A.N…by the way…I'm not J.K Rowling.
J.K…I totally am!
I've decided to mess with Canon just a bit…not by way of relationship pairing, but indirectly, you'll see in the chapter how that starts. Let's just say I've always found Malfoy to be a character with an ability for good as well as for evil, and I want his arc in this story to really show his redemption without turning into Harry 2.0
This is a few hours later- my characters have just been through a hellish experience, and while not a 100% realistic, I really wanted to show a sense of Community, and joy, and triumph for what they've accomplished. Because I think it really would have brought them all together and set aside the pettiness.
"Ron," Hermione said finally, breaking away and resting her head on his forehead. As far as kisses went, it was her fourth, and while nowhere near risqué or provocative she felt warm and dizzy and overheated and slightly addicted to the taste of Ron's lips. "We have to breathe every once in a while, you know."
Ron chuckled. "Sorry. I reckon I got a bit carried away there, yeah."
"No, you didn't." Hermione's voice was firm. "It was…well…wonderful (she thought she might die- her face was redder than Ron's ears at the moment, which was saying quite a lot) only…the rest of your family…"
"Fred." He said quietly, in a voice filled with pain and heartbreak. He peeled back the covers and stood up silently, waiting for her to walk ahead of him as he'd done for years. They descended the boys staircase in silence- Ron deep in thought, Hermione suppressing many things she wanted to say, yet not doing so out of respect for Ron's loss.
The common room was empty at first glance- the sun shone outside, and Hermione could hear birds outside, and had a sudden memory of a flock of yellow canaries, and Fred's laugh, and Sirius', and Lupin's serious smile and the look of concentration on Tonks' face as she screwed up her nose in concentration- and the sudden flash of Colin's camera that blinded you; and she wondered how the world could be so cruel.
Knowingly, Ron reached for her hand. "I like the birds," He said seriously, a sad smile on his face, but one that reached his eyes. "Makes me think it's from them, yeah? Telling us we should keep living, because they'd know we wouldn't want to."
"Oh, Ron," Hermione exclaimed in wonder –and awe- at the young man standing beside her. She leapt toward him and he caught her automatically, burying his face in the hair he loved so much.
There was a croaking noise and the two broke apart. Harry, ashen-faced and glum, was sitting in the armchair he'd occupied for so many years- a look reminiscent of one being strangled upon his face.
"D'you really think it's them?" He asked, with a sort of desperation, and Hermione immediately dropped her arms from Ron and walked over to fling her arms around Harry without a backwards glance. Ron, for his part, tried his hardest to see this as nothing more than Hermione being a better friend than he, but there was such an abruptness to the way she'd flung herself away from him…
He forced himself to shut up, to walk over to Harry and grip his arm in support and nod kindly. His friend's lashes were wet and the green eyes swam, but there was manly quality to his sadness; and Ron thought even Malfoy could have respected him in that moment.
"I had Kreacher bring your wands to Kingsley- he says they're fine." He drew out from behind him to long sticks of wood, restoring them to their rightful owners. Hermione promptly flung Bellatrix's into the flames without a second glance, but Ron stuck Pettigrew's into his back pocket with a thoughtful expression.
"Wonder why they never taught us all this stuff in school," He mused. Harry shrugged. But Hermione let out a gasp and clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Maybe they did-" She said in horror. "Maybe they covered it in seventh year and we missed it. Oh we're so behind! I didn't learn anything this year, and I bet even the sixth years are more ahead. We have so much work to do."
"Absolutely not." Harry said flatly. He stood up. "I never want to see you reading a book again."
"That's a little harsh now," Ron said uneasily, glancing at Hermione. She wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. Harry shook the hair out of his face. "All we did was sit and read. I'm finding a broom, Ron, and seeing who all wants to play a game of Quidditch. You in?"
"Yes." Said Ron reverently, immediately, before glancing down at Hermione worriedly. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Oh but I- alright. But I'm not playing."
Ron muttered something that sounded like a 'good' but Hermione just rolled her eyes and locked her arms around both the boys' waists.
Downstairs, Ron stood on the nearest table and clapped his hands twice. Instantly the whole room went silent.
"Alright you lot," He shouted. "Harry an' I have been off the Pitch for a year now. Anyone fancy a match?"
Cheers and catcalls filled the hall, even George cracking a smile. Indeed, the Weasley clan led the way to the pitch. The enthusiasm was catching and soon everyone was smiling, and chanting names for Captain.
