"What are they doing here?" Harry yelled angrily as he spotted the duo. He pushed the door open further, making it slam against the wall, and stormed in. His son looked a little worried at his father's reaction.
"They are my guests, Harry," Andromeda said, "I'd appreciate it if you respected them while you are in my house."
Harry glared at Hermione and Draco, "I think we'll come back another time." His teeth clenched together as he angrily went to grab his son and go, but before he got the chance to five kids came running into the entrance hall the group was gathered in.
"Uncle Harry!" three of the five kids shouted, latching onto their uncle. Harry's face instantly changed from anger to loving as he hugged his nieces and nephew. James looked from his cousins to his father and slipped away before Harry could notice, just as Teddy and Ara rounded the corner.
"I wasn't expecting you!" Teddy said happily as he ran and hugged his godfather.
"James wanted to see you," Harry shrugged, hugging him back.
"Where is he?" Teddy asked confused, glancing around the hall.
"He was here a moment ago," Harry replied, confused, and looking around as well.
"He snuck away," Hermione said quietly; Harry looked at her, his expression becoming guarded, "he went that way." She pointed to a door off to the left. Teddy sighed and nodded, "I know where he went. I'll get him for you."
Harry looked back at his godson and let out a breath before saying, "don't worry about it Ted, he wanted to see you, the least I could do is let him stay."
Andromeda smiled, "would you like to stay for a cup of tea then? We were just going to make some." Harry looked as if he was going to protest so she added, "I wanted to discuss something with you anyways."
Sighing again, Harry nodded, "I suppose so."
"Would you lead the way to the kitchen then Harry?" Andromeda asked.
Without looking at Hermione or Draco, Harry took the third door on the right; Hermione glanced at Andromeda who nodded encouragingly at the two.
"C'mon Draco," Hermione said quietly, grabbing her husbands hand and going through the door as well.
The kitchen was spectacular; long counters stretched across one wall, both muggle and magic appliances on it. A stainless steel oven, fridge, and dishwasher sat on another wall, and an island sat in the middle of the room, stools surrounding it. Harry was busy at work, tapping his wand on a kettle to make it boil and summoning four mugs. It was obvious he was in the kitchen quite often, as he knew where everything was and worked in comfort and ease.
With another flick of his wand, the mugs of tea floated from the counter to the island, where Andromeda had already taken a seat. She gestured for Draco and Hermione to sit as well.
"Thank you Harry," Hermione whispered, lifting the cup to her mouth for a sip. He didn't smile, but he didn't look as hostile as he had earlier either; Hermione couldn't help but feel optimistic that maybe, just maybe, they could get on a civil road again.
Harry turned to Andromeda without a word to Hermione, took a sip from his own cup, and asked, "What did you want to talk to me about?"
"I was just wondering how the search was going?" She sighed, "I've grown quite fond of the Weasley family, and I'm worried how poor Molly is dealing with everything. At her age the poor woman can't handle too much, she's not as strong as she use to be."
Harry nodded, lowering his gaze to his cup, blinking his eyes a few times. It took a moment for Hermione to realize he was blinking back tears; she had the strongest urge to reach out to him and comfort him, like the old friends they use to be, but she didn't think he'd appreciate it.
"There's been no luck as of yet," Harry finally mumbled. "He's in hiding and we can't find him anywhere. It's strange, I thought I would find him in no time, I thought I knew him well enough to track him to the ends of this earth."
"His mind isn't like it once was," Andromeda said shaking her head, "who knows what the poor lad is thinking."
"He's not thinking," Harry seethed, "that's the problem! He's crazy, Andromeda, he's crazy and there's nothing I can do to help him! He's not thinking straight! He can't think properly! He doesn't know who he is or what he's doing half the time! Dammit, I'm scared! I'm scared about what he will do, who he will hurt! I don't know what to do," he ended in a whisper.
