Authors Note: Ok. I tried with the formatting.. AGAIN.. and still no success. If anyone knows the secret to getting a gap between paragraphs, please let me know. Alright, on to the story..
Where we left off:
Racing off in that Direction, they stumbled into the room one after the other to view a scene from another reality. A soot covered Harry and Ron held a bewildered Severus Snape at wandpoint while Ginny Weasley stood with hands on hips Shouting.
"Honestly Harry, Where have you been?" she screamed "He's no more a traitor than you or me!"
"He Killed Dumbledore!" replied Harry angrily "Aveda.."
Hermione and Draco acted on Instinct "Stupefy" they screamed together, one taking down Ron, the other taking down Harry.
Ginny sank into a seat and Severus slumped to the ground where he'd stood.
"Thank God you made it" she said before she collapsed into a dead faint.
The room echoed with silence. Not a sound was made, nor a muscle moved, while Leigh, Hermione and Draco took in the scene before them. Ginny, lay like a splash of black and red, across one of the white couches. Harry and Ron, like a mirror of each other, were collapsed on either side of where Snape knelt, wands dropped from nerveless fingers, and faces seeming childlike and peaceful in their unconscious state.
"They came through the floo. From what I overheard, the Burrow has been attacked by Death Eaters and the three of them who could not apparate, were sent here by Molly" stated Severus tonelessly "Potter was trying to convince the other two to attempt an illegal apparition back to Burrow. It would have meant certain death if they were able to accomplish it"
None of the three moved, each waiting for the professor to continue his story. "Weasley, Ginny, prevented them from going through with it by sheer force of will. Sometimes, that girl is uncannily like her mother. I ventured into the room in order to help her convince the two idiots that their action was sheer foolishness, however they immediately turned on me"
-
"You did the right thing Severus" said Draco moving over and laying a hand on his Godfather's shoulder "They'd both be dead if you and Weasley hadn't have stopped them. They're making quite a habit of owing their lives to Slytherins"
-
Snape smiled a half smile, however his face was still pale and his dark eyes were reminiscent of dark pools of pain.
-
"I couldn't have stopped them if I'd have wanted to" he said and then sighed quietly at the end. "There is a glimmer of magic there.. just the barest little amount, however it is going to be a long time in returning. I think it best, that with the connection that Potter shares with the Darklord, that he neither remember my presence in this house, nor the fact that I never raised a wand to him.
-
The sounds of approaching voices reminded them that they were not alone in the house. Leigh quietly slipped from the room with a nod to Hermione, obviously off to direct their guests up to the third floor guest wing to get changed.
-
"Since the floo has been connected" he said gesturing to the green flames in the hearth "I think it would be best if I were to make my way through to Order headquarters so that I am on hand to help with any wounded needing potions as they arrive"
-
Draco went to speak but Snape raised one hand to forestall him "I assure you that Potion making and application does not require Magical ability, and floo travel can be accomplished by a well educated muggle. You yourself have been travelling by floo for the past 17 years, regardless of the fact that you are not able to use magic underage, Correct?"
-
Draco shook his head and subsided back beside Hermione.
-
"I will be in contact as soon as I am able, in the meantime, keep those two" he said gesturing to Ron and Harry "here for as long as possible"
With a swish of his jet black cloak and a flare of brilliant green flames, their Potions Master was gone.
-
"Well.." said Draco with a look at the two boys laying near the still green fire "I never thought I'd see the day when you'd help me stun those two idiots"
-
Hermione merely gave Draco a dealthy look and moved towards Ginny on the couch, Draco following silently a moment later.
-
Kneeling, Hermione smoothed Ginny's sooty red hair away from her stained cheeks. Calling Ginny's name softly and trying to shake her gently awake proved inadequate and so Hermione pulled her wand and whispered "Ennervate".
Ginny groaned quietly and muttered "5 more minutes" to herself, before blinking open tired eyes and looking about the room.
"Hermione?" asked Ginny disoriented. Suddenly the confusion cleared and fear and worry flowed into her features.
"Oh Hermione!" cried Gin, sitting upright quickly on the couch "They came.. the death Eaters.. it felt like hundreds.."
"Can you tell me what happened?" asked Hermione, also sinking onto the couch, and taking her friends hand in comfort.
-
"It was terrible!" she stated, tears beginning to run down her cheeks "We were just getting ready for bed. Bill had gone out to check the shed door, because it had been banging in the wind, and he startled some of them hiding in the bushes" She paused pulling a grubby handkerchief from her pocket and absently smearing her tears across her sooty face.
