A/N: Hello everyone! I'm sorry this took so long to come out. I've had so much shit going on in my life at the moment, so everything got momentarily put on hold. But I told you this chapter would be out before Christmas! How awesome am I! I am so thankful to everyone who has kept up with my erratic updating, and, unfortuantely, I don't think it's going to get any better. I must warn you though, I'm going to be in Sydney for a week during January, so there won't be any updating then, and I have friends coming over to my house after that. My life is just so busy! Lol.
Again, thanks to everyone!
And now, on with the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you may recognise from the Harry Potter Universe. That is all the work of the amazing J..
Chapter 4 - Distressing News
Sunday, June 9th
As promised, Hermione and Draco spent the week practicing, training and refining their skills. Kaz watched every day, sometimes with Scorpius in her arms, and sometimes without him, when he would spend some quality time talking about clothes and boys with his aunts. By the end of the week, Kaz even had a signal, for when Scorpius needed his mother or father, and the twins never took the baby out of the house.
During that week, Hermione and Draco had sent letters to Harry, asking the type of spells they should be learning and refining, so they would be ready for when they got to Grimmauld place.
It was now Sunday, and Kaz had decided that all work and no play was not fun for anyone.
"We have to do something else, just for today. Just to wind down, you know?" She pointed out. Draco sighed and then smiled.
"How about we go to the movies then? That was rather fun last time we went, with the exception of Dudley." He added. Hermione nodded.
"Alright, come on then. Draco and I will get changed and then we'll go." She agreed. The trio walked down the stairs and Draco and Hermione went into their room to get changed, while Kaz went down into the living room to wait for them. When they came down, Draco threw some floo powder into the fireplace and called for his mother.
"Mother!" He yelled. Narcissa stuck her head through the fireplace.
"Yes, dear?" She asked. Draco smiled.
"Can you look after Scorpius for the day? We're going into town." He asked. Narcissa smiled gleefully.
"Of course I can! Oh this is brilliant! I'll be right through." She answered quickly. Hermione smiled at the excitement in her future-mother-in-law's voice.
Narcissa stepped quickly through the fire and took Scorpius from Kaz.
"How long do you need me to keep him for?" She asked. Hermione thought about it before answering.
"We'll contact you when we get back. It should only be three hours, three and a half at the most."
Narcissa nodded, before kissing Hermione and Draco on the cheek and nodding to Kaz.
"I'll see you all when you get back then, won't I?" She answered kindly, before vanishing through the green flames of Hermione's fireplace.
"Shall we go then?" Draco asked, grabbing his jacket off the coat hook in the hallway. Kaz and Hermione followed, yelling a good bye to her parents as they walked out the door.
As the trio walked to the movie theatre, they talk about all random stuff, like food, and clothes, and generally being happy in each others presence. As they walked, Hermione and Draco had their arms around each other, smiling from ear to ear, and kissing each other every so often. Kaz threw dirty looks at them every time it happened, but it just egged Draco on further.
By the time they actually got to the theatre, they faced the dilemma of finding a movie to watch.
"Which one? I mean, I don't see anything particularly inviting." Kaz asked, looking at them board that showed the movies showing and their times. Hermione came up beside her and frowned at the sheet.
"What about Underworld? I've heard that's really good." She suggested. Kaz threw her a look over her shoulder.
"How could have heard it was any good? You've been in Hogwarts all year! I doubt you've been able to read anything about movies." She argued. Hermione hit her arm.
"I was reading a magazine the other day between training, thank you very much and they said that it was a good movie to go see. Full of action, adventure and thrills." She explained. Draco raised an eyebrow.
"And we don't see enough of that in our daily lives." He muttered in return. Hermione frowned.
"It also has vampires, werewolves, or Lycans, and a good deal of bloodshed and gore, Draco." She expanded. Draco grinned.
"I'm game, are you?" He asked the girls. Said girls rolled their eyes.
"Of course we are!" They answered together. Draco laughed and they went to buy their tickets at the booth. The movie started in fifteen minutes, so they went in to find their seats among the crowds of people, eventually finding some free chairs up the back.
