Unofficial Portkey Archive

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay on getting this posted! Work has been insanity. As a precaution, Ron is a bit of a prat in this chapter. I hope I didn't paint him in too bad of a light, I just felt that there was a bit of fall out to be handled and this is how I envisioned it. There's still a lot left to this story so I hope you'll all stick around for the journey!

`''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

CHAPTER 13: Redemption

Waking up in the morning was more like waking up to a new life than simply to a new day. After Hermione had pulled Harry into the room with her he had taken off his shirt and crawled into bed, falling asleep the instant his head hit the pillow. She could barely keep her own eyes open, but she had taken the moment to study him, glancing at the scars on his chest, lightly tracing the new one under his eye with the tips of her fingers. She recalled how he had touched the scar on her stomach and made it disappear and she wondered how he had done it. She wondered how many more secrets there were to this man sleeping before her. She wondered if life would be kind enough to grant them many years together to uncover those secrets.

When she laid down he automatically moved in his sleep, draping his arm over her and burying his face in the crook of her neck. She fell asleep feeling the warmth of his breath against her skin and she dozed off with a sense of being safe. When she awoke, neither of them had moved and he was still sleeping. She felt loath to wake him but when she tried to move away his eyes fluttered open and then they were staring at each other, less than an inch apart. She noticed how dark his eyelashes were and wondered why she had never realized that before. She was also suddenly aware of the fact that he was bare chested and while she had seen him half naked many times before, it had always been more… clinical.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked, finally rolling away and allowing her brain functions to return.

"Yes, I don't recall having any dreams thankfully. You?"

"Best sleep I've had since before I can remember." He smiled at her and she felt her heart skip a beat. This is going to take some getting used to she realized to herself. It wasn't that she had never felt swoony around Harry before. That fact of the matter was that he had grown up to be quite handsome with his piercing emerald eyes and raven black hair. Then there was his body. He had always been athletic from Quidditch, but he had filled out with hard muscle from his work as an auror. Yes, she had felt a bit lustful towards him from time to time, but now there was an option to do something about it and she felt rather inadequate and nervous.

"You cut your hair" she blurted out, suddenly desperate for a distraction as she turned away from him to put her shoes back on. Even with her back turned she could feel his silent laughter and that made her feel even more anxious for some reason. "What's so funny?"

"Malfoy" Harry grinned.

"What's funny about Malfoy?" she asked flabbergasted. The blonde haired former Slytherin had been just barely tolerable the previous day, which was an improvement from their school days but only barely. He was still sulky, sullen and rude, and in no way "funny".

"He cut my hair."

She quirked an eyebrow at him, disbelieving. "Are you high on something?"

"No" he replied, laughed even harder now. "But we were at the time. It was just after we drank the Odyssea potion."

"You allowed Malfoy near you with a sharp object while under the influences of that… that drug?"

"He didn't use scissors" Harry said, his tone very serious. "He is, after all, a wizard." Something about the way he said it made the laughter she was holding back spill out as she tried to picture hairdresser Malfoy tenderly styling Harry's dark locks. "Don't laugh" Harry said with mock indignation. "Did he do an awful job?"

"No actually" she said, now laughing so hard it hurt. "He's quite good at it!"

"Let's go see if we can find something to eat in this mausoleum" Harry joked, offering her his arm. Together they exited the room and headed into the vast hallway of Malfoy Manor's East Wing.

************************

Ron had been plagued by nightmares of burning to death only to awake with a crick in his neck and to make it all worse his bright hair was positively insisting on standing up straight in an erratic manner. He had tried the spit solution, and even a few simple beauty spells he had learned (in secret) but there was no solving his hair dilemma.

Ron was acutely aware that he had grown up poor, and while he loved his family it had sometimes been a chip on his shoulder, especially when it came to embarrassing matters like having to use a hand-me-down wand or wearing old robes that looked like they belonged to his Great Aunt Tessie. Thus, when he started making good money through the joke shop it had been his goal to no longer look like some poor slob. He had started buying nicer clothing and had even hired a fashion consultant a few times (also in secret) to help improve his look. He no longer let his mother cut his hair and went to a professional in Diagon Alley for his monthly trim. He even worked out by joining an intramural Quidditch team so that nobody would see him as "just another poorer-than-dirt Weasley boy".

His inspiration for this transformation had been two-fold. First was the matter of wanting to be a different person after the war ended. In order to escape the nightmares he'd been left with, he'd reinvented himself from Harry Potter's sidekick to a slick businessman with a penchant for partying and busty women. While it barely worked, it had been enough to distract him up until the most recent events.

