Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the other characters in this story. If I did, things would have ended differently! =D

Chapter Six: The Backlash & A Couple Of Threats.

Former War Hero Sentenced to Five Years in Azkaban

Ronald Weasley was today sentenced to spend five years in the medium security ward of Azkaban. The sentence is what most of our readers consider to be a slap on the wrist, considering what the charges were. The charges were domestic violence, assault with intent to do great bodily harm. The victim was Weasley's longtime former girlfriend, Hermione Granger. According to the original sentence, Weasley was only supposed to spend three years in the minimum security ward but after hearing the original sentence, Weasley reportedly started shouting out threats to Granger, which caused his sentence to have two years added on and Weasley moved up to medium security.

Most of the people in Weasley's family have been surprising ok with the sentence. When asked, Arthur Weasley, father of Ronald Weasley, said that he was happy with the sentence that the Wizengamot passed down and is completely disgusted with the actions and behavior of his son. His wife Molly Weasley was unavailable for comment but it has been assured that she shares the same sentiment as her husband. It is reported that Weasley also threatened his former best friend, Harry Potter and little sister Ginny Weasley-Potter. The threats were supposedly against the Potter's unborn child (Turn to page 13 to read more about the Potter child) and the Potters have reportedly looked into some kind of protection. The threats stemmed from the Potters support of Granger and of their contribution of getting Weasley's Order of Merlin, 1st class revoked. The only person who has reportedly had a problem with Weasley's sentence is his girlfriend, Lavender Brown. "Everyone knows about Hermione's extensive knowledge of magic. I can assure you that she created false memories and planted them in my Ronnie-kin's head and in everyone else's head. She just can't get over the fact that Ron left her for me," said Lavender Brown, who was visibly pregnant, when asked for a comment on her way out of the courtroom. Brown, who was reported Ron's mistress for years, also denies any involvement in the reported attack on Granger.

The attack on Granger took place about two months ago in her London flat. Five months prior, Granger had broken off the relationship after coming home one night to find Brown and Weasley together in her bed. The day of the attack, Granger was out shopping with Ginny Potter and Luna Lovegood when they all supposedly ran into Weasley and Brown. After having a confrontation with each other, Granger left the area with friend Draco Malfoy. After returning home that evening, Weasley reportedly showed up at Granger's flat demanding that he allow her entrance into her home so they could talk. According to other people who lived in the building, Weasley became enraged when Granger repeatedly denied him entrance into her home. When Granger supposedly went to close her flat door, Weasley forced his way into the home. She ran from the room and into her bedroom, wandlessly locking the door so Weasley couldn't get in. After sending off a letter of help to the Potter's, Granger realized that she was wandless. Since she stated that she could no longer hear Weasley in her home, she cautiously made her way back to her living room to search for her wand. When she reached her living room, however, Weasley had already trashed it. After spotting her wand, she went to grab it when she was attacked by Weasley. According to building residents, they heard what sounded like a male voice screaming about being embarrassed in public and then heard screams. Before any of the residents could reach her apartment to help her, Potter and Malfoy had already arrived. Malfoy reportedly took Granger away for help and Potter stayed to deal with Weasley. After being checked over by esteemed Healer, Katie Bell-Weasley, it was determined that the assault on Granger resulted in three broken ribs, a shattered arm, a severe concussion, and reportedly damage to Granger's reproductive organs. This particular injury has been a subject of outrage in the female wizarding community.

In the two months since the attack, Granger has been in surprisingly high spirits. She has reportedly surrounded herself with her friends and family and has declined to make any comment on what happened. The only thing that she has said, out of respect for me, is that "what happened is in the past and between the people who were involved." Granger has reportedly moved out of her old London flat and into a new one under the protection of the famed Fidelius Charm. I, personally and on behalf of the entire Daily Prophet Staff, would like to wish Hermione luck in life and in moving on from this horrible event. Good luck Hermione and keep on being your happy-go-lucky self.

Written by

Seamus J. Finnigan

Hermione couldn't help but smile at the last bit of the article. She had forgotten that Seamus had become a Daily Prophet reporter and she had to give him props for staying as impartial as he did throughout the article. She, however, was not happy about how much of what really happened appeared in the article. Sighing, she went into her kitchen to make herself a pot of coffee. While the coffee brewed, her doorbell rang. Looking at her watch, Hermione wondered who was at her door. It was only two in the afternoon and she wasn't expecting anyone until six. Looking in her peephole, Hermione smiled and opened her door and leaned against the door jam.

"What are you doing here Malfoy?"

