Chapter 11: Purely Platonic

"Mrs. Potter, you have chosen to defend your husband in Supreme Court?" Cho asked.

Hermione stood, "I have, and the defense I have put together is legitimate" she said.

"Does the defendant have anything to say before his lawyer speaks?" Cho asked.

Harry shook his head, he felt too sick to speak.

"Mrs. Potter, you may speak" Cho said.

Hermione stood, and looking down at her papers, she began to speak.

"On the date of November 22nd of this year, Harry Potter was accused of first degree murder in the case of Special Agent Abraham James Stroker, and pleaded guilty of the criminal accusations" she said, suddenly Harry felt better knowing she was his lawyer, she sounded extremely experienced, and she hadn't started yet.

"I find a number of reasons why the defendant is innocent" she continued, "first of all, it was accidental murder in the first place, Harry had instructed that the aurors do nothing until he gave the word, yet Stroker made a move, and Harry stopped him, he couldn't know that the impact would plummet Stroker to his death. The defendant also had given orders to bring in the charged, alive; Stroker paid no heed to superior orders.

Yes the charged had just murdered an auror, but the curse was not meant for Stone, the defendant could have still detained the charged. If anyone committed a crime, it was Stroker, for first-degree insubordination.

The defendant also believes he was not acting of his own will, the Imperius curse could have easily been cast by the charged, after all no one had disarmed him after Stone's death, the defendant gave an accurate account of the symptoms of the curse, any questioning of the defendant on the matter can be done after the hearing.

Two aurors died that night, and one federal criminal escaped justice, Stone did a noble thing in sacrificing his life.

But this trial, the escape of the charged, and the murder of Stroker could have been avoided if he had not committed insubordination. The charged meant to kill everyone he could kill that night, and he used whatever means possible to achieve that. Unforgivable curses are not above the level of the power of the charged, eyewitnesses say that those three curses had been flying for over a half-an hour before the defendant finally cornered the charged, and then everything turned around. The death of auror Stroker was a murder, but not by Harry Potter the defendant, that's all I have to say" Hermione ended, and took a big drink from her water bottle.

She placed her papers on the table and sat down, hands folded and placed on the desk.

No one spoke, no one had any argument, Hermione's case had been legitimate.

"If you have no arguments judge, I suggest you consult the jury" Hermione said, pointing to the row of Ministry workers who had been chosen for jury duty.

Cho didn't consult the jury,

"Full court vote" she began in a shaky voice, "all in favor of the defendant being found innocent raise your hands"

Every single hand in the court rose, including Cho's.

"It's unanimous then, Harry you are free to go" Cho said with a slight smile.

Harry jumped up and hugged Hermione tightly, "Maybe you should quit modeling and become a lawyer" he whispered in her ear.

Before they left the courtroom Cho stopped them, "Hermione that defense was excellent, I've never heard one like that" she said, Hermione just blushed and smiled.

"You don't seriously think she'd let her husband go to Azkaban do you Cho?" Harry said.

They chatted for a few minutes until reporters flooded around them, Harry who didn't have the patience for them, apparated home immediately.

"Hermione is that you? How did the trial go?" Harry heard Bellatrix calling.

She walked into the entry hall, "Oh Harry! It's you! I see Hermione's case won!" she said.

Suddenly Hermione appeared beside him, "Next time you leave, tell me you're leaving" she said.

Harry laughed, "Sorry love, didn't want to answer any questions from the reporters" he said.

Harry wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her lips lightly.

Just the Rebecca started crying and Bellatrix had to rush of again.

"Harry I want you to see the letters the kids sent us while you were gone" Hermione said, leading Harry into the library where she had them stored.

She opened the drawer on her desk and pulled them out.

Harry read both of them and smiled, "Like father like son, like mother like daughter" he said, "I wonder if we can get up to the school to watch one of his games"

Hermione shrugged, "I can write to McGonagall and ask if you want" she said and Harry nodded.

