A/N: Well we're finally back at Hillsdale with this chapter. And our fave couples all meet up again ;) including Lav/Seamus and Ginny sees Ron and then H/Hr for the first time since she left. We all hope you'll like this chapter and thank you all for the amazing reviews you've left!
Again- Lenny Kravitz
All of my life
Where have you been
I wonder if I'll ever see you again
And if that day comes
I know we could win
I wonder if I'll ever see you again
Hermione smiled at Harry as they drove down the path toward Hillsdale. It was almost like going through a time warp, she thought to herself. She could still remember driving down this same road all those years ago. She'd had no idea her life was going to change like it did. She certainly didn't foresee herself returning over twenty years later, married with her own family.
From the backseat, Lavender sat between Ethan and Julie, who were both sound asleep.
"Are we there yet?" Lavender joked.
Hermione turned and laughed. "Do you hear your things bouncing around in the boot?" she teased.
"Yes," Lavender said, smiling at her cousin. "But it doesn't matter as much to me now. I'm nowhere near as high maintenance as I used to be." From the driver's seat, Harry snorted. "What?" Lavender asked. "I'm not!"
Hermione pressed her lips together. "I'm not saying a word," she tried not to laugh. "So why are we driving Harry? I figured that this Steve person would have us floo in since he owled us... he's obviously a wizard."
"He is," Harry replied. "But he has some guests who aren't and he thought this would be the best way..."
"So we'll have to be careful about using magic," Hermione replied. "I do hope he's got a floo connection here though. I may need to get back to the Ministry once or twice for things." it had been difficult for her to wrangle a full month away from her work.
"He does," Harry reassured her. "He said we were welcome to use it anytime."
"Fantastic," Hermione leaned back against the seat.
"I know I've asked you guys this loads of times, but you really don't think Seamus is going to be here, do you?" Lavender asked nervously. "I mean, it's not like I care one way or the other..."
"We don't know," Harry answered for both him and his wife. "I haven't talked to him since... since he left for Los Angeles."
"That's exactly what's wrong with him," Lavender sniffed. "He's moved over there and forgotten where he came from and the people who mattered to him before he became this big hotshot. I know he and I broke things off, but I would have thought he'd have at least stayed in touch with you lot."
Harry watched the road carefully. "I'm sure we'll hear from him sooner or later," he said, glancing at Hermione.
"Right," she caught on. "Say Lav, maybe you and I will take a run over to that one town and see if that shop is still there, where we got those swim costumes..."
Lavender giggled. "I knew it! The two of you are planning to do what I said you were going to do!"
Hermione looked at her. "What on earth are you talking about?"
"Yes, Mum?" Julie asked, now wide awake. "What is Aunt Lavender talking about?"
"Nothing," Hermione gave her cousin a dirty look. "Did you have a nice kip love?"
"How long was I out?" Julie asked groggily.
"Almost from the moment we got in the car," Lavender answered, nudging Julie. "Late night with Chiaki?"
"Yeah," Julie rubbed her eyes and pushed her long hair out of her face. "We have a lot to do before the wedding."
"Going out all hours dancing has to do with the wedding?" Harry asked in his best stern father voice.
"We weren't out dancing," Julie sat up straight. "Well... not for the first part of the night that is..." she grinned at her aunt.
"I was going to wait up for you, but it was past my bedtime," Harry said teasingly.
"Don't listen to your father," Hermione said, playfully hitting him on the arm. "He spent many a night out late dancing before...even before I came along and straightened him out."
"Hey I did not!" Harry said. "And Cho's not here to say otherwise so you have to believe me."
"Don't even try it," Hermione said laughing. "Are you going to sit there and tell us that you didn't go out and dance or party all hours of the night? What were you doing? Staying at home---reading?"
"Maybe," Harry grinned.
"Read a lot with Isabella Marconi, did you?" Lavender couldn't stop herself from asking.
Harry frowned at her while Julie looked confused. "Who's Isabella Marconi?" she asked.
"This really trashy model your dad used to date," Lavender answered.
"Thanks Lavender," Harry muttered, turning onto the gravel road that led into Hillsdale. "Just for that you can wake up Ethan."
