Chapter Fourteen - Visiting Hours
A/N - Apologies for this taking so long. I thought I had Chapter Fourteen all sewn up. A couple of questions in reviews and a couple of stray thoughts, and I ended up with two Chapter Fourteens. This would be the third one, I hope you enjoy it.
And, just for the record, everything recognizable is the property of JKR and various corporate entities, except for the Cleveland Indians, the Chicago White Sox, and Slider who are all part of Major League Baseball. I think Chili Cheese Fries are part of the public domain, but if they're not, I'll acknowledge their creator as well. No infringement of any sort is intended and no actual pixels were injured during the writing of this fiction. And now, back to our story…
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It was another fortnight before the healers at St. Alban's would even think of releasing Hermione. Harry and Ron had concocted twelve different plans to smuggle her and Terri out of the place, but Hermione firmly vetoed each of them on the grounds that she was going to listen to the healers and this was the only way she'd get to spend fourteen days with the two of them without having someone firing hexes at her.
The night before her departure, Hermione finally got to see a baseball game. The three of them, with her healer's grudging approval, accompanied Terri and Oscar to Jacobs Field to see the Indians play a team from Chicago, the White Sox. Watching the game carefully, Hermione marveled at the differences between baseball and cricket.
While Harry was convinced that Quidditch was still a superior sport, he begrudgingly admitted that there must be some magic involved since it should be impossible for a split finger fastball to move like that without arcane help and the knuckle curve was beyond explanation, even with magic. Predictably, Ron was impressed with the culinary offerings of the stadium, declaring chili cheese fries to be one of the few perfect foods in existence.
The fact that the home team won the game 9-3, with the outcome never really in doubt, made for a festive evening. Hermione was mortally embarrassed when, during the seventh inning stretch, she ended up on television and the big in park screen, first being mock snogged by the ever popular Slider and then truly snogged by Harry in a kiss that was televised to the crowd, much to the delight of Ron and Terri and the good natured acceptance of Harry.
Hermione lay in her hospital bed, listening to the night sounds of early fall in Ohio as she watched the moonlight stream through the open windows. Glancing over to the chair in her room, she smiled at the sight of Harry sprawled across the arms, sound asleep.
"He could fit in that bed with you, easily enough. I thought the two of you were going to prove that earlier."
Smiling guiltily, she turned back towards the window. A chair was now sitting in the moonlight, definitely not standard hospital issue. Sitting in the chair was Maeve, leaning forward and watching her intently. "I think it's a bit past visiting hours."
Nodding, Maeve stood up and walked over to the bed. Passing her hand above Hermione's reclining form, she left a trail of glowing sparkles that drifted slowly down to the sheet. Nodding appreciatively, she smiled. "You're definitely mended. A couple of days rest in a comfortable bed wouldn't hurt, but physically you're fine." Looking pointedly at the edge of the bed, Maeve waited until Hermione nodded before she sat herself down.
Smiling, Hermione glanced over at Harry. Looking back at Maeve, she quirked an eyebrow. Rolling her eyes, Maeve waved her hand in Harry's direction. For a split second, the air between Harry and the bed shimmered and then resolved back to normal.
"Impressive. I think you'll have to teach me that little trick." Smiling, Hermione pulled herself up, fluffed her pillows and sat up against the headboard of the bed. "We've both agreed that this is better, at least until we're home and can explore our options in a more private setting."
Smiling wickedly, Maeve cast an appraising look at her. "And here I thought the pair of you knew exactly what you wanted."
Chuckling, Hermione shook her head. "Neither of us are in doubt about what we want, believe me. We want to be together for the rest of our lives, and we want to be there for each other in every way possible." Smiling wickedly, Hermione winked in Harry's direction. "The difficulty is that I seem to have a boyfriend who's more romantically inclined than I am. For some reason he doesn't see a private room in St. Alban's as the most romantic setting in the world."
Chuckling, Maeve nodded. "I take it that you tend to disagree with him on that?"
Blushing, Hermione looked over at Harry for a second and smiled. "I would hardly call this place romantic, so in that respect he's very correct." Nodding to Maeve she smiled. "And I also agree that this would hardly be the truly memorable spot that romantic memories are made of."
Grinning, Maeve nodded in return, "But you wouldn't let that stop you, if you thought he'd let you get away with it."
