Disclaimer: I do not own any original Harry Potter characters. Sniff sniff.
Claimer: I own Jack Harry Arthur Potter, Maxmillian Xavier Black, and the entire 'de Varci' family.
This story is being used for entertainment purposes only, no money is being made and no violation of copyright intended.
Read, enjoy, and review!!! *****************************************************************
This chapter is dedicated to Katie. Thanks for teaching me to draw anime- you fully rock, man!!!! *****************************************************************
They had spent half an hour going through the papers that Draco had, then brainstormed. From what Hermione could see, there was very little hope that Draco would be able to keep full custody of Max. However, she was determined to try and help him win this. She was positive that Draco would at least get part custody, which was better than nothing.
She left Draco's house at five p.m., having told Draco to go through ideas in his head and write any good ones down. They would meet again tomorrow to discuss what Draco was going to say at the trial. He had said many times that she was supposed to be on holiday and shouldn't be bothering, but this was something Hermione wanted to do. Draco was such a changed person from the guy he'd been at Hogwarts, and Hermione felt so bad for him. What she'd gone through after the Battle had been hard enough. Draco had lost his parents, and his wife. Hermione had lost her parents too - they hadn't died, but she'd still lost them- and there was Ron.
Ron. He had been that first true love of your life during the happiest time of your teenage years- the typical, fairy-tale kind of romance. Life wasn't like that all the time. Friendships were broken along with hearts; children were buried beside their parents.
Out of her, Ginny, Harry and Ron, only she had graduated from Hogwarts in the end. Ginny had moved into the apartment she was still in now when she was sixteen, and studied at home as well as doing a couple of jobs like waitressing and secretarial. She was on maternity leave now. Hermione had no idea how she could possibly have looked after Jack, kept her apartment clean, done all her schoolwork, waitressed at two London restaurants and been a secretary to a businessman on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays without hiring a nanny while still grieving for Harry. But Ginny had always been a very upbeat, practical, multi-tasking kind of person. Now that she had Seamus, she was happy again and didn't need to work so much. It was good for her to relax for a while. She had kept busy to keep her heartache at bay, and it had worked, the grief was gone.
Every time Hermione thought of Ginny, she thought of Ron, too. No one had seen him since the day he'd vanished s few weeks after the Final Battle. The Weasleys had received an owl saying that he was okay but he wasn't coming home yet and probably wouldn't be for several years. No one knew exactly where he was either, so no one had been able to talk him into coming back. Hermione didn't particularly want him home. It would bring up too many complicated things; bring back memories and thoughts that were best kept forgotten. She had loved him, for sure, but he was gone and that's the end of it.
Lavender wasn't around when Hermione let herself into the little kitchen. However, Ginny was, sitting on one of the chairs, holding Jack on her lap.
"Gin? Hi! Not that I'm not glad to see you, but. what are you doing here?" Hermione asked. She noticed that Ginny was smiling, which had to be a good sign.
"I just really need a favor- could you please, please watch Jack for me? Just for tonight? I'm begging. Seamus apologized, he came home this morning, and he wants to take me out for dinner but there's no one at The Burrow to take Jack and I can't-"
"It's fine. I haven't got plans." Hermione assured her friend.
"You are wonderful! Thanks a million. I was panicking just then, since I had no idea when you were going to be home. No one's picking up here, and Lav isn't answering her cell which is weird. Where is Lav, by the way?" Ginny asked.
"No idea. Were you waiting here long?" Hermione asked.
"A few minutes, yeah. Were you having fun, wherever you were?" Ginny asked.
"Mmm. Yeah. Do you want me to come to your place to watch Jack or should I keep him here?" she asked.
"Your choice." Ginny replied. Jack grabbed a spoon and banged it on the table. "Don't do that, Jack."
"I'd rather be at your place, so Lavender has no excuse to kill me for ditching her earlier, but if you and Seamus are gonna. you know."
"Herms, I'm seven months pregnant. There's no way something's gonna happen." Ginny laughed.
"Cool. How did you get here?" Hermione asked.
"I took a portkey. I tried to floo but it didn't work- what are the travel rules for the island, by the way? They confuse me." Ginny asked.
