Disclaimer: I own nothing. Sadly. Though without JKR, Harry Potter would not have existed. So to her, I am eternally thankful.
Chapter 5: Revelations, Part 1 (Dinner at the Burrow)
Saturday arrived, the day of dinner at the Burrow. After helping Angelo complete his homework from school, Hermione brought Angelo to eat at a muggle café before taking a stroll in the park. At 3:30, they returned home, and after a quick bath for Angelo, Hermione and Angelo flooed to the Burrow, a fresh batch of brownies in hand.
Molly, still jolly and vibrant as ever, bustled into the room to greet them, Ginny close on her heels. "So, where is he?" she demanded, hands on her hips.
"Yes, where?" repeated Molly.
"Who?" voiced Hermione.
"Your plus one, of course!" exclaimed Ginny.
A voice interrupted.
"Miss Mione, can I go play now?" said Angelo, who until then, had been hiding behind Hermione's legs.
"Of course! Go play with James and Albus," said Hermione. Ginny's eyes popped open as Angelo ran off.
"Wh-what? He's your plus one?" she exclaimed, shocked senseless.
"Yes, what would make you think otherwise?"
"Bu-but Harry said—" Ginny spluttered.
"Well, yes, I told him my plus ones was, in his words, 'a member of the male population,' however, I never specified Angelo's age," explained Hermione.
Molly interrupted. "My god! Angelo? What a cute name! The boy's adorable!"
Hermione giggled. "Yes, Angelo's an absolute darling! I love him!" Harry came into view as the three women exited the house.
"Ah…so who exactly are we loving? Where is he, anyways?" He asked, a grin on his face.
"He, it so happens to be, is a young boy names Angelo," said Ginny, glaring at Harry.
"Sorry," he shrugged, not seeming sorry at all.
Ginny let out an undignified snort. "Now shoo! Hermione has some explaining to do," said Ginny, shooting said woman a pointed look.
"Right. I'll just…err… go help George and Bill set up, shall I?" With that, Harry and Molly excused themselves.
Ginny grabbed Hermione's arm and dragged her into the living room, where Angelina and Fleur sat already. After plopping Hermione unceremoniously in an armchair, she glared and demanded an explanation. Angelina and Fleur listened in with rapt interest.
"So, you say you found ze boy?" clarified Fleur. Her English had improved dramatically, thought there were still some irrevocable remains of French.
"Ah, yes."
"Well, I for one find it quite odd that no one's filed a missing person's report yet!" interjected Angelina.
"Yea, I know," replied Hermione. "Though I wonder, maybe Harry doesn't know?"
"Well, he might not, seeing as how he's an Auror. Perhaps your head might know, 'Mione," said Ginny.
"Yes, maybe. I'll write Mr. Cromwell tomorrow…" Her voice trailed off awkwardly. "So…uhh, how are you guys? Children treating you well?"
And with that the silence was broken, and the women laughed and giggled and gossiped until they were interrupted by the arrival of Penelope Clearwater, Percy's wife, and their children, followed by Ron and his wife, Amanda MacAlister, a Scottish witch he had met at a Quidditch match and their children, Madeleine and Harrison, 4 and 7, respectively. Lavender had thrown a hiss fit when she found out he had moved on after their "break" from their relationship, and had been shunned ever since.
The women helped with the cooking until they had finished, and allowed Molly to do the honors of serving. Before they sat down, the children came running in, followed by trails of mud and creek water.
"James," scolded Ginny, "I told you to stay away from the creek!"
Albus and Angelo had followed, obviously. Albus, who was soaked to his knees in water and mud, was not allowed inside, while Ginny quickly apparated back to the Potter residence to pick up a new pair of pants. Ginny rolled her eyes and whispered, "Lucky!" rather indignantly when she discovered Hermione could easily fix Angelo's pants with a few strong Tergeos and Scourgifys.
While the children sat together on one side of the table, the adults sat on the other allowing Ginny to constantly both Hermione about Angelo and his perfection.
As the dessert came out, Ginny's eyes widened in revelation.
"My god! Hermione, doesn't he remind you of Draco Malfoy?" she whispered, as she took a cauldron cake. Hermione tilted her head in pondering.
"Well, I suppose there is a bit of a resemblance, though Angelo's hair is more a medium blonde, think, as opposed to Malfoy's platinum blonde, and his eyes are more blue. Like Dumbledore's blue, instead of that grayish-blue Malfoy had. And his personality is nothing like Malfoy's," Hermione concluded.
"You've only known Draco since you were 11. How old is Angelo?"
"Seven, replied Hermione automatically. "Your point being?"
"Well, you never know what Malfoy was like at 7," said Ginny.
"Somehow, I doubt he had a pleasant childhood, much less one where he could play and laugh freely," said Hermione, sarcasm evident in her voice.
"True," conceded Ginny. "But still…"
After dinner was finished and dessert cleared, the adults left with their respective spouses and children. Hermione and Angelo flooed home, as Angelo was now exhausted. As Hermione was tucking Angelo into bed, she looked at Angelo's peaceful face endearingly.
"Darling, what did you think of the Weasleys?"
"I like them," came Angelo's sleepy reply. "I like Albus a lot. He's fun, like Emmett. I like Mrs. Molly, too. She doesn't use house elves. I like that…" Angelo yawned and closed his eyes. Soon, his head lolled to the side, leaving Hermione to wonder, was Angelo's father Draco Malfoy? Could her darling Angelo truly be a Malfoy?
Sunday, Hermione informed Angelo, would be her last day off. Angelo, surprisingly, didn't mind, seeing as how he adored school. He had made many new friends already, the charmer he was.
Hermione took Angelo out for a picnic in Muggle London with Gina, Emmett, and Anthony. After the picnic, the five of them went to a movie theatre, which Angelo was unfamiliar with, and watched Kung Fu Panda 2. Afterwards, Angelo couldn't stop talking about the movie—though it took a while for him to grasp the concept of "filming" without a camera (he knew what that was), which Hermione had to explain after a detailed explanation of computers. As precocious as Angelo was, he had difficulty grasping the concept of Muggle technology, though he didn't really mind, nor care.
By the end of the day, Hermione and Angelo both were exhausted. She smiled as Angelo fell asleep in the taxi home. She levitated him in the elevator up to the 11th floor after they walked, well, actually, after she carried Angelo past the portal into the wizarding world.
Hermione fell asleep dreaming of fallen angels and a mystery just begging to be solved, though she wasn't sure whether she wanted to solve it. Little did she know she had to do almost nothing; she just simply had to ask the right person.
A/N: Comments? Next chapter is when Hermione gets a little (or huge) push in the right direction.