Chapter 19

Hermione smiled as she saw her son playing with the other children. There was something beautiful about his innocence that she felt the need to protect and keep safe. Maybe that was her maternal instinct, or just the way she regretted how soon she was forced to grow up due to the war. She never blamed Harry for any of it, despite knowing he still sometimes blamed himself. But she didn't want that for her child. She wanted Scorpius and any other children she may have to live a relatively normal life in comparison.

"You've adapted well to all of it," Bill said as he leaned over and spoke to her. He was currently holding his own two year old daughter in his arm, as Victorie happily played with a doll that her uncle George got her when she was first born. "I'm not surprised. You basically raised Harry and Ron while they were at school, keeping them inline as best as you could to prevent them from getting into too much trouble."

She smiled at that, "It's still hard to believe," she admitted, "Not just that my future child came back from the past, but that he's Draco's son as well."

"I can imagine that it would take some time to adjust to," Bill nodded, "Mum mentioned you were seeing Oliver Wood. Does he know about Draco and the son you share?"

She shook her head, "Part of me wants to tell him, but how do you just explain all of it?"

"And Draco?" Bill asked her, "How is he reacting to all of it? And to Oliver?"

"He wasn't happy at first," she said, her eyes flashing to meet his silver ones as he entered the room, sitting by Harry at the other end of the table. Ron was a few seats over, with Luna watching the family dynamic enthusiastically. "But it's not really his choice. He just worries how Scorpius is going to be affected by all of this," her voice trailed off, as she spoke with false conviction.

He raised an eyebrow at her, as he said, "Is he treating you well? You know that even though you and Ron didn't work out, doesn't mean the rest of us think of you as anything less of a sister. And if he tries to do anything, we'll be the first ones who make him regret that decision."

She cracked a smile. While she and Bill weren't always close, after the war, she had found herself bonding more and more with the Weasley siblings.

She nodded despite herself, "He's changed a lot," she said, almost in admiration, as she snuck another glance at him, "You'd like him if you gave him a chance."

A knowing smile crossed his face, but she didn't get a chance to question it, as Harry spoke up, "So clearly a lot has happened since the last time we came here to talk about everything. We've had at least two people turn up with a modified memory, and now one dead body."

"Start with the memory patients," Percy said, in a strategic tone, "If we can figure out why they were targeted, then maybe we can find the connection to Clarence Bigby."

"Pansy Parkinson was first," Ron said, "Hermione said she came in during the aftermath of the earthquake. They thought it had occurred during it, but then Ernie also came in, so it couldn't be a coincidence. It doesn't help that the two of them were also the first two names in the list of people who die in the future."

"So why just modify their memories?" Arthur asked, "What made them more merciful this time? Up until Mr. Bigby of course."

"Maybe there's something about them? Like he accosted them with something, but when they rejected him in the future, he killed them? But maybe this time through he still needs them, so he can't do anything about it just yet?" Charlie suggested, as he leaned backward in his chair, about to place his feet on the table, when he made eye contact with his mother, and immediately sat straight up.

"That's a good point," Hermione said, "I have the list of people who were attacked and killed in the future in my bag; we could go through it later and see the connections between them."

"And Clarence Bigby?" Fleur asked, "'hat do we know about 'im?"

"Not a lot," Harry shook his head, as he rested his hands on the table, "He's an ordinary wizard; fresh out of Hogwarts and only eighteen. He didn't score that many NEWTs or OWLs, so he was working as a clerical assistant. He has no family members who've achieved anything significant. His mother is a half-blood who works as a tailor for Madam Malkins, and his father a muggleborn who sets baubles on the street. No siblings, and recently he started seeing one of the younger Aurors at the Ministry."

"So he was probably targeted to get the files on the earthquake," Hermione surmised, "Do we know if he did it willingly or if he was coerced?"

Ron shook his head, "There's no way to tell, as if there was an enchantment, it would have been undone upon his death. However no one who knew him had anything bad to say about him."

"I think we should divide up the different tasks," Hermione said, "We need to figure out the connection between the victims, try and find out what was stolen from Gringotts, but also need to make sure that we have the public on our side. The whole reason they succeeded the last time was because they had public support."

"And how do you propose we do that?" Percy asked her carefully.

"Tell them the truth; or at least a version of it. Tell them that the earthquake was caused by an abnormal source of magic, but we have yet to identify it. Which is technically true, because we don't know about the potion the children took. We can't tell them about what's happening, aside from the time travel, but even along the lines of someone wanting to collapse the entire government structure, because it would cause a panic. And the public panicking is the last thing we need."

