A/N: Just a short little interim chapter before I post the finale! I had so much fun writing this part, so I didn't want to wait to post it. Also, I'm on AO3 now under the same username, so check me out! This story is also posted there. This little snippet is attached to the end of Chapter 2 though rather than as its own chapter.

It was an unexpectedly sunny afternoon in London, and Harry was just finishing the dishes when he heard the doorbell ring.

"Just a second!" He shouted, glancing toward the clock in the corner of the room. It appeared Kingsley was almost an hour early for their meeting. He flicked his wand toward the dishes, causing them to all file neatly into the cupboard. Quickly checking to make sure James was still asleep in his cot, he made his way toward the front door.

"I thought we weren't meeting until 3?" Harry asked, wrenching open the door. The words died in his mouth as he stared at the man on his doorstep, who was decidedly not Kingsley.

Towering nearly a foot above him, with his trademark scowl planted firmly on his face, stood Severus Snape, arms crossed tightly before him. "Potter," he greeted calmly.

"Professor?" Harry choked out, shocked to find the elusive man paying him a visit.

"I'm sure you're well aware I am no longer your professor," he sneered. "Or anyone else's for that matter."

Just then, as if Harry's heart couldn't handle any more shock, none other than Lucius Malfoy stepped out from behind Severus, further down the front path.

"Sorry to intrude, Mr. Potter," Lucius began, shooting a glance behind Harry into the house. "Is Ginevra home?"

"Ginny?" Harry asked dumbly, his mind trying to make sense of what was happening in front of him.

"Your wife…?" Snape asked cooly, raising an eyebrow. "Or have you already forgotten your nuptials from 2 years ago?"

Harry blushed in embarrassment, but was thankfully saved from responding by the appearance of said wife in question.

"Ah!" Ginny smiled, leaning around Harry to take in the two men standing on their doorstep. "I was wondering when you would show up. Come on in. I'll put the kettle on."

Harry's mouth gaped open, apparently more shocked that his wife thought this completely abnormal visit was not only fine, but expected.

Severus and Lucius calmly side-stepped around the shocked Potter in the doorway, following Ginny further into the house. It took Harry a moment to regain his senses and shuffle after the unlikely trio.

Severus and Lucius made their way to the sitting room before settling down on the couch. Severus looked like he would rather be anywhere but there, but Lucius seemed absolutely delighted with himself. He made himself comfortable, leaning back casually along the sofa and crossing his long legs in front of him. With Ginny still in the kitchen preparing tea, Harry felt obligated to join the men as they waited.

Harry sat in the armchair opposite the duo, eyes scanning their expressions. Although he had made peace with Severus after the war, and had come to know Lucius as acquaintances during the rehab program, he had no clue why either of these men would make a house call to him. Or rather, to his wife.

"So," Harry started awkwardly, twirling his wand in his fingers. "What brings you here to see my wife?"

"Oh, relax, Potter." Snape rolled his eyes.

"It's probably best if we let her be the one to say," Lucius grinned. Even though he had the utmost respect for the boy, he enjoyed watching Harry fidget nervously. Something about making the Head Auror anxious in his own house brought out Lucius' Slytherin side.

"Here you go, boys," Ginny greeted, baby James tucked in one arm and a trail of levitating cups following behind her. The dishes dropped gracefully onto the table just as the kettle floated into her empty hand. "Would one of you like to hold the baby while the other pours?"

Severus and Lucius glanced at each other before speaking at the same time.

"I'll pour."

"I'll hold him!"

"Great," Ginny smiled, handing James to Lucius' outstretched hands. He blinked sleepily up at the blond man.

Severus began pouring tea, fixing the cups to everyone's preference.

Now with tea in hand, everyone sat silently for a moment, staring at each other. James' little babbles were the only sounds in the otherwise still room.

"Potter should leave the room," Severus finally said, glancing at the young man in the armchair. "It'll be easier without him here."

"What!?" Harry shouted. He shot a hasty glance towards baby James to make sure he hadn't disturbed him. He dropped his voice before continuing. "You come to visit my wife and you expect me to just give you the room?"

"He's right, Harry," Ginny gave her husband an apologetic smile. "I'm pretty sure I know why they're here, and you don't want to be around for this discussion."

