The Boy Who Lived

Chapter 9: Tactical Measures

"What do you mean we're visiting Hermione?" Ginny questioned when she and Harry entered Andromeda's house the next morning.

"We're going to bring Teddy to visit Hermione," Harry said as if it were logical. "And talk to her about Ron."

"I already talked to her about Ron though," Ginny rolled her eyes. "She wouldn't say one word about it to me."

"Well, we're just going to have to convince her," Harry said, determined.

"Harry you can't just make everyone happy," Ginny told him quietly, slipping her hand in his and gave it a squeeze as they entered the house without knocking. They had grown accustomed to Andromeda now and she to them. There was no need for formality.

"Ginny?" Andromeda called from somewhere in the house. "Is that you?" She appeared from the kitchens, holding Teddy on one hip and beamed. "Harry! It's so nice to see you dear. Here." She practically shoved the child into Harry's arms, to Harry's surprise, and then addressed Ginny again. "Would you mind if I run to the store for a little bit? Cissy wanted to meet me for some shopping and an early lunch."

"Uh, sure," Ginny gave Harry a questioning look. "We were actually wondering if we could take Teddy out for a little while too."

"Oh, I'm sure he'd love that," Andromeda beamed. She seemed a little flustered for some reason. Harry wondered what Narcissa wanted to talk to her about. Summer was ending in a couple days, though, so maybe Narcissa was just lonesome at the thought of having a huge house to herself since Lucius wouldn't be back.

"Well, I'll be off then if that's okay," she said while she was grabbing her hat and purse. "I'll be back around noonish."

"You could come back later then that," Harry assured her. "We'll probably be out for a little while and even if Ginny wants to leave, I'll stay and wait if you take longer. I don't mind."

"I don't either," Ginny said quickly. "I'll just owl my mother if it gets too late. You should take more than the morning off."

Andromeda beamed at them. "Well, you two are growing up to be quite the couple. I can't wait until you have children that I can babysit and return the favor."

With that she was out the door, leaving a rather embarrassed Ginny and Harry behind. Children? Them? Harry gave Ginny a sideways glance. Sure, he thought he loved her, but he hadn't even said anything like that yet and Andromeda was thinking of their children!

Little Teddy gurgled happily in Harry's arms, causing the pair of them to return their attention back to the baby. His nose grew and ears flattened.

"What are you doing?" Ginny cooed, pinching the little baby's nose.

He held out his hands as his nose and ears returned to normal. "Nee-Nee!" He cooed, struggling in Harry's arms.

"Hey! I'm your godfather little fella!" He said, though he allowed Ginny to take the child from him. Teddy curled up in her arms, sucking his finger and looking intent.

"Well, you aren't around as much as I am," She said tartly and then grinned up at him. "So you're just the bad godfather!"

"Hey!" Harry said. "I wasn't the one who volunteered to help Andromeda out! I come with you a lot anyway."

"I know, I know," Ginny laughed. "Come on, do you want to go visit Hermione or not?"

As they left the house with the stroller, Ginny caught Harry's hand. "Do you ever think about having…you know, a child someday?"

Harry stared at his girlfriend, somewhat shocked. "Well, no," he said honestly. "I mean, I assume that…someday, but not right now."

"Well of course not right now!" Ginny said lightly. "You just defeated the Dark Lord and you're in school to become an Auror! But afterwards…after things settle down and you've had a bit of fun for once."

Harry smiled at her. "Of course."

"I wouldn't mind having one," Ginny said before Harry had time to grasp for another sentence. "I mean at one point in time I didn't want any, but Teddy's okay. I can't wait until he can talk and we can actually do something with him besides taking him on walks! But I know I'm going to be sad when that happens too…"

Harry smiled down at his girlfriend. "I love you," he said without thinking about it and then abruptly pulled to a stop, a little shocked. Had that just come out of his mouth? Ginny was staring up at him curiously and then grinned at him.

"I love you too."

Hermione's house wasn't at all like Harry expected it to be. He had always imagined her in a quaint little house somewhere out in the country. Instead, it was in the middle of the city in a flat above a little office space that stated "Granger Dental: We Care About the Smile You Wear!"

Harry and Ginny walked into the room to the jingling bells to find Hermione sitting in the receptionist desk, reading a book.

"Harry!" Hermione squealed when she looked up and saw them. "Ginny! And is that Teddy?! Oh, I'm so happy you guys actually came!"

And without warning she burst into tears and threw herself at Harry, hanging from his neck and sobbing. Harry looked over her head at Ginny, desperate for her to save him, but she looked torn between amusement and concern. For all of the years Harry had known Hermione he had never truly seen her cry.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, wiping her eyes and backing away from Harry after a while. "It's just…he won't answer any of my letters. I don't understand."

"Well you did ignore him at the Burrow since the N.E.W.T.s," Ginny said, sounding uncharacteristically annoyed.

"He thinks you're telling him not to visit you," Harry told her and wondered if it was right for him to say anything that Ron had told him.

"You could come visit us too you know," Ginny put in.

Hermione sniffled and dabbed her eyes with a tissue. She had thrown her book down when she had seen them and in an effort to disassociate herself she picked the book back up, placed a book mark in it, closed it, and then set it aside.

"Look, we didn't come here to point out what you did wrong or why Ron's acting like a git," Ginny finally said after a long pause.

Hermione smiled at her. "Then why did you guys come?"

"To visit," Harry said firmly before Ginny could say anything. He picked up Teddy and placed the stroller in the corner. "Care to give us a tour?"

Hermione looked surprised. "There's not much to see Harry. It's not like the Burrow or the Black House."

