Seeds of Seduction

Chapter 16: Advice

Hermione straightened her dark green cashmere sweater and black velvet pants. It had been an hour since she'd apparated from Draco's house. She was rather nervous about the prospect that lay ahead of her. It had been a hectic first hour that she had been through. Mr. Weasely and his wife had been exuberant and extremely boisterous about the festival. The other aurors of the Order had been enjoying themselves through games such as truth and dare. The first hour had been packed with food and many excited members. She had barely made it through the masses to the solitude and safety of her room.

Of course, as soon as she had appeared in the doorway she had been pressed by many people pleading with her to open her many presents. Caving in, she allowed herself to succumb to a few moments of childlessness and amusement. But even as she plastered a fake smile on her face, she was itching to get away from the happy masses.

She remembered seeing Percy standing with Fred and George. However, while Fred and George had huge smiles breaking over their faces, Percy had a small frown upon his face. In his eyes was a glint of annoyance and impatience. She noticed that Harry and Ginny were standing only a few feet away and keeping a critical glance on him.

Hermione hated to wipe off the smiles of their faces. She felt so low and so cheap when she thought about shattering the Weasley's family forever. It had taken so much for the Weasleys to regain the trust from Percy. It had taken so much pacification, so much pleading and begging on Percy's part and on Mrs. Weasley's part.

Even after Percy had been accepted back into the hearts of Mr. And Mrs. Weasley, the twins were adamant of letting Percy back into their household. And Hermione hated to be the reason why the family would tear apart again but this time permanently. She knew that this would break their hearts. The idea of having a son associated with the Dark Side was analogous to murder. She knew that it would break their hearts but she had to do it. For the greater good of the Order.

Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the door but just as she placed her fingers on the doorknob, her morale failed. Muttering angrily to herself, she walked over to her desk trying to convince herself that what she was doing was OK. As she perched on the edge, her sharp eyes caught sight of a folded piece of parchment. Frowning, she picked up the envelope and tore it open. Her disgruntled look was quickly replaced by a smile as she saw the familiar elegant cursive.

My Dearest Hermione,

Merry Christmas! It was wonderful to hear from you after many months. I hope all is well with you and your new job. Please give my warmest and heartiest congratulations to Harry and Ginny and wish them all the best. He deserves this happiness after all he's been through.

As you did suspect in your former letter, I was rather shocked and surprised that you had run into Draco Malfoy, let alone speak to him. But having known you for 3 years, I know that you are certain of what you are getting yourself into. I wouldn't blame you for not allowing yourself to get to know him intimately. After all, he was not the nicest person in the castle was he? Be careful Hermione, that's all I will tell you. Draco may have changed over the course of the years but please take care of yourself. Don't let yourself be dragged under the charm and charisma that he possesses.

And Hermione, don't pummel yourself over Ron. I understand that Ron is dating this girl names Lavender and it must be extremely hard. You are a wonderful and precious girl Hermione and any man that gets you is very lucky. I've known Ron since our fourth year. From the very first glance I gave him, I could he is a very aloof and happy-go-lucky man. He'll never recognize what it is in front of him until it's gone. Until you fall in love with someone else, he'll never realize what he's given up.

I know, you're probably staring at this letter with shock and thinking I'm a complete fool. It is extremely hard to get over one's feelings towards another but maybe Hermione, you don't love him. You've been friends for over 6 years and it was during your 5th year that your feelings developed. Remember when things between us were beautiful and perfect? It was because we were constantly around each other that year and the following summer. But the next year, when we were separated our feeling dissipated. Perhaps, it can be an infatuation.

Hermione, love is not simple. Love is not rational. It hits without reason, without any warning. Whether or not you're prepared, it'll happen sooner or later. Love is a feeling that happens only once in our lifetime. The problem is that we tend to mix infatuation with love. Hermione, love is when everything starts to change. The wind goes the opposite direction, every dream seems to come true, life looks beautiful; all of these are small signs that you're infatuated. Constantly thinking of one person, feeling a surge of emotion rush through your body, smiles and giggles and blushing breaking out; those are all signs of infatuation. Do you want to know what the real sign of love is? The real sign of love is when you are separated from them and it's unbearable. Your heart aches because you can't hold them in your arms, your body feels heavy because you know they've moved on, your heart's crushed because you simply miss them.

My dearest Hermione, love is not easy to understand. It's a complex and powerful feeling. It can overcome any obstacle on this planet and shatter any problems. Hermione, you're the smartest witch I've ever met but there's one place where you're inexperienced. Love. Love has no set of definition like Arithmancy or Defense Against the Dark Arts. You can't chart the progress like you can of the color of a Polyjuice Potion, say after one week. It's a different subject with rules of it's own.

I wish you the best Hermione. I hope to hear from you soon.

