Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor any of its characters.
Hey guys, just a little note from me. Now the plot has been developed to my liking, I promise in my next chapters I'll give you some Dramione however things won't really kick off between them for a short while yet but it's something to try and sate the longing for now.
Chapter X
Harry and Draco stumbled through the door of Grimmauld Place, they weren't exactly having the best of days as of yet and the screaming and cheering which greeted them did little to lift their spirits. Within seconds, Harry lost Draco in the sea of Order members which crowded around them, hugging them, thumping them playfully, cheering for them. Harry didn't feel like a saviour, he didn't deserve to be cheered for today, not after this grisly failure.
After a moment everyone quieted suddenly and the crowd parted to see Ginny bounding towards him. He opened his arms to receive her and he was almost knocked over at the force of her assault, he kissed her hair frantically as her arms tightened around his waist as though she never wanted to let him go. He could feel her unrelenting tears causing his shirt to cling to his skin and his brow furrowed. He tilted his wife's face towards his own to see the tears falling from her cheeks but she quickly shook her head before burying it back into his shirt.
Ginny fell to her knees and dragged Harry with her, it was as though they were the only two people in the room as he hugged her back with ferocity, pressing her up against him and kissing every inch of her that he could get hold of, it was as though lack of contact would kill them both.
Hermione watched as he cradled her gently, smoothing her hair over and kissing her tenderly and whispering sweet nothings into her ear that only seemed to make her cry harder, by now he had removed his glasses and didn't even bother to wipe the tears away as he held his wife again.
The whole scene had Hermione in tears herself, it was so sweet that it was sour. It was things like this which were the reason why Hermione refused to fall in love or pursue relationships of that kind, she was strong, and independent, she didn't need to rely on a man. She knew if she let herself, she would only end up like Ginny who once was exactly the same as her, now reduced to constant worry for her husband. Hermione couldn't allow herself that vulnerability, it would be her weakness and her downfall if she wasn't careful but a part of her yearned for love and no matter how hard she tried to suppress it, it always remained.
She felt happy for Ginny, she would no longer feel that awful sense of loss that Hermione felt because she had Harry back, but Hermione didn't have her parents back. She wanted to see them. No, she needed to see them before the pain engulfed her entirely, she couldn't bear it for much longer.
Draco rolled his eyes at the scene before him, the things people did in the name of love were just humiliating. Poor Harry had managed to get himself married, he was a one-woman man now and Draco felt sorry for him. He didn't know how he stood it when they were away on longer missions with nobody to warm his bed at night. Draco couldn't reduce himself to that, he was living in constant fear that the next day might be his last so he wasn't going to reserve himself for one woman only. Besides, he'd never met someone who could qualify.
"Are you alright there Draco dear?" Molly asked worriedly, eyeing his shirt which was stained in blood. His eyes snapped down to look at his blood soaked front and his eyes widened as he began to frantically tear off his shirt, throwing it into the fire as soon as it had left his torso. He didn't need to be reminded of that, he sighed as he watched the remains of his shirt become engulfed by the fire knowing full well it would be something he wouldn't forget.
Flashback
Draco and Harry had been assigned another case of a missing Muggle-Born, all they knew is that she was a young woman who had been their junior at Hogwarts named Alana Holland and a newer member of the Order, she had last been seen in a little Muggle town called Stevenage and so that is where the two had set out to. The case was fresh and so if they were lucky, they would catch the captors in the act giving them the evidence they needed against alleged Death Eaters and hopefully new leads for other disappearance cases.
This girl however had led them on a wild goose chase around the town, they had seen traces of her everywhere but she was still nowhere to be found. It had been almost two weeks that they had been wandering about the town looking for another sign of her since her captors were placing her belongings about that were easily identified as her own. Normally by now they would have given up but Remus was adamant that as a member of the Order, they couldn't give up on her so they painstakingly searched the town.
