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The Inner Peace	By : Katay Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 16047 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
A/N:
And another chapter! I�m not sure how I feel about this chapter. I suppose it�s
more of an informative versus action-packed one, but oh well. Read and Review
my pets!

Chapter
12:

Alcohol was the one thing that they had in
abundance. Her welcome back party was booming at Fred and George's shop. There were drinks galore and everyone was enjoying the chance to let their hair down. A prime example of this free spiritedness was Harry. He was stumbling around
drunk, talking loudly and flailing about. And considering the other�s reactions
to him, this was a normal occurrence. Oh sure, he was fit as a fiddle and had
been trained by Moody to be a killing machine. But the boy had needed an
outlet, and found it in drinking. Hermione scrunched up her nose as she saw him
swig back the last drop of his third bottle of whiskey.

She had arrived that morning, the time
difference between there and Japan throwing her off. She had apparated to just outside the Burrow�s wards, and sat
looking at the lopsided house off in the distance. She quickly glamoured
herself as she hid behind a few bushes. After ensuring that her face was more
towards a Hermione Granger than Lestrange and that her hair was more towards a
brown and slightly bushy, she took a few deep breaths and prayed that the wards
were still open to her.

She braced herself to be thrown back as she
took a step up the pathway, but felt the wards simply wash off her. She grinned and rushed on. As she neared the
house, she could see Molly standing at the door, watching. Hermione could tell
as soon as Molly had recognized her, because she dropped her knitting, picked
up her robe hem and took off down the path towards her. Moments later, Hermione
was wrapped in a hug that felt like home. Molly was sobbing and rocking her
side to side. Hermione was laughing in happiness and at the spectacle of all
the other Weasley�s pouring out of the house towards
her. The twins were tripping over themselves in their haste, unaided by
Charlie�s foot which happened to catch both ankles; Bill was practically
dragging Fleur; and Charlie, after ensuring the twins went down, made a mad
dash towards her. They all pummeled onto her and Molly, the group began to
fall, and then balance out as the twins made up the uneven side. Everyone was
talking at once and questions were fired like spells. Molly had Hermione�s hand
in a vise-like grip while everyone else kept hugging her or touching her as
though to ensure that she was real.

She grinned and fought to keep her tears in.
She had forgotten her other family.

Even with Ron gone, the Weasley�s
had been like her adopted family. The twins had taken her in after Ron died,
Charlie had attempted to take her mind off things by having her research
dragons and interact with a few he brought home, while Bill had taken over her
training and taught her special defensive and offensive spells that often only
curse breakers learn, it had been Molly and Arthur though that meant the most;
they had cried with her and reminisced together about their youngest son,
offering support for each other during the weeks that followed Ron�s death. Speaking
of Arthur � where is he? He shouldn�t be at work this early in the morning.
Perhaps he had something to do for the Order.

She looked around at the faces surrounding
her as they made their way back to the house. The twins were gaunter and
harder, their eyes a little more weary and cold than she remembered. Molly had
more wrinkles and worry lines along with having slimmed down fair amount.
Charlie was about the same, a second earring above his other and a tattoo on
his neck with the initials �RBW.� Bill had the same tattoo and a few more
crinkles around his eyes. Fleur was still gorgeous, but a bit more
down-to-earth. Her long hair had been cut to a shorter bob, most likely easier
to fight in. She was softer around the edges and Hermione could tell that love
had served the couple well. Hermione and
Fleur had come to an accord after her marriage to Bill. Hermione was no longer
threatened by her presence around Ron and they had begun to talk of France
and found many familiar subjects upon which they could converse.

As they walked into the house, Hermione
glance up at the clock and saw with sorrow Ron�s picture with his clock hand
just above it. She gasped and blinked back tears, because next to his picture
was Arthur�s along with his clock hand.

She immediately squeezed Mrs. Weasley�s hand and they kept walking. She hoped that she
could get the story out of Remus later on.

