Chapter 14: Walk in the Park

Touch me, take me to that other place

Reach me, I know I'm not a hopeless case

Beautiful Day, U2

Ginny landed on her bed with a soft 'flump'. Lying in the way that it took up the most space on the large bed, sighing heavily. "Problem?" A voice travelled from the bathroom. Ginny looked up lazily to see her fiancé. "Nothing really," Ginny mumbled. "Hermione isn't it?" Harry replied as he wiped his face dry on a towel and put on his spectacles. "How'd you know?" Ginny frowned.

Harry smiled and sat at Ginny's feet and tickled them lightly. "Because she's been cavorting with Malfoy and you told me in the bathroom when I was bathing and you were flossing." Ginny giggled from the ticklish effect and wiggled her toes. "I still don't think it's the right thing," she moaned when she extracted her legs from the antics of Harry's fingers.

"I know I clearly said that Malfoy should get a chance as her friend but not as her boyfriend, or lover, or sex partner or anything other than just being a normal friend that everybody has! She's making a big mistake! I know!"

"Gin, I know Malfoy's a real whole rounded prick but you do have to remember that in the end, he did help us. He was like a younger Snape, you know? He was a double agent and eventually he did fight for the Order. He wasn't in the Order but the information he passed to Snape was really useful. It gave us a lead to where the Death Eaters were going to attack and a lot more."

"Harry, I'm not talking about tactics. I'm talking about love. And right now, I'm not feeling the love for Malfoy Hermione's feeling. Her heart practically shattered into a million pieces when Ron left."

"I don't think it was a good idea to start with. Ron should never have left. He knew he was going to be posted out to Asia months before he told Hermione. When he started training to be a war medic in Grade Seven, he knew where he was heading. I just didn't think he would get posted to Asia to help."

"I don't think Ron's coming back. We sent out his invitation two weeks ago and the owl hasn't returned. I just hope that Hermione is making the right choice when she picked Malfoy."

"The Hermione I know would never make a decision without checking it thrice."

Ginny hugged Harry tightly, feeling the same pain or even more than what he was feeling. She had lost one brother and right now, she wasn't ready on losing her best friend to Malfoy.

Hermione surveyed the grounds apprehensively. Adults? Check. Children safe? Check. Playground? Check. Swings? Check. Man who sells cinnamon rolls? Check. As her eyes landed on Ben she grinned at him, and he grinned back. Hermione felt like laughing as she pushed Ben gently towards the swings. Boisterous with family and shy with strangers, Ben was as mystifying as his uncle. "Ben, I'll get you when your uncle comes, so why don't you just go play on the swings? See the little girl over there? You could ask her name and play with her," Hermione coaxed the little boy, his heels digging into the tar road. Ben shook his head vigorously and stuck out his chin, "I don't play with girls." Hermione giggled and retorted playfully, "Since when?"

"Since…since…forever!"

"Then I'll be going now, Ben. Bye! I'm a girl too."

"Herb! No!" Ben tugged viciously at Hermione's baggy cargoes and shirt. Hermione patted Ben's hair and gently pried his fingers from her thigh. "Ben, go over and play for a while. I promise I'll call you when uncle Draco comes." Ben eventually went albeit reluctantly. But after five minutes at the swings, Ben and the little black haired girl were becoming fast friends.

Hermione's smile softened as she watched the two of them on the swings, Ben pushing the little girl from behind. Their tinkling laughter filled the gardens as businessmen and their associates took a leisurely stroll and sat on one of the many benches in the park. Hermione looked at her watch then around her. She soon found an unoccupied wooden barbecue table to wait for Draco with a good view of the playground.

Tapping her feet and humming a tuneless song her eyes glanced over everything in the park. As her eyes settled down on a bent old lady feeding the pigeons, a bright spark blinded her momentarily. Hermione looked curiously at her surroundings, but finding nothing out of the ordinary she turned her attention back to the lady. And then again, the bright spark came, this time longer than before, shining straight into her eyes.

After squeezing her eyes shut and pinching herself hard to ensure that she wasn't having a bizarre dream, Hermione opened her eyes uncertainly but the flash came once again. After a few deep breaths to prevent her hyperventilation, Hermione calmed down and looked straight across from the benches. And there sat a smug Draco, wand in his hand, with deliberate twirls once in a while.

