A/N- Well it seems as though everyone loved my take on a badass Hermione. That version is my absolute favorite (: So happy to hear that everyone enjoyed the chapter. I did receive a guest review from Goose saying that it would be a good story if I didn't Ron bash. I'm sorry you feel that I'm bashing Ron. I have been trying to portray him as close to canon as possible. Ron was always hotheaded, held grudges, and was prejudiced. He could also apologize when he knew he was wrong. I'm simply trying to keep up with that flow of character (is that a thing?). If you can't continue the story, I understand. Anyways, only one person gave me an opinion on my next story so I guess y'all are gonna get what ya get, haha. Enough, enough, I'm gonna start now.
Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter and Co. I never will (which makes me wanna cry). Maybe someday I'll get lucky enough to come up with an original idea and make millions. (Not going to hold my breath though, lol).
Chapter 11
May 5, 1998
Hermione lay in the bed she always slept in when she stayed at the Burrow. Ginny was buried under her blankets, snoring as loudly as any man she had ever heard. This thought made Hermione smile to herself, despite her exhaustion. Ginny was the epitome of all things female; she loved fashion, makeup, hair charms, dressing up, romance. On the other side, however, the redhead could eat more than most men, snored like the Hogwart's Express, and played quidditch better than most people. Her one female friend was just as complicated as Hermione herself.
Hermione had lightly dozed for a couple hours through the night, but overall, had not rested well. Aside from the fact that she missed Draco like mad and was worried about his well-being, she was experiencing the effects of the Slytherin being locked away through their bond.
She was constantly anxious, her stomach tied in knots. Hermione knew that she had to keep trying to eat, but it was extremely difficult. She never managed more than a few bites. The Gryffindor could feel the little bit of weight she had gained since being at Shell Cottage slipping away. Harry harped on her constantly to eat more, but he couldn't understand what it felt like to have such frazzled nerves bringing you down when they didn't even belong to you.
Charlie had been beyond amazing. He had returned to the Burrow despite the fact that he usually stayed with Bill when he visited. It wasn't plainly obvious, but he was as close to Bill as the twins were to each other. He did his level best to keep her distracted. He gently prodded her to eat, much more subtly that Harry did, and for that, it worked a little better. If it hadn't been for Charlie, she probably wouldnt have eaten a bite since Draco had been taken away.
She was doing her best not to mope about the situation, but everyone could see that she was upset about it. Harry went out of his way to spend time with her, despite the fact that she knew he really wanted to be shagging Ginny silly. She appreciated the effort though.
Ron was positively gleeful that Draco was gone. He tried to hide it, and he did a fair job, but Hermione had known him for too many years for him to hide it completely. She never called him out on his feelings since he never gloated in front of her that the Slytherin was gone. Once, she did overhear Ron telling the twins that he was happy the dirty snake was gone. The twins had surprisingly told Ron to shut it and left him in the living room alone afterwards.
Hermione had had a slight breakdown when Molly had tried to get answers out of her about her torture. She knew that the older woman had her best interests in mind, but it wasn't something that Hermione felt comfortable discussing yet. Harry had happened upon her sitting at the table, her head hanging low, while Molly questioned her. He had immediately noticed that she was uncomfortable, so he had excused the pair of them and then privately told Molly that Hermione didn't want to discuss her time spent at Malfoy Manor.
After that conversation, Hermione had seriously wanted Draco to be there and tell her that she wasn't dirty and that he still wanted her despite what Greyback had done to her, but that just wasn't possible. Instead, Charlie had taken her to his room and sat her on his bed, holding her close and whispering to her over and over that she wasn't ruined, that Draco wanted her, and she just needed to be patient for a little while longer.
Eventually, she had calmed down and when she realized how she had acted, she had been mortified. Hermione knew she was better than this, she was stronger than this, yet she had let her weaknesses run free. Promising herself that it wouldn't happen again, she brushed herself off, thanked Charlie and Harry for being there for her, and politely told Molly that she didn't want to talk about it at that time.
