AN: Once again, thank you for the amazing feedback. I love hearing your thoughts.

So I was editing a couple of chapters ahead last night and I got caught up in the story and stayed up half the night reading it all the way to the end. LOL. Which has convinced me that you all need updates faster so we can move this story along. I want you to get to the good stuff. Still, no promises, but here we go. :)

Lost Souls of Nott Castle

Chapter 14 - Warning

When Hermione walked into the dining room Monday morning, she could tell something was wrong. There was a tension in the air that hadn't been there before. She was immediately on edge.

As she ate her eggs benedict, she noticed the guys sharing looks between one another, but no one spoke. Not even the small talk that they usually shared in the mornings.

"Does someone want to fill me in, or is this a guy's only thing?" She finally asked as she spread raspberry jam on her toast.

Theo gave Draco a pointed glare.

"Okay," Draco sighed and pushed his plate away. "We've been talking."

He hesitated. She knew whatever he was about to say, she was going to hate. She raised her brow and waited for him to continue.

"It's just, Potter knows where you work."

The words hung in the air.

"I'm not quitting my job." She told him.

"You don't even like that job," he pointed out.

"You're right, I don't. I'm still not quitting."

Draco returned the glare to Theo.

"See, Mate. I told you." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. Then he turned back to her. "There was one other thing."

She took a drink of her coffee.

"Well, let's hear it then."

"We think...I think that we should tell Agent Kimmey about the threat."

Her brow furrowed as she tried to find his logic, but came up empty.

"Why?" She asked. "I'm the one he's threatening, and she doesn't exactly like me, remember?"

"That is true," he agreed with a small smirk. "However, just think about it for a moment. Imagine you're Potter. Put yourself in his shoes."

"You just saved the world, but you realize you're alone." Blaise interjected. "Your best friend goes out on her own to testify for your childhood rival and she manages to keep him from the fate he deserves in Azkaban."

"So you turn your back on her to punish her for her betrayal," Theo steps in. "But it backfires. You realize how much you have come to rely on her, but it's too late, she's moved on. Not only does she turn you down, but she turns you down to hook up with the same rival she had kept out of Azkaban."

"But all hope isn't lost," Draco continues. "If this rival commits a crime, even something small and insignificant, he goes to Azkaban anyway."

Ice water flowed through her veins. She knew exactly where they were going with this.

"And she does, as well." Blaise finished as he sat back in his chair. "It's a win, win."

"Stop," she tells them in a harsh whisper. She buried her head in her hands. "You think he would hurt me, kill me for turning him down, then frame you for it so you go away forever?"

"Two birds, one stone."

She felt like she might be sick. It made sense, in a twisted kind of way.

"So you think we should tell Agent Kimmey so it's on record that someone besides you was threatening me." She nodded her head. That actually wasn't a bad idea. If something happened to her, she certainly didn't want Draco to take the blame for it. "Okay. We should take it with us this morning."

"I already have it in my pocket." He told her. "It's almost time to go, anyway."

Shortly thereafter, Hermione found herself once again sitting in front of Agent Kimmey's desk next to Draco. The agent gave them an attempt at a smile as she pulled a piece of parchment out of a file.

"Miss Granger. Mr. Malfoy. So nice to see both of you again." Sarcasm dripped off of her words. Hermione was reminded of Draco telling her that he didn't think the woman liked her very much.

"Good morning, Agent Kimmey," she answered with a bright smile that only seemed to irritate the older witch.

"After our meeting last week, I spoke to Headmistress McGonagall at Hogwarts about your...unique position." She focused on Draco, ignoring Hermione altogether. "She was kind enough to provide a list of spells that you will be expected to study for your NEWT exams. These spells have been reviewed and approved by the Wizangamot as spells that you are permitted to perform under the conditions of your probation."

She handed the parchment to Draco. He glanced at it, then handed it over to Hermione. She proceeded to read through the list of spells that had been provided. It seemed to be fairly comprehensive.

While she was reading through the list line by line, Draco handed over his wand for inspection. She handed it back a few moments later, finding nothing of consequence, and they waited for Hermione to complete her assessment.

"Thank you, Agent Kimmey. This is excellent." She said after reading through the whole document.

"I'm glad you approve, Miss Granger. Please sign the bottom, both of you." The agent sighed.

After they had all signed it, she once again made a copy for Draco to take with him and kept the original in his file.

