"Potter, what the hell is going on?" Draco asked, leaning forward so he could be heard over the reporters that had 'made camp' out the front of Malfoy Manor. Hermione, who was still attached to his arm, much to the reporters' delight, stepped forward with him.
"They read Skeeter's story and decided to check it out. I was called here to control them because they're disrupting the public."
"What public? There's no one around for miles!" Hermione said, overhearing.
"Shh! If they know that, they'll never leave!" Draco whispered, seeming to have caught on to what Harry was saying.
"Mister Potter, any comments?" a reporter asked, stepping forward.
"Yes, I have a comment." Harry replied.
All the reporters went silent, waiting with anticipation for what he would say.
"If any of you are seen in this area again, you will have to face the Minister of Magic himself. You have five minutes to leave the grounds, or you will be taken directly to him by a group of Aurors awaiting my signal. That is all."
Infuriated, the reporters continued to take photos until they had only a minute to leave, then, in a flurry of small pops, Harry, Hermione and Draco were alone outside the gates.
Before Draco or Hermione could even sigh in relief, Harry had turned around with a pointed look at where their arms were joined together. Slowly, the let their arms fall.
"If you two are doing this for show, I want to know why right now," Harry said.
With a questioning look at Hermione, Draco spoke. "We're not doing it for show, Potter."
"Then what the hell is happening?" Harry shouted. "First there's pictures in the paper, real pictures, that show you two with a child that looks incredibly similar to you, Malfoy, then you two suddenly show up arm in arm outside the gates of Malfoy Manor with great bloody smiles on your faces like you've been best friends for your whole bloody lives. If this isn't for show, then what the hell is it? Because I bloody well know you two hate each other."
"Did it ever occur to you, Potter, that it might just be coincidental?" Draco drawled.
"No, it didn't, Malfoy, because Hermione having a child with Malfoy hair isn't a very likely thing to happen."
"But it did," Draco replied, smug.
Harry sighed. Draco was right. "That still doesn't explain the sudden best-friendship between you two. And the photos… and this." He gestured briefly to the pair of them.
"We're not best friends," Hermione said at once. Draco nodded in agreement. "He's offered child care for Lissy and a place to stay while I find a job, and we were caught with her while we were discussing it when Skeeter showed up. She just assumed we were a family and she took some pictures. You know how she is, Harry. Remember the Tri-Wizard Tournaments?"
Harry nodded. He remembered. "What about this, though? What's with the smiles?"
"Believe it or not, Potter, but I actually have a sense of humour, and Granger apparently does too. I said something funny, we laughed, and I planned to apparate us into the Manor, but ended up out here for some reason."
"Why were you going to the Manor?" Harry asked.
"Merlin, you're slow." Draco, much to the shock of Harry, laughed. "Granger accepted my offer. She's going to live here until she finds a job."
"But you have your own apartment, don't you? Ron said he saw you today." Harry turned to Hermione, gobsmacked. "Didn't he see you there this afternoon?"
"He did." Hermione replied. "But… I'm not going to stay there anymore. It's not safe with – with all these reporters around." She wasn't lying, exactly, but she would have lost the argument if she'd been questioned on it; it would be safer to live by herself than with Draco when she was meant to be protesting the idea of her being in a relationship with him.
"Why not move in with Ron? I know he offered. He said you'd accepted and that he went over to help you pack." Harry paused. "So why didn't you go with him?"
"I never accepted to move in with him! He came over today because he was convinced I'd say yes. We fought, and he left, so Draco came to get me, we talked, and I packed up everything and we came here. We ended up out here instead of in there," Hermione pointed at the mansion behind her. "And we were bombarded with questions and, well, you know the rest."
Harry made a face at her use of Draco's first name, but didn't mention it when he spoke. "Alright, well… I guess we can talk later. I'm guessing… Lissy, was it?" Hermione nodded. "I'm guessing she's in there, so I'll call the others to take down the wards."
"You put wards up around my house?" Draco asked, angered slightly.
