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Thursday, 20 September 2012

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"You look nervous."

"I don't know how I let you talk me into this."

"It just stands to reason that if I am to go to a masquerade that I would take a handsome wizard with me. Just a little something that matches my dress. Don't be nervous. You get to wear a masque."

"This little thing doesn't exactly hide who I am. I would try to convince you to leave me behind, but now that people know about us that would just be twice as bad."

"Exactly. If I back down now and give into them then they will question my judgement and my sanity for ever dating you and for keeping it a secret. They will say I am not the right person to be minister. The only way to go now is forward. We need to prove them wrong."

"I just feel like I've been tortured enough today. First Luna and then Potter and Weasley, and now this masquerade."

"Oh, you love quidditch the lot of you. Hanging out with my friends can't have been all bad."

"It was the Ballycastle Bats. That team is just dreadful. The Harpies won with 210 points to their 10, and it was a fluke that they got that single goal. It wasn't a match. It was just a sad little training exercise for the Harpies."

"At least you guys could bond over how dreadful the game was."

"What I don't understand is how Weasley still favours the Chudley Cannons. They're almost as bad as the Bats."

"You know, if you are going to make it even half believable that the tree of you are friends then you might try calling them Harry and Ron."

"Oh great."

"You are an excellent political schemer and I know you can see the merit in at least pretending to be in with the golden trio."

"I know, I know. Stop pestering me."

"You look great at least. Just strap a confident smile on that face of yours and lets go enjoy ourselves. No, you are not allowed to smile like a lunatic all night. No smirking either. Makes you look like you've done something devious. Ok, maybe you shouldn't smile. Oh, whatever. Lets just go."

A port key had been provided. The masquerade was to be held at the Unicorn, which was a very nice restaurant in Godric's Hollow. The rumor was that Fawley had been so confident about getting through round one of the elections that he had booked the restaurant a couple of months ago. And now that everything had been paid for he might as well go through with the spectacle.

They arrived in the entrance hall, Hermione wearing purple and Draco wearing black with purple details. Their masks, like everyone else's were magical. At a certain angle it looked like they were an animal. Draco's mask was an eagle while Hermione's mask was a lion. But most of the time they just looked like themselves with a small piece of lace attached to their faces. Looking across the crowd they could see flashes of animal heads as people moved and turned.

"I can feel the hostility hitting us like a brick wall."
"Yes, we probably should have arrived with Harry."
"Is Potter here already?"
"Try that question one more time using his real name."
"Is Harry here already?"
"I don't think so. He said something about eating at the Burrow with Ginny and the kids and hen coming here around eight."
"I see read hair over there. Isn't that some Weasley or other?"
"Ah, Bill and Fleur are here. Let's go say hi."
"Do we have to?"

"Come on."

- # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # -

"May I cut in?"
"I'll go get us some drinks."

Harry took Hermione in his arms and they started dancing as Draco took off in the direction of the bar.

"You're late."
"I know. I'm sorry. Is it bad?"
"Somewhat. There is a lot of staring. People seem to be trying to make up their minds about if I am being imperiused or not."
"You could always dump him."

"Don't be mean, Harry."

"Just an idea. Don't mind me. Just tell me how I can help with the situation."
"We'll I guess things might improve tomorrow when the Quibbler comes out. We just have to survive until then."
"And Hannah's cousin at the White WIzard is running it's story on Neolin tomorrow too."
"I still can't believe we are doing that."
"I looked into it a bit today, and there might be something to the accusations. I need the article to come out if I'm going to officially reopen the case."
"I still feel bad about it."
"I know. You're a saint, Hermione."
"Want to do one thing for me?"
"Anything."
"Hang out with Draco while I dance with a few of these idiots and prove I'm still a worthy candidate."

"You're mean."
"I know. But you love me anyway."
"Ok. Here comes Oliver. I bet he wants to dance with you."

"How do I look?"
"Like someone who is not under the imperius curse."
"Perfect. I'll see you later Harry."

Harry handed Hermione over to Oliver and clapped him on the back as he left, heading for the bar. He spotted the blond wizard leaning by a pillar with a glass in his hand. He smirked when he saw Harry approaching.

"Have you come to ask me to dance?"

"No, I don't think that was part of my instructions. This is more in the vicinity of protective custody."

"She's good at giving instructions that one. My instructions were to start calling you Harry. Apparently we're friends now."

"That will take some getting used to."

"I guess one must move with the times."

"Yes, I suppose one just has to be grateful that the times do change. Those old times were not fun."

"No, they were not."

"Want to come to the bar with me? I could use a drink."

"And here I thought you were on duty protecting me."

"I never said I needed an alcoholic drink."

"Well, I know a good spell for extracting the alcohol out of a drink. Makes it appear as if one is drinking."

"You don't drink?"

"It's my policy never to get drunk around strangers. You never know when someone will come after you."

"You sound as paranoid as I am."

"Life has taught us to be smart, I suppose."

"Want to teach me that spell?"

"Sure. Grab us a couple of fire whiskeys and let's find a table."

- # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # -

A while later Hermione found them discussing quidditch in a corner. Jonathan, who worked with Harry at the auror office, and his wife Anne, who worked at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, had joined the two wizards. Hermione hit Draco on the shoulder and he moved a bit to make room for her.

"Well, that was painful."

"What was?"

