Unofficial Portkey Archive

A/N: Thanks for the feedback on last chapter- we answered most of your reviews. Sorry, no L/S in this chapter but we've got some good stuff coming for them, we promise. As always, enjoy and please let us know what you think!!

Breathe - Michelle Branch

If I just breathe
Let it fill the space between
I'll know everything is alright
Breathe
Every little piece of me
You'll see
Everything is alright
If I just breathe

If I just breathe
Let it fill the space between
I'll know everything is alright
Breathe,
Every little piece of me
You'll see
Everything is alright
If I just breathe
Breathe

Josh sat back in his lounge chair with a open book in his lap. He'd been sitting out here by the lake for nearly an hour and knew that he should get back to the cabin soon, but he knew that when he did go back, his parents would want to talk about what was wrong with him.

He honestly didn't know what was wrong with him. He'd had such high hopes for this holiday. This was going to be the summer that he finally made Julie see him as more than her friend. That might have happened if Nick hadn't come along. But, Josh knew, that Nick wasn't the issue. Julie saw him like a little brother and no matter what he did that wasn't going to change. It still hurt, though.

It wasn't helping matters much that Jon and Allison seemed to be getting closer. Jon was spending all of his free time with Allison and was even going to be eating dinner with the Longbottoms tonight instead of with the Weasleys. This bothered him more than he cared to admit. Everything was messed up and Josh didn't know what to do to fix it.

Julie strolled towards the lake with a towel in hand. She and Nick had arranged to meet that afternoon in their cove and she was about to get in the water when she saw Josh sitting nearby. "Hey!" she called out.

"Hey," Josh said distractedly as he looked up to see Julie.

"What are you up to?" Julie asked. "I haven't seen you much lately. You'd think we'd run into each other more since we're all staying in the same place."

Josh shrugged. "You've been busy."

"Yeah," Julie sat down on the edge of the chair. "Nick is really something else..." she chose her words carefully.

Josh let out a hollow laugh. "Yeah."

"Do you not like him or something?" Julie asked. "He thinks you're really cool."

"It's not that," Josh said quickly. "It's just...I can't talk about this with you, Jules."

"Why not?" Julie asked curiously. "Josh we're friends aren't we? I mean we may not be as tight as we were back at Hogwarts but--"

"Don't say it, Jules," Josh said, looking away. "You fancy Nick. I get that. And you see me as your little brother and you hope we can still be friends. Is that what you want to say?"

Julie looked at him a moment. "I guess..." she said softly. "But that's how it is Josh. We've always been friends... that's all it'll ever be."

Josh nodded. He'd pretty much figured that out for himself. "If I was four years older...."

"Josh..." Julie felt terrible. "It's not the age thing really. You're a friend, one of my very good friends. Even if you were older..."

"It's the red hair, isn't it?" Josh said. "You don't like blokes with red hair, do you?"

Julie bit her lower lip to keep from smiling at his remark. "I have nothing against guys with red hair."

"Yes you do," Josh said, laughing despite himself. He didn't have it in him to stay mad at her for very long. "Well, it's your own fault, Jules. You have to be so fantastic..."

"Josh," Julie leaned over and gave him a tight hug. "No matter what you'll always be one of my favourite people in the world."

"You've always been one of mine," Josh said, hugging her back. "Obviously."

"Yeah I know," Julie pinched his cheek. "I really never wanted to hurt you Josh. I hope you know that."

"I do," Josh said. "I'm sorry for acting the way I have when I've seen you the past few days. I just...I don't know. Do you ever get the feeling that you don't belong? That no matter what you do, you can't or don't fit in? I've just been feeling that way lately and I don't know why."

Julie scuffed her foot along the ground. "I guess everyone's sort of paired off and left you in the dark aye?"

"Yeah," Josh said, with a slight smile. "And then there's Jon...who's with Allie of all people! Can you believe that!"

"Not really, but he really seems to like her," Julie said, not noticing the sudden look on Josh's face. "When we were all out together he didn't stop staring at her the whole night."