Mark twisted, and twirled, and zoomed around the pitch, testing the limits of his Firebolt.

He had given the snitch a 10-second head start before he tore off after it.

He could hear Holly cheering below him; he hoped he could fly this good during next week's game.

"OY! POTTER! COME DOWN WHEN YOU CATCH THE SNITCH!" the captain called.

Mark put on an extra spurt of speed and caught the snitch within 15 seconds.

He landed and everyone thumped him on the back, "Play like that at the game and we'll have no trouble" Regulus said.

He followed the rest of the team into the showers.

When he finished he walked out of the locker rooms to find Holly waiting for him.

"You want to take a walk by the lake?" she asked.

"Sure" Mark said.

Holly led Mark to a spot by the lake where they liked to sit and talk, a big rock outcropping.

She laid her head on his shoulder (in a purely platonic way), "The sunset's beautiful isn't it?" she asked.

Mark sighed, "Yes it is" he said, he was getting fidgety in this position; he had never been this close to a non- familial female before.

They stayed like that until the sun had fully set and then they started back up to the castle.

Holly wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.

She hadn't thought about future weather, this morning had been warm and she had dressed for the moment, and not brought a sweater or anything, and as it was early December, the air was cold.

"Here" Mark said, he took off his cloak and draped it over her (again in a purely platonic way).

She smiled, "Thanks" she said.

Mark threw open the big oak doors of the castle and they headed back up to Gryffindor tower.

"Password?" The fat lady asked.

"Snidget" Mark said, the fat lady swung open revealing the portrait hole.

Mark grabbed Holly's hand and helped her in.

They sat down on the couch and Holly asked him what he wanted to do.

"I guess we should start on our Defense against the Dark Arts essay" Mark said.

Holly agreed and they opened their books.

Dear Mrs. Potter

Of Course, you are allowed to come and watch your son play Quidditch, his next game

Is Friday, December 9th.

I hope you are doing well, your children are doing excellent, send my regards to your husband.

I hope to see the both of you soon.

Sincerely yours,

Professor McGonagall

Hermione passed the letter to Harry who read it.

"Well do you want to go?" Harry asked.

"Sure" she replied, "It'll give me a chance to see my children and see how much Hogwarts has changed in twelve years"

Harry laughed; leave it to Hermione to be curious about how much a thousand year old school changes in twelve measly years.

Harry gave the letter back to her and she folded it and then placed it in her desk drawer with the rest of her letters.

After finishing their homework, Mark and Holly snuck into the kitchens to get something to eat; they were hungry due to the fact that they had missed dinner.

Holly was a light eater but Mark was ravished due to Quidditch practice.

"I'll have some turkey legs, and a big steak, and some lamb chops too, oh and I'll have some bacon sandwiches, and some of that, and that, and oh that looks good, oh Holly! Look at that!" Mark put down huge amounts of food.

Holly gave him a weird look, "It's hereditary, my dad's a heavy eater too" he said.

She sighed, shaking her head.

"Where do you learn such big words?" she asked, giggling.

"Between you for a best friend and 'The Great Hermione Potter' for my mom, it's surprising I don't know every word in the world dictionary/thesaurus" he said through a mouthful of turkey.

She grimaced, "Don't talk with your mouth full" she said.

He swallowed and then laughed, "If I've said it once I've said it a hundred times, you are just like my mom" he said.

Holly looked like she was trying hard to hold back a smile.

"I take that as a compliment, I very much like what I've heard and read about your mother" she said.

They finished eating and then walked back up to Gryffindor tower.

The finished a potions essay before going to bed.

The next day Mark woke up before any of the other Gryffindor boys.

He went down to breakfast where Holly was already finishing up.

"What time did you get up?" he asked.

"6:30" she said.

He laughed, "Poor you" he said, she looked really tired.

The next week for Harry and Hermione went by fast, Harry caught a few Death Eaters and Hermione had secured a few ads in witch weekly.