It was one night however when they were searching the more abandoned parts of the town when it had happened. They were searching a warehouse in the wizarding suburbs of the town where they had previously found her driver's license, hoping to find something they may have missed before. Draco felt something dripping from above down his shirt, he illuminated his wand and saw that it was blood falling from a steady stream. Regrettably, Harry and himself looked above to see who they believed to be the young girl tied by her neck to a wooden beam. There was a deep slash across her abdomen and her intestines were hanging out but the worst part was that the constant flow of blood dictated that she had just been killed.
In her hand a single phoenix feather had been placed, and of course to anybody it would have been insignificant but Harry and Draco knew exactly what it meant. Whoever it was knew their game, they were on to the Order of the Phoenix.
He shuddered at the memory before realising that everyone was looking at him with the exception of Lover Boy and his wife in the corner and so in his frustration he snapped at the first person who he caught sight of.
"Take a picture Princess, it'll last longer." He sneered at Hermione who was taken aback and she abruptly snapped out of her daze before lowering her gaze embarrassed at the realisation that she was ogling Draco Malfoy's chest.
"No thanks, I only take pictures of pleasant people and frankly, you don't quite make the cut." She huffed in response before Fred and George burst out laughing. She tried to hide the smile that was creeping upon her lips but was failing miserably. He hadn't seen Hermione in a good few months at least but here she was, a changed woman in his eyes and he couldn't fathom how he had not noticed her before. He raked his eyes over her as she handed a rather grumpy James Potter over to his grandmother, it was as though he had never seen her before. Well, you know what they say, you can't appreciate a piece of art if you're standing too close. Perhaps months without seeing her was all that he needed to be able to look at her for what she was, a woman.
She had a luscious and petite hourglass figure that curved in all the right places, her breasts, hips and backside in particular which she flaunted by her choice of attire that clung to her in a flattering way. She must've done something to her hair because the once tight and unruly curls had been somewhat relaxed so that they fell in softer and looser waves framing her heart-shaped face. Her eyes swirled like liquid chocolate and he felt warm under her gaze, she had a button nose that was coated in smatterings of freckles that extended to her slightly rosy cheeks too and last of all she had a full pair of cupids bow lips that were slightly parted as she breathed.
She wasn't completely oblivious to the fact that he was eyeing her like a piece of meat and her confidence slipped with every second that his eyes remained glued to her until she was restless so she quickly made her way over to Lupin, she had a good few things she needed to talk to him about.
OOO
"Ah, Hermione. It's been a few months hasn't it? Have a seat." Lupin said cheerfully as he gestured to the chair opposite himself. She sat down elegantly on the chair she had been offered and tucked her ankle behind the other before placing her clasped hands on her knees.
"Skip the pleasantries Lupin, I'm here on business." She said smoothly and he raised an eyebrow at her curiously shocked at how much more stony she had become since she had been away from the Order.
"Very well, do go on." He prompted.
"First of all, I'd like to have it seen to that Harry has a few weeks at least before he is sent off again."
"Why would you make such an odd request?"
"On Ginny's behalf, you've been too busy with your strategizing I assume to notice that she needs him."
"Oh come of it." He scoffed. "She will get over it, we can't have one of our best sitting back because his lovesick wife is pining."
"Forgive me but, how often do you actually inquire after Ginny and James' well-being? " Her voice was getting louder in correspondence with her anger. Lupin remained silent. "That's what I thought, you don't. If you had, you would notice that that lovesick wife as you called her, is suffering far more than what you or anybody else could possibly have anticipated. The girl is depressed, it isn't healthy for her to be cooped up in that room with a baby whilst worrying herself sick about her husband."
"Welcome to the Order! That's what it's like for everybody else here I'll have you know, not a day goes by where someone is worrying about the welfare of another. But you wouldn't know that since you're so eager to stay away." He sneered.
