November 11th, 2011
A/N: I started writing this chapter on one of the most magical days ever (: It's Veteran's Day, and I have no school, and it's 11/11/11. On top of that, the last movie came out today, and our copy of the Lego game, years 5-7, will be arriving shortly. It's put me in a rather good mood, despite the fact that I got a flu shot at eight in the morning. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and thanks again to Cat! :D
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter Nine
The next morning, Harry was on his way to the Auror department when a headline in the Daily Prophet caught his eye. He frowned, paid for a copy, and read it as he walked. The more he read, the more shocked he became. It was completely like the Daily Prophet to make a big deal out of something that was none of their business in the first place.
Being the Chosen One had its perks. Harry went straight to Ron's office instead of his own, because no one would bother him about getting his work done.
"Hey, Ron? You know how you were worried about how you would break the news to your parents?" Harry asked, closing the door behind him. He sat down in a chair, adjusting his glasses so he could see Ron's reaction clearly.
"Yes…" Ron said slowly, dreading whatever plan Harry had come up with.
Harry held up the Daily Prophet. "You might not have to. I don't know how she found out, but Rita's already cooked up an entire story about your breakup with Hermione. Or rather, her breakup with you."
Ron paled and snatched the newspaper out of Harry's hand.
Trouble in Paradise?
The entire wizard world is aware that one of the sweetest and hottest couples of the year involves none other than Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, the brightest witch of her age. All seemed perfect, until the other day, when sources witnessed a Lavender Brown, a classmate of the Golden Trio, running out of a Muggle café in tears.
Soon after, Ron Weasley himself left, and he didn't look entirely happy either.
The picture below shows Hermione Granger with Draco Malfoy, former Death Eater and the bad boy of Slytherin house. Could he have something to do with why Hermione Granger seemed so distressed?
Believe it or not, that is not true. When the two left the scene, both were smiling, laughing even. Is it possible that there is trouble in paradise? I'm sure we were all expecting a happy ending between Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, but with Draco Malfoy and Lavender Brown getting tangled in the affair, things might not turn out to be like a fairy tale after all.
"Bloody hell," Ron groaned, sinking down in his chair again. "I'd better go tell Mum before she has my head for not telling her. You know she believes this rubbish sometimes, if we don't set her straight."
"Go on, I'll cover for you."
"Thanks, Harry."
Ron apparated, fearing that the Prophet had already reached the Burrow and the response he would get if it had.
"You have some explaining to do," George said mildly when Ron walked into the kitchen. The majority of his family was seated at the table. Ginny glared at him, their father looked on in disappointment, Molly pretending to be busy preparing some meal, and the twins appeared murderous. Even Bill, Fleur and Charlie had come. Percy eventually showed up as well, looking rather disheveled when he stepped out of the floo network.
"I take it you've all seen the paper this morning?" Ron replied, wincing. The others nodded simultaneously, aside from Molly, who was desperately trying to keep from talking, as her emotions would come out full-force if she tried.
"Now talk," Fred ordered, his normally merry eyes narrowed into slits.
For the second time in two days, Ron explained what happened at the Muggle café. Fred kept his hand on his wand the whole time, and by the end of the tale, Bill, Charlie, and Percy were holding the twins and Ginny back.
"I can't believe you would do that to her!" Ginny shouted. "And with Lavender Brown no less! Percy, let me go!"
"Would you all calm down?" Arthur exclaimed, straining to be heard above all of the death threats getting thrown his youngest son's way. When he was certain that Ginny, Fred and George were more or less restrained, he continued. "I know everyone is upset – even I expected that Hermione would marry into the family – but we're still a family, and no one will be killing anyone. Do you understand me?"
Fred and George turned their glares to their father before proceeding to slide down in their chairs. All but Arthur seemed to have forgotten that Molly was in the room as well.
"Ronald," Molly said quietly. Much like her children, her ears were red, betraying subtle hints of anger.
Ron flinched and backed up into a wall as his mother cornered him.
"How dare you hurt Hermione like that," she whispered, her voice quavering. A quiet Molly was nearly as frightening as a raging one. "That girl is like a daughter to me – a member of the family. And you broke her heart."
"Mum-"
"You'll always be my little boy, Ron. But I am not happy with your decisions. Not at all. Never that to any girl ever again or else I will be joining your siblings in making these threats."
Hermione was surrounded by children, whose ages ranged from eight to ten, since she handled the older ones. She had attempted to teach her students some simple spells – truly, they were all brilliant – but there had been a little mishap and now she had to fix it. One of the nine year olds had ended up on the ceiling.
"Kids, I can't help him if you're all so close to me," Hermione said patiently. Sheepishly, the crowd scooted back a ways.
The boy on the ceiling, whose name was Nathan, reminded her of Neville, in their second year, when he got stuck on a chandelier in Gilderoy Lockhart's classroom. Hermione couldn't rid herself of the thought as she got him down.
"Thanks Miss Hermione," Nathan muttered, red in the face.
