A/N:
Happy New Year! I wanted to get this chapter up before midnight (and it probably still is for some of you) but I've missed it by a couple of hours here. Oh well! I wish great things for you all this year and I also hope you enjoy this chapter.
Much love xx
Chapter 31 – Frustration
The following Saturday, Hermione woke groggily to the ruckus of excitement from down in the common room. She propped herself up on her elbows and thought briefly about getting up and seeing what all the fuss was about, then flopped back down onto her pillow with a groan.
"It's the weekend," she said to the empty room. "You don't have to get up."
She pulled the scarlet duvet up over her head and snuggled into the warmth, trying to block out the noise and drift back into a doze.
"Hermione!" The door banged open and heralded Ginny. Hermione groaned again.
"What, Ginny?" she muttered from inside her cocoon of comfort.
The mattress dipped dramatically as her friend jumped onto her bed and dropped down onto her knees. Hermione sighed and pulled the duvet down to her chin, peering up at the redhead who was already dressed for quidditch.
"Don't you have a practice to lead?"
"Yes," Ginny grinned at her. "But there's a new notice on the board downstairs. First Hogsmeade weekend is in two weeks."
That had Hermione sitting straight up in bed and grasping hold of the rough wool sleeve of Ginny's quidditch jumper.
"I can't recall the last time we went to Hogsmeade for fun," she grinned back at Ginny, understanding all the excitement.
"Neither can the rest of us! We'd all forgotten about them after, well... After last year."
The chill of the room hit Hermione then, and she pulled the duvet back up to cover her bright yellow pyjamas.
"We should tell the others. Invite them," Ginny continued, leaning around Hermione to reach for a quill while summoning a blank bit of parchment.
"Who?" Hermione shifted to cross her legs, dislodging Ginny as she did so, and leant over her friend's shoulder as she began to write.
"Harry, Ron and the others. Get them to meet us there," Ginny grinned at her again.
Hermione smiled to herself as Ginny wrote, thrilled at the thought of seeing all her Pack together in one place again. Well, almost.
She sighed and placed a hand on Ginny's arm, stilling the movement of her quill.
"Draco won't come unless he comes with us," she voiced when Ginny looked at her enquiringly.
"You're worried it'll be too much for him," Ginny sighed understandingly, and Hermione nodded. "Just a few of them then: Harry and Ron, Andromeda and Teddy, and maybe Mum can come too."
"Only if she wants. Remember, she hasn't been near Hogwarts since the Battle." Hermione would love to see how Molly was doing but was unwilling to push her, knowing that the Weasley matriarch had to make steps in her own time, much like George had. She was itching to see Andromeda and Teddy again though, to wrap her arms around the happy baby and run her fingers through his soft, multi-coloured curls. She also knew that having them there would make Draco feel slightly more comfortable, and she wanted more than anything to give him some time out of the castle.
Ginny nodded and returned to writing her letter, folding it over and addressing it to Harry when she was done. Hermione pinched the parchment between her fingers and gave Ginny a shove towards the door.
"Go on," she said. "Get to practice. I'll take this to the owlery."
"Thanks, 'Mione," Ginny grinned and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek before bounding out the door.
The next two weeks seemed to fly by amongst all the excitement about Hogsmeade. The news had left every student excited, and the professors seemed only half willing to quell their behaviour in classes, pleased to see the students happy after so long.
Draco never mentioned it though, not even to Hermione in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes; the two classes they shared where they often sat, heads pressed together over puzzles and translations. She kept waiting, giving him the chance to bring it up in his own time, waiting for him as she was where their new revelation was concerned, but he never did.
When the Saturday finally arrived, Hermione was hurrying through the castle with Ginny by her side as all the other students made their way through the gate. They were searching any place she could think of for him, determined that they would not be leaving him behind, miserable and alone, when they spotted Luna approaching and dragging a sullen-looking Draco Malfoy with her.
"I'm here, Granger," he drawled. "You can cease the search now."
"Draco," Hermione sighed, stepping up to him and placing her palm on his cheek when he refused to look at her.
"He said he didn't want to come. He doesn't want to ruin our day," Luna announced and Draco's arms tightened where they were folded across his chest.
"It'll be good for us to spend some time out of the castle," Hermione insisted, her fingers dancing across his cheekbone until he unfolded his arms to pull her hand away. He didn't release her fingers though, so she held on to some hope.
"We all deserve some fun after everything, Malfoy. Even you," Ginny nudged him with her shoulder and flashed him a grin which earned her a roll of his grey eyes.
"Come on," Hermione tugged on his fingers, "I promise we'll have fun. Andromeda's bringing Teddy," she added temptingly, bringing his palm to her lips and smiling kindly when his eyes finally rose to meet hers.
"Fine," he sighed. "I suppose it won't do much harm. But if I get hexed, you all stay out of the way."
"Don't be silly, Draco," Luna hummed thoughtfully. "I imagine people will be much more wary of Hermione now."