Making a `what's a poor witch to do' gesture with her hands, Hermione sighed. "I'll admit we've been very creative this past couple of weeks, but I think we're going to take a bit of time off, alone, when we get back to England."
Shaking her head, Hermione chuckled. "The sad thing is that Ron was the one who summed it up best, I suppose."
Leaning back, Maeve watched the young witch as she sat in the moonlight. `How so?"
Shrugging, Hermione rolled her eyes. "Tonight, at the game, when Terri mentioned that Harry and I had made the transition from being `just friends' rather quickly, Ron started laughing. He said that the two of us hadn't been `just friends' since we were twelve or thirteen."
Seeing the look in Maeve's eyes, she blushed. "The moment we kissed, here in this room, I realized exactly what I had been missing and what I almost lost. For over seven years, we've literally been within touching range of each other and we allowed our fears and insecurities to blind us to what we had, what we could have had." Shaking her head, Hermione closed her eyes. "We realize how maddening it must have been for everyone who knew us. We acted like a couple, and denied it every second when someone would ask. And now that we're here, I think we're both just a bit scared. It's silly, I know, but as close as we are, the thought of taking the final step, that final sharing, is almost too much to think about."
Watching Hermione, Maeve smiled as she watched her looking at Harry. "He's not going to run off, you know."
"I know that, it's just that it's all so new, and it really shouldn't be." Turning her attention back to the elven woman, Hermione frowned a bit. "She'll be waiting, won't she?"
"She's not going away, especially since you cost her so dearly with this little adventure. Both in resources and allies, you've hurt her badly."
Hermione's face darkened as she narrowed her eyes in thought. "This was just a stepping stone to get to Harry. I won't be used against him."
Putting her hand atop Hermione's, Maeve nodded. "To stop that, you must stop her. You can't run, and you certainly can't push the boy away. He's not Ginevra to be fobbed off with some half thought through notion of an excuse. The two of you will face this together, along with the other."
Shaking her head, Hermione glared for a second. "He has a name, you know. Ronald has been our friend for as long as we've known each other and I don't see that changing anytime in the future."
"My apologies to your ex, then. And I'm very impressed with the way he handled things. I was expecting a fit or two before things settled down."
"He realized what was happening before I did. Even though I accepted the connection with Harry, I never really put everything together until Ron started talking to me about it. Fortunately, Ron didn't take it as me choosing Harry over him; he sees it more of an accepting of what has always been. He kids that we've been together so long we should have a tenth anniversary rather than a wedding next year."
Reaching into the pocket of the gown she wore, Maeve withdrew a dusty glass ball that was clouded with a roiling mist inside. Attached to the glass was a slip of parchment that appeared to be not exceedingly old. Holding the glass out to Hermione, Maeve shrugged. "Before you go planning a wedding, you should take this back with you and have a meeting with your Headmistress and the old fool in her office. You needn't invite everyone whose names are on the label, but the ones you trust you should gather for the revealing of this."
Hermione's emotions spiked as she gazed at the globe in her hand. Looking at the labeling, written in a spidery hand, she read, "SPT to APWBD(d) - Harry Potter, Hermione Granger (Potter?), Ron Weasley, Ginevra Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Salazar Slytherin, unknown wizard (Lucius or Draco Malfoy?), and unknown witch (?) - 3 May, 1998"
Hermione's eyes narrowed as she read the label. When she came to her name, she shook her head sadly. When she came to the date, she bit her lower lip and looked up, fire in her eyes. "That egregious old fraud. I've been in Minerva's office dozens of times over the past two years and he's never once mentioned this to me."
"How long did it take for him to tell your Harry about the last prophecy?"
Before Hermione could answer, Harry's voice broke into the conversation. "I was never told the entire thing until the last second. I knew the prophecy before that, but the specifics of what Albus envisioned as our only solution were kept from me until it was too late to do anything else. And he let Severus have those honors through his memories." Smiling at the pair, Harry gently sat on the other side of the bed from Maeve and raised an eyebrow at Hermione.
"You're supposed to be sleeping." Shaking her head, she leaned forward and kissed him gently on the cheek.
Chuckling, Harry shook his head. "Last I knew, you were the patient this time." Pausing, he looked over at their companion. "Are you going to introduce me or leave me to make my own introductions?"
Laughing, Maeve smiled as she watched Hermione color slightly. "You're everything she's said you were. I can see why she's so taken with you." Reaching over, she extended her hand to Harry. "As you have guessed, I'm Maeve."
