Of Forks and Brooms

The Burrow had been in complete and utter chaos for the past few hours. Naturally, Harry had waited to pack all of his things until the very last minutes, so when Draco opened the door with his charmed suitcase he narrowly missed Harry's Quidditch equipment flying through the door.

"Sorry Malfoy!" he heard Harry yell from across the room. George and Ron were trying to coax Hermione's cat Crookshanks into his travelling case, and the Kneazle was doing everything in his power to ignore them. Ginny was doing her best to calm a frantic Hedwig, and Hermione was flicking her want back and forth as countless trunks travelled down the steps and disappeared into a small beaded bag.

Draco chuckled dryly. "Bloody hell, Potter. Why doesn't this surprise me?"

Harry attempted to shoot Malfoy a look, but only succeeded in hitting himself in the forehead with the books he was flinging into one of his trunks. "You could help!" he yelled, exasperated.

Draco smirked. "I think I'd rather watch the show."

Hermione rolled her eyes from across the room and huffed impatiently. "Draco, could you at least help George and Ron get Crookshanks into his travelling case?"

Sighing dramatically, Draco made a show of stomping over to the cat, who looked at Draco warily as he approached. Crookshanks yawned, stretched back, and gracefully leaped off the couch onto the floor. Padding towards Draco, he rubbed up against his leg before trotting into the travelling case. Draco cast his wand at the case and made sure it was locked securely. He didn't want to try his luck with THAT cat anymore today.

He could feel Ron's furious gaze on the back of his head. "How the bloody hell did you do that?" Ron whispered between his gritted teeth.

Draco made a show of checking his watch and adjusting his collar as he spoke. "Crooks and I have a reached an understanding of sorts. You know, from one civilized man to another."

He could practically feel the steam coming from Ron's ears as he finished his remark. Draco had never been a fan of the red-haired Gryffindor, and he had liked him even less when he tried to pursue Hermione after the final battle. Not that he was even remotely interested in Hermione, mind you. In fact, he greatly disliked her for most of his life. But when he saw her at Malfoy Manor, and when she did her part to keep him out of Azkaban, and when she looked at him like he was a person and not a monster… Things had changed. And as much as he hated to admit it, there was a tiny part of him that had started thinking about her in a much more friendly way for much longer than he dared to think about.

Ron, meanwhile, was desperately trying to get to past George so he could hex Draco into oblivion, but Hermione caught his eye and glared at him until he backed down. Scowling, he turned on his heel and stomped away into the kitchen.

A cheerful whoop broke Draco from his reverie. "Finally!" Harry exclaimed. "I think that's everything! Mione, how's it going for you?"

Hermione scoffed, tossing her soft brown curls over her shoulder. "Oh please, I've been packed for a week! I just packed the last of my books. Malfoy, do you have everything?"

Draco nodded quickly. "Yes, I have all of my trunks. And the house-elves at Malfoy Manor are willing to help with whatever we need."

Hermione turned to face him, a sheepish grimace on her face. "Do you think they've-"

"Forgiven you for SPEW?" Draco chuckled. "Of course they have. After the way you treated Dobby, they know you did it out of love."

Hermione's brow unfurrowed and she shot Draco a grateful smile. Merlin, did she have a beautiful smile. "Thank you, Draco," she replied softly.

He stiffened in response and shot her a small grin. "Of course. Now, where's blondie?"

"Right here!" Luna sang as she skipped into the room. "I was just in the kitchen helping Mrs. Weasley. She's been having quite a problem with nargles, you know."

Harry shot Hermione a look as she swallowed a giggle. Luna had been at the Burrow all week, setting all sorts of various charms to protect the Weasleys from unpleasant creatures that Molly didn't believe existed. It took all of Molly's patience to not forbid the girl from entering the kitchen, but Harry had stressed the importance of letting Luna help in her own, special way.

"Well, all right then. I think we're ready!" Harry exclaimed in a half-whisper, turning to look at Hermione. She shot Harry a small smile, tears pooling in her eyes.

"It's time," she whispered breathlessly. She shook her head back and patrolled around the room, making sure everyone had shrunken their luggage properly and that it was safely stored in their pockets; they certainly didn't want to lose anything when apparating. Only Crookshank's and Hedwig's respective travelling cases remained at their normal size.

Hermione bit her lip. "Draco, do you think-"

"Taina!" Draco hollered. A sharp crack filled the room, and a small house-self in a blue dress greeted them warmly.

"How can I serve you Master Draco?"

"Please Taina," he smiled warmly, "you can just call me Draco."

"Yes Master Draco!" she replied with a soft smile.

Draco shook his head and shot her another smile. "Would you be willing to take Crookshanks and Hedwig to the house in Forks?"

"Of course sir!" she replied. "Taina will take them right away."

"Thank you," he replied, and with a sharp crack the three small creatures were gone.

At the sound of the crack the Weasley's had gathered back into the room. Ginny looked at them all, tears in her eyes. "I suppose it's time."

"Yes," Hermione replied. "I suppose it is."

Ginny ran straight into Hermione's arms, sobbing as they said their goodbyes and Ginny repeated her promise to visit as much as she could. Harry was next, followed by Luna, and slowly the three made their way down the line, saying goodbye to their family. Draco stood back, feeling uncomfortable as he watched Hermione hug Molly and Arthur, and blatantly angry while she hugged Ron.

Ron grasped onto Hermione like he would never see her again. She tried to loosen up from the hug, but he held her tight against him. "It'll be okay Ron, we'll see each other again. Besides, Draco and Harry will keep us safe."

Ron growled. "You won't let me forget it!"

Hermione finally broke the embrace and pushed him away, smoothing her coat against her skirt. She turned to look at Harry and Luna. Harry was caught in Molly's embrace as she sobbed, and Luna was talking animatedly with George about all of the creatures she was sure to see. Ron cleared his throat and shuffled his feet, shooting her a pained gaze. "Just be okay, Hermione. Promise me that."

Hermione nodded the tears away that had started rolling down her face. "I promise."

With that, Harry and Luna pulled away from the Weasley's and joined Hermione and Draco, who had started moving closer and closer to her when Ron was hugging her.

"Well," Harry said, softly smiling at his ragtag group of roommates, "let's go then! Hermione, can you take Draco as your side-along?"

Hermione nodded her head. "Of course!" she responded, perhaps a bit too emphatically she thought.

"Perfect!" Harry exclaimed. "You know the address?" Hermione and Draco once again nodded their heads in assent. "Well then, what are we waiting for?" Harry grabbed Luna's hand and pulled out his wand, which started to glow a familiar green.

"To Forks!" he hollered excitedly, and with two sharp cracks the four disapparated away from the Burrow.