Serpent in the Lion's Den

39. We're In The Money

"Morning dear, ready for some breakfast?" Molly Weasley came bustling into the room, levitating two trays behind her that were equally full to the brim with French toast, berries and orange juice.

"Thanks Bill" Hermione said weakly as the Weasley brother finished helping her into a sitting position. During the night both Hermione's arms had gained full mobility and feeling and she could wiggle her toes, but the rest of her legs remained paralysed.

"Morning Mrs Weasley, it smells great." The witch smiled as Mrs Weasley settled herself into the chair and placed one of the trays over both witch's legs.

"Now you two stay put for a bit okay? Me and Fleur have something to sort out." Bill said and closed the door with a soft click.

Both witches sat in near silence, muttering now and again about the view, about Harry, about Ron and almost about Draco. But Mrs Weasley respected Hermione's decision not to speak about him and cleaned both trays away with a flourish of her wand before speaking.

"Hermine dear. When I first met Arthur everyone around me saw him as no good. Back then, pureblood ideals were a more common attribute and Arthur's love for all things Muggle made him an anomaly. And I believe that even now there are some who would still disregard Arthur and our family altogether. People back then might not have labelled him bad like the Malfoy boy, but they disregarded him much in the same way. When I see how Ronald looks at the Malfoy boy, I see how my school chums looked at Arthur."

"Why are you telling me this Mrs Weasley?" Hermione asked.

"Dear I think after all these years, Molly will do." The witch smiled warmly, "and I'm telling you because I know how it feels to love an outcast and because when I see you looking at him, regardless of Ronald, I see how I used to look at Arthur, regardless of those around me."

Hermione shifted in the bed and looked up to catch Molly's eyeline, relieved to have someone there with her who understood her emotions. "I'm glad you understand" she mumbled as Mrs Weasley smiled almost sadly.

"Ronald may resent... Draco, but he loves you, that's more than enough for him to not argue about your choice, the same for Harry too. Keep them close always pet, you three were destined to be bestfriends from that first ride to Hogwarts."

"Thank you, Mrs... Thank you Molly." Hermione said, smiling through her glassy eyes before laughing slightly and blinking hard. "Where are the boys anyway? Still asleep?" the witched inquired, her smile fading as Mrs Weasley fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat. Before she could answer two flurries of red hair appeared in the now open door.

"Hiya!" came a synchronised shout as Arthur and Ginny Weasley came into the room to surprise the witches. Molly leapt up and ran to her family, barely being able to conceal her excitement as she muttered a string of questions.

"How did you get here? Was it safe? Where are the twins? Are they okay?"

"Molly love, everything's fine. Bill thought it would be nice for us to come and see you both and the twins are fine, just checking up on the shop. C'mon let us go get some tea, I seem to remember there's a muggle kettle here I'm hoping to try out." Arthur Weasley reassured as he smiled at Hermione in a fatherly fashion before guiding Molly downstairs.

Hermione pulled her startled gaze from Ginny just in time to see the way Mrs Weasley looked up at the smiling face of her husband and Hermione realised what Molly had been speaking of. Hermione saw the way she'd caught herself looking at Draco within the two red-headed wizards and only hoped that she'd be able to emulate their love with Draco for as long as the Weasley's had been together.

Ginny walked over to her bed with her hands on her hips and smirked at Hermione,

"I think we have a lot to catch up on. Don't you?"

XXX 3 hours earlier XXX

"Either of you two laugh and you're dead." The voice of Draco Malfoy growled from a pale witch with a dark mass of black curls. The two wizards caught one another's eyes and smirked,

"Nice dress Malfoy" Ron chuckled, his cheeks flushing red as he tried to supress his laughter.

"Nice beard Weasel," Draco retorted, eyeing Ron's thick beard and slightly dishevelled look to give him the appearance of someone in cohorts with a Lestrange, "you know, if you needed magic to help you reach puberty, I could've given you a potion. Then again, you probably couldn't have afforded it then... or now."

Harry stepped between the two wizards and brandished his wand, "that's enough, Malfoy stop being a git and Ron stop winding him up. We need to be on the same side for this okay? If things go pear-shaped then we have to stick together. Agreed?" he snapped as both Ron and Draco-stroke-Bellatrix mumbled and nodded in agreement begrudgingly.

"Ron, go get Griphook, he's waiting outside the cottage." Harry ordered and waited until the wizard was out of ear-shot before turning to the witch. "Malfoy, I mean it, if things go wrong, I have to know that you'll have our backs because I'll have yours."

"Relax Potter, I'm on Minnie's side which is your side, and besides, you're pretty much immortal." Draco yawned and pulled at the tight black corset supporting his new figure.

"Merlin this is uncomfortable."

XXX

"And then I woke up here." Hermione repeated the same story she'd told no less than two days before, this time with more detail and truth. Ginny leant back in her chair, grinning,

"Well holy s*** Mione!" the witch laughed and clapped her hands together gleefully.

"You're not mad?" Hermione asked. Her family's reactions and attitude towards her, bar Mrs Weasley this morning, had been nothing short of expected, the looks of worry and pity that had been thrown around the room the last time she'd recited the past few months events. But Ginny just looked excited, as though her and Hermione were back in the Gryffindor common room, gossiping about boys and the weeks drama.

"No, I'm not mad! Fred and George owe me two galleons each!" she cackled as she jumped out the chair and did a small victory dance, singing the muggle song 'we're in the money' before slumping back down on the end of Hermione's bed.

"You bet on me and Draco getting together?!" Hermione gasped, almost laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

"Oh, come on Mione, all the times in sixth year you tried to defend him, or when I'd catch your eyes drifting over to the Slytherin table every few minutes when you thought you were invisible. I made the bet with Fred and George about four months ago, they both thought they were making easy money but I knew you better." Ginny giggled and drew her knees up to her chest, laughing harder when Hermione's cheeks grew as red as the hair on her head.

"You knew I was attracted to him before I did myself..." Hermione said slowly, laughing as she finished, if Ginny wasn't her bestfriend then no one was. The two witch's laughter filled the house with noise and warmth for the first time in months.

"I can't wait to piss off Malfoy about this when he gets back" Ginny joked as she wiped tears of laughter from her rosy cheeks. Hermione's own laughter died and her smile faltered,

"gets back? What do you mean Gin?" the witch asked, already fitting the pieces together in her head as Ginny took note of her mistake, not bothering to cover her tracks.

"He went, didn't he?"