Saving the Enemy

Chapter 7

Hermione

    Hermione is practically running to her office, wanting to get the scoop as soon as possible so she can get home to Draco faster. However much she hated to leave him, she hates that people are out to get him more. She needs to prevent this, needs to protect him, needs to make sure he is safe, never to be hurt again. She knows that after this is all over, he is going to leave, get back out into the world, but her desire to protect him is far greater than her own selfish thoughts to keep him with her.

    “Hermione!” Harry call, running to catch up to her, slowing down with her when they reach her office so she can slip inside, Harry right behind her, breathing heavily from keeping up with her rushed pace.

    “Hello, Harry,” she quickly states, not wanting to completely brush off her best friend. She immediately goes to the file at her desk, the one that contains all that she has missed. She owled the Minister to give her the file this morning, saying how she is coming back into work. He of course was pleased to have the head Auror back on the case, so he eagerly agreed.

    “Why the rush?” Harry lets out, dejection clear in his voice. Hermione looks up to him with the file opened in her hand. She looks at him confused, thinking that surely he would know.

    “Harry, this case is very important to me, you know that. I just got back from two week’s absence and I need to get caught up,” she says, a frown on her face. She finally looks up into his worried green eyes behind his round glasses, his black hair grown out longer so it covers his forehead, threatening to spill into his eyes.

    “Why don’t you get caught up with your friends? We heard what happened with Griffin. Ron and I have been worried about you. You didn’t owl for two weeks Hermione,” Harry says, clearly exasperated that his best friend can’t understand this.

    “I’m sorry, Harry. I was just busy, that’s all. I didn’t forget about you or Ronald,” she says, putting the file down before going over to Harry, enveloping him in a hug. She knows the case can wait, her friends obviously need her attention more right now. “I’ll go say hello to Ronald and if you want, you can all come over for dinner as well, even Ginny.”

    Harry smiles at the mention of his wife’s name. She is pregnant with their first child and they couldn’t be happier. Hermione has been jealous of the love they share, even if it has never made sense to her since Harry seemed to despise fangirls. It was pretty obvious that she was obsessed with him before she had ever met him, but Hermione still thinks it’s cute how he smiles at the mere mention of his wife's name.

    “Of course we’ll be there Hermione. Right after work we can all meet up so you can allow us to floo in,” Harry winks at her, knowing the over-protection she places upon her house. Ever since they needed those charms when searching for horcruxes, it has become a habit, still not trusting that everything is right in the wizarding world. Of course, she was right, but she wishes she was wrong.

    Hermione gives Harry a smile and his hand a small squeeze before going back out her door to find Ronald. Things just didn’t work out for them, they decided that they loved each other like siblings would love. That realization kept them as friends but eliminated any hope for a romantic relationship.

    She finds him in his office, talking with Griffin. At the sound of the door being pushed further open, they both look up at her, but she keeps her eyes trained on Ron, still not wanting to see Griffin.

    “Hermione!” Ron calls out gleefully, running over to give her a bear hug in a blur of red hair, making her laugh at his childish ways, even now. “I didn’t know you were coming back!”