Eventually it was agreed upon that Kingsley and Harry would be captains (Kingsley agreeing after Hermione pointed out it would be a great publicity stunt for the Ministry to be seen rubbing elbows with all the war Heroes). Then it was time for team selection, and most of the school headed towards the stands, though a few of the more confident non-Gryffindor remained on the pitch.
Harry picked Ron at once, clapping his best friend on the back, while Kingsley swooped up Charlie and Bill. Ginny and Dean came over next, leaving Wood and Cho Chang for the "Old Folks". Harry picked Seamus, and then there was an awkward silence for Beater, broken when George simply threw his hands in the air and walked over to Harry.
"Fred would be ashamed Harry- after all the pranks we pulled on you- you still can't remember the Beaters are the most important?" Ruffling Ron's affectionately, he grinned as Kingsley chose Angelina and an Auror Harry recognized by sight but not by name. Harry's last position open was a Beater, so he looked to George.
George, whose eyes were narrowed, was staring at Malfoy as it contemplating things too evil to speak aloud.
"George?" Harry asked tentatively.
"Malfoy," George called loudly, over the talking of the crowd. "How good are you with clubs?"
Malfoy's eyes widened in shock. He hadn't been expected to be allowed to continue to stay at Hogwarts, let alone walk down to the match, let alone be acknowledged by a Weasley, let alone in a nice way.
"Depends on what I'm allowed to hit."
"How about the acting Minister of Magic?"
The crowd laughed. And Malfoy realized, with some surprise, it wasn't at him.
Of course, little did he know Kingsley had stood up at breakfast in the Great Hall that morning and announced to the world Narcissa and Draco's innocence, rattling off Narcissa's courageous act that led to the defeat of Voldemort, and acts of kindness Draco had shown throughout the years he didn't even know he'd done. As far as he could tell, the only courageous thing he'd done to stand up to Voldemort was refusing to kill the torture victims. He'd suspected for some time the 'Crucio' he'd been performing on third years in detention wasn't up to Ministry-approved standards, but it was hard to look into the eyes of those children and know the physical pain he did here would hardly be the worst thing these kids would be dealing with.
Ron looked suspicious and not too happy about this development, but the kiss Hermione planted on his cheek to distract him –in front of most of the Wizarding World, no less- did more than enough to distract him, and he wore the Gryffindor colors proudly when he took off into the ear- his scarlet ears aglow once more.
Of course, he'd refused to take off until Luna joined Lee Jordan in the Commentator's booth, but as it took almost no convincing to get her there; he took off long before most of the other team was in the air.
Hermione settled in next to Lavender with good grace; at any rate, no curses were exchanged, and Lavender, though she admittedly grimaced, was able to explain it away as pain from her werewolf-inflicted injuries, and Hermione was kind enough to believe her. She even exclaimed in sympathy in all the right places.
Madame Hooch was referring the game, while Katie, Alicia, and various other former players sat near the pitch, ready to be subbed in at any time.
"The Weasley's are over-running the pitch at today's game, it seems. Wood versus Weasley, Potter versus Chang, Weasley versus Johnson, Thomas versus Weasley, Finnegan versus Weasley, Kingsley versus Weasley, and Scranton versus Malfoy in the first game of the season. The Weasley's clearly breed like rabbits, as anyone can see from-"
"JORDAN!" Exclaimed Professor McGonagall in horror.
"Sorry Professor, just figured someone should warn Angelina and Hermione while they-"
"Lee Jordan," Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, slapping him across the back of his head. "Don't you talk about my daughter-in-laws like that," She finished in a whisper with a grin. She was holding Teddy Lupin and watching her family weaving in the air; their red hair flying in the wind.
"Has it been decided?" McGonagall asked, forgetting the match completely and turning to her esteemed Order member, and England's first mother- at least in the eyes of its Wizarding People.
"Well, we've known for years Ron and Hermione would be together, and Angelina's never been able to resist the Twins."
She ended on a sniffle, realizing there was now only The Twin, but McGonagall patted her on the knee and offered up the best comfort she could.
"If you look at the field, you'll notice each Hogwarts' House is represented," Luna pointed out dreamily during a pause in the action. Alicia and Katie were subbing in for the Auror –who was pleading old age- and Kingsley, who was beginning to fear for his safety from the opposing team beaters.