"Has Allie said anything to you about Jon?" Josh asked, trying to sound as if he cared one way or the other. "She doesn't really like him, does she?"

"I think the feeling is pretty mutual," Julie said.

"That's just great," Josh said sarcastically.

Julie looked at him properly. "Josh... do you fancy her too?"

Josh looked up at her in surprise. "No, of course not...I mean she's really great and all, but she's just my friend...I don't...no....no...I don't fancy Allie."

Julie raised an eyebrow. "Well... if you do fancy her, you'd better say something and fast. She and Jon seem to be hitting it off. And at least that means he's leaving you alone for a change right?"

"Yeah," Josh said, laughing. "At least he's leaving me alone."

"Look on the bright side," Julie smiled at him. "Well... I have to go... but I'm glad you're feeling better, if only a little bit."

"Doing okay for someone who just had their heart broken by the girl of their dreams, aren't I?" Josh asked her. When he saw the frown on Julie's face, he quickly smiled back at her. "I'm okay, Julie. Really."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes," Josh said, and he found that he was telling her the truth.

"Okay," she said. "Listen- next time we all go into town, you're coming with, whether or not you have a date. I won't take no for an answer."

"You never have," Josh said, giving her a hug. "Say hello to Nick for me."

Julie's face turned red. "How did you know I was going to meet him?"

"I didn't," Josh teased. "Until just now."

"Joshua!" Julie exclaimed.

"See you, Jules!" Josh said, laughing.

Julie shook her head as she took her shirt and shorts off and hid them under a lounge chair. She dove into the water and surfaced a ways out and made her way under the trees.

Nick was sitting with his back to the water when Julie surfaced. He was so lost in his thoughts he didn't even hear her step up behind him.

"Boo," she leaned down and whispered in his ear.

Nick turned and gave her a slight smile. "Hey..."

"Hey," she gave him a quick kiss before sitting next to him.

"I think the world may be coming to an end or something because this morning I actually felt...sorry for my mother," Nick said absently. He'd been thinking of little else other than what had happened in their cabin this morning.

"Did hell freeze over or something?" Julie joked.

Nick nodded. "I don't know what is going on with her and my dad. When I came back to the cabin this morning, the two of them were shouting about something. I came into the cabin to find her in tears and my dad enraged. She walked out on him, Julie. Just turned her back on him and walked out of the cabin. She's NEVER done that. Never."

Julie felt bad. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "But everyone has arguments don't they? My parents have had a fair few in their time."

"Of course they do, but they've never fought like that," Nick said. "And from what I managed to hear before I came inside, they were fighting about your father."

Julie sighed. "They'll never let it go will they? They'll never let us be together without a fight."

"But that's just it," Nick explained. "It wasn't about you and me, Julie. My mother said something about how none of this would have happened, if she'd married your dad. What did she mean by that?"

"Apparently she used to have a thing for him- even though he never fancied her back." Julie said. "She blames my mum for stealing him away."

"I think she said it to get my dad angry, because it sure as hell worked," Nick said. He went on to tell Julie all about how after Ginny left, his father had blamed it all on him and thrown the champagne bottle. "He's lost it completely."

"He threw it at your head?" Julie asked incredulously.

"Sort of," Nick said. "I almost thought he was going to hit me or something. He was that angry."

"Nick that's horrible," Julie put her hand on his arm. "I'm sorry..."

"You don't have to be sorry," he said, turning around to look at her properly. "This isn't your fault. I don't even know why they're here. They have no friends. Mum doesn't even want to see her family. It just doesn't make sense."

"Well..." Julie slid closer to him. "For what it's worth, I'm glad they came. Because it means that you came... and if you weren't here then we wouldn't have gotten together."

He wrapped his arm around her. "I'm glad for that, too."

She leaned into him. "I just wish they were a little more open minded. I wish they didn't care about us being together."

"Well, that's a wish that's never going to come true, Jules. They're the least open-minded people on the planet," Nick said. "But it doesn't matter what they think. Once we're away from here, everything will be out in the open."