"The dance floor. I just met about fifteen wizards who all felt compelled to give me relationship advice."

"I see. Anything good?"

"Oh, there was the one about how I should never lend out my wand because it might get tampered with."

"That's always good advice."

"And one of them recommended some potion or other in case my 'female hormones' were clouding my judgement."

"Wow. Which century was he from?"

"Not any of the recent ones, that's for sure. How are things going here? Aren't you lot supposed to be wearing masks? It is a masquerade."

"We can observe the crowd better without them on."

"The Aurors are on duty. Someone just tried to hex me."

"Really?"

"Oh, yea. Fawley's granddaughter. Apparently she is a big fan of yours."

"What did you do?"

"I didn't even notice. But Potter here, I mean Harry, is quick with the wand. He countered her curse and gave her a stern warning."

"So no arrest?"

"Nah. I didn't want to ruin the party for everyone."

"Maybe we should just go."

"And ruin the fun? We have spotted at least three people in the crowd itching to reach for their wand. We're basically just sitting here betting on who will attack first."

"I'm the bait. Just hoping the two Aurors and one DMLE officer know what they're doing."

"Are we in danger?"

"I doubt it. These are just self righteous kids. They don't know any seriously damaging curses."

"We just figured it would be some extra publicity if Draco over here got attacked for dating you."

"Should I leave so you can continue playing you little game?"

"Stay for one drink and then kiss your boyfriend before going dancing again. That should send someone over the edge."

"And you're Ok with being bait?"

"I agree with Jonathan that it could be good publicity for you. Specially with Lovegood's sappy article coming out tomorrow."

"Ok, then. Get me that drink."

- # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # -

Hermione was dancing with Colin Thomasson, who had been in the same year as Charlie Weasley, although in Ravenclaw, when she heard a commotion. There were bangs and screams coming from the direction where Harry and Draco had been sitting. The music stopped and Hermione tried to push through the crowd to see what was going on.

When she finally got to the front she saw two immobilised dark haired and angry looking witches on the floor. Jonathan was in the middle of arresting them and Anne was addressing the crowd in her official DMLE capacity. Neither Harry nor Draco could be seen anywhere. When Anne spotted Hermione she spoke to her loudly and clearly so everyone, including the press. could hear her.

"Miss Granger. I regret to inform you that your date this evening, Mr. Draco Malfoy, has been attacked. We have arrested the two witches responsible and Auror Potter has taken him to St. Mungos for treatment. May I suggest that you go there and get an update on his condition directly from the healers."

"Thank you. I will do that," Hermione replied. Before she apparated out of there she spotted a blond pair turn from the scene and head for the exit. Narcissa and Lucius had heard Anne's report.

- # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # -

At St. Mungo's Hermione did not get any information from anyone. Not until Narcissa suddenly stood besides her. Hermione glanced behind her and saw Lucius standing there too. The three of them were then told that Draco had received second degree burns to large parts of his body and was being treated on the second floor.

The three of them were quiet when they rode the elevator up together. Hermione noticed that Narcissa put her hand in Lucius's, seeking comfort. On the second floor they were directed to a large room with 16 beds. Draco was the only patient there this evening and as they entered they saw him sitting on one of the beds, naked down to his waist. Two healers had their wands out and were working on him. Much of his back, shoulders and left arm was dark red, but he smiled at them and did not appear to be in any pain. Hermione noticed that for once his dark mark was visible. Presumably the healers had ended the concealment charm as they were examining him.

+ I'm fine. Don't worry. It doesn't even hurt anymore. +

Harry spotted them entering and came over to update them. "He's Ok. I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough to block the burning curse but they were working together and set up a diversion. We weren't expecting that. I got him here directly and the healers got to work. They're not really updating me on the progress, but I've seen this type of injury before and in my experience it is one of those things that they can fix in an hour or two."

"Thank you, Harry."

She decided not to mention that Draco had been playing bait in front of his parents. Narcissa and Lucius didn't say anything. At least they weren't talking out loud. They were probably also communicating with Draco in their own way.

"I'm guessing we shouldn't disturb the healers while they are working."

"Probably not."

"Do you know if he will have to stay the night?"

"They haven't said anything, but based on my previous experience I doubt it."

"I guess we wait then."

- # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # -

Draco got discharged about an hour later with a potion that he was instructed to put on the affected area twice a day for the coming three days. The healers assured everyone he would make a full recovery and everyone headed home. Harry left first, then Draco hugged his parents goodby as they left and finally he and Hermione stepped into the floo and headed for Nott manor. Theo was there waiting for them as they exited the floo.

"You're alive then. I figured they wouldn't get rid of you that easely."
"Alive and kicking. Just a minor incident."

"The wireless seemed thoroughly confused about what had happened. Someone got arrested and Potter had disappeared and they kept interviewing witnesses who had no clue about anything."
"Draco and Harry were just being stupid."
"How so?"
"They were waving Draco about in front of hundreds of angry people and making bets about who would snap first and curse him."

"Don't be overdramatic. Most of the mob was just glaring and muttering. Very few were mad enough to actually reach for a wand."

"It was still stupid.

