Author's note: We're both really happy with the response we're getting on the story. That was an awful cliffie, wasn't it? Well, at least you didn't have to wait too long to find out what happened. As always, if you do read the chapter, please tell us what you think... we live for reviews!
Lavender bit on her lower lip as she watched her cousin's face go from triumph to shock. "Hermione... it can't be what it seems right?" she looked at Cho.
With a weak voice, Hermione began to read aloud from the article. "Auror in Training Harry Potter seems to be mixing business with pleasure on his top secret training session in Madrid. Potter was spotted in the company of his ex-girlfriend Isabella Marconi, the world famous model. Though their relationship cooled off, sources close to both say that a reunion seems imminent."
"That's a lie," Cho said furiously. "Hermione you KNOW that's a lie!"
"He's...he's kissing her in the photograph," Hermione said, looking disgustedly at the picture that kept replaying itself over and over.
"That's got to be an old photo," Luna tried to think of anything other than what it actually could be. "Harry wouldn't go around kissing her, not since he's got you."
"We'll get him back, Hermione!" Lavender said, putting an arm around her cousin. "Revenge...we have to think about this and what would be the best way to get him back for doing this to you..."
"Lavender!" Luna interjected loudly. "You're not helping matters!"
"I'm sorry!" Lavender said hotly. "But you know as well as I do that's not an old photo. He has some nerve!"
"No," Hermione calmly put the paper down. "There's got to be a good explanation for this." Her voice trembled slightly.
"There had better be or I'll...well, I don't know what I'll do, but it won't be pretty," Lavender said shaking her head.
Hermione sat down limply as Cho looked on at her, concerned. "Hermione..." the black haired woman began. "I don't want to bring up a sore point but you saw how she was that night at the club..."
"Yes, well he didn't put up much of a fight then, did he?" Hermione remembered.
Cho sighed. "That's just Harry though! He likes seeing his old friends!"
"His old blonde tarts, you mean," Lavender said angrily.
"Lavender!" Luna hissed.
Cho frowned at her. "Lavender, shut up." She snapped. "You're not making things here any easier!"
"Big surprise that you'd take his side!" Lavender retorted.
"Enough!" Hermione said loudly. "Lavender... I appreciate your concern... I really do. But I need to talk to Harry about this."
"I think that's a great idea," Luna said. "You haven't heard his side of all this and I'm sure there's a logical explanation for it."
Hermione nodded. "I guess I'll go owl him," she said, leaving the kitchen as the phone rang. "Will someone answer that and take a message please? I don't quite feel up to talking to anyone right now."
Luna nodded. "I'll get it. Hello..." Luna said picking up the telephone.
"May I speak to Hermione please," a male voice asked assertively over the line.
"She's not here," Luna lied. "Can I take a message?"
"This is Gordon Devereaux. Are you sure she's not there?" he asked, much to Luna's annoyance.
"Of course I'm sure," Luna snapped. "Look, I'll tell her you called. Okay."
"Have her ring me back as soon as possible," Gordon ordered.
"Fine," Luna said, hanging up the phone.
"Who was that?" Lavender asked.
"Gordon Devereaux," Luna said. "He was being quite surly."
Cho rolled her eyes. "He must have seen the article and called to offer his 'condolences'." She sat back her hands caressing her stomach.
"He certainly doesn't waste any time," Luna said, sitting back down at the table.
"What are we going to do?" Cho asked. "I'm sorry but I don't believe this is Harry."
"Cho," Lavender said pointing at the photo. "That's Harry! Photographs don't lie!"
"Lavender, I've known him for almost ten years. I know he wouldn't willingly do this!" Cho snapped.
"Oh, do you know what I just thought," Lavender said. "We get the newspaper at the house. Uncle Robert and Aunt Elinore have probably seen this, too!"
"Uh oh," Luna shared another look with Cho. "I think we did some major jinxing last night when we were joking around about the Daily Prophet. We'd better ready Hermione for all the mail that's going to be arriving here soon as well."
"Maybe one of us should go and check on her," Cho suggested. "Make sure she's okay."
"I will," Lavender jumped up from the table and flew up the stairwell. She knocked on the door to Harry and Hermione's bedroom.
"Come in," Hermione said, wiping a tear from her cheek. She'd come up here to write Harry a letter, but she was still somewhat in shock by what she'd seen. So, she'd just curled up in her bed....their bed.
