An Unlikely Pair
Harry walked into The Three Broomsticks a few minutes before eight that night and immediately saw familiar red hair in the corner. Automatically his heart jumped a bit as he thought of Ron, then the rational side of his brain kicked in and told him it wasn't Ron…just Charlie.
And Pansy.
Charlie and Pansy.
The words felt like a very bad sour ball on his tongue, but he took a deep breath and kept repeating he was an adult, he could handle a simple question and answer session with a pregnant Slytherin, right?
Quickly, he turned and ordered a shot of firewhiskey from the bar before he made his way through the throng of witches and wizards who smiled and nodded at him.
"I drive you to drink, do I?" Pansy's smooth voice floated over to him as he made his way to the table, shot glass in hand.
"Depends on what you want to ask me," Harry said cautiously, nodding at her and then shaking Charlie's hand, cocking an eyebrow at him as if asking, `What the fuck do you think you are doing with her?' Charlie lifted his broad shoulders in a shrug and together the two men sat down across from Pansy. Harry stole a glance at her and realized she looked quite a bit older than when he last saw her…graduation day three years ago.
"So," Harry began, not quite sure where to begin. Pansy cleared her throat and as if by habit now, smoothed her hands down over the small swell under her plain red shirt. Her summer cloak hung on the back of her chair and her now long hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She had lost some of the weight she seemed to carry constantly at Hogwarts and Harry realized, for the first time as she looked at him, that she had a unique shade of dark, almost eggplant purple eyes.
"What did you want to see me for? You aren't going to blame me for something are you?" he asked, not being able to help the note of contempt enter into his voice.
The rational side of Harry told him to reign it in a bit. Pansy had lost Draco a month ago and was pregnant; give her a break.
"No, believe it or not," she shot back just as easily. "Maybe I should start with how we came to be sitting here."
"Please," Harry said and at this point downed the shot then let it hit the table with a solid thud. "How did you meet Charlie, first off."
Pansy's eyes slid to Charlie who was now leaning back on two legs of his chair, his back resting in the corner where the two back walls met. He just raised his reddish blond eyebrows at her and she then looked at Harry who was patiently waiting, twirling his now empty shot glass between his fingers.
"I only met him about three hours ago. Literally, we ran into each other as we came around the corner from opposite directions. For a moment, I thought it was Ron and did that double take as we bent down to pick up our belongings. He must've seen what I was thinking and introduced himself, so I did the same. Quick apologies, we went on our way. Then, a half hour later I came in here for a drink and to meet with my parents. After they left, he came over and said it looked as if I could use a drink. I told him I couldn't drink because I was pregnant so he bought me a pumpkin juice, sat down and began to tell me that it might possibly be harder to raise a baby orphan dragon than a little human baby...even twins."
"Interesting," Harry said dryly and looked pointedly at Charlie.
"It's true. From what I hear anyway. Don't have any kids myself, and I wasn't around much when Will was younger," Charlie defended himself, letting himself fall forward towards the table.
"Who's Will?" Pansy asked her eyes moving between the two.
"Will is my nephew; Bill and Fleur's son and also Harry's Godson," Charlie answered casually.
"Ah. Okay," she nodded as if filing that information away for the future. "Anyway," Pansy continued, looking up as three glasses of water floated their way. Harry nodded to the bartender and took a sip. "We talked and talked. I told him about Draco being the father of my...the…twins and he said something about a friend helping you contact Ginny."
"Well. I didn't contact her. Apparently she sought me out. But it wasn't like a séance or anything," Harry explained carefully, wondering why Charlie told her this. It was beginning to dawn on usually clueless Harry that Charlie must find something interesting in Pansy…something Harry himself couldn't see. Most Weasley's, except Percy, were usually tight lipped when it came to himself. They had this notion to protect Harry Potter…so Harry looked at him carefully as Pansy continued on. He needed to make sure that Charlie wasn't imperioused or anything.