"How trashy was she?" Julie asked curiously.
"Very," Lavender answered. She was about to tell Julie about the time Isabella had cornered Harry in Spain but she noticed him giving her a very dirty look. "But that was before he met your mum..." she added hastily.
Julie sighed. "I'll find out from Aunt Cho..."
"There's nothing to find out sweetie," Hermione turned to look at her daughter.
"Uh-huh," Julie said, laughing. "We'll see..."
Harry pulled into a spot as Lavender tried to shake Ethan awake. "Good luck," Hermione smirked at her cousin. When Ethan fell asleep he could stay asleep through an earthquake.
"Memory Lane Destination Number One," Lavender said as she gave up on waking up Ethan. "This, my dear Julie, is where your parents first set eyes on each other. A parking lot...how romantic!"
Julie smiled at her parents. "I thought you met while dancing?" she asked.
"Well technically we did," Harry said, opening the boot. "But here's where we first saw each other, the first day she got here."
"Was it love at first sight?" Julie asked dreamily.
Harry and Hermione looked at each other and began to laugh. "Hardly," Hermione replied. "Your father was a rather big prat at first."
"And you were an insufferable know-it-all who wanted to step in and solve all of our problems," Harry countered with a grin.
"And that's how they fell in love," Lavender rolled her eyes. "Harry, I'd like my bags please."
"Here's the keys," Harry said, handing them to her. "You can get them yourself..."
"Do I look like I work here?" Lavender put her hand on her hip.
"No, you look like someone who needs a swift kick in the..."
"Harry!" Hermione interrupted.
"Sorry dear," Harry grunted.
"Mummy?" Ethan's groggy voice came from inside the car. Hermione quickly opened up the door and patted her son on the back. "You have perfect timing, little man."
"Harry Potter!" a man came striding towards them. "I'm so glad you could make it!"
"Steve!" Harry said, shaking the man's hand.
"How are you?" he asked warmly. "Brought the family I see!"
"Sure did," Harry said. "You remember my wife--Hermione?"
"Of course," Steve shook her hand. "Minister," he smiled. "I'm very honoured to have you here."
Hermione smiled. "Please, just call me Hermione. This is our daughter Julie and this sleepy young man here is our son Ethan. And this is my cousin, Lavender."
"I remember you!" Steve said, smiling at Lavender. "You dated Draco!"
Lavender's face fell. "Well... that was short lived..." she said unenthusiastically.
"He sort of played around quite a bit," Steve admitted sheepishly. "But enough about him...I'm really glad you came! I've set you up in one of the best cabins."
Lavender smiled widely. "I've been looking forward to this ever since Harry and Hermione invited me," she took Steve's arm. "Other than Draco, I have nothing but fond memories of this place..."
Harry rolled his eyes at Hermione. "She sure bounces back fast," he muttered under his breath.
"She's resilient," Hermione said quietly. "Come on, we better catch up before they leave us behind."
Julie strolled behind her aunt, taking in the scenery. The place certainly held a charm, with the small cabins scattered around the hills with the lake beyond that. She could see how her parents had fallen in love and she wondered idly if the same could happen to her.
"Look at that lake, Ethan," Harry said to his son. Ethan, who had been holding his older sister's hand, tensed up.
"What is it?" Julie asked softly. "Are you okay, Ethan?"
"I'm okay," he said quietly. He hoped to avoid any and all contact with that lake without making his father think he was scared.
Julie had a feeling her brother wasn't okay, but decided not to push the issue---at least not in front of their parents.
"You and I can go exploring after we get settled in," Julie asked, squeezing his hand. "Check out this place. How does that sound?"
"Okay," Ethan brightened up. "Maybe everyone else will get here soon too!" he was eager to see Drew and Darla, as he got along quite well with the Weasley girls.
"This place hasn't changed much at all," Harry said, as they walked toward the cabin.
"No it hasn't," Hermione looked in the direction of Harry's old cabin on the hill. "Look," she nudged her husband. "It's still there!"
"That was yours, Dad?" Julie asked, turning around and smiling at him, but he was looking only at Hermione.
