Disclaimer: These characters were created by J.K. Rowling. Not me.

A/N: Thanks for the review. But we have to mess with Ron a little bit more before he finds out the truth.

"Hermione, let me explain," Draco pleaded.

She took a deep breath and tried to relax. All she could think of when she walked in the room was that he'd lied about who he was. Seeing him sitting on his bed, giggling with a scantily clad woman was a total shock.

"Did you lie to me Draco?"

"No, of course not. You guessed it yourself, remember? Just let me explain. Please?"

"Okay. Explain."

"You see, this isn't what it looks like. Unless of course it looks like I'm giving her a manicure. In that case, it's exactly what it looks like."

"Why are you giving this woman a manicure? In your bed."

"Her name is Kitty and will you please let me explain, Granger?"

Kitty gasped. "Granger? As in Hermione Granger."

"Yes," Hermione answered slowly.

"Oh my, I'm such a huge fan. I can't believe I'm meeting you."

"Erm...thank you?"

"All that time you spent with that handsome Harry Potter and that adorable Ron Weasley. I'm so jealous."

"It's so nice to be recognized for my accomplishments," Hermione said sarcastically. Kitty didn't seem to catch on.

"It's such an honor really. You live here?" She turned to Draco. "I thought you said you preferred men."

"Can we please get back to the explanation?" Hermione asked, annoyed. Draco looked equally irritated.

"As I was saying. When I got home from work, I --"

"You were working on a Saturday. What kind of nutter does that?" Kitty interrupted.

"Kitty, please," Draco begged.

"Sorry," she said pretending to zip her lips.

"I came home and found Kitty here on my bed. Starkers. Or close to it."

"What? How did she get in?"

"I didn't ask. She said she was a gift."

"A gift? From whom?"

"I'm not supposed to tell you," Kitty threw in.

"Whoever sent her didn't really put any thought into it. You should have seen her before. They must have thought that any old slag would do. No offense," he added when he saw the surprised expression on Kitty's face.

"So you don't know who sent her?" Hermione asked.

"I told you, I can't say." Kitty interjected. "And they told me that if I told, they would know about it and I wouldn't be paid."

Hermione searched her brain. Who on earth would send a prostitute as a gift? Who would be able to bypass the wards set up around her flat. Whose sense of humor was that twisted? Then it struck her like a bolt of lightning.

"Draco, may I see you in the hallway for a moment?"

"Sure," he said skeptically. They walked out into the hallway and shut the door behind them. "What's this about?"

"This positively reeks of Fred and George."

"The troublemaker twins. That makes sense I suppose."

"It more than makes sense. It's the only logical answer. I just wonder what they meant when they said they'd know if she told." Then realization dawned on her face. She opened the door and poked her head in.

"Kitty, did you by any chance sign a contract?"

"Yes, I did. Why?"

"Just curious. That's all." Hermione shut the door.

"Damn, they're good." Hermione hissed.

"What do you mean?"

"You remember our little defense group that you were more than keen to help destroy?"

"Oh yeah, back in fifth year. I remember the girl who ratted you out. She looked like a..." Draco realized what Hermione was saying.

"I charmed our sign up sheet so that if anyone told, we know who it was."

Draco smirked. "That was very sneaky of you."

"Yeah. But what I did to her is probably nothing compared to what they could do to Kitty. She'd probably sprout an extra head, or grow hair all over her body."

Draco winced. The pair walked into the living room.

"Oh no," Hermione said suddenly.

"What's the matter."

"Ron was here. I invited him for tea. He must have left."

"He probably thought we were having some sort of lover's quarrel. I'm surprised Weasley didn't run in and curse me when he heard the shouting."

"Oh my goodness! Weasley? Ron Weasley was here in your flat?" Kitty yelled. She had just entered the room.

Draco and Hermione ignored the girls exclamations.

"You know what this means, don't you Granger?"

"What?"

"It means that your plan is working."

"How so?"

"It's obvious, isn't it? Weasely probably went off whining to his brothers and asked them to do something."

"Are you actually suggesting the Ron asked them to do this?" she asked, gesturing towards Kitty, who was concentrating so hard on a painting that she looked as though her head might burst.

"Ron's not that much of a prat. Why would he do something that could possibly hurt me?"