"I understand. I read up on that stuff; especially ever since Draco…took his life," Pansy's voice caught but she plugged on, now staring down at her hands where a nice set of manicured nails were nervously twisting a ring around on her right hand. "But, I was wondering, if you think there is any way that Luna could try and contact Draco. If he wants to be. I just want him to know he's going to be a father…and to see if…just to let him know that," she finished in a rush.
Harry watched her carefully wondering what he should say. He sure couldn't speak for Luna; but if he knew Luna, she would be more than happy to help and…who knows? Maybe this could be her new calling in life. So, he decided to just say what his instincts were telling him. He had never known Luna to get mad, so hopefully she wouldn't now, when her help was wanted.
"Well, Pansy…I don't know what to say. I can pass along the request to Luna and if you give me an address to contact you, I can have her get in touch with you directly. I can't answer for her," Harry said trying to keep his voice gentle. He could see she was hurting, but didn't want to step on Luna's toes either. Charlie was still quiet; acting like himself so Harry pushed the thought of one of the three unforgivable curses might have been cast upon him.
"That'd be great. I'm at Malfoy Manor now…my parents were just being way to over protective seeing how the pure-blood blood line will now live on. Besides, I think with me staying at the Manor, it helps Narcissa deal with Draco's death a bit better."
"Oh, well…okay. I'll probably talk to Luna sometime this week and pass along the information. Or, if you check the Herbology Shop in Diagon Alley she could be there with Neville. I think he owns half of it or something," Harry offered, seeing the first smile come to her face that evening.
"Thanks. I might go there tomorrow then."
"Do you want an escort?" Charlie asked casually and Harry bit the inside of his cheek from laughing out loud. But, Pansy took it in stride.
"If you have nothing better to do, feel free. They should be open by ten you think right?"
Harry nodded mutely, still not trusting himself to speak. `Arthur and Molly will have a fit if they knew Charlie was befriending Pansy. Oh, how I would loved to see that conversation!' was all that Harry could think at the moment, as he struggled not to laugh at the absurdity of Charlie…and Pansy.
"Fine, I'll go then…that way you aren't in the middle, Harry. I'll just say I heard through the grapevine what she can do."
"Luna's very laid back. She won't mind if you say I told her you were there," Harry told her after finishing his water. "I need to get home. I'm beat…anything else I can help you with?" he asked politely.
"No…umm…thanks," she added with a note of awkwardness in her voice. Harry nodded and hurriedly stood up, anxious to get out of that atmosphere. A Weasley, a Parkinson and two Malfoy babies…it was all making his head roll. Maybe the world was coming to an end!
"Well, good luck…and…um, I'm sure Draco would be happy about the babies," Harry added pushing in his chair. Pansy looked up at him, looking slightly happier.
"You think?"
"Yeah, you know Malfoy. He'd be happy; even just for the fact that he managed to make two at one time," Harry gave a small grin as she actually laughed aloud.
"Yeah, you're right…he would've."
On that note, Harry bid Charlie and Pansy good bye and practically ran to the door. He couldn't wait to tell Hermione what just transpired but it wasn't something he could tell her over the phone. This story had to be in person!
---
"Hey, Draco?" Ginny skirted around the edge of the main staircase as she caught site of Draco, staring down into the Slytherin dungeons.
He turned towards her keeping his face neutral. She had been avoiding him for the past day and a half, but after hearing what Luna had said to Neville, while perusing the Herbology store, she knew she needed to talk with Draco. She came to a stop a few arm lengths away from him and called his name again.
He turned towards her fully, so she was now face to face with him. He still wasn't saying anything and she got the vibe that he wasn't too pleased that she had just up and left him alone. In her mind that meant she might have to do some serious "sweet talking" to get him to talk to Luna.
"I was in Diagon Alley and heard Luna talking about you to Neville," she began, then paused, watching him closely. He cocked an eyebrow.
"So?" he asked as if bored by the subject.
"Well, apparently Pansy contacted her because she wants to know if you know she's pregnant. I think it's a form of closure for Pansy."
"Really? Well, how does she know that Luna can even talk to people that are dead? Did you tell Pansy somehow?"
