Chapter 10

Arthur and George pulled the irate Ron back inside, where everyone looked at them with solomn faces. Arthur's face was red with anger. George had his arms crossed tightly over his chest and he was breathing heavily.

"Harry Potter. Get back in here." Arthur's voice was controlled and even. Arthur watched as the black haired man walked in with his face hard with anger. George pushed Ron down into the chair in front of him. Then pointed to the one beside Ron. "Sit down, Harry." Green eyes flashed.

"I don't hav-"

Arthur jerked his hand at the chair. "Sit. Down." Slightly shocked at the anger in the usually calm man's voice Harry dropped heavily into the chair glaring up

"What do you want? I just learned my supposed best friend is marrying Draco fucking Malfoy. I think I need some time to myself." Harry crossed his arm over his chest and George glared down at him. Arthur glared at both of them, looking a lot like the patriarch that he was.

"First of all. Ronald Bilius Weasley, you had no right to talk to Hermione like that." Arthur glared down at his son who scowled.

"I had-"

"You had no right, Ronald. You are married with four children and you have a fifth on the way. You were acting like a spurned ex-boyfriend who is still in love with the woman he pushed away." Arthur watched as Ron shook his head in disgust.

"That... thing is getting married to the ferret and you are angry at me?" His angry blue eyes flashed as he crossed his arms over his chest. George shook his head at his younger brother.

"We have every right to be angry with you two. Hermione told me first because she knew this was going to end badly." George looked at his father who gave a small nod.

"George told me because he knew I would have a bit of control over what would happen. She knew none of you would accept her choice. But I had no idea it would go as far as it did. I expected Ron not to listen but you, Harry? I am disappointed in you." The Weasley patriarch shook his head in clear disappointment. Harry uncrossed his arms and held out his hands, his expression disbelieving

"You're disappointed in me? She's marrying a Malfoy! A bloody Malfoy, for Merlin's sake! She turned her back on us and betrayed our trust!" The black haired man glared at George and then at Arthur.

George took a deep breath in as if to control his temper. "She did nothing of the sort. She wasn't the one to walk away, Harry. She wasn't the one who didn't listen."

"She betrayed our trust!" Harry turned to Ron who nodded in agreement. Arthur's face went red.

"You think she betrayed you? How selfish are you? She has stood by you since you were eleven years old, Harry James Potter! Since you were eleven! That's twenty one years she has stood by your side and supported your decisions! She stayed by your side when everyone turned against you. When even Ron turned against you!" Arthur was breathing hard as he glared down at the rather pale Harry. "She came back to you after you and Ron refused to talk to her in third year because of a bloody broomstick! She turned the broomstick in because she had nothing but your welfare in mind. She didn't want you to get hurt and when she was around, you never did." A coldness seemed to surround the eldest male Weasley and even Molly looked slightly wide-eyed at his barely controlled fury.

"She, on the other hand, nearly got killed by a troll when you locked it in the bathroom with her. She set a teacher on fire which saved your life, she helped you get past Severus' potion riddle. And that is only in the first year at Hogwarts!" Arthur started breathing heavily and George took over.

"She brewed a dangerous potion for you, got turned into a cat, and then got petrified by a Basilisk, while searching for answers for you, Harry!" George took a deep breath and continued on his rant. "Now let's move onto the third year. She was abandoned by you twice that year! Once for your bloody Firebolt, then the second when you took Ron's side over her side in a petty argument about Scabbers! She put all that aside and helped you rescue Sirius Black, your godfather and Buckbeak. She saved you from a werewolf for crying out loud!" Arthur placed a hand on George's shoulder and continued.

