I'm sorry it took long! one I didn't get many reviews (and you all thought I was bluffing) but seriously it was internet problems. But I'm treating you to a really good chapter (at least I hope) and more Dramione on the way! whooo
CRITIC OR I SWEAR I'LL -
just kidding I love all of you
"Hermione?" I ask, talking as gently as possible, something I don't do very often, she doesn't move though. I noticed a minute ago she had not moved in a while, or at least moved like she was awake. "Hermione, wake up," I whisper. I had experience with girls that don't like to be woken up, and it's no fun. Especially when Pansy set my favorite robes on fire after a long night together.
Hermione doesn't move or show any sign that she is at least relatively close to consciousness. I have been raised as a gentleman, and Hermione is somewhat of a friend, so I do what I need to because I need to do it, not because I want to.
Carefully, I move down and try to adjust Hermione so that her head leans on my shoulder instead of the tabletop. One of her arms is propped awkwardly against a tower of books and the other is hanging off to the side. I take both of her hands and place them by my stomach, on her lap, so she would be more comfortable. Then I lean down farther and pick Hermione up bridal style.
Hermione's hair immediately goes everywhere, which makes me chuckle. I stand up slowly, not because she weighs anything at all but because I don't want to give her or I a head rush. As I reach my full height, Hermione sighs and her head moves. I tense, knowing if she wakes up she will freak out that I'm holding her, but she doesn't wake up. Instead her head curls inward a little like she wants to be in the fetal position, but I'm holding her so her head fits itself into the space between my shoulder and neck, sending a shiver down my spine. She smells like Vanilla and the parchment she was asleep on a second ago. It is an intoxicating smell, in the best way possible.
With this thought going through my head, I walk out of the library. The Zabini manor is not as big as the one I grew up in, but it is still to big for comfort. It takes a few minutes to reach the right staircase, and by the time I do I've gotten use to Hermione's scent and can feel the spot on my neck the air coming in and out of her nose touches.
I walk slowly up the stairs, walking in the middle to keep Hermione's feet and head from bumping the wall and rail. When I reach her door its still open from when Blaise opened it before dinner. None of her lights are on, and it is midnight so it's dark outside and in her room. I've never asked why, but in all pureblood manors I have stayed at, which are a lot, the hallway lights always stay on. They get dimmer during the night, but that's the only time they change. Knowing the pureblood families love they're magic more than they're family on many occasions, the lights are most likely charmed.
I walk into Hermione's room and to her bed. It's made, of course, so I place Hermione on her comforter as gently as possible. The moment I do she begins to squirm around on her bed. For a second I think she is awake, then I think she is just cold from the loss of body heat. I summon the spare blanket I know is on a chair in my room and place it over her to warm her up. She stops moving so I assume she is alright. I watch her only for a second, to make sure she is ok, then turn and walk to the door. I grasp the doorknob from the outside and pull the door closed behind me. I try to close the door quietly, and I do. I take two steps in the direction of my room when I hear her scream
The first night she was here, her scream woke me up right away. I ran out of my room then because I thought I was back in the war with my dear, demented aunt due to my own dream I had woken up from, now was different. Now I knew I where I was and I knew Hermione was dreaming, but the scream hadn't been heard all week and now when I was the last she saw, she was screaming. Still, after the initial shock, I run into Hermione's room and try to wake her up.
"Hermione! Hermione it's only a dream you have to wake up." I sit next to her shaking and screaming form and shake her roughly now. "Hermione!"
The screaming stops and Hermione sits up quickly. She looks to a certain spot in the room with wide eyes. She is tense but after realizing she was no longer in her dream, she relaxes slightly. She is still shaking when she looks at me and her scared expression turns to a heartbreaking one.
"He. . .Hogwarts was gone. I mean he was talking about rebuilding it as his castle…. but it was gone to me. He killed Ron, right in front of me, just to hear - Kingsley was captured too, no one was left. Harry-" She chokes on her words and I pull her to me, cradling her crying form into me. "Harry didn't come back!" She gasps out, continuing even though I tell her she can stop. She doesn't seem to realize anything is happening around her. Her eyes are locked on the windows, waiting for someone to come in as an intruder. "Harry didn't come back and Ginny died when she ran to him. Then you," I tense up at the mention of me in her nightmare. "You and Blaise were trying to get to me. You revealed who I was to try to keep me safe... and .. and he killed Blaise and you! He wanted me to see everyone die because I didn't deserve any of their love. The war.. .the- the war was lost!" She gasps again and tenses her whole body.
"The war was won," I tell her, rubbing her back. "We're all alive and you're safe."
"I know," she whispers, untangling from my arms and moving away. The sudden absence of her near me makes the room feel cold.
"I thought you weren't having any nightmares now?" I ask gently, turning towards her as she walks around to regain the feeling of reality.
"I place a silencing charm on my room every night," She explains. "I didn't want Blaise to worry anymore than he already is."
"You're not bothering anyone."
