Chapter 37 – Lunchtime Antics

20 April, 2010 - 12:00 P.M.

Café de Diagon

Diagon Alley, London, England

Draco Malfoy

"…I just really missed her and I thought I would never get the chance to ask her. She is the only one I have wanted to ask for my two boys, but she disappeared, no thanks to you, darling. Now that she is back Granger is the only one I want to be the godmother of our baby girl. Adrian agrees though he is now a little scared of her after her outburst."

I clear my throat and look at Pansy, "I'm not sure how back she is, Pans. She is already godmother of Potter spawn number one." Daphne sends me a non-verbal stinging hex, I laugh, "She has an American friend who is clearly pregnant, I met her today at our DG Potions meeting. She's godmother of Teddy Lupin. I think she's the godmother of George Weasley's son, Fred. You can ask her, I doubt she will say no with her track record, but you should be aware, she may not be the insanely committed godparent you demand."

Pansy pouts. Daphne asks, "How did that meeting go today, is she selling?"

I straighten up, "She is thinking about it. She has about 50 businesses she has interests in worldwide and about the same in buildings she owns. I had no idea Ophelia bought so much. She owns 8 of The Districts across the U.S. The Districts are similar to Diagon Alley, but under one roof. Granger is now owner of 4 professional quidditch teams. She even has a controlling percentage in a company called Majikktekku, which is Mia's only competitor with her tech products. Mia can decide to sell, but she has to watch about 125 years of Ophelia's memories in order to sell any of the properties. Ophelia stored memories in her filing cabinets with every memory she possessed. Mi thought she should probably wait to sell for now."

A chair screeches and we look up to see Theo take a seat. He looks at us, and points his finger at me and says, "Fuck You." Then points at Daphne, "Fuck You." Finally points his finger at Pansy and says, "Double Fuck You!"

We collectively burst into laughter. Last night I disapparated with Mia to the Quidditch field in Godric's Hallow. Once I stopped laughing, and convinced her she was gorgeous, I devised the best form of revenge on Theo. We arrived back at the Potter's with a devious plot.

For the remainder of the night, myself, Daphne, Pansy, Blaise, and even Susan Bones shared memories of embarrassing moments featuring Theo. At the time, Theo only pouted a little bit. Sasha laughed her arse off while simultaneously comforting Theo. After Mia was satisfied with her revenge, it opened up a floodgate of everyone sharing rather embarrassing memories of each other. Sasha even shared a memory of a very drunk Mia on something called "Spring Break 2002" while attending uni. Mia had taken a dare and magically enhanced her breast size and won a miraculous event called a wet tee shirt contest. I've never seen Mia so free, or so fucking fit!

Pansy is in a fit of giggles, "Come on darling, you know I had to share that memory of you in '92, just after first year, when we convinced you that you were invisible at a garden party. It is not our fault that you believed us so well you stripped down naked and started dancing. Nor is it our fault Narcissa Malfoy caught you and scolded you within an inch of your life."

Theo huffs, "Garden Parties are sacred. What happens at garden parties stays at garden parties."

We all burst out laughing. Theo huffs, "For the record, you all have a fascination with my bum. There wasn't a memory shown that hadn't displayed it in all it's glory."

Daphne giggles, "Theo dear, it is because a great many moments include you showing your bum. Don't forget the memory of you showing your bare arse to the entire Eighth Year Common Room asking us to rate it."

I smirk, "He was so pissed he probably doesn't remember."

Theo sighs, "Your justice was served adequately, you bastards. I shall never show amazing memories of Granger shaking her arse again. What were you discussing before I arrived?"

Pansy smiles and pats her protruding belly, "We were discussing whom little Camilla godparents should be. As you know Caspian's godparents are Daphne and Draco, Caius' godparents are Blaise and Susan, but we haven't named little Camilla's yet."

Theo says, "Oh, who were you thinking of?"

Pansy smiles, "Well I want Granger for a godmother, and I was asking for advice from Draco."

Theo looks at me, "Are you the resident expert on all things Granger now, Drake?"