"She stood by you all of fourth year when Ron abandoned you and the whole school hated you. She endured the teasing and insults because she was your best friend! She taught you how to protect yourself and she helped you through all of your tasks!" Arthur watched as Harry's face went red with shame. "Fifth year, she had to deal with you being angry with her no matter what she did. She forced you to try and fight against Umbridge, and she helped you create the DA. She risked being expelled from Hogwarts, saving you from being tortured by that foul woman. She fought beside you in the Department of Mysteries even after you refused to listen to her about not believing what you saw. She was put in the hospital because of that and yet she still stood by you." Arthur took a deep breath and he and George switched places once more.

"Sixth year, she was your best friend with the Ginny problem, and she warned you about people sending you love potions. She was there beside you every step of the way." George scowled at the boy-who-lived. "She stood by you and left her studies while she helped you hunt for those blasted Horocruxes. She taught you how to defend yourself against the Death Eaters and helped you break into Gringotts. After she and you were captured, she was tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange for hours and she refused to talk. She refused to give the woman any information regarding your mission. She was willing to lay her life on the line for you, Harry James Potter. She was willing to die so that you might survive. But twenty one years since you met her and you have yet to support her in anything she does." George shook his head in disgust. Arthur let out a calming breath.

"Hermione was with you, as your best friend for twenty one years, Harry. When she says she is getting married to a person who you hated back in Hogwarts, you turn your back on her and refuse to listen to what she was going to say. You didn't just turn your back on her today. You turned you back on your whole past with her. You betrayed her trust, Harry Potter. And for that I am disappointed in you." Arthur watched as Harry dropped his head into his hands. Thinking about what he had been told. George shook his head in blatant disgust before grabbing his jacket and heading towards the door. He stopped and turned around, his blue eyes cold as he looked at his youngest brother and his brother-in-law.

"She's getting married to Draco Malfoy because she owes Narcissa Malfoy a Life Debt. Now don't you feel like a complete prat, Harry? You destroyed a twenty one year friendship because of a Life Debt. Because of a situation Hermione had no control over." George glared as Harry looked at him with a pain in his eyes. "Have a Happy Christmas. All of you. I know Hermione is." George walked out the open door and slammed it shut behind him. He needed a firewhiskey and needed one quickly.

Arthur watched him go with a small shake of his head. "He's right. And I highly doubt you are going to be able to fix this." Molly stood up slowly.

"She could have told us that, Arthur. It's not just Ron and Harry's fault." The large woman wrung her hands and Arthur shook his head.

"It is. She was going to tell everyone what had happened when Ronald started in on her about getting married. She is blameless in this situation, Molly." Arthur looked at the rest of the family. Ginny looked about ready to burst as she glared at the back of her husband's head and Lavender looked shell shocked. Percy and his wife had left the room sometime during the argument. Charlie wasn't all that happy looking as he grabbed his jacket. "I suggest you gather your kids and go home. I think this night is over."

Draco and Hermione landed in a study in Malfoy Manor. Draco untangled himself from Hermione's grip and sat her down on the couch before retrieving two glasses of Firewhiskey. He filled them full and pressed one into Hermione's hand. She looked pale and her eyes were wide and red with tears.

"Drink." He watched as she put the glass to her mouth and drank the contents in two swallows. She winced at the burn and Draco filled her cup again before drinking his firewhiskey. "That was a train wreck if I've ever seen one."

Hermione shook her head slowly and drank her second glass a bit more slowly. "That was no train wreck. That was a plane crash. An ugly and fiery plane crash." She looked at Draco with a sad smile. "How did you know to come?" Draco smirked.

"That little lioness is quite aggravating. She kept trying to bite me when I ignored her and she changed to a note when I picked her up. It said. 'I wish someone would get me out of this blasted situation. I just want to get to the manor and perhaps you should come and pick me up because I don't know where the manor is.' My guess is you had a bunch of random thoughts going through your head and the note picked out the simplest terms for me to understand." He sat down beside her on the couch and took a swallow of the firewhiskey. He winced at the burn.

"Good thing you got a note. I don't think I would have left unscathed." Hermione finished off her second glass and handed the empty cup to Draco who filled it and handed it back.

