Note: Hello people, wanted to say that I went through the first chapters and made some minor corrections and changes, nothing that affects the plot, but still, if you want to, check it out.
And if you like this story, leave your fav/follow or review! It means a lot!
Hope you enjoy this chapter.
November 29th, 2005
Ministry of Magic
He's trying his best to be as quiet as possible, but when she clenches her walls around his cock, rocking her hips in a particular way, he trembles and lets out a single moan, his hips bucking. Hermione puts a hand over his mouth. "Shhh." He makes a face at her and keeps thrusting, his arms holding her by the thigh and waist while her legs circle his middle, locking at his back. They're standing inside a tiny broom cabinet - which he never imagined existed inside the Ministry - Hermione dragged him into.
It's his first day back at the Ministry after the attack and the first time he sees her after that blowjob he can't stop thinking about. When he stepped at the floor, his eyes sought her out immediately and she was right there, close to his desk talking to Ron and Ginny. Hermione turned to look at him and a smile played on her lips while they held their gazes. Harry only realized he was smiling like an idiot when he was close enough for Ginny to taunt him.
Then Hermione cleared her throat, welcomed him back and said they had a meeting with the Minister in a few hours.
And here they are now.
Twenty minutes before they have to meet Tom Riddle.
Fucking inside a cabinet like two teenagers.
But it was like instinct, Hermione said they could go over what to say at the meeting and Harry agreed. They started walking up the stairs to the Minister's floor, but of course they stopped just at the floor below to wait for the right hour. It's not their fault that the hall was freaking empty. And Harry is not even sure who initiated it. But they shared a look. One look that meant exactly the same for both. His eyes fell to her lips and she immediately took his hand.
In a beat they were kissing inside the cabinet. And in another beat his pants were on his feet and hers gone too along with her boots and knickers. Biting her neck he seized her up and the rest is just a blur of pleasure.
"Harder." She says into his ear while tugging his hair. Harry grunts. He's sweating.
They're not in the best position, but their desire was so overwhelming they didn't even care. Harry is just doing his best to support her and make it work.
He seeks her mouth, his hips meeting hers fiercely while he moves his arms to bring her to him at the exact moment he thrusts inside her. Hermione is taunting him closing her walls around his cock in a maddening way. And she's so devilish she's chuckling while trying to moan silently.
He slams himself inside her again, lost in the feel of her skin, in the taste of her mouth and in how pleasurable their encounter can be.
"You're so delicious, D'Angelo." She says in a serious tone, but he can't see her face because she's kissing his neck, going up and down while his hips keep meeting hers. Her nails find his nape and shoulder under his shirt and vest and she digs them into his flesh.
Harry closes his eyes. "I get hard just by looking at you." He says without thinking. But he's reaching his orgasm and he's not thinking at all.
Her mouth finds his again, their tongues meeting, their lips moving eagerly. "I'm close." She says in a hushed tone between kisses. He nods.
"Me too."
And just when it's becoming impossible to stop his frenetic thrusts, they hear voices outside at the hall.
Both freeze.
Harry grunts and Hermione puts a hand over his mouth again. They can't muffle the sound inside the cabinet since it's protected by the Ministry's rules. Harry discerns two voices. Hermione is breathing hard in his arms, the air inside the cabinet heavy, filled with their hotness. She bites her lower lip, and he knows she's begging for no one to try the doorknob.
He's worried about being caught, but he's also insanely horny and needing a release, so, he moves again, as slowly and silently as possible and she follows his lead. They don't break eye contact while doing it.
It's pretty intense.
And slow.
And heart stopping.
Breathtaking.
She touches their noses, their lips close. His hips going up and forward, hers down on his length.
They keep going even when the voices get louder, probably just outside. But they don't mind. And she kisses him softly, rearranging herself in his arms. Moving as silently as possible, Harry bites her lower lip, his tongue seeking her mouth, their hips meeting, their bodies hot-
Hermione shudders in his arms, shaking, trembling, coming and moaning with her mouth closed. They keep kissing and he comes too. He moans into her mouth, thrusting once, twice, thrice.
And they finally stop, still holding on to each other, breathing hard. He kisses her cheek, her jaw, her neck. Her hands go over his shoulders and hair in a caress. Finally he moves back and puts Hermione on the floor. She makes a strange face and he tilts his head in question. She dismisses it with her hand, seeking her boots, trousers and knickers on the floor.
Whoever is out there hasn't moved yet. So, they're trapped until they do. Harry runs both hands through his hair after dressing himself and uses his wand to put them back to a proper condition so it doesn't look like they just fucked before talking to the Minister.