Harry looked stunned. He couldn't believe his wife was siding with them. His eyes flicked anxiously between his wife's sympathetic wince, Snape's stoic expression, and Lucius' sly grin.

"No, I'm staying," Harry stated firmly, crossing his arms in front of him. "Anything you have to say to Ginny, you can say to me."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Fine, dear, but don't say I didn't warn you." She took a sip from her tea before turning her gaze toward the older men on the couch. "So, I'm assuming this is about Hermione?"

"Hermione?" Harry cut in, clearly confused. "What's Hermione got to do with this?"

"She won't answer either of our calls," Lucius explained to Ginny, ignoring Harry's question. "It's been almost two weeks and she refuses to floo or respond to any letters we send her way."

"Ugh," Ginny grunted. "I was afraid she would chicken out. She was always brave except when it came to her own happiness."

"Hermione's happiness?" Harry cut in again. "What are you talking about? Hermione is happy."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I love you, but you're such a boy sometimes. Just because she seems happy, doesn't mean that she actually is happy."

"Hermione's not happy?" Harry asked, hurt washing over his face.

"No, not really," Ginny said. "But she could be happy if she got her head out of her arse and stopped ignoring floo calls."

"Always with the arse analogies, Ginevra," Lucius smiled, watching the witch blush as he shot her a wink. "Now, hypothetically speaking, if you had to rank all the arses in this room, which would be the fittest?"

"Jesus, Lucius," Severus sighed, pressing a hand to his face. "We are trying to get her to help us."

"Why are you talking about Ginny's arse?" Harry barked, standing up from his chair.

Lucius raised his eyebrows, putting on his best innocent expression. "Perhaps you misheard, but I asked about all the arses in this room, not just your wife's."

"Fucking hell," Severus groaned, now rubbing his temples in frustration.

Harry was on his feet, pointing his wand straight at Lucius. "What the fuck are you on about?"

"Ah, ah, ah," Lucius warned, raising little James slightly in his arms. "Lower your wand. We wouldn't want to disturb the baby now, would we?" Baby James gurgled in agreement, absentmindedly grabbing Lucius' hair and waving it around a bit.

"Harry, please sit down, he didn't mean anything by it," Ginny said, putting a hand on her husband's arm.

"Someone better explain to me what's happening right now," Harry warned, slowly sitting back in his seat. "I'm losing my patience."

"We just want to see Miss Granger," Severus said, glancing at Ginny. "We didn't know who else to go to."

"Why do you want to see Hermione so badly?" Harry asked. "She never told me she was close with either of you."

Severus and Lucius glanced at each other before looking at Ginny, silently asking her to take the lead on this one.

"Maybe she doesn't tell you everything," Ginny shrugged, trying to act nonchalant.

Harry snorted. "She's my best friend. She tells me everything. Well, not everything, I guess, because there is some classified stuff at her work, and I don't need to hear about every bloke she's shagging."

Severus couldn't help the small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He raised one eyebrow at the young man, challenging him to put all the pieces together.

Harry's eyes suddenly widened. He kept shifting his gaze back and forth from Lucius to Severus. "Please tell me you're here for work."

"Sure, if you consider it my job to make Hermione cum and scream my name," Lucius answered, a smug smile on his face. "It's a duty I take very seriously."

Harry choked on his tongue, and for once Severus didn't press a hand to his face. His smug grin matched Lucius' expression. "And it appears to work best when it's a two-man job."

"Gin," Harry's horrified face turned to his wife. "Please. Tell me they're joking."

"What's that saying? Love what you do, and you'll never work a day in your life?" Lucius sighed, crossing his arms behind his head and lounging back further into the couch. "And Merlin, do I love having your friend bounce on my–"

"Alright!" Ginny jumped up, grabbing the arm of her shell-shocked husband and ushering him out of the room. "I'll fill you in later, Harry," she promised just before she shut the door in his face. She hastily cast a locking spell and muffliato.

"Are you trying to kill him?" Ginny asked, returning to her seat. "That's the savior of the Wizarding World, and you're trying to kill him?"

Lucius rolled his eyes. "Please. He was going to find out eventually. Figured it was easier to rip open the bandaid."

Severus snorted. "You mean rip off the bandaid?"

Lucius waved a hand in front of him, shooing Severus. "Same difference."

"Do you even know what a bandaid is?"