Friday morning they rose early to get an early start to Hogwarts.

When they apparated to the grounds Hermione sucked in a deep breath, "Good to be back" she said.

Harry frowned, "Not for me, last time I was here Dumbledore died" he said.

Hermione smiled cheerfully, "come on, a bit of Quidditch will cheer you up" she said.

She grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him through the gates onto the grounds.

Looking around the grounds, flashbacks of the night Dumbledore died hit him.

There was the tree where Greyback had ripped out Dawlish's throat.

There was the spot in the grass where Hagrid had killed Lucius Malfoy.

And there… there was where it had happened, Dumbledore's death.

Harry pointed at it and recounted the memory to Hermione.

Harry could have sworn a few tears leaked from her eyes.

"Come on" he said, pulling her towards the oak doors, where Lily came rushing out to meet them.

"Hi honey! Oh, I missed you so much" Hermione said, hugging her daughter in a way that reminded Harry of Mrs. Weasley's hugs.

"Ok Hermione, let the girl breathe" He said, prying Hermione off Lily.

"Thank you dad" she said, rubbing her ribs.

"Where is your brother?" Harry asked.

"Oh he's doing a pre-game prep practice" Lily said.

"Well hen, let's go shall we?" Harry asked.

Lily skipped towards the Quidditch pitch and Harry and Hermione followed.

Harry and Hermione chose seats in the Gryffindor stands, next to a little girl that Hermione thought looked very pretty.

"Hi what's your name?" she asked.

"Holly" the little girl said, "You must be Mark's parents"

Then it clicked.

"Oh, you must be Mark's friend" Hermione said, smiling, and the little girl nodded.

"I've heard a lot about you Mrs. Potter" Holly said.

"Oh, you can call me Hermione Holly" Hermione said.

"Ok, I've heard a lot about you Hermione Holly" Holly said and Harry snorted.

"Funny little girl isn't she Hermione" Harry said and Holly smiled.

"Yes she is" Hermione said.

"Mark's told me all about both of you, you're my role model Hermione" Holly said, beaming.

Hermione blushed, "Well… I… Uh… Er… Um I…" Hermione stuttered.

"She's pleased that you like her" Harry said.

Just then, the commentator spoke up and everyone was quiet.

"WELCOME TO THE GRYFFINDOR VS SLYTHERIN MATCH, THE SECOND MATCH OF THE SEASON BETWEEN THE MOST PROMISING TEAMS! WITH MARK POTTER AND RILEY MALFOY BOTH FLYING FIREBOLTS, THIS SHOULD BE AN INTERESTING MATCH!" the commentator called.

Mark saw his parents sitting next to Holly and he waved.

His dad waved back but Holly and his mother were in deep conversation and didn't notice him.

Just then, the commentator started and they grew quiet.

Mark followed the team to the middle of the pitch and waited.

The captains shook hands and the Madam Hooch let the quaffle go.

The game had started.

Everyone kicked off and then Madame Hooch let the Bludgers go.

Mark zoomed as high as he could get without the action below fading.

He started his search for the snitch.

Below one of the Gryffindor, chasers had just scored a goal and Slytherin supporters were hissing.

Mark dodged a Bludger and plummeted toward the ground, his dad had taught him about the Wronski Feint.

Malfoy pursued and Mark hoped he could pull this off, no such luck.

Malfoy mimicked his moves and pulled up at the last minute.

Mark zigged and zagged through the web of players, he could only tell who was who because of the different colors of the blurs that were his teammates, red and green.

He collided with a green blur and the tore off towards the other side of the field.

Slytherin scored a goal and Mark swore accidentally.

"Good thing Holly's not here" he thought.

Victor woke in the lavish hotel bed and he was not alone.

The thought of what had happened last night still haunted him, he had slept with a vampire.

Nicolina began to stir and Victor hated himself, he could have killed her while she was sleeping.

