The odd quintet made their way quickly down the cobblestone street, and as Draco looked around, he was surprised by how few stores were actually open, and that even more still had their window's boarded up. In no time at all, the group was at the front door to Weasley's Wizards Wheezes. Ginny raised her arm, and started knocking on the door, not stopping until George had unlocked, and yanked the door open, Ginny's arm mid-knock.
George scowled at her. "I said I was doing this alone," he said standing in the doorway.
Ginny shoved her way past her older bother, into the shop. "You said that. No one else agreed to that."
The rest of the group followed Ginny in, and Hermione went in last, stopping to hug George on her tiptoes. "It's good to see you again Georgie," she whispered in his ear.
George returned the hug. "Good to see you too. I'm sorry about all this."
Hermione pulled away, and smiled sadly. "Thanks."
She walked further into the store. "The place looks untouched." She commented, picking up a dusty box of You-No-Poo, then setting it back on its shelf. "If it wasn't for all the dust, I wouldn't know that you hadn't re-opened."
George shrugged, then scratched the back of his head. "We put some pretty strong wards up on the store when we realized we were going to have to go into hiding. I haven't bothered to check the flat though. We didn't get a chance to ward it at the level we did down here."
Pansy wandered the aisles, occasionally picking an item up, then setting it down, all the while running her finger on the shelves. "It could do with a clean." She finally said.
George glared at her. "I don't recall asking for your opinion Parkinson." Pansy sent a dazzling smile his way in return.
"So why are all of you here?" George asked, choosing to ignore Pansy's smile.
"I wanted to be here." Pansy said, hopping up on the front counter, having made her way through the aisles.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "I stole Harry's cloak."
George cracked a small smile. "How does he feel about that?"
Ginny shrugged. "I'm sure I'll hear something in the next couple of days."
"I wanted to talk to Rita directly," Hermione said in a quiet voice, her face giving no emotion. "I offered to let Malfoy come along so he could say anything he wanted, and Theo is here to protect me."
George looked at Theo, and raised an eyebrow. "You came to protect Hermione?"
Theo nodded his head, standing next to his sister. "She's the only family I have left."
"Look, I know you're new to having a sibling, but word of advice, especially regarding sisters. They don't need your protection, especially these two." George started. "Hermione can defend herself against anyone, I know because I've been on the receiving end of her wrath on more than one occasion. You're better off protecting yourself."
Hermione blushed, and smiled gratefully at George. "I know she can defend herself," Theo retorted. "I just think she's had to do it for too long, and I want to be there for her."
Hermione rolled her eyes, and opened her mouth to say something when there came a brisk knock at the door. Everyone in the shop looked towards the door, and George made his way over, and opened it. In walked a sandy haired man, followed by a woman with tightly curled bleached hair, and bejeweled spectacles.
"Well, well. Look who we have here." Rita Skeeter said in a taunting voice.
"You don't seem surprised to see me Rita." Hermione commented, an edge to her voice that Theo had never heard before.
Rita laughed hollowly. "Please, a random Weasley contacts my photographer, and says that they want to give an interview about you? I knew it was a trap. Not a very good one mind you." She looked at George. "Sorry dear, but you don't do well on your own."
George growled, and made to move towards her, but Pansy was by his side in a second holding his arm.
"So why have you called me here? Want to give me an inside scoop?" Rita asked the room at large, clearly unaffected by George's reaction.
Pansy glared at Rita. "How'd you find out about Granger?" She asked, getting straight to the point.
Rita laughed. "As if I'd reveal my source."
Hermione reached in her bag, and pulled out a glass mason jar. Rita saw this out of the corner of her eye. "You really think that still scares me little girl?" She asked, in a nasty tone.
Hermione shrugged. "I don't really care if it does or not. But during my time on the run, I spent a lot of time reading. And one of those books had an odd little spell in it."
Rita eyed Hermione, distaste evident on her face. "Oh?"
Theo gulped. He suddenly understood what George had meant. "See," Hermione continued, dropping her wand from her hoodie's sleeve into her hand, and twirling it lazily, not looking directly at Rita, but around the shop. "Apparently there is this nasty little charm that can force an animagus to revert to their animal form, all the while keeping their human mind, and keep them trapped like that for as long as the caster wishes. It was outlawed in 1965 a year after it was invented, but if the person it was cast on wasn't a registered animagus, then I don't know how hard the ministry would be looking for that spell." She stopped twirling her wand, and looked Rita dead in the eye.
"You wouldn't dare." Rita breathed, hate emanating from her, with just a touch of fear.
"If she wouldn't, I would." Draco finally piped up, in a deadly tone, having moved to lean against the door frame. "I think I'd like a pet beetle to keep in that lovely jar Granger has there." He said with a dark smile.
"So, who's your source Rita?" Asked Pansy in a bored voice, still holding George's arm.
Rita looked around the room at the odd group. "One of you would say something," desperation seeping through her voice.
