Here's the next chapter, hope you guys enjoy. Thanks to everyone who's left feedback, and to everyone who's reading and enjoying this story!

Cheers!

"Harry! I'm so sorry for all that's happened!" Hermione wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight.

"Hey Hermione, don't worry about it. Bad press is nothing new to me. How are you coping?" he asked, returning the hug, tightening the hug when he realised that Hermione was just clinging onto him. "It's that bad huh?" he asked rhetorically, kissing the top of her head. She finally let him go, a watery smile on her face.

"When did you become so mature and pulled together?" she sniffed, wiping her eyes, her smile growing as she teased.

"Hey I've always been pulled together!" he grinned as Hermione looked at him sceptically. "Fine, not always, but I am now. Plus I'm going to be a dad so I need to work on my maturity," he beamed.

"Oh god I'm such a bad friend, I forgot, congratulations!"

"You've already congratulated me by owl, but thank you."

"Yes well, this is the first time I've ever congratulated you in person. Look at you, I know they say pregnant women have a glow about them, but I'm sure it even affects their partners, look at you, you're looking really good!" Hermione looked him up and down slowly, her own grin growing in response to Harry's, enjoying the vibrancy that appeared to be exuding from him. It was also clear that Ginny did his shopping for him; his black hair still had its usual tousled look, but was now fashionably cut, his green eyes glinting happily behind a pair of designer frames, his clothes looked comfortable, but well cut and fitting, a far cry from the oversized, crumpled clothes from his youth.

"If you keep looking at me like that, I'll start to believe those rumours about us," he teased, taking a seat. Hermione playfully hit his arm, rolling her eyes at him. "But seriously Hermione, I'm sorry I've not visited you sooner, but I've barely been in the country, and any time I have been off I've been with Ginny-"

"Harry you don't need to apologise for spending time with your pregnant wife! I've no idea why you're sorry Harry, it's my fault you've been pulled into this. I'm the one who's dragged you into this, you and Ginny. How is she doing?"

"I've had more rubbish written about me than I care to remember so I should have least have visited earlier to let you know that whilst it's horrible at the time, you should just try and do your best to not let it get to you."

"You already gave me that advice via owl, telling me in person doesn't change anything-"

"But sometimes all you really need to help get through it all is a hug, and I wasn't there for that, so let me keep my apology. Ginny, she's…well…you know what she's like. Obviously she doesn't believe the papers, so she's just angry and frustrated on my behalf and just worried generally. She mentioned that she came to see you a while ago."

Hermione nodded in confirmation.

"She told you her worries then. The logical part of me thinks that the newspaper was just guessing about the pregnancy, but the idea that it wasn't just a lucky guess is still niggling in the back of my mind for some reason."

"You really think that someone in the family leaked it to the press?"

"No, but there's something not quite right about it, it's just a feeling I have. Maybe I've been an auror for too long, maybe I'll end up like old Mad Eye, being suspicious about everything! But do you know when you have a feeling that you just can't shake?"

Hermione thought about earlier that morning when she had woke up disorientated, wrapped up in an unfamiliar blanket, curled up on Fleur's armchair, the weak morning light streaming through the windows. And her eyes had fallen on Fleur who had also fallen asleep on the opposite sofa, her blonde hair falling untidily around her. And there was that feeling that she couldn't shake. Trying to rid the memory of that feeling, she nodded at Harry, encouraging him to carry on.

"I don't know, maybe I'm overthinking it. It's going to be terrifying when my kid turns into a teenager, can you imagine how much overthinking I'm going to be doing then! I just think of the things that we got up to whilst at Hogwart's and I shudder at the thought of what my kid could get up to!"

"They do say the moment you become a parent you'll never ever stop worrying about them, so if I were you, I'd enjoy the non worry state for as long as you have the chance. But there's a reason you're a great auror Harry, so there may be more to your gut feeling. But my own gut feeling says that none of Ginny's family would ever hurt you guys."

"I'm in agreement with you there which is why this is so hard for me. Have you looked into the journalist who's writing all this rubbish? Maybe that would give us a clue as to whether it's just my imagination taking over."

"It's anonymous."