Now, she was laying in her bed in Ginny's room, waiting for her wand alarm to go off so she could get up and ready for the day ahead of her. Charlie had promised to accompany her to meet with Silas Toomey in regards to Draco's defense. After she met with the aging wizard, she had plans to go to the Ministry and see Professor Snape and discuss his defense. She and Charlie had already worked out a baseline defense for the Slytherin, but now she needed to add in the details.
Last on her to-do list for the day was to meet with Kingsley and see when the Wizangamot had scheduled their trials. He had promised her that the two of them would be the very first trials, but she didn't know how long they would have to wait. She had assured Kingsley that she could have a defense ready for Professor Snape as quickly as he could schedule him a date. She hoped that Silas Toomey could gather a defense just as quickly so Draco wouldn't have to continue to suffer.
Her wand alarm buzzed on her pillow, meaning that Hermione could quit trying to pretend that she was sleeping. She silenced her wand and rose from bed, doing her best to be quiet since she knew most of the household would be sleeping until much later. It seemed that the war had exhausted everyone; even Molly Weasley, the very definition of an early riser, hadn't made it out of bed before ten since their return to the Burrow.
She gathered the clothes she had picked out for the day and made her way into the bathroom. Hermione showered off quickly, using a charm to dry her hair and make sure that it was presentable and not a complete mess. Draco may like the wild look, but Hermione did not.
The Gryffindor dressed in modest witch's robes, lavender in color. She preferred her muggle clothing over robes, but she needed to look serious and professional, not comfortable and leisurely. Hermione didn't bother with makeup or charms. She knew that she had circles under her eyes and she didn't think that any level of charm could hide them.
Charlie was waiting for her at the breakfast table, toast ready and waiting in his hand. She gave him a lopsided grin and took the proferred food. Hermione knew she would need her strength for the day. Once she had finished off the piece of toast, Charlie gave her a reproachful look.
"That's just for starters. You're going to try to eat some lunch, a real meal. Draco is going to be so angry that you're losing weight again." She nodded. He was absolutely correct, but she was hoping that he would understand why she found it difficult to eat.
Charlie led her outside to the apparition point and held his arm out for her clasp. She had mentioned in passing that she would be out for most of the day to the rest of the family, but she knew it hadn't really sank in. Harry had been spending time with Ginny on the couch and Lavender had been over visiting Ron. Both couples had been snogging heavily and she had never felt more like an intruder. Therefore, when nobody had responded, she had marched up the stairs and read in her room until Charlie had found her and offered to accompany her. She was simply waiting now for the patronus from her friends wondering where she had disappeared to.
She gripped Charlie's arm and allowed him to lead the apparition. She usually detested side-along apparition, but there were times she was willing to go that route. For one, she had to trust the person she was with not to splinch her. The familiar feeling of apparition overtook her and when she opened her eyes, they were standing in one of the more posh areas of Diagon Alley.
It was exactly eight o'clock when she and Charlie stepped forward and entered the office building that was clearly marked with Mr. Toomey's name. Hermione hoped that the fact that he had his own business and didn't work for a firm meant that the man was amazing at his job. On the flip side, though, she couldn't see Lucius Malfoy keeping him as the family barrister if he didn't know what he was doing.
They were greeted quietly by a witch who appeared to be in her thirties. She smiled at them and offered them refreshments while they waited to be seen. Hermione accepted a cup of tea, while Charlie declined, and settled in to wait the ten minutes until their appointment began.
They didn't have to wait long as it turned out. Apparently the Malfoy name opened the door for many things and garnered special treatment. Hermione had no sooner taken the first sip of her delicious tea when the office door opened and a man who had to be around the age of seventy chivvied them inside his office. Once she and Charlie were sat down, he took his seat behind the desk and smiled at her.
"So you're the famous Miss Granger. I have to admit, I'm curious as to why the most famous muggle born of our world is contacting me about the defense of one of the most prejudiced pureblood families in existence." She cleared her throat and smiled at him.
"Draco saved my life. He almost died for me so when I healed him, a soul bond formed. We've both been interested in the other for quite awhile. It seems he wasn't as prejudiced against my blood status as he appeared to be." Mr. Toomey nodded solemnly.
"I can't imagine that Lucius would have been too pleased with his son having feelings for a muggle born. Is he aware of the soul bond?" Hermione nodded.