"Hey," Lavender opened the door slowly. "Are... you all right?" she asked her cousin.
Hermione sat up and tried to put on a brave face. "I'm...numb."
Lavender flew to her bedside and hugged her. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have been saying what I said down there..." she tried to make Hermione feel better. "I'll bet Cho and Luna are right, there's got to be something else going on. That can't be Harry in that picture- maybe there was polyjuice involved, or he was pissed and she took advantage of him..."
"Maybe," Hermione said, weakly. "I can't get that image out of my head, you know? But at the same time, I can't believe it."
"Are you going to write to him?" Lavender asked.
"I don't know what to say," Hermione replied. "I wish I could call him or see him. He's not due back until Friday."
"Maybe he'll find a way to get back early," Lavender said. "Then you could find out what went on sooner." She brushed a few stray hairs off her cousin's forehead in a comforting manner.
"Thanks, Lavender," Hermione said, touched by her cousin's concern. "It's nice to know you're on my side."
"Yeah, well I don't like seeing you unhappy," Lavender replied.
"Neither do I," she said, giving her cousin a hug.
*** *** ***
Harry stretched as they finished their morning practice routine. He'd managed to put the situation from last night out of his head, hoping Neville had been right about the photographer.
He followed his brown haired friend into the restaurant to get some breakfast, as they had about an hour until they started up their next session. A bunch of their fellow trainees were gathered around a table, pointing and gawking at something.
"What's going on?" I asked curiously.
The trainees turned around and broke out into impromptu applause.
"Way to go, Potter!" one called out.
"Yeah, Potter, did you shag her, too?" another one asked.
"What?" Harry asked. One of them shoved a newspaper at him and to his horror, he saw the picture from last night in it's full glory.
"Hey, I thought he had a girlfriend?" Chris asked another trainee.
"I do!" Harry snapped. "This was a mistake!"
"A mistake!" a brown-haired trainee exclaimed. "That's a damn miracle if you ask me! How do you manage to bag girls like that, Potter?"
"She's my bloody ex!" Harry glowered at him. "I thought it'd be nice to catch up with her but she had other ideas," he turned to Neville who was staring at another copy wordlessly. "Just a fan eh?" his eyes turned dark.
"Don't look at me like that!" Neville said crossly. "I told you I didn't think it was a good idea to go with her!"
Harry sighed heavily as he sat down hard at a table. "What the fuck do I do?" he asked.
"I know this isn't the best time to point this out, but Hermione's probably seen this by now," Neville said, sitting down opposite him.
"I know," Harry moaned. "I've... I have to get back to England and straighten this all out with her..."
"Harry," Neville said. "We're here until Friday."
"Maybe I can convince them to let me leave early," Harry looked up. "I mean, remember at the beginning they were willing to let me get out of training altogether?"
Neville shook his head. "They're never going to let you leave early...not after how you told that bloke you wanted to be treated like everyone else."
"I've got to try," Harry snatched up a paper and practically ran from the restaurant. He headed upstairs to the room where they were training and knocked on the door.
"Come in," a gruff voice said from behind the door.
"Sir," Harry began as he went inside. "Would it be at all possible for me to cut training short and return to England? I have an emergency at home and-"
Martin Thackeray, the wizard in charge of their training, looked up from his paperwork. "Your handbook clearly states that the only way you can be excused if there was a death or serious illness in your family, Potter."
"But sir," Harry said, frustrated. "You guys offered to let me bypass training at the beginning... and I know how to do all this already! I'll pick back up next week when we're all at home!"
"We offered and you plainly told us that you wanted to be treated like everyone else," Martin said. "You can't pick and choose when you want to be a part of this class, Potter."
"But this is an emergency!" Harry stated again. "I wouldn't try and duck out otherwise!"
Martin sighed. "What is the emergency?"
Harry hesitated now. "It's a long story sir..."
"This wouldn't have anything to do with the newspaper article, would it?" Martin asked.
"You saw that?" Harry turned red.
"It was hard to miss," Martin said. "They even had a piece on the Wireless this morning."
Harry slumped into a chair. "Great," he moaned.
"You do realize that you were supposed to be back at your hotel room last night at midnight," Martin lectured. "Those curfews are for everyone, Potter."
