Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any affiliated characters. I just happened to come up with the plot for this ship. All credit to J.K for her amazing universe that she allows us to play in.

Warning: Rated M. Cursing, sexual innuendos, lemons and fluff ahead. Basically what you would expect from a romance novel nowadays.

Music is my muse:
Song for this chapter: Ten, Jewel
Lyrics: Whoever said love is easy, must have never been in love.

Love of a Mate
Chapter 14
Count to Ten

Hermione looked up as Ginny slammed into the flat Draco was sitting at their small table and raised an eyebrow over the paper with a slight smirk as if he already knew what had happened. Perhaps he did, Vella hearing being what it was.

"What's happened?" Hermione asked buttering a scone and handing it to Ginny who took it and plopped down in the chair in annoyance.

A week on in their 'imprisonment' as Ginny called it and no one was really budging on the position that the girls stay put and be guarded. Well, Harry had come around and Draco was all for moving Hermione into the large Manor house. But Ginny's father and the minister were not coming around.

"I might murder my father." Ginny said in a low tone taking a rather vicious bite of her scone.

Hermione looked slightly alarmed. "What did he do?" Ginny usually was angry with her mother not her good natured father.

"Ron, Hermione. Ronald is outside of our flat in a very poor disguise."

Draco put down his paper. "I beg your pardon."

Ginny nodded. "Oh someone will be begging I assure you. I am sending an owl to Harry right now! RON! Honestly what are they thinking?"

Hermione frowned as she wiped the crumbs off her hands. "Probably that we have put most of their force in hospital over the last week and Ron is the last trained one left with any hope of knowing our tricks. But Kings did promise us not to use Harry or Ronald so he broke his end of the deal. I say we parlay with him before you injure your own brother and use this to our advantage."

Ginny glared at the table for a moment before her eyes lit up and she stood up. "Oh, fair point. He did give his word not to use my brother didn't he? Kings is going to regret that." She looked over at Draco and pointed at him. "Be a good snake and come along to help us trap him in his own web will ya?"

Draco sighed but then smirked rubbing his hands together. "As it gets me what I wish, I would be happy to little lion. Still owling Mr. Potter?"

Harry and Draco had managed to come to a weird truce of sorts over the last week. Hermione just didn't question it and Ginny went with it as well. After all it suited the girls' purpose of getting rid of their guard rather nicely if the boys got along right now.

"Nope he can just be surprised when I show up and Ron can feel blessed I didn't curse him to hospital with him hiding in the shrubbery in that horrible disguise, honestly as if I wouldn't recognize my own brother!"

Hermione laughed and linked her arms through Ginny's. "Come on lets go get dolled up to sink a minister. Should only take an hour. I will stun Ron, we will hog tie him and take him with us and Mr. Sakelbolt will have some serious explaining to do, as will your father as he assured us family would be kept out of this as well."

Ginny's eyes twinkled as she giggled. "Oh this makes up for all of this. My brother hog tied and levitated into the minister's office with da having to be there to try and explain what Ron was doing in the shrubs in a bad disguise in front of our flat to the minister who probably knew nothing about it. But I am putting the other prat in an equally stupid muggle disguise that was sent with him in the spell damage ward."

Hermione shook her head. "It's my turn, I have been saving a charm that will take them at least a week to figure out. Instead of talking he will sing loudly and tap dance. It will make him completely inept at undercover work. The counter curse is wickedly unexpected."

Ginny looked at her friend with appreciation. "No one can counter it?"

Hermione shrugged. "Snape could, I found it in his old potions book. The one that burned during the war. I memorized it just in case before I made Harry hide the book in our sixth year. Before we knew Snape was the 'Half Blood Prince' and all."

Ginny snorted and shook her head. "Oh that is brilliant. What's the counter then?"

Hermione shook her head. "It's not a charm or spell. Standard hiccup potion with a touch a ginger. The spell is a jinx."

Ginny nodded thoughtfully. "Brilliant, they will all think to use a spell to counter it, he will be stuck there forever. Will you give credit to Snape for the jinx?"

Hermione nodded. "Course I will. And when they finally crawl to me to fix the poor idiot I will credit Snape with the antidote too."

OooOooOooO

Draco who was in the kitchen still and could hear everything shook his head and let it drop into his hands making a mental note to never really anger his mate, she was truly more Slytherin than he was. Saving an obscure jinx she had learned from an unknown source in sixth year that she now knew was created by a known spy and death eater just for a random poor Auror outside, and not worried at all that the young wizard would suffer for weeks. He actually shuddered unsure if he was deeply turned on or worried. He settled for both, his mate had impressed him, terrified him, and stunned him all week with her spell work.

