The Daily Prophet
"I'm sure it's not as bad as you say it is, Hermione." Ron comforted, rubbing Hermione's back as she sobbed like mad.
"Yeah, things will get better." Harry said, shifting his feet uncomfortably. Neither Ron nor Harry were any good at comforting anyone, but they were willing to give it their best for Hermione. However, nothing seemed to be working. She was just plain miserable.
"'Not as bad as I say it is!'" Hermione wept, wiping off the trail of tears from her cheeks with the back of her sleeves. "What do you mean, 'not as bad as I say it is'? It's awful! I've lost everything! I've lost school, I've lost Draco, I've lost everything! All I have is SPEW, and that's not even looking very optimistic!"
"Why not?" Ron asked.
"Because it's not!" Hermione barked, angry that Ron was heading off topic. "The point is that everything is just going downhill. What am I to do?"
Ron continued rubbing Hermione's back, unsure of what else to do. Usually, his mother would make tea in a situation like this, but Hermione didn't look like she wanted much tea at the moment. So, Ron was stuck with the same baffled, unsure face that Harry was. Both sent each other glances that clearly said what now?
Suddenly, there came a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" Harry cried, eagerly praying that the person on the other side of the door would be able to help out in Hermione's situation. The thing that was most difficult for both Harry and Ron to do was pretend that they were upset along with her, when the truth was that they were delighted that Draco was finally out of the picture.
Ace emerged into the room without answering Harry's question.
"Oh, come on!" Ron cried. "Can't you ever give us two seconds of peace?"
"We're in the middle of something at the moment, so if you'll excuse us-" Harry began.
"Something wrong with Hermione?" Ace interrupted, noticing Hermione bawling on her bed.
"Nothing you can fix." Ron answered.
"You've caused enough damage." Harry accused.
"We should throw him out." Ron suggested.
"Ooh, wouldn't that be fun?" Harry grinned, picturing himself tossing Ace out of the room and onto his ass.
"I'm standing right here, you know." Ace interrupted.
Harry and Ron both glared at Ace, then said in unison, "Go away!"
"No." Ace said, simply. "I want to know what's wrong with her."
"Like you don't know." Hermione managed to say through muffled tears.
"From the sounds of things, someone's let our little rendezvous out of the bag." Ace suggested. Ron and Harry both glared at Ace, which caused him to exclaim, "What! I didn't say anything about it!"
Hermione sighed and wiped away the tears from her eyes. "I know you didn't."
"So? If you don't mind my asking, how does everyone know?" Ace asked, curiously.
Harry and Ron both stood up at the same time and stood in front of Hermione, as though blocking her from sight so she would not need to see the horrendous creature that was Ace.
"I suggest you leave now." Harry advised, warningly.
"Yeah, Hermione doesn't need to deal with the likes of you at the moment." Ron added.
"The likes of you?" Harry asked.
"I read it in a book once." Ron answered, sheepishly.
"Have you always wanted to say it?" Harry questioned.
"Yes! How did you know?" Ron grinned.
"Lucky guess." Harry said.
Ace craned his neck over Harry's shoulder so that he could see Hermione and give her a you'd rather have these two around then me? look.
Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "Harry, Ron, can you please give Ace and I a moment alone?"
Harry and Ron's eyes both widened with shock, and Harry said, "Hermione, I really don't think you should be dealing with him right now. What you need are a couple of friends who aren't going to give you any trouble, and Ron and I seem to be the only two who fit that profile."
"Please, you guys? I really need to speak with him." Hermione insisted.
"Fine." Harry said, bitterly.
"Yeah, fine." Ron agreed, mimicking Harry's tone.
"Send an owl the moment you need us." Harry ordered.
"Send the one with the red under its beak!" Ron exclaimed, excitedly.
Everyone, including Ace, stared at Ron's random outburst.
"What?" Ron asked, the color in his cheeks reddening to match his hair as he grinned, sheepishly. "I like that one."
"I'll send that one." Hermione said, half-sarcastically and half-seriously so that he and Harry would leave. "Bye, you two."
"Bye, Hermione." Both boys said in unison before they disappeared into thin air. The moment they were gone, Hermione rounded on Ace. "Well, what do you want? You've already ruined my life enough, and now you're here to rub salt in the wound? Is that is? Make this your last little speech, Acelio, because after this I want nothing to do with you."
"First of all, you don't have much choice in that matter, seeing as I work with you under a contract." Ace pointed out. "And secondly, I'm assuming you haven't read this?" He picked up that morning's edition of the Daily Prophet that lay on Hermione's bedside table and handed it over to her.
"No, I haven't." Hermione said, taking the Daily Prophet and shaking it out so that she could clearly see the front page. And what a front page it was! She gasped as she read the title. In big, bolded words, the Daily Prophet read: What Could Have Turned Out To Be One of the Biggest Scams in History! SPEW, Hermione's Granger's Latest Swindle! Shocked and at a total loss for words, Hermione read on.