"Iit was better this way. The mob needed to get it out of their system. If noone had hexed me tonight then I would have had to look over my shoulder for days or even weeks. This way it all happened in a controlled environment."
"You ended up at St. Mungo's, Draco."
"My point exactly. Potter was ready to whisk me away to the healers immediately. Much better than the alternative."
"I would argue that it would have been better not to get hexed at all."
"And based on years of experience I can tell you that this is the best way of dealing with an angry mob. Let someone snap and take the hit and then they feel like justice has been served."
"That's horrible."
"That's reality."

Theo just looked amused at their bickering.

"Well, since you two are obviously Ok then I'm going to head to bed. See you at breakfast."

And with that he left them to their little argument about tonight's events.

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Friday, 21 September 2012

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As much as the papers had been filled with stories about Draco the previous days (many of which were completely made up) it now seemed like the papers were getting tired of the constant Draco-bashing. The attention span of the magical media was just as short as that of muggle media. You can only interest people in the same story for a day or two before people start demanding a new angle or something else to read about.

It was the perfect timing for the Quibbler story about the unfortunate young boy, burdened by the sins of his family name, trying to survive a war on the wrong side. The story of how that boy had been judged, sentenced and shunned. How he had befriended the muggles he had been told to despice and how one beautiful witch could see past his family name and discover the honorable man he was today.

Draco barely managed to read past the first paragraph before throwing down the paper in disgust. His so called friends would make him suffer for this one. Hermione picked up the paper and Draco visibly cringed every time he heard her aww-s and sighs over the sappy article.

He tried to turn his attention to the Prophet who was mostly covering the events of last night. He was pleased that the tone here was also considerably kinder towards him than it had been for the past few days. It was exactly as he suspected. Taking a direct hit in public like that had fulfilled people's need for justice. Now he had been hexed the media seemed willing to used a slightly kinder tone when discussing him.

But the best of all this morning was the White Wizard article about Neolin and Blaise's mother. The journalist had gone above and beyond when trying to get to the bottom of the story. She had found several witnesses willing to confirm that they had been seen together and even a picture someone had snapped of the pair in muggle London. It did not explicitly say he might be responsible for murder but it did give a clear timeline that basically forced people to come to that conclusion.

This evened the playing field. Both Hermione's and Neolin's dirty laundry was out in the open and it was up to people to decide which one was more despicable. Falling for a former Death Eater or making your lovers husband disappear.

Neolin and Hermione were both invited to give a public talk on stage in Diagon Alley that afternoon and then there was the ministry event tonight which would be broadcasted live on the wireless. Then they would just have to see how the pebbles fell tomorrow.

Hermione finished reading. She looked up and studied Draco for a moment. She concentrated, and then he heard her voice inside his head.

+ Guess what. I found you. +

Draco's eyes meet hers and a smile spread across his face.

+ I knew you could manage it. +

+ Well, to be honest I had some help. I asked your mother yesterday at the hospital and she gave me some pointers. +

+ Did you tell her that I could project to you? +

+ Yes, but I did not tell her when that had started. She seemed rather smug about it all. She probably thinks we're soulmates now or something. +

+ Good to know. I don't keep many secrets from them, but this is one. I'm not sure what they would say about me helping you back then. Fourteen years ago they would have questioned my sanity. It was war and I put all of us at risk by reaching out to you. I'm not sure what their opinion would be now, but I think it's probably better if they don't know. +

+ Should I not have asked for your mother's help? +

+ It's fine. Don't worry. I'm happy you can answer me now. I like hearing your projected voice. +

+ It's a neat trick you invented. Do you want me to read you this article? It's lovely. +

+ NO! I never want to read that thing. +

+ But you sound like such a catch. The misunderstood bad-boy. And rich and handsome on top of that. I am going to have to fight of hordes of witches in order to keep you. +

+ No need. I'm not interested in hordes of witches. Specially not that sort. +

+ Good to know. +

+ You know, I just thought of something. +

+ What? +

+ Now that we no longer need our tongues for speaking we could be snogging while having this conversation. +

+ Excellent point. How are your burn wounds? +

+ Gone. I am completely pain-free. +

+ Liar. But come here anyway and put your mouth to some good use. +

- # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # -

Harry and Ginny, Ron and Pansy, Draco and Hermione all went together to the ministry that night. Tickets to the event had been hard to come by and the ministry had considered moving the event to bigger venue. But in the end they just announced that those without a ticket would just have to stay home and listen the live broadcast.

The six of them approached the balcony together and observed the scene. This time the entire grand hall was decorated in red and purple, the colours of the two candidates. The stage had been placed at the far end and there you could see Cho and Lee sitting on stage conversing. They were being broadcasted life on the Wizarding Wireless Network.

Two clear columns, decorated with golden vines, stood majestically on either side of the stage. Voting had started at noon today, but there were only a few hundred pebbles in each column. Very few people had voted so far. People were probably a bit more undecided now that both candidates had been involved in scandal. The voters probably wanted to see what would happen tonight before making up their mind.

Dinner would be served in an hour so people were just milling about enjoying their cocktails. Pansy had suggested that they could buy tickets for as many as possible of Hermione's friends and she had told her to go ahead and make it happen. So courtesy of Hermione, Pansy had sent out tickets to a whole lot of people who had been in Gryffindor around the time they had attended Hogwarts, plus spouses, a few of her new Slytherin friends, the entire Weasley clan (except Charlie and Anita who were hosting a pajamas party for all the kids tonight), a few of the Dumbledore's Army members, some of her old Hogwarts teachers, the Purple Palace staff, Alice Thompson and a few of her friends, the F.R.E.D. staff, Rowena Lestrange and her very good friend Fauna Fortescue. Even Hagrid was there, looking somewhat out of place as always.