"I can talk to a few reporters," Percy volunteered, "I probably could say something diplomatic enough to sway the, to write it well."

"I'll help," George volunteered, "The more sources the better right? We'll just make sure it's all anonymous."

"I can try and talk to a few of the goblins," Bill said, "They'll trust me more than you lot anyways. Fleur'll be able to help as well, since a few of them are far more taken by her anyways."

His wife nodded, as she played with her daughter's hair.

"I think a few of us should also look into trying to restore the memories of Parkinson and Ernie," Charlie said, glancing at her, "I know Hermione specializes in that sort of thing, but there are also rumours of Romanian herbs and potions, so I could look into that, and maybe the two of us could work on it together," he winked playfully, and she laughed.

"Sounds good, Charlie," she said with a grin, and she noticed Draco shooting the older Weasley a dirty sglance, to her confusion.

"Great," Harry nodded, "Then Ron, Draco, and I can try and find a connection between the names."

Draco nervous glanced around at that, before speaking, "I just wanted to say that I was sorry for everything that happened in the past," he said softly, "And while I have no excuses for how I acted, hopefully you can forgive me for my behaviour."

"I dunno, Malfoy," George sighed, "I think you need to apologise far more than that for us to forgive you for everything you did."

The others nodded with a seriousness, that if she didn't know all of them well, she'd be rather worried.

"George!" Molly scolded, "Of course we forgive you dear!" And the room burst into laughter, with their mock composure fading.

Draco looked relieved as he cracked a smile.

"Now, I hope all of you are staying for dinner! I cooked enough to feed all of you, and let you take home some food, because Merlin knows none of you eat properly as it is," Molly stood, to summon the meals she had cooked.

Hermione got up to get Scorpius for dinner, as Draco clearly had the same idea, and did the same thing.

"That went better than I thought," he admitted to her with relief, as his shoulders slouched. She saw the light highlight the edges in his face, but forced herself to look away before he caught her staring at him.

"And you and Andromeda made up too, I heard," she commented. "I'm happy for you, Draco. You deserve to have your blood family in your life. Don't get me wrong, the Weasleys are better than anything I hoped for or probably even deserve, but it's not the same."

"Have you thought about reaching out to them?" he asked, "And telling them about Scorpius?"

"I don't even know how I would go about doing that," she admitted, "It would just be more proof that the life I chose was nothing but chaos and pain, and that in their eyes it would have been better to live life without magic."

He gave her a sorrowful look, as Scorpius came into their line of vision.

"Scorpius, time for dinner," she said softly, and she was immediately met by a hug by her son. She closed her eyes, as she rubbed his back, feeling better already.

She picked him up, despite knowing he was probably too old for that, and Draco placed his hand on the small of her back, as they walked together to the extended dining room.

Ron was surprised that everything seemed to be going well, especially with Malfoy at his home. While he and Harry's partner hadn't been all that close since they left Hogwarts, the last few weeks had brought them together as a sort of acquaintances. They didn't have heartfelt conversations, or anything of the sort, but there was no longer any animosity between the two men. There were no snide remarks or stray hexes. Sure, there were moments between the two of them that were tense, but he wasn't sure that would ever go away.

But despite that, the blonde man made no attempts to be rude to his parents, nor did he hold himself up on some sort of pedestal compared to Ron's family. He hadn't even commented once on the house, which Ron had to admit, after the war looked a lot better after several rebuilding projects. It was no mansion, but it was home.

Despite the other man's changes, Ron was slightly relieved that he and Hermione weren't together. He didn't have any lingering feelings for his ex, but that didn't mean that he didn't think that she deserved far better than Malfoy. He wasn't all that sure about Oliver Wood either, but the Quidditch player seemed to make his friend happy, so that had to count for something, right?

"I want you to meet my dad," Luna said suddenly, turning to face Ron.

He nearly choked on the mashed potatoes that he had shovelled into his mouth, causing Hermione to hit him hard on the back. She simply shook her head at him with a knowing smile, before turning to wipe some gravy off her son's face.

"Luna, we've practically been neighbours our entire life," Ron said exasperatedly as he looked at his girlfriend, "I know your dad."

She simply smiled at him as she shook her head, "No, Ron. I want you to meet my dad as my boyfriend. That is what you are, isn't it?" she asked innocently.