As they sat down at the kitchen table with
tea in their hands, Hermione told them of her journeys and studies in Japan and China. She left out some things,
such as the ninja training and Malfoy, inserting others like research. They in
turn told her of what had been happening on the home front. Voldemort had been
lying low for the past five years, the slow destruction of the Horcruxes weakening him. Over the years a few skirmishes
had broken out and a few casualties were had on both sides. Daedalus
Diggle had died in a fight with Crabbe, Sr. and a
rogue Death Eater had killed Hestia Jones along with many innocent bystanders
in Diagon Alley. She learned that Tonks
had been severely injured in a fight with Greyback
and often took on traits similar to Bill and Remus at
the full moon. She had been pregnant at the time and miscarried as well. She
and Remus were married still. They discussed other
Order members for a long while and what they knew of Voldemort�s
location. There was a suspected spy in the Order, considering the Death Eater�s
knowledge of where people would be and when. They thought that this was how
Arthur had died. He had gone to the Ministry to get a few papers he had
forgotten and had never come home. The Death Eaters had stormed his office and
he had been tortured for around four hours before his body had finally given
up. A note had been placed up behind his mutilated body, �And so shall go the
rest of the Blood Traitors.� Many Order members had begun to question Voldemort�s ranks however, when the three men who had
tortured him had been captured easily on various raids. There was supposition
that certain Death Eater�s were opposed to such mindless killing and blatant
disregard for secrecy, but there was no proof.

Hermione listened to everything with open
ears, filing it all away for later analysation. She
had a good feeling about what was going on though. She noticed the lack of the
youngest Weasley and asked after her.

�Where is Ginny?�

All the Weasleys�
looked around at each other, grimacing. Molly finally spoke up, �She is living
at Grimmauld Place .. with Harry.�

Hermione perked up, �Oh! So they got
married?!�

�No.� Replied Charlie and Bill grouchily.

�Con .. wait, what?!� She was in shock that one, Molly would allow
that and two, that Harry hadn�t done the right thing by Ginny. �What about the
baby?�

�There wasn�t one,� was the snarky answer given by the twins.

�OK .. I know I�m
not an expert on pregnancy, but I know I saw a baby bump on her. She told me so
when I found her and Harry out! Can someone please explain?� She looked around.
None of the Weasley�s really wanted to be the one to
discuss it apparently. She eyed Charlie. �You, tell me.�

�Fine. Well, after you left Harry and Ginny up in
their room, we,� he motioned to the four brothers, �decided that she should be
taught a bit of a lesson.� He smirked, �It was really quite a genius little
spell. We made them both lose sexual desire for each other for a month so that
they could �think over� what they had just done. Well after a month, we all
noticed that Ginny had become, not more, but less pregnant. Once Mum cast the
pregnancy spell on her to make sure the baby was all right, she found that not
only was there no growing babe, there had never been one.� Hermione gasped and
everyone at the table looked grim, Fleur was even scowling. Charlie continued
on, �She had apparently found a spell that simulated a pregnancy as long as one
was sleeping with the person.

So when she and Harry couldn�t get it on,
the spell disappeared. Well after that all came out. Harry wasn�t exactly
ecstatic with Ginny, but she stayed there anyways, hoping to win him back. It
didn�t take too long.� Fleur snorted and Bill squeezed her hand. �Once they
were back together, we kept waiting for a marriage proposal or an engagement
announcement, but it never came. Finally, Dad went to talk to her one night, to
see what was going on and to perhaps persuade the two to act sensibly. We still
don�t know what happened, because that same night was when he went back to the
office and was murdered. We thought that perhaps then Harry might do something
for Ginny, if just to cheer her up, but it never happened.� Hermione felt Molly
clutch her hand tighter.

�Wait Charlie, how long ago was this?�

�Hmm, about 3 years ago or
so. They were on break
for about 3 months, then together for about a year before Dad went to them to
talk. Mum had of course been dropping hints the whole time, but well we all
know how Ginny is around Mum.�

�Indeed. So skipping ahead, they aren�t
married still, but I take it they are living in the same room?� At Bill�s nod,
she continued, �Ok so what else happened that has everyone up in arms here?�

George picked up the story, �Well, it turns
out that Harry had and has been asking Ginny to marry him, but she keeps
putting him off. She wants to wait until the war is over or until they can have
a house of their own, her excuses change,�

�But her answer remains the same,� finished
Fred.

