Chapter Three

Hermione hugged Harry as they met outside of Flourish and Blotts. His owl had come at exactly the right time for her, pulling her out her rage-induced sulk and forcing her to get her act together. Even research hadn't focused her mind, which was highly unusual. She'd allowed Draco Malfoy to ruin far too many days in her life, and staying cooped up in her front room stewing at the unfairness of fate was doing her no favours at all. She'd been pleased to reply positively to Harry's plan for them to spend the afternoon together and was looking forward to a relaxed few hours with no drama and, more importantly, no thinking of nasty, slimy Slytherins.

Hermione grinned as she left the bookshop with the latest haul of books to add to her already too-large collection. Harry couldn't help but think that it was a good thing she'd been paired off with Malfoy. At the least, the Manor had more than enough space for the thousands of books Hermione was bound to buy during her lifetime. Her flat was already comprised of too many bookshelves that were stacked to their breaking points, and she still had piles all over the floor. Hermione would also be in heaven amongst the dusty tomes that made up the Malfoy library. He wisely kept this perk to himself, not wanting to rile her up before he dropped his bombshell on her.

"I've missed days like this," Hermione said. "It seems these days all we do is work and look to heal the scars of the war."

Harry beamed at Hermione's current carefree expression. All too often, she was running around frowning, trying to fix the woes of the world. Harry and Ron, despite being Aurors and responsible for rounding up any remaining Death Eaters, enjoyed life a lot more than their serious friend. She could do with enjoying life much more than she did. Harry bought them a round of butterbeers, and they chatted casually about this and that.

Harry saw Theo and Blaise stroll in and realised that he better get a move on if he wanted to tell Hermione about his relationship with Daphne. He didn't want Daphne coming in, presuming that he'd already told her, kissing him, and sitting down with them. That would surely cause Hermione to spontaneously combust. "Hermione, I have something I need to tell you."

"Look at them! They walk in here like they own the place. I wish you'd lock them up, Harry, where I wouldn't have to see their hideous faces anymore," Hermione ranted.

Harry sighed; all the camaraderie had disappeared, and Hermione's angry face was back. He hadn't even gotten around to telling her about Daphne yet. "Hermione, we've been through this a million times before. I can't just go around throwing people in Azkaban just because they are former Slytherins."

"Former evil Slytherins, Harry. I doubt Theodore Nott is as innocent as he makes out. His dad was one of the worst Death Eaters. I bet he took the Dark Mark like Malfoy. Have you checked for signs of the Dark Mark?"

"Yes, Hermione. I believe, in fact, that the Ministry checked all former Slytherins for Dark Marks, and that was because you kicked up such a fuss they felt they had to appease you."

"Do you think they've just managed to find a really strong glamour spell to hide all traces and evidence of one?" Hermione asked, completely lost in her tirade.

Harry banged his hand on the table. "That's enough, Hermione. You're becoming impossible and, more importantly, a laughing stock. Do you not hear what people are saying about you?"

Hermione impatiently shook her head. "Harry, if I bothered listening to all the gossip about me, then I would have given up in our second-year at Hogwarts when the Slytherins were all wishing me dead."

"But that's just it, Hermione, you're becoming obsessed. Hestia Jones has put her reputation on the line several times to protect your position at the Ministry, but even she is getting sick of your vendetta. If you don't realise that the world has moved on, and soon, then you'll find yourself out of a job."

Hermione was taken aback by the vehemence of Harry's words. Was it true? Were people really asking for her to be sacked? Surely not. She was a war hero, and besides, anyone who'd been in Gryffindor, or Hufflpuff, or, to a certain extent, Ravenclaw, during her time at Hogwarts would see that she was right to be wary. "Oh, Harry, I'm sure it's just Slytherins who are asking for me to go. They probably can't stand that a Muggle-born is making their lives so difficult when it comes to their house-elves." Hermione said airily, brushing aside his warning.

Harry growled in frustration at his pig-headed friend. "Hermione, you are too stubborn for your own good. When we started trying to implement reconciliation after the war, I thought it'd be Ron who had trouble getting on board. I didn't think it would be you."

Hermione was too astonished by Harry's palpable annoyance with her to even reply to his accusations.

