Oh well, you guys are all too smart for me. Not that I was putting effort into concealing who Harry and Hermione are about to walk in on. Seven....no wait, I have incoming e-mail.....eight. Eight people came right out and guessed correctly on the first try. Kudos to you guys.
And then, just as soon as I sat down to write this chapter, my muse threw a bludger at my head and started yelling at me for making the comment about how there are only going to be 21 or 22 chapters. As I realised shortly thereafter, it's only Christmas holiday in the story right now, whereas the final chapter of the story will include the graduation from Hogwarts. Thus my dilemma. Since I don't want this story to be of the same quality of TTAC, I'm probably going to have to throw in an extra chapter, just stretch the timeline out a little bit. I can see the people complaining now (yeah right ::snicker::) I don't have a whole lot else to blab on this time, so let's keep the story going.
For some reason, my italics don't show up on PK, but do on FF. If anyone can tell me a way to get Italics to show up, it would be much appreciated.
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Chapter 16: Problem Solving
True to the Marauder's Map, Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley were snogging on what looked to be a very comfortable bed as Harry and Hermione stepped in to the Room of Requirement. Seeing that they hadn't noticed the presence of the Head Boy and Girl, Hermione cleared her throat very loudly, causing the teens to jump up, startled.
"Oh, balls," Ginny said paling.
"You know," Hermione said. "I'm not entirely sure whether I should be relieved or ill."
"You could leave us alone and pretend you never saw us here," Draco suggested, though there were traces of fear in his voice.
"Or not," Harry retorted, closing the door. "How about we all talk about how this happened?"
"I don't answer to you, Potter," came the response.
"I could just take fifty points from Slytherin and give you detention," Harry said shrugging.
"Well you'd have to do the same for Ginny, wouldn't you?" Draco said smirking. "And you wouldn't take points from your own house."
"But you know I will," Hermione interjected. "So instead of bickering about it let's sit down and talk like rational people." Draco snorted at this, but Ginny's pleading look caused his expression to soften.
"Fine," he said sighing.
"Good," Harry said, having the room conjure two chairs for him and Hermione. "How did this happen?" Draco and Ginny exchanged a nervous glance at this question, it was easy to tell that neither of them felt comfortable answering it.
"Sometime today," said Hermione impatiently.
"It started the day the Hogwarts Express was attacked," Ginny said softly.
"Ginny!" exclaimed Draco.
"What?" she asked throwing him a furtive glance. "It's better if they know the truth."
"I don't trust them," he replied.
"But I do," came Ginny's reply. "And now that they know about us we need their help." Running his hand through his hair, Draco sighed and nodded.
"The day Hermione and I went back in time?" Harry asked. Ginny nodded. "How?"
"When the death eaters started blowing up the compartments, I was thrown from the train," Ginny said.
"What?!" shouted Harry. "Why didn't you tell us about this? Why didn't Ron tell us about this?"
"Because she didn't want anyone to know," Draco sneered. "I would've thought that was obvious."
"Ron didn't know?" asked Harry incredulously. Ginny nodded.
"Well how did you manage to keep that fact from him?" Hermione asked.
"You should know about the defence systems that the Hogwarts Express has, Hermione," Ginny said. "When the death eaters attacked, the train automatically locked down. Ron was preoccupied with trying to drive them away, and so didn't see me get thrown."
"So how did you get back on the train?" Harry asked.
"I saw all of this happen," Draco said. "When Ginny was thrown from the train, I got on my broom and went and to go save her."
"That doesn't explain how you got back on the train unnoticed," Hermione said. "The train speeds up in the event of attack. You couldn't catch it even on a Firebolt."
"Dumbledore isn't the only one who knows how to create illegal portkeys," Ginny said shyly. Hermione's jaw dropped at this.
"So you mean to tell me," she said. "That you created an unregistered Portkey, somehow managed to land back on the train while it was moving who knows how fast, and all the while did so while keeping everyone else oblivious to it?" Draco shrugged.
"Let's not forget that I am second only to you in grades, Granger," he said simply.
"All right," said Harry. "But that still doesn't explain how....this happened."
"Having someone save your life can change your views of a person, Harry," Ginny said.
