Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any affiliated characters. I just happened to come up with the plot for this ship. All credit to J.K for her amazing universe that she allows us to play in.
Ihrin is amazing and has caught up to me with this fic. So this is beta'd and updated as of 11-12-16 If you find any errors please PM me.
Warning: Rated M. Cursing, sexual innuendos, lemons and fluff ahead. Basically what you would expect from a romance novel nowadays.
Music is my muse:
Song for this chapter: Breakdown, Jack Johnson
Lyrics: I need this old train to breakdown.
Love of a Mate
Chapter 12
Breakdown
Hermione held onto Draco's hand as she marched in behind Kingsley with her head held high and her face as serene as she could muster given how enraged she was. She sat down, not letting go of Draco's hand, and looked out at the reporters, photographers, and masses of all the witches and wizards who had managed to get into the courtroom.
Everyone seemed to have been stunned by her appearance. It had not been announced that she would be there and they certainly hadn't expected her to show up holding the hand of the man they had been told by the Prophet had dosed her with an illegal love potion.
She stared down the reporters, not surprised to find Rita Skeeter sitting front and center glaring at her, flanked by two of her reporters. Hermione raised an eyebrow in challenge as Kingsley made his statement. Katie rushed in, winking at Hermione and Draco as she shuffled forward, and told them all in a very put upon voice that she had examined Hermione herself and that she was in perfect health and of sound mind, unaltered by any charm or potion. She then glared at the line of reporters from the Prophet and excused herself saying she was rather busy at the hospital.
Hermione smirked at her friend thinking that had been rather well done of her. The public was shuffling, now looking confused. Rita was pink in the face as the Minister explained more about the chaos this story had created. When he finished, half the room looked as angry as Hermione felt and the rest looked even more confused.
Kingsley nodded at Draco who gave a short nod back and stood up, pulling Hermione with him and moving them to the podium.
"You first, love," Draco said sweetly in her head.
Hermione cleared her throat and gave the crowd a small smile. "I must admit, I never thought the public would be quite so taken with whom I choose to date," she said sweetly but then she turned to look at Skeeter and her eyes went hard. "Admittedly, I have suffered backlash from the Prophet's false stories about my love life before but I wasn't anticipating all of this. Kingsley asked if I would make a statement and, while I originally declined, as the day progressed and things became more out of control, it seemed best that I speak to you all directly." She gave another hard look at the line of reporters. "I am in a consensual relationship with Draco Malfoy. It honestly never occurred to me that this relationship would be anyone's business but our own and I will not be giving any updates as the relationship progresses. I respect the wizard standing with me far too much to be so crass. While I understand the public's interest in me, I am a very private person- as is Mr. Malfoy- and that will not change because we are in a relationship."
Draco squeezed her hand and she took a deep calming breath before she stared down Rita Skeeter. Hermione knew her eyes must have been frightening because the woman flinched. "Ms. Skeeter, you and I have clashed before. I have not forgotten the untruthful things you wrote about me in my fourth year at school when I was a mere child, stories that caused me to receive hate mail and, in one case, spend time in the infirmary from a suspicious powder that was sent by someone who was upset by what you wrote." The crowd started murmuring and Hermione looked around. "I suppose that is why I initially disregarded this article. Rita Skeeter is the editor of the Prophet, after all, so I was not shocked by such a sensational untruth being printed about me. However, when my healer was dragged to my home by my best friend who also happens to be an auror," she shrugged looking exasperated, "clearly, action was needed."
Louder voices were raised in anger and Rita Skeeter looked around as if she were trapped.
Hermione waited a moment until things had settled and then said very clearly. "I will be pursuing legal action against the Prophet for such a slanderous article and respectfully demanding a retraction. I also hope that they will print my statements today in full." She nodded firmly and then turned to look at Draco, who was smiling down at her fondly.
After a moment he turned to the crowd and said in his clear haughty voice, "I will also be pursuing legal action against the Prophet myself. Nevermind the chaos it created- this article was clearly a foul attempt to degrade not only myself, but a war heroine that the editor, in my opinion, has never treated fairly."
Rita looked positively ill now and Hermione smirked at her.
