A.N… I am soooooo sorry for the huge delay yet again in updating this story. I've got a lot going on at the moment with my exams and so forth. I will try and update as fast as I can but its finding the time between studying and crashing out from lack of sleep.
Chapter 7: Dead Give-away
Harry rushed down to Hagrid's cabin. It was after curfew hours but he managed, somehow, to not get caught by Filch. The regular excuse was that he was on Head Boy duties and one from his house wasn't in bed. Got him every time.
Harry pulled his robes around him. It was damn chilly this time of year.
There was a light on in Hagrid's hut, from the gas lantern he kept most likely. Hopefully he'd have a decent fire going a hot cup of coca.
Harry knocked on the wooden door sharply.
The door opened. It was Remus Lupin, Sirius' old friend.
"Harry!" He exclaimed wrapping Harry in a warm hug.
"Remus?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "I thought Sirius would be here actually."
Remus beamed brightly. "He would've but we had a bet. If I beat him at Scrabble he had to clean the Manor.
And I did, so I'm here instead."
Harry laughed. "It's great to see you all the same."
They hugged a manly hug again before entering the small hut.
After a few biscuits and a cup of Hagrid's tea, Harry and Remus had chatted away about almost everything. Hagrid had left not long after Harry's arrival, a job for Dumbledore.
"So," Remus grinned. "Is everybody coming down for New Years then?"
Harry nodded. "I think so. Hermione wants to and Ron doesn't think he'll be staying with his family this year. Bill and Charlie are home and there isn't much room at the Burrow even with the magical extension."
The large clock above the fireplace chimed loudly.
"You'd better be getting back," Remus placed his large cup down on the table and stood up. Harry stood with him and walked to the door.
"I'll be at the Manor on the 28th maybe," Harry gave his friend a hug before leaving.
"See you soon, Harry," Remus waved and closed the door to the small hut.
Harry walked very happily up to the common room. Most of the portraits that were still awake acknowledged him and waved a hello.
He was very happy to be at school. Hogwarts was his home, much more than the Marauder Manor was. Hogwarts had been his first real home, the first place he'd felt entirely welcome.
He spoke the password to the Fat Lady and the portrait swung open. He climbed inside.
"What has it got to do with you anyway?" Harry heard Ginny's voice shouting.
Harry turned the corner to see Lavender, Ginny and Hermione in what seemed to be a ganging up moment on Ron.
"What do you have against him anyway?" Ginny asked again, folding her arms across her chest.
"Gin, he's a bloody Malfoy!" Ron shouted.
Harry realised what the argument was about. He took the incentive the step more into the common room and managed to sit down on one of the large chairs before any other the others spotted him.
His invisibility was short lived however.
"Harry!" Hermione stood up from the sofa and perched herself on the arm of Harry's chair, leaning in to kiss his forehead lovingly. "How was everything?"
"Fine," Harry replied in a whisper. Ginny and Ron were still arguing near to the fireplace. "Remus
wants to know who's coming down to the Marauder Mansion for New Years."
"I'll come if you want," Hermione brushed a stray strand of hair from his forehead. "I'd like
to see it again. That 'tour' you gave me in sixth year didn't quite over all the rooms."
"I kissed him Ron!" Ginny cried throwing her arms in the air. "I kissed him first. Me! Not him! I made the first move!"
"Yeah but…" Ron tried.
Hermione stood up. "Yeah but nothing Ron. It's Ginny's life she can do what she wants."
Ron looked over the Harry, for manly support maybe. "Harry, help me out here mate."
Harry stood up and sighed. "Ron, Ginny's seventeen. If she wants to make her own choices she can. You shouldn't try to stop her."
Ginny and Hermione crossed their arms with a superior air. They'd won.
"But…" Harry sat back down. "I can understand what Ron's saying. Think of the insults and the bullying from our first year and up. All the 'Mudbloods' and 'Weasels'. I don't think any brother would want his younger sister dating someone who'd insulted their family name."
Lavender faced Harry. "What? You can't honestly believe that he hasn't changed even a little since then…"
"I believe he may have," Harry stated. "But you can't deny the fact that his family are a family of Death Eaters. It's a bad crowd to fall into."
"I thought you'd be supportive of me, Harry," Ginny exclaimed walking to the portrait. "But you're just like him." She pointed to Ron. "Always letting stupid squabbles cloud your view of people. Grow up."
Ginny opened the portrait and walked out.
"You really have no clue," Lavender shook her head as she walked up to her dorm room.
Ron sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Hermione?"
Hermione looked at them both with her jaw locked and a down nose expression.
"Why don't you two grow up?" She asked. "You seem to be the only two not doing. Harry…"
She turned to Harry. "I can understand what you're saying Harry, but it's Ginny's life. Ron shouldn't get involved."
"Why?" Harry asked standing up. "It's his 'little' sister getting involved with a family of Death Eaters. He has every right to be cautious and angry. Wouldn't you be?"