I just glare at him, but Daphne says, "Theo, Mia and Draco are inevitable. It's going to happen."

I shake my head, "Is it? She turns me down at every turn. She only wants to be friends."

Daphne laughs, "Drake you forget I have had contact with Mia for almost six year now. I have even met a few of the guys she has dated. The most significant one was a guy in Uni she is still friends with. She dated this guy for two years. She doesn't practically run to greet him with a much needed hug, she doesn't cuddle up with him on the sofa, and she doesn't watch his every move at dinner. She definitely doesn't whisper in his ear, nor does she hold his hand. All of those things she does with you. I can almost guarantee you and Mia will be married by this time next year."

Pansy smiles, "Ooh, we should get everyone in on this bet. The pool would be huge! Theo, you in?"

He shakes his head, "No way, Granger is going to break Drake's heart."

I grimace, "Why do you say that?"

He shrugs, "I just don't want to see you hurt again. Hope is a dangerous thing to allow your heart to feel. I'd rather see you alone than to have your hope crushed. Granger lives in America, her life and her company are in America. You, my friend, would never uproot your life to be with anyone. Your mother would never allow her little dragon to move out of the country. I know traveling is easier now, however with the five hour time difference, you would never see each other."

I countered, "What about you and Sasha?"

He smiles, "We haven't gotten to that conversation yet. I am hiring a new Editor-in-Chief for The Daily Prophet. I'm taking a more managerial role with my new acquisitions. I will need to travel, but it frees me up from day to day obligations. Something a C.E.O of a major company doesn't have the luxury of doing."

Daphne interrupts, "Theo, are you leaving us?"

He shrugs, "The publications I inherited are a good source of income. I only need to ensure they aren't robbing me blind. I can keep them with DG Potions and Holdings and still draw a substantial income from operations, much of the same as Granger can do with her portion of the company. DG Potions and Holdings has the most employees of witches and wizards in the UK. You either work at the Ministry or DG Potions. We outsource a lot of our potion making to free lance potioneers around the world. We hire property managers all over the world who report to DG Potions. Ophelia built an empire. Splitting the company on paper only delegates whom the profits go to. I get profits from my ten percent of the company. Draco gets his 39%, and Granger her 51%. We could form a board and hire a C.E.O. to manage the day-to-day operations of the whole company. Drake is currently the C.E.O., he isn't going to want to abandon that position. He likes the power. I, on the other hand, could be free to do as I wish."

I think about this for a moment. If we hired a C.E.O. whom reported to the board made up of Mia, Theo, and myself we would still have control of the company, but someone else could run it. Mia and I found this out in the meeting with the barristers today.

I ask, "Theo who could we have as C.E.O. of the company?"

He smiles, "The Singh's. Aayan has been managing Ophelia's properties since the end of the war. He brought on his son's Arun and Arjun whom married the Patil's. They are honest, and are quite intelligent."

I smile, "We need to talk to Mia."

Theo smiles, "We are meeting with her Wednesday morning."

I feel it inside of me, bubbling up like a volcano in my heart. It's hope. Fuck! I could focus on research and possibly get a Mastery in Potions. I could leave the U.K. and move closer to Mia.

Theo then turns to Pansy, "What about the godfather?"

Pansy smirks, "Adrian and I thought our girl should be the influence to tame this complete tosser we know. A little girl would humble him like no other."

Theo squints his eyes, "Who? Nobody is a bigger tosser than I am! I can't believe you'd give godfather privileges to someone else!"

Pansy shakes her head, "Exactly! We were wanting to ask you."

Theo gets up and pulls Pansy into a hug, and bursts into tears. He's so emotional, that one.

20 April 2010 12:00 P.M.

George's Flat above Weasley's Wizards Whizzes.

Diagon Alley, London, England

Hermione Granger

"Thank you for picking up pizza, Granger. Angelina is busy fixing the Hogsmeade store and couldn't get away. Little ickle Ronniekins had the store in shambles. We couldn't figure out why we were losing so much money. He had mislabeled everything in the store. Items that should have been 5 galleons he was selling for 11 sickles. Anyway, she would have loved to have met with you too."

