* ~ The Eighth Year Universe ~ *

Love Wins

I Took My Love, I Took it Down

The chapter title is from the song:

Landslide by Fleetwood Mac.


It was late when Hermione got home from the Ministry. She often got into that building hours before anyone was out of their beds, and she left when most people were going to bed.

She supposed this was her life now, and at the very least, it distracted her from the disaster that was her personal life.

It had been one week since the incident. One week since Draco had spoken to her.

It wasn't like they hadn't seen each other in passing. He had been around the castle a few times, but he hadn't said a word to her. When Hermione tried to initiate conversation, Draco just walked away.

Theo was in and out a little more. He was talking to her, but things were a little cold. Not like they were between him and Sadie, they had made up and forgotten about all the woes of the world. It made Hermione angry that she had to fight so hard for their forgiveness when it came so willingly to Sadie.

"Draco's not talking to me either," Sadie had reminded her when she voiced that bitter opinion a few nights ago.

The last week had been the week from hell, and all she had wanted was for Draco to be by her side throughout it, but he wasn't. When he had to stand by her, it was in a professional sense only. Even the papers had picked up on it; they speculated about recent events creating a rift between the infamous couple.

But the papers didn't focus too much on that. They focused more on the incident and what that meant. The Daily Prophet had not been at all complimentary when it detailed Hermione's reaction to the incident. It had nicknamed her the Vengeful Augerey, a terrible nickname for someone supposed to be a liberal Minister for Magic.

If Hermione was honest, she was very close to giving it all up when she went home that night, knowing fine well it would be to a quiet house and an empty bed, again. At least Sadie got Theo some nights, with him splitting his time between the castle and the coach house.

She apparated home and walked up the path quietly. There were lights on in the outbuildings, but only one that she could see in the castle. She frowned when she realised that the light was in the study.

Although she doubted it was Draco, Hermione headed up with a hint of optimism that she couldn't quite shake. After all, there was no reason for Theo to be in the study during the school holidays, and Sadie was taking a sabbatical from work.

She held her breath when she rounded the corner on the spiral staircase and peered through the door. Then her heart fell when she saw Theo.

He heard the exhale of breath and looked up, smiling sadly at her, "Sorry, I'm not Draco."

"I…I didn't think that," Hermione lied.

Theo gave her a knowing look, "When you saw the light on in the study, you hoped."

With a sigh, Hermione stepped into the room, "A little, yes. He hasn't said a word to me all week, Theo and…I don't know how to make it right this time."

"Sometimes you can't do anything to make it right," Theo said, cocking his head at her, "Only time can do that."

Hermione walked past the desk and sat down in the bay window, looking out at the coach house, which was in darkness.

"He's not wearing his wedding ring," She said, her voice choked with emotion.

"No," Theo agreed, "He isn't, and I told him that was wrong."

Hermione looked up, "Did you?"

Theo nodded, and then he looked at Hermione for a long moment as if he was trying to work something out. Hermione frowned and was about to ask him what was on his mind when he pushed himself to his feet and steadied himself on the desk.

Hermione reached out to grab his hand. He smiled appreciatively and sat down opposite her on the bay seat.

"It's bad today," Hermione said, her eyes scanning his.

"It's been bad all week, princess," Theo said, giving her a tired smile, "Muscle aches, headaches, it's probably just a cold, but you know what the Healers say. Stress affects my immune system."

"I'm sorry," Hermione said quietly.

Theo shook his head, "It's not your fault."

"Except it is," Hermione said. She wasn't tearful, but she was quiet, "It's all my fault, Theo. This family is fracturing, and it's all my fault. I should never have run for Minister, and that's why I'm going to resign."

Theo's eyes widened, and he leaned forward to take her hand, "No."

Hermione frowned, "What do you mean 'no'?"

"It's a pretty simple word. I mean, it's only got two letters, princess."

Hermione gave him an exasperated look.

"You're not resigning. You didn't spend your entire life working for this to resign now. You made a mistake, but you did it out of love, Hermione. Not out of malice or badness."

Hermione gave him a disbelieving look, "The Vengeful Augerey, Theo. That's what the press is calling me. I killed three innocent people."

"You killed three people who were imperiused to kill you," Theo corrected.

"Innocent people," Hermione said, her eyes filling with tears, "All because I was so angry and so sick at the thought of a world without Draco. Surely that means I am not equipped to handle this kind of power."

