‘Locked up?’ Hermione asked, her face becoming a mask of shock that Harry had only seen when an exam had been cancelled back at Hogwarts. He put a hand on her arm and Hermione flinched away, ‘Draco is locked up? What does that even mean?’
‘He’s in the Ministry’s dungeons, Hermione, and his hearing is in a couple of days. If he’s guilty then they will send him to Azkaban,’ Harry sighed, rubbing his temples as he felt another wave of headache hit him with full force.
Hermione felt the floor underneath her start to spin and then realised that it wasn’t the floor but it was her. She sat down on the sofa and closed her eyes, holding her head in her hands until she had calmed down. Draco couldn’t go to Azkaban and she wouldn’t allow it to happen. That was her first thought. The second followed immediately: she’d do anything to stop Draco from being banished to Azkaban.
Harry sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, ‘I’m sorry for doing this but I need to keep you safe. He would have destroyed your entire life... and Rose’s.’
‘The hearing. When is it?’ Hermione asked, shrugging away from his touch and ignoring what he had just said. Harry didn’t know Draco like she did and he didn’t understand that he had changed.
‘In a few days,’ Harry muttered, watching her, ‘please, leave this be, Hermione. He’s bad news and he deserves-’
‘Rose!’ Hermione called her daughter as she grabbed her wand from where it lay on the table, ‘get your things! We’re leaving, honey!’
‘Hermione, where are you going to go?’ Harry asked, frowning as he stood up too and watched his friend whom he hadn’t seen for years as her daughter came running to her.
Hermione picked Rose up and hugged her, closing her eyes briefly before looking at Harry, ‘thank you for being so hospitable but I need to save Draco.’
‘Save... Save Draco? Hermione, he’s brainwashed you to the point where you can’t ever think for yourself!’ Harry looked at her, frowning.
Rose nuzzled her nose into Hermione’s neck and murmured, softly, ‘why is he shouting, Mummy? I want Dway-co.’
‘I want Draco too, darling,’ Hermione said, taking her wand out and looking at Harry, ‘goodbye.’
Hermione disapparated with her daughter to the only place where she could go in a land filled with people who would be against her.
---
The burrow loomed over them, looking nothing like how Hermione had imagined it. It had changed and she wondered why but the answer came to her almost immediately, making her weak in the knees. Fred’s death had obviously had a massive effect on the Weasley family and now she could see it for herself.
Hermione let Rose down but kept a tight hold of her hand as she started walking on legs that weren’t quite stable. She realised she was still in the nightie that someone had changed her into but she didn’t exactly have any of her clothes with her so she couldn’t change into something suitable. Tears trickled down her cheeks and she impatiently wiped them away before knocking on the Burrow door.
‘Mummy,’ Rose looked up at her, clutching her hand, ‘I want to go home, Mummy.’
‘Rose, we can’t go home just yet,’ Hermione murmured and added silently, not without Draco at least. She would take him out of the ministry lock up and prove he was innocent.
Hermione tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as the Burrow door opened and Mrs Weasley stood there. She had the same curly red hair that had been passed down for generations now and wore the same apron that Hermione had seen her in whilst cooking food for the whole family. Hermione felt tears well up in her eyes just thinking about how caring Mrs Weasley was and how she had lost her son during the war. Hermione’s emotions were not in check at the moment so she couldn’t stop herself from flinging her arms around Mrs Weasley and hugging her.
Mrs Weasley was shocked at seeing Hermione whom she hadn’t even had one owl from for a few years now. Despite that, she wrapped her arms around Hermione and embraced her in a motherly hug, stroking her hair. Her hand paused as she came eye to eye with Rose. It was obvious from the curls Rose adorned on her head that she was Hermione’s daughter.
‘Mummy,’ Rose murmured, tugging on the nightie and feeling uncomfortable standing there while her mother hugged a seemingly random woman.
‘Hermione, dear,’ Mrs Weasley pulled back to see tears trailing their way down Hermione’s face, ‘come in, come in! You must be freezing!’