I smile at him, "It's no problem George. I would offer to help, but Sasha and I are going to Hogwarts this afternoon to meet with Minerva. Well, I am. Sasha is interviewing a Seventh Year who has applied to Enchantex. Now that we are starting service here, the girl may be really helpful if we get her the proper training."

He smiles, "Are you starting a retail store here?"

I smile, "I wasn't sure how you wanted to handle that. I thought I would give you the options of carrying your usual line of our products in your store and either have a small retail store in Diagon Alley or seeing of you wanted to expand and add a kiosk of sorts in your store. I'm not trying to compete with you. I'll also have a muggle store in London to sell our muggle devices."

He nods, "I think it would be best to have the joke items here like in New York. You would benefit more with your own store. You'll need a well trained staff to explain the items, and frankly I don't want the responsibility."

I laugh, "Fair enough, George."

He sighs, "Good now that we have that out of the way, we can gossip!"

I laugh, "Alright, what do you have for me?"

George shakes his head, "No way Granger, you are going first. I hear there has been a miraculous awakening due to elf wine, and I need the details."

I reach into my beaded bag and pull out the chalice. "Long story short, this chalice's legend goes back to the Greek Gods. It is suppose to heal the soul. Wine in ancient times was safer to drink than water, so when you add wine it's suppose to cure insanity. I took the risk to try it on Frank and Alice Longbottom."

He nods, "That was very kind and genius of you. Neville told me. He said I could ask you about it. Don't worry I won't tell anyone."

I take his hand, "I never believed you would. Thank you."

He squeezes my hand and releases it, "Now it's my turn! I'm going to be an orphan!"

Wait…What? "How can you be an orphan? Arthur and Molly are in great health."

He looks confused, "Well what do you call kids whose parents get a divorce?"

I laugh, "Oh George, you scared me a moment. They aren't necessarily called anything. Maybe a product of a broken home?"

George smiles, "That…I'm going to be a product of a broken home. Dad is, as we speak, filing for divorce from my mother."

I look at him confused, "I thought you couldn't get divorced in the magical world."

George smiles, "Typically no. Many marriage ceremonies are magically binding. The ceremonies that can bind magic or even souls to one another are quite permanent. Those marriages cannot be dissolved. However, the Ministry of Magic doesn't perform those Ancient ceremonies. My parents eloped. Their marriage can be dissolved, and my father has known this for years. Molly Weasley made a detrimental mistake Saturday night when she attempted to humiliate you, again. Not only was she incapable of humiliating you in the slightest, she tried to blame you when you graciously tried to leave. Once you left, since she was frozen, dear ol' dad took advantage of her quietness and told her he would be filing for divorce today. Since he is Head of House, there is little she can do about it."

I frown, "Oh George, I'm so sorry about your parents, I never meant to cause an argument."

He takes my hand, "Dad loved you like a daughter and he loved Ophelia just as much. Ophelia gave them The Burrow as their second wedding anniversary gift. Ophelia was always kind to the Weasleys. She never forgot a birthday or a holiday. She gave kind, thoughtful, and sometimes expensive gifts to us. Ophelia used her connections to get our father higher paying jobs. She used her influence with Gringott's to get Bill hired on as a curse-breaker. She gave Charlie the dragon reserve. She gifted me all the buildings I use for Weasley's Wizard Whizzes, except for New York, of course. She even gave Ginny a spot on the Holyhead Harpies. We as a family owe so much to Ophelia and by extension you. Saturday was the last thing that broke the hippogryff's back, so to speak."

I'm taken aback by this information. Ophelia was generous to the people she loved. She had given Andromeda twenty million galleons after the war. Of course I thought it was Viola who had done it. Viola also had paid all my tutors in the range of 300,000 galleons to help me. I know she must have paid Molly money to keep me at The Burrow.

I think for a moment, "George, what happened to Ginny?"