"I can't wait," Julie said softly. "I love you Nick."

"I love you," he said, kissing her. "No matter what happens, don't forget that. Okay?"

"I won't," Julie said, wrapping her arms around his neck and situating herself in his lap.

"I have it on good authority that someone is turning 20 next month," Nick said, resting his forehead on hers. "And I heard that someone is also having a party. I was just wondering if I was going to get an invite..."

Julie giggled. "You'd better believe you are," she kissed him. "I want you there with me the whole time."

"If you play your cards right," Nick said softly. "I might even sing you a song...in honour of your birthday of course."

Julie blushed. "You really would?" she asked a bit shyly.

"I would," he said, touching her cheek. "I've kind of been working on something for you. It's still early days yet, but I hope to have it finished in time for your party."

"You have?" she asked, unable to keep a pleased smile off her face.

"I have," he said, grinning at her. "The problem is that not too many things rhyme with your name. I'm having to get really creative."

Julie laughed. "I'm so glad you're the stubborn type," she leaned against him again. "I'm glad you stayed after me and got me to see how you really are."

"You're calling ME stubborn?" Nick asked her. "That's a bit like the pot calling the kettle black, isn't it?"

"Well I didn't say I wasn't," Julie said. "But I just can't believe a few weeks ago I didn't even like you." she giggled. "I thought you were gorgeous, but a prat. Look how wrong I was."

Nick tickled her. "What was that? Did you just say you were wrong?"

"Don't let it go to your head," she laughed.

"Come on," Nick said, laughing. "I'm a Malfoy. We're known for our huge egos. And you just called me gorgeous...so how could that not go to my head?"

Julie pushed at his shoulder. "Egomaniac," she teased.

"Stubborn mule," he countered.

"I beg your pardon?" she asked. "Did you just call me a MULE?"

"I meant it in the best way possible," Nick said quickly.

"How can the word mule be meant in a good way?" she pretended to be offended.

Nick shrugged. "I'm sorry! It just came out. I mean mules are known for being stubborn. I certainly didn't mean to imply that you look like a mule or anything like that because...oh bloody hell, I'm making this worse, aren't I?"

Julie couldn't help herself. "I was just kidding," she laughed. "I know what you meant."

"You're lucky I love you so much," he said, reaching for her.

"Show me how much," Julie said when their noses were touching.

"That can be arranged," he said, leaning in and soundly kissing her.

"Mmm..." she said, her eyes closing as he pushed her back on the ground.

Nick forgot all about the problems with his parents, what had happened at the lake with Julie's family. None of it mattered now.

"Do we have time for this?" she asked.

"We always have time for this," Nick said with a grin. "Always."

"I'll keep that in mind," Julie said, already pulling down the straps of her bikini.

"I'll help remind you," he teased.

"By all means," Julie said, helping tug down his swim trunks.

Nearly an hour later, Julie and Nick were still cuddled up under the blanket Nick had brought along. It was getting rather cloudy and as Julie snuggled closer to him, Nick looked up at the sky. "Looks like it might rain," he said.

"I don't care," she said, kissing his bare shoulder.

Nick laughed. "Are you eating dinner tonight with your parents?"

"Probably," she answered. "Why?"

"I was hoping to talk you into catching a movie with me in town," Nick said softly. "We could meet up after you eat with your family."

"That sounds lovely," Julie smiled. "I didn't know they had a theatre there."

"They do," Nick said. "And I'll even buy you popcorn and candy."

Julie leaned over and kissed him. "I love you," she said softly.

"I love you," he echoed. "Come on. We should really get back."

"Do we have to?" Julie asked, kissing him again.

"Unfortunately," he said softly. "But we'll be together again in a couple of hours."

"I know," she said. "I just get used to being with you and I don't want to leave."

"I know," he whispered. "I feel the same way. But we won't have to do this for too much longer, Jules. I promise."

Julie kissed him again, quite passionately. "Come on then," she said, barely pulling away.

"Okay," he said. "You lead the way."