"We will answer a few questions," Hermione said sweetly.
A reporter for Witch Weekly raised her hand, her face rather excited. "Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, can you tell us how long you have been in a romantic relationship?"
Hermione frowned a little as Draco shifted and then said in a firm tone, "Long enough."
"What attracted you to each other?" The witch asked looking curious.
Draco laughed and then shrugged. "What isn't attractive about her?"
Hermione sighed at how romantic that sounded and then smiled softly as she said, "There are far too many things for me to list that make Draco so attractive to me, and none of them are his stunning good looks."
There was chuckling at this and the witch nodded and then said, "Um- our sources claim you two were rather antagonistic towards each other while in school."
Draco replied to this breezily. "I was a prat, mostly."
Hermione laughed as the witch smirked and then said, "He was rather awful, but we are five years out of school. I don't see how it matters, what we acted like as children; we both have had to deal with similar scars and I highly respect the man standing next to me."
Another witch raised her hand and, in a French accent, said, "What do your friends and family think of the match?"
Hermione shrugged. "Not to sound rude but shouldn't you ask them that?"
The witch rolled her eyes. "We have; no one is willing to speak with us."
Hermione grinned now, her eyes twinkling. "Hmm, well there you go then."
Draco chuckled and then said, "My mother is very supportive of our relationship."
The witch nodded and sat down as another wizard stood up. "What about her blood status?"
Draco narrowed his eyes and stiffened. "What about it?"
"Your family was a firm supporter of blood supremacy."
Draco shrugged and then said calmly, "Obviously my mother and I are not."
"And your father? What is his opinion on this relationship?" the wizard demanded.
Hermione felt Draco's anger and spoke up for him. "His opinion is of no concern to us."
"Thank you, my beautiful mate," Draco said and she felt him working to calm his fury.
Rita Skeeter spoke, "but he is not supportive?" Her tone was evil and made Hermione shiver.
Draco glared at the woman and said in a cold voice. "He is in Azkaban. His choices and opinions no longer dictate my life. I do not need or seek his support, ever."
Hermione gasped a little at that and then turned to stare down Rita Skeeter, who was looking at them with that manic glee she got when she was about to do or say something rather foul.
"And you expect us to believe that you two have been in a relationship secretly? The first time you were spotted together was last night!"
Hermione rolled her eyes and then said in a wry tone, "Muggleborn."
A few looked confused and Draco snorted. "We spend much of our time together in London, far away from anyone who would stalk us."
There was a collective gasp, probably at the idea that Draco Malfoy was spending time in muggle London and then chaos erupted as all the reporters started shouting questions. Kingsley stepped in, allowing Hermione and Draco to return to their seats as he got the room under control. His tone was firm. "I think we have cleared up that Miss Granger is not under the influence of any love potion or other magical influence. I will thank the wizarding publications, specifically our own, to not spread any false information that could create a panic. Miss Granger is obviously much adored and, given the sacrifices she made in her youth for our world, I personally feel she deserves our protection and support. I wish she and Mr. Malfoy well."
The audience started clapping and Hermione let out a small sigh of relief. Operation: Get the Public on Her Side seemed to have been a success. Rita was back to looking like she had swallowed stink sap; her glare could have blistered them as she followed them out the door, with her angry eyes blazing behind her horrid glasses. Hermione almost gave her a rude hand gesture but decided that would be far too petty. Draco didn't even glance in the direction of the tacky witch.
Hermione leaned into him for support as they walked out of the courtroom. They were quiet as they walked with Kingsley, ignoring all the stares.
OooOooOooOooO
When they made it to the Minister's outer offices, Harry met them with a grim smile. Looking around and casting a privacy charm, he said gleefully, "Rita looked terrified."
Hermione made a face and then said firmly. "Good. I am sending her a brief note, reminding her that I know a bigger secret about her then she thinks she does about me- horrible woman."
Draco looked at her curiously."
Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Unregistered meddling beetle remember."
"Ah right, when and how exactly did you figure that out by the way?"
Harry snorted. "When she locked the beetle in a jar our fourth year for spying on us in the hospital wing."