"Maybe you are, maybe you aren't," Theo said calmly, "But you sure as hell aren't quitting now. That's not how we do things in this family. That's not what we taught our kids, is it? We taught them that you never quit, no matter how hard something gets. You remember what we told Ells when we were teaching her how to swim in the lake out there?"

Hermione smiled slightly, "If you get pulled under, take a deep breath and keep kicking. Don't stop kicking until you reach the surface, and you can breathe again."

Theo squeezed her hand, "You feel like you're drowning right now and that nobody is there to pull you out. But I'm not Draco. I'm not spiteful or petty. I don't agree with what you did, but I love you, and I'm over it."

Hermione smiled tearfully and pulled him into a hug.

Theo hugged her back tightly, "You're underwater right now, but you are not drowning. Because if you keep kicking, you're going to reach the surface, and you'll be able to breathe again."

Unashamed of the tears on her cheeks, Hermione pulled back from the hug and kissed Theo on the cheek, "Thank you," she murmured.

"Anytime, princess," Theo said, hooking his finger under her chin and forcing her to lift her head up.

"And just remember, you are Hermione Black, but before that, you were Hermione Granger. Combine those two people, get it together and unite this country in the fight against the Statute Saboteurs because I know that you can."

The pep talk was exactly what Hermione needed. She nodded and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her robe, "Thanks, Theo."

She pushed herself to her feet, but her hand was still in Theo's.

Theo smiled and let go of her hand, "And Hermione?"

"Hm?"

"You can sleep with us if you don't feel like being alone for another night," Theo said, his knowing eyes meeting hers, "It's my night with Sadie, and you know we don't mind company."

Hermione nodded and felt tears pricking at her eyes once more, "Thank you," she said weakly before heading upstairs towards the bedrooms.


Sadie was lying in bed, trying to sleep, but focusing on something that wouldn't leave her mind.

She had resigned as Head Unspeakable, but she hadn't removed herself from the department. What Sadie had done was explain to Regina that she was taking a sabbatical to work out if being an Unspeakable was what she wanted to do for the rest of her life.

And for that reason, it shouldn't have mattered that she hadn't been able to find the answer for Draco before she left. But it did because her entire career had revolved around solving puzzles, and she didn't want this one to be the one to beat her.

But she had no idea how to make the imperius counter-curse air bound.

A knock sounded on the connecting door, and then Hermione peered around it.

Sadie smiled half-heartedly, "Hey."

"Hey," Hermione said, opening the door a little further, "Theo said you wouldn't mind, but I can leave if-"

"It's fine," Sadie said, pulling back the covers, "I'm annoyed at my own brain, not you."

Hermione stepped into the room and shut the door behind her, wasting no time getting in bed. A warm bed with another person in it was a dream come true right now; for the last 15 years, there had been four of them so sleeping alone wasn't something she had gotten accustomed to.

"Why is your brain annoying you?"

"Because I shouldn't be thinking about work since I'm not there," Sadie said pointedly.

"But there was something I was trying to solve, and I can't stop thinking about it like it's unfinished business."

"Then I'm sure you will work it out," Hermione said as she settled down next to Sadie, "You don't need a lab at the Ministry to be brilliant, after all."

"Hm," Sadie mused. She tried to put the issue to rest by turning out the light and lying down next to Hermione.

Even in the dark, Hermione could tell that her eyes were still open and her brain was whirring at a million miles an hour.

"I stepped down as head of the department."

"I know," Hermione admitted, "Regina told me. I was a little hurt that I had to find out from her rather than you."

"I didn't know how to tell you," Sadie admitted as they whispered into the darkness.

"You had already lost your Head Auror, and with everything going on with you and Draco. I just…I didn't know how you would react."

"I understand why you did it," Hermione admitted, "More than you might think. I had gotten as far as writing out my resignation letter today until Theo talked me out of it."

"Of course he did," Sadie said with a smile, "We didn't raise any of our kids to be quitters, which means that you don't get to be one either."

"But you quit, Sadie, when you stepped down as Head of the department."

"I didn't quit, Mione," Sadie said softly, "I cut myself loose. Being the head of that department changed me, and I didn't like who I had become. I just hope it's not too late to find myself again."

Hermione reached across the bed and rested her hand on top of Sadie's, "It's never too late to start again or find yourself or…to make things right."

"How do you plan on doing that?" Sadie asked curiously.

"With the country, I have a plan," Hermione admitted, "With Draco…I don't know. But I'll find a way because I love him too much to let this be over."