Hermione didn’t argue or give any indication of how cold she was, even though she was freezing although that seemed a very small comparison to Draco being locked up. She followed Mrs Weasley in after soothing Rose and picking her up, feeling her cheek nuzzle against her shoulder as she looked around the very familiar Burrow. Mrs Weasley stopped once they were inside where it was warm and turned to Hermione, glancing briefly at Rose.
‘Arthur and Ron are here,’ Mrs Weasley stated, ‘but I guess you’d like to freshen up first... and get some clothes?’
Hermione nodded and croaked, ‘thank you.’
Mrs Weasley gave her a warm smile and headed up the stairs as Hermione followed. The stairs creaked as they walked up, making Rose cling tighter to Hermione. Hermione rubbed her back, following Mrs Weasley into a room that she recognised as Ginny’s. Mrs Weasley offered her some jeans and a top which Hermione took thankfully.
‘I don’t have any clothes for...’ Mrs Weasley gestured to Rose pointedly.
‘Rose,’ Hermione said, quietly, ‘and that’s okay. Thank you for this.’
Mrs Weasley shook her head, ‘I’ll be downstairs making you something to eat. Feel free to take a shower if you want.’
Mrs Weasley rubbed her shoulder kindly before leaving the room. Hermione watched her go and then stood in the silent room, thinking she couldn’t stop thanking Mrs Weasley for how hospitable she was being even though she hadn’t seen her for five years or sent her an owl. She felt a little bad about it but her mind suddenly went to Draco, thinking about him sitting alone in the cell.
‘Mummy!’ Rose wrapped her arms around her neck in a death grip, ‘I want to go home! I want Dway-co!’
Hermione nodded, ‘Rose, you need to be a good girl for me right now, okay? I need your help.’
Rose pulled back to look at her with wide eyes and nodded furiously, ‘will I get sweeties?’
Hermione let out a strained but genuine chuckle at her daughter’s serious look about sweets. Rose frowned briefly, wondering why she was laughing. Hermione tapped her nose, ‘yes, you will. Now if I give you something to do while I take a very quick shower, will you stay right here?’
‘Yes, Mummy,’ Rose sighed after a while of consideration and pouted slightly as Hermione sat her down on Ginny’s old bed while getting some parchment from the drawer and a pencil rather than a quill. She put the resources in front of Rose.
‘Why don’t you draw a pretty picture for Draco?’
‘Okay,’ Rose looked excited at the prospect as she picked up the pencil and started to draw, her tongue poking out the side of her mouth.
Hermione grabbed the clothes and a towel from the cupboard before opening the door. She glanced back at Rose before crossing the small and narrow landing, entering the bathroom and closing the door behind her. She started to strip out of the nightie, thankful that she had her own underwear. Hermione had her wand still tight in her hand and muttered a spell to keep her underwear clean for another day since that was the only thing she could do.
She piled up the nightie on the counter and put her wand beside it before getting into the shower, drawing the curtain over. Leaning her head against the shower wall, she felt water cascade down her skin until she had relaxed even the tiniest bit before starting to quickly shower. Rubbing her hands through her brown locks, she washed out all the shampoo before starting to wash her body.
Hermione stepped out of the shower, drying herself quickly before putting on her underwear. She wrapped the towel around herself before she grabbed her clothes and came out of the bathroom, quickly flitting across the landing in a flurry of white towel and wet, brown hair. She needed to see if Rose was okay since she hadn’t really noticed that she had spent quite some time in the shower.
‘Rose?’ Hermione asked, frowning at the slightly open door. Hadn’t she left the door open all the way when she went to take a shower? Her brain screamed that she had and millions of thoughts zapped through her, probably paranoid, mind. Edging the door open, Hermione felt her heart beat faster and faster in her chest before coming to a stop when she saw Rose sitting next to a man on the bed.
A man that had taken Hermione’s first kiss.
‘Hermione,’ Ron Weasley stood up, looking at her in surprise.
Hermione felt her eyes graze over the man she hadn’t seen in five years, the man she had left with hardly any excuse. Ron was slightly taller than when she had seen him last, just after the war, but his hair was the same red and his eyes were the same, if not a little older. Ron ran a shaky hand through his hair, blushing when he took in Hermione in a barely covering towel.
