Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 have been revised in some places. Basically just the ages of H/Hr when they got engaged/married, and the D/G relationship have been changed. (they are still married). Please go and read the Prologue and Chapter 2 again, so this chapter won't confuse you. I'm sorry for messing up. This is my first fanfic and everything.
A/N- Ah, I got this up sooner than I thought. Thanks for all the reviews!
Oh I should have done this in chapter one. This story is dedicated to my friend Romy. From the beginning, she has given me her support and encouragement, and without her, I probably never would have started writing this. So thanks a lot Romy!!!
And in a way, this chapter is also dedicated to my little sister, Shannon. Though she can be a pain, I still love her!!
And big thanks to my beta, Matt, for all his great ideas to make the chapters a little more interesting. I really appreciate it!!!
Alright, on with the chapter…
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Hermione awoke around 8am. For a moment, she didn't know where she was, and scanned the room. Oh yea, I'm at Ginny's house.
She quickly showered and made her way downstairs, where she was greeted with an amusing sight. Ginny was bending in front of her daughter's high chair, trying to get the tiny girl to eat.
"Come on Shannon… eat," Ginny said as she stuck the spoon in Shannon's mouth.
Shannon wouldn't have it. She would make a sour face and pushed the spoon away.
"Oh no, you don't." Ginny was getting impatient. "You will eat this. I said so and I'm your mother."
Shannon still resisted, but resistance wouldn't stop Ginny. She started tickling the child, until Shannon started to laugh and open her mouth. Ginny smiled as she stuck the spoon into Shannon's mouth.
But Shannon wasn't going to let her mother win. The laughter stopped and a second later, the baby's food was out of her mouth and on to Ginny's face, which now had no smile.
Ginny dropped the spoon, and with her lips pressed together, she took a towel and wiped her face.
"Fine, fine you win. Have it your way."
Hermione had to laugh at the look on Ginny's face. Ginny always had trouble getting Shannon to eat.
With the sound of laughter, Ginny turned around. "Yea, go ahead and laugh Hermione. Maybe you should try it."
Hermione put a hand up. "No, no it's fine. I didn't realize little Shannon could be such a trouble-maker."
"She gets it from her father," Ginny said with a sigh.
Hermione went up to Shannon and bent down. "Are you sure she doesn't get it from her mother?"
"I was not a trouble-maker!" Ginny said indignantly, as she turned around and headed towards the sink.
Hermione smiled as she looked back at Shannon, and started playing with the little girl's fingers.
"I envy you Ginny," Hermione said softly.
Ginny turned around. "Why?"
"Because… you've got a darling baby and… a husband that loves you," she replied, letting go of Shannon's fingers and standing up to face Ginny. "You have what I've always wanted."
"Hermione…"
"But I guess we don't always get what we wish for," Hermione said quickly, putting her hands on the counter.
"Hermione," said Ginny as she walked over to Hermione. "You'll get those things. You'll have a child, and… you already have the other one."
Hermione pressed her lips together. "No, I don't."
Part of Ginny wanted to scream at her friend, while the other part understood where Hermione was coming from. But she wanted to convince her that Harry still loved her, even if he didn't show it. But she knew it wasn't her place, no matter how much she wanted to.
Draco chose to come in at that moment with the paper and plopped it on the counter. "They found the killer."
Ginny and Hermione quickly turned to him. "What?" the both asked, and Ginny looked down at the paper, that had Parvati and Pansy on the front.
"They found the man who gave Pansy the drug. His name is Carl Benner, and he's from London," Draco said.
"A muggle?" Hermione asked.
Draco shook his head. "No, a squib."
"When did they catch him?"
"This morning around 5. They've been questioning him ever since, but he keeps denying having anything to do with the murders."
"Oh, I should go down there and talk to that… that no good… prick!" Ginny said, not looking very happy.
Draco raised his eyebrows. "And what would you say to him, m'dear?"
"I'd say that he ruined many people's lives- not just the husbands and little Frank, but all of us… and that I lost a good deal of sleep!" Ginny slammed a hand onto the counter.
Now, only one of Draco's eyebrows was up while the other one was down as he shared a look with Hermione.
"Um, Ginny, "Hermione said. "I don't think he'll really care… about any of those."
"Well, Hermione," Draco said. "He might just care that she lost sleep."
**********
"He sure keeps his flat clean and organized…" Fred said as he and other men looked around Carl Benner's flat.
'Clean and organized' was an understatement. The place looked ransacked, but they soon realized that it was probably always like this. Dishes were all over, as well as papers. There was an old worn out brown couch and a chair that need serious stitching.
They had found Carl's roommate at the place, Nicholas Shamer. With bloodshot eyes, a white undershirt, a big belly, and the same looking sliver earring in his left ear that Carl had, he denied having anything to do with Carl's 'business.'
"I swear, the past couple of days I was in Paris. I was with a woman... Shelly something. She'll tell you," the big man said.