Fully dressed she turns to him and crosses her arms. Harry mimics her and they stare at each other. Hermione moves her head to the door, pressing her ear on it. He does the same, trying to hear the conversation outside.
The first voice Harry recognizes is Ginny's. Hermione widens her eyes. Then Ron answers something. They share a worried look. They can't be caught by them, but he finds himself extremely curious to know what they might be talking about.
"…I know it must be hard for her after the Ball, but she can't say such things without proof, Gin."
"I told her that, but we can't really blame her, with everything… I mean, their dance was… if Harry wasn't a foreigner I'm sure Hermione's father would be marrying both right now."
Harry looks at Hermione. She doesn't look at him, though, her eyes fixed on the floor.
"Do you think Hermione will end things with Asmo?" Ron says.
"No! Of course not!" Ginny snorts a laugh. "They love each other and Hermione doesn't believe in these things. And from what Draco told me, Asmo bought the ring."
Hermione opens her mouth at that and Harry feels cold. Suddenly his mouth is dry and there's a burning sensation going up his stomach. But he doesn't move, she doesn't either.
"He'll propose soon then."
"I think so. Regardless, I'll tell Harry to talk to Sally, she's not dealing well with everything and…"
Their voices fade away as they exit the hall. Harry gulps and before he can say anything, Hermione looks at her watch and opens the door. "We have to go or we'll be late."
Without looking at him, she exits the cabinet and Harry waits a few minutes to do the same. He leans on the door, closing his eyes. He doesn't understand his own actions anymore. Why does he feel so bad that Pettigrew got Hermione a ring? He has nothing to do with their relationship. And what he shares with her is just sex…
Shaking his head he heads out to the elevator. Hermione already went up and Harry waits to be cleared to enter the Minister's floor.
She's standing just outside the door, her head down, hugging herself. Harry stops by her side and she looks at him with the whole Head Riddle - badass - posture.
"Let me do the talking."
He only nods and she knocks on the door.
Riddle allows both inside.
Harry walks firmly, his head high. Surprisingly, he's calm. The Minister is sitting on an armchair, drinking. He motions for Harry and Hermione to take the seats in front of him while he greets his daughter by name and Harry with a nod. She calls him 'father' and they settle themselves.
"I'm all ears." Riddle says to Hermione.
She's as direct as possible. "D'Angelo is here with me because the idea was his." Riddle nods. "We have to admit that our investigation regarding what happened at the Fair is going nowhere, father." The Minister makes a sour face and motions for her to go on. "As D'Angelo pointed out, if we want to beat our enemy, we need to think like them." She pauses for a second.
Tom Riddle turns to Harry, his eyes sharp. "Wise words, D'Angelo. Has your grandfather taught you that?"
Harry nods. "Yes, sir."
"And what do you suggest?" Riddle is asking him directly and Hermione doesn't try answering.
"I think we should investigate in Muggle London."
Riddle opens a sarcastic smile and leans back on his seat, his eyes still on Harry. But he says nothing.
"As Head Auror I think it's something we should consider."
The Minister takes a sip and narrows his eyes at Hermione. "I thought I'd taught you better than this, Hermione. Do you even hear yourself? How ridiculous you sound?" Harry fists his hand, hating the way Riddle is talking to her, the tone he's using, the way his eyes are menacing. Hermione is stiff by his side, not making a sound or moving an inch.
But she clears her throat and, "If it's worth finding a lead, I don't mind sounding ridiculous."
Riddle sets his glass on the table with a clink. "Head Riddle is right, sir." Harry says.
"I don't recall asking for your opinion, D'Angelo. I hope you learn to talk when requested. Of course I've been more patient with you because of your upbring and the fact that you just got transferred, but I won't accept this kind of insolence, do you understand? I'm the one who says who's right and who's wrong."
Harry opens his mouth slightly, but not from surprise or fear, from sheer anger. Hermione moves by his side.
"Shouldn't we at least consider this?" She says. "What if we never find any answers? What if these rebels know you wouldn't investigate Muggle London and everything we're looking for is right there? You taught me how to think, father, and I can't believe the idea sounds so-"
"Enough." He says firmly and Harry recognizes the authority in his voice. Riddle is speaking as Minister and father, and Harry is sure Hermione already heard this same 'enough' countless times throughout her life. "You've been testing my patience, Hermione, and I've had enough. This is out of question. I won't have my Aurors seeking for clues in Muggle London, talking to Muggles, treating them as if they can know more than us. I won't." He hisses. Harry sets his jaw. He makes a huge effort not to open his mouth and give Riddle a piece of his mind. "And I do hope you stop listening to your subordinates this much." He turns to Harry. "Do you see yourself at the same level as my daughter, D'Angelo? Just because of what happened at the Ball? Because of the traditional?"