"Boys," Ginny snapped her fingers in front of her, getting the attention of the two men in the sitting room. "Focus."

"Why won't she talk to us?" Lucius whined. "She was having such a good time until you made her leave."

"Relax, this isn't my fault," Ginny said. "It's Hermione's own doing. She's just afraid of getting her heart broken."

"I would never hurt her," Severus promised. "We were… friends… before this all started, and I… care about her well-being." Only Lucius noticed that Severus' cheeks became slightly pink as he struggled to get the confession out.

"As do I," Lucius agreed. "I've always respected her, as she was the only one to beat Draco in class, but ever since she popped onto the Manor grounds a few weeks ago, I've been able to think of nothing else but her." Lucius sighed dramatically, causing Severus to roll his eyes. "Thank you, my dear, for setting up that… meeting… so nicely, by the way."

"You're welcome," Ginny gave him a small smile. "I thought you would be good together. Unlike my dumb nitwit of a brother, she needed a man that knew what he wanted and wouldn't be intimidated by her."

"And someone with the nicest arse in all of Britain."

Ginny blushed again before glancing toward her former professor. "And for the record, I had been pushing her your way for years and she's been a stubborn git about it."

Severus almost choked on his tea. "You have?"

"It was clear she was always hot and bothered every time she left work with you," Ginny smirked. "And she always had this dumb little smile when she talked about you." She mimicked gagging. "It was disgusting."

Severus took a long sip of his tea to hide his expression.

"I could tell she was afraid she would ruin the friendship between you two," Ginny confessed. "She treasured it so much, and she didn't want to risk losing it."

"Foolish," Severus said. "She could never lose me, or Lucius for that matter. Hell, I'd even show up at the fucking house of my oldest enemy to beg for help." He glared disgustingly at the walls of Grimmauld Place.

"Beg?" Ginny raised a suspiciously Slytherin eyebrow. "I don't believe I've heard any begging yet."

Lucius immediately thrust baby James into the arms of a sputtering Severus — "Tom's taint, I do not want to hold this child!" — before he dropped gracefully to his knees in front of Ginny.

"Ginevra," Lucius purred, grabbing one of her hands and placing a delicate kiss along the knuckles. "Darling." He began kissing each of her fingers softly. "Please, I beg you." He slowly massaged the heel of her palm, eliciting an unwilling moan out of the witch. "Help us talk to your delectable curly-haired friend."

"Bloody hell," Ginny muttered, carefully withdrawing her hand from the Malfoy patriarch, her face bright red and flustered. "Hermione is an idiot." She began fanning her face. She shot a questioning look toward Severus.

"I'm not fucking doing that," Severus drawled. "As I have a feeling that neither of us would enjoy seeing me like that."

"Fair enough," Ginny agreed at the same time that Lucius said "I would certainly enjoy it."

Severus sneered, still awkwardly holding the baby.

"Be that as it may," Ginny said, "You both just need to realize where Hermione is coming from. She's used to throwing herself into her work. She rarely takes time for herself. And the few relationships she's had, she withdrew as soon as she felt herself getting attached." Ginny sighed. "After failing to return her parents' memories after the War, she hasn't allowed herself to have feelings for anyone because she doesn't think she would recover from any more heartbreak. And even though Hermione is incredibly brave, she's afraid to risk her well being for any potential happiness."

"I understand that," Severus said quietly.

"I know you do," she said. "I know you both do. That's why I'm agreeing to help you, because I think you both are exactly what she needs. She just needs to take the jump and realize the risk is worth it. I know she's more than interested in you both — she was practically glowing when she left the Manor last time. She just needs you to take charge because she's too afraid to."

"We can do that," Lucius nodded. "Just tell us how."

"I already came up with a plan," Ginny said. "Just promise me that you're serious about Hermione, and this isn't a game to you."

"I'm serious," Severus said immediately.

"Me too," Lucius agreed, the smirk finally falling from his face.

"Alright," Ginny said, reaching out to take James from an extremely grateful Severus. "Here's what to do..."

A/N: The final segment of this three-shot will be next! I'm currently working on it - I've been struggling to get the right dynamic for the trio. I have a lot of ideas, but I'm not sure how they are all flowing together at the moment. Comments keep me motivated to work though, so send me some love if you've enjoyed the story so far! I can't wait to finish this fun little journey with all of you!