"I was!" Harry replied. "Honestly sir- I went to a club for what I thought would be a few hours of catching up with my old friend and she had other intentions!"
"Obviously," Martin snickered.
Harry narrowed his eyes. "Can I or can't I go home?" he asked tightly.
"If you go home," Martin said. "You're out of the program. I suggest you call or owl your girlfriend. Otherwise, you can wait until Friday to clean up the mess you made."
Harry sighed heavily before getting up and leaving the room without another word. He headed straight to the Owlery room and scratched out a quick note to Hermione. "I hope she believes me," Harry watched the owl fly off and rubbed his eyes.
*** *** ***
Never before had Harry dreaded and looked forward to something at the same time. The rest of the week in Madrid went by in a blur. The newspapers ran articles each day speculating on his and Isabella's "relationship". He hadn't heard back from Hermione since he'd sent her that owl on Monday. The worst part about all of this was not being able to explain it to her straightaway. He hoped that her old insecurities were in the past and she had faith in him and in their relationship.
He unlocked the door to their cottage on Friday evening. They'd only arrived back a few minutes ago and he was knackered, but he was ready to see Hermione and clear the air. Unfortunately, the cottage was dark. She was probably asleep. Setting his suitcase by the door, he quickly went upstairs.
Opening the bedroom door, he saw Hermione fast asleep on the window seat, a book in her lap. She was wrapped in one of her favourite quilts and she looked so beautiful and peaceful, sitting there. "Hermione," he said softly, kneeling down in front of her. "Sweetheart…"
Hermione jerked awake at his soft touch. She stared at him a moment and then in a move that surprised him pulled his body to hers, hugging him as tight as she could. "Harry," she murmured into his shoulder.
He held her for a long time, not saying a word. He'd expected the worst and was quite surprised at this greeting. He hoped it wasn't because she'd been asleep and wasn't thinking all that clearly.
"Harry..." Hermione pulled back. "Please tell me... tell me the truth."
He sighed and sat down on the window seat beside her. "I ran into her at an outdoor cafe. She asked if I wanted to go to a club for a few quick dances, just for old time's sake," he began, looking into her coffee-coloured eyes.
"Okay," Hermione encouraged him.
"So we went to this club and we weren't there two seconds before she was throwing herself at me," Harry continued. "She kissed me, Hermione. I didn't kiss her. I pushed her away, but not before some photographer snapped our photo." He took her hands in his. "Nothing happened. I left her at the club and haven't seen her since."
Hermione studied him a long moment; she saw the sincerity in his eyes. "I believe you," she whispered.
"You do?" Harry asked, not able to keep the surprised tone out of his voice.
"At first... I was ready to believe the worst, especially after that picture kept playing over and over in my head. But Cho and Luna and Lavender... well especially Cho and Luna, wouldn't let me believe it. They told me you'd never do that to me... and after thinking about it I knew you wouldn't." Hermione touched his cheek. "That and I watched you through my locket a few times. You looked too unhappy to have been going around snogging… that girl."
Harry exhaled heavily. "I wanted to get home to you to explain, but they wouldn't let me go… I sent you an owl but I didn't hear anything back and-"
"Its okay," Hermione hugged him again. "I'm so glad you're here now... I tried to wait up for you but it's been a long week- you wouldn't believe the amount of owls and Howlers that have arrived each day. Yours must have gotten lost in all of them."
Harry winced. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that on your own."
"I had good help," she replied. "Some of them were really nasty ones too..." Hermione sighed into his shoulder.
"I am so sorry, Hermione," he said softly, burying his face in her hair. "I am so sorry."
"Just do one thing for me," Hermione replied.
He pulled back from her. "Anything..."
"Tell me that you love me, and that you'll never let me go," Hermione leaned her forehead against his, her eyes closed.
He smiled. "I love you and I'll never, ever let you go," he whispered. "Not for anyone or anything in this world."
"One more thing," Hermione said.
"What's that?" he asked.
"Kiss me," Hermione wound her arms around his neck.
"I thought you'd never ask," he said, leaning in and kissing her. He pushed her book to the floor and drew back the quilt. Without breaking the kiss, he picked her up and carried her over to the bed.
*** *** ***
"Lavender, will you stop pacing?" Seamus said, watching his girlfriend walk back and forth across his bedroom for the umpteenth time.