-
"We all heard him yelling curses from the front yard and ran outside. I think Fred might have even flown out of the window of his bedroom he was in that much of a hurry. Obviously the death eaters that were there hadn't expected that and they fled pretty quickly. Mum hurried us back inside and she started giving out directions on where to apparate to and alerted the Order via this specially made golden bell hanging by the door. Then the main force all started arriving. There were pops all around us, It seemed like there were hundreds of them. They were blowing in windows and doors and goodness knows what else. Mum pushed us three into the fire with directions to come straight here. Supposedly she'd had you connected for extreme emergencies – passworded and all, and then members of the Order started arriving. None of us wanted to leave, but she gave us no choice. She said they would apparate to Headquarters as soon as they could and them come straight here."
-
Ginny took a deep calming breath, tears still running down her cheeks every now and then "I don't know what will happen. I'm so worried about Mum and dad and all of my brothers. Everyone was home tonight.. even the twins"
-
"I'm sure everything will be fine" stated Hermione, and they sat in silence for a moment, taking comfort in each other.
-
"What do you want Malfoy?" asked Ginny suddenly breaking the silence, although it lacked venom and merely sounded like a Question. Hermione looked across to where Malfoy was standing nearby, and sure enough he was looking at Ginny curiously.
"You don't seem surprised to see me here" he observed as she once again wiped her dirty hanky across her face. She just shook her head and remained silent.
"Did you know I was here?" he pressed. She nodded once and took another calming deep breath "Hermione told me" she said "I didn't tell Harry or Ron, though I daresay you'll need to give them a fairly good explanation in about a minute when they wake up"
-
Draco, sighed and looked over to where the two boys still lay unconscious on the rug near the fireplace. He looked back and a small amused smile made its way onto his lips "You know, you look a fright Weasley". She opened her mouth to retort, however was cut off when he waved his wand at her, removing all traces of the soot, then banishing her handkerchief with a disgusted swish of his wand, he stepped over and handed over his own for her to continue cleaning her eyes. She looked more than a little shocked at the kindness coming from Malfoy, and then hesitantly took the clean white handkerchief from him and dabbed at her wet eyes.
-
"And Snape? Why stand up to Potter and your brother for him?" asked Draco looking at her quizzically and taking a seat on her other side.
"Everybody knows that he only performed that curse on Dumbledore's orders" said Ginny looking towards the fire, gathering her courage "I don't know what he was doing here, but he doesn't deserve to die for that"
"We can't let Potter know he was here" stated Draco urgently "He's been harmed by the darklord, and we don't want that information to get back to Voldemort. Will you back up our story that we never saw Snape?" She nodded uncertainly, obviously unsure of the request, or perhaps just at the boy who was making the request.
A groan from near the fire drew their attention to the two soot covered boys laying prone on either side of where Professor Snape had once stood.
"I guess we should do something about them?" asked Hermione with a worried look at the boys who had been her best friends.
"Well, maybe we could shove them back into the fire? See where they end up?" asked Draco with a mirthless grin. Hermione shook her head weakly, though Ginny laughed a little at the Joke.
"You take Potter" said Draco after a moment "Or perhaps we should do it one at a time?"
"One at a time" agreed Hermione, moving over to stand in front of Harry and pointing her wand at him "Ennervate"
Harry groaned a little as he rolled to his side. His green eyes fluttered open and he looked up at Hermione blearily for a moment, then realisation dawned.
"Snape! Where is he?" he spat, sitting up and reaching for his fallen wand, looking wildly around for the dark haired man.
"Pull yourself together Potter, he was never here" drawled Draco from where he stood behind Harry, Wand held loosely in two fingers.
"He was too! I saw him! We all did! Ginny wouldn't let us curse him" exclaimed Harry.
"My, You have vivid dreams potter" said Draco with an amused smile.
"Gin! You saw him! He was here" said Harry wanting to prove he was right.
Ginny just shrugged one shoulder and shook her head "I didn't see anyone" she lied with a completely straight face.
Looking wildly around for Snape, Harry's eyes once again feel on Draco. "Malfoy" he spat pulling his wand up and aiming it at the blonde haired boy.
"Harry!" cried Hermione quickly placing herself between Harry and Draco.
"Get out of my Way Hermione" stated Harry attempting to push passed her.
"No. I will not let you do this" she said angrily moving once again to stand in his way. His green eyes flashed with anger as he moved again to aim his wand passed her, only to find himself wand to wand with Ginny Weasley.
"Harry. Stop it" said Ginny stonily "You don't know the full story. Malfoy's on our side"
"Like hell he is" spat Harry "He tried to Kill Dumbledore!"
"But, He didn't though did he?" said Ginny quietly, wand held firm and tone offering no room for argument "You saw that for yourself. He couldn't do it"
"Yeah, well.. he tried. He's still the reason Dumbledore's dead!" yelled Harry.
"There's more to it Harry, and you know it" replied Ginny.
"Like what? The fact that my supposed Best Friend has been harbouring a wanted Criminal?" he asked scathingly "Two, if you count Snape"
Hermione stood numb for a moment, Wand arm paralysed as the words he spoke dug deep into her heart.