Harry's heart beats faster at that.
"Father-"
"Because I want you to know, D'Angelo," He points a finger at Harry, "if you even try using that in your favor I'll have you sacked back to Rome in a blink."
"I would never, sir." He says sharply, hiding his anger the best he can.
"I sure hope so! You don't actually think I could accept you with my daughter, do you?"
It hurts.
"I don't have any interest towards Head Riddle in that way, sir."
"I would like you two to stop talking about me as if I'm not here." Hermione says angrily, standing up.
"Sit down!" Tom Riddle's voice echoes in the room. "Now."
Hermione doesn't obey and they continue to stare at each other with steely gazes.
"I'm not a child anymore, father."
Harry never heard her voice this… broken. And he feels a sudden urge to hug her, make her feel better, tell her it doesn't matter what Tom Riddle thinks or how he treats her-
Riddle sighs and snorts a laugh. "Very well, I know. Sit down, please, Hermione." She hesitates for a second and then sits back down, crossing her legs, her expression sour. "D'Angelo, I apologize for the way I expressed myself." He raises a hand and fetches his glass back, taking a sip. "I'll be clear. Investigating in Muggle London is out of question. Do you understand?"
Harry wets his lips. "Yes, sir."
Hermione mumbles an answer similar to his.
"Good. Now, I'm glad we're here, it's a great opportunity to talk about what happened at the Ball-"
"Nothing happened at the Ball." Hermione cuts him. "There's nothing we need to discuss."
Riddle makes a face of impatience at her. "D'Angelo, you do know what that dance meant for you two, don't you?"
Harry nods curtly. "Yes, sir."
"And I do hope you have no intention in acting on it, I mean, you simply kissed her forehead and I took that as a sign of… respect."
Hermione clicks her tongue and Harry clears his throat. He had no idea what he was doing at the time. But he nods again.
"Good. Now, Pettigrew and his family are all over me questioning what happened. You can imagine how that is annoying me. The same way, the Blacks thought you and Sally had a nice thing going on, D'Angelo, but after the dance is like everyone lost it." He shakes his head, taking another sip. Harry dares looking at Hermione. She's looking back at him. It's awkward. "Now, D'Angelo, I want to know, will you still pursue Miss Black?"
He feels his mouth dry. It's hard to answer… "Yes, sir. I like her very much."
"Very well. Hermione, what about you and Asmodeus?"
"You should ask him." She's furious.
"I'm asking you."
"Things are great between us, father. Asmo is taking really good care of your daughter." She sneers at him and Harry presses his lips together, feeling all kinds of things. This conversation surely took a wrong turn. A terrible turn. At the moment he wished he could be anywhere else than hearing Hermione insinuating her sex life with Pettigrew is great.
"Well, good." He says again. "So, for the sake of us all, I'm inviting the Blacks and the Pettigrews for a dinner at the Manor. Of course D'Angelo is invited and this way we can put any doubt to rest."
"Perfect." Hermione stands.
"You can leave." Riddle says and Harry stands too.
He and Hermione exit the room as fast as possible and his chest hurts a little when she walks away, taking a different path than him.
Ginny is scribbling away in front of him.
She took Ron's desk for reasons Harry doesn't know or mind. But he's been useless since the meeting with Riddle. Unable to focus or even pretend, he's been drumming his fingers on the desk, standing and walking around in a nervous pace and drinking water like crazy. Hermione has left the Ministry and Harry has no idea where she went, which makes him… anxious.
"Could you stop? You're driving me crazy." Ginny mumbles, not raising her eyes from what she's doing. "Or at least choose just one thing to do obsessively?"
He stops his fingers on the desk and sighs heavily. "Sorry. I just- Our meeting with the Minister didn't go well."
She finally turns her attention to him, her eyes narrowing. "So, Hermione really went through with it. With your idea."
He's not sure how he feels that Hermione and Ginny surely talked about this at some point. "Yeah."
"She really does take your ideas into consideration…"
"Hermione is fair, Ginny. She takes all our ideas into consideration."
Snorting a laugh, Ginny leans back on her chair. "You're so clueless, D'Angelo." He doesn't like the way she looks at him, as if she knows something he doesn't. Which is probably true. "Let's just say she likes your ideas more."
He shakes his head and says nothing. The path this conversation is taking dangerously feels like a trap. Ginny sighs, going back to her things.
