Hermione was the first to rise from dinner. They had held an awkward conversation with the Malfoy's but as the meal drew to an end she could feel the prickle of dislike radiating off of Ron and Draco. Surprisingly Harry and Draco seemed to be fine, Hermione was sure that this was partially due to the war and Harry's part in helping the Malfoy's survive the battle, Ron, on the other hand, had been a complete ass to Draco during the war and it was no different now that it was over. He sat glowering at Draco, shooting passive aggressive comments in his direction throughout the conversation.
His latest comment had been the final straw.
"Borgin's and Burkes?"
"Yes. They shut their doors last month," Harry said, Draco arched an eyebrow, he had not been aware of this news.
"What caused them to close?"
"We raided Knockturn Alley and slammed them with over a dozen infractions," Harry said with a crooked grin. Everyone knew that Knockturn Alley was bad news, it was the hiding place for most illegal activity and a large assortment of dark arts users.
"Yeah. Weren't you close with the owners." Ron said.
"Not particularly," Lucius said quietly, "Borgin was a slimy fellow and Burke...was rather unpleasant."
"That seems like the perfect fit for you," Ron said nodding at Draco. He merely gave Ron a slight glare, pursing his lips and leaning back in his chair.
"Ron I think it's getting late, your Mother is going to be missing you," Hermione said, glaring at him. Ron shot her a furtive look and then stood.
"Yeah guess it's time to head out." He glanced over at Harry and Luna, "Are you coming."
Harry nodded and rose to his feet.
"Yeah, just going to help Hermione with the dishes first," As he said this Hermione flicked her wand, ushering the dishes off the table and into the sink where they immediately began scrubbing themselves.
"Don't worry about that Harry. I swear you sometimes forget that magic exists."
Harry smiled slightly, "Living with the Dursley's had its side effects."
Luna also rose to her feet, "I'll join you. I have to check on the press before it malfunctions."
"Lunny why don't you just replace it..." Ron said Luna gave him a withering look, "Don't call me that...I like this press it's a classic." Luna said, she passed Ron and headed down the hallway, with a dramatic eye roll Ron turned to follow her, Harry and Hermione followed him.
Luna threw on her shawl and turned to Harry, "Let me know if you need me on watch, for now, I'm going to head home and get a bit of sleep." Harry nodded, "I'll take this watch, and Ron can take tomorrows. If you could watch tomorrow night we would appreciate it and of course, the ministry will compensate your time."
Luna nodded, "Thank you," then she turned to Hermione, "It's great to see you again, it's been a while." She gave Hermione a quick squeezing hug before turning to unlock the front door.
"Well, see you around Hermione," Ron said awkwardly, Hermione nodded. "Yes see you around." Hermione turned and hugged Harry. "Let me know if you need anything while you're out there."
Harry smiled. "I will but I'll come in if that's the case... You're not going anywhere till we know it's safe."
Hermione sighed, "I'm not the one they're after Harry. I've told you, they won't get me."
Hermione closed the door behind them and Harry heard the lock click as they made their way down the front steps.
"I'll pop by Ginny's and have a word with her before heading home. Anything you'd like me to tell her?" Ron asked. Harry gave him a sideways look, "Not really, let her know I'm on watch and that I'll be home tomorrow, and of course give her my love."
Ron crinkled his nose, "I'm still not passed that mate..."
"I know," Harry chuckled. Luna stood under a streetlight waiting for them, her white-blonde hair reflecting the light, "See you around boys!" She said with a little wave, then she turned on the spot and popped out of view. Harry frowned, Luna had very little reguard for the statute of secrecy...Muggles had a clear view of the street from the windows of Grimmauld Place.
"You weren't very subtle tonight," Harry said to Ron as they headed into the adjacent park, Ron would disapparate under the tree coverage.
"Oh. I thought it went well." Ron said with a small shrug.
"As well as could be expected with you calling Luna Lunny and biting Malfoy's head off..."
"I was not..." there was a pause, "He had it coming..." Ron grumbled.
Harry sighed, "I never thought I'd be saying this, but Malfoy's been through a lot recently and from what I've seen he's changed. I think we should cut him some slack."
Ron looked deeply disturbed by this idea, "Some slack?!? Do you remember anything from school? He used to call Hermione a Mudblood, he made fun of us and almost got Buckbeak murdered, he also was going to kill Dumbledore, and you want to cut him slack!? Have you gone mental." Ron spluttered.
"Yeah. He did all those things but we were just kids... It's like with my dad... He wasn't the best person in school but he changed and then he married my mum."
"Yeah, but he was at least in Gryffindor," Ron muttered.
"We're not in school anymore Ron. It's not Gryffindors versus Slytherins." Harry said wearily.
Ron didn't respond at first. Harry opened the iron gate to the park, it squealed loudly as it opened, and both wizards winced.
"Just keep it professional. We are employees of the ministry now." Harry said.
"Okay. I'll do it. But only because it's my job." Ron said, unconvincingly. They stopped under the first oak tree and Ron gave Harry a small nod before turning on the spot and disapparating. This left Harry alone, he focused his attention on Grimmauld Place and settled in for a long nights watch.
Ron reappeared outside Malfoy Manor. He did plan on visiting Ginny and returning home but first, he wanted to investigate the manor in more detail. He didn't trust the Malfoy's as far as he could throw them. He trusted Harry but sometimes Harry could be swayed by words and emotions. Ron surveyed the grounds before pushing the gate open. It looked as it had the last time he had visited, which was a good thing as he was definitely not supposed to be here on his own.
Ron was going to find out what the Malfoy's were up too. He wasn't sure he believe their side of the story.
The interior of the manor seemed untouched as Ron entered the front room. The curtains still shaded the room from view and light. Ron lit the tip of his wand and continued up the large stairwell, back to Draco Malfoy's bedroom. He paused at the door, he had thought that they had left the door open, now it was firmly shut. Maybe he had closed it.
Ron extended a hand and tried the handle. It turned easily and he pushed, letting the door swing open. It looked much the same, as it had the day before. Ron went to the dresser, riffling through Draco's clothing without reproach. Ron was just about to start on the second drawer when he spotted a glint of silver out of the corner of his eye.
On the floor, just to the left of Draco's bed was a small metal object. Ron leaned down and none-to-gently gathered it up in one hand. As he did he heard a creak. He turned but not quickly enough. There was a crack and the sound of someone saying "Petrificus Totalus" and then he fell to the floor, fingers still tightly clasped around the small metal item.
The figure stepped towards Ron, who unable to move, was only able to make out their silhouette and voice. It was a woman with long dark hair. She was tall and imposing but stayed at the edge of his vision, making it impossible for him to truly recognize her.
"Are you being a nosy Auror Weasley? Didn't your mother ever teach you that it is rude to rifle through other peoples things." The woman's voice was familiar but Ron, who's brain was working at half it's regular speed, was unable to figure out how he knew it.
"I suppose we'll have to keep you then," the woman said with a small sigh, "It would be a pity if you went running off to the ministry. Locomotor."
Ron felt himself lifting off the floor and felt a momentary panic as he began to float out of the room and down the hall. He still had no clue who was currently controlling the spell, he did know however that he had made a terrible mistake.
Sorry for the wait on this one! It was a crazy week at work so there was a lot less time then I would have liked focused on writing! As always if you enjoyed this chapter/this story as it is so far please give it a vote, share, and comment <3