Wow, last one. Sorry its taken me so long, folks, but y'know how it is. Hope you like it, PLEASE review! Istalindar
&
Ginny Potter wasn't much of a Muggle cook. Muggle ovens didn't turn themselves off when the food was done, or at the very least, hers didn't, nor could the vegetables peel and cut themselves while she was preparing the meat. This meant that the whole endeavor was great effort and took the majority of the day. Harry, of course, didn't understand the point behind it…magic had been his lifesaver, not something he'd taken advantage of from birth.
Hermione, on the other hand, still understood. She turned up hours early as always, horrifying Ginny by putting an apron over the green silk evening dress she'd worn for the occasion and joining in the cooking process. Still it did give Ginny more than three seconds to change herself. She loved throwing these mini-dinner parties, which gave her the chance to dress up without the stress of public parties. Harry humored her, completely clueless to the psyche behind it but he accepted that it must be a woman thing and left it at that. Plus, he never complained. Even when she knew the food was disgusting, both he and Hermione ate and smiled and chatted and laughed and it made Ginny feel immeasurably better about both herself and her pitiful cooking skills.
Molly Weasley she was not.
"Hello!" Hermione stepped through the door, not bothering to knock. She hung her coat on the hat stand. It was a blue dress tonight, simple long silk with a deep v-neck and slightly off the shoulder sleeves. A solid silver teardrop hung on a plain chain and from small studs at her ears. She headed through the kitchen, taking up her customary apron and ignoring Ginny's customary protests.
"Hermione, really. Those dresses are expensive." Ginny tutted as she moved over at the counter so Hermione could help cut vegetables.
"Didn't you know? I'm famous, apparently." Hermione said with a grin. "Plus I'm surprisingly good at what I do and they pay me lots and lots and because I prefer private parties at the Potter residence to extended VIP holidays abroad every three weeks, I have nothing better to spend my money on."
Ginny tutted under her breath good-naturedly. She actually admired Hermione's ability to be completely at ease in anything, from blue silk designer evening dresses to jeans and an old t-shirt.
"Where's Harry, anyway?" Hermione asked as she slid a pile of chopped potatoes into a pot of boiling water and turning the heat down slightly.
"He's out, but he promised he would be back. Why?"
"We need to talk." Hermione shrugged nonchalantly, immediately alerting her old friend that something important was going on.
"About what?"
"Auror records." Hermione said. She smiled at Ginny. "Please leave it for now, Gin. I just need to talk to him first so I can sort my head out." Ginny held up her hands in surrender.
"Consider it dropped." She said with a smile. "So, what's new?"
"Not much." Hermione said, then proceded to launch into an explanation of her work. Ginny smiled and continued to cook.
Dinner was…edible. That was all there really was to it. Still, it was better than it had been and Hermione was pretty sure there was definite improvement in Ginny's cooking. She wasn't exactly a top chef herself, though, so it was all a learning experience anyway.
"Ginny, are you okay?" Hermione turned to Harry and saw him staring concernedly at his wife. Hermione looked as well and saw Ginny was pale and sitting back.
"Gin?" Hermione asked, setting her cutlery down.
"I'm fine." Ginny shook her head. "Just not feeling too well."
"Something you ate?" Harry asked. Hermione frowned.
"We all ate the same thing." She pointed out. She rose. "I'll take her upstairs."
"No, I will. I'm done anyway." Harry rose as well and circled the table to Ginny. "Come on, love. Let's get you upstairs." He guided her away and Hermione was left alone at the table. She started collecting the plates in, feeling as since she was quite happy leaving the rest of her plate and the other two were done she might as well.
Ten minutes later, Harry came back downstairs and stood in the doorway to the kitchen, watching Hermione charm the dishes to wash themselves. When she finally turned to him, she saw he'd lost the tie and looked a little dishevelled.
"How is she?" Hermione asked, drying her hands on a tea-towel.
"Lying." Harry said with a tired smile.
"About what? She looked pale."
"The nausea was real." Harry smiled. "But it wasn't what she ate."
"So what was it?" Hermione asked with a frown.
"She's pregnant."
"What? Oh, congratulations, Harry!" Hermione said with a smile, stepping forward quickly to hug him. She pulled back. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah." Harry rubbed his face and paced halfway across the kitchen. "It's just…me. As a dad. It's just…weird."
"You'll be amazing." Hermione said with a smile. "As soon as you get over the shock, you'll be absolutely fine."
"Yeah." Harry smiled. "She said you wanted to talk to me about something."
"Yeah." Hermione nodded, pouring another two glasses of wine. She handed one to Harry while she sipped her own. Harry studied her, glass untouched in his hand.
"Something which is upsetting you." He guessed. "Or at the very least, unsettling."
"It's character development." Hermione said with a little smile. Harry raised his eyebrows.