"Well I can't go anywhere unless you help me tie up my straps," Julie said coyly. "Unless of course you'd like half the resort to see."

"Right," Nick laughed. "Right. This is just for me, Potter. Got that?"

"Got it," Julie lifted her hair.

Nick tied her straps around her neck, pausing a moment to kiss her skin. He knew that it was quite possibly dangerous to get started again, but he couldn't help himself.

Julie closed her eyes momentarily at the feel of his lips. "If you keep doing that we'll never get out of here," she said.

"I know," Nick said. "Come on, before we get ourselves into trouble." He grinned.

Julie watched as he hid the blanket up by a tree branch and they slid into the water. "Are your parents out there?" she asked.

"I don't think so," Nick peered through the branches. "Nope, not a sign of them. In fact, almost everyone is gone."

"I guess it really will rain," Julie peered at the sky. "I hope it clears up by tonight."

Nick put his arm around her once they were back on shore and dressed. "I'll walk you back," he said.

"Thanks," Julie kissed him quickly. Halfway back, the rain started to fall. "Honestly, I don't think we'll get any more wet than we already are," she laughed.

Nick grinned at her. "That's true." He said. "We may as well take our time then."

They came back by the cabin and Julie pulled him around the back which would shield them from the paths. "What are we doing back here?" he grinned.

"What do you think," Julie said, pulling him close.

Nick laughed and covered her mouth with his, kissing her hungrily. Julie pressed her body to his, fitting her curves against him.

"Merlin…" she gasped for breath several minutes later. "Nick…"

"Your lips are all swollen now," he grinned. "Everyone's going to know what we were up to."

"As if they didn't guess already," she laughed. "I guess I'll see you later…" she kissed him again.

"After dinner," Nick nodded. "I'll come by here and pick you up."

"Okay," she said. "I love you."

"I love you too," Nick kissed her one more time and Julie watched him walk in the direction of his cabin before she turned and went into her own.

*** *** ***

Allison sat between Jon and Josh later that afternoon on their porch steps. Josh had seemed friendlier than he had in days and for once he and Jon seemed to be getting along.

"So I hope we can all go out soon again," Allison said to Jon. "That was really fun. Josh has to come with us though."

"I wouldn't have a date," Josh said with a meaningful look at Allison.

"There's got to be some girl around here who would be glad to go out with you," Jon teased his brother good-naturedly. "Too bad Frankie's only 12."

"Funny Jon," Josh said but he didn't sound as irritated as he usually did.

"Al?" Jon asked, taking her hand. "There was something I wanted to ask you..."

"What's that?" Allison leaned against him.

Jon suddenly became more aware of his brother's presence and was trying to convey silently that he wanted to be alone with Allison, but for some reason Josh didn't seem to be taking the hint.

"I asked my parents if it would be okay if you and I went into town on our own to catch a movie," Jon said nervously. "Um, it would be in the afternoon and all and they said it would be okay with them, if it was okay with your parents."

Allison smiled. "I'll ask them right now," she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and got up.

"I can walk you if you'd like," Jon said immediately getting to his feet.

"I'll be right back," Allison said. "Thanks though."

Jon sat back down on the steps beside Josh and watched Allison walk away toward her cabin.

"How am I supposed to go out with you guys without a date?" Josh asked.

"You can find someone," Jon encouraged him. "There are loads of girls around here, Josh."

Josh was silent for a minute. "How come you're being so nice to me?"

Jon shrugged. "I don't know. I guess Allie's rubbing off on me a bit. Being with her puts me in a good mood, I guess. And we are brothers. We can't be at each other's throats all the time, can we?"

"Guess not," Josh kicked at the dirt. "You're lucky you have Allie you know... I talked to Julie today and we... we sort of straightened some things out."

"You did?" Jon asked. "So you're finally over her, eh?"

"I guess," Josh said. "She's with Nick."

"And you're okay with that?" Jon asked gently. "I know I gave you a hard time about it and I'm sorry for that."

"You are?" Josh said in surprise.

