Second time around

by Billybob - csagun36

It is said that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”. What if this old saying was applied to Harry and Hermione? What if, in an attempt to protect Ron and Ginny from the Death Eaters, Harry and Hermione had concocted a plan which although su

4. Chapter 4

Title: Second Time Around

Author: Billybob

Chapter: four

Chapter title: Pawn to D3 - or - The Dragon Ring

Category: AU alternate universe ¼ PGFH Post Graduation from Hogwarts

In other words; it takes place after J. K. Rowland's - seventh and last book

Word count: 4973 (plus or minus a word or two)

Rated; PG-13, for adult language, UK slang and profanity, with implied sexual innuendo

Pairings: HP-HG, CC-OQ, HP-GW and HG-RW

Author's disclaimer: This story is based in the wonderful magic world created by J. K. Rowling, she owns all legal rights to the characters, setting, etc. - I am merely borrowing the contents of the JKR world for my own amusement and that of my readers. In other words…her characters…my plot - savvy?

Author's thanks: to Dennis and Mark for beta-reading this and M&I

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It was after ten pm on a Saturday, with visiting hours at St. Mungo's over for two hours, the hospital in the final stages of shutting down for the night. Kingsley Shacklebolt, head of the Auror department, was carrying two disposable cups of tea toward the bench where a totally exhausted Harry Potter sat in the fifth floor visitor's tearoom across from the Hospital's closed gift shop, his face lowered into his hands.

"Why don't you go home and get some sleep, Harry? You're not doing Hermione any good just sitting around here making yourself sick from exhaustion."

"She's my wife, Kingsley. I should be here if she needs me."

"Your timing sucks, Harry. Isn't it a bit late to be remembering your marital responsibilities?"

"Merlin knows you're right about that, Kingsley! It's not just my marital responsibilities though, what with my repeated failed attempts to get Hermione to agree to a divorce, and royally screwing up my 'not-so-secret' relationship with Ginny, then just for the fun of it, why not just throw in the Cho disaster from school, and, all in all, your analysts of my entire love-life is ruddy spot-on. My track record right now dealing with women is rather abysmal. I can't find Ron to save my life in spite of my best efforts, so yeah if you lump it all together, you're right, my timing has always been a bit off lately."

"You know kid, speaking of the R.H.B., I been thinking about that, and another word for timing is patterns, more specifically the kind of three day patterns we have been dealing with in this 'R.H.B.' case.

Here's the way I see it. One), you have a major row with your lover, Ginny, on Wednesday nine days ago, and right after that conversation she up and disappears. Two), just three days later, the RHB makes his first appearance at the UK Wizard Chess Nationals. Three), again following the three day pattern, the display case in Hogsmead is smashed and your wife's …Hermione, most cherished dragon ring is stolen, again 'allegedly' by the R.H.B. Then, in a so-called …coincidental…'unrelated incident' three days later, this time on Friday midday, your 'wife' …Hermione attempts suicide after being told of the theft of her dragon ring, which just happens to turn out to be more than just a so-called 'friendship ring' from the departed R.H.B."

"I'm sorry, Kingsley, I'm sort of tired, what's your point?"

"Well, think about it. If my theory is correct, I believe that our friend, the RHB, was all set to make another mysterious public appearance on Friday because everything so far has been happening in three day intervals, but he couldn't, because Hermione stole his thunder." Kingsley said in way of explanation.

My point, Harry, is that maybe, just maybe, the R.H.B. has been discretely watching both of you for years, keeping tabs on you and your wife's movements through the media. Come to think upon it, I'll bet he knows the truth of what really happened to Hermione and isn't buying the dragon-dung 'overworked' propaganda the Ministry put out. This makes me wonder what Ron's end-game is. Perhaps he is out to destroy Hermione because of what she did to him, reputation wise, who knows? …But if that's his ultimate goal, why wait seven years to do it?" Kingsley said, thinking out loud as he found holes in his own theory.