"Yes, he wasn't happy about that. He told Draco that he was no longer his son, but that was during the Final Battle. To my knowledge, he's done nothing to formally disinherit Draco." The older man shook his head.
"It would have had to have been a joint effort between myself and Gringott's for that to happen, and I have heard nothing of it. I think it's a safe assumption that he was apprehended before he could make good on his threat. This being said, I'm completely able to defend Draco." The older man rubbed his hands together and picked up his quill.
"Tell me everything that Draco has done over the course of the war, everything you know anyways, good or bad." Hermione sighed deeply, grasped Charlie's hand, and began.
She detailed the behavior that she had witnessed sixth year, had told Mr. Toomey how Draco had been unable to kill Dumbledore. She went on to tell him her suspicions that he had been punished and made to kill prisoners under the threat of a wand from his father and Bellatrix. She made no secret that Draco had told her that he was far from innocent.
She gave him every last detail of their capture and removal to Malfoy Manor. She had cried in Charlie's arms as she told Mr. Toomey about every aspect of her torture in Malfoy Manor and how Draco had saved her. It had made her feel better when she was able to tell the barrister about Draco calling for Button and making sure that he would take Hermione and her friends to safety.
It was at this point that she realized that Button must still be at Shell Cottage wondering what was happening. The Gryffindor tried calling for her, to be rewarded with the elf popping into existence right before her eyes.
The elf had cried happy tears when she saw that Hermione was still alive. She had informed Button that she was trying to get Draco out of prison, and that she needed to tell the barrister the complete truth about their time at the Manor.
Button had cried large softball-sized tears as she retold the story that Hermiome had, her devotion to Hermione quite clear when she called her Mistress. Button stayed by her side while Hermione detailed every last detail about the horcruxes, their mission into Gringott's, and Draco's part in killing the last horcrux, Voldemort's snake.
Hermione told the barrister how Draco had taken down Yaxley and Dolohov, had saved Fred's life, and had refrained from hexing Dean and Seamus when they had attacked him. She was worn to a ragged line of nerves by the time she was finished, and she was sure that Draco was feeling the effect of it through their bond. However, she couldn't have been more thrilled to be done.
Mr. Toomey had sat back in his chair halfway through her tale and just took in the story. He seemed to look pleased when Hermione finished, but she refused to get her hopes up. She waited anxiously for his verdict, her hand clutched tightly in Charlie's. The older Weasley drew her into his side so he could hug her as Mr. Toomey began to speak.
"This is an open and closed case. For one, a room full of hundreds of people witnessed Draco kill the last horcrux of the darkest wizard of all time. He saved the beloved brains of the Golden Trio and then formed a soul bond with her. This will be our ace in the hole. His prejudice is obviously gone if he was able to form a bond with a muggleborn. Despite the fact that you were physically and sexual assaulted, Draco still felt enough for you that the bond formed. It's a fact that the bond between soul mates makes sure that what affects one affects the other. They can't condemn him to the dementors of Azkaban without condemning you as well.
Our world would never do that, considering the articles that have been published quoting Mr. Potter attributing his survival to you. There's no way the Wizengamot could get away with condemning you to the effects of dementors after all you've done. This being said, however, I'd really like to prove his innocence, that way his allegiances can't ever be questioned again.
I would like for you to submit every single memory you have of Draco helping your mission, how he fought for the light side during the Final Battle. Prove to the world through your memories that he is the hero you're claiming him to be. If you could get Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley on board as well, that would be fabulous. Anyone's memories that witnessed any of these events would be good. Members of the Order that watched him be inducted, that heard his words about his feelings of prejudice would be great.
Implore them to come to my office, make sure that they come straight to me so they can submit their memories. No matter who I'm seeing at the time, I'll make time for them so they don't have to wait." Hermione was nodding, understanding completely what was being asked of her. She had faith that Charlie, Bill and the twins would come submit memories, as would Remus, Harry, and Kingsley. She was unsure of everyone else, but what she had would have to be enough.