The second reason for his transformation was due to people like Draco Malfoy. Malfoy had always made cruel jabs about the Weasley's being poor and while Ron had quite a few things he could say about the Mafoy family being poor in morality, he could not change his embarrassment about wearing hand knit jumpers and baggy hand-me-down robes with holes in them. Draco's hair was always impeccable, his clothing of the most expensive variety and even his school and Quidditch supplies were shiny new. Next to him, Ron had always felt homely and it was a feeling of inferiority he never wanted to have again.

Yet here he was, at Malfoy Manor, dressed in a torn and dirty t-shirt and soot covered jeans, his hair standing on high alert. Giving up, he made his way into the hallway just in time to see Hermione and Harry leaving from the same room, arm and arm with one another.

The sight locked him place, and unable to move he stood there, an ice-cold feeling of envy climbing through his body. He was still standing there as they walked away, not seeing him, and he was still there a minute later when Ginny popped out of her own room, yawning.

"Ron, what are you doing? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I-I-I just saw… Harry lied to me!"

"What are you on about?" she asked, the look in her eyes a mixture of concern and confusion.

"Harry lied!" he half roared this time, the tips of his ears burning bright red. "I asked him, back at Grimmauld Place, and he said no, that there was nothing between them, that they weren't… hadn't…"

"Bloody hell Ron, is this about Harry and Hermione?" she burst out, almost laughing.

"Don't tell me I'm making shit up Gin, I saw the two of them, just now, coming out of the same room together, just like when we were at Grimmauld Place, after the Burrow was burned down."

"Good for them" Ginny said laconically, waving her hand at him in a dismissive nature.

"He LIED to me Ginny, and how can you not be the least bit upset? You were supposedly in love with him for YEARS."

"First off Ronald, he did not lie. You missed out on quite a bit of romantic revelation yesterday. It was all very dramatic, but let me give you the short version; Harry is and has been in love with our bookworm friend for quite some time. There's a tricky part of the story that involves a thing called soul binding and Tom Riddle, but suffice to say, it suddenly became relevant that Harry open up about his feelings, which in the process opened Hermione up about her own feelings for him."

Ron just stared at his sister, dumbfounded.

"Okay, really short version. Harry and Hermione are both in love with each other and they both know about it now, but only really realized it yesterday. Therefore, he did not lie to you when he claimed there was nothing between them. At that time there wasn't. Well there was, but neither of them were willing to admit it existed, so really it didn't exist."

"You're a horrible story teller" Ron grumpily retorted. "None of that makes sense, especially not the part about Hermione being in love with Harry."

"Oh really Ron, what is so hard to believe about that? You've believed it before if I recall; many times. In fact, I seem to remember you abandoning them both during the horocrux hunt because you feared that she preferred Harry to you."

"But she DOESN'T!" Ron roared. "She didn't then, she never has!"

"You're still in love with her" Ginny replied, her tone dripping with accusation.

"Of course I am. She's bloody gorgeous and smart and she's always taken care of me…"

"AND you're forgetting that that ship sailed a long time ago. Did it ever occur to you that maybe she doesn't like mothering you and that she doesn't want to be with someone who was too daft to see what he had? It might hurt to accept Ron, but she always loved Harry more than she loved you, and we both know that."

"Just like we both know that Harry loved her more than he ever loved you" Ron retorted, narrowing his eyes at her.

Hearing Ron say the words out loud with such venom in his tone did sting, but Ginny did not react that way he expected. "You're right, he always did, and some part of me always knew it. How could he not love her after everything they'd been through together? Yes, I'll admit it hurts a little. But not because I feel betrayed by them; they have a right to be happy. It hurts because I'm afraid I'll never find that sort of love for myself."

"She'll come to her senses" Ron said, not wanting to hear what his sister was saying to him.

"What senses? The ones that make her realize it's you who she's always been in love with? Honestly Ron, what scenario is your deluded mind allowing you to believe? Do you think that after eight months of a disastrous relationship followed by you sleeping with every floozy in London the two of you would just fall back into each others' arms?"

Deep down inside, Ron had known that would never happen. In fact, he had even said as much to Hermione back at the Burrow. I can be loyal, and I'd even dare say I can be courageous, but you are more than I can handle. Yes, he had known that they would never work out romantically. Even after the Battle of Hogwarts, some part of him had known he would never be what she wanted, what she needed. Especially now that he was damaged. She wanted to tackle the world head on; he wanted to hide behind a bottle and fill the emptiness the war had left in him with equally empty relationships.

Despite that knowledge, he wasn't ready to truly resign himself to that reality. He still clung to fantasies of her coming to him and telling him how much she loved him, how she had always loved him, how she could never love anyone more than she loved him. He even sometimes imagined them getting married and her giving him red headed babies. He didn't deserve her and he knew that; but it didn't make him want her any less.

It was due to this that he avoided reason and stormed off angrily, leaving behind his sister and the whole conversation, not hearing the muffled cries of Luna Lovegood from behind the closed door of the bedroom where she had spent the night dreaming of a certain stubborn boy.

