4

Chapter Thirty Five

Hermione had rearranged the place settings again. That made it five times in the last ten minutes, but she didn't care. It kept her raw nerves from getting the best of her. From the moment she'd sent the owl to Ginny, she'd wondered how she'd let Harry talk her into yet another one of his stupid schemes.

She made sure that the tea was kept hot with a warming charm, and then checked on the cookies that were in the oven. When there was nothing left to check on, she settled for wringing her hands in her usual worried fashion. What if Ginny decided not to come? Or what if she decided to come, but brought one of her new friends? What if she brought Ron? She began chewing on her thumbnail. Harry wasn't nearby; he'd taken her at her word and assumed that she could handle herself, so he'd taken the entire day off and gone to some remote location to relax. There would be no help if she needed it.

She jumped when a knock sounded at her door, and silently berated herself for being so jumpy. After all, it was just Ginny, and what harm had Ginny ever done? She opened the door and smiled brilliantly at her former friend. Ginny returned the smile cautiously, and stepped inside.

"Do you want me to take your cloak?"

"I can hang it up myself, thanks," Ginny said, arching her eyebrow at Hermione. Hermione flushed and nodded, and then went into the kitchen to take the cookies out of the oven.

"You can go ahead and have a seat at the table if you'd like," Hermione called from the kitchen. Ginny sat down with her back to the door and reached for the teapot. Hermione carried a plate full of chocolate chip cookies into the room and sat it in the middle of the table before taking her own seat. "So, how have you been?"

"Wonderful," Ginny said, pouring herself a cup of tea. "I've been excellent."

"That's good to hear," Hermione said honestly, reaching for a cookie. Ginny stirred two lumps of sugar into her tea and waited for Hermione to continue. "Ginny, I meant what I said in my letter. I want us to remain friends, and I want to understand why things have happened the way they have."

"Well," Ginny sighed, sitting back in her chair. "It was really an accident to begin with, I think. Draco sort of ran into me one night while I was having cocoa outside in Hogsmeade. After that, he followed me for two weeks. We made a bet, I won, and as my reward, he promised to take me to a relative's wedding."

"This all happened because of a bet?" Hermione asked incredulously. Ginny nodded.

"But before the wedding, I met his mother, and we got along very well. He wound up asking me to stay at the Manor with them. And now," she said, holding up her left hand. Hermione's eyes fell on the ring, and her hands flew to her mouth as she gasped.

"Oh, my goodness," she breathed, staring at the sparkling diamonds. "Is that what I think it is?"

Ginny nodded. "He asked me to marry him last night." Hermione was floored. She sat back heavily in her chair.

"But it's only been a week since you left us."

"Things happened fast," Ginny said, shrugging. She sipped her tea and sighed as Hermione stared out the window. This visit was going to be longer than she'd hoped.

Draco handed the witch behind the counter the appropriate paperwork and a handful of carefully counted galleons. He rested his elbow on the counter and turned to Ron, who looked on edge.

"What's the matter?" Draco asked quietly. "We're perfectly within rights filing for these, and you know it." Ron shook his head.

"It's not that," he said, shifting uncomfortably. "Something's not right."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that Harry's been following us for a while now, right?" Draco nodded. "But I haven't seen him all day. Something's going on. He would never just let up on us like this if he's so set on knowing what we're doing or where we're going." Draco frowned.

"You think he's up to something?"

"I do," Ron said, nodding.

"What do you think he'll do?"

"I don't know, but I'm starting to get very uncomfortable with the fact that we've left Ginny and Pansy alone – especially after he and Hermione saw the four of us out together the other day."

"Surely you don't think he'd do anything to either of the girls," Draco laughed softly. "Ginny is safe at the Manor, and Pansy is at your flat. Would he think to look for her there?"

"I wouldn't put it past him," Ron said darkly.

"Sign here, please," the witch behind the counter said. Draco took the quill from her and signed a document, then she gestured towards Ron. "Sign here, please." Ron did as he was told, and they watched as the witch took the signed parchments to an adjoining room to have them validated.

"Well, as soon as we're finished here, we'll go back to the Manor and-" his voice died, and Ron looked up. Harry was standing behind them, fury evident in his features. "Look who's here, Ron," Draco said, smirking. Harry's mouth dropped open.

"So you're on a first name basis now, are you?" he spat.

"Was there something you needed, Potter?" Draco drawled lazily. "Because as you can see, we're very busy."

"I was informed that there are four protective orders being filed against me," he seethed. Draco's eyebrows went up.

"Now how would that very classified information have made its way to you when we've just managed to file them moments ago? I believe that that's a security breach that needs to be looked into."

"Excuse me, Mister Malfoy?" the witch behind the desk asked. Draco turned and flashed her a dazzling smile.