However, how can you kill someone you just had sex with?

Her hand crawled up Victor's bare leg and he suppressed a moan.

"Victor? Why must we fight? Why can all our nights be like that one?" she asked.

Victor removed her hand and sat up.

"Because, I can't allow you to kill people that are my responsibility, like that poor receptionist you killed last night" Victor said.

She placed her hand on his chest and drew small circles with her fingernails.

"Why do you give off an aura of sadness? Was I not how do you say, 'a good shag'?"

Victor sighed, the truth was, she had been great.

"No you vere vondeful" he said.

She smiled, showing off her long fangs.

She grazed her fangs over his neck and shoulders, he failed to stifle his groan this time and she grinned seductively.

"Can we not do it again?" she asked.

Victor shook his head, "No" he said and she whined.

"Why do you protest so much? I have given myself to you and still you treat me like an enemy!" she said.

Victor narrowed his eyes at her, "That is because you are an enemy" he said coldly.

"Well, I might as well leave then!" she said, but before she could vanish, Victor grabbed her arm.

"Help me Nicolina, help me defeat Dracula and I vill make pleasure vith you" he said.

Nicolina's face screwed up in concentration as she thought about the pros and cons of betraying her master.

Dodging a Bludger by spinning upside down, Mark zoomed after the glint of gold that was hurtling up the left side of the field.

He dodged a few green and red blurs and accidentally flew through one of the Slytherin goal posts.

Everyone laughed and Mark suppressed a grin.

But in that brief moment of distraction, the snitch had gotten away.

This was the longest game Mark had ever seen, it had already lasted three and a half hours, and it looked like it could go on for another two at least.

Suddenly Riley Malfoy plummeted toward the ground, and three feet away from her was the familiar glint of gold.

Mark put on a burst of speed, though he knew he would never catch her, he had to try.

He twirled and twisted trying to urge his broom to go faster.

"Come on, come on!" he said through gritted teeth.

Riley reached out, her fingers grazing the snitch but not yet touching.

Then, suddenly, out of the blue a Bludger smashed into her arm, sending her spinning off course.

Mark sped forward and effortlessly caught the snitch.

He rose up; holding it high in the air and the crowd erupted into cheers.

No one was cheering louder than Harry, Hermione, and Holly.

As Mark took a victory lap around the stadium, they made their way down the stands to meet him.

When he dropped off of his broomstick, Holly threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek making him blush.

"You were great!" she squealed.

Harry gave Hermione a meaningful look and they grinned.

Harry arranged to take Mark and Holly into Hogsmeade so they could eat lunch together at the Three Broomsticks.

By the time, they were finished eating Harry and Hermione were both very well acquainted with Holly.

After lunch and a little shopping Harry and Hermione led the kids back up to the castle, then Hermione insisted on spending some time with Holly, before seeing Lily.

Harry showed Mark some spots where memorable things had happened in his years at the school.

Then as they were walking down the Charms corridor Harry brought something up.

"You like her don't you" it was more a statement than a question.

"What?" Mark asked defensively.

"I can tell, you think a guy can be married for twelve years and not know the signs?" Harry said.

"Dad! I do not! Our relationship is purely platonic!" Mark said.

Harry smiled to himself, even if Mark denied it, it as there.

As Harry showed Mark the spot where he and Ron had locked Crabbe and Goyle in a closet in second year, Mark laughed, and then asked,

"Is it really that obvious?"

"Hm?" Harry asked.

"That I like her" Mark muttered.

Harry chuckled quietly, "No, but like I said, I can read the signs" he said.

"Oh, what do I do?" his son asked.

Harry knew that someday he would have to answer that, "Be yourself, girls like that, don't try and show off around her too much, maybe a little but not too much, and just gradually let her know how you feel" Harry said.

Mark nodded.

After a while, they met Hermione in the entrance hall where she was in deep conversation with Holly over

Hogwarts: A History.