He smirked at Hermione and pointed at the space next to him and patted on it. Hermione glared furiously and pointed at her right indignantly. She was not giving up her space for an immature man. Typical, she thought. But Draco shook his head and tapped his hand on the wood. When Hermione refused again he pointed in the middle of the grass that separated the two of them. Hermione nodded and stood up as he did.

She took one step as he took his first. Two…three…four…And after twenty steps or so they were standing in a straight line, shoulders a few inches away from each other. "You shouldn't have done those sparks, Malfoy, there are muggles here," Hermione hissed and looked at Draco. Draco winked from the corner of his eye, faintly amused. "You were the only one who got the shot. No harm done, Granger," he drawled. "What's that in your hand?" Hermione perked when she saw his other hand holding a white plastic bag. "I'll tell you later when you get back to my bench," Draco replied, shaking the plastic bag temptingly.

"My bench. I need to watch Ben."

"You can watch Ben from my bench too."

"Mine is under a tree. Yours is right smack in the middle of nowhere and it will get hot. It's summer and it's one," Hermione replied scathingly. Draco shrugged and tilted his head towards Hermione's bench. "Fine," he said coolly, "You just have to walk back to it backwards." Hermione gave a squawk and eyed Draco. "You have got to be kidding," she eventually choked out incredulously. "Then we'll just go to my bench," Draco grinned. Hermione frowned angrily and took her first step back.

Another two steps later, Hermione tripped over a loose stone in the grass and fell backwards, her arms flailing out in front of her, shock written over her face. And with a swift movement with his lithe body, Draco had wrapped an arm around her thin waist, her bottom a few inches from the ground, her arms locked around his neck, almost pulling him down with her. With a grunt, Draco pulled her back up. "That HURT," Draco glared. "Who was the stupid one who asked me to walk backwards?" Hermione glared back.

Draco growled back and with both hands, easily lifted her and slung her like a towel over his shoulder. Hermione gasped and her stomach impacted with his shoulder, his shoulder bone digging slightly into her ribs. "Let me go!" Hermione yelled as she hit Draco's back with closed fists. "Bloody women," Draco snorted and re-positioned Hermione roughly over his shoulder. Hermione gave a soft 'Oof' and thumped Draco's back hard. "Bloody men," Hermione replied conversationally. "We're finding a better spot to sit, woman. The tree might rain bird droppings what with all those birds being fed by that woman."

"Fine, you man," Hermione replied lamely, resigning herself to being slung over his shoulder for a few minutes. And just as she looked down at the passing grass and listening to the faint rustle of the plastic bag, Hermione remembered this exact same scene just a few years ago. Except that time, it was raining.

Hermione remembered when Ron had dropped her softly on the grass after she had been lifted bodily from some other patch. She remembered that she had been giggling uncontrollably as the rain pelted down on her face, the stormy clouds brewing. "You can never stay under a tree!" Ron had yelled over the roar of the rain as he lay next to her. Lightning struck and thunder cracked. Hermione yelped by the sudden sound, burying her head into Ron's wet shirt, inhaling his scent as his chest lifted and lowered with every breath he took.

"When I'm gone, promise me you'll write," Ron said a few hours later as they lay on his bed naked. The rain was still coming down in a heavy downpour, with no promises of ever letting up. Hermione looked around Ron's room, taking in the faded orange and black striped wallpaper and the untidy stack of books. "I promise," Hermione had replied. "I'll write back if I can," Ron held Hermione's hand tightly, her fingers splayed over his chest. Hermione gave a small smile and nodded.

"It will be a long time but I'm sure that when I'm away you'll stay faithful to me. When I come back, will you marry me?"

"Why do you want to marry me?"

"Then I could kiss you anytime I wanted." And with that, he sealed the deal with a deep one, driving her senseless.

Hermione shook her head and cleared her thoughts as Draco halted abruptly and pulled her cargoes, leading to her falling off unceremoniously on her bum. Glaring, Hermione rubbed her sore bum and sat gingerly on the seat. From where she was, Hermione had an even better view of Ben playing, plus it was lightly shaded with a few trees around. "Better?" Draco prompted as he sat down. Hermione nodded vaguely and focused her attention on the white plastic bag. "Lunch?" Hermione asked hopefully.