In fact, George had bewitched the Bludger to go after Kingsley and just barely miss, but he was attributing it to his own skill, and not the fact Fred and him had recently come up with a Quidditch supplies line while cooped up at Muriel's.
Harry could barely watch out for the Snitch- he was so focused ( or distracted, however you saw it) by Ginny. Her hair was flying out from behind her, her warm eyes sparkling, and her violent jostling of the other team making him realize how in love with that brilliant witch he was.
He promptly received a large bruise to the back of his head.
"Nothing personal," Ron called to him- He'd been stationed near the goal post, for Ron's moral support, but his best friend had flown over to chuck him upside the head. "But if we lose the game because you're staring at my sister I might have to kill you."
"Trying for the House Cup?" Harry asked sarcastically, scanning the ring again for sight of the Snitch. Cho was circling, like a vulture, below him, but he suspected that was because Michael Corner was located quite close to where she hovered.
He spotted it behind Wood's goal and took off down the pitch.
Neville was beaming from ear to ear. Romilda Vane and her group of girls filled up a good row behind him, sighing about how good-looking and brave he was. Hannah Abbott was sitting next to him, entertaining him about stories of her time spent waitressing at the Leaky Cauldron. On his other side, Parvati was shooting him admiring looks. He smiled at her, of course, but was too busy seeing if Luna ever looked over at him to pursue that path.
Luna, meanwhile, was watching the game, occasionally pointing out such details as how the cloud of Nargles surrounding Harry was distracting him from the snitch (Harry was beginning to figure out that Nargles might actually be Luna's way of saying something else) and once even correctly mentioning the score. (Ron cheered, causing her to invite the audience for one last reprise of 'Weasley is Our King', which was sung with such great gusto and school spirit Bill and Charlie nearly fell out of the air. Mrs. Weasley was openly crying, and even Mr. Weasley looked a bit choked up.)
"He likes it when you cheer," Lavender yelled in Hermione's ear at one point, when Ron dived for a shot he could not physically reach in time. There was a groan from those supporting Harry's team, and a cheer from those supporting the other.
"What?" Hermione yelled back.
Lavender gestured for her to lean closer- Charlie had just fouled on Ginny and there was an uproar from the crowd.
"He likes it when you cheer for him- even when we were dating he'd always look over to see if you would-" Lavender yelled back. It was a very strange conversation.
Ginny faked out Wood and sent the Quaffle through the middle hoop, earning cheers, then flew over to Bill and decked him in the face.
While this caused louder, much more boisterous applause from everyone but Mrs. Weasley, Madame Hooch called the foul, and Angelina was called in to take the shot.
The field went deadly quiet. The Gryffindor dream team of Angelina, Alicia, and Katie had become legendary, and when Ron was good, he was good, but when he was bad…he was terrible. Angelina circled around her own goal post twice before streaking down the pitch, drawing her broom up at the last second.
Ron was ready, tensing at every one of her movements, and Hermione could not take it any longer.
"Come on Ron!" She screamed, louder than she'd ever screamed before, just as Angelina bowled the ball towards the hoop Ron had left unprotected. Lavender covered her eyes as Hermione ducked into Lavender's shoulder, embarrassed, and Ron dived for the ball. He pulled out, throwing the Quaffle to Ginny, and then deliberately met Hermione's frightened eye.
He laughed.
She'd never seen him laugh like this; holding his side and trying not to fall of the broom, and then everyone was laughing, even Harry, and McGonagall had tears of mirth in her eyes, because it was very unlike Hermione the Prefect to be caught up in Quidditch.
Shortly after, Harry flew his broom to the Gryffindor stand section and rolled off onto the bleachers. "Sub," He panted, out of breath, sprawling on the laps of Parvati, Hermione, and Lavender combined. "Tell Ginny to hurry up and win."
Five minutes later Cho Chang caught the Snitch. The final score 360- 350: Harry's team.
Ginny collapsed into the War Hero's waiting arms, and Hermione didn't even wait for Ron to land the broom to attack him. Seamus and Dean met with their fan section – Lav and Parvati, as per usual, while George and Angelina had some sort of mid-air collision that started off as a fight, ended up with her admitting she liked him, and resulting in a wonderful kiss.
Draco landed apart from the others, unsure of where to go, but he was met by a smiling Luna who congratulated him on his performance and informed him he'd make a wonderful Beater if he ate more vegetables.
Draco hated vegetables. But he really liked living in a world without Voldemort.