Draco shrugged. "I don't know. I guess sometimes people are so afraid of trying the direct approach that they have to resort to lying, scheming and manipulation to get what they want," He said staring pointedly at Hermione.

"Okay. Point taken. I'm still not sure that Ron was involved in this."

"Let's invite him over for dinner tomorrow night to see if he knows anything about it."

"You mean we're going to come right out and ask him."

"Absolutely not. We're going to make him squirm. Potter can come too." Draco groaned exasperatedly when he realized what he'd said.

"Harry Potter and Ron Weasley here? Together? Can I come?" Kitty asked.

"Sorry, maybe next time Kitty." She crossed her arms childishly and stalked off towards Draco's bedroom.

"What do you think?" Draco asked when Kitty left the room.

"I'll give them a floo call," Hermione answered walking towards the fireplace. But Draco-"

"Don't worry. I'll cook." He answered before she was able to ask. Hermione smiled, and grabbed the floo powder.

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Harry sat at the kitchen table sipping a glass of firewhiskey. He was replaying his encounter with Olivia from that afternoon. He couldn't believe that his cousin had married a witch. It was almost laughable. He could only imagine Dudley's reaction when he found out the truth. He'd probably run back home to his mummy. That, or live in constant fear of his wife and son.

He couldn't let go of what Olivia had said to him. 'Don't take too long. He might die.' It was almost as if she thought he should help. Like it was his duty. They'd never given a damn about him. Why should he jump up and help just because they needed him all of a sudden?

Of course she'd been right about one thing. Dozens of healers would leap at the chance to help Harry Potter. All he'd have to do is ask and Uncle Vernon would be back to his old grumpy self. It was as easy as that, but he couldn't make the decision just yet.

He was slightly relieved when he heard Ron apparate into the living room. He was happy for the chance to get his mind off of his own problems. Ron's were much more amusing. And he was sure to have some interesting news.

"So when is the funeral?" Harry asked as Ron walked into the room.

"What funeral?" he asked stupidly.

"Draco's. Whatever your brothers did surely killed him."

"Oh yeah. Well, they didn't kill him, but there's a huge possibility that Hermione will."

"What makes you say that?"

"Let's just say that Hermione walked in on something. And it wasn't pretty. I think."

"You think?"

"I didn't actually see anything. I just know that there was a woman with him in the bedroom. And there was some shouting. And I left."

"So you didn't get to see what really happened?"

"Erm- no. But what else could it have been? This will most certainly split them up."

"If they were even together in the first place," added Harry.

"What?"

"Come on Ron. Did Hermione actually tell you they were a couple?"

"No."

"Then how do you know you're not just jumping to conclusions? You could have it all wrong. Maybe they are just good friends."

"Whoever heard of a whirlwind friendship Harry?"

"You should have never let your brothers get to you." Harry shook his head. It was completely like Ron to blow things out of proportion. Harry knew that there was something Hermione wasn't telling them. He just didn't know what it was.

"Besides, if they weren't together, why was she so upset about there being a woman in his room?

"His room? So you mean they sleep in separate rooms?"

"That's not the point. The point is that whatever was going on between them is definitely over now."

"Hello? Ron? Harry?" Hermione's voice called from the living room. They walked out of the kitchen to find her head floating in the fire.

"Is everything all right Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Oh yes, everything is fine. I didn't hear you leave Ron."

"It sounded like you were in the middle of something and I didn't want to be in the way. I called out to you that I was leaving though."

"I guess I didn't hear you."

"So what happened?" Harry asked

"It's a long story. Quite funny actually. But I'll tell you later. I was calling to invite you to dinner tomorrow night."

"Great. Where?"

"My place," she responded.

Harry and Ron exchanged glances.

"Really?" Ron asked. "Who's cooking, because if it's you, I'm going to have to pass."

"Ha ha," she pretended to laugh. "You'll be happy to know that I'm not cooking."

"Then who?"

"Who else? Draco of course. And don't worry about him poisoning the food. He's promised not to."

Ron tried to keep the shock out of his face.

"Seven, alright? Don't be late. Ron." She ended the call.

Harry looked at his best friend and smirked.

"You were saying?"

A/N: The dinner's not going to be in the next chapter. It'll happen soon and drama will, of course, ensue. It's been really fun writing this. I hope we get more reviews. They will be much appreciated.