"But I saved your life, and if anything your feelings for me decreased after that," he replied.
"Yes, but you're Harry Potter, Savior of the World," Draco said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Me, I don't care about anyone else. I even surprised myself a bit when I went to save Ginny." She nodded at this.
"So you thought, 'hell, let's give snogging a try'?" Harry asked icily.
"I thought you knew me better than that, Potter," Draco replied. "I wouldn't touch someone I didn't care for. No, in the past three months, I've come to experience something I never had before."
"Oh yeah?" asked Harry skeptically. "Why don't you tell us what that is." Draco looked at him.
"You know what it is, Potter."
"Of course I do, but I want to hear you say it, so that if you hurt Ginny later I have an excuse to kill you," Harry replied simply.
"Fine, it's love! Are you happy?!" Draco shouted furiously. Harry and Hermione regarded him carefully.
"Do you believe him, Ginny?" Hermione asked. Slowly, the red-haired girl nodded.
"Okay," said Harry after a moment. "So what are we going to do about this?"
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.
"Well, you need to tell Ron about this," Harry said. "Probably Molly, too."
"No!" came the shout, not from Ginny, but Draco, to Harry and Hermione's surprise. "No one can find out about this."
"And why not?" asked Hermione, crossing her arms. For the first time that Harry had ever seen, Draco looked terrified.
"I....I...." he stammered.
"Lucius will kill him," Ginny whispered.
"I highly doubt that you would be killed by your own father, no matter how demented he is," Harry said.
"He would," replied Draco finding his voice. "He's threatened me with death if I ever disgraced the family."
"You know that's not a very nice thing to say about Ginny," Hermione said.
"It's alright," Ginny interjected. "He didn't mean anything by it."
"You're telling us the truth?" Harry asked.
"Why would I lie about something like this?" Draco asked sincerely.
"Why would you lie to Rita Skeeter in fourth year?" Hermione countered.
"Because of daft comments like that," he replied icily. "But you don't joke when it comes to the person you care about." Harry looked at Hermione after this.
'What do you think?' he asked silently.
'I believe him,' came the reply. 'Although we definitely need to keep him under close watch.'
'Agreed,' Harry said, nodding. "Alright, we won't tell anyone about you two." Ginny and Draco both looked extremely relieved at this. "But I think that at least Ron should know."
"Why?" asked Ginny.
"What if it had been him walking in on you with Hermione instead of me?" Harry asked, shrugging. "I promise you he wouldn't have been so cooperative." Ginny and Draco exchanged a glance at this.
"We'll think about it," Draco said.
"That's a start," Hermione said. "Now let's all head back to our houses to get some sleep." The four of them got up and walked out of the Room of Requirement, whereupon Hermione stopped in the hall. "Oh, and ten points from Slytherin and Gryffindor for snogging out in the castle after hours."
"You've got to be kidding me," said Malfoy.
"I don't care who you are," Hermione said with her best McGonagal impression. "No one is above the rules." With that Draco stalked off towards the Slytherin common room muttering something like, 'typical'.
=====
The next day Harry, Ron, and Hermione boarded the Hogwarts Express for the Christmas holiday, though with some trepidation.
"You don't reckon there'll be another attack, do you?" Ron asked as the train started up.
"I doubt it," Hermione said. "What with Professors McGonagal and Snape riding the train with us, even if we are attacked, we should be able to at least defend ourselves this time."
"Glad to see you're so optimistic," Ron said sarcastically.
"Expect the worst, hope for the best," Harry muttered.
"Yeah, well...d'you want to play a game of Exploding Snap?" Ron asked, changing the subject.
"Sure," Harry replied.
The time flew by as fast as the English countryside, and suddenly the dimpled woman opened their compartment door asking if they would like anything off the trolley. Harry decided only to get some chocolate frogs, and dumped a dozen or so on the seat next to Ron.
"You're a git, you know that?" Ron asked. "Buying my favorite sweet when you know bloody well I can't eat."
"Well, I've got a consolation prize for you," Harry said staring at the chocolate frog card.
"What?" asked Ron, crossing his arms.