Ginny's features never changed once, however her posture straightened, her wand aim steadied just a fraction, and if she were a cat, her tail would have been waving dangerously.
"Lower your wand Harry" stated Ginny clearly.
"Why are you defending him?" asked Harry of Ginny, not making any move to lower his wand "After all the years of torment and all the pain he has caused all of us?"
"Because, I trust Hermione, and if she's willing to defend him, then so am I" said Ginny calmly. Hermione felt Harry's eyes on her a second later and she steadied her wand and gaze and looked into those piercing green eyes.
"But why are you willing to defend him?" he asked of her a second later. Ginny took a deep breath and interrupted "It's a long story Harry, now just lower the wand and you can get all the information you want"
Hermione sighed in relief as Harry's wand finally dropped a centimetre, and then a second later he lowered it completely. Ginny obviously knew how treat him after having dated him for part of the last school year. Ginny reached out her hand and gestured for Harry to give her his wand. With a great sigh, he passed over the piece of wood, then made his way to a vacant seat and sat, eyeing Draco dangerously.
"Well?" Draco asked when Harry didn't say a word.
"I'm waiting for you to start talking Ferret" he spat.
"Where would you like me to start?" answered Draco.
"At the beginning, What are you doing here?" he asked. Draco raised an eyebrow and looked at Harry condescendingly.
"Which one Potter? At the beginning? Or why I am here?" he answered.
"Just start talking you Prat" said Harry, moving to find his wand and realising that it was safely in Ginny's grip, he scowled.
Ginny took a seat on one of the long white couches and waited patiently, flipping her wand in one hand and Harry's in the other in impatience.
Steps in the hallways bought all of their attention to the doorway. Leigh walked through the door looking worriedly about him. When he saw Harry sitting unarmed on the chair, he seemed to regain some of his confidence and made his way over to sit on the chair directly behind Hermione, pulling him into his lap as he did.
Harry looked over at them for a moment in stunned silence.
"Did you get Married?" he asked eventually. Hermione, Leigh and Draco all burst into laughter at the question which didn't ease Harry's discomfort at all.
"No, We've just all done out Debut" explained Hermione. Harry nodded, but the puzzled look didn't leave his face when he eyed Hermione on Leigh's Lap.
"So who is he then?" Harry asked, a look of dislike on his face.
"This, Is Leigh. Leigh, Harry. Harry, Leigh" said Hermione introducing them.
"Is he your boyfriend?" asked Harry
"Well.." began Hermione.
"Yes" said Leigh, to which Hermione felt a joyful surge of happiness run through her body and settle in her stomach.
"Is he a wizard?" pressed Harry. At Hermione's shake of her head, Harry opened his mouth, obviously to begin a lecture.
"Enough" said Ginny cutting him off "Hermione has found herself a boyfriend. Good on her, Can we get on with why we're here?"
Harry bristled at being interrupted and shot Hermione and Leigh a dark glare before turning back to Draco.
"Gee thanks Weasley" muttered Draco, which bought an amused smile to Ginny's features.
"No problem Malfoy" she stated back.
"Granger" he corrected.
"What?" Replied Ginny, confused.
"If you wish to call me by my surname, at least use the correct one. My surname is Granger.. at least it will be, Or Black, if that's too much of a Mouthful for you"
"Granger?" said Ginny in stunned disbelief "Now THERE is a story I'd like to hear"
"So start at the start" said Harry. Draco took a deep breath and began to talk, starting once again with the day he'd been thrown into a dark, damp cell somewhere underneath Voldemort's headquarters.
15 minutes later they were interrupted by squeals coming from upstairs. Hermione rolled her eyes, It was Jen, she could tell from here, squealing about something happy, or funny, she didn't know which.
"Who is that?" asked Harry breaking his eyes away from Draco for the first time.
"We have guests Potter" said Draco "Because, as you may be aware, it is Saturday night, and your little visit was unscheduled"
"Guests? Muggles?" asked Harry in disbelief.
"Yes, Friends of ours from school" said Leigh
"From your school?" asked Harry of Leigh.
Hermione rolled her eyes, She hadn't planned on telling Harry about THAT tonight, but it seemed that Leigh had begun to dislike Harry weeks ago, and was taking great joy in dropping the bombshell.
"No, From OUR School. The school that Honey and I go to now, St. James Academy" He was making that up. Hermione hadn't actually told him that she'd made her decision as yet, so unless Patricia had let something slip, Leigh didn't know she had decided to attend St. James.
"But.. But.. what about Hogwarts?" asked Harry, shaken to the core.
"I.. I just decided.. that I couldn't go back.. I'm much happier as a muggle.. I have friends and.. and a boyfriend.. and the school is so wonderful"
Harry looked shell shocked and Ginny looked like her eyes might fall out of her head.