"Oh no of course not, only when I scream loud enough to wake everyone up." She says turning towards me with a soft glare. "I'll get past these nightmares. They are just worse because -"
"We're back on war ground. The memories are more detailed when you can see it playing around you with the ghosts of war," I answer for her. I knew what she was talking about. Coming back for Blaise was not hard, until I realized that, that included coming back to the war.
"Yeah, and I can face all of that. I can face it alone," She says defiantly, like I was going to drop it because she gave me a look.
"Why? You don't have nightmares when Blaise and I are in here, I'm assuming its the company or your twin power shit Blaise use to go on about. Why go through the torture of the dreams if you can cure them by company?" I ask. "It's simple. Blaise and I wouldn't mind. If you really need it I'm sure we could expand the room. Just -"
"Draco!" She exclaims, running both hands through her hair and leaving them there as she pulls at the ends. "They will go away. The two of you don't need to help me with this."
"Let's make a deal." I say, standing up from her bed and walking towards her with crossed arms. "Blaise and I are sleeping in here tonight. If you have a nightmare, we won't do it again. If you do have one tonight I won't push us sleeping in here again."
"Why do you want to help so badly?" She questions, giving me an odd look.
"Good question, I'll tell you when I figure it out." I wink at her teasingly and because I know it will infuriate her. Before she can say anything else, I walk out of the room and into Blaise's.
I send a minor hex towards his sleeping form with my wand that has been in my robe pocket this whole time. I drop to the floor as he stands up in bed and waves his wand around like he does every time someone wakes him up, or every time, after the war, someone wakes him up.
"Salazar! What the fuck was that for, Malfoy?" Blaise shouts. I stand up slowly. "What time is it? Do - Hermione?" I turn around and see a sheepish smile playing on Hermione's face.
"I was coming to make sure Draco didn't do what he already has," She explains.
"Is something wrong, Hermione?" Blaise asks. He gets the look he always does when something is wrong in his family, and climbs off the bed to walk towards Hermione.
"Ask Draco," she says, wording it like this was my fault. Bad idea when it's her brother.
"What the fuck did you do, Malfoy?" Blaise practically yells. He never was the kind of Slytherin to stay up late and sleep for three hours like most of the house did on Sunday night.
"Ch-"
"Don't fucking say chill."
"Hermione, had a nightmare," I explain, watching my best-friend calm down quickly. "We're staying in her room for the night."
"Ok," Blaise says and walks out and towards Hermione's room before we have to explain anything else. Hermione goes in first but before Blaise goes inside he stops and looks at me. "You woke her up before getting me?" He says it like it's a question. With very few right answers.
"She fell asleep in the library and I took her to her room. As I was leaving she began screaming," I defend myself. A week into being a brother and he was already turning on his best friend.
"Alright."
We walk into her room and Hermione has transfigured her desk and chair into two twin beds. "Good night," she calls, practically sings, from her bed, now under the covers.
"Good night." We reply, both climbing into one bed. Blaise in the one closest to Hermione's.
I woke up to see the sun shinning in through the space between each curtain. I stretch in bed, yawning and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.
"No nightmares, I guess Draco was right," Blaise calls from the other side of the room. He was standing up and dressed in robes already. "He's getting dressed."
"He told you?" I ask, getting out of bed slowly to not cause myself a head rush.
"He told me this morning when you didn't wake up from a nightmare," Blaise frowns slightly. "You didn't have to lie about your nightmares, Hermione."
"I know," I reply, though I don't agree at all. There is nothing wrong with a white lie when it let those around me have an easier life. Draco and Blaise staying in the room with me when I sleep not only makes me feel weak, but also feels as if I am asking too much. Even though I didn't ask them to.
"I'll let you get dressed," Blaise says while walking towards the door. "Breakfast will be soon. Also I'm expecting mother to want to spend the whole day with you planning."
"Oh yeah," I reply sarcastically, smiling at Blaise to show I wasn't trying to offend his mum -our mum.
Blaise smirks as he leaves, and I head into my walk in closet. As I look over the clothes, and know that I will be here longer than Phillip will like, I think I need to go shopping. It was not a happy thought. I throw on my last sweatshirt that I haven't already worn and place on skinny, but comfortable, jeans too. Everyday the clothes that I had worn two days before was always back in the closet so I did not have to worry about laundry, but I still didn't like the small selection of clothes I have here that I haven't personally picked out and approved of. I can't bring anymore clothes from Wollongong or it would be suspicious to Monica. So shopping is the only thing to do, but shopping with Molly and Ginny is usually fun, I'll have to ask them tonight.
At the reminder that the Weasleys are coming tonight to see me I smile even though I'm worried. They won't like what they hear, but I'll get to see them and feel a bit of Hermione normal. I walk out of my room and down the stairs, practically skipping.
"Good morning, Hermione." Someone calls from the hallway behind me. I look around the stair railing to see Felix walking down the hallway coming from the front door. "It looks like you slept well."
"I did, and I'm very excited for tonight," I reply walking with him to the dinning room.
