as she felt her hand begin to shake. Hermione put her hand flat on the surface of the table. The sound of Bellatrix's insane laugh dug into her skull for a moment.

Her vision began to darken. She forgot how to breathe. Hermione began to flex her toes, inhaling sharply. The smell of Mrs. Weasley's cooking, coffee, the Burrow invaded her senses. She could feel the hard chair under her body, the soft air hitting her face from the fan, Crookshanks' tail brushing against her leg. She heard the sizzling sausages on the stove, the buzz of the nearby insects in the garden. Hermione exhaled shakily, reminding herself that the vile woman was dead. Shame flooded her body as she found twisted comfort in the thought. Her eyes snapped open and she continued to read.

Why then, was his case brought up three months early? Rumor has it that evidence towards the defense was given by none other than Harry Potter. The hero who conquered the Dark Lord appeared before the Wizengamot. Potter's testimony was expected to seal a life sentence for the youngest of the Malfoy family. This unexpected, full pardon has stunned the magical community. Reporters were denied obtaining comments while exiting the Ministry of Magic.

Hermione looked back at the picture. Harry ordered the reporters to leave Draco and Narcissa alone. The two met eyes and nodded curtly at each other. Draco offered his arm to his mother, who took it, and they vanished from the spot. The picture continued to replay, like a short video on the computer. She laid the paper on the table in front of her, shaking her head in exasperation at Harry's behavior.

Her eyes wandered to the Slytherin boy. Draco had aged. One year of solitary confinement had hardened his boyish face. Hermione ground her teeth, drumming her fingers on the table as she looked at him. His hair was past his shoulders and he had grown facial hair during his imprisonment. Silver eyes were cold and empty, almost bored as they locked eyes with the photographer in the picture.

Harry nodded at Malfoy again. She huffed angrily through her lips, folding the paper back up and throwing it to the middle of the table. What had Harry been playing at with this trial? Why had he gotten Malfoy cleared of all charges? This wasn't at all what Hermione thought would happen when Harry had told them all he would be speaking at Malfoy's trial.

Had he been put under the imperius curse? Her eyes widened suddenly at the thought. No, that was foolish. She'd put enough enchantments on the Burrow to know if any unforgivables happened within ten miles. The front door opened and slammed shut. Crookshanks hissed and ran from the room.

Hermione jumped at the sound. Ginny Weasley stormed towards her, picking up a mug and slamming it down with unnecessary force. Wrenching the coffee pot up to fill her cup, she muttered darkly under her breath. Ginny huffed while slamming the pot back down, turning to Hermione and dragging a chair out. The ticking time bomb threw herself into the chair, face turning red in anger. Mrs. Weasley had been preparing breakfast. She paused at Ginny's sudden outburst.

The door creaked open again. Harry walked into the Burrow quietly. Ron followed behind Harry, confusion on his face, but nothing like the anger Ginny was riding right now.

Hermione and Ron exchanged looks. Ron nudged his head at Ginny and then the door to the gardens. They had always been able to speak like this, even after their brief awkwardness last year. Kissing each other had seemed so natural when they were fighting to end the second Wizarding War, but afterwards… it seemed wrong.

Hermione nodded calmly, standing with her coffee. "Come on Ginny, let's go for a walk."

"I don't want to go for a walk," Ginny seethed between clenched teeth, tightening her hands on the mug in front of her, eyes glued to Harry. She looked like a snake about to strike. Her voice began to increase in volume, "I want to know why in the name of Merlin Harry stuck his nose out for that son of a b-"

"Ginny, watch your mouth!" Mrs. Weasley snapped, eyes flashing at her daughter. "I'll have none of that under my roof." She put her hands on her hips, pursing her lips and frowning, "Go with Hermione."

Ginny's brown eyes flickered dangerously for a moment. She slammed both hands down on the table, pushing her chair back and picking up her coffee, turning away from Harry and her mother. Long red hair swished through the door before it slammed loudly again as she left the room.

Everyone was silent for a long moment. Hermione watched as Harry's eyes followed Ginny. He turned his gaze to hers. "You understand why I did it, don't you Hermione?"

Her expression softened slightly. Her best friend needed her support. She could hear in his voice that he wanted to hear her say that she understood, and that he had done the right thing. His green eyes pleaded with her to say she had puzzled it all out.

But she couldn't do it.