Fleur waved her hand lightly to show that
she would continue, �And zen,
I went to veesite �Arry to
speak weeth �im about a projecte that I was geeven. �E
was very drunk zat night and I was �elping �im up to �is room when Ginnie, she came out of anozer
room and began to scream at moi for stealing �er �Arry. I zen let �im fall to ze floor and went back to ze librarie where I saw a bank draft on ze
floor for �Arry. I did not mean to snoop, I promise,
but I went to place it on ze desk and I saw zat he had lost a lot of monie in
stocks. Zey were pureblood stocks, so we think that zere was a reason for ze fall. �Owever, Ginnie was not happy when
you took juste a leetle bit
aftere the divorce, so we thought perhaps zat it was because of ze monie. When I asked �er if she
knew, she called me a� Fleur�s Veela
roots began to show as she talked, and Bill rubbed her arm to calm her down,
�well a �orrible name and zen ran off verie quicklie.�

Tears formed in Fleur�s
eyes and she clutched Bill�s hand. �She had come �ome
for ze first time in almost 3 years and was talking
to Bill, so I left zem alone to chit chat. When, zey were done, she came out and smirked at me, said �Au revoir,� and flooed away. I did
not understand at ze moment what she meant, but zen Bill asked me eef I had been sleeping with �Arry
and I knew. She had purposefully tried to put ze
attention back on me, luckily Bill and I �ad fidelity charms
in our wedding zat she forgot, so my Bill knew that
she was lying.� Fleur sighed deeply and the twins shifted.

George recommenced the story, �well then
Bill went after her and yelled at her for being so insensitive and jealous. He
brought you up and talked about how she had been a lying, slut long before
anyone else.�

�And as you can surmise, that did not go
over well.� Fred said. �She said some rather unappealing things about you and
then went on a long diatribe about how Harry was hers first and they would have
been just fine if you hadn�t even entered the picture in that first year.�

Hermione was gaping. It�s ironic that I�ve trained myself to a point of having to act to let
my emotions show. But I�m not surprised she stooped this low.

Turning to Molly, �and what did you have to
say about all of this?�

�I told her that she was no longer welcome
in her home, until she had gotten married. I didn�t say anything after she
cheated with your husband and I should have. We all knew that you two were
grieving after Ron died and it was a way of consoling each other; Ginny took
advantage of Harry�s loss and her own brother�s death to gain something. I was
and am still ashamed of her.� Molly sighed wearily. �After Arthur died, I lost
my will to deal with her. She is an adult now and can do what she wants.�

Hermione leaned over and hugged Mrs. Weasley tightly. �You know when I went away, I felt like I
wasn�t leaving much behind. I had lost my husband and my parents weren�t who
they said they were. But I forgot my other family. I know I�m not your
biological daughter and that no one can ever take her place, but I do consider
you all family.� She looked around at all of them and smiled.

Fred and George piped up, �So that means,�

�as family, you are
obliged�

�to come live with
us�

�until you get on
your feet.� George finished with a flourish of his arm.

Hermione marveled at how they had always
managed to cut their sentences so perfectly and grinned. �Of
course dear brothers!�

Hermione stood up from the table to stretch
after their long talk and sighed. I suppose I should go talk to Harry.

�Mrs. Weasley?�

�Molly, dear. Goodness knows you�re old enough.� She
chided.

Hermione retried, �Molly? Does Harry have a
job? Or does he just sit at home in his love nest?� She really tried to keep
the sarcasm out of her voice � but it didn�t quite work.

�He works for Fred and George, dear. I�d say
he was over there right now, considering who I have in front of me.� She raised
an eyebrow at the twins who winked back.

�We can�t help it that we woke up late! Plus
maybe it�ll keep him from drinking himself into oblivion if he has to run the
shop.� George said snidely. Then his eyes lit up.

�Oi Gred?�

�Yes, Forge?�

�I think ��

�� that we should
have a party for our guest?�

Hermione mock-glared at
them. �Oh hush up you
two, we get it, you�ve both only got half a brain,� she said not pausing for
their sounds of mock-outrage. �Plus you only want to see me drunk my first
night back.�

�Sure do!� They both grinned.

�Boys!� said Molly exasperatedly.

�Always Mum!� And they grabbed Hermione�s
arms, waved to Bill, Fleur and Charlie, and apparated
away.

Upon arriving at their flat above the store,
they turned on Hermione. �You aren�t Granger anymore, are you?� Fred asked.

�Nope!� She said cheerily.

�So it�s Veri then?� George asked.

�Nope!� She grinned cheekily. �Its
Mi or V if you please! Easier to remember and even
easier to explain. Only you two, Harry, my parents, grandparents, and Draco ..�

�Oh ho! Its Draco now, is it? So was he the mystery
man at the ball?�

�I knew I shouldn�t let my parents invite
all the Death Eaters to that.� She glared at them. �Do you know how many times
I had to think of McGonagall nude to stop myself from laughing at you two
during dinner?! Gods, my mind was scarred.�

�You didn�t answer our question, V.�

�I like that George, V. Like vixen!� Fred
smirked at her.