"Yes," Jon said, laughing at the look on his brother's face. "I am. And if you want to give any of that back to me for me fancying Allie, I'd understand. Just don't do it in front of her."

"Do you really fancy her?" Josh asked. "I mean, really, really fancy her?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Jon nodded. "I really do. She's...amazing. I'll let you in on a secret; I've liked her for quite some time."

"You have?" Josh asked. "I never knew it."

"Well, I didn't want to tell anyone because quite frankly, I didn't think she'd ever fancy me back," Jon admitted.

"You're lucky," Josh said, trying not to give away his true feelings.

"I know," Jon said thoughtfully.

"They said I can go!" Allison was practically skipping down the path.

Jon bolted off the stairs and hugged Allison tightly. "That's great, Al!"

Josh watched with a slightly sad expression.

"My mum was okay with it, but I had to practically get down on my hands and knees to get Dad to say yes," Allison said with a laugh. "And Frankie, of course, slammed the bedroom door when she found out about it."

Jon laughed, too and tugged Allison's ponytail. "Who could possibly turn you down, Allie?"

"I can think of a few people," her eyes flitted for a moment to Josh but neither boy noticed.

"Jonathan Arthur Weasley!" Ron bellowed from inside the cabin. "Get in here this instant and clean your room. It's a complete disaster area!"

"Dad!" Jon's face turned bright red. "Sorry Al... I'll be right back."

"How bad is his room, exactly?" Allison asked, sitting back down beside Josh.

"Horrible," Josh replied. "He's got clothes everywhere."

"So I imagine he might be awhile then?" Allison asked, laughing.

"Could be," Josh grinned. "You might get stuck with me now..."

"That wouldn't be so bad," Allison said, nudging him. "It's really great that you're hanging out with all of us again. I haven't seen you much in the last few days."

"I know," Josh said. "I've been a little out of sorts lately. It's kind of lonely being the only single one here."

"You're not the only single one here," Allison said. She wondered if he'd finally gotten over his crush on Julie Potter and for the first time in quite some time, she found that she didn't really care as much as she used to. The red-haired boy cleaning his room at the moment had a great deal to do with that.

"I'm not?" he asked. "Well let's see... Julie and Nick have paired off... Chiaki's got Toshio even though he's not here... you and uh... Jon are um..."

Allison laughed. "I don't know what we are either..."

"I guess you could say you're going out," Josh said uncomfortably.

"Yes," Allison said in an equally uncomfortable tone.

Josh nodded. "So that leaves me the odd one out," he said. "Sorry Allie... I'm not trying to put you on the spot here."

"You're not," Allison said, patting his knee reassuringly. When she realised what she'd done, she quickly withdrew her hand. "I'm sorry..."

"It's okay," Josh said.

Allison opened her mouth to say something, but changed her mind at the last minute. This entire encounter with Josh was strange and awkward. Things had never been this tense between them before. She didn't understand why.

"It's clean, Dad!" Jon called out as he made his way to the front door. "No, I didn't use magic..."

He laughed as he closed the front door behind him. "I just hope Dad doesn't decide to open the closet door again, right Josh?"

"Right," Josh said. "Well um... guess I'll leave you to at it- alone I mean... not at IT, whatever... it is..."

Allison turned crimson and Jon stared open-mouthed at his brother as Josh beat a hasty retreat back inside.

"Sorry about that, Al," Jon said, taking Josh's empty seat beside her.

"It's okay," Allison leaned against him, glad he was back outside.

"I'm so glad your parents said yes," Jon said, pulling her close.

"Me too," Allison said. Her heart started beating faster- the 'look' was back on his face, the one he had right before he had kissed her the first time.

Jon leaned in and gently pressed his lips to hers and kissed her softly.

Allison circled her arms around his neck, kissing him back. "Jon," she said softly. "I like when you kiss me."

He smiled and rested his forehead on hers. "I like it too, Al."

"I'm glad... you want to go out," Allison felt a bit silly but she went on anyways. "I've been having a really good time with you."