Draco smiled at the look on Hermione's face. "Isn't it obvious? I came over for you to cook me lunch," he said while walking into her apartment and sitting down at the kitchen table. Hermione shook her head and went into the kitchen to get her coffee. "Seriously Malfoy," she called out to him, "what are you doing here?" She came back to the table with two cups of coffee and gave one to Draco. Draco fixed up his cup and took a sip before answering.

"I came to see how you were doing. I wasn't able to talk to you before or after the sentencing so I wanted to see how you were holding up," Draco said seriously. Hermione gave him a smile and said, "I'm actually doing ok. I mean, I'm kind of upset about how almost everything that happened is in the Prophet but I'll get over it." Draco rubbed the top of her hair and said, "That's my girl." Standing up, he drained the rest of his coffee and put it back on the table. He held his hand out and gave her a wink. "Come on."

Hermione looked at him quizzically and said, "What? You're not trying to kidnap me are you?" Draco gave her his famous smirk and said, "If I was trying to kidnap you, I'd just do this…" Draco grabbed Hermione, making sure that she didn't drop her cup, and threw her over his shoulder, ignoring her shrieks of laughter.

"Draco Hyperion Malfoy, you put me down right this second," Hermione said while Draco walked towards her fireplace.

"I most certainly will not, Hermione Jane Granger. Now hold onto me tight," Draco said. He threw some Floo Powder into the fire and stepped into it. "Grimmauld Place!"

Upon arriving at Grimmauld Place, Draco stepped out of the fireplace and looked around. "Harry! Yoo-hoo, Scarface? You home?"

"Draco! Will you ever stop calling Harry names?"

"Probably not," Draco said while examining his fingernails for nonexistent dirt.

"What the hell are you…why am I looking at Hermione's bum?" Draco looked up to see Ginny standing in the door with a half annoyed, half amused look on her face. Draco set Hermione on her feet and said, "Ginny, what are you doing out of bed? You know that your doctor said that you need to stay off your feet. Especially after what happened," Draco hesitated to mention that night, "you know."

Ginny just smirked and said, "Oh pish posh. I'll be fine. You know me; I can't sit still for too long." Hermione, by then, was finally steady on her feet and instantly went to Ginny. She grabbed her arm and guided a struggling Ginny to a chair. "Ginny, you know that your pregnancy is in a dangerous stage ever since…what happened. Please, for my sake at least, listen to your doctors?" Ginny let out a frustrated sigh and gave Hermione a mock glare. "Fine, I'll stay off my feet." Just then, Kreacher appeared in the room and addressed Ginny. "A missus Lavender Brown is here, Mistress." Hermione stiffened and Ginny's face went red. Before Ginny could get to her feet, Lavender burst into the room, not even registering that Hermione was there.

"Ginny! Can you believe it? My Ron is in Azkaban for FIVE YEARS! He's going to miss out on so much in our child's life," Lavender said while placing a hand on her stomach.

Ginny looked at Lavender with pure rage and said, "Lavender, I have told you time and time again, I don't give a damn what happens to my pathetic excuse of a brother. He can rot in hell. So, why don't you get the hell out of my house?!?!" Lavender turned to leave and it was then that she spotted Hermione. "YOU!!! This is all your fault you bitch!"

Lavender started towards Hermione like she was going to attack her but Draco stepped in front of Hermione and grabbed her outstretched wrists. "Wrong Brown; this is not Hermione's fault. This is your fault and Weasel's fault. If you weren't such a bitch and Weasel wasn't such a wanker, then none of this wouldn't have happened." Lavender looked at Draco for a moment before calming pulling her hand back and slapping him as hard as she could.

It was then that Hermione lost control. She pushed Draco aside and got in Lavender's face. "That's enough Lavender. I don't give a damn if you're pregnant or not; if you touch him again, I will hit you!" Hermione looked at Lavender for a moment before speaking again. "You know, I used to feel sorry for you but now I don't. It's only a matter of time before he does to you what he did to me. Now, I'm telling you to get the hell out of here."

Lavender just laughed in Hermione's face and looked her up and down. "Please, he will never do that to me. And besides, you're just jealous that I'm having his child and you can't have any at all." Draco started to open his mouth to say something to Lavender, but she cut him off. "Oh save it Malfoy. We all know that you don't really care about her," she said while gesturing to Hermione, "She's just another conquest for you. We all know she'll never be anything more than a mud blood to you." Hermione was then about to step forward and slap Lavender when Ginny spoke up.

"Lavender," she began calmly, barely concealing her rage, "I don't know who the fuck you think you are but I wouldn't be so confident about that baby if I were you." When Lavender looked at Ginny quizzically, Ginny stood up, pushing Draco and Hermione out of the way to get to Lavender. "The MLE is still investigating you to see if you had any connections with Hermione's attack. If they find something, you can kiss that baby goodbye," Ginny said with an evil smirk on her face.

