No Time for Epilogues
Chapter 37- Wrong Time, Wrong Place
August 3, 1999
Hermione was leaving her office for lunch, ensuring once more that the manuscript for her book was intact and ready for the editor of the publishing company to review. Ron was joining up with her for lunch, then accompanying her to the editor. As it was, Narcissa and Draco were also at the Ministry for their monthly meeting with their probation wizard. They stopped at a lift, waiting for the door to open. Suddenly, a sneering, high-pitched voice called out to them. They turned around to see an irate wizard pointing his wand and swearing at them.
"Are you insane? Will this never end?!" Narcissa exclaimed.
Draco was incensed. Someone was swearing at his mother and threatening her. He could care less if someone did it to him, but to his mother, no. The lift behind them opened and someone stepped out just as the irate wizard flicked his wand and sent a curse their way. Draco pushed his mother out of the way and shielded her with his body as the curse zipped over his head and hit the person behind them that had just stepped from the lift. He helped his mother to her feet and heard her gasp "Missus Weasley!"
Draco turned, gasped and saw Hermione writhing on the floor, tears coming from her eyes and clutching her throat, struggling to breathe.
"Draco, give me your wand, quickly!" Narcissa exclaimed.
Ron had just entered the Ministry Atrium. He first heard someone saying some things that shouldn't be said in polite society, then saw an irate wizard saying the uncouth things and point a wand at Narcissa and Draco Malfoy.
He heard "Are you insane? Will this never end?" from Narcissa then saw the lift behind them open.
"Call an Auror!" someone called out.
Hermione stepped from the lift behind them, looking through her satchel. Ron took off at a run. The angry wizard barked out a curse and Draco pushed his mother out of the path of it while shielding her. To Ron's horror, he saw the curse strike the unsuspecting Hermione. She staggered for a moment then fell to the floor, struggling to breathe. Ron skidded to a stop on his knees beside her, wand out to counteract the curse, except that he didn't know what kind of curse was used. Ron took her face in his hands, urging her to breathe and hang on, but he didn't know that she was struck with a dark strangulation curse. She was weakening, her lips were blue, her struggling slowing. Narcissa appeared at her side, muttered an incantation and waved a wand over Hermione. She wheezed, coughed and fell still. There was a commotion behind him. Three Aurors were having a stand-off with the wizard. Ron saw none of it. All he knew was that he wanted to tear the wizard limb from limb. One of the Aurors saw Ron rise to his feet, enraged, clenching his fists.
"No Weasley!" he called out, but Ron heard none of it. He tackled the wizard and started pummeling him, wanting to punish him for hurting his Hermione. She didn't hurt anyone, and hadn't she been through enough?
It took the efforts all three Aurors to drag Ron of the wizard, who was unconscious, his face swollen, bruised and covered with blood. One of the Aurors grabbed Ron's collar and shook him. "Weasley, get a hold of yourself! It's over, look there, a healer is with your wife."
Ron turned around, saw the Malfoys staring at him in shock and returned to his unconscious wife. Hermione's neck was horribly bruised and her entire body was trembling from the shock and trauma of the curse.
"What the bloody hell was that curse?" he asked no one in particular.
"A strangulation curse, Mr. Weasley," Narcissa said sadly.
Narcissa observed the almost reverent way Ron touched Hermione as a Healer prepared her for the trip to St. Mungo's. He straightened her clothing that was in disarray, gently wiped the tears from her cheeks and brushed the hair from her pretty face. He looked up at Narcissa, his eyes glistening with tears and said, "Thank you for saving her."
August 5, 1999
That evening, Harry and Ginny returned to their hotel room after dinner. As luck would have it, the Italian National Quidditch Team, who had won the Quidditch World Cup the day before, were having dinner and the team captain saw the famous Potters walk in. Harry and Ginny ended up having dinner with the team.
"Can you believe tonight? It was amazing," Ginny said.
Harry was leaning on the door jam of the bedroom, watching Ginny undress, listening to her hum the tune of the song they had danced to at the restaurant. He strolled in, wrapped his arms around her and kissed the back of her neck.
"I love you, you know that?" he asked.
She was in her bra and skirt at that point.
"Damn, I want you," he whispered and caressed her breasts.
She felt his chiseled chest against her shoulders and shuddered. Her bra fell from her chest and she heard the sound of a zipper from Harry's pants.
"I love seeing your breasts bounce as I pound into you," he growled.
Ginny grinned then gasped as Harry thrust into her from behind with a grunt. He was so mild-mannered, so good all the time and he loved how he could let go with Ginny. She loved his sexually aggressive personality and how good it made her feel when he made love with total abandon. She took hold of the bed post and pushed back as he thrust in. He took hold of her hips and drove into her, deep and fast, causing her to whimper in pleasure. He leaned into her and whispered "I love doing this to you...you make me feel so good" and urged her to the bed.