Fred smirked. "Hey Smith, look up Shelly Something in Paris. That ought to clear things up."
**********
Fred was now at a wizard ear piercing shop. This was where Carl and Nicholas got their silver earring, and Fred wanted to know what it meant. He had finally noticed that on the silver earring, there was a picture of a snake, and it gave him the creeps.
He was still looking around the place when an older man came out of the backroom. "Can I help you?"
Fred nodded. "Yea, I'm looking for a certain earring. It's silver."
The man laughed. "We got a lot of silver earrings here."
"Well, men from some kind of gang would probably wear it, and engraved in the earring is a snake."
The man pointed behind him on the wall. "Like that back there?"
Fred leaned in a little more to see the silver earring more clearly. "Yep that's the one. Do a lot of people get those?"
"What are you? Some kind of Auror?"
"I work for the Ministry of Magic. I'm investigating two murders."
"Muggle-borns?"
"No… both purebloods. Why did you say muggle-borns?"
The man shrugged. "You're investigating two murders, you're interested in that silver earring. Those kind of people only kill muggle-born witches."
Fred stared at him. "What kind of people."
"I wouldn't really know what to call them. They have to kill at least one muggle-born witch and they're in the gang and get the silver earring… it's a cult."
"What are their reasons for the killings?"
The man raised an eyebrow before talking. "Well, there are a few. One could be that they're born into a pureblood family, yet don't have magical powers come naturally to them. They get envious of muggle-born witches that are powerful. Another reason could be they're following Salazar Slytherin's lead… Kill all muggle-borns. That's probably the reason there's a snake on the earring."
Fred's insides turned as he heard this. He felt that at anytime, he might just throw up.
**********
Marina Johnson walked into the Auror department with lunch. Though she was only 75 years old, she still had her 'young' side. Harry saw her walk in and hurried over to help her.
"Her Aunt Mari, let me help you."
She never minded be pampered by these boys… it could be a lot of fun. Though everyone called her "Aunt Mari,' the only person who could legally call her that was Angelina Weasley, her niece. She started helping out with food at the Ministry after Angelina married Fred.
"Alrighty," she said as she handed him a bag.
"So, what's on the menu tonight?"
Marina grinned. "Italian tonight."
Harry looked as though he could faint. "Oh Aunt Mari, you're the best."
Her smile grew wider as she followed him further into the room, where all the other Auror's all greeted her with smiles. Marina had the reputation for 'mothering' the Auror's, and none of them minded in the least.
Remus came up and gave her a big hug. "How are you Aunt Mari?"
"Oh I'm fine. What about you?"
"Well, I'll live. There have been better days though," Remus said with a sigh.
"How are Blaise and Neville doing?" she asked both Harry and Remus.
Harry answered. "They're still bad. Neville is doing better than Blaise, but they're both not in a good state."
"Well it shouldn't be a shocker. No one wants to lose their wife… in any sort of way," Marina said, looking at Harry when she said it.
Harry looked right back at her. "And what exactly do you mean by that?" he asked, though he had a feeling.
"Oh you know. Neville and Blaise lost the love of their life by death. They had no choice. But you do Harry. You're not losing Hermione by death, but of your own choice."
Harry couldn't believe Marina was talking to him about this. She knew that Hermione kicked him out, not the other way around. "Aunt Mari, you know it's not my fault."
"So Hermione kicked you out. Have you ever tried to work things out with her?"
"She should be the one trying to work things out with me!"
Remus just stood there and looked back and forth between the two, wondering if he should intervene, or leave them to settle it on their own. He chose the latter.
Remus cleared his throat. "I'll be right back."
Marina looked over at Remus as he left and let out a sigh. She knew she was being a bit too hard on Harry, but she didn't want Harry and Hermoine to go through the rest of their lives alone.
She looked back at the red faced Harry. "Harry… I'm sorry. I'm just stressed with the murders, and… I'm just scared. I want you and Hermione to be happy together… again."
Harry was still upset, but went up to hug her. "It's alright Aunt Mari… It's alright." But his mind was still lingering on the conversation, and he was far from alright.
**********
"Aunt Mari said to come and get you. The food is done…Italian," Draco grinned and rubbed his hands together.
"I'm not hungry," Harry said. "Draco, what do you and Ginny think of me now?"
Draco stopped rubbing and grinning at that question. "Where did that come from?"
"Hermione stayed with you guys. She probably started to rub off on you."
"If we were to have an opinion on you, it'd come from you, not her."
Harry started to get a little angry. "And what is your opinion of me?"
"Well, maybe that you've forsaken you first true love."
"Why does is seem that everyone is blaming me? I've said it before… she kicked me out! She didn't want the counseling, she doesn't want to talk about reconciliation- I'm not sure what she wants anymore… perhaps she wants blood. But I can't control this anymore."
Draco stared at him. "You do know that Hermione despises drinking, right?"
"And what does that have to do with anything?"