Button and Charlie waited patiently as she submitted memories for over an hour. Every memory that she had of Draco helping their side of the war was removed from her mind. She refused to keep any of them private in case it would determine that he had been loyal. The two of them, Charlie being aided by Button, had patiently held her through her tears when she submitted her torture memory. When she had finally finished, she turned her teary eyes to Mr. Toomey.
"That's all I have. I hope it's enough. Charlie took his turn next, submitting memories for almost thirty minutes. When he finished, the barrister gave them a smile.
"Anything will help. Send your friends along and I'll build an airtight case against the Ministry." She nodded before broaching the subject that she found very distasteful.
"Could you also take the cases of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy? I could truly care less what happens to them, but they're Draco's parents and he wouldn't want them to just be remanded to Azkaban without a proper trial." Mr. Toomey nodded.
"You're a wonderful person, Miss Granger. I'll take on their cases, but Draco's will be my priority." She nodded before speaking again.
"I'm representing Severus Snape in his trial. If he's acquitted, can you use his memories? He probably has just as many useful ones as I do, if not more." He nodded his agreement.
"Absolutely. If he is acquitted, he'll be a normal citizen free to help our defense in any way. I wish you the best of luck in this endeavor." She gave him a smile as she got to her feet.
"Thank you, Mr. Toomey. If there's anything else you need, please feel free to owl me and I'll do everything I can to help." Mr. Toomey stood and shook her hand, then Charlie's. The pair exited the barrister's office after ordering Button back to the Burrow, and walked back out into the Alley. Charlie wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Well, the outlook is good. That's one less worry." She nodded into his shoulder.
"That's true. Merlin, it was so difficult to tell him those things." Charlie ruffled her hair before pulling her into a cafe that had seating outside.
"I know it was hard, but you did it. You're so strong, Hermione. Draco is lucky to have you." She squeezed his arm and let him lead her to the counter so they could order their food.
She had only ordered a sandwich and a bowl of soup, knowing that she still wouldn't be able to eat it all. Charlie ordered a full lunch, fish and chips, which he began to devour as soon as they sat. It was still very obvious that he had the Weasley appetite even though he distanced himself from his family at times.
Charlie had once confessed to her that some days he just couldn't stand his family. He loved them all, but for an introvert such as Charlie, they were very overwhelming. He hated that his mother constantly told him to cut his hair, to find himself a serious girlfriend so he could settle down and have a family. He had confided to Hermione that he just didn't think he was built for monogamy and had no urge to settle down or have a family. He had his dragons and that was enough.
It didn't take long for Charlie to eat all his lunch and then finish what was left of Hermione's. Away from the constant hounding found at the Weasley table, Hermione was actually able to finish half her sandwich and almost half her soup. Charlie paid for both their meals and led her out of the cafe and towards the Ministry.
Hermione knew that they wouldn't allow her to see Draco while she was there. Kingsley had told her that he would see if he could pull some strings, but it just hadn't worked out. She would just have to wait until his trial date to see him.
The pair of them entered the Ministry and checked their wands in at the visitor's booth. Hermione hurried Charlie along because she didn't want to be late for her meeting with Professor Snape. The holding cells were in the basement of the Ministry, which meant for a long ride in the lift. She had had no idea that the Ministry went that deep. When they reached the main desk on the level she needed, Hermione gave the auror a soft smile.
"I have a meeting with Professor Snape." He watched her for a moment, his face impassive, before looking down to check the list in front of him.
"Name?" She gulped at the unfriendly tone of voice.
"Hermione Granger and Charlie Weasley." His eyes came up to assess her closer after learning her name. After a few moments, he dropped his eyes and stood.
"This way." She followed him down the corridor and into a secluded room on the right hand side. He held out his arm, gesturing for the pair of them to enter.
"Have a seat. I'll have him brought in immediately." Hermione nodded and allowed Charlie to pull out a chair for her. Her hands knotted in her lap nervously as she waited for her former professor to appear. Charlie laid a hand on her neck, massaging the knot he found there softly. The door banged open and the same auror stepped in followed by Professor Snape with his hands bound in front of him.