Hermione smiled. "It's no trouble at all, Nathan. Now all of you go and help Gina with the younger ones, alright?"
"Okay," the children chimed. Hermione watched them go fondly, then went about cleaning up the dirt from a pot that had gotten smashed somewhere along the way.
She could have done it easily and efficiently, with magic. But Hermione found that doing things the Muggle way was more relaxing for her. It reminded her of her childhood.
What was not relaxing, however, was hearing a voice in her ear that seemed to come out of thin air. Luckily for Draco, Hermione recognized who it was and didn't hex him immediately.
"Are you ready to go to lunch?" Draco asked cheerfully. Hermione rolled her eyes and stood up, brushing her hands off on her jeans as she did so.
"Yes, I've got my kids helping Gina anyway," Hermione said, pulling her hair up into a ponytail so it wouldn't get caught in the necklace she had on, the one Draco had given her.
"Let's go then," Draco said happily, offering his arm to Hermione, who looked at him suspiciously. Draco Malfoy was never that chipper. Something bad had to have happened. It was the only logical explanation.
Hermione went along with Draco's odd, happy mood anyway. He treated her to lunch, and then proceeded to take her shopping. Hermione did not particularly enjoy shopping, but Draco seemed to believe that was the solution to everything, even if he was male, so she let him drag her from shop to shop.
Because she was awfully stubborn, Hermione didn't offer her input on anything Draco showed her. Finally he gave up and just bought whatever he thought she might like. They went everywhere. Everywhere, that is, except for Diagon Alley.
Eventually, Hermione got fed up with the whole charade. "What are you trying to hide from me?" she asked when they sat down outside of an ice cream shop.
Draco paused, poking his sundae with a spoon. "The Daily Prophet had an article about you and Ron. And it wasn't necessarily good."
"Oh, is that it? I don't see why you went out of your way to keep that from me," Hermione said, brushing her hair back away from her face. "Everyone knows the Prophet is rubbish, even if it does tell some of the truth sometimes. So I'm not going to let it bother me."
"Another thing to commend you for, Miss Granger," Draco replied with a small smile. He knew Hermione was very self-conscious, and that made him even more proud of her, if she was going to ignore what Rita Skeeter had written.
"Now do I get to return all of the things you bought me?"
"Of course not. No matter how much I've changed, I'm still a Malfoy."
'Mione,
When are you going to be back? I think we should all talk. You, me, and Ron. We need to sort things out. We can leave work as soon as you can.
Love,
Harry
Hermione hadn't expected an owl to land on the ground in front of her as she and Draco walked back to her daycare. In fact, she had nearly drawn her wand on the poor thing. Draco had been the one to actually stop her.
"Who's that from?" Draco asked as Hermione read the note.
"Harry."
"Should I let you go now?"
Hermione shook her head. "I have to send a reply and tell Gina what's happening. You can come along, if you want. I'd appreciate it if you came back to the Burrow with me," she added, more quietly.
Draco frowned, ever so slightly. "What does Potter want you to do?"
"Talk things out with Ron," Hermione said, shrugging. "Harry doesn't seem to realize that I'm not going to hex Ron into oblivion the first chance I get."
"I don't see why you aren't," Draco replied, holding open the door to the daycare and following Hermione through.
"Ron was my friend before we started dating, Draco. I'm not going to let our failed relationship ruin that. Besides, he's not a bad person. He just doesn't know how to make very good decisions."
Draco snorted. "That's the understatement of the century."
Hermione gave him a chastising look, but she had laughed a bit at what Draco said. As soon as she had a flat surface to write on, Hermione scribbled a sentence on the back of the parchment that had come with Harry's owl, then sent it back to its owner with the message.
Gina came rushing to the front of the building, suspecting that the people who triggered the bell hanging in the entrance were either potential students and their parents or Hermione and Draco. She was a rather accurate guesser, it seemed.
The moment before Gina arrived, though, Hermione tripped – on whatever, it didn't particularly matter. What mattered was that Draco managed to catch her by the waist, and that was what Gina saw when she walked towards them.
She arched an eyebrow. "Should I give you two a moment?"
"For the love of Merlin," Hermione muttered, righting herself, only to stumble again because her shoe had fallen off of her ankle. "No, I'm just having a right awful clumsy day." She took hold of Draco's arm to insure that she did not fall again, and made sure everything was capable of handling contact with other things before she let go of the pale blonde.
"I thought you had those every day."
"That's very funny, Gina. Really," Hermione said dryly. "Anyway, I've been asked to get away if I can, because Harry wants me to go back home to talk. Will you be alright, or should I tell Harry I just can't go?"
Gina mentally counted how many children were in her care at the moment. "I think I'll be fine. They're mostly older ones who know how to handle themselves. Besides, today the kids have stations, and they always mind themselves on these days. Yes, I'll be fine. Go see what Harry wants. If things get hectic, I'll owl Luna or someone else."
