A/N: I am so sorry it's been so long; I had serious writer's block on this chapter…. Thanks to my beta…Jacy You Rock…Hey thanks for the great reviews, I'm still amazed that this story has gone on this long…. well I just want to thank the readers for their reviews, Thank you *Gives hugs to the readers and reviewers of this story*
Chapter 27 - The Hearing
Harry tossed and turn…it was no use…no matter how much he tossed and turned…it just wouldn't go away…. he got up quickly and went into a room.
Flush
"Boy, that feels a lot better." Harry said to himself. He slipped back into to bed and put his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling…Harry began to chuckle lightly and shook his head.
"Hey Ron, do you remember in Sixth Year when we caught Snape putting on lipstick and he said that he was just experimenting?" Harry chuckled again. "Remember Ron?" he said and turned his head to the right…but there was nothing there. He turned back and continued to stare at the ceiling. It finally hit him. Deep down, he really missed talking to Ron but most of all, he just missed his best friend. He loved spending with Draco - he treated him like a brother - but Ron was like a brother to him as well. No matter how much he protested…. no matter what Ron said about Hermione and Draco…no matter how good it felt kicking the crap out of him….no matter how much shit had gone between them…Ron was still a brother to him and it would never change.
"It's too late now, we've already said and done stuff to each other that can't be forgiven," Harry said to himself, "No use in mending something that can't be mended."
Harry turned to his side and looked directly at Hermione, casting his eyes down to her stomach. Something of mine is inside of her, he thought. A flutter of happiness filled his stomach. Just then it occurred to him that this was when he was the happiest. Him lying in bed with Hermione and his baby, how could life get any better? Harry smiled and kissed Hermione gently on the forehead. She shifted a little and he gently placed a kiss on her stomach…
"Good night, little one," Harry said and fell back to sleep.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Harry's eyes fluttered open and had the feeling that someone was breathing on him. He opened his eyes quickly and saw Draco looking down at him. Harry sat up and could tell it wasn't even 7:00am yet.
"Hey Harry," Draco said.
"Draco. What time is it?"
"Um…about to be 6:30."
"Bloody hell, why are you up so early?" Harry said. "Better yet, why did you wake me up this early?"
"I was starting to get my strength back and I thought you would like to join me for a morning run."
"Draco, I don't think you should be running right now," Harry said scratching his head.
"I need to get out of this house. I've been lying in that bed for weeks and I need to get a good stretch and a breath of fresh air," Draco said looking out of the window.
"I still don't think it's such a good idea," Harry said.
"Oh come on Harry, don't be a little pansy," Draco said, "Get your lazy ass out of bed and come run with me."
"Fine, fine," Harry said, "But if you faint out there, don't think for a second I'm going to carry you back into this house."
"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call true friendship," Draco said sarcastically. "Hurry up. I want to start running before the sun is up."
"Fine," Harry said and lifted the covers off of him and stood up.
"Oh…for heavens sake, get some clothes on, would you mate?" Draco said attempting to block the image of Harry in the nude.
"Sorry, must have forgotten," Harry said turning a deep shade of red. He went back into bed and covered himself quickly. "Do you think you could wait outside?"
"Be happy too," Draco said and headed for the door. "Oh, and Harry? You might want to wear really high shorts today."
"Why?" Harry asked.
"To get some sun on those powder legs; I don't even want see that backside," Draco said with a smirk.
"Bugger off, will you," Harry said and threw a pillow at Draco. Draco just left the room laughing and shaking his head.
5 minutes later
Harry tied his running shoes, tucked the sheets over Hermione and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Looking at her, he smiled. "God she's beautiful," Harry said to himself and opened the door. Draco was waiting for him whistling to himself.
"Can't get that Mary Poppin's theme out of your head?" Harry said.
"Shut up. And I see you aren't wearing high shorts. I'm telling you Harry, your legs were the color of snow."
"Oh shut up," Harry said and pushed him lightly. They walked down the flights of stairs and finally reached the back door. They felt a slight breeze in the air and they both took a deep breath of fresh morning air.
"Okay, let's start stretching," Harry said.
"So when do you plan on having the wedding?" Harry asked while he stretched his calves.
"Don't know really. Blaise and I were talking about it and we are deciding on the day after graduation or maybe a few weeks later," Draco explained, "And yours?"
"We don't talk much about it but I know Hermione is getting a little jittery …not in a bad way, I think we both just want to get it over with. You know make it official."
"Blaise was thinking about having both weddings at the same time but if I know 'Mione, she wants to be the center of attention, especially on a day of her wedding. It's going have to be all about her," Draco said doing his last stretch.
"That's my girl," Harry said with a smile. "Come on, let's start running."
"Fine with me. But there something I have to tell you," Draco said. "Thanks."
"For what?"
"For the way you treat Hermione. I know now that I'm not the only one watching out for her and I know you wouldn't hurt her like the rest of the prats she dated. I may or may not have told you this before, but I just wanted to make sure that you knew that. I'm happy Hermione has found the right guy."
"Aw…tear," Harry said sarcastically and pretended to wipe his fake tears away.
"You know I was reaching for one of those special moments people have in their lifetimes," Draco said, "And you just ruined it."
"You know I'm just messing with you. But I knew how you felt; you've told me on more then one occasion."
"Come on smart ass, let's run." Draco said
1 hour and 30 minutes later
Harry and Draco ran back to the backyard. They stretched out and flopped down on the lawn.
"Boy that felt good," Draco said still catching his breath.
"You know what else felt good?" Harry said with a smirk.
"What?" Draco asked.
"Having a good laugh when you ran into that tree branch," Harry said with a little chuckle.
"Hey that branch came out of nowhere," Draco said in his own defense.
"Whatever you say," Harry said with a little chuckle.
Draco let out a soft laugh and looked back at Harry. "It was pretty funny."
"Draco, do you know about Hermione's nightmares?" Harry asked. Draco's face went straight and looked very serious.
"What about them? There just nightmares, everyone has them," Draco said and looked back to the sky.
"Yeah people have nightmares, but not one where your father is killing people," Harry said. "She woke up a last night screaming and drenched in sweat…. and she told me everything, about the missions and what she saw and heard. It's horrible."
"She will always be traumatized about her childhood; it's what we call the Death Eater curse. Come on let's go inside. My arms are starting to become itchy from the grass."
They both walked back into the house and went up the stairs.
"So tell me how does it feel being engaged?" Harry asked.
"Don't know really," Draco said, "How are you supposed to feel?"
"Well do you feel happy, sad, overexcited? What?"
"Feel the same as I did before I asked her to marry me. Nothing really changed except now she has a ring on her finger stating that she is going to be mine." Draco paused. "We still act the same, talk about the same things - like I said before nothing really has changed."
"Oh…okay… hey remember that chick, Jacy I think her name is," Harry said, "Did you two have something going on before?"
"Nah…we messed around with each other but nothing was official…we were like friends with benefits," Draco said, "She did have this huge crush on me though…I kind of liked her myself but didn't do anything about it."
"Why not?" Harry asked.
"Don't know - every time I was about to ask her, I would always meet someone new and ask them out instead," Draco said turning the corner.
