Even though it was only late afternoon, Hermione was tired and more than ready for bed. Not that she was planning on going to bed as she was at St Mungo's with Draco, and reluctant to leave her fiancé. After Draco had initially being given the all clear by the healers it was hoped that he wouldn't have to spend too long in hospital and that most of his recovery could be done at home. However, less than twenty four hours after he woke up, Draco had suffered a fit and the healers had found some minor bleeding on the brain. Fortunately, they'd caught it quickly and a team of expert healers had mended the damage, but it still meant he'd been in hospital longer than anyone had hoped. It also meant that Hermione was reluctant to leave in case anything else happened and she wasn't there for Draco.
"You need to go home and get some rest," Draco ordered as Hermione's head began to droop.
"I'm fine," Hermione insisted, shaking her head to try and jolt some alertness back into herself.
"No, you're making yourself ill, and I won't have it," Draco said. "Go home Athena."
"Who made you the boss of me?" Hermione asked with a smile. Normally she would object to Draco ordering her around, but it was good to hear him sounding more like his normal self.
"I'm getting in practice for when we're married," Draco replied. "I expect an obedient wife, you know."
"Sorry sweetheart, you're going to be disappointed," Hermione laughed. "I don't do obedience."
"I can train you," Draco returned.
"More like I can train you to be the obedient one," Hermione shot back with a teasing smile.
"Or how about we just stay as equals," Draco suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Hermione agreed.
"But we can only be equals, if we're both healthy," Draco said, returning the subject to his original point. "What's the point in me getting better, if you're only going to make yourself ill watching over me."
"I just hate to leave you alone," Hermione admitted as she leaned forward and took hold of Draco's hand.
"I'm not alone, I'm in a hospital full of people," Draco countered. "And I'm sure mother will be here sooner or later."
"But what if something happens when I'm not here?" Hermione questioned in a quiet voice.
"Nothing is going to happen," Draco assured her. "The healers have ran more tests than enough over the last couple of days. They're satisfied I'm making a full recovery, and there was no lasting damage from the bleed on the brain."
"I would still feel better if I was with you," Hermione said.
"And I would feel better if you got some rest," Draco countered. "Go home, Hermione. Have a few hours sleep and come back later. We can maybe then see the healer and persuade him that it's time for me to go home as well."
"Okay, but I will be back in a few hours," Hermione said reluctantly as she got to her feet. She would still rather stay with Draco, but she knew he was right and that she needed some valuable rest.
"I'll still be here," Draco joked.
"You better be," Hermione warned as she gave her fiancé a brief kiss.
Assuring Draco she would be back after a bit of rest, Hermione left his private room and made her way towards the medi-witches station at the end of the corridor. Her plan was to inform the staff she was leaving, but wanted to be notified if even the slightest thing happened to Draco. However, before she got a chance to announce she was going home, the medi-witch on duty informed her that there were some people waiting to see her in the relatives room.
"Waiting to see me?" Hermione asked with a confused frown.
"Yes," the medi-witch replied with a nod of her head. "It shouldn't really be allowed, but they said they were friends of yours and didn't know how else to find you. Of course, I wouldn't allow them into Mr Malfoy's room, but I did say they could wait in the relatives room for you."
Thanking the medi-witch, Hermione made her way to the relatives room, wondering who on earth was waiting for her. When she entered the room she stopped in her tracks when she found Neville, Fred and George waiting for her. She hadn't seen Neville since graduation, and the twins sometime before that, and even though they didn't look mad at her, Hermione was still wary. Their letters over the summer had all been supportive, but things had changed since then and Hermione was no longer sure she could count on their support and friendship.
"Hermione," Neville cried, jumping to his feet and pulling a still stunned Hermione into his arms. "Thank Merlin you're alright."
"Give her a chance to breath, Neville," Fred laughed.
"Yeah, don't crush Hermione before we've had a chance to hug her," George added with a chuckle of his own.
Before Hermione knew it, the twins had also both crushed her in a tight hug, and she found herself standing in front of three grinning wizards, each of them obviously thrilled to see her.
"Wow, I don't know what to say," she finally muttered.
"You didn't think we would hate you, did you?" Neville asked in concern.
"The thought had crossed my mind," Hermione admitted. "Especially after what's just happened," she added, looking more towards Fred and George and trying to work out if they blamed her for Ron's death.
"We don't blame you, Hermione," George assured her.
"We won't lie, we're devastated about Ron, but we know it's not your fault," Fred said. "I really don't know what he and Harry thought they were playing at."
"I only wish they had been playing," Hermione muttered.
"How are you?" Neville asked. "Did they hurt you?"
"I'm okay," Hermione replied. "Draco bore the brunt of things."
"And how is he?" Fred questioned. "We were rather surprised to hear he was still in St Mungo's. Tonks said he'd woken up the day after it had happened."
"He had, and he seemed fine, but then he started to fit and they discovered a bleed on his brain," Hermione explained. "They managed to control it and fix the damage, but its meant he's spent longer in here than he would like."
"You sound as though you really care about him," George remarked.
"I do," Hermione answered. "He's been brilliant since graduation. I really don't know how I would have coped since then without him. I probably would have ended up in a pit of misery, but Draco wouldn't allow me to wallow in self-pity."
"You should never have been in that position in the first place, Hermione," Neville said with a shake of his head. "What happened to you at graduation was brutal."
"What happened before that was hardly a picnic either," Fred snorted. "We're really sorry, Hermione. What happened to you and your parents was so wrong. We'll never forgive Mum and Dad for being a part of it."