"I trust everyone in this room, Rita." Hermione said in a low, but eerie voice. "And for those I don't?" She held her wand up to her own temple. "I'm very, very good at memory charms."
Rita looked around, but seeing that she was outnumbered held her hands up. "Fine. It was a student up at the school. They overheard the two of you," she pointed at Theo and Hermione. "Talking about your parents. I found everything else by digging through old ministry records."
"Name Skeeter." Ginny demanded.
Rita looked torn, clearly wanting to maintain some semblance of integrity. "Aster Wolpers." She finally spat out.
Ginny and Hermione looked confused. "He's in our house, a fucking third year. Leave him to us." Pansy answered their unasked question.
"Are we done here?" Rita asked peevishly, walking towards the door.
"Almost." Hermione said. As Rita and the photographer turned to look at her, she raised her wand and pointed it at both of them. "Stupefy!"
Rita and the photographer crumpled. Hermione rushed over to them, and put her wand to the photographers temple first, and then Rita's. When she was done, she looked up at Theo, who was clearly shocked. "Can you get them out of here?"
Theo nodded silently. "Where should I put them?" He asked.
"Take them down Nocturne Alley, and dump them in between buildings." George said, looking at Hermione. "My guess is they won't even remember making it here."
She nodded, and Theo bent down to grab the wrists of both individuals. "Meet you back at the school?" He asked.
Hermione nodded, and Theo disappeared with a crack.
She looked around. She opened her mouth to say something, when all of a sudden there was a loud pounding at the door. Draco jumped away, startled, and Ginny swore loudly. Standing at the door was Harry Potter, looking irate.
George looked at Ginny. "Should I let him in?"
Ginny nodded her head, and then turned to Draco. "Get her out of here. He's mad at both of us tonight, but he'll say something he really regrets to her if she's here."
Draco grabbed Hermione's arm, and just as she was about to protest, George, opened the door with his wand, and Harry fell in. Before he could say anything to her though, Draco had apparated them both away.
They landed a few doors down the street, in between a couple of shops, and Hermione turned to face him. "You shouldn't have done that!"
Draco looked out, to see if Potter had bothered to look out the door for them, then put his arm around her waist, and pulled her out of the slender alleyway onto the high street, guiding her in the opposite direction of the joke shop and their friends. "I was only looking out for you." He said, his voice betraying no emotion. He walked past a couple of boarded up store fronts before they reached one that was actually open, and pushed her into Flourish and Blotts.
Hermione pulled herself away from him, and stormed off to the back of the store. Draco shot the poor clerk an apologetic look, and then chased after her, Hermione having disappeared into the shelves. He found her in the history section, arms folded in front of her, chest heaving in anger. She swung around to face him. "Do you remember the first time you met me?" She asked all of sudden.
"What?" Draco asked, confused.
"The first time you met me." She repeated. "Do you remember it?"
Draco just stared at her.
"Because I do. I was in here, right at this very section and my parents were up at the front buying my textbooks, and I had wandered away, and in this section of the store was one other person. A little blonde boy with slicked back hair and a pointy face." She said.
Draco just continued to look at her, not trusting himself to speak.
"You asked me what I was doing back here, and I said that I was starting Hogwarts in September, and wanted to know everything I could about it. You started telling me all these different things, and made it sound so much less intimidating than Professor McGonagall had. I was so excited because I thought I was making a friend." She continued. "Then your dad called your name, and before you left, you grabbed a book and told me that everything I wanted to know was in it. It became my favorite book, I've read it so many times, that I had to get a new copy summer before fifth year because my first one was so worn out."
Draco looked at the shelf, and scanned for the book he knew she was talking about. Finding it, he reached over her, and pulled out the navy leather text, embossed with a gold outline of a castle and the title Hogwarts: A History. Hermione looked at the book he held. "You were my first friend in this world, and my first loss." She said staring at the book he held.
Draco looked up towards her face, and saw tears sparkling. "I'm sorry." He said quietly.
"For what?" She asked, wiping her eyes, before the tears could fall, and looking up, meeting his gaze. "For making me feel like a total outsider again in a new world? For calling me a mudblood second year, and saying that you hoped the monster killed me?"
Draco flinched at that. "For every horrible thing you said and did as a member of the inquisitorial squad?" Hermione's voice was rising. "For kissing me after the Yule ball in fourth year? What Draco? What are you sorry for?"
"I'm sorry for everything." He said, stepping closer to her. "If I could go back in time, and tell myself not to do any of it, I would."
"Because I'm Theo's sister?" She asked, challenging him.
Draco shook his head. "No, because I was wrong. You were far better than me, and I knew it even then. And I acted like a shit and tried to believe everything my father said, and I was wrong."
Hermione scanned his face, searching for a lie. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, Draco started speaking again. "There's only one thing I'm not sorry for."
"What?" Hermione asked, her mouth dry.
Draco stepped all the way into her, the only thing separating them, Hogwarts: A History. "I'm not sorry for kissing you fourth year." And he leaned down and kissed her, praying she would kiss him back.