Sadie was silent, and Hermione sighed.

"I love you all too much to let this family fall apart," Hermione admitted, "I couldn't live with myself if that happened on my watch."

Sadie smiled slightly, "Is this your way of apologising?"

"Yes," Hermione admitted, "It wasn't all on me, and it wasn't all on you. We made that decision together, and I think we're both suffering for it."

"I would still do it all over again," Sadie admitted, "To save the stubborn bastard who hasn't said one word to us all week."

Hermione smiled slightly and shuffled closer to Sadie, "Yeah, me too."

The door clicked open, and Theo's cane clicked against the hardwood floor.

"He might be a stubborn bastard," Theo said, kicking off his shoes and resting his cane in the corner of the room.

"But he's our stubborn bastard, and when he eventually cools off, he'll see that."

Hermione just hoped that Theo was right.


Harry's conversation with Draco in the pub the previous night had worried him and left him feeling conflicted. As such, the only solution was to call a family meeting.

As was the rule in the Potter family and (according to Daphne, who had actually read the history books) in every pureblood family, every member of the family who was of age had the right to be there.

In this instance, that meant that in addition to Harry, Daphne, Neville, Lilly and Teddy, who had been a staple of family meetings for a good few years now, Alastor and Andrea were also in attendance. Which, of course, meant….

"Is Thea still in the huff?"

"She's still sulking, yes," Daphne said, giving her husband an amused look and pushing the door to the drawing-room shut.

"Well, at least she's not listening at the door," Harry said as he motioned for Daphne to sit down.

She did so, and Harry stepped into the centre of the room.

"As you all know, I have had a disagreement with the Minister for Magic over red tape, policy, and several other things which are not crucial to the point I am addressing today."

"Are you always this formal at family meetings?" Andrea asked, raising an eyebrow at her dad.

"No," Teddy snorted, "Sometimes he pretends he's this posh pureblood that's worthy of Mum, but most of the time, he's himself."

Daphne bit back a grin, and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Is this about Grandpa?" Alastor asked anxiously.

Harry shook his head, "No, it's about the Statute Saboteurs. War has all but been declared now. We have told the European ministries that we stand in solidarity with them, which means it's only a matter of time until the attacks become more frequent, widespread and lethal."

"What are the DMLE going to do about it then?" Andrea asked.

"Not enough," Harry said, glancing at Teddy, "No offence, son."

Teddy held up his hands, "Hell, Dad, you're right. If I had it my way, we'd be doing everything we could to help, but we're dancing round the rose bush like a bunch of bloody Cornish pixies."

Neville snorted, "That's politics for you, Ted."

"And it's why I wanted to do something that would have helped," Harry admitted.

"But after I got viciously put down by one of the women in this family, I realised that maybe it wasn't the best course of action."

Teddy snorted, "What did you say to him, Mum?"

Daphne quirked an eyebrow up at Harry, "As much as I would love to take credit for talking your father out of his hare-brained scheme, it wasn't me this time."

Neville chuckled and looked over at his wife, "What did you say?"

"Just some hard truths," Lilly admitted, smiling half-heartedly at Harry.

"And you were right," Harry promised, "Which is why I thought you should all know that I'm speaking with Caroline again. I know adjusting to civilian life is going to be difficult when I have spent my entire life fighting, and I'm not naïve enough to think I can handle that transition alone."

Neville nodded and caught Harry's eye, "We're all here if you need to talk, just like we always have been, Harry."

Harry smiled at his best friend, "I know."

"Did you call a family meeting just to tell us you were hanging out with your shrink again, or is there more to it than that?" Teddy joked.

Harry chuckled, "There's more to it than that. Even though I've been dissuaded from forming a rebellion group like the Order, I still felt it was important to put it to a family meeting because all of our opinions matter."

Alastor looked at his dad, "Have you spoken to Uncle Draco about it?"

"I have," Harry confessed.

"And what did he say?" Daphne asked curiously.

"That doing so would be a breach of the law," Harry answered, "And he isn't wrong. He also assured me that he wouldn't tell Hermione, mainly because that would involve speaking to her, which he isn't doing right now."

Daphne shook her head, "Are any of them talking to each other?"

Teddy nodded, "Theo and Sadie have made up, and the last time I was round at the castle, Hermione was talking to them both. I think Draco has just exiled himself, to be honest."