"No," Ginny said gently, "I didn't. From what I gathered, my brother Charlie ran into Pansy, literally. One conversation led to another and Pansy found out that I had talked with Luna. So, Pansy wanted to try and locate her and knew Harry might know, so she asked through my brother, if she could meet him. In a nutshell, she found Luna, but Luna said she would have to figure out a way to contact you."
"So Luna sent you?"
"No, Draco," Ginny sighed, the word `hardheaded' coming to mind as he made this conversation difficult for her. "I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I heard that she was trying to figure out if she should try and ask me…so I decided to just let you know and you can make the decision." Ginny got the faint vibe that he was angry…which he had a right to be. These emotions that were coming back into play for her, after being void from so many of them for a year, were really making it hard for her to think clearly.
"I'm sure you still love Pansy and that it'll be hard to let her know-," Ginny began, trying another tactic.
"No," Draco said firmly, taking a step towards her. Confused, Ginny looked him questioningly.
"No…what?"
"I don't still love Pansy." He threw the words back at her forcefully. So much so that Ginny took a small step back. "I don't believe I ever did."
"But," Ginny spluttered, "you and her…you-."
"Yes, "me and her"," Draco imitated, actually putting up his fingers and making quotes with them. Ginny could see she definitely hit a sore spot and wisely kept her mouth shut. "She was allowed to come see me. It was her birthday and well, that's all you really need to know. Obviously, I shouldn't have let her do the charm…it sounded correct to me when she said it." He stopped suddenly as if he felt he said too much.
"Well," Ginny quickly tried to organize her thoughts. Images of Draco and Pansy having sex began racing through her head and she quickly pushed them far, far away. "I think if you want to help Pansy with some closure, you could seek out Luna. And, obviously you're angry with me for just…running away the other day. I apologize, Draco. I just…everything took me by surprise and I didn't know what to do," Ginny admitted, casting her eyes down to the stone floor. She could see the almost imperceptible slump of his shoulders. She took this to mean that he accepted her apology, but knowing the Malfoy in him he would never admit that he did.
"Alright, I'll talk or whatever to Luna. Is this something that I can just go…do? Or do you need to set this up?" Draco asked, changing the subject so Ginny figured that she must be forgiven for just ignoring him. Though, they weren't a couple (they couldn't be a true couple being Light ) why did the sense of guilt she had been carrying around on her shoulders, suddenly lift as he looked right at her?
"I'm pretty sure you could probably let her know your thoughts. It should be a private moment I guess, as much as it can be with Luna there. Luna and Neville's shop-," Ginny began but Draco held up his hand.
"Just…show me where it is."
Ginny nodded, surprised that he wanted her there. "Follow me," she turned and led him outside the gates to the school grounds. Laying a hand on his arm, she apparated them into Diagon Alley.
-----
Harry stepped out of the shower at the end of his first week of renewing the wards. Every morning he had gotten up at six, gone to work-out with Charlie for an hour, showered at the Gym then went to Hogwarts where he changed into his uniform and worked until about five in the evening.
He had made so much headway the past week, that today he was able to leave before lunch, and rest over the weekend, only to start renewing the wards around the castle the following week. He had promised Hermione to not do anything with the cylinder in his basement until she came home. She thought that she might be able to find something on the magical item in a book at the Library of Congress. Harry agreed, knowing he wouldn't have time to do much else anyway.
It was Friday. One full week since Hermione had left (she had spent the night at her parents the previous Friday and left very early the next day for the States). Now, he was about to send his surprise to her. She had called him and left a message on her phone that she would be out to breakfast with her parents until ten or so that morning, then, because it was raining she was going to be making notes for her classes that would start again in a bit over a month. Her parents were going to walk in the rain around some of the monuments.
Harry stepped into a pair of lightweight khaki colored shorts and pulled on a shirt Hermione had given him last year for his birthday…a dark green Muggle style golf shirt. He looked through his bag and saw he had a change of clothes, just in case. He had carefully wrapped up a small vile of "Pepper Up Potion", the latest Daily Prophet and the latest copy of "Transfiguration Monthly". He charmed the last two to look like plain, Muggle notebooks in case she wanted to look at them outside of her hotel room.