The movie lasted a couple of hours, and they came out bearing smiles and talking excitedly about the plot, characters and special effects. Draco found all of it quite interesting.
"It never ceases to amaze me that muggles can produce that." He whispered. Hermione and Kaz looked at each other.
"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment, or an offense." Kaz commented. Hermione snorted.
"Take it as a compliment, it'll be easier." She answered. Draco rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around her from behind as they walked, but soon reverted to standing beside her with his arm along around her waist. But, as luck would have it, they weren't going to get off so easily today.
"What are you lot doing here?" A familiar voice interrupted from behind them, and they turned to see Casey and Haylee standing in line at the register. Hermione groaned.
"We went to see a movie." Draco answered.
"Well, should you really be outside the house if you're really being hunted down be angry, aggressive, evil men." Haylee whispered to them. Hermione sighed.
"We can go wherever we want. It's not our fault that we are being chased, and we're going to live our lives as normally as possible." Hermione answered. Haylee looked at her suspiciously.
"You still shouldn't be out. What if something happens while you're away from the house? Or something happens to S- the boy?" She saved. Hermione shot her a warning look.
"He's safe, now stop talking. I'll see you two at home." She answered. Haylee and Casey nodded, but didn't look too happy about the circumstances. Hermione looked less than impressed too, and so did Draco. Kaz looked thoughtful.
"I didn't know they cared about my well-being so much." Hermione muttered. Draco wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him.
"At least they are trying to be nice in their own special way. Though I'm a little stunned also. Maybe the scar on your stomach got through to them." He mentioned, but as the subject of her scar came up, Draco tensed and his face went stonily blank. Hermione looked up at him in sadness.
"It wasn't your fault, you know. The only person that can be blamed is Lucius, and maybe my sisters for provoking me. Please don't block me off." She pleaded. Draco looked down at her anguished face and sighed, before kissing her on the forehead and remaining silent.
"They really do seem to have had a change of heart." Kaz pointed out, bringing them back to their original conversation.
"Kind of. I mean, they never really liked him when I brought him home, and now they seem to have taken a liking to being overprotective parents of some sort. It's all rather odd." Hermione commented.
The trio was silent for the rest of the walk home, thinking about the twins' reactions, and guilt.
As they walked in the door, Draco noticed a school owl sitting on the window sill, and went over to let it in. The bird flew over to the kitchen table and held out its leg.
"I wonder who it's from." Hermione muttered. Draco took the letter off the bird's leg and unfolded it, while Hermione got some owl treats and petted its head. The owl didn't take off, so they suspected the sender wanted a reply.
"It's from Snape." Draco announced in surprise. Hermione looked over Draco's shoulder, confused and Kat looked at the both of them in wonderment.
"Isn't he the arsewhole that made your education hell?" She asked. Hermione frowned.
"Kinda." She answered.
"Well, what does it say?" Kaz asked in curiosity, looking over Draco's other shoulder as the boy sat at the kitchen table.
"Draco,
I would like to make it known that your son may not stay safe, and neither will your fiancée if you don't do anything about it. You know that if the Death Eaters find out, then they will be the first to be taken down in the effort to get to Potter. You must think of something for them to be safe, because I do not feel like losing the boy and having to comfort you through if something tragic happens, do you understand?
Keep safe, all of you,
Severus Snape."
"Well, that was very formal." Kaz commented.
"You should meet the man himself, he speaks with the biggest vocabulary ever." Hermione suggested. Kaz frowned.
"No, I don't think I want to. From that letter, I can tell that he isn't the nicest person in the world." She answered. Hermione laughed.
"Too right, but you could definitely hold your own, and he isn't that bad once you get used to him." Hermione answered. Kaz snorted.
"Sure, if you think so." Draco frowned.
"I better write back and tell him of our plans." He announced. He was still very much against himself, so he was keeping everything short and sweet.
"Make sure to put a spell on the letter, so only he can open it and read it." Hermione advised. Draco nodded and walked up to his shared room with Hermione. The girl herself frowned after him.