"You think he's been planning all of this, deliberately?"

"Could be, he was a Master at wizards chess, or so you told me. You knew him better than I did, kid. Was Ron capable of being so calculatingly…so ruthless?"

"Not the Ron I remember…no. He'd give up the shirt off his back for a friend."

"Excuse me for saying this, Harry, but if even half of what you told about the end of your sixth year at Hogwarts is true, I doubt the R.H.B., if it is Ron, would consider either you or your wife as 'friends'."

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that. But even with that said, the Ron I remember wasn't the kind of bloke who would delay his revenge. The Weasley's, as a general rule retaliate almost at once after being pranked. Ron especially was a bit hot tempered and impetuous, at least when someone called Hermione a dirty name like Mudblood or uppity know-it-all.

Yes, Malfoy never did learn that particular lesson," Harry said chuckling at the memory of Draco being pounded by Ron for saying the 'M' word. "Right up to the end…of his love affair with Hermione," Harry said his voice suddenly changing as he choked-up with regret when he thought of his role in his best friend's final months of misery. "Anyroad…as I was saying, the Ron I recall, if he was going to hit us back for our betrayal, would have done so within hours of catching Hermione and me 'in the act' so to speak.

What I'm trying to say Kingsley is that Ron never did take revenge on us…ever! Merlin knows I would have felt better about the whole mess if he did. Hermione and I deserved some kind of reprisal for what we did to him, even if our original intentions were good. But instead of physically retaliating for our cruel betrayal of his far too trusting nature, when he caught us doing what we were doing in that charms classroom, the sight of us snogging seemed to crush his spirit, all but literally destroyed him from the inside out.

I have been told by Ginny repeatedly over the last year, that after he caught us, the joy of life simply went out of him. Ron walked around like a lifeless shell of his former self. He lost his appetite…dropped a lot of weight and hardly spoke at all…to anyone. Kingsley, it tears at my heart whenever I think of Ron spending his last summer holiday wandering the fields near the Burrow alone and heartbroken. No one seemed to be able to lift his depression; Ginny told me he even ignored being pranked by Fred and George, who Ginny insists were only pranking their brother in a futile attempt to get a rise out of him.

When Ginny and I finally started speaking again, after three long years of treating me as if I didn't exist, three years of hate filled all too brief conversations where all she did was loudly call me her brother's murderer. She accused me of killing him by using my wealth and fame to steal Hermione, the only girl he ever loved, away from him, with the Death Eaters merely ending his misery." Harry said with obvious regret at the state of his non-relationship with his former best mate from school, during the last four months preceding the last battle.

"It took two more years of taking her unending verbal abuse when we got back on speaking terms and I could get her to listen to my side of what happened and several months more before she accepted my regret and gave me forgiveness. That's what's drives me now, Kingsley," Harry said his voice thick with emotion. "I have tried repeatedly to make amends to the entire Weasley Clan for the half-baked-protection-plot of seven years ago, but they refuse to listen. It took five years of Ginny's verbal abuse before I wore down her resistance to accept my pleas for forgiveness.

Winning over Ginny was an uphill fight all the way, but in the end well worth the effort. Restoring Ron to his family just might get my foot in the door with people that I once considered family and who right now treat me like a leper. If gaining Ron's and his family's forgiveness takes me another five years, then believe me, it's a small price to pay."

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"Excuse me Mr. Auror" A matron of the hospital called rushing over to the two men.

"Yes, what is it"

"Could you come with me please, apparently there has been an unauthorized visitor to your wife's room, the Chief of Staff is furious." The matron said leading the men at a brisk pace down the stairs to the fourth floor.

"I thought we had one of our people guarding her?" Harry said in an angry tone to Kingsley, his exhaustion forgotten as he followed the hospital matron down the stairway to the fourth floor.

"Harry, after the budget cuts and layoffs the Auror Department has undergone since the war, we are grossly understaffed. In fact, we are so short handed I had to borrow from the Royals office just to get enough people on the street to cover tomorrow's memorial ceremony.