"Ptolemy," Harry replied tossing the card over to the ghost, which landed next to him. "The only one you don't have."
"You're giving this to me?" Ron asked, slack-jawed.
"It's the least I can do for my best friend," he replied smiling.
"I've got to go find Ginny and tell her," Ron said floating through the compartment door.
"He's so easy," Harry said grinning. "You don't think he'll walk in on her and Malfoy, do you?"
"No," replied Hermione not looking up from her book. "It's too public, they'd risk getting caught." Smiling, Harry snatched the book from Hermione's hands. "Hey!" she complained. "I was reading that."
"I can think of something better to do that reading," he said putting the book down beside him. "Besides, I'm sure you've read...bloody hell! 'Hogwarts, A History' again?!" Harry exclaimed, noticing what Hermione had been reading.
"It's a good read," she said.
"Well, let's do something other than read for the two minutes that Ron isn't here," Harry said sliding close to her and kissing her neck softly.
"You make a strong argument, Mr. Potter," Hermione said with a smile.
"I learned from you," he answered. Hermione pulled him away from her neck and the two of them began to kiss passionately until a voice broke their solitude a few moments later.
"Must you two always be at it when I leave you alone?" Ron asked floating through the door.
"It's not like you and Luna didn't do the same," Hermione said irritably. "Oh, Ron I'm sorry," she added quickly seeing the look on his face.
"Forget it," he said shaking his head. "Just forgive me if it takes me a while to get over her death."
"We don't expect you to get over it," Harry said. "I'd be surprised if you did."
"Yeah, but I should at least learn to not break down when someone mentions her name," Ron replied.
"Don't you remember what it was like with me and Sirius?" asked Harry. "That entire summer none of you could even talk to me. I think you've handled all of this much more admirably than I did." This made Ron smile slightly.
"Thanks," he said, as Neville knocked on the door of the compartment. "Come in, Neville."
"Hi, guys," he said poking his head in. "Just wanted to let you know that Snape is checking compartments, so just be ready."
"What's he doing that for?" asked Ron. Neville shrugged.
"Probably trying to catch someone breaking rules," he said. "Anyways I'm going to warn Dean and Seamus, I think they're farther down the train."
"Thanks for the heads up, Neville," Harry said.
"Anytime." With that Neville closed the door and continued down the car.
Sure enough, a few minutes later Snape opened the door to the compartment and looked inside, scanning the small room quickly then leaving. Deciding that sooner was better than later, Harry got up.
"Where are you going?" Hermione asked.
"To act on that advice from Dumbledore," Harry replied. "I'll be back in a few." With that he opened the door and stepped out into the hall, where Snape was trying to catch rule-breakers a little way down.
"Professor?" he asked as Snape closed the door of the compartment he was checking. The potions master didn't turn, but merely stood with his back turned to Harry, not moving.
"What do you want, Potter?" he asked venomously.
"Well...I...er, wanted to apologise," Harry said hesitantly. At this, Snape turned to face him. "What my father and I did in the past was inappropriate and childish, and I'm sorry for it." Snape crossed his arms. "And...er, yeah...that's about all I had rehearsed." Seeing that he wasn't going to get a response from Snape anytime soon, Harry turned slowly and made his way back to his compartment, leaving his potions teacher slightly confused in the hall.
"How'd it go?" Ron asked at he sat down.
"Not sure," Harry said shrugging. "I mean, I think he was listening to me, but he just stood there with his arms crossed the entire time. After he didn't answer me I just came back here."
"I suppose it could've gone worse," Hermione said, reading 'Hogwarts, A History' once again.
"I suppose," said Harry.
The rest of the train ride was spent with Harry and Ron coming up with as many ways as they could think of to annoy Voldemort, thought Hermione gave her input once or twice.
"I still think that giving his personal contact information to Rita Skeeter was the best one," Hermione said as they got off the train. "Although the one that Ron had about throwing biscuits at him constantly was funny."
"You're only saying that because you thought of it," Ron said. "Biscuits are much funnier than that old cow any day."
"You two really aren't going to row about something as trivial as this, are you?" Harry asked tiredly as they stepped through the barrier to get out into the muggle area of King's Cross Station.