"Sorry," Lavender replied. "I just can't stand sitting around here knowing that Harry's home now and he and Hermione are trying to figure this whole thing out and not knowing what they're saying!"
Seamus smiled. "Always wanting to know what's going on don't you love?" he asked.
Lavender gave him a look. "I just like to know is all!" she spoke in her defence.
"Come here," Seamus held up the covers.
She sighed and climbed in next to him. "I'm just worried about her. This has been a horrible week for Hermione even if she tried to act like it's not bothering her. I still can't believe he didn't even try to write her!"
"We don't know that for sure," Seamus replied. "You said yourself that they got a ton of owls this week, his probably got lost in the shuffle. I'll bet when they get through the rest of them his will be in there."
"Why are you sticking up for him?" Lavender asked.
"Why are you so anxious to believe that Harry's guilty of this?" Seamus countered. "Lav, I've known him for a long time and I know he wouldn't do this to Hermione." He faced his girlfriend. "All of a sudden it seems you want Harry to be the bad guy here…"
"I do not!" Lavender denied. "Seamus…" she paused a moment. "The thing with me and Hermione… I've known her my whole life and I've lived with her since I was nine years old. We don't always get along, but I consider her the closest thing to a sister I've ever had. We bicker all the time and never see eye to eye on anything which is part of the fun."
"That's understandable," Seamus agreed. "But at the same time, you see how happy Harry and Hermione are with one another. They're in love; they're living together and likely to be married sooner or later. And from what I've seen, Hermione is a pretty good judge of character. If Harry was a slime ball, which he's NOT, I'm sure she'd have figured it out by now."
"I guess," Lavender was unconvinced.
"Well tell me this; do you think I'm a bad judge of character?" Seamus asked.
"No," Lavender replied.
"Do you think Cho, Neville, Ron or Luna are?" he pressed.
"No," Lavender said, her voice grudging.
"Well then why do you think Harry is such a git all of a sudden?" Seamus asked. "Because of something that happened beyond his control he's turned into a jerk in your eyes."
"He hurt my cousin!" Lavender nearly exploded.
"From what I've seen, Hermione has been handling this quite well. I also overheard her telling Cho that she doesn't blame Harry," Seamus argued. "And besides THAT, this really isn't any of our concern anyways!"
Lavender huffed. "That's really nice Seamus,"
"It's not!" Seamus replied. "This is between Harry and Hermione!"
"I'm her cousin!" Lavender snapped stubbornly.
"And I'm one of Harry's best mates!" Seamus retorted. "How is that any different aside from the fact that Harry and I aren't related?"
"It just is!" Lavender said shortly.
"Right," Seamus said his voice considerably cooler than it was before. He rolled over and turned off the lamp. "I'm going to sleep. I hope you'll rethink exactly where you stand on this before you push Hermione and the rest of us away."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Lavender cried. "You think I'm enjoying this?"
"You certainly seem to be," Seamus replied. "This whole situation has nothing to do with you yet here you are sticking your nose into it."
"That's a great thing to say," Lavender pushed back the covers. "Maybe I'll just go home, at least my aunt and uncle appreciate my concern."
"Your concern is understandable, but your reasoning is ridiculous," Seamus snapped the light back on.
Lavender glared at her boyfriend. "Well I think your defence of him is ridiculous!" she pulled her jeans back on; yanking her jumper over her head.
Seamus rolled his eyes. "You've obviously made up your mind here," he said. "And I'm not even going to argue with you over it anymore."
"Fine," Lavender replied. "Have fun sleeping by yourself tonight." She swept from the room and Seamus heard his front door slam a moment later.
*** *** ***
Harry purposely left the cottage early so he could take a quick swing by Madam Malkin's shop to see how Cho was doing. According to Neville she had been complaining of false contractions and he was worried about her. "Hey you," he said, seeing her as he entered the shop. "How are you feeling?"
She smiled warmly at him and pecked his cheek. "Much better today."
"Are you sure you should be here?" Harry asked, reaching for her hand.
"Yes," Cho said nodding. "You're as bad as Neville. I am fine. Besides, my shift is only three hours today. Madam Malkin is letting me go early."
"Okay," Harry replied as Lavender came out from the back. "Hey Lav," he called.
Lavender gave Harry a weak smile. She was still a little wary around him despite Hermione telling her everything was okay. "Hello, Harry," she said, walking over to the opposite counter and rearranging some robes.