Into the silence that had begun to develop, the 5 of them heard Ron groan. "Oh, yeah, you'd better wake him up" said Ginny looking over at her brother "Forgot about him for a second.. what with you announcing you want to be a muggle, and Draco proclaiming that he is a Granger, my mind was on other matters"
Harry looked over at his friend and reached for his wand again, only to find it gone. Hermione gave a huff and got off of Leigh's lap, going over to the unconscious boy, she retrieved his wand first and woke him up with Enervate.
His head rolled to one side for a moment and his eyes stared unfocused at the ceiling. He groaned and muttered "ooh.. my head hurts" and then he was moving, jumping straight to his feet and feeling all over for his wand.
"Looking for this?" asked Hermione.
"Oi, Thanks Hermione" he said reaching for it, however she withdrew it from his reach.
"Best take a seat Weasley, We're kind of in the middle of something" drawled Draco.
Ron whirled to the voice and his face coloured red "You! What are you doing here?".
"Just sit down Ron" said Ginny from her position on the couch.
Ron sank to the floor in a cross legged position almost immediately, however it seemed that the presence of his sister reminded him of something "Where's mum and dad? Have they arrived yet?"
"No, Not yet" answered Ginny with a worried frown "Its only been 25 minutes though, they might have had a debriefing or something.."
"Ron?" asked Harry determinedly "Do you remember Snape being here?"
"Harry! He was never here!" said Hermione in indignation.
"Now that you mention it.. he might have been.. its all a bit blurry… I think I hit my head" he rubbed a spot on the top of his crown and winced as his fingers encountered a large angry bump. Harry sighed in resignation and slumped back in his seat.
"Can we continue this later?" asked Leigh "The others will be ready by now and will be wanting to go"
"Go where?" asked Harry suspisciously
"To the after party" said Draco
"What after party?" asked Ron, then he seemed to take in the suits and white dress "Did you get married?" he asked in disbelief.
"No, of course not Ron" answered Hermione in a long suffering tone.
"So why are you wearing a wedding dress?" he pressed "Which one did you get married to?
"Well it wasn't me, I'm not exactly the commitment type" stated Draco from the sidelines with a mirthful grin "And apart from that, I think I'll be single again within the hour"
"Stop that, she's not going to dump you" said Hermione indignantly
"Are you blind Granger?" he asked "she's been after Jonathon all night"
"Well, .. maybe.. but still.." said Hermione
"No, Its coming, I can feel it. I honestly don't care though" he said and his cocky grinned showed that he didn't "Plenty more ladies out there for me"
"You're horrible" She said with a smirk.
"So you didn't marry Malfoy" started Ron
"That'd be wrong, because she's my sister you twit" said Draco with a broad grin. Ron looked between the two of them for a second, Mouth hanging open in surprise, then he shook his head.
"I must be hallucinating, I just imagined you said that Hermione is your SISTER?" he asked.
"I heard that too.." said Ginny looking speculatively at Draco "I think you owe us an explanation Malfoy"
"How many times do I have to tell you its GRANGER?" he asked turning to her with a satisfied smile.
"Ok, so tell us why" she asked calmly.
Draco was about to open his mouth when Hermione felt the medallion on her dress warm again.
"Wards?" asked Draco. Hermione nodded and the two of them made their way to the windows looking out over the front lawn, with the other four crowding in behind them.
"What is that necklace?" asked Ginny looking over Hermione's shoulder at the silver Medallion "It looks suspiciously like.."
"I know. It is" she interrupted. Ginny's gasp drew more attention to the medallion than Hermione would have wanted. Ron and Harry were trying to get a look at it, but Draco diverted attention by pointing out people walking up the driveway.
"Mum! Dad!" exclaimed Ginny and Ron together, bolting out of the room and straight out the front door, with Hermione and the others following.
The Weasley parents were happy to see their children in one piece, Mrs Weasley breaking down into tears frequently in happiness, and Arthur continuously pulling one or the other of the kids into a hug.
"Yes, yes, Everyone's fine. A few nasty scratches is all, nothing we couldn't take care of. The burrow.. the burrow.. its not really safe anymore though you know…" said Molly, to which Draco and Leigh shared a look.
Once settled back into the front sitting room, Arthur noticed Draco and Leigh for the first time.
"Mr. Granger, Mr. Campbell, Pleasure to see you again" he said with a genuine smile for each of them.
"Oh my Oh my! Hello Draco" said Mrs Weasley giving Draco a kiss on one cheek to the boys surprise "And you must be Leigh! We owe you both so much, without you two who knows what might have happened!"
Harry and Ron sat with mouths hanging open at this exchange "You knew!" burst out Harry in surprise.
"I'm sorry Dear, we promised we'd keep Hermione's secret" said Molly bustling back to her seat.
