* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *
PART THREE
The Eighth Year
Chapter 36: Meeting the In-Laws
Harry was exhausted as he yawned over a bowl of cereal on a Monday morning. He still hated Monday mornings, seven and a half years of Hogwarts hadn't changed that.
"How's the potions project coming along?" Harry asked through a yawn as Hermione, Sadie and Daphne talked animatedly.
"Great," Hermione chirped, "We're trying a few new things, and they seem to be working. We've managed to remove a component safely."
"Awesome," Harry said, although if he was honest, he didn't really understand the significance of that.
"I've been thinking, actually..." Hermione began. She glanced at Sadie and Daphne, "We should talk to Filch about it. After all, we need his permission."
Harry snorted, "Right, good luck with that," he said.
"Actually," Daphne said, and Harry groaned inwardly. That was her 'I want you to do something' voice, "We thought you and Draco could do it."
From beside him, Harry heard Draco snort, "Not happening. Your idea, you talk to Filch."
"I agree with Draco," Harry yawned then clicked his fingers which caused Kreacher to appear next to him with a loud crack.
"What can Kreacher do for Master Harry?" Kreacher bowed deeply.
"Coffee Kreacher, very strong coffee, bring me some," Harry ordered. It was rare that he was blunt with the elf, but he wasn't on top form today.
Draco yawned and stretched elaborately, "Same for me, Kreacher."
The elf bowed low again, "Of course Master Draco," he said, and he vanished with another crack.
"We should really start thinking about Valentine's day," Daphne said thoughtfully.
"Daphne," Harry whined, "It's January!"
"Exactly! So there's only a month until Valentine's day!" Hermione added.
Harry glared at her, "Traitor," he mumbled.
The last time he had checked, Hermione hated Valentine's day anyway.
Hermione grinned, "Sorry," she said, but she didn't sound apologetic at all.
"Harry hates Valentine's day," Hermione said to a confused Daphne.
"What?! How can you hate Valentine's day?"
Harry shrugged as Kreacher appeared, bowed and gave Harry and Draco a large steaming mug of coffee each.
"Why do you hate Valentine's day?"
Hermione turned to Daphne, "Harry got a Valentine's once in second year, and it embarrassed him, so he's hated it since then."
"Yeah, that's part of it," Harry said grimly. He felt a lot more awake and alert, "But to be honest, it's more because of that shitty date with Cho when she started crying and…ugh, it was terrible. Ginny did send me this awful singing Valentine in second year, though, and I got it in front of the whole school; it was horrible."
"I did no such thing!"
Harry swivelled around, "Gin! Hey!" he said brightly as his ex-girlfriend sat down next to him.
"You didn't send me the Valentine about having eyes as green as a fresh pickled toad?" Harry asked. He was half humiliated and half-amused as he recalled the dreadful incident.
"I didn't," Ginny said with a chuckle, "I was never that much of a poet, I wrote one that said, "Oh Harry, you sweetheart, I wish you were mine, but you aren't, oh dear, please be mine please," then I realised it was pathetic so I threw it in the fire."
Harry laughed as he listened to her first-year attempt at poetry, but then a sudden thought hit him. If it hadn't been Ginny who sent him that Valentine, then who had it been?
"So who sent me the Valentine then...Hermione, was it you?"
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed in surprise, "No, of course not! Why on earth would I send you a Valentine?"
Harry blushed a deep red and mumbled, "Just a thought, sorry."
"What did it say?" Daphne asked in amusement.
Harry thought hard for a moment, "Um, his eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad, um, something about a blackboard and being the hero who vanquished the dark lord."
At that moment, Harry caught Hermione's eye, and both of them narrowed their eyes as if they were thinking in unison which they did a lot.
"Hang on a minute..." Harry said slowly as the cogs whirred in his head, "I only knew one person in second year who would refer to Voldemort as the dark lord..."
All eyes turned to a very pink-faced Draco Malfoy who glanced at his watch, "I'm gonna be late," he lied, "Got a class to be in, see you at lunch!"
As he gathered his things and rushed from the hall, Harry was sure the only time he'd ever seen Draco Malfoy move faster was the first time he saw Moody after the ferret incident...
Monday passed otherwise uneventfully, but Draco was teased something dreadful by the others all day, and he managed to avoid Harry very well because he didn't see him until late that night in the dorm room they shared.
"You didn't really send me that Valentine of your own free will," Harry chuckled as he lay in his four-poster, "Which one of them dared you to do it? Or more to the point, how did you end up having to do it?"
There was silence for a couple of minutes, and then Draco's voice drifted over, "Theo dared me to do it, Theo even wrote the damn thing, the bloody poet that he is."
Harry snorted, "What did you do?"
"Lost a bet," Draco said sheepishly.
Harry laughed, "Merlin, you Slytherins are inventive. All this time, I thought it was Ginny who sent me that Valentine," he shook his head, "And it was really the result of you losing a bet. That's brilliant."
"Glad you find some amusement in it, Potter," Draco said dryly as he drew the curtains shut on his bed, but Harry saw his amused smile, so he knew his friend wasn't that upset about the situation. He was still chuckling as he put his head on the pillow to go to sleep that night.