But after a while, she says, "It was a great idea, though. The whole going into Muggle London and stuff." She shrugs. "Honestly, if I were Hermione I would have done it without asking for permission."
Harry looks up at her. Ginny is staring back at him.
He clears his throat. "Do you… know of other people who might do the same as you?"
She presses her lips together. "My husband supports me in everything I do. My brother not so much, but I know that in this particular case, he would."
Harry raises both eyebrows. "Interesting."
"Indeed."
They keep looking at each other. Both thinking the same thing. Harry chooses to change the subject for now. "Ginny, I know you're pretty close to Sally-"
"Ah! Be honest with me, Harry, after the Ball-"
"Look," He raises a hand, "I… when I danced with Hermione, I had no idea what was happening." She makes a face at him. "I'm serious. You do remember that I didn't even know how to dance the traditional!"
She tilts her head. "Go on."
"I don't want to hurt Sal. I like her, Ginny." He gives her a pointed look. "I want to make things right, the dance meant nothing and I want your help to make her talk to me again. I mean, I tried reaching out, but she's been avoiding me."
Ginny nods, but her eyes are on something behind Harry, and he turns to see Hermione standing there. Her expression is neutral. Empty. "D'Angelo, can you send this out for me?" She hands him a letter and Harry frowns, but agrees. There's a beat where he considers asking for a minute with her at her office, but he stops himself.
Hermione nods to Ginny and someone calls to her at a nearby desk. She goes and Ginny says, "Look, Harry, come by my house tomorrow night, we can have a nice dinner, I'll call Sal and you get your chance to make out with her and set things right. Deal?"
He opens a side smile. "Deal. Thanks."
She just waves a hand, and Harry lowers his eyes to the letter. It's not addressed. He looks around for Hermione but she already vanished and he makes a face, not understanding. Then, a phrase appears on the blank envelope.
Act normally.
He clears his throat, and says, "I'll just send this out." He shows the letter but Ginny barely pays him any attention. He's already up, walking to the stairs. Of course they have the elevator, but he finds the stairs more soothing. It's rare for people to take them, so, all alone, he stops a few steps up from the Auror floor and examines the envelope.
I thought this would be a nice way for us to talk. Look inside.
There's a coin. One Harry has never seen. But it's pure gold with intrinsic patterns on one side and the Uroboros at the other. He moves it between his fingers.
It's untraceable. I have one too. We can use it to meet at any hour.
And as a demonstration, the coin gets as cold as a cube of ice in his hand and a phrase appears inside the Uroboros' circle. It reads 'Head Auror Office - now'
If you rub your thumb over it, you'll be transported to the place-
He doesn't even finish reading and is already rubbing his thumb over the location. It's much like the sensation of a Portkey. He blinks and he's already inside her office. Hermione is watching him. She's standing by her shelf and he gulps.
Raising the coin he says, "Nice." She tilts her head. "But why?"
"I thought it might be useful." She walks closer to him with her arms crossed. "Since the Ball my father has been watching us more closely… Asmo too. With the coin we can meet and talk more freely."
He narrows his eyes at her. "Talk? You mean fuck?"
She clicks her tongue. "That too."
Harry snorts a laugh, looking down. Then he gulps, "Yeah, I don't know about that." She cocks her head. "I mean, after the meeting with your father I…"
She purses her lips and moves her hand. Harry hears the door locking. And she comes to him, stopping an inch away. "Look," Her voice is low. "Forget about that whole meeting. Seriously."
"Hermione-"
"Harry." She says firmly. "What my father said changes nothing between us. We're having fun, aren't we?"
He purses his lips. "If this blows up, I'm the one losing my position here." As he says the words he realizes they're very true. And it's an absurd that it took him weeks to think about this. He can't keep meeting her, fucking her. If Riddle finds out, Harry's plans are over… his revenge a complete failure because of Hermione. He takes a step back and she frowns.
"No one will find out."
"I can't take the risk." He says in a low voice. "You shouldn't either."
She looks shocked. Clearly it's a surprise for her. And if it was up to Harry's wishes, he would never stop this between them, but he needs to think about the real reason why he's there. Hermione looks down, resigned. She nods.
"Okay. I understand. You're right."
He presses his lips to stop him from taking it all back. Harry extends the coin to her. But she shakes her head and moves to close his hand around the coin with hers. They both hold their breathes.
"Keep it." She says. "It'll be useful, I'm sure. There are some things I want to investigate on my own and I hope I can count on you to help me." He raises an eyebrow but nods. "Here," She opens his hand and moves closer, "Let me show you how to use it." He tries not reacting at her proximity. "You have to use a simple spell binding the location to the coin if you want to, but not necessarily, we can always apparate to the place. To engrave into the coin you need to use Insculpo." Harry nods, understanding. "We can also talk through it if we want to."