He frowns, "Mum thinks Ophelia tampered with her broom and caused Ginny to have a accident at her first game she started with the Holyhead Harpies. The broom was tested and nothing was found wrong with it. When Ginny arrived at St. Mungo's, they were out of Skele-Gro. There was an issue with the batch they had in stock. It took 27 hours to get a new batch and in that time Ginny's pelvis started to heal, but was healing wrong. When she was given the Skele-Gro her hip didn't grow back as it should. St. Mungo's could have removed her hip bone and grown it back, but with such a high risk procedure, it would have cost around 350,000 galleons. Nobody could give her the money."

I'm confused, "George even then, you had the money,"

He nods, "Yes well, I had signed a contract with Ophelia not to use my inheritance from her on Mum, Ron, or Ginny. All the money in W.W.W. was tied up at the time getting ready for expansions. Plus I was right livid at Ginny for driving you away."

Fuck, fuck, fuck. "What about Ron? He had the money from the Order of Merlin?"

He laughs, "That selfish git wouldn't give a knut to save his own mother let alone a sister."

Wait, "You received an inheritance from Ophelia? When was this?"

He sighs, "Bill, Charlie, and myself met with her early in the year 1999. She made us all sign paperwork to exclude the rest of our family. Bill used his ten million galleons to invest with Ophelia and doubled his money. She gave Charlie the dragon reserve and foundation. She gave me buildings and five million galleons. I don't know why I am able to talk about it now."

I released everyone's silencing charms. Fuck! Ophelia could have used legilimens on anyone that attended the party and found out what Ginny said to me. Ophelia was not the forgiving type. Fuck, fuck, fuck! "George, when was Ginny's accident?"

He thinks for a moment, "I think it was 14th of October in 2000, why?"

I smile. "No reason, George. So when do I get to take the kids all over London to my favorite places?"

20 April 2010-2:15 P.M.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Hogsmeade, Scotland

Hermione Granger

Sasha and I are standing at the gate of Hogwarts. I haven't been here since I graduated and I'm bombarded with memories. I can't bring myself to try to open the gates. Sasha is standing to the side of the gate leaning against the brick wall. She isn't saying anything. I know she is watching my aura change colors like a prism. This Hogwarts is beautiful. It's as if it's never experienced any damage. I worked hard the summer of '98 to help restore it, but everywhere I walked that summer I saw a person we lost in my mind. I have so many memories here, good and bad. I look at Sasha and she smiles at me. She won't push me, but she won't let me back down either.

I close my eyes and remember the first time I saw the Castle all lit up from The Black Lake. It was ethereal. I remember the argument with the Sorting Hat. How it tried to place me in Slytherin and I threatened to catch it on fire. It then yelled "Gryffindor!" I see Harry, Ron, and Neville at every stage of growth. I see Draco. He was always the most beautiful boy at every stage. Fuck! I open my eyes and look at Sash, "I'm ready."

She walks over to me and just as I try to open the gate it swings open. Hagrid is standing there, "Hi 'Ermione. I saw ya standing here. I wasn't sure if the wards still allowed ya in. I was coming to get ya."

I smile, "Thank you Hagrid. I was just, anyway it's good to see you. I have come to have tea with Minerva."

He smiles, "Well I'd walk you up but I need to get to my side job and feed the animals."

I smile, "I didn't know you had a side job."

He nods, "I suppose you wouldna known. I take care of the Aviary and the Abraxan hybrids at Dagworth Castle. Allows me to see Buckbeak e'eryday."

I place my hand on his arm, "Hagrid if you need anything let me know. How are Sprinkles and Rainbow? You know Ophelia showed me a picture of them when I was 4 and that's how they got their names?"

He laughs, "I didna know that, but it explains the weird names. Ophelia took good care of me before she died. I just wanna keep taken care of 'em. They mean so much to me."

I smile, "You will always have a place there Hagrid. I'll build you a wing to the castle if you'd like."

He laughs, "Nah, I have a nice flat in the stables should I need to stay there."

I smile, "If you need anything at all, let me know. I'll let you be off. Take care."

He smiles and places his huge hand in my shoulder, "Thank ya 'Ermione. I'll be letting ya know if I'm needin' anythin'."