Taking her hand, Harry gazed into the eyes of the woman before him for several seconds. The two of them seemed to be weighing each other, judging the other by their own standards. Finally he spoke. "I won't have her toyed with."
Ignoring the shocked look on Hermione's face, Maeve nodded graciously. "Neither will I. We're both agreed then?"
Nodding slowly, Harry smiled. "I think we are."
Growling in frustration, Hermione glared at both of them. "In case either of you have forgotten, I'm right here and I'm an adult so it would be considered polite to include me in your plans, since I seem to be the focus of conversation here."
Smiling sheepishly, Harry reached over and took her hand. "Sorry, but your grandmother and I were just coming to an agreement about this new prophecy."
Shaking her head, Hermione stared at Harry curiously for several seconds. Turning to Maeve, she raised an eyebrow.
"Don't look at me; he wasn't awakened by our conversation. You're the one who was mentally shouting and woke him up." Smiling mischievously at her, Maeve nodded at Hermione's shocked expression. "Ask your new boyfriend for some occlumency lessons when you get back to England, I'm certain he'll be happy to oblige you."
Shaking her head, Hermione stared at the two of them for almost a minute while they both sat back and grinned at her. Muttering, `this is so wrong' under her breath; she reached out and took Harry's hand. "We agreed, partners?"
Smiling, Harry nodded. "I'm not cutting you out of anything here. And the two of us aren't conspiring behind your back. We simply agreed that we're not going to treat this prophecy like the last one was treated." Looking down at the globe in her other hand, Harry raised an eyebrow at the names listed. "With a few notable exceptions, we're going to gather the folks listed together and let them hear the prophecy first hand."
Looking over at Maeve, Harry shrugged. "I take it your `rules' won't allow you to discuss this with us until we actually know what the prophecy says?"
Smiling coyly, she nodded. "Specifics, no. But in general terms, we could talk about people who still hate you enough to become involved in an ancient conspiracy to bring back a fairly nasty old wanker like Salazar."
Chuckling, Hermione reached up and ruffled Harry's hair, as she looked the older woman in the eye. "There's not a shortage of candidates for that award, to my thinking. Between the three of us we've helped put dozens in Azkaban over the past two years, not to mention the ones we've exposed to scrutiny from the public for their borderline pasts."
Looking worried, Harry shook his head. "This feels personal." Looking over at Hermione, he nodded. "Lucius was released from Azkaban two months ago."
Nodding thoughtfully, Hermione looked at him. "Remind me again why it was a good idea to release him from prison?"
Shrugging, Harry sighed. "He was going to get out eventually. Enough of the old families in the Wizengamot thought that if he renounced his claim to the Malfoy title and accounts, he would be harmless. Those were the conditions they released him under so he could take care of his mother, who is dying."
Shaking her head, Hermione rolled her eyes. "Stupid bastards. I wouldn't put it past the old bat to have poisoned herself to get him out. Jezebel refused when Narcissa offered to take her in, said she wouldn't spend her remaining days with a blood traitor. Makes you wonder whom her husband caught dragon pox from."
Shrugging, Maeve smiled knowingly. "Abraxas' tastes were always a bit bizarre, even by Malfoy standards. Rumor had Jezebel as a close confident of Grindelwald."
Resting her chin on her steepled fingers, Hermione closed her eyes as Harry began to run his fingers through her hair. "They say Draco's reformed. His nine months in Azkaban proved very enlightening it would appear."
Chuckling, Harry smiled knowingly. "I think you'll find that Hector Greengrass' youngest daughter has been more enlightening than Azkaban ever was." Seeing the look on Hermione's face, Harry nodded. "She was a year behind Luna in Ravenclaw. One of my aurors was in Greengrass' having dinner about six weeks after Malfoy got out. Draco was there, having dinner with Zambini, and made some sort of typical smarmy comment to one of the servers."
Seeing Hermione open her eyes and stare at him, he nodded. "Ten seconds later, Asteria came boiling out of the kitchen, her wand in one hand and a meat cleaver in the other. She laid into Draco in front of the dinner crowd, verbally tore him a new one and told him exactly what she thought of him. She then announced that if either of them ever wanted to set foot in the restaurant again he was going to apologize to the server right then and there."
Trying not to laugh at the thought, Hermione's eyes were shining brightly as she bit her lower lip. "What I wouldn't have given to have been there. What did he do?"