"Alright Mr. Malfoy. Your wand checked out. I assume there were no attacks again this week?" She looked like she wanted to smile, but didn't.

"No attacks, no. But," he cleared his throat and glanced over at Hermione. She felt her body stiffen, her hand tightened into a fist.

"But?"

"Granger received a threat this weekend."

Agent Kimmey looked back and forth between the two of them.

"What kind of threat?" She asked.

Draco handed a copy of the note she had received across the table. She read it, then looked at Hermione.

"Did you report this?" She asked.

"No." Hermione pushed her hair behind her ears and waited.

The room was silent for a long moment.

"I'm assuming you know who this is from?"

"Yes." She answered.

"Granger. You can provide answers in more than one word at a time." Draco told her pointedly. She sighed. He was right. And he was only trying to help.

"Fine. Yes, I know who sent it. He didn't put his name on it, so I can't prove it was him. No, I didn't report it. It's...complicated. Once he calms down, he'll realize he overreacted."

As soon as she said it, she knew how stupid it sounded. She visibly winced.

"You don't even believe that load of hippogriff shite." Draco told her.

She sighed. He was right. But it was still complicated.

"Miss Granger, I encourage you to take this seriously. If you receive any more threats like this, please let me know." The agent's tone had changed completely. The sarcasm was gone. In it's place was sincerity. "Will you tell me who sent this so we have a name on file?"

"Like I said, it's complicated. You wouldn't believe me if I told you. I am taking precautions to protect myself. If it escalates further, I'll report it."

Agent Kimmey sighed. She copied the note and put the copy in the file.

"If I had a knut for every time I've heard that," she muttered to herself. "I'll see you both next Monday."

At her dismissal, they left the office and walked side by side to the lifts.

"I think she's warming up to you," Draco said as they stepped into the lift.

"No, she isn't," she responded with a smile.

"She will." He laced his fingers through hers and gently rubbed his thumb against her wrist until the lift doors opened. Then he reluctantly let go as they stepped into the atrium.

The sun was shining down on them as they made their way down Diagon Alley.

"I should be off at five thirty today," he said as they neared Flourish and Blott's. "I'll come over when I'm done."

"Okay. I'll be fine, Draco. He's not going to try anything in the middle of the day." She reassured him. He didn't look convinced, but he didn't argue with her either.

It warmed her heart that even though he wanted her to be cautious, he wasn't being overly protective.

She wanted to lean in and kiss him, but they had agreed no public displays of affection. At least not yet.

"Go. Be an amazing potions assistant. I'll see you later." She smiled as she gave him a gentle shove towards the street.

"I'm going," he laughed. "I'll see you later."

She was still smiling when she walked in the bookstore. Yvette, the woman that had been training her, stood in front of the register with a smile on her face and her hands clasped together in front of her heart.

"So," she said expectantly. "The date went well, then?"

Hermione laughed. The older woman had been almost as excited as she had been.

"It went very well, Yvette." Her smile widened and she bit her lip to keep from giggling out loud like a school girl. "It was just wonderful."

"I am so glad to hear that. You deserve some happy."

For the next hour, Yvette trained her on how to run the register and check out the customers. Then she was left on her own. The stream of customers was fairly consistent, so she stayed busy with only a few small pockets of downtime throughout the day.

At quitting time, she went to the back room to clock out and use the loo. When she came back out, she noticed that Yvette was away from the register but there was a customer waiting.

"Sorry about your wait," she said. "Yvette should be back any moment."

The man turned around and she finally looked at him properly. She froze.

"Mione?" He asked, just as surprised to see her as she was to see him.

"Ron?" She cleared her throat and glanced around again. She still didn't see anyone else there. "What are you doing here? I mean, do you need help finding something?"

"Are you working here?" He asked, still surprised to see her.

"Yes, I am, but my shift is over. I'm not sure where Yvette ran off too." She pushed her hair behind her ears and waited.

"I was looking for a book on charms, to study for NEWT's." He finally responded.

"Charms was never your best subject," she said with a sad little smile. "I'll show you where to look."

She was going to the same section, after all. No reason for him to stand around waiting for someone else to help him.

"So did you find somewhere to stay?" He asked quietly.

She paused, then nodded.

"I did. An acquaintance is letting me stay in his sister's old room. I even have access to her closet." She laughed and gestured to the clothes she was wearing.

"Oh. I assumed you would be staying with Harry."

"Well, he did offer." She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm good where I am, though."