"How could you? How could you know and not tell me!" he exclaimed.
"You've been so overprotective Harry, not wanting Hermione to join in on anything, we though that it would be best if you didn't know the danger she's been in"
"But how am I supposed to protect her if you don't tell me!" he exclaimed.
"Bloody good job you did of protecting her" spat out Draco maliciously, his grey eyes dark and stormy "You left her defenceless against death eaters, left her with no wards, AND left her out of the national gallery search – you BOTH could have lost your lives for that mistake."
"We were protecting her" objected Ron "If she wasn't involved with us then Voldemort would have no reason to go after her!"
"Apart from the fact that she's muggleborn? For him, that's reason enough anyway" argued Draco.
"No, she was safer!" argued Ron.
"Keep telling yourself that Weasley, if it helps you sleep at night" said Draco scathingly.
"Boys, Stop. What is done is done" said Arthur.
"Harry, we ran into Severus when we arrived at Headquarters tonight" began Arthur
"What is he doing there! That's MY House!" yelled Harry.
"He was helping Madame Pomfrey with the wounded, he was discovered as a spy supposedly, returned to the Order, anyway it's a long story. Minerva is taking him back to Hogwarts with her for his safety once they are done at Headquarters"
"What! He's a murderer! He killed Dumbledore!" exclaimed Harry leaping out of his seat, eyes flashing in rage.
"Oh sit down Harry" said Ginny Weasley tiredly "If you'd been listening all summer, you'd know that Dumbledore ordered him to do it! He was dying anyway"
"That's a likely story" exclaimed Ron, leaping to his friends defence.
"No actually Ron, it's the truth. He's provided the Senior Order members with Penseive memories of the discussion" agreed Arthur.
"He's a legilimens, he could have created the memories!" exclaimed Harry, still in denial.
"No, we used a Judicial Pensieve, it won't allow created memories or altered memories to be entered.
Harry looked lost for a second before slumping back down in the seat "Its still my house and I didn't say he could enter"
"Grow up potter. This war is bigger than you" said Draco angrily "People have almost died for your stupidity! Its time to start acting like an adult and stop throwing tantrums about who is and isn't allowed in your house"
The room was silent for a moment as Harry seethed.
"Harry.. Professor Snape.." began Arthur, tiredly wiping a hand over his face and gathering his confidence "He mentioned that he tried to warn you"
"The message was from him?" asked Harry whirling to face Hermione
"Yes" answered Hermione hesitantly
"That's your mysterious source? Snape?" asked Harry.
"Yes. He was trying to warn you of the attack Harry, He knew that you wouldn't talk to anyone else. He couldn't get in touch with the order.. because of certain limitations as a result of his confrontation with the Dark lord, so he asked me to pass on the message" she said "I rang every phone number I could think of.. and I don't have an owl, and my floo wasn't connected.."
"Mr Weasley, I feel horrible, I tried to get the message through!" she said feeling a ball of guilt settle into the pit of her stomach.
Molly rose and came over to her, enveloping her in a big hug "There, there dear. You tried your best, we don't blame you"
"But Harry? Why not tell us?" asked Ginny looking at Harry like she'd never seen him before.
Harry looked upset and embarrassed "Well… You know how many times we've all moved because of a rumour of a death eater attack, and nothing has ever come of it? Well.. With the wedding and everything.. I just didn't want to be responsible for doing it again"
"Harry, We move because we want our family to be safe, we'd move 1000 times without any result, if we knew that everyone would be safe because of it" said Molly in explanation.
Harry began to look petulant and angry as Molly was speaking, "Every time something goes wrong everyone always blames me!" he exploded..
"Of course not dear" said Molly consolingly, "But we do need to be told this information"
Draco scowled angrily at Harry as he watched the scene "You might want to wonder why everyone always blames you Potter" he started "Because you get too big for your boots and make decisions by yourself that should be left to older and wiser people"
Harry leapt to his feet and began to advance on Draco. "Draco doesn't mean that Harry" Said Ginny, standing once again between Harry and Draco "Do you Granger?" she prompted.
"Of course not. Sorry" he said, though his eyes and tone said that he didn't agree.
"What a lovely Dress, Dear" said Molly curiously, obviously trying to change the topic
"No, its not a wedding dress" answered Hermione before she could voice the question "We've just done our Deb"
"What's a deb?" asked Ron.
"Debut?" said Draco "As in making your Debut into proper society? Ring any bells?"
"Ron, its just like a big Dance, the girls dress up in White, the boys wear Suits, its all very formal" said Hermione in explanation.
"Oh" he said and then he looked to Leigh "So you didn't really marry him then?"
"Well, Not yet" said Draco to which Leigh went bright red and Hermione hid her face in her hands.
"Ok, Lets get this show on the road!" came the call as their muggle guests made their way down the stairs to the foyer.