"Yeah," Harry grinned at his wife. "That was my cabin when I worked here..."
"And where you used to sneak out every morning," Julie teased her mother. "Lavender told me all about it..."
"Lavender," Hermione said. "Would you please stop filling my children with stories about my escapades with Harry?"
Lavender turned around and just smiled sweetly at her cousin before continuing to talk to Steve.
"Escapades, Mum?" Julie asked, intrigued. "The Minister for Magic surely doesn't have 'escapades'."
"I wasn't Minister back then," Hermione replied.
"Obviously," Julie said with a laugh.
Steve led them over to a large cabin similar to the one Hermione and Lavender had stayed in the last time they were there. "I hope you like it," he said. "Everything's been refurbished and since I knew you were staying here, I had a fireplace put in while you're here and it's connected to the Floo network."
"Thanks," Hermione said, grinning at him. "We really do appreciate it."
"If there's anything I can do to make your stay better let me know," Steve said. "I'm glad you came back!"
"Steve," Lavender said. "Could you to me a big favour?"
"Sure," Steve said warmly. "What's that?"
She pulled him by the door. "Could you tell me if Seamus Finnigan is coming?" she asked quietly.
"You know Finnigan?" Steve asked.
"We... used to date," Lavender said.
"Oh," Steve said. "Well, I sent him an invitation, of course. But, I don't know if he's coming or not. I invited everyone who worked here actually."
"Everyone?" Hermione asked.
Steve nodded. "Figured it'd be fun to see how everyone's come along. Course I don't know who ALL will be here, some people sent back notes, like you all, and others have just been showing up."
"You didn't invite Draco Malfoy, did you?" Lavender asked.
Steve gave her a funny look. "Yes I did, even though I doubt they'll show... not after how he and Ginny Weasley were the thieves around here."
Lavender relaxed. "You're right, they probably won't come." she said.
"Let's hope so," Hermione said, grabbing Ethan's hand. "How about we get you settled?"
"Julie said we could go exploring," Ethan replied.
"Yeah, Mum," Julie said. "I said he and I could go walking around. If that's okay, that is."
"Why don't we unpack first," Hermione said. "Now, now..." she raised her voice over the groans of her children. "We're going to be here for a month. Neither of you is living out of a suitcase."
"You're no fun, Mum," Ethan grumbled.
Harry grinned and chucked Ethan's chin. "Come on little man, I'll help you and then you and Julie can go explore."
"Okay," Ethan said, following his father into the bedroom.
Hermione laughed as she watched them walk away, followed by Julie. She turned around and saw that Lavender seemed deep in thought. "Lav," Hermione said. "He's not going to be here. And neither will Malfoy and Ginny. You heard Steve. They are the three least likely people you'll see here."
Lavender tried not to feel disappointed. "Well... good. Then I'll have more time to check out other eligible wizards and not worry about Seamus hanging all over me." she sniffed. "I'm taking this room here."
Hermione nodded and decided she ought to unpack as well. She bent down to pick up her suitcase when Harry came up behind her.
"Have you got that red bikini?" he whispered in her ear as she straightened back up.
"I don't imagine I'd look very good in it right now," Hermione said, blushing. "Mind you, I have had two children now. My body's not the same as it used to be."
"You're still gorgeous to me," Harry kissed under her ear. "Best looking witch in the world."
"Well, you're a bit biased," Hermione said softly. "And maybe a bit blind..."
"You making cracks about my eyesight?" Harry poked his wife in the side. "And yes I'm biased but I'm being honest..." he kissed her again. "Now... did you bring that red bikini?"
*** *** ***
Nick Malfoy sighed deeply as they passed through the English countryside. "I still don't get why I had to come," he muttered. "You know I'm busy these days." He and Ginny had arrived in England that morning and were now almost to Hillsdale. "My band can't exactly go onstage without me you know."
"You came to keep your mother company," Ginny said with a forced smile. "And besides, you and I have never gone away on holiday just the two of us."
"Whose fault is that?" Nick slouched down in the seat of the limousine they were riding in the back of.
"Can you please not try and send me on a guilt trip about that?" Ginny asked. She knew that she and Draco hadn't been around much while Nick was growing up, but they'd left him in the best care. It wasn't as if they'd neglected him.