She stopped in front of a section of books on charms.

"These are going to be pretty good for you to study with." She pointed to a couple that she had read before and knew he would be able to follow.

"Thanks," he said. He picked them up and turned back towards the register without even looking at them.

"Ron, wait." She stopped him. "I have a couple of things I need to tell you."

She took a deep breath, not really sure how much to tell him, but she knew he needed to hear it from her.

He turned around to face her. His eyebrows lifted when she cast a muffliato charm around them.

"When Harry asked me to move in at Grimmauld, he wasn't asking me to move in as a roommate. He's decided that we would make a good couple."

"Funny. I thought you always said he's like a brother to you." He mocked her as he leaned back against the bookshelf. He had always been somewhat jealous of her relationship with Harry, and had never believed either of them when they told him nothing was going on between them.

"He was. He is." She insisted. "That's why I told him no. Repeatedly. But he keeps asking."

She leaned against the opposite shelf and crossed her arms over her chest.

"So what, he's harassing you?"

"He was here again on Friday. I told him no. He sent me a note on Saturday that said if he couldn't have me, nobody could."

"Mione. Come on. Why would he do that?"

She could tell he didn't believe her. She took a deep breath. This was the part that he wasn't going to like.

"He thinks I'm dating Malfoy."

His eyes narrowed.

"Why would he think that?" Coldness had seeped into his voice. She knew it would only get worse.

"He saw us hugging."

"Well that explains it perfectly then." He was starting to get angry. His face was turning red and his free hand balled into a fist at his side. "Do I even want to ask why in the bloody hell you would be hugging Draco fucking Malfoy?"

She sighed and ran both hands through her hair. A quick glance around told her they were still alone.

"The last couple of weeks, we've been studying together along with a few others. He asked me to forgive him for being such a prat when we were younger, and I did. There is no animosity between us now. When Harry saw us, Draco had just gotten good news and I was congratulating him."

"Draco? Since when did you start calling him Draco?" He was fuming. He took two steps forward, decreasing the distance between them by half.

"Look, Ron, I know you don't like it, and that's okay. You don't have to. I'm not asking for your permission here." She took another deep breath. "I'm worried about Harry. I never meant to hurt him, but I don't feel anything romantic towards him. I never have, and I never will. I've practically taken care of him for years. That's what he wants from me. He wants me to take care of him. He wants a mother, not a girlfriend."

She pulled the note and the picture out of her pocket and handed both to Ron. His face hardened as he watched the picture play in a loop, then he read the note.

"Tell me something, Mione. What is it that Malfoy wants from you?" His tone was accusing.

"Well," she licked her lips and a small smile spread across her face as images from Saturday night in the library flickered through her mind. "He definitely does not want me to mother him."

Ron swore under his breath. He moved again, this time to stand next to her against the bookcase.

"What is really going on with you and Malfoy?" Anger simmered in his tone but for a change he was trying to control it, to hold it in.

"Honestly?" She took a deep breath and prepared herself for the explosion that she knew was to come. She took the picture from his hand. "This was the moment that he asked me out. I congratulated him. I hugged him. He asked me to go to dinner with him. I said yes."

She viewed the picture with a small smile on her face. Her heart warmed at seeing the image repeat over and over again.

"It was one of the best nights of my life." She took a shaky breath and looked up at him, waiting for him to go off.

Ron watched her, and slowly the anger faded from his face.

"Why are you telling me this?" He asked with a deep sigh.

"We've been friends forever. I wanted you to hear it from me. I would have told Harry, too, but..." She held up the note and sighed. "I am worried about him. I don't think he would hurt me, but I don't like being threatened either."

"I'll talk to Harry." He said after a long moment, then he turned to leave.

"Thank you, Ron." She told him as he walked away.

He stopped a few paces away and turned back to look at her again.

"If he hurts you, Mione, I'll kill him."

Her heart warmed just a little.

"Harry? Or Draco?" She asked, just to clarify.

"Take your pick." He nodded at her, then he left.

She stood there for a long moment, reviewing their conversation with a small smile on her face. Finally, she shook her head to dispel the thoughts, and she started her search for Advanced Concealment Charms, volume 3.

AN: I love this chapter. Ron is growing up a little, too, and controlling his temper is all part of the experience. For those of you hoping for copious Ron bashing, read my other fic, The Token. In this universe, not so much. SNS.

I would love to hear your thoughts.-mezy