"Oh. People staying on the island can Apparate in and out once they've checked in or if they have a Resident's Pass. Groups can portkey in using legal or illegal portkeys, as long as they have a reason for doing so- I'm guessing someone asked you what you were doing on the Island?" Hermione said.
"Yeah. I said we were coming to see you and they let us out of that white building- the Arrivals Hall, was it?"
"Yep, that's it. You can't floo to or from or around the island, ever. And there's like a ferry or something but hardly anyone takes that except squibs or whoever." Hermione concluded.
"I get it. But to portkey out of here, do you have to go from a Departure Hall or something?" Ginny asked.
"Not unless you're checking out." Hermione explained.
"Ok. Let's take a portkey back to my place then" Ginny suggested. Hermione quickly made a portkey and they soon found themselves at Ginny's apartment once again.
"Herms, again, I can't thank you enough for doing this for me." Ginny called from her closet where she was getting dressed.
"It's no problem." Hermione replied, watching Jack run around in circles on the living room rug. "I like babysitting Jack. He's sweet, aren't you Jack?"
"Sure, Aunt Mione." Jack said happily.
"Be warned. When it's only me and him, he's a complete nightmare. Whatever you do, DO NOT GIVE HIM SUGAR. And he's allergic to strawberries and pork-"
"Gin. You're forgetting that I was there when he was born and have literally not gone through two weeks of my life since then without seeing him- and you. I know exactly what he's like in every possible mood. Chill." Hermione said.
"Sorry. I forget sometimes." Ginny said sheepishly, coming out of her closet. She was wearing a simple black dress that looked stunning on her despite the baby bump. She picked up Jack, spun him around, and kissed his forehead.
"Bye Jack. Be good for Aunt Hermione, alright?" she said, hugging him.
"'Kay." Jack responded cheerily. Ginny grabbed her portkey and was gone.
The evening passed mainly uneventfully, apart from one crazy hour involving Jack, a cup of coffee and an extremely destroyed crystal vase. Hermione was sure she could fix it, and would do so as soon as Jack went to sleep. He was currently sitting on the couch watching Pingu. The phone rang, and Hermione went into the kitchen to answer it.
"Hey, Ginny and Seamus' house, Hermione speaking." She said easily.
"HERMS! WHERE THE FUCKING HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!" Lavender screeched from the other end of the line. The volume of her voice was so unexpected that Hermione nearly dropped the phone.
"I'm emergency Jack-sitting. Why?" she asked calmly. A pissed-off Lavender was never something to take on, full-frontal.
"WHY? BECAUSE YOU LEFT ME ASLEEP ON THAT HILL AND NOW I'M SUN-FRIED!" Lavender yelled. Hermione winced.
"Sorry, Lav. I thought you used the charm." She said sheepishly.
"I THOUGHT YOU'D WAKE ME UP AFTER A WHILE! HOW WAS I SUPPOSED T KNOW YOU WERE GOING TO TAKE OFF LIKE THAT!"
"Lav, please. I'm trying to keep an eye on Jack. I'm sorry for not waking you. Are you okay?" Hermione asked, in her best peaceful voice.
"I will be as soon as I can finish this goddam potion and pour it all over myself." Lavender snarled. Hermione could hear hissing and stirring in the background.
"Where are you burnt?" she asked.
"All down my back and my shoulders."
"It's a good thing you're a witch then, huh? Listen, I have to go. I really am sorry Lav. Feel better." Hermione hung up before her outraged friend could say any more and went back to the land of Pingu where everything was simple and you didn't hurt one friend by helping another.
************************************************************************
I can't believe all the reviews I got for the last chapter! It's totally mind-blowing! It's so nice to know that lots of people read your stories and actually bother to give some feedback.