As January progressed, the group began to brew the Animagus potion. For the moment, Harry wasn't talking to McGonagall about the final mental aspect of the potion. It was an awkward potion to brew, but with so many great minds working on it, they could reduce the time it should take (three months) to somewhere in the region of a month.
Harry knew that the Marauders had reduced the timescale slightly, but there were only three very skilled potioneers working on it (because Peter certainly didn't count). With Daphne, Hermione, Sadie, Theo and Draco working on it this time, they had a far better shot. However, as part of the first month of the brewing time, Harry, as the resident guinea pig, had to carry a mandrake leaf in his mouth for the entire month. It wasn't particularly vile or awkward apart from when he was trying to eat or drink or kiss Daphne. The latter was what he missed the most, though, and trying to make sure McGonagall didn't cotton on to what he was doing wasn't easy either.
All the same, he had gotten through two weeks out of four, and he still had the bloody leaf in his mouth, so Harry had decided to apologise to Daphne for his lack of physical intimacy by sneaking her into the prefect's bathroom.
They talked amongst themselves as the taps ran. They filled the room with scents, coloured the bathwater and created swathes of bubbles. Neither of them spotted the pearly set of eyes watching them from one of the large taps. They had been in the bath for a little while when she decided to show herself. Harry had to admit it was a little embarrassing being walked in on by a ghost when he was in the bath naked with his girlfriend.
"Hello Harry," Myrtle said, almost seductively as she popped out of the tap and floated over to them. Daphne raised an eyebrow at Harry and wondered why he wasn't even trying to cover himself up.
"Myrtle, your timing sucks," Harry said casually; it was as if he was talking to an old friend.
Myrtle giggled, "The last time I saw you in here, you were fondling a golden egg, not a Slytherin girl."
Myrtle giggled some more as Daphne looked between her boyfriend and the ghost with bemusement.
"Yes, well, I've saved the wizarding world since then," Harry remarked, "So, how have you been, Myrtle?"
Myrtle shrugged and settled herself on one of the taps. She cocked her head, "The same," she remarked glumly.
"Why don't you talk to the other ghosts?" Daphne asked curiously from her spot next to Harry. She had used some of the bubbles to cover herself up.
Myrtle seemed to ponder this for a moment before saying dully, "They don't like me; they think I'm annoying because I cry all the time."
"Why do you cry all of the time, Myrtle?" Daphne asked.
Myrtle looked shocked and insulted. Harry was sure no one had ever even thought to ask her that before. It took her a moment to reply, but eventually, she said, "Because I'm dead."
Harry rolled his eyes, "Myrtle, it's been 60 years. Don't you think it's time you got past this stage of your life?"
Myrtle's eyes widened, and it looked like she might cry. At the same time, Daphne elbowed Harry sharply in the ribs, and he realised his mistake, "Uh, I mean death."
The tears were averted, and Myrtle didn't speak for a moment as she mulled this over, "Maybe," she said slowly as she floated thoughtfully above the water.
"You should talk to Nick," Harry said kindly, "He'll be nice to you."
"I tried talking to Helena once," Myrtle said ruefully, "She told me I was pathetic for crying about Olive Hornby. She said she'd had a much worse life."
Daphne and Harry shared a look of amusement; they were thinking the same thing. Helena had definitely had a worse life, her stalker had killed her then killed himself, and now they were stuck together as ghosts in Hogwarts for eternity. It was like a warped and twisted version of Romeo and Juliet.
"You should talk to Peeves. He would understand," Daphne said, which made Harry snort. He doubted Peeves would understand anything, least of all a dead teenage girl.
Myrtle looked just as sceptical of this idea as Harry, "Peeves hates me. He calls me spotty and disgusting."
"He was the same age as you when he died Myrtle, he became a poltergeist because he was such a restless spirit, but even though he looks different than he did when he died, he's the same inside, and he's troubled too. You could help him," Daphne explained. She surprised both Harry and Myrtle with this information.
"Really?" Myrtle asked Daphne quietly. She sounded almost hopeful, "You think I can help him?"
"I know you can, Myrtle," Daphne said kindly.
Myrtle smiled at Daphne, and Harry was surprised by how much prettier it made her, "Okay," she said as she floated towards the taps, "See you, Harry," she said as she flew up the tap and vanished from view.
"Was that true?" Harry asked Daphne as he pulled her close to him again.
Daphne smiled and nodded, "Every word. Now, where were we?"
Harry merely smirked in response.
They didn't realise how serious their actions had been until a week or so later when Tracey ran into the eighth year common room looking disturbed.
"Oh, for the love of Salazar Slytherin!" she screeched, getting the attention of the entire room, "You will never guess what I just saw in the bathroom!"
"What?'" Annie asked eagerly.
Tracey looked both excited to be the bearer of gossip and disgusted at the nature of the gossip, "Peeves and Moaning Myrtle, snogging!"
"EW!"
"GROSS!"
Several similar shouts and remarks were made around the room, but Harry's favourite had to be Sadie's response, "Ugh! That's worse than Trelawney and Filch!"
Amongst the chaos and confusion, Daphne and Harry shared a satisfied grin.
However, as things happened at Hogwarts, one controversial revelation was overshadowed by another.