She hadn't thought of that. All of the worrying over summer, and she'd only had to deal with the outcome at Hogwarts. Her home, her safe place where she was surrounded by people she knew. In Hogsmeade, it would be strangers looking at her. The shopkeepers who, up until a month ago, had the law on their side to bar her from the premises.
She gulped audibly.
"Oh well done, Lovegood," Draco snapped, suddenly the one who was holding Hermione's cheek in his palm, stroking her curls back behind her ear.
He let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulders and pull her into his side, and she leant her head against his chest. She felt his chin settle in her bushy mass of hair and he spoke so low she doubted that Ginny and Luna could hear.
"It'll be alright. They're not going to bother you next to me. What's being a werewolf compared to a Death Eater?"
Hermione sighed and pressed her palm over his heart, part in exasperation, part in thanks.
"Right, so we're going?" Ginny clapped her hands together. "Let's move then."
The four of them walked out of the castle and set off along the road to Hogsmeade. Ginny and Luna strolled ahead, arms linked together and chatting about what they were going to buy from Honeydukes after so long, while Hermione followed with Draco. His arm disappeared from her shoulders once they reached the castle gates, but he still clutched one of her hands surreptitiously beneath their cloaks. Every so often, usually when Hermione's eyes darted to the trees on either side of their two friends, he gave her fingers a gentle squeeze.
At the entrance to the station, just before the village itself, Ginny gave a yell and set off running, throwing herself into the arms of her boyfriend. Luna followed and kissed Ron on the cheek before doing the same to Harry once Ginny had released him.
Hermione smiled and set off at a jog to reach her best friends, only to feel Draco's fingers slip out of her own. She came to a halt and looked back at him questioningly over her shoulder. He gave her a brief nod, as if to say go on, but Hermione just shook her head and smiled ruefully before grabbing for his hand again and pulling him along with her.
"Harry!" She greeted, wrapping her free arm around his neck in a strong hug.
"Hey, Hermione," he chuckled, pressing his head to her curls for a moment before pulling back and looking behind her. "Malfoy," he nodded, reaching out to grasp Draco's shoulder in greeting.
"Malfoy?" Ron squawked.
"Don't be an idiot," Ginny smacked her brother on the arm.
"Weasley," Draco stepped forwards, pulling his hand out of Hermione's grip to hold it out to Ron.
Hermione raised an eyebrow at him from behind Draco and Ron, seeing her expression, swallowed his shock and accepted Draco's handshake. She relaxed once the two had greeted each other without any hexes and approached Ron herself with a smile.
"Thank you," she whispered in his ear when she pulled him down into a hug. "It's so good to see you."
"Can't say it's not a surprise to see him here, but it's good to see you, 'Mione."
"We've sort of befriended Draco this year," she explained, pulling out of the hug. There were three different scoffs at that from Ron, Draco, and Ginny. She glared at Ginny, whose scoff had turned into a laugh before she linked her arm through Harry's and pulled him quickly into the village itself. Keeping her eyes narrowed, Hermione looked between Draco and Ron waiting for them to say something.
"Makes sense with how you were about his trial," Ron spoke first. "And he's been hanging round with Andromeda, hasn't he? Just didn't expect he'd actually be hanging round with you."
"I haven't got anyone else to hang around with," Draco scoffed. "In case you hadn't realised, I'm a bit of a pariah." Hermione's eyes widened as a knowing, teasing smirk appeared on Draco's face. "Although we'll be seeing each other quite regularly soon enough."
Ron's jaw went suddenly slack and Hermione covered her face with her hands.
"Shall we?" Draco asked, a hand on the side of her neck. She looked up at his still smirking face and groaned.
"Yes, fine. Come on. We're meeting the others at the Hog's Head." And she turned without another word to either of them and set off after Harry and Ginny, Luna falling into step beside her.
The inside of the Hog's Head was exactly as Hermione remembered, just much busier. It still seemed dark and dingy, and Aberforth was still less than eager with his greeting, but the patrons were as jolly as any would be in the Three Broomsticks.
She stopped just inside the door as the barrage of noise hit her, and her throat closed up at the strange mix of scents. Luna squeezed her hand once and, with a smile, set off across the pub to where Harry and Ginny had joined Andromeda and Molly. Ron was the next person through the door and walked right into her. She stumbled forwards but Draco's arm caught her around the waist and he pulled her back up, holding her securely against him.
"Sorry, 'Mione," Ron said just as Draco leant down to speak in her ear.
"Are you alright?"
Hermione shook her head minutely and Draco turned her head so that her face rested in the wool of his cloak, leaving his fingers tangled in her hair.
"Just too much?" He checked with her even though she suspected he already knew.
"Yeah, but this is helping," she muttered into his chest before feeling him press a kiss to the top of her head.
She was vaguely aware of Draco telling Ron to go on over to the table and that they'd be over shortly, but she was too busy breathing in enough of Draco's calming scent. As her airways seemed to clear, she also became aware of Draco's clutch on her growing tighter, ensuring that she couldn't turn her face back to the pub.