Many of those present tonight usually didn't bother with these fancy events or simply couldn't afford their own ticket. But with Pansy buying about 80 of the available tickets many who had assumed they would get tickets had to go without. The Wizarding Wireless had reported that some had been outraged when they couldn't get a hold of tickets. Draco's parents were among those who had to stay home tonight. Ron had commented that buying tickets for people who had already decided to vote for her was idiotic, but Hermione just answered that she didn't care. It would be nice for once to be surrounded by friends and not have to fish for votes. People would vote as they would, and she didn't really care. Draco had taken her side, saying that it would be good to have a pro-Hermione atmosphere. He expected many of those present would get interviewed by Cho or Lee. Having the crowd full of friends would be like free advertising.

As they walked down the stairs a spotlight appeared out of nowhere and found them. Hermione waved while the rest of them tried to fall back to give her some room in the spotlight. The spotlight would have none of it and just widened to include all of them. It followed the group all the way down the stairs as Cho commented on their arrival for the benefit of her listeners.

-Cho: -

"And I hope you all read the Quibbler this morning, for Miss Granger is escorted by none other than Mr. Malfoy himself. If the article is to be believed, then we may have misjudged the former Slytherin. There seems to be a small possibility that the arrogant and angry little boy I remember from my days at Hogwarts has grown up, and that golden girl Hermione has taken notice. Of course it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who has followed Hermione over the years that she would forgive past grievances. She and Harry Potter have always spoken in favour of the rehabilitation program and in favor of forgiving crimes committed during the war. I guess time will tell if she is right to trust Mr. Malfoy now."

- # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # -

After dinner Hermione and Neolin Parkinson were invited onto the stage to face one in yet another friendly debate. Lee was there to greet them as they sat down opposite one another. This was their final opportunity to sway anyone still undecided about whom to vote for. It did not surprise anyone when the discussion started to revolve around what had been printed in the papers lately.

- Neolin: -

"I think it is utterly appalling, what the press has been printing lately. Utterly appalling."

- Lee: -

"Yes, Mr. Parkinson. But then again I distinctly remember you praising the Daily Prophet for their investigatory work the other day. Could your change of heart maybe have something to do with how your own secrets have suddenly landed on the front page?"

- Neolin: -

"Utter nonsense, the lot of it. I have never been romantically involved with that woman. How are they even allowed to print these lies?"

- Lee: -

"What do you think Ms. Granger?"

- Hermione: -

"I developed a tough skin when it comes to the press a long time ago. I have learned not to let it bother me. Someone once suggested that I started collecting all the articles about myself just to see if there were more true ones or false ones."

- Lee: -

"Are there more true ones?"

- Hermione: -

"There is always a certain mix. The one about me and Mr. Flint being romantically involved was complete fabrication, but the one about me getting my first library card at age 4 was true."

- Lee: -

"But do you agree with Mr. Parkinson that the press should be regulated?"

- Hermione: -

"I think it is important to have free press, and I want to give the journalists the benefit of the doubt and say that they are probably not making up lies intentionally. I believe journalists try to act honourably and work with the information they have at the time. Often they are pressed by quickly approaching deadlines so they may not always be able to investigate rumours as thoroughly as they maybe should, but no. I do not want the ministry regulating what the press is or is not allowed to print. I trust the public to be able to sort the lies from the truth."

- Lee: -

"What about you Mr. Parkinson, are you for or against free press?"

- Neolin: -

"I think it is unfair to say that I am against free press, but I do think that publications should be held accountable for printing pure fabrications."

- Lee: -

"I suspect that we are talking about the White Wizard article about you that came out this morning. Are you saying there was no truth to any of it."

- Neolin: -

"Not a single sentence in that article rings true. Not a single one. Lies the lot of it."

- Lee: -

"The artikel named quite a few people that seemed convinced that there was something going on there, and there was even a picture. Are you accusing the White Wizard of fabricating the picture?"

- Neolin: -

"No, of course not. That picture was taken in muggle London. Of course one stops and says hi when one happens to run into a fellow witch or wizard in muggle London. But the fact that one is polite is not the same as going about having secret romances."

- Lee: -

"Talking about secret romances, do you want to comment on that topic Ms. Granger?"

- Hermione: -

"There is nothing secret about my romantic life. Of course there have been a few misconceptions by the press in this regard, but as I have explained before: Yes, me and Mr. Malfoy started seeing one another recently. Of course we knew of one one another when we were children. We had several classes together at Hogwarts. But we hadn't bumped into one another for a long time and it wasn't until Ron and Pansy started seeing one another that we got reacquainted. For security reasons I was unable to tell the public about us while my would be assassin was on the loose but all of our friends and family knew. And as soon as Harry had apprehended the culprit I told Luna that she could print the true story about myself and Mr. Malfoy. Unfortunately, it came across as if we were hiding our relationship when the Prophet beat the Quibbler to the story and presented it as being a scandal instead of the budding romance it is."

- Lee: -

"Unfortunate timing, simply?"

- Hermione: -

"Precisely. Unfortunate timing. I really had enough on my plate with the elections and the assassin following me, but things happen when they happen and somehow I managed a little bit of romance in the middle of all this madness."

- # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # -

"You two should be ashamed of yourselves."

Draco and Hermione were standing at the bar with Ron and Pansy, when they got interrupted. They looked for the source of the comment and found an enraged looking wizard looking at Draco.

"Now calm down. There is no need for accusations. Just calmly explain what has gotten you upset then I am sure we can talk about it like adults," Hermione replied.

"Don't patronise me, witch. You should know better than to sleep with a bloody murderer. How can you live with yourself?"

Behind him they could see a couple of his friends looking just as angry. Muttering and edging him on. All three of them were obviously drunk and had worked themselves up to an angry little mob looking for whatever they defined as justice. Draco stepped back and tried to shrink into the background as Hermione and Pansy positioned themselves between him and the assailants. Draco knew that him getting into a fight here, even just a verbal fight, would not be a good idea. Whatever happened, it was better if he was not a part of it.

"Draco never killed anyone. We were just kids back then. Stuck in a war we did not start or have any control over," Pansy said.

"Just calm down guys. Let's talk about this. Calling people ugly names will not help anyone."

"You should be ashamed of yourself, Granger. My cousin Kevin died in an attack by Death Eaters. If it wasn't your boyfriend there under one of the masks then it was his parents or his friends and he probably laughed about it when he heard about it."

"I'm sure he didn't. It was war. Horrible things happen during war. People died on both sides and everyone was hurting."

"Maybe you should be ashamed of yourself pointing your ugly finger at innocent people."

"Calm down Pansy."

" Innocent?! You must be joking? Him and his friends killed people. Maybe you were there too. Were you maybe under one of those masks yourself? I remember you following him around like a little puppy when you were kids at Hogwarts."

The shouting match was starting to draw attention. One of the first to notice what was about to happen was Harry who quickly left Ginny on the dance floor to go help his friends. But when the wizard started insulting Pansy Ron's famous temper got the better of him as he stepped in front of the girls.

"Don't call my girlfriend a Death Eater. You don't know what you're talking about. Who is to say you weren't behind one of those masks yourself."

"Ron!"

"Maybe some secret family feud you wanted to take care off? What did cousin Kevin do to you? Did he get more Christmas presents?"

The punch hit Ron squarely on the nose and they all heard it break before he fell back. At the same point Harry arrived on the scene, grabbed the culprit and activated his portkey. They disappeared. His two friends paled as they were left behind just staring at a member of the golden trio sitting on the floor with a broken and bloody nose. Their friend had assaulted a war hero. They took a step back but before they could get further Harry's friend Jonathan was there, grabbed both their hands and activated his own portkey, disappearing from the scene.

Hermione and Pansy bent down to help Ron. Hermione took out her wand and carefully mended Ron's nose. Then she cleaned off the blood. He looked fine now, but they all knew that without the proper potions the bruising would appear soon. The crowd was watching them and Ginny came over to give her brother a hug and see if he was Ok.

"I am going to suggest that we go home now," came from Pansy.

"Probably a good idea," Ron muttered as a response. The two of them said their goodbyes and headed for the floo.

Then there were three. Hermione, Ginny and Draco, who was still trying to look invisible. This is when Lee found them and pointed a microphone towards Hermione.

- Lee: -

"So, you seem to be having an exciting evening. Could you please tell our audience at home what happened?"

Hermione immediately heard Draco projecting towards her:

+ Please, keep my name out of this. Spin it somehow to something that will get you votes. +

Hermione nodded slightly and then put on her best fake smile as she faced Lee.

- Hermione: -

"Yes, Lee. Things are never calm around me it seems."

- Lee: -

"Another attack?"

- Hermione: -

"No, Lee. For once I was not the target. We just got approached by three burly wizards looking for a fight. One of them ended up with his first on Ron's nose."

- Lee: -

"Why were they so angry at Ron Weasley?"

- Hermione: -

"It was a rather brief exchange so I can only guess at their motives. But it seemed to be about a war that ended over a decade ago."

- Lee: -

"How so?"

- Hermione: -

"Well, they say that time heals, but the fact is that many witches and wizards are still hurting. People died and those who live were left with deep wounds. We are all still mourning, each in our own way. Unfortunately some people grieve with their firsts when they drink. Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and myself worked relentlessly for months at finding horcruxes and destroying them. This is of course well documented. For many, however, we did not work fast enough. While we were in hiding people were dying."

- Lee: -

"Did Ron's attacker suffer losses in the war?"

- Hermione: -

"Yes. Of course most of us did."

- Lee: -

"Sad but true. But this reaction must be a little bit extreme. Did he really blame Ron for not working fast enough?"

Hermione sighed audibly and shook her head.

- Hermione: -

"I can not speak for him or fully understand his motives. All I know is that the alcohol seemed to have brought forward his old wounds. I lost people close to me too so I understand that those who lost family members will never forget those who fell, even after all these years. But I hope people can remember that we did eventually win the war against Voldemort. It was not easy for anyone and we will never forget the tragedies that occurred. But it could have been so much worse. Those in charge at the time did not want to recognise the danger or act to prevent what happened, so in the end it was up to a few teenagers to save the day. Let's not remember that we could be living in a very different world today."

+ Way to go, Granger. +

+ Granger? +

+ Sorry, old habit. +

- Lee: -

"Oh, I don't think you need to remind anyone of that. We are all glad that there are people like you in this world Hermione."