The blond rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he grumbled. He had better things to do with his time than this.
Ginny sank back into the plush seat and looked out the window. She was slightly nervous about arriving back at Hillsdale, but she wasn't about to let anyone see that. She was coming back to the sight of her biggest disgrace, triumphant and proud. They'd all see how well she'd done and they'd probably all fall at her feet with praise. It would be perfect.
Nick stared disbelievingly at the resort that was sprawled in front of them. "This is why we had to come all the way from Australia?" he scoffed.
"Nick," Ginny said smiling at him. "You are not thinking about this the right way. Your band needs all the publicity it can get, right? Think of all those young girls who have no idea that you're going to be here?"
He rolled his eyes. "I guess..." he didn't want to admit that his mother was right. He pushed his hair out of his eyes and straightened his shirt- all his clothes were tailor made to fit only him.
"But don't do anything to embarrass me," Ginny lectured. "Remember who you are."
Nick frowned at her. "What could I do to embarrass you?" he said snidely. "I don't even know WHAT embarrasses you."
"An ungrateful son for a start," Ginny said, fixing a smile on her face as the driver pulled into the parking lot. "We're here."
She could see that some of the guests were whispering excitedly about who could be arriving in such a fancy vehicle. Ginny smiled. They were about to find out.
Nick sighed again as he waited for the driver to come around and open the door for him. He stepped out, running a hand through his hair as he put his sunglasses on.
Ginny took the driver's proffered hand and got out of the car.
"Merlin's beard! Is that who I think it is?" an older woman said in Nick's earshot. For a moment he thought she was talking about him. "I can't believe she has the nerve to show her face here after what she did!"
Nick turned to face his mother, who stood frozen in place with a fake smile. "What's she talking about?" he asked stonily.
"I have no idea," Ginny said airily. "There were a bunch of silly cows here that were always jealous of me."
"Ginny Weasley?" a man's voice said. "I can't believe you actually came!"
Ginny looked at the man and although he looked somewhat familiar, she couldn't quite place him.
"Steve Van Ark," he said, still looking at her in disbelief.
"Thank you for inviting us," Ginny said, holding out her hand. "I suppose it does come as a bit of a shock, but I didn't want to miss this."
"I-I'll just make sure we have a cabin for you," Steve said, shaking his head as he walked away.
Ginny nodded and walked around to stand beside her son. "They had better give us the best cabin..."
Nick glared at her. "What's going on here? Why were those people whispering about you?"
"They're just jealous," Ginny said. "And they were probably looking at my handsome son which only made them more jealous."
"Ginny?" a familiar voice came from behind her.
Ginny gasped. "Ron?"
Ron stared at his sister. "I... didn't know you were coming Gin..." behind him was Luna with four of their kids.
"Um, yeah," Ginny said quietly, forcing another fake smile. "Neither did I."
"Where's Mal... where's Draco?" Ron made no move to hug his sister. His eyes moved to Nick, who was standing behind his mother with his arms crossed.
"He wanted to come, of course," Ginny lied. "But he couldn't get away." She looked at Luna. "So...these are yours? Mum said you had two sets of twins. I thought you had more..."
"We do," Luna said, forcing herself to be polite for Ron's sake and for the children. "Our two youngest stayed behind with your parents. You remember them, don't you?"
"Of course," Ginny replied, waving her hand at the driver. "Didn't you name them after Mum and Dad?"
"No," Luna said, in disbelief at the redhead's flippant views about her family. "I meant your parents. Your mother has never met her grandson, has she?"
"Luna," Ron said, getting in between them.
Nick couldn't believe his mother was ignoring him now so he pushed past her. "I'm Nick," he introduced himself. Greta had lectured him on the importance of being polite, and while he didn't practise that on his own parents he tried not to be a jerk to people he didn't know.
"Hello, Nick," Ron said, shaking his nephew's hand. "I'm your Uncle Ron. This blonde woman here is your Aunt Luna. Those two troublemakers are your cousins, Josh and Jon. And those two little sweethearts are Drew and Darla."