He ripped her skirt and panties off, mumbling something about "buying more" and buried his face between her legs, lapping and sucking her to a writhing, shouting orgasm. "Like that, do you?"
He straddled her stomach, put his dripping, twitching cock between her breasts and pressed them around him, rocking his hips so his cock was deliciously squeezed as he moved back and forth.
"..this is so good.." he gasped, his green eyes dark and piercing as he watched his cock move between her breasts. No one but she got to see this side of Harry.
"Fuck me Harry," she urged, so aroused she was aching.
"Oh yeah, I will," he said and scooted between her legs, watching her touch herself in anticipation. He lightly slapped her hands away, lifted her legs over his arms and slid into her. Ginny felt something different, a more urgent need from him when he paused, let her legs down and took hold her hips, hunching over her and for lack of a better word, rutted, like an animal. Again, no one but she got to see this side of him. She loved it and encouraged him to go harder, deeper, faster. His sweat dripped on her chest and stomach as he took his pleasure, shouting and panting with each surge of his release, slowing to deep thrusts until his flaccid cock eased from her. He lay beside her and pulled her close, whispering words of love and affection, softly kissing her neck and face and held her until she fell asleep.
The next morning, Harry was eating breakfast in bed and spotted four days worth of The Daily Prophet still rolled up and unread on the table. Ginny emerged from the shower.
"Suppose we should catch up with what's going on back home?" he asked.
Ginny sighed. "If you must."
He glanced through the August 1 edition, passing it to Ginny so she could see the headline and read about "Potter-Weasley: Wedding of the Year." Next came an uninteresting August 2 edition with the headline "New Legislation Passed." Then came August 3 headline:
Attack At The Ministry
Just after noon, Hermione Weasley, heroine of the war against Voldemort and The Battle of Hogwarts, was critically injured in an attack inside the Atrium at the Ministry for Magic. Thomas Marbury, formerly of the Committee for Experimental Charms, is charged in the attack. Mrs. Weasley is not believed to have been the intended target of the attack, merely an innocent bystander.
Narcissa Malfoy, accompanied by her son Draco, was reportedly at the Ministry for her monthly appointment with her probation wizard. Mr. Marbury verbally accosted the two then attempted to curse Madame Malfoy, but the curse missed and struck the unsuspecting Mrs. Weasley, who had just stepped from a lift. Mrs. Weasley unfortunately absorbed the full impact of the curse, which Madame Malfoy reported as a dark strangulation curse.
Ginny saw Harry's shocked, pale face as he read the paper.
"Harry, you're scaring me, what is it?" she asked and sat next to him, reading along with him.
Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt promises swift justice for Mr. Marbury, who will stand trial immediately upon release from St. Mungo's. Mr. Marbury sustained what is reported as "grievous injuries" when Ronald Weasley meted out his own brand of justice, that of an aggrieved, enraged husband and nearly beat Mr. Marbury to death with his own hands. No charges will be brought against Mr. Weasley, and more will be reported as the story develops.
No words were said as Harry and Ginny jumped from the bed, hurriedly dressed and threw their belongings into suitcases. They were returning home as soon as the next port key could be made.
Back in England thirty-seven minutes later at St. Mungo's, they asked where Hermione was and went to her room. At the door, they saw Ron on the edge of the bed, holding her close and softly assuring her "sshh-it's all right, just a bad dream is all, you're safe" while Hermione's shaking arms were gripped tightly around him. Harry knocked quietly and the inhabitants on the bed looked at the newlyweds with surprise then at each other, Hermione mouthing "honeymoon?"
Ron welcomed them back, summoned chairs and told the story, Hermione adding to it with frowns and nods.
"She can't talk just yet, neck muscles and vocal cords are still on the mend," he said.
They took a good look at Hermione. She looked tired and still had bruises on her neck. Hermione saw Harry and Ginny's worried expressions and looked imploringly at Ron.
"She doesn't want you to worry and wishes you had stayed on honeymoon," Ron said. Hermione nodded enthusiastically. "She's being released tomorrow, then appearing at Narcissa Malfoy's hearing the day after."
"Why? What did she do?" Harry asked, fearing the worst. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"You know how the terms of Death Eater probation state that they're not supposed to use wands? Well, Mrs. Malfoy did when she performed the counter curse, a good thing she did too, or we would be planning my Hermione's funeral," Ron said. Hermione had her arms crossed and was frowning. "And of course my dear wife is up in arms about how..." Hermione vigorously nodded her head and held up a pad of paper for Ron to read, "obtuse the Ministry is being in this case. We may not be the biggest Malfoy fans, but Mrs. Malfoy used that wand to save a life."