"But you've become more and more convinced that anyone who has graduated from Slytherin House is a mini-Voldemort in waiting, and, frankly, it's getting boring. Those of us who love you know that they made your life miserable, and you have every right to be angry at many Slytherins, but the general public is beginning to question your sanity."

"I know that I can be a little stubborn at times, but, Harry, I don't trust them and I don't think I ever can. They were so keen to leave Hogwarts on the night of the Battle to stand by Voldemort's side and I don't believe that they suddenly changed their opinions overnight," Hermione said defensively.

"But that's just the thing, Hermione, it wasn't overnight. It's been eight years since the Great Battle; a lot of work has been done to heal the rifts and wounds."

"It's just hard to imagine that they've accepted the new status quo so easily."

"We all know that's not true. The older generations of Voldemort supporters gave us a lot of trouble, but that's been cleared up now. Have you not stopped to think that those Slytherins who were at school with us were just waiting for a chance to think for themselves? All they heard growing up was how great Voldemort was and how amazing it would be if he came back, but it wasn't exactly that fantastic when he did," Harry reasoned.

"I don't know, Harry. It's hard to think that those smug little brats who took such pleasure in tormenting us are just misunderstood."

"I know, but I do have some insight into the matter," Harry said.

Hermione looked intrigued. As an Auror, Harry got to see and do things that Hermione didn't, including interrogating Death Eaters.

"I have something to tell you that I've been keeping from you, because I know you will be unable to handle the news without blowing up. I want you to sit there and listen to me because, so help me, Hermione, if you start ranting, I will walk out of here," Harry said sternly.

Hermione pursed her lips as she took in the angered face of her best friend. She hadn't seen him this riled up since his perpetual rage in fifth-year. She nodded her agreement.

"Ok, I've been seeing Daphne Greengrass romantically," Harry started, ignoring Hermione's choke as she swallowed a mouthful of butterbeer too quickly. "We've been seeing each other for a couple of years now. We met at a party at Adrian Pucey's house and hit it off. I know this is a lot for you to take in, but she's nothing like you imagine. She's sweet, funny, intelligent, and she makes me happy. I would like for you to accept our relationship as well as Ron has, but I don't hold out too much hope for that. However, I would like you to meet her and sit down with and give her the opportunity to prove that you are wrong about her and Slytherins in general."

Hermione sat staring at Harry for a good few minutes with her mouth open. It wasn't the most attractive look, but it spoke volumes of her shock. "B-b-but how could you keep this from me?" Hermione finally stuttered.

Harry scoffed. "You really need to ask that? Hermione, you've hardly been open to anyone who once wore a green and silver tie. You rant continuously to Ron and I about how much you hate Slytherins. How was I meant to tell you that I'd fallen in love with one?"

"I can't believe you didn't tell me, and you've been seeing her for years."

"Hermione, is that all you are going to focus on? Do you having nothing to say about my actual relationship?"

"So is this the special insight you have into the psyche of the Slytherins?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, I know Daphne wasn't hugely on our radar at Hogwarts, but she was from a family who supported Voldemort. We've spoken a lot about it, and it's made me realise that the majority of Slytherins in our year didn't have a huge choice about what they believed. Pureblood families aren't exactly big on children speaking out and challenging accepted views."

Hermione looked sceptical at this, but she didn't want to provoke Harry into walking out on her. He would do it if she blew her top. She took a few seconds to breathe and calm herself before responding. "And you completely trust her on this? If I remember correctly, she was good friends with Parkinson."

Harry looked murderous for a small minute but, like Hermione, he didn't want to have a blazing row especially as Theo and Blaise were sitting there hoping for one. "Hermione," he sighed, "Just trust me for once. I can prove that all your insane ideas regarding Slytherins aren't correct, but only if you allow your guard down and sit down with Daphne for a while. Can you do that?"

"I don't know. I'm not going to deny that I'm not hurt that you chose to lie to me about your relationship. I'm also shocked that you, of all people, are dating a Slytherin." Hermione saw Harry's face fall at her words and realised that if she wanted to keep him as a friend, then she'd have to make an effort with Greengrass. "But if you are happy, then I guess I'm happy for you," Hermione nearly choked on her words.