"You wouldn't do anything behind Blaise's back, would you?"
"No, I couldn't. I love Blaise too much. Besides, she's everything I want, why search for more?"
"Just checking," Harry said. "Hey I should take a shower, so I'll see you at breakfast."
"Sure - later."
**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hermione's eyes fluttered and she turned over onto her other side. She expected to snuggle closer to Harry, but all she got was a pile of sheets. She sat up and rubbed her tired eyes and looked around the room. It was still a little blurry.
"Harry," Hermione said softly, but there was no answer. She turned to the clock on her nightstand - 8:45am.
"Great Merlin, it's early," she said to herself.
She wrapped the sheets around herself and checked the loo. No Harry. She went into the other rooms. No Harry. She turned around and jumped when she ran straight into the person she was looking for.
"Hello love," Harry said with a smile.
"Don't scare me like that," Hermione said and playfully hit him on the chest.
"Sorry. Did you just wake up?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded and got back into bed.
"Yes and I'm going back to bed."
"Why?" Harry asked
"Because we are on vacation and normally when I'm on vacation I like to wake up at noon," Hermione said making herself comfortable on the bed again.
"Noon - are you serious?" Harry asked.
"Well maybe until ten," She said. "Why are you so sweaty?"
"Went running with Draco," Harry said while taking off his shirt.
"Draco shouldn't be running right now."
"He's doing a lot better now," Harry said from the closet. "Well I'm going to get into the shower, so I'll let you go back to bed," He said and threw his sweaty shirt at Hermione.
"Eww…Harry, sometimes you act like a bloody eleven year old," Hermione said wiping the sweat off of her hands.
"I know," Harry said with a smile and closed the restroom door. He turned on the shower, took off all of his clothing and stepped in. The warm water felt so good on his tired body that he stayed in for a bit longer then he had to. He stepped out, wrapped a towel around his waist, grabbed his clothes from the floor and opened the door.
Hermione was sleeping soundly, she looked so peaceful. Harry put his dirty clothes in the hamper, went into the closet and picked out an outfit. He dressed quickly and was about to start on his hair when he heard Hermione scream.
"No, No, Stop it, your killing him, please stop, please stop…. No. Stop…oh great Merlin," Hermione screamed.
"Hermione wake up!" Harry shook her lightly.
Hermione's eyes flew open and look around the room to see once again a worried Harry in front of her. "Oh Harry," she cried and began to sob into his chest.
"Hermione you're shaking. Did you have another nightmare about HIM?" Harry asked, but she continued to cry." Shh….it' alright it was only a dream. I'm here now. Tell me what it was about."
"It was HIM, he came back. I dreamt it was our wedding day and when you and I were about to say I do, he attacked us. Oh Harry, why can't I get that evil man out of my head? He's going to haunt me forever, no matter what you say Harry. He is still very alive in my head, and he could always play mind games so well."
"Hermione look at me," Harry said cupping her face. He wiped the tears with his thumb and gave her a soft smile. "I know what you're going through because I go through the same thing everyday….you with your father….me and Voldemort, but I've learned to block those kinds of memories out and replace them with happy thoughts. Name one your favorite memories - close your eyes and think."
Hermione did what she was told and closed her eyes and searched through her thoughts. "When I saw you again in the beginning of this year," Hermione said out loud.
"Okay now focus on that. Try to remember your exact feelings."
Hermione stayed silent for a moment and then fell into a deep sleep. Harry smiled and pulled the covers closer to her, kissed her forehead and left the room. Harry walked downstairs to the kitchen and there was Raul cooking a huge a breakfast.
"Morning Harry," Raul said, "Sleep well?"
"Yes," Harry said. Draco was already at the table reading The Daily Prophet and drinking a glass of apple juice. Harry snuck up behind him and slapped him in the back of his head.
"How's it going?" Harry said. He pulled out a chair across from him and sat down.
"Hey Harry," Draco said wiping the apple juice off his newspaper.
"So anything good?" Harry grabbed a glass and poured himself some chilled apple juice from the pitcher beside him.
"Not really," Draco said. "Your hearing is tomorrow isn't it?"
"Oh yeah…completely forgot about that," Harry said taking a sip from his glass.
"So what do you plan to say?" Draco asked looking up from his paper.
"Exactly what happened," Harry said, "Shouldn't be that bad."
"Good morning everyone," Clayton said loudly.
"Hey Clayton, good morning Jacqui," Harry said looking up from his plate.
"Clayton old chap, you sound extremely happy this morning," Draco said.
"That because he got some booty last night, heard it all the away from my floor," Harry teased, "Jacqui, Clayton that's what the silencing charm was made for." Draco snickered while spreading butter over his toast.
"Sod off, will you," Jacqui said, "And I wasn't that loud."
"Honey," Clayton said embarrassed.
"It's true," Jacqui said with a smile.
"So what are we having?" Clayton said, desperately trying to change the subject.
"French toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, ham and toast," Raul said "And if anyone wants waffles instead, those will be ready in a couple of minutes."
"Where are Blaise and Hermione?" Jacqui asked.
"Right here," They said at unison.
Hermione and Blaise were still in there pajamas. Blaise had a dark green slick mid-thigh nightgown covered by a dark green silk mid-thigh robe. Hermione had the same thing but it was in black. In the back of the room, you could see Raul's mouth hanging open.
"Hi love," Harry said getting up from his chair and giving his fiancée and kiss on the cheek.
"Hi," Hermione said.
"Raul mate, you have drool on the corner of your mouth….oh and your waffles are burning." Harry chuckled. Raul just closed his mouth and took out the waffles and placed them on the plate. Harry and Hermione walked to the table. Harry pulled out her chair and pushed her in.
"What happened to waking up at noon?" Harry asked.
"Couldn't sleep," Hermione said.
"Oh," Harry said. "I like your night gown."
"I bet you do," Hermione said, "But I think you like it better when it's off."
"Oh yeah…" Harry said moving a hair from her face.
"We haven't even gotten through breakfast yet and already you two are about to shag," Draco blurted out.
"Shut up," Hermione snapped. "Blaise, do you want to go shopping today?"
"Hermione, you know we can't leave the estate."
"We're not going shopping in the wizarding world. I meant shopping in the Muggle world."
Everyone at the table looked at Hermione strangely. "Why on earth would we want to associate with Muggles?" Jacqui asked.
"Because they have the best clothes. Plus, we need to get Harry a suit for tomorrow."
"Still, we would be interacting with Muggles," Jacqui said in a disgusted way.
"But we've been cooped up in this house for the past few weeks," Blaise said. "I could understand why Hermione is thinking so strangely."
"Well we could always go to Paris for a quick shop," Raul said from the kitchen.
"Paris…I want to go to Paris," Hermione said excitedly.
"But Dumbledore said we should lay low until this blows over," Harry insisted.
"I want to go to Paris," Hermione said excited.
"Well they do have a broom there that could only be found in Paris," Harry said, "But still, it's too risky."
"I want to go to Paris," Hermione said like a little girl about to go to the candy shop.
"Come on Harry, stop being Dumbledore's little bitch and come to Paris with us."
"Us? Since when did you become one of us?" Harry said he snapped at Raul
"Since I screwed your girl," Raul said.