He had borrowed an umbrella earlier that morning from Charlie, who had been given one by his father. It was still wrapped, never used. He had told him to keep it; at least Harry knew how to use the blasted thing, was what Charlie had said. Zipping up his bag, he glanced at the clock and saw it was nearly two the afternoon.
By the time he apparated to the International Floo Terminal and went through the process of getting permission to apparate into the States, it would be close to half past. So, he hurriedly dumped more water and food into Crookshanks bowl. He left some treats in the attic near the window she flew in and out of, locked up his house, slung his bag on his shoulder and disapparated straight out of his kitchen.
He found that being Harry Potter, and being recognized, came in handy when traveling. As more and more representatives of the Floo Authority began to recognize him, they expedited his money exchange to Muggle American Dollars. They moved him to the VIP line at the floo center where he would stumble out in New York. From there, he was already given permission to floo into a small store in Washington, DC that magical witches and wizards frequented. From the information he had received, with the help of Arthur who had done some research on where Hermione's hotel was located, Harry only needed to walk three blocks.
By three in the afternoon England time, and ten in the morning in the States, Harry was standing that the entrance to where the Granger's were staying. He already knew her room number, so that wasn't a problem. He needed to calm down his nerves. He didn't want to intrude on their vacation but he had the need, the urge…almost something primal that he HAD to see her. Thankfully, her parents were out for the moment so she was alone, at least until lunch. Taking a deep breath, he pulled down his umbrella and gave it a shake as he walked through the door to the hotel. He was able to locate the elevators and punched the "up" arrow. A few people fell in next to him, waiting for the one that would ding and light up, but, he managed to ignore them…and found it to be a sense of relief that no one recognized him. Dressed the way he was, with a rucksack slung over his shoulder he looked like any other Muggle out during the tourist season.
He stepped into the wood paneled and mirrored elevator and hit the number eleven. A quick ride later and a turn down a nicely carpeted hallway, Harry stopped outside room number 1142. He could hear the faint sounds of a television through the door. Nervously, he raised his hand and knocked, immediately hearing footsteps towards the door.
He knew she looked through the peephole because he heard a squeal and a moment later was holding Hermione in his arms,
her face buried in his shoulder.
"Oh my God," she murmured into his shoulder. "You're the surprise…I really thought you were going to send me some book or something. I thought you had to work!" She clung to him until Harry suggested maybe she invite him in so they weren't standing in the hallway.
"Right, sorry…it's just…I'm so glad you're here!" Hermione pulled him into her room and stared at him, her eyes shining.
"I wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do or not," Harry admitted, but his doubting thoughts were immediately stopped when she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for nice, thorough kiss.
"It was the perfect thing to do! Nothing is wrong I hope?" Hermione held his hand and led him to her bed where he sat down next to her, stretching out and enjoying how she settled down next to him, still holding his hand.
"No, nothing is wrong, though, I do have to tell you about who Charlie met earlier this week." Harry turned towards her and found that she looked more tired than usual. He bent down and pulled up his bag, taking out the vile of potion he brought her. Silently he handed it over to her, not asking if she was still tired because he could see the faint circles under her eyes.
"Thank you Harry! This should last five days, perfect…thanks so much for remembering!" Hermione immediately placed five drops in her glass of water and drank it down, then turned back to him. "I'm so glad you're here…I've really missed you."
Harry smiled and touched her face gently, keeping his eyes glued to hers. "Me too…," he said quietly making the mistake of letting his eyes glide down to her mouth. Before he knew it she was straddling him, their hands pulling at each others clothes, mouths crashing together as they moved their heads to get rid of their shirts, his glasses…breathing.