"Well, you're not making your relationship any better, Harry."
**********
Hermione had no idea why the shop was so busy today. She expected most people to be at home and never want to come out, at least for today. The funerals for Parvati and Pansy were later that afternoon, and she was a little nervous about seeing Harry. She figured most people probably just wanted a book to keep their mind off the recent tragic events.
She saw Lavender come in with a tired look on her face. "The Ministry let you go?"
"I would hex them if they didn't," Lavender said as she dropped her purse on the chair. "It's a nightmare over there. I interviewed clients all night, and was in court this morning, but because of the funerals, the judge recessed it for the rest of the day. I wondered if you wanted to go with me."
"Oh, um, I can't. I'm going with Harry." Hermione said as she stared down at the book in her hand.
"With Harry?"
Hermione looked up at the surprised look on her friend's face. "Well, he asked, and I said yes. I figured it was the best thing to do…"
"Very interesting," Lavender said with a smile. "Do you think he's finally coming around?"
"To be honest, I really don't know. You know how he's always been a protector of people, but I'm just confused with it all right now."
Lavender was still smiling. "Well, sometimes it takes murder to make us realize what we don't have, or what we can't live without."
"Well, you shouldn't get your hopes up. I'm not."
"I beg to differ on that Hermione."
Hermione stared at Lavender straight in the eye. "What kind of marriage would we have if we got back together over fear of murder?"
Lavender thought on that. "Well, you didn't marry out of fear. There was something else there."
Hermione broke into a small smile. "We got married cause we never wanted to be apart from each other. I always wanted to be with him, no matter where I was."
Lavender knew that. Whenever she was with Hermione back when Harry and Hermione were only dating, all Hermione could think of and talk about was Harry. She started to think she would be sick of Harry before she saw him again.
"Well," Hermione said. "I better get changed before Harry gets here and close the shop. I'll see you at the funeral. Maybe I should have said no him."
Lavender picked up her purse. "No, it's good that you said yes. Everything will be fine, Hermione. You'll see."
**********
Harry walked through the door of the bookshop. "Are you ready?" he asked Hermione as he saw her at a bookshelf.
"Just a minute," she replied back. She put the last book on the shelf and turned around. "Well, I guess I am now."
Harry just stood there and stared at her. She could even look good when she was going to a funeral. He thought of telling her how great she looked, but decided against it. It wasn't the best time.
But her simple black dress just fit nicely around her body, and her hair was down with soft, brown curls. It was no longer bushy, the way it had been through out school.
She noticed the way he was staring at her, and heat ran up to her cheeks. "Should I change? I mean, is this suitable for a funeral? It's not a fancy dress or anything…"
He shook his head quickly. "No, it's fine." She look's way better then fine.
She nodded. "Yea, well… We better get going."
The funerals were going to be held at Hogwarts. Harry and Hermione would apparate to Hogsmeade.
Harry held on the Hermione's arm as the both apparated. A second later they were standing just outside of Hogsmeade, and they made their way over to Hogwarts.
Hermione was quiet on the first half of their walk. She started talking as they walked up to the castle. "This is just awful. We're supposed to say goodbye to the old, not to young women who should still have years to live."
Harry sighed and said, "I know. We better get inside."
He opened the doors and they walked inside. The place was bursting with people. Probably every wizard and witch in England was there. Harry looked over and spotted Draco. He and Hermione walked up to him.
"Hi Draco," said Hermione. "Where's Ginny?"
"She'll be here soon. I just came early with Shannon to help out."
Hermione looked over her shoulder and saw little Shannon Malfoy being passed around by teenage girls. "Well, we'll save you two a seat. Just point her to us when she gets here," Hermione said as she and Harry walked over to sit down.
But when the music started to play, there was still no sign of Ginny. Eventually, Hermione had to give up the seats she was saving to other people, and when Dumbledore started to speak, she forgot about Ginny. She just sat there in grief, with Harry next to her, holding her hand.
**********
Ginny woke up with a start, and she didn't know what caused her to do so. She looked at the clock hanging on the wall, and gasped when she noticed that the funeral started a while ago.
She heard the back door open.
"Draco," she called. "Honey, I feel asleep while getting ready to go. I'm sorry."
There was no answer to her call.
She got a chill. There was somebody inside her house, and it wasn't Draco. She started to run to the front door, and as she took one quick look behind her shoulder… bang. She felt the impact of something hot go through her as she fell down to the floor. Her head was screaming because of the pain in her back. I've been shot… But I'm not dead… yet.
She stayed motionless on the ground, afraid of what might happen to her next. She then heard him crying. He broke out into an anguish sob as she heard him cry. "Oh, Pen… I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry Pen. Please forgive me."
She started to smell something as it surrounded her, and soon realized that weird smelling liquid had caught on fire and was now surrounding her. She felt energy seeping out of her, and she prepared for death to take her away. Death is but the next great adventure…
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