"He isn't going to be himself for a while, is he?" She asked. Kaz put her hand on Hermione's shoulder.
"He's still hurting Hermione. He blames himself entirely for that scar on your stomach. He thinks he should have followed you straight away, and pulled you back, or got to you quicker, or something. He feels so guilty." Kaz explained. She had always had good insight into others feelings.
Draco came down after a couple of minutes with the finished letter and tied it to the owl's leg, before taking it to the window and throwing it outside. Hermione's parents chose that moment to open the door and walk in the house.
"Hello?" Mrs. Granger called. Hermione answered.
"We're in the kitchen, mum!"
Mrs. Granger came in with a couple of bags, with her husband following after, clutching a couple more.
"What on earth is all this?" Hermione asked. Mrs. Granger smiled as she set everything on the kitchen table.
"Well, I dragged your father out for a bit of London shopping today, and I had a grand old time buying Christmas presents, and birthday presents and the like." She announced. Hermione noticed that her father looked less than happy about his day.
"Mother! Christmas is half a year away! You don't need to buy for that yet!" She exclaimed. Kaz was giggling at the pair, and Draco was smiling slightly, despite hid momentary depression. The sight of mother and daughter bickering was fun for the both of them to watch; even Hermione's father was watching on with a smile tugging at his lips.
"I've always bought the Christmas presents early, Hermione. You've just never noticed because you've been at the Burrow, or I haven't told you." Mrs. Granger replied to Hermione's statement, and Hermione felt instantly morose, realising that she did, indeed spend a lot of time at the Weasley's amazing house, and not much time with her parents anymore.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to neglect you." She mumbled. Mrs. Granger laughed lightly, and wrapped her arms around her daughter before pulling back and rubbing her hands up and down Hermione's upper arms.
"Oh, sweety, if we didn't think it was the right thing for you, we wouldn't have let you go, but you belong in that world, and so it was the right thing for us to do. So what if you haven't spent much time with your boring parents, no teenager wants to spend amazing amounts of time with their families, and I don't blame you for wanting to get rid of your sisters at times, I want to get away from them too, sometimes, and so does your father, so don't beat yourself up about it." She lectured, pulling Hermione into a hug, and cradling her against her chest, smiling.
Mr. Granger cleared his throat, and the two broke apart, looking at him with identical looks of interest on their faces.
"How about we get ready to go out for dinner tonight? That sounds fun, doesn't it?" He suggested. Kaz winked at him; a subtle hint that his subtlety was lacking, and the two women nodded.
"Yeah, that does sound like fun. Come on you two, let's go get changed." Hermione announced, and the two followed her upstairs, Kaz going to her guest room, and Draco and Hermione to their shared bedroom.
As soon as Draco shut the door behind her, Hermione turned around and captured his lips in a soft, sensual kiss. When she pulled away, Draco had her face in his hands, and she had her arms around his neck.
"What was that for?" He mumbled, moving his hands down to her waist slowly, and nipping at her neck. Hermione moaned.
"You really have to stop beating yourself up over what happened last holidays. I don't blame you for any of it, so you can't blame yourself either." She muttered, tilting her head to the side and back, to allow him more space. Draco sighed against her neck and looked up into her bright brown eyes, which had darkened with her desire for him.
"I can't help it. I keep thinking, that if I'd just been that little bit quicker off the mark, or if I'd gotten to you quicker-" Hermione cut him off with a quick kiss.
"It wouldn't have helped any. You did what you could, considering the circumstances. I'm just glad you came to get me. I love you Draco Malfoy, and I love our son, so stop all of this, and let us be happy." She instructed. Draco smiled down at her lightly, before nodding and once again capturing her lips.
The pair stood like that for a couple of minutes, just kissing each other sweetly, and murmuring sweet nothings in the others ear. They only stopped when they heard Kaz banging on their door.
"Come on you two! You still have to tell Mrs. Malfoy that she has to keep Scorp for a while longer because we're going out to dinner you know!" She yelled through the door, effectively ruining the mood. Draco chuckled as he watched Hermione look frustrated.
"We better get changed, and quickly." He mentioned.