Draco went still and then stared down at her in shock. "You did that in school?"
Hermione flushed and then glared at Harry, who was smirking, and then said to Draco in a dry tone, "Don't piss her off, Malfoy. You have no idea what she is capable of." With that, the cheeky bugger left laughing all the way out of the office.
Hermione looked up at her mate who was looking at her with adoration and a bit of fear. "You are brilliant, but bloody terrifying," he crooned.
Hermione felt her lips twitch and then said honestly, "Ron said that often."
Kingsley cleared his throat, smiling at the pair. "Speaking of Mr. Weasley, he was pretty annoyed when I saw him this morning. I would send him an owl, if I were you, before he causes trouble."
Hermione sighed dramatically and said, "I will speak with the Weasleys Sunday when Ginny and I go over for supper. I am sure I will have Molly and Arthur's support."
Kingsley grinned. "You do. Arthur saw me first thing. demanding I do something about this situation." He gestured them into his office, smiling at his secretary. "Martha, if you wouldn't mind, please clear my schedule for the next half hour."
The witch nodded at him, eyeing Draco Malfoy with deep interest. Hermione sighed as she realized that, now that they were outed as a couple, this would probably be the new norm.
Kingsley sat down and looked them over, his face showing that he was debating how he was going to phrase something he knew Hermione would not like. She sighed in annoyance.
"What is it Kingsley? I promise I won't hex you."
Draco gasped at her. "You've hexed the Minister?"
Kingsley gave him a small smirk before he said, "Frequently, especially after her Order of Merlin when I made her do press. And I had a rather nasty case of boils in places I won't mention when I tried to convince her to write a memoir."
Draco looked at his mate in utter shock and she flushed before folding her arms in agitation. "Kingsley, what do you want?" she demanded.
"I want you under some kind of protection detail when in the wizarding world. Most will be appeased that you are fine and happy but a small fraction of the population may try to remove you from what they see as a dangerous situation." He gave Draco an apologetic look. "He was a Death Eater, Hermione."
Hermione blew out an angry breath. "Under duress perhaps."
Draco smiled at her and brought her hand up to kiss her knuckles. "Thank you." He said sincerely but then he turned to look at Kingsley. "I will have protection placed upon her now that our relationship is public knowledge. It is standard in my family, my mother and I always have a few hit wizards tailing us when we are in wizarding areas. I can arrange for them to be available for us when we are out and about in muggle areas as well."
Hermione looked up shocked. "What?"
Draco let out a long breath and said quietly. "We are very wealthy, Hermione. It makes us appealing targets and that's not even taking into consideration those who are still angry at us for our part in the war. Three attempts have been made on my life in the last five years."
Hermione sat up horrified and looked over at Kingsley who nodded grimly. "An auror will also be watching out for you, Hermione. I want your mail screened, your office secured, and you to cooperate with me."
Hermione opened her mouth to tell him to bugger off but paused as she felt Draco enter her mind his hand clasping hers tightly and his voice pleading.
"Please, Hermione, we know you are capable but it would make me sleep easier."
Hermione yanked her hand back and stood up in frustration. "For how long?"
Kingsley sighed. "At least a few weeks, until this calms down. I would be perfectly willing to reassess the situation every two weeks."
Hermione looked up at the ceiling in agitation before she said through gritted teeth. "The auror may not be either Harry or Ron."
Kingsley chuckled before hiding it with a cough and saying smoothly. "Of course."
Hermione blew out her breath. "Fine, set the magical law enforcement department loose on my mail, my flat is above my office so you can certainly place someone to watch over that; but when I am with Draco I want my privacy. I know how that lot gossips. And don't expect us not to put them through the ringer, test out just how good your so called 'best' are." She said giving him a rather smug look as Kingsley pinched the end of nose but nodded as if resigned to his fate.
Kingsley gave her a long look and said. "I don't want you wandering around muggle London without an auror with you."
Hermione glared at him and then said in a tight voice. "No. Absolutely no auror will be permitted to trail along after me in muggle London." She jerked her head towards Draco. "He is already having wizards tail me, let that be enough."