"Okay." He clears his throat and moves away, running a hand through his hair. He makes a face at her and pockets his hands, ready to leave.
"Harry," She calls, "Don't let things get awkward between us, please." He widens his eyes at the request. Hermione shrugs, "I mean, I like your company." She grits her teeth, as if it takes a lot to say the words. "And we work pretty well together, it would be a shame to waste that just because we… had casual sex."
He nods, agreeing. "You're right. It won't be awkward. I promise."
She opens a tight smile. "Good. I'll see when my father wants to have dinner."
Just with a curt nod, he leaves the room and glances at his watch. It's time to head home and he's glad. Suddenly being there is too oppressing.
November 30th, 2005
Draco and Ginny's
"Are you sure?" Sally asks for the second time. "Because I totally understand if things changed for you, Harry. I'm not mad or anything, but what happened was a big deal-"
He raises a hand. "No, listen," He takes her hand in his, inconveniently thinking it's not as soft as Hermione's. "It was not a big deal. In Italy we don't care about these traditions so I wasn't raised with that in mind, and believe me, it makes a huge difference, because it was just a dance. Hermione will certainly marry Asmodeus and she doesn't care about this kind of beliefs." He tries reasoning with her.
Sally tilts her head. "It's kinda of uncommon to have the perfect harmony, Harry." He sets his jaw. He hates how people keep saying this. "My parents had it, you know?" He denies, interested. He remembers the way Eleonora talked about the dance like it was no big deal. "And what they share is… special. I don't wanna take that away from you. We both know our Patronus didn't even like each other that much." He snorts a laugh and she does too, moving a bit closer to him. "And I saw what happened with your lion and her serpent." His heart beats faster. "You were too focused on each other to see it, but…" She clicks her tongue, "It's kinda of amazing how everyone began to clap without even noticing, because it was like you two bewitched the whole ballroom with your… connection."
Harry decides he won't win this argument with words.
Taking a step to her, he cups her face and kisses her. It's a nice kiss, good. Sally doesn't resist his tongue invading her mouth and by the way she fists his t-shirt, he knows things will be fine between them. Which is perfect to get his plans back on track. They separate and he smiles to her.
"I want to leave this whole dance thing behind us. Is that possible? Can we move on?"
She nods, biting her lower lip and smiling. Sally kisses him again, this time more fiercely and possessively. Harry holds back a moan when her hand moves up his back under his t-shirt. He fists her hair and moves to kiss her neck, making a huge effort not to think of Hermione. It's maddening how easily she invades his thoughts.
He stops.
It feels wrong to be kissing Sally. But she doesn't seem to notice his internal debate.
Smiling she takes his hand and they head back to the dinning room.
Draco, Ginny, Ron and Luna are talking excitedly. So far Harry can't deny he's having an amazing night. They're fun. It was a bit awkward when he arrived because Sally kept avoiding him, but after a while she got tired of ignoring him and they began to talk. Ron and Luna got there a bit late, but when they all began to drink a bit more, laughter and stories about their youth filled the dinning room.
The occasion left Harry a bit homesick. It's true he didn't have a lot of friends in Rome because his life revolved around one thing only: the revenge; But even so, he made some good and important friends who he misses dearly. They didn't understand his decision to move to London, but they supported him nonetheless, except… someone he would rather forget.
At one moment Sally got up to fetch another bottle of wine and Harry knew it was the perfect opportunity to talk with her.
And now, as they sit back down, he knows Ginny will bring up the reason which got them into this dinner in the first place.
Taking a sip on her wine, Ginny says, "There's something we need to discuss."
Draco turns to her, alarmed. "Is everything okay?" He puts a hand on her shoulder and Ginny smiles at him.
"It is. But," She raises a finger, her eyes on Harry now. He nods to her. "I was talking to Harry yesterday and we kinda of had an idea."
"Oh, I don't like the sound of this." Ron mumbles.
"Look," Harry begins, "I told Hermione I thought we should investigate in Muggle London."
"You did?" Draco says and when Harry confirms, he whistles, widening his eyes at Ginny who makes a face at him.
"And what did she say?" Ron asks.
"She said it was a good idea, but that the Minister would never accept it. And we had a meeting with him yesterday. Indeed, he didn't like it very much, to put it mildly."
Draco snorts. "Of course. I mean, just a foreigner to think that Tom Riddle would even-" He stops and shakes his head. "It amazes me that Hermione actually went through with it."