"Upon your insistence!" She exploded. "How dare you even insinuate that it was my decision to stay away. You pushed me into the Ministry, you pushed me into running for office and so by doing such having any ties for the Order would be disastrous, you know that as well as I." The room was filled with her ragged breathing as she tried to regain her composure, she wasn't supposed to have done this. She was supposed to have remained calm, cool and collected and then she just had to go and blow her top.
"My second issue is that I am going out of the country, no more than a few days I suspect. I simply wish to visit my parents in Australia for I have been neglecting them for almost two years and they might be able to help me out with ideas for the campaign." She muttered as she smoothed down her skirt.
"Well you cannot go alone. You are needed here and so your safety is important. We'll send someone with you for protection-"
"I don't need anybody to accompany me. Nobody knows I am part of the Order so I have nothing to fear besides they could be put to much better use than being my bodyguards. I'm leaving by portkey as soon as I have spoken to a few people."
"Going without protection is a disaster waiting to happen. I will not back down on this and I doubt Harry will either, in fact he may just insist on personally escorting you himself."
Hermione was at a loss, everything she said to Lupin he wouldn't accept, he would always try and make her life harder and by the life of her she didn't know why. He never used to be like this until…until Sirius died. Surely he couldn't be holding that against her?
"Fine." She raised her hands up in defeat and didn't even give Lupin a second glance as she stormed out of the room making sure to slam the door behind her. She growled loudly and raked her fingernails down her face in frustration. Why was everything so bloody difficult? She didn't need someone to hold her hand as she went to see her parents, she was 19 now for Merlin's sake, surely she didn't need to be babysat for 24 hours a day. She wished she had Sirius here, he wouldn't let Lupin order her about like this, he would insist that she was fine to go by herself or failing that he would come with her.
OOO
It had been hard for Hermione to find Harry again after her conversation with Lupin. To start with she had to calm herself down significantly because she was sure if she heard one of Draco's snide remarks as he tried to rile her up or happened to be the subject of one of Fred and George's cruel pranks she was sure she would end up in Azkaban for murder before the day was out.
Then she had to try and find a way to lure him out of his and Ginny's room since he had been rather adamant to leave telling everyone he wanted to spend the day with his wife and son so everybody else could sod off. Hermione didn't blame him much but it was important that she talk to him now before she left and she wanted to get out of Grimmauld Place as soon as possible. She wanted a change in atmosphere, she wanted to see new faces, she wanted her parents.
They hadn't even come out of their room for dinner, but she suspected they probably wanted to make up for lost time so Hermione had to resort to spending the night in her old bed in Grimmauld Place to try and wait them out. Luckily for her, James started crying in the early hours of the morning and being a light sleeper she was awoken quickly she had sprinted downstairs to see Harry standing out in the garden cooing softly to James whose cries were quietening now. He strolled back into the kitchen and awkwardly managed James as he tried to put the kettle on.
"Need some help?" Hermione chuckled and Harry spun on the spot and jumped to see Hermione sitting properly on one of the dining chairs as she toyed with the salt shaker. He nodded gratefully and padded over to her as she opened her arms to receive a splotchy faced James Potter who tangled his fists into her matted curls and squealed in delight.
"Thanks." He muttered. "How've you been 'Mione, didn't really get much of a chance to see you yesterday when I got back…" His face flushed slightly with embarrassment as he readjusted his glasses on his nose.
"I've been as well as can be expected I guess, things have been stressful with the campaign and I only hope it'll be worth it in the end."
"Of course it will, you're Hermione Granger, you never fail at anything. I just can't understand why you let Nott be your candidate, you're more than capable." The kettle began to whine and so Harry took it off the stove and began pouring the water into the two cups he had sitting out on the counter.
"Harry, there's a reason for everything I do. Surely you should know that by now? Remember, Nott is a Pureblood who is ironically standing for Muggle-Born rights, by using him I thought it might persuade more of the Pureblooded families to let go of the prejudice after seeing someone else from a prestigious family doing so."
