Chapter 9

It was early when she heard the knock at the front door. Drowsily, Hermione pulled herself out of bed and sluggishly padded to the living room. Opening the door, she groaned at the sight of Ron. "What?" she asked.

"I brought breakfast," he said, attempting to smile. "Um, because we're friends again, and that's what friends do."

"It's so early," she bemoaned as he followed her inside and shut the door. "We need coffee, massive amounts of coffee."

They entered the kitchen where Ron unpacked eggs, bacon, sausage, and pancakes. "Late night?" he inquired. Hermione merely nodded as she prepared a fresh pot of coffee. "This is all from Mum. She always says you're too skinny. Sorry for barging in with it so early. You're usually up by now though."

She sat down with two steaming cups of coffee and grabbed a strip of bacon. "I had a lot of work to do last night," she replied. It was only half a lie. After dinner, Draco had come back to her flat where they talked for hours. They had discussed how to proceed and how long to keep it a secret. It wasn't Ministry work, but it seemed just as important. "I do appreciate all this. I'll thank Molly next time I see her."

Ron's face fell. "You're not coming by the Burrow today?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, Ron," she said, guilty that she had caused him to look so dejected. Once again, work was her excuse, and once again it was a lie. "I promise to be there next week though."

Nodding, he accepted her apology and they enjoyed breakfast together for the first time since they broke up. It felt like old times as Ron overate and made her laugh. A part of her was almost disappointed when he announced he had to leave, and kissed her cheek on his way out. It had been too long since they talked as friends, and it was a welcome reunion.

After cleaning up the kitchen and taking a shower, she floo'd to Draco's flat. He seemed to not register her sudden appearance as he read the paper. "We're a headline," he announced, shaking his head.

"Surprised?" she asked, startling him. When she was seated, he handed her the paper. Her reaction to the latest article was far calmer. "We had to know this would happen. Try as we might to keep this a secret, going out in public isn't going to help. And I don't want to just be with you behind closed doors and covered windows. A relationship can't work under those conditions, especially if we want this to last."

He nodded, knowing she was right. "I just don't want this relationship to be under a microscope the whole time," he said. "Plus, it would have been nice if we could have told our friends we're dating."

"Maybe they won't believe this," she suggested. "It is a Rita Skeeter article, after all. Next week we'll be married, and the week after that I'll be six months pregnant."

He noticed the way her face fell, but instead of questioning it, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "What do you want to do?" he asked.

"We have the relationship we want to have without worrying what the morning headline will say," she replied, believing it to be the only logical plan. "We're always going to be a headline, whether we're together or not. There's no way to escape it without becoming hermits, and even then, they'll speculate about our whereabouts. I'd rather pretend that the papers don't exist."

Chuckling, he decided to follow her plan, though blissful ignorance didn't seem like the most long lasting idea. "Well, all this talk has made me hungry," he declared. "May I feed you?"

"Actually, Ron already did," she told him. Blond brows rose questioningly, and a bit skeptically. "He, uh, sort of just showed up this morning with food, and it seemed rude to turn either away. I never thought he'd be the one to reach out first."

"Plus, you're never one to turn down food," he added jokingly.

Grinning, she made her way to his kitchen and sat down at the table. "You're right," she agreed. "Scrambled eggs, please."

00000000

Ron entered 12 Grimmauld Place, picking up the newspaper as he went. Folded in threes, he didn't notice the headline until he handed it to Harry. "I doubt it's true," Harry assured him, skimming the article. "I mean, just yesterday she and Ginny were talking about it, and Hermione seemed to have no interested in dating him. I really doubt anything's changed in the last twelve hours."

Ron shrugged and sat down. "She's always played it close to the vest, hasn't she," he remarked. "Hell, until she kissed me, I had no idea she liked me. I'm not gonna get mad if she does date him though. We're finally friends again, or starting to be, and I don't want to ruin it by objecting to her new boyfriend. Even if he is Malfoy."

Harry grinned, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "I'm glad you're coming around," he said. "It's like I told Hermione - you don't have to be friends with Draco. He's my friend, but I'm not going to force him on you."

Ron accepted his promise. "I gotta ask," he said nervously. "The two of them go out and it's front page news. How'd you manage to keep it a secret for five years?"

Chuckling, he shrugged. "We either stayed here or sat near each other at Quidditch matches," Harry replied. "Nothing we did really drew attention to our friendship, and it was easy to pass off as nothing more than two former classmates being at the same match. Hermione, on the other hand, we both know her love life has always been fodder for Rita Skeeter. She stands next to someone on a crowded street corner, and they're dating. I think she's just the juicier story combined with the grudge those two have with one another."

It was a feud that dated back to their fourth year at Hogwarts. In their first introduction with the yellow journalist, Hermione had been accused of breaking Harry's fragile heart by dumping him for Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker and Durmstrang champion in the Triwizard Tournament. Following the outrageous rumors, Hermione trapped the reporter in animagus form in a jar until she conceded.

"So, what you're saying is Skeeter likes you better," Ron supplied. With a grin, Harry concurred with his friend. "You really think they're not dating?"

Sighing, Harry couldn't say for certain. "I would like to think she'd tell us first," he responded.

Ron was silent for a few moments before he asked, "Do you think I have a chance with her again?"