"You're Hermione Granger. I highly doubt that they would have gotten a curse off." He souded sincere.

Hermione smirked slightly. "Was that a compliment?" Draco shrugged and smirked back at her.

"You're hearing things. Malfoy's don't compliment anyone." He took another drink of his firewhiskey and refilled his glass before looking over at Hermione who had pulled her feet onto the couch.

"I'm sure." She took another rasping drink of her whiskey before letting out a sigh. "That was awful. After everything I've ever done for Harry, he just turned his back on me." She shook her head her curls swaying around her face. Tears leaked out of her eyes and dripped into her firewhiskey.

"I thought I could trust him. I thought he would at least listen." She gave a hollow laugh and Draco winced slightly at her defeated posture.

"We all overlook some aspects of the people we care about and then one day they are revealed to us in a painful way. Yours was Potter's inability to listen and his hot head. Mine was my father's weakness for Voldemort and I found that out when I was forced to take the Dark Mark for my father's mistakes." Draco shook his head. "That still doesn't explain why, after everything you went through for that prat, why he turned around and walked away. It astounds me. I thought Gryffindors were supposed to be unfailingly loyal. Even I would have heard you out and that's saying something." Hermione just shook her head.

"Harry has always been like that. He never listened to what I had to say. It was always about him, even during school." She downed the rest of her drink and Draco diligently refilled it. "Everything was about him and if it wasn't, he constantly made it to be about him. I didn't even think anything about it because he was orphaned and marked by an evil despot as a child but after my parents died. After I told him about my parents, he just shook his head sadly and said, 'It's okay Hermione. I lost my parents too. Now you know what I had to deal with.' It wasn't the greatest thing to hear from your best friend after you find out your parents died." Draco's eyebrows rose and he just shook his head at Potter's stupidity.

"How did they-"

"Die? Car crash. I found out three days later when I went to find them in Australia. They died without even remembering who I was. I was eighteen, I survived a war but learning my parents died while in Australia, nearly killed me." Hermione wiped away her tears and Draco watched as she drank her amber whiskey. "It was that year Ronald cheated on me." She looked at him.

"Does it ever stop hurting? Does the pain ever go away?" She looked tired and drained. Draco sighed and finished his glass of firewhiskey.

"I don't know. But I'm sure it will, someday. Finish that drink and then I will take you to your room. You need to sleep on this. I'm sure everything will be put in perspective tomorrow." Draco watched as she finished the rest of her glass with a small cough. The alcohol seemed to hit her all at once and her face went rosy and her eyes went slightly glassy.

"I'm sure you're right." She stood unsteadily and Draco grasped her elbow before standing himself.

"You are halfway to drunk, Granger." He smirked at the unsteady witch.

She tilted slightly before Draco pulled her upright. She chuckled and walked beside him as they left the study. "I know. Hey, where's Scorpius? He's here right? I should go say goodnight."

Draco rolled his eyes and muttered a few choice words under his breath. "Not right now. Besides he's at mother's. She will be returning him after the ceremony." Hermione nodded.

"Okay. I'm tired. Where's my bedroom?" She looked at the silent, glaring portraits around her as Draco led her down the dimly lit hallway.

"It's down here. Scorpius's room is three doors down and you have an adjoining bathroom to your bedroom." Draco opened a large ornate door to an elegant bedroom. He led Hermione inside and she looked around with an impressed expression.

"Where do you sleep?"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Are you hitting on me Granger?" Hermione laughed suddenly.

"If I am, you can blame it on the alcohol." She shook her head and weaved over to the wardrobe. She pulled open the door and started pulling things off the hangers. "Now I'm going to bed and I honestly don't think you would want to see me changing, so I suggest you leave, Malfoy." After watching the witch throw a few articles of clothing out of the wardrobe Draco left. He shut the door behind him with a smirk. At least being married to the witch wouldn't be boring.