"I don't want to come between families," Hermione said.
"You didn't do this Hermione," George assured her. "This is all the work of that sodding Order."
"But at least you don't have to worry about them any more," Neville informed her. "They've officially disbanded and Dad promised me that he'll personally make sure that no-one comes after you. We all know you're an innocent victim in all of this."
"All of you?" Hermione questioned in surprise. "Were Harry and Ron the lone voices against me?"
"Pretty much," Fred confirmed.
"And you also don't have to worry about Dumbledore's lies," George said. "We all know he was merely trying to repair his reputation and cause more trouble. We all know that he killed your father."
"I have to admit, it's a relief to know the rumours and accusations are going to stop," Hermione replied with a soft smile. "It wasn't easy reading about claims my father was still alive, when I watched him being killed."
"To be honest, no-one truly believed it," Neville admitted. "The rest of the Order just wanted to be sure he wasn't really back and a threat again. I know he was your father Hermione, and we all agree he didn't deserve to be killed the way he was, but he was a danger."
"I know," Hermione replied with an agreeable nod. "I'm under no illusions about who my father was. It just would have been nice to get to know him for myself."
"We can't help you there, but we can promise you that you'll be left in peace from now on," Fred said.
"So is this goodbye?" Hermione asked.
"Not unless you want it to be," Neville replied. "We're still your friends, Hermione. We've all wanted to see you for so long, but we understood that you needed time to adjust. We just couldn't wait any longer after what happened."
"We had to be sure you were really okay," Fred added.
"I really am okay," Hermione assured the trio. "And I really appreciate your friendship, and that you gave me time when I needed it. But I would like to stay friends. In fact I have a proposition for you, Fred and George."
"Oh, what would Malfoy say?" George joked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"Actually, it was his idea," Hermione replied.
"Now that is kinky," Fred laughed. "So come on Hermione, proposition us."
"How would you like an investor in your shop?" Hermione asked. "I didn't have the money to invest before, but since the truth had come out about who I am, I've come into a bit of money."
"And a business," Neville remarked. It had been reported in the Daily Prophet when Hermione had taken over a Potions business and handed part of it over to Severus Snape.
"And a business," Hermione agreed with a nod. "Of course, I'd understand if you want to refuse. Especially as certain people thought I was responsible for your last investor pulling out."
"We know that had nothing to do with you, Hermione," George said. "But are you sure you want to invest in us? We're just starting out, but that setback last year cost us a hell of a lot. It's going to take time to get back to where we'd hoped to be by now."
"I have all the time in the world," Hermione replied with a shrug. "I'm in a position to help my friends, so that is what I want to do."
"In that case, welcome on board partner," Fred said, slinging his arm around Hermione's shoulder.
"We should set up a meeting to discuss things properly," Hermione said. "I want to invest, but I have no intention of interfering. I do have a business of my own to manage."
"We'll sort something out," George said. "And thank you Hermione. You have no idea how much this means to us."
"I'm happy to help," Hermione replied with a smile. "I just wish there was something I could do for you, Neville."
"You're my friend, that's all I need," Neville said with a smile.
Genuinely touched by the three wizards and their friendship, Hermione arranged to meet them all again soon. Her meeting with the twins would be to discuss investing in their shop, while her meeting with Neville was purely to spend some time with him. Feeling as though a weight had been lifted of her shoulders as the threat of the Order was no more, Hermione headed back to the manor to get some rest, little realising that the fight was far from over and she still had enemies.
G.O.V.
Hermione's main enemy, and the one she was in most danger from, was Ginny. And while Hermione was with the twins and Neville, getting assurances that no-one else was out to get her, Ginny was locked up in her bedroom putting her first plan to hurt Hermione into place. Ginny had been plotting for a couple of days, and even though she had more planned, she'd decided to kick off her campaign against Hermione with a letter bomb, which would hopefully scar that pretty face of hers.
With her parents caught up in their grief, and her brothers trying to organise Ron's funeral, Ginny had plenty of time on her own to find what she needed. After finding a recipe for an explosive powder, Ginny set about making it. A lot of the ingredients she found at home, but she did have to buy a few and she'd even stolen a couple of bits from the twins supplies for their inventions. As for making the powder, it was simple enough and it didn't take Ginny long before she had a small box full of the stuff.
When the powder was ready, Ginny bought a small padded envelope and placing some of the powder into the envelope she very carefully coated the seal in the powder. Providing she'd made the powder right, and she was confident she had, the second the seal was broken on the envelope, allowing air to mix with the powder, it would explode there and then.
Since Ginny wasn't sure if any of the wards at Malfoy Manor would detect such a dangerous package, Ginny addressed the parcel to Hermione's new business. Fortunately the name of Hermione's potions company had been in the papers, so it was easy for Ginny to find the name and use magic to write it into the envelope. Of course she still added Hermione's name as well as she didn't want anyone to be hurt, but at least now she didn't have to worry about getting a dangerous package through the sophisticated wards of Malfoy Manor.
With her dangerous parcel fully sorted, Ginny sent it off with a post owl from Diagon Alley, so that no-one could trace it back to her. As she watched the owl soaring off to deliver the letter to Hermione, Ginny vowed that she was only just getting started. She was planning on doing far more to Hermione than just sending her an explosive letter. But for now, the games had begun and Ginny was looking forward to hearing what trouble her surprise had caused for her former friend.