"I suppose not," said Ron, although there was a tinge of disappointment in his voice. "There's Mum." Mrs. Weasley was standing on what looked to be her tip-toes, scanning the crowd for the four people she was to be taking back to Grimmauld Place.
"Harry! Ron! Hermione!" the matriarch of the Weasley clan shouted. "Where's Ginny?"
"Right here!" came the shout from beside the trio, which caused Harry to nearly stumble over his trolley. Ginny looked at him curiously.
"Sorry," he muttered. "Didn't see you there."
"Well, let's get a move on then, shall we?" asked Molly coming over to them. "We only have one car this time, so we'll all have to fit."
"It's just you here to pick us up?" asked Hermione looking around. "Isn't that risky?"
"Come now," Molly said reprovingly. "Of course not. Alastor's following us right now, and Tonks is going to accompany us on the way to the house." The four of them made to turn and look to see if Moody actually was following them, but Molly stopped them. "Don't look, he'll get angry at me for telling you he's there." This seemed like a plausible enough statement to the four of them, so they made their way out of the station where a black Rolls Royce was waiting for them.
"Wotcher you lot!" called the driver coming towards them. "Good to see you all again."
"Tonks?" asked Ginny in bewilderment as they lifted their trunks into the boot. Harry looked over at their driver and sure enough, it was her, although it was tough to discern that she was even a woman, given that she had changed her appearance to that of a man in his mid to late sixties, and was wearing a standard driver's uniform.
"How on earth did you figure out that it's me?" Tonks said with a wink.
"Female intuition," Ginny said with a wink as she climbed into the car, which fortunately had been magically expanded to accommodate all of them.
"I hope you're as good a driver as you are a chaser," Harry whispered to Tonks with a smile.
"I doubt it, but we'll see," she replied shrugging. Harry turned to look at her.
"You've never driven a car before?" he asked, fearing the answer.
"Nah, but Arthur gave me a quick lesson before I left headquarters, so don't worry about it."
"Let's get a move on, we haven't got all day," Molly said. "The longer we're out in the open, the longer Mad-Eye will yell at us when we get back to headquarters." The five of them piled into the back of the car, while Tonks got into the driver's seat and started the ignition.
Just as Harry was pulling the door shut, he could've sworn he heard an all-too-familiar voice grumble, 'Talking about headquarters in public..." but by the time he looked in the direction of the speaker, no one was there.
"What are you looking for, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Nothing," he said smiling to himself as they pulled away from the curb.
They were all making idle conversation until Tonks nearly ran a red light, causing everyone to start yelling at her.
"Alright, you bunch, calm down," she said, having managed to stop the car in time. "Don't get your knickers in a knot."
The rest of the ride passed without incident, and soon they found themselves at the door of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. Tonks helped them unload their trunks, and they entered the old house to find that it sported a much brighter atmosphere than during their stay over the summer. The heads of all the old house elves had been taken down, much to Hermione's delight. Instead of the hallway being lit by old gas lamps, there was now a single muggle fixture attached to the ceiling providing the hall with light (a measure that Tonks said Mr. Weasley had contributed to). The damp, dingy smell had disappeared, and had been replaced by a faint hint of lemon freshener.
"HARRY POTTER SIR!" squealed Dobby as the house-elf flew like a bludger into Harry's mid-section. "It is good to see you again, sir."
"Thanks, Dobby," Harry replied, recovering his breath. "This place is amazing. Did you do all of this yourself?"
"Eh...no, sir, Misses Wheezey has been helping Dobby," the elf said, shifting his feet uncomfortably. Though Dobby was free, Harry knew he still took enormous pride in his own work.
"I think it's brilliant," Ron said, admiring the new facilities. "How's the rest of the place?"
"Dobby will be happy to show you, Ronald Wheezey," Dobby replied, his delight apparent in his tennis-ball eyes.
"When you're done showing Ron the renovations, can you bring our trunks up to our rooms?" Harry asked. "Hermione's in mine, if you don't mind?"
"Dobby will be pleased to," he replied. "Come Mister Wheezey, Dobby will show you the house." With that he and Ron went off into one of the rooms next to the hall. Harry was about to speak when Molly beat him to it.