"Yes, all of us are," Felix says, though I hear the worry in his voice. He is just like Blaise. "From what you told us last night you are very close to them."
"Extremely, they're like my adopted family," I say without thinking. That's how I always described them to the Grangers, nothing has changed now, except that I figured out I was an adopted child.
I'm about to apologize for what I said, but Felix cuts me off. He turns my deep worry lines and frown into a smile. "I remember reading a quote you said in the daily prophet describing them as that. Blaise got a kick out of the irony," Felix smiles at me and laughs when he sees I'm smiling too.
"Good morning!" I look into the dinning room as we reach it and see Draco and Blaise with their heads in their hands like they have a migraine and Circe sitting in her seat practically bouncing from being so excited.
"Good morning," we reply, taking our seats and watching the food fill up.
"Will you pass the bacon, Draco?" I ask, looking at the bacon plate next to him.
"Sure," He says, smirking and placing a few pieces on his plate first.
"Rude." I reprimand, taking the plate from his hands and serving myself. "Would anyone else like some?"
"Me," Blaise says, taking it out of my hands. I meet Circe's watchful eyes and smile. She smiles back and looks down. This isn't so hard.
Breakfast passes uneventfully and afterwards Circe leads me to the living-room, Draco and Blaise following us, both trying to cover theirs laughs. "Draco, aren't you suppose to be in the library?" I call over my shoulder.
"Not unless you are coming," he replies. I look over my shoulder and raise my eyebrows. "I'm not a bookworm like you, Granger, I'm taking a day off."
"Day off's are for Sundays." I reply.
"For you maybe, but I take off any day I like."
I roll my eyes and take a seat on the couch, sitting in the corner area. Circe sits on the other end of the couch so she can face me. Blaise summons the chess board and sits next to me but on the floor. Draco sits across from him. Felix says he is going to ask for the Daily Prophet.
"So, Hermione, how exactly do the Weasleys usually do their dinners?" Circe asks, cocking her head to the side slightly to show interest.
"Well, for special events, we have them outside under their canopy," I say thinking of Bill and Fleur's wedding. "For their weekly dinner they have it in there dinning room, unless we expect more than the expected family members. Like when Teddy stays with Harry for a weekend." I explain how it went a year ago, assuming it still goes the same. It always has.
"Teddy?" Draco asks, looking up at the unfamiliar name. I smile at the thought of little Teddy.
"Teddy is two, he's Professor Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks' son. Harry is his godfather but Andromeda is Teddy's guardian since. . ." I let them fill in the blanks.
"Andromeda, is she in the Black family?" Circe looks curiously at her husband who was sitting in an empty chair reading the Daily Prophet.
"She is," Felix answers, nodding and glancing at Draco over the newspaper. That's when it clicked.
"She is Draco's aunt," I explain.
"She is?" Blaise and Draco both ask.
"You didn't know?" I look worriedly at Draco.
"Mother didn't even speak of Bellatrix till fourth year. She didn't want to talk about her imprisoned sister to her son," Draco says absent-mindedly. He was looking through me.
"Andromeda was taken out of your family tree because she married a muggle-born, Ted Tonks. It's just Teddy and Andromeda now," I look away from everyone's gaze to stop my train of thoughts concerning the deaths from the war.
"Will Teddy come tonight?" Draco asks after a minute, calling back my attention.
"No, Teddy only stays with Harry on some weekends, unless Andromeda has an important thing to do or he requests a weekend," I explain. I watch Draco's expression. It isn't giving away much because of the mask he put on to hide his feelings, but I see his lips turn down slightly by this news. "I can get Harry to talk to you about him though. Maybe plan something for you and Narcissa."
"That would be nice," Circe says, smiling at Draco encouraging. He just nods. "So, what do you think Mrs. Weasley would like? The dinning room or garden?"
"Garden," I answer immediately. I couldn't imagine George's jokes after dinner if he has to sit in a typical pureblood dinning room.
"Alright, after lunch the boys can set something up outside for dinner," Circe says nodding like she is mentally checking something off her list and adding another.
"I can help," I say immediately, wanting to still give off the impression of a not perfect pureblood. No pureblood princess was coming from a muggle raised witch.
"Alright," she nods. "What would they like to eat?"
"Anything," I say, and at Circe's happy face I rephrase it. "Anything, except everything you would usually make for a dinner with guests."
Blaise clarifies for me. "They want lunch food for dinner. Casual."
"Casual," Circe repeats, making the list nod again. "So lunch for dinner and dinner outside." She makes a small face, but recovers and smiles when she meets my wary gaze. "A change would be nice."
"It will be great," Felix's says from behind the prophet.
"Nulla di buono, padre?" Blaise calls after saying his move to the chess board.
"Si, There is a small article on Draco," Felix replies, setting the paper down. "It's not as big as the one a few days ago however. He was spotted with a hooded figure in Leaky Cauldron."
"That would be me," I raise my hand sheepishly. "I told him there could be reporters there."
"You said bugs," Draco reminds me.
"Trust me, their the same thing." I smirk and Draco does too.