Harry's eyebrows knit together as he looked at Cho. "Is she angry with me over what happened? I thought Hermione told her about it?"
"She did," Cho said, looking in Lavender's direction. "But, she's still a little unsure...I think it goes back to what happened with Draco. She doesn't want Hermione to end up hurt, too." Cho leaned in closer. "Plus she had a fight with Seamus last night so she's in a rotten mood."
Harry sighed as he left Cho's counter. "Can I have a word with you?" he asked Lavender.
"I'm kind of busy," Lavender said crisply, pushing past him and walking toward another display.
Harry grabbed her arm. "Look," he said tightly. "You might be thinking that I'm stringing Hermione along, but nothing could be further from the truth," he pulled her a little closer. "I love your cousin more than anything and I'm not about to let anything, especially Isabella, come between us."
"Then why did you go off to some club with that girl, Harry?" Lavender asked.
"Because I considered her to be a friend, and I like spending time with friends," Harry let go of her arm. "I'm not bloody psychic Lavender! If I had known she had an ulterior motive I'd have never even gone to the stupid club!"
"Hermione's not just my cousin, Harry," Lavender said relaxing her stance just a bit. "She's my best friend, too. She's a little blind where you're concerned. You didn't see the look on her face after she came to see me wanting to get a makeover because she thought she wasn't what you wanted."
Harry gave her a level glare. "And have I ever given her any indication that I didn't think she was the most gorgeous woman I've ever seen?" he asked snappishly.
"Well, no..." Lavender admitted. "But you went off with that tart the night we all went dancing and you did it again when you were in Madrid."
"I danced ONE time with her," Harry said. "And yes, it was stupid of me for thinking Hermione wouldn't mind when she actually did! And I apologised for it ten times over!"
"If you knew it bothered her, then why on earth did you do it again?" Lavender asked him, shaking her head. "I thought you were different, but come to find out you're just like the rest of them."
Harry narrowed his eyes and grabbed her arm again, yanking her into the backroom. "All right Lavender, what is your deal? Not over Malfoy yet and so you're taking it out on every guy you see?"
"That's not...that's not it at all," she answered weakly. Moving away from him, she sat down on the old sofa. "I thought Draco was a great guy, too," she said with a hollow laugh. "When I met him, I thought he was perfect. And we all know how well that turned out."
Harry sat down next to her. "I think you know all guys aren't jerks. But we're not perfect either." He put his hand on her shoulder. "We all make mistakes. But Hermione doesn't blame me for this. We talked it out and we're perfectly fine. So I can't figure out why you're hanging onto the whole situation."
"I guess what happened with Malfoy hurt me a lot more than I cared to admit," she answered. "I keep trying to get past it, but something like this happens and it makes me question it all over again."
"I don't understand why." Harry said. "You've got Seamus now and he'd never hurt you."
"I know," she said, remembering their fight from last night. Seamus had been right. She had been ridiculous. "I'm sorry, Harry. I shouldn't have taken it all out on you."
"It's okay," Harry replied. He slung an arm around her shoulders and hugged her. "I know Hermione appreciates your support."
"I'd do anything for her," Lavender said smiling at him.
"So would I," Harry replied. "Come on, let's not have Madam Malkin catch us back here while you're on duty."
"Right," Lavender said, allowing Harry to help her up.
They walked back to the front of the shop, where Cho was just finishing up with a client. "Well, are you two still at each other's throats or is it safe to call everyone out of the battle zones?"
"We're okay," Lavender grinned.
"Everything's just peachy," Harry replied, leaning against the counter. "So you have what Cho, a week?"
Cho patted her stomach. "Not soon enough if you ask me."
"You'll be all right," Harry assured her. "Baby Longbottom kicking today?"
"Like a footballer," Cho said, pushing back her robes. "Here, if you put your hand right here...you'll feel it."
Harry grinned as he felt the baby's foot kick out. "I think you've got quite the dancer on your hands, whether it's a boy or a girl," he said. He leaned over even further so he was right next to her stomach. "You hear that?" he called out making Lavender and Cho laugh. "Your Uncle Harry's going to be teaching you everything your mother can't!"
"Oh, please," Cho said. "I used to dance circles around you."
Harry grinned, slinging one arm around Lavender and the other around Cho. "What do you think Lav, who was the better dancer out of the two of us?"