It was in this moment that she realized just how wrong the students had been when they said he didn't wash his hair. It was obvious now that his hair had appeared lank and greasy due to the steam from his constant brewing. His hair now was truly greasy. They had obviously not been allowed to shower since they had been apprehended. As much as this made her blood boil, she truly wasn't surprised.
"Don't try anything funny. There are two aurors stationed outside the door." She shook her head as she stood and moved forward. When the door closed, Hermione closed the distance between them and threw her arms around her former professor.
"Professor! How are you? Are they treating you well?" He tried to pat her back as well as he could with his hands bound. When she pulled away, he gestured for them to sit back down. Charlie pulled her back down into her chair and Snape took the seat across from them. He raked his hands through his lank hair as he spoke.
"I'm perfectly fine, little one, as is Draco. They're feeding us and allowing us to use the facilities three a day. We're safe from the other Death Eaters and their retaliation. I'm not sure how we ended up here, but we're grateful all the same." Charlie chuckled as he continued to massage her neck.
"That would be because this little spitfire yelled at Kingsley in the middle of the Great Hall. When he told her to let the adults handle it, she hexed him for five minutes straight and then put him in his place. That Matthews tried to haul her in, but Kingsley wouldn't let him. He agreed to hold you here rather than in Azkaban." Hermione was beyond surprised when her former professor threw his head back and laughed. It was a deep baritone and Hermione secretly took comfort in the fact that she had been able to brighten his day. When he finally stopped laughing, he met her gaze.
"Quite the little lion, you are. I'm guessing Kingsley didn't know how to react when a mere slip of a girl put him in his place?" She shrugged her shoulders.
"I did make him beg Professor McGonagall to transfigured his arse back to normal. He wasn't fond of the long horse's tail." Her professor burst out into laughter again. He quieted rather quickly.
"Draco and I thank you. This situation is already more preferable." He brushed his hair back off his face again.
"What are your plans regarding my defense, Miss Granger?" She blew out a breath and leaned into Charlie's skilled hand.
"Firat, call me Hermione." He nodded.
"Only if you'll call me Severus." She gave him a tentative smile.
"Alright. As for your defense, I'm planning on going with deny nothing. We bring up all the terrible things you've had to do because you have nothing to hide. You know they're going to bring it all up anways, we may as well make a good impression while doing it." He nodded slowly before lowering his head into his hands.
"I really don't want everyone to know the things that I've had to do in my service to the Dark Lord. I'm not a good man and I deserve to be punished." Hermione leaned forward, hand smacking the table to catch Severus' attention.
"Don't you dare say that. You are the best man I know. You've raped, tortured, and killed in order to keep your cover. You did all those terrible things on Dumbledore's request. Don't tell me you didn't, I went to the Headmaster's office and demanded Dumbledore's portrait tell me where his memories were stored. I viewed every single memory, Severus. I know exactly what you did and how much it destroyed you." His head shot up.
"He left memories?" She nodded.
"I also have the memories that you gave Harry before he faced Voldemort. I've submitted my own memories, the ones that will be helpful. Remus and Kingsley also gave me memories dating clear back to our fourth year when the Order was first reformed. Trust me, you have people on your side, but that won't matter if you keep saying you deserve to suffer." His bottomless black eyes met her and held their gaze.
"I can't believe I actually have a chance. I thank you, Hermione." She reached forward and grasped his hand quickly.
"We owe you, Severus. You've protected me for years now, seven to be precise, so I don't want to hear anything else from you. What I do need is your memories. I need every memory you have that will prove that you were loyal to the Order, good or bad. I know you don't want them to know about Lily, but you have to tell them. It's your motive for leaving the Dark Lord behind." Severus heaved a sigh, but nodded.
"I don't have a wand to remove my memories." Hermione removed her wand from her arm and handed it to him.
"It may not respond well, nobody else can ever seem to get my wand to work for them well, but it should be enough to extract your memories." His eyes widened as she removed a large number of vials from her beaded bag.
He closed his eyes and began to extract memory after memory. He worked for over an hour, visibly fighting with her wand to get the memories into the vials. Hermione leaned against Charlie's shoulder and closed her eyes while Severus worked on the memory extraction.
She had just began to doze when she heard Severus speak.