"Yes?"

"I just need you to sign one more form before the protective order can be entered." Draco smiled obligingly and took the woman's quill. He paused with the quill over the paper and turned to Harry.

"You might want to put some distance between us, Potter. I've heard these things can get painful." Harry gave a low growl and watched as Draco signed the form.

"Those will never go through. You have to have statements from witnesses saying that I've been invasive to your privacy."

"Oh, I don't think that that will be a problem," Draco said, shrugging. Ron smirked at Harry, who tried to ignore him.

"I don't believe for a minute that you were able to get someone to say that," Harry said, shaking his head.

"You know, Potter, you really should be nicer to your friends. You never know when they're going to want to get back at you for being so rude to them." The witch came back with the papers and stared at Harry.

"Mister Potter, I'm afraid it would be in your best interest to leave before I activate these." Harry stared at her in disbelief, then turned to Draco and Ron.

"This won't last. Ginny will remove hers today, I guarantee it." Draco's eyes flashed dangerously.

"You leave my fiancée out of this," he snarled. Harry blinked in surprise.

"Your what?"

"His fiancée," Ron repeated. "They're going to be married."

"Like hell they are," Harry said. Draco narrowed his eyes and took a step towards Harry.

"Listen to me, and listen well, Scarhead. You don't look at her, you don't think about her, and you sure as hell don't speak to her. She's going to be my wife, which means that if you so much as burp in her general direction, I'll be there so fast it'll make your head spin."

Harry glared at him. "This isn't over." With that, he spun on his heel and left the room. Ron turned to Draco with a frown.

"He seemed pretty sure that Ginny would reverse her order today," he mused. "He's planning something."

"Don't be ridiculous," Draco said, waving a hand dismissively. "He has no way to get to Ginny."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Ron said, taking his papers and following Draco out the door. "If he wants something badly enough, he'll find a way to get around barriers."

"Will going back to the Manor and checking on her make you happy?"

"Yes, very."

"Fine – but let's stop and get Pansy first. I think the three of us need to have a little talk about what went on last night."

Draco, Pansy, and Ron returned to the Manor shortly after noon, and went straight to Ginny's room. Draco knocked loudly on the door. "Ginny, are you in there?" When no answer came, Draco turned steely eyes to Ron, who was frowning.

"Where else would she be?"

"Maybe we should check the library," Pansy suggested. Draco nodded and they hurried to the library, where they found Lucius reading through a thick volume. He peered over the top of his glasses before removing them.

"Is everything all right?" he asked concernedly. Draco's frown deepened.

"We can't find Ginny."

"She's gone," Lucius explained, placing his book on the end table. Draco's mouth dropped open, and Pansy and Ron stared.

"Gone?" Draco echoed. "Gone where?"

"I'm not sure. She was in the owlery when she got a letter from someone, and then she left in a bit of a hurry."

"Do you know what she did with the letter?"

"She put it in her pocket." Draco turned and barreled out of the room, running towards Ginny's room at breakneck speed. He pushed the door open and looked around quickly, his eyes falling on a scrap of parchment on Ginny's bed. Pansy and Ron rushed in as he picked it up and read. He growled and handed it to Ron, who read it out loud.

Ginny,

I know that you're angry with me, so I'll understand if you don't answer this letter. I just wanted to tell you that no matter what happens, I'll always be your friend, and I'll always be here for you. I don't know what's happened to all of us – one minute, we're all together and happy, and the next minute, you've disappeared and Ron follows behind you. I want to be happy for you, to think that you're as happy as I was before Ron ended our engagement, but I don't know how to be. Please, Ginny, if you were ever really my friend, can you explain to me how this all happened? I promise to listen, if you'll just tell me what led you to be with Malfoy, and to try to understand. You were always my only female friend, and I want to be your friend still, even if I may not get to be your sister. If you can find it in your heart to speak to me again, I'd like to invite you to lunch at my flat today. Please owl me back if you accept. If I don't hear from you, I'll know your answer.

Always,

Hermione

"We got orders against Harry, but we never thought about Hermione," Ron murmured, glancing up at Pansy.

"It doesn't matter though, does it? I mean, Potter can't get close to Ginny, so he can't do anything to her, right?"

"Don't underestimate Hermione," Ron said, shaking his head. "If she's still siding with Harry, there's no telling what she'd be capable of."

"Do you know where she lives?" Draco asked. Ron nodded.

"Of course, but she's got wards up just the same as you do here."

"She won't have fixed the wards to keep you out," Draco pointed out. Ron nodded.

"So it's up to me then."

"Looks like it, unless you know specifically what wards she has up."

"I do."

"Then maybe Pansy and I have a chance as well. Let's get going."