Teamed with Ginny he was pretty sure the two of them could have won the war on their own if given enough time. They were a force to be reckoned with, wicked fast with their wand work, and terribly clever with spells. Where they came up with half of them disturbed him. Harry had told him he himself sometimes wondered if the girls didn't sit around at night and simple make up charms and jinxes to use on Ginny's brothers at some point in time just to amuse themselves. Or if they didn't sit around with George to amuse him and cheer him up and come up with all this stuff. George of course wasn't talking, firmly on the girl's side that they could take care of themselves.

Draco had taken to drinking fire whiskey with Harry -at the Manor of all places- while the wizard gave him a rundown of all the antics the girls had been up to that day. His own security force had not escaped their spell work either. At last count eight on his payroll were on leave or in hospital. He had tripled all their pay at this point and still lost a few to fear. His mate was proving harder to guard then he had anticipated. His mother found it hysterical, pointing out that Hermione clearly could guard herself rather well and he was wasting his gold. Add in that she could tell him instantly through the bond if anything was wrong he was being rather silly in her opinion.

But until they were fully bonded again Draco didn't trust that he could protect her to his fullest. He had been able to resist protecting her that day in the manor, that awful day when he had smelled her blood, felt her pain, he had not died as he should have from her torture.

He might settle down after they were fully bonded again and he could always sense her and nothing could stop him from protecting her. No spell, no compulsion, no charm. But his mate was smart damn her. Draco went into cold sweats a few times a day when his mate cut him out of her emotions or mind through what he knew must be a form of concentrated meditation mixed with occlumency. She had been practicing it in sixth year, worried he would still sense her during the war. He knew she had kept up on meditation and occlumency during the war, it was how she had survived his Aunt's attacks on her mind. His brilliant stubborn mate. He sighed as he felt her excitement at what the girls were planning and stood up to warn Potter.

The wizard would want to be there to calm down his friend he supposed. From what he remembered of Ronald Weasley he fired shots first and thought later, and while Potter might allow Ginny and Ronald to fight it out, Draco would not stand for the redheaded wizard to fire a curse at his mate; even if she did stun him and humiliate him. Draco tried to contain his glee as he sent off the owl and made sure his robes were crumb free, it was petty and he knew it but seeing the girls get on up on Ronald Weasley was about to make his day. But he was an adult now so he did contact his security warning them to make themselves scarce or the girls might hex them as well. His rather boring Tuesday morning at the office had just been rescheduled he thought as he sent a quick message by a special coin to his personal assistant and shook his head at the giggling as the girls continued to dress. He had meetings to get to so would have to rush off but he would not miss the showdown at the minsters office this morning. His mate was about to impress him. He just hoped he could contain his passion and not make a spectacle of himself, he kept reminding himself he was about to get her alone, in is home.

OooOooOooOooO

Hermione and Ginny waltzed into the ministry with Draco walking between them, Ginny levitating her livid and tomato red faced brother in front of her, both of the girls were dressed to the nines with smiles on their face. Draco looked bored in his grey dress robes and most payed no mind to him considering the spectacle the Ronald made in his muggle outfit as he was levitated by his own smiling sister.

The minister's secretary looked appalled as the girls pushed past her and into Kingsley's office unannounced.

Ginny spoke first. "The other one is probably at St. Mungo's by now. My brother however we have brought to you without his rather horrible disguise."

Hermione tapped her heeled shoe. "He was in our shrubbery, Kings. Ronald, who you assured us would not be involved. You do remember that conversation do you not?"

Draco took a seat and crossed his arms as Harry Potter rushed in and groaned. "Ginny!"

She whirled around and glared at him. "Don't you start! Did you know about this?"

Harry went a little flushed and then deflated. "We have no one left willing to go!" He yelled in frustration.

Ginny sputtered and turned around to glare at the minister. "Your Auror's are afraid of US?"

Arthur Weasley, now head of Magical Law Enforcement rushed in and let out a loud groan. "Now what is going on here?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You sent Ronald to spy on us. We told you we didn't need a force of Auror's and you sent them anyways, our stipulation was to help you train them, but if you sent Ron or Harry all bets were off."

Kingsley sank down into his office desk chair looking half amused and half annoyed. "Help train them? They are all still in hospital!"

Ginny rolled her own eyes now and folded her arms. "Clearly you need to revamp your training then. Ronald didn't fare much better."

Ron huffed but was still silenced so it came out more like a silent grunt and his cheeks puffed out. Arthur Weasley went red in the face and turned on Draco. "What part did you play in this?"

Draco shrugged. "I wouldn't allow them to hex him." He said in his bored aristocratic drawl. "The other wizard however I could not save."