"Yeah, we should." Hermione agreed with a sigh, and they both started getting changed; Hermione into a red and black corset top, that didn't show too much cleavage, and didn't come up high enough to show her belly button, with a pair of skinny grey jeans, and some low heeled boots that she pulled on.
Draco got dressed up in a black suit, that contrasted gorgeously with his pale skin and white blonde hair, with a black shirt, tie and leather shoes. Hermione applied the lightest touches of make up, grabbed jacket from her coat hook and they both headed down stairs, but right before they reached the bottom, Draco grabbed Hermione's hand and spun her to land against his chest. She yelped in fright and he smirked down at her. Hermione's face softened and light up when she saw the desire smouldering in his eyes.
"We'll finish what we started up there later, without Kaz there to interrupt us." He murmured. Hermione smiled back up at him slyly, before nodding and pulling him down the rest of the stairs. When they got into the kitchen again, Haylee and Casey were there and dressed and ready to go.
"Do any of you have a piece of paper and a pen? I need to tell Narcissa to keep Scorpius for a bit longer because of our dinner plans." Hermione explained. Mrs. Granger pulled out a piece of paper from underneath the house phone and a pen and handed them to her daughter. Hermione wrote a quick letter apologising for the inconvenience and thanking her profusely. Draco snorted.
"Like she isn't going to love being able to keep him for longer." He commented. Hermione threw him a look and threw the paper into the emerald green flames, and followed her family out of the door.
"Won't your parents care where you are, Kaz?" Draco asked, Kaz snorted.
"As long as I tell them where I'm going, and if I'm staying the night, they don't particularly care." She answered. Draco frowned.
"But why don't they care? Shouldn't they at least care about your safety?" He asked. His father had been the same with him, when he was younger. He only had to tell Lucius he was going out, and the man wouldn't care what happened to him, as long as he came home. And if he came home with a broken and beaten and had disrespected the family name, he shouldn't have come home at all.
"Oh, they care alright; they just don't like to show it. Like, if I hurt myself, or something happens to me, they get worried sick, but most of the time, I only ever go out with Hermione, so nothing ever really happens to me." She cast Hermione a wicked smirk and Hermione hit her arm.
"You know exactly how much danger I can get myself into, Kaz, so don't you even try it with me." She warned. Draco smiled at the bickering friends and wrapped Hermione up into his arms.
"You're so gorgeous." He whispered, kissing her earlobe softly, making Hermione shiver.
"Thank you. You aren't so bad yourself." She muttered back, a smirk playing on the edges of her lips. Draco growled softly.
"I'll get you back for that." Hermione giggled and the car pulled up outside one of her favourite restaurants, The Red Rose. The family got out of the car, and made their way inside, sitting down in a booth and waiting for the waitress to come and give them a menu. It didn't take too long, and in a few minutes, all of them had ordered and conversation had started. They talked about what had happened at school that year with Hermione's parents, leaving out the visit from Lucius, and what they were doing during their training sessions in the attic.
During the conversation, Hermione noticed, in the far corner of the room, Lavender and her family plus Parviti, seated and talking quietly with one another. She also noticed that Parviti looked incredibly sad and lost.
Hermione pointed the small group out to Draco and Kaz, who look at Parviti with curiosity.
"I wonder what's wrong with her.' Draco muttered. Hermione shook her head.
"I would have no idea. And I don't really think it's our place to ask." She murmured in answer.
"What are you three talking about?" Mrs. Granger asked. Hermione turned to her mother and explained what they were talking about.
"You mean the Browns? I know that family. I best go over and say hello." Mr. Granger commented, before leaving the table. Hermione, Draco and Kaz watched as he walked over and shook hands with Mr. Brown, and kissed Mrs. Brown on the cheek.
"I best go over and be polite too. You five can stay here if you wish." Mrs. Granger suggested. Hermione, Draco and Kaz nodded. Haylee and Casey just shrugged.
"Better than going over there." They answered in unison. But, just as they finished, Lavender and Parviti caught sight of Hermione and her company, and made their way over after excusing themselves from their table. They both looked incredibly upset.