Love, Viktor Krum

Hermione looked up from the letter. Absentmindedly she folded it and placed it in the first drawer of her desk. Nibbling on her finger, she frowned as she went to the door. Maybe Viktor was right; maybe she wasn't in love with Ron after all. No, reasoned Hermione, she still was. After all, her body did still overflowed with jealousy when she saw him with Lavender. That had to be a sign of loving him. But if she went away from Ron for a period of time was it guaranteed that she would still love him?

What was it that Viktor had said? Oh yes, true love is differentiated from infatuation because when you're not near the person you love, you feel a part of you has died. "I have been thinking about Draco quite a bit," thought Hermione. Berating herself, Hermione shoved the thought aside. She needed to focus on Percy. Oh yes; now she remembered Draco's reaction to Lavender. He seemed genuinely scared and surprised at the fact that Ron was dating Lavender. She had meant to ask him why he was acting so strange but the thought drifted out when he wrapped his arms around him.

She loved the way she felt so secure and safe in his warm, muscular arms. Hermione laughed; the thought of being safe in a Death Eater's arms sounded funny. She loved the way he was gently rock her as if she was a fragile glass doll. She loved the way his kisses made her weak in her knees and his touch sent tingles down her spine.

"Hermione!" she yelled to herself.

Shoving all the thoughts out of her mind, Hermione caught sight of Harry and Ginny standing alone in the now empty sitting room. Half running, half walking, Hermione moved towards them and tapped Ginny on the shoulder.

"Hey you scared me," complained Ginny holding a hand over her fast beating heart.

"I'm sorry," apologized Hermione. "Are we going to do our plan now?"

"Yes," sighed Harry heavily, "Ron just left to take his family to the room. I think we should go as well."

Hermione nodded seriously and followed the couple. In the corner of her eyes, she saw Ginny slip her hand into Harry's. Harry gave her a quick kiss on her cheek and wrapped his arm around her waist. Hermione pushed open the door to the small room and looked around. All the Weasleys save Percy were there and she could immediately tell that Ron had broken the news to them.

Silently, the trio filed in and locked the door. Swallowing hard, Hermione walked to Ron and gently took his hand in hers and gave him a weak smile. His eyes looked at her gratefully hoping to find a shred of comfort in her face.

"How are we going to know if he..he" said Mrs. Weasley haltingly her voice trembling.

"I told him that the Order will be having a confidential meeting at the Ministry. I let slip that a lot of confidential information will be let out. However, it's held in a place that only people we suspect go in. There is a specific password and Severus slipped it to Voldemort. If Percy is indeed associating with Voldemort he'll know the password. If he doesn't, he should not appear. Hermione bought a mini TV that'll tell if he comes into this room."

With bated breath, the Weasley's crowded around the mini television. Harry could feel the adrenaline and anxiety in the room. It was as if every second felt like a million. Harry wrapped his arms around Ginny who was staring at the TV as if her life depended on it. Her brown eyes were searching and her eyes were glassy with tears.

The Weasleys were crowded around the TV. Fred and George were for once without a smile and a smirk. On the contrary, their identical faces were serious and rather frightened. Mrs. Weasley was in a flood and was enveloped in the arms of her husband who was clutching her possessively to his chest. Like the twins, his he seriously stared at the screen, Charlie and Bill had flown from their jobs when they heard what was going to happen from Ron. Charlie was playing with the hem of his sweater and Bill was nervously twisted the ring around his finger nervously.

The minutes passed slowly. Harry could feel Ginny relax slowly beside hum. Harry felt an arrow of hope hit him. Maybe, they were wrong. Maybe is really was someone else and not Percy. He hoped that was right. He couldn't stand it if the Weasley's heart

"Maybe, maybe," started Mrs. Weasley hesitatingly, "Maybe he isn't coming."

Just as she spoke a figure appeared on the scene. It became surreal. Mrs. Weasleys burst into loud racking sobs when she saw her third oldest son on the screen. Mr. Weasley clutched her and swallowed hard. A single tear ran down his cheek and his face was ashen. Ginny collapsed into tears and Harry gathered her in his arms and placed his head on hers. His heart ached as he held her quivering body to his chest and seeing her heartbreak made me tearful. Tears started rolling down his face but sped up as he saw the rest of Ron's face was buried in Hermione's arms and Fred and George were staring at the screen with anger and sadness. Seeing the destruction caused Harry's years to fall faster.

"Why," cried Mrs. Weasley into her husband's shoulder, "Why?"

Feeling his heart being wretched out, Ron detached himself from Hermione's arms and faced the screen. What he saw next made him gasp.

A/N: Hey! I'm so sorry that the wait has been so long. Thanks so much for the reviews! It's been awesome getting feedback from y'all lovely reviewers. Have you guys realized how noisy keyboards are! It's so annoying. Btw, I need to make Ron single for another reason. Hermione will not end up with Ron. Don't worry. I really want to finish this story and start another DHr so as soon as I get 25-30 reviews, I will post the next one as quickly as possible. So REVIEW!