"Anonymous? You mean the journalist is anonymous? Are they even allowed to be anonymous?"

Hermione shrugged in response, not knowing the answer.

"Hermione, why do I get the feeling that you don't actually care about this?"

"Probably because I don't. Well, I do, but there's no evidence for any of this crap that they're writing about, so I just figured things would blow over eventually and we'd get on with our lives."

"What's wrong Hermione, the old you would have been all over this and chances are that the journalist would be packing their things for slander already."

"I know. But it just doesn't seem worth it. I just don't care about it enough. I mean, they'd get bored of it soon enough, it'll lose steam eventually."

"Hermione, they're making a mockery of your career, accusing you of sleeping your way up the ladder, they're saying you're some kind of siren focused on seducing famous men!"

Hermione shrugged, her head bowed as she focused on her shoes, unsure how to respond.

"Is it Fleur?"

Hermione's head snapped up at her name.

"What?"

"We've already established that I know about her Hermione, you don't have to look so shocked. Ginny told me how Fleur came to see you as she left last time. I'd ask if you've told her how you feel, but seeing how lifeless you are, I'm assuming you haven't. Or you told her how you feel and she's rejected you, although I seriously doubt that."

Hermione sighed, shaking her head.

"Forget about it Harry, please, there's nothing else to say on the matter of me and her. It's never going to happen. The most we'll ever be are friends."

Harry gazed at her, disappointment written all over his face.

"I never thought I'd say this about you, but Hermione Granger, you're an idiot."

"Excuse me?"

"You're an idiot. An absolute idiot. Why?"

Hermione sighed, and looked over to the tower of crimson envelopes, nodding at them. Harry frowned, walking over and opening one.

Hermione,

I'm still waiting for your reply and I won't give up hope. I know that you're giving it careful consideration like you do with everything and it's probably for the best, I understand. I find myself becoming distracted by thoughts of you during the day, sometimes I forget what I'm meant to be doing. I'm no longer the selfish, self-centred boy that I was, I know that I can make you happy.

Love,

Ron

Harry looked up at her, his good mood dissipated, his eyes taking in the large pile of letters.

"Are they all like that?"

"Over half of them have the same thing written on them, but recently he's been writing different ones, but they're all along the same lines."

"He must send you a lot every week…"

"Daily. He sends me one letter every single day."

"Sweet Merlin," he muttered, perching against the arm of the sofa, unable to take his eyes off the pile of letters, feeling anger build inside him at Ron's selfish actions. "Still, it shouldn't change anything Hermione. You're single, you don't belong to him and you don't owe him anything. He shouldn't put you in this position. He shouldn't be doing this to poor Lavender." He felt his heart ache for the brunette as her eyes stared at the ground, her fingers white as they clutched the arms of her chair.

"Hermione, look at me," he urged gently. "Look at me." She lifted her head, and for the first time he saw how tired she looked, how she had lost the vitality that drove her and she was now just getting through each day. And he found himself wrapping his arms around her, holding her tightly as she finally let herself cry. He rocked her gently back and forth, his mind racing. He was horrified at Ron's letters to Hermione, at the content and the sheer volume of letters, furious that Ron would betray Lavender in this way and using Hermione's guilt against her, knowing her character. And finally he realised that the three of them could never just be the three friends that he remembered, they'd all lost the innocence of youth, that ability to forgive and forget so easily. It turned out that after all the trials and battles that they'd had to fight through side by side, the only people able to destroy their relationship were themselves.

He loosened his hug, stepping back, his hands on either side of her face, forcing her to look at him.

"Listen to me Hermione. You're in love with her, and from what I saw at the pub, she loves you too. We're not kids anymore, this isn't about who treats us well, who else has feelings for us. It is about the two people who love each other. You're a really good person Hermione, you're in this mess because you're a good person. You care about other people, what they think, how they'll feel, but you can't let that stop you being with someone you love. I think what Ron is doing is wrong-"

"He isn't the only person who did something wrong, I slept with Fleur when she was married, when I was sort of involved with Ron, knowing she was married to his brother-"

"And I'm not saying that that was right either. But it's already happened. And it happened because you're both in love with each other, it wasn't just some sordid affair. I know that you're still feeling guilty about breaking up with Ron just after Fred died, but making yourself miserable isn't going to change a thing. You have to move on with your life Hermione, stop living in the past. We survived that bloody battle, we lost enough back then, don't let it take anyone else from you now."