He sighed, pressing his lips to her forehead as he wrapped an arm around her, "Of course that's what I am. Luna, if it'll make you happy for me to meet your father, I will gladly do it," he told her with a smile. "It's only fair since you've already met my family in that capacity."

He caught his mother's eye, and she had a proud look on her face before she turned to place more roast on Charlie's plate when he wasn't looking.

"I love you," she said honestly, "I know it's really soon, and that our relationship's escalated a lot more than it probably would have if the children didn't come back, but it doesn't make my feelings for you any less strong than they are. I probably should have found a more romantic moment shouldn't I?" When he took a moment to respond, she continued, "Did I misread how things were between the two of us? I'm so sorry!"

"You didn't," he reassured her, "Luna, I've always been terrible at dealing with my emotions. Hermione's hexed me several times when we were younger because of it," she looked slightly insecure at that, but he continued, "But I care for you a lot, Luna," he admitted, "And it scares me because with Lavender, it was never serious, and with Hermione there was always something wrong. But I think I'm in love with you too, Luna."

She placed a kiss on his cheek, "Good," she said, causing him to grin in response to her.

Hermione pushed a stray hair from her updo out of her face, as she checked her reflection one last time in the mirror before going to answer the door after the bell rang. She walked over, and opened it, smiling when she saw Oliver on the other side with a bouquet roses. It wasn't her favourite flower, but she had to admit, they looked gorgeous, especially with him holding them with a sheepish smile on his face. She didn't get butterflies or anything, but her heart fluttered ever so slightly when he leaned in and pressed a kiss on her cheek.

She was frustrated with the progress that had been made with everything that was happening. Despite Percy diplomatically making a release to the press, there were far more questions than answers, and the general public was far less than pleased with everything that had had happened. She had several reported popping up at the entrance to the hospital, asking her for answers simply because of her connection to the Auror department. She had to start flooing over there because of it; something she wasn't all that pleased about.

It had been a few days since she had headed to the Weasleys' for dinner, and she knew she needed a break from all of it, so she had owled Oliver, asking if he wanted to go out again today. He had responded back instantly, telling her that she should dress in something fancy, since he was going to surprise her with where they were going.

"Ready to go?" he asked her softly.

"You still haven't told me where we're going," she reminded him lightly as she took the flowers and placed them in a vase she conjured up.

"I told you it's a surprise," he laughed, as he offered his arm to her for apparating.

She was tempted to remind him about her distaste for surprises, but kept her mouth shut; he was being so sweet after all.

She slipped her arm though his, and almost instantly, they materialized in a foreign location. When she got her bearings, she quickly realized they weren't in England anymore.

"Italy?" she gasped, recognizing the language around her.

He smiled, "I told you I wanted to travel everywhere with you."

"That you did," she grinned, as he guided her inside the restaurant.

He guided her to a private table on the patio, sitting down across from her, "I hope you don't mind," he told her, "I rented out the section so we could be alone."

She nodded in response. When you were a famous Quidditch player, it could be rather disruptive when people were coming up to you for autographs every couple of minutes.

When a waiter came over, Oliver decided to order, "Can I get two orders of the Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo for the both of us?" he asked, before looking up at her, "I promise you'll love this! I get it every single time I come here."

"Of course, Mr. Wood," The server said, "I'll also get you and your lady friend a bottle of your favourite wine."

Hermione forced a smile; she wasn't all that used to people ordering for her, but things like this went with trust in a relationship right?

"How was your day?" Oliver asked her softly, reaching across the table to hold her hand.

"Good," she said honestly, "A lot of rushing around with the emergency care section, but nothing I wasn't used to. I didn't get a lot of time to do research however."

"That's nice," Oliver said, taking a sip of his wine, without looking up.

She nodded, unsure of what to say in response.

"Bloody Hell," Oliver cursed, causing her to look up suddenly with shock.

"What is it?" she felt herself asking, wondering why he had a worried look on his face.

"Turn around," he said, standing rapidly, "We need to get out of here, now!" He yanked her up, gathering their things, and all of a sudden ready to leave in a hurry.

Expecting to find a swarm of paparazzi, she shrugged in annoyance, turning around to see what exactly had interrupted their date. What she hadn't been expecting to see was a rather large tornado ripping apart buildings right and left, heading straight in their direction.

A/N: I know a lot of people hate the Oliver love triangle thing, but this is a Dramione story, I swear. Hermione is stubborn and needs to slowly come to terms that there was a reason she and Draco got together the first time. So despite having another Oliver/Hermione date, it won't last forever.