Priah- thank you so much for that review. You managed to point out everything that I myself found wrong with the story. I know I'm gonna sound all self-defensive here but let me just explain a few things- Ginny's parents didn't mind that she was pregnant at 15 because she's the only girl, and also it was Harry's baby. They knew Harry wouldn't treat Ginny badly or anything, and that even if they didn't give their support Ginny would have the baby anyway so they just went along with it. About the rest of the hogwarts people having kids- it's just one of those young generation things, you know? Also, when a lot of people die right in front of you (Final Battle, I'll get to it later), and the number of you that there was before decreases, you just feel like you should have children to a. replace in number, but not in heart, those who have died and b. to fill the void in your life left by the death of your friends. Also, in JK Rowling's wizarding world, education beyond hogwarts seems non-existent so people would have more time to focus on families and such because their careers were settled fairly early-on in life. I have absolutely no excuse though, for making Max a lot more clever than he is. But you know, come kids are actually geniuses at that age. One time I read in the newspaper about this one-year-old who had the brain capacity of like a twelve-year-old or something. But I'm not trying to make Max out as a normal kid- he's really, really special and advanced for his age. Normally I'd agree with you that it's absurd, but this is a fanfic based on Harry Potter where almost everything is possible- so will you go along with it that Max can talk and stuff? Please? With Hermione and Draco- touchy subjects do come out of nowhere if you just meet someone you hated for years then didn't hate anymore after you watched your friends and his friends die together. It would naturally happen because each of them want to see the other's point of view and know what happened to the other- you know after exams or whatever you just HAVE to know what your friends put for question nine or something? Like that, only about the Battle. And Ginny isn't always hysterical- she was just having a bad day like I do sometimes. Only, of course, I didn't have a baby at fifteen (Im only 13) with a guy that dies afterwards so her bad days would be a whole lot worse than mine. But seriously, thanks for the review. You, as a reviewer, are definitely entitled to tell me when a story is absolute shite. It's amazing to know that someone actually bothered to write so much abut a little story I thought up off the top of my head. And please keep reviewing- I'm really sorry if this whole paragraph I've just written in response to your review has put you off my fic. Thanks again!
Emval- glad to know you like me using the name Valerie- even if I sorta used it for a really evil bitch. I love that name. I always had a thing for French names, because my mom's name is Monique and one of my uncles is called Andre.
NitenGale- YES! SOMEONE FINALLY GOT THE NAME! I was waiting to see if anyone would get that Cendrillon means 'Cinderella'. There was a hint in a previous chapter. Go You! You win the imaginary prize!
Everyone else: If I wanna post this before school I can't mention you all by name but I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!
Peace.
Claimer: I own Jack Harry Arthur Potter, Maxmillian Xavier Black, and the entire 'de Varci' family.
This story is being used for entertainment purposes only, no money is being made and no violation of copyright intended.
Read, enjoy, and review!!! *****************************************************************
This chapter is dedicated to Katie. Thanks for teaching me to draw anime- you fully rock, man!!!! *****************************************************************
They had spent half an hour going through the papers that Draco had, then brainstormed. From what Hermione could see, there was very little hope that Draco would be able to keep full custody of Max. However, she was determined to try and help him win this. She was positive that Draco would at least get part custody, which was better than nothing.
She left Draco's house at five p.m., having told Draco to go through ideas in his head and write any good ones down. They would meet again tomorrow to discuss what Draco was going to say at the trial. He had said many times that she was supposed to be on holiday and shouldn't be bothering, but this was something Hermione wanted to do. Draco was such a changed person from the guy he'd been at Hogwarts, and Hermione felt so bad for him. What she'd gone through after the Battle had been hard enough. Draco had lost his parents, and his wife. Hermione had lost her parents too - they hadn't died, but she'd still lost them- and there was Ron.
Ron. He had been that first true love of your life during the happiest time of your teenage years- the typical, fairy-tale kind of romance. Life wasn't like that all the time. Friendships were broken along with hearts; children were buried beside their parents.
Out of her, Ginny, Harry and Ron, only she had graduated from Hogwarts in the end. Ginny had moved into the apartment she was still in now when she was sixteen, and studied at home as well as doing a couple of jobs like waitressing and secretarial. She was on maternity leave now. Hermione had no idea how she could possibly have looked after Jack, kept her apartment clean, done all her schoolwork, waitressed at two London restaurants and been a secretary to a businessman on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays without hiring a nanny while still grieving for Harry. But Ginny had always been a very upbeat, practical, multi-tasking kind of person. Now that she had Seamus, she was happy again and didn't need to work so much. It was good for her to relax for a while. She had kept busy to keep her heartache at bay, and it had worked, the grief was gone.