`'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Draco Malfoy was annoyed. He had a bunch of insufferable do-gooders under his roof and now they wanted to be fed.

"I don't have any food in the Manor because somebody passed a stupid law forcing me to pay my House Elves."

"Oh, like you didn't have the money Malfoy" Hermione responded, looking equally annoyed to be in his presence.

"It's not about having the money, it's about not wanting to pay a bunch of filthy, untrustworthy creatures. It was easier to just send them away than to worry about them forming a union and spying on me."

"That just goes to show how much you know about House Elves, if you took the time…"

Harry cleared his throat loudly, cutting off her tirade. "It makes no difference right now. We need food, clothing and other supplies I'm sure. Now that Malfoy and I are no longer on the `kill on sight' list, I think we could go get some items from Diagon Alley."

"The Children of Damon could be looking for all of us now" Hermione disagreed. "What if just by going there they attack in the same way they attacked Ville Cache when Ron and Luna were there?"

"Yes Harry, what about that?" asked an icy voice from behind them. They all turned to see Ron standing in the doorway, glowering with anger. "Luna and I only barely escaped with our lives, or do you care?"

"What are you on about?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

Before Ron could respond, Ginny shoved her brother out of the doorway. "I say Hermione and I just go shopping the muggle way. We've both done it before so we won't call any attention to ourselves, and it doesn't seem like the Children of Damon think outside of the magical world anyways."

"That's a good idea. We can apparate to my parents house and go from there." Harry nodded in agreement, but he simultaneously took her upper arm and guided her away from everyone else and into an adjacent room. Ron was glaring daggers at them both, but neither seemed to notice.

When they were alone, Harry spoke. "I think it's a good idea that you go to your parents house, but that you stay there. I think Ron and Luna should come along as well. I want you all to stay there. Ginny is right, the Children of Damon are only fixated on the magical world; you could all be safe in the muggle world. At least until more of this is sorted out."

"And who exactly is going to sort it out?" Hermione huffed. "You and Draco Malfoy? I would really rather not leave the fate of our world with the two of you. No offense."

"It's a war coming, and you're not a soldier. None of you are."

"We were once" she argued, her eyes lighting up brightly with defiance. "Do you really think that this is your war to fight alone? How many times in life will I have to remind you that we are in it-whatever it may be- together?"

"Probably until you die fighting!" he said, a look of pain on his face. "I can't… I won't let you die. Since we've been here, at Malfoy Manor, all I can think about is what happened to you last time we were here and how it was my fault…"

"You need to stop blaming yourself for every bad thing in the world Harry! What happened to me was Belletrix Lestrange's doing, not yours. I chose to fight with you, I'll always choose to fight with you. And despite what the world thinks, you're not immortal. If I hid away while you fought and you died, I would die too. Don't you see that?"

"No, I don't understand…"

"It's not up for debate. Ginny and I are going. You can lick the wounds to your male pride while I'm gone."

She nearly walked away but he managed to catch her wrist, pulling her back to him gently but firmly. She remember how fast he was, how strong. But will he be fast enough and strong enough to survive this? When she turned back towards him she was looking directly into his eyes, and the angry resolve in her gaze dissolved instantly. It was only the second time he had looked at her this way, with all of his emotions out in the open for her to see, and it was overwhelming.

"It's not like that… it's not that I think you need to be protected. If anything, I know just how much I need you, how little I'm capable of without your help, and that scares me. Almost everyone I've loved has died, it's hard not to feel as though my love is a death wish upon people. I knew you wouldn't agree to hiding, but I thought I could try. I just don't want you to be mad at me before you go."

She kissed him then, just a brief embrace, but even then she was surprised by the swell of emotions it brought within her. Will this ever feel normal? she wondered. She hoped not. "I'm not mad at you. I'll be back soon, and we need to talk about how we can use Riddle's Soul Binding trick against him. But please don't try anything until I get back."

He laughed at the look of concern on his face. "I learned my lesson with that Odyssea mishap. I won't be trying any complicated magic without your help."

"Good" she smiled, and because she couldn't help herself she kissed him again and then left.

He watched her go and thought it was strange, this desire to snog her senseless and forget about all the evils of the world. It wasn't like he'd never had the urge before; after all, he was male, and after all, she was beautiful. This was just the first time that he realized he could do it and she might not hex him into oblivion.

`''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

When Hermione and Ginny arrived at the Granger's house with a loud POP, both of her parents came running into the room. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise" Mrs. Granger said, wringing her hands nervously. "It's Ginny right? How are you dear?"

"Okay" Ginny replied slowly, sensing the tension in the room. "Mind if I use the loo?"

"Of course not, it's up the stairs… well, you know, you've been here before."

