Chapter 1: Moving On

It was a sunny Monday morning and Hermoine began collecting the parchments that she had reviewed last night to prepare herself to go to work. 'A potion for reviving the dead, hmph, well that's a first' she sarcastically told herself as she scanned the report she was holding. Her job as a member of Accreditation of Potions committee is to investigate and certify if certain potions do contain desired effects and if it is safe to be released in the market. As much as she like experimenting and investigating, she still find her job to be rather, dull. There are times that she contemplated on whether she should have a change of career but eventually she remained in her job.

Hermoine's deep though was shortly cut short when a knock was heard at the door. She wondered who might visit her so early in the morning. She doubted it would Harry or Ron because ever since they became Aurors they both have become too busy to visit her due to their 'secret' mission that they have been working on for such a long time. She opened the door and was surprised to see a familiar face standing outside the door holding a basketful of fruits with a wide smile on his face.

"Draco!" she said with a bewildered face. Its been a long time since she had seen him, and by the looks of it what a fine man Draco had become. His hair is as blonde as ever, but not as pale as before, as a matter of fact he looked like he had been toning his body. He seemed healthier and glowing. His choice of color have changed too, instead of the usual black, he now wears a suit with shades of blue.

Draco cleared his throat bringing Hermoine back to reality as he noticed her eyeing him from head to toe. "Hello Hermoine! It's been a long time." he said with a wide smile.

"Indeed." She replied. "Why are you here?" she asked in the most nicest way she could deliver, though inside her mind was a suspicion on the young man's surprising visit.

"Well, as you obviously do know, I'm your new neighbor. I just moved in last night."

"Uh huh"

Noticing the basket in his hand he said, "By the way, this is for you." He handed the basket to the lady before him in which Hermoine reluctantly accepted.

"Thanks." She said while looking at the contents of the fruits. 'Hmm…they all look fresh. I love fruits.' She said to herself. Draco smirked without Hermoine noticing it.

For a moment, they were silent, not knowing what to say next. Clearly, Hermoine thought that Draco has something in his mind other than giving her a basketful of fruits.

"Well," Draco clasped his hands together, "I guess I'm off then. I'm sure your about to go to your work. Are you still working at the Ministry?"

"Yes." She replied with a hint of curiosity.

"Oh I see. In case you need anything, don't be shy to knock ok."

And with that the young Malfoy went to his flat just next to Hermoine's leaving her still standing at her doorway figuring what Draco is up to. When she realized she's been wandering in her study for a long time, she glanced at her watch and panicked. "Oh I'm going to be late!" She quickly grabbed her bag, glanced in the mirror to check if she's presentable enough and decided to leave the whole Draco thing alone, for the meantime.

*****

It's been a busy day that was for Hermoine, so many newly experimented Potions to be tested and she apparently has no time to think of anything other than her work. She was so hooked with her job she didn't noticed Ginny who just flooed in.

"Hermoine!" Ginny exclaimed startling her friend in the process. Wide eyed Hemoine made a fist on between her breasts feeling the fast beating of her heart.

"Ginny! What are you doing here? Are trying to give me a heart attack?!" she said in irate manner. Ignoring her friends questions, Ginny told Hemoine that Ron was rushed to St. Mungo's after he and Harry arrived from their 'secret' mission.

"What happened?!"

"I dunno exactly, I wasn't there but mum told me she just saw Harry appearing at our doorsteps while embracing Ron who was already unconscious. And then she and Charlie immediately rushed Ron to St. Mungo's." Hemoine, trying to sink in all what her friend had told her, sat on her chair ignoring Ginny's presence. 'Not again, when will those two get out of harm's way.' she quietly said to herself. Disregarding the parchments and loads of work in front of her, she stood up said, "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

*****

Upon arriving at Ron's private room, Hemoine's heart lept as she saw her ex boyfriend lying in bed unconscious with a note of pain in his face. Sitting beside him, is Harry looking exhausted. The Boy-Who-Lived immediately stood from his seat when he noticed the arrival of the two ladies. He gave Ginny a tight hug and a quick yet tender kiss on the lips before hugging his best friend.

"Oh Harry, I missed you so much." Hemoine said quietly.

"I miss you too."

"Where's Mum and Charlie?"

"Your Mum went home to gather Ron's clothes while Charlie went to inform Arthur." Harry said.

"What happened to both of you Harry?" Ginny asked her lover again. Harry was having second thoughts on whether he should tell what really happened or perhaps lie to them. Knowing Harry, both Ginny and Hermoine crossed their arms and raise they eyebrows which made the young man sigh. Feeling defeated, he quickly glanced at his surroundings making sure that nobody is present aside from them and began narrating what happened.

"So you're saying, all this time you've been tracking Lucius Malfoy? " Ginny asked surprised to find that her lover had spent most of his time following a low life wizard such as Malfoy.