"I want to go to…WHAT?!" Hermione yelled, "I never had sex with you!"
"That's not how you acted last night," Raul said.
"You know what…" Harry said getting up his seat and looked like he was going to use the killing curse on him
"Oh look everyone, our famous Harry Potter is getting mad," Raul teased again. Harry was now turning to a dark shade of red. "What are you going to do, cry to your precious Dumbledore like the last time?"
"RAUL," Dumbledore said in a strict tone.
Everyone's head snapped to the mysterious figure coming from the corner of the room. Raul looked at his uncle and back at Harry.
"Raul I need a word with you," Dumbledore said angrily, "Right now."
"But we were just playing around, Uncle Dumbledore," Raul said, "Weren't we Harry?"
Harry looked at Raul and said, "No we weren't."
"Raul," Dumbledore said. Raul glared at Harry and walked out of the room. Dumbledore gave him a slap on the head and looked back at Harry.
"Will you excuse me for a moment?" Dumbledore asked. Harry nodded and sat back down. No one said anything for a moment and then they all broke out in laughter.
"Oh…someone going to get their arse kicked," Clayton said.
"Watch - Raul is going to come back in here, wiping his tears and stuttering 'I'm sor…sorr…sorry Ha...Har...Harry'," Draco imitated Raul.
"Shh…you can hear Dumbledore yelling at him," Hermione said.
"Damn it Raul…why on earth do you have to say those kind of things? Do you do it get it some attention?" Dumbledore said.
"I don't know," Raul said.
"You don't know? If you are going to give me an excuse, can you please give me a good one?"
"I don't know why I do it. I guess I'm just jealous."
"Jealous?" Dumbledore said, "Of who?"
"All of them. I was doing perfectly fine before they came in. All lovey dovey and -."
"Grow up Raul," Dumbledore said. "If I have to come back here and straighten things out again, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Do I make myself clear young man?"
"Yes sir." Raul said
"Now go back in there and apologize to Harry and Hermione."
"Yes sir," Raul said and went back into the kitchen.
Everyone stopped laughing when Raul walked back into the room. Raul went to the front of the table and looked at his uncle and then back at the rest of them.
"Harry and Hermione, please excuse me from my bad behavior. I will try and not say those things again," Raul said. "Everyone else, I'm sorry that I ruined your breakfast."
"Now, what is this? Planning a trip to Paris now are we?"
"Yes Professor. We were kind of hoping we could go to Paris and spend the day there," Hermione asked.
"Well I do have to tell you, I would feel better if you stayed here until tomorrow, but I guess one afternoon won't hurt. I just advise all of you not to use magic. Your wands are being monitored right now."
"By who?" Jacqui asked.
"Ministry," Dumbledore said, "Have been for the past weeks."
"So they know what spells we've cast in the past few weeks?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Dumbledore said.
"So you're letting us go?" Clayton asked.
"Yes, I'm letting you go to Paris," Dumbledore said with a smile.
"Wicked," Draco said excitedly.
"Harry can I have a word with you, please?" Dumbledore asked. Harry nodded his head and got up from his seat and followed Dumbledore to the next room.
"Is there something wrong Professor?" Harry asked.
"Harry, do you know how to hide your scar."
"No, Professor. Why?"
"Close your eyes and breathe normally," Dumbledore told Harry. Harry did what he was asked and closed his eyes. He heard Dumbledore mutter a few words and felt a little itch on his forehead. "Alright, open your eyes."
"Professor, what did you just do?" Harry asked.
"I hid your scar."
"Really?"
"Yes. I don't want anyone to see you while in Paris and by removing your scar, no one will notice you," Dumbledore said. "This way you can enjoy Paris like a normal seventeen year old."
"Thank you Professor, but when will it come back?" Harry asked.
"In fourteen hours, so you had better come back before 9:30 pm - that's when it will reappear," Dumbledore said, "Best be off."
"Right, thank you again."
"Goodbye Harry," Dumbledore said, "Oh before I forget, your hearing is at 10:30 tomorrow morning at the Ministry of Magic. I will be at the entrance waiting for you."
"10:30, I'll remember. Bye Professor," Harry said and began walking back to the kitchen. He opened the door and was surprised to heard Clayton and Jacqui arguing.
"How could you do something like that?" Jacqui yelled.
"But I didn't do anything wrong!" Clayton said in his defense.
"Checking out my sister is something, something very wrong!"
"But I told you," Clayton said, "I thought it was you."
"Don't give me that excuse!" Jacqui yelled.
"But it's true!"
"How could you mistake her for me?" Jacqui said, "We look nothing a like."
"But aren't you and Kristle identical twins?" Draco said.
"That's beside the point," Jacqui said, "The point is that he was checking out my sister."
Harry sat down next to Hermione and whispered to her, "What's going on?"
"Well, Draco was asking if anyone has ever mistaken somebody for someone else and Clayton was admitting that he was checking out Kristle by accident," Hermione explained. "Now Jacqui is going hostile."
"I'm not surprised. She's always been the dramatic one of the two," Harry said.
"Your scar is gone," Hermione pointed out.
"Yes, Dumbledore thought it would be best if I went to Paris without it," Harry said rubbing his forehead, "Still itches too."
"WHAT?!" Jacqui yelled and rose from her seat. Everyone stopped their conversations with each other and turned to Jacqui and Clayton.
"What happened?" Blaise asked Hermione.
"Don't know."
"YOU BASTARD!" Jacqui yelled from the top of her lungs, "YOU STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME CLAYTON GRIGGS!" and ran out of the room.
"THAT'S NOT EVEN MY LAST NAME!" Clayton yelled back.
"What in bloody hell happened?" Draco asked.
"She asked me if I didn't anything else besides checking out her sister and I told her the truth - that I've kissed three girls while we were dating," Clayton said sitting back down.
"You idiot," Hermione said, "Come on Blaise, remember last time this happened to Jacqui? It looked like a Hurricane hit her room." Blaise nodded and got up from her seat.
"Aren't you coming Draco?" Blaise asked.
"Normally I would but not right now," Draco said, "I need to knock some sense into this boy."
The girls nodded and left.
"When have I heard this before?" Blaise said to Hermione while running up the stairs.
~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~**~
"Who did you kiss?" Harry asked
"It doesn't matter."
"Who did you kiss?" Draco said angrily
"I kissed Heaven and Jacy, and…I kissed…" Clayton stuttered, "Ikissedkristle."
"Come again?" Draco asked.
"Ikissedkristle."
"Not coming in clear," Harry said
"I…. kissed…KRISTLE."
"Clayton, Clayton, Clayton," Harry said shaking his head, "Even I can't help you with this. That's why I say never date within the family."
"Harry, that didn't make any sense," Draco said. Harry just shrugged.
"Have you ever thought of saying something and it comes out completely different?"
"Oh….I hate when that happens."
"GUYS, a little help here," Clayton said.
"Right, well I really don't know what to say," Draco said, "I mean do you like Jacqui or Kristle?"
"Jacqui."
"Well there you go," Harry said, "Just say sorry and use every cheesy line you have. Girls tend to mush over that stuff. Say sorry, tell you love her, say you'll never do it again, tell her it meant nothing, and don't mention kissing Kristle, just name some other chick."