Normalcy had returned to the common room, and everyone was chattering amongst themselves. Harry and Hermione were on a sofa whispering about Harry's plans for Valentine's Day. Rather, Hermione's plans for Harry, which he was being forced into so Daphne wouldn't get too annoyed.
It was then that Ernie shouted out loudly and caught the attention of everyone in the common room.
"Guys! Listen to this!"
Silence fell across the room as Ernie cranked up the volume on an old radio sitting on the desk next to his charms homework.
"Ernie! How are you using that? Technology doesn't work in Hogwarts!" Hermione exclaimed in surprise.
Ernie rolled his eyes, "Come on, Hermione; I know you modified your straighteners to work at Hogwarts. As brilliant as you are, no one can go from being as terrible at straightening charms as you were to a genius in one summer."
Hermione blushed scarlet and muttered something intelligible, which caused other eighth years to giggle.
Ernie grinned in amusement and hushed everyone so that the radio show could be heard. It only took Harry a few seconds to recognise the presenter's voice. It was Lee Jordan.
"And today on Wizarding Radio Weekly, I am proud to introduce to my loyal listeners four new bands who claim to have invented a whole new genre of music that they have dubbed Wizard Rock. This music has been aired on illegal radio channels and has grown immensely popular. Now that the war is over and the Minister for Magic has given the go-ahead, it can be aired on real radio, and I am proud to present it to you!"
Some people seemed to understand this and had heard of this illegal genre of music, but others, like Harry, appeared at a loss of what the whole thing was about.
"The first band I want to show you today call themselves 'Harry and the Potters' and their songs are sung in the perspective of our very own boy-who-lived Harry Potter, who by the way was in my house at school, we were very close friends, best of friends even-"
"Lee, you spoke to him about five times in the entire time you were at Hogwarts together," A voice interjected, that voice belonged to none other than George Weasley. It made Harry grin, although the fact that there was a band singing as if they were him freaked him out a little. Still, for some reason, Draco and Daphne looked incredibly amused and were sharing knowing grins and chuckles.
"Ready?"
The voice was familiar, but Harry couldn't quite place it. Another voice replied, "Let's do this," and Harry frowned; he recognised that voice too.
The music started, it was just a guitar and some drums, then the singer began to sing, and it wasn't bad, the tune was good and pretty upbeat, but the singing wasn't exactly the best Harry had ever heard. However, as soon as the words began, he listened in amusement and horror.
"Your blood may be pure, but your heart is spoiled,
You wouldn't be so tough without Crabbe and Goyle,
Malfoy wouldn't be so cool if I wasn't around,
I'm his enemy at school, he really wants to get me down.
Draco Malfoy, what's your problem?
All your friends think your rad cause you treat me so bad,
Draco Malfoy, what's your problem?
All your friends think your rad cause you treat me so bad."
The others were laughing or dancing or even singing along. Harry was slightly scared, and Hermione was bemused, "They're singing as if they're you?"
"Yeah..." Harry said slowly. This was possibly the weirdest thing he had ever experienced.
"And they're singing about me," Draco said with a bemused shake of his head.
"That part is pretty funny," Harry admitted with a grin, "The rest is just a bit…weird."
There was some clapping and whistling from the radio as the song finished, and then Lee was back on again, "That was Harry and the Potters with "The Foil". The band had hits in the war with "These Days are Dark" and "Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock." The group is made up of Dennis Creevey and his best friend and fellow Gryffindor Jimmy Peakes!"
Harry narrowed his eyes and made a mental note to storm into the Gryffindor common room later and get Dennis back for this. However, just when he thought it was all over, he realised that it wasn't, and he cursed, not so silently, which earned him a slap from Hermione.
"Next up, we have a three-piece girl band who go by the name the Parselmouths!" Lee announced.
It was much better than the last band, better played and much more upbeat, the kind of thing you could happily dance to. It became apparent as soon as the singing started that this band was made up of Slytherins.
"Everyone says Slytherin house is the worst place to be,
Why?
All because the dungeons are so cold,
And because we have to deal with greasy Sevvy Snape
EW!
And because our souls have all been sold,
To You-Know-Who!
But there are good parts too that you may not have seen,
Like what?
We get to wear green,
Are expected to be mean,
See the ickle firsties scream when we accidentally bump them in the hallways,
Get to goof off in potions just because,
Snape would rather yell at Harry Potter,
Yell at Harry Potter,
He'd always rather yell at Harry Potter,
Than ever give detention to someone in his own house.
Thank God for Potter,
I got an O in potions,
Yay, Harry Potter,
Guess Potter's not that bad."
Again by the end of the song, Harry was astounded. He didn't have any idea who would sing such a song apart from one of the Slytherins he knew, and as he glanced around at them all, the only one who looked suspicious was Daphne, who was pretty much doubled over with laughter and was crying tears of mirth into Draco's shoulder.
A second song then began, and this one was in the same sort of style. It was upbeat, fun, and catchy. After the last one, he was slightly worried about the song's content, so he slid further down the sofa when it came on to hide his scarlet face. Next to him, Hermione was beside herself with laughter. Harry was already cringing halfway through the song, but he turned even redder when a familiar male voice spoke-sang with the band's female lead singer.
"Boy: Girls, just stop right now.