- Hermione: -

"Now don't go overboard here. I do what I can but I am sure the wizarding world would have been fine even if I had never gotten that Hogwarts letter."

- Lee: -

"Oh, my world would have missed you Hermione. Never doubt that."

- Hermione: -

"You're flirting, Lee. Does that mean you are going to vote for me?"

- Lee: -

"As a professional journalist I can neither confirm nor deny the colour of my pebble. All I can tell you that my vote was cast this afternoon so I can sleep in tomorrow."

- Hermione: -

"Good for you. I am not sure I will sleep tonight. This is getting quite exciting."

- Lee: -

"I couldn't agree more. Very exciting indeed. But back to what just happened: Where is the culprit now? Do you think I can interview him?"

- Hermione: -

"Harry took him in for questioning. I expect he will get a sobering potion and a chance to explain himself."

- Lee: -

"And after that?"

- Hermione: -

"I must admit that I am not sure what the punishment is for punching a war hero in the face with full force. I guess it depends on if he has done anything like this before. He could get a warning, it could be a fine or it could be therapy."

- Lee: -

"What would you push for if it was up to you?"

- Hermione: -

"I would have to know a bit more about his motives and situation before giving any recommendations, but if it is as I suspect; that he is still hurting because he lost people in the war, then I would probably recommend therapy so he could deal with those feelings and move on."

+ He is so going to hate you now for making him sound like a crybaby. +

+ Oh, I doubt he would have voted for me anyway. +

- Lee: -

"Do you think there is any chance he was angry because you and Ron were standing at the bar with Mr. Malfoy, a convicted Death Eater?"

- Hermione: -

"As I said before, Lee; I can not know for sure why he approached us. But I hope people have taken the time to read the Quibbler today. The article there clearly explains that being singled out by Voldemort himself and forced to take the mark while still underage does not make Mr. Malfoy a true Death Eater. Draco has never killed anyone. Just as circumstances forced me, a muggle born witch targeted for being friends with Harry Potter, to go on the run, circumstances are entirely to blame for what happened to Draco back then. He did the best he could in an impossible situation."

+ You're playing with fire here. Maybe a different topic would be good at this point. +

- Lee: -

"Yes, I read the article. It was quite interesting."

"There have been quite many interesting articles coming out this week. I really hope not everything that has been printed has been true, Lee. So many ridiculous stories flying about, but then again, the press has always been fond of exaggerating in order to sell more issues. Remember how it used to be in the nineties, Lee?"

- Lee: -

"Oh yes, I remember the good old days. When Potter was deranged for thinking that Voldemort had returned and when people finally figured out he hadn't been lying the media immediately came under Voldemort's control. I remember a time with a war raging and the media never reporting of any attacks, disappearances or deaths."

"Good thing you were on duty, Lee. Your reputation from back then does wonders when it comes to trusting the media. You tend to be good at sticking to the truth."

- Lee: -

"Thank you Hermione. You are too kind. Now tell our listeners about what has been true and what has been lies this week."

"When it comes to truths about me personally then I can always recommend the Quibbler. Luna Lovegood has me thoroughly under her thumb and can somehow always squeeze the truth out of me. As for other publications I can tell you that; No, I am not under any imperius curse, and No, I was never a double agent."

- Lee: -

"I must have missed that one."

- Hermione: -

"Oh yes, It was suggested somewhere that I had been secretly working for Voldemort. I can assure you that this muggle-born was always 100% behind Harry Potter."

- Lee: -

"I believe you. And what about the article in the White Wizard about your opponent this morning?"

+ Careful. +

Hermione took a couple of seconds to compose herself.

- Hermione: -

"Honestly, Lee. I don't know what to believe. I mean, if this was a case of Mr. Parkinson falling in love with a married woman then I must at least question his ability to always act honorably. He has, of course denied the whole thing, but the evidence seems rather incriminating. One has to wonder. If he has no issue with being involved with a married woman, are there any other inconvenient rules he ignores when it suits him?"

- Lee: -

"Yes, that is the question, isn't it."

- Hermione: -

"And then again, it almost feels like the White Wizard reporter was implying that there was even more to that story. I really hope there wasn't anything more to the story. But who knows."

- Lee: -

"What have your friends said about it? What is Harry Potter saying?"

- Hermione: -

"Harry is an Auror and he thinks like an Auror. He will undoubtedly want to investigate any accusations raised, but at the same time he is well acquainted with gossip and rumors. Sometimes there is truth behind rumors and sometimes there isn't. Personally I really hope there is no truth to it, but I think it is hard to know what to believe at this point."

- Lee: -

"Always a dilemma. One wants to know everything about a person before electing them. So tell me; Do you have any secrets that the press hasn't found yet?"

- Hermione: -

"Oh, probably. But nothing relevant to my qualifications for the ministry of magic post. I mean, I once fell asleep without brushing my teeth and I once forgot to buy Harry a birthday present so I took an ugly vase he owned and transfigured it into a decent present. He never noticed the missing vase."

- Lee: -

"You are practically a criminal, Hermione."

- Hermione: -

"Everyone has little secrets here and there, Lee. It isn't about that. It's about trusting a person's character and judgement. People should vote for me because they should trust that I will always act in their best interest. I really hope people read that last chapter of my book. And preferably the entire book. I meant everything I said in there."