"Yeah, I agree with Harry. All she knows is that you kissed three girls and that's it," Draco said, "You'll be in the dog pound for a long time if you mention that you kissed her sister."
"Maybe you're right. Well I'm off," Clayton said, "Wish me luck."
"Good luck," Harry said
Clayton got up from his seat and left the room. Draco just blew air out of his teeth.
"She didn't even know his last name?" Harry asked still puzzled about her remark.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~
Knock, Knock, Knock
"Hermione, I don't hear anything," Blaise said worriedly.
"It's worse then I thought," Hermione said. She opened the door and peeked her head into the room. No Jacqui. "Jacqui?" Hermione said walking into the room. Blaise was right behind her. "Jacqui?"
"Where is she?" Blaise said. They went into the game room. No Jacqui. They checked the restroom. No Jacqui. They checked the closets. No Jacqui. Hermione and Blaise finally gave up and sat down on the couches in the room.
"Where could she be?" Blaise asked.
"Your guess is better than mine," Hermione said.
The door opened and both girls stood up thinking it would be Jacqui but it was only Clayton.
"Oh it's you," Hermione said sitting back down.
"Where's Jacqui?" Clayton asked.
"We don't know. We've look all over the place but no luck," Blaise said.
"Well did you check the library?" Clayton asked
Both girls looked at each other and began laughing hysterically.
"Jacqui in the library?" Hermione said hold her side.
"Oh great Merlin, that's rich," Blaise said, "I needed a good laugh."
"Why are you laughing? I was being serious," Clayton said.
"Clayton, you haven't known Jacqui as longed as we have," Hermione said, "She'd never set foot in a library."
"She only goes when she's sad. She says it's quiet and peaceful," Clayton said.
"She's never told us that," Hermione said.
"Maybe because she's afraid that you two would laugh at her like you just did."
"Well what are we waiting for?" Hermione said standing up. "Let's go to the library."
Clayton, Blaise, and Hermione walked down to the library. They opened the door and to Hermione and Blaise's surprise, Jacqui was there, curled up on the couch crying her eyes out.
"Clayton, you better wait outside," Hermione advised.
"But I want to know if she's alright," Claytons said concerned.
"We'll see if she's alright and when she's ready to talk to you, we'll come and get you," Blaise said.
"Oh…alright I'll wait right here," Clayton said in disappointment.
"Come on," Hermione said to Blaise. They ran into the library and began to comfort their best friend.
"Oh…. Sweetie," Hermione said "Are you alright?"
"No, I'm not alright," Jacqui said, "How would you like if you found out Harry was kissing some girl? No, not one but three of them?"
"Sorry wrong question," Hermione apologized.
"How did you find me?" Jacqui said wiping her tears.
"We searched this entire house; this was the only room we didn't check," Blaise said.
"Yeah, well I wanted somewhere quiet," Jacqui said, "Plus there's something about library's that make me feel really secure. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"Honey look who you're talking to. I practically live in the library," Hermione said with a smile.
"So who did he kiss?" Blaise asked.
"I don't know," Jacqui said and started to cry again.
"Blaise looked what you did," Hermione said hitting her on her arm, "You made her cry again."
"I didn't mean too," Blaise apologized, "Oh… Jacqui, it's going to be alright."
"Yeah, I mean it's only Clayton for heavens sake. For all you know it could have been completely innocent kiss on the cheek."
"Maybe you're right, but still he kissed someone else," Jacqui said wiping her tears.
"Well at least it wasn't your sister," Blaise said, "Then it would've been really wrong."
"So what are you going to do?" Hermione asked.
"I don't want to break up with him but at the same time I do. I'm really confused," Jacqui said wiping the last of her tears. "It's not so much that he kissed another girl. It's the thought he might think the other girls are prettier than me."
"Now you're talking complete nonsense, Jacqui. You know you are one of the prettiest girls in school. Everyone knows that. We could have any guy we want whenever we want. For Merlin sake, we have the whole male population in Hogwarts wrapped around our fingers," Blaise explained.
"It's true and you know it is," Hermione said.
"I know. I don't know why I was thinking such crazy thoughts," Jacqui said with a little chuckle.
"Good since that is sorted out, what are you going to do about Clayton?" Hermione asked.
"I know what you could do," Blaise said. Hermione and Jacqui just looked at her with puzzled faces. "You could talk to the guy. And they say Hermione is the smartest witch in school," Blaise said shaking her head.
"Shut up," Hermione said.
"I guess I could talk to him," Jacqui said unsure.
"Well then I'll go get him," Hermione said getting up from her seat. She walked to the door, peeked her head out and looked at Clayton. He was at the other end of the hallway, whistling and waiting.
"Clayton," Hermione said loud enough for him to hear. He stopped whistling and walked up to the door. "Why were you all the way over there?"
"Thought you girls needed some privacy."
"Oh…well, she's ready to talk to you," Hermione said.
She opened the door and let Clayton into the library. He walked over to the spot where Hermione and Blaise were and put his hands in his pants pockets.
"Hey," Clayton said.
"Hey," Jacqui said looking down.
"Right…come on Blaise we need to get dressed," Hermione said.
"Bye guys," Blaise said and followed Hermione out of the room.
"So," Clayton said.
"So," Jacqui said.
"Jacqui, I'm sorry," Clayton said, "I love you."
"Really?" Jacqui said picking up her head.
"Yeah," Clayton said.
"Oh…I love you too." Jacqui said and ran to him and hugged him as hard as she could, "But if you ever do that again…I'll cut your dick off."
"Don't worry. I won't."
*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~**~*~**~*
"Hermione, Blaise, Jacqui, Raul, Let's go!" Draco yelled.
"I mean honestly, I could understand why the girls would take long, but Raul?" Harry said.
"Maybe he's taking a peek at your girls getting dressed," Clayton suggested. Both Draco and Harry snapped their head at Clayton. "Or maybe he doesn't know what to wear."
"Maybe." Harry said, "Great Gods, it's been three hours. We were supposed to leave at 11:30 it is now 1:30. No wait. 2:30."
"Oi! Jacqui, Blaise, Hermione let's go!" Draco screamed.
"Coming!" said Blaise from a distance.
"Finally," Draco said
Hermione, Blaise, and Jacqui locked arms together and walked down the hallway. They stopped at a mirror that was hanging in the middle of the hallway. They looked at themselves, locked arms again and came down stairs.
Harry, Draco, Clayton, and Raul had their mouths completely open, drool included. This was the reason that they were called the untouchables at school - they looked so good you didn't want to touch them and mess it up.
"Harry," Hermione said. "Harry!" she lightly shook him and he immediately got out of the trance that he was in.
"Hermione you look very sexy," Harry said.
"Thank you," Hermione said "Your friend thinks the same as well."
"What?" Harry said he looked down at this pants and his crouch area had seem to be pointing out. He turned around quickly adjusted himself.
"Sorry about that." Harry apologized he gave her peck on the cheek and put his arm around her waist.
"Are we ready then?" Harry asked.
Everyone nodded, "Wait before we leave, we have to check off the list."