Ginny nodded her thanks, exchanged a look with Hermione and then charged off to give the family a moment alone.

"We haven't seen you in a few months" Mr. Granger said in a tone of admonition. "How are things with work?"

"I'm sorry, there's been a lot going on" Hermione said, not sure how much to tell them.

"A lot going on" Mr. Granger mimicked. "Of the dangerous nature I presume. Do you intend to erase our memories again?"

"I did that for your protection" she said, tears involuntarily stinging her eyes.

"We know that" Mrs. Granger said in her most soothing tone, shooting her husband a warning look. "But we are worried about you is all. Sometimes, I truly wish that you had never turned out to be a witch, that you had never been introduced to all of this danger."

"I can see why you would think that" Hermione responded warily, flopping down in a nearby armchair, feeling very much like she had just been ambushed. "And I wish that it hadn't torn this family apart. But it's who I am, and despite the danger of that world it's also wonderful and has so much potential for greatness. I can make a difference, I can help, and so I do what I must. You both taught me that."

Mr. Granger looked a bit bashful for his former harshness and sat down as well, running his fingers through his greying hair. "Don't get me wrong Hermione, I'm very proud of you and your mother is too. It's just that as a father, you want to protect your little girl. And no matter how old you get, you'll always be my little girl. But I can't protect you, and that drives me mad."

She stood suddenly and engulfed her father in a hug, which he quickly responded. "I will be careful" she promised him.

"And she's not alone" Ginny said, her voice coming from the top of the staircase as she descended down towards them. "I'll admit that we all rely on your daughter's brilliance, but her friends are nothing if not loyal. We've stuck together in the past, and we'll continue to stick together. And of course Harry won't let anything happen to her. He's in love with her."

Something passed between the two girls as Ginny said those words. There was a glimmer of sadness in Ginny's eyes, reflecting the final release of any pent up hopes or dreams of a future between her and Harry. Hermione remembered Ginny's words from just days before; I came to terms with the fact that you'll always be the woman he trusts above any other. Ginny may have long ago accepted that truth, but the full reality of it fully sunk in now and there was a loneliness in Ginny's expression, but it quickly vanished. Hermione gave her a thankful smile, and she knew all was well between them.

"Harry? Potter?" Mrs. Granger sputtered, confused. "And how do you feel about this?"

"The same… it's a long story" Hermione sighed, but she gave her mother a kind smile to let her know that she would fill her in on all the details when there was time. It was the first time that they had shared a genuine mother-daughter moment in a long time and some of the tension melted away. She realized her mother looked not only curious, but also happy regarding the news that Harry Potter was in love with her daughter. I imagine that if I ever have a daughter I will feel the same way… doesn't every parent dream that someone deserving will fall in love with their child?

Mr. Granger looked less convinced on how "deserving" Harry was of Hermione, but he did seem relieved to hear Ginny's assurances that Hermione would never face danger alone. His posture relaxed a bit and all he said was, "well, when you do find the time Hermione, you should bring Potter over here. I have a few things I'd like to discuss with him."

"You mean you want to grill him" Ginny laughed, and Hermione was never more thankful for Ginny's sarcastic humor than she was at that moment. Even Mr. Granger smiled.

"It's not like you've never met the boy" Mrs. Granger scoffed. "You always liked him too from what I recall. Not to mention, we know his whole life story thanks to the way Hermione has endlessly talked about him since she started at Hogwarts."

Hermione blushed. "Okay, enough of that already. We need to go shopping."

"Of course you do" Mr. Granger replied, rolling his eyes. "Girls will be girls!"

`'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Malfoy Manor had been thick with tension from the moment Ginny and Hermione departed. Draco had disappeared to go sulk somewhere in the expanses of his family estate, and Ron had not explained his cold demeanor but retreated to the room where he had slept the previous night. Harry had noticed that Luna still had not come downstairs, but when he went to check up on her she insisted that she was fine, just really very tired.

Thus he had decided to wander aimlessly around the manor. He had a lot of his mind anyways; especially regarding a rather pretty brunette who he had only just realized he was in love with. No, I've known for years he thought as he passed a massive window overlooking the gardens. Cobwebs had grown in the corners and they glistened in the sunlight. I knew I felt something towards her; something powerful and yes, scary. I didn't know what the feeling meant though, and I was also worried that it might kill her.

It still might kill her.

"Potter, can't you just stay in your wing of the house?" Malfoy's voice suddenly asked, a humorous sigh of exasperation in his tone. It was still somewhat strange to Harry that Malfoy had a sense of humor that extended past seeing Harry break a bone or fail publically at something. He's different now. War changed all of us, why shouldn't it have changed him? But is there such a thing as redemption?

"You seem awfully quiet" Malfoy commented, standing next to Harry and frowning at the cobwebs that were half obstructing the view out the window.