‘Ron,’ Hermione murmured, blushing too as she bent quite awkwardly to pick up her clothes and then backed into the door, hitting it with her behind slightly, ‘I’m just going to... get dressed.’
‘Blimey, you look different,’ Ron said before he could help it.
Hermione pretended like she hadn’t heard him as she nearly flew from the room and into the bathroom once again, leaning her back against the closed door. In, out.... In, out... She breathed as evenly as she could although her heart was fluttering unevenly, maybe even unhealthy, in her chest.
Hermione just hadn’t expected to see him so suddenly and it hadn’t registered in her mind when Mrs Weasley said that Ron was also here. She hadn’t thought of anyone but Draco the whole time she had been here and felt the guilt pile up higher on her head. Hermione let her eyes close, picturing Ron sitting next to Rose. What if they asked who the father was? How would it look if she said it was a random man she had met and dated for a while?
Well, random wasn’t true but still... They had hardly been together for two months but it was like they were truly in love. You know the feeling you get when he phones you up just to ask how you slept? When he tells you not to hang up even though you’ve half heartedly told him you have to go? When he stares into your eyes and your heart flips itself upside down before your whole world flips?
Yes, it had definitely been love.
Hermione shook her head. Then she had fallen pregnant and the fights had started. The tears, shouts, door banging... Everything came rushing back since Hermione had fought so hard to keep it out. Rose had been and continues to be the best decision Hermione had ever made and she couldn’t imagine life without her... or without Draco for that matter. Hermione forced herself to get dressed into a light pink top and some jeans that were a little tight on her but she didn’t mind. Taking a deep breath, she left the bathroom.
Hermione crossed the landing, slipping her wand into her pocket, and opened the door. She walked in to see Rose chatting animatedly to Ron about her drawing, saying something about how she had drawn for her mother all the time and how Hermione liked to pin her drawings up around the house because they were that good.
‘Mummy says everyone loves my drawings. I’m the best,’ Rose said, proudly.
‘I’m sure you are,’ Ron chuckled but glanced up when Hermione walked into the room, fully dressed but still a little red, ‘um, Mum says you’ve to come down to eat.’
As if on cue, Rose’s stomach grumbled loudly and she giggled before trying to imitate the sound. She jumped off the bed, grabbing her drawing and taking Hermione’s hand before looking at Ron, ‘Mummy... ask the nice man to come with us.’
Hermione squeezed her hand, ‘sure. Let’s go.’
Ron nodded and led them out first before walking down the stairs. Hermione wondered when he had grown so tall that the top of his head brushed against the doorway as they walked out. She felt an ache in her chest as she walked into the kitchen and went to go take a seat at the table. Ron sat opposite her as Rose sat beside her.
‘Arthur had a lot of work to do so he left,’ Mrs Weasley explained as she put food on the table for them.
‘Mrs Weasley, you didn’t have to do all this,’ Hermione murmured, looking at the wide array of food that surrounded them. Rose eagerly reached for a sandwich and bit into it, grinning from ear to ear as she made appreciative sounds. Hermione smiled, ‘thank you anyway. I think she was a little hungry.’
Mrs Weasley smiled and put a steaming mug of tea in front of her and juice for Rose before settling down in a chair next to Ron. Hermione reached for a sandwich, staying silent as she ate it and glanced at Rose, wiping her mouth once she was finished. Rose sipped her juice and picked up a pencil, concentrating on drawing again.
‘She’s... yours?’ Ron asked, a little cautiously even though he knew the answer to that.
Hermione looked at him and nodded, ‘yes, she’s four years old.’
‘Is the father-’
‘He left me four years ago.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Ron frowned slightly as Mrs Weasley grasped her hand, squeezing it to provide comfort.
‘That must have been hard, raising a child on your own,’ Mrs Weasley commented, looking at Rose as she hummed a melody under her breath, ‘she’s a good kid though. You’ve done a brilliant job, Hermione, I’m really impressed.’
‘It was hard,’ Hermione admitted in a quiet voice, ‘but I got through it. Plus, I love her. I wouldn’t trade her for the world.’
