Hermione and Harry strolled around Hogsmeade, enjoying some quality time together, just the two of them. As usual they'd headed down to the village with all of their friends, but they'd left the others in The Three Broomsticks while they did a bit of shopping. The Easter holidays started in two days' time, and Hermione wanted to take a gift back home for her sister. Hermione was dying to see Charlotte again, and see just how much she'd grown.
Harry was also looking for something in the baby range, although he was looking for something he could give his new brother or sister upon their birth. Rosmerta was due to give birth a few weeks after they returned to school after Easter, but Harry had already elicited a promise from Severus that whenever Rosmerta went into labour he would be allowed to go to the hospital. It wasn't every day you got a new sibling, and Harry wanted to be there as their family expanded.
"How do you think Blaise is getting along?" Harry asked as the pair strolled towards a store that contained a selection of baby items.
As he'd promised, Harry had spoken to Rosmerta about Blaise's interest in the pub and he'd arranged a meeting between his stepmother and friend. Blaise was hoping to convince Rosmerta to give him a job when he left school, but Harry knew that if the Slytherin played his cards right, he could end up with far more than just a job. Rosmerta still had her manager in place, but the nearer she came to giving birth, the more she seemed to be leaning towards selling up. To be honest the only reason the pub wasn't already on the market was because Severus had convinced Rosmerta not to rush into anything while she was hormonal. He'd persuaded her to wait until after she'd given birth and things had settled down before she made a firm decision on the business.
"Knowing Blaise, it will go one of two ways," Hermione replied. "Either he'll charm his way into Rosmerta's affections and she'll give him a chance, or he'll get so carried away with his ideas for the place that he'll end up implying she'd not doing a good enough job and insult her."
"I wouldn't like to get on her bad side at the moment," Harry said with a grimace. "This pregnancy has made her lethal. Last Sunday when I went home for lunch she'd had a meltdown in the kitchen and the dinner was a bit burnt in places. Dad made a joke about the roast potatoes being extra crispy and she nearly flattened him."
"He made a joke about a pregnant woman's cooking failures?" Hermione laughed, shaking her head at her brother's stupidity. "That was not a good move."
"I think he regretted it when Rosmerta threw a rock hard sprout at his head," Harry said, chuckling at the memory. "So if Blaise does say the wrong thing, I wouldn't want to be in his place."
"He'll just have to use that charm of his," Hermione answered. "It seems to work on Luna. Even when she gets annoyed with him about his flirting, he always seems to be able to charm her."
"I think she knows it's harmless," Harry said. "I don't think Blaise can help but flirt with pretty girls. It's all talk though, he's clearly crazy about Luna."
"He does seem to be," Hermione agreed with a thoughtful nod. "And I do think the fact Luna has another year at school is part of the reason he wants a job here in Hogsmeade."
"But what happens after next year?" Harry questioned as they wandered into the shop they'd been heading to. "Will he be as keen to be up here when Luna is off doing whatever it is Luna's going to do with her life?"
"If I get my way, Luna's life after school will still be up here," Hermione confided in a quiet voice, checking that no-one could hear what she was saying. The Ministry hadn't announced any changes to the school system yet, and Hermione didn't want word to leak about before an official announcement was made.
"You want her as part of your plans?" Harry asked in surprise. He knew his aunt had already recruited Neville, and had sent out feelers with Theo and Padma, but he'd known nothing about her desire to get Luna on the staff at Hogwarts.
"I do," Hermione replied. "She's got a natural way with magical creatures, don't you think? I think that enthusiasm could be just what we need."
"I'm sure if anyone can persuade her to pursue a career in teaching, you can," Harry said fondly. "You usually get what you want."
"You make me sound like a spoilt princess," Hermione pouted as she picked up a gorgeous stuffed unicorn with a colour changing horn, which changed colours to match what whoever was holding it was wearing. In Hermione's hands, the horn had changed to the same shade of pale green she was wearing.
"If the tiara fits," Harry teased.
"Git," Hermione returned, throwing the unicorn at her nephew.
Harry caught the unicorn with a laugh, causing its horn to change to dark blue to match his jumper. "Hey this is cool."
"I saw if first, and I'm going to buy one for Lottie," Hermione said, plucking the unicorn from her nephew's hands.
"I need help Hermione," Harry said as he browsed through the collection of toys and clothes for young children. "What do I get for the baby?"
"What about this?" Hermione asked with a laugh as she picked up a Babygro and showed it to Harry. The Babygro was a neutral cream colour but in emerald green writing were the words 'I have the cutest big brother'.
"I like that," Harry laughed, taking the Babygro off his aunt. "I'll have one. And maybe a cuddly toy to go with it."
While Harry found a suitable toy for the new baby, Hermione picked out a soft pale pink cardigan for Charlotte to go with the unicorn. Thankfully the cardigan had an enchantment woven into it so it adjusted to fit whichever child wore it, so Hermione didn't have to worry about having the right size for her baby sister.
With their purchases sorted and in bags, the pair left the shop and headed back towards The Three Broomsticks. On their way they passed Weasleys Wizard Wheezes, and spotted the twins fixing a display in the large front window. Neither of the twins spotted them, and they headed past before they got a chance to cause trouble. So far Fred and George had remained out of things, and since Hermione and Harry liked them they hoped it stayed that way, so they were limiting the opportunity the twins had to cause any problems.
"Do you think they'll continue their stance?" Harry asked.
"You mean after Easter?" Hermione checked. She didn't need to ask who her nephew was talking about, as she knew full well he meant the twins they'd just passed.
"Yeah, before long they're going to be down to just them and Percy," Harry said, coming to a halt not far from the pub and sitting down on a nearby bench.