"Muggles?" whispered Arthur in surprise. Hermione nodded.
"Hey! What's going on?" asked Jen walking into the room in surprise "You're not even dressed!"
"Sorry, some guests arrived" said Hermione gesturing around at the Weasleys and Harry.
"At this time of night?" questioned Jen. And just then Patricia bounced through the door
"Hermione! Dudley asked me to Marry him!" she said gleefully "Not right now of course.. when we're like 21, but still!!"
"Wow!" Said Hermione giving her friend a big hug, Draco and Leigh also offered their congratulations. In the flurry of activity no one noticed that Harry had moved from his seat.
"What are you doing here?" he asked coldly, stopping the celebrations happening in the middle of the room. He was standing nose to nose with Dudley Dursley and his eyes showed loathing.
"I.. I.. That is.. " stumbled Dudley.
"I invited him Harry. Now this is my House, so I'll ask you to be kind to my guests" stated Hermione.
"What is he doing here? How do you two even KNOW each other?" demanded Harry, eyes flashing.
"Who's this?" asked Jen looking at Harry with disdain "And why is he throwing a temper tantrum over you having Dudley and Patricia here?"
"He's that guy.. the one from your school isn't he Hermione?" asked Sandy looking at Harry "How does he know Dudley?"
"Hermione, perhaps it would be best if we left" said Dudley quietly "we'll get a cab and meet you at the party".
"No, don't be silly, Dudley, Patricia, stay. We invited you to come with us, so you will" stated Hermione looking at Harry icily.
"Harry, Patricia is my friend, she will be in my class at school this year and the last thing I need is for you to alienate my muggle friends. Please control yourself"
"How could you Hermione? How could you side with Dudley over me? After all the years we've been friends? How could you?" he almost shouted. Then without a backwards glance he took off out the front door and across the front lawn.
Ron gave one look backwards as he bolted after his friend, both without wands.
The muggles stood in surprise, watching Harry and Ron run across the front lawn.
"Well" said Jen in amusement "Your school friends are.. interesting"
"Jen, Sandy, Jonathon, Dudley, Patricia" began Hermione, pointing to each in turn "This Ginny Weasley, my friend from boarding school, and these are her parents, Molly and Arthur"
After everyone had exchanged greetings, Molly and Arthur stood to 'Leave them to it'. Molly asked if she might speak to Hermione for a moment in private.
The two of them entered the hall, just out of earshot of everyone else and Molly looked seriously at the younger girl.
"I really.. don't want to have to ask this of you Hermione but.. with Severus working for the order and the Burrow out of action.. I really need somewhere for Harry, Ron and Ginny to stay for a few days. Headquarters is bursting at the seems with the wounded from tonight, and even though they are being moved to Hogwarts as quickly as possible, it is still going to take a few days before there will be room enough for the three of them…"
"Of course they can stay Mrs Weasley" said Hermione automatically, though her stomach felt full of lead at the thought of Harry and Draco under the same roof.
"Thankyou so much Hermione, You're such a good Girl" said Mrs Weasley giving her a big hug "Now, we'd best get out of your way so you can get to your party.. be careful won't you"
"We'll be careful" agreed Hermione.
"We'll talk to the boys before we leave and let them know they'll be staying here" said Molly, with a thoughtful expression.
"Tell them to ask Sophie, She's the housekeeper, to show them the West Guest suite on the 4th floor" said Hermione, purposefully putting the two boys as far away from Draco and Leigh as possible.
"I will dear, now you'd better go and get ready" said Molly, turning to go back into the lounge to retrieve Arthur.
"Mrs Weasley" said Hermione, causing the older lady to stop and turn around.
"Yes dear?"
"Do you think that maybe, Ginny might be able to come to the party? You'll be talking to the boys, so she'll be bored otherwise.."
"What a grand idea" Agreed Molly "A wonderful way to take her mind off of all that has happened tonight"
Hermione and Molly rejoined the others in the room. Molly and Arthur said goodbye to all and then vanished quickly and quietly out the front door in the same direction that Ron and Harry had gone.
"Well, lets get ready" said Draco heading out of the door towards his bedroom, followed closely by Leigh. Hermione advised the others to give her 10 minutes and then dragged Ginny out of the room by the hand.
"Hermione? Whats going on? Why are you dragging me?" she asked anxiously.
"Because, You're coming with me to get ready" said Hermione with a smile.
"Really? I can go to the party?" she asked in awe.
"Your mum said yes" replied Hermione with a happy smile.
The two of therm rummaged through Hermione's wardrobe in silence for a few minutes before Ginny stopped and sat back on the bed.
"So.. you're really going to leave the Magical world?" she asked seriously.
Hermione hesitated for a moment. She'd made her decision earlier that day, but she didn't want to upset her friend,. In the end she decided that honesty really was the best way to go and nodded "Yes. I really am".