Besides, all the Death Eaters are either dead or in Azkaban, that leaves the only threat posed to your wife as pushy reporters, like Rita Skeeter, somehow getting her ugly face inside this hospital. Remember the incident at the news conference where that Skeeter sow had the gall to ask the Minster's personal press secretary if Hermione's collapse had anything to do with the rumored sightings of the ghost of Ronald Weasley?

Well, let me tell you Harry, that question, certainly let lose the fox inside the hen house. There was Hades to pay to keep that 'rumor' out of the newspapers and wireless. As a result of the 'Skeeter incident' and her demand to interview your wife in Hospital, she and her photographer were outright threatened with instant arrest if they came within one hundred meters of Hermione's hospital room

St. Mungo's top administrator assured the Ministry that their own internal security would be more than capable to keep the newshounds at bay…guess she was wrong about that one!" Kingsley stated in a matter of fact tone that underlined his growing anger.

"What happened?" Harry asked the hospital's chief of security almost the moment they burst through the stairway doors.

"I'm sorry Mr. Potter, one of my people were doing a routine sweep of the floors when they discovered the matron's station abandoned and the man we had guarding the floor missing. We at once did a full shut down, all entrances and exits were closed and the Ministry informed.

We found the missing people in a supply cupboard down the hall on this floor, both my guard and the hospital matron were suffering from both, the' Stupefy' as well as the 'Petrificus Totalus' curse but otherwise were unhurt. All the patients on this floor have been accounted for and appear to be unharmed.

Furthermore, no expensive or rare medications are stored anywhere on this floor and what few normal potions that are kept here are still inside the cupboard containing them, these items have been checked and pending a full inventory nothing appears to be missing. This makes me believe that a drug-related robbery was 'not' the primary motivation for what happened here.

Frankly, gentlemen, we are at a loss to explain this incident, we are currently interviewing both the guard and the matron to determine if they have enemies who might do this out of revenge for some slight, or friends who might be pulling a prank. You'll receive my full report as soon as my investigation concludes."

"Do you know which rooms the intruder went into? Did he bother my wife?" Harry asked somewhat reassured at the professionalism of the hospital security chief.

"We are not sure whether any rooms were entered nor the gender of the perpetrator."

"Thank you, please excuse my young friend here, his wife is a patient on this floor." Kingsley said in way of apology for Harry's rudeness.

"Totally understandable and I am aware of the presence of Doctor Potter on this floor, that is why I'm heading this investigation myself."

"Thank you again, please keep us fully informed of and future developments," Kingsley said shaking the security chiefs hand while Harry rushed off to Hermione's room to check on her condition.

Harry entered his wife's hospital room not really knowing what to expect. The last time he had been in there his spouse had been unresponsive to anyone's presence and just sat on her bed, rocking back and forth on the center of the mattress, mumbling to her-self. It had been a real shock to Harry's system to see his strong willed, arrogant, take charge friend of so many years suddenly transformed into a broken empty shell of a woman.

Hermione had just sat there ignoring Harry's for more than an hour, mumbling over and over to herself about a lost engagement ring. When he finally understood Hermione's whispered ramblings, Harry at once sent Dobby to get the wedding-set he had given Hermione at the time of their bonding ceremony, for he had noticed upon entering the room that his 'wife' was not wearing her wedding bands. However showing these rings to his wife hadn't had the desired effect, for Hermione had pushed what he had showed her aside and continued to mumble about her 'lost' ring.

It had only been later, while Harry was waiting for Kingsley to get him a cupa tea that Harry realized the significance of the unconscious rejection of her wedding set, or the fact that apparently Hermione had not worn these rings for some time, for no ring marks were visible on her wedding finger.

Harry and Hermione's marriage being the disaster that it was, meant that the so-called 'blissfully happy' married couple avoided each others company whenever possible, which was the reason that Harry had been unaware that his wife no longer wore her wedding rings. He quickly rejected the notion that Hermione lack of rings was some kind of symbolic gesture of disapproval connected with Ginny, because Hermione's had been aware of the existence of her husband's not so secret mistress almost from the start.