Hermione sat there in shock, exchanging awkward glances with Draco. It seemed as if Harry had forgotten about them, as he was letting everything out in front of them. It wasn't difficult for Hermione to realize he was talking about Ron, and Hermione could see how much the situation bothered him. It bothered her as well, and it had been 10 years since she had spoken to him.
She wasn't sure if she should speak and shatter the awkward silence, or stay quiet, letting the man brood.
"How many people are on the track team?" Draco finally asked, breaking the silence. Harry's head whipped up, an odd look crossing his face, almost like a mixture of anger and shock. Hermione stared at her husband in surprise and shock, as well. She hadn't expected him to say a word to Harry.
"Why do you care Malfoy?" Harry finally said, his eyes going into slits, "Why do you care about a Weasley? You've never liked any of them! Blood traitors, that's what you called the lot of them! You couldn't give a bloody hell about any of them!"
"Hermione does though," Draco spoke quietly, curling his hands into fists in anger, trying his hardest to resist punching the man across from him, "my wife asked me to help find him. My wife cares, and so I care."
"Draco is a Wizard Bounty Hunter Harry," Hermione finally spoke, "He has countless resources that the Aurors may not, he's very good at tracking wizards who don't want to be found. Beside's, having someone who doesn't know Ron so well may be an advantage, maybe you're thinking too much about what the Ron you knew would do, and not what this Ron can do."
"I don't need your help," Harry hissed out.
"I want Ron found, Harry," Hermione said, "I'm scared too. I have a family, I have children who I don't want getting harmed, and I'm afraid of what Ron could do. I just want to keep my family safe."
"Let them help Uncle Harry," a voice said from the doorway; all four adults jumped and turned to see Teddy and Ara standing there, both with wide eyes and looking slightly scared. Teddy had a determined look on his face though, "let them help you."
"You don't need to do everything on your own Harry," Andromeda said quietly, "My nephew is willing you give you the additional help you know you need. You may not like him, and I get that, but there's too much at stake here to let events of the past get in the way. Beside's Teddy and Ara have become close friends, so you'll need to get used to the Malfoy's eventually."
Harry raised his hand, running it through his hair frustratingly, messing it up like he used to. Hermione couldn't hide the smile that crossed her face.
"What?" Harry asked sounding annoyed.
"Nothing," she said, "it's just I haven't seen you do that to yourself in a long time."
"What?" Harry asked confused.
"Running your hands through your hair," Hermione said, "you only do it when your frustrated, normally because you're about to do something you don't want to do."
Harry stared at her, and slowly a small smile crossed his face. "You're right," he said and turned to look at Draco, "I'll accept your help Malfoy."
Draco nodded his head and took a sip of his now cold tea, choking slightly on the taste.
"Daddy?" Lyra said walking in the room, "will you play with me daddy? Gemini is playing with Dominique and Louis and I don't understand the rules of the game."
"Ara I thought we told you to make sure Lyra was included in the game." Hermione said.
"Why are you getting mad at me?" Ara asked, "It's Gem who's excluding her!"
"Was not!" Gemini said walking in the room with the two Weasley red heads in trail.
"Was too!"
"Can we leave the children and go do something else?" Victorie asked Teddy, as she walked in with James. "Do you have enough brooms for Quidditch?"
"That sounds like it'd be fun," Andromeda said, "I'd bet Draco and Harry could be captains for teams and you could make a big game out of it."
Harry and Draco exchanged uneasy looks as Hermione smirked at her husband, knowing he'd give anything for a chance to beat Harry, especially in front of his girls. "What do you say love?"
"You're on."
A/N: So it's bright and early where I'm from, 6:20am, and I had a few inutes to spare before leaving for work and I thought, why not update? So here it is! Ta Da! Hope you guys enjoyed it! I LOVE the next chapter, it has the sweetest moment between Ara and Draco! I can't wait for you guys to read it!
Hope all of you who were waiting for Harry to come around enjoyed the chapter! Please review!