When Harry told Hermione that they needed to leave both she and Holly groaned and asked, "Do we have to?"

Harry nodded, it was getting late.

The children walked with them to the gate where Hermione said goodbye to her children and her new friend.

Harry said his goodbyes before wrapping an arm around Hermione and apparating home.

The first thing they noticed when they appeared home was the quiet, no baby crying.

Hermione found a note on the fridge from Bellatrix telling them she was going out for a while.

They trudged up to their bedroom and changed into their pajamas.

Harry threw a DVD in the player and fell back on their new waterbed.

"Comfy, eh?" he asked Hermione as she snuggled into him.

"Just dreamy" she said lazily.

Harry pressed play on the DVD player and Bridget Jones's Diary came on.

They paid no real attention to the movie though, as they were soon in an intense argument about Mark.

"He's too young to have a girlfriend, and you encouraged him!" Hermione said.

"Hermione, calm down, it's not like their gonna be shagging or anything" Harry said, and that only made her worse.

"How do you know? Holly's a very curious girl!" Hermione said.

Harry scowled, "She's just like you were 'Mione" he said.

"HARRY! That's my point, I was too curious, in case you hadn't notice that's why I was pregnant at 17!" she yelled.

"SO YOU REGRET THAT WE HAD SEX? IS THAT IT?" Harry yelled.

Harry's yelling only enraged her further.

"DAMN IT HARRY! YOU KNOW I DON'T! BUT I DON'T WANT TO BE A GRANDMOTHER YET!" she yelled.

"HERMIONE THEY ARE ELEVEN YEARS OLD! THEY AREN'T EVEN THINKING ABOUT SEX AT THAT AGE!" Harry yelled back.

"I WAS!" she said, shocking Harry.

"FUCK IT HERMIONE! HE'S NOT GOING TO MAKE HER PREGNANT!" He said.

Hermione lost it.

"THAT'S NOT MY FUCKING POINT! HE IS TOO FUCKING YOUNG FOR A BLOODY GIRLFRIEND, YES I LIKE HOLLY BUT I DON'T WANT MY SON DATING YET!" she roared.

"IT'S NOT DATING!" Harry roared back, "YOU KNOW HOW KID'S ARE WITH THEIR 'girlfriends' OR 'boyfriends' THEY'RE ONLY KIDS! THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT REAL DATING IS!"

Hermione dissolved into tears, she wasn't used to Harry yelling at her.

"I'm sleeping on the couch" she muttered, and then she grabbed her blanket and pillows and thumped down the stairs.

"SO WHAT? YOU THINK THAT'S GONNA MAKE IT BETTER?" Harry yelled after her.

"NO I JUST THINK I NEED TO GET AWAY BEFORE WE HURT EACH OTHER!" she yelled through her tears.

Harry softened a little; he hadn't meant to hurt her feelings that bad.

And as for what she just said, did she really think he was even capable of hurting her physically?

He wanted to go apologize to her, but thought better of it.

Apologizing would only show signs of weakness, which was exactly what she wanted.

Harry pulled the blankets over him, slumped back, and fell asleep within minutes.

Ok, there is that chapter.

I put that fight in there because I want to show, that you know guys, marriage isn't perfect (the argument was pointless too which is the case in most real fights)
Speaking of marriage, Felecia said yes! I'm so Happy.

No, she isn't healed fully, but she's good enough to move in and we are getting married soon.

I'll be starting college soon too, life couldn't be any better for me at the moment.

Someone said that they are interested in the fact that I give you guys a really in depth view of my life, I don't know why I do that, I just do.

Someone also asked how long me and Felecia have been together, that's a personal question but I'll answer, let's see, since we were thirteen, that's… 5 years. Wow? 5 years? Didn't seem like that long.

My moms in hysterics because her baby is getting married.

Ok I got to go, it's like two in the morning and Felecia wants me to come to bed.

Hope you liked the chapter!