"That's the point!" Hermione shouted at her boyfriend. "She's not his 'little' sister anymore. She's seventeen years old, nearly an adult! You can't keep treating her like a child!"
Harry looked at Ron.
Ron walked back up to his dorm room, getting the hint.
"Don't you want to go to bed?" Harry asked Hermione. "It's late already. I really can't
be bothered arguing now."
"No," Hermione stated firmly. "We're going to talk about this."
"It isn't a talk, it's an argument," Harry sat down on the sofa. The common room was now void of anyone except the two.
Hermione sat down next to him. "Please tell me you don't back up Ron."
"I do," Harry looked at her. "I do back him up. He's right. His sister shouldn't be getting involved with someone like that."
"What's got into you? First you understand where Ginny's coming from then you change
sides?"
"Because I can see Ron's point of view. Ginny's like a younger sister to me. I wouldn't want to have her in any unnecessary danger. And the Malfoy's are the unnecessary danger."
"They just don't understand," Ginny said, leaning against Draco's arm. "Big brothers are so
useless."
"Only one's your brother," Draco smiled sweetly, a rare thing that only a few people saw. "Potter's just a close friend. You can't listen to them."
"I know," Ginny relaxed into his arms. "They'll come around eventually."
"Since Lucius' death, I think that the Malfoy's can be a pretty nice crowd now," Hermione sighed, standing up and pacing around near the fireplace. This was the first argument she and Harry had actually had since they're get together, and it wasn't even about them.
"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Harry countered. "Lucius was an evil bastard who wanted nothing more than to see Muggles and Muggle-borns die at the hand of his Master."
"Sometimes I really don't think you understand me," Hermione said in her head.
"I do understand you," Harry replied. "But you're not taking this seriously. Ginny may have her own choice but it think that it's alright for us to point out when she's making the wrong one-"
"But that experience!" Hermione flung her arms in the air. "The experience of making a mistake.
It's not uncommon for people to make the wrong choices before making the right ones."
"Can you honestly say that's helped you?" Harry stood up, standing over her, and yet it still felt like he was looking up to her. "There's never been anyone there to warn you about the dangers of the wrong choice?"
"Of course there has been," Hermione turned away from Harry and crossed her arms. "Lavender and I went through this whole thing with Ginny when she first told us, but the damage was already done. She thinks she's in love with him and to be honest, I believe her."
Harry sat down. "Oh, Merlin. I've got to tell Ron."
"Don't you move!" Hermione pointed at him. "You stay right there. Promise me that you won't
tell Ron."
Harry tried to speak but the words kept falling from his mouth. "Not tell him? H…W…why wouldn't I do that? He deserves to know that his sister falling in love with an power obsessed git!"
"Promise me, Harry," Hermione demanded. "Promise me this or I swear I will never think of you the
same again. You're protecting two people in love from…from almost seven male Weasley's. It's the lesser of
two evils."
Harry buried his face in his hands. "I can't lie to my best friend about…about something as important as
this."
"How many times have you lied to me, though, Harry?" She asked leaning against the wall, watching her boyfriend and love of her life debating over which road to take: lie to his best friend or ruin his other friends relationship, which, in the long run, could possibly seal the Malfoy-Weasley gap.
"What?" Harry looked up. "I…I don't lie to you, Hermione."
Hermione scoffed. "What about when Ron and Lavender first got together? You told me that they hadn't. You tried to protect me from my 'feelings' for Ron. Or did you just try and protect him?"
"Don't bring us into this-" Harry tried, standing up again only to have Hermione turn away from him.
"It needs to be said," She felt tears. Suddenly, she felt very emotional…like she could cry at anything. "Fifth year, when you found out Voldemort was coming after you yet again, you said that there was no threat of Voldemort. You tried to protect me then but you needed me Harry. You needed me then like I need you now.
"I need you to promise me this. I don't know why I need you too, but it just feels like you have too, you have to do it. I don't care about all the things Draco's done or might have done or could possibly be linked back to his father for doing. I care about Ginny and how Ginny feels and if Ginny's in love with him then no one on this planet is going to stop them from being together. I've waited too long to tell you how I feel, and she did the same.
"And I'd die if something tore us apart."
Harry placed his arm around her waist and huddled her back into his chest. He could hear it in her voice, the tears cascading down her cheeks. Hermione wasn't one to cry a lot.
"I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear. "I'm so sorry. Don't cry, please don't cry."
He kissed her head. "You're right, as always, you're right. I'd die if you were taken from me.
Ginny probably feels the same. I'm sorry."
Hermione relaxed in his embrace and turned in his arms to rest her head on his chest, listening to soft lull of his heartbeat.
"I promise I won't tell Ron," Harry smiled, resting his cheek on her head. "It'll all blow
over eventually. Ron will either forget, or get hit with a Bludger…"
Hermione laughed. "I wasn't exactly hoping for amnesia but it would help."
"Nothing's ever as bad as it seems. Ron will have to come to terms with it. Malfoy could have changed, I don't know, only Ginny does, but…you're right. It's her decision not mine."