- Lee: -

"Do you want to come by the wireless tomorrow and read an extract from your book?"

- Hermione: -

"I would love to, Lee. Just tell me when and I will be there."

- Lee: -

"Does tomorrow morning at 11 work for you."

- Hermione: -

"I will see you there."

- Lee: -

"Then we thank you for your time and let you enjoy the rest of your evening."

They heard Cho start talking on stage and Lee took off his headset.

"Thanks Hermione. Always a pro."

"I'm getting better."

"You'll be there tomorrow?"

"Of course."

"Excellent. I'll see you then. Must go now"

"Bye Lee."

Hermione turned back to Ginny and Draco.

"Can we go home now?"

+ No, we can't. We have to stay at least until midnight. +

"Well, Harry just left me on the dance floor. I'm up for leaving."

"Apparently I have to stay until midnight. What time is it now?"

"Ten past eleven."

"Fun."

"Well, you two can stay, but pregnancy makes me tired. So without Harry holding me up, I'm going home before I collapse."

"Ok, Ginny. Go sleep. We'll keep up appearances here."

The two friends hugged and then Ginny nodded to Draco before heading for the grand staircase that lead to the floo connections.

+ You should be careful about projecting like that when I am being interviewed. +

+ Was it distracting? +

+ A little. +

+ I'm sorry. +

+ That's Ok. It just made me feel a little like a puppet with you as my puppet master. +

+ Really? +

+ Just a little. Do you want to dance? +

+ Sure, let's go. +

- # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # -

The great hall was slowly emptying. It was past midnight and the band had stopped playing. Hermione stood talking to a circle of potential voters while Draco stood at the bar with a glass of water. He decided to take a walk and check on the columns of pebbles one last time tonight. Many of those present had decided to vote tonight and it looked like Hermione was in the lead now. Of course that was not something one could trust, simply because Pansy had ensured that a large part of the guests tonight had been Hermione's supporters.

When he approached the column of purple pebbles he saw two feet sticking out from behind it. Someone was sitting there in the shadows leaning up against Hermione's column. Draco walked around the column, placing one hand on his wand just in case of any trouble. When he got around IT he discovered George Weasley on the floor holding a bottle of something strong. Before he had really decided on what to do George spotted him.

"Leave me alone, Malfoy. Just leave me alone."

Draco backed up contemplating what to do. This was Hermione's business partner. Any scandal he would cause tonight would be likely to lose her votes. Especially if she was there trying to be helpful.

He looked around trying to spot a red head in the crowd. He knew Ginny and Ron were gone, and so were the parents for they had said goodbye to Hermione before they left. But there were more Weasley's. Unfortunately, he didn't see any of them.

After a brief review of his options he realized he might have to call in the saviour of wizardkind to deal with this. Oh, the joy.

[Draco:] Are you around here somewhere or are you still busy?

[Harry:] I'm on the balcony observing the scene. You don't happen to know where my wife is?

[Draco:] She went home. I'm by the stage. Do you see me?

[Harry:] Yes, I see you.

[Draco:] We have a small situation that I don't want to bother Hermione with. Could you come here?

[Harry:] Sounds exciting.

[Draco:] Not really. But the press is still here and I don't want things to get exciting.

[Harry:] On my way.

[Draco:] Bring one of those portkeys of yours.

[Harry:] Ok. Want to tell me what we're dealing with.

[Draco:] Just a drunk that needs a quiet way out of here.

[Harry:] You?

[Draco:] Very funny.

Harry arrived and Draco filled him in.

"Now remember that George Weasley is Hermione's business partner. The best thing would be to get him somewhere safe as fast as possible. Before the press finds him."

"We'll go to my office. Want to come with us?"

"Sure."

+ I'm going with Potter to his office. No stress, but just join us when you are done. +

+ Ok. I'm almost done here. +

Harry bent down next to George and spoke quietly to him as he removed the bottle from his hand. When George nodded Harry took his hand and Draco saw a pen in his other hand. Draco grabbed onto Harry's shoulder and then he activated the portkey. George fell gracelessly onto the floor of Harry's office as Draco once again stepped back and did his best at being invisible.

"Ouch, that wasn't very nice of you Harry."

"Give me your hand, George, and I'll help you up. Then I can get you a potion to sober you up."

"No, thank you. I am fine here on the floor and I worked too hard on getting drunk to let you ruin it for me."

"Suit yourself, George."

Harry waved his wand and transfigured a folder of papers into a pillow. George accepted the offering.

"I need to get back to the great hall. Will you two be Ok?"

George looked around to try to spot who else was in the room. He shot up to a sitting position when his eyes fell on Draco and his eyes narrowed.

"You're not leaving me here with him! What's wrong with you?"

"I only have the one office. It looks to me like both of you are just waiting for a certain lovely little witch to have time to talk to you. You might as well wait together."

As he watched Harry leave, Draco briefly considered the possibility that Harry may have a sense of humour. Unlikely.

"I told you to leave me alone."

"I'm sorry for breathing, Weasley. Maybe if I just sit over here it won't bother you as much."

"Yes. You, breathing, not breathing, whatever."

George closed his eyes and tried his best to ignore Draco. Draco grabbed the Auror operations manual of Harry's desk, sat down and tried to find the chapter he had been half way through last time he was stuck in Harry's office. He tried to project towards Hermione but she was out of range.

"So what did you do to win her over?"