Hermione grinned and then glared at Ron who was glaring at her. "Oh shove off Ron you tried to hex me first!"

Draco stood up at this. "I wish to lodge a complaint at that, Mr. Weasley."

Everyone went very still, even Hermione as she realized that this could get ugly very fast.

Kingsley stood up and unsilenced Ron. "Ronald?"

Ron went a bit pale but his ears stayed red. "I knew that look, Hermione was going to do something to me. Of course I tried to get her first. I know what she can do!"

Harry groaned and shook his head then turned on the elder Weasley. "And this is why I said don't send Ron."

Arthur Weasley went even redder. "Right, well, I think we can all agree this was…"

Ginny spoke up interrupting her father. "A terrible idea?"

Hermione snorted glaring at Ron. "You idiot!"

Ron glared right back at her but then grinned. "Well, considering I didn't fancy a trip to the hospital I was trying to hit you with a jelly jinx hex before you got me with something worse."

Ginny laughed outright. "Then I would have just gotten you. You great prat, how did you end up an Auror again?"

Kingsley chuckled before he turned to Draco. "To be fair, all things considered, I think we can agree neither would have hurt the other Mr. Malfoy."

Draco narrowed his eyes but the glare from his mate had him giving a stiff nod and sitting back down. Her sweet 'thank you' in his mind made it worth it.

Arthur Weasley frowned scratching at the back of his neck. "What do we do with the girls?"

Harry spoke up. "We move them as we told you from the start of all this. Hermione goes to the Manor and Ginny comes to live with Ronald and me. No one would think to look for either of them there. Everyone would expect them both to go to the burrow."

Kingsley sighed but nodded. "He has a point, Arthur. It's unexpected and the ancient protections on both homes are…"

Arthur Weasley waved his hand frowning. "Yes I know that is not my worry. How will I explain this to Molly?"

Ginny snorted as Harry went a little pale and Ron went red. Draco looked confused as Hermione shuffled her feet and Kingsley looked at the fire his face worried. Finally Kingsley said. "She will just have to be told it is the safest option. Ronald is there after all with Ginny and Harry and Narcissa lives at the Manor so Hermione and Draco will have a chaperone."

OooOooOooOooO

There was total silence and then finally Arthur Weasley deflated mumbled a bit and nodded his head before he walked out and everyone looked around. Ron left after his father still looking rather mad. Harry walked over and hugged Ginny still a bit miffed but he smiled at her before he rushed off after his best friend. Draco walked over and kissed Hermione on the head before he to left for the office and his meetings leaving just the girls smiling up at an exhausted looking Kingsley.

"Who is going to tell me what new jinx we have on the poor Auror from this morning?"

Hermione looked at him for a moment and then started laughing hysterically while Ginny giggled before Hermione held up her hand.

"It was me, and Snape created it. But they have to come asking before I tell them what it is and how to cure it. The smug bastards are far too obnoxious and when I tried to help the last time they were so rude that I have decided I am making them come begging for the jinx and in this case the antidote."

Kingsley shook his head looking impressed and horrified. "Oh Hermione."

Ginny snorted. "It's true, they were awful to her. Be thankful I didn't use my new hex out on my brother, I haven't even figured out the counter curse for it yet."

Kingsley waved at them smiling and shaking his head. "Go and pack and I don't want to see you two trouble makers for at least a month. I should have you arrested, I would if the public wouldn't have me strung up. Do you know that Arthur and I will have to send all the Auror's back through training thanks to you two? You bested the best we have. It's a disgrace, if this gets out we will be a laughing stalk. Go away, before I change my mind and throw you in Azkaban."

Hermione rolled her eyes as Ginny laughed out right and they left arm in arm to pack their bags smiling sweetly at their rather worried looking new escorts who looked like new Auror's sent over to escort them home. They wouldn't hex this pair, there was no need now. The girls had gotten exactly what they wished for, all in seven and a half days.

Hermione and Ginny: One. Magical Law Enforcement: Zero

Notes:
My dear readers,

I am so sorry for the long delay and I can't tell you when the next chapter will be, although I promise I know what will happen with this story thanks to Tink- my muse is full of ideas. But I have open heart surgery this Friday. A lot has happened in November that is very scary. Please follow me on Instagram to keep up to date. CrystaljeanRed

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and there are not too many errors. I will try to update Accidental Proposal before I go. If you can get over there to comment that I am in hospital that would be great. I am not sure how long my energy will last. The blood thinner medication for the tumor they found on my heart leaves me very weak and tired. My Children will go to my parents in California while I am in hospital and recovering. Friends are coming out to help my husband over Christmas with me. I am in good spirits and as I said you can keep up with my recovery on Istagram.

All my love and thanks,

Cjean