"Oh, no you don't," Lavender said, giggling. "I'm not going to even answer that. I'm going to be completely neutral and say that you were both fantastic."
Harry and Cho both laughed as he leaned over and gave Cho a kiss on the cheek, and then surprised Lavender by doing the same to her. "Have a good day ladies. I'm off to do some damage at training now..."
Cho and Lavender pretended to swoon as Harry walked out of the shop. "He's such a character," Cho shook her head.
Neither girl noticed the grin on the photographer's face that had just been lurking outside the shop.
*** *** ***
Hermione was sitting at the table going over her Transfiguration notes when she heard Harry come downstairs. He'd had a particularly gruelling training session the day before. Not helping matters was the fact that both his training instructors and his fellow trainees had taken to ribbing him almost unmercifully about the newspaper articles.
"Good morning," she said, as he came into the kitchen. "There are fresh muffins on the counter and I just made a pot of coffee."
"I love you," Harry said gratefully. "How did you know that's exactly what I needed?"
"Woman's intuition," she answered with a grin. "When do you have to go in today?"
"About an hour," Harry grumbled.
"And you sound as if you're really looking forward to it," Hermione said sympathetically.
He slumped in the chair as he sipped his coffee. "It's just annoying... and the teasing hasn't let up. It must be a new training perk to make an Auror's life as miserable as possible."
"Just ignore them," Hermione said with a smile.
"I've tried that," Harry replied sourly. "At least you don't have to put up with it all. You get sympathy votes."
"It's no fun getting pitying looks, either," she said. "I had a girl in one of my classes that I've never spoken to come up to me and give me a hug right out of the blue and tell me that she understood what I was going through."
Harry shook his head as he warily grabbed for the paper. "What the bloody FUCK?" he shouted as he saw the new front page.
Hermione looked up startled. "What? What is it?"
Harry turned the paper around so she could see the very large picture on the front of him kissing Lavender and Cho on the cheek and them swooning after he left. "Potter Romances Friends; Gets Chang Pregnant" he read.
"WHAT?" Hermione asked, grabbing the paper. "You've got to be kidding me!"
Harry put his head in his hands. "I'm owling in sick to training today."
Hermione dropped the paper on the table. "Harry, you can't do that. That'll make you seem guilty. You've never been one to hide away..."
"No, I really do feel sick," Harry said, rubbed his eyes. "I'm going over to the Daily Prophet office and I'm going to find the son of a bitch who is writing all this and taking these pictures."
Hermione picked up the newspaper again. "Where on earth do they get this stuff?" She began to read aloud: "Potter popped into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions on the auspice to visit his good friend Cho Chang. The amorous Potter not only visited with the very pregnant Chang, but took her co-worker into a backroom for twenty minutes."
"Oh honestly," Harry snapped. "I was trying to talk to Lavender about this whole fucking situation!" He grabbed the paper away. "Close sources to Potter say that while Chang has married Potter's best friend Neville Longbottom, it's just a cover up to keep Potter's current 'girlfriend', Hermione Granger from knowing who the true father of Chang's child is."
When Harry stopped reading, Hermione took the paper from him and she felt anger rising in her with every word. "Miss Granger is a Muggle-born witch who was educated at Beauxbatons Academy. Friends of Potter, who didn't wish to be named, comment that they were quite surprised to see the handsome Potter dating such a 'Plain Jane'. The source said, 'She certainly doesn't fit the typical Potter girl profile. She's plain, mousy and quite bookish'," Hermione read aloud.
Harry exhaled sharply. "This one really takes the cake," he said tightly.
"Well I never!" Hermione slapped the paper down. "Plain Jane indeed!"
"You're far from plain," Harry replied dutifully.
"You know… this really has gone too far," Hermione said angrily. "It's one thing that they're attacking you, which pisses me off enough! Damn it! But to bring my friends and my cousin into it and then insult me?" her eyes blazed.
"Hermione…" Harry was actually afraid.
"I've had it," Hermione snapped. She looked up at him. "Be ready to go out tonight."
"But…" Harry's jaw hung open. "Don't… you have an exam tomorrow?"
"I don't' care!" Hermione crumpled the paper up. "We've got a thing or two to prove. Be ready." She left the kitchen.
**********
Lavender and Cho were sitting at the counter at Madam Malkin's, knee high in disbelief. "Merlin, I hope Hermione won't see this," Cho moaned.