Kingsley looked over at Draco who gave him a weary look but nodded and the man sat back nodding in agreement. "I will send someone over to speak with Miss. Weasley, she lives with you and will also be affected."
Hermione smirked. "You better send Harry with that auror or Ginny might go ballistic. She is going to like this plan of yours about as much as I do."
Kingsley grimaced and then stood up. "Perhaps I better speak with her."
Draco raised an eyebrow in surprise that the Minister of Magic would head over with an auror to speak with a witch but Hermione clued him in.
"The last time he tried to set up protection for us Ginny sent the auror to St Mungos with her bat boogey hex. We can take care of ourselves very well, thank you very much."
Kingsley seemed to struggle for a moment before he sighed heavily and said in his deep tone. "As of yet Miss. Weasley has not seen fit to hex me."
Hermione grinned at him and folded her arms her eyes alight with glee. "That might change today. Her father is in magical law enforcement now, do you honestly think she is going to be amused that she has to be home every night or risk explaining where she was to her father?"
Draco hid his chuckle as Kingsley looked up his eyes flashing with what could only be fear. "I hadn't considered that."
Hermione nodded without pity. "Hmm, well good luck then, Kings."
Kingsley swallowed heavily and gestured for them to follow him out of his office, heading off to speak with whatever poor wizard or witch he was going to be recruiting to protect Hermione and Ginny.
OooOooOooOooO
Draco shook his head and pulled her out into the hallway. "Come on, the day is a wash, let's go play in muggle London and get some dinner."
Hermione laughed allowing him to pull her out into the atrium. "They will know to search for us now and besides how will your hit wizards follow us?"
Draco sighed and pulled out a large gold coin. "Look familiar?"
Obviously he had used the same charm she had on the coins for Dumbledore's Army in their fifth year.
She smirked looking down at it and then laughed. "Cheeky, so you can just tell our bodyguards where we end up?"
He nodded putting the coin back in the pocket of his trousers and then shrugged off his robes shrinking them and also putting them in his pocket.
"Any ideas?"
Hermione smirked and then said. "Want to meet my parents?"
He swallowed looking slightly panicked but then he nodded slowly. "I would be honored."
Hermione smiled brightly and walked him to the apparition point hugging her arms around his waist apparating them to the shed in her parents backyard.
He looked around confused and she laughed. "It's the garden shed, I have to adjust the wards to let you in."
His face cleared and then he moved to open the door allowing her to exit first and took in the well-kept yard and the two story home.
"You grew up here?"
Hermione nodded absently as she adjusted the wards and then turned to smile at him. "Yes, amazingly it wasn't destroyed in the war, they ransacked the inside but it was easily cleaned up, and my parents decided to stay here when they came back from Australia. They are retired now. Come on, let's see what mum is preparing for dinner. Maybe we can talk her into take out?"
Draco hesitated and then said softly. "Take out?"
Hermione leaned up and kissed him softly. "You, Draco Malfoy, have so much to learn."
Notes:
I took a few hours this afternoon to write and edit this to post for you lovely readers. Plus this has been rattling around in my head and was starting to drive me nutty.
I am not sure anyone reads these little notes, but I promise I am NOT abandoning any stories. They are just still being written and that takes time. I think Love of a Mate will end up around 25 chapters. But we will see what my muse decides. :)
Please let me know what you thought of the chapter. It was heavy on non fluffiness and I think we will make up for that soon, but up next I really feel it's time we met with the Grangers.
I am not sure we have neutralized Skeeter either, she worries me...
Personal Note: (I won't mind if you skip this.)
My little strawberry is due for surgery on Tuesday and my Momma is due to arrive in two days and my house is a MESS. So I am off tonight to get fluids and check that my kidney infection is really gone (thank you Lupus, you rat bastard) and then it's a mad scramble to convince a four and six year old to help me clean rather than act like little tornadoes.
Plus, my little strawberry has been out for something called 'fall break' all week. I never got a 'fall break' when I was in first grade!
Thank you all for the lovely notes of encouragement and kind words for my family. It's deeply appreciated.
Don't forget to follow me on Instagram for updates on my life and such if you would care to have them. CrystalJeanRed
Cheers,
Cjean
