An: I'm back! Here's the new chapter. I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Chapter 11 - Understanding
Harry's eyes bored into Hermione's as she stared defiantly back.
"I have to talk to Cole." She insisted as she wrung her hand free from Harry.
"Bullshit. You're going to talk to me now. You've ducked and avoided me since I've been back and I want to know why." Harry stated fiercely.
"I've been busy." Hermione replied nonchalantly as she tried to step past him but he blocked her way with his muscular frame.
"I deserve an answer." he insisted as he reached for her hand again.
"You deserve an answer?" Hermione said in disbelief as she moved her hands out of his reach.
Harry ignored her astonishment and continued on with his rant. "How could you even stand to look at the Ferret after the way he treated you in school. Everything is so messed up. I feel like you prefer his company to mine."
Hermione looked him straight in the eye, "Maybe I do prefer Draco to you. Now leave us alone. You've found your answers. England is not the place for you." She turned her back to him and looked down at the foam on the floor. She pulled out her wand and started to clean up the mess. She seemed to resort to cleaning when she was upset and now seemed like a good time as any to help the environment.
Harry watched her in silence. She'd been so distant since he came back and he really missed the closeness they once shared but he could still tell when she was hiding something. At Hogwarts he would usually wait for Hermione to tell him what was going on but something in his gut told him he couldn't wait this time. He needed to force it out of her. He needed to break down those brick walls she had built during his absence but he knew from experience that a direct assault would not work. He needed to be tactful and thankfully he had learnt a few things while he was gone.
"Hermione, how did Luna and Ginny find me?" Harry inquired changing the subject.
She glanced over her shoulder at him and gave him a small smile. The memory floated through her mind as she remembered the Otter that Harry had received in Orlando. She had been given that Otter by her father before she started her sixth year at Hogwarts. She had told him all about her Patronus after their fifth year. She was quite proud that she had been able to complete the spell. Her father understood that it was a spell designed for protection and he gave the wooden Otter to her as an early birthday president. She always received her birthday present before she went off to Hogwarts. Hermione understood what her father was trying to tell her. He would always be there protecting her no matter what.
A tear slid down her cheek and she felt that familiar pain course through her. She missed him greatly. She wiped furiously at her face now and tried to refocus her thoughts before she lost control of her emotions and turned into a water fountain in front of Harry. If she remembered correctly he always felt uncomfortable being in the company of a crying woman.
He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his embrace. He felt her tense and then she slowly relaxed into him. Her hair smelled of vanilla and Harry closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. She placed her hand over his and gently tugged at the Otter that she knew was securely on his wrist.
"I got it in Orlando. It reminded me of you." Harry whispered into her ear.
"I know. I gave it to you." The brunette replied softly as her hand idly traced the outline of the Otter on his left wrist.
Harry's mouth opened and closed but no sound came out.
"My dad gave it to me. I never showed you guys." She said fondly.
Harry knew to keep his mouth shut and let her talk but she stopped there. Fortunately, those few lines were enough to tell him what he wanted to know.
"What are you protecting me from?" Harry asked as he unconsciously held her closer to him.
"Me, protect the Great Harry Potter." She said with a mocking laugh.
"Hermione, you have never been able to lie to me and you still can't. Drop the act and tell me what's wrong." He whispered softly in her left ear.
She remained silent and Harry cursed her stubborn streak.
"I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I thought I was doing the right thing. I didn't want to make you choose between your parents and me." He confessed.
She turned in his arms and looked up at his apologetic gaze.
"Harry, there was no choice. My parents understood. I was your friend and I promised I would be there for you." She told him.
"Was?" Harry questioned her past tense.
Her gaze dropped to the floor. "I still am your friend Harry. That's why you need to trust me. England is not the place for you."
"Why?" Harry asked as he reached up with his right hand and gently brought her face back up to meet his eyes.
"I don't want you to die Harry." Hermione said as a lonely tear escaped her watery eyes.
