Chapter 29?! How did this happen? When did this happen? This is slightly less surreal than 12K followers! Holy crap! Thank you all for reading. As usual, I own nothing. I just borrow J.K.'s toys and have to put them back when I am done. We are finally back to Hogwarts!
Chapter 29
The light in the ballroom slid off of Hermione's amethyst hued satin dress. The dark material gave the illusion of clinging, while not actually hugging her curves too closely. Reminiscent of the classic Greek statues, the dress had one sleeveless strap reaching over her shoulder. The other shoulder remained bare. Two slits came up to just above her knees allowing her the ability to move in the dress. She knew from several conversations that Tracey's dress had a similar cut, but less dramatic bodice. Her top wrapped around her neck as a halter. Tracey confided in Hermione she chose the bottle green color to match Harry's eyes, not because of house affiliation. Hermione promised not to tell.
She attempted to soothe her friend's nerves, Daphne and Sally-Anne helping as well, but Tracey continued to work herself up because her parents wanted to meet Harry, and Harry wanted her to meet Sirius. "Would you relax. You're pretty, smart, and have more interest in Harry than the Boy-Who-Lived. The man will adore you." Hermione snapped.
"Wow, Hermione, what's got your knickers in a bunch?" asked Sally-Anne.
"Tracey isn't the only one meeting someone's parent officially. And in my case, he espoused rather anti muggle beliefs not to long ago. And while my parents might be purebloods, my upbringing was not."'
Tracey looked about nervously. "Not that this is a competition, but you win."
"I think this is one fake competition I would prefer to lose." The girls laughed. Hermione noticed a mop of unruly black hair headed their way. "I see someone coming this way." She taunted in a sing song voice.
"Oh, Merlin. I can't do this." Tracey ducked behind Hermione.
"Brilliant of you there, mate. Because Harry isn't going to seek me out when he can't find you." She grabbed the other girl by the arm and dragged her towards Harry.
Harry opened his mouth to greet Hermione when he caught sight of Tracey. He stopped walking and stood with his hand raised and his mouth open. Hermione gave Tracey a tiny shove in his direction.
"Hi." she said shyly. Harry blinked twice and lowered his hand. "Happy New Year, Harry."
"Erg." Harry closed his mouth, still staring.
"I like your tie." Narcissa allowed them to choose their own ties. Harry's had little snitches chasing each other on a burgundy field.
"Tankz."
Tracey giggled and took his hand. "Would you like to come meet my parents?"
"Eguh." Hermione laughed as a newly confident Tracey lead off a mostly speechless Harry Potter.
"Something tickle your senses, Miss Malfoy?"
She turned and grinned at her boyfriend. "Tracey just went from nervous wreck to sex kitten in five seconds."
"I see." He offered Hermione his arm. "Ready to enter the fray?"
"No. Let's sneak out and do literally anything else."
"I've warned you before, Narcissa will know. And then she will hunt you down and drag you back."
"Worth a shot."
"You have nothing to fear. My father will adore you?"
"And if he doesn't?"
"There are worse fates than being penniless."
"Like any of your friends would leave you destitute long."
"You look amazing, sweet." he said changing the subject. Theo kissed the back of her hand. He made sure she noticed him looking her up and down. "And I am the luckiest bloke here."
"I don't know about that, Tracey looks pretty good in her dress. So, I think Harry's feeling pretty lucky, too."
"Nope, it's me. Beautiful girlfriend, her parents love me, she's from the right family; which is the only thing that my father really seems to care about."
"Even though she was raised muggle?"
"You're a Malfoy, the one family the Notts have never directly married into." She raised a questioning eyebrow. He continued as he steered her through the crowd. "Girls are very rare in both lines, as is more than one child. My father married a woman twenty-five years his junior in hopes of more than one. But Mother died of Dragon Pox when I was six."
"I'm sorry."
"We both miss her, in our own ways. Father threw himself back into his work, at least that was safe." He shrugged.
They found Thoros speaking with Lucius and a few other gentlemen. The conversation drew to a close when Lucius noticed their approach. Theo took a deep breath, "Father, may I introduce Miss Hermione Malfoy. Hermione, my father, Thoros Nott."
