Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 7

July 30th, 1998

Hermione stood in the empty bedroom of her old flat. She had already packed up her kitchen, bedroom and sitting room. The spare bedroom she used as a library was the only room left to pack. Her and Ron had gone searching for a house a few days after Ginny's wedding. They found a small three bedroom house nearby Harry and Ginny. He had Hermione decorate their bedroom. One of the spares was to become Hermione's new library.

It was still morning but Harry was already working on packing up Hermione's books. He had requested the day off so he could finish helping Hermione and testify at Draco's trial at noon. Ron had refused to acknowledge that they were helping his worst enemy that day and had changed the subject every time it had come up in conversation.

"Hermione?" Harry had walked into the room. "Are you okay?"

"Yea, sorry. I was just thinking."

"About Ron? If you think it's too soon to be moving in with him, why are you doing it?"

"No, no, Harry. I think it's perfect timing. He needs someone to help him and I don't want to be alone anymore. We'll be fine."

"I feel like you're just settling, Hermione. And Ron hasn't been acting like himself lately. He's been a bit off. I don't think he's well enough to be with you right now, 'Mione. You deserve someone who can make you feel better and make you happy."

"He's just grieving, Harry. We'll be fine."

"'Fine'? You've used that word so much, I think it's lost its meaning." He reached out and held her hand. "Now come on, help me shrink all your boxes so we can be on our way."

"Will Ginny be joining us at the trial?" Hermione asked at they walked to the other room.

"Yea, she'll be there. She wants us to stop by after we're done here for lunch before the trial."

"Yum. You're lucky she inherited Molly's cooking skills." With a wave of her wand, the many boxes shrunk. Harry walked over and pocketed the tiny boxes.

"Sometimes I wish she hadn't inherited her temper though." They both laughed. "Don't tell her I said that though."

"Let's go, Harry. Before you say something else I can blackmail you with."

Harry took her hand in his again and apparated them right outside her new home. An hour later, they had finished unpacking Hermione's books (and organized them by subject and alphabetical order).

"Hermione, how on earth have you come to own so many books?"

"Mum and dad always like to send me new books when we were in school. And during the summers, I'd spend a lot of time in bookstores. I guess I've gathered up quite a collection," she said with a sad smile.

"You wouldn't be Hermione if you hadn't," he laughed but stopped as Hermione's smile left her face. "'Mione, it's okay to be sad you know?"

"Nonsense, Harry. I'm alright-"

"Don't lie to me, I know you better than that. You have every right to grieve, Hermione. You lost your parents."

"So did you."

"I accepted that a long time ago. You've barely let yourself cry. You're too busy making every one else happy and too busy trying to fix Ron that you don't realize how much you're hurting."

"Honestly, Harry. I'm grieving, but just doing it my own way."

"You stubborn woman. Alright," he put his hands up in defeat. "How does lunch sound?"

A few hours later...

"Are you sure you want to wear that, Harry?" asked Ginny while keeping herself from laughing. Harry was wearing an elegant suit that Ginny had never seen before. Since they were used to seeing Harry in jeans and t-shirts, seeing him in a suit seemed odd.

"Hermione's dressed up as well! And there will be reporters there!" He told her as he walked away from her into the kitchen where Hermione waited patiently.

"Since when do you care about press? You do look a bit odd, Harry," said Hermione.

"It's Sirius' old suit. I had it retouched and fitted. I don't care about the bloody reporters. I've just been looking for an excuse to wear it." He smiled sheepishly. They both laughed quietly.

"Do you know what you're going to say in front of the Wizengamot?"

"Not yet. I'll know when I get there."

"You know that's one of the reasons why the Slytherins made fun of us," said Ginny as she walked into the room. "We always jump into situations without any plans."

"Yea, but we always figure it out in the end," laughed Harry, "Even if it's in the stupidest ways possible."

"Speak for yourself, Harry," said Hermione.

"Alright, alright. It's nearly noon, let's get going." The three of them took their turns flooing to the Ministry. As soon as thei entered the Atrium, a horde of reporters and photographers made their way to them.

"Mr. Potter, is it true you're going to testify in favor of your childhood enemy?"

"Ms. Granger, are you really pregnant with Mr. Malfoy's child?

"Potter, are you aware of your wife's affair with Viktor Krum after his heartbreak with Mrs. Granger?"

Harry, Ginny and Hermione didn't waste their breath on giving them any answers. They pushed through the reporters and walked towards the lift. Once safely alone inside the lift, the three of them looked at each other and broke into laughter.

"Me? An affair with Krum?" laughed Ginny. "They're absolutely mad!"

"The one who asked me about being pregnant with Malfoy's child was a lunatic."

The lift came to a stop and the three of them got off. There were even more reporters in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. They didn't take a moment to listen to what any members of the press had to say and walked straight into the courtroom. Once inside, they took the seats next to Professor McGonagall. It was a full house in the courtroom. Nearby they could see Narcissa Malfoy, Andromeda Tonks, Professor Slughorn, Blaise Zabini, and the Parkinson family. There were a fair amount of reporters there and a few familiar faces that neither of the trio could recognize.

"What time is it, Harry?" asked Hermione.

Harry looked down at his pocket watch. "Five till. They're probably walking him in right now."

"How do you think he's doing?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine. But then again, neither of us know him well enough to know for sure," said Hermione.

"I bet he's still a git," said Ginny trying to lighten the mood.

"I don't know. With the dementors still in Azkaban, it can't be any good. Sirius never liked talking about that place. He said it was the darkest time of his life," Harry said in a low voice. "We'll have to wait and see."

A/N:
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