Name: The girl next door
Whom I happen to hate…
Rating: M
Summary: Draco Malfoy and his family have to be part of the Death Eater rehabilitation program. To do that, they must give up all their money; give up magic for a year, and move into a muggle neighborhood, guess who his next-door neighbor is? A funny story!
Author: Chaos
Warning: Does not follow all of the books plot.
A/N: Yes well as much as I like seeing Ron way out of the picture, I couldn't take him out this time...Hermione couldn't make it without him.
Aquel que hoy se cae, se levanterá mañana.
He who falls today may rise tomorrow
DMGH
Chapter 20: The Pensive Part II
It wasn't long before the four students were hurled out of the memory and onto another,
Hagrid didn't seem perturbed by Ron's slug problem, which Harry hastily explained as he lowered Ron into a chair.
"Better out than in," he said cheerfully, plunking a large copper basin in front of him. "Get 'em all up, Ron,"
"I don't think there's anything to do except wait for it to stop," said Hermione anxiously, watching Ron bend over the basin.
"That's a difficult curse to work at the best of times, but with a broken wand -"
Hagrid was bustling around making them tea. His boarhound, Fang, was slobbering over Harry.
"What did Lockhart want with you Hagrid?" Harry asked, scratching Fang's ears.
"Givin' me advice on getting' kelpies out of a well," growled Hagrid, moving a half-plucked rooster off his scrubbed table and setting down the teapot. "Like I don' know. An' bangin' on about some banshee he banished. If one word of it was true, I'll eat my kettle,"
Draco tried not to smile as he remembered that he was the cause to Ron's 'slug problem'. The picture changed yet again but this time, it changed between a long time period. Suddenly they were back in fifth year.
"Is it Cho?" Hermione asked in a business like way, "Did she corner you after the meeting?"
Numbly surprised , Harry nodded. Ron sniggered, breaking off when Hermione caught his eye.
"So - er - what did she want?" he asked in a mock casual voice.
"She -" Harry began, rather hoarsely; he cleared his throat and tried again. "She - er "
"Did you kiss?" asked Hermione briskly.
Ron sat up so fast that he sent his ink bottle flying all over the rug. Disregarding this completely he stared avidly at Harry.
"Well?" he demanded.
Harry looked from Ron's expression of mingled curiosity and hilarity to Hermione's slightly frown, and nodded.
"HA!"
…
"Well," Ron said finally, looking up at Harry. "How was it?"
Harry consider it for a moment,
"Wet," he said truthfully.
Ron made a noise that might have indicated jubilation and disgust, it was hard to tell.
"Because she was crying," Harry continued heavily.
"Oh," said Ron, his smile fading slightly. "Are you that bad at kissing?"
"Dunno," said Harry, who hadn't considered this, and immediately felt rather worried. "Maybe I am."
"Of course your not," said Hermione absently still scribbling her letter.
"How do you know?" said Ron in a sharp voice.
"Because Cho spends half her time crying these days." said Hermione vaguely.
…
"Don't you understand what Cho's feeling at the moment?" she asked.
"No," said Harry and Ron together.
Hermione sighed and laid down her quill.
"well, obviously, she's feeling very sad of Cedric dying. Then I expect she's feeling confused because she liked Cedric and now she likes Harry, and she can't work out who she likes best. Then she'll be feeling guilty, thinking it's an insult to Cedric's memory to be kissing Harry at all, and she'll be worrying about what everyone else might say about her if she starts going out with Harry. And she probably can't work out what her feeling toward Harry are anyway, because he was the one that was with Cedric when Cedric died, so that's all very mixed up and painful. Oh, and she's afraid she's going to be thrown off the Ravenclaw Quidditch team because she's been flying so badly."
A slight silence greeted the end of this speech, then Ron said, "One person can't fell all that at once, they'd explode."
"Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have," said Hermione nastily, picking up her quill again.
Ron looked at Hermione and smiled. Hermione rolled her eyes at the memory and then turned to look at Ron. They didn't have time to say anything before the memory changed again and they were looking at themselves this year.
How do you know our names?" Ginny mouthed smartly. The girl fixed her bright hazel eyes on Ginny.
"I tend to know things," she answered. Ginny glared at her. The girl picked up the Quibbler and showed Ginny an article on all of them, with a picture of them all smiling at the camera. They had given an interview for the Quibbler after the war. Ginny felt herself go red in the cheeks of embarrassment.
"The name is Malden. Nikki Malden" the girl introduced.
"Nicole Malden?" Hermione asked. The girl shook her head.
"No Nikki, spelled with two K's and an I." she said. Hermione nodded. Nikki got up suddenly.
"Excuse-me, I have to use the loo," she said and headed off. The friends looked at the compartment door Nikki had just gone through.
"Bit off the rocker, that one isn't she?" Ron asked. Luna Lovegood giggled.
"You'd be to if you'd gotten hit with Cruciatus curse three times in your seventeen years of life," Luna spoke.
"How do you know that?" Harry asked. Luna smiled.
"We're cousins. From mum's side of the family of course." Luna answered. Ron choked on a piece of his chocolate frog.
"You're related?" Ron asked. Luna nodded.
Hermione smiled as she remembered their strange first meeting with Nikki, she seemed to understand that girl more and more each day. The memory decided to change once more.
"What about the exams?" Neville said changing the subject. Hermione jumped.
"I completely forgot we had them," she said. Everyone stared at Hermione for a while. "What I am allowed to forget once in a while aren't I?" she said. Luna nodded and muttered an "Of course,"
"What's wrong Harry?" Ginny asked seeing Harry stare at his plate with a dumbfounded smile.
"Oh I was just thinking," he said pausing. "It's ironic isn't it? On this very night sixteen years ago I lost my parents." Every one looked a bit sadly at him. "And on this very night six years ago, Ron and I saved Hermione from a mountain troll and she became our best friend." Hermione and Ron both smiled lightly remembering that night.
"We sort of created a bond that can't be broken by anything not even a fully grown mountain troll" he said. Everyone seem to smile at this. "I lost something on Halloween, and ten years later on Halloween I earned something I can't live without now. Ironic isn't it?" he asked.
"Oh Harry," Hermione said wrapping her arms around him from across the table. Ron joined in. Ginny, Neville, Nikki, and Luna clapped cheerfully as the three best friends hugged.
Hermione couldn't take it anymore she grabbed Ron and hugged him tightly, well the best she could anyway with her large stomach. Ron held her tight too.
"I'm sorry Hermione, I know I've been a right git," he said. Hermione smiled.
"Yes you have," she giggled. Ron rolled his eyes.
"But if he makes you happy," he said motioning to Draco. "Then I guess I can live with you being with him," he said. Hermione smiled as she hugged her best friend. Harry and Draco smiled at each other. Though Draco wondered if he would ever have the same bond with Hermione that she had with her best friends.