"Riddle talked my ear off all day yesterday" Harry joked. "I guess I'm out of conversational topics."

"Speaking of Riddle, I think it may be possible for you to find out what we need to know from him. I mean, now that you have him in check."

"I've heard this one before Malfoy" Harry scowled. "Last time it was you convincing me to take odyssea, and now according to Hermione, my conscious is divided in two. He's repressed for now, but maybe just barely. He has the ability to be stronger than ever thanks to your little drug."

"Sure, but you also have the ability to talk to him now. You said he talked your ear off yesterday, did it ever occur to you in that dense brain of yours that you could have used that to your advantage to get more information on Damon?"

Harry whirled on Malfoy and while they were the same height, Harry's shoulders were wider and more muscled. Still, if Draco felt intimidated by that he didn't show it, he simply glared back at Harry with his peculiar silver eyes. "What should I have said? Hey Riddle, while I've got you here in a hallucinogenic embodiment of my own making, could you give me Damon's address? I need to have a chat with him about not killing everyone in the magical world."

"It might not have hurt."

"HE'S NOT IN YOUR HEAD!" Harry exploded, a wave of magic radiating from him and pushing Malfoy back a half step. "Sure, you were stupid enough to try the werewolf pensive and maybe that fucker Fenrir Greyback is echoing around in your mind, but you clearly have it under control… you're okay with it because he didn't murder your parents and destroy your life. Don't even presume to know for a second what it was like for me seeing him in his young, smug form; to hear his voice speak of how my mother screamed, how my father wept, how he could have killed Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets and how he will torture Hermione one day."

"Listen Potter, I…"

"No Malfoy, I'm done listening to you!" Harry shouted, and the massive window next to them exploded outwards. "The Unbreakable Vow is over! What are you still even doing around here?"

"This is MY house" Malfoy reminded him. "You're free to leave. Or wait… are you? Do you even remember the words to that vow you took Potter? `I vow that I will assist him in finding his parents murderer, so that the truth of their mission will be unveiled and all others will be safe.' We know that Damon is involved, but not that he was the actual killer. You still haven't fulfilled your part. If you walk away now, it's your life that ends."

"What about your own vow?" Harry scowled. His eyes flickered and for a second Draco saw Riddle's dark gaze peering out.

"I said that I wouldn't prevent you from helping me from finding out who murdered my parents. And I haven't prevented you."

"So I'm to believe that you're sticking around because you don't want ME to break MY vow? What do you care if I die Malfoy?"

"I CAN'T DO THIS WITHOUT YOU" Draco snarled, his calm demeanor suddenly evaporating. The halls were shaking now. "I made a decision that I am going to try to seek redemption, and that means fighting for the side of good this time. And unfortunately, that means following you Saint Potter."

But is there such a thing as redemption? Harry wondered once more. "We need to figure out what is going on with these uncontrollable surges of magic."

Harry had changed the subject so abruptly that Draco was caught off guard, and the near cave-in they were about to create in the ceiling was prevented as the shaking stopped. "More clean up" he frowned, pulling out his wand to fix the window. Harry unconsciously touched the scar below his eye from the day before. "You're right. It's becoming dangerous. Most of the time I can control it, but that doesn't mean we don't need to figure out why it's happening."

"I'm sure Hermione will be able to help us now that we're all together."

Draco gave Harry a sly look as though he was about to say something sarcastic, but he somehow managed to bite his comment back and the two men wordlessly set about cleaning the mess they had made. A moment later they were interrupted by footsteps coming down the hallway in their direction and turned to see Ginny Weasley watching, a confused expression on her face.

"What happened here? Did you two get into a lovers quarrel?"

Harry and Draco both immediately protested loudly to her choice of words which simply made her smile in delight. Once they were done talking over each other she announced that there was food in the kitchen, which Draco took as a chance to make an immediate exit from the hallway. Harry lingered for a moment however, and Ginny had the distinct impression he wanted to speak to her.

"Out with it Potter" she prompted, thinking about a particular blueberry muffin she wanted to get to before Ron had the opportunity.

"About Hermione and I..." Harry said slowly, feeling innately uncomfortable. Ginny was used to Harry's discomfort. When they had gotten back together after the war it had taken a long time for him to get past stiff hugs and chaste kisses. He didn't know how to handle his emotions; he had never been taught how. She knew this and accepted it about him. In fact, she found it rather adorable.

"Harry, you really don't owe me any explanation. You and I are ancient history and we'll always be good friend right?"

"Of course!" he answered immediately, a light of sincerity so bright in his eyes that for a moment she missed being in love with him; she missed those sincere looks he would give her whether it was when talking about Voldemort or gazing at her in bed. "I just don't want you to think that there was ever anything before, you know, I don't want you to think that I was in love with her when I was with you."