Jon grinned. "I feel the same way. Do you have any idea how scared I was that first night I asked you if you wanted to go for a walk? And now look at us..."

Allison laughed. "You were nervous?"

"Yes," Jon admitted. "You couldn't tell?"

"Not really," Allison replied.

"Good," Jon said, letting out a sigh of relief. "All that practise in front of the mirror paid off..."

She laughed loudly. "You crack me up Jon," she nudged his shoulder.

Jon playfully nudged her back and tickled her side, causing her to retaliate by tickling him back.

"Allie! Okay, Okay! I give!"

"That's right," She grinned. "You try and take me on, I'll show you a thing or two," she tossed her ponytail over her shoulder.

Jon kissed her once more. "I should probably walk you back. Wouldn't want your parents changing their minds, would we?"

"I should hope not," Allison grinned. "And after we go to the movie... I hope there will be more of this..." she pulled him close and kissed him.

When they finally broke apart, Jon stood up and offered her his hand. She took it and they both strode off toward her cabin, hand in hand.

*** *** ***

"I still don't see why she gets to go on a date...again," Frankie complained for what seemed like the twentieth time that morning. Cho sighed and put an arm around her youngest daughter. Shehad taken the girls with her tothe dance studio to watch herrehearse.

"Frankie," Cho said patiently. "We let Allison go the first time because it was a group date and we're letting her go this afternoon because it's just a movie. And it's not as if this is some random boy, this is Jon. Will you please just accept it and move on?"

"But I want to go out on a date too!" Frankie pouted.

"Frankie, you're only 12!" Allison said. "None of us got to date when we were that age!"

"Can't I go with you then?" Frankie asked.

"It's a date," Allison blushed. "This isn't a group thing this time."

"This is so unfair, Mum," Frankie said, folding her arms. "So unfair..."

Cho smiled at Allison. "Life is unfair sweetheart."

Coming down the path toward them was a blonde man and at first glance, Cho thought it was Nick. She put her hand up to wave, but dropped it quickly when she realised who it was. She'd been lucky in that she hadn't seen him since that disastrous dinner. Her luck though had obviously run out.

Allison saw him too. "Hey Frankie..." she said. "Even though you can't go, I was hoping maybe you'd come back with me to help me pick out something to wear to the movie."

Frankie beamed at her older sister, her anger momentarily forgotten.

"Thanks, Allie," Cho whispered.

She watched her daughters turn on the fork in the path and then took a deep breath. She probably could have gone with them and avoided Malfoy, but that was also taking the chance that he would follow them and start his usual nasty taunting. While everyone in their family knew the truth about Chiaki's parentage, it wasn't something brought up very often and Cho didn't want Malfoy spewing out garbage for her youngest two to hear.

Draco wasn't in the best of moods as he walked back from the restaurant toward his cabin. He and Ginny still weren't speaking to each other and he was again questioning why he'd even come here after her. Nick wasn't helping matters, either. As he saw Cho walking toward him, he groaned. He didn't need this now.

"Malfoy," she said coolly.

"Chang," Malfoy said evenly. He laughed. "No, wait a minute. You married that loser, Longbottom, didn't you?"

"Not that it's any business of yours, but yes, I did," Cho said. "And Neville's a wonderful father and amazing person, unlike yourself."

"Yes, of course he is," Draco said sarcastically. "As if your opinion even matters to me..."

"Frankly, I don't care if it does or doesn't," Cho said. "If you'll excuse me-" she tried to brush past him.

"Why are you going to be like that, Cho?" Draco said, blocking her way. "You and I were close once, weren't we?"

"Don't remind me," Cho said.

"I'll let you in on a little secret," Draco said, motioning for her to lean in. When she didn't, he just sighed impatiently. "The only reason I was with you was because you were Potter's best friend. It helped that you were hot, of course. And not all that bad in bed, either."

Cho slapped him hard. "The only reason I don't COMPLETELY regret our little... affair... is because I got Chiaki out of the deal."