"This isn't about the past Harry! I know it's about now, it's about that letter you just read, it's about those letters that come every bloody single day!"

"For fuck's sake Hermione, just burn them! Don't read them, just chuck them in the fire where they belong!" he snapped.

Hermione's eyes widened at Harry's outburst, she hadn't seen him lose his temper since they were teenagers.

"I care about you Hermione, you're family to me and I want you to be happy. You deserve to be happy. If there's anything that I learnt from Voldemort, it's the fact that we all need love. And you have that if you'll just sodding accept it. We all deserve a love which give us butterflies…"

The first time their eyes met was enough to change everything. Across the busy Great Hall, it was suddenly as if all the other students weren't there, as if all the talking, laughing and clattering of cutlery no longer existed. Hermione had no idea who the student from Beaubaxtons was, but never had anyone elicited such a visceral reaction from her and even when she quickly averted her eyes, the tingling in her stomach remained.

"…which gives us a sense of security…"

And for the first time in a long time, she felt safe. She was vaguely aware of people rushing about around her talking in harsh whispers, but she didn't care as long as the person holding her carried on holding her. She winced as she felt them pull up her sleeve and heard a sharp intake of breath. She opened her eyes and she saw fury on Fleur's face. She reached up and touched Fleur's face and when the blonde turned to face her, she saw the fury turn to anguish.

"It's ok, it doesn't hurt quite so much anymore," she croaked, closing her eyes as she felt the room spinning around her.

"I'll take care of you, I promise I'll take care of you 'ermione," she heard the part Veela whisper just before she gave in to the darkness, finally feeling safe.

"…that takes our breath away…"

Fleur moaned into Hermione's open mouth who replied with a moan of her own as, her body arching into Fleur's. She gasped as she felt Fleur push even deeper into her and she responded in kind, hearing Fleur's gutteral moans increase in volume. Their kisses grew sloppy as their love making intensified.

"Don't stop Fleur, please don't stop," she whimpered, her nails leaving a trail of welts as she writhed against Fleur.

"Look at me, look at me," Fleur gasped desperately. Brown eyes fluttered open and all she could see were the darkened azure eyes, half lidded as Fleur struggled to keep her own eyes open.

"I love…I love seeing you," the blonde's breath shuddered, eyes unwavering. And Hermione finally felt any doubt or guilt momentarily stripped away, this could never be wrong.

"…someone you would give up everything to protect…"

"Just tell me darlin', one name and I will stop," she whispered, her tone sickeningly intimate as Hermione shrieked, every nerve fibre in her arm on fire. The pain stopped as quick as it started and she lay there panting, tears falling onto the dirty stone floor beneath her. She tried to recoil as she felt a hot tongue run up the shell of her ear, the binding spell holding her in place.

"Shame you're a mudblood darlin', someone with your skill would be useful," Bellatrix stated in a sing song manner, her hand running up Hermione's body, ending at her neck, squeezing gently, almost absent mindedly.

"Some muggle murderers quite like strangling their victims to death, I suppose they enjoy their victims dying under their hands, literally," she stated, fingers tightening around Hermione's neck, as Hermione tried to struggle, black spots forming in her vision. "But where's the fun in that, why speed up a process that's more enjoyable the longer you prolong it?" She suddenly released her grip, grabbing hold of Hermione's hair instead, yanking her head back enjoying the sight of the muggle born gulping in air.

She straddled Hermione waist, intentionally knocking her injured arm, making the young brunette cry out.

"Just tell me who you love darlin', just say their name once for me. They'd like to save you wouldn't they, they would like to come here and stop the pain, they won't mind you tellin' me their name," she told her almost conversationally as she slowly carved out another letter into Hermione's arm, the young girl begging her to stop.