It was only a little while ago that Hermione Granger's name was last seen in the Daily Prophet, as she was the main cause for the death of William Tompkins, son of Warren and Estella Rose Tompkins. Will was murdered recently by Draco Malfoy, son of the infamous and deceased Lucius Malfoy and his wife Narcissa, and it was said that there would have been no conflict had Granger not been involved. However, the public seemed to have taken William's death as an opportunity to shower Granger with sympathy and their condolences. Little did they know that it was just a scam in order to get attention, just as she did only three years prior by toying with the hearts of Harry Potter, defeater of He Who Must Not Be Named, and Viktor Krum, International Quidditch Player.
Well, Granger is at it again! Only this time, she is toying with the gold of each and every witch and wizard with a heart, by means of her latest "creation", SPEW.
"I knew it was a bad idea from the start!" Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic stated outside of the Ministry at nine o' clock last night. "It was a shame that I did not see exactly how bad she intended for it to get earlier on. I'm glad we've been able to obtain the proof that we needed in order to put Granger's sick and evil twisted plan to rest."
Unfortunately, the proof that the Minister speaks of is not substantial enough to convict Granger, but it is certainly powerful enough to close down the SPEW foundation, which, at this point in time, has not even been officially opened to the public.
"SPEW was such a moronic idea, I cannot believe that not one witch or wizard realized it for what it truly was," says Narcissa Malfoy, whose son, Draco, was a part of Granger's scam. "But I'm thrilled to know that thanks to the new piece of information found, gold will stay safely in the pockets of the witch or wizard who it belongs to."
The Minister for Magic plans to make a trip to the SPEW Headquarters today to discuss the official closing-down of SPEW with the President, Hermione Granger. Witches and wizards, you may rest at ease, for your gold is safe!
"What the hell is this?" Hermione demanded, disbelievingly. "This is a joke, right? You've gone and gotten hold of a computer and printed it out just to terrify me, haven't you?"
"I don't even know how to use a computer." Ace said. He had been expecting Hermione to blame him in one way or another, but this time her accusations were right on target. After Ace had run into Draco in the corridor outside of Hermione's bedroom two days ago, he had headed straight for his office to try and get some work done. His jaw had dropped as he walked into an office that looked as though it had been trashed. His Pensieve was shattered in pieces on the hardwood floor, and the unknown, liquidly substance left a trail in every direction from the smashed bowl. Not only was his Pensieve destroyed, but the crude drawings that represented Ace's true feelings towards SPEW had disappeared. Now, Ace was a clever enough wizard to put two-and-two together. Draco had been snooping around his office for some unknown reason and had come across the Pensieve. Once he saw Ace's memory of his encounter with Hermione, he flipped out and tossed the Pensieve across the room, then took Ace's stack of parchment and left, not bothering to clean up after himself. But why would he take the parchment? Ace asked himself. Though, subconsciously, he believed he knew the reason. Draco took Ace's hate-filled drawings to use in his favor with Hermione.
But now that Ace saw that morning's edition of the Daily Prophet, he knew that Draco had taken the drawings straight to the Ministry and used them to get SPEW shut down. He made the Daily Prophet believe that Hermione and Ace's only intentions were to collect gold from magical citizens and then eventually run off with it, not bothering to do anything to actually help benefit the house-elves. Would Draco intentionally hurt Hermione that much? Ace asked himself, befuddled by this unexpected change in events.
So, for once in his life, Ace did the right thing. He told Hermione all of this, from Draco snooping around his office and finding the Pensieve and the sheaf of parchment, to Draco handing it in to the Ministry and deliberately putting SPEW out of business.
"No." Hermione whispered. "No, Draco wouldn't do that. He may be angry, but he isn't that angry. He would never do such a thing to me."
"Well, he probably thought that you'd never do such a thing to him. You and me, that is." Ace said, all-knowingly.
Hermione glared at him before comprehension suddenly dawned on her face. "YOU!" She exploded, an unexpected rage suddenly washing over her. "THIS IS ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT! WHY WOULD YOU CREATE SUCH AWFUL, INCRIMINATING PICTURES! WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU!"
"Can you blame me?" Ace exclaimed, angry that Hermione was upset with him rather than Draco, who was the true cause of the problem. "I hated SPEW! I despised it! Honestly, I think it is the most absurd, most ridiculous idea to ever cross the face of the earth! The only reason I gave you my gold is so that I could have a part of it and get to see you every day. Once I heard about the money issues that you were having and I realized that I could help in a way that would allow me to get to be with you twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, I thought it was just God's answer to my prayer."
Hermione studied Ace's rarely innocent, gloomy profile. "You're sick," She whispered after a few moments had passed. Then she fixed her voice back to its shrillness. "You're sick! You knew how much SPEW meant to me, and you're only here because of me? Especially after what you did to me last year, what ever made you think I'd ever remotely consider taking you back? I am in love with Draco, and you've gone and fucked that up because of your disgusting fantasies of being with me! Well, SPEWs over now, Ace, so you can pack up your shit and leave. I don't want anything to do with you anymore. Not at all. Get on with your life and never come and see me again."
"I'm being honest with you, Hermione!" Ace cried, shocked at Hermione's rude, abrupt behavior. "I've never been more honest in my life! I'm laying all the cards on the table right now, and all you can do is dismiss me? I think it's my turn to ask what the hell is the matter with you!"