"Nice to meet you, Nick," Luna said, shaking Nick's hand.
"It's nice to finally meet some family," Nick was now the one ignoring his mother.
Ron smiled. "Hopefully, we'll get to know each other quite well while you're here."
"I'd like that," Nick said warmly.
Ginny stared in disbelief- her son had never looked at her that way or even spoken to her in that tone. "We need to find our cabin Nick," she said firmly. "You'll have plenty of time to socialize while we're here."
"Surely you don't mind him meeting his cousins, do you?" Luna asked hotly. "He has never met them after all."
Ginny opened her mouth to object but Ron spoke instead. "We were just heading over to Harry and Hermione's cabin," he said. "They got here a little while ago."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Why am I not surprised that THEY came."
"Why wouldn't they?" Ron asked. "Harry worked here... well before you tried to get him sacked that is."
Ginny glared at her brother. "That was a long time ago. Come on, Nick. We should go."
Nick glared at his mother. "I'd rather stay here thanks. We don't even know where our cabin is."
"Let's wait in the car then," Ginny said quickly. "It's quite hot out here."
"Go ahead," Nick said dismissively.
"Nicholas," Ginny said impatiently.
"Hi," Drew said shyly, coming up to Nick. "I guess we're cousins."
"Hi," Nick smiled at her. "It's nice to meet you Drew."
"You're very tall," Drew said, grinning at him. "Almost as tall as my daddy."
Nick laughed and Ginny almost fell over. "Yeah I guess I am." he said.
"I'm waiting in the car," Ginny nearly stamped her foot. This was NOT going how she wanted it to.
"Where did you go to school?" Darla asked. She was even shyer than her sister and since Drew had broken the ice, she figured it was okay to come forward as well.
"In Australia," Nick crouched down. "That's where I live."
He barely noticed his mother go back to the car as he continued to talk to family that he'd wanted to know for a long time.
"Do you get to see koala bears and kangaroos?" Drew asked. "I had a stuffed koala bear when I was little that I used to sleep with..."
"She still does," Darla joked.
Nick smiled at them both. "I see them once in awhile. I live in a city though, so not very often."
Ron couldn't get over how his sister was behaving. The last time he'd seen her had been in the joke shop when she announced she was moving to Sydney. She had seemed sorry for what she'd done back then but now it was as if she didn't care at all.
"Nicholas," Ginny said, rolling the window to the car down. "I really would like it if you'd come back in the car."
Nick stood up, aggravated but not wanting to make a scene in front of his relatives. "Fine," he agreed shortly. "It was very nice meeting all of you."
"It's about time," Ginny said, when Nick finally got back inside the car. "Six children...can you imagine? And dressed quite shabbily. Did you see that one of those girls had a stain on her shirt?"
"Shut up," Nick snapped. "Why couldn't you have told me about any of them?"
"It's a long story," Ginny said, looking out the window and watching as her older brother and his family walked away. They were no doubt talking about her and Nick. "And don't listen to anything that Luna has to say, either. She's never liked me."
"Right," Nick said sarcastically. "I'm really going to believe that."
"Fine, if you really must know," Ginny said. "My parents and brothers never liked your father. They didn't want me to get married to him and they pretty much disowned me because I did." Ginny knew this wasn't entirely true, but she didn't want her son to think badly of her, especially after he'd taken so well to Ron and his family. She wanted to keep her son's loyalty.
Nick only snorted as he stared outside the window. Down on one of the paths he saw a girl with a younger boy; he was holding her hand and they were looking around the resort. His eyes travelled down her body which was clothed in a fitted t-shirt and shorts. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all," he said quietly so his mother couldn't hear.
*** *** ***
"This certainly is rustic, isn't it?" Summer Rayne said, as she watched an employee of the resort set one of her four suitcases on the bed. She'd jumped at the chance of a European vacation with her director boyfriend, but this place wasn't exactly what the English would call "posh". Their cabin was quite small, for a start. The owner of the place had explained that because Seamus hadn't formally responded, they'd had to set them up in one of the smaller cabins.
"Don't you think we could stay at one of those lovely B & B's we saw on our way up here instead?" she asked Seamus hopefully.