When they reached the small group at Hermione's table, Hermione shovelled over in the booth a bit and gestured for them to sit down.
"What's wrong?" She asked. Parviti fight back a sob and handed Hermione a letter, which she just noticed that she was carrying with her.
"Just read it. I don't want to explain." She whispered, silent tears flooding her eyes, and spilling over onto her cheeks. Lavender put her arm around her head and pulled her in for a comforting hug.
Hermione skimmed over the letter, with Draco and Kaz reading it over her shoulder. Draco's face changed in an instant from curious and concerned to stone blank, with fury smouldering in his eyes. Kaz looked at the girl with sadness and reached across the table to grab her hand. No matter what the girls had done to them in the past, no one should have to live through this alone.
"What's going to happen to you and Padma?" Hermione asked, quietly and hesitantly. Parviti looked up and sniffed, wiping the tears from her cheeks and eyes.
"I'm staying with Lavender, and Padma is staying with Lisa Turpin. Do you remember her?" She asked. Hermione swallowed the lump in her throat, and nodded, gripping Draco's hand tightly under the table.
Hermione leaned over and wrapped the sorrow-filled girl in a warm, comforting hug, and Kaz and Draco mumbled condolences to her.
"I thought that you would like to know, just how close to home this war is coming, and how something needs to be done about it." Lavender spoke, a certain fire burning in her eyes, and brick wall separated her from the harshness of it.
"We're doing what we can, but it's harder than it looks for seventeen year olds, Lavender. We can not be blamed for what has happened." Hermione answered, suddenly on guard and stiff against Lavender's implied accusations.
"Yes, well, our world was under the impression that you and your friends were doing something about it. Come on, Parviti; let's get back to our table for dinner." Lavender shot a hateful look towards Hermione and Draco, and dragged a sorrowful and zombie-like Parviti along behind her. Hermione closed her eyes and put her head in her hands, feeling hot tears welling within them.
Draco looked down towards her and noticed her hard breathing. He motioned towards Kaz and the girl made her way to the other side of her, and put her hand on her back, bending her head to try and look into her eyes.
"Hermione? Come on; don't let that bitch get to you. The girls' parents' death had nothing to do with you and Harry and Ron. Everything's okay. Don't cry." Kaz whispered quietly, not wanting to draw attention to themselves.
Draco pried Hermione's hands away from her face and held them in his. From across the table, they heard Haylee and Casey hiss.
"What?" Hermione asked, sniffing and wiping her nose on her sleeve.
"I really want to hit the bitch in the face. How dare she blame you! That's our job! And doesn't she know what you've been through, trying to keep everyone alive? The stupid bitch knows nothing, so she has no right to point fingers. Why wasn't she there to help her friends parents when they were in need? You aren't even friends with them. You just share a dorm with them at school. That's hardly fair." Haylee spat. The three younger teenagers stared at the twins in amazement. Casey had been nodding her head along with Haylee's words, thoroughly agreeing with what her sister was saying.
Throughout the speech, Hermione's tears had all but dried up as she watched her sisters defend her; whether Lavender was sitting next to them or not. She was in shock. As was Draco and Kaz.
"Where did that come from?" Hermione asked quietly. Haylee shrugged, but it was Casey who answered this time.
"What? We aren't allowed to stick up for you now and then? When we believe it's worth it?" She asked in reply. Hermione just shook her head to clear it and answered.
"Of course you are. But, it's just strange. You've only ever been the people to bully me, not stick up for me." Kaz took Hermione's hand and gave it a squeeze, while Draco was sending death glares towards Lavender and her party.
"Hermione, look, it doesn't matter. There was no way you could have known about what was going to happen. Don't blame yourself. She just needs someone to blame." Kaz reassured. Hermione nodded in understanding, and leant against Draco's shoulder. Draco instantly, as if second nature, wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her head.
"It's okay. You aren't to blame for any of this. Lavender's just an idiot." He muttered to her. Hermione nodded again and wiped her face of the wet feeling the tears had left behind.
"Why did they target Patil's parents, though?" Kaz asked. Hermione shook her head.