"Of course she will," Lavender rolled her eyes. "I hope Seamus hasn't seen this…"
"You two haven't made up yet?" Cho asked her tone slightly timid.
"No," Lavender replied, her voice downcast. "He was filming late last night and I didn't get to see him."
"I'm sure he knows better." Cho said, and then jumped back as the door to the shop banged open. "Hermione!"
Hermione marched inside and slapped the newspaper down. "This is total and utter rubbish and I am sick of it!" her eyes still blazed.
"So you don't believe it?" Cho asked.
"Of course I don't," Hermione replied. "Ridiculous nonsense. But I'm tired of it, especially now that they've dragged my family and friends into it."
"They're insulting you too now," Lavender added softly.
"I know," Hermione replied. "So here's hoping you'll be able to take your lunch hour and go shopping with me."
"What?" Lavender looked at her strangely. "Hermione- you want to go shopping? Don't you have class?"
"Sod class," Hermione was frowning. "I can spare a day or two if I can possibly put a stop to all this bullshit in the papers."
Both Cho and Lavender stared at her, open-mouthed. "I've never heard you swear before Hermione," Cho was shocked.
"Yes, well I've not been this angry in a long while." Hermione replied. "I'll come back at half past noon, is that okay?"
"Fine," Lavender nodded, watching her go.
Hermione's next stop was the Quibbler office. She announced herself to the receptionist and was ushered into Luna's office minutes later.
"Hermione," Luna got up from around her desk. "I saw this morning's edition…"
"So have I, unfortunately," Hermione sat down. "Look… I've come here to ask a favour of you…"
"Name it," Luna replied.
"How would you like to write an exclusive article about Harry and me?" Hermione asked. "I'll understand if you don't want to get involved or you're too busy…"
"I'd love to," Luna agreed instantly.
Hermione sighed and smiled in relief. "Luna you've no idea what a burden you've lifted from my shoulders…"
"No, I really do…" Luna replied.
"I have one more favour," Hermione asked. "Your… friend Michael… are you still friends with him?"
"Yes…" Luna said. "He… wasn't happy when he found out I'd gotten back together with Ron but he handled it well."
"Do you think he'd be willing to take photos of myself and Harry?" Hermione asked.
"I'd have to ask him," Luna said. "But I think he would. It's every photographer's dream." She gently teased.
Hermione gave her a small smile. "Harry and I are going out tonight. I'm going to have Cho or Lavender 'spread the word' that Harry will be in one place when in reality we'll be at a club…" she sighed. "I honestly not sure why I let this get to me, but when I saw the article saying I was mousy… it really bothered me."
"As it should," Luna said sympathetically, placing a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "I'd be angry too." She got up. "Let me go fetch Michael for you."
Hermione nodded, sitting back as Luna left the office. She peeked at herself in the little hand mirror on Luna's desk, studying her reflection critically. "I'm not mousy," she said emphatically. Hermione fingered her windblown strands, realising she'd have to have Lavender work on them that evening if she was so willing.
"He says he'd be glad to," Luna popped back inside. Hermione set the mirror back on the desk as Luna sat down. "I wanted him to come in and meet you but he was just heading into the darkroom." She smiled at her friend. "What time shall we drop in?"
"Can you both come by… around half past eight or is that too late?" Hermione asked.
"That should be fine," Luna replied. "What should I bring?"
"Nothing but what you need to write a good, truthful article," Hermione replied. "We'll tell you anything you need to know Luna…"
"I promise to write a good article," Luna replied. "Thank you so much for trusting me with this…" she was excited. An article like this could really send her up in the journalism world.
"No, thank you," Hermione was relieved. "This is such a huge favour Luna…"
"I know," Luna smiled. "Go and we'll see you at half past eight."
Hermione left feeling much better than she had just an hour before. She still had plenty of time before she had to meet Lavender at the shop so she decided to stop back at home to see if Harry was still at the cottage.
He was- she could hear him in the shower. Hermione had fleeting thoughts to join him but before she did she rang her parents, leaving a message for them to ignore this latest bit of false gossip.
Harry let the hot water run repeatedly over his shoulders and head, wishing he could wash away the newest bit of misery life had dealt him. Truth be told, it wasn't as bad as it could be- it wasn't pushing him and Hermione apart yet everyone he liked aside from his more intimate group of friends thought he was a cad.