"That would be a bit rude," Seamus said, tired from the travelling. "We're paying half price to stay here and we probably won't be in here a lot."
"I hope you don't plan on taking me on some nasty nature hike," Summer said, pouting. "You know I'm not an outdoorsy kind of girl. I do my best work inside."
"There's plenty to do here," Seamus replied mildly. "There's a lake, a ballroom, they always have games set up..."
"Sounds like loads of fun," Summer said sarcastically.
"I always enjoyed it here," Seamus said defensively.
"That was when you were a teenager and didn't know any better," Summer joked. When Seamus didn't laugh, she forced a smile. "I'm sorry. I promise not to be grumpy. This is important to you, so it's important to me, too."
"Thank you," Seamus gave her a kiss.
The employee looked away and cleared his throat. Seamus pulled out his wallet and gave the young man a tip.
"There's a welcome dinner at seven," the employee said. "Mr. Van Ark hopes that you'll come."
"Thank you," Seamus said.
The employee started to walk away, but Seamus stopped him. "Do you happen to know if Harry Potter is here?"
"I believe he is," the employee nodded. "He's in Cabin 6, just down the path there."
Seamus smiled. "Thank you."
When they were alone, Summer looked at him. "Who's Harry Potter?"
"One of my mates back from when we went to school together and worked here," he answered, careful of what he said in front of Summer. He had been hesitant on getting involved with a Muggle but he enjoyed the challenge of keeping his Wizarding ways a secret.
"Oooh," Summer said excitedly. "Old friends! I can't wait to meet them and get all the scoop on you, Mr. Finnigan."
Seamus smiled. "There's not much to tell. The media's gotten a hold of all my sordid secrets anyways."
Summer giggled. "That's true. So...why don't we go and see this old friend of yours?"
"Sure," he agreed. "I'd like to unpack first. You know I hate living out of a suitcase."
Summer nodded. "I think I'll just take a shower and freshen up. I'm a little sleepy from the flight. Maybe it will help me wake up."
"All right," Seamus replied. "I might just go take a walk while you're out then."
"Okay," Summer said, kissing him. "I'll see you later."
"Right," Seamus smiled as she disappeared into the loo. He quickly unpacked his things and then set out down the path towards Harry's cabin.
Hermione and Harry were sitting on the front porch of their cabin enjoying the few moments of quiet since the kids were out exploring. Lavender had decided to take a kip before the welcome dinner and things were quiet and peaceful, for a change.
"This is nice," Hermione had her eyes closed.
"I could think of nicer things we could be doing right about now," Harry said wickedly.
Hermione laughed. "Why doesn't it surprise me that you're thinking of that?" she asked.
"I know it doesn't surprise ME," Seamus said, grinning at his two old friends.
"Seamus!" Harry exclaimed. "You made it!"
"Aye," Seamus said, giving Harry a hug. "And who is this fine young woman? This can't be Hermione Granger."
"Hermione Granger Potter," Hermione corrected, giving him a hug.
"Minister Hermione Granger Potter," Seamus teased. "I knew you'd get that position nailed down." he kissed her cheek.
"So you do remember us then?" Hermione said, crossing her arms.
"Of course I do," Seamus replied. "That's a silly question."
"Well considering the fact that we haven't heard or seen from you in years, I wouldn't say it was all that silly," Hermione said.
"Right," Seamus said. "I'm sorry about that... but it's part of the reason I came. I knew you lot couldn't stay away."
"We wanted the kids to see this place," Hermione said smiling at him. "And we wanted to go back to where it all started for us."
"I can imagine you'll go back to ALL the places where it started for you," Seamus shared a wicked glance with Harry.
"I'll have you know we brought our children here," Hermione said defensively. "And I am the Minister, after all."
"I'm sure the Minister is allowed to have a little fun," Seamus teased her.
"Every now and then," Hermione joked back. "It's in the contract."
"Right," Seamus looked around. "So where are the kids? I can't wait to see how big they've gotten."
"They went exploring," Harry said. "Wait until you see Ethan... he looks just like me and Julie's the spitting image of Hermione."