She gave a small curtsy and held out her hand like Narcissa taught her. "A pleasure, Mr Nott."
"Likewise, Miss Malfoy. My son has told me such wonderful things."
"All exaggerations and lies, I'm sure." She smiled.
"As every besotted young man should." Thoros kissed the back of her hand. "You obviously know, Lucius. Allow me to introduce Marius Flint and Andrew MacNair."
"Gentlemen." Hermione nodded in greeting. Her smile faltered at MacNair's open leer.
"Are you acquainted with my son, Marcus, Miss Malfoy?" asked Flint Sr.
"I am. He was several years ahead of me, but I've met him in passing a few times."
Flint nodded and allowed Nott Sr to take back over the conversational reins. "How are you enjoying your holidays?"
"They have been a nice change of pace from school. I enjoy school, but could do with less drama."
The men chuckled. "I'm sure we would all agree." Thoros smiled thinly. "Do you miss the muggles much?"
Hermione felt Theo tense beside her, and saw Lucius straighten and frown. She shrugged her shoulders gracefully. "The way one misses a faint memory, I think of them from time to time, of course. But I prefer to live in the present, not the past." She twinkled at him.
"Surely there's somethings about that world you miss." He persisted. Hermione kept her smile in place, she didn't know why Nott Sr insisted on baiting her, but she refused to play his little game. "Or someone?"
"Anything I might miss still exists, though there is little that does not exist in the wizarding world in some fashion. I had few friends left in the other world, and little to no family. That's why the Granger's plan worked so well- no family to out them. A few distant cousins, maybe. No one too close." She continued when Thoros frowned and opened his mouth. "Mr Nott, I'm not sure what you intend to discover through this line of questioning. Perhaps you could just ask. Though, I assure you I have plenty of my own money and an adoring family, I am in no way seeking someone else's While I may occasionally slip out to visit an amusement park or shopping mall, I have no intention of returning to the muggle world."
Thoros glared. "I won't have my son sully our good name with some muggle slag."
Hermione held up her hand, stopping both her boyfriend and father from exploding. "Well good. I'd hate for him to do that, too. I, however, am a witch. I always have been. Regardless of who raised me, magic runs through my veins. It always has. And given the behavior of most of our male peers, I sincerely doubt marriage to me is sullying anyone's good name. Though that implies your name is good to begin with." She sniffed. "Perhaps I should worry marrying a Nott is beneath me." She held her breath, worried she went too far. Though the grins on her father's and Flint's faces suggested they, at least, found her amusing.
After a few heartbeats Thoros threw his head back, roaring with laughter. He slapped his son on the back. "Brilliant answer, my dear. Son, never allow yourself to settle for a girl who tells you what she thinks you want to hear. You want one who isn't afraid to stand up to you and speak her mind, especially when she disagrees." He kissed Hermione's hand again, smiling this time.
At the clear dismissal, the young couple fled. She smiled to see Sirius hugging a bemused Tracey. She noticed Mrs Cole standing near them. She must have kept her promise to meet Sirius for lunch. "Look, there's Lachlan, we should say hello."
The older Hufflepuff grinned. "Happy New Year." he toasted.
"To you as well." Hermione replied. "Enjoying the party?"
"I am. Thanks for the invitation."
"Hey, us love potion victims have to stick together." Hermione laughed.
"I'm glad you're joking about it. And still together despite it."
"We decided not to let it ruin what we have." Theo squeezed her hand.
"Good. I decided to try something similar." He slipped from the glass in his hand.
"Oh?" asked Hermione.
"Sirius is right, Honey is just as much a victim as I am. She might not have needed to be potioned, but she thought my feelings were genuine. We're starting at square one, getting to know one another and be friends. We'll see where it goes from there."
"That's amazingly mature, Lachlan." Hermione complimented.
"I invited her tonight, but she said it was too much like a date. And she's too embarrassed to see any of you right now. And she's right, this would be too much for friends who just met."
"Tell her we said hello, and not to be embarrassed. We know who's at fault." Hermione smiled.
Lachlan raised an eyebrow. "Know something I don't?"
"I know lots of things you don't."
"That's probably true." They laughed and when Theo changed the subject to quidditch standings, Hermione let him.
