The Lovers
The twins sat on the end of their parents’ bed watching their mother get ready to go out. “But Mum, if you are going out, then who is going to stay home with us?” Ginny exclaimed. Hermione just smiled into the mirror, looked back at her daughters and said, “You’ll see, girls.” And just as she said that the doorbell rang, and Ginny and Molly jumped off the end of the bed and yelled “UNCLE HARRY!” together as they raced down the hall.
“Hey mate, thanks for doing this.” Ron said as he answered the door. Harry just gave Ron a hug answered, “It’s nothing, I love these girls,” and as he heard 2 small pairs of feet trampling down the stairs, he laughed. “Here my girls are!” he exclaimed, as he kneeled and caught one girl in each arm, encircling them and squeezing them tight. As he let them pull back slightly, he kissed each on the tip of the nose and grinned. “Hey girls, how are you?” he asked and the girls both exploded at once. He caught snippets of someone falling off their broom, another getting trouble at school, and both ended with ‘And please tell me a story.’
As Hermione and Ron apparated away, Harry turned to the twins and sat between them on the couch. “So, you want a story, do you?” he asked, and both nodded fiercely and cuddled close. Harry smiled and said, “I’ll tell you a story about your parents if you like. And about the war; and about how they fell in love. How’s that sound?” he said and both nodded again, cuddling close.
*~*
“RON!” Hermione screamed.
The Death Eaters had found their hideout and attacked them while they slept, getting silently through the alarms. Harry had grabbed Hermione and run, shooting curses at the masked wizards behind them. Ron ran through the other door, looking for Draco. Even though he didn’t like the ferret, he didn’t want to lose their best source of information. Running though the woods, half tripping over branches, Harry held tight onto Hermione while he tried to get far enough away for them to apparate. “Harry, we need to go back to Ron…” Hermione said, as she struggled to get out of his grasp. She couldn’t let Ron get hurt; she couldn’t lose one of her best friends. Harry just shook his head and kept running, “Hermione if we go back there then that will be the end. We have to trust that both Ron and Draco will make it to the safe house. They know where to go, and so do we.” Hermione nodded and started to run with Harry, using her own wand to start to disguise the direction they went.
On another path, away from the shack Ron ran step-in-step with Draco, both of them shooting out curses, and Draco trying to keep his hood up to hide his very noticeable hair. “Come on, this way, we need to get to the safe house.” Ron said as he tugged on Draco’s sleeve and pointed into the woods. They needed to get off the main path and into the woods to stop long enough so they could apparate.
*~*
“Uncle Harry, you mean that Dad and Uncle Draco liked each other back then?” Molly interrupted. And Harry just laughed; it was well known by almost everyone that Draco and Ron hated each other. But, what no one knew was that during the war they became what would almost be friends, almost. “Girls, at the time, both your Dad and Uncle Draco were friendly to each other, mostly because of the war. Now do you want to hear the story, or do you want to go to bed?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “No, please Uncle Harry, we want to hear the story,” Ginny yelled and put her hand over Molly’s mouth. Harry laughed, pulled Ginny’s hand away, and continued.
*~*
Draco and Ron stood in the safe house… Well, Draco stood and Ron paced. Harry and Hermione hadn’t made it yet, and he was nervous. Harry was always the first to get back to the safe house. No matter how far he had to travel, or how many Death Eaters there were, he always made it first.
“Draco…. I think that they were caught.” Ron said softly.
The war had already taken so much from him. His mother was killed in one of the first raids, and Charlie had been captured, and no one (not even Draco) had heard what happened to him. Ron wasn’t sure he could handle losing his best friends. Draco nodded and said, “Ron, we will find them, and we will bring them back safely. But I need to go, I need to find out where they are. So we can get them. But if I help now, if I help you get them back I may never be able to go back, and I don’t care.” Ron just looked up at him and (he would never tell anyone this, the only reason that I know is that Draco told me) hugged Draco. “Thank you,” he whispered softly, as he let Draco go and Draco just smiled, took a step back, and apparated away.
Harry held Hermione tightly to him, he wasn’t sure where they were, just that they had been caught and that they were somewhere small and dark. The fact that neither Ron or Draco were with them made him have some hope about their situation, because as long as someone was out there looking for them, they would be found. Hermione moaned out softly as she woke up and Harry loosened his grip on her. She sat up and placed her hand on the side of her head. Hermione had fallen and hit her head on a branch as they were escaping, and there was now a steady flow of blood on the side of her face. “We’ll be okay, ‘Mione, Ron’s not here. He will save us.”