Lavender's face paled and contorted into a look of rage. Pushing Ginny to the side, Lavender got in Hermione's face and said, "You haven't heard the last of me bitch. This isn't over. You're gonna regret the day that you pressed charges against Ron" No one noticed Lavender's hand going towards her wand until a voice was heard in the room.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Lavender." Everyone looked towards the door and saw Harry standing there, his expression unreadable. "Harry, what are you doing home," Ginny asked him.

"Well, I got a floo call from Kreacher saying that Lavender was here and she was refusing to leave. He also told me that she was insulting Hermione," Harry stated calmly. Harry walked into the room and stood in front of Lavender. "Now, did I just here you threaten Hermione, Lavender? Because, as you know, you are still under investigation and I'm sure you don't want me calling the head of the MLE…oh wait, he's already here," Harry said, as Blaise Zabini walked through the door.

"Lavender Brown, I hereby place you under arrest for threatening Hermione Granger. You will surrender your wand and come with me where we will question you at our headquarters."

Lavender stood there dumbfounded while a group of MLE workers surrounded her and took her away for questioning. Blaise watched as they took her away and turned back to the group. "As much as I'd like to stay and catch up, I have to go question her. I'll see you all later." Blaise started to leave before turning back and looking at Hermione. "I almost forgot Hermione. Pansy told me to tell you that she'd like to get together with you sometime. She said that'd she'll owl you sometime later in the week about getting to together." With that, Blaise apparated away to question Lavender.

Hermione looked dumbfounded for a moment before turning to look at Draco and gasping in shock. "Draco, you're bleeding." Draco, in his anger, had not even realized it. Hermione looked at Ginny and Harry and said, "We'll be right back." Hermione took Draco by the hand and dragged him to the bathroom. He had him sit on the edge of the tub while she filled a glass up with water and grabbed a wash cloth. "Hermione is this really necessary? You can just heal it with magic," Draco said while Hermione gently wiped the blood away from Draco's cut with the wet cloth.

"I just want to clean all the blood away so I can see how bad the cut is. She must have turned her ring when she slapped you so that she would cut you. Stupid bint," Hermione said.

Draco looked at Hermione and said, "Thank you for standing up for me, Mya. It was really sweet of you."

Hermione blushed at Draco's use of her new nickname. "Anytime Draco. I mean, you did the same thing for me so I was only returning the favor," she said giving him a playful smile.

When Hermione finally finished cleaning Draco's cut, she placed the cup on the edge of the bathroom sink. When she turned back to Draco, their eyes locked. They both stared at each other for a moment before Draco stood up and took a step closer to Hermione. Backing up, Hermione said, "D-D-Draco, what are you doing?" She kept backing up until Draco had backed her up into a wall. Draco said nothing and just continued to stare at Hermione.

[H]: OMG, He's gonna kiss me. Wait a minute, do I want him to kiss me? Oh hell what am I thinking, of course I do!

[D]: This is it. Now or never…

It was then that Draco finally spoke, but barely a whisper. "Hermione?"

"Yes," she replied in the same low tone

"I'm going to kiss you now."

"Oh Draco." Hermione didn't have time to say much else as she felt Draco's lips descend onto her's. His kiss was a gentle, caring one. It lasted only a minute but when it was over, Hermione was breathless. Draco stepped back from Hermione and just watched her. Hermione looked at Draco a moment before launching herself at him and kissing him. Draco picked Hermione up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. This kiss was rough, yet still caring. Each battled with the other for dominance.

Draco backed up into the sink and knocked over the glass, shattering it on the floor. This brought Hermione and Draco out of their daze. Hermione started to unwrap her legs from Draco's waist but he stopped her and set her on the sink. He repaired the glass and set in a safer place before going back to Hermione. Hermione opened her legs and Draco stepped between them and placed his forehead on Hermione's looking into her eyes.

"Hermione, that was the most mindblowing kiss I have ever had," Draco said before kissing her again. "Same her Draco," Hermione said. She went to go kiss Draco again but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"You two ok in there? Ginny and I heard a glass break," Harry's voice rang out. Draco groaned and buried his head in the crook of Hermione's neck. Hermione laughed and said, "We're fine. We're coming out now." As Hermione slid from the sink, she gave Draco another kiss and healed his cut. As he opened the door, Hermione grabbed his hand. Draco turned back to look at her and said, "Yes, Mya?"

"How come you brought me here," Hermione asked. Draco thought for a moment before letting out a heartfelt laugh. Throwing his arm over Hermione's shoulder, Draco said, "Y'know…I can't even remember why." Draco laughed again before kissing Hermione and leading her back to a waiting Harry and Ginny.

A/N: There it is people. The new chapter! Finally, I know. Well you all know the deal…read and review! =]