Harry had no idea how she did it, but in less than ninety seconds she had them both naked and was pressing his hand to
her stomach, not needing to tell him what charm she wanted him to do. Harry was slightly, but pleasantly, surprised at
how forward Hermione was at the moment. He was still leaning back against the headboard, feeling Hermione's hands
travel over his shoulders, down his arms and with a sense of wonder he let his hands travel over her body. He never
knew how perfectly his hands fit on her hips or how soft her skin was on her thighs. After all the years of knowing
her, receiving hugs and friendly kisses it flashed through his mind that Ron was the first one to discover that about
her. He had never said anything about this part. He had told Harry two years ago that he wasn't sure how
he could've ever lived with out sex; if only he had discovered it earlier. Harry briefly remembered Ron saying
something about how Hermione was tentative, but very responsive. Harry was sure he must've been talking about a
different Hermione Granger because this one had just pushed him back down the headboard a bit and was straddling him in
just the right spot.
Lifting up his hips just a bit, he felt her mouth freeze on his and open up into a sigh as he slowly pushed into her, firmly holding onto to the little bit of his control that was left. After all, this was a Muggle hotel and he was certain neither of them had cast the silence or sticking charm upon the hotel room.
Hermione couldn't believe she was doing this. The way his eyes had slid down to her mouth, she had given into her hormones and couldn't stop herself. Something inside of her, deep within her primal self, was telling her to make him hers. She felt his hands grip her hips as she began rocking against him. Every sense of hers was heightened…the softness of the mattress under her knees; the slight scratchiness of his leg hairs against her just shaved legs; the taste of toothpaste that lingered in his mouth as his warm tongue moved in circles around hers. The way he just shifted his hips, hitting that hidden spot inside her.
Her body seemed to skip over every little sexual feeling and planted her right at the edge of her undoing. She could tell by the way his breathing had suddenly sped up that he was just as close as she was. Her chest, along with her stomach, rubbed against his and she could feel the flicker, the tightness, of every muscle in Harry's body. His shoulders were under her arms, her hands caught in his hair, as she moved her hips in rhythm to his…faster, trying to keep him pressed against that spot deep inside, but not being able to stop her movements to do so. She felt his hands slide up her back as she arched against him; his lips brushed the tops of her breasts drawing out a surprised gasp. His mouth was so warm and soft as it moved up her neck and she tilted it back, feeling a surge of pressure erupt from where she was joined with Harry. Her soft cries pushed Harry towards the edge. He buried his face in her chest, a little moan escaping him, vibrating through her chest and for a moment she could only hear her heart roaring in her ears and swore she felt a slightly different beat against hers; Harry's. All her strength sapped, she sagged against him, physically aware of the newer, harder muscles in Harry's chest and shoulders. Lightly she kissed his neck and heard him sigh her name, "'Mione"…and just the way he said it made her already pounding heart flutter just a little.
"You know what?" Hermione whispered, not moving off of him, ignoring the soreness in her knees.
"Hmmmm?" was the intelligent reply she heard, and felt throughout her body.
"That was the best part of my vacation so far," she kissed his neck again, feeling his arms tighten around her, warming her now cooling back.
"I'm glad I was able to experience that with you," Harry joked lightly, nuzzling her neck, causing Hermione to jerk involuntarily. "Ticklish," he murmured, reluctantly letting his arms drop as she slowly removed herself from his lap and crawled under the covers.
"I am," Hermione admitted, nestling up next to him. She wanted to apologize for her boldness and looked up at him, only to see him looking down at her, a dreamy smile touching his lips. He didn't mind, so she mentally threw out her apology. He bent down and kissed her softly, before the Hermione he knew took over. Placing her hands on his chest she pushed herself away slightly so she could look straight at him.
"So, before I rudely-," she began and heard Harry let out a bark of laughter then felt him hug her harder, "…interrupted, what were you saying about Charlie?"
"Charlie?" Harry tried to grab all his thoughts--which pretty much had left him the moment Hermione began kissing him. "Oh…Charlie…well, he floo'd me the other day…," he began and over the next ten minutes he told Hermione all about his meeting with Pansy. To his surprise, he felt Hermione nod at the end of the story.
"I think Pansy does need closure. Just like most women…I hope Luna can help her."
"Yeah, Pansy did seem a bit…lost. Maybe Luna can or maybe she already has? I haven't heard anything from Charlie in a few days. Guess I'll have to find him when I get home."