“My followers, I am so happy with our catch today. We finally found and caught Harry Potter and the Muggle-born. But WHO LET THE BLOOD TRAITOR GET AWAY!” Voldemort screamed. A couple of Death Eaters flinched slightly, Draco stood silent and still. He knew he was supposed to have been in on the attack, but he stayed with the group because he was tired of being a Death Eater. He’d just wanted to stay with Harry, but right now he was glad he hadn’t left, or he wouldn’t have been able to find where they had Harry and Hermione. Voldemort paced back and forth, yelling about things, shooting off curses every now and again and not really saying much interesting. “Lucius bring in the prisoners…” he said suddenly and Draco watched as his father quickly left and returned with two masked Death Eaters and a cage with Harry and Hermione inside. Draco bit down on his lip as he noticed that Hermione had blood dried in her hair and blood on her face. “Your Mudblood is bleeding, Harry,” Voldemort hissed, coming closer to the cage, Harry pulled Hermione close and said calmly, “She fell, but she’ll be fine when Ron comes for us.” The room burst with laughter, everyone was laughing loudly and Voldemort was the loudest, “Harry, I hope the blood traitor comes for you, because then we will have the full set of three.” He ended with a laugh. Just as his laugh ended Goyle came running in. “My Lord there is someone in the castle. Someone who shouldn’t be here,” he said all in a rush; he was panting, like he had been running, and Draco cursed under his breath. Ron must have read his notes about the hidden castle and made a smart assumption
‘For once in his life’ Draco thought to himself.
The room suddenly came to life. Voldemort was shouting orders, and Death Eaters were running everywhere. Draco quickly moved to the front of the room and stood not far from his father as he pulled down his hood. Voldemort looked over to them and yelled “MALFOYS GET THEM TO THE BASEMENT!” Lucius looked over his shoulder and nodded to Draco, and then motioned to the cage. Draco nodded, then turned to the cage, sneered at the pair, and waved his wand at it.
Lucius made his way behind Draco, watching behind them, when he suddenly ran into the back of the cage and felt hands around his neck. He never even got a sound out before Draco cursed him and he fell to the ground. Draco opened the door of the cage, carefully reaching in and lifting Hermione into his arms, and letting Harry climb out. He gave Harry his wand. “Get him in the cage, and let’s go find Ron,” Draco said, as he carefully put Hermione on her feet. “THIS WAY!” someone yelled further down the hall, and suddenly there was a flash of red hair running to them. Ron stopped just in front of them, wrapping his arms around Hermione as she stumbled slightly on her feet. “I think we’ve outstayed our welcome…” he said with a grin, as he pulled out his wand and quickly apparated away. Harry and Draco soon followed suit.
Back at Grimmauld Place, Ron sat by Hermione’s bed as she slept, her head wrapped in bandages. He carefully stroked the back of her hand. He had been sitting in the same seat since they got back, and Hermione still hadn’t woken. The Healers insisted that it was just shock to the body and she would be fine, but Ron wasn’t so sure. So he sat watching her for any change, he never wanted to miss another moment with her. He had almost lost her before and he wasn’t going to lose any more time. Hermione’s hand squeezed his hand lightly and Ron looked straight up to her face. Hermione’s eyes were open and a light smile was on her face. “Hey you…” she said softly, her voice croaking slightly, Ron leaned forward and kissed her forehead gently. “Hey you,” he replied softly, as he started to get up. “I should get a healer to make sure you’re okay,” he said, but Hermione just squeezed his hand. “Please don’t leave,” she said softly, a small tear falling from the corner of her eye. Ron sat back down and wiped the tear from her cheek. “I’m not going anywhere, I’m never going to let you go,” he replied, as he leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips.
*~*
“Ewww, Mum and Dad kissing!” Molly exclaimed, pulling a face. Harry looked down at Ginny, and she had a tear on her face. “Ginny, sweetie, what is wrong?” he asked, pulling her up into his lap. Ginny wiped her eyes and said in a soft voice, “I’ve never heard the story told like that before. I didn’t know that Mum might not have made it.” And with that she snuggled into Harry’s chest. “Hello? Is there anyone home?” Hermione’s voice floated though the house, and Molly jumped off the couch and ran for the door. “Mum, Uncle Harry just told us the greatest story about you and Dad!” she yelled, as she pounced on her mother. Hermione laughed slightly and picked Molly up and stepped into the house to let Ron inside. “Oh, did he now, what story did he tell you, Molly?” she asked, as Harry walked into the hall with Ginny in his arms.
“Oh Mum, he told us about when you and he got caught by Death Eaters, and how Dad saved you!” Hermione looked up to Harry and raised an eyebrow. Harry shook his head and laughed; the night Hermione woke up was also the night the twins were conceived, but he wasn’t about to tell them that. Ron laughed and said, “Did you also tell them that was the one and only time that their Uncle Draco and myself worked together and didn’t fight?” The adults chuckled. “But Dad, why do you and Uncle Draco fight so much?” Ginny asked in a quiet voice. Harry laughed and Ron said, “Sometimes, sweetie, you just can’t forget what they were.” Hermione raised an eyebrow and Ron smirked.