Every time Hermione thought of Ginny, she thought of Ron, too. No one had seen him since the day he'd vanished s few weeks after the Final Battle. The Weasleys had received an owl saying that he was okay but he wasn't coming home yet and probably wouldn't be for several years. No one knew exactly where he was either, so no one had been able to talk him into coming back. Hermione didn't particularly want him home. It would bring up too many complicated things; bring back memories and thoughts that were best kept forgotten. She had loved him, for sure, but he was gone and that's the end of it.
Lavender wasn't around when Hermione let herself into the little kitchen. However, Ginny was, sitting on one of the chairs, holding Jack on her lap.
"Gin? Hi! Not that I'm not glad to see you, but. what are you doing here?" Hermione asked. She noticed that Ginny was smiling, which had to be a good sign.
"I just really need a favor- could you please, please watch Jack for me? Just for tonight? I'm begging. Seamus apologized, he came home this morning, and he wants to take me out for dinner but there's no one at The Burrow to take Jack and I can't-"
"It's fine. I haven't got plans." Hermione assured her friend.
"You are wonderful! Thanks a million. I was panicking just then, since I had no idea when you were going to be home. No one's picking up here, and Lav isn't answering her cell which is weird. Where is Lav, by the way?" Ginny asked.
"No idea. Were you waiting here long?" Hermione asked.
"A few minutes, yeah. Were you having fun, wherever you were?" Ginny asked.
"Mmm. Yeah. Do you want me to come to your place to watch Jack or should I keep him here?" she asked.
"Your choice." Ginny replied. Jack grabbed a spoon and banged it on the table. "Don't do that, Jack."
"I'd rather be at your place, so Lavender has no excuse to kill me for ditching her earlier, but if you and Seamus are gonna. you know."
"Herms, I'm seven months pregnant. There's no way something's gonna happen." Ginny laughed.
"Cool. How did you get here?" Hermione asked.
"I took a portkey. I tried to floo but it didn't work- what are the travel rules for the island, by the way? They confuse me." Ginny asked.
"Oh. People staying on the island can Apparate in and out once they've checked in or if they have a Resident's Pass. Groups can portkey in using legal or illegal portkeys, as long as they have a reason for doing so- I'm guessing someone asked you what you were doing on the Island?" Hermione said.
"Yeah. I said we were coming to see you and they let us out of that white building- the Arrivals Hall, was it?"
"Yep, that's it. You can't floo to or from or around the island, ever. And there's like a ferry or something but hardly anyone takes that except squibs or whoever." Hermione concluded.
"I get it. But to portkey out of here, do you have to go from a Departure Hall or something?" Ginny asked.
"Not unless you're checking out." Hermione explained.
"Ok. Let's take a portkey back to my place then" Ginny suggested. Hermione quickly made a portkey and they soon found themselves at Ginny's apartment once again.
"Herms, again, I can't thank you enough for doing this for me." Ginny called from her closet where she was getting dressed.
"It's no problem." Hermione replied, watching Jack run around in circles on the living room rug. "I like babysitting Jack. He's sweet, aren't you Jack?"
"Sure, Aunt Mione." Jack said happily.
"Be warned. When it's only me and him, he's a complete nightmare. Whatever you do, DO NOT GIVE HIM SUGAR. And he's allergic to strawberries and pork-"
"Gin. You're forgetting that I was there when he was born and have literally not gone through two weeks of my life since then without seeing him- and you. I know exactly what he's like in every possible mood. Chill." Hermione said.
"Sorry. I forget sometimes." Ginny said sheepishly, coming out of her closet. She was wearing a simple black dress that looked stunning on her despite the baby bump. She picked up Jack, spun him around, and kissed his forehead.
"Bye Jack. Be good for Aunt Hermione, alright?" she said, hugging him.
"'Kay." Jack responded cheerily. Ginny grabbed her portkey and was gone.
The evening passed mainly uneventfully, apart from one crazy hour involving Jack, a cup of coffee and an extremely destroyed crystal vase. Hermione was sure she could fix it, and would do so as soon as Jack went to sleep. He was currently sitting on the couch watching Pingu. The phone rang, and Hermione went into the kitchen to answer it.