"Why?" asked Gin, fiddling with the singlet top she'd pulled off a coat hanger.
"Well.. its complicated really.. I've never fitted into the magical world.. I was always a muggleborn witch.. I just wasn't one of you. I had to work so hard to find out things that you all knew from childhood. In the muggle world.. I feel more like one of them.. I understand everything and I really enjoyed the schooling, and then of course there is my friends.. and Leigh"
"But.. aren't you going to miss.. miss it all?" she asked.
"Of course I am. I'm going to miss you, and Harry and Ron…. Its just the muggle world is where I belong"
"I'm going to miss you" murmured Ginny.
"I'm going to miss you too" agreed Hermione "But it's not like we're saying goodbye, you can always come and visit"
"it won't be the same" argued Gin.
"Maybe not.. but you'll always be my friend" said Hermione.
"And you'll always be mine. I'll be your bridesmaid when you and Leigh get Married" she joked, a sparkle returning to her eyes.
"Oh.. don't you start! I've had to put up with Draco for the past three days making Jokes like that"
"Speaking of him.. Is he really going to be your brother?" she asked in surprise.
"Yes, Of course he is" said Hermione
"It just seems.. so out of character for him" said Ginny in disbelief.
"I know.. but that's because we never knew him that well.. maybe you should pretend you've never met him before.. and get to know him now.. you might be surprised" said Hermione thoughtfully.
"Maybe" agreed Ginny.
"Are you girls ready?" called Leigh from the entry to the sitting room.
"No!" called back Hermione laughing "Don't come in"
"Oh why not?" joked Draco "Might we worth the effort"
"Stay out there! We'll be out in a minute" she laughed. She could hear them chuckling to themselves. The two girls changed quickly and Hermione helped Ginny put on a little makeup. By the time they'd rejoined the rest of the group in the lounge room, Ginny was grinning again at something Leigh had just said, and her normal spark had returned.
The journey to the party was filled with laughter and champagne. Ginny looked intrigued at the drink after her first sip and pronounced it the best drink she'd ever had. The others laughed and agreed.
Dudley had been quiet since Harry had blown up at him earlier, but with a bit of teasing from the boys about his engagement to Patricia, he was soon laughing and joking along with the rest of them.
Hermione looked around the limo and realised that this really was what it was all about.. it was a mixture.. her muggle friends, her wizarding friends, and her muggle friends that knew about wizards.. they were all in one place and all laughing ad joking together. Perhaps she really couldn't cut one side of her life out completely.. maybe they were supposed to compliment each other?
They arrived at the after party at a huge property in the hills. The house stood atop a knoll with gigantic columns and a grand staircase to ascend into the main foyer. Unlike the other parties, this one was being held on a complete floor of the home. Walking through the hallways and up a flight of steps, they were astonished to come into a large empty area purposely designed for parties.
"This is the ballroom" said the maid who'd escorted them, leaving them a the doors to the room.
"Ballroom" said Jen and Sandy in astonished unison.
"I grew up with a ballroom" said Draco arrogantly, however he smiled at the end of it.
"You did not" said Sandy teasingly.
"I assure you I did. My parents house had a ballroom"
"Coming down in the world then Granger?" joked Jonathon.
"Never. My life has never been better" argued Draco, and to prove his point he began eyeing up a leggy blonde to his left.
"Oi. Stop that Granger" said Jonathon slapping him across the back of the head lightly.
"I'm never going to get used to that" said Ginny quietly.
"What?" asked Hermione
"Malfoy.. being called Granger.. and him being nice to people.. and him having friends" she said the last with a smile.
"Just pretend you've never met him before. .just pretend your meeting my brother for the first time" said Hermione jokingly.
"That's a hard one" said Ginny.
"Go on. Just give it a go" argued Hermione. Ginny took a deep breath and then leaning in close to Hermione she said in a gossipy whisper "Oh My God Hermione, Your Brother's Hot"
Hermione burst out laughing, but not as much as when Ginny went over to Draco a moment later and interrupted his conversation.
"Hey, I just found out that you're Hermione's brother Draco.. I'm a friend of hers Ginny Weasley"
Draco looked astounded for a moment before taking the offered hand and placing a kiss on the back of it "Pleasure to meet you Ginny Weasley" he said with a sly smile. The boys around him laughed and clapped him on the back with "Good on you mate" and "That's the way".
Ginny returned to Hermione, with a bright red tinge to her cheeks and a surprised, but pleased smile on her face. "Oh my" was all she said.
The hours at the after party flew passed. Hermione had lost track of how many drinks she'd had, and even more worryingly had lost track completely of Ginny. She looked around the darkened room at the one hundred or so people that were there and did a search for Ginny. She found Jen dancing with Sandy's Brother, Sandy Dancing with Jen's cousin Jonathon, and Dudley and Patricia sitting with a group of people over in a corner, and then finally she spotted Ginny's brilliant copper hair.. and bent over beside it, the unmistakeable Platinum of Draco Granger.