She responded with a dry laugh. "Of course you were Harry. I knew it, even back then. I didn't want to admit it but… I knew deep down inside that it was always her, it always will be her."

"And you weren't mad?" Harry asked, incredulous.

"Maybe jealous, maybe sad… but no, not mad. It's hard at first to accept that someone you're in love with doesn't love you back, but when you do accept it, it's liberating. I want someone to love me the way you love her."

"You deserve that" Harry said, still feeling a pinch of guilt despite her reassuring words. "You've always deserved that."

She gave him a weak smile that somehow did not match her eyes but said nothing more on that subject. "Ron is a different matter entirely."

"You mean he doesn't deserve to be loved?" Harry asked, baffled.

"No! I mean he's not as forgiving as I am. He's never accepted that she chose you over him, even when the evidence was glaring him in the face."

"She chose- what??" Harry looked utterly lost and she had to smile at how daft he was. "Ron had his chance with her years ago, they ended amicably, they're friends."

"Ron knew he wasn't mature enough to handle a girl like Hermione at the time. Plus, he was going through a lot of shit, what with our brother dying and all of us becoming war veterans of a particularly nasty battle. But part of him thought that one day he would be ready, that he would be deserving of her."

"That's insane! Did he think a girl like her would just be sitting around forever, waiting for him? There are loads of blokes who have asked her out. In the meantime he was shagging every girl who was willing to get into bed with him. The fact that he would even think that could possibly be fair to her…"

"He doesn't think that, not really. You know Ron; he's illogical and hot tempered. If she had fallen in love with anyone but you his feelings for her would have faded fully away and he would just be happy for her. But because it's you, all his old feelings of inadequacy are rearing their ugly head, and any hope he had of being with her, however faint and unlikely, has been multiplied."

"It makes no sense-" Harry protested.

"He's still just not ready to admit that she chose you over him. If he admits that than he'll have to face the truth that he always feared; that even when she was with him, a greater part of her preferred you." Ginny shrugged as though it was simple and obvious, but Harry's head was still spinning from it all.

Harry nearly protested and insisted that of course Hermione hadn't preferred him over Ron, but he caught himself. It was hard for him to believe but it was true and always had been. She had chosen to stay with him during the horocrux hunt, and in fact, she had always chosen him. Her words from the night before echoed in his ears; I've been in love with you since the day you saved me from that bloody troll.

"You need to talk to Ron before this whole thing blows up" Ginny sighed, taking Harry's arm and leading him away from his thoughts and towards the kitchen.

"We have a lot bigger stuff going on right now than Ron's feelings" Harry frowned, allowing her to guide him.

"Despite the fact that my brother can be a git, you and I both know we're going to need him. Mend this over before he pulls another foolish disappearing act. Do it for everyone's sake."

`'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Hermione felt that she was keeping pace with Ron as they stuffed their faces in the kitchen. Draco Malfoy had come and gone, grabbing something or other and departing without a word. She was glad; she still felt on edge around the former Slytherin. He made her skin crawl and she couldn't help but think about his evil aunt and all the horrible things his family had done. Right now she did not think about that however. She simply fixated on how delicious the toast she was devouring tasted.

Ron was shooting her nasty looks but it took a full ten minutes before she even noticed. "What's wrong Ronald?" she demanded after swallowing her last bite and daintily wiped her mouth clean with a napkin.

"Asifjodono" he replied, his mouth still full.

"Could you please swallow your damned food before you speak? Honestly, I would have thought you'd grow some manners by this age."

This just made him scowl further and as he took a look swig of milk to wash his food down, Harry and Ginny entered the room arm in arm. Hermione was surprised to feel a strange jolt of jealousy. If she was being honest, it wasn't the first time she had felt jealous of Ginny. The Weasley girl's fiery red hair and flawless ivory skin made her a beauty and she was always dressed in a way that was fashionable and form fitting, revealing her athletic form and perfect posture. She made Hermione feel mousy by comparison.

Furthermore, there was the issue that Ginny had been Harry's first and that they had a long romantic history that started when Ginny was still too young to even attend Hogwarts. Hermione still remembered the time that Ginny had confessed her feelings for Harry at the Quidditch World Cup. Of course, everyone already knew that the younger girl had a crush on the Boy-Who-Lived, but hearing her say it had given Hermione a jolt of jealousy even then. A spiteful part of Hermione had wanted to somehow sabotage the whole thing by saying something like "oh, he just sees you as a sister". But Hermione had never been a spiteful girl, and she really liked Ginny, in fact, she was the only girl Hermione had ever really gotten along with. So she had given her some sound advice and buried those feelings she had for Harry even deeper away.

Hermione shook off those primitive emotions that made her want to yell "MINE!" and grab him away from Ginny. Soon enough the two had left each others' side anyways and were foraging for breakfast. Ron did not resume whatever he was about to say earlier, but simply stared at Hermione with a look of contempt until she felt tempted to try one of Ginny's famous bat bogey hexes on him.