"She just thought it was a good idea." Harry reinforces.
"Yeah, but mate," Ron begins, "it's not an idea which you actually take to the Minister. It takes balls to do that."
Harry snorts.
"Always a Gryffindor, right?" Ginny asks Ron directly and they nod their heads, smiling.
Clicking his tongue, Harry continues, "Regardless, if we can't do it formally…"
Ginny completes for him, "Let's go rogue, people."
Ron shakes his head, Draco chuckles. Luna smiles and Sally is uncharacteristically quiet by Harry's side. Ginny just opens a wide smile.
"I'm in." Harry says, drinking some wine.
"Well," Draco says, "Being the perpetrator's husband, I don't think I have a choice, do I?" He raises an eyebrow to Ginny and she shakes her head.
Ron sighs. "I think it's a terrible idea. Horrible." He's serious and Harry narrows his eyes when he turns to Luna. But Ron's wife smiles to him, nodding and shrugging. They communicate something with their eyes.
"What's going on?" Ginny asks, her eyes on her brother. Sally moves forward on her chair, her eyes on Luna. Harry feels something important is happening, but he has no clue what it is.
"We were going to wait," Luna says, still smiling, "but since we're here…" She takes a deep breath, Ron is holding her hand, "I'm pregnant!"
Harry opens his mouth. He's the only one who doesn't burst out in exclamations.
All the others are circling Luna to give her a hug, but he stays put. He feels warm inside, happy for them. But at the same time, it's like he's watching from behind a glass. He doesn't actually belong here. He's not a close friend. Surely not one who deserves hearing about her pregnancy before their parents.
But as he observes their happiness, he finds himself standing from the chair and going to them. He hugs Luna tightly. He feels sincerity in her embrace and in the way she considers him part of the group. Then when he embraces Ron with their manly pats on the shoulders, he smiles with his heart and eyes.
Regardless the situation, a child is… love. Pureness. Good.
When they all settle back, Ron says, "I'm not sure about this because now that Luna is pregnant, I mean, I have to think twice before getting myself into any danger." Ginny makes a face but nods, understanding, "If we get caught, we're fucked."
"But what's the worst that could happen to us?" Harry asks. There's a heavy silence. "Come on, we're Aurors, Ministry's employees. And we're investigating-"
"Doesn't matter." Draco cuts him. "We would be sent to Azkaban."
"Are you bloody serious?" Harry asks.
"It's the punishment for disobeying a direct order, Harry." Ron answers.
Harry snorts, shaking his head, not believing what he's hearing. "This is crazy." He says in a low voice.
"Yeah, well. That's why we're discussing it." Ginny says. "I don't know about you, but I wanna know who's doing this. I wanna know who's behind these attacks. And I'm willing to dig. We can go disguised to Muggle London, take turns, no one will know. I'm sure we can pull it off mostly because it's such a terrible idea that only crazy people would go through with it." She shrugs.
Harry chuckles. "I'm still in."
"I'm in too." Draco says and Ginny gives him a peck.
Ron sighs again. He's looking at Luna and she's just waiting for him to decide. "Bloody hell. I'm in."
And they toast to their decision. But there's a voice in Harry's mind that… "Don't you consider telling Hermione? Asking for her help?"
They all look at him like he's the craziest person on the planet. Then, it's Sally who laughs loudly. The others chuckle.
"Harry, mate, Hermione is Tom Riddle's daughter. And don't get me wrong, I'm her best friend and I love her, but… she lives by his image." Ron says.
Harry nods but grits his teeth. It's not the Hermione he knows. The Hermione he knows helped him rescue mother and daughter…
But he lets it go.
After they agree that Ginny and Draco will take the first shift and head to Muggle London just after their hours at the Ministry, the subject changes. And even when Harry laughs and shares a few stories from Rome, his mind still brings Hermione to the surface at all times.
December 5th, 2005
Muggle London
It's a busy street and he's waiting for Ron. Harry sighs, leaning against a brick wall. He can see the store they're supposed to go in interested in buying guns. In London, you can have a gun with a proper license. For the past few days, Ginny and Draco have been visiting these stores and from what they gathered, this one is a strong candidate. They saw the same bullets exposed inside, which they had a difficult time seeing in other stores.
Now, with his hair magically dyed blond, a matching beard and black eyes, Harry goes over what he plans to do. They want to be sure the store sells the guns and its matching bullets and maybe steer the conversation to a place where they can discover something unusual.
A man stops by his side. Black long hair and big glasses. He's sure it's Ron from the way he stands, but nonetheless they say a few words to check.