"So you figured out Skeeter's secret," He laughs.
"Fourth year, a not long after seeing you whisper things to your hand," I snicker.
"I regret nothing from that year, aside from the yule ball of course."
Blaise begins laughing, "I can't believe you actually took Pansy to the Ball!"
"Pansy Parkinson is a nice young woman, Blaise, you are close with her and she does not deserve you laughing at her," Circe reprimands.
This makes me laughs, "Oh yes, Parkinson is a never a nice girl." This then makes Draco laugh, and all three of us are laughing at the memory of how idiotic Pansy Parkinson was in school.
"Please boys, go back to your game. Hermione and I have a lot of planning to do." We calm down after a minute and do as Circe says.
Circe continues asking me questions and making mental notes in her head until lunch. It feels as if I have exhausted all the information I can share about the Weasleys. Somehow, we were able to avoid all talk of war and the name blood traitors throughout the whole morning. Huge improvement, I think. As we walk into the Dinning Room, Circe comes up with a new question.
"How do you think they will want to sit? Will Mr. Weasley want to be at the other end of the table across from Felix?" Circe sits down next to Draco, who looks like he wants to be in the library now.
"They don't have seating arrangements, just people they want to sit closer to," I answer.
"What?" Felix asks, pouring himself water.
"They don't have assigned seats, but it's like they do to a certain extent," I try to explain. "For example, Harry doesn't care where he sits, as long as he is next to Ginny, and Ginny is seated closest to Mrs. Weasley between the two. Also Mrs. Weasley always has to sit on the right side of Mr. Weasley weather he is at the head of the table or not. George doesn't care where he sits, but we have made it everyone's mission to make sure he never has an empty seat next to him, it's usually Charlie next to him, also when Percy comes to dinner we try to sit them away from each other. Percy likes to sit near me and Ginny because we don't glare at him as often and he still feels guilty enough to not sit near his parents. Ginny likes being next to Harry, but she also likes to not be close to her sister-in-law Fleur Delacor, but near George. And Fleur sits near Mol-"
"Wait," Blaise exclaims, stopping my rambling. "Fleur Delacor, as in the Veela from fourth year?"
"Yes," I nod their marriage was big news to most people. It must not have reached the other side what the party they were crashing was for. It only mattered who's. "She is Bill's wife. They got married the summer before seventh year."
"Oh," Felix says, swallowing deeply. I don't look at him, knowing there is a possibility he was there. No need to add to the self hate.
"Yes, anyways, that's all that matters when it comes to seating for now," I say after an awkward silence.
"Perfect," Circe claps her hands. I begin taking a bite out of my chicken. "So I will sit on the right side of Felix, Blaise in front of me," she smiles at her son and continues, "and Draco and Hermione next to each other, of course." She smiles at the two of us, wanting a confirmation.
"yeah," we reply right away. Then I replayed what she said in my mind.
"Wait, what do you mean by 'of course'?" I ask, glancing at Draco to see he just realized her odd wording too. We both look to Circe who seems confused.
"I just assumed you would want to sit next to each other because of the situation. If not, Hermione, you can sit next to your brother." Circe says happily, thinking she dismissed the subject.
"What situation is that exactly?" Draco asks for me, wanting to know exactly what Circe thought was going on.
"You have been spending so much time together, I assume you two are trying to make the contract work. I don't like the contract but this is a great -"
"No!" I exclaim quickly looking wildly at Draco, confirming that's not what he thought we were doing in the Library. "We are doing the opposite. We are trying to find a way to terminate the contract," I explain.
"Hermione," Felix begins gravely.
"No, Blaise has already tried to stop me. I'm not marrying Draco Malfoy, I have a right to choose. We are almost half way done with the research part and -"
"Then we will need to see the contract," Draco finishes for me. Not helping my argument against Circe's thoughts.
"You want to see the contract?" Felix sits back in his chair and crosses his arms. "The Contract?"
"Yes," We answer.
"That may be difficult," He replies, taking a bite of his pasta to end the conversation.
The rest of us lapse into uncomfortable silence and eating our dishes. I do not wait for everyone else to finish to leave the room this time. "Blaise, please come get me when you are going out to the garden to set up," I nod to Blaise as I stand up, and then walk out of the room towards my own. Inside I have a new letter on my desk and an old letter from Phillip that I still have not replied to. The new letter was from Molly Weasley, asking how the family should dress. I chuckle at the way it is written, knowing she is worrying too much like Circe. I write a quick reply to her, sending her a detailed description of what I plan to wear, and what the Zabini's will most likely wear.
Phillip,
I'm glad to hear your mother is allowed home now. Does this mean you will come back home too?
I had dinner with Monica tonight, and she told me one of the best stories from work I have heard in a while. A seventy year old man flirted with her! Gave her his number and everything! It was hilarious, you should have been there to hear Wendell go on about it.
Love you and miss you tons, Come home soon.
Briar
I can't help but say the last part. I know I won't be home soon, but knowing Phillip is so close but so far hurts more than if he was actually in Wollongong. As I am about to call for Fauna, she pops up next to me.