Harry gently brushed the tear away with his thumb. "I'm not afraid of death."
"Har,"
"It's my decision not yours. I've been thinking since I've been back. Things haven't turned out the way I thought they would have. I was a fool. I thought I could solve my problems by running away from them but I can't. Whatever it is you want me to run away from won't solve the problem. Everyone knows I'm back now. I won't be surprised if tomorrows Prophet has some ridiculous headline about me." he stated.
"You're right about the prophet. That's about the only thing that hasn't changed in seven years!" She knew now that there was no way that Harry was leaving England. He was determined to stay now and she needed to accept that fact that he was back in her life. Her priority now would be to find Primus and prevent her re-occurring nightmare from happening.
"We should probably get back to the Manor. We'll have to discuss damage control for your return. You've been keyed into the wards now and should be able to apparate to the manor. See you there." She said with a smile tugging at her lips.
Harry nodded and watched her walk away from him. She turned around and glanced at him before she disappeared with a sharp crack. The raven haired man felt someone's gaze on him and scanned the area. Even in the dark he could see Cole watching him carefully from the bakery across the road. Harry gave him his best glare before a loud crack was heard and he disappeared.
As soon as Harry disappeared a person lifted an invisibility cloak and entered the warehouse. He reported to Kingsley that his search of the exterior revealed nothing and he was ordered back to headquarters. He exited the building and saw the muggles across the street. They were becoming quite troublesome and something would have to be done about them.
He apparated but didn't land in the atrium of the Ministry of Magic, instead he landed in the middle of a vast field with rolling hills in the distance. After getting his bearing he slowly walked to the right of the field. He paused for a second and exhaled before heading forward. He felt as though ice cold water had been thrown on him and his body responded with a violent shiver. He inhaled once he saw an elaborate mansion appear in front of him.
He walked forward but before he could knock the front door was flung open and a very terrified looking girl spoke to him.
"What happened? Is the bitch dead?" she asked him immediately.
"Potter interfered. She had been tracking him and I assumed had him freed just before the raid started." He said as he entered the house and shut the door behind him. He reached for the blanket that was at the door and tucked it around him.
"'But the fools told me that they checked for magical charms. The boss is really upset. They were both supposed to be dead by now." She said as she let her eyes drift fearfully upstairs.
"It wasn't magical. The muggleborn used a muggle tracker. I don't even think Potter realised he had it on him." He said as his eyes drifted to the room upstairs.
"Wartman and Cringley are dead." The girl told him.
The man nodded his head. They had been guarding Potter. The hideout at King's Cross had been very convenient and now that it had been discovered the plans would have to be modified. He approached the stairs and the girl gripped on to his arm.
"Be careful." She said
"Don't worry darling. I'm still of value to the boss." He said before he walked up the stairs and disappeared through the door leaving the scared girl at the bottom of the stairs praying that she didn't see any flashes of green from the room.
-*-
Hermione's and Luna's smiling faces greeted Harry when he arrived in the Manor and he was greatly disappointed to find that he was in the same white oval room.
"Why the winklytoad face Harry?" Luna inquired.
Harry blinked twice and noticed Hermione shaking her head fervently behind Luna. He got the message. Don't ask.
"Nothing Luna, where's Ginny?" Harry said shaking his head. He needed to have a few more conversations with Hermione but he knew he couldn't push her too much. He would accept the ground he made today and then try to push for more tomorrow.
"She's in the dining hall with Neville." Luna stated as she headed for the exit.
"Neville?" Harry frowned as he followed behind her. He didn't want to get lost.
"He was working on cleaning up the mess you guys made earlier." Luna informed him as she stepped through the ward that guarded the entrance to the rest of the Manor.
Hermione giggled softly before she stepped through. Harry mentally prepared himself and wondered if Luna had her bucket ready. This time was just as bad as the first time and Harry found himself face first in a cold steel bucket while Hermione laughed away.
"And what do you find so funny." Harry said giving her the sternest glare he could muster once his stomach had calmed.