"Still, how can you trust him? He was a bigoted racist back at school, what's to say he's changed?" Harry raised an eyebrow and handed Hermione her mug. She took a wary sip and the tea scalded the tip of her tongue leaving it rough and coarse. She drew back and ran her finger continuously around the rim of the mug.
"If I recall correctly, Malfoy was a bigoted racist back at school too and he was just as bad if not worse that Nott yet I suspect you and he are quite friendly now?"
"Malfoy's different, if it weren't for Sirius in the beginning I would never have even thought to offer him an olive branch. I stood by him because I made a promise to Sirius, but pushing that aside he isn't as bad as what I once thought him to be." He admitted sheepishly.
"Really?" Hermione took another sip of her tea and placed it back onto the table before shifting James in her lap. "How so?" She asked intrigued.
"I've gotta say, working with him wasn't at all what I wanted but after being thrown into field work as partners and whatnot it was a little hard not to communicate and things went from there, we have a mutual understanding. Of course he's still up his own arse in many ways and he hasn't changed out of his womanizing ways and I hate to admit it but Christ, he's powerful. Don't ever tell him I said that though, I have a reputation to maintain you know." He winked cheekily and she stifled a giggle as she pressed her lips onto James' head and inhaled the sweet baby musk that wafted about him as his feathery wisps of raven hair tickled her cheek.
"He's not a bad guy." Harry reiterated and she hummed in acknowledgement, she knew full well that he wasn't a bad person, after all he had been the one to comfort her when she had lost it when Sirius had died. No, she hadn't forgotten that at all especially how he had opened up to her when he had joined the Order but in recent times it was as though he were his old self again and Hermione wasn't sure she wanted anything to do with him. They had grown somewhat distant after being parted for so long and things were just…awkward.
"Anyway." He quickly changed the topic. "I spoke to Lupin late last night." He raised a knowing eyebrow at Hermione who hid her face behind James' head. "Hermione." He said warningly. "He's right, I'm not going to let you waltz off to Australia unguarded, have you lost your mind?"
She mockingly raised a hand to her head and felt around. "No, I'm pretty sure it's still intact." She said sardonically but upon seeing Harry's expression she sighed loudly. "Please Harry, I don't want to go through this again. I'm not a child, nobody knows I am a part of the Order outside the Order itself so I have nothing to worry about."
"No Hermione, listen to me. Someone out there is on to us, the Muggle-Born we found had a phoenix feather found on her. Don't tell me that isn't a coincidence." He growled at her as her face paled a little. "If you're going, then I'm coming with you. I'll never forgive myself if something happened to you out there. Besides, you're too important to this next election so don't get dying anytime soon." He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood a little.
"Harry, you can't. Ginny needs you here, you have no idea how bad she's been without you it's like she's been dead. She's constantly sick with worry and…Oh God Harry, it's just heartbreaking to see her like that, you can't leave her." Hermione pleaded.
"Hermione, no. I may not want to leave Ginny but she's safe here, you're not safe in Australia, it's uncharted territory. We have no idea if the Australian Ministry is siding with Thicknesse and Riddle, for all we know there could be Death Eaters swarming the place. I'm not going to let my best friend go there alone."
She opened her mouth to protest but he quickly cut her off again. "Don't even bother, Lupin is sending me over on business with the Australian Ministry anyway, two birds one stone. But, it means I'm going to have to bring someone else to watch over you whilst I'm at the Ministry-"
"Why can't I come with you?" She interrupted.
"Because if there are Death Eaters over there and they see you with me; a renowned member of the Order of the Phoenix in the Australian Ministry…You see how bad that's going to look right? And no, I'm not going to leave you for a few hours on your own so you can knock that notion on the head."
"Fine, at least tell me who will have the honour of babysitting me?" She huffed.
Harry smirked. "You're acquainted with Draco, right?"