Sasha and I continue to the Castle. We are stopped immediately by a young woman who looks to be too old for Hogwarts by a couple years. She also appears to be a prefect. "Can I help you, Madame?"

Madame?! "Yes, I have an appointment with Headmistress McGonagall."

The prefect looks at me curiously, "Holy Moly, you're Hermione Granger!"

I laugh, "I am. Should I head to the headmistress' office?"

The prefect says, "My brother was Colin Creevy. He talked about you and Harry all the time. I was much younger than him, but I remember all his stories."

I look at the young girl. She does share a resemblance to her brothers. I smile at her. "Miss Creevy, I am so sorry for the loss of your brother. He was brave. He was also my friend, and his loss was very painful to accept. I hope you know Colin died a hero and I can't express how very sorry I am he is no longer in this sphere."

Her eyes light up, "He was your friend? Hearing you say that makes all the difference. He always said he thought he was annoying to The Golden Trio."

I laugh, "He loved taking pictures of us. I guess that is a fair assumption. Then I discovered what a brave, determined young man he was. We studied quite a lot together in the common room his Fourth and Fifth Year. No he was not annoying. He is dearly missed."

She has tears in her eyes, "Thank you Miss Granger. Hearing about him is hard, but I'm glad he had a friend in you."

I nod, "Of course."

Sasha and I head to the Headmistress' office. When we arrive we are let up immediately. Minerva is standing there with a beautiful young girl with chestnut hair and bright blue eyes. Minerva says, "Miss Granger and Miss Trueblood, this is Ashlynn Warren our Seventh Year Head Girl. She has excelled in all of her classes. I hope you find a spot for her with your company."

I walk over and shake Ashlynn's hand, "Miss Warren it's lovely to meet you. Miss Trueblood is our V.P. of Engineering. I know you are interested in our technical scholarships. Typically with our technical scholarships we pay for you to attend an American Technical school to learn technology. We also pay for you to receive a magical Mastery of your choosing. We are going to begin expanding into the United Kingdom. Miss Trueblood will go over your options. I hope we will be able to add you to our team."

Ashlynn smiles, "Th-thank you Miss Granger. I never thought I'd have the opportunity to meet the woman who inspired all the changes for muggle-borns. You really are an inspiration."

Minerva interrupts, "Miss Warren, you know where to take Miss Trueblood to become acquainted. You should go now, see you don't miss Potions at 4."

Sasha and Miss Warren leave. I look at Minerva and she gives me a warm hug. "Hermione, I'm so glad you're here. I have missed you my dear girl!"

I smile, "I missed you too, Minnie!"

She purses her lips, "I see the influence of Young Mr. Black is still present."

I smile, she smiles back. I say, "I knew when I left, I needed to leave, but what surprised me when I came back, was how much I missed being Home. So many people became my home and I didn't realize how much I really missed them. I only knew it was painful to think about home."

She smiles at me, "My dear after all we put you through, I canna blame you for not wantin' to come back." She only starts to sound truly Scottish when she means what she is saying.

I smile, "I think I'm missing something. Why have the two girls I met today seem to love me beyond all reason?"

She laughs, "Hermione I suggest to talk to Young Mr. Nott. I believe he was the one behind the Hermione Granger Act. It was an act that gave all perceived muggle-borns the same rights as all witches and wizards. It overturned every archaic law on the Ministry's books. There is also a clause that the law may not be overturned without a 100 percent vote in the Wizengamot as well as a 100 percent vote on The Magical Beings Council. There is also a clause that the I.C.W. can infiltrate our Ministry should a overturn ever happen. There is a taboo placed on certain derogatory terms used for muggle-borns that contain hefty fines and repeat offenders are arrested and placed in Azkaban for six months. Everything about the law, was inspired by you. The girl who defeated a dark lord and left when her rights were violated."

I shake my head, "But Minerva, I'm not sure I am a muggle-born."

She smiles, "Yes well, your parents were both squibs, that is why the law is written perceived muggle-borns. It gives equal rights to all magical humans."