Draco grinned and nodded, pulling out a pale blue box. As he opened it, Hermione gasped and pulled a face, disgust written all over her face. "Doughnuts?" Hermione frowned. "Yes, doughnuts, and coffee of course," Draco replied and pulled out two identical Styrofoam cups, with a black liquid sloshing inside. "I went past one of those muggle shops that sell food and I saw an offer on coffee and doughnuts so I bought some," Draco proffered as he placed one in front of Hermione and pushed the doughnut box over.

"I'm not eating those," Hermione said flatly and pushed the box away. "Why not?"

"I'm on a diet."

"A diet?"

"Yes, a diet. Because I'm growing fat and if I eat anymore of those carbohydrate loaded foods like doughnuts I won't be able to fit into anything."

"It's the wedding isn't it."

"How did you know?"

"Potter went round the office handing out invitations. He gave one to me too, with a look that said that I'd better not turn up."

"Are those raspberry doughnuts?" Hermione pointed weakly at an icing covered doughnut with jam leaking from a hole. Draco grinned and held it up, waving it enticingly in front of her nose. "Eat it, a little treat now and then won't hurt," Draco tempted her. Hermione squeezed her eyes shut and turned away. "I'm not eating it," she squeaked out eventually after a few moments.

Draco walked over to the side Hermione was facing and sat next to her. Leaning in, he was inches from her face. As Hermione opened her eyes she found them staring into a pair of grey ones, mischief (or was that malice?) clearly evident. "What?" She snapped. Draco just leant against the wooden table and took a large bite out of the doughnut. "Mm…now is this a good doughnut or what?" Draco smacked his icing covered lips loudly and grinned at Hermione. He took another large bite after swallowing the first and sighed, "Oh, I can just feel the jam running down my throat like sweet water."

Hermione glared at him and retorted, " It isn't working Malfoy! I am not falling for a stupid trick like that. I am absolutely sure you hate that doughnut and—" As Hermione snapped, Draco broke off a bit of the doughnut and popped it into her mouth. Almost instantaneously, he could see the delight light up on her face as she chewed slowly. Bliss.

A little piece of heaven, Draco smirked and tore another piece of baked dough and popped it into her mouth again. It was like watching her feel a moment of peace and just pure innocence. And Draco felt the sudden surge to lunge at her again, just like just now as she fell, inches from the ground. The next thing he knew what he was doing, he was kissing her. He savoured the sweet taste of jam on her lips and he wanted more. Hermione on the other hand wasn't resisting either. Draco had a weird distant look on his face moments before he started kissing her and she felt like jelly, her lips melding with his easily, tasting the slightly cloying sugary icing.

In the next few moments, Hermione found her back touching hard wood with Draco on top of her, smiling in between kisses, and Hermione found herself smiling back. His hand had found its way under her body, gently propping her up, and she wasn't resisting, with both arms round his neck.

Then, there was a loud THWACK and Draco felt his head crack, his mouth smashing down on Hermione's. "Bloody hell," he cursed as he got up, massaging his head, looking at who had hit him. When he saw who it was, Hermione was as stunned as he was.

"Ginny Weasley?" They both said in unison. Ginny had pink spots on her white cheeks and was looking absolutely livid, handbag poised for another strike. "What do you think you're doing? Both of you should know better than to kiss in broad daylights and in front of your nephew," She hissed loudly, her eyes in tiny slits. Rage was brewing and it wasn't going to stop any time soon. "Come with me!" She said to Hermione and yanked her off the table to another table.

Draco looked at Harry with his bemused expression on his face. The situation was growing more awkward and tense as the moments passed. Just as he was about to excuse himself to the washroom or any other place, Harry cleared his throat and his gaze landed on Draco. "Malfoy," he said curtly, concentrating hard enough to prevent himself from beating up the blond man in front of him. "Potter," Malfoy replied warily.

"Malfoy, you know that I know that we both know that we're not boys anymore. We are sensible adults and we have to make the right decisions," Harry said and sat down on the opposite side of the table. "So what I'm going to say next is simply the matter of me being mature enough. I gave you an invitation to the wedding because I know I can't be mad at you forever. You did a brilliant job helping the Order out five years ago, and now you're doing a good job as an Auror. It's hard having you as competition. All you have to do is send a RSVP back as soon as possible," Harry carried on softly, looking at the children playing, sunlight catching on the only blond child there. "I was just hoping that since we've got an assignment to do for the next few months, maybe we should be on better terms. Friends?" Harry stuck out his hand, looking straight into Draco's eyes.