Just before midnight, Theo pulled Hermione out into a secluded balcony. "Happy New Year, Hermione."
"Happy New Year, Theo. I don't know about wizards, but muggles have a superstition about midnight."
"Oh?"
"Yes, whatever you're doing at midnight is what you'll spend most of the year doing."
"Then we should be snogging, or at least kissing." He eagerly wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling her closer.
She giggled, snaking her arms around him. "I agree." She pressed her lips firmly against his, moving them slowly. At her light sigh, Theo pressed his tongue forward, deepening the kiss. Never one to sit back and just let things happen, Hermione tangled her tongue with his, moaning as he did. She wrapped one of her legs around his, he reached down and grasped her bare leg. He massaged the soft skin as he moved his hand upward. Butterflies danced in her stomach, while electric tingles pooled elsewhere. Moaning again, she ran her hands up and down his chest. A loud cheering broke them apart. Panting slightly, Theo rested his forehead against hers.
"It's after midnight. We should get back." He whispered.
"Mum will notice we disappeared and hunt us down." She leaned up and kissed the corners of his mouth.
"That could go either way, but she might send Lucius, and that would be bad." He took her hand. He kissed the back of it, then the inside of her palm, and then the inside of her wrist. "Let's get you back."
A significant look from Sally-Anne suggested another gossip ambush lay in Hermione's future, but at the moment she felt too content with life to care.
Four days later, as they boarded the Hogwarts Express, Ginny caught Hermione's eye. The redhead nodded once, then looked away. "What was that about?" asked Fay, pulling Hermione into a compartment and banishing Draco and Harry. "No. Out. She won't tell us the good stuff with you lot about."
"What makes you think there was good stuff?" Harry asked.
"There was no good stuff." protested Draco.
"Out." ordered Sally-Anne. "Now."
Hermione pulled the door shut, "And there was totally good stuff." She immediately locked and warded the door shut and silenced the room. She smiled at the girls. "Now, where were we? Oh, the end of out date I couldn't tell you in public." They spent the ride back gossiping about their adventures during Christmas break.
Professor McGonagall waited for her inside the front doors. "Your presence is required in the Headmaster's office after the welcoming feast. The password is licorice whip. The password for the dormitory is patience. Please inform Mr Potter of both of these things. "
"Yes, professor, thank you."
While Ginny looked everywhere, but at Hermione and Harry, Ron glared at them most of the meal. Thankfully, he said nothing. Ginny looked miserable and kept to herself, not really talking to anyone, despite several people trying to engage her in conversation. Lavender frowned, "You've let us all go on and on about our breaks, how was yours?"
"I don't really want to talk about it right now, okay."
"Oh, sorry." Lavender rolled her eyes and turned back around to face Pavarti.
At then end of the meal Dolores Umbridge stood up. "Hem hem. Your attention please students." She paused as if she expected them to say something. "I have exciting news. The Minister of Magic has appointed me High Inquisitor. He is very concerned about the goings on in the school after this incident with the love potions, especially since the current administration has been unable to determine the culprit. Just follow the rules and I'm sure we will all get along just fine." She smiled at them with a sickly toady smile. "Over the next few weeks I will be observing classes and evaluating the professors. I urge you to please come forward with any concerns you might have."
Hermione wanted to roll her eyes, but refrained. She knew the ministry desperately wanted to eliminate what they saw as Dumbledore's power base. On some level she agreed the old man needed someone to look into what he was doing, but not at the expense of her education.
After dinner, she and Harry headed to the Headmaster's office, giving the password and going up the stairs. The rest of the people involved waited inside, along with two aurors. "Hem hem." Umbridge cleared her throat. "The minister has been informed that one of the people has come forward and confessed everything. Appropriate steps will be made to punish those guilty."
Lachlan bristled, "But you don't intend to tell us?"
Umbridge looked at him like he was a small child. "You don't need to know what happened. The Ministry is in charge now, we'll take care of you."
"I don't need you to take care of me. I need you to tell me what happened to me."
"Now, Mr Cole, you need to mind your tone and watch your manners. The adults will handle this. That is all you need to know. You are dismissed."