"Oh?" He grinned. "Whose?" Hermione smiled back. It was a very Harry-esque question to ask.
"Yours." Her smile faded and Harry frowned slightly, unsure as to where this line of questioning was going. But judging from Hermione's body language, it probably wasn't anywhere he wanted to be.
"Go for it."
"Why did you lie to me about Draco Malfoy's death?"
As far as questions went, Hermione considered, it was pretty pointless. She knew exactly why Harry had lied to her about it. She just wanted him to admit it.
Harry, for his part, felt like she'd just dashed her wine in his face. Of all the things that could have bothered her, this…this was not what he'd thought. He met her gaze and found her deceptively innocent, but he recognised the glint in her eyes. It was the glint that had made her follow him all those years at Hogwarts: determination to make the world right. Or at least her idea of what was right. When he'd discovered the sketch in her room, confirming his worst suspicions, he'd felt betrayed. Years to think on it had stripped it of the hysteria of fresh betrayal, leaving the facts cold and bare. She'd been with Malfoy during the war. And from that knowledge, Harry could guess where the information on all those deatheaters came from. It was the only reason he didn't kill Malfoy on sight. That and the crippled girl Malfoy had been saving. Saving, Malfoy. The sight alone had confused Harry enough to hesitate, and then it was too late.
"Harry." Hermione's voice broke his thoughts. "Answer me."
"You know full well." Harry said. He sounded tired.
"I'd like you to tell me." Her voice was measured, calm. Her eyes said she was anything but.
"How did you find him?"
"You forget the Melpomene file all the time. It's filed next to Malfoy. I presume you didn't archive the file because it contained his current address."
Harry laughed softly, the irony reaching him easily. He had hidden Malfoy from her and then told her where to look.
"Yes, that's why. And I didn't tell you because I wanted him to stay away from you."
"And me to stay away from him."
"He's trouble." Harry shook his head.
"He's more than that, Harry." Hermione shook her head. "Harry…he's been in love with me longer than I know."
"He has a funny way of showing it."
Do you remember the time-turner, Harry? Hermione wanted to ask. She wanted to tell him. She knew without a doubt that he wouldn't believe her.
"And I love him." She said plainly, almost surprised to find it true.
And Harry was lost for words. She was being honest, he had always been able to tell with her. She did love the snakey bastard who had bullied her for years. His arch-nemesis. Her betrayal. She actually loved the man.
"I needed to talk to you." She said quietly, "Because I want to see him, I want to be with him. But I can't do that behind your back. I won't do it behind your back. So I needed to tell you."
"Well, you did."
"And I want you to know that if you tell the aurors where he is I will never speak a word to you ever again."
"He told you that?" Harry asked.
"Yes."
Harry sighed, and downed the wine in his hand. He set the glass down and rubbed his hands over his face again.
"Hermione, he'll hurt you." He said finally.
"As much as anyone would."
"It's Malfoy."
"Draco. I know." Harry sighed, beaten. This was Hermione, and she always got what she wanted, even if she had to mow him down to get it.
"Fine." He shook his head. "Fine. See him. And yes, I will punch him if he hurts you. And yes, I will restrain myself from saying I told you so when he hurts you. Or at least I'll try." Hermione smiled widely, and flung herself into his arms again.
"Thank you!" She whispered fervently. "You have no idea what this means to me." She whispered, turning to kiss his jaw and returning back to her tight hug. Harry hugged her back.
"You know," he said softly, "I'm very glad that you told me." Hermione smiled over his shoulder. "That you trust me. With him."
"If I can't trust you, who can I trust?" Hermione replied with a smile, pulling back. She was so glad War-Harry hadn't made a comeback with his hard eyes and unforgiving heart.
"Very true." Harry grinned. "Let me guess, you want to go."
"Oh, I am. I think you and Ginny need to celebrate your baby. And I think I need to be very absent for those celebrations." Hermione grinned. Harry smiled back.
"I'm going to be a dad." Hermione laughed and leaned forward to kiss his cheek.
"I'm going to dash up to say goodnight to Ginny." She said over her shoulder as she left the kitchen and headed upstairs. A few minutes later she was back down and with a final swift kiss for Harry, she grabbed her coat and was gone. Harry shook his head, accepting that he would never understand her, and headed up to his pregnant wife.
"Better?" Ginny asked with a wan smile from the bed. Harry lay down beside her.
"She's in love with Draco Malfoy." He said quietly, fingertips tracing Ginny's cheek. She gave a contented sigh and smiled.
"I thought so."
&
Hermione apparated into Draco's front garden and stood for a moment, staring at the house. Then finally she stepped forward and knocked on the door. Draco opened it and stared at her. She smiled shyly and stepped forward into his arms. Draco ducked his head and kissed her deeply, holding her tightly to him.
And the timeline was restored, albeit a lifetime behind schedule.
Fin.
&
Please Review! xx