Unprecedented Times

XXXII

WC: 1165

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or its characters.

Once settled, they heard someone puking. The group turned to see it was Columba. His head was thankfully in a trash can. "We need to get going. Let's leave Columba here with Amelia. Ginny, you stay too." Harry stated, which earned a nod from Ginny. The younger female took the little girl, who seemed content. She watched the man, who continued to puke his guts out, from a distance.

"Yes. We need to keep a low profile. Do not let yourselves see you." Hermione explained, thankfully earning no kickback. Instead, they nodded at her. The smaller group hurried out with Harry saying, 'Let's get some death eaters'. Wasting no time, they knew where they needed to go. They waited for the perfect time to make their move before busting down the door.

Moving in quietly, their prey was clueless about the sneak attack. They moved in behind them, preparing for their attack. 'Incarcerous!' watching them become tied up. Draco added the finished touch. A silencing charm, not wanting to hear them. Turning them around, they found three of their most wanted criminals. It was Nott's father, Rabastan, and Rodolphus. 

After securing them further, it was time to showboat their catch. The group moved through the ministry, displaying that their group was the one to catch the criminals. Kingsley, who had barricaded himself into his office, took notice. With the wanted fugitives captured, they could finally clean up the ministry.

Thankfully, no one was hurt, and minimal damage was reported. The worst of the damage was the time-turner room. Once the prisoners were handed off to Harry's team, Kingsley demanded that the group give him a full report. Thus began the recount of what had occurred. After all was said and done, Kingsley decided it best to keep their travel period between them. For now, he granted Columba and Amelia refuge. Columba would be required to do a more in-depth process, but currently, he would reside with one of the four. 

Kingsley event proctored a story for the new addition. The tale he conjured was outlandish. It described how the Malfoy family had abandoned him as a child with muggles. After all this time, Draco happened upon him. His schooling was done privately. After his parents finally told him what happened, he began to investigate. After waiting for the perfect opportunity, he came out of hiding once and for all. At long last, he was reunited with his lost family. At least, that was the story Kingsley was going with. Once processed and cleared, they would determine what he could do afterward.

In addition, he gave the boys a couple of weeks to recover and Hermione a month to adjust and recover. While Hermione argued, at first, she realized this would give her the time to acclimate to a new human. "Hermione, I know I said he could stay with any of you. But he is going to need some acclimating to this time. His clothes, how he acts." Kingsley added

"Oh, sure. Yeah, of course. I needed to find a new place to live anyway."

"Come to the manor. You don't have to make it permanent. It's just until you find something else you want." Draco spoke, adjusting what he thought of saying, not wanting to come on too hard. 

Pouting, "Harry and I were going to look for something together."

"Potter can come live there too. What the hell? If that's all it takes to get my girls to come live with me." Draco smirked, seeing Hermione blush. 

The duo didn't notice Harry smirk as well. "I don't mind. It won't be lonely. Teddy visits frequently."

"Oh, yay! Two little kids running around the house." Joking with the duo

Slapping his arm gently. "Thank you, Draco."

"Now that's settled if anyone needs more time. Let me know, I will clear it." Thanking the man, leaving his office with extra paperwork.

After being dismissed, the group finally returned to Harry's office. Columba, it seemed, had finally stopped puking. Letting him rest, Hermione looked to Ginny, relaying the information given to them.

"I guess there goes telling mom about it. I could still. I could let them see my memories. Because they're going to be curious about why we got engaged without them knowing." Ginny huffed, tilting in Harry's chair. Harry glared at her while she continued tilting in his beloved chair. 

"If you do, you need to make sure you have a plan of what you'll tell everyone else about your engagement."

Smiling at one another, then back at Hermione. "I'm sure we'll figure something out. So you're going to move out of your place for now?"

"Yeah, I'll need more room. It'll be nice to have some help with Amelia."

"'Moine, can we ask a favor of you?" Blaise asked, having stepped beside his fiance

Hermione was surprised at the nickname. She had assumed that they would return to normal once they returned. It was clear their friendship stood firm. "Yeah, I guess."

"Can we have your place then?" Ginny asked before Blaise had a chance

That was not what she expected, "Yes! Of course."

"We'll pay rent and everything else that is needed," Blaise spoke next.

"Yeah, we'll talk about that." Startled by Ginny. She had leaped out of the chair and moved to tackle her in a hug. The ginger began thanking her profusely. Concluding that, they chatted for a little longer before they started parting, heading in their respective directions. Obtaining what they needed from their offices, the last group departed. The group made their way to Hermione's flat first. 

Walking gave them time to show Columba around, to see how everything had changed. He was acclimating better than any of them thought he would. But it could have been the shock. Unlocking the bookstore, Hermione grabbed the mail, telling them to follow Harry up. Hermione told him to gather his things so she didn't have to.

"You've been staying here?" Draco asked the male who was leading them

"Yeah. Grimmauld place is hard to maintain with just me, plus it has some bad memories." Harry answered, looking back at Hermione

"All places at one time or another occur some bad memories," Columba spoke up

Not having anything to add, they acknowledged him and returned to packing. Draco helped Hermione the best he could, watching most of the time. The blond was amazed at her organizational skills and the fact she could fit it into a compacted carrying bag. Moving back out to check on how Harry was doing, Hermione sighed. 

She helped him as he was debating on how to pack things. Columba took the initiative to start laughing, causing the rest of them to laugh. Finally finishing packing for Harry now, it was time to, yet again, part. Harry would meet them at Malfoy's house, needing to go to Teddy. Fixing the wards on the house when Hermione, Amelia, and Columba arrived, even included Harry and Teddy. Draco took the lead, ready to show the group their new lives...

And they are back! Thank you for reading! I can't believe that after this there are only eight more chapters left 😱. It hasn't always been the smoothest but I've enjoyed growing with the story. It was something I wrote long ago and I've tried to improve it (it's a lot better than what it was on the paper...)

Any way. I hope you have a great rest of your day and weekend! Stay safe and healthy ~DQ ❤️