"When are you leaving?" Hermione pulled back and looked up at him. He turned and looked down at her and managed to catch himself before he said "never". He knew he was a coward for not saying what he felt…he just hoped that the time would come and the words would fall out of his mouth without reservation. He hoped. Hermione saw him struggling with the right answer, so she smiled reassuringly.
"Well, why don't we get dressed and when my parents come back, I'll tell them you just stopped by…they'll invite you to spend the rest of the weekend here and…I'd really like it if you did."
"Okay…twist my arm," Harry grinned at her, and yanked his arm away as she reached for him to do just that.
----
Ginny hovered a few feet behind Draco, so she didn't hear the private conversation that Luna was relaying between Pansy and him. It was Friday night, the first that Luna had been able to get away from rearranging the shop with Neville. He was playing Chess with Seamus that evening, so Luna made the plan to meet Pansy and Draco near the Shrieking Shack at eight that night.
Draco had managed to contact Luna days earlier with the help of Ginny. Once Luna found Draco's spiritual signature, as she called it, she could now talk with him as freely as she did with Ginny. Floating over towards the shack a bit more, she looked up at the crazy, tilting structure remembering stories of friends and their boyfriends who had gone there for privacy.
She knew that Harry and Hermione had sex, probably within the past week, she thought to herself. She just knew…but, she still felt a tense ball in her chest; something that could only be released when they admitted their love, aloud. Hermione was always so careful with words; Harry so tentative in what he was feeling she wondered if it would truly happen in the next month.
She had no idea how long she had hung there, watching the shack tilt slowly one way, then the other She heard someone call her name and turned to see Draco moving towards her. The sky was darker now and the first stars were hanging in the sky, just like she was suspended over the ground.
"Did everything go alright?" Ginny asked, staying in her spot. Draco pulled up in front of her, shrugged and nodded.
"She cried a lot but seemed happy that I knew and that I wasn't mad this happened and all that. I just requested if one was a boy to not name him after me. With everything that had happened in my life, he wouldn't need the name Draco to go along with his life."
"Did she say when she'd find out the sex?" Ginny questioned softly, watching him vacantly gaze at the tilting structure behind her.
"August first. She'll be sixteen weeks and magical tests can detect that early. Said she would tell Luna, who will try and find me I guess. Though," he gave a small smile, "she told me when and where the test will take place if I want to be there."
"Sounds like a good plan; something you can be involved in. I guess you won't need to hang out here much longer then, will you?"
"I guess not," Draco answered, moving his eyes to hers. "Do we even know where or how to live in Echo?"
"I talked to Nick about it a few days ago. He said there are always houses available. You claim one that has a
sign on it, then go about finding a job you would like and begin to set up your life as you would if you were alive. We
don't get sick, we keep the house and items within as long as they function. Replace them when needed. When you
want a child you go to one of the healers-there are healers because there are accidents and births--and get some spell
put on you, well, the woman, so they can accept one of the little souls that are floating around."
"Those little lights?" Draco questioned actually interested in something besides himself for once. Ginny nodded and pushed on, glad he was paying attention.
"Ummm…what else…oh, we'll age just like we would here. There are potions we take to naturally age us, if we so wish. It's strongly suggested. Apparently a few haven't and have gone mad and had to be put in a hospital. They lived too long, apparently. Nick said only a select few make it and that right now there are probably about five thousand people there, ranging in age from babies to someone who is eighty…not counting the ten people who are hundreds of years old locked up somewhere. So…that about sums it up. We are given a guide when we first arrive to show us around the area…like a very large town I hear. Oh, and they are the ones who invented the Room of Requirement…the only way they can take vacations really."
"At least dead people are good for something," Draco said with a small smile. Ginny smiled back.
"It'll be an interesting trip," she turned quickly as a snap from the house behind her caught her attention.
"It already has," Draco said candidly, watching the house with her for a few more minutes. Then, turning together, they left for the castle for a poker game where bets were being placed on Ginny to win, hands down.
-->