Harry's face lit up. "Really? You mean that?" Hermione nodded. "And you'll stick around to meet her in a minute?" Harry asked.

Hermione dug deep into her inner reserves of friendship. She and Harry had been through too much for one little Slytherin to get in the way; if Greengrass meant this much to him, then she would swallow her bile and meet the woman. At least it wasn't Pansy Parkinson. Hermione wasn't sure that she'd be able to stomach that.

"Good, because here she comes now," Harry said, with a big smile on his face.

Hermione turned to see Greengrass chatting to both Nott and Zabini. She caught Harry's eye, smiled at her two former housemates and walked over. Hermione kept watching the two Slytherin males and saw them staring at the table intently. Anyone would think that they were assessing whether they'd have to defend Greengrass from a hostile Hermione. Hermione smirked at this; at least she had them fearing her.

Harry stood, regaining Hermione's attention, and she saw that Greengrass had arrived and was smiling rather nervously at her. Hermione forced a smile back. Harry noticed that it was more a grimace rather than anything friendly, but he was too pleased at her actually shutting her mouth and stopping her prejudiced ranting long enough to smile… well, sort of smile.

"Daphne, this is Hermione. Hermione, Daphne," Harry introduced.

Daphne held her hand out for Hermione to shake and shyly said. "Hello, Hermione. It's nice to finally meet you." Harry didn't miss the pointed remark. Ok, so he'd been a complete wimp in hiding his relationship from Hermione.

"Daphne," Hermione said, a little curtly, but softened it a tad with a nod.

There was an awkward silence as Daphne and Harry tried to think of something to say and Hermione reigned in her desire to leg it as far away as she could from the brown-haired Slytherin. She was tense and completely unable to relax. This was the first time she'd willingly shared a table with a Slytherin, ever, and she was uncomfortable.

Daphne pointed down to Hermione's shopping bag, which was bursting at the seams with books. "Buy anything interesting?" she asked, hoping this might well get some kind of conversation rolling.

"Oh, just some books on curses. I realised how inadequate my collection in this area was when I was looking through them for more information on this curse the Ministry has dropped on us," Hermione replied[,] a little stiffly.

"Do you know what the curse is, then?" Daphne asked again. "Harry says he doesn't know what it is."

"Not yet, no. It seems the Ministry is keeping it close to their chests. However, I wanted to make sure I was as up-to-date as possible, because I fully plan on breaking it. I have no intention of marrying Malfoy," Hermione practically spat that last sentence.

"Oh," Daphne uttered politely, while Harry cleared his throat nervously. Daphne was fiercely loyal to Draco, as all Slytherins were to each other. She was especially proud of how Draco had changed, and she hated anyone failing to acknowledge this. Most of her early fights with Harry had been about the snarky blond. Harry didn't understand how she could defend Draco's actions so loyally, but then again, Daphne could say the same thing about Hermione. He didn't want to referee a screaming match between the two witches, but luckily his girlfriend realised that now was not the time or place to defend her friend.

The conversation was worn out now, and Hermione felt that she'd been polite long enough. She chugged back the rest of her drink, smiled awkwardly, stood and said her goodbyes before high-tailing it out of the pub as quickly as possible. Daphne and Harry both exhaled a big sigh of relief as the curly-haired ex-Gryffindor disappeared out of the Leaky Cauldron's Muggle entrance.

"That could have gone worse," Harry said. "I still have all my limbs attached."

Daphne giggled, feeling relieved and slightly giddy that Hermione hadn't attacked her on sight. "She seemed to take the news better than expected."

Harry's expression darkened. "Only because I told her some much needed home truths and I threatened to end our friendship if she started."

Daphne looked sadly at her raven-haired boyfriend. "Oh, Harry, I am sorry. I don't want to come between you and your friends."

"Hey!" Harry said, hugging his witch. "She's the one with the problem, not you. I think Ron and I have indulged her too much by listening to her venting."

"Why does she hate Slytherins so much? I mean, if I was asked after the war to pinpoint one of your friends who was going to be ridiculously stubborn and idiotic, it wouldn't have been Granger. She was always the peacemaker at Hogwarts and did her best to stop your stupid fights with Draco from escalating into something too terrible."

