Chapter Six: Hermione

Not DH-compliant.

Chapter Six: Hermione

"And she was with Malfoy," Ron finished with a dramatic sigh. Luna reached over and patted his hand. "She said he was her date!"

He and Luna had shown up on Gareth McGonagall's doorstep, looking for Hermione. Gareth had explained they were in the midst of work at that moment, and he should return later in the day, but Ron had looked so stricken, Gareth had shaken his head, sighed, and opened the door wider to let them in. Now they were all in the kitchen, Hermione, Luna, and Ron sitting around the table, and Gareth making them tea.

"I thought that Malfoy was still in hiding somewhere under Ministry protection from the vigilante," Gareth interjected innocently. "He and his wife."

"His son," Ron said with a grimace. "Not Lucius. That would be a whole different kind of disgusting."

"Ah, Draco Newman, you mean," Gareth said, setting down the teapot on the table as Hermione Summoned cups and saucers from their cupboard.

"That must have been a surprise," Hermione said reasonably, "but I think that everyone at the school has to have someone with them when they leave the grounds, even the staff. Maybe they were just put together, assigned to each other..."

"No, Ginny said specifically that he was her date," Ron said. He gestured toward Luna, who was quietly sipping her tea. "And Luna said they've been seeing each other for a while."

"I don't think it's the end of the world, Ron," Hermione said.

"I've only met him a few times, but Mr Newman seems a fine, well-mannered wizard," Gareth said, emphasising the young wizard's new last name.

"Yeah, he would when he wants to make a good impression on you, but he's . . . he's awful," Ron ended lamely.

"He's not so bad," Luna said quietly. "Ginny is happy and he has been good to her."

"How can you say that? I was in school with him for six years...until Professor McGonagall helped him to run away. No offense, Gareth."

"People who say, 'no offense' are usually expecting offense to be taken," Gareth said. "So I suggest that if you wish to avoid offense, do not say anything you consider offensive. However, no offense taken. Aunt Minerva did assist Draco and his mother in their escape from Riddle."

"Yeah, and I still don't understand it. All the innocent people who died, and Professor McGonagall saved them. A couple nasty, spoiled purebloods just . . . just drenched in the Dark Arts. And then she let him back in school, and now Ginny announces she's dating him."

"A lot has changed, Ron," Hermione said. "And if he makes Ginny happy..."

"It's just a Slytherin plot, I'm sure. He just wants people to forget he's a Malfoy and let their guard down. He wants to use Ginny. He'll make her miserable once he's got what he wants," Ron retorted.

"I don't think so," Luna said. "It's been more than two years since you had any real contact with him, Ron. He's grown up. I think you should give him a chance before you go off on him."

"I give him a chance, and he'll take it and he'll hurt Ginny," Ron said, his eyes narrowed. "He's always been a nasty little snake."

"And if he's not given a chance to be anything else," Gareth said, "he never will be. My aunt would not have offered him the choice she did if she did not believe that he was . . . redeemable, that he had some kind of decent possible future ahead of him."

"What choice did she offer him, then?" Ron demanded.

"That's for you to ask him...in a less confrontational manner...not for me to say. But as far as you know, he's done nothing wrong but offend you by dating your sister, and I would say that's more your problem than his," Gareth said.

"I bet he's the reason that Ginny quit Quidditch and broke up with Harry," Ron said, his brow lowered and his jaw thrust out. "She told him there wasn't anyone else, and she was sneaking around with Malfoy the entire time."

"That's not true," Hermione said.

"No, it's not," Luna agreed. "They started seeing each other some time after that."

"What would you know about it?" Ron asked Hermione, ignoring Luna.

"You know that she talks to me, and we write. But I also know from someone else that she had been miserable, that she had grown to hate playing Quidditch, and that she needed a break from Harry."

"So did you know that she was seeing Malfoy?"

"Newman," Hermione corrected. "No, but her last few letters have been much happier than they used to be, and she mentioned recently that she had a new revisions partner who was making it more fun to prepare for NEWTs. I assume now that that was Draco."

"I don't understand," Ron said, his brows drawn together in puzzlement. "Why aren't you upset about it? You slugged him once, or have you forgotten? He used to call you a Mudblood."

Hermione coloured, but shook her head. "He was a kid then. We've all been through a lot in the last few years. You saw what Riddle did to his father, and now both his parents are in hiding and he can't even know where they are. It's not as though Draco's had it easy recently. Let him have his fresh start. I know that Professor Snape has benefited from being given that opportunity, and we all are better off for it, too."

