Chapter 4

"Merlin, must you two snog in the kitchen?" Ron asked as he walked into the room. Ginny and Harry pulled apart at the entrance of her brother. While Harry looked sheepish, Ginny had an annoyed look in her eye.

Harry had been spending the summer at the Burrow before they returned back to Hogwarts. While the Weasleys had also extended the offer to Hermione, she had politely declined to spend time with her family.

"It's your own fault for coming down here so early," Ginny scolded.

Since the end of the war Charlie had spent most of his time back in Romania, Fred and George had moved back into their flat above the store, and Percy had married Penelope Clearwater. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had also left the previous week to be with Bill and Fleur, who had announced that they were expecting a child. So because of that, the three of them had the house to themselves.

Ron just glared at his sister and best friend. But before he could retort back, they heard a knocking on the window. As they looked over, they were shocked by the presence of an owl that none of the three recognised.

"Do you know who's that is?" Harry asked both Ginny and Ron. Both of them shook their heads while Harry eyed the owl curiously.

As Harry retrieved the letter, he flipped it over and saw that it was addressed to his girlfriend. Silently he handed her the letter.

As Ginny opened it, she recognised the handwriting immediately. "It's from Hermione," she said softly. As she read the contents of the letter, her mouth dropped. Was Hermione alright? What was so urgent that she needed to see her in person? She felt extremely worried for her best friend.

"Well?" Ron probed. "What did Hermione say?"

Ginny knew he wouldn't like her answer; neither of them would. While both of them were highly overprotective towards Hermione, they both were rather rash in their reactions to things.

"I can't tell you," she said as calmly as she could. She hoped that they had matured enough to accept that from her.

"Why not?" Ron demanded. "Hermione has barely said much to us all summer and the first owl she sends, she tells you not to tell us?"

Harry looked a little annoyed as well, but unlike her brother, he was more trusting of Hermione's instinct. "Is she at least alright?" Harry asked her.

"I'm not sure," Ginny said truthfully. "She said she wants to talk to me about something, but not to tell you guys right away. It's probably some girl stuff."

While Harry seemed to accept that, Ron did not. "I'm coming with you," he said firmly.

Ginny looked annoyed by this. "What part of she doesn't want you to know yet, do you not understand?"

"Ron let it go mate. Hermione will tell us when she's ready," Harry told his friend calmly. Ron looked reluctant to do so, but ended up leaving it.

Ginny penned a quick reply telling her that they could meet around 3 at the Leaky Caldron.

Hermione sat at the table. The house elves had made an extravagant breakfast for her; one more extravagant than those meals served at Hogwarts. The plate in front of her was filled with pancakes, bacon, eggs, potatoes, and some strawberries.

"Merlin Granger, how much can you eat?" Draco exclaimed. As she glared at him, she noticed his plate had even more food than her own. That hypocrite.

Blaise simply rolled his eyes. "Draco, she's a Zabini, remember?" he asked with a smirk.

Hermione simply smiled sweetly at Draco. "It's not my fault that some of us can afford to eat without it adding weight to our bodies," she smirked like her brother, while making a pointed look at his plate, then at his body.

Draco gawked at her. "Did you just call me fat?" he said with a glare. As she and Blaise burst out laughing, he exclaimed, "I am NOT fat Hermione. In fact, I have a body that guy dream of and girls drool over."

Hermione scoffed at this. "I saw you this morning; I know how your body looks. Trust me when I say that it's nothing special. I've seen better."

Draco looked astounded by this. Hermione was not falling for his usual charms like every other witch did. He didn't like her that way at all, but everyone fell for his charms! It felt rather degrading for his body to be put down as such, when no other witch had ever degraded it so harshly.

"And I suppose you think Potter and Weasley are better?" he asked with a glare.

"I don't think of them that way," she said truthfully.

Blaise cut in. "You're not dating either of them right? I'd hate to have to beat them up," he said with his usual protectiveness. Hermione loved how protective he was of her when it came to guys.

"I've never dated Harry, and Ron, well, that's complicated," Hermione said. She wasn't sure why they were discussing this. It was something she didn't talk to most people about, but her brother wasn't most people. Hermione even found that she no longer hated Draco, but was merely annoyed with their usual banter. But that didn't mean she could forget the events that occurred at the Malfoy Manor.

"How is it complicated?" Blaise probed.

"Well, we kissed in the Chamber of Secrets during the war, but both of us decided it was in the heat of the moment. Neither of us thinks of each other that way. We thought we were meant to be because everyone expected us to get together, but we just weren't right for each other," she answered.

Blaise seemed to accept this. "Are you going to tell them about all of this?" he asked, while gesturing generally to the house, but referring to the events that had occured.

She looked thoughtful. "Well there's no point in denying it," she told them. "But I want to ease them into it. If they don't understand fully then they will both make assumptions that are as far from the truth as possible. So I'm going to try and avoid that. I'm telling Ginny first," she said.

At that moment, an owl came to the window. As Hermione went to receive the letter from Agacia, she noticed it was from Ginny. "I'm meeting her in a couple of hours," she told the boys.