"Uhm, Draco?" she muttered, pushing against his hand and looking up at him.
She found him looking around at the people in the pub with his Malfoy mask in place, and she suddenly realised how quiet and tense the atmosphere had become. She turned in his arms to see every single witch, wizard and goblin staring at them. Whether their reaction was because of her or Draco, Hermione didn't know and really, she didn't care to find out.
"Alright, alright! Show's over," Harry was making his way over to them and waving his arms to get everyone's attention on him. "Either get back to drinking or bugger off."
"You heard the man!" Aberforth grumbled from the bar, slamming bottles down on the counter. "Drink up or get out. No space for any of that in here."
Slowly, the noise levels got back to where they had been when they'd walked in, and to Hermione's surprise, no one left.
"Come on," Harry said to them. "We're over here."
"Oh, Hermione!" Mrs Weasley wrapped her arms around her when they got over to the table. "How have you been? Have you been alright? Bill said he had to come last month. Was everything alright?"
"Mum!" Ginny interrupted her mother's worrying. "We were fine. Bill only came because Harry and Ron couldn't. We would have been alright anyway except Malfoy insisted on fetching Bill."
"Oh!" Mrs Weasley seemed to notice then who was clinging to Hermione. "Hello, Draco."
Draco stepped to Hermione's side and let go of her, bowing respectfully from his chest as he spoke.
"Mrs Weasley. It's a pleasure to meet you. I owe you and yours the deepest apologies. Anything I can do, name it."
Hermione watched Mrs Weasley blink rapidly at Draco before she shook her head and pulled him up to face her.
"You continue to be there for your Aunt, young man, and we can forget everything."
Draco's eyes filled with moisture that he quickly wiped away, nodding his sincerity. "Yes, ma'am. Thank you."
"And none of that ma'am business," she patted his cheek a few times before herding him towards Andromeda.
They spent a few hours catching up - seeing how much Teddy had grown, hearing Andromeda's stories, talking to Mrs Weasley about how George and Percy were doing, asking Ron and Harry about Auror training - until Hermione suggested they make a move to the shops before they had to head back to school.
Agreement made, she squeezed Draco's knee where he was sat next to her with a very pale-haired Teddy in his arms and shuffled behind his chair to the bar.
"Can I pay my tab please, Aberforth?" she asked leaning against the bar and rummaging through her bag for some sickles.
"I'll be with you in a bit, Miss Granger," the bartender grumbled to her before turning back to another customer.
Hermione could feel people looking at her again but determined to resolutely ignore it, not wanting to give those looking the satisfaction of seeing them get to her. She'd just begun taking deeper breaths, making sure to breathe in the scent of Draco and the rest of her Pack that was clinging to her hair, when one of the patrons brushed past her and knocked her into the bar.
A shudder ran through her and she felt her hackles rise along her spine and beneath her hair. She knew that scent and the feeling it brough of death and fear and screaming children. Of countless victims, the names of so many burned into her eyelids from reading them over the summer.
Hermione turned sharply in time to see the hunched, hooded figure sliding out the door and into the street. She bolted after him, vaulting over tables and barrelling through Aberforth's customers before bursting out into the rain that had started to pour on Hogsmeade while they'd been inside.
She raised her hand and squinted her eyes as she tried in vain to spot the hooded cloak along the street. She looked left and right, and again, but every witch and wizard out in the street was wearing a hooded cloak and the village was heaving, full of students. She growled, knowing she could be searching for hours with no luck.
"Hermione?" Draco laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "What is it?"
She shook her head, frustration and disbelief swirling within her, alongside the strong urge to protect that Draco and the others inside brought forth in her.
"Nothing," she turned back to the door. "I need to finish paying."
Draco moved his hand up to cup her cheek, keeping her stood there in the doorway although she was desperate to get him back inside.
"I finished paying for you, don't worry about that right now. What was that?"
"I told you, nothing."
Her brain and stomach were both churning. She didn't want to believe what she'd just sensed, and where her Pack was as well. Especially Teddy. How dare he! She was torn between keeping them inside and keeping them protected from the knowledge she had if what she felt was true. They wouldn't accept that they had to stay in the Hog's Head all of a sudden without a reason. Her Pack were strong. They would know something was wrong, so she had to go about as if nothing had changed, yet still protect them along the way.
"Is everyone ready to go then?" she asked, smiling faintly but not meeting Draco's eyes.
"Yes. We're all sorted."
"Right then." She held Draco at her side while the others filtered out, then she motioned for everyone to go ahead of her. "Wherever you want to go first, Gin," she said with a tight smile.
Hermione followed her Pack down the street where she could keep an eye on every single one of them, with Draco at her side. She could sense him doing the same without even knowing why, but it comforted her to see him doing so. As far as she could tell though, it was only she who could feel eyes on them the entire day.
The sooner she could get everyone home safely, the better.
