Chapter 36

Disclaimer: Nope (looks at bookshelf). Still not mine.

Author's Note: I apologise to all about the length of time between this chapter and the last one I posted. I lost the motherboard in my pretty blue fast laptop and had to make do with a desktop dinosaur for two months. Said dinosaur does not handle the same files as my pretty blue fast laptop. Now that I have the aforementioned pretty blue fast laptop back, I'm hoping to get the last three chapters of this fic quickly posted, being as how I'm once again using my pretty blue fast laptop. Oh, and by the way, thank you to noybate for the beta of this chapter.

Chapter Thirty-Six

"How do you plan to spend the Christmas hols, 'Mione?" Harry asked. It was the last Hogsmeade weekend before school let out for the holidays. He and Ginny sat at a table with her in the Three Broomsticks while they waited for Ron to return with their lunch order and drinks.

"I promised my parents to spend Christmas Eve and Day with them," Hermione said. "I want to be back here on New Year's Eve to help Severus celebrate the end of his probation."

"I can't believe the black bat actually made it this far," Ron said, setting four orders of fish and chips down on the table. "I would've thought he'd have done something to put himself into Azkaban rather than teach another five years." He carelessly snagged the bottles of butterbeer floating along behind him and, with a flourish, set them on the table.

Hermione was sure he was just showing off for the seventh-year girls sitting at the table behind them. She was positive when he winked at them; they giggled, then started whispering among themselves.

"So," he said, sliding into his chair, "Mum wanted to know if you were coming to the Burrow this year." He liberally poured malt vinegar over his fish and started eating. "She's trying to find out how many to expect," he continued, his mouth full of chips.

Hermione sighed. Some things never changed. "I've already told Harry that I promised my parents Christmas Eve and Day," she told him. "Besides, Molly's twitting me about my mother's friendship with Narcissa Malfoy probably made me persona non grata at the Burrow."

"Huh?" Ron asked in puzzlement. "What's that mean?"

"It means somebody who's not welcome," Harry said. "Why do you say that, 'Mione?"

"Because after I told her to mind her own business, she sent me a Howler."

"Well, there you go then." Ron nodded. "She got any anger she had at you out of her system with the Howler. Er... what exactly did she say?" He eyed Hermione nervously.

Hermione smirked. "I wouldn't know," she said. "It was treated just like every other Howler I've ever received since I started working at Hogwarts."

"How?" Harry asked. "If you don't open them within a certain amount of time, they open themselves."

"Not if you Incendio them first," she said smugly. "It's gotten to be habit to keep my wand handy when the post arrives."

She turned to Ron. "You can tell your mother I've already made other plans for the holidays, but thank you very much for the invitation."

"You sure?"

"Quite sure."

* * *

Hermione,

Molly

* * *

Molly,

Hermione

* * *

The final Friday of term was, naturally, more frantic than any other Fridays as the students made their plans for departure the next day. Most of the tables were hotbeds of activity as students kept changing places with their peers to talk to others. Not even the morning's owl post made an appreciable dent in the noise.

Hermione eyed the pile of envelopes in front of her. Most would probably be letters from readers of the Daily Prophet reacting to the latest salvo in the 'Severus War', as she privately called it. However, there were letters from both Molly Weasley and Narcissa Malfoy. With a sigh, she picked up Molly's letter to get it over with.

* * *

Hermione,

Molly

* * *

Hermione sighed again, causing both Severus and Minerva to look at her in concern. With a grimace, she handed the letter to Minerva, who read it and passed it on to Severus.

"What plans have you made that you don't want Molly to know about?" he asked. "Surely you can spend one evening in her company without hexing her."

"Only if she doesn't find out my parents have accepted an invitation to Malfoy Manor for Boxing Day," she said. "Then I'll never hear the end of it."

"You still have several other days of leisure," Minerva said. She looked askance at Hermione's grimace. "What is it? I thought you liked the Weasleys."

"It's not the family in general," Ginny said from her place further along the table. "It's my mum in particular. She's a little ... overbearing. Even I don't intend to spend more than Christmas Eve and Day at home. She's been pushing Harry and me to set a date for a proper wedding ever since our elopement last summer."

"And what might be wrong with that, Ginevra dear?" Minerva said. "Your parents have probably been planning your wedding since you were born."

"Yeah, but as soon as we set a date, Mum will want to take over. Then it won't be my wedding, but what she wants my wedding to be."

"I see."

"And she's been hinting that Ron and I should be discussing wedding plans as well," Hermione said. "She doesn't want to believe that I can be friends with him without wanting more. I'm sure this invitation is another way to get me there so she can try to meddle."

"What does Narcissa want?" Minerva asked, looking at the other envelope. "She doesn't usually write to you."

"I know." Hermione picked up the envelope and tucked it into her robe. "I'll read it later. She may be asking what foods my parents enjoy. We'll be having dinner there on Boxing Day." The rest of the letters left in front of her were quickly opened, scanned and either put aside to file or disposed of with a quick Incendio as trash. By the time breakfast was over, she had only Narcissa's letter to read.

* * *

Hermione,

Narcissa Malfoy

* * *

"Bloody hell," she muttered, reading the letter during her free time between classes. She had come to the staff room to do some correcting on end-of-term exams, but had to read Narcissa's letter first.

"Problems, Professor?" Severus' deep voice ran shivers up her back. He came around from the back of the sofa and sat down next to her. "Is it bad news?"

"Depends on what you consider bad news," Hermione told her lover. "Narcissa is hinting she'd like to see an engagement announcement between me and Draco on Boxing Day."

"Bloody hell," he echoed.

* * *