"I want to see your room at least," Harry said firmly. Hermione gave up after that and gave them a quick tour of her house which consisted of a room for her parents, a room for herself, a shared bathroom, a kitchen, and a family room. There really wasn't much to see, but Hermione assured them that it was more than enough space for the three of them and she had never minded it even in the summers when she had gone home during Hogwarts. It seemed to calm her to give the tour and Harry was happy to have the old Hermione back. Almost.

"So what's the problem?" Ginny asked flat out when they were all sitting in the family room. She now had Teddy in her lap. He was fast asleep and clutching at her shirt. "Do you not like him? Because that's the vibes he's getting and you could be a little less hurtful about it if you just fessed up."

"No, I do," Hermione said desperately. Her eyes threatened tears again and Harry felt his stomach lurch. How could Ginny be so direct and expect a proper answer? He was beginning to regret the decision of asking her to come with him. Though originally he had thought that HE would be the one saying the stupid things.

"Then why ignore him like you have been?" Ginny asked. It was as if Harry wasn't in the room. Hermione leaned back in the chair in much the same position Ron had been in the previous day and let out a sigh. "Guys are visual Hermione—they need more than just words."

"I know that," she snapped, sitting straight up and glaring at Ginny. "I just have problems with the whole process! I'm too used to not relying on someone."

Harry stared at her, a little confused. His first instinct had been to say that she relied on them all the time, but he suddenly realized that it was the exact opposite. He, Harry, had always relied on Ron and Hermione. Although he told them that they could leave, he still relied on their presence to make him stronger…smarter. Did they not feel the same way about him? Now that he thought about it he was convinced that Ron felt the same way about him: they were like brothers, though they fought sometimes they always helped each other out. Hermione, on the other hand, had always been the person THEY went to for things and she never really asked anything out of them.

"I was so happy when Krum left," Hermione admitted, looking miserable. "I knew something was going to come out of that…situation…whatever it was if he had stayed. I mean, I liked him, but I knew he was not the one. I knew it. And Ron was being such a git at the time and I couldn't stop thinking about him and how angry I was at him every time I was with Krum. It was awful. He knew I liked someone else and he assumed it was Harry, which was almost comical—sorry Harry. He kept asking where Harry was, if I was going somewhere with Harry, if I was helping Harry with the answers. Everything about Harry! I wanted to yell at him sometimes to shut up and talk about something else. But if it wasn't Harry it was Quidditch and if not Quidditch then he would just sit there really and let me talk or read or study."

"And after he left Ron was a git with Lavender." Ginny supplied when Hermione seemed to trail off.

"Yes," Hermione said. "And I was furious. I couldn't think of anything else but him. People tried to get close to me, but I think I might have scared them with how much I liked Ron." She laughed at this. "Oh he made me so angry. And now after all of that…I don't know what to do!"

She started crying at this and Ginny softened immediately. Putting Teddy in Harry's lap, she went and hugged Hermione. "There, there," she soothed. "You already know my history; it's okay."

After a few moments Hermione stilled and wiped her eyes again. "What should I do?" She asked miserably.

"The only thing you can do," Ginny told her and stood up. "You need to be honest with Ron and yourself for that matter. Do you want this relationship? Because if you do you need to talk it over with him AND act on it, though that can be slower if that's what you need. If you don't want the relationship then you need to tell him that too so he can get over you and you can both move on. It's up to you really. But I think you should think about it for a little bit. Now, are we going out to lunch? Or should Harry and I go back and make sandwiches at Andromeda's?"

Draco Malfoy had left for Hogwarts two days earlier then he had done the previous year. For some reason it was customary for teachers to go to Hogwarts earlier then the students, though he supposed it made sense since there must be a lot of preparations to be made.

A thestral with a carriage had met him when he had reached the school grounds and he had ridden up to the castle much as he had done previously, only minus his friends laughing and joking beside him. He felt strangely nostalgic as he made his way up to the Headmaster's office, where McGonagal's desk stood in front of Snape and Dumbledore's portraits. Draco saw them both there and felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Good morning Mr. Malfoy," McGonagal said evenly from behind her perch. She looked as frigid as ever, her bun drawn tighter (if possible) back behind her head.

"Professor," Draco said tipping his head towards her. "I am grateful for this opportunity to hone my skills very much."

"There are some conditions we should discuss before you accept this position Draco," McGonagal said, though a smile was hinting on the corners of her mouth. "Severus has spoken great quantities on your qualifications for this position; however, we must take such matters a bit cautiously."

Draco's eyes shot up to Snape portrait, where his once head of house sat in its frame practically beaming down at him. He then returned his attention back to McGonagal, confused by what she exactly meant.

"As you know you have been accepted as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's only intern: the first to be taken on since Grindawald's fall from power," She said and even smiled a little at this. "The internship originally was meant to shadow a particular teacher of the intern's choosing, but we have decided to tailor yours a little differently. You will be focusing on shadowing each teacher in turn, switching every two weeks. When you have gone through a complete rotation then you can either decide to switch to one teacher or continue in that fashion. Is that acceptable for you Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco stared at her in confusion. He didn't quite understand why they weren't just letting him pick a teacher, but it worked better with his plans this way…sort of. After all, he needed as many chances as he could get to move about the castle freely and search for that wand.

"I like that idea," he said, although this was an outright lie. "More well-rounded. Where will I be staying?"

Will Ron and Hermione finally officially get together? Will Draco find the Elder wand?

I'm sure all of you just can't wait to find out ;p...

Thanks everyone for reviewing :)... I'm glad you all seemed to enjoy the last chapter, I was a little nervous about it. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter too :).