“A ferret.”
“Hey mate, thanks for doing this.” Ron said as he answered the door. Harry just gave Ron a hug answered, “It’s nothing, I love these girls,” and as he heard 2 small pairs of feet trampling down the stairs, he laughed. “Here my girls are!” he exclaimed, as he kneeled and caught one girl in each arm, encircling them and squeezing them tight. As he let them pull back slightly, he kissed each on the tip of the nose and grinned. “Hey girls, how are you?” he asked and the girls both exploded at once. He caught snippets of someone falling off their broom, another getting trouble at school, and both ended with ‘And please tell me a story.’
As Hermione and Ron apparated away, Harry turned to the twins and sat between them on the couch. “So, you want a story, do you?” he asked, and both nodded fiercely and cuddled close. Harry smiled and said, “I’ll tell you a story about your parents if you like. And about the war; and about how they fell in love. How’s that sound?” he said and both nodded again, cuddling close.
*~*
“RON!” Hermione screamed.
The Death Eaters had found their hideout and attacked them while they slept, getting silently through the alarms. Harry had grabbed Hermione and run, shooting curses at the masked wizards behind them. Ron ran through the other door, looking for Draco. Even though he didn’t like the ferret, he didn’t want to lose their best source of information. Running though the woods, half tripping over branches, Harry held tight onto Hermione while he tried to get far enough away for them to apparate. “Harry, we need to go back to Ron…” Hermione said, as she struggled to get out of his grasp. She couldn’t let Ron get hurt; she couldn’t lose one of her best friends. Harry just shook his head and kept running, “Hermione if we go back there then that will be the end. We have to trust that both Ron and Draco will make it to the safe house. They know where to go, and so do we.” Hermione nodded and started to run with Harry, using her own wand to start to disguise the direction they went.
On another path, away from the shack Ron ran step-in-step with Draco, both of them shooting out curses, and Draco trying to keep his hood up to hide his very noticeable hair. “Come on, this way, we need to get to the safe house.” Ron said as he tugged on Draco’s sleeve and pointed into the woods. They needed to get off the main path and into the woods to stop long enough so they could apparate.
*~*
“Uncle Harry, you mean that Dad and Uncle Draco liked each other back then?” Molly interrupted. And Harry just laughed; it was well known by almost everyone that Draco and Ron hated each other. But, what no one knew was that during the war they became what would almost be friends, almost. “Girls, at the time, both your Dad and Uncle Draco were friendly to each other, mostly because of the war. Now do you want to hear the story, or do you want to go to bed?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “No, please Uncle Harry, we want to hear the story,” Ginny yelled and put her hand over Molly’s mouth. Harry laughed, pulled Ginny’s hand away, and continued.
*~*
Draco and Ron stood in the safe house… Well, Draco stood and Ron paced. Harry and Hermione hadn’t made it yet, and he was nervous. Harry was always the first to get back to the safe house. No matter how far he had to travel, or how many Death Eaters there were, he always made it first.
“Draco…. I think that they were caught.” Ron said softly.
The war had already taken so much from him. His mother was killed in one of the first raids, and Charlie had been captured, and no one (not even Draco) had heard what happened to him. Ron wasn’t sure he could handle losing his best friends. Draco nodded and said, “Ron, we will find them, and we will bring them back safely. But I need to go, I need to find out where they are. So we can get them. But if I help now, if I help you get them back I may never be able to go back, and I don’t care.” Ron just looked up at him and (he would never tell anyone this, the only reason that I know is that Draco told me) hugged Draco. “Thank you,” he whispered softly, as he let Draco go and Draco just smiled, took a step back, and apparated away.
Harry held Hermione tightly to him, he wasn’t sure where they were, just that they had been caught and that they were somewhere small and dark. The fact that neither Ron or Draco were with them made him have some hope about their situation, because as long as someone was out there looking for them, they would be found. Hermione moaned out softly as she woke up and Harry loosened his grip on her. She sat up and placed her hand on the side of her head. Hermione had fallen and hit her head on a branch as they were escaping, and there was now a steady flow of blood on the side of her face. “We’ll be okay, ‘Mione, Ron’s not here. He will save us.”