"Hermione's staying in the same room as you?" she asked, in a very motherly tone.
"Yes," replied Harry without the slightest hint of embarrassment. "We haven't been trying hard to keep the fact that we're very much in love a secret."
"But you're too young," Molly replied, looking the tiniest bit distraught.
"On the contrary, if I'm old enough to be expected to kill Voldemort, I'm certainly old enough to be with the woman I love," Harry answered without hesitation, looking longingly at Hermione.
"I quite agree with you, Harry," said Emma Granger coming down the stairs into the hall, followed closely by David.
"You...you don't have a problem with this?" Molly asked, taken aback.
"Not in the least," replied David. "We're fully aware that Hermione is intelligent enough not to make rash decisions, and her choice in Harry is exemplary."
"Thank you, sir," Harry said, blushing slightly.
"Not at all," he replied. "Now come, you need to tell us all about your term and your parents."
"You knew about that?" Hermione asked, surprised.
"Of course," replied her mother. "Dumbledore told us the minute it happened. Given that he knew where you were and that you were fine, we didn't worry too much."
"Well, I'll just be off to start the dinner," Ms. Weasley said. "Ginny, come with me please?"
"Sure, Mum," replied the youngest Weasley and the two set off for the basement kitchen.
"So now," said David clapping his hands together. "Let's go into the drawing room and talk about what's happened. We've been looking forward to hearing about your parents." With that the four of them made their way into the second room on the left, which also looked much warmer than it had over the summer.
The serpentine chandelier had disappeared and instead been replaced with one made of ordinary crystal. All traces of the dark arts had been removed from the shelves, and the once cold and dark fireplace was now alive with flames roaring in its alcove.
"So," said Emma sitting in a plush armchair by the fire. "Tell us about what happened."
"First tell me about the house," interrupted Hermione, not looking up from her place on the sofa next to Harry. Her parents sighed at this.
"I'm afraid there really isn't anything left of it," David said. "Fortunately we managed to pass it off to the insurance company as an 'Act of God,' so we're amply covered."
"We were actually hoping that you didn't mind us staying here, until we found a new place Harry," Emma said.
"You're more than welcome to stay here," he said instantly. "As long as Hermione and I don't have to keep up the façade of sleeping in different rooms."
"Of course not," replied Hermione's mother. "David and I aren't daft, we know what you two do." Harry and Hermione blushed at this. "Don't be embarrassed," she said. "Do you think we expect you two to not be together like that, considering how head over heels you are for each other?"
"Mum!" exclaimed Hermione.
"Well, it's true," said David shrugging. "But we digress. Tell us about your year so far."
The next hour was spent as Harry and Hermione related all the stories of what had happened in 1977 to David and Emma, leaving out the parts that involved the information they found out about Peter. When they were done, Hermione's mother leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.
"So you can turn into animals now?" she asked. Harry nodded at this. "Perhaps we could have a demonstration?"
"Sorry to interrupt sirs and misses, but Misses Wheezey has just sent me to tell you that dinner shall be ready in five minutes, and to please meet in the kitchen," Dobby said popping into the room.
"Thanks Dobby, tell her we'll be there in a minute," Hermione said with a warm smile.
"Very well," squeaked the elf who disappeared a moment later with a 'pop!'.
"Some other time, perhaps," David said shrugging. The four of them made their way down to the basement kitchen, where Remus, Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody, and the entire Weasley Clan minus Percy, Bill, and Charlie were all present and waiting for the food. The moment Harry, Hermione, and her parents sat down, Dobby appeared and starting piling platters of food onto the table.
"It's a system Dobby and Mum worked out," said Fred dictating, as he helped himself to some corned beef hash.
"Mum gets to cook, Dobby gets to set the table, present the meal, and do the dishes afterwards," George finished for him.
"Well honestly, I wouldn't mind doing the dishes -" Molly began, but Dobby cut her off.
"No Miss, it is enough that Misses Wheezey does the cooking," he said as he put a large bowl of steak and kidney pudding on the table. "'Tis a house elf's job to do, but Dobby did not want to argue with a friend of Harry Potter." The room shared a chuckle at this as a slight blush crept onto Dobby's cheeks.
