Chapter 13 - Where there's smoke, there's fire
Over the next week, Harry and Hermione settled into a routine. Harry prepared breakfast in the morning, something he enjoyed but never got the chance to because Ginny wouldn't let him in the kitchen. Hermione, while a competent cook, welcomed the change as Ron had always expected her to prepare the meals.
They sometimes left for work together, although Hermione usually left earlier because she was working on her transition and had a lot to cover. After working all day at the Ministry, they would come home and prepare dinner together, or get takeaway and go down to the "Muggle room" to watch television.
Harry's house did not have a television (While she was not against everything Muggle, Ginny didn't want her children rotting their brains in front of an electronic device when they could be outside learning to play Quidditch). Their routine was quiet, comforting and a nice respite from the stressful fallout of their marriages.
Hermione finally managed to get an owl response from Ron, after three tries to George and Katie's. He agreed to meet with her this upcoming weekend and visit the kids at Hogwarts to break the news in person. Meanwhile, Harry unsuccessfully tried to get a response from Ginny about seeing Lily and the boys. He had managed with Hermione's help to get an appointment with Anthony Goldstein to see if he would represent him.
Anthony was happy to take Harry on as a client, not only because he respected him from their school days, but he also knew that this would be a high profile case. At the end of the week, Harry relayed to Hermione his meeting that morning with Anthony as they ate dinner.
"He thinks I have an excellent shot at getting partial, if not full custody of the kids. He says that what Ginny is doing is not legal, keeping me from them. He says that divorce law in the Wizarding courts has changed a lot in the past twenty years and is more in line of modern Muggle divorce laws in the UK."
"That's wonderful news, Harry." Hermione said, relieved.
"He also agreed with your assessment about my public image. He says I've been a hero and a model citizen. I've managed to keep myself out of the newspapers as an adult, more or less, with no public scandals. I mean aside from my marriage to Ginny and the birth announcements of my children, they've had nothing to cover, really."
"Yes, I'm surprised The Daily Prophet hasn't gotten wind of your marriage breakup yet."
"Well, once the news gets out, Anthony told me to be prepared. There might be some insinuations coming from Ginny's camp."
"Ginny has a camp?" Hermione asked, amused.
"Anthony heard through the grapevine that she hired Gloria Redall; she and her team have handled some high-profile divorces and they always play dirty in the press."
"What could they possibly say about you, Harry?"
Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Harry?" Hermione asked. "What is it?"
He cleared his throat. "Um, Anthony told me that there might be accusations of adultery."
Hermione looked incredulous. "Adultery? That's absurd! I know you would never cheat on Ginny."
Harry nodded. "I know that, but even the most innocent of situations can be twisted by the press."
"Yeah, I know, remember that rubbish Rita Skeeter wrote about you and me during the Tri-Wizard tournament?" Hermione said, rolling her eyes.
When Harry didn't respond, a dawning look of comprehension appeared on her face.
"No! That's crazy, are you saying that…?"
"The press could say that you and I are having an affair, yes." Harry said, staring at his plate of steak and chips.
While Hermione's mouth was still agape, Harry looked up and continued.
"I told Anthony about our living situation and he told me it's not a good idea. He thinks I should move back home for the time being. If it got out that I was `shacking up' with you, it wouldn't look good… the stupid thing is that according to the laws, adultery shouldn't have any impact on a judge's decision, but that's not always the case…"
Hermione shook her head. "I don't believe this! There is no adultery. Why does everything have to be so ugly?"
"Well, maybe it won't be. I'll stay at my place tonight and hopefully nobody will be the wiser. And if the press starts printing rubbish, we won't comment publicly on it."
Hermione pushed her plate away, she was no longer hungry. "I wish you didn't have to move out, Harry. I liked having you here. I felt less lonely and it was nice having someone to come home to."
She reached over the table and took his hand. Harry had almost wished she hadn't.
"I know. I feel the same way. But maybe it's better this way."
"How?" She looked up at him, her brown eyes full of sadness.
"Well, you're leaving on your goodwill tour for your new job a week from Monday, aren't you? I'm going to have to get used to you not being here, so I might as well start now."
"I can't believe I'm starting so soon. You know, maybe I should ask them if I can postpone the trip. I don't want to leave you as the divorce proceedings start up."
"No, Hermione." Harry shook his head. "Please go on your trip. It might be good for you to get away from all of this for a while."
"Maybe you're right. But I still feel guilty leaving you alone."
Harry looked at their joined hands and pulled his hand away. All week he had been pretty successful at avoiding those feelings about Hermione and concentrated on their companionship and friendship. But whenever she took his hand or hugged him, or even looked at him with concern in her gaze, those feelings crept in, not just affecting his body, but his heart as well. He definitely needed to get away from her for a while, if just to take the time to understand what was happening.
"Don't feel guilty, Hermione. You deserve this job and this trip. You'll have the time of your life."
Hermione gave him a sad smile. "Okay, I'll go. But I will owl you every day, I promise."
Harry stood up from the table. "Well, I guess I'd better pack my stuff and move back home."