“My followers, I am so happy with our catch today. We finally found and caught Harry Potter and the Muggle-born. But WHO LET THE BLOOD TRAITOR GET AWAY!” Voldemort screamed. A couple of Death Eaters flinched slightly, Draco stood silent and still. He knew he was supposed to have been in on the attack, but he stayed with the group because he was tired of being a Death Eater. He’d just wanted to stay with Harry, but right now he was glad he hadn’t left, or he wouldn’t have been able to find where they had Harry and Hermione. Voldemort paced back and forth, yelling about things, shooting off curses every now and again and not really saying much interesting. “Lucius bring in the prisoners…” he said suddenly and Draco watched as his father quickly left and returned with two masked Death Eaters and a cage with Harry and Hermione inside. Draco bit down on his lip as he noticed that Hermione had blood dried in her hair and blood on her face. “Your Mudblood is bleeding, Harry,” Voldemort hissed, coming closer to the cage, Harry pulled Hermione close and said calmly, “She fell, but she’ll be fine when Ron comes for us.” The room burst with laughter, everyone was laughing loudly and Voldemort was the loudest, “Harry, I hope the blood traitor comes for you, because then we will have the full set of three.” He ended with a laugh. Just as his laugh ended Goyle came running in. “My Lord there is someone in the castle. Someone who shouldn’t be here,” he said all in a rush; he was panting, like he had been running, and Draco cursed under his breath. Ron must have read his notes about the hidden castle and made a smart assumption
‘For once in his life’ Draco thought to himself.
The room suddenly came to life. Voldemort was shouting orders, and Death Eaters were running everywhere. Draco quickly moved to the front of the room and stood not far from his father as he pulled down his hood. Voldemort looked over to them and yelled “MALFOYS GET THEM TO THE BASEMENT!” Lucius looked over his shoulder and nodded to Draco, and then motioned to the cage. Draco nodded, then turned to the cage, sneered at the pair, and waved his wand at it.
Lucius made his way behind Draco, watching behind them, when he suddenly ran into the back of the cage and felt hands around his neck. He never even got a sound out before Draco cursed him and he fell to the ground. Draco opened the door of the cage, carefully reaching in and lifting Hermione into his arms, and letting Harry climb out. He gave Harry his wand. “Get him in the cage, and let’s go find Ron,” Draco said, as he carefully put Hermione on her feet. “THIS WAY!” someone yelled further down the hall, and suddenly there was a flash of red hair running to them. Ron stopped just in front of them, wrapping his arms around Hermione as she stumbled slightly on her feet. “I think we’ve outstayed our welcome…” he said with a grin, as he pulled out his wand and quickly apparated away. Harry and Draco soon followed suit.
Back at Grimmauld Place, Ron sat by Hermione’s bed as she slept, her head wrapped in bandages. He carefully stroked the back of her hand. He had been sitting in the same seat since they got back, and Hermione still hadn’t woken. The Healers insisted that it was just shock to the body and she would be fine, but Ron wasn’t so sure. So he sat watching her for any change, he never wanted to miss another moment with her. He had almost lost her before and he wasn’t going to lose any more time. Hermione’s hand squeezed his hand lightly and Ron looked straight up to her face. Hermione’s eyes were open and a light smile was on her face. “Hey you…” she said softly, her voice croaking slightly, Ron leaned forward and kissed her forehead gently. “Hey you,” he replied softly, as he started to get up. “I should get a healer to make sure you’re okay,” he said, but Hermione just squeezed his hand. “Please don’t leave,” she said softly, a small tear falling from the corner of her eye. Ron sat back down and wiped the tear from her cheek. “I’m not going anywhere, I’m never going to let you go,” he replied, as he leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips.
*~*
“Ewww, Mum and Dad kissing!” Molly exclaimed, pulling a face. Harry looked down at Ginny, and she had a tear on her face. “Ginny, sweetie, what is wrong?” he asked, pulling her up into his lap. Ginny wiped her eyes and said in a soft voice, “I’ve never heard the story told like that before. I didn’t know that Mum might not have made it.” And with that she snuggled into Harry’s chest. “Hello? Is there anyone home?” Hermione’s voice floated though the house, and Molly jumped off the couch and ran for the door. “Mum, Uncle Harry just told us the greatest story about you and Dad!” she yelled, as she pounced on her mother. Hermione laughed slightly and picked Molly up and stepped into the house to let Ron inside. “Oh, did he now, what story did he tell you, Molly?” she asked, as Harry walked into the hall with Ginny in his arms.
“Oh Mum, he told us about when you and he got caught by Death Eaters, and how Dad saved you!” Hermione looked up to Harry and raised an eyebrow. Harry shook his head and laughed; the night Hermione woke up was also the night the twins were conceived, but he wasn’t about to tell them that. Ron laughed and said, “Did you also tell them that was the one and only time that their Uncle Draco and myself worked together and didn’t fight?” The adults chuckled. “But Dad, why do you and Uncle Draco fight so much?” Ginny asked in a quiet voice. Harry laughed and Ron said, “Sometimes, sweetie, you just can’t forget what they were.” Hermione raised an eyebrow and Ron smirked.
“A ferret.”