"Wallet and purses?" Harry asked.
"Check"
"Wizard cards?"
"Check."
"Wands?"
"Check."
"Cloaks?"
"Check"
"Makeup?" Hermione added
"Check." The girls said
"And we are off," Clayton said.
They all concentrated and apparated to Paris. They seem to be in some kind of wizarding market.
"Okay is everyone here?" Harry asked. He did a head count and all seven of them were there standing in the middle of the streets staring around.
"Okay, where to first?" Draco said
"Gucci teenage wizarding style!" Blaise squealed.
"Okay, Gucci wizarding style it is," Harry said, "Afterward, its Quidditch N' All."
"Deal," the girls said. They walked around town and asked a man if he knew where Gucci wizarding style was. He showed the direction to go in and in the next ten minutes they were at the front of the store. The guys were in luck - Quidditch N' All was right across the street. The girls agreed to go and meet the guys after they shopped.
The girls locked arms together and stepped into the store. It was every wizard and Muggle teenage girl fantasy land. White silk drapes were all around and just about anything a teenage girl ever wanted. A handsome Frenchman stood by the door offering them a piece of chocolate and kiss on the cheek.
"Bonjour Mademoiselles," the Frenchman said to the three girls.
"Bonjour," they said back.
They walked farther into the store and went their separate ways.
Hermione searched through the rack trying to find something she liked. She pulled out a pair of faded jeans, brought them close to her and looked at herself.
"Excuses me, mademoiselle, is zair anything, I could help you wit?"
"Does it look like I need help?"
"No?" the salesman said
"Well there's your answer."
"Very well," the salesman said and left Hermione to her shopping.
After four hours, the girls were in the fitting room trying on their clothes.
"I think that salesman at the door likes Hermione," Blaise said from her changing room.
"Really?" Hermione said putting on a black jean mini skirt
"You could so tell that he fancies you." Jacqui said
"I'm not really feeling this skirt," Hermione said, "What do you guys think?" She stepped out of the room and waited until Blaise and Jacqui came out of their changing rooms. Blaise and Jacqui their doors at the same time and looked at Hermione. Hermione twirled around and looked at herself in the back. The skirt rose to her mid-thigh and was really comfy.
"I think it looks hot," Jacqui said.
"I disagree…I don't like that belt that comes with it."
"Me too," Hermione said.
"Can you take off the belt?" Jacqui asked.
"No," Hermione said, "I'm not going to take it."
"I'll take it then, I really like it," Jacqui said.
"I think you look sexy in it," Harry said smiling. Hermione turned around and there was Harry leaning against one of the changing room doors.
"Well I don't think it looks good," Hermione said, "What are you doing here?"
"Honey, we were at that Quidditch store for four hours. As much as we love Quidditch, we couldn't stay there that long."
"Oh," Hermione said, "Well we're not done yet."
"You're joking."
"Why would I joke about something like that?"
"What are you buying?"
"Don't know, found a few things and I'm trying them on to see what they look like," Hermione said. "Where are the rest of the guys?"
"They're coming. They were paying for some things."
"Oh, sweetie can you get those clothes on the chair for me? I want to try them on."
"Is that all…love" Harry said over the pile of clothes. There really were a lot of things.
"Yes."
Harry set the clothes on the floor and took a look at the skirts that Hermione was going to buy. He looked at them and looked back at Hermione
"Sweetie, these are awfully short," he said.
"So?"
"They are really short."
"Harry, would you rather have a fiancée that everyone turns their heads at or a fiancée that everyone looks away from? For example: Ginny Weasley, that girl needs some serious work," Hermione said giving Harry a kiss on the cheek and went back into the changing room.
Harry just shook his head and said, "That's my Hermione."
"Hey Harry," Jacqui said coming out of her changing room. She was wearing a beige silk night grown. Harry's mouth just dropped and stared.
"Don't let the flies get in," Jacqui joked. Harry shut his mouth and turned away embarrassedly.
"Sorry." He apologized
"It's alright…so what do you think of it?"
"It looks good," He said turned away.
"Harry you don't have to keep your back turned," Jacqui said looking at herself in the mirror.
"Yes I do," Harry said
"Fine."
"There you are," Draco said to Harry, "Oh hey Jacqui. You look hot."
"Thanks."
"So where's Clayton?" Harry asked.
"Right here," Clayton said. "Honey," he said and went over to Jacqui blocking her from viewers.
"Clayton, what the hell are you doing?" Jacqui asked.
"Covering you from onlookers. Why are you dressed like that anyways?" he asked.
"I was just trying it on," Jacqui said trying to get away from Clayton's protection.
"Well, go try on something else," Clayton said.
"Fine," Jacqui said and went back into the changing room.
Clayton walked back over to where and Draco and Harry were. He stood next to them.
"So what did you buy afterwards?" Harry asked.
"A broom servicing kit and Chudley Cannon jersey," Draco said.
"I bought a new broom," Clayton said.
"Cool."
"I'm all done," Blaise said coming with all of her bags. "Hey sweetie."
"Hey," Draco said giving her a kiss and taking her bags, "Get what you wanted?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, I'm ready." Hermione said coming out of the changing room.
"Let's go pay," Harry said grabbing all of the clothes; he placed them on the counter and the cashier just looked at him.
"Zaire whaz no problem wit anything, I hope," the salesclerk said scanning the clothes.
"No," Harry said
After fifteen minutes, the cashier gave Harry the total.
"Okay monsieur…ze total comes out to three thousand galleons," the cashier said.
"Okay," Harry said and gave him his wizard card. The clerk swiped the wizard card and waited from the response. The receipt came out and the salesclerk gave the long receipt to Harry to sign. Harry signed it and returned the pen.
"Thank you for coming to Gucci teenage wizarding fashion," the salesclerk said and gave the bags to Harry.
They walked out of the store and stood outside.
"Who's ready for an early supper?" Draco said.
"I am, I'm starving," Hermione said rubbing her stomach.
"When aren't you?" Draco said with a smirk.
"Sod off, will you?" Hermione snapped back.
"So, where are we going?" Clayton asked.
"Don't know, this my first time here!" Harry said looking around. Everyone turned there heads toward his direction and gave him strange looks.
"You're joking," Blaise said. "You've never been to Paris?"
"No. Maybe you guys forgot but I was raised by Muggles and they weren't rich enough to go on a vacation to some place like this, and if they did they wouldn't have taken me along." Harry paused, "It was only recently that I was able to travel, and that's only because I lived with Sirius and he loves to travel."
Everyone just stared at him and gave him a look they would give a crazy person at St. Mungos. Harry just put his head down and waited until the awkward silence between them ended.
"Well, then we have a lot to see in so little time," Hermione said with a smile, "How much time do we have left?"
"About five hours left until my scar comes back."
"Well I hate to say this but I think we are going to have to go into Muggle Paris," Hermione said biting the end of her lip.
"Why?" Jacqui asked.
"Because there are sites I want to show Harry and we could stay later in Muggle Paris because no knows who he is."
"Then what are we waiting around for? Let's go to supper," Draco said.