"Carbon copies," Seamus nodded. "So... who else is here?" he asked, keeping his tone innocent.
"Ron and Luna are here, but we haven't seen them yet," Hermione answered. She was about to tell him about Lavender, when Lavender came out of the cabin.
"Hermione?" Lavender asked, not noticing Seamus. "I forgot to bring my brown sandals. Would you mind if I borrowed..."
Seamus stared at her. "Hello Lav," he said softly.
"S-Seamus?" Lavender asked shakily.
Seamus stepped up onto the porch. "How are you?" he asked hesitantly. Harry and Hermione made an excuse and went down the path.
"I'm okay," she said softly. "You've cut your hair. I-it looks nice short."
"Yeah..." he ran his hand through the strands. "Yours looks nice too..."
Lavender blushed. "No, it doesn't. I just woke up from a kip and I must look a fright."
"I couldn't tell," Seamus said. "I mean... it's just... I guess I didn't expect to see you here is all."
"Harry and Hermione asked me along," Lavender said. "I think they wanted a babysitter, actually."
She fidgeted nervously. "I didn't expect to see you here, either."
"I didn't get the invitation until a few days ago. And I had to go through some funding for a future project..." Seamus stuffed his hands in his pockets.
Lavender couldn't stop looking at him. She'd thought about how it would be to see him again after all these years so many times, but it wasn't going at all like she'd thought it would. For one, she usually pictured herself yelling at him and kicking him in the groin. Thinking of this reminded her of why she was so angry at him to begin with.
"Oh," was all she could say and her tone was noticeably cooler.
"Yeah," Seamus said, kicking his foot at the ground. "So what have you been up to?" he didn't notice the change in her voice.
"I'm still designing," Lavender answered, deciding to be mature about this. "I just opened up my sixth boutique."
"That's fantastic," Seamus said. "Good to hear you're doing so well."
Despite herself, she smiled. "We're both doing well then."
"Yeah we are," Seamus replied. "So um... are... um... are you seeing anyone?" he asked.
Lavender didn't know how to answer this and she certainly didn't know why he was asking.
"I've actually..." Lavender began. Her words trailed off as she saw a very attractive, very young woman coming toward them. The young woman wore a tank top and a pair of cut-off denim shorts. For a moment, Lavender thought she was just some random guest, but what happened next threw her. The young woman came running toward them and threw her arms around a surprised Seamus.
"There you are," Summer said with a giggle.
"Summer," Seamus said. "I thought you were kipping."
"The shower did the trick," Summer said. "I didn't feel like sleeping. I actually thought you might join me..."
Lavender stared at them in disbelief. This girl was half Seamus' age. He couldn't honestly be dating her, could he?
"I uh... I'm just catching up with some... old friends..." Seamus wished Summer didn't have such horrible timing. Seeing Lavender threw him back in time and he wanted nothing more than to take her and snog her senseless.
"Are you one of those old friends?" Summer asked sweetly to Lavender.
"What?" Lavender asked taken aback. "I-I used to be."
"We should really get going," Seamus said hastily. "Lavender... we'll see you around right?"
"Yeah, I imagine you'll be babysitting, too, eh?" she asked before storming back into the cabin.
Seamus closed his eyes for a moment. "That went well," he muttered.
"Who was that?" Summer asked.
"Just an old friend," Seamus pulled on her hand.
"Oh," Summer said, shrugging. "So what do you want to do now?"
"I still haven't gone walking around," Seamus said, looking back at the cabin. He thought he saw a flash of blonde hair at the window but he couldn't be sure in the late afternoon sunlight. "Come on I'll give you a tour."
"Great," Summer said, linking arms with him.
*** *** ***
Hermione looked around with a smile as she and Harry pointed out places they remembered. "I still can't believe it's been almost twenty years since we've been here," she commented as they passed the dance studio.
Harry nodded. "I can still see you walking up those steps...or running when you were late," he said, winking at her.
"I wasn't late," Hermione bumped his side. "You were just early."
"Was that what it was?" Harry teased. "I guess I was looking at it the wrong way."
"You were," Hermione leaned into him as his arm slid around her shoulders. "I'm just so glad to be back!" she took a deep breath.
