Last Lesson in Love - (Sequel to Tutoring A Malfoy)

Chapter Fifteen - 'After five years.'

‘Locked up?’ Hermione asked, her face becoming a mask of shock that Harry had only seen when an exam had been cancelled back at Hogwarts. He put a hand on her arm and Hermione flinched away, ‘Draco is locked up? What does that even mean?’

‘He’s in the Ministry’s dungeons, Hermione, and his hearing is in a couple of days. If he’s guilty then they will send him to Azkaban,’ Harry sighed, rubbing his temples as he felt another wave of headache hit him with full force.

Hermione felt the floor underneath her start to spin and then realised that it wasn’t the floor but it was her. She sat down on the sofa and closed her eyes, holding her head in her hands until she had calmed down. Draco couldn’t go to Azkaban and she wouldn’t allow it to happen. That was her first thought. The second followed immediately: she’d do anything to stop Draco from being banished to Azkaban.

Harry sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, ‘I’m sorry for doing this but I need to keep you safe. He would have destroyed your entire life... and Rose’s.’

‘The hearing. When is it?’ Hermione asked, shrugging away from his touch and ignoring what he had just said. Harry didn’t know Draco like she did and he didn’t understand that he had changed.

‘In a few days,’ Harry muttered, watching her, ‘please, leave this be, Hermione. He’s bad news and he deserves-’

‘Rose!’ Hermione called her daughter as she grabbed her wand from where it lay on the table, ‘get your things! We’re leaving, honey!’

‘Hermione, where are you going to go?’ Harry asked, frowning as he stood up too and watched his friend whom he hadn’t seen for years as her daughter came running to her.

Hermione picked Rose up and hugged her, closing her eyes briefly before looking at Harry, ‘thank you for being so hospitable but I need to save Draco.’

‘Save... Save Draco? Hermione, he’s brainwashed you to the point where you can’t ever think for yourself!’ Harry looked at her, frowning.

Rose nuzzled her nose into Hermione’s neck and murmured, softly, ‘why is he shouting, Mummy? I want Dway-co.’

‘I want Draco too, darling,’ Hermione said, taking her wand out and looking at Harry, ‘goodbye.’

Hermione disapparated with her daughter to the only place where she could go in a land filled with people who would be against her.

---

The burrow loomed over them, looking nothing like how Hermione had imagined it. It had changed and she wondered why but the answer came to her almost immediately, making her weak in the knees. Fred’s death had obviously had a massive effect on the Weasley family and now she could see it for herself.

Hermione let Rose down but kept a tight hold of her hand as she started walking on legs that weren’t quite stable. She realised she was still in the nightie that someone had changed her into but she didn’t exactly have any of her clothes with her so she couldn’t change into something suitable. Tears trickled down her cheeks and she impatiently wiped them away before knocking on the Burrow door.

‘Mummy,’ Rose looked up at her, clutching her hand, ‘I want to go home, Mummy.’

‘Rose, we can’t go home just yet,’ Hermione murmured and added silently, not without Draco at least. She would take him out of the ministry lock up and prove he was innocent.

Hermione tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as the Burrow door opened and Mrs Weasley stood there. She had the same curly red hair that had been passed down for generations now and wore the same apron that Hermione had seen her in whilst cooking food for the whole family. Hermione felt tears well up in her eyes just thinking about how caring Mrs Weasley was and how she had lost her son during the war. Hermione’s emotions were not in check at the moment so she couldn’t stop herself from flinging her arms around Mrs Weasley and hugging her.