Draco resisted the overwhelming urge to slap her back. He rubbed his cheek where she'd slapped him. "Who?"

Cho stared disbelievingly at him. "My daughter," she replied icily.

Draco rolled his eyes. "I thought you had a boy."

"You're disgusting," Cho turned away. "We had a baby daughter Malfoy. The one you signed away the rights to? The one who regards Neville as her father because UNLIKE YOU he took some responsibility in life!"

"I signed away rights because I didn't want you trying to weasel money out of me," Draco said icily. "And I still don't believe she was mine. For all I know, you were shagging Potter when I wasn't around."

"That happened LONG before that you git," Cho snapped. "And I didn't want your money."

"Right," Draco retorted. "So where is the brat?"

Cho glared fiercely at him. "Chiaki is not a brat! She's a sensible young woman who luckily hasn't managed to inherit any of YOUR bad habits."

"Did you ever think that might be because she wasn't MINE?" Draco asked her.

"She's yours," Cho replied, her patience almost gone. "By birthright only."

"So where is she?" Draco asked, looking around. "Did she come here with you?"

"She was there at dinner the other night when you marched in and tried to drag Nick off," Cho said. "I can't believe a couple like you and Ginny had a child."

Draco was finding his own patience running thin. "Perhaps its time I met my daughter. You wouldn't have a problem with that, would you Chang? After all, you are so convinced, she's mine..."

"It's up to her," Cho returned coldly. "Whether or not she wants to meet you. She's almost twenty one now after all." she moved closer, her eyes narrowing. "If I find out you said anything to hurt her..."

"What?" Draco said, getting right up in her face. "What are you going to do? Get Potter? I've never been scared of him, Cho. Never."

"You should be," Cho snapped. "But it's not Harry you'd have to worry about. I'll rip you apart Malfoy, if you dare hurt her in any way. And I'll start with your little baby maker down there."

"I'm shaking in my boots, Cho," Draco said haughtily. "Why don't you go back to your mediocre life and your average husband and your loser children? I've wasted my time long enough on you."

"If you dare hurt her," Cho said, ignoring his words. "I swear I'll hurt you ten times worse Malfoy."

"Why would I hurt my daughter?" Draco asked, smiling at her. "Good day, Cho." With that, he walked away.

Cho stood there fuming for a few more moments before stomping back to their cabin. She was glad to see Neville was there, reading one of his old Auror texts.

"How was practise?" Neville asked, looking up from his book. "Cho? What's wrong?"

Cho sat down hard next to him. "I hate Malfoy," she said, her voice shaking. "I hate him so much."

"What happened?" Neville asked. "Did you run into him? Did he do anything?" Neville slammed his book down on the coffee table, prepared to go over and hex Malfoy to within an inch of his life.

Cho shook her head. "He's just a bastard, Neville. He was just being himself, but he's just so damn infuriating. I'm worried about what he'll say if he runs into Chiaki."

"Me, too," Neville said quietly. "But, if it hasn't happened yet, maybe it won't. He was probably just trying to push your buttons, sweetheart. You and I both know he won't seek her out. There'd be nothing in it for him."

"I hope you're right," Cho leaned against him.

Neville sighed and put an arm around her. "I thought we'd never have to see him again."

"Same here," She leaned against him. "He was saying things about you too..." Cho shook her head. "I'd feel sorry for him if he wasn't such an asshole."

"I do feel sorry for him," Neville said thoughtfully.

"Why?" Cho asked incredulously.

"Don't get me wrong," Neville started to explain. "I still think he's an asshole, but he doesn't know what its like to have the love of a good woman and have three children who he adores with all his heart. He doesn't know what that's like and because of that...I feel sorry for him."

Cho looked at him a moment and smiled. "You are really one of a kind," she leaned forward and kissed him. "And I'm so glad you're mine."

Neville grinned. "I'm glad that I'm yours, too."

*** *** ***

Hermione sighed as she held that day's issue of The Daily Prophet in her hand. "They just never let up," she said angrily. "Even though they have no pictures, they manage to fudge up some details about us and everyone buys it!" she tossed it across the room.