"Yes honey, that's what we have been doing." Hermoine was about to open her mouth when Harry raised his hand to interrupt her, "I know, you might think that it's just a waste of time. But we have reliable sources telling us that Malfoy is up to no good…again and we believe we are right, now that we have confirmed that he is back in London."

"How can he such a threat? He can't even put up fight against you two. How low can he get? Sneaking up on you like that, hitting behind your backs." Ginny said and scoffed.

"The funny thing is, with that kind of attack, he could have killed both of you already, but why did he just disappeared and leave you there?" Hermoine said thinking out loud. Surprised by what her friend said, Ginny retorted, "So you're saying that you wished he should've killed both of them instead?"

"No, of course not! His intention was not to kill Harry and Ron, I'm thinking there might be something else. Harry, do you remember what kind of curse did Lucius hit Ron with?" Harry thought for a moment, trying to recall what Lucius had said before hitting Ron with a curse.

"Well, I think I heard him say latérale amyotrophique sclérose…or amyotrophique sclérose latérale something like that…"

And for a moment everyone was in deep thought. Hermoine working her minds out on what effect it can cause to a person when hit while Harry and Ginny just seated next to each other holding hands and squeezing tight as a sign that everything will be alright. Suddenly Hermoine remembered here meeting with the younger Malfoy and told Harry and Ginny what happened.

"Now, that's odd." Ginny said

"Indeed. Don't think Draco has something to do with this?" Hermoine asked.

"I highly doubt that. Remember how Draco helped us fight against the Death Eaters. So clearly, he's on our side." Harry defended.

"Yeah did fight with us at the last minute! Probably sensing defeat, he jumped over the fence and sided against his father and his groupies." Ginny said in an angry face. Not wanting to argue, Harry just shrugged and they all remained silent again.

After a few minutes, the rest of the Weasley family arrived and greeted Harry and the two ladies. It was like a family reunion. Fred and George still with their antics showed Hermoine their new invention, an eyeglass that can see through clothes.

"Would you like to try it?" Fred offered the eyewear to Hermoine but she declined.

"I'd rather, I'm happy not seeing what's behind everyone's clothing."

"I understand you. Once I tried wearing it and Dad suddenly stepped in front of me. Not a pretty sight. I hardly looked at Dad for almost a week after that." George whispered.

"Well, we don't have a name yet, what do you think we should call it?" George asked Hermoine.

"How about we call it Perviscope?" Hermoines said smirking.

"Nah! That' too obvious!" Fred and George said in chorus.

Everyone seemed to have a great time conversing with each other until Ron made a sound. Everyone jumped on their seats and approached the awaking man lying on the bed.

"Ron? Ron? Honey, can you hear me?" Molly said moving closer to her son. Slowly, Ron opened his eyes and everyone gave a sigh of relief as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley gave Ron a tight hug.

"Mum! Dad! 'geruf me!" Ron said trying to get away from his parents but failing miserably.

The rest of the day was spent with Harry retelling again the accounts on what happened to both him and Ron, with the exception of their 'secret' mission. Harry's story telling was cut short when the Healer arrived with a serious face.

"What's wrong me?" Ron asked the Healer, in which he received a deep sigh from the man in front of him.

"According to your companion over here, you've been hit with latérale amyotrophique sclérose a curse that can weaken and eventually paralyze every muscle of your body which can eventually lead to death." Everyone gasped, Ginny covered her mouth with terror while Molly cried and was immediately comforted by Arthur.

"Is there any cure for this? Ron again asked trying to ignore the terror building inside him.

"I'm sorry, but there is none. This curse like I side will slowly weaken and then paralyze your every muscle from your legs until to the muscles that help with your breathing. You will experience difficulty walking, talking or even eating as it progresses."

*****

When Harry and Hermoine finally bid farewell to the Weasleys, Harry accompanied Hermoine to her flat.

"Well, I guess I'll see you at the Ministry then" Harry said after giving Hermoine a peck on the cheek. Before Hermoine was about to enter her flat Harry suddenly said," By the way, I doubt if you heard this which I'm sure you didn't knowing how oblivious you are when working…" Hemoine rolled her eyes, "…I heard that Snape was acquitted yesterday." After hearing the news, Hermoine's heart lept. She felt relieved and happy for her former professor, though she tried not to show Harry and just presented a passive expression.

"Well that's good news." She replies flatly. Harry again bid Hermoine goodbye. As Hermoine was about to enter she noticed that someone was observing her from a far dark corner but saw nothing and just shrugged it off.

While she disrobed herself she noticed a bulge inside the pocket of her jacket. She grabbed it and saw that what she was holding was the eyeglass that Weasley twins made. She smirked and rolled her eyes while placing the eyeglass on her bedside table. She laid on her bed, trying to process everything that had happened on that day. 'Draco suddenly appearing, Lucius returning and Ron, oh poor Ron' she said. 'Professor Snape…Draco…Lucius…Snape.' suddenly she had the feeling that something terrible will soon happen.

This is my first SS/HG fanfic....I hope you enjoyed reading! Reviews are very welcome!