"Letter for Miss. Hermione!" She squeals happily.
"Thank you Fauna," I reply. "What do you think about having people over tonight, Fauna?" I ask.
"Oh yes, it gives us much to do. Would Miss Hermione like for Fauna to pick out a robe for her to wear tonight?" The little elf cocks her head to the side.
I smile gratefully at the elf. "No, but thank you Fauna. Do you mind sending this letter for me?" I hand her the letter for Phillip. "That's all I need, and try not to work too hard tonight."
"Of course, Miss Hermione." She bows and pops away when she reaches full height.
I look down at the letter and laugh. I think we will dress similar to you Hermione. It will be fun, and Ginny will be happy. Molly, This will really surprise Draco and the Zabini's.
"Hermione we're about to start!" Blaise calls from outside. I stuff the letter away and open the door to join him.
There was a large enough patch of grass between the patio and entrance to the garden that we could set up a long table and canopy there. The men got to work on setting up the tent, while I did the hard work and levitated a patio table under it before transfiguring it into a much large table that could sit ten. Looking back to the patio, I change the two patio chairs into normal chairs that don't look too fancy. After I get the right look to the chairs, I begin to duplicate them until I have eleven chairs, in case an invited Weasley decides to show up unexpectedly. The men move out-of-the-way as I levitate the chairs to their respectable places and ask what time it is.
"Three thirty," Blaise answers for me. "When are the Weasleys coming?"
"Around Five thirty. They'll all arrive at the same time," I say off handedly, not even having to think about it. I sit down on a random chair and observe the tent.
"How do you know all of their moves?" Draco questions.
"Can't you guess what your mother is going to do when it comes to routine?" Looking over to him and Blaise, Felix walks inside.
"No," He says, "she doesn't have a routine."
"Everyone has a routine. I know the Weasleys routine because I've seen it hundreds of times, even after not seeing them for a year." I look back to the garden.
"Wait, so this is the first time you have seen all of them besides Potter in a year." Blaise inquires.
"Yes. I, Hermione, have not seen any of them in a year. Besides Harry." I hide a smirk.
"Oh this night just gets better and better," Blaise mumbles loud enough for us to hear.
"Why are you and Draco so worried?" I look back to them and see they have both taken a seat also.
"We aren't exactly on good terms with this family," Blaise begins. "You never know what they're feelings towards us are."
"I am not at all worried about the Weasleys and how they will act," I state. "They care about me and they will be respectful to my new family." I stand up, thinking I worded that perfectly to accomplish my wish to put Blaise's worries to rest. I wasn't planning on leaving the Zabini's with the Weasleys. I begin walking towards the door when I stop as I thought pops into my mind. Thought and plan. "Of course, I would watch out for George." I hurry inside after watching Blaise and Draco's eyes widen slightly.
Inside my room, I begin getting ready for the dinner. I turn the shower on and let the water get warm as I put a locking charm on the bathroom door just in case. Before getting in the shower, I grab a robe and run out to my room to grab my ipod. I hook it up to a speaker and put it on my favorite playlist. Everyone has routine, Draco just isn't observant enough because he is a boy. I have several routines, and getting ready for a special event is my favorite because it's just me. Shower, shave, brush hair, clothes, make up, hair again, and shoes is my routine, and so far I always come out looking better so I keep it. I take my time during each step so it takes longer than it probably should, especially the shaving part. When I was finally done, I walked out of my bathroom and turned my ipod off.
There was a loud knock on my door that stopped me from picking up a book. "Hermione are you done yet? They'll be here soon!" Blaise calls. I roll my eyes and open the door.
"I'm done," I state, twirling in my place so they can see the beautiful dress I am wearing. A very beautiful, very muggle, dress. "What do you think?"
Blaise stares wide-eyed at the pink dress and smirks. "You didn't want to wear a robe?" He looks down at his own dress robes, they're nice.
"No I did not," I state. I look over his shoulder and see Draco was sanding there too, smirking and looking at the dress.
"Nice dress," He comments, Blaise turns around to look at Draco too and closes my door for me.
"Thank you," I walk past both boys and make my way down the stairs.
The dress wasn't as amazing as my birthday one. It want down to my knees and had layers starting under the chest. It wasn't really pink, more peach, but I've never been one to know all the important dress colors other girls know. The straps to this dress were black, so that led me to wear a cute black headband in my hair. My hair was in small curls like Briar's that reminded me of fourth year. I felt pretty, and I love feeling pretty.
"Where does Circe want to wait?" I ask when I reach the bottom of the stairs and don't see Circe and Felix sitting in the living room.
"I think here," Blaise answers, stepping down the last step. "The wards will be down for an hour surrounding the time they come in case they are early or late."
"She planned everything," I comment, taking a seat in the corner again.
"She always does."