"I'm sorry Harry… but I really don't understand," she said quietly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Draco Malfoy acquitted? After everything that happened that year?" She shook her head in disbelief, sighing slightly. "What did you tell the Wizengamot?"

His shoulders slackened in disappointment. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, his glasses pushing up slightly on his face. "I'll explain it to everyone at dinner," he grumbled, walking in and sitting at the table dejectedly. Ron met Hermione's eyes again and she looked over to Mrs. Weasley. The witch busied herself with making plates of food for all of them. Hermione used her wand to hover a couple of plates outside for herself and the fiery tempered redhead.

Ginny had thrown her mug against a tree and it had shattered. She was throwing rocks now, muttering a new string of curses under her breath. Hermione sat down at the nearby picnic table. Ginny saw the food and stormed over, throwing herself on the bench and tearing into a sausage.

Hermione had to admit she was amused that the Weasley's never seemed to lose their appetites. She took a sip of coffee, placing it down and picking up a fork to pick at her eggs. "Why are you this angry with Harry?"

Ginny swallowed, glaring at Hermione in annoyance. "Come on," Ginny raised her eyebrows, leaning towards her friend, "You mean to tell me you're not the least bit upset?"

"I'm confused," Hermione admitted, then felt another flush of anger as she recalled the image of Draco and Harry in the Prophet. "And of course I'm upset. Malfoy has been a slimy git since first year. I can't imagine why Harry would stand up for him." Her brown eyes narrowed slightly at Ginny, "But you seem positively put out about all this. Why?"

Ginny pursed her lips together. She was silent a moment longer, eating another length of sausage before speaking. "Lucius Malfoy," Ginny growled lowly, "And the damned chamber of secrets. I haven't forgotten that the whole thing never would have happened if he hadn't slipped that book in my cauldron at Flourish and Blotts."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "Is that why you're upset with Harry?"

"No," Ginny said seriously. Her anger seemed to calm for a moment. She took a deep breath. "After everything last year… I made Harry swear to me, no more secrets. No more," she stabbed at her eggs, "Blasted," she stuck the fork in her mouth, swallowing angrily, "Secrets."

Hermione's eyebrows creased slightly in concern as Ginny's raging temper melted away. "You feel like he was hiding this from you?"

"None of us had a clue what he was up to this time," Ginny muttered, dejectedly poking around the food on her plate. "This happened so fast. He just came back yesterday, told us what he was doing, and we all thought that Malfoy was just gonna rot like a pile of dung in the sun." Ginny put her fork down, "I feel like he should've said something to us before all this went down."

Hermione thought for a moment. She spoke quietly. "Maybe he knew we'd try to talk him out of it."

"Damned right we would've," her friend growled, eating more of her breakfast in a huff. She dropped the fork on her plate and wound her hair in one hand over her shoulder. They fell silent for a few moments. Ginny twisted her hair towards the back of her skull, putting her hands behind her head and stretching slightly. A frown etched itself on her lips as she stared up at the nearby tree for a moment. Hermione could see Ginny imagining a confrontation with Harry about all of this. A deep sigh escaped her lips as she released her hair, the anger somewhat dwindling.

"You're right." Ginny raised her want towards the smashed mug, flicking it once. The broken pieces came zooming back together, and the mug landed lightly on the picnic table. "He didn't want us to talk him out of it. Let me guess, he said he'd explain at dinner?"

Hermione nodded curtly. Ginny smirked, eating the rest of her plate quickly, "Good." Her fork settled back down on her plate, clenched fists resting on the table. "That gives me a few hours to get the story first." Her dark eyes flickered dangerously to the house, narrowing in anger, "And remind Potter of the promise he made about secrets."

A grimace crossed Hermione's face as Ginny stood, fierce as a dragon, marching back to the house. Harry wasn't going to be able to escape Ginny's temper this time. She shook her head, picking up her fork and poking around at the food on her plate.

Her appetite had not come back after the near panic attack at the kitchen table. Hermione quickly distracted herself before those thoughts could circle back to her. Her eyes locked onto Crookshanks, who was stalking something within the nearby bushes. He pounced, and there was a sudden squeal of laughter. A cluster of gnomes darted out in all directions. Crookshanks mewed loudly, body low, preparing to dart after his chosen target.

The smell of the summer flowers wafted in the air. She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the sun on her skin, the breeze tossing her hair around her shoulders. The gnomes squealed again. Distractions were welcome, but her appetite had long gone. Hermione pushed her plate away, lifting her coffee to her lips and silently drifting into her thoughts.