Ron snorted in derision. "He's worse than Snape ever was...at least Snape was really always on our side and almost died defying Riddle...Malfoy was always a tosser, and he and his family were Death Eater Central there at Malfoy manor. He just got off lightly. If he hadn't been spirited away by Professor McGonagall and the Order of the Phoenix, he'd have stayed on the wrong side, believe me!"

"At the time that happened, your father had already become leader of the Order, hadn't he?" Gareth asked rhetorically. "And Professor Snape was not always on our side. He used to be a Death Eater. A real one. He's been on our side for almost as long as you've been alive, Ron, but that's not forever. Snape changed sides, and without him, we might not have won, and I'm sure that many more people would be dead if it weren't for him. He's one of my closest friends, and anyone who says that he shouldn't have been given a second chance . . . they're either misguided fools or mean-spirited bastards. Draco was never as bad as Snape once was, and Snape's my friend now. Give Draco a chance, Ron, or at least, don't get in his way."

Ron scowled into his teacup. "Yeah, okay, so Snape wasn't always on the right side...and he was pretty nasty when we were in school, too...but I know what you mean about him. He's also improved since the war. I know that he helped Ginny this spring when she was really depressed. Ginny and Dad both told me that, and I've thanked him for it." He looked over at Luna and placed his hand on hers. "And talking to Dad and Ginny about trying to escape all the bad memories of the war made me rethink some of the things I've done, some of the stuff I did after the war. Indirectly, I have Snape to thank for that, too. But that doesn't mean that Draco's deserving."

"It's not about deserving, Ron. It's about needing," Gareth replied. "He needs this chance to start fresh, and without it, he'll be stuck where he was. You don't have to give him that chance yourself, and you're not responsible for his choices, but you can either let the man get on with his life so that he can try to take advantage of that chance, or you can be an obstruction and get in his way. Now, I don't know how serious he and Ginny are, and I don't know whether he'll break her heart...or whether she'll break his...but I think that you should give Ginny some credit and let her make her own decisions about whom she's friends with and whom she gets involved with. And if she does get hurt, you'll still be on good terms with her and you can be there to help her. If you alienate her, she won't want to have anything to do with you no matter how well or badly the relationship goes."

"Yeah, well, as long as she doesn't expect me to spend any time with him," Ron said with a huff.

"I think you should," Luna said. "At least a little bit of time. Get to know him a little, see the two of them together. You'll see what's going on instead of just guessing and imagining things."

"Luna's right, Ron, and so's Gareth," Hermione said. "I can't say I would have chosen Draco for Ginny, but I think it's a good idea to give him a chance, or at least be kind to your sister about it, and listen to her."

"I suppose," Ron said reluctantly. "Dad's gonna go spare when he hears about this." He looked over at Hermione. "Hey, maybe you could tell him, Hermione. He might not kill the messenger if you told him."

"He's not likely to kill anyone, Ron," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, but he hates Malfoy...Lucius...and I know this will about kill him. Someone's got to break it to him gently. You'd be better at that. And Dad likes you."

Hermione shook her head. "If Ginny asks me to, maybe, but otherwise . . ."

"You'll be going over to check on him again, right?" Ron asked. "Tell him then. Just . . . make it a part of the conversation, slip it in somehow. I know you can do it. I would, but next week, we're off for the Continent for a few games. I really appreciate your keeping an eye on him for us. With Charlie back in Romania, Bill and Fleur busy with the baby, and the twins...well, you know the twins...and then my travel, we just don't look in on the Burrow as much as we should. We all really appreciate it, you know. Dad's doing so much better than he was."

"He's taking better care of himself," Hermione said noncommitally. "I don't know when I'll be dropping by the Burrow . . . but if you're going to be away, I suppose I could stop by next week some time, just to look in on him. I'd rather leave that news to Ginny to handle, though. If it happens to come up naturally in conversation, I may mention that Ginny's started seeing someone new. But I'm not going to do it like I'm warning him about it."

"Thanks, Hermione! You're the best," Ron said.

"Now, I don't think that my house is on the approved list of Hogsmeade-weekend destinations," Gareth said to Ron, pushing back his chair and standing, "so you ought to get Luna back to the High Street before she's missed. And Hermione and I were in the middle of some complicated calculations, so we need to get back to work. The Venetian Ministry isn't paying me a commission to be an agony aunt for unhappy wizards!"