It All Started At a Lake

Chapter 22

Hermione had barely given Harry and Ron a second thought for the rest of the holiday. The moments that she had thought about them, she had thought about sending them a letter, but decided against it in the end.

Going back to school wasn't going to be easy for Hermione, she knew that for certain. She wanted to keep her relationship secret for as long as possible because of the reactions she had already received, meaning she couldn't spend time with Draco in public. Ginny would be one of the only people to keep her company for the foreseeable future. 

Smiling at Draco one last time, she opened the compartment door and sat down beside Ginny. The red-head was not accompanied by Harry or Ron, she was sitting by herself. They smiled at each other while Hermione locked the compartment door and drew the blinds.

"How was the rest of your holiday?" Hermione asked

"Well, mother was upset, this isn't surprising, so she went into full on baking mode for a few days." Ginny replied, "As much as I despise when she goes into baking mode and barely talks to anybody while her body is filled with anger or disappointment, we all got to enjoy delicious treats." 

Hermione nodded, her smile faltering slightly.

"Father didn't have much to say. Most of his problems are with Lucius, but he's a bit conflicted because of Draco's past. I spent most of my time with him. Ron and Harry are angry, but they've cooled down. We got to play lots of aggressive Quidditch matches with George." Ginny added

Hermione nodded again, not knowing what to add.

"Also George almost set the house on fire with his fireworks." Ginny said

"That sounds...amusing." Hermione said, "I'm really sorry I had to make you suffer through their moods. That's not how I planned on making anybody spend their holidays." 

"It wasn't as bad as I'm making it sound. Sure, there were a few arguments when I defended you, but other than that everything was pretty normal." Ginny said, "Now since I had to put up with Harry and Ron that whole time, the least you owe me is telling me everything that happened at the Manor."

"Everything?" Hermione asked, remembering what she had done with Draco shortly after she had arrived. Ginny nodded quickly at her question.

"Well, as soon as I got there Draco and I...he helped me calm down." Hermione started, rolling her eyes as she saw her friends' eyes widen. "Narcissa walked in after. Dinner was awkward that night, but after that everything was fine. Draco gave me first edition stories that he found in his library and said, and I quote 'We had doubles.' let me tell you that I almost jumped around from excitement."

Hermione took a pause to catch her breath, "I took him to visit my parents the next day. My father remembered everything that I said about him in the past and had to give him a long talk with a few threats. Aside from that everything was calm. Narcissa, Andromeda and I had tea some mornings."

"That's just...wow. Sounds like you had lots of fun. I'm glad that Narcissa is ok with you being with her son. I'm also glad that Andromeda was reunited with her only family, even if it's over two decades later." Ginny said

"They really are happy with each other. I'm just hoping that Lucius will be ok with it after he gets out of Azkaban. He gets out in a few months if my memory serves me correctly." Hermione said

"I don't think it's their relationship you have to worry about." Ginny said, hoping Hermione caught her meaning. "If you really want something with the ferret, you're going to have to tell Lucius at some point."

"Oh gods, Draco and I haven't even discussed that. I'm pretty sure that we have something, but it's too early on to tell. Either way, Lucius will probably hear about it from Narcissa when he gets out." Hermione said