‘Being a mother myself, I know the feeling,’ Mrs Weasley sighed softly. Ron looked between the two of them and shook his head, wanting to ask the question that had been eating at him since his mother had announced Hermione Granger had appeared at their doorway after five years of absolutely no contact... and she had a four year old daughter.
‘Why didn’t you come see us sooner?’ Ron asked, in an accusatory tone.
‘Ron, I-’ Hermione shook her head, dropping her eyes to her tea.
‘Now you’ll make excuses for leaving me the day after the war. I needed you when my brother died and you weren’t there for me,’ Ron frowned, making Hermione’s eyes snap up to him, ‘Hermione, I could have helped you with Rose and gave you everything you could ever need. You say it was hard yet you made no attempt at trying to contact me, to get help.’
‘I couldn’t,’ Hermione muttered, looking at him.
‘Why not?’ Ron frowned, ‘why couldn’t you?’
‘I had to get away and go to my parents, Ron,’ Hermione frowned right back at him, not liking the tone he was talking to her in. Didn’t he know that she had been through a lot as well? That she needed some time to get everything sorted? That If she hadn’t gotten pregnant, she would have come back to him?
‘So, why are you here now?’ Ron narrowed his eyes, ‘after five years. Five years, Hermione! Do you realise how long I stayed up every night, trying to get in touch since I couldn’t sleep. This bloody war gave me so many nightmares and I didn’t even have you to comfort me or help me through it. The only person I could count on...’
Hermione put her head in her hands, feeling tears leaking their way the corner of her eyes. Why had everything turned upside down now? Because you love Draco, a voice in her head answered for her immediately. Mrs Weasley rubbed her shoulder soothingly, frowning at Ron for making her upset. Ron shook his head, trying to control his anger.
‘Okay, I’m sorry,’ Ron sighed slightly, reaching for her hand.
‘I know I should have... should have come back or wrote or something,’ Hermione sniffed, lifting her head and wiping away her tears with a shaky hand, ‘it’s completely my fault. I’m so selfish, Ron, I know!’
Ron sighed once more, ‘Hermione, stop. Just calm down before Rose gets upset.’
Hermione opened her eyes and looked at her daughter who was looking at her in concern. She forced herself to smile and kiss her cheek, ‘why don’t you go into the other room, love? The grown ups are going to have a little chat.’
Rose nodded and kissed her cheek, ‘okay, Mummy.’
Hermione watched Rose skip away to the other room and start singing a nonsense song to herself before looking at Mrs Weasley and Ron who were staring right back at her. Taking a deep breath, she kept her emotions under control before murmuring, ‘I need your help.’
‘Anything,’ Mrs Weasley said, reassuring her.
‘I need you to look after Rose for a while tomorrow,’ Hermione said, cautiously, not wanting to say she was going to go off and find someone who could plead Draco’s case as not guilty.
‘Why?’ Ron asked, frowning a little, ‘where are you going?’
Hermione closed her eyes, trying to get her breathing under control. This would not go well but she loved Draco and she couldn’t let him be shipped off to Azkaban since he had truly changed. He wouldn’t hurt anyone, she was sure of that, since she had seen him with Rose. How could someone that caring be in Azkaban? It wouldn’t happen. She wouldn’t let it happen.
‘Hermione, dear,’ Mrs Weasley said softly, looking at her, ‘what’s going on?’
‘Draco Malfoy’s hearing is tomorrow and I’m going to find someone to plead his case,’ Hermione said, keeping her eyes on the two of them. She watched their expressions turn confused and sighed as she said quietly, knowing they could hear her well enough.
‘I’m in love with him.’
---
A/N - Ooooh, I know it has been more than two months and I am so sorry. Truly. I am. This is my last year, like I've said a million times, and these exams are so important. BUT from 22nd May, I will be updating regularly and making new stories maybe. Mwahaahaha, more heartache and drama and pain. I hope you're ready.
Anyway, tell me what you think... about this chapter. Not me. I know I've been a bad writer :( Thanks for staying on, you lovely fans.