"But where are we going?" Blaise asked
"Come with me, I think I know a place," Raul said. Everyone exchanged looks and shrugged it off and followed Raul. They walked about ten minutes down the streets and they reached a restaurant called Hybrid.
"Raul, doesn't Hybrid mean crossed genes?" Hermione asked.
"Does it? Well I came here with my Uncle Albus; it's delicious," Raul explained.
"What do they serve here?" Harry asked.
"Anything you want. Whatever you feel like eating, they'll be able to make it for you. It's really cool." Raul paused and looked at everyone, "Come on." He opened the door and it looked like a local teenage hot spot. Everywhere you looked, there were teenagers hanging out with their friends
"Bonjour, Soyez la Hybrid," the hostess said (Hello, Welcome to Hybrid).
"Bonjour, une table pour sept," Raul said in French (Hello, table for seven).
"Qui, suivre moi." (Yes, Follow me) the hostess said. She led them to the end of the restaurant and sat them down. Harry rushed over and pulled out Hermione's chair.
"Thank you," she said.
"You're welcome," Harry said and went over to the chair next to her.
"Wow this is a great place," Harry said looking around.
"I agree," Draco said and looked back down at his menu.
"Bonjour, j'ai ma apelle Natalie, une boisson par la mademoiselle?" Natalie asked the girls. (Hello, my name is Natalie, drink for the young ladies?)
"Quantre strawberry fizz," Hermione said (Four Strawberry Fizzes).
"Quantre strawberry fizz, pour le monsieur?" Natalie asked the guys (Four Strawberry Fizzes and for the young men?)
"Do we all want the same thing?" Harry asked the guys.
"Yeah." Draco said
"Trois butterbeer," Harry said. (Three Butterbeers)
"Tout de suite," Natalie said and left to get their beverages. (Right away)
Harry looked down at his menu and wonder what he was in the mood for eating. Natalie quickly came back with their drinks and was ready to take their orders.
"I was informed that you are tourist?" Natalie said in a British accent
"Hold on a minute, you speak English?" Draco said.
"Yes," Natalie said, "Or like the French say, Oui,"
"How come you didn't tell us?" Hermione said taking a sip from her drink.
"You didn't ask. Besides, you spoke such good French I assumed that you were from here," Natalie said taking out her order pad, "So what would it be?"
"I'll take a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup and a basket of fries," Harry ordered. Natalie wrote down Harry's order and looked back at him.
"Excellent choice," Natalie said and gave him a wink, "Who's next?"
"I'll take a basket of fish and chips and an extra basket of chips," Clayton ordered. Natalie wrote Clayton's order and looked at the next person.
"I'll take the same as him but can I have small plate of mash potatoes?" Raul ordered.
"I'll take a sirloin steak and a side order of cooked vegetables and mash potatoes," Draco said.
"And how would you like your steak?" Natalie asked.
"Well done," Draco said.
"I'll have lasagna and the side order of cooked vegetables." Blaise ordered
"Same for me," Jacqui said, "Put the vegetables on a separate plate."
"I will have cheeseburger without onions or pickles. I only want lettuce, tomato, and fries. A bowl of fruit and bowl of cooked vegetables also," Hermione ordered.
"Okay, I'll be right back," Natalie said and left the table. Hermione let out a groan and slammed her fist on the table.
"Could you believe that woman? How could she flirt with Harry right in front of me.... the nerve of her!" Hermione said angrily.
"Love, calm down. I would hardly call it flirting," Harry said patting her hand.
"And you!" Hermione snapped her head at Harry, "You weren't helping the situation by smiling at her."
"Well what did you want me to do, spit at her?" Harry said.
"Well yeah, or you could've had said back off bitch I'm taken."
"I'm not going to say that to someone I don't know," Harry said.
"Well when she comes back with our food, she better not do that again," Hermione said.
"So what about those Chudley Cannons?" Clayton said to start up another conversation.
"What about them, they suck," Raul said, "Bulgaria is the best team around."
When Raul made that comment, Draco, Harry, and Clayton began arguing with Raul that Bulgaria wasn't the best team around. The girls just rolled there eyes and talked about what they had just bought.
"Oh my god Hermione, that salesman from the store is here," Blaise said, pointing to the table across from them.
"What?" Hermione said and turned around. The salesman just smiled and waved hello to Hermione. Hermione turned back around and looked at her friends.
"He's stalking you," Jacqui said.
"No he's not." Blaise said, "He just happens to be in same restaurant, its just co-"
"Well of course he's stalking me," Hermione interrupted, "I mean look at me," she said flipping her hair.
"Who's stalking you?" Harry asked.
"No one," Hermione said quickly.
"That man behind you," Jacqui said, "He was at the store that we were just at and now he's here."
"First of all he was a salesman at the store, second he's just here by coincidence. Besides, the person he should be stalking is me. I'm clearly more beautiful then Hermione," Blaise said in a snooty way.
"No you're not," Hermione said, "I'm way prettier than you."
"You're both wrong, I'm prettier then both of you," Jacqui said.
The girls continued arguing and Harry just sat there and was having a jolly good time watching the girls fight about who was prettier. Draco, Clayton, and Raul stopped their conversation about Quidditch and turned their heads toward the girl's argument.
"Oh goodie, a cat fight," Raul said.
"Why are they arguing?" Clayton asked.
"Don't know - it started with someone stalking Hermione, then the subject changed when Blaise said she was prettier than Hermione, then Jacqui said she was prettier than both of them, then I think now the subject changed to who has had the most boyfriends."
"Sleeping with a guy for one night doesn't count as having a boyfriend," Blaise said to Hermione.
"You bitch," Hermione said, "You shouldn't be talking miss 'I slept with a guy that I only knew for fifteen minutes'."
"Oh yeah, Trevor - that was his name wasn't it?" Jacqui said.
"If my memory is correct, you slept with his twin brother that same night," Blaise said.
"So it's just a stupid fight that they are going to regret," Draco said.
"Yeah, that about says it," Harry shrugged, "I kind of find it a turn on."
"I second that," Raul said still watching the girls fight.
"I don't find it a turn on. Trust me I grew up with these girls - this fight could last for hours. I'm going to end it."
"No, don't do that," Raul said, "Blaise is getting really red and looks like she's about to push Jacqui."
"I have to," Draco said.
"But how," Clayton asked.
"You'll see," Draco said with a smirk. He got up from his chair and put his hands up in the air.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Draco said, "You're all equally beautiful and all have men at you feet begging for a good night and none of you mean what you say about each other. Natalie is coming right now with our food so let's try and have a good time. "
"You're right Draco. We were acting childish," Jacqui said.
"Yeah I guess we were," Blaise said with a chuckle.
"I still think I'm prettier than both of you," Hermione said and took a sip of her drink. Blaise and Jacqui just rolled there eyes and went along with Hermione's comment. Natalie came about three minutes later with their waiter and gave handed them their food.
"Now if you need anything else just call me," Natalie said and left them to their dinner.
"This smells delicious," Harry said and took a bite out of his grilled cheese sandwich.
~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~**~
One hour later
"Wow, those were the best fish and chips I've ever tasted, and we aren't even in England," Draco said drinking the last of his butterbeer.
"Quick - what time is it?" Hermione asked.