"Oh look at that.. " she said pointing it out to Leigh, who hadn't left her side all night. She was currently sitting comfortably on his knee and he was continually kissing his way from her ear to her shoulder time and time again.
"Draco and Ginny?" he asked without looking up.
"Yeah? How did you know?" she asked.
"She kept looking at him all the way through that confrontation in the lounge at home"
"So?" asked Hermione clearly confused.
"She likes him" he stated "God knows if Draco likes her.. but you know him.. he'll take whatever he can get"
"If her hurts her…" Began Hermione trying to stand from Leigh's lap.
"He won't" stated Leigh "He's a better man than me"
"Oh. No he's not" defended Hermione sitting back in Leigh's lap and running a hand down the side of his face.
"I hurt you" he stated.
"You had your reasons" she justified.
"I shouldn't have done it" he argued.
"it all ended up alright" replied Hermione "I don't hold it against you"
"Thankyou" he said Suddenly nuzzling into the side of her neck.
"Why?" she questioned.
"For being the most wonderful woman on the planet"
"Stop it" she said, but a pleased smile spread across her lips.
"Oh look, they're going to dance" said Hermione looking over to where Draco was leading Ginny onto the dance floor.
"Do you want to show them how its done?" asked Leigh and at Hermione's smile, he pulled them both up and led her across the dance floor. After that, Hermione felt herself lost to the music and the feel of Leigh's body next to hers. Occasionally she'd rouse herself enough to check on Ginny, but she seemed to be having a perfectly good time and Draco, true to form, had managed to teach her to dance as they were doing.
At 4am, the after party broke up, and Hermione woke George (asleep in the drivers seat) to take them all home. They dropped Sandy and her brother off first, Sandy handing her phone number over to Jonathon, and Jen promising to ring Sandy's brother the next day, and then they dropped Jen and Jonathon off at Jen's.
Finally, George arrived at the Grangers where Draco, Ginny, Hermione and Leigh all got out, before he left to take Dudley and Pat to their homes.
As Hermione got out, Pat thanked them for a wonderful night, and Dudley said again that he hoped everything would work out with Harry. Hermione assured them that it all would, however at the mention of Harry, she fel dread. She'd have to deal with him when she got inside most likely.
Hermione, Leigh, Ginny and Draco retreated immediately to Hermione's sitting room amidst a number of stumbles and a lot of giggling to find Ron and Harry sitting there in the dark.
The four of them came to an abrupt stop, Ginny stumbling slightly and being caught easily by Draco as she fell. Ron stood up in indignation.
"Let go of my sister!" he all but shouted.
"Make me" said Draco laughingly.
"Ron, Calm down. I'm a big girl" she stated, and then promptly sat on her butt.
"Ginny? Are you drunk?" He asked in surprise.
"Maybe.. just a tinsy bit" she agreed.
"Hermione? You got her drunk?" asked Ron turning in surprise to Hermione.
"Don't blame her" replied Ginny indignantly "She didn't have time to get me drunk.. she was too Busy. I got myself Drunk, thankyou very much"
"But why?" asked Ron in surprise
"Don't tell me you wouldn't have?" she asked back.
"Well.. " he hesitated.
"You're really just jealous that we got to go out and get drunk, while you had to stay and babysit Harry" said Ginny.
"Gin" warned Hermione, but it appeared she'd hit the nail on the head. Ron looked across at his friend and sighed.
"Look, Dad explained everything to us. I.. We.. We wanted to say we're sorry for leaving you out Hermione.. it.. seemed like a good idea at the time." He hesitated "I reckon that we're lucky you've been around for the past few weeks ferret. I reckon we might owe you our lives for the Gallery as well. Dad had a good talking to us both about it all.. and I'm sorry. You know.. I still don't like you though"
"The feelings Mutual Weasel" said Draco neutrally.
They all looked expectantly at Harry, however he remained silent.
"Well, I reckon we might be going to bed then" said Ron, clearly disappointed in his friend. He stood and with a nod at Malfoy and a stern look at his sister, he left the room, with Harry following sourly along behind him.
"Well. What a night" said Leigh collapsing onto a couch. Ginny, for some reason found this incredibly funny and began to laugh hysterically. After a moment, the others joined in for no reason whatsoever. Laughing felt good right then, amongst all of the anger and the worry and the hostility, just to laugh seemed like the best solution.
Authors Note: OK. So I hope you liked this chapter. A lot happened.. but I hope it all made sense. I had this chapter pictured in my mind for ages, but when it came to writing it, there was so much going on, that I'm not sure I did it all justice. Please let me know what you think!