Once Harry had loaded a plate up with food he took a seat next to Hermione, and Ron's ire only seemed to increase but she somehow cared much less with Harry close by. Harry gave her a kind smile and thanked her for getting food for everyone. She felt like a schoolgirl again the way her heart fluttered when he smiled at her and she felt herself blushing and looked away, deciding to fixate instead on the wall, which allowed her to avoid both boys at the table.

"We need to figure out what's been going on with my wandless magic" Harry said after a long stretch of silence. "Malfoy has been exhibiting bursts of wandless magic too- not as frequent as mine but still powerful."

"Well, what do you and Malfoy have in common?" Hermione asked, her logical mind glad to have something to latch onto of the less emotional variety.

"They're both total gits" Ron growled, bringing their attention back to his sour mood once more.

"They're both a bit dishy" Ginny offered, effectively getting Ron to shut up immediately.

"You think Draco Malfoy is… how could you even… if our mother EVER… if you EVEN…"

Ginny smiled mirthfully at how wound up her brother had become. "Why don't you bring Luna some breakfast Ron? Or, if you prefer you can stay here and hear me talk about those captivating silver-grey eyes of his…"

"Oi, I'm leaving!" Ron responded, grumpily standing up and storming over to grab a few muffins and some pumpkin juice to bring to Luna. "I'd rather not spend any extra time with you lot anyways."

Once he was clear of the room Hermione spoke. "What is up with him today?"

"Nothing" Harry said quickly. "I'll deal with it in a little bit."

It was Ginny's turn to feel a twinge of jealousy this time. Harry's protectiveness of Hermione had always been incredibly sweet but right now it made Ginny feel even more alone than she had as of late. She suddenly became fascinated by the half eaten piece of toast in front of her, afraid that they would be able to read her thoughts and would pity her.

"I'd like to join this conversation as long as the female Weasley can restrain herself from jumping on me" Malfoy drawled from the doorway.

"How long have you been standing there?!" Hermione exclaimed, feeling mortified for Ginny.

Ginny for her part, did not even blush. "I said you were attractive Malfoy, I didn't say you were my type though so don't flatter yourself. If you're looking for someone to have sex with though, I'd recommend Gregory Goyle. I would certainly say you're HIS type, what with the dreamy looks he always gave you."

"You're surprisingly on point with that assessment Weasley, Goyle was rather enamored by me, but who could blame him? As for me, if it was a choice between shagging you and shagging Goyle I'd say it's a tough decision."

"Bisexuality can be difficult that way" Ginny nodded solemnly.

Hermione felt she was hearing less of an argument and more a strange verbal foreplay. She decided to interrupt. "We were trying to figure out what you and Harry have in common, and why that might be effecting your magic."

"Well, there's the obvious stuff" Draco acknowledged, hoisting himself onto a nearby table so that his legs were dangling as he spoke. "We are both around the same age, attended Hogwarts, we're about the same height and build although Potter has gotten a bit blocky…"

"It's called muscle" Harry intervened.

"We played Quidditch, spent some time with Voldemort, and were featured on the cover of Witches Weekly."

"Harry was featured, you never were" Ginny replied.

"True, but I would have been featured if everyone didn't hate my family so much."

Hermione, for her part, was marveling for the first time at how similar Harry and Draco actually were in certain respects. Of course, their personality and upbringing differed massively, but she had never considered that there actually some resounding similarities. She had always assumed that if Harry had shaken Malfoy's hand on that first day at Hogwarts, Harry would have been corrupted by Malfoy's darkness. But now she wasn't so sure. Perhaps Harry's goodness would have made Malfoy better. He is the best part of us she remembered saying to Ron. Was it possible he could have become the best part of Malfoy too?

"None of those things have anything to do with your wandless magic and you know that" she snapped. "You're just wasting time. When Harry started exhibiting signs of wandless magic, Kingsley said that something had deeply interrupted his magic at it's very core. Presumably, that something was the piece of Tom Riddle's soul."

"You've never been any fun, have you Granger?" Malfoy scowled. "The answer is obvious. Both of us have a bit of someone else's soul trapped within us. I have Greyback and he has Riddle. Personally, I don't think we could have picked worse dance partners to be eternally stuck with, but there that is. That's what's affecting our magic and causing these outbursts."

Draco recalled a memory Greyback had inadvertently shared with him- something Tom Riddle had said once, long ago. Magic is an integral part of beings like you and I, and it can be controlled. A wand is simply a tool to help us, but the mind can be a far more powerful channel. Disgusting creatures like House Elves are able to use magic unaided, think what a wizard with powers such as myself is capable of…

"If we could just find a way to control it" Draco muttered, trailing off.