"I hope I'm not too late to join in," Albus Dumbledore said as he waltzed through the door with a vibrant twinkle in his eyes.
"Not at all, Albus," said Mr. Weasley getting up to shake the headmaster's hand. "It's a pleasure to have you for dinner."
"Well I need to talk to Harry, Hermione, and Ginny, so I thought, 'why not come for dinner, as well?' as I'm sure that Molly has made more than enough," Dumbledore said as he summoned a chair for him to sit in.
"Why do you need to talk to us?" asked Hermione curiously.
"All will be revealed in time," the headmaster said with a twinkle. "Now, let's enjoy some of Molly's fine cooking, shall we?" Mrs. Weasley blushed at this, and everyone in the room began enjoying their meals.
"I loathe the living right now," Ron said hovering in his chair. Fred and George exchanged a mischievous smile at this, and cleared their throats.
"Well, Ron," said George with a smile.
"We did some research while you were at our beloved school," continued Fred, with an equally broad grin on his face.
"And we've found out a rather clever use for our little discovery here," George removing a pouch from his robes. "Fred, prepare the boy a meal."
"Just what two you to think you're doing?" asked Molly as Fred piling food onto a plate, and poured pumpkin juice into a glass.
"I think this may be of interest to watch," said Dumbledore. "Does it really work?"
"Of course," said Fred, picking up the plate of food and setting it down in front of Ron. "We managed to get a tester for it."
"Perhaps it would be better if I didn't know who," replied the aged wizard with a smile. At last, a full meal was in place before Ron, and the ghost crossed his arms and stared at the twins.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" he asked.
"George, would you be so kind as to do the honors?" asked Fred. The other twin nodded and opened the pouch, the entire room watching him. Removing a pinch of the dust from inside, he sprinkled some over the food and in the pumpkin juice before tapping the glass and the plate with his wand.
The entire room, with the exception of Fred, George, and Dumbledore let out an audible gasp as the plate, along with the food on it, became entirely transparent, along with the glass and the liquid inside.
"You're joking..." Ron said as he stared at the meal as if it were the holy grail.
"Not at all, little bro," replied Fred with a cheerful grin as George sprinkled some of the dust on a set of silverware, turning it transparent as well. "Dig in!"
Without hesitation, Ron reached for the transparent fork, and to the surprise of everyone except the same three people, managed to pick it up. Not a second later there was food on the end of it, being shoveled into Ron's mouth.
"'oo guyz ar blooee brillyant!" Ron shouted through his mouthful of food. "I've miffed this so muck."
"Finish your food before you speak," Molly said.
"Let him be," Arthur whispered from next to her. "He hasn't enjoyed a meal in six months."
'Hermione, I just had a thought," Harry said through his mind now that the room was merely making conversation while Ron was busy wolfing down as much of his dinner as possible.
'I know,' she replied. 'And I agree with you.'
'We'll have to ask them about it,' he said. 'Ever since James and Sirius told us that they had put their dust in the orange juice, I've wondered if it was the same thing.' Hermione nodded and they resumed in the conversation at the table, the nearly-forgotten noises of Ron chewing in the background.
Half an hour later most everyone's stomachs were full (Ron was insisting that Fred and George change more food for him, but they pointed out that they only could produce small quantities of the dust at once, and had to use it sparingly). Harry had just finished the last of his dinner when Dumbledore motioned for him, Hermione, and Ginny to follow him out of the room.
'What do you reckon this is about?' he asked silently.
'I don't know,' came the reply. Dumbledore led them into the drawing room where, when he saw that the fire had died out, he promptly restarted it with a wave of his wand.
"Now then," he said taking a seat in one of the armchairs. "As Harry or Hermione may or may not have told you, Ginny, I try to know about everything that goes on in Hogwarts."
"They didn't," said the redhead, a note of worry in her voice.
"That's fine," replied Dumbledore. "I will tell you then that I know about your relationship with Draco." Ginny's eyes widened at this.
'I had a feeling that's what it was,' Hermione commented silently.