Girls: No, you listen to us.
Boy: I don't want to do this.
Girls: Oh, stop making a fuss.
Boy: You're being annoying.
Girls: But we've got this all planned.
Boy: I'm walking away now.
Girls: Girls like boys in bands.
Boy: Do they really?
Girls: Of course they do, trust me.
Oh, Harry,
You're a Parselmouth too,
You're one of us,
There's not much you can do,
You can't ignore it,
You can't just walk away,
I know you've had your fair share of names,
But if you join our band and help us expand,
We can tour from Antarctica to Japan!"
As the song finished, Harry stood from the sofa and cornered Daphne and Draco, who looked amused when Harry was of the opinion that they should have looked afraid, very afraid.
"You started a band and sang songs about me, and YOU helped!"
Daphne grinned, "Technically, Astoria started the band, I just helped, and Draco is only featured on that one song."
Draco smirked at the look on Harry's face. It was like he didn't know whether to laugh or shout. In the end, Harry just rolled his eyes and flopped onto the couch. He sighed and resigned himself to the fact there was now a genre of music about his life.
"I dread to think what's next," He grumbled as Lee took over once more.
"That was the Parselmouths with "It's Not Half Bad" and "Please Harry", comprised of the beautiful Greengrass sisters, Astoria and Daphne with Ravenclaw Mandy Brocklehurst on the drums," at this everyone stared at a pink-faced Mandy in complete shock, "The Parselmouths have had previous hits with songs like "Who is Blaise Zabini?" and "Quidditch is My Favourite Sport."
"We're going to take a brief gap in the music to talk a little bit about this new genre," George said next, "Wizard Rock as it is now called originated during the Second Wizarding World and was illegally played on pirate radio channels to raise morale and keep peoples spirits up in all of the terror. As you have seen already, this wasn't a small group of people involved in the motion. We've had people from all houses and from many different backgrounds involved in making people laugh and keeping them happy."
"Ever since the end of the war the music has taken off on popular channels, such as this one and next I'd like to present to you an artist who goes by the stage name "Moaning Myrtle," this is proof that music in this genre can be partly or wholly comic, and later on in the show, we'll give an example of how serious the music in this genre can be," Lee had taken over again. Now another song began, the singer was female, and her voice sounded very familiar to Harry.
"Death is way more fun with bubbles
That's what I say
Death is way more fun with bubbles
Mostly every day
Death is way more fun with bubbles
Myrtle likes to play
Death is way more fun with bubbles
When they melt away
Prefects are freakin' hot in any season
You know they call me Moaning Myrtle for a reason."
There was much laughter as the song ended. Even Harry was smiling, and as the song ended, Lee Jordan chuckled as he came back on the air, "And that was Moaning Myrtle, aka Luna Lovegood with her debut song "Prefects are Hot," a song about spying on prefects in bathrooms."
Harry's laughter increased as he realised it was Luna who had sung the song, and the others in the common room shared his mirth; some of the eighth years were even crying with laughter.
"And last but certainly not least," said George and Harry could tell he was smiling, "Is a duo that goes by the name "Riddle TM". This band are relatively new on the circuit, but their music is incredibly touching as you are about to hear..."
Harry frowned as he listened to the song. It was a more serious song as it was slower, and the music was primarily made up of the piano.
"You've got the world in your hands now,
It's up to you what you want to go and do with it,
We may have won the battle, but the war's not over yet,
There's still a long way to go,
You've got the heart to do the best thing,
That's why we trusted that you'd always find a way to right it,
Through love we'll stay together; we're weak when we're apart,
But we'll be alright from here,
So let's go and tell the world that we're still alive,
There's still the ones out there who don't realise,
We'll banish the chaos, the fear and the lies,
And out of the ashes, a phoenix will rise,
Now I can see we've got a future,
There's no more Horcruxes,
And Hallows don't matter to me,
We'll build the world again,
Oh, just you wait and see,
'Cause now we can do anything,
Harry was brave,
He faced his fears,
Hermione showed that even Muggle-borns can still be gifted,
And Ron was loyal; he was strong enough to see,
That friendship is everlasting,
So let's go and tell the world that we're still alive,
There's still the ones out there who don't realise,
We'll banish the chaos, the fear and the lies,
And out of the ashes, a phoenix will rise,
Where will you choose to go from here?
With no more darkness, there's no longer anything to fear,
So we can make the world a brighter place to be,
And out of the ashes, a phoenix will rise."
The song left them in silence compared to laughter as it was the first serious one to be played on the radio show, and Harry found himself smiling as he realised that it was Ginny who sang the song. He sometimes forgot how well she knew him. Ever since they had broken up, they had lost the close bond they had shared for so long, but they would always be incredible friends, and if Harry ever needed someone who understood him as much as Hermione, he knew he would have Ginny.
The truth of the matter was that while he was madly and completely in love with Daphne, and while Draco was fast becoming one of his closest and most reliable friends, they just hadn't known him as long as the others had. They hadn't been there through everything as the likes of Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Neville had been.