"We didn't think you'd appreciate reporters going right up to your front door," Harry replied. He turned, then, and shot red sparks into the air with his wand. Within seconds, five people appeared in front of him, their wands drawn. Among them was George Weasley, who, when he caught sight of Hermione, lowered his wand and ran to her, pulling her into a tight hug. Caught up in her own excitement, she hugged him back just as tightly.
"Merlin's beard, you're really back," George said, holding her out at arm's length before hugging her again. "I didn't think it was true," he whispered, so only she could hear. "I didn't believe any of it for a second. You're too good for him and you know it."
"Thanks, George," Hermione said, chuckling, as he finally let her go.
Someone behind George cleared his throat and they both looked to see Harry, attempting to hide a smile, trying to look annoyed.
"Sorry," George said, obviously not sorry at all. "What do you need us for, Harry? The reporters are gone, aren't they?" He glanced around quickly, and the other Aurors did too.
"We need to take down the wards so that Malfoy and Hermione can get back into the Manor," Harry said. George nodded and he, along with two others, suddenly all held brooms in their hands. They each paired up, Harry and George on one broom, the four other people in pairs on the other two brooms. They all floated a few feet in the air for a moment before Harry spoke. "Let's get this done quick so we can all go home," he said and they all took off, flying to the left and right, the second rider sitting sideways on the broom, muttering incantations as they took down their wards.
"I don't know why they bothered," Draco said, watching them. "My wards would have thrown anyone who wasn't permitted back ten feet if they tried to get past the gate."
"They're just doing their jobs," Hermione replied. "They probably wanted to make sure that nobody got hurt." She waved to George as he flew past them a second time, Harry removing the wards with a look of concentration on his face as they went.
"They're reporters," Draco argued, returning the glare one of the other Aurors sent his way with a wave of his fingers. "Who cares?"
Hermione chuckled. "You are such a git."
Draco rolled his eyes, but didn't respond. They stood in silence for the rest of their wait.
A few minutes later, the six Aurors landed in front of them, and Harry nodded at his teammates, telling them they were free to go, but George Weasley stepped forward and grabbed Hermione instead, before Draco could pull her back through the gate.
"Can I have a word?" he asked.
Hermione nodded, casting a sideways glance at Draco, who gave a slight confused nod of his head in case that's what she was asking, and walked with George for a while before he stopped and turned.
"You alright, 'Mione? You're quiet. I thought you'd be asking me all kinds of questions about the family and the shop by now."
Hermione gave him a smile. "I thought you were going to ask me about what I'm doing here with 'the ferret'," she laughed. "Which, I suspect, is what you're about to do."
"What are you doing here with the ferret?" he asked, grinning as she chuckled.
"Believe it or not, he's my new baby-sitter."
"I didn't think you needed a baby-sitter."
Hermione laughed. "Not for me, for Lissy. I take it Ron told you about her?"
"He may have mentioned it… With all the ranting he's done about that 'slimy, irritable ferret' I can't be sure," George said. "She's not his though, is she?"
Hermione could only guess he meant Draco, so she shook her head. "Skeeter was just assuming that I'd had a child with Malfoy, not that-"
George shook his head. "I know she's not Ferret's kid, 'Mione. I may be an idiot, but I'm not stupid." He winked. "She's not Ron's either, is she?"
"No, but he's certain that she is, even though he knows it's impossible."
"Ah, you know how he is. Must've been something in the genes, I reckon. Charlie and Bill got the beauty, the brawns and the brains, Perce got neither, Fred and I got everything, obviously, and Ron got nothing, except maybe the brawns, but they came a little later in life. Gin, well, sticking with the pattern there, she got everything too. Plus a nasty knack for casting Bat-bogey hexes; Weasley family tradition, there." George winked again and let out a laugh, which Hermione joined in on immediately, saying quietly 'Yeah, must be'.
"Look," George said, suddenly becoming serious. "Whatever happened between you and Ron is none of my business, and it's not anyone else's either, but you're more than welcome to come see me if you need to talk. I won't pretend to know why you left England all those years ago, but I'm sure as hell glad you're back, and if anyone gives you trouble over it, you tell me right away, and they'll get a little present from the back room, courtesy of Fred and me. He'll be absolutely ecstatic to hear you're really back. He didn't believe it either."