"Professor, you can't tell anyone," Ginny said quickly. "Lucius will kill him, and so will my family if they find out about it, and -"
"Miss Weasley, please calm yourself," Dumbledore interrupted. "I will not tell anyone."
"Forgive me for butting in," Hermione said. "But how come you wanted Harry and I here if you wanted to talk about Ginny's relationship with Draco?"
"Because it's important for you to know that neither she nor Draco were lying to you last night when you encountered them in the Room of Requirement," the headmaster said solemnly. "I have no doubt, that if Lucius finds out about Draco's relationship, he will kill him."
"But why would someone kill his own son?" asked Harry shaking his head.
"Because Lucius' devotion to Lord Voldemort is so great, that if he found out Draco's love for one of the Weasleys, whom he considers to be the lowest form of pureblood wizard, I'm afraid to say, he would undoubtedly kill him to prove to Tom that he will have nothing to do with a muggle-loving family," Dumbledore said sadly.
"Then why would Draco risk his life for Ginny in the first place?" he asked.
"Do you remember what I told you before in St. Mungo's before you went to see Viktor Krum?" Dumbledore asked. "I told you that I would not expel Draco because he wasn't a lost cause, that he could still be saved from the ideals his father holds. I believe that our young Miss Weasley has helped to achieve that with admirable results."
"What about Ron?" asked Hermione.
"I daresay he'll find out eventually," said the headmaster. "And hopefully it will come as a result of Ginny telling him, and not of him finding out like Harry and Hermione here."
"How am I supposed to tell him something that will likely pit my entire family against me?" Ginny asked, tears slowly forming in her brown eyes.
"Quietly," said Dumbledore after some consideration. "And the best thing to do is to make sure Harry, Hermione, and Draco are all with you."
"Why us?" asked Harry.
"I have a feeling that you'll need to do some convincing in order to keep Ron from using his powers on Draco," replied the headmaster with a slight twinkle. "But I have no doubt that you'll be up to the task." The three students in the room nodded as Dumbledore checked his twelve-handed watch. "Well now, I must be going," he said standing up. "And Ginny, try to do it sometime soon." With that he walked from the room and out into the hall.
"D'you...d'you guys mind if we do it when we get back?" Ginny asked, tears running down her face. "I want to get it over with as quickly as possible." Hermione strode over to Ginny and wrapped her arms around her in a very sister-like hug.
"Of course we will," she said. "And it's good that you're going to tell him."
"I don't want to tell him," Ginny said wiping her eyes. "I mean, what if he goes off and tells Mum? She'll bloody disown me, for crying out loud."
"Nah, she won't," said Harry walking over to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. "It'll take her a while to get used to the idea, once she finds out. But she won't disown you."
"And if Ron tells her, I'll make sure to have Fred and George give me a sample of that dust so I can turn a club into ghost-form and have it follow him around the castle, hitting him on the head," Hermione said smiling. Ginny gave a slight chuckle at this.
"You two are too kind to me," she said, her sniffles clearing up. "And after all the trouble I've caused, too."
"What trouble have you caused?" asked Harry, his brow furrowing.
"There was a small matter that involved a diary, a hidden chamber a thousand feet under Hogwarts, and a sixty foot long snake that just happens to kill people by looking at them," Ginny replied, looking at her feet.
"Oh come on, you can't be serious," Harry said kneeling down in front of her. "Ginny, that was four and a half years ago."
"Doesn't mean I don't feel dumb about it sometimes," she said softly.
"Look at me," Harry said. Ginny raised her head slowly to look Harry in the eye. "How do you think I felt after the night I told Sirius and Remus not to kill Peter Pettigrew?" Ginny shrugged. "I felt horrible. Even more horrible after what's happened in the past few years. By letting Peter live, I allowed Voldemort to return to power. Because he got away, we weren't able to prove Sirius' innocence, and now he's gone because of it. How many times do you think I feel dumb about what happened that night three and a half years ago?"
"A lot?" Ginny suggested with a half-hearted smile.
"More than you can imagine," Harry said. "But I don't let it get to me. The past is in the past, and what's done can't be changed. Besides, compared to what I had to go through in fourth year, rescuing you from the basilisk was nothing." Ginny let out a small laugh at this and allowed Harry to help her to her feet.