"Of course he has," Daphne said dryly, "He always was a drama queen."

"He was a Malfoy," Harry said, an amused smile playing on his lips.

"Yes, this is the boy who grew up with a garden of pet peacocks," Daphne said with a shake of her head.

Lilly snorted, "Do you ever think it's odd, how different we all are? He grew up with pet peacocks, and I got chased by the police for feeding the fox that lived in our outdoor bins."

"You would never know it now," Daphne smirked, "With all your airs and graces. You're so hoity-toity, what would your mother say?"

Harry grinned, "Not much, really. Ever since she married your ex-boyfriend, she's gotten pretty hoity-toity herself."

Lilly gave him an irritated look, "Do you want to be cursed?"

Andrea looked between them and asked, "Are family meetings always like this?"

"Yep," Teddy said, leaning over the back of the sofa to look at his sister, "Top tip, they're easier to get through with firewhiskey."

"Welcome to the adult side of the Potter-Longbottom family," A new voice joked.

They all glanced towards the doorway, where Astoria was standing.

Harry raised an eyebrow, "Uh, last I checked, I hadn't invited you."

"No, because I'm not a Potter or a Longbottom, right?" Astoria asked. She stepped into the room and poured herself a whiskey.

"But I do run a global business, and as such, I'm a useful person to know, especially when you're thinking about breaking the law."

Harry gave Daphne a long-suffering look, "Please make her leave."

Daphne smirked and leaned back in her chair, "She makes a valid point. I think she's entitled to a vote."

"Well then, let's vote," Harry said, clapping his hands together.

Teddy snorted and looked up, "Are we seriously going to vote on whether Aunt Astoria gets a vote?"

"No," Daphne said, giving Harry an exasperated look, "We are not going to vote on that. Astoria is entitled to a vote since she is the only sibling that any of the four of us have."

"I have a sibling," Lilly pointed out, "And yes, she is the devil's spawn, but she's still valid."

"She's also not of age, darling," Astoria said with a smirk.

Lilly shot her an exasperated look, "Call me darling again, Astoria. Go on, see what happens."

"Do it, Aunt Astoria," Alastor urged.

Andrea shook her head, and Teddy chuckled, "This family meeting just got a whole lot more interesting."

"Yes," Neville said, clearing his throat, "So, let's get back to the point, shall we?"

"Are you going to give us detention if we keep getting side-tracked, Neville?" Daphne teased.

Alastor made a gagging noise, and Andrea looked disgusted.

"Mum, could you not flirt with Uncle Neville when he's doing his Professor Longbottom voice, please?"

Daphne smirked over at her daughter, "And this is the downside of being considered as an adult, Andie."

Harry shook his head at Neville and stamped the ground with his foot.

"Alright, order!" He yelled.

Silence fell, and Harry shot Neville a grin, "Head Auror voice beats Headmaster voice every time."

Neville rolled his eyes, "Show off."

Astoria rested against the arm of Lilly's chair and motioned for Harry to continue.

"If I were to re-start the Order of the Phoenix, to fight the Saboteurs and protect the wizarding population of Britain, it would go against-"

" – The Unlawful Societies act," Andrea said with a nod.

"Originally sanctioned after the International Statute of Secrecy was signed, abolished by Minister Shacklebolt and then brought back by Minister Greengrass due to fears that Death Eaters would reform."

Daphne looked at her in disbelief, "Do you secretly want to go into law or something, Andie?"

Andrea made a face and shook her head.

Alastor grinned, "She brushed up on wizarding law so that she could become study buddies with Eddie."

Andrea rolled her eyes and glared at her brother, "I didn't fake being bad at Potions to get my hot lab partner to offer to tutor me."

"To be fair, that is resourceful," Harry said with a nod.

"And totally not what your father did to get my attention in our last year of school," Daphne said, shooting Harry an amused look.

Lilly laughed, "No, I'm pretty sure he was just bad that at Potions, Daph."

Neville chuckled and looked over at Harry, "So if you bring the Order back, you're breaking the law. What is the likelihood of you getting caught, and if you do, what is the sentence?"

"The sentence is Azkaban. The number of years varies depending on the reason for establishing the secret society," Harry answered.

"And the likelihood of me being caught is high because I know Draco wouldn't tell Hermione. But he did make a good point, Hermione, whether I'm talking to her or not, always knows when I'm up to something. And if she pulled me in for this, with the way things are between us right now….it wouldn't go well."