Draco raised his eyebrow at the untaken hand. "Why now?" He asked simply, both of his hands firmly planted in his pants. Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair, making it messier than before. "I know what's going on between Hermione and you. I'm not going to say I approve, but I do want Hermione to have her own share of bliss. After Ron left, she's been feeling a bit out from the crowd, burying herself in the papers she does and the children."

Draco mulled over the statement before removing one hand from his pocket. "Friends, Potter." Harry grinned at him before he became deadly serious, whispering harshly, " But you hurt one strand of hair from her head and you're done for, Malfoy. I may think that you and Hermione just might start a relationship, but it doesn't mean I have to like you. One wrong move, and you'll find the junior Aurors authorised to practice their hexes and jinxes on you for a very, very long time." His grip hardened until Draco's knuckles cracked. After his right hand had been released from the grip, there were white marks outlining Harry's hand before it turned into ugly splotches of red.

Over on the other side, Hermione wasn't faring any better. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Ginny hollered into Hermione's ear. "Before you say anything more, I wasn't even fraternising with him because he isn't the enemy. Wasn't he the one the helped us find the places that the Death Eaters were attacking? Wasn't he the one who sent us encrypted codes with detailed messages and a lot more stuff that we could never have found out?"

"This isn't about the Order, Hermione! Malfoy's the type who goes round flirting with every other girl; Malfoy's the type who would trick you into thinking that you were correct when you're absolutely wrong; Malfoy's the type who would reap your benefits if you helped him without laying a finger on the dirty work! Hermione, you have got to think straight! It's like love's taken control over your life."

"That's not plausible, Ginny. You know that. It's probably something else."

"Hermione! Snap out of it! You aren't the type who fall into the trap of love and be doomed for a lifetime. You're better than this, and you know it. There are so many more men out there dying to go out with you. Won't you give them a chance?"

"Ginny, do you see any dead men lying in the gardens?"

"Um…no?"

"Which proves your point wrong that men do not want to go out with me."

"You probably rejected all those men who are working in the Prophet."

"That was because I was waiting for Ron to come back."

"And are you still waiting? Apparently not, because you're kissing Draco Malfoy in the middle of a park. People have eyes and they're going to be whispering about it all over London and more."

"I think I gave up on Ron a long time ago, Gin. I just don't think I felt like admitting it to myself. And there wasn't anybody around at the right time, I swear. Sometimes, it's just a long process and mine took four and a half years. It's fine, Ginny. I don't suppose people will be gossiping about this anyways. Draco's the last of the Malfoys, but I think the whole controversy about Voldemort and his followers have gone down quite a fair bit."

Ginny pulled on her hair exasperatedly, pacing in front of Hermione in circles. She was going to lose her best girlfriend to a ferret, gosh was life screwed. "Ginny, Ginny! Look at me!" Hermione yanked Ginny's shoulders to stop her from pacing. Ginny lifted her head, her eyes meeting sullenly with Hermione's. "I know you said that it would be nice to have him as a friend, but I never knew that it was going to end up like this okay? And the other night when we were eating pasta, you didn't exactly encourage me to do anything with whatever was happening between Draco and me, but you didn't stop me either. It's just that you're being contradictory! One moment you're happy for me, and the next moment you start bursting out all over. What's going on?" Hermione seethed, watching Ginny closely for any signs.

"I just don't know, Hermione. I don't think it's a good idea. You never know what he might do to you. And it's dangerous for your job too. What if you break up with him? You can't wander around his house trying to avoid him, nor can you not cook him his breakfast, can you?" Ginny retorted. "I haven't thought that far into the future, Ginny, but if it does come to that stage, I'll just move out. Find myself another job somewhere else or start up what I had been doing for the past few years again. In the least, I really think I should give it a shot," Hermione added.

Ginny shook her head and gave a small smile. All of a sudden her face lit up and she rummaged through her handbag. "Here it is," she mumbled and passed a letter to Hermione. "It's the invitation to the wedding. It will be at the end of April. It's just a month from now! Aren't you excited?" Ginny jabbed at Hermione's arm cheerfully. The tense air had evaporated in a matter of seconds. Hermione looked at the thick folded black paper in which silver letters had been printed. You have been cordially invited to the wedding of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, on the 30th of April, 3pm. Bring a guest. Hermione grinned at Ginny's delighted face. "I'll be there."

"And Hermione?"

"Hm?"