Although Hermione had become even more cold and distant from Harry after learning of the love affair, as they were both stuck in a loveless show-marriage she did not fault her spouse for trying to find a little happiness in his life. She had confronted Harry about it of course, when she had found out about the affair, and he had countered her moral objections by boldly giving his permission for her to 'take a lover' if she chose to do so, an offer which Hermione forcefully declined. In fact, her only comment at the time had been concern for the repercussions on Ginny's reputation and career ambitions when Harry's affair with her became public knowledge. A well intended warning that Harry rejected out of hand, a warning, that he would later regret not taking more seriously when Ginny became a disgrace to her family when her affair with Harry became known.

No, Harry had reasoned. Hermione had continued to wear her wedding bands during the first year of his extramarital relationship with Ginny. But something had happened in the last month or so which had prompted Hermione to stop wearing them for good. Dobby, when questioned, had declared that he had first noticed Mistress Grangy's wedding bands sitting inside her jewelry box four weeks ago and according to the only paid house elf servant in the Wizarding World; Hermione apparently had not once put on her wedding set since. For the life of him, Harry could not recall any argument around four weeks ago that would have caused Hermione to give up wearing her wedding rings permanently.

Entering her room now, the drastic change in his wife's manner and appearance could not have been more pronounce. For Hermione was no longer incoherent or babbling randomly. She had clearly lost some of her disheveled look, her hair had been brushed, and her eyes clear and focused, her mind once again as sharp as ever. Also if her facial expression was any indication and more often than not it did, she was major-big-time miffed about something.

It had been in fact many years since Harry had been in the presence of Hermione when she had been this angry. She was furious about something all-right, he could see that in her eyes. Harry had during their years together; both during Hogwarts and after, come to the conclusion that Hermione had in fact, two very different forms of anger. One type was better known than the other, it was the cold, detached variety, the kind reserved for idiots at work who ruined weeks of delicate negotiations with an unenlightened comment or culture insulting remark.

Even working in a totally different departments had not immunized Harry from the legends surrounding the wrath of Hermione when dealing with incompetence, for her fury was chilling. Any dumb schmuck who messed up her careful negotiations could expect more mercy as a Mudblood from a Death Eater than understanding from Doctor Potter when a fragile negotiation was irreparably ruined by some politically appointed incompetent moron.

But it was the second kind of anger that Harry was facing now, for where Hermione's at work anger was cold and detached, this anger was hot and basically emotional. There had been precious few times when Hermione had given him what-for for something he had done on a personal level, and most of them, 9 out of 10, in fact, had taken place while they had been at school, when he had done something rash by rushing off into danger without thinking things through with Ron in tow, because he was young, and just being a 'save the world' heroic idiot.

Still, when everything was said and done, Harry had not faced the emotional fury of his book smart friend even a tiny faction of the times his former best-mate had. Ron seemed to be able to instinctively push all of Hermione's buttons on a primeval emotional level. He could fill her with anger or inspire her passion with equal skill, something Harry had never managed to accomplish, or wanted to do for that matter. Now he was seeing that primitive anger again, he could see it in her eyes, all hell was about to break lose and Harry couldn't even begin to guess what he might have done to set her off.

It was at that precise moment that it happened, that moment when Hermione withdrew her left hand from underneath the blankets where it had laid hidden when Harry had entered the room. Detecting the movement, Harry's Auror trained eyes darted down to his wife's pale white fingers and that is when he saw it.

"Buggers, how long ago?" Harry asked his blood shot eyes bulging wide.

"I have no way of telling, there are no clocks in here" Hermione replied her voice calm but also hard as steel. "But my guess is he left about fifty minutes ago."

"What are you two going on about?" Kingsley asked, noticing that the temperature in the room had suddenly dropped twenty degrees.