Daphne nodded, "So we're here to vote then? On whether you ought to take the risk or not?"

"Exactly," Harry said, "So, all in favour of me bringing back the Order of the Phoenix, raise your hand."

Three hands were raised, but five hands remained down.

Astoria had raised her hand, as had Teddy and Alastor. But nobody else had.

Teddy frowned, "So it was your idea, but now you don't want to do it?" he asked his dad.

"I began to doubt the idea," Harry admitted, "I worried that I was a little impulsive, which was why I called this meeting. If I was the only person who voted against it and everyone else disagreed, then I would have known it was the right thing. But looking at this result, I think I was right to worry."

"Nothing is worth you spending time in Azkaban, Harry," Daphne said firmly.

Lilly nodded, "Let's be honest, Neville and I would never vote for something that carried that kind of risk."

Astoria shrugged, "I'm less attached to Harry, and therefore, I can see this from a logical point of view."

Lilly scoffed, "This has nothing to do with logic, Astoria. You only voted for the motion because war is bad for business."

"Correct," Astoria drawled, "Do you know how much tighter import and export laws are when there is a war going on?"

"You've never sounded so much like Father," Daphne muttered under her breath.

Astoria glared at her sister in response and sipped her firewhiskey.

"So Astoria voted for purely selfish reasons," Harry said offhandedly.

"Which should come as a surprise to literally no one. Why did you two vote for the motion?" he asked his sons.

"Because you're right," Teddy admitted, "The DMLE aren't doing enough because we can't."

Alastor nodded, "You get things done by being proactive. Isn't that what you taught us, Dad?"

"There's being proactive, and then there's risking time in Azkaban," Daphne pointed out.

Alastor scoffed, "There's no way things are that bad between you and Aunt Hermione that she would put you in Azkaban, Dad."

"The problem is, boys, that right now, I don't feel like I know your Aunt Hermione that well," Harry admitted, "The Hermione I grew up with wouldn't put me in Azkaban, but right now? I don't know what's happening inside her head, and I don't want to take that chance. Although I could do more good with the Order than without it, I could also do more good out of Azkaban than inside it."

Neville sighed and nodded, "Hermione has already been accused of misusing her Ministerial power after what happened to Draco. I wouldn't put it past her to stick to the letter of the law with Harry because he called her out on that."

"Yeah, so she can be petty, but Azkaban?" Astoria asked, glancing between them.

"Surely, she must realise that would be the nail in the coffin for her term as Minister. She would always be the Minister who jailed Harry Potter?"

"That doesn't matter to her," Harry said, cutting into the argument, "Because she doesn't view me the same way that Howie Abbott did, or even Cygnus did. God, the man is my father-in-law, but in his eyes, I'm still the golden hero who saved the world and then won his daughter's heart and fixed all the broken pieces. But Hermione knows me too well. She knew me at my darkest, lowest point where I was barely a functional human being, let alone a saviour. The fact I'm Harry Potter will not mean a damn thing to her, which is why I don't feel like the risk is worth taking."

Teddy sighed and shook his head, "Fucking hell, I can't believe this is the woman who made birthday cakes at Mina and Charlie's parties every year."

Daphne scoffed, "She never made those cakes; house-elves did."

Neville gave her a disbelieving look, "I don't think that the was the crux of Teddy's point, Daphne."

"Still, she claims she wants to save the house-elves and then she takes credit for their hard work?" Daphne muttered, "Even I'm not that bad."

"That's because we know you can't bake, Mum," Teddy cut in.

Harry grinned over his wife, "I remember when Teddy was small, you tried to make gingerbread men, and they were inedible."

"They made great projectile weapons, though," Lilly teased.

Teddy chuckled and looked up at his dad, "Are you really saying that things are so bad between you and my future mother-in-law that you're not entirely sure she'd save you from Azkaban? Is that the level of 'bad' we're at right now?"

"I'm not saying Hermione is inherently a bad person, Teddy," Harry said with a world-weary sigh.

"But power changes people, and when people are under pressure, they aren't usually their best selves. Right now, her decisions aren't ones that I agree with. Still, as Draco pointed out if I raise the Order and go to town on the Saboteurs myself… this is all going to get a bit too Dumbledore vs Grindelwald for anyone's liking."

Alastor frowned and looked up, "It's like Avengers Civil War, isn't it?"

Andrea rolled her eyes.

"Alastor, this is real life," Harry said sincerely, "Not a, frankly excellent, movie."