"Sleep deprivation." Luna said to explain Hermione's strange behaviour.
Hermione offered Harry a hand up and he accepted it.
"You better get some sleep then." Harry said to her.
She shrugged and followed Luna out the door towards the dinning hall. Harry followed closely behind never taking his eyes off of Hermione as Luna briefed her on how they retrieved Harry. Soon they were in the dinning hall filled with Ginny's laughter.
"Neville stop it!" she said.
"I'm serious. My students really did that." Neville said as he watched her intently.
"I don't believe you." She huffed as she crossed her hands in front of her chest.
"They're cute together." Harry heard Hermione tell Luna. From the way her head had cocked to the side he could tell that she was studying the interaction between the two.
"It won't last." Luna replied sadly.
"Don't say that Luna. We don't know that what you saw would come true." Hermione reassured.
"If you truly believed that you wouldn't be pushing Harry away." Luna responded.
Hermione quickly glanced back to him and surprised to find him right behind her. From the look on his face, she knew he heard Luna's comment. She could tell he was about to ask a question and she quickly turned and called out to Neville. He smiled at her and asked her to confirm that he was telling Ginny the truth. She sat down next to Neville and glasses of water appeared on the table in front of her.
Harry sat down opposite her and Luna sat next to Ginny.
"I still don't believe you." The red head insisted.
"I don't know what else to say to convince you Ginny." Neville responded.
"So got everything cleaned up Neville?" Hermione asked him.
"Of course, I even got samples for my seventh year Herbology class." He said flashing her a pearly white smile. She rolled her eyes at him and a yawn escaped her.
"Go get some sleepy. Fred and George's party is tomorrow and you definitely want to be awake for that."
"What are they're parties like?" Ginny asked curiously.
"A nightmare!" responded the other two girls around the table.
"I should probably get some sleep. Nev, can you do me a favour and request an Order meeting for tomorrow there're several issues that need to be discussed." She said as she stretched in her chair.
She picked up her glass to finish off her water just as Luna asked "Why don't you go curl up with Harry?"
Water came tumbling out of Hermione's mouth and all over Harry as he arched an eyebrow at Luna's comment.
"Oh dear this can get a bit confusing." The blonde said as she looked at Harry.
"I didn't realise that I could be confusing." He stated.
"Hermione has a big black bear with green eyes that a previous boyfriend won for her in a fair. She curls up with it every time she goes to sleep. Her mom called it Harry and the name stuck." Luna elaborated while Hermione's cheeks had a pinkish tinge to them.
"Previous boyfriend?" Harry asked. It was meant to be a tease but the thought of Hermione dating hadn't settled very well with him. He wondered how Ron would react to this bit of news. Ginny appeared to be thinking along the same lines when she sprung from her seat shouting Ron's name.
"Where is he?" Harry asked.
Neville explained to him that Ron accompanied Draco to the bid. Harry found it quite interesting that they were bidding for his head and wondered what sort of price he would fetch. Needless to say Hermione didn't appreciate his thoughts on the topic.
"Was it a good idea to send Ron with Draco?" Harry questioned.
"Who else was supposed to go with him?" Hermione replied icily.
"I wasn't questioning your judgement Mione. I was just wondering if Ron would kill Draco." He said slipping back into his old ways of calling her by the nickname he gave her in seventh year.
"Ha, Draco would sooner kill Ron." She responded confidently.
"I wouldn't dismiss Ron so easily." Ginny said defending her brother.
"50 galleons Draco kicks Ron's butt." The brunette blurted out.
"You're on." Ginny replied.
"A bet Ms. Granger, Draco has really corrupted you over the years." Harry teased.
"Maybe but I don't pass up an opportunity to make easy money." She told him.
"Put me in for 100 on Ron." He said.
"200 for a draw." Luna said with a twinkle in her eye.
"50 on Draco as well." Neville said.
There was a sudden pop and a house elf appeared. "Master Draco has returned."
All parties smirked at the coming pay out.
-->