Blaise and Draco continue their game from this morning and I watch over Blaise's shoulder. Draco was winning. After a few minutes, Circe and Felix join us. I stand up to greet Circe, mainly so she can see my attire. Both her and Felix are wearing dress robes similar to Blaise, Draco was also wearing dress robes, but his didn't look as new.
"Lovely dress, Hermione." Felix says, walking by and taking a seat on the couch, immediately beginning to give pointers to Blaise.
"You will have to introduce me to the Muggle line of clothes, several clothes you have worn are very cute," Circe says, smiling. She didn't seem to think twice about me going against pureblood tradition.
"Yea, you should get more of those leggings, Hermione." Draco calls from behind me. I turn away from Circe and stare at the back of his head with wide eyes.
"Which ones were the leggings?" Blaise asks, glancing up at me as I sit behind him.
"The ones that were really baggy and stuff," Draco smirks when he sees me watching him.
"Yea. . ." I agree, though everyone in the muggle world knows leggings are the complete opposite of baggy.
We spend a few minutes talking about random topics, like Quidditch, Muggle clothes, who won the house cup in Hogwarts last year (Slytherin because everyone left in Slytherin are all like Phillip), and other small topics. At exactly five thirty-five, there is a chime going through the house, informing us we have guests.
Everyone, except me, stands up gracefully and makes their way to the front doors. I bolt up and run to the doors, already having mastered the skill in running with heels. I rush past the Zabini's almost knocking my brother over and hurriedly swing open the front door to be greeted by a grinning Mr. Weasley.
"Hermione!" All of them exclaim happily. I laugh out of pure happiness and begin greeted all of them with hugs.
"You look amazing, Hermione." Harry says.
"It's great to see you, Hermione." Mr. Weasley says.
"What took you so long to come visit?" Mrs. Weasley says.
"There is no way you did your hair by yourself." Ginny says.
"I told you not to make a promise." George gives me a smug look after releasing me from a hug. I had managed to become inside of a small circle of my friends, but unlike my birthday, it was so they could all see and talk to me instead of protect me. They are all in muggle dress clothes like I had suggested, and the difference between my old family and new family stood out.
"I missed all of you," I turn around to look at everyone and stop when I see Molly tearing up. I walk up to her and take her hands. "Molly?" I ask gently.
"I'm so happy you're home." She hugs me too her again and I return it.
"Molly," I say again looking at everyone also, "Would you like to meet my other family?" To my left, I hear Ginny take in a sharp breath and Harry release one.
None of them answer, but move silently to where I am now positioned between them and the doorway where the Zabini's are. We are still on the front porch, and with one glance at the Zabini's and Weasleys I see both are on guard. In the doorway, they use masks of indifference as a defense and on the porch they use silent suspicion as defense. No wands were being twirled so I saw that as a plus. No one is moving however, and I don't want to be the one to break the silence right now.
Circe drops Felix's hand and walks out of the doorways towards me. As she approaches, Molly grabs Mr. Weasleys hand and George steps forward slightly, still on defense. Harry glances at me as she reaches my side and smile approvingly, I must have done what he told me to do. Circe gives me a side glance to reassure herself before finishing her walk and extending her hand to Molly.
"Mrs. Weasley, it is wonderful to meet you, Hermione has told me a lot about you and your family. I'm Circe Zabini," Circe smiles politely towards the whole family.
"It is nice to meet you too," Molly takes Circe's hand to shake it, but glances at me first. "Thank you for welcoming my family to your home."
The family relaxes slightly when Molly let's go of Circe's hand. I've never heard Molly sound so formal, she sounds like Professor McGonagal when she does. I look back towards the Zabini's and notice for the first time Draco was only partly in view, partially hidden behind Blaise as he watched in the background. I raise an eyebrow when he meets my gaze, but he doesn't move. Blaise steps forward though, and Draco stays close to Blaise. Forever the war survivor, I can see a wand sticking out of Draco's sleeve as he stands protectively by his best friend and me. Like the Weasleys would harm my new family.
"Hello, Potter." Draco greets with a tight voice when he catches Harry's stare.
"Malfoy," Harry nods.
"Well," Felix claps like he usually does to end an awkward situation and start a new one. The action makes more than one person flinch. "Let us go inside, no need in staying out here. The back garden is much more impressive than this one." He turns in the doorway and leads the way, expecting us all to follow immediately.
Circe follows her husband inside with only one glance towards Blaise to insure he will follow also. Harry and Ginny join me on the right side where they have me between them and Draco and Blaise. All five of us walk inside after I smile at the other three to comfort them. The Weasleys all look around the Manor as we walk towards the garden, Ginny and Molly seem to admire it, but the men are looking for escape routes, I can see it in their eyes when I observe them. When we finally reach outside, the group is beginning to relax, except for Harry, Draco, Blaise, and I. So about half the group is relaxing a bit more.
Once everyone is seated, I can't help but share a look with Circe when it seems that everyone has sat like I expected. Felix and Author sit across from each other at the heads of the table, with wives on their right sides. Draco sits in front of Circe and Blaise sits next to him. I sit infront of Blaise with Harry and Ginny on my right side. George sits between Blaise and Molly and Ginny is in front of her mom. George is the last to sit down and he smirks when he sees Blaise is more uncomfortable than he is. He winks at me as the food appears.