Alastor snorted and leaned forward, "Yeah, but it's fair. It's like, you want the same thing, but you don't want to go about it the same way. The Statute Saboteurs are the Winter Soldier, right? And she's Captain America because she wants to appease them or save them. But you're Iron Man because you want to go to town on their arses because you see how much of a threat they are."

"I haven't actually seen the movie he's talking about, Harry," Daphne cut in, "But he's making a fair point."

"We have seen the movie," Neville said, looking pointedly at Harry, "And he's making an excellent point."

Harry grimaced, "Yeah, and I think I may have accidentally quoted that movie at Hermione when I argued with her."

Alastor raised an eyebrow, "So are you going to burn the world fighting like the dumbass Avengers did? Or are you going to sit down and talk, then figure out a way to fight the Statute Saboteurs together?"

"And this is a prime example of why family meetings involve everybody who has come of age," Neville smiled, "Because sometimes, the younger generation has a way of simplifying things. Isn't that right, Harry?"

Harry nodded and looked over at his son, "So to clarify, you're telling me not to be a hero and to swallow my pride?"

Daphne whistled, "That will be hard. Have you ever done that before?"

Harry shot her an exasperated look, "I will swallow my pride because, unlike some people in this family, I'm capable of doing that."

Daphne raised an eyebrow, "Really, you're going there?"

"Yeah, I am," Harry said calmly, "Because if you try and tell me that you have ever swallowed your pride, Daphne Potter, you are lying."

Lilly chuckled, "He's not wrong, you know?"

Neville snorted, "Like you're any better, Lil."

Astoria rolled her eyes, "Enough with the flirting already. Let's get back to the point – what are you going to do?"

"Are you going to apologise to Hermione?" Lilly asked curiously.

Harry shook his head, "No, because as far as I'm concerned, I have nothing to apologise for."

"Nobody is asking you to get on your knees and grovel, Harry," Daphne promised, "Just go into her office and talk politics with her."

Teddy shook his head, "Or maybe not her office. She was your friend, and if you want her on your side again, maybe it would be better to talk to her somewhere familiar. Like her house?"

Daphne shook her head and met Harry's eye, "Where do you always go when things are bad? When you're losing control of your temper or your magic? When you and Hermione need to talk things out or tell each other bad news?"

Harry nodded, his eyes a little far away.

"The Forest of Dean."


Harry was pacing back and forth between two trees. He could be wrong because several years had passed, but he thought this was the clearing where they had stayed at Christmas, after the whole ordeal in Godric's Hollow.

He sighed, unsure if Hermione would even show up. It wasn't like she was obligated to, she was a busy person, and maybe she didn't care much about making things right.

A loud snap made him look up. He reached for his wand and looked into the trees in the distance. Harry saw movement and slipped his wand out from his sleeve, just in case. But a relieved breath fell from his lips when the shadowy figure pushed down their hood.

It was just Hermione.

"Why here, Harry?" Hermione asked coldly, "Do you just want to rub salt in the wound? Is that it?"

"No," Harry replied, surveying her carefully, "But I thought neutral ground was better. Your office is too formal, and there are too many people in the castle or the manor."

"You have a strange definition of neutral ground," Hermione said dryly. She cast her eyes around the clearing, "Considering all that happened here, but I suppose it's better than the Ministry."

She took another step forward and added, "You could have talked to me at the castle, though. What could you possibly have to tell me that you don't want anyone to overhear? My entire family know what I did, and by now, I have no doubt that you will have told yours."

"I have," Harry said matter of factly, "But this isn't about that, Hermione. The world doesn't revolve around you, or me, or Draco. What's going on out there with the Statute Saboteurs is much bigger than all of us."

"And what concern is that of yours?" Hermione asked coldly, "You decided to walk out on us, remember?"

"No, I didn't walk out on the Ministry," Harry said with a bitter laugh, "I walked out on you because you decided that you didn't want me to be there anymore. I'd already done my part to forge the new world, and what, I didn't fit into your scheme to make it even better?"

"No, Harry, you just decided that you get to play God, but nobody else does," Hermione snapped, "When you want to fix Neville's back, that's fine. But when I want to save my husband? That's not okay?"

"If we could have saved Draco with an elder wand, then I wouldn't have objected," Harry admitted, "But when you decided to mess around with time, that changed things. You are the smartest person I know, Hermione. You know what you did was wrong. You just decided that you didn't care."