As they made their way towards the common rooms, Hermione quietly filled in Honey and Lachlan what had occurred. "I admit I have no idea what the punishments will be, but knowing Sirius, and Mr Nott I don't think they will be light."
"But Ginny is free from punishment?" seethed Honey.
"From legal punishment. She still lied to the teachers and headmaster. And the twins say she's grounded for a really long time." Harry informed them.
"But Molly encouraged her to use potions. She certainly never saw anything really wrong with it." Hermione interjected.
"George said Arthur has laid down the law with both of them. Using a potion once to get attention is one thing in his book, but repeated use to keep the attention is crossing the line."
"Sure, makes sense I guess." Lachlan replied.
The next morning at breakfast, Lucius's owl soared in with a short letter. Hermione gave a little laugh and and handed it to Harry. "Seems Umbridge in the only one wanting to hold onto the illusion of power by refusing to tell us anything." The letter contained the official decision following a late night Wizengamot hearing. Essence had been given a chance to refute Ginny's confession, but had declined once the twins agreed to take truth serum to prove they had not given anyone the candies, nor had granted anyone access. After deliberation it was agreed Essence would compensate the twins the expense of their stolen products, plus 100 galleons each for pain and suffering. She also had to pay all other victims 200 galleons for pain and suffering. She had to publish a public apology, mentioning all of them, in every major wizarding publication at her own expense within the next publication cycle. In lieu of prison time, given her age, she was placed on 75 years of probation. She was not to perform, create, or use any magic or magical product that was in anyway manipulative magic. This included glamours and other cosmetic products. At school both Ginny and Essence had been given three weeks of detentions with each professor they lied to, even though she hadn't been involved, Umbridge had managed to include herself in the punishment. They were banned from quidditch, including attending the games, for the rest of the year. And they were not allowed to leave school grounds for any reason other than Easter Break or a complete evacuation of the school.
Word of the confession and punishment spread almost as fast as it passed amongst the fifth years that Harry Potter promised to run a Defense practicum study group. Even sixth and seventh years clamored to sign up. The morning after their first session a new education decree declared an study groups larger than two people had to be sanctioned by the professor of that subject.
Educational decrees began almost immediately after Christmas break. They were how Umbridge tried to maintain control of the school. The first few had been things like new shorter library hours, stricter punishments for magic in the hallways, and one stating students of different genders had to be eight inches apart at all times. Most students read them, shrugged, and carried on with their day. One morning the decree was aimed at Lee Jordan's pet spider, but it mentioned unsanctioned pets. Hermione quickly wrote to Lucius about getting permission for Tangle. When Hermione saw the one about study groups she laughed. "Then we'll just hold it in secret."
She instructed Harry to find a place to hold the meetings while she devised a way to communicate meeting times in secret and headed to the library to finish devising a means of communication. She had just finished making notes on the protean charm, when Pansy Parkinson approached her with a Slytherin second year in tow.
"Oi, Malfoy. The kid wants to ask you a question, but he's scared you'll hex him or some shite."
"Why would he think that?"
"Because you have the reputation of being a badass. Ask her."
The boy shuffled his feet nervously. "How do I send a letter to someone in the muggle world?"
"Well, you would need their address first of all. Do you have it?"
He looked anxiously at Pansy. "Yeah."
"Okay, you owl the letter to a owl post in Scotland. They send it from the post office to the address."
"Is there a way for that person to write back?"
"Yeah. They write to you care of Hogwarts, or where ever you are and the letter gets sent on from the post office. I warn you, it takes way longer than owl post."
"That's okay. I just want to be able to write my squib cousin without my parents knowing."
Hermione smiled brightly. "Well, I'm glad I could help."
"Thanks, Malfoy." The boy ran off to write his letter.
"Thank, Malfoy." agreed Pansy. "Draco offered to ask, but I worried he would bollocks up the answer."
"You're welcome, Parkinson."
"Well, see you at the study session once you get it running."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I would like at least an acceptable on my OWL."
"Me, too." The girls parted ways, each going to her own common room.
Harry excitedly waited for Hermione. "Dobby showed me the perfect place. A hidden room up on the seventh floor. It's perfect."
"Great, I just have to make the coins and we're ready. We'll have to risk spreading everything by word of mouth."