"I'll stop once you say their name, just once, no one else will know, just you and me," she whispered theatrically, enjoying the look of fear in the brown eyes. Suddenly she felt hot saliva hit her face and saw a look of defiance in the girl. She slapped the girl's face hard in anger before her mood again made a lightening change, wiping the spit almost thoughtfully from her face.

"I was hoping you'd say that. Gives me and you some more fun times together," she smiled slowly, her eyes glinting wildly. And she savoured the way Hermione screamed again.

"…someone who makes you happy."

They both giggled as chocolate dripped onto the floor as Hermione tried to feed her the chocolate covered strawberry, a surprisingly messy task.

"You have some chocolate on your lip," Hemione grinned.

"Where?"

"Your left hand side."

"Can you 'elp me, I cannot see," the blonde smirked playfully. Hermione laughed, leaning over lazily whilst propped on one arm, and used the tip of her tongue to lick off the smudge of chocolate. As she made to pull away, Fleur's arm snaked around her head, gently pulling her in for a sweet kiss. Hermione eventually pulled away, smiling at the look of contentment on the Frenchwoman's face, the blue eyes half lidded. She moved closer, wrapping her arms around the blonde as she lay her head on Hermione's chest.

"I can 'ear your 'eartbeat, lub dub, lub dub," she said drowsily, tapping out the rhythm on Hermione's chest. "Will you sleep with me?"

"Always."

The blonde wrapped her arms around the younger woman's waist, nestling her face in the crook of Hermione's neck, both women slowly drifting into sleep.

"Maybe we all deserve it, but it doesn't mean that we all get it Harry," she shook her head as if it could dispel all the memories. Three days, that was it. Yet it was as if she could remember nothing else.

Harry opened his mouth to protest, but closed it again silently seeing the set expression on her face.

"Well if they write anything else, I really think you should look into it Hermione. You don't want it to affect your teaching position. Has Professor McGonagall said anything to you?"

"I spoke to her after the first article came out, I have the support of the teaching staff as far as I'm aware."

"Just be careful Hermione."

The clock chimed and both of them turned to see the time, silently sitting whilst it chimed.

"I better go, I've got a dinner date with Ginny. And I'll be able to leave without any of the students seeing me as they'll all be gone for dinner. It really does feel like I'm having an affair with you," he smirked, standing up, reluctant to leave Hermione in her current mood. Hermione smiled slightly as she saw him hesitate, grateful to know he cared.

"It's ok Harry, I'm fine. Go have a good night with your wife, you guys need to enjoy time to yourselves before the baby arrives, you certainly won't have so much opportunity once it's here!"

"Hermione-"

"Really, I'm fine. Go have fun, you deserve it," she smiled gently, meaning everything she said.

"You deserve it too Hermione. Think about it, please." He leant over her, kissing her forehead briefly before leaving, seeing how she closed her eyes and leant her head back the unshed tears falling, his heart aching for her.

She heard her door click close and she fought away the tears, she didn't want to cry anymore. She stood up and paced around her living area restlessly, picking up things and then placing them back down, not knowing what she wanted to do. Finally she picked up a bag containing toiletries and a towel, deciding a bath in the prefects bathroom with all those bubbles would soothe her. The hallways were quiet, everyone else was at dinner and all she could hear was the clicking of her heels gently along the stone.

And then she could smell that perfume. Before she could even process the thought Fleur came around the corner, a large stack of books in her arms which tumbled to the ground as she collided into the younger woman.

"Merde," she muttered as she bent over to pick up her books.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said quietly, bending over to help retrieve the books. Fleur's head jerked up at the voice, her cheeks suddenly flushing.

"Non, it was my fault, I wasn't paying attention-"

"I'm sorry for leaving this morning without saying goodbye, I didn't want to wake you and I remembered I had papers to mark," rushed out of Hermione's mouth before she even knew what she was saying.

"C'est bonne," she replied without a smile, knowing Hermione was lying about the marking.

"Let me help you with these books-"

"Non, it's ok, I 'ave them-"

"Let me please, it's the least I can do," Hermione wished she could stop talking, not knowing where all the words were coming from.

"Errr…merci. I was just going to take them back to my rooms."

Hermione nodded in silent acknowledgement and they both silently walked down the corridor, the tension palpable.