Lavender picked up the paper and sniffed. "Could that headline be any larger? Honestly, 'Minister Potter on Holiday while Ministry in Chaos', that's really a bit dramatic, don't you think?"

"The Ministry is NOT in chaos!" Hermione said crossly. "Where the hell would they pick that up from anyways?"

"Come on, Hermione!" Lavender exclaimed. "You know who's behind this. He's about six feet tall, has blonde hair and sneers a lot."

"He doesn't have access to this paper Lav," Hermione said. "He and Ginny may have set this up but it was that awful woman who was pretending to be a guest who wrote this. She's probably second in command to that horrible Rita Skeeter."

"Probably," Harry agreed from his spot on the sofa. "Hermione... this will blow over like everything else."

Hermione shook her head. "I need to get back to the Ministry and do some damage control."

"Damage control?" Lavender asked incredulously. "Hermione. You said so yourself---the Ministry isn't in chaos. So what if some reporter wrote about you swimming in a lake in a skimpy bathing suit. You're not 100 years old. What do they expect you to do? Sit in a rocking chair?"

"That's not the point here," Hermione said. "I'm in charge of the Ministry! I have to make sure everything IS in fact fine!"

Harry nodded. "Okay. Well, go ahead and check in, but remember we were going to have dinner with...okay, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Harry I might be gone a good deal of the afternoon if something is wrong," Hermione put her hands on her hips.

"Knowing you, we'll be lucky to see you by the end of the week," Lavender joked. When no one laughed, she frowned. "Okay, well...I think I'll just go and check on Ethan."

Harry looked at his wife. "Hermione... do you REALLY think you need to go in? This has happened before and it ALWAYS blows over."

"Look, you and I know that most of what the Daily Prophet writes is rubbish, but a great deal of people read it," she said. "The paper made it seem like I'm just lolling about having a good time at the expense of the Ministry. Right after I took office, it was a story about how I only got it because I was your wife. Then, they speculated if a mother and wife could devote her full attention to the needs of the wizarding world. When is it ever going to stop?"

Harry pulled her into his arms. "Probably never, but you're strong. Look how far you made it Hermione. You did this all on your own, not because you married me."

"I know you're right," Hermione said, relaxing in his arms. "I just wish everyone else thought the same way too."

"I think by now, even though a lot of people read the Daily Prophet they know it's trashy." Harry kissed the top of her head. "Ever since Luna became the star of the Quibbler..."

Hermione smiled. "Some nice, peaceful holiday this is turning out to be."

"Well other than a few slight disruptions it hasn't been too bad," Harry grinned down at her. "We've been able to spend some quality time with our kids... managed to sneak away quite a few times to revisit some old spots..."

"Yes we have," she said softly. "But I still think I should at least check in with the Ministry to see for myself that everything's okay. It would put my mind at ease."

"All right," Harry said, giving her a quick kiss. "But I'm going with you. Otherwise we may not see you again."

She laughed. "You're probably right."

"Of course I'm right," Harry said. "I married you. That means I'm always right."

"How do you reckon that one out?" Hermione asked him teasingly. "As I recall, it's usually me who is right."

"It's my brand of logic that always works," Harry said smugly.

"Your brand of logic?" Hermione asked. "Okay, now I'm intrigued. We've been married for how many years? I never even knew you had a brand of logic."

Harry pulled her close and gave her a bruising kiss on the lips. "That's how it usually starts," he said. "By the time I'm done kissing you, you're ready to do whatever I want."

"W-what were we talking about again?" Hermione asked, dazed.

"We were talking about maybe going swimming in the lake tonight with you in your red bikini," Harry said.

"Oh," Hermione said, nodding. "I like the sound of that."

"Right," Harry kissed her again.

"Come on," Hermione said, pulling away from him. "The sooner I check in with the Ministry, the sooner we can get back here and...You know..."

Harry made a face at her. "I almost got you to forget about that." he said.

"You're good," Hermione whispered in his ear. "But I'm better."