Hermione didn't answer Kingsley in words, nor did she shift her gaze off of Harry, her anger growing by the second. All she did was slowly raise her left hand so that Shacklebolt could clearly see the one and only ring on Hermione's left hand.

The wedding finger itself was bare, with only the faintest hint that a ring had ever been on that finger. However, clearly visible on the baby finger next to it was a tiny silver ring, even from across the room Kingsley could make out the shape of two tiny battling dragons, one red the other brown, fighting over a tiny diamond chip.

"Oh! Buggers," the old Auror said, recognizing the ring.

"Oh Buggers indeed," Hermione replied calmly while at the same time clearly furious. "Tell me, Harry, when exactly had you planed on telling me?"

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Just outside the tiny village of Hogsmead, there was a beautiful little cottage surrounded by shade trees. The quite of the countryside setting however was suddenly disturbed by a loud 'POP' as a hooded figure appeared, fresh from apperating just outside the unplotable barrier and privacy wards that protected the modest cottage from unwanted visitors. The hooded figure then walked across the country lane to where a large bolder sat by the side of the thoroughfare. Placing a hand on top of a craved hand print in the stone and uttering the password the clearly distraught hooded figure marched with purpose through these very expensive and carefully constructed wards, across a putting green trimmed front yard of the midsized comfortable looking cottage. He advanced right through the front door, which was opened at his approach by a tiny female house elf named Tiki, stormed across the sitting room and down the hallway into the small study in the back of the cottage, completely focused on his objective, Jon walked on ignoring the repeated inquires of his worried-sick pale-faced sister as to "what happened?" and "did you see her?"

He opened and then closed the door of the small yet impressive study behind him, sealed, locked and 'impervioused' the room, put a silencing charm on the walls around him, tore open the liquor cabinet and took out the first of four bottles of twenty-year old fire-whiskey. And then Jonathan Veselkin a.k.a. the recently reawakened 'memory wise' Ronald Bilius Weasley proceeded to spend the next two hours getting blinded…royalty pissed…drunk.

There are all kinds of anguish, and for the kind of agony Jon had just experienced, getting really pissed was the only way he knew of to dull the overwhelming angst he felt. It took all the booze he had in the small cottage, but finally alcohol induced unconsciousness claimed him. Seeing 'her' again had been the most painful thing he had done in seven years.

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Meanwhile, back at St. Mungo's

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"Look Hermione, Mark Dogood came to tell me of the robbery two hours or more after talking to you, the moment I heard the news I tried to floo you at Godric's Hollow, but no one would answer my call. I was going…"

"…Harry, stop pretending to be daft. I am not talking about the ring, its theft or return. I am speaking about the man who brought it back to me; a man we both thought died that night…what do you know about Ronald Weasley," Hermione said furious.

"You saw him?" Harry asked stunned.

"No you idiot," Hermione said nearly exploding with anger. "The medical staff here thought I needed rest after my attempted suicide, so they gave me a standard dreamless sleeping draft and the rose-petal motion restricting potion."

"But you're allergic to roses?"

"Precisely, so instead of putting me to sleep, they only succeeded in paralyzing my body, while giving my mind the equivalent of one hundred cups of extra strong coffee. I couldn't move a muscle and yet I was wide awake.

Here I laid a literal prisoner inside my own body and that is how I spent the last few hours, Harry, so this is not a good time to mess with me! …In my mind I was struggling to overcome an overwhelming wish for death and hopefully to find a reason to go on living, so its not surprising that I was unaware at first that Ron had entered my hospital room!" Hermione snapped in the manner of the semi-growl of an angry lioness.

"Look Hermione, I have only had suspicions to go on for the last week," Harry said raising his hands in self-defense. "You would have known the same time as I did, if you spent a bit of your precious time looking through the sports section of the Daily Prophet.

Here are the facts as I know them. Last Sunday a picture appeared that 'resembled' rather strongly the man we both betrayed seven years ago. And before you say it, yes, I have put every ounce of effort into finding this particular ghost from our past, after all, you're not the only one who owes him an apology," Harry said sighing in frustration.