I nod, "I'll be sure to ask Theo about it. Sounds like there is a story behind that."

She smirks, "I'm sure Ophelia told quite the story."

"What do you mean Ophelia told quite the story?"

She smiles, "Hermione, as much as I like Mr. Nott, he didn't make all those changes on his own. Ophelia hired him and fed him those stories that blew up our society. She sat back for over a century and gathered information and when the time was right, she found the perfect person to expose all of the information she gathered. I know for a fact she gathered Armando Dippett's journals. After she asked me to help her with muggle-borns, she still met with Headmaster Dippett on a regular basis. Albus Dumbledore was scared of her. I have never known him to be scared of anyone. She had a natural legilimens ability. She gathered secrets and information for almost the entire century she was an adult. The first time Mr. Nott came to visit me to ask for Hogwarts archived class schedules, I knew he received a very good tip. It wasn't until the articles that backed up the Hermione Granger Act appeared, that I knew for sure it was her. Everything she did and everything she accomplished was for you, my dear girl. When she approached me to help you, she silenced me and then told me her secrets. Her silencing charms were so good Albus Dumbledore couldn't get to my secrets. He knew you had the time turner, but had no idea how you acquired it. He didn't stop it because you were friends with Harry. He believed you were the power the Dark Lord knows not from the prophecy. Lord Voldemort didn't understand how powerful muggle-borns could be."

Holy shit! "I knew Theo had a hand in the changes. I gathered that from the few memories she had given Draco Malfoy to show me, but I didn't realize how deep it went. I can't even fathom the kind of patience it would take to wait a century to make changes I wanted to make."

Minerva smiles, "That is the difference between a Slytherin and a Gryffindor, my dear. You have cunning and ambition, but my dear, you never had patience."

I laugh. We talk until ten minutes to 4 o'clock when Sasha joins us.

We talk about her time with Ashlynn Warren. Sasha offered her the job. As we are head out I tell her I have one more stop to make.

20 April 2010 – 5:30 P.M.

The Burrow

Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon, England

Ginevra Weasley

I'm currently hiding in my room where I typically stay. Mum is inconsolable right now because dad filed for divorce. I can't say I'm surprised. He left her years ago. He now lives in a small cottage next to Bill and Fleur. It's a nice one bedroom cottage. He even has a shed to tinker in. He offered to build me a room, but the sand is too hard for me to walk on. I have learned to live in near constant pain. When my pelvis healed it pinched a nerve. The only way to fix it is with a very expensive procedure.

I can't believe dad is divorcing mom over Hermione Granger. Ugh. I was always so jealous of her. She had everything. Harry's love, brains, she was gorgeous with out make-up or even trying. Seeing her on Saturday was hard. She looked so elegant. She acted like a lady even when Mum was purposely being hurtful. She was always like that. She was kind in an unreal way. Everyone adored her and she acted like she didn't care about all that attention. I thought it was an act, but I'm starting to think I might have been wrong about her. I wanted her to forgive Ron. He doesn't understand he says hurtful things. He doesn't mean them, he just blurts out whatever is in his head. She could have stayed friends with him.

" Ginny !!"

Mum…what does she want? I grab my cane and head towards the dining room where she has been drinking wine all day. I don't want to deal with her.

I reach the dining room and she looks terrible. "Ginny dear you received an owl."

An owl? Who would write me. All my friends dropped me when I yelled at Hermione at Harry's birthday party. I reach the letter and it reads.

SAINT MUNGO'S HOSPITAL FOR MAGICAL MALADIES AND INJURIES

19 APRIL 2010

Dear Miss Genevra M. Weasley,

St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries has currently received a large donation from an anonymous donor.

After reviewing some of our old cases we discovered you would have great physical benefits for a procedure to fix your injuries from a quidditch accident on 14th of October, 2000.

If you would still desire to have this procedure completed, please owl us with a time you can arrive for a consultation this week.

The donation will cover all expenses of the procedure as well as rehabilitation costs.

Sincerely,

James C. Bohnam

Director of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

Then it all faded to black.