He sighed as he raised his face to the shower head, not hearing the bathroom door open and close due to the rush of water.
Hermione slipped out of her shoes and jeans and then pulled her jumper over her head. She was feeling wound up from everything she'd done and she knew Harry needed some cheering up. Despite the fact that there was much more left to do, she knew that they both needed this. Throwing the last of her clothing to the floor, she pushed back the shower curtain.
Harry jumped. "Bloody hell!" he said.
"Didn't mean to scare you," she said softly. "Mind if I join you?"
"Of course I don't mind," Harry said, watching as she ducked under the spray. "Where did you go?"
"I made some plans," she said vaguely. "For tonight..."
"Are you going to fill me in?" Harry asked, blinking as the water ran from his wet strands into his eyes.
"Well, I thought we could fight fire with fire," Hermione said, running her hand slowly up his arm. "I asked Luna if she'd write a story on us and get her friend Michael to take some photographs..."
Harry stared at her a moment. "You... asked Luna... and take photos..." he began to laugh. "Hermione Jane you will never cease to amaze me you know that?"
She couldn't help smiling at him. "I just think it's time to show them that you are with one girl and one girl only...and she's definitely not some plain, mousy bookworm. If everyone's so bloody interested, let's show them how it really is."
Harry pulled her to him. "You're the only girl I ever want to be with. This whole situation has only been bearable because you haven't left my side."
"And I never will," she said, looping her arms around his neck and kissing him.
Harry kissed her back, his mouth forcing hers open as the water beat down over both of them. His fingers threaded through her thick, wet mass of hair as her body pressed against his.
Hermione felt Harry lift her up and she felt the warm tile wall against her back as he planted kisses along her neck line and down her shoulder. Being with him like this reminded her of the lake at Hillsdale.
He grunted as he wasted no time pushing inside her. Hermione sought his lips back out with hers as they moved together, her back still against the wall until they both cried out in pleasure.
Hermione rested her head on his shoulder, still feeling breathless and light-headed over what they'd just done. "Too bad the papers don't get to see that," she said teasingly.
"No they don't," Harry grinned back. He pushed a sopping lock of hair behind her ear. "I love you," his eyes grew serious.
"I know you do," she whispered. "And I love you...so much sometimes it scares me."
"Me too," Harry finally shut the water off and they got out of the shower, pulling towels around their bodies. "I'm sorry you have to go through all this because of me."
"This isn't your fault, Harry," she said, scrunching up her hair to drain the water from it. "And I'd go through all this and more if it meant we'd still be together."
Harry hugged her tightly to him. "Thank you," he said, burying his nose in her hair.
"You don't have to thank me," she said softly.
"Well... most girls would have turned and run the other way if this had happened to them. Instead you're working with me to fight back." Harry replied.
"I thought you knew by now that I not like most girls," she said with a sly grin.
"You most definitely aren't," Harry gave her a quick kiss. "So what time is this all happening tonight?"
"Half past eight," she answered, walking over to the sink and running a comb through her damp hair. "Think you'll be ready?"
"I'll have bells on if you want me to," Harry replied. "What should I wear?"
She gazed admiringly at him. The towel wrapped around his waist was dipping precariously low. "I'm kind of fond of that towel actually," she said cheekily.
Harry laughed. "I'm sure I know why, but I don't know how good that will look for an article supposedly telling the truth about our relationship."
"Our friends might beg to differ," Hermione said following him into the bedroom.
"What, is Luna interviewing everyone?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed and watching as she dressed.
"No," she said, slipping back into her jeans. "But you know how they're always talking about us being 'rabbits' and all."
"Yeah," Harry scratched the back of his head, running his hands through his perpetually messy hair. "You don't think any of them will mention that do you? If Luna has to interview them?"
"No," Hermione answered thoughtfully. "You know that they'd never say or do anything that would make us look bad...besides, tonight it's just you and me."
"Okay," Harry said. "Where are you off to now?"
"Lavender and I are going to go shopping," she said, taking her wand and performing a drying spell on her hair. "I have to get an outfit for tonight."
"I think I'm going to kip for a little while," he said. "I was going to go over to the Daily Prophet office and give them a piece of my mind but something tells me now I won't need to."
"If everything goes well tonight, you won't," Hermione said. "And get some sleep, love...you're going to need it."