"That was "Phoenix" by Riddle TM. A duo made up of my very own sister Ginny Weasley and her boyfriend Blaise Zabini, a skilled pianist. That song, I think, must touch everyone who went through the war. The metaphor of a phoenix rising from the ashes works very well when compared to our society trying to rebuild now that the war is over. Riddle TM are working on an album full of thought-provoking songs like this one, such as "I Must Not Tell Lies" and "Thestrals". Keep your eyes peeled for them!"
"Well folks, that's all from us tonight," Lee Jordan said with a note of finality to his voice, "Tune in tomorrow for music from The Mudbloods and Roonil Wazlib."
With that, the radio started to crackle, and Ernie turned it off, the chatter was restored in the common room, and everything went back to the way it had been before the radio show started.
"That was quite touching," Hermione said quietly.
Harry turned to look at her, "Yeah, it's exactly how I feel now that it's all over."
"Me too," Hermione said with a small smile, "I feel like I'm trying to move on and rebuild, but I can't totally erase everything that happened in the war."
"And you shouldn't have to," Harry said softly, "Everything we went through made us who we are."
Hermione smiled thoughtfully, "I know."
Harry had decided to go and talk to Ginny after hearing her touching song on the radio. However, the fat lady had narrowed her eyes at him and was preparing to tell him that he wouldn't be getting in without the password.
Harry just stared right back until his helpers appeared by her side in the portrait. James and Sirius grinned at the fat lady who rolled her eyes but appeared to be hiding amusement and a blush.
"Why, Victoria, you look dashing," Sirius said as he kissed her oily cheek.
"Charming," James agreed, "As marvellous as ever."
"Oh, you boys," She said; she blushed deeply and giggled.
"We wondered, my darling, if you would be so kind as to let our charge, young Harry here, into the common room to meet a friend of his," Sirius said in his most charming tone of voice.
"Oh, why not," The fat lady giggled and just like that, the portrait hole swung open.
Harry whistled and muttered under his breath, "They are good."
When Harry walked into the common room, all conversations stopped, and all eyes were on him.
Dennis glanced at him a little fearfully and swallowed deeply. Ginny was lying with her feet over the back of the sofa, reading a trashy romance novel upside down; she barely even glanced at Harry as he walked in.
"Dennis, Jimmy," Harry began, he glanced over at the scared 'band' members, "The music is okay, but please don't make me sound like such a pathetic moaning git."
"Got it," Dennis said. He saluted Harry then realised how embarrassing what he had done was as he slipped down his chair out of sight.
Harry shook his head in disbelief as he walked over to Ginny, pushed her legs off of the back of the sofa so that she tumbled to the ground and then sat on the sofa. He watched her with interest as she cursed at him.
"You can be such an arse sometimes; I swear those Slytherins are rubbing off on you," Ginny grumbled as she folded the corner of the page over in her book and got to her feet. She put the book on the table and sat down next to Harry on the sofa in a normal position. The entire common room was watching them and were still silent.
"Oi, you lot! Stop being so nosy and get back to your own business!" Ginny yelled, and instantly, the noise level dramatically increased. People were scared of Ginny, and Harry didn't blame them.
"What do you want?" Ginny asked casually. She eyed Harry with interest.
"To talk to you about your interesting new musical project," Harry said as if it was obvious.
"Ah, that," Ginny said as she leant back, "I forgot it was on tonight. We recorded it last week. What about it?"
"The song…it's exactly how I feel in the aftermath of the war. I didn't realise you got me that much," Harry said honestly.
Ginny shrugged and smiled, "You've always been an open book to me, and I jumped on the bandwagon last year with all the warbands on pirate radio trying to boost morale. I enjoyed it, so I decided to keep it up. When I realised Blaise could play the piano, we became a duo. I can play too, mind you, but it's fun to be a pair."
"I didn't realise you could play the piano," Harry said truthfully.
Ginny nodded, "Mum taught me when I was younger, Hermione can play the piano, too, you know."
"Yeah, I know," Harry said. He remembered how Hermione had played the piano at Grimmauld Place. It had kept him sane some nights.
"The song was beautiful, and you have an amazing voice," Harry told her.
Ginny grinned, "Thanks, it's always good to have the faithful boy-who-lived's opinion," she teased.
Harry grinned, "Well, I just came by to tell you how great you are and that I miss you."
Ginny narrowed her eyes at him, "This isn't a 'let's get back together' I miss you, is it?"
Harry shook his head, "No," he promised, "I'm very happy with Daphne. I just miss having you around as my friend. Blaise is in our year; it would be cool if you hung around the common room more."
Ginny smiled at him in a way he didn't understand, "That's kind of cute of you, thanks."
Harry merely shrugged and smiled, "Kreacher has it hoodwinked, so it will let in only eighth years with three exceptions; you, Luna and Astoria, Daph's sister."
Ginny laughed, "Well, thanks, I guess I'll drop by some time," she said.
They both laughed as they stood and hugged. Harry smiled at her once more before he left the common room; he felt sentimental after seeing it again and happy that all parts of his life were now settled. There was nothing in the air, nothing unsaid, everything was out in the open, and he could live his life freely.
He felt freer than he ever had at that moment as he made his way from one tower to the other in the cold, draughty castle that was the only home he had ever known.