"Hey, Ginny and Seamus' house, Hermione speaking." She said easily.
"HERMS! WHERE THE FUCKING HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!" Lavender screeched from the other end of the line. The volume of her voice was so unexpected that Hermione nearly dropped the phone.
"I'm emergency Jack-sitting. Why?" she asked calmly. A pissed-off Lavender was never something to take on, full-frontal.
"WHY? BECAUSE YOU LEFT ME ASLEEP ON THAT HILL AND NOW I'M SUN-FRIED!" Lavender yelled. Hermione winced.
"Sorry, Lav. I thought you used the charm." She said sheepishly.
"I THOUGHT YOU'D WAKE ME UP AFTER A WHILE! HOW WAS I SUPPOSED T KNOW YOU WERE GOING TO TAKE OFF LIKE THAT!"
"Lav, please. I'm trying to keep an eye on Jack. I'm sorry for not waking you. Are you okay?" Hermione asked, in her best peaceful voice.
"I will be as soon as I can finish this goddam potion and pour it all over myself." Lavender snarled. Hermione could hear hissing and stirring in the background.
"Where are you burnt?" she asked.
"All down my back and my shoulders."
"It's a good thing you're a witch then, huh? Listen, I have to go. I really am sorry Lav. Feel better." Hermione hung up before her outraged friend could say any more and went back to the land of Pingu where everything was simple and you didn't hurt one friend by helping another.
************************************************************************
I can't believe all the reviews I got for the last chapter! It's totally mind-blowing! It's so nice to know that lots of people read your stories and actually bother to give some feedback.
Priah- thank you so much for that review. You managed to point out everything that I myself found wrong with the story. I know I'm gonna sound all self-defensive here but let me just explain a few things- Ginny's parents didn't mind that she was pregnant at 15 because she's the only girl, and also it was Harry's baby. They knew Harry wouldn't treat Ginny badly or anything, and that even if they didn't give their support Ginny would have the baby anyway so they just went along with it. About the rest of the hogwarts people having kids- it's just one of those young generation things, you know? Also, when a lot of people die right in front of you (Final Battle, I'll get to it later), and the number of you that there was before decreases, you just feel like you should have children to a. replace in number, but not in heart, those who have died and b. to fill the void in your life left by the death of your friends. Also, in JK Rowling's wizarding world, education beyond hogwarts seems non-existent so people would have more time to focus on families and such because their careers were settled fairly early-on in life. I have absolutely no excuse though, for making Max a lot more clever than he is. But you know, come kids are actually geniuses at that age. One time I read in the newspaper about this one-year-old who had the brain capacity of like a twelve-year-old or something. But I'm not trying to make Max out as a normal kid- he's really, really special and advanced for his age. Normally I'd agree with you that it's absurd, but this is a fanfic based on Harry Potter where almost everything is possible- so will you go along with it that Max can talk and stuff? Please? With Hermione and Draco- touchy subjects do come out of nowhere if you just meet someone you hated for years then didn't hate anymore after you watched your friends and his friends die together. It would naturally happen because each of them want to see the other's point of view and know what happened to the other- you know after exams or whatever you just HAVE to know what your friends put for question nine or something? Like that, only about the Battle. And Ginny isn't always hysterical- she was just having a bad day like I do sometimes. Only, of course, I didn't have a baby at fifteen (Im only 13) with a guy that dies afterwards so her bad days would be a whole lot worse than mine. But seriously, thanks for the review. You, as a reviewer, are definitely entitled to tell me when a story is absolute shite. It's amazing to know that someone actually bothered to write so much abut a little story I thought up off the top of my head. And please keep reviewing- I'm really sorry if this whole paragraph I've just written in response to your review has put you off my fic. Thanks again!
Emval- glad to know you like me using the name Valerie- even if I sorta used it for a really evil bitch. I love that name. I always had a thing for French names, because my mom's name is Monique and one of my uncles is called Andre.
NitenGale- YES! SOMEONE FINALLY GOT THE NAME! I was waiting to see if anyone would get that Cendrillon means 'Cinderella'. There was a hint in a previous chapter. Go You! You win the imaginary prize!
Everyone else: If I wanna post this before school I can't mention you all by name but I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!
Peace.