She nodded. "Okay. You know, I don't know why I'm so sad - you're just going to be next door, right? We can still see each other before I leave."
"Of course." Harry agreed.
"You'll still take me flying again, right? Before I go?" Hermione asked as she followed Harry to the guest room.
Harry had forgotten about that. Could he take her flying, now that he was aware of his attraction to her? If he wanted the accusations of an affair to stay unjustified, he couldn't risk being out in public with her, could he?
He turned around. "Um, I don't think that would be such a good idea. What if Ginny has her camp watching me? If pictures got out of you and me flying together, people might get the wrong idea."
Hermione looked disappointed. "You're right, Harry. I don't know what I was thinking." She sighed and threw up her hands. "I can't even spend a day with my best friend in public having a good time without the rest of the world thinking that we're shagging each other's brains out."
Harry knew he had to get away from her before he did try to shag her brains out, so he quickly packed his things into his bag and walked to the kitchen, with Hermione following close behind.
"Are you okay, Harry?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Listen, good luck this weekend with the kids and Ron. I'll talk to you soon, okay?"
Harry quickly deposited a kiss on Hermione's cheek and walked out her back door, leaving her shaking her head. Was she imagining things or was he trying to get away from her?
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The next morning, Hermione opened the front door to grab her delivered copy of Saturday's edition of The Daily Prophet.
She gasped when she saw the headline: Wizarding Hero's Marriage Split Shocker!
Insiders say Harry Potter's shacking up with neighboring gal pal Hermione Weasley, wife of his best friend. Details inside….
Hermione's heart sank. There was a picture of Harry leaving the front of her house, it must've been taken a few days ago. She prayed that her kids had not seen a copy of the newspaper.
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That same morning, in the great hall of Hogwarts, twelve-year-old Rose Weasley and her eleven-year-old brother Hugo sat at the Gryffindor table with their friends eating breakfast. Rose was worried about her cousins Al and James, who had been mysteriously pulled out of school by their mother the day before. She tried to distract herself with her study schedule for the day, while Hugo was chatting with his friends about the term's first Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin, which was scheduled later that day.
Scorpius Malfoy came up to the table with a smirk on his pale pointy face.
Rose thought he was going to say something nasty about Gryffindor's chances in the match, but instead he flung a copy of The Daily Prophet in front of her.
"Seen the big story, Weasley?"
"What are you talking about Malfoy?" Hugo asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Apparently your big happy Weasel family is one big joke!"
Rose scowled at Malfoy as he strode out of the hall, with his entourage behind him.
Hugo tugged at her robes and pointed to the headline. "Rosie, look at this! It says Uncle Harry's split from Aunt Ginny and he's staying with Mum and Dad! Is that why Al and James left?"
Rose turned her attention to the headline and the picture. She rubbed her eyes again to make sure what she was reading was real. She picked up the paper and her bag, then grabbed Hugo's hand and dragged him out of the hall into the empty courtyard.
"Rosie, where are we going?" Hugo asked, out of breath.
"I just needed to get out of there. I don't want anyone else to see this."
"You think it's true?" Hugo asked. "About Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny?"
She looked at the paper once more. "Hugo, I don't think you understand what the article is saying."
"I know you're the brightest witch of your year, but I can read, Rosie." Hugo rolled his eyes at his sister.
Rose sighed. "Hugo, listen to me. This article says that not only have Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny have split, it is saying the same about Mum and Dad."
"What? Let me read it!" Hugo said, trying to grab the paper from his sister. But she was taller than him and held it away.
"No, I don't want you to read it. It's probably not true anyway. Mum always said that The Daily Prophet likes to make things up to sell papers. She and Dad are coming to see us today and they'll tell us the truth."
"But what if it is true?" Hugo asked with an anxious look on his face. "Don't you think it's odd that they're coming to visit us? It's not parents' weekend yet, and we last saw them only a month ago."
"Maybe they miss us. It must be hard on them with both of us away at school." Rose reasoned.
"Yeah, that's got to be it. What time did Mum and Dad say they're meeting us in Hogsmeade?"
"Noon." Rose said. "I'm going to go to the library and study until then. "How about you?"
"I'm going to watch the Gryffindor Quidditch team practice for the match. I hope they flatten the Slytherins this afternoon. I'll meet you in the common room at 11:30, so we can go meet Mum and Dad?"
Rose nodded, folded up the newspaper and put it into her schoolbag as she watched her brother walk away. She would've thrown the paper away but she didn't want someone to find it and taunt her the way Malfoy had.
Later she sat in the library, trying to concentrate on her transfiguration homework, but she was too distracted by the sinking feeling in her stomach. She had a feeling lately something wasn't right in her parents' marriage.
Rose always noticed the difference between her mother's relationships with Uncle Harry and her father. There was always an ease and affection between them. Her dad had remarked more than once, in jest, that his wife was more worried about Harry than him.
She sighed and closed her textbook and put away her homework. She would know the fate of her parents marriage soon enough.
A/N: No, I'm not planning to turn this into Hogwarts: the Next Generation, but I wanted to include the kid's reaction as they are important to the story and how this affects them.
Thanks for the reviews and sticking with this story!
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