"I do care!" Hermione snapped, "And yes, I know it was wrong. But by the time I had wrapped my head around that, it was too late. I know the risks, and you're right, I didn't consider them. But it worked, Harry. We got lucky, so why are we still fighting about what could have happened?"

Harry scoffed and shook his head.

"Hermione, we've been friends since we were 11 years old, and you've always been a bossy bitch while I've been more timid, but we have never seriously pulled rank on each other. When I was an Auror and you were a lawyer, we would joke around, but the way you spoke to me in the atrium that day? God, the venom in your tone, it was like I was your worst enemy, not the guy who had your back for 30 years!"

"I'm sorry I couldn't go softly with your feelings, Harry," Hermione said, her tone scathing, "My husband had just died. I wasn't thinking about you."

"You weren't thinking about anyone apart from yourself, and that was the problem," Harry said coldly.

"Is this really why you brought me here, Harry?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow, "To rehash an argument that we've already had?"

"No, I brought you here to discuss how we could work together to end this war before it kills thousands," Harry said. He cocked his head at her, "And to work out how much danger your actions put Draco in."

Hermione rubbed her eyes and threw her hands out in defeat, "I know there's a prophecy about Draco. I've always known because Narcissa is terrified of it, and she warned me about it, and god, Harry, when I made that call, I knew I was putting it in place, but I still did it and now…."

Hermione shook her head again, "Now I'm terrified of what it means."

"Yeah," Harry said, sighing, his shoulders drooping, "So is he, even if he won't admit it."

Hermione looked at him, and Harry actually met her eye for the first time. The look there was desperate, pleading even.

"You don't have to forgive me," She said, "But you can help me work out what to do here."

"Hermione, you are and always have been my best friend, of course I will forgive you," Harry began, "I'm just not ready to do that right now."

"And I don't know if I'll ever be able to forget this," Harry continued, his eyes on hers, "Don't expect things to snap back to how they were because they won't. I don't know when or if I'll be able to trust you the way that I used to. But of course, I will help you."


"How did it go?"

Hermione looked up at Sadie and let out a world-weary sigh.

"We mostly rehashed the argument we'd already had. He hasn't forgiven me, but he has offered to help in the fight against the Statute Saboteurs."

"Well," Theo mused, "That's fair enough. Isn't it?"

Sadie gave her a sympathetic look, "He means it's probably the best you could have hoped for."

Theo cocked his head at Hermione, "Why did he bring you back to the Forest of Dean?"

Hermione nearly rolled her eyes, "Because it was neutral ground, apparently."

Theo frowned, "He has a funny definition of neutral ground if you ask me. The place you had terrible tent sex and lost your virginity?"

Hermione shot him a long-suffering look, "I think he hoped I wouldn't duel him there because of the sentimental value and the risk of causing a forest fire."

"Did you duel him?" Sadie asked curiously.

Hermione shook her head, "No, the anger has dissipated now. He was just cold…we both were."

Sadie bit her lip, "So…what now?"

Hermione shook her head, "I don't know. But he's coming into my office on Monday to help me work out how we can help fight the Statute Saboteurs without having to break any international laws."

Theo nodded, "So your old best pal of three decades relented and is working with you for the greater good," he mused.

"I wonder how we're gonna convince your husband of over two decades to do the same."

Sadie rolled her eyes, "Brainwash him, maybe?"

"Well, the imperius curse is your speciality, isn't it?" Theo joked.

Hermione and Sadie both looked at Theo in disbelief.

"Too soon?" Theo asked.

"Yes," The two women echoed.

With an audible sigh of exasperation, Draco got to his feet and turned to look at them, "For your information, I only forgive people who I feel are worthy of my forgiveness."

"That was your father's philosophy, to be fair," Theo said as Draco headed for the door.

Draco grabbed the handle and yanked it open, ignoring his best friend.

"And he was a dick!" Theo yelled after Draco.

The drawing-room door slammed shut in response, and Sadie muttered a rude word under her breath.

Theo turned to Hermione and shrugged, "He'll come around."

"So will Christmas," Hermione said bitterly as she pulled back a tapestry and disappeared.

Sadie sighed and leaned into Theo for a hug, "Do you think we're ever going to glue this family back together?"

"Oh yeah, with a permanent sticking charm," Theo said, kissing her lightly, "We'll fix it, I promise."

And Sadie admired his conviction because she was much less sure of that.

- TBC -