"How is she holding up?" Charlie's arm came around her shoulders and she snuggled slightly into his side.
"Not well. She isn't sleeping. She can't hardly eat. His nerves are filtering through their bond and she's nothing but a ball of anxiety. Harry tries to help her, but he just harps on her to do better. Ron is thrilled that he's been taken in. He doesn't care about the effects it's having on her. He doesn't rub it into her face, mind you, but he doesn't keep it a secret that he'd happy Draco is gone. I'm trying to get her to eat more since she's losing weight again, but it's difficult to do when she's surrounded by the family. They just make her more nervous." She didn't know if what she was hearing things or dreaming.
"It's quite obvious she's lost more weight. She's always been a tiny thing, but she really needs to work on taking care of herself. Has she met with Draco's barrister? If I had something to tell him, maybe it would lessen his nerves." Charlie sighed.
"We just left the barrister before coming here. He's confident that with the memories she's submitted, as well as from myself, Bill, Remus, Kingsley, and Harry, things will go well for him. He's also pretty certain that while he may receive some sort of punishment, it won't be Azkaban. The fact that there's a soul bond between the two of them would condemn her to the same effects that Draco would have from the dementors. She's a war heroine and she shouldn't have to suffer. He said that will be the consensus anyways."
Hermione was right at the point of slipping into a deep sleep when Harry's voice spoke. She started, almost sliding off Charlie's shoulder, when she caught side of the regal looking stag prancing around the room.
"Hermione, where in the name of Merlin are you? You can't just take off and worry everyone to death. Please respond and let me know you're safe." Hermione scrubbed her hands down her face as she fully came awake. She didn't get a chance to respond. Charlie pulled his wand out and gave it a wave, his grizzly bear appearing in front of them.
"Hermione is with me, she's perfectly fine." Severus raised an eyebrow at the exchange. Hermione sighed and scrubbed her face again.
"I told them yesterday that I was going to be out all day. They were all busy snogging to pay attention." Severus kept quiet, but pursed his lips in what she could only describe as annoyance. He brushed his hair back off his face again.
"May I ask about the soul bond between you? What does it feel like? How did it form? Draco has tried to explain, but speaking of it makes him more upset. He doesn't like being seperated from you." She picked her wand up from the table and slid it back up her sleeve.
"Greyback and Bellatrix were torturing me. Bellatrix had stabbed me and cut my arm up, Greyback was getting ready to rape me. Draco knocked out Greyback and crucioed Bellatrix. He lifted the curse to come to my side and she hit him with your curse. He called Button and told her to get us out. Nacissa insisted that he go with us. We landed on the beach outside Shell Cottage and he was bleeding out. My blood mixed with his blood as I healed him, creating the bond." She leaned against Charlie again as she continued.
"We can feel each other's emotions if they're strong enough. That usually means that he feels my emotions because I'm terrible at hiding them. Just being around him is comforting, he keeps me calm. He says it's the same for him. We haven't really had a chance to explore the limits further yet." Severus nodded. He was getting ready to speak when a knock at the door interrupted them.
"Time's up. It's been over two hours." They all stood from the table and Hermione went forward to hug Severus again.
"Hang in there, sir. Keep your spirits up. Will you tell him the same from me? Tell him I miss him more than anything?" Severus bent and kissed her hairline since he couldn't hug her very well.
"I'll tell him, little one. Take care of yourself. He won't be pleased if you continue to neglect yourself." She gave him a smile as she pulled away.
"I'll do my best, Severus. I'm headed to go see Kingsley now, hopefully he'll have a date for both your trials. If there is one set, I'll have him get the information to you." He gave her a sharp nod before he opened the door and let the auror step in so he could escort him back to his cell.
Hermione let Charlie guide her through the Ministry once more. Kingsley's office was on the fifth floor so they had another long trip in the lift. When they finally reached his secretary's desk, Hermione just wanted to go home so she could sleep. Kingsley stepped out and caught sight of them before she even had a chance to speak with the secretary.
"'Mi, Charlie, come on in." Hermione followed her old friend into his office and took the proferred seat. Charlie stayed on his feet behind her, his hands once again kneading away at her shoulders. She could see the worry in Kingsley's eyes when he looked her over, but he remained silent and she couldn't have been more thankful.