"The food looks delicious," Molly comments, never being the one to allow silence.
"Yes, Hermione helped me tell the elves what to make." This leads everyone to look at me, the Weasleys looking at me in surprise.
"Hermione, are you giving up on spew?" Harry jokes lightly to ease the tension. Draco chuckles at the joke, which makes Harry even more surprised.
"It's S.P.E.W., and no I am not, these elves want to be here, like the Hogwarts elves." I defend myself.
"So you accepted that not all elves want to be free like Dobby?" Harry smirks.
"Sure," I mutter, glancing at Draco who was trying to cover his smrik to stay indifferent.
"Sure what?" George jokes. "You know how mum wants us all to be specific."
"George," Molly begins in complaint.
"Not all elves want to be freed, but that doesn't mean I wasn't right about more elf rights," I send Harry a playful glare, thankful he is trying to make the situation easier for me, even if it's at my expense too.
"Of course you still have to be right when you're wrong," Draco comments. Immediately, Harry turns on the defensive, but after a second when he replays what and how Draco said, he allows a chuckle and smile.
"Having a big brain can go to a person's head," George continues to joke, causing Felix and Author to chuckle too. Circe and Molly watch without comment as we talk, but both are smiling.
"So, Hermione, what have you been up to?" Author asks, bring the conversation to a steadier topic.
"Busy, I've had to hire new workers for my business to keep it going while I'm gone, but none of them know how to order supplies we need so I have to do that from here," I explain as vaguely as possible, knowing Harry probably let it slip I opened my bookstore. The vagueness was to show the Weasleys what not to say. "What about you all? Have you been able to visit Charlie again?"
"Bill and Fleur visited them a couple of months ago," Ginny says. "Charlie has a girlfriend, but Fleur doesn't think it will last long."
"It's too bad too, I wouldn't mind planning another wedding," Molly comments, looking pointedly towards Harry who instantly becomes red-faced. "What about you Circe?" Molly hesitantly asks, looking towards my mother. "Are you going to plan any weddings soon?"
The other side of the table all tenses and glances at me. I keep a calm expression and at Circe. She didn't seem worried. "Hopefully not, I don't think I'm ready for that yet." Blaise sits up straighter in his seat, his form of squirming.
"Hermione," Harry calls, noticing my nervousness from the topic even though I try to hide it. "How's him?"
"Him? Really Harry, you have no creativity," George says. "Call him You-Know-How, it's so much more original." Draco and Felix both stiffen, but the rest laugh or chuckle at the joke.
"He is alright, Harry," I smile.
"Maybe we will here wedding bells soon from you two?" Ginny questions. "If so, I totally call maid of honor."
I smile nervously again. "I don't know, Harry you should ask him."
"I don't think we're that close."
"So all of you have met Hermione's boyfriend?" Blaise asks. I lean back so he can look at Harry, taking this opportunity to eat.
"Ginny, George, and I, yeah," Harry replies.
"And he is a good guy?" Blaise asks hesitantly, making me and Ginny smile.
"He loves her," Ginny says, looking to Blaise with a genuine smile. "They compliment each other really well."
"Good," Blaise smirks at me. "I can't have you dating someone I don't approve of."
"Trust me mate, they don't listen to us," George smiles at Ginny who sticks her tongue out at him. She was always closest to the twins than the rest of her brothers. "I've tried to get this one to break up with the bloke next to her for years."
"I think he's better than Dean," Ginny comments, ignoring Harry trying to speak.
"Not as tall though,"
"Hey!" Harry exclaims as the whole party laughs.
"There, there mate."
"George leave Harry and Ginny alone," Molly says, putting a hand on his arm. "So Felix, Hermione tells me you own your own business?"
"I do, but it is mostly self run. I only have to go in for important meetings," Felix explains, holding himself well as he does.
"I wish I could stay home like that." Author jokes. "Don't you George."
"Merlin no," George says. "That would mean Ron would be at the store by himself. That would mean way too much problems for me to deal with. And if I didn't stay home I couldn't enjoy the reactions of customers when something goes wrong or a kid tries to steal something."
"Where do you work?" Blaise asks.
"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes," Draco answers without meaning too. As everyone looks to him in surprise he avoids their looks by looking to Blaise only. "Remember sixth year it was ban from school?"
"Oh yeah! Those things are amazing," Blaise looks on the other side of him to George. "All your ideas?"
"Some my brother Fred's too." George answers, barely keeping the smile on. He's improved a lot since I left and he had said Fred's name for the first time, but not enough to reach his usual standard of joking about everything. Or maybe I thought of his and Fred's jokes as one, now half of them are missing. "Ron works for me now, but he has no imagination."
"With you," Molly corrects. George rolls his eyes when she isn't looking. "Blaise do you work anywhere?"