Hermione sighed, confused beyond words. Why was this happening to her? Why was all of this happening to her? "I'm sorry, Ace, but I'm in love with Draco. As messed up as that may be right now, as angry with him as I may be right now, I still love him. I can't just throw that away."
Ace grinned slightly. "That rejection was much better."
Hermione smiled as well. "Well, I guess we've both lost everything, huh?"
Ace nodded. "Whose fault is all of this, anyway? Not just the Daily Prophet thing, but everything in general. Everything that's led up to us losing everything. Whose fault is it?"
Hermione took Ace's question into consideration, but did not come up with any answer. "I'm not quite sure. I think we've all played a part. Now it's our turn to patch everything up."
Ace nodded, as though trying to understand. "Good bye, Hermione."
Despite herself, Hermione pulled Ace into an embrace, almost sad to see him leave. "Good bye, Ace. Don't hurt yourself out there in that big, scary world."
Ace smiled. "Hey, I'm Acelio McGonagall." He said, before stepping out of Hermione's bedroom for what would probably be the last time ever.
…………………………………..
As much of a tragedy as SPEWs eradication was, Hermione was not as upset about it as much as she was about losing Draco. Fudge had visited her later that evening and of course rubbed his victory in her face, but Hermione managed to brush off his triumphant laughter and get through the remainder of his visit with at least half of her mind in tact. It actually wasn't too difficult, since the only thing she could focus her mind on completely was Draco.
SPEW was supposed to be a distraction from Draco being in Azkaban, so now that he was back, Hermione had realized that she had been getting a little too extravagant with the SPEW idea. Sure, she believed that house-elves should have their freedom, and she would still try to raise money for their benefit, but honestly! Obviously, they didn't want to be free, so what was the point in pursuing it? The only true thing that bothered her about the situation was that now the entire wizarding world believed her to be a gold thief. As if! Hermione Granger was one of the most brilliant witches on earth. She would earn gold her own way in the future, she didn't need to pilfer other people's gold. Hopefully, they would see that one day and get over the Daily Prophet's unfounded accusations. Until then, though, she would need to learn how to handle the issue at hand. Draco.
Hermione sighed, feeling trapped. At least Ace was gone. That was one interrupting factor that would interrupt no more. But it had been two weeks since Hermione's fight with Draco and she still had not heard one word from him. Technically, she should've been angry with him; after all, he had taken out a sharp knife and stabbed her in the back with it the moment he took Ace's drawings to the Daily Prophet. But she just couldn't be angry with him. All she wanted was to have him back, for things to be like they were before Hermione had ever been accepted to Belle Strait. Why was that such a horrible thing to ask after all that she had been through?
Suddenly, a petite, tawny owl soared into Hermione's open window and dove head-first into her bed. Hermione hadn't bothered packing up and leaving. Really, just because SPEW was terminated did not mean that the building was no longer hers. All she needed was a job; as long as she could keep up the payments, she could continue to live her life in what used to be the SPEW Headquarters as an outcast.
Hermione giggled at the owl, untying the parcel from his leg as she held him up. "Considering you're a Hogwarts owl, you're getting a bit lazy, aren't you?" The owl hooted in reply and Hermione smiled as she read the note on the parcel.
Hermione,
Thought you might want to see this. Better to see it now than in a more inappropriate place. Ron and I will come and see you soon.
Love, Harry
Confused, Hermione tore open the rather small box and pulled out the Daily Prophet. Her perplexity increased, and all she could wonder was why Harry and Ron would send it to her. Surely she was not on the cover again?
On the bright side, she wasn't. But what was scrawled in huge, bold letters across the front page was even worse than any article about her. Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson say "I do" as their parents sigh with relief! Read inside for more details! Hermione's eyes opened wide and her jaw dropped as she stared at the article disbelievingly. After a few moments, she hurriedly flipped the Daily Prophet open to the page of this absurd announcement.
Okay, so maybe they haven't said "I do" yet, but the date has been set! On the 2nd of July, Malfoy and Parkinson will exchange vows that will certify their love for one another in front of over one thousand witches and wizards from across the globe. This is the first pure blood wedding in a decade, and needless to say, people are excited.
"I am so thrilled that Draco has decided to marry into a pure blood family," Narcissa Malfoy, the groom's mother, stated last night at the Ministry of Magic. "We Malfoy's were a bit worried for a while, what with the little Granger problem, but thankfully Draco has come to his senses and will be married to a lovely young girl."
The wedding will be taking place at noon in the heart of Hogsmeade (known famously to be the only all-witches-and-wizards town in all of Great Britain), and both families agree that only pureblood's may attend. This will be the wedding of the year, folks! Don't miss it!
Hermione dropped the Daily Prophet, then slowly descended onto her bed. For once, no tears fell. They did not even attempt to push their way out. The 2nd of July was tomorrow. Draco was getting married tomorrow, to none other than Pansy Parkinson. She shivered as she finally realized that this was the final seal. Hermione had lost. She had not only lost Hogwarts and SPEW, but she had lost Draco, for good this time.