"They don't actually target anybody unless they've done something to specifically anger them. Parviti's parents where probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time." She answered. Kaz scowled.
"I get it, but that doesn't mean I like it." She muttered. Draco laughed harshly.
"If you liked it, Kaz, I'd have you committed." He shot at the girl. Kaz smirked at him.
"I'm sure you would, Draco. Is it really that simple though? Wrong place, wrong time?" She confirmed. Hermione nodded sadly, while Draco agreed bitterly.
"They don't particularly give a damn, as long as they don't kill purebloods." He replied.
"Well, that's stupid! It's bloody Hitler and the Nazi's all over again!" Haylee cursed, outraged. Hermione arched an amused eyebrow at her sister.
"I'm amazed you even know the Second World War happened, let alone what happened in it, Haylee." She commented. Haylee sniffed.
"Just because everyone thinks I'm a bimbo doesn't mean I'm not smart, little sister." She snarked. Hermione chuckled lightly. They didn't get a chance to finish their conversation because Mr. and Mrs. Granger arrived back and their dinner arrived right on time. The family ate with very little talk that night. After hearing about what happened to Parviti's parents, both Hermione and Draco were anxious to get back to little Scorpius. Not that they didn't trust Narcissa, but they just wanted their son back in their arms.
After finishing the dinner, the Granger family plus the two extras left the restaurant and returned to the Granger's home. Kaz and Hermione immediately went upstairs, while Draco remained downstairs to floo over to his mothers' house to collect Scorpius. Kaz used her mobile phone, and called her parents, telling them that she was still staying at Hermione's house, while Hermione dragged a mattress and sleeping bag into her room for Kaz to sleep on. At the moment, she just wanted her family with her for the night.
Draco came back into the room about ten minutes later, carrying his sleeping son in his arms. Hermione and Kaz were already changed and in their beds.
"Here, you take him while I go get changed." Draco muttered to Hermione. Hermione nodded, and Draco kissed her forehead before walking into the bathroom adjoining Hermione's room. Hermione smiled at her son, before putting him under the covers, and going over to the desk under her window beside Scorps' crib.
"What are you doing?" Kaz asked. Hermione flashed her a glance as she wrote on a piece of parchment using her quill and ink.
"I'm telling Harry about what happened to Parviti and Padma's parents. He'll want to know." She answered. Draco came out as she finished talking, and took Scorp from his place on the bed and walking up behind his fiancée.
"Good idea, love." He commented. Hermione flashed him a small smile and finished up her letter, before waking Cardon from his cage and tying the letter to his leg.
"Take this to Harry." Hermione instructed. Hermione could have sworn she saw the owl nod, before she opened the window and watched it fly off. As she shut the window, Scorpius woke up and started to cry. Draco looked at him, a little worried. Hermione sighed and smiled softly at him.
"Give him here. He's hungry. Aren't you, baby? Aren't you?" She cooed. Draco rolled his eyes.
"You're going to turn the boy into a pansy." He murmured. Hermione poked her tongue out at him as she walked into the bathroom to feed her son. Draco smiled as he watched her walk away though. Kaz was laughing slightly.
"You two are really cute, you know." She commented. Draco raised an eyebrow at her.
"Cute? I don't think I've heard that one before." He replied sarcastically. Kaz giggled.
"I'm sure you haven't." She answered. Hermione came out moments later, with a sleeping baby in her arms. Draco pulled back the covers of her bed and she crawled in beside him, still holding her baby.
"Aren't you going to put him in the crib?" Kaz asked. Hermione shook her head.
"No. I want to hold him tonight. I missed him while we were eating dinner. I wish we could take him with us." She muttered miserably, looking down at a sleeping Scorpius, completely oblivious to the world around him. She stroked his hair and kissed his forehead as she slid down to his eye level after placing him beside her on the bed. Draco, from the other side of Scorpius, kissed the top of her head and slid down too, wrapping an arm over Scorpius and around Hermione's waist. Hermione looked up at him with a sad expression.
"I wish we could too, love. I wish we could too." He replied. And that night, the three of them fell asleep as a family.
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