Hermione nodded and threw herself into his arms, smiling. "Thanks George. Honestly, thank you."
They walked back to where Harry and Draco stood, talking quietly about something, and she turned to George. "Tell Molly and Arthur I'm alright, will you? I think it might slip Ron's mind the next time he sees them… and say hi to Fred for me, okay?"
George nodded, gave her one last hug and smiled. "Remember, any trouble and you let me know. We got a new delivery a few days ago at the shop, and we're still trying to get the Wizarding Store Council on our side so we can sell them. Something about big explosions and sticky things not being a good combination, I think they said. We'll win though."
Before Hermione could chastise him, Harry walked over with a slightly triumphant expression. He gave George a look and nodded slightly. "Heading off now, George?"
"Yeah, catch you later, Harry," George said, gave Hermione a fleeting kiss on the cheek and disapparated. Hermione turned to Harry with a small smile on her face, but it faded when she took in his expression. He had a large frown on his face and was staring at her almost regretfully. She caught sight of Draco behind him, looking purposefully away from them.
"What is it, Harry?" she asked, looking back at him. "Is something wrong?"
"'Mione, I want you to be careful, alright? There are still some suspicions about his family, even though I've spoken out for them. There are rumours going around, too."
"Harry, I'll be fine. I'm only staying until I find a job… which won't be too long, now that the Wizarding world knows I'm back. It's much harder to get a job with muggles, I assure you. Maybe I'll be able to get in with the Ministry."
"Want me to put in a good word for you?" Harry chuckled.
"If you want," Hermione laughed. She glanced back at Draco and saw him tapping his foot impatiently. "I should go… Malfoy looks like he wants to get inside."
Harry nodded, but before Hermione could walk away, he pulled her into a tight embrace.
"We missed you, 'Mione."
"I did too," she said, hugging him back.
"There's still some rogue Death Eaters around," Harry said suddenly, pulling away. "If you're hanging around Malfoy, I want you to be careful. Constant vigilance, remember?"
Hermione smiled. "Constant vigilance," she repeated, remembering her old teacher's saying. Harry made a disapproving face at her, and Hermione smiled again. "I'll be fine, Harry. Go on, you have a job to do, don't you?"
"And you have children to look after."
"I only have one-" Hermione cut herself off as Harry turned and threw a pointed look at Draco. She slapped him hard on the arm, much like she used to, and Harry winced.
"Alright, alright!" he rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm having George and Fred over for dinner tonight, Ginny'll be there too, obviously. You're welcome to join us… and you can bring Lissy too, if you want."
"12 Grimmauld Place, right? You do still live there, don't you?"
"Yeah, so you'll come?"
"What time do you want me there?"
"Seven, if you can make it. If not, I'll just send Fred and George over and they can figure out a way past these wards and drag you there."
"Alright, Harry." Hermione reached up and hugged him, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek, and pulled away. "Don't worry about me," she said when she saw his troubled expression. "I'll just turn him into a ferret if he tries anything." She smiled.
Harry nodded and with one last wave, he disapparated.
"You'll do no such bloody thing," Draco growled from behind her.
"It all depends on you, Malfoy. Try anything, and you're as good as furry."
A/n: Ah, I do so love these things... Hello dearies! Sorry for the wait! I haven't got much to say about this chapter... I won't go into too much detail about anything - I'm lazy, I'll admit - so you'll just have to... wait and see, I suppose. Next chapter soon! I've done the next few, but now I have an itty bitty case of writers block, so you may have to wait a while once I get the next... two or three out. I can't remember what chapter I'm up to. O_o
Oh, and for the purposes of this story - Fred is alive. Some other characters might be too, but I'm not sure... they're just alive cause I like them... and Fred is brilliant, so he's alive. IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, YOU'RE NOT A POTTERHEAD. XD
R&R&L sweeties... Your words are always a great inspiration!
~Originalitys