"About to be 6:30," Harry said looking at his watch.
"Great, we'll be able to visit Paris. It's so much better at the night because of all the lights," Hermione said. "Come on, I want to go to the Eiffel Tower right now."
"But what about dessert?" Blaise asked.
"You could get that from sidewalk carts," Hermione said.
"I'm ready," Harry said putting his napkin on the top of his plate.
"Me too," Draco said
"Wait I have to go tinkle," Jacqui said.
"Me too," Blaise said.
"Okay, why don't you girls go the loo and we'll go and pay for our dinner," Harry said getting up from his seat. The girls locked their arms together and walked to the ladies room.
The guys walked up the register and asked for the bill. Harry took out his wallet and handed the lady his wizard card.
"It's on me," Harry said.
"Fine but I'm going to pay for dessert," Draco said.
"Okay, I pay for any other beverages that we get on our tour of France," Clayton said.
The hostess gave back Harry's card and his receipt. He placed it back in his wallet and the boys waited patiently at the entrance.
"Excuse me." A girl from behind poked him at on his shoulder. Harry turned around and there stood their waitress from dinner.
"Hey Natalie, did we not leave a tip?" Harry asked worriedly.
"You're so sweet - no you left more than enough for my service tonight," Natalie said with a smile.
"Oh…okay," Harry said rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. He was feeling terribly uncomfortable.
"So what are you guys doing here?" Natalie asked.
"Err…just here to visit, that's all," Harry said.
"If you don't mind me asking, shouldn't you be in school right now?" she asked.
"We had a little break and we wanted to spend it here," Harry said now fiddling with his watch.
"So what are your plans for the rest of the evening?" Natalie asked.
"Just going around town," Harry said.
"I could show you around if you like. I could show you all the teen hot spots," Natalie said, "I could be a tour guide."
"I don't know," Harry said looking at Draco. He was just smiling and shaking his head.
"Oh come on, it'll be fun," Natalie said, "I'll give you the best time you've ever had in Paris."
"I bet she would," Draco said softly but loud enough that Raul and Clayton heard him and they began to snicker.
"I bet you would be a great tour guide. I just don't think Hermione would like the idea that you would show us around Paris instead of her."
"Who's Hermione?" Natalie asked.
"His fiancée," Raul said. Natalie's happy smile changed to a frown and she started staring her feet.
"You're engaged," she said sadly.
"Yeah, to the best girl in the world," Harry said proudly.
"Oh…was she that really pretty girl sitting next to you?" Natalie said still staring at her feet.
"Yep, that was my Hermione." Harry said
"Oh…well best of luck to you, um…I need to get back to work. I'll see you around," Natalie said with a smile and went out there sight. Harry let out a huge breath of air and rubbed his face.
"Damn Harry, that girl was all over you," Clayton said.
"I know. I'm just glad that I mentioned Hermione or else she would be asking for my phone number."
"I could imagine Hermione's face right now if she did," Draco said with a little smirk.
"Imagine my face how?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, nothing," Harry said putting an arm around her.
"Got my bags?" Hermione asked.
"Yep, come on let's go and see Paris," Harry said and they left the restaurant.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Wow that was a great bore," Draco said rubbing his eyes. They had just finished their tour around the Eiffel Tower.
"What are you talking about? It was really interesting," Clayton said looking at the tour guide.
"I agree," Harry said rubbing his tired eyes.
"You're not tired already are you?" Hermione said worriedly, "Because we still have loads to see."
"Nope, not tired at all," Harry said and put on a big grin. "Where to next?"
"How about a boat ride?" Jacqui requested.
"Yeah." Hermione and Blaise said in unison.
"It would be awfully romantic," Hermione said tugging at Harry's arm.
"Then a boat ride it is," Draco said sticking his arm out for Blaise. "Wait, where's Raul?"
The gang turned their heads and tried to spot where Raul had run off too. Blaise squinted her eyes a bit and saw Raul talking to a teenage French girl.
"There he is," Blaise pointed, "Looks like he's trying to get a phone number."
"Or a piece of ass," Draco blurted out.
"Draco," Hermione said, "That wasn't very polite."
"Oh I'm sorry - trying to get laid," Draco said with a smirk, "How's that?"
"Much better," Hermione said and they both smirked.
Five minutes later, Raul came back with his arm around the girl's waist. She was about Hermione's height, with shoulder length brown hair and hazel eyes.
"Everyone this is Angel," Raul said.
"Hi I'm Draco."
"I'm Hermione."
"I'm Harry."
"I'm Jacqui."
"I'm Clayton"
"And I'm Blaise. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," Angel said with a very poor English accent. "Zis is my first time meeting English kids."
"Really?" Harry said, "Hey, we were going on a boat ride - would you like to come along?"
"Sure," Angel said excitedly, "If that's alright wit you Raul."
"Of course, come on," Raul said, "So where do we catch our boat?"
"Come, I show you," Angel said and led them down the street. They caught a taxi and drove up to a boating dock. It was obviously a couple spot because everywhere you looked, you could see couples cuddling or kissing. They walked to the information booth and paid for their boat.
"Harry, I'm thirsty," Hermione said.
"Draco, come with me to get Hermione a drink," Harry asked, "Honey what do you want?"
"Something with bubbles," Hermione said. Harry nodded and he and Draco went to the drink concession stand.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~
Blaise, Hermione, and Jacqui looked at Angel and began to examine her. She had an okay style and was exceptionally pretty but there was something that they didn't like. Something seemed very odd about her…. they just couldn't put their finger on it.
"What is it girls?" Hermione said, "What's wrong with her?"
"I don't know," Blaise said.
"Is it her nose?" Jacqui blurted.
"No, it's fine. Look's like she got plastic surgery on it too," Blaise said, "So it's definitely not her nose."
"Her feet!" Hermione shouted, "That's it right?"
"No, I don't think so."
There was a short pause and then Blaise gasped loudly.
"Great Merlin's I got it….she had breast implants."
"What?" Jacqui said
"Look at them," Blaise said, "They're huge."
"That's it," Hermione said, "That's what's wrong. They don't go with her body."
"Ten points to Blaise," Jacqui said
"Yeah, but we don't know for sure," Blaise said biting her lip.
"Well why don't you ask her?" Hermione said twirling a loose lock of hair.
"I can't just ask a question like that," Blaise said.
Raul bent down on his knees and tucked his shoelaces into his shoe, "What did you say?"
"I said, I don't tink your friends like me," Angel said.
"Oh, don't mind them. They're just a bunch of snobs anyways," Raul said getting up from the floor.
"Well zay always keep looking over here," Angel said.
"Really," Raul said and looked across from where they were and saw Hermione, Blaise and Jacqui staring and laughing. "Yeah, they're a bunch of bitches anyway. Don't pay any attention to them." She nodded weakly and put on a smile.
"Besides, all you need to worry about is right now is the kind of stuff we will be doing on the boat," Raul said putting his arm around her neck.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*
"Here you go love," Harry said handing Hermione her drink.
"Thanks," Hermione said slurping from the straw. "Well I guess we'll see you lot later. Come on Harry." She tugged the collar of his shirt and dragged him to the boat.
"You two behave yourself, you hear?" Draco shouted.