As January marched on, Lilly grew more and more distant. Hermione felt guilty, but she tried her best not to get too involved like Daphne had advised. She had asked Lilly once how she was, and the Ravenclaw had gotten snappy at her, so Hermione had decided that if Lilly wanted or needed her help, she would ask for it. As it so happened, Lilly approached Hermione late in the common room one night in mid-January for that reason.
"Can I talk to you for a minute, Hermione?"
Hermione glanced up from her book and sighed quietly. It didn't take a genius to work out that Lilly's tearstained face meant that she had been crying. She smiled at her friend and closed the book, "Of course you can."
Lilly sat across from her on the sofa, "Do you think I'm a bad person?"
"No!" Hermione said quickly, "No, of course not! Ron is the bad person here, Lilly-"
"But what if I told you I cheated on him too?" Lilly said as she chewed anxiously at her lip.
Hermione frowned, "What?" she asked.
"I kissed Harry," Lilly said quietly, "At the Yule Ball."
"You did what?" Hermione barked.
Lilly looked close to tears, "I don't know what came over me…then I realised afterwards it must have been because Theo spiked the punch. He was nice to me about Ron, and I don't know what happened; I just kissed him."
Hermione sighed, "Well, a kiss isn't as bad as what Ron did to you. But Lilly, this makes things so complicated... I mean, Daphne has to be told about this-"
"She already knows," Lilly admitted, "She spoke to me on Christmas morning before I left. She said that Harry showed her the memory."
Hermione smiled slightly, "Well then, I suppose there is nothing to worry about. If Harry and Daphne aren't worried, why are you?"
"Because I feel like a terrible person," Lilly said with a frown, "And I feel like maybe I should tell Ron. I got so mad at him for sleeping with Katie, but I kissed his best friend! How am I any better than him?"
"Because it wasn't your fault," Hermione said softly, "You accidentally drank alcohol because Theodore bloody Nott spiked the punch. You got drunk unknowingly and kissed a nice guy who was comforting you. Trust me, Lilly. I've made worse mistakes sober. Nice guys are hard to resist because they're so rare."
"You and Harry," Lilly said with a slight smile.
Hermione nodded but sighed heavily, "Look, Lilly, Ron got angry and then knowingly went out and got blindingly drunk. Then he knowingly slept with someone else. There is such a difference. I don't want you to hurt yourself thinking about what Ron did because it had nothing to do with you and everything to do with him. He has never appreciated the good things in his life."
Lilly sighed and glanced down at her hands, "It's not even the fact that Ron did it to me, if that makes sense? It's the fact someone cheated on me; it's the fact I wasn't good enough for someone."
Hermione smiled sadly at her friend, "I know that it sucks, Lilly, but you've got to remember that it wasn't you. Ron was greedy and selfish. He let his ego get the better of him. You are good enough. In fact you are too good for Ronald bloody Weasley."
Lilly chuckled, "It's just lonely here at the moment. You're all loved up, and being single sucks."
"Susan's single," Hermione said with a chuckle, "Maybe you two can double date or something."
Lilly snorted, "Susan, date?"
Hermione grinned, "Hey, Daphne didn't date up until recently and now look at her. Susan will date when the right guy comes along."
"I've known Susan since first year," Lilly chuckled, "I'll believe it when I see it."
"The day will come," Hermione said knowingly. She was glad to see Lilly looking a bit more cheerful.
As January marched on, Lilly gradually cheered up, even after a couple of disastrous double dates Susan had planned for them. The animagus potion was coming along well, and Harry was grateful that he would soon be able to take the bloody mandrake leaf out of his mouth. Towards the end of the month, Draco got a letter over breakfast and grimaced as he read it.
"What is it?" Hermione asked cautiously.
"It's a letter from my Mother," Draco said with a slight frown, "Inviting us to Greengrove House for tea tomorrow."
"Both of us?" Hermione asked in surprise.
Draco nodded, "She says she wants to meet you formally."
"Ooh," Daphne said eagerly, "Formally! Merlin, you might as well propose then Draco!"
"Uh no," Harry frowned, "Hermione is far too young for that."
Hermione snorted, "I'm older than you," she retorted.
"Yeah, and I'm too young for marriage," Harry said in amusement.
"What the big deal about her formally meeting me anyway?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Well," Daphne began, "When a parent 'formally' asks to meet the boyfriend or girlfriend of their child, they are conceding that the relationship is serious and might amount to a proposal."
"Oh, Merlin," Hermione sighed.
"So they ask lots of personal questions," Sadie cut in.
"Personal questions?" Hermione asked sheepishly, "Oh, for the love of Godric. She's going to hate me after this."
"She won't hate you," Draco said with a slight smile, "She's happy for us. You heard what she said at Christmas."
"All the same, you should probably be prepared for the questions she'll ask," Daphne said, "I'll coach you tonight if you want."
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and hugged the blonde girl, "Oh, Daph, thank you! You're a lifesaver!"
Draco and Harry shared an exasperated look that thankfully went unnoticed by their girlfriends.
"So I'm Narcissa."
"You do look kind of like her," Harry said as he cocked his head at Daphne.
"Are you saying you have a thing for my Mother?" Draco asked distastefully.
"What?" Harry barked, "No! I just meant because of the blonde hair and the blue eyes...and... never mind."