George had not opened his eyes, but ignoring Draco was obviously not working well for him.

"I have no idea."

"Are you going to screw it up?"

"Probably."

"Good. Just let me know if you need advice on how. I'm an expert."

"Good to know."

They stayed silent for a couple if minutes.

"Did she really take you to Perth?"

"It wasn't planned. Just sort of happened."

"Bastard."

Another minute of silence.

"I hate you, you know."

"You're not alone. I think there is a club you can join."

Silence.

"Iris broke up with me."

"I'm sorry, mate."

"We lasted a few weeks. Actually I think this one might be my longest relationship so far."

"I see."

"It's certainly longer than me and Hermione lasted."

"I guess that depends on how you count though. From where I'm standing it doesn't really look like she ever completely left you."

"She told you of our little hobby, did she?"

"I guess you could call it that, yes."

"Well, she still broke up with me. They always break up with me."

"Me too."

"Witches are the worst."

"It's not just witches. Plenty of muggle girls have broken up with me."

"Well the difference is that I'm a handsome hero while you're a pathetic Death Eater. My witches should want to stick around longer."

Draco did not have an answer to that. Getting into a verbal fight with a drunk George would accomplish nothing. Through the silence they could hear the elevator open in the distance. Draco tried projecting.

+ Is that you? +

+ Yes, I'm here now. What's going on? +

+ I'm here with George Weasley. His girlfriend broke up with him and he is drunk. +

+ Oh, no. +

They could hear her quicken her step. When she rushed in her eyes fell on George lying on the floor and she rushed to him.

"George. Are you Ok?"

He looked at her and like a hurt little child extended his arms towards her. She sat down and he sat up and they hugged.

"Tell me what happened."

"She left me. They always leave me."

"I'm here. It will be Ok."

George tightened his grip around Hermione and started crying. She stroked his back and tried to soothe him.

+ Are you ok? +

+ I'm not exactly enjoying seeing his arms around you, but I'm Ok. +

+ Just think of him like my sad little puppy. +

+ Just let me know if you're breaking up with me. I'll try to take it like a man and not like a puppy. +

+ I'm not breaking up with you. +

+ Good. +

+ Do you want to tell me what happened? +

+ I found him on the floor behind a column of purple pebbles, you are in the lead now by the way, I summoned Potter who then apparated us here and left us.+

+ Thank you for not just leaving him there, Draco. +

+ Why is he taking it so hard? He can't have been that much in love with this girl. +

+ It's not about Iris, really. I am starting to doubt he is even capable of falling in love like that. He is only half of a whole. One where there should have been two. He is broken. +

+ It's been 14 years since the other one died. +

+ The other one's name was Fred. And George will never be over that loss. Magical twins are so much more than just brothers. Their magic was so intertwined. He spent a long time in and out of St. Mungo's after the war. +

+ And once again St. Hermione comes to the rescue. +

+ I am one of the few people he opens up to. +

+ Are we staying here all night? +

+ No, we should try to get him home. Harry's office isn't that much fun. +

+ I'll go check if there is a floo connection anywhere close that we can use. +

+ Thank you. +

- # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # -

Back at Villa Villekulla George threw himself on the nearest couch, drew his wand and accioed both a glass and a bottle of whiskey. Draco discretely drew his own wand and without George noticing he removed the alcohol from the bottle. Hermione looked like she wanted to try to wrestle the bottle away from George.

+ Leave it. I made it non-alcoholic and it's good for him to get a little liquid in him. Just let me know if he grabs another bottle and then I will do the same to it.+

She relaxed and just sat down besides George, as Draco left for the kitchen to give them some privacy.

"Are you going to be Ok?"
"Am I ever?"

"No, I guess not."

Hermione decided to gently take the bottle away from George and put on the table. It would have looked weird if she hadn't.

"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No, not really. She just figured out that I suck, threw a tantrum and left.

"You're too good for her anyway."
"Says the one who left too."

"You know that I am not the one for you."
"I think it's more a case of me not being the one for you."
"Whatever. Iris is still a fool."

"Please don't send me home tonight."

"You're always welcome here. You know that."

"I called your boyfriend a Death Eater."

"He'll live."

"Do you think he'll curse me in the middle of the night?"

"You could apologise."

"I could. But I don't want to."

"Then I'll have to watch your back tonight. But try to be nicer to him tomorrow."

"No promises."

"So what do we do now? Talk about our feelings all night? Watch a movie and wait for you to sober up a bit? Or just go sleep?"

"Am I sleeping in your bed tonight?"

"No. That spot is reserved for the boyfriend."

"Bummer."

"So movie maybe?"

"Sure. But nothing romantic. And nothing depressing. And nothing bloody. And nothing excessively cheerful."

"Ok. Twister? Mission impossible? Pirates of the Caribbean? James Bond?"

They ended up watching Sherlock Holmes. George put his head in Hermione's lap and she stroked his hair until he fell asleep. At some point Draco joined them, extended the couch, sat down besides Hermione and put his arms around her as the two of them watched the rest of the movie. Then they levitated George together to a bed upstairs.

- # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # -

Draco woke up. It was dark and he was alone.

+ Where are you? +

+ In the guest bedroom holding my puppy. He woke up screaming but I managed to sooth him back to sleep. +

+ I miss you. Are you coming back here? +

+ I miss you too. Come and find me. +

+ Ok. +