"Thanks," she said. "I guess I owe you, huh?"
"Well you covered for me as seeker while I was gone, so how 'bout we call it even?" he said with a smile. Ginny nodded and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.
"I think I'm going to go to bed now," she said. "I mean it, guys, thanks for helping me through this."
"We're happy to do it, Gin," Hermione said with a warm smile. Ginny nodded and departed through the oak door out into the hallway.
"What do you say, Miss Granger, shall we head up to bed too?" asked Harry with a sly smile.
"I don't know," Hermione said crossing her arms. "What with you kissing another woman and all, I'm not too sure that I should go to bed with you tonight."
"What?" Harry said confused. "Ginny kissed me! I didn't kiss her! And it was on the cheek -" Hermione cut him off by planting a kiss on his lips.
'I was only joking, Potter," she said silently without breaking contact. 'You know that.'
'Yeah,' replied Harry wrapping his arms around her waist. 'But I figured I'd play along because I knew you'd get me to shut up at some point.' At this, Hermione broke away from the kiss.
"A little full of ourselves, aren't we?" she asked playfully.
"I wouldn't be the Boy-Who-Lived if I wasn't," Harry replied with a grin as Hermione slowly leaned for another kiss.
'Meet me upstairs,' she said silently. 'Go say goodnight to everyone first.'
"Why do I have to go say goodnight to everyone?" he asked, breaking off contact.
"Because I can't get ready in public," she replied with a sly smile. "Unless of course, you want the twins to see me changing..."
"Never mind," said Harry quickly as Hermione turned to leave. "See you in a minute."
"You better take more than a minute," she said as she walked out of the room. Harry waited thirty seconds before walking down to the kitchen.
"Going to bed already?" asked Molly as Dobby was cleaning up the remnants of dessert from the table.
"I'm feeling kind of tired," he said. "And I'm looking forward to being able to sleep in."
"That's not the only reason," he heard Ron whisper to Tonks who promptly turned a slight shade of red and had to clench her jaw shut to keep the onslaught of giggles that was threatening to overcome her away. Harry said a quick goodnight to the rest of the group, earning not-so-inconspicuous winks from the twins, and left the kitchen to go upstairs.
'You ready?' he asked through his mind as he walked up the stairs to the third floor.
'Yes,' Hermione replied in a very sultry tone of voice, which made some of the blood in Harry's brain go slightly south. Deciding not to dawdle any longer, he bolted up the remaining stairs and nearly broke the door down as he crashed into his room, closing the door behind him.
"A bit anxious, aren't we?" Hermione asked behind him. Harry turned around to face her, and the result was the rest of the blood in his brain migrating to regions elsewhere.
Hermione was lying in his bed, with her head propped up on one hand, wearing some of the skimpiest undergarments Harry had ever seen (including the Victoria Secret magazines that Dudley had left in his old bedroom when Harry had moved in there). The fact that they were deep red didn't help matters any.
"Where on earth did you buy those?" he asked, walking slowly over to her.
"These?" asked Hermione looking down at herself. "I didn't buy these." Harry stopped dead in his tracks.
"You...you didn't steal them, did you?"
"Of course not!" she exclaimed with a laugh.
"Well then how did you get them?" he replied. She got up off the bed and sauntered over to him, throwing an extra swing in her hips with each step. As she reached Harry, she leaned in close to him as she started unbuttoning his shirt.
"Let's not forget that Transfiguration is my best subject..."
With that, the last rational thought vacated Harry's mind, and he promptly grabbed Hermione's hand, walked over to the bed, pulled her down on top of him, and turned off the lights with a wave of his wand.
---------------
::Wiggles eyebrows:: I realised that I hadn't had any truly naughty stuff for a while, so I just had to throw that
last bit in there. For those of you who are wondering, I will be posting the missing scene that would appear at the end
of this chapter on Hermione's birthday (the 19th), as an NC-17 One-Shot, much like 'The Best Birthday
Ever,' so you may expect that sometime on Sunday night. Until next time, pouvoir toute votre vaisseau sa duveté
(pumpkin pie to whomever knows what I meant by that).