"Damon can control his wandless magic" Harry observed. "He uses Mental Channeling, whatever that means."

"I think he's unlikely to teach us" Draco snarled with a look of contempt.

"Unless…" Harry began slowly.

"Unless what?" Draco responded, agitated. Harry cocked his head to the side, pensive. "I know that expression Potter. You're hatching up a half-witted idea. Haven't I ever told you how much I despise your ideas?"

Harry met Draco's gaze, and something passed between them that neither Hermione nor Ginny could read. Is redemption really possible?

********************************

Ron knocked on Luna's bedroom door, still fuming from seeing Harry and Hermione sitting so close together and from his sister's crude sense of humor. The whole morning had started on a bad note and was ending on a bad note. When Luna didn't answer immediately he knocked more furiously, shaking the polished door in its hinges.

"Goodness Ronald, what is the matter?" Luna asked, whipping the door open and looking shocked.

"I just er… I brought you breakfast."

"That was very nice of you" she said, the distress draining from her eyes and a slight smile appearing across her features. Still, he thought he saw sadness there as well.

"Are you alright?" he asked, handing her the plate and cup and then lingering awkwardly in the door. "You're not still hurt are you?"

"Hurt? No, the mediwitches in France did a marvelous job patching me up. I suppose a wheezing beezle just stole my happiness and I'm feeling a bit morose."

"Is it being back here… at Malfoy Manor?" Ron asked, genuinely worried about her.

"No… I'll admit it was difficult to sleep last night though. Draco was quite right, I did have some disturbing nightmares."

Ron absently noticed that Luna was the only one of them who called Malfoy by his first name. He wondered if there was ever a kinder person than Luna Lovegood and he suddenly felt guilty for his foul mood. "Do you mind if I sit while you eat?"

"No" she said slowly, and she gestured for him to take a seat on her bed, joining him a moment later as she picked at the food he'd brought her.

"Not hungry either?" he asked, feeling even more concerned. "You know, maybe we should bring you to St. Mungo's. I know all wizarding centers are on high alert, but if you're really not feeling well…"

"I've always liked you Ronald" she said, abruptly changing the subject. "Some might say you can be thick-headed and hot tempered, but you're also genuinely kind and good natured. And you are rather funny at times, and Daddy always said a man who can keep a good sense of humor in bad times is a good man."

"I wasn't trying to make a joke, I really am worried" Ron protested confused.

"No, I know you are. And that's why you're such a good friend." Her voice fell somewhat flat on the word "friend" and he felt like maybe he was missing out on something. "I am sorry about Hermione, I know you are still in love with her."

This caught so far off guard that he nearly fell off the edge of her bed. "How do you know?"

"I heard you speaking with your sister. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, the sound just carries very well in these drafty hallways."

Ron shifted uncomfortably. "I probably seem like a prat for being envious of my best friends' happiness."

"The heart is a fragile thing. Unfortunately, it is also very stupid sometimes."

Ron wondered if he should feel offended by her statement, but instead he just found himself laughing. "I must say Luna, I like that! The heart is stupid, it never knows what it wants until it's too late. At least, mine never does."

"It will one day Ronald" Luna said, brightening up noticeably and taking a healthy swig of pumpkin juice. "And when it does, it might just surprise you."

`'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Draco pulled his cloak more tightly around him as the cool night air ripped out from around him. Hours had passed since he'd sat in the kitchen of Malfoy Manor being tormented by the idiocy of the Gryffindor gang. Now it was nearly midnight and the almost full moon hung high in the sky as proof. Fenrir Greyback itched to howl at the sight of the silvery beauty but Draco effectively managed to shut the mangy beast up.

Knockturn Alley was gearing up for its usual illegal activity and there was noise from the pubs he passed and one witch tried to lure him into a dark alley with promises of great oral pleasure in exchange for a few galleons. He pulled his hood up closer around his face. Whether he was in Diagon Alley or Knockturn Alley, there were plenty of people with reason to hate a Malfoy.

He nearly missed the impossible tight alleyway that turned off the main path and into the pitch-black shadows, leading him to an unmarked door with peeling black paint. When he opened the door there was only one man inside, his back turned to the entrance as he nursed a drink by the flickering light of a dirty lantern. The mute bartender was nowhere to be seen, but there was a glass of fire whiskey waiting for Draco already.

"Good, you made it and you followed my instructions to come alone."

"I've always been good at following orders" Draco responded, taking his seat at the bar and sipping his drink to take the edge off of the cold night.

"We'll see about that. I'll believe you once you've delivered me Harry Potter."

"Yes Master" Draco nodded, a thin smile passing his lips.

"You don't need to call me Master, none of my Children do. You may simply call me Damon."

Document created with wvWare/wvWare version 1.2.7

-->