"You're best woman. So you're going to have to be there early. And you know how it says bring a guest?"

"Yeah…"

"Bring one," Ginny grinned and gave her best friend a hug. "Let's get back before one tears the other from limb to limb. And if he does anything out of line, I'll be the one tearing him." Hermione laughed and slung an arm round Ginny as they walked back.

When they got back, they were greeted with childish laughter and conversations. Draco looked up from where he was sitting and smiled boyishly at Hermione. Ben too, gave his toothy smile, now covered with sprinkles and chocolate icing. "Herb! Uncle Draco says I can build a tree house!" He yelled and jumped on top of the table. "You let him drink coffee didn't you?" Hermione raised her eyebrow at Draco as she watched the hyper active boy jump up and down. Draco just looked back at her innocently and drank his coffee with one sugar. "He didn't drink mine," he eventually replied truthfully. A million plans ran through Hermione's mind to kill Draco Malfoy while he slept that night.

"Are you absolutely sure that this will work." It was more of a statement than a question as Draco looked at a fresh patch of newly dug earth in front of him, his arms sticking on his sides, looking discernibly hesitant. "Absolutely. Neville would never sell fakes. He knows what he's doing," Hermione gasped as she dug out more earth with her large spade. "This sapling from Longbottom's shop is going to make a tree shoot out from this patch of ground in two weeks," Draco said sarcastically, " Right in front of the Manor."

"Right in front of the Manor," Hermione echoed then put down her spade, grinning like the Cheshire cat. "And there's nothing wrong with that because…" Draco prompted Hermione.

"Because you have a huge round patch of grass from the main gate to the door and it's only outlined by shrubs and bushes. So I don't see what's wrong with it. Save the earth, Malfoy! Haven't you heard anything about it? We'll be getting more oxygen in this polluted earth with even an extra tree," Hermione said with satisfaction as she placed the small seedling into the earth and covered it slowly with the earth. "Why are we doing this again?" Draco asked as he peered over as the sapling was buried. "Because you agreed to let Ben have a tree house," Hermione sighed and repeated herself for the third time.

Draco had come back to the Manor after work to see Hermione digging in the middle of the vast circular garden. Walking down the steps and across the driveway, and into the middle of the garden, Draco watched silently as Hermione heaved, digging the soft ground. "We could just build a house and forget about the tree, you know," Draco offered, "One of those wooden houses and get him some old cushions." Hermione sighed for the umpteenth time that day and turned to face Draco. "The whole idea of a tree house is to have it up in a tree. It is a joy to climb rickety plants of wood to the tree and open the wobbly door. It is fun to just sit in this room that is personally your private space. You can read your comics up there, have tea with your best friend, whenever and whatever. Well, except in the evenings that is," Hermione explained as she leant on the shovel.

"Fine, we'll have the ruddy tree in the middle of the garden," Draco grumbled. "I knew you'd catch on in the end," Hermione smiled sweetly at him and placed a small peck on his cheek. "What was that for?" Draco spluttered, feeling his cheek burn. "Just a small token of appreciation," Hermione grinned and dragged the shovel behind her as she walked towards the house. Draco raised his eyebrow but did not reply.

Eventually, Hermione broken the silence. " You said that Harry passed you an invitation to the wedding," Hermione asked. "Yeah," Draco mumbled back. "And you know how it says that you should bring a guest when you attend the wedding," Hermione trailed off. "Get to the point, Granger, we're reaching the steps," Draco replied, walking next to her. Hermione stopped in her tracks and took a deep breath. "Well, I was wondering whether—" But before she could even finish, Draco bent down and kissed her, resulting in a full body freeze. "It would be my pleasure to go with you," Draco grinned at the shell shocked Hermione.

"Were you going to ask me?"

"You? Ben was going to be my guest."

At that, Hermione gave up on trying to learn men.

I am terribly disappointed with the amount of reviews I received for the previous chapter. ): It was devastating. But, I'm still grateful to know that people are still reading. I'm just wondering how so many people can review for a certain story that the reviews come in the hundreds. I know this story will probably never read that status anytime soon but I'm still hoping. (: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you think it's too mushy and gross, tell me. I'd love to hear what you have to say because it's worth it getting reviews.

Once again, thanks to all reviews, and the hit counter is going well with eight thousand eights since the start of this whole shebang. Dolls, baby, you guys have been absolute dolls. :D