"Have you found out their trial dates?" Kingsley nodded, hands steepling under his chin.
"Severus' trial is set for the twelfth and Draco's is the fourteenth. Will you be ready?" Hermione nodded, thrilled that she had a date to look forward to.
"Will you make sure they get this information today? They're just as anxious as I am." Kingsley nodded, but leaned forward.
"I will, but there's something else I need to talk to you about." She nodded, her full attention focused on her friend.
"There are ten Death Eaters unaccounted for. I need you to promise me that you won't go anywhere unattended until we've caught them. You and Harry will be their biggest targets and I don't want anything to happen to either one of you." Hermione sighed. If it wasn't one thing, it was another.
"I promise, although I don't go many places anymore. The press has taken care of that." He nodded and stood.
"I hate to kick you out, but I have to be in a meeting with the Wizengamot about the trials beginning. I'll send down word right after to Severus and Draco." She stepped forward and hugged him, smile on her face
"Thanks, King."
Hermiome and Charlie let Kingsley shuffle them out of his office and down the corridor towards the lift. The trip to the apparition point in the Ministry didn't take near as long as it had seemed to take heading to the basement floor and then to Kingsley's. Charlie took her arm again and apparated them since he could apparate directly into the wards.
She let him lead her through the front door and into the kitchen, only so she could be mobbed by Harry and Ron. Harry hugged her to him hard while Ron ran his hand down the length of her hair from behind. When Harry spoke, his voice was anxious.
"Where have you been? Why didn't you bother telling us that you would be gone?" Hermione tried to hold her temper. She was exhausted and she really just wanted to go to sleep.
"I did tell you. I told you, Ron, Ginny, and Lavender, but since you were all snogging, I got the impression that I was bothering you. Charlie offered to go with me so that was that. You aren't my parents. I tried to be responsible so don't even think about lecturing me." Everyone looked taken aback at her words. Hermione stepped away from them all.
"Please excuse me. I'm exhausted and want to go to sleep. Don't bother waking me for dinner. I ate lunch." Harry started to speak, but Charlie cut him off with a warning hand to his shoulder. He leaned over and kissed her temple.
"Goodnight, 'Mi. We'll get started on sorting those memories from Snape tomorrow." She gave him a nod and started for the stair case. She stopped, however, when she heard Charlie hissing at her friends angrily.
"You two are thick. Do you even know the stress she's under? Do you even care?" Harry sputtered a response that she couldn't understand, but Ron was clear as a bell.
"She's going to have to get used to it. Malfoy's in prison and he'll be lucky to get out. That's where he deserves to be. I don't like seeing her upset, but this is something she's going to have yo get over on her own." Harry almost shouted now.
"We're going to do all we can to get Malfoy out. I don't like the ferrety git, but Hermione does. She deserves to be happy. Quit being selfish and wishing for Malfoy to stay in prison." There was silence for a few moments. Hermione contemplated leaving, but decided to stay when Charlie spoke again.
"She isn't sleeping, she's hardly eating. She's organizing Snape's defense while she's trying to keep the effects of the soul bond under control. All you two do is harp on her to eat and expect her to just obey you. It isn't that easy. Then when she's trying to be a good friend and keep you from worrying, you ignore her in favor of snogging. A little effort on your part, gentlemen, would go a long way." She knew Charlie didn't wait around for any answers because his heavy boots could be heard stomping away from the kitchen.
Hermione took this as her cue to head to Ginny's room and go to bed. She really was exhausted and didn't think she could keep her eyes open for much longer.
She didn't bother to take her clothes off, not even her shoes, before she fell into bed. After making sure that her wand was underneath her pillow, she curled an arm underneath her head and let the sheer exhaustion take over. Despite the fact that Draco wasn't there, Hermione fell asleep more hopeful that she had been since he had been taken into custody.
A/N- There she is, another chapter down. It turned out longer than I expected, but I'm not complaining! Next chapter, Ron shoves his head up his arse once more, causing Hermione to make a drastic decision. Until then, let me know what you think. Reviews equal motivation!
Love,
A