"Not at the moment," Blaise answers politely after swallowing. "Before now, I spent most of my free time trying to find my sister." He smiles lovingly at me and I return it with a shy smile. The rest of the table smile or aw at his words. Out of the corner of my eye I see Draco watching me.
"Draco," I say, noticing several Weasley's shocked expressions at my use of his first name. "Where do you work?"
"I own my own business also," he answers. Immediately I imagine a huge black building where his office is on the top floor taking up the whole floor except for his hot secretary's area. Pretty much I imagine what I've always imagined Malfoy Industries to look like.
"A popular thing to do apparently," Author comments.
For the first time we run out of things to talk about and we all spend a few minutes eating in silence. The sun was beginning to set and it made the garden look even more beautiful. I knew it would begin to get cold so I cast a warming charm under the table to keep everyone okay. Most of us were near finished, having been eating whenever we weren't talking. Everyone was smiling and I felt exceedingly proud.
Dinner finishes in silence, and Circe leads everyone into the living room as Draco, Blaise, and Felix take down the tent. Author and George offer to help but are respectively declined. Circe and Molly sit next to each other in the single chairs and begin discussing something I can't hear. George challenges Blaise to a wizarding chess game that Ginny eagerly watches. Once Felix is back from checking on the elves, he and Author begin discussing wizarding politics that I listen to for a minute. I've learned politics is the easiest subject to start an argument on, but it seems the two men agree with each other on a lot of bases, or Felix was saying he agreed. Draco, Harry and I sit on the couch, not talking but observing everyone else.
"So you wanted to stay here instead of seeing Ron," Harry states quietly, both of us watching Molly. He sits on my left and Draco on my right, I can tell Draco is listening but I don't mind.
"Yes," I answer.
"Are you going to talk to him while you're here?"
"Do you think I should?" I keep a straight gaze at the wall on the other side of the room. Not sure which one I am addressing.
"He wants you too."
"I know, he sent me a letter," I glance at Draco who doesn't smirk like I thought he would. He just meets my gaze with a small confusion expression.
"What did you tell him?"
I swallow guiltily. "I burned it." He stares at me. "Then fixed it and tore it up."
"She was under a potion that made her actions larger than usual," Draco explains in my defense when he too notices Harry's expression.
"Still, you should talk to him. I don't think he knows he made you suffer." Harry says, flinching when he sees my reaction. Draco sits back and crosses his arms.
"Doesn't know - URGH!" I sit back in the couch and summon a pillow for me to grip tightly so I don't attract attention. I look to Harry with upset eyes. "He says he loves me, breaks up with me, makes out with Cho the next day, and then when I try to contact him he sends me back all the stuff he had of mine or I gave him. He then remand in my mind until -" I rub my face and sigh deeply. From my right side a hand rubs my back comfortingly. "What does he think happened?"
"I'm not sure, I try to avoid talking to him about you," Harry answers cautiously. "He might think it went down completely differently, he is Ron."
"So meaning you do think I should talk to him?" I inquire.
"Yes," Harry says, even more cautiously.
"Ok,"
"Ok?" Draco asks, surprised. "He doesn't sound like he cares much for Hermione. If she goes would she be ok?" I glance at him but he doesn't look at me, only watch Harry's reply.
"Ron wouldn't hurt Hermione physically, but might mentally. As long as he isn't drinking he shouldn't be a problem." Harry glances at me, to confirm to himself this really was Draco Malfoy worrying about me. "If you talk to him, Hermione, I can go with you."
"When I talk to him, because I've decided I will, I'm talking to him alone," I look away from both men and stand up to go talk with Molly and Circe.
"Oh! Hermione, I was just talking to your mother about going to the mall together sometime," Mrs. Weasley says, making me freeze before sitting down on the floor next to them. Blaise doesn't even refer to Circe as my mother. Circe sends me an apologetic smile, knowing that sentence makes me uncomfortable. Mrs. Weasley knows this too, but smiles at me like it didn't. "You should come dear, Ginny too."
"What?" Ginny calls from across the room.
"We're going shopping," Molly calls back. "Tomorrow with Circe and Hermione."
Everyone in the room stares at her for a second, than at me. "Yea. . ." I trail off, trying to only look at Ginny, she looks like she is pitying me. "I need more clothes here anyways."
"Ok," Circe says, sounding as unsure as I do. "Tomorrow than?"
Molly smiles proudly and begins planning tomorrow. I stand up and leave the two woman and join Ginny so I can stare at the chess board and get lost in my own thoughts without interruption.
I look up after a minute when I hear a familiar name being discussed by Draco and Harry. Draco wasn't necessarily smiling like he does when no one is in the Manor, but it's close. Harry was explaining Teddy's special 'power' (Harry told him he is a superhero) to Draco. Seeing Draco so happy made me smile despite the stress I felt a minute ago.
Sorry to George fans, I'm no good with jokes and I really think what Hermione examined about George and joking is partly true.
Love you all and hope you liked it!
Review and I'll post a really good chapter next. I think that contract needs to be seen, and Harry needs to see more into Hermione's life :)