"I'm glad I was able to charm you into coming," he said, kissing her. "I'm glad you came with me. I meant what I said, Hermione. I can't imagine being here without you."
"Now that I'm here..." she kissed him again. "I can't understand why I didn't want to go. And Steve is being so fantastic about hooking us up to the Floo so I can get back if I have to and giving us such a nice cabin to use..."
"Look who it is," Ginny said coming up behind them. "Mr. Perfect and his wife the goody-two shoes."
Hermione froze and felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. "Well..." she turned to face the redhead. "If it isn't the tramp who can't stand for others to be happy because she hates herself so much," she returned coldly. "Harry hold your pocket so she doesn't take your wallet."
"What on earth are you doing here, Ginny?" Harry asked her, his tone as cold as Hermione's. "I wouldn't have thought you'd ever show your face around here after the way you left..."
"I was invited," Ginny said icily. "And for your information, Granger...I don't need to steal wallets anymore. I'm doing fine. Better than fine, actually."
"It's Potter," Hermione snapped. "Minister for Magic, actually." she smiled coolly at the stunned look on Ginny's face.
"Where's the ferret?" Harry asked. "Let me guess...you didn't let him out of his cage? Afraid he might misbehave?"
Ginny sniffed. "He's at home," she said. "He's busy, he's quite a successful healer and he couldn't make it."
"And what is it you do?" Hermione asked. "Your hair? Your nails?"
"None of your business!" Ginny said.
Hermione laughed. "I never thought you'd amount to anything."
Ginny couldn't believe how smug Hermione Granger was being. She acted as if she and Harry were the king and queen on the manor. Ginny cursed Draco for not coming with her. This would have been so much more bearable if he had.
"You're no better than me, Hermione Granger," Ginny said, deliberately using Hermione's maiden name. "We both married up, didn't we? Adding the last name Potter must have sealed the deal for you to become Minister, eh?"
Harry stepped forward, his eyes snapping fire. "My WIFE got the title on her own merits," he said angrily. "At least she has a purpose in life."
"Oh, I'm sure she does," Ginny said, not backing down from Harry. "I heard about what happened to you back then, Hermione. What was his name? Gordon something or the other. Too bad he couldn't carry out the job he set out to do."
Before Harry could stop her Hermione whipped out her wand. "You'd do good to watch what you say," Hermione's eyes were so dark they were almost black.
"You're the Minister, Hermione," Ginny said, trying not to show how nervous she actually was. "You're really going to do something to me in broad daylight?"
"I suppose that's a good part of being Minister," Hermione said, her voice controlled. "No one would believe it."
"She's not worth it Hermione," Harry put his hand on her arm.
"And neither are the two of you," Ginny said, stepping back as Hermione finally put her wand away. "I assure you that the last thing I want to do while I'm here is spend any time with you two losers."
"Good," Hermione said. "So for once and I'm sure the only time, we're in agreement." she kept her hand on her wand even though it was back in her pocket.
"Now," Ginny said, smoothing down her skirt. "I need to get back to my son."
"Poor thing," Hermione said snidely as she and Harry turned away. "Wonder what sort of life he's had with those two as parents."
"I imagine he spent a lot of time alone," Harry commented. "Could you imagine the two most selfish people in the world caring about anyone else, but themselves?"
"Not really," Hermione replied. "Makes me feel sorry for him..." she knew of Nick Malfoy through the magazines.
"He's probably a carbon copy of his father," Harry said, turning around to see that Ginny was indeed gone. "I still can't believe she showed up."
"I'm in shock myself. First Seamus now Ginny. At least seeing Seamus is nice." Hermione replied.
"If your cousin didn't murder him, that is," Harry said. "Perhaps we should get back to make sure she's okay."
"Good idea," Hermione said. "We'll have to wait for our private time till tonight I guess."
"Any ideas what you'd want to do first?" he asked.
"Bikini and the lake," Hermione said decisively.
"You did bring it then?" Harry asked, almost beaming at her.
Hermione scoffed. "Do you think I'm a fool Potter?"
"No," he said, kissing her again. "I think you're amazing."