"Come on Draco, it's our turn to have a little fun," Blaise said with a devilish smile.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Two hours later
Harry got up from the bottom of the boat with a goofy grin on his face. His hair was messed up and there were lip gloss stains on his face. He straightened his clothes and looked towards Hermione. She was fixing her top and straightening her hair. She went into her purse and started to reapply her make-up.
"We're almost to shore love," Harry said.
"Great," Hermione said with a smile.
"Best boat ride I've ever taken," Harry said with a huge grin.
"I've had better," Hermione blurted out.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Nothing," Hermione said, "Makes me look forward to coming to France more often."
"Ditto," Harry said rowing up to shore. He got off quickly and tied the rope around the pole. He dusted his hands off and helped Hermione out of the boat.
"Well it's about bloody time," Draco shouted, "Great Merlin Potter, does it always take you this long in bed?"
"Shut up," Harry said, "And for you information we weren't doing that on the boat."
"Sure Potter," Draco said rolling his eyes, "Where to next?"
"Don't know. It's still early," Harry said looking at his watch.
"Well, I guess we could go just explore the city," Draco said.
"Sounds good to me," Harry said with a smile, "Hermione?"
"Sure!" Hermione said excitedly, "Where's Raul?"
"I think still on the boat," Draco said shaking his head, "Come on let's go."
"We can't leave him behind," Clayton said worriedly.
"Of course we can. He knows the way home," Draco said, "Come on."
~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*
"HARRY WAKE UP!!!!" Hermione screamed, "HARRY YOU HAVE TO BE AT THE MINSTRY OF MAGIC IN TWO HOURS."
"WHAT!!!" Harry said springing out of bed. "DAMNIT HERMIONE, WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP SOONER?"
"Well if you hadn't gotten so drunk last night, maybe you would have woken up!" Hermione argued back, "It's not like I didn't try."
"Well, can you at least get my stuff ready," Harry said running in and out of the bathroom, "While I take a shower?"
"Fine," Hermione said, "What suit do you want to wear?" she said going into the loo.
"I don't know - you pick," Harry said stepping into the shower.
~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*
One hour later
"Don't worry Hermione, it's going to be alright," Harry said at the front door. "So how do I look?"
"Sexy," Hermione said, "Black is definitely your color."
Harry smiled and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "It's going to be alright." Hermione nodded and put on a weak smile.
"See you later Harry," Draco said, "Remember, it doesn't hurt if you suck up."
"Right, well I better be off," Harry said. He gave Hermione one last kiss and touched his portkey. A minute later, he arrived outside the Ministry of Magic. He took a deep breath and opened the door. This was his second time inside the Ministry of Magic and it was just how he remembered - people running back and forth muttering things as they walked by.
"Excuse me sir, but please hand over you wand," the security officer said.
"Oh," Harry said, he took out his wand from the inside of his blazer and handed it to the guard.
"Wait until your tag comes out," the officer said.
Harry looked around for a few seconds and saw Dumbledore at the other end of the building.
"Here you go Mr. Potter," the officer said.
"Thank you," Harry said taking his tag. He placed it on front of his coat and walked up to the Headmaster.
"Ah…Harry," Dumbledore said with a smile, "You're early, that's good."
"So what do you think will happen to me?" Harry asked.
"Nothing major, maybe just a warning," Dumbledore said, "How was your visit to Paris?" Dumbledore asked.
"Great…had loads of fun." Harry said.
"Good to hear," Dumbledore said with a tinkle in his eye.
"Harry Potter, we are ready to see you," the officer said.
"Right," Dumbledore said, "Now Harry, don't be nervous and remember to tell the judge everything that happened and be very honest."
"Yes sir," Harry said. He tightened his tie and smoothed out his suit. He took a deep breath and walked through the doors.
"Case 128763."
"Please state your name," an elderly man said.
"Harold James Potter."
"And how do you plea?"
"Not Guilty."
"State your age."
"Seventeen."
"Mr. Potter, would you please tell us what happened," the judge said, "In detail?"
"Yes sir," Harry said nervously, "My girlfriend and I and two of our friends were coming back from Seventh Year's night at Hogsmeade. I was walking my girlfriend to her room and that's when we saw a figure at the entrance of her room. He showed himself to us and it turned out to be her father, Lucius Malfoy sir. He told me that he wouldn't allow his daughter to be with me and told his son to use the Cruciatus Curse on me because he said his wand was taken away from him. His son disobeyed his order and that's when Mr. Malfoy used the Cruciatus Curse on him. His attention then went to his daughter and he began to say the killing curse I acted quickly and used the killing curse him before it could get to his daughter."
"How did Lucius use the Cruciatus Curse if he didn't have a wand?" the judge asked.
"He lied. He had a wand all along," Harry answered, "He must have stolen it."
"I see," the judge said, "What happened next?"
"Well, my memory is very blurry but I remember taking my best friend to the hospital wing. My girlfriend told me instead of being in the hospital wing, I should be in Dumbledore's office but I wouldn't go. I wanted to see if my friend was alright, and that's when I saw Lucius' dead body. Lucky for me, I didn't have to leave the hospital because Dumbledore was already there. He told me I needed to go away for some time, just so the media doesn't get to me. So for the past three weeks, I have been staying in a house Dumbledore fixed up for me."
"By yourself?"
"No sir, Dumbledore also thought it was good if the witnesses came along too."
"I see. Well Mr. Potter, there isn't much for me to say. You have used one of the unforgivable curses, but you used it in your defense and in protection of your girlfriend so I guess the only thing I have to say is well done Mr. Potter, well done."
"Thank you sir," Harry said with a grin.
"Mr. Potter, you stopped a very dangerous man and at a very young age at that. Who knows what he could've done if you hadn't killed him. Right, well I guess there's only one thing say," the judge said, "This hearing is dismissed."
Harry and Dumbledore walked out of the courtroom and stood at the middle of the hallway. Harry loosened his tie and unbuttoned his suit.
"Wow, that is a relief," Harry said. "I guess we have to return to Hogwarts."
"I'm afraid so" Dumbledore said, "I best be off."
"Thank you again sir," Harry said.
"Don't mention it."
Harry nodded and went back to the security officer at the entrance. He got his wand back and left the Ministry of Magic. He couldn't wait to tell Hermione the great news.
~*~*~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~
Meanwhile at Hogwarts…
"Jacy Greenwood - that's your name right?" Ron said.
"Who wants to know?" Jacy asked.
"I'm -"
"I know who you are," Jacy said in a snobby tone.
"Right…do you know who Draco Malfoy is?"
"Of course I do," Jacy said, "He's one the most popular boys in this school besides Harry Potter."
"Right, do you think Draco is good looking?"
"What kind of a question is that?"
"Just a question," Ron said, "So…"
"Well of course I do," Jacy said, "But he's with that slut, Blaise."
"Yeah, well what if I told you that it could all change in just a matter of days."
"What do you mean?"
"I know a way spilt up Blaise and Draco and that way you could have Draco all to yourself."
"How?"
"Let's take a walk around the lake," Ron said holding out his arm. Jacy looked at Ron and smiled. She grabbed her books and took Ron's arm