"I'm coming with you," Blaise told her. "It's still not completely safe, and I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I might as well come then too," Draco said reluctantly. "I'd rather not be left alone."

Hermione fidgeted with her hands. The three of them had arrived five minutes early and got a table for four. She would have preferred doing this on her own, but she was glad for the support. While she would not need it for Ginny, she felt safer with the boys there, even if one was Draco.

As she saw Ginny walk over after spotting her, she noticed the presence of Blaise and Draco. She stormed over to the table. "Hermione, I'm here. But before we talk, why are they here?" she glowered. "And why do you look different?"

"Ginny, please sit down first. I want you to understand everything," Hermione said. "Blaise, Draco, I know you wanted to accompany me, but could you give me some privacy for a little while?" she asked them.

They reluctantly got up from the table and walked over to the bar. "Ginny, I want to explain this from the beginning. But promise me you'll wait until I am done to make opinions," Hermione told her friend.

Ginny looked weary, but she accepted.

"Ginny, you know how I wanted to spend the summer with my parents while trying to mend our relationship after the war ended?" she asked. Ginny nodded, remembering her reasons for not joining them at the Burrow.

"Well my parents told me that I was adopted Ginny. They told me that they couldn't have kids so they adopted me."

Ginny looked shocked at this. "So who are your real parents?" she asked her friend.

"The Zabinis," Hermione told her. At that, she launched into the story about how she was separated from her brother in order to protect her. She told Ginny how a spell was cast upon her changing her appearance and her birthday. She told her about how she was reunited with her brother and how she felt like a part of her had been locked away and now it has been unlocked. And through all of this, Ginny sat there listening to her friend talk about her life changing so drastically.

"Merlin Hermione," Ginny gasped. "That's a lot for you to have to have gone through."

Hermione smiled at her friend. She was relieved that Ginny hadn't been alienated off by her news. She had been partially afraid that Ginny wouldn't accept her, even though she knew that the redhead was more understanding than her brother.

"But why is Malfoy here?" Ginny asked.

"He's staying at the house to avoid his manor," Hermione told her. "He's changed though Ginny. He's not the same git he was back in school, but he's still annoying."

Ginny spoke in a hushed tone, "So have you been able to stop the nightmares about that night at the Malfoy Manor?" Ginny was the only person she ever told about them. She had helped her through the worst of them, but now thankfully the dreams weren't as bad. But she still didn't want her friend to worry about her.

"I still get them," she told her friend. "But I don't blame Draco for them. It wasn't him who tortured me or carved that word into my arm. I want to stay angry at him, and place the entire blame on him. But that wouldn't be fair to him," she confessed.

The redhead looked relieved at this. "Has he treated you okay? I know you're no longer a muggleborn and you don't have bushy hair anymore, but has he said anything hurtful?" her friend pressed.

"Ginny he hasn't even mocked me once about anything. He still makes fun of me for somethings, but it's in a way that Harry or Ron would say something."

Ginny's eyes widened at their names, remembering how temperamental they could be. "Oh Morgana, Ron and Harry aren't going to like this!" she exclaimed.

Hermione furrowed her forehead. "I don't know how to tell them Gin. What if they can't accept the fact that I'm a pureblood and that I'm a Zabini? I love my brother, and I love them. I can't choose between them, and if they ask me to, I have no idea what I'm going to do."

Ginny gave her friend a hug. "Hermione, if they ask you to choose, then they are the biggest gits that I have ever met. And I'll be there when you tell them. I won't allow them to say anything to you that could be harmful in anyway."

"Ginny, I have no idea what I would do without you," Hermione said truthfully. "Thank you so much for being understanding. I know it's hard to accept them after the war, but thank you for not jumping to conclusions before I told you anything."

"No problem 'Mione. Besides, you have a hot brother," Ginny said giggling. "Merlin, even Malfoy is pretty good looking."

"Ginny! Blaise is my brother! Besides you're with Harry!" Hermione exclaimed.

Ginny shot her a smirk. "But that doesn't mean I can't appreciate other hot guys," she said with a laugh.

Before Hermione could say anything back at her outrageous friend, the boys had chosen to come back to the table at that point.

"Is everything alright?" Blaise asked worriedly. He had been watching the exchange, hoping that his little sister's friend would accept everything that had happened to Hermione.

Hermione gave him a bright smile. "Everything is perfect." Blaise seemed to relax after that point.

"So when are you going to tell Potter and Weaselbee?" Draco asked with a smirk.

Hermione looked extremely worried at this point. "Soon, I suppose. The sooner I tell them, the better."

As they paid and walked towards the door, Ginny hugged Hermione goodbye.

"Don't worry 'Mione. I won't tell them what you told me. And when you decide to tell them, I will be here with you to help you."

Hermione smiled. "Thanks Ginny."

She gave them all a smile as she apparated away.

"Shall we?" Blaise asked his sister, while offering her his arm. Draco did the same. Hermione linked her arms between both of theirs as they apparated back home.

A/N: Thank you for the reviews, you guys are great! I was a bit worried about this story, so your reviews mean a lot. Let me know if you have any comments on the story or suggestions.