�No, I didn�t and I�m not going to either,
you gits.� She smacked both of them on the arms. She
then sobered and said, �So before I go talk to Harry, what really happened with
your dad?�

�Well that�s how we know there�s a snitch in
the Order. The only people that knew were at Grimmauld Place or us Weasley�s.
And we certainly didn�t sell our own father out. We needed him for a piece of
legislation at the very least. The thing is, Our Lord
says that He didn�t order the attack either. He wanted an attempt to turn Mum
and Dad, not kill them. We also know that it wasn�t any of the higher Death
Eaters, because your parents would have heard and stopped it, since we needed
Mum and Dad for the plan. We think that it was a new recruit, because they were
all recruits that got caught and were guilty. We got to lead two of the raids
to drop them off. It was quite pleasurable.�

�On pleasanter terms, Mum is almost
completely out of the influence of the Order now. She is fed up with Harry, as
are most. I think also that a lot of our Death Eaters are beginning to see the
full insanity of Our Lord.�

�You know, Potter is becoming a lot like
him.�

�Crazy plans, constantly
drunk. Yep!�

�Alright boys, that�s enough. I need to meet
with you and my parents tonight.

This party is a good cover. We three get
drunk and go back to your room. From there we can go to my parents. I have a
good idea of who the snitch is. And remember, this plan won�t work if Harry
doesn�t win.�

�Yes ma�am!� They snapped their hands in
mock-attention.

�Ugh. I�m going to go talk to Harry now.�
She turned. A hand suddenly grabbed her waist. She reacted instantly. Her foot
went back into the groin, her elbow to the stomach and jaw and she cast a full
body-bind and binding spell before the twins could even blink.

Fred was on the floor staring up at her
through wide eyes, while George was gaping at her and trying to find his voice.

�Remind me V, to never try and hug you from
behind ��

She grinned and shrugged, releasing Fred
from her spells.

�Yea. You know Ron was only half right about you.
You�re just plain scary!� Fred said in a bit of a higher pitch than normal.

She �hmph�ed and
skipped down the steps.

Her meeting with Harry could have gone
worse. It could have been a hell of a lot better too, but it could have been
worse. He had only dropped one bottle and run into two shelves in shock. Then
he had practically fallen on her, sobbing about how sorry he was and how he
couldn�t go on without her. Then Ginny had walked in. Bloody drama addict. She had made a scene worthy once again of an
actress. She screamed at Harry, called Hermione names, and generally made a
public scene. Hermione had to work to keep her laughter in because the whole
thing reminded her of a two-year old�s tantrum. Ginny
had ended with a commotion, knocking down shelves as she attempted to remove
Harry bodily from the store, seemingly forgetting that he in fact, worked
there. As Ginny left in a huff, she let out a curse towards Hermione that was
no innocent Light curse, but one Hermione knew for a fact, was in some of the
darker libraries of Death Eater�s alone. Her shields automatically blocked it,
but Hermione once again filed the information away to analyze.

Harry had then commenced to drink himself
into oblivion, landing himself in the predicament that she was now forced to
witness four hours later at the party. Is that really the man I once
called �Husband?� Oh Harry. What happened? If it's the last thing I do, I
promise to help you find happiness. The twins were acting spectacularly
drunk and Hermione could tell that the meeting time was near. She looked down
at her drink sorrowfully; I didn't even
get to finish my Slow Screw.

She gave a drunken hug to Harry and a few
other key people, wrapped her limbs around the twins, and they all set off for
the apartment above. After a series of complicated wards, locking charms, and
curses they threw off their party clothes and replaced them with more modest,
dress robes.

Hermione released her glamour and let her
mind settle for a little, allowing the personality of �V� to float to the front
a bit more. She went through some of her mental exercises that she had learned
with Master Lao�ting and ran through fighting
techniques in her head. Once done, she nodded towards the twins. They each took
a deep breath and then apparated away.

�Mon Dieu!�

A/N: This was not
meant to be a cliffy when I started, but it seems that I am hitting a bit of
writer�s block � so who knows what will pop out of my sleeve next! Review
please and let me know what you think!!!
- 11
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The Inner Peace