"Alright, thank you Gina." Hermione smiled and the sound of her trainers hitting the floor filled the air, until Draco's footsteps joined hers and they got outside again.
When Hermione turned to him questioningly, Draco smirked. "Maybe you've forgotten, but you were the one that requested I come."
"Oh, I suppose that's right. Come on then," Hermione replied, looking flustered. She was rehearsing what she would say to Ron, but she couldn't think of anything that would summarize what she was feeling, thinking, and what she had felt and thought. Oh, bugger, I'll say whatever jumps into my mind, she decided.
"Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, are you sure you want me to come?" Draco asked, taking hold of Hermione's hand as they prepared to apparated.
Hermione glanced at him. "No, but I have to, because I'm not going to spend the rest of my life avoiding Ron and making things awkward for everyone else. And yes," she said. Then she and Draco disappeared with a loud pop and found themselves at the Burrow when they opened their eyes again.
Draco dropped Hermione's hand, which was so small in comparison to his. His eyes swiveled around the room they had appeared in. He had only been to the Weasley home once or twice, but never had he seen a wall covered in posters of the Holyhead Harpies.
"This is Ginny's room," Hermione told Draco by way of explanation.
"Oh, that makes sense."
Hermione thought her friend sounded odd, so she turned to see what he was looking at and noticed that someone had left an article of clothing lying about. She immediately blushed and threw a blanket over the undergarment.
"So, Granger. Shouldn't you go find Potter now?"
"R-Right," Hermione said, noticing that Draco's face was as red as her own. She quickly walked across the room and opened the door, then slipped out and headed for the living room, because the three of them – herself, Ron and Harry - seemed to have their meetings there quite often.
Draco raked a hand through his hair, took a deep breath, and sat down next to Hermione when she took a place on the couch.
Harry and Ron were already sitting, and both were uncomfortable in their own way. Harry disliked getting involved in a row between two other people, because it made him feel like an intruder, and Ron simply didn't want to be there. He would rather stay out of Hermione's way, for at least a few months, because surely by then her sense would return and she would understand that he was not to blame for anything.
Despite the fact that Ron would have preferred to shrink into his chair, he couldn't help but exclaim, "What's he doing here?"
"Who, Draco?" Hermione asked to clarify. Ron nodded, so she continued. "He's here because he's my friend, and he won't let me do something I might regret."
Her tone was so calm, so matter-of-fact, that Ron suddenly remembered their years at Hogwarts, when he thought Hermione was crazy. Perhaps he had been right.
"That's probably a good idea," Harry said, which promptly made Ron stare at him in disbelief.
"You seriously think that we should let Malfoy be a part of this conversation?"
"Well, if you'd rather we let you and Hermione talk things out on your own…"
Ron flinched slightly. "Er, never mind. He can stay."
"Why thank you for your approval, Weasley," Draco drawled, relaxing against the couch. "I'm so pleased that you've allowed me to hear what you have to say out of your fear for your ex-girlfriend."
"Draco, please. If you're going to be here don't say things like that," Hermione scolded, but the fact that Harry had chuckled quietly was not missed by her or Draco.
"Alright, alright, I'll behave."
Ron's mood got worse the longer he listened to Hermione and Draco interact. They had been broken up for a few days and she had already moved on. Granted, he had already been dating Lavender Brown, and he still was, but Hermione had chosen the ferret of all people. This was not right in any way. Somehow, Ron would win Hermione back. She was his first, and if he could get her once, he could get her again. Probably.
"Are you all going to sit here or are you going to get some problems solved?" Draco asked, breaking the silence that had fallen.
"Oh, right," Harry said sheepishly. He fiddled with his glasses – took them off, polished them, put them back on – and gestured for Ron to speak first.
"Hermione, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you, and I still love you." Draco rolled his eyes, but he restrained himself for adding his input as Ron continued to talk. "You're my whole world, and Lavender can't even compare to you. If you'd just give me another chance I'm sure we could work things out."
"Ron, for Christ's sake, do you know what that would do to Lavender? She's really not such a bad person, and this is the second time you've gotten hold of her heart and broken it into pieces. I'm not going to give you another chance to be anything more than a friend to me, because Lavender deserves to be happy and you're going to be the one to make her so. Do you understand me?" Hermione responded, her body not quite tense, but her eyes resembling a storm.
"No, I can't say I do understand you, Hermione. But I'll do as you say, because once you see how much of a git that ferret sitting next to you still is, you'll know that I was right all along."
Hermione should have been upset. But instead, she chose that moment to mentally laugh at the fact that Ron and Draco each had animal names for each other.
A/N: It is the day before my father's birthday, and since most of you will see this tomorrow, happy birthday Dad! I love you, and I hope you'll be in my life for a long time :) I'm working on chapter ten right now, so we'll see if I can get it up in time for my dad's special day.
Oh! One more thing. I'm changing the title of this story to Expertise in Pyrotechnics, so don't freak later. Just a heads up :)
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