A/N I write such short chapters when Draco and Hermione aren't together, I am the worst.

Chapter 31

Hermione took a deep breath and barrelled through the crowd making her way towards Ginny. The protest hadn't made any headway towards a response from the ministry, but that hadn't stopped people from coming out to show their outrage. Including this bevy of young women who were too busy waving their signs to notice someone coming through.

" It's love that the Ministry is forgetting," Harry's voice reverberated through Hermione's skull, " Love, the thing that makes life worth living."

With claws out, she shoved her way past the most aggressive girl, " Ginny!"

Ginny whipped her hair over her shoulder and smiled, " 'Mione!"

" I'm just going to go down to the office for a minute. I have to check my inbox and answer a few questions, tell Harry and Ron if they ask," She grabbed her jacket and work bag.

" Of course," Ginny said sweetly, " Oh, hey, how was Malfoy's last night?"

" Well… I guess things are moving forward," Hermione pretended to fuss in her bag to avoid her friend's eyes.

" You guess? What do you mean?" Ginny laid a hand on her shoulder, " Oh… is he bad in bed? You know, he seems like the kind of guy who would be-"

Hermione laughed, " No, no that's not the problem. At all."

Ginny raised an eyebrow, " Oh yeah, how 'at all'?"

" It's the best sex I've had in my life," Hermione admitted with a blush.

" I want all the details," Ginny gushed, " No, wait- focus, Ginny! Tell me what you mean by moving forward."

" Well last night… ah, it's a little hard to explain, but basically last night Malfoy and I agreed not to sleep with other people," Hermione bit her lip.

" What? That's huge!" Ginny patted her on the back, " What happened?"

" He got… jealous, I think, and-"

" Jealous? Really? Of what?" Ginny laughed, " Oh, no offense."

" No, exactly, who does he have to be jealous of? Crookshanks? He thought I was upset over Ron," Hermione rolled her eyes.

" Well… are you?"

" My wife and I knew our love would last a lifetime, and we didn't need a charm to tell us what to do!" Harry's voice rang out overhead.

" You know, Gin, you might want to tell him that we did the charm," Hermione threw a hand out to the stage, " This is getting a little embarrassing."

" I will… its just that you know how big Harry is on making his own choices," Ginny shrugged, " He hates feeling trapped."

" Yeah, I know how he feels," Hermione snarled.

" So, about Ron-"

Hermione stifled a sigh and threw her bag onto her shoulder, " I'm happy he came out, it's just... Blaise." She pulled a little face.

" I know," Ginny laid a hand on her shoulder, " But I don't want to push the issue, because I'm afraid Ron will think I don't support him."

Hermione let out her breath, " Exactly, I'm glad we're on the same page."

" So it doesn't bother you... I mean, I always sort of thought you and Ron would..." Ginny trailed off miserably.

" Yeah," Hermione said quietly, " Me too. Or, I guess... I didn't think I thought that until now."

" But Hermione-"

" I've got to go, I'll be right back," Hermione scurried away before Ginny could lob any more questions her way.

She headed briskly towards the elevators, dodging a few waving signs and impassioned limbs.

Of course Ron's news was upsetting. The way they had left things was unsatisfying, to say the least. And now, Ron being Ron, after about a year of awkwardness, he decided to act like the whole thing hadn't happened.

She wished he'd told her. She wished he hadn't had to go though that discovery alone.

But of course, she'd had plenty of time to get over Ron. And she was supposed to be completely preoccupied with the prophesy, and not even thinking about Ron any longer.

But it wasn't until Ron had said he'd never been asked out on a date before that she realized that for a small part of her, it wasn't over. And she would have to deal with that.

She hurled herself into the elevator just as the doors almost closed. It was empty, save for one huge man with a bouquet of roses, who she very nearly ran into.

" Watch it Granger!" He growled.

" Excuse me, do I know you?" She brushed a leaf off of her shoulder.

" Theodore Nott," He raised his chin imperiously.

She peered at his aristocratic, if slightly thuggish face, framed by short dark blond hair. He'd grown into his looks, although it seemed that with that age hadn't come tact or manners.

" I'm sorry, my mind was somewhere else," She explained, backing away.

" Wait! You work at the Office of Education, don't you?"

" Yes, why?" She frowned, looking down at the roses in his hands.

" Can you explain to me where Daphne Greengrass's office is?"

Hermione's eyes flicked from the roses, to his well cut grey suit, and hopeful face, " Ah, you're her ex. The one that's trying to win her back."

" That's going to win her back," He corrected, sniffing condescendingly.

" That's not what I heard," Hermione countered, " You know, Greengrass doesn't seem the type to go for roses."

His brow furrowed, " She's not?"

" No. Or ex-boyfriends who don't take no for an answer."

" Hey, not that I care what you think, Granger, but I'm giving her flowers," He snapped, " Not kidnapping her."

" Well, it's none of my business, but Greengrass doesn't seem to be interested," Hermione's voice went steely, " You should probably leave her alone."

" Look, I'm not harassing her. I've sent her a few letters, and this is the first time I've even tried in person," He flung out his hands, "You tell me what to do."

" Leave her alone!" Hermione said stiffly.

" I love her. I don't want to bother her, but I have to at least try!" He shook his head and threw up his hands, almost hitting her with the bouquet, " You're worse than my mother."

Hermione was taken aback. She looked him up and down, accessing his sincerity. She knew from practice that Slytherins were exceedingly hard to read.

Hermione narrowed her eyes, " You're in love with her?"

" I swear it," His voice was low and serious.

" So what did you do to screw it up when you were together then?"

" I don't have to answer to you!"

She raised an eyebrow at him, " That bad, huh?"

He shuffled on his feet, " She's… always so cold. Even when we were together, I didn't know where I stood. But her parents were always trying to push her into getting married, and they clearly approved of me. So I… tested to see if it was me she really liked."

"Oh, Merlin on a Mushroom what did you do?"

" I put out a rumor that I'd been fooling around with someone else. Even someone as cold as Daphne would be forced to talk about their feelings then," He explained, " And then she broke up with me. Not because she believed the rumors. Because I'd embarrassed myself with such a transparent plan."

" Huh, I guess Slytherins would leave someone for not being clever enough," Hermione mused, " But then again you never were much on brains, Nott."

" I was eighteen, and an idiot," He half-yelled, " Now will you please tell me where her office is?"

Hermione tapped a finger on her chin, " Maybe. For a price."

" A price? Who knew you'd be the type to play games," He marvelled.

" I've been keeping some strange company," She hinted with a smile.

It was his turn to raise an eyebrow, " Alright, name it."

" Greengrass's office isn't hard to find, so how about telling me what you know about how Blaise Zabini wriggled his way out of Azkaban," She proposed.

His eyes narrowed, " What do you care?"

" It's a long story," She allowed enigmatically.

He raised an eyebrow, " I only know that he tried to turn and got caught. If you want the full story, you can ask Daph."

" What do you mean?"

" Well her sister was his prison ward," Nott nodded, as if this was common knowledge.

" Astoria?"

" Who else?" He pursed his lips, " Now are you going to tell me where Daph's office is?"