Daphne shook her head in amusement and turned to Hermione, "So Hermione, how many children would you like to have?"
Hermione's eyes widened, "She's going to ask me that?"
"Of course she will," Daphne said matter of factly, "It's a simple question. She'll want to make sure you'll provide her son with an heir."
"Provide him with an heir?" Hermione scoffed, "I think women are worth more than the children they give birth to!"
"Of course they are," Draco said, "She's not insinuating that you are only worth as much as the child you'll give birth to. She's just going to make sure that you'll be able to provide me with an heir."
Hermione was still not convinced by this logic. Daphne rolled her eyes, "Come on, Hermione. Everyone knows how many kids they want. For example, I want four. How many do you want?"
"Four?" Harry asked in disbelief, "That's a lot of kids."
Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, "Says a man. The person who gives birth to the children should be the one who picks how many of them there will be."
"Yeah, but still, four-"
"Don't get too worried. You're not at that point yet," Draco said in amusement, "You haven't been 'formally' invited to Greengrass House."
Harry muttered something under his breath about formalities that Daphne thankfully didn't hear because she was grilling Hermione again, "So how many kids?"
"I don't know," Hermione admitted, "I don't even know if I want kids. I want a career first; I know that much."
"You don't want kids?" Draco asked in shock.
"I didn't say that," Hermione argued, "I said I don't know if I want kids yet. I think I probably do, but I don't know how many I want."
"Alright," Daphne said, she looked exasperated already, "We'll move onto the next question then. What will you do once you finish Hogwarts, Hermione?"
"Well," Hermione replied, "I always thought I would go into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. But lately, I've been considering the DMLE."
"Have you?" Draco asked eagerly. He was so eager he slid off of his chair slightly, and Harry snorted in amusement.
"Yes," Hermione said with narrowed eyes, "I was thinking about going into the Misuse of Magic Office. Why are you so interested in that?"
"Well," Draco said sheepishly, "My mother always thought the DRCMC was a bit...well wishy-washy. But the DMLE is very serious. She'll be delighted to hear that."
Hermione narrowed her eyes at Draco and pushed herself to her feet, "Well, my job choice has nothing to do with your mother! It has everything to do with what I want to do with my life, just like the choice I make of when I have children! This coaching is a load of rubbish, she'll either like me or she won't, and if she doesn't, then you'll just have to deal with it, Draco! Unless you're the type of guy who does everything his mummy wants him to do!"
"I don't do anything she wants me to do," Draco said in amusement, "In case you didn't notice, I'm dating a Muggle-born. That's not what she wanted me to do, and I'm also friends with Harry Potter. Again, not what she wanted me to do."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "I'll go with you to this stupid thing tomorrow, but I'll answer the questions my way. Alright?"
"Alright," Draco said calmly.
"Good," Hermione said with a firm nod, "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Draco said. He was faintly amused as Hermione stormed upstairs to her dorm room.
"I thought you said you weren't nervous, and you didn't care if she liked you or not," Draco said with a slight smile as they walked up the path towards Greengrove House.
"I'm not nervous," Hermione said weakly.
"You've been biting your nails all day, you skipped lunch, and you burst into tears when Hannah asked you about your Transfiguration homework. You're either nervous or pregnant and... wait, you're not pregnant, are you?" Draco trailed off from his own train of thought momentarily.
Hermione glared at her boyfriend, "I'm not pregnant!" she hissed.
"Thank Godric for that," Draco muttered. Then his eyes widened as he realised what he had just said.
Hermione laughed despite herself, "Thank Salazar Draco, isn't that what you normally say?"
Draco glared half-heartedly at her, "That was what I meant to say."
"Well, clearly, I am rubbing off on you," Hermione smirked as they reached the front door.
"You wish Granger," Draco said with a small smile as he lifted his hand and knocked on the front door. It opened immediately, and they were ushered into the drawing-room where Andromeda and Narcissa were awaiting them with a large pot of tea and a platter of cakes.
"Ah, you made it in perfect time," Narcissa smiled broadly as she got to her feet. She immediately kissed Draco on both cheeks before looking at Hermione and saying, "And it is lovely to see you again, Hermione."
Hermione smiled a little nervously as she and Draco sat down together on one of the sofas. Andromeda poured them each a cup of tea and handed it to them. Hermione was glad that her hands had stopped shaking as she accepted the cup.
Narcissa smiled, "I am so glad you could both make it today. We never have time for a proper chat, do we?"
"No, we never do," Hermione agreed.
"I feel like I know so little about you," Narcissa said honestly, "But we will get to that in good time. The first thing I must do is give you this Draco."
She handed her son a brown envelope, and he took it with a frown, "What is this, Mother?" he asked as he peered into the envelope.
"The divorce was finalised. Those are your papers for your new name," Narcissa said with a weak smile, "I am officially Ms Narcissa Black, and you are now Mr Draco Black."
"Oh," Draco realised in surprise, and there was a little bit of sadness in his eyes too.
"All that remains to be done is the changeover of the house and title," Narcissa said matter of factly, "Which you assured me Harry would take care of."
"Oh, he'll take care of it," Hermione smiled, "Once we finish school, I expect. He will have the time and the resources to do it properly then."