"Bloody hell, mate." Ron says, "let's get over with this."
Crossing the street, they enter the place. It smells awfully and Harry makes a face. There's only one person inside talking to a salesman who is the personification of a stereotype. Greasy hair, unkempt beard, a protuberant belly and glasses at the tip of his nose.
He looks up to see the new costumers. The store is filled with guns hanging on the walls and bullets exposed under a glass counter. "Hello there, just give me a minute." The man says not so gently and goes back to talking to the woman in front of him.
Harry and Ron wander inside.
Harry finally spots a case with the same bullets that were shot at the Fair. He points them out to Ron and they share a look. "Hey, mate," Harry says to the man, probably the owner, "We just want some information on these bullets."
But before they can do anything else, the air inside the store changes and something strange happens… a sudden silence. They look up at the man. He's frozen. His mouth open mid sentence.
Harry and Ron move, fast, but the woman is faster. She raises a hand. "Stop. It's me." Even with the blue hair and emerald eyes - just like mine - Harry recognizes her immediately.
"Hermione, what the hell?" He asks.
"I should be asking the same thing!" There's fire in her eyes. She's furious. "We'll have a lot of time to talk about how you acted behind my back, but right now, we need to leave. I already got what we wanted from him. In a few minutes he'll unfroze." She moves to the door and exits with firm steps.
"Shit." Ron says, but follows her outside.
Sighing, Harry goes after them, moving to an alley. They stop there. He can feel how truly angry Hermione is and he purses his lips. They promised it wouldn't be awkward between them, but they barely shared a glance since that day. Now he feels suffocated being this close to her.
"Where to?" She asks Ron with an eyebrow raised.
"Draco and Ginny's."
Clicking her tongue, she nods and they all apparate.
It's chaos.
Draco and Ginny weren't expecting Hermione and when she revealed herself just after apparating inside, she lost it. They all tried defending themselves, but she screamed and told them they were being inconsequential. She yelled at the top of her lungs how in the world four of her best Aurors could go behind her back while she proceeded to ask if she was a terrible Head Auror.
They tried reasoning with her, but Hermione had none of it. She told them it was ridiculous to take such a risk and they said she was doing the same, but she argued that it was different for her if she got caught.
And when she finally took a breath and Harry thought her outburst was over, she turned to him instead and gave a piece of her mind.
"You were there with me at the meeting, D'Angelo! You saw how my father reacted and you went through with this? What the fuck were you thinking? All of you?" She turns to the others briefly. But her anger is directed at him now and she steps closer, her eyes wide. "Do you have any idea what your punishment might be? Fuck, Harry!" She explodes. "You gave the idea! He said to you it was out of question! Not to mention that you're a foreigner and after what happened at the Ball my father wouldn't think twice in locking you away!" She grunts. "It's like you lost your capability to think!"
"It's not like that, Hermione! We all agreed we couldn't let that pass-"
"I don't fucking care!" She yells to his face. "It's your life on the line! What's so difficult to understand?"
"But who exactly would punish me? You're the Head Auror! Are you handing our heads in a platter or something?" His voice is higher than he expected.
Pinching the bridge of her nose, she chuckles humorlessly. "Sometimes I forget how innocent you can be, D'Angelo. I'm Head Auror, but my father is the law. You think he doesn't track the Aurors in a way? You think it's truly all only in my hands?" She sets her jaw, her chin trembling.
"I-" He sighs heavily. "It shouldn't be like this. The Minister can't put himself above-"
"Stop!" Hermione yells. "I'm serious. Just stop." She hisses. Draco, Ginny and Ron are quiet, watching them with wide eyes.
A silence follows. Harry wants to say all sort of things, but he bites down his tongue. Hermione is pacing with her hands on her waist, looking down at the floor.
Ron clears his throat.
"Hermione," He begins, "it wasn't our intention going behind your back, you know how much we respect you as Head Auror," She snorts, "and as our friend, but we thought you might tell us not to-"
"Obviously!" She hisses and then, a bit calmer, she continues, "I took D'Angelo's idea to my father because I knew it was a good idea. And I knew he would reject it." She scoffs. "But it was my intention in pursuing this since the beginning. And fuck, guys, you know the risk, you know you can't! If my neck is on the line I have ways of escaping, because, after all, I am my father's daughter." She looks at them pointedly. "But I wouldn't stand something happening to you. So," She exhales, "please, next time, talk to me first, okay?"