Harry looked down at the table, tracing his finger around a wet circle left by his butterbeer. "I know. I completely thought Ron would be the problem, but being paired up with Pucey after Auror training was great for him. They both love Quidditch and hit it off. Ron and I were so busy with Auror training after the war, so I guess we kind of just left Hermione to do her thing. It was ages before I actually noticed that she wasn't handling things too well. Hermione always had the ability to be a little intense, and she's so incredibly passionate about the rights of the downtrodden that I didn't see how her job at the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures was re-enforcing her stereotypes. I really do blame myself for being so caught up in my own life and refusing to make her seek help when I finally did notice that she wasn't ok. I don't think she fully recovered from being so brutally tortured. She was hit long and hard by Bellatrix's Cruciatus, and she didn't crack. After we escaped Malfoy Manor, there was still so much to do that we didn't have time to sit down and discuss how it was affecting her. She recovered physically, and we didn't think to make sure she was mentally recovered before we were off again. The Great Battle followed not too long after, and that took a toll on everyone. Once we did notice, however, we should have made her go to those counselling sessions, but it's Hermione, and I didn't want to make her do anything she didn't want to do. She's the sister I never had."

Daphne covered her mouth with her hand. "I completely forgot about her torture. How is she going to be able to marry Draco and live at the Manor?"

Harry was grim-faced as he considered this point. "I don't know. The way she's going at the moment, we'll be lucky if she gets that far. She could easily be carted off to St. Mungo's. She's planning on confronting Hestia tomorrow at work, and she is rapidly losing patience with Hermione's inability to move on and not think of every Slytherin as a Death Eater."

"Do you think getting George to speak to her will help?"

Harry shook his head. "We've tried that. She's outright refused to admit that there is anything wrong and has laughed off suggestions that she's more affected that she realised by the torture."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I'm really worried that this order to marry Malfoy is going to be the last straw. She's wound so tight that she could snap at any moment, and you know Draco; he's not the most understanding person in the world. He'll push her buttons until she does break."

"I'll speak to him, Harry. I'll make him see that he can't be his usual self with her."

Harry smiled at his understanding other half. He'd really lucked out when she'd agreed to date him. "Thanks, sweetie," he said, kissing her on the forehead.

"Ok, enough with the public displays of affection, Daphne, it's disgusting," Blaise said as he and Theo wandered over.

Daphne immaturely stuck her tongue out at the enigmatic Slytherin. He raised his eyebrows. "Real grown-up, Greengrass," he drawled at her.

Theo slurped his firewhiskey as he flopped down opposite Harry. "I was disappointed, Potter. I was hoping for at least one curse to be fired at you. You said Granger was feisty," he accused his green-eyed friend.

"Just be grateful she didn't do anything to you. She was trying to convince me, once again, to haul your sorry arse off to Azkaban."

Theo shuddered. "I actually pity Malfoy now. No matter how vapid Brown is, at least I'll sleep in peace. If I had Granger near me, I'd be worried that she'd kill me in my sleep."

Harry groaned. "Don't put that idea in her head, she'll probably execute it."

"Or him," Blaise quipped.

Daphne moved the conversation back to more productive grounds. "Do you think Hermione will actually be able to find a way around the curse?"

Harry pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Well, if anyone can, it's Hermione. She saved my arse more times than I can remember, and she's certainly in full research mode. But it's all a little vague at the moment. Until we know exactly what the curse entails, then it's hard to say."

"Wait a minute, Granger's going to try and break the curse?" Blaise asked.

"Yep," Daphne replied. "She's outright refusing to marry Draco and thinks that breaking the curse is her best option."

"Unless, of course, she can convince Hestia that she shouldn't be paired up with anyone," Harry added.

"If Granger wasn't so scary, I'd actually offer her my help. I'd rather not be tied to Brown for the rest of my life. But I doubt your curly-haired maniac of a friend will want assistance from a Slytherin."

Harry laughed at Theo, but inside he was sad. He hated to see Hermione like this. She was messed up and she needed help, but getting her to seek that help was going to be tough. She hated feeling out of control, which was no doubt a side effect from when she was at the mercy of Bellatrix Lestrange. She channelled all her feelings of hate and distrust onto the House of Slytherin, but this was becoming less tenable as more barriers between the former students were broken down.