"Excellent," Narcissa smiled as she looked to Hermione, "Oh goodness, that reminds me, I do not even know what you intend to do after you graduate, Hermione."
Hermione smiled slightly, "Well, I intend to go into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, actually."
Narcissa's eyes lit up slightly at this, "Indeed? Are you interested in a specific office?"
"Yes," Hermione replied, "The Misuse of Magic Office."
"Oh yes," Narcissa nodded, "A very stable job."
"And a rewarding one too," Andromeda said with a smile.
"Yes, I'm sure you would be very happy there, Hermione," Narcissa said simply, "Not that your occupation makes any difference to your relationship with Draco. You will always be incredibly important to him, regardless of your job."
Hermione shared a knowing smile with Draco at this, and the blonde boy said, "Well, that is true, but I am glad that Hermione wants to go into the DMLE. I think she'll love it there. She loves a challenge, after all."
"The DMLE is certainly a challenge at the moment," Andromeda chuckled.
Narcissa sighed, "Indeed it is. I must say, Hermione, I did have my doubts when I found out about your relationship with my son, but I wanted to formally call you here today to tell you that I was wrong. You are a beautiful young lady with a fantastic mind. You challenge Draco and heaven knows he needs that. I think you are possibly the best thing that could happen to him."
Hermione blushed furiously at those words as she looked down at her hands. Draco smiled slightly and put his arm around her, "I think you are right, Mother."
"Now, Hermione. Tell me a little bit more about your family and your hobbies. What do you do for fun?" Narcissa asked conversationally.
Hermione smiled slightly as she looked up to Narcissa, "Well, the ironic thing about that is that I don't think my family are very different to yours. In the Muggle world, we do not have pureblood, half-blood and muggle-born, but we do have status based on class."
"Class?" Narcissa asked in confusion.
"Lower class, middle class, and upper class," Andromeda filled her sister in.
"Lower-class families generally struggle to get by," Hermione explained, "Middle-class families get by comfortably, and upper-class families have far more disposable income."
"And what class are your family in, Hermione?" Narcissa asked curiously.
"Upper," Hermione admitted, "My parents are dentists, which means they are paid very well. We live in a big house in Oxford, and we spend most of our holidays skiing in the Alps."
"Indeed?" Narcissa said, "We have a chalet in the alps."
"We have a lodge," Hermione said with a slight smile.
Andromeda had to hide her smirk, she saw what Hermione was doing, and she admired the girl for it. Draco did too from the proud look plastered onto his face.
"So aside from the fact that my parents are Muggles, there is very little that sets us apart, Narcissa," Hermione said kindly.
"In which case you should come to the Alps with us this Easter," Narcissa said genuinely, "You and your parents."
"We're going skiing this Easter?" Draco asked in surprise.
"Oh, it's the first I've heard of it too," Andromeda chuckled, "So I wouldn't worry too much."
"Nonsense, I've had it planned for weeks," Narcissa said with a wave of her hand, "It would be lovely if all three of you could join us, Hermione."
"Well, I will find out if my parents can make it," Hermione said. She was slightly stunned by Narcissa's positive reaction.
"Lovely," Narcissa said brightly.
Before the topic of conversation could move on, a shout from behind disturbed them all. Andromeda sighed, "Ah, my Grandson will be awake," she said as she glanced at the travel coat next to the sofa that Draco and Hermione were sitting at.
"I'll get him," Hermione said, she was the closest anyway, and she had a soft spot for Teddy Lupin.
"Oh, thank you, Hermione," Andromeda said appreciatively as Hermione gently lifted the nine-month-old from the cot. He had gotten so big, and he could crawl now as well as string together basic sentences.
Unaware of the several sets of eyes on her, Hermione sat back down on the sofa and popped Teddy on her lap. He immediately wrapped his hand around her finger and said clearly, "Miny!"
Hermione laughed, "That's right, Teddy, it's Aunt Mione."
"Miny!" Teddy said again as he bounced on her lap.
Draco chuckled and reached to tickle the little boy, "Hey Ted!"
Teddy bounced even more excitedly, "Dwaco!"
"It's Uncle Draco, yeah, Teddy!" Hermione said with a smile at the little boy.
Unbeknownst to the young couple Narcissa and Andromeda shared a knowing smile. Andromeda then said, "He's been missing you both."
"Oh, I've missed him too," Hermione said, "Isn't he so adorable? Harry is missing him ever so much."
"Would he like a week with him at Easter?" Andromeda asked with a smile, "If you are both going to be going to France with Cissa, then I think I will take a short holiday myself if Harry is willing to spend a week with Teddy."
"He might have to look after him at Hogwarts," Hermione said thoughtfully, "But I'm sure he would say yes. He misses him an awful lot."
"And Daphne needs to meet little Teddy properly," Draco said as he played with the little boy's thick blue hair, "He's a big part of Harry's life, and she needs to realise that if she's serious about their relationship."
Hermione looked up at Draco in surprise, "That's very thoughtful and wise of you."
Draco chuckled, "Yes, well, I do have my moments."
Narcissa smiled at the couple. She was incredibly glad that she had invited them around for tea because it had cemented the suspicions she already had. Those suspicions were that Hermione was one of the best possible things that could have happened to her son.
* ~ TBC ~ *