Harry chews the insides of his cheeks, glued on the spot while the others hug Hermione, apologizing and agreeing with her, but also pointing out that they thought she would side with her father. Harry on the other hand, never thought that. He knew Hermione supported the idea. He saw how she talked with Riddle.
She turns to him, but he doesn't move. He's angry and glad to see her there, happy to know that she went after this even after the meeting. As usual, it's hard to tell exactly how he feels.
"You," She says to him, "you're the one who needs to be extra careful, D'Angelo. Don't be an idiot."
"Sometimes I wonder what I'm even doing here, then." He says sharply.
"I wonder that myself." She says back to him.
They hold their gazes.
He never wanted her more than now.
Setting his jaw he purses his lips. Hermione crosses her arms, raising an eyebrow.
"My father wants us to have dinner at the Manor in about a week. Be there." Hermione says.
"What if I don't want to?"
She narrows her eyes. "Then prepare to leave London." She shrugs.
"Errr," Draco interrupts them. "Yeah, as fascinating as it is to watch you two, Hermione, did you discover something at the store?"
She blinks and her eyes finally leave Harry's when she turns to Draco.
"Actually, I did."
"Well?" Ginny prods.
Hermione smiles. Not a nice smile. "You don't really think I'm sharing after this shit you pulled with me, do you?"
"Ah, come on!" Ginny says being followed by the others.
Hermione just shakes her head. Now Harry can see a true smile playing on her lips. "I'll tell you when the time comes." She winks at them.
And then, glaring at Harry, she apparates.
Harry's flat
His eyes scan the wall. The coin Hermione gave him on his fingers, being manipulated from his index to his pinkie with his thumb.
It's pretty late, but he's still angry. It's an odd feeling because…
Harry's not angry with what Hermione said to him. He's angry because she went through with his plan all by herself. He feels… left out. It was my idea.
He bites his lower lip and raises the coin to his eyes. Using the spell she instructed him with, he writes down in the middle of the Uroboros the following:
Are you home? Alone?
Ignoring how fast his heart is beating while he waits for an answer that might never come, he thinks about the Aurors who killed his parents. When it comes to this, he's failing miserably. It sucks because the few people who might know something are the ones he can't ask or else they'll suspect his questions-
Yes.
Pocketing the coin and taking a deep breath, he apparates to her front door.
Harry knocks.
She opens the door shaking her head in disbelief.
"I wanna talk." He says.
"Good. I do too."
And she moves to the side to let him in. Harry walks slowly, his senses gradually being assaulted by her presence. Hermione motions to her living room and Crookshanks comes swaying to Harry. He can't help opening a tiny smile at her face of utter indignation with her cat. As his fingers gently caress the cat, Hermione sits on the couch.
"Where's Pettigrew?" Harry asks, not looking at her. He noticed that Pettigrew vanished from the Ministry…
"On a mission." It's all she says.
Harry grits his teeth and fetching the cat just to annoy her, he sits on a chair in front of Hermione.
He's direct. "It was my idea, you really thought I wouldn't pursue it, Hermione?"
She leans back with her arms crossed. "I just imagined you would be smarter."
He makes a face. "You know, if you knew I was going to do something, why didn't you ask me to go with you?"
She frowns, a bit taken by surprise. "You… wanted to investigate with me?"
He tilts his head, releasing Crookshanks. "Hermione, of course I did. When I gave you the idea I imagined from the start that we would do this together."
Hermione looks down, her eyes following the orange cat while he claws at the rug. "We can't be seen together outside the Ministry, Harry. I told you, my father has his eyes on us."
"But you went to my flat-"
"Yeah, and I had to pull all kinds of shit to dismiss some wizards that were following me."
He opens his mouth. He had no idea. "But… I'm here now." He states.
"Yes, well. The protection around my house is impenetrable. It's like my father's floor at the Ministry. It requires some clearance."
He smiles. His eyes roaming over her. She looks hot in her sweatpants and t-shirt. Hermione narrows her eyes, noticing his intense gaze. Harry clears his throat. "Are you sharing with me what you found at the gun store?"
She moves forward, resting her elbows on her knees. She's looking at him strangely. And just when he tilts his head in question, she takes out her wand and binds him to the chair. Harry tries freeing himself but the ropes around his hands and legs are incredibly tight. Hermione takes his wand from his waist.
He stops fighting. His eyes on her. Hermione sighs.
"Now, D'Angelo." Her voice is low, dangerous. "We're going to have a nice talk. And you're going to explain to me why you went through my stuff inside my office… and especially why you're interested in the Potters' Persecution." She opens an ironic smile. "Is that clear?"
His only reaction is a nod.
Fuck.
END OF PART ONE