This unexpected response seemed to take the wind out of Hermione's building row and she sat for a moment or two digesting her husband's words. "He's telling the truth, I can tell. And indeed we both have apologies to make to Ron, me most of all, but such thoughts are for later, I have to find him first."

"Do you have a portable pensive on you? I know it is standard equipment for an Auror on a criminal investigation." Hermione answered somewhat mollified, time management had always been one of her few weakness and she felt very guilty sometimes on all the things she had missed because of her tendency to focus on a single project while excluding all other distractions.

Her biggest regret was the amount of time she had spent with her nose in a book rather than in a cupboard snogging Ron. If she had done more of that and spent less time revisioning, then maybe she would have a 'Burrow' of her own by now, way out in the countryside, a loving happy home overrun with red bushy-haired, book-smart, Quidditch loving little nippers. Fate had ruined her first chance with Ronald; her 'half-baked-protection-plan' was without doubt the largest mistake the smug know-it-all genius had ever made. But if Ron was indeed alive, well… she was older and wiser now, there was no way Hermione was going to make the same mistakes the 'second time around.' Her brief musing on this possible future was interrupted by Harry when he replied.

"No Hermione, I don't have my kit with me, Dobby dragged me out of my office before I had the chance to grab my cloak," Harry said in way of explanation.

"I have mine Doctor Potter, but why do we need it, couldn't you just tell us what he said," Kingsley said well aware of Hermione's legendary photographic memory.

"No I can't and for several very good reasons. One, my mind-set when he entered the room was still very much in suicidal mode. Secondly, his voice was different than I remembered, coarser, deeper. The third reason was because of my mental state, it was awhile before I could tear my mind away from my death wish long enough to really listen to what he was saying.

Finally, by the time I realized 'who' was speaking to me, the all too brief, one-sided conversation was all but over and he was leaving," Hermione said frustrated. "A pensive will act like a Muggle tape-recorder and play back the parts I missed, I don't remember all of what he said, but I heard what he said."

"Well done, Doctor Potter, you would have made a good Auror with that kind of thinking." Kingsley said praising the young woman in front of him. "But may I ask why you care what he said? The ring has been returned and as I was just telling Harry, I rather doubt this fellow; if he is Ronald, would want to associate with you or your husband after the dirty trick you two pulled on him."

"Why? …I'll tell you why! It was something he said at the end, just before he left the room. Harry, please take out your wand and enlarge this ring until it's big enough to fit my…wedding finger," Hermione said putting unmistakable emphasis on the words 'wedding finger' while pulling off the dragon ring.

Harry did as he was told, suddenly sure that Hermione somehow had discovered Ron's secret intention for the ring that he had confiscated out of his ex-best mates old school trunk. With growing dread Harry expanded the ring back to the size that Ron had bought it, until it was slightly larger than Hermione's third finger on her left hand.

"I don't have my reading glasses with me, Harry," Hermione said making a lame excuse for the tears pouring down her cheeks which made it hard for her to see clearly. "Would you please look inside the ring to see if there is an inscription?" Hermione asked in a trembling emotion soft voice. "Ron said before he left that after all this time and all I have done to him the inscription still applies, at least to him anyway."

Harry looked inside the ring he had stolen from a dead man's school trunk. He looked for the first time inside a ring he had reduced before examining it more closely. What he saw engraved inside the silver band shocked him to his core.

Hermione began to smile even before Harry spoke because she had seen her husband's eyes go wide in surprise which told her the ring did have an inscription the reducing had obscured. Harry looked up from the ring and in a voice thick with emotion said; "the inscription reads, ' I am now and always will be…in love with you'."

To be continued:

Please remember; I warned you about my abuse of the kings English, so plot helpful reviews only please. I do however; give my full blessing to 'one-and-all,' for the showering of the author with well-earned praise. (Modest bugger aren't I)