"She'll still be around," Hermione said, casting a privacy spell around the bench before joining her nephew, satisfied that no-one could now hear their conversation. "I don't think we're going to kill Ginny."
"You don't think? You mean you don't know?" Harry asked with a frown.
"It's really all down to Draco," Hermione answered with a shrug. "My plan is to maim her, and in all likelihood turn her into a werewolf. She'll not have the advantages Draco has, and she'll be shunned. More importantly, she'll hate herself just like Lupin did. However, Draco's never done this before so there's a chance he might go overboard and accidently kill her."
"I though Greyback said he's got perfect control," Harry remarked.
"According to Greyback he has," Hermione replied. "He's always saying that Draco is the most natural wolf he's ever met. But this is his first time. Even with his immense control there's a chance he'll be overwhelmed and can't stop himself from finishing the job. Would that be a bad thing, though?"
"I guess not," Harry admitted. "At least then she'll be dealt with. I guess I was just looking forward to the idea that she had a lifetime of suffering ahead of her. I often wonder if we should have done that with Ron. Maybe we should have just let him go to Azkaban for the rest of his life."
"The idea of long term suffering was appealing, but in the end I don't think Ron left Father with much choice," Hermione said. "I'm sure he would have hated Azkaban, but there would have been a part of him gloating about how he'd cursed the daughter and grandson of The Dark Lord and got away with it. This way in the end he knew we'd won."
"I guess you're right," Harry said with a small smile. "It was certainly satisfying at the time, and I guess it's good to know that's he's no longer a threat."
"And in a few weeks, the remainder of the Weasley threat will be gone," Hermione said confidently. "Once Ginny is either dead or a werewolf, she won't be a problem. Molly's already out of the picture, and having her precious Ginny tainted for life will end any threat she might have mustered. Arthur doesn't have the spine to fight us, Percy is already distancing himself from his family. As for the twins, they're keeping their heads down in order to keep their shop."
"But what if all this changes things?" Harry asked. "What if we're pushing them too far? What if Ginny's attack is the spark they need to wage a war?"
"And who's going to fight in this war?" Hermione asked with a bitter laugh. "Come on Harry, we've pretty much wiped out the Order. Surely by now the Weasleys can see that the only ones going to be hurt is them. They've lost one son to death, two more to Azkaban, and their only daughter is going to end up as a werewolf. How must more are they prepared to lose?"
"I just don't think we should underestimate them," Harry cautioned.
"We won't," Hermione replied, rolling her eyes at Harry's caution.
Her nephew had always been more cautious than her, but Hermione had always been grateful that she'd had him to reign her in at times. After all, without Harry, she knew she never would have been able to keep up the pretence that she'd kept up for five years. It had been Harry that had kept their plan together when she was struggling with dealing with Ron. She understood why Harry was being cautious, and she planned on not making the fatal error of underestimating your opponent. Until Ginny and the Weasleys had been completely broken, Hermione wouldn't rest and she wouldn't stop thinking of them as a threat.
Returning to the pub, Harry and Hermione re-joined their friends. Five minutes after they'd re-taken their seats, Blaise came out of the back room with Rosmerta and the pair shook hands. Rosmerta then gave Harry a quick wave, before disappearing back into the front room while a beaming Blaise walked over to the group.
"How did it go?" Luna asked as her boyfriend slid into the booth next to her.
"It wasn't easy, but I charmed her," Blaise replied with a grin. "You are now looking at The Three Broomsticks newest barman."
"Congratulations," Harry said with a grin.
"I knew you'd do it," Luna said, throwing her arms around Blaise's neck and giving him a searing kiss. "I'm so proud of you."
"You haven't heard the best bit yet," Blaise said, unable to stop himself from smiling. "Rosmerta has promised to take me under her wing and show me how to run the bar once I've settled in. She thinks that if I take to it as well as she's expecting, I could be running the place by this time next year."
"That is some achievement," Theo remarked with a low whistle. "Going from inexperienced teenager to bar manager in a year."
"What can I say, some of us can rise to the challenge rapidly," Blaise replied, giving Luna a saucy wink.
"Idiot," Luna muttered, her cheeks flushing slightly red as she lowered her gaze.
"So when do you start?" Hermione asked, wanting to take the attention away from Luna. Judging from her reaction, it would seem that she and Blaise were developing the physical side of their relationship, but she didn't want the younger girl to be embarrassed if people started to tease her and Blaise.
"I've got a trial shift over the Easter holidays," Blaise answered. "Basically, unless I fail spectacularly and set fire to the place of something, it's merely a formality. Rosmerta just wants to be sure I can handle it, and that it's what I really want to do."
"Is it?" Harry asked. He liked Blaise, but he wasn't going to stand for him messing Rosmerta around.
"It is," Blaise replied, giving Harry a sincere nod. He could sense the protective tone in Harry's voice, and knew the Gryffindor was merely looking out for his stepmother. "I know it was kind of a throw-away remark when I first mentioned it, but I've thought about the future a lot lately. I really want to do this, Harry. I want a chain of my own places, and I think The Three Broomsticks is the perfect place to learn. After all, it's good to learn from the best, and Rosmerta is the best."
"Yes, she is," Harry agreed with a smile.
Satisfied that Blaise wasn't going to cause trouble for Rosmerta, Harry changed the subject to the final matches of the quidditch season, which would be held shortly after the end of exams at the end of the year. As it usually did, the final match would determine the winner of the cup, and as it had been for several years, it was between Gryffindor and Slytherin. The question was who would win the quidditch cup in their final year – Harry or Draco?