Shrugging, Harry smiled. "The strange thing was that Draco just sat there and stared at her for almost a minute when she was done. He then stood up, motioned the server over, and proceeded to, very humbly mind you, apologize to the poor witch for almost five minutes."
Staring in disbelief, Hermione whistled softly as she thought. "Let me guess. The next day he makes an appearance at Greengrass Manor to apologize to the father."
Smirking, Harry shook his head. "Close. He tracked her father down at the Hyperion Club the next day and apologized to him in front of half the membership for `rude and inexcusable behavior'."
Nodding thoughtfully, Maeve smiled. "The Hyperion? I take it young Mr. Malfoy has taken his place in wizarding society trying to live up to the family name and responsibilities."
Shrugging, Harry tried to look casual. "It was very impressive, I'll grant him that."
Arching an eyebrow, Hermione looked at Harry with interest. "And just how would you know that, Mr. Potter?"
Harry's blush set off a knowing chuckle from Maeve. "Let's see, I seem to remember that the Potter family was one of the founding members of the Hyperion. It seems that young Draco isn't the only new member of an old and venerated establishment."
Nodding self-consciously and keeping one eye on Hermione, Harry agreed. "Well, it seems that membership in institutions such as the Hyperion comes as part and parcel with family responsibilities." Seeing the look on Hermione's face, Harry shrugged. "It's actually quite a nice place. Very quiet and relaxing."
"I wouldn't know, since there seems to be a very strict `wizards only' policy about membership and the like." Glaring at Harry, Hermione sat back. "Honestly Harry, do you really feel compelled to help prop up these antiquated and obsolete views?"
Smiling mischievously, Maeve chuckled. "Actually, it's a very interesting place, not quite as stuffy as you'd imagine." Seeing both of the teens staring at her, she nodded. "I've graced the halls of the Hyperion various times over the years. You'll find that there's nothing that prevents you from taking her with you the next time you visit, other than custom, of course."
Winking in Hermione's direction, Maeve smiled. "And, as a holder of the Order of Merlin, you should have received an invitation to join this prestigious group."
Looking very thoughtful, Hermione smiled as she gazed at Harry. "Harry, once we're back in London, it doesn't have to be our first evening back, but sometime that first week, you're taking me to the Hyperion for dinner and drinks."
Nodding graciously, Harry smiled. "I am?"
"Yes you are. And I'll even wear that midnight blue dress you're so fond of seeing me in, but we are going."
Trying not to smile, Harry nodded seriously. "As long as you promise to behave. At least until they get around to offering you your own membership."
Drawing herself up and giving him a McGonagall worthy stare, Hermione asked icily. "And just when have I ever been less than proper?"
Trying to keep a straight face, Harry thought for a second. "Well, there was the time you broke Draco's nose."
"He provoked me."
Deciding that a slight change of topic was in order, Harry nodded. "Speaking of which, Draco is allowing Lucius to live in the old mansion while he's living in London in the townhome. He allowed the Ministry to scour the place for two months to rid it of any and all traces of Dark magic they could find, but it's been a seat for pureblood nonsense for centuries. Merlin only knows what that crazy old wanker is up to in the gloomy old house."
Sighing, Hermione opened one eye to gauge Harry's reactions. "Would you be surprised to know that our old chum Ms Parkinson has been a frequent overnight visitor at the Manor?"
"That's just sick. Lucius doesn't have any money or position any longer; this is getting too bizarre for me." Looking at Hermione strangely, Harry rolled his eyes. "And I'm not even going to ask how you know this."
Smiling impishly, Hermione pulled an innocent face. "It could have something to do since he's forbidden any association with house elves; he's had to hire human servants as domestics. Since he's also forbidden to associate with Muggles without supervision, it was child's play to ensure that one of the temps he hired was someone we could rely on."
"Temps?"
Nodding, Hermione smiled. "Another of the conditions of his release was that permanent staff he hired had to be examined by Ministry Healers every full moon to ensure they weren't being abused or coerced.
"And even the dodgiest of the agencies that provide domestic staff will hesitate to keep sending him personnel if they come back too abused."
"Pansy and Lucius?"
Snorting, Maeve shook her head. "Try to grow up a bit Harry. It's hardly the strangest or most disturbing couple anyone's ever heard of."
